News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-10-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. , , , , . We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Samyn: 'Do what you can with what youve got left' Brazil Bar Association push to impeach Dilma Rousseff BRASILIA Petroleumworld.com 03 29 2016 Brazil's Bar Association has submitted to Congress a new request to impeach Dilma Rousseff, setting the stage for a prolonged political battle over the president's future in office if current efforts to oust her fail. In the request filed on Monday, the Bar Association, or OAB, argued that Rousseff tried to obstruct a court investigation earlier this month by appointing her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , as a member of her cabinet. The nomination, which was blocked by a Supreme Court justice, would have given him legal protection from lower courts. The latest move to oust her reflects just how difficult it may prove for Rousseff to finish her mandate. Opposition legislators see the OAB request as a plan B in case she survives the current impeachment proceedings scheduled to be concluded in late April or early May. "If by some chance there's a problem with the current impeachment process, we have the association's request as a backup," said opposition lawmaker Pauderney Avelino of the Democrats party. "The Bar Association's request is well argued." Only the lower house speaker can decide whether to accept the request as the basis for impeachment proceedings against the president. There is no deadline for him to make a decision. Rousseff is trying to secure votes of smaller parties in Congress to ward off impeachment, as her largest ally, the PMDB party, votes Tuesday on whether to leave the ruling coalition, according to two people briefed on the strategy who requested not to be named because the information isn't public. Rousseff recognizes that even if she survives one impeachment vote, there may be more on other grounds, one of the people said. The Bar Association, which says it has nearly 1 million members, was influential in the country's return to democracy in 1985 and supported the impeachment of President Fernando Collor in 1992. Rousseff has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and likens efforts to oust her to a coup. Police release names of two homicide victims Philadelphia police on Monday identified two men slain in shootings last week in Philadelphia. The first shooting was early Thursday morning, when a man was shot several times while on the 100 block of East Indiana Avenue in Kensington. The victim, Luiz D. Padilla, 38, was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital at 1:59 a.m. On Saturday, Edward Jefferson, 42, died after he was shot in the chest in a vacant lot in North Philadelphia on the 1500 block of North 19th Street. Jefferson was pronounced dead at 2:54 a.m. at Hahnemann University Hospital. The motives for both killings remain under investigation. No arrests have been made and no descriptions of suspects were available. - Emily Babay Passyunk Ave. bridge work begins Tuesday The Passyunk Avenue bridge is getting an overhaul, a $33.5 million project that will reduce the number of lanes and create space for bikes by 2018. Work is to begin Tuesday. The bridge, built in 1983, is being reduced from three lanes in each direction to two, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The change is being done to make the bridge conform to the number of lanes on the rest of the road, said spokesman Charles Metzger. Widening the shoulders to 13 feet in each direction also will make space for new bicycle lanes, he said. Work will include upgrades to the to the drawbridge's motors, brakes, locks, and gears, along with other mechanical and structural repairs. The 2,240-foot-long bridge carries about 20,800 vehicles a day. Work in the coming weeks will be conducted from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., and some lanes on the bridge are expected to stay open throughout the process. - Staff report Heidi Cruz cancels South Jersey visit Heidi Cruz, wife of GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz, has canceled a campaign appearance set for Tuesday in Haddon Heights. Scot DeCristofaro, a spokesman for the Cruz campaign in New Jersey, said the senator and his wife had decided to campaign together in Wisconsin, which will hold its primary next week. The Haddon Heights event, billed as fund-raiser and rally, was to be held Tuesday afternoon at The Cabin in Hoffs Park. DeCristofaro said the rally would be rescheduled after the April 5 Wisconsin primary. - Staff report SEPTA will express two trains from Del. SEPTA is turning two weekday afternoon trains from the Newark Station in Delaware on the Newark/Wilmington Line into expresses to University City starting April 11. Impacted are Train 2760, which departs Newark at 4:46 p.m., and Train 9294, which leaves at 5:46 p.m. The trains will stop at all stations except Highland Avenue before becoming expresses between the Chester Transportation Center and University City. - Staff report 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 Sunday Briefing: Matas Cimbolas Wins the PokerStars Sunday 500 March 28, 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor It may have been Easter Sunday for some on March 27, but that did not stop thousands of poker players from trying their luck in online pokers biggest weekly tournaments. One player whose decision to grind online paid off was Lithuanian star Matas "bebaimis777" Cimbolas, who walked away with the title of Sunday 500 champion on PokerStars, a result that earned him $51,780.46 after a three-handed deal. Also part of that deal were Brazil's "nicofellow" ($56,180.65) and Russia's "StaceOP" ($44,817.89). The United Kingdom's Peter "Se7enTr3y" Akery finished fourth for $27,302.00. The biggest cash of the day went to Sao Paulo's Joao "XxJoaoFeraxX" Otavio, who topped a field of 7,124 players in the Sunday Million. Otavio scooped the massive $213,724.92 after defeating Canada's "extragloves" heads up, leaving the Canadian to collect the $157,255.17 consolation prize. Other champions in PokerStars' Sunday majors included: Chris "Big Huni" Hunichen winner of the $109 Sunday Kickoff for $26,953.64 winner of the for $26,953.64 "miki21221" winner of the $215 Sunday Warm-Up for $58,000.00 winner of the for $58,000.00 Fernando Vianna "fviana" da Costa winner of the $109 Sunday Rebuy for $37,214.10 winner of the for $37,214.10 "s-trans" winner of The Bigger $109 for $35,145.35 winner of for $35,145.35 Brian "bg_atlanta" Ganon winner of The Bigger $162 for $30,625.93 winner of for $30,625.93 "42ayay" winner of the $215 Sunday 2nd Chance for $39,846.33 winner of the for $39,846.33 "GadMO" winner of the $162 Sunday 6-Max for $23,404.17 winner of the for $23,404.17 "beukie555" winner of the $215 Sunday Supersonic for $46,944.90 Mackoff Brawls His Way To the Top On Full Tilt Over at Full Tilt, Jonas "donut604" Mackoff busted 11 opponents on his way to winning the Sunday Brawl, taking his total winnings for the tournament to $6,444.93, while Australia's Matt "rocky2810" Wakeman walked away with the $10,422.79 first-place prize in the Sunday Major. Three Big Wins On 888poker The three biggest tournaments at 888poker this Sunday paid out their champions a combined $74,189.40. "kiskutya23" won the $100,000 Sunday Challenge for $18,337.70, with "breeth" winning the $100,000 Baby Whale for $27,189.00. The third big score went to "joker2006," who won the $120,000 Mega Deep for $28,662.70. Marci Closes the Deal On partypoker Completing the Sunday Briefing this week are the results enjoyed at partypoker. Although the Powerfest series ended last week, there were still some large prize pool played for at partypoker on Sunday. The $50,000 Weigh-in saw a $68,800 prize pool, with $11,579.04 of that amount going to "DieguiitO", while the $150,000 Guaranteed Main Event broke the guarantee by $12,700, much to the delight of "Cocadas88" who turned his $109 into $28,846.71. Lastly, Maszat "SaintJust_" Marci won the $150,000 Guaranteed High Roller in the early hours of Monday morning to add $35,295.00 to his bankroll. Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+! The NYPD mapped out behind closed doors its plan for a coordinated attack on the Big Apple with multiple "active shooters," suicide bombers, and terrorists holding innocent people hostage Monday, reports the New York Post. Police brass practiced their response to four simultaneous assaults on iconic, heavily trafficked locations in the city during a daylong exercise at 1 Police Plaza. Commissioner Bill Bratton said the planning was needed because terrorists "would love to do it here." "What if we had four simultaneous attacks? Would we be ready? That's why we did this exercise today," he told reporters. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO (Reuters) California Governor Jerry Brown announced a deal with legislative and labor leaders on Monday to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023, saying the nations most-populous state would lead the way toward higher pay for the working poor. The proposal, which still must gain support from business-friendly moderate Democrats, would make California the first to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour the highest in the nation while giving the governor the right to opt out if the economy falters. Im hoping that what happens in California will not just stay in California but will be exported to the rest of the country, Brown said at a news conference in Sacramento. Raising the minimum wage has cropped up on many Democratic Party candidates agendas ahead of the November elections and the issue could help mobilize Democratic voters to the polls. According to the governors office, 2.2 million Californians currently earn the state minimum wage of $10 an hour. The idea of raising the minimum wage, which at the federal level has remained at $7.25 an hour for more than six years, has been opposed by Republicans and some business groups, who say it would harm small businesses and strain government budgets. If passed, Browns plan would commit the state, home to one of the worlds biggest economies, to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 for large businesses and 2023 for smaller firms. It would also head off a pair of competing ballot initiatives championed by labor leaders to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour without allowing the governor to halt increases in bad times, a deal-breaker for Brown. But passage of the proposal is not guaranteed without support from more moderate members of the Democrat-controlled legislature. Absent from the press conference was Anthony Rendon, speaker of the state Assembly, where the bill was expected to face opposition. This deal was placed on my desk over the weekend, said Rendon, who supports the measure but said he was not involved in negotiations over it. I dont know how many folks are in support of the bill or how many are against it. Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has called for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. Economic consultant Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics, said increasing the minimum wage would not reduce poverty because low paid workers were most at risk of losing their jobs when employers cut positions. These are the people that businesses will say, If Im going to pay $15 bucks an hour, Im not going to hire them,' Thornberg said. Fourteen states and several cities began 2016 with minimum wage increases, typically phasing in raises that will ultimately take them to between $10 and $15 an hour. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein, Robin Respaut and Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sara Catania, Alan Crosby and Mary Milliken) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Bernie Sanders used labors victory in a deadlocked Supreme Court case to stand with Americas workers and warn that Republicans are one conservative Supreme Court justice away from gutting organized labor. In a statement, Sen. Sanders said: Todays split decision underscores the need to confirm a Supreme Court nominee who will protect the constitutional rights of American workers to collectively bargain for fair wages and safe working conditions. The extreme right wing is just one conservative Supreme Court justice away from dismantling the rights of public sector unions to organize and collectively bargain on behalf of all of the workers they are legally bound to represent. We cannot allow that to happen. From Wisconsin to California, the extreme right wing has been waging a war to dismantle unions all over this country. That is a war they cannot be allowed to win. Working people in this country need a seat at the bargaining table to fight for higher wages, decent health care, a secure retirement and a safe working environment. Public sector unions are that voice. And if I am elected president, Im not going to let the Supreme Court take away that voice. While Republican governors like Scott Walker and the Koch brothers may not like it, we are going to make it easier, not harder, for American workers to form a union. We need to expand, not eliminate, the collective bargaining rights of all Americans. When unions are strong, the middle class is strong. Sen. Sanders was correct. Republicans are one conservative Supreme Court justice away from gutting public sector unions. The base of labors power and membership is in the public sector, so if a Republicans win the 2016 election, the nations labor unions will be in danger. On the other hand, a fifth liberal justice would be in a position to protect collective bargaining rights. Unionized workers earn wages that are 27% higher than non-union workers: If the next president is serious about rebuilding the middle class by raising wages, increasing union membership is essential. Sen. Sanders understands that unions give workers the power to negotiate higher wages and better benefits, which is why he is standing with Americans workers, and warning that the outcome of the 2016 presidential election could impact the lives of millions of workers. America doesnt need a dealmaker president. Todays Supreme Court decision demonstrates that America needs a president who will protect and expand workers rights to unionize and collectively bargain. After World War II, unions built the middle class, and if given the opportunity, they are the key to rebuilding the middle class in the 21st Century. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Trump slid easily into the role of a martyr. After all, Republicans have been telling us for years that the left is waging class warfare on rich people, who are being unfairly blamed for having all the money and not letting anyone else have any. He is also white. And through his approach to people who arent exactly white like Mexicans and Muslims and Chinese and others, including Jews Trump has attracted the support of all sorts of white supremacists the sort of people who took over the wildlife refuge in Oregon. Theyre white, they have guns, and they feel persecuted. And dont you even talk about white privilege. As Fox News Tucker Carlson said to Alex Jones last week in what is the KERBLINK! moment of the century, Anyone who alleges the white privilege is, by definition, a racist. I think we can say that and we should say that. Thats not a legitimate form of conversation. Thats tarring an entire group based on the way they look. Thats the definition of racism and I think people should stand up and say that because its true. Whatever happened to the virtues of telling it like it is? Apparently, its telling it like it is only when it is welcome news, not, strictly speaking, factual. So it turns out Trump is, in Michael Savages words a victim of racism. Moving on from skin color, Trump is nominally, at least, a Christian. And he can wave his Bible around with the best of them, even if he is less well-versed, if youll pardon the pun, in talking the talk. But his bigotry trumps, is Bible talk, if youll pardon another pun, as Trump has shown white evangelicals they dont need religion to justify hate. Its not hate anymore, you see: its just telling it like it is. No matter how wrong it is. Maybe thats the slogan the Nazis needed to save their image: Were just being honest. But lets set Hitler aside for a minute and look at Trumps Cracker Nation. These are people who have had no problem convincing themselves that as a white majority, they are being persecuted. Thats because they come from a religion that, despite being the worlds largest, has no trouble convincing its adherents that theyre persecuted. Even though theyre the ones who have spent the better part of 2,000 years DOING the persecuting. It should be a surprise to no one, under the circumstances, that the Black Lives Matter movement quickly engendered the White Lives Matter movement. The SPLC, which tracks such things, put together a lengthy expose on this reality-challenged group, telling us, After the accelerated growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, many racists across America have gone on a barnstorming campaign, posting the catch phrase White Lives Matter (WLM), to counter a message they believe is playing a part in a systematic devaluing of white culture even orchestrating what they call a white genocide. Of course, weve also been told by conservative sources that men are the real victims of a systemic rape culture, not women, that American men have been emasculated by feminism (which seems to prove the point, at least, that theyre self-emasculated) and loads of other unbelievably stupid stuff, the likes of which Fox News peddles and its viewers devour. What we have here is a large scale system of apologetics for white Christian Americans particularly men, that assures them that all their misogyny, all their racism, all their disgust for people not like them, is justified, and that the real problem is people who cannot accept them like they are. And Trump has become their apologist in chief. Apologetics, which a dictionary will tell you is reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine, is a big industry in conservative Christian circles, but it is easily applicable to other areas, likebeing white, or being male, or being a white male or a white Christian male. It is very useful because the more fanatical people are about something the less sure of it they are, and any apologetics handbook should have the big bold words on the cover, Dont Panic! Inside, it will explain why everything is okay, why they have not wasted their time believing in the absurd despite all the evidence to the contrary, be it religion, racism, misogyny, marriage equality, or what have you: Its okay to hate on these people. God wants you to. And there is plenty of evidence in some of these cases, from the Old Testament at least, that this is true. Never forget that the Bible was used to defend racism and slavery, that it has been used to defend misogyny and hatred of gays, lesbians, and transgenders, and when it doesnt, never fear: an entire form of marriage, traditional marriage, has been invented by Bible believers who have never read the Bible, in order to delegitimize the idea of same-sex marriage. Once again we are hearing about the Aryan Spirit but were not supposed to talk about Hitler and Nazis because of some law somebody invented about people talking about Hitler and Nazis, even when theyre waving around swastika flags and giving Hitler salutes. As in those heady days of Tea Partyism, theyre also waving Confederate flags while telling us what American patriots they are. Because historically, all real Americans have waved around the flags of other countries while reciting the pledge of allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America Oh wait. So whats with Nazi German flags? Whats with all those Confederate flags? Theyre not the flag of the United States of America. Dont be surprised. It was white martyr David Lane who wrote, in Tri-Colored Treason, that America is the murderer of the White Race. I wouldnt contaminate my toilet with your red, white and blue rag. Never mind that the Confederate flag is also red, white and blue. There you go. The reason they wave Confederate flags and Nazis flags is because theyre not really Americans at all, and the thought of a rabble of uneducated white trash as the guarantor of white existencewell, it ought to make you at least shudder. The subtext of Trumps Make America Great Again is a white America, and given the flexibility of the term white over the centuries, that probably doesnt include YOU. Photo: splc.org Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print It is relatively well-understood that a key to a long life and a semblance of contentment is founded on a persons ability to relieve stress; especially without using pharmaceuticals. Stress is literally a killer on myriad counts and it is also devastating on the learning process. Ask any teacher and they will agree that a student is always going to benefit from the educational experience if they are stress free. It is certain that educators in Georgia are aware of the value of helping students relieve stress, but in one community they will have to abandon their valiant efforts because evangelical Christians are appalled and angry over a simple stretching exercise. What has the evangelicals in an uproar is the school districts years long mindfulness and de-stressing techniques in the classroom that include yoga. According to the evangelicals, who echo the same assertions as extremist Muslims in ISIS, Indonesia, and Malaysia, children stretching and focusing on the moment is an abomination, and the school districts attempt to indoctrinate their children into a nasty Eastern religion. The evangelical parents asserted the Cobb County school officials were forcing a non-Christian belief system on little children by asking them to say Namaste in class and hold their hands by their hearts during a classic yoga pose and greeting. The school districts officials did what people terrified of religious extremists normally do; immediately banned the word Namaste, heart-centered hands, and coloring geometric shapes known as mandalas. The Bullard Elementary Schools principle also noted that since the evangelical malcontents mistakenly believed teachers were preaching that crystals had healing powers, nothing resembling this will ever be done in the future. The principle is so frightened of being in non-compliance with the evangelicals fatwa on children de-stressing with yoga stretches, the district banned an insane practice that never occurred. One of the evangelical parents, Susan Jaramillo, said she was furious that Theres no prayer in schools. They cant even say the pledge, yet theyre pushing ideology and those religious practices we dont want our children doing in our schools. The outcry was so heated that the schools principle issued a heartfelt please forgive us for helping your children letter. She wrote, Id like to say I am truly sorry that the mindfulness/ de-stressing practices here at Bullard caused many misconceptions that in turn created a distraction in our school and community. While we have been practicing de-stressing techniques in many classrooms for many years, there have been some practices associated with mindfulness that are offensive to some. As a result, we will pull the following out of our school: If yoga moves are used in classrooms, students will not say the word Namaste nor put their hands to heart center. When coloring during brain breaks, Mandala coloring pages will not be used. Although teachers have never ever used nor taught about using crystals for healing during these breaks, we understand it has become a belief. Therefore we ensure that nothing resembling this will ever be done in the future. As we begin the healing process, wed like parents to work with us as we explore research-based techniques and ideas for classroom mindfulness and ways to increase our CCRPI score. Now, as a two-decade long yogin and educator, one can say with confidence there is nothing religious about using yoga as a de-stressor and inform the Cobb County school officials that there are mountains of researchedbased data to explore on the benefits of using yoga in the classroom. In fact, nearly every major leading university in America has conducted rigorous research revealing that yoga best helps students de-stress and focus on their studies; it also helps reduce bullying. Those various studies are likely why Cobb County school officials introduced yoga in the classroom to begin with. Based on the angry evangelical parents reaction, those mounds of studies will not be explored further; there is no Jesus in any of them. One is curious how the Georgia Christians determined that the term Namaste is a means of proselytizing innocent children. The words meaning is universally recognized as one of peace, honor, and respect for human being, as is putting the hands at heart center. Either individually, or done concurrently, saying Namaste with hands at heart center is about as malicious, or religious, as a Hawaiian saying Aloha, or some Georgia yokel uttering hey yall while shaking someones hand. In yoga practice, Namaste is the instructors greeting to the class at the start, and their ending salutation when the class is dismissed. There is nothing religious whatsoever in putting the hands at heart center and saying Namaste; unless, of course, they are white Christian malcontents in Georgia, or Islamic extremists in Malaysia, ISIS, and Indonesia. Like many harsh Sharia Law practices, the Georgia evangelicals are embracing and putting them into practice to impose their religion on America. Seriously, banning the word Namaste on religious grounds could not possibly be more religious fanaticism unless they banned children coloring in geometric circles. Actually, the Georgia school officials did ban children from coloring in a mandala; a circle-like symbol to represent the universe. Actually, mandala is a generic term for any kind of diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe. However, even though using charts, diagrams, and geometric patterns for coloring are regularly employed as a sub-modality in pedagogy, Georgia Christians had them banned because they were not Christian. Their idea of proper mindfulness, learning respect for other humans, and a method of stress relief for elementary school children is coloring an image of a crucifixion cross with a dying, gasping messiah nailed to it while listening to The Old Rugged Cross. As an aside, giving students down-time for a brain break to color in patterns is a long-acknowledged stress reliever in the classroom. It is a sad state of affairs in a secular nation that when administrators at Bullard Elementary School in Georgia implemented yoga and other mindfulness practices in the classroom to reduce students stress, they got the Christian version of a fatwa against yoga. This is precisely the same kind of theocratic fatwa extremist Muslims enacted in no small number of Islamic theocracies. It is so typical of American evangelical parents to feel that yoga represented an encroachment on their Christian beliefs and not a sincere attempt to help their children live a less stressful life and excel in school with a well-researched and time-tested success like yoga in the classroom. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Hes their front-runner and they dont know why. But we do. A new poll finds that not only is Donald Trump the clear front-runner in the Republican primary, but 62% of his voters think President Obama is a Muslim, while only 9% of Trump supporters think correctly that Obama is a Christian. In new national PPP poll that also found Republicans would not tolerate having Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney shoved down their throats during a brokered convention, PPP also found that only 26% of Trump voters think President Obama was born in the U.S.. Fifty-two percent think he was not. Trump also leads with both very conservative and somewhat conservative voters, so this isnt just a wild faction of the Republican party. Maybe its just the Donald, eh? Nope, sorry. Things dont improve much with Senator Ted Cruzs numbers. Just 12% of Cruz voters think President Obama is a Christian while 56% believe hes a Muslim. Just 32% of Cruz supporters think Obama was born in the U.S. So the numbers for the two front-runners of the Republican presidential primary show who has the power in the GOP and its not the intellectuals or the policy wonks. This isnt about big government except in the way that Republicans have been whispering big government as a code way to say black people taking your things for 30-40 years now and its finally starting to really pay off, now that their actual policies have proven to be such failures. Back in the land of sanity, or semi-sanity where we grade on such a curve that Governor John Kasich of Ohio looks like the moderate when actually hes another Rick Snyder (Michigans nerd governor whose policies enabled and in many ways even created the Flint water crisis) 46% of Kasich supporters think President Obama is a Christian versus 31% who think hes a Muslim. Still not great numbers here, but better than the Cruz and Trump numbers. Kasich voters would be something the GOP could live with. But they are stuck with the monster they built, not the one they wish they had built. So it is that the Republican party is stuck with voters who very strongly support Donald Trump, as 80% of his supporters saying theyll definitely vote for him, according to the PPP poll. Theyll take the birther, Muslim hater, women hater, labor hater, please. Sure you already knew this, but now you have the numbers to prove it. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnells obstruction of President Obamas Supreme Court nominee has backfired as the Supreme Court deadlocked and gave unions a big win on a case involving the collection of fees. According to the AP: A tie vote from the Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a win to labor unions in a high-profile dispute over their ability to collect fees. The justices divided 4-4 in a case that considered whether public employees represented by a union can be required to pay fair share fees covering collective bargaining costs even if they are not members. The split vote leaves in place an appeals court ruling that upheld the practice. Republicans had been planning on using this case to break the backs of public sector labor unions nationwide by cutting off organized labors ability to collect fees. Republicans were counting on winning a 5-4 decision that would have crippled organized labors ability to raise money. Mitch McConnells decision to obstruct President Obamas Supreme Court nominee has resulted in a deadlocked highest court in the land, which has effectively ended the era of conservative judicial activism from the bench of the Supreme Court. Conservatives are targeting public sector labor unions because they have a membership rate that is five times higher than private sector workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 35.2% of public sector workers are members of unions compared to 6.7% of workers in the private sector. Republicans would have reversed 40 years of legal precedent and dealt a blow to labor unions if Scalia had not passed away. Instead, the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Assn. will result in a victory for labor, and if Democrats win the presidential election, Republicans could regret Mitch McConnells decision to obstruct President Obamas Supreme Court nominee for decades to come. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Six anti-Trump protesters were after they staged a sit-in while trying to block Donald Trump from entering a Holiday Inn in Janesville, Wisconsin. Video of the protest: According to Groundwork, which is the Standing Up For Racial Justice group in Madison WI: six people locked themselves together using PVC pipe in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express Janesville, surrounded by two dozen others, to demand Holiday Inn: Dont be a Host for Hate. Tomorrow the hotels convention center is scheduled to host Donald Trump, in spite of Holiday Inns alleged policy that the chain doesnt tolerate racial discrimination. The six Wisconsin residents, five of whom are white and one of whom is biracial, said in a statement: Donald Trumps hate speech has had real, violent consequences for Wisconsinites, and there should be costs to companies like Holiday Inn that profit from his hate-mongering. Trumps racism has emboldened violent attacks on people of color across the country eroding safety for Holiday Inns clients and employees of color, to say nothing of millions of others. The six protesters were arrested and face charges of trespassing, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer. Local law enforcement is also warning that the protest was a small sample of what they expect to face when Trump arrives for an event in Paul Ryans hometown on Tuesday afternoon. Shawna Lutzow, one of the arrested six protesters, said, I am taking action because I will not tolerate hate and bigotry. Trumps tactics have encouraged people to speak out and act out on their racism and I am fearful for the future. I feel like it is my responsibility, as a white person, to put my body on the line in the name of justice and I am prepared to do what it takes to stand up to hate. Contrary to Trumps rhetoric these protesters were not violent. There was no violence to be found anywhere at the protest. There were more than sixty people inside and at outside protesting, and not a single violent incident was reported. It isnt the protesters who are causing the violence, but violence seems to follow Donald Trump and his supporters. When the Trump campaign rolls into a town, the atmosphere becomes tense and violence fills in the air. From coast to coast people are standing up and saying that they dont want Donald Trumps violent rhetoric and hate speech to poison their communities. Donald Trump is trying to send a message by holding an event in Speaker Ryans hometown, but some of the people of Wisconsin are sending their own message that Trump is not welcome in the Badger State. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Republican Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was pummeled today with negative press over his refusal to hold hearings for President Obamas Supreme Court nominee. The Senator is in the middle of meeting with constituents in Iowa, but it turns out they are not pleased with him. Dave Damstrom of Spencer Iowa was quoted by Omaha.Com saying to Senator Grassley, Excuse me, Senator, but it seems to me like theres so much crap in the political system, and I expect you to be a leader and not part of this. Im just getting sick of this stuff. Just do your job, and let politics be what it is. Oh, just do your job, eh? This line of accurate attack seems to irritate Grassley, who as a very safe Republican (until now) is not used to having his narratives challenged: Grassley notes his lengthy consecutive voting record, long hours when he's in D.C. "When somebody says Im not doing my job, I resent it." Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) March 29, 2016 But the Democrats are collecting press clippings and not shy about sharing them. Today the Senate Democrats sent out a round of absolute ugliness on Sen. Grassley. They say he went to the most conservative parts of Iowa yesterday in areas where Mitt Romney won 3 in 4 voters. He found Iowans critical of his pledge not to hold hearings and seven negative front pages. To wit, the included the following clips along with the front page bashings: Des Moines Register: In Iowa, Grassley takes flak for court stance Even in this most conservative corner of Iowa, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley on Monday faced tough and repeated questions over his refusal to hold hearings on a nominee to the Supreme Court. Crowds at two town hall meetings here Monday afternoon returned again and again to Grassleys decision as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee not to consider the nomination of Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland to the high court. Its not fair for this man not to get a hearing, said Randy Waagmeester, a Rock Rapids attorney who attended the town hall here. Its not right for this country to be short-staffed on the Supreme Court. Others objected that blocking the nomination elevated politics over functional government, continued a worrisome politicization of the courts and could even hurt Republicans reputations. http://www.desmoinesregister. com/story/news/politics/2016/ 03/28/chuck-grassley-takes- flak-supreme-court-stance/ 82362928/ Omaha World-Herald/AP: Amid Supreme Court battle, Grassley met with ire at town hall If Sen. Chuck Grassley thought he could escape the pressure over President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nomination by traveling to friendly conservative territory, the trip offered little relief. The powerful Iowa Republican, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, arrived Monday at a town hall meeting in a Republican-dominated county, only to find that the debate had followed him. The discussion at a senior center was dominated by his refusal to hold confirmation hearings. http://www.omaha.com/news/ iowa/amid-supreme-court- battle-grassley-met-with-ire- at-town/article_103ad488-b278- 59c5-8477-3eca37281555.html Worthington Daily Globe: Grassley against hearing for Supreme Court nominee Grassley said rather than supporting a hearing for Garland hed rather focus efforts on something more fruitful since Congress would likely not approve him with a Republican majority. In other words, youre stalling, a woman in the crowd replied. http://www.dglobe.com/news/ 3996923-grassley-against- hearing-supreme-court-nominee KCAUTV: Senator Grassley held multiple town hall meetings across Iowa for residents to ask him questions Iowa Senator and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, was certainly under fire from residents at the Rock Rapids town hall, but the Senator made one thing clear, he will not be swayed away from his decision to not hold a hearing for President Obamas Supreme Court nominee of Judge Merrick Garland. http://www.siouxlandmatters. com/news/local-news/senator- grassley-held-multiple-town- hall-meetings-across-iowa-for- residents-to-ask-him-questions Ames Tribune (Op-Ed): Bill Haglund: Cmon, Sen. Grassley, give Garland a vote Its almost as if Republicans are playing Russian Roulette in a political game in which the gun is loaded against them. Grassley has served Iowa with distinction for many, many years. I dont think this is the way Iowans want to remember what he did over his last few years. http://amestrib.com/opinion/ bill-haglund-c-mon-sen- grassley-give-garland-vote Politico: Supreme Court vise closes on Grassley As the national battle rages over whether to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia this year, no one is under heavier scrutiny or facing more pressure back home than Grassley, a one-time farmer and sheet metal worker who was first sworn in to the Senate the same month that Ronald Reagan became president. http://www.politico.com/story/ 2016/03/senate-iowa-grassley- supreme-court-221317# ixzz44IgbULWk Huffington Post: Chuck Grassley Is Keeping Details Of His Iowa Events Secret To Avoid Protesters Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) says he will be going around speaking with constituents at more than a dozen events in his home state during the Senates two-week spring recess. But most of the public will have no idea how to find him, because his office is keeping the details of those events secret to avoid protesters. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ entry/chuck-grassley-iowa- events-protests_us_ 56f99acbe4b014d3fe23db7d Des Moines Register, Letter to the Editor: To Grassley: Step aside until after election Following the direction of the Republicans logic, I politely ask you to step aside as chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee until the elections take place. http://www.desmoinesregister. com/story/opinion/readers/ 2016/03/29/grassley-step- aside-until-after-election/ 82255722/ Des Moines Register, Letter to the Editor: Grassleys letter makes reader chuckle What brought the guffaws was the senators closing sentence: To solve problems, we need to hear each other out, not shut each other down. Unless, of course, the issue is the appointment of a United States Supreme Court justice. http://www.desmoinesregister. com/story/opinion/readers/ 2016/03/29/grassleys-letter- makes-reader-chuckle/82351320/ Des Moines Register, Letter to the Editor: We dont have a parliamentary government All senators take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Unfortunately both of Iowas senators appear to have reneged on their oath and opted instead to put partisan politics ahead of the Constitution. http://www.desmoinesregister. com/story/opinion/readers/ 2016/03/29/we-dont-have- parliamentary-government/ 82175890/ When was the last time the mainstream press really called Republicans out on their obstruction? The Beltway rule of both sides do it imputing some kind of special intelligence upon the reporter of said false narrative has poisoned the fourth estate for a long time. But Republicans seem to have played this card one too many times and the press isnt buying it with their refusal to give hearings and confirm President Obamas SCOTUS nominee. 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 According to reports, the terrorists who carried out last weeks attacks in Brussels acted sooner than originally planned because they feared that captured terrorist Salah Abdeslam would inform authorities of the attacks. Apparently, they need not have worried. Belgian officials questioned Abdeslam only lightly, and not at all about possible new attacks. Instead, using the discredited law enforcement model, they focused on the Paris attacks of last November, presumably hoping to obtain a confession. Back in the days of the controversy over waterboarding, there was talk about a ticking time bomb scenario. The question was: When we know theres time bomb ready to go off, but dont know the location, is it okay to waterboard a captured terrorist who likely has knowledge of the impending attack? Opponents of waterboarding, having no satisfactory answer, tended to pooh-pooh the question. It was based on an unrealistic scenario, they insisted. Tell that to the victims of the Brussels attacks. In reality, most captured terrorists present a variation of the ticking time bomb scenario. These days, organizations like ISIS are constantly planning new attacks. A captured terrorist who has been active recently might very well know something about upcoming attacks in his locale. Its unlikely that even in the Age of Obama, the U.S. would have handled Abdeslam as ineffectively as the Belgians did. One can imagine our people declining to question the terrorist for 24 hours because he was hospitalized and then questioning him only for a fairly short time because he seemed very tired after surgery. But I doubt that we would have failed to ask about future attacks. But how far we would have gone to obtain answers? Marc Thiessen suggests we might not have had to go far. He says that in the CIAs experience, two-thirds of detainees cooperated without any enhanced interrogation techniques at all. Thats because just the experience of disappearing into secret detention with no idea where they were and no lawyer present was enough to get them talking. But would the Obama administration have disappeared Abdeslam following his highly visible capture? And if it had, would he have started talking in time to enable authorities to act on his information? Finally, and this is key, what if Abdeslam proved to be among the one-third of detainees who dont cooperate without enhanced interrogation? In that scenario, no one with a decent regard for innocent human life could object to the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on a terrorist like this. Abdeslam was the mastermind behind the Paris attacks. According to Thiessen investigators had found detonators and weapons in a safe house with his fingerprints. This was a ticking time bomb scenario. Its time to revisit the question of enhanced interrogation, a question that the U.S. answered incorrectly during a lull in the terrorist threat. Emory University alumnus Ed Thayer (05C) forwards us a copy of an open letter signed by him and several other Emory alums. He writes: This latest episode at Emory has struck a nerve with a segment of alumni and over the weekend we penned the letter below. Glenn Reynolds at InstaPundit posted the letter we wrote this morning and since you and your blog have been covering this issue very well, we would love to reach as broad an audience as possible to start combating this rot from the alumni perspective. Here is the alumni letter: How Emory has changed. Once a world-renowned university that attracted scholars from across the globe, a university that encouraged diverse intellectual pursuits, Emory has apparently become a day-care where children must be shielded from bad thoughts lest their feelings be harmed. And the administration has officially endorsed this shift. We are writing not to highlight the absurdity of those who believe they are physically harmed by encountering political speech with which they disagree, as this is, or should be, clear to any observer. Instead, we are writing to express our disappointment with the recent actions of the Emory administration. For the first time, we are embarrassed to call ourselves Emory graduates. As the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Washington Post and other media outlets recently reported, a small contingent of vocal Emory students claimed to have been harmed on campus and stormed the office of the president of the university in protest. The locus of this alleged harm? Chalked political slogans featuring the name of a leading presidential candidate. What should have become an opportune teaching moment to instruct students in the value of free speech and healthy debate, once radical ideas that serve as the foundation of American society, morphed into something else entirely. President Wagner, and by virtue of his position, Emory itself, officially endorsed the opposite: the rights of all to freely express their political views must give way in the event some believe their feelings are harmed by such speech. Indeed, as President Wagner stated in a recent campus-wide e-mail in response to the student-led protest, it is now Emorys policy to recognize the calls to provide a safe environment. Freely expressing a constitutionally protected right, in Wagners view, creates an unsafe environment. Let the implications sink in. No longer does Emory University serve as a beacon of intellectual diversity attracting some of the best and brightest young adults from across the world, much as it attracted us. Instead, Emory has become just another school in the well-documented pattern of universities that have surrendered to the demands of a vocal few that emotional comfort, ideological conformity and yes, safe environments trump fundamental notions of free speech. Critical thinking and exposure to other opinions are unwanted. But this does not have to be how the story ends. It is vitally important that we respond to this trend by reaffirming our foundational notions of freedom. Unfortunately, President Wagner and Emory University have thus far failed to rise to the challenge. We call for President Wagner and the full administrative body of Emory University to publicly acknowledge the intrinsic value of free speech and the right of all to engage in spirited political debate. By letting a small cadre of overly sensitive students effect a hecklers veto on a universal right, President Wagner and Emory University have contributed to the erosion of fundamental freedom in this country. It is incumbent on all to fight to protect free speech, especially speech that might be unpopular or viewed by some as dangerous. And fight we will. The Washington Post reports that a Muslim Democrat running for a U.S. House seat in Nevada says Harry Reid encouraged him to end his campaign because a Muslim cannot win this race. Reid reportedly made this statement during a private meeting last year. Reids spokeswoman confirms that the meeting took place but denies that her boss made such a comment. She calls the candidate Jesse Sbaih a liar. Immediately following the meeting Sbaih sent an email to a top Reid aide. He wrote: As an American citizen who deeply loves his country, I am profoundly disheartened and saddened that the Democratic Party is refusing to accept a candidate like me because of my religion and ethnicity. Its distressing to hear that my religion and ethnicity somehow disqualify me from running for a congressional seat despite everything that I have accomplished and contributed to our country and its people. Reids aide responded: [T]his was never about the Democratic Party not embracing your ethnicity or religion.it was about how to create a path and a base of support so you could withstand the attacks that we knew would inevitably come from the opposing side. The path that, in the words of Reids aide, would ultimately help you in your long term political and professional goals consisted of being appointed to some commission in lieu of running for Congress. Did Reid tell Sbaih that he shouldnt run for Congress because, as a Muslim, his prospects of winning were poor? Jon Ralston, the dean of Nevada political reporters, says the man who has a gaffe catalog thicker than War and Peace will have a hard time getting people to believe hes not capable of saying it. Whatever Reids precise words, it was clearly Sbaihs takeaway that he shouldnt run because of his religion. Reid will have an even a harder time convincing people that this isnt what he intended to convey. Theres actually nothing wrong with the kind of political calculation that Reid stands accused of engaging in. Why shouldnt he, as Party boss, discourage the candidacy of a man who, for whatever reason, is unlikely to succeed? Only in the twisted world of political correctness is Reids sentiment, however he expressed it, problematic. But if its a problem for Reid, and for Democrats hoping to win the open seat Sbaih seeks, how can we complain? Mohamed Farah is one of the ten Minnesota men charged with seeking to join ISIS; his case is set for trial along with four others before Judge Michael Davis in federal court in Minneapolis in May. Yesterday Judge Davis entered a somewhat cryptic order. The order states that on March 25 prosecutors notified Farahs counsel of their intent to introduce testimony and and evidence at rial in which a member of Mohamed Farahs defense team, Sheikh Hassan Jami, is referenced by a coconspirator apparently preaching about jihad and related topics. Based on the notice, Judge Davis has ordered that the prosecutors file a motion and supporting memoranda to inquire as to whether there are grounds to disqualify counsel Murad M. Mohamud and P. Chinedu Nwaneri and/or Sheikh Hassan Jami before noon today. The other parties are to file responses. The matter is set for a hearing before Judge Davis on Friday afternoon. The Star Tribune story on Judge Daviss order and related background is here. What is going on here? It is not clear to me. One Farah defense team member is the source of the issue. Judge Davis gives his name as Sheikh Hassan Jami. The Star Tribune gives his name as Sheikh Hassan Ali Mohamud Jami. The Sheikhs home base, the Minnesota Dawah Institute, gives his name as Imam Hassan Jaamici Mohamud. Check out Mohamuds resume here. Mohamud was born in Somalia. He memorized the Koran at the age of thirteen. He is an expert in Islamic law. In 2009 the local FOX affiliate found Mohamud advising Muslims to avoid the hellfire that comes with living in America. Mohamud is not listed on Judge Daviss order as one of Farahs lawyers. Mohamud is a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul (now Mitchell Hamline College of Law). It is not apparent to me that Mohamud is licensed to practiced law in Minnesota. What is Mohamud doing on Farahs defense team? Nwaneri lists him as a member of his firm here; the Nwaneri firms listing does not state that Mohamud is licensed to practice law in the United States. Mohamud explained to the Star Tribune that jihad is indeed preached in Islam, but its not what you think: We dont believe jihad is killing civilians. We dont believe jihad is disrupting the lives of normal people. Mohamud added: It is protecting innocent people who are now struggling in Syria, those who are helpless and who [President] Bashar [Assad] is now slaughtering. Whether or not jihad includes joining ISIS is apparently beyond the limits of the Star Tribunes curiosity, as is the meaning of the word innocent in Mohamuds lexicon. The Star Tribunes story adds an oblique reference to the Countering Violent Extremism program that I wrote about here in the Weekly Standard and here in the Star Tribune: Last month, Mohamud was uninvited from a behind-the-scenes security tour with about 50 imams and other members of the Muslim community at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport [!]. He has said he believed that action came in response to his critiques of Minnesotas federal pilot project aimed at stemming terror recruitment. In a long article on the CVE program, the Guardian quotes Mohamud: For the US attorneys office, the office thats supposed to prosecute people, to join social service initiatives, that creates a lot of suspicion among the community. The Star Tribune story refers to a behind the scenes airport security tour for local members of the Muslim community. Reading the story, my printable reaction is youve got to be kidding me. The tour is another one of the many loose ends related to the case. This morning I sent the Metropolitan Airports Commission a request for information regarding the tour. Im sure those of us who frequent the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport would find it of interest. The tour, however, is also apparently beyond the limits of the Star Tribunes curiosity. As for the matter involving Imam Hassan Jaamici Mohamud pending before Judge Davis, we will have to check back on Friday. UPDATE: Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Patrick Hogan promptly responds: The MAC was not involved in the tour. It was conducted by federal agencies working at MSP. Im not sure whether Customs and Border Protection or the Transportation Security Administration was the lead on the tour, but it was a federal event, not a MAC event, so I dont have details or even know who was invited. As I say above, youve got to be kidding me. Yesterday President Obama spoke at the annual ceremony in Washington to present Syracuse Universitys Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting in honor of the late New York Times reporter Robin Toner. Obama used the occasion to rebuke of the campaign reporting that has allowed Donald Trump to receive nearly $2 billion worth of free media since last summer, without allowing for a critical assessment of Trumps policy positions, as Pete Kasperowicz reports the Washington Examiner. The guy who held himself out as a messiah for nonbelievers in 2008 said: When people put their faith in someone who cant possibly deliver on his or her promises, that only breeds more cynicism. The guy who founded his signature program on a barrage of demonstrable lies said: When our elected officials and our political campaigns become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesnt matter whats true and whats not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations. Investors Business Dailys Andrew Malcolm has more here. PR-Inside.com: 2016-03-29 21:23:51 Press Information Tallinn University of Technology Akadeemia tee 15a Jaan Raik Coordinator +3726202257 email http://www.h2020-immortal.eu # 407 Words Akadeemia tee 15aCoordinator+3726202257 Computers have become an inseparable part of our everyday life and their presence is only expected to increase in the years to come. There will be more than 30 billion computing devices connected to the internet by the year 2020. As of today, a vast majority of computers are deployed as embedded, networked systems interacting with the physical environment via sensors and actuators. This has given a rise to a new engineering paradigm of cyber-physical systems integrating the physics, control and computer science views.Modern cyber-physical systems constitute a central part of many safety-critical (automotive, avionics, nuclear), mission-critical (space), and business-critical (industry automation) applications, where failures can have catastrophic consequences. Needless to say, reliability, correct operation as well as extensive lifetime of such systems is of utmost importance. While there exist pioneering CAD software tools for cyber-physical systems development, the aspects of reliable design, verification and debug have been so far largely neglected.To overcome this gap, EUs Horizon 2020 launched a Research and Innovation Action IMMORTAL, where a consortium of leading European experts join forces to develop new computer architectures and a framework of software tools for designing reliable cyber-physical systems. In IMMORTAL, competence of DLRs Institute of Space Systems on modeling space and avionics systems is combined with the verification and debug know-how from Graz University of Technology, Austria. The reliable hardware architecture ties together many-core systems from Recore Systems, The Netherlands, fault management infrastructure from Testonica Lab, Estonia, reliability analysis and verification from IBM Israel, and analog monitors for keeping track of the systems health status from University of Twente, The Netherlands. The project is coordinated by the research group of dependable multi-core systems of Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.IMMORTAL will develop holistic reliability modeling and analysis, across multiple layers, starting from the operating system down to the physical implementation of the system. A new fault management infrastructure will be created enabling rapid fault recovery and life-time extension for future cyber-physical systems. Last but not least, verification solutions allowing automated localization and correction of bugs in models of such systems will be introduced.All this contributes to the ambitious overall objective of cutting the development and maintenance expenses for cyber-physical systems by 30% and 40%, respectively. IMMORTAL will last for 3 years and is supported by EU with 4 Million Euros, just a fraction of the costs it is expected to save for the society as a result of its research.More information: www.h2020-immortal.eu An Igando Customary Court in Lagos on Tuesday dissolved a three-year old marriage between Morufu Ajao and his wife, Abosede, over threat to life and frequent beating of the mans mother. Delivering his judgment, president of the court, Adegboyega Omilola, said he was convinced that the couple could no longer live together. Mr. Omilola said despite several attempts to reconcile the couple, the petitioner insisted on divorce. The court has no choice than to dissolve the union, in spite of the fact that the wife still claims she loves her husband. The petitioner insists on getting a divorce. Both parties are no longer husband and wife, as the marriage has broken down totally, they are free to go their separate ways, Mr. Omilola ruled. Morufu, 33, an herbal practitioner, filed a suit to end his marriage over his wifes frequent beating of his mother and threat to life. My wife beat up my mother and tore her clothes to rags; shes always cursing and abusing her, calling her a witch and telling people that my mother always fly in the night, he said. The petitioner also said that he gave his wife money to terminate her second pregnancy because he doubted the paternity of the unborn baby. I gave my wife money to abort her pregnancy because she used to leave home without my consent to unknown destinations and would come back after 21 days or 30 days. She may even tell me she was going to her parents place, but, after some days, I will call her parents, they will tell me they did not see her. So, when she came back home and told me that she was pregnant, I doubted it. I gave her N7, 000 to terminate it. She collected the money, lied to me that she had done it, but never did it, Morufu said. He described his wife as a violent and aggressive woman. My wife is a violent woman, she used to hit me any time we had a misunderstanding, and that always prompted me to beat her up, Morufu said. He equally told the court that his wife was fetish. On three occasions, I came back from work and saw salt sprinkled all over the house, the petitioner said. Abosede, however, denied all the allegations. She said that the misunderstanding between her and her husband was due to her refusal to terminate her second pregnancy. My husband gave me money to abort my baby; I collected the money but used it for another thing. When he later discovered that I did not carry out the abortion, he started beating me and moved my belongings into the kitchen. He later left the house to an unknown destination. It was my neighbours that gave me money to feed till I gave birth to my baby, Abosede said. The 30-year old mother of two also denied either beating or tearing her mother-in-laws clothes. She pleaded with the court not to grant her husbands request for the dissolution of their marriage. I am still in love with him, Abosede said. (NAN) The President of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council, Bernard Aliu, has arrived in Nigeria on an official visit. This is contained in a statement issued by the General Manager, Public Relations, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Sam Adurogboye, on Tuesday in Lagos. According to the statement, Mr. Aliu will hold a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa. Other programmes lined up during the visit include a meeting with stakeholders in the aviation industry. The ICAO President, prior to his election on Nov. 18, 2013, served for eight years as the ICAO Councils Nigeria Representative. He was Director of Air Transport Regulation at the NCAA from 2000 to 2004, after succeeding Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez of Mexico, the statement reads. During Mr. Alius 2014 to 2016 triennium, ICAO established five comprehensive strategic objectives namely Safety, Air Navigation Capacity and Efficiency, Security and Facilitation, Economic Development of Air Transport and Environment Protection. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ICAO has 191 member countries and Nigeria is currently represented at the council by Martins Nwafor. (NAN) In my previous blog post I reviewed the results of a poll asking journalists if they used two-factor authentication to protect Twitter accounts from being hacked. But the importance of robust security isnt limited to personal Twitter accounts. After the poll, I spoke with contacts at 31 news outlets around the worldincluding some of the largest international outlets, prominent news websites, and local newspapersas well as six human rights and freedom of expression organizations, and a renowned journalism school about their views on social media security and two-factor authentication. [For security reasons, the organizations with whom CPJ spoke are not being named.] Many of the contacts with whom I spoke said that two-factor authentication had not been enabled because of the difficulties in locking a shared Twitter account to a single phone. This should not be an impediment. A step-by-step guide for setting up two-factor authentication for shared accounts can be found at the end of this blog post. Out of the 31 media companies, only six said that two-factor authentication is in use to protect the companys official Twitter accounts. One contactwho is based in South Asiasaid his company had not previously considered hacking a real risk, but after recent incidents decided to enable two-factor authentication. Contacts at 19 other organizations said either that their companies didnt use two-factor authentication or had never heard of it. Another six were willing to talk in general about security practices, such as selecting strong passwords, but did not discuss specifics of protecting social media accounts. Of the human rights and freedom of expression organizations I talked to, only one said their company uses it. The journalism school did not. Several of the contacts at U.S.-based news outlets I spoke with said that their company pays for a third party service to protect the official social media accounts. These services offer features such as locking a Twitter account if there is suspicious activity. Even if a newsroom decides to use a third party, it should still enable two-factor authentication on the Twitter account and ensure that the third party company it uses offers two-factor authentication capability. The number of outlets I spoke to may not be enough to be representative, but the answers are useful. I was expecting the results to be similar to the poll, where journalists in North America and Western Europe were more likely to know what two-factor authentication is. Instead, of the six organizations that use two-factor authentication, only one was in the U.S. The rest were in South Asia and the Americas. Contacts at some of these international companies told me they rely on two-factor authentication not only on Twitter, but on every critical service that offers it. One of the things that struck me was that although news outlets increasingly use social media to share reports or break news, security appears to often be overlooked. Several of the social media editors with whom I spoke said beyond setting a strong password, they had never heard from managers about the need to protect social media accounts. At the U.S.-based company that uses two-factor authentication, it was the social media editor with whom I spoke who had taken the initiative to enable the protection on the official accounts. The editor said management didnt offer security-related recommendations for the accounts. It would appear that social media editors who use two-factor authentication are typically doing so because they personally believe it is important. The easiest way to enable two-factor authentication on shared accounts is by using the teams feature on TweetDeck and then using the app to manage and run the account. With this process, each team member uses their personal Twitter login to access TweetDeck. This allows multiple users to manage and run a shared account from TweetDeck, eliminating the need for team members to log into the shared account directly. TweetDeck, which is an official Twitter app, can be accessed in a browser at https://tweetdeck.twitter.com, through the Chrome App or as a desktop app. The main account user creates team members by adding Twitter users as contributors or administrators of the shared account. Other Twitter management apps exist, but be sure to check whether they offer two-factor authentication before using them to manage an official account. Three steps to Twitter protection for teams 1. Use TweetDeck to log into the shared Twitter account. Add the personal Twitter handles of selected team members. (Twitters product manager Amy Zima goes into greater about the process here.) 2. Enable two-factor authentication, also known as login verification in the shared Twitter.com accounts settings. 3. Ensure every TweetDeck team member enables two-factor authentication on their personal accounts via the Twitter.com settings. Keep in mind Enabling two-factor authentication means the shared Twitter account will be linked to one staff members phone. That employee will be the only person who can access the account via Twitter.com. However, once a shared account is being run on TweetDeck, there is rarely a need to log into Twitter.com. Either a cell phone number or a Google Voice number can be used to accept the two-factor authentication codes sent by Twitter. Ensure two-factor authentication is activated on the Google account if using the Google Voice method. In cases where journalists or outlets are concerned about receiving authentication codes from Twitter via SMS, a Google Voice number is the best option. Because no cellphone carriers are involved in this method, it eliminates the risk of authorities requesting access to phone logs, which could also provide access to the social media account. For more details on cellphone security, see CPJs Journalist Security Guide Remember, everyone will log into TweetDeck using their personal Twitter account. Each team member has delegated access to the shared account, allowing users to tweet from both their personal and the shared account. After enabling two-factor authentication on Twitter.com, the main account holder should generate a backup code. That code is the only way to get into the Twitter account if the phone is lost or stolen. Also remember that as long as two-factor authentication is turned on, you must have access to that phone number or, if using Google Voice, the number must remain active. If the primary account users number changes, the settings in the shared Twitter account must be updated before access to the original number is lost. If you dont have access to the phone or Google Voice account and forgot to generate a backup code, even a password reset wont help you get back in. SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists The man who hijacked a domestic flight heading from Cairo to Alexandria has been arrested, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry has said. The man, a university professor, who claimed to be wearing an explosive vest, forced the plane to land in Larnaca, in neighbouring Cyprus. The hijacker then asked to see his ex-wife in Cyprus. Its over, Cypriot authorities said at 2:41 p.m. Authorities said all passengers on the plane were freed unhurt after hours of stand-off. After the last seven or eight passengers were freed, the hijackers reportedly surrendered. Egypts Civil Aviation Ministry, had, in a statement, said that the pilot, Omar al-Gammal, informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger, who possessed a suicide belt, and forced him to land in Larnaca. President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday urged the South Sudanese Government to invest more in agriculture and not to solely depend on oil revenues to grow the nations economy. A statement issued by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said Mr. Buhari made the call when he received the outgoing South Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Makuet Riak, in Abuja. Mr. Buhari said that South Sudan should avoid the mistake made by Nigeria in her over-reliance on oil revenue. The president told the outgoing envoy that Nigerias economy, which was heavily dependent on oil over the years, had been adversely affected by the drop in global oil prices. Investing in sustainable agriculture is one of the best ways to provide jobs for the people and keep the nation productive. Food security is important to any country and that is what we are trying to achieve here, years after we `threw away agriculture for oil, he said. The president also praised the excellent relations between Nigeria and South Sudan and reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening existing bilateral ties. In his remarks, Mr. Riak described his four-year duty tour as his countrys first ambassador to Nigeria as very fruitful. He said South Sudan was blessed with fertile land and would welcome more investments from Nigerian companies. (NAN) An estimated 10,000 local hunters from the North-east of Nigeria gathered recently in Adamawa State for their annual oath-taking festival, known as Salala in the local parlance. The hunters, dressed in their warfare attires, and with their Dane guns dangling over their shoulders, vowed to rid the society of criminals. They appealed to the government to make use of their members in the fight against terrorism and other social vices. The leader of the hunters in Adamawa, Muhammad Tola, who claimed the hunters had so far played significant roles in the fight against Boko Haram, said hunters were familiar with the terrain in dreaded forests, like the Sambisa forest. We are ready to pursue the terrorists because we know the terrain very well, Mr. Tola said. We are appealing to the military authorities to allow us join the fight against Boko Haram at the Sambisa forest. Mr. Tola said the hunters needed the government to assist them with ammunition, transportation and logistics. He said the government could also enlist young hunters who were willing to join the army, police, and other security agencies. We remain one big family devoid of religious or tribal sentiments, that is why you can see over 10,000 hunters from Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, Yoba and Adamawa converged for this epoch-making event, Mr. Tola said. Female hunters also participated in the Salala festival. The leader of the female hunters, Aisha Bakari Gombi, said securing the society was a fight for everyone, irrespective of gender. This is a clarion call. We all must make sacrifices, she said. Babangida Muhammad, the Sarkin Gida, who represented the Paramount Ruler of Adamawa, Muhammadu Mustapha, in the festival, said there was need for government to engage the services of the hunters and other vigilantes in the fight against social vices. Hunters in Borno State had on January 3 called on the military to allow them join the war against Boko Haram insurgents in the dreaded Sambisa Forest. We are appealing to the military authorities to allow us join the fight against Boko Haram at the Sambisa forest, Mai-Gana Mai-Durma, the Borno Emir of the Hunters, made the appeal in Maiduguri while addressing journalists at the time. We are ready to pursue the terrorists because we know the terrain very well. Mr. Mai-Durma said that the military should align them with members of the vigilante group, popularly known as the Civilian JTF, for effective result. We will overrun Sambisa in partnership with members of the civilian JTF if given the opportunity, he said. The Adamawa State Government had in November 2014 announced that it was officially enlisting the services of local hunters and vigilantes, called Civilian JTF, to liberate communities captured by Boko Haram insurgents. Shortly afterwards the local hunters were reported to have recaptured Maiha and Mubi local governments, killing at least 75 Boko Haram militants in the process. The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has apologised to Nigerians for his comments last week that the current petrol scarcity will continue till May, and that only magic could bring a quicker end to the crisis that has already stretched beyond a month. Speaking to journalists last Wednesday at the presidential villa, Mr. Kachikwu had said he had no magic wand to make fuel available overnight. The minister said the scarcity may persist for two more months as oil produced in the refineries would not be sold but kept in a strategic reserve. One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician, but I am working very hard to ensure some of these issues go away, Mr. Kachikwu said. He said the government was already working magic to make limited quantity of fuel available in the country given the foreign exchange crisis. So it is quite frankly sheer magic that we even have the amount of product at the stations, he said. We are looking to see how to get foreign exchange input. Mr. Kachikwu came under fire for his comments, drawing scathing criticisms from many Nigerians, including a senior leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, who said the comments were insulting to the Nigerians facing hardship daily to get petrol. Many Nigerians also backed the minister for delivering a frank message that lacked the usual political pretence. At a meeting with the Senate Committee on Petroleum on Tuesday, the minister apologised for his remarks, the News Agency of Nigeria reports. He also assured that fuel queues will disappear across the nation by April. Why we dont have fuel The minister said while fuel scarcity will definitely end by April, Nigerians may have to wait till May for major revolution in the availability of the products. Explaining why there is no immediate solution to the fuel scarcity, Mr. Kachikwu said 90 per cent of Nigerian depots were not functional. Most fuel products into Nigeria come from Europe and it takes 14 days for fuel to land here, he said. On how to improve the productivity of the depots, he said the government would engage consultants to manage the depots. Advertisement to engage the consultants for management of the depots would start soon, Mr. Kachikwu said. He said the NNPC had doubled its usual supply to Abuja but scarcity remained. Mr. Kachikwu emphasized that refineries must function optimally in order to achieve efficiency in distribution. Refineries in Nigeria are old and dilapidated but with appropriate funds and retooling they will be revived to full capacity, Mr. Kachikwu said. " " Would your feelings about e-mail change if you had to pay a miniscule tax on it? iStockphoto/Thinkstock Free e-mail is too good to be true anyway, right? But can the government find a way to crash the party and slap taxes all over those puppy pictures you just zipped to grandma's AOL account? Someone has to pay for all of these traffic lights and cruise missiles, you know. With headline after headline sounding the death knell for the cash-hemorrhaging U.S. Postal Service, it's almost easy to see the logic of an e-mail tax. Apply just the tiniest toll to a few of the 145 billion e-mails that zing through the Internet each day, and you could conceivably stave off the Postal Service's imminent demise -- with enough left over to add to the structure of the Internet itself to make it faster and more efficient [source: Mashable]. So steel yourselves. A tax on e-mail may be inevitable and coming sooner rather than later. Advertisement Only it's not, really. The panicked myth of an e-mail tax has been around almost as long as the Web. Its origins are a blend of partial truth mixed with the viral appeal of a digital chain letter. In 1997, Arthur Cordell, a former information technology adviser for the Canadian government, proposed the idea of a bit tax. The concept basically taxed people on the amount of information they send and receive via the Internet. A couple of years later, the United Nations Development Programme released its Human Development Report, which included a mention of a so-called bit tax. For every 100 e-mails per day, there would be a tax of just one cent. By the report's estimates in 1996, this tax would have raised an astounding $70 billion [source: UNDP]. Just think of all of the good things the governments of the world could do with that kind of cash. It's a whole lot of traffic lights. That tax never came to be, of course, because it didn't gain the kind of support it would need to overcome the many political and logistical obstacles involved. Keep reading, though. We'll share more e-mail tax proposals -- some silly ... and some that are more serious. President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assured Nigerians that his administration would take decisive steps to cushion the suffering of Nigerians in the days ahead. Speaking in Abuja at the 8th Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium: Agriculture: Action, Work, Revolution, Mr. Buhari, who has faced growing criticisms lately, said in the coming months Nigerians would see actions taken by the 10-month old administration to address the multifarious challenges facing the nation. The event, which Mr. Buhari chaired, was organized to mark the 64 birthday of a national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu. In the coming months, Nigerians will see much more actions, the president said. Government will continue to invest substantially in human capital development and this is just the beginning. We are going to hold ourselves accountable. We will measure results. There will always be some skepticism, some have even become disorientated and impatient enough to think that barriers are insurmountable. Anyone who claims great change is impossible can only look as an ordinary success. Mr. Buhari demanded the cooperation of Nigerians in the task of governance, saying We can achieve more with partnership that link up and scale up our respective efforts. I am declaring that we need a new approach that challenges more states and local governments, more organisation, companies and non-governmental organisations and individuals, some of the younger people who are here to step up and play a role because government cannot and should not do it alone. All hands should be on deck,Mr. Buhari said. The president praised Mr. Tinubu for his commitment and zealousness to the development of the country. According to him, there are very few patriots alive today that could match the commitment, zealous, creativity that Bola Tinubu has demonstrated in his contribution to national growth. Mr. Buhari also praised the organizers of the colloquium, especially on the choice of agriculture as its theme. He said it was the intention of the federal government to create enabling environment that would bring viability on the economic potentials of the private sector. He said, We intend to organize an efficient market infrastructure that will make agriculture viable for investors. We are providing an enabling environment so as to ensure certainty and predictability for the private sector. We intend to also ensure that the market is fair and worth to transform small holder farmers from beggars to businessmen, the president said. Furthermore, we are going to keep focusing on improved nutrition for children. We know the effects of hunger and poor nutrition can last a life time. Children are thrown out of school to earn a living. The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said its officer kidnapped on Sunday has been killed by his abductors. The Nigerian Army wishes to regrettably inform the public that Colonel Samaila Inusa, who was kidnapped on Sunday 27th March 2016, was found dead today at about 6.00pm, spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, said in a statement. Preliminary investigation revealed that most likely the late senior officer was killed same day he was kidnapped by his abductors. This is because the body was found already decomposing around Ajyaita village off Eastern Bypass Kaduna, Kaduna State. Arrangements are in progress to move the body to 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna. May His soul rest in peace, Amen. We wish to state in unmistakeable terms that whoever is behind his abduction and murder would be fished out to face the full wrath of the law. Mr. Inusa, a colonel, was seized in his Mercedes-Benz car by gunmen around Kamazo, along Kaduna Refinery Road, in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State on Sunday. A statement by the 1 Division of the Army had said the abductors dropped off Colonel Inusas wife and left with him in his car. The car headed towards Abuja. On Sunday, the Army offered a N500,000 reward for anyone with useful information that could lead to the rescue of Mr. Inusa. The following day, army authorities raised the reward offer to one million naira, promising to give adequate protection to anyone who provided useful information, and that such tip-off would be treated with utmost confidentiality. There were reports in Thisday newspaper on Sunday quoting an intelligence officer as saying the abduction of the officer might be a revenge mission by the Shiite Islamic sect against the Army over the deadly clash with the group in Zaria last year. But the group swiftly responded, denying responsibility for the abduction of the Colonel. In a statement on Monday by Ibrahim Musa, the President, Media Forum of the group, said the report linking the Shiites to the abduction was false, unsubstantiated and mischievous claim, that looks more like a planned operation aimed at painting the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) black. Mr. Musa added, We wish to categorically state here that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria under the leadership of His Eminence, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky has never, is not and will never engage in any form of crime to meet any of its objectives. Crime and criminal activities are fundamentally sinful and are not in our character. The Islamic Movement knows that due to official administrative ineptitude and official negligence of constituted authority, a lot of crimes including kidnapping are prevalent in the country. The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors says ministries, departments, agencies and the Nigerian Army are owing the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) N60 billion from 2015 to February. Sunday Oduntan, the Executive Director of the group, said this on Tuesday at a news conference. He said the army owed Benin DISCO N2.3 billion; Eko, N1.9 billion; Ikeja, N1.6 billion; Jos, N2 billion; Kaduna, N6.6 billion; Kano, N301 million; Port Harcourt, N1.3 billion and Yola, N435 million. Mr. Oduntan said out of the N60 billion owed to the companies, armys total debt stood at N15 billion. He expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, particularly with the army. He pleaded with President Muhammad Buhari to assist the distribution companies to ensure that the army paid its energy bills. According to him, power sector requires $40 billion to ensure adequate, reliable and stable power supply in the country. He added that the companies had improved on their facilities by installing smart prepaid meters, taken customers enumeration and installing new technologies for adequate electricity. Mr. Oduntan explained that the DISCOs had made adequate plans to ensure safety in the electricity industry, adding that the facilities in the sector could absorb new 10,000 megawatts, if generated. He expressed concern that many customers did not want to pay their electricity bills, adding that this was hampering the sector. Mr. Oduntan urged electricity consumers to settle their bills as this would help to develop the sector. (NAN) The FCT Police Command said it had rescued an eight-year-old boy, Prosper Arinze, who was kidnapped recently. This is contained in statement issued by the commands Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manzah, in Abuja on Tuesday. It said the suspected kidnappers of the boy had also been arrested. Arinze, a primary two pupil of China Assisted School, Nyanya, FCT, was kidnapped on March 11 after closing at school by two suspects aged 24 and 23. The statement said the kidnappers had contacted the father and demanded for a ransom of about N1 million before the victim would be released. It said on receipt of the complaint, the FCT Commissioner of Police set up a Joint Rescue and Investigation Team headed by the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID). It said for the safety of the victim, the police couldnt arrest the suspects until the victim was released. Working on clues and other intelligent leads gathered during the cause of investigation into the matter, the two suspects mentioned above were trailed and arrested in Masaka and Auta Balefi in Nasarawa State, it said. The statement further said that during interrogation, both suspects confessed to the offence. The principal suspect who is an electrical apprentice to the second suspect confessed to the Police how he masterminded the kidnapping and how the ransom money was shared between the two of them. I am happy to inform you that the victim was rescued safely and arrangement is being concluded to recover the ransom money from the identified bank accounts operated by the two suspects for the purpose, it said. The statement said the suspects would be arraigned in court on completion of investigation. It enjoined parents and guardians to be vigilant and pay more attention to the way and manner their children and wards were being taken to and from school. Schools are also advised to go a step further and work together with the parents to ensure adequate safety of their pupils and students. I wish to assure that the FCT Police Command will continue to work with stakeholders in school administration in the FCT to further strengthen the security arrangement already in place for the safety and security of pupils and students in all schools throughout the territory, the statement said. (NAN) The Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the real threat to the security of Nigeria and its people. The major threat to national security is a party that lost election since June 21, 2014 and still trying to get back to power, using crude means including turning itself to the mouthpiece of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Special Assistant to the Ekiti State Governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said in a statement Monday. Mr. Olayinka, who reacted to a statement by the APC in Ekiti State that Mr. Fayose was a threat to national security, said it is only in Nigeria that a party that ran Ekiti State aground in four years and was rejected in six straight elections by the people can still be talking. He said; The question that Nigerians must ask the APC Spokesperson in Ekiti State, Taiwo Olatunbosun is whether he now doubles as the DSS spokesperson. In the last three weeks, everything the APC speculated that the DSS was going to do was exactly what the security agency did and that has reinforced the belief that the DSS was working in collaboration with the APC in Ekiti State to destabilise the Fayose-led government. It is also a fact that the chairman of APC in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe who is standing trial for murder was hosted to a dinner in the Presidential Villa while TKO Aluko on whose bench warrant was issued for alleged perjury is going about with armed security men. The governors spokesperson said no organisation is qualified as a threat to the security of Nigeria other than the APC that was compromising major government institutions, including DSS such that functionaries of the party were now the ones telling the security agency who to arrest and detained indefinitely in Ekiti State. He said a party like the APC that its government kept silent when over 400 Agatus were killed by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State and women were raped, farmlands destroyed by the herdsmen in other parts of the country cannot be anything other than threat to national security. Or what should Nigeria call a party that caused the murder of over 20 Nigerians, including Youth Corp member in Bayelsa and Rivers States just because of desperation to win elections? When you try to truncate democratically elected government, deny Nigerians rights to fair hearing by detaining them indefinitely and disobey court orders, while also failing to conduct free and fair elections, what is such a government inviting other than breakdown of law and order? And what should such a party in power be called other than security threat to Nigeria? Mr. Olayinka counselled leaders of the APC in Ekiti State, especially former governor, Kayode Fayemi to stop falling prey to political 419, whom he said were collecting millions of Naira from them, claiming to be helping them to fight Governor Fayose, adding that; The APC leaders should ask themselves what result they have achieved since they started investing their money in this Fayose must go agenda immediately after they were defeated in the entire 16 Local Councils in the State. Instead of lavishing millions of Naira on TKO Aluko and others, they should rather use such money to empower the remnants of their party members in Ekiti State who are in dire need of financial help. Ladan Salihu, the immediate past Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), has unveiled plan to venture into private broadcasting. Mr. Salihu made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi after a reception organised by the Illelah Development Association in his honour. The industry is part of my life; journalism, the media, the press, and broadcast journalism especially, is in my DNA. It is something that I will live to cherish, to practise, till the very last day of my life. I want to assure you that the chapter has closed in public broadcasting and another chapter will soon open in private broadcasting in my life. I do not have a retirement date as a broadcaster. As a public servant, like I say, the chapter is closed and glory be to Allah, the most high, for the privilege to serve and for all the challenges that one has had to face and for giving one the capacity and the ability to surmount them. Mr. Salihu spoke about what he seeks to achieve by delving into private broadcasting. He said, My job as a journalist is to rise above sentiments in whatever situation I find myself. Mr. Salihu was sacked on Feb. 15 alongside 26 other chief executives of some federal agencies and parastatals. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr. Salihu was appointed DG despite evidence showing he was involved in questionable activities. Before his appointment, he had served as Zonal Director of the Kaduna National Station of Radio Nigeria. (NAN) A group that claims political alliance with a former Lagos state governor, Bola Tinubu, says it will raise N64 billion as a birthday gift for Mr. Tinubu, but said the money will go into helping less privileged Nigerians, including the physically challenged, internally displaced persons and the aged. The group, All Progressives Congress Urban-Rural Self Employment and Poverty Eradication Nationwide, said the initiative would help in alleviating poverty in the country. The chairman of the group, Daniel Mwanmut, said in a press statement Tuesday in Jos, Plateau State, that the initiative was to mark Mr. Tinubus 64th birthday, celebrated on Tuesday. APCURSEPEN programme is aimed at boosting investment in masses-oriented housing scheme for workers pensioners, farmers Artisans, traders transporters, physically challenged persons (IDPs) especially in northern Nigeria and particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa and Kaduna states, in view of the ungodly activities of Boko Haram insurgents, cattle rustlers and communal violence, the group said. It added that, APCURSEPEN programme is aimed at mobilizing wealthy members of the All Progressives Congress and public-spirited individuals to support creating self-employment opportunities for our youth and to boost poverty eradication in the 774 local Government Areas in Nigeria. The statement also said the facility would be accessed through Mr. Tinubus cooperative society, Made Easy Cooperative Society ABATHOME. The group said it would organise other events including musical concert and sporting activities to raise funds. President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja for Washington DC tomorrow, Wednesday, to join President Barack Obama and about 60 other world leaders and heads of international organisations at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit which opens there on Thursday, presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, has said. Mr. Adesina said in a statement that at plenary sessions of the summit, which is dedicated to reinforcing international commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, President Buhari will insist that while Nigeria will continue to sustain that commitment, world powers must respect the right of other countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes. The president will reaffirm Nigerias stance that international efforts to ensure greater security of nuclear materials should maintain a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the indisputable right of Nigeria and other countries to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development. It will be recalled that at a meeting with him in Abuja earlier this month, President Buhari told the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, that the Federal Government will welcome greater support from the agency for Nigerias aspiration to begin the generation of electricity with nuclear energy, the statement said. While in Washington DC for the Nuclear Security Summit, Mr. Buhari and his delegation which includes Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, and the Director-General of Nigerias Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Lawrence Anikwe Dim, will also hold bilateral meetings with other participating Heads of Government and high-ranking United States Government officials. President Buhari will depart Washington DC for Abuja on Sunday. Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday said the All Progressives Congress (APC), is not in a position to win any election in the state. The governor, according to a statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, his special assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media, also alleged that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, was sponsoring violence to remain relevant politically. Governor Wike said with the proofs of corruption against Mr. Amaechi, the minister of transportation resorted to blackmailing the leadership of the All Progressives Congress that he would reveal to the public how much he invested in the partys campaign if he was not confirmed as a minister. This is even as the Senate Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, must release the collated results of the March 19, 2016 rerun elections. Speaking during a solidarity visit by the PDP Senate Caucus, Governor Wike said the Minister of Transportation lost his local government area and Federal Constituency, hence his desperation to influence the release of the results. He said: Any person who loves Mr President wont be causing unnecessary crisis for him. We have problem in the North East, problem in the South-East, so there is no need for another problem in the South-South . It is good that the elections were held so that Nigerians will know the truth about the polity. If elections are held 20 times, PDP will win. The governor decried the role played by soldiers during the rerun elections. He said the military were directly involved in the elections at polling units and at the collation centres in direct violation of the Electoral Act. He regretted the killing of the corps member, Samuel Okonta, during the rerun elections, but stressed that investigation into the type of bullet that killed him must be made public. He confirmed that the state government will immortalise the late corps member. Earlier, Senate Minority Leader and Leader of Senate PDP Caucus, Godswill Akpabio, said the victory recorded by the PDP in Rivers State is A clear case of justice being done by God. While describing Rivers State as peaceful, Mr. Akpabio, regretted the sponsored propaganda by the opposition to destroy the image of the state. He said there was no other political party in the state outside the PDP. He called for tolerance in the political space to allow for the sustenance of the states multiparty democracy. The high point of the visit was the donation of N1million by the Senate to the family of Mr. Okonta through Governor Wike. Mr. Akpabio prayed that Mr. Okontas death would be the last during elections. He also commiserated with the government and people of the state over the death of PDP members during the rerun elections. President Andrzej Duda during his visit to the United States in September 2015 Polish President Andrzej Duda during his three-day visit to the US starting Wednesday will attend a Nuclear Security Summit and meet with the presidents of Turkey, Georgia and Ukraine. Presidential Minister Krzysztof Szczerski has told PAP that Andrzej Duda's visit to Washington has two basic goals, the first being the participation in a meeting of several dozen state leaders and in a debate on the military and civilian aspects of nuclear security. "The second goal concerns Polish issues. The president will be meeting with influential Washington milieus to present the Polish point of view on international security and speak about our expectations towards the Warsaw NATO summit," Krzysztof Szczerski said. The president will start his visit with a meeting with experts and representatives of university circles at the National Press Club organised by the Centre for European Policy Analysis and the Atlantic Council. "This will be a major presentation of Poland's stance for Washington elites on how Poland perceives geopolitical questions," Minister Szczerski told PAP. The minister added that President Duda will also meet with the US media at the German Marshall Fund. "This will be a specially selected group of people dealing with international affairs," said the presidential aide. The president will also hold a separate meeting with Polish media and have several meetings with representatives of Polish circles in the US. Asked whether the president will take advantage of his meetings to explain recent changes in Poland, Krzysztof Szczerski noted that Andrej Duda is prepared and ready to offer explanations if such questions will be raised in the course of the planned meetings. (PAP) 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. President Andrzej Duda President Andrzej Duda has sent his condolences to Pakistan in connection with a suicide bombing that killed 72 people in Lahore, Pakistan. In a message to Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, the Polish head of state wrote that he was shocked by the information about the suicide bombing in Lahore in which so many innocent city residents had been killed. The president said he had been saddened by the fact that Pakistani Christians were the target of the attack on Easter Sunday. "We will never accept any act of terror, especially the most cruel one in which women and children are being murdered," the president said in the message. (PAP) Lally Weymouth's interview with President Andrzej Duda of Poland for the Washington Post was published on March 25, 2016. In the West, many are concerned about the battles here over the constitutional court. The previous Parliament appointed five judges, two perhaps improperly. You are a lawyer. Why didnt you swear in the other three judges, all of whom were ruled valid by the constitutional court? The answer is simple. The [new] Parliament had passed a resolution invalidating the five judges appointed by the prior government. So instead, in the middle of the night, you swore in four judges appointed by your partys government? The Parliament passed its decision before the constitutional court made its decision. The constitutional court has ruled that the parliaments decision is invalid. Your prime minister even refused to publish the courts ruling, which is actually illegal. The constitutional court in Poland has no authority to assess resolutions [of Parliament]. Youre saying that one independent branch of government, the court which is the equivalent of our Supreme Court has no authority here? According to the Polish constitution, the constitutional court does not have the authority to assess resolutions through which judges are nominated. Your party has a majority in Parliament. So it vetoed the appointment of the judges made by the previous Parliament without waiting for the court to rule, right? That was the decision made by the Polish Parliament, known as the Sejm. . . . Im sorry, but nobody has the competence to stop the Sejm from working. The Venice Commission, a European multilateral institution, ruled that the governments effort to alter the workings of the court endangered not only the rule of law but also democracy and human rights. If the constitutional court passed its judgment without looking at the resolution passed by the Polish Parliament, then by doing this it violated... Wait a minute. The court said the law was invalid. But still the law was in force. The constitutional court is bound by the binding law, and this is very clearly stipulated in Article 7 of the constitution. So are you arguing that the court has to abide by the very law it has declared illegal? ... Arent you taking away the courts independence? The independence of the constitutional court was not violated whatsoever. People in the West are concerned that Poland is sliding away from democratic standards. I think that if the public opinion in Western Europe and the United States had access to reliable information on how the current opposition tried to take ownership of the constitutional court last year, then it would be very clear about the essence of this dispute in Poland. Why should one branch namely Parliament be allowed by a simple majority to change the functioning of another independent branch? Because there was a deep violation of democratic rules by the former Parliament. It tried to take ownership of the constitutional court. Your partys government has basically taken over the public media. The former heads of the public media were dispensed with, and your partys members were put in charge. What do you think of that? I dont think that this situation is extraordinary, because after every election, the new government makes changes in the public media. The people who were working in the public media during the former government were nominated by the former authorities. There is no longer an independent prosecutor. The prosecutors role has now become part of the justice ministers portfolio. How do you feel about that? Such a solution was introduced in Poland after 1989, when we cast off the bonds of communism. This is connected with the responsibility of the government for the internal domestic situation security in the state and the public order. There is much curiosity about your party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski. My former party leader. Because the day after the elections, I resigned [from the party]. Well, the leader of the ruling party. It is said that Kaczynski, a former prime minister, is pulling the strings and is really the man in power in Poland, even though hes only a member of Parliament. Reportedly, you and the prime minister were chosen by him. Whats your relationship with him? Does he tell you what to do? People who were critical of me as a candidate running for the presidency will keep saying that I am not an independent president. But today, I am the president of the Republic of Poland. And any decisions I am taking, I am taking on my own responsibility. Okay, but can we talk about Kaczynski? In my reporting, its said here and in Washington that hes the most powerful man in Poland. He is the leader of the party that today has the majority in the Polish Parliament. However, Andrzej Duda is the president, and Beata Szydlo is the prime minister. I believe that both myself and Madame Prime Minister feel a personal responsibility for the issues we are dealing with and for which we are taking decisions. How big a threat do you think Russia poses to your country? I think that this question should be viewed from the perspective of the broader international context, not purely the Polish perspective. But do you worry about Russia? As far as Ukraine is concerned, I have no doubt that international law was violated decisively [by Moscow]. The territorial integrity of the country was infringed. Its hard not to be worried by this situation. Russia has many times violated international law over the last couple of years, from Georgia through Ukraine to Syria. All of that arouses obvious uncertainty. That is why I believe NATO should demonstrate that it [will] respond to the current situation. Does that mean stationing troops on Polish soil or troop rotation? I believe that NATO should strengthen its defensive potential in this part of Europe to such a degree as to make it absolutely clear that it does not pay off to launch an attack against any member state. Only the increased presence of NATO in Central and Eastern Europe can ensure real deterrence. Are you talking about the U.S. now? Of course, the United States is the biggest and strongest member of NATO. Are you saying the United States should have a base here? I would like to see a significantly increased presence of U.S. troops on our territory. One of the aims of your government seems to be to reopen the investigation of the tragic plane crash in which Kaczynskis brother, then-President Lech Kaczynski, was killed in 2010. Do you believe it was an assassination? So far, not all the evidence has been assessed, which makes it impossible to really investigate the case and at least try to reach the truth. The flight recorders and the wreckage of the plane have not been investigated by Polish scientists in a reliable way. The normal procedure in such cases is to try and reconstruct the wreckage of the plane in order to try and establish the reasons of the crash. In this particular case, this has not been done. There is still a lot to be explained. You said various things about refugees during your campaign that refugees shouldnt come here, that they would bring epidemics with them. Do you still feel that way? Today I believe that our basic duty is to help those people Im referring to refugees from Syria to make sure that peace comes back to their country so that they are able to have a stable life. Poland has never denied assistance, and if anyone needs such assistance, we are going to do so. Youre just about to go to the U.S. How do you see Polands relationship with the U.S.? The U.S. is a wonderful country and a big ally of Poland. I would like to make sure that the cooperation between Poland and the United States is as good as possible. ( Read 4092 Times) New Delhi: Steelbird Hi-Tech India known as a leading helmet brand for more than 5 decades has come up with an all new range of ultra-modern and authentic helmets. The range which is called the Ares A1(professional series) comprises of all the top most features that a well formed headgear should be made of.Being a bigwig of the helmet manufacturing industry worldwide, steelbird has now promised a whole new class of youth oriented and heavily designed and printed helmets with some contemporary and upto-date features. These ares A1 range are permeated with major eminent features like glowing even in the night, visor locking system and dazzling printed matt color finishing on the exterior front to provide the classy yet stylish look with full of comfort and ease.The Ares range has A1 Glossy, A1 track, A1 Race, A1 Royal, A1 Stroke, A1 Devil face, A1 Skull. The helmets are guarded with the premium ISI standards and a total excellence in the areas of:Flip up/Modular helmetSingle button flip-upVisor locking systemHelmet with Anti-theft ringUnbreakable polycarbonate anti-scratch visorShell material Hi-impact PC-ABS blendStainless Steel Micro-Metric European standard Buckle 3G38Designer strap with metal passante for size adjustmentPhase change technology 360 temperature control, sweat resistantAvailable in glossy and matt colorsPrice- Rs. 2999/-Mr. Shailendra Jain, Group Head-Sales & Marketing (Steelbird) Said, As we have already made our mark in the past 5 decades in the helmet industry, so we believe in approaching and analyzing the latest norms when it comes to the comfort and contentment of the helmet riders of the Country. This Ares range is specially designed by putting the security and style of the young bike riders in mind that will give them the unique fancy and modern look full of reliable features that will raise the standards of their well-being, class and most importantly security.As per Mr. Jain, The Ares professional series helmets are sure to bring in the high range features into the normal lives to change the ordinary point of view by which the people see a helmet. Now the people will get a chance to experience ultra protective safety gears which does not interfere with their style statement at all. LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a routine domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew. His surrender ended an hours-long drama and standoff at the Larnaca airport in southern Cyprus. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept seven people four crew members and three passengers with him. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane. Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker's surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was "over." The arrest was also reported by Egypt's prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi. "All passengers and crew are safe," Fathi said on state television. The man's motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism" and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man "seems (to be) in love." Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. "Always, there is a woman" involved, he replied, drawing laughter. A Cyprus police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to disclose details of the situation, says the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorist police. The official said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it. The Cypriot woman who the hijacker had asked to speak to is his former wife with whom he has four children, the police official said. The hijacker had also complained about the current Egyptian government and had demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails. A civil aviation official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to talk to the media, said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife. The flight MS181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on Tuesday morning en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes. There was also confusion about the hijacker's identity. At a news conference in Cairo, Egypt's Civil Aviation minister, Sharif Fathi, refused to identify him. Earlier, Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish said the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha's wife said her husband is not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the U.S. to attend a conference. The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV in a phone interview that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that supposedly showed the hijacker was not him. Later, the official Middle East News Agency gave a different name for the hijacker. Egypt's state news agency, MENA, later identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa. The name was confirmed by a senior Cypriot official. Al-Queish, the government spokesman, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry said the man claimed he had a belt with explosives. The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. The initial batch of passengers released by the hijacker were seen calmly walking off the plane down a set of stairs, carrying their hand luggage, and boarded a bus parked by the plane's side. Security was tight at the airport, with police repeatedly pushing back reporters and TV news crews working just outside the facility's fence, near where the aircraft stopped. Police also evacuated the nearby Makenzy beach, a stretch of coast close to the airport and popular with tourists. It was not immediately clear why. An Egyptian aircraft was expected to later fly to Larnaca so it could bring back the released passengers, according to officials. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program Tuesday, said that a "very good question" is whether the man who hijacked the plane Tuesday was able to pass through airport security with a bomb-laden belt. The hijacking was reminiscent of a deadly 1978 incident that involved Egyptians, planes and Larnaca airport. The incident arose when two Palestinians assassinated an Egyptian government minister at his hotel in Nicosia. The assailants took hostages and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane with them. They later returned to Cyprus, where they had an hours-long standoff until an Egyptian C-130 carrying commandos landed at Larnaca airport. The commandos attempted to storm the Cyprus Airways jet, but were fired upon by Cypriot troops. Many were killed. The Palestinians eventually surrendered. They were arrested, sentenced and released years later. The incident poisoned Egypt's relations with Cyprus for years. Relations eventually improved, but it was Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in office since June 2014, who has forged close ties with Cyprus. El-Sissi and Anastasiades frequently confer in person or on the phone. They spoke by phone Tuesday about the hijacking. ___ Hendawi reported from Cairo. Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report. 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. 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. LONDON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Roskill released its new Metallurgical Bauxite & Alumina report with forecasts to 2026 in February 2016. It is essential reading for anyone after a comprehensive overview of the industry. Bulk commodity producers have continued to struggle during the early stages of 2016, even with efforts made to cut costs. With low prices expected to persist and demand from China remaining low, there may be a number of distressed assets coming onto the market throughout 2016, many with the potential for closure. During challenging market conditions, there is often a trend towards restructuring and consolidation of ownership. There is every possibility that 2016 may be particularly eventful for the aluminium industry, a year that has the potential to be defined by a large reorganisation of the corporate landscape. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150909/264974LOGO ) Previously in February 2011, Norsk Hydro shook the industry with the US$5.3Bn purchase of aluminium producer Vale's Brazilian bauxite, alumina and aluminium assets that also included agreements for Vale's share in production from the Mineracao Rio do Norte (MRN) 18.1Mtpy bauxite mine at Trombetas. The acquisition was part of a move by the Norwegian aluminium producer to become fully integrated in its aluminium raw materials. In the same year, Rio Tinto attempted to sell its Pacific Aluminium (PacAl) business, but was forced to reincorporate it back into the company after cancelling the sale, amid poor market conditions. In 2015, Rio Tinto was reported to be attempting to sell the PacAl unit once again. Five years on from Norsk Hydro's acquisition of Vale's Brazilian aluminium assets and the landscape in the industry looks to be changing once more, as aluminium producers deal with oversupply caused by slowing demand from China. In 2015, China was responsible for just under half of the world's alumina production of 112.7Mt and a little over half of global aluminium output. The alumina and aluminium industries remain in a state of oversupply, as output has outweighed demand from primary aluminium production. Weak demand for alumina amid prices languishing in the region of US$210/t CIF China in mid-January 2016, have led to capacity cut-backs and permanent closures of alumina refineries and aluminium smelters. This has affected large, integrated aluminium producers including both Alcoa and Rusal. In early 2016, Alcoa announced that it would cut the remaining 810ktpy of refining capacity at its Point Comfort facility, placing it on care and maintenance. Following this, the company would have globally idled or closed 3.3Mtpy of alumina refining capacity. In the meantime, on 28 September 2015, Alcoa revealed that in the second half of 2016, it would separate into two independent, publically-traded companies. An upstream Global Primary products segment, which will continue to operate under the Alcoa name, will be formed of the company's Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminium Casting and Energy businesses. A second company, Arconic, will include the company's Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Construction Solutions businesses. Rusal has previously taken steps to curtail capacity at its least efficient alumina refineries. Operations are currently idled at the Alpart refinery in Jamaica and the Eurallumina refinery in Italy. Both facilities remain closed in 2016, although industry sources have indicated that changes are afoot for the former, with a potential sale by Rusal. The company's Friguia alumina refinery in Guinea has been idled since 4 April 2012 when workers went on strike over wage demands and healthcare assurances. The strike ended on 27 April of the same year, but operations have not yet been restarted by Rusal. Another indicator of the state of the industry was the announcement in January that Glencore-owned Sherwin Alumina Company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and intended to sell its assets to another Glencore unit - Corpus Christi Alumina - in exchange for forgiveness of US$95M in debt plus US$250,000 in cash. The following month, Noranda Aluminum's parent company Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp, filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection under chapter 11 rules. The company will still operate its refinery at Gramercy, but will no longer ship alumina to its smelter at New Madrid. Noranda will seek to identify alternative buyers of its Bayer alumina, or divert more material to the non-metallurgical market. Could these closures and headwinds indicate further change within the industry? With market conditions at present remaining challenging across a range of commodities, there may be attractive investment opportunities which might involve some of the biggest names in the business. Some of the largest mining companies could be shaping up to complete substantial company-changing takeover deals, which once again would change the face of the industry. Metallurgical Bauxite & Alumina: Global Industry, Markets & Outlook, 9th Edition, 2016 is now available from Roskill Information Services Ltd, 54 Russell Road, London SW19 1QL ENGLAND. For further information, contact us on: Tel: +44-20-8417-0087. Fax +44-20-8417-1308 Email: info@roskill.com Web: http://www.roskill.com Richard Pell: Richard@roskill.com for marketing information, contact Dimpal Hirani: Dimpal@roskill.com SOURCE Roskill Information Services BEIRUT, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- More and more frequently, the term second passport is coming up in conversations in coffee shops and amongst Lebanese nationals globally. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160327/348233LOGO ) Since the outbreak of conflict in Syria and the Middle East, the number of Lebanese passport holders seeking a second passport and European citizenship has risen considerably. With the recent travel ban on UAE & KSA nationals to Lebanon due to safety issues, Lebanese applicants are now considering the importance of a second passport. The same for those holding handwritten Lebanese passports, which are no longer valid for travel. The idea of a second passport is that no single government will have sole power over your family's life and over your assets. A second passport can secure your freedom and expand your investment horizons. Dual citizenship is considered a global insurance policy for high net worth individuals. Furthermore, visa restrictions and inability to travel for business purposes has driven many businessmen to seek residency abroad without having to relocate from their home country, European residency being the most popular. The Portugal Golden Visa Program is the most popular option for those Lebanese nationals seeking European Residency. Since 2015, Lebanon is top-ranking nation in the Middle East for those applying for Portuguese Residency. The Portugal Residency program allows for visa-free travel to the 26 Schengen states. The Residency also empowers investors to apply for Citizenship. The Portuguese passport is ranked 4th, one of the most powerful in the world. There are various investment options available for residency, including the purchase of a real estate property to the value of 500,000. However, the most affordable option is an investment of 350,000 in a property dating back more than 30 years located in 'urban recovery areas' for refurbishing. Whilst the Residency Programs are still extremely popular in Lebanon, the number of applications for Citizenship by Investment have more than doubled over the past year. Amongst the most popular are the islands of the Caribbean, Malta & Cyprus. The Commonwealth of Dominica is now considered as the most accessible of the Citizenship by Investment programs in terms of cost. A single applicant may invest in a Government donation of $100,000 or in real estate with a minimum investment of $200,000 in world-renowned hotel projects on the island. This reputable program offers visa-free travel to over 120 countries including the UK & Schengen. However, as of 1st August 2016, the cost of Dominica Citizenship will be raised considerably by the Government. As one of the largest processing companies of Citizenship applications in the Middle East, Savory & Partners are trusted by Governments to source individuals of the highest caliber and to successfully process Dual Citizenship and Residency solutions for them. With demand for such dual citizenship & EU Residency programs on the rise, Savory & Partners assists its clients to obtain a second passport and residency through experience, service and trust. With Portuguese and Arabic Speaking Citizenship consultants employed in Dubai, Savory & Partners are best positioned to guide their clients to Portugal Residency and any of the 13 other reputable Citizenship & Residency programs around the world. If you would like to know more about the Portugal Golden Visa Program or any of the other Citizenship & Residency programs, join Savory & Partners in Beirut during April to discuss these exciting opportunities for you and your family. Contact: Fiona Johnston, +97(1)44301717 SOURCE Savory & Partners LONDON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- UK investment media platform, Master Investor Ltd, announces the start of an event partnership with investment research firm, Edison Edison, the international equity advisory firm, will bring its extensive network of clients and services to the UK's premier investment event. On Saturday 23rd April, thousands of private investors will descend upon the Business Design Centre, Islington, London, for the Master Investor Show 2016. Edison, global investment research specialists, will partner the event and exhibit alongside some of their clients. A record-breaking 9,000 delegates are expected to attend, making the event the biggest of its kind in the UK, and providing an active audience of investors seeking new investment opportunities. The Master Investor Show connects investors with the CEOs and founders of exhibiting companies. Companies can tap into private investors' capital to help increase liquidity in their shares or to raise new funding. Edison will exhibit at the show and showcase several of their global clients as fellow exhibitors. Edison's team of 100 analysts and investment professionals provide advisory services to more than 400 clients globally. Event organisers can offer Edison, and its exhibiting clients, well-matched exposure to 9,000 private investors. In turn, event delegates can receive access to Edison's global investor community, expertise in bespoke research services and EdisonTV, offering a digital way to communicate with investors. Swen Lorenz, CEO of Master Investor, said: "The Master Investor Show is the UK's largest retail investor event. Edison has more listed companies as clients than any other independent investment research provider in Europe. It was a natural fit." Fraser Thorne, managing director at Edison said: "We are delighted to partner with Master Investor, which complements our solutions to target the retail investor perfectly and provides an excellent opportunity for Edison clients to connect with private investors at the leading UK event in this area." The Master Investor Show 2016 promises to be the most successful in its 14-year history. 95% of exhibitor space is now sold out. High-profile finance stars such as entrepreneur, Jim Mellon, and Radio 4 presenter, Paul Lewis, will deliver keynote talks throughout the day. To register a free ticket, visit http://www.masterinvestor.co.uk/show About Master Investor Ltd. Master Investor is a free Internet platform, incorporating a monthly e-magazine with 65,000 readers, which delivers independent, financial commentary and analysis to UK private investors and traders. In 2015 a new management team relaunched the Master Investor brand and product portfolio with the backing of Jim Mellon, one of the UK's best-known financiers. About Edison Edison is an international equity research firm with a team of over 110 analysts, investment and roadshow professionals and works with both large and smaller capitalised companies, blue chip institutional investors, wealth managers, private equity and corporate finance houses to support their capital markets activity. Edison provides services to more than 400 retained corporate and investor clients from offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney and Wellington. Edison is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. http://www.masterinvestor.co.uk http://www.facebook.com/masterinvestor http://www.twitter.com/masterinvestor Media enquiries: james.hudson@masterinvestor.co.uk SOURCE Master Investor Ltd. PHOENIX, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities (AID or AID.org) is on a mission to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities through the Foundation, much like 6-year-old Brooklyn. Juliann Newman noticed shortly after her daughter Brooklyn was born, that the she wasn't hitting the same milestones as her older children, and didn't have a great deal of muscle strength. Juliann Newman shared her concerns with Brooklyn's pediatrician. After being referred to a neurologist and undergoing an MRI at 14 months, Juliann and her husband learned that their daughter had previously suffered a stroke, which is most likely to have happened either in Juliann's third trimester or after the first few months of Brooklyn's birth. Now in kindergarten, Brooklyn notices that she is different from everyone else because of her disability. The brace that she wears gives her sores and blisters, and it is painful for Brooklyn to wear the brace for more than one day a week. Feeling defeated from her disability and wanting to be just like her friends, the Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation (AID Foundation) assisted her with a gift that would change her life. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348720LOGO Just last summer Mrs. Newman learned of a new option from a doctor at a trial clinic. The doctor was impressed with Brooklyn's use of the WalkAide at the trial. Brooklyn finally felt like the other kids when using the WalkAide at the clinic, however insurance didn't cover the high cost of the WalkAide and the family was unable to afford it. That's when Juliann reached out to Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation. Juliann learned of the AID Foundation through a fellow mother of a child with a disability that she connected with on Facebook. The AID Foundation, which provides immediate resources for those in with any type of physical and/or mental disability, gave Brooklyn the same WalkAide that she thrived with at the clinic. As one of the many individuals the AID Foundation continues to help, Juliann Newman was extremely pleased and has tremendous gratitude towards the Foundation. "I broke down in tears when I heard the great news from the Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation," states Juliann Newman. "It's a complete blessing that I can't put into words. The AID Foundation's assistance is a miracle financially; it has been a struggle to pay for my family's needs and is especially hard with a child with a disability. The AID Foundation is giving my daughter the amazing gift of a WalkAide which makes her feel that she's just like everyone else. Brooklyn will now be able to keep up with her classmates and sister and won't feel different. She will no longer have to worry all of the constant injuries like sores and blisters from her brace." Advocates for American Disabled Individuals and the Foundation takes great pride in continuing to increase its mission of improving the lives of thousands individuals with disabilities across the nation. Aid Foundation and is very thankful to be able to and is continually striving to assist thousands of individuals in need in similar situations. For more information on Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities or to request to receive assistance from the Foundation visit http://Aid.org . To interview a spokesperson or gain media access please email [email protected] or call 1.877.841.7244. About Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities and their Charitable Foundation were formed in January of 2016 and are located in the area of Phoenix, AZ, and serves to advance equal rights and opportunity as well as remove barriers for people with disabilities of all types. Their mission strongly promotes increasing awareness of their services within the disabled community. By taking affirmative action towards commercial and business locations that are not ADA compliant they are quickly bringing about a wave of compliance. AID's Foundation is also a growing resource for any individual with a disability looking to receive help with various issues relating to their disability, including but not limited to wheelchair access, obtaining legal counsel, medical expenses, and much, much more. Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities aims to help improve the lives of 3 to 4 individuals with disabilities per day, and encourages any person with a disability in need of assistance to connect with the organization. Contact: Courtney Pons Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR: Disability and Charity (877) 841-7244 Email SOURCE Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation ARLINGTON, Va., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Force Association today announced the creation of new recognition for exceptional CyberPatriot competitors. The "Cyber All American" award will be awarded to students who have helped their teams advance to the CyberPatriot National Finals Competition in each of their high school years. CyberPatriot, an education initiative created by the Air Force Association and presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, is a one-of-a-kind cyber education program structured to inspire students toward education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. "With a large and competitive field of teams, it's impressive to make it to the National Finals Competition in one season," said Rachel Zimmerman, Senior Manager for Program Administration for CyberPatriot. "Doing it for four consecutive years is truly remarkable." Frank Zaborowski, Senior Director of CyberPatriot Operations remarked, "The skills, dedication, and time involved to achieve Cyber All American status is on par with what it takes to be an All American in high school sports. A major difference is that a Cyber All American goes up against industry professionals in their championship event." The CyberPatriot VIII National Finals Competition will be hosted in Baltimore April 10-14. Teams of high school and middle school students will travel all-expenses-paid to compete for the title of National Champion, scholarships, and other recognition. The twelve Open Division, thirteen All Service Division and three Middle School Division National Finalist teams advanced through extremely competitive online qualifying rounds to earn the distinction of being National Finalists. They represent schools and youth organizations from California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas, and Manitoba, Canada. To learn more about CyberPatriot, please visit www.uscyberpatriot.org. The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, and YouTube! SOURCE Air Force Association Related Links http://www.afa.org ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The eruption of Alaska's Pavlof Volcano has caused flight delays and cancellations for thousands of travelers. Squaremouth, a leading travel insurance comparison website, explains coverage for travelers whose plans have been affected by the eruption. I'm at Home and My Flight Has Been Canceled Travelers whose flights have been canceled due to the eruption may be able to claim their full prepaid and non-refundable trip cost, depending on their policy. Most standard Trip Cancellation policies include coverage for volcanic eruptions that prevent travel. In most cases, travelers must meet a minimum flight delay before they are covered to cancel, typically ranging between 12-48 hours. Travelers whose flights are canceled outright must meet their policy's time requirement before they are able to make a Trip Cancellation claim. My Connecting Flight Has Been Delayed or Canceled and I Want to Return Home Travelers who have already left home, and their connecting flight to Alaska has been delayed or canceled, may be covered to cancel the remainder of their trip. Many policies include Trip Interruption coverage for inclement weather and natural disasters, which reimburses travelers for the prepaid portions of their trip that they missed. In order for this benefit to be triggered, most policies require the cessation of flights to the destination for at least 12-48 hours. The Trip Interruption benefit can also provide reimbursement for the additional flight expenses to return home early. My Flight Has Been Delayed or Canceled, But I Still Want to Go Travelers who choose to wait for a new flight to continue on with their trip may be eligible to recoup prepaid, nonrefundable expenses from the missed portion of their trip, such as prebooked tours or accommodations. In order to be eligible for reimbursement, the eruption must meet their policy's requirements for weather or natural disaster coverage within the Trip Interruption benefit. For travelers who are going to Alaska for a cruise or tour, additional transportation expenses to catch up to their trip may be covered under the Missed Connection benefit, which typically requires a minimum of a 3-6 hour delay. I'm Stranded at the Airport For travelers stranded at an airport because of a delayed or canceled flight, the Travel Delay benefit may provide some relief. Travel Delay provides reimbursement for necessary additional expenses travelers incur during an unscheduled delay, including meals and accommodations. Most Travel Delay benefits cover any delay of a common carrier, this can include delays resulting from the eruption. In order for this benefit to be triggered, the traveler must meet a minimum length of delay, typically 3-12 hours. I Have a Trip Planned, But I Don't Have Travel Insurance Any travel insurance purchased on or after March 27, the day the Pavlof Volcano erupted, will not provide coverage for losses related to the eruption. "It's too late to purchase new coverage for this volcanic eruption, as it is now considered a foreseen event," said Squaremouth Zero Complaint Manager Brandi Morse. "However, affected travelers who already had travel insurance before the volcano erupted may be able to recoup their lost expenses." ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH Squaremouth is an online company that compares travel insurance products from virtually every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare insurance products side-by-side. More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com. AVAILABLE TOPIC EXPERT Rachael Taft [email protected] (727) 264-5174 SOURCE Squaremouth Related Links http://www.squaremouth.com TORRANCE, Calif., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Brewing Company, Inc. (OTC: ABRW), an award-winning craft brewery in Washington that acquired the Bucha Live Kombucha brand and business last year and has since sold their brewing assets to capitalize on the fast-growing healthy functional beverage category, today announced that they have promoted Neil Fallon, Founder, to the newly created role of Executive Chairman, and hired Brent David Willis, as a Board Director and interim Chief Executive Officer. Since acquiring the Bucha Kombucha brand in the 2nd quarter of last year from B&R Liquid Adventure, LLC, American Brewing has been integrating the business, paying down the debt associated with the acquisition, and positioning itself to become a healthy functional beverage company. In October, the Company announced that it had reached an agreement to sell 100% of its brewery assets and operation. The Company expects to complete the transfer imminently, which will enable it to focus 100% of its attention and resources on capitalizing on the fast growing Kombucha Category. The Kombucha category has been rapidly growing and recently surpassed $500 million in retail sales according to the Wall Street Journal. To lead that focus, the Company has hired Brent Willis as a Board Director and Interim Chief Executive Officer, who brings more than almost 15 years of beverage experience to the firm. Mr. Willis was previously a President for Coca-Cola in Latin America, the Global Chief Commercial Officer and Zone President at AB InBev, and the Chief Executive Officer for Cott Corporation, the world's largest retailer brand beverage company. Neil Fallon, Founder of American Brewing and newly appointed Executive Chairman commented, "We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Brent's credibility and reputation to lead our company and the expansion of the Bucha Live Kombucha brand. We have one of the most consumer-preferred and fastest-growing brands in the segment, and we are confident that Brent will be able to accelerate the expansion to major retailers worldwide." With the change, Neil Fallon will be taking on the newly created role of Executive Chairman. In this capacity he will be providing strategic leadership for the firm, ensuring its appropriate capitalization, and leading the evolution of the Board of Directors to majority independence with superior governance in the best interests of shareholders. Brent Willis commented, "I am excited to be working with Neil and the rest of the Bucha team. They have a leading brand, a superior product in the segment, and significant untapped potential across major retailers, channels, and markets. Bucha has the most mainstream appealing flavor, which will help our retailer partners expand the category as they work to offset their challenges in the carbonated soft drink and other traditionally large beverage segments." About American Brewing Based in Edmonds, Washington, American Brewing Company was founded in 2010 and became a public company trading under the ABRW symbol on August 7, 2014. As a craft brewer, the Company won major industry awards and accolades for quality. In the 2nd Quarter of 2015, the Company acquired 100% of the assets of Bucha Live Kombucha, from B&R Liquid Adventure, LLC for a combination of cash and stock. Since that time, the firm has been paying down the debt associated with the acquisition, integrating the company, building organizational capabilities, and expanding retail distribution. On October 7, 2015, American Brewing sold 100% of their beer assets improving their balance sheet and providing working capital to expand their healthy beverage business. The transaction is expected to finalize imminently. Safe Harbor Disclosure This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are any statement reflecting management's current expectations regarding future results of operations, economic performance, financial condition and achievements of the Company including statements regarding American Brewing's expectation to see continued growth. The forward-looking statements are based on the assumption that operating performance and results will continue in line with historical results. Management believes these assumptions to be reasonable but there is no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. American Brewing competes in a rapidly growing and transforming industry, and other factors disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission might affect the Company's operations. Unless required by applicable law, ABRW undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. For investor inquiries please contact: Julie Anderson [email protected] Website: www.mybucha.com SOURCE American Brewing MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Atelier Leseine is pleased to present her latest limited edition jewelry piece Ode to Love. This scintillating love charm is available in your choice of 18K white or pink gold and features an array of sparkling princess cut diamonds and rubies. The Ode to Love charm is made from the most enduring and precious gemstones and metals. The combination of: diamonds, rubies, and gold symbolizes - love, passion, wisdom, and enlightenment. Wear it singly or with other charms. It is a miniature artwork. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160328/348573 The Ode to Love charm is inspired by a classic French love poem by Rosemonde Gerard entitled: L'eternelle Chanson - The Eternal Song, 1890. The laser-etched text "JE T'AIME (I love you) + QU'HIER (more than yesterday)- QUE DEMAIN (less than tomorrow)", along with the plus, minus, and circular symbols inset with diamonds and rubies, are an elegant, modern interpretation of a classic design. Women in all life-stages will appreciate this timeless symbol of love to mark key occasions: Mother's Day, anniversaries, a daughter's wedding, children's births, milestone birthdays of our best friend, a friend's survival through trauma, and other memorable life events. Or, if you are a truly modern woman you may want to gift yourself this special Ode to Love charm as a reminder to celebrate each day's preciousness. Nathalie Leseine, the Artist/Designer and owner of Atelier Leseine, was born and raised in Paris, France. Nathalie finds design inspiration in the many places she has lived, explored and adored. Her newest creation, the Ode to Love charm, reflects the depth of her passion for life. Her first charm Perle Captive reveals her love for the Tahitian black pearl and its sensuous exoticism. These exquisite love charms can be worn on the custom-designed Le Charmeur bracelet, or as a stylish focal point on a pendant necklace. Nathalie opened Atelier Leseine in California with a philosophy of bringing luxurious jewels, with a multi-cultural vibe, into classic and forward-thinking design. Her clients are sophisticated collectors with a cultivated sense of taste. Contact Nathalie Leseine for more information about her newest limited edition love charm Ode to Love. Contact Information Email: [email protected] Mailing Address: P.O. Box 391446, Mountain View, CA 94039. Atelier Leseine Website: http://www.atelierleseine.com Call: (650) 714-4112 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Atelier Leseine Related Links http://www.atelierleseine.com ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aytu BioScience, Inc. (OTCQX: AYTU), a commercial-stage specialty healthcare company focused on commercializing treatments for urological conditions, today announced that the company has entered into a co-promotion agreement for Primsol (trimethoprim hydrochloride) oral solution with Allegis Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the US pediatric market. Under the agreement, Allegis will exclusively promote Primsol to pediatricians across the U.S. Aytu retains all other rights in the U.S. and around the world and will continue to market the product in urologic indications. Primsol is the only FDA-approved liquid formulation of trimethoprim, an antibiotic that is well established in current guidelines for treating uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). This differentiated product is appropriate for UTI patients that have difficulty swallowing tablets, such as the elderly, and particularly for patients that experience adverse reactions to sulfamethoxazole ("sulfa"). Primsol is also indicated for the treatment of acute otitis media, or middle ear infection, caused by susceptible organisms in children age six months to twelve years. Otitis media is the leading pediatric infection in the U.S. Josh Disbrow, Chief Executive Officer of Aytu BioScience, stated, "We are excited to initiate this partnership with Allegis and believe that this co-promotional agreement makes sense on multiple levels. Allegis has an experienced commercial team and a strong sales history in pediatrics--where Primsol prescribing has been consistent since the product's launch--with a product portfolio that is complementary to Primsol. Placing the pediatric-focused marketing efforts with Allegis enables Aytu to further monetize Primsol through a long-term promotional commitment, while enabling Aytu to stay focused on our core therapeutic area of urology. We expect Allegis to regain some of the historical prescribing of pediatricians as we align our efforts to the urology market, a specialty that has historically prescribed over one-quarter of Primsol prescriptions in the U.S." About Aytu BioScience, Inc. Aytu BioScience is a commercial-stage specialty healthcare company focused on global commercialization of novel products in the field of urology. Aytu's current portfolio of commercial and late-stage urology products addresses prostate cancer, urinary tract infections, male infertility and male sexual dysfunction, and the company plans to expand into other urological indications for which there are significant medical needs. The company currently markets ProstaScint (capromab pendetide), the only radio-labeled monoclonal antibody that targets prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a protein highly expressed by prostate cancer cells. ProstaScint is FDA-approved as an imaging agent for use in both newly diagnosed, high-risk prostate cancer patients and patients with recurrent prostate cancer. Aytu also markets Primsol (trimethoprim hydrochloride) the only FDA-approved trimethoprim-only oral solution for urinary tract infections. Additionally, Aytu markets the CE Marked MiOXSYS System outside the US and is conducting US-based clinical trials, following which the company expects to receive 510k de novo medical device clearance. The MiOXSYS System is a novel, rapid semen analysis system with the potential to become a standard of care in the diagnosis and management of male infertility. MiOXSYS is the only rapid test for assessing oxidative stress in semen and seminal plasma, a leading contributor of idiopathic male infertility. Aytu's strategy is to continue building its portfolio of revenue-generating urology products and late-stage development assets, leveraging its commercial team and expertise to further build those brands within well-established markets. For Investors & Media: Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc. Joshua Drumm, Ph.D.: [email protected]; (212) 375-2664 Janine McCargo: [email protected]; (646) 604-5150 Forward Looking Statement This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this presentation, including statements regarding our anticipated future clinical and regulatory events, future financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are generally written in the future tense and/or are preceded by words such as "may," "will," "should," "forecast," "could," "expect," "suggest," "believe," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," or similar words, or the negatives of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are just predictions and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual events or results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, among others risks relating to: future events under our current and potential future collaborations; gaining market acceptance of our products; obtaining reimbursement by third-party payors; the potential future commercialization of our product candidates; the anticipated start dates, durations and completion dates, as well as the potential future results, of our ongoing and future clinical trials; the anticipated designs of our future clinical trials; anticipated future regulatory submissions and events; and our anticipated future cash position. We also refer you to the risks described in "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of Aytu BioScience, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the other reports and documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. SOURCE Aytu BioScience, Inc. "We are thrilled that Bob was awarded this prestigious honor within the San Diego community," said Dave Gilbert, chief executive officer, National Funding. "The award is well deserved. His experience and direction led the company to a 172% revenue growth surge over the past three years. Bob was instrumental in putting together two major financing facilities totaling $150 million, which gave us the capital to allow us to grow so fast." As National Funding's CFO, Sweeney is responsible for all accounting and financial matters of the company. Reporting directly to CEO Dave Gilbert, Sweeney oversees the capital structure of National Funding, determining the best mix of debt, equity and internal financing. As a member of the executive team, he plays a key role in the company's economic forecasting in order to ensure National Funding's solid financial foundation. "I'm honored to receive this award from the San Diego Business Journal," said Sweeney. "Since joining National Funding in 2013, I've watched the company grow in all areas and am thankful for such a dedicated, talented executive team." Sweeney has nearly 30 years of financial management experience. He has served as both CFO and controller executive team leader, as well as in global analyst positions for large and small companies, both public and private. Some of the companies he has held financial positions with are Citicorp Equipment Finance, Sequa Capital Corp., Rockford Industries/ American Express Business Finance to name a few. Sweeney received his B.B.A. in Accounting and M.B.A. in Management Information Systems from Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. About National Funding Founded in 1999, National Funding is one of the country's leading financial technology companies for small and medium-sized businesses, providing working capital loans, equipment financing, merchant cash advances and credit card processing. National Funding has provided more than $1 billion in capital for over 20,000 businesses nationwide. The company believes in American small business owners, and strives to provide fast turnaround, flexible solutions and great service to all of its customers and clients in a diverse range of industries including: construction, excavation, manufacturing, retail, packaging, printing, restaurant, telecommunications, trucking, transportation, and waste management, among others. The company was recognized on the Inc. 500 | 5000 list for the past three years, as well as placing on San Diego Business Journal's Fastest Growing Companies for the past three years. For more information, please visit: www.nationalfunding.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. Media Contact Tracy Rubin JCUTLER media group [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348965 SOURCE National Funding Related Links http://www.nationalfunding.com MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and NEW YORK, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Crisp, the leading mobile shopper activation company, and Retail Solutions Inc. (RSi), a global retail analytics leader, today announced an alliance that allows Crisp to add Ansa inside their mobile ad platform, Crisp MoCA, giving customers additional ways to target, optimize and measure their mobile shopper and retail-based digital marketing campaigns. Ansa, the digital brand of RSi, enables shopper marketers, agencies and ad networks to cost efficiently measure the impact of digital marketing campaigns on stores sales automatically, every day for any store location. Crisp uses over fifteen years of mobile technology development and marketing experience to drive results for CPG and retail marketers. "Our end-to-end mobile platform is designed specifically to activate shoppers to purchasing experiences, both in store and online," says Jason Young, CEO at Crisp. Today, mobile devices influence one-third of product purchases in stores, representing almost $1 trillion in sales. "Mobile's rapid growth in shopper influence requires a robust suite of premium targeting, KPI optimization, and measurement capabilities. We couldn't be more excited to partner with Ansa to bring new value for our customers." "Ansa is the most intelligent solution for closing the loop on digital media investments. Since the launch in 2014, we have serviced hundreds of digital campaigns at 35 of the top CPGs, empowering shopper marketers and CPG media planners to maximize spending efficiency, accelerate new items from day one, automatically optimize their campaign performance and continuously learn and improve beyond the click," shares Michael Quinn, General Manager for Ansa at Retail Solutions Inc. "Mobile advertising is a growing element of the media mix and we're absolutely thrilled to partner with Crisp, the leading provider in mobile shopper activation technology, to give shopper marketers a new level of in-store insights and tangible proof that their digital investments are generating significant returns." About Crisp A pioneer, innovator and leader in mobile ad technology for more than a decade, Crisp's mission is to help brands activate customers to point-of-purchase experiences through mobile devices. Crisp provides the first end-to-end mobile customer activation platform, Crisp MoCA, that delivers a fully turnkey solution to dominate today and tomorrow's primary point of purchase. Crisp's mature, vertically integrated ad technology and industry-leading product, engineering and operations teams have made it the platform provider of choice for leading CPG's and retailers. Crisp is a privately held company headquartered in New York with offices in Singapore. About Ansa Ansa is the digital solution from Retail Solutions Inc., the SaaS company that turns daily POS data into opportunity - online, in the store, and on the shelf. Ansa, powered by RSi, provides shopper marketers and media planners with the fastest, most efficient store level analytics in digital CPG marketing today. How? Ansa can analyze daily store-specific sales for major retailers, including every Walmart, Target, Kroger, Safeway, Ahold, Walgreens and Family Dollar. RSi is trusted by top CPG companies including such household names as Colgate-Palmolive, Nestle and Procter & Gamble. Using this data, Ansa measures the incremental store sales from digital shopper marketing campaigns. By the way, Ansa is a Latin word that means "the connecting ends of a loop". Ansa closes the loop between advertising and in-store sales, which is why we love the name. PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12544748 SOURCE Retail Solutions Inc.; Crisp Related Links http://www.crispmedia.com DULUTH, Ga., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Baptists are disappointed that Governor Nathan Deal has chosen not to listen to the voices of Georgians, and to veto HB 757, the "Free Exercise Protection Act." This legislation, in keeping with the United States Constitution, guarantees our right to "exercise" religion and provides the ability to live and work consistent with our deeply held religious convictions. In today's culture, a growing trend is rising where people of faith are not given the ability to live out their faith in the public square, even bullied by those who do not share those long-standing and traditional values and morals. John 15:18-19 says: 18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of this world. That is why the world hates you." In addition, Romans 12:2 states "2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is his good, pleasing and perfect will." As Christians we are obligated to love all people daily and share the Gospel, while at the same time, we should not be discriminated against because of our beliefs, nor forced to support any and all messages in today's progressive culture. This is why religious protections have been enacted at the federal level and in over 30 other states. "Georgia Baptists across the state have been praying for this protection for 3 years," stated Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. "While we respect the Governor, it is unfortunate that he has chosen to veto protections for people of faith in Georgia." Georgia Baptists express appreciation to Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, Speaker David Ralston and the many men and women of the Senate and House of Representatives who listened to their constituents and worked diligently over the past three years for religious liberty legislation in Georgia. About Georgia Baptist Convention The Georgia Baptist Convention is made up of autonomous, cooperating churches that partner together through the Cooperative Program, special mission offerings and mission efforts to share Jesus Christ across Georgia, throughout North America, and around the world. Churches give through the Cooperative Program and the State Missions Offering to support the missionaries and ministries of the Georgia Baptist Convention. In turn, Georgia state missionaries provide assistance, training, encouragement, and support for the ministries of Georgia Baptist churches and associations. http://www.gabaptist.org/ Contact Mark Strange Georgia Baptist Mission Board 770-936-5233 Email SOURCE Georgia Baptist Mission Board Related Links http://www.gabaptist.org WASHINGTON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 2.5 million Americans work in the clean energy industry across all 50 states, according to a new comprehensive analysis unveiled today by the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). The report "Clean Jobs America," available here is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information and new data from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as a comprehensive survey of tens of thousands of businesses across the country. The report provides detailed breakdowns of clean energy jobs not available previously. According to the findings, energy efficiency is by far the nation's largest clean energy sector employer, with nearly 1.9 million Americans working in areas such as high-efficiency lighting, Energy Star appliance manufacturing and high-efficiency HVAC services to reduce wasted energy in homes, schools and businesses. Nearly 414,000 people work in renewable energy, the study found. The top renewable sectors were solar with 299,000 workers (including nearly 209,000 who work on solar full-time or close to full time, as The Solar Foundation noted in its 2015 job census) and wind with 77,000 workers. "Clean energy is no longer a niche business it's a big-time job creator," said Dan Smolen, managing director of The Green Suits, a Virginia-based talent recruitment and career development firm. "Our lawmakers need to realize that and put policies in place, right now, to help the sector grow even more." The Clean Jobs America analysis was done for E2 by BW Research Partnership, which has conducted similar studies for numerous state and federal agencies. The report was developed with survey responses from 20,000 U.S. companies BW Research contacted in late 2015. The report was done in collaboration with Clean Energy Trust, The Solar Foundation, Advanced Energy Economy and other partners. Additional report findings include: 328,000 people work in the energy efficient lighting industry. Another 162,000 help build Energy Star appliances. Nearly 170,000 Americans work in the advanced vehicle industry, including 107,000 who work on hybrids and electric vehicles. Strength in this industry is due in part to new fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles and trucks. More people work in clean energy than sectors like real estate and agriculture, and many more work in clean energy than work in dirty energy industries like oil, gas and coal extraction. "America's clean energy jobs market is massive," said Philip Jordan, vice president and principal at BW Research Partnership. "It ranks right up there with some of the biggest industries in the country including real estate, management, and agriculture. "When we spoke with clean energy employers nationwide, we were struck by their responsiveness to state- and federal-level policies as well as their optimism," Jordan said. "It's clear that by shoring up clean energy policies, lawmakers have a big opportunity to attract even more clean energy jobs to their own backyards." To compare the number of clean energy jobs in America to the fossil fuel industry and other sectors, see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data here and here. The report includes a case study of a growing Georgia solar company that earlier this month broke ground on a major project at a U.S. Navy facility in Mississippi, the latest evidence of the military's increased investments in clean, renewable energy. E2 videos show how smart policies are creating clean energy jobs at businesses in states including Colorado, California, Virginia, Missouri, Iowa, and Ohio. And this video shows how the Navy saves money with energy efficiency. "In a short amount of time, clean energy has become a huge part of our workforce and our economy," said Bob Keefe, E2's executive director. "Smart policies helped jump-start this industry, and smart policies will keep these made-in-America jobs growing and help our environment along the way." According to Keefe, state energy efficiency and renewable standards, federal tax incentives and other policies have helped drive exponential growth in clean energy jobs in recent years. To keep these jobs growing, lawmakers should continue to support the policies that are driving the clean energy sector ranging from the recent international climate agreement reached in Paris, to the federal Clean Power Plan, to state and regional clean energy goals. To speak with clean energy business leaders in your state, please contact E2 press secretary Jeff Benzak at 202-513-6248 or [email protected]. In addition to Clean Jobs America, E2 and its partners have conducted in-depth clean energy jobs studies in numerous states, including www.CleanJobsMidwest.com, released March 22, which maps 569,000 clean energy jobs in 12 Midwestern states. The jobs are searchable by county, congressional district, and state legislative district. Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see www.e2.org or follow us on Twitter at @e2org. PRESS CONTACTS: Pat Mitchell, [email protected] , 703-276-3266; or Jeff Benzak, [email protected]; 202-513-6248. SOURCE Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Washington, D.C. Related Links http://www.e2.org MIDWEST CITY, Okla., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy (OVCA), a tuition-free, online public school serving students in grades K-12, is welcoming families to enroll for the 2016-2017 school year. OVCA is a public charter school authorized by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and is open to all students who reside in Oklahoma. OVCA offers online instruction, hands-on curriculum and the support of state-licensed teachers to cultivate an individualized education for each student. "At OVCA, we are committed to inspiring and preparing all of our children to achieve academic success," said Sheryl Tatum, head of school of OVCA. "The partnership between families, teachers and students creates a learning environment ideal for educational success." The online curriculum used at OVCA is rigorous and engaging, including courses in language arts/English, math, science, history, world languages, art and music, as well as over 160 elective and Advanced Placement courses for high school students. College- or career-minded students can choose from a broad range of profession-focused courses in order to gain a competitive edge for the future, discover their path after high school or explore a possible college major. Courses are delivered online with the support of a state-certified teacher and students receive a diploma at graduation. In addition to a range of extracurricular activities and an academic program designed to challenge advanced learners, students also have the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school through OVCA and local community colleges. In 2015, OVCA graduates headed to colleges and universities such as the University of Tulsa, East Central University and the University of Oklahoma. "OVCA changed the way I looked at my education," said Madison Brown, OVCA student and competitive drag racer. "I no longer feel like I am limited in what I can learn. I can push myself to take as hard of classes as I want and still am able to travel across the country to drag race competitively." During the enrollment period OVCA will be conducting online and in-person information sessions throughout the state. Interested families are encouraged to attend to meet teachers, staff and other families and to learn more about the award-winning online curriculum provided by K12. For more information on OVCA and the enrollment process, please visit http://ovca.k12.com/. About Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy (OVCA) is an accredited, full-time online public school authorized by the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and serving Oklahoma students in grades K through 12. As part of the Oklahoma public school system, OVCA is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the award-winning curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about OVCA, visit http://ovca.k12.com/ Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150325/194448LOGO SOURCE Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy Related Links http://ovca.k12.com/ While other eating disorders fellowships focus on research, Rosewood's fellowship focuses on evidence from the field that supports best practices, along with actual patient care, including evaluation, intervention, treatment and relapse prevention in patients with severely disordered eating. "Eating disorders have increased, but the number of physicians trained and planning to specialize in eating disorders has not," said Nicole Garber, MD, Rosewood's Chief of Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders. "With eating disorders and obesity affecting millions of Americans, there's an urgent need for physicians with specialized knowledge and expertise in identifying and treating these conditions." Physicians in the fellowship will be onsite at Rosewood's Wickenburg, Ariz., location, which offers comprehensive and specialized pediatric, adolescent and adult eating disorders programs. "Too often, physicians must rely on on-the-job training rather than expert-led, academic training programs," said Dr. Dena Cabrera, Psy.D, CEDS, Clinical Director of Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders. "Our fellowship prepares psychiatrists to become caring, compassionate, and enthusiastic eating disorder treatment providers." Specialized eating disorders training for practicing medical professionals The fellowship is open to board eligible or board certified physicians who are or can be licensed in California and Arizona. Post-graduate year five (PGY-5) fellows will become prepared to qualify for a position at an eating disorders program in an academic or freestanding setting. The program is led by Drs. Cabrera and Garber, a former assistant professor of psychiatry at Baylor University College of Medicine who is dual board certified in general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry; and Amelia Davis, MD, Rosewood's Medical Director and Chief of Adult Eating Disorders Programs. Dr. Davis, formerly Chief of the Eating Disorders program at University of Florida School of Medicine, is dual board certified in psychiatry and neurology. Professionals joining the fellowship will gain core competencies and invaluable experience by working supervised by Drs. Davis, Garber and Cabrera with patients, their families and the clinical team in Rosewood's inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization and outpatient evaluation and treatment programs. "Not only are there too few eating disorder fellowships, those that exist in an academic setting typically focus on research, rather than treatment," noted Dr. David Baron, Acting Chairman Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California. "In psychiatry, we know that there are many patients in desperate need of physicians who are trained to treat anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating and other eating disorders. Patients and their loved ones also know the importance of physicians trained in this important specialty." "For a long time, obesity, eating disorders and other addiction related diseases haven't gotten the same level of attention as depression or other psychiatric illnesses," said Dr. Louis Aronne, MD, Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at Weill-Cornell Medical College. "Fellowships such as the one being offered by Rosewood go a long way toward educating highly-trained physicians specializing in this important area. This will ensure greater access to evidence-based treatments for more people who suffer from these serious illnesses." Learn more about the Eating Disorder Fellowship at http://www.rosewoodranch.com/eating-disorder-and-obesity-medicine-fellowship/. The Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders is a state-of-the-art facility staffed by a multidisciplinary team of experts experienced in treating the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and food addiction, as well as co-occurring addictions and mood disorders. At Rosewood, men, women, and adolescents receive clinically superior treatment while immersed in the comfortable homelike environment of our stunning 13-acre campus in Arizona. RiverMend Health is a nationwide provider of scientifically driven, specialty behavioral health services. Founded on the belief that addiction, eating disorders and obesity are the nation's most pressing healthcare challenges, the company brings together the world's preeminent experts and a nationwide network of recovery programs to provide neuroscience-driven treatment, research and education. To learn more about RiverMend Health, visit www.RiverMendHealth.com or call (877) 879-3312. Media Contact: Amy Bernard VP, Marketing [email protected] (678) 813-0497 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348843 SOURCE RiverMend Health Related Links http://www.rivermendhealth.com "Safety is always our first priority, and the hundreds of inspections performed over the last few weeks demonstrate these programs work as designed," said Larry Coyle, site vice president and Entergy's top official at Indian Point. "Safeguards and automatic detection equipment are in place to alert plant operators of impacts on safe operations." Indian Point Unit 2's "Aging Management Program" -- implemented in connection with license renewal -- calls for an in-depth inspection of the reactor vessel every ten years. The first such inspection took place during a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage that began March 7, and used visual and where possible, ultrasonic inspections. Inspections of more than 2,000 bolts in the reactor's removable insert liner revealed issues with approximately 11 percent that require further analysis. Issues were identified on bolts on the face of the removable liner, not on bolts along the liner's edges. Engineers identified missing bolts, and bars meant to hold them in place, and other degradation requiring replacement of the bolts. Each bolt, about two inches long and made of stainless steel, holds plate inserts together inside the reactor. The issues identified with the reactor vessel insert liner bolts did not have an impact on public health or safety and will be corrected prior to returning Indian Point Unit 2 to operation. With comprehensive inspections on the entire reactor vessel finished, once a full engineering assessment of the issue is also completed and corrective actions taken, the unit can safely operate in the period of extended operation. This work is expected to add cost and several weeks' duration to the refueling and maintenance outage. Entergy has informed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other appropriate regulatory authorities of the issues with the bolts, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. Hundreds of Inspections Performed During Refueling Outage The inspections are part of Indian Point's comprehensive and expanded inspection program implemented in accordance with the plant's license renewal application, going beyond normal inspections performed during each refueling outage. In all, the refueling and maintenance outage of Unit 2 involves testing and inspection of the reactor containment area, the reactor vessel, the control rod mechanism, coolant pump motors and steam generators. In addition, inspections were performed outside the containment area, on dozens of valves, turbine rotors, condensate storage tanks and other equipment. Equipment replacement includes some of the mechanisms for the control rods, pipes, heat exchangers, steam condensers and reactor coolant pump motors. Engineers have conducted more than 350 inspections of critical equipment, using industry best practices to ensure that even the slightest variation in equipment was identified, analyzed, and if necessary, repaired. About Indian Point and Entergy Indian Point Energy Center, in Buchanan, N.Y., is home to two operating nuclear power plants, unit 2 and unit 3, which generate approximately 2000 megawatts of electricity for homes, business and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County. Since acquiring Indian Point, Entergy has invested over $1 billion in plant equipment. Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $11.5 billion and more than 13,000 employees. Indian Point Energy Center's online address is www.safesecurevital.com. Entergy's online address is www.entergy.com. Twitter: @Indian_Point Facebook: Facebook.com/IndianPointEnergy Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/349106 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120913/MM74349LOGO SOURCE Entergy Corporation Related Links http://www.entergy.com MERIDIAN, Idaho, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Idaho Virtual Academy (IDVA), a tuition-free, online public school for students in grades K-12 across the state of Idaho is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 school year. IDVA students receive individualized instruction both online and offline with Idaho-credentialed teachers, using the world-class K12 curriculum. "Idaho Virtual Academy has a focus on providing each and every student with a personalized learning experience with the tools they need to succeed," said Kelly Edginton, Head of School at IDVA. "Our teachers and staff invest in the unique needs of each student. We understand that many factors can cause students to struggle, and we excel in developing individualized learning that works for each and every child." IDVA students work from home, full-time with an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP). The ILP allows for teachers to work closely with each student allowing for greater support to be given to students struggling with a topic or skill or for students to move on when they have mastered a subject. Academically, IDVA offers core subjects, electives, and advanced learner programs, as well as socializing opportunities. Students can join clubs or participate in community-based projects and field trips. Students enroll in IDVA for a wide variety of reasons. Some are advanced learners, motivated to increase their knowledge beyond the basic course offerings, while others are athletes or performers looking to balance a full schedule. Some enroll in order to take advantage of a different learning environment and a focused one-on-one learning experience. Additionally, IDVA offers an accredited alternative high school program, Vision High School, for students who meet state qualifications. During the enrollment period IDVA will be conducting online and in-person information sessions throughout the state. Interested families are encouraged to attend to meet teachers, staff, and other families and to learn more about the award-winning online curriculum provided by K12. For more information on IDVA, its unique support services, and the enrollment process, please visit http://www.idva.k12.com More about Idaho Virtual Academy Idaho Virtual Academy (IDVA) is a statewide, online public school serving students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Idaho-credentialed teachers deliver lessons in a virtual classroom platform with a combination of engaging online and offline coursework. As part of the Idaho public school system, enrollment in IDVA is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the award-winning curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs. Learn more at www.k12.com/idva. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160328/348597LOGO SOURCE Idaho Virtual Academy Related Links http://www.idva.k12.com TOKYO, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IMG Academy, the largest and most advanced multi-sport training and educational institution in the world, agreed and signed to extend partnership with airweave holdings inc. of Japan. airweave will continuously supply students at IMG Academy with 50 mattresses every year until 2017. The Academy will continue helping the mattress brand to conduct its on-going sleep and performance study. (Documentation1: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M101781/201603289268/_prw_OA1fl_8y754Iet.pdf) (Documentation2: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M101781/201603289268/_prw_OA2fl_YZY09suE.pdf) Recently, relationships between better sleep and better performance have been emphasized and recognized in various situations. Athletic performance is not an exception and managing sleep became a critical issue for top athletes. The airweave mattress has been shown to induce an efficient heat exchange that facilitates deep sleep at sleep onset. In addition, low-muscle activities are required for roll-overs during sleep with airweave. Both properties aid restorative sleep. In 2011, airweave began supplying IMG Academy with a number of its high-rebound mattresses to encourage better and more restorative sleep among student athletes and ultimately help them achieve optimal performance. By 2013, all dorm beds at the Academy were furnished with airweave mattresses. To evaluate if airweave mattresses induce better sleep and better athletic performance, airweave initiated sponsored research with Stanford Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology Laboratory (led by Director Seiji Nishino, M.D., Ph.D), which is currently in progress. The study evaluates the effects of different beddings on sleep and athletic performance, including statistical analysis to examine how various sleeping environments affect sleep, sleep-related physiology and athletic performance across three quantitative measures (40-meter sprint, long jump and star drill). The Japanese company believes that better sleep may not only induce better performance but also prevents possible injuries and facilitate rehabilitation of athletes. Managing sleep is also of great interest to U.S. Olympians. The United States Olympic Committee has appointed airweave as its official mattress supplier to Team USA since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and airweave continues its support to U.S. athletes to perform at their best at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics by providing special products specifically customized to fit each athlete's body. About airweave Founded in 2007, airweave, a mattress/mattress topper brand, has been offering comfortable support for the best possible quality sleep. Just by laying on top of the pre-existing mattress, the scientifically supported ultra-thin mattress will bring more restful slumber through its ergonomic, breathable design, and high resilience which help users turn over more easily. airweave is proven to minimize strain on joints, reduce restlessness while sleeping and distribute weight evenly, all of which amount to a life-enhancing sleep experience that leaves people feeling invigorated and refreshed upon waking. In 2014, Motokuni Takaoka, the founder and CEO of airweave, brought his innovative Japanese technology to the United States via online sales, and in February 2015, airweave opened its first flagship store in Manhattan's SoHo district. airweave is available in other regions as well such as mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan with further business expansion around the world being envisioned. airweave is enhancing the daily life and athletic performance of its users, which include: Several national Olympic delegations, including the United States , Austria , France , Germany , Switzerland and Japan . Nearly 33% of the medaling athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games were members of Olympic teams to which airweave supplied mattresses. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, airweave will provide specially customized mattresses for Team USA athletes; , , , , and . Nearly 33% of the medaling athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games were members of Olympic teams to which airweave supplied mattresses. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, airweave will provide specially customized mattresses for Team athletes; Top amateur and professional athletes around the globe, including two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson , U.S. Olympic gold medalist ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White ; , U.S. Olympic gold medalist ice dancers and ; Students at the Paris Opera Ballet School, where all beds in the dormitory are furnished with airweave mattresses; Opera Ballet School, where all beds in the dormitory are furnished with airweave mattresses; Students at the Royal Ballet School in London where airweave mattresses have been introduced to its younger students at the White Lodge dormitory; where airweave mattresses have been introduced to its younger students at the White Lodge dormitory; More than 500 students of IMG Academy whose residence hall features airweave mattresses. (Sleep research has been conducted at the Academy to measure the effect of airweave mattresses on individual athletic performance.); First and business class passengers of Japan Airlines international flights; Guests at high-end hotels, such as all diamond suites of Hotel Hermitage Monte Carlo, Andaz on Fifth Avenue and The Kitano New York. For more information, visit http://airweave.com Four benefits of airweave mattress: Highly resilient bedding material allows you to turn over more easily and maintain deeper sleep. Excellent dispersion of body pressure prevents physical strain and minimizes peak pressure points. Breathability of core material helps to dissipate heat and moisture generated by the body during sleep. Mattress cover and core material are easily washable with water. References: Lisa Baird - Chief Marketing Officer, United States Olympic Committee ([email protected]) Sam Zussman - Former Managing Director of IMG Academy ([email protected]) Seiji Nishino, M.D., Ph.D. - Principal Investigator ([email protected]) SOURCE airweave holdings inc. Related Links http://airweave.com TORONTO, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ioFABRIC Inc. today unveiled its LEaD Program, providing channel partners with the online educational tools they need to enhance their sales activities and close deals in software-defined storage. LEaD stands for Learn Explore and Deploy and is a unique online educational tool that channel partners can brand and use to enhance their sales process. ioFABRIC channel partners can brand and use LEaD Program materials, including a hands-on demo and collateral, to help their customers research and make decisions. The LEaD program shows how software-defined storage can help get more life out of existing storage systems, deliver cost-effective and risk-free data migration, and enable custom workloads like high-priority Docker apps, whether deployed as a turnkey hyperconverged appliance or on commodity hardware for a distributed, enterprise-class storage platform. "We know our channel partners want to start selling right away and our new LEaD Program provides the tools they need to educate their customers about how software-defined storage can help them," said Nigel Miller, Vice President of Business Development for ioFABRIC. "We have created an online environment where our partners can engage customers, showing them how Vicinity handles the most common challenges in their environments. We have made it painless for our partners to start selling with us because we have everything they need to fulfill demand today." "We were eager to join the ioFABRIC partner program and start selling the solutions to our customers. We think the LEaD program is an innovative lead generation campaign that matches the way people research and make buying decisions today. We believe it will help us reach more prospective customers," said Frank Kuschmierz, CEO of Xenium IT Corp. Xenium is a premium provider of IT services focusing on setup and support of networking infrastructure including storage systems. "LEaD gives me what I have been looking for. It's the first time a vendor has provided the exact sales tools I need to get started out of the gate," said Kuschmierz. "This is setting a new standard for software vendors. All I have to do is take a customer through the LEaD program and they will see and understand how Vicinity works. ioFABRIC has set up a series of demos and software downloads that won't waste a customer's time. I see real benefit in this." "We know IT experts do their own research and often have their buy decisions made before they contact a vendor. LEaD is providing educational tools to these experts, providing information to help with making that decision," said Miller. The LEaD Program consists of three stages: Learn: An innovative portal for customers to educate themselves on the storage challenges facing IT today and how software-defined storage innovation is opening up new ways to compete and grow. Customers will also see the key benefits of ioFABRIC Vicinity. They can view a product demo video and access introductory information on ioFABRIC Vicinity and the software-defined storage industry. Explore: Once a potential customer is ready to learn more they move onto Explore where they can contact us for a live demo of Vicinity, access more detailed collateral, and download a multi-node trial version. Customers will see how Vicinity intelligently moves data closer to the workload, and they can set up volumes with policies while adding devices and experiencing the ease of data migration. Deploy: The final stage of LEaD is Deploy. Customers can use Vicinity in a real-world environment. Deploy ensures that users are comfortable with how the software works in their environment allowing them to see true network latency and how Vicinity handles challenges such as device failures. To get started with the LEaD Program, visit www.ioFABRIC.com/Learn. About ioFABRIC ioFABRIC Inc. is a software-defined storage company that increases business agility while reducing storage costs. Its vision is to transform storage into something a business can simply depend on, eliminating admin demands and freeing time to focus on true business innovation. Its flagship product, ioFABRIC Vicinity, drastically reduces storage OPEX and CAPEX with intelligent automation and growth through commodity hardware and the cloud. Vicinity is available to extend existing storage systems, solve migration problems, and deploy as distributed storage, hyperconverged, or Docker solutions. Vicinity is sold through ioFABRIC's reseller and distribution channel and supported by its industry leading LEaD program. Partners sell Vicinity as licensed software with support or by white-labeling it with additional hardware and/or software. Founded in 2013 by an executive team that has worked together for more than 20 years, ioFABRIC is funded by private investors and Real Ventures. ioFABRIC is an industry leader in customer service and product development: agile and responsive. For more information visit www.ioFABRIC.com/Learn. Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter CONTACT AGENCY: CONTACT CLIENT: Judy Smith, JPR Communications Deborah Lamb, PR Manager 818-798-1475 416-578-5212 [email protected] [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150706/230877LOGO SOURCE ioFABRIC Inc. Related Links http://www.ioFABRIC.com/Learn Available for iSIGN, its Resellers and Clients TORONTO, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. ("iSIGN" or "Company") (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), a leading provider of interactive mobile proximity advertising solutions announced that it has signed an agreement with Commercial Funding Group Inc. ("CFG") to act as iSIGN's exclusive leasing agent for the United States, Canada and Australia to facilitate and serve an expected increased demand for our Smart Antennas. The ability to offer a leasing component provides an alternate payment solution to the Company's resellers and clients to acquire the Company's hardware. Resellers and client now have the ability to choose between purchasing and paying for hardware outright prior to shipment or electing to amortize the hardware cost over a set period of time of up to five years. This leasing facility is also available for iSIGN's resellers to use with their clients. LED Solutions Manufacturing Inc., our exclusive reseller for the Canadian outdoor signage market, has already contacted CFG to set up a leasing facility. "We had discussions with several leasing companies prior to closing CFG," stated Mr. Alex Romanov, iSIGN's Chief Executive Officer. "We chose CFG as they have a better understanding of our product and marketplace than the other companies we spoke with and have the ability to handle leases in the United States, Canada and Australia." "We anticipate that the leasing alternative will prove to be very attractive to both our resellers and their clients," added Mr. Romanov. "As CFG has stated that their forwarding of funds will be within 2 business days there will be no impact upon either our cash flow or that of our resellers." About iSIGN Media iSIGN Media, based in Toronto, is a data-focused, software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that is a pioneering leader in gathering point-of-sale data and mobile shopper preferences to generate actionable data and reveal valuable consumer insights. Creators of the Smart Suite of products, a patented interactive proximity marketing technology, iSIGN enables brands to deliver targeted messaging, personalized offers and loyalty perks to consumers' mobile devices in proximity and with real-time proof of redemption. iSIGN's data gathering capabilities provide analytics on price points, typical purchases, in-store dwell time and other shopper metrics that identify emerging consumer behaviors. These insights enable smarter business decisions and provide increased ROI metrics for more transparent marketing. iSIGN delivers relevant, timely messages on an opt-in basis at no charge to consumers, transmitting rich media to consumer mobile devices via Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity in complete privacy as opposed to iBeacons, apps, downloads and the required surrendering of personal information. Proven to increase brand engagement and customer loyalty, iSIGN generates preference-based, predictive "clean data" without compromising consumer privacy. Partners include: IBM, Keyser Retail Solutions, Baylor University, Verizon Wireless, TELUS and AOpen America Inc. www.isignmedia.com About Commercial Funding Group Established in 1981, Commercial Funding Group Inc. is a customer-focused organization geared to meeting the financing needs of the corporate marketplace. Commercial Funding Group Inc. provides a wide range of financial services to support customers throughout Canada, Australia and the United States. www.commercialfundinggroup.com 2016 iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements This news release may include certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with iSIGN Media's business and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but reflect iSIGN Media's current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. iSIGN Media assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the 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. SOURCE iSIGN Media Corp Related Links www.isignmedia.com DURHAM, N.C., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Duda|Paine Architects, a premier international design firm, announces that its founding partner and managing principal Jeffrey Paine has been accepted into the American Academy in Rome's Visiting Artists and Scholars Program. The self-funded program allows applicants to spend time living and working at the academy's campus in Rome, Italy. His eight-week stay begins in April. "At Duda|Paine, we believe the study of historic, even ancient, architecture adds breadth and depth to our understanding of the spaces we create," says Jeffrey Paine, Founding Principal at Duda|Paine Architects. "My research will enhance our awareness of how public spaces transform over time and will inform the creation of highly successful spaces for our clients and their communities." Founded in 1894, the American Academy in Rome is the oldest American overseas center for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. The Academy's Visiting Artists and Scholars program provides artists and scholars of all nationalities the opportunity to experience the intellectual and artistic freedom that characterizes life at the American Academy in Rome. "Jeff's inquisitive, intellectual and collaborative working methodology will add to the Academy's atmosphere of interdisciplinary exchange and innovation," says David G. Booth, a former Trustee for the American Academy of Rome and the Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Dimensional Fund Advisors. "What will result is an approach to architecture and the methods of shaping contemporary space that fosters, furthers and enhances the ideas of individuals, organizations and communities." ABOUT DUDA|PAINE ARCHITECTS: Duda|Paine Architects provides a full complement of design, interior design, architectural, planning and master planning services to a diverse array of international and national corporate, academic, wellness and cultural arts clients. The firm's enduring success results from an idea-based design process that engages participants and fosters inspiration to achieve visionary built work. For additional information, please call Duda|Paine at (919) 688-5133 or visit http://www.dudapaine.com. This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Duda | Paine Architects Related Links http://www.dudapaine.com Located at 149 North Glassell, the concept's sophomore location will continue Chef Mahon's mission of "disrupting the burger marketplace" and changing the way people think about "fast food". Antibiotic and hormone-free Nebraskan beef ground on-site, buns baked fresh daily, fries and onion rings made-to-order, house-made sauces, and shakes made with Burger Parlor's own scratch-made ice cream are all details that guests have come to know and love at Burger Parlor Fullerton. The Old Towne Orange location will continue with all of these unique details that have made its predecessor so popular, as well as incorporate an increased 24 rotating beer taps (10 devoted to Orange County craft breweries), and the same great service the original is known for. Said Mahon, "Our purpose is to add value to the community through our food quality, especially with our specially-sourced Nebraskan beef, customer-centric service and involvement with the immediate community." Following their grand opening, local residents can expect community-driven events from this growing company. Burger Parlor takes pride in supporting the causes most important to its neighbors' hearts. In the past, the business has supported Fullerton's education initiatives, music appreciation events, and children's programs, and their commitment to the city of Orange will be no different. About Burger Parlor: The first pop-up concept to go brick and mortar, Burger Parlor was inspired by chef and owner Joseph Mahon's burger-focused events at Michelin star restaurant Bastide. Burger Parlor's 2011 pop up was greeted with rave reviews and lines stretching out the door. Since then, the concept has been honored to be named one of "Orange County's 11 Best Burgers" by Thrillist.com, and Fullerton's "#1 Essential Restaurant" By OC Weekly, as well as one of Orange Coast Magazine's "Top 25 Things To Eat in OC". Press Contact: Jill Cook [email protected] (714) 618-3228 @bowandarrowpr Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/349119 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/349113LOGO SOURCE Burger Parlor BRUSSELS, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Actus Digital announced today that KTVN, CBS affiliated television station for Northern Nevada has deployed Actus Digital broadcast monitoring platform for TV logging of KTVN channels. Actus platform provides KTVN a solution to comply with FCC regulations and tools to support the marketing, quality assurance and content re-purposing. Actus View: recording and monitoring "The Actus TV monitoring platform provides us a full solution for our compliance monitoring requirements," said Brent Richard, Operations Manager at KTVN. "The Actus logging system includes easy tools to review live and recorded programs for compliance with audio loudness and closed captioning. The Actus system has easy content searching, clip creation and export engine and also assures that we deliver high quality broadcast. We found a robust solution, very easy to use... and at a cost effective price." Brent Richards also stated that they purchased the Actus platform through JAF International, who built the server for the Actus platform and "provisioned the server hardware to include 90 days of 24/7 recording, so it's easy to review any broadcast material within the last three months...with this high end hardware." "We are very happy that KTVN selected Actus system and joined hundreds of customers already using Actus systems," said Raphael Renous, Actus Digital CTO. "Actus continues to develop high end solutions, at the best price, to always comply with future requirements. About Actus Digital: Actus provides web-based broadcast monitoring, content repurposing for OTT and social media for the broadcast industry. Its impressive customer list includes CNBC, AMC Networks, Disney, BBC, BSkyB, Sky, Fox channels, Star, Encompass and Sony. http://www.actusdigital.com Meet us in NAB: Booth SU7821 About KTVN: KTVN, virtual channel 2, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Northern Nevada and Eastern California to the Utah border licensed to Reno. It broadcasts a CBS HD signal on VHF channel 13 and Antenna TV channel 2.2 . KTVN is received by over 40 translators in all of Northern Nevada and Eastern California. KTVN is owned and operated by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. About JAF International: JAF Int, based in Silicon Valley, California, provides advanced, custom-configured networking, compute and storage solutions to a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, education, government, OEM customers. JAF also provides comprehensive solutions for data center requirements, including rack integration, relocation, installation, infra-structure and managed services. Contact: Actus Digital +32-2-8086302 [email protected] Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160328/348285 SOURCE Actus Related Links http://www.actusdigital.com "Restarting the TACMS production is excellent news for our customers seeking deep precision fire support," said Ken Musculus, vice president Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "This production re-start will yield greater flexibility and significant cost-savings on a program with a rich history of reliability, affordability and mission success." TACMS is a combat-proven precision deep-strike system with readiness rates exceeding 98 percent since the program's initial fielding in 1990. Providing quick-reaction firepower with ranges up to 300 kilometers, the TACMS missiles can be fired from the entire family of MLRS launchers, including the lightweight High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). Each TACMS missile is packaged in an MLRS launch pod and is fired from the MLRS family of launchers. TACMS is the only long-range tactical surface-to-surface missile ever fired in combat by the U.S. Army. Almost 600 TACMS have been employed to date, with the system demonstrating extremely high rates of combat accuracy and reliability. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that with the addition of Sikorsky employs approximately 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348744 SOURCE Lockheed Martin Related Links http://www.lockheedmartin.com NEW YORK, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After a successful first edition in 2015, The Island of Flowers will again host world class competitors at Martinique Surf Pro from April 17th to 24th. This World Surf League (WSL) Qualification Series event will take place along the northeastern Atlantic shores of Martinique, in the town of Basse-Pointe. It is one of the best surf spots, cherished by the experts, locals and visitors because of its powerful and long reef break waves. Organized by Martinique Surfing (www.martinique-surfing.com) in partnership with the WSL Qualifying Series, 155 international surfers are registered to date from the United States, Europe, Brazil, Japan and the Caribbean, to compete in one surfing's best kept secret destinations, to earn WSL Qualifying Series points toward advancing to the WSL Championship Tour. "I simply had to return to the Martinique Surf Pro", said Joshua Moniz, winner of the 2015 Edition. "Last year, I had a great time and the waves were incredible. I really enjoyed this competition and exploring the island, so I couldn't miss this second edition. Seeing such great waves at Basse-Pointe was a huge surprise. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that and I couldn't have imagined how much fun I would get from these waves. In fact, we don't often get the opportunity to enjoy such conditions in the Qualifying Series." "Martinique counts about 14 recommended surfing spots from North to South, and offers ideal surfing conditions in warm waters", said Muriel Wiltord, Director Americas for the Martinique Promotion Bureau. "But the Island has much more to offer, blessed with a rich culture, a strong heritage, breathtaking natural beauty and most importantly, its warm and generous people. Martinique Surf Pro puts Martinique under the spot light as a not-to-be-missed surf destination and beyond..." For more information on the first Martinique Surf Pro, visit www.martinique-surfing.com. For more information on travel to Martinique, please visit www.us.martinique.org. For the latest, up-to-date Martinique Promotion Bureau press kit, journalists are encouraged to visit www.martiniquepresskit.com. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150408/197437LOGO SOURCE Martinique Promotion Bureau Related Links http://www.us.martinique.org AMSTERDAM, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) today announced Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) will serve as a key testing site for a multi-centered instrument precision study involving Philips' digital pathology whole slide imaging (WSI) IntelliSite Solution. The study is designed to show the reproducibility of the IntelliSite pathology solution in disease detection as part of the industry's efforts to obtain regulatory clearance of WSI for primary diagnostic use. If approved for diagnosis, in contrast to the industry's current analog process, soon pathologists could benefit from a digital system for their routine work. The pathologist plays a critical role in the detection and diagnosis of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. Most tissue-based diagnoses are rendered through analysis performed on a microscope using sections on glass slides. Once interpreted by a pathologist, they inform the final treatment pathway that has a significant impact on the patient and their families. In the process, providers often have to ship the glass slide samples for expert consults, running the risk for lost or damaged specimens and communication delays. "With rising health care costs, we have a public responsibility to work effectively," said Jochen K. Lennerz, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator of the study. "Through the genomic revolution we have started to learn how to manage big data. Now there is a pressing need to gain access to and increase flexibility in how pathologists manage the massive amounts of imaging data we procure every day." As workloads increase and pressures mount to improve the diagnostic process, the need to reinvent traditional pathology workflows to increase efficiencies and better manage massive amounts of data has put a spotlight on digital pathology solutions. These technologies have been developed to digitize and streamline pathology workflows and enhance multi-site collaboration with the ultimate goal to support pathways to improved diagnosis. "Through this study we hope to provide evidence for regulatory purposes that this technology is valid and reliable for primary diagnostic use," added Veronica E. Klepeis, M.D., Ph.D., the key enrollment pathologist in the study. As the personalized medicine and cancer moonshot movements are gaining visibility amongst the public, digital pathology's role in disease diagnostics should not be overlooked. Recent discussions with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have the potential to streamline the regulatory clearance pathway for digital pathology WSI moving forward. "Digital pathology addresses many of the inherent delays present in traditional pathology workflows and supports workplace efficiencies that can be scaled within organizations to streamline processes and cut costs," said Russell Granzow, General Manager of Philips Digital Pathology Solutions. "Philips is excited about the clinical study MGH is conducting to investigate the reproducibility of digital pathology system in the clinical diagnostic setting." To learn more about Philips' innovation in digital pathology, visit Philips' Digital Pathology Solutions website and follow @Philips. For further information, please contact: Steve Klink Philips Group Communications Tel.: +31 6 1088 8824 E-mail: [email protected] Hans Driessen Philips Digital Pathology Solutions Tel.: +31 6 10610417 E-mail: [email protected] About Royal Philips Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. The company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' wholly owned subsidiary Philips Lighting is the global leader in lighting products, systems and services. 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. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140122/NE50581LOGO SOURCE Royal Philips NEW YORK, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- McGuireWoods has expanded its nationally recognized government investigations and financial services regulatory practice with the addition of William Goydan, John Lukanski and Kiran Somashekara as partners in New York. Goydan, Lukanski and Somashekara represent clients in complex securities matters, focusing on internal investigations and regulatory enforcement matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and state securities and insurance regulators. They also advise companies on compliance with securities industry rules, reporting requirements, enhancements to policies and procedures, regulatory developments, and enforcement trends and best practices. Goydan and Somashekara join McGuireWoods from the New York office of Reed Smith while Lukanski comes from its Princeton, New Jersey, office. All three practiced in the financial industry group. "The addition of these outstanding new partners furthers our strategy to strengthen our ability to serve financial industry clients in New York and around the world," Managing Partner Thomas E. Cabaniss said. "Bill, John and Kiran bring a wealth of experience in the areas of securities litigation, internal investigations and regulatory enforcement that will have tremendous value for our clients," said J. Tracy Walker IV, the firm's deputy managing partner for litigation. Noreen Kelly, managing partner of McGuireWoods' New York office and the leader of the firm's Financial Institutions Industry Team, added: "Bill, Kiran and John significantly strengthen the McGuireWoods brand within the securities industry, particularly in New York. They bring the firm added depth in a highly competitive market." Goydan represents securities firms in regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, customer arbitrations and employment litigation. He serves as an arbitrator for FINRA Dispute Resolution and the National Futures Association. "I'm very familiar with McGuireWoods' reputation as one of the nation's premier investigations practices and the firm's capacity to provide a full range of services to clients in the financial sector," Goydan said. "I'm proud to join such an outstanding team of lawyers." Lukanski has handled internal reviews and high-profile regulatory investigations by the SEC, FINRA and state regulators, as well as litigation, arbitration and regulatory enforcement proceedings. "McGuireWoods has a world-class litigation practice with the depth and breadth of resources to guide clients in complex regulatory compliance matters," Lukanski said. "I'm excited for the opportunity to grow my practice here." Somashekara's experience includes advising broker-dealers, banks and registered representatives in regulatory investigations and enforcement, customer arbitrations, internal investigations, employment matters and litigation. "The firm is respected throughout the country for its litigation and investigations capabilities and for excellent client service," Somashekara said. "This is a great fit for my practice, and I look forward to contributing in every way I can." The arrival of the New York partners follows additions last week of prominent litigators Mary J. Hackett in Pittsburgh and David C. Powell, managing partner of the firm's new San Francisco office, and Monday's arrival of David S. Reidy in San Francisco. Hackett and Powell handle litigation for leading banks and financial institutions, and Reidy is a litigator with a leading practice advising financial technology companies. Respected, independent authorities have recognized McGuireWoods for its litigation prowess and client service. McGuireWoods was among the highest-ranked firms in 2016's "BTI Litigation Outlook" and "Client Service A-Team," published by BTI Consulting. In addition, Law360 named McGuireWoods a 2014 "White Collar Group of the Year." McGuireWoods LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers in 22 offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.mcguirewoods.com. Its full-service public affairs arm, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, offers infrastructure and economic development, strategic communications and grassroots advocacy, and government relations solutions. ATLANTA AUSTIN BALTIMORE BRUSSELS CHARLOTTE CHARLOTTESVILLE CHICAGO DALLAS HOUSTON JACKSONVILLE LONDON LOS ANGELES CENTURY CITY LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN NEW YORK NORFOLK PITTSBURGH RALEIGH RICHMOND SAN FRANCISCO TYSONS WASHINGTON, D.C. WILMINGTON SOURCE McGuireWoods LLP Related Links http://www.mcguirewoods.com WASHINGTON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected a team to build a new, cutting-edge instrument that will detect planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, by measuring the miniscule "wobbling" of stars. The instrument will be the centerpiece of a new partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) called the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research program, or NN-EXPLORE. The instrument, named NEID (pronounced "nee-id"), which is short for NN-EXPLORE Exoplanet Investigations with Doppler Spectroscopy, will measure the tiny back-and-forth wobble of a star caused by the gravitational tug of a planet in orbit around it. The wobble tells scientists there is a planet orbiting the star, and the size of the wobble indicates how massive the planet is. The highly precise instrument, to be built by a Pennsylvania State University research group led by Dr. Suvrath Mahadevan, will be completed in 2019 and installed on the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. Using NEID as a facility observatory instrument, astronomers will be able to search out and study new planets and planetary systems, as well as follow-up the discoveries of NASA's planet-hunting missions Kepler/K2 and the in-development Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). NEID will also help identify promising targets for future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope. "The NEID instrument is a critical part of NASA's partnership with NSF; this state-of-art precision instrument will enable the community to search for new worlds using the WIYN Telescope," said Paul Hertz, NASA Astrophysics Division Director in Headquarters, Washington. "We look forward to many new discoveries that can then be further explored using NASA's space telescopes." NEID was one of two concepts for an extreme precision Doppler spectrometer that were selected for a detailed six-month study by NASA in June 2015. The name NEID is derived from a word meaning "to discover/visualize" in the native language of the Tohono O'odham, on whose land Kitt Peak National Observatory is located. NASA and NSF established a partnership in February 2015 to take advantage of the full National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) share of the Kitt Peak telescope. The goal is to provide the science community with the tools and access to conduct ground-based observations that advance exoplanet science, and support the observations of NASA space astrophysics missions. Kitt Peak National Observatory is operated on behalf of NSF by NOAO. The NEID project will be managed on behalf of NASA's Astrophysics Division by the Exoplanet Exploration Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, visit: http://exep.jpl.nasa.gov/NNExplore/ Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov WELLESLEY, Mass., March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Key Findings: People consistently perceive scientists to possess qualities that are culturally linked to stereotypes about men. Specific stereotypes about men (e.g. they are risk-taking) overlap with stereotypes about scientists. Stereotypes about women (e.g. they are "communal") are not only still prevalent but work against perceptions that women can be successful scientists. This may lead to obstacles to women in the STEM disciplines. Only students at all-women colleges (as compared to both women and men at co-ed institutions) saw a meaningful similarity between how women and scientists are perceived. Results suggest attending a women's college, and the exposure to prominent female scientists that may come with it, can lead to women being more likely to see their gender as suited for careers in science. The greater number of women working in a particular field, the greater a perceived similarity between women and scientists existed. The number of men in a particular field, however, does not change perceived similarities. As the science community reels from ongoing revelations of sexual harassment and discrimination, a new study in Psychology of Women Quarterly, by Wellesley College researcher Linda Carli, offers important clues as to how women scientists are perceived and how stereotypes might lead to prejudicial treatment. The paper, entitled "Stereotypes About Gender and Science: Women is not equal to Science," shows that despite significant progress made, women are still thought to lack the qualities needed to be successful scientists, and the findings suggest this may contribute to discrimination and prejudice against women in those fields. Carli is a senior lecturer in psychology at Wellesley and is an authority on gender discrimination and the challenges faced by professional women. The article is currently online and is forthcoming in print. Carli's research adds critical background data to the on-going conversation jumpstarted by women scientists disclosing years of abuse and discrimination. For example, one professor recently published a New York Times op-ed about her own experience, suggesting the reality of discrimination and even abuse could explain why there are fewer women in STEM fields. Carli's research specifically compared how men, women, and scientists (as categories of people) are perceived by both genders. Little research has been done on the topic of how scientists as a group are perceived, and even though much work has looked at gender stereotypes and stereotypes for leaders, for example, there previously had been no study that considered the overlap of gender stereotypes with stereotypes about scientists, Carli said. "Common cultural stereotypes about women, men, and scientists lead people to see women as incompatible with science," said Carli. "Men are especially prone to this bias, but everyone shares it. This may result in prejudice (a dislike of female scientists compared with men) and discrimination against them." The study also used students at an all-women's college (Wellesley, where Carli teaches) to gauge the effect this environment might have on stereotypes. Approaching the research in this way led Carli to uncover a surprising and telling contrast between women in this setting and women and men at coeducational institutions. Only the women from her study who attended a single-sex college saw a meaningful similarity between women and scientists. Says Carli, "Women at coed institutions saw very little similarity and men saw none at all. It may be that women attending women's colleges have greater exposure to female scientists, and this may shift their stereotypes about successful scientists to be more like women." She adds, "Research on leadership suggests that media exposure to female leaders, such as Madeleine Albright, Angela Merkel, and Janet Yellen, increases peoples' perception that women can be good leaders. But people have little exposure to prominent female scientists. Going to a women's college may correct that problem." Support for this view comes from Wellesley itself. Wellesley College alumnae are awarded more science and engineering doctorates than female graduates of any other liberal arts college in the nation. (Alumnae in STEM fields include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher, Nergis Mavalvala, who was part of the team that recently discovered proof of gravitational waves.) Among Wellesley's top ten majors are neuroscience, biological sciences, computer science, and math. A closer look at Carli's research shows that scientists are perceived as more "agentic" (e.g. risk-taking and competitive), and that these characteristics have the greatest overlap with how men are also perceived. Women are thought to be more "communal," associated with qualities like helpfulness and kindness. She writes in the paper, "[T]he overall image of successful scientists appears to be one of exaggerated masculinity, but with fewer of the more negative qualities associated with masculinity." Her research was comprised of two different studies. In the first, participants were given a set of descriptive terms and asked to use them to describe the characteristics of a randomly assigned group ('adult man', or 'adult woman', or 'successful scientist') and to place each term on a five-point scale, with one [1] representing "not characteristic." The aim was to examine the overlap of stereotypes about women and men and to see if the gender of the participant had an effect on how they viewed these groups. The second study looked at particular fields in science (e.g. biology) and examined if the number of women actually working in that discipline had an effect on how women were perceived. Like the first study, these participants were asked to describe the characteristics of a randomly assigned group; instead of 'successful scientist', the category was, for example, 'successful biologist'. While generally women also perceive men and scientists to share more similarities than they feel their own gender shares with scientists, Carli's study did find that women were "more inclined to attribute to their own gender a somewhat greater degree of agency, and to perceive a somewhat greater similarity of women to successful scientist [than men did]." She also found that the greater number of women working in a particular field, the greater a perceived similarity between women and scientists existed. However, the number of men in a particular field does not change perceived similarities. She wrote, "[G]iven that people discriminate against women even in gender-neutral fields..., it may be that women have to predominate in a field before people perceive them as having the same role congruity [similarity between their gender and their field's perceived characteristics] as men." Carli argues the implications of her study are clear. As she wrote in the paper, "These data suggest that the challenges women face as potential scientists may go beyond the perception that science is a poor match with women's communal goals or that more scientists are men [and] not women." Her findings are also a call to action. We must be "more aware of these potential biases and attempt to compensate for them in evaluating women and girls in STEM," she argues in the article. About Linda Carli Linda Carli is the author (with Alice Eagly) of Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders, published in conjunction with the Center for Public Leadership of the Kennedy School of Government. The book received the 2008 Distinguished Publication Award from the Association of Women in Psychology; an article based on the book received a McKinsey Award as the second most significant article published in the Harvard Business Review in 2007. In 2001, she co-edited (with Eagly) a volume of the Journal of Social Issues that focused on women leaders. Her research focuses on the effects of gender on women's leadership, group interaction, communication, influence, and reactions to adversity. She has taught at Wellesley since 1991. About Wellesley College Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to some 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries. Press Contact: Sofiya Cabalquinto, Wellesley College, 917-691-7558, [email protected] Chris Hennessy, Wellesley College, 781-283-3201, [email protected] Provided by Newswise, online resource for knowledge-based news at www.newswise.com SOURCE Wellesley College Related Links http://www.wellesley.edu JENKINTOWN, Pa., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The SMart Center, which specializes in the research and treatment of selective mutism and other social communication disorders, announced today that the Journal of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry has published a groundbreaking study on the efficacy of SMart Center Director Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum's Social Communication Anxiety Treatment (S-CAT) Program in treating children with selective mutism (SM). The article, "Social Communication Anxiety Treatment for Children and Families with Selective Mutism: A Pilot Study," appears in the March 2016 issue of the prestigious journal. Principal investigators Dr. Evelyn Klein and Dr. Sharon Armstrong, associate professors at LaSalle University. assessed the effectiveness of the S-CAT Program in treating 40 children aged 5-12 years with SM. The study tracked and analyzed the progress of the children for changes in social communication in the home as well as public and school settings during 15 weeks of S-CAT treatment. The researchers became interested in the S-CAT Program because of "its potential for delivering therapy in a shorter time frame compared to previous therapies," according to the article. The study found that over the research period of less than four months, the children made statistically significant improvements in their ability to speak in school and other social settings following S-CAT therapy as measured by the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ). "We are excited by this study as it reinforces and validates the success that we have been seeing for years in treating thousands of children, teens and young adults around the world with our S-CAT program," said Dr. Shipon-Blum, who is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in selective mutism. "Although mutism is the most noted symptom of selective mutism, 'not speaking' merely touches on the surface of our children," she added. "A complete understanding of the child is necessary to develop an appropriate treatment plan for home, the real world and in school." The research was conducted through the Selective Mutism Research Institute (SMRI), a privately funded institute dedicated to researching and disseminating new treatment options and advances for treating the widely misunderstood and frequently misdiagnosed disorder known as selective mutism. Selective mutism is a complex anxiety disorder characterized by a child's inability to speak and communicate effectively in select social settings, such as the school. When not properly treated, SM can wreak havoc on a child's academic success and can persist into teenage and adult years, creating lifelong social communications issues. More common than autism, SM affects approximately seven of 1,000 children globally. Children with SM are often misdiagnosed with other disorders such as autism, learning disabled, oppositional defiance, speech/learning disorders, or just considered shy. As a result, they are not properly treated, and their problems persist. The SMart Center will be holding a Selective Mutism "In the School" Conference on Friday, April 15 at the Holiday Inn Philadelphia-Cherry Hill, NJ. Chaired by Dr. Shipon-Blum, the conference will provide parents, teachers, school personnel and treating professionals with insights, techniques and proven strategies for helping children with SM succeed in the classroom. About the SMart Center The SMart Center specializes in research and treatment of selective mutism and other social communication disorders. Directed by international expert and researcher Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum, who pioneered cost-effective treatments of selective mutism, the center offers its proven, evidenced-based Social Communication Anxiety Treatmenttm (S-CATtm), which has helped thousands of children overcome selective mutism and related social communication disorders. The Social Communication Anxiety Treatment and S-CAT are registered trademarks of the SMart Center. Media Contact: Jim Kerr, 215 887 5748 SOURCE SMart Center Related Links http://www.selectivemutismcenter.org NEW YORK, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Back pain is one of the most common medical complaints, affecting 8 out of 10 individuals at some point in their lives, according to the National Institutes of Health. Although most back pain subsides on its own, persistent problems can be signs of a more serious medical condition and can create a cascade of issues that greatly impact health and quality of life. Recognizing that patients with back and spine problems have complex needs, NYU Langone Medical Center has launched a new, state-of-the art comprehensive Spine Center, offering personalized treatments for a broad range of conditions. The Spine Center builds on the already outstanding collaborative partnership between several of NYU Langone's nationally ranked clinical departments, including Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, and Rehabilitation Medicine. Many of the services are provided at NYU Langone's Center for Musculoskeletal Care at 333 East 38th Street on Manhattan's East Side. The center is led by co-directors Thomas J. Errico, MD, chief of the Division of Spine Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Anthony K. Frempong-Boadu, MD, director of the Division of Spinal Surgery in the Department of Neurosurgery. "Many patients with longstanding back issues refrain from seeing a doctor to avoid the prospect of surgery," says Errico. "Our main objective is to provide nonsurgical treatments first, when possible. You may have previously been told your MRI needs surgery, but you actually might not." NYU Langone's spine surgeons take a conservative treatment approach and consult with specialists at several other programs, including Rusk Rehabilitation and the Center for the Study and Treatment of Pain, to assess and provide nonsurgical therapies, physical therapy, medications, or injections when appropriate. The complex nature of back and spinal conditions is, indeed, one of the driving forces behind the establishment of NYU Langone's Spine Center. "Patients may benefit most from care provided by a particular specialist, such as an orthopaedic spine surgeon, a spine neurosurgeon, or a rehabilitation medicine or pain specialist. For especially complex cases, a neurosurgeon and orthopaedic surgeon may consult on diagnosis and, if necessary, perform the surgery together to ensure the best outcomes," says Frempong-Boadu, an associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. "We're here to use all the resources available at our medical center to figure out the best way to make a patient betterwhatever it takes." Care at NYU Langone's Spine Center is expedited through a single entry point, including a single phone number: 844-698-2224. A clinical nurse coordinator speaks to all callers about their symptoms, and then guides them to whichever specialist is most appropriate at a given juncture of care. Specialists at the Spine Center are internationally recognized leaders in the field, evaluating 18,000 patients annually and performing 2,850 surgeries and 3,000 interventional procedures a year. Patients are provided with same-day, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, including digital X-rays, MRI, and EOS imaginga high-resolution, low-dose radiation spinal imaging system with complex, three-dimensional reconstruction capability. NYU Langone's Spine Center offers treatments in degenerative conditions of the spine, such as osteoarthritis, complex spinal problems associated with a previous failed back surgery, scoliosis in adults and children, reconstructive procedures, cervical and lumbar herniated discs, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, growth disorders, neuromuscular diseases, tumors of the spinal cord and spinal column, spinal fractures, vascular abnormalities, and congenital conditions such as spina bifida. Media Contact Ryan Jaslow [email protected] 212-404-3511 SOURCE NYU Langone Medical Center WHIPPANY, N.J., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pazoo, Inc. (OTC Pinks: PZOO) (German WKN#: A1J3DK), is pleased to announce that David Cunic, Pazoo's CEO, will present online on the Cannabis Investor Webcast (www.cannawebcast.com) on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at 12:00 PM EDT. The Cannabis Investor Webcast will include presentations from both privately-held and publicly-traded companies, and other industry professionals. Pazoo, Inc.'s presentation will be 30-minutes in length and will be followed by 15-minutes of questions and answers. The Cannabis Investor Webcast is a great opportunity for its online audience to research industry companies without taking time-off from work, paying registration fees and incurring travel-related expenses. "The Cannabis Investor Webcast is an online interactive platform that will assist us in further increasing our exposure to the public, while giving us an opportunity to talk about our expected exponential growth in 2016 as well as our expanding footprint in the cannabis industry. We presented with them back in September of 2015, and the results and feedback were phenomenal. With our recent news, specifically the news about the Colorado testing lab, we felt it was a good time to present again to the public," states David Cunic, CEO of Pazoo, Inc. Cannabis investors, analysts, executives, media, and consumers who would like to attend the free online webcast, please click on the link http://www.cannawebcast.com/ and visit the Registration Page. After you register you will receive a link via e-mail to access the webcast on presentation day. To view the recorded presentations please visit www.youtube.com and search for Cannabis Investor Webcast two weeks after the live presentation. About Pazoo, Inc.: Pazoo, Inc. is a company focused on health, wellness and safety. Our focus is to provide best-in-class laboratory testing of cannabis and cannabinoids to protect consumers from impurities, contaminants and other irregularities. Through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Harris Lee and MA & Associates, Pazoo provides industry leading laboratory testing of cannabis. Pazoo is licensed to test cannabis in Nevada, with a focus on expansion into other states. Additionally, Pazoo delivers a comprehensive array of health and wellness information on its website www.pazoo.com, and features industry experts from both the health and wellness arena and the pet industry. Lastly, our newly formed wholly owned subsidiary CK Distribution LLC, provides the marketing and sales agent for the distribution of non-controlled hemp products throughout the USA. Non-controlled hemp products are the items utilized by the industry that support grow facilities, infusion companies and dispensaries. Safe Harbor Statement: This update includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as Pazoo, Inc. or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statement. SOURCE Pazoo, Inc. Related Links www.pazoo.com Not only is Privates! the perfect app for dating and friendship, it has a vital place in the business realm as well. The app complies with attorney-client privilege and with HIPAA regulations for sensitive communications. Privates! app, founder Dr. Isaac Datikashvili said that "As a busy emergency trauma dentist operating in New York City, I needed a HIPPA-compliant way to communicate with other doctors and patients securely. I couldn't find one that I could trust - thus Privates! was born." After the app was developed, Datikashvili thought it surpassed other messaging apps and decided to offer the app to users outside of the medical community. Privates! users can select from three different security settings -- mild, wild, and insane -- to control the security of every text message, video, or photo they send. They can also decide whether to enable a reactions feature, which shows the facial expression of the recipient when they view the message. A violations feature tracks how many times a Privates! user attempted to screenshot messages sent via the app. Senders can check a user profile before sending a message to see how trustworthy a recipient is. This protects the community and provides senders with peace of mind that sensitive communications will not be used against them. This free messaging app with ultimate screen shot protection is an innovative, secure and user friendly disrupter in the space of messaging apps. Download the app in the Apple app store or visit http://protectyourprivates.net/ . Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeC2aABs3EY SOURCE RXN LLC Related Links http://www.Privatesapp.com NEWPORT, R.I., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SecZetta, the preferred source for comprehensive IAM solutions, including SecZetta's products that uniquely address the often overlooked risk associated with 3rd Party Identities and other Non-Employees, is excited to announce the recent addition of two new executive hires to meet growth goals and address demand. Jason Hobart was appointed to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Wade Chmielinski was named Vice President of the Information Risk Practice. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160328/348309LOGO "We're thrilled to welcome Jason and Wade aboard during this exciting period of growth for the company," says David Pignolet, SecZetta President. "Their respective experience building high-performance cultures and scalable customer-centric organizations will help support SecZetta as we rapidly expand." Hobart will focus on growing SecZetta's presence in the marketplace as the company expands its sales and marketing organization. "Jason will be an essential part of our efforts in maintaining SecZetta as a leading software and services company to work with," says David. Hobart joins SecZetta with over 15 years of sales, marketing and leadership experience. Most recently, he was the Vice President of Global Markets, Channels and Integrations at Lionbridge Technologies, a leading global marketing and translation services firm. "SecZetta has solved a real challenge in how companies manage third party identities," said Jason. "I am excited to help Dave and his team build the company brand and accelerate growth through increased sales and marketing activities." Leading the company's Information Risk practice, Chmielinski will ensure SecZetta's new and existing clients are able to address their global security and risk goals. "Wade's expertise is key to growing our business," David says. Chmielinski has more than 20 years of experience in information security and has served in senior leadership roles including the Director of Information Security for CVS Health, and the Chief Information Security Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Wade is also the Director of Operations of the 102nd Network Warfare Squadron for the RI Air National Guard where he holds the rank of Major. "SecZetta has a long history of helping companies implement strong IAM programs," said Wade. "I'm excited to be joining a great team and look forward to growing the information risk practice." About SecZetta SecZetta is an identity innovator providing a holistic approach to Identity and Access Management Programs. Specializing in consulting, services and the creation of adaptable software, we are committed to finding the right solution for our clients. SecZetta's suite of innovative software provides an easily adaptable platform to existing IAM systems or as a stand-alone solution. Its products provide a more efficient, effective and secure identity solution with a specific focus on managing non-employees. Whether you have already implemented an IAM strategy or not, SecZetta helps address the often overlooked and underestimated risk associated with non-employees. Connect with us: Twitter Facebook Linkedin Media Contacts: Jason Hobart SecZetta Email (781) 832-0767 * 104 www.seczetta.com SOURCE SecZetta Related Links http://www.seczetta.com SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SoFi, a modern finance company taking an unprecedented approach to lending and wealth management, announced today it has funded more than $1 billion in student loan refinancing to borrowers entirely through corporate and association partnerships. More than 400 partners, from the Fortune 10 and fastest-growing startups to top professional services firms, banks and membership groups, are helping employees pay down their student debt with SoFi. SoFi also announced today that it is joining these companies in adopting student loan assistance as a employee benefit; the company will now contribute $200 per month to help repay the student loan debt of its own eligible employees. As one facet of its radical approach to financial services, SoFi is helping these companies lead a shift in employee benefits that reflects the current needs of early-stage professionals. These workers are more concerned with their student debt than they are with saving for retirement, and SoFi saves borrowers $18,000, on average, over the lifetime of their loans. That savings can enable employees to participate in other important voluntary benefits like 401(k) plans and health care savings accounts that they are otherwise forsaking. A significant percentage of SoFi's more than 130,000 members are introduced to the company via these partnerships, who range in size from 200 to 200,000+ employees. Participants include Microsoft; Skadden; Workday; Akin Gump; Weil Gotshal; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and hundreds of others. SoFi offers two employer options, both at zero cost to the employer: Employer Contribution Model: administered by SoFi, companies can contribute a regular amount (e.g., $100 /month) to their employees' existing student loans. For those employees SoFi can't underwrite, SoFi will still administer the employer contribution for their existing loans. administered by SoFi, companies can contribute a regular amount (e.g., /month) to their employees' existing student loans. For those employees SoFi can't underwrite, SoFi will still administer the employer contribution for their existing loans. Classic Partner Model: an entirely free program to employers and associations who offer SoFi as a benefit to their workers and members, generally with a special welcome bonus or other sign-on incentive. "Student debt has reached crisis proportions in this country, and borrowers especially Millennials are struggling to repay their loans and put aside even the smallest amount for their future," said Catesby Perrin, Head of Business Development at SoFi. "So it makes sense that we're seeing a lot of excitement about the benefit. It's truly the hottest employee benefit since the 401(k), and it signals to employees that their companies are invested in their success and addressing the most pressing financial concerns they have right now, not just forty years down the line. Beyond the excitement from borrowers themselves, the positive feedback we've received from companies is overwhelming. They see that helping to ease the burden of student loans is an especially meaningful and differentiating benefit to both current and prospective employees," said Perrin. The SoFi milestone comes on the heels of news that legislators are also working to make it easier and more appealing for employers to help workers pay down debt. The Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act (also known as H.R. 3861) was recently introduced in the House with bipartisan co-sponsorship, and the Employer Participation in Repayment Act was introduced concurrently in Senate. The bills would revise tax law to prevent workers from getting taxed on employer-sponsored student loan repayment plans. These efforts aren't surprising, given that more than 70 percent of employees reporting they're stressed about money. And, according to a survey of more than 5,000 job seekers by job search and application site Beyond, nearly 90% of of those with debt said they think companies should offer student loan repayment as part of their benefits package. The benefit is a natural fit for leading companies looking to strengthen recruitment, reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction. SoFi's nontraditional underwriting approach considers an individual's financial well-being to determine creditworthiness, with factors such as employment history and free cash flow. SoFi also offers borrowers benefits that can't be found elsewhere, such as unemployment protection, an entrepreneurship program, career counseling and member events. About SoFi SoFi is a modern finance company taking an unprecedented approach to lending and wealth management. We've replaced the impersonal, transactional bank experience with a long-term partnership, enabling our members to realize the full potential of their money, careers and relationships. Our members constantly push the limits of what life has to offer. Whether looking to refinance their student loans, buy their dream home, or simply seek advice as they ascend in their careers, SoFi provides the products and tools to match their ambitions and propel them to new levels of financial greatness. For more information, visit SoFi.com and check out these fast facts. For press inquiries: Laurel Toney [email protected] 720.435.8862 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160226/338122LOGO SOURCE SoFi Related Links http://www.sofi.com ADDISON, Texas, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ULURU Inc. (OTCQB: ULUR), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a portfolio of wound management and oral drug delivery products, today announced the execution of a definitive agreement to sell an aggregate of 25,245,442 shares of its common stock at a price per share of $0.0713 to a group of investors, resulting in gross proceeds of $1,800,000. Participating in the private placement were existing shareholders, new investors, directors, and named executive officers of the Company. The investors will also receive warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 25,245,442 shares of ULURU Inc.'s common stock. The warrants have a fixed exercise price of $0.0871 per share and are exercisable at any time for a period of five years from the date of closing. The issue price of the shares being sold is based on a 10% discount to the average closing price between March 7, 2016 and March 11, 2016 and the warrant exercise price is based on a 10% premium to the same average closing price. The shares of common stock to be issued and any shares issued resulting from the exercise of warrants have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be sold absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. Commenting on the transaction, Bradley J. Sacks, the Company's Chairman, said, "The proceeds from this transaction will allow us to continue implementing the turn-around plan that commenced in November of last year. There have been a lot of changes in the last few months and we look forward to sharing the details of those changes with our stockholders after we release our earnings results for 2015 on March 30, 2016." Details for the conference call to be held on April 1, 2016 to discuss the Company's financial results for 2015 were provided in a separate press release last week. The Company also announced today that Terrance K. Wallberg, the Company's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed to serve on the Company's Board of Directors. Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Sacks stated, "We are pleased to announce that Mr. Wallberg has been appointed a director of the Company. He has served as our Chief Financial Officer since March 2006 and is an active participant in all material matters within the Company. The Board looks forward to him contributing in a formal capacity as director." Recently, the Company has learned that insolvency proceedings have been initiated with an Austrian commercial court with respect to IPMD GmbH, one of the Company's largest stockholders, and that its affiliated operating entities, Altrazeal AG and Oradisc GmbH, each of which are distributors of the Company's products (collectively, the "Operating Entities"), might be affected by such insolvency proceeding filing. We are continuing to evaluate our position with respect to IPMD GmbH and the Operating Entities in light of this recent development. Helmut Kerschbaumer, the Company's Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, currently serves as a director for the Company as the appointee of IPMD GmbH pursuant to the terms of a Securities Purchase Agreement dated December 21, 2012 and also serves as a director of IPMD GmbH, Altrazeal Trading GmbH, Altrazeal AG, and Oradisc GmbH. Klaus Kuehne currently serves as a director for the Company, as the appointee of IPMD GmbH, and also serves as a director of IPMD GmbH, Altrazeal AG, and Oradisc GmbH. About ULURU Inc.: ULURU Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of a portfolio of wound management and oral care products to provide patients and consumers improved clinical outcomes through controlled delivery utilizing its innovative Nanoflex Aggregate technology and OraDisc transmucosal delivery system. For further information about ULURU Inc., please visit our website at www.ULURUinc.com. For further information about Altrazeal, please visit www.Altrazeal.com. ULURU Inc. (OTCQB: ULUR) trades on the OTCQB Venture stage marketplace for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies. Companies are current in their reporting and undergo an annual verification and management certification process. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the company on www.otcmarkets.com. This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including but not limited to statements made relating to the anticipated closing of the transaction and the Company's products. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks that the funding will not close for a number of possible reasons, including the failure of one or more investors to fund after satisfaction of all conditions precedent are satisfied, that conditions to closing the financing will not be satisfied, that the attempts by the Company to terminate its license and distribution agreements with the Operating Entities will be blocked as a result of insolvency laws and/or a successful reorganization; that the Affiliated Entities will fail to fulfil their obligations to sub-distributors or, indirectly, customers as a result of their insolvencies, which will harm the Company's efforts to expand sales and its brand generally; that the proceeds may not be sufficient enough to further the Company's business plan, and risk factors detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and other reports filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Company Helmut Kerschbaumer Interim President & CEO Terrance K. Wallberg Vice President & CFO (214) 905-5145 SOURCE ULURU Inc. Related Links http://www.uluruinc.com COLUMBIA, Md., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Value Dry, a full service basement waterproofing and crawl space encapsulation provider, and Basement Masters, a high end basement remodeling provider, will refer each others clientele in order to deliver protected custom finished basements. "Value Dry has been looking for over 10 years for a remodeling partner specializing in basements that understands homeowners need to work with a reputable waterproofing company that has reliable on-going service capabilities. Pavel and his team provide homeowners with stunning custom finished basements. Value Dry installs systems that protect finished basements, so this partnership makes perfect sense," says James Ketterer, President, at Value Dry Waterproofing. "The basements remodeled by Basement Masters include full tile bathrooms with glass door showers, custom built ins, wet-bars, media rooms, additional bedrooms and even in-law suites across the DC Metropolitan Area. Our customers deserve to work with a reputable basement waterproofing company to protect the investment they make with Basement Masters. Value Dry has the experience, resources and track record to stand behind their warranty and provide ongoing service to our high end customers," says Pavel Abaev, Owner, at Basement Masters. Basement Masters and Value Dry will be working hand in hand on basement projects in the DC Metro Area as well as teaming at home improvement trade shows. The partnership will be introduced and showcased April 1st 3rd at the Suburban Maryland Home Show, hosted at the Howard County Fairgrounds. About Value Dry Value Dry is a full service basement waterproofing and crawl space encapsulation provider in the MD, DC, VA, Kent and Sussex county DE area. Headquartered centrally in Savage, MD, Value Dry can quickly respond to warranty and service issues in its service area. A locally owned and operated company, Value Dry takes pride in its stellar reputation, ongoing customer service, and lifetime transferable warranties. Website www.valuedrywaterproofing.com Phone: 888-768-2583 About Basement Masters Basement Masters is the industry's first remodeling company focused solely on helping our clients achieve the basement they dream about. The dreams we help come true for our clients include custom built-in shelving, wet-bars, kitchenettes, media rooms, home gyms, additional basement bedrooms, full and partial basement bathrooms, as well as in-law suites. Website www.basementremodeling.com Phone: 240-395-2898 PR Contact: Shelly Neisser: [email protected] SOURCE Value Dry Related Links http://valuedrywaterproofing.com DENVER, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vista Gold Corp. (the "Company," "we" or "our") (NYSE MKT and TSX: VGZ) today announced that it has received an additional A$992,000 (approximately US$748,000) Research & Development ("R&D") Tax Incentive refund, net of costs to prepare and file. This refund is related to costs we incurred during the 2014 fiscal year. Frederick H. Earnest, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The 2014 fiscal year R&D refund applies to the continuation of programs from 2012 and 2013 related to our implementation of innovative solutions to the challenges of water management at the Mt Todd gold project. Our water management expenditures in 2014 were considerably less than the expenditures that were made in the two previous years. We now have several years of successful implementation of the methods and protocols that we developed and we are very pleased to see that these methods and protocols are now being implemented by other Northern Territory mining operations with similar water management challenges." Regarding the Company's request for authorization under the Australian Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999 (the "EPBC"), the Australian Commonwealth Department of Environment (the "DoE") has requested additional modelling and testing information from us as part of their review. To provide such information, the Company is working with its consultants to define the scope of the work and initiate the required studies as soon as possible. It is expected that the Company will be in a position to provide the DoE with the requested additional information by the end of the 3rd quarter of this year. In respect of the request from the DoE for additional information Mr. Earnest commented, "Our request for authorization under the EPBC is specifically related to the Gouldian Finch and its habitat northwest of the Mt Todd gold project area. The DoE has requested additional dust modelling and laboratory testing to determine the threshold limit for dust exposure for the Gouldian Finch. Because we are committed to ensuring the welfare of all native species in the project area, including the Gouldian Finch, we designed the project to meet more stringent dust controls and standards than required, which we believed would have precluded the DoE's request for this additional testing. We are confident that the additional testing will establish the validity of our assumptions. We intend to use part of the recently received R&D Tax Incentive refund to fund the laboratory testing and modelling that will be required to satisfy the request of the DoE." About Vista Gold Corp. The Company is a well-funded gold project developer. Our principal asset is our flagship Mt Todd gold project in Northern Territory, Australia where we continue to work to identify opportunities to improve project economics with the goal of moving the project closer to development. We also hold approximately 4.4% of the outstanding common shares of Midas, non-core projects in Mexico and the United States and royalty interests in Indonesia. For more information about our projects, including technical studies and resource estimates, please visit our website at www.vistagold.com. For further information, please contact Connie Martinez at (720) 981-1185. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such things as, the Company being in a position to provide the DoE with the requested additional modelling and testing information to determine the threshold limit for dust exposure for the Gouldian Finch by the third quarter of this year; that the additional testing will establish the validity of our assumptions with respect to the dust controls and standards we have designed for the Mt Todd gold project; and our intent to use part of the recently received R&D Tax Incentive refund to fund the laboratory testing and modelling; and other such matters are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information contained in this press release include the following: our approved business plans, exploration and assay results, mineral resource and reserve estimates and results of preliminary economic assessments, and pre-feasibility studies on our projects, if any. When used in this press release, the words "optimistic," "potential," "indicate," "expect," "intend," "hopes," "believe," "may," "will," "if," "anticipate," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of resource and reserve estimates, uncertainty as to the Company's future operating costs and ability to raise capital; risks relating to cost increases for capital and operating costs; risks of shortages and fluctuating costs of equipment or supplies; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of gold; the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities; potential effects on our operations of environmental regulations in the countries in which it operates; risks due to legal proceedings; risks relating to political and economic instability in certain countries in which it operates; as well as those factors discussed under the headings "Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed on February 26, 2016 and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information; whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE Vista Gold Corp. Related Links http://www.vistagold.com "Human gene therapy is one of the fastest-growing areas of medical research, and also one of the most promising," said WCG Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Donald A. Deieso, Ph.D. "The advances made by scientists and clinicians in the field of gene therapy have enabled us to target disease at the genetic level, redefining the concept of precision medicine." He added, "More than that, gene transfer researchers have succeeded over the course of a single lifetime in transforming the world's most persistent and lethal viruses into disease-fighting allies in the quest to improve human health." "As gene therapy research moves increasingly into the clinic, we must ensure that our clients are well prepared to safely and confidently manage this new type of research," said WCG Chief Medical Officer and President of Consulting Services Lindsay McNair, MD, MPH, MSB. "In addition to keeping trial volunteers safe, they must also protect the welfare of their employees and the larger community. Through the WCG Gene Therapy Advisory Board, our clients will have access to the best and most current thinking in this new and emerging field." The WCG Gene Therapy Advisory Board is comprised of experts from diverse backgrounds with specialized knowledge of the commercial development, regulatory oversight, and clinical application of products involving recombinant DNA. The Advisory Board will provide guidance and strategic counsel to the company, ensuring that knowledge and best practices are reflected in the company's oversight of human gene transfer research, which involves the careful coordination of institutional review board (IRB) and institutional biosafety committee (IBC) reviews. The Advisory Board will also help the company to prepare its clients to manage increasing volumes of this type of complex and potentially hazardous research. WCG Gene Therapy Advisory Board members include Mark Bagarazzi, MD, chief medical officer at Inovio Pharmaceuticals, and past director of regulatory worldwide affairs at Merck; Carl June, MD, director of the Translational Research Program and professor of immunotherapy at Penn Medicine, and chair of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy's (ASGCT's) Cancer Vaccines Committee; and Hans-Peter Kiem, MD, Dr. med., professor at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, associate head of the Heme Malignancy Program for the UW/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Consortium, chair of the National Institutes of Health Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, and chair of ASGCT Stem Cell Center. They are joined by Arnold J. Levine, PhD, professor of the Institute for Advanced Study at the School of Natural Sciences at Princeton University, and professor in the pediatrics and biochemistry departments at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center; and Tony Reid, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, hematology/oncology at the Moores Cancer Center and director of early phase clinical investigation at UC San Diego, and chairman of the Association of American Cancer Institutes' Clinical Research Initiative. "Both the promise and complexity of this field are astounding," said Joan M. Robbins, PhD, WCG Senior Vice President of Biosafety and Gene Therapy. "Advances in the application of gene therapy, gene editing, genetic-based precision medicine, and immunotherapy are announced almost weekly; it can be a challenge to keep current. Medical researchers who participate in this field or who would like to participate in the future must make continuing education a priority." To that end, WCG will host a webinar entitled, "Making Sense of the Gene Therapy Puzzle," on Thursday, Mar. 31 at 3 p.m. ET. During this session, Dr. Robbins will discuss many of the breakthrough gene therapy technologies that are changing the course of medical research. She will also clarify the science, progress, and promise represented by these new medical advances. Dr. Robbins has more than 25 years' experience in cancer research, gene therapy, and drug development. Prior to joining WCG, she served as vice president of translational research at Tocagen, Inc. Dr. Robbins was also a research fellow at the Garvin Institute for Medical Research at the Centre for Immunology in Sydney, Australia. She received her PhD in genetics from George Washington University. To register for this complimentary 60-minute webinar, please visit https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1097917. About WIRB-Copernicus Group WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG) is one of the world's leading providers of solutions that measurably improve the quality and efficiency of clinical research. The industry's first Clinical Services Organization (CSO), WCG enables biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and institutions to accelerate the delivery of new treatments and therapies to patients, while maintaining the highest standards of human subject protections. WCG solutions include contract and budget negotiation, study start-up acceleration, regulatory and ethical review services, oversight of research involving gene therapy, and lab safety consulting. Powered by a suite of proprietary technologies, WCG solutions help clients to increase regulatory compliance and support the digital management of clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.wcgclinical.com or follow us on Twitter @WCGClinical. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140422/77410 SOURCE WIRB-Copernicus Group Related Links http://www.wcgclinical.com Shimla, March 23 : Rains may play spoil sport for tourists heading to the hill destinations and hoping to make the most of the long weekend beginning with Holi, the festival of colours on Thursday. Members of the hospitality industry estimate nearly 50,000 tourists, mainly from the plains of north India, are likely to make their way up to Himachal Pradesh during the four-day long weekend. "Our all three properties in Shimla have been sold out for the next four days," Oberoi Group's Clarkes Hotel's general manager D.P. Bhatia told IANS on Wednesday. Harnam Kukreja, president of the Shimla Hoteliers and Restaurants Association, said most of the tourist destinations on the outskirts of Shimla like Kufri, Mashobra, Naldehra and Chail are also expected to remain bustling with tourists and visitors. State-run Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) is currently witnessing more than 80 percent occupancy in all its hotels in the state. Shimla, known for the imperial grandeur of buildings that were once institutions of power when it was the summer capital of British India, is witnessing balmy days and chilly nights these days. But a word of caution for the tourists as the Met Office in Shimla predicts rains in low and mid hills and snow in higher reaches of the state. The tourists are advised to carry woolens as the temperatures in the hills nosedived sharply even with a drizzle. Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological department, said popular tourist destinations like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Manali, Palampur and Dharamsala may experience showers as the western disturbance would be active in the region from March 24 to 26. Manali remains a big attraction for holidaymakers. Hotelier M.C. Thakur, who is based in Manali, said the long weekend has set the cash registers of tour operators and hoteliers ringing. Almost all the hotels in the town have got over 60 percent advance bookings. "Sunny days and less harsh winter makes our holidays perfect," Divya Sanyal, a tourist from Mumbai, remarked while enjoying sightseeing and outdoors things in Shimla. Her husband Mukul said this is the best time to visit the hills when the harsh winter has receded. Higher reaches in the Kullu-Manali region, including the Pir Panjal, Brighu, Chaderkhani and Hampta, have already been experiencing night temperature close to sub-zero. Even some of the mountain peaks viewed from Shimla's historic Ridge have been wrapped in a thick white blanket of snow. Tour operators have been advising tourists to plan trips to Narkanda, Dalhousie, Dharamsala, Palampur and Sangla. At these destinations, the tourists can at least enjoy the view of snow-laden hills. The tourism industry contributes 7.2 percent to the state gross domestic product. Currently, the state has 2,416 hotels having bed capacity of 67,097, besides 662 home stay units having 1,838 rooms. Himachal Pradesh last year attracted 171,250,45 domestic and 406,108 foreign tourists. New Delhi, March 28 : Yash Raj Films' "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" was on Monday named the winner of the Best Hindi Film honour at the 63rd National Film Awards. Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, head of the feature film jury, announced the film as the winner. "A sweet and resonant film set in Haridwar, it challenged the prejudices in a middle class family of choosing a bride," Sippy said of the Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar starrer. The film is directed by Sharat Katariya. Phnom Penh, March 28 : An American art museum on Monday returned to Cambodia a 10th century Khmer statue of Hindu god Rama reportedly looted from an archaeological site during the 1970s. The sandstone statue was stolen from Prasat Chen sanctuary in the remote Koh Ker temple and sold to the Doris Weiner Gallery in New York, after which the Denver Art Museum bought it in 1986, EFE news reported. "The voluntary return of the statue demonstrates the museum's sensitivity to the importance of Koh Ker era to the Cambodian culture," said Cambodian Secretary of State Chan Tani. Over the past decade, a number of stolen artefacts centuries old have been returned to Cambodia from museums overseas amid ongoing legal battles involving the Cambodian government, aided by UNESCO, to have the artefacts repatriated to the National Museum in Phnom Penh. "It's very easy to recognise the style of Koh Ker because statues are extremely massive and at the same time extremely defined," said Anne LeMaistre, the UNESCO representative to Cambodia. The repatriated statue is still missing pieces including its head and arms. The government is urging collectors worldwide to return the pieces, which are "part of our soul as a nation", Tani added. Kabul, March 28 : Afghanistan has condemned the suicide bombing that ripped through a park full of Christian revellers in Lahore city, capital of the Pakistan's Punjab province, said the country's presidential palace on Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, people and government of Pakistan," Xinhua cited the Afghan presidential palace as saying in a tweet. "We reiterate that the scourge of terrorism has no boundaries and must be confronted jointly through increased regional cooperation," the palace said. A suicide bomb ripped through Gate No.1 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal park in Lahore on Sunday evening, which left at least 72 people killed and over 250 injured, Pakistani officials said on Monday. A Pakistani Taliban splinter group has claimed responsibility of the attack, saying it deliberately targeted Christians celebrating Easter. Panaji, March 28 : A Pakistani team in India to probe the terror attack on Pathankot's IAF base won't have access to the base per se but only the isolated "crime scene", Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday. Parrikar said the defence ministry had "refused permission" to the probe team to access the base. "The crime scene has been handed over to the NIA. Who they want to bring there is their call." The Pakistani team comprising five intelligence and police officials is expected to reach Pathankot in Punjab on Tuesday. The crime scene, where terrorists from Pakistan killed seven security personnel on January 2, has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and has been isolated. But it lies within the sprawling IAF complex. The minister said the area had been fenced and had no contact with the base. He added that the Pakistani team had no permission to interact with any defence personnel or use any defence vehicle during their Pathankot visit. "If we don't give (NIA) the freedom for investigation, the burden of failure will come to the defence ministry," Parrikar added. The Pakistani officials arrived in Delhi on Sunday to probe the January 2 terror attack. The team will travel to Pathankot on Tuesday, informed sources said. All the terrorists and seven security personnel were killed at the base. Washington, March 29 : US President Barack Obama will hold a trilateral meeting with South Korean and Japanese leaders on Thursday on the issue of North Korea, the White House said on Monday. Obama's meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, which is slated for Thursday and Friday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. North Korea conducted a nuclear test on January 6 and used ballistic missile technology to launch a satellite on February 7, in a series of violations of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose new and tougher sanctions against North Korea and council members called for an end to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme and early resumption of the Six-Party Talks. Lahore/Islamabad, March 29 : As the Pakistani nation mourns the death of 72 people in Lahore, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the government will not rest until they have avenged "every last drop of countrymen's blood". The toll on Monday reached 72, mostly children and women, over 250 people were injured as well when the suicide bomb ripped through the parking space of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Allama Iqbal town, where Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday. Rescue spokesperson Deeba Shahbaz said the toll had risen to 72, with 29 children among the dead. The prime minister while addressing the nation in the aftermath of a the attack said: "Those who are fomenting terrorism, sectarian hatred and extremism will not be allowed to flee and will face justice," "The terrorists, being deprived of their refuges and training centres, have now resorted to targeting soft targets such as parks and schools." Sharif said armed forces of the country, police and the civil institutions sacrificed their lives under the Operation Zarb-e-Azb to uproot terrorism. While many objectives under this operation have been achieved, efforts have continued to eradicate the menace completely, he added. He said the government, since taking oath in June 2013, had vowed to eliminate terrorism and faced the fact that no one confronted the menace for the last 13 years. In an apparent reference to the protests in Islamabad by pro-Mumtaz Qadri demonstrators, Sharif said Islam was a religion of peace, and did not teach to cause damage to lives or property. "Government's leniency in this regard should not be taken as the state's weakness or vulnerability of security forces," he said, adding that protecting lives and property of the masses was the government's responsibility. "By far, the government remained patient so the elements trying to provoke people's religious sentiments may not succeed." He added, "But let me make it clear that provoking anger, those fomenting the fire of hate and inciting sectarianism and creating difficulties for the masses will be brought before justice at all costs." The premier said Pakistan was not a victim of terrorism alone but many other parts of the world were plagued by it. "We witnessed that this challenge is being faced by the entire world, evident in the recent incidents in Ankara, Istanbul, Brussels and Paris," he said. "The enemies of humanity have crossed geographical and ethical boundaries and limits (to fulfill their designs)," "But I want to make it clear that these terrorists have nowhere to live in our country." The premier directed the law enforcement agencies to step up counter-terror operations and their abettors in southern Punjab, and ensure proactive coordination between law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The premier, flanked by interior minister Chaudhry Nisar, also visited Jinnah Hospital and inquired after the health of those injured in the attack. Following the attack, Pakistan Army along-with intelligence agencies and Rangers launched five joint operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan and arrested a number of suspected terrorists and their facilitators while recovering arms and ammunition. A Pakistan Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack, saying Christians were their target. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a compensation of Pakistani Rs.1 million for the family of each deceased, Rs.0.3 million for the injured and Rs.0.15 million or those who received minor injuries in the incident. Condemnations poured in from local as well as global leaders, as the US, British, Indian and Turkish premiers, UN chief, Pope Francis, Nobel laureate Malala and others condemned the attack in strongest terms. Meanwhile, according to a readout from Foreign Office, Sharif cancelled his visit to the US in the wake of the attack. He was scheduled to leave for Washington on Monday to represent Pakistan at a nuclear summit. "In view of the terrorist attack in Lahore, which took a heavy toll on the lives of innocent citizens of Pakistan and caused injuries to scores of people, the prime minister has decided to cancel his visit to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit," a the foreign ministry statement said. Havana, March 29 : Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro broke his silence on US President Barack Obama's recent trip to Cuba, saying he brought "sweetened words", but little of substance, the media reported on Tuesday. In a kind of open letter to Obama, published on Monday in state-run daily Granma, Castro said that he had "the elemental duty to respond to Obama's speech" to the Cuban people, delivered during his March 20-22 visit, Xinhua reported. "Obama made a speech in which he used the most sweetened words to express: 'It is time, now, to forget the past, leave the past behind, let us look to the future together, a future of hope.'" said Castro. "And it won't be easy; there will be challenges and we must give it time; but my stay here gives me more hope in what we can do together as friends, as family, as neighbours, together," Obama told the Cuban audience in his speech. While Obama's speech marked a radical change in the rhetoric usually directed at Cuba by the US, it failed to address any of the country's major grievances, Castro noted. "I suppose all of us were at risk of a heart attack upon hearing these words from the president of the US. After a ruthless blockade that has lasted almost 60 years, and what about those who have died in the mercenary attacks on Cuban ships and ports, an airliner full of passengers blown up in midair, mercenary invasions, multiple acts of violence and coercion?" said the former Cuban leader. A Cuban airliner from Barbados to Jamaica was blown up on October 6, 1976 by a terrorist bomb attack. All 73 people on board were killed. Cuba has accused the US of being an accomplice of the attack. Cuba does not need the US for its development, said Castro, noting that the Caribbean country has made significant progress in education, science, health and other fields despite the naval blockades, sanctions and punitive measures Washington imposed on the island for half a century. "We are capable of producing the food and materials we need with the efforts and intelligence of our people. We do not need the empire to give us anything," said Castro. To highlight the similarities between the two nations, Obama said: "Cuba, like the US, was built in part by slaves brought here from Africa. Like the US, the Cuban people can trace their heritage to both slaves and slave-owners." But Castro stressed that Cuban socialism has made more headway in eradicating racial discrimination than the US has through its liberal democracy. "The revolution swept away racial discrimination," said Castro, adding that "the hateful, racist bourgeois custom of hiring strongmen to expel black citizens from recreational centres was swept away by the Cuban Revolution." Castro led the 1959 Cuban Revolution that toppled the US-backed dictatorship. He had governed the country till 2006, when his health deteriorated, and was succeeded by his brother Raul Castro. Washington, March 29 : After successfully hacking into the encrypted Apple iPhone of one of a terrorist in San Bernardino, California shooting, the US Department of Justice has withdrawn legal action against the tech giant. According to the media reports, a third party helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to crack the security function without erasing contents of the iPhone used by Syed Farook. Farook, along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, planned and executed the December 2, 2015 shooting that left 14 people killed. "This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated," Apple said in a statement on Monday. "This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy," the statement said. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook, referring to the ongoing battle with the US government over encryption to unlock an iPhone, reiterated the company's commitment to protect its users' data and privacy. Addressing a packed auditorium at its Cupertino, California-based headquarters, Cook said: "We have a responsibility to help you protect your data and your privacy. We will not shrink from this responsibility." "We built the iPhone for you, our customers, and for many of us it is a deeply personal device," he told the gathering during a special launch event this month. On Monday, the federal government department, on behalf of the FBI, made the move at a US court in Central California, Xinhua reported. The two-page court filing said that the FBI had accessed data stored on the iPhone 5c. A week ago, a day before the DOJ and the Silicon Valley technology company were scheduled to appear at a hearing at the court, the government said it was trying a new way to unlock the phone used by Farook. The smartphone has a feature that erases data after 10 unsuccessful unlocking attempts. Successfully bypassing Apple in its efforts to look into the phone for information probably helpful in the terror attack investigation, the DOJ did not make public on Monday any details about who did help and how did it make through. Apple had been resisting the order by Judge Pym since February 16, when she ordered the manufacturer to provide the FBI with specialised software to disable the security feature. In an earlier TV interview, citing privacy protection for customers as a reason, Cook suggested that he would fight the case all the way up the US Supreme Court. The argument was heated, as the government side fought on the ground that it was a work phone owned by the San Bernardino county, and the software would be in the possession of Apple rather than in the hands of FBI agents. Both sides seemed to have failed to win full public support. However, the DOJ's decision not to go after Apple's assistance effectively put the dispute to an end, at least for now. And it is now Apple's turn to figure out, and for iPhone users to wonder, how secure is the phone and data on the device. Pathankot, March 29 : Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for the Pathankot air base attack headed to Pathankot town in north Punjab on Tuesday amid tight security in view of Punjab's opposition parties threatening to protest against the visit. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had day-long meetings with National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. Tight security arrangements have been made in and around the frontier IAF base in view of the visit and likely protests against the visiting Pakistani investigation team. Punjab opposition parties, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have said that they will hold protests near the AFS against the visit. Authorities at Pathankot airbase said that the visiting Pakistan probe team will be taken only to specific and limited areas within the sprawling Air Force Station (AFS) complex. The JIT members will be kept away from the AFS' technical area and shown only those areas where security forces engaged the Pakistani terrorists in the first week of January. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase," an IAF officer told IANS. Punjab Police DIG (deputy inspector general) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said that the Pakistan JIT will be taken by the NIA to the site of the gunbattle. "The team will be provided access to the area of the encounter," Singh said. Informed defence sources here said the team members could also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government mortuary. NIA officers will accompany the JIT members. The JIT will not get to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday in Panaji (Goa) that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the airbase, but only the isolated "crime scene", which has been completely barricaded and fenced. All the terrorists and seven security personnel were killed at the base. The January attack on the IAF base was the second one by suspected Pakistani terrorists. A group of three Pakistani terrorists had attacked Dinanagar town in adjoining Gurdaspur district on July 27 last year, leaving seven people dead. London, March 29 : A British diplomat in Turkey has come under fire for tweeting a selfie that he took with under-trial journalists accused of espionage, a media report said. The two journalists -- Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, and his coworker Erdem Gul -- are accused of "trying to topple the government" after posting a video they said shows members of the Turkish intelligence agency shipping arms into Syria in 2014, voanews.com reported. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed displeasure over the photo that shows British Consul General Leigh Turner with one of the journalists. "The consul general of a certain country went to the trial of a journalist charged with espionage, to support him. Moreover he gets a picture taken cheek to cheek (with the journalist) and had it published," Erdogan was quoted as saying. "And he does not stop at that, on social media he says things like 'Turkey needs to decide what kind of country it will be', words that exceed their intended meaning," he added. The president noted that it was the "generosity and hospitality" of the Turkish government that Turner was still in the country. "If it were another country they would not let a diplomat, who exhibits this kind of behaviour, to stay there a day more," Erdogan said. Mumbai, March 29 : Sanjay Gupta is to start shooting for his next venture titled "Kaabil" from Wednesday. He says he has "set a certain benchmark" for himself with the movie. "We are barely 24 hours away from going on floors. 'Kaabil' shoot starts tomorrow," the "Jazbaa" maker tweeted on Tuesday morning. The film's team is enthused too. "Last minute preparations with actors and technicians. Excitement in cast and crew is palpable. A whole new journey about to begin," he added. The elated filmmaker hopes to acheive his "benchmark" with the Hrithik Roshan and Yami Guatam starrer film. "(I) have set certain benchmarks for myself that I hope to achieve with this film. I always do, but this time they're really high." Gupta said he is having "mixed feelings", which he mostly faces "before a film goes on the floors". However, he is focussed on making films which leave a mark. "With my kids growing up, it's not just about making a film anymore. It is now about making a mark, making a difference. It's for them," he tweeted. The film is being produced by Hrithik's father, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. Its plot has been kept under the wraps. New Delhi, March 29 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the CBI to file response to former union minister P.K. Thungon's bail application and an appeal against his three and a half years' sentence in a corruption case. Justice Siddharth Mridul issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thungon's bail plea and sought the agency's response by April 8. Thungon, convicted and sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment on February 29 for corruption in the allotment of government shops here during 1993-94, has also filed an appeal against the trial court's order. He was taken into custody after the sentencing. Thungon, a former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, was convicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the trial court and also slapped a fine of Rs.1 lakh. Two other accused, former urban affairs and employment minister Sheila Kaul and Tulsi Balodi, died during the trial. Appearing for CBI, advocate Rajdipa Behura had told the court that in 1996 the CBI registered a case against Thungon and the others for allegedly hatching a conspiracy in allotting shops and stalls in 1993-1994. The CBI has claimed that in pursuance to the conspiracy, Kaul abused her official position and sanctioned the shops without calling for any tender from the general public on the mere recommendation of Thungon. The CBI said this caused a huge pecuniary loss to the government. Thungon is also serving a four and a half years' jail term in a 1998 corruption case. Mumbai, March 29 : Veteran actor Anupam Kher, feted with a Padma Bhushan honour, says he will continue to serve the country to the best of his abilitites. "Thank you my India for this honour. Will continue to serve my country to the best of my abilities. Padma Bhushan," Anupam tweeted. The 61-year-old expressed gratitude to his fans and well-wishers. "Thank you all for your kindness, support and wishes on my Padma Bhushan honour... You will always be my strength. Jai Ho!" The "Saaransh" star is an alumnus and a former chairperson of the National School of Drama (NSD). NSD was the first place Anupam visited after he was conferred with the award. "Felt great," he tweeted. Los Angeles, March 29 : Actor Brad Pitt is reportedly desperate about getting supermodel-actress Cara Delevingne to star in one of his upcoming movies. He is said to have already offered her the lead role in "World War Z 2". "Brad thinks Cara's talents haven't been explored properly and he wants to take her under his wing," radaronline.com quoted a source as saying. "He's hoping she might sign an ongoing deal with his company," the source said. Delevingne is said to have declined the "World War Z" sequel offer as she "can't do it because of schedule conflicts". However, the source said that "Brad won't give up" on scoring Delevingne as his "next big thing". "He's opened his contacts book to her and given her numbers of the best acting teachers in Hollywood. He really thinks she's got what it takes to win an Oscar one day," the source added. Los Angeles, March 29 : Actor Harrison Ford is helping a charity by making use of his Han Solo persona. The actor is auctioning the leather jacket that he wore in the film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". "I've been very impressed with the work NYU (NYU Langone Medical Center) and the FACES (Finding a Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures) team have done in the field of epilepsy research, and I hope this jacket will provide some means to further that exploration," Ford said in a statement, reports dailymail.co.uk. "This is a cause that's near and dear to me, and unlike the cynical Han Solo, I've got a good feeling about this," he added. Ford's daughter Georgia has epilepsy. Her first seizure occurred during a childhood sleepover and she was given medicine for acute migraines. After years of not finding out what was wrong with her, Ford finally consulted Doctor Orrin Devinsky and FACES who later diagnosed her with epilepsy. The custom-made jacket is being auctioned off by website If Only. The bid for the autographed item had reached $30,000 and the number is only rising. The auction will be closed on April 11. Actor Arbaaz Khan along with his wife Malaika Arora Khan during the launch of Transform Gym in Mumbai on Aug 22, 2015. Image Source: IANS Mumbai, March 29 : Actor Arbaaz Khan has refused to react any further on the news of a "break" with his wife of 17 years, Malaika Arora Khan. A day after the couple issued a joint statement, admitting that they are on a break to figure out their lives, Arbaaz tweeted on Tuesday: "Not a day passed after giving a joint statement and saying not to believe sources or supposed friends... No more reaction from me henceforth. If they are not sensitive and don't respect people's privacy then they are not worth losing sleep over." The "Dabangg" star also slammed speculative news articles, which mentioned that sources close to the couples shared details about them to the media. "You got to be dumb and bankrupt for news to write the same... over and over again. Get a life guys, show some respect. It's not a joke," he wrote. While sharing a link of the article with their social media followers, Arbaaz and Malaika shared: "Humble request to the media, stop speculating and leave us alone. Will talk when ready, please respect our privacy." The rumours of the couple's split started when an online platform reported that Malaika has moved out of their home with their 13-year-old Arhaan. New Delhi, March 29 : Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to bridge the "digital divide" in the country, a young Indian-American student has begun on her journey to empower rural youth in learning computer programming technology in a small yet picturesque town in Himachal Pradesh. Through "Pi A La Code" -- a project that began in 2014 -- California-based Sonia Uppal is helping young talented minds at the Saraswati Niketan Senior Secondary School in a village in Kasauli learn computer programming. "The experience of using immersive tools to build software that people loved to learn with always excited me and I decided to take computer science to the rural people in India," Uppal told IANS in a telephonic interview from California. Born and brought up in California, she stumbled upon a $35 computer developed by Raspberry Pi -- the makers of tiny and affordable computers for kids at the Bay Area Maker Faire -- an exhibition showcasing invention, creativity and resourcefulness in the Silicon Valley. The mere sight of the cost-efficient Pi computers brightened up her mind and she initially thought of taking the Pi device to India -- to The International School Bangalore (TISB) in Bengaluru where she was studying computer science during the period when her father was transferred to India. She realised that students at her school did not need this basic computer device. But what about students in rural India, she thought, for whom this simple device can become a useful learning tool? Thus, the "Pi A La Code" idea took shape. "I realised it would be much useful if I take this Pi device to schools in villages which will have much more impact," Sonia told IANS. In the meantime, she raised money to buy 10 Raspberry Pi teaching sets. She first taught herself Python -- a widely used high-level, dynamic computer programming language while being selected as a Stanford SHE++ fellow -- a social enterprise that empowers women to make their mark in the technology industry. Here, Uppal met people who inspired as well as helped her to take up the noble cause of teaching computer programming to students in rural India. Emboldened, she developed a curriculum on her own and flew back to India in 2014 for a 10-day trip to the school tucked away in Kasauli -- her mother's ancestral place. After the initial hiccups, things quickly fell in place for her. Uppal got the necessary permission to teach computer science at Saraswati Niketan Senior Secondary School. With her broken Hindi, she started to teach computers and the basics of Python to Class 10 and 11 students. "I thought there would be language and other barriers, but besides internet connectivity problems, we didn't have any other major issues," Uppal added. Her course was fun, engaging and produced immediate responses with the students. "The students learnt how to operate the Pi device and basic Python very quickly which was incredible since the only computer experience they had prior was learning how to restart a monitor or to save a word document," she elaborated. Following the 10-day pilot run in 2014, Uppal returned to the US but continued teaching the students over Skype for a whole year. In 2015, she again came back to Kasauli and taught both web programming and Python to the students. "I am really glad that I have been able to reach so many kids through this project as I wanted to introduce computer science to the underprivileged," Uppal said, revealing that many of her students, who are now starting for college, want to pursue computer science as a career. Encouraged, she now wants to extend the "Pi a La Code" project beyond Kasauli. She also wants to approach the Himachal Pradesh government for its help to start a Raspberry Pi programming curriculum in more schools in the state. "Since Pi teaching set is quite inexpensive, many kids can be taught for a small amount of funding and this can easily be expanded to other states," she explained. Currently, Uppal is focussed on making an e-book compiling the lessons she implemented in her curriculum. (Rachel V. Thomas can be contacted at rachel.t@ians.in) Los Angeles, March 29 : Fungi will be sent for the first time to the International Space Station for the development of medicine, said researchers at the University of Southern California (USC). The experiments, to be conducted jointly by scientists from the university and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will put specimen of Aspergillus nidulans in the high-radiation and micro-gravity conditions in space to develop new medicines for use in space and on the Earth, USC researchers announced on Monday. The specimen will be carried by the SpaceX CRS-8 mission scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral on April 8. The launch will be the Hawthorne-based company's first cargo resupply service mission since CRS-7 exploded shortly after launch on June 28, 2015, Xinhua reported. "Certain types of fungi produce very important molecules called secondary metabolites that are not essential for their growth or reproduction but can be used to make beneficial pharmaceuticals. Examples of secondary metabolites include the antibiotic penicillin and the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin," said a USC statement. Researchers said the environment of space could trigger physiological changes in the fungi. "The high-radiation, micro-gravity environment in space could prompt Aspergillus nidulans to produce molecules it doesn't create in Earth's less stressful conditions," Clay Wang, professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences and chemistry at the USC school of pharmacy, was quoted as saying by the media. "We've done extensive genetic analysis of this fungus and found that it could potentially produce 40 different types of drugs," Wang said. "The organism is known to produce osteoporosis drugs, which is very important from an astronaut's perspective because we know that in space travel, astronauts experience bone loss." Scientists also said that molecules from Aspergillus nidulans potentially may be useful in anti-cancer and Alzheimer's disease research. New Delhi, March 29 : Ahead of embarking on a tour of Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday saluted the resilience of Belgians following the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. "No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium," Modi said in a pre-departure statement. He leaves on Tuesday night and returns to New Delhi on April 3. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones." At least 35 people, including an Indian national, were killed in twin explosions at the Zaventem airport and one at a metro station in the Belgian capital on March 22. During his stay in Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will attend a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and also the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. "Within the EU, Belgium is India's second largest trading partner. My meeting with the prime minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member." The prime minister said he and Michel would also remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope at Devasthal near Nainital. He said the EU was a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. "This summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," he said. While in Brussels, Modi said he would also meet members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. "I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium," he said. There are a large number of Indians in Belgium's diamond trading hub of Antwerp. He is to also address a community programme and interact with the Indian community in Brussels. There are around 20,000 expatriate Indians in Belgium. After Belgium, Modi will be in Washington DC on March 31 to participate in the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, being hosted by US President Barack Obama. "The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," he stated. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is not attending the Nuclear Security Summit following the Lahore blast on Sunday that killed at least 70 people. There had been wide speculation that the two prime ministers would meet in Washington on the sidelines of the summit. It would have been their second meeting after Modi's stop-over meet with Sharif in Lahore on December 25 last year. Modi said he would meet several world leaders on the sidelines of the Washington summit "to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations". "I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observator) project," he said. LIGO is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves. On his way back, Modi would visit Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf kingdom after then prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit in 2010. "India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Modi said. "Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda." Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner, and is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for one-fifth of its crude oil imports. "In addition to meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the royal family," Modi said. "We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India's development priorities." Modi said that he would also visit the Masmak Fortress, the L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT and ITeS Centre in Riyadh. There are nearly three million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are blue collar workers. Washington, March 29 : Cooperation between China and the US is "vital" to ensure global nuclear security, Thomas Countryman, US assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, has said. The two countries have worked together successfully on last year's comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran and on the recent UN Security Council resolution on North Korea's nuclear test and satellite launch, the official told reporters ahead of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit. "So we cooperate and we are becoming ever closer in our cooperation in preventing the spread of the technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons," Xinhua quoted him a ssaying. "That's how important the relationship with China is," he said. Earlier this month, the Nuclear Security Centre of Excellence, the largest nuclear security centre in the Asia-Pacific region, which was financed by both governments, opened in Beijing. Beijing and Washington have "worked very closely and very well" in the establishment and opening of the centre, which was the result of the first Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington in 2010, said Bonnie Jenkins, US coordinator for threat reduction programmes. "That's all very positive, and we see this as a way in which we can continue to work with China on other areas, including nonproliferation," Jenkins said, while calling the centre "a really strong effort" in strengthening nuclear security. The US will host the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C. from March 31 to April 1. It will provide a forum for leaders to engage with each other and to reinforce commitment at the highest levels to securing and eliminating nuclear materials, and preventing nuclear smuggling. Chennai, March 29 : Actress Hansika Motwani, who awaits the release of Tamil romantic drama "Uyire Uyire" this Friday, says she gives more preference to a film that will appeal to everybody than just her character. "I concentrate on doing good projects. What's the point of doing a great character in a bad film? Instead I want audiences to thoroughly enjoy a film and remember my part when they walk out of a cinema hall," Hansika told IANS, adding that she likes when her film is appreciated on the whole as a product. Having been part of several successful Tamil and Telugu projects, Hansika believes audiences are the best judge of a film. "I do feel bad when my films don't do well, but I respect audiences' verdict, because they know well which films to support. If they don't like a film, we should accept it," she said. Known mostly for playing bubbly characters on screen, she plays a role close to her real self in "Uyire Uyire". "People who know me and have seen me will realise how close this role is to my real self. It's bubbly and chirpy, but at the same time there's some innocence which makes it cute," she said. Talking more about the film, a remake of Telugu blockbuster "Ishq", Hansika said: "It's a film that will make people fall in love. It's about two lovers, their journey and how they come together." Directed by A.R Rajasekar, the film marks the debut of actor Siddhu, son of veteran actress Jayapradha. Islamabad, March 29 : A Joint Investigation Team has been formed to probe the suicide attack at a public park in Lahore city, capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, which killed over 70 people on Easter Sunday. According to Punjab province home department's notification, the superintendent of police (counter-terrorism) will be the convener of the team. Representatives of Inter Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, in-charge of investigation at Iqbal town and station house officer of CTD police station are included in the joint investigation team, Radio Pakistan reported. The attack that ripped through Gate No.1 of Ghulam-e-Iqbal Park on Sunday evening left at least 72 people killed and over 250 injured. A Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it deliberately targeted Christians celebrating Easter on Sunday evening. New Delhi, March 29 : After imposing central rule in Uttarakhand, the central government will now try to topple the governments in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday. Slamming the ouster of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Kejriwal told the assembly here that he had learnt from a senior Intellegence Bureau (IB) official that the next state to be targeted will be Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. This will be followed by Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power in February last year winning 67 of the 70 seats. "I am told they will disqualify 21 of our (AAP) legislators from the Delhi assembly and buy over 23 others," the chief minister said, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using money power to subdue the opposition. "Forget buying over 23 legislators. If they have the guts, let them buy even one legislator," he said to applause from AAP members in the house, while the three BJP legislators walked out. He added that "the officer informed me that a businessman, whose name we often take, has been given responsibility to buy our 23 MLAs to topple our government". Kejriwal said the BJP, like the Congress earlier, had become "arrogant" after taking power nationally in 2014. He slammed the central government's decision to "force" President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, calling them illegal. Kejriwal also returned to the theme of the Pakistani team's visit to the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab that was attacked by Pakistani terrorists on January 2. He said it defied logic why the Pakistanis should be allowed to probe an attack masterminded by the Pakistani intelligence. "Not everyone is happy with the decision," he said, attributing it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "They (central government) use CBI when they had to raid my office but for probing the Pathankot terror attack, they let ISI allow coming to India. Are our intelligence agencies not capable enough to probe such incidents?" he asked. Echoing the remarks he made a day earlier too, Kejriwal said New Delhi had always accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India. He said instead of allowing the Pakistanis to probe the Pathankot attack, Indian officials should have gone to Islamabad to question the Pakistani terrorist leaders blamed for terror attacks in India. Imphal/New Delhi, March 29 : Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast unto death since November 4, 2000 demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, on Tuesday assured a court in Delhi that she shall call off the fast if the Act is repealed. Sharmila appeared before Judge H. Singh at the Patiala House Court in a case of attempt to commit suicide during her fast at Jantar Mantar on October 6-7, 2006 soon after being released in Imphal. She told the jam packed court room that she loves her life and was merely using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal. "It is no crime," she contended. "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she told the court. The district and sessions court in Imphal had earlier found her not guilty of the charge of attempting to commit suicide. However she was rearrested within a few days as she continued the fast. Sharmila said she was using the fast "for more impact" in her demand for repealing the AFSPA. "I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again," she said. "Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations," she said. Sharmila also reiterated her desire to have a meeting with the prime minister on the AFSPA issue. She said she had expressed her desire a long time back, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not met her so far. The hearing will continue on Wednesday. Dehradun/New Delhi, March 29 : Ousted Congress government in Uttarakhand got a major reprieve on Tuesday after the state high court allowed it to prove its majority in the assembly on Thursday despite President's Rule in the hill state. A stunned central government, which in a dramatic turn of events on Sunday dismissed the Congress government and imposed President's Rule in the hill state citing breakdown of governance, said it was mulling to challenge the Uttarakhand court order because the validity of a presidential proclamation cannot be reviewed judicially. Hearing a petition by sacked chief minister Harish Rawat, the Uttarakhand High Court, however, allowed President's Rule in the hill state to continue till the floor test. The court also said that all nine Congress rebels who were disqualified by the speaker will be allowed to take part in the vote. It said the result of the voting should be presented to the court on Friday. It ordered the Registrar General of the court to be present as an observer in the assembly. An elated Rawat said he was confident of proving his majority in the state assembly. "We shall prove our majority on the floor on March 31," he said, castigating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah wanted to "topple" his government "at any cost" even to "the extent of murdering democracy". Congress spokesperson and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the court ruling followed two days of extensive arguments. "The high court accepts the point that despite President's Rule there is enough scope for judicial review to allow a floor test to take place," Singhvi told the media. He said that the charges against the Rawat government do not justify the invocation of the much contested Article 356 that empowers the central government to impose President's Rule in a state. "Mere horse trading allegations will not justify President's Rule and stop floor test," he added. Singhvi said the court has allowed the disqualified Congress legislators to take part in the voting but their vote would be taken into consideration separately. The BJP said it was no victory for the Congress, but described as "unprecedented" the court verdict to allow floor test during President's Rule. "To order something like this during President's Rule is unprecedented," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said. The Uttarakhand political crisis began when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the BJP. On March 18, crisis precipitated when the assembly passed the budget Appropriation Bill by voice vote even as more than half the members led by BJP in the house sought a division, which would have led to recorded voting. The rebel Congress lawmakers supported the demand. Speaker Govind Kunjwal declined the request. Amid BJP cries that Rawat did not enjoy majority in the house of 70 members, Governor K.K. Paul asked the government to prove its majority on Monday. The Congress rebel lawmakers were disqualified on Saturday and the BJP-led central government imposed President's Rule a day later. In the 70-member assembly, the Congress has 36 legislators, including the nine rebels. The BJP has 28. The other six from smaller parties are said to support the Congress. Hyderabad, March 29 : Lawmakers in Telangana will now get a monthly package of Rs.2.50 lakh against the existing Rs.95,000 with the state assembly on Tuesday unanimously passing a bill hiking their pay and allowances. Members of both the houses of state legislature will get a hike of 163 percent in the package which includes both the monthly pay and the allowances. The monthly pay has been revised from Rs.12,000 to Rs.20,000 but the constituency allowance has witnessed a huge jump -- Rs.2.30 lakh from the present Rs.83,000. The Telangana Payment of Salaries and Pensions and Removal of Disqualifications (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed effecting the hike in the salaries of legislators, legislative councillors, chief minister, ministers, chief whip, whips and presiding officers of both the houses. The hike for the chief minister and others ranged from 60 to 72 percent. Legislative Affairs Minister Harish Rao tabled the bill, which was passed with a brief discussion which saw members cutting across party lines hailing it and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao justifying the hike. The chief minister's gross salary has gone up from Rs.2.44 lakh to Rs.4.21 lakh. The pay has been increased from Rs.16,000 to Rs.51,000 while the constituency allowance has gone up steeply to Rs.2.30 lakh from Rs.83,000. Ministers, chief whip and whips will get a monthly package of Rs.4 lakh against the existing 2.42 lakh. Assembly and council chairman will now get Rs.4.11 lakh instead of Rs.2.42 lakh. For the state legislators, this is said to be the highest monthly package in the country, overtaking Delhi where the Aam Aadmi Party government increased the package of the lawmakers to Rs.2.10 lakh last year. Members from both the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the hike. The chief minister brushed aside the criticism over the hike and advised media not to project this as a loot of public money. "By doing this you are demeaning your own legislators," he said. The increase in salaries will put an additional burden of Rs.42.67 crore annually on the state exchequer. The chief minister said this is not even a perceptible percentage of the state's budget (Rs.1.30 lakh crore). He justified the increase in salaries and allowances saying this was done keeping in view the requirements of the legislators, and was necessary to enable the lawmakers to play an active and positive role in the process of nation building and to remain free from corruption. He pointed out that today's economic dynamics are different from what it was after the country's independence. "Today there is no need for anybody to make great sacrifices. This is not an era of sacrifices. We are all involved in the process of nation building," he said. Rao said the lawmakers serve on many committees at the district level, have to attend meetings and they have to bear the cost of travelling within the constituency and to the state capital. "Every legislator will have several visitors every day. He has to arrange at least 50 cups of tea every day," said the chief minister. Shimla, March 29 : Accusing the Centre of misusing government agencies against him, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Tuesday said his government was stable despite political manoeuvring by the BJP. "The central government is misusing three investigating agencies against me. I am an old Congressman. They (political rivals) are aiming for my political murder; and, if they have their way, they can even kill me," Virbhadra told the media here. "The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (in the state) is trying to oust my government by deliberately raising in the assembly the issue of ongoing Enforcement Directorate probe into the money laundering case against me and my family," he said. He said it was a well thought out conspiracy as the BJP was not comfortable about him. The Congress chief minister said there was no need for him to resign. "There is no truth in the media reports (about the ongoing probe)," he said. "I don't expect justice from BJP leader (and union Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley. But I have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Virbhadra said. Denying any dissent in the Congress Legislature Party in Himachal Pradesh, he said: "It is daydreaming on the part of the BJP. The Congress stands united." He also accused the Centre of going after Congress-ruled states in the country. "What has happened in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur? The Centre is now trying to target Himachal Pradesh... but we will not let them succeed here. They cannot topple the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh," he said. On the state BJP's claims that some Congress legislators in Himachal were in touch with the opposition party, Virbhadra said: "I wish them good luck. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride them." Later, BJP leader and former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said certain new facts had come to light during the ED probe and the chief minister should face the truth. "Virbhadra Singh cannot get away from his responsibility by blaming others," Dhumal told reporters here. Meanwhile, on the second consecutive day on Tuesday, BJP members created a ruckus and walked out of the assembly over discussions on the ED probe against Virbhadra Singh. Virbhadra Singh called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday and briefed her about the alleged BJP efforts to destabilise his government, party sources said. Pathankot, March 29 : A Pakistani team probing the terror attack on the IAF base here in Punjab in January ended its day-long visit to the frontier base and nearby areas in the border belt amid vocal protests by opposition parties. It is the first time a Pakistan probe panel, which included an officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, was allowed any access to a high-value Indian defence facility. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on January 2, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers after an 80-hour gun battle. The five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) reached the air base on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of the Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena. Those opposing the visit accused the central government of playing a "double game" - accusing the ISI of sponsoring terrorism in India and then letting an ISI official to visit the IAF base. The team, which landed at Amritsar on Tuesday morning, was driven in a bullet-proof SUV to Pathankot, escorted to the rear side of the sprawling IAF base in a mini bus accompanied by NIA officials. Punjab's Police's elite SWAT commandos guarded them. The Pakistani officials entered through a specially created entrance in the peripheral wall of the air base and were taken to specific areas in the complex. They spent a few minutes at the base. They were kept away from the technical area and shown only those areas where security forces had engaged the Pakistani terrorists. The team later visited various locations in the border belt of Pathankot district to retrace the movement of the terrorists. They were shown the places where Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh's vehicle was hijacked by the terrorists and then abandoned near the base, the place where taxi driver Ikagar Singh was murdered and the route taken by the terrorists while reaching the IAF base. "The Pakistani team was mostly driven around the places through which the terrorists came. At most places, they did not get out of their vehicle," a Punjab Police officer accompanying the team told IANS. Protests by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party activists erupted near the front gate of the Pathankot base as the Pakistan team headed towards it. But the demonstrators were about three kilometres from the area the JIT visited. The protestors carried black flags and banners and shouted "Go Back" slogans. "How can the ISI, which is accused of sponsoring terrorism in India, be allowed to investigate a major terrorist strike on a defence establishment here?" AAP leader Sanjay Singh asked. The Pakistani officers were kept away from the media. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had meetings with National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls were erected around the crime scene (gunbattle site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members," an IAF officer told IANS. The JIT was not allowed to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the operation against the terrorists. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said on Monday that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the base but only the isolated "crime scene". Diphu/Karimganj (Assam), March 29 : If the BJP wins the assembly polls in Assam, the state will be administered by the RSS from its Nagpur headquarters or by the PMO in Delhi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday. Addressing a public rally in Diphu in Karbi Anglong, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only good at making lofty promises but never fulfils them. "Modi ji comes, makes lofty promises and then leaves. Modi ji came to Assam before the Lok Sabha polls and made promises. However, his promises are yet to be fulfilled," Gandhi said. "The RSS wants to impose one ideology across the country. If one ideology is imposed everywhere, what will happen to your language, culture, religion, tradition etc?" "If the BJP comes to power in Assam, Assam will not be administered from Assam but from Nagpur or from the Prime Minister's Office," he said. He said the BJP "always wants to make people fight against each other". "When there was a Congress government in Haryana, it was completely peaceful. However, a month after the BJP government came to power in Haryana, violence started. They did it in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, everywhere," he said. The BJP "wants to do the same thing in Assam by creating violence", Gandhi said. Countering Modi's non-development allegations, Gandhi said it was the Congress government in Assam that brought peace to the state 15 years back and that there cannot be any development without peace. "The Congress undertook massive work in Assam in the last 15 years but the biggest achievement of the Congress government is that the party brought peace to the once troubled and violent state," he said. Gandhi assured to give a package of Rs.1,000 crore to Karbi Anglong and set up a medical college and an engineering college in the hill district if the Congress is voted back to power. In Karimganj, Gandhi said Modi, instead of speaking on the radio, should listen to the "mann ki baat" of the people of India. At a public rally in Karimganj in the Barak Valley, he said the prime minister thinks he knows everything and that the people of the country know nothing. "You do 'Mann Ki Baat' on the radio. But please also listen to the 'mann ki baat' of the people of the country sometimes. You have nothing to lose if you listen to the people's 'mann ki baat'," Gandhi said, accusing Modi and the BJP-led government of working for rich businessmen and not for the poor farmers and working class. "There are 5-6 businessmen in the country and they are always happy. The country's national exchequer has earned hundreds of crores of rupees recently after petrol prices were slashed in the international market. "However, the poor people will not get any benefit, rather all the benefits will go to selected rich businessmen in the country," he said. "Have you ever seen Modi ji with a farmer or a worker or with a youth? Have you ever seen Modi ji visiting the paddy fields of poor farmers in any part of the country? No, You will not see him there. But you will always see him photographed with rich businessmen and a few bureaucrats. "They (BJP) want to run the government for a selected few but we want to run the government of people, of poor farmers and common men," Gandhi said. "However, the people of Assam are smart and intelligent and they know that the most important thing for them is the brotherhood among communities. There are people of all religions here and they all have been living with peace since ages. "The RSS wants to end this, they want to take away this brotherhood among communities and people of different regions," he said, adding that the Congress would not let this happen. Brussels, March 29 : The India-EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday would give "new momentum" to the strategic partnership, senior EU officials said here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Belgium capital where he will attend the long-awaited summit. Briefing journalists on the agenda of the 13th India-European Union summit, the official who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that India is one of the EU's 10 strategic partners. "It will be an opportunity to re-launch EU-India relations and make progress on concrete areas such as trade and investment, foreign and security policy, climate, energy, water and migration," he stressed. The EU and India are expected to adopt a renewed joint declaration on Counter Terrorism. The two parties will pledge to step up their cooperation to counter extremism and radicalisation, stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and curb sources of terrorist financing and arms supply. The 28-member European bloc will be represented by Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and by Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission. India will be represented by Narendra Modi, who will be the first Indian prime minister to visit Brussels in six years. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom are also expected to attend the summit which is taking place after a gap of four years. At the summit leaders are expected to endorse the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020. This sets out concrete priority actions for the next five years. It encompasses a wide range of areas for cooperation such as foreign and security policy, trade and investment, economy, global issues as well as people-to-people contacts. The European Investment Bank and India will sign an agreement on the sidelines of the summit for a loan of 450 million euro for the metro of Lucknow. This will also be an occasion to exchange a joint declaration on a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM), noted the official. At the summit leaders will be seeking increased cooperation opportunities and benefits for citizens and business between the EU's Agenda for Jobs and Growth and India's "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" initiatives ("Collective Efforts, Inclusive Growth"), in particular on energy, environment/water, research and innovation, migration and mobility. Leaders will also adopt two joint declarations. One on an Indo-EU Water Partnership, which supports the Indian 'Clean Ganga' and 'Clean India' flagship projects and creates business and technology opportunities between the EU and India. The second declaration will be on an Indo-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership, which is key to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and will trigger a climate dialogue with India. The two sides will address the ongoing negotiations for a Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) with an aim to instil some political impetus to the stalled talks, but it is not known when the next round of talks will resume. Political and security cooperation, including human rights, will also be the focus of discussions at the summit. The latest developments in the EU's and India's respective neighbourhoods will also be discussed. In particular, the summit will provide an opportunity to discuss and support the ongoing efforts towards an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process and reconciliation. In this context leaders are expected to look forward to the Brussels Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan on October 5, 2016. Leaders are also likely to discuss Pakistan, Nepal and China. The summit will express concern about the situation in the Middle East, and in particular the precarious situation in Syria. The EU side is expected raise the issue of the two Italian marines in India, who are accused of killing two Indian fishermen. Modi will also hold talks with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, which are expected to focus on last week's terror attacks in Brussels in which one Indian also lost his life. The Indian prime minister is expected to address a diaspora gathering of over 5,000 Indians in Brussels late evening before ending his one-day visit to Belgium. Islamabad, March 29 : Pakistan on Tuesday released a video in which an arrested Indian spy is heard confessing New Delhi's alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan. Kulbushan Yadav says in the video that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan "at the behest of RAW", the Indian intelligence agency, and that he was still with the Indian Navy. Yadav added that he had played a role in the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, Dawn reported. The video was released at a press conference attended by Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa and Information Minister Pervez Rashid. Terming Yadav's arrest a "big achievement", Bajwa said Yadav was directly handled by the RAW chief and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. "His goal was to disrupt development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar port as a special target," Bajwa said. "This is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism... There can be no clearer evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan." Yadav is heard saying in the video that he was still a serving officer in the Indian Navy and would be due for retirement in 2022. "By 2002, I commenced intelligence operations. In 2003, I established a small business in Chabahar in Iran. "As I was able to achieve undetected existence and visits to Karachi in 2003 and 2004. Having done some basic assignments within India for RAW, I was picked up by RAW in 2013 end," Yadav said. He said his purpose was to meet Baloch insurgents and carry out "activities with their collaboration". Law enforcement agencies arrested Yadav in an intelligence-based raid in Balochistan's Chaman near the border with Afghanistan last week. He held a valid Indian visa. India denied Yadav was an intelligence operative and said he was formerly from the navy. New Delhi also demanded consular access to Yadav, which has been denied. Yadav was shifted to Islamabad for interrogation, during which an unnamed official said the spy revealed he had bought boats at the Iranian port in Chabahar in order to target Karachi and Gwadar ports, Dawn reported. New Delhi, March 29 : India will ask for access to Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar, blamed for the attack at the IAF base in Pathankot, the NIA said on Tuesday as a probe team from Pakistan spent a day at the base. "We will ask for access to Masood Azhar," National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar told NDTV. He said another formal request would be sent after the five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team returned after their probe into the terror attack. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on January 2, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers after an 80-hour gun battle. The five-member Pakistani JIT reached the air base on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of the Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena. Weeks after the attack, media reports from Pakistan said Azhar and his relatives were placed under house arrest in Islamabad, and that Jaish-e-Mohammed seminaries and offices were raided and shut down. However, highly placed diplomatic sources in India said the Pakistan government did not confirm that Azhar was arrested. "We got information that some Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives were arrested but Azhar was not among them," the sources said. They said Azhar, who is also responsible for the attack on India's parliament in 2001, was not to be found at his base and hometown of Bahawalpur in south Punjab and may have gone into hiding much earlier. Meanwhile, NIA sources told IANS that the JIT has reached Delhi and they had "second phase" discussions with them. "We can say it was a phase two discussion with the Pakistan JIT. The first phase of discussion took place on Monday. We showed them all the relevant places today (Tuesday)." "The JIT understood all the genuine causes and evidence. Their understanding was clear. We shared with them all the incident related things which cannot be disclosed," the NIA source said. Kolkata/Nayagram, March 29 : Charging the Trinamool Congress government with bringing only "fear, hunger and corruption" to West Bengal, BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday dared Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek a CBI inquiry into the sting operation to let the truth come out. Addressing the media in Kolkata and holding public rallies in Nayagram in West Midnapore district and Raghunathpur of Purulia district, Shah also challenged Banerjee to throw out her party leaders caught in the sting operation "taking bribe". "If you feel your people are innocent, then you should immediately send in a request to the central government for a CBI inquiry into the Narada sting operation. "If Mamata di places a request, within 36 hours we will ensure 'doodh ka doodh aur pani ka pani' (the truth will come out)," Shah said in Kolkata. Rubbishing the CPI-M and the Congress's charges of a "match-fixing" between the BJP and the Trinamool to cover up the sting issue, Shah defended the home ministry move for a forensic test of the footage of a sting operation accusing Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat of indulging in horse-trading to save his government. "In Uttarakhand, the governor had sent a CD of the sting along with a report to the union home ministry. But here if Mamata didi makes such a request, immediately a CBI probe will be initiated," said Shah. Asked why wasn't the CBI taking suo motu cognizance, Shah replied: "Are you not aware about the federal structure, or else, let Mamata say that you don't have to care about the federal structure and send the CBI." Earlier this month, the Narada News portal uploaded on its website video footage of what it claimed was a sting operation in which several top-notch Trinamool leaders, including former central ministers, incumbent state ministers and MPs were seen allegedly accepting bribe in return for favouring a fictitious company. Shah also ridiculed the Banerjee government over its "attempt to conduct a sting operation on BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha" and demanded the removal of city police commissioner Rajeev Kumar for his "direct involvement" in the "botched sting". "I have never heard of a state government sending policemen to conduct a sting, they tried to implicate our leader Sinha," Shah said, referring to the sting where two city police personnel allegedly tried to conduct a sting. Describing the Banerjee government as a "shadow of "Left Front's 34 years of misrule", Shah said the Trinamool has taken Bengal to destruction with only the bomb-making industry flourishing. "In the name of change, Mamata has only scripted a tale of destruction. It's now for the people to ask her what she has given them in these five years. "This government which came to power with the slogan of 'maa, maati and manush' (mother, land and people) has now turned it to 'bhay bhookh and bhrashtachar' (fear, hunger and corruption)," he said. Referring to the multi-crore-rupee Saradha chit fund scam, Shah charged Banerjee with walking the path of the Communists. "If the chit funds were born under the Left, they flourished under Mamata. Seventeen lakh families in Bengal have been ruined by Saradha. Who will account for their miseries?" he asked. Calling the Communists and the Trinamool two sides of the same coin, Shah also ridiculed the Congress-Left Front tie-up for the Bengal polls. "The Communists, who talk about principles, need to clear their stand. In Kerala they are engaged in fighting but here it's 'ILU ILU' (with Congress)," said Shah, using the Bollywood-inspired initials for 'I Love You'. Addressing a party rally in Nayagram, Shah ridiculed the Trinamool over its "journey from Saradha to Narada". "From morning to afternoon, from evening to night, Trinamool leaders are busy taking bribe". "It's her duty to throw out the leaders who have taken bribe, but Mamata will not do that because she is afraid that those who have taken the money will reveal everything," he said. Claiming that the Banerjee government will never allow central government welfare schemes to reach Bengal, Shah appealed to the people to vote the BJP to power in the state. "Such is the level of corruption here that the money sent by Modi government for the warfare of Bengal doesn't even reach you. "Modi has allotted Rs.80 lakh for each village and Rs.21 crore for every city, but if the Mamata government is here, that money will never reach you. "As long as Mamata is here, no central benefits, be it the crop insurance scheme or the Mudra bank initiative, will reach you," added Shah. New Delhi, March 29 : The government in 1964 could not confirm reports which alleged that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was declared a war criminal by an international court in Tokyo after World War II, it was revealed on Tuesday. A man named C.C. Chatterji of Lucknow had written a letter to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) on January 2, 1964 that a committee of eminent jurists be appointed to go into all the aspects of the judgment that had allegedly declared Netaji a war criminal in Tokyo. The MEA referred the matter to the defence ministry and the law ministry seeking relevant information in this regard, said one of the files in a set of 50 files released by the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday. The then government had also asked the Indian embassy in Tokyo to find out the same. "We have made inquiries with the Japanese Foreign Offices and academic circles here who have given a tentative confirmation that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was not declared a war criminal. The question does not arise because he was never captured by the allies," the embassy said in a written response to the MEA. Similarly, the permanent mission of India to the UN also said Bose's name did not appear in the list of people tried for war crimes. "It is presumed that the reference to the judgment of the International Court in Tokyo is a reference to the judgment of International Military Tribunal of the Far East delivered on November 4, 1948. "There does not appear to have any direct connection between the work of United Nations War Crime Commission and the work of this tribunal. From the judgment of the tribunal, it does not appear that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's name figured in that list of person tried," India's permanent mission to UN said. New Delhi, March 29 : The Supreme Court is likely to hear next week a plea seeking quashing of president's rule in Uttarakand and a CBI probe into the allegations of horse-trading in the ongoing political imbroglio in the hill state. A bench headed by Chief Justice T.S.Thakur said that the plea would be taken up next week after petitioner, advocate M.L.Sharma mentioned it for an early hearing. Seeking the quashing of the Presidential proclamation, Sharma has questioned how could the council of ministers recommend the imposition of the president's rule when Governor K.K.Paul had already directed then chief minister Harish Rawat to go for floor test on March 28. He further contended that could Uttarakhand be placed under president's rule, once the governor, following the apex court constitution bench's March 11, 1994 judgment in the S.R.Bommai's case, had asked Rawat to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly on March 28. In the Bommai case, the apex court constitution bench had held that the majority of the government could only be tested on the floor of the assembly. The apex court had further held that it could not go into the advice tendered by the council of ministers to the president but it could examine the material on which the president in exercise of the powers under the constitution's article 356 places a state under president's rule. Sharma said that the constitution bench had held that court can examine if there was a malafide use of power under Article 356. He has also sought direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation to register an FIR and to investigate the role of cash and kind in the entire political imbroglio and file its report before the apex court. Recounting the sequence of events including rebel lawmakers travelling to New Delhi by a chartered flight and the interview of the BJP general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand Kailash Vijayvargiya to a English national daily, Sharma said that acts of rebel MLAs attracted the provision of Prevention of Corruption Act and has sought their prosecution. New Delhi, March 29 : India on Tuesday dismissed, as baseless, remarks made by an alleged Indian spy in a video released by Pakistan in which he "confessed" New Delhi's alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan. "We have seen a video released by Pakistani authorities of a former Indian naval officer, doing business in Iran, who is in Pakistani custody under unexplained circumstances," the external affairs ministry said in a statement. "The video has this individual making statements which have no basis in fact. That the individual claims to make the statements of his own free will not only challenges credulity but clearly indicates tutoring," it said. Kulbushan Yadav says in the video that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan "at the behest of RAW", the Indian intelligence agency, and that he was still with the Indian Navy. The video was released at a press conference attended by Pakistan Army spokesman, Lt.Gen. Asim Bajwa and Information Minister Pervez Rashid. The external affairs ministry statement said that it was also relevant to note that despite its request, consular access has not been given to an Indian national under detention in a foreign country, as was the accepted international practice. "We are naturally concerned about his well-being in these circumstances," it said. "The government categorically rejects allegations that this individual was involved in subversive activities in Pakistan at our behest. Our enquiries reveal that he apparently was being harassed while operating a legitimate business from Iran." The statement said that while India probed this aspect further, Yadav's presence now in Pakistan raised questions, including the possibility of his abduction from Iran. "This would become clear only if we are given consular access to him and we urge the government of Pakistan to respond immediately to our request," it said. Mathura, March 29 : Union minister Maneka Gandhi, who is also a wildlife activist, on Tuesday spent some time with elephants rescued from illegal captivity at the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura. Thanking Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for his support, the minister for women and child development spent some time with elephants Phoolkali, Maya, Sai Geeta and Chanchal, who are among the 14 housed at the facility. The Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, run by Wildlife SOS, is the first of its kind in India and has special facilities to care for rescued elephants. It has pools for hydrotherapy, as well as facilities for digital x-ray, foot care equipment and a team of veterinarians specially trained for providing foot care and geriatric care to elephants. Elephants who suffer from arthritis and other ailments as well as lifestyle diseases are also cared for and treated here. The facility also has India's first elephant ambulance, equipped with hydraulic pumps and veterinary facilities. "The Uttar Pradesh government and Wildlife SOS have created a unique model by establishing India's first elephant rescue and rehabilitation centre. I am hopeful that other state governments will follow the model," Gandhi told media persons. Stating that it was extremely hard to raise funds, she asked people to sponsor the elephants by visiting the website www.wildlifesos.org. She also asked the Uttar Pradesh tourism department to put the rescue centre on the tourism map. The elephants at the Mathura centre were rescued from illegal captivity and circuses where they were subjected to cruelty. Hyderabad, March 29 : All 25 students and two faculty members of University of Hyderabad were released from jail here Tuesday night, nearly a week after they were arrested during a police crackdown on the campus. A day after they were granted bail by a city court, the students and two teachers walked out of Cherlapally Jail. Their family members, friends and human rights activists welcomed them. It took entire day for the families and friends of those arrested to complete the bail formalities. The court, while granting bail, had directed them to arrange a surety of Rs.5,000 each. They were also directed to appear before the police station till the framing of charges in the case. Police on March 22 had arrested the students and faculty members during the crackdown on protest against the return of Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao. Those arrested have been charged with vandalism and attacking police. Appa Rao, who had gone on leave in January following suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula, resumed charge last week, sparking protest by a section of students who hold him responsible for what they call the "institutional murder" of Rohith. Kolkata, March 29 : Despite efforts by then prime minister Indira Gandhi, the Indian government couldn't forestall the screening of a 1984 British documentary that projected Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as a "traitor", reveals a declassified file. According to the PMO file, the then West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu had written to Indira Gandhi urging her take up the matter with the British government for stalling the screening of "The War of the Springing Tiger" by Granada Television. "It is reported by those who have seen the preview of the film in London, that Netaji has been labelled in it as clown in jackboots and he has been projected as a traitor to the country," Basu said in his letter dated January 21, 1984. Basu also revealed that "a section of Indians including (Netaji's nephew) Sisir Bose had extended their help in producing the film". "I would request you to take up the matter with the UK government immediately and urge upon them to take suitable action to prevent the screening in any part of the world as was done in the case of the film 'Death of a Princess'," wrote Basu. In her reply, Indira Gandhi informed Basu that despite efforts, the screening of the documentary couldn't be forestalled. "We did all we could to forestall the showing of this film on the British TV but could succeed. In view of the feelings within the country, this matter is being taken up with the British government. "But even if the government is willing, I am told that the BBC does not always oblige," Indira Gandhi said in her February 15 reply. Produced by Granada Television, "The War of the Springing Tiger" documented the "40,000 men who deserted the Indian Army" to fight alongside the Japanese against the British during World War II for an independent India, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. Berlin, March 29 : Germany has averted 11 planned terrorist attacks since 2000, the chief of the German Federal Criminal Police Office said on Tuesday. Europe has suffered a number of major terrorist attacks on its capital cities since the turn of the 21st century. Compared to its European partners, Germany has been mostly unscathed. In the past 15 years, 11 planned terrorist plots on Germany have been foiled by German security authorities, Xinhua quoted agency head Holger Muench as saying. "Our current situation is not just luck, but also due to good cooperation between security agencies," Muench said. The chief warned against an increased risk of attacks in Germany in recent years. "Europe, including Germany, is among those on the target list of Islamist terrorism," he explained, adding that there were currently around 470 "potential attackers" in Germany who were likely to threaten public safety. "We are very vigilant," Muench said, although at present "there is no concrete evidence of a terror attack on Germany". New Delhi, March 29 : In a fillip to Prime Minister's Digital India initiative, domestic smartphone maker Lava International Ltd on Tuesday launched KKT Ultra+ Union -- the first feature phone that supports 22 official Indian languages -- for Indian customers. Priced at Rs.1,500, the phone is designed to minimise the communication gap that arises due to language barriers, hence, bridging the digital divide between the urban and rural population. "We at LAVA are delighted to introduce KKT Ultra + Union, a device which is in line with our company's mission to empower people to do more and be more by making valuable technologies accessible," Lava's product head Gaurav Nigam, said in a statement. "Through this phone we want to bridge the language barrier and enable people to express themselves in their own language with their near and dear ones across the country. The launch of KKT Ultra + Union is another step towards strengthening our support to thegovernment's Make in India and Digital India initiative," he added. Nigam said about 70 percent of phones that the company will make will have support of at least six languages, adding it has installed a manufacturing unit in Noida that can manufacture 10 lakh phones in a month. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Ram Sevak Sharma, who was the chief guest at the launch, lauded LAVA for launching a budget phone to support the "Digital India" and "Make in India" initiatives. He said that for transparent and effective governance, technology has to be robust and mobile phones play an important role in communication. "Technology is not a constraint, communication is. In today's digital world, people in rural and remote areas are missing too many things due to non-availability of better communication technology. "For better connectivity, one needs to communicate in local language and I am happy that LAVA has launched a budget phone for better communication," he added. Apart from English and Hindi, the phone supports Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Manipuri, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. The device offers a screen of 2.4 inch and comes with an in-built dual-SIM slot, with GSM operating frequency. It offers 1,750 mAh Li-ionbattery with talk time of 18 hours along with a VGA camera. KKT Ultra + Union is equipped with a hassle-free wireless FM support along with an audio/video playback option enabled through a 3.5 mm audio jack. The phone will be available in black and grey colour variants across all national retail stores and multi-brand outlets. New Delhi, March 30 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed early Wednesday for Brussels on a three-nation tour during the course of which he will attend the India-EU summit and the global nuclear security summit in the US. On his daylong visit to Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will hold a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and then attend the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. On March 31, he will leave for Washington to attend the two-day Fourth Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted by US President Barack Obama. On his way back, he will drop in at Riyadh for a bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia on April 2-3. Washington, March 30 : The Pentagon on Tuesday ordered families of US troops to evacuate southern Turkey amid deteriorating security situation. The order issued on Tuesday would impact primarily US military family members from Incirlik air base in Adana, Turkey, which in recent months had become a major hub for launching US-led coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS) targets in Iraq and Syria, Xinhua reported. Family members of US military from facilities in Turkish cities of Ismir and Mugla would also be affected by the order. "The decision to move our families and civilians was made in consultation with the government of Turkey, our State Department, and our secretary of defence," said a statement by the US European Command. However, the order did not "signify a permanent decision to end accompanied tours at these facilities", said the statement. "It is intended to mitigate the risk to DoD (Department of Defence) elements and personnel, including family members, while ensuring the combat effectiveness of US forces and our mission support to operations in Turkey," it said. The order came after the US State Department issued a travel warning, urging US citizens to avoid southeastern Turkey due to "increased threats from terrorist groups". Turkey has experienced a string of deadly attacks over the past few months, with the latest one hitting central Istanbul, a Turkish city that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosporus Strait, on March 19, killing five people. It came only one week after a car laden with explosives hit central Ankara, Turkey's capital, claiming 37 lives. Nicole & Justin Be authentic, be genuine, learn to stop and look after yourself and invest in yourself so that when you do show up, you can be that person that can add the most value to other peoples lives. Therese Schwenkler, author of The Unlost personal development blog, reports on a recently published podcast interview with Australia's newest entrepreneurial power couple, Nicole Dennis and Justin Phillips of Brisbane, Australia. In the interview, published on The MLM Nation Podcast, Dennis and Philips discussed the critical mindsets and qualities that have contributed to their rapid entrepreneurial success. Dennis and Phillips' story is remarkable in both intensity and speed: they built a six-figure income with health and wellness redox signaling company ASEA in less than twelve months, and by their fifteenth month, theyd reached the company's prestigious rank of diamond, the first ASEA associates in Australia to do so. ASEA, LLC manufactures the worlds first and only Redox Signaling supplement. These Redox Signaling Molecules in ASEA support the vital activity of cellular repair and replacement that are necessary for optimal cellular health. ASEA has been open for business since mid 2014 in Australia and New Zealand, launching with just a single product Renu 28, the topical delivery of ASEAs redox technology. In February of this year, ASEA released their full product line in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to working with ASEA, Phillips' background was in health and wellness. He faced some health challenges along the way, which exposed him to ASEA's product and business model. Dennis' background for the past sixteen years was in the corporate world working in project management. Like Phillips, she always had an interest in health and well-being products on her journey to resolving her own health problems over the course of her successful career in the project management industry. As one of the first associates to open the Australia and New Zealand market, the couple was faced with the challenge of launching a new country with a new product, without any regionally targeted tools available from the company. In response to this challenge, they created a simple flipchart, oriented toward Australian terms and regionally appropriate, which anyone could use regardless of their age or level of technological skill. "Keep it simple, because people can duplicate simplicity," shared Dennis. In addition to Australia and New Zealand, the couple's business has a US presence in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Florida as well. When asked about some of his best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, Phillips replied, Be authentic, be genuine, learn to stop and look after yourself and invest in yourself so that when you do show up, you can be that person that can add the most value to other peoples lives. Thats really critical." Dennis and Phillips are passionate and inspired about the opportunity they've been given to help people with their health and well-being while helping them be prosperous as well. For more information or for interviews with Dennis and Phillips, visit http://www.gojustinandnicole.com. Listen to the full podcast interview at MLM Nation. The seal of the American School American School isn't fooling around during the month of April. In fact, the distance learning school offering accredited courses at an affordable cost is busier than ever, with plans to attend four conventions in four states during the fourth month of the year, starting with the ASCD Convention in Atlanta from April 2-4. "We're excited to meet curriculum directors and tell them about our accredited middle school and high school courses," American School President Gary R. Masterton said. "This is the fourth straight year we've attended this event, and each year we get a bigger and better response." Guests at the ASCD show are invited to stop by booth 1238 at the Georgia World Congress Center on April 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; April 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and on April 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and meet with American School representatives. Following the ASCD Conference, American School's next stop will be its inaugural appearance at the Midwest Parent Educator Conference in Kansas City on April 22 and 23. "We've heard great things about the MPE show, but have never been able to fit it into our schedule until this year," Masterton said. "With our new middle school courses, we think it's the perfect time to make our MPE debut." Visitors to the MPE Conference can stop by booth 812 at the KCI Expo Center on April 22 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on April 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. American School representatives will have plenty of middle school program, high school diploma program, and individual subject enrollment applications on hand. The following week, American School will attend two more shows. The first is the ISCA Conference in Rosemont, which is expected to draw school counselors from Chicagoland to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, where they are invited to visit American School's booth from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 29. "We've enjoyed a good relationship with school counselors from our home state and love meeting them at ISCA Conferences downstate and closer to home," Masterton said. The other event during the last weekend in April is the Oklahoma Homeschool Convention in Oklahoma City. The 2016 event marks American School's return to the OCHEC Convention, and this year's event will be held at the Cox Convention Center on April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on April 30 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. "We try to visit as many different states as possible during the year, and we're excited to make it back to Oklahoma sooner rather than later, no pun intended," Masterton said. For more information on American School, visit http://www.americanschool.org or call 866-260-7221. Past News Releases RSS With the 6th annual ecommerce conference Imagine 2016 just around the corner, Krish Technolabs, the leading Magento eCommerce company based in Ahmedabad, India is all set to sponsor this event as a Silver Level Sponsor, which is being held at Wynn, Las Vegas, from April 11 to April 13, 2016. Magento enthusiasts and open source experts the world over look forward to this event that unites hundreds of ecommerce merchants and partners together. At this event, they participate in the top level happenings in the ecommerce world and share their knowledge and experience of the past years with each other. Imagine commenced six years ago with a grand vision to connect the global ecommerce system. As a silver sponsor of Imagine 2016, it is the vision of Krish Technolabs to team up with like-minded professionals, exchange thoughts, and discuss new ideas to foster the spirit of ecommerce and further the cause of Magento ecommerce on a global basis. According to Jiten Padmashali, CEO, Krish Technolabs, says "Imagine is the platform to showcase our work that we are proud of. It is an opportunity for us to present our solutions, platform, products and services which has empowered many brands across the globe. Team KTPL would be interested in meeting such aspiring brands in Imagine 2016" With the opening day being all about making connections, attending special sessions, trainings, and networking events, Team Krish will be delighted to connect with interested individuals and ecommerce professionals. For those who are on the lookout for an ecommerce partner and wish to multiply their ecommerce growth prospects and profits, then Krish Technolabs invites them to visit the company at booth #14 at the event. In attendance will be the top guns of the company namely Jitendra P. (CEO), Vatsal S. (Consultant and Mentor), Kunal K. (Head eCommerce Solutions), and Justin T. (Sr. Manager Business Development). About Krish TechnoLabs Established in 2003, Krish TechnoLabs is a Magento Silver Solution Partner, which excels at working with clients to create successful and profitable B2C and B2B eCommerce stores. Krish Technolabs has developed 250+ sites on Magento Platform including ProLighting, Tavola Shop, MyBinding, Critical Thinking, Betta Electrical. Krish is also a Magento 2 Trained Solution Partner and has a team of 125+ Magento technocrats including 35 Magento Certified Developers with a multi-country presence, who work for common goal - client's satisfaction, innovation and growth. http://www.krishtechnolabs.com Dave Miller and Yakup Colak at FESPA 2016 in Amsterdam, Netherlands on Doganer Signage Systems booth. As accessibility in the built environment and specifically commercial spaces becomes more of a focus for developing economies, we are pleased to partner with companies like Doganer who share our passion for education around accessibility laws, and codes. Accessible Signage is taking over Europe as Doganer Signage Systems, a Nova Polymers Preferred Fabricator from Turkey attended their first European Sign Expo in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sign Expo 2016 is Europes leading exhibition for the signage and visual communications industry, with over 100 leading brands and suppliers represented at the show, and is hosted by the Federation of European Screen Printers Assocation (FESPA). Doganer Signage Systems showed their capabilities of producing accessible signage to the European market, using Nova Polymers materials and equipment. In an emerging market like Turkey which is starting to embrace ADA accessible signage, we are proud to be the first company to introduce Novacryl. With the support of Nova Polymers, we can now offer quality photopolymer products throughout Europe. said Yakup Colak, General Manager of Doganer Signage Systems. Dave Miller, Director Global Business Operations for Nova Polymers, who was present at the show added: As accessibility in the built environment and specifically commercial spaces becomes more of a focus for developing economies, we are pleased to partner with companies like Doganer Signage Systems who share our passion for education around accessibility laws, and codes - specifically the ADA and DDA. Nova Polymers Preferred Fabricators have to participate in a process audit to ensure that they adhere to the guidelines and processes specified by Nova Polymers for the production of photopolymer accessible signage. About Nova Polymers Nova Polymers is the largest manufacturer and distributor of photopolymer sign products in the United States, Canada, Europe, The Middle East and Australia. The company developed the worlds first CLEAR photopolymer sign material. The introduction of NovAcryl continues to have a profound effect on the creative potential of the sign design and fabrication industries. Today, Nova Polymers continues to work with the Architectural Signage and Design community to expand their high quality and progressive product line in ways that will add creativity and flexibility while maintaining & exceeding ADA compliance guidelines. Novas goal is to educate the design community so that there is demand created for the products fabricators manufacture. Further information is available on the web at http://www.novapolymers.com. About Doganer Signage Systems Doganer Signage Systems launched in 1991 by producing interior and exterior signage, and then extended its range of products with Curved System, Flat System (Plasma), Lens Covered Interior and Exterior Routing Panels, Exit Signs, Fire Exit Signs, Illuminated/Unilluminated Information Booths, Wall and Corner Guards, Interior&Exterior Illuminated/Unilluminated Totems. Now a Nova Polymers Preferred Fabricator, they produce ADA compliant signage photopolymer plates and ADA and TS1911 compliant interior/exterior signage. Further information is available on the web at http://www.doganermimari.com.tr Jeff Halstead We need to be united in our support for police officers As he became increasingly aware of the difficulties experienced by local law enforcement agencies across the country, Jeff Halstead could not stand by and watch. Having served in law enforcement for more than 26 years, the former Chief of Police for Fort Worth, Texas thoroughly understood the ways community safety is adversely impacted by a lack of support for the men & women in blue. Residents of some neighborhoods were not only not supportive of local officers but were even hostile toward them. A lack of funds poses the biggest problem. Many police departments are unable to provide their members with up-to-date training or supply them with needed safety equipment. Others found themselves making do with outdated technology which no longer came close to meeting their requirements. It was during a lengthy trip overseas that Chief Halstead hit upon a possible solution. He could form a national nonprofit that would work in unity with other charitable organizations for the benefit of law enforcement departments across the country. Our belief is simple," says Chief Halstead, and the B.L.U.E. in our name says it all: Backing Law enforcement Unites Everyone." As he further explains, this new nonprofit has four distinct missions. In addition to providing police departments with the advanced training many so sorely need, HOPE 4 BLUE will help them purchase more advanced equipment and offer financial aid to critically injured officers. As the final aspect of this four-pronged approach, the organization will enlist faith-based leaders and churches across the country in bringing communities together. Its a win-win proposition, says Chief Halstead. "We need to be united in our support for police officers." Through the years, police departments across the country have found themselves face-to-face with escalating adversity. In early 2016, the number of firearm assaults on police officers rose a staggering 300 percent over the previous year. Outdated technology that no longer does the job only adds to law enforcements burdens. When the crime-solving applications that should be helping are six or more years out of date, criminals become that much harder to collar. Furthermore, training and equipment budgets have plummeted, hampering the physical and mental advantages on which members of law enforcement depend. Such departmental deficiencies leave the police hard-pressed to deal with ever-increasing levels of violence in ways that are the least damaging to everyone concerned. Once his organization has met its minimal goals, Halstead hopes to hire top consultants and subcontractors to assist in the group's vital training initiatives. While he anticipates that HOPE 4 BLUE will succeed in providing police departments with the financial assistance that they have sorely lacked in recent years, he has no intention of placing his not-for-profit in competition with similar charitable organizations. He hopes instead that HOPE 4 BLUE will serve as an adjunct to the others and to partner with them when possible. Above all else, Halstead will not delay getting assistance into the hands of the neediest departments. "Our nonprofit plans to make 80 percent of all donated funds immediately available to the agencies most in need," he says. "There will be no red tape and no delays. Our aim is to make better technology and safer equipment available to police officers when they need it right NOW." About HOPE 4 BLUE HOPE 4 BLUE is a nationally recognized nonprofit (501(c)3) whose affiliates aim to lend support to members of law enforcement in all 50 states. Its board of directors will meet quarterly to discuss the further development of its strategic vision. Members of the public are welcome to attend, and updates will appear on the organization's website within the following week. Those who wish to obtain more information or would like to make a donation can do so at the HOPE 4 BLUE website, https://hope4blue.org/ Several large collections have been appraised and sold at this show in recent years. Our expert appraisers look forward to seeing new material here year after year, said Jim Taylor, show producer and owner of Courthouse Square Antique Postcards. "Our vendors bring quality collections and accumulations for their collector customers, and are always looking to give free appraisals, time permitting, to collections and accumulations brought in from the area," said Jim Taylor, show producer and owner of Courthouse Square Antique Postcards. In addition to postcard and paper ephemera dealers, specialists in Victorian ephemera and trade cards, plus vintage posters, art nouveau/deco perfume labels are scheduled to be on-hand. Attendees can browse through Valentines and Victorian greeting cards, and more. Show highlights include hourly drawings for gift certificates, free appraisals-time permitting, and Barr's Postcard News issues available while supplies last. Representatives of Barr's Postcard News are set to provide additional information about their publication. Attendees will also find representatives of Curt Teich Archives, Lake County Discovery Museum, showing and discussing their exhibits and collections. Archival postcard storage and exhibit supplies and reference volumes are available for purchase. The Greater Chicago Antique Postcard & Paper Americana Show and Sale is scheduled for the Holiday Inn Chicago SW-Countryside Conference Center Ballroom, William Tell, 6201 Joliet Road Countryside, Illinois 60525 We have moved our twice-a-year show to the William Tell Holiday Inn Countryside Ballroom," said Jim Taylor, show producer and owner of Courthouse Square Antique Postcards. "Our guests and vendors will be able to enjoy in-house restaurants, bar, beautiful rooms, and lots of free parking. It's a great atmosphere for our show; easy to find. If you found our previous location, just look across the street." Doors open Friday, April 15, from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. with Saturday, April 16, hours from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. (Early Saturday open hours and early close due to previous hotel booking needs.) Admission is $5 for both days regular admission. An Earlybird" admission of $10 is available at 9 a.m., on Friday Email: postcards(at)courthousesquare(dot)net for dollar-off admissions coupons We are happy to announce that CA4IT has more online influence than every major accounting firm in Canada Canadian accounting firm CA4IT is a small business making a big impact online, and just this week, they set a new milestone with the announcement that they surpassed over 21,000 Twitter followers, a first for the company. When compared to the larger accounting firms across the nation, CA4ITs social media influence demonstrates a truly effective strategy for social media engagement that has larger businesses taking notice. We are happy to announce that CA4IT has more online influence than every major accounting firm in Canada, says Vice President, Andrew Wall. With a Klout score of 61 and our rapidly growing Twitter following, we believe that our success comes from our commitment to quality content that touches on topics important to our readers. In fact, with only one exception, CA4IT has more Twitter followers than all the major names in business accounting, including KPMG Canada which trails behind with only around 16,500 followers. A search for additional comparison revealed the following statistics from Twitter: @PwC_Canada_LLP--15.8K followers, Klout score of 57 @GrantThornton--9.3K followers, Klout score of 55 @EYCanada--8.6K followers, Klout score of 54 @BDO_Canada--3.3K followers, Klout score of 49 @CollinsBarrow 813 followers, Klout score of 49 Clearly, CA4IT is gaining recognition for their efforts, which translates into a larger audience. Wall attributes this rapid growth to his companys focus on genuine connections. Rather than a feed filled with advertising or content for contents sake, CA4IT treats their social media efforts as an opportunity to build meaningful connections. He notes that they strive to share content that engages, educates, and enlightens, which based on their growth, is certainly hitting the mark. In the David Versus Goliath atmosphere of small businesses in relation to larger corporations, CA4IT shows that many companies may need to rethink how they rely on brand recognition. CA4IT is poised for its most successful year yet, and stands as a perfect example of how effective social media presence acts as a building block for growth. CA4IT has 30 years of experience supporting IT professionals, independent professionals and project managers. The member firms provide full-service accounting to companies across Canada. CA4IT is the only association of accounting firm at NACCB. CA4IT is proud to have one of the very few ISO registered accounting firms as a member. Having serviced over 10,000 clients, CA4IT is well versed in customer service and offers a policy of complete satisfaction within the rules of professional accounting standards. Telecom Commission approves 112 as the single emergency number Published: March 29, 2016 The Telecom Commission has approved the number 112 as the single emergency number for India, similar to 911 of United States (US) and 999 of United Kingdom (UK). Henceforth Indian citizens in distress will be able to get all emergency services such as police, fire department and ambulance by just dialling this single-number. It will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help. Key facts The service will also be accessible even through those landlines and mobile connections whose outgoing call facility has been temporarily suspended or stopped. Person in distress will be also able to make emergency communication even through SMS. This emergency system has facility to directly learn about the location of the caller or message sender that will be shared with the nearest help centre. The service will be operated and functioned by a call centre like facility. It will have representatives speaking in English, Hindi and the local language. At present, different Indian states have notified various emergency helpline numbers for assistance to special categories of citizens. With this 112 as the single emergency number, all existing emergency numbers such as police (100), ambulance (102), fire brigade (101) and Emergency Disaster Management (108) will be phased out. Month: Current Affairs - March, 2016 Topics: Current Affairs 2016 National Telecom Commission Latest E-Books Making fluoridated water available to Ohioans is the single most important step a community can take to improve the dental health of its residents, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Recognizing the importance of fluoridated water to a communitys oral health, the Delta Dental Foundation has funded the states Fluoridation Assistance Program (FAP) since 2012. In 2016, the Foundation committed $50,000 for the program to continue. Community water fluoridation is critical for good oral health, said Teri Battaglieri, Delta Dental Foundation director. Fluoridation can help fight tooth decay in children and adults and has been shown to decrease dental disease throughout the U.S. The purpose of the FAP is to provide financial and technical assistance to communities, enabling them to fluoridate their water systems to the optimum level necessary to prevent dental disease. Presently, 92 percent of the states population served by community water systems is enjoying the benefits of fluoridated water. The FAP assists public water supply systems by reimbursing a portion of the cost to purchase new or replacement fluoridation equipment and/or supplies. Officials from the Ottawa County Public Water System said the funding to implement the fluoridation is one of the most cost effective investments that the State of Ohio can make to promote the dental health of our communities. For more information about the program, visit http://www.odh.ohio.gov/en/odhprograms/ohs/oral/oralprev/reimbprg.aspx. About Delta Dental Foundation The Delta Dental Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization established in 1980, which serves as the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina. The Foundations goals are to support education and research for the advancement of dental science and to promote the oral health of the public through education and service activities, particularly for those with special needs. For more information, visit http://www.deltadentaloh.com. ### CT Applicators successfully apply a diversity of products quickly, easily and accurately. We are pleased to work with Agrilead, Incorporated Tom Johnson, President of Changing Times, LLC, recently announced their dry applicator calibration numbers for PIXY. The patented CT Dry Applicator was recently approved for applying PIXY to seed. PIXY, a product of Agrilead, Incorporated, is a dry powder product that is applied following a liquid treatment to speed drying, enhance seed flow and shine seed coat. The CT Dry Applicator allows precision application of low volume seed treatment products in order to achieve the highest yield response. "We are pleased to work with Agrilead, Incorporated, to ensure the best use of their product for producers,"Johnson said. Producers are encouraged to talk with their Agrilead representatives regarding their CT Applicator program. Calibration for other products can be found at http://www.ctapplicators.com. For more information or to order, please visit http://www.ctapplicators.com or call (605)878-3611. Aureon unveiled a new logo to align with its new corporate identity. By combining our resources and capabilities, we can use our talent, technology and tools to help clients stay focused on what they do best and turn those challenges into opportunities. The INS Family of Companies, a business solutions provider specializing in support services, announced today the launch of a new unified identity. Effective immediately, the INS Family of Companies, consisting of Iowa Network Services (INS), Alliance Technologies, Alliance Connect, Merit Resources, Caleris and Portico Staffing will operate under the name Aureon, reflecting a new unified structure for the organization. With the adoption of its new brand and logo, Aureon has simultaneously launched their new website, http://www.Aureon.com. The rebrand is the positive outcome of the companys broadening footprint in the business support services field, which theyve expanded in recent years to encompass a variety of Technology, HR and Contact Center services. It is the culmination of years of strategic planning and diversification that was fueled by the growing demand for outsourced business solutions that address the complexity and importance of back office functions. After 27 years of growing INS from a company built to serve the Iowa Independent Telecommunications Companies to a diverse house of brands offering multiple support solutions, Aureon represents the next step in our evolution and direction, says Ron Keller, CEO of Aureon. There is a tremendous amount of value in being able to offer all of these services under one roof, while leveraging the experienced people and individuality that made each company unique. The INS Family of Companies will now fall into support solution categories, with INS, Alliance Technology and Alliance Connect becoming Aureon Technology; Merit Resources, Merit Senior Living and Portico Staffing will be Aureon HR; and Caleris is Aureon Contact Center. Most of the 600+ employees from the INS Family of Companies moved into their new corporate headquarters in the spring of 2015 to begin to focus on collaboration and common processes. In addition to the name change, the organization also has plans to expand its current West Des Moines headquarters with an adjacent facility mid-2016. Aureon will continue operations in both their Kansas City and Omaha offices as well. By aligning our internal synergies, were better able to find efficiencies for those we serve, says Keller. The business operation challenges facing organizations grow more complex by the day. By combining our resources and capabilities, we can use our talent, technology and tools to help clients stay focused on what they do best and turn those challenges into opportunities. For more information on the Aureon re-brand story, visit http://www.Aureon.com/launch-materials. About Aureon Aureon, the new name for the INS Family of Companies, is a business solutions provider who connects possibilities to productivity by providing unique and scalable business support services for organizations small and large. Headquartered in the heart of the Midwest, and serving clients nationally with a presence in 48 states, Aureon offers a comprehensive suite of support services, with a focus on Technology, HR and Contact Center services. Aureons unique combination of talent, technology and tools enable clients to focus on their core business. For more information, visit http://www.Aureon.com. Microsoft Envision provides us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our capabilities designed to help Dynamics customers get the maximum benefit from Dynamics CRM, AX, NAV and GP. Experlogix, the global leader in configure, price, quote (CPQ) solutions for Microsoft Dynamics and 2015 Microsoft ISV of the Year Finalist, announced today it will be demonstrating its new release at the Microsoft Envision Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 4-6, 2016, booth 1709. Microsoft Envision will have nearly 300 sessions and bring together the most forward thinking minds in business and technology. Entering its 11th year supporting Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP solutions, Experlogix CPQ enables organizations in virtually any industry to deliver quotes fast and with 100 percent accuracy, regardless of complexity. The company is off to a quick start this year with several enterprise customer wins, including Teradata, Genetec, Johnson Controls - Hitachi Air Conditioning in Brazil and a major US-based Caterpillar dealer. In addition, three flagship enterprise customers just announced successful deployments of Experlogix CPQ, including Allegion, a $2 billion dollar provider of security products and solutions for homes and businesses, Sub-Zero Group, Inc., a leading appliance manufacturer and worldwide IT infrastructure software provider, HelpSystems. Experlogix will demonstrate its new cloud-based CPQ for the new Dynamics AX Azure ERP platform as well as Dynamics CRM 2016 Online. The company also recently achieved Certified for Dynamics NAV accreditation from Microsoft. Microsoft Envision provides us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our capabilities designed to help Dynamics customers get the maximum benefit from Dynamics CRM, AX, NAV and GP, says Jeff Holway, VP Sales and Marketing, Experlogix. Experlogix is also sponsoring an exclusive invitation-only party for Dynamics customers and partners on April 5th, 2016 at Republic New Orleans, 828 S Peters St., New Orleans, from 9pm 1am. About Experlogix Experlogix is a premier provider of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) technology, specializing in fully integrated quote and order automation solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP. Experlogix delivers the scalability and flexibility needed to handle virtually any CPQ requirement at a low total cost of ownership. Formed in 1997, it partners with more than 450 VARs across North and South America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. More than 900 companies worldwide in a variety of industries rely on Experlogix, including, Allegion, AMX, Analogic, Assa Abloy Hospitality, FEI Company, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Husky Injection Molding Systems, Malibu Boats, Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America, Nikon Instruments, Otis (United Technologies), Spectra Logic and TelePacific Communications. For more information, visit http://www.experlogix.com. Moms want time with family for Mother's Day. Moments during a Destin beach vacation are cherished by Moms and children. As a Mom, I certainly agree that spending precious time with my family is the greatest gift I can receive for Mothers Day, said Newman-Dailey CEO Jeanne Dailey Mom doesnt want flowers for Mothers Day. According to a recent survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Ebates.com among 2,102 adults ages 18 and older in the top 10 U.S. markets, the top gifts on American moms wish list is quality time with their family followed by gift cards to their favorite places. One of the most popular places for spending quality time together is at the beach. Newman-Dailey Resort Properties has been hosting families for their Destin beach vacation for more than 30 years. To help Moms get what they want for Mothers Day, Newman-Dailey Resort Properties is offering the Love Mom Mothers Day Beach Vacation Deal featuring 10 percent off Destin vacation rentals for stays of three nights or more from April 23 through May 13, 2016. The package also includes a Mothers Day gift, the novel Summer Rental by New York Times Best Selling Author Mary Kay Andrews. As a Mom, I certainly agree that spending precious time with my family is the greatest gift I can receive for Mothers Day, said Newman-Dailey Founder & CEO Jeanne Dailey. And our vacation specialists enjoy helping Dads and children make plans to surprise Mom with the perfect beach getaway. In addition to the 10 percent discount on Destin vacation rentals, Newman-Dailey Resort Properties offers guests the Be Free Bundle, which is included with most Newman-Dailey beach vacation rentals. As part of the Be Free Bundle, guests receive a Newman-Dailey Gift Card, good toward free activities and movie rentals as well as complimentary seasonal beach service (two chairs and an umbrella) during each full day of the stay. The bundle also includes special offers and discounts toward shops, restaurants, activities, and local services. While visiting Floridas Emerald Coast, there are plenty of Mothers Day events and activities taking place. From the Mothers Day Brunch Cruise aboard the Solaris Yacht to the annual ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival held at Grand Boulevard over Mothers Day weekend (May 7 & 8), there is no shortage of mom-friendly activities taking place in South Walton and along Floridas Emerald Coast. Newman-Dailey Resort Properties features a vast array of well-appointed South Walton and Destin vacation rentals, ranging from spacious beach homes to gulf-front Destin condos. The 10 percent discount is available on stays of three-nights or more between April 23 and May 13, 2016. Use promo code: SPRG16. Some restrictions apply. To learn more, visit http://www.DestinVacation.com or call 800-225-7652. About Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, Inc. Newman-Dailey Resort Properties is a premier vacation rental, real estate sales and association management company located in Miramar Beach, Fla. Founded in 1985, Newman-Dailey has been welcoming guests to the beaches of South Walton and Destin, Fla. for more than 30 years. Recognized for excellence, integrity and professionalism, Newman-Dailey consistently receives the "Certificate of Excellence" for positive reviews on TripAdvisor and earned the BBBs 2015 Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. In addition, Newman-Dailey was voted the Best Vacation Rental Company and Best Property Management Company by the readers of Emerald Coast Magazine. The Real Estate Division is consistently listed among the top 10 percent of real estate companies along the Emerald Coast for sales. For more sales or rental information, call 850.837.1071, or visit online at DestinSales.com or DestinVacation.com. Both companies recognize that flexibility and scalability are two of the core fundamental attributes of modern day technology. OnCourse Systems for Education, a full-service provider of web-based tools that automate and streamline educational processes for public and private schools, today announced its strategic partnership with Learnosity, a leading provider of B2B SaaS assessment technology. OnCourse Systems is the most recent company to join forces with Learnosity in its mission to improve learning and education on a global scale. This partnership will see the implementation of Learnositys assessment capabilities into OnCourses existing robust web-based software solutions. Its very exciting for us to have OnCourse Systems come onboard, said Learnosity co-founder & CEO, Gavin Cooney. Learnosity and OnCourse Systems share a similar outlook when it comes to education technology, with both companies recognizing that flexibility and scalability are two of the core fundamental attributes of modern day technology. Were looking forward to being involved in OnCourse Systems mission to improve education efficiency and effectivity on a global basis. Christian Contini, OnCourse CEO, says, Learnositys SaaS offering has given us the ability to focus on our area of expertise - instructional and school administrative solutions. Leveraging Learnosity eliminates any risk of getting caught up in a long development cycle. We get access to the most up-to-date assessment technology, including any updates along the way, meaning that no sacrifices are made on our end in terms of content quality. Learnosity has enabled us to empower educators by introducing new dimensions of e-learning. About Learnosity: Learnosity is an award-winning educational technology company that offers a suite of assessment technologies (APIs) which enables organizations to easily incorporate powerful, interactive assessment capabilities into any digital product new or existing. With intuitive authoring, powerful analytics and over 55 Technology Enhanced Items (TEIs), Learnosity shortens development cycles, effort and time to market without sacrificing quality or value. Learnosity works with many of the top names from K-12 and higher education as well as test preparation and corporate training and learning institutions. The company has expanded significantly in the last year, with over 50 dedicated staff spread over 3 cities Dublin, New York and Sydney. For further information on Learnosity, visit: http://www.learnosity.com or contact media@learnosity.com. About OnCourse Systems for Education: Founded in 2002, OnCourse Systems for Education is a full-service provider of web-based tools that automate and streamline educational processes for public and private schools. OnCourse's suite of tools helps improve student performance and support school accountability by enabling teachers to work more efficiently and effectively, giving administrators access to classroom data and the ability to analyze it, as well as helping districts document compliance with federal and state standards. For further information on OnCourse Systems for Education, visit: http://www.oncoursesystems.com or contact info@oncoursesystems.com. Stalco Having this in-depth discussion alongside my peers will no doubt shed light on the ways cross-border commerce in Canada can be made simple and profitable for various types of ecommerce businesses. Lee Finkelstein, VP of Business Development at Stalco, will participate in a panel about The Best Ways to Grow Ecommerce Sales in Canada, taking place at Operations Summit on April 14, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The panel will discuss in-depth ways businesses can expand ecommerce sales north of the border and ensure Canadian customers embrace the brand. Finkelstein will highlight the benefits of a strong Canadian strategy, the impact of regulations on cross-border product shipments and what types of in-country service providers to work with. He will be joined by relevant colleagues for a well-rounded discussion about the best supply chain, logistics and operations strategies in Canada. Operations Summit is a great opportunity to learn new operations strategies and also a great way to share my expertise with others, said Lee Finkelstein, VP of Business Development at Stalco. Having this in-depth discussion alongside my peers will no doubt shed light on the ways cross-border commerce in Canada can be made simple and profitable for various types of ecommerce businesses. A Toronto native, Finkelstein has over 25 years of experience in retail, hospitality and business-to-consumer operations and he broadly understands what is necessary to be successful in Canada. As part of the executive team at Stalco, Finkelsteins expertise spans across fulfillment, distribution, customs, regulations and global parcel movement. To learn more or to attend the presentation, visit OperationsSummit.com/agenda/#global-track. For more information about Lee Finkelstein and Stalco, visit Stalco.ca. About Stalco Since 1994 Stalco has been assisting U.S. companies with selling their products in Canada. As a Canadian owned and operated business, Stalco manages cross border customs and freight logistics and mitigates surprise sales tax fees and duties. With Stalco, products are delivered in a matter of days with no delays or surprise fees and with superior customer service and value pricing to Canadian shoppers. Stalco is licensed by Health Canada with a Natural Health Product Site License for Importation, Distribution, and Labelling and has over 20 years expertise working within the health and beauty sector. As an entrepreneurial organization, Stalco moves fast to get clients up and running in Canada. For more information, visit Stalco.ca. # # # How to Build an Entrepreneur People genuinely want to change their own future. They just cant figure out how to do it, but starting their own business doesnt have to be as complicated as it once was, says Robert Kiyosaki The Rich Dad Company announced today the release of its new eBook, How to Build an Entrepreneur. Based on the lessons from the digital publishing guru, Anik Singal, this new eBook teaches how to build an online business around ones passion in life. According to Forrester Research, it is estimated that this year, the Internet will directly influence more than 50% of all U.S. retail business. For many who wanted to start a business prior to the Internet, there were real barriers to entry. The ease of managing a digital business is much more appealing to a new type of entrepreneur because of automation and the availability of information. Now, starting an online business is the solution to the very barriers that once existed. Robert Kiyosaki, best known as the author of, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Anik Singal met a year ago and quickly realized they have a lot in common. Both learned a lot from their early successes and even more so from their early mistakes. But both are passionate about teaching people and that is why they teamed up for this eBook. People genuinely want to change their own future. They just cant figure out how to do it, but starting their own business doesnt have to be as complicated as it once was, says Robert Kiyosaki, explaining the purpose behind the book. How to Build an Entrepreneur is the first step to taking advantage of this particular business model, which is the best opportunity to kick-start an online business. There are hundreds of ways to start making money online, but determining where to start is hard for most people. In this eBook, the steps to starting an online business are clear, and actionable. Readers will: Determine their profitable passion Learn the four cornerstones of discipline Turn their passion into an online business in seven steps Understand what it takes to be a successful digital entrepreneur Everyone is passionate about something. Turning it into a business will help them stick to it when times get tough, says Kiyosaki. The Rich Dad Company will be offering the eBook for free, now through April 1 2016 on its website. About Rich Dad Operating Company Best known as the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad the #1 personal finance book of all time Robert Kiyosaki has changed and challenged the way the tens of millions of people around the world think about money. His book title holds four of the top ten spots on Nielsen Bookscan List's Lift-to-Date Sales from 2001-2008 alone. In addition, Robert has been featured on shows such as Larry King Live, Oprah, The Doctors, Bloomberg International Television and CNN. Visit http://www.richdad.com for more information. ODU MINI-MED ODU, a worldwide leader in designing and manufacturing high performance connectors, is launching its lightweight preassembled ODU MINI-MED connector solution to the US market. The German-engineered ODU MINI-MED is a compact and cost efficient preassembled plastic connector solution with break-away function designed for medical, industrial and test and measurement applications such as: portable patient monitoring systems, insulin pumps, catheter systems, blood pressure monitors, barcode scanners, e-bikes, fitness and wellness machines or measuring sensors. ODU MINI-MED offers additional features such as: up to 1,000 mating cycles durability, 2-6 contacts, IP 67 when mated, gold plated contacts with soldered connection, mechanical keying, blind mating, assembled with PVC or extremely flexible silicone cable, available in cable lengths from 0.5m to 5m, operating temperature for PVC cable: -15C to +80C, DEHP free. ODU-USA is 100% vertically integrated and provides in-house molding and custom connector capabilities, cable assembly integrated solutions, competitive lead time, rapid prototyping and product development, local one-to-one engineering support, factory direct. For more product information go to: http://www.odu-usa.com/products-solutions/push-pull-circular-connectors/odu-mini-med.html ODU Group: global representation with perfect connections The ODU Group is one of the worlds leading suppliers of connector systems, employing 1,650 people around the world. In addition to its company headquarters in Muhldorf am Inn (Germany), ODU also has an international production and distribution network throughout Europe, North America and Asia. ODU combines all relevant areas of expertise and key technologies including design and development, machine tool and special machine construction, injection, stamping, turning, surface technology, assembly and cable assembly. The ODU Group sells its products globally through its eight subsidiaries in Denmark, England, France, Italy, Sweden, the US, China and Japan, as well as through numerous international sales partners. ODU connectors ensure a reliable transmission of power, signals, data and media for a variety of demanding applications including medical technology, military and security, eMobility, energy, industrial electronics, and measurement and testing. For press inquiries, please contact: Dana Stoica - Head of Marketing, North America Phone +1 (805) 484-0540 Fax: +1 (805) 484-7458 Email: dana.stoica(at)odu-usa(dot)com Modular Building Institute This years Awards of Distinction contest was very competitive, with more than one hundred entries overall - Tom Hardiman, Executive Director of MBI The Modular Building Institutes (MBI) 2016 World of Modular conference drew one of its largest crowds ever in San Diego, California with more than 700 attendees including 100 exhibitors. Attendees included developers, suppliers, manufacturers, architects, engineers and more. The annual event showcases the industrys best building projects in its Awards of Distinction competition. A prestigious panel of judges scored building entries on a number of criteria, including architectural excellence, technical innovation, cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and calendar days to complete. This years Awards of Distinction contest was very competitive, with more than one hundred entries overall, said Tom Hardiman, Executive Director of the MBI. Our panel of independent judges had some tough choices to make, so I congratulate all our winners on their awards. The winner of the coveted Judges Choice and four additional awards including Best of Show in the Green Building category was Guerdon Enterprises, LLC with their projects Canyon Lodges, Employee Residence at Old Faithful, and as an affiliate with Williams Scotsman for Stayover Cheecham Lodge. The Best of Show for permanent modular buildings was Hayes Modular with its West Campus Lofts. All award winners are posted online and available for viewing here. MBI honored Harry Klukas of Black Diamond Group with its Outstanding Achievement Award. Klukas was humble and thankful for the acknowledgment of his years of dedication and service to the association, thanking his family and those in the industry who have supported him throughout his career. Maury Tiernan of Geary Pacific Corporation was inducted into the MBI Hall of Fame. The majority of his 41 years of experience includes commercial modular and many years working with MBI to enhance the modular industry. Whether it was serving on the MBI board, serving as president, or writing a column focused on HVAC concerns, Tiernan has continuously served the industry for the better. MBI concluded the convention with the announcement of the 2017 World of Modular Convention date and location; March 17-20, 2017 at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona. About MBI Changing the Way the World Builds: Greener, Faster, Smarter. The Modular Building Institute is the international nonprofit trade association that has served the modular construction industry for more than 30 years. Members are suppliers, manufacturers and contractors involved in all aspects of modular projects -- from complex multistory solutions to temporary accommodations. As the voice of commercial modular construction, MBI expands the use of off-site construction through innovative construction practices, outreach, education to the construction community and customers, and recognition of high-quality modular designs and facilities. For more information on modular construction, visit http://www.modular.org. A few months ago, a young American woman named Kate decided to organize a choir in a refugee camp. To do so, she went to Germany, as a visiting guest artist at the American Academy in Berlin. She settled down around the block from a Red Cross building. Her camp is a gym with about 200 asylum-seekers, coming currently from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Moldova and Vietnam. Oh, to see the faces of the children Kate is working with as part of the Hutto Project, named after her late music teacher, Benjamin Hutto, who worked out of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. To look at those children, pictures of whom you can see on the Hutto Project's Facebook page, is to witness the persistence of beauty and the miracle of grace. As one visitor puts it: "For the course of a song or dance, for a few minutes when she has them thoroughly engaged, (the Hutto team) makes (the children) laugh and smile, and you can actually see that for those minutes, and maybe only those minutes, they are forgetting everything else." This is true beauty, in the midst of so much that could otherwise blind everyone to its presence. Kate's story reminds me of tales I've read all my life of founders of religious orders who simply answered a call put in their heart by God, without full regard for how to get from point A to point B, never mind having the luxury to think about Z. But the resources came, as did the people. Translators, musicians, videographers and counselors have all flocked to Project Hutto. I happened to be with about 100 religious sisters as Easter approached, just hours after almost 200 of them were gathered outside the Supreme Court in Washington for the Little Sisters of the Poor religious-liberty case. My crew these days are the Sisters of Life, who are celebrating their silver jubilee year, two decades into the life of their community, founded to cultivate a culture of life. The sisters pour their hearts out to women who find themselves in what could otherwise seem to be impossible situations -- alone, pregnant, often beset by the many stresses of life, with the world telling them to end the life of their child. The sisters love these mothers and give them the support they need to embrace their lives and the budding lives of their children. The sisters also care for those who have been hurt by a culture of death. Pope Francis often talks about people on the peripheries in a throwaway society. We cast aside people who seem to be without value. If the poor are even on our radar at all, it may be as a statistic or unfortunate collateral damage in a news story. Caught up in headlines about Obamacare politics, to stop for a moment and consider who the sisters are, what they do and why they do it could be a great consolation and boost for our society at a time when people are despairing and doubling down on chaos or anger. We need to know that such people as the Little Sisters of the Poor exist. They help us see joy. Whether they be my young friend Kate Eberstadt or Sister Constance of the Little Sisters, who has become a master communicator during the group's unexpected national media moment, or Mother Agnes Donovan, the group's superior general -- none of these women are what the world might traditionally think of when it thinks of mothers. And yet, they are exactly the mothers we need -- at a moment when so much seems impossible. At a moment where the future is unclear, someone hands her son or daughter a musical instrument and it's just a little bit of a miracle. To see love again. To see hope again. In the smile of someone who didn't have to care for you, to even give a moment's thought to you. To see someone love your child -- this is the start of a reawakening. Axonom, a global provider of cloud-based visual configure, price, quote (CPQ) software, today announces its participation as an exhibitor at the inaugural Microsoft Envision conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, from April 4-6, 2016. The company is set to feature educational seminars and hands-on product demonstrations on the latest developments of its Powertrak CPQ solution suite for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016. Powertrak CPQ is a cloud-based, browser-delivered solution that streamlines the lead-to-cash process and accelerates the conversion of sales opportunities into revenue with automation tools that simplify complex configurations, speed quote generation time, and ensure ordering accuracy. In booth 1108, Axonom will present its Powertrak 3D Product Configurator, a visual design-to-order system with interactive drag-and-drop technology that makes complex product configurations easy to grasp and fun to use. Were educating business leaders on emerging 3D eCommerce technology that encourages customers and channel partners to become highly involved in the designing and ordering of customizable products, said Mike Belongie, COO at Axonom. Well be demonstrating how medical, dental, specialty vehicles, apparel, outdoor kitchens, and fitness equipment manufacturers leverage Powertrak to improve the ordering experience for customers and partners with an all-in-one visual build, design, quote, and order platform. Business leaders in sales, marketing, and IT are urged to visit booth 1108 in the expo hall for insight and strategies on latest visual sales productivity and revenue acceleration solutions that deliver consistency and accuracy throughout the sales quoting, ordering, and product configuration processes. Manufacturers in search of cutting-edge solutions to improve sales efficiency and strengthen relationships will discover why a rules-driven product configurator with interactive 3D visualization is the fastest growing platform to sell and market make-to-order, assemble-to-order, and build-to-order products. Belongie adds, Global manufacturers find Powertrak 3D Product Configurator a powerful designing, ordering, and marketing platform. Our solution visually communicates and showcases a products competitive difference in a realistic and engaging manner, in addition to helping the consumer see what theyre buying and displaying the cost prior to completing the order. About Axonom Axonom is a global provider of cloud-based configure, price, quote (CPQ) and visual product configurator solutions for high-tech, manufacturing, and service organizations. The companys Powertrak CPQ software simplifies complex configurations, speeds quote generation time, and ensures accurate sales quotes and orders. Axonoms Powertrak 3D Visual Product Configurator is designed for global manufacturers to visually communicate and showcase the competitive differences of their products in a realistic and engaging manner. It also encourages customers and partners, with little-to-no expert product knowledge, to engage in the designing and ordering of complex, configurable products. For more information, please visit http://www.axonom.com. We looked at a variety of public relations partners but C-K understood our brand and objectives as well as the need to bring more attention to the valuable mission of the Rescue and Rehabilitation program, Andrea Rodgers, Shedd Aquarium. Cramer-Krasselt (C-K), an integrated marketing agency, announced it has been selected by John G. Shedd Aquarium (Shedd Aquarium), a leader in animal care and conservation, for public relations support around their Rescue and Rehabilitation program. Shedd Aquarium conducted a review of multiple agencies and selected C-K because of its integrated approach, broad capabilities and content-led focus. We looked at a variety of public relations partners but C-K understood our brand and objectives as well as the need to bring more attention to the valuable mission of the Rescue and Rehabilitation program, noted Andrea Rodgers, APR, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations at Shedd. From our first meeting, the fresh ideas C-K presented showed the most complete approach to helping Shedd strategically engage media, influencers and the general public about the critical work we are doing. For nearly five decades, Shedd Aquarium has been a nationally recognized leader in rescue and rehabilitation of animals in need. This includes work at Shedd Aquarium and off-site at locations around the country responding when animals are in need of urgent care. Past rescue and rehabilitation efforts have occurred nearby as close as Lake Michigan responding to illegal wildlife imports and participating in global rescue efforts such as the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and South Africa. The most recent Shedd efforts have been along the coast of California and include the rescue of an orphaned southern sea otter pup, Pup 719, discovered on Carmel beach abandoned and malnourished, and hundreds of sea lion pups stranded off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura coasts impacted by El Nino conditions and warm ocean temperatures leaving many of them hungry and sick. Shedd Aquarium is no stranger to helping sea lions, as its currently home to four rescued male sea lions, and has responded when animals are in need of urgent care. To work with Shedd and play a role in bringing important stories to life for a revered institution that is not only important to the City of Chicago, but has a huge global impact, is an honor, said Karen Seamen, President and Chief Operating Officer at C-K. Our public relations team is excited to help draw considerably more awareness to the work Shedd is doing. The agency will begin work for Shedd immediately and the account will be managed by the Chicago office. About the John G. Shedd Aquarium The John G. Shedd Aquarium, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to public education and conservation, is known as The Worlds Aquarium. Situated in Grant Park in downtown Chicago, Shedd is home to 32,000 aquatic animals representing more than 1,500 species of fishes, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, birds and mammals from waters around the world. Since its opening in 1930, the Aquariums mission has been to connect individuals to the living world and inspire them to make a difference. Today, this educational goal has gained urgency as more species acquire endangered status. Shedd Aquarium is committed to a number of projects designed to preserve threatened or endangered aquatic species. Shedd Aquarium is supported by the people of Chicago and the State of Illinois. Shedd Aquarium is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). We're hugely excited to announce the opening of SIDE Shanghai and the growth of our voice production service in this important market. SIDE UK Limited (SIDE), award-winning creative services company, announced today the opening of a recording studio in Shanghai. SIDE was acquired by Pole To Win in August 2015 and this most recent expansion results in the companys second office in the Shanghai area. SIDE's Head of Localisation, Olivier Deslandes, will continue to manage localised Chinese voice production, working closely with Nina Wang, Pole To Win Shanghai's Global Project Manager. This new site comes in response to continued demand for SIDE's audio services and Pole To Win's QA and Localisation services in the region. SIDE has provided Chinese voice production services since early 2014, including ongoing work on high profile franchises such a Call of Duty: Online and Final Fantasy XIV Online. Having a fully owned recording studio allows SIDE and PTW to offer clients a reactive, cost effective and high quality voice production service in this fast growing market. "We're hugely excited to announce the opening of SIDE Shanghai and the growth of our voice production service in this important market. As part of the Pole To Win group, we look forward to sharing the benefits of a truly global organisation with our localisation clients," said Andy Emery, Managing Director, SIDE. "With our opening of SIDE Shanghai, we take one more step on our continuous journey to put our clients - and their customers - first. SIDE's award-winning voice production service, combined with state of the art facilities and "feet on the street" in Shanghai, will enable our Clients to provide localized product with the same high quality that has come to define the SIDE brand," said Deborah Kirkham, President & COO of Pole To Win International. The new studio is fully operational and located at the E-Warehouse Creative Centre, 751 Chang Road, on the bank of the Suzhou Creek. E-Warehouse is a creative landmark in Shanghai and a perfect location being home to many advertising, film, animation and gaming companies. About PTWI PTWI is the world's premier video game and e-commerce services provider with 4000+ team members across 24 studios worldwide. Our range of services includes: quality engineering, localization, testing, customer support along with voice production, performance capture services, and script writing services. PTWI is a one-stop shop for your production needs. We offer two decades of experience and a global reach stretching across 24 studios. Our company has the infrastructure to support projects and companies of all sizes. PTWI is a group of subsidiaries of Poletowin Pitcrew Holdings Inc. POLE TO WIN is a registered trademark of Pole To Win Co., Ltd in Japan and other countries. All rights reserved. For more information, visit http://www.ptw-i.com. Stay connected with PTWI on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Franz Inc. - 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management Franzs Semantic Graph database, AllegroGraph, provides the platform to unlock the value of fusing this heterogeneous knowledge to gain unique business value for the Enterprise. - Sandra Haimila - Editor KMWorld Franz Inc., an early innovator in Artificial Intelligence and leading supplier of Semantic Graph Database technology, today announced that is has been named to KMWorlds 2016 list of the 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management. Being named to our list of 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management is a prestigious designation because it represents the best in innovation, creativity and functionality, says KMWorld Editor Sandra Haimila. The 100 Companies offer solutions designed to help users and customers find what they need whenever and wherever they need it and what they need is the ability to access, analyze and share crucial knowledge. KMWorld recognizes the knowledge economys growth will be facilitated by easily combining disparate information enterprise wide, said Dr. Jans Aasman, CEO, Franz Inc. With the semantic flexibility of AllegroGraph, integrating knowledge bases is virtually effortless, since the data can remain in its original databases and database designers do not have to create a schema up front. In today's data-driven environments, the ability to quickly analyze data from diverse sources, both public and private, is proving particularly useful to provide unique knowledge rich analytics. As more public datasets become available, knowledge focused organizations are looking to leverage this information to enrich their enterprise knowledge bases, said Ms. Haimila. Franzs Semantic Graph database, AllegroGraph, provides the platform to unlock the value of fusing this heterogeneous knowledge to gain unique business value for the Enterprise. Information has always existed everywhere but has often been isolated, incomplete, unavailable or unintelligible, according to Gartner. Advances in semantic tools such as graph databases as well as other emerging data classification and information analysis techniques will bring meaning to the often chaotic deluge of information. (Source: Gartner Identifies the Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2016.) AllegroGraph has been widely recognized and endorsed within the industry as the popularity of Graph databases has skyrocketed - growing nearly 500% in the past two years. AllegroGraph was recently named a 'Leading Database Solution' by CIOReview, awarded 'Best in Semantic Web Technology & Leader in Graph Database Products' by Corporate America, PharmaTech Outlook has named Franz a 'Top Ten Solution Provider', and Bloor Research positioned AllegroGraph as a Champion. About KMWorld KMWorld (http://www.kmworld.com) is the leading information provider serving the Knowledge Management systems market and covers the latest in Content, Document and Knowledge Management, informing more than 30,000 subscribers about the components and processes - and subsequent success stories - that together offer solutions for improving business performance. KMWorld is a publishing unit of Information Today, Inc. (http://www.infotoday.com) About AllegroGraph Unlike traditional relational databases or Property Graph Databases, AllegroGraph employs semantic graph technologies that process data with contextual and conceptual intelligence. AllegroGraph is able run queries of unprecedented complexity to support predictive analytics that help organizations make more informed, real-time decisions. AllegroGraph is the first Graph Database to support analysis across N-dimensions - any conceivable measurement of an object, property or operation. AllegroGraph can analyze temporal (time) and geospatial (location) dimensions relative to any 'event,' such as a disease, drug interaction, genetic combination, biomarkers, observations, image or physical sensors. AllegroGraph is utilized by dozens of the top F500 companies worldwide. About Franz Inc. Franz Inc. is an early innovator in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and leading supplier of Semantic Graph Database technology with expert knowledge in developing and deploying complex Big Data analytics solutions. AllegroGraph, Franz's flagship, high-performance, transactional, and scalable Semantic Graph Database, provides the solid storage layer for Enterprise grade NoSQL solutions. AllegroGraph's Activity Recognition capabilities provides a powerful means to aggregate and analyze data about individual and organizational behaviors, preferences, relationships, plus spatial and temporal linkages between individuals and groups. For additional Franz Inc. customer success stories, please visit: AllegroGraph - http://allegrograph.com/allegrograph-at-work/ Allegro CL - http://franz.com/success/ Franz's Professional Service team is in the business of helping companies turn Data into Information and Information into Knowledge. We combine Data, Business Intelligence, and Analytics consulting services under one roof for our customers. Franz, an American owned company based in Oakland, California, is committed to market-driven product development, the highest levels of product quality and responsive customer support and service. Franz customers include dozens of Fortune 500 companies and span the healthcare, government, life sciences and telecommunications industries worldwide. Franz has demonstrated consistent growth and profitability since inception. All trademarks and registered trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners. Penmex logo Entrepreneurs dont clock in at 9 and clock off at 5. To be successful it requires the investment of a lot of hours and total commitment Managing Director at Penmex, Kirsty Pennal, along with the firms independent contractors Kyla Cook, Chris Burt and Steven Daniels, travelled to Northumberland to attend the event. The intimate meeting, with budding entrepreneurs and business owners from Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sheffield, was hosted with the intention to gather together the top individuals and rising stars within the sales and marketing industry, recognising them for their recent efforts and providing an opportunity for them to interact with fellow professionals in a relaxed setting. About Penmex: http://penmex.co.uk/ The main focus for the weekend was R&R, however there was a business side with a few workshops hosted on the Saturday. Felmoor Park was chosen for its quiet location, nice scenery and its facilities. The weekend provided a great opportunity for those in attendance to get to know each other on a personal level as well as business. Away from the hustle and bustle of the office environment, attendees were able to unwind, relax in the hot tub and network with their fellow professionals. One of the main objectives for these kinds of events is to allow individuals to expand their network. In business, having a vast and diverse networking portfolio is tremendously important. Being an entrepreneur is a solo journey, however having people to rely on and to ask for help and guidance is imperative. Penmex supports the belief that for business owners and budding entrepreneurs, it is important to maintain a good work-life balance and the weekends events re-iterated that. Entrepreneurs dont clock in at 9 and clock off at 5. To be successful it requires the investment of a lot of hours and total commitment, and this weekend was a great opportunity for everyone to have some rest and re-cooperation time, and to come back to work with a fresh motivation and desire, said Managing Director at Penmex, Kirsty Pennal. Hosted by one of the firms business associates, the event - which was the first of its kind - proved to be a huge success and it will hopefully become an annual event in the firms business calendar. Based in Edinburgh, Penmex was established in response to the consistent demand for below the line marketing solutions. The firm provides businesses with effective tailor-made marketing solutions, which focus on building a positive customer experience above all else. At Penmex they utilise the human element, recognising that people buy from people and that through interactive and personalised marketing campaigns they are able to meet with customers one-on-one. This allows them to improve customer relationships and encourage greater brand loyalty. At Penmex they regularly travel throughout the UK to events like the one in Northumberland as it is important to assist with development, and helps to advance the entrepreneurial journey. Ancient and Epic Tales, by Heather Forest, explores multicultural folktales for kids through pivotal episodes from classic stories like Gilgamesh, Beowulf, The Odyssey, The Ramayana, Mwindo, The Kojiki, The Pyramid Texts, The Popol Vuh, and more. On April 7th, August House is thrilled to release the long-awaited final installment of the Tales from Around the World trilogy: Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World, written by award-winning author and storyteller Heather Forest. Ancient and Epic Tales explores multicultural folktales for kids through pivotal episodes from classic stories like Gilgamesh, Beowulf, The Odyssey, The Ramayana, Mwindo, The Kojiki, The Pyramid Texts, The Popol Vuh, and more. Heather Forest explained that she carefully curated and crafted the stories in Ancient and Epic Tales so that each story would stand alone as a tell-able piece while still providing the flavor of the bigger pieces. Her effort makes it easier for children to enjoy the enormity and grandeur of the original epics in bite-sized stories that can be read in a single sitting. In this final installment of the Tales From Around the World trilogy, Heather Forest made a concentrated effort to explore a wide range of multicultural folktales for kids. She emphasized that in Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World, she wanted to provide a wider breath of material than just the western cannon of tales centered in the Middle East, the Cradle of Civilization. As a result, this collection of multicultural folktales for kids includes not only adaptations of episodes from popular stories like King Solomon, Aesop, and Sir Gawain, but also introduces episodes of lesser known yet important epic tales from Northern Wei China, Japanese mythology, Mayan Mesoamerica, the Orinoco River Basin, Aboriginal Australia, Soninke West Africa, Nyango Central Africa, and more. Forest noted, I pushed into areas where I had not really been before. I went on a global romp. I must say that this was a grand adventure. It's a sweeping collection and I hope people enjoy it. This unique anthology of folktales for kids also includes an appendix with notes on the origin of each story and the history of these multicultural epics. Heather Forest emphasized that she created the supplemental material to help people understand where each story fits into our global, multicultural landscape, and also how it made its way into literature. The Notes and Bibliography section provides valuable learning resources for teachers, librarians, and parents who want to place these stories in a global context and make them more culturally meaningful for children. Ancient and Epic Tales is preceded by Wonder Tales from Around the World (1995) and Wisdom Tales from Around the World (2005), also by Heather Forest. Both books have received numerous citations and honors. School Library Journal commended Heather Forests craft of multicultural folktales for kids in Wisdom Tales, pointing out that Forest retells folktales, proverbs, and parables in a thoughtful and satisfying style that amuses as it deftly imparts lessons for living. In celebration of the April release of Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World, August House will be running the following series of ongoing festivities through the month of April: 1. A promotional giveaway of five copies of Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World through the August House Facebook page http://www.fb.com/augusthouseinc 2. Downloadable sample stories from Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World, available through the August House website http://www.augusthouse.com/#!ancient-and-epic-tales/c1xa1 3. Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World and a Heather Forest interview feature in its April Newsletter http://www.augusthouse.com/#!newsletter-signup/c4m8 4. A promotional giveaway of five copies of Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the through a partnership with Teachingbooks.com http://www.teachingbooks.net Ancient and Epic Tales From Around the World is available for purchase in hardback (ISBN 978-1941460351) and paperback (ISBN 978-1939160874) through Amazon (http://amzn.to/1RoiIcU), as well as though other booksellers. This new public records portal created by NextRequest will give ordinary people access to wide swathes of information" - San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer Past News Releases RSS Leading the way in bringing transparency and openness to local government, San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer and NextRequest launched an online portal to respond to public records requests making San Diego the largest city on the West Coast with an open public records portal and the largest in the country to release requested documents. Available at http://sandiego.nextrequest.com and powered by NextRequest, the portal allows the public to easily make public records requests online as well as search through past requests and responsive documents. San Diego is leading the way in creating an open and transparent city government that gives residents easier access to public records, documents and data, Mayor Faulconer said. This new public records portal created by NextRequest will give ordinary people access to wide swathes of information that would have been more difficult to acquire without this technology. This is a major step forward in our work to make city government more efficient and effective. The portal was rolled out in conjunction with the March 14 launch of a newly redesigned City of San Diego website sandiego.gov that focuses on making it easier for residents, businesses and visitors to do business with the city. The new website and public records portal put San Diego at the forefront of government efficiency, transparency and public engagement. With the launch of this innovative tool created by NextRequest, San Diego is strategically aligning the pieces necessary to become the leader in government transparency, said Maksim Pecherskiy, the City of San Diegos Chief Data Officer. By watching trends in our public records act requests, we will be able to more effectively target datasets for release to the Citys Open Data Portal, increasing efficiency for our government employees and transparency to our residents. This work follows a broader trend across the country around FOIA, software, and public records. Governments are realizing that making their information easily accessible online is the smart choice from an efficiency and governance perspective. These efforts are only going to accelerate over the next couple years, said Tamara Manik-Perlman, CEO of NextRequest. NextRequest (http://nextrequest.com) is a platform that makes public records easier for governments to provide and the public to access. Founded in 2015 by three former Code for America fellows, NextRequest is used by governments throughout the U.S. Sonny said, It was as if the piano spoke to me and told me that the paintings on the piano represented real people in history and were painted to immortalize a love story. A historic, hand painted Steinway was recently unearthed in Connecticut and restored on Long Island. This unique piano is available for viewing and purchase at Sonnys Pianos, Bohemia, NY. Nicknamed A Princes Love Piano, the Steinway grand piano was built in 1900 by craftsmen at the Steinway factory in Hamburg, Germany. The piano is believed to been sold to a Prussian Prince living in La Tour de Peliz, Switzerland. As if straight out of a fairy tale, the Prince apparently commissioned an artist to immortalize his love for his princess through a series of pastoral love scenes painted on the piano. Sonny Stancarone, owner of Sonny's Pianos, explains; This isnt just a one in a million Steinway; this is the only Steinway of this nature in the world. Sonnys Pianos, located in Bohemia, New York, is one of the premiere restoration houses for pre-owned Steinways. Sonnys buys, restores, and sells pre-owned Steinways to a worldwide market. Sonnys specializes in Steinways and art case decorative pianos. When it was sold to Sonnys in the spring of 2015, the previous owner described its fascinating past. The owners grandmother had purchased the piano at Sothebys London Auction House in the 1920's from the estate of a prince. The piano remained in England until 1960 when it was shipped to her daughter in New York City as a wedding gift. In 1995, the daughter gave the piano to her son and he kept it in his home in Connecticut until it was sold to Sonnys Pianos. When Sonny purchased this piano in 2015, the years had taken their toll on the instrument and the artwork. Sonnys team of expert technicians went to work and rebuilt the piano using the highest quality materials and parts available. A team of two artists completed the restoration of the paintings. When he first saw the piano, Sonny knew immediately that this was no ordinary hand painted piano. Sonny said, It was as if the piano spoke to me and told me that the paintings on the piano represented real people in history and were painted to immortalize a love story. Sonny and his staff spent several months researching and analyzing any information they could get about the piano. They contacted Steinway and Sons regarding the pedigree of the piano. Steinway records indicated that the piano was made in their Hamburg, Germany factory in 1900 and that it was initially sold to a buyer in La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland. A European art history consultant and member of the Appraisers Association of America was hired to evaluate the piano artwork. Her research revealed that La Tour de Peilz was a holiday resort frequented by Prussian royalty. The La Tour de Peilz historical society confirmed that the king and queen of Prussia actually had an estate in that area around the same time. The Nestle Corporation now owns the estate. The art consultant concluded that each scene represented a different love subject. The central theme for the Love Piano is the painting on the lid, a man and woman in a loving embrace. The man wears a crown of garlands on his head, perhaps representing royalty. The woman has red hair and fair skin representative of a person from that region of the world. The consultant determined that the paintings were Vernis Martin style, an 18th century technique named for the Martin brothers of Paris, who were instrumental in the development and refinement of lacquer in the style of Asian art. This style was the epitome of luxury and refinement made popular during the period of Louis XV, but ended after the French Revolution. During the mid 19th century, the trend revived and lasted until the 1920s. The piano is a Steinway model A grand piano, also known as a Hamburg A. It measures six feet and has long been considered to be one of the most expensive and desirable piano models in the world, even to this day. Sonny christened the piano, A Princes Love Piano in honor of the love themes surrounding the instrument and all the other information that was discovered regarding the piano. Sonny is certain that this beautiful work of art and incredible musical instrument will be purchased by someone as a gift for a loved one, thus adding to the legend of the princes love piano. The piano has already started to make a buzz in the media world as Fox 5 recently covered the story. Click HERE for the Fox News piece and click HERE for a video tour of the Princes Love Piano. Sonnys passion for pianos and in particular art case pianos goes back to his childhood when he became enamored with his fathers decorative German upright piano and his uncle's Steinway grand piano. Sonny first started playing the piano at seven years old when his father, a professional pianist, gave him lessons. His warehouse is stocked with a wide assortment of other beautiful art case pianos that he has restored. He calls it, Sonnys Exotic Art Case Pianos Collection. To see other beautiful art case pianos available at Sonnys, click HERE. For further information or to cover this story contact Sonny(at)SonnysPianos(dot)com or call 631-475-8046 PiPPER STANDARD proudly sponsored Singapore Polytechnics LEO Club and their interactive learning camp for the children at MightyKids, Families and Community. Students at Singapore Polytechnic and the kids from MightyKFC joined together and enjoyed the events, which included using recycled materials to create posters for PiPPER STANDARD, learning games and activities, and an Amazing Race style competition around Singapore. The two-day camp was filled with energy, excitement, and engaged students as the LEO Club provided a positive, fun-filled learning environment for the future leaders in MightyKFC. Ms. Anne Heng, Community Welfare Executive of MightyKFC, noted, It is great to see support like this for the betterment of the MightyKFC children and the local community. PiPPER STANDARD is doing their part to make a positive and lasting impact on these children. The camp focused on teaching the students the importance of being environmentally conscious. For the MightyKFC children, this provided an opportunity for them, under the guidance of older students at Singapore Polytechnic, to engage in environmentally friendly practices in an entertaining and fulfilling way. In working together with the older students, the children of MightyKFC learned not only about being positive environmental citizens, but also about the power of teamwork. We are proud to lend our support to MightyKFC and the LEO club in their mission to improve these childrens lives. We believe in cultivating a healthy environment and that in educating youth about preserving the natural environment, we can help secure a bright and healthy future, said Equator Pure Nature CEO Mr. Peter Wainman. PiPPER STANDARD natural products, including laundry detergent, fabric softener, and stain remover, will be available on Redmart.com starting in April 2016. Please join our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pipperfanclubsingapore for more information. About Equator Pure Nature Our business was founded in 2010, after our founders suffered allergic reactions to chemicals commonly found in household cleaning products in Asia. Given their personal experience and the troubling rise in worldwide allergy and asthma rates, they embarked on a mission to invent natural, hypoallergenic certified, non-toxic, household cleaning products, with cleaning power comparable to chemical products. After years of rigorous research and development, PiPPER STANDARD products hit shelves in Southeast Asia in late 2014, and Equator Pure Nature has since become a leading Asian manufacturer of natural laundry care products. http://www.equatorpurenature.com About PiPPER STANDARD The foundation of PiPPER STANDARD products is fermented fruit fluid derived from our proprietary, patent-pending, pineapple fermentation process. Our process yields biosurfactants, natural preservatives, organic acids, and natural enzymes which provide natural, non-toxic cleaning with power and efficiency comparable to chemical cleaners. PiPPER STANDARD products are focused on consumer health and minimizing impact to the environment; therefore, our laundry detergent and fabric softener products are certified hypoallergenic and non-irritation by Dermscan Asia and certified to biodegrade more than 90% in one month. http://www.pipperstandard.com About MightyKFC MightyKFC is a mentoring program that believes in the potential and value of every child and the importance of the family unit as foundational to the growth and progress of the community. MightyKFC serves and mentors the community children ages between 6 to 14 years old; affirming and nurturing them within a loving and learning environment. The program focuses on nurturing character, building competency and improving connection. http://www.life-community.org For the first time, Artisti Per Frescobaldi (http://www.artistiperfrescobaldi.it) has selected two American artists, Matthew Brannon and Eric Wesley, alongside Italian artist Patrizio Di Massimo, to compete for the prestigious contemporary art award, now in its third edition. All the artists were invited to take inspiration from one of the family estate, Castelgiocondo, in Montalcino. The awards ceremony will be held October 21, 2016, at Gam, the Modern Art Gallery in Milan. The artists works, inspired by Frescobaldis Tenuta di Castelgiocondo estate, will be on public exhibition prior to the panel judging which will determine this years award recipient. Tiziana Frescobaldi, Artistic Director of the project comments, This year we paid attention to the United States, following our commitment to recognize international artists. We are looking forward to working with some of the nations finest artists. From 2016 forward, artists will draw inspiration from Tenuta di Castelgiocondo, Frescobaldis estate located in Montalcino, Tuscany, aiming to capture the spirit, history, and terroir of the site. We selected to focus only on Tenuta di Castelgiocondo in the future because it is a place with a strong identity in the heart of Tuscany, Tiziana said. Additionally, each artist will design a custom label for a collection of 999 magnums of a special selection of Castelgiocondo Brunello, specifically dedicated to the project. A portion of the proceeds from these wines will go to support Italian contemporary art. Ludovico Pratesi, Artisti per Frescobaldi Curator adds, We choose these three artists because they caught the essence of Castelgiocondo, although through different visions and languages, with an original and surprising interpretation of the awards theme. The 2016 judging panel will include Massimiliano Gioni, Artistic Director of the Trussardi Foundation in Milan; Samuel Keller, Director of the Beyeler Foundation in Basel; and Gianfranco Maraniello, Director of MART Rovereto. The 2016 Artists Born in 1971 in St. Maries, Idaho, Matthew Brannon now lives and works in New York. His artistic research started from a reflection on the history and evolution of graphics advertising, and continues with a reinterpretation and investigation of the limits and potentials of contemporary reality. Eric Wesley was born in 1973 in Los Angeles where he lives and works. His sculptures and art installations offer an original point of view and often irreverent reality. In particular, his work offers an ironic view on the changeable relationship between art and society, artist and citizen, and seriousness and surreal comedy. His many exhibitions include the China Art Objects Galleries in Los Angeles among several other galleries throughout Amsterdam, Basel and Napoli. Born in Jesi in 1983, Patrizio Di Massimo, currently lives and works in London. His works are characterized by an Italian identity, reading through an interesting overlap between tradition and modernity, using a wide range of expressive languages ranging from drawing and sculpture, to painting, video, and installation. He has held exhibitions in many Italian cities, including Turin during Artissima and the Villa Medici in Rome, among several European cities including London, Amsterdam, and Lisbon. ### Trade Contact: Luisa Calvo PR Manager, Marchesi de Frescobaldi luisa.calvo(at)frescobaldi(dot)it About Artisti Per Frescobaldi Created in 2012 by Tiziana Frescobaldi, Artistic Director for Marchesi de Frescobaldi, and curated by art critic Ludovico Pratesi, Artisti Per Frescobaldi is an annual art program where three artists are invited to the Frescobaldi estates in Tuscany to garner inspiration for original works featured on Frescobaldis wine labels. The labels are then used on a limited number of enumerated Magnum bottles of the most important wine produced from the estate in each respective edition. A portion of the proceeds of these wines goes to support Italian contemporary art. The first edition, held in Milan at the Stelline Foundation, featured the works of Ra di Martino, Giovanni Ozzola, and Elisa Sighicelli. The second edition held in Germany, featured German artists Michael Sailstorfer and Jorinde Voigt, alongside Italian artist Yuri Ancarani. The Artisti Per Frescobaldi award is linked to the patronage tradition of the Frescobaldi family, who has been linked to many important artists since the Renaissance. 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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 Inspired by a real-life widow celebrating Holi, the portrait speaks the common language of endurance Its the different hues that come together to form a cohesive unit As millions of Indians across the globe celebrated Holi (that fell this year on March 24) by dunking and splashing each other with colors, artist Sujata Tibrewala, through her works tries to understand the important underlying meaning behind this revelry. Her works inspired by this unique festival of colors currently on exhibit at her studio in Cupertino are colorful reminders that the world is a beautiful place to live in because there is similarity in dissimilarity. And it is this message that she thinks has the power to heal the world of its hatred, long after the celebrations are over too. The artist, who is known for her strong usage of colors, consumes her inspirations in a bevy of different shades to paint her artworks. But as a beautiful irony the more she introduces variety, the more the works string together to form a composite unit. Tibrewala finds her works as a perfect metaphor to understand the world we are living in. She says just as the different colors on her canvas speak the universal language of love, longing, pain and suffering similarly every human being regardless of caste, creed and religion represents the same aspirations and emotions. Amongst some of Tibrewalas most profound works is an acrylic on canvas artwork titled Devotee. A real-life widow whom the artist spotted inspires the work. The widow was seen celebrating Holi at the Indian city of Vrindavan. The moment is a paradox as while the city is famous for celebrating the most mirthful holi; traditionally the widows are forbidden from indulging in the festivity. The artist was moved by the silent defiance on the widows part and the absence of any insignia that may hint at her religion or lineage. For the artist thus, her expressions spoke of the common language of suffering and overcoming. Concentrating on the theme of colors, to mark the just gone by occasion, the artist presents another work titled Rainbow Flowers. The seemingly simplistic work has a profound message. Just as its the various colors that come together to form a singular structure, so do the varied experiences that we all encounter in life form the story of our beings. The day we realize that we are all going through similar upheavals we will be more sympathetic towards one another. Almost synchronizing with the thought is another work entitled Color Talk. A beam of hues, radiant as energy, synergizes together to form the force. So, this festival of colors the artist with her works attempts to highlight that just as Holi inspires us to forget the differences and to immerse in colors, let us all understand each others chaos and emerge as more emphatic beings. And this she thinks will be the right way to celebrate the festival not just one day but each day of the year. About the artist: Sujata Tibrewala, a self-taught artist come engineer remarkably embodies the indomitable spirit of human existence through her works. Her works center around the theme of eco-feminism. She has exhibited her artworks in some of the most reputed venues around the globe such as University of Illinois, Chicago, Raw San Jose, Parallax Art Fair London, the Regional Commission of Arts St Louis, Life Force Arts Chicago, Mindworks Gallery Chesterfield, St. Louis Artists' Guild, Chesterfield Arts, Art World Association, Women's Caucus for the Arts, MySLART and Lalit Kala Academy, Delhi. She moved to the USA in 2010 from India and practices her art form at the Bay Area, CA, where she resides presently. Pair of Monumental Meiji Period Lacquer Double Fish Vases Kaminski Auctions presents a single-owner unreserved auction comprised of the lifelong collection of a Kansas City, Missouri family on Saturday, April 9th, 2016. The familys collecting interests were wide and varied. Among the highlights of their collection is a large selection of important East Asian art and antiques. A Chinese Song dynasty pottery jar from the Henan province of China of ovoid form with a black glaze and decorated with vertical ribs was purchased from Sotheby's in their September 28, 2001 auction as lot #8197. Standing 7 3/4inches high, it is valued at $6,000-$8,000. Other Chinese antiques include a Ming dynasty Luduan form bronze censer on an ornately carved wood base valued at $8,000-$10,000 and a Qing dynasty green jade censer of archaic form valued at $3,000-$5,000. There is also an important Qinglong period cobalt blue glazed Li Ding sacrificial vessel estimated at $2,000-$4,000. Important Japanese art in the sale includes a Yagi Kazuo (Japanese, 19181979), black glazed pottery piece in the Sodeisha style titled "Sleep". This rare circa 1974 contemporary piece of pottery comes with the original paperwork and box and is valued at $20,000-$30,000. There is also an interesting pair of monumental Meiji period Japanese lacquer ware, double fish form vases that were exhibited in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. Decorated with cranes, birds, foliage and ocean waves and sitting on carved wood bases with Greek key design these vases are sure to garner the interest of collectors. A 19th-20th century Dehua Blanc de chine reclining porcelain figure and a 17th-18th century silk Tibetan thangka round out the top Asian lots in the sale. Fine art offerings include a Jan Jacob Spohler (Dutch, 1811-1866) winter scene valued at $15,000-$20,000 and an18th century Peruvian school Saint Joseph and christ child oil on canvas originally purchased at Sothebys New York, May 9, 1980. There are also several Roger Norman Medearis (American, 1920-2001) pencil sketches, signed and dated of Missouri landscapes valued at $1,200-$1,500 each. Roger Medaris was a student of the celebrated artist Thomas Hart Benton. Other items of interest in the sale include a Lenci La Sirenetta porcelain figure, a 12th century central Iranian Kashan luster bowl and a rare Moore & Co. sterling silver pitcher with dedication, one of two known examples known to exist, the other being displayed in the New York Historical Society Museum in New York City. Preview for this exciting auction is Wednesday - Friday, April 6th - 8th, 10:00AM 5:00PM and day of sale beginning at 8AM at the Kaminski Auction gallery, 117 Elliott Street, Rt. 62, Beverly, Massachusetts. For more information call 978-927-2223 or go to the new Kaminski Auctions website at http://www.kaminskiauctions.com and sign up to bid with KaminskiLIVE. The PR and Marketing Excellence Awards recognize the top PR agencies, marketing firms and departments The role public relations and marketing play is more important than ever, as consumers are continuing to evolve how they are evaluating brands, products and people. Many consultants and organizations identify themselves as either a public relations firm, marketing agency or both. For most companies, finding the right partner to improve your brand image, help you generate buzz or work through complex reputation challenges can prove challenging. The Business Intelligence Group today announced the winners of their 2016 Public Relations and Marketing Excellence awards. It has identified the top 11 firms doing it right and 3 executives who are delivering astounding results for their own organizations. The demand for strategic communications continues to grow, as we are in the golden age of content, said Russ Fordyce, managing director of the Business Intelligence Group. The role public relations and marketing play is more important than ever, as consumers are continuing to evolve how they are evaluating brands, products and people. We are so proud to recognize the real leaders within the firms, agencies and corporations that are finding new ways to more effectively communicate. Agencies of the Year Avalon Communications - Public Relations & Marketing Agency Hawthorne Direct - Marketing Agency SmithSolve Communications - Public Relations Agency Walker Sands - Public Relations Agency The judges also selected SpeakerBox Communications and Eastwick as finalists. Department of the Year T-Mobile Corporate Communications for Un-carrier Campaign Campaigns of the Year 23andMe for New Consumer Experience Launch John Dewar & Sons for Malts of Legend Campaign Pascale Communications for Imprimis Pharmaceuticals March Communications for Comptel Corporation Pulp PR for Workspot Rainier Communications for Nano Dimension Finalists for the Campaign of the Year included: March Communications for Marxent; Connect2 Communications for ADTRAN; Grapevine PR for Danny Pintauro; TechStuff Public Relations for Ozobot; Emerging Media for The Advantages Awards Campaign; Pinkwater & Putman for the Fair Food Program; Keno Brothers for "Rolling Sculpture" Fine Automobile Auction and the SevOne Marketing team. Executives of the Year Jim Darcangelo, SVP Marketing, Booker Kaya Lobaczewski, VP Communications, Horizon Media Scott Samson, VP Communications, Quixey For more information on the 2016 Public Relations and Marketing Excellence awards, visit the Business Intelligence Group. The company hosts several global awards programs, including Best Places to Work, Stratus Awards for Cloud Computing, BIG Awards for Business and the BIG Innovation Awards. New to the lineup for 2016 are awards highlighting the worlds top suppliers, vendors and partners and one to recognize corporate sustainability programs. About Business Intelligence Group The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry and business award programs, business executivesthose with experience and knowledgejudge the programs. The organizations proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers. ORIGO Education releases the findings for year two of its three-year research study analyzing the efficacy of its K5 mathematics curriculum. The research, conducted by Johns Hopkins University, is an ongoing evaluation examining the effectiveness of the Common Core-aligned mathematics curriculum, ORIGO Stepping Stones, on student academic outcomes at Worthington City School District in Ohio. The results demonstrate a successful approach for increasing student achievement and teacher pedagogy. Teaching for critical thinking is an important aspect of the Common Core, according to the Center for Public Education. Analysis by Johns Hopkins confirms that using the Common Core State Standard for Mathematics (CCSSM) with a specifically aligned product helps students to become more critical math thinkers. By focusing on deep conceptual understanding, students were better equipped to achieve what is required by the Common Core Standards of Mathematics. Teachers in the study reported that after using ORIGO Stepping Stones, their students realized a positive increase in critical thinking and reasoning skills. Before using Stepping Stones, our students were very procedural. They knew how to do things to get the right answer, but not necessarily understanding the underlying principles that got them there, says Jennifer Young, second grade teacher and impact facilitator at Worthington City School District. With Stepping Stones, students are empowered to figure out their learning first rather than having a teacher showing them how to solve a problem. This enables students to take ownership of the problems and have a productive struggle as they progress through the content. Meeting the demands of the Common Core means training teachers and getting them comfortable with new approaches to instruction. This research shows that after using Stepping Stones, teachers reported feeling comfortable using the program with a majority indicating that: they enjoyed teaching the program. it enhanced their knowledge of math content. they were satisfied with the quality of implementation support from ORIGO Education. Furthermore, over 85 percent of teachers agree that they support the goals of the Stepping Stones program. Teachers who participated in our extended interviews suggest that they felt students were engaged with and enjoyed using the program, said Dr. Roisin Corcoran, assistant professor, School of Education, and director of data analysis at the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University. A majority of principals and teachers alike also recommended the continued use of ORIGO Stepping Stones. To read the full interim report visit http://bit.ly/22wDiCm. For more information about ORIGO Stepping Stones, visit http://www.origoeducation.com. To learn more about Youngs experience with Stepping Stones, visit http://bit.ly/22SCSX0. ### About ORIGO Education ORIGO Education covers all facets of elementary mathematics education, from traditional printed products to digital interactive resources and professional learning. ORIGOs web-based curriculum, Stepping Stones, is a comprehensive core mathematics curriculum for grades K5. The technology-rich program blends online resources with traditional printed materials, resulting in a classroom that is engaged and provides differentiated learning. Professional development videos are embedded within the online program, giving teachers the confidence and knowledge they need to be successful. For more information about Stepping Stones, visit http://www.OrigoEducation.com/SteppingStones. About Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University is one of the nations premier research institutions. Founded 135 years ago as Americas first research university, Johns Hopkins is among the worlds great resources for education, discovery, and public service. Collaboration across academic disciplines and the various campuses, and with colleagues and organizations outside the University, is commonplace. This type of enriching interaction stimulates creativity and innovation, and often leads to exceptional insights and research breakthroughs. Founded in 1909 as the College Courses for Teachers, the Johns Hopkins School of Education's mission is to support and advance the quality of education and human services for the continuous development of children, youth and adults. The School of Education (SOE) attracts the most innovative and progressive scholars without regard to disciplinary boundaries to solve complex educational problems through discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. Grounded in the Johns Hopkins tradition of research and innovation, the SOE's researchers and faculty explore the intersection of scientific research and how it can impact pre-K to higher education. In addition, school partnerships provide demonstration sites to test new and effective approaches to practice and leadership. Many of these partnerships have been recognized and adopted as national models. Media Contacts: --Stephanie Hayes, s_hayes(at)origomath.com, 888.674.4601 --Aaron Krish, aaron(at)cblohm.com, 608.216.7300 ext. 29 Main Call Center Floor The company has been growing at a rate few of us thought possible and I wanted to find a location we could call home for a long time and we were lucky enough to find a spot that allows us to really put our signature on the community, Solomon said. This past Monday, March 21st, Solar Media Team moved into their freshly renovated, state-of-the-art, 12,000 sq. foot facility located at 350 Jim Moran Blvd., Ste. 101A, in Deerfield Beach. Solar Media Team had spent its first 30 months in business working out of The Greenhouse building in Boca Raton. Just last September SMT made news by taking over a second suite at its previous location. At that point, the company took off, quickly outgrowing both suites and leaving owner Gabriel Solomon with a decision to make on what was best for the future of the company. The company has been growing at a rate few of us thought possible and I wanted to find a location we could call home for a long time and we were lucky enough to find a spot that allows us to really put our signature on the community, Solomon said. On Monday, over 100 people were on hand to celebrate the grand opening at the new location and to watch Solomon, his business partner Ralph Consiglio, and the rest of the SMT management team open the doors to their future. In just over two years Solar Media Team has grown from two employees to close to 150. The company went from producing 100-200 solar leads a day most of 2014 and early 2015, to over 700 a day towards the end of 2015. With this move one thing is clear, Solar Media Team have no plans of slowing down. Our last location stunted our growth because it maxed us out at around 50 people, Solomon said. Our new office contains a 122 seat call center, countless executive offices, two beautiful conference rooms, a fully-loaded lounge for the employees and an ideal training room with this as our headquarters, there is literally no limit to what we can accomplish. The arrival of SMT into Broward county also brings hope to anyone currently looking for a job or a career change. The company plans to hire over 160 people between two shifts within their first two months in Deerfield Beach. Solomon, who has built the current foundation at Solar Media Team by growing from within, has no plans of changing that approach. Everyone who is currently in a management position with the company started with us at an entry level spot, Solomon said. When you get hired with us, its not just a chance at a job its a chance to build a career while continuing to grow as the company grows. With all of the recent moves it is clear that Solomon has long-term plans for SMT in South Florida. Solar Media Team signed a 5-year lease at the new location and also secured first right of refusal on an additional 15,000 square feet to to be at over 300 employees by the end of 2016. Thanks to Solomon and Consiglio, a job in the solar lead business isnt the only opportunity available at the impressive new space. The two founded Regulated Payment Systems in 2014 and with the recent relocation, they also has plans to make RPS a one-stop shop for all of your business needs. Regulated Payment Systems specializes in credit card processing, business funding, payroll services, marketing and SEO services and much more. RPS is currently looking to add at on least 20 skilled insides sales representatives and over 50 outsides sales agents. Between the two entities, SMT and RPS could provide close to 200 jobs to the tri-county area before the end of the third quarter. Thanks to the hard work of a lot of people, weve been blessed with the opportunity to take two up-and-coming companies and develop them under one roof. The road to get here has been challenging, but weve put ourselves in a position to flourish over the next decade and were excited to start bringing in new people in order to help us reach our goals, Solomon said. If you are interested in learning more about what positions Solar Media Team and Regulated Payment Systems have to offer, please contact the Operations Manager Joseph Kairalla at 561-257-1678 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Websites are http://www.solarmediateam.com and http://www.regulatedpaymentsystems.com, you can also submit your online resume at http://www.solarleadgencareer.com. For a long time, the SAT exam was the elder statesman and the kingmaker of the standardized test biz. Some folks looked down on the ACT exam because it tested achievement (what students actually learn in school) instead of aptitude (students' ability to puzzle out more advanced concepts). But opinions are a-changin', and the ACT has since overtaken the SAT as top dog. Even folks who don't think standardized tests are valuable in terms of determining college preparedness have to admit: these suckers aren't going anywhere. That's why Shmoop (http://www.shmoop.com), a digital publisher known for its award-winning Test Prep and certified Online Courses, is offering a complete suite of ACT prep products. Students have their choice between a test prep guide and a crash course, both of which include in-depth review, hundreds of drills with accompanying answer explanations and videos, and multiple full-length practice exams. Not one to leave teachers in the dust, Shmoop also provides a corresponding teacher guide that organizes the prep into 4- or 14-week sessions. And Shmoop has proven results: Indio High School, in Indio, California, increased their average ACT scores after implementing Shmoop, with the percentage of students scoring above the national average skyrocketing from 61% to 80% over the course of just two years. For those who prefer their Shmoop with a pinch of salt, look to Utah. Every student in Utah has access to Shmoop's ACT prep, and in 2014, after implementing Shmoop, Utah had the nation's highest ACT scores compared to other states where every student takes the exam. That's the hard data, but what about the feels? Well, teachers from California, Texas, Louisiana, and everywhere in between have shared the love. Mark Houchin from Lucia Mar USD in California uses the ACT prep with his AVID students to "get them ready for those admissions exams" and calls Shmoop a "one-stop shop for all things academic." Jin Pesqueda from Austin ISD in Texas adds that the ACT prep "is a refreshing way to do the same things in a fresh and fun way." And first time teachers like Jaime Mackey from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, appreciate the products as they craft their first-ever ACT courses. Like with any standardized test, there are clear achievement gaps on the ACT exam. Shmoop's goal? To level the playing field. That's why they offer a version of the prep in Spanish so that English Language Learners aren't at a disadvantage. With an affordable monthly subscription, users can access any and all of Shmoop's test prep and online courses. Or, by contacting sales(at)shmoop(dot)com, schools and districts can get bulk discounts, giving every student access for a fraction of the price of other options on the market. About Shmoop Shmoop offers hundreds of thousands of pages of original content. Their Online Courses, Test Prep, Teaching Guides, Learning Guides, and interactive Study Tools are written by teachers and experts and balance a teen-friendly, approachable style with academically rigorous concepts. Shmoop sees 13 million unique visitors a month across desktop and mobile. The company has won numerous awards from EdTech Digest, Tech & Learning, and the Association of Educational Publishers. Launched in 2008, Shmoop makes the magic happen from a labradoodle-patrolled office in Mountain View, California. ACT is a federally registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Shmoop University is not affiliated with or endorsed by ACT, Inc. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. Day Room Stay - Hotel Rooms For The Day Day Room Stay offers an affordable and convenient way for travelers to relax in full comfort of a hotel while waiting for their flight. Day Room Stay, a hotel booking website specializing in day rooms, hotel rooms for the day, recently announced the launch of a new website, http://www.dayroomstay.com, for booking rooms in the Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood areas of South Florida, near the Port Everglades cruise port and the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Day Room Stay offers tourists, business travelers and cruise vacationers an alternative to waiting at the airport or cruise port by offering hotel rooms for the day. Priced at a fraction of the cost of an overnight stay in a hotel, day rooms provide guests a place to relax and unwind before commencing with the next leg of their journey. Day rooms are especially convenient for guests traveling with children, giving families a place for children to take that mid-day nap, and change into destination-appropriate clothing. All day room guests receive full use of all hotel amenities such as clean linens, swimming pool, restaurants and hotel transportation. A Fort Lauderdale hotel featured on the Day Room Stay website even offers luggage storage and complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport, as well as to and from the local cruise port, making a day room more affordable and convenient. "Vacationers disembarking from a cruise ship, or waiting for a long flight connection simply have nowhere to go," states Izzy Fintz, Founder & President of Day Room Stay. "Instead of waiting at the airport, or lugging heavy luggage around an unfamiliar city, Day Room Stay offers an affordable way for travelers to drop off those bags and relax in full comfort of a hotel. Guests can enjoy great food, or even a tour adventure, all while waiting for their flight." To feature your hotel on Day Room Stay, please contact ifintz(at)dayroomstay(dot)com. About Day Room Stay Day Room Stay is a hotel day stay booking website specializing in day rooms, hotel rooms for the day without an overnight stay. Starting from $59.99 per room, day rooms are offered between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., any day of the week depending on availability for up to four guests per room, and can be extended to 9:00 p.m. at some participating hotels. Day rooms can accommodate up to eight guests for an additional charge. Hotels currently featured on Day Room Stay are located in close proximity to popular South Florida tourist destinations such as Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Broward Convention Center, Port Everglades cruise port, Hollywood Beaches, Hard Rock Casino and the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Day Room Stay website features a location search based on city or destination, hotel user reviews and rankings, and full booking and reservation interface. For more information on Day Room Stay, visit http://dayroomstay.com/ or follow the booking site on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Day Room Stay currently serves the South Florida market, with plans to expand nationally in the next months. Ashworth joins North American Title Co. Orange County office as sales executive Astrid's proven track record over many years speaks to her success as a title marketing professional. Astrid Ashworth has joined North American Title Co.s Orange County sales team as a sales executive. She has 28 years experience in the title industry as a sales professional in Southern California. I am so pleased to welcome Astrid to the North American Title family, said Vince Foley, Orange County sales manager, North American Title Co. Astrid's proven track record over many years speaks to her success as a title marketing professional. I am confident she will thrive in her new environment and provide unparalleled service to her customers. Ashworth will be working with real estate professionals, lenders, attorneys, commercial brokers and investors throughout Orange County and the surrounding areas to market North American Titles escrow and title services. She is located at North American Titles Orange County sales office at 3090 Bristol St., Suite 190, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, telephone number (800) 464-6282. About North American Title With well over 1,000 associates and a vast network of branches from coast to coast, North American Title (NAT) is among the largest real estate settlement service providers in the United States. Consisting of both agent and underwriter operations, NAT reported annual net revenues in fiscal 2015 of $229 million. The company also has the resources and stability of a wholly owned subsidiary of an S&P 500 company with over $14.4 billion in assets (fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 2015). North American Titles agency network operates nationally under the name North American Title Co. (NATC) in 19 of the fastest-growing states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia, in addition to the District of Columbia. Through our relationship with our expanding affiliate network, NATC provides real estate settlement services in all 50 states. NAT is headquartered in Miami, Florida. To learn more, visit http://www.nat.com Because it is so new, it is frequently misdiagnosed or completely missed. Most doctors I speak with believe that the prevalence is likely much higher. This emphasizes the need for epidemiological data to better understand this condition. uBiome, the leading microbial genomics company, has announced a partnership with Keene State College in New Hampshire to study a little-understood health condition that affects infants worldwide. Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES) is a type of severe food allergy that is not detectable through standard food sensitivity tests. uBiome will sequence the bacterial DNA of fecal samples collected from babies with FPIES as well as from a control group of healthy babies to look for possible microbial markers and associations. Families interested in participating will find details here: https://ubiome.com/pages/fpies-study The Keene State College team is led by its Assistant Professor of Health Science, Dr. Jeanelle Boyer, a microbiologist and mother of a two-year-old daughter who has been diagnosed with FPIES. Dr. Boyers daughter has reacted to almost every food with a variety of allergic symptoms, including diarrhea, mucous and blood in the stool, eczema, severe acid reflux, abdominal pain, and one episode of severe vomiting until shock. uBiome will apply high-throughput next generation DNA sequencing technology to generate detailed analysis of the infants microbiomes. The microbiome is the term for the ecosystem of trillions of bacteria which coexist in and on the human body. Many of the bacteria found in the microbiome play crucial roles in supporting life. For example, gut bacteria aid with digestion and the synthesis of vitamins. Pathogenic bacteria, however, are associated with a range of conditions, some very serious, such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease - including both Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, esophageal reflux and esophageal cancer, Clostridium difficile infection, colorectal cancer, and many others. Researchers at The Childrens Hospital at Westmead in Australia estimate the prevalence of FPIES as being one in 10,000 infants who are less than 2 years of age. Yet, the disease has only recently been defined. According to Dr. Boyer, this disease is currently under-researched: Because it is so new, it is frequently misdiagnosed or completely missed. Most doctors I speak with believe that the prevalence is likely much higher. This emphasizes the need for epidemiological data to better understand this condition. The cause of FPIES is unknown and there is no cure for this disease. Dr. Boyer received funding for this study from the FPIES Foundation who, as well as providing funding for family and community awareness, education, and outreach initiatives, seeks to support professional efforts exploring diagnosis and management. The study is recruiting families with babies under the age of 12 months who are free of antibiotic usage for the past month. It is seeking babies with physician-confirmed FPIES, as well as those who are allergy-free. Dr. Boyer of Keene State College says: Its hard for me to explain the stress of having a baby who is allergic to almost all food. I often joke that this sweet angel of a baby chose me as a mother because of my background in microbiology and nutrition. I know all too well that FPIES is a poorly understood disease which has a profound impact on families all over the world. With the uBiome partnership, we have a really good chance of making discoveries that could change the lives of so many. Jessica Richman, co-founder and CEO of uBiome, says: We were incredibly moved by Dr. Boyers story when we heard about her study, so we didnt hesitate to offer our support. It must be heartbreaking to discover that your baby cant tolerate the food you give her. This study sits perfectly with our mission to support science wherever it is performed. Dr. Zachary Apte, CTO and co-founder of uBiome adds: uBiomes advanced methods mean that all a parent needs to do is swab their babys diaper, then send us the swab in the mail. In this study, parents will help us build the big picture, but well also give each participant a full breakdown of the composition of their babys microbiome. Details of the uBiome/Keene State College study are here: https://ubiome.com/pages/fpies-study uBiome was launched in 2012 by scientists and technologists educated at Stanford and UCSF after a crowdfunding campaign raised over $350,000 from citizen scientists, around triple its initial goal. The company is now funded by Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and other leading investors. uBiomes mission is to use big data to understand the human microbiome by giving users the power to learn about their bodies, perform experiments, and see how current research studies apply to them. Contact: Julie Taylor julie(at)ubiome.com Andrea Ching, OpenSlate CMO With an exceptional background in both TV and digital, Andrea will play a critical role in how we work with advertisers today and how we build technology to support them in the future. OpenSlate, the leader in social video analytics, announced today that Andrea Ching has joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer. Ms. Ching will lead OpenSlates efforts to define the role of content in brand advertising, at a time when TV-minded marketers accelerate their push into a rapidly fragmenting digital landscape. Andrea is among the most experienced, talented and visionary executives in digital media, said OpenSlate CEO Mike Henry. With an exceptional background in both TV and digital, Andrea will play a critical role in how we work with advertisers today and how we build technology to support them in the future. Prior to joining the company, Ching was a Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing at Turner Broadcasting. During her six years at Turner, Andrea oversaw brand integrations and sales development for all of CNNs television and digital properties as well as Turner Digital properties including Bleacher Report, March Madness Live, NBA, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, TBS and TNT. Andrea joined Turner from Neo@Ogilvy, the digital media arm of the Ogilvy advertising agency, where she served as senior partner, managing director, and led a group of global, digitally-driven blue-chip accounts. In her near twelve year tenure with Ogilvy, Ching held ascending positions by demonstrating digital leadership and developing breakthrough marketing programs for such clients as American Express, IBM, Kodak, Lenovo, Samsung, TD Ameritrade and Unilever. I am fortunate to have made my career where blue chip brands and premium content intersect, said Ching. I am delighted to continue this work at OpenSlate to help marketers make smarter, more effective use of social video. Ching joins OpenSlate during a time of growth. The company recently added CTO Matt Kopit, VP of Sales Larry Miller, VP Business Development Ken Detlet and Josh Hirsch, Head of Strategy and Analytics. OpenSlate has also expanded its sales and client services teams, recently opening new offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London. About OpenSlate OpenSlate is a social video analytics firm focused on role of content in brand advertising. Our proprietary metrics about video content quality, brand safety and subject matter are used by hundreds of marketers to target their online video media. OpenSlate measures and scores all ad-supported content on YouTube and offers data that helps brands connect with social video influencers. Our SlateScore is the industry standard for social video content quality. Learn more at http://www.OpenSlateData.com. Astrogenesis, a solo-exhibition by Nikki Romanello exploring the topic of astrobiology, will open at the University City Science Centers Esther Klein Gallery (EKG) on April 14, 2016 and run through May 27th. An opening reception will be held at EKG, located at 3600 Market Street in Philadelphia, on Thursday, April 14th from 5:00-7:30 pm. As part of the Philadelphia Science Festival, the artist will be hosting a special Bio Art Workshop on Sunday, April 24th from 10:00 am-1:00 pm at EKG. Astrogenesis is the formation of a star-shaped neuron in the brain and a representation of the human imagination. Astrobiology is a combination of what biologists know about life and what could possibly exist beyond Earth. The exhibit, Astrogenesis focuses on the search for traces of life. Nikki Romanello creates hybrid skeletons and fossils based on animal remains that represent the evidence of life while imagining alternative species and histories. The sculptures are created with various materials such as glycerin soap, cast pewter, as well as live yeast and bacteria. Visitors to the gallery can also expect to see a series of deep space terrariums depicting scenes from future space missions. Romanellos Bio Art Workshop will focus on kombucha brewing and various ways that the fungus can be utilized, not just for nutritional purposes but also for art making. Romanello will demonstrate how she makes paper and sculptural forms out of home- brewed kombucha that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. The workshop is free to the public and attendees will be given a kombucha scoby to take home and brew their own. Nikki Romanello was born in Dallas, Texas and spent time as a child collecting bones, shells, animal and plant remains that familiarized her with the function, texture and form of natural artifacts. During her first year of college, she worked in a natural science lab, where she gained experience with several scientific processes. She received her BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture with a concentration in Photography at Maryland Institute of College of Art in Baltimore. She graduated with an MFA in Studio Art, majoring in Sculpture from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Currently she resides in Brooklyn researching various science disciplines, working as a Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welder for Token, a design studio merging contemporary art and industrial design, and teaching at the Brooklyn Brainery. About the Science Center The University City Science Center is a dynamic hub for innovation, and entrepreneurship and technology development in the Greater Philadelphia region. It provides business incubation, programming, lab and office facilities, and support services for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and growing and established companies. Since it was founded in 1963, graduate organizations and current residents of the University City Science Centers Port business incubators have created more than 15,000 jobs that remain in the Greater Philadelphia region today and contribute more than $9 billion to the regional economy annually. The Science Center is leveraging its history as the nations oldest and largest urban research park as it joins forces with Wexford Science + Technology, a BioMed Realty company, to expand its footprint and rebrand its physical campus as uCity Square a true mixed-use community of ingenuity. For more information about the Science Center, go to ucscreview.org. About the Esther Klein Gallery The Esther Klein Gallery (EKG), which opened in 1976, uses the creative arts as a platform to explore relationships between art, science and technology. EKG seeks to positively impact the cultural life of both its immediate neighborhood of West Philadelphia and the broader Philadelphia community. EKG programming is designed to explore the range of art, science and technology exhibitions and includes gallery talks, panel discussions, and education programs. For more information, visit http://www.EstherKleinGallery.tumblr.com We got better today, says Mike Plaia, PharmaPoint CEO PharmaPoint is excited to welcome Pam Herring, RN, as the new Director of Clinical Services. Pam has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare arena, and will implement, monitor and champion clinical programs, such as OnePoint Medication Synchronization, in existing and new pharmacy locations as they are opened. We got better today, says Mike Plaia, PharmaPoint CEO. As our organization grows, we continually have to add focus and accountability around key areas in the company. Pam has an extensive background in chronic care/disease state management programs, with the foundation of her clinical background in critical care. This skillset will serve existing and future clients well as we continue to see an emphasis on CMS penalties due to high readmission rates. In her new role, Herring will also complete clinical assessments in hospitals as it relates to work flow of admissions and discharge processes, and also work with our pharmacies to help them continue to drive better medication adherence and outcomes. I am thrilled about my new role with PharmaPoint, says Herring. The ability to help drive better patient care is rewarding on both a personal and professional level. PharmaPoint has a solid business model for pharmacy management and a cutting edge technology platform, comparable to nothing Ive seen in the marketplace. Prior to joining the PharmaPoint team, Pam served as the Director of Account Management at Barnes Healthcare Services where she provided education to discharge planners, social workers, case managers and physicians on chronic care/disease state management programs. Pam has also worked in various roles with other industry leading names in the healthcare market such as Olympus, Omnicare and Coram. For any successful organization, growth and change go hand-in-hand, says Plaia. It is an exciting time to be a member of our team, and I look forward to continuing to execute our business plan for optimal success. About PharmaPoint PharmaPoint is an innovative pharmacy management and technology company, providing best-of-class solutions for hospitals, health systems and physician groups. PharmaPoint is focused on completing the care continuum, thereby improving patient health and satisfaction, reducing healthcare costs and providing a source of ancillary income. Recognized as one of the most innovative, inspiring and fastest growing private companies for both 2013, 2014 and 2015 by Inc. Magazine, PharmaPoint is currently managing pharmacies across the United States. PharmaPoint is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information about our company, you can visit http://www.pharmapoint.com. #### IRI, The CoSort Company Thats why IRI continues to invest heavily in the development of masking technologies in both our fit-for-purpose data protection products and total data management platform. Our users need to be able to mask, clean, and unify data where it lives. Innovative Routines International (IRI), The CoSort Company, has announced new versions of its Data Protector suite tools -- FieldShield, CellShield, and RowGen -- and new features in its data management platform -- Voracity -- that improve enterprise data security and quality for SMBs and cost-conscious enterprise CISOs. The new data governance features were just added into these new releases of IRI: FieldShield v4.0 Database (DB), flat-file, and dark data discovery, profiling, and classification of personally identifiable information (PII) Consistent pseudonymization in multi-table workflows Software development kits (SDK) for dynamic data masking in Java and .NET applications Native connections for masking data in MongoDB sources and Splunk targets CellShield Enterprise Edition v1.2 Intra-cell search and bulk remediation of floating PII in Excel spreadsheets RowGen v4.0 Software development kit for generating test data in Java and Hadoop applications Computationally valid test data generation for credit cards, SSNs, and other NIDs DB subsetting (and masking) Voracity v1.1 All of the above, plus: Consolidation and registry style master data management ETL task previews with real or test data EGit-supported metadata management Digital businesses with the right data governance policies and technologies are the ones consumers will trust with their PII observed IRI Sales Director Lisa Mangino. Thats why IRI continues to invest heavily in the development of masking technologies in both our fit-for-purpose data protection products and total data management platform. Our users need to be able to mask, clean, and unify data where it lives. The upgrades will be available at low or no cost to existing users depending on their support level. Voracity subscribers can automatically make use of all of the new features, since the platform includes support for all IRI Data Protector and Data Manager suite products. About IRI, The CoSort Company Founded in 1978, IRI develops high-performance software for managing and protecting data in: legacy migration, DW/BI, and devop environments. IRI products include: Voracity (data discovery, integration, migration, governance, and analytics); CoSort (transformation and reporting); FACT (Fast Extract for VLDBs); NextForm (data and DB conversion); FieldShield and CellShield (data masking), and RowGen (test data synthesis). Continental National Bank's Doral Branch Continental National Bank is committed to helping individuals meet their financial goals. For 40 years, weve helped thousands of happy customers receive the assistance they need. We hope to extend these same great services to the City of Doral. Continental National Bank, Miamis premier community source for financial services for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs, proudly announces the inauguration of its new state-of-the-art location in the City of Doral. Located in 5241 NW 87th Ave., the new full-service branch is now officially open for business. A Grand Opening ceremony will be held on the evening of April 21st. Continental National Banks Doral branch is the latest addition to a network of convenient banking locations serving Miami-Dade County. The new 3,118 sq. ft. branch pledges to deliver the same high level of service that clients have come to expect, while simultaneously pushing the envelope with innovative experiential features. Aside from offering express ATMs, teller stations, and one-on-one attention from a dedicated team of business bankers, the Doral branch also features a spacious contemporary lounging area with deluxe amenities for guests these include complimentary access to WIFI, gourmet coffee stations, and more. The branch is now open Monday-Thursday from 9 A.M to 5 P.M., and Fridays 9 A.M to 6 P.M. The Doral branchs Grand Opening event, to be held on April 21st from 5 P.M to 9 P.M., will feature an exclusive car exhibition by South Motors and live music. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 7:30 P.M. Clients and members of the press are cordially invited to attend. Continental National Bank is committed to helping individuals meet their financial goals. For 40 years, weve helped thousands of happy customers receive the assistance they need. We hope to extend these same great services to the City of Doral, said Jacqueline Dascal Chariff, Chairman, Continental National Bank. Throughout its 43 years of service, Continental National Bank has supported many important local causes, placing special emphasis in safeguarding a prosperous future for the leaders of tomorrow. Last year, the Bank launched its GROW Entrepreneurship Program, an intensive business education initiative developed in collaboration with Florida International University. About Continental National Bank Continental National Bank is a full-service community bank established in 1974 in Miami as the first Cuban-American-chartered national bank in the United States, serving its customers for over 43 years. With seven branches conveniently located throughout Miami-Dade County, and with more than $400 million in assets, Continental National Bank was awarded the five-star superior rating by BauerFinancial and also has been rated Outstanding in their Community Reinvestment Act evaluation by their regulatory agency. The Bank offers a full range of financial products and services for retail, business and institutional clients. http://www.continentalbank.com, and follow us via facebook.com/continentalbank, and twitter.com/cnbmia. Exaris recent acquisition makes them a platform leader and one of the few focused solely on enterprise-wide contract management Exari, the leading provider of cloud-based contract lifecycle management solutions, announced today that Robert Flint has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, reporting to Bill Hewitt, Chief Executive Officer, and will be responsible for overseeing all sales initiatives worldwide. Robert is a seasoned software executive, with a track record of significantly growing sales in the contract management market, said Bill Hewitt, CEO of Exari. His deep understanding of buyers needs makes him a perfect fit, especially in light of our recent acquisition of CMA Contiki. Roberts experience and results-driven performance will enable us to grow across the product line faster than ever before. Robert was most recently Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Luminoso Technologies. Prior to that, he spent 8 years at Emptoris, a leading provider of strategic supply, category spend and contract management solutions, which was acquired by IBM in 2012. In addition, he has held sales and management positions at i2, Sybase and Ultimate Software. Robert holds a BA in economics from UMass, Dartmouth. Exaris recent acquisition makes them a platform leader and one of the few focused solely on enterprise-wide contract management, said Robert Flint. This is an exciting time in Exaris history, and Im delighted to have the opportunity to lead the Exari sales team to even higher levels of success. Exari Contract Lifecycle Management software delivers 100% contract certainty. For more information, please visit http://www.exari.com. About Exari Exari is the market-leading Enterprise Contract Management platform for delivering 100% Contract Certainty. Hundreds of thousands of users across 80 countries use Exari for document assembly, strategic sourcing, contract creation, negotiation, collaboration and contract analytics. 5 of the top 15 banks, 4 of the top insurance brokers, and numerous market-leading energy companies use Exari. Exari is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with offices in Oslo and Bergen, Norway; London, UK; Munich, Germany; and Melbourne, Australia. Learn more at http://www.Exari.com. For N2 Publishing field support specialist Brooks Perry, its no surprise that the Wilmington-based company made the 50 Best Workplaces for Flexibility list. Hours after wrapping up his 90-day review meeting almost one year ago, Perry and his wife found themselves rushing to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center with their 4-year-old daughter, Tess. She would later be diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, requiring a two-year treatment plan. "Im not sure how most companies would handle an employee having to take off the time Ive had to," Perry said. The loyalty and support I have been shown is not taken for granted. I have every intention of being with N2 for a lifetime. I hope to retire from here many years from now with a healthy and happy family, whose road was made just a little easier by an amazing company." The Best Workplaces for Flexibility list, which is part of the Great Place to Works Recognition Program, consists of N2 and other companies that offer supportive programs and policies. This includes benefits like telecommuting, flex-time, compressed work weeks, job sharing and phased retirement programs. Award winners first were culled from nearly 600 Great Place to Work-certified businesses. During the process, Great Place to Work surveyed more than 209,000 randomly-selected employees, asking them to describe the reality of their day-to-day work experience. Staff rated their organizations on 21 different factors, assessing cultural support for flexibility and work-life balance. Two-thirds of each company's rating was based on employees' survey scores and written comments; one-third focused on the presence and utilization of such programs. For N2 Publishing founders Duane Hixon and Earl Seals, flexibility became part of the foundation when they launched their company in 2004. We wanted to build a successful business without compromising time with our families, said Hixon, CEO of N2 Publishing. And we want the same for everyone who works at N2. So we created a business model where success is measured in hard work rather than long hours and where healthy homes are as highly valued as healthy sales. The emphasis on team continues to garner attention for the company. In addition to the Best Workplaces for Flexibility list, N2 Publishing also has been recognized on: Entrepreneur and Culture IQ Top Company Culture List Best in Large Enterprise Award; Great Places to Work and Fortunes 100 Best Workplaces for Women; Outside Magazines Best Places to Work List; Best and Brightests 101 National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For; and Best Employers in North Carolina. Perry said his experience offers validation that N2 Publishing places a premium on its people and truly values work-life balance. Since May 5, 2015, we have had a tough road, Perry continued. The treatment has been a roller coaster of emotions and side-effects. I have missed work more than Id like, but I have been able to be present to hold Tess hand, as well as my wifes. That is an invaluable thing. About N2 Publishing Based in Wilmington, N2 Publishing, Inc., was named North Carolinas fastest-growing media company by Inc. Magazine in 2015. N2 Publishing focuses on turning neighborhoods into communities by partnering with affluent neighborhoods to produce private, monthly publications filled with resident-contributed content. Every N2 issue is personal, relevant, and unique to the community it serves. Visit N2 Publishing online at http://www.n2pub.com. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For" list and a series of Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industry lists. "This recognition is more significant than ever before as more consumers utilize resources such as Womens Choice Awards to determine the best places to receive care for themselves and their family," said Quorum President and CEO Mickey Bilbrey. 11 Quorum Health Resources (Quorum) client hospitals were recently honored with Women's Choice Awards as 2016 America's 100 Best Hospitals including: Boone County Hospital, Cary Medical Center, Fort Madison Community Hospital, Kings Daughters Medical Center, Parkview Medical Center, Phelps Memorial Health Center, Magnolia Regional Health Center, Northwestern Medical Center, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, Tidelands Health and Wooster Community Hospital. The Americas Best Hospitals hospitals and doctors demonstrate exceptional ratings, providing the highest level of care and commitment to their patients health. This Award is the only designation that is based on the preferences of women when selecting a hospital. Specifically, Quorum client hospitals were honored with the following awards: Boone County Hospital (Boone, IA): Best Hospitals for Cancer Care Cary Medical Center (Caribou, ME): Best Obstetrics Hospitals Fort Madison Community Hospital (Fort Madison, IA): Best Hospitals for Emergency Care, Best Obstetrics Hospitals Kings Daughters Medical Center (Brookhaven, MS): Best Hospitals for Bariatric Surgery, Best Breast Centers, Best Obstetrics Hospitals, Best Hospitals for Patient Experience Magnolia Regional Health Center (Corinth, MS): Best Obstetrics Hospitals Northwestern Medical Center (St. Albans, VT): Best Hospitals for Emergency Care Parkview Medical Center (Pueblo, CO): Best Hospitals for Patient Experience Phelps Memorial Health Center (Holdrege, NE): Best Obstetrics Hospitals Thibodaux Regional Medical Center: Best Hospitals for Patient Safety Tidelands Health (Murrells Inlet, SC): Best Obstetrics Hospitals, Best Hospitals for Patient Experience Wooster Community Hospital (Wooster, OH): Best Hospitals for Emergency Care, Best Hospital for Patient Safety "This recognition is more significant than ever before as more consumers utilize resources such as Womens Choice Awards to determine the best places to receive care for themselves and their family," said Quorum President and CEO Mickey Bilbrey. "We are honored to be associated with so many facilities that are continually recognized for providing remarkable care to the communities they serve. We are honored to receive this award four consecutive years, explained Alvin Hoover, CEO of Quorum client hospital King's Daughters Medical Center (KDMC). "These awards indicate our passion, dedication and commitment to our mission of providing quality health and wellness in a Christian environment." Parkview Medical Centers CEO Mike Baxter said, "We are honored to be recognized for providing outstanding patient experiences for women and their families. Our team of physicians and employees work hard to continually improve the patient experience. Together, were working towards improving the health and wellness of our members and the community." The Women's Choice Award represents the significance of the female consumer and their collective voice in recommending brands, products and services. According to the Women's Choice Award website, America's Best Hospitals scores are derived for each hospital from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) database. For more information, please visit http://www.womenschoiceaward.com/hospital-methodology/. About Quorum Health Resources The Quorum Difference is the extraordinary combination of consulting guidance and operations experience that enables client healthcare organizations to achieve a sustainable future. As an integrated professional services company, Quorum has been delivering innovative executable solutions through experience and thought leadership for more than three decades. Quorum is consistently ranked among the top healthcare consulting firms in the nation, and the Quorum Learning Institute educates nearly 10,000 healthcare leaders and professionals each year. For more information, please visit http://www.qhr.com. ### Penrose Senior Care Auditors Selected by AARP as Top 10 Finalist Penrose Senior Care Auditors, the first and only app-enabled senior care service that checks-on seniors and reports to families, is pleased today to announce it has been selected as one of the finalists for AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch, the one day pitch competition for emerging startups in the healthy living space with a focus on caregiving. Penrose will compete against 9 other startups that represent the best in health tech startups. For more information on the Wednesday, April 27 event, go to http://health50.org/ Penrose created the senior care auditing service and continues to lead it today. Called Penrose-Check-Ins, its $99 auditing services include the Penrose Care-Check, Penrose Pre-Check, Penrose Quick-Check, Penrose Safety-Check, and Penrose Quick-Check. Certified, insured auditors are selected by families to visit their aging loved-ones, and using the Penrose App, assess items affecting their well-being and report back to them. More can be learned at http://www.penrosecheckin.com. AARPs Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch event, held at Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, CA, begins with speaking sessions on caregiving, and then a keynote with Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer, AARP. The afternoon will showcase ten companies, including Penrose, who were selected from over 200 applicants. The ten will be presenting their business focus on stage before a panel of expert judges and an audience filled with AARP members, the actual intended end users of these solutions. Representing AARPs 38 million members, these consumers will share feedback in real-time on business viability, interest and value, providing the companies absolutely invaluable market data on the spot. Penrose Founder & CEO, Rhonda Harper, will pitch how Penrose is solving unique healthcare needs of people 50 and over, and/or their caregivers. We are honored to be selected by AARP as one of their Top 10 finalists, says Rhonda Harper, Founder & CEO, Penrose. I founded Penrose based on the poor care I witnessed my father receiving in assisted living. We are passionate about improving senior living, enhancing the lives of seniors, and providing peace-of-mind to families. About AARP AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at http://www.aarp.org. First Choice Emergency Room First Choice Emergency Room, the largest network of independent freestanding emergency rooms in the United States, named Dr. Derek Caraway, as the Medical Director of its new Woodlands-Creekside facility. We are pleased to announce Dr. Caraway will be the Facility Medical Director of our new Woodlands-Creekside location, said Dr. James M. Muzzarelli, Executive Medical Director of First Choice Emergency Room. Dr. Caraway received his undergraduate from the University of Baylor in Waco, Texas and his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. In addition to being announced Facility Medical Director of the new Woodlands-Creekside facility, Dr. Caraway will also continue his current role as Area Medical Director of the north Houston First Choice Emergency Room facilities. He also serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center. Prior to joining First Choice Emergency in 2014, he served as Medical Director at Grimes St. Josephs Hospital in Navasota, Texas. Dr. Caraway is board-certified in emergency medicine with over fifteen years of clinical experience. All First Choice Emergency Room facilities are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The facilities are staffed exclusively with board-certified physicians and emergency trained registered nurses. First Choice Emergency Room facilities are equipped with a full radiology suite, including CT scanner, Digital X-ray, Ultrasound, as well as on-site laboratories certified by the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments (CLIA) and accredited by the Commission on Office Laboratories Accreditation (COLA). The Woodlands-Creekside facility will be located at 26306 Kuykendahl Road, Tomball, Texas 77375. For more information, visit http://www.fcer.com/locations/houston-map/the-woodlands-creekside/. About First Choice Emergency Room First Choice Emergency Room (FCER.com) is the nations leading network of independent freestanding emergency rooms; it is both the largest and the oldest. First Choice Emergency Room is revolutionizing the delivery of emergency medical services for adult and pediatric emergencies by offering patients convenient, neighborhood access to emergency medical care. First Choice Emergency Room facilities are innovative, freestanding, and fully equipped emergency rooms with a complete radiology suite of diagnostic technology (CT scanner, Ultrasound, and Digital X-ray) and on-site laboratory. All First Choice Emergency Room locations are staffed with board-certified physicians and emergency trained registered nurses. First Choice Emergency Room has facilities in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. According to patient feedback collected by Press Ganey Associates Inc., First Choice Emergency Room provides the highest quality emergency medical care and received the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for exceeding the 95th percentile in patient satisfaction nationwide. First Choice Emergency Room is an Adeptus Health (NYSE:ADPT) company. The world is getting smaller. What is happening in other parts of the world is relevant to what happens here in America, Deigh said. But laughter is the best medicine for everyone, regardless of where youre from. Adapting to a new language and a new culture is a difficult experience, but the troubles of translation can lead to hilarious miscommunication. That was certainly the case for Dr. Ron Deigh. Deigh spent seven years living in Germany with the United States Army Veterinary Corps. While overseas, he tried to immerse himself in the German culture, often with comical results. His new book, Learning a Language Can Be Fun and Funny, mixes his humorous experiences with his genuine affection for the German people. Immersion was not easy, but I made several German friends, and even met my wife, thanks to my attempt to learn the language, Deigh said. It had a major impact on my life. Deigh hopes his book will encourage readers to learn new languages and experience other cultures around the world. The world is getting smaller. What is happening in other parts of the world is relevant to what happens here in America, Deigh said. But laughter is the best medicine for everyone, regardless of where youre from. For more information, visit http://www.drrondeigh.com/. Learning a Language Can Be Fun and Funny By Dr. Ron Deigh ISBN: 978-0-59553-361-9 Available in softcover, hardcover, e-book Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iUniverse About the author Dr. Ron Deigh, now a retired community college professor of biology, previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Veterinary Corps. He enjoyed seven full years traveling with the U. S. Army throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, learning the German language and learning how truly wonderful and hospitable the Europeans are. He and his wife currently reside in Visalia, Calif. # # # For review copies or interview requests, contact: Drew Tharp 317.602.7137 dtharp(at)bohlsengroup(dot)com Consumer Reports May Issue The onus shouldn't be on patients to investigate their physicians. Doctors on probation should be required to tell their patients about their status, and explain the reasons behind it. Thousands of doctors are currently practicing medicine while being on probation for issues ranging from sexual misconduct and drug addiction to unprofessional and dangerous treatment of patients. But its difficult and time-consuming for consumers to find out if their doctor is one of them, according to Consumer Reports. A survey by Consumer Reports finds that 82 percent of Americans are in favor of requiring doctors to tell their patients if they are on probation and why. And 66 percent lean toward barring doctors from seeing patients until their probationary period ends. But state medical boards and the American Medical Association have opposed efforts to create greater transparency around physicians disciplinary actions. The onus shouldnt be on patients to investigate their physicians, said Lisa McGiffert, director of Consumer Reports Safe Patient Project. Doctors on probation should be required to tell their patients about their status, and explain the reasons behind it. The new report, which appears in the May issue of Consumer Reports and online at ConsumerReports.org, details cases like that of an obstetrician-gynecologist in Southern California. The doctor continues to practice medicine despite a report from the state medical board alleging that his errors of medical knowledge, judgment, protocol and attentiveness contributed to the death of two young mothers who had recently given birth to healthy babies. Consumer Reports investigation found that people looking for a new doctor online would have a tough time figuring out whether their doctor was being disciplined. What You Dont Know About Your Doctor Could Hurt You, available at ConsumerReports.org, is part of Consumer Reports ongoing efforts to make it easier for patients to access information about their doctors. The organization is pushing for policy reforms that would make the system more transparent, including requiring doctors to tell patients when and why they are on probation, providing information from state medical board records in a clear and consistent way, and making information from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) open to the public. The NPDB collects data on physicians malpractice payouts and disciplinary records. You can find out more about the safety record of your toaster and whether or not its going to catch on fire than you can find about your physicians, said patient-safety advocate Robert E. Oshel, the former associate director for research and disputes at the NPDB. An analysis of NPDB data done for Consumer Reports by Oshel found that less than two percent of the nations doctors have been responsible for half of the total malpractice payouts since the government began collecting malpractice information. In total, some $85 billion has been paid out in malpractice cases during that period. While malpractice is considered an inexact indication of substandard care, Oshel says that multiple large settlements against a doctor can be a warning sign ... suggesting that if licensing boards and hospital peer reviewers were willing to either get these doctors to stop practicing or get retraining, wed all be better off. Currently, only hospitals, doctors, law enforcement, insurance companies, and a few other select groups have access to NPDB data. Consumers must rely on their state medical board, many of which have complicated websites and require time-consuming processes to get answers about specific doctors records. As part of its report, Consumer Reports investigated the state medical board websites in all 50 states and rated them from best to worst. California, New York and Massachusetts websites ranked the highest, with Hawaiis, Indianas and Mississippis faring the worst. For complete rankings of all the medical boards, go to ConsumersUnion.org/safepatientproject. The system of disciplining physicians needs to be more transparent, reliable and accessible for patients, said McGiffert. Consumers need quick and easy access to this information to make educated choices about the physicians they see and the health of themselves and their families. What Government, State Boards Should Do Consumer Reports Safe Patient Project is working with consumers across the country to make it easier for patients to learn about their doctors disciplinary history. Those efforts are focusing on five areas: Doctors on probation should be required to tell patients that they are being disciplined and explain why. The state medical boards, where consumers must go to file complaints about doctors or investigate their records, should present information in a clear, consistent way, including plain-language summaries of why doctors are on probation. State medical boards should include more consumer representatives. They are now dominated by physicians. State boards should be more aggressive in pulling the licenses of doctors who are clearly a danger to patients. The National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal repository that includes disciplinary actions taken by state boards, hospitals, and other healthcare agencies as well as malpractice payments, should be open to the public. If a patient does suspect he or she has been harmed by a doctor, the person should: Recognize a cause for action. This obviously includes any kind of physical or sexual abuse suffered at the hands of a doctor, or if the doctor is suspected of practicing medicine under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Poor medical care is less clear-cut. The kind of medical harm that warrants a complaint includes when a doctor overprescribes a drug or prescribes the wrong one, is dishonest, or fails to give the results of a worrisome biopsy or diagnosis of a serious medical problem in a timely way. Consider contacting the police and a lawyer. To file criminal chargesfor, say, sexual or physical abusefirst contact the police. For a malpractice lawsuit, a lawyer will likely need to be convinced of a strong case with the potential of a payout. Contact the state board. Thats the agency that licenses and disciplines physicians. (To find your states board, go to ConsumersUnion.org/safepatientproject.) Some states make it easy to file a complaint against physicians online. If you have trouble navigating the website, call the board for help. Gather your records. Its a good idea to send a hard copy of your complaint, along with copies of your medical records and other supporting documents, to the board. Once the board receives your complaint it will assign it to an analyst, who may request additional documents or information. Then be patient: The state board must first determine whether your complaint warrants further investigation. And it can take several months or even longer before the board makes a final ruling. What Makes a Great Doctor What does a good medical practice look like? The Peterson Center on Healthcare and researchers at Stanford Universitys Clinical Excellence Research Center worked together to answer that question. First, they collected data from 15,000 U.S. primary care practices. To winnow the list down to the most successful ones, they used 41 accepted quality-of-care measures along with data on healthcare spending. They then sent a team of investigators to a sample of the highest-performing practices to figure out what set them apart. The most successful ones shared these characteristics, which all consumers can look out for: Extended Hours Flexible schedules help patients avoid trips to the emergency room Careful About Overtreating Doctors emphasize spending time with patients before rushing to tests Open to Complaints Patient complaints are treated as valuably as compliments One-Stop Shopping Top practices perform some relatively minor procedures that other practices often refer out Like-Minded Specialists, and Only as Needed Patients are only sent to specialists who share the practices philosophies Two-Way Communication Medical offices actively follow up through phone calls, repeat visits, or emails A Team Approach Teams include an array of healthcare providers, including nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nutrition counselors, and social workers A Fair Workplace Physicians arent compensated solely on the number of patients they see Spend Wisely Practices tend to avoid expensive, high-tech devices in favor of devices that encourage efficiency About Consumer Reports Consumer Reports is the worlds largest and most trusted nonprofit, consumer organization working to improve the lives of consumers by driving marketplace change. Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports has achieved substantial gains for consumers on health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other issues. The organization has advanced important policies to cut hospital-acquired infections, prohibit predatory lending practices and combat dangerous toxins in food. Consumer Reports tests and rates thousands of products and services in its 50-plus labs, state-of-the-art auto test center and consumer research center. Consumers Union, a division of Consumer Reports, works for pro-consumer laws and regulations in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace. With more than eight million subscribers to its flagship magazine, website and other publications, Consumer Reports accepts no advertising, payment or other support from the companies whose products it evaluates. __________ MARCH 2016 2016 Consumer Reports. The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for advertising or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports is an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. We accept no advertising and pay for all the products we test. We are not beholden to any commercial interest. Our income is derived from the sale of Consumer Reports, ConsumerReports.org and our other publications and information products, services, fees, and noncommercial contributions and grants. Our Ratings and reports are intended solely for the use of our readers. Neither the Ratings nor the reports may be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose without our permission. Consumer Reports will take all steps open to it to prevent commercial use of its materials, its name, or the name of Consumer Reports. Captain Belinda Bennett (above) is Windstars first female and black captain We are thrilled to have appointed Belinda as Windstars first-ever female Captain and we understand may be the cruise industrys first-ever black Captain. Small ship luxury cruise operator Windstar Cruises, has announced the promotion of Belinda Bennett to Captain of the MSY Wind Star. Bennett claims several firsts with her appointment including the first woman and first black person to operate at the helm of a Windstar Cruises vessel since the companys inception in 1984. Bennett, a British citizen, resides in Southampton, United Kingdom and also claims the distinction of being among just a few British woman cruise passenger ship captains as well as a pioneer for minorities working in the cruise industry, understood to be the first black cruise ship captain. Bennetts maiden voyage as Captain set sail on January 30, 2016 with 102 international crew aboard the 148-passenger 5,307 GRT motor-sail yacht Wind Star cruising in the Caribbean. Bennett, 39, shares the title of Captain with an exclusive handful of women currently operating under that role within the cruise industry. As such, Bennett is responsible for directing the operations and activities of officers and crew members on board, including: safety, maintenance, certification, documentation, passenger services and compliance with multi-government regulations. Windstar captains are highly accessible operating under an Open Bridge policy, Bennett is known for being sociable, charming and engaging with Windstar yacht guests. We are thrilled to have appointed Belinda as Windstars first-ever female Captain and we understand may be the cruise industrys first-ever black Captain. Belindas leadership qualities and hard work have made her an asset to our team and invaluable to her colleagues and crew, said Hans Birkholz, Windstar Cruises chief executive officer. She has earned her spot at the helm and Im excited to see her in action, guiding the crew and our guests on Wind Star through some of the worlds most incredible destinations for years to come. Hailing originally from St. Helena a part of the British Overseas Territory, encompassing Ascension and Tristan da Cunha islands Bennett naturally became immersed with life at sea, having started as a Deck Cadet at age 17 on her home island ship the RMS St. Helena. Just four years later, she climbed the ranks as Third Officer and ultimately stayed on board for an additional five years, until departing in 2003 as Second Officer. Following a brief stretch as Chief Officer for the SS Delphine, a private charter yacht, and Isle of Man Steam Packet ferries, Bennett joined Windstar Cruises as Second Officer at the Port of Monaco in September 2005. Bennett worked on a variety of Windstar Cruises ships over her 11-year career with the small ship luxury line transitioning to chief officer and now captain. Having been with Windstar for the past 11 years, I couldnt be more honored to serve as Captain with such a respected and hard-working team, said Bennett. Earning this title has been a long and exciting professional journey and Im ready to lead our guests through a safe and one-of-a-kind adventure around the world. Noting changes over her decade with Windstar, Bennett says, I have noticed many younger people have started cruising in recent years, which is good. My priority as Captain is to see that my guests and crew are safe and that guests are having an enjoyable, memorable time on board our yacht and that our crew provides the best service to our guests. A lifelong traveler, Bennett shares her advice on cruising, Disregard the notion that cruising is for the more mature community. There are some fabulous places that cruise ships like Wind Star call at whereby you get to see multiple cities and islands you would not normally see by staying in one place. The activities and adventures cruising offers rival those offered by land-based resorts. When asked her favorite ports of call, she shares, I do so love the Dalmatian coast, the Croatian coast line, and its ports are beautiful and so is the run up to Kotor in Montenegro. Bennett points to the shopping to be had in the port of Sorrento, Italy and favors Bequia in the Caribbean for, the best lobster pizza at Mac's pizzeria. Currently sailing in the Caribbean as master of the 148-passenger sailing yacht MSY Wind Star, Bennett will captain the ships upcoming Trans-Atlantic repositioning to Europe where the ship will enter a 2-week drydock debuting April 16 on the 8-day Treasures of Southern Spain & Morocco cruise followed by a 6-day Islands of the West Med cruise and 7-day Enchanting Greece & Amalfi Coast. Bennetts newly appointed title will keep her busy at sea into May, at which time she intends to enjoy a brief break before returning for Wind Stars summer season in the Aegean Sea, offering a series of 24 consecutive Greek Isles & Turkish Delights cruises, Windstars iconic 7-day sailings between Athens and Istanbul. Images of Bennett are available for download here: https://windstarcruises.webdamdb.com/lightbox/downloadlightboxqueue.php?method=getfile&k=fmHjQXnhAzN0rwF1&source=4. For more information, including rates and itineraries, contact a travel professional or call Windstar at 1-800-258-7245, or visit http://www.windstarcruises.com. About Windstar Cruises Windstar Cruises operates a six ship fleet of small luxury sail and power yachts visiting 150 ports throughout Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, the Panama Canal, and sailing year-round in Tahiti and the South Pacific. The small cruise ships are known for an intimate yacht-style experience, unique itineraries and exclusive access to the worlds best small ports and hidden harbors. Windstars fleet recently doubled, making the cruise line the market leader in small ship cruising with a total of 1,242 passenger berths. All ships in the fleet have recently undergone multi-million dollar transformations to embody casually elegant yacht travel. The power yachts Star Breeze, Star Legend and Star Pride serve 212 guests in all suite accommodations; while sailing yachts Wind Spirit and Wind Star sail with up to 148 guests, and Wind Surf serves 310 guests. The yachts cruise to 50 nations worldwide. Windstar Cruises is a part of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, which is known for its Legendary Hospitality with a Softer Footprint. Xanterras entities also include lodges, restaurants, tours and activities in national and state parks, as well as resorts, railway and tour companies. P2 CRM Its been so rewarding to see the time and cost savings that our clients have realized by implementing P2, empowering them to grow their businesses P2, the only merchant acquiring specific CRM built on Salesforce, was distinguished as a Salesforce Gold Partner on March 1, 2016. P2 CRM was created by POS Portal to address the specific needs of credit card processors and merchant acquirers. P2 eliminates the need for multiple tools because in addition to traditional CRM capabilities, P2 has added features that address industry specific operations, such as application processing, underwriting, boarding, and residual payments. Since its inception, P2 has been used by over 200 ISOs, and has processed in excess of 3.5 million payouts. Salesforce Gold Partner status is awarded to those companies who demonstrate superior customer service, have contributed to their community, and have in depth subject matter expertise. The P2 team has over 40 years of collective payments industry knowledge and an employee average of 10 years in software development. And the P2 team doesnt just accumulate the accolades either; they have written numerous help articles and were involved with over 35 technology conferences and associations last year. This experience has been used to help solve the unique challenges faced by hundreds of ISO partners since P2 was launched in 2011. Its been so rewarding to see the time and cost savings that our clients have realized by implementing P2, empowering them to grow their businesses. Said Anita Thomas, Director of Software Solutions for P2. Many times our clients also benefit from the expertise, both software and industry, our team has accumulated over the years. This is especially rewarding because I know we are giving our clients something that no one else can, while building long-term partnerships. As a strategic development partner of Salesforce POS Portal has been able to leverage the most robust CRM platform available. Using the Salesforce architecture allows P2 users access to their data anywhere, anytime and provides customization options that can be implemented quickly and without costly development resources. About POS Portal: Since 2000, POS Portal has been changing the payments industry. First, as a leading distributor of supplies and terminal modules; and now, as the industry-leading innovator for merchant acquisition CRM. We're committed to providing exceptional service to the payments industry through mutually beneficial, long-lasting relationships. For additional information, please visit http://www.posportal.com or call 1-866-940-4POS (4767). Durasoil is a revolutionary, state-of the-art dust suppression solution that is created using a gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. Air quality is a serious issue with strict regulations around the country. Our products, Durasoil and Soiltac, help companies reinforce air quality compliance. With a projected 3.3 million premature deaths each year by 2025 due to prolonged air pollution and EPA fines to companies that dont meet with air-quality compliance, Soilworks, the worldwide leader in dust control and soil stabilization, is expanding its efforts to reduce air quality fines. As oversight for air quality increases at both the local and federal level, more businesses are looking to keep up with air quality compliance and avoid costly fines. Air quality is a serious issue with strict regulations around the country, said Chad Falkenberg, founder of Arizona-based Soilworks. We understand how these regulations can burden businesses. Our products, Durasoil and Soiltac, help companies reinforce air quality compliance. Coming off of its second U.S. patent, Durasoil is a revolutionary, state-of the-art dust suppression solution that is created using a gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. The result is a safe, non-toxic composition that is capable of reducing the generation of airborne and suspended particulate matter for long periods of time. Soiltac is an innovative product that is designed for todays most challenging soil stabilization and dust control needs. When Soiltac is applied, the copolymer molecules conjoin and form a bond between the soil or aggregate particles to create a flexible, solid mass that is durable and water-resistant. Both Durasoil and Soiltac are specifically designed to control fugitive dust and to meet the needs of our clients, Falkenberg said. The solutions that Soilworks provides to businesses and worksites helps to ensure air quality compliance around the nation. For more information about Soilworks, please visit http://www.soilworks.com. About Soilworks Soilworks provides engineered solutions to meet the broad needs of the dust control and soil stabilization industry. Whether the market is commercial, industrial or military, Soilworks has the innovative tools, unmatched technical support, and environmentally friendly technologies to fulfill specific requirements. Soilworks performance-driven portfolio of industry-leading products include the Patented U.S. Dept. of Defense Surtac, Soiltac, Powdered Soiltac, Gorilla-Snot and the newly patented Durasoil. Soilworks international sales network, global distribution centers and integrated customer service provide an ideal platform to satisfy all its customers needs. Get to know Soilworks better at http://www.soilworks.com or call 1-800-545-5420. Catapult Learning, Inc., the largest provider of K12 contracted instructional services in the U.S., is celebrating 40 years of improving academic outcomes and life opportunities for students in public, private, and religious schools nationwide. In 1976, Stephen K. Freeman co-founded the education services business based out of Philadelphia and serving private and religious schools. Originally called READS, the company was acquired by Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. in 1995, and in 2004, the name was changed to Catapult Learning. The Catapult Learning division was sold in 2008 and became a stand-alone company. Mr. Freeman has remained with the company throughout the 40 years, first as Executive Director of READS, later as President and CEO of Catapult Learninga role he held until 2011and now as Vice Chairman of the companys Board of Directors as well as Interim President of its Private and Religious Schools services group. The evolution of Catapult Learning over four decades reflects more than name and ownership changes. While the company initially provided instructional intervention to struggling students in private and religious schoolsand continues to do soCatapult Learning has expanded its portfolio of offerings to include professional development, assessment, school transformation, alternative education, and special education solutions for public, private, and religious schools. Catapult Learning now serves over 3,000 schools each year, with program implementations in 39 states, including 18 of the 20 largest school districts in the country. Catapult Learning CEO Jeff Cohen, who previously served as President of Catapult Learning from 2001 to 2006 and rejoined the company in his current role in October 2015, reflected on both the companys past successes and its future goals: As we look back on an extraordinary history and celebrate Catapult Learnings remarkable milestone, we must also look forward and contemplate what we want to accomplish over the next forty years. I am confident that we will be successful if we prioritize student outcomes, focus on service excellence, drive growth across the company, and embrace accountability for our results. The company has planned a series of events throughout the next year to commemorate this special occasion, including a kickoff at the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) Conference on March 29, 2016, where the companys 40th anniversary video will be premiered. For more information, please contact Meg Roe, VP of Marketing for Catapult Learning, at 856-831-7956 or meg.roe(at)catapultlearning(dot)com. About Catapult Learning: Catapult Learning, Inc. has dedicated the past four decades to improving academic performance for at-risk and struggling students, including potential dropouts and those with learning and emotional disabilities. The companys team of 5,600 educators works to achieve sustained academic gains and build teacher and leadership capacity through research-based programs that include intervention, alternative school education, special education, assessment, school improvement, and professional development solutions. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, Catapult Learning partners with over 500 school districts, including 18 of the 20 largest school districts in the United States. Todd Zyra | Klein Steel President & CEO I firmly believe that the fundamental strength of Klein Steel is our people. Their commitment, dedication and talent are what makes it all happen. Klein Steel Service (http://www.kleinsteel.com) today announced that the American Metal Market (AMM) named Klein Steel a finalist for Service Center of the Year and Corporate Advocate of the Year Steel Excellence Awards. According to the AMM, firms that are finalists and winners have demonstrated best practices to achieve outstanding results. They embody best-in-class practices as measured by global standards. We are especially honored this year to be a finalist for AMMs Steel Excellence Awards in two distinct categories that recognize our team members for their outstanding leadership and commitment, said Todd Zyra, President and CEO, Our achievements did not happen by accident. Our culture, which is rooted in our values of Accountability, Dependability, Integrity, Teamwork and Trust, continues to be the centerpiece of our foundation. I firmly believe that the fundamental strength of Klein Steel is our people. Their commitment, dedication and talent are what makes it all happen. Thats why customers select us and thats why the AMM named us a finalist for their Corporate Advocate of the Year Award; and for Service Center of the Year Award three years in a row. For the past six years, American Metal Market has presented the Awards for Steel Excellence, which is one of the most prestigious and recognizable awards program for the global steel industry. The awards have recognized world-class innovation and excellence in steel and related industries for companies throughout the steel supply chain and by key partners to the industry. Firms that are finalists and winners have demonstrated best practices to achieve outstanding results. Entering the seventh year for the awards, the 2016 program features a new category, Corporate Advocate of the Year. This category will recognize those dynamic companies that partner with key constituencies to jointly advance their goals through such initiatives as workforce training and development, workplace diversity, community partnerships and outstanding dedication to higher education. Corporate Advocate of the Year will honor companies that live this vision and are truly responsive and caring companies within the steel industry. Winners are selected by a panel of judges with extensive steel industry leadership experience. Judges evaluate the nominations using a point-based qualitative approach to determine the overall winners. The nomination and judging process are audited by and in full compliance with Euro money/Institutional Investor guidelines and standards to ensure integrity and objectivity. Winners of this year's Steel Excellence will be announced on June 14, 2016 during the sixth annual Awards for Steel Excellence dinner in NYC to be held in conjunction with the AISTech trade show and AMMs Steel Success Strategies conference presented by American Metal Market and World Steel Dynamics. About Klein Steel Founded in 1971, Klein Steel Service Inc. is a premier steel service center with locations throughout New York State. With over 3,200 line items of carbon, stainless steel, and specialty metals, the company offers a full range of value-added processing, an integrated distribution network that extends the Klein Steel reach worldwide and compliance to strict NQA-1 guidelines. Klein Steel is acknowledged as an industry leader having been named the 2015 winner of the Platts Global Metal Distributor of the Year award, a finalist in 2014, 2015 and 2016 for the Service Center of the Year award from American Metal Market, a 2015 winner of a Rochester Top Workplaces award, a 2015 Rochester Top 100 company, a 2012 recipient of the Rochester Business Ethics Award, and winner of the Industry Week Best Plants award in 2011. AARP is pleased to announce the ten finalist companies for its fifth Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch event which will be held Wednesday, April 27, at Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, CA. Ten startup health tech companies focused on caregiving were selected from over 200 applicants to pitch their businesses at this unique one day dual-pitch event. For more information and to register to attend at a price of only $299.00 for the full day, please visit http://health50.org/. We were very impressed by this years applicants, said Jody Holtzman, senior vice president, Enterprise Strategy and Innovation, AARP. It is refreshing to know there are so many companies focused on technology solutions for people 50 and over, as well as their caregivers. With literally millions of Americans requiring assistance and millions of others providing unpaid care to these folks, there is an immense need. Technology companies are rising up to deliver solutions to meet these needs and many of those companies will showcase their solutions on April 27th. According to AARP data in its recently issued Caregiving Innovation Frontiers (CIF) study, the caregiving market is expected to reach $72 billion by 2020, with $62 billion of that coming from caregiver's out of pocket spending. Right now, 40 million Americans are providing unpaid care of aging, disabled, or other people in need of assistance. By 2020, 117 million Americans will need assistance of some kind, yet the overall number of caregivers is only expected to reach 45 million. More is here: http://www.aarp.org/cif AARPs Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch is a one day pitch competition for emerging startups in the healthy living space with a focus on caregiving. The event will begin with speaking sessions on caregiving, and then a keynote with Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer, AARP. In the afternoon, ten companies will present their business focus on stage before a panel of industry leader judges and an audience filled with actual intended end users of these solutions. Representing the 50+ population, these potential consumers will share feedback in real-time on business viability, interest and value, providing the companies absolutely invaluable market data on the spot. The 10 finalists selected to present at AARP Health Innovation@50+ include: Cake, Boston, MA, is the easiest way to do end-of-life planning. Cake breaks down a daunting and difficult task into simple, bite-size chunks, and provides experts who can answer questions. The online CAKE profile is a living document of end-of-life preferences that is easy to access, update, and share. @JoinCakeApp Medivizor, Ramat Gan, Israel, provides people with serious or chronic medical conditions, or their medical teams, all the cutting edge information they need know - personalized just for them. @medivizor Penrose Senior Care Auditors, Dallas, TX, provides the first and only tech/app-enabled senior care auditing solution to ensure seniors are okay while providing families peace-of-mind, creating the senior care auditing category. @penrosecheckin PicnicHealth, San Francisco, CA, helps patients and their families manage their medical records. PicnicHealth collects records on a patient's behalf, maintains a single up-to-date medical chart, and coordinate between providers. @picnichealth Savor Health, New York, NY, is a technology-enabled provider of cost effective, personalized nutrition solutions for people with cancer whose nutritional issues cause poor clinical and quality of life outcomes. Through its smart, personalized recommendation engine and a network of distribution partners, Savor empowers cancer patients and their caregivers to take control of their nutritional needs. @savor_health SeniorHabitat, New York, NY, is the first centralized, tour booking and informational website that simplifies care transitions while decreasing time, costs and hospital readmission rates. SeniorHabitat facilitates healthcare decisions by helping seniors, caregivers and hospitals navigate the overwhelming process of senior care facility selection to improve care transitions. @seniorhabitat SensaRx, LLC, New York, NY, launched its SafeWander Button Sensor in November 2015, and is focused on patient safety and caregivers wellbeing in both assisted living facilities and the home. The company emanated from the Founders family struggles to care for his grandfather with Alzheimers disease. @safewander SingFit, Los Angeles, CA, combines a growing body of scientific research on the health benefits of prescribed singing with a proprietary music platform in order to mass distribute the benefits of music as medicine. Focused on dementia care and healthy aging, its debut product SingFit PRIME is the winner of the USC Keck School of Medicine Body Computing Prize. @MusicalHealthT UnaliWear, Austin, TX, has its Kanega Watch that allows discreet support for falls, medication reminders and a guard against wandering in a classically-styled watch with an easy-to-use speech interface rather than buttons. Kanega Watch works wherever you are, 24x7, and doesnt require a smart phone (because it's built in). UnaliWears artificial intelligence learns the wearer's lifestyle to provide predictive, pre-emptive support. @UnaliWear Well Beyond Care, Austin, TX, is the only company that teaches families and individuals how to find and manage affordable non-medical in-home care, while solving the chronic problems of caregiver truancy and turnover, and at the same time offering a pathway to transitional care to help HHAs accomplish their Clinical Outcomes and Customer Service goals. @WellBeyondCare The four alternates include: Care3, Los Angeles, CA, is a leading mobile health technology company focusing on creating groundbreaking applications that meet the needs of home and community-based caregivers. The Care3 care-sharing platform for patients, families, and their care teams makes it easy to coordinate care and assist with activities of daily living. @care3app Care Angel, Miami, FL, an award winning, patent-pending intelligent virtual caregiving assistant technology that delivers high quality senior care, provides peace of mind for family caregivers and cost-savings for the health care industry, especially for payers and providers. @MyCareAngel SafeBeyond, Tel Aviv, Israel, is an innovative online and mobile app platform for the management and future delivery of personalized messages and digital assets. The service allows users to create and store video, audio and text messages for loved ones, and decide when and where those messages will be shared with them. @Safe_Beyond teleCalm, Dallas, TX, developed the first home phone service for the 5.3 million seniors living with Alzheimers and other dementias. The teleCalm phone service instantly protects seniors from ALL scammers and telemarketers, with easy setup and remote monitoring via the caregivers smartphone. @teleCalm Previous AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch events have been held in Boston, Las Vegas and New Orleans, with last years event in Miami showcasing technology innovation across Florida. Press are invited to attend the 5th AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch event gratis and may register by contacting Laura Beck, laurabeck(at)adeointeractive(dot)com. Representatives from AARP and past winners and finalists, as well as judges, are also available for interviews. Please mark your calendar now to join us Wednesday April 27, 2016, at Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, CA to see the most exciting startup companies in the 50 and over health technology sector. Register to attend the event at http://health50.org/. The AARP Health Innovation @50+ LivePitch event is produced with support by Adeo InterActive. About AARP: AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into Real Possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world's largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; http://www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Espanol, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at http://www.aarp.org. Real Possibilities is a trademark of AARP. Jeff Fritz, Partner, Wipfli LLP Wipfli LLP, a leading CPA and consulting firm, announced that it has expanded its tax group with the recent addition of industry veteran Jeff Fritz who will join the partnership. Drawing from over 28 years of experience in public accounting with Deloitte, Fritz will provide tax consulting and advisory services to private equity, family-owned, and public companies ranging in size from start-ups through multi-billion in revenue. He will also be responsible for leading tax planning and tax compliance services for a variety of clients including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and their individual owners and stakeholders. Fritz consults with entities and their owners on a variety of tax matters including accounting methods, structuring, and transactions, guiding clients both in the assessment of opportunities and through challenging business decisions. He also coordinates the services of tax specialists to assist in areas such as state and local tax, international tax, and employee benefits. Fritzs specialties include providing flow-through tax solutions, tax planning, structuring related to mergers and acquisitions, tax provision analysis under ASC 740, tax incentives for manufacturers and developers and IRS and state examinations. Throughout his career, he has focused on serving companies in the manufacturing and distribution industry. A certified public accountant, Fritz is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is also a licensed attorney and a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association. Fritz graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting. He also earned a juris doctorate from the University of Minnesotas Law School from which he graduated cum laude and earned honors in legal writing. About Wipfli LLP With more than 1,500 associates, 32 offices in the United States and two offices in India, Wipfli LLP (Wipfli) ranks among the top 20 accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. For over 86 years, Wipfli has provided private and publicly held companies with industry-focused assurance, accounting, tax and consulting services to help clients overcome their business challenges today and plan for tomorrow. The firms clients include manufacturing companies, construction companies, real estate companies, health care organizations, financial institutions, insurance companies, nonprofit organizations, agricultural businesses, units of government, dealerships and individuals. Through the firms membership in Allinial Global, Wipfli can draw upon the resources of firms in around the world, helping businesses whenever and wherever they need it. For more information, visit wipfli.com. # # # LPS teachers using RAFT's Tic Tac Trouble kit I am very glad that our teachers have responded so well to the kits since it will ensure that our science programs are sustained after I leave. In a country where half of its people live below the poverty line and one child in three is stunted (SS Household Health Survey 2010), education plays a vital role in building a better future. To create a better future, the Loreto Primary School - Maker Kuei (LPS) in Rumbek, South Sudan, serves over 600 students, with an emphasis on girls education. The school is coeducational and strives to maintain a 1:1 ratio of boys to girls in each grade to promote girls opportunities for education. South Sudans student success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects has been stymied by a lack of practical experiences and a high student:teacher ratio. This has resulted in poor academic performance and a correlated lack of interest in these subjects. Candacia Greeman, serves as the STEM Projects Coordinator at LPS. She recently lead a month long in-service training for 20 teachers using Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) science and mathematics kits. Our teachers love the kits! We especially like that they re-purpose 'everyday' or 'easy to source' items. The market in Rumbek is very limited and there is no postal system in South Sudan, so it is usually hard to replace items or expand when using other science kits. The RAFT kits help solve this issue and they have also given us some ideas for creating our own science kits. I love that the 10 packs are so light weight because I have to fetch all the kits as luggage when I fly to South Sudan. This is the safest and most efficient way to get them to our school, said Greeman. According to UNESCOs Education for All Global Monitoring Report in 2011, young girls in South Sudan face extreme disadvantages in education, are less likely to enter school, and are more likely to drop out. Today, a young girl in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than to reach the eighth grade. More than 1.3 million school aged children are not enrolled in school and fewer than 50 percent of those enrolled actually complete their primary education. In fact, a child in South Sudan is more likely to die before age five than s/he is to attain a basic education. Not only is there limited access to primary education, but the quality of education is poor. Most teachers are untrained with a national ratio of 100:1 for students to trained teachers. This ratio is even higher for primary schools in rural regions like Rumbek. Many schools lack basic infrastructure and students are taught outdoors under trees, with poor access to water and sanitary facilities. In an effort to address these social concerns, LPS has undertaken projects that focus on experiential modes of learning STEM subjects. The teachers feel that RAFT kits are fun to use and will serve as useful teaching aids during the academic year. The RAFT Solar Jitterbug kit was especially well received by the teachers because as one teacher said, It uses renewable energy and shows how solar energy can be converted to electrical energy. Another teacher commented, For example, if teaching a topic, lets say wind, I may build a wind vane with my pupils that they can see it properly. LPS teachers also found the RAFT mathematics manipulative kits; Polygon Pursuit, Area Antics, and Tic Tac Trouble to be very useful, as they are done practically and can be easily understood by students. The kits even inspired the teachers to brainstorm card games of their own for teaching number operations. Greeman has been living and working at LPS for over a year. She adds, I am very glad that our teachers have responded so well to the kits since it will ensure that our science programs are sustained after I leave. To learn more about Loreto schools, please visit http://www.loretoschoolsnetwork.ie/rumbek-south-sudan/ or email loretoschoolsrumbek(at)gmail(dot)com. STEM education development projects at Loreto Primary School are supported by the Ella Lyman Cabot Trust, McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation, Optical Society of America, Youth Learning as Citizen Environmental Scientists and Mennonite Central Committee. About Resource Area for Teaching RAFT believes the best way to spark the love of learning for the next generation of thinkers, innovators, problem-solvers, and creators, is through hands-on learning. A nonprofit organization since 1994, RAFT supports over 10,000 educators each year who teach over 835,000 students. Find out more about RAFT and how to get involved at http://www.raft.net VMS Software Logo We are thrilled with our alliance with eCube, said Duane P. Harris, CEO of VMS Software. The bundling of their best-of-breed software development environment is a major boon to the entire community of OpenVMS developers. VMS Software, Inc. (VSI) today announced the worldwide availability of eCube Systems (eCube) NXTware Remote Server and Client software as part of the software media kit for VSIs newly released OpenVMS Version 8.4-2 (Maynard Release) operating system for HPE Integrity servers. This initiative continues VSIs commitment to modernizing the OpenVMS platform, by availing the OpenVMS development community of leading edge, OpenVMS 3GL and Java Remote development tools, based on the Eclipse IDE client, with distributed services on OpenVMS. We are thrilled with our alliance with eCube, said Duane P. Harris, CEO of VMS Software. The bundling of their best-of-breed software development environment is a major boon to the entire community of OpenVMS developers. It means added flexibility for experienced OpenVMS veterans, while lowering the barrier to entry for newer developers who are more comfortable developing in a GUI environment. For our customers, adopting an agile development environment will lower the cost of development and reduce time to market. It's a win for the entire platform. Both VSI and eCube are dedicated to the long-term future and viability of the OpenVMS platform. In support of this commitment, eCube, the leading provider of modern development tools and best practices for Continuous Delivery on OpenVMS, has agreed to align its offerings with VSIs new releases of OpenVMS on modern chipsets, including x86-64. eCube Systems and its clients are pleased to see that the future of OpenVMS is being handled with such a progressive and dynamic fashion, says Peter John Marquez, EVP at eCube Systems. Organizations that run strategic applications on OpenVMS now have long-term options they can build business plans around. We look forward to working with our clients and VMS Software, Inc., to deliver powerful, secure and easily maintainable enterprise solutions. NXTware Remote, eCubes modern Eclipse-based Integrated Development Environment, provides developers the tools to simplify and integrate their software engineering. It will be certified to work with all new releases of VSIs OpenVMS. The IDEs suite of tools and best practices for Continuous Delivery, which automates much of the development process on OpenVMS, will leverage eCubes close relationship with VSI to ensure users get the most out of their OpenVMS investment. To aid OpenVMS developers in the adoption of an Agile Development Environment, eCube is offering a jumpstart program. The program will help customers evaluate and deploy NXTware Remote for their OpenVMS development needs. Find out more information at: http://ecubesystems.com/promos/jumpstart.html About eCube Systems eCube Systems offers a family of middleware evolution products and services that maximize return on technology investment, by leveraging existing technical equity to meet evolving business needs. Fortune 1000 companies and government agencies turn to eCube Systems to reduce risk, extend ROI and increase productivity as they consolidate existing capabilities and evolve legacy systems to contemporary SOA platforms. eCube Systems, LLC, is headquartered in Montgomery, Texas with marketing offices in Boston, MA and R&D in Montreal, Canada. For more information, go to http://www.ecubesystems.com. eCube Systems ecube.sales(at)ecubesystems(dot)com 866-493-4224 About VMS Software, Inc. VMS Software, Inc. develops, sells and supports innovative and advanced releases of OpenVMS, the most secure operating system on the planet. The companys core motivation is to support and enable customers to run their mission critical applications at the legendary uptime levels OpenVMS is known for, at maximum performance levels, today and into the future. VMS Software Inc. is headquartered in Bolton, MA. For more information, go to http://www.vmssoftware.com VMS Software, Inc. pr(at)vmssoftware(dot)com 978-451-0110 ## The Aedes aegypti mosquito, shown here, is the primary transmitter of Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. This is a pest that we know how to control -- we just need to do it. The Entomological Society of America (ESA) and Sociedade Entomologica do Brasil (SEB) held a Summit in Maceio, Alagoas, Brazil on 13 March, 2016 to discuss the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is the primary transmitter of Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. While the Summit featured talks on many aspects of mosquito biology, behavior, and control, the experts agreed that the most critical needs for controlling the mosquito and the diseases are: 1) Connecting scientists to communities more effectively through public awareness campaigns on how people can protect themselves from mosquitoes, and educational efforts to dispel misinformation regarding insect control measures. 2) Establishing mosquito control programs as a critical element of the campaign against Aedes aegypti, in addition to the important work already being done by the medical community on disease management. Prioritizing mosquito control would include funding for integrating well-established and novel control technologies as well as improving the collection and dissemination of data on mosquito populations and the efficacy of control measures. 3) Creating a coalition of international mosquito-control-related organizations to advocate for vector control as a critical element against Aedes aegypti and the diseases it transmits. Aedes aegypti is a container-breeding mosquito that is mostly problematic in municipalities, including urban centers. This is a pest that we know how to control -- we just need to do it, said Dr. Luciano Moreira, a principal researcher at Fiocruz in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and a co-chair of the Summit. Spreading the word about how all people have a role to play will be critical to success. This mosquito had been the target of an international eradication effort in the Americas that had largely been successful," said Dr. Grayson Brown (University of Kentucky), the other co-chair of the Summit. "However, as the mosquito population declined to very low levels, eradication efforts were abandoned and the mosquito resurged. As it did, human disease reappeared and the pathogens vectored by this mosquito exploded soon thereafter. The Summit is part of the ESAs Grand Challenges Initiative, which addresses areas where the entomological sciences can impact problems of global importance. A second Summit is planned during the International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Florida on September 21, 2016. To learn about the key findings from the Summit, including recommended actions and critical research needs, please visit https://entomologychallenges.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/outcome-statement-final.pdf. To learn more about the Summit on the Aedes aegypti Crisis in the Americas, please visit http://entomologychallenges.org/grand-challenges-summit-on-aedes-aegypti-mosquito-in-brazil. To learn more about the ESAs Grand Challenges Initiative, please visit http://entomologychallenges.org. The Entomological Society of America, co-host of the Summit, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 7,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists. For more information, visit http://www.entsoc.org. Value based care is clearly a model whose time has come and were excited to join Horizon at the forefront of bringing the benefits of this approach to our patients. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) and University Hospital in Newark announced today that they are entering into a strategic partnership to accelerate the integration of Horizons patient-centric value-based care models into University Hospitals ongoing efforts to improve the health and well-being of Newark residents and the surrounding communities. The new collaboration will launch with an initial focus on expectant mothers and bring Horizons highly successful Episodes of Care for Pregnancy and Delivery protocols to University Hospitals maternity care program. University Hospital has always made the health of our community, and the wellness of Newark, our priority and we share Horizons commitment to collaboration that raises the bar on care quality while identifying pathways and investments that lower costs, said John N. Kastanis, President and Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital. Value based care is clearly a model whose time has come and were excited to join Horizon at the forefront of bringing the benefits of this approach to our patients, the residents of Newark and the surrounding communities. Expectant mothers have unique health challenges that, if left unaddressed, can quickly lead to greater health risks for both patients -- mother and baby, said Kastanis. Dr. Mark H. Einstein, MD, Chair of the University Hospital Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Womens Health added, patient-focused care is our priority, and our goal is to continue to achieve the best possible outcomes for our expectant moms and babies. We look forward to working with Horizon to maximize and operationalize the best clinical practices. Horizon is eager to work with urban hospitals in New Jersey seeking to collaborate with us on ways to improve care quality, enhance the patient experience and control health care costs, said Robert A. Marino, Chairman and CEO of Horizon BCBSNJ. Safe and healthy maternity care is a top priority for University Hospital, so Horizon is pleased that our initial focus will be on developing a program with them that provides incentives for getting expectant mothers and their children off to a healthy start. University Hospital plays a critical role in the health of Newark and Im grateful that they see the value in working with Horizon to achieve our shared goals. Horizon BCBSNJs physicians, nurses and coordination team leaders will work with their counterparts at University Hospital to help improve outcomes and manage the full spectrum of a patients maternity care needs including pre-natal, pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum care. The Episodes of Care for Pregnancy and Delivery program has proven highly effective at reducing the number of unnecessary C-sections, postpartum infections and complications. The teams will also work together to develop protocols specifically aimed at bringing down the number of pre-term births at University Hospital. More than 800,000 Horizon members participate in one of the companys patient-centered, value-based care programs, which include patient-centered-medical homes, episodes of care, and accountable care organizations. These value-based-care initiatives have proven effective at improving the of quality care, lowering overall costs and, and improving patient experience. According to recently released results for its Episodes of Care (EOC) program that included 51 specialists and more than 8,000 patients, Horizon BCBSNJ members in EOC practices had a far lower hospital re-admission rate and experienced other high quality outcomes compared to members receiving the same services from a non-EOC practice, including a 32% reduction in unnecessary Pregnancy C-Sections. Patients involved report satisfaction rates in excess of 90%. University Hospital and Horizon BCBSNJ have committed to continue working closely together to develop additional value-based collaborations that achieve the triple aim of raising the quality of care, lowering the overall cost of that care, and improving patient experience. ### About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the states oldest and largest health insurer is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health service corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is leading the transformation of health care in New Jersey by working with doctors and hospitals to deliver innovative, patient-centered programs that reward the quality, not quantity, of care patients receive. Learn more at http://www.HorizonBlue.com. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association serving more than 3.8 million members. About University Hospital University Hospital is an independent medical center with more than 500 licensed beds, an active medical staff of more than 600, and over 3,000 employees. Located in the Central Ward of Newark, New Jersey, University Hospital is a regional resource for advanced care in a wide range of medical specialties. University Hospital was awarded the prestigious Gold Plus recognition by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association for Heart Failure and Stroke. Designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center, the Hospital maintains 24-hour in-house coverage by general surgeons, and prompt availability of care in specialties such as orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, internal medicine, plastic surgery, and pediatrics. As part of its mission to serve the residents of Newark and surrounding communities, University Hospital is also proud to be the principal teaching hospital of the schools of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, including New Jersey Medical School, the School of Dental Medicine, the School of Health Related Professions, and the School of Nursing. Learn more at http://www.uhnj.org. Those interested in attending Bielat Santore & Companys next webinar are reminded that there is one week left to register for the live broadcast. The companys second webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 10:30 am via online or dial-in capability. The purpose of the webinar is to educate restaurateurs and up and coming restaurant owners on Developing a Business Plan, based on Tip #2 in the companys popular Restaurant Tip of the Month video and blog series. Throughout the series, viewers will also be provided with assistance, information and guidance from leading commercial real estate, banking, appraisal, insurance and other industry professionals on everything from finding and financing a restaurant to operating, staffing, maintaining and promoting a successful business. Patrons are encouraged to reserve their entry as soon as possible as seats are filling up fast! To register, visit https://www.anymeeting.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=EC54D989854C38. A recording of the webinar will be made available to attendees and those who already own a restaurant will be offered an opportunity to be featured in the companys Annual Restaurant Guide. Bielat Santore & Companys Restaurant Tips of the Month can be found on their website http://www.123bsc.com, Hub page, as well as their sponsored Jersey Beats & Eats blog page and YouTube channel. About Bielat Santore & Company Bielat Santore & Company is an established commercial real estate firm. The companys expertise lies chiefly within the restaurant and hospitality industry, specializing in the sale of restaurants and other food and beverage real estate businesses. Since 1978, the principals of Bielat Santore & Company, Barry Bielat and Richard Santore, have sold more restaurants and similar type properties in New Jersey than any other real estate company. Furthermore, the firm has secured in excess of $500,000,000 in financing to facilitate these transactions. Visit the companys website, http://www.123bsc.com for the latest in new listings, property searches, available land, market data, financing trends, RSS feeds, press releases and more. For nearly 50 years, What's Your Beef has been a heralded steak house in Monmouth County, New Jersey, popular with locals and families who are looking for a good cut of beef without having to travel very far. Since its inception in 1969, the restaurant has known only two owners. And now, according to Richard Santore of Bielat Santore & Company, Allenhurst, New Jersey, it has its third. Santore who brokered the sale, reports that Whats Your Beef has been sold to a group headed up by Marilyn Schlossbach, owner of Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park, New Jersey, along with several other sister restaurants in Monmouth County. Whats Your Beef instituted a unique dining concept in 1969 that is still very fashionable today. Patrons line up at a refrigerated case and choose their cut of beef (i.e., filet, sirloin, rib eye). A professional chef stationed at a grill next to the case, cuts the meat exactly to the customers order (8 ounces, 12 ounces, etc.). The chef then grills the meat precisely to the desired temperature, as the next patron steps up and orders. Other offerings such as pork, veal and fish are also displayed inside the refrigerated case and are available to order. The concept has withstood the test of time. It still draws a big family audience because the parents are treated to a great steak dinner and the kids enjoy watching the show, continues Santore. The new proprietor, Marilyn Scholossbach, a self-taught chef that has been wowing customers since 1982 with her unique culturally-mixed dishes inspired by her love of traveling, intends to maintain the Whats Your Beef concept, although enhancing it by infusing her farm to table philosophy and bill of fare. The cooking enthusiast also believes that being personable and interacting with customers is one of the best ways to attract a crowd. Being heavily involved in the community is important to every business I own. Who I am as a person and what I undertake within the community is a part of what keeps customers coming back, states Schlossbach. The restaurant will remain open seven days a week while undergoing minor renovations. Following renovations the new owners plan on expanding the traditional 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm restaurant hours, by adding a lunch menu and a late night bar menu. Rumson will hold on to its legendary restaurant; however it promises to be better than ever as it presses onward to its 50th year in business. About Bielat Santore & Company Bielat Santore & Company is an established commercial real estate firm. The companys expertise lies chiefly within the restaurant and hospitality industry, specializing in the sale of restaurants and other food and beverage real estate businesses. Since 1978, the principals of Bielat Santore & Company, Barry Bielat and Richard Santore, have sold more restaurants and similar type properties in New Jersey than any other real estate company. Furthermore, the firm has secured in excess of $500,000,000 in financing to facilitate these transactions. Visit the companys website, http://www.123bsc.com for the latest in new listings, property searches, available land, market data, financing trends, RSS feeds, press releases and more. Our video not only presents the research findings, but provides actionable suggestions, so viewers can start adjusting strategies soon after watching the video. Pepper Gang, a Boston-based digital marketing agency, produced an infovideo to explain what YouTube advertising can offer beyond driving brand awareness. The infovideo summarizes the findings from Google latest study New Data Shows Online Video Ads Drive Consideration, Favorability, Purchase Intent, and Sales. The video is now available on YouTube. The agency has put an importance of video marketing. The new infovideo plays a significant role in the final push of the movement. It is expected to educate brands on the effectiveness of video advertising and encourage local businesses to discover the difference between digital media and traditional channels. Through the infovideo, the audiences can easily understand the purpose, means and results of the Think with Google study. The agency goes even further to interpret the stats and findings into useful insights and practical tactics for brands to implement. Our last video created a buzz online. Many local businesses contacted us about video marketing after watching the video. And wed like to continue to help more brands understand video advertising does help drive sales, says Stefanie Daneau, the Co-Founder of Pepper Gang. Our video not only presents the research findings, but provides actionable suggestions, so viewers can start adjusting strategies soon after watching the video. The infovideo is available on YouTube on March 29th. To gain access to the video, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVYaZ7bifpo. Keynotes from the video: 65% of Google Preferred ads on YouTube saw an increase in brand awareness, with an average lift of 17%. YouTube TrueView ads significantly drive consideration, favorability and purchase intent in consumer journey to purchase, especially after 30 seconds. Moving some of your media budget allocation over to YouTube can yield a 2X - 8.5X higher ROAS. About Pepper Gang: Pepper Gang is a Boston Digital Marketing and Advertising Agency that specializes in creating strong, innovative marketing solutions. The company was born out of a desire to tell each brand's story in a way that compels like-minded consumers to align with the brand. Pepper Gang combines original thinking, creativity, and analysis to propel the growth of each client's customized strategy. To learn more about the agency, please visit their website at http://www.peppergang.com Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook and Grace Kelly Quintet Lynne Arriale's music lies at the synaptic intersection where brain meets heart, where body meets soul. As a result, there's a directness, a purity, an unalloyed honesty that makes us listen and therefore "see" anew. South Florida JAZZ, the areas premier modern jazz organization, observes April as Jazz Appreciation Month (according to the Smithsonian Museum of American History) by Celebrating Great Women in Jazz: Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln and Joni Mitchell as performed by the Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook and Grace Kelly Quintet on Saturday, April 9, 2016 at 8:00 PM. Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln and Joni Mitchell have established themselves as iconic performers and composers. The depth and authenticity of their music has profoundly influenced generations of musicians and touched audiences worldwide. Lynne Arriale, Carla Cook and Grace Kelly have been moved and influenced by the strength and power of these legends. They will celebrate these great women of jazz by sharing their unique reinterpretations of popular classics with passion, soul and sensitivity in a magical evening of empathetic collaboration. All three artists are all highly innovative and original leaders who have recorded extensively and toured internationally. Lynne Arriale's recordings and performances have garnered international acclaim over her 20-year career. Grace Kelly is truly a prodigious talent, who is currently featured in Jean Batiste's Band "Stay Human" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Carla Cook brings the powerhouse trio full circle with earthy sophistication and elements of R&B, European classical, Motown, Blues and Gospel. Lynne, Carla and Grace have delighted audiences with this special presentation. Recent performances have included The Kennedy Center and concerts throughout the US and Canada. We invite you to join this dynamic group, including Evan Gregor on bass and Jordan Perlson on drums for an evening of joyful interaction and musical spontaneity featuring modern jazz classics, reinvented popular favorites and memorable original compositions. Lynne Arriale's music lies at the synaptic intersection where brain meets heart, where body meets soul. As a result, there's a directness, a purity, an unalloyed honesty that makes us listen and therefore "see" anew. She is one of jazzdom's most intensely unique voices. JazzTimes Carla Cook...a mad-loose straight ahead jazz diva with a gospel soul, big band heart, classical cool and improvisational hot .... and what a beautiful voice ... a warm amber-hued contralto. JazzTimes Grace Kelly has firmly established herself as one of the gifted jazz artists of her generation. Don Heckman, Intl Review of Music ARTISTIC PERSONNEL: Lynne Arriale piano Grace Kelly saxophones and vocals Carla Cook vocals Evan Gregor acoustic bass Jordan Perlson drums Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council. Academy of Art University today announced the branding campaign and official logo for the San Francisco Fire Departments historic 150th Anniversary. The campaign was created by Academy graphic design students and will be an integral part of all SFFD anniversary events and programming held this year. Two classes of students in the School of Graphic Design competed with each other to create a unique branding campaign for the anniversary. To develop their campaigns, the students immersed themselves in the fire departments history to become experts in all things SFFD. In addition, they interviewed fire fighters, and they rode fire engines and the fire boat to gain first-hand knowledge about the men and women who dedicate their lives to helping the community. The scope of the branding campaign was large. The winning Academy student team designed marketing materials, website templates, branding guidelines, promotional materials, commemorative items and merchandise. In return, Academy students gained invaluable, real-world experience that mirrored the professional design and branding process. Every student now has an incredible work product they can include in their portfolios and show to potential employers. Indeed, the partnership with SFFD dovetails with the Academys mission to prepare its students well for careers in creative fields. In addition to SFFDs outstanding guidance on the branding project, the Guardians of the City provided invaluable knowledge and support for the final product. It was an honor and privilege to work with the San Francisco Fire Department and help them celebrate their historic achievement, said Academy President Dr. Elisa Stephens. Academy of Art University strongly believes in supporting local institutions and organizations that provide essential, life-enhancing services that benefit the entire San Francisco community. For more information about the SFFD 150th Anniversary, go to http://sffd150.org/ About Academy of Art University Academy of Art University is the largest accredited private art and design university in the nation. Founded in 1929, the school offers accredited AA, BA, BFA, BS, B.Arch, MA, MFA, and M.Arch degree programs in 30 areas of study, as well as continuing art education, pre-college art experience programs, certificates and teacher grants. Classes are available in Acting, Advertising, Animation & Visual Effects, Architectural Design, Architecture, Art Education, Art History, Art Teaching Credential, Automotive Restoration, Costume Design, Fashion, Fashion Journalism, Fashion Styling, Fine Art, Game Development, Game Programming, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design (Transportation & Product Design), Interior Architecture & Design, Jewelry & Metal Arts, Landscape Architecture, Motion Pictures & Television, Multimedia Communications, Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media, Photography, Studio Production for Advertising & Design, Visual Development, Web Design & New Media, and Writing for Film, Television & Digital Media. Students can also enroll in flexible online degree programs in most areas of study. Academy of Art University is an accredited member of WSCUC, NASAD, CIDA (BFA-IAD, MFA-IAD), NAAB (B.Arch, M.Arch) and CTC (California Teacher Credential). For more information, visit academyart.edu or call 1.800.544.2787 (U.S. only) or 415.274.2200. Media Contacts: Mark Veverka/Sitrick And Company, mveverka(at)sitrick(dot)com (415) 999-9634 Wendy Tanaka/Sitrick And Company, wtanaka(at)sitrick(dot)com (424) 255-0482 Matthew Sullivan Matthew will be a great asset to our Litigation group and will aid in providing the highest level of legal service to our clients. Matthew Sullivan has joined Kane Russell Coleman and Logan PC as an associate attorney in the firms Litigation practice group. Through his experiences, Matthew has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of matters. One of his recent achievements included securing a commercial arbitration settlement involving fraud and a contract dispute. Matthew also assisted in obtaining a dismissal of all claims against an out of state classic car dealer. Matthew excelled in law school, graduating Summa Cum Laude and earning multiple honors and awards including John F. Ensle Award, State Bar of Texas Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section Scholarship, and CALI Excellence for the Future Award. During law school, Matthew competed in his schools nationally recognized advocacy program while working towards his Juris Doctor. He also served as law clerk for one of the worlds largest oil field services companies and other esteemed litigation firms. The firms presence in Houston has continued to grow, particularly in the energy arena, with new attorneys and advanced practice areas, says Marcy Rothman, managing director in the firms Houston office. Matthew will be a great asset to our Litigation group and will aid in providing the highest level of legal service to our clients. Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC is a full service law firm with offices in Dallas and Houston. Formed in 1992 with five lawyers, today KRCL has more than 95 attorneys. The Firm provides professional services for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to medium-sized public and private companies to entrepreneurs. KRCL handles transactional, litigation and bankruptcy matters in Texas and throughout the country. Source: Kane Russell Coleman & Logan, P.C. Note to Journalists: B-roll video and interviews with Jeff Evans and Dean Gary Bertoline are available at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxdPFMVWz-l2ZVhIdVNqdXNUZjQ Purdue Polytechnic Institutes competency-based education program has cleared its final hurdle, becoming the first baccalaureate program of its kind in the nation. The Higher Learning Commission, a regional accreditation organization, approved Purdue Universitys degree in Transdisciplinary Studies in Technology. It is the first competency-based degree at Purdue. Competency-based education gives students direct measurable learning objectives. Purdues program allows students to develop skills in an individualized program of study based on their interests. Jeff Evans, interim associate dean for undergraduate programs, said the program emphasizes creation, application and transfer of knowledge through hands-on learning. Overall, learning is the constant through this program, not time. We believe that transdisciplinary studies in technology at Purdue Polytechnic is the first program which combines individualized plans of study, close faculty mentoring of students and a competency-based approach for traditional learners at a public research university, Evans said. Purdue President Mitch Daniels said competency-based education is a key step in the Purdue Moves initiative, which is designed to broaden the universitys global impact and enhance education opportunities for all students. This degree creates a study plan around the student rather than an academic schedule, Daniels said. Students take work at their own pace through the program and, in the end, come away with a proven skill set that is meaningful to employers in todays business world. Competency-based education shifts the focus away from traditional credit hours and instead measures student progress on demonstrated capabilities. The learning is organized around themes and driven by problems rather than seat time in a classroom. In the Purdue program, faculty offer one-on-one mentorship to students during their skill development. Purdue Polytechnic Institute Dean Gary Bertoline calls competency-based education the future, and credited faculty for leading the effort. This is a significant accomplishment and is a great example of Purdue and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute being a leader in higher education transformation, he said. A student must demonstrate expertise in eight broadly defined primary competencies in order to graduate. The primary competencies include design thinking, effective communication, social interaction on a team, ethical reasoning, and innovation and creativity. Each of the competencies is split into five sub-competencies. However, the competency-based education angle works to incorporate a higher level of integration among technical, scientific and humanities disciplines. Through the program, achieved competencies will be accounted for while an e-portfolio will showcase them and be added to the students academic records. Bertoline said competency-based education answers the call from industry leaders looking for a different type of higher education graduate. They are looking for well-rounded graduates that not only have deep technical knowledge and skills but very broad capabilities for open-ended problem solving, greater creativity, ability to work in diverse teams and better communications skills, he said. We believe the best way to prepare graduates that meet the needs of industry is through competency-based education programs. Purdue began work on the program in 2013. Purdue Polytechnic Institute faculty spent a year creating the proposed degree, examining all aspects of higher education and incorporating the latest research about human learning and motivation. Purdue students from different majors, but primarily from the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, began participating in the pilot program a year later. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved the new program last year after the Purdue Board of Trustees voted in favor of it in April. The HLC vote provided final accreditation. Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel(at)purdue(dot)edu Source: Jeff Evans, 765-494-7725, jje(at)purdue(dot)edu Related information: What is competency-based education? What others say about Purdue's new competency-based education Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLPs Francoise Gilbert will present this week at the We Robot 2016 conference, held March 31-April 2 at the University of Miami. We Robot 2016 is an interdisciplinary event focusing on the legal and policy questions pertaining to robots, and their increasing sophistication and use in the home, hospitals, public spaces, and even battlefields. Gilbert will be presenting on the topic, Connect Cars: Recent Legal Developments, wherein she will discuss the regulatory, privacy, data protection, and liability issues relating to connected and autonomous vehicles from both a U.S. and European perspective. Gilbert, a shareholder in the firms Silicon Valley office, focuses her practice on U.S. and global data privacy and security in a wide variety of markets, including, among others, Internet, cloud computing, big data, connected devices, robots, and other emerging technologies. Her clients include public or multi-national entities, cloud service providers, big data analytics companies, connected device developers, B2C and B2B businesses, publishers, Internet stores, insurance companies, financial institutions, manufacturers, service providers, trade associations, nonprofit organizations, software developers, and others. About Greenberg Traurigs Emerging Technology Practice Greenberg Traurigs Emerging Technology Group is a multidisciplinary legal team focused on guiding emerging technology companies through all the stages of their development, from initial business formation through angel or venture capital financing to initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. Drawing on the firms broad platform, the group offers clients a streamlined approach to meeting their diverse legal needs a single team that can scale up its services as clients businesses grow. The attorneys regularly advise clients on a host of pressing legal issues, from IP protection and software/IT matters through labor and employment, compensation, and tax issues. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1,900 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, third largest in the U.S. on the 2015 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com. Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC), one of the 11 colleges of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), will be holding public forums April 13 and 14 for the three finalists competing for the position of the Vice President of Learning. The forums are free, open to students, faculty, staff and community members, and are held in the Estrella Conference Center on the EMCC campus, located at 3000 N. Dysart Rd., in Avondale, Ariz. Each of the forums will provide an opportunity to individually feature the final candidates, allowing for a brief introduction, the candidates own presentation of qualifications, and a question and answer session with attendees. Forum 1: April 13, 1:00 2:15 p.m. candidate Dr. Tia Robinson Forum 2: April 13, 2:30 3:45 p.m. candidate Dr. Rey Rivera Forum 3: April 14, 1:00 2:15 p.m. candidate Dr. Kathleen Iudicello Candidate biographies are included below. The role of the Vice President of Learning includes multiple responsibilities, with leadership and oversight of all instructional (academic and workforce) programs, learning support areas and activities, workforce development and community partnerships, and strategic planning for credit and noncredit programs. As the Chief Academic Officer for EMCC, areas of direct report include: general education; developmental education; workforce development; fine and performing arts; the EMCC library; tutoring and academic support services; and in partnership with Student Affairs counseling, dual enrollment, and fitness and wellness. The position directly reports to the college president and collaboratively works as a member of the colleges executive leadership team to advance the strategic goals and objectives of the institution. The job was posted January 4, 2016, and closed on February 14, 2016, and included a national search through various employment mediums. Dr. Tia Robinson was the former Dean of Teaching and Learning at Rock Valley College, an Illinois Community College. She has led successful reaffirmation accreditations for Higher Learning Commission, Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs, American Association of Medical Assistants, and the Commission of Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education. Robinson has provided leadership for numerous academic programs and departments. She has an Associate of Science degree from Kishwaukee Community College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Northern Illinois University. Robinson earned both a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Managerial Leadership Development from National Louis University. She earned a doctoral degree in Counseling, Adult and Higher Education from Northern Illinois University. Dr. Rey Rivera currently serves as the Vice President of Learning at South Mountain Community College (SMCC), also a MCCCD college. Prior to his role at SMCC, he was a Math faculty member at EMCC for 15 years. While at EMCC, Rivera held several leadership positions by serving as the Division Chair of Science and Mathematics, Faculty Senate President, Principal Investigator for two National Science Foundation grants, and Interim Dean of Occupational Education. Rivera completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Science degree in Mathematics at Purdue University, and a doctoral degree in Higher and Post-Secondary Education at Arizona State University. Dr. Kathleen Iudicello is currently the Dean of Academic Affairs at EMCC. She served as a residential English faculty member at EMCC for 16 years, and during that time, served four terms as Division Chair and one term as Faculty Senate President. Iudicello also served as Faculty President-Elect and then briefly as President of the MCCCD Faculty Association. Awards of distinction include the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Award for her leadership as Division Chair, and the Estrella Mountain Woman of Distinction Award. Iudicello attended Scottsdale Community College, also an MCCCD college, before transferring to Arizona State University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in English. She earned a Master of Arts and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees in English from George Washington University, and is a published member of the professoriate. Estrella Mountain Community College is one of the 11 colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the nation. EMCC offers academic courses leading to associate degrees, university transfer, certificates and short-term job training to more than 14,000 students annually. The flagship campus is located on Thomas and Dysart roads in Avondale and is home to the SouthWest Skill Center. Classes are also offered online and at EMCCs Buckeye Educational Center, located in downtown Buckeye, Ariz. Transiting in Taiwan is filled with fun! Taiwan Tourism Bureau has been boosting exposure through international media of its short film that showcases how one can enjoy the most of Taiwan all within 24 hours. Besides exploring landmarks and popular attractions in Northern Taiwan, Travelers can also savor the local authentic Taiwanese breakfast. There is the Eslite Bookstore that opens 24/7 for everyone to soak up as much of the rich art and literary scene in Taiwan as possible. The Bureau recently launched two brand new itineraries free half-day tours for transit tourists to experience Taiwan's scenic and local culture within a limited amount of time. According to Mr. Brad Shih, Director of Taiwan Tourism Bureau in Los Angeles, there are approximately 2 million transit passengers per year, and most of them are backpackers and business travelers. To encourage international tourists to enter Taiwan for a brief visit, the Bureau offers two complimentary half-day tours. The morning tour will visit the Shou Sin Fang Creativity Wagashi and Cultural Center and Sanxia & Zushi Temple, while the afternoon itinerary includes Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Longshan Temple in Taipei city. Participants will get to discover the Taiwanese folk religion, admire the historic temple architectures, and have a taste of local pastries and culinary delights. Transit or transfer passengers with valid R.O.C. visas or those who are from visa-exempt countries are eligible to apply during one's 7 to 24-hour layover stay. Passengers may book a tour after arriving at the Taoyuan International Airport Tourist Service Center located in the Arrival Lobby of each terminal on a first come first served basis, one tour per person during each stopover. Each tour is limited to 18 passengers. Please visit http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/tour/index.htm for more details. In addition, Taiwan Tourism Bureau is offering an exclusive online promotion for U.S. and Canada passport holders transiting through Taiwan. Participants will have a chance to win 4 valuable giveaways, including a complimentary one night stay at the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel Taipei, one Half-day Tour among three itinerary options Taipei city, or North Coast, or Jiufeng Village, a limited edition MRT card, one bowl of the famous 72 Beef Noodle at the restaurant and a dessert at the Ice Monster. Simply visit http://www.go2taiwan.net/freestopover/main.jsp and register by June 30th 2016 for your chance to win. Every week during this promotion, the first 30 travelers to sign up will be able to enjoy the benefits of this free promotion on any date in 2016. Each person may register once every week. If you missed your chance, make sure to sign up early in the following week! Promotional vouchers are not transferable and limited to one redemption per shop per winner by presenting a valid U.S. or Canadian passport along with the voucher. Vouchers may not be exchanged for cash or combined with other discount offers. Hotel voucher winners may redeem along with one companion only, who may purchase other perks on the companions own expenses. Promotional value is only valid through December 31, 2016. For more Taiwan promotions and travel information, please visit Taiwan Tourism Bureaus official site at http://www.taiwan.net.tw, or join Taiwan Tourism Bureau Facebook fan page at https://www.facebook.com/TourTaiwan for the latest tour product information. NFI, a leading supply chain company headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is pleased to welcome Kevin Patterson to the NFI leadership team as President of its Warehousing and Distribution division. With more than 27.5 million square feet of warehousing, distribution, and cross-dock space in North America, Patterson will focus on operations and expanding NFIs North American footprint while providing customers with supply chain solutions that integrate NFIs transportation, global logistics, and real estate capabilities. He will also focus on continuous improvement initiatives and overseeing the engineering group. NFI has been experiencing tremendous growth across its supply chain offerings, especially within its distribution segment. NFIs broad industry portfolio includes retail, food and beverage, apparel, e-commerce, and consumer products; Patterson will be responsible for spearheading continued growth. Kevin brings extensive experience in all aspects of the supply chain including retail, pharmaceuticals, and temperature control, fitting well into NFIs diverse industry experience, said NFI CEO, Sidney Brown. His leadership and operational expertise will be valued assets as we continue to enhance our distribution solutions. Previous to NFI, Patterson held leadership positions in operational and account management capacities at other 3PLs and with shippers in the grocery and health care industries. # # # About NFI -- NFI is a fully integrated supply chain solutions provider headquartered in Cherry Hill, NJ. Privately held by the Brown family since its inception in 1932, NFI generates more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 8,000 associates. NFI owns facilities globally and operates 27.5 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space. Its company-owned fleet consists of over 2,300 tractors and 8,800 trailers, operated by more than 2,600 company drivers and 250 owner operators. Its business lines include dedicated transportation, warehousing, intermodal, brokerage, transportation management, global, and real estate services. For more information about NFI, visit http://www.nfiindustries.com or call 1-877-NFI-3777. This recognition from Discover Business further validates the value of the thought-provoking writing that our staff has shared with our membership for more than four years. It is an effective means to communicate and educate with a personal touch. The Indiana CPA Society staff blog, titled "I was just thinkin' " was recently named as one of the Best 200+ MBA and Business Blogs of 2016. The recognition comes from Discover Business, an online source of in-depth business and education resources. The blogs honored cover the business disciplines of human resources, management, accounting/finance, marketing, business to business, and other business-related topics. The I was just thinkin blog was launched more than four years ago in April 2012. New blogs are posted every two weeks on Thursdays. Indiana CPA Society President & CEO Gary Bolinger, CAE, is the primary blogger. Bolinger was named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Accounting for 2015 by Accounting Today, a major national trade publication of the accounting profession. Other bloggers on the site include Senior VP & COO Jennifer Briggs, CAE, and Vice Presidents Jenny Norris, CPA, CGMA, Sherrill Rude, CAE and Dave Shatkowski. Topics cover a wide range of topics including profession issues and trends, learning and skill development, human resources and staffing, legislative and regulatory matters, complexity, knowledge sharing, time management, diversity, the future, and of course, INCPAS programs and events. "Our goal with I was just thinkin' ' from the beginning was to inform, engage and entertain our members throughout Indiana, said Bolinger. "I am confident that we have accomplished that goal, and this recognition from Discover Business further validates the value of the thought-provoking writing that our staff has shared with our membership for more than four years. It is an effective means to communicate and educate with a personal touch." The number of subscribers to the I was just thinkin' ... blog has grown steadily to more than 1,300 currently. The number of views on individual blogs has also grown over time with the top blogs at over 1,000 views and several others in the 300 to 700 range. INCPAS members and other interested business professionals also regularly comment on the various blogs. INCPAS maintains two other blogs as well. The second, a member-written blog called "The Smoke Detector" addresses both technical and non-technical accounting topics. The third is from its CPA Center of Excellence, a wholly-owned subsidiary. The COE blog covers topics such as critical business skill development, competency-based learning and collaboration. ### About the Indiana CPA Society Nearly 8,100 CPAs in public practice, business and industry, government and education are members of the Indiana CPA Society. INCPAS is the most trusted business resource and advocate in Indiana. Its members are required to abide by the CPA professions code of conduct. INCPAS members also receive access to quality educational programs and peer networking for knowledge sharing. Society members are trusted advisors to Indianas business community. INCPAS celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015. For more information, visit incpas.org. Contact: Dave Shatkowksi, Vice President - Communications Phone: (317) 726-5022 E-mail: dshatkowski(at)incpas(dot)org Gender equality is still not a reality in any country in the world. As we strive for global progress, we need to step up our efforts to fight for girls and women. The United Nations Foundation today announced an exclusive media training for a select group of U.S.-based journalists from May 14 - 19, 2016. Journalists will attend the Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen. Additionally, journalists will take part in comprehensive media trainings on the Sustainable Development Goals, and will dive deeper into issues facing girls and women around the world, specifically sexual and reproductive health and rights, the unique needs of adolescent girls, and importance of gender data. These media training will offer unparalleled, direct access to development practitioners, young leaders, experts, and advocates in attendance at Women Deliver, the largest gathering on the well-being of girls and women in more than a decade. In partnership with Women Deliver, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Global Health strategies, the UN Foundation will help to conduct trainings for the selected U.S.-based journalists in addition to journalists from around the world, and local media from Denmark. Now, in 2016, gender equality is still not a reality in any country in the world. As we strive for global progress, we need to step up our efforts to fight for girls and women. Women Deliver provides the perfect opportunity to explore the myriad issues that make it difficult for girls and women to thrive, said Daniela Ligiero, Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy at the UN Foundation. This fellowship is intended for U.S.-based journalists who have reported on womens rights issues, specifically sexual and reproductive health and rights, the unique needs of adolescent girls, and gender data, and are interested in the work of the United Nations. Special consideration will be given to journalists whose portfolios include global health or foreign affairs. The application deadline is Friday April 15, 2016. To apply, click here. For more information please contact fellowship(at)unfoundation(dot)org. ### About United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the worlds most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit http://www.unfoundation.org. Organizations looking for information security talent should be looking to the nations community colleges and especially the 3CS. What better way for companies or businesses to get their name in the forefront of the brains of cybersecurity educators this summer than by sponsoring the Community College Cyber Summit (3CS), one of the largest gatherings of community college cybersecurity faculty in the world. Community colleges are significantly influential in teaching a variety of fields related to cybersecurity. The 3CS is a prime avenue to access this specific group and get brand names out to these classroom decision makers. Past sponsors have included companies that develop cybersecurity hardware, software, and certification vendors, to name a few. Organizations looking for information security talent should be looking to the nations community colleges and especially the 3CS, states Casey W. OBrien, Executive Director at National CyberWatch Center. The network producing the 3CS have been on the front lines of competency-based Information Security training and education for over 10 years. This network has mature, cost-effective, and scalable solutions to some of our countrys vexing workforce and talent shortages. There are three sponsorship levelsSilver, Gold and Platinum. For $1,500, Silver sponsors get their logos on display on the 3CS website and can present a poster at one of the conference coffee breaks. At $3,500, Gold sponsors get their logo on the 3CS banner, a display booth and access to the conference social media partnership, which reaches over 600 community colleges in all 50 states. For $5,000, Platinum sponsors get their logo on all conference-related material, a larger display booth, a guaranteed speaking engagement, and access to the 3CS integrated media and social media platform. The 3CS is scheduled for July 22 to 24 in Pittsburgh, PA. Faculty from around the country are expected to attend thanks to support from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education centers: National CyberWatch Center, National Resource Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (CSSIA), CyberWatch West (CWW), Cyber Security Education Consortium (CSEC), Broadening Advanced Technological Education Connections (BATEC), and Advanced Cyberforensics Education (ACE) Consortium. For more information on sponsoring the 2016 3CS, visit 3CS.nationalcyberwatch.org We give them real-world scenarios, real-world equipment, and throw some of the best bad guys in the world at them to see how they can handle the challenge. Students from eight Mid-Atlantic universities will compete to protect simulated financial institutions in the Mid-Atlantic region from a cyber-attack during the 2016 National Cyberwatch Center Mid-Atlantic Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC). The competition will be held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., from March 31 to April 2. The Mid-Atlantic CCDC is designed to give students the chance to apply classroom theory and skills to defend against real-time targeted cyber-attacks, led by professional security testers, in a controlled, scored setting. Each competition revolves around a simulated scenario based on real-world systems such as transportation and elections that demonstrate the effects various types of cyber-attacks. This years challenge is Operation Cyber Bailout: Competitors will confront a mock Hackistan Army of Liberation (HAL), portrayed by cybersecurity professionals. The HAL plans to disrupt critical infrastructure by targeting information technology operations of simulated financial institutions. The student teams will plan how to defend the institutions and keep them operating during the three-day long electronic assault. The scenario for this years competition is one that cybersecurity professionals face every hour of every day, and its one of the reasons that the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition is such a respected testing ground for these students, said Lewis Lightner, director of the Mid-Atlantic CCDC, based at Prince Georges (Md.) Community College. We give them real-world scenarios, real-world equipment, and throw some of the best bad guys in the world at them to see how they can handle the challenge. The event will take place over the course of three days. The CCDC kicks off on Thursday, March 31 with a job fair featuring government agencies and private firms. The two-day competition begins on Friday, April 1. On Saturday, April 2, there will be high school cybersecurity fair and expo to learn about cybersecurity as a field of study and as a career. The entire three-day event is free and open to the public. This years Mid-Atlantic CCDC will feature teams from: Bloomsburg University (Pennsylvania) Capitol Technology University (Maryland) Liberty University (Virginia) Radford University (Virginia) Towson University (Maryland) University of Maryland, Baltimore County University of Maryland, College Park West Virginia University The winning team will compete in the 2016 Raytheon National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in San Antonio, April 22-24. The Mid-Atlantic CCDC, part of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, is coordinated and run by the National CyberWatch Center, an Advanced Technological Education Center funded by the National Science Foundation. Watch the 2016 Mid-Atlantic CCDC live: http://maccdctv.org Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition: http://maccdc.org/ Directions to the Johns Hopkins APL Kossiakoff Center: http://www.jhuapl.edu/aboutapl/visitor/directions.asp National CCDC: http://www.nationalccdc.org/ National CyberWatch Center: http://www.nationalcyberwatch.org/ Previous Competition Videos: http://maccdc.org/videos/ Media contacts: Mid-Atlantic CCDC/National CyberWatch Center: Lewis Lightner, (424) 646-3294, llightner(at)nationalcyberwatch(dot)org Johns Hopkins APL: Geoff Brown, 240-228-5618, Geoffrey.Brown(at)jhuapl(dot)edu DCHFA seal Homelessness is an issue that impacts every ward in this city and a large segment of this population is female. DCHFA takes great pride in joining N Street Village in its mission to support and end homelessness among women. On March 25, 2016, the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) closed a tax exempt bond transaction that supports Mayor Muriel Bowsers goal to make homelessness, rare, brief and non-recurring by 2020 by providing a portion of the $17.5 million cost to rehabilitate N Street Village (NSV). DCHFA, through a direct purchase of bonds by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is providing $8.5 million (short and long term tax exempt bonds) in the refinance, construction, and rehabilitation of N Street Villages flagship eight story multifamily building located at 1333 N Street Northwest. The Agency also underwrote $5.2 million in four percent low income housing tax credit equity syndicated by Hudson Housing Capital. Homelessness is an issue that impacts every ward in this city and a large segment of this population is female. DCHFA takes great pride in joining N Street Village in its mission to support and end homelessness among women, said Maria K. Day-Marshall, Interim Executive Director, DCHFA and member of the Interagency Coalition on Homelessness (ICH). In 2015, Mayor Bowser and the ICH released Homeward DC, a comprehensive five-year plan to end long-term homelessness in the District. Once renovation is complete, the project will consist of 95 units (increased from 93); 44 single room occupancy (SRO), 10 one bedroom, 32 two bedroom, and nine three bedroom units. The SRO units will serve as permanent supportive housing (PSH) for formerly homeless women. The 44 PSH SRO units will be rent restricted to individuals earning at or below 30% of the area median income. Operating subsidies from both the Districts Local Rent Supplement Program (37 units) and the Department of Housing and Urban Developments Shelter Plus Care program (7 units) makes it possible for NSV to offer these units to this vulnerable segment of our community; affording them clean, safe and sanitary shelter in a supportive environment. NSV plans to complete the renovations in phases to minimize the displacement of tenants. Building rehabilitation and construction activities are expected to impact no more than six existing units at a time. During the anticipated 12 month construction period, a lounge and hospitality suites will be set-up for tenants that remain in the building during construction hours. Joseph Development Inc. is providing real estate development services, Bozzuto Construction is the general contractor and W.C. Smith Company will be the property manager. The rehabilitation has been designed in compliance with the Districts Green Building Act regulations. The property is owned by N Street Village Inc., a District based nonprofit organization that owns and operates affordable housing for families and supportive housing for formerly homeless and/or low income women in Logan Circle. Members of the Luther Place Memorial Church founded the organization in 1972 to provide services for D.C.s expanding homeless population. NSV provides programmed housing for homeless and low income women which includes supportive services such as case management, health and wellness services, breakfast and lunch programs, supported employment services, benefits counseling, legal services, and medical, psychiatric and dental care. Through its Public Finance division, DCHFA issues tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to lower the developers costs of acquiring, constructing and rehabilitating rental housing. The Agency offers private for-profit and non-profit developers low cost predevelopment, construction and permanent financing that supports the new construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing in the District. The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency was established in 1979 to stimulate and expand homeownership and rental housing opportunities in Washington, D.C. We accomplish our mission by offering below market rate mortgage loans to lower the homebuyers costs of purchasing homes and by issuing mortgage revenue bonds to lower the developers costs of acquiring, constructing and rehabilitating rental housing. ServInt Offers NEW Website Security Options [I] was important to us to partner with a global leader in online security [to] provide our customers protection against the most common forms of vulnerability from a trusted name and leader in the security industry. ServInt (http://www.ServInt.net), a leading provider of Managed Dedicated and VPS Hosting Solutions, today announced the launch of a new partnership with SiteLock. Through this partnership ServInt provides its customers complete cloud-based website security packages that scan and automatically fix threats, prevent future attacks, accelerate website speed, and meet PCI compliance standards. ServInt has been a trusted hosting provider for over 20 years. We have built our reputation on offering comprehensive managed services that help our clients servers run smoothly, optimally, and securely. Adding the new Website Security Packages, powered by SiteLock, allows us to better help e-commerce and high capacity data clients who need to maintain an enhanced level of security to protect their websites, visitors, and customers, states William Goss, ServInt COO. ServInt launches its new enhanced website security by offering three packages: SiteLock Fix 360 Scanning, SiteLock Accelerate and SiteLock Prevent. Starting at $19.99 per month, these packages offer affordable site security. With over 160,000 new malware strains being detected everyday, as well as hackers and cybercriminals becoming more advanced, it was important to us to partner with a global leader in online security. The three, SiteLock-powered, security options provides customers with malware scanning and automatic removal, and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation, while blocking bad traffic, like spam bots and hackers," continues Goss. These options provide our customers protection against the most common forms of vulnerability from a trusted name and leader in the security industry. In addition to SiteLock, ServInt specializes in offering package and custom dedicated, cloud, VPS, and hybrid infrastructure. With a recent launch into offering managed and professional services, ServInt provides turnkey managed hosting solutions to fit any customer from small to enterprise businesses. Our goal, is to provide the best combination of infrastructure products and managed services to our customers, adds Goss. Businesses today want to be able to focus on increasing their growth and profitability. They dont want to have to worry about the status of their server. At ServInt, we will take care of the server and its administration, by providing the professional service support to help our clients reach their business goals. ABOUT SERVINT For over 20 years, ServInt has been a leading managed hosting solutions and services provider for small to mid-size businesses. From startups to mature enterprises, power-bloggers to e-retailers, web developers and game designers to ad agencies and universities. ServInt provides hosting services that help clients grow and thrive by pairing managed and professional services to compute and storage infrastructure to create custom-tailored business solutions. To learn more about ServInts Dedicated, Bare Metal, Cloud, and VPS hosting products, please call 1-800-573-7846 from the USA (+1.703.847.1381, Intl.) or visit http://www.servint.net Aureus Medical Group (web: aureusmedical.com), a national leader in healthcare staffing, including travel nursing jobs, has announced that it will participate as an exhibitor at the American Organization of Nurse Executives Meeting and Exposition to be held March 30-April 2, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. AONE offers educational programming, networking opportunities, and exhibits with products and services. Representatives from Aureus Medicals nursing division will be available to speak with attendees about its full range of staffing services, including job opportunities and medical careers in the travel nursing field. Individuals interested in becoming a travel nurse are encouraged to visit Aureus Medical in booth #1102. Attendees are invited to enter a raffle to win a Tiffanys gift card. In addition, Aureus Medical Groups sister company, Aureus Group, will exhibit at AONE. Visit Aureus Group in booth #428 to learn about opportunities in healthcare leadership. Enter a raffle to win a Visa gift card. About Aureus Medical Group: Aureus Medical Group is a national leader in healthcare staffing specializing in the successful placement of Nursing, Advanced Practice, Cardiopulmonary, Diagnostic Imaging, Medical Laboratory, Neurodiagnostics, Radiation Oncology, and Rehabilitation Therapy professionals, as well as Physicians, in hospitals and medical facilities nationwide. With more than 30 years of experience, Aureus Medical offers a full range of staffing options, including national contract (travel), local contract, and direct hire. Aureus Medical is the largest affiliate of Omaha-based C&A Industries, a leading provider of human capital management solutions for more than 45 years. About Aureus Group: Aureus Group is a leader in staffing and recruiting, offering a full range of hiring options for organizations ranging from small and mid-sized firms to Fortune 500 companies. Aureus Group specializes in the areas of accounting and finance, information systems and information technology, and executive search. Staffing solutions include direct hire, Match Hire, contract/project staffing, and interim executive. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Aureus Group has regional offices located in Kansas City, Missouri and Des Moines, Iowa. Aureus Group is an affiliate of Omaha-based C&A Industries, a leading provider of human capital management solutions for more than 45 years. Past News Releases RSS BidMed LLC announced that it has been awarded a 12-month agreement with UnityPoint Health, for Equipment Liquidation and Related Services. Effective November 13, 2015, the new agreement allows UnityPoint Health members, at their discretion, to take advantage of special pricing and terms pre-negotiated by UnityPoint Health for the sale, transfer, auction and disposal of surplus or retired equipment. "We are very excited to work with UnityPoint Health to improve operational flow with our proactive approach to asset disposal. Proactive disposition means forecasting excess assets and fair market values ahead of time to maximize the return on investment by validating trade in offers, identifying intersystem transfers, or determining the best method of resale. BidMed consults healthcare facilities and designs customized programs that will give them the tools and information necessary to make the best decisions when selling surplus assets or buying refurbished equipment. By simplifying the asset disposition process, and sourcing the highest quality refurbished equipment, BidMed saves healthcare facilities time and money. BidMed's COO and Co-Founder Joanne Frogge said, "BidMed has built an exciting and state-of-the-art, web-based platform for buying and selling equipment, creating the most competitive bidding space for U.S. hospitals and end users around the world!" About BidMed BidMed LLC, is a healthcare consulting and technology leader specializing in maximizing returns on surplus medical assets, and selling them to end users around the world through the creation of an online community. With over 15 years of experience in the healthcare asset disposition industry, BidMed provides an extensive network of medical professionals and a state-of-the-art, web-based platform for buying, selling, and transferring medical equipment. BidMed is headquartered in Chicago, IL. For more about BidMed, visit us at http://www.bidmed.com and follow us on Twitter @BidMed. About UnityPoint Health UnityPoint Health (http://www.unitypoint.org) is one of the nations most integrated health systems. Its physician-led team of professionals communicates clearly and effectively to address a patients health care in the most appropriate setting: whether that is a clinic, a hospital or at home. Through relationships with more than 280 physician clinics, 33 hospitals in metropolitan and rural communities and home care services throughout its 9 regions, UnityPoint Health provides care throughout Iowa, Western Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. UnityPoint Health entities employ more than 30,000 employees, working toward innovative advancements to deliver the Best Outcome for Every Patient Every Time. Each year, through more than 4.5 million patient visits, UnityPoint Health, UnityPoint Clinic and UnityPoint at Home provides a full range of coordinated care to patients and families. With annual revenues of $3.8 billion, UnityPoint Health is the nations 13th largest nonprofit health system and the fourth largest nondenominational health system in America. Fred Gaylord, SVP Sales & Marketing Fred is a dedicated commercial finance professional with deep ties to the West Coast. - Robert Meyers, Chief Commercial Officer. Republic Business Credit announced today it has hired Fred Gaylord as SVP, Sales & Marketing, further deepening its bench with experienced commercial finance experts. Based in Los Angeles, Gaylord will be Republic Business Credits first West Coast representative. Gaylord will focus on helping CPAs, advisors, bankers and lawyers that work with small- and medium-sized companies find financial solutions for their clients. While Gaylord has helped numerous businesses from a variety of industries, particularly dedicated to the apparel, consumer packaged goods and temporary staffing industries. Business that will be targeted are in need of financing from $250,000 to $10,000,000. We are fortunate to have someone of Freds caliber join our sales team, said Allen E. Frederic, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Republic Business Credit. His background and experience will allow him to develop the best possible financial solutions for companies in need or working capital solutions. And his extensive network and strong relationship in the banking and commercial finance sectors will enable him to make an immediate impact on the West Coast market. Prior to joining Republic Business Credit, Gaylord worked for Chase Manhattan Bank and Meinhard Commercial (a CIT company). Gaylord ran the West Coast Operation of Citizens & Southern Bank and also worked for Nations Bank (which became Bank of America), Capital Bancorp, Continental Business Credit and GMAC Commercial. Most recently, he was SVP, Sales & Marketing at Bibby Financial Services. Gaylord attended Santa Monica City College, UCLA and USCs six by six Graduate Program. He previously served as President and Chairman of the Commercial Finance Conference of California and has served as a board member for the City of Hope, Professions and Finance Chapter; the California Fashion Association; the Textile Professionals Club, and the Turnaround Management Association. Fred is a dedicated commercial finance professional with deep ties to the West Coast, said Robert Meyers, Chief Commercial Officer. We are thrilled to have him join the Republic Business Credit team and represent us in the region. With him on board we intend to have an expanded presence for emerging and growing brands at the Magic Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas in August 15-17th. With his passion for working with apparel companies, Fred is perfectly positioned to help these companies scale their services for increased demand with the right financial solutions from Republic Business Credit. About Republic Business Credit Republic Business Credit provides flexible working capital solutions to help rapidly growing businesses, start-ups, and companies in turnaround or recoverable distressed situations. Winner of the 2015 Emerging Growth Company of the Year award from the Louisiana Chapter of the Association of Corporate Growth, the Republic Business Credit team has the expertise necessary to meet the nuanced financial needs of companies across a wide variety of industries. It provides factoring and asset-based facilities, including ABL, receivables purchase lines of credit, inventory, equipment, and purchase order lines. Since its founding in 2011, Republic Business Credit has provided over $1.2 billion in fast, flexible working capital. The company is led by Allen E. Frederic, Jr., CEO, a 40-year banking and finance veteran in New Orleans; Stewart Chesters, an English transplant to New Orleans who has led commercial finance companies on both sides of the Atlantic; and Robert Meyers, a new business leader previously with Bibby Financial Services in Chicago and Los Angeles. ITsavvy, one of the fastest growing technology solution providers in the U.S., was just named to CRNs list of the 2016 Tech Elite Solution Providers. This annual list honors an exclusive group of North American IT solution providers that have earned the highest number of advanced technical certifications from leading technology vendors. Mike Theriault, ITsavvys President and CEO, said, To receive this recognition from one of the top technology publications in the world is truly an honor. It is proof of our engineers exceptional qualifications to recommend, design, deploy and support our solutions. To compile the annual list, The Channel Companys research group and CRN editors work together to identify the most client-beneficial technical certifications in the North American IT channel. Companies who have obtained these elite designations which enable solution providers to deliver premium products, services and customer supportare then selected from a pool of online applicants. Since its inception, ITsavvy has diligently sought out the most experienced, highly regarded engineers in the industry. The companys Advanced Solutions Group is continually adding new talent to complement the ever expanding portfolio of services and products. This is one reason that ITsavvys clients consider them a one-stop technology shop. The solution providers selected for our annual Tech Elite 250 list have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and gained strong industry credibility by earning some of the most difficult IT certifications available from top technology vendors, said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. Attainment of these exclusive certifications strengthens the channel as a whole by invigorating partnerships and enabling the delivery of exceptional customer service. We congratulate each of these organizations and look forward to their continued success. Coverage of the Tech Elite 250 will be featured in the April issue of CRN, and online at http://www.crn.com. ITsavvy, one of the fastest growing companies of its type in the U.S., is a recognized leader in tailored end-to-end IT product and service solutions. ITsavvy built its reputation as a value-added reseller with industry-leading product availability, design and implementation, client support and delivery speed through 46 distribution centers across the U.S. ITsavvy also has data center locations in New Jersey, Illinois and New York. The companys new, user-friendly website provides hundreds of concise, leading-edge IT decision-making resources, including an e-commerce site with real-time pricing and availability. ITsavvy is headquartered in Addison, Ill., with offices in Chicagos Loop; Hauppauge, N.Y.; New York, N.Y.; Warren, N.J.; Aurora, Ill.; Davenport, Iowa; Hayward, Calif.; Beavercreek, Ohio; Indianapolis, and Miami. Call 1-855-ITsavvy (1-855-487-2889), email: info(at)ITsavvy(dot)com, visit: http://www.ITsavvy.com. About the Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelco.com Full release at: http://www.itsavvy.com/itsavvy-named-elite-technology-solution-provider-crn ### Larson Electronics Releases New 25 Watt Rechargeable Handheld LED Spotlight The included AC and DC charger gives operators the ability to freely use this light source without the hassle of being connected to a power source. Past News Releases RSS Larson Electronics Releases a... Larson Electronics Releases New... Larson Electronics Releases a 100... The RL-85-LED-CPR rechargeable handheld LED spotlight from Larson Electronics is a lightweight, ultra rugged, ergonomic handheld spotlight equipped with a 7.4 volt lithium ion battery pack. The battery pack for this spotlight provides a two and a half hour operation time and may be recharged in three hours from a completely depleted state. This high output LED spotlight is constructed with a single 25 watt Cree LED and features an advanced reflector and lens configuration to generate a 2,000 lumen light output. Drawing only 25 watts, this light produces a beam capable of reaching distances over 1,000 feet. The Cree LED unit used in this light generates eighty lumens per watt with 70% lumen retention at 50,000 hours, giving this lamp better efficiency and a longer operational life than traditional spotlights. This IP65 rated waterproof LED spotlight features an ultra-durable ABS shockproof polymer body, aluminum alloy light head housing, and an impact resistant polycarbonate lens. The unique shape and shallow contour of the reflector is paired with a convex lens and inset lens positioned to efficiently capture and project a focused beam of light while reducing light spillage. The pistol grip style, nylon handle has a no-slip textured surface to improve grip and has a conveniently placed push button so that the user can easily access the power switch with the fore finger for quick on/off operation. This new handheld LED spotlight features a specially selected Cree LED that has been chosen for its lumen per watt ratio and extreme longevity, said Rob Bresnahan, CEO of Larson Electronics. The included AC and DC charger gives operators the ability to freely use this light source without the hassle of being connected to a power source. Larson Electronics specializes in portable industrial lighting equipment, high mast light towers, explosion proof light fixtures, power distribution systems, LED lighting and more. To view their wide range of products, visit them on the web at Larsonelectronics.com or call 1-800-369-6671 for more information. Larson Electronics will be attending the 2016 OTC show in Houston, Texas from May 2nd to May 5th. Visit them at booth 6716 to inquire about their lighting solutions for many industrial applications. On behalf of the Maryland Soybean Board, Alan Hudson, a MSB director and a farmer from Berlin, Md., accepted the Top Hand Award from the Maryland Cattlemens Associations director Dr. Scott Barao. We seek opportunities to work with our fellow farmers to build a stronger industry and celebrate the contributions of agriculture toward Marylands environment, economy and quality of life. The Maryland Soybean Board received the Top Hand Award from the Maryland Cattlemens Association during its annual convention earlier this month. The Top Hand Award recognizes an individual or organization that has contributed significantly to the benefit of the Maryland cattle industry. The Maryland Soybean Board is pleased to accept the 2016 Top Hand Award from the Maryland Cattlemen, said Chairman William Layton. Agriculture is Marylands top industry. We seek opportunities to work with our fellow farmers to build a stronger industry and celebrate the contributions of agriculture toward Marylands environment, economy and quality of life. Livestock and poultry consume more than 98 percent of domestic soybean meal. The soybean board supports those industries with programs that include opportunities for farmers to train as spokespeople on behalf of agriculture. One part of this program, CommonGround, supports farm women reaching out to their non-farming peers. The Maryland Soybean Board: Shares both an environmental audit and economic analysis of animal agriculture produced by the United Soybean Board and customized to each state. Sponsors the annual cattlemens Youth Skill-A-Thon and youth livestock shows in Central and Southern Maryland. Launched the consumer outreach campaign, My Maryland Farmers, at the 2015 Maryland State Fair, featuring local farmers and facts about their farms and Maryland agriculture. This year, the soybean board funded more than $228,000 in research projects. It also promotes the use of soy-based products through an annual competitive grant program to county fairs and agricultural expos. Ten Maryland farmer-directors lead the Maryland Soybean Board: William Layton of Vienna, chairman; Travis Hutchison of Cordova, vice chairman; Danny Saathoff of Denton, treasurer; Alan Hudson of Berlin; Randy Stabler of Brookeville; Linda Burrier of Union Bridge; Josh Appenzeller of Millington; Bill Langenfelder of Worton; Jeffrey Griffith of Lothian; and Brian Johnson of Westover. About Maryland Soybean Board: The Maryland Soybean Board administers soybean checkoff funds for soybean research, marketing and education programs in the state. Funded entirely by farmers, the soybean checkoff supports soybean research, marketing and education. The assessment rate is one-half of one percent of the net market value of soybeans at their first point of sale. 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. Bo Brustkern, CEO of NSR Invest "The time is right for investment advisors to factor P2P lending into their clients portfolios." NSR Invest, a leading investor in peer-to-peer loans on behalf of high net-worth investors and institutions, welcomes financial advisors to join an informative event about peer-to-peer lending. The Wealth Management Workshop takes place April 11th 12th in San Francisco, as part of LendIt USA 2016, the worlds largest conference dedicated to online lending and investment marketplaces. Financial advisors can RSVP at http://www.lendit.com/usa/2016/wealth-management-workshop. Registered investment advisors may be eligible for complimentary access passes; refer to the registration form for more information. Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms enable investors and advisors to easily add this new asset class to portfolios. Institutional-quality P2P loan investments offer: significant yield (historically 5-9%); low correlations to the broader markets; short durations; and diversification across a large number of notes. Morgan Stanley predicts that P2P lending will have financed several hundred billion dollars in loans by 2020. Financial advisors who become familiar with P2P loan investment trends and tools are in a position to increase their assets under management with clients seeking yield and diversification. The Wealth Management Workshop at LendIt USA 2016 includes more than a dozen panels that address: private funds for accredited investors; publicly-traded vehicles; RIAs as distribution partners; the role of the independent investment advisor and mid-size advisory firm; and P2P lending in retirement accounts. Financial advisors can join the first day immersion, or the full two-day workshop. Bo Brustkern, co-founder and CEO of NSR Invest, noted that peer-to-peer loan originations have been doubling annually for nearly a decade. Now that this asset class can be accessed through an integrated, online platform designed for advisors and a fund or managed account structure, the time is right for investment advisors to factor this asset class into their clients portfolios. We are excited to welcome all our expert speakers and guests during LendIts world-class event. About NSR Invest NSR Invest is a leading investment manager in peer-to-peer investments for institutions, individuals and their advisors. Its platform provides fully-managed accounts with a variety of risk-return profiles, built upon proprietary credit strategies, institutional grade trading technology and seamless visibility and reporting. The companys co-founder, Peter Renton, is known for the pioneering educational website, Lend Academy, while NSR Invests sister company, LendIt, hosts the largest conferences about online investing around the globe. About Lendit LendIt is the largest conference series dedicated to connecting the global online lending community. Our conferences bring together the leading lending platforms, investors, and service providers in our industry for unparalleled educational, networking, and business development opportunities. LendIt hosts three conferences annually: our flagship conference LendIt USA, as well as LendIt Europe in London and LendIt China in Shanghai. NSR Invest Marketing Contact: Summer Tucker 720-259-0455 summer(at)nsrinvest(dot)com Spoiled to Perfection takes viewers on a tour through Californias one-of-a-kind Sonoma County on an adventure to unlock the magic behind pickling, fermentation, and the art of culinary alchemy. We chose to feature Zazu Kitchen + Farm in episode four because John and Duskie are well known for taking raw ingredients, and turning them into something really special. Spoiled to Perfection, the critically-acclaimed Sonoma-based web video series that unlocks the magic behind pickling, fermentation and the art of culinary alchemy, has launched much-anticipated episode four on the series website and YouTube channel. In their latest excursion, the roving Spoiled to Perfection team led by the series host and well-known Sonoma winemaker Garrett Martin headed out to The Barlow in Sebastopol, California a chic new shopping center and culinary arts depot -- to visit Zazu Kitchen + Farm: a highly-acclaimed restaurant and farm co-owned by celebrity chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart. Viewers discover the fascinating story behind Zazu Kitchen + Farm, and learn why John and Duskie affectionately known as The King and Queen of Pork believe whole-heartedly that if one is going to take a life, whether it be a pig or a persimmon, then every part of it must be used. From the snout to the hoof, not a single piece of the pig gets wasted. Viewers also get to watch a gutsy Garrett Martin celebrated local winemaker, yet first time member of a pork royal family-- learn how to identify pork cuts, smoke a pork belly and make bacon caramel popcorn. In a particularly poignant scene, he also learns from Duskie what it means to be a famous head chef, wife and mother. We chose to feature Zazu Kitchen + Farm in episode four because John and Duskie are well known for taking raw ingredients -- like a freshly butchered pig -- and turning them into something really special, whether it be a beautiful pork belly or aged prosciutto, commented Spoiled to Perfections Producer and Director Steve Rustad. They honor the animal and they honor the process of preservation. And if that werent enough, they make what is unquestionably the most perfectly cured bacon in Sonoma County! Production support for episode four was provided by Shoot Blue Productions based in Geyserville, CA, envisioned by Director of Photography Alan Campbell, and directed by Stephen Rustad of Rustad Marketing. All four episodes of Spoiled to Perfection are available on the series website, and via its YouTube channel. Episodes five and six are in various stages of pre-production, and will air later in the year completing the shows first season. Spoiled to Perfection is sponsored by Bubbies, makers of the most popular naturally-fermented Kosher Dill Pickles and Sauerkraut: http://bubbies.com. For more information on Spoiled to Perfection, including interview requests and media inquiries, contact Stephen Rustad at (707) 664-5056, steve(at)rustadmarketing(dot)com, or via the Spoiled to Perfection website: http://spoiledtoperfection.com. The Trial Lawyers Board of Regents Litigator Awards represents one of the highest honors in trial law. The awards, presented in up to 72 practice specialty categories, are based on actual jury trial verdicts rather than peer popularity, making them perhaps the most rigorous and openly judged award ratings in the country. This is one of the nations most coveted symbols of litigation achievement, said Steven C. Ruth, managing attorney of The Ruth Law Team. It also provides a prospective injured client a means of evaluating trial lawyers and a law firms expertise. Recipients of the Litigator Awards become members of an honored group composed of the top 1% of trial lawyers who have won multi-million-dollar cases. Of the approximately 1.1 million lawyers considered, only about twelve law firms per state achieve the distinction of being awarded each year in any given practice specialty. The 2015 Litigator Award was given to the entire Ruth Law Team, and I am very proud of our firm for this accomplishment, said Ruth. This feat is achieved by fewer than 1% of all lawyers. About Steven C. Ruth, The Ruth Law Team, Formerly Beltz & Ruth Steven C. Ruth is the senior trial attorney of The Ruth Law Team and maintains an esteemed AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the most prestigious national publication in the legal field. The Ruth Law Team focuses on motor vehicle and motorcycle accidents, catastrophic injuries, dangerous products and all other serious personal injuries. For more information, please call 1-888-783-8378, or follow them on Facebook. The main Florida office of the Ruth Law Team is located at 805 Executive Center Drive West, Suite 105, St. Petersburg, FL, 33702. The firm also has consultation offices in Tampa, Clearwater, Inverness, Bradenton and Sarasota, and will come to your home or hospital. About the NALA The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers in the digital age, while providing a single-agency source that helps them flourish in their local community. The NALA offers its clients an array of marketing tools from press release campaigns and social media management to a cause marketing program. The NALAs mission is to make businesses relevant and newsworthy, both online and through traditional media, by providing increased exposure at reasonable costs. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. New Document Analytics in Protectedpdf The new document analytics capabilities in Protectedpdf has broadened the scope and extended the value of our popular DRM and secure file sharing solution. Vitrium announced today that the latest release of its document security solution, Protectedpdf version 6.0 includes new document analytics features and increased compatibility with read-out-loud applications for the visually impaired. Those who distribute PDF-based content, such as training materials, research reports, financial documents, manuscripts, eBooks, and more, can start leveraging these features to improve their end user (or reader) engagement while still ensuring that their documents are protected against unauthorized access and file sharing. Content publishers will be able to monitor the performance of their documents with detailed, real-time data, and use these metrics to improve the effectiveness of their content. Through document-level and page-level statistics such as document unlocks, reader count, reading time, and read through rate, content publishers will have a better understanding of reader behavior and be able to optimize their content for a better reading experience. They will also discover who their most active readers are, what applications or browsers are used, and where their readers are located to ensure that their content is reaching the right target audience. The new analytics dashboard in Protectedpdf allows administrators to view a graphical representation of the key document and reader metrics in one place for a specific time period, with drill-down capability to view more comprehensive data in the reports tab. Administrators can even export the data from selected reports to a spreadsheet in comma-delimited, or CSV format for further analysis and reporting. The new document analytics capabilities in Protectedpdf has broadened the scope and extended the value of our popular DRM and secure file sharing solution. The granular-level data that our customers and other content publishers will be able to review in Protectedpdf is extremely powerful and insightful data about how their documents are being consumed by their readers, including what documents are being viewed the most, what pages are being read, and even how much time is being spent on each page. This data can be used to effectively measure reader engagement and identify exactly what content interests their readers the most. Content publishers can then use this information to tailor documents to their audience and provide the best reading experience, while still ensuring the document is secured with Vitriums usual DRM methods. -Susan Daly, CEO, Vitrium Systems Inc. Along with the new analytics features, the latest version of Protectedpdf includes improved accessibility for readers. Vitriums HTML5-based document web viewer, that converts PDF files to a secured format for viewing on all modern web browsers including mobile devices, now has better compatibility with screen readers and other read out loud applications for the visually impaired. This lets content owners preserve their revenues by distributing their training materials or other PDF-based educational content to all their readers, knowing that they will all enjoy equal access to their content. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. 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. Lawmakers should expect a full house at Wednesday public hearing over Gov. Bruce Rauners plan to close the juvenile prison at Kewanee. After all, 200 workers would permanently lose their jobs if the state simply shutters the Illinois Youth Center at Kewanee. The administration and lawmakers are in a tough spot as they try to balance the health of that community against the need for continued aggressive reform of Illinois juvenile justice system and the large number of empty juvenile prison beds that have resulted from reforms smart leaders already have begun making. Wednesdays hearing is required by state law, and the panels recommendation is advisory only, but it still is important. It might help if the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability also hears from those pushing a plan to retool the juvenile center to address an overloaded Illinois adult prison system. Assistance package needed The state had earlier committed to helping displaced workers win positions elsewhere in the juvenile justice and adult corrections systems. Aid also should include worker retraining funds AND community assistance to create new jobs while the administration studies converting the youth center to house adult population. Among those backing such a plan is Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, the co-chair of the panel meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Kewanee High School. The retiring state lawmaker whose 74th District includes the youth center, which was built in 2001, told the Bureau County Republican, Since it is one of the states newer facilities, it makes common sense to have DOC consider reopening the facility. Common sense also needs to be considered for the best interest of taxpayers. I hope the two can work together for not only the best for the inmates but to help with overcrowding. Though anything can happen in Springfield -- witness this record budget impasse -- shuttering the Kewanee youth prison has an air of inevitability. Certainly, its difficult to argue with the need to close another of the states remaining six juveniles prisons. (Joliet and Murphysboro were in shuttered in 2013.) According to testimony by Era Laudermilk, program director of the Illinois Justice Project, Although the juvenile system has been reduced in size by 1,000 beds, it currently operates at 61 percent capacity. Thats nearly the same rate as the last time the state faced a youth prison closing decision in 2011 -- when IDJJ (the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice) was operating at 63 percent of capacity. Money better spent Money Illinois doesnt have to spare is wasted on empty beds and juvenile advocates argue compellingly that the estimated $14 million expected to be saved should be redirected to places such as Redeploy Illinois, which provide rehabilitative resources that keep these kids in their community where they have a far better chance to succeed. Sometimes temporary detention is necessary, and the closure of Kewanee also will allow the transfer of boys who desperately need such services to prisons that are better equipped to provide them with quality mental health and rehabilitative services, she said. Not only is it cheaper to keep kids out of juvenile prisons whenever possible, it better serves society. Most of the youth who are in prison now, will return to our local communities one day, Ms. Laudermilk notes. The maturation, rehabilitation, and guidance youth receive while committed to IDJJ will play a large part in determining whether they return to us with the necessary tools to grow into responsible adults, or whether they commit another, perhaps more serious crime, and enter our over-crowded and expensive adult prison system. If the state can manage to protect the Kewanee area communitys interests while more effectively rehabilitating our youth, AND reducing overcrowding in the Illinois prison system today and far into the future, it would be a win-win for all. Just a few weeks after she turned 17, Danielle Burgess was diagnosed with colon cancer. Burgess had been noticing blood in her stool for several years, but she shrugged it off after consulting Google and self-diagnosing hemorrhoids. By the time she went to the doctor to have a colonoscopy, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. It wasnt great but they gave me a lot of treatment options, said Burgess of Kansas City, Mo. Six months later she was cancer-free. Doctors continued to monitor her colon (large intestine) every three years. In 2009, when she was 25, a growth on her colon once again tested positive for cancer. Luckily, they caught it early, said Burgess, now 32. Colorectal cancer, a malignancy that occurs in the colon or rectum, is a leading cause of cancer deaths. This year, its expected to claim the lives of nearly 50,000 people in the United States. Its also largely preventable. Screening tests can detect and remove abnormalities before they have a chance to turn cancerous or spot problems in the early stages, when the disease is more responsive to treatment. The American Cancer Society and other groups say that screening for most men and women should begin at age 50. Even so, many choose to ignore this advice. Roughly one-third of the countrys eligible adults havent been screened for colorectal cancer as recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates that if everyone age 50 and older had regular testing, at least 60 percent of deaths from this cancer could be avoided. In nearly every case, colon cancer begins with a small growth called a polyp, which over time turns into a large polyp, and eventually turns into cancer, said Dr. David Greenwald, director of clinical gastroenterology and endoscopy at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. This process takes many years to occur; if polyps are removed when they are small or even when they are big, but before they turn into cancer, colon cancer is prevented. If found in its earliest stages and if the cancer hasnt spread, the survival rate beyond 5 years is 90 percent, said Durado Brooks, managing director of cancer control intervention for the American Cancer Society. If it has already spread, the survival rate drops to 12 percent beyond 5 years. Our treatments are much, much more effective at the early stage, Brooks said. There are numerous ways to screen for colorectal cancer, and several organizations have issued their own guidelines. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening using high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy beginning at age 50 and continuing until age 75, at which point the decision to continue screening should be made on an individual basis depending on the persons overall health and screening history. The tests the task force recommends: High-sensitivity fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) to detect blood in the stool, a possible sign of cancer. People get a kit and collect small samples of stool that are sent to a lab. This test should be done annually. Flexible sigmoidoscopy, where doctors use a thin, flexible, lighted tube called a sigmoidoscope to examine the interior walls of the rectum and the lower third of the colon. Should be done every five years in conjunction with FOBT/FIT every three years. Colonoscopy, similar to a sigmoidoscopy but uses a longer colonoscope tube to look at the inside walls of the rectum and the entire colon. Should be done every 10 years. During the procedure, tissue samples may be collected for further testing or polyps may be removed. Colonoscopies are often performed as a follow-up if abnormalities are picked up by other screening methods. Doctors say theyve heard a plethora of excuses from patients whove put off screening. Some excuses for not undergoing screening include a fear of being diagnosed with cancer, said Dr. Andrew Chan, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Other patients do not want to undergo endoscopic screening tests because they are afraid of pain or discomfort. For these patients, I explain that the vast majority of patients do not experience discomfort since they are given sedatives and pain medicines during the procedures. The American Cancer Societys recommendations include additional screening options, such as an X-ray of the colon and rectum called a double-contrast barium enema, and a CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy), where X-rays and computers create images of the entire colon. Both require that the colon is completely empty before testing, so patients need to do a colon-cleansing prep, same as they would with a standard colonoscopy. The society also recommends a stool DNA test every three years that entails sending a bowel movement to a lab to be checked for cancer cells. They (stool tests) may not be as sensitive as colonoscopy, and some patients also worry about having to manipulate fecal matter, Chan said. However, any screening is better than no screening exam. While most adults can wait until 50 to start routine screening, tests should begin earlier and be done more frequently for those at higher risk, such as people with inflammatory bowel disease or a strong family history of colorectal cancer or polyps. People also need to be vigilant about symptoms no matter what their age. Just before Susan Cohans 40th birthday in 2002, Cohan experienced stomach pain and rectal bleeding. She saw several doctors who prescribed laxatives rather than referring her to a gastroenterologist. Cohan ended up in the emergency room in incredible pain. She was diagnosed with advanced stage colon cancer and told she had a couple of months to live, said her father, David Cohan, president of the Baltimore-based Susan Cohan Colon Cancer Foundation. Susan died two years later after a heroic battle, her father said. We urge anyone regardless of age with symptoms such as abdominal pain, bleeding or continuous constipation to get screened for colon cancer. A professional cyclist I am not. The good news is that I don't need to be to enjoy Tour de Brew QC. The fun, scenic 35-mile bike ride along the Mississippi River raises money every year for local cancer support programs. During the ride, participants stop at several Quad-Cities breweries and pubs in Iowa and Illinois. I attended the event last year and was introduced to a group of compassionate and caring families determined to increase awareness of the support system people need when they are faced with cancer. Since 2014, event founders and organizers Tina Metz Anderson and Shelli and Don Collins have worked to help families deal with the shock of cancer. My family and I were blessed to meet them and to receive the guidance needed to cope by using local programs funded by the event. This year's Tour de Brew QC will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 7, and will begin and end at Rock Island Brewing Company, 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island. The money that is raised will help Camp Kesem, a camp at Augustana College in Rock Island for children whose parents have died of cancer or still are fighting the disease; The NormaLeah Ovarian Cancer Initiative; and the Livestrong Foundation. After losing my 13-year-old daughter to cancer, I wanted a way to give back, Ms. Metz Anderson said. The best way to give back was making others aware of the services available to them when faced with a cancer diagnosis. "We also know it is proven early detection of many cancers can increase your survival rates. That is what Tour de Brew QC does we raise money to help foundations provide services to cancer patients and their families while educating the community to keep them informed. My children attended Camp Kesem last summer, and I participated in the Livestrong program at the YMCA, funded in part through Tour de Brew. Both programs helped strengthen me physically and emotionally and my family. Now, I am excited to volunteer at the event in hopes of helping others, too. I don't know anyone who has not been touched by cancer in some way, Ms. Metz Anderson said. We like to say come out and ride because you can, (or) come out to participate for someone who can't. This year, the event is expected to be bigger with the addition of the Vermont-based Traveler Beer Company. Famous for its variety of flavorful craft shandy beers, it will be the major sponsor for this year's event. The Traveler Beer Company loves opportunities to enjoy some lighthearted fun with great people while raising funds for important charities, said Alan Newman, founder of the Traveler Beer Company. There isnt a single community that hasnt been affected by cancer, so were proud to support this year's Tour de Brew QC." Shelli Collins, who worked as an oncology nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals, said the goal is to make the event bigger annually. We are excited to have the partnership with the Traveler Beer Company to allow us to grow the ride and increase our donations," she said. The first 300 riders who register before the event will receive a commemorative stainless steel Tour de Brew QC pint glass. Volunteers also will be at Bass Street Landing (at 17th Street and River Drive, Moline) to register anyone interested in donating bone marrow for the Be the Match program. Non-bike riders are also invited to participate by stopping at the pubs along the Mississippi River. There also will be auction items and specials throughout the bike route. To register for the ride, visit eventbrite.com/o/tour-de-brew-qc-7976503392. For more information, visit tourdebrewqc.com, Tour de Brew QC on FaceBook, or email organizers at Tourdebrewqc@gmail.com. To volunteer, email organizers. I look forward to seeing you there! A drug trafficking case that angered the presiding judge in Henry County Circuit Court has been dismissed on a motion of the Illinois appellate prosecutor. Jose G. Beltran, 56, of Arbuckle, Calif., was charged in March 2015 with five Class X felonies involving trafficking of methamphetamine and cocaine. He was arrested and held on $1 million bond after being pulled over by a state trooper on Interstate 80, allegedly for talking on a cellphone. The drugs police seized in a resulting search had a street value of more than $2 million, officers testified. In granting Mr. Beltran's motion to suppress evidence, Judge Jeffrey O'Connor last August nevertheless said the Third District Appellate Court should decide the issue of whether a second trooper on a scene is bound by the same rules that limit the arresting officer to the reasons for the stop, unless there is a voluntary consent to search. There was some question about whether he had consented or not, and an interpreter attended court hearings. But the case never got to an appellate court ruling. The case was dismissed earlier this month on a motion of the appellate prosecutor. The Henry County Circuit Court received notice of the dismissal earlier this month. Judge O'Connor, agreeing last August to suppress evidence from the stop, expressed skepticism regarding the troopers' stated sketchy suspicions about the semi unit Mr. Beltan was driving, about one trooper's audio equipment not being charged for the day's work and how the other trooper had left his audio equipment in his coat in the squad car on a winter day. He said there are reasons for state police policy on on use of such equipment. Mr. Beltran had been free on his own recognizance bond since last October. SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) A former security guard serving a life sentence in the 1957 slaying of a 7-year-old Illinois girl returns to court Tuesday in his battle to convince a judge he's innocent, while the victim's brother has demanded the appointment of a special prosecutor to keep the man behind bars. Jack McCullough, 76, was convicted in 2012 in one of the oldest cases in the U.S. ever to go to trial. But last week, the DeKalb County state's attorney released the findings of a six-month review that convinced him McCullough could not have committed the crime. State's Attorney Richard Schmack, who had no role in McCullough's prosecution, found fault with the investigation and said new evidence and a review of old documents corroborated an alibi. The review gives new momentum to McCullough's bid for freedom, and the case will be back before a DeKalb County court Tuesday afternoon, not far from Sycamore, where Maria Ridulph was abducted, stabbed and choked to death. But the review is also plunging Ridulph's family back into the decades of emotional turmoil they've endured since the little girl disappeared from a quiet street corner where she was playing in the snow more than half a century ago. Her brother, Charles Ridulph, filed a motion Monday asking the judge to appoint a special prosecutor. Like other family members, he remains convinced McCullough is the killer and he hopes an outside prosecutor will ensure the man stays behind bars. "My sister Maria was snatched away, raped and murdered, abandoned in the woods," Ridulph, 70, of Sycamore, wrote in the filing, according to The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle. "And now, Richard Schmack has abandoned her yet again and he has done so for the wrong reasons." Schmack said in a scathing filing last week that his review, which was prompted by McCullough's motion for post-conviction relief, turned up serious missteps during the investigation and prosecution. He also said there was new evidence supporting a McCullough alibi. The new evidence included recently subpoenaed phone records that proved McCullough made a collect call to his parents from a phone booth in downtown Rockford, Illinois, about 35 miles from Sycamore, just minutes after the abduction took place. That had always been McCullough's professed alibi, though the precise location of the phone had previously come under doubt, with some suggesting it may have been closer. Besides those records, Schmack's conclusions were also based on a review of thousands of pages of police reports and other old documents that he says were improperly barred from evidence during McCullough's trial. Some of them were only recently uncovered, he said. Some of those documents discredit testimony from McCullough's sister that the abduction had taken place earlier, Schmack determined, meaning there was no possibility McCullough could have committed the crime and then driven to Rockford in time to place that call. COLONA Engineer Scott Stephenson of McClure Engineering volunteered to contact the Bi-State Regional Commission for assistance in procuring a state transportation grant for a street crossing over the Hennepin Canal at Third Street. Colona alderman Jack Richardson said in January the street crossing was needed for safety and to alleviate traffic on Illinois 84. Third Street parallels Ill. 84 two blocks to the west. The city approved a bike path over the canal in 2014. I believe at this point the only way that that project is going forward is with some type of grant, said Mayor Rick Lack. The council had information about a TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant, but Mr. Stephenson said TIGER grants are for $5 million to $20 million projects, whereas the Colona project is hundreds of thousands. Mr. Stephenson said the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) may be a better fit, and he will talk to Bi-State on Colonas behalf. At least do some fact-finding and see where we are, he said. Aldermen also approved an ordinance amending an earlier ordinance involving the Freedom of Information Act, noting elected officials should be present if their emails, texts, instant messaging services or social media communication come under the purview of a FOIA request. Ald. Larry Ropp was the lone no vote. An advisory ordinance or resolution will be drawn up affecting whether aldermen can receive retirement benefits after the council voted 5-3 against continuing benefits. Three aldermen currently receive them: Larry Swemline, Rich Holman and Larry Ropp. Mr. Holman said he tried to opt out of the program, but once started, an individual doesnt have that opportunity. The city has learned that to qualify for the program, a majority of the council would have to put in 600 hours per year on city work, and the state could audit the city. The city currently spends $900 per year as its contribution for the three. Ald. Ropp's request for audio recordings of council meetings was discussed; city staff contacted the Illinois Attorney General's office. The state said the city could either treat it as a FOIA request or have the council address it; they opted to treat it as a FOIA. City Clerk Barbara Winegar didn't let it go without commenting that Ald. Ropp makes his own recordings of meetings and it was "one more thing he has to do to prick the city." The council also: Approved a lease and a business license for new operators of the cafe at the Colonas Scott Family Park who formerly operated Mimi Bs in Colona. Approved having Ryan Lindsey make electrical improvements at Scott Family Park; he would donate his labor, and materials would cost approximately $1,200. Learned Brandt Construction has completed the realignment of East 550th Street on U.S. 6 and all thats left is bookwork with the state to get the grant retainage back and put it in the citys motor fuel tax fund. Honored 36-year budget officer Lories Graham, who recently retired, with a special Colona coin; Mayor Lack made the presentation and gave her a hug. Scheduled a hearing on the fiscal year 2017 budget for 6 p.m. April 11 prior to the regularly scheduled council meeting; a $133,000 deficit could be covered with funds from the parks, motor fuel and money market funds. DAVENPORT -- An annual peace-on-earth prize has been awarded by the Davenport Catholic Diocese to a noted Buddhist Zen Master for his Martin Luther King Jr.-like efforts to bring peace to earth. The Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, 89, a Vietnamese peace activist and teacher, will be honored by the diocese during a 4 p.m. Saturday, April 2, Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award celebration at Christ the King Chapel at St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport. Pacem in Terris is Latin for peace on earth. The awards commemorate a 1963 encyclical letter written by Pope John XXIII. Past recipients have included President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and Sister Helen Prejean, among a list of more than 40 famous religious figures. The award is co-sponsored by the diocese; St. Ambrose University; Augustana College, Rock Island; Quad Cities Interfaith; Churches United of the Quad City Area; Islamic Center of the Quad Cities; The Catholic Messenger; Congregation of the Humility of Mary; Sisters of St. Benedict, Rock Island; Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton, Iowa; and Sisters of St. Francis, Dubuque. The Venerable Nhat Hanh will be unable to attend Saturday's celebration because of health reasons. He suffered a severe stroke in late 2014 and still is recovering, Pacem in Terris coalition member Kent Ferris said. Venerable Nhat Hanh becomes only the third honoree unable to attend Davenport's annual assembly. President Kennedy was the first, because he was honored posthumously. The only other absentee honoree was French philosopher Jean Venier in 2013, Mr. Ferris said. Bishop Amos will share information about the earlier California celebration; and a video of Nhat Hanh's "Great Bell Chant" reflections will be shown, Mr. Ferris said. "This affords us the opportunity to meet people of other faiths and learn about and appreciate their contributions to our world," Mr. Ferris said. The event will be similar to earlier celebrations in California, but it gives local community members a chance to join with "our Buddhist brothers and sisters," he said. "His expression of peace and mindfulness had a profound impact on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and, in turn, the world," Mr. Ferris said. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of honoring Dr. King as a Pacem in Terris award winner, Mr. Ferris said. Venerable Nhat Hanh also had written to Dr. King in 1965, asking him to publicly denounce the Vietnam War. Dr. King agreed and did renounce the war in a 1967 speech. Dr. King was so impressed and inspired by his Buddhist counterpart that he nominated Venerable Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize, as well, referring to him as "an apostle of peace and nonviolence," Mr. Ferris said. Both noted activists sought peace on earth, he said. Venerable Nhat Hanh's main message was "peace in one's self, peace in the world," Mr. Ferris said. "Now, more than ever, the message of peace, first within each of us, then expressed to others, is not an option but the moral imperative." HAZYAZ, Yemen (AP) The baby was born in war, even as planes blasted his village in Yemen. Five months later, Udai Faisal died from war: His skeletal body broke down under the ravages of malnutrition, his limbs like twigs, his cheeks sunken, his eyes dry. He vomited yellow fluid from his nose and mouth. Then he stopped breathing. "He didn't cry and there were no tears, just stiff," said his mother, Intissar Hezzam. "I screamed and fainted." The spread of hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemen's war since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the United States, launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago in a fight against Shiite rebels. The impoverished nation of 26 million, which imports 90 percent of its food, already had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, but in the past year the statistics have leaped. The number of people considered "severely food insecure" unable to put food on the table without outside aid went from 4.3 million to more than 7 million, according to the World Food Program. Ten of the country's 22 provinces are classified as one step away from famine. Where before the war around 690,000 children under five suffered moderate malnutrition, now the number is 1.3 million. Even more alarming are the rates of severe acute malnutrition among children the worst cases where the body starts to waste away doubling from around 160,000 a year ago to 320,000 now, according to UNICEF estimates. Exact numbers for those who died from malnutrition and its complications are unknown, since the majority were likely unable to reach proper care. But in a report released Tuesday, UNICEF said an estimated 10,000 additional children under five died of preventable diseases the past year because of the breakdown in health services, on top of the previous rate of nearly 40,000 children a year. "The scale of suffering in the country is staggering," UNICEF said in the report, and the violence "will have an impact for generations to come." The Saudi-led coalition launched its campaign on March 26, 2015, aiming to halt the advance of Shiite rebels known of Houthis who had taken over the capital, Sanaa, and stormed south. The Houthi advance was halted. But they continue to hold Sanaa and the north. In the center of the country, they battle multiple Saudi-backed factions supporting the internationally recognized government that tenuously holds the southern city of Aden. The fighting and the heavy barrage of airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people, including more than 3,000 civilians, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. More than 900 children have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded, 61 percent of them in airstrikes, according to UNICEF. Coalition airstrikes appear to be "responsible for twice as many casualties as all other forces put together," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. The coalition argues that the rebels often use civilians and civilian locations as shields for their fighters. Around 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes. Strikes have destroyed storehouses, roads, schools, farms, factories, power grids and water stations. The naval blockade, enforcing a U.N. arms embargo on the rebels, has disrupted the entry of food and supplies. The ripple effects from war have tipped a country that could already barely feed itself over the edge. The food, fuel and other supplies that do make it into the country are difficult to distribute because trucks struggle to avoid battle zones or need to scrounge for gas. The fate of Udai illustrated the many factors, all exacerbated by war, that lead to the death of an infant. His family lives off the pension that Udai's father, Faisal Ahmed, gets as a former soldier, about $200 a month for him, his wife and nine other children ranging from 2 years old to 16. He used to sometimes work construction, but those jobs disappeared in the war. With food prices rising and supplies sporadic, the family eats once a day, usually yoghurt and bread, peas on a good day, said Udai's parents, both in their 30s. The day Udai was born, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition were striking an army base used by Houthi rebels in their district of Hazyaz, a shantytown on the southern edge of Sanaa. Shrapnel hit their one-bedroom house where Udai's mother was in labor. "She was screaming and delivering the baby while the bombardment was rocking the place," the father said. Hezzam breastfed her newborn son for about 20 days, but then her milk stopped, likely from her own malnutrition. Even after childbirth, she had to collect firewood for the mud brick stove at the doorstep of her house. Like much of the country, electricity has long been knocked out in their neighborhood, either because of airstrikes or lack of fuel, and there's rarely cooking gas. "I go every day to faraway places to search for the wood then carry it home on my head," she said. The family turned to formula to feed Udai, but it wasn't always available and they couldn't always afford it. So every few days, Udai got formula and the other days he would get sugar and water. Water trucks occasionally reach the area, but otherwise his parents had to use unclean water. In the past year, the number of people without regular access to clean water has risen from 13 million people to more than 19 million, nearly three-quarters of the population. Within three months, Udai was suffering from diarrhea. His father took him to local clinics but they either didn't have supplies or he couldn't afford what they did have. Finally, on March 20, he made it to the emergency section at al-Sabeen Hospital. Udai was suffering from severe malnutrition, diarrhea and a chest infection, said Saddam al-Azizi, head of the emergency unit. He was put on antibiotics and a feeding solution through the nose. The AP saw Udai at al-Sabeen on March 22. His arms were convulsing, his emaciated legs motionless, his face gaunt and pale. When he cried, he was too dehydrated to produce tears. At around five months old, he weighed 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds). "Unstable," his chart read for every day he'd been there. Two days later, his parents took him home. His father told the AP it was because the doctors told them it was hopeless, and he complained the staff was not giving him enough treatment. Al-Azizi said he suspected it was because the family couldn't afford the medicines. The hospital stay is free, but because medicines are in such short supply, families must pay for them, he said. "It was a mistake to take him out," he said. The treatment needed time to work. Still, al-Azizi had given Udai only a 30 percent chance of survival. Al-Sabeen was already dealing with dozens of malnourished children. In the first three months of the year, it has treated around 150 children with malnutrition, double the same period last year, al-Azizi said. Around 15 died, not counting Udai. Some parents managed to get there from remote parts of the country. One woman described walking for four days from her mountain village outside Sanaa, carrying her emaciated daughter, who at two years old weighed only four kilograms (8.8 pounds). Mohammed Ahmed brought his son here from the city of Ibb because the hospital there had no supplies. He drove the 90 miles (150 kilometers) through rebel checkpoints while warplanes struck, he said. His 10-month-old son Marwan, after 15 days in the hospital, now weighs 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds). Hospitals and clinics around the country have suffered shortages of medicines and fuel, meaning millions live in areas that have virtually no medical care. UNICEF said nearly 600 health facilities nationwide have stopped working. The Saudi-led coalition allows humanitarian flights bringing medical supplies as well food and water in to Sanaa as well as shipments into Hodeida port, the closest one to the capital. But getting the supplies around the country is difficult. Even pre-war transportation infrastructure was poor, and now trucks often can't get through battle zones. Drivers fear getting hit by airstrikes or have to scrounge to obtain expensive gas. Hospitals and clinics have been hit by airstrikes or caught up in fighting. In the battlefield city of Taiz, the Yemeni-Swedish Hospital for Children was damaged as rebels and Saudi-backed fighters fought over it. Parents had to rush their children being treated there back to their homes, and their fate is unknown. Udai hardly lasted three hours after being brought home, his parents said. Ahmed, his father, said he blames Saudi Arabia's air campaign for his son's death. "This is before the war," he said, holding up his 2-year-old son Shehab to show the difference between a child born before the war and after. They buried the infant at the foot of the mountains nearby. His father read the Quran over the tiny grave marked only by rocks, reciting, "On God we depend." Last Tuesday night, when I returned from my second economic development trip to Cuba, I couldn't stop thinking about the words of an American businessman who I had spoken with just a few hours earlier. We discussed both the challenges and the tremendous opportunity that Cuba could mean to our farmers and our manufacturers. He summed it all up with one simple thought, Every single day that Washington keeps this embargo in place is a day that we lose. Its now been more than half a century since President Kennedy established the embargo, and nearly 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Yet here we are, with a nation just 90 miles off our shore, losing to our competitors in a market that we should be dominating. However, after spending three days with President Obama and speaking with Cuban officials in Havana, I have never been more optimistic that we are on the right track toward ending the embargo and developing a mutually beneficial trade relationship that will strengthen our farmers, our manufacturers and our workers. The cost of allowing the embargo to continue is almost incalculable. It has been a non-starter for American manufacturers like Deere & Co. and Caterpillar - which would like to sell their equipment directly to Cuba, but cant. While agricultural trade is already permitted in Cuba, red tape has made it virtually impossible for Illinois farmers to succeed by denying Cubans access to the standard credit markets available to virtually every other nation in the world. Cuba imports about 80 percent of their food and, while the United States used to sell them almost half of their food supply, were down to just about 10 percent of this $2 billion annual market because self-imposed trade barriers have made us less competitive. That's why I am working to pass legislation that will allow Cubans to utilize standard credit markets so our corn, soy and livestock producers can compete. During this trip, we took substantive steps toward improving our economic relationship. First, under the leadership of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture. This establishes a new framework for partnership, idea sharing and research collaboration between our nations in agricultural development. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the availability of commodity checkoff funds to be used in Cuba. This means that for the first time since the early 60s, American farmers will be able to invest directly in trade networks between our nations. While these are just the first steps on a long road toward normalizing relations with Cuba, I am hopeful they will help lay a foundation of trust that we can build upon. By demonstrating the mutually beneficial nature of this new partnership and engaging in a dialog with the Cuban people, we will ensure a better economic future for our farmers, our manufacturers and our workers. Meng Brings NASA Astronaut To Queens On October 17, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) brought NASA astronaut Dr. Jonny Kim to Queens where he met and spoke with students at Francis... Celebrating Columbus The Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Queens (FIAO) held their annual Columbus Day parade in Astoria, on Saturday, October 8, during Italian Heritage Month. The... Russo-Elling Mourned More than 300 first responders lined up on Thursday night to honor FDNY EMT Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, as her body was placed into a waiting... The Yen 550.8bn ($US 4.84bn) project was approved by the Japanese government as long ago as 1973, but work was suspended in September 1982 due to the poor state of the economy and Japanese National Railways' mounting debts. The 148.8km line runs 23% on viaducts, 4% on bridges, and 65% in tunnels. In addition to the Seikan Tunnel, which opened in 1988, the new railway includes the 8.1km Oshima - Tobetsu, 6.2km Tsugaru - Oda, and 5.9km Tsugaru tunnels. The maximum line speed is 260km/h with trains operating at up to 140km/h in tunnels. JR Hokkaido operates services on the line using a fleet of four series H5 trains built by Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The trains are based on JR East's series E5 Shinkansen trains and are maintained at a purpose-built depot at Hakodate, near Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. The 10-car 320km/h sets are 253m-long and accommodate up to 731 seated passengers, including 18 in Gran Class and 55 in Green Car. Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto is served by 10 express Hayabusa services from Tokyo and one per day from Sendai, together with two Hayate services, one from Morioka and the other from Shin-Aomori. A shuttle service operates on the 19.9km 1067mm-gauge line between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Hakodate city centre. The fastest Hayabusa services complete the 862.5km trip between Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in 4h 2min. Hayabusa takes 2h 59min to cover the 713.3km between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori, where there is a two-minute stop to change drivers. The remaining 148.8km to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto is covered in 1h 1min, with trains running at a maximum of 140km/h on 82km of the route. With the launch of high-speed services, all 1067mm-gauge passenger services through the Seikan Tunnel, including Cassiopeia, Super Hakucho, Hakucho, and Hamanasu trains have been withdrawn. A full technical description of the new line can be viewed here. 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 China's recent deployment of HQ-9 missiles to the Paracel Islands represents part of a larger effort to consolidate the country's position in the South China Sea. While the deployment in itself only adds an incremental improvement to China's ability to control the Paracel Islands, its larger significance lies in its demonstration of Beijing's determination to strengthen control of the vital water and air space over the objections of its Southeast Asian neighbors, the United States and other countries. Even more worryingly, China's rising confidence in the moral, legal and, over time, military strength of its position may embolden it to risk a dangerous level of escalation in any militarized crisis involving the Paracels. On February 16, media reported that China had deployed two batteries of eight Hongqi-9 (HQ-9) surface-to-air missile (SAM) launchers to Woody Island in the Paracels. Like the Russian S-300 system which it largely resembles, the HQ-9 is a modern, capable SAM system with a range of roughly 120 nautical miles (nm). Reportedly, the HQ-9 incorporates technology from the U.S. Patriot missile, namely its track via missile guidance system. China continues to gradually replace legacy 1960s-era SA-2 strategic SAMs with more capable S-300 and HQ-9 SAM systems, and this deployment in part reflects the broader effort to replace legacy systems with more modern ones. This is not the first time China has sent the advanced SAM system to those contested islands. Senior U.S. military officials have confirmed that China sent the missiles at least twice before to participate in exercises. This deployment differs from those previous occasions in that it was not part of any exercise. Moreover, the PLA has operated in the Paracels for decades, even formally incorporating Woody Island as the seat of the prefecture-level Sansha City that administers Chinese territorial claims in the area. China seized the Paracel Islands from thenSouth Vietnam in 1974. Today only Vietnam and Taiwan also claim ownership of the islands. This is in contrast to the more hotly contested Spratly Islands, in which China's military presence remains nascent. In addition to the recent extension of the island's airstrip to military-grade, Woody Island also features hardened gun emplacements. Woody Island has also hosted visits by military ships and airplanes, including deployments of J-11 aircraft. Military Significance In military terms, the deployment of the HQ-9 on the Paracel Islands incrementally increases China's ability to control the airspace immediately surrounding Woody Island. However, its tactical significance increases when deployed in combination with other anti-access, area denial (A2/AD) weapons. Moreover, the weapon carries tactical and strategic implications that can affect the regional security order in peacetime, crisis and in conflict. The most direct tactical effect in peacetime is to threaten the safety of U.S. surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft that may pass by the islands, such as the U.S. Navy's P-3 or P-8 patrol planes. China has long protested such missions and sortied fighter aircraft to intercept U.S. airplanes. Deployment of SAM systems such as the HQ-9 or S-300 along the coast or on disputed islands such as the Paracels adds a more threatening way for China to signal its dissatisfaction with the flights. The danger increases if strains in the bilateral relationship embolden Beijing to take provocative measures. Targeting the U.S. patrol planes with the SAM's targeting radar would represent a highly threatening gesture that could reinforce Beijing's point, although such a move would carry its own risks of aggravating military tensions with the United States. The peacetime deployment of a SAM system to the Paracels also establishes precedent for the militarization of Chinese holdings in the Spratly Islands. Over time, China could increase both the scale of military weapons and systems on the Paracels as well as gradually introduce military weapons and platforms in other contested features, such as the Spratly Islands. China could cite any number of military activities on the part of the United States or other regional powers as justification for such an expansion. But the net effect would be to gradually strengthen China's military edge over a rival disputant and raise the stakes for the United States and any country that might seek to curb Chinese control of the features. In a crisis involving the South China Sea, deployment of HQ-9 and similar systems to the Paracels, Hainan Island, the southeast coast and, perhaps, the Spratly Islands could strengthen Chinese control of the local airspace. Deployment of HQ-9armed destroyers, such as the Type 052C or 052D, could provide additional coverage of the airspace, posing a severe threat to aircraft sortied by Chinese opponents. PLA Navy Destroyer zhidui at Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, and in Sanya both include several such destroyers. Combined with deployments of military aircraft and ships and surface-to-surface missiles, the SAM umbrella could place China in a strong position to dominate any of its rival neighbors in any crisis around the disputed features and raise the risk of a major escalation in a confrontation involving the United States. It is true that in a major war, assets stationed on the Paracels, Spratlys, or other islands would be highly vulnerable to attack. After all, the features remain well within range of land-based cruise missiles, such as Vietnam's P-800 Oniks (range: 600 nm), among other threats. The confined space on remote islands renders useless the HQ-9's mobility. But attacking missiles on the islands would require striking what China regards as its territory, which would bring its own risks of escalation. If the United States, Vietnam, or another country opted not to hazard major war to remove the missile threat, then options to cope with the HQ-9 in a militarized crisis or clash would become much more limited. Political and Strategic Significance Observers debate whether China sent the missiles in response to recent U.S. military activities that Beijing found objectionable. In January, Western media reported that a U.S. warship passed within 12nm of another occupied atoll in the Paracel islands, Triton Island (). The same month, China criticized reports indicating growing South Korean interest in hosting U.S.-provided Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) missiles. A tit for tat response to perceived U.S. military provocations would be very much in keeping with the security policy of Xi Jinping's administration. Chinese officials and commentators have in fact depicted the deployment as a defensive response to U.S. military activity in the South China Sea. At a press conference on February 25, the Ministry of Defense spokesman mocked U.S. efforts to make the HQ-9 a hot issue and claimed the deployment served defensive purposes. A few weeks prior to news of the deployment, Chinese media reported that Wu Shengli, Commander of the PLA Navy, reportedly warned U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson that China's decision to send military capabilities to the contested region would completely depend on the level of threat we face. In the aftermath of reports of the HQ-9 deployment, Chinese commentary has similarly accused the United States of militarizing the South China Sea situation and depicted the deployment as a defensive response to U.S. violations of international law through naval and air operations near Chinese claimed maritime features. An article in the semi-official populist newspaper, Global Times, explained that China would respond with countermeasures to every provocation from the United States. It echoed Wu's warning in declaring that China's choice of military deployment would depend on the kind of threat posed by the United States and other outside forces. Efforts to depict Chinese military actions as being in the moral and legal right closely follow the style of politics that has prevailed under Xi Jinping. Xi's pledge of a bottom line principle set the tone in rejecting compromise on any territorial or sovereignty issue. The 2013 defense white paper similarly aims to establish China's moral high ground in repurposing the Maoist dictum that China will never attack, but if attacked, we will surely counter attack from one of defense against invasion to one in which China will resolutely take all measures necessary to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The more confident that Beijing feels that it has the moral and legal upper hand, the more inclined it will be to tolerate risk in any crisis involving the disputed South China Sea islands. Conclusion By itself, the deployment of an HQ-9 SAM system to Woody Island only incrementally increases China's control over the air space in the South China Sea (See map). Its range falls short of Hainan Island and scarcely covers more than a fraction of the vast airspace of the South China Sea. The most immediate threat posed is to aircraft that fly within its rangeprincipally, U.S. reconnaissance and surveillance airplanes. Although China has long challenged the legitimacy of those flights, it is unlikely to shoot down the airplanes unprovoked. In a crisis featuring a military standoff involving U.S. forces in the South China Sea, however, Chinese willingness to risk a crisis to demonstrate its resolve would greatly increase the danger. U.S. commanders would have to weigh the hazards of flying within range of the system against the importance of signaling U.S. resolve and collecting intelligence. However, the threat goes beyond the United States. All other countries that traverse the South China Sea have reason to exercise caution. Indeed, Australian authorities have already expressed concern about potential threats to aircraft passing through the region. Any other regional rival that sought to probe China's resolve to defend any of its claimed features in the South China Sea could similarly find itself at the receiving end of a military retaliation and all the risks of disastrous miscalculation that such a situation would entail. As China's confidence in the moral, legal, and, over time, the military strength of its position increases, its leadership will likely show an even greater willingness to tolerate risk for the sake of establishing its resolve to defend its claims. Short of a crisis, the larger significance remains political and strategic. The deployment signals China's determination to consolidate its gains in the South China Sea, regardless of criticism by the United States and its allies. Beijing has firmly rejected demands by U.S. authorities to stop construction or militarization of its holdings in the South China Sea. China appears equally determined to demonstrate that however much countries in Asia may resent it, they are incapable of impeding Beijing's pursuit of control over the critical maritime space. It is no coincidence that China has loudly promoted the potential economic gains of its One Belt, One Road and other regional economic initiatives at the same time that it has pushed its coercive, but so far non-violent expansion of control over the South China Sea. U.S. efforts to build international pressure through joint patrols and promotion of arbitration through international courts represent the right way to counter China's moves. However, determining the appropriate level of international pressure to dissuade Beijing remains a worryingly elusive task. Timothy R. Heath is a senior international defense research analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty. This commentary originally appeared on Jamestown Foundation's China Brief on March 28, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. By any measure, the number of women serving in the Afghan Special Security Forces is small 80 women out of some 14,000 personnel. But while many are relegated to support roles, about 20 of the women are employed as members of the tactical platoons and counterintelligence units integral to the effectiveness of the special security forces. Despite their limited numbers, the women play an important part in the counterterrorism and counternarcotic capabilities of these forces. Engaging with the female civilian population was a consistent challenge that U.S. and coalition special operations forces faced in Afghanistan. Their mission often required them to function in some of Afghanistan's most culturally conservative, rural areas. One approach used to mitigate this challenge was developing female-only coalition units to support male-dominated U.S. and NATO tactical forces that include the Army and Marine female engagement teams and cultural support teams. While the effectiveness of these ad hoc coalition units which did not have the time to develop the necessary cultural, linguistic and other skills they needed to succeed has been debated within NATO and Department of Defense circles, the women-only units in the Afghan Special Security Forces have been highly effective. The female platoons in Afghanistan increase the effectiveness of the forces by engaging directly when necessary and in a culturally appropriate manner with women in the vicinity of special forces operations. As a consequence of Afghanistan's well-established gender norms, which dictate women should not be in contact with men outside of their family, the women's role in the security sector is gendered. That means female tactical teams are designed to respect the male/female societal division and only culturally appropriate people are allowed to engage with women and children during special security forces tactical operations. Male-only units conducting raids on the homes of suspected terrorists are not culturally allowed to conduct physical searches on women in the household, which has become an increasingly significant problem since more male suspects are attempting to evade capture by dressing as women. The female members of the special forces also interrogate the women present during an operation, augmenting intelligence-gathering capabilities. The contributions of the women in Afghanistan's special security forces demonstrate the unique value that women can bring to special operations forces in socially conservative societies like Afghanistan. Yet the role of women within the ranks of the Afghan Special Security Forces is far less recognized, both in Afghanistan and within the international community, than the forces themselves. Typically, the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan turns to its special security forces first when responding to challenging security situations. The special security forces were the government's go-to force when the northern city of Kunduz was overrun in late September, and they are deployed throughout the country when conventional forces are overextended. Our assessment draws on our research in Afghanistan and conversations with several NATO representatives known as gender advisers, whose mission is to improve the working conditions of women in the Afghan security forces. One gender adviser told us that the female members of the special security forces were very successful in these tactical roles and that they have been essential in operations requiring interaction with the community. Despite cultural barriers hindering women from joining the forces, those in the special security forces are well-trained for their particular mission and valued by the Afghan Special Security Forces, several of the advisers said. The major challenge the Afghan Special Security Forces confronts in expanding the number of women in its ranks is the ability to recruit qualified personnel. It must rely on the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces' centralized recruiting and personnel allocation process to identify the right women for a particular mission. Other challenges, such as the lack of sufficient women-specific physical infrastructure (including bathrooms and barracks) and gender-based discrimination and harassment, are being actively addressed by the Afghan forces with the support of coalition gender advisers. Last October, President Obama ordered U.S. special operations troops to deploy to Syria and operate in culturally conservative, remote areas to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Cultural norms in villages, towns and refugee camps within Iraq and Syria will create a challenging environment for male special operations troops to interview, interrogate or partner with women to support operations. However, the recent decision to fully integrate women into U.S. special operations forces offers an opportunity for the United States to learn from its experiences in Afghanistan, since integrating women with cultural and linguistic fluency into those teams has proved to be a powerful enabler to coalition efforts in the latter years of the Afghanistan campaign. The Department of Defense could benefit from developing and instituting approaches that would allow special operations forces to work with women in these culturally conservative societies, according to RAND research published last year. Properly planning and implementing gender integration would minimize complications and enhance the mission of U.S. Special Operations Forces. Whitney Dudley is a researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and Robert Stewart is a former RAND researcher. They spent time with the Commander's Action Group of the NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan from April 2015 through January 2016. This commentary originally appeared on Military Times on March 26, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis. The Argentinean Government has decided to leave Venezuela-based Telesur, of which it owned a 16% share. After several weeks of financial analysis, the decision has been that Argentina will no longer support the public pan-American signal.Launched in 2005, Telesur was originally designed in Venezuela by Hugo Chavez's government, then becoming a multi-state-owned network in which Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Argentina participated.In Argentina, following a ruling of the audiovisual authority, the channel's distribution was mandatory for all pay-TV platforms and was included as a free-to-air (FTA) network in the country's DTT.Although it is still available, Telesur will soon stop broadcasting on both pay-TV and DTT channels. Our country had no decision about content or the signal's management. This move follows our plurality and austerity plans for public media, commented Hernan Lombardi, Argentina's minister for media and public content.The move hasn't surprised the Venezuelan authorities, which were expecting a decision along these lines due to the poor political relationship between both governments.Since Argentina's new government was established in December 2015, it has carried several reforms in the media and telecoms sectors. Former executive of New York bank charged with $95 mln fraud report MOSCOW, March 29 (RAPSI) A former top manager of PJT Partners investment bank was charged on Monday with $95 million fraud, Associated Press has reported. According to Associated Press, Andrew Caspersen is accused of tricking his clients into investing money in fraudulent private equity investments. Prosecutors in the case allege that Caspersen was responsible for sham financial operations and creating fake e-mail addresses and websites and that he managed to receive only $25 million from his criminal activities. Caspersen was released on $5 million bail. Additionally, civil charges were filed against Caspersen by the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to return money defrauded by the former executive, Associated Press has reported. Two women dying of cancer in Russian prison turn to ECHR ST. PETERSBURG, March 29 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) - Two gravely ill women convicted of drug dealing have filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), attorney Sergei Petryakov told RAPSI on Tuesday. The women at the age of 37 and 28 who are suffering from cancer, HIV and Hepatitis C asked the ECHR to compel Russian authorities to provide them with an emergent medical assistance in a specialized cancer center or to release them for treatment in a civil hospital. The convicts have been put in a penitentiary clinic for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region which cannot provide them with a necessary help, Petryakov said. According to existing law, they have a right to release because of grave illness, the lawyer added. In March, the Smolninsky District Court in St. Petersburg refused to release the women. The ruling has been already appealed but consideration of the complaint can take long, according to the attorney. Terms of their imprisonment have to expire in 2021 and 2022 but the convicts can't last till release, Petryakov said. Russian Finance Ministry appeals recovery of $3.2 mln in favor of Transaero MOSCOW, March 29 (RAPSI) Russias Finance Ministry filed an appeal against a court order to pay Transaero airline over 215 million rubles ($3.2 million) in the dispute over insurance payments, according to the Moscow Commercial Courts records. In February, the Moscow Commercial Court granted a lawsuit filed by Transaero. The air carrier demanded to retrieve the excess payments it made to the Pension Fund under a law of November 2001 on the additional social protection of civil crew members. The third party in this lawsuit is Russias Pension Funds department in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The amendments to the law made in December 2010 cancelled the upper ceiling on the revenue base for the assessment of insurance premiums and increased premiums from January 1, 2010. As a result, the companies that already paid insurance premiums for 2010 had to make additional payments to the Pension Fund. In 2013, the Constitutional Court ruled that the above amendments contradicted the Constitution in that they were applied retroactively, thereby affecting the air carriers financial position. Following that, several airlines demanded the return of overpayments they made for 2010. On April 28, 2015, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts decisions under which the Finance Ministry was to pay about 158 million rubles ($2.3 million) to UTair. In early June, S7 Airlines sued the ministry for about 157 million rubles. Aeroflot has filed a lawsuit seeking over 374 million rubles ($5.5 million) in compensation from Russias Finance Ministry. Transaero found itself unable to pay its debts estimating 250 billion rubles ($3.7 billion). Government-approved plan of transferring 75% of companys shares to Aeroflot failed. Its problems resulted in a large number of flight cancels and delays. In October 2015, Sberbank and Alfa Bank filed bankruptcy petitions against the troubled airline. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad region initiated a bankruptcy procedure against Transaero on December 16. I had the opportunity to visit Havana with the permission of the U.S. government in March 2013. Thankfully, I am blessed with a vivid imagination, and I could see that it must have been an incredible city prior to 1959 -- certainly the crown jewel of the Caribbean. That is no longer the case. The torment of communism is absolute, and it eats away at buildings the same way it does mankind. Those buildings tell their own story. Once-beautiful facades, paint chipped and fading, hid rotting wood floors and crumbling walls. Famed cars from the 1950s drove past these buildings, several now serving as taxis, driven by doctors who pick up fares to supplement their measly incomes. Nothing brought home the lasting impact on everyday life of the Castro regime so much as to see the homes along once-spectacular boulevards once bedecked with flowing water fountains. These served as single-family homes. The former owners of the remarkable buildings, however, fled long ago to American shores, and the homes now are filled by three or four families that hang their clothes on wires from window to window and sit hunched over listening to radios, while their 60+ year old car, if they have one, sits idle in the driveway. So I wanted to observe President Barack Obama's visit in Cuba without any bias. After all, I had been to Havana, and unlike so many others I know, I do not have a personal connection to Cuba, nor was my family displaced because of the Castros and their band of thugs. But I know too much -- not just what has been written about the Cuban revolution, but the real, often unpublished, gut-wrenching personal accounts from first- or second-generation Cuban-American families who are in utter disbelief that Obama would visit the failed state of Cuba to kiss the ring of President Raul Castro when this could have been accomplished from Washington -- without the president shaking the bloodstained hands of old men in Havana. Why could he not just send a mid-ranking official from the State Department to do this dirty work, they wonder. Nevertheless, all those feelings aside, I watched hoping President Obama would not just roll over upon his arrival. I hoped that he had learned from his past foreign policy fiascoes in Libya and in Syria, from the bad Iran deal, from the failed reset with Russia, and from the rise of the Islamic State group. I do not, moreover, entirely disagree that the embargo has probably run its course and remains an outmoded relic of the Cold War. It is however the moral imperative of the United States to be doing all that we can to help the Cuban people break the chains of their decades-long communist bondage. An incredible history binds the United States and Cuba. Almost since the beginning of our republic, Cuba has been held in high regard. Early American leaders advocated for the inclusion of the island into the Union at first chance. Americans fought for Cuban independence. And our nations only became closer when Cuba gained its independence -- that is, until the brutal Cuban Revolution, and the beginning of the Castros' reign of terror. I had therefore hoped that when the U.S. government eventually advocated for the end of the embargo, it would also mean the end of the Castros. Unfortunately, it does not. The policies of the Obama administration serve to fill the coffers and prop up the Castro regime and their ilk, enriching another crop of communist thugs so that they will remain in power after the eventual death of Fidel and Raul, whenever the devil should take them. The visit of an American president should have been to usher in a new era of freedom and democracy in Cuba, not inflict another generation of Cubans with the soul-crushing disease of communism. The United States has lost its way. Our moral compass is broken. We used to stand for something. We are supposed to be the nation that shines as a beacon for freedom and democracy. We used to believe there is only one simply truth to life: live free or die. Yet when given the chance, we turned our back on the political prisoners and dissidents who have been killed, imprisoned, or exiled by the Castro regime. We have disgraced all Cubans who have left everything behind over the years and traveled to this nation, making perilous journeys without the guarantee they would reach our shores or borders. Obama could not bring himself to acknowledge the Ladies in White, who rallied for human rights on the day of his arrival and were subsequently imprisoned. Even Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Obama, turned into a shill for the Castro regime's deplorable detention of political prisoners by stating, "It's their [the Cuban government's] belief that they are not political prisoners, that they are in prison for various crimes and offenses against Cuban law." Furthermore, President Obama chose to stand side by side with Raul Castro, a military dictator, not a president, legitimizing the violence and brutality of a "revolution" that overturned a democracy. This would be like a future president standing side by side with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of ISIS, six decades from now. That would be incomprehensible and unacceptable, and so too should be this meeting between Obama and Castro. While Brussels burned, Obama sat coolly next to Raul, a man whose reign of terror was just as heinous as the enemy we now seek to eliminate. This is not merely hyperbole. Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Cuban revolutionary, homicidal maniac, and the Castros' brother-in-arms, eerily echoes leaders of ISIS of today: "The U.S. is the great enemy of mankind! Against those hyenas there is no option but extermination. We will bring the war to the imperialist enemies' very home, to his places of work and recreation. The imperialist enemy must feel like a hunted animal wherever he moves. Thus we'll destroy him! We must keep our hatred against them alive and fan it to paroxysms!" Now, President Obama shakes the hand of a man that helped blindfold people as Che prepared to shoot them. Not to mention, he stood in front of this man's likeness for a photo-op. This is change I cannot believe I am witnessing. The years of communist rule have taken their toll; on Cuba's buildings, on its people, on its economy. The Castros long ago submitted to Soviet overlords, only to be abandoned and left in ruins. The communist Cuban Revolution failed. The United States should have come to put them out of their misery; instead we gave them life. Weeks before President Obama's arrival in Havana, uneasiness was already perceptible in the ranks of the Cuban government. For sure, President Raul Castro knew how much his regime could benefit from a historic event that would signal, better than anything else, the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations. He was no less aware, however, of the risks associated with hosting an American president who was intent on openly defending the cause of human rights and liberty during his journey. The ruling government's anxiety was all the more understandable considering that a poll carried out in April 2015 found President Obama's popularity among Cubans (80 percent) soaring well overhead that of the Castro brothers (47 percent for Raul and 44 percent for Fidel). To unnerve the regime further still, there was Obama's sine qua non condition for visiting the island, namely: to be able to meet with representatives of the Cuban dissidence, including the Ladies in White, who are beaten and detained practically every Sunday after they take to the streets of Havana and other major cities of the island to call for freedom of expression and association. Compelled to tolerate the meeting requested by Obama, the Cuban authorities attempted to dilute its impact by pressing the U.S. negotiators to include regime-picked representatives of so-called civil society -- a move that would enable the Cuban government to infiltrate its pawns and police informers into that gathering. Obama's negotiators, however, made it clear that the list was non-negotiable: only the Cubans chosen by U.S. authorities would be invited to the meeting. The malaise on the Cuban side manifested itself from the very first minutes of Obama's journey. In a departure from the practice of protocol, the Cuban president was not present on the tarmac of Havana's airport to welcome his American homologue. All things considered, that absence played into Obama's hands, for it was in consonance with his unhidden aim of making the trip not so much a state visit as an encounter with the Cuban people. Rain was falling when Air Force One landed, and President Obama came out of the plane holding an umbrella -- which he shared with his wife Michelle -- instead of asking a subordinate to do so for him. The gesture had a successful -- and probably intended -- PR dimension, all the more so as Latin Americans will have noted the contrast between that moment and the moment, a few months ago, when Bolivian President Evo Morales -- a political heir of the Castro brothers and an all-out egalitarian leftist -- instructed one of his bodyguards publicly to kneel down and lace Morales' shoes. The press conference held on the first official day of the visit was a chance to show to Cubans the abyssal difference between a democracy and a dictatorship in the realm of communications and public debate. While Obama looked relaxed throughout the exercise, President Castro lost his temper when a CNN journalist dared to ask about the existence of political prisoners in Cuba. Unable to conceal his annoyance, President Castro had the gall to assert that there were no prisoners of this kind on the island under his charge, and he challenged the journalist to submit a list of such prisoners so he could free them before the end of the day. Cuba's internal dissidents and exiles swiftly submitted lists showing the existence of 87 to 89 prisoners of conscience. President Castro's reply on that occasion likely will embarrass the Cuban government in the weeks and months to come. From now on, when the Ladies in White and other dissidents are beaten in the street after their Sunday march, and taken by force to a police station, Raul Castro's denial of the existence of political prisoners will resonate worldwide as blatant hypocrisy. The high point of the journey undoubtedly was the speech delivered by Obama at the Grand Theater of Havana -- a speech that the regime grudgingly agreed to broadcast nationwide at Washington's request. In front of Raul Castro and an audience carefully selected by the Cuban government, President Obama made an unambiguous plea in favor of freedom of expression, pluralism, and free enterprise. References to human rights spread throughout the speech and must have been felt, both by the government and the population, like political darts aimed at the Castros. Like all historic speeches, Obama's will be remembered by one sentence -- one addressed to President Castro: "I am also confident that you need not fear the different voices of the Cuban people and their capacity to speak and assemble and vote for their leaders." It is a safe bet to argue that Cubans yearning for Liberty vibrated with delight as they heard -- via state-controlled radio and television -- this request, comparable to Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall," addressed to Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. A few hours after the speech, the meeting between Obama and Cuban dissidents took place at the U.S. Embassy. That such an encounter even took place no doubt helped to increase the international profile and visibility of the courageous men and women whom no head of state -- not even Pope Francis -- had hitherto dared to meet. At an earlier event, President Obama had expressed admiration for Cubans' ingenuity, which in his view is at the core both of the economic vitality of Miami ("one of the world's most dynamic cities") and of the resourcefulness of Cuba's incipient entrepreneurial class, the cuentapropistas -- namely self-employed workers who, although tolerated, are straitjacketed by absurd restrictions and smothering taxes and confined to very few areas of activity. By hearing Obama's words, those cuentapropistas could not but dream of how far they can go, and how they might prosper the day free enterprise is fostered, rather than vilified, on their island. Aware of the lasting impact that Obama's visit would have on his fellow countrymen, the Cuban government organized a Rolling Stones concert (whose songs had remained prohibited for decades and anathematized as a symbol of capitalist decadence). The concert took place in Havana in the wake of President Obama's departure. One cannot help but think that the timing of the Rolling Stones' performance was aimed at making Cubans forget what Obama had said during his journey. It is far from sure, however, that a rock n' roll show, famous though the performers may be, can erase the impact of the visit of a president of the "Empire" who, by his multiple gestures and words, will have managed to instill hope (Si, se puede -- Yes, we can) in the hearts and minds of the Cuban population. 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 By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/29/2016 ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. star Sig Hansen has opened up about the heart attack he suffered while filming the show's new twelfth season.Captain Hansen, 49, suffered chest pains while aboard his fishing vessel Northwestern in early March and was rushed to the hospital to get checked out."That was close," Hansen told People. "That was like a 50/50 chance."The incident began when Hansen passed out and collapsed on the boat's deck while cameras were rolling for the reality series. Once he regained consciousness, he was stubborn about seeking treatment."While he wanted to keep going, the crew insisted that they dock to get help," wrote on its official Twitter page earlier this month. "He was airlifted to Anchorage, Alaska, and immediately rushed to a medical facility. He is with his family and in good spirits ."Hansen admitted the heart attack itself wasn't the most frightening part of the whole series of events."It was actually scarier when you got home and then you realize, 'Did that really happen?'" Hansen told the magazine. "In the moment it wasn't so bad, just made me angry."The health scare was enough, however, for Hansen to quit smoking cigarettes and eat healthier. Hansen joked about how eating more salads "sucks," but he knows it's important to take care of himself.The next season of will feature newcomer Captain Sean Dwyer, 23. Hansen told People that he has confidence in the youngest captain to ever star on the show, as long as he follows the advice: "Know your role, shut your hole."Season 12 of premieres Tuesday, March 29 at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available After 51 years of owning the property, the owner of Cal-Nev-Ari has put the town for sale for $8 million. Domain.com.au reported that Nancy Kidwell has offered the entire property including the town's casino, diner, convenient store, motel, RV park and airstrip. Cal-Nev-Ari, which is a combination of California, Nevada and Ari, was initially listed in the market in 2010 with an asking price of $17 million. Since it has found no buyer, the price tag has been cut. There used to be a bidding war between two buyers of the property, but then there came the recession and so nothing came out of it. The sale exclude some private homes, the small community center and a fire station built by Clark County. The town, which has a population of around 350 people, also has deep water wells, a sewer system and a utility company. Nancy founded the 640-acre town in 1965 with her husband Slim who died in 1983. They built the town from scratch, turning the piece of a desert into an inviting place to live. Nancy, now 78, said she could no longer sustain the maintenance of the town and it's time for someone to take over. "It's time for someone else to do something with it," Kidwell said. "Fifty-one years is long enough." Further to Domain's report, listing broker Fred Marik is advertising the property as a blank canvas because majority of its value is land and it does not have paved roads. Marik said a couple of potential buyers have already expressed their interests on the property. Because there's a lot of vacant land in Cal-Nev-Air, they are looking into building projects in the area such as a retirement community, a ranch and a renewable energy plant. Cal-Nev-Ari is a census-designated area located along U.S. Route 95, some 70 miles south of Las Vegas. Experts say that Sydney is in the middle of a housing affordability crisis, with high demand and low inventory pushing up house prices. Now recent reports reveal that the affordability issue might be artificially inflated as thousands of homes are sitting empty in the city's suburbs. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, there are 90,000 homes in Sydney that are vacant, with the CBD, Haymarket and The Rocks having the most number of empty properties. Experts say this is one of the impact of the government's support on negative gearing. The measure encouraged property investors to acquire properties and let them gain value instead of putting them for rent. The analysis conducted by the UNSW's City Futures Research Centre said that the government just made it profitable for investors to leave their house empty. It even subsidizes the practice through tax incentives, such as capital gains concessions, which offset the losses incurred by the owners from their vacant properties. "If you choose to accept that there is a housing shortage in Sydney, then the sheer scale and location of these figures strongly suggest that this is an artificially produced scarcity," researchers Bill Randolph and Laurence Troy said. Earlier this month, as reported by ABC, a report on housing affordability crisis in Sydney, as well as in Melbourne, said that the Federal Government's support on negative gearing is driving housing prices to record heights. The "Sydney and Melbourne's Housing Affordability Crisis - No End in Sight" report that was written by Dr. Bob Birrell and David McCloskey from Monash University's Centre for Population and Urban Research urged the government to rethink its measures, highlighting how serious the problem is. "The result has been an enormous increase in investment but it has been primarily in established houses and that has caused these prices to reach levels in Sydney that are among the highest in the western world," Dr. Birrell said, per ABC. China has been introducing measures to cool the housing market in the country. Shenzhen and Nanjing are the latest ones to do so after they raised property deposit thresholds. According to Xinhua news agency, Shenzhen on Monday raised the deposit requirements for first-time homebuyers who secured mortgages in the past two years and for some second-home buyers from 30 percent to 40 percent down payment, Reuters reported. In addition, non-local buyers who are looking into purchasing properties in the city will only be qualified if they have paid income tax and social security premiums for the past three years. The city is also implementing the ban on small lending firms and other similar financial institutions from issuing margin mortgages to homebuyers. Shenzhen also plans to build more housing units to boost supply to balance with the demand. Amid the economic uncertainties in China, the country is seeing house prices rebound to a level that might result in property market bubble. In Shenzhen, house prices soared to as much as 57 percent last month compared to the same period in 2015. In Nanjing, authorities have increased the minimum down payment required from 20-25 percent to 30 percent. This is applicable to second-time buyers who apply for mortgages twice. The central bank also asked banks to carefully look into mortgage applications if those who are applying can qualify to preferential policies for first-time homebuyers. Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph has reported that the government's measures to cool down the hot real estate markets have hit Chinese stocks. After gaining 1 percent over the weekend, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped by 0.7 percent on Monday to 2,957.82 points. The CSI300 index of the largest companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges declined by 0.9 percent to 3,169.73 points. Shanghai, which last week curbed approval criteria for non-resident homebuyers and banned unregulated lending, was the biggest loser with property index down 1.8 percent on Monday. Israel is facing a housing crisis with home prices continuing in the upward trend and home inventory lacking 100,000 apartments. As reported by Bloomberg, the housing market could determine how the Israeli politicians would fare in the upcoming election in the country. The publication noted that while the country is home to top scientists and engineers, the housing problem can seem to be solved. House prices, which have more than doubled in less than a decade, resulted in a mass protest back in 2011. Last year, Israel's home prices rose 7.8 percent, largely driven by the government's low benchmark rate. The average home price in the country stands at $360,000. There is a need to increase the country's housing supply, but building data doesn't seem good. Last year, housing starts rose 3.9 percent, but completion rate dropped 2.8 percent. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon has some measures to introduce but analysts are skeptical they would generated results in the near future. While waiting for the long-term policies to bring results, Kahlon introduced some short-term measures such as the increase in taxes for investors. These, however, fail to address the core issues, said Michael Sarel, a former Finance Ministry chief economist. "Raising taxes on investors simply reduces the number of rental apartments, which hurts the middle and lower classes as well," he told Bloomberg. The government recently issued a call for bids from foreign construction companies. According to Globes, six firms will be chosen and each will be allowed to bring up to 1,000 workers to Israel. The call aims to boost construction of residential properties in the country and consequently close the gap between supply and demand. The shortage in housing supply has been driving housing prices in recent years. Interested companies can submit their bids on or before June 27, 2016, at 12 p.m. Seven sororities and one fraternity claimed their positions in the Elite Eight of Your Pies Greek Madness competition March 23, competing for $1,250 to donate to their respective philanthropies in addition to a party hosted on their lawn by Your Pie. Charles Best, second from left, CEO of DonorsChoose.org, confer with employees Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in New York. Wish lists posted on the education philanthropy website DonorsChoose.org are being fulfilled in a "flash funding" effort involving actors, pro athletes, tech titans and others. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) SHARE By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Attention Mrs. Mills at Von Tobel Middle School in Las Vegas, the new library furniture your school needs is on the way! And Mr. Sutherland's class at Hillcrest Elementary in Gillette, Wyoming, that music keyboard's coming! Mrs. D at Public School No. 81 in Buffalo, clear a space for your new foam carpet and therapy balls! Wish lists posted by teachers on the education philanthropy website DonorsChoose.org are being fulfilled Thursday in a "flash funding" effort involving actors, pro athletes, tech titans and others, each of whom will fund all the projects in a specific city, region or entire state. "My head might explode. It really might explode from joy. Or my heart," said "Community" actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who is covering DonorsChoose.org projects in her hometown of East Cleveland, Ohio, in the #BestSchoolDay initiative. In all, 58 celebrity philanthropists including Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson and Serena Williams have pledged $14.2 million to fund nearly 12,000 projects in 47 states plus Washington, D.C., that were listed on the DonorsChoose.org website as of midnight Wednesday. It is the latest effort underscoring the use of online philanthropy to bridge the gap between what school budgets provide and what teachers say they need. Educators, many of whom report spending an average of $500 from their own pockets to equip students, have secured millions of dollars for books and supplies by floating requests in cyberspace instead of before the school board. Also this week, the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.com announced a new concentration on education fundraising, beginning with a contest that will award a needy public school with 100 computers. Like DonorsChoose.org, the site lets a teacher or school post a funding request for a specific item and then watch as donors contribute a few dollars at a time. In the last year, GoFundMe.com took in $60 million for education campaigns from 777,000 donations, the company said. Association of Fundraising Professionals spokesman Michael Nilsen said online philanthropy will not replace spaghetti dinners or bake sales anytime soon because of the power in the personal connections those things offer, "but it will certainly be another tool for organizations and people to use in the future." Before Thursday, DonorsChoose.org said more than $400 million had been raised on its site to fund nearly 700,000 education projects posted by about 280,000 teachers. The celebrity givers in Thursday's campaign hope to inspire others to pitch in and get all the pending projects funded. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton will match $3.2 million in citizen donations. The benefactors include other actors (Ashton Kutcher, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick), athletes (Carmelo Anthony, Torrey Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Dwight Howard), and business and foundation leaders (Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen; Bill and Melinda Gates; the chief executives of Zappos, LinkedIn and Yelp; Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg). The idea was inspired by Stephen Colbert, "The Late Show" host and a DonorsChoose.org board member who surprised teachers in his home state of South Carolina by funding all the classroom projects in one day in May. That led Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and his wife, Livia, to approach the website about doing the same for public schools in Boston and Contra Costa County, California, and to enlist fellow Twitter co-founders Ev Williams and Jack Dorsey to commit to fund wish lists in Nevada, San Francisco and Missouri. That gave DonorsChoose.org Chief Executive Charles Best an idea. "At that point, I said, all right, let's keep this secret and let's see if some more people would want to join you and then we'll unleash all of these flash fundings in one unforgettable moment," Best said. "And it grew from there." ___ Online: http://www.donorschoose.org http://www.gofundme.com Gallery owner Bertrand Gautier, left, shows visitors to the booth of Galerie Talabardon & Gautier at the TEFAF fine art fair the newly discovered painting by Dutch master Rembrandt titled The Unconscious Patient (Sense of Smell) dated at around 1624-25, oil on panel 21.6x17.8 cm, in Maastricht, southern Netherlands, Thursday, March 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Mike Corder) SHARE By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press MAASTRICHT, Netherlands (AP) The painting was labeled as the work of an unknown artist from Europe's "Continental School," dated somewhere in the 19th century. It had a presale estimate of $500-$800 when it went to auction in New Jersey last year. French art dealer Bertrand Gautier thought the small oil-on-panel painting of three figures was older. And he thought he knew exactly who had painted it: Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn. Unfortunately for Gautier and his partner Bertrand Talabardon, another dealer had the same hunch. In a few minutes of phone bidding, the price shot up, and in the end the Paris gallery owners paid just over $1 million, including the buyer's premium. On Thursday, the painting, restored and now considered a genuine Rembrandt dating from 1624-1625, hung in pride of place at the entrance to the gallery's stand at the prestigious TEFAF art fair in the southern Dutch city of Maastricht. "This is a great discovery. It really is absolutely fascinating. This is the very beginning of Rembrandt, more or less the first picture he ever painted," said Prof. Christopher Brown, an expert in Dutch art at Oxford University. It was painted when Rembrandt was just 18 or 19, at the start of his career, when he had finished his education in Amsterdam and moved back to his home town of Leiden. "The drawing is slightly crude, the colors are very vivid," Brown said. "It's the beginning, the absolute beginning." The picture is part of a series depicting the five senses. It has been titled "The Unconscious Patient (Sense of Smell)" and shows a woman holding a handkerchief, presumably containing smelling salts, under the nose of a young man who has fainted after a surgeon has performed a blood-letting. Three of the "sense" paintings were already known, and with the rediscovery of the sense of smell, only "taste" is missing. Part of the reason the painting was not earlier positively identified as a Rembrandt was an 18th-century attempt to make it look more like ... a Rembrandt, Gautier told The Associated Press. "They knew it was a Rembrandt, but they didn't think it looked enough like a Rembrandt," he said. In an effort to add a bit more drama to the lighting, they enlarged the painting and made it darker around its edges. "They 'Rembrandtized' what was already a Rembrandt." "Today we can see it is ridiculous, but every era understands an artist in its own way," he added. "Today, we have the good fortune to be able to place it in its historical context." After buying the painting at auction in New Jersey and setting the art world abuzz at the prospect that a "new," Rembrandt had emerged, Gautier and Talabardon had it restored and fitted a frame that, when closed, shows only the part of the panel painted by Rembrandt but, when opened, shows the later additions to the work. The restoration turned up another surprise the earliest known signature by Rembrandt, a monogram of the letters "RF" or "RHF," believed to stand for Rembrandt Harmensz fecit, meaning, made by Rembrandt Rembrandt's full name is Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. "It's nice that the monogram's there," Brown said. "It confirms what your eyes tell you." Ernst van de Wetering, a renowned expert on Rembrandt's work, said in a telephone interview he also has no doubt it is a genuine Rembrandt and part of the series depicting the senses. The painting drew plenty of admiring glances Thursday at the fair's invitation-only opening, but any potential buyers at the fair will have been disappointed the Rembrandt has already been sold to the privately owned Leiden Collection in New York, which already owns two of the other "sense" paintings. Gautier declined to say how much he sold the painting for. Virgin America is the US offshoot of billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson's London-based Virgin Group US budget airline carrier Virgin America Inc has received acquisition interest from several companies, including JetBlue Airways Corp and Alaska Air Group Inc, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Asian airline companies have also expressed interest in Virgin America, although they would have to partner with a US bidder because of foreign ownership rules governing US airlines, the person said. Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday that Virgin America had received takeover offers from JetBlue and Alaska Air. The source asked not to be identified because the sale process is confidential. Virgin America did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while JetBlue and Alaska Air declined to comment. Burlingame, California-based Virgin America went public in November 2014 and now has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion. Virgin America is the US offshoot of billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson's London-based Virgin Group, which is involved in airlines, railroads, telecommunications, media and hospitality. Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight Seth Michael Thompson, shown Monday in Shasta County Superior Court, pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against them. SHARE By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight A young Redding pair arrested Thursday after leading California Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against them during separate arraignments Monday in Shasta County Superior Court. Seth Michael Thompson, 18, and Bobbilee Lorraine Ballinger, 23, are both charged with receiving a stolen vehicle, unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle and resisting arrest. Thompson is additionally charged with evading an officer with disregard for public safety and being an unlicensed driver. According to a CHP investigative report, the chase began around 12:30 p.m. when the owner of a stolen 2003 Honda Element spotted his sport utility vehicle being driven by a woman on Dersch Road. That car was being followed by a 2000 Honda Accord, which was originally identified by a CHP officer as a Honda Prelude and also turned out to be stolen. According to the CHP report, officer Shon Hill was southbound on Airport Road when he spotted the Honda Accord on Airport Road driving in the opposite direction with two occupants inside. When Hill made a U-turn, he said, the Accord took off and the chase began, noting that it crossed over the double yellow lines at least once at a dangerously high speed. The chase eventually ended near Sylvia Lane when the Accord crashed into a ditch on Belinda Way and the occupants ran away. As a helicopter hovered over the area, CHP officers quickly found Ballinger and later Thompson, a wanted fugitive. Thompson was found and arrested during a search of a wooded area with the help of a CHP dog. According to the CHP report, Thompson said he decided to flee from officers because he did not have a driver's license and was on parole. Ballinger also said she ran from officers because she was on probation and did not want to get into trouble The Honda Element was recovered. Thompson and Ballinger are scheduled to have their preliminary hearing on April 12. Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight Charles Kevin Canfield Jr.. shown Monday in Shasta County Superior Court. SHARE Police SUV stolen driver flees Anderson Police are searching for the driver of a reportedly stolen sport utility vehicle who crashed into a parked car Sunday night during a high-speed chase and then ran away. Police said an officer spotted a stolen Volvo SUV around 10:30 p.m. leaving a Spruce Street apartment complex. The vehicle is described as a 2010 Volvo XC6, police said. The officer had been called to the apartment complex for a report of narcotics violations. As the officer and SUV driver passed each other in the parking lot, the driver of the SUV failed to yield to police, said Anderson police Sgt. Casey Day. The driver then tried to evade capture by driving at high speeds through a residential neighborhood, nearly causing a collision at the intersection of Spruce Street and Pinon Avenue. The driver, who eventually crashed into a parked car in the 1300 block of Jeffries Avenue, ran away and remains at large, Day said. Police did not give a description of the suspect, but asks those who might have information about the driver's identity to call (530) 378-6600. Suspect attacks man, tries to steal truck A man allegedly attacked another man walking his dog Monday morning, demanding to use his cell phone and the keys to a truck, according to law enforcement. The alleged attacker approached Charles Balding as he walked his dog near a dry creek at Millville Plains Road and Dersch Road, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office. After refusing to let the suspect use his phone, or take the keys to his vehicle, Balding returned to his truck and found the man trying to open the truck's camper shell door, according to law enforcement. The suspect demanded the keys from Balding, who refused and tried to get into his truck through the driver's side door. As Balding unlocked the truck's door the suspect grabbed Balding by his shirt sleeve and pulled him away from the vehicle. Balding shoved the suspect backwards, got into his truck and locked the door, according to law enforcement. The suspect then began punching the passenger side window, screaming, "Give me the keys. I'm going to knock you out," according to law enforcement. Balding drove away and called emergency dispatchers to report the attempted robbery. Sheriff's deputies responded to the area and found the suspect walking on Dersch Road. The suspect, identified as Martin Racle, claimed he asked Balding for a ride after his car had broken down. Balding refused and that was the end of their exchange, according to law enforcement. Racle is on parole with two prior convictions for robbery and one for burglary, according to law enforcement. In 2011 Racle rammed a vehicle into an apartment building during a domestic disturbance with his girlfriend. The Record Searchlight reported in that incident Racle stripped down to his underwear and began screaming, and jumping on cars, according to the California Highway Patrol. In this most recent incident Racle was arrested and booked into Shasta County Jail on suspicion of attempted car jacking and violating parole. Man accused of setting fires A Shasta Lake man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of intentionally starting several small fires near Lake Shasta, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. Cal Fire law enforcement officers saw a man starting several small fires near the shore of the lake along the Pit River Arm, Cal Fire officials said. Firefighters used a Shasta County Fire Department fire and rescue boat to cross the lake and extinguish the fires. The fires burned less than a tenth of an acre across from the Jones Valley boat ramp, said Cheryl Buliavac, a Cal Fire spokeswoman. Officials arrested Joshua Gallaga, 25, of Shasta Lake on suspicion of arson. He was booked into the Shasta County Jail. Prescribed fire burn north of Redding Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials will conduct a prescribed fire starting today in the area of Green Mountain north of Redding. Officials will burn 450 acres instead of a previously announced burn of 1,500 acres due to weather and air quality concerns, according to forest officer Andrea Saltzman. The burn will take place where the Squaw and Pit Arms of Shasta Lake meet, according to Saltzman. Oregon man sent to prison An Oregon man was sentenced to five years in a state prison stemming from a high-speed pursuit with law enforcement in January that ended in a vehicle rollover in Redding. George Guy Armitage III, 46, of Oregon, was involved in a pursuit reaching speeds of 115 miles per hour with the California Highway Patrol on Interstate 5 on Jan. 28, according to Deputy District Attorney Laura Smith. Armitage exited I-5 at Pine Grove and ran numerous stop signs and red lights, passed vehicles in oncoming lanes over double yellow lines and drove at excessive speeds. Law enforcement stopped chasing the vehicle in the interest of public safety as Armitage sped toward downtown Redding. Armitage rolled his vehicle several times north of the Market Street Bridge at Riverside Drive and then ran away, leaving a female passenger suffering from injuries trapped in the vehicle, Smith said. Armitage was located about an hour later by the Redding Police Department, but did not comply with officers and when he tried to run away again he was stopped with a stun gun. At the time of the incident Armitage admitted to recently using methamphetamine. His passenger indicated she begged him to stop and let her out during the pursuit, but he did not listen, Smith said. The case was investigated by the CHP with assistance from the Redding Police, and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Laura Smith. Armitage was sentenced to five years and 10 months in a state prison in exchange for pleas to a felony count of driving under the influence of drugs and a felony count of evading an officer with disregard for public safety. Hearing set for fatal DUI crash A May 10 preliminary hearing was set Monday in Shasta County Superior Court for a Shasta Lake man charged with second-degree murder in a suspected DUI crash that killed a 10-year-old Redding girl. That hearing will decide whether Charles Kevin Canfield Jr., will stand trial on second-degree murder and other charges in the Jan. 28 crash that killed Marley Johnson, a fifth-grader at Rother Elementary School. Canfield remains in Shasta County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. The felony counts against Canfield include second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing injury, and hit-and-run causing death, among others. SHARE An Oregon man was sentenced to five years in a State Prison stemming from a high-speed pursuit with law enforcement in January that ended in a vehicle rollover in Redding. George Guy Armitage III, 46, of Oregon, was involved in a pursuit with speeds of 115 miles per hour with the California Highway Patrol on Interstate-5 on Jan. 28, 2016, according to Deputy District Attorney Laura Smith. Armitage exited I-5 at Pine Grove and ran numerous stop signs, red lights, passed vehicles in oncoming lanes over double yellow lines and drove at excessive speeds. Law enforcement stopped chasing the vehicle in the interest of public safety as Armitage sped toward downtown Redding. Armitage rolled his vehicle several times north of the Market Street Bridge at Riverside Drive and then fled on foot, leaving a female passenger suffering from injuries trapped in the vehicle, according to Smith. Armitage was located about an hour later by the Redding Police Department and their police dog "Cain." Armitage did not comply with officers and when he tried to run away again he was stopped with a stun gun. Armitage admitted to recent use of methamphetamine. His passenger indicated she begged him to stop and let her out during the pursuit, but he did not listen, according to Smith. The case was investigated by the CHP with assistance from the Redding Police, and prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Laura Smith. Armitage was sentenced to five years and 10 months in a state prison in exchange for pleas to a felony count of driving under the influence of drugs, a felony count of evading an officer with disregard for public safety. SHARE A Shasta Lake man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of intentionally starting several small fires near Lake Shasta, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Shortly before 10:30 p.m. Cal Fire law enforcement officers saw a man attempting to start several small fires near the shore of the lake, Cal Fire officials said. Firefighters used a Shasta County Fire Department fire and rescue boat to cross the lake and extinguish the fires. The fires burned less than a tenth of an acre along the Pit Arm of the lake, across from the Jones Valley boat ramp, said Cheryl Buliavac, a Cal Fire spokeswoman. Officials arrested Joshua Gallaga, 25, of Shasta Lake on suspicion of arson. He was booked into the Shasta County Jail. Donald Trump is about to become a major presence all around California. So are Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, both of whom want to stop the Trump express and force an open Republican National Convention in July on Kasich's home turf in Cleveland. Helping them out might be two arcane GOP convention rules adopted in 2012 that may mean Trump needs most of the 172 Republican delegates up for grabs here. This makes California's very late-in-the-process June primary election more significant than it has been since 1972, when Democrat George McGovern used it to secure his party's nomination. But Trump might not have things quite so easy as did McGovern, who won all California's delegates despite taking the primary by only a narrow margin. That outcome was a big reason Democrats later went to proportional representation for all their presidential primaries, with each state's delegates doled out according to the results of its primary or caucus. Trump may in fact need most of the GOP's much-reduced California delegation to get the convention majority he's been working for. The GOP's voting California delegation of 172 persons is down somewhat from the 350 delegates and alternates of Ronald Reagan's heyday. The state party's national clout diminishes when it loses an election for governor, U.S. Senate or president, and also when the GOP fails to win the majority of the state's congressional delegation or the Legislature. No one is likely to get all the California delegates, as Reagan and George H.W. Bush both did. That's because most delegates now are elected by congressional district, with the statewide GOP winner getting 13 and the rest going three at a time to the winners in each of the 53 districts. Chances are, Cruz and Kasich will pick off at least a few districts, and maybe more, even if Trump should win statewide. That might make Trump's weakness among establishment Republicans a key factor. They have tried mightily to derail his candidacy; that establishment also wrote many of the party convention's key rules. Two of those rules, Numbers 16 (d)(2) and 16(d)(3), were adopted by the GOP convention in 2012 and have never before applied: The rules' Byzantine legalese may amount to this: Some lawyers interpret the abstruse and lengthy language to mean you can't be seated as a delegate if you come from a state where voters who are not registered Republicans can vote in the GOP primary. (http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/R-Alloc.phtml) That won't happen in California, where voters registered with no party preference have long been welcomed in Democratic presidential primaries, but not by the Republicans. There are plenty of other states where the GOP allows this, like Arkansas, Massachusetts and Illinois, which gave Trump pluralities. There's also a complication in Missouri, where Trump has been reported to have won 25 delegates to 15 for Cruz. But Missouri gives five GOP delegates to the winner of each of eight congressional districts and 12 to the statewide winner. Trouble is, votes are usually counted and reported by county and not by congressional district. Depending on what Missouri's Democratic secretary of state chooses to do, at least some Trump delegates could be challenged in Cleveland. This means, writes former Trump aide Roger Stone on the Infowars website, that party leaders may "have found a way to lie, cheat and steal Trump out of enough delegates to force a second ballot." And if the convention goes to two ballots or more, no delegate will be bound to vote for anyone. Meanwhile, there will be no courts to interpret the convention rules. All rules get whatever meaning a majority of delegates who have survived all challenges and been seated choose to give them, by majority vote. The meaning for Trump in California should be this: If he does not fight in every district for each delegate threesome, he might be left without enough unquestioned delegates to beat back legalistic challenges and interpretations made by convention committees influenced by the establishment that so reviles him. It might just be, therefore, that only California can prevent utter chaos in Cleveland and the riots Trump has mentioned as a possibility if his nomination is somehow thwarted. Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. IMAGE: The Pakistan Joint Investigation Team at the National Investigation Agency headquarters in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI If Pakistan allows India to send its investigation team to question Azhar it would take the India-Pakistan camaraderie to a new level, says Rajeev Sharma. India is understood to have unveiled its clever strategy to the Pakistani Joint Investigation Team. Its move to allow the five-member JIT, which included an Inter Services Intelligence officer, access to the Pathankot airbase was essentially a reciprocal exercise and as a quid pro quo New Delhi would like access to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and others for questioning. This was conveyed by the Indian side to the Pakistani JIT during their interactions. There was no response from the Pakistani team. No response was needed in any case as the decision to accept or reject the Indian request would be decided at the highest political levels. India is likely to make a formal request to Pakistan in this regard soon. The Narendra Modi government has invested hugely in its strategy to improve relations with Pakistan and the timing of the JIT completing its Pathankot visit on the eve of Modi's three-nation tour was well choreographed by both sides. I stated in an earlier column that the India-Pakistan detente is being driven by the Prime Minister's Office of the two countries. The signs of growing synergy, however, will be tested when India formally requests Pakistan to allow an Indian investigation team to question Azhar and others. As of now, the PMOs-driven synergy is essentially an event management kind of exercise with a deep focus on imagery and symbolism and little on the substantive progress which passes muster at the jurisprudence level in the two countries' legal systems. Thus far, the Congress attack on the Modi government that the Pakistani JIT arriving in India without a formal letter rogatory has no judicial accountability or admissibility seems valid. But what Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are perhaps attempting to do is to create a proper atmosphere first and the substantive issues can be taken up later. The two prime ministers are past masters in the art of event management. If Pakistan allows India to send its investigation team to question Azhar it would take the India-Pakistan camaraderie to a new level. Naturally, in such an event the Indian team too would go to Pakistan without a letter rogatory. This seems to be the most important objective of the Pakistani JIT's visit to the Pathankot airbase. Whether it would happen or not is in the womb of time. The Pakistan JIT's Pathankot visit should also be seen as a give-and-take accommodative spirit between the two nuclear armed adversaries. It is purported to be a chain. It will be broken if either side chooses to retreat when its time of 'giving' comes up. The success or failure of this experiment hinges on this one point alone: Give-and-take. A tangible achievement the two governments can boast of is that their cooperation has now extended to intelligence and security arenas which were no-go areas earlier. The two sides can draw succour from the fact that their earlier Joint Anti Terror Mechanism, tried during the United Progressive Alliance regime, had failed miserably. Through the JATM, the two sides had attempted to drive synergy between the two sides at the levels of intelligence and security where it matters most. This is what Modi can serenade to the international community -- first to the Europeans during his visit to Belgium (March 29-30), then to the Americans when he visits Washington, DC (March 31-April 1) for the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, and then finally to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan's biggest Muslim ally and strategic partner, when he undertakes a bilateral visit (April 2-3). The biggest test of the ongoing new India-Pakistan experiment would be to see how far the Pakistani military establishment is accommodative of this detente. Indications are that Rawalpindi, the seat of military power, is currently giving a long rope to Islamabad, the seat of political power. The Pakistan army does not want turbulence at the Pakistan-India border. But the Pakistani military establishment's real intentions will be known when India seeks access for its investigation team to question Masood Azhar and his cronies. Rajeev Sharma is an independent journalist and strategic analyst who tweets @Kishkindha. 'This is about demolishing all that we have stood for as a nation after Independence. This is an attack on the nation's very foundation.' IMAGE: Members of a BJP delegation and party MLAs from Uttarakhand march from Vijay Chowk to meet President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet's decision to dismiss the Harish Rawat-led government and push for President's Rule in Uttarakhand took the Congress by surprise. A visibly upset Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni, who is in charge of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, launched a diatribe at the Bharatiya Janata Party for not allowing the Rawat government to undergo a floor test in the Uttarkhand assembly on March 28. Soni spoke to Rashme Sehgal. Would you say the BJP has flouted democratic norms in imposing President's Rule in the state? That's putting it mildly. The BJP has behaved disgracefully. But this is not about good or bad behaviour within our outside Parliament. This is about violating the Constitution and demolishing all democratic practices. It is about demolishing all that we have stood for as a nation after Independence. This is an attack on the nation's very foundation. Twenty four hours before the floor test was to take place, they go ahead and impose President's Rule in the state. We were told to prove our majority on the floor of the assembly on March 28. And yet, on March 27 they impose President's Rule. Where has this happened in any democracy in the world? But your Chief Minister Harish Rawat (below, left) was accused of trying to 'buy' MLAs. What a nonsensical allegation to presume that our chief minister was trying to buy MLAs! Which MLA have we bought? On the contrary, the BJP herded these nine MLAS into a specially chartered aircraft and flew them from Dehra Dun to Delhi from where they were held captive in the 7-star Leela Hotel in Gurgaon. Civil Aviation Minister Mahesh Sharma organised the aircraft. He flew into Dehra Dun and took the dissidents with him. The dissident MLAs would not have lost their membership, but they were made to sign a joint memorandum for a common cause. The Supreme Court in its landmark judgment in 1994 in the S R Bommai case emphasised that the majority enjoyed by any government has to be tested on the floor of the House. In this case, Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul had set the date of March 28 for conduct of the floor test. Why would he impose central rule a day before the vote was to be held? There was also the issue of the finance bill. The CM had informed the governor that he had 32 legislators including five members of the Progressive Democratic Front with him. The finance bill was passed by a voice vote in the assembly. Even 2,000 Arun Jaitleys cannot change this. There is also the allegation of a sting operation against Rawat. This so-called sting operation was done by someone belonging to a little known Hindi channel. I saw the cassette in the afternoon which showed Rawat sitting in the airport and there was someone -- a man or it could be a woman, since we never saw the person's face. But there was no voice. The CM was looking very relaxed. By the evening, a voice had been added. It was obvious it had been doctored. My question is: Has President's Rule been applied because of the sting operation? The Constitution envisages that the Centre needs to have strong grounds to impose President's Rule. When nothing else succeeds, then President's Rule needs to be imposed. It is obvious that the BJP led by Amit Shah wants to live up to his words of a Congress mukt (without) country. See what happened in Bihar and Delhi. They realise they cannot win elections, which is why they are resorting to all these unfair practices. The Congress recently lost power in Arunachal Pradesh. Your party's governments in Manipur and Himachal Pradesh are also very vulnerable. We are aware of the situation. We know what is happening. This started in Arunachal and it is going to continue. When you are aware of this vulnerability, then why did the Congress leadership not handle the dissidents within your party? I know there were rumblings within our party, but which party, and especially a huge one like ours, does not have such rumblings? I know when Vijay Bahuguna was removed from the chief ministership it would have caused some heartburn. He had some demands of his own. Things go on like this and then things get sorted out. There were nine dissidents from which seven were not constant. That is what management of a party is all about. In this case these dissidents were kept as hostages with the cry being given of saving Uttarakhand. The BJP was fishing in troubled waters. I would like to ask why was former BJP CM Ramesh Pokhriyal removed? Why were their earlier three CMs removed in this state? The dissidents wanted to speak to the Congress high command and were not able to discuss matters with them. I am not abrogating responsibility. There are always some elements who are disgruntled within every party. You try to appease some... put others in their place. The CMs have the power. Who they want, which ministers they want after clearance from the party high command. But ultimately this is an internal party affair. Would you say you were caught unawares? No, I will not say that. We knew what was going on. We were prepared for a vote on the floor of the House. Another accusation against you is that after the Congress was sworn into power, you seldom visited the state. That is not correct. I have been going there again and again. I was there to attend a coordination meeting with Sonia Gandhi six weeks ago of which Vijay Bahuguna was also a member. It seems surprising that Bahuguna, whose sister is a well known Congress leader, is willing to join hands with the BJP. You should ask him this question. All I can say is it is not easy. He was a CM and then he was removed. He was nursing (this grudge) within his heart But there is the issue of Rahul Gandhi's inaccessibility. Rahul leads from the front as was seen in Parliament. Let me tell you the BJP are not enjoying their lives. The Congress is giving them a run for their money. You are also the party in charge for Punjab. What are the Congress chances in that state? Captain Amarinder Singh has been given responsibility for Punjab. He is one of the most charismatic and trusted leaders of the party. Everyone knows what the Akalis have done to the state in the last 10 years. They (people) are nostalgic for him and would like him back. '... A youth movement which could really transform our politics in a way that the existing elites don't understand.' 'The State can't suppress a young society like India where there are so many interesting new ideas emerging,' says Sunil Khilnani, whose latest book Incarnations looks at Indian history through 50 lives. IMAGE: Professor Sunil Khilnani at the Crossword book store, Kemps Corner, South Mumbai. Photograph: Archana Masih/Rediff.com Sunil Khilnani is standing in front of the new arrivals at Mumbai's Crossword book store in Kemps Corner, surrounded by a clutch of young book store staffers. "This book is about 50 Indians. You can read one every night before you go to bed," says the historian about Incarnations, an extremely readable book about the people who have shaped 2,500 years of Indian history. The stories look at these individuals -- some famously known like Buddha, Ashoka, Gandhi, Raj Kapoor; and others forgotten like Malik Ambar, William Jones, Nainsukh -- as human beings, and not as some distant figures from the past. Director of the India Institute at King's College, London, Professor Khilnani spent nearly two-and-a-half years researching the book and tries neither to debunk nor mythologise, but looks at these figures as real people. In a conversation with Archana Masih/Rediff.com, he speaks about why history is the lifeblood of democracy, how the Idea of India is about allowing many Ideas of India and who among the 50 he would invite to dinner. I was reading your book on a flight and a young man looking forward to buying his own copy told me that most of our history is written by the Marxists. What would you say to this young man? Unfortunately, the history that gets told is much too skewed by or shaped by ideological stories, so whether it is the Left Marxists or the Right Hindutva, or the Congress -- everyone has their own political spins. This toxifies history. It becomes very difficult to know what to trust, why people are telling the stories they are and what their interests are. We as citizens must step back from those ideological histories and ask some clear and sceptical questions. One way of doing that is by looking at these figures from the past as human beings, not as vehicles of ideology or a particular political interest. In my book I've tried to de-mytholgise them. That doesn't mean I am trying to be iconoclastic. I am neither trying to debunk nor mythologise, but to look at them as real people. It then becomes much harder by one party or one group to capture them. So your travel colleague was pointing to something real. We should be bringing more figures into the understanding of the Indian past. This book has 50, but that's not the end, let's have more. Why is engagement with history so important for the kind of nation we want to be? It's a question very dear to my heart. History is not a luxury or indulgence or dwelling in a nostalgic past. By looking at history we can both learn how we have done some things well and also why we continue to do some things so badly. History is the lifeblood of a democracy. It is a lesson book for our successes and failures. It is even more important for us because we are a democracy. In a democracy all of you have in a sense is the previous historical experience of your society. You look at the other great democracies of the world -- the USA or Britain -- they are deeply engaged with their histories. In America -- there are hundreds of books with different interpretations of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Why is that? Because they see these figures as being critical to America's present and to its future. Similarly, we should have hundreds of books whether on Patel, Ambedkar and others. History is not a luxury, but a necessity for a society like ours. You mention Patel. You have also said it was brutal coming down to just 50 names for your book. Why did you not include Patel? I left out many. Through the figures I chose, I wanted to tell the whole story of India, but also address some of the fundamental conflicts and contradictions in our society -- like caste, gender, freedom of expression, religious bigotry. That was the criteria for choosing these lives. I could have just so many from the 20th century because I cover two-and-a-half thousand years. There is also nobody from the North-East that features in the book. That's a big question and I am very aware of that. I did debate that a lot and would have wanted someone very much from the North-East, but I found primary sources very hard to find. All the essays in this book are based on documents, on real historical data and not second hand stuff. I thought about including (Naga leader Angami Zapu) Phizo from the 20th century, but I would have had to lose another figure. IMAGE: Incarnations is a lively and interesting look at Indian history. This book comes nearly 20 years after your previous book The Idea of India. What are the new ideas that have come to populate India in these 20 years? In many ways I still think that the ideas I made in that book still hold up. One element that I would emphasise much more today is the aspect of inequality which has become even greater now. When I wrote that book we were at the beginning of the growth process. The two aspects I would add are domestic inequalities and our location in a much more volatile international domain. In the early 2000s people were saying that the world wants India to succeed as Dr Manmohan Singh used to say in his speeches. That is not true today. I think the world now is turning away from globalisation and is becoming more protectionist. European and other countries are becoming more nationalist. The world is not as much welcoming about India's success. We have to make our own way in the world under a situation where there are intense internal pressures. The complexities that the Idea of India has to deal with today are greater than 20 years ago. But that's not a reason to be pessimistic because the Idea of India itself as I describe was born in very difficult circumstances in the 1940s-1950s -- Partition, an uncertain global sphere, and a much weaker society. The difficulties that we face can be a way to find powerful solutions through political judgment. The Idea of India contained in your last book is one of pluralism and inclusiveness, which is currently being debated on almost a daily basis. Is that idea under any kind of threat? I wouldn't say it is under threat, but this conception has always been part of an argument. It has always been under challenge going back to the late 19th century. You had the argument between those who wanted a more exclusive definition of the nation and those who had a better understanding of Indian history. Those who saw that we were going to have an Indian nation which had to be more open, more recognising of the plurality and acknowledged that the idea of India had to allow many ideas of India. We've always had that tension right through the 20th century; we had it in the 1990s and we have it again today. It is more part of the democratic debate and it has to be kept within the civil and Constitutional frame. The danger is when it becomes aggressive, violent and destroys the principles of our Constitution. People have to argue back and have the better argument about Indian history and thought. I hope my book will give people the material to see that given our history, the Idea of India that I describe in my earlier book, is the one that is best able to respect our history and also to take us forward. Dangers arise when a narrow, belligerent, nationalism advocates only a certain kind of nationalism to be the 'right one.' Why do you think that is the case? There are these arguments in many countries. People have different conceptions of what a nation is. In America and Britain you have these arguments about migrations, immigrants and who is the real nation -- that is part of the diversity of political views. We in India have to be particularly sensitive to the dangers of that argument -- the more exclusive nationalism, the kind I call the 19th century European provincial nationalism -- one nation, one culture, one language, one religion, one race. We need to be more careful because so many countries in our neighbourhood have tried to follow a more exclusive nationalism and look where they are. Look at how Sri Lanka almost destroyed itself. Look at what's happened in Pakistan. It represents a 19th century view of nationalism that many in India today with a different religion also subscribe too. The Hindutva version is a sort of mirror image of the one nation ideology that created Pakistan. We need to be aware that this is very intimately related to ourselves. That's why it has urgency and importance for us. IMAGE: 'Amrita Sher-Gil was 20th century India's first art star,' writes Sunil Khilnani. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Wikipedia Commons You say in the present situation, the exile of M F Husain may have been a lucky fate because some writers and intellectuals are being murdered for their beliefs -- it paints a very grim picture of our society. When I say he was lucky, I say that ironically. In many ways it is a disastrous picture. In an open society, artists, writers, painters or photographers are the people who have to be entitled to say what they want. Obviously there are bounds and we have to show our commitment to the basic principles of freedom of expression. What did the national movement fight for? It fought for freedom of expression and ideas. If we can't uphold that today, it's a very serious disruption of the freedoms that our founders fought for. This goes back to democratic societies -- it is only through the free exchange of ideas and the debate between ideas that the truth emerges. It's a way in which we as a society discover what is good and bad, what's right and wrong -- and some of these ideas may also offend. Living in a democracy is being willing to be offended. What long term effect can the insistence on homogeneous thinking have on Indian thought? If you look at history, any time you try to suppress thought and freedom of ideas, the ideas and freedoms come back. Whether it was the Inquisition in the Christian Period, the despotic rulers in other parts of the world, or the Colonial Period. The more you suppress free expression, the more people will value it. The State can't constrain and suppress especially a young society like India where there are so many interesting new ideas emerging -- and the State shouldn't even try to control it. It's some sort of desperate losing battle that some people are trying to fight. IMAGE: The Mughals could never defeat Malik Ambar who came to India as an Ethiopian slave. His empire stretched from the Konkan Coast to deep in the Deccan. Image: Kind courtesy, Bridgeman Berlin/Creative Commons Like you mention that a civilization able to produce Mahavira, Mirabai, Gandhi, Jinnah, Iqbal, Periyar, Bose, Malik Ambar is open to radical experiments and has room for all sorts of rebel rousers? Exactly! And that's precisely what I want us to see. You look at the range of people from Guru Nanak to Mahavira -- they were all in their 20s and 30s -- fighting against society. Amrita Sher-Gil, Mirabai... these were angry young people who did not conform. That's the strength of our history. That's the kind of spirit that I hope people will read this book with. These people speak to me. They are not from the distant past. They should be present and we should be arguing and taking inspiration from them today. Do you ever feel that space is shrinking today? I don't think so. Sometimes it looks like it and there are real challenges, and one of those is the challenge to universities as a free space. For me an absolute fundamental principle of a university is that it should be a republic of ideas -- a free space where the state does not interfere. A university is where you can think the unthinkable and say the unsayable. It is the one space in society where one can do that. There is a very deep danger if you start to interfere and dilute that principle. All the great universities were created with that fundamental principle. They are places where only ideas and truth prevail, not power. There is pressure today on that idea of the university. On the other hand, as this pressure is exerted, people will fight back. I think we are possibly on the verge of a student movement, a youth movement which could really transform our politics in a way that the existing elites don't understand. I think we need to watch this space. If you look at our history those moments that have looked the bleakest often generate the most interesting outcomes. In my essay on Indira Gandhi, I talk about how she was a very disliked figure in the Emergency and yet the Emergency produced a reaction which reaffirmed and strengthened democracy. In that sense I remain extremely optimistic and hopeful because if I look at the experience of our past, young people can take us in directions we can't even imagine yet. Do you think we really should be debating about who is a patriot and who is a traitor after having been a nation State for 70 odd years? I don't. The idea that we can reduce these subjects to slogans; or to what we eat, has no bearing on what true patriotism is. We should be talking about patriotism more than nationalism. For Tagore, Gandhi and others in the 20th century, patriotism was not about a slogan or what you eat or how you dress, it was about what you feel. It's about the fellow feeling we have as citizens and part of that fellow feeling is respecting each other to be different. To have different views, to dress and eat and live differently -- that is the core definition of patriotism. The other would be the sense that we can always be greater than what we are today. That we can always do better. If we have that view -- which is a patriotic view -- we are always going to be self critical. Currently it is not even a debate, but a slanging match, a self interested distraction by political groups. Leaders especially in the freedom movement did a lot of personal writing. Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar -- they wrote letters, essays. The leaders of today do not personally write as much -- how will this affect the telling of history? It is going to leave future historians a problem about sources because what we have in the 20th century are these amazing collection of letters, diaries and writings. Maybe 100 years from now the historian will have to go through thousands of tweets or blog posts which are very public. Increasingly public figures don't express their private thoughts. The other aspect is that so many of these early figures were so reflective about what they did. They were not just actors, they also thought about what they did and wrote about it. They were self conscious and pondering which today's politicians are not, they simply want to see themselves reflected in their supporters. The essay on Krishnadevaraya shows that he thinks about the paradoxes of power in the early 16th century in Vijayanagar. Here's a man who was a very powerful ruler, a very violent figure and at the same time was deeply reflective about what it meant to be king and that reflection is very deep in our tradition. We saw this in our 20th century leaders and it is a valuable asset that we should remind our leaders of today. IMAGE: Professor Khilnani speaks to the book store's staff. Photograph: Archana Masih/Rediff.com Many Indians feel they have been done in by history. Do you feel there needs to be a rectification to include more historical figures? What kind of process would this rectification be? We need to radically think how we bring history to ourselves and the younger generation. This book is very much about telling a serious history in a way that can engage and interest a broad readership. There are ways to make accurate history more accessible to people. How we get this into text books is a complicated issue because text books are battle grounds -- different states, governments -- want to push a certain kind of story which often it is a fairy story about an ideological position. The only real way to push back against that is to be sceptical of those text books and say let's look at the real history. Don't give us text books where the Mughals or the Dalits don't appear or only one or the other appear -- that's not history, those are lies. It seems very far fetched, but is there a possibility that the Mughals will not exist in history books? The Soviets tried to exclude some things, the Chinese Communists tried to do that. Totalitarian impulses try to do that, but you can't erase history so easily. I won't be easily optimistic, that's why I say it's a battle, a real battle but provided we fight it with knowledge and a sense of truth behind it, I don't think it will be possible. In this group of 50, who do you think have been wrongly judged by history? Many of them. Krishna Menon, Chidambaram Pillai, Periyar, Malik Ambar .. these are figures that I wanted to bring back because even our forgetting tells us something. Not just how we remember, but how we forget is also revealing. Who among the 50 would you like to invite to dinner? Buddha, Malik Ambar, Amrita Sher-Gil, Dhirubai Ambani, William Jones. People will soon have to dial just a single number 112 for help during emergency situations such as availing services of police, ambulance and the fire department. The proposal to have a single number for various emergency services, approved by the inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission, would be similar to the 911 all-in-one emergency service in the United States. All existing emergency numbers will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility. Telecom Commission has accepted TRAIs (Telecom Regulatory Authority if India) recommendation on single emergency number 112. It will now be drafted by the Department of Telecom and will require telecom ministers (Ravi Shankar Prasad) approval. It will be rolled out within months rather than a year, an official source said. The source said the panel has accepted recommendations of the TRAI after including clarifications given by it. In India, different emergency communication and response systems are in place -- police (100), fire brigade (101), ambulance (102) and emergency disaster management (108). Also, a number of states have notified various helpline numbers for assistance to special categories of citizens, like 181 for women in distress (in Delhi), 1094 for missing children and women (Delhi), 1096 for complaints regarding crime against women (Delhi), police headquarter helpline 1090 (Uttar Pradesh) etc. A person in distress will now need to call 112, which will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help. The service will also be accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended. A user will be able to make communication even through SMS and the system will learn about the location of the caller that will be shared with the nearest help centre. The service will be operated by a call centre like facility, which will have representatives speaking in Hindi, English and the local language. Investors continue to find real estate appealing, chiefly due to the relatively higher returns and stability on offer. (Representational Image) New Delhi: Global realty market is likely to witness an investment of more than USD 1 trillion this year, up 6 per cent from 2015, as investors continue to find real estate appealing on relatively higher returns, according to property consultant CBRE survey. India's real estate sector is also expected to get some benefit, though a small share, of the global real estate investment funds, the consultant said. "Global real estate investors remain strongly expansionary in 2016, with more than USD 1 trillion of planned expenditures anticipated to enter global real estate markets 6 per cent higher than in 2015," CBRE said in a statement. North America is the most popular destination for investment (48 per cent), ahead of Western Europe (26 per cent). London, Los Angeles and Sydney are top regional targets of investors. The CBRE's Global Investor Intentions Survey, conducted between January and early February, asked investors how much capital they would deploy in real estate purchases this year. Majority of investors (82 per cent) indicated that their buying activity would increase or remain same as in 2015. "The results reveal there is approximately USD 1.16 trillion of capital targeting property investment in 2016 an increase of 3 per cent from 2015 levels in local currency terms," CBRE said. Commenting on the survey findings, CBRE's Global President Capital Markets Chris Ludeman said: "Investors continue to find real estate appealing, chiefly due to the relatively higher returns and stability on offer." "We believe that 2016 will be another active year for the global real estate investment market, with capital flows 6 per cent higher than in 2015. There is more than USD 1 trillion of capital targeting real estate in 2016 and this volume of expenditure will maintain support for global real estate prices," he added. Stating that investment strategies are shifting amid concerns about the health of the global economy, Ludeman said 2016 looks likely to be a "risk-off" year, with investors more focused on core assets and less likely to seek secondary, value-added and alternative opportunities. "Real estate remains an important asset class for domestic and overseas investors. The year 2016 promises to be a good one for the industry and it is expected that India's real estate sector will get some benefit, albeit a small share, of the global real estate investment funds," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & MD, CBRE South Asia. In terms of asset classes, CBRE's report said office (30 per cent) remains the most popular property type globally, though interest is down slightly compared to last year. "There is a notable uptick in interest for retail (21 per cent) and multifamily assets (20 per cent) from 2015". A five-member Pakistani probe team, including an Inter-Services Intelligence official, on Tuesday visited the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, entering through the same breached perimeter wall used by terrorists in the January 2 attack, even as the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party intensified protests against the visit. The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team team accompanied by National Investigation Agency officials entered the strategic airbase from its rear side after their convoy stopped at 'Upper Doaba' canal and the members took a mini bus to travel through the dirt track next to the water body. The team, officials said, was taken to only the "scene of crime" where the encounter occurred between the security men and terrorists and the entire process was videographed by two IAF personnel. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case and has been given access to a strategic installation. The Pakistani JIT is led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also includes ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed. The area was "visually barricaded" so that the defence assets were not exposed, officials said. Commandos of the special SWAT team ran for half a kilometre with the bus, till the JIT and NIA sleuths entered from a newly created entry on the airbase's perimeter wall laden with huge concertina wires at about 11:20 am. This the same fence from where at least four terrorists breached the airbase security apparatus and entered on the morning of January 1 this year before launching the attack later that night. They killed seven securitymen before being shot dead after an 80-hour gun battle. Waving black flags and placards, scores of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party workers on Tuesday stood outside the air base protesting against the visit and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. They accused the BJP government of hurting the sentiments of the people of the country by allowing the Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. AAP's Delhi minister Kapil Mishra said that allowing Pakistani JIT to visit the air base was "shameful and disgusting". "For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that the ISI was not supporting terrorism... the same people who have killed our people have come here...this is so shameful and disgusting," Mishra said. "This is an insult of our mother India. We will not let the Modi government to do this," he said. "Modi has shown his real face. We do not want killers to be allowed to probe the matter. We will not tolerate this and that is why AAP is holding protest here," said AAP leader Singh, who is party incharge for Punjab affairs. "It is an insult to Indians and martyrs," he said. The team, accompanied by NIA officials, reached Amritsar airport on a special Border Security Force aircraft at about 9:15 am after which they were driven in a convoy of six white bulletproof SUVs, protected by the Punjab police commandos. The entire periphery area of the air base and the interiors next to it, including the Defence Security Corps mess, was covered and a visual blind created by using white and yellow tents. The team later left for the spot where SP Salwinder Singh was allegedly abducted by the terrorists before the attack. They are also likely to visit Baniyal outpost from where the four Jaish terrorists were suspected to have sneaked into the country. Investigators from India and Pakistan had met in Delhi on Monday. The defence ministry has already made it clear that the team will have no access to the operational and strategic areas of the base which not only houses fighter jets of the Indian Air Force but also attack helicopters. Apart from the official of intelligence agency ISI, the Pakistani team also includes Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanver. The opposition parties have slammed the government for allowing the visit with the Congress saying that according an almost "red carpet welcome" to the JIT raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra and Punjab's Convenor of AAP Sucha Singh Chhotepur led the protest near the Pathankot airbase. Chanting slogans against the Centre and holding placards saying "Pak JIT go back" the protesters also waved black flags and reached the gates of the base, where defence personnel stopped them from entering the restricted area. Instead of allowing Pakistan's investigation team to visit India to probe Pathankot attacks, Indian security agencies should have been sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of masterminds "enjoying hospitality of Pakistan government not only in Pathankot attacks but in Mumbai attacks too", Mishra said. "If Pakistan was serious about probing the Pathankot attack, its team should have probed the involvement of masterminds of attacks against whom India has already given ample evidence to Pakistan," he said. Singh hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "he used to claim of having 56-inch chest to deal with any evil design of Pakistan, but now has virtually mortgaged the dignity and sovereignty of the country to Pakistan for the sake of developing personal relations with his friend Nawaz Sharif." Image: Members of the Pakistans Joint Investigation Team formed to probe into the Pathankot airbase attack, arrive at the National Investigation Agency headquarters in New Delhi on Monday. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI As Inter-Services Intelligence, the notorious Pakistan spy agency infamous for its clandestine support to most of the major terror attacks in India, made its maiden overt presence on Indian soil, curious citizens tried to catch a glimpse of "ISI ka Banda" (the ISI man). The sleepy border town of Punjab was abuzz over the visit of Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team to carry out a first-of-its-kind terror probe at the IAF base with locals wanting to catch a sight of the "ISI agent" and his fellow sleuths from across the border. After newspapers and television channels flashed stories about the visit of the five-member JIT, which also included an official of the ISI, residents of this frontier town were either glued to the TV for information on the movement of the team or decided to make a trip "as close as possible" to the air force base. "We have only heard about some agents or ISI moles being picked up by police or intelligence agencies from this area in the past. ISI agents have also been portrayed in a number of Hindi and other regional films, but for the first time it has been officially known that an ISI man is in the town. The curiosity is obvious," Prakash Sharma, a book stall owner near the Pathankot railway station, said. He said though news reports talked about the arrival of the Pakistani team along with Indian NIA officials as part of the probe on the terror attack on the forward air base early this year, there was no clarity as to when and how they would be travelling. Hotel owner Surya Prakash told PTI that the visit of the Pakistani team which includes an "ISI ka Banda" has made people curious. "There are reports that the Pakistani officials will be taken to the border area in Bamiyal near here from where it is suspected that the terrorists sneaked in to launch the attack on January 1-2. People have lined up the approach road to at least catch a glimpse of the convoy and capture it on their smartphones," Umesh Bhatia, a local medical student said. The visiting Pakistani JIT, which landed 500 km away in Delhi on Monday, is led by Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department, Additional Inspector General of Police Muhammad Tahir Rai and has ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Citing Yadav's case, Bajwa accused India of carrying out"state-sponsored terrorism" in Pakistan. There cannot be a clearer "evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan", he claimed. The Pakistanis claimed that Yadav had established a small business in Chabahar in Iran and had "directed" anti-Pakistan activities in Karachi and Balochistan. "He converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer," Bajwa said at a joint press conference with Rashid. Image used for representational purposes only. A hijack drama that unfolded in Cyprus was ended on Tuesday after authorities arrested the hijacker, whose motives remained a mystery. Eighty one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320 flight of EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo. The hijacker, threatening to blow himself, forced the plane to land in Cyprus. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, negotiations began and everyone onboard was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypts Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Soon after his comments, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off. The hijacker then surrendered to authorities. Its over, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a tweet. Image: A man thought to be the hijacker leaves the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus. Photograph: Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters Sadness and fear prevailed as Pakistan is mourning the loss of precious human lives in Gulshan-e-Iqbal suicide attack on Sunday in Lahore. IMAGE: Family members comfort a woman mourns the death of a relative, who was killed in a blast outside a public park on Sunday, during a funeral in Lahore. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters Business centres and most of the private schools remained closed while lawyers stayed away from courts to mourn death of at least 72 people in the tragic incident. Various organisations and public at large arranged vigil in the memory of innocent people including 15 Christians. Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 million each for the families of the persons who were killed. Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to root out the menace of terrorism from the country after more than 70 people were killed in the deadly Taliban suicide bombing in Lahore. IMAGE: A woman weeps at the funeral of her loved one in Lahore. Over 70 people died in the blast on Sunday for which the Taliban faction has claimed responsibility. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters I am here today to reiterate our national resolve to fight the menace of terrorism till it is rooted out from our society, said Sharif in his address to the nation. He said Pakistan was conscious of the every drop of blood of our victims and those responsible for it will be taken to task. Sharif said that his government will continue the great mission of transforming Pakistan into a cradle of peace, progress and prosperity. IMAGE: The country has announced a three-day mourning period after the blast ripped Lahore on Sunday. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters At least 72 people, mostly women and children, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park of Allama Iqbal in Lahore where Christians were celebrating Easter. Sharif said Islam is a religion of peace which had declared that murder of a single human being is like killing the entire mankind. IMAGE: Even the Pope has condemned the attacks and asked for more security for Christians in the nation. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters A towering inferno has ripped through a residential skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates -- the third such incident in just over a year. IMAGE: Images shared on social media showed bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the building. Photograph: Twitter Hundreds of people were forced to flee as chunks of burning metal fell to the ground when a blaze broke out in the emirate of Ajman late on Monday. Images shared on social media showed bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the building but reports in the UAE say there were no casualties, and that everyone was evacuated from the tower in al-Sawan. IMAGE: Authorities say there have been no casualties yet. Photograph: Twitter The Emirati interior minister, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, rushed to Ajman to help coordinate the response to the blaze, Ajman police said. Fire struck in the Ajman One complex, a development of 12 towers with some 3,000 apartments, and officers sealed off a major road near the tower. Hundreds of evacuated residents and onlookers crowded nearby to watch the building go up in flames, while efforts to extinguish the blaze continued late into the night. IMAGE: Ajman is home to many commuters who work in the Gulf commercial hub of Dubai. Photograph: @miss_yu_tube/Twitter Bismillah, a Pakistani tenant in the complex, told Gulf News her three children rushed down 19 floors to safety. We were all very distraught, we have lost everything, she said. My flat is completed gutted, said another resident while wiping away tears. I have lost everything including my documents and I have no place to stay. The blaze comes less than three months after a massive fire raced up the exterior of the 63-story The Address Downtown Dubai, one of Dubais most prominent hotels. It is situated next to Dubais biggest mall and the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest skyscraper. Sculpture by the Sea is an annual event, extremely popular and a much loved exhibition, attracting visitors in the hundreds of thousands to the shores of Cottesloe, in Perth, Australia. Perth hosts the public exhibition each year and transforms the iconic and popular Cottesloe Beach into a beautiful and unique international sculpture park overlooking the beauty of the Indian Ocean. Different sculptures in the exhibition are staged along the sea wall, running across the sand towards North Cottesloe as well as on the surrounding grass areas. 'A Burden' by artists Suzie Bates and Andrew Townsend is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe in Perth, Australia. All photographs: Paul Kane/Getty Images 'Travelling Bag' by artist Yumin Jing is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Pilgrim' by artist Russell Sheridan is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Skin Cube' by artist Louise Sparr is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Sea Sponges' by artist Karen Macher Nesta is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Oushi Zokei Gate To The Beach' by artist Keizo Ushio is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'The Breakwall' by artist Elyssa Sykes-Smith is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Dust' by artist Norton Flavel is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Pig of Fortune #2' by artist Tae Geun Yang is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. A lady poses with 'Bubble No:7' by artist Qian Sihua during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. A man poses with 'BookCave' by artist Juliet Lea during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Kakashi' by artist Zilvinas Kempinas is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Somarke' by artists Kwy with Lise Kassow is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. 'Cairn' by artist Morgan Jones is seen during Sculpture By The Sea 2016 at Cottesloe Beach. On Sunday, the Syrian government said its forces had retaken the desert city of Palmyra, in the centre of Syria. The self-declared Islamic State seized the city in May of last year -- and soon unleashed a wave of destruction on its defenders, inhabitants and archaeological treasures. In September last year, shocking images were released of the destruction wrought by Isis upon Palmyra's most treasured artefacts, including the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph, which were left in ruins. After the recapture, photographs have emerged showing the damage the terrorist group has inflicted on the ancient city. IMAGE: The old citadel of Palmyra is pictured in the background after forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad recaptured the city, in Homs. All Photographs: SANA/Handout via Reuters IMAGE: Islamic State militants unleashed terror in Palmyra, destroying several structures and antiquities. IMAGE: A photograph showing damaged artefacts inside the museum of the historic city of Palmyra, after forces loyal to Syrias President Bashar al-Assad recaptured the city. IMAGE: The city, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) World Heritage site, was occupied by the IS for 10 months. IMAGE: However, Syrias antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim was quoted as saying by news agencies that they were expecting the worst, but much of the ancient citys ruins remain intact. IMAGE: A general view inside the historic city of Palmyra. Palmyra was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the 3rd Century, led by Queen Zenobia. Before the war, it was Syrias top tourist attraction. IMAGE: Last year, the IS destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to AD 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a structure of stone blocks several stories high fronted by six towering columns. The militants also blew up the Arch of Triumph, which had been built under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus between AD 193 and AD 211. UNESCO says it has planned to evaluate the extent of the damage soon. IMAGE: A banner belonging to the Islamic court of the Islamic State is seen on the ground after forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad recaptured Palmyra city. As he leaves for Belgium as part of a three-nation tour on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the resilience and spirit of its people in the wake of the horrific Brussels bombings and said India stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them. From Brussels, Modi will leave for Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 and from there he will travel to Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit with a focus on boosting energy and security cooperation. In Brussels, Modi will attend the 13th India-EU Summit and in a pre-departure statement, he said it will advance multifaceted engagement across a whole range of sectors and described the 28-member bloc as a vital trading partner. On Saudi Arabia, Modi said Indias relations with the Gulf nation were special and that robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of the bilateral engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Modis visit to Brussels comes eight days after the deadly attacks on the city in which at least 35 people, including an Indian, died and over 300 were wounded. No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones, the prime minister said. Besides attending the long-pending India-EU summit, Modi will hold summit talks with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel on Wednesday to expand the existing ties in diverse areas, including in trade and investment. Our relations with Belgium are deep-rooted and have stood the test of time. Within the EU, Belgium is Indias second largest trading partner. My meeting with the prime minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member, the PM said. Modi said he would be meeting with the Members of European Parliament, Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Brussels. He would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. He will also address a Community Programme and interact with the Indian community. On the Nuclear Security Summit, he said it would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material, Modi said. On the sidelines of the summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations. I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO project, the prime minister said. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves. Following the discovery of gravitational waves, the government last month had given an in-principle approval for establishing a state-of-the-art LIGO project in the country. Modi is visiting Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Indias ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda. Our economic ties are also expanding. Saudi Arabia is Indias 4th largest trading partner, and is also Indias largest crude oil supplier, Modi said. In addition to his meeting with the King, Modi said he was also looking forward to his discussions with other important members of the Royal family. We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with Indias development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh. I will visit the Masmak Fortress, L&T Workers Residential Complex and TCSAllWomenIT & ITESCenter in Riyadh, he said. In Brussels, Modi said he and the Belgian PM would remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope located at Devasthal near Nainital. Image: A man attends a memorial gathering near the old stock exchange in Brussels following Tuesdays bomb attacks in Brussels. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters Asking voters in Assam to reject the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that if it came to power, the state will be run from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters in Nagpur or the Prime Minister's Office. He also warned the people that the BJP will only stoke violence in the state and end the atmosphere of peace ushered in by the Congress. "We want everyone should think and should act for one's culture, language and that no one is suppressed in the country. What does the BJP want in Assam. First they will come and ask for your votes and then Assam will not be run from here, but will be run from Nagpur or the Prime Minister's Office," he said addressing a poll rally in Diphu in Karbi district. Gandhi said that wherever the BJP has gone it has brought violence and has disturbed peace and cited the example of Haryana where within months of its coming to power there was violence between jats and non-jats. "The truth is wherever the BJP goes, it tries to make people fight with each other. For example in Haryana, for 10 years there was peace and no violence or anger was there when the Congress was in power, but within months of the BJP coming to power there was violence and jats and non-jats are fighting with each other. "You have seen what has happened in Gujarat. In Bihar, they tried to bring violence before polls and in Assam too they are trying to spread violence. They will end the peace that has come here after violence stopped. They don't think about you or Assam, they just want to impose one ideology and thought on the entire country, what the RSS people say," he said. Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making false promises and said that the people of Bihar have sent him packing in a "direct flight" from the state as he failed to fulfil any of the promises made to them during Lok Sabha polls. While the BJP wanted one kind of thought to be imposed across the country it was the Congress that took everyone along and did not want anyone to be suppressed irrespective of one's religion, caste or area, he said. "If one thought is imposed across the country, what will happen to your language, what will happen to your customs, your history. Because this country is not of anyone or one thought, but crores of people of different languages, history live here and this country belongs to all. Attacking the prime minister and asking people to reject the BJP as they did in Bihar, Gandhi said, "the next time Modiji comes to Assam, ask him about the promises he made to you for bringing back black money, tackle price rise, funding of Assam and providing minimum support price for farmers, ask him as to which promise he has fulfilled. "Because this question was posed to him by people of Bihar, as he made a lot of promises during Lok Sabha polls and when he returned during assembly polls a few months later, people of Bihar asked about these promises none of which were honoured and said he is 'deceiver' and decided to teach him a lesson. They sent him packing to Delhi in a direct flight. Now people of Assam also have to do the same." Rahul accused Modi of not fulfilling his promises of bringing back black money, bringing down prices or addressing the plight of farmers and the poor and instead allowing people like Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, who possessed black money, to escape from the country. "When I asked him in Parliament about his unfulfilled promises, he did not answer me," Gandhi said, asking people to pose these questions to Modi now when he comes to seek their votes. Rahul, however, made a host of promises himself from providing 10 lakh jobs to youth, filling up all vacant government posts, giving jobs to 2 lakh teachers, providing rice at Rs 2 a kilo, cold storage facilities and agriculture banks to farmers and housing for all. Apart from Rs 1,000 crore package announced by Tarun Gogoi, he also promised to open a medical, engineering and nursing college in the area. "We make promises and fulfil them. In the last 15 years, the Congress party and Tarun Gogoi has worked for you and will work faster in the next 5 years. We will not leave behind anyone, be of any religion, caste or region or place and our government will be of all religions, castes and places and will take everyone along," he said. Image: Rahul Gandhi addresses a rally at Diphu in Assam. Prashant Kishor, the man who led Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar to victory, has his task cut out for him as he tries to secure victory for the Congress in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, reports Kavita Chowdhury. Also please read: Will Prashant Kishor be third time lucky? Many in the party, especially the old guard, view Prashant Kishor with some amount of suspicion. However, the poll strategist is said to be confident that all factions will fall in line once campaign gains traction. Heres an analysis of the style and strategy of the man who did the magic for Narendra Modi and then Nitish Kumar, and who is now consulting for the Congress Prashant Kishor and his team of young professionals, entrusted with the mammoth task of securing victory for the Congress in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, have got a headstart in the former state, where the team has started working with former chief minister Amarinder Singh. In UP, however, it is yet to pick up steam because the Congress in the state is shackled by organisational shortcomings and an incoherent structure. Kishors team, right from the days of the Citizens for Accountable Governance in 2014 and thereafter Indian Political Awareness Committee that handled the Bihar campaign, includes bright graduates from the IITs, IIMs and The Boston Consulting Group. Twenty such youngsters have already started operating from a nodal office at the Congress war room in Delhi and by the time the election campaigns are in full swing, teams of 100 members each will set up office in Chandigarh and Lucknow, respectively. The Punjab campaign is slated to kick off from Tuesday, with Singh hitting the road, interacting with party workers across the state, beginning with Gurdaspur. Kishor, according to sources, will thereafter be a frequent face at Singhs residence, operating in close proximity with the leader. However, the downside of Kishors model of 24x7 direct access with the leader is that the Congress Legislature Party and the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee are in the dark about the partys election plans and programmes till now. Singh is also PCC chief of the state. In UP, the team has been carrying out its own surveys on the ground, while Kishor has distributed 14-page forms to Congress district and city presidents seeking their feedback on a range of issues including the dominating castes in their respective regions, reasons for the Congress poor performance in contrast to the Bharatiya Janata Partys better performance during the 2014 polls. Kishor has also asked them to identify 20 dedicated party workers from each district, who would be willing to work without craving for a ticket, by Thursday. According to a former member of Kishors team, who worked both in the Modi campaign and in Bihar, what sets Kishors team apart from other agencies is the thorough ground work, possible only by motivated youngsters. Extensive data mining, research and analysing the results of the past five to six elections provide valuable inputs for generating an effective communication and branding strategy. What we also do is to closely monitor each of the constituencies, stepping in whenever needed to assist party workers. Kishors critics, however, see his association with the Congress as a venture fraught with bottlenecks. Both the Congress and UP units have been infamous for factionalism and coteries. This, however, does not worry Kishor, says a party insider. His experience with the BJP in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls has shown that once an election campaign gains traction, all factions fall in line. Kishor is said to be unperturbed even by the caste-ridden electoral landscape of UP, possibly banking on how he turned the caste equations in Bihar on its head with the Lalu Yadav-Kumar combine. Questions were raised as soon as Kishors assignment was made public to Congressmen. Some in the old guard viewed him as a disruptive force, forcing Shakeel Ahmed, the general secretary in charge of Punjab, to issue a statement, Prashant Kishor will have no role in organisational matters or in ticket distribution. But, not all within the party are wary of Kishors approach. A senior leader who was an integral part of the Congress campaign way back in 1989 recalled how the party had carried out extensive parivartan rallies across nine regions in the state. Despite that effort -- I myself was part of the stretch from Ballia to Lucknow -- we failed overall. Its time for a fresh approach, for new ideas like those synonymous with Prashant Kishor. He dismisses the concerns of several of his partymen as petty views of those afraid to lose direct access to the top leadership. On his part, Kishor has made the effort to coordinate with general secretaries and state PCC chiefs, taking their suggestions and inputs, but he does not report to them, say insiders. While partymen fret over what PK and his role will be in the months leading up to the Punjab and UP polls, Kishor himself has made no attempt to speak out or give interviews. He prefers to remain in the background. He has his work cut out for him, in this brief period, which, according to those in the know, is not to fix the Congress but to fix the public connect with the Congress. New Delhi: India will meet its target of doubling coal production by 2020 without the help of private miners, the country's coal and power minister said, ruling out new measures to entice cash-strapped companies to begin mining the commodity. India wants to produce 1.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2020 to power its economy and reduce imports. State-owned Coal India Ltd, the world's largest coal miner, has raised production in line with reaching a target of 1 billion tonnes a year within four years and the government wants private miners to produce much of the remainder. But only a few companies that won the right to mine coal for their power plants last year have started production as they struggle to recover their costs, while the ministry this month delayed plans to open up commercial mining to private firms because of weak demand and depressed coal prices. Piyush Goyal, India's power and coal minister, told Reuters that state-owned companies including power producer NTPC Ltd, Steel Authority of India Ltd and National Aluminium Co Ltd would instead pick up the slack by expanding their own mining operations. "That target I will meet even if (private companies) don't come in," he said in a interview on March 23. "In the days to come I'll be auctioning out more mines. Ive already got my plans in place." NTPC is on course to produce 300 million tonnes alone by 2020, said Goyal, a former investment banker. India's success in boosting its coal output after years of missed production targets has been central to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's energy policy. Despite environmental worries, India plans to continue to depend on burning coal to provide power for its 1.3 billion people, some 300 million of whom still lack access to electricity. The government last year auctioned off captive mines, sites already near end-users such as power plants, to private firms such as Hindalco Industries Ltd and Adani Power Ltd. But most companies have not begun mining and have warned that rules prohibiting them from passing on rising costs to end-users make it tough to recover their costs after aggressive bidding during the auctions. Goyal, however, said he would stick with the current system. "These coal mines were given out by a system where the price benefit would go out to the people of India. It was a transparent bid by independent people without any compulsion to bid any price," he said. "They bid and they got it." While Indian demand for coal has been lower-than-expected, Goyal said a major reform of indebted electricity distributors would soon free these utilities to start buying more power, boosting demand for coal. Total investment into India's energy sector reached around $50 billion this financial year, he said, with roughly the same level expected next year as the government tenders new wind and solar projects and upgrades transmission lines. Farming and debt go together in Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district. There are those who have learnt to live with it and others like Alagar who could not cope with the loss. A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com reports. IMAGE: Alagar's parents, left, with a photograph of their deceased son. All photographs: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com In the wee hours of March 11, Alagar, a 26-year-old farmer, passed away in a hospital in Keezhapavur in Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district. The previous evening, he had consumed cotton pesticide mixed with alcohol. Alagar committed suicide after he failed to pay his dues to a finance company following which the firm seized his tractor. A native of Orathur village near Veenakaikatti town in Ariyalur district, he lived with his wife, two brothers and parents. Alagar had taken a loan of Rs 7 lakh (Rs 700,000) to buy the tractor from the Cholamandalam Finance Company. He had paid back Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) in instalments and was meant to pay back the balance amount of Rs 2 lakh (Rs 200,000). On March 10, the finance company's representatives arrived at his home. They told Alagar they had come to seize the tractor because he had not paid his dues. He told them that he had paid back most of the loan amount and would soon pay back the balance. But they insisted on taking the tractor. Alagar, his brother Silambarasan alleges, was manhandled by the finance company's representatives. There was a scuffle and Alagar left his home on his motorcycle. Silambarasan and his father Arumugam later met the finance company representatives. "We told them we would pay the balance in two months. We told them we would sell a plot of land and pay them," Silambarasan told Rediff.com According to Arumugam, the finance company's representatives told them, 'Let us go to your home and we will talk there.' Silambarasan took the tractor home. "Once we reached home, they changed their stance. They took the tractor and drove it away. We said we would pay, but they refused. We could not do anything. They had come in two cars. They told us to 'come to the company, pay and take the tractor.' They left with the tractor," says Silambarasan. "They did not even give us notice that they would seize the tractor," adds Arumugam. IMAGE: Alagar's family plot in the foreground. In the background is one of the cement plants that farmers blame for the depleting water table in the area. Alagar returned home and wept. 'They insulted me, they manhandled me,' he told his father. Alagar told his wife that he would ask an aunt if she could lend him the money. But Alagar did not visit his aunt. Instead, he traveled to the district headquarters Ariyalur, which is some 15 kms away. There, he bought cotton pesticide from a fertiliser shop and a bottle of liquor. He mixed the pesticide with the liquor and drank it. He then called a neighbour Muruganandam and told him, 'I have drunk poison. No one can save me.' "We were searching for him and found him there," says Silambarasan, remembering how the family frantically looked for Alagar following his phone call. The family took him to the Arunachalam Hospital in Keezhapavur. They showed the doctor the pesticide that he had consumed. When his family admitted him to the hospital around 5 pm, he was conscious. At 3.30 am, he began bleeding from the mouth. Some minutes later, he was dead. Acquaintances advised the family to go to the police. "We did not want him to be cut up for an autopsy. People would say we allowed our brother to be cut up for money," says Silambarasan, highlighting the sentiments that prevail in a village. The next morning, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member Sivasankar arrived at the family home with a Kalaignar TV crew. Kalaignar TV is aligned with the DMK party. Following media reports, leaders from the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Congress party, the Vasan Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam all visited the family. Alagar, says Silambarasan, educated his siblings. One brother Pakyaraj has a BTech degree. Silambarasan has a diploma in mechanical engineering. Their sister Satya has done her teacher's training. Alagar could pay their fees because as a 20 year old he traveled to Singapore to work as a painter; he worked there for 3 years. After he returned he wed and settled down in his native village. IMAGE: Alagar's tractor-trailer. The family took a loan to buy the tractor in 2013. Silambarasan says they did not approach a nationalised bank since that would need land documents. The family only owns 1 acres of land. The police have registered a case against the finance company. Police officiers told Rediff.com that they had visited the company office in Perambulur, where the loan was taken, and another office in Tiruchi. Both the offices were closed, a police officer said, adding that the finance company had informed the police that the tractor had been seized. The company's offices were shut when Rediff.com visited to speak to managers about the incident. The area is dependent on rain water for farming as there is no river nearby, says Armugam. There is a lake in the village which fills up only if it rains normally. Water is currently available at a depth of 500 to 600 feet in the village. The villagers complain that the water table is very low as cement plants in the area draw ground water for their use. R Renganathan has 3 acres of land on which he grows cotton. He harvests the cotton crop once a year. "Monkeys and peacocks are our biggest problems here, they destroy the crop," he complains. He expects an income of Rs 20,000 per acre and depends entirely on rain water for his farming. P Chakravarthy owns 6 acres of land on which he grows sugarcane, paddy and groundnut. He has a borewell in his fields. For the four acres on which he grows sugarcane, he expect Rs 50,000 as profit per acre. The water in his borewell is available at a depth of 450 feet. As there are frequent power cuts during the day, he comes to the field after 11 pm to water his crops. He took a loan for Rs 425,000 from the State Bank of India in 2005 to buy a tractor. Eleven years later, he is still paying off the loan. He intends to pay off the balance of Rs 120,000 over the next two years. Twice the bank issued notices to seize the tractor. Both times he paid the penalty interest imposed by the bank which allowed him to keep the tractor. His ownership documents for the land are with the bank. "If power (electricity) is regular, then it will be easier for farmers," says Chakravarthy. If the farmers are late in paying the interest on their loans, he says, the banks publish their names in the newspapers. "They do it to shame us," he laments. Farming and debt go together in Ariyalur. There are those who have learnt to live with it and others like Alagar who could not cope with the loss. Over a thousand supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, executed for killing liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer, on Wednesday refused to obey a second call to end their days-old protest here until the government accepts their demand of declaring the Islamist assassin a "martyr". Over 7,000 security personnel have been deployed in Islamabad's Red Zone and are readying to forcibly evict the protesters as they have ignored repeated warnings to end their stir peacefully, a senior government official said. Over 25,000 supporters of Qadri, executed in late February five years after he assassinated Taseer, had entered and besieged Islamabad's Red Zone on Sunday, damaging public buildings and clashing with police in which 42 security officials and 16 citizens have been injured so far. The four-day-old stand-off between the Islamist protesters and authorities comes in the backdrop of deadly terror attack on Easter Sunday in Lahore in which over 70 people, mostly Christians, were killed. Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter faction of Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier on Wednesday, the police issued a second call to protesters to disperse peacefully before evening after a similar warning to "use force" by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan last night went unheeded. Over 1,100 protesters were arrested on Tuesday in a police operation after Khan's warning. However, 1,500-2,000 protesters are still camped in front of the parliament and have refused to end their protests until all of their demands are accepted. A senior police official said that all preparations were in place to clear the D-Chowk, the venue of protests. "More than 7,000 security personnel of police and paramilitary are ready to take action," he said. Apart from declaring Qadri a "martyr", the protesters are also demanding Sharia law, release of their arrested leaders, declaring Qadri's Adiala Jail cell in Rawalpindi into a national heritage and execution of blasphemy convict Christian women Aasia Bibi who was sentenced to death in 2010 by a court. "The government may agree to release the arrested leaders but it will not accept other demands," a senior government officials said, adding the country had suffered a loss of about 150 million rupees due to vandalism by the protesters. Qadri, who was Tasser's security guard, has killed the sitting governor of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous state, in 2011 after he visited Aasia Bibi in her jail cell and expressed support for her, even promising a presidential pardon to the mother-of-five. Qadri was hanged on February 29 after all of his appeals were rejected by higher courts. Image: Islamist activists gather outside the Parliament building to protest the execution of Mumtaz Qadri in Islamabad, Pakistan. Photograph: Faisal Mahmood/Reuters Mumbai: The stage is set for the biggest dancing battle the nation has ever seen. After captivating the audience across the globe, the worlds biggest dance platform, So You Think You Can Dance is all set to take India by storm. Dancing diva Madhuri Dixit will judge the Indian chapter of the biggest dance competition that will be an ultimate battle to prove supremacy over the dance floor. The worlds biggest dance show will stand witness to an epic battle which will see two dance forms; Stage and Street fight it out for the greatest honour. Along with Madhuri the other two judges on the panel will be Terence Lewis and Bosco Martis. Terence says, Bosco will take charge of street and raw urban style while I'll look into the technical aspects of the stage performances. Madhuri will oversee the Indian styles. Kazakhstan: Three new prison terms, legal advisor next? Publisher Forum 18 Author Felix Corley Publication Date 28 March 2016 Cite as Forum 18, Kazakhstan: Three new prison terms, legal advisor next?, 28 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa1d754.html [accessed 23 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Three Sunni Muslim prisoners of conscience - Aidin Shakentayev, Bauyrzhan Serikov and Murat Shopenov were today (28 March) in Karaganda handed prison terms of up to 30 months each for alleged membership of the "extremist" Muslim missionary movement Tabligh Jamaat. They have been held in secret police detention for nearly six months. Asked by Forum 18 News Service if the three men had committed violence or incited others to commit violence, Prosecutor Olga Kiryanova who led the prosecution case in court - put the phone down. The trial in Kazakhstan's capital Astana of a legal expert who gave professional advice to the wives of two other imprisoned alleged Tabligh Jamaat members is due to begin on 8 April. "My husband runs a law firm and gave advice in that capacity," Murat Takaumov's wife Aynur insisted to Forum 18. Tabligh Jamaat was abruptly banned in 2013, a year after a scholarly commission concluded after months of work at the request of the secret police and the government's Religious Affairs Committee that it was not "extremist" or "terrorist"quot; and no reason existed for it to be banned. With his daughters wedding over, Chiranjeevi was a relieved man on Tuesday. The wedding, that took place on Monday at 9.13 pm in Bengaluru was attended by around 250 guests, comprising family and friends. Everything went smoothly and calmly, says a source from the family. The grooms family is very close to Surekha (Chiranjeevis wife), so they were never strangers. They mingled with everyone from Chirus family, added the source. Kalyan and Srija, seen here, were married in Bengaluru on Monday night Chiranjeevi watches on as his daughter performs the wedding rituals. Hyderabad-based decor specialist Dinaz Noria took care of the decorations of the Kalyanamandapam and made sure it looked perfect. The food served was traditional and the ceremony continued till 12.30 am. Apart from family, only close Tollywood associates like K. Raghavendra Rao, Gemini Kiran, K.S. Rama Rao and Ashwini Dutt were invited. Rana Daggubati and Akhil were also there from the day of the sangeet ceremony. From the Kannada film industry, Sumalatha and Ambarish, and Puneet Raj Kumar attended as they are very close to Chiranjeevi and his family. Chiru dance at sreeja marriage... #chiranjeevi pic.twitter.com/p7eqvfkwY1 Savitri on April 1st (@Fukkard) March 29, 2016 The megastar also put up a small dance performance with his daughter at the reception. The two gave the traditional father-daughter dance a new twist as they grooved to one of Chiranjeevi's romantic tracks. Chiranjeevi and Surekha are now relieved as this was the last big function for them, and Chiru had been worrying about Srija for a few years. Now, I am more relieved and can concentrate on my film, Chiru apparently told all of his friends. Time 'to ring the alarm bell' on waning prospects for Middle East peace, UN envoy tells Security Council Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Time 'to ring the alarm bell' on waning prospects for Middle East peace, UN envoy tells Security Council, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa1f5a40b.html [accessed 23 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. 24 March 2016 - The United Nations envoy for the peace process in the Middle East today warned the Security Council that the prospects for an independent Palestinian state are disappearing, and questioned the political will of the Israeli and Palestinian actors to address the main challenges blocking peace efforts. The time has come to ring the alarm bells that the two-state solution is slipping from our fingers, said Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, pointing to ongoing settlement activities and confiscation of Palestinian land, as well as the continued lack of genuine Palestinian unity. 'Wave of violence' The persistent inability to achieve a just and lasting solution that meets the national aspirations of the Palestinians and Israelis is being expressed through violence. The past month has been marked by some of the bloodiest incidents in this current wave of violence across Israel and the occupied West Bank, Mr. Mladenov said. That violence has left 198 Palestinians and 30 Israelis dead in the past six months, with most of the Palestinians killed while reportedly carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. The UN envoy said that it is time to move past mere condemnations of such acts of terror and violence to send a clear message to both parties. He spoke to Palestinians, weighing against radicals determined to poison the minds of Palestinian youth, and urged them to not praise or glorify violence against Israel in the media. At the same time, Mr. Mladenov called on Israelis to realize that actions such as illegal building and movement restrictions breed anger among people who feel they are being collectively humiliated, punished and discriminated against. Noting Israeli authorities' interpretation of the Ottoman Land Law in their favour, he reiterated that settlements are illegal under international law and urged Israel to halt and reverse decisions that allow them to declare state land on property that is not registered as private. He spoke also against the demolition and confiscation of Palestinian structures in the West Bank, and the regular denial of legal building permits to Palestinians. Palestinian's political discord The lack of a united Palestinian front is also a challenge with political factions unable to reach a consensus on long-term Palestinian national goals, as well as fiscal and development goals. The senior UN official stressed that achieving a genuine Palestinian unity on the basis of non-violence, democracy and the PLO Principles would constitute a crucial building block for the foundation of a Palestinian state. Among other issues, he called for allegations of corruption to be investigated, referencing an arrest warrant that was temporarily ordered against Najat Abu Bakr, a Fateh member of the Palestine Legislative Committee, who raised such allegations. Report on way forward In an attempt to break the political impasse between the actors, Mr. Mladenov announced that the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process comprising the UN, Russia, the United States and the European Union have started work on a report to review the situation on the ground and suggest a plan to overcome the impediments. We remain seriously concerned that current trends including continued acts of violence against civilians, incitement, ongoing settlement activity, and the high rate of demolitions of Palestinian structures are dangerously imperilling the viability of a two-state solution, Mr. Mladenov said. According to information provided to the press yesterday, the work has already started and the Quartet is seeking inputs from both sides and other stakeholders, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The report is expected to be completed in a few months. Gaza reconstruction In Gaza, where the security situation remains volatile, the pace of reconstruction is slow, the UN envoy said. He pointed to slow disbursements of donor pledges, and encouraged all Member States to disburse their commitments without delay. Only 35 per cent of the $3.5 billion pledged at the 2014 Cairo conference has been disbursed, according to figures Mr. Mladenov provided at a press briefing yesterday. Failure to comprehensively address the chronic problems affecting Gaza risks another escalation in the future, he warned. Mr. Mladenov was due today to hold an informal consultation with Member States on the reconstruction efforts. Secretary-General in Lebanon Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is today in Lebanon, joined by the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim. In his briefing, Mr. Mladenov said the visit illustrated the strong commitment of the UN and international community to helping Lebanon address multiple challenges resulting from the Syria crisis. Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Somalia through March 2017 Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Somalia through March 2017, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa1fbd40b.html [accessed 23 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. 24 March 2016 - Stressing the importance of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia to that country's political process, the Security Council today extended the mandate of UNSOM's work until 31 March 2017. The 15 members of the Council unanimously adopted an extension of UNSOM's work, underscoring the provision of UN good offices to support the Federal Government's peace and reconciliation process, including preparation for an inclusive, free, fair and transparent electoral process in 2016 and universal elections by 2020. Last month, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Secretary-General's Special Representative in Somalia Michael Keating, met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the speaker of the Federal Parliament Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Mr. Feltman reiterated the UN's support to the Somali people for agreeing on an electoral process for this year. In its resolution, the Council encourages UNSOM to enhance its interaction with Somali civil society, including women, youth, business and religious leaders to ensure that different points of view are incorporated in the political process. UNSOM is also asked to conduct a review of the UN presence in Somalia after the elections, to ensure that the UN is properly configured to support the next phase of state-building in the Horn of Africa nation and to present options and recommendations to the Council by the end of January 2017. Included in today's resolution is strong condemnation of recent terrorist attacks by the group Al-Shabaab, and support for a comprehensive approach to reduce the group's threat in accordance with international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law. The Council also paid tribute to the bravery and sacrifices made by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Army personnel fighting against Al-Shabaab. UNESCO chief welcomes the liberation of Syria's Palmyra world heritage site Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UNESCO chief welcomes the liberation of Syria's Palmyra world heritage site, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa1fe240b.html [accessed 23 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. 24 March 2016 - The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today welcomed the liberation of the Palmyra archeological site, a martyr city inscribed on the agency's World Heritage list. [Palmyra] carries the memory of the Syrian people, and the values of cultural diversity, tolerance and openness that have made this region a cradle of civilization," declared the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, in a statement. For one year, Palmyra has been a symbol of the cultural cleansing plaguing the Middle East. The dynamiting and pillage of its treasures, to break an entire society, sparked a unanimous indignation and strengthened the unprecedented mobilization in favor of the values that unite all humanity, she added. Ms. Bokova also warned that the destruction of temples of Baal Shamin and Bel, the funeral towers and the Triumphal Arch are an immense loss for the Syrian people and the world. "As soon as security conditions allow, UNESCO is ready to go to Palmyra with those responsible for Syrian antiquities on a mission to evaluate damage and protect the priceless heritage of the city of Palmyra, crossroad of cultures since the dawn of humanity, she underlined. The deliberate destruction of heritage is a war crime, and UNESCO will do everything in its power to document the damage so that these crimes do not go unpunished. I wish to remind all parties present of the absolute necessity to preserve this unique heritage as an essential condition for peace and the future of the region, she concluded. In Lebanon, Ban prasies country's generosity towards Syrian refugees Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, In Lebanon, Ban prasies country's generosity towards Syrian refugees, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa204840c.html [accessed 23 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. 24 March 2016 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived this morning in Lebanon, starting with a visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, in Naqoura and then holding a joint press conference where he praised the generosity the country and Lebanese people have shown towards Syrian refugees. According to Mr. Ban's spokesperson, the UN chief met the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon, Nabih Berri, with whom he discussed the current political situation in the country alongside the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim and the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani. The three of them then met with the President of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon, Tammam Salam. During a joint press conference just now, the Secretary-General said that few countries have demonstrated the generosity that the Government and people of Lebanon have shown towards Syrian refugees. The UN chief explained that this visit with the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank aimed to find ways to improve conditions for refugees, to support the communities hosting them, and to help mitigate the impact on Lebanon's economy. Mr. Ban added that the political situation in Lebanon continued to be a source of concern, contributing to an atmosphere of uncertainty. It is vital that the vacuum in the presidency is filled as soon as possible, in order for Lebanon to be whole again, he said. The officials are also expected to visit communities hosting Syrian and Palestinian refugees to reiterate their long-term support to the country and discuss new approaches to building resilience and assisting national systems. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is greeted by Sigrid Kaag, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, on arrival in Beirut. UN Photo/Mark Garten Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with Wafic Rhaime, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon. UN Photo/Mark Garten Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is greeted by Major General Luciano Portolano, Head of Mission and Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). UN Photo/Mark Garten Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) is greeted by Ambassador Nawaf Salam, Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the UN. UN Photo/Mark Garten Visiting the United Nations peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, the Secretary-General stressed that the area has seen one of the quietest periods in nearly four decades and the UN presence must be effectively used to prevent hostilities and de-escalate tension there. The UN chief stressed, in particular, the need to make the continued use of the tripartite forum comprising Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL to resolve any differences between the parties and towards the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). Prevalence of a stable security environment in south Lebanon, continued commitment of the parties to the cessation of hostilities, increasing ability of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to ensure security of the country these are the key elements for the successful implementation of the [UNIFIL] mandate, Mr. Ban said at the Force's headquarters in Naqoura. He also underlined the need for a strong cooperation between LAF and UNIFIL in south Lebanon, including through the Strategic Dialogue process, and efforts that are underway to ensure the implementation of the resolution. Luciano Portolano, Head of UNIFIL, said that the UN mission has been providing a strong deterrent to the resumption of hostilities. Trips to Jordan, Tunisia On Sunday, they will travel to Jordan to meet with King Abdullah II, as well as other members of the Government, and visit the Zaatari refugee camp. They will also participate jointly in an open discussion with Jordanian youth. On Monday, they will visit Tunisia to meet with President Beji Caid Essebsi and other senior officials, and pay respect to the victims of terrorism. Mr. Ban will attend a national conference on employment, hosted by the President. Mr. Ban will be in Geneva on Wednesday to open the high-level meeting on Global Responsibility Sharing for Syrian Refugees. UN welcomes 'historic' guilty verdict against Radovan Karadzic Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN welcomes 'historic' guilty verdict against Radovan Karadzic, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa208c40b.html [accessed 23 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. 24 March 2016 - Calling today historic for the people of former Yugoslavia and for international criminal justice, United nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed support for the victims who suffered under former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, following his guilty verdict by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Fugitives cannot outrun the international community's collective resolve to make sure that they face justice according to the law, Mr. Ban said through his spokesperson. In a separate statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, welcomed the verdict calling it hugely significant. His judgment is symbolically powerful above all for the victims of the crimes committed during the wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and across the former Yugoslavia, but also for victims across the world, said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein in a statement from his Office (OHCHR). Mr. Zeid added that while the verdict might be appealed, it shows no matter how powerful they are, no matter how untouchable they imagine themselves to be, no matter what continent they inhabit, the perpetrators of such crimes must know that they will not escape justice. Mr. Karadzic, who had been the President of the self-styled Bosnian Serb Republic, was convicted of genocide in the area of Srebrenica in 1995, of persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, inhumane acts (forcible transfer), terror, unlawful attacks on civilians and hostage-taking. The ICTY acquitted him of the charge of genocide in other municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. Mr. Zeid has a personal connection to the trial, having served in the UN Protection Force in the Former Yugoslavia between1994 and 1996. In his statement, Mr. Zeid said the verdict stripped away the pretence that Mr. Karadzics actions were anything more than political manipulation, and exposes him as the architect of destruction and murder on a massive scale. It is time now to ensure that his poisonous legacy does not continue to burden the people of the former Yugoslavia with deeply-felt grievances, secrecy and lies, he stressed. He added that the trial should give pause to leader in Europe and elsewhere who seek to exploit nationalist sentiments and scapegoat minorities for broader social ills. Speech that incites hatred, discrimination and violence is an inflammable force, he said. In the countries of the former Yugoslavia, we saw the terrible bloodshed that can result. Following the announcement of the verdict, ICTY Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said: For two decades now, the victims have put their trust in us to deliver [justice]. Thousands came here to tell their stories and courageously confront their tormentors. Today, with this conviction, that trust has been honoured. Justice has been done. He went on to stress that the truth established by this judgment will stand against continuing attempts at denying the suffering of thousands and the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. Moments like this should also remind us that in innumerable conflicts around the world today, millions of victims are now waiting for their own justice. This judgment shows that it is possible to deliver it, he said. Also today, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Under-Secretary General Zainab Hawa Bangura, spoke in favour of the conviction. Having met with Bosnian women during a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Under-Secretary-General noted their concerns as the perpetrators still walk amongst them. "We must support these survivors in ensuring that all perpetrators are held to account," she said, stressing the importance of international courts in helping to convert longstanding cultures of impunity for sexual violence into cultures of deterrence. The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, also stressed that today's verdict is not only about justice for the past but is also about the future. "Accountability constitutes a critical component of prevention and also an important step along the path to national post-crisis reconciliation," Mr. Dieng said. He added that "this verdict will assist the entire region to think about what happened, learn the lessons of the past and chart a future that fully acknowledges the past." UN rights chief urges Egypt to halt 'clampdown' on civil society groups Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN rights chief urges Egypt to halt 'clampdown' on civil society groups, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa26f740b.html [accessed 23 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. 24 March 2016 - The United Nations human rights chief has expressed grave concern over the closure of hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt and the prosecutions of numerous rights defenders for their legitimate work since November 2014, urging the Government to end such repressive measures. This looks like a clampdown on sections of Egyptian civil society and it must stop, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said yesterday in a press release. NGOs who have played a valuable role in documenting violations and supporting victims will see their activities completely crippled if this continues. This will stifle the voices of those who advocate for victims, he added, Today, a court is expected to rule on the asset freeze ordered against two prominent human rights defenders, who are accused of illegally receiving $1.5 million in funding from a foreign government. Their prosecutions are part of a case that dates back to 2011, when 43 staff from international NGOs were charged with receiving funds from a foreign government without a license. Everyone has the right to receive funds to promote human rights through peaceful means, said the High Commissioner, urging the Egyptian authorities to stop all prosecutions targeting legitimate human rights activities. In particular, they must terminate the cases against those two men, who by international standards have clearly not committed any crime, he added. Many organizations have been dissolved under Egypt's 2002 NGO law. Many other NGOs have also been dissolved because of their alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood which is considered a terrorist organization by the Egyptian courts. On just one day this month, at least 20 NGOs were dissolved in the Delta Governorate and other NGOs elsewhere in the country had their activities frozen pending investigation. Human rights activists, journalists and political activists have also been subjected to travel bans. According to Egyptian sources, hundreds of people have been prevented from entering or leaving the country, in many cases without any judicial order. Restrictions like these contravene Egypt's obligations under the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights to provide freedom of association and freedom of expression. They also violate the Egyptian Constitution, he said. Egyptian civil society activists should be lauded for their dedicated efforts to promote human rights under such difficult circumstances, Mr. Zeid said, emphasizing that laws that impose undue restrictions on NGO registration and funding as well as freedom of expression and association must be amended to create a more tolerant atmosphere. Progress made on humanitarian track for Syria, UN advisor reports Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 23 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Progress made on humanitarian track for Syria, UN advisor reports, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa276140d.html [accessed 23 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. 23 March 2016 - The advisor to the United Nations envoy on Syria today reported further progress in the humanitarian relief efforts in the conflict-battered country, with access to more areas, allowing the delivery of medical kits as well as vaccines for children. Briefing the media in Geneva, Jan Egeland, the Special Advisor to UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, said humanitarian convoys have already reached or got verbal Government consent to reach most of the 18 besieged areas, except Darayya and Douma. Last night, an inter-agency convoy of the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent arrived in Al Houla in Homs for the first time since last October. A convoy also reached the Orem area in western Aleppo over the weekend. We are now up to 384,000 people reached since the beginning of the year via inter-agency convoys in hard-to-reach areas, besieged areas, and other priority cross-line areas, he said. With verbal permissions having just been issued for eight or nine of the 11 areas the UN requested for April, that number is expected to double in the coming weeks, he added. He also reported that medical kits went through to Al Houla after extensive negotiations. But surgical material was again taken off the convoys. It is a war zone; civilians and others need surgical help, he insisted. A member of UNRWA's medical team treats a young patient (23 March 2016). Photo: UNRWA Turning to the vaccination campaign, he said vaccinating children is symbolically important in a conflict, and especially in a peace effort. There is nothing more symbolic than children being able to resume school and being vaccinated against diseases, he said, noting that one million children in hard-to-reach and besieged areas will be vaccinated by the end of April through the facilitation of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Air drops are expected to start in days and weeks over Deir ez-Zor, where 200,000 civilians, mostly women and children, are waiting for relief aid, he said. A young boy attempts to lift a 35 kg food parcel in Yalda (15 March 2016). Photo: UNRWA Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported today that it has continued humanitarian operations in Yalda for the sixth consecutive week. A medical team comprised of two medical officers, two nurses and one assistant pharmacist was deployed for the fourth time since February, when the UN agency was allowed to resume operations to support vulnerable civilians from Yarmouk, Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham. The medical team reportedly treated 253 patients today, including 114 women and 78 children, for a range of non-communicable and other common diseases. Diplomatic Quartet to prepare report to lay ground for Israel-Palestine talks UN envoy Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 23 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Diplomatic Quartet to prepare report to lay ground for Israel-Palestine talks UN envoy, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa27a3315.html [accessed 23 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. 23 March 2016 - The United Nations envoy for the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today unveiled a plan by the diplomatic Quartet comprising the UN, Russia, the United States and the European Union to produce a report that would help create a political environment for the two sides to resume peace negotiations. Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the Quartet, in its last principals meeting in Munich, decided to compile a report that will examine impediments to a two-state solution and recommend the way forward. The work has already started and the Quartet is seeking inputs from both sides and other stakeholders, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, to produce a good assessment, he said, expressing hope that the report, to be concluded in a few months, will inform the international opinion and consolidate consensus on a two-state solution as the only viable option. Turning to the reconstruction of Gaza, he said that since the end of hostilities in 2014, the UN engaged both sides in putting together a mechanism to allow the import of building materials. This has begun to see visible results. Now 100,000 families have access to construction materials to repair and rebuild their homes, and 9,000 jobs have been created. It is now vital to move forward with key infrastructure projects, namely those related to access to fresh water and electricity, he said. Efforts must continue to remove Gaza blockages imposed by Israel in order to allow imports and exports so that economic activities can restart in the strip. He noted, however, that only 35 per cent of the $3.5 billion pledged at the 2014 Cairo conference has been disbursed, urging donors to make good on their commitment. Mr. Mladenov said that tomorrow, he will brief the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and hold an informal consultation with Member States on the reconstruction of Gaza. Senior UN official warns of dire consequences for millions of Iraqis due to funding shortfalls Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 23 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Senior UN official warns of dire consequences for millions of Iraqis due to funding shortfalls, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa27c940b.html [accessed 23 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. 23 March 2016 - Returning from a visit to Iraq, a senior United Nations relief official today drew attention to the worsening situation for more than 10 million people in need, and to the urgency to mobilize more funding for the humanitarian response. As the conflict expands and grows more complex, millions of people in Iraq are in increasingly dire need for international assistance," warned John Ging, the Director of Operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). According to the UN, two years of instability and insecurity have had a devastating effect on all aspects of life in Iraq. Iraqi people continue to face immense humanitarian challenges, including widespread displacement, the destruction of homes and livelihoods, and difficulty in accessing humanitarian assistance. Over 3.3 million people have been displaced by violent conflict since January 2014. Mr. Ging also highlighted that Iraq is among the most deadly countries in the world for civilians, with thousands injured and killed by explosive weapons and other conflict-related methods each year. Last year, more than 7,500 people were killed and nearly 15,000 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict. In Baghdad, Mr. Ging visited the Takia site for internally displaced persons (IDP) and met with families forced from their homes, most from Anbar and Salah al-Din governorates. Among those he met were a class of teenage girls from Ramadi whose families fled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in April last year. I was struck by the enormous courage and positive energy of these girls who have endured such trauma and yet are so inspiring in their commitment to their studies with such a strong belief in a better future," he said. In Erbil, Mr. Ging met with displaced families that had fled violence in Mosul, the Ninewa Plains and Sinjar and are now living in informal sites, including a former chicken farm. In meetings with officials from both the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, Mr. Ging complimented them for their generosity. "Communities across Iraq have shown exemplary solidarity with the displaced. The Kurdistan Region alone is hosting more than one million displaced people. However, they have limited resources which are nearing exhaustion. More funding is urgently required from the international community - otherwise people are facing a disaster". The UN official also complimented humanitarian organizations for their outstanding work under the leadership of Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country. "Iraq is one of the most complex and dangerous environments for aid workers and their courage and dedication is truly inspiring," he said. Thanking donors for their generosity, Mr. Ging made an urgent appeal for additional funding for life saving supplies and medicine. The Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016 prepared by the UN and its partners is a highly-prioritized appeal. Despite this, there is a $731 million shortfall in the current response plan, which is only 15 per cent funded. Meanwhile, he reminded parties involved in military operations to ensure the protection of civilians and the preservation of civilian infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law. "The protection of innocent civilians must be top priority not just in rhetoric, but most importantly in action," he said. UN Envoy for Yemen announces cessation of hostilities and start date for peace talks Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 23 March 2016 Related Document(s) Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) [on cessation of violence in Yemen and the reinforcement of sanctions imposed by resolution 2104 (2014)] Cite as UN News Service, UN Envoy for Yemen announces cessation of hostilities and start date for peace talks, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa289d40b.html [accessed 23 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. 23 March 2016 - Following extensive consultations with Yemeni leaders and regional partners, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen today announced that parties to the conflict have agreed to a nation-wide cessation of hostilities beginning at midnight on 10 April, in advance of the upcoming round of peace talks, scheduled on 18 April in Kuwait. I have previously emphasized that only a political solution and inclusive peace process will ensure a future of reconciliation and peace in the country, said the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, at a press briefing in New York. One year on into the conflict, the UN estimates that tens of thousands of Yemenis have been killed or injured, one in 10 are displaced and nearly the entire population is in urgent need of aid. The talks aim to reach a comprehensive agreement, which will end the conflict and allow the resumption of inclusive political dialogue in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) and other relevant UN [Security Council] resolutions, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed said. The face-to-face negotiations will provide a mechanism for a return to a peaceful and orderly transition based on the [Gulf Cooperation Council] Initiative and National Dialogue outcomes, he added. Five main areas of the peace talks The envoy further explained that the talks will focus on five main areas; he has asked the parties to present concept papers on each of them by 3 April. the withdrawal of militias and armed groups the handover of heavy weapons to the State interim security arrangements the restoration of state institutions and the resumption of inclusive political dialogue the creation of a special committee for prisoners and detainees To help Yemen preserve economic stability during this crisis, Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed has also pursued agreements which seek to preserve the functioning of key state institutions, such as the Central Bank, on which the Yemeni people depend. Preserving their functioning helps current service delivery to those who are in dire need, and will also facilitate a more expedient and efficient economic recovery after an agreement, he noted. The upcoming cessation of hostilities must also seek to ensure that the parties allow safe, rapid and unhindered access for humanitarian supplies to all affected governorates, as well as the increased flow of commercial shipments in the coming weeks, he underscored. Humanitarian breakthrough Meanwhile, calling it a breakthrough, the UN refugee agency today reported that earlier this week, 13 trucks managed to deliver blankets, mattresses, and other badly needed emergency relief items to Yemen's Taiz governorate. It was the first time a convoy from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made it through all the way from Aden to Taizz, which is located in the highlands of country's southwest. Dispatched in coordination with the Government of Yemen's High Relief Committee, it arrived on Sunday in Mashra'a Wa Hadnan, a district immediately south of the embattled Taizz city centre. Distribution is reportedly starting this week for 500 displaced people, others who have returned to Taiz, plus local families who have been affected by the conflict. Meanwhile, another 13 trucks are on their way to nearby Sabir Al Mawadim district and will be distributed among another 500 families. In Mashra'a Wa Hadnan, the situation is now calm according to the UN, and some displaced families have been returning to their homes, while fighting persists on the eastern part of Sabir Al Mawadim. The two districts host over 7,500 displaced people. It is the first time that assistance has been delivered there using the direct route from Aden, said UNHCR Representative in Yemen, Johannes van der Klaauw, in a press release. The wider governorate of Taizz hosts 555,048 internally displaced people, the biggest concentration in the country and equal to almost a quarter of the 2.4 million total Yemen-wide, he added. Wild animals like the blackbuck can avoid extinction and persist in human-dominated landscapes by modifying the way they use their habitat. (Photo: Pixabay) Kolkata: Wild animals like blackbuck can avoid extinction and persist in human-dominated landscapes by modifying the way they use their habitat, a new research has found. A team of scientists examined how blackbuck, a near threatened species, preferred to stay in the safety of Maharashtra's Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, when food was abundant, to avoid the risks associated with humans and livestock. But as food declined after the monsoon, blackbucks began to move into riskier unprotected grasslands, thus responding dynamically to seasonally changing levels of food and risks in different parts of the landscape. Funded by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, the study aimed to find how blackbucks react to the costs and benefits of living in this habitat. "We found that when blackbucks moved into areas of high risk, presence of small sanctuaries or 'refuges' in landscapes with high human-use allowed these antelopes to survive and forage," Chaitanya Krishna, lead author of the study, said. The team of researchers involved in the project are from Wildlife Conservation Society, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science and Manipal University. The authors observed that as blackbucks make seasonal changes in their movements in desperate search for food, they venture into more risky areas located outside the sanctuary. Co-author Kavita Isvaran said the study shows it might perhaps be possible to simultaneously meet the interests of both wildlife and human, provided the former are offered well-protected refuges, such as the small protected areas that constitute the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary. Food resource distribution and availability is a critical factor for survival of wild ungulates and food sources can vary seasonally in quality and quantity, as well as spatial distribution, the study said. Ukraine: UN experts urge accountability for human rights violations by foreign fighters Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 22 March 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Ukraine: UN experts urge accountability for human rights violations by foreign fighters, 22 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa293a40d.html [accessed 23 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. 22 March 2016 - Today in Geneva, the United Nations Working Group on mercenaries called on the Government of Ukraine to ensure accountability for human rights violations committed by foreign armed actors during the conflict that has plagued the country since 2014. What is particularly concerning is that with the diverse array of foreign armed actors who joined the conflict, reports on human rights violations by these individuals have not been properly investigated or brought to justice, said Patricia Arias, who formed the Group with co-human rights expert Saeed Mokbil. The Group's delegation expressed deep concern about allegations of mercenaries joining all sides to the conflict, which they stressed was clearly prohibited under international law. To date, foreign fighters have been prosecuted for various crimes including terrorist-related offences, but no prosecutions have been in relation to the human rights violations that took place, Ms. Arias said. At the end of an official five-day visit to the country, the experts revealed that human rights violations had reportedly been committed at the hands of not only mercenaries, but also other foreign fighters, ranging from volunteers to paid service men and women, and independent militia members to professional military. The Ukraine authorities informed the expert group that at least 176 identified foreigners were serving in armed groups of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, which reportedly include large numbers from Russia, Serbia, Belarus, France and Italy, among others. Women were also among the combatants, though in a significantly smaller extent. Although we received much information pointing to several levels of foreigner engagement in the armed conflict in Ukraine, the lack of coherent information on payments and the motivations of fighters make it difficult for us to ascertain which fighters are mercenaries, noted Mr. Mokbil. In 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted legal amendments permitting the inclusion of foreigners and stateless persons to serve in its regular armed forces and its National Guard, including those who fought in the volunteer battalions during the conflict. However, impunity for human rights violations remains largely unquestioned, paving the way for a murky zone with negligible accountability, Mr. Mokbil said. We urge the Government of Ukraine to ensure accountability for violations that have been instigated by all parties to the conflict, to ensure justice for victims. Working Group's Recommendations The Working Group reiterated the need to draw up a strategy on foreign engagement in the conflict, within the framework of the Minsk Protocol the 2014 agreement to halt armed hostilities in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Highlighting provision 10, which obliges all sides of the conflict to withdraw illegal armed formations, military equipment and mercenaries, the experts also requested its full implementation by the Government. They further urged all parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international human rights law and ensure respect for all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights with respect to the activities of foreigners in armed groups. According to the press release, the 2014 Maidan protests in Kyiv and the 16 March 2014 referendum in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea determined by the UN General Assembly on the territorial integrity of Ukraine were followed by the outbreak of armed hostilities in eastern Ukraine that brought an influx of fighters from abroad, significantly influencing human rights in the country. From 14 to 18 March, the delegation met Government authorities, parliamentarians, judicial officials, civil society organizations and members of the diplomatic corps along with representatives of the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk people's republic.' The lack of concrete information on the profile of foreign armed actors was a challenge for the fact-finding visit. While the expert group did not discover any particular data on private military companies currently prohibited by Ukrainian law it called for this sector to be regulated to prevent potential human rights violations. The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries will present its visit report to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2016. Gang members kill 23-year-old radio journalist Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 23 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Gang members kill 23-year-old radio journalist, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2a4a4.html [accessed 23 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) condemns young community radio host Nicolas Garcia's gruesome murder by members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang on the night of 10 March in El Carrizal, a village in the western department of Ahuachapan. Working as a journalist is very dangerous in El Salvador because of the alarming level of violence. For the past several months, Garcia, 23, had been hosting a programme on El Carrizal-based radio Expressa, voces al aire in which he advised local residents on how to protect themselves from violence and interviewed members of the Civilian National Police (PNC). Local members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang did not like the programme. After many threats, they began suggesting that he join the gang and provide them with information about police movements in El Carrizal in exchange for 100 dollars a month. Garcia's refusal cost him his life. His mutilated body was found riddled with bullets and with his tongue cut out. "We are deeply shocked by this barbaric crime and we call on the Salvadorean authorities to identify those responsible and bring them to trial," said Emmanuel Colombie, the head of RSF's Americas desk. "In response to these acts of violence by organized crime, the government has a duty to provide journalists with effective protection." RSF supports the call by the El Salvador Journalists' Association (APES) and the Association of Participative Radio Stations and Programmes (ARPAS) for the swift adoption of a law that would protect journalists. The high level of violent crime has a big impact on media personnel in El Salvador. At the same time, freedom of information had declined since Salvador Sanchez Ceren was installed as president in June 2014. His government is hostile towards the media and neither protects journalists nor promotes their work. El Salvador is ranked 45th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. RSF decries phone and Internet blackout during Congo election Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 23 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF decries phone and Internet blackout during Congo election, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2a964.html [accessed 23 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) condemns the decision by the Republic of Congo's government to impose a telecommunications blackout that began the day before the 21 March presidential election and is still continuing. By depriving citizens of access to information and obstructing the work of journalists, the blackout has prevented the election from being transparent. After interior minister Raymond Mboulou issued an order on 19 March for all telecommunications to be cut for 48 hours, Internet, SMS and telephone connections ceased to function at 1 a.m. on 20 March. Internet and mobile phone services were still not functioning today, although the 48 hours were over. The blackout was interpreted as a government manoeuvre designed to keep control of the dissemination of information, especially the elections results. "This suspension of telecommunications is a grave violation of the Congolese public's right to information and has badly undermined the legitimacy of the presidential election," RSF said. "We urge the authorities to restore Internet and mobile phone services at once."` RSF has previously condemned government abuses during the election campaign, violence against journalists who cover the opposition, and the suspension of Internet and phone services during a referendum on 25 October. The opposition accuses Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the country's president for the past 32 years, of orchestrating elections that completely lack transparency. The European Union did not send observers on the grounds that the conditions for a democratic election were not met. The Republic of Congo is ranked 107th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Justice long overdue for detained press photographer Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Justice long overdue for detained press photographer, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2ad64.html [accessed 23 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 for the immediate and unconditional release of Mahmoud Abou Zeid, a photojournalist also known as Shawkan, who is to go on trial with 700 other people in Cairo on 26 March for crimes he did not commit. Aged 29, he has been detained provisionally for nearly three years, which is illegal under Egyptian legislation. "A journalist has no place in this political trial," said Alexandra El Khazen, the head of RSF's Middle East desk. "Shawkan has been imprisoned for more than 900 days and treated as criminal just for covering the dispersal of a demonstration in Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in support of deposed President Mohamed Morsi". "Keeping this journalist in prison proves the absence of any real political will to preserve independent media voices and therefore to protect freedom of information and expression." Many of the more than 700 people with whom Shawkan is to be tried are members of the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The trial was due to start in December but was postponed twice. Shawkan was arrested with his camera in his hand on 14 August 2013 while covering how the police were using force to break up the pro-Morsi demonstration. The police beat him at the time of his arrest and took his camera. He was then tortured at a police station. "They treated us like animals," he wrote in a letter about these events that was published in March 2015. US journalist Michael Giglio and French journalist Louis Jammes were arrested at the same time as Shawkan. But they were released a few hours later with the apologies of the police. The British photo agency Demotix confirmed that Shawkan was working on assignment for the agency that day, and that photos taken by him in the past had appeared in such international outlets as Time Magazine, Index on Censorship, Bild, Die Zeit, IFEX and Open Democracy. He is nonetheless facing a possible life sentence on ten trumped-up charges that include murder, attempted murder, membership of a banned group (the Muslim Brotherhood), participating in an illegal demonstration and possession of weapons. He is now held illegally because the time he has spent in pre-trial detention is well in excess of the maximum period that article 143 of Egypt's code of criminal procedure allows even in exceptional cases. This prolonged detention has had terrible physical and psychological effects on Shawkan. He is suffering from hepatitis C and anaemia and his condition keeps on worsening because he has no access to medical treatment. Ahmed Abu Seif, a friend and founder of the "Free Shawkan" campaign, told RSF that he vomits and he has frequent fainting fits. He continues to be mistreated in prison. He was placed in isolation for four days at the start of March, he was denied visits for two weeks and he has been subjected to many searches. And his family and friends are subjected to humiliation when they visit him. RSF wrote to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi last month to tell him that the situation of journalists in Egypt was unacceptable. Ranked 158th out of 180 counties in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index, Egypt is one of the world's biggest prisons for journalists. Human rights defenders and journalists in Egypt are constantly subjected to intimidation, censorship and waves of arrests. RSF calls for acquittals in two trials this week in Rabat Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF calls for acquittals in two trials this week in Rabat, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2b184.html [accessed 23 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 in the Moroccan capital of Rabat to attend the trial of website editor Ali Anouzla, which starts tomorrow, and the trial of seven activists including journalist and historian Maati Monjib, which starts the following day. Anouzla, the founder and editor of the Lakome2 website, is accused of endangering Morocco's territorial integrity while the seven activists are accused of "illegal foreign funding" and endangering the "security and integrity of the state." RSF calls for the withdrawal all charges in both cases. "The purpose of our presence here is to support these journalists during these unjust proceedings and to demand their acquittal," said Yasmine Kacha, the head of RSF's North Africa desk."The grave charges brought against them are designed to restrict freedom of information in Morocco. This violates both the undertakings that Morocco has given internationally, and article 28 of the 2011 constitution, which explicitly establishes media freedom without any form of prior censorship." RSF already issued a statement in November 2015 calling on the authorities to dismiss all the charges against the seven activists. And it reiterated its support for Anouzla in a statement issued jointly with other NGOs in January 2016. Morocco is ranked 130th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Three French journalists attacked while covering presidential election Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Three French journalists attacked while covering presidential election, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2b5d4.html [accessed 23 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) condemns yesterday's attack in Brazzaville on three French journalists covering the presidential election, the first round of which was held 20 March. RSF urges the authorities to shed light on the incident and calls for the return of the professional material taken from the journalists. Le Monde reporter Christophe Chatelot and two Agence France-Presse journalists were attacked by four men in civilian dress who claimed to be police officers. After hitting the journalists, the four assailants took their cameras, notebooks and passports. All three journalists have press accreditation for the election. They had just covered a news conference by opposition candidate Jean-Michel Mokoko, who is disputing the preliminary results. According to these results, President Denis Sassou Nguesso won outright in the first round. "This attack is a grave violation of freedom of information, one that shows how difficult it is to cover presidential elections in the Republic of Congo," RSF said. "We urge the authorities to quickly shed all possible light on the attack, so that it does not go unpunished, and to ensure that the journalists recover their material." The extremely tense climate during the first round of the election limited freedom of expression. RSF already condemned the telecommunications blackout imposed by the government during the first round. The Republic of Congo is ranked 107th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Death threat, latest instance of army harassment of journalists Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Death threat, latest instance of army harassment of journalists, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2b934.html [accessed 23 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) condemns an army officer's death threats against a journalist in Kasindi, a town near the Ugandan border in the eastern province of Nord-Kivu, and calls on the Democratic Republic of Congo's authorities to assume their responsibility to protect journalists. Maghaniryo L'Kate, the director of Kasindi-based Radio Television Graben, was threatened after reporting alleged customs fraud at the nearby border involving a DRC regular army unit headed by Captain Fredy Kangela. Maghaniryo L'Kate was threatened by telephone on 21 March. And he was threatened again the next day when he responded to a summons to go to the captain's office, although he took the precaution of bringing witnesses with him. An officer in the captain's office threatened him with reprisals if he broadcast any further information about the military. "I will kill you like they did with Norbert Zongo," he said, in the presence of about ten people. He was referring to a journalist who was killed in Burkina Faso in 1998 while investigating the death of the driver of Francois Compaore, the then president's brother. "This kind of abuse of authority by military personnel is totally unacceptable," RSF said. "We remind the Congolese authorities that they are responsible for protecting journalists. We call for a thorough investigation into this case, which constitutes a grave violation of freedom of information." Freedom of information has declined of late in the DRC, as evidenced by the closure of three broadcast media outlets in Lubumbashi since the start of the year and the news blackout imposed on radio stations in Nord-Kivu's Rutshuru Territory two weeks ago. A journalists arrested in Nord-Kivu on 5 March is still being held and has yet to be taken before a judge. The DRC is ranked 150th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. RSF welcomes mandate extension for OSCE Media Freedom Representative Dunja Mijatovic Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF welcomes mandate extension for OSCE Media Freedom Representative Dunja Mijatovic, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2bca4.html [accessed 23 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) welcomes the extension of Dunja Mijatovic's mandate as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe has agreed to keep Mijatovic in office for another year, as was announced on Wednesday by the OSCE chairman-in-office, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (www.osce.org/cio/229656). "This decision prevents an important voice for press freedom in Europe and beyond from falling silent for the time being", said RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire. "For all those caring about free media, it is good news that the German OSCE presidency has succeeded in preventing a vacancy of this important post." Mijatovic's mandate would have run out regularly on 10 March after two periods in office. Because the 57 member states of the OSCE have so far not been able to agree on a successor, the post of the Representative on Freedom of the Media was at risk of staying vacant until an agreement is reached (http://t1p.de/i7gg). A decision is difficult to reach since the OSCE statutes demand unanimity. Germany currently holds the rotating OSCE presidency, and since the start of the year, the German Foreign Office has put considerable efforts into finding a candidate palatable to all member states. The Representative on Freedom of the Media is mandated to observe media developments as part of an early warning function and helping OSCE states abide by their commitments to freedom of expression and free media. This includes, inter alia, efforts to ensure the safety of journalists, assist with the development of media pluralism, promote decriminalization of defamation, promote internet freedom and provide expert opinions on media regulation and legislation (www.osce.org/fom). RSF condemns sham trial of citizen-journalists Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF condemns sham trial of citizen-journalists, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2c3d4.html [accessed 23 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) urges the Vietnamese authorities to quash the jail sentences passed yesterday on two citizen-journalists and reiterates its call for the repeal of article 258 of the criminal code - the article used to convict them - which penalizes "abusing democratic freedoms." The Hanoi local court took just a few hours to convict Nguyen Huu Vinh, the founder of the well-known Anh Ba Sam news website, and his assistant, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy. Finding that their articles "distort the lines and policies of the party and law of the state, and vilify individuals," the judge sentenced Vinh to five years in prison and Thuy to three years. They have been detained ever since their arrest in May 2014. "Citizen-journalists have yet again been jailed for wanting to provide their fellow citizens with independently reported news and information," said Benjamin Ismail, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "The scale of this hypocrisy can be appreciated when you realize that many government and judicial officials were Anh Ba Sam's sources. We urge the international community to put pressure on the Vietnamese authorities so that Vinh and Thuy do not serve these iniquitous sentences." When Vinh and Thuy were arrested on 5 May 2014, they were accused of posting "bad content and incorrect information that reduces prestige and trust in state agencies." Vinh created his independent news agency in 2007, calling it Anh Ba Sam (Side Walk News Agency) in allusion to the official Vietnam News Agency. It was renowned for its political reporting, especially its exposes of political scandals and cases of abuse of authority, and was unique for its use of a wide range of governmental, diplomatic, police and dissident sources. Vinh was himself a former police officer turned private investigator. After launching the news site, he was constantly harassed by the authorities, who also kept trying to block access to the site. Vietnam is ranked 175th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2015 World Press Freedom Index. Dundar/Gul trial RSF opposes Erdogan's "autocratic retribution" Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Dundar/Gul trial RSF opposes Erdogan's "autocratic retribution", 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2ca24.html [accessed 23 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) will attend the opening of the trial of Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul tomorrow in Istanbul and will continue to defend Turkey's journalists for as long as its increasingly despotic president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, keeps persecuting the media. Dundar, Cumhuriyet's editor, and Gul, the newspaper's Ankara bureau chief, arefacing the possibility of life imprisonment over their revelations about Turkish arms deliveries to Islamist groups in Syria - revelations of crucial importance for all those interested in the repercussions of the Syrian conflict and in terrorism. A constitutional court ruling ended their pre-trial detention in February, after three months, but President Erdogan said he would not respect this decision. "The trial of Dundar and Gul is a test for the rule of law in Turkey," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. "We are stunned by President Erdogan's repeated intervention in this case since personally filing the original complaint, showing that it has all the characteristics of an autocratic retribution. "The conditional release of Dundar and Gul was encouraging but everything is just beginning. We urge the court to dismiss the absurd charges that have been brought against these two journalists." Dundar and Gul are charged with divulging state secrets for the purposes of espionage, trying to overthrow the government and helping a terrorist organization. At the initial hearing, the court will have to decide whether, at the prosecution's request, the case will be heard behind closed doors and whether it will be merged with another case that has around 100 defendants. The court's assent to these requests would violate the rights of the defence and the public's right to information. RSF's campaigning Cumhuriyet was awarded the 2015 Reporters Without Borders-TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize in the media category in Strasbourg on 17 November. Nine days later, Dundar and Gul were arrested and taken to Silivri prison. Ever since then, RSF has been using all possible advocacy channels, both private and public, to draw attention to their case and to the repressive spiral in Turkey, and to mobilize foreign ministries and international bodies. With representatives of 15 embassies in attendance, RSF gave a news conference in Istanbul on 1 December to launch an appeal on behalf of the two Cumhuriyet journalists. The appeal was supported by more than a dozen NGOs and by many well-known international figures such as US journalist Carl Bernstein, USphilosopher Noam Chomsky and French economist Thomas Piketty. A petition was also launched that has so far gathered more than 30,000 signatures. RSF has organized other news conferences and events, it has organized visits by Dundar's wife, Dilek Dundar, to Washington and Paris, it has launched a media campaign, it has issued press releases, it has pleaded the cause of Turkey's journalists with leaders capable of exercising influence (including representatives of the Council of Europe, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union) and it has mobilized the support of the US State Department and European foreign ministries. RSF has also pooled efforts with other international and Turkish free speech groups (TGC, TGS, IPI, CPJ, FEJ, FIJ, Article19, Index on Censorship, WAN-IFRA, PEN International, AEJ, EJN, SEEMO and DISK Basin-Is) in a large coalition. After a joint visit to Turkey in October, the coalition issued a joint report and asked to be allowed to visit several imprisoned journalists. When the prison authorities refused, various coalition representatives (including an RSF representative) demonstrated outside Silivri prison in January in protest against this decision and in solidarity with imprisoned journalists. Bengaluru: High drama prevailed at Nayandanahalli Junction on Monday evening after a retired police officer of a deputy commissioner of police rank allegedly lost control of the vehicle and caused a serial accident, which led to chaotic scenes. The retired police officer, Basavannavar, DCP (Crime), was driving his Maruti Swift Dzire and was said to be on his way home when the accident occurred. While the unconfirmed reports suggested that the senior cop was drunk at the time of accident, police officials denied them. A police officer who is investigating the case told Deccan Chronicle that the senior officer lost control of his car and crashed into a Maruti Alto 800 and Hyundai i20 reportedly after his vehicle brakes failed. We have seized all the vehicles involved in the accident for the inspection and to ascertain what went wrong. We have now booked the retired police officer under Section 279 (rash driving) and have seized his car, he said. When asked whether the officer behind the wheel was in an inebriated state, the investigating officer said that he was not. We checked him and the test came negative. The officer was not drunk at the time of accident, he clarified. If reports are to be believed, chaos prevailed soon after the accident took place at Nayandanahalli Junction. Enraged motorists reportedly manhandled the senior cop who was later whisked away to a safe place by the police. A case was registered at the Byatarayanapura traffic police station. Nigeria: A Year On, No Word on 300 Abducted Children Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 29 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Nigeria: A Year On, No Word on 300 Abducted Children, 29 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2f544.html [accessed 23 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 Nigerian government should take urgent steps to secure the release of about 400 women and children, including at least 300 elementary school students, abducted by Boko Haram from the town of Damasak in Borno State a year ago. It is unclear whether the Nigerian government has made any serious effort to secure their release. Damasak is the largest documented school abduction by Boko Haram militants. Yet it has drawn far less public attention than the group's widely condemned abduction of 276 school girls from a government secondary school in Chibok in April 2014. While 57 of those girls managed to escape, 219 remain captive almost two years later. "Three hundred children have been missing for a year, and yet there has been not a word from the Nigerian government," said Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities need to wake up and find out where the Damasak children and other captives are and take urgent steps to free them." On November 24, 2014, Boko Haram attacked Damasak, a trading town about 200 kilometers northwest of Maiduguri, near the border with Niger, blocking all four roads leading into the town and trapping residents and traders. The insurgents quickly occupied Zanna Mobarti Primary School, shutting the gates and locking more than 300 students, ages 7 to 17, inside, according to a teacher at the school and other witnesses Human Rights Watch interviewed. The Boko Haram militants then used the school as a military base, bringing scores of other women and children abducted across the town there as captives. In February 2016, a woman who was at home in Damasak that morning told Human Rights Watch what happened: It was early morning when I heard gunshots and chaos. My husband had already left home for the market so I grabbed my two children, a boy age four years and a girl age two years, and ran. But we ran into Boko Haram and they detained us in the middle of the town. They brought more and more women and children to where we were kept. Then they took all of us to Zanna Mobarti Primary SchoolI have not seen my children since then. The insurgents separated the women from the children and the boys from the girls. Some of the women held captive later told Human Rights Watch they could hear the screams and cries of the children, but they were not permitted to go to them. Over the following weeks and months, the militants forced their captives to learn the Quran. A number of women and children died in captivity after they were fed putrid food, which caused severe vomiting and diarrhea. The men who were captured by Boko Haram were kept at different locations, including an estimated 80 men in the house of the district head, a witness said. In the days and weeks following the attack, some of the men were forced to dispose of bodies left on the streets and in the market area. Scores of bodies were dumped into a nearby river and makeshift graves, among other locations. A witness forced to participate in the operation said he saw hundreds of bodies. "Three hundred children have been missing for a year, and yet there has been not a word from the Nigerian government," said Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities need to wake up and find out where the Damasak children and other captives are and take urgent steps to free them." On November 24, 2014, Boko Haram attacked Damasak, a trading town about 200 kilometers northwest of Maiduguri, near the border with Niger, blocking all four roads leading into the town and trapping residents and traders. The insurgents quickly occupied Zanna Mobarti Primary School, shutting the gates and locking more than 300 students, ages 7 to 17, inside, according to a teacher at the school and other witnesses Human Rights Watch interviewed. The Boko Haram militants then used the school as a military base, bringing scores of other women and children abducted across the town there as captives. In February 2016, a woman who was at home in Damasak that morning told Human Rights Watch what happened: It was early morning when I heard gunshots and chaos. My husband had already left home for the market so I grabbed my two children, a boy age four years and a girl age two years, and ran. But we ran into Boko Haram and they detained us in the middle of the town. They brought more and more women and children to where we were kept. Then they took all of us to Zanna Mobarti Primary SchoolI have not seen my children since then. The insurgents separated the women from the children and the boys from the girls. Some of the women held captive later told Human Rights Watch they could hear the screams and cries of the children, but they were not permitted to go to them. Over the following weeks and months, the militants forced their captives to learn the Quran. A number of women and children died in captivity after they were fed putrid food, which caused severe vomiting and diarrhea. The men who were captured by Boko Haram were kept at different locations, including an estimated 80 men in the house of the district head, a witness said. In the days and weeks following the attack, some of the men were forced to dispose of bodies left on the streets and in the market area. Scores of bodies were dumped into a nearby river and makeshift graves, among other locations. A witness forced to participate in the operation said he saw hundreds of bodies. "Whatever its grievances against the Nigerian government, Boko Haram cannot justify the abduction of young children," Segun said. "Boko Haram leaders should immediately release everyone the group has abducted, cease all attacks on civilians, and stop using schools in support of its military efforts." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Colombia: FARC Pact Risks Impunity for 'False-Positives' Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 28 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Colombia: FARC Pact Risks Impunity for 'False-Positives', 28 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa2ff94.html [accessed 23 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 justice agreement between the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) could allow members of the armed forces responsible for the systematic execution of civilians to escape justice, Human Rights Watch said today in a new analysis of the agreement. Between 2002 and 2008, army brigades across Colombia systematically executed as many as 3,000 civilians to make it appear they were killing more rebel fighters in combat in what are known as "false-positive" cases. Under the justice agreement announced with FARC, a newly created Special Jurisdiction for Peace would handle most - if not all - false-positive killings. Provisions in the agreement allow authorities to waive some criminal prosecutions. Other provisions could be interpreted to narrow the scope of commanders' responsibility for crimes committed by their subordinates. People the Special Jurisdiction convicts could avoid spending any time in prison, and those already convicted by the ordinary justice system could be released. "The agreement is a checkmate against justice," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The web of loopholes and ambiguities in the agreement could guarantee that many of those responsible for false-positive killings, ranging from low-ranking soldiers to generals, will escape justice." The government has announced that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace will have "exclusive jurisdiction" to handle crimes committed by the armed forces that were "directly or indirectly related" to the armed conflict. Colombian case-law makes it likely that many, if not all, of the investigations of false-positive cases carried out by Colombia's Attorney General's Office will be transferred to the Special Jurisdiction. Those responsible for false-positive killings - especially among the lower and middle ranks - could fully escape justice under a provision of the terms announced by the government for state agents that allows a newly created judicial panel to take measures such as suspending sentences or waiving the prosecution of cases involving members of the armed forces who did not have a "major responsibility" for atrocities. Military commanders, for their part, could benefit from a definition of command responsibility that could be interpreted in a manner inconsistent with international law. Unlike the established definition of command responsibility under international law, the definition in the agreement could require authorities to prove commanders actually knew of human rights crimes by their subordinates, and proving that they had reason to know of, and should have known of those crimes, would not be sufficient. Members of the armed forces convicted by the Special Jurisdiction face sentences of from two to eight years if they confess their crimes. While the government has yet to fully define the sanctions for state agents, it has announced that these would be very similar to those for FARC members. FARC guerrillas who confess promptly and fully to atrocities will be exempt not only from prison or jail, but also from any "equivalent" form of detention. Instead, they would be required to carry out "restorative and reparative" projects while subject to minimal "restraints on rights and liberties." The more than 600 people already convicted for false-positive killings by the ordinary justice system would also benefit from these provisions, potentially allowing dozens to be released. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is closely monitoring false-positive proceedings in Colombia. It could open an investigation if it determines that national authorities are unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate and prosecute cases that would otherwise be within the court's jurisdiction. In a report released on March 17, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stressed that investigations of false-positive killings should be "initiate[ed], develop[ed], and conclud[ed]" in the "regular criminal jurisdiction," and noted that "selectivity" provisions that allow authorities to waive the investigation of grave human rights abuses are inconsistent with regional human rights standards. "The Colombian government has repeatedly stressed that the agreement will safeguard members of the armed forces from new prosecutions, but that is nothing but a hollow promise," Vivanco said. "If these terms are not fixed, it is very likely that new rulings on false positive cases will be subject to international scrutiny, including by the ICC." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Colombia: Prosecution of False Positive Cases under the Special Jurisdiction for Peace Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 28 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Colombia: Prosecution of False Positive Cases under the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, 28 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa30564.html [accessed 23 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. On December 15, 2015, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas announced an Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict that creates a 'Special Jurisdiction for peace' in charge of handling "grave violations of human rights and international human rights law."[i] The special jurisdiction would handle atrocities committed both by FARC guerrillas and by members of the Colombian armed forces. Four days later, the government announced a set of 'guidelines' describing the terms applicable to state agents. This analysis shows how the rules announced by the government and FARC could be used to ensure broad immunity for state agents who perpetrated war crimes or crimes against humanity, including creating a shield against prosecution for the systematic execution of as many as 3,000 civilians-known as false positive cases-committed by army brigades across Colombia between 2002 and 2008. Are prosecutions of false positive cases in the ordinary justice system going to be transferred to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace? In the absence of any enforceable guarantee otherwise, many, if not all, the investigations and prosecutions of false positive cases carried out by Colombia's Attorney General's Office likely will be transferred to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. The Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict states that the new jurisdiction will handle cases by the armed forces that are "related to the armed conflict and [were] committed in occurrence of it."[ii] The guidelines for state agents broaden this provision by establishing that the Special Jurisdiction will have "exclusive jurisdiction" over crimes committed by state agents "in occurrence of the conflict, that were caused by the conflict, or [that were] directly or indirectly related to it."[iii] Colombian courts have already determined that hundreds of false positive cases were related to the armed conflict by trying such cases as "homicides of protected persons," a crime defined under Colombian law as a type of homicide committed "in occurrence and during the development of the armed conflict."[iv] Similarly, the Colombian Supreme Court has held that "there is no doubt that the so-called false positives are closely linked to the internal armed conflict, since the conflict was a necessary condition for such excesses to take place."[v] Furthermore, several officials from the Colombian government-including the Minister of Defense and the Deputy Attorney General-have reportedly stated that all the false positive cases could be transferred to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace.[vi] Will the Special Jurisdiction for Peace prosecute all false positive cases? It is likely that many state agents directly implicated in false positive cases would not be prosecuted if the cases were transferred to the Special Jurisdiction. As noted above, the guidelines announced on December 19 provide that the Special Jurisdiction will have "exclusive jurisdiction" over crimes committed by state agents directly or indirectly related to the conflict. They also provide that a Judicial Panel from the Special Jurisdiction will determine the legal position of state agents who did not have a "major responsibility" in the "worst and representative crimes," and depending on their level of responsibility could grant them suspended sentences, other measures or waive criminal prosecution altogether.[vii] Taken together, these provisions could mean that the Special Jurisdiction would only prosecute a limited number of cases of any crimes and a limited number of those responsible, while the prosecution of other cases and other perpetrators would be precluded. Effectively this creates the potential for broad immunity to be bestowed on a large number of state agents who bear direct responsibility for crimes, but may be deemed to not have "major" responsibility or be involved in cases that are the "worst and representative" crimes. The legal consequences of these provisions violate international human rights standards in so far as they provide a de facto amnesty or immunity for perpetrators of serious crimes. The Inter-American Court on Human Rights, whose rulings are authoritative and binding for Colombia, has repeatedly stressed "that investigation into events must be conducted in order to pursue, capture, prosecute, and convict all the material and immaterial authors."[viii] The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has stressed that the fact that it focuses on those "most responsible" as a matter of policy "cannot be taken as authority for how national jurisdictions should determine who to investigate or prosecute."[ix] Given the systematic character of false positive cases and their gravity, it is likely that the Special Jurisdiction for Peace will describe all false positives as "worst and representative" crimes.[x] However, by referring to those who did not have a "major responsibility" in such crimes, the guidelines open the door to allowing numerous perpetrators in false positive cases -especially, those amongst the lower and middle ranks-to fully escape justice. That would strongly undermine investigations and prosecutions against thousands of members of the Colombian army.[xi] Will senior army officers be held accountable? Colombia's Attorney General's Office is currently investigating at least 16 active or retired army generals for false positive killings, including some under investigation for their alleged responsibility for crimes committed by troops under their control.[xii] Human Rights Watch has presented evidence that numerous generals could be allegedly responsible for false positive cases committed by their subordinates. [xiii] At the moment, nine active or retired generals have been called to testify on their alleged participation on false positives, but none has been charged.[xiv] Generals involved in false positives will presumably be described as those with "major responsibility." If that is the case, the Special Jurisdiction would not be able to drop their cases. However, the definition of command responsibility included in the FARC agreement and in the guidelines for state agents could be used to allow generals tried before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace to escape justice for the crimes committed by troops under their control. Under international law, military commanders can be held criminally liable for a human rights crime carried out by their subordinates if it can be shown that they had effective control of the subordinates, had knowledge or reason to know about the commission of the crime, and had the means to prevent the crime and/or ensure it was properly investigated. The definition of command responsibility included in the agreement contains two phrases that could be interpreted-in a manner inconsistent with international law-to allow military commanders within the Colombian armed forces to avoid any accountability for atrocities committed under their watch.[xv] First, the agreement provides that liability on the basis of command responsibility requires "knowledge based on the information at their disposal before, during and after the realization the respective conduct." Under international law, commanders' knowledge includes both actual knowledge and constructive knowledge-that which they should have known or had reason to know. It is essential that both forms of knowledge are covered by the scope of command responsibility set out in the agreement and to be applied by the tribunal. Second, the wording of the agreement is that liability also requires "the effective control of the respective conduct." While "effective control" is an essential element of command responsibility, under international law control refers to control over subordinates who have committed the offending conduct, not over the specific actions themselves. It is essential that the correct legal definition and scope of "effective control" be used by the tribunal. What punishment will officials face if they are convicted? Given the provisions that allow Judicial Panels to drop cases, it is likely that only a small portion of the hundreds of members of the armed forces that engaged in false positive killings will be effectively sanctioned. The government has yet to fully define how state agents will be sanctioned, but it has stated that the sanctions will have the same duration and "nature" to those established for FARC members.[xvi] The guidelines for state agents provide that their treatment under the Special Jurisdiction will be "differentiated," but "always equitable" to that governing participation by guerrillas.[xvii] Similarly, President Santos has "promised" that the armed forces will receive "any justice benefit that is given to the FARC."[xviii] Under the FARC agreement, perpetrators who confess promptly and fully to atrocities will be exempt not only from prison or jail, but also from any "equivalent" form of detention.[xix] Instead, they would be required to carry out "restorative and reparative" projects while being subject to very flexible "restraints to rights and liberties." Such restraints of liberty are limited to those "necessary for [the] execution" of these restorative and reparative sanctions, and allow those sanctioned to carry out movements that are "compatible" with the fulfillment of the sanctions.[xx] The guidelines for state agents explicitly provide that state agents could also be subject to "restraints to rights and liberties."[xxi] The Colombian government has repeatedly stated that these sanctions would last five to eight years.[xxii] However, Human Rights Watch has shown that provisions in the agreement would appear to allow those responsible for atrocities to be released from any restrictions on their liberty in an even shorter time.[xxiii] Moreover, a provision in the FARC agreement allows the Peace Tribunal to impose two-to-five year sentences for those who did not have a "decisive participation in worst and representative acts."[xxiv] This provision could benefit senior officers responsible for false positives. They could easily argue that only the actual perpetrators of crimes had a "decisive" participation (not those responsible due to command responsibility)-and, meanwhile, there is a real risk that cases against actual perpetrators will be dropped under the provision that allows Judicial Panels to drop the prosecution of those who did not have a "major responsibility." Will those convicted in the ordinary justice system benefit from the Special Jurisdiction for Peace? Colombian courts have sentenced at least 610 members of the armed forces responsible for false positive cases, repeatedly convicting defendants to over 40 years in prison.[xxv] Under the FARC deal, a Chamber of the Peace Tribunal could replace such convictions for those included in the agreement.[xxvi] The Chamber could determine that the sanctions have already been fulfilled, potentially allowing dozens of perpetrators to be released.[xxvii] [i] Acuerdo sobre las Victimas del Conflicto [Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict], December 15, 2015, http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/procesos-y-conversaciones/pro... (accessed March 25, 2016), para. 9. [ii] Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, para. 32 ("The Justice part [of the agreement] will also be applicable to state agents that committed crimes related to the armed conflict and committed in the occurrence of it. Such application will be carried out in a different manner, granting an equitable, equilibrated, simultaneous and symmetrical treatment.") [iii] "Mindefensa y Minjusticia firmaron compromiso sobre justicia para agentes del Estado" [Guidelines on justice for state agents], Ministerio de Defensa, December 19, 2015, http://cgfm.mil.co/-/mindefensa-y-minjusticia-firmaron-compromiso-sobre-... (accessed March 25, 2016). ("The Special Jurisdiction for Peace will prevail over criminal, disciplinary and administrative proceedings regarding acts committed by members of the public force in occurrence of the conflict, that were caused by the conflict, or [that were] directly or indirectly related to it, assuming exclusive jurisdiction over such acts.") [iv] Codigo Penal (Colombian Criminal Code), Diario Oficial, Law 599/2000, signed into law on July 24, 2000, http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/ley_0599_2000.html (accessed March 16, 2016), art. 135. Data on Human Rights Unit investigations into extrajudicial killings as of December 2014, on file with Human Rights Watch. [v] Supreme Court of Justice, Criminal Chamber, Ruling of August 28, 2013, case number 36460, judge Maria del Rosario Gonzalez Munoz. [vi] "Penas por falsos positivos podran ser revisadas por Tribunal de Paz: MinDefensa," [Sentences for false positives could be reviewed by the Peace Tribunal: Minister of Defense], Blu Radio, December 16, 2015, http://www.bluradio.com/118361/penas-por-falsos-positivos-podran-ser-rev... (accessed December 19, 2015); "Falsos positivos siempre estan ligados al conflicto: Jorge Perdomo" [False positives are always linked to the conflicto: Jorge Perdomo], El Tiempo, January 17, 2016, http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/justicia/entrevista-con-el-vicefiscal-general-jorge-fernando-perdomo/16483255 (accessed March 17, 2016) [vii] Guidelines on justice for state agents, para. 9. ("The Judicial Panel of Legal Situations will be in charge of establishing the legal situation of the state agents that participated in the armed conflict and did not have a major responsibility in worst and representative crimes. In these cases, regarding those who comply with the conditions of the System, the Special Jurisdiction could apply, depending on the responsibility, measures to establish the legal situation, including, for instance, suspending the execution of the sentence and waiving criminal prosecution, among others.") [viii] See e.g. Inter-American Court, Pueblo Bello Massacre case, Judgment of January 31, 2006, Inter-Am Ct.H.R., Series C. No. 140, para. 143; Inter-American Court, Rochela Massacre case, Judgment of May 11, 2007, Inter-Am Ct.H.R., Series C. No. 163, para. 148; Inter-American Court, Rodriguez Vera et al case, Judgment of November 14, 2014, Inter-Am Ct.H.R., Series C. No. 287, para. 448; [ix] Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, "Transitional Justice in Colombia and the role of the International Criminal Court: keynote speech by James Stewart, Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC," May 13, 2015, http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/3D3055BD-16E2-4C83-BA85-35BCFD2A7922/285102/OTPCOLOMBIAPublicInterimReportNovember2012.pdf (accessed March 17, 2016). [x] See e.g. Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, "Situation in Colombia: Interim Report," November 2012, http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/3D3055BD-16E2-4C83-BA85-35BCFD2A7922... (accessed March 17, 2016), para. 110; Human Rights Watch, Colombia- On Their Watch: Evidence of Senior Army Officers' Responsibility for False Positive Killings in Colombia, June 24, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/06/24/their-watch/evidence-senior-army-officers-responsibility-false-positive-killings [xi] Data on Human Rights Unit investigations into extrajudicial killings as of December 2014, on file with Human Rights Watch. [xii] Human Rights Watch, Colombia- On Their Watch: Evidence of Senior Army Officers' Responsibility for False Positive Killings in Colombia, June 24, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/06/24/their-watch/evidence-senior-army-officers-responsibility-false-positive-killings [xiii] Human Rights Watch, Colombia- On Their Watch: Evidence of Senior Army Officers' Responsibility for False Positive Killings in Colombia, June 24, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/06/24/their-watch/evidence-senior-army-officers-responsibility-false-positive-killings [xiv] Human Rights Watch interview with senior Attorney General's Office official, February 6, 2016. [xv] Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, para. 44. ("Command responsibility of state agents for acts committed by their subordinates must be based on the effective control of the respective conduct; on the knowledge based on the information at their disposal before, during and after the respective conduct was carried out; as well on as the means available to prevent it and, if the conduct was carried out, promote the relevant investigations.") See also Guidelines on justice for state agents, para. 7. [xvi] Guidelines on justice for state agents, para. 5 ("The final configuration of the sanctions of the Integral System for State Agents will be proposed by the National Government before the signing of the Final Agreement. The duration of the sanctions -that can have a special, alternative or ordinary nature- that will be imposed to state agents will be the same as that defined in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace for all of those responsible [for abuses].") [xvii] Guidelines on justice for state agents, para. 3 ("Regarding state agents their treatment [under the Special Jurisdiction for Peace] will be symmetrical in some aspects, different in others, but always equitable, balanced, and simultaneous.") [xviii][xviii] "Colombianos: nunca habiamos estado tan cerca a la paz" [Colombians: we have never been so close to peace], Presidencia de la Republica, December 23, 2015, http://es.presidencia.gov.co/discursos/Alocucion-del-Presidente-Juan-Manuel-Santos-sobre-el-acuerdo-en-materia-de-victimas-con-las-FARC (accessed March 17, 2016). [xix] Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, para. 60 ("The Special Jurisdiction for Peace [SJP] will establish the conditions of effective restraints of liberty that are necessary to ensure the fulfillment of the sanction, conditions that under no circumstance will be understood as jail or prison nor the adoption of equivalent measures of detention.") [xx] Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, pag. 45 ("The System's sanctions will have a restorative and reparative function as well as restrictions on freedoms and rights, such as freedom of residence and movement, that are necessary for their execution."); Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, para. 60 ("The movements of the sanctioned individuals should be compatible with the fulfillment of the sanction.") [xxi] Guidelines on justice for state agents, para. 5 ("The sanctions to members of the public forces that entail a deprivation of liberty will be carried out in the establishments created for them regarding sanctions that entail effective restraints of rights and liberties, different modalities of execution will be regulated.") [xxii] E.g. Comunicado conjunto # 60 sobre el Acuerdo de creacion de una Jurisdiccion Especial para la Paz [Joint Communique # 60 regarding the Agreement for the creation of a Special Jurisdiction for Peace], September 23, 2015, https://www.mesadeconversaciones.com.co/sites/default/files/comunicado-conjunto-60-ingles-1443452175.pdf (accessed March 17, 2016), para. 26 ("The penalties of those who recognize very serious crimes will have a minimum duration of 5 years and a maximum of 8 years of effective restraint of liberty, under special conditions.") [xxiii] Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch Analysis of Colombia-FARC Agreement, December 22, 2015, https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/21/human-rights-watch-analysis-colombia-farc-agreement#_edn8 [xxiv] Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, para. 60 ("[new] rules will determine in which way the sanctions will be adjusted and for which cases there will be sanctions of less than five years for those who did not have a decisive participation in worst and representative acts, although they participated in them. In those cases, the sanctions will have a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years.") [xxv] "Rueda de prensa Vicefiscal General de la Nacion, Jorge Fernando Perdomo" [Press conference by Deputy Attorney General, Jorge Fernando Perdomo], published on December 22, 2015, video clip, Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KilFGPPPB60 (accessed March 17, 2016). Colombian Criminal Code, arts. 104, 135. Data on Human Rights Unit investigations into extrajudicial killings as of December 2014, on file with Human Rights Watch. [xxvi] Agreement on the Victims of the Conflict, para. 58 ("The Chamber of Review will have the following purposes: (a) Convictions by the [ordinary] justice will be sent to the Chamber of Review, at request of the Panel of Legal Situations, so the Chamber decides the respective sanction under the list of sanctions, and determines if the [defendant] has effectively fulfilled it, without prejudice to the satisfaction of the rights of victims to reparations and non-repetition.") [xxvii] Data on Human Rights Unit investigations into extrajudicial killings as of December 2014, on file with Human Rights Watch. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Israel/Palestine: Summary Execution of Wounded Palestinian Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 25 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Israel/Palestine: Summary Execution of Wounded Palestinian, 25 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa30e74.html [accessed 23 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 open and casual way that a soldier appears to execute a wounded, prone Palestinian, which was captured on video, suggests a dangerous climate of impunity for war crimes. The soldier fired an assault rifle at the head of a man identified as Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif, on March 24, 2016 in the West Bank city of Hebron, after al-Sharif and another man allegedly stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier, the Israeli rights group B'tselem and local media reported. "The video of al-Sharif's killing by an Israeli soldier shows both an apparent cold-blooded murder and numerous witnesses, which should make for a strong legal case," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director. "The question is whether Israeli authorities will do what they haven't done in countless other cases and bring the alleged killer to justice." The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident and had detained the soldier, but the military rarely prosecutes military personnel implicated in alleged war crimes. The laws of war apply to situations where there is a clear nexus to Israel's military occupation of the West Bank. B'Tselem said in a statement that one of its Palestinian volunteers had filmed the incident. After Al-Sharif and Ramzi al-Qasrawi, both reportedly 21-years-old, allegedly stabbed an Israeli soldier, soldiers fatally shot al-Qasrawi and wounded al-Sharif, B'Tselem and local media reported. The video shows al-Sharif and al-Qasrawi lying immobile on the street. They are ignored by a group of soldiers, Israeli settlers, and an Israeli ambulance crew attending to an Israeli man - apparently the soldier who had been stabbed, sitting up on a gurney. In the video, unidentified voices, speaking in Hebrew, can be heard saying: "Listen this dog is alive. Get it in their heads, sapper [combat engineer]. He deserves it." One soldier appears to briefly speak with another soldier, raises his assault rifle, walks toward al-Sharif and, after two other soldiers step back out of the way, shoots al-Sharif in the head from a few meters away. Another video circulated on social media shows a soldier push al-Qasrawi's body with his foot to roll it over. The B'Tselem volunteer who filmed the video, Imad Abu Shamsiyyeh, told Human Rights Watch in a phone interview that Israeli forces had threatened him both at the scene and later, when he went to give a statement to the military. A few minutes after he filmed the shooting from the roof of a nearby building, he said, "more journalists gathered on the roof, and the Israeli soldiers noticed us. They pointed their guns at us and screamed at us to get down. Soldiers came into the building and told the [owner] not to allow people there or the family would pay the price." Abu Shamsiyyeh said that after B'Tselem shared the video with military investigators, the military asked him to give a statement. During questioning at a military office in Hebron, Abu Shamsiyyeh said he felt the interrogator was trying to intimidate him to make him say that he had not filmed the video: He told me, 'How will you benefit from this video? It got a lot of publicity. Your name is known to everyone. Who is going to protect you and your family from right-wing Israelis? Remember you live in [Tel Rumeida], surrounded by Israeli settlers, who will be able to protect you there?' I felt that I was being threatened. They took the original footage from me. Abu Shamsiyyeh said he had received two phone calls on March 24 from a Hebrew-speaker, calling from a private number, but did not understand what was said. "I feel in danger and my children are afraid," Abu Shamsiyyeh told Human Rights Watch. "I'm not letting them out of the house. I'm afraid of walking in the street." The soldier who shot al-Sharif told family members, after his arrest by military police, that he feared that al-Sharif was wearing an explosive vest and might detonate it, the Jerusalem Post reported. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned al-Sharif's killing. He said that, "What happened in Hebron does not represent the values of the Israel Defense Forces." Military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot reportedly stated last month that the military "must not speak in catchphrases such as 'whoever comes to slay you, slay him first,' or state that anyone holding a knife or a pair of scissors must be killed." However, other statements from Israeli military and political leaders indicated that the security forces should kill Palestinians who attack Israelis. In October 2015, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said, "Anyone who comes to kill Jews must be eliminated. Any terrorist who raises a gun, knife, or rock, tries to run over or otherwise attack Jews, must be put to death, depending on the circumstances." Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan said, "Every terrorist must know that he will not survive the attack he is about to perpetrate." Human Rights Watch has documented the Israeli military's poor record of accountability for dozens of apparently unlawful killings of Palestinians in the West Bank and showed how internal investigations are often nothing more than a sham. For instance, the Israeli military has not indicted anyone for the killing of Abd al-Rahman Abdallah, 13, whom Israeli forces shot in the chest at a demonstration in Bethlehem, or for the shooting of Fadi Alloun, 19, whom security forces shot in Jerusalem while he posed no apparent threat, both in October 2015. In multiple cases since the increase in violence in the West Bank that began in October, Israeli forces killed Palestinians who had carried out attacks or attempted to, in circumstances in which they could have been arrested. As of March 21, Palestinians have killed 24 Israelis, including members of the security forces, and Israelis have killed 181 Palestinians in various incidents on the West Bank since October, based on United Nations data. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly condemned Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians. Israeli authorities should impartially investigate, fairly prosecute and appropriately punish soldiers convicted in the killing of al-Sharif, Human Rights Watch said. They should also investigate the circumstances of the killing of al-Qasrawi. The Israel Defense Forces and Prime Minister Netanyahu should publicly denounce any unlawful killings of Palestinians, revamp the training of the military for high-tension situations with Palestinian civilians, and implement a system-wide reform of the military's investigation and prosecution of personnel implicated in serious violations of international law. "Despite Netanyahu's prompt condemnation of the killing of al-Sharif, the question remains whether Israeli officials will continue to encourage an environment in which Palestinians can be unlawfully killed," Whitson said. "Without a wholesale transformation of the Israel Defense Force's culture of impunity, and without serious measures of accountability, including holding commanders responsible for the instructions they give soldiers, we can expect such crimes to continue." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Turkey: Journalists' Trial Closed to Public Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 25 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Turkey: Journalists' Trial Closed to Public, 25 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa31254.html [accessed 23 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. A court ruling on March 25, 2016 to close the criminal trial of two journalists to the public undermines the rights of the defendants to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said today. Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 14 ruled that the entire trial of Can Dundar, editor of the daily Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gul, the newspaper's Ankara bureau chief, on charges of obtaining and revealing state secrets for the purpose of espionage, should be closed to the public and the media on the grounds that some of the evidence pertained to state secrets. Lawyers acting for Dundar and Gul had argued that it was reasonable only to hold a closed hearing to discuss any evidence relating to state secrets but not to hold all trial hearings behind closed doors. "The court's decision to hold hearings in secret limits public scrutiny of a critical case and the administration of justice; directly undermining the defendants' right to a fair trial," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The decision also ignores the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights that any exclusion of the public from a trial must be exceptional and narrowly tailored to balance national security with the public interest in justice." The court also ruled that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT) could be interested parties (complainants) in the case, a decision that implies they are the directly injured parties. This exceptional step constitutes an undue interference in the independence of the judicial process and could lead to a violation of the right of the defendants to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said. Turkey is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights; the right to a fair trial as articulated in the Convention is binding on Turkey and its courts. In this regard, the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly emphasized to states that the public character of proceedings protecting against the administration of justice in secret is important to ensure confidence in the courts and contributes to a fair trial, "the guarantee of which is one of the fundamental principles of any democratic society." The court has noted that security concerns alone justifying excluding the public from a trial are rare and even then, security measures should be narrowly tailored and comply with the principle of necessity. Specifically, the court has noted that, "The mere presence of classified information in the case file does not automatically imply a need to close a trial to the public without balancing openness with national-security concerns. Before excluding the public from criminal proceedings, courts must make specific findings that closure is necessary to protect a compelling governmental interest, and must limit secrecy to the extent necessary to preserve such an interest." After the court ruled that the entire trial was to be held in camera, a number of members of parliament observing the trial refused to leave the courtroom. In response, the judges postponed the trial to April 1, and lodged a complaint against the members of parliament for attempting to influence a judicial process. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Turkey: Journalism on Trial Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 25 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Turkey: Journalism on Trial, 25 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa31614.html [accessed 23 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 trial in Istanbul on March 25, 2016 of two prominent journalists demonstrates the huge restrictions on the media and reporters in Turkey, as well as the president and government's determination to suppress all critical reporting, Human Rights Watch said today. Can Dundar, editor of the daily Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gul, the newspaper's Ankara bureau chief, are on trial in Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 14 on charges of obtaining and revealing state secrets for the purpose of espionage, attempting to overthrow the government, and knowingly aiding a terrorist organization. The evidence cited against them consists of a report in the newspaper about arms shipments to Syria through Turkey and their other writings. If convicted, they could face life in prison. "The trial of Can Dundar and Erdem Gul is about putting journalism itself on trial and is one of the most flawed prosecutions in Turkey in recent times," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Reporting on arms shipments is a matter of public interest in any country whether the government likes it or not." The authorities should immediately halt this prosecution and end the unjustified trial and interference with freedom of expression and the public's right to know, Human Rights Watch said. Dundar and Gul should enjoy full protection of their freedom of expression. The Istanbul prosecutor's indictment, prepared in January, followed a criminal investigation that began on May 29, 2015, when Cumhuriyet, a national daily, published a front-page news story saying that Turkey had shipped arms to the armed opposition in Syria. The article appeared under Dundar's byline and included photographs and a link to an online video purporting to show large quantities of mortar shells, grenade launchers, and ammunition hidden in a Turkish truck bound for Syria in January 2014. In publishing the story and images, the newspaper challenged Turkish government claims of over more than a year that the trucks had been part of an operation run by Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT) to transport humanitarian assistance to Syria. There has been controversy over allegations that trucks have transferred weapons through Turkey to Syria since January 2014, when public prosecutors in Turkey's southern city of Adana attempted to investigate the allegations. Because the government had not sought parliamentary authorization to supply weapons to Syrian opposition groups, the whole incident raised serious questions about the extent of Turkey's involvement in the conflict in Syria. In the days following publication of the report, both Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the newspaper and its editor of spying. Erdogan, in a May 31 television interview, stated that, "The person who wrote this news shall pay a heavy price for it, I won't just let it go." On June 2, Erdogan lodged a separate complaint with the Ankara prosecutor against Dundar, accusing him of publishing "fake images and information" and of crimes including espionage, a coup attempt, and aiding an illegal organization. These allegations are reflected in the charges against the two journalists. Dundar and Gul were detained on November 26. They were released from prison on February 26, 2016 after the Constitutional Court ruled that their pretrial detention was unlawful, arbitrary, and disproportionate and interfered with their right to freedom of expression. Erdogan strongly criticized the court's decision. On May 8, 2015, four prosecutors and a gendarmerie officer involved in investigating the trucks heading for Syria were jailed and put on trial on charges of "obtaining and revealing information pertaining to state security" and "attempting to overthrow the government, or partial or total prevention of government duties." Their trial at the Court of Cassation 16th Penal Chamber continues. Prosecutors twice acted on tip-offs and sought to examine the contents of trucks, though the Justice Ministry told them they had no authority to do so, contending that they were part of an intelligence agency operation to carry humanitarian assistance to Syria. In response to the prosecutors' attempts to investigate the arms transfers and Cumhuriyet's reporting, Turkey's president and government have demonstrated their intention to prevent any legal or journalistic scrutiny of Turkish intelligence operations, Human Rights Watch said. "Dundar and Gul are being tried on the very same baseless charges that the president suggested in his personal complaint against them last June," Sinclair-Webb said. "This demonstrates the pressures from above on Turkey's prosecutors." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch ICTY/Bosnia: Karadzic Convicted for Srebrenica Genocide Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, ICTY/Bosnia: Karadzic Convicted for Srebrenica Genocide, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa31a84.html [accessed 23 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 conviction of Radovan Karadzic, the former president of the Republic of Srpska, for his role in the Srebrenica genocide and other grave crimes shows that persistence can deliver justice, Human Rights Watch said today. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) found Karadzic guilty of 10 out of 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide and sentenced him to 40 years' imprisonment. The judges acquitted Karadzic of one count of genocide, finding that the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt his genocidal intent in relation to crimes committed in seven municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Karadzic was a founding member of the Serbian Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina and president of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity, during the war in Bosnia, from 1992 to 1995. "Victims and their families have waited for over two decades to see Karadzic's day of reckoning," said Param-Preet Singh, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. "The Karadzic verdict sends a powerful signal that those who order atrocities cannot simply wait out justice." The tribunal first indicted Karadzic and his Bosnian Serb wartime commander, Ratko Mladic, in July 1995 for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in several municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. In November 1995, the ICTY charged both Karadzic and Mladic in a separate indictment with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes based on the Bosnian Serb army's mass execution of at least 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys after the fall of Srebrenica. The Yugoslav tribunal and the International Court of Justice have determined that the Srebrenica killings constitute genocide. It is the worst crime committed on European soil since World War II. Following their indictment, both men went into hiding. In July 2008, Serbian authorities arrested Karadzic in Belgrade. Serbian police arrested Mladic in May 2011. Mladic's trial is ongoing, with an expected completion date of late 2017. Karadzic's trial began in October 2009. But Karadzic, who represented himself throughout the trial, boycotted the opening, claiming he needed more time to prepare his case. Although both the trial and appeals chamber found that he had enough time to prepare, the judges adjourned the trial until March 2010. In June 2012, after the prosecution finished presenting its evidence, Karadzic asked the judges to acquit him on all 11 counts in the indictment. The trial chamber acquitted Karadzic of one count of genocide in seven municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina, while maintaining the other charges against him. The prosecution appealed, and in November 2013, the appeals chamber reinstated the genocide charge. The trial ended in October 2014. The arrest of Karadzic and Mladic shows the value of a consistent and principled approach to war crimes accountability by the European Union, Human Rights Watch said. The EU conditioned closer ties with Serbia on its full cooperation with the ICTY, including the arrest and surrender of the remaining fugitives to the tribunal. The arrest and surrender of both men should remind other countries that international justice only works when they lend their robust support to enforce it. Of the 161 suspects the tribunal indicted, none remain at large. Despite the ICTY's success, thousands of cases involving grave abuses during the Bosnian war are outstanding. The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina will try most of these cases, while some others may be heard in courts in Serbia and Croatia or in courts outside the region under universal jurisdiction principles. The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has concluded more than 250 war crimes cases, with a backlog of more than 1,000 cases. Authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been slow in carrying out a national war crimes strategy designed to focus efforts on the most serious cases, with efforts hampered by insufficient capacity and funding, particularly at the district and cantonal level. Some senior officials have impeded efforts toward justice and have openly questioned the legitimacy of the State Court and the Prosecutor's Office. "National trials remain critical to hold the many others responsible for atrocities during the Bosnian war to account," Singh said. "Officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina should move beyond shrill rhetoric aimed at undercutting accountability and instead strengthen efforts to bring war criminals to justice." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Chad: Court Order, But No Cash, for Ex-Dictator's Victims Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Chad: Court Order, But No Cash, for Ex-Dictator's Victims, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa320b4.html [accessed 23 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 Chadian government has failed to provide court-ordered reparations to over 7,000 victims of grave crimes under the rule of former dictator Hissene Habre, three rights groups said today. On March 25, 2015, after a three-month trial, a Chadian criminal court convicted 20 Habre-era security agents on charges of murder, torture, kidnapping, and arbitrary detention. The court also ruled that 7000 victims should receive a total of 75 billion CFA francs in reparations (US$129 million), ordering the government pay half and the convicted agents the other half. "It has been one year, and the Chadian government hasn't deigned to execute the court's decision." said Jacqueline Moudeina, lead lawyer for the victims and president of the Chadian Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (ATPDH). "This is a slap in the face to the victims and an affront to the rule of law." Habre himself has been on trial on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture since July 2015 before a specially constituted chamber within the Senegalese court system in Dakar. A verdict is expected on May 30, 2016. The Chadian court had ordered the government to create a commission to oversee the payment of compensation. But the commission has not yet been created. The court also ordered the government to erect a monument "in not more than one year" to those killed under Habre and to create a museum in the former headquarters of the Directorate of Documentation and Security (DDS), Habre's political police, where victims were tortured. Neither of these projects has been started. Nor has the state prosecutor carried out his duties under the decision, particularly the identification and confiscation of the assets of the convicted persons. "The government needs to implement the court's decision so that the victims, at long last, can receive reparations for what they suffered and so that steps are taken to remember what happened to us," said Clement Abaifouta, president of the Association of Victims of the Crimes of Hissene Habre, who as a prisoner under Habre was forced to dig graves for many of his fellow inmates. "We fought for 25 years for that decision and now the government is making us fight again to get the decision enforced." Habre's one-party rule, from 1982-1990, was marked by widespread atrocities, including the targeting of certain ethnic groups. DDS files recovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001 reveal the names of 1,208 people who were killed or died in detention, and 12,321 victims of human rights violations. Habre was deposed by the current president, Idriss Deby Itno and fled to Senegal. His victims fought for decades to bring him to trial. In 2013, Senegal agreed on a plan to create Extraordinary African Chambers to conduct the trial within the Senegalese judicial system. That trial began on July 20, 2015 and ended on February 11, 2016. The charges leading to the Chadian trial of Habre's agents were filed by survivors in 2000, but the case languished until after Habre himself was arrested in Dakar in 2013. Many of the accused held key positions in the Chadian administration until they were arrested in 2013 and 2014. During the landmark trial in Chad, about 50 victims described their torture and mistreatment at the hands of DDS agents. Among those sentenced to life in prison in the 2015 case in Chad were Saleh Younous, former head of the DDS, and Mahamat Djibrine, described as one of the "most feared torturers in Chad" by a 1992 Chadian Truth Commission. "The trial and conviction of state officials for human rights crimes was a remarkable development in a country where impunity has been the norm," said Reed Brody, counsel for Human Rights Watch, who has worked with Habre's victims since 1999. "The government's failure to follow through on its obligations to the victims is a deep disappointment." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Turkey: Drop criminal charges against journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 24 March 2016 Cite as Article 19, Turkey: Drop criminal charges against journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, 24 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa34764.html [accessed 23 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. On the eve of a trial scheduled to start on March 25, 2016, a coalition of leading international free expression and press freedom groups condemns the criminal case targeting Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, and calls on authorities in Turkey to drop all charges against them. Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, and Gul, the newspaper's Ankara representative, face accusations of aiding a terrorist organisation, espionage and disclosure of classified documents for reports in Cumhuriyet claiming that Turkey's intelligence agency secretly armed Islamist rebel groups in Syria. Although those claims previously had been reported widely by other media outlets in Turkey, a criminal case against Dundar and Gul was initiated after Cumhuriyet published a report on May 29, 2015 that included a video purportedly showing Turkish security forces searching trucks owned by the country's intelligence agency that were travelling to Syria containing crates of ammunition and weapons. Dundar and Gul were detained in November 2015 and held for nearly 100 days in Turkey's Silivri Prison until the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the journalists' pre-trial detention violated their human rights. Both journalists were subsequently released pending trial following a criminal court order. Nevertheless, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that he would neither recognise nor obey the Constitutional Court's ruling. Moreover, prominent supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) demanded that Dundar and Gul be returned to prison and they called for Turkey's citizens' right to turn to the Constitutional Court to redress violations of their human rights to be curtailed. The persecution of these two journalists - a gross abuse of government authority in clear violation of the right to press freedom - is by no means an isolated case. At least 13 journalists languish behind bars in Turkey in direct retaliation for their work, and recent months have seen the state seizure of opposition media outlets - including the March 2016 takeover of the Zaman newspaper and Cihan News Agency. Recent months have also seen numerous violations of the right to press freedom in Turkey, including, among many others, the continued misuse of defamation and insult law, as well as anti-terrorism law, to target and silence those who publicly express their dissent from government policies. Members of the coalition accordingly urge Turkish authorities to drop all charges against Dundar and Gul, and to free all other journalists currently detained in connection with their journalism or the opinions they have expressed. The coalition further renews its previous call on lawmakers in Turkey to take steps to reverse the country's trend toward authoritarianism, and its call on governments of democratic countries to pressure the Turkish government to end its crackdown on independent media and to meet its human rights commitments under both domestic and international law. The International Press Institute (IPI) The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Reporters Without Borders (RSF) The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) ARTICLE 19 Index on Censorship The Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) PEN International The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19 Egypt: Unprecedented crackdown on NGOs Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 23 March 2016 Cite as Article 19, Egypt: Unprecedented crackdown on NGOs, 23 March 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56fa37924.html [accessed 23 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. In recent weeks, the Egyptian authorities have summoned human rights workers for questioning, banned them from travel and attempted to freeze their personal funds and family assets. These steps indicate that a five-year-old investigation into the funding and registration of independent human rights groups could soon result in criminal charges, 14 international organizations said today. The authorities should halt their persecution of these groups and drop the investigation, which could threaten human rights defenders with up to 25 years in prison, the organizations said. "Egypt's civil society is being treated like an enemy of the state, rather than a partner for reform and progress," said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme. The investigation into the funding of local and foreign groups began in July 2011, five months after the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak, and has already led to convictions and the closure of the Egypt offices of five international nongovernmental organizations. It is currently being conducted by a panel of three judges chosen by the Cairo Court of Appeals at the request of the Justice Ministry. Under Egyptian law, prosecutors could charge leading human rights defenders for working without official registration or accepting foreign funding without government authorization. An amendment to the penal code passed in September 2014 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi provides for a sentence of up to life imprisonment (which equates to 25 years in prison in Egypt) for the latter charge. "The Egyptian authorities have moved beyond scaremongering and are now rapidly taking concrete steps to shut down the last critical voices in the country's human rights community," said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. Asset freezes and travel bans tools to restrict dissent The crackdown on Egypt's human rights defenders has gathered pace in recent months. On March 22, 2016, Mozn Hassan, founder and director of Nazra for Feminist Studies, was summoned for questioning as a defendant in the foreign funding case. She is due to appear before the investigating judges on March 29, 2016. On March 19, a Cairo criminal court heard a request from the investigating judges to freeze the assets of Hossam Bahgat, a journalist and founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights who currently writes for the Egyptian news website Mada Masr, and Gamal Eid, a lawyer and the director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information. The judges' request also extended to the assets of Eid's wife and 11-year-old daughter. The court postponed the hearing to March 24, and on March 21, the investigating judges also imposed a gag order preventing local media from reporting on the case. A Cairo criminal court had already issued an order in February, at the investigating judges' request, to bar Bahgat and Eid from travelling outside Egypt. Courts, prosecutors and security agencies have barred at least 10 human rights activists from travel in recent weeks, including Mohamed Lotfy, director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, and four employees of the Egyptian Democratic Academy. Between March 13 and 15, three employees of Nazra for Feminist Studies, two employees of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, and one employee of the United Group, a law firm that has published reports on torture, were asked to appear before the investigating judges for questioning. The summoned employees included finance officers from each group. Previously, on March 3, an investigating judge had interrogated the director of the United Group, the lawyer Negad al-Borei, on the allegation of establishing an unlicensed entity and "pressuring" the president to issue an anti-torture law. In February, following an investigation, government tax authorities demanded that some of the independent groups under investigation pay several million Egyptian pounds in back taxes. On February 17, Health Ministry officials also issued an order to close the Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, Egypt's leading center for such treatment, on the basis that it was performing unlicensed work. The Center has been licensed as a medical clinic since 1993 and has provided hundreds of torture victims with vital services, including counselling and legal assistance. Foreign funding investigation The first phase of the investigation into independent groups' funding-known as case 173 of 2011-concluded in June 2013 when a Cairo criminal court sentenced 43 foreign and Egyptian employees of five international organizations to between one and five years in prison, on charges of operating unlawfully in the country and receiving foreign funding without permission. All of the sentences were either suspended or issued in absentia, but the decision forced the closure in Egypt of the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, Freedom House, the International Center for Journalists and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Following the conclusion of the first investigation into international groups, the authorities turned their attention to local organizations. The three investigating judges resumed their work in 2014, when the Social Solidarity Ministry gave local groups an ultimatum to register under an onerous associations law dating to Hosni Mubarak's presidency. The law empowers the government to shut down any group virtually at will, freeze its assets, confiscate its property and reject nominees to its governing board. Many of the targeted groups are licensed in some fashion, including as non-profit groups, law firms or medical clinics. Still, some have relocated their staff outside Egypt or curtailed their operations rather than register under the Mubarak-era law. But even registered groups have not escaped investigation: The Egyptian Democratic Academy had successfully registered in January 2015, and Nazra for Feminist Studies has been registered since 2007. Both the National Security branch of the Interior Ministry and the General Intelligence Service, Egypt's external spy agency, have been gathering information on local groups' activities for some time. Their findings were contained in a September 2011 fact-finding report, parts of which were leaked to the media, that named 37 groups under investigation, including all of those affected by the recent summonses and travel bans. Calls on the Egyptian authorities The Egyptian authorities should withdraw the order to close the Nadeem Center and lift all travel bans and asset freezes against human rights workers, whose activities are protected by Egypt's constitution and international law, the organizations said. The authorities should also lift the gag order, which prohibits media outlets from publishing anything on the case other than statements issued by the presiding judges until the investigations are complete. This violates the right to freedom of expression, enshrined in Egypt's constitution and international law. Egypt should abide by its March 2015 pledge at the conclusion of its Universal Periodic Review before the United Nations Human Rights Council to "respect the free exercise of the associations defending human rights." This should include allowing groups to register under a new associations law that parliament should draft following consultation with independent groups, and which should abide by article 75 of the constitution, which protects groups from interference by the government. The law should comply with international standards on freedom of association. The Human Rights Council and its member states should condemn the current crackdown and demand concrete measures to improve respect for fundamental human rights. "Instead of shutting down the last vestiges of civil society, Egypt should welcome scrutiny of its human rights record and take on board the constructive criticisms of local NGOs. The authorities should engage in an open and genuine dialogue with its rights movement," said Michel Tubiana, President of EuroMed Rights. The organisations expressing concern are: Amnesty International ARTICLE 19 Association for Women's Rights in Development CIVICUS Committee to Protect Journalists Euromed Rights FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Frontline Defenders Human Rights Watch IFEX International Service for Human Rights Project on Middle East Democracy World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19 The duo quarreled over a petty issue on Sunday afternoon and it culminated in Gayathri grabbing a pair of scissors and stabbing her mother with it (Representational image) Chennai: Unable to land a proper job, a depressed engineering graduate stabbed her mother multiple times, in Anakaputhur, on Easter afternoon. The victim succumbed to the injuries at Chrompet GH while her 26-year-old daughter was arrested by Shankar Nagar police. Police said Vanaja, (58), a resident of Gurusamy Nagar, Anakaputhur, who eked out a living by tailoring following her husband Balusubramanians death, managed to fund her daughter Gayathris engineering education by arranging finance from several sources. Despite graduation, the woman could not get a proper job. She quit jobs which were on consolidated pay. Gayathri who was upset over her career was stated to be suffering from depression and was under medication. The mother-daughter quarrelled over a petty issue on Sunday afternoon and it culminated in Gayathri grabbing a pair of scissors from her mother and stabbing her with it. Gayathri sought 108 ambulance service and rushed her mother to Chrompet GH. Vanaja did not respond to treatment. Preliminary investigation suggested that Gayathri and her mother were at loggerheads over the prospects of the former in employment as well as in choosing her life-partner. The deceaseds elder daughter was married off a few years ago. Nobody from the family has lodged a complaint yet. The body has been kept in the mortuary for post-mortem and for the arrival of the kin. Gayathri was remanded to judicial custody by a court at Tambaram and was lodged at Central Prison, Puzhal. What you need to know about Powerball and the $580 million jackpot New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar on Monday compared the alleged onslaught on varsities with Gujarat riots alleging both of them were carried out "with support" from state machinery even as he stressed that there is a fundamental difference between "emergency" and "fascism". Asserting that there is a difference between 2002 riots and 1984 Sikh massacre, Mr Kumar alleged that Gujarat violence was carried out through state machinery while the other was caused due to mob frenzy. "There is difference between emergency and fascism. During emergency, goons of only one party were engaged into goondaism, in this (fascism) entire state machinery is resorting to goondaism. There is difference between riots of 2002 and 1984 Sikh riots. "There is a fundamental difference between a mob killing a common man and massacring people through state machinery. Therefore, the threat of communal fascism we are faced with today, there is an attack being launched on universities, because like Hitler, Modiji doesn't have support from intellectuals in India. No intellectual is defending Modi regime," he added. Noting the present time is an era of "Islamophobia", Mr Kumar underscored a need for understanding history first before reaching a conclusion on any issue. "Today it's an era of Islamophobia. Leave aside the words of terrorism and terrorist. The moment these words will come to your mind, imprints of face of a Muslim person will be there in your mind. This is Islamophobia. "Connotations, meaning of a word change. Hence, it is important for us to understand history before we reach to conclusion on anything," he said. Mr Kumar was addressing the gathering during a panel discussion on "Voices of Azaadi" during the "Jashne-e-azaadi" festival which was organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of the late historian Professor Bipan Chandra. The celebration comes at a time when JNU students have kick started a "nationalism and azaadi debate" across the country after it came under attack for an event on campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Texas DPS fires first officer over Uvalde shooting response Sgt. Juan Maldonado becomes first member of the state police agency to lose his job in the fallout over the hesitant response to the May attack. Mike Sumerlin knew that his mother, Bobbie, was loved and respected as a teacher, but he had no idea how many lives she had touched until her death on Friday. Social media exploded, he said, with tributes to his mother, who died at age 84 in Sealy, near Houston. "It's been very heartwarming," Sumerlin said of the outpouring of sympathy and accolades for his mother. Before moving to Sealy in 2003 to be closer to family, Sumerlin and her late husband, Macon Sumerlin, were well known in Abilene and in music circles far beyond. She taught choir, first at Jefferson Junior High and later at Cooper High School. Macon Sumerlin was composer-in-residence at McMurry University. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. John's Episcopal Church in Sealy. Sumerlin said his mother was passionately devoted to educating, helping, and serving others, whether they be students, personal friends, or co-workers. "She had a great zest for life," Sumerlin said. One of the many tributes to Bobbie Sumerlin was written by a grandson, Austin Sumerlin, who admired his grandmother's spunk and love of life. Bobbie Sumerlin stood just under 5 feet tall and weighed 100 pounds, but she "left a monumental footprint on earth," Austin Sumerlin wrote. Her career centered on instilling discipline, manners, respect and courage, Austin Sumerlin wrote. She was a humble, pragmatic and giving person, he wrote, "but there is no doubt she took a first-class ticket to heaven." Linda Bratton and Bobbie Sumerlin taught together at Jefferson Junior High in the mid-1960s and then one year together at Cooper High School. Bratton, who taught orchestra, recalled that Sumerlin excelled as a teacher and that the students had confidence in her instruction. "They really had a lot of respect for her," Bratton said. In 1976, the Cooper choir was invited to the International Youth and Music Festival in Vienna, Austria, which Bratton said was a high honor. Only the top choirs were asked to participate. "You did not come until you got an invitation," she said. Linda Bratton and her late husband, Conrad Bratton, accompanied Macon and Bobbie Sumerlin on that trip and were overwhelmed with the response the Cooper choir received. "Her choir outshone all the others," Bratton said. Bratton's son, Jay, was in Sumerlin's Cooper High School choir in 1987, Sumerlin's last year to teach and Bratton's junior year in high school. Sumerlin also was Bratton's godmother. In the classroom, Sumerlin was all business, Bratton said, but the students responded well to her because they respected her. He recalled one day she had the choir spend an hour and a half on one measure in the piece they were learning. "When she walked into a room, you knew you were going right to work" Bratton said. "There was only one way and that was Bobbie's way and it was the right way." Sumerlin's attention to detail and commitment to excellence was evident until her last day, her daughter-in-law, Rindy Sumerlin, said. Bobbie Sumerlin died on Good Friday. She left on the kitchen table her hymnal and notes for the Easter Sunday service she had planned to conduct at her church. "This is what she was," Rindy Sumerlin said. "She was still thinking about what she was going to do next." UPDATE: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday Dr. Thad Anglin was announced Wednesday as the lone finalist for president of Cisco College. ORIGINAL STORY: Standing at the front of the gathered group like a guest lecturer, Thad Anglin commanded the room inside Cisco College's Abilene Education Center Monday afternoon, just as two previous presidential interviewees did in the past two weeks. Anglin, who is seeking to become Cisco College's next president, was surrounded by about 30 interested faculty and staff of the Abilene campus. And like the two previous candidates who presented before him Lawrence Brandyburg two weeks ago and Matt Joiner last week Anglin was tasked with selling himself and his ideas about a number of hot-button issues surrounding the school. Like dual credit opportunities, which he said needs to be increased to a point where the high school students taking the courses receive the guidance to enter a career pathway. Dual credit where high school classes simultaneously offer college credit through the school is great, he said, at reducing cost and offering opportunity but there are challenges. "We need to get these students thinking about career pathways, even at that young age," he said of Cisco College's dual credit programs. "It can be difficult but it can be done." Currently serving as vice provost for academic excellence and outreach at the University of North Texas at Dallas, Anglin was also asked about what informs his ideas about creating new programs. Some of the changes, he said, come about naturally. If there's a need in the school community, it can be filled through feedback and action from the president and his advisory committees. One example he gave was the creation of the psychology and sociology programs at UNT-Dallas. He said the program didn't exist, people desired it, and the change happened. But then there's a need generated by the community around the school, which informs just the same as students desiring a new opportunity. At UNT-Dallas, it came about in the form of the school of public health, he said. "It's everyone working together," Anglin said. "There was a need for greater awareness in the sphere of public health. We created a program to fill that need." Anglin said his leadership style is well-rounded, with a focus on embracing data and being respectable in personal dealings. He said he encourages feedback from anyone willing to provide it without fear of negative consequences. But the key is the data, he said. "Too many leaders today, I think, are looking too big-picture, 360-degree," he said. "I don't think they've got their hands on the data. They need that to maximize (the output) of what they're trying to do. For us, that's educate students. So it's looking at our performance." Anglin will be considered by the Cisco College board, along with the other two candidates, after a formal interview Monday. A decision timetable was not available through the school. Twitter: @TimothyChippARN It's a familiar sight in today's education landscape: A child sitting at a desk with a pencil in one hand and a test booklet sitting in front of him or her. Standardized test season returns to Texas classrooms Tuesday morning, as the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness or STAAR in both writing and mathematics kick off a three-day frenzy across many grade levels. And it's only the first part of the testing requirements students face, with more coming in May. What exactly do these tests look like? The questions are a closely guarded mystery. But the format of these examinations, which students must contend with to battle anxiety, is drilled into their heads through benchmarks and practice exams administered throughout the year. For instance, eighth grade students like Emma Castaneda and Rosemary Garcia at Mann Middle School must take both their math exams Tuesday and their reading tests Wednesday. It's a lot of preparation for students and teachers, getting them ready for what's ahead. "There were a lot of review packets, going over notes and playing fun games (in class)," Emma said. "(The test) is really nerve-wracking." "We use our benchmark tests to study, too," Rosemary said. "There's a little bit of everything. We took three (benchmark exams) each in math and reading." For their math exam, the students each receive a Scantron sheet for answers, as well as the test booklet. They answer multiple choice questions by filling in the corresponding bubbles on their answer sheet. In reading, the students read passages of varying lengths and answer multiple questions about what the author intended, what the characters were doing and similar queries designed to measure comprehension, according to Laura Donaway, a fourth-grade reading teacher at Wylie Intermediate School. While Donaway's students won't take their reading exams until May, she said the tests are pretty similar the next step up. She drills with her students some best practices to help combat anxiety the students may have, she said, to get her younger students more confident they can handle the rigor. "That's not to say the test won't be hard," Donaway said. "The state wants to test the knowledge of the student and that we're teaching them what they need to know. So it's hard. We just make sure they're equipped." Leyton McCume, a fourth grade student at Wylie Intermediate, said she'd recommend students prepare by asking a number of questions. Her grade level is testing writing Tuesday and they prepared by writing a number of essays and reviewing a step-by-step process to familiarize the students with the process of writing the essay. She said that's one way to earn the grade she wants to receive. "We did a step-by-step process to writing the essays," she said. "We know to do this, then do this. That way, we can get a good grade." While the students focus on taking the test, they also need to worry about getting enough sleep to handle the exams. And they need to eat a good breakfast, Mann Middle School English teacher Amber Ivy said. It's a mental game as much as it is a physical one, as students must be able to work for a full four hours to complete the exams, she said. Getting the sleep and eating the right food only helps the mind perform at its best as long as the students need, she said. "By eighth grade, the students are staying up way too late," Ivy said. "We tell them to get some sleep, just for this week. And we talk to them about not just eating sugar. This year, they'll be getting snacks, so that should help." Twitter: @TimothyChippARN Abilene must capitalize on what is unique to the city to attract and retain businesses that will drive the economy, said Dave Copeland, president of the Development Corporation of Abilene board, at a joint meeting of the DCOA and City Council on Tuesday. The purpose of the meeting was for both entities to hear the five-year strategic plan for economic development prepared by TIP Strategies of Austin. The DCOA commissioned the study last May for a cost of $125,000. Mayor Norm Archibald emphasized the importance of the report to Abilene, which was the first city in Texas to implement the use of sales tax revenue to foster economic development. "We're competing with the world," he said. Twitter: BrookeCrum_ARN President Barack Obama's visit to Cuba is the latest move in a series that spans his tenure in the White House, and occurs in the context of long-term hostility between the two countries. President Calvin Coolidge was the last U.S. chief executive to visit the island nation, in early 1928. At the end of May the United States formally removed Cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism. This greatly facilitated interchange between the two sides. Of particular significance, banking restrictions were lifted. Slowly but also surely, the ruthless dictatorship that controls Cuba has been forced to face the reality of economic failure of communism. Fidel Castro began transition of power to younger brother Raul in 2006. Four years later, Fidel suddenly re-emerged in the media spotlight and proceeded dramatically to lament the shambles of the nation's economy. At the same time, the Cuban government announced layoffs of 500,000 workers, combined with liberalization designed to encourage small business and foreign purchases of real estate. This was admission of failure by Cuba's committed communist leaders. Havana now seeks foreign investment while maintaining political controls. In 2009, the U.S. loosened extremely tight restrictions on travel and financial remittances. Additionally, telecommunications companies were allowed to pursue licensing agreements. The Soviet Union, Cuba's vital subsidy source, collapsed a quarter century ago. Venezuela provides limited aid, further reduced by the rapid decline in oil prices. Enemies as well as admirers agree that Fidel Castro demonstrated strong leadership before age and illness led him to retire. After taking power in early 1959, enforcer brother Raul handled bloody mass executions with efficient dispatch. Fidel highlighted new alliance with the Soviet Union by joining Nikita Khrushchev in a 1960 visit to the United Nations in New York. The Soviet premier was wildly disruptive at U.N. sessions, while the Cuban delegation provided a media sideshow, based at a Harlem hotel. The Eisenhower administration began a clandestine effort to overthrow the increasingly radical regime, including a CIA project to assassinate Castro. The successor Kennedy administration vastly escalated such efforts. When Fidel stepped down, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed "peaceful, democratic change" in that nation and suggested that the "international community" work directly with the people. Obama's televised address in Cuba took a page from the playbook of President Richard Nixon, who made a radio and TV speech to the Soviet people during his historic May 1972 visit. We should emphasize educational and family exchanges, along with trade and investment. President Dwight D. Eisenhower used such programs to benefit during the height of the Cold War. Above all, we should reject direct attacks on the Cuba regime. Previous aggressive interventions were highly counterproductive, and for many years have provided the Castro brothers with the benefit of blaming all problems on the Yankee superpower to the north. In the past, Cuba has been extremely important in U.S. presidential politics. Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kennedy fanned the flames of hostility to Castro in the 1960 contest with Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. This year, some Republicans strongly have denounced the rapprochement with Cuba, but Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona joined the Obama delegation. A bipartisan congressional delegation visited Cuba in February. During a joint news conference with Obama, Raul Castro clearly was taken aback by blunt questions from reporters about human rights abuses. Let the questions and the pressure continue. Email Arthur I. Cyr, Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin, at acyr@carthage.edu. As President Obama traveled from Cuba to Argentina this week, he literally passed over Latin America's most momentous political developments which are not the U.S. rapprochement with the Castro regime or the abrupt switch from leftist populism to center-right liberalism in Buenos Aires, but the huge crisis of corruption and political legitimacy in Brazil. For more than a year, the world's fifth-largest nation has been stricken by recession and convulsed by investigations into kickbacks involving the state oil company, the country's largest construction companies, and scores of high-ranking politicians. Last week, the drama rose to a new level. First, more than 3 million Brazilians turned out to protest the corruption and demand the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff. Then Rousseff, already facing a congressional impeachment initiative, resorted to a desperate and unscrupulous political maneuver. Roussef appointed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as her chief of staff. The move might have made sense a year ago, when he remained a hugely popular national icon, but da Silva has recently become a target of the ongoing corruption investigations, suspected of accepting bribes and hiding his ownership of a beachfront condominium. His appointment had the effect of shielding him from the federal and state judges and prosecutors pursuing him and one of them released wiretapped phone conversations that appeared to show Rousseff and da Silva conspiring to obstruct the investigation. Until now, the case for removing Rousseff from office looked dubious. She was charged with manipulating budgetary accounts before her 2014 re-election, an offense that may have contributed to the country's severe economic problems but hardly merited impeachment. Her apparent attempt to protect da Silva, however, may justify congressional action. Opinion has turned sharply against her: One poll says 68 percent of Brazilians favor her ouster, while the newspaper O Globo has reported that the number of legislators supporting her in the lower house has fallen from 250 to 172, barely above the minimum of 171 she needs to block impeachment. Rousseff vowed this week never to resign and accused her opponents of attempting "a coup against democracy." In fact, the silver lining of Brazil's crisis is that it reflects the country's maturing democratic institutions and embrace of the rule of law. The federal judge leading the kickback investigation, Sergio Moro, has become a national hero. By the end of last month, no fewer than 84 senior politicians, business executives and others had been convicted on corruption charges, including some of the country's richest magnates. Hundreds more, including more than half of the National Congress, face allegations of wrongdoing. The danger is that the country's political system could unravel, making the critical steps needed to stabilize the economy impossible. Rousseff, whose administration has been virtually paralyzed for months, could serve her country best by stepping aside and allowing her vice president to preside over a new coalition cabinet. By digging in, she is pushing Brazil to the brink. The Washington Post Rahul Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making false promises and said the people of Bihar have sent him packing in a direct flight from the state. (Photo: PTI) Diphu: Asking voters in Assam to reject BJP in the Assembly polls, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said if it came to power, the state will be run from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur or the PMO. He also warned the people that BJP will only stoke violence in the state and end the atmosphere of peace ushered in by Congress. "We want everyone should think and should act for one's culture, language and that no one is suppressed in the country. What does BJP want in Assam. First they will come and ask for your votes and then Assam will not be run from here, but will be run from Nagpur or the Prime Minister's Office," he said addressing a poll rally here in Karbi district. Gandhi said wherever BJP has gone it has brought violence and has disturbed peace and cited the example of Haryana where within months of its coming to power there was violence between jats and non-jats. "The truth is wherever BJP goes, it tries to make people fight with each other. For example in Haryana, for 10 years there was peace and no violence or anger was there when Congress was in power, but within months of BJP coming to power there was violence and jats and non-jats are fighting with each other. "You have seen what has happened in Gujarat. In Bihar they tried to bring violence before polls and in Assam too they are trying to spread violence. They will end the peace that has come here after violence stopped. They don't think about you or Assam, they just want to impose one ideology and thought on the entire country, what RSS people say," he said. Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making false promises and said the people of Bihar have sent him packing in a "direct flight" from the state as he failed to fulfil any of the promises made to them during Lok Sabha polls. While BJP wanted one kind of thought to be imposed across the country it was Congress that took everyone along and did not want anyone to be suppressed irrespective of one's religion, caste or area, he said. "If one thought is imposed across the country, what will happen to your language, what will happen to your customs, your history. Because this country is not of anyone or one thought, but crores of people of different languages, history live here and this country belongs to all. Attacking the Prime Minister and asking people to reject BJP as they did in Bihar, Gandhi said, "the next time Modiji comes to Assam, ask him about the promises he made to you for bringing back black money, tackle price rise, funding of Assam and providing MSP for farmers, ask him as to which promise he has fulfilled. "Because this question was posed to him by people of Bihar, as he made a lot of promises during Lok Sabha polls and when he returned during assembly polls a few months later, people of Bihar asked about these promises none of which were honoured and said he is 'deceiver' and decided to teach him a lesson. They sent him packing to Delhi in a direct flight. Now people of Assam also have to do the same." Rahul accused Modi of not fulfilling his promises of bringing back black money, bringing down prices or addressing the plight of farmers and the poor and instead allowing people like Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, who possessed black money, to escape from the country. "When I asked him in Parliament about his unfulfilled promises, he did not answer me," Gandhi said, asking people to pose these questions to Modi now when he comes to seek their votes. Rahul, however, made a host of promises himself from providing 10 lakh jobs to youth, filling up all vacant government posts, giving jobs to 2 lakh teachers, providing rice at Rs 2 a kilo, cold storage facilities and agriculture banks to farmers and housing for all. Apart from Rs 1,000 crore package announced by Tarun Gogoi, he also promised to open a medical, engineering and nursing college in the area. "We make promises and fulfil them. In the last 15 years, Congress party and Tarun Gogoi has worked for you and will work faster in the next 5 years. We will not leave behind anyone, be of any religion, caste or region or place and our government will be of all religions, castes and places and will take everyone along," he said. Rahul accused Modi of not fulfilling his promises of bringing back black money, bringing down prices or addressing the plight of farmers and the poor and instead allowing people like Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, who possessed black money, to escape from the country. "When I asked him in Parliament about his unfulfilled promises, he did not answer me," Gandhi said, asking people to pose these questions to Modi now when he comes to seek their votes. Rahul, however, made a host of promises himself from providing 10 lakh jobs to youth, filling up all vacant government posts, giving jobs to 2 lakh teachers, providing rice at Rs 2 a kilo, cold storage facilities and agriculture banks to farmers and housing for all. Apart from Rs 1,000 crore package announced by Tarun Gogoi, he also promised to open a medical, engineering and nursing college in the area. "We make promises and fulfil them. In the last 15 years, Congress party and Tarun Gogoi has worked for you and will work faster in the next 5 years. We will not leave behind anyone, be of any religion, caste or region or place and our government will be of all religions, castes and places and will take everyone along," he said. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This just in... A screenshot of Yu Xiaolei's resignation letter to the Southern Metropolis Daily says: "I can't take the surname of the Communist Party any more." A top editor at a cutting-edge newspaper in the southern Chinese Guangdong province resigned after the ruling Chinese Communist Party imposed new media controls, the journalist announced on social media. "Its time to end things without dragging them out any further," Yu Shaolei, 48, wrote on the popular Twitter-like Weibo service where he announced his decision to leave the Southern Metropolis Daily. He had been culture editor since 2000 "Im old and my knees can't take it anymore," Yu wrote in the post, which went viral on China's tightly controlled Internet before censors deleted it.. "I want to see if I can change to a new position. His language in the post, sparked speculation that he was referring to the power Chinese censors have to force media outlets to kowtow to the government. In what looked like another shot, Yu scrawled on his resignation slip for the Southern Metropolis Daily writing: "I can't take the surname of the Communist Party anymore." It was an apparent reference to recent visits to state media by President Xi Jinping where the Chinese leader reminded journalists that they belong to the party. Censor "stress" Yu attached a scan of the resignation slip to his post and took a parting shot at government censors, saying that his online monitors will now get a well-deserved rest. "I'm sorry for giving you so much stress over the past few years," he wrote in a comment that some netizens took to be sarcastic. Repeated calls to Yu's cell phone went unanswered on Tuesday. However, two of Yu's colleagues at the Southern Metropolis Daily confirmed that he had resigned. "Yes, it's true that he has left his job," a reporter at the paper told RFA. "He couldn't stand the atmosphere around here anymore." "I don't feel that there's much interest [in the job] nowadays, either." A second colleague surnamed Liu agreed: "So many people have quit now that there are hardly any people I know who are still here. "Of course they're leaving, he said. The industry is dying, and there's not much left of the Southern Group any more. You won't be able to use it as a platform to do things that are in keeping with your values. Its finished. Journalist's family targeted Yu's post came as exiled journalist Chang Ping hit back publicly at the harassment of his family back home, an increasingly common tactic used to put pressure on overseas dissidents. An outspoken journalist who began a new life in Germany after he lost his job at the Southern Weekend, a sister paper to the Southern Metropolis Daily, Chang attacked recent moves by police in the southwestern province of Sichuan to put heavy pressure on him via his family. Police summoned Chang's two brothers and a sister on Sunday, telling them to warn the journalist against writing articles critical of China or else his relatives might find criminal charges pinned on them by the authorities, Chang told RFA. He hit back in an online statement on Tuesday, revealing that state security police had demanded via his brother that he take down an article on the Deutsche Welle website describing the detention of his family members as a "kidnap." "After they were detained, the interrogation was mostly about me and my work," Chang told RFA on Tuesday, adding that no legal documentation was given by the authorities. "The police demanded that I change my job, but [my family] has no way of complying with their request." "They don't even have a direct method of contacting me," Chang told RFA, saying that the police also wanted to know if he was linked to an anonymous online letter calling for the resignation of President Xi. "The Chinese Communist Party should immediately stop its investigation into this open letter and the harassment, investigation, threats and kidnappings of media workers, commentators and their families," Chang said. He denied any involvement with the letter. "I'm not interested in such letters, nor would I get involved with writing one," he said. "The leadership is just spooked, but I don't think they are very effective." Firecracker interrogation Police threatened his family with prosecution over minor damage to vegetation that came after they set off firecrackers near a family tomb ahead of the annual tomb-sweeping festival of Qing Ming, he said. State security police are unlikely to concern themselves with such matters without a political reason to do so, he added. Before leaving China, Chang, whose official name is Zhang Ping, was dismissed from two previous editorial posts for his outspoken commentaries on Tibet and for refusing to make changes to articles in line with directives from China's powerful propaganda department. A second anonymous letter purportedly signed by 171 "loyal party members," also calling for Xi's resignation, was sent to the U.S.-based Mingjing News website on Tuesday. But the site's editor Ho Pin said he had been unable to confirm the source of the letter, which has different wording from the one that first appeared. "We don't know where this letter came from, so we have no way of confirming this," Ho said. "That's why we didn't post it on the site." Reported by Xin Lin and Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Siu-san, Pan Jiaqing and Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Ehnic Rohingya Muslim children roam around a camp set up outside the city of Sittwe in western Myanmar's Rakhine state, May 21, 2015. Outgoing President Thein Sein lifted the nearly four-year state of emergency in western Myanmars conflict-ridden Rakhine state on Tuesday, although a policy restricting the movement of ethnic Muslim Rohingya interned in displacement camps remains in place, a local government official said. The government imposed the state of emergency after communal violence between the Rohingya and ethnic Buddhists in Rakhine in 2012 left more than 200 dead and tens of thousands homeless, with the Rohingya bearing the brunt of the violence. I dont think there will be problem with the lifting of the state of emergency because we don't plan to have further conflicts, said Hla Thein, a member of the Rakhine state government. We have been deploying police security forces, and we dont have any plans to reduce the number of security personnel. The national military will step back from providing security in the region because there currently is no threat of danger to peoples lives, according to a statement released by state media. Restrictions on travel for refugees in the camps, however, remain in place because the two communities are still not getting along, Hla Thein told RFAs Myanmar Service. The Bengali Muslims are not allowed to go to Rakhine refugee camps, and the Rakhine refugees are not allowed to go to Muslim camps," he said, referring to the term that the Myanmar government calls the states 1.1 million ethnic Rohingya whom it views as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, although many have live there for generations. Bengalis can travel within their area, and the [ethnic] Rakhine people can travel in their area, he said. Some 140,000 Rohingya were displaced during the 2012 unrest and placed in squalid camps in Rakhine state. About 120,000 of them remain in the camps, while thousands of others have fled persecution in the Buddhist-dominated country on rickety boats to other Southeast Asian countries in recent years. The government restricts the Rohingya's basic rights, denying them citizenship, restricting their movements, and disenfranchising them during national elections last November. Thein Seins order removing the state of emergency comes just days before the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which swept the elections, assumes government leadership on Friday. The map shows Rakhine state in western Myanmar. RFA graphic ANP to levy hefty fine In the run-up to the transfer of power, president-elect Htin Kyaw of the NLD has appointed the chief ministers of Myanmars 14 states and regions, including Rakhine state where the Arakan National Party (ANP) won 23 of 47 state parliament seats in the elections, but failed to gain a majority in the Rakhine state legislature because a quarter of seats automatically went to military representatives. Nyi Pu, an NLD lawmaker who represents Rakhines Gwa township, was appointed as the states chief minister on Monday, prompting ANP deputies in the state legislature to protest the move by wearing black stickers on their jackets. In response to Nyi Pu's appointment, the ANP, the states strongest political party which represents ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, said Tuesday that it will purge and fine its lawmakers 50 million kyats (U.S. $41,340) if they accept cabinet minister posts in the incoming NLD-led government. All party members have to follow the partys rules which are set by its Central Executive Committee, said ANP general secretary Tun Aung Kyaw. If not, then we will take action against them according to party policy. NLD spokesman Zaw Myint Maung noted that the president-elect has the constitutional right to appoint chief ministers, and that those who object to Nyi Pus selection must prove he is unqualified to serve. ANP members didnt do this and walked out of parliament, he said. We all have to work according to current laws or the constitution. But Kyaw Zaw Oo, an ANP lawmaker in the Rakhine state legislature, indicated that the move has raised questions in the party's mind about the NLD's intention to develop democracy in Myanmar. We doubt whether we are moving forward towards a democratic country because the NLD says it nominated MP Nyi Pu according to the constitution, although it knows this constitution is not a good one, he said, referring to the 2008 charter drafted in 2008 when a military junta ruled the country. Reported by Min Thein Aung, Thinn Thiri and Khin Khin Ei for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. A portrait of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (L) sits on an alter inside Longwu monastery in Tongren, northwestern China's Qinghai province, May 16, 2013. Chinese authorities in Tibet have imposed new restrictions on monasteries in a county in northwestern Chinas Qinghai province, intensifying an existing ban on displaying photos of exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, Tibetan sources in the region and in exile said. The restrictions pertain to Rongwo and other monasteries in Rebgong (in Chinese, Tongren) county, Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in northwestern Chinas Qinghai province, a native of Rebgong who lives in exile in Europe said. During the month of March this year, the Chinese authorities imposed unprecedented restrictions on the display of the Dalai Lamas photo in Rebgongs Rongwo monastery and in other monasteries, he told RFAs Tibetan Service. Authorities issued four restrictions to be implemented at Rongwo monastery, which was founded in the 14th century and is located 124 kilometers (77 miles) from the provincial capital Xining, and other Tibetan Buddhist institutions in the county, he said. The first mandate requires monasteries to strictly follow the leadership of local management committees in implementing rules and regulations, he said. Chinese authorities set up the management committees in early 2012 in most Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, placing them under the direct control of government officials who are permanently installed in the lamaseries. The policy was enacted to ensure that monks and nuns do not participate in activities calling for an independent Tibet or disturb the social order through protests or self-immolations. The permanent posting of government or party officials inside monasteries is unprecedented in Tibet, let alone at such a senior level, Human Rights Watch said in a March 2012 statement after the policy was established. Under a previous policy, Tibetan monasteries had been administered by so-called democratic management committees whose members were nominated and selected by government and local Communist Party officials, although the body itself was comprised of monks elected by their own communities. Other directives The second requirement specifies that the custodians of shrines and temples should sign off on the management committee instructions to hold them responsible for the policy, the source said. The third directive mandates that monks in charge of temples and shrines should oversee the safety of all statues and other property and prevent their fellow monks from participating in any activities that could bring disgrace to the monasteries, he said. Such activities include putting up posters against Chinese policy in Tibet and being involved in self-immolation protests. There have been 144 self-immolations by Tibetans living in China since a wave of fiery protests began in 2009. Most protests feature demands for Tibetan freedom and the return of the 14th Dalai Lama, although a handful of self-immolation protests have occurred over local land or property disputes. The last directive requires that all statues and photos of the Dalai Lama be removed from shrines and temples, the source said. If anyone is discovered violating this rule, he will be expelled from the monastery and could be handed over to authorities for prosecution. Shrines and temples that refuse to follow the instructions could be closed, he said. All these restrictions were imposed just this year, but they were planned more than a year ago. In monasteries in Rebgong, a local government staff member is assigned to one to two monks to educate them on official rules and policy on regular basis as detailed in a government-issued instruction booklet, he said. The officials are held responsible for the activities of the monks they instruct in the event that they commit an offense against Chinese rule and policy, a source from inside Tibet said. The 80-year-old Dalai Lama, whose photos are banned by Chinese authorities in Tibetan areas, fled Tibet into exile in India in 1959 and is reviled by Chinese leaders as a dangerous separatist who seeks to split the formerly self-governing region from Beijings rule. The Dalai Lama, however, says he seeks only meaningful autonomy for Tibet as a part of China with protections for the regions language, religion, and culture. Reported by Sonam Wangdu and Dorjee Tso for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Chinas strike hard campaign designed to crack down on violent incidents has hit one Uyghur family particularly hard, as it sent two family members to prison and may have contributed to the death of two more, relatives and other sources told RFAs Uyghur Service. The one-year strike hard campaign started in June 2014 in restive Xinjiang region following a bombing at the morning market in Urumqi that killed 43 people. While Beijing has promoted the latest strike hard campaign as a way to battle terrorism, it is widely seen in the region as a way to tighten control of the Muslim Uyghur community with little regard for the human costs. Those costs are being born by people like Hasiyet Abliz, a grandmother in the Aykol Township of Aksu city (in Chinese, Akesu). The 46-year-old suddenly finds herself with a husband and son in prison, a dead daughter and a dead grandchild. My husband Tursun Mamut and my son Ablikim Tursun were jailed after three or four months of the strike hard campaign, she told RFA. My 27 year-old-daughter Ayshemgul died in child birth because no one was left at home to take her to hospital, and her two-year-old son also died from a sudden sickness because no one could take him to the hospital. Ayshemgul died in January 2015 and her son died in March 2015. Hasiyet Abliz said her husband was sentenced to a seven-year jail term for an illegal gathering outside a government-designated mosque where he went to pray. He was arrested at October 2014. Ablikim Tursun was charged with the same crime, but the family has yet to learn his fate. He was arrested on September 2014. I visited him three months ago, at the teenager labor camp in Ulanbay district of Urumqi city, she said of her son. He has no idea about his jail term either. The losses mean Hasiyet Abliz is now left to care for two of her own children and two of her daughters, forcing her to work a restaurant at night and a farm during the day. The tragedy also forced her to keep a secret, as she refuses to give Tursun Mamut the news. My husband doesnt know his daughter and grandchild are dead, she said. He continuously asks about Ayshemgul and the grandchild in his letters from the jail, but I keep the situation from him and my son, because they cannot do anything for them at this point." Not uncommon Like others in the restive province, the Hasiyet Ablizs family tragedy is not uncommon. Its almost normalized; the disappearing, the jailing without questions in Aksu, said a teacher from city, who spoke on condition of anonymity. In some townships, like Aykol, where the violent incident occurred, people ask each other: How many of your children are in jail? People are no longer surprised by the question. Like many in the region, the teacher thinks the Uyghurs are being targeted as a way for the Chinese to increase their control of the region. The government is obviously bullying the Uyghurs, because no legal entity or organization exists to protect their rights, the teacher said. We dont know what is going on about our rights in the international arena, because of the censorship. Most tragically, we dont know when the dark days will end. Local law enforcement officials also know of the Hasiyet Abliz family plight. We know the tragedy in the family you talked about, but we have no idea and no right to speak about the reason or responsibility for the tragedy, police officer Husenjan Kerim said at the Aykol Police station. If you want to investigate such a sensitive case you should call the higher police department in Aksu city." Jume Gayit , deputy security chief of Peyshenbebazar village of the Aykol township told RFA emergency services were not developed well enough to get people to hospital and that the government offered compensation to the family. "It is true the Ayshemgul died at home while she was in labor, because no man was left at home to take her to hospital, he said. We have given them 300 yuan as welfare for each person in the family, but it is impossible to cover the basic expense of their family. I am trying to find a job for her whenever I have a request from Han bosses in our village, but there are a lot of families like her family in our village because of the violent incidents that occurred in recent years, he added. Reported and Translated by Shohret Hoshur for RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. A bomb has exploded under a bridge in Afghanistan's capital, killing one person and wounding nine others. The Interior Ministry said five police officers, including a district police chief, have been suspended over the March 29 blast in Kabul and are under investigation for neglecting their duties. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. Roadside bombings are a major threat for both security forces and civilians across Afghanistan, where the Taliban have been waging a 15-year war against the government and foreign troops. Afghanistan's police are widely seen as incapable and corrupt and are often implicated in crimes such as kidnapping for ransom. Based on reporting by AP KYIV -- Ukrainian officials said vile Russian missile strikes on civilian energy sites have caused power outages nationwide, leaving more than a million households without electricity, while Russian authorities ordered residents to leave Kherson "immediately" ahead of an expected effort by Kyivs forces to retake the crucial southern city. Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram on October 22 that Russia carried out a "massive attack" on Ukraine overnight and that "the aggressor continues to terrorize our country." "At night, the enemy launched a massive attack: 36 rockets, most of which were shot down...These are vile strikes on critical objects. Typical tactics of terrorists," he wrote. "The world can and must stop this terror." Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Zelenskiys office, said Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down 18 of the missiles. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a number of missiles had been shot down on the approach to the capital. "Several rockets flying toward Kyiv were shot down in the region by air defense forces. Thanks to our defenders!" Klitschko said. There was no immediate word on deaths related to the missile attacks, but officials said several people had been injured. It was not possible to verify the reports on either side. In the face of continued Russian strikes, Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba again urged Ukraine's Western allies to speed up the delivery of modern air defense systems. "We intercepted some, others hit the targets. Air defense saves lives. In [Western] capitals, there should not be a single minute of delay in the decision regarding air defense systems for Ukraine," Kuleba said. Local officials said power stations were hit in the regions of Odesa, Kirovohrad, and Lutsk, while other regions reported problems with electricity. "Another rocket attack from terrorists who are fighting against civilian infrastructure and people," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on the Telegram app. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a government meeting that from October 10 to October 20, Russian strikes damaged more than 400 facilities in 16 regions of Ukraine, including dozens of energy facilities. "The Russian Army has identified our energy sector as one of the key targets for its attacks," Shmyhal said on October 21. "Russian propagandists and officials speak openly about the purpose of all these attacks: Ukraine, according to them, should be left without water, without light, without heat," he said. Meanwhile, Russian-appointed authorities in the occupied and illegally seized southern Kherson region on October 22 ordered the estimated 60,000 residents of the region's eponymous main city to leave "immediately" in the face of Kyiv's advancing counteroffensive. "Due to the tense situation on the front, the increased danger of mass shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the left bank of the Dnieper River," the region's Russia-backed authorities said on social media. Russina-installed officials are moving people out of the strategic city in what they are calling an evacuation but which Ukrainian officials label as deportations. The order came in spite of a claim by Russia's Defense Ministry on October 22 that its forces had prevented an attempt by Ukraine to break through its line of control in Kherson. "All attacks were repulsed, the enemy was pushed back to their initial positions," the Defense Ministry said, adding that Ukraine's offensive was launched toward the settlements of Piatykhatky, Suhanove, Sablukivka and Bezvodne, on the west side of the Dnieper River. The ministry's statement said Russian forces had also repelled attacks in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Kherson city, which had a prewar population of 280,000, is one of the first urban areas occupied by Russia at the start of the invasion. Zelenskiys office said 88 settlements in the southern Kherson region and 551 settlements in the northeastern Kharkiv region have been de-occupied, while the Ukrainian forces' counteroffensive in the Kherson region moves ahead. Ukraine is trying to drive Russian forces in Kherson back east across the Dnieper. Russian soldiers on the western bank, where the city of Kherson is located, are reportedly close to being cut off from supply lines and reinforcements. Natalya Humenyuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraines southern operational command, said the Ukrainian military struck the Antonivskiy Bridge over the Dnieper in the city of Kherson during an overnight curfew Russia-installed officials put in place to avoid civilian casualties. We do not attack civilians and settlements," Humenyuk told Ukrainian television. Ukrainian strikes made the Antonivskiy Bridge inoperable, prompting Russian authorities to set up ferry crossings and pontoon bridges to relocate civilians and transport supplies. Russia has sent in thousands of recently mobilized troops to reinforce the defense of Kherson, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said on October 21. Zelenskiy again on October 21 urged the West to warn Russia not to blow up a dam at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on the Dnieper River as this could flood settlements toward Kherson. Zelenskiy said Russian forces had planted explosives inside the dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir, and were planning to blow it up. "Now everyone in the world must act powerfully and quickly to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack. Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster," he said in his nightly address. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and the BBC Mumbai: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday demanded Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar to 'shut up the Congress permanently' over the revolutionary leader being targeted by the opposition party recently. Thackeray, in a statement in Mumbai, asked the BJP-led government at the Centre to present the top civilian honour to Veer Savarkar, a revered figure in Maharashtra. Separately, a Sena leader said the issue would be raised by the party in the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, taking part in a debate in the Lok Sabha earlier this month, had said while BJP runs on ideals of Veer Savarkar, his party follows the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi. The opposition party again targeted Veer Savarkar last week when it tweeted that "Bhagat Singh waged war for Freedom from British Raj, VD Savarkar begged for mercy, to be a slave in British Raj." BJP had asked Congress to apologise or face protest. Joining the issue, Mr Thackeray said there will be no need to organise protests if the NDA government awards Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar. "The Modi Government should bestow the award on Savarkar. Shiv Sena has raised this issue several times in the past. We are still fighting for Savarkar, but BJP is keeping distance from Shiv Sena over the issue," he said. "The Congress has insulted not only Veer Savarkar, but all other revolutionaries. The Government must immediately announce Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar and shut up the Congress permanently," he added. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, a key ally of BJP, will raise the issue in Assembly and push for Bharat Ratna demand. "We will ask the Government (in Maharashtra) to recommend to the Centre to bestow Bharat Ratna on Savarkar. BJP is in power both at the Centre and in the state and it can take a decision," said Pratap Sarnaik, a Shiv Sena legislator. "We will not allow the House to function till we get a firm assurance from the chief minister," he said. Iranian President Hassan Rohani has postponed a planned state visit to Austria indefinitely, citing security reasons, the Austrian presidential office announced. "The visit for March 30-31 by President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation has been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons," Austrian presidency said in a statement on March 29. It did not give further details. A spokeswoman for Austrian President Heinz Fischer's office said it was not clear what the security reasons were. Rohani had been scheduled to meet Fischer and other Austrian officials. The Vienna trip would have been Rohani's second official visit to Europe since Iran and world powers signed a landmark nuclear deal in July 2015. In January, Rohani visited Italy and France, where he signed a number of major deals, including a $24 billion contract to purchase 118 Airbus planes. Based on reporting by dpa, Reuters, and AFP A suicide bombing in Baghdad has killed three people and wounded more than 20. Police said the blast happened on March 29 near a gathering of workers in Tayaran Square, about a kilometer from a sit-in held by supporters of influential Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to demand political reforms. No organization claimed the attack, but all suicide bombings carried out so far this year in the country have been claimed by Islamic State. The Sunni militant group controls parts of northern and western Iraq. Based on reporting by Reuters BISHKEK -- A Kyrgyz opposition activist suspected by authorities of being part of a plot to overthrow the government has been placed under house arrest. The Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said Dastan Sarygulov had been charged on March 28. Earlier, the UKMK said that three other suspects in the alleged plot -- Bektur Asanov, Kubanychbek Kadyrov, and Ernest Karybekov -- had been charged with preparing to use force to overthrow the government. Last week, the three, all opposition politicians, were ordered to be held in pretrial detention for two months. According to the UKMK, the suspects were arrested after an audio recording circulated on the Internet earliest this month. In that recording, voices are heard discussing ways to seize power in Kyrgyzstan. Authorities say the three detained opposition figures are among them. A fourth suspect, Duulatbek Turdunaliev, is being sought. Asanov told RFE/RL before his arrest last week that the tapes had been edited and their appearance on the Internet was "an attempt to blackmail the opposition." BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities say seven alleged members of a terrorist group have been detained. Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on March 29 that the suspects had been detained in one of the country's regions during a security operation. The exact place and date of the operation was not disclosed. According to the UKMK, the detained men are suspected of recruiting fighters for military operations in the Middle East and planning a series of terrorist acts in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz authorities have said that more than 500 Kyrgyz nationals, a quarter of whom are women, have left the country for Syria and Iraq to join Islamic militant groups including the Islamic State terrorist organization. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on European countries to restore what he described as "military-technical" cooperation with Russia. Putin said on March 29 that the absence of such cooperation doesn't benefit either side. He made the remarks during a meeting of the presidential commission on military-technical cooperation. "Military-technical cooperation with European states has stopped almost entirely, and not by our initiative," Putin said, adding: "We hope, it's a temporary phenomenon." Western governments have imposed sanctions on Russian companies and individuals over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and its role in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine. Putin said restoring wide-ranging cooperation between Russia and Europe would be in the best interests of all sides and it "would definitely increase mutual trust." Putin also said his country's arms exports totaled $14.5 billion last year, higher than originally planned. According to Putin, the total portfolio of foreign orders for Russian arms has exceeded $56 billion. With reporting by Interfax, TASS, and Reuters International organizations have welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to release jailed human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev after nearly a year in prison. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement on March 29 that Aliyev's release was "an important and positive step for human rights in Azerbaijan, for Mr. Aliyevs own sake and for the sake of the many persons whom he continues to defend." Aliyev was freed on March 28 after the Supreme Court commuted a 7 1/2-year prison sentence against Aliyev, paving the way for his release. Amnesty International said on March 29 that Aliyev's "release is welcome, but he must now be fully cleared of all charges and allowed to resume his work. Without this, there will be no justice for this resolute defender of human rights in Azerbaijan. 'Politically Motivated' Aliyev, 53, was arrested in August 2014 and convicted of illegal business activity, tax evasion, abuse of authority, and other charges in April 2015. Aliyev has always denied the charges as politically motivated and his lawyers have been demanding that the criminal case against him be fully dismissed. He founded the Legal Education Society in 1998 to provide legal assistance to marginalized groups, and has represented many Azerbaijani activists and human rights defenders. Aliyev was announced the winner of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Award in 2015. Earlier, the U.S. State Department and the European Union also welcomed Aliyev's release. The State Department urged the government in Baku "to release other individuals who have been incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms." Azerbaijan is widely criticized by Western governments and organizations for its crackdown on dissent and imprisonment of activists and government opponents. On March 17, President Ilham Aliyev pardoned 148 prisoners, including several human rights defenders and opposition activists and politicians. WASHINGTON -- When dozens of world leaders and top-level delegations from around the globe descend on the U.S. capital this week to discuss how to better protect nuclear materials from terrorists, officials from one nuclear power wont be there. Russia, which has the worlds largest nuclear arsenal and a sprawling military and civilian nuclear industry long plagued by security concerns, will not be represented at the Nuclear Security Summit that opens on March 31. Its boycott of the summit, which will be the fourth and possibly last such high-level effort aimed at preventing a terrorist group from obtaining nuclear materials, has triggered confusion and concern among officials and analysts in the United States and elsewhere. Frankly, were scratching our heads a bit, Rose Gottemoeller, the U.S. State Departments top official for arms control treaties, said at a March 29 briefing in Washington. Ben Rhodes, a top official on the White House National Security Council, said Russia's decision was a "missed opportunity." "Frankly, all they're doing is isolating themselves in not participating, as they have in the past," Rhodes told reporters in a conference call. Russias decision not to attend is definitely a concern, said Kingston Reif, a nuclear and defense analyst at the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based research organization. Its not like Russia has decided that nuclear material security isnt something it should be focused on, or something that it no longer takes seriously, Reif said. But at the same time it does raise questions about Russia, its willingness moving forward, to seek to work with other countries, including the United Statesto ensure that terrorists cant get their hands on radiological materials. Many nuclear security experts argue the summits have helped focus attention on the problem, and promoted concrete measures in dozens of countries. That includes removing highly enriched uranium -- which can be used in manufacturing a fissile bomb similar to the Hiroshima weapon -- from 12 countries and taking them to places like Russia to be blended into less dangerous forms. Summit organizers also point to two dozen research reactors around the world that were modified to use low-enriched uranium, and security upgrades at another 32 buildings in various countries where fissile material is stored. Still, many other arms control experts, including those at the Project on Managing the Atom, at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School, gave a tempered assessment of past summits and their achievements. Security for nuclear materials has improved modestly -- but the capabilities of some terrorist groups, particularly the Islamic State, have grown dramatically, suggesting that in the net, the risk of nuclear terrorism may be higher than it was two years ago, Kennedy School researchers wrote in a report released this month. Its a danger that was highlighted last month after Belgian officials confirmed that a man with links to the Paris terrorist attackers in November had surveillance video of a top Belgian nuclear official. Just last week, Belgian officials stripped security badges from some workers at the countrys nuclear plants as a precaution. Declining Ties Among the reasons Harvard researchers cited in their less-than-enthusiastic conclusions was the decline of nuclear cooperation between Moscow and Washington. Despite sending delegations to the three previous summits, Moscow announced last year that no Russian officials would be coming to Washington. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in January that the summits interfered with international organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UNs nuclear watchdog, and imposed on them the "opinions of a limited group of states." That decision followed Russias announcement in early 2015 formally ending its participation in a two-decade-old, U.S.-funded program to scrap unneeded nuclear weapon systems and secure facilities where radiological material was stored. Despite its billion-dollar price tag, the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program has been largely viewed as a success in patching up decrepit Soviet-era security and safeguarding Russian nuclear materials. But the program included the presence of U.S. elected officials visiting secretive or formerly closed research and military facilities, something that many in the Russian defense establishment viewed with deep suspicion. President Barack Obama, then a U.S. senator, participated in one such trip in 2005, when he and another senator were briefly detained by Russian security officials. The Russians made the determination that that effortno longer was a model they wanted to continue, that they saw themselves now as a country that is able to take on this work on its own. And I think they also resented the fact that there were U.S. representatives inside Russia working on this, and they were concerned about their presence, Reif told RFE/RL. Mixed Picture In a commentary published March 28, Kelsey Davenport, a nonproliferation expert also with the Arms Control Association, said Russias absence from the summit was concerning, particularly in light of a recent incident in the former Soviet state of Moldova involving the smuggling of nuclear materials that may have originated in Russia. However, she said it shouldnt be interpreted as a drastic shift in thinking by the Kremlin. Despite lackluster enthusiasm for a fourth summit, Russias actions seem to demonstrate a continued understanding that preventing nuclear terrorism is a global concern, she wrote. Gottemoeller said that Washington and Moscow continue with some nuclear cooperation despite what she called the severe crisis over the conflict in Ukraine and Moscows annexation of Crimea. Russia agreed to take nearly all of Irans low-enriched uranium to blend it down to less dangerous levels and was continuing to implement the New START treaty that made further cuts to the Russian and U.S. nuclear stockpiles, she noted. The best thing I can say is its a mixed picture. There are areas of very sound cooperation with Russia, where we are proceeding and continuing to make progress, Gottemoeller said. Tajik authorities will install security cameras and metal detectors in all mosques in the capital, Dushanbe, the office of the city mayor said on March 29. It said the measure is aimed at providing security for the worshippers and helping to strengthen public order. The office of the mayor said the equipment will be installed at the expense of the mosques and their worshippers. The AFP news agency quoted a government source as saying on condition of anonymity the measure was meant to "track the contingent praying at the mosque, to identify among believers potential followers of Salafism," referring to an ultra-conservative brand of Sunni Islam. The staunchly secular government of President Emomali Rahmon tightly controls the country's religious institutions, including the appointment of mosque imams. The country's Religious Affairs Committee even provides a list of topics it deems suitable for mosque sermons. With reporting by AFP Ukraine's three major parliamentary parties have agreed to form a new coalition on March 29 and nominate parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Hroysman to be Ukraine's new prime minister, party officials said. The three new coalition partners include Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's party, President Petro Poroshenko's faction, and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Fatherland party. All three were previously coalition partners. Two former coalition allies -- the populist Radical party and the reformist Self-Help party -- have refused to rejoin the alliance, the party officials said late on March 28. The deal could mark the end of months of political infighting and corruption allegations that have stymied reforms demanded by the West and derailed negotiations for a new $1.7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund needed to prop up the struggling economy. Maksym Burbak, the head of Yatsenyuk's People's Front party, announced the agreement after a meeting of deputies with Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk, and said a meeting to form the new coalition would begin at noon on March 29. Oleh Lyashko, head of the Radical Party, said Hroysman would be named the coalition's candidate for prime minister at the meeting, and a vote on his nomination will take place in the evening. Lyashko added that his party would not attend the noon meeting. "So far, our initiatives have been ignored, so we don't see a possibility to take part in the new coalition," he said. Representatives of Poroshenko's faction and the Fatherland party have not yet commented on the developments. Support for Yatsenyuk has tumbled recently, but he has refused to step down until a new coalition agreement is signed. The formation of the new coalition would improve the chances of Hroysman, a 38-year-old former mayor and ally of Poroshenko, of receiving parliamentary support for his nomination. With reporting by Reuters and TASS We have briefed the ministry the reason behind the need of the helicopters and they will be used to oversee the security arrangements in Jangalmahal, the EC said. (Photo: file) Jangalmahal: As a part of its security arrangement for Jangalmahal in poll-bound West Bengal, Election Commission has sent a requisition for three helicopters to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for aerial surveillance in the sprawling forest area. "We (The Commission) are having security arrangements for Jangalmahal area and for that we have sent a requisition to the MHA for three helicopters ... We are yet to get a confirmation from them though they (the ministry) has briefly committed for it," Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said on Monday. "We have briefed the ministry the reason behind the need of the helicopters and they will be used to oversee the security arrangements in Jangalmahal," Sarkar added. On the number of central forces required in Jangalmahal, which was earlier considered a hotbed of Maoist activities, the election officer said the calculation was still on and the picture would be clear within a few days. He said there was a high-level video-conference on inter-border security between West Bengal and Assam and the state's "critical borders" with Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha. "There was a discussion on where the naka points were erected and which other places it was required in. There were talks on the inter-border movements of miscreants and possible movements of weapons from one state to another," Mr Sarkar said. Bengal chief secretary, home secretary, chief electoral officer, excise commissioner, senior home ministry and state police officers participated in the video conference, he said. Top officers from Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand also attended the video-conference. Talking about the number of EVMs to be used in the six-phase polls in the state, Sarkar said 89342 machines have been readied after first randomization as the EC has kept 115 per cent of them ready for the polls in the state. "We keep 15 per cent in reserve. Apart for this we also require a few for training and awareness building purposes. We have also kept another few ready. Altogether we now have 99523 EVMs," he said. Sarkar said the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) would be used in 22 Assembly constituencies. VVPAT would be used in one constituency of every district and in two constituencies - Jadavpur and Behala West of South 24 Parganas, he added. The Ukrainian parliament has approved the resignation of Prosecutor-General Viktor Shokin. He was seen by Ukraine's Western backers as an obstacle to tackling corruption. The motion to approve his resignation passed on March 29 with 289 votes, comfortably over the 226 required. An hour earlier, Shokin had fired his deputy, Davit Sakvarelidze, one of several foreign-born experts brought in to assist Ukraine with its Western-backed reform drive. Sakvarelidze had accused Shokin of maintaining ties with corrupt officials and lawmakers. Several hundred people rallied outside the Ukrainian parliament on March 28, calling for Shokin's resignation. The United States has repeatedly called for top-to-bottom reform of the Prosecutor-General's Office, which antigraft campaigners have said plays a key role in protecting vested interests and allowing corrupt practices to flourish. Shokin had tendered his resignation on February 16 after President Petro Poroshenko asked him and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to step down. Parliament is expected to debate a motion to fire Yatsenyuk later on March 29. Parliamentary speaker Volodymyr Hroysman appears to have the backing in parliament to lead a new government. Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax A prominent Russian opposition activist imprisoned over a May 2012 protest against President Vladimir Putin has been denied early release. Sergei Udaltsov was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison in July 2014 for organizing an antigovernment rally that turned violent in Moscow on the eve of Putins inauguration to a third term. Udaltsovs lawyer said on March 29 that her client had been denied early release because of his ongoing refusal to admit his guilt and allegedly poor behavior at the labor colony where he is being held. More than 400 people were arrested after violence erupted on Moscows Bolotnaya Square in May 2012. Kremlin opponents said the Bolotnaya case was part of a campaign to stifle dissent. They contend that protesters were provoked and that the state's claims of violence were strongly exaggerated. Based on reporting by Rapsinews and Interfax WASHINGTON -- The eldest daughter of slain Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov has been honored by the U.S. State Department for championing "democracy, education, and freedom of information" in her homeland. Zhanna Nemtsova was among 14 recipients of the State Department's International Women of Courage Award presented by Secretary of State John Kerry at a March 29 ceremony in Washington. Kerry praised Nemtsova for speaking out against Russia's "officially sanctioned propaganda that spreads lies" and "for unwavering courage and tireless work to expose corruption and defend the legal rights of Russian citizens." Nemtsova, 32, left Russia several months after her father was shot dead near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015, saying she had received death threats as she pressed for further investigation into the slaying. In July, she announced she was leaving her job as a journalist at the Russian news outlet RBK in order to join Deutsche Welle's Bonn office as a reporter in their Russian department. Russia's top investigative body in December brought final murder charges against four men for Nemtsov's murder and accused a low-level figure from the southern Chechnya region of masterminding the killing, drawing accusations of a cover-up. Nemtsova has rejected investigators' conclusions, accusing them of not being "interested in fully solving" the case. Nemtsov's relatives and lawyers have expressed skepticism about the probe, insisting the killing must have been ordered by high-ranking Russian officials. People with ties to the Kremlin's strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, have been implicated in the killing. While Kadyrov denies any involvement, he has described one of the accused, Chechen police official Zaur Dadayev, as "a true patriot." John Tefft, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, congratulated Nemtsova on her award in a March 29 statement. Tefft cited her "courageous activism demanding a thorough and transparent investigation into the murder of her father" and "her outspoken determination to expose the dangerous and irresponsible use of propaganda." In August, Nemtsova received the $1.1 million Lech Walesa Solidarity Prize, established by Poland's Foreign Ministry, from then Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and from Walesa, a former Polish president who chairs the prize committee. The State Department established the annual International Women Of Courage Award in 2007 to honor "women around the globe who have exemplified exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for human rights, women's equality, and social progress, often at great personal risk." Elena Milashina, a Russian human rights activist and investigative journalist with the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, received the award in 2013. The World Bank has provided Azerbaijan with an additional $140 million loan to complete the widening and improvement of the Baku-Shamakhi highway. The project will help provide better transport to mountainous central and northern regions of Azerbaijan, which have considerable potential for tourism and industrial production, the bank said on March 28. The project also covers part of the shortest route to the Georgian border, connecting the metropolitan Baku area with major agricultural producers in western Azerbaijan. We expect that this project will foster economic activity and tourism in this important region of Azerbaijan," said Larisa Leshchenko, the bank's country manager for Azerbaijan. The bank said it has had a "successful experience" in financing Azerbaijan's road network in the past. The bank has provided a total of $3 billion in funding for 55 Azerbaijani projects. Roads are the dominant mode of transportation in the country, accounting for 60 percent of freight and 90 percent of passenger traffic. The World Bank has given Belarus a $10 million loan to improve its budget practices, including consolidating cash balances and improving transparency. Young Chul Kim, the bank's country manager for Belarus, said the bank had helped Minsk develop a plan for structural reforms to improve competitiveness and long-term growth and increase prosperity in Belarus, and the budget reforms are needed to carry out that plan. The Belarusian government recognizes that changes are needed in the way it manages public finances and we are ready to assist the authorities in this endeavor, Kim said on March 28. "Budget planning and execution is a key foundation for public sector reforms to improve service delivery and efficiently use public resources. The bank since 1992 has provided Belarus a total of $1.6 billion in loans and $28 million in grants for development of civil society organizations, among other projects. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the family of Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganeshan, who was reported dead, after he went missing since March 22 during the Brussels attacks. "A young life, full of hope and promise cut short by mindless violence. Condolences to family of Raghavendran," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. A young life, full of hope & promise cut short by mindless violence... condolences to family of Raghavendran, who lost his life in Brussels. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 29, 2016 According to reports, his body was found by the Belgian authorities in the metro train at Maelbeek station where one of the bombs went off. Blasts at the Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station killed more than 30 people from some 40 countries. Read: Missing Tamil Nadu techie died in Brussels metro blast MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Maalbeek station in Brussels." Infosys in a condolence message to the media said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendran's family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks." Read: Brussels attack: Last call of missing Infosys techie tracked, says Sushma Swaraj The Ministry of External Affairs late on Monday evening confirmed the news. The Belgian authorities have identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of the barbaric terror attacks on March 22. He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Malbeek station in Brussels. Read: Brussels attacks death toll rises to 35: officials MEA sources said that the body (of Raghavendran), accompanied by his family, would be on a flight from Amsterdam to Chennai via the Gulf tonight or tomorrow morning, it said. Gov. Terry McAuliffe promised Monday to remove language from a pending $2.1 billion bond bill that would prevent capital projects at colleges and universities from moving forward until he signs construction contracts for replacing the General Assembly Building as part of a pending $300 million overhaul of state buildings on Capitol Square. McAuliffe told the presidents of public colleges and universities, meeting at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, that the General Assembly made a mistake in fashioning the language that would tie more than $1.6 billion in bonds to four pending projects on Capitol Square, including the eventual renovation of the Virginia Supreme Court Building and Morson Row, a historic complex of state-owned buildings on Governor Street. Unless he removes the language, McAuliffe said, You will have to wait until 2020, or halfway through the next governors term, for bond money to pay for pending capital projects. I think they got a little too cute, said the governor, who promised, I will remove the language I have to. McAuliffes remarks escalate a long-simmering confrontation between the governor and Republican leaders over their refusal to expand the states Medicaid program for uninsured Virginians under the Affordable Care Act. He has made expansion of insurance coverage a condition for signing the bonds to finance the replacement of the deteriorating General Assembly Building, renovation of Old City Hall, and construction of a parking garage at North Ninth and East Broad streets, although he has allowed planning of the projects to proceed. House Appropriations Committee Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said Monday the legislature inserted the language into the bond bill after the governors spokesman, Brian Coy, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch earlier this month, As long as were denying Virginians health coverage ... we shouldnt spend that kind of money on the building. Legislators say the replacement of the General Assembly Building is not for their comfort, but to address dire public health, safety and liability issues raised in a 2012 consultants report that warned of a sudden shutdown if deteriorating asbestos insulation in one wing of the building gets into the air-handling system. Jones said he disagrees with the governors interpretation of the language in the bond bill, which was intended to apply only to construction contracts for the General Assembly Building, Old City Hall, and the new parking garage. Those projects were part of a budget agreement the legislature and McAuliffe reached in late 2014 to break an impasse over the Capitol Square overhaul, which the governor had suspended after the legislature refused to expand health coverage for the uninsured. It was clear the legislative intent was the $300 million pool of funding, he said. It did not include the Supreme Court or Morson Row. But administration officials said the language includes all of the projects authorized in the 2014 budget bill, not just those funded. Whether it was intentional or not, the legislature cast too wide a net, Secretary of Finance Richard Ric Brown said in an interview. The governors warning caught college and university presidents by surprise. Its news to me, said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, which is counting on the bond package to pay for nine capital projects, including renovation of two buildings at John Tyler Community College in Chester. The portions of the bond package that would be held up include money for: Construction of a new building for the VCU School of Allied Health Professions and expansion of the School of Engineering, the universitys top capital spending priorities, as well as construction of the VCU-led Commonwealth Center for Advanced Logistics in Prince George County; Expansion of Western State Hospital in Staunton and the central forensic laboratory and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond; Repairs and renovations at 14 existing state parks and the first phase of a new park at Widewater on Aquia Creek in Stafford County; Construction of a parking deck and creation of a master site plan at the Science Museum of Virginia, as well as replacement of air-handling units at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, both in Richmond; and Planning of 21 future construction projects, including a new state juvenile correctional center in Chesapeake, a STEM laboratory building at VCU, expansion of the Division of Consolidated Laboratories in Richmond, and the renovation of Morson Row. The language would not affect $350 million in bonds to expand capacity at Norfolk International Terminal, $59 million for pollution controls to protect the Chesapeake Bay, $20 million to assist localities with stormwater controls, and a pair of small bond issues for more than a dozen pending projects, including building renovations at VCU, the Science Museum, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. In addition to a potential four-year delay, Brown said the language could result in higher borrowing costs on municipal bonds to pay for the capital projects in the pending legislation. Our interpretation is its going to cost, because we dont see interest rates going down, he said. McAuliffe said he spoke directly to Jones and Senate Finance Committee Co-Chairman Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta, on Monday and also had tried to reach Finance Co-Chairman Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, about his concerns over the long delay of projects in the bond package, which the governor originally proposed in December at $2.4 billion. We will get into a negotiation stage now, which I always enjoy, he told the presidents at SCHEV. In an interview Monday, Hanger said technical corrections to the bond bill language can be negotiated, but he told McAuliffe that replacement of the General Assembly Building is important and shouldnt be held up. It simply isnt going to work to try to tie Medicaid to this, said Hanger, who was a leader of an unsuccessful effort to expand health coverage for uninsured Virginians in 2014. Jones said Monday that the Appropriations Committee staff already is exploring the issue with Brown and his staff. I have confidence well get it worked out, he said. Chennai: Kanchi Sankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, who was grilled in a trial court in Chennai on Monday in connection with the 13-year old Radhakrishnan assault case, informed the court that the police foisted the case on him and that it was a total lie. During an hour-long proceeding, I -Additional Sessions Judge, P. Rajamanickam, posed 91 questions to Jayendra Saraswathi, the prime accused in the case, as per section CrPC 313 (1) (b). He denied any involvement in the incident and repeatedly answered the questions with "I do not know," "I do not know anything" and "No" by waving his hand. The 80-year old pontiff answered, "Yes" and 'I am aware' to a few questions pertaining to 'Kanakabishekam' for Paramacharya Chandrasekara Saraswathi in view of his centenary celebrations in 1993. The mutt head also denied knowledge of import of gold for the celebrations. Jayendra Saraswathi, who was accompanied by advocates and his disciples and mutt officials, remained calm during the proceeding and was often spotted smiling in the court hall. He reached the court hall at 11.15 am and remained seated till 11.50 am. On coming out from the court hall, many persons, including a few lawyers, fell at his feet to obtain his blessings and he offered them vibuthi. It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search? Search for: Search A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims. A government report released Wednesday lays out grim trends across the country for expectant mothers and their newborn babies. It finds that pregnancy-related deaths have spiked nearly 80 percent since 2018, with COVID-19 being a factor in a quarter of the 1,178 deaths reported last year. The percentage of preterm and low birthweight babies also went up last year, after holding steady for years. And more pregnant or postpartum women are reporting symptoms of depression. Hyderabad: Even as the TS government has decided to gift MLAs and MLCs iPods and iPhones on Tuesday, irrigation minister T. Harish Rao, too, gave gift coupons worth around Rs 14, 000 to each legislator for mobile rechargeable mike sets that can be fitted on vehicles to address small gatherings. Mr Rao on Monday morning personally invited Leader of Opposition K. Jana Reddy and other Congress MLAs for the dinner and also informed them about the gifts. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who will be giving a PowerPoint presentation on TS irrigation in the Assembly on March 31, the last working day of the Session, will most probably also host a dinner at Taj Falaknuma Palace for all legislators. However, the CMs office has not confirmed it. The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley announced that Glenvar High School had a winning entry in the Southwest Virginia Region Scholastic Art Award contest for 2015 on March 13 during its awards ceremony and reception. The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley is Southwest Virginias Regional Affiliate for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards through the National Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley has sponsored the art portion of the award program for 20 years. The center is one of three affiliates in the state of Virginia, and there are less than 100 affiliates nationwide. The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley held its reception and ceremony in the centers gallery in Pulaski. Fine Arts Center board members, art educators and administrators helped present young artisans with certificates and pins in the gold and silver categories. Honorable mentions were awarded with certificates only. The center awarded five American Visions Nominees, 56 gold keys, 82 silver keys and 140 honorable mentions during the ceremony. The five American Visions Nominees and the 56 gold keys competed at the national level for gold and silver medals. Each year, program materials are made available to every public, private and parochial school (grades 7 through 12) in the United States. In 2016, more than 320,000 entries were submitted to a network of regional sponsors who screen the entries and conduct local exhibitions, readings and award ceremonies to honor more than 50,000 young artists and writers in local communities. The most outstanding works of art and writing from each of the regional programs are forwarded to New York City for national judging. Panels of distinguished artists, writers, editors and educators review more than 15,000 works of art and 12,000 manuscripts to select the 1,100 national award recipients. Graduating seniors, who submit portfolios of art, photography or writing, compete for an additional $110,000 in cash awards and more than $1,500,000 in scholarships offered by 50 prestigious colleges, universities and art institutes. The national award winners are celebrated each year with a series of high-profile national events. National award winners, families and teachers are invited to participate in a series of workshops and a collaborative art-making project. A national publication features samples of outstanding student work and includes a complete list of winners; a collection of writing is published with selected works; and all of the national award recipients are honored with a celebrity-studded awards ceremony. Submitted by Chuck Lionberger Michael Rhodin, senior vice president of Watson Business Development for IBM, will be the featured speaker at Roanoke Colleges commencement exercises on Saturday, May 7. Watson is one of IBMs most significant innovations in the companys 103-year history and represents a new era of information technology. Approximately 455 graduates will join the Class of 2016. The class includes Oliva Rhodin, who is the daughter of Michael Rhodin, and Ingrid Klove. An honorary doctorate in science will be awarded to Elisabeth Gantt, a plant biologist and member of the National Academy of Sciences who is a research associate at Roanoke College. Rhodin also will receive an honorary doctorate in science during the ceremony. The baccalaureate service will be held on Friday, May 6, with the Rev. Christopher Bowen as the featured speaker. The Rev. Bowen is the Timothy Pickle Dean of the Chapel at Roanoke College. Rhodin was previously senior vice president of IBM Watson Group. Under his leadership, Watson moved from a groundbreaking research project in artificial intelligence and machine learning to two thriving business units: Watson and Watson Health. Before leading the Watson program, Rhodin led the Software Solutions Group, which delivered industry-specific solutions in high-growth areas, such as business analytics, smarter commerce, smarter cities and social business. Throughout his 30 year career at IBM, Rhodin has exhibited a passion for helping clients extract value from their technology investments, improve their business performance and simplify the way people work. He also led IBM Northeast Europe. He serves on the Partnership of New York City Board and the University of Michigan Computer Science and Engineering National Advisory Board. Rhodin joined IBM in 1984 after graduating from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in computer science. For all information about commencement and baccalaureate ceremonies, visit roanoke.edu/commencement. For more information, call the Roanoke College Public Relations Office at 375-2282. Submitted by Roanoke College RICHMOND Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, will bring their national campaign for stricter gun laws to Virginia on Tuesday. The move comes about a month after Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed into law a package of gun bills resulting from a compromise with Republican lawmakers and the National Rifle Association. The deal cost McAuliffe support of some of his strongest allies in the fight for gun control, but Giffords, a Democrat, and Kelly, a Navy combat veteran and retired NASA astronaut, have not taken a public position on it. Americans for Responsible Solutions the group they formed after the former Democratic congresswoman was seriously wounded in a 2011 shooting in Tucson that killed six people helped fund McAuliffes failed attempt last year to win control of the state Senate. On Tuesday, Giffords and Kelly will introduce a panel of advocates from law enforcement, faith, domestic violence prevention and mental health communities, a strategy they also followed in New Hampshire, Minnesota, Oregon, and as of Monday Delaware. They will push for mandatory background checks at gun shows, which are not currently required in Virginia. In the deal struck during the recent legislative session, gun rights supporters agreed to one concession in this area to require state police at all gun shows to perform the checks but only if buyers and sellers agree. Lawmakers also agreed to tighten restrictions on domestic abusers in exchange for a big prize for the gun rights community: nearly universal recognition in Virginia of concealed-carry handgun permits from around the country. The voluntary nature of the background checks law makes it too weak for gun control groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety, the group backed by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg that strongly rebuked McAuliffe for making the deal. Another critic of the deal is Lori Haas, whose daughter was shot and injured in the 2007 Virginia Tech campus shooting. Haas, Virginia state director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, will sit on Giffords and Kellys Virginia Coalition for Common Sense with Tim Heaphy, former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Kristine Hall of the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance and Conaway Haskins, who was state director for former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., are part of the coalition as well. Hyderabad: While the Telangana state police is preparing to constitute an inquiry committee on the alleged police brutalities in the University of Hyderabad after an announcement by CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao, there have been several allegations by students about torture and abuse by the cops. The main allegations by the detained students are that they were tortured and threatened in the police vans during their transit. Legal experts pointed out that Cyberabad police had violated the Constitutional rights of the arrested students by not producing them before court within 24 hours. According to the lawyers, police took more than 30 hours to produce them before the magistrate. Read:Well-known activist Uzramma blames Telangana for police action The students, who received bail on Monday, have alleged that they were taken to at least five police stations Kukatpally, Moinabad, Narsingi, Miyapur and Nacharam during the 30 hours, and the cops threatened them throughout. The students had spoken about their ordeal to friends and family members who visited them in jail. Prasheel Anand Banpur, a PhD scholar who met Dontha Prashanth, Manne Krishank, Goutham Uyyala and Mudavath Venkatesh who were in custody, said that the cops had beat them brutally during transit. Read:HCU violence: Cops tried to please Centre, says Sushil Kumar Shinde Soon after the arrest, the students were taken in two groups to the Gachibowli police station. After their particulars were taken, they were transported in two trucks to the Kukatpally police station, then to Miyapur police station, and to Narsingi police station, where they spent the night. Cops called them anti-nationals and threatened them. They slapped them and asked how dare they mess with cops, said another student who had visited them. Read:HCU voilence: Hyderabad varsity's faculty and students get bail A fact-finding committee constituted by human rights activists including, Amnesty International, revealed in its interim report that the cops had even threatened female students with rape. Reacting to the issue, Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma said that the police would constitute a committee to look into the allegations. SC/ST faculty, others to go on mass leave Members of the UoH SC/ST Faculty Forum and some other faculty members will be going on a mass casual leave on Tuesday in protest against the prevailing situation in the university following the police crackdown on March 22 and allegations of human rights violation by police. The forum said in a release, The police resorted to unwarranted and disproportionate show of force on the protesting students and neutral bystanders. Unwarranted beating up of the protesters continued even after their arrests. All the essential services, especially food and water on the UoH campus and particularly in the students hostels were unilaterally stopped. The university administration made no alternative arrangements to alleviate the distressing situation on the campus. VC approves negotiation committee The UoH on Monday constituted a seven-member committee approved by VC Prof. Appa Rao Podile to negotiate with protesting students. A circular released by the university stated that the committee would hold negotiations on matters that are negotiable from the list of demands made by the protesting students. The protesting students said they would not negotiate with the committee till the VC resigns. Raipur: Amid controversy over arrest of journalists in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-affected Bastar region, a high-level government committee constituted to protect the rights of scribes on Monday decided to call for a report from the police. "Detailed report of cases related to (journalists) Prabhat Singh, Deepak Jaiswal, Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav will be sought from the Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) and concerned Superintendents of Police and will be discussed during the next meeting on April 6," Rajesh Sukumar Toppo, director, Chhattisgarh public relations department, told PTI. The committee comprises general administration department secretary Vikassheel, Toppo himself, secretary of home department Arundev Gautam, CID ADG Rajeev Srivastava and senior journalists Ruchir Garg and Manikuntala Bose. The committee also discussed "definition" of journalist, in view of Bastar police's claim that those arrested weren't listed as media persons in the record of public relation office, and were engaged in other business activities. Prabhat Singh was arrested on March 22 this year under the Information Technology Act for posting objectionable content on a WhatsApp group and in three other cases, while Jaiswal was held on March 26 on a complaint for allegedly entering a school premises without permission during an exam and manhandling the staff. Both are based in Dantewada district. Chennai: The Indian Government late on Monday evening confirmed that Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganesh who went missing after the bomb blasts in the Belgian Capital had been killed in the terror attacks in Brussels on March 22. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said, The Belgian authorities have identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of the barbaric terror attacks on March 22. He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Malbeek station in Brussels. MEA sources said that the body (of Raghavendran), accompanied by his family, would be on a flight from Amsterdam to Chennai via the Gulf tonight or tomorrow morning. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier said that Raghavendran had spoken to his mother an hour before the blasts, even as the Minister had, a few days ago, publicly asked for help to locate him and even posted his picture on Twitter. She also said she had spoken to his mother. We are doing our best to locate Raghavendran Ganesh. He spoke to his mother an hour before the blasts in Brussels. Please help us locate Raghavendran. I have spoken to Raghavendrans mother Mrs Annapoorni, Swaraj said in her twitter handle. The techies mother - Annapoorna Ganesh from Mumbai told this newspaper, on March 23, that she was hoping to find her son in the list of injured as his did not figure in the casualty list earlier. Raghavendran used to travel the same route in metro where the blast occurred. Family said that Raghavendran was born in Chennai and later moved with his parents to Mumbai where he completed his schooling. He did his college studies at Vaniyambadi, in Vellore district. His wife is currently in Chennai with her one month old baby. Raghavendran was working with Infosys in Pune before he left to Brussels for a project four years ago. He came to India in February to leave his pregnant wife in Chennai for delivery. To accommodate growing client needs, Gannett Fleming Transit & Rail Systems (GFT&RS) has expanded teams in the U.S. and Canada. GFT&RS is a North American transit and railroad track, signal, communication, catenary and electric traction design company. Robert Rockefeller joins GFT&RS as a senior project manager in track design. Working out of the Phoenix, Ariz., and Fairfax, Va., offices, Rockefeller leads the development of heavy and light-rail design guidelines criteria and standard drawings track systems and major track extensions, as well as performing in-depth reviews of existing site conditions and developing design drawings and specifications for trackwork. He also leads the development of rail destressing procedures and track undercutting guidelines. Joining GFT&RS in its Baltimore, Md., office, is Brett Haas, senior systems specialist. Haas provides high-level analyses of system-wide networks and performs site surveys and functional network analysis of client systems. In this role, he also provides support for various phases of rail and transit projects ranging from design, field construction support, testing and systems integration. In the Lebanon, N.H., office, Kristen Lehman serves as an engineering technician. Lehman is responsible for assisting engineers and analysts with computer modeling and simulation projects for railroads, urban rapid transit systems and light rail with emphasis on electrified networks. In Los Angeles, GFT&RS welcomes Senior Systems Designer Bertram Langer. With in-depth experience in the electrical and instrumentation disciplines, Langer provides facilities and systems engineering, construction management, quality assurance/quality control and start-up/checkout of electrical power and control systems for transit and industrial facilities projects. Stephen Wilson also joins the Los Angeles office as a systems integration manager experienced in power substations; overhead contact systems; power distribution transformers and power return, centralized control and supervisory control and data acquisition systems. Wilson brings his experience in automatic train protection signals all light-rail transit systems, with familiarity in associated systems to the team. Construction Manager James Sgro, CCM, has been added to the team in the Mt. Laurel, N.J., office. With experience in reconstruction, rehabilitation and upgrades to various rail facilities; installation of communication systems, closed-circuit television systems with remote viewing and operating capabilities, as well as fiber-optic cable and security systems, Sgro provides supervision of technical personnel, coordination of construction activities and scheduling and cost estimation. Richard Duncan, P.E., joins the Toronto, Ontario office in Canada as the lead signal engineer for the Metrolinx Electrification Program. Richards responsibilities on the project focus on ensuring that the key deliverables required by the client meet technical and quality expectations and are provided on time. Key GFT&RS technical resources in Toronto and other Gannett Fleming offices are leveraged to provide drawings and plans, specifications, technical reports, construction cost estimates and project execution recommendations. Additionally, Richard leads a team providing oversight of procurement, installation, testing and commissioning during the implementation phase of the project. Richard Keimel, P. E., has been named senior systems engineer for the Toronto office. Keimel deploys high standards of technical practice in systems engineering, including having a working knowledge of relevant standards. He leads development and management of requirements on projects, as well as the development and use of system architectures. Michael Malvar, CTech, joins GFT&RS as a rail operations analyst in the Toronto office. In this role, Malvar conducts in-depth technical analyses of railroad operations, including rail simulation modeling, infrastructure planning, operating plan development and evaluation, rail rolling stock performance evaluation in simulation and signal block layout, conceptual design for overhead contact systems, control line design for light-rail transit, heavy rail rapid transit, commuter rail, freight rail and mixed-use applications. The Toronto office also grows with the addition of John Ycas, P.E., PMP, traction power engineer. Leading the development of design approaches and concepts, Ycas performs specific engineering studies and design analyses, assists with the establishment of budgets, cost estimates and project schedules, performs on-site inspections during construction and coordinates design requirements with contractors and equipment suppliers. Gannett Fleming is experiencing tremendous growth in our Transit and Rail business as evidenced by the quality and strength of our hiring, remarked Bryan Mulqueen, PE, Gannett Fleming senior vice president and director of the Transit and Rail Global Business Line. Clients appreciate the value and industry leading expertise our teams deliver to help them achieve their goals. While Ohio Gov. John Kasich currently seems like a long shot to win the Republican presidential nomination, the results of a new CBS News/New York Times poll suggest he is the GOP candidate with the best chance of defeating Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. The survey showed Kasich with a 47 percent to 43 percent lead over Clinton in a potential general election matchup. Kasich benefits from strong support within the Republican Party as well as a 52 percent to 34 percent advantage among independents. Meanwhile, the poll showed Clinton leading in potential matchups against the other two remaining Republican candidates, real estate tycoon Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex. Clinton has a 50 percent to 40 percent lead over Trump and a narrow 47 percent to 44 percent advantage over Cruz. CBS News noted Clinton's Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has an even wider 15-point lead over Trump due to stronger support among independents. Both Democratic candidates benefit from support among women and African Americans, while the Republican candidates are backed by white voters. Kasich's strong performance against Clinton in the poll comes as he has seen an uptick in national support but remains well behind Trump. The CBS/New York Times survey of 1,252 adults was conducted March 17th through 20th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore) For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Affymetrix Inc. (AFFX) has determined that the unsolicited merger proposal submitted by Origin Technologies Corp. on March 22, 2016 does not constitute a Superior Proposal, and has recommended against that deal. The company is encouraging stockholders to vote for the proposed merger with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) at the upcoming Special Meeting of Affymetrix stockholders, which is scheduled on March 31, 2016. Affymetrix signed an agreement in January of this year to be acquired by Thermo Fisher for $14 a share in cash, or a purchase price of approximately $1.3 billion. On March 21, 2016, Origin Technologies, a newly created shell entity formed by a group of former Affymetrix executives, offered to buy Affymetrix for $16.10 per share in cash, equivalent to a total value of $1.5 billion. With Affymetrix turning down the takeover offer, Origin, on March 22, 2016, raised its offer to $17.00 per share from its earlier offer of $16.10 per share in cash. After engaging in talks with Origin, this is what Affymetrix had to say, "While the Board found the $3.00 per share premium offered in the Origin Proposal, taken by itself, to be attractive, the Board found the risks to initiating and consummating a potential transaction with Origin outweighed the potential benefit of a higher offer from Origin". AFFX closed Monday's trading at $14.10, down 5.56%. Shares of Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (ALDR) rose more than 49% on Monday, following positive top-line data from two clinical trials evaluating ALD403 for migraine prevention. A phase 2b study of patients with chronic migraine demonstrated that ALD403 acted rapidly and prevented migraine over the entire 12 week study period, meeting both primary and secondary efficacy endpoints. A phase I study demonstrated that the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics by intravenous (IV), subcutaneous (SC) or intramuscular (IM) injection of ALD403 support a quarterly single injection dosing strategy. ALDR closed Monday's trading 49.59% higher at $25.70. In after-hours, the stock was up another 4.47% to $26.85. Shares of Apricus Biosciences Inc. (APRI) plunged over 54% to touch a new low of $0.61 on Monday as the company's investigational drug Fispemifene failed to achieve statistical significance in key clinical benefit endpoints in a phase 2b proof-of-concept study in men with secondary hypogonadism and sexual dysfunction. According to the study results, while Fispemifene at 450mg demonstrated statistically significant improvements in total, percent free and percent bioavailable testosterone compared to placebo, the magnitude of the increase was not sufficient to achieve statistical significance for either the erectile function primary endpoint or low libido secondary endpoint. APRI closed Monday's trading at $0.71, down 47.21%. In after hours, the stock was up 3.52% to $0.73. Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (ARLZ) (ARZ.V) New Drug Application for YOSPRALA for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients at risk for aspirin-induced gastric ulcers has been accepted for review by the FDA. The regulatory agency's decision on YOSPRALA is set for September 14, 2016. ARLZ closed Monday's trading at $3.72, up 3.91%. KemPharm Inc. (KMPH) is all set to initiate human clinical trials of KP511 in the second quarter of 2016. KP511 is being developed as an abuse-deterrent, extended-release (ER) prodrug for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatments are inadequate (KP511/ER). The company plans to seek approval of KP511/ER under Section 505(b) (2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act with an anticipated New Drug Application submission as early as 2018. KMPH closed Monday's trading at $14.67, down 3.80%. Merit Medical Systems Inc. (MMSI) has received FDA clearance for Corvocet Biopsy System, which is intended for use in obtaining core biopsy samples from the liver, kidney, prostate, breast, lung and various other soft tissue tumors. The Corvocet Biopsy System marks Merit's first entry into the biopsy market, and is scheduled to be introduced in the United States over the next thirty days or so, with European release following receipt of the CE mark. MMSI closed Monday's trading at $17.71, up 0.80%. Neothetics Inc.'s (NEOT) LIPO-202, which failed to meet co-primary composite and secondary endpoints in phase III trials for the reduction of central abdominal bulging, is now being developed in a modified formulation. Consequently, the company plans to initiate a phase 2 trial with a modified formulation of LIPO-202 in the third quarter of 2016 for the reduction of central abdominal bulging, and topline data are anticipated in first quarter of 2017. Neothetics also plans to initiate a phase II proof of concept study of LIPO-202 for the reduction of localized fat deposits under the chin (submental fat) in the third quarter of 2016, which the company anticipates having top-line data from by year end 2016. In order to put a lid on expenses, following the failure of phase III trials, the company has reduced its headcount from 17 to 9 [full-time] employees. NEOT closed Monday's trading at $0.58, down 16.21%. Puma Biotechnology Inc. (PBYI) now plans to submit its New Drug Application for the approval of Neratinib for the treatment of extended adjuvant breast cancer that has previously been treated with a trastuzumab-containing regimen in mid-2016. This is the third delay for filing the Neratinib NDA. On July 22, 2014, the company had announced it planned to file for regulatory approval of Neratinib in the first half of 2015. On December 2, 2014, the company announced that it intended to delay its proposed timeline for filing the NDA until the first quarter of 2016. Puma has recently conducted a series of meetings and communications with the FDA, with the purpose of providing the regulatory agency with the data from Neratinib's non-clinical and clinical development programs that will form the basis of the company's NDA for Neratinib. PBYI closed Monday's trading at $35.37, down 4.35%. In after hours, the stock was down 11.68% to $31.24. The FDA has turned down Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (TKPYY.OB) and H. Lundbeck A/S's supplemental new drug application for Brintellix in treating certain aspects of cognitive dysfunction in Major Depressive Disorder. Last month, an FDA panel had voted 8 to 2 in support of the companies' claim of effectiveness of Brintellix in the additional indication. Therefore, the FDA giving thumbs down to the label update of Brintellix comes as a disappointment to the two companies which were expecting a regulatory nod. The FDA approved Brintellix on September 30, 2013 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adults. The drug raked in sales of $95 million in 2015. TKPYY.OB closed Monday's trading at $24.10, up 0.79%. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Calling on his colleagues to do the same, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., became the first Republican Senator to meet with President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday. Kirk's meeting with federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland comes even though Senate Republican leaders have pledged not to consider his nomination. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Kirk argued it was "too closed-minded" for his fellow GOP Senators to say they will not even meet with Garland. "By leading by example, I'm showing what a rational, responsible guy would do that really wants the constitutional process to go forward," Kirk said. A number of Republicans have said the Senate should not consider a nominee to the Supreme Court until the next president takes office, leaving the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia vacant for the next year. However, a report from NBC News earlier in the day said sixteen Senate Republicans have now agreed to meet with Garland, representing nearly 30 percent of the GOP caucus. The shift has been described as a sign that Republican resolve is fading, although some senators described the meeting as a formality and said there still should not be a hearing or vote on Garland's nomination. Kirk, who is facing a tough re-election fight against Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., called Garland "one of the most eminent jurists in the country." Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court announced another split decision that provided a victory for labor unions representing public sector employees. The 4 to 4 decision reflected the impact of the death of Scalia, who was widely expected to rule against the unions. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News On January 2, terrorists attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, which is part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. New Delhi: Under Congress' attack over Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team's visit to India, BJP on Monday said there is nothing wrong if the neighbouring country wanted to probe Pathankot terror case as it claimed that this was the first time Pakistan had offered "assurance" of action. BJP said the visit came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanded firm action from his Pakistan counterpart following the attack and credited the government for the "most successful anti-fidayeen" operation in Pathankot. "Congress should not level baseless allegations," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said after the opposition party accused the government of rolling out "red carpet" to the Pakistan's team, alleging it was "like asking murderer to come and investigate as to who murdered the child." Sharma cited the Mumbai terror attack to hit out at Congress, saying it happened due to the Manmohan Singh government's "failure" to act adequately over intelligence inputs. "Congress should learn from the past and not level baseless charges," he said. New Delhi: Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) visited Pathankot today to continue their probe into the January 2 attack, where seven Indian military personnel were killed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, even as Congress and AAP intensified protests against the visit. The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) team accompanied by NIA officials entered the strategic airbase from its rear side after their convoy stopped at 'Upper Doaba' canal here and the members took a mini bus to travel through the dirt track next to the water body. Read: Hafiz Saeed could be part of Pak probe team: Shiv Sena The team, officials said, was taken to only the scene of crime where the encounter occurred between the security men and terrorists and the entire process was videographed by two IAF personnel. Security has been tightened in Pathankot ahead of the Pakistani probe team's visit. (Photo: Twitter) A large number of security personnel, including Punjab Police SWAT team, were also deployed in view of the visit. Officials said the JIT visited the sanitised areas of the IAF base where the attackers had sneaked into leading to the over 80-hour gun battle that left at least four terrorists and seven security personnel. Protesters carrying placards and black flags shouted slogans outside the base where the security forces have been deployed in strength. Congress workers protest against the Pakistan probe team outside Pathankot airbase. (Photo: Twitter) The AAP and Congress protesters accused the BJP led government of hurting the sentiments of Indians by allowing Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. AAP's Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, who was also in Pathankot, said allowing Pakistani JIT to visit the air base was 'shameful and disgusting'. "For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that ISI was not supporting terrorism... the same people who have killed our people have come here... this is so shameful and disgusting," Mishra said. "This is an insult of our mother India. We will not let Modi government to do this," he said. The Pakistan JIT, who landed at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar on Tuesday morning, headed to the Pathankot attack site in bullet-proof SUVs to continue with their investigation, a first-of-its-kind investigation on Indian soil. Security has been tightened outside the Pathankot airbase ahead of the probe team's visit. A large police contingent has been deployed in and around Dhangu village where the IAF base is located. Read: India gives proof of Jaish role to Pak JIT Earlier, Punjab Police escorted the convoy of the Pakistani team which also has ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Police officials said they have diligently barricaded areas around the IAF facility. Orange and blue coloured tarpaulin can be seen draping the interiors of the strategic facility, in an apparent indication of 'visual prohibition' being put in place. "The district police has been informed about the visit and deployments have been done accordingly," a senior police official said. While the visit by Pakistani sleuths has led to protests by political parties, it has also sparked curiosity among residents of the town. "We have heard about some agents or ISI moles being nabbed by police or intelligence agencies from this area in the past.... The curiosity is obvious," Prakash Sharma, a book stall owner near the Pathankot railway station, said. "People even lined up the approach road to catch a glimpse of the convoy," Umesh Bhatia, a local medical student said. The National Investigation Team (NIA) earlier issued a statement saying, The JIT will be taken to different locations associated with the Pathankot attack case on March 29. The exercise is aimed at providing evidence to the Pakistan JIT so that all those guilty of the Pathankot attack can be prosecuted effectively in Pakistan. Read: Pathankot probe: Congress slams Centre for giving access to Pak JIT Earlier on Monday, India officially handed over to Pakistani officials evidence that Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed is the terrorist group it suspects was behind the attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, throwing the ball in Islamabads court to bring the probe to its logical conclusion and act against the terrorists taking shelter on its soil. The NIA on Monday gave a detailed presentation of the 48-hour battle with terrorists to the five-member Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) including an ISI official as it shared evidence collected by it that nails the role of terrorists operating from Pakistani soil who planned and executed the terror attack at the sensitive airbase. Read: Nothing wrong if Pakistan wants to probe Pathankot terror case: BJP tells Congress The JIT accepted the evidence, paving the way for the Pakistani team to visit the attack site on Tuesday morning. NIA D-G Sharad Kumar on Monday made it clear that the team would have limited access to the sensitive airbase. Officials stated that the Pakistani team would be visiting only those portions of the crime scene where the terrorists hid and carried out the attack that began in the intervening night of January 1-2. Read: Pathankot: ISI probing ISI-backed terror, says Arvind Kejriwal Among the evidence shared by the NIA were some phone numbers, including those of Rauf, brother of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, and companies which had supplied packed food to the terrorists. India also gave the reasoning behind naming people connected to Jaish-e-Mohammed, including Mullah Dadullah and Kashif Jaan. Their phone numbers (of Pakistan telecom operators like Mobilink, Warid and Telenor) were also shared. Kashif Jaan, one of the key handlers of the attackers, had accompanied the terrorists to the border, the sources said. Read: Pak JIT visit row: Didn't ask for Congress suggestion, says BJP JIT of Pakistan and NIA team are interacting under extant legal procedures of India and Pakistan, the NIA said in an official statement. Noting that no permission has been given by the ministry of defence to enter the airbase, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, who had earlier publicly spoken against the planned visit of the Pakistani team to the Pathankot airbase, told a news agency the crime scene was under the NIAs control and that it was up to the agency to decide who to allow or not. Read: Pathankot attack: Ahead of Pak SIT's visit, NIA releases photos of terrorists He added that the crime scene, a non-sensitive area, has been completely barricaded, including visually, on his orders, and that no defence asset would be used to facilitate the visit of the Pakistani team. BSF personnel of 164 Battalion arrested Mujamal Hussain (38), a resident of Basti Jafi colony tehsil Harunabad in Bahawal Nagar district, when he was trying to sneak into the Indian territory from Pakistan. (Photo: Representational Image/ PTI) Batala: Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on Tuesday arrested a Pakistani national when he was allegedly trying to cross over to the Indian side along Indo-Pak International Border in Dera Baba Nanak sector in Gurdaspur illegally. BSF personnel of 164 Battalion arrested Mujamal Hussain (38), a resident of Basti Jafi colony tehsil Harunabad in Bahawal Nagar district, when he was trying to sneak into the Indian territory from Pakistan without valid documents near Basanter Border Outpost (BOP), police said. Two mobile phones, one sim card and one memory card were seized from him, police said. The BSF team handed Hussain over to the police. Station House Officer (SHO) Dera Baba Nanak Police Station Paramjit Singh said the accused was further handed over to Joint Interrogation Center (JIC), Amritsar for further investigation. A case has been registered against him under Indian Passport Act and Foreigners Act. By SA Commercial Prop News Panico Theocharides and Derek Greenberg joint CEO's of Annuity Properties Annuity Properties Limited (JSE: ANP), a property loan stock company with a quality portfolio of A-grade properties, is to begin trading on Friday, 4 May 2012 on the JSE Main Board in the Real Estate sector. The newly established Annuity holds an initial portfolio of four properties in prime locations throughout South Africa and has stated its intention to optimise income generation and capital growth for linked unit holders, with the companys primary focus being investment in commercial and retail properties, together with a smaller percentage of quality industrial properties. The portfolio on listing comprises the Sasfin head office in Waverley and the Woolworths Call Centre in Cape Town, the Oakfields shopping centre in Benoni, and with the Cell C head office in Rivonia, to be transferred into Annuitys name shortly after the listing. The promoters and management of Annuity are highly regarded in the property sector with broad networks and a proven track record in building property portfolios and generating attractive investment returns, demonstrated in particular by their success in promoting and managing the previous listings of Primegro Properties and CBS Properties on the JSE. Says Derek Greenberg, joint CEO of Annuity, The team has collectively more than a hundred years of experience in the property sector and more than fifty years of expertise in the listed property space. We look forward to bringing new properties to the market using our established networks. In terms of its strategy, the company will seek to provide highly competitive yields, underpinned by quality properties and an aggressive acquisition pipeline to grow the portfolio in excess of R5 billion in the next five years. The company is already in negotiations with various vendors regarding further attractive investment opportunities. Sasfin, which has sold its head office building in Waverley to Annuity, is both a shareholder and strategic partner of the company, providing access to additional deal flow and strong relationships with South African institutional investors, financial institutions and high net worth investors. Prior to the listing, selected investors were invited to subscribe for linked units in Annuity via a private placement of 75 597 314 linked units at a cost of R5 per unit. The placement was fully subscribed to raise R378 million, which has been used, together with debt facilities raised from various South African banks, to acquire the initial property portfolio, with further debt being available to fund further acquisitions. Panico Theocharides, joint CEO of Annuity indicated that, Annuity will list on the JSE to enable it to raise capital to pursue investment opportunities, whilst also enhancing the public profile of Annuity. We aim to deliver competitive market returns and to aggressively grow the fund with value enhancing transactions. We are very pleased with the support we received on our capital raise and believe we have a good balance of institutional and retail investors in our unitholder base. Says Nicky Newton-King, Over the past five years property has enjoyed being ranked the best performer amongst South African asset classes, with the property index outperforming both the FTSE/JSE All Share Index and the Bond Exchange Association of South Africa All Bond Index. We welcome Annuity to the Main Board of the JSE. Looking forward, Theocharides says, We are extremely excited about the prospects of the Annuity listing. We plan to grow rapidly and are already in negotiations regarding further acquisitions which will enhance our portfolio. ENDS About Annuity Properties Limited Annuity Properties Limited is a property loan stock company holding a portfolio of properties in prime locations throughout South Africa. Annuity owns: Oakfields shopping centre Sasfin head office Woolworths Call Centre property These properties are valued at R456.5 million, with a total GLA of 30 206 m2. The Cell C property will be transferred into Annuitys name after listing at which time the portfolio will be valued at R586.5 million with a total GLA of 36 025 m2. The companys objective is to establish a property portfolio with a value in excess of R5 billion in the next five years, consisting of sustainable income-producing properties in the commercial, retail and industrial sectors. By SA Commercial Prop News 69 Frere Road Trust, new office development for South Africas Auditor-General in Buffalo City. Image by: Edward Peinke Nedbank Corporate Property Finance has provided R32 million to 69 Frere Road Trust for the development of a new, purpose-built office for South Africas Auditor-General in Buffalo City. This new office development is in line with a mandate in the Constitution to strengthen our Countrys democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and governance in the public sector. In 2007 Sindile Ngonyama, via the 69 Frere Road Trust, built offices for the Auditor-General on a property owned by the trust. Satisfied with the premises, the Auditor-General approached Ngonyama to develop a further 2 000m2 of office space. The trust subsequently purchased the property adjacent to the existing building and rezoning of the property was approved in May last year. The building was completed on 13 May 2011 and the Auditor General has taken occupation of the building. The offices are situated on the corner of Frere and Windsor Roads in Buffalo City and offer 3827m of A grade office space with 91 open and basement parking spaces. The tender for the construction of the building was awarded to Transtruct, while George Cotterell of CDJV cc acted as both Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager for the development. We are pleased to have financed this property development, which certainly has all the fundamentals in place, says Richard Thomas, regional executive Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, Cape. Ngonyama, a long-standing Nedbank Corporate Property Finance client with an exceptional track record, is an experienced architect with a successful practice, and one of the few who have been honoured with a coveted SAPOA Award for the Best Building for the original Frere Road building. The trust is a fully BEE-compliant entity and a reputable professional team has been appointed. The development is well-located within Buffalo City, which has recently been declared a metro due to the brisk urbanisation in the city, and a signed lease with a government tenant with whom a strong relationship has been built over the years is the cherry on the top. 50% of Indian mobile users wish to upgrade to new device in 5G era About 50 per cent of smartphone users in India plan to buy a new device within the first year as 5G ... Jammu: PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, set to be the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, is likely to be sworn-in on April 4. PDP sources said the swearing-in is likely to take place on April 4 once the availability of some senior leaders from Delhi was confirmed. Ms Mufti had met Governor NN Vohra on Saturday last and staked claim to form the government with the support of 25 legislators of the BJP. PDP has 27 legislators in the 87-member state Assembly. That the alliance government would not take office before March 31 became clear when the State Administrative Council headed by Mr Vohra met in Jammu today and approved a Vote on Account for a period of three months. 56-year-old Mehbooba Mufti has made it clear that focus of her government would be peace, reconciliation and development of the state. On Saturday, Ms Mufti had denied there are any differences on the issue of allocation of portfolios between PDP and BJP, saying "What differences would we have on portfolios? It is a coalition government, we are not separate entities." Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is leaving for a three-nation tour on Tuesday, will be back on April 3. It is unlikely that he would attend the function because of his prior engagements, the sources said. While Ms Mufti was unanimously elected as the PDP's legislature party leader and nominated as the party's chief ministerial candidate, 25 legislators of BJP met in the state's winter capital and elected Nirmal Singh as their leader. Mr Singh will be the Deputy Chief Minister in the new government, a post he had held in the Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's dispensation. PDP and BJP had formed an alliance on March 1 last year with Mr Sayeed as the Chief Minister. The two had prepared an Agenda of Alliance, a broad framework for the coalition under which it would function. The state is still under Governor's Rule, which was imposed on January 8 following the demise of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed after Ms Mufti decided against taking over the reins immediately. I give my consent to Sakshi Post to be in touch with me via email for the purpose of event marketing and corporate communications. Privacy Policy TS government informed the court that it had taken steps to provide shelters, drinking water, ORS sachets in public places Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Monday told the governments of AP and TS to take immediate steps to implement the action plan prepared to prevent deaths due to heatwave conditions in the summer. The court told two states to ensure that no labour, particularly under employment guarantee scheme, should work between 12 noon and 3 pm during summer. A division bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice P. Naveen Rao was dealing with a writ petition by one Srisailam of Ranga Reddy district, seeking a direction to the governments to evolve a mechanism to provide relief to the citizens. Earlier, the TS government informed the court that it had taken steps to provide shelters, drinking water, ORS sachets in public places and also free emergency health services for the people affected due to any heatwave. TS special counsel A. Sanjeev Kumar said that three committees have been formed with principal secretaries of various departments to take steps during pre-summer, summer and post-summer to protect the people from the impact of any heatwave during three phases. The AP government informed that it has also drawn up an action plan with all details including setting up an emergency response system to take steps to protect the people from any heatwave. While adjourning the case, the bench said that both the governments must start implementing their action plans. TS told to improve online system A division bench comprising Acting Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice P. Naveen Rao of the Hyderabad High Court on Monday asked the TS government to improve the online system to facilitate farmers to get documents like pattadar passbooks and also electricity connections for agriculture without any hassles so that corruption is eradicated. The bench was dealing with taken up case with regard to alleged corruption in revenue and electricity wings in Mahbubnagar district, based on news reports. The bench adjourned the case for two weeks. Kolkata/New Delhi: With Centre under attack over allowing a Pakistani probe team access to Pathankot air base, BJP chief Amit Shah Tuesday said Pakistan has for the first time made serious efforts towards investigating a terror case. A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) visited Pathankot today to continue their probe into the January 2 attack, where seven Indian military personnel were killed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, even as Congress and AAP intensified protests against the visit. Read: Pathankot locals scramble to catch a glimpse of 'ISI man' The JIT team accompanied by NIA officials entered the strategic airbase from its rear side after their convoy stopped at 'Upper Doaba' canal here and the members took a mini bus to travel through the dirt track next to the water body. Read: Pathankot attack: Pak probe team reaches airbase amid protests "First let me make clear one thing, that the Pakistan team which has come related to the probe, has a limited access to periphery. They will not enter the air base nor will they interact with the officials of the Army. They will investigate other things," Shah said here. Read: Hafiz Saeed could be part of Pak probe team: Shiv Sena "I agree that for the first time Pakistan has made serious efforts towards investigation. The results will be known after the investigation gets over," Shah said during a media interaction at Press Club. Read: Pathankot attack: Pak JIT mandated to collect evidence The team, officials said, was taken to only the scene of crime where the encounter occurred between the security men and terrorists and the entire process was videographed by two IAF personnel. Read: India gives proof of Jaish role to Pak JIT However, Congress said that according an almost red carpet welcome to JIT raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. AAP said instead of allowing Pakistan's investigation team to visit India to probe Pathankot attack, Indian security agencies should have been sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of masterminds enjoying hospitality of Pakistan Government not only after Pathankot attack but after Mumbai attacks too. Read: Pathankot probe: Congress slams Centre for giving access to Pak JIT Protesters carrying placards and black flags shouted slogans outside the base. A large number of security personnel, including Punjab Police SWAT team, were also deployed in view of the visit. Officials said the JIT visited the sanitised areas of the IAF base where the attackers had sneaked into leading to the over 80-hour gun battle. Read: Nothing wrong if Pakistan wants to probe Pathankot terror case: BJP tells Congress Earlier on Monday, India officially handed over to Pakistani officials evidence that Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammed is the terrorist group it suspects was behind the attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, throwing the ball in Islamabads court to bring the probe to its logical conclusion and act against the terrorists taking shelter on its soil. The NIA gave a detailed presentation of the 48-hour battle with terrorists to the JIT including an ISI official as it shared evidence collected by it that nails the role of terrorists operating from Pakistani soil who planned and executed the terror attack at the sensitive airbase. Read: Pathankot: ISI probing ISI-backed terror, says Arvind Kejriwal The JIT accepted the evidence, paving the way for the Pakistani team to visit the attack site. Among the evidence shared by the NIA were some phone numbers, including those of Rauf, brother of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, and companies which had supplied packed food to the terrorists. India also gave the reasoning behind naming people connected to Jaish-e-Mohammed, including Mullah Dadullah and Kashif Jaan. Their phone numbers (of Pakistan telecom operators like Mobilink, Warid and Telenor) were also shared. Kashif Jaan, one of the key handlers of the attackers, had accompanied the terrorists to the border, the sources said. Read: Pak JIT visit row: Didn't ask for Congress suggestion, says BJP Recap: Kansas State football falls to TCU 38-28 in Big 12 showdown No. 17 Kansas State football clashes with No. 8 TCU in a battle of Big 12 leaders. We've got you covered with live updates. Police shot a man on Monday after he pulled a weapon at a U.S. Capitol checkpoint as spring tourists thronged Washington, authorities said. The suspect was previously known to police, who last October arrested him for disrupting House of Representatives proceedings and yelling he was a "Prophet of God." U.S. Capitol Police identified the man as 66-year-old Larry R. Dawson of Tennessee. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed, both criminal offenses in the U.S. capital. Dawson was taken to a local hospital, where police said he was in stable but critical condition. A female bystander also sustained non-life-threatening injuries. After his arrest last year, Dawson was issued a "stay away order" by D.C. Superior Court in October, telling him to keep away from the Capitol grounds, court documents show. The U.S. Capitol was on lockdown for about an hour Monday and the White House also was briefly locked down. As the capital teemed with spring tourists in town to view the cherry blossoms, staff members and visitors to the Capitol were rushed into offices and told to shelter in place. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," Capitol Chief of Police Matthew R. Verderosa told reporters. He said it was unclear how many officers fired their guns. Initial reports had said an officer was injured but that proved wrong. Verderosa said the suspect's vehicle had been found on Capitol grounds and was being seized. On Monday evening, all roads had been reopened and the U.S. Capitol complex had returned to normal operations, officials said in a statement. George Washington University Hospital spokeswoman Susan Griffiths said it had treated one patient from the Capitol incident for minor injuries and planned to release the patient shortly, but she did not identify the person. Monday's event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts. House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a statement thanking Capitol Police, as did other congressional leaders. "This evening our thoughts and prayers are with all those who faced danger today," Ryan said. According to court documents, Dawson was arrested at the U.S. Capitol in October after he stood up and shouted Bible verses in the gallery of the House chamber. An online court record says he was charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct on the grounds of the Capitol and assaulting, resisting or interfering with a police officer. He was also ordered to stay away from the building and grounds. Dawson did not return for a scheduled hearing in November. In a letter filed with his case, he says he will "not comply with the court order, nor will I surrender myself unto your office." "No longer will I let myself be governed by flesh and blood, but only by the Divine Love of God," he wrote, adding four exclamation points. Other court paperwork said Dawson said he was previously in the Army and was honorably discharged in 1971. An attorney listed as representing him in the case from October, John Copacino, did not immediately return a telephone message and an e-mail requesting comment Monday afternoon. Records show Dawson was previously licensed in Tennessee to work as a funeral director. After his license expired in 2004, the state's Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers voted three times to deny requests from Dawson to reinstate his license, citing the "applicant's lack of good moral character." Kevin Walters, a spokesman for the state funeral board, said the denial resulted from an incident that occurred while Dawson was working as a school bus driver in a Nashville suburb. Dawson had written a letter to a young girl saying that God had told him to have sex with her, Walters said. Visitors were turned away from the Capitol in the immediate aftermath of the shooting Monday as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police cordoned off the streets immediately around the building. Cathryn Leff of Temecula, California, in town to lobby with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Center when police told people to leave immediately. Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told those there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left." After a while, police told her and others to keep running. "I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all." From back home in their districts, many lawmakers got in touch with staff to ensure all were safe, and posted thanks on Twitter as it appeared they were. -AP New Delhi: Delhi police Monday said they will approach the Mumbai police to do a background check on Delhi-based pub owner whose wife was found dead at their residence here, as he was allegedly involved in a rape case in Mumbai three years ago. Delhi police will seek the help of their counterparts in Mumbai for a background check on Nitin Chawla (38), arrested under charges of domestic violence and dowry deaths after his 25-year-old wife hanged herself at their residence in South Delhi's Defence Colony, leaving behind a purported suicide note. "The police learnt that Chawla was involved in a rape case reported in Mumbai around 3 years ago. He was granted bail by a local court there in 2014. This information is to be verified for which we will write to Mumbai police tomorrow," a police officer said. The complainant, in the rape case, had alleged that she was sexually assaulted over a period of time by Chawla on the pretext of marriage. She also alleged that the accused forged her signature in her back accounts. All these claims need to be verified, the officer said. Chawla, a stakeholder in a few popular Delhi nightclubs and pubs was arrested after his wife, Priyanka, owner of an event management company, was found dead at their residence two days ago. The victim's family members have alleged that her husband used to abuse her and took a huge amount as dowry. The content of the two-page suicide note, recovered from the house and believed to be written in Priyanka's hand, also matched the allegations, police said. Following Chawla's arrest, the police are now looking into the role of his family members in connection with the case. Chawla had divorced his first wife, with whom he has a son (10) and a daughter (8), in December last year, police said. It comes down to this. With the swearing in ceremony for Members of Parliament now a distant memory and the excitement, anxiety created by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaois selection of Cabinet Ministers slowly fading, its fair to say that the work of Parliament and government has been cut out for the next five years. Barring a major upset in election-related petitions before the Supreme Court; its safe to assume that the Cabinet Ministers and the Associate Ministers we have seen so far will be the leaders of government in the next term. Last Thursday, Prime Minister Tuilaepa added the final piece of the puzzle with the announcement of his 13 Cabinet Ministers, completing his new look Cabinet. And with that, it is time to get on with work for there is much to be done. Apart from the noise created by the glaring omission of former Deputy Prime Minister, Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo, there seems to be wide acceptance of the Members of Parliament awarded with Cabinet portfolios. Speaking at the swearing in ceremony on Thursday, Tuilaepa reiterated that it is important to find the right balance and ensure that those who are chosen are suitable to support the work of each Cabinet Ministers portfolio. There are many ways to serve our country - as a Cabinet Minister, Associate Minister or through many of the vitally important parliamentary committees, Tuilaepa said. In selecting the associate ministers, it was again very important to make sure that our choices are representative of a wide and varied group, while also acknowledging personal attributes, skills and experience. Overall however, Tuilaepa highlighted the important contribution by every member. As this is the first time we have such an overwhelming majority in Parliament, its even more important that the work of government follows the guidelines of good governance, he said. We have to check each other and make sure that what is appropriate and good for Samoa is what takes precedence. We are all human, so Government is never going to be perfect. Therefore its important that we are not hesitant to employ all measures of good governance so we remain accountable and on track with our plans for the development of the country and the improvement of livelihoods for all. Well thats reassuring, isnt it? Especially coming from Prime Minister Tuilaepa at the beginning of a new Parliamentary term. You see good governance allows an environment where Members of Parliament and leaders are able to do what is right and make the right decisions. Indeed, making choices and having to account for them in an open and transparent way encourages honest consideration of the choices facing those in the governance processes. Some time not so long ago, this column was asked the question of what makes a good leader from the perspective of the media. We said then that the biggest challenge of today is finding leaders who mean what they say not one who just says things for the sake of saying it. As this new crop of Parliamentarians begin their work, we believe what we said then could not be more relevant. Thats to say that a good leader - as our new MPs ought to be - is a person who walks the talk, its someone who is serious about implementing the many wonderful plans and intentions we have. Its about monitoring, enforcing the laws and policies that are in place so the people who are intended to benefit reap the rewards. It is no secret that we have many wonderful laws drafted and passed by some of the most intelligent minds God has gifted this country. But what good are these laws if they are not monitored, obeyed and enforced? Dont they then simply become a waste of time, energy and money? We dont need to tell you about whats happening in this country today. You read about the grim reality in the newspapers, hear about it on the radio and as if thats not enough for you to be convinced, the pictures on TV tell a story. Indeed we live in a very challenging time, one that is defined by climate uncertainty, hardship, lack of opportunities, fear, poverty, terror, violence and threats of all kinds. What do these things tell us? They speak of a leadership that has been found wanting. And were not just talking about governments here. Were talking about the churches, villages and even in our homes. These are the pillars that make Samoa what it is. Lately, a lot of corruption has been openly exposed in the government machinery. This is despite our governments promise of accountability, transparency and good governance. There is no accountability or transparency in collusion and efforts made to protect the culprits. Singling out individuals who speak up against such wrongdoing is not good governance at all. If anything, that is legitimizing and encouraging corruption. Ladies and gentlemen; lets be reminded that corruption doesnt change from the bottom up; it changes from the top down. Which means that unless our leaders change their ways, corruption will continue to destroy the moral fibre of our nation. And one of the reasons why corruption thrives is because we keep saying all the right things and we stop there. We need to do more. When we talk about accountability, we need to hold our leaders to account over what they promise. If they promise good governance, we expect good governance, nothing more, nothing less. Transparency is not presenting feel good numbers to tick the boxes while hiding the grim reality of life. We believe transparency is when leaders are brave enough to tell the truth, confront the reality even if it hurts and reflects badly on them. In other words, good governance requires honest leaders. Today more than ever, Samoa needs honest, God-fearing leaders who inspire positive change and are not afraid of doing the right thing. They need to be brave, fight for what is right. They need to be courageous. Lets pray that over the new crop of leaders in Parliament as well as the new line up of Cabinet and Associate Ministers. God bless. Dear Editor, The only reason that most Samoans dont have mortgage payments or pay property taxes is because the Samoan culture has always protected their rights to customary lands. I see this changing if the call for foreign investment and commercial agriculture becomes the norm as you seem to hope it does. This idea of 100 year leases is bad for Samoans as the leaseholders will be pressuring the government to make this land theirs. With a one party state as Samoa has become what makes you think that the government can be trusted not to sell out the Samoan people. Once this becomes the law of the land then the people will become the landless peasants and the foreign investors and commercial agribusiness will be the landlords that the Samoan people are now paying rent to. Believe me Monsanto will not pay the Samoan people more than 3 tala per hour to harvest their patented seed crops. Its pretty well known that the World Banks and the Asian Development bank loans always favor the investors over the poor country borrowers when it comes to farming and land. The latest commodity that these foreign investors seem to be interested in is water. GE, Coca Cola, Nestle and some other big oil and energy groups have formed an umbrella company that is going around buying the water rights in countries wherever they can. If I was Samoa Id be very careful, because currently the people have very little say. Wendy W. A man deported from Hawaii has been given a 12-month jail sentence for a number of drug related charges including the possession of ice. Panama Tevaga, of Ululoloa and Leauvaa, was sentenced by Justice Vui Clarence Nelson, who expressed concerns about the prevalence of ice-related cases in Samoa. This is Justice Vuis ruling in full: SENTENCE 1. Illicit narcotics is the scourge of many a society and Samoa is becoming no exception. This has led to initiatives such as the Drug and Alcohol Court being set up and to Parliament doubling the maximum penalty for possession of marijuana and marijuana seeds from 7 to 14 years in prison. And Parliament making possession of the so-called harder drugs such as methamphetamine also known as ice punishable by a maximum of life in prison. That puts possession of methamphetamine or ice on par with serious criminal offences such as rape, murder and manslaughter. 2. The defendant here has pleaded guilty to a number of narcotics charges namely S2778/15 possession of methamphetamine; information S27776/15 possession of marijuana leaves and branches; information S2779/15 possession of marijuana seeds; maximum 14 years and finally the defendant pleaded guilty to information 2777/15, possession of utensils for use in narcotics offending, maximum 7 years in prison. 3. The prosecution summary of facts which does not appear to be disputed says the defendant is a 40 year old male of Ululoloa and Leauvaa in a defacto relationship and runs a taxi business. At the time of the offending he was renting premises at Ululoloa together with co-defendants who have pleaded not guilty to the charges. All defendants were under suspicion by the police for being involved in distributing drugs. And according to the summary of facts they moved from place to place. 4. In the early morning hours of 22 August 2015 the police raided the defendants premises or house at Ululoloa. At that time only he was home. As a result of that raid was discovered the substances which are the subject of the four charges. Defendants counsel has submitted that some of these narcotics did not belong to the defendant, they belong to his co-defendants. That submission however is negated by the fact that the defendant has pleaded guilty to being in possession of all these narcotics and to the charge involving the utensils. There is no clearer indication of who the narcotics belong to than those guilty pleas. 5. I will deal with the most serious of the charges first namely possession of the methamphetamine. In respect of this charge there is no question an imprisonment penalty must be imposed. To mark the seriousness of the offending. To deter not only the defendant from future involvement with such illegal narcotics and to send a loud and clear message to others that if you involve yourself with methamphetamine it is likely you will be spending time in either Tafaigata or Vaiaata. All other defendants who have previously appeared before the court on possession of methamphetamine have received imprisonment penalties and it is highly likely that will continue to be the case. 6. The approach to sentencing for possession of methamphetamine is set out in those previous decisions most particularly in the matter of Police v Patau [2013] WSSC 120. Which lays down a band sentencing approach in relation to possession of methamphetamine based on various factors. But those band sentences are applicable to cases of sale and supply of methamphetamine. The court in Patau noted that where there is a complete absence of commerciality and aggravating features for example such as the supply of drugs to school children or young people, sentencing may be carried out beneath the postulated bands. 7. There is no evidence before me the defendant was involved in the sale or supply of methamphetamine. Suspicion is insufficient. All indications are that what he had was for personal use by himself and his friends. The band approach in Patau does not apply. The question remaining however is what is the appropriate start point for sentence considering what I have referred to earlier and considering the maximum penalty of life in prison. 8. I have reflected on this because although the quantity of methamphetamine involved in this case is relatively small (3.2 grams), it is of concern to the court that the harder type narcotics seem to be taking root in our community. As evidenced by the increasing number of cases coming before the court involving Class A drugs in recent years. It used to be that marijuana a Class B drug was the flavour of the day but that seems no longer the case. Methamphetamine and cocaine are emerging as new players in the drug market. Experience shows probably as pre-cursers of even harder and more addictive narcotics. 9. The court must by its penalty soundly discourage such a trend. And do all that is possible to stamp out this growing trend before the problem becomes as entrenched in Samoan society as is the use and consumption of marijuana. I have therefore adopted as a start point for sentence a period of 2 years in prison. To reflect the seriousness with which the court regards possession of methamphetamine, notwithstanding that it was only for personal use. 10. There are deductions from that start point that your lawyer has correctly reminded the court you are eligible for. Firstly for your guilty plea which has saved the State and the courts limited time and resources, I deduct one-quarter of the penalty a period of 6 months, leaves a balance of 18 months. 11. You have a clean criminal record in this country, your pre-sentence report is a good one and sets out your background of service to your family including your partners family. But that is only for the period that you have been in Samoa. I cannot give you credit for the period before that. Because it appears from what I have read that you were then resident overseas and it was only about 10 years ago that you were deported from Hawaii. However I will give you some measure of credit for that record and your background of service in this country. I will give you half the normal credit that is given for such matters a period of three (3) months deducted from 18 months, leaves 15 months in prison. 12. Your counsel also referred to the fact that you are co-operating with police enquiries into the use of methamphetamine. That is worth a credit to you in my assessment a further 3 months, leaves a balance of 12 months in prison. 13. No other deductions are available to be made for your sentence Panama. On the charge of possession of methamphetamine you will be convicted and sentenced to 12 months in prison. Any time spent in custody awaiting sentence to be deducted from that 12 months. 14. On the second charge of possession of 2.6 grams of marijuana leaves and twenty three (23) branches, considering the relatively small quantity involved and other relevant factors and making the same kinds of deductions, convicted and sentenced to 6 months in prison, concurrent to your 12 months. 15. On the third charge of possession of forty three (43) marijuana seeds likewise convicted and sentenced to 6 months in prison also a concurrent term. 16. On the final charge of possession of utensils likewise convicted and sentenced to 6 months in prison also a concurrent term. In other words the total term that you will serve for these offences is 12 months in prison less any custody time. ... JUSTICE NELSON The $400million Faleolo International Airport project is making good progress. Thats according to an official of Shanghai Construction Company Limited who spoke to the Samoa Observer on the site yesterday. Everything is running smoothly, she said. We are making very good progress and hopefully in the next few weeks, well complete Phase one of the project. The weather has been fine, we havent had too many challenges so we are very pleased with the progress so far. The official upgrade of the airport was launched by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi last year. The multi-million-tala work includes extensive improvements to existing terminal buildings, installation of aerobridges and a dedicated power centre. Upgrades will see an increase in the size of the terminal from 5500 sqm to almost 12000 sqm, allowing the facilities to cater for up to 600,000 annual passenger movements with maximum passenger flow volume of 300 passengers per hour. According to the Prime Minister, the design of the building incorporates the style of the traditional Samoan Fale and draws on current greening principles of design to assure more efficient use of natural lighting and ventilation. For the Airport Authority, this upgrade will mean more business and rental areas from which more tourism-related services can be provided to ensure an improved experience for travellers, befitting of a modern day international airport, Tuilaepa said at the time. The aerobridges will provide a more comfortable experience for our elderly and disabled passengers, not to mention families with small children visiting us for a holiday. In essence, the arrival, departure and public areas will all be enlarged with airport-related agencies and services operating from more spacious and functional work spaces. Following the completion of the first phase, the second phase will look to upgrade the apron, the landing and take-off areas for aircraft to be funded by the World Bank. China is funding Phase One. The facelift for the Faleolo International Airport is part of the governments plan to position Samoa as a hub for tourism, travel and events such as conferences in the South Pacific region. Long serving Member of Parliament and former Cabinet Minister, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga, is unfazed by not being named in Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaois Cabinet. How do I feel? Im still a happy man, Faumuina told the Samoa Observer yesterday. Im happy because I am not desperate for money. The former Minister of Finance did not elaborate. But he made the comments in response to a question about being left out of not only the Cabinet but also the Associate Minister portfolios. Faumuina and the former Deputy Prime Minister, Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo, were among the biggest names not included in Tuilaepas Cabinet. Attempts to contact Fonotoe for a comment were unsuccessful. The Samoa Observer understands that he is in Japan for official government business. In the meantime, Faumuina, who was last year appointed the Associate Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, told the Samoa Observer he was a very happy man. He was among members of Parliament who attended an orientation session at Tuanaimato yesterday. Two men have been banished from the village of Salelologa following an incident last week where a man from Salelavalu was beaten, stoned and had his vehicle set on fire at the Wharf. This was confirmed yesterday by the mayor for Saloga sub-village, Tiumalu Tupu. The decision followed an emergency meeting called by the Salelologa Village Council on Saturday. The incident happened on Thursday night. According to Tiumalu, the two men are from the sub-village of Sakalafai. It was not possible to get a comment from Sakalafai mayor, Pauli Laki, yesterday. Tiumalu, however, explained that their village consists of three sub-villages but when incidents like what happened on Thursday night occur, all sub villages meet. There were only two people that were reported to the meeting and the village made their final decision to ban them from Salelologa, Tiumalu told Samoa Observer. Tiumalu said the Village Council moved quickly to avoid any further trouble. We were informed that the incident happened while chiefs were guarding the village curfew and the chiefs on duty that night went to see what had happened. Tiumalu also confirmed that one of the suspects is a prisoner serving time at Tafaigata Prison, who was released on weekend parole. The Media Officer for the Ministry of Police, Maotaoalii Kaioneta Kitiona, said the Police are investigating and they are waiting for an official report. On Saturday, a Police officer in Savaii who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the incident. It happened at around 12midnight after the nightclubs closed, he said. The vehicle driven by a male from Salelavalu nearly crashed into a vehicle from Salelologa and thats what started the dispute. The source said the Salelavalu vehicle was stopped in front of the wharf, when it was leaving. Thats where young people stoned the vehicle and set it on fire. It was quite scary and we are glad that no one else was involved. The driver ran for his life and was lucky to be rescued by the sailors of the Lady Samoa III. The Police officer praised the quick intervention of the matai of Salelologa. It was good that matai from Salelologa responded quickly and assisted the Police that night, he said. For a member of the public who only wanted to be identified as Ioane, he said the sight of the burnt vehicle was scary. I didnt think this could happen in Samoa, he said. It was something Im used to seeing in the movies and those countries overseas. Now its happening in Samoa and its really scary. I was scared just watching how angry some of those young men were. Telangana MLAs and MLCs at present get Rs 12,000 as salary and Rs 83,000 towards allowances. Their salary was now being hiked to Rs 20,000 and allowances to Rs 2.30 lakh. (Photo: PTI) Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to hike salaries and allowances of state legislators including the Chief Minister, Speaker, deputy Speaker of Assembly, Council of Ministers, chairman and deputy chairman of Legislative Council, Leader of Opposition in Assembly and Council, Government Whips, MLAs and MLCs. Legislative affairs minister T. Harish Rao moved the Telangana Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualifications (Amendment) Bill, 2016. While the TS Legislature Committee on Amenities, which met last week, had recommended increasing the salaries and allowances of legislators from the present Rs 95,000 to Rs 3.50 lakh, the government approved only Rs 2.50 lakh. The MLAs and MLCs at present get Rs 12,000 as salary and Rs 83,000 towards allowances. Their salary was now being hiked to Rs 20,000 and allowances to Rs 2.30 lakh. The CM's salary has been hiked from Rs 16,000 to Rs 51,000 per month. However, special allowance, sumptuary allowance, security car allowance remains the same at Rs 8,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively. But the conveyance allowance (fuel) has been doubled from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 (if a bullet proof car is used). If a regular car is used, the conveyance allowance has been fixed at Rs 10,000. Observing that the hike is necessary for people like him who came from humble background, Congress member Sampath Kumar said his party welcomed the bill. BJP member Ch Ramachandra Reddy sought a hike in the vehicle loan. On the occasion, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said the economic dynamics have undergone a sea change over the years. He noted that the legislators have to attend a number of meetings of the government, zilla parishad and others, besides taking care of number of visitors everyday. "They also have to bear the costs involved in travelling within the constituency, to the district head quarters and also the state capital city," CM said. He also made an appeal to the media to understand the prevailing situation. "The estimated expenditure of Rs 42 crores does not constitute even the perceptible percentage of the state budget (of more than Rs one lakh crore)," adds CM. Salary for the Council of Ministers, including Deputy CM and Government Whips in the Assembly has been increased from Rs 14,000 to Rs 30,000 and the allowances have been increased on par with the CM. The salaries for the Speaker and Chairman of Assembly and Council have been increased to Rs 41,000 and other allowances on par with the CM. The Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairmans salaries have been increased to Rs 30,000 and the allowances are on par with the CM. Former legislators too have got a hike in pension, from the present Rs 15,000 per month for serving one term to Rs 30,000. For those who have served more than one term, the pension has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. Spouses of legislators will get full pension in case of a members demise besides unlimited medicare. At present, a spouse gets half the pension in case of a legislators death. There are 120 MLAs and 40 MLCs in the Telangana Legislature, besides 292 ex-MLAs, 42 ex-MLCs and 171 widows are drawing pensions. 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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 Raipur: AAP leader and activist Soni Sori is not the only one who is being hounded in Chhattisgarh. There are reports of activist Bela Bhatia, who has formerly served on a Planning Commission-appointed panel to look at governance challenges in areas of the Maoist rebellion, being intimidated by a mob. Ms Bhatia holds a doctorate from Cambridge University. The writer, sociologist and social activist was asked to leave Chhattisgarh. How-ever, a defiant Bela has penned an open letter saying that she would not do so. Here's the excerpts of the letter: If somebody says you are a Naxal, does that make you one? Would you leave your place just because somebody wants you to? This is what has recently happened to me. All of us are aware of the ongoing war between the government and the Maoists in Bastar. The smell of gunpowder barely reaches cities like Jagdalpur but war is an everyday reality for Adivasis living in the hinterland. You can imagine the plight of people who are caught in the crossfire between Maoists and security forces for a decade. A time came when I felt it necessary to help these people fight for their rights. I find it strange that people insisting on the implementation of the law are being labeled Maoists. Jagdalpur-based Samajik Ekta Manch has cited similar reasons to reiterate these accusations against me. It is because of the same allegations that I have been asked to leave Bastar. However, Ms Bhatia said, I had come to Bastar to stay. I will try to remain in the district despite everything that has happened. Jean Derez comes out in support of Bela Bhatia Noted economist jean Derez has come out in support of activist and his partner Bela Bhatia. According to catchnews.com, he said, I was surprised to hear that some people had come to my partner Belas house near Jagdalpur and instigated her neighbours against her. They took out a procession in the neighbourhood, shouting slogans like Bela Bhatia murdabad and Bela Bhatia Bastar chodo. They also distributed a leaflet accusing both of us of being Naxalites who are trying to tear the country apart nothing less. Some of them advised Bela's landlady to evict her. Fortunately, Bela's landlady and neighbours are very fond of her and they did not lose their nerve. He further said, Anyone who thinks that Bela and I are Naxalites is seriously out of touch with reality. Bela has already refuted these charges and clarified the nature of her work in Bastar. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- With clients in over 150 countries worldwide, Bright!Tax is a leading provider of US tax services to the 9 million Americans living overseas. Bright!Tax is today proud to announce the launch of the Bright!Tax Global Scholar Initiative, helping to support the next generation of young Americans who are currently studying or who wish to study overseas. Gregory Dewald, Bright!Tax founder and CEO, explains how an opportunity that he had to study abroad changed his worldview - "While I was at university in the United States I won a place to study in the UK on a scholar exchange program. For me personally it was a revelation and an awakening. By living and having an immersive experience in a different country I was forever changed. I've been fortunate in my career and now we are delighted to able to support today's young Americans who are studying abroad by launching the Bright!Tax Global Scholar Initiative. Our purpose is to help the next generation to have the opportunity to experience, connect with and to make a difference in the wider world." Dewald continues "We believe that Americans who live and study abroad are the new pioneers. They are individuals who step bravely into the unfamiliar and the unknown. They are America's real ambassadors and represent the best of what the United States projects onto the world stage. And we feel honored to support them." The Bright!Tax Global Scholar Initiative will provide scholarships of a minimum of $1000 towards successful applicants' university fees, paid directly to accredited institutions. Scholarships will be awarded based on academic and extracurricular achievement, community involvement, future ambitions, individuals' financial needs and at the discretion of the Bright!Tax Awards Committee. Awards will be made on an ongoing basis, and applications are now welcomed from: - United States citizens currently living outside the US who will be studying outside the US. - United States citizens currently living in the US who will be studying outside the US. Further details about the Bright!Tax Global Scholar Initiative and application criteria can be found here. Pune, Maharastra -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/28/2016 -- The report titled "Global Coffee Market: Trends & Opportunities (2016-2020)" provides an in-depth analysis of the global coffee market with detailed analysis of market sizing and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides the production and consumption analysis of the market. The report provides detailed market analysis of the global retail coffee market by value and volume along with the segments of the market. The report provides detailed regional analysis of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America Middle East & Africa and Australasia for the coffee market. Regional analysis includes market sizing by value along with the production and consumption analysis. It also provides the retail sales value of each region. Complete report available at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/462349.html. The report also includes the country analysis of Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia and India. It provides the production and consumption analysis along with the export-import trends in each of the above mentioned countries. Furthermore, the report assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the global retail coffee market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in global coffee market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Nestle. Further, key players of the coffee market The J.M. Smucker Company, Mondelez International Inc. and Strauss Group Ltd. are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies. Country Coverage of Coffee Market: - Brazil - Vietnam - Indonesia - Ethiopia - India Regional Coverage of Coffee Market: - Western Europe - Eastern Europe - North America - Asia Pacific - Latin America - Middle East and Africa - Australasia Company Coverage of Coffee Market: - The J.M. Smucker Company - Mondelez International Inc. - Strauss Group Ltd.? Purchase a copy of this research report at USD 800 (Single User License) http://www.marketreportsonline.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=462349. Global coffee market increased at a significant CAGR during the span of 5 years i.e. 2011-2015 and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. The market can be segmented on the basis of end-users as retail coffee market and food services market, of which global retail coffee market displayed an increase, driving the global coffee market. The increasing consumption of coffee led by the westernization trend in India, China and Latin America drive the market in the positive direction. The growth drivers for the global coffee market are: rise in disposable income, rapid urbanization and increase in the population along with the emergence of cafe culture and new consumer base. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as: aging of coffee trees, lack of government support, negative impact of climate change, price volatility and increase in production cost. Few Points from List of Figures Provided in Global Coffee Market 2016-2020: Figure 1: Classification of Coffee on the Basis of Types Figure 2: Classification of Coffee on the Basis of End-Product Figure 3: Global Coffee Market Growth by Volume; 2011-2015E (%) Figure 4: Global Retail Coffee Market by Value; 2011-2015E (US$ Billion) Figure 5: Global Retail Coffee Market by Value; 2016E-2020E (US$ Billion) Figure 6: Global Retail Coffee Market by Volume; 2011-2015 (Million Tons) Figure 7: Global Retail Coffee Market by Volume; 2016E-2020E (Million Tons) Figure 8: Global Retail Coffee Market by Segments; 2014 (%) Figure 9: Global Coffee Production by Volume; 2011-2016E (Million 60 Kg Bags) Figure 10: Global Coffee Production by Volume; 2016E-2020E (Million 60 Kg Bags) Figure 11: Global Coffee Production by Types; 2011-2016E (Million 60 Kg Bags) Figure 12: Global Coffee Consumption by Volume; 2011-2015E (Million 60 Kg Bags) Figure 13: Global Coffee Consumption by Volume; 2016E-2020E (Million 60 Kg Bags) Figure 14: Global Coffee Consumption as a Share of Non-Alcoholic Drinks; 2014 (%) Figure 15: Global Coffee Exports by Volume; 2011-2015E (Million 60 Kg Bags) Figure 16: Global Coffee Market by Region; 2014 (%) Figure 17: Global Coffee Production by Region; 2014 (%) Figure 18: Global Coffee Consumption by Region; 2014 (%) Figure 19: Global Coffee Retail Sales by Region; 2014 (US$ Billion) Figure 20: The U.S. and Western Europe Coffee Market by Segments; 2011-2015E (%) Explore more related reports on coffee market: Global Coffee Market to 2019 - Market Size, Development, and Forecasts at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/400873.html. Coffee Market in United States to 2019 - Market Size, Development, and Forecasts at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/400870.html. Coffee Market in United Kingdom to 2019 - Market Size, Development, and Forecasts at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/400869.html. Hot Coffee Market in Asia to 2020: Market Guide at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/406492.html. Explore more related reports on food and beverages market at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/cat/food-and-beverages-market-research.html. About MarketReportsOnline MarketReportsOnline comprises of an online library of 2,50,000 reports and in-depth market research studies of over 5000+ micro markets. We provide 24/7 online and offline support to our customers. Get in touch with us for your needs of market research reports. Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- A new study Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2012 to 2018. The 2012 study has 910 pages, 315 tables and figures. Worldwide markets are poised to achieve significant growth as the unmanned aerial systems provide a way to automate surveillance of wide areas and implement strategic military missions that strike at terrorists without injuring civilians. Do Inquiry For Sample Report: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/unmanned-aerial-systems-market-shares-strategies-and-2347#requestSample Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment or other payloads. UAVs are smaller than manned aircraft. They are cost-effectively stored and transported. UAVs make significant contributions to the fighting capability of operational war forces. Drones are technically known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. These aircraft, however, are used for air strikes, they are used by governments. Human rights activists, environmental groups and journalists are using drones in their work. Drones can fly above news events to capture images that reporters may not be able to get close to on the ground. UAS drone is used in the deserts of Yemen or the mountains of Afghanistan. There are 64 drone bases in the US. That includes 12 locations housing Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Drones can be armed. bases are used as remote cockpits to control the robotic aircraft overseas, for drone pilot training. Others serve as analysis depots. Growth in unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) has coincided with an increase in endurance limit and an increase in mission capabilities of UAVs. In general in the military there has been an increase in awareness and mission capabilities of UAVs creating an equation for growth. UAVs can perform dangerous missions without risking human life. High altitude long endurance (HALE) UAV provides a cost effective and persistent capability to collect and disseminate high quality data across wide areas. Solar powered UAVs have a demonstrated endurance of more than 300 hours Northrop Grumman has strong international interest in Global Hawk. Deals are being negotiated with Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates for the Fire Scout. Do Inquiry For Buying This Report: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/unmanned-aerial-systems-market-shares-strategies-and-2347#reportPriceDetails High altitude long endurance (HALE) UAV provides a cost effective and persistent capability to collect and disseminate high quality data across wide areas. Solar powered UAVs have a demonstrated endurance of more than 300 hours Northrop Grumman has strong international interest in Global Hawk. Deals are being negotiated with Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates for the Fire Scout. Companies Profiled Market Leaders General Atomics Textron /AAI Textron / AeroVironment BAE Systems Northrup Grumman Market Participants AB Precision (Poole) Ltd. AirRobot UK Company Allen Vanguard ASN Technology Group Aurora Flight Sciences Beijing Defense Boeing Boston Dynamics Carnegie Mellon University Challis Helicopters Inc. / Challis Heliplane UAV Chemring EOD Limited China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp Jet-Powered WJ600 DCD-DORBYL (Pty) Ltd) / RSD (the Rolling Stock and Defense Division Ditch Witch Draganfly Innovations Inc. DRS Unmanned Technologies, Inc. First-Response Robotics GE Warrior UAS Initial Production for Army's ER/MP Program General Dynamics Gostai iRobot Insitu Airspace Integration Research Integrated Dynamics Kongsberg Kuchcera Defense Systems L-3 LaserMotive Lockheed Martin Marcus UAV Systems Mesa Associates Mesa Robotics Mist Mobility Integrated Systems Technology Inc. (MMIST) Parrot Proxy Aviation Systems Pearson Engineering QinetiQ / Foster Miller Recon Robotics Scaled Composites Schiebel ST Engineering TechnoRobot Telerob Thales Group Vecna Technologies Yotaisc Technology Contact US: Joel John 3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, USA USA Tel: +1-386-310-3803 GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714 USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651 Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com Web: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/ Norton, OH -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- Eastern Pools is a pool and spa company that is based out of Norton, Ohio. This company has been in the business for over 50 years. Eastern Pools believes and states that a great backyard begins with the addition of a pool or a spa. They are expanding their already large store with quite a few more products that will enhance a home and make swimming and soaking an even better experience. On top of adding products to enhance pools and spas, Eastern Pools also will do repairs and replacements to any pool or spa. They have dedicated knowledgeable technicians that will come out to make the repairs and their reputation for affordable rates is well known in Northeast Ohio. Eastern Pools can provide other services as well. They will perform opening and closing services of residential and commercial pools and spas. This means in the winter time, they will make sure that the pool has been closed properly, and winterized to withstand the harsh weather. In the summer time, they will open, clean,and properly prepare the pool to be ready for swimming. Eastern Pools, Inc. also offers cleaning services to their customers on a weekly and bi-weekly basis. Customers have busy schedules and offering this service is another way they can meet their client's needs. Along with cleaning services, Eastern Pools also offers installation services of any spas or hot tubs that are purchased from them. When a pool needs to be renovated or repaired, customers can contact Eastern Pools. From plaster repair and painting to liner replacement and equipment upgrades, this company ensures that pools and spas are in the best condition possible. Technicians can also make sure that the water in the pool is properly balanced and safe for use. They will do pH testing as part of their services as well, either in their store or on location. Inside the store at Eastern Pools, shoppers will find an array of pool and spa products. A lot of these products are new to the company and can enhance a home's property, such as new hot tubs and gazebos. If a pool needs replacement pumps, filters, and other parts, customers can find them here. Along with the technical items for sale, the Eastern Pools store now features a new line of pool floats and toys, as well. About Eastern Pools At Eastern Pools, there is a wide variety of cleaners and chemicals that can be purchased and added into any pool. The staff members know what pool owners need and they carry the best name brands of pool chemicals. They even carry their own brand, Team, which they believe provides superior quality at the best value. More information can be found at http://www.easternpools.com. Eastern Pools 4953 Wooster Road West Norton, OH 44203 330-825-2214 http://www.easternpools.com sales@easternpools.com Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- Germany presents an attractive set of conditions making investment possible. Despite a Global recession, Germany has not been in bad shape in Germany outbound tourism market. The number of Germany outbound tourists is forecasted to reach nearly 5 Million by 2020. Additionally, Germany outbound tourists spending was nearly 11 Billion in 2015. Germany Outbound Tourists Visit Analysis: United States has emerged as the most popular tourist destination for German travelers. In 2015, XXXX% of the total Germany outbound tourists visited United States. It is predicted that United States will be leading destination for the German travelers by the year 2020. China and Singapore were at the 2nd and 3rd popular destination for German travelers with XXX% and XXX% share respectively in 2015. Browse Market info, get a Sample PDF with TOC: http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=677608 Germany Outbound Tourism Spending Analysis: United States is the leader with XXX% of spending in 2015 by the German Tourists. German tourists spending share in United States is higher than the combined share of the top 9 tourism destination. United States is likely to maintain dominance in Germany outbound tourism spending but its share is expected to tumble down to XXX% by the year 2020, as German tourists are now exploring various other destinations. China and Australia accounted for XXX% and XXX% share of total outbound spending by Germany in 2015. It is projected that China and Australia will have spending share of XXX% and XXX% respectively in 2020. In the year 2015, India was standing at fourth spot in terms of spending by German tourists being followed by New Zealand in 2015. DPI Research report entitled "Germany Outbound Tourism Market: Outbound Tourists Visit, Tourists Spending & Forecast" provides a comprehensive assessment of the fast-evolving, high-growth Germany outbound travel industry. This report provides a complete analysis of top 10 countries worldwide for German tourists. All the country in the report has been studied from three view points - Germany outbound tourists to top 10 countries - Germany outbound tourists market (spending) in top 10 countries - Germany outbound tourists purpose of visit (Business, Holiday/Leisure, VFR & Others) Enquiry at: http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=677608 Sample of TOC:- 1. Executive Summary 2. Worldwide Germany Outbound Tourists Visit & Spending (2009 2020) 2.1 Worldwide Germany Outbound Tourists Visit & Forecast 2.2 Worldwide Germany Outbound Tourists Spending & Forecast 3. Worldwide Germany Outbound Tourists Visit & Spending Share (2009 2020) 3.1 Worldwide Germany Outbound Tourists Visit Share & Forecast 3.2 Worldwide Germany Outbound Tourists Spending Share & Forecast 4. Germany Germany Outbound Tourists Visit & Spending to (10 Countries) (2007 2020) 4.1 United States Germany Outbound Tourists Visit & Spending Forecast 4.1.1 Germany Outbound Tourists Visit to United States & Forecast 4.1.2 Germany Outbound Tourists Visit to United States Purpose of Visit 4.1.3 Germany Outbound Tourists Spending in United States & Forecast 4.2 Australia Germany Outbound Tourists Visit & Spending Forecast 4.2.1 Germany Outbound Tourists Visit to Australia & Forecast 4.2.2 Germany Outbound Tourists Visit to Australia Purpose of Visit 4.2.3 Germany Outbound Tourists Spending in Australia & Forecast 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 Latest Press-Releases: http://www.researchmoz.us/pressrelease Irvine, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- Super Lawyers is a rating service that scores lawyers from more than 70 practice areas. Those who receive the honor of Super Lawyer have attained a high degree of professional achievement and peer recognition. The organization selects attorneys through a patented multi-phase process, combined with independent research. "I am honored to have been selected for this distinction for the second year in a row," said Parman. Candidates for Super Lawyer designation are evaluated on 12 indicators, with selections made on an annual, state-by-state basis. Ratings are limited to those who can be retained by the public, such as private practice and Legal Aid attorneys. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse list of outstanding attorneys as a resource for lawyers and consumers seeking legal counsel. "There is no doubt that Maryam Parman is a real key to the firm's success," said fellow attorney, Anthony Perez. "Her selection as a 2016 Southern California Super Lawyer is well deserved and an indication of the high standards and level of commitment to clients that make the Avrek Law Firm so effective." Parman has been involved in a number of high profile cases and achieved substantial settlements for her clients. In 2011, she engineered a $6 million settlement in a motor vehicle accident for a family and a boy with traumatic brain injuries. A 2008 case resulted in $4.75 million in a taxi accident involving a defective guardrail. As part of the Avrek Law Firm premiere team of attorneys, one of Parman's clients was awarded a $1.25 million settlement in 2013 in a police brutality case and in 2014, she engineered a $19 million settlement for a client in a rear-end collision on the 10 FWY resulting in severe brain injury. As the top car accident attorneys in California, Avrek Law specializes in vehicle accidents and offers free car accident consultations. The firm has obtained over $250,000,000 in settlements and judgments for its clients, working with personal injury cases ranging from vehicle, bicycle and commercial trucks to medical malpractice, workplace accidents, burns and dog bites. Parman's selection as the 2016 Southern California Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine for the second year in a row is an indication of her commitment, professionalism and expertise as an attorney. She works aggressively to obtain the justice and compensation due her clients under a wide range of circumstances. About Avrek Law Firm Avrek Law Firm is one of California's leading personal injury practices. With the Avrek Law Firm's highly effective advocacy on their side, those injured through the fault of others can rest easy knowing they have the best possible chance of receiving the resources that will allow for full recovery. Media Contact: Alexander Sanchez 888-333-5009 Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- Zion Research has published a new report titled "Polyester Fiber Market (Solid and Hollow) for Carpet & Rugs, Nonwoven Fabrics, Fiberfill and Other Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2014 2020." According to the report, global demand for polyester fibers was valued at USD 73.5 billion in 2014 and is expected to cross USD 115.0 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of slightly over 5% between 2015 and 2020. In terms of volume, the global polyester fiber market stood at 42 million tons in 2014. Polyester fibers are derived polymers. They are specially derived from the chemicals like napolyethylene terephthalate (PET) and monoethylene glycol. The nonwoven bonded fabrics provide frequent folding property to the product. The polyester fiber provides the features like good elasticity, wear and tear property, low humidity absorption, creases free, quick drying, abrasion free, and water resistance and low humidity absorption capability. Browse the full "Polyester Fiber Market for Carpet & Rugs, Nonwoven Fabrics, Fiberfill and Other Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2014 2020" report at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/polyester-fiber-market-for-carpet-z37560 Polyester fiber market on the basis of product is segmented as solid polyester fiber and hollow polyester fiber. The solid polyester fiber dominated the market and accounted for around 80% shares in total volume consumption in 2014. The polyester fiber market is mainly driven by rising demand for solid fibers. Owing to its unique characteristics, solid polyester fiber has been emerged as a potential substitute for traditional fibers such as cotton and nylon and expected to grow the market size for the years to come. The polyester fiber on the basis of the application is segmented as carpets and rugs, nonwoven fabrics, fiberfill and others. Rising disposable incomes in addition to dynamic lifestyles is expected to drive the growth of home furnishings market. Thus, the carpets and rugs are accounted for a notable share of the home furnishings market. The rapid growth is expected in this application segment due to the growth of building and construction industry. In addition, the consumers focus on enhancing interiors, particularly in business and company environments, is probably going to boost the demand for wall-to-wall carpets and successively the polyester fiber market. Polyester fiber market is growing across different regions like North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific dominated the global polyester fiber market in terms of volume as well as revenue. It accounted for around 80% in total volume consumption and revenue generated in 2014. Strong demand for polyester fiber from emerging economies such as China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. is expected to further trigger the growth of this industry in the region. North America, Latin America, Europe accounted for small share of the global polyester fiber market. The key manufactures profiled within the report include Alpek S.A.B de C.V, Indorama Ventures Public Company Ltd., Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fiber Company Ltd., Far Eastern New Century Corporation, Jiangsu Sanfangxiang group, Reliance Industries limited, Mossi Ghisolfi group, Tongkun group, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, Zhejiang Hengyi group Co. Ltd., and Zhejiang Hengsheng Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. Sample Report @ http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/polyester-fiber-market-for-carpet-z37560#RequestSample Polyester Fiber Market Product Segment Analysis Solid Hollow Polyester Fiber Market - Application Segment Analysis Carpets & rugs Nonwoven fabrics Fiberfill Others (Apparel, home textiles, industrial, etc.) Polyester Fiber Market - Regional Segment Analysis North America U.S. Europe Germany UK France Asia Pacific China Japan India Latin America Brazil Middle East and Africa Contact US: Joel John 3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138 Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442 United States Toll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA) Tel: +1-386-310-3803 Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com Website: http://www.marketresearchstore.com Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- A new study on Military Ground Robots and Unmanned Vehicles Market. The 2012 study has 609 pages, 274 tables and figures. Worldwide markets are poised to achieve significant growth. Just as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, leaving a lot of spare devices, the military is seeking to develop a modernization strategy. Military ground robots promise to provide the core technology for management of conflict as strict nationalism in military matters is being replaced by the new era of terrorist threats. Military robot are used globally. Growth comes as the nature of combat changes in every region while the globally integrated enterprise replaces nationalistic dominance. Military robots provide modernization of the military and automated process applied to the defense industry. Process is the next wave of military evolution. As automated systems and networking complement the Internet, communication is facilitated on a global basis. The military charter is shifting to providing protection against terrorists and people seek to maintain a safe, mobile, independent lifestyle. Much of the military mission is moving to adopt a police force training mission, seeking to achieve protection of civilian populations on a worldwide basis. Do Inquiry For Sample Before Purchasing Report: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/military-ground-robot-market-shares-strategies-and-forecasts-2393#requestSample According to Susan Eustis, the lead author of the study, "the purchase of military robots s is driven by the need for modernization of the military." The new military is dependent on flexibility and early response. The use of military robots s is based on providing a robot that is less expensive to put in the field than a trained soldier and the desire to keep the trained soldiers out of harm's way. That automation of process and modernization has appeal to those who run the military. Robots are automating military ground systems, permitting vital protection of soldiers and people in the field, creating the possibility of reduced fatalities. Mobile robotics operate independently of the operator. We hear from military leaders all over the world that the plan going forward is to utilize automated process to replace the warfighters and keep them out of the line of fire. The military robot market.is evolving in this context. The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts gave rise to the development and use of military robotics. As these conflicts are resolved, the military robots are finding new uses as border patrol. The 250 kilometer demilitarized zone between South and North Korea is patrolled along its entire length. The border between the United States and Mexico is not patrolled continuously along its entire length. In Europe you begin to see an opening of the borders while the US has become more strict. The border separating Israel from the territories is not continuously patrolled along its entire length. This issue of nationalistic border patrol is a complex one, some borders are opening while others are closing. There will be a variety of ways of managing a border for the foreseeable future. In any case, robots are sure to provide technology for protecting borders, protecting safety in cities, and building smarter cities. Defense robot security systems have an emphasis on causality reduction during combat. This aim has resulted in investment in robotics technology because robots save lives. Robotic research is continuing to be a priority for government spending. The Army has a goal of making operational ground combat vehicles unmanned. The US Navy and Marines have similar initiatives. Robots are set to play a more significant role in military operations going forward. Just as automated process has revolutionized the banking and insurance industry, so also robotics is set to revolutionize the military and all security. Better surveillance and better automated mobility controlled from a relatively safe remote site are the aim of achieving military robotics. Robots are set to play a more significant role in military operations going forward. Just as automated process has revolutionized the banking and insurance industry, so also robotics is set to revolutionize the military and all security. Better surveillance and better automated mobility controlled from a relatively safe remote site are the aim of achieving military robotics. In the military operations, thousands of robots were used in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the US withdraws from these areas there will be an adjustment in the quantities of military robots ordered. In the longer term, the use of military robots will increase as they replace the need to put war fighters in the line of direct fire. The use of military robots in the Armed Services is expected to increase worldwide. Military robots are significantly less expensive to use than human fighters. United States Army modernization program has been implemented as the Army brigade combat team modernization program. Roboticists are more advanced in their training and in the tools available to create robots. Robots are modular permitting repurposing in the field. Military robots have evolved from units used in the field to manage different situations that arise. Robots save lives. Military ground robot markets at $3.4 billion in 2011 are anticipated to reach $12.3 billion by 2018. Defense security systems have an emphasis on causality reduction during combat. This has resulted in investment in robotics technology that is useful. Robotic research is on the fast track for government spending. Congress is seeking to make an Army has operational ground combat vehicles that are unmanned. The US Navy and Marines have similar initiatives underway. Military ground robot market forecast analysis indicates that vendor strategy is to pursue developing new applications that leverage leading edge technology. Robot solutions are achieved by leveraging the ability to innovate, to bring products to market quickly. Military purchasing authorities seek to reduce costs through design and outsourcing. Vendor capabilities depend on the ability to commercialize the results of research in order to fund further research. Government funded research is evolving some more ground robot capability. Report Methodology This is the 501st report in a series of market research reports that provide forecasts in communications, telecommunications, the internet, computer, software, and telephone equipment. The project leaders take direct responsibility for writing and preparing each report. They have significant experience preparing industry studies. Forecasts are based on primary research and proprietary data bases. Forecasts reflect analysis of the market trends in the segment and related segments. Unit and dollar shipments are analyzed through consideration of dollar volume of each market participation in the segment. Market share analysis includes conversations with key customers of products, industry segment leaders, marketing directors, distributors, leading market participants, and companies seeking to develop measurable market share. Over 200 in-depth interviews are conducted for each report with a broad range of key participants and opinion leaders in the market segment. Contact US: Joel John 3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, USA USA Tel: +1-386-310-3803 GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714 USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651 Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com Web: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/ Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- Global Utility Grade Wind Turbine Market are poised to achieve significant growth as countries impose stricter environment controls on the use for fossil fuels and coal to generate electricity. The fact that wind energy has reached parity for the long term comparative cost of energy, bodes well for market growth. China is emerging as a significant user of wind energy. The leadership of China has a focus on local generation of electricity using wind and solar renewable sources. Chinese leadership is very concerned about the pollution brought by the fossil fuel power generations and is very concerned about the deleterious effect of air pollution on the grandchildren. Like people everywhere, these leaders are very attached to family and to their grandchildren. Japan is anticipated to start to replace its entire nuclear electricity generating capacity. That nuclear power generation capacity has been shut down completely and is unlikely to ever reopen. Floating wind generator systems represent a significant market opportunity for vendors. Wind systems are relatively quick to put in place and get operational. Do Inquiry For Sample Before Purchasing Report: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/utility-grade-wind-turbine-market-shares-strategies-and-2390#requestSample The aim of virtually every government in the world is to encourage low carbon energy generation technologies to take over. This strategy echoes with a core message from the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2011: Delaying action to reduce emissions is a 'false economy' - for every $1 of investment avoided in the power sector before 2020 an additional $4.3 would need to be spent after 2020 to compensate for the increased emissions. A single Vestas wind turbine generates 25 times more energy than it uses in its lifecycle. A single Vestas wind turbine emits only one percent of carbon dioxide when compared to a coal power plant. When producing solutions to harness wind energy a small negative impact on the environment is made. Vestas is committed to reducing this impact to the extent possible. China led the world in installing wind-power capacity in2011. It is very interesting that China is moving to implement local generation of renewable energy. This is a strategic move to use the wind energy where it is generated. The ability to use wind electricity where it is generated as much as possible appears to be the most cost efficient way to leverage renewable energy. Local generation of wind energy is the most efficient way to utilize the power. Wind energy is poised to be less expensive than any other type of energy generation, faster to implement, and easier to store. The ability to distribute it directly from substations leverages an in place infrastructure, supporting direct investment in energy generation rather than build out of expensive high energy transmission lines. Most electricity is used near urban centers that are not high wind areas, conducive to building wind farms with high power turbines. Localization of wind energy generation represents a way to get close to cities and population centers in a way that eliminates the need to build high power transmission lines. Localized wind energy can be transmitted to electrical substations and distributed to the users in an efficient manner. Local delivery of wind energy is a priority for the Chinese because they see it as a way to avoid the crushing costs of building high voltage transmission systems. Vestas China has received its first V100 turbine order. The order came from Datang Hubei Renewable Energy (Datang Renewable). The newest addition to the 2 MW platform in China took place in early 2011. The order represents an important step into the low wind regime in China, but also a step into the new geographical market of the Hubei province for Vestas. The 27 units of V100-1.8 MW turbines have a total capacity of 48.6 MW. They will be installed in the Long Ganhu wind farm in the Hubei province, a low-wind site with an average wind speed at 5 m/s. Compared to other wind power plants in China, the Long Ganhu site is situated close to one of the intensively energy consuming areas of Hubei province. Do Inquiry For Buying This Report : http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/utility-grade-wind-turbine-market-shares-strategies-and-2390#InquiryForBuying This answers the call from the National Government of pursuing the development of "distributed" wind power in China. The successful application of Vestas' V100 at this wind site will set an example for distributed wind power at low-wind sites in other provinces, and the open-up in the Hubei province will bring new business opportunities for Vestas. The low-wind sites in China is a new market of huge potential, but a new market implies new challenges for wind power developers. A proven and reliable technical platform and well-recognized business partners are a plus. Datang Renewable's selection of Vestas for low-wind sites is the best recognition of long-term value in cooperation with a market leading vendor. The contract is of great significance; it helps open up a new market for Vestas, but also firms steps towards the exploitation of the dominant wind regime in China. Vendors have a significant presence in renewables-based energy generation technologies: hydro, solar thermal and photovoltaic and biomass. Vendors own cogeneration assets, producing hydrogen through wind power. Hydrogen is used in stationary fuel cells, creating electricity for campus environments that is stable 24 hours per day. In this case, hydrogen becomes an energy storage mechanism. According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, "wind energy market growth is inevitable. The requisite 100 successful trials have long since proved the viability of the technology, the turbines have elaborate systems engineering to ensure simplicity of design, and the costs provide wind generated energy at parity with fossil fuel generation. As storage systems evolve to mitigate the difficulties in intermittent supply of wind, wind energy will grow at a phenomenal rate. Storage will come from the manufacture of hydrogen to achieve campus fuel cell systems and from thin film batteries that provide 40,000 times the energy density of existing lead acid batteries. Breakthroughs in lithium will also provide better energy storage." Markets growing as fast as the wind energy markets have been growing have difficulties in the evolution of technology and manufacturing. Several vendors report difficulties in manufacturing. Vestas had significant difficulties meeting obligations and had to address manufacturing issues, but retained its brand recognition as a company offering a high quality unit. Sinovel was not so fortunate. Sinovel encountered macroeconomic cyclical fluctuations as well as delays to some project approvals which impacted sales revenues and also caused a relatively large increase in management costs. Management costs went up 78% to 288m yuan in 2011. Companies in China have come under further pressure this year after grid companies temporarily halted new connections amidst a review of turbine quality. Sinovel had some market setbacks. In addition to the fatal accidents, a short-circuit accident in February at a Jiuquan wind farm in Gansu seems emblematic of Sinovel's struggles. The mishap knocked 598 turbines, with a combined capacity of 840,000 kilowatts, off the grid. Fluctuating voltage during the incident threatened the entire region's power system, according to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. The commission called the incident "the gravest accident in China's wind power industry in recent years." Chinese wind-turbine prices have declined by around 20% for each of the past three years and sell for around half the price of a machine sold in Europe. Chinese wind turbine companies have come under further pressure this year after grid companies temporarily halted new connections amidst a review of turbine quality. GE encountered market difficulty of a different nature. Demand for wind energy in the U.S. dropped about 50 percent to 4,900 megawatts. The slump prompted Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, which has the largest share of the U.S. market, to improve its design and attract customers in new low wind markets. Towers are taller, blades longer and lighter, and turbines more reliable. New designs target installation in low wind areas for local distribution of wind generated power. Wind turbine markets at $32.2 billion in 2011 are anticipated to reach $96.7 billion by 2018. Growth is expected to be worldwide and a result of vendor achievement of marked improvements in the technology. Wind markets for land based high wind areas are saturated. The ability to provide local land based systems in low wind areas and to implement offshore wind farms bodes well for market growth. Countries that invest in wind energy will achieve significant strategic advantage economically as wind energy represents efficient energy infrastructure delivery. Countries that do not invest in wind energy infrastructure will be left in the dust economically. About Market Research Market Research is an independent research organization funded by the sale of market research studies all over the world and by the implementation of ROI / TCO economic models that are used to calculate the total cost of ownership of equipment, services, and software. The company has 35 distributors worldwide, including Global Information Info Shop, Market Research.com, Research and Markets, Bloomberg, and Thompson Financial. Contact US: Joel John 3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, USA USA Tel: +1-386-310-3803 GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714 USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651 Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com Web: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/ Chandigarh: The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016 was passed in the ongoing session of Vidhan Sabha here on Tuesday. The Bill was moved by Haryana Chief Minister Mr Manohar Lal Khattar to give statutory status to Backward classes Block A, Backward classes Block B and Backward classes Block C by enacting the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016 and request the Central Government to include this Act in 9th Schedule read with Article 31B of the Constitution. The Chief Minister said that the State Government has fulfilled its promise of giving reservation to Jats and members of other castes by getting The Bill would enable the members belonging to six communities to get reservation in government services and admission to educational institutions. In reply to a question, the Chief Minister said that the provisions of reservation would be implemented immediately after the Governors assent. The Chief Minister said that with the passing of this Bill, a long standing demand of many communities has been fulfilled. He said that the previous government had turned this demand into such a draft which was stuck in the High Court and Supreme Court. After making a thorough study and consulting the stakeholders, the present government had got the Bill passed which would become a law after the assent of the Governor, he added. Referring to the provisions of the Bill, the Chief Minister said that six castes namely Jat, Jat Sikh, Ror, Bishnoi, Tyagi and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat have been included in Backward Classes-C category. He said that the State government has not only maintained the reservation provisions of BC-A and B categories, but has also extended some more benefits to them through this Bill. Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/29/2016 -- The report "Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers Market by Application (Chemicals, Petrochemicals and Oil & Gas, HVACR, Food & Beverages, Pulp & Paper, Power Generation) and Region - Global Forecast to 2020", The shell & tube heat exchangers market size is estimated to grow from USD 5.29 Billion in 2015 to USD 7.05 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 4.98%. The market is driven by the increasing need for energy and high investments in chemicals and petrochemicals and oil & gas industries. RoW and Asia-Pacific regions are estimated to witness a strong growth in the next five years. Also, the demand across these regions is reinforced by the emerging markets, namely, China, and India. Browse 36 market tables and 46 figures spread through 110 pages and in-depth TOC on "Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers Market - Global Forecast to 2020" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/shell-tube-heat-exchangers-market-92257371.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Asia-Pacific: The Largest Market of Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers Asia-Pacific is currently the largest market for shell & tube heat exchangers. The U.S. is the largest market for shell & tube heat exchangers in the North American region. The favorable market forces driving the market for shell & tube heat exchangers in North America are: 1) Major manufacturers of shell & tube heat exchangers in the region 2) Growing oil & gas explorations in the region 3) Growing chemicals, petrochemicals, and oil & gas, and HVAC & refrigeration applications in major countries, such as the U.S. and Canada. Chemicals: The Largest Application Segment of Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers Market Shell & tube heat exchangers is used in various applications such as chemicals, petrochemicals and oil & gas, HVAC & refrigeration, power generation, pulp & paper, food & beverages, power generation, and others. These are the main applications considered in the report. In 2015, the chemicals application segment is estimated to account for the largest market share among all the applications, in terms of value, followed by petrochemicals and oil & gas, food & beverages, HVAC & refrigeration, power generation, and pulp & paper applications. The chemicals application is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR between 2015 and 2020. For more Info Speak to Our Analyst @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=92257371 The key players in the shell & tube heat exchangers market are Kelvion Holdings GmbH (Germany), Alfa Laval AB (Sweden), HRS Heat Exchangers (U.K.), Brask Inc. (U.S.), Koch Heat Transfer Company (U.S.), Standard Xchange (U.S.), and Manning and Lewis (U.S.), SPX Corporation (U.S.), API Heat Transfer Inc. (U.S.), Southern Heat Exchanger Corporation (U.S.), among other local players. This report covers the market size, in terms of value, for the shell & tube heat exchangers and forecasts the market size till 2020. The report includes the market segmentation by application chemicals, petrochemicals and oil & gas, food & beverages, HVAC & refrigeration, power generation, and pulp & paper, and by region Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and RoW. Regions are further segmented by key country markets such as China, India, Japan, U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia. The report also provides company profiles and competitive strategies adopted by the major market players in the shell & tube heat exchangers market. Inquiry Before Buying of this Report @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=92257371 Browse Related Reports: Heat Exchanger Market by Type (Shell & Tube, Plate & Frame, Air Cooled, Printed Circuit), by Application (Chemical, Petrochemical, Oil & Gas, HVACR, Food & Beverage, Pulp & Paper, Power Generation), Classifications (MoC, Temperature Range & Fluid Type) and Geography, Trends & Forecast to 2019 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/heat-exchanger-market-750.html Plate & Frame Heat Exchangers Market by Type (Brazed, Gasketed, Welded), by Application (Chemical, Petrochemical, Oil & Gas, HVACR, Food & Beverage, Pulp & Paper, Power Generation), and Region - Trends & Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/plate-frame-heat-exchangers-market-259151406.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is world's No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. 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The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics 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/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets The Africa-wide Next Einstein Forum is just one way to build capacity for development, says minister Papias Musafiri. The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) that took place in Senegal earlier this month brought together African and global leaders from science, industry, civil society and government. The aim was to create a unified African scientific identity integrated into the global scientific community and to inspire talented young people to pursue science. The forum showcased achievements by NEF fellows that illustrate the strong potential of young African scientists for cutting-edge research. But across Africa, relatively few resources are devoted to research and development. Its telling that there is barely one scientist or engineer per 10,000 people on the continent, compared with 20-50 per 10,000 in developed countries. Countries funding science and research face one key decision: how to balance applied research that focuses on current development challenges with basic research that focuses on long-term development. Rwanda has chosen to invest on both fronts and several initiatives testify to this, from the Quantum Leap Africa Research Centre launched earlier this year to plans to host the next NEF in 2018. Action to support policy Rwandas government has had a national science, technology and innovation policy since 2005. [1] The premise is that, by building capacity in these fields, the country will enhance its prospects of reducing poverty, growing economically, creating wealth and diversifying exports. The policys objectives all focus on developing scientific capacity. They promote: knowledge acquisition through practical teaching in mathematics and science at all education levels; knowledge creation by developing university research capacity; knowledge transfer to users such as farmers or policymakers; and a culture of innovation to improve goods and services and create jobs. There is plenty happening domestically in Rwanda. The government is establishing a Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and eHealth within the University of Rwanda. Papias Musafiri Malimba, Rwanda's Minister of Education Several international and regional initiatives have been launched through this policy. In 2011, the Ministry of Education collaborated with MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the United States to establish an interim climate observatory in Rwanda while a permanent station, set to serve as a global climate observatory, was constructed on the summit of Mount Karisimbi in the north of the country. And in 2012, Carnegie Mellon University in the United States opened an ICT (information and communications technology) Centre of Excellence in Rwanda, establishing masters programmes with financial support from the government and the African Development Bank. Working with other African nations, in 2015 Rwanda also helped to establish the East African Science and Technology Commission and partnered with the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics to establish an East Africa Institute for Fundamental Research. And there is plenty happening domestically. The government is establishing a Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and eHealth within the University of Rwanda, with funds from the African Development Bank. The university is also home to a Centre of Excellence in Biodiversity & Natural Resources Management supported by One UN Fund. There are plans for four additional centres of excellence, again at the University of Rwanda: the World Bank has conditionally agreed to fund proposed Africa Centers of Excellence specialising in: data sciences; the internet of things; energy for sustainable development; and innovative maths and science teaching and learning. An African Einstein Last month, the government signed a partnership agreement with the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS-NEI) to host both the global AIMS headquarters and NEF 2018 in Rwanda. The Quantum Leap Africa Research Centre which aims to solve development problems through data analytics and smart systems design, and build capacity in emerging fields such as quantum information science will be launched under the same agreement. NEF gatherings are a platform for fruitful interactions, sharing experience and reflecting on challenges and opportunities for developing scientific capacity in Africa. They also prepare and empower young African scientists, more so female scientists: more than 40 per cent of NEF fellows and ambassadors are women. The heads of state of both Rwanda and Senegal were present, underscoring how important the NEF initiative is for African governments. I can think of few missions more essential than enabling Africas brightest students to flourish as independent thinkers. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda In his remarks, Senegal President Macky Sall highlighted the role of female scientists. At the heart of our policy is to put an accent on the education of women and girls and the support of STEM, he said. Together, we must meet the challenge of producing the next African Einstein be it a man or a woman. And in his keynote address, Rwanda President Paul Kagame said: I can think of few missions more essential than enabling Africas brightest students to flourish as independent thinkers. The pressure is on to catch up and keep pace so Africa is not left [behind] in the wake of technological progress. This years event stressed the need for Africa to foster partnerships between universities, government and the private sector. In Rwanda, the government-funded Kigali Innovation City project, which houses facilities such as ICT training centres, works with knowledge partners including AIMS and the University of Rwanda to attract private companies; and a partnership with a South Korean telecoms firm has enabled the government to roll out broadband nationwide. [ABUJA] Africa needs to refocus research thinking and agenda on the continent for agriculture to become productive and aid development, say agricultural experts. According to panellists at a SciDev.Net event organised in conjunction with the UK-based International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications this month (1 March) in Nigeria, research is necessary for agricultural growth in Sub-Saharan Africa but it needs to be demand-driven and shared for impacts. We need a platform where all these crucial groups can meet to ensure that research studies are not duplicated but are shared among institutions, farmers and even with the private sector. Ngozi Odiaka, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria Ngozi Odiaka, a crop scientist at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi in Nigeria, notes that research is key in generating data necessary for policy-making and the end users such as farmers. The problem we have today in Nigeria and in most of Africa is that a lot of research studies have been done but majority of [the findings] are getting grey in the shelves of our universities and other research institutes, says Odiaka, adding that it is vital that such information is stored centrally for easy access and use. According to Odiaka, it is also necessary for African researchers to align research with the needs of farmers and consumers to help develop the continent. We need a platform where all these crucial groups can meet to ensure that research studies are not duplicated but are shared among institutions, farmers and even with the private sector, Odiaka adds. Edwin Idu, a lecturer at the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Abuja, Nigeria, says that most African farmers hardly take up the research outputs from the universities. Farmers are not in a hurry to apply the information from the universities through the extension workers. Majority will wait to see the results from early adopters of such innovations, Idu adds. Idu decries the lack of adoption of improved crop varieties by farmers. According to Idu, proper monitoring and follow-ups by researchers could make research play meaningful impact on Africas agriculture. Andrew Ilo, a research scientist from the Sheda Science and Technology Complex in Nigeria, adds that the continent needs modern research for development. We should identify the gaps in agriculture in Africa and do research that will fill those gaps, Ilo explains. Certain pertinent issues, Ilo says, must be addressed if research is to advance agricultural development in Africa, citing a need to build capacity of agricultural human resources and more doctoral studies that focus on agricultural research. Ilo adds that university lecturers should have a conducive environment such as having reduced teaching responsibilities to help them conduct more research.According to Sonigitu Ekpe-Aji, a Project Desk Officer with Cross River State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Nigeria, scientists should not just publish for the shelves but carry out citizen-driven research. Citizen-driven research is what Africa needs now.He says this is possible if bodies such as Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition are allowed to play a key role in Africa agriculture and nutrition.According to him, a lot of continental commitments are not translated into practice at the national level.This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk. [JOHANNESBURG] Citizen science a model allowing non-scientists to be part of research informing policy-makers' decisions is helping South Africans manage the use and protection of water sources. South Africa is currently in the middle of its worst drought in 23 years [1], exacerbating water shortages in the region, parts of which are semi-arid, and climate change predictions show that water is going to become even scarcer in the future. [1] This idea is that if a citizen's knowledge of water resources and associated impacts is improved [it] empowers them to interact with authorities and co-manage their resources in a more meaningful way. Ntswaki Ditlhale, GroundTruth According to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's fourth assessment, semi-arid areas, which are characterised by low and erratic rainfall, in Africa are projected to increase in size by between five per cent and eight per cent by 2080. Bonani Madikizela, a research manager at the South African Water Research Commission (WRC), says: All South Africans can play a role in protecting their water [resources], He explains that the WRC has a citizen science programme, initiated in 2002, to allow schools and members of the public to participate in water resource quality monitoring. Co-funded by a number of government departments, including science and technology, environmental affairs and water and sanitation, the WRC's role is to support the development of tools such as a clarity tube and transparent velocity- head rod, according to Madikizela. The programme, which will continue until 2018, was funded to the tune of about 2.8 million South African rand (about US$180,000), he says. In 1998, South Africa-based environmental consulting organisation GroundTruth in collaboration with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) developed miniSASS a citizen science version of the South African Scoring System (SASS) to help measure the health of a river. [2] SASS is an inventory of life in South Africa's water ways. Small animals are an important indicator of river health, and the miniSASS allows citizens to identify whether animals on the list are present in the water and report the data to a national database, Madikizela adds. A pilot study, whose findings were published in 2004 in the African Journal of Aquatic Science, found that miniSASS was sufficiently accurate to be used alongside SASS. There are other tools to measure the sediments and pollutants in the water such as using a clarity tube to determine how cloudy the water is and estimating the amount of water in the stream using the transparent velocity-head rod, and using weather monitoring and rain gauge resources, Madikizela explains. During their development and testing, we have worked with ordinary citizens, ranging from young children to senior citizens, some with no formal education or background in the sciences, says Ntswaki Ditlhale, a nature conservation scientist at GroundTruth.Citizens can use the tools to explore and learn about water resources and ecosystems The tools can also be used to gather data and information which will feed [into] a national repository that can assist in the improved management of our water resources.This idea is that if a citizen's knowledge of water resources and associated impacts is improved [it] empowers them to interact with authorities and co-manage their resources in a more meaningful way.WESSA has an educational role. Jim Taylor, WESSA's director of environmenta l education, says: There are 1,200 schools that are registered with our eco-schools programme. They are all over South Africa, and that's a perfect vehicle for citizen science activity.Disclaimer: This piece was co-produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk and the Mail & Guardian newspaper in South Africa, as part of a science journalism capacity building initiative, funded by the Wellcome Trust. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) radars captured the shadowy images of the comet flyby, one of two taking place in a week, over three days from March 21 to 23. Space scientists claim this to be historic as the object known as P/2016 BA14 was at a distance of 2.2 million miles (or 3.6 million kilometers) from earth at the closest point of the comet flyby. NASA captured the images of the flyby by using instruments in the Deep Space Network in Goldstone, California. The Deep Space Network was built to link a series of massive radio antennas for NASA's various interplanetary missions. The last comet flyby that came closer to earth was Lexell's Comet which did a flyby on July 1, 1770. The next such occurrence took place nearly 400 years earlier. The data from the historic comet flyby could reveal many important details about the universe and astronomers took advantage of the once in a lifetime occurrence. In a media release, Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Shantanu Naidu said: "We were able to obtain very detailed radar images of the comet nucleus over three nights around the time of closest approach. We can see surface features as small as 8 meters per pixel." NASA scientists used the images to calculate the comet's diameter which was revealed to be about 3,000 feet (1 kilometer). The comet has an irregular, pear-like shape. As the flyby was close, the scientists were able to read the surface of the comet for flat regions and ridges, apart from its overall shape. Scientists also determined that P/2016 BA14 spun around its axis about every 35 to 40 hours. Comet P/2016 BA14 is also called Comet Pan-STARRS (or Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) which detected it on January 21, 2016. The comet's orbit was similar to another comet known as 252P/LINEAR, hence scientists say that the twin comets may be two parts of a larger space object. The SHRC also ordered that University of Hyderabad be directed to ensure that there were no further violations of human rights in the university. Hyderabad: The State Human Rights Commission on Monday served a notice to Cyberabad police commissioner C.V. Anand on a complaint by Prof. P.L. Visweswara Rao of the Aam Aadmi Party complaining of human rights violations in University of Hyderabad. The SHRC ordered the commissioner to submit a report on the violations, to be inquired into by an officer not below the rank of deputy commissioner of police, by March 31. The SHRC also ordered that University of Hyderabad be directed to ensure that there were no further violations of human rights in the university. The complaint by Prof. Rao, who was a teaching faculty in UoH earlier, raised around 20 alleged violations of human rights. These included police brutality on campus, provocation by vice chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile when he resumed work after two months, creating a terror like situation in the campus, suppressing freedom of speech, restricting movement of students inside campus and questioning by police and other issues. Prof. Rao said that he would move the NHRC regarding police action on UoH campus and violation of human rights if the issue was not resolved in the state level. On March 25 the National Human Rights Commission had issued a suo motu notice to the secretary, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, chief secretary, government of Telangana and police commissioner, Hyderabad, seeking a report within one week on human rights violations in UoH regarding the emergency like situation in the university and disconnection of water, electricity, food, and Internet services and keeping ATMs out of order. South Carolinas attorney general Monday fired a special prosecutor who he had named to investigate allegations of corruption in the General Assembly. Attorney General Alan Wilson ousted special prosecutor David Pascoe, the 1st Judicial Circuit solicitor, after Pascoe asked the S.C. Supreme Court to allow him to use the statewide grand jury as part of his investigation, access that Pascoe said Wilson was denying him. However, late Monday, Pascoe rejected the idea that Wilson who previously removed himself from the corruption investigation, citing a conflict of interest could fire him, inviting the attorney general to meet him in court to decide the issue. It was the second time in three months that Wilsons office has put a roadblock in front of Pascoes investigation. In December, Republican Wilsons office issued an opinion saying that the actions of some GOP legislators, which Democrat Pascoe had questioned, were not improper. And Monday, a top lawyer in Wilsons office, acting under the attorney generals authority, notified Pascoe that he had been fired as special prosecutor in the corruption probe. I am now compelled to terminate all authority delegated to you, wrote John McIntosh, chief deputy attorney general. Pascoe responded to McIntosh, Your letter does not alter my authority over this matter. ... To the extent your letter is an effort to change that, you should file an appropriate motion with ... the Supreme Court. In his letter, Pascoe said his request for a state jury investigation already had been approved by Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman and SLED Chief Mark Keel. Wilson: Case will be reassigned McIntosh wrote Pascoes investigation which he had been conducting with Keel would be reassigned to another solicitor or solicitors. McIntosh accused Pascoe, who Wilson named to oversee corruption probes of state lawmakers in 2014 and 2015, of attempting to unlawfully initiate a grand jury investigation. Wilson released a statement, saying he had no choice but to fire Pascoe. It is imperative that the public has complete confidence in the rule of law and that it is being applied ethically and honestly. My role as attorney general is not only to protect public trust, but also to protect the integrity of the process, Wilson said. With multiple media leaks over the last nine months, as well an obvious abuse of power, we believe this drastic measure is 100 percent necessary. John Crangle, head of the Common Cause of South Carolina good-government watchdog group, said Wilson likely doesnt have the authority to fire Pascoe. Pascoe might want to go before the Supreme Court and try to get them to make a ruling on this, said Crangle, who has followed public corruption issues in South Carolina for years. Special prosecutor asked court for help Earlier Monday, The State newspaper reported Democrat Pascoe had asked the Supreme Court to stop Wilson from blocking the special prosecutors effort to have a state grand jury look into alleged public corruption in the Republican-controlled General Assembly. Having state grand jury powers to compel testimony and subpoena witnesses and documents is crucial to finish up his ongoing investigation, Pascoe wrote in his Supreme Court filing, made late Friday. Months of investigation went into his decision and that of SLED Chief Keel to seek state grand jury powers, Pascoe wrote in his petition to the court. SLED has developed evidence that some legislators may have engaged in alleged finance crimes and ethical violations, according to Pascoes filing. However, Wilson has instructed Jim Parks, the clerk of the state grand jury, to refuse to administer the oath of office to special prosecutors so they can use the state grand jury, Pascoe wrote. Any prosecutor using that jury must take an oath to abide by state grand jury law, and Parks is the only person authorized to administer the oath, Pascoe wrote, adding Parks refusal to carry out his duties threatens to terminate an inquiry into public corruption. Parks did not respond to a request for comment Monday. No way blocking ... probe Wilsons office sent an email Monday to The State denying Wilson is trying to shut down the corruption investigation. This office is in no way blocking a public corruption probe. That is why we sent this case to Solicitor David Pascoe in the first place. However, we have grave concerns that Solicitor Pascoe is not following the law or proper procedure. The fact that we have to respond to this in the media shows that this matter is being handled inappropriately, said Wilsons statement. On March 24, Parks told Pascoe in an email he would not administer any oaths or issue subpoenas, according to Pascoes filings. The Parks email is part of the court filings. Parks contends he works for and reports to the attorney general and that the attorney generals office has instructed (Parks) not to administer the oath or issue subpoenas, Pascoes filing said. In his court filing called a petition for a writ of mandamus Pascoe sought to have the Supreme Court order Parks to swear in the special prosecutors. Pascoe also argued Parks doesnt work for the attorney general but is an officer of the state judicial system. December ruling hurt prosecutor Pascoes filing Friday is significant, in part, because it shows the investigation into alleged State House corruption reportedly targeting a handful of S.C. House members is ongoing. For months, questions have swirled about whether that probe had been abandoned. Pascoe and Wilson have tangled before over Pascoe's authority in that investigation. In a December opinion, Wilson's office interpreted a state ethics law in a way that gave state lawmakers wide latitude to spend money, raised for political campaigns, on businesses that they or their relatives run. Pascoe had requested that opinion, indicating he thought such practices were illegal. The investigation into alleged public corruption in the General Assembly has been ongoing for three years. That investigation already has resulted in the resignation and guilty plea of former House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, on charges of misusing campaign money. In 2013, the S.C. Policy Council, a Columbia-based limited government think tank, and Common Cause director Crangle persuaded Wilson to launch a SLED investigation in questionable financial dealings by former House Speaker Harrell. In early 2014, Wilson announced he would seek a state grand jury investigation. Out of public view, Harrell and his lawyers filed motions with a state judge, trying to shut down Wilsons investigation, contending the attorney general could not investigate Harrell because Wilson had a conflict of interest. However, The State newspaper disclosed Harrells secret effort to block Wilsons investigation. Subsequently, Wilson decided to step aside and name a special prosecutor to handle any criminal proceedings against Harrell. On July 24, 2014, Wilson formally requested Pascoe take over the Harrell investigation, requesting Pascoe serve as the designated prosecutor and asking Pascoe to continue the investigation to its appropriate conclusion. Within weeks, Pascoe indicted Harrell on charges of misusing campaign money. On Oct. 23, 2014, Harrell pleaded guilty to those charges and agreed to resign. Prosecutor: Attorney general cant fire me In November 2014, SLED released a 42-page report on its Harrell investigation. However, nine pages were redacted, or blacked out. Asked at that time why the material was deleted, SLED Chief Keel said they pertained to an ongoing investigation. The State since has learned that two or more members of the S.C. General Assembly were named in the redacted portions of the SLED report. Pascoe also indicated in November 2014 that his investigation was ongoing, and he had turned over the SLED report to the attorney generals office. Exactly what the attorney generals office did with that report from late 2014 until mid-2015 is unclear. However, on July 17, 2015, Wilson deputy McIntosh wrote SLEDs Keel informing him that Wilson had disqualified his office from investigating the legislators named in SLEDs Harrell report. In that letter, McIntosh asked Keel to complete his investigation and forward the results to Pascoe. Last fall, The State newspaper identified state Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley, as one of the lawmakers named in the investigation. Wilson has declined comment, as has Merrill's lawyer. Merrill, a political operative, has deep ties in the S.C. Republican Party. This year, he was S.C. campaign director for GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. In his filing to Supreme Court, Pascoe says, since Wilson authorized him to continue investigating the unnamed lawmakers, the attorney general cant order him off the case. Wilson shouldnt be involved in the matter at all, Pascoe wrote. As special prosecutor, Pascoe said he and his staff stand in the attorney generals shoes. As the circular was posted on social media, it soon attracted criticism. Hyderabad: University of Hyderabad vice chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile on Tuesday invited students to share their thoughts with the university regarding the efforts required to bring back normalcy in the crisis-struck university campus. In his invitation, the VC said that students should mention their name and course details and submit their suggestions to their hostel wardens, head of department or can send them via email to the VC's office. Read: HCU row: Teachers go on mass leave citing 'human rights violations' in campus While the move was welcomed by some students who have either maintained a neutral stand on the Rohith Vemula issue or are supporting the VC, students protesting the issue, who have been demanding the VCs resignation, have condemned the move. Read: HCU violence: Police chief gets State Human Rights Commission notice As the circular was posted on social media, it soon attracted criticism. Zuhail, president of the Students Union of UoH said, "It is another desperate attempt by the VC to show to the outside world that he is with the students even though the campus is witnessing human rights violation. Students were arrested from campus, cases were booked and students brutally lathi-charged by the police. He has been sending out such circulars daily since the arrests." Video grab of KuL Yadav Bhushan, whom Pakistan has arrested for his alleged links with Indias foreign espionage agency RAW. (Photo: PTI)(Photo: video grab) New Delhi: Another war of words broke out on Tuesday between India and Pakistan after the Pakistan Army released a video of an arrested ex-Indian Navy officer purportedly confessing his involvement in terror activities in Balochistan which India promptly rubbished. The head of Pakistan Armys Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa and Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid held a press conference in Islamabad to release the video, saying Kul Bhoshan Yadav confessed to his role of of working for RAW to foment trouble in Balochistan. Mr Yadav had been arrested in Pakistan, which described him as an Indian Navy officer. Read: India disowns ex-Navy officer arrested in Pakistan No link with Kulbhushan: India After Pakistan Army released a video of an arrested ex-Indian Navy officer Kul Bhushan Yadav purportedly confessing his involvement in terror activities in Balochistan, the claim was debunked by the Indian government which said he had no link with the Government since his premature retirement from the Navy. However, head of Pakistan Armys Inter-Services Public Relations Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa and Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid claimed that Mr Yadav was still a serving officer due to retire in 2022.Official sources in Delhi rubbished the purported confession and said it was Pakistans propagandist ploy to deflect the attention from its own problem of home-grown terrorism. Read: Thirteen more Indian spies held in Pakistan The sources also said India was not given the consular access to Mr Yadav. despite its requesting for the same and alleged that the release of the video was Pakistans attempt to deflect the attention from the Pathankot terror strike probe. Citing Mr Yadavs case, Bajwa accused India of carrying out state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan. There cannot be a clearer evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan, he claimed. The Pakistanis claimed that Yadav had established a small business in Chabahar in Iran and had directed anti-Pakistan activities in Karachi and Balochistan. He converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer, Lt. Gen. Bajwa said at a joint press conference with mr Rashid. The report of the three-member fact-finding team comes in the wake of alleged instances of intimidation of mediapersons in the region. (Photo: AFP) (Representational Image) New Delhi: A fact-finding team of Editors Guild of India, after visiting the Naxal-hit Bastar district of Chhattsigarh, has concluded that there is a sense of fear among journalists there. Similarly, the Press Council of India Chairman Justice C.K. Prasad has expressed grave concern over arrest of journalist Prabhat Singh by the police in Chhattisgarh. The report of the three-member fact-finding team comes in the wake of alleged instances of intimidation of mediapersons in the region. In its report Challenges to Journalism in Bastar, the team said that newspaper organisations should take care while appointing stringers and give them adequate protection. The petitioner pointed out that there is a clear case of extra-judicial confession by the BJP New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear next week a writ petition seeking a CBI probe into the alleged horse trading of MLAs in Uttarakhand from March 18 to 27 when Presidents rule was imposed in the State. Advocate M.L. Sharma who filed this writ petition made a mention before a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices R. Banumathi and Uday Lalit for urgent listing and the Bench agreed to post it for hearing next week. Read: Uttarakhand crisis: HC orders floor test on March 31, rebel MLAs to participate In his writ petition Mr Sharma raised important questions of law, viz whether without complying with the Governors order for floor test on March 28, the Union Cabinet can recommend Presidents rule under Article 356 of the Constitution; whether once the Governor fixed date for floor test, proclamation can be issued and will not amount to contempt of court in the Bommai judgment; Whether MLAs, who allegedly paid/accepted cash/kind for rebel MLAs in the House are liable to be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act? Whether or not it is a clear corruption in the public office by the public servant. The petitioner pointed out that there is a clear case of extra-judicial confession by the BJP general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand, Mr Kailash Vijayvargiya who told media We have 35 MLAs with me here (in New Delhi) and we have the support of Ganesh Joshi also. He said all the 9 rebel MLAs accepted chartered flight arranged by the BJP. He said the MLAs are not immune under Article 194(1) /105(2) of the Constitution for their criminal act in the Assembly. While seeking a CBI probe, the petitioner also prayed for quashing the Presidents rule in the State. Read: Centre cuts short Budget session in view of Uttarakhand political crisis Meanwhile, Harish Rawat, who had challenged dismissal of his government, said on Tuesday that the High Court order for floor test was a tremendous setback to the Centre. Mr Rawat, whose government was sacked on the grounds of breakdown of Constitutional machinery, had moved the high court on Monday calling the Centres decision as arbitrary and demanded its quashing. Traditionally, farmers have sold cattle in a drought year to butchers, mostly Muslims, and bought new ones when their earnings rise after monsoon showers. (Photo: PTI) Mumbai: A ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in Maharashtra is threatening to push millions of farmers into penury, deepening distress in the countryside and fanning resentment against ruling BJP. Slaughter of cows, considered sacred in Hinduism, has historically been banned in most states but was rarely enforced in India, the world's largest exporter of beef. But over the past year, states ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), such as Maharashtra, have broadened the ban to include other types of cattle, like bulls and bullocks, and Hindu vigilantes have stepped up attacks on traders to enforce the prohibition. The stricter rules come as Modi and the nationalist BJP lay greater stress on India's Hindu faith, to which the majority of the population belongs. Minority groups, including around 180 million Muslims, have expressed concern over the implications. The impact of the beef ban has been significant. Prices of cattle have fallen across the country, India's meat exports fell 13% in the April-December period and rival beef supplier Brazil is gaining from India's loss. It has also left millions of farmers, already reeling from bad harvests due to back-to-back droughts and unseasonal rains, struggling to sell animals they can no longer feed or water. "I wonder what the government wants - our survival or the cattle's?" said farmer Revaji Choudhary, standing next to a pair of bulls he has been trying to sell for weeks in a cattle market in Maharashtra. Traditionally, farmers have sold cattle in a drought year to butchers, mostly Muslims, and bought new ones when their earnings rise after monsoon showers. That cycle has been broken and could leave farmers with little money to buy seeds or fertiliser ahead of the next sowing season, starting in June. Farmer suicides have nearly doubled in the drought-hit Marathwada region of Maharashtra. To ban or not to ban? Their predicament is causing concern within the BJP, which has been trying to bolster its credentials in the countryside, where most of India's 1.3 billion people live. Rural distress contributed to an embarrassing defeat for the party last year in a state election, and more state polls are due over the coming year. In the federal budget last month, Modi's government pledged nearly $13 billion on rural development, aiming to double farmer's incomes by 2022. Maharashtra BJP legislator Bhimrao Dhonde said the government's priority should be to support farmers, and they should be allowed to sell their cattle to whomever they want. "It is time to withdraw the ban," Dhonde told reporters. Madhu Chavan, a spokesman for the BJP in Maharashtra, said Dhonde's view did not reflect that of the party. "The party thinks the ban is necessary," he said, adding that more money would be made available to alleviate the effects of drought if needed. Millions of cows Maharashtra, home to India's financial hub Mumbai, has been particularly badly hit by drought. In Latur district, the government imposed rules that prevent assembly of more than five people around a water tanker or borewell to prevent riots. Cows and buffalos need 70 litres of water per day. Many farmers are simply abandoning their cattle. The state has opened hundreds of temporary shelters to house around 250,000 heads of cattle until their owners are ready to take them back, but experts say at least another 4 million animals need to be looked after in Maharashtra. Hindu groups such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) that had promised to build shelters said they, too, were short on cash and the government should do more. Laxmi Narayan Chandak, head of the Maharashtra unit of VHP's cow protection committee, said his organisation has been able to start only one facility that holds 150 cattle. "Nearly 700,000 cows and bulls ... will starve to death or will be smuggled to slaughter houses. We have to save them," said Chandak. He added that only pure Indian breeds "that are worthy of worship" should be sheltered. Every Monday, hundreds of farmers like Choudhary travel to a weekly cattle market in Belhe village, around 200 km (124 miles) east of Mumbai, but with so few people buying, it is more in hope than expectation. Cattle prices in the state have fallen 40% to 60%. Choudhary, who earns around 200,000 Indian rupees ($3,000) in a good monsoon year, said he has incurred losses as his crops wilted due to drought. He paid 40,000 rupees for his pair of bulls a year ago, and is willing to sell them for 20,000 rupees now. He still cannot find a buyer. "We are forced to depend on tankers for drinking water. How can we supply water to cattle?" Choudhary asked. Dehradun: The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the assembly on March 31, giving a new turn to the political events in the state where President's Rule was imposed on Sunday. All MLAs, including the nine ruling Congress rebels, can participate in the trial of strength but the votes of the disqualified legislators will be kept separate. Read: Uttarakhand HC order for floor test a tremendous setback to Centre: Harish Rawat They will be taken into account subject to final outcome of the writ filed petition by chief minister Harish Rawat challenging the imposition of President's Rule, senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters after the second day of the hearing here. Read: Uttarakhand Speaker serves notice to 9 rebel Congress MLAs Harish Rawat had on Monday moved the High Court seeking revocation of President's Rule in the state and restoration of his government, terming the Modi government's decision as a "brazen display of high-handedness and authoritarianism". Centre had on Sunday imposed President's Rule in the state citing a constitutional breakdown in the wake of a rebellion in the ruling Congress. Read: Pranab Mukherjee imposes Presidents rule in Uttarakhand Not amused by the step, Chief Minister Harish Rawat termed it as the 'murder of democracy'. Alleging that central rule was a result of a 'premeditated conspiracy' hatched by the Centre to dislodge a democratically elected Congress government in the state, Rawat also said the BJP was 'thirsty for his blood' right from the day he assumed office on February one, 2014 and did not want his government to stabilise. Read: Murder of democracy, Modi's hands dipped in 'blood': Harish Rawat With the move coming weeks after President's rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh, an angry Congress claimed that the BJP had stooped to a new low and would challenge the order in court. The crisis in the hill state erupted on March 18 when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against Rawat's government, resulting in flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The BJP met the governor the same day and staked claim to form the government. Chief Minister Rawat has contended that with the disqualification of the nine Congress lawmakers, the total strength of the 70-member House has been reduced and so, with his 27 remaining lawmakers and the support of six MLAs from the Progressive Democratic Front and one BJP dissident, he has a majority. The rebel Congress MLAs on Saturday alleged they were offered bribe by the CM for support during the floor test and released a video of a 'sting' operation purportedly showing the CM, who called it 'fake'. The terminal operator is responsible for around half of the countrys container traffic through terminals at Le Havre and Fos, on Frances North and Southern coasts. DP World-CMA-CGM jv company Generale de Manutention Portuaire (GMP), operates two marine terminals in Le Havre - deep-sea container terminal Terminal de France, capable of handling the largest container vessels, and Terminaux Nord, which includes general cargo and Ro-Ro services. Meanwhile the Eurofos marine terminal at the Port of Fos, also a jv with CMA-CGM, is Frances largest container terminal at 1.6 km long. France is an important partner in DP Worlds European operations, said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. Our existing investments in Frances container ports and how they can be given further impetus formed part of the meeting. Participants were keen to know more about our global experience and expertise in moving goods across continents, connecting markets and enabling trade. In the first nine months of 2015, trade between France and DP Worlds home nation, Dubai, reached AED15.3bn ($4bn), comprising over 5,300 French companies. France has many attributes such as a skilled workforce, good infrastructure, proximity to the European hinterland and a unique position with coastal access to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and North Sea," Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem continued. "It was a privilege to highlight our operations there and to provide our knowledge to this major economic power as it seeks to develop investment opportunities in the future. Baptized into politics during the British Raj, Gyan Singh Sohan Pal is among the handful of Congressmen who had shared dias with Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Kharagpur: He had his first brush with elections in 1962, but was unsuccessful. Now after 52 years and 10 stints as a Congress MLA, Gyan Singh Sohan Pal still has the yen to fight another poll battle. As the eldest candidate in this Assembly poll at the age of 91, Pal, fondly called 'Chacha' by his admirers, is a candidate from IIT town Kharagpur which has returned him consecutive times. "Each and every one in Kharagpur knows me personally and I too know them personally," Pal said. Kharagpur, which has a sizeable chunk of Muslim and Malayali voters, has traditionally rooted for him. The formidable Congress candidate, who enjoys immense respect among politicians cutting across political lines, was first elected from the constituency in 1969. This time, the former transport minister in Siddharth Shankar Ray cabinet is contesting as a Left Front-Congress alliance candidate against Trinamool Congress's Ramaprasad Tiwari and BJP's state president Dilip Ghosh. Both TMC and BJP are hopeful of reversing the tide this time. "I am a son of this district. Kharagpur has not seen much of development under Congress. We want to change it and usher a new era of development in Kharagpur," Ghosh said. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, is stressing on the 'unprincipled' character of the alliance between the CPI-M and the Congress to win the election. "There is no place of emotions in politics. The people of Kharagpur will defeat the unholy alliance of Congress and CPI-M. The Congress workers who have been beaten up time and again by the CPI-M will not vote for alliance. We will get those votes," a senior TMC leader of the West Midnapore district said. Baptized into politics during the British Raj, Pal is among the handful of Congressmen who had shared dias with Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. "I am confident of wining the polls this time also as I have been with the people of Kharagpur all through my life. Kharagpur is my life, my family," he said. Many credit him for development initiatives in Kharagpur like setting up of a General Hospital and starting various bus routes to Kolkata. Last time when there was an alliance between the TMC and the Congress, Pal had polled more than 55 per cent of the votes. His nearest CPI-M rival had polled around 31 per cent. Recently Delhi witnessed the shocking murder of Dr Pankaj Narang by a mob in a fit of senseless rage. As if the incident itself was not gruesome enough, deliberate attempts were made by some to give it a communal angle by spreading false rumours that the murderers were illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh. When additional DCP Monika Bhardwaj tried to clarify the issue through a tweet, that five out of the nine accused are Hindus, and the rest four are Muslim residents of UP, not Bangladesh, she was viciously trolled on social media. This is not an isolated incident. In the past one and a half years, India has been plagued with rising incidents of communal violence, many of which started in reaction to rumours. Dadri killing was preceded by the false rumour of a Muslim family storing beef. Recently, two Muslim cowherds were lynched in Jharkhand on the assumption that the cows were being led to slaughter. Burning of churches, riots, pre-mediated attacks on members of minority communities, irresponsible and inflammatory statements by senior leaders of the ruling party, including some members of Parliament and Central ministers, have become commonplace. Multiple faiths, diverse and occasionally diametrically opposite ideologies have been nurtured and flourished in the fertile intellectual and spiritual ground of Indian civilisation. Tolerance of differences, peaceful coexistence of diversity and celebration of plurality reflects Indias core civilisational values. Indian civilisation has never been static. It has been a melting pot of different cultures and faiths since time immemorial. Alexander came in 3rd century BC, leaving behind the legacy of Gandhara Art, a fusion of Indo-Bactrian art forms. Christianity came in 1st century AD, followed by Islam a few centuries later. The almost extinct faith of Zoroastrianism, that came in from ancient Persia, survives only in India now. Jews found a welcome home here. This potpourri of different culture and influences are reflected in our art, language, literature, philosophy and cuisine. This ability to assimilate, absorb and harmonise diverse elements and translate it into a common code, a common cultural ethos is the key to Indias rich and vibrant culture. This code is enshrined in the Upanishadic philosophy of oneness of all. This code was embraced by Gautama Buddha whose message of compassion is taking new meaning in the contemporary world. It was reflected in emperor Ashokas Dhamma through which ethics were incorporated into governance and state policies. The same values were illuminated through Akbars Din-i-Ilahi, a medieval emperors quest to find truth and commonality in all religions. A new path was shown by Mahatma Gandhi, whose unique form of peaceful resistance Satyagraha through the duel arsenals of truth and non-violence, challenged and defeated the mightiest imperialist power of the time. The sub-texts of Indias socio-cultural history have always resisted orthodoxy and hegemony of religious puritanism of any kind. The Bhakti and Sufi movements are testimonials to this. They were part of our societys inherent internal mechanism to discard radicalism and intolerance of any kind. The 15th century saint-poet Kabir was born a Muslim, was influenced by the Bhakti Movement and his verses are now part of the Sikh scripture Adi Granth. He wrote, Kabir is the child of Allah and Ram. He was persecuted by the authorities but was immensely popular among the masses. In late 19th-early 20th century, Lalan Fakir, a famous baul poet from Bengal, wrote, People ask me, Lalan whats your caste/religion? I do not know what is the colour of religion. Popularity of mystic saints discarding the path of conventional religion, as represented by Kabir and Lalan, indicates a rejection of religious orthodoxy and puritanism at a subaltern level. The current political regime and its ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, take pride in speaking the voice of majority. This is hugely misleading. Their bigoted Hindutva is vastly different from Hinduism that is far more liberal and accepting, even having a place for an atheist school of thought in Charvakas Lokayat Darshan. These self-proclaimed custodians of Indian culture and Hinduism with their brand of Hindutva are the complete antithesis of Indian ethos. In any case, which majority do they talk about? Though the BJP managed to form a majority government, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections it could garner just 31 per cent of the votes polled, the lowest so far for any majority government. That means 69 per cent of electorate did not vote for them. Of those 31 per cent, many voted for Modinomics, for the development agenda, not for the RSS Hindutva. But since coming to power, the BJP-led government has been pursuing the RSS agenda to divide and polarise the country for short-term political gains. It is creating strife, deliberately fanning fanaticism and trying to create communal divides. People are being lynched and persecuted on rumours and presumptions. Anyone daring to raise their voice against the government or the RSS is being termed anti-national. Spokespersons of the ruling party are shouting shrill trying to defend these acts. Social media is being used to unleash virtual terror on any voice of dissent. There have been instances of communal and ethnic violence in the past, but never before have the senior leaders of the ruling party and ministers in government instigated them through irresponsible, venomous comments. Many BJP leaders and ministers seem to be in unison with the sentiments of RSS ideologue M.S. Golwalkar, its longest serving Sarsanghchalak, who stated that non-Hindus have no right to live in Bharat and should be treated as second class citizens; and V.D. Savarkar, another ultra-Right ideologue who believed in the two-nation theory, thus echoing the views of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. People indulging in divisive politics dont realise that the bond that unites India is not Hindutva, but Bharatiyata. A multi-cultural, multi-faith pluralistic India is not only our greatest strength, but the very essence of our existence. Apart from soothing words from Pakistan leader Nawaz Sharif following the Pakistani terrorist attack on the Pathankot Air Force base last January, there was little to suggest that Islamabad even accepted that the attackers were from Pakistan, leave alone accept the specific Indian charge that they were from Jaish-e-Mohammed, an anti-India jihadi group created by the ISI. The Pakistanis said flat out that their own investigations showed that the mobile numbers of dead terrorists handed over to them by the Indians were not registered in Pakistan. The implied suggestion was that the attackers were not from Pakistan. But India remained solicitous of Pakistan and unmindful of its reservation, and accepted Islamabads optics of taking JeM chief Masood Azhar into custody for a few days (without charging him). New Delhi gave the country to understand that Islamabad was cooperating and was serious about investigating the Pathankot case. It was in this spirit that New Delhi decided at the highest level to allow a joint investigation team from Pakistan to come over, discuss the nature of the Indian investigation with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and even visit Pathankot, the scene of the crime, including the airbase, on Tuesday. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Union home minister Rajnath Singh indicated that they were not in on the move. But it was evident that soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modis sudden fly-in into Lahore on Christmas Day to greet his counterpart on his birthday, India would do anything to keep up appearances of a friendly mood towards India coming over Pakistan. This came under serious question on Tuesday with Pakistan media issuing government-inspired stories that India was not cooperating with the visiting JIT team from Pakistan. A leading television station and a prominent English newspaper asked why the service record details, bank account numbers, and phone numbers of the families of the Pathankot SP Salwinder Singh and others, were not shared with the Pakistani investigators. The direction in which all this is going is clear enough. A time will come, sooner or later, that Islamabad will suggest that since it received insufficient cooperation at the scene of the crime, it will be hard put to take a properly investigated case before its judiciary. We are once again moving along coordinates similar to the ones in the Pakistani probe in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, which ended up nowhere. Many here have criticised the Modi government for permitting an ISI man in the JIT to visit Pathankot, since it is the ISI that runs the proxy wars against India. We hope the government will agree to resume the foreign secretary talks with Pakistan after seeing how the JIT visit has gone. Islamabads official stance must be subjected to careful scrutiny. Press Release March 29, 2016 Legarda: Upgrade Forest Protection to Avoid Mt. Apo Fire Incident Senator Loren Legarda renewed her call for stronger conservation and security measures on protected areas in the country following the fire incident in Mt. Apo. According to reports, more than 100 hectares of forest cover in Mt. Apo have been affected by the fire that was believed to have started last Saturday. The cause of the fire is still unknown. "It is unfortunate that we have already lost several hectares of forest cover in Mt. Apo due to this fire. It is unfortunate that even our protected areas are not safe from such tragic events. Two years ago, a forest fire that was believed to be man-made transpired at the top of Mt. Banahaw, affecting at least 50 hectares of forest land. We need to strengthen conservation measures in our protected areas so we prevent such disasters," said Legarda. The Senator urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and local government units to assign additional forest rangers to monitor visitors especially during the influx of tourists and called for stricter implementation of existing laws such as the Republic Act No. 9237 or the Mount Apo Protected Area Act of 2003. A staunch environmentalist, Legarda also urged the public to be morally responsible for their actions, especially those trekking mountains. "Enjoying nature is a splendid experience and is good for the soul but it comes with great responsibility. I hope the forest fire in Mt. Apo was not man-made, because if it was, we must condemn and punish such irresponsible acts. As humans, we have the moral responsibility to protect our forests and undertake further efforts towards reforestation and biodiversity conservation. We must not betray our purpose as stewards of our natural resources. We must be accountable for the environmental impact of our actions," said Legarda. Legarda has fervently pushed for the passage of the proposed Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (ENIPAS) to actively help areas that remain under-protected, including open seas, coastal areas, wetlands and tropical forests. If enacted, the ENIPAS will enhance conservation efforts for unique, rare and threatened species of plants and animals and their habitat, thus ensuring the sustainable use of our natural resources and cultural diversity. The Senate has approved the proposed ENIPAS but the counterpart measure in the House of Representatives is yet to be passed. Press Release March 29, 2016 FOI AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT IN GOV'T TRANSPARENCY--BONGBONG MARCOS Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. today said debates on the Freedom of Information Bill should start the soonest so a law on the matter could be passed. Speaking to reporters during his Unity Caravan in Pampanga, Marcos said he is in favor of the passage of an FOI law to address the issue on transparency in government but said since there are different versions of the bill, debates should be conducted to enable lawmakers to come up with a united stand on the provisions of the bill. "I agree to it in principle but there are many versions in the House of Representatives. We should start debates on it so we can pass a law. Transparency is always better than secrecy," he said. The Senate has unanimously passed the FOI in March 2014 but it failed to pass in the Lower House. Citing lack of time and quorum, leaders in the House of Representatives said they will not be able to act on several legislative measures including the FOI, the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the anti -political dynasty bill among others. Marcos said while the chances of the bill being passed when Congress resumes after the elections are nil, he is hopeful that it may still hurdle the time constraints in the Lower House. "I am hoping that it will pass because this is an important measure," he said. An FOI law would have allowed active public participation in stamping out corruption in government through easy disclosure of state action. Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago had earlier hailed the passage of the bill in the Senate since it included her proposed amendments, such as the mandatory disclosure of the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) and the monthly income of top government officials as well as the audited financial statements, and budget and expenditure records of all government agencies. Under the measure, Filipino citizens will have the right to request and be granted access to records or information under government control, with certain exemptions such as national security, law enforcement operations, among others. Press Release March 29, 2016 MIRIAM VOWS JOBS IN COUNTRYSIDE Presidential candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago on Tuesday vowed to create more jobs in the countryside if elected president, so that Filipinos would no longer need to relocate to urban centers or work overseas to support their families. Santiago said her administration would focus on economic development, poverty reduction, and jobs creation by investing heavily on public infrastructure, modernizing agriculture, and attracting foreign investors. "I commit that the Philippine economy will grow faster than ever before, and that it will be truly inclusive. We will make sure that real incomes of workers all over the country will increase over time," the senator said. The program of government Santiago posted on her website shows that she intends to spark economic activity outside Metro Manila by implementing one major infrastructure project and setting up one mixed-used government center per region. She also promised to build an entirely new railway system from Manila to Sorsogon and a modern urban transit system in Metro Manila, with lines reaching urban communities in Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna. Santiago's statement was in response to results of an online poll that three out of four Filipinos prefer to work in their hometowns rather than seek jobs elsewhere. The survey was conducted by the Labor Department and online job marketplace Jobstreet. Santiago, a former Agrarian Reform Secretary, also lamented the poor state of agriculture in the country. This directly impacts the Philippines' poverty situation, she said, noting that agricultural workers belong to the poorest of the poor. "For the income and productivity of farmers to grow, the government should attract rather than chase out private capital in the agriculture sector. We must also match private capital with public investment," the senator said. Santiago's agenda includes investing in farm-to-market roads, irrigation and water impounding facilities, as well as research, particularly for the development of disaster-resilient farming technologies and crop varieties. She added that her administration will consider how the existing Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program, where most beneficiaries are farmers and fisherfolk, may be improved to become a more direct form of support for the agricultural sector. "Grant-for-produce programs may be put in place in rural areas, following the logic of grant-for-work programs we will implement in urban poor communities. This means that incentives will be provided to more productive farmers," Santiago said. To boost manufacturing and the creation of national industries, the senator said she will work to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) and at the same time provide a business climate for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to flourish. Santiago's agenda includes streamline business process and licensing procedures, improving the power situation, and enhance trade facilitation measures. The constitutional expert is also open to easing restrictions on foreign ownership. "Preparing our local government units to accommodate FDI is the same as encouraging more Filipinos to put up their MSMEs. The complaints about red tape and lack of transparency are the same," the senator said. Santiago earlier announced that she has joined clinical trials for a new anti-cancer pill, but she remains the top choice for president among millennials, winning by landslide almost all campus surveys held after the filing of certificates of candidacy. Umar Khalid, a Ph.D. student from Jawaharlal Nehru University facing sedition charges, says he does not believe in the concept of nationalism, is an atheist, a communist and a patriot. In an interview with Sanjay Basak and Sushmita Ghosh, Mr Khalid points out that its the Indian state which believes in Maos tenet: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. What is nationalism to you? Individually, I dont subscribe to any brand of nationalism. I would rather look at myself as an internationalist who thinks of a world without borders. One needs to look at these things historically otherwise one will always be trapped in a political agenda which is divisive and dangerous two world wars were fought in the name of nationalism and several wars in the name of national security. Whats the line dividing nationalism and patriotism? I will answer that with an anecdote from my interaction with the cops. During the first couple of days, policemen during the interrogation told me, Jis desh ka khate ho, usi ke khilaf bolte ho, usi ko todne ki baat karte ho. Initially I kept quiet, fearing that I might be slapped for my replies. Later, when I realised they are not going to do anything, I told one of them that the country is an abstract concept, lets talk about that. I asked him, Kiska khate ho, kaun zameen banata hai, kaun beej, fasal ugata hai? He said, Kisan. I pointed out that the government is planning to push through the Land Acquisition Bill, after that what will be the plight of farmers? Where will he go, what will he do? I asked him that in that scenario, Kaun kiska khata hai? He kept quiet. I told them that people trying to push through the legislation are calling themselves nationalists. A nation is made of people, and one needs to love them and treat them alike. To be a patriot means to be with the people. Nationalism is used for an agenda which is totally different. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley recently said that this government has won the ideological war on nationalism. That people who were raising anti-national slogans are now forced to say Bharat Mata ki Jai. No doubt it was an ideological offensive. This offensive was more to scare than to harm. It was meant to silence important issues raised by the students movement. If one looks at the last two years, it has been the student movement which has been at the forefront of major opposition to this government. Opposing its saffronisation of universities from FTII to Jadavpur, from JNU to HCU. Through this ideological offensive, the government thought that it would silence the students. But it has failed. If Mr Jaitley thinks like that I feel its a short-sighted analysis. What are your views on Kashmir? The role of both India and Pakistan in Kashmir has been a blot on humanity. Both have not seen Kashmir from any other prism except for political, economic and strategic interests. There should be a resolution on Kashmir. Your father had said that you are being punished because of his former links with the banned outfit, Students Islamic Movement of India. A section of the media acted as a lynch mob. Certain journalists ran stories, posted on Twitter and somehow tried to establish some terrorist link. They did not even bother to check that my father had quit SIMI even before I was born. You have been criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accusing the government of targeting JNU... Mr Modi is not an individual. Mr Modi represents a political ideology, he represents a political force which is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Mr Modi also represents the capitalists and corporates. JNU stands against all these and has been at the forefront in opposing the communal, fascist agenda unleashed by the brahmanical kind. How do you justify students politics in an educational institution? This is the thing media has been harping on: Tum rajneeti kyu karte ho, tum padhai karo. Why not politics? We are above 18 years of age and as per the Constitution, we all should have the right to participate in politics, we have the right to vote. Democracy is not just about voting every five years. We are adult citizens of the country and have as much right to do politics. Venkaiah Naidu said, Rajneeti karni hai to padhai choro aur rajneeti karo. If BJP believes this then it should close down Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Actually they are not against students politics, they are against a particular kind of politics. A politics which questions them. Kanhaiya Kumar has emerged as a national figure because of this movement Mr Kumar is not an individual. He is associated with a political party, the Communist Party of India. Hes a member of CPIs student wing, All-India Students Federation. Mr Kumar should use this moment beyond electoral politics or electoral ambitions of CPI. If he does that, he will do justice to the movement. If he confines himself to parliamentary dynamics, the victory, if achieved, will be short lived. Radical possibilities thrown up by the present moment will not be realised. Charu Majumdar, one of the founder leaders of the Naxalbari movement, had later admitted that the annihilation policy followed by the Naxals was wrong. But it is still being followed by the CPI(Maoist). If anyone who believes in Maos tenet Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun its the Indian state. Look at the land grabbing in Chhattisgarh. The barrel of the gun has become larger over the last 10-15 years when Salwa Judum was formed. Operation Green Hunt has been intensified under the Modi government. Police officials with dubious track records of using rape as a weapon of war have been brought back by the administration in Chhattisgarh. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Concord City Council voted Monday to allow Catellus Development Corp. to pull its bid for one of the largest real estate projects in Northern California a 2,200-acre community on the former Concord Naval Weapons Station. In a 2-1 vote, the council denied Catellus last-minute request to change the terms of the deal at the decommissioned naval base by shifting more financial risk to the city. City officials agreed to reimburse a $250,000 good faith deposit the company paid to be in the running. Catellus offered to drop out last week, saying its trust in the process had eroded. For months, it was engaged in a bitter battle for the contract with another powerful developer, Lennar Urban. Catellus accused Lennar of improper lobbying during the selection process, and said the city had made backroom decisions that stood to benefit its competitor. Catellus would prefer to continue moving forward in this process, yet every week there seem to be mistruths, fabricated by certain individuals, which make it difficult for us to have confidence that the city wants a successful, long-term partnership with Catellus, the companys CEO Ted Antenucci said in a March 22 letter to city officials. If Catellus bows out, then Lennar will be the only firm left sitting at the table on April 5 when Concord picks its master developer for the first phase of the project: 500 acres between the North Concord BART Station and Willow Pass Road. That doesnt mean Lennar is a shoo-in, said Guy Bjerke, the citys director of community reuse planning. He said the city can punt its decision next week by demanding that Lennar make changes to its term sheet. Or it can start the process over, he said. Bjerke advised the council to let Catellus go, calling it the only amicable and honorable step in acknowledging the insurmountable trust and confidence issues that have arisen in our negotiation. But some members of the public said that if the council ends talks with Catellus, its effectively handing a $6 billion deal to the companys competitor. This is a sad state of affairs, and its the councils collective job to fix it, Greg Sanborn said. Another speaker, Hope Johnson, characterized Catellus as a whistle-blower and chastened the council for missteps and a lack of transparency during the selection process. You guys demonized Catellus and created a hostile environment for them, Johnson said. Why should they trust Concord after all thats happened? Councilman Dan Helix, who cast the lone dissenting vote, asked his colleagues to make things right with the jilted company. Was it a stretch for Catellus to think someone was stacking the deck against them? I think not, he said. But Councilman Edi Birsan reminded his colleagues that the naval base project is a major business deal and its not about making friends, he said. This is not about trust, Birsan said. This is a billion-dollar deal. In fact, its more than a billion dollars. Two council members have recused themselves from all votes related to the project. Former Mayor Tim Grayson removed himself after an independent investigator found that associates of Lennar contributed nearly $17,000 to his campaign for state Assembly. He has since returned the money. Councilman Ron Leone withdrew because he lives close to the project area, and could benefit if it raises his home value. That leaves three people to vote on a project that will reshape the entire region and one developer left in the running. This article has been corrected since it appeared in print editions. Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan A labor dispute over a 15-minute change in the workday start time led to a shutdown at the Port of Oakland terminal on Monday morning that left one ship idle and a long string of trucks lined up on roads leading to the dock. Sources with knowledge of the dispute said 22 workers were fired when they did not agree to begin work at 6:45 a.m. instead of the usual 7 a.m. start time at the Oakland International Container Terminal, one of the five terminals at the port. Another 44 workers slowed or stopped working in support of their colleagues, the sources said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The San Francisco Police Department on Monday threw its support behind legislation that would expand the use of a device that prevents DUI convicts from starting up their vehicles while inebriated. The installation of an ignition interlock device so named because it blocks an engine from turning on when the drivers Breathalyzer detects alcohol is nearing the end of a pilot program in four California counties. If passed, SB1046 would replicate the program throughout the state and require future convicted offenders to buy the gadget. The bill, introduced by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, with the backing of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, will be considered Tuesday in the Senate Public Safety Committee. If the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown give the OK, it could go into effect as soon as Jan. 1. These devices stop the revolving door of repeat offenders, said Mary Klotzbach, a Livermore nurse whose son was killed in 2001 by a repeat offender driving under the influence. Peoples lives are at stake. We cant wait another year to stop the carnage. At a news conference Monday, Klotzbach and others who have lost loved ones to drunken drivers spoke emotionally about their loss as Police Chief Greg Suhr and officers listened. If the bill is signed into law, convicts with a single DUI offense would need to keep the device installed for six months. Those with a second offense would be required to use the device for a year, while three-time offenders would be required to use it for two years and four-time offenders for three years. The gadgets cost about $100 to install and another $50 per month for monitoring and calibration. The pricing would be on a sliding scale based on the offenders income level, with any difference picked up by manufacturers of the devices. Mothers Against Drunk Driving published a report in December on the results of the pilot program, which began in July 2010 in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties. The group used data from companies that make the devices and found that 717,266 attempts to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.025 were prevented over the programs five-year span. Of the attempts, about 12 percent were by drivers with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher. Carol Leister, whose son was killed by a drunken driver on the Bay Bridge in 2008, said the numbers were staggering. The 22-year-old man who crashed into her sons car driving more than 100 miles per hour was a first-time offender, she said, meaning the legislation could prevent people like him from driving under the influence again. A report from the Department of Motor Vehicles, published in January 2015, found no indication the pilot program in the four counties reduced the number of first-time and repeat DUI offenders. DMV officials initially said a follow-up report to investigate specific deterrence effects on program participants, rather than general deterrence of an entire community, would be published in 2015, but its still under review without a scheduled release date, according to agency spokesman Jaime Garza. Hill and advocates of the bill say DMV officials prefer suspending licenses over the ignition interlock technology. It really puts into question the credibility of the DMV, Hill said, referring to the delay in the departments follow-up report. The device is not a burden. Its very simple and allows them to continue with their life by driving, he added. I think it kind of meets everyones needs and it should be a very obvious thing. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle A 21-year-old woman was arrested Saturday, several hours after she allegedly shot a 29-year-old man to death in Visitacion Valley, police said Monday. Monique Williams, of San Francisco, was arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and being an accessory to a crime, according to Officer Carlos Manfredi. All are felony charges. A black San Francisco State student accuses a white student wearing dreadlocks of "cultural appropriation" in a video filmed Monday on the university's campus. San Francisco State confirmed the authenticity of the 46-second video posted by YouTube user Nicolas Silvera, but did not identify the students involved. The university noted that the YouTube title of the video was incorrect: The young woman is not a campus employee. In the video, she accosts her fellow student in a hallway of a campus building. "You're saying I can't have a hairstyle because of your culture? Why?" asks the incredulous dreadlock-coiffed student. "Because it's my culture," she says. The man informs her that dreadlocks we're "in Egyptian culture" and asks rhetorically "Are you Egyptian? Nah, man, you're not." The woman throws that right back at him. "Are you Egyptian?" she asks. "Wait, where's Egypt?" But the man won't be drawn into a discussion of Mideast geography. "You know what, girl, you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot wear," he says while trying to pass her in order to go up a flight of stairs. At this point the woman grabs the man's arm in an attempt to stop him. "Yo, girl, stop touching me now," he says, before shaking free. "I don't need your disrespect." He then storms off. Meanwhile, the woman confronts the videographer, saying "Why are you filming this?" and reaching for the camera. Jonathan Morales, San Francisco State news and media director, provided SFGate with this statement from the university: "We are aware of the video made of an incident which occurred on campus yesterday afternoon. University police were called to the scene of the incident when it occurred. The two individuals involved in the incident are not San Francisco State University employees. Further, no criminal charges have been pressed at this time to the University's knowledge. "San Francisco State University promotes the rights of the campus community to engage in free speech, but does not condone behavior that impedes the safety or well-being of others. We are taking the matter seriously and will promptly and thoroughly investigate this incident through applicable University channels, including our campus student conduct procedures." San Francisco: Apple's legal standoff with the FBI ended Monday, but experts say the issues behind it will come up again, as more tech companies take measures to guard their customers' messages, photos, business records and other files. Also Read: US succeeds in cracking Apple's iPhone, drops legal action After weeks of heated debate, in which Apple had resisted the FBI's demand for help, authorities say they found their own way to get the data from an encrypted iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. Confused by all the back-and-forth in this high-stakes dispute? Here are the minutes of the case: What was the fight about? At the Justice Department's request, a federal judge ordered Apple Inc. last month to help the FBI unlock an encrypted iPhone used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in December. Specifically, the government wanted Apple to create software that would override an "auto-wipe" feature which is designed to kick in after anyone makes 10 wrong attempts at guessing the iPhone's passcode. Once that feature is activated, it renders all the data on the phone permanently unreadable. Apple said it could create the software the government wanted, but it argued vehemently that doing so would be a bad idea. CEO Tim Cook said the order would set a precedent for more government demands, both in the United States and around the world. Apple also said the software could be stolen by hackers and used against other iPhones. Federal authorities insisted they were only asking for Apple's help in a single case, although prosecutors nationwide have said they wanted similar assistance in other cases where iPhones have been seized. While it's unclear if any useful information was stored on the iPhone, FBI Director James Comey said authorities owed it to the San Bernardino victims to leave no stone unturned in their investigation. Why did this turn into such a big deal? The case crystalized some long-simmering frustrations and conflict between the tech industry and law enforcement authorities. Apple and other tech companies have been steadily increasing their use of encryption and other safeguards to protect their customers' data, following a wave of recent hacking attacks and revelations about government data-collection by the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Law enforcement officials, including Comey, have complained that encryption and other data safeguards are helping dangerous people hide their activities, while interfering with the government's ability to investigate crimes. In the San Bernardino case, Apple drew support from other leading tech companies, computer security experts and civil liberties groups. They filed court briefs arguing the government was going too far in trying to force a company to create software that threatened its own customers' security. Meanwhile, top officials in the Obama administration, including U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, denounced Apple's stance and accused the company of trying to rewrite the rules for government investigations. What did the judge decide? The judge didn't have to rule. Cook had said he was prepared to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. But last week, just one day before Magistrate Sheri Pym had planned to hold a hearing on the dispute, the Justice Department asked for a delay. Authorities said an unnamed "outside party" had come forward with a technical solution to unlocking the phone, which the FBI needed time to test out. Then on Monday of this week, the government reported that it had successfully accessed the iPhone's files and no longer needed Apple's help. For that reason, the Justice Department asked the magistrate to withdraw the order she issued in February. So who won? Each side can claim a victory: Authorities say they achieved their goal of getting into the iPhone, while Apple successfully resisted a court order that it contends would be harmful to its customers. Even so, the FBI may have lost some credibility. After repeatedly insisting that only Apple had the means to help authorities unlock the phone, it turned out there was another way. In the court of public opinion, Apple made a strong case that it was standing up for its customers, and an important principle. But some people may believe the company should have done more to help law enforcement. Does that end the matter? It probably ends the dispute over one iPhone, but it's not the last we'll hear of this issue. Law enforcement officials around the country still want to get into other iPhones. The FBI hasn't said how it got into the San Bernardino iPhone, but it may be able to use the same method in other cases. And we don't know who provided the solution that the FBI used. It's possible the method was devised by a private forensics expert or firm that will sell the service to other clients in the future. Apple, of course, wants to know what method the FBI used so the company can decide if there's an iPhone vulnerability that needs to be fixed. Even if the FBI doesn't tell them, security experts predict Apple and other tech companies will keep adding more security measures to its products. That could set the stage for more legal confrontations. Meanwhile, Congress has held hearings on the issue. Some legislators have discussed limiting how much help the government can demand of tech companies, while others want to require tech companies to provide more assistance in the future. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. New York The fight for Starwood Hotels swung back in favor of China's Anbang after the insurance company offered $15 billion in a counterpunch to Marriott International. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which has a tony stable of hotels including the St. Regis New York, said Monday that the offer from the Anbang group is "reasonably likely" to trump a sweetened bid that Marriott submitted last week. Some industry analysts now believe Marriott will wind up on the losing end of this battle, unless other factors besides price enter the equation. "We don't think (Marriott) can go higher, and we would question it if they did," analyst Ryan Meliker of the investment bank Canaccord wrote in a research note. Starwood's board said it is still backing Marriott's bid while it assesses Anbang's offer. Marriott stood behind its last bid "as the best course" for Starwood in a Monday letter. The Bethesda, Md., company also advised Starwood shareholders to scrutinize Anbang's financing and consider the "timing of any required regulatory approvals." That comment appeared to be a veiled reference to the potential hurdles that a Chinese company might have to clear to buy Starwood, which is based in Stamford, Conn. Marriott declined to elaborate on its letter. Anbang dealt with similar concerns two years ago when it acquired the famed Waldorf Astoria of York for nearly $2 billion. While it tries to hook Starwood, Anbang is also trying to reel in Strategic Hotels & Resorts in a proposed $6.5 billion deal. Although Anbang's purchase of Waldorf was cleared by the U.S. Treasury's Committee on Foreign Investment, worries about the Waldorf becoming an outpost for Chinese espionage still hang over the hotel. Last year, President Barack Obama, his top aides and staff along with the sizable U.S. diplomatic contingent lodged elsewhere during the annual U.N. General Assembly, which takes place every September. The switch ended a decades-long tradition of having presidents and other top U.S. diplomatic officials stay at the Waldorf when in New York. The government still leases a residence for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Waldorf. Foreign purchases of hotels and other real estate typically don't trigger national security concerns in the U.S. unless the locations are near key military bases or other sensitive government buildings, said Anne Salladin, a special counsel specializing in national security reviews for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in Washington. Starwood's stable includes a W Hotel that overlooks the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington. Caixin, a financial magazine in China, also has raised the specter of Anbang's Starwood bid being derailed by its own government. That's because Anbang's plans to buy Starwood and Strategic Hotels could violate restrictions that limit Chinese insurance companies from having more than 15 percent of their assets in foreign investments. The latest offer from Anbang is worth $88.66 per Starwood share. That tops the $14.41 billion offer that Marriott made last week. Anbang's offer includes $82.75 per share in cash, which is an increase of $4.75 per share from its previous bid. The bid also includes $5.91 in stock for a spinoff of a vacation business. Californias plan to set up a mandatory, state-sponsored retirement plan for private-sector workers whose employers dont offer one moved a step closer to reality Monday. The California Secure Choice Board, set up under a 2012 law to investigate such a plan, unanimously recommended that the Legislature move forward with it. Kevin De Leon, D.-Los Angeles, president pro tempore of the state senate, said he will put the boards recommendation into a bill that he hopes will get to the governors desk by July. As originally envisioned, all employers with five or more workers in California that dont already offer a retirement plan would be required to automatically enroll their employees in the state-sponsored Secure Choice plan. The board recommended that the default contribution rate would start at 2 to 5 percent of pay, said Grant Boyken, California deputy treasurer. Employees could change their contribution rate or opt out entirely. For the first three years of the program, the only investment option would be Treasury securities or similar low-risk, low-yielding alternatives, Boyken said. The board didnt say what maturities the Treasurys would be, but 10-year Treasurys are yielding less than 2 percent and two-year Treasurys are below 1 percent. That recommendation sidestepped one of the controversies surrounding the plan what investment options workers would have. The board hired New York consulting firm Overture Financial to conduct a financial feasibility study, market analysis and design such a program. In a 518-page report issued last month, Overture laid out various options and recommendations, but few of them made it into the boards recommendation. The recommendations are soft, as there is more work to be done, said Christina Elliott, the boards acting director. There are various program design options to choose from, that should not be locked into statute. The board will include Overtures report with its letter to lawmakers. Under the Overture plan, each employee would have a Roth IRA funded through payroll contributions. The default contribution rate would be 5 percent of pay, escalating by one percentage point each year until it reached 10 percent. The report recommended two investment options. One would essentially be a target-date fund similar to those offered by 401(k) plans. The other would be whats described as a Pooled IRA with Reserve Fund packaged as a Retirement Savings Bond. In this complex option, each participant would have an account that would be credited based on the performance of an underlying portfolio of securities managed by a state authority. In years when the portfolio did well, participants would be credited with somewhat less than the performance of the portfolio, with the excess going into a reserve fund, Boyken said. In years when the market doesnt perform well, the board would make the decision to credit them with somewhat more (than the funds performance). Annual fees would be capped at 1 percent of investments. Even then, a 1 percent fee could eat up most of the return from a Treasury-only portfolio. California is the largest of six states that have passed laws to begin creating state-sponsored plans for the large number of Americans who dont have one at work. As a result, the states Secure Choice plan has attracted national attention. The Investment Company Institute, which represents mutual funds, sent a 30-page letter to the board on Thursday raising questions about the plan that it said warranted further attention. One is that the state plans would not be subject to the same regulations that govern private-sector plans, giving state plans an unfair advantage, said Brian Reid, the ICIs chief economist. The Secure Choice plan could only go forward if it would not be treated an employee benefit plan under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. This act was designed to protect workers in private-sector retirement plans, but it creates a lot of extra cost and paperwork that discourage small employers from offering them. To streamline such plans, the U.S. Labor Department in November issued a proposal that said state-sponsored auto-enrollment IRAs would not fall under that act, as long as employees could opt out and employers are minimally involved. That proposal would need final approval before California could implement its plan. We were told the proposed regulations would be actual regulations by summer, Boyken said, adding that theres no guarantee that will happen. Reid said California is also trying to get exemptions from having to register as a mutual fund with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That is something private-sector plans must do. Even if Secure Choice charges participants a 1 percent annual fee, the plan will run at a deficit for much longer than the Overture report predicted even under its most pessimistic participation and contribution-rate scenarios, Reid said. Whoever fronts the money in the first years is going to be on the hook for a very long payback period, he said. Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Blog: http://blog.sfgate.com/pender Twitter: @kathpender Alameda County sheriffs deputies who were filmed beating a man in a Mission District alley also robbed him and, with the help of other deputies, bribed homeless witnesses to cover up their actions, says an attorney representing the victim. Michael Haddad, a civil rights attorney representing Stanislav Petrov, 29, the man beaten by deputies in November after leading them on a 38-minute chase across the Bay Bridge from San Leandro, said he intends to file a civil claim the precursor to a suit against Alameda County on Tuesday. Surveillance video shows deputies Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber tackling, punching and beating Petrov, a car-theft suspect, with batons after he crashed his car and ran down Stevenson Street. The deputies said that Petrov had rammed two patrol cars and that they feared he was armed, possibly on drugs, and dangerous. Haddad said the claim alleges the deputies used excessive force and more. The deputies who beat him not only violated his rights but other deputies covered up by falsifying reports and bribing witnesses, he said. Soon after the beating, other deputies arrived, Haddad said, and at least one of them stole a valuable medallion and cash from Petrov and gave it to two homeless onlookers who witnessed the beating. When the deputies noticed them, they gave them the medallion with some money and cigarettes, he said. At a news conference Monday night, sheriffs department spokesman J.D. Nelson said the allegations are being investigated. They are no better than the criminals they arrested if these allegations are true, he said. Nelson also said a third deputy, who was not identified, is being investigated for the theft and bribery allegations. He also said one of the deputies apparently accidentally activated his body camera and that a second video of the beating exists. Santamaria and Wieber have been on paid administrative leave since the incident. Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan A San Francisco homeless couple said they watched Alameda County sheriffs deputies who had chased an auto theft suspect into the city severely beat the defenseless man with batons in an alley, and were then given the wounded mans cash and jewelry as hush goodies by a deputy at the scene. Jerome Allen and his partner, 31-year-old Haley Harris, said in interviews Tuesday that they were in a tent on Stevenson Street in the citys Mission District on Nov. 12 when they witnessed the now widely publicized beating of Stanislav Petrov by deputies Luis Santamaria and Paul Wieber that was captured on video and is the subject of multiple investigations. They gave me his gold chain, his cigarettes, some change and some other stuff, Allen, 50, said at a city shelter where he is staying. They saw my eyes pop out of my head when I saw that chain. They didnt just decide to give it to me common sense is it was hush goodies. Alameda County sheriffs officials said the allegation is under investigation, and that a 20-year-veteran deputy implicated in the couples account has been placed on paid administrative leave. At a news conference, Sheriff Greg Ahern said his agency had just learned of the account through media reports and Petrovs attorneys. While he found the video of the beating disturbing, Ahern said, the allegation of theft and bribery was one of the most horrific things Ive heard. He did not identify the deputy but indicated he was not one of the two men who struck Petrov with their batons. Attorney files claim The development emerged as attorney Michael Haddad filed a claim Tuesday against Alameda County on behalf of Petrov, 29, the man beaten after he allegedly fled deputies in a half-hour chase in a stolen car from Castro Valley over the Bay Bridge. The deputies said in reports that Petrov had rammed two patrol cars and that they feared he was armed, possibly on drugs and dangerous. The claim, a precursor to a federal civil rights lawsuit, says deputies not only stole from the bloodied man but also painfully cuffed his fractured hands and used a phone to snap a trophy photo of him as he moaned and writhed on the pavement. Ahern said the photo may have been properly taken as evidence but said the assertion would be fully investigated. The claim alleges misconduct by more than a half dozen deputies who responded to the Mission District, including Santamaria and Wieber. A lawyer for Santamaria did not immediately return calls Tuesday seeking comment. Attorney William Rapoport, who is representing Wieber, declined to comment, saying he needed more information from authorities. But he said any allegations involving theft or bribery would not involve his client. Allen told The Chronicle that he and Harris were awake in their tent on the night of the beating when they heard tires screeching and what sounded like someone getting hit. When they got outside, they said, they saw a man swarmed by two deputies. They took him down, Allen said. Then they hit him 40 times at least. I yelled, Stop! but that didnt stop them. They acted like they didnt hear me. Harris, in a separate interview, said she figured the necklace offered by a deputy might belong to the bloodied man, but at the time was sick and scared and said nothing. The deputy said to (Allen), Dont spend it all in one place, she said. I said to Jerome, Maybe theyre trying to buy you off. Haddad said the deputy had told the couple, I hope you enjoyed the show. Allen said he has since been interviewed by the Alameda County sheriffs internal affairs bureau, which must rule on potential discipline, as well as San Francisco prosecutors, who must decide whether to file criminal charges against the deputies. He said he sold the necklace which he identified as the one Petrov is seen wearing in a photo on Facebook for $1,500 on the street. Allen added that Petrov is a friend and that he was shocked to learn the bloodied mans identity. Its crazy that we just happened to be there when it happened, he said. Surveillance camera footage The deputies beating of Petrov came to light because it was captured by a surveillance camera, with the footage released by San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi a day later. The video footage shows Petrov running from two deputies before being tackled by one of them. According to the claim, Santamaria and Wieber began viciously beating (Petrov) with steel batons on his head, neck, back, hands, and elsewhere on his body. (Petrov) never resisted, never tried to flee after he had surrendered, and never posed any immediate threat to anyone. Haddad wrote that deputies painfully locked (Petrovs) crushed hands in handcuffs, and that one stepped on his head or neck, pressing it into the pavement for more than a minute even as Petrov said, Please help me. Haddad said his client suffered not only broken bones in his hands but also head wounds and a concussion. This was probably the worst law enforcement beating on video that weve seen since Rodney King, Haddad said at a news conference at his office in Oakland. He said that even though the camera pointed at the alley was not cutting-edge and did not record continuously, with 10-second pauses in the footage, We can count approximately 40 or more blows. Theyre aiming for Stanislavs head, which is the use of deadly force, and Stanislav is trying to protect himself with his hands. As a result, his hands were crushed and his head was damaged and he sustained major injuries. Haddad said he believes other deputies at the scene participated in a code of silence concerning the unlawful conduct of fellow law enforcement officers by authoring false police reports and not activating their body cameras at the time of the incident. You dont turn cameras on when you know youre committing a crime, he said. Alameda County sheriffs officials said Tuesday that Wieber accidentally activated his body camera and that a second video of the beating exists, but they did not release the footage. They said Santamaria and Wieber have been on paid administrative leave since the incident. San Francisco prosecutors have not decided whether charges are merited. As with every case that comes into this office, we must be sure that a thorough investigation has been conducted so that justice is done, Alex Bastian, an office spokesman, said Tuesday. At this time, we are unable to comment on it any further. Reviewing policies Ahern said he had reviewed the departments policies and training since the video emerged. He decided to address gaps in baton training and amend the body camera policy, he said, so that deputies must activate them during all stops. Previously, Ahern said, deputies had the option of using the new devices so that they could experiment and get used to them. This event has caused us to look at some gaps and some areas where we need to improve, and were going to do that, he said. Since the event has occurred, every member of our agency has taken on some type of responsibility to make sure this type of event never happens again. The department, Ahern said, is also looking into whether deputies who responded to the scene after the beating acted properly in not stepping in and halting any alleged wrongdoing. Those deputies are trained to stop all unlawful actions when they have the authority to do so, he said. If somebody knew about that theft and did not report it, they are going to be punished. Vivian Ho and Evan Sernoffsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com, esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo @EvanSernoffsky A Concord man who said he set fire to a Pittsburg church because he felt God had dealt him a bad hand in life has been sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison for a religious hate crime. Hugo Scherzberg, 48, pleaded guilty in January to igniting a March 2010 fire that extensively damaged the Church of the Living God on Harbor Street and required almost complete reconstruction. The sentence imposed Monday by U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam in Oakland, recommended by both sides in a plea agreement, includes $492,000 in restitution. A 32-year-old man wanted in a drive-by shooting in Concord that left an 8-year-old boy severely wounded was himself shot by police and critically injured in a confrontation Monday in Fairfield, authorities said. James Jarrard of Concord was wanted on a $1.1 million arrest warrant after he allegedly shot the boy in the neck outside the boys home on the 2900 block of La Salle Avenue in Concord on Friday. Just before the shooting, the boy was playing and surrounded by family members, who know the suspect, police said. It was unclear for whom the bullet was intended, said Cpl. Christopher Blakely of the Concord Police Department, adding that Jarrard has an extensive criminal history, including evading police, and was on parole for a burglary offense. The boys shooting set off a massive manhunt for the suspect. Meanwhile, the young victim underwent surgery Friday night and was expected to survive. Initially, he was going to be airlifted to UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospital Oakland, said Blakely, who called it a good sign that the boy was taken by ambulance to the hospital. As of Sunday, Blakely said, the boy still had the bullet lodged in his neck. Mondays confrontation on the 3400 block of North Texas Street in Fairfield came after a concerned citizen recognized Jarrard from media reports after Fridays shooting and followed him into a Lowes parking lot. The citizen called 911 about 12:40 p.m. and, when officers arrived at the parking lot, the suspect ran away, police said. Officers pursued the suspect, who was hit by gunfire in the chase, said Officer Cade Beckwith of the Fairfield Police Department. Jarrard was transported to a nearby trauma center. No officers were injured in the encounter. Our biggest goal was to get him into custody, Blakely said. I have a feeling that he knew he was wanted. It doesnt surprise me they found him out in Fairfield. The Fairfield Police Department and district attorneys office will conduct separate investigations into the officer-involved shooting. 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 The last words of an 8-year-old Oakland girl were revealed Tuesday at the capital murder trial of the man accused of killing her and they proved prophetic: Im dying. Julie Silva, a paramedic who has worked in Alameda County for the past 31 years, testified that as she and her crew rushed Alaysha Carradine to a hospital in 2013, the mortally wounded child uttered words that will haunt me until the day I die. She screamed, Im dead, Silva recalled during her stint on the witness stand at the trial of Darnell Williams. And I told her, No, baby girl, youre just hurt. And she said, Im hurt and Im going to the doctor? Then Im dying. That was the last thing she said. The dramatic testimony in the Alameda County courtroom came after Williams attorney, Deborah Levy, told the jury that the prosecutions death penalty case was built on two key witnesses who are unreliable. You will be asked to rely on the words of two women who have a great motive to lie or misrepresent the facts, Levy said in her opening statement. The two witnesses Levy referred to are Britney Rogers, Williams former girlfriend, and Laquana Nuno, a friend of Jermaine Davis, whose death, prosecutors contend, was the catalyst for the shooting that took Alayshas life. These women are not believable, Levy said. Two murder counts Williams is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, for Alayshas death and the death of a second person two months later, 22-year-old Anthony Medearis, whom the defendant allegedly shot and killed in the course of a robbery at a dice game in Berkeley. He is also charged with two special circumstances lying in wait and committing multiple murders which make him eligible for the death penalty. Williams, 25, allegedly went to the Wilson Avenue apartment where Alaysha and other children were having a sleepover on July 17, 2013, looking for revenge after a close friend, Davis, was killed in Berkeley earlier that day, prosecutors charged. Williams went to the apartment looking for Antiown York, the man he blamed for Davis death, and fired through the door as soon as someone opened it, prosecutors said. Alaysha was hit in a hail of bullets that also injured two of her playmates a 7-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother and their grandmother. Prosecutors said on Monday that Nuno had helped Williams in the slaying of Medearis, who was killed in the course of a robbery at the dice game in Berkeley on Sept. 8, 2013. In an exchange of texts with Williams, which were caught on a police wiretap, Williams revealed plans to Nuno to rob Medearis and got her to pick him up shortly after the shooting to aid his getaway. Levy said her testimony was unreliable because Nuno had originally been charged with Medearis murder as well, but had struck a deal with prosecutors to receive a lighter sentence in exchange for her testimony against Williams. Rogers, who was living with Williams at the time of the shooting, is expected to testify that when Williams came home the night of Alayshas shooting he had two handguns and was wearing a bulletproof vest, prosecutors said Monday. Sad news When Rogers turned on the news the following morning and saw that a young girl had been killed, she began to cry, prosecutors said, at which point Williams allegedly began threatening her, telling her that if she went to the police he would harm her family. Levy asked the jury to listen to what is not there. She also cautioned the panel about getting wrapped up in the heightened emotions of the case, noting that some of the evidence would be heart wrenching. Later in the day, Deputy District Attorney John Brouhard called to the stand one of Alayshas closest friends, Amara York, the other young girl who was injured the night of the shooting. Amara, now 10, entered the courtroom covering her face with her hands and had to be gently persuaded to answer questions. Is it true that on that night you got an owie? Brouhard asked. Amara laughed and Brouhard demurred, noting that she was obviously too old for such a question. Amara did remember the night in question, telling the court she heard the doorbell ring and after asking who was there, opened the door to find a man holding a gun outstretched in front of him and firing. Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SFKale Founded in 1928, American brand Motorola has seen a lot of ups and downs. Pioneer of the wireless communications, the company is known for one of the most iconic phones including the DynaTAC, StarTAC, and RAZR V3. The company did struggle in the post iPhone era though. After suffering massive losses in consecutive years, the company was split into two entities. Under Google's leadership, the company seemed to be on the right track. However, now in the hands of a Chinese company Lenovo, Motorola seem lost again. Let's see what has changed in recent years. After Google took control of the Motorola Mobility, they got rid of Motorola's horrendous software customisation dubbed MotoBlur. It was one of the worst Android UI out there in market that time. So bad that it would even make Samsung's TouchWiz skin (generally considered tacky) look elegant. More importantly, Motorola decided to go with stock (vanilla) Android. This decision, effectively solved the update delay issue long associated with Motorola. Another important aspect was the shift in the hardware strategy. Instead of continuing multiple line-ups including from DEFY, Bionic, RAZR, Droid series, Motorola decided to release fewer handsets. Taking inspiration from Nokia's Lumia 520, which is considered as the first affordable smartphone that offered good user experience, the American company released the Moto G. It turned out to be a huge success in countries like India. With clear focus on competitive pricing, Motorola expanded its portfolio with the Moto X and Moto E. The trio received lots of love from the consumers. Not only because of the pricing, but timely updates and some clever tweaks such as Active Notifications and Touchless Controls. Motorola stood out as the only Android maker not interested in meaningless specifications race. It became the go to brand for price sensitive smartphone buyers without compromising much on the quality. It is no surprise that people had high expectations from Motorola's next-gen line-up. However, the company simply upgraded the specifications a bit and did not bother to change the design. Nothing about the second generation Moto phones looked or felt new. After Lenovo's acquisition, things did not improve either. The third-gen Moto G still looked almost like the second-gen. If you ever complained about Samsung being lazy at designs, check this out: The new Moto E got owned by the Chinese competitors. The Moto X got split into two variants Moto X Play and Moto X Style. The X Play turned out to be first phone to hurt the Moto X brand with serious performance issues. Although the X Style was much better that its sibling, it was still a step down in terms of a display. In the latest iteration, Motorola decided to go with cheaper LCD panel compared to the OLED panels found in the predecessors. Overall, Motorola is no longer a company that provides interesting products at affordable prices. Well, it hasn't even bothered to refresh its design for over three generations. Motorola was on its way to its comeback. However, with its half-hearted attempts in the recent times, suggests that the brand is losing its way. - Chandrakant Isi The author has been covering all-things-tech for over 10 years. He is a sci-fi aficionado, wannabe space explorer, and Content Lead at MySmartPrice.com Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MANCHESTER Kalie Menders isnt worried about herself. She is on a full tuition scholarship in the honors program at Southern Connecticut State University. Rather, she is concerned about her younger brother, who will face a $480 a year tuition hike when bills are mailed out this summer. It will hurt, said Menders, a junior studying communication disorders and president of the student government. It is a pain bound to reverberate across 17 campuses from Western Connecticut State Universitys Westside campus in Danbury, clear across the state to Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson near the Rhode Island border. And it might not end there. More Information The approved increases are: CSCUCurrent TuitionIncreaseNew Tuition State Universities $9,609 5.0% or $480 $10,089 Community Colleges $4,032 3.5% or $141 $4,173 Charter Oak State College $8,666 4.0% or $347 $9,013 See More Collapse The Board of Regents, meeting Tuesday at Manchester Community College, was warned that the 5 percent tuition hike leveled on state university students in the fall and the 3.5 percent increase being tacked onto community college tuition bills wont even begin to sop up half of the expected red ink the system is facing. On top of the increase there will be $18 million in budget cuts. That, according to system President Mark Ojakian, is a best case scenario as the states fiscal crisis seems to worsen by the minute and that plan counts on steady enrollment. Over the past few years, enrollment has been slipping. Students in the middle Paul Broadie, president of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, said his staff is looking at what might be cut now. We are going to try our best to minimize the impact to students, Broadie said. We are going to tighten our belt more and look at our administrative costs. We are not going to look at faculty or student services, as much as we can. Barbara Richards, a Housatonic sociology professor and vice-chair of the faculty advisory committee to the Board of Regents said it is students in the middle who will be impacted the most. Students on financial aid wont feel it but those that arent will, Richards said, calling it a tough situation. Gordon Plouffe, a student representative on the Board of Regents, was the only member to vote against the increase. I know what you are trying to do is right and fair, Plouffe said. Every dollar cut in funding leaves some student behind. Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State College and Universities, agreed the increase was something he did not want to do. I believe this increase is a fair and responsible decision given our current economic reality, Ojakian said. Matt Fleury, chairman of the boards finance committee, said the system faces a $37.3 million shortfall in the new fiscal year. If it were all to be made up from tuition, university students would be facing a 7.6 percent hike, community colleges, a 10.7 percent hike, Fluery said. Nearly 50 percent of the systems revenue comes from the state. If it took it all from programs, Ojakian said the cuts would strip the system of its ability to educate and graduate its 90,000 students. Quite honestly it would mean a real reduction in the work force, Ojakian said. We dont have enough full time faculty now. The proposal strikes a balance between accessibility and affordability, he told the board. He also pledged not to return to tuition if the financial picture worsens. Even so, Menders, of Waterford, called the situation difficult and frustrating. Most of the people I know are already struggling to afford higher education, Menders said. Joanna Newsom recently released Divers, her first new studio album in five years. Since setting out into the world with her 2004 debut, The Milk-Eyed Mender her full-size orchestral harp in tow the 33-year-old Nevada City native and Mills College alumna has become an indie hero, turned the world onto her eclectic influences ranging from Appalachian folk songs to Renaissance madrigals, and settled down with her husband, actor Andy Samberg. She spoke to us from her home in Los Angeles. Q: Your latest album alone took five years to make. Do you feel like you have come full circle because you started as an unknown commodity, went out there and proved yourself and now youre back in a space where theres no pressure? A: I think even at the time it wasnt about proving myself. It was about having an opportunity to potentially play music as my living, as my job. I felt really excited and hoped people would like it, but I never had that plucky, Im-going-to-prove-myself mentality. I definitely have slowed down a little bit in my process. Q: Why is that? A: The overarching structure for this record was so complicated it just took so long. I didnt even know how long it was going to take. I was working the whole time. So far, I havent had that artistic crisis of, why bother? Its more about waiting for the good idea. Q: Is it hard to stay in touch with the magic as you grow older and maybe more cynical? A: I dont think so. Life pulls me in a lot of different directions, but theres still this set of priorities that have survived my life. Ive been really lucky that I get to keep making music; it infuses the act. Theres something sacred with how rare it is that I get to do that. Q: A lot of this album is about your difficulty to adjusting to life in New York. Was it that bad? A: Even living in San Francisco for me was hard. I had to decamp to Nevada City every weekend. New York was too dense and too loud and intense for me. There was something comedic about it. I lived there part-time for four years and I took the subway maybe five times. I walked everywhere. That was the only way to navigate without freaking out. I feel like I was in Blade Runner. Q: Do you still get nervous walking out onstage? A: Im more nervous doing an interview than playing a show. Theres something really anchoring and distilling about the act of sitting and playing music. It burns off all the other stuff. It pulls me back to the personal act. You can see my awkwardness on display between songs. Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicles pop music critic. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF Joanna Newsom: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 27. $35-$45. Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.apeconcerts.com. Watch the official video to Sapokanikan here: https://youtu.be/ky9Ro9pP2gc Joanna Newsom In Conversation with Dave Eggers: 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 16. City Arts and Lectures, Nourse Theater, 1955 Sutter St., S.F. (415) 392-4400. www.cityarts.net BOSTON Archaeologists in Boston are digging at a boyhood home of Malcolm X in an effort to uncover more about the slain black rights activists early life. The two-week archaeological dig began Tuesday in Bostons historically black Roxbury neighborhood. Organizers say they also hope to learn more about the propertys long history, which includes uses as a farm and possibly American Indian settlement. Members of Malcolm Xs family and community residents are expected to help Bostons Archaeology Lab and researchers from the University of Massachusetts-Boston undertaking the excavation. A ground-penetrating radar survey will be used this week to determine the best locations to dig and major excavation work is expected next week. The site will be open to the public throughout to observe the work. The former Malcolm Little lived with his sisters family at 72 Dale St. as a teenager in the 1940s. The two-and-a-half story home, built in 1874, is currently owned by Rodnell Collins, a nephew of Malcolm X who hopes the survey can raise public awareness of his familys history as he looks to convert the home into a residence for graduate student community volunteers. The only surviving dwelling from the outspoken activists formative years in Boston was designated a city landmark in 1998. No physical move in my life has been more pivotal or profound in its repercussions, Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography about his time in Boston. All praise is due to Allah that I went to Boston when I did. If I hadnt, Id probably still be a brainwashed black Christian. Born in Omaha, Neb., Little had bounced around from foster homes following his fathers death and his mothers institutionalization for a nervous breakdown. His older sister, Ella Little-Collins, eventually became his legal guardian, and he lived with her family in a number of homes in Roxbury over the years, including the Dale Street home, which overlooks a grassy park now named in his honor. But Little rebelled against the familys relatively stable life and eventually landed in a Boston prison for burglary charges in his early 20s. There, he became a Nation of Islam follower. He adopted the X moniker to represent his familys lost African ancestral name. A charismatic speaker, Malcolm X quickly became the Detroit-founded Nation of Islams principal spokesman during its rapid rise in the 50s and 60s. He helped found temples and mosques in black neighborhoods from Boston to Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta promoting black nationalism and denouncing white American culture. He adopted a more conciliatory tone and converted to Sunni Islam before being gunned down by Nation of Islam adherents at a speech in New York City in 1965 at the age of 39. WASHINGTON House Republicans opened an investigation Tuesday into President Obamas designation of three new national monuments in the California desert that protect more than 1.8 million acres of public land, along with six other monuments Obama has designated since January 2015. The California desert monuments almost doubled the amount of land that Obama has set aside under the 1906 Antiquities Act, setting a new record for presidential land designations, three committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Christy Goldfuss, managing director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The broad and frequent application of the Antiquities Act raises questions about the lack of transparency and consultation with local stakeholders, wrote Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee; Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee; and Hal Rogers, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Request for documents The letters request all documents and communications referring to or relating to the selection or designation of national monuments under the Antiquities Act from January 2009 to the present, the letter said, setting a deadline of 5 p.m. April 12. Neither the Oversight Committee nor the White House responded to a request for comment. The Antiquities Act gives the president power to create national monuments on public lands. Republican President Herbert Hoover used the law to establish Death Valley as a monument in 1933 just before he left office, and his successor, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, designated Joshua Tree as a monument under the act in 1936. Obama invoked the Antiquities Act on Feb. 7 to declare the Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains national monuments in the California desert, acting at the direct behest of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a longtime champion of the Mojave Desert. The monuments link wildlife corridors and preserve the last open stretch of historic Route 66, which was under threat of solar and wind development in 2008 until Feinstein stepped in with proposed legislation to protect the areas. The Bureau of Land Management allows mining, grazing, energy and other development on the federal lands under its jurisdiction; the monument designations prohibit such uses. Feinstein made the request after more than six years of work on a desert conservation bill that Republicans refused to entertain. The Democrat defended the monuments, saying she and her staff held hundreds of hours of meetings with the full range of desert stakeholders, including environmental groups, local and state government officials, off-highway recreation enthusiasts, cattle ranchers, mining interests, the Defense Department, wind- and solar-energy companies, public utilities, Native American tribes, local residents and many others. Feinstein said the Antiquities Act allows the president to protect historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest. Anyone who has been to the California desert knows that it has all these things and is certainly qualified for protection under the law. Activists frustrated The GOP charges of lack of transparency and local consultation flabbergasted desert activists who helped Feinstein draw the boundaries of her legislation, which Obama then borrowed. I put probably 20,000 miles on my car just my car going around the desert for the last 10 years talking with people about protecting the lands, said Jim Conkle, a retired Marine who championed the inclusion of Route 66. Conkle said the letters from Chaffetz and Bishop, who represent districts in Utah, and Rogers, from Kentucky, suggest that we were land grabbers, but we didnt take any more land than was already under the stewardship of BLM anyway. David Lamfrom, California desert program director for the National Parks Conservation Association, said he worked on the ground building support (for the monuments) for at least the last seven years. I really think it was a nonpartisan effort, and there was general agreement throughout the desert that this was the appropriate response, he said. David Myers, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy, the California nonprofit that was instrumental in protecting the monument lands from real estate speculators, said he thinks the investigation is mainly intended as a warning shot from Utah Republicans to the White House over a potential designation of a 1.9-million-acre Bears Ears national monument in southern Utah. There isnt a monument in U.S. history that has had more participation from the private sector, Myers said. Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com ANCHORAGE, Alaska The activity level of an Alaska volcano has declined after the mountain erupted with a massive ash cloud that prompted the cancellation of dozens of flights. The U.S. Geological Survey said late Monday night that the intensity of the eruption had declined significantly. Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaskas most active volcanoes, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. The volcano in the 8,261-foot mountain erupted about 4 p.m. Sunday, spitting out an ash cloud that rose to 20,000 feet. Lightning over the mountain and pressure sensors indicated eruptions continued overnight Sunday. By 7 a.m. Monday, the ash cloud had risen to 37,000 feet and winds to 50 mph or more had stretched it over more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. Its right in the wheelhouse of a lot of flights crisscrossing Alaska, said geologist Chris Waythomas, of the USGS, part of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, along with the University of Alaska and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. The USGS said that by late Monday night a continuous emission was no longer being observed by satellite. Consequently, a volcano alert that had been at its highest level, warning of hazards both in the air and on the ground was downgraded from a warning to a watch. But the agency said that a significant eruption was still possible. Earlier in the day, Alaska Airlines said it canceled 41 flights affecting about 3,300 customers heading to Fairbanks, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Barrow and Deadhorse. The airline said it would resume its 54 regularly scheduled flights on Tuesday if conditions improve. Waythomas had received no reports of ash falling in communities. The eruption cycle could go on for a while, or it could abruptly shut off and be done tomorrow, Waythomas said. Washington: US President Barack Obama would hold a trilateral meeting with leaders of South Korea and Japan on March 31 to discuss the threat posed by North Korea on the sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit, the White House has said. "On March 31st, the President will host President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan for a trilateral meeting on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," he said. Obama would also be meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. Heads of States of nearly 24 countries are attending the two-day National Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No bilateral meeting between the two leaders have been announced so far. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has cancelled his visit to Washington as a result of the Lahore terrorist attack that killed more than 70 people on Sunday. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The University of California has been admitting thousands of students from out of state with lower grades and test scores than state residents as a way to raise cash, a state audit released Tuesday reveals. In the last three years, nearly 16,000 nonresident undergraduates about 29 percent of those admitted have won spots at the coveted public university with grade-point averages and scores below the median of admitted Californians, according to the 116-page audit. The report criticizes university practices it says undermine state residents access to UC in favor of nonresidents, who pay about three times the basic tuition and fees of in-state students: $38,108 versus $13,400. The states Master Plan for Higher Education says UC should admit only nonresidents who are at least as qualified as the upper half of residents who are eligible for admission, according to the report from State Auditor Elaine Howle. But in 2011, UC changed that threshold so that nonresidents only had to compare favorably with residents, the audit notes. Financial incentive The Master Plan is the commitment that California made to high school students and families that if they work hard, theyll have the opportunity to an education at UC, Howle said. The problem is that UC campuses have an incentive to bring in nonresidents and thats hurting California high school graduates who want to go to UC. In 2008, the regents began encouraging nonresident enrollment by letting campuses keep the extra tuition money brought in by those students instead of sharing it with other campuses, the audit found. As a result, enrollment of nonresidents more than quadrupled in the last decade, while that of California students rose by 10 percent despite a 52 percent increase in applications. CA State Auditor Report Howle is recommending that the Legislature limit the number of nonresidents UC can enroll and already received a swift and enthusiastic response. Legislation coming Two lawmakers Assemblywomen Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto (Stanislaus County), and Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, say they will introduce a bill to do just that, and to require higher admission standards for nonresident students. But its unclear whether UC could be compelled to comply. Unlike the California State University system, UC is autonomous. In her report, Howle urges UC to restore its prior admissions criteria. Yet, UC is unlikely to agree. In her lengthy rebuttal to the audit, included as part of the report, UC President Janet Napolitano notes that the university has enrolled more California students than it receives funding for from the state, and calls the claim that UC is undermining resident applicants unfounded. UC also responded with its own report, Straight Talk on Hot-Button Issues: UC Admissions, Finances, and Transparency 2016, that says UC policies overwhelmingly favor California residents and points out that the admission rate for in-state applicants is higher than that of nonresidents. In her audit rebuttal, Napolitano writes: If anything has constrained the enrollment of California students, it has been reductions in state funding. Nonresidents pay the full cost of their education and more. Common argument Its an argument made often by UC officials. But the audit says UCs failure to reduce its costs not reduced state funding is at the heart of its troubles. The audit focuses on UCs generosity with raises and says that between 2005 and 2015, the university decreased spending on salaries just once: when it furloughed employees in the 2009-10 academic year. It saved $236 million at the time but lost that advantage a year later by spending another $526 million on salaries, the audit says. It also found that UC executives tend to earn more than other executives in the state, including the governor. Earns more than Brown Gov. Jerry Brown earns $169,559, compared with Napolitanos $570,000, says the report. And while the chief investment officers for the State Teachers Retirement System and the State Public Employees Retirement System each earn just above $400,000, UCs investment officer earns $615,000. So the explanations from the university dont ring true, Howle said. UCs rationale for why it needs additional state funding irritated Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Carson (Los Angeles County), and prompted him to call for the audit, which took about a year and cost nearly $400,000. Im thrilled that I did it. But Im embarrassed and upset this audit has revealed this tremendous disparity between residents and nonresidents, said Gipson, who has a son waiting to hear if he got accepted by UC. Its a form of discrimination against California students that UC would accept a lower standard for nonresidents, but maintain a higher one for Californians. Another disparity He pointed to another disparity revealed in the audit. UC guarantees admission to all California public high school seniors who score in the top 12.5 percent of their class, though not to the campus of their choice. Those who are rejected by their favored campus are referred to UC Merced, which most students reject in turn, the audit found. By contrast, UC grants nonresidents their first choice of campus, the audit found. As a result, it says, nonresidents are also displacing residents in the most popular majors, such as business, engineering and social science. Entirely unfounded UC responds that its approach nevertheless guarantees a place at UC for every qualified California applicant. Even in the leanest of budget years ... UC has continued to offer admission to every California applicant who meets our criteria, Napolitano told Howle. To suggest ... that UC has disadvantaged California students is entirely unfounded. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Washington: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third trip here in less than two years, India's envoy to the US has said that the two countries have experienced a fascinating transformation in relations which was "simply unthinkable" three decades ago. "Our partnership did not always appear so destined. Indeed, just three decades ago, such an alignment of interests between the two countries was simply unthinkable. This makes the transformation of India-US relations in the last three decades so fascinating," Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K Singh said in his address at the 20th Wharton-India Economic Forum on 'Evolving India-US Relations' over the weekend. President Barack Obama has characterised the India-US relationship as a "defining partnership of the 21st century", while Modi has termed the partnership as a "natural alliance". "The strategic convergence and the global importance of this convergence are captured in our diplomatic moniker: a 'Global Strategic Partnership'," he said. "Since his election in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi has visited the US twice and is going to be back here next week for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC," Singh told the audience. Modi is scheduled to be in the American capital to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Obama on March 31 and April 1. "The first-ever vision statement of our countries was issued in September 2014, during the Prime Minister's visit. A Delhi Declaration, adopted during President Obama's visit further elevated our strategic partnership. A Joint Strategic Vision unveiled at that time reflected their common goals for the dynamic Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, building on the congruence of India's 'Act East' policy and the US 're-balance' to Asia," he said. Noting that defence is an area where the impact of a robust India-US partnership has been obvious, Singh said the two countries have started the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative to foster collaboration in transformative defence technology, co-production and co-development. India has contracted nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence items from the US in the past few years. The armed forces of India and the US now conduct more exercises with each other than they do with any other country bilaterally, he said. Two people trapped halfway down a 200-foot, unstable and remote cliff at Point Reyes National Seashore were airlifted to safety after an hours-long rescue operation overnight, officials said. Marin County search and rescue crews along with sheriffs deputies got to the scene near Abalone Point around 9 p.m. where three hikers were trapped on the crumbling ledge. A US Secret Service agent stands guard at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016. (Photo: AFP) Washington: Capitol Police shot a man on Monday after he pulled a weapon at a US Capitol checkpoint. The suspect was taken to a local hospital and a female bystander sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Read: United States Capitol on lockdown after reports of gunshots The US Capitol was on lockdown for about an hour and the White House also was briefly locked down. As Washington teemed with spring tourists in town to view the cherry blossoms, staff members and visitors to the Capitol were rushed into offices and told to shelter in place. The suspect was known to officers, Capitol Chief of Police Matthew R. Verderosa told reporters. However, he would not confirm reports that it was the same man who disrupted the House chamber last fall by shouting. Read: United States Capitol shooting: suspect in custody, lockdown lifted That man, Larry Dawson, was issued a "stay away order" by DC Superior Court in October, ordering him to keep away from the Capitol grounds, court documents show. The event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said. Initial reports said a police officer was injured but they proved erroneous. Capitol office buildings and the Capitol itself were re-opened for business about an hour after the initial reports of gunfire. The Visitors Centre where the shooting occurred remained closed as the incident was being investigated. Visitors were being turned away from the Capitol as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police, some carrying long guns, cordoned off the streets immediately around the building, which were thick with tourists. Cathryn Leff of Temecula, California, in town to lobby with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Centre when police told people to leave immediately. Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told those there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left." After a while, police told her and others to keep running. "I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all." Amanda Smith of Columbus, Ohio, said she and her family were touring the Capitol and were in the Senate visitors' gallery when she heard police officers' radios start talking about shots being fired. "Sure, we were worried," she said. "But there were lots of kids around so we didn't make too big a deal of it." Smith was visiting with her husband, William, and children Ian, 9, and Evan, 4. From back home in their districts, many lawmakers got in touch with staff to ensure all were safe, and posted thanks on Twitter as it appeared they were. Earlier in the day, officials conducted an unrelated shelter-in-place drill at the Capitol. Brussels: Belgium Monday freed the sole suspect charged over last weeks Islamic State attacks in Brussels due to a lack of evidence, raising fresh questions about the handling of the case by under-fire Belgian authorities. Prosecutors had charged the man identified as Faycal C on Saturday with offences including terrorist murder, and had been investigating the theory that he was a third airport attacker who fled when his bomb failed to go off. His release comes as a new blow to an inquiry already dogged by accusations that Belgium missed a series of leads in cracking down on a jihadist network linked to the attacks and a similar assault in Paris in November. Police Sunday released CCTV footage of a third suspect in the March 22 Zaventem airport attack, the so-called man in the hat seen with two other men who blew themselves up. Officials also updated the death toll from the bombings at the airport and at Maalbeek metro station to 35, the worst terror attacks in Belgiums history, after four more people had died in hospital. Mourners were set to hold an Easter Monday church service in memory of the victims. The Belgian federal prosecutors office said in a statement that the indications that led to the arrest of Faycal C were not substantiated by the ongoing inquiry. As a result, the subject has been released by the examining magistrate. The Belgian justice and interior ministers acknowledged that their departments should have acted on a Turkish alert about Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, a convicted Belgian criminal briefly arrested in Turkey last year on suspicion of terrorist activity, who turned out to be one of the suicide bombers. And the Belgian prosecutors office said that mans brother, Khalid another suicide bomber had been wanted since December in connection with the Paris attacks. A woman who was going to be evicted next month started a fire at a 4-unit apartment building in Santa Rosa Sunday afternoon by lighting herself on fire, a Central Fire Authority fire inspector said. Melissa McMullin, 44, barricaded the bedroom door, poured the gas on her bed, herself and the bedroom of her apartment and lit it with a lighter around 5:30 p.m., Fire Inspector Cyndi Foreman said. McMullin then tried to escape through a bedroom window of her home at 199 Barbara Drive, but one of her sons, who was next door, kicked the door in and dragged her outside, Foreman said. McMullin suffered third-degree burns on her arms and feet and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. "She was feeling desperate. She didn't want to live. I've never seen someone try to commit suicide by lighting themselves on fire," Foreman said. "It's a very tragic story." Because McMullin's clothing was too soaked to be ignited by the gas, her burn injuries were not lethal. "The gas vapors cause the real damage," Foreman said. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and county mental health service workers will assist the Central Fire Authority with the investigation, Foreman said. "The challenge is the mental health side of it, but there will be charges," Foreman said. McMullin lived alone in the 500-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment off Moorland Avenue just outside southwest Santa Rosa city limits in unincorporated Sonoma County. She was to be evicted April 30. The fire destroyed two units and caused smoke damage to the remaining units, Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani said. Damage is estimated at $500,000, Foreman said. Moscow: The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency raised the issue of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leaving power when he visited Moscow at the start of March, RIA news agency said on Monday, citing the US Embassy in Russia. CIA Director John Brennan also discussed the observance of the ceasefire in Syria, the news agency said. Dean Boyd, the CIA's chief spokesman, confirmed to Reuters that Brennan had visited Moscow in early March and that Syrian issues were on the agenda. It is unusual for the CIA publicly to discuss its chief's travels or the subjects of his discussions with foreign officials. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov as saying earlier on Monday that Brennan had meetings at Russia's Federal Security Service, among other places, and his visit was not linked to the decision by Moscow to begin withdrawing its forces from Syria. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later on Monday that there had been no contacts between Brennan and the Kremlin during the visit. Brennan's objective was "to emphasize with Russian officials the importance of Russia and the Assad regime following through on their agreements to implement the cessation of hostilities in Syria," the CIA said in an emailed statement. The CIA director reiterated to Russian officials that American support for a "genuine political transition in Syria," which would involve "Assad's departure in order to facilitate a transition that reflects the will of the Syrian people," the statement said. A bus carrying some passengers from the hijacked EgyptAir aircraft as it landed at Larnaca airport. (Photo: AP) Cairo: A hijacker, identified as Ibrahim Samaha, seized an Egyptian airliner on Tuesday and diverted it to Cyprus, triggering a hostage crisis at Larnaca airport on the south coast, Cypriot police said. Negotiations with hijacker resulted in the release of all the passengers except four cabin crew and three 'foreigners', according to the latest press release by EgyptAir. The Latest on the hijacked EgyptAir plane that has landed in Larnaca in Cyprus. (All times local): 2:00 pm A Cyprus foreign ministry official says the hijacker of the EgyptAir plane that was diverted to Cyprus has been arrested and that the situation is "over." Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, did not immediately have more details on the arrest, which ended an hours-long drama at the Larnaca airport. Earlier, seven more people - presumably the last of the crew and passengers who had remained with the hijackers onboard - were seen leaving the plane. One man climbed out the cockpit window. 1:45 pm Local TV footage from the scene in Larnaca airport has shown that seven more people left the hijacked EgyptAir plane, with one man climbing out of the cockpit window and the sliding off the plane. The others left by climbing down the stairs in two groups, within the space of about half an hour on Tuesday. It's unclear how many remain on the plane with the hijacker. Meanwhile, Egyptian officials have identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa. An earlier name given for him was wrong. 1:00 pm Cyprus police have evacuated a stretch of beach near the Larnaca airport tarmac where a hijacked EgyptAir passenger jet is parked. The standoff at the airport is continuing with the hijacker and seven passengers and crew remaining on the EgyptAir plane that was hijacked on Tuesday morning. Cypriot police told dozens of journalists and patrons of a number of trendy coffee shops and restaurants to vacate Makenzy Beach, which is popular with tourists. The beach is just meters away from the outer fence of Cyprus' main airport at Larnaca where the aircraft landed Tuesday after a hijacker diverted it to the east Mediterranean island. 11:30 am Egypt's civil aviation minister says seven people remain with the hijacker on the EgyptAir plane that has landed in Cyprus, four crew and three passengers. The minister, Sharif Fathi, would not disclose any names but there has been confusion over the identity of the hijacker. He spoke to the media in Cairo shortly after the hijacking. An Egyptian woman has said she is the wife of Ibrahim Samaha - the name given earlier by Egyptian officials as the hijacker. She says her husband, with the same name, is not the hijacker and that he was on his way to Cairo en route to the United States to attend a conference. The woman, who identified herself as Nahla, told the private TV network ONTV in a telephone interview that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo shown on Egyptian and regional TV channels and purporting to show the hijacker is not her husband. The confusion over the identity of the hijacker could not immediately be resolved. 10: 00 am Officials at the Egyptian airport from which the hijacked EgyptAir aircraft took off and was taken to Cyprus say the hijacker is a native of the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria and a dual Egyptian-American citizen. Egyptian officials have earlier identified the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, a veterinarian. The plane took off from Bourg el-Arab airport just outside Alexandria and was flying on a regular route to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, on Tuesday when the hijacking took place. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. 10:45 am Cyprus' president says the EgyptAir hijacking incident is "not something which has to do with terrorism." Nicos Anastasiades says the government of Cyprus is doing its utmost so that all passengers on the EgyptAir flight that has been hijacked are safe. He spoke on the sidelines of a meeting Tuesday with the president of the European Parliament. Anastasiades says "we are doing our utmost in order for everyone to be released and safe and to give an end to this unprecedented (incident). In any case it is not something which has to do with terrorism." 10:30 am EgyptAir is offering those concerned about their loved ones possibly being on a hijacked flight that was taken to Cyprus several telephone numbers to call for more information. EgyptAir says those within Egypt could call their emergency center at 0800 77 77 000, while those living abroad can call +20 2 259 893 2029. Egyptian aviation authority says the flight, coded MS181, is an Airbus jet. It earlier said there were 81 passengers on board and five crew members but there are conflicting reports on those figures. It was supposed to fly from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday morning, but was diverted to Cyprus after hijacking, where all the passengers except four foreigners and the crew were allowed to disembark. 10:15 am An Egyptian government spokesman says the hijacker of an Egyptian aircraft forced to fly to Cyprus wanted to go to Istanbul but was told by the captain that he did not have enough fuel for the journey. The spokesman, Hossam al-Queish, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker, identified as Egyptian national Ibrahim Samaha, had explosives on him. The channel also showed a photo of Samaha standing in what appears to be the back of an aircraft. He was said to be a doctor. The director of the Alexandria airport, Hossni Hassan, says there were 26 foreigners on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. He said three other foreigners could not be identified. 9:50 am An official with a flight-tracking website says the EgyptAir flight that was hijacked on the way to Cairo showed no immediate signs of distress while in the air. Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that EgyptAir flight MS181 flew in a typical fashion on the Cyprus, without the pilots signaling any trouble via their transponder. Petchenik said: "It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked." Egyptian aviation authority says the flight is an Airbus jet, it was supposed to fly from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday morning. The airline says four foreigners and the flight crew remain on board after negotiations. 9:40 am EgyptAir says that four foreigners and the flight crew remain onboard a hijacked flight. The state carrier of Egypt made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter. It said the release came after negotiations with the unidentified hijacker of the flight. Cyprus official says 56 people on board the hijacked EgyptAir plane have been released and have left the aircraft. Egyptian aviation authority says the flight, coded MS181, is an Airbus jet. It earlier said there were 81 passengers on board and five crew members but there are conflicting reports on those figures. It was supposed to fly from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday morning. No group has claimed responsibility for the hijacking. 9:15 am Egypt's aviation authority says the hijacker of the Egyptian airplane forced to fly to Cyprus has claimed to have an explosives belt on him. This is a according to a statement from the authority on Tuesday. The explosives would suggest that the hijacker is an Islamic militant. Suicide belts have been a weapon of choice for Islamic militants in the Mideast. The plane landed in Larnaca in Cyprus after which the hijackers allowed some women and children to leave. 8:30 am Egypt's civil aviation authority says an EgyptAir plane has been hijacked while flying from the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo. A Cypriot government official says the hijacked plane landed on Tuesday morning at the airport in Larnaka and that there are suspicions of a bomb on board. A second Cypriot official says there "seems like there's more than one hijacker." He says there have been no demands other than that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations. The statement from the Egyptian aviation authority says the MS181 is an Airbus and that it has 55 passengers on board and five crew members. The Ajman Building of Ajman, UAE which was engulfed in fire on Monday night. (Photo: Twitter) Dubai: A fire erupted at a high-rise tower in the United Arab Emirates city of Ajman on Monday night, the latest in a series of skyscraper blazes in the Gulf nation. The police gave no details on casualties in tweets confirming the blaze. Social media users shared images of the fire late Monday showing bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the building as chunks of burning material tumbled to the ground. The Dubai-based Gulf News newspaper quoted Ajman Civil Defence director Brig. Saleh Saeed al-Matroushi as saying fire-fighters were at the scene. An official reached by The Associated Press at the civil defence confirmed that fire fighting efforts were ongoing but had no further details. Lahore: Pakistani Taliban on Monday said the horrific suicide bombing at a popular park here was targeted at Christians celebrating Easter, even as the death toll in the massacre rose to 72 including 29 children. Three more people on Monday succumbed to their injuries raising the death toll to 72, Punjab Emergency Services Rescue team spokesperson Deeba Shahnaz said. She said the condition of 26 out of the over 300 injured was very critical. Most of the injured are children. At least 29 children and eight women are among the dead, according to the data released by different city hospitals. At least 20 Christians are also among the dead. A large number of people were present atthe crowded Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park of Allama Iqbal Townwhen a powerful blast took place last evening. A large number of Christian families were present in the park due to Easter Sunday. The brutal attack by a suicide bomber believed to be in his 20s was claimed by the Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the TTP. It was targeted at Christians celebrating Easter, Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for the group, said. We have carried out this attack to target the Christians. Also this is a message to the Pakistani Prime Minister that we have arrived in Punjab, he said. The Punjab government, however, denied Jamaatul Ahrar's claim that the bombing was aimed exclusively at Christians. Huo, 30, who is a lab administrator in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region jumped at a female student, fully naked, on campus yesterday and harassed her. (Representational Image) Beijing: A mentally unstable clerk at a middle school in southern China attempted to molest a girl student in public while fully naked, forcing authorities to send him to a mental hospital for treatment. Huo, 30, who is a lab administrator in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region jumped at a female student, fully naked, on campus yesterday and harassed her, Shanghai Daily quoted a provincial official as saying. She was rescued after some teachers intervened, the paper reported. The girl was not injured in the incident. The school said Huo was diagnosed of periodic mental disorders in 2011. During his treatment, doctors said he could be considered mentally stable if the symptoms did not reappear in the following two years. The school had allowed him to work at the lab room as Huo had shown no abnormal condition in the following five years until yesterday's incident. Police have launched a probe after the man was sent to hospital by his relatives following the attack, the report said. Protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group chant slogans during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo: AP) Islamabad: Pakistan tonight gave a two-hour notice to the supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, executed for killing former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, to end their three-day sit-in as authorities arrested over 1,100 protesters who were demanding declaration of the Islamist assassin as a "martyr". Over 25,000 protesters had entered and besieged Islamabad's high-security zone on Sunday, damaging public buildings and breaking barriers that had been erected. While most of them left yesterday, a few hundred are still continuing their sit-ins outside the Parliament House and other key government installations for the third day on Tuesday. A protest leader claimed that more than 1,100 people were arrested by the police. But a senior police official said that about 750 protesters have been arrested since yesterday. "Those arrested have been sent to various jails of Punjab. Others are being kept at police stations in Islamabad," he said. Meanwhile, the district administration gave a two-hour notice to the protesters gathered at D-Chowk to end their sit-in or else the security forces will carry out operation to end their unlawful gathering, DawnNews reported. Several hundred police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed around the area after the ultimatum was issued. A Pakistani army and police officer stands guard close to protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad. (Photo: AP) The protesters led by Sunni Tehreek and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool religious groups entered the so-called high-security Red Zone after bloody clashes with police in which 42 security officials and 16 citizens have been injured so far. They are demanding implementation of Shariah in Pakistan and declaring Qadri, who was hanged on February 29, a "martyr". They also demanded release of their arrested leaders and declaring Qadri's Adiala Jail cell in Rawalpindi into a national heritage and execution of blasphemy convict Christian women Aasia Bibi who was sentenced to death in 2010 by a court. Qadri, who was Taseer's security guard, has killed the sitting governor of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous state, in 2011 after he visited Aasia Bibi in her jail cell and expressed support for her, even promising a presidential pardon to the mother-of-five. The government estimates that it had suffered a loss of about 150 million rupees due to vandalism by the protesters. The terminals of Metro bus service have been badly damaged and the bus service had to be halted. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also come under immense pressure from the media, civil society and opposition, for letting the protesters enter the Red Zone. Pakistani police officers stand guard at the site of a bomb blast in Lahore on Sunday. The explosion took place close to the children's rides. (Photo: AP) Islamabad: Taliban militants who killed 72 people, many of them children, in a brutal Easter weekend bombing mocked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday with a taunting tweet that declared war had "reached his doorstep". Hundreds were injured when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in a Lahore park, where families had gathered to enjoy a warm Sunday evening. Sharif vowed in a televised address Monday to avenge the attack in the provincial capital, a stronghold for his ruling Pakistan Muslim League. "Terrorists cannot dent our resolve. Our struggle will continue until the complete elimination of the menace of terrorism," he said. But on Tuesday Ehansullah Ehsan, spokesman for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban that carried out the attack, derided the prime minister on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances," he wrote. "Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war." The attack was the worst so far in 2016 for a country grimly accustomed to atrocities, and will further fray inter-religious ties in the Muslim-majority nation. In response to the atrocity, the country's powerful army announced it had carried out raids in Lahore as well as in Faisalabad and Multan, two other major cities in Punjab province. More were planned, it said. Christians make up an estimated 1.6 percent of Pakistan's 200 million people and have long faced discrimination. Twin suicide attacks against churches in Lahore killed 17 people in March last year, sparking two days of rioting by thousands of Christians. A military operation targeting insurgents was stepped up in 2015 and saw the death toll from militant attacks fall to its lowest since the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were formed in 2007. But analysts have warned the group is still able to carry out major attacks. Well, let us take a look as President Obama thinks. All other countries respect the United States more then they did before his arrival. ISIS existed before he arrived. He is not responsible for our rising debt, China loves us, Russia shows us much more respect because they fear us. We have less division amongst our people before his arrival. ISIS is a junior league outfit. The war is over in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we have full control of the country. Our economy is great and most people who had lost their jobs are back to work. I could go on and on and yet most of the Democrats believe in what he says. The truth is, Obama is not our savior. You Democrats thought he would be and would still would vote for him if he could run. Obamas Presidential Museum should be put in a military artillery target range. His term has been nothing but a great big bomb. He has screwed up this country, inferring our police are picking on the blacks and Hispanics and all their shoots are bad shoots. Is this what he meant, when he said he would bring us together? He gets involved every time there is a cop shoot involving blacks, but never when a cop is killed by a black. This gives way for discontent and riots for those who need a new television, furniture or anything they can get their hands on, while destroying and burning businesses. He was going to stop unconstitutional acts in this country, but circumvents the constitution in his favor whenever he can. He appointed people who thought they could do whatever they wanted and when caught doing wrong they plead the Fifth Amendment or like his last Secretary of State just lied about what took place and decided that a liar would make a good president or a better one than was her boss. We had a president resign for that, but he was Republican, not a Democrat! Obama calls ISIS a Junior League, when it comes to terrorists and it took ever so long to take action against them that they were well entrenched in Syria, Iraq and Libya. He and his Democratic fellowship try and blame strong talk, like Donald Trump states, incites people to join the ISIS. But ISIS hates Christians. Obama would not come out and say that there was genocide going on by ISIS. He had his foreign investigator, John Inspector Clouseau Kerry, to investigate. Clouseau apparently wasnt watching the news to see that it was going on, he had to investigate. He came to the conclusion that there was genocide going on. Apparently Oliver Obama and Stanley Kerry they didnt see anything. Just like the German guards during WWII. I still havent heard Obama say this was going on, but Clouseau had to do it after his long investigation. We are in deep crap in Iraq, this is after he said the war was over and we should pull. This is what is called early pull out. Obama has put our country in more danger because he didnt take military advisement. We are heading for economic ruin. When are people going back to work and the number of people living on the streets go down or disappears? We need to get someone in office who can make a better percentage on economic decisions. Trump comes to mind. Obama allows more immigrants into our country and he does not enforce our immigration laws. We have to think about our people and our country. Build the walls and deport the illegals. Now the Democrats are going to put in a female Obama. A lying Obama instead of the one we have who mislead people, the people who were looking for a free car, a better economy, a safer country, an honest government, ending of the war. He is a president who lies to the people and you Democrats and Independents who voted for him. You Democrats and Independents better get your stubborn heads out of the sand and vote Trump, if those upper echelon Republicans dont interfere. Thomas Peters Sr. is a resident of Bethel. STAMFORD- The state Appellate Court has upheld the conviction of a city man who was given a long jail sentence for plotting his wifes murder by showing a man believed to be an assassin a picture of his wife taken at Stamford Hospital just after giving birth to their daughter. The decision was released late Monday morning, two years and four months after Daniel Buzzeo, 39, was sentenced to 15 years in jail after being found guilty by a jury of attempted murder. Buzzeos trial attorney Philip Russell and well-known appeals lawyer Paul Spinella challenged the guilty verdict on several grounds. They said the evidence presented at trial failed to show that Buzzeo took a substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate in a murder the legal requirement to convict him of the charge. And the lawyers said Judge Bruce Hudock didnt properly instruct the jury on what constitutes a substantial step by leaving out examples as they are listed in the attempted-murder statute. Duped by cop Russell said he will try to persuade the state supreme court to review the case. Obviously Danny and his family were stunned and disappointed by the appellate court ruling, which seems to hinge on whether a substantial step was committed in furthering this attempted murder, Russell said. Senior Assistant States Attorney Maureen Ornousky said she was pleased with the ruling. Im glad it was upheld and the victim can now move on and have some certainty in her life, Ornousky said. She said the jury saw a 20-minute video of Buzzeo talking to someone he thought was a hit man, but who turned out to be an undercover officer from the Drug Enforcement Administrations New Haven Task Force that was brought down to Stamford to pose as the assassin. The recording was made the morning of June 10, 2011, with a camera hidden in a car dashboard after police heard that Buzzeo was looking for someone to kill his wife. During the video, Buzzeo told the cop who had shaved his head and waxed his skull to an unnaturally shiny finish that he wanted to kill his wife, with whom he was in the midst of divorce proceedings. At one point while on camera, Buzzeo used his cell phone to show the officer a picture of him and his wife holding their newborn daughter at Stamford Hospitals maternity ward, 14 months earlier. Buzzeo said the hospital, where his wife worked, was in a sketchy neighborhood and suggested he could pull off the murder by making it look like a carjacking. He also described his wifes car and told the man what time she went to work as well as providing their home address. The undercover officer said he could pull the woman out of the car, put two in her head and take the car to Bridgeport and burn it. Buzzeo replied that he liked the plan and said it would bring less attention if it were done that way. Buzzeo also suggested that the man kill his wife on a Thursday night when he was watching his baby daughter and three-year old son. After promising to pay the man $800 so he could buy a gun, Buzzeo got out of the camera-rigged Monte Carlo parked at the southbound Interstate-95 rest stop in Darien and said thank you before closing the door. Police then grabbed Buzzeo and arrested him on the attempted murder charge. Ornousky said she thought the video tape of that meeting was compelling enough for the jury to find that Buzzeo took a substantial step in arranging the murder. At the end of Ornouskys presentation of the states evidence at trial, Russell sought an acquittal, citing that the state failed to sufficiently prove their case. But Hudock rejected the motion, saying there was sufficient evidence presented at trial and the case could go to a jury for deliberation. Russell said state law holds that mere planning is not an attempt at a crime. Common sense tells us that two people sitting in a car, not exchanging money or weapons, are only planning, Russell said. The appeal does not adequately address what we believe to be a fatal flaw in the prosecutions case. jnickerson@scni.com; This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Minnesota startup has invented a smartphone-mimicking handgun that could potentially make police-suspect confrontations deadlier. The two-shot, .380-caliber weapon called the Ideal Conceal pistol folds up to look like innocent, nondescript smartphone, one that easily slips into a pocket. But when the grip is unfolded, a trigger is revealed. "Ingeniously designed to resemble a smartphone, yet with one click of the safety it opens and is ready to fire," says the company website. "Smartphones are everywhere, so your new pistol will easily blend in with today's environment. In its locked position it will be virtually undetectable because it hides in plain sight." The handgun is scheduled to become available in the middle of this year. The cost is $395. "Part of what this allows people to do is carry a weapon without engaging in (a Second Amendment) conversation," Ideal Conceal CEO Kirk Kjellberg told the New York Daily News. "This way, you don't have to have a .38 or .44 strapped to your waist, you can carry it in your front pocket." But if guns can be disguised as smartphones, police confronting suspects carrying phones would conceivably have more reason to use deadly force. "In general, the concept of any kind of weapon that's disguised, so that it's not apparent that it's a weapon, would be cause for concern," said Bill Johnson, executive director and general counsel for the National Association of Police Organizations. Even if it's in plain sight, CNN Money noted that Ideal Conceal might actually require a concealed carry permit, but that would depend on state and local laws, which vary widely. Todays best bet is the premiere of Hulus original series The Path, whose first two episodes of the 10-episode series are available for streaming. The series stars Michelle Monaghan, Hugh Dancy and Aaron Paul as members of a cult-like group known as the Movement whose followers believe in the teachings of a messianic figure named Stephen Meyers (Keir Dullea). Its top-notch TV, graced by extraordinary performances by the cast. George Lopez returns to series TV with Lopez, premiering at 10 p.m. on TV Land. The series finds Lopez playing himself, living in a ritzy neighborhood after getting a divorce. The first three episodes get a bit stuck on the same theme, that because Lopez is Latino, he gets stereotyped all the time, mostly by white people thinking hes a parking valet. The point is well-made, of course, but the show needs to expand its comedic base a bit more. Having Snoop Dogg as a guest star is kind of fun, though. In many countries across Asia, governments are growing less tolerant of critical reporting, even arresting journalists and closing media outlets in some cases. A look at how and where journalists are coming under renewed pressure: Chinas ruling Communist Party has long exercised heavy-handed direction over news media, but recent events speak to a further tightening of ideological controls. President Xi Jinping set the tone with visits in February to the official Xinhua News Agency, the party-controlled Peoples Daily newspaper and state broadcaster CCTV. At each place, he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the medias highest priority. In Thailand, the military junta that took power in a 2014 coup has detained journalists for what it calls attitude adjustment, shut TV and radio stations for perceived critical coverage of the government, and banned press events. In Malaysia, the government is cracking down on media as a financial scandal engulfs Prime Minister Najib Razak. Two Australian TV journalists were briefly arrested this month after they tried to question Najib about more than $700 million deposited into his bank accounts in 2013. Intimidation of journalists is nothing new in India, but it has taken on a new element under Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government. The current BJP government has been criticized for not trying to stop fringe right-wing elements that threaten journalists and activists in the name of patriotism. In Japan, the communications minister in February warned broadcasters that they could have their licenses revoked if coverage isnt politically fair. LARNACA, Cyprus An Egyptian wearing a fake explosives belt who hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight and forced it to land in Cyprus on Tuesday surrendered and was taken into custody after releasing all passengers and crew unharmed following an hours-long standoff. Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable. However, the incident was likely to renew concerns about Egyptian airport security months after a Russian passenger plane was downed over the Sinai Peninsula in a bombing claimed by the Islamic State group. From the start, it was clear that this wasnt an act of terrorism, and despite the fact that the individual appeared to be dangerous in terms of his behavior, we understood that this was a psychologically unstable person, Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told reporters. He said the man initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, whom police brought to the airport. After that, he started asking for European Union representatives to assure him about matters that had no logical basis, Kasoulides said. At one point the hijacker demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously, the minister said, adding that the contents of a letter the hijacker wanted to give to his ex-wife were also incoherent. Egypts official Middle East News Agency identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa, without providing further details. Police in Cairo were questioning the hijackers relatives, said Sharif Faisal, the police chief for the industrial suburb of Helwan. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, in an earlier appearance alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked whether the incident involved a woman. Always, there is a woman, he replied, drawing laughter. A Cypriot police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by antiterrorism police. He said the man wore a belt, but it contained no explosives. Egypts Civil Aviation Ministry said he wore a fake explosives belt. ISLAMABAD Hundreds of Islamic extremists resumed protests in Pakistans capital on Tuesday over the execution of a man who killed a secular governor, in a show of defiance amid a government crackdown following a suicide attack two days earlier. The rally by Pakistans Sunni Tehreek group brought more than 10,000 protesters into the streets of Islamabad on Sunday, where they clashed with police. On Tuesday, local police official Mohammad Kashif said about 700 remained, bringing parts of the capital to a standstill. The protesters are demanding strict Shariah law after the hanging of police officer Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Gov. Salman Taseer in 2011 over his opposition to the countrys far-ranging blasphemy laws. The protesters are also demanding the hanging of a Christian woman Taseer had defended against blasphemy allegations. The government had pledged to crack down on extremism after a suicide bomber targeted Christians celebrating Easter in Lahore, killing more than 70 people. The attack was claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction that supports the Islamic State group. The army responded by launching raids on suspected militant hideouts in Pakistans eastern Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital. More than 300 suspects have been detained in the past 48 hours, a security official said. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told a televised news conference that troops and police had conducted 160 operations against militants in Punjab in the past 24 hours, saying they would continue until the last terrorist is eliminated. Sanaullah, who has faced allegations of being soft on pro-Taliban militants, said police in recent months detained 5,221 suspects but freed 5,005 because of a lack of evidence. He urged citizens to assist authorities in tracking down militants. The military has been waging an offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region along the Afghan border since 2014. The army claims to have killed hundreds of alleged terrorists, and overall violence has declined since then. But militants have still managed to carry out large attacks, including a Taliban massacre at an army-run school in Peshawar in 2014 that killed 150 people, mainly children. WASHINGTON President Obama will be meeting with Asian leaders in Washington this week as fears grow that long-smoldering tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea risk flaring into conflict. World leaders, including those from China, Japan and South Korea, will be in town for a summit hosted by Obama on nuclear security the final round in the U.S. presidents drive for international action to stop materials that could be used for an atomic weapon or dirty bomb from getting into terrorist hands. This story is developing. Please check back for further updates.Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign manager was arrested in Florida on Tuesday and charged with simple battery, police records show.The report from the Jupiter Police Department said Corey Lewandowski was charged for intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, a former reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, against her will at a Trump campaign event on March 8.The police report stated: "Lewandowski grabbed (Michelle) Fields' left arm with his right hand causing her to turn and step back." Fields showed police her left forearm which "appeared to show a grabbing-type injury," according to the investigating officer."Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," Trump said in a statement. "He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated."Lewandowski has retained an attorney in West Palm Beach. WASHINGTON The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel Tuesday to leave posts in southern Turkey due to increased threats from terrorist groups in the country. The two agencies said dependents of American staffers at the U.S. Consulate in Adana, the Incirlik air base and two other locations must leave. Called an ordered departure notice, it means the relocation costs will be covered by the government. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said no specific threat triggered the order, but said it was done out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the families in that region. He said he was not aware of a deadline for the families to leave, but said this will move very quickly. The militarys European Command said the step allows for the deliberate, safe return of family members from these areas due to continued security concerns in the region. The orders cover the Adana consulate, U.S. military dependents in Incirlik, Ismir and Mugla as well as family of U.S. government civilians at Ismir and Mugla. The State Department also restricted official travel to that which it considers mission critical. Cook said the order does not affect about 100 family members who are based in Istanbul and Ankara. The move comes amid heightened security concerns throughout Turkey due to the ongoing fight against Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria and Iraq and was accompanied by an updated travel warning advising U.S. citizens of an increased threat of attacks. It also comes as Turkeys president is set to arrive in Washington to attend President Obamas nuclear security summit. We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism, the European Command statement said. Incirlik is a critical base in the fight by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group, and includes strike aircraft, drones and refueling planes. Turkeys decision last year to allow the coalition to conduct air strikes with aircraft based at Incirlik shortened the time and distance required to conduct airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, compared with strikes flown from bases in the Persian Gulf area. And it increased the number of U.S. personnel at the base. NATOs Allied Land Command is based at Ismir and there is a Turkish base at Mugla where some U.S. military personnel go for training and other missions. It was not immediately clear how many family members would be affected in total. The Pentagon said the order would affect about 680 military family members and roughly 270 pets. The decision comes a day after Israel issued a new travel advisory for Turkey, warning its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible. Fraud Allegations OptumHealth Inc. is accused of fraud in , and one employee has already pleaded no contest. Journalist Justin Horwath also discovered a former OptumHealth employee pleaded no contest to filing false documents last year, but the case has been under seal. Papen Aide Pleads Not Guilty The Las Cruces Sun-News reports, A former aide who from New Mexicos highest-ranking state senator, Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, pleaded not guilty on Monday in 3rd Judicial District Court. Motion to Dismiss The paper also reports that attorneys for the former Dona Ana County jail director who is accused of misusing thousands of dollars in has filed a motion to dismiss the criminal complaint against him. WIPP Work Restarts Work to improve air flow at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has restarted in two areas of the underground storage facility. Tax Hike Considered in Bernalillo County Just like the City of Santa Fe, which faces a big budget deficit, Bernalillo County officials, according to Dan McKay at the Albuquerque Journal , are apparently mulling tax increases, cuts in services and reductions in employee pay as they work to close in next years operating budget. More Heinrich Buzz Yesterday, we reported on the rumors that US Sen. Martin Heinrichs name was being floated as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton if she wins the Democratic Partys presidential nomination. He says hes not interested in joining the ticket. Turns out he may be Joe Monahans alligators have the buzz. 'Dirty Mouth' Jones UFC fighter . After being stopped for traffic violations, an officers body camera shows him cursing at the officer and accusing him of being an (expletive) liar. Now the UFC is investigating Jones, who was arrested after fleeing the scene of an accident last year. State Tax Refunds Delayed Another in an effort to prevent fraud. The state's Tax and Revenue secretary says some state returns were filed with out-of-state Internet addresses, and now, in some situations, refunds which were going to direct deposits will have to be converted to paper checks. Voting Status Unclear Andy Lyman reports, The New Mexico Secretary of States office is in the upcoming New Mexico primary elections. During the 2016 legislative session, a bill passed that allows those who will turn 18 before the general election to participate in primary elections. Gov. Susana Martinez signed the bill into law following the session. Still, it is unclear whether the Secretary of States office will be ready to accept votes from that age group during the primary on June 7. Celestial Caper Authorities in Roswell have arrested a teenager and charged him with model last week. Police are still looking for two other men in the celestial caper. Santa Fe Reporter BENGALURU: OnePlus, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, will be holding an event on 7 April to launch the successor of its current flagship tagged as the OnePlus 3. The Chinese website GizmoChina, has posted what seems to be the Antutu benchmark listing of OnePlus 3. This leak indicates that the smartphone runs the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The smartphone will come with 32GB on-board storage and will feature a 16MP rear camera along with an 8MP front shooter. The display will boast a 1080p resolution and Android 6.0 Marshmallow will handle the software side of the new handset. While the hardware details seem pretty standard, OnePlus seems to have upped its base storage capacity to 32GB instead of the usual 16GB. Not much is known about what the OnePlus 3 will look like. Some leaked images of the OnePlus 3 reveal a slimmer design. The front is made of glass while the back appears to be a textured material (which will probably be replaceable). The rest is familiar; a metal frame seems to hold the front and back in place. In an earlier leak, Chinese social network Weibo mentioned in a report that OnePlus 3 will feature a new design, NFC, fast-charging and will also come equipped with wireless charging. As noted, OnePlus has successfully managed to establish itself in the Indian market with its previous smartphones and there's a whole lot riding on the next offering from the manufacturer. The smartphone will fight the likes of Xiaomi Mi 5, Moto X Play, Nexus 5X, Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) and Yu Youtopia. Read Also: Olo: The $99 3D Printer Powered By Your Smartphone Yu YU5200 Rumored to Release in India Soon BENGALURU: The hassle of determining the correct number to call from 100, 101, 102 and 108 in the state of emergency situations can take a toll on any persons head. The government has smartly addressed this issue by introducing a single contact number 112 for various emergency services inclusive of police, fire, ambulance, and disaster management, reports ET. Till date, 100 is called for emergency police help, 101 is dialed for fire brigade, 102 and 108 are used for quick ambulance facility and emergency disaster management, respectively. The government of United States has already been using a unified number 911 for all the emergency services. According to the reports by Times of India, one of the government officials conveyed, "Telecom commission has accepted Trai's recommendation on single emergency number 112. It will now be drafted by the Department of Telecom and will require Telecom Minister's approval. It will be rolled out within months rather than a year." Any person in distress will be able to avail all the facilities needed in emergency in one single call. The existing numbers for emergency services will still be available for one more year. Eventually after ensuring that people all over India are aware of the new all-in-one facility 112 for all the emergency services, government will decide to replace existing numbers with 112. In cases where outgoing call facility of SIMs or landlines has been debarred or the service is temporarily suspended, users will still be able to dial 112 to immediately avail emergency services without any wait. Additionally, users can also communicate through sending a SMS which will enable the response system to locate the person seeking emergency service and forward the message to the nearest help center. As a next step for the future, emergency help-line number 112 will be operated by a call center facility having representatives communicating in Hindi, English, and the local language to easily resolve the issues and help the person seeking help in the best way possible. Read Also: Ladakh To Get World's Largest Telescope Defence Expo Will Boost India's Ties With U.S., Says U.S. Consul General CHANDIGARH: Haryana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a Bill to provide reservation to Jats and five other communities in government jobs and educational institutions, ahead of the April 3 deadline set by the community which had launched a violent agitation last month. Congress members did not attend the session on Tuesday as they were demanding revoking the suspension of their three MLAs. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday introduced two Bills Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016, and Haryana Backward Classes Commission Bill, 2016 in the ongoing Budget Session, which were passed unanimously by the House. Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016, proposed to give statutory status to backward classes block 'A', backward classes block 'B' and backward classes block 'C' by enacting the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016. The state government will request the central government to include this Act in the 9th Schedule read with Article 31B of the Constitution. The Bill proposed to give reservation to Jats and five other castes Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat by constituting a new classification block 'C' in the backward classes category. The Bill proposed to give 10% reservation to Jats and five other castes in government and government-aided educational institutions, and class-III and IV government jobs. The Bill also proposed to give 6% reservation to Jats and five other castes in backward classes 'C' category in class-I and II jobs. In case of backward classes 'A' and 'B' category, the Bill provides for raising the reservation from 10 to 11% and 5 to 6%, respectively, for class-I and II jobs. For Economically Backward Persons (EBP), the reservation percentage was proposed to be hiked from 5 to 7% for class-I and II jobs. The Bill states that notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the state government may provide horizontal reservation for such category or categories of persons within backward classes as it may deem necessary from time to time. Jat leaders have been demanding reservation in the existing backward classes category. The backward classes quota is bifurcated into two BC 'A' and BC 'B' having 16 and 11 percent, respectively. Under backward classes 'A' and 'B' categories, 71 and six castes are currently availing reservation benefits, respectively. Opposition Congress had favoured the quota for Jats. The party which has 15 MLAs, boycotted the Assembly session on Tuesday as it was demanding revocation of its suspension of its three legislators who were suspended for six months after they tore the copies of governor's Address. Read Also: More Women Involvement Needed In Conflict Prevention: India Modi Outlines 7-Point Strategy To Double Farmers' Income BENGALURU: Unriddling the prestigious project since 2013, Ladakh is likely to get the worlds largest telescope at Hanle. India may exhibit the world's largest telescope projectthe $1.47-billion Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) International Observatory. Hanle in Ladakh has been rated as a prospective site by the TMT board observing intricate issues in Mauna Kea, Hawaiiprospective site and initial option for the same. An international team is probable to visit Ladakh to inspect the site at Hanle in coming months, as reported by Chetan kumar, Indiatimes. The Hawaii Supreme Court had in December 2015 cancelled the permit issued to TMT for building the observatory based on claims that the plot in Mauna Kea was sacred. While Hawaiian authorities are acting upon re-issual of permit, the TMT Board is reccing for alternative sites to avoid holding up the project. "Given the enormous investment and potential challenges ahead, it is necessary to also carry out a review of alternate sites, said Henry Yang, chair of the TMT International Observatory Board after a meeting on February 11. The board has decided on two prospective sites - Hanle and another in Chile. "Yes, it was unexpected turn for the project which got delayed due to the decision of the Hawaiian supreme court, said B Eswar Reddy, TMT India Programme director after the February Meeting. Meanwhile, the project is also looking for prospective sites both in northern and southern hemispheres, including Hanle". India is expected to invest $212 million in the project. The installation process of telescope in Ladakh had started in 2013 and it will show up at Hanle village, near to the Pangong Tso, along the Line of Actual Control. An official in the Indian Astronomical Observatory at Leh said Hanle has ample area, including a large hilly terrain in the village, which has been distinguished for configuring the telescope. The telescope will help scientists examine and analyze the suns atmosphere and realize the process of creation and decay of sunspots. India is already building edge sensors, actuators and system support assemblies, aside from contributing to the software of TMT. According to scientists, the main objective of the telescope is to study the subsurface structure of sunspots. The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is the nodal agency for the project. The Hawaiian problem means at least a two-year delay."However, a lot of technical worksincluding in Indiaare progressing well in the partner countries. We expect all the systems to be ready and technical risks retired by the time we resolve the issue of site. Industries are working on prototype development and some are qualified for production and some are still working on," said Reddy. TMT is hoping to get back to civil construction within two years either on Mauna Kea, Hawaii Two major scientific institutions - the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bengaluru and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune - along with two government departments having working on the project since 2013. The department of science and technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) are the government partners, while IIA is the nodal agency. Read Also: Defence Expo Will Boost India's Ties With U.S., Says U.S. Consul General UN Goal On Global Temperature Unrealistic: Study NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled a seven-point strategy to double the income of farmers in six years with measures to step up irrigation, provide better quality seeds and prevent post-harvest losses. "In the past, the emphasis has been on agricultural output, rather than on farmers' incomes. I've set the objective of doubling the farmers' income by 2022," the prime minister told the Bloomberg India Economic Forum here. "I have laid this out as a challenge. But it is not merely a challenge. With a good strategy, well-designed programmes, adequate resources and good governance in implementation, this target is achievable." He also listed his seven strategies: - Big focus on irrigation with large budgets, with the aim of "per drop, more crop" - Provision of quality seeds and nutrients based on soil health of each field - Large investments in warehousing and cold chains to prevent post-harvest crop losses - Promotion of value addition through food processing - Creation of a national farm market, removing distortions and e-platform across 585 stations - Introduction of a new crop insurance scheme to mitigate risks at affordable cost - Promotion of ancillary activities like poultry, beekeeping and fisheries. "I am confident we will achieve the targeted doubling of farmers' income," he said, adding the doyen of Indian agriculture, M.S. Swaminathan, had himself written to him, saying the policies adopted hy his government were farmer-centric with a new income-orientation in farming. Read Also: Dial '112': Single Point of Contact for All Emergency Services in India Ladakh To Get World's Largest Telescope UNITED NATIONS: Underscoring the challenges posed by the dearth of women in peacekeeping activities, India has called for increasing involvement of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts. "There is a need to increase and institutionalise the involvement of women in conflict prevention and resolution. This requires not only normative advice but capacity building and institution building at the ground level," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said here yesterday. Speaking at the Security Council debate on 'Role of Women in Prevention and Resolution of Conflict in Africa', Akbaruddin noted the advances made in Africa in gender empowerment but said considerable challenges lie ahead given the dearth of women in peacekeeping activities. He cited UN reports to point out that women globally constituted less than four per cent of signatories to peace agreements and less than 10 per cent of negotiators at peace tables. Women also constitute only three per cent of the military and 10 per cent of the police who are deployed by the UN in peace missions. "These numbers reflect the enormity of the challenges that we are confronted with," Akbaruddin said, adding that despite the increased focus on the Women Peace and Security agenda, women and girls continue to be major victims. "The issue of Women Peace and Security cannot be seen in isolation from the wider societal context involving gender and development issues," he said. India, which is the lead troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, has the distinction of providing the first ever Female Formed Police Unit for the UN in Liberia. "While there has been only a marginal increase overall in the number of women peacekeepers, the first ever Female Formed Police Unit for UN was provided by India for deployment in Liberia. The unit has been widely appreciated for its work and for setting a pioneering example," Akbaruddin said. He said India has also contributed lady officers as Military Observers and Staff Officers in addition to deployment with the Medical Units. The Indian envoy further noted the efforts taken by the international community to address the issues of gender equality, empowerment and development in a holistic manner. In another significant capacity-building initiative, the New Delhi-based Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in partnership with the UN Women, is now conducting the 3rd United Nations Female Military Officers Course (UNFMOC) for 40 women military officers from 26 countries. UN Women head Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka also called for greater efforts to reach the goal of allocating at least 15 per cent of peacebuilding resources to gender equality and women's empowerment. "Women need to be resourced so that they can do more. The commitment to allocate at least 15 per cent of peacebuilding funds to gender equality and women's empowerment, must become a reality," Mlambo-Ngcuka told the Security Council. Read Also: Dial '112': Single Point of Contact for All Emergency Services in India Ladakh To Get World's Largest Telescope BENGALURU: According to Sharmistha Mukherjee of Economic Times, women are gaining more and more power, not only in political and business leadership, but also in an important segment traditionally linked to men that is, the car. Automobile manufacturers are making their products increasingly woman-friendly, as women are a driving force behind vehicle sales in India. In the past five years, the percentage of women car buyers has nearly doubled from 6-12 percent. Carmakers recognizing this are eager to provide the comforts the female customers seek such as clutch-less transmission, rear parking cameras, electronically foldable mirrors and navigation options. As women are increasingly becoming financially independent and empowered to make their own decisions, they are buying small cars like Renault Kwid and Maruti Alto to luxury sedans and SUVs from the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW. While about 15 per cent of the demand for Renault's Kwid is from women, at Maruti, the country's largest car maker, as much as 11 per cent of sales across brands is to women, and the company expects that number to grow. While women today account for 10-12 per cent of sales in the 2.6 million passenger vehicle market in India, the usage of cars among women is much higher, say industry insiders, given that vehicles still tend to be registered in the name of male family members. Read Also: 8 Upcoming Cars with Power Charged Turbo Petrol Engine 7 Must Read Brain-Shaping Books MUMBAI: Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley today claimed in a Mumbai court that he had arranged a fund-raising programme for the Shiv Sena in the U.S. and had planned to invite the then party supremo Bal Thackeray to the event. The 55-year-old, who has turned approver in the 26/11 attacks case, stated this during cross-examination on the third day by Abdul Wahab Khan, the lawyer of Abu Jundal an alleged key plotter of the 2008 Mumbai siege, via a video-link from the U.S.. Replying to a question, David Headley said that he planned to invite Thackeray for the programme. Eventually yes, but it was in initial stages, he said, adding that that there was no specific plan to invite Thackeray for this. The LeT operative, who has been convicted in the U.S. for his role in the terror attacks, said that Sena man Rajaram Rege had told him that Thackeray was sick and so may be his son and other officials may attend the programme. To a query whether LeT was in the know, Headley said he had discussed about the fund-raising programme with the terror outfit. On whether Thackeray knew about the programme, Headley retorted, How can I know this? I spoke to Rajaram Rege and he told me that he (Thackeray) was advised against travelling. However, Headley agreed with the defence lawyer that he had discussed the programme with Rege. Asked whether Headley had asked Rege to convey about the event to Thackeray, he said, In general terms, I never asked this specifically. Headley also told the court that he had developed hatred towards India and Indians since childhood and wanted to cause maximum damage since then. Asked about the reasons of his hatred, Headley said, My school was bombed in 1971 by Indian planes and that time, I developed this feeling. People were killed in the attack, he said, adding it was one of the reasons that why he joined the LeT. Headley, who is serving a 35-year jail term in the U.S., denied that he was in constant touch with U.S. investigation authorities from 1988-2008. He refuted allegations that US agencies were financing him. It is baseless to say that my movement to Pakistan was known to U.S. agencies. He also said it would be incorrect to say that FBI had not insisted on fines to be imposed on him in the U.S. court on account of his role in the 26/11 attacks. This is not true. It is not FBIs job to insist on fines in the court, he said. Headley also told special judge G A Sanap, who is hearing the 26/11 terror case against Jundal in the sessions court here, that it is ridiculous to say that his association with LeT was within the knowledge of U.S. authorities. He also denied that in collusion with FBI, he had saved USD 30 lakh fine amount and that because of this, the agency had not insisted on death penalty or life term. Yesterday, he had disclosed how LeT wanted to eliminate Bal Thackeray but the person who was assigned the job to kill the late Shiv Sena chief was arrested and then managed to give police a slip. Headley had also told the court that while he had not personally met any of the 10 attackers in the 26/11 case but he had seen the photo of one of the attackers on internet and identified him as Ajmal Kasab Rehmatullah Aliah. The terrorist had earlier concluded his week-long deposition before the Mumbai sessions court through a video-link from the U.S. on February 13. Headley, in his earlier deposition, said how Pakistans intelligence agency ISI provides financial, military and moral support to terror outfits LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, and how LeT planned and executed the 26/11 attacks. He had also claimed that Ishrat Jahan, killed in an allegedly fake encounter in Gujarat, was an LeT operative. Read Also: Trump, Clinton Lead Nationally Amid Trump-Cruz Feud Demonising Muslims Can Alienate Partners In ISIS Fight: Hillary Clinton Source: PTI HOUSTON: Indian-American Nandita Bakshi has been appointed the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West, a unit of French banking giant BNP Paribas. Bakshi, 57, will replace Michael Shepherd as Bank of the West's next President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and is expected to join the bank as a CEO-in-training on April 1 and will take the helm officially on June 1. She earned a bachelor's degree in History at the University of Calcutta and a masters in International Relations and Affairs at Jadavpur University. "I am excited to join Bank of the West, one of America's most reputable banks. Bank of the West is well positioned in the US market, and I am thrilled at the prospect of leading an organisation with such a strong focus on customer service," Bakhshi said in a statement. "We are pleased to welcome Nandita Bakhshi to Bank of the West. Her extensive experience in product and distribution, coupled with her visionary thinking, relentless customer focus and values-driven philosophy will serve us well in taking Bank of the West to greater heights," head of international retail banking for BNP Paribas Stefaan Decraene said. Bank of the West's parent company BNP Paribas is revamping its US operations to meet new regulations. "I am very pleased that Nandita Bakhshi is joining Bank of the West. Her energy, innovative ideas and proven record of accomplishments are a great combination with our strong franchise and corporate culture," Shepherd said. Bakhshi previously held several leadership roles at TD Bank, the most recent being executive vice president and head of North American direct channels where she was responsible for driving innovation in direct and electronic channels to improve digital adoption and provide customers a unified banking experience. She also held executive positions at Washington Mutual in Seattle which is now JP Morgan Chase; FleetBoston, which is now Bank of America; First Data Corp, Home Savings of America and Banc One Corp. Read Also: Indian-American Named Prez, CEO of Bank of West U.S. Company Fined $3 Million For Outsourcing Work To India Source: PTI STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sharissa Turk was eight-months pregnant when she relapsed and started abusing heroin and anti-depressants again. It wasn't the first time she had slipped up, but she swore it would be her last. This time was going to be different, she told herself, because now it was about more than her own life -- she needed to get clean for her daughter's sake. Turk and her fiance had consulted with their pediatrician, who helped the 25-year-old expectant mother to enter into a detox program at Staten Island University Hospital in Prince's Bay. She had completed the program in February, and planned to enter an inpatient drug treatment facility March 1, a little more than a month before her baby was due. Except she never made it that far. She was preparing to leave the same day her fiance found her lying on the floor unconscious inside their Annadale apartment. There were drugs around her body, he said, and, just a few feet away, were the bags she had packed to take with her to rehab. Turk was already dead by the time EMS showed up at the house at around 2:30 p.m. Paramedics were unable to save the baby. In an interview with the Advance, Turk's fiance spoke openly about their life together and the hardships she had faced both publicly and privately over drugs. Turk was no stranger to the spotlight. She had gained Internet notoriety in 2013 for portraying a blue fairy in an amateur rap video about prescription pill culture on Staten Island. The bizarre video, which featured Turk wearing with blue wings and dancing around with a plastic wand in a drug-induced fantasy world, went viral shortly after she was arrested on drug charges as part of a large-scale NYPD sweep. The case against Turk was ultimately dismissed and sealed, but the "Blue Fairy" label still followed her. 'BLUE FAIRY' FOLLOWS HER "It came up a lot," said her fiance, Frank De Gaetano, 28. "Anytime she went for a job, they would Google her name, see "Blue Fairy," and that's it -- they would let her go. "She was a person -- she wasn't just 'Blue Fairy,' but no one wanted to give her a chance," he said. De Gaetano, like his fiance, is a drug addict in recovery, and has been in trouble with the law before. He says he has watched the Island's drug epidemic unfold over the years, but never could have predicted where it would lead him. "We never thought of the consequences," he said, noting that he started using drugs as a teenager, mostly taking Percocet and other opioids at parties before getting hooked. "The pills started getting very expensive and then everyone started turning to heroin because it was cheaper and it was stronger," De Gaetano said. He says about 15 of his friends have died from a drug overdose over the past few years. Frank De Gaetano keeps photos of his late fiance, Sharissa Turk. (Staten Island Advance/Ryan Lavis) "It's sickening, he said. "You grow up seeing it unfold like that and you say to yourself, 'you were part of the situation.' It's not like I said at 14, 'when I'm 20 I'm going to do heroin -- I'm going to be a lowlife.' My friends that died didn't plan on dying at 21 or 22; my fiance, she didn't plan on dying right before our baby was born." De Gaetano was just getting sober when he met his future fiance about two years ago at a mutual friend's block party. They instantly hit it off, and helped each other to stay clean, he said. "As much as people judged her, she never judged you. She always seen the good in you. And that's why I fell in love with her. Because she seen the good in me," De Gaetano said. The couple moved in together after Turk became pregnant, eventually settling in a small side apartment in a house on the South Shore. Everything felt perfect during that time, De Gaetano said. They spent most of their days getting ready for the arrival of their daughter, picking out the color to paint her room -- a light gray -- and deciding on the baby's name -- Lilly Anna Marie. SUFFERED FROM DEPRESSION But Turk, who suffered from depression, began abusing drugs again intermittently during her pregnancy, De Gaetano said. "Depression is part of getting high for an addict," he said. A series of damaging events during Turk's life, coupled with a strained relationship with family, had left her often feeling dispirited, the boyfriend said. Before they met, she had been raped once in her early 20s, he said. And about a year after the "Blue Fairy" ordeal happened, she had been the victim of a violent daytime robbery in a Great Kills park, where she was bound to a tree, gagged and badly beaten, the boyfriend said. "Anything that could go wrong, went wrong in her life," De Gaetano said. "She never had any luck," he added. Frank De Gaetano keeps photos of his late fiance, Sharissa Turk. (Staten Island Advance/Ryan Lavis Still, the thought of her baby could always bring a smile to her face. "Everything was about the baby," De Gaetano said, describing how the two of them would talk everyday to their daughter inside the womb, or constantly go shopping to buy her clothes and toys. After Turk's relapse, they told their doctor about her drug use so she could get help, he said. If she wanted to keep custody after the baby was born, Turk must complete a detox program, which she eventually did, and enter an inpatient treatment facility. She also made weekly doctor visits to check on the baby's health. The day she died, a friend was supposed to pick up Turk at around 8:30 a.m. to take her to a rehab on the North Shore, where she would stay for a week. But no one answered when the friend knocked on the front door, and Turk wasn't picking up her phone. De Gaetano, an electrician, had already left for work earlier that morning. He noted that Turk had seemed fine when he kissed her goodbye. It was normal for her to sleep late in the morning, he said, and she often kept her phone on silent. 'I FIGURED SHE FELL ALSEEP' "I figured she fell asleep, and we'll leave her alone and pick her up later," De Gaetano said. He began to worry when he still couldn't get in touch with her in the afternoon, and left work early to go home and check on her, he said. That's when he found her body. She was lying facedown at top of the staircase just past the front door where he had walked in. "I started shaking her and moving her, and when I turned her over, her face was blue," De Gaetano said. He called an ambulance as he broke down crying, he said. The city medical examiner will determine the cause of death, but law enforcement sources say Turk likely died from a drug overdose. "Every addict wants to have that last hurrah before they go away, and I think that's what she must have done," De Gaetano said. Adding, "It must have been too much for her." In the weeks following her death, De Gaetano says he's struggling to keep it together. "I visit her grave, and I like to talk to her when I'm alone, but I'm mostly just floating through life right now," he said. He recently moved back in to the apartment, and says he is surrounded by the memory of her everyday. There are still paint cans that remain unopened on the floor of his baby's bedroom, which he plans on eventually painting in the colors she had picked out. Before Turk left for detox, she wrote her fiance a loving note that still hangs next to her picture on the refrigerator in his kitchen. "See you soon -- doing this for our family -- us three," it reads. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Anthony Morales, a suspect in the slaying of a mother and her son in front of the Mariners Harbor Houses, was shot multiple times by U.S. Marshals when he appeared to reach for a loaded handgun during his arrest in Pennsylvania, according to authorities. The multi-agency manhunt for the suspect in the fatal shootings of Idelle Rivera and her son, Anthony, 21, ended in a hail of bullets as authorities had him cornered late Monday night in West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, Pa. U.S. Marshals and Pennsylvania State Police spotted Morales, 49, in his vehicle parked on Blue Mountain Road just east of Route 61, according to a Pennsylvania State Police report of the incident. The marshals approached the vehicle at 11:12 p.m. and asked Morales to step out of his car. Morales refused to follow orders and instead put his hand down and reached toward his waist, according to the state police report. U.S. Marshals opened fire, striking Morales "multiple times." A loaded Glock handgun was found on Morales after he was removed from his vehicle, the state police report said. EMS responded and transported Morales to Reading Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, according to the state police report. Before reaching for the gun, Morales made the sign of the cross, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told reporters, according to the New York Post. A spokesman for the NYPD confirmed that Morales was shot while reaching for his loaded handgun. The state police report said that authorities were trying to serve a warrant when they approached Morales who has ties to Pottsville, Pa. Media reports indicate that Morales owns a home in Pottsville. Morales was identified in an NYPD wanted flier as the "perpetrator" in the slayings of Idelle Rivera and her son, Anthony, who were gunned down on Roxbury Street only steps from their Mariners Harbor Houses apartment building on Thursday evening. Morales lives in a different apartment in the same Mariners Harbor Houses building as the mother and son did, according to the NYPD. Detectives are looking into the possibility that a dispute over a car sparked the shooting. Anthony Rivera recently sold a car to the suspect, who was unhappy with the automobile and wanted a refund, a source with knowledge of the police investigation told the Advance. The 47-year-old mother was shot once in the head while her 21-year-old son was hit with three bullets in the head. A 22-year-old man, identified in the media as Jose Ramirez, is recovering from being shot three times in the left leg. Egypt-hijacking.JPG A man leaves the hijacked aircraft of Egyptair from pilot window at Larnaca airport in Cyprus Tuesday, March 29, 2016. An Egyptian man hijacked an EgyptAir plane Tuesday and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus, where all passengers and crew were eventually freed and he himself was arrested, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. The hijacker had kept four crew members and three passengers on board, but TV footage later showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) LARNACA, Cyprus -- An Egyptian man wearing a fake explosives belt who hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight and forced it to land in Cyprus on Tuesday has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all passengers and crew unharmed. His surrender ended an hours-long standoff at Larnaca airport on the island nation's southern coast. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept on board seven people -- four crew members and three passengers. The man's motivations were unclear, but officials said the hijacking was not terrorism-related, and that the hijacker had tried to communicate with his Cypriot ex-wife, who lives on the island. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane. Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker's surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was "over." Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi told state television that "all passengers and crew are safe." Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism," and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man "seems (to be) in love." Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. "Always, there is a woman," he replied, drawing laughter. The hijacker had asked to speak to is his Cypriot ex-wife, a Cypriot police official said. The hijacker also complained about the Egyptian government and demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails. Another Cypriot police official confirmed that the hijacker and his Cypriot wife were divorced in 1994 and had four children. The official said "the woman has nothing to do with this situation." A Cypriot civil aviation official said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife. The police official said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by anti-terrorism police. He said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said man was wearing a fake explosives belt. Flight MS181 took off Tuesday morning from Bourg el-Arab airport just outside the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes. Egyptian officials gave conflicting accounts as the drama unfolded. The Aviation Ministry said in a statement that the hijacker was wearing an explosives belt, which turned out to be untrue. Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish identified the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha's wife said her husband is not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the U.S. to attend a conference. The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV by phone that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that purportedly showed the hijacker was not him. Later, the official Middle East News Agency identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa, without providing further details. A senior Cypriot official confirmed the name of the hijacker, but also provided no further details. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. Police in Cairo were questioning the hijacker's relatives, Sharif Faisal, the police chief for the industrial suburb of Helwan, told The Associated Press. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. The initial group of passengers released by the hijacker was seen calmly walking off the plane down a set of stairs, carrying their hand luggage and boarding a bus. Security was tight at the airport, with police repeatedly pushing back reporters and TV crews working just outside the fence, near where the aircraft stopped. Police also evacuated a nearby beach popular with tourists. Egyptian passenger Farah el-Dabani told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the hijacker was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked. "There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash," she said in a telephone interview. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over the Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft, and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. Russia suspended all air links to Egypt after the revelations about the bombing, dealing a major blow to Egypt's vital tourism industry. Tuesday's hijacking could further postpone the resumption of such flights. image.jpg What will it take to close unsafe child care centers? STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island child care centers have racked up violations during routine inspections at a rate that beats the citywide average for the same types of facilities. But there has only been one case recently that lead to the center being shut down. And that occurred as the result of an inspection that was prompted by community complaints. Precious Beginnings Daycare in West Brighton was closed by the state last week after concerned neighbors complained about the safety of the children, prompting an investigation from the NYPD and Office of Family and Children Services (OCFS). The license for the operator, Christine Lyons, was suspended after the investigation showed she allegedly hired unqualified workers, did not have enough staff for the number of children and was not present to supervise employees as required. She is appealing the decision to shut the facility. And, just two years ago a 3-year-old boy drowned at Mother Byrd Family Daycare, Mariners Harbor, when he gained access to the backyard's above-ground swimming pool. It wasn't until the day after Edward Harris' death that OCFS listed seven alleged violations for the facility on its website -- one of which cited inadequate barriers to prevent children from gaining access to its swimming pool. One infant and toddler daycare center in Richmond Valley, licensed by the city and overseen by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), has had 85 percent of their annual inspections resulting in violations, ranging from "public health hazards" to "critical violations" and "general violations." Forty-three percent of the annual inspections that resulted in violations were public health hazards -- above the citywide average of 32 percent. Despite the violations, the center has remained open. CITY AND STATE INSPECTIONS "Facilities are inspected before opening, upon registration/license renewal, any time there is a complaint of a potential of harm to a child's safety or welfare, and during unannounced monitoring inspections during the year," said a spokeswoman from the Office of Children and Family Services, regarding the family, group family, and school-age child care centers on Staten Island that are overseen by the state. There are 293 residential state-regulated child care programs on Staten Island that are inspected by the city. "OCFS contracts with the NYC DOHMH to conduct all licensing activities of state-regulated child care programs, including inspections. The state does not regulate day care centers in New York City. The state regulates family, group family and school-age child care programs in the five boroughs," the spokeswoman said. Child care programs differ from daycare centers in that they operate out of a private residence, allow fewer children at one time, and are regulated by the state. Daycare centers must have an education director, teachers must have a degree in early childhood education, are regulated by the city and operate out of a child care center. There are 113 center-based programs on Staten Island, a DOHMH spokesman confirmed. The spokesman said they inspect all daycare centers "at least annually," and "on average, daycare centers receive approximately three inspections per year." "Inspections resulting in violations that are rated Critical or Public Health Hazards trigger a compliance inspection. Also, DOHMH conducts inspections in response to all complaints received," the spokesman said. VIOLATION EXAMPLES Violations issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene fall into three categories: Public Health Hazards: Failure to arrange and conduct criminal and Statewide Center Register of Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) background clearance checks for required staff members is one example of a Public Health Hazard Violation, which needs to be corrected immediately. Critical Violations: Failure to limit areas used by children to their exclusive use and not supplying hand wash sinks with adequate amount of running water or improper temperature are Critical Violations that need to be corrected within two weeks. General Violations: Considered minor, General Violations include the provider failing to provide records of staff immunizations, failure to properly train staff within a given time frame, and failure to provide parents with nutritional guidelines. REPEAT OFFENDERS Both city daycare centers and state-regulated facilities have numerous repeat offenders when it comes to violations. Additionally, many of Staten Island's centers are well above the city averages for violations. TROUBLING STATISTICS More alarming is that 32 percent of the daycare centers on Staten Island had annual inspections that resulted in public health hazard Violations while the city average is 20 percent. That's no small number, especially when the number of total centers on the borough is taken into consideration. Sixty-two percent of annual inspections resulted in a violation, compared to the citywide average of 42 percent, and 48 percent of those inspections resulted in general violations, with a citywide average of 36 percent. One Travis daycare center was inspected in January, July, September, October, November and December of last year, and each inspection resulting in multiple, repeated violations. WHY AREN'T THEY SHUT? "DOHMH immediately closes a daycare center when it is found to be operating without a permit or poses a danger to children that cannot be remediated at the time of inspection. The Health Department closes centers as a protective action. Daycare centers are not typically suspended for past violations that had been corrected," the DOHMH spokesman said. The same can be said for the state-regulated family, group family, and school-age child care providers. "Under Social Services Law, OCFS has the legal authority to suspend a license or registration when there is a finding of imminent danger to the children in care. OCFS investigates and takes action against child care programs that jeopardize children's safety. When there is imminent danger, OCFS suspends and revokes the provider's license," said the OCFS spokeswoman. A daycare center or state-regulated child care facility can receive dozens of violations without being shut down as long as they're corrected in the proper time frame for re-inspection, but could then go as long as a year before another inspection takes place. But potential change is on the horizon. "We are collaborating with the State on a comprehensive registry of all state-regulated and city-regulated child care programs in NYC. This website will have all daycare centers' violations, so that parents can have single source to access violations for all day centers in NYC," said the DOHMH spokesman. NWS CRUZ.JPG Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a recent campaign rally in the mid-west Cruz. along with candidates Donald Trump and John Kaisch, will answer questions from Wisconsin voters Monday night during a Town Hall meeting in Milwaukee. (Associated Press) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Republican presidential candidates will be bringing their respective campaigns to the hometown of House Speaker Paul Ryan Tuesday night, kicking off their week-long battle for Wisconsin primary voters. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich will field questions from Wisconsin voters during a town hall meeting moderated by CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper. The town hall is scheduled to run live from 8 to 11 p.m. from Milwaukee's Riverside Theater. It will be aired on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Espanol, and will be live-streamed online and across mobile devices through CNNgo. Here's what you need to know about Tuesday night's Town Hall: What: CNN Republican Presidential Candidates Town Hall meeting Date: March 29, 2016 Time: 8 p.m. Eastern Watch on TV: CNN, CNN International, or CNN en Espanol Watch live stream online: CNNgo Location: Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI Moderators: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper IMG_4973.JPG Precious Beginnings Daycare, closed by the state for overcrowding and inadequate staffing, is located at 464 Hoyt Ave. in West Brighton. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y -- Precious Beginnings Daycare in West Brighton has been closed by the state after authorities allege the facility was overcrowded and employed unqualified staff. The state took action following an inspection on Tuesday of the group family day care facility at 464 Hoyt Ave. operated by Christine Lyons. "The New York State Office of Children and Family Services suspended and revoked Christine Lyons' group family day care license on March 16 for having unqualified staff and too many children in care," said a statement from the state Office of Children and Family Services. "OCFS is monitoring the home for signs of illegal operation while the program is under sups ension. By law, Ms. Lyons has 10 days to request a hearing to challenge the suspension and 30 days to challenge the revocation." The facility, licensed since 2008, also has been removed from the state's day care referral list. The day care exceeded the maximum of 12 children, ages 6 weeks to 12 years, and four additional school age children allowed under the law, authorities allege. The facility also posed health and/or safety hazards to the children, according to OCFS records of violations. Lyons allegedly hired unqualified workers, did not have enough staff for the number of children and was not present to supervise employees as required, according to violations listed by OCFS. People who live nearby contacted the Advance after allegedly seeing members of the NYPD at the facility on Tuesday evening. However, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information said that there was no record of a police response there at that date and time. Neighbors told the Advance that they were concerned about the safety of the children cared for at the facility that appeared to be overcrowded and understaffed. Double-parking on Hoyt by parents dropping off and picking up children also was another issue at the day care considered by some as a blight on the neighborhood near Forest Avenue. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A Rossville man accused of showing a pornographic video to a girl inside a Charleston store last year resolved his case Tuesday by pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge. But Shaan Khawaja's dealings with the law are far from over. Two weeks ago, the 29-year-old man pleaded guilty in Maryland to sexually soliciting a minor two years ago in an unrelated case in which he was accused of displaying a smutty cartoon of the Disney princesses to two young girls and exposing himself. Khawaja was placed on five years' probation in that case, but could land behind bars for up to five years if he violates the terms of his probation, which include registering as a sex offender and successfully completing a sex offender treatment program, authorities said. In the Staten Island case, Khawaja was accused of approaching a 7-year-old girl near the underwear section of Target on Feb. 1, 2015, and showing her an indecent video of a naked man and woman on his cell phone. A grand jury later indicted him on a felony charge of attempted first-degree disseminating indecent materials to minors and misdemeanor counts of obscenity and endangering a child's welfare. In August of last year, state Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Rooney dismissed the felony count after defense lawyer Joseph Sorrentino successfully argued that charge did not apply. The element of that crime, according to statute, involves the transfer of indecent material from the alleged perpetrator's computer device to a minor's computer device. Smart phones are considered computer devices under the law, said the attorney. There was no allegation of Khawaja electronically transferring the image to the girl via the Internet, Sorrentino said then. The other two charges stood, and on Tuesday, Khawaja pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor count of attempted endangering a child's welfare. In exchange for his plea, Khawaja was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to stay away from the victim and a witness for two years. A dark-haired man garbed in a charcoal jacket and blacks pants, Khawaja made no statement beyond admitting guilt. Sorrentino said he was satisfied with the resolution, given the nature of the allegations against his client. "The district attorney's office ultimately evaluated the case in a fair way and gave a fair and reasonable disposition," said Sorrentino. "Mr. Khawaja looked at this from a practical point of view. He wanted to get the matter over with and get on with his life, and this allows him to do that." The attorney, who did not represent Khawaja in Maryland, declined comment on that case. That incident occurred on March 30, 2014, at the home of a family member in Ellicott City, said authorities. Khawaja overheard a 7-year-old girl talking to her 6-year-old friend about watching the movie "Snow White," authorities alleged. "Khawaja then told the girls he had the movie and proceeded to show them both an explicit pornographic cartoon with all of the Disney princesses," reads an application for Khawaja's arrest filed by Howard County Police Cpl. Erika Heavner. "This (7-year-old) victim said the princesses were completely naked and 'doing gross stuff' with their private parts." The 6-year-old girl told Cpl. Heavner that after showing the video, Khawaja took her into a bathroom, asked her to touch him, and when she refused, he masturbated in front of her. On March 14, Khawaja pleaded guilty in Howard County Circuit Court to a felony count of sexual solicitation of a minor and a misdemeanor count of displaying obscene materials to a minor, according to online court records. He will be placed on five years' probation, must register as a sex offender and have no conduct with the victims, their families or any children under the age of 16 without an adult present, according to online records and the Howard County state's attorney office. In addition, Khawaja must successfully complete a sex offender treatment program, submit to a psychiatric evaluation and allow random checks of his computer and phones, prosecutors said. Khawaja's lawyer on the Maryland case could not immediately be reached for comment. 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 National petroleum giant PetroVietnam has temporarily suspended production at its 100 million liter/year ethanol plant in Dung Quat due to high production costs and low sales of bio-gasoline. A senior official at PetroVietnam Central Biofuels JSC, the operator of the plant in the central province of Quang Ngai, confirmed production at the project has been halted. He added that the company will discuss obstacles facing the plant as well as solutions to address the issues in the coming shareholders meeting. PetroVietnams wholly-owned Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical, the operator of the 6.5 million tons/year Dung Quat refinery, currently holds the majority stake in the ethanol plant following the withdrawal of two other PetroVietnam units-Petrosetco and PVFC. According to the Quang Ngai Tax Department, the plants outstanding debt at three local banks was standing at around VND1 trillion ($44.7 million) as of last year. PetroVietnam Central Biofuels JSC has to repay VND100 billion in principle this year, and set aside VND70 billion for interest repayments for other loans, which have been categorized as unrecoverable at other banks. 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." 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Vietnam aims to become an industrialized country by 2020 with GDP per capita of at least $3,200 in its latest plan. In the Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) for 2016-2020 in discussion by the current National Assembly, the government set 21 macroeconomic, social and environmental targets. They include average GDP growth of 6.5 to seven percent per year, with 85 percent of output coming from the industrial and service sectors by 2020. Given the target for GDP growth, total GDP at current prices over the five year period is estimated to be over VND30,600 trillion ($1.37 trillion). Vietnam expects major advances in strengthening its institutions and legal system, increasing human capital and improving the transport network. The plan is based on the socio-economic development strategy for 2011-2020 which lays out the path towards industrialization by the end of the decade through a socialist-oriented market economy model. The SEDP draws on Vietnams stable economic growth in recent years, its commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and increased international integration as reflected in free trade agreements signed with ASEAN, the TPP, and others. However, it also takes into account Vietnams low competitiveness, poor infrastructure, climate change implications (especially in the Mekong delta), weak institutions, transition towards an aging population phase and increasingly complex situation in the East Sea. Given that, the government set out 12 solutions that will guide Vietnams socio-economic development for the next five years. 1. Development of a socialist oriented market economy, macroeconomic stability and a positive environment for socio-economic development This includes institutional reforms towards freer markets and further privatization. Instead of direct provision, the government will support the development of a market for public services. More emphasis is also put on greater coordination among monetary, fiscal and other policies. By 2020, Vietnam hopes to have a coherent, transparent and effective legal system. 2. Economic restructuring, increase in productivity and competitiveness Vietnam plans to promote entrepreneurship, including setting up start-up training centers and venture capital funding. Businesses are to receive support in research and development and public private partnerships (PPP) will be prioritized. Source: Vietnams SEDP for 2016-2020 Vietnam is aiming for agriculture to develop at a rate of 2.5 percent to three percent per year with up to 50 percent of communes meeting the new rural standard by 2020. Application of biotechnology and information technology in production, management and agricultural extension services is encouraged. The country is also determined to ensure food safety. Regarding industry, Vietnam eyes growth of eight percent to 8.5 percent per year. By 2020, industry is set to account for 40 percent of GDP. Particular focus is put on high tech industries. Industries that serve agriculture will be prioritized, especially agricultural product processing and manufacturing of agricultural equipment and machinery. Vietnam will also support development of renewable energy sources, especially wind and solar power. In parallel, it will invest in oil and gas extraction and processing. Services are set to grow 6.6 percent to 7.1 percent per year and by 2020 make up 45 percent of GDP. Vietnam hopes to develop tourism into the leading service sector. Meanwhile, priority is also given to intellectual and technology linked services with high added value. Key service sectors include transport, ecommerce, telecommunications, wholesale and retail distribution and branding of Vietnamese products. 3. Development of economic regions and clusters Development of business clusters based on regional master plans is high on the agenda, noting the importance of connectivity. Emphasis is put on key economic regions, economic zones and industrial parks. 4. Construction of urban and infrastructure systems Key construction projects planned to help upgrade and improve the connectivity of Vietnams infrastructure include: - North-South roads - Upgrade existing railroad gauge from one meter to 1.435m - Phased construction of a North-South high speed train - Construction of international sea ports in the North and South, and mobilization of funding for an international transit port - Phasing of investment for Long Thanh International Airport - Completion of the irrigation system in the Mekong Delta to prevent flooding, alkaline soils and salinity. In addition, infrastructure projects to respond to climate change and sea level rise will be prioritized. 5. Mobilization and effective use of resources Vietnam continues to re-structure investment, especially public investment in order to improve quality, effectiveness and competitiveness. Emphasis is put on saving, ensuring trade and budget balances and expanding the scope and opportunities for private investments. The legal framework for public private partnerships will be further improved for greater transparency, stability and fairness to encourage businesses to invest in infrastructure projects. Vietnam will promote cooperation with FDI companies to facilitate technology and knowledge transfer. However, it will not attract FDI at all costs. Legislation will be revised to attract foreign investment, especially high tech, environmentally friendly and value adding projects. Meanwhile, projects that widen the trade deficit, are energy intensive and extract resources without processing will be curbed. In addition, projects which waste resources, use out-dated technology and pollute the environment will not be permitted. Vietnam will continue to improve relevant legislation on managing and usage of Overseas Development Assistance. Procurement will be fairer and more transparent, minimizing pre-assigning contractors and using land of high commercial value. Priority will be given to projects in large scale economic and social infrastructure, agricultural development, improving modern market economy institutions, human capital (especially development of a skilled workforce), environmental protection, climate change, green growth strategy and others. Inspection and monitoring of investment projects will also be strengthened. 6. Improvement in human capital and strengthening the potential of science and technology Vietnam plans educational reform towards a more open and comprehensive approach that has a greater emphasis on life skills, reduces workload in pre-tertiary education and encourages self-study and creativity. Emphasis is given to developing a knowledge economy with a high quality workforce in science and technology. 7. Cultural development, implementation of social progress and justice, and improving living standards in harmony with economic development Vietnam is committed to integrating United Nations Sustainable Development goals into the countrys socio-economic programs and plans. 8. Active response to climate change, disaster prevention, resource management and environmental protection The country plans to improve regulations, policy and coordination of solutions for climate change, disaster risk reduction, natural resource management, environmental protection and land use. Matters that require immediate attention include the drought in the Central Highlands and the Southern Central region and urgent projects to prevent salinity and retain freshwater. 9. Anti-corruption, thrift and anti-wastefulness Vietnam continues to improve relevant regulations, focusing on areas easily prone to corruption. They include asset declaration by government officials and limiting cash transactions. Inspections, auditing and prosecution are to be strengthened. The monitoring role of publicly elected bodies and the Fatherland Front in reporting corruption will be promoted. 10. Enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of state management, ensuring public freedom and democracy in socio-economic development coupled with compliance with the law Government processes are set to be simplified and less bureaucratic. There will be clear distinctions between the functions of government agencies and the market, whereby the government only manages and provides directions for socio-economic development through legislation, planning and regulatory instruments appropriate for the market economy. Administrative intervention is to be minimized. 11. Strengthening national defense and security, fighting to preserve independence and sovereignty and ensuring political security, social order and safety The SEDP stresses effective implementation of the strategy to protect the country under changing circumstances. 12. Improving effectiveness of external relations, active international integration, peaceful environment and favorable conditions for the countrys development Vietnam wants to improve effectiveness of multilateral relations, especially within ASEAN and the United Nations. International cooperation to ensure regional and national defense, security and sovereignty is to be strengthened. Sea disputes are to be resolved by peaceful means in line with international law and regional code of conduct. Furthermore, Vietnam intends to actively negotiate and sign new generation free trade agreements. The Vietnamese governments development strategy is based on a series of 10-year socio-economic development strategies (SEDS). The five year socio-economic development plan lays out the actions needed to translate the strategies into reality. The SEDP provides a framework and direction for ministries and sectors to develop their own plans. 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. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612e1fe4d48)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02a3610)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612e1fe4d48)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02a3610)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efe8f180)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02a3610)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f02a3610)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50ad68)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f02bfd68)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f02bfd68)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 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. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efe3cba0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01f8ea8)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efe3cba0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01f8ea8)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efe3d548)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01f8ea8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f01f8ea8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50bfd0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0362b40)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0362b40)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 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. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f01e9748)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f035f018)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f01e9748)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f035f018)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612ee503960)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f035f018)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f035f018)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50c4e0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f021bc60)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f021bc60)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 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. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612e2529ce0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50d778)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612e2529ce0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50d778)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612efe32c08)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50d778)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50d778)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612ee50cb38)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612ee50c4f8)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612ee50c4f8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 Fitzroys' Senior Associate Dean Alexander has sold five commercial properties in Melbourne's north-east for a combined $10.45 million. The properties include Units 1&2 in Candlebark Court at Research, 981 Main Road in Eltham, 2-4 Street Main Street in Greensborough and 1 Brisbane and 7 Brisbane Street in Eltham. The two industrial sites in Brisbane Street sold for a combined $5.29 million. In Research, two side-by-side boutique industrial facilities sold separately for a combined total of $1.030 million. The modern freehold building in Greensborough leased to three separate tenants returning around $92,000 per annum net sold to a local investor for $1.295 million, he said. South Melbourne A local investor has snapped up 8 York Street for $3.15 million. The office and warehouse under the one roof is currently being used as a gym by Vicious Pursuit. The site sold at a per square metre land rate of $7482, Colliers International's Andrew Ryan said. Beaumaris Investors continue to target strip shopping streets. A small shop at 20 Keys Street, a local shopping strip just off Beach Road, sold for $1.195 million after strong competition from five bidders. The property achieved a yield of 2.9 per cent, said Hocking Stuart Commercial's Kenny Oliver. Nunawading Two modern office/warehouses, Units 17 & 18, 56 Norcal Road, within the Eastern Gateway Business Park sold to a single buyer. The new owner intends to occupy Unit 18 and use it for their hardware materials business and lease out Unit 17, said Ian Angelico and Stan Dawidowski, of CVA Property Consultants. Unit 17 sold for $1.138 million. Unit 18 went for $1.15 million. Another recent sale at Unit 1 went for $2.26 million. Glen Iris A small shop leased to Australia Post at 1626 High Street sold at auction for $800,000, a land rate of $4500 per square metre. Multiple bidders pushed the sale price above the vendors reserve to a tight 3 per cent yield on the passing net rental, said Gorman Kelly's Robert Kelly. Clayton South Letter Boxes of Australia has delivered itself a new home with the business paying $355,000 for a property at 1/13 Libbett Avenue. The manufacturer will move from around the corner, said Crabtrees Real Estate's Ryan Ramsay. LEASES Colliers International's Stephanie Hawkins has negotiated two new leases at the Suleman Group's 470 Collins Street. "Urban Eagles and Sino Credit were both looking for Collins Street space," Ms Hawkins said. Urban Eagles, a new residential development company, took 125 square metres Gross Face Rent between $430-$450. Migration agents Sino Credit took 65 square metres at similar rates. Meanwhile, the firm's Matt Cosgrave and Vincent Tran subleased 870 square metres on Level 3 at 606 St Kilda Road to health insurance comparison service Choosewell at Gross Face Rent between $280-$380 per square metre. The pair also leased 502 square metres at 420 St Kilda Road to IT cloud software giant NetSuite Inc. over four years for gross face rent of $430 per square metre. Surrey Hills Fletchers Real Estate is expanding after signing to take over the first floor at 250 Canterbury Road. The agency has committed to about 330 square metres on an 8+5+5 year basis. Another tenant, Verve Portraits, will also lease space on the ground floor in a five year deal for a 330 square metre office, Knight Frank's Tom Ryan said. Port Melbourne Wengfu Australia, manufacturer and supplier of quality phosphate-based chemical products, has leased 1098 square metres of office space at ground floor and Level 1 at 250 Ingles Street for seven years, in a deal negotiated by Knight Frank's Adam Jones. Mr Jones was acting for the Herzog Group while Alasdair MacGillivray of Bayley Stuart represented the tenant. The rental ranged from $230-$250 per square metre net. MOVERS Savills Australia's Melbourne office has appointed investment specialist Tom Forrest as an associate director with its retail investments team. Mr Forrest has worked in a variety of national firms as a manager of property transactions with Vicinity Centres. Submissions to sjohanson@fairfaxmedia.com.au Myanmar is granting its fourth telecom licence to a consortium led by the Vietnamese mobile network operator, as it looks to further open its young but increasingly competitive telecoms market. Hanoi-based Viettel will be the third foreign telco to enter the country, tying up with 11 local firms and an outfit owned by Myanmar's defence ministry, according to a government statement on Marcg 26. The military's stake in the venture is likely to fuel running concern that the still-powerful institution is racing to secure its financial clout ahead of the presidential hand-off. Though it is no longer ruling through an iron-fisted junta, Myanmar's military remains a mighty force in the impoverished country, with army-linked tycoons still pulling the purse strings in many lucrative industries. Norway's Telenor and Qatars Ooredoo were the first foreign firms to enter the telecoms market in 2014 after reformist ex-generals opened Myanmar's doors to outside competition. Before that cell phones were a luxury few could afford, with a state-owned monopoly selling SIM cards for up to US$1,500. Today the country is teeming with smart phones, cheap SIMs and a lively web culture also made possible by a loosening of junta-era censorship laws. According to government data, Myanmar's mobile penetration rate sky-rocketed from 9.5 to 77.7 percent in just two years after the foreign firms joined, hailed as "a record speed in the history of mobile telecommunications". The communications ministry said it hoped the latest competitor would bring more coverage to rural areas, where access remains a challenge due to long-running civil wars between minority ethnic rebels and the military. The deal with Viettel - which is run by the Vietnamese military and which will take a 49 percent stake in the joint venture - is pending a final round of paperwork and negotiations. A licence is expected to be formally granted later this year. Myanmar has emerged from nearly half a century of brutal junta rule with one of the fastest growing economies in the world, forecast to expand around eight percent this year. But the incoming government still faces significant hurdles, including endemic corruption, widespread poverty and decrepit infrastructure. What is a reasonable response to being confronted by a home intruder? It is among the most difficult questions that can be posed in a courtroom. In the heat of the moment a person defending themselves "cannot weigh ... the exact measure" of what is necessary, as a famous United Kingdom case on self-defence made clear. But a jury, or a judge sitting without a jury, will be required to draw a line between what is reasonable and what is not if a person kills or seriously injures their attacker. Marika Ninness was "brave, funny, kind and clever". Beloved by those who knew her. Her sister, Charnie Braz, said Ms Ninness, 35, was the last person one would expect to die at the hands of her partner. "Great big hole in our lives": Charnie Braz, Marika Ninness' sister, outside court in Newcastle after the verdict. Credit:Jonathan Carroll But the mother-of-three suffered severe head injuries inflicted by her boyfriend, Ross Merrick, that would kill her. A Supreme Court jury has found Ross Albert Merrick not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Marika Ninness. The jury instead found Merrick guilty of manslaughter following a trial in Newcastle lasting almost four weeks. Ross Merrick arriving at court on Tuesday ahead of the verdict. Credit:Jonathan Carroll After deliberating for two full days before the Easter long weekend, the jury took just 15 minutes on Tuesday morning to reach a verdict. "I was going to call it a carnival atmosphere," the president said, "but that implies fun." Speaking at a journalism prize ceremony in honour of Robin Toner, a longtime political reporter for The New York Times who died in 2008, Obama said the 2016 campaign had become "entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis," a coarse spectacle that he said was tarnishing the "American brand" around the world. Washington: President Barack Obama delivered a forceful critique on Monday of politicians and the journalists who cover them, lamenting the circus-like atmosphere of the presidential campaign and declaring, "A job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone." "The number one question I'm getting as I travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is, 'What is happening in America about our politics?'" Obama continued. "They care about America, the most powerful nation on Earth, functioning effectively and its government being able to make sound decisions." President Barack Obama speaks during the awards dinner for Syracuse University's Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting in Washington. Credit:AP Obama's references to Donald Trump, the New York real estate developer turned Republican front-runner, were unmistakable in his criticism of "divisive and often vulgar rhetoric," frequently aimed at women and at ethnic and racial minorities. But he also turned his fire on the news media, saying it had given an uncritical platform to those pronouncements, in part because of relentless economic pressures that have changed the way news organisations operate. The president suggested that the news media had not done enough to question the promises made by politicians an apparent reference not only to Trump, but also to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the independent who is challenging Hillary Clinton, Obama's former secretary of state, for the Democratic nomination. Sanders has promised free public college education and national health care coverage, ambitious social programs that critics say could never be enacted. The National Tertiary Education Union has urged academics not to despair over a proposal by Australian National University management to move some senior language specialists on to fixed-term contracts, saying it was potentially unlawful. At a rally on Tuesday, which drew up to 200 students and staff from across the university, ACT division secretary Rachael Bahl said there was widespread concern that the downgrading of security of positions could be extended elsewhere across the institution. International Sanskrit expert and multi-award winning language teacher Associate Professor McComas Taylor may leave the ANU if the changes proceed. Credit:Jamila Toderas Fifteen academics are set to go, and six positions downgraded to three-year contracts, under a plan to rein in the budget of the esteemed School of Culture, History and Languages within the College of Asia and the Pacific. But Ms Bahl said there was a strong case to oppose the fixed contracts as the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement only allowed the movement of staff to fixed-term contracts in "very pre-defined and specific circumstances, and these staff do not fit into these categories which is why we are arguing that this is potentially in breach". The company behind one of the world's most popular video games websites has been found to be in breach of Australian consumer law. The Federal Court found Valve, which operates online game website Steam, engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by telling Australian players they were not entitled to refunds for digitally downloaded content. The ACCC found Valve made false or misleading representations to Australian consumers. Credit:Damian White The company, based in the US, now faces fines of up to $1.1 million a breach. In a significant victory for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the court found the company was not exempt from Australian consumer law just because it was a foreign online entity. Lightning Broadband uses a mix of fibre-optic cable and wireless technology. Mr Rich said this allowed the company to deliver speeds up to three times faster that the NBN, which is steadily being rolled out across Australia. After selling his solar panel business , Energy Matters, to US juggernaut Sun Edison, Mr Rich has created a new company, and has the government-owned NBN in his sights. Jeremy Rich next to one of his internet towers on top of Hampton Park Shopping Centre in Melbourne's outer east. Credit:Chris Hopkins What do solar panels and high-speed internet have in common? Quite a lot, according to Melbourne businessman Jeremy Rich. Asked why he was jumping on the internet after solar panels, Mr Rich said it wasn't as big a leap as most people thought. "There are a lot of parallels to energy. Broadband is being classed as an essential service," he said. "In energy, there is also a transition from fossil fuels to renewables, which is gaining huge momentum. The same is happening in broadband with the change in copper, coaxial cable in the ground to fibre-optic cable and trying to connect all the homes and businesses in Australia to that high-speed network. "There is a lot of fibre in the ground. It's just a matter of connecting individual residences, new developments and businesses to that fibre-optic network in an efficient and effective manner. That's where the opportunity exists to be able to connect homes to high-speed internet. And it's a short window of opportunity before others start to do that." Mr Rich said the challenge most businesses faced was funding the "last mile" of fibre network from a home to the "backbone" of the internet, which can be expensive. As you've no doubt noticed, companies and investors around the world are feeling the pain of China's economic slowdown. They're worried about the lay-offs, cuts to surplus capacity and deleveraging to come on the mainland, which will further depress demand. The natural temptation is to blame China for the world's woes. However, outsiders should focus just as much on their missteps, starting with the widespread misperception that "this time" would be different. PetroVietnam is planning energy projects in Vietnams Central region to take advantage of the largest gas field ever discovered in the East Sea, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Photo: PetroVietnam The Ca Voi Xanh gas field is located about 100 km from the coast of Quang Nam province. ExxonMobil said in 2011 it had found hydrocarbons while drilling in the field, before making additional discoveries in the area in July 2012. The U.S. energy giant will set up a wellhead platform, which will process natural gas to be produced from eight wells at Ca Voi Xanh field. An 88-km-long pipeline will connect the field with facilities onshore, PetroVietnam said. The two oil and gas giants expect to produce the first gas from Ca Voi Xanh by 2021. It is hoped the field will produce about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, almost the same as Vietnams total output of natural gas in 2015. Ca Voi Xanh is Vietnams biggest ever gas discovery. It is estimated to hold reserves of 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas, which is three times bigger than the combined reserves of the countrys two most productive gas fields, Lan Tay and Lan Do, in the southern Nam Con Son Basin. PetroVietnam signed an agreement with Quang Nam province over the weekend to begin selecting sites for the projects. The local provincial government has pledged to push forward infrastructure development in the area to support the proposed projects, the company said. Vietnams national oil and gas group plans to set up a gas processing plant and a gas-fired power project with a generation capacity of about 1,400 megawatts in the Nui Thanh district of Quang Nam. These two projects are expected to be operational by 2023. PetroVietnam also wants to set up another power project of similar capacity near Dung Quat refinery in the nearby province of Quang Ngai. PetroVietnam said it plans to supply about 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas to a petrochemical unit to be built near the refinery. Japanese whalers have shipped home 333 dead whales - including about 200 pregnant cows - prompting Australia to declare anew it is considering legal action over the slaughter. The whalers, who claim their annual whale hunt is for "scientific research", admitted some of the harpooned minke whales had been expecting twins. Japan's Institute for Cetacean Research said the prevalence of pregnant whales indicated the health of the population. Japan defied a ruling by the international court to stop whaling, resuming its hunt over the summer months in the face of international condemnation. A Senate inquiry into the potential harm being done to Australian children "through access to pornography on the internet" has been inundated by more than 140 submissions. Scarlet Alliance has also cautioned that pornography is "often the scapegoat for broader societal issues" as renewed concerns are raised about young people's exposure to explicit material online. The peak body for Australian sex workers has called for better education to help children deal with pornography if they are exposed to it, rather than increased censorship. A submission from Children's eSafety Commissioner Alastair MacGibbon notes: "The proliferation of smart phones, tablets and devices [has] changed the amount and ease of access to sexually explicit content". The Australian Medical Association also told the inquiry "children and young people are being exposed to a vast range [of] pornography, which is readily available on the internet". But Scarlet Alliance - the Australian Sex Workers Association - has cautioned: "It is easier to blame sex workers and porn for misogyny and violence than to acknowledge that violence against women, sexual assault and sex education are issues that need to be dealt with by society at a foundational level." It also questioned whether children - who are "naturally curious" about sexuality - should be kept "ignorant" until the age of consent. It says ignorance could increase the risk of abuse and embarrassment for young people. At the same time, it stressed that porn producers "aren't marketing their material to children and porn performers have been vocal about the fact that their content is not made for minors". Confidence is building within the government that previously blocked union watchdog legislation could yet pass through the Senate in special sittings later this month as a new spirit of compromise and the reality of electoral annihilation combine to put the double dissolution election on July 2 into the background. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull used public appearances on Tuesday to restate his preference for a deal with Senate crossbenchers on the so-called "trigger" bill despite widespread suspicions that he personally would rather fight a double dissolution election over the issue. That deal would see minor amendments to the legislation agreed to by the government as long as those changes came with the guaranteed six crossbench votes needed to pass into law. Australian actor Hugh Jackman has played down his real-life rescue at Bondi Beach over the Easter long weekend, saying the situation "wasn't as dramatic as it sounded or looked". Instead, the Hollywood star paid tribute to the surf lifesavers at North Bondi and Bondi beaches, who he said pulled numerous swimmers to safety throughout Saturday. "I saw them rescue a whole lot of people, so hats off to the guys at North Bondi and Bondi, it was rough surf that day," Jackman said at the premiere of his new film, Eddie the Eagle, on Tuesday night. Beware of online scammers, they will rob you blind. Credit:Getty Images Although Albert knew 000 was the emergency services number, he was so shaken that he complied with the directive. To Albert's astonishment, when he dialled the number, the call was answered by a man who introduced himself as "Craig Nelson of the Rocks Police". Nelson, who assured the couple they were close to nabbing the culprits, wanted to know when Albert and Marie intended to make the transfer of funds, from which ANZ branch, and what they would be wearing "because we would be under police surveillance for our own protection". Albert and Marie transferred the funds as instructed but decided not to send all the money in their account. Miller subsequently called "regularly" warning that the account remained in "real and imminent" danger and "insisted" they transfer more funds to the British account. "Our account balance was reduced to such an extent that we had barely sufficient funds for Christmas expenses," Albert recounts. And then the calls from Miller and Nelson stopped. Albert rang 000 and this time an operator answered. He asked to be connected to "Superintendent Craig Nelson of the Rocks police station" only to be told there was no such person. Albert and Marie drove to the nearest ANZ branch and their worst fears were confirmed: there was no John Miller. ANZ contacted Barclays and was told that the British account had been emptied by the account holders. Albert and Marie had deposited a total of $120,000 into the account. Barclays insisted that it complied with British regulatory requirements for the identification of account holders, and ANZ, says Albert, "has done what it can to help but in the end they can only sympathise". Albert and Marie contacted a prominent firm of compensation lawyers but on reviewing the case a senior partner advised the couple not to pursue litigation. "It was a heartbreaking story," a spokesman told Fairfax Money, "but there was no recourse open to them legally; there was no negligence that we could identify: they had been the victims of highly sophisticated fraud." Online fraud biggest channel While understandably embarrassed to be taken in by the elaborate scam for such a huge amount of money, Albert and Marie are hardly alone in being ripped off by intricate stings. Unlike their case, however, the biggest channel for fraud is the internet. According to credit reference agency Veda, online credit application fraud increased 12.6 per cent in 2015 over the previous year and "identity takeover" is the fastest growing form of credit application fraud. Based on its fraud database compiled from data supplied by banks, credit unions, credit card providers, finance companies and law enforcement agencies Veda says 2014-15 was the first time that the majority of fraudulent credit applications occurred online. Online credit application fraud accounted for 50 per cent of fraudulent credit applications. Imelda Newton, general manager fraud and identity solutions at Veda, says that as credit providers toughen up rules and technology for the verification of identity, providing a false identity has become less viable for fraudsters. Instead, criminals are stealing identity information to apply for credit. This type of fraud has grown 59 per cent in the past two years. "It's easier for fraudsters to use a stolen identity than a fictitious identity," Newton says. "People need to be careful about the information they share. People are over-sharing on social media, providing their name, address, date of birth and other personal information." Newton says people also "over-share" when they unnecessarily provide personal details in "optional" fields when completing transactions online. Old-fashioned physical theft of identity documents such as passports and drivers' licences is also on the rise; these documents are often sold on to criminal gangs and used to commit financial fraud. Newton says a passport is worth around $1600 on the black market, while a driver's licence will fetch up to $400. One option for consumers to protect against identity thieves taking out credit in their name is to place an alert on their credit file. This ensures that whenever a credit application is made with a financial institution in the consumer's name, the consumer will receive an alert. If the consumer has not applied for credit he or she can raise the alarm. Veda charges $90 a year for this service. The Australian Institute of Criminology lists four core "technological devices and procedures" used to commit online fraud: Phishing: consumers are tricked into transmitting financial information to a fraudulent website where the information is housed for use in fraudulent activities Pharming: victims' computer systems are compromised via hacking or malware, or where software redirects victims to fake websites where they are asked to enter personal details Skimming: personal information is "skimmed" from plastic cards by devices covertly attached to card readers Malware: malicious software such as viruses are used or installed on computers to alter functions within programs and files Fraudsters faking romance Romance scams in which the lonely and vulnerable are preyed upon is a lucrative source of fraud and heartbreak. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), 2620 Australians reported losing $23 million to dating and romance scams in 2015. ACCC deputy chairman Delia Rickard says scammers are "experts at preying on people's weaknesses", spending months or years grooming victims and building trust. Fraudsters will strike by seeking financial help for non-existent medical emergencies, failed business ventures and tales of hardship. "We know these figures are only the tip of the iceberg as many victims are reluctant to admit to friends, family or authorities that they fell for a scam," Rickard says. Nearly one in four (23.9 per cent) of reported romance scams originate on social media, mainly Facebook, and 26.4 per cent on the internet, notably online dating services. Romance scammers tend to say it with Gmail rather than flowers, with 25.3 per cent of scams conducted through emails. Another scam to attract the attention of the ACCC is fake parcel delivery scams that involve fraudsters sending emails, purportedly from Australia Post or a courier service, about a missed parcel delivery. The email asks the recipient to open an attachment or download a file to retrieve the parcel, whereupon an executable file (.exe) will load on to their computer and install ransomware as soon as it is opened. Ransomware freezes the owner's computer and demands a ransom for the unlucky victim to be able to access their computer again. Other scams are designed to extract personal information from consumers: hoax emails from government departments, banks and other trusted entities promising refunds, grants or other moneys for which the scammers seek either an upfront fee or personal information. "If you are contacted out of the blue and told that you are entitled to money in exchange for an upfront fee, delete it if you hand over your money, it's gone," the ACCC warns in one of its regular bulletins on scams. When the money is gone, there is often very little legal redress. In a 2014 paper, the Australian Institute of Criminology reflected on this sore point for many victims of fraud. "While victims of online fraud experience levels of harm similar to other victims of crime, they are often not seen as being legitimate victims. For most online fraud victims, this stems from the unique characteristics of the crime perpetrated against them that makes conventional criminal justice responses difficult or impossible." Albert and Marie would definitely agree. * Not their real names. Beat the scammers 1. Never provide your financial details or send funds to someone you've met online. Scammers particularly seek money orders, wire transfers or international funds transfer as it's rare to recover money sent this way. 2. Run a Google Image search to check the authenticity of any photos provided, as scammers often use fake photos they've found online. 3. If you think you have fallen victim to a fraudster, contact your bank or financial institution immediately and report it to scamwatch.gov.au. 4. Government departments will never contact you asking you to pay money upfront in order to claim a fee or rebate. 5. Never send money or give your financial details to someone you don't know and trust. 6. Check your bank and credit card statements every month to make sure every transaction was made by you. 7. If you're in any doubt of the legitimacy of something, don't use the contact details provided in the email or over the phone. Find the contact details from the phone book or an online search and contact the organisation to find out if it's real. Source: ACCC Resources ScamWatch: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/ "Australia is frozen in time," laments one of the nation's top mathematicians, Nalini Joshi. "I am the first female mathematician ever to be appointed as professor at Australia's oldest university. I was the third female mathematician ever elected to the Australian Academy of Science," the Sydney University academic says. "But when I attend functions at the academy, wearing a black suit, with a name badge, I am often mistaken for one of the serving staff. And, I am not alone." On Wednesday, Professor Joshi, the chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney, will use an address to the National Press Club to blast the endemic marginalisation of female researchers in Australian universities. Pharmaceutical companies spent more than $43 million treating Australian health professionals to overseas trips, dinners, lunches and getaways in just six months. The expenses, which included a $70,000 trip to Sweden for six oncologists and a $176,000 junket to Vancouver for nine dermatologists, were justified by drug companies as "educational events". A diary detailing the involvement of more than 500,000 health professionals has added to concerns the multi-billion dollar industry has an undue influence on doctors. Drug companies paid for catering or travel expenses for doctors on 14,872 occasions between April and September last year, from simple lunch meetings to all-expenses covered international conferences. The federal government is finalising plans to move more public servants into the capital's high-tech Nishi Building in Acton, which has been sitting near half-empty for more than a year. Close to 12,000 square metres will become progressively available at the multi-use building in coming months with another 6000 square metres becoming available at the Treasury building in Parkes. The federal government is preparing for more agencies to move into the Nishi building in Acton. Credit:Nic Walker The vacant space presents the government with further opportunities to reduce leasing costs across the public service with more than 34,000 empty desks spread across 500 plus buildings nation-wide. Last year the government announced a strategic bid dubbed Operation Tetris to save taxpayers millions of dollars by condensing office space after years of redundancies and downsizing. In Vietnam, it is not only luxury brands that are used to show off wealth, sometimes just a cell phone number will do. It is widely believed in Vietnam that a cell phone number will influence your well-being: good numbers will bring luck and prosperity, while bad ones will adversely affect your business and relationships. That is why people are willing to shell out tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a lucky number. Earlier this month, Nguyen Ngoc Nghia, the owner of a chain of jewelry stores in Thai Binh province sold his cell phone number - 0960 999 999 - for nearly VND10 billion (almost $450,000). The buyer was Phai Minh Phuong, an investor in lucky cell phone numbers from Ho Chi Minh City. Phuong said that he would use the number for private contacts. In 2015, the chairman of taxi operator Mai Linh Group sold his cell phone number for VND5 billion ($225,000). At present, the number is valued at VND10 billion (almost $450,000), so it seems it literally is a lucky number. Lucky numbers might be different for each person, and there are many different ways to define if a number is lucky or not. Some will choose a number based on their birthday, while others will buy ones which have a pronunciation close to words like prosperity, wealth, thriving, development, and so on. For example, number six represents a windfall of money; number eight means thriving and number nine resembles longevity. People tend to choose a phone number which has these digits, and the more the better. The pattern of the number is also an important aspect in determining if a number is lucky or not. For example, because of its pronunciation, the number 68 indicates ongoing prosperity. The above-mentioned cell phone number 0960 999 999, which was sold for VND10 billion (almost $450,000), was defined as extremely lucky because it has six consecutive 9s at the end. The 6-9 combination here means prosperity will never end. As people believe that a number can also bring bad luck, there are several numbers people avoid when they buy a sim card. Generally, it is said that numbers 49 and 53 foretell death, serious disease or accidents for the owners. The assumption is based on the Chinese horoscope. Number 78 would mean financial losses due to its pronunciation. Selling lucky sim cards has become a lucrative business in the country where many cell phone users seek good numbers. There has yet to be any research done on the effectiveness of lucky numbers, but at least we can see that it is helping the sellers become ridiculously rich. What a business! The Australian Tax Commissioner was warned a decision to award senior public servants a pay rise while rank-and-file members continued to negotiate a new deal would be a public relations minefield. Documents released under freedom of information laws reveal commissioner Chris Jordan was briefed on how to sell the pay rise to staff, including the perception senior staff were being prioritised. Australian Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan was briefed on how to sell the pay rise to staff. Credit:Daniel Kalisz The commissioner was told to sell the deal as a reward for efficiencies and productivity improvements by senior management. The pay rise was announced just hours after a revised wage deal was rejected by thousands of public servants in a staff ballot with a margin of 85 to 15 per cent. Officials will resume strikes at Australia's key international airports after an earlier 24-hour walkout was called off in the wake of the deadly Brussels terror attack. From Wednesday, travellers are being warned to brace for delays when departing or arriving on international flights due to Immigration, Border Protection and agriculture department employees taking part in rolling strikes over pay and working conditions. Travellers faced long queues during a two-hour strike at Melbourne Airport in July. Credit:Wayne Taylor The strife is the latest escalation of a simmering industrial feud between Australia's public sector workers and the federal government. Unionised workers at airports and international cruise ship terminals had planned large-scale strike action for Thursday last week, which threatened to disrupt Easter travel plans. James Packer's Crown Resorts has warned the NSW government that if it is forced to shrink the size of the podium on its proposed $1.2 billion Barangaroo casino resort the entire project will be at risk. A reduction in the podium footprint of the 271-metre-high tower to give the public better access to the harbour foreshore was a key recommendation of an expert panel appointed by Planning Minister Rob Stokes. But doing so would slash the number of gambling tables Crown could fit inside the casino planned for the podium. Crown argued that it would "have a major impact on the scale, economic and financial viability of the VIP gaming facility within the podium and therefore the future of the project". Terrence John Leary had been out of jail and on parole for just 10 months when his colleagues at a meat processing factory suddenly noticed a change in him. His usual "happy disposition" was replaced with depression and frustration. That evening, still dressed in his fluoro vest four hours after leaving work on June 19, 2013, he stopped on a street near his parents' Hunters Hill home and followed a young woman. The 30-year-old Thai woman, who cannot be identified, was listening to music through headphones after finishing a babysitting shift on Sydney's north shore. A 30-year-old, three-bedroom house in a suburb best known as Noosa's less-swanky neighbour - it's not quite the stuff of mega-rich dreams. Queensland's "billionaire tradie" rents the decidedly normal home for just a few hundred dollars a week despite a court hearing that he was rich enough to put him in Australia's top 100 wealthiest. Real estate images of "billionaire tradie" Phillip Harrison's rental in Tewantin. Credit:RP Data On Saturday, his duty lawyer told Brisbane Magistrates Court that Queensland bricklayer and carpenter Phillip Johnathan Harrison, 29, had $596 million in the bank, with another $1.56 billion in property. The cash alone would be enough to cover the $368,000 fellow young Sunshine Coast man Daniel Bisset paid for the property in 2007 more than 1600 times over. The so-called billionaire tradie who a court heard had more than $2 billion in property and cash has contradicted himself again, sparking even more confusion about his "bizarre" case. Queensland bricklayer and carpenter Phillip Johnathan Harrison, 29, attracted international attention with the revelation during his bail application for drugs charges. Speaking to A Current Affair on Monday, he upped the stakes even further, claiming his Commsec account had been frozen and with it a staggering $168 billion. Fraser Island's 100 or so wild dingoes among the island's unique attractions could be extinct within 10 years, conservationists fear. The first evidence that Fraser Island's pure-bred dingoes are "critically inbred" has emerged. Geneticist Dr Kylie Cairns has discovered serious inbreeding in Fraser Island dingoes. The "extreme inbreeding" in Fraser Island dingoes is confirmed in a soon-to-be-published genetic study of dingoes by University of New South Wales PhD student Dr Kylie Cairns. Dr Cairns said dingoes could be extinct from Fraser Island within a decade. A recent arrest for drink-driving led police to a man accused of an armed robbery more than six years ago and failing to attend court in the years since. Achiek Gong was on June 21, 2009 charged with assaulting a man with a belt before he and a co-accused robbed the man of the contents of his wallet in Pakenham. A man and woman have been charged over a crime spree in Perth's north. When charged with armed robbery and assault offences, Mr Gong allegedly failed to appear before a magistrate in March 2010 and in April 2012, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday. Police discovered the alleged failures to meet bail when he was pulled over in Noble Park last month and blew a blood alcohol reading of 0.194, the court heard. Washington: US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign manager has been arrested in Florida on Tuesday and charged with battery of a female reporter. A report from the Jupiter Police Department confirmed Corey Lewandowski, 42, was charged for intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, a journalist at the time for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, at a Trump campaign event on March 8. Trump's campaign has already declared their confidence that he will be exonerated of the charge. With a simple tweet, "it's over", Cypriot authorities announced the end to a very 21st century hijacking and hostage drama in the eastern Mediterranean that unfolded over six hours. An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday by a man wearing what authorities said was a fake suicide belt. The hijacker, named as Seif Eldin Mustafa, was arrested after giving himself up. The passengers and crew were unharmed. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, were on board the Airbus 320, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. National Assembly delegate Vo Thi Dung outlined a host of pressing challenges facing Vietnam in an impassioned speech to the legislature on March 28. During her speech, Dung detailed what, in her view, were the most pressing issues facing the nation and which should be included in the final report of the incumbent National Assembly. The progress in combating these challenges also needs to be closely monitored and reviewed, she added. National Assembly member Vo Thi Dung. Photo: VnExpress The main external threat, she said, was the territorial ambitions of China in the East Sea. This included claims over the Paracel Islands and Spratly archipelago. Dung said this aggression had continued despite persistent attempts at peaceful dialogue and established international treaties and law. Dung used the phrase internal enemy to describe corruption, which she said had infected almost every aspect of life. The fact that corruption had come to be seen as a necessary part of solving everyday problems was a dangerous way of thinking, she said, and was hampering the nations development. She also feared the moral deterioration of Vietnamese society, with the actions of people being at odds with traditional values and morals. This was not only about violence and theft, but also issues such as food hygiene, greed, selfishness and other social evils. Another concern she raised was economic management and the resulting sluggish economy. Low levels of labor productivity and the destruction of natural resources were creating a drag on the economy that was leaving Vietnam further and further behind in a creative, rapidly-changing world. The burden of public debt, for which Dung said a solution was yet to be found, was having a significant impact on the economy and peoples quality of life. The budget deficit caused by overspending seemed to be unstoppable, she added. This was due in part, she said, to lack of discipline and direction in public management and governance. Poor development and implementation of policies and regulations had weakened the drive towards development. People demand the party, the government and state authorities be truly understanding, dedicated and transparent, Dung told the assembly. Society needs to be democratic, disciplined, and peaceful, while traditional values must be maintained and developed sustainably. These are rightful and worthy demands, and therefore all National Assembly activities should be made public for the constituents to watch and monitor, she said. Washington: As North Korea rattles its nuclear sabre, threatening to bomb the US at "any moment", a nerve-jangling question hangs in the air: If Pyongyang did launch a nuclear-armed missile at an American city, could the Pentagon's missile defences overcome their spotty test record and shoot it down beyond US shores? America has never faced such a real-life crisis, and although officials say they are confident the defences would work as advertised, the Pentagon acknowledges potential gaps that North Korea or others might be able to exploit, some day if not immediately. One possible vulnerability involves a foe's "countermeasures" or decoys carried aboard long-range offensive missiles to fool a US interceptor missile into hitting the wrong target. PHILIPSBURG:--- On Saturday March 26th 2016 at approximately 07.30 p.m. a unit from the Multi Disciplinary Team arrested two men for drug possession. This arrests took place in the Cape Bay area while the suspects were driving in a Hyundai Accent with license plate 3747-AAB. The suspects were driving in an area which is well known to police where narcotics are sold. The vehicle was stopped by the team and controlled for drugs. During the control a plastic bag containing an amount of marijuana and a plastic bag containing an amount cocaine was found and confiscated for further investigation. But suspects with initials D.R. (20) and W.G.C.B. (48) were arrested on the spot and taken to the Philipsburg Police Station for further investigation. KPSM Police Report MARIGOT:--- Max Rippon, the Marie-Galante novelist and poet was in St. Martin on what turned out to be a mini-working visit over the Easter weekend, said Shujah Reiph, St. Martin Book Fair coordinator. The growing number of young and famous Guadeloupean writers coming to the St. Martin Book Fair is directly related to the promotion on radio and in literary meetings in Guadeloupe that Max has been doing over the years about our book fair, said Reiph. On Sunday, Rippon took time out of his short family vacation to meet with Reiph and Lasana M. Sekou from the House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP). We discussed a major Guadeloupean writer that Max is helping to secure for the book fair in June; and he proposed his own workshop presentation, said Reiph. Max is also very interested in publishing his new book in St. Martin with House of Nehesi Publishers, and he discussed that with Lasana, said Reiph. I want to give something to St. Martin, said Rippon about the new book. The author said that the manuscript will be completed over the next month. He said that the book will include stories about St. Martiners that he met in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, some 60 years ago when he too was a very young student in a strange new world of school and away from his islands traditional village. Max Rippon is scheduled to be a guest writer of the 14th annual St. Martin Book Fair, June 2 4, 2016. Max is always popularly received by the Book Fair Committee, the organizers, by the school children, and by the guests that turn out for the international literary readings on the Friday evening. Max is like a godfather for our book fair, said Reiph. Rippons childhood novel Le Dernier Matin and his other books are taught in schools in Guadeloupe, St. Martin, Martinique, and Cayenne. The St. Martin Book Fair 2016 is organized by Conscious Lyrics Foundation and HNP, in collaboration and with St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, the University of St. Martin, and LCF Foundation. Each year the opening of the literary festival alternates between both capitals of St. Martin; and this year the opening ceremony will be in the South, said Reiph. VeloCloud Selected to Present Best Practices and Benefits of SD-WAN at WAN Summit New York Next Week MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (Marketwired) 03/29/16 VeloCloud Networks Inc., the , today announced that Steve Woo, VeloCloud Co-founder and VP of Products, has been selected to present on a panel titled After MPLS Experiences and Lessons from Moving Traffic to the Internet at the WAN Summit New York next week. The panel will be held at 9:35 am EDT on April 5 in the Current Event Center at Chelsea Piers. The decade plus dominance of the all-MPLS WAN is waning and hybrid WANs, including dedicated Internet access and business broadband, are increasingly common. This session will explore experiences from carriers, vendors, and end-users on why they moved traffic to the Internet and what they learned along the way. VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN enables enterprises to support application growth, network agility and simplified branch implementations while delivering optimized access to cloud services, private datacenters and enterprise applications. Global service providers are able to increase revenue, deliver advanced services and increase flexibility by delivering elastic transport, performance for cloud applications, and integrated advanced services all via a zero-touch deployment model. VeloCloud will demonstrate VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN in Booth #10 at the event. Mr. Woo co-founded VeloCloud and leads product strategy. Prior to VeloCloud, he led the cloud strategy at Aerohive Networks after it acquired Pareto Networks, a cloud-based networking innovator, where he was VP of Product Management. Mr. Woo also spent time as VP of Product Management at McAfee, where he led the development of a next-generation firewall after McAfee acquired Secure Computing / Securify where he was VP of Products. Mr. Woo worked for Cisco Systems twice, after acquisitions of two companies where he was an executive (Riverhead Networks and Class Data Systems) that resulted in 50x return on investment to investors. Early in his career he worked at SynOptics Communications / Bay Networks where his product line generated $1.7 billion of cumulative revenue, and he also spent time at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Woo has an MBA and MSEE from Stanford, and a BSEE from Cornell. VeloCloud, the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company and winner of Best Startup of Interop, simplifies branch WAN networking by automating deployment and improving performance over private, broadband Internet and LTE links for todays increasingly distributed enterprises. VeloCloud SD-WAN includes: a choice of public, private or hybrid cloud network for enterprise-grade connection to cloud and enterprise applications; branch office enterprise appliances and optional data center appliances; software-defined control and automation; and virtual services delivery. VeloCloud has received financing from investors including NEA, Venrock, March Capital Partners, Cisco Investments and The Fabric, and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, visit and follow the company on Twitter . VeloCloud is a registered trademark of VeloCloud, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Dan Spalding (408) 960-9297 NGINX Announces Results of 2016 Future of Application Development and Delivery Survey SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Marketwired) 03/29/16 , the engine delivering sites and applications for the modern web, today announced the results of its first annual Future of Application Development and Delivery Survey. Based on the insight of more than 1,800 IT professionals, the survey found that developers are in command when it comes to choosing technology at their organizations, and containers and microservices are starting to move from theory to practice in the majority of respondents organizations. NGINX is the heart of the modern web. The NGINX community includes some of the most forward-thinking minds in the application development and deployment world. More than half of the worlds busiest sites and applications run on NGINX, and the company was able to use its unique position in the marketplace to conduct a study of its community to better understand the thoughts and perceptions of modern technology professionals. To meet the demands of consumers and achieve business priorities, the modern web is powered by a new suite of technologies, said NGINX CEO Gus Robertson. These tools are overwhelmingly open source, cloud-native, and place a premium on adaptability, performance, and scale. Of all these new tools, none is more ubiquitous than NGINX, which helps businesses deliver their apps with performance, reliability, security, and scale. With a growing number of open source options, developers are taking charge and are gaining more decision-making power in the organization, with 74 percent of respondents saying developers are responsible for choosing the organizations application development and delivery tools. More and more often, these decisions include moving to containers and microservices. Today, nearly 2/3 of organizations are either investigating containers or are using them in development or production. One in five of those surveyed are already using containers in production, with 1/3 of those running more than 80 percent of those workloads on containers. Perhaps more tellingly, half of those running containers are using them for mission-critical applications, meaning organizations are putting their full trust in container technology more than commonly thought. Microservices also continue to increase in popularity. Nearly 70 percent of organizations are either using or investigating the use of microservices, with approximately 1/3 of organizations currently using them in production. The cloud public and private is one of the most impressive new technologies to emerge in recent years. Public cloud usage remains much more common than that of private clouds. When asked which private cloud their organizations use, 49 percent of respondents said they dont use private cloud. By comparison, when asked which public cloud they use, only 14 percent said they dont use public cloud. When asked what they believe is the best cloud service, half of respondents said Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is more than Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and Rackspace combined. The popularity of AWS was even more pronounced for medium and large companies, where 3/4 of respondents said AWS was the best cloud service. AWS is also the most common in terms of implementation, with 41 percent of organizations who are using public cloud using AWS. Security, uptime, and performance ranked as more critical to organizations than innovation and adding new features. However, most engineering organizations design their processes first and foremost around new feature development. According to the survey, application performance is an issue for an overwhelming 75 percent of organizations, with 25 percent claiming their application is outright slow. Organizations clearly see the gap, but many dont dedicate time and resources to address the issue. In fact, 31 percent said their organizations address performance infrequently or not at all. The most popular technique for improving security and protecting against data breaches is to install a web application firewall (WAF). Overall, 57% of organizations use a WAF. Among smaller companies, WAF usage was even higher, up to 69 percent. Infrastructure anti-DDoS (at Layers 2 and 3) is gaining popularity in small and medium sized organizations, as well, whereas a higher percentage of large companies are using anti-virus. For additional survey results and to learn more about the methodology, please visit: To explore these topics in more detail, join NGINX for its third annual user conference, nginx.conf, September 6-8, 2016 in Austin, TX. For more information about the event, or to register, please visit: NGINX is the heart of the modern web helping some of the worlds most innovative companies deliver their sites and applications with performance, reliability, security, and scale. The company offers an industry award-winning, comprehensive application delivery solution in use on more than 140 million sites worldwide. Companies around the world rely on NGINX for ensuring a seamless web and mobile user experience through advanced load balancing, content caching, media streaming, application monitoring, and more. More than half of the Internets busiest websites rely on NGINX, including Airbnb, Box, Instagram, Netflix, Pinterest, SoundCloud, Zappos, and more. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Moscow and London. Chad Torbin 415.548.6536 Maluuba Opens Deep Learning R&D Research Lab WATERLOO, ON (Marketwired) 03/29/16 Maluuba, a deep-learning company helping machines think, reason and communicate with human-like intelligence, today announced it has opened an R&D lab in Montreal. As part of the labs, Maluuba has partnered with machine learning and neural computation expert, Yoshua Bengio from the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) and reinforcement learning expert Richard Sutton from the Alberta Innovates Centre for Machine Learning, to further Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and artificial intelligence (AI) advances. The research lab, staffed by 13 deep learning research scientists, is led by Maluubas CTO, Kaheer Suleman, an information retrieval and artificial intelligence expert. With a focus on the development of proprietary algorithms to solve language problems, Maluubas goal is to build the worlds most advanced research facility in deep learning and AI. While were closer to the goal of getting machines to exercise reasoning and understand conversational language, we still have a long way to go, said Yoshua Bengio. Maluuba has made great strides with its contributions to the field of machine learning and NLP. Their long-term vision and focus on truly perfecting the methodology is refreshing and makes me confident that well see exciting tech and research advancements from them this year. Currently, Maluuba is focused on two research streams within machine learning dialogue and machine reading and has achieved the highest performance by an existing system when tested against external performance tests: 80 percent accuracy on the MCTest (which uses word-matching techniques); 8 percent higher than the existing benchmark of 72 percent 83 percent accuracy on DSTC2 (which uses deep learning techniques); 3 percent higher than the existing benchmark of 80 percent For a computer to understand humans speaking in natural language and respond appropriately, it needs to capture and represent a large amount of knowledge that is not just words, but also common sense and context about the topic being discussed by the human, said Sam Pasupalak, cofounder & CEO of Maluuba. Maluuba is working with leading experts and the worlds premiere academic center for deep learning to design systems that can represent knowledge and answer questions in natural language. The potential applications of this research are staggering. Maluuba is an early leader in using deep reinforcement learning to solve language-understanding problems and in training machines to model decision-making capabilities of the human brain. The company currently enables interactive natural language and conversational dialogue experiences in over 50 million smart devices globally including IoT, mobile phones and smart TVs. Supporting more than 10 languages, Maluuba provides its technology for several industry OEMs including LG. For more information about Maluuba and its research labs, visit: . Maluuba Inc. is a global, natural language understanding company founded in 2011. The companys goal is to create a world where intelligent machines work hand-in-hand with humans to advance the collective intelligence of the human species. Maluubas natural language technology has been deployed across more than 50 million devices in the smart phone, smart TV and IoT industries in over 10 languages. Maluubas engineering and customer operations are located in Waterloo, Ontario, with a research office in Montreal dedicated to solving fundamental problems in language understanding for innovative products that will further advance AI systems. For more information, visit: . Miya Shitama Inner Circle Labs for Maluuba 415-684-9566 Fresche Legacy Named One of the Top Small and Medium Employers in Canada MONTREAL, CANADA (Marketwired) 03/29/16 , a leading provider of IBM i application management and modernization solutions, was recognized today as one of Canadas Top Small and Medium Employers. This is the second year in a row that Fresche has been chosen as one of the most employee-friendly and forward-thinking companies in the country. Fresche qualified as a top employer by providing a wide variety of benefits, flexible working conditions and opportunities for growth to its employees. The Top Employers program highlighted the following: At Fresche, we strive to provide programs that put our people first, further develop their strengths and help them reach their full potential. Maria Anzini, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Fresche, commented that it was an honor to be chosen again by the program. Another year alongside some of the greatest companies in Canada is just amazing. As market needs evolve, were able to grow and give our employees opportunities to develop their skills and take on new challenges. Our passion for making our Customers smile grows out of how we run the business, how we all work together as colleagues and our combined sense of pride. When you appreciate your employees and give them room to grow, they like where they work, and they transmit their enthusiasm to Customers. Fresche continues to be a place where people are happy to arrive in the morning. We promote idea sharing and collaboration, and we hold regular weekly all-employee meetings where everyone has a chance to contribute. Were always looking for ways to innovate; we know that growth is the key to employee satisfaction and we want to encourage it any way we can. This year we added many new customers, employees and even investors, so things are always changing and new opportunities arise almost daily. Fresche is an exciting place to be. No matter where you are in your career, if you are still enthusiastic and still have something to prove, Fresche is a place where you can make a difference no matter where you live. We have been chosen one of Canadas Top Small and Medium Employers, but our benefits and philosophy extend worldwide to all of our Fresche Legacy offices. Our diversified cultures around the world are a vital part of our success. About Canadas Top Small and Medium Employers Program Now entering its fourth year, Canadas Top Small & Medium Employers recognizes SMEs with exceptional workplaces and forward-thinking human resource policies. Employers are evaluated on the same eight criteria as the larger Canadas Top 100 Employers project: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. To determine eligibility, the Top 100 editors follow the SME definition used by Statistics Canada, limiting the competition to private-sector companies with under 500 employees. About Fresche Legacy Fresche Legacy specializes in helping companies achieve their business goals and outcomes by better managing, enhancing and evolving their IBM i application environments. Companies can count on us for complete management and modernization solutions, including planning and analysis, application and database modernization, onsite development and deployment, complete project management and ongoing application support. We transform traditional 5250 systems modernizing, connecting and extending them to meet todays end users expectations. Companies running RPG, COBOL, CA 2E SYNON and Java applications can rely on us for comprehensive, automated solutions that optimize IBM i systems and help take advantage of technologies such as Web, Mobile, Cloud and RPGOA on the IBM i. Our complete portfolio: For more information about our company, visit us on the web at Contacts: Fresche Legacy Christine McDowell, Marketing Director +1 514.747.7007 Cell:+1 514.220.1309 Legislators raise questions on the role of the President in anti-corruption and his de facto power during ongoing National Assembly session. National Assembly deputy Nguyen Bac Son. The National Assembly deputies, in accessment of the President's work report in 2011-2016 period, have raised questions on the roles and activities of the President position. President, Vice President have always publicly expressed their resentment towards corruption but people wonder where the President and Vice President stand and what power do they have in a fight against corruption? What is President allowed to do and what can he do?, deputy Nguyen Bac Son said during the meeting session of the National Assembly (NA) on March 29. Deputy Son, representative from Nam Dinh Province, said the current President has been working at his best. However, he believed that the unspecific provisions in the constitutions, despite having been cleared up before, have made it more difficult for the President to execute his rights and have led to the restrictions to the post's power. He claimed that the relations between the President and the government in developing the state and improving the life of people as well as working on important social-economic issues such as fighting corruption are among the rules that have not been stated clearly. The President position has a function to announce the laws and ordinances passed by the National Assembly and the NA Standing Committee, Son said, but this only means finishing the last stage of a procedure while the President has a right to review these laws and ordinances. The deputy stated that the President has not showed clear influence over domestic and foreign affairs and the power of someone who is the commander-in-chief of the army and the chairman of the National Defense and Security Council. In the next term, Son suggested, the President need to bring forward the draft for President regulatory law to the NA because it would not be right for a post which has authority in judicial, executive and legislative branches to not have its own regulatory institution. This institution, according to him, should answer the questions on head of state's role in domestic and foreign affairs. It also needs to specify how many head of state Vietnam has and their respective duties and power. Deputy Bui Van Phuong, on the other hand, expressed his concerns over the President's contribution in implementing social-economic tasks, such as the signing of international loan agreement, monitoring the use of loans, how to effectively ensure the safety of public debt and the national debt, all of which have not been clear. Phuong mentioned the uncleared rule of the President in building up the army and making investment decisions on financial resources, equipment and technical equipment for national defense and security. Deputy Bui Van Phuong said the guidelines for the President to perform his rights are not clearly defined and it is partly because of the incompleted legal framework. Therefore, he suggested that the NA's deputies should focus on building the insitution for the Presidency that fully reflects the post's responsibility as a head of state and is worthy of the trust of the people. In a report delivered to the National Assembly on March 22, President Truong Tan Sang said that some of the duties of president were outlined in the constitution but did not have specific instructions on how to execute them, including directing the armed forces as the commander-in-chief. This one got lopsided in a hurry, and that was just what Notre Dame needed This one got lopsided in a hurry, and that was just what Notre Dame needed football Former Vietnams Next Top Model and Vietnam Idol contestant will finish serving his time in prison half a year early. Transgender beauty Tram Anh. Almost two years ago, on September 29, 2014, transgender hot girl Nguyen Van Hieu, nicknamed Tram Anh, was arrested for possessing 10 ecstasy pills and sentenced to 24 months imprisonment. He will be released six months early due to good behavior, Colonel Phan Ngoc Viet, invigilator at Thanh Lam Prison, told VnExpress. He also added that: Despite being a special prisoner, Hieu has never lodged a complaint of harassment. Hieus body is still that of a man. It seems that he only had a minor operation on his buttocks; his breasts and others body parts remain unchanged, said Colonel Viet. Hieu went viral on social networks two years ago after taking part in Vietnams Next Top Model 2014 and Vietnam Idol. He was enrolled at Vietnam Dance College but then dropped out and worked as a hostess at karaoke bars and a dancer at nightclubs. After Vietnam Idol, Hieu was sponsored by a plastic surgery center to undergo a series of operations. Since then, Hieu adopted the stage name Tram Anh and became the center's representative on a five-year contract. 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. Marquette springs upset, Slinger survives in football playoffs The nine Milwaukee-area top-seeded football teams all won Friday night. The results across Level 1 set up some interesting games for the week ahead. Popular Vietnamese actor and comedian Hong Quang Minh, who goes by the stage name Minh Beo, was arrested last week in Orange County, California on suspicion of sexually assaulting a young boy. Police arrested Minh on March 24, and he was charged with one count each of oral copulation of a minor, attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and meeting with a minor with the intent to engage in lewd conduct. The Orange County Sheriffs jail log indicates Minh remains in custody with bail set at $1 million. His next scheduled court appearance is April 15. If convicted of the charges he faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and eight months, and a lifetime sex offender registration, the Orange County District Attorneys Office said in a statement to local media. Vietnamese comedian and actor Minh Beo. Minh was reportedly holding auditions for a project he was working on in California, and he is accused of orally copulating a boy on March 23, when the victim arrived for the audition. The boy reported the incident to police which launched an investigation, the Orange County Register reported, citing prosecutors. The next day, an undercover officer posing as a minor communicated with Minh, prosecutors said. Minh is accused of attempting to set up a meeting with the officer with the intent of committing a sexual assault. News of Minhs arrest spread rapidly through social media networks in Vietnam yesterday. The comedian's older brother, Hong Kien, told VnExpress he was very concerned at not being able to contact Minh. "I just heard the news this afternoon. In the last three days, our family hasn't been able to contact Minh but we just assumed that he was busy with the shows. Normally, he rarely contacts us when he goes overseas to perform, he said. Minh performs in a show before losing contact with his family. Minh has performed in a number of television programs and movies in the U.S. and Vietnam, and he was reportedly planning to open a modeling school and continue with an ongoing humanitarian TV show called "Luc Lac Vang" once he returned to the country. Minh has received awards for his contributions to culture and arts in Vietnam, and he was the founder of a comedy theater named after him in Ho Chi Minh City. 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 Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter The future of Steel making in Port Talbot hangs in the balance tonight after its Indian owners reportedly rejected an action plan drawn up to revive its fortunes. An official announcement has still not been made public tonight but Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock, who had joined Community union officials in Mumbai to lobby the Tata board to have faith in the future of the plant and its work force, indicated tonight the plan was to sell the plant. Tata, which employs about 5,500 people in Wales, has made 5,000 cuts in the UK over the last year. It is estimated to be losing 1m a day at Port Talbot alone. Kinnock, the son of Labour's former leader Neil, has done all in his power, along with the unions, workers and the wider community of not just the steel making town but south Wales, to plead for more time. However, the Member of Parliament exclusively told the Evening Post tonight that he believed that Tata were not backing the plan to turn the plant's fortunes around and that they were anxious to off load the steelworks. Reports last night suggested Tata might be planning to sell off its entire UK operation. Mr Kinnock, who was accompanied on his trip by steelworkers Gary Keough and Alan Coombes, vowed to do all he could to try to find a new owner for the steelworks. He said: "We will not allow the closure of Port Talbot steelworks. One way or another we will continue to make steel in Port Talbot but it looks like Tata do not back the plan. "We will work with Tata and the UK government to help find a buyer for the plant." Mr Kinnock said that he and his deputation had waited over four hours for news of the decision to be brought to their hotel but were then summoned across the city of Mumbai, in the early hours their time, to be addressed by Tata's chief financial officer instead. The final decision was being made by the 11-member Tata Steel board, led by chairman Cyrus Mistry. It included five members of the Tata Europe board but not Tata Steel Europe's new chief executive Hans Fischer, who was appointed earlier this month after the departure of Karl Koehler. It is expected that exact details of the decision will be announced tomorrow. In January Tata announced a plan to cut 1,000 jobs - 750 at Port Talbot - after blaming "extremely difficult market conditions" due to falling European prices caused by cheap imports, particularly from China. It was hoped that an action plan drawn up with the help of the unions to cut costs and attempt to make the plant more economically viable would persuade Tata to keep faith in Port Talbot. Aberavon councillor Tony Taylor, who worked in the steelworks for 44 years, said: "It is desperately disappointing that Tata haven't gone along with the plan to save the plant. but I can't criticise them too much because They have put a lot into the town. "We have got to start looking at what is available to keep the plant open not just for the workers but for the community as a whole. "We need to get the support of both the Welsh Government and UK Government to allow us time to make the best decisions." Bethan Jenkins, who is once again standing for the Assembly, said: "If what we're hearing is true, while a sale is better than closure, it does come with its own set of risks. "It is crucial that all government work at a UK and Welsh level should focus on making the plant an attractive going concern for any potential buyer. "Conservatives in the UK Government and in the European Parliament must give up their opposition to the EC's modernisation proposals that would mean higher tariffs for dumped steel. "The Welsh Government has to work with Europe to find new funding streams that will modernise Port Talbot, get the new power plant built, and attract new research and development investment to the site.They need to take a leaf out of the Scottish Government's book here. "Both governments must move fast because the increasing involvement of investment funds in the steel industry can only be cautiously welcomed. This is because the introduction of financial practices could either reduce capacity - and therefore jobs - or allow investors to make a profit while winding down the site." Speaking ahead of any announcement yesterday Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru said: "This is a difficult day for those working in the steel industry as they wait to hear for a decision on the future of Port Talbot steelworks. Wales has a long tradition of steel production, and the industry could have a good future here with the right support from government. "It is important is that Tata knows that the whole country is behind the workforce and that there is a great commitment to the steel industry and its workforce here, and I hope that the Welsh Government has communicated that to senior management at the company. We have a skilled and experienced steel workforce in Wales and I hope that the Welsh Government will be proactive as it fights for their future." In his new book "Abandoned in Place," photographer Roland Miller takes readers on a visually stunning, emotionally charged tour of various abandoned facilities connected to NASA's space program, including now-unused launchpads and retired science facilities. Miller's images highlight the age and decay of these locations, but also forge a connection to their past lives. Miller spoke with Space.com about how he first began photographing these sites more than 30 years ago, and what he hoped to convey with his particular approach to this visual documentation. In addition to the photographs, the book includes essays by Miller, and people connected to the various sites. "I always joke with people that [if it weren't] for the fact that I wear glasses and about 40 or 50 IQ points, I'm sure I could have been an astronaut," Miller told me when I asked him about his connection to NASA and space exploration. [Stunning, Tragic Images of Abandoned Space History (Photos)] Now a dean in the Communication Arts, Humanities and Fine Arts Division at the College of Lake County in Illinois, Miller taught photography for 22 years. He insists that photographing abandoned sites is a "side project" and a "hobby," and that he is neither a historian nor the kind of space enthusiast who can "name every astronaut who ever flew." But Miller is a child of the Apollo era, and like many people his age, he has a deep sentiment for human spaceflight. And also like many others, he mourns the loss of the way NASA pushed boundaries when he was young. (You can read more about his thoughts on this in the op-ed he wrote for Space.com). "Growing up in the 1960s it was just such a fascinating time and such a unique experience," Miller said. "In the mid- and late '60s, there were a lot of awful things going on. Vietnam was in full swing. The civil rights movement was well on its way to making the changes it finally has made, but you know there was quite a bit of struggle that had to go on. The assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King in 1968. The riots in Chicago in 1968. There was a lot of tension in America at that time, and the space program was a shining example of what we could do if we really set our hearts and our minds to a gargantuan task. And I think, as we move farther from that, that accomplishment is only going to seem more and more impressive." Miller moved to Florida in 1984, and shortly after arriving, he was asked to come out to NASA's Kennedy Space Center to help dispose of some old photo-developing chemicals. His guide at the facility offered to take him over to Launch Complex 19, the site of the Gemini crewed-vehicle launches in the 1960s. The complex was no longer in use, and stenciled on a concrete pillar was the phrase "Abandon in Place," which indicates that a site is no longer expected to be up to code. Miller was fascinated by what he saw. Around 1990, he approached NASA about a larger project to photograph more of the agency's abandoned launch sites and facilities. "I'm a photographer I like to make photographs, so [early on], it was really about making the photographs, and I hope I exhibit that," Miller said. "And then, I fairly quickly started to realize that this was a fairly unique opportunity I had. And, in part, I felt I had a great responsibility, because I don't think anyone has photographed at Cape Canaveral as much as I have. "And it was obvious from the start that NASA wasn't going to be able to preserve these sites, because they're right on the ocean, and the salt water environment [causes things to] rust away," Miller continued. "It's a constant battle to keep that steel from rusting. So it was pretty obvious these were not going to be sites that could be preserved long-term. So I thought that photography was one way to preserve them and show the evolution of how time affected them." Atlas Launch Complex 13, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida; photographed in 1992. Featured in the book "Abandon in Place." (Image credit: Roland Miller) The chapters of the book are divided by era or program, starting with facilities that hosted the early rocket tests, such as the Navaho Launch Complex 9 at Cape Canaveral. Miller's photos of Complex 9 show vines swallowing up stairways; the weathered paint on a group of electrical panels that has peeled away into a colorful abstract pattern; and massive metal bolts on which lives might have once depended, which are now rusted a deep red. "[This work] does show the temporal nature of life," Miller said. "It does show the aging. It does show how something that was once the focus of the world's attention can, only a few years later, become completely obscure and out of touch with what's going on contemporarily." Some of Miller's photographs impart a certain sadness the locations from which humanity first escaped the clutches of gravity look like ancient ruins. But for the most part, Miller avoids that sadness. Instead, he photographs the structures with great dignity, capturing their awesomeness, even if it lies under a layer of rust and decay. Miller doesn't forget that these structures and facilities are still examples of great engineering and construction. Atlas Launch Complex 13. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Photographed 1992. Featured in the book "Abandon in Place." (Image credit: Roland Miller) "There are visual references to other archaeological sites, like the great pyramids," Miller said. "I see things that remind me of Mayan ruins, of Greek ruins, of Anasazi Native American ruins in the southwestern United States. There are so many visual references to those types of sites that, once I started seeing [them], I was trying to connect that." "Because [the sites in the book] really have become archaeological sites in many ways, and I think, just at a base level, I was just trying to preserve them in this state of their existence," he added. "There are obviously thousands of photographs of these facilities while they were active. I wanted to show how they've evolved and what had happened, and I do think there is that sense of loss." Many of Miller's images try to convey the massive scale of these former launch sites and facilities, and those images cannot help but simultaneously illustrate the desertion that surrounds these locations. There are no cars, no lights on; and weeds poke through the cracked pavement. But more of the images in the book focus on smaller details. They closely examine the decay that is taking place, and frequently capture the unintentional beauty that has arisen from that decay. Located at Redstone Launch Complex 26 Blockhouse, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida; photographed in 2000; from the book "Abandon in Place." (Image credit: Roland Miller) One photograph zooms in on a "plug board" (it looks sort of like an old telephone switchboard, with wires connecting different peg holes in some indecipherable pattern) from the Redstone Launch Complex 26 Blockhouse. It's framed so that nothing else around it can be seen, and it's easy to imagine the people who focused so intently on it, and arranged those wires in just the right way. It looks frozen, rather than abandoned, like someone's hand might move into view at any moment and move one of the cables. "I took what I refer to as a dual approach to the subject matter because, at some level, it has to be documentary in nature," Miller said. "There are a lot of overall shots where you see the whole pad or good portion of the structure, but I also wanted to photograph the nuances, the smaller details, the more abstract things, if you will things you wouldn't necessarily notice. "I think, when people think of a launchpad; they think of the whole thing," he said. "They think of the tower and the mobile service tower, but they don't really think about the details. So, to tell a fuller story, I made a very concerted effort to [do that]. Plus, there are so many visually interesting things going on when you get down to that detail level. It's actually one of the unusual things about the project People tend to do one or the other, not both. And I took some grief at the beginning of the project for doing that, and I'm glad I stuck with it because I think it's one of the more important aspects of it." Titan II ICBM Silo 395-C, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; photographed in 1995. Featured in the book "Abandon in Place." (Image credit: Roland Miller) Paired with the photographs are essays by Miller, as well as a handful of essays written by people with very different connections to the space program. "I approached quite a number of people I knew in the space industry and I guess it was one of the happy accidents, because these were the folks that responded and said, 'Yeah, I'd like to do that,'" Miller said. "I think it actually fit very well with the flow of the book to have an art historian write the introduction and kind of describe the history of space and art," Miller said, referring to Betsy Fahlman, a professor of art history at Arizona State University. Craig Covault, an aerospace journalist who has "covered every U.S. space launch since Apollo," according to a statement from the book's publisher, wrote an essay about Launch Complexes 40 and 41, two locations that had great significance in the early days of human spaceflight and that have been repurposed for new phases of human spaceflight. Col. Pamela Melroy, a former NASA astronaut and space shuttle commander, penned an essay about Launch Complex 34 for the book. In the essay, she touches on one of the great tragedies of NASA's human spaceflight program: It was on that launchpad that the Apollo 1 capsule caught fire during a test exercise, killing all three men inside. Melroy mentions in the essay her work on the Columbia reconstruction team the group tasked with sifting through the wreckage of the shuttle that was destroyed on its way back to Earth. "[Complex 34] became a touchstone for her during that very, very difficult work," Miller said. "She came up with a beautiful essay regarding how that site affected her. And I think [her essay] is a tribute to all the fallen astronauts." The book's title, "Abandoned in Place," is one that resonates with people who visit these old sites. Ray Bradbury wrote a poem about this phrase, and Miller chose to place it at the very beginning of the book. In the poem's final lines, Bradbury urged, "Old ghosts of rocketmen, arise. Fling up your ships, your souls, your flesh, your blood/Your blinding dreams/To fill, refill, and fill again/Tomorrow and tomorrow wand tomorrow's/Promised and re-promised/Skies." The book is available for purchase through the University of New Mexico Press, and Amazon.com (opens in new tab). Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. The Air Force's newest weather satellite on orbit, known as the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19, stopped responding to commands from operators in February. WASHINGTON The Air Force has stopped trying to recover a two-year-old weather satellite after operators lost the ability to command the spacecraft last month, an Air Force spokesman said March 24. Operators at the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado have "ceased all recovery efforts" of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19 satellite, Andy Roake, a spokesman for Air Force Space Command, said in a March 24 email to SpaceNews. NOAA satellite operators unexpectedly lost the ability to command the Air Force's DMSP Flight 19 satellite on Feb. 11. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is used to help weather forecasters predict fog, thunderstorms and hurricanes that could impact military operations. Launched in April 2014, the spacecraft is the Air Force's newest weather satellite on orbit and had a five-year design life. [See launch photos for the DMSP-19 weather satellite] In the last week, Gen. John Hyten, the head of Air Force Space Command, ordered the creation of a safety investigation board to look into the incident, Roake said. Further investigations are still possible. Hyten warned a House subcommittee March 15 that he did not expect the satellite to return to operations. The DMSP constellation requires at least two primary satellites and two backup satellites to gather cloud imagery. As a result of the problem, the Air Force has reassigned an older satellite, DMSP Flight 17, which launched in 2006 and had been serving as a backup, into a primary role. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. The new "Infinity Pen" encapsulates a small piece of the space rock that exploded over Russia in February 2013. You can now imbue even your most mundane scribblings with a bit of otherworldly flair. A team of entrepreneurs launched the "Infinity Pen" project which will include a tiny chunk of the asteroid that exploded over Russia in February 2013 in the titular pen on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter today (March 29). Backers of the campaign have the chance to buy one of the meteorite pens for $55. "We wanted to design something that puts this amazing piece of the universe in the palm of your hands," Infinity Pen founder James Glass said in a statement. The team sourced the Chelyabinsk rocks from a reputable meteorite broker and has enough material to make 800 pens, Infinity Pen representatives told Space.com. If the pens don't sell out during the Kickstarter campaign, the remainder will retail for $125. Scientists think the asteroid that caused the Chelyabinsk explosion was about 65 feet (20 meters) wide. On Feb. 15, 2013, this space rock slammed into Earth's atmosphere at about 40,000 mph (64,000 km/h), eventually detonating about 18 miles (29 kilometers) above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. The shock wave generated by the explosion damaged thousands of buildings below, shattering windows whose flying glass shards injured 1,500 people. The Chelyabinsk airburst was the most powerful such event since 1908, when an object thought to be about 130 feet (40 m) wide exploded over Siberia, flattening about 770 square miles (2,000 square km) of forest. You can learn more about the Infinity Pen and its associated Kickstarter campaign here: https://goo.gl/k8gXN6 Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. The funds raised by the April 2, 2016 auction will go towards refreshing the Space Walk of Fame Museum's exhibit hall in Florida. A fragment from a recovered rocket, a segment of netting used on the surface of the moon and a chunk of landing gear tire from a space shuttle are among the more than 200 historic NASA artifacts being auctioned this week to benefit a Florida museum devoted to honoring and preserving space history. The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum, located near the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida, has organized the charity auction to support its educational programs and exhibits. The money raised from the Saturday (April 2) sale will go toward refreshing the museum's main gallery, which showcases more than 50 years of spaceflight through the memorabilia of the workers who made it happen. "This is a very unique and special place," said Al Worden, Apollo 15 astronaut, during a recent visit to the museum to promote the upcoming live auction. "It really deserves a lot of everybody's attention." [Giant Leaps: Biggest Milestones of Human Spaceflight] The U.S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation was founded in 1988 to emphasize the role that space workers and others had on making the nation's space programs possible. The museum, which opened at its current location (at 308 Pine Street, Titusville) in May 2014, exhibits models, astronauts' spacesuits, workers' tools and the consoles used to launch Atlas rockets and the space shuttle. The Space Walk of Fame Foundation also established four monuments dedicated to the men and women who worked on NASA's Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and shuttle programs. The landmarks at Space View Park were erected between 1995 and 2012. The auction, which begins at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT) on Saturday, is being conducted online via invaluable.com. Bidders can register and begin placing bids now. "These items are not from museum property directly," said Worden. "They are all donated, mostly by astronauts, or on consignment." For Worden's part, he donated an Apollo 15 crew-signed "insurance cover," a stamped envelope that the astronauts autographed before launching for the moon, such that their families could benefit from its sale in the case the mission ended in disaster. With the crew's safe return to Earth, the insurance covers are now a popular collectible. A segment of safety netting used by Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke is among the space artifacts being auctioned to support the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum in Florida. (Image credit: Space Walk of Fame) Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke donated a swatch of netting that he retained from the lunar module Orion. "This extraordinary material from my personal lunar artifact collection bears silent witness to mankind's first journey to, and exploration of, the magnificent lunar highlands," Duke wrote in the letter that accompanies the flown material. Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on Apollo 13, provided a microfilmed bible that flew on the "successful failure" moon mission. [NASA's Moonwalking Apollo Astronauts: Where Are They Now?] "Please join us at our auction," said Haise, who served on the Space Walk of Fame Foundation's board of directors. "All of the funds from this auction will support our 501(c)3 not-for-profit's growth of the museum's exhibit hall and the Skywalk Academy education program." Other donors include Apollo 7's Walt Cunningham, Skylab space station crew members Jack Lousma and Ed Gibson, shuttle pilot Jon McBride and the estate of Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. "I would urge you all to take a look," said Worden. "It will really help the program here at the Space Walk of Fame." Watch a video of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise talking about the Space Walk of Fame charity auction at collectSPACE. Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. IS' behavior is in many ways more like that of a secret service than of animated fanatics. Al-Qaida committed its attacks as its raison d'etre, the result being that there were no subsequent attacks far outside their usual theaters of war following their acts of violence on New York and Washington in 2001, on Casablanca, Madrid, Amman and elsewhere. Al-Qaida had acted, not reacted. But IS appears capable of doing so. Testimony from deserters suggests the terror organization began establishing sleeper cells in multiple European countries early on, in Turkey in particular. According to the former IS fighters, they are made up of men who aren't on any watch lists. This enables IS to elude the vulnerability suffered by many based in Europe -- namely that they are known terrorists. The biographies of many terrorists are very similar: an early period of radicalization precedes a period of preparation just before an attack. By this point, however, many are already known to the authorities as dangerous and are subsequently often placed under surveillance. This included the Belgians who, in January 2015 wanted to attack police stations in Brussels immediately after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Apartments, telephones and cars were bugged -- the authorities always had a clear picture of what was going on. Attacks could repeatedly be thwarted mostly because the aggressors had left behind traces. Just after the July 2005 attacks on London, a British investigator warned that investigations placed too little emphasis on terrorists acting below the security services' radar. At that time, most of the attention had been focused on "homegrown terrorists," young men who radicalized themselves without even coming into contact with the al-Qaida leadership or prominent hate preachers. This category applied to each of the four men who blew themselves up in London. Terrorism has become more professional since then. IS' masterminds now build up sleeper cell networks from an early stage in order to attack without hindrance at any chosen moment. That they are doing so in Syria is well documented. And that they are doing the same in Europe is very probable. Father and daughter David and Suzy Lawson, of Mill Farm, Arthington, lifted the title with their first prize newly calven heifer, Newbirks Heliotrope 361, by the Italian-bred Genus sire, Zelgadis, out of Heliotrope 326. With four generations of VG Ex behind her, the victor, four weeks calved and giving 29 litres, sold for 1,580 to regular buyers Alf and Andrew Townsend, of Southfield, Burnley. The Lawsons, multiple past Skipton dairy champions and top price achievers, were also responsible for the first prize newly calven cow, number 1617 from their milk rich Jazz family. By another Genus bull, Bassingthorpe Bossman, the red rosette winner joined Cowlings Martyn Jennings for 1,380. They also stepped up with the third prize newly calven heifer, another Jazz, this one 1650, by Fly-Higher Michelob, again from Genus, which made 1,640, top call of the day, when falling to Brian Blezard, of Ribchester. Show judge Frank Wrathall, of Gisburn, remained in the newly calven heifers class for his chosen reserve champion, the second prize winner from Andrew Jennings, who runs the Abbeyhouse pedigree dairy herd in Fountains, near Ripon. His 14 days-calved Abbeyhouse Baltimor Kay, by the Canadian-bred Semex bull, Regancrest Baltimor, out of Abbeyhouse Magot Kay, and with nine generations of VG Ex behind her, came to market giving 33 litres and became another Townsend buy at 1,420. Robin Jennings, who runs the Stainbank pedigree Holstein herd at Hill House Farm, South Stainley, also made 1,400 with a newly calven heifer sold to Richard Sutcliffe, of Queensbury. Bingleys Keith Downs presented the second prize newly calven cow, sold for 1,200 to John Marshall, of Dacre, with D&A Fort, of Glusburn, selling their third prize winner for 1,000, again to Martyn Jennings. At Colony Grill , its a commitment to service. At Day Pitney law firm, its a drive for diversity. At the Family & Childrens Agency , its about making a connection. Whatever it is that makes a workplace thrive, employees know it best, and now they have a chance to spread the word. Hearst Connecticut Media has extended until April 15 a deadline for companies to qualify for its Top Workplaces section, with winners to be featured in the Connecticut Post, The News-Times of Danbury, Greenwich Time and The Advocate of Stamford. In past years, Philadelphia-based WorkplaceDynamics has surveyed more than 10,000 employees anonymously throughout the region to select dozens of organizations to feature in the section, with employers from Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties eligible. Entrants over the years have ranged from companies that play on a global stage, like Westport-based Bridgewater Associates, the worlds largest hedge fund, or the humanitarian relief charity AmeriCares, in Stamford, to small businesses like the Network Support Co., in Danbury, or Splash Car Wash, with locations throughout Fairfield County. Whatever their scope, its all about bringing in the right people, past winners have said. We try to hire people that are willing to chip in at various levels, Ken Martin, co-owner and director of operations for Colony Grill, said last year. And if we are going to be leaders in the community, we have to be able to help not only our customers but also the people that are working for us everyday on the front lines. And sometimes the commitment goes even further. Were not afraid to take a stand on something thats really important, said Stacy Smith Walsh, director of human resources at Day Pitney. To check out our top workplaces from previous years, visit http://www.ctpost.com/topworkplaces. And to nominate your company as a top workplace in 2016, head to http://ctpost.com/nominate or call 203-617-0727. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced it was dropping an effort to have Apple defeat privacy safeguards the company had built into its software after federal agents managed to read the data encrypted on a phone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Efforts to bypass that devices pass code without Apples intervention proved successful, said the Department of Justice. The iPhones operating system is designed to prevent such attempts, but security researchers have identified some weaknesses in that software. The Department of Justice announced last week that it had obtained technical help from an unnamed party, prompting it to ask a federal court in Riverside to postpone a hearing originally scheduled for last Tuesday on an order the government was seeking to compel Apples assistance. It wasnt immediately clear what methods the outside party used to read the data. Privacy vs. security The breakthrough marks the end of one battle between a technology company and the government. But the war over privacy and security that this case came to symbolize rages on. Apple faces 12 similar orders to assist law enforcement in unlocking iPhones. And other technology companies, many of which filed briefs supporting Apples position, are similarly building stronger protections into their software that may stymie government attempts to read their users data. In recent remarks at an industry event in Austin, President Obama called on the technology industry to find a middle ground on encryption. Yet compromise has been hard to find. Privacy and security advocates say the revelations of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden alarmed many about the ability of government agents to spy on citizens. Mistrust has run high on both sides. By finding a way to break into the San Bernardino iPhone without Apples intervention, the Department of Justice has avoided, for now, the possibility that a court might rule against it. But the government said it might seek court orders if technical means fail in the future. As the government noted in its filing today, the FBI has now successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorists iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple required by this Court Order, said Department of Justice spokeswoman Melanie Newman. It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails. We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors. A federal order In February, a federal magistrate in Riverside ordered Apple to write software altering the iPhones security protections, which would help federal agents more easily bypass that phones encryption. Apple had contended that such a measure would give the government a dangerous power to weaken security protections in devices used by hundreds of millions of people. The Cupertino company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief business and legal officer for Mozilla, the nonprofit Web browser maker, said in a statement that the FBI should have explored all technical options before turning to the courts. The governments decision to drop the case doesnt change the need to have the broader discussion of what limits should be placed on law enforcements ability to compel assistance from tech companies, she said. If anything, todays development makes this question even more important, because this is a step that the FBI should have taken before deciding to start a legal fight with Apple. Mozilla, along with dozens of other technology companies and organizations, had filed briefs with the Riverside court supporting Apples position. Newman said that the FBI is reviewing the information on the phone, consistent with standard investigatory procedures. Battle is far from over The governments withdrawal in this case does not mean that the battle over encryption is over, said security researcher Dan Kaminsky, who has publicly supported Apples stance in the San Bernardino case. Its not merely that the war is continuing, he said. Damage has been done. The largest technology company in the world just had to spend an enormous amount of its resources and attention not making better products, not making more secure products, but fighting off a demand for insecurity. Image source: SunEdison. What: If they hadn't figured it out already, Tuesday, March 29 2016 may be the day investors finally realized the future of SunEdison Inc is destined for bankruptcy court in the very near future. In a filing with the SEC, SunEdison's yieldco TerraForm Global said it would delay filing its 10-K beyond March 30 and "there is a substantial risk that SunEdison will soon seek bankruptcy protection". To make matters worse, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the SEC is investigating SunEdison's disclosures about its cash position in 2015. This could be a reason that SunEdison has delayed filing its 10-K with the SEC, an indication there are larger accounting problems in the company. So what: SunEdison itself fell as much as 44% in early trading Tuesday, while TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global dropped as much as 14% and 21% respectively. The disclosure about SunEdison's finances, while not surprising, has almost eliminated any hope investors had of a recovery for the firm. SunEdison's financial position has been getting rapidly worse since last summer and a downward spiral or rising borrowing costs and financial losses have finally dragged the company down. There is some worry that TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global will be dragged into bankruptcy with SunEdison, but there's no guarantee they will. TerraForm Global said that it has enough liquidity to support its business, even if SunEdison goes bankrupt and TerraForm Power should be in a similar position. TerraForm Global has said that its India projects, bought from SunEdison last year, have provisions that allow lenders to accelerate debt maturity if SunEdison goes bankrupt. And some projects in South Africa have power purchase agreements that could default if a change of control in TerraForm Global takes place. Of the two yieldcos, TerraForm Global is the highest risk. Now what: These three companies have been a mess for the past nine months and that could finally land SunEdison in bankruptcy, sooner than later. I think that would be good for both TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global, who could then get independent directors to oversee the company, reduce dividents to lower debt, and buy projects from third parties when conditions are right. So far, both have been like a piggy bank for SunEdison, which has been to the detriment of the yieldcos. With that said, until we get some certainty about the financial future and independence of both yieldcos I wouldn't be very bullish on the stocks. There's still a risk that SunEdison could drag them into bankruptcy, even if that risk is fairly small, or there could be accounting irregularities that spilled into the yieldcos. As for SunEdison, there's absolutely no reason to own the stock now. Any hope of recovery is all but gone and the delayed SEC filings and new SEC investigation show no sign that management is turning operations around. I've been saying it for months, but SunEdison is doomed. A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here. The article SunEdison Inc Plunges 44% On Likely Bankruptcy 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 First General Electric and now Yale? Florida Governor Rick Scott on Tuesday called on Yale University to consider a move south if Connecticut legislators follow through on a proposal to tax the net investment profits of the universitys $25.6 billion endowment. GE announced in January that it will leave its Fairfield headquarters for Boston, citing the Legislatures recent passage of corporate tax hikes. With news that the Connecticut Legislature wants to unfairly tax one of the nations most renowned universities to deal with the states budget shortfall, it is clear that all businesses in Connecticut, including Yale, should look to move to Florida, Scott said. The Florida governor said his state has a budget surplus of more than $1 billion and that his administration has not raised any taxes or fees since taking office in 2011. If Connecticut lawmakers are seriously considering another tax on Yale, businesses and families should be concerned about the other tax increases their Legislature will consider. We would welcome a world-renowned university like Yale to our state and I can commit that we will not raise taxes on their endowment. This would add yet another great university to our state. Sen. Martin Looney, whose district includes Yales New Haven campus and real estate holdings, submitted the measure, testified before the Legislatures Finance Committee last Tuesday that his proposal would tax only Yales investment profits that the university chooses not to re-invest in higher education or the economy. The senate presidents bill does not mention Yale, but Yale is the only private university in Connecticut with an endowment of more than $10 billion, the amount that would trigger the tax. It is our hope that these rich schools can use their wealth to create job opportunities, rather than simply to get richer, Looney told the committee. The goal is that universities with over $10 billion would either use their endowment to expand access to education and create innovative jobs, or would share a small percentage of their retained earnings with the states taxpayers, so that we can accomplish these same goals. Yales chief spokesman said Tuesday that the university, the city of New Haven and the state of Connecticut have been on common ground to great mutual benefit for 300 years. Were looking forward to reaching even greater heights in education, research and civic engagement over the next three centuries and more. STAMFORD Nonprofit theater company Curtain Call will take a bow in May as it accepts one of the first ACE awards from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County. The Arts & Culture Empowerment Awards were started this year to celebrate Fairfield County individuals, organizations and businesses who have contributed to the arts, said Angela Whitford, executive director. It was a way to bring some attention to the good that people are doing, she said. We hope this will be the beginning of a great annual event for us in Fairfield County. The staff, board of directors and artistic advisory council of the Cultural Alliance selected the winners from 500 nominations, Whitford said. Curtain Call and its executive and artistic director, Lou Ursone, won in the nonprofit category. Earlier this month, Curtain Call was the top fundraiser during Fairfield Countys Giving Day when the organization raised $62,617 in 24 hours. More Information Arts & Culture Empowerment Award recipients Nonprofit: Lou Ursone, executive and artistic director, of Curtain Call in Stamford. Educator: The Bruce Museum in Greenwich. Artist: Westport Artists' Collective founders Duvian Montoya, Nina Bentley, Miggs Burroughs, Tammy Winser, Helen Klisser During and Jahmane West. Corporate: Bank of America, sponsor of Fairfield County's Community Foundation Giving Day, in which 24 percent of donations in 2016 went to arts and cultural organizations. Citizen: Richard J. Wenning, executive director of the BeFoundation, a private foundation working to improve educational outcomes of disadvantaged students in Connecticut. Wenning is also co-founder of SpreadMusicNow, an organization that funds music programs that foster continual learning. See More Collapse Curtain Call puts on about 12 productions each year at the Sterling Farms Theatre Complex on Newfield Avenue. It also stages smaller events and a summer outdoor Shakespeare production. Urson said the Cultural Alliance brings together groups like his in the absence of an arts council in the city, Ursone said. Its wonderful for us as an organization to get the recognition, but its really about building support for the arts in Fairfield County, he said. The award does not come with funding. Would that it came with a couple of pennies, Ursone said. But well take the bragging rights. Westport artist Miggs Burroughs is designing an award that will be produced using three-dimentional printing, Whitford said. The recipients will be honored at the ACE Awards breakfast on May 19 at the Shore and Country Club in Norwalk. Tickets to the event, a fundraiser for the Cultural Alliance, are $75. For more information, visit the Cultural Alliance of Fairfields website at www.CulturalAllianceFC.org. julie.alterio@scni.com; 203-964-2263 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate MANCHESTER Kalie Menders isnt worried about herself. She is on a full tuition scholarship in the honors program at Southern Connecticut State University. Rather, she is concerned about her younger brother, who will face a $480 a year tuition hike when bills are mailed out this summer. It will hurt, said Menders, a junior studying communication disorders and president of the student government. It is a pain bound to reverberate across 17 campuses from Western Connecticut State Universitys Westside campus in Danbury, clear across the state to Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson near the Rhode Island border. And it might not end there. The Board of Regents, meeting Tuesday at Manchester Community College, was warned that the 5 percent tuition hike leveled on state university students in the fall and the 3.5 percent increase being tacked onto community college tuition bills wont even begin to sop up half of the expected red ink the system is facing. On top of the increase there will be $18 million in budget cuts. More Information The approved increases are: CSCUCurrent TuitionIncreaseNew Tuition State Universities $9,609 5.0% or $480 $10,089 Community Colleges $4,032 3.5% or $141 $4,173 Charter Oak State College $8,666 4.0% or $347 $9,013 See More Collapse That, according to system President Mark Ojakian, is a best case scenario as the states fiscal crisis seems to worsen by the minute and that plan counts on steady enrollment. Over the past few years, enrollment has been slipping. Students in the middle Paul Broadie, president of Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, said his staff is looking at what might be cut now. We are going to try our best to minimize the impact to students, Broadie said. We are going to tighten our belt more and look at our administrative costs. We are not going to look at faculty or student services, as much as we can. Barbara Richards, a Housatonic sociology professor and vice-chair of the faculty advisory committee to the Board of Regents said it is students in the middle who will be impacted the most. Students on financial aid wont feel it but those that arent will, Richards said, calling it a tough situation. Gordon Plouffe, a student representative on the Board of Regents, was the only member to vote against the increase. I know what you are trying to do is right and fair, Plouffe said. Every dollar cut in funding leaves some student behind. Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State College and Universities, agreed the increase was something he did not want to do. I believe this increase is a fair and responsible decision given our current economic reality, Ojakian said. Matt Fleury, chairman of the boards finance committee, said the system faces a $37.3 million shortfall in the new fiscal year. If it were all to be made up from tuition, university students would be facing a 7.6 percent hike, community colleges, a 10.7 percent hike, Fluery said. Nearly 50 percent of the systems revenue comes from the state. If it took it all from programs, Ojakian said the cuts would strip the system of its ability to educate and graduate its 90,000 students. Quite honestly it would mean a real reduction in the work force, Ojakian said. We dont have enough full time faculty now. The proposal strikes a balance between accessibility and affordability, he told the board. He also pledged not to return to tuition if the financial picture worsens. Even so, Menders, of Waterford, called the situation difficult and frustrating. Most of the people I know are already struggling to afford higher education, Menders said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Stamford Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 STAMFORD A city man was charged with brandishing what appeared to be a pistol at a driver during a road rage incident Friday afternoon. A police officer patrolling West Main Street near Harvard Avenue spotted a group of men outside two cars who appeared to be involved in an argument about 4 p.m. Friday. T he boss of Irn Bru maker AG Barr today blasted the Chancellor for his shock 520 million sugar tax raid on the fizzy drinks industry but claimed his company could endure the punitive burden. Chief executive Roger White (pictured) hit out as his company posted a dip in sales for the 53 weeks to January 30 less two weeks after George Osborne revealed the sugar tax in his Budget, cheered on by campaigners including chef Jamie Oliver. White told the Standard: We are extremely disappointed that despite the significant progress we have made [to reduce sugar levels], that an industry-specific punitive levy has been proposed. He added that the bombshell came despite his company pledging to reduce the calorie content of its drinks by 20% by 2020. If the tax was to be applied in April 2018 as proposed, about a third of AG Barrs brands would be subject to the burden, including Irn Bru, Rockstar and Rubicon Mango. However, many of these also have sugar-free variants. It has been estimated that the tax could add up to 24p to the price of a litre of fizzy drink. Shares in AG Barr dropped almost 5% in the moments after Osborne made the announcement in the House of Commons. But shares edged up 3p to 522p today as White stressed that during the year AG Barr had been focusing marketing efforts on lower sugar and no sugar products, to appeal to health-conscious shoppers. As a result he said his company could ride out the levy by continuing to revamp its products, which also include Tizer. White reassured the City consumers ongoing loyalty to its brands would help it minimise the financial impact on the business from the levy. He also stressed that the consultation on the tax had not yet started, but that Barr would play an active role in the discussions between the Government and the soft drinks sector to work towards an outcome that would benefit both shoppers and shareholders. White noted that the UK soft drinks market has not yet appeared to benefit from the improvement in underlying consumer purchasing power. AG Barr, which also sells Strathmore bottled water, saw sales slip to 258.6 million from nearly 261 million the previous year. Deflation and poor weather were among factors to hit the business. But pre-tax profit increased 7% to 41.3 million as the drinks giant benefited from tight cost control. It also saw growth in its cocktail mixer product Funkin, which it snapped up in February 2015 for about 21 million. White said on-trade sales of Funkin performed well in the capital as Londoners swigged down drinks such as Strawberry daiquiris. AG Barr is proposing to pay a final dividend of 9.97p per share, taking the full year dividend to 13.33p. A 1 billion spending spree has created a new Qatari quarter in Mayfair as the oil-rich emirates royalty pump huge sums into London real estate, new research showed today. West End estate agent Rokstone says that the investment by the Qatari royal family, nationals and wealth funds poured into mansions and apartments has formed the quarter on the north-west of Mayfair, bordering Park Lane and Hyde Park. The exclusive district covers almost a quarter of Mayfairs 279 acres and 4300 homes, the agent suggests, with borders running from South Street and the Dorchester Hotel to North Row and with Duke Street to the east and Grosvenor Square and Carlos Place to the west. The empire centres on the 200 million Dudley House in Park Lane, the London base of Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani and a cousin of the currentemir. It also includes the 40 million former Brazilian Embassy, reportedly purchased for the mother of the current ruler, while the ruling family are also believed to own almost 250 million of townhouses in Mount Street, Park Street, Davies Street and Curzon Street. Elsewhere in the upmarket area Qatari Diar, controlled by the Qatari Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, owns the 500 million US Embassy in Grosvenor Square and will convert it into luxury homes when the embassy relocates to Nine Elms next year. Rokstone estimates that buyers from Qatar account for 5% of all Mayfair buyers every year and more than 60% of all buyers for property priced above 10 million. Each year, around 150 million worth of Mayfair sales are to buyers from the Middle East, dominated by purchasers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Rokstone managing director Becky Fatemi said north-west Mayfair is now the West End address of choice for Qatari and other Gulf state end-user buyers and tenants. She added: The oil royals and wealthy families from the Middle East view Mayfair as a luxury village and their favourite place in London, alongside Knightsbridge, for luxury shopping, dining out and leisure. Over two-thirds of Mayfair residents typically eat out three to four times per week and Middle East residents spend on average 1900 per shop. T he announcement that the FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook, reportedly without Apples assistance, is an encouraging development in the struggle to find an appropriate balance between privacy and the requirements of national security. The breakthrough, which US prosecutors say was achieved with the help of an unnamed third party, means that potentially important information about Farooks contacts and activities prior to the attack will become available to investigators. That could help to prevent further attacks and save lives. But the FBIs success in hacking the terrorists iPhone is also, paradoxically, largely good news for millions of other Apple customers worldwide. That is because legal action by the US government to force the technology giant to build a back door into its phones will now be abandoned. That would have created a permanent weakness in every iPhone in the world and heightened the risk of criminals and others of malign intent finding a way to steal and expose personal data on an industrial scale. Apple will, of course, now have to find a way to fix the flaw found by the FBI. It hopes to receive the agencys help to achieve this and should do so. Meanwhile, the debate about the powers available to intelligence agencies will continue, not least in our own Parliament, where the Governments controversial Investigatory Powers Bill is currently being debated. It too will enable Britains spies to hack phones, subject to ministerial and judicial approval, and is attracting opposition similar to that seen during Apples dispute with the FBI. The Governments argument is that any no go areas for the security agencies must be kept to a minimum. That is surely right if serious crime and terrorism are to be prevented. But, as the iPhone controversy has shown, MPs and peers will have to work hard to ensure that the new powers protect both ourselves and our data. A flawed police inquiry Harvey Proctors angry attack today on Scotland Yard over its bungled Operation Midland inquiry and pursuit of false allegations of child abuse and murder made against him is understandable. The former MP suffered a year under investigation, during which his home and three other locations were searched by 80 officers, on the basis of claims about a Westminster paedophile ring made by a man now regarded as a fantasist. Mr Proctor claims he was set up repeatedly and accuses the Met of conducting an unprofessional and political investigation. Those charges might be excessive. But this has been a sorry saga from which Scotland Yard must learn. Sex allegations must not be accepted as being true without question. Child abuse was ignored in the past. But that is no reason to jettison common sense when assessing evidence. Doing that only creates new victims, this time of injustice. Qatars Mayfair empire Foreign ownership of London property is a political hot potato. The debate will be given added impetus today by the news that Qatari investors alone own a hefty 1 billion-plus chunk of Mayfair. Centred on Dudley House on Park Lane, London home of Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, the Qatari quarter also takes in a number of top hotels: the Connaught and Claridges are both part-owned by the Qatari Investment Authority. If only a railway station was available then the Qataris would have quite a Monopoly in W1. W hen someones drunk, its normally not the case that they become a different person; theyre still themselves, only tiresomely so. You can say the same about people losing their marbles; their personality traits are weirdly accentuated; their memory is scrambled but still recalling the past. And when you get extremism in a state, its usually not some weird aberration from the norm, the act of a nutter; its the culture of a community, whether minority or majority, reflected in a distorting mirror. Sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in the Troubles was obviously only perpetrated by a tiny minority, but equally obviously, it reflected views that were very widely shared in society at large. So it is in Pakistan. The bombing of a playground in Lahore at Easter was the act of one man, the suicide bomber, and one group, a splinter of the Pakistani Taliban which obligingly made clear that it was targeting Christians celebrating Easter, but the attack was grimly in character for Pakistan. This was not an aberration, an unthinkable act of lunacy at odds with the tenor of society as a whole. It reflected, in its distorted fashion, both state and society. Its target, Christians being Christian, was in keeping with whats gone before; ditto the killers. The Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has responded impeccably, promising that the resolve to deal with extremism is growing. The army in the Punjab raided five Islamist centres, seizing arms. Its good at after-the-event action, is the Pakistani state. But then its had plenty of practice. To say weve been here before is a grotesque understatement. I seem to recall exactly the same rhetoric, the same promise of zero tolerance of extremism after two suicide bombers murdered 85 Anglicans in All Saints Church in Peshawar in 2013. Things were going to change after two suicide bombers murdered 85 Anglicans in Peshawar in 2013; world opinion was outraged. And nothing changed Things were going to change; world opinion was outraged. And nothing changed. These attacks are just the most eye-catching manifestations of the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan, Britains ally and aid recipient. Christians are the most obvious target two per cent of the population, and the poorest bit at that but others suffer too. Hindus as well as Christians are targeted, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority get it in the neck, being seen as heretics. Talking to Pakistani Christians who have come here, what stands out is the pervasiveness of persecution, the perpetual fear that the blasphemy laws can be used against you at any time. Your child falls and his schoolbag contains a Koran why thats desecration. And once word gets around that youve disrespected the Koran, youve had it. The Pakistani army has responded effectively to this latest atrocity interesting that it was well informed about Taliban operations and interesting, too, that it might have acted independently of the Prime Minister but it hasnt always been quick off the mark. The riots recently in support of the man who murdered Clement Shahbaz Bhatti, a brave minister who questioned the blasphemy laws, didnt elicit a crackdown. The impression was that the rioters were simply a low-life expression of government sentiment. The 2015 report by the charity Aid to the Church in Need on religious freedom confirming that Christians are the most persecuted faith in the world had a foreword by the brother of that minister, Paul Bhatti, who recalled his brothers insisting he had to defend the weak, before he was murdered in 2011. Pakistan has done nothing to confront its demons since. But theyre not an aberration, those demons; theyre in high places. The Queen is proof that keeping active helps you age well A busy and varied life: Her Majestys love of all things equestrian is well known and she is still riding at 90 years old The fabulous documentary on the Queen at 90, produced by Robert Hardman and others, is that gratifying thing an opportunity for the Queen to enjoy her obituaries without going to the trouble of dying first. The family tributes were moving Kate sounded sweet. The whole thing is proof that royalty is, like any job, something you can work on and get better at as you age. Actually, just as a 90-year-old, the Queen is a phenomenon I mean, riding horses? It was said of the Queen Mother that she never had to draw her own curtains, so no wonder she aged well. I think with the Queen its more like proof that if youve got a job to do, infinite variety, a like-minded spouse and a sense of duty, you dont have time to get old. Crucially, the Queen is an old-fashioned Anglican: you can add God to the mix too. The odds on The Queen at 100 are pretty good. Poor old Boris just wants to be loved and be PM Petronella Wyatts revelations and reflections on Boris Johnson, with whom she once enjoyed an amitie amoureuse the French is classier than, say, friendship with benefits are a curiously rosy account of an affair that has plainly left its mark on her. That much is clear, 20 years on. Yet she acts for the defence, saying Boris isnt duplicitous, its just he doesnt like giving bad news. She says he and his vivacious wife Marina love each other without labouring the point that this doesnt preclude adultery and she is kind about his first wife. She explains that his ambition to be Prime Minister is a way to prove hes loved. Boris cuts a poignant figure here: hurt by his parents divorce, with few friends, given to fits of depression. None of it is going to make him less electable voters will not be wholly surprised by his Ottoman approach to monogamy and hey, Churchill got depressed but Petronella knows him well enough to strike where it hurts. He wont like being reminded he only got a 2:1 at Oxford. We should remember the Easter Rising was because of a failure of democracy This has been a good time to be in Ireland, as the nation marked, in admirably inclusive fashion, the Easter Rising, the doomed rebellion that gave rise, to the Irish Republic. The name given to the rising made centenary commemorations tricky a century ago, Easter fell late but a celebration of the Rebellion of April 24-29 wouldnt have had quite the same religious resonance. Its been a poignant affair. But its worth remembering that the rebellion happened because of a failure of democracy. If the British Government hadnt allowed Ulster Unionists to use the threat of force to defeat the Home Rule Bill and constitutional nationalism, Ireland might have got to independence peaceably via Home Rule. A more boring outcome but a better one. Andreja Pejic is accustomed to stares. As she sips English breakfast tea in the lobby lounge of Manhattans trendy Bowery Hotel, just blocks from her apartment in the East Village, people at other tables shoot her covert glances and sneak phone pics, but she takes it in her stride. Its hard to blame them. Not only is the 6ft 1in 24-year-old Bosnian, who was raised as a refugee in Australia, among the most in-demand fashion models of our era - unsurprising, considering her cut-crystal cheekbones and symmetry so flawless that it almost seems android - but she also has an irresistible back story. First scouted as a willowy 17-year-old boy working at a Melbourne McDonalds, she was brought to Europe as a tantalisingly androgynous newcomer who walked the mens runway for Marc Jacobs and donned both mens and womens clothes for Jean Paul Gaultier. She was touted as living between two genders, a narrative that fitted the fashion industrys fresh fetish for sexually ambiguous beauty. But in 2014 Pejic announced that she was, in fact, a transgender woman and would undergo what is now largely referred to as gender-confirmation surgery. Its been quite a ride since then, she says, her voice refined and melodious with a slight Aussie twang, as she folds a lock of long blonde hair behind her ear. She carries herself regally, despite casually chic attire - an oversized white cashmere turtle-neck, jeans and cowboy boots. When youve been through so much in such a short time, it takes your body and your mind quite a while to catch up, to settle down. In fact, on most levels, she doesnt seem to be settling down at all. Instead, she is ramping up in ways that she never could have imagined just a year or two ago, most notably by appearing on the Paris catwalk earlier this month as part of the H&M Studio show (below). Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Elsewhere, with carefully chosen events including a TEDx talk, a recent podcast for Foreign Affairs and a keynote address in February at a Human Rights Campaign event, she has become an elegant, measured voice for transgender acceptance on an international level, a Grace Kelly-like antidote to Caitlyn Jenners brash, Hollywood tell-all style. Its hard to know whats more surprising: that this ur-female spent most of her life in a male body or that someone who could so easily skate by on her beauty has decided not to. Im a bit of a nerd, an introvert by nature, so Im still working on being comfortable with public speaking, says Pejic, who was a standout student at secondary school and hopes one day to go to university. I just feel as though its the right thing to do. In generations past the ideal if you were trans was to disappear, to move to another place and start afresh. That was the best they could hope for. But I got famous first. I didnt have the option of anonymity. And, of course, weve moved past that kind of thinking. Now - at least I hope - the ideal is to incorporate your past, to inhabit it while youre becoming yourself. I think its my responsibility to be truthful in as many ways as I can. Andreja Pejic through the years 1 /48 Andreja Pejic through the years September 22, 2010 Walking the catwalk at the KTZ s/s 2011 fashion show at Somerset House during London Fashion Week Samir Hussein/Getty January 26, 2011 Walking the runway during the Jean-Paul Gaultier show as part of the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011 Pascal Le Segretain/Getty March 30, 2011 At the reopening of the Myer Bourke Street Store to celebrate it's 100th birthday Graham Denholm/Getty June 23, 2011 Presenting for Jean-Paul Gaultier during the spring-summer 2012 men's fashion show Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty January 20, 2012 Walking the runway at the Michalsky Autumn/Winter 2012 fashion show Adam Berry/Getty April 5, 2012 At Logo's 'NewNowNext Awards' 2012 Mark Davis/Getty April 5, 2012 With Kelly Osbourne at the W Hotels Backstage Lounge at Logo's NewNowNext Awards John Shearer/Getty July 4, 2012 Walking the runway during the Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute-Couture show Pascal Le Segretain/Getty August 31, 2012 At the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week Opening Gala Scott Barbour/Getty October 17, 2012 At the inaugural Digital Fashion Week press conference in Singapore Imran Ahmad/Getty January 17, 2013 Walking for Yohji Yamamoto during the men's Fall-Winter 2013 collection show Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty February 10, 2013 At the Samsung Galaxy Lounge VIP Reception during New York Fashion Week Donald Bowers/Getty April 2, 2013 At the Jeffrey Fashion Cares 10th Anniversary Celebration Andrew H. Walker/Getty April 12, 2013 In the gift lounge during Forever 21 Desert Disco Rachel Murray/Getty June 18, 2013 At the 2nd Annual Millennial Ball 2.0 To Benefit Gabrielle's Angel Foundation For Cancer Research Jamie McCarthy/Getty August 20, 2013 At Moet & Chandon's celebrations for its 270th anniversary Bryan Bedder/Getty October 16, 2014 With Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexandra Agoston at he opening night of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne Luis Ascui/Getty February 18, 2015 At The Cut & New York Magazine's Fashion Week Party Craig Barritt/Getty February 23, 2015 Walking the runway at the Giles show during London Fashion AW15 Ian Gavan/Getty April 2, 2015 At the 2015 Center Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street Jamie McCarthy/Getty May 9, 2015 At the VIP Red Carpet Suite at the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York Brad Barket/Getty May 16, 2015 At the 4th Annual Olevolos Project Brunch at Gallow Green Grant Lamos IV/Getty May 30, 2015 At the Eighth-Annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic at Liberty State Park Jamie McCarthy/Getty June 16, 2015 At the 2015 amfAR Inspiration Gala New York Neilson Barnard/Getty June 23, 2015 At the 4th Annual Solstice Presented By amfAR's generationCURE at Hudson Hotel Astrid Stawiarz/Getty October 19, 2015 At Angel Ball 2015 hosted by Gabrielle's Angel Foundation Bryan Bedder/Getty October 24, 2015 At Teen Vogue and Aerie's celebration of Emma Roberts' November cover Jamie McCarthy/Getty November 10, 2015 At the 2015 Whitney Art Party Slaven Vlasic/Getty November 19, 2015 At the Marie Claire Prix de la Moda 2015 Carlos Alvarez/Getty December 15, 2015 At 'A Celebration for Patricia Clarkson' in New York Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty February 28, 2016 At the 24th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation's Oscar Viewing Party Frederick M. Brown/Getty March 2, 2016 Walking the runway during the H&M show at Paris Fashion Week Pascal Le Segretain/Getty May 14, 2016 At the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Rob Kim/Getty June 7, 2016 At the 2016 Fragrance Foundation Awards presented by Hearst Magazines Nicholas Hunt/Getty June 9, 2016 At the 7th Annual amfAR Inspiration Gala Jamie McCarthy/Getty June 16, 2016 At the 'Orange Is The New Black' premiere at SVA Theater Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty She is grateful for the years spent as a male model, which enabled her to see the world and make real money - she was raised by a single mother in refugee camps before going to Australia aged eight. But living a lie (her agent believed the industry wasnt ready for a transgender supermodel) also took its toll. Just months before she announced she would transition surgically, New York magazine put her on its cover, naked to the waist with the bony flat chest of an adolescent, her face fully made up. The headline was Male model of the year. Having been out to her family and friends as transgender since her early teens (she bought hormone-blockers illegally on the internet to stave off puberty) pretending to be a boy, albeit an androgynous one, left her full of sadness and self-doubt. It was a time that was really great on so many levels and also really difficult for me. Working that way made me famous and gave me a career but it wasnt what I would have chosen, she recalls. All of that changed as attitudes toward transgender issues began to shift and, at the same moment, she was at last able to afford the surgery. Not all trans people change their bodies but for Pejic it felt necessary. The timing has been amazing, she says. I just stop and think, Oh my god, what if this was even 10, 20 years ago? A student of gender dysphoria through history - she has steeped herself in Virginia Woolf and the writings of Marxist revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg - she is working on a documentary that will explore transgender models who hid their pasts. One idol is Caroline Cossey, the British beauty who worked under the name Tula. In the 1970s she was a Page 3 girl and appeared in Australian Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Outed by journalists, she wrestled with suicidal thoughts before writing two successful memoirs. M odelling in 2012 before transitioning / Adam Berry/Getty Despite her commitment to speaking out Pejic is loath to define herself purely by gender. Its a trap, she thinks, to reduce yourself to your sex. Before she got the surgery she spent too much time thinking about it, longing to bring her body in line with her mind. But now she no longer has to dwell on it. Other women dont go around saying Wow, Im female. They have room in their lives for other things. Thats my goal. Pejic isnt the type to get easily offended by those to whom gender issues are still a bit confusing. Thats surprising in a world where young people, especially at British universities and on US college campuses, debate micro-aggressions and prize safe, conflict-free spaces. She doesnt get upset when people ask her rude technical questions about her anatomy or use the wrong pronoun. I choose not to wallow in my pain, she says. There are a lot of things that are unfortunate in the world and you have to be resilient. Identity politics are really divisive. They separate people instead of unifying them as human. They cause you to believe that your own group is the most downtrodden. To me, the important thing is to constantly look outside yourself, to see what you can do in the greater universe. Such equanimity isnt easy in an industry obsessed with appearances, she concedes. Look, Im a model. Its a catty business. I have the usual insecurities, compounded by my unique ones from being trans. But you have to remind yourself that beauty is a fleeting thing and in the end, no matter who you are, you need to develop your substance. With Kelly Osbourne in 2012 / John Shearer/Getty How can you spend your time worrying about a random spot, she wonders aloud, when someone like Tara Hudson, a 26-year-old post-operative transgender woman from Bath, was kept for nearly 12 months in an all-male prison just because she didnt fill out a piece of paperwork? There are just so many more important, scarier things that need to be addressed all over the world. They make you realise your priorities. For Pejic, succeeding as a female model is an overtly political act. After her surgery she made a conscious decision to abandon more work with the edgier niche brands, the kinds with no qualms about being associated with her (she has kept her beauty contract - the most lucrative part of the industry - with Make-up Forever). Walking for Giles in 2015 / Ian Gavan/Getty With her sort of features - classic, mainstream - why not go after Chanel or Dior? Real progress, she says, will come when such corporate-controlled labels realise their business wont fall apart if theres a trans model in their campaign. She understands that, for now, her background sets her apart, maybe even gives her an advantage, but she wishes clients would judge her as they do other top-tier models. One day, she says, I would like to be just another girl. Pejic is more comfortable talking politics than she is about her personal life. Although she has a boyfriend these days she admits she is pretty immature, a little stunted, about the whole thing with men. Partly thats a reflection of the years she spent in gender limbo, but also its a matter of her reserved nature. I dont fall in love easily, she says. My girlfriends joke that Im an ice princess. But a lot of them fall in love rashly and its a disaster. Then they turn to me and say, I wish I had a helping of your ice. Such self-possession is just part of being careful and smart, thinking everything through, planning for a long and serious future. Thats who I am, she says. It has nothing to do with gender. Its much deeper than that. I mean, arent most important things deeper than that? R icky Gervais is making a return to his roots in London this May, having just announced that he will be performing some stand up shows. The comedian is returning to the stage for the first time in six years, as he revealed on his official blog. Finally, I'm going to do some stand-up. The first in about six years if you don't count hosting the Golden Globes. I've booked a couple of low key warm-ups with the Derek lot to flesh out the bill a bit. The shows will be in London in May, but I'll give you more details nearer the time. This announcement featured alongside the build-up to his Netflix original film, Special Correspondents, with Eric Bana, which will appear on Netflix on April 22. Gervais is currently promoting his David Brent: Life on the Road mockumentary, which sees Gervais return to his popular character from The Office. Click here to see Ricky Gervais blog post. Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout T he mention of goat meat brings out cries of yuk or ew to many, but for increasing numbers of London restaurant chefs, it is a prize meat worth cooking. Indeed, of the three food businesses nominated for this years Radio 4 Food & Farming Awards, the finalist in the street food or takeaway category is Gourmet Goat, a stall in Borough Market specialising in kid goat meat. But is it that surprising? Unfashionable cuts of beef are all the rage, game is massively increasing in popularity, chicken thighs are in vogue and now goat is having its moment too finally people are eating meat for its range of flavours and not just for the sake of eating meat, says Pritesh Mody, founder of the World of Zing Spice Emporium based in Limehouse. Heres why we should be eating more goat in any form. 1. It's very tender Kid goat is very tender: When the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Gymkhana, opened in 2013, much was made of the tenderness of the kid goat methi keema and it's still ranked as one of the capital's must-try dishes. A south east Indian dish, methi keema is usually made with minced lamb and fenugreek but this version, served with bread and optional bheja - goats brains - brought kid goat to a new audience. 2. It suits slow roasting There are a few ways to slow cook goat. Moody says his favourite is to do a Mexican chilli dish as the goat is ideal for slow cooking and will stand up to the rich spices. To do this youll need small chunks of goat, some Ancho and Guajillo chillies, oregano, kidney beans, garlic, cumin and chicken stock. Alternatively, Gourmet Goat sells wraps stuffed with a pile of of slow roasted kid goat shoulder and leg in white wine and herbs. 3. It supports the dairy industry Eating kid goat meat supports the dairy industry: Many thousands of dairy billies are slaughtered each year shortly after birth. These are the billies that help the goat dairy industry thrive. We feel this is a tragedy, explains Gourmet Goats co-founder, the Cypriot-born Nadia Stokes, who says that kid goat dishes are an essential part of Cypriot cooking. We support suppliers that take the billies from the dairy industry, sending them to responsible farms to be reared and ultimately sold for their meat. 30 must-try dishes in London restaurants 1 /41 30 must-try dishes in London restaurants Bone marrow on toast with parsley salad at St John Not only has this dish kicked off countless wonderful meals over the course of St Johns 25 years, but it also gets credit for putting British cooking back on the global culinary map. Roasted bone marrow, coaxed out onto toast, cut perfectly with salad of parsley, shallots and capers. A nose-to-tail revolution, and utterly divine. Whole turbot at Brat Tomos Parrys talents with a turbot first came to feverish acclaim at Mayfair restaurant Kitty Fishers, but they are now the star attraction at his Michelin-starred solo spot. This whole fish grilled Basque-style, over hot coals and in a specially designed cage softens as if it has melted, and is basted at the table in an emulsion made with its own juices. Benjamin McMahon Marinara at 50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo Superlatives should be used in moderation but heck it, this might just be Londons best pizza. This under-the-radar London iteration of a Naples pizzeria serves an unrivalled marinara: just tomato sauce, oil, garlic and oregano. No need for any more with a sauce this good and a base so fine and perfectly charred, you can stop mourning your cancelled Italian holiday at first bite. Luciano Furia Clay pot baked pork and crab glass noodles at Kiln When we say Kiln is one of the hottest spots in town, we mean it hang over the counter at the Thai barbecue and youre not far out of range for the odd flame. Baking in the heart of the swirling heat is this must order: shimmering glass noodles, coated with a silky sauce enriched with fatty slicks of Tamworth pork belly and improbably unctuous crab meat. Lamb chops, Melabes Perhaps because its quietly tucked in among its unassuming neighbours down on the wrong end of High Street Kensington, Melabes is often overlooked by Londons food lovers. An unwarranted shame, as this partly Middle Eastern, partly Mediterranean set-up is really very good; it is somewhere to pick and choose from bits and pieces, and put a meal together yourself. The lamb chops, which come all smokey and burnished from the grill, are perfect; pink as a Vegas sign inside, but the fat all soft and dripping and delicious. A must, whatever the order. Steak tartare imperial at Bob Bob Ricard Theres Press For Champagne buttons, lobster in your mac and cheese and anything that stays still long enough gets gilded there is no point in going small at Bob Bob Ricard. Steak tartare is a luxurious pick at the best of times, but the Imperial upgrade here comes with a dollop of caviar even without the finishing touch, the tartare itself is one of the best in the capital. Bacon naan at Dishoom Londoners spent decades believing bacon in a bap with some ketchup (or brown sauce, but lets not have that argument now) couldnt be beaten and then Dishoom came along. This breakfast sandwich fills a fresh naan with bacon, a slathering of cream cheese, a luxurious tomato and chilli chutney, coriander and an oozing fried egg if you feel so inclined. Hangover be gone. Cacio e pepe at Padella Five years ago, you would have thought anyone queuing for pasta in London to have lost their minds this dish changed that. The starlet of Padellas much coveted is this plate of pici hand-rolled fat worms of eggless pasta with a mirror-shine sauce of parmesan cheese and pasta. Simple but unrivalled and itll set you back just 6. Jamon croquetas at Barrafina A dish like this should be elusive it is far too easy to eat seven portions of croquetas in a single sitting, which is why we presume Barrafina makes you queue. Very sensible. As the crunchy coating gives way to the oozing centre, enriched with the flavour of Spanish jamon (the best ham in the business), were already planning our next visit. Biang biang noodles at Xi'an Biang Biang Noodles There are oodles of noodles in the capital, but Guirong Weis triumphant take is one of the finest. First finding followers at her north London restaurant Xian Impression (soon to reopen for dine-in, but not yet), the dish of has inspired a whole spin-off restaurant in Spitalfields. Thick, hand-pulled, chewy noodles soak up all the spice and zing of the special sauce they swim in very special indeed. Souffle Suissesse, Le Gavroche Le Gavroche the street urchin is perhaps not for everyone. It is a Mayfair time machine, a reminder of how things were done once upon a time. Fortunately, it happens that how things were once done was very well indeed, and lunch or supper here is a masterclass in traditional French luxury (and often, happily, includes very large glasses of wine). Staff make the place, anyone who has been gently teased by the twins pretending to be each other will know. A tendency towards the old ways does mean the cooking offers little in the way of evolution or revolution, but new, after all, isnt always better. Michel Roux Jrs cheese souffle, baked on double cream, stuns, so overwhelmingly tasty, utter decadence that clings to the taste buds. Buttermilk Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Around the Cluck / 12:51 James Cochran found his signature dish early on, but its good it should stay with him for the rest of his career. While he has chops, and can do more beyond, theres something special in the way he works with his chicken; hotly spiced, gorgeously crispy, beautifully soft on the inside. A long-standing favourite and, though 12:51 cant operate as it did before, there are tables at his new project Around the Cluck, which is operating out of the same site. Breakfast at Hawksmoor Guildhall Your Full English is not full in comparison to the Hawksmoor breakfast at the steak connoisseurs Guildhall restaurant. The mind-boggling two-person spread swaps bacon rashers for an entire smoked chop, serves its bubble and squeak with short rib, puts trotter meat into its baked beans, and adds grilled bone marrow to all the usual trimmings. Cauliflower shawarma at Berber & Q Its not often that the main event at a barbecue restaurant is the veg, but Berber & Q have achieved just that. The cauliflower shawarma here is cooked on their flaming grill until softened and charred, before being doused liberally in tahini, pomegranate molasses, coriander, pomegranate seeds and a scattering of dried rose petals. BBQ Butter Chicken Wings at Brigadiers Brigadiers is a bold, boisterous sort of place: a labyrinthine City dining room, packed to the rafters with beer and Indian food that is indisputably gutsy. But arguably its finest moment comes in one of its smallest packages these chicken wings may be diminutive, but are mightily spiced, deftly charred and dripping with ghee-fuelled succulence. Beef brisket bun at Smokestak David Carters Shoreditch restaurant occupies itself by giving the entirety of Kansas City a run for its money on a daily basis. The star turn at this lauded barbecue restaurant is its beef brisket bun the meat is soft and juicy, riddled with its fats in the centre, while charred and treacle-like on the outside, paired perfectly with pickled chillies. To remember it is to salivate, we assure you. Snails, LEscargot LEscargot is one of Sohos old aristocrats and in its grand, beret red dining room there is always a mischievous sense of fun perhaps because it is still such a smart, suited, chandeliered place, and people are often drinking themselves rather silly. The clue to good eating is in the name; the snails come still clinging to their shells and submerged in their butter and parsley sauce. Dive in; you will emerge stinking gloriously of garlic. It wont matter a jot; roll on the red wine and settle in for a long, comforting night. Confit potatoes at Quality Chop House Yes, there are some high quality chops on offer at this 150-year-old Clerkenwell restaurant but blimey, leave room for the chips. Fine slices of potato are stacked into architecturally sound wedges, and confited until shatteringly crispy on the outside and devastatingly soft in the centre. They have been much imitated in recent years, but never bettered. Smoked eel sandwich at Quo Vadis Jeremy Lee cooks many things to a legendary level at Quo Vadis his pies could so easily have also made this list but he gets the nod here for his unrivalled take on the fancy sandwich. Smoked eel, horseradish cream and Dijon mustard, served with red onion pickle a combination so popular Lee says he nearly ran out of eel on post-lockdown reopening. Classic bao at Bao London has buns in abundance, but we still bow down to the fluffy superiority of Bao. The Taiwanese restaurant has become a cross-town favourite, thanks to its pleasingly pert rice buns (they are genuinely very pert, no crassness intended) and carefully considered fillings. The classic order comes filled with braised pork, fermented veg, coriander and a dusting of peanut powder. Carol Sachs Potato and roe, Core by Clare Smyth Clare Smyth has a knack that must infuriate other chefs; she is able to take the simplest of ingredients say, a single carrot and a smattering of lamb mince do something devilish with it and charge rather a lot for it; so good are the results, though, that few mind. Smyths sorcery is perhaps best witnessed with her signature, the potato and roe. It is simply a potato on a plate in a little sauce, but then it is also perhaps the best potato dish in the world; it has this wonderful salty richness, a certain seaside intenseness. It is glorious; so too is the smoked chicken that tends to come as an amuse bouche. Youll be treated here. Omelette Arnold Bennett Dont worry, no Arnolds were harmed in the making of this dish. Alongside impeccable service and an arguably perfect dining room, you could add another highlight to your breakfast at The Wolseley by ordering this creamy, haddock-filled dish, named for the writer who inspired its creation while staying at the Savoy. Fish pie, J Sheekey Long an actors favourite, J Sheekeys glamour has never lost its lustre. Its kept its regulars and charmed newcomers with a menu that plays the greatest hits of fine dining favourites. Seafood is Sheekeys thing; simply done sole is beautiful here, crab comes three ways, brill brushed in butter has a meatiness thats beyond satisfying. The fish pie is famous though, and rightly so; beneath the flaking pastry is a sea of cream, mustard and white wine, in it bobbing cod, haddock and salmon. It is simple but never fails; it does on its own for lunch, but is a failsafe at supper, too. John Carey The Ari Gold at Patty & Bun Theres a cheeseburger on every high street in the capital but not all of them are created equal. Patty & Bun has got the classic combination down to a tee with its curiously named Ari Gold burger: a fat, 35-day aged patty is served medium rare, and topped with gooey American cheese, smokey house mayo and tangy pickled red onions. Xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung Few dishes in the capital have been known to cause queues of four hours. Thats exactly what the world-famous xiao long bao dumplings did when top Taiwanese restaurant group Din Tai Fung first opened in Covent Garden. An intricately folded out layer (made by chefs trained for at least 18 months) gives way to succulent meat and a broth you could take on by the bowlful. Pig's trotter, the French House Upstairs in the Soho local, Neil Borthwick is quietly running one of the areas best kitchens. He orders in particularly good oysters, does brilliant things with brill and with his pigs trotter, has a dish that is rich and fatty, but with a beautiful salty cut that makes it madly moreish. The menu tends to change often upstairs in the French, but have this if its on. That little dining room is somewhere to go in early for lunch and stay until late, eventually spilling down into the pub below, to drink pints they do pints now, not just halfs all while merrily reliving the joys upstairs. Peter Clark Dover sole with crab butter at Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill There are so many delights at Bentleys, its tricky to pick a single one. This could so easily have been a plate of rigorously sourced oysters, the fish pie, the decadent Royal seafood platter (pictured). It is however, the Dover sole that wins. A sublime piece of fish always, expertly cooked without fail choose it either filleted with beautiful crab butter, or grilled and whole for a simple pleasure. Over in the City, Corrigan does similarly brilliant things with lobster at Daffodil Mulligan. Ragu, Lina Stores Sohos Lina Stores the pasta bar, not the longstanding Italian deli it comes from is the sort of restaurant one longs for; small, fun, friendly, not too pricey. They do small plates of near perfect pasta; their ragu, whether lamb or veal, is a gem. A good ragu is hard to find too often theres too little meat, or meat not cooked for long enough but here, they spend the time over it, cooking slowly, carefully. No restaurant can compare with a Nonna, but Lina gets gratifyingly close. Porterhouse steak, the Guinea Grill London is not short of steakhouses, but the Guinea does not number among them. A pub a proper one it is tucked down a Mayfair sidestreet, away from everything and yet still perpetually busy. Besides the small bar is a dining room that looks much as it must have done when the likes of Sinatra was in (or Bette Midler, or Kylie, or Regan, or, or, or), where theyve served prime Aberdeen Angus cooked on a smoking hot grill. The Guinea is all about having a good time pints, red wine, brandies, the lot but they cook beautifully, and their handling of a good piece of beef is second to none. Puree de pommes de terre, Le Comptoir Robuchon The late Joel Robuchon may have been the most decorated chef of his and perhaps any other era, but his signature stayed humble mashed potato. Until youve had it, it is hard to believe it could be quite so good; mash, after all, is mash. No matter the scepticism, it will always surprise; it is almost silly that so little could taste of so much. A side, it will match almost everything on the menu; of which, the lamb with aubergine on the menu of classics is extraordinarily good. 4. It has a powerful aroma Goat is great because it has a very powerful, funky, goaty aroma, especially in its fat. This makes it very suited to strong flavours like spices, soy sauce, and fermeneted bamboo shoots and also means its suited to broths, describes Tim Anderson, chef and owner of ramen restaurant Nanban in Brixton, where he sells a curried goat ramen. Its flavour is so stong that it can be used to flavour a rich broth without the meat itself becoming too bland in the process, which makes it ideal for tsukemen, which is all abiut a very intense broth. 5. It makes for a good curry Goat cooked Jamaican style with curry powder, onions, Scotch bonnet peppers, ginger and garlic and herbs, and served with rice and rotis, can also be found on the menu at Levi Roots new restaurant Caribbean Smokehouse for 13. 6. It's easy to buy Kid goat is now available to buy as mince, shanks and chops on Ocado. This is thanks to specialist supplier Cabrito Goat run by ex-River Cottage chef James Wetlor who writes: It is great to see, even if it has taken a while, but Britain is finally waking up to what the rest of the world has known for a long time; goat meat is delicious. 7. It can be air dried Salamella di Capra, an intense, traditional cured goat meat salami from northern Italy made with 50 per cent goat and 50 per cent pork, is available from etruscany.com, while Gourmet Goat now also supplies two charcuterie lines to Selfridges. Made by Blackhand Food, based in east London, there is a strong kid goat salami made with port, fennel and white pepper, and a jerky made with neck fillet. The winners of Radio 4s Food & Farming Awards 2016 will be announced on April 28 Follow Victoria on Twitter @vicstewart H ow to sound like a Martini connoisseur To sound like a martini connoisseur, one should really educate themselves on the history of the Martini. Firstly, you should of course know what a Classic Martini consists of: Gin and vermouth are of course the main ingredients; combined with Martini Extra Dry Vermouth and garnished with 2 Kalamata olives. How to sophisticatedly stand at the bar To maintain complete sophistication you must delicately balance confidence along with subtle charm. Firstly, dont be afraid to make eye contact, nothing screams sophistication like the confidence to maintain a meaningful gaze from across the bar. But dont hold this gaze for too long, there is nothing endearing about a stare. How to sip a Martini without getting your lipstick on the rim of the glass Now, despite this being one of the simplest techniques known to woman kind, in every bar, in every country I see the same mistake happen. Lipstick on the rim of a glass! Unthinkable. So, I will say this once for you ladies and once only! Dip your finger and trace it around the rim of your glass, and voila, no more stains. How to elegantly walk in high heels without spilling your martini So, the first step towards Martini elegance is being able to sashay effortlessly through a crowded bar, without spilling your drink. Now, with a straight back and eyes fixed ahead, never looking at the ground. How to navigate a busy bar Now, navigation of a bar may sound like an easy feat for some, but when youre three sheets to the wind and wearing your tallest Jimmy Choos, its easier said than done. Not only will the bar be busy, but youre going to need to sashay past a gauntlet of attractive men, giving them wanton looks while concentrating on the ground thats falling away from your feet. How to confidently style out having just spilt your martini My first tip is scarves. Every self-respecting fashion icon needs an Hermes in her bag. God forbid your scarf is from Accessorize. In that instance, what can I say, youre a lost cause. Now, once the spillage has occurred, you have no choice but to fashion yourself a makeshift distraction out of said scarf. Or, casually swipe the spillage away with your foot and then walk away. Quietly under hushed breath let the bartender know that someone has humiliatingly spilt a drink and its a hazard if it doesnt get cleaned up immediately. If all else fails, blame it on the person standing next to you, roll your eyes and make a beeline for the exit. Best bars for a date in London 1 /34 Best bars for a date in London Beaufort Bar at The Savoy Not one if you're hoping to keep things relaxed: the Beaufort is overwhelmingly, but marvellously, romantic. The room itself, with its palatial lavishings of gold on black, sets the tone. The bar sits, mirrors glimmering, on the old cabaret stage where Gershwin once performed. Naturally, theres live entertainment every evening now, too, so you can sit back quietly in your finery and avoid any conversation about who's paying for what. Drinks are as pricey as you'd expect, but if you're looking for something special, it's hard to beat. Piano Works All you really need to know about this bar is that it's a damned good laugh. It's not a quiet, intimate romantic joint at all: it's loud, brash, drinks go down quickly and everyone ends up getting silly and dancing until doors close. One for those dates that spiral gloriously out of control. It stays open late, it's tons of fun and you can quite happily get away with requesting your musical guilty pleasure. We love it, and so does the rest of London: booking is essential. Buddha Bar Buddha is a place of opulence and extravagance, and also a place of money, so be prepared to dig deep for this one. You drink Champagne here, not Processo. Cocktails here are first rate and, without exception, use top shelf ingredients, mixed carefully. Be sure to eat, too: sushi and sashimi are the menu's strong points, but if you're looking for something a little more substantial, the smoked duck and foie gras gyoza is a must, small delicious bites of brilliance, while the beef short rib with wasabi mash and veal teriyaki sauce is ideal for something more substantial. Though the wine list on the bar menu is short, ask for the sommelier, who's friendly, easy-going and knowledgeable: he'll make sure you drink well without imposing on the night. Buddha is in many ways a place of excess, but if you're in the mood for that, don't miss it. Bounce Shoreditch Fine cocktails and dressing up? Why so serious? Come and play ping pong instead. Bounce is filled with table tennis tables, walls are artfully covered in graffiti and drinks are decent enough. If youre not near Old Street, head to the Holborn branch: its a little more upmarket, and a little pricier, but the same excellent fun. Just make sure to book: both get extremely busy. Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London Settle in by the fire and Scarfes bar will do the romancing for you. It's like an oversize library in a grand old house, but thankfully easily gets busy enough to keep a buzz up. You come here to impress: the place is all art deco details, beautiful old books and live music throughout the week. The gentlemen's club vibe fortunately isn't taken too far, and the cocktail list is surprisingly fresh, and doesn't rely on straight classics. Beautifully luxurious, tremendous atmosphere and the live music is always first rate. The Gibson Date night favourite: The Gibson 69 Colebrooke Row Otherwise known as The Bar With No Name, this Islington favourite comes from the well regarded Tony Conigliaro. It has a terrific atmosphere, in the most part because its mostly always busy, but theres also a piano in one corner that often gets a hammering. Its a stylish place, with stylish drinks, but be warned it's small cosy? so you might not be able to squeeze in, or stay for ages. Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town Sometimes a date deserves nothing less than some East End quirkiness. The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town has been delivering this in spades for years: wander into the Breakfast Club, ask to see the Mayor and youll be led through a Smeg fridge we kid you not to a kitsch British riff on a speakeasy. Its a laugh here, they have a decent playlist, and the drinks slip down well enough. Still, you come for all the talking points: itll stop your date being awkward. Les Compagnie Des Vins Surnaturels If your date is big on wine, don't pass this place up. It's rightly popular within the industry for the choice available, which includes some rarities among the French-heavy list. They've upped their food game considerably, too. Would it matter if you were stood up? Mr Foggs Gin Parlour Both Mr Fogg's are worth a visit, but the Theatreland Gin Parlour nudges it for a more intimate setting, and because it gets less crowded than its Mayfair cousin. Hidden upstairs from the tavern below, this hideaway bar is dressed in curiosities of the late 19th century, with chaise longues and dark corners, the smell of cocktails lingering like perfume and operatic fare playing throughout. You won't be short of conversation starters and if you know a gin lover, they'll be heaven. All Star Lanes, Holborn A bowling alley has no right having a bar this good, but there we go, theyve done it. It has a strange Vegas vibe to it: low-lighting and pink all around, but the drinks are good and priced fairly. Just because bowling was your go-to date at 13 doesnt mean its not any good these days too, and now you can add plenty of tasty, tasty alcohol maybe enough to get you in the karaoke booth? Ladies and Gentlemen Ladies and Gents has the novelty factor of having once been a public loo romantic, eh? but it's far from a novelty bar. The drinks are expertly mixed, the place makes its own gin, about 12 bottles a day. They've usually got some terrific music on, often with live acts too. Oh, and when you've run out of things to say, grab a book from the shelves and read to your beloved. Callooh Callay The best dates are fun and what better fun than heading to Narnia? Not really, of course, but there are plenty of hidden spots behind wardrobe doors at Callooh Callay. CC loves its gimmicks the madcap interior gives this away but they know how to mix a decent drink, and with the DJs dialled up, everyone has a good time. Midweek its a little quieter, which actually works in its favour if you fancy the horror! talking to your date. Jose Tapas Bar This tiny, tiny corner tapas bar is, for us, the highlight of everything Spanish chef Jose Pizarro has done in London. It's fantastically simple: you go for tapas and sherry, because that's pretty much all you'll get. Food changes daily, and is reliably gorgeous. It's very cosy here, but have a back-up plan because there's every chance you won't get a seat. Cahoots Chances are, you won't have been a bar quite like it: Cahoots is set in 1946, and the whole thing is underground themed. Yup: you can drink on the tube once again. Themed bars can be a bore but Cahoots charms and impresses from the off. Even heading down the stairs to find the place is fun and should set the right tone for the evening from the off. Drinks honestly, they're a mixed bag, so choose wisely start at 8, so you needn't break the bank to treat a date. Booking essential. Radio Rooftop Bar The views do it all here all you need to do is avoid messing it up. Ten floors up, the rooftop bar offers views of Tower Bridge, the Shard, the Tate Modern, Somerset House and the Houses of Parliament. There's usually a live DJ too. With the white sofas, the bar has a smart Ibiza vibe, which is a little fun and a little sexy. Cocktails are good, and have some tapas to go with. The K Bar K bar feels majestic and there is no other word for it because drinking here is a little like being in the captains quarters of the Titanic, albeit without the sinking feeling. The oak, the velvet, the brass, the marble tops: there is glamour here, luxury whiffs of Penhaligons perfume and the rest. It ticks over nicely, but you'll likely not get a table, so it's built for a last minute, upmarket date. 5CC Granted, its odd not to specify a particular bar, but the 5CC gang (found in Bethnal Green/Hoxton/the city) all have their charms. All are fond of classic cocktails, and offer very drinkable riffs on them. But why are they suited to a date? Besides the low lighting, quirky neon signs and sizeable spirits collection (something for everyone), theyre big on oysters, so lay yourself across their leather seats and indulge. They all offer champagne very reasonably, too. Perfect match, non? The Vaults at Milroy's The Vaults at Milroy's wins from the off, because to get to it, you enter through an bookcase, and that's the best way to get to anywhere. They play decent music, the drinks are reasonably priced and they make an excellent Old Fashioned. It's full of small tables which quickly fill up: come here for a relaxed, chatty, laughing date. The owner's adorable dog sometimes makes an appearance, too. Gordon's Wine Bar Gordon's will not fail: the terrace gets a little crowded when the weather is fine, but it's still a marvellous place to knock back some wine and talk. However, it's the caves indoors which are the real temptation: dark, intimate, it's a place to forget the rest of the world for a while. Wine is king here, but if you're eating, a paired cheese board always goes down well. They also serve some hot plates, but we prefer the cold bites. Bar Termini This tiny little spot in Soho seats barely a handful of people, which automatically gives it a sense of romantic intimacy. There's no standing room, either, so it never gets sweaty, horrible or crowded: finish an evening here either with a coffee or, better yet, a Negroni (make it two, they're small serves here). It'll add a little gentle Italian glamour to any date, just don't expect to spend the entire night here. OXO Tower Close by Blackfriars bridge, the Oxo is another spot with terrific views, including St Paul's and the Gherkin. Head out to the terrace, which is a showstopper: you won't really care what you're drinking, but the wine list is solid and the cocktails excellent. When it's cold, cosy up behind huge views: you'll get all of breathtaking beauty of London without giving in to frostbite. WC Wine and Charcuterie It's like they custom built this place for dates: the whole premise is surely the name was a tip off wine and charcuterie.Once inside, you'll be sat in candlelit surroundings. It's romantic, but not showy, and the wine is fairly priced, too. Head down on a Sunday and a Monday and you'll catch some live music. The sort of place that becomes "our place". Cork & Bottle This underground favourite couldn't be more central, living in Leicester Square, and despite having sat there since 1972, most Londoners wander past without realising it exists. The 300-long wine list covers just about everything, but doesn't go too heavy on the tasting notes: you're encouraged to find your own thing. You could never call the Cork & Bottle grand, but it charms immediately, and you'll want to find your own corner to come back to time over. Slim Jim's Liquor Store Dates are not about behaving appropriately, as Slim Jims well knows. This rock n roll dive bar has become all the more of a dive in recent years, but it still offers a damned good time. You come here for beer, bourbon and classic rock. The decor's main feature is bras on the ceiling, which makes sense, given they exchange drinks for them. Just make sure to dress down: suits and ties are turned away at the door. Party on. The Commercial Tavern Ok, ok: granted, this wonderful spot isnt technically a bar, although they do serve cocktails upstairs (sadly, not especially good ones...) The glory of the Commercial Tavern is its quirky decor, and the beautiful light upstairs that filters in through the windows. You come for a relaxed time, to chat, to laugh and sink a few drinks. It has its own feeling: nothing screams glamour, but something is quietly compelling about the place. Youll be back. How to flirt effortlessly with a Martini in hand Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of flirting so, when taking a sip of your Martini always ensure you briefly glance up at your potential suitor. However, dont stare - there is a fine line between a flirtatious glance and staring into the soul of your crush, like you plan to eat them. The position of the Martini is crucial dont hold your martini close to your chest, one it covers up your assets, and two by holding it out to the side, it shows you to be open and inviting. After a sip of your martini try subtly licking your lips. Now, this tip shouldnt be overdone, we wouldnt want you to resemble some sort of dog licking the dregs from their food bowl. Martini selfies Now ladies and gentlemen, if there is one lesson you take home from today, it must be this one. So pay close attention while I impart my final piece of wisdom. Everyone knows it doesnt matter what happens in your life, its what happens on your Instagram that counts, so pucker up and give me your best smise. Mark-Francis Vandelli hosted a Martini Etiquette Masterclass at Dirty Martini Hanover Square, teaching Londons cocktail lovers how to drink a Martini with sheer elegance and style. Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle M anspreading on the Underground may be an unforgivable crime, but according to researchers, it may be the secret to scoring a rift of matches on Tinder. A US study has found that people who extend their torsos, push out their legs and spread their arms wide are more likely to score a date online, because their posture implies openness and dominance. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, analysed speed dating videos and a Tinder-style app to find out if body language could play a key difference winning over potential partners. They found that people who hunch themselves up or cross their arms and legs do not, romantically, fare as well as those who stretch themselves out. The unusual tip was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk at the University of California, Berkeley, and a team of researchers used video footage from a speed dating event to show how both men and women who adopted more expansive postures had more partners express an interest in them. She then also conducted experiments on a Tinder-style app, creating profiles for three men and three women. One showed them in open poses, such as standing up with their arms stretched out wide. In the other profile, they adopted contractive poses, crossing their arms and legs. The best apps for Londoners 1 /16 The best apps for Londoners Zip car Join, reserve, unlock and drive it really is that simple. The capitals preferred car clubs app gives 24/7 access to cars and vans in your neighbourhood and lets you extend or cancel reservations on the go. Free Uncover Sick of being stuck on waiting lists? You need Uncover, which redistributes cancelled reservations at some of the capitals top restaurants, including The River Cafe and Nobu. Not for planning freaks, though tables typically become free at 40 minutes notice. Free Uber So popular its become a verb, this private driver service has revolutionised travel in the capital. Its speedy and affordable, making it a welcome alternative to the night bus. Free Santander Cycles Launched this summer, the official app for Boris fifth child can be used to search for nearby docking stations and check bike availability. Theres also a journey planner featuring easy, moderate and fast routes to satisfy all cycling tribes. Free Plume Air Report This new app has been downloaded by 3,000 Londoners. Sensors gathering air pollution data submit updates every hour, resulting in a scale that ranges from fresh to extremely polluted. Free Nightcapp Heres an app that will have booze hounds raising their glasses. NightCapp is a map that pinpoints more than 1,500 London watering holes that stay open past 11.30pm. It also shows users when a bar is about to close by highlighting it in orange. Better get moving. Free Money Dashboard An award-winning budget planner, this helps you keep track of personal spending across multiple accounts, pay off credit cards and even makes suggestions on how to manage your finances better. Free Her Promising to introduce women to a lesbian that hasnt slept with any of your friends, this revamped dating app includes queer-themed news and blogs, upcoming event notices and an improved algorithm-matching system. Free FoodMood This new startup, which reckons its Tinder for food, pledges to narrow down your choice of lunchbreak destinations. Hit yum or yuk on photos of dishes in your area. Juvenile, but strangely addictive. Free Daily Yoga This offers more than 50 yoga sessions, as well as a database of 500 yoga poses. Suitable for all levels, programmes include yoga aimed at specific areas of the body and weight loss. Namaste to that. Free Coffee Meets Bagel Billed as the anti-Tinder, this new kid on the block delivers just a single match to users once a day. Coffee Meets Bagel uses Facebook profile information to recommend suitors based on friends of friends. Neither coffee nor bagels are included. Free. Bristlr Do you have a beard? Perhaps youd like to stroke one on a regular basis? This can be arranged. Unlike other dating apps, Bristlr is unashamedly all about hooking up the hairy with the hairless. Theres even a beard-rating option for aficionados. Free The researchers uploaded the profiles over two weekends and found that the more open postures returned more romantic interest across both men and women, although the effect was larger for men. Vacharkulksemsuk called the splaying of arms and legs in online dating photos dominant, open nonverbal displays at zero acquaintance. She said: Based on our results garnered from thousands of single persons at an actual speed dating event, and using a dating application, it is evident that postural expansion can dramatically increase a persons chances of making a successful initial romantic connection. Still sporting a Tinder picture with your arms folded and your expresson sullen? It might be time to update, Londoners. Follow us on Twitter: @eslifeandstyle A former MP who was investigated by Scotland Yard over child sex abuse allegations for a year before being exonerated today called on the Met Commissioner to quit over the barmy and bungled inquiry. Harvey Proctor said Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and other senior officers involved in Operation Midland, which was shut down last week, should step down to save all other innocent people from enduring a similar fate. The VIP abuse inquiry, based on the allegations of a complainant known as Nick, had cost the taxpayer 1.8 million by November last year, and is now thought to have topped 2 million. Mr Proctor, 69, today said he had been implicated wrongfully in the fantasises that gripped the Yard. Alongside the Met Commissioner, whom he attacks as the arch perpetrator of injustice, he called for his deputy Patricia Gallan, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse, who oversaw Operation Midland, and Detective Superintendent Kenny McDonald, who led the inquiry, to quit. The ex-Tory MP, who represented both Basildon and Billericay in the Eighties, said: I have been pilloried and the Metropolitan Police Service has enabled and allowed me to be wrongly depicted as a paedophile, child abuser and child murderer on the back of a liar nothing the police do or say, no weasel words of regret, can remove that indelible stain. I hope they are proud of themselves for irreparably ruining my life. Facing calls to resign: Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe / PA It would be best if those senior police officers associated with Operation Midland Hogan-Howe, Gallan, Rodhouse and McDonald remove themselves from police service. Only then can all other innocent people rest assured that something similar cannot and will not happen to them, he said. TODO: define component type apester Mr Proctor has strenuously denied allegations that he was part of an alleged VIP paedophile ring that sexually abused boys and murdered three of them more than 30 years ago. The investigation also saw raids on the homes of 92-year-old D-Day veteran Lord Bramall and the late Lord Brittan. Mr Proctor was interviewed by detectives for more than six hours, and his Leicestershire home, on the Belvoir Castle estate of the Duke of Rutland, searched for 15 hours after Nick claimed he had abused him. Harvey Proctor: No weasel words of regret from the police can remove the indelible stain Mr Proctor, whose autobiography, Credible And True: The Political And Personal Memoir of K. Harvey Proctor, was published today, said: There are and never were any bodies, there were no names, no grieving families and no complainants because it was a figment of one mans imagination, bolstered by a political glitterati and investigated by policemen who have watched too many Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders. He said common sense was swept away in the fantasies that gripped the Yard. Nothing the Metropolitan Police Service or Sir Bernard says now can undo the harm that they have caused me and others by their crass and amateur acceptance of Nicks allegations, he said. Mr Proctor said today he felt it would be impossible to return to his life before the allegations surfaced, having already rebounded from having to leave Parliament in 1987 after pleading guilty to acts of gross indecency. This has caused me to lose my job and my house, my future and my present, so obviously I feel upset about that, he said. I have to now seek to rebuild my life and that will be difficult. I started to rebuild my life in 1987, it took 28 years, and in 15 hours the police smashed that down. Scotland Yard declined to comment today. Last week the Met said it would not apologise to those who faced investigation, insisting the police must properly look into all complaints they receive. A young cyclist was fatally injured at a notorious junction in central London when a skip lorry turned left across her path, the Old Bailey was told today. Janina Gehlau, a 26-year-old German postgraduate student who had been in London for the first month of a three-month study break, died in hospital after the collision in Ludgate Circus on October 17, 2014. Lorry driver Vincent Doyle is accused of causing Mrs Gehlau's death by careless driving. The trial, which will include CCTV images from the Evans bike shop in Farringdon Street and from a bus, is expected to last several days. Prosecutor Allison Hunter told the court that Mr Doyle had overtaken Mrs Gehlau on Farringdon Street before coming to a halt at traffic lights at the junction with Ludgate Hill 200m further down the road. The lorry was waiting at the traffic lights for 23 seconds and had its indicators on and an audible alarm - "stand clear, this vehicle is turning left" - sounding. She said that Mrs Gehlau, who was wearing bright clothing and a white cycle helmet, would have been visible in the lorry's three mirrors and a Trixie mirror attached to the traffic lights for between three to five seconds as she approached the lights on a cycle lane on the inside of the vehicle. She had been visiting an exhibition at the Barbican. Doyle, 45, of Brent, who the court was told previously had an "unblemished driving record", knew the road and had made deliveries in the area for some weeks. Ms Hunter asked the jury: "Was Mr Doyle's failure to observe Mrs Gehlau for that period of between three to five seconds, bearing in mind his familiarity with the road and the fact he had overtaken her, a culpable lapse in the standard of care expected of a careful and competent driver, such as to make him criminally responsible of driving without due care and attention?" She said witnesses believed Mrs Gehlau was planning to head straight on, towards Blackfriars bridge. The rear wheel of her bike was hit by the second axle of the HGV, throwing her to the road. A rear when ran over the middle of her body. She was taken to the Royal London hospital but died with her family by her side three days later. Ms Hunt read out a statement from a witness who said Mr Doyle, who was in shock, failed to realise how critically injured Mrs Gehlau was and said: "Oh my God, You stupid girl, didn't you hear I was turning left?" Ms Hunter told the court: "By not stopping, she [Mrs Gehlau] did nothing wrong. She was in the cyclists' lane. She was approaching the cyclists' box. In Germany, cyclists are given the right of way." A man dressed in a burka who hit a woman over the head with a brick has had his jail sentence increased after it emerged he knew his victim. Student Hong Nguyen, 24, was branded dangerous by judges at the Court of Appeal as they jailed him for seven years for the vicious assault against Karen Wong in Mitcham. Ms Wong initially believed she had been the victim of a random attack, and Nguyen claimed he had gone out to mug someone because he was in dire straits financially. But after seeing his face for the first time in a newspaper report of the case, Ms Wong realised she knew her attacker, who held a grudge against her because of a post on Facebook. Nguyen, from Leytonstone, was originally jailed for four years and four months at Kingston crown court last August after admitting causing grievous bodily harm with intent and having an offensive weapon. Judges in the Court of Appeal have increased the sentence to seven years with an extended four-year licence period. Nguyen attacked Ms Wong in Cairns Street, Mitcham, at 11.45pm on December 6, 2014, waiting until she had passed by before swinging at her with brick wrapped in a plastic bag. He knocked her to the floor with a second blow and then started to throttle her. When Ms Wong tried to pull off Nguyens veil he ran away. The attacker was caught when he returned to the area again wearing the burka disguise, and carrying a plastic bag containing a hammer. Residents confronted him and pinned him down until police arrived. Nguyen told police that he had turned to crime and intended to mug people because he was desperate for money, and he was sentenced on the basis that he had committed a random street attack. But Ms Wong recognised him as a man who bore a grudge against her over an image she had posted on Facebook. Sir Brian Leveson, sitting with Mr Justice Sweeney and Judge David Griffith-Jones, said: It is abundantly clear that, in misleading the court as he did, this offender was not demonstrating true remorse. Furthermore, without suggesting that an attack on a known victim is any more serious than an attack on a stranger, the circumstances of this case meant that the only proper assessment of this offender was that he was, indeed, dangerous We have no doubt that an extended sentence is entirely justified. Nguyen must serve two thirds of his seven-year jail term before he can apply for parole. M urder squad detectives have launched an investigation after a young man was killed in a hit-and-run this morning. Scotland Yard said its homicide unit was investigating after a 21-year-old man died at the scene of the collision near Old Street roundabout at 4.25am. Another man was also injured after the crash near a pedestrian crossing just yards from late night venue Club Aquarium in Great Eastern Street. Shop worker Abdul Mohammad, 27, said: I left the shop at 11pm last night and it was busy as usual, lots of young people around going to the bars. When I turned up this morning at 6am everything was shut down. There is police tape everywhere and lots of police. Its very sad but its a busy junction and you have to be careful. It does not matter what time or day or night it can be dangerous. Hit-and-run: A blue tent was seen on Old Street on Tuesday morning / Paddy Wagstaff A blue forensic tent remained in the road around five feet from the kerb outside the nightclub, while a smaller white tent had been set up on the pavement opposite. Scotland Yard today said murder detectives were reviewing CCTV footage of the incident. A spokesman said: "Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating the death of a man in Islington. A forensics tent at the scene after the crash / Ben Morgan "At 04:25hrs on Tuesday, 29 March, officers and London Ambulance Service were called to a collision between a car and two pedestrians in Old Street, EC1. "A 21-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers believe they know his identity and next of kin have been informed. Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course. "The second pedestrian, a man aged in his 20s, was taken to an east London hospital. His injuries are not believed to be serious. "The driver of the car failed to stop at the scene. Police are not releasing further details of this vehicle at present. The car has not been recovered and there has been no arrest at this early stage." Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 020 8345 3985, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. M ore than 670 children some as young as just 10 years old - have been arrested for suspected gun crimes in London in the last three years. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act found 1,549 children were arrested across the country for alleged firearm offences between 2013 and January 2016, with 506 charges brought by police. The offences involve guns, air weapons or imitation guns. The Metropolitan Police service arrested 679 children with the three year period, including 30 children under the age of 13 years old. A total of 212 children were charged with firearm offences in the same period, the force said. In 2015, the force arrested 227 children, compared with 193 in 2014 and 248 in 2013. Another 11 were detained in January 2016, the figures showed. Figures from 29 police forces across the UK showed the overall number of suspected gun crimes arrests against children rose from 423 in 2014 to 507 in 2015. Jack Dromey, Labour's shadow policing minister, said: These chilling statistics of children as young as 10 possessing firearms demand serious investigation by the Home Office. "We need to learn lessons ranging from tougher penalties for those who supply guns to children to what further steps might be taken to combat gun crime through schools." Merseyside Police said 73 children were arrested for suspected firearm offences between 2013 and 2015, 83 boys and one girl were arrested in the same period by West Midlands Police and Derbyshire Constabulary said a 10-year-old boy was among six children charged with a firearm offence since 2013. The brother of a fatal shooting victim said gangs were using children to carry guns to avoid detection. Ian Cameron Swanston, whose 20-year-old brother Dorrie was shot dead in Hulme, Manchester in 1999, also believed some youngsters thought carrying guns gave them "status". A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman said: "Firearms offences in the UK still account for less than 0.2 per cent of total recorded crime. These offences reflect a broad range of crimes which can include air weapons or even possession of a BB gun if used in criminal circumstances. "Forces across the country and community safety partnerships are working together to prevent young people getting involved in gangs and firearms. This is a key piece of work for all agencies and communities in breaking the cycle of young people becoming involved in gangs and the associated criminality. A young Labour politician with ambitions to be a lawyer has admitted supplying cannabis to a member of staff at a pub in Knightsbridge. Firase Morgan, 24, stood as the official Labour Party candidate for Hyde Park Ward in the City of Westminster council elections two years ago. He was not elected and currently attends BPP University, where he is studying for an LLB law degree. Morgan, of Marylebone, is a senior ambassador for charity Just for Kids Law and lobbies businesses to employ people with criminal records. He pleaded guilty at Hammersmith magistrates court to possessing 28 wraps of cannabis, with intent to supply, outside The Gloucester pub in Sloane Street on March 5. He also admitted supplying cannabis to a female member of the pubs staff. Prosecutor Jo Arnold told the court police noticed a woman running down the street. They observed her, initially suspecting there may have been a theft, and saw her go to a cashpoint and return to the pub. Inside she had the till open then left again and got into the passenger seat of a car parked in Harriet Street. "They saw she had two 20 notes and there was a strong smell of cannabis coming from inside the vehicle. Sitting in the drivers seat was the defendant and the female left the car with two small white containers. The officers searched the car and in the roof lining found 28 similar white containers. Officers found the two Morgan had sold when they searched the womans room above the pub. Police also searched Morgans bedroom and seized 1,000 in cash, which they suspect is the proceeds of drug dealing. Morgan said it was his student finance and he had no other income. Morgan complained about having a pre-booked trip to Andorra on the day of his sentencing, but District Judge Mike Snow told him: If you commit serious crime thats one of the things you miss out on. Morgan will return to court on April 21. T his is the moment firefighters battled the extreme weather conditions of Storm Katie to extinguish a large fire in west London. More than 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines were called to Hounslow High Street at 11.27pm on Sunday after a blaze broke out at a restaurant. The fire began as Storm Katie took hold, bring torrential rain and high winds to the capital for much of Sunday evening and Monday morning. The fire, which was under control at 3.36am on Monday, damaged part of the ground floor restaurant, part of the first floor and the restaurants extraction system between the ground and fourth floors. A total of 13 people, including five children, were rescued from flats above the restaurant and another ten people managed to leave the building uninjured before firefighters arrived. Station manager Cathie Reeve, who was at the scene, said the weather conditions firefighters worked in were atrocious. Storm Katie causes havoc in London 1 /17 Storm Katie causes havoc in London Hole The Duchess pub in Battersea was hit hard by Storm Katie John Stillwell/PA Wire Rubble Bricks and roof tiles were seen strewn across the ground outside The Duchess pub in Battersea John Stillwell/PA Wire Storm damage Storm Katie pulled bricks from The Duchess pub in Battersea John Stillwell/PA Wire High winds Storm Katie caused noticeable damage to a crane in Greenwich on Monday morning DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Workmen Workers enter an area closed by police after a crane in Greenwich bent in high winds DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images Collapse: The wind caused a crane to buckle in Greenwich, south east London Gavin Rolfe (@rolfey180) Trampoline The high winds lifted a trampoline from a garden, causing it to land in front of a bus stop in SE16. Eliza Jones (@ermj94) Scaffolding collapse London Fire Brigade were called in to assist after scaffolding was damaged on a home in Tottenham Paul Wood Damaged The high winds caused scaffolding to become damaged in Tottenham Paul Wood The cause of the fire is under investigation. P olice officers have told of their "shock and relief" after they helped a pregnant woman give birth on a street in north-west London. PC Chris Watson, 27, and PC Paul Scott, 45, from Harrow borough, were flagged down by a panicked man near Kenton Road at around 1.30pm on Easter Monday. The man, who was driving a van, shouted at the officers to say his wife was in labour and asked them to use their blue lights to escort him to hospital. The officers asked the man to pull over in Kenton Road, Harrow, where they planned to call an ambulance but after they saw the woman in the advanced stages of labour they decided to act there and then. Easter delivery: Pc Chris Watson (left) and Pc Paul Scott helped a pregnant woman give birth to a baby boy on a street in Harrow / Chris Watson PC Scott, a father-of-two, helped to deliver the baby into his arms while Pc Watson used his Met police fleece to keep the newborn warm. The duo also revealed an initial scare seconds after the baby was born as he appeared not to be breathing. But when PC Scott removed the umbilical cord and tickled the boys face he responded with a cry. The woman and baby were then rushed to Northwick Park Hospital and were reported to be doing well when officers checked in on them later on Monday. PC Watson said: This is the first time I've ever seen anything like that. My first child is due in August but Scotty has two children and was at the birth so he was experienced in that regard. I was shocked and just relieved the mother is ok. You get people knocking on your window asking for help all the time but for someone to shout their wife is in labour is quite different. PC Scott added: I'm glad mum and baby are doing well. I was fortunate to have the experience of seeing the birth of my two children and on this occasion instinct took over. Ive been a police officer for 17 years and this ranks up there with one of the best things I've done." The officers said the baby was to be named Alex by the boy's father. A mother has told of her shock at being reprimanded for breastfeeding her baby son in a popular pizza chain. Freelance TV producer Carla Francome was feeding six-month-old Archie at La Porchetta in Islington when a waiter told her to fully cover up or go into a back room. The 37-year-old, from Archway, said she was so mortified she started crying in the middle of the Upper Street restaurant. She claims the waiter approached her while she was feeding and said you need to either fully cover up or go in the back room. La Porchetta's Upper Street restaurant / Google Street View They [the waiter] just kept walking past me, I felt like I was being reprimanded, she told the Standard. The fact he did it while I was feeding was just really embarrassing. I felt like the waiter was appalled by it. Ms Francome says she was at the restaurant with a friend during a quiet Saturday lunchtime. Carla and Archie / Carla Francome She said she usually covers up with a blanket, but had lifted her T-shirt without using one on this occasion, as the restaurant was virtually empty and she was only facing the kitchen. She added: I felt like I never wanted to breastfeed in public ever again, I felt mortified. The fact that this still happens is really shocking. People need to be made to feel comfortable when they have to breastfeed every two hours. How are new mothers supposed to go out if they cant be comfortable breastfeeding in public? When questioned, the waiter told her that the restaurant had a policy that women should fully cover up or go into a back room to breastfeed. He said it was brought in after a man had complained about a woman breastfeeding. However, the head office for the popular Italian eaterie, which also has branches in Camden Town, Finsbury Park, Holborn and Clerkenwell, said it was unaware of this rule and offered an "unreserved" apology. A spokeswoman told the Islington Tribune: "I am really disappointed, it is absolutely not our policy. It is very unfortunate. "We can only apologise to this lady. The manager will be disciplined." Ms Francome said she was happy with the restaurant's apology and would be prepared to return to the restaurant. The Evening Standard has also contacted the chain to ask for further comment. ELKO Cody Braese, who was accused of vandalizing and burglarizing guns from the school resource office in October, pleaded guilty to three out of 20 counts brought against him during his arraignment Monday. This summer he is scheduled to be sentenced on the charges of burglary with the use of a firearm, or during which a firearm is obtained; receiving or possessing a stolen firearm; and grand larceny in light of a plea agreement. Braese, 36, could potentially spend more than 20 years in prison. Deputy District Attorney Chad Thompson explained the possible sentences and what the State would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, if the case were to go to trial. Count one stipulates that, on or before the 15th or 16th of October, Braese willfully entered a structure to commit grand or petit larceny. During the course of that crime, he either had or gained the possession of a firearm. For the first count, the defendant could face up to 15 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of two years. There could also be a fine of up to $10,000. The charge of burglary would normally be eligible for probation. However, Thompson noted probation is based on when sentencing occurs for the burglary case brought before Elko District Judge Al Kacin versus the case before Elko District Judge Nancy Porter Braese waived his right for probation in the matter of Aprils burglary charges. The State would have to show that the defendant either for his own gain or to prevent the owner, again, from possessing his property did willfully or unlawfully buy, receive, possess or withhold stolen property in this case a firearm , said Thompson, delineating count four to the court. This count is punishable by up to two years in prison, with a minimum term of one year and a fine that cannot exceed $10,000. Braese is eligible for probation on counts four and seven. Count seven has a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a minimum sentence of one year. Additionally, there can be a fine of up to $10,000. The value of the property taken, in reference to this count, is $3,500 or more. Braese is the defendant in two ongoing cases in both departments of Elko County District Court. Do you understand that no matter what the negotiations were, the court will determine what type of sentence you will receive and whether you will receive probation? Porter asked Braese. She explained to him sentencing could either be consecutive or concurrent to other sentences. The defendant may also have to pay restitution. Braeses defense attorney Sherburne Macfarlan explained the essential terms and conditions of the plea agreement. At the time of sentencing, probation will not be asked for on any of the three sentences, he said. The State and defense sought an inquiry from the judge. Its unlikely that Mr. Braese will be placed on probation, she said. The plea agreement stipulates the State will not pursue other charges related to this incident. At this point, it looks like prison is where youre headed, said Porter, explaining she has not seen a pre-sentence investigation, which might change her opinion. Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. June 6 at the Elko County Jail. According to Free Press Files, after receiving multiple tips from the public, police arrested Braese in connection to the SRO burglary at a downtown casino. Detectives interviewed Braese at the jail, said Chief Ben Reed, and discovered he was in possession of a large amount of stolen property. A search warrant was obtained and executed on an outbuilding on a property on Wayman Way and Diane Lane off Bullion Road west of city limits where the suspect was staying. The search produced most, if not all, of the stolen items from the SRO burglaries, said Reed. The extensive amount of items found included computers, electronics and police equipment. The case brought before Elko District Judge Al Kacin last week concerns a string of burglaries in late April and early May involving businesses including the Shabby Shanty and BJ Bull Bakery, and other individuals. S adiq Khan came under attack from a Home Office minister today for changing his position on a police shoot to kill policy. James Brokenshire accused Labours mayoral candidate of switching his views when running for City Hall to appear tougher on security issues. The London Tory MP said the capitals security was too important to be trusted to a mayor who had reservations about the policy. Last week, Mr Khan pledged to back officers required to shoot to kill during a terrorist attack. He said: I will give my full backing to our armed officers to take the decisions necessary to keep us safe. But in 2005, after the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, Mr Khan expressed reservations about the policy. While he acknowledged that police faced an invidious task, he said people needed reassurance they would only open fire when intelligence led them to believe the public was in imminent danger. Unless the intelligence is 100 per cent on the button, if an error is made, it is not necessarily somebody being wrongfully stopped and searched or somebody being wrongfully arrested, its somebody being wrongfully killed, he said. London Mayor Election 2016: Sadiq Khan Mr Brokenshire, who was a security minister for four years, said: Khan, who previously voiced concerns about shoot to kill, is experimenting with his principles once again to try and appear tough. Londons security needs to be in the hands of someone who consistently backs the police when they take difficult decisions to keep us safe. A spokesman for Mr Khan said: Sadiq made it clear that he will support police officers who are left with no choice but to shoot to kill. A celebrity barrister who bought the drugs that killed his teenage boyfriend during a chemsex orgy today said he would regret it for the rest of my life. Henry Hendron pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to two counts of possession with intent to supply mephedrone and GBL. Hendron, 35, told the Standard after the hearing: The whole thing is a tragic incident. I regret he died of a drug overdose and it is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. "Young people need to be made more aware of the dangers of recreational drugs. In the gay community it is an increasing problem and needs to be recognised. "The danger is that these drugs are readily available and supposed to be something for fun but the truth is far from that. Police were called to Hendrons home on January 20 last year after Miguel Jimenez, 18, was found dead. A post-mortem revealed the Colombian-born cafe worker had died after overdosing on a cocktail of drugs at at a chemsex party at the flat near the Temple, the countrys most prestigious legal chambers. Tragic: Hendron with boyfriend Miguel Jimenez During a search police recovered 60 self-seal bags of mephedrone, also known as meow meow, and bottles of party drug GBL with Hendrons fingerprints on them. He admitted the two counts of supplying drugs at a hearing last Wednesday. The court had heard that the barrister had paid 1,000 for illicit highs to be used at the all-night party. The barrister, who has represented the Earl of Sandwich, Nadine Dorries MP and Apprentice winner Stella English, was arrested after police were called to the flat just before 9am. Hendron works for Strand Chambers and was formerly at the Department of Work and Pensions and the Department of Health. He has continued working while on bail. At a hearing on March 9, a second man, Alexander Parkin, 41, a BBC producer living in Marylebone, admitted supplying drugs to Hendron. Detective Constable Matthew Schneider from the City of London Police said: This result sends a strong warning to everyone that if you participate in activities concerning illegal drugs you will face the consequences. The pair will be sentenced on May 3 at the Old Bailey. Last Wednesday Judge Richard Marks told Hendron at the Old Bailey hearing all sentencing options remain open. P rince William and the Duchess of Cambridge cannot wait to see the Taj Mahal for themselves on their forthcoming tour of India. The royal couple who begin their tour in Mumbai on April 10 will visit the Unesco World Heritage site in Agra on April 16. Kensington Palace spokesman Jason Knauf said today: The Taj Mahal is one of the symbols of India and Their Royal Highnesses cannot wait to see it with their own eyes. The spokesman said Prince William is proud to follow in his late mother Princess Dianas footsteps by visiting a country where she was held in such high esteem. Princess Diana famously sat at the landmark alone while on her joint tour of India with Prince Charles in 1992 The Duke of Cambridge is of course aware of the huge esteem his mother, the late Princess of Wales, is held in India and he appreciates the iconic status of the images that exist of the Princess at the Taj. He feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mothers memory is kept alive by so many who travel there. Twenty four years on from her visit, the Duke and Duchess are looking forward to seeing this beautiful place for themselves and creating some new memories. Princess Diana was pictured in front of the landmark in 1992, in what became a symbol of her loneliness months before her split from Prince Charles. William and Kate will also visit New Delhi and Bhutan. S even people have died after a private plane crashed off a Canadian island while flying in bad weather. Canadas Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the crash which happened in the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, off eastern Quebec. Earlier reports said six people have died but it has since been confirmed all seven passengers are dead. Canadian media reported the small charterted plane crashed it approached a local airport in the Iles de la Madeleine amid heavy winds and snow. Former Canadian Cabinet minister among seven killed in plane crash Jean Lapierre, a broadcaster and former Canadian transport minister, was one of the seven passengers on the plane, local media reported. Quebec police spokesman Daniel Thibodeau said: "The crash took place in a field on approach to the airport." The plane was a Mitsubishi turboprop and is understood to have belonged to a private company. It had taken off from the St-Hubert regional airport, south of Montreal. T he FBI has succeeded in unlocking the iPhone used by the San Bernardino gunman without any help from Apple, US officials say. The US justice department has now dropped its legal case against the tech giant after using an undisclosed technique to access the device. Apple had resisted a court order telling it to write new software which would allow investigators to access Syed Rizwan Farooks passcode-locked iPhone. The justice department made the announcement last night after weeks of saying Apple possessed the exclusive technical means to break into the device. The FBI would not comment on its method, saying it had undertaken a full exploitation of the phone and follow-up investigative steps are continuing. Eileen Decker, the top federal prosecutor in California, said investigators had received the help of a third party, but did not specify who that was. Guman: Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife killed 14 people before being shot dead by police / AP Last week an Israeli newspaper reported that experts at cybersecurity firm Cellebrite were working on the case. Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and wounded 22 at a Christmas party in Calfornia on December 2, before being shot dead by police. Investigators have been examining to what extent the couple communicated with Islamist groups. They had pledged allegiance to Islamic State on social media on the day of the massacre. The FBI claims Farooks phone contains crucial information, but Apple said creating a backdoor in its operating system would threaten customers security. A court hearing with Apple has been postponed at the request of the justice department, which said the FBI had successfully accessed the data stored on Farooks iPhone and therefore no longer requires assistance from Apple. Cellebrite would not comment but its website states that one of its specialist tools extracts and decodes data from a locked iPhone 5C. Apple had argued the court order would give courts unlimited authority to force companies to work as their agents. It said: From the beginning, we objected to the FBIs demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. This case should never have been brought. It pledged to continue to increase the security of our products. A Jewish man has been arrested in Paris after rushing into a synagogue dressed as a terrorist while waiving a fake Kalashnikov in front of him and shouting God is the greatest in Arabic. The 40-year-old caused fear and outrage during the assault in the district of Vincennes, which is where an Islamic State gunman murdered four Jews last year. Astonished soldiers guarding the Habad Loubavitch synagogue were taken by surprise when he struck last Thursday, said a local police source. This was just two days after Isis killers brought carnage to Brussels, blowing up innocent civilians at the citys airport and in a Metro station. Members of the Paris synagogue were celebrating the festival of Purim, during which people dress up in historical costumes and give each other presents. The source said the man wore long Arabic robes, and shouted Allahu Akbar; which means God is greatest. It created a certain amount of worry among the soldiers, said the source, one of numerous guards who have been stationed around places of worship because of recent terror attacks in Paris. After reporting at police station on Friday, the man responsible who has not been identified told the Parisien newspaper: I wanted to lighten the mood, I think I made a big mistake. Purim is a special party where you can let go and drink. I had an Arab costume with a red and white headscarf and a Kalashnikov. Arriving at the synagogue, I told the soldiers that it was a fake. I laughed with them. I shouted Allah Akbar. The man is believed to have been released without charge. In February, a Jewish teacher who claimed he was attacked by jihadists in France was taken into custody and faces prison following trial. Tzion Saadon, 45, invited the press to his house in Marseille the day after the supposed attack in November, saying he had been beaten by three men claiming to represent the jihadist group. But police today said the teacher had been arrested for allegedly fabricating the story. And in December, another pro-Israel teacher was taken into custody after saying he was attacked by an 'ISIS aggressor'. Stephane Aroule, 45, is also said to have tried to spread hatred against Muslims by fabricating the stabbing. He sparked a full-scale terrorist alert when he said a man wearing a balaclava and brandishing a box cutter and scissors had entered the Jean-Perrin nursery school in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers. The area has a large Muslim population, many of whom have complained of stigmatisation in the wake of the terrorist attacks last year. T his is the moment an alleged hijacker calmly walked through airport security shortly before a dramatic six-hour siege took place on board an EgyptAir plane. CCTV released by the Egypt Ministry of Interior shows a man as he walked through a metal detector before he was patted down at Alexandria International Airport. He is then believed to have boarded Flight MS181 which took off from coastal city Alexandria en route to Egypt's capital Cairo. The plane was airborne for around an hour before it was hijacked and diverted to Larnaca airport in Cypus, where it was met by armed police on the runway. Brazen: Footage shows a man believed to be the alleged hijacker walking through airport security at Alexandria International Airport The plane touched down in Cyprus just before 7am UK time. Most of the 55 passengers and seven crew members were released from the plane but four crew members and three passengers remained on board the jet until shortly before 12.45pm UK time. Live footage showed four people leaving the plane as the siege was brought to a peaceful conclusion with no-one harmed during the dramatic incident. This image which has been shared widely on social media reportedly shows Seif Eldin Mustafa wearing his 'suicide belt' on the hijacked EgyptAir plane An image of a suspect, named by Cypriot officials as Egyptian national Seif Eldin Mustafa, was widely circulated on social media which appeared to show him wearing a makeshift suicide belt. Loading.... However, Cypriot authorities later confirmed the man was not carrying any explosives. Authorities said the hijacking was not an act of terrorism with reports the man wanted to see his estranged wife as part of his demands. A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry described the man as an idiot. In a statement it said: Hes not a terrorist, hes an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they arent stupid. This guy is. Cyprus president Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacker seems [to be] in love. He said the hijacking was not something which has to do with terrorism and added: Its all to do with a woman. We are doing everything to release the hostages. W oody Allens Cafe Society will open this years Cannes Film Festival. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, Allens latest film will be his third to open Cannes since 2002. The veteran directors new film tells the story of a man who arrives in Hollywood in the 1930s, hoping to work in the movie business. With a predictably starry supporting cast, including Blake Lively, Steve Carell and Parker Posey, Cafe Society will screen on May 11 at the Palais des Festivalss Grand Theatre Lumiere. As is the case with all of Allens films, his 14th at the festival will screen out of competition, meaning that it wont be in the running for the coveted Palme d'Or. Allen last opened the festival with Midnight in Paris back in 2011, following on from 2002s Hollywood Ending. Filmmaker George Miller, who directed last years Mad Max: Fury Road, will preside over this years jury, with the Official Selection titles announced in April. Speaking about being offered the chance to head the jury, Miller said: What an unmitigated delight! To be there in the middle of this storied festival at the unveiling of cinematic treasures from all over the planet. To spend time in passionate discourse with fellow members of the jury. Such an honor. I'll be there with bells on. The 69th annual Cannes Film Festival will take place between May 11-22. Z ayn Maliks Mind of Mine looks set to top the album charts this week. The former One Direction stars debut album is already sitting pretty at the number one spot after being released on Good Friday. The Official Charts Company has confirmed that the record shot straight to the number one spot over the weekend. While Maliks new album might be out in front in the midweek charts, it is only 5000 units ahead of Adeles 25. So the 23-year-old will have to keep the momentum going so that sales dont drop in the latter half of the week. Adele has already enjoyed a staggering 12 weeks at the top of the UK Album Charts and shows no signs of slowing down just yet. One Direction's Zayn Malik - In pictures 1 /38 One Direction's Zayn Malik - In pictures Getty Images With the band Zayn Malik with One Direction performing on The X Factor On tour The singer arrives at Sydney International Airport ahead of a One Direction gig Rex Features Getty Images Reuters Acting rumours Zayn Malik fuelled speculation that he is moving into acting when he uploaded a selfie with Gurinda Chadha after quitting One Direction Zayn Malik Ex Zayn Malik with his then fiancee Perrie Edwards celebrating his 21st birthday at Disneyland Paris Rex Features Dedicated fans A crowd of Filipino fans outside a concert venue where One Direction performed in Manila EPA Zayn Malik quits One Direction Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson performing during the "Where We Are" tour at Met Life Stadium in August 2014 Getty Images All together Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Harry Styles PA Stage presence The singer performing on The X Factor three years after finding fame on the show Rex Features Rex Features Crowd pleaser Zayn Malik performs to VIPs at the 2014 American Music Awards Getty Images Family affair Zayn Malik making his first solo appearance since leaving One Direction at the Asian Awards Getty Images Going it alone Zayn Malik in the music video for his single as a solo artist, Like I Would Zayn Malik/Vevo New love Zayn Malik and his new girlfriend Gigi Hadid arrive for the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on 02 May 2016 in New York City Karwai Tang/WireImage Loved up Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid put on an affectionate display as they make their red carpet debut Rex Features London calling Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid out and about during a visit to London in September 2016 Rex Features Cover star Zayn Malik on the cover of ELLE Magazine ELLE UK Fashionable couple Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid attend the Givenchy show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2017 on 02 October 2016 in Paris, France Getty Images Getty Images Home sweet home Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid arrive at Hadid's apartment on September 12, 2016 in New York City James Devaney/GC Images American Vogue front cover of their August issue which features supermodel Gigi Hadid and singer Zayn Malik Vogue Getty Images Zayn Malik seen arriving back to his apartment in the same clothing as yesterday after spending the night at his ex Gigi Hadids house in NYC Splash News Zayn Malik attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden Getty Images Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik are a striking pair as they step out for his 25th birthday party Splash News Zayn Malik seen at Gigi Hadid's home in New York City after being spotted together kissing the day before Splash News Splash News Joe Bonamassas new album Blues of Desperation is currently sitting in the third spot in the midweek charts, with Birdys Beautiful Lies another new entry at number four. Speaking about his departure from One Direction, which happened exactly one year before his album release, he told Complex Magazine: It was about denying the authenticity of who I was, and what I enjoyed about music, and why I got into it. That was something that was always underlying, and ended up as the main factor of me leaving in the end. The ExoMars mission takes off on March 14. ESA October 2016, the atmosphere above Mars: ExoMars, a joint European and Russian astrobiology project, has just reached its destination and is preparing for the most delicate part of the mission. The descent module Schiaparelli enters the nearly non-existent Martian atmosphere at a speed of 21,000 km/h. The friction generates temperatures that would be hot enough to fry the spacecraft if it were not equipped with a heat shield able to withstand 1,750C. This shell also serves to slow the craft down. The ExoMars mission, which is costing 1.3 billion, required the development of new technologies to which seven Spanish companies have contributed Three minutes later, an enormous 12-meter-wide parachute opens. When the lander is at an altitude of around 1,200 meters, its retro-propellers kick in and slow it down almost to a stop. As the unit hovers over the Martian surface, the propellers turn off and the lander drops suddenly from two meters above ground level. And this is where the hard part begins. To ensure that the module does not land face down, rendering it useless, designers had to come up with a structure able to absorb the shock of the impact against the hard, rocky soil of Mars. The inside of the material has a honeycomb-like structure; when it receives the impact, it crushes, which is key because that way we prevent the module from bouncing off the ground, being knocked over or thrown off course, says Eduardo Urgoiti, air and space project director for Sener, the Spanish company that developed this and other components for ExoMars. A European Space Agency rendition of the ExoMars rover. ESA In order to create the system, it was first necessary to recreate the pressure and atmosphere found on Mars in a vacuum chamber that also contained rocks and sand similar to those on the Red Planet. The impact was rehearsed several times until the experiment reached a degree of certainty acceptable to the engineers. There is a 99% probability that everything will go well, explains Urgoiti. The heat shield, made of carbon fiber, was also partly designed and made in Spain, this time by Airbus. The aerospace company has developed a new production system exclusively for this component, which is crucial because any deformation would make the lander go off course during its descent, explains Carlos Samartin, head of composite materials at Airbus. The ExoMars mission, which is costing 1.3 billion, required the development of new technologies to which seven Spanish companies have contributed. The Schiaparelli will have a short life two to four Martian days because its main goal is to test the landing technology. Meanwhile, ExoMars second module, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), will map methane sources on the planet. This will be the first mission able to find the sources of methane and the mechanisms by which it seeps out Miguel Angel Lopez, Astrophysics Institute of Andalusia It will take a year to reach the final orbit, says Miguel Angel Lopez, a researcher at the Astrophysics Institute of Andalusia (IAA). He and other scientists at the center helped design and develop all the electronics in the Nomad gas detector, one of the four instruments aboard the TGO. Two missions one in 2004 and another 2014 have detected methane sources on Mars. The discovery came as a surprise, as nobody expected to find a gas that, on Earth at least, is nearly always associated with the presence of life. This will be the first mission able to find the sources of methane and the mechanisms by which it seeps out, explains Lopez. The mission has suffered several major setbacks, such as the US decision to pull out, although Russia has since joined the project, allowing the European Space Agency to carry on with the plans. Lopez says Spanish contributors to the project have also experienced problems of their own, as funding for the IAA team has been frozen since 2012. English version by Susana Urra. Mariano Rajoy at a rally earlier this month. B. PEREZ In a U-turn on its earlier position, Spains caretaker government has decided it will now submit to congressional oversight. Acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has asked to appear in the lower house to report on the two latest meetings of the European Council, which Spain attended. Until now, Rajoy had been refusing to inform Congress about international gatherings that made decisions on sensitive issues such as expelling refugees back to Turkey. What the government is really doing is averting a move by all other parties in Congress to force Rajoys appearance But late on Monday, the executive filed a petition in Congress requesting the appearance of the acting prime minister before Congress so that, in an extraordinary manner given the urgency of the matter and the fact that he is in an acting capacity, he may report on the content of the issues discussed at the European Council of March 17 and 18 in Brussels. What the government is really doing is averting a move by all other parties in Congress to force Rajoys appearance on Wednesday. However, the executive warned that it was making an exception on this occasion, and would not be submitting to oversight on ordinary matters of government. The Popular Party (PP) feels that this attitude is justified because the executive is a caretaker team. The executive warned that it was making an exception on this occasion and would not be submitting to oversight on ordinary matters of government As such, acting Defense Minister Pedro Morenes recently failed to show up at a committee session to discuss a NATO summit. It was the first time that a member of government had deliberately ignored a parliamentary request to offer public explanations about his work. The opposition has already said it will take the matter up with the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the executive is preventing the lower house from doing its job which includes keeping tabs on the governments actions. But the concession on the European Council sessions could make it harder to say no to other congressional petitions for explanations. The Socialist Party has already asked for acting economy minister Luis de Guindos to provide details about the Stability Plan that he will take to the EU. The face-off between the conservative government and the opposition dates back to the inconclusive December 20 election, which yielded a hung parliament. Despite three months of cross-party negotiations, Spain so far seems no closer to getting a new prime minister. If no deal is reached by May 2, parliament will be dissolved and a fresh election called for late June. English version by Susana Urra. People stand in line outside a Madrid employment office. EFE The Spanish governments star initiative to help the long-term unemployed has fallen significantly short of its goals. Only slightly over 25% of all estimated potential beneficiaries 105,500 out of 400,000 are collecting the monthly check for 426. And although the government appropriated 1.2 billion for the project, only 182 million has been spent ahead of the end of the program on April 15, according to Labor Ministry figures. The Labor Ministry is not offering any explanations for the plans poor performance The Employment Activation Plan was the only major initiative of the past political term to enjoy broad consensus from social agents. The UGT and CCOO labor unions, the CEOE and Cepyme employer associations, and Labor Minister Fatima Banez signed the agreement in December 2014 in the presence of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. In theory, it was to be a stepping stone to a more ambitious plan: the reorganization of all the various state, regional and local subsidies in order to make the system more efficient. But the program, which began on January 15, 2015, has failed to meet its own goals. Barely 15% of the allocated budget has been spent, and only 105,544 people are benefiting from it. Data also shows that only 14,000 participants, who collected the check for six months, went on to rejoin the job market. The program was fraught with problems from the beginning. The public employment services originally restricted eligibility to individuals who had previously collected all other existing unemployment subsidies, in a bid to make the check a last-resort option. The unions complained, and the government backtracked. But of the 52,135 applications that were turned down, around 20% were still rejected for that reason. The only explanation I can find is that [the government] had no interest in actually spending the allocated credit, says Carlos Bravo, head of public policies at the CCOO labor union. In other words, the political will was missing. The only explanation I can find is that the government had no interest in actually spending the allocated credit Carlos Bravo, CC OO union His colleague at UGT, Mari Carmen Barrera, feels the same way: It is the result of a policy. If this governments first step was to fire the 2,000 job counselors who were hired by the previous government, it means that it doesnt believe in these types of measures. Both experts note that the Labor Ministry repeatedly ignored their suggestion that potential beneficiaries of the plan should be sent a letter with information. Two weeks ago, the unions asked for an extension to the program and requested a meeting with the government. So far, only the second request has been granted, although the meeting will not take place until a couple of weeks from now, according to sources in the executive. The Labor Ministry is not offering any explanations for the plans poor performance, and said it has asked regional governments in charge of implementing employment policies to come up with their own assessments. There are nearly two million people in Spain who are out of a job and not collecting any unemployment benefits, according to state employment agency SEPE. The National Statistics Institutes Active Population Survey (EPA) puts this figure at 3.5 million. English version by Susana Urra. The opening of the Primark store on Madrid's Gran Via attracted large numbers of people. ANDREA COMAS (REUTERS) Irish fashion store Primark has found one of its greatest market niches in Spain. The low-cost retailer announced sales of 1.17 billion between September 2014 and August 2015, a 20% leap from the previous year. Of this amount, 248 million represent sales by the Spanish branch to its Irish headquarters. This means that Primarks product sales in Spain were 919 million, up 16.2% from the same period the previous year. The figures consolidate Primark as the second-largest fashion chain in Spain by sales. Inditex, owner of Zara and other popular brands, continues to top the chart with sales of 4 billion. But the Irish chain has bested other well-established brands such as Mango (360 million), H&M (830 million) and Cortefiel (700 million). The figures consolidate Primark as the second-largest fashion chain in Spain by sales Primarks growth in Spain is considerably higher that in the other countries where owner Associated British Food (ABF) operates the fashion brand. In these 10 markets, Primark sales grew 8%. The Irish budget brand did not open any new stores in Spain during this period, and had 40 establishments on August 31. The flagship store on Madrids Gran Via, whose inauguration drew long lines and strong media attention, did not open until October 2015, and will thus be included in the 2016 accounts. Because of the Spanish branchs payments to headquarters, it is difficult to gauge whether the companys profits are tied to its activities in Spain. The company paid 7.8 million in Spanish taxes on a gross profit of 54.4 million. English version by Susana Urra. The Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday once again voted to not expand Medicaid in the state. LB 1032 was the Legislatures fourth attempt at expansion. This years bill was based on a model that was passed in Arkansas and Iowa. LB 1032 would have allowed Medicaid to expand through a specialized private insurance program instead of through Medicaid. During discussion on the Unicameral floor, Sen. John McCollister, Omaha, said LB 960 passed 43-0 and would improve infrastructure for the state, but LB 1032 would probably not have the same level of support. How can we turn our backs on 97,000 fellow Nebraskans when the remedy is so easy? McCollister said. Sen. Kathy Campbell, Lincoln, said each year the bill has been introduced, it has addressed the concerns put forward. One concern over whether federal funding dropped below 90 percent is also addressed by amendment 2473 to the bill. It automatically ends, Campbell said. By its nature, it (Am. 2473) provides a three-year pilot and then has to be evaluated by an outside consultant. Campbell said the monthly premium addresses the having skin in the game. We have brought forward the most conservative plan in the country and addressed questions concerns and suggestions, Campbell said. Ninety-seven thousand Nebraskans are waiting for the answer. Sen. Heath Mello, Omaha, said the bill doesnt use general fund dollars and wont impact the state budget. Not moving forward does not make 97,000 Nebraskans leave our state, Mello said. They will continue to work low-wage jobs and contribute to our neighborhoods. Sen. Merv Riepe, Ralston, acknowledged some Nebraskans dont have health insurance and the issue needed to be addressed, but opposed LB 1032 because it is not sustainable. Riepe asked if health care was a right and how much health care was a person entitled to. Are we entitled if we lead a life of bad decisions? Are we entitled to a liver after a life of alcohol use? Riepe said. Who decides the limits of these rights? These demands will quickly result in rationing, long waits and denial. Riepe said no one should be placed on Medicaid until the system is fixed. Sen. Bill Kintner, Papillion, said LB 1032 doesnt pass the test of sustainability and hasnt done so in any of its iterations. This is flat out Obamacaid, Kintner said. Whenever you expand, it costs a lot more than you think. Kintner pointed to Ohio, Washington, Illinois, Kentucky and Montana as states that have run over budget. Medicaid costs 31,000 percent more than it was projected when it started, Kintner said. Youre asking the state of Nebraska to hitch our train to the federal government that has a history of cost overruns, bankruptcy and poorly run programs and maybe in three years unhitch it, Kintner said. Thats one of the most unrealistic things Ive been asked to believe. Sue Crawford, Bellevue, is on the health and human services committee and has heard for four years about people affected. She spoke of a woman, Amanda, who has come each year to speak in favor of expansion. Amanda spoke about how much she wanted to get back to work, but if her health needs were not met, shed become disabled, Crawford said. People like Amanda cannot get those conditions managed in the ER. Amanda now qualifies for Medicaid because her condition worsened. Adam Morfeld, Lincoln, said some legislators have continually placed political expediency over the interest of the health of Nebraskans. I cannot think of a more important issue to discuss than the health of Nebraskans, Morfeld said. For four years, Ive heard arguments against expansion. I look forward to the day when people make the same arguments against roads and economic development. Morfeld said the legislature has the power to help working Nebraskans. We invest millions in roads, but not to the people who build them, Morfeld said. If you want to make a statement, hold a press conference, but do not deny Nebraskans health care. Sen. Beau McCoy, Omaha, opposed the bill because the federal congressional budget cited increased costs of Obamacare to $110 billion this year due to more people enrolling. Robust, healthy, adequate and growing funding for K-12 higher education, roads, infrastructure and tax cuts are a higher priority than expanding healthcare, McCoy said. Thats the future of our state, not an ill-advised health care program that only addresses access to healthcare. McCollister was upset many think poor people in the health care gap are unworthy. Two-thirds are working and 50 percent are in rural areas, McCollister said. They work one or more jobs, McCollister said. Do they really deserve to be treated as lesser human beings? Sen. Roy Baker, Lincoln, spoke in favor of the bill. He gave several examples of neighbors helping each other in times of need. My father died when I was 14, shortly before harvest time. A huge number of people came to help harvest. My brother and I could have done it ourselves, but we would have had to leave school for a month, Baker said. Thats what neighbors do, they step up and help others in distress. He said we tend to disparage people who dont have health care because they perceived as lazy or not taking care of themselves. Theyre doing the very best they can, Baker said. I suggest its time for us to step up and help those in distress. Sen. Mike Gloor, Grand Island, said there are two or three clinics in his district. He was originally against expanding Medicaid in the state. Dont kid yourself. We are still paying for the care of this population, Gloor said. Im all for roads, Im all about K-12 funding and tax cuts. But weve done very little with Medicaid. Sen. Patty Pansing-Brooks, Lincoln, said we should be past the paleolithic belief that we just need to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps to get over mental illness. That discussion will make Nebraskans angry, Pansing-Brooks said. Which Nebraskan deserves less health care than you? After a 90-minute debate, a motion was called to end debate by Morfeld. Dave Bloomfield, Hoskins, moved to bracket the bill to delay consideration of the bill to April. Adoption of the bracket passed 28-20, effectively killing the bill for this legislative session. From left to right: Mario Vargas Llosa, Isabel Preysler and EL PAIS chairman Juan Luis Cebrian. Carlos Rosillo At previous birthday celebrations, Mario Vargas Llosa had said that when he turned 80, he would like to get a Great Dane so he might stroke its head while watching the sunsets in the twilight of his life. On Monday, the Peruvian-born, Spanish-nationalized writer saw his dream fulfilled. At a birthday party with 400 guests that included former heads of government, Vargas Llosa received the dog as a gift from his partner, Isabel Preysler. Guests at the event included two former Spanish prime ministers, the Socialist Felipe Gonzalez and the conservative Jose Maria Aznar But the Nobel winner has postponed his plans for evening sea-gazing. In fact, he plans to keep working harder than ever on new novels yet to be written. In a speech at the birthday dinner, which was held in Madrid, his eldest son Alvaro Vargas Llosa a writer and journalist himself described his father as a Rolling Stone of literature. Sign up to our newsletter! The EL PAIS English Edition is launching a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. The idea is that only people like him, or like Mick Jagger, are presumed to retain enough energy to keep producing creative new work at this stage in life. Earlier this month, Vargas Llosa released Cinco Esquinas (or, Five corners), the latest novel in a literary career that began when he was under 20 years old. In a speech of his own, Vargas Llosa thanked everyone who came to Madrid to celebrate with him, especially those who came from far away. The writer had words of gratitude for his Cuban and Venezuelan guests the parents of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, and Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez among others and expressed hope that their countries will soon enjoy freedom and that he will be there to see it. Famous faces Other famous faces at the event included two former Spanish prime ministers, the Socialist Felipe Gonzalez and the conservative Jose Maria Aznar, as well as Colombian ex-president Alvaro Uribe and ex-Chilean president Sebastian Pinera. Sitting with Vargas Llosa at his table were his publishers, Nuria Cabuti of Random House and Pilar Reyes of Alfaguara; EL PAIS chairman Juan Luis Cebrian and editor-in-chief Antonio Cano; Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk and Gregorio Maranon, president of the Teatro Real, the Madrid opera house on whose board Vargas Llosa sits. Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk was in Madrid to celebrate Vargas Llosa's 80th birthday. Samuel Sanchez In a speech that surveyed a lifetime of political activism and dissidence, Vargas Llosa recalled how he once embraced left-wing ideologies that ultimately brought ruin to countries such as Cuba and Venezuela, and how he later dropped these beliefs in favor of more liberal views. The more literary segment of his address was aimed at fellow writer and Nobel winner Orhan Pamuk, who was scheduled to join him on Tuesday at a panel discussion organized by the International Foundation for Freedom. English version by Susana Urra. This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. To help you find what you are looking for: Enter Search Term(s): Still cant find what youre looking for? Send us a message using our contact us form. To report a broken link or other problems with the website, please include the URL. Thank you for visiting state.gov. Countries & Areas Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe Tuesday, 29 March 2016 16:48:07 (GMT+3) | Istanbul Australia 's Antidumping Commission has announced its preliminary decisions regarding the antidumping (AD) duty investigation on certain chromium-plated circular solid steel bars (chrome bars) imported from Romania and Italy. Accordingly, the commission has decided to impose a preliminary AD duty on certain chrome bars imported from Romania since the commissions assessments show that exports of chrome bars from Romania in the investigation period were at dumped prices and the volume and dumping margins of the dumped goods were not negligible. However, the commission stated that chrome bars imported from Italy have not been at dumped prices. The preliminary AD duty rate stands at 22.4 percent for Romanian exporter Cromsteel and 78.2 percent for all the other exporters in Romania The investigation was launched in November 10, 2015 upon the application lodged domestic producer Milltech Pty Ltd. The investigation covers the period between October 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015. The products subject to preliminary AD duty currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7215.90.00, 7215.50.90, 7228.30.10, 7228.60.10 and 7228.60.90. Tuesday, 29 March 2016 00:08:54 (GMT+3) | According to Statistics Canada, the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) declined 1.1 percent in February, led by lower prices for energy and petroleum products. The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) fell 2.6 percent, mainly as a result of lower prices for crude energy products. The IPPI declined 1.1 percent in February, after increasing 0.5 percent in January. This was the largest decline in the IPPI since December 2014, when prices fell 1.5 percent. Of the 21 major commodity groups, 4 were up, 15 were down and 2 were unchanged. Contributing to the decline in the IPPI were lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles (-1.8 percent). Lower prices for passenger cars and light trucks (-1.9 percent), motor vehicle engines and motor vehicle parts (-1.6 percent), and aircraft (-2.9 percent) were the main reasons for the decrease in this commodity group. Lower prices in February for motorized and recreational vehicles were closely linked to the appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar. The RMPI fell 2.6 percent in February, following a 0.4 percent decline in January. Of the six major commodity groups, two were up and four were down. The decline in the RMPI was mainly attributable to lower prices for crude energy products (-9.4 percent), specifically conventional crude oil (-10.0 percent). The RMPI excluding crude energy products increased 1.2 percent in February. Moderating the decline in the RMPI were higher prices for metal ores, concentrates and scrap (+3.0 percent), as well as animals and animal products (+1.2 percent). 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 President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) has fully done its duty last year; he emphasized that Romania is a safe country. "I participated today in the presentation of SRI's activity report. Synthetically, my message to them is this: SRI has fully done its duty, they did an efficient and serious job," Iohannis told the joint conference delivered together with SRI head Eduard Hellvig after the presentation of the institution's 2015 activity report. The head of the state said that through their professionalism, SRI representatives make Romania a safer a place in a time fraught with problems and risks. "I think that the best recognition of the activity of the Service is the confidence it enjoys in the eyes of Romania's citizens," Iohannis said. He added that at the event today he highlighted certain aspects in last year's activity. "Romania is a safe country that was spared security and terror incidents. I thanked those working with SRI for having provided for the security of Romania's citizens. SRI has made an essential contribution to the fight against corruption, which remains one of the most sensitive topics of relevance to both institutions and the public opinion. I also remarked their activity against tax evasion and organized crime networks, as well as SRI's role in the area of cyber intelligence. I'm glad to see that SRI is a respected and credible partner in the Euro-Atlantic intelligence community and contributes to defining Romania as a security provider in the region," Iohannis added. Agerpres National Geographic to present Armenia to the world IDeA Foundation and National Geographic Announce Collaboration for Sustainable Tourism Development in Armenia Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Charitable Foundation and National Geographic Partners have signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct a preliminary review of sustainable tourism development opportunities in Armenia. The initial research will include recommendations on product potential for developing Armenias cultural and natural attractions based upon the three pillars of sustainable tourism: environmentally-friendly practices; support for the protection of cultural and natural heritage; and delivering social and economic benefits to local people. Costas Christ, editor at large for National Geographic Traveler, will travel to Armenia in late April to lead a preliminary tourism development assessment on behalf of National Geographic. Christ, who is recognized as one of the worlds foremost experts on sustainable tourism, works with National Geographics Travel group, for which he serves as director of sustainable tourism and oversees field audits for the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World. As part of the Armenia research trip, Christ will meet with government representatives, community leaders, business owners and tourism operators to assess the challenges and opportunities for sustainable tourism development to promote economic growth, while safeguarding Armenias natural treasures and rich cultural heritage for future generations. Working closely with IDeA, Christs recommendations will provide guidance on tourism strategy based upon globally recognized criteria for sustainable tourism principles and practices. Global scope and collaboration and using best international practices and standards for creating new local benchmarks are among the key principles of IDeA Foundation and based on that we are starting to work with National Geographic Partners. I am sure that this cooperation will help us to explore the best ways of presenting Armenia to the world and include them in the IDeAs Tourism Development Strategy, said Edgar Manukyan, CEO of IDeA Foundation. Armenia is a beautiful country with a rich and proud cultural heritage. Protecting that heritage and caring for the environment are fundamental to Armenias sustainable tourism development strategy to deliver economic and social well-being for the Armenian people. I am looking forward to working with such a visionary organization like IDeA to introduce Armenia to the world, said Christ. Data of Europeans about Armenia differ considerably from official data The members of the RA NA delegation at Euronest Parliamentary Assembly today at the NA during the meeting with the journalists presented the details on the activities of Euronest PA 5th plenary sitting. Republican Artak Zakaryan, President of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, by touching upon the reports prepared at the Committee on Political Affairs noted that in one of the reports there were contradicting provisions, and the Armenian delegation had reservations, There were proposals directly relating to the NK issue, which contradicted the interests of Armenia, but the case didnt develop into veto; as a result of the negotiations the authors of the proposal withdrew their proposals according to the rules of procedure. In general, all four reports derive from the interests of Armenia. The NA Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction member Hrant Bagratyan spoke about the activities of the Committee on Economic Affairs of Euronest. He presented a report on the SMEs, but the data, which Europeans had, considerably differed from the statistics of Armenia, It is impossible to govern a country with such numbers. The members of the delegation also noted that in spite of the situation in Brussels, the activities of Euronest proceeded normally. Member of the Armenian delegation Tevan Poghosyan by touching upon the NK conflict resolution noted that in April Euronest partners want to leave for Azerbaijan in order to call on them to return to the frames of Euronest. Artak Zakaryan added in his turn that he called on Euronest partners leaving for Azerbaijan not to make any promises connected with the conflict resolution, I also want to add that the Armenian delegation is against the blackmail, which the Azerbaijani side implemented within the frames of Euronest. By the way, this year in autumn the sitting of Euronest Economic Committee will take place in Yerevan. First time Womens Forum was held within the frames of Euronest. The Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) lawmaker Shushan Petrosyan, who isnt a member of the Armenian delegation, participated in the sitting. According to Artak Zakaryan, she took part in Euronest as a guest at their expense and made an interesting speech, Her participation was very efficient especially in terms of social and cultural issues. Tevan Poghosyan added that during that forum it was mainly spoken about Nadezhda Savchenko, Only Shushan Petrosyan spoke about womens right in the unrecognized territories. At present, as I have learnt from Shushan Petrosynas Facebook page, she left for Moscow for a charity concert for furnishing the NKR military bases. Virbac Corp. is planning a $38 million expansion at its troubled Bridgeton veterinary drugmaking operations that will add 144 new jobs, the governors office announced Tuesday. Virbac, based in Carros, France, is a global manufacturer and distributor of health products for pets, and Missouri has agreed to aid in the expansion with a $5.4 million economic incentive package as long as the project meets certain job creation criteria, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development. Virbacs decision to expand and create 144 jobs here in the Show-Me State is another piece of good news for Missouri and the St. Louis region, Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement released Tuesday. The governors office did not elaborate on the specific criteria for job creation. Currently, the Bridgeton operations employ 236 people, said Michael Albo, vice president of communications and customer service, for Fort Worth, Texas-based subsidiary Virbac US. Were expanding because were committed to Bridgeton and were bringing new products into the facility, he said. The investment comes as the company works to improve the Bridgeton plants quality standards after a 2014 inspection by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA, which also regulates drugs and feed for animals, found that facility didnt meet its manufacturing standards set for pharmaceutical production. To address the FDAs concerns, the company recruited new executives to oversee quality and manufacturing and initiated an improvement plan. Manufacturing and delivery was stopped temporarily at the plant in early 2015 as the company worked on improving the Bridgeton manufacturing line, according to a Virbac financial update in April 2015. But a Dec. 18, 2015, letter from the FDA warned the company that the plants policies were falling short. While we acknowledge the steps your firm has taken recently, it appears that your firm has historically lacked quality practices and a quality culture, which has resulted in numerous repeat violations, the regulator said in a letter. The regulator also asked the company for a compliance plan to correct the deficiencies. Virbac came to the region when it acquired Maryland Heights-based Agri-Nutrition Group Ltd., a maker of grooming products for pets, in 1999. DETROIT General Motors Co plans to cut sales to U.S. rental car fleets by 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year without surrendering significant market share, the head of the automaker's North American operations told Reuters on Tuesday. GM sold about 449,000 vehicles to U.S. rental car companies in 2014. It cut rental fleet sales to about 400,000 vehicles in 2015 and this year expects to sell about 310,000 to 320,000 vehicles to the daily rental market, GM North America President Alan Batey said in an interview. Fleet sales have low profit margins and can depress new car values. GM had not previously discussed in detail the scope of its cutback on sales to rental companies. GM's U.S. market share through the end of February slipped to 17.3 percent from 18 percent for the same period a year ago. Batey said that share, still the largest of any automaker, should stabilize above 17 percent, reflecting strong demand from individual, retail buyers. "There's nothing that would lead me to believe we'd be south of 17" for the year, Batey said. The scale and speed of GM's cuts in sales to rental fleets have caught investors and analysts by surprise. Earlier this month, GM reported U.S. sales fell 1.5 percent in February, even as the U.S. market rose overall, mainly because rental fleet sales dropped. Despite strong profits, GM's share price is down 8 percent for the year, and closed Tuesday at $31.19. That is below the $33 a share price of the company's post-bankruptcy initial public offering. The poor stock performance reflects investor concerns that the U.S. automotive sales cycle is near its peak. In the past, GM, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, as well as some foreign rivals, tried to offset retail sales slumps by slashing prices and dumping vehicles into rental car fleets at little or no profit. Batey said GM intends to buck that trend and reduce rental fleet sales to between 9 percent and 12 percent of total U.S. sales from more than 20 percent in the past. GM also plans to keep inventories more in line than it has in the past, he said. GM had 67 days' worth of unsold U.S. vehicles on hand as of March 1, according to data compiled by Automotive News, lower than Ford or Fiat Chrysler. Batey said GM has cut production of certain cars but is building other models, such as midsize pickup trucks, on overtime. St. Louis and St. Louis County voters may have to hold their nose when they vote on a sewer bond issue next week, because even if it fails, their rates will be going up. Proposition Y would authorize $900 million in sewer bonds to continue to fund one of the regions largest-ever public works projects: a $4.7 billion revamp of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer Districts system meant to cut overflows of untreated sewage into the regions rivers and streams. No matter what happens, the work has to get done. Its mandated under a 2012 settlement, known as a consent decree, with the Environmental Protection Agency, which sued MSD in 2007 to force the district to fix sewer overflows. If voters turn down the bonds, MSD will raise rates to cover the cost upfront. That will save money on interest in the long run but lead to steeper rate hikes over the next four years, MSD says. It really is up to the ratepayers which one they want to do, MSD Executive Director Brian Hoelscher said. Until Monday, there was little organized opposition to MSDs proposal. But several groups advocating for minority labor groups now say theyll oppose the bond issue unless MSD resolves their concerns over its handling of a voluntary workforce diversity initiative. MSD agreed to work toward voluntary minority workforce goals as part of the $4.7 billion infrastructure program, but the groups say MSD allowed contractors to skirt targets. They also want the district to more strongly push contractors to use laborers trained under special programs that the district helps fund. The question is do we go and give (MSD) another $900 million before we fix the problems that already exist? said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis city chapter of the NAACP. MSD says it now requires all contractors to show good faith efforts to meet its minority workforce goals, and it is open to new training programs and tweaking existing ones. In December, MSD released numbers showing it was slightly under its goal of 30 percent of labor hours from minority workers and 7 percent from women. MSD said it obtained 26 percent of labor hours in fiscal 2015 from minority workers and 4 percent from women. We probably have to do some very focused investment in certain areas to get over that hump, Hoelscher said. Sewer bills have been going up every summer to pay for $945 million in bonds voters approved in 2012 to begin work on the EPA-mandated projects. Average monthly bills have already risen by about $10 per month since 2012, and an average MSD ratepayer now pays an average of $41 per month. If voters approve the bond issue, rates will rise to an average of $60 by 2019. If the bond issue fails, rates will rise to an average of $95 per month. Either way, MSD has several big sewer tunnel projects coming up in the next four years, including a new $280 million tunnel near Deer Creek and two $80 million tunnels near Maline Creek and Jefferson Barracks. It also will start engineering work for the largest project to come: a nine-mile, $800 million tunnel near River Des Peres expected to begin construction in the 2020s. The work to reduce discharges of raw sewage is something the EPA has cracked down on in cities around the country. MSD began raising rates to pay for the infrastructure fixes, and theyre now at the median of similar-sized cities. They will be above average in the next four years, Hoelscher said, and average rates will continue rising, peaking somewhere around $90 per month by the middle of next decade. Area business groups and large companies have come out in support under the name Campaign for Clean Water. The group counts support from groups like Civic Progress and the Regional Business Council and big companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Engineering and construction firms that stand to gain from bidding on the work, such as OFallon, Mo.-based SAK, also contributed to the group. Mailers from the organization recently hit mailboxes urging support of the measure. Its treasurer, Patrick Lynn, said the group supports bonds to keep rate increases affordable. With bonding, the growth is spread out over 20 years, he said. St. Louis-based Missouri Coalition for the Environment, which was a party to the 2012 consent decree, also supports the bond issue. Weve been pleased with the progress pursuant to the consent decree, and we think MSD is moving in the right direction in terms of taking a watershed approach, and theyre moving forward on maintenance and upgrade projects that were long overdue, Coalition for the Environment Director Heather Navarro said. STORMWATER TAX The bond issue is just one of two big measures the sewer district covering St. Louis and almost all of St. Louis County has on the April 5 ballot. The other, Proposition S, would revamp its funding for the regional stormwater system by eliminating a hodgepodge of special property taxes and setting a uniform stormwater tax of 12 cents per $100 of assessed value across its service territory. In the city, the increase amounts to just 3 cents per $100 of assessed value, and in the portion of St. Louis County between the city limits and Interstate 270, MSD stormwater property taxes will actually fall. Most of the increase would be in the portion of St. Louis County outside of Interstate 270, where property owners pay just a two cent per $100 assessed valuation. That rate would rise 12 cents, with the increase paying for maintenance on a portion of the storm sewer system that has had little to no funding. Outside of Interstate 270, the district has been unable to replace storm sewer pipes that are rusting through, add inlets on flood-prone streets or adjust storm pipe outfalls to reduce erosion on creek banks or private property. The new districtwide 12-cent tax will raise an estimated $24 million annually for system maintenance, and about half of that budget is expected to be spent catching up in areas outside Interstate 270. Its a lot of little stuff, but it affects an awful lot of our ratepayers, Hoelscher said. Newspapers have settled on a strategy to stop withering away: feast on one another for survival. For the owners of big-city dailies like the Chicago Tribune and Denver Post, buying smaller publications and slashing costs has become a way to buy time while figuring out how to make more money online. That was the logic behind the recent failed attempt by Tribune Publishing Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, to buy two Southern California newspapers. Last year, the industry saw the most deals for the largest amount of money since the 2008 financial crisis, with 70 daily newspapers being sold for a combined $827 million, according to mergers-and-acquisitions adviser Dirks, Van Essen & Murray. Gannett Co. bought 15 dailies, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Tribune snapped up the San Diego Union-Tribune; and Warren Buffett's newspaper chain acquired the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va. Even after last year's surge of activity, more deals may be coming. The pressure to combine is only expected to grow because several media companies have spun off their lucrative TV stations, leaving newspapers to fend for themselves. In the past few years, Tribune, Gannett and News Corp. have been decoupled from their broadcast and TV operations. "The case for consolidation has gotten stronger than ever," said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school. "It is one of the ways that newspapers are repositioning themselves against the digital competition." Some major newspapers can afford to remain solo, especially if they're fortunate enough to have a national brand like the New York Times or to be owned by a billionaire, such as the Washington Post. But many of America's other newspapers are hanging on by a thread, 20 years after the Internet first became a competitive threat by siphoning off classified advertising. Not everything in the Fourth Estate is grim. Newsrooms continue to experiment with strategies to draw readers and convince advertisers of their value. Newspaper publishers say they're making progress with niche websites that may have national or global appeal. They've also gotten new sources of revenue from digital subscribers, sponsored events, newsletters and acquisitions of digital startups that have found an audience. To that end, Gannett last week acquired a minority stake in a startup called Spirited Media. Founded by former Washington Post editor Jim Brady, Spirited Media owns a Philadelphia website called Billy Penn that publishes local news and hosts events with sponsors. Gannett's investment will allow the site to expand its model to other cities, the companies said in a statement. The New York Times, meanwhile, has generated more than 1 million paid online subscribers. And Boston Globe Media's new startup, Stat, is trying to reach a global audience interested in health, medicine and science. The site, which started in November, publishes newsletters sponsored by companies such as CVS Health Corp. and is considering hosting events and charging for content, said Rick Berke, the former New York Times editor who runs Stat. "We hope people will pay in some form for journalism they can't get anywhere else," Berke said. Yet for many of those ideas to be fruitful, they need investment and time two things in short supply at many newspapers as the once-lucrative print audience disappears. Advertising revenue at U.S. newspapers has plunged to $12 billion this year from $50 billion in 2000, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Print circulation has dropped by half on average since 2005, according to industry analyst Alan Mutter. While online readers are growing, most digital advertising is going to Google, Facebook and other popular websites that don't produce local news. Newspapers are "way behind" the overall growth rate of digital advertising and their share of it is decreasing, said industry analyst Ken Doctor. For some, the best strategy is to get bought by a billionaire willing to give the newsroom time and resources to try new things. Under owner Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com Inc., the Washington Post has widened its focus on national and international coverage and added 70 employees to the newsroom, including about 50 reporters and editors, lifting the headcount to about 700. Those moves have helped the paper keep pace with the New York Times in unique U.S. Web visitors. The Globe, backed by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, can even afford experiments that don't succeed, such as Crux, a website focused on the Catholic Church that the newspaper plans to shut down April 1 after not finding enough advertisers. The Globe and The Post are among the fortunate few papers shielded from the pressures of Wall Street. "Most newspaper companies don't have billionaires writing them checks," Mutter said. "They're struggling with shrinking profits." As newspaper chains buy smaller papers and merge them, some worry that coverage of local news will wither further. Yet for many owners, the strategy has been to "maintain profitability by continually diminishing the product and charging more for it," Doctor said. One newspaper owner that is acquiring and combining newspapers is privately held Digital First Media Inc., which is controlled by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Last week the company, which owns about 80 daily newspapers including the Denver Post, bought the Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise in bankruptcy court after a federal judged blocked Tribune from acquiring them on antitrust concerns. This month, Digital First Media said it plans to combine six newspapers covering the Bay Area into two and cut 20 percent of the staff, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. After the cuts, the company will have 160 people covering 160 towns across 5,000 square miles, according to Mutter. The company's strategy is to squeeze out profits by attracting local advertising while scaling back on local news reporting, Doctor said. Digital First Media didn't return a request for comment. "They're milking these properties," Doctor said. "As print advertising goes down, they'll cut more staff. This is the unmistakable path at this point." Updated at 4 p.m. Tuesday with more details, closing share price Maryland Heights-based solar energy company SunEdison Inc , whose aggressive acquisition strategy has saddled it with almost $12 billion of debt, is at "substantial risk" of bankruptcy, one of its two publicly listed units warned on Tuesday. A bankruptcy would rank among the largest involving a non-financial company in the past 10 years, according to bankruptcydata.com. SunEdison declined to comment. SunEdison's shares already reeling from a Wall Street Journal report on Monday that the company was being investigated for overstating its cash position fell as much as 60 percent earlier Tuesday to a record low of 50 cents. The shares closed Tuesday at 57 cents, down 69 cents, or 55 percent from the previous close. TerraForm Global, citing SunEdison's liquidity issues, said said in a regulatory filing that it would join its parent and fellow yieldco TerraForm Power Inc in delaying its annual report for the year ended Dec. 31. However, the company said it did not rely substantially on SunEdison for funding or liquidity and that it would have sufficient liquidity to support its operations even if its parent sought bankruptcy protection. TerraForm Global's annual report was due by March 30. Yieldcos are publicly traded subsidiaries that hold renewable energy assets, including assets bought from their parents. They are backed by long-term power purchase contracts with utilities, allowing them to pay regular dividends. TerraForm Global, whose shares fell as much as 23 percent to a record low of $1.92, said SunEdison may not transfer to it some solar energy projects in India, for which TerraForm Global has paid $231 million, and also may not complete other deals. The unit's shares closed at $2.03, down 47 cents, or 19 percent. "If SunEdison does not perform under these agreements, it could have a material adverse effect on TerraForm Global," TerraForm Global said. TerraForm Global's chief executive, Brian Wuebbels, is also SunEdison's chief financial officer. Although solar project developers such as SunEdison continue to benefit from robust demand for solar energy, their shares along with those of other solar companies have been hit by investor concerns - largely dismissed by analysts - that demand could fall due to weak oil prices. MATERIAL WEAKNESSES SunEdison has problems of its own, however. The company, which has delayed filing its annual report twice, said this month it had identified material weaknesses in its financial reporting controls. According to a loan agreement filed with regulators, SunEdison could breach a covenant if it does not file its annual report within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year - in this case, March 30. "The delivery of annual financials is required under their first lien credit facility as well as their second lien term loan," said Ian Feng, an analyst at credit research firm Covenant Review. The company has at least $1.4 billion in first-lien and second-lien debt, according to filings. SunEdison is also being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to see if it had exaggerated its liquidity position, the Journal reported on Monday. Vivint Solar Inc scrapped a deal to be bought by SunEdison this month, citing concerns about SunEdison's finances. SunEdison had debt of $11.67 billion as of Sept. 30. Excluding its yieldcos, the company had $7.9 billion of debt, and cash and cash equivalents of $1.3 billion. "At this point, SunEdison has really kinda run out of options," S&P Global Intelligence analyst Angelo Zino told Reuters. As of the summer of 2014, about 200 people worked at SunEdison's Maryland Heights headquarters in finance, human resources and the legal department. It also maintains some research and development employees in an O'Fallon, Mo., facility now operated by its spinoff, SunEdison Semiconductor. SunEdison did not provide an updated job number for the St. Louis region. SunEdison's CEO and many of its employees work out of Belmont, Calif., in the San Francisco area. Its yieldcos are based in the Washington, D.C. area. Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global were legally separate companies and would not follow SunEdison into bankruptcy. "However, there is a close historical relationship between the parent company and these yieldcos and therefore some dislocation in the event of parent bankruptcy should be expected," he said in an email. TerraForm Power's shares fell as much as 14 percent before recovering to gain 1.7 percent to close at $8.61. TerraForm Global said it was in talks with lenders of its revolving credit facility to obtain an extension on a covenant that requires it to file its annual report on time. TerraForm Global said the credit facility was not critical to the continuation of its business. The company had about $1 billion in cash and $500 million available under its revolving credit facility, according to a presentation posted on SunEdison's website on Nov. 10. Up to Monday's close, SunEdison's shares had dropped about 95 percent in the past 12 months, valuing the company at about $400 million. TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global did not respond to requests for comment. _________ Our earlier story, from Reuters, posted at 8:19 p.m. Monday The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into SunEdison Inc.s disclosures to see if the Maryland Heights-based solar company exaggerated its liquidity last year when it said it had more than $1 billion in cash, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. SEC officials are looking into how much cash the company had on hand in August, when it said it would form a $1 billion warehouse investment vehicle along with funds managed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the newspaper said. The company, whose shares had fallen about 95 percent over the past 12 months, is also working with advisers on a potential bankruptcy filing, the report said. The people were also cited as saying that the $1.4 billion in cash that SunEdison had reported as having as of its third quarter consisted largely of cash that the company could not access, adding that the balance had dropped to less than $100 million by November. SunEdison, struggling under a huge debt load, had also stopped paying some contractors and suppliers by the end of 2015 and was scrambling internally for ways to raise cash, the report said. Officials for SunEdison and the SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The troubled solar company this month said it would delay the filing of its annual report after identifying material weaknesses in its financial reporting, primarily related to problems with a newly implemented IT system. Solar stocks have been hit by the slide in oil prices, which has created anxiety among investors about demand for solar power. As of Sept. 30, SunEdison had outstanding debt of $11.67 billion, the result of an aggressive acquisition strategy. If you spent any time walking West Florissant Avenue, or, heck, even watching cable television, in the late summer or early fall of 2014, then you remember the man in the blue vest. His name is DeRay Mckesson, and these days, hes running for mayor of Baltimore. About 19 months ago Mckesson came to St. Louis armed only with his mind and a phone and soon became a Twitter sensation, helping to turn #Ferguson into the top trending hashtag among social causes in Twitters first 10 years. Now hes part of an important transition in the new civil rights movement identified in some circles as Black Lives Matter. Its a move from protest to action, where those who have been oppressed by a political system that works against them try to assert their influence from inside the system. So many of the changes that will affect peoples lives occur at the city level, Mckesson told me in a phone conversation recently. Thats one of the reasons why he decided to run for mayor in the city where Freddie Gray died, which is also where Mckesson grew up. But the move from activism isnt an either-or situation, he says. Its important that people push from the outside and impact change from the inside, Mckesson says. Both are necessary. Never was that more clear than in the recent negotiations over the consent decree between the city of Ferguson and the U.S. Department of Justice. On March 15, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III shook hands with Michael Brown Sr., after the city signed the consent decree that calls for massive changes in how the north St. Louis County municipality operates its police department and court system. Brown is the father of Michael Brown, whose shooting death at the hands of a white police officer in Ferguson started the unrest that brought Mckesson and other activists to St. Louis. The handshake should have taken place in February, but politics got in the way. As Post-Dispatch reporter Stephen Deere meticulously outlined in a story March 20, the council was split along racial lines as to whether to sign the decree when it was first presented in February. White council members were against it. Black council members were for it. So the council tried to find a midway point and refused to agree to the decree, sending it back and asking for changes. Then, in an act that would have significant consequences, black council members were successful in getting another African-American, Laverne Mitchom, to fill an open seat on the council. For the first time, the citys majority black population had a council that looked like them. Local African-American residents and other advocates for change were outraged that the council hadnt accepted the decree. So was the Department of Justice, which immediately sued. Outside pressure built, and with a 4-3 majority, the council had new leverage to adopt the decree. On March 15, thats what happened. It took the combination of activism and inside politics to make it happen. Other signs of such activism turning to political action are showing up across the country. In Chicago, where several high-profile police killings have riled the city, the prosecutor who was blamed for dragging her feet in filing charges against the police officer who shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald lost her primary race. Same with the prosecutor in Cleveland who didnt file charges against the officers who killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Producing political results shows a maturing of a nascent civil rights movement that Mckesson says is still in its infancy. So much of what weve done in the past 19 months is just tell the truth in public, he says. Like the Ferguson Commissions early raucousness, a lot of the communication has been simply about raising awareness, so that people of all races and creeds and backgrounds can see what daily life is like for people who truly are being oppressed by a system that is stacked against them. I think the movement is still young, Mckesson says. Will it be able to grow as people grow? Can the movement build coalitions? Nine years separate Rosa Parks famous act of defiance by simply sitting on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., and the eventual passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For some, the passage of that law, and the Voting Rights Act the next year, signaled an end to the Civil Rights Movement. But the subsequent gutting of that voting rights law by the Supreme Court has led to a series of states passing restrictive voter identification bills that target primarily people of color. Just last week, Hispanics in Phoenix faced massively long lines in an attempt to vote. That wouldnt have happened before the court took away federal protections that had been in place since the 60s. This week the Missouri Legislature is expected to take up its own version of a voter identification bill, despite previous attempts that have been found unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court. If passed, the law would put obstacles in place for about 220,000 existing Missouri voters, many of them people of color or the elderly or disabled. As Mckesson is fond of typing on Twitter: The movement lives. A judge in Cole County Circuit Court on Monday struck down provisions of a law that limited what municipalities in St. Louis County could raise through municipal court fees and fines and set minimum standards for police departments. Several cities in St. Louis County had challenged the law, calling it an improper special law that unfairly targeted them, and an unfunded mandate that would be illegal under the Missouri Constitution. The main source of contention was the way the law unevenly applied to St. Louis County, whose municipalities were banned from generating more than 12.5 percent of their general revenue from traffic fines and fees. The limit was set at 20 percent in the rest of the state, down from 30 percent statewide previously. People on both sides of the issue said they believe the 20 percent limit remains in effect statewide. The law, which is known as Senate Bill 5, came in response to the unrest after the shooting of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014. An ongoing Post-Dispatch investigation has exposed how cities in the St. Louis area rely heavily on court fines and fees to raise revenue for city services. The system is rife with conflicts of interest, uses illegal tactics to coerce payments and offers little transparency. Public interest lawyers from ArchCity Defenders and St. Louis University have pushed for reforms through lawsuits and reports. A blistering report by the U.S. Department of Justice in March 2015 called the Ferguson municipal court an abusive fundraising tool and urged other courts in St. Louis County to change their ways. Six months later, Gov. Jay Nixon signed what he called the most sweeping municipal court reform bill in state history. Circuit Judge Jon E. Beetems ruling prohibits the state from selectively applying sections of the law, known as SB5, to just St. Louis County. That means St. Louis County municipalities cannot be required to meet several minimum standards, such as having accredited police departments within six years. It also threw out requirements for all Missouri municipalities to report municipal court data to the state auditors office every year. The main architect of the court reform law, state Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, said in an emailed statement that he had contacted Attorney General Chris Koster to urge him to appeal the ruling and said he was confident our bipartisan reform will pass the Missouri Supreme Court test. This is another example of why so many Missourians have lost faith in government, the justice system and big institutions because they make them feel powerless and used, Schmitt said. For years, citizens have been abused by local bureaucrats who have treated them like ATMs to fund their bloated budgets, salaries and perks. These same bureaucrats used the tax money they collected to hire an out-of-state attorney and lobbyists to fight the most significant municipal court reform ever enacted in Missouri. A spokeswoman for Koster said people in his office were reviewing the ruling. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in November, are Normandy, Cool Valley, Velda Village Hills, Glen Echo Park, Bel-Ridge, Bel-Nor, Pagedale, Moline Acres, Uplands Park, Vinita Park, Northwoods and Wellston, and Normandy Mayor Patrick Green and Pagedale Mayor Mary Louise Carter. Sam Alton, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said, Obviously Im elated, and I know the municipalities that are involved are elated. David Pittinsky, a Philadelphia lawyer hired by the cities to challenge the law, called the ruling a very courageous decision given the current political climate. Having the law struck down based on both of the municipalities claims that it created an unfunded mandate and was unconstitutional in applying certain provisions to just St. Louis County was really a tremendous victory, he said. Advocates of limits on municipal court revenue were disappointed. This is why we have appellate courts, said Dave Leipholtz, director of community-based studies for Better Together, a group that supported SB5 and has advocated for consolidating municipal governments in the region. This decision kind of flies in the face of case law in the state of Missouri. We firmly believe there will be an appeal, and it will be successful. Bel-Nor Mayor Kevin Buchek, reached Monday night, said he also thought the case would be appealed, but that the ruling was a great first step for us. When we filed this lawsuit we anticipated an appeal from whichever side was not victorious in initial proceedings. Green, the Normandy mayor, said the court ruling reflects what weve said from the beginning: that (SB5) was reckless, and without regard for the current law. He pointed to the states Hancock Amendment, which prohibits the state from placing a mandate on a municipality without any mechanism to fund it. Green said he and others reached out to lawmakers to express those concerns before the bill became law but nobody wanted to have that conversation. We had no choice but to file this suit and let the law stand, he said. I hope there is a better approach next time. In a statement Monday night, Gov. Nixon said SB5 was intended to end the unacceptable abuses of the municipal court system in the St. Louis region and ensure all municipal courts in the state operate fairly, ethically and transparently. As we continue to review todays ruling, I look forward to working with the Legislature this session to make any changes that are needed to ensure this important law can be fully and fairly enforced, Nixon said. State Auditor Nicole Galloway said in a statement that her office was reviewing the ruling and what it might mean for her office, which is charged with ensuring municipalities comply with the reporting requirements of the law. She said an ongoing initiative that involves more aggressive audits of the municipal courts will continue regardless of what happens with the lawsuit. If the state appeals, Alton said, then the plaintiffs will be ready to fight that battle as well. Alton, a city attorney in Pagedale and municipal judge and prosecutor in several other north St. Louis County municipalities, said he hopes the decision sends a message to Schmitt and other lawmakers who are drafting a new bill that would further limit municipal courts by restricting what they can raise from nontraffic-related ordinances, such as housing code violations. While current versions of that bill do not have special provisions that apply only to St. Louis County, Alton said he believes the intent is the same. This ought to give the Legislature a bit of pause, he said. ST. LOUIS The public will get a chance to weigh in on the proposed settlement between the city of Ferguson and the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry has set a public hearing for 9:30 a.m. April 19. It will be held in Courtroom 3 North at the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse, 111 South 10th Street in St. Louis. The proposed consent decree aims to overhaul the courts and police in Ferguson to ensure the rights of citizens. It would be in effect until Ferguson has achieved full compliance and maintained that status for two years. Ferguson officials had initially rejected some of the terms in a federal proposal to overhaul the city's police department and municipal court. The council said part of the plan would cost too much. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the city. Ferguson officials changed their minds after receiving a letter from Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Gupta assured officials that the city's projected costs of the agreement had been overstated. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said the proposed consent decree "marks the beginning of a process that the citizens of Ferguson have long awaited the process of ensuring that they receive the rights and protections guaranteed to every American under the law." Sharing your view Anyone who wants to speak needs to arrive between 8 and 9 a.m. on April 19 and register. Attorneys and parties to the case will get to speak first. After that, the judge will hear from people in the order they registered. Each person will get five minutes to talk. That courtroom seats about 140, and the judge might require those attending the meeting to rotate in and out of the courtroom if there is a large turnout. Everyone coming into the courthouse needs to show a government-issued photo ID and pass through a metal detector, the judge says. No recording or photography is allowed in the courthouse. The judge will also accept written comments. Anyone who wants to write to the judge should send no more than 10 pages of comments. They can be hand-delivered or mailed to: Clerk of the Court, U.S. District Court, Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse, 111 South 10th Street, St. Louis, Mo., 63102. The written submissions must be received by 4:30 p.m. on April 12. Anything submitted in writing should reference "United States v. City of Ferguson, Case No. 4:16CV180 CDP" The judge says any letters will become part of the court's public file. Letter writers should put their full names on anything they submit but not their addresses. Addresses should be on the envelope. The judge won't accept emails, telephone calls or anonymous submissions. Read the proposed consent decree. WASHINGTON Monday's shooting incident at the Capitol Visitors' Center was inevitably framed against the backdrop of terror threats and last week's violence in Brussels. But in reality, the Capitol has been a magnet for violent acts for much of its history, long before ISIS and al Qaida. The history of Capitol violence goes back to at least 1835, when President Andrew Jackson survived an assassination attempt while attending a funeral there. Unemployed housepainter Richard Lawrence tried twice to shoot Jackson, but his guns did not fire, and Jackson clubbed the assailant and presidential aides tackled him. Jackson suspected Lawrence was a tool of Whig opponents who were angry at his attempts to dismantle the National Bank, but no conspiracy was ever proven. The Smithsonian Institution later tested Lawrence's two guns, and both fired properly. In 1954 four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the House of Representatives gallery during a debate on immigration, wounding five. All five members of Congress who were wounded recovered. The attackers were jailed and later pardoned by Jimmy Carter. In 1971, the radical group Weather Underground set off a bomb during the night in the Capitol to protest the U.S. involvement in Laos. No one was hurt but it caused $300,00 damage. In 1998, Montanan Russell Weston shot and killed two police officers, Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson, in a shootout at a Capital entrance. Weston, who was also wounded in the attack, was deemed to be mentally unfit to stand trial, and has been hospitalized since. One of the doctors who helped treat Weston on the scene was Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who was then in his first term in the Senate and was a heart surgeon before entering politics. In the weeks after 9/11, Capitol offices, including that of then Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, were hit with anthrax mailings (along with news organizations). Five people died in all, but none in the Capitol. Since then, the Capitol Visitors Center a mammoth underground chamber on the east side of the Capitol has been built, both to handle the large crowds of tourists seeking access to the Congress, and to increase security in the post-World War II era. It opened in 2008, four years before a Morroccan national named Amine El Khalifi was arrested in a sting operation conducted by undercover officers in a Capitol Hill parking garage. He later pled guilty to planning a suicide terrorist attack on the Capitol, and was arrested wearing a vest he thought was packed with explosives. He received a 30-year federal prison sentence. ON THE WEB: BY THE NUMBERS: 580,000 - square feet in the massive Capitol Visitors Center. $600 million - cost of building the Capitol Visitors Center 3-5 million - Annual number of visitors to the Capitol, according to the Architect of the Capitol HE SAID IT: "There is no reason to believe this was anything but a criminal act." Capital Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa, who was in just his second full week on the job, told reporters, about Monday's shooting at a security point in the Capitol Visitors Center. 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 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 WILDWOOD A Virginia-based consulting firm on Monday claimed that the Environmental Protection Agency left higher-than-acceptable toxin levels at the Bliss-Ellisville Superfund site after a cleanup two years ago, even though the agency knew about it. The firm, Environmental Stewardship Concepts, also told the Wildwood City Council on Monday night that the EPA found several more hazardous chemicals outside the area it cleaned in 2014, yet has not indicated how, when, or if it will follow up on that contamination. The EPA could not be reached for comment on Monday. The agency disputed Environmental Stewardship Concepts last report on the Bliss-Ellisville site, saying it was mathematically incorrect and overblown. Its been more than 35 years since the EPA removed tens of thousands of tons of dioxin-contaminated soil and hundreds of waste drums from the Bliss-Ellisville site in Wildwood and part of Ellisville. The site used to be a dumping ground for infamous waste hauler Russell Bliss. Whether the site is safe for residential living has been a question for Wildwood since 2008, when a developer got approval to build about two dozen homes on land next to the home where Bliss had lived. The project has been put on hold by Wildwood ever since. The EPA has long assured Wildwood that the site is safe for residents, but city officials and residents have refused to trust the agency, partly because the EPA has had to return to the site for cleanups after it said the site was safe. The EPA is currently moving forward with taking the southern part of the Ellisville Superfund site, the Callahan property, off the National Priorities List, a list of sites that warrant further investigation for possible health and environmental dangers. The EPA can still take action on a delisted site in the future if the need arises. The EPA said in a December letter to Wildwood Mayor Tim Woerther that levels of chemicals and toxins at Callahan are all below a level of concern. Peter DeFur, president of Environmental Stewardship Concepts, told the Wildwood council he thinks delisting any part of the site is a bad idea, largely because many details seem to be lacking, such as whether the propertys groundwater is free of contamination. As it sits now, I wouldnt buy a property anywhere near there, DeFur said. He said the EPA has also previously found strange odors and soil discoloration at Callahan that can be indicative of toluene, a chemical found in gasoline that can have adverse health effects. DeFur said he doesnt know if the EPA followed up on that. DeFur also said hes concerned that the EPA seemed to indicate it will not review the Bliss-Ellisville site every five years, as it normally does with Superfund sites to check for any possible leftover or continuing pollution. DeFur noted that he does not have the complete details on all work the EPA may have done on the site since the EPAs reports on its last cleanup, such as further testing. He said all information on their activities might not readily be available. Environmental Stewardship Concepts specializes in environmental consulting on Superfund sites across the country, including the Potomac River, Hudson River and Portland Harbor in Oregon. DeFur said he has done this kind of work for 20 years. No council action was taken on the report on the report. Correction: The original version of this editorial said Judge Beetem's ruling would first be heard by the Missouri Court of Appeals. As a constitutional matter, it goes on direct appeal to the state Supreme Court. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon E. Beetem had a clear constitutional reason for throwing out key provisions of a new state law limiting municipal court fees and fines in St. Louis County and imposing new standards for the countys municipal police departments. But the law is complex, and may well be overturned on appeal. The Legislature, meanwhile, should offer some short-term fixes. But Beetem merely had to turn to page 53 of the Missouri Constitution to justify his ruling. Article III, Section 40 contains a long list of restrictions on the Legislatures ability to make special laws. Among them, the Legislature cannot make laws regulating the affairs of counties, cities, townships, election or school districts. This will be news to the Legislature, which does it all the time. Senate Bill 5 passed last spring in the wake of revelations sparked by the Ferguson tragedy. In its original form, it set a statewide limit of 10 percent on the percentage of general revenue cities could generate from court fines. Non-metro counties complained, so they got a 20 percent limit in the final bill while St. Louis County got 12.5 percent. But the law threatened the financial existence of many small North County municipalities, some of whom relied on cops and courts for a third of local revenue. So they sued and won. On Tuesday, Attorney General Chris Koster announced hed appeal Beetems ruling to the Missouri Court Supreme Court. From Day one, that's where this case was headed, but Beetem's ruling means the new law can't be enforced as the appeal unfolds. In the meantime, we hope the countys 90 municipalities, 57 police departments and 81 municipal courts will show some restraint. The first impulse, particularly in some North County municipalities, may be to warm up the radar guns. Drivers who use Interstates 70 and 170 should beware. That not only would be wrong, but would likely backfire. SB 5 addressed some serious abuses by undertrained police officers working on orders from city officials in league with a cabal of traffic lawyers and judges. Those problems remain. Here the Legislature can help. Lawmakers should pass Sen. Eric Schmitts, R-Glendale, SB 572, which contains further municipal court reforms. It can be amended to require cities to file monthly reports on fines and fees to a central state database, monitored by the state auditor. Put an emergency clause on the bill so it takes effect as soon as its signed. At the very least, municipal courts should be required to make up-to-date records available for public inspection. No more secrets. Of course, the Supreme Court can and should make this issue moot. The court should dissolve the countys 81 municipal courts and make them divisions of a professionally managed countywide court system. Thats what real justice would look like. The folks in Googleland cant seem to agree on who coined the phrase, You cant know where youre going until you know where youve been. Whoever said it first, thanks. We on the editorial board always need to know where weve been because thats the roadmap for a consistent editorial policy going forward, what the third Joseph Pulitzer called the red thread of continuity. When this newspaper takes a position on a subject or issue, thats where we stand unless we publicly declare that our position is evolving. If we called it wrong the first time, we need to own up to it before setting a new editorial course. With that in mind, it was with a mixture of shock, delight and a little horror that I decided to check out a new archive feature that the Post-Dispatch offers online, allowing readers to go back in time to see where we stood long ago on the major issues of the day. Shock, I felt, at how many editorials my venerable predecessors were able to fit each day onto a single page. Was there anything they didnt have an opinion about? Delight at the incredible variety of topics, humor and colorful verbiage used. And horror at some of the harsh opinions expressed therein. Im still trying to figure out the common thread of thinking that led the newspaper from there to here on subjects such as border security. In 1916, the Post-Dispatch expounded on the proper way to treat the Mexican peasants whom U.S. soldiers encountered as they went to war against Mexican forces. Editorially, we appeared to worry a lot about whether our soldiers were wasteful for sharing their food with peasant beggars, and whether conditions behind barbed wire in American prisoner-of-war camps were so good that Mexicans would surrender just for the opportunity to get a good meal and nice place to sleep. I could have started my search as far back as 1874 but decided to go specifically to what was happening exactly 100 years ago today. Excerpts of these old editorials are now appearing daily at the top of our op-ed pages, where previously we published snippets of the letters to the editor posted online. A century ago, only four other U.S. newspapers equaled the Post-Dispatch in Sunday circulation. As we still do today, the words known as The Platform, delivered by Joseph Pulitzer on April 10, 1907, appeared every day on the editorial page to remind readers: This is our bottom line. The Weatherbird warned daily of darkening skies over Europe as the United States drew closer to involvement in World War I. As U.S. expeditionary troops pursued Pancho Villa in Mexico, German troops were moving deeper into France while British forces challenged Ottoman positions in what is now Iraq. Closer to home, St. Louis police officers spent their time raiding restaurants at night to enforce proper standards of morality and decency. (Our editorial pages opposed Prohibition.) A raid on the Racquet Club on Kingshighway yielded this newspapers editorial expression of shock, shock, at the discovery of gambling, which menaces the moral and material welfare of members of some of the best families in St. Louis. This pool alley gambling vortex included none other than August A. Busch. Surely, we spluttered, the police would not wink at this incipient gambling den that threatened moral and pecuniary disaster. Our pages heralded a Womens Preparedness Meeting at the Odeon Theater, where former President William Howard Taft joined other dignitaries in advising how women could assist in the nations defense as war in Europe beckoned. In the letters to the editor column, reader John W. Day called for establishment of an Anti-Preparedness Committee and urged the public to repudiate what he saw as the insidious foes of peace and safety trying to draw the United States into the fight. Your Post-Dispatch did not mince words when it came to Theodore Roosevelt, the former president and Army colonel. We detested him and his bombastic, crass, swashbuckling style. Did we go too far? Reader Henry C. Patterson, who proclaimed himself to be a habitual and sympathetic reader of our editorial pages, wrote to complain, I protest against our incessant lampooning of Roosevelt. Ye gods! How the truth can be twisted (often ignorantly) to set traps for fools! We decried Roosevelts quick tendency to go negative in campaigning and not to offer any kind or generous words for incumbent President Woodrow Wilson. Sound familiar in todays political context? Our editorial pages worried about excessive taxes and overpaid politicians in Jefferson City. We even fretted 100 years ago about the wanton destruction of old architectural landmarks while lamenting the neglect and abandonment that had allowed gems to fall into disrepair. So its absolutely true, you have to know where youve been to know where youre going. Reading these archives, however, I find myself wondering if where were really going is around in circles. 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. Special audits at the Zoo-Museum District will never be the same unless the mayor and county executive appoint and retain board members who are truly interested in watching the $70 million in taxpayer money that is distributed annually to our five cultural institutions. I served as a commissioner on the Missouri History Museum board for over 10 years and advised St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay that the budget review process needed to be improved. The mayor told me that he would support efforts to make the use of taxpayer money more transparent. The ZMD Board initiated annual special audits to be made at one institution per year. The first one at the St. Louis Science Center was quite successful and led to the elimination of high-paid but unnecessary executive positions and the departure of the president. Newly appointed ZMD board members Jerome Glick and Robert Lowery shared my concerns at the history museum, and that institution was chosen by the full board to have the next special audit. I was the chairman of the audit committee. We met with the auditor and planned a course of agreed-upon procedures to be implemented. The problems uncovered by the special audits included an enhanced four-plus-month vacation policy that encouraged the president, Robert Archibald, to accrue unused vacation that rewarded him with more than $600,000; a land purchase from Freeman Bosley Jr. that exceeded the appraised value of the property by more than $500,000; a salary for Archibald higher than any other history museum in the country; and a $1 million pledge to the Loop Trolley. These problems were so serious that the trustees of the Missouri Historical Society sought the assistance of Mayor Slay to allay the public tumult that would follow. They and the mayor proposed that former Sen. John Danforth be invited to intervene and devise a new plan that would shield these excesses from public scrutiny and debate. The problem was that Sen. Danforth had a conflict of interest in that he was a member of the law firm that represented the history museum, with whom he proposed to negotiate. Shortly after my meeting with Sen. Danforth, I received a call from Mayor Slay asking me to withhold the audit committee report that revealed these excesses at the following days meeting until Sen. Danforth completed his plan. I refused to comply with his request. After Sen. Danforth spoke of his proposed plan, Tom Campbell made a motion to table the audit report and keep it from becoming public. It passed. Fortunately, Charlie Valier had already distributed the report to the press at the beginning of the meeting. Four members of the eight-member ZMD Board (Glick, Lowery, Valier and I) supported the audit committee report during many heated meetings. During the entire process, we were unable to meet with the mayor. He would not take our calls. Eventually Lowery changed his allegiance, Jerry Glick was not reappointed in 2014 by County Executive Charlie Dooley, and Mayor Slay did not reappoint me in 2015. Just recently Charles Valier, the remaining board member who supported greater transparency and ethics for the ZMD, was not reappointed. The audit committee was stripped of its authority for the special audits for the next three institutions. No longer did members of the ZMD audit committee meet with the auditor to plan a course of action. This work was to be done by the auditor and the ZMD executive director with input only from the chair of the ZMD Board. The full board was only given the results of the special audits one week before meeting with the institutions members being audited. Recently, Campbell, the new chairman, has proposed to cancel the special audits and institute a procedures review, something the auditors for the institutions already perform. The overseeing of the cultural institutions budgets by the ZMD Board is already cursory at best, with the ZMD meeting annually only once at each institution. To perform any meaningful mission the ZMD must continue the special audits. Nevertheless, nothing substantive will happen unless the mayor and county executive appoint citizens to the commissions and ZMD Board who will stand up for the taxpayers. Recently, the mayor has shown that he has no such intention. Gloria Wessels is a former board member of the Zoo-Museum District. We have been successfully countering the activities of major lobbying firms hired by Turkey and Azerbaijan For years, many critical books and articles have been written about foreign countries and domestic groups for hiring lobbying firms or making campaign contributions to influence government officials. One such article was published last week by L. Michael Hager in the Foreign Policy Journal titled, The Best Congress AIPAC Can Buy. AIPAC is the acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.The author acknowledges that there is nothing illegal or morally wrong with lobbying Congress or candidates for office. In fact, it can serve a useful purpose in educating members and candidates about matters subject to legislation. The problem comes when the lobbyists use money to secure access or buy support for proposed bills and resolutions. After that benign introduction, however, Hager concludes that for the sake of our democracy, the flow of interest group money that is buying off our elected lawmakers must be stopped. Hager states that nowhere is the influence and power of a political lobby more evident than in the annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held on March 22-24 in Washington, DC. Conference speakers addressed more than 15,000 pro-Israel Americans (including 2/3 of the current Members of Congress). Among the speakers were 30 members of the U.S. Congress, 25 of whom received 2016 contributions from pro-Israel PACs and individuals, averaging $36,000 per recipient ($908,000 in total). From each of those speakers, AIPAC gains a public expression of high level support for Israel. Hager reported that the AIPAC conference attracted nearly 400 speakers, including Vice President Joe Biden and Presidential candidates Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. According to the writer, AIPAC generated contributions in the amount of $212,927 for Hillary Clinton and $203,850 for Ted Cruz. Marco Rubio received $132,552 and Lindsey Graham $74,200. No surprise that all of those candidates have pledged full support for Israel. The author considers The AIPAC-led pro-Israel lobby as probably the strongest, best organized and most effective lobby network in Washington, DC. For the 2015-2016 election cycle, the pro-Israel network has already dispensed $4,255,136 in contributions. The largest single amount ($259,688) went to Senator Charles Schumer of New York. Hager explains that AIPAC itself does not make political contributions and is in fact legally prohibited from doing so. Instead it uses its considerable resources ($3 million annual lobbying budget) to link current and aspiring members of Congress with pro-Israel donors. AIPACs projection of invincibility encourages political candidates and officeholders to accept pro-Israel contributions or risk seeing those funds go to their opponents. For example, former Congressman Paul Findley and former Senator Charles Percy lost their seats for failure to adhere to the AIPAC line. The author criticisms emanate from his concern that the appearance of conflict of interest erodes citizen trust in government. Given the critical importance of money for reelection campaigns, political contributions such as mentioned above have the potential to corrupt or create the appearance of corrupting otherwise honest officials. Hager acknowledges that AIPAC is only one part of a larger picture, dominated by congressional fundraising and lobby contributions, such as Defense, pharmaceuticals, the NRA and other lobbies. In my view, it is justified to criticize lobbying firms and their paymasters when they violate U.S. laws. However, it is more important to strengthen ones own lobbying efforts than disparage what others are doing. While it is necessary from an Armenian perspective to monitor closely the lobbying firms hired by Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenians should focus on what they can do to support their two public affairs organizations in Washington -- The Armenian Assembly and Armenian National Committee of America. Despite their limited staff and resources, these Armenian-American groups have been successfully countering the activities of major lobbying firms hired for millions of dollars by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Fortunately, Armenian-American groups do not need such exorbitant sums to pursue their political goals in Washington because it costs much less to present the truth of their just cause, unlike Turkey and Azerbaijan which have to spend huge amounts of money to deceive the politicians and the public! By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com Students addressed numerous questions related to the power-opposition cooperation On March 29, the NA Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov met with a group of students from Yerevan State University and Khachatur Abovyan State Pedagogical University. At the meeting the key issues were the RA Draft Electoral Code and the electoral processes, and a series of items concerning the Constitutional reforms were discussed. The NA Deputy Speaker presented the main emphases of the RA Draft Electoral Code and the amendments being designed, and highlighted the increase of the public trust and the escalation of the control towards the electoral processes, to which, according to him, the Code under revision is mainly directed. In this context, the NA Deputy Speaker touched upon the parties' activities, considered necessary to develop such an electoral system, which can raise the role of the parties. According to Eduard Sharmazanov, that goal is aimed at transformation to proportional electoral system. Eduard Sharmazanov has noted that revising the Draft Code meeting-debates with different political forces and civil society is carried out, and all constructive proposals are taken into consideration. During the warm and immediate talk the students addressed numerous questions to the NA Deputy Speaker, which mainly related to the power-opposition cooperation, the provisions of the RA Draft Electoral Code, the proxies, the representation of the national minorities' representatives in the future parliament and other issues. 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. Gaspari: They put the blame on one person Civic activist Vardges Gaspari doubts that Mkhitar Sargsyan, his cellmate in Nubarashen prison, committed suicide. Most likely, he was subjected to violence through his cellmates according the instruction of prison authorities, because he was one of the people, who were in that cell during violence, Vardges Gaspari told A1+. Mkhitar Sargsyans wife told Epress.am that his husband had no connection with the ill-treatment and torture Gaspari had been subjected to in jail and in reality her husband was killed because he refused to take the blame for it. Vardges Gaspari also shares this viewpoint: According to mafia law they want to put the blame on someone, punish someone so that the representatives of the power can get off with a whole skin. As he didnt agree about this scenario, most likely the criminals in mutual agreement with the prison authorities used violence against him, killed him in his cell, then hanged to create an illusion of suicide, said Gaspari. The activist didnt remember Mkhitar Sargsyan beat him. To remind, based on the application of Human Rights Defender in connection with the fact of use of torture against Vardges Gaspari a criminal case was instituted at the SIS under Article of official negligence. By the way, Mkhitar Sargsyan, who according to official version committed suicide in the showers of Nubarashen prison, would have been released in two days. Tektronix Drives the Transition to Live IP Media Productions with Software-Defined Analysis Platform New Prism Platform Bridges the Gap between SDI and IP Worlds with Unique Ability to Correlate SDI and IP Media Signals BEAVERTON, Ore, ( ) Tektronix, Inc. an industry-leading innovator of video quality monitoring solutions, today unveiled an industry-first hybrid SDI/IP media analysis platform, Prism, that enables a smooth transition from SDI-based to IP-based infrastructure. The new test and diagnostic solution will be demonstrated in Booth #SU5006 at the NAB Show, taking place April 18-21 in Las Vegas. The broadcast industry is at the beginning of a revolutionary migration to an all-IP infrastructure. However, huge investments in existing technology and workflows mean that this transition will take place in phases, creating a need for test and monitoring solutions that can provide visibility into new kinds of problems and then keep things consistent for engineers and operators as they manage hybrid facilities. Prism addresses this need with its unique ability to diagnose and correlate both SDI and IP signal types and help quickly identify the root cause of the error, whether it is in the IP layer or in the content layer. With Prism, we are providing an essential tool for broadcasters and content creators that will give them the confidence to build out IP facilities. On top of new forms of analysis, we know a big part of our job is to help our customers leverage the existing workflows, talent, and infrastructure as they embark on these changes, said Charlie Dunn, general manager, Video Product Line, Tektronix. Going a step further, as a completely new software-defined analysis platform, Prism also represents a future-proof solution that will continue to give our customers the flexibility and insights they need well beyond the transition period. Prism offers input signals identification that can quickly identify the IP streams in the Ethernet link and the content in each of the stream. Various intuitive displays help shorten the learning curve of users. Specifically, Prism provides packet interval histogram and trend graphs that help determine the root cause of packet loss. Graphical displays coupled with historical data help solve intermittent problems quickly. Its timing display helps engineers quickly adjust the timing of the signal within a hybrid environment using PTP or black burst / tri-level sync as the reference source. As a software-defined platform, Prism can accommodate a wide range of application needs and will be continuously updated as new technologies and standards emerge over time. Pricing & Availability Contact a local Tektronix Sales Representative for more information or visithttp://www.tek.com/prism. Wondering what else Tektronix is up to? Check out the Tektronix Bandwidth Banter blog and stay up to date on the latest news from Tektronix on Twitter and Facebook. About Tektronix Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix delivers innovative, precise and easy-to-operate test, measurement and monitoring solutions that solve problems, unlock insights and drive discovery. Tektronix has been at the forefront of the digital age for over 70 years. Join us on the journey of innovation at TEK.COM. Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) today filed its definitive proxy statement for its Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS) shareholder resolution asking their board of directors to engage in good faith discussions with CP regarding a business combination. CP also filed a letter that will be sent to all NS shareholders about the opportunity to create significant value for NS shareholders. In filing its own definitive proxy statement on March 28, NS stated: "[The] Shareholder Proposal from Canadian Pacific is Unnecessary Because Norfolk Southern Would Have Discussions with CP if it Obtains a Declaratory Order and States a Willingness to Meaningfully Increase its Offer." "CP has consistently stated that we are open to discussing all terms of a potential deal, including price, but we can't negotiate with ourselves," said CP CEO, E. Hunter Harrison. "Given we have also asked the Surface Transportation Board for a declaratory order on the voting trust model we were pleased to hear that Norfolk Southern may now be willing to engage in direct face-to-face discussions." CP's proposed business combination with NS would create a true end-to-end transcontinental railroad that would enhance competition, benefit the public and drive economic growth. CP has demonstrated from the beginning that it is flexible on price, having improved its offer twice already, and shown flexibility on the structure of a potential combination, offering a voting trust structure as the quickest way for NS shareholders to receive consideration for their shares. CP has consistently said, however, that the voting trust is not a condition of its offer. NS shareholders have been telling CP from the beginning that their own board should, at the very least, talk to CP about a potential combination. CP's shareholder resolution to NS asks shareholders to formally vote in favour of what they have been saying to CP anecdotally for months; it is a vote for a discussion between the two companies, not on the proposal itself. The shareholder resolution will be voted on at the NS annual meeting May 12 in Williamsburg, Virginia. "The NS board has refused to meet with us in the past, which ultimately led to our shareholder resolution," said Harrison. "While we remain open to meeting with them anytime and anywhere, we are putting the question to the shareholders of NS so they can finally be heard. We continue to see tremendous opportunity and enormous potential in the proposed business combination."CP strongly believes that a combined railroad would offer unparalleled customer service and competitive rates that will support the success of the shippers and industries it serves, create far more shareholder value than NS' strategic plan and satisfy the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and other regulators. The definitive proxy statement and related proxy materials, including CP's letters to shareholders and a "universal" GREEN proxy or voting instruction form, will be mailed to shareholders of NS and are also available via EDGAR at http://www.SEC.gov. A branch of Swiss bank UBS is seen in the mountain resort of St. Moritz, Switzerland March 15, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann - By Katya Golubkova, Olga Popova and Oksana Kobzeva MOSCOW (Reuters) - Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are interested in advising the Russian government on several privatizations as long as the deals do not violate sanctions, three banking sources told Reuters. The banks responded to a request for proposals that the Russian Economy Ministry sent to Russian and foreign banks this month for advisory roles in the planned sales of a 50.08 percent stake in oil firm Bashneft and 10.9 percent stakes in both diamond miner Alrosa and lender VTB . Bankers have previously told Reuters that Western investments banks with Russian operations are reluctant to advise Moscow on planned privatizations as they are worried about the consequences of violating Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. However, three bankers told Reuters that UBS and Credit Suisse were among banks that responded to the request. A fourth banking source said that Italy's UniCredit had also answered the RFP. "I heard that the Swiss were saying that they will take part if no sanctions are broken," a senior Western banker said. The banker and other banking sources said no U.S. bank has responded to the RFP. Spokeswomen for Credit Suisse and UBS and a spokesman for UniCredit all declined to comment. U.S. banks Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi (NYSE: C) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) were among Western banks that received RFPs, along with European peers including Deutsche Bank , Barclays , Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS), BNP Paribas , Societe Generale and Raiffeisen . Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said last week that three banks should lead the privatization process set for later this year, with one or two more banks helping to run the deals. He said that Western banks had responded to the RFPs but did not name them. A spokeswoman for the economy ministry declined to name the banks. Though Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it joined EU sanctions imposed on Russia over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis. Nevertheless, Switzerland was excluded from counter-sanctions imposed by Russia on imports of food products from Europe. As a result, the only Western European cheese on sale in Moscow supermarket shelves is Swiss cheese. The EU financial sanctions do not explicitly prevent European firms from advising on most Russian transactions. But some of the measures include grey areas that are open to interpretation. Firms are also concerned that their business with Russian partners could be declared to violate sanctions if they restrictions are tightened at any point. Russian banks invited to submit proposals included the following lenders or their units: Sberbank , VTB , VEB, Gazprombank, Renaissance Capital, Alfa Bank, MDM Bank and The Auction House of the Russian Federation. Economy Minister Ulyukayev told reporters on Monday that the ministry would continue looking through the proposals this week. It will then send its recommendations to a government panel which will make the final decision, the ministry spokeswoman said in emailed comments. (Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya in Moscow, Silvia Aloisi in Milan, Joshua Franklin and Oliver Hirt in Zurich; editing by Anna Willard) HAK: 4+4+4 format negotiations must last 2 weeks (video) Tomorrow 12 representatives of 4+4+4 format will start the negotiations over making 5 changes in the Electoral Code. There it isnt possible behind the back of the people make any dark deals even theoretically. It is done in presence of 12 people independently, says the RA NA Armenian National Congress (HAK) faction head Levon Zurabyan. Levon Zurabyan will not be against if the whole process of the negotiations is broadcast live on TV as they have nothing to conceal from the public. Mr Zurabyan thinks that the authorities have no alternative; they must accept the oppositions demand and make essential changes in the Electoral Code- publish the signed voter lists, clean the electoral lists and separate those, who are in Armenia, from those, who arent in Armenia, etc. The international organizations demand the same from Armenia. The international community will not enter into economic cooperation with Armenia, if it doesnt get clear guarantees, that finally free and fair elections will be held in Armenia. Levon Zurabyan reminds that 5 provisions arent the caprice of the opposition, but the demand of the society. The journalist noted that there is no guarantee that the authorities will agree to make concessions and accept, for example, the publication of the lists: We must fight so that it will be implemented, he says. According to Levon Zurabyan it derives from the interests of the power to agree about the demands of the opposition. But if the opposition doesnt reach its goal, there are other ways: If there is mutual agreement with the public organizations, political forces, we also may take to the streets, who not? By the way, Levon Zurabyan notes that the authorities cannot delay the negotiations and tire the public, as he will demand so that the negotiations last 2 weeks. Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE) announced that it has agreed to acquire EagleEye Analytics, a provider of SaaS-based predictive analytics products specifically designed for Property/Casualty insurers. The transaction is expected to close imminently. With this acquisition, Guidewire will enable its customers to apply predictive analytics to make better decisions across the insurance lifecycle. Guidewire will support the complete predictive analytics process including data preparation, model building, operational deployment, performance monitoring, and analytic feedback. EagleEyes products will be renamed Guidewire Predictive Analytics and will be available as part of Guidewires Data and Analytics product family. Two predictive analytics products will be available: Guidewire Predictive Analytics for Claims addresses claims management decisions such as claim severity potential, claim routing and assignment, and identifying claims with litigation/subrogation potential. addresses claims management decisions such as claim severity potential, claim routing and assignment, and identifying claims with litigation/subrogation potential. Guidewire Predictive Analytics for Profitability addresses underwriting and distribution objectives such as accurate ratemaking and risk selection, underwriting cost reduction, maximizing customer lifetime value, and portfolio optimization. We welcome the EagleEye team to Guidewire, where their expertise in Property/Casualty processes and data science will advance our mission of enabling insurers to adapt and succeed in a time of significant change, said Marcus Ryu, chief executive officer, Guidewire Software. Their products, as with the others built by our Data and Analytics team, will leverage and further differentiate the capabilities of Guidewire's insurance platform, the most broadly adopted in the industry. We are excited about how this acquisition will enable us to serve our customers, said Neil Betteridge, vice president, Strategy, Guidewire Software. Adding advanced Property/Casualty predictive analytics functionality to our Data and Analytics products will enable carriers to make significantly better, faster decisions, leading to better outcomes for insurers and their policyholders. This is a very exciting day for the EagleEye team. As a leader in providing predictive analytics for Property/Casualty insurance we see the fit with Guidewire as ideal, said Wade Bontrager, CEO, EagleEye Analytics and incoming vice president, Predictive Analytics, Guidewire Software. We look forward to accelerating our journey in providing insurers with a comprehensive predictive analytics system that spans the insurance lifecycle and doing so as part of the Guidewire team. EagleEye was selected by insurers to receive a 2015 Vanguards in Insurance Practices (VIP) award* in the Predictive Analytics category. EagleEye has more than 30 insurance customers in North America and Europe. Nine of these customers are also existing Guidewire customers. The company is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina with offices in London, UK. A privately held company, EagleEye is backed by FirstMark Capital in New York. Guidewire Predictive Analytics will be available to insurers in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, either standalone or to complement Guidewire PolicyCenter, or ClaimCenter. Guidewire does not expect this transaction to have a material impact on revenue or non-GAAP profitability in the third quarter or full year fiscal 2016. Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski (L) at his side as he talks about the results of the Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri primary elections during a news conference hel By Emily Stephenson and Colleen Jenkins (Reuters) - Donald Trump's presidential campaign manager was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery in Florida on Tuesday in an incident involving a reporter, the latest chapter in a raucous U.S. race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations. Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Corey Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8. Republican front-runner Trump repeatedly defended Lewandowski throughout a day of campaigning in Wisconsin. He also rescinded a previous pledge to support the Republican presidential nominee if it is not him. "No, not anymore," he said when asked if he would honor his previous pledge. At a CNN town hall on Tuesday night, Trump said he would remain loyal to his campaign manager and that Lewandowski would remain on the job even though it might be more convenient on behalf of his campaign to "terminate this man, ruin his life, ruin his family ... ruin his whole everything and say: 'You're fired.'" Trump also questioned Fields' original description of the incident in which she said she was almost yanked to the ground by Lewandowski. He wondered aloud if she had posed a threat to him because she approached him with an ink pen. "She had a pen in her hand that couldve been a knife," Trump said. Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd. At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her. Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, are tumultuous at times and have been marked by occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel. His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies. Trump leads rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in opinion polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort to stop him by a Republican establishment worried he will lead the party to defeat in November. Cruz said Trump "of course" should ask for Lewandowski's resignation. "Look, it shouldn't be complicated that members of the campaign staff shouldnt be physically assaulting the press," Cruz said on the CNN town hall. Kasich said he considered such behavior "totally and completely" inappropriate. "If it was me, if I was in this circumstance, I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing," Kasich told reporters in Wisconsin. WALKER ENDORSES CRUZ Cruz picked up the endorsement on Tuesday of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, called Cruz a principled constitutional conservative. "I'm all in," Walker said in an interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner. Walker joins a number of other more establishment Republicans who have backed Cruz as an alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on illegal immigration, Muslims and women. On his plane, Trump said Fields had been pursuing him after a news conference and Lewandowski was trying to "get her off me." He questioned whether Lewandowski had given Fields the bruise on her arm. "How do you know those bruises weren't there before?" he asked reporters in Wisconsin. Republican strategist Katie Packer, who runs an anti-Trump Super PAC, said the incident and the charges against Lewandowski reflected the candidate's lack of respect toward women. "He doesnt have the kind of values and the kind of temperament that we should expect from someone who wants to be commander in chief," she said. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offense, it is a misdemeanor in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000. A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail. Lewandowskis lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said. Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson in Washington and Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Additional reporting by Alana Wise, Doina Chiacu, Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland and Megan Cassella in Washington, and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) IRVINE, Calif. and HERSTAL, Belgium, March 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MDxHealth SA (Euronext: MDXH.BR), announced today that it has partnered with Andros Men's Health Clinic (Andros Mannenkliniek) in The Netherlands to offer the SelectMDx(TM) for Prostate Cancer test to their patients. Through this new partnership, Andros Men's Clinic (Mannenkliniek), the largest independent urological treatment center in The Netherlands, has added SelectMDx to its panel of men's prostate cancer diagnostic tests. The SelectMDx is a non-invasive urine based test to identify men at risk for aggressive prostate cancer who may benefit from early detection and an initial prostate biopsy or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A negative SelectMDx also helps identify men at very low risk for clinically significant cancer, and could reduce unnecessary invasive biopsies, thereby reducing healthcare costs. Under this partnership the Andros Men's Health Clinic will offer the SelectMDx test to all patients considered at risk for prostate cancer and over 500 patients to undergo testing in the first year alone. The SelectMDx test will be available to Andros Men's Health Clinic patients starting on April 1st 2016. Prof. Dr. Frans Debruyne, Medical Director and Co-Founder of the Andros Men's Health Clinic (Andros Mannenkliniek) stated: "At our clinic we recently launched a program we call the Andros Center for Prostate Cancer to deliver precision diagnosis for prostate cancer. Through this program we offer innovative diagnostic technologies (including mpMRI) to improve the diagnosis of aggressive prostate cancer and prescribe the optimal treatment plan for our patients. Now we have further enhanced our diagnostic algorithm with the SelectMDx test, which is indicated for men with high risk factors such as abnormal DRE and/or elevated PSA levels who are being considered for prostate biopsy. We believe the test will aid in improved patient risk stratification, avoiding unnecessary biopsy procedures for low risk men, as well as identifying men at risk for clinically significant cancer who may require treatment." "We are delighted to announce our collaboration with Andros Men's Health Clinic, an established leader for aging men's health care in The Netherlands; our SelectMDx test perfectly complements their portfolio of advanced diagnostic tools," commented Dr. Jan Groen, CEO of MDxHealth. "They have built a strong reputation with a focus on improving patient care and outcomes, and therefore make an ideal partner to help us raise awareness and expand access to SelectMDx within the urology community." About MDxHealth MDxHealth is a multinational healthcare company that provides actionable molecular diagnostic information to personalize the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The company's tests are based on proprietary gene methylation (epigenetic) and other molecular technologies and assist physicians with the diagnosis of cancer, prognosis of recurrence risk, and prediction of response to a specific therapy. For more information, visit mdxhealth.com and follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/mdxhealth. About Andros Men's Health Clinic (Andros Mannenkliniek) Andros Men's Health Clinic is the largest independent urological treatment center in The Netherlands with medical offices in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Baarn, The Hague and Maastricht. The specialized clinic focuses on the general urogenital health of ageing men and aims to address issues with the prostate, erectile dysfunction and hormone deficiencies. On an annual basis more over 6,000 men visited the Andros Clinic. About SelectMDx for Prostate Cancer Of the nearly 2 million prostate biopsies performed each year, less than a third find cancer. Most of these men could have avoided a painful and invasive prostate biopsy procedure, with its associated complications and costs. SelectMDxTM for Prostate Cancer is a proprietary urine-based, molecular diagnostic test that offers a non-invasive "liquid biopsy" method to assess a man's risk for prostate cancer. SelectMDx helps identify men at increased risk of harbouring aggressive, potentially lethal, prostate cancer who may benefit most from a prostate biopsy and earlier detection. The test delivers a negative predictive value (NPV) of 98% for clinically significant disease, helping to reduce unnecessary MRI procedures and invasive prostate biopsies by approximately 50%, thereby reducing healthcare costs. For more information: Dr. Jan Groen, CEO MDxHealth US: +1 949 812 6979 BE: +32 4 364 20 70 [email protected] Amber Fennell, Chris Welsh, Hendrik Thys (PR & IR) Consilium Strategic Communications UK: +44 20 3709 5701 US: +1 917 322 2571 (Rx Communications Group LLC) [email protected] Frans M.J. Debruyne, MD, PhD Professor of Urology (Em.) Medical Director Andros Men's Health Institutes [email protected] NL: +31 26 3891753 www.andros.nl This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates with respect to the anticipated future performance of MDxHealth and the market in which it operates. Such statements and estimates are based on assumptions and assessments of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which were deemed reasonable but may not prove to be correct. Actual events are difficult to predict, may depend upon factors that are beyond the company's control, and may turn out to be materially different. MDxHealth expressly disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements in this release to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based unless required by law or regulation. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities or assets of MDxHealth in any jurisdiction. No securities of MDxHealth may be offered or sold within the United States without registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or in compliance with an exemption therefrom, and in accordance with any applicable U.S. securities laws. NOTE: The MDxHealth logo, MDxHealth, ConfirmMDx, SelectMDx, AssureMDx and PredictMDx are trademarks or registered trademarks of MDxHealth SA. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. To access the PDF version, click here http://hugin.info/137314/R/1997697/736473.pdf HUG#1997697 Source: MdxHealth (TM) Vietnamese navy sailors march during a parade marking their 70th National Day at Ba Dinh square in Hanoi, Vietnam September 2, 2015. REUTERS/Kham BEIJING (Reuters) - The militaries of China and Vietnam should deepen their exchanges, communication and friendship, China's defense minister said during a visit to Hanoi, amid a festering territorial dispute in the 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 Chinese President Xi Jinping to Hanoi last year. Meeting Vietnam Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan said the two sides should strive to maintain the close ties forged in the past by leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh. The two militaries should "increase high level exchanges and strategic communication, increase friendly feelings, deepen border defense exchanges and practical cooperation on U.N. peacekeeping, military academic research and the defense industry", Chang said, in a statement carried late on Monday by China's Defence Ministry. While there was no direct mention of the South China Sea, the ministry said the commander of China's South China Sea fleet, Shen Jinlong, attended the meeting. 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 that China controls. Vietnam called China's actions a serious infringement of its sovereignty over the Paracels. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Its Southeast Asian neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, also claim parts of the sea, as does Taiwan. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) British-Iranian Ali Tehrani, a 24-year-old University College of London graduate and founder of start-up firm KeyPursuit, poses for a photograph in Brick Lane in London, Britain, in this picture taken March 22, 2016. REUTERS/Pamela Barbaglia By Pamela Barbaglia LONDON (Reuters) - International firms are hunting for Western-educated Iranians to take on executive jobs in the Islamic Republic after the removal of most sanctions, but are finding it hard to win them over. Interviews with Western companies and headhunters as well as more than 20 Iranians living abroad showed that expatriates are waiting to see how promised reforms progress before deciding whether to go back, despite lucrative job offers. Many in the diaspora are put off by the poor quality of life and problems such as red tape, a murky business culture, security issues, pollution and a lack of international schools for their children. They are also concerned about their rights and protections under the Islamic Republic's judicial system. Their reluctance is making life harder for conglomerates who need help to navigate Iran's complex business world, train the local workforce and bridge a cultural and linguistic gap with affluent local consumers in the country of 80 million. "This is the place where an expat who holds an MBA (Master of Business Administration) and has the right entrepreneurial attitude can make a real impact. Yet there's never been a queue of expats applying for jobs here," Giuseppe Carella, the Iran country chief of Swiss food group Nestle, told Reuters. To nurture future managers, Nestle sends local graduates overseas for several years, honing their skills away from Iran until they're ready to go back, Carella said. Expats remain a tiny minority of the about 1,000 employees at the firm's subsidiary in Iran, 15 years after its launch. President Hassan Rouhani met Iranian expatriates in New York last September and urged them to re-engage with Iran, weeks after Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions. During a visit to Singapore this month, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iranian nationals living abroad were "the best bridges for dialogue of cultures and civilizations". MANY MISGIVINGS The Iranian diaspora is estimated by Iranian officials at between 5 and 7 million people, mostly living in North America, Europe and the Gulf. Some, like Paniz Golkar, a 26-year-old dual national of Iran and Canada, are tempted to return. "I feel it's my responsibility to go back. Iran needs professionals from all fields," said Golkar, who is due to finish her studies at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in April. "It will be challenging to prove myself as a woman in business but there are more career opportunities in Iran than anywhere else. "A lot of Iranians in California are talking about moving back, it's an option we can't ignore," she said. But there are many challenges to consider. Some expatriates whose families left Iran before or soon after the 1979 revolution are skeptical about career prospects and worry that Tehran's refusal to recognize their dual citizenship status makes them vulnerable to arbitrary arrest. Security forces have arrested some dual nationals who hold U.S. and European passports in recent years on unspecified national security charges. Others hesitate because of concerns over the bureaucratic regime, the lower standard of living in traffic-clogged Tehran and restrictions enforced by the "morality police" on Islamic dress and behavior codes. British-Iranian Ali Tehrani, 24, tried to relocate to Iran last October but was worn down by the challenge of securing permits and licenses and an exemption from military service, which in Iran is compulsory and lasts 24 months. "I quickly realized I didn't have the skill sets to navigate the bureaucracy in Iran," he said. A graduate of University College London who founded a human resources tech firm, KeyPursuit.com, he had hoped to launch an Internet start-up in Iran focusing on online payments. He abandoned the project after three months. A 2016 survey of 230 cities by consultant Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of living, worse than Pakistan's Islamabad and Kenya's Nairobi. Home to around 14 million people, Tehran's metropolitan area is often blanketed in smog and schools are frequently shut because air pollution keeps reaching alarming levels. Several Iranians based in the Gulf told Reuters that Western firms wanted to recruit them as they don't trust the local workforce because of concerns about corruption and breaches of security and intellectual property rights. "Loyalty remains one of the main issues when it comes to local staff," said a Tehran-based management consultant who requested anonymity. "Compensation is so low that people tend to have two or three different jobs, without any serious full-time commitment." Iran ranked 130th out of 168 countries on Transparency International's 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index. After watching many swings of the political pendulum in recent years, Iranians abroad also worry that the economic reforms led by President Rouhani may ultimately be blocked. Rouhani wants to modernize the economy with the help of foreign investment and wealthy rich expats owning assets worth an estimated $2 trillion. Gains by allies in parliamentary elections are expected to help him push through the reforms. But hardline allies of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said this month that Western business delegations have failed to deliver any benefit to Iran's economy. COMPETITION TO WOO DIASPORA Aware of expats' reservations, foreign firms are trying to woo Western residents with packages that can include high pay, family expenses and private school fees, and are billed as offering a faster career path than in the West. A Western-educated Iranian can earn in excess of $15,000 a month, up to about $250,000 a year, in a senior executive role at a Western conglomerate in Iran, several headhunters and executives told Reuters. For the same job at an Iranian firm, they said, locals would earn around $5,000 a month, up to about $100,000 a year. This compares to a minimum monthly wage for local workers of $225, according to a 2015 study by Tehran-based consultancy REF Group. Former science and technology minister Reza Faraji Dana said in 2014 about 150,000 of Iran's "highly talented people" were leaving annually, costing the economy as much as $150 billion a year. "For years Iran has had a brain-drain problem. Now people holding a Western degree can get high-profile jobs and move up through the ranks (in Iran) at a much faster pace than anywhere else," said Sarmad Afarinesh, an Austrian-educated Iranian whose Vienna-based company, Arhax Consulting, helps multinational firms enter Iran. Consultants who cater to Western conglomerates seeking access to Iran -- one business that is growing fast across all sectors -- can earn up to $10,000 a month without relocating permanently, headhunters say. Reza Joorabchi, a 35-year-old Iranian-Canadian who left Iran at the age of six months, moved back to Tehran in November to help Western firms crack the market. "Everybody is surprised that I've lasted for more than two months. The quality of living is so poor that many expats give up almost immediately," he said. "You need to have a thick skin to survive." Joorabchi said foreign companies must now distinguish between expats willing to live in Iran and those who are ready only to travel there. Many executives prefer to be based in Dubai where international companies have their Middle East headquarters. Dubai-based executive search firm Wise&Miller, which has placed senior managers at international companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever Plc, Heineken and Philips in the Middle East, is building a database of foreign-educated Iranians willing to relocate. It is "an increasingly crowded market," according to the company's co-founder, Marc Mulder, who says he approaches dozens of candidates each week using social media to establish a connection with Iranian professionals around the world. Hamid Biglari, a former Citigroup vice-chairman and financier with emerging market expertise now also advising investors on Iran, said the country needs to come up with incentives for people of Iranian origin to come back, such as issuing identification cards that would allow them to travel to and invest in Iran without a visa or dual citizenship. "More needs to be done to persuade the Iranian diaspora to re-engage with their land of origin," said Biglari, who left Iran in 1977. Their role could be similar to that of Indian expatriates in the United States who helped make India a global technology powerhouse, he said. "Iranians abroad can provide capital, knowledge and business connections, all of which are vital to rebuild the country." (Additional reporting by Sam Wilkin in Dubai, editing by Sinead Cruise, Timothy Heritage and Sonya Hepinstall) By Aukkarapon Niyomyat and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's election commission said on Monday it expected 80 percent of eligible voters to turn out for an August 7 referendum on a controversial constitution that critics have vowed to boycott. The referendum, pushed back from July, will be Thailand's first return to the ballot-box since junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power in a May 2014 coup, following months of political unrest. Critics of the draft charter, who include the main political parties, say it will enshrine the military's influence and is unlikely to resolve bitter political disputes. "Around 51 million people have the right to vote. The turnout is expected to be 80 percent," Somchai Srisuthiyakorn, a member of the Election Commission, told Reuters. Somchai said around 57 percent of eligible voters turned out the last time Thailand voted on a new constitution in August 2007, following a 2006 coup that ousted populist Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But he gave no reason for the expected higher turnout. Thailand has been politically fractured for more than a decade, split roughly along north-south lines between supporters of the government ousted in the 2014 coup and the military-backed royalist elite. Constitution rewrites have done little to end the country's decades-long cycle of coups. The current draft constitution, if approved, would be the 20th drafted since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. Critics say they will boycott the August vote. "We will tell people that this constitution draft is bad," said Samart Kaewmechai, a member of the Puea Thai Party that swept to victory in July 2011, only to be toppled in the May 2014 coup. "Rejecting a constitution is a right and is not against the law," he told Reuters. Still, preparations have begun for the August referendum. "We will use Army Reserve Force students as a tool to create understanding about the contents of the draft constitution and distribute it all over the country," said Somchai. "We have told them to do this in a neutral manner." The Election Commission has said it will not try to influence opinion on the constitution, and would set up debates between groups in favor and those against. (Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Phil & Teds recalled thousands of teddy bears it handed out to sick children in Wellington, Christchurch and Waikato hospitals between 2010 and 2015. Thousands of sick children may miss out on getting a teddy bear if Phil & Teds decide to scrap its hospital programme which gifts free bears to children undergoing surgery. About 5000 'phil&teddy' bears were donated by Phil & Teds to be given to young children post-operation in Wellington, Waikato and Christchurch Hospitals between 2010 and early 2015. However, last year the company was forced to recall 15,300 bears following a complaint to Wellington Hospital's children's ward. On Tuesday, Phil & Teds were issued a warning after the Commerce Commission found its teddy bears were a potential choking hazard. READ MORE: Phil & Teds recall more than 15,000 teddy bears over choking hazard fears Phil & Teds chief executive Campbell Gower said he was considering scrapping the hospital programme, due to bad publicity of the recall. "The teddys make a lot of people very happy but we have to consider whether the programme is worthwhile running. "I feel bad enough about this. Safety and compliance is top priority for me. It's a tough call." The commission investigated whether the teddy bears complied with the New Zealand children's toys safety requirements. Of the 10 teddy bears sent to the consumer watchdog for testing, all of them posed a potential choking hazard and therefore proved the company failed to comply with the prescribed product safety standard for children's toys, the commission said. The hazard was identified during testing. All had one of two faults: the the seam came apart exposing the stuffing, or the fur came off. Gower said he had not seen the bear at the centre of the complaint and believed the teddy bears were not a hazard, as they had passed independent testing commissioned by Phil & Teds, he said. "We've never come out and said there was a fault but we accept what the commission has come out with. For some reason, we got different results. We are entirely vigilant." It was impossible to retest the bears, he said. "We just have to take them at their word. They are entitled to do what they've done. It's a sorry saga for us. We'll take it on the chin." The commission's head of investigations Ritchie Hutton said businesses need to be aware of their duty to ensure the toys they supply meet New Zealand safety requirements. "Our role in enforcing the toy safety standard is to ensure toys that appeal to children under three years old do not pose a choking risk. "This is because most babies and toddlers do not have a developed coughing reflex." The investigation highlighted areas of concern for the commission, which all traders should be aware of, Hutton said. "One is that the bears had been tested to comply with the European toy standard, but not to the New Zealand one. "In all cases it's the traders' responsibility to ensure the products they sell or give away comply at a minimum with the New Zealand safety standard prescribed in the regulations," he said. "It's not good enough to rely on information provided by manufacturers without taking steps to ensure it's accurate. "The other is that traders must not rely on old testing. If you re-order a product over time you need to ensure that future orders of the product also comply with the safety standards." As a result of the investigation, Phil & Teds carried out a public recall 15,000 teddy bears, asking parents to dispose of the bears. It also took steps to improve compliance procedures. After considering the remedial action taken by Phil & Teds, the commission considered that a warning was appropriate. Phil & Teds bears were gifted to the children as part of their sponsorship of a charity, the company said. The bears were also used as an explanatory aid by surgeons when talking to a child about their procedure, it said. The 'phil&teddy' bears, which were imported from China, are dressed in a hospital gown and have the words 'phil&teddy' printed on the front and 'phil&teds' on the back. An economist says Horowhenua can avoid being part of a plague of "zombie towns", thanks to new roading links between Wellington and Levin. Shamubeel Eaqub, one of New Zealand's leading economists, made waves with his predictions that ageing populations and the unequal spread of economic prosperity would leave provincial regions with "hollowed-out zombie towns" that would be best abandoned. He spoke on the topic at a Business After 5 seminar, to a near-capacity crowd of 140, at the Horowhenua District Council building in Levin last week. Eaqub said the Government's Roads of National Significance project could stop the district joining the economic undead. For the past 10 years 80 per cent of city and district economies grew faster than Horowhenua. The district was also one of the slowest growing in terms of jobs, ranked 62nd of 66 in employment growth. But with the new Wellington North Corridor set to stop on Horowhenua's doorstep, Eaqub is expecting all that to change. Kapiti had become a commuter and retirement suburb of Wellington because it was so close to Wellington and reaped the economic benefit; Horowhenua would become the next Kapiti, he said. A New Zealand Institute of Economic Research analysis of the Wellington Northern Corridor called it an "economic catalyst" for the district. The new roading infrastructure is expected to provide long-term gains for Horowhenua, including 1000 new jobs, 10,000 more people and 4000 new households in the next 20 years. District council economic development manager Shanon Grainger said the new road would start a chain reaction which would lead to a larger ratepayer base to spread the cost of new infrastructure and contribute to the next round of economic growth. "More money flowing into the Horowhenua economy will drive business growth and urban development," he said. "There will be an increase in productivity as higher-skilled labour is enticed to work here. More jobs and increased employment will help more people and families to prosper. Households with more job opportunities and more skills earn more income." Horowhenua needed to work to make it easier to live, easier to do business, and keep "cost competitive" to make the most of this chance, Eaqub said. "It's a chance of a lifetime that is not going to happen again. It's like winning Lotto without having to buy a ticket." District mayor Brendan Duffy said Horowhenua was in the best position it had been since the 1970s, and the council would do everything in its control to make the most of this economic opportunity. "We're in an extraordinary space ... Though this is exciting, the opportunities also come with challenges," he said. "We must be ready not just for population growth, but with business and jobs. That combination will ensure Horowhenua is the most successful, vibrant community we can be." The scammer "was tugging at our heart strings" - and funeral director Cheryl Cowden wants to warn people not to fall for it. A funeral director was almost conned out of $8900 by a "sea captain" wanting help repatriating his dead wife's body. Christchurch's Dignity With Sincerity Funeral Services owner Cheryl Cowden said she was "bloody lucky" she didn't fall for the elaborate scam. The emails started arriving in January. The "sea captain" claimed he was stuck in the middle of the ocean on a fishing boat. READ MORE: * Wellington woman caught up in online romance scam, loses fortune * Marlborough woman warns elderly to be wary of holiday scam * New Zealanders lose $12m to scams The man, who gave his name as Captain O'Brien Lauren, claimed his wife, Michelle, had died in a crash in England. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, he said he needed Cowden's help getting his wife's body back to Christchurch. Cowden was happy to help. "The emphasis of our business is that we care about people and he was tugging at our heart strings. "He seemed genuine ... we were feeling a bit sorry for this guy in the ocean." Cowden asked Lauren to sign a couple of authority forms, which he did, with his address and employment details attached. Lauren then sent another email to say the funeral company in England needed to be paid $8900 before they would release his wife's body. He said he would repay Cowden in a week's time, when he returned to Christchurch. Cowden agreed, but said she was unable to pay with a credit card. The captain then asked for her to pay in two payments via Western Union. Suspicions piqued, Cowden checked some of Lauren's background. "I looked up his address, the house was all shut up so he could have been away ... I looked up the funeral company to see it was legitimate, yes they had a company in London, so I thought, OK it seems reasonably legitimate." She then rang Lauren's boss. "I said I believe you've got a ship coming in with a chap named Lauren ... he said we don't own any ships." The man phoned other fishing companies to see if they had heard of Lauren. "He rung back and said, no there wasn't. "So with that, I thought, this is a bloody scam." Cowden did one more check. She rang the funeral company where Lauren's wife's body was apparently being held. "She said you're ringing about a repatriation aren't you? I said 'yes'. She said, 'it's a scam'." Cowden contacted police and NetSafe, but they "didn't want to know anything about it". She then emailed Lauren one last time, to say she had spoken to Interpol and would await their instructions. She hasn't heard from him since. Cowden said Lauren was "absolutely believable". "I was thinking, oh the poor bugger, he's stuck out in the middle of the bloody ocean, his wife has been killed . . . and in actual fact all he wanted was the bloody money. "We could've transferred $8900 only for it never to be seen again." LIVE: Trends of Urban Development in Yerevan and Seismic Safety Issues (video) March 30, 2016, at 12:00, Yerevan, Armenia: The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), in cooperation with the Public Journalism Club (PJC) and the Media Center, is hosting a discussion on the trends of urban development in Yerevan and seismic safety issues. The speakers of the discussion event include: Mkrtich Minasyan, chairman of Armenias Union of Architects Sashur Kalashyan, architect at ArmProject Institute Armen Artonyan, head of the department of seismic resistance of buildings and structures at Seismic Protection Agency of the Ministry of Emergency Situations' Alexander Movsisyan, adviser to the Armenias Minister of Urban Development In recent years, ambitious building projects have been on rise in the centre of Armenian capital. According to the National Statistical Service (NSS), more than 2.6 million square meters of housing was built in Yerevan between 2005 and 2015, nearly six times more than between the post-independence years of 1991 and 2004. Not only does full-scale construction show a disregard for the value of historical buildings and the rights of local residents, but may also affect the seismic safety of buildings. Armenias whole territory is prone to earthquakes and Yerevan is no exception in this sense. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, 80 per cent of around 4,800 of the Soviet-era multi-storey buildings in the capital do not meet safety requirements. Meanwhile, new multi-storey buildings are replacing one or two-storey houses in the old districts. Sometimes, these new blocks are squeezed into the passages between Soviet-era buildings thus contributing to the dense arrangement of old and new buildings. IWPR Armenia office explored the topic in a recently published material, entitled Alarm Over Armenia's Construction Boom. The English version of the story is available here:https://goo.gl/Ziy0fm: The article gave an opportunity to the IWPR Office and Public Journalism Club to organize a discussion at the Media Center in order to talk over the quality of seismic resistance of the newly-built high-rise buildings in Yerevan, the seismic safety of the densely built-up areas, current state of the Soviet-era buildings and state programs implemented in this field. Michael Coates, 51, was fishing for salmon with a friend when he was dragged out to sea by a wave. The Clarence River mouth was the "happy place" of a fisherman who drowned there. Michael Coates, aged 51 and more commonly known as Mino, was fishing for salmon with a friend when he was dragged out to sea by a wave on Monday. His partner of 25 years Kathy Thompson said the Clarence River mouth was his favourite place in the world. "He was going up the river salmon fishing because the season was ending and he went with a friend who he hasn't seen for 15 years. They were just spending time together. "The sea was pretty rough and it was a freak wave. He probably shouldn't have gone in but he did." READ MORE: Fisherman swept out to sea from Clarence River mouth near Kaikoura Coates leaves behind two children Catlin, 17, and Isabelle, 18 and two step children. SUPPLIED "He loved Kaikoura, the Clarence River mouth was his happy place." "Two nights earlier he took his two daughters and another girl down to the beach, just down here, and they all caught a fish," Thompson said. The couple lived on a 12-acre property at Kaikoura. Coates lived his life in the water, Thompson said. "He hunted, he dived, he caught paua and he taught his girls how to catch crayfish and fish. "He was the last person in the whole world you would expect to drown because he has been in the water his whole life hunting, fishing and diving." Coates worked as a builder at Bruce Ensor Builders and previously worked as a cheesemaker and butcher. Owner Bruce Ensor said his building sites in Kaikoura were very quiet on Tuesday. "He [Coates] was very honest and straight up and he would be the hardest worker I know. The boys are struggling to believe it's actually true. There was no job that man couldn't do." The mouth of the Clarence River is north of Kaikoura. Ensor said Coates was a sprightly and fit person who was hard to keep up with on the job. "We still think he's going to [be] back here today or tomorrow. We will never be able to replace him, he's just one of those blokes that everyone had a laugh with." YOU CAN NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE OCEAN A Kaikoura boatie says few fishermen wear lifejackets at the spot where Coates drowned. Kaikoura Boating Club president Ted Howard said it was impossible to make the ocean safe and lifejackets often got tangled in gear. The Clarence River mouth was a popular spot for catching salmon, he said. Surf casters there "do not typically wear lifejackets". "One of my friends has had a couple of close calls there where waves have caught him unexpectedly . . . twice in 50 years is pretty good going though. "Those are big waves that have a lot of energy. You can never turn your back on the ocean and you have to always be prepared to run." "Whenever I'm anywhere near the ocean I am always looking at it because I have a very healthy respect for it. It can turn around and bite you very quickly." Howard said lifejackets could be dangerous for fishermen and he was dragged underwater once when his gear became tangled in one. "So the regulation lifejacket got taken off and thrown in a cupboard in the front of a boat and never worn again. "They are bulky and make you clumsy. If you are a novice and doing nothing they're a good idea, but if you are an experienced person, working at the limits of your capability, a lifejacket can be a dangerous item." 'HE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD A CHANCE' EMMA DANGERFIELD Clarence local John Reader plucked the drowned fisherman from the water in his boat. John Reader believed Coates was in the water for about 40 minutes before he got to him on his boat. He did not recognise him until he got him to shore. "[He] wouldn't have had much of a chance," Reader said. "All those waders do is make your feet float higher than your head and shoulders . . . obviously he was unable to get them off." Reader's son and his son's girlfriend took turns giving the man CPR as they went to Waipapa Bay. "We knew there was no pulse, he was definitely blue . . . but we still kept going just in case." A woman is in a critical condition after a crash in Templeton. An elderly woman is in a critical condition after hitting a power pole and rolling her car south of Christchurch. Senior Sergeant Vaughn Lapslie said emergency services were called to reports of a crash on Main South Rd, Templeton, about 1.30pm on Tuesday. "We received reports of a single vehicle crash involving a elderly woman who has hit a power pole and rolled the vehicle." The Serious Crash Unit would investigate the incident, Lapslie said. A Christchurch Hospital spokeswoman said the woman was in a critical condition in ICU. A Christchurch Transport Operations Centre spokesman said southbound traffic was backed up about a kilometre from the crash site. The site was cleared about 5.20pm. Traffic northbound was free flowing however traffic southbound was still moderate to heavy between Halswell Junction Rd and Kirk Rd. A US woman who got lost on a walk in Mt Cook National Park found cell reception near the Ball Shelter, at the meeting of the Tasman Glacier, pictured, and Ball Glacier. A cold and disorientated American woman was "very fortunate" she found cellphone reception on a glacier in Mt Cook National Park, her rescuers say. Search and Rescue coordinator Senior Sergeant Anthony Callon said the woman, from Dallas, Texas, had been walking on a day trip to the Ball Shelter in the Tasman Valley on Tuesday when she got lost. About 8pm, in near-freezing conditions, the woman found reception near the Ball Shelter, at the meeting of the Tasman and Ball glaciers. She phoned 111 but her cellphone cut out just after she told them she was in Mt Cook National Park, Callon said. The woman had worked her way to a spot on the moraine face of the glacier with better reception, he said. She rang again, and managed to download a third-party GPS app onto her mobile that pinpointed her location for rescuers. Police and members of the Department of Conservation Mt Cook search and rescue team walking up the Ball Pass track in darkness were able to use that location. They found the woman about 1 kilometre from the shelter about 12.30am and took her back to the warmth of the search and rescue base, Callon said. She had no injuries and was not displaying signs of hypothermia. The woman had no personal locator beacon and was only prepared for a day trip, Callon said. "She was cold and lost and disorientated. Conditions were clear but it was still very cold up there last night," he said. "She's very fortunate she managed to find cellphone reception." Sign up to receive our new evening newsletter Two Minutes of Stuff - the news, but different Another 500 jobs are expected to be cut as New Zealand Post combats declining mail volumes. Stuff.co.nz reports, a spokesman confirmed that reports claiming the company was cutting management positions were correct. A statement is expected on Tuesday afternoon. NZ Post has been struggling against a long running decline in mail volumes, although Kiwibank, which is part of the organisation, is increasingly profitable. The job cuts will reportedly be made in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, reports Stuff. In February, chief executive Brian Roche warned that despite a series of cost cutting measures, the fall in mail volumes was hitting its revenues by $20-$30 million a year. The postal services business continues to be challenged by tough market conditions. During the last 12 months letter volume fell by about 60 million units and while we have significantly reduced costs we have not kept pace with the rate of decline," Roche said, as he reported a fall in revenue and profits for the six months to December 31. Four swimmers rescued from a rip at Whangamata by off-duty lifeguards has won Surf Life Saving New Zealand Eastern Regions rescue of the month for February. Off-duty lifeguards Max Jones, Nic Hamlin and Connor Gibson were alerted by a member of the public about the family of four who were struggling in a rip at about 4.30pm on February 8. One of New Zealands most high-risk intersections is set to get a major makeover, boosting safety for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The NZ Transport Agency has awarded a $7.3 million contract to Fulton Hogan to build a roundabout at the intersection of State Highway 30 (SH30) and State Highway 5 (SH5) Hemo Road in Rotorua. The opportunity to learn alongside like-minded farmers is being offered through the 2016 Rabobank Farm Managers Programme, which is open to applications. Blair Drysdale, a graduate of last years programme, says it was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a week with other like-minded farmers and world class presenters. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith will travel to Australia today to attend the Trans-Tasman Consumer Affairs Forum in Canberra. This forum is a key opportunity to discuss a range of consumer protection and fair trading matters, Mr Goldsmith says. New Zealand and Australias consumer and competition laws are closely aligned. The visit is a further opportunity to foster greater Trans-Tasman cooperation, which will benefit many New Zealand businesses currently operating on both sides of the Tasman. As Australia is about to embark on a wide-ranging review of its consumer law, as well as consider changes to its competition laws and regulation of financial advisers, I am interested to see the scope these changes will take and hearing the rationale for reform, Mr Goldsmith says. While in Australia, Mr Goldsmith will also meet with Australian government agencies and a number of industry experts to discuss recent developments in Australias financial markets. Source: Office of Paul Goldsmith. Auckland City Police have expressed concern about a number of recent aggravated robberies involving International students in the city and say every effort is being made to bring the offenders to justice - eight arrests have already being made in the last week. Four incidents have been reported to Police in the last week, arrests have been made in two of these cases and Police are continuing to hunt for offenders in the other two with arrests likely this week. One of the recent incidents relate to an attack on a student in Oakley Creek on Thursday evening. Police have obtained CCTV footage of the alleged offender and would like to hear from anyone who may know the people pictured in the attached images. In the most recent incident, which occurred on Monday evening, four youths were arrested after trying to steal a handbag from a young woman who was walking along Khyber Pass near the corner of Broadway in Newmarket. The young woman was pushed to the ground during the incident and the offenders were caught after being scared off by a passerby. The youths aged 12-14 are being dealt with by Youth Aid. Police are seeking witnesses to one attack in Albert Park on Tuesday evening, where two young women were attacked and robbed. Police would like to hear from anyone who saw this incident to please call them urgently. Inspector Joe Tipene, the Officer in Charge of MPES (Maori, Pacific and Ethnic Services), Auckland City District says:"Police take any incidence of aggravated robbery or assault very seriously and are concerned by any attacks of this nature. "We would like to reassure the student community that there is no evidence to suggest that any of the recent incidents were linked or that there had been any specific increase in such incidents." He says police are also very grateful to have such a good relationship with the International student community in Auckland and hold regular meetings with both old and new students to share crime prevention advice and for students to ask any questions they have of Police. "We would be very happy to hold another forum for students to help offer further reassurances around these recent incidents,: he said. Inspector Tipene says Auckland is an incredibly safe city and a great place to live, work and study, however, like all international cities, there are opportunist offenders who will take advantage of people who sometimes inadvertently put themselves in a vulnerable positions. "We would always recommend that people walk in well-lit streets at night and, where possible, stay with other people. "It is also advisable not to have your personal items on display, this includes smart phones and other communication devices. "Be aware of your surroundings at all times and avoid any area which you feel might not be safe and always call the Police if you feel threatened or concerned for your safety." Source: New Zealand Police. As a health professional it's important to educate your patients on prevalent diseases to ensure that they're doing everything they can to avoid them. It's also essential that they know how to support loved ones if they're diagnosed with one of these common illnesses. For example, during Parkinson's Awareness Month in April, it's essential to familiarize patients with the progressive movement disorder and how it impacts people across the U.S. Here are a few tips for helping your patients understand Parkinson's. 1. Provide details on how the disease develops. Most people have heard of Parkinson's disease, a condition that affects as many as 1 million Americans, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. However, you may find that if you asked your patients what exactly Parkinson's is, they wouldn't know how to answer. This is why explaining how the disease develops is a good starting point when educating people on the condition. Note that Parkinson's occurs when the vital nerve cells in the brain called neurons start to malfunction and eventually die. These neurons are fundamental to people's health because they produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the brain that coordinate movement and muscle coordination. Individuals who have a very low level of dopamine begin to experience difficulty controlling their movements and are often diagnosed with Parkinson's. 2. Explain the treatment options for the condition. Point out to your patients that one of the reasons Parkinson's is such as serious disease is that there isn't currently a cure for the condition. A significant amount of research has been performed over the past several years to uncover possible causes. As a result, many effective treatment and therapy options are available for Parkinson's patients to alleviate the symptoms of the disease. Potential causes that have been studied include environmental and genetic factors. 3. Educate them on the symptoms. While every patient has a different experience with Parkinson's in regard to how quickly it progresses and the side effects they notice, there are four main symptoms that most people will develop. These include tremors in the hands, legs, jaw and arms, muscle stiffness or rigidity, bradykinesia - or slowness of movement - and posture instability. Other common side effects include fatigue, constipation, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety and a decline in cognitive function, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. 4. Emphasize the importance of screenings. While an estimated 1 million people in the U.S. may be living with Parkinson's disease, only about 60,000 have been diagnosed, as it's not uncommon for cases to go undetected. Don't forget to point out that only four percent of those diagnosed with the disease are under the age of 50, as people's risk of Parkinson's increases with age. Statistics also show that men are slightly more vulnerable to the disease. Encourage patients to see their doctor if they experience any of the symptoms of the condition, such as tremors. The sooner that they can begin receiving therapy or treatment for their symptoms, the less of an impact Parkinson's will have on their daily lives. 5. Provide them with resources for support. Whether your patients have recently been diagnosed with the disease, are caring for a loved one who has been diagnosed or know someone with the condition, they'll probably want to know who to reach out to for help. For example, caregivers may want information on local support groups and guides to understanding the common symptoms of the disorder. Handing out your own pamphlets is a great way to give patients direct access to key facts and resources. However, directing them to the resources provided by the National Parkinson's Foundation and the organization's helpline at 1.800.4PD.INFO or helpline@parkinson.org is also an effective way to ensure they have the assistance they need when required. Fulton, N.Y. The factory that supplied the country with chocolate goodies for nearly a century and employed generations of Fulton area residents is coming down 13 years after Nestle closed the plant. A demolition crew recently began knocking down the part of the factory that faces South 4th Street, the main road leading into Fulton from Interstate 481. The Aldi supermarket chain plans to begin construction on part of the site in June. Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr., who worked as a maintenance supervisor at the chocolate factory for 17 years until it closed in 2003, said he and many other residents have mixed feelings about the demolition. "There's a lot of sadness," he said. "But people would rather not see it sitting there deteriorating." The city seized the old plant last fall for $1 million in back taxes from Phoenix resident Edward Palmer. He bought the 24-acre property in a bankruptcy sale after an attempt by a company from Ivory Coast to re-start chocolate making at the site failed in 2010. Palmer, owner of Carbonstead LLC, demolished some of the factory before being convicted in federal court in 2013 of violating the Clean Air Act by improperly removing asbestos insulation from pipes in the building. Infinity Enterprises has agreed to demolish the rest of the factory at no charge to the city. The company is making money by selling the scrap steel and bricks. The deal is saving the city about $3 million, Woodward said. Until last week, none of the demolition could be seen from South 4th Street, which carries 22,000 cars and trucks past the site each day. So few people believed it was really happening, Woodward said. Henri Nestle, a German-born Swiss confectioner, built the factory in 1900 to make condensed milk and baby food. He chose Fulton for the factory because of its abundance of dairy farms, which supplied the plant with milk. Nestle began making milk chocolate there in 1908 at the suggestion of chocolatier Daniel Peter, a neighbor of his in Vevey, Switzerland. In 1938, the plant produced the first Nestle Crunch bars. Nestle built many additions over the years, the last in 1995, and employed 1,500 workers at its peak in the mid-1900s. Employment was down to 450 when the company closed the factory in May 2003. Aldi paid $450,000 to buy part of the site at Fay and South 4th streets. It wants to begin building its store June 1. Woodward said Infinity Enterprises expects to have that section of the factory demolished by then and will take down the rest of the plant while Aldi is building its store. One section of the former chocolate factory will not be demolished Building #30 on the north side of Fay Street. The city sold it last summer for $100,000 to Liverpool-based Spring Storage Park Inc., which plans to use it as a storage facility and a U-Haul dealership. The skybridge over Fay Street connecting the building to the rest of the factory will be removed. The city is looking for buyers for the rest of the site. Woodward said there is interest, mostly from retailers, in the other portions of the property. Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148 Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse man who convinced dozens of people to invest thousands with promises of monthly returns was arrested after his pyramid scheme collapsed, a prosecutor said today. Allen Hess, 51, of 770 James St., was arraigned today on grand larceny and scheme to defraud charges after a group of seven investors reported the scheme to the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office, said prosecutor Beth Van Doren. Hess wooed friends to invest through him in "foreign oil," with the promises of large monthly payouts. A typical scenario included an upfront investment of $7,500 with the promise of a $500-a-month payout, Van Doren said. But Hess, who described himself as someone knowledgeable in investments, didn't put his victims' money into investments. Instead, he'd use it to pay off earlier investors, Van Doren said. Known as a pyramid scheme or a Ponzi scheme, these operations collapse when there's no money to pay off all the new investors. That's what happened here, Van Doren said. A group of seven investors alerted DA William Fitzpatrick on Feb. 4. By the evening of Feb. 6, Hess had been arrested. "The group of seven people had the same exact story, the same exact paperwork, the same exact zero returns," Van Doren said. In a news release, Fitzpatrick called it a "Madoff like" Ponzi scheme, referring to the infamous imprisoned stockbroker. So far, the DA's office has examined 18- to 24-months worth of Hess's records. During that time, he cleared more than $600,000 in investments, some of which he used to keep the scheme going, Van Doren said. It's not clear how much -- if any -- of investor money Hess actually invested. He did have some money invested in foreign currency and oil, Van Doren said. But there's no indication he had been nearly as successful as he led on. "We haven't been able to find a large sum of money that he has for investing or (that he) invested," Van Doren said. Investments "were not going back to some legitimate investment company." Hess used his personal networks and word-of-mouth to lure friends and their families to invest with him. By paying out a few months' worth of dividends, he convinced people he was legitimate, Van Doren said. Hess had investors in Central New York and the New York City area, she sasid. "He used friendships and acquaintances," the prosecutor said. "Mothers of friends, grandmothers of friends." More than 30 victims have now contacted Van Doren about Hess's scheme, she said. Hess remains in jail with no bail after his arraignment today before County Court Judge Walter Hafner Jr. Grady Wide Mug.jpg Ander Grady (Syracuse police ) Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse teenager who spent a year and a half in juvenile confinement for the "Knockout" death of a 51-year-old man in 2013 will graduate high school this June. Ander Grady, 18, will also have a charge from a 2015 Corcoran High School brawl dismissed if he stays out of trouble for a period of time, City Court Judge Karen Uplinger said today. For his part, Grady has done well in school and completed an anti-violence leadership course offered by the Center for Community Alternatives, which seeks alternatives to incarceration, said his lawyer, Lisa Gilels. But prosecutors asked for one more thing: that Grady write a letter of apology to the school administrator he threatened to knock out during the 2015 brawl. "I'll knock you right the f--- out, Murphy," Grady said, according to police. Uplinger agreed that Grady should write a letter of apology. Once that happens, she promised to adjourn his disorderly conduct charge -- a non-criminal violation -- and dismiss the charge if he remained out of trouble. Grady returned to high school following Daniel's death after serving his 18-month sentence -- the maximum punishment allowed under law given his circumstances. Around 9:40 p.m. on May 23, 2013, Michael Daniels was standing alone outside the Los Amigos Market at Cannon Street and West Brighton Avenue when he was attacked by a group of teenagers. The teens repeatedly punched Daniels and then kicked the 51-year-old in the head while he was on the ground. He later died from his injuries. Police later charged a 13-year-old boy and Grady, who was 15 at the time, with manslaughter in the killing. Police Chief Frank Fowler said the teens had been participating in a "Knockout," a game in which people randomly target someone on the street and try to knock the person out by punching them. Michelle Obama First lady Michelle Obama speaks at The White House Summit on Working Families at a hotel in Washington in June 2014. As the first African-American first lady, Obama was expected to be perfect in every way. (The Associated Press) Courtland Milloy | The Washington Post I recently attended a White House event that featured the cast of the Broadway hit "Hamilton." But it was the host for the occasion who was most impressive: first lady Michelle Obama, still standing tall, chin up, despite nearly eight years of enduring the kind of crudities that the wives of some of the current presidential candidates are starting to get a taste of. Personal insults in politics are certainly nothing new, and even first ladies have long been regarded as fair game. But racial contempt for the Obamas and the development of so many new ways to express it resulted in an unprecedented barrage of ugliness toward her. In a speech to graduates at Tuskegee University in Alabama last year, she recalled having "a lot of sleepless nights . . . fearing how my girls would feel if they found out what some people were saying about their mom." But it's not just uncivil discourse that poisons the political environment. In 2013, a monument in Georgia to Michelle Obama's great, great, great grandmother -- who was born into slavery -- was vandalized. In September 2014, a gunman fired seven shots into the White House and shattered a window just a few steps from the first family's formal living room. The president, first lady and one of their daughters were away. But their other daughter and Michelle Obama's mother were there. Fortunately, no one was injured. It's juvenile for Donald Trump to tweet an unflattering photo of rival Ted Cruz's wife and in poor taste or an anti-Trump super PAC to post a nude photo of Trump's wife. But that's nothing compared to the hateful caricaturing, disrespectful comments and threats that have been aimed at Michelle Obama. As the first African-American first lady, Obama was expected to be flawless -- meaning fashionable, sophisticated, smart and worldly, and never too loud, too angry or too black. "Eventually, I realized that if I wanted to keep my sanity and not let others define me, there was only one thing I could do, and that was to have faith in God's plan for me," she told the Tuskegee graduates. "I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself -- and the rest would work itself out." Health and nutrition and caring for veterans are two of her causes that tend to get the most attention. But it was her passion for art and culture that brought the cast of "Hamilton" to the White House on March 14. In the audience were students from Laurel High School in Prince George's County, Maryland, Osbourn High School in Manassas, Virginia, and Loudoun County High School in Leesburg, Virginia. "We host a lot of special events here," Michelle Obama told them. "We do a lot of really cool things. But this, for me personally, is the coolest." Her affinity for artists, writers and entertainers is not without its critics. In a new book, "Listen, Liberal," political analyst Thomas Frank argues that Democratic Party elites, such as the Clintons and the Obamas, have abandoned the working class in favor of a more affluent, "creative class" of professionals. But there was nothing elitist in Michelle Obama's comments about art to the students. "We also wanted to highlight all different kinds of American art - on all the art forms: painting, music, culture - especially art forms that had never been seen in these walls," she said. "So what did we start with? We started with spoken word, because no one had ever held a poetry slam in the White House, that's for sure." They brought in a youngster from New York, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who performed the opening song from a musical he was working on about Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first secretary of the treasury. Seven years later, Hamilton is the hottest ticket on Broadway. A high school history curriculum has developed around the themes in the play. "I remember I was telling Lin-Manuel that he's got to do this for, like, the Middle East, and all the other issues," Michelle Obama said. "You've got to talk about slavery. You've got to cover it all." So much for her critics. "Are you all excited?" she asked the students. When they roared "Yes!" the first lady did a charming imitation of a teen girl shimmy to show that she was, too. May the next first lady -- or first man -- hold up as well as Michelle Obama. Minimum Wage New York In this March 15, 2015 file photo, supporters of a $15 minimum wage rally at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, N.Y. The biggest proposals of the year in Albany -- a $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, higher taxes on millionaires, ethics reforms and a big jump in school spending -- will live or die this week as lawmakers piece together next year's state budget. (Mike Groll / AP) To the Editor: As you read this, our state lawmakers are rapidly approaching the April 1 deadline to pass the New York state budget. There are a wide range of topics and issues being considered and debated, but two in particular will have a profound impact on millions of working families across Central New York: a $15 minimum wage and paid family leave. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has offered proposals on both these issues which will have a positive impact on the economy and workers in Central New York. Paid family leave will ensure that working fathers and mothers are able to take care of their children immediately after birth or adoption without their family losing financial security. It would also offer the same kind of benefit to working individuals who double as caregivers for their parents and other loved ones during severe illness. Raising the minimum wage to $15 over five years would stimulate our economy while providing greater opportunity for working-class individuals and families in Central New York as well as statewide. A $15 minimum wage will help working New Yorkers put food on the table, everyday, as well as be able to better pay essential bills like rent, electricity and transportation to work without having to rely on food stamps, food pantries and social services. Both of these smartly designed policies are beneficial to Central New Yorkers without burdening businesses. Paid family leave would be paid for by nominal employee contributions, starting at less than a dollar per paycheck a and cost their employers nothing. The governor's plan would offer benefits for up to 12 weeks a the longest benefits period in the nation -- so workers will truly be able to support their families when it's needed the most. The minimum wage increase would be phased in gradually, over five years, so that businesses will have the time to adjust. Plus, New York will lead the nation at a time when other cities and states are already moving to raise wages for their lowest paid workers. These proposals will benefit millions of hard-working families in Central New York as well as across our State by insuring that more workers are able to maintain basic financial security and foster a sense of pride in the work they do. This new-found vigor will strengthen local businesses and create an economy that truly works for all and not just those at the top. It's time that all our legislators act in unison so that all working New Yorkers can enjoy a better life and at the same time stimulate our economy with paid family leave and a $15 minimum wage. Gov. Cuomo has set the stage with these bold proposals and now it's time for all of our Central New York state lawmakers to make sure that they both happen! Ann Marie Taliercio President Central New York Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO Syracuse Machu Picchu's lomo saltado de carne was amazingly tender strips of beef filet sauteed with red onion and tomato wedges in a red-wine sauce with a hint of soy sauce and topped with cilantro. The entree was served with white rice and French fries. (MELISSA STONESIFER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) SHARE Machu Picchu's causa de pollo was yellow mashed potato bites topped with a chicken and octopus salad, a touch of citrus juice and drizzled with the flavorful aji sauce. (MELISSA STONESIFER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) Most of Machu Picchu's offerings have aji amarillo, a yellow pepper native to Peru. It was included in this picante de marisco, a towering portion of mixed seafood: slices of octopus, large mussels, a huge prawn, succulent shrimp and calamari rings in a spicy aji yellow pepper cream sauce. It was served with white rice and French fries. (MELISSA STONESIFER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) By Melissa Stonesifer Machu Picchu Restaurant is a new Peruvian eatery in St. Lucie County off Bayshore Boulevard. I expected the restaurant to be relatively quiet the afternoon I visited but was pleasantly surprised that almost every table was bustling with conversing guests in the small dining room. Salty Peruvian popcorn (Chanchita) was served after we were seated. The bigger cancha chulpe kernels have a texture similar to an addictively crunchy nut after being cooked and were perfect to munch while going over the menu. I am unfamiliar with Peruvian food, but our server expertly navigated us through while making tasty suggestions. It concocts several versions of ceviche with a mixture of seafood. Many of the entrees and soups spotlight various forms of seafood, along with chicken and steak. Most offerings have aji amarillo, a yellow pepper native to Peru which is often the epicenter of Peruvian cuisine, giving both color and flavor to many of the dishes. It also offers chef specials such as risotto marino ($17.99), which is risotto topped with mixed seafood. Our server suggested the causa de pollo ($6.99), which was a beautifully intriguing dish. I'll be honest, I didn't even know what it was when I tried it, but I fell in love. The yellow mashed potato bites were topped with a chicken and octopus salad, with a touch of citrus juice and drizzled with the flavorful aji sauce. So good! Another suggestion from our server was the lomo saltado de carne ($13.99), amazingly tender strips of beef filet sauteed with red onion and tomato wedges in a red-wine sauce with a hint of soy sauce and topped with cilantro. The entree was served with white rice and French fries. At first I didn't want two starches as sides, but after tasting the sauce, I realized that both were absolutely necessary to sop up all of the sauce, and I wasn't about to let any of that deliciousness go to waste! My guest had the picante de marisco ($13.99), a towering portion of mixed seafood: slices of octopus, large mussels, a huge prawn, succulent shrimp and calamari rings in a spicy aji yellow pepper cream sauce. It was served with white rice and French fries. Just like all the other dishes, the plate was not only artistically served, but the food had so much flavor it was impossible not to want to eat every bit. Melissa Stonesifer dines anonymously at the expense of Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at melissalifetime@gmail.com, or follow @M_Stonesifer on Twitter. MACHU PICCHU RESTAURANT Cuisine: Peruvian Address: 1042 S.W. Bayshore Blvd. Phone: 772-353-5225 Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday Handicapped access: Yes Alcohol: Beer, wine Online: On Facebook Even after a consultant told the Indian River Shores Town Council on Monday the optimum location for a cellphone tower is on the Town Hall complex along State Road A1A, the council again postponed the decision to wait for more information. By Janet Begley, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers INDIAN RIVER SHORES Where in this town should a cellphone tower be built? There's still no answer to the 14-year-old question. Even after a consultant told the Town Council on Monday the optimum location is on the Town Hall complex along State Road A1A, the council again postponed the decision to wait for more information. Rick Edwards, of CityScape Consultants of Boca Raton, presented a wireless-gap analysis, demonstrating that a 110-foot tower placed slightly north of Town Hall would saturate the town with cellphone coverage. Using a computerized model, he identified the small circle on a map that would be the ideal spot for the tower but offered no recommendations about whether an alternate site at the end of Fred Tuerk Drive also provide adequate service. In February, the town spent $500 for Beyel Brothers Crane to erect a crane at both sites so residents could view what the aesthetics would be if a tower was constructed. Councilman Tom Slater said he would be in favor of receiving more information from Edwards about the alternate site before the council made a final decision. In 2012, then-Town Manager Richard Jefferson proposed a 110-foot cell tower at Town Hall, but that met with opposition and the plan was scrapped. Ten years before, two companies Houston Cuozzo Group Inc. and Atlantic Coast Tower of Florida expressed interest in constructing a tower, but that idea also was voted down by the Town Council after residents complained about its appearance. On Monday, the council chamber was full of residents anxious to express their opinion about the tower, with some even threatening to take legal action against the town if it chose to construct a cellphone tower at all. "We are the ones who will be looking at this tower every day of our lives," said Bermuda Bay resident Penny King. "It's very disconcerting." But John Steiner, a resident of Ocean Colony, said his neighbors want a cellphone tower so badly they would be willing to allow a tower to be constructed on their property. "We are unable to call the fire department in case of an emergency from our cellphones," said Steiner. "We need this sooner rather than later." In the end, the council asked Edwards to do additional research and report back quickly so it can hold another workshop before the April council meeting. "In the end, the carriers are going to decide whether it's economically feasible to put their equipment on the tower no matter where it is," said Mayor Brian Barefoot. "But the fact is we're going to put it somewhere." Memorial announced for teen who died in Stuart crash Emma Albritton was passionate about stopping domestic violence and caring for children in foster care. She played volleyball and basketball. The Rocla Concrete Tie plant in Fort Pierce is seen under construction in December. The plant will have its grand opening 10 a.m. Wednesday. By Keona Gardner of TCPalm Editor's Note: This story has been modified from its original version. The tour of the plant is by invitation only. Also, Rocla has sold its concrete ties to other companies in the past. FORT PIERCE Construction is completed at the plant that will supply railroad ties for All Aboard Florida's Brightline train service. Rocla Concrete Tie plant, 600 S. Third St., will have its grand opening 10 a.m. Wednesday. Access to the grand opening is by invitation only. Starting at 11 a.m., attendees can tour the 16,280-square-foot facility, where ties will be built for the $3.1 billion high-speed passenger railroad that would run between Miami and Orlando. Rocla of Lakewood, Colorado is leasing the property from Florida East Coast Railway, a sister company of All Aboard Florida. FEC trains would haul limestone from Miami-Dade County and granite from Georgia to the plant to mix with concrete to build the cross ties. Fort Pierce was chosen because it is halfway between Jacksonville and Miami, Robert Ledoux, FEC general counsel, told the Planning Board in June. In the past, Rocla has sold its concrete ties to Tri-Rail, CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads. The plant, which would be the first financial benefit the rail project provides to the Treasure Coast, would employ 42 full-time workers, earning an average annual wage of $44,000 plus benefits, the city said. It also would generate about $250,000 a year in city property taxes, according to the city. A 2014 All Aboard Florida economic-impact study estimated construction of the rail project would create 398 jobs in St. Lucie County, 464 jobs in Martin County and 392 jobs in Indian River County. Brightline service between Miami and West Palm Beach previously slated for early 2017 has been pushed back to mid-2017, according to the company. The passenger trains would begin running through the Treasure Coast, on their way to Orlando International Airport, late next year, according to the company. The FPL Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the world's first solar thermal hybrid plant to be integrated into an existing combined cycle power plant, is seen near Indiantown in western Martin County. (ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) I've always liked the idea of solar power. I'm crunchy granola that way. I never installed solar panels on our home in Pennsylvania, mostly because it's Pennsylvania you get some sun, but particularly during the dreary winter months, you can barely remember what the sun looks like. So it was hard to justify the expense. But in Florida, solar's a no-brainer, right? "The Sunshine State" and all. We ought to be generating tons of power from solar; you ought to see rooftop panels everywhere! Except, I don't. And it's not just my fading eyesight. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Florida has the third-best rooftop solar potential in America, yet measured by actual capacity installed, we rank 14th. Massachusetts and New Jersey, for Pete's sake, are ahead of us. This is pathetic, and in a sensible world, there would be herculean efforts to change it. But we dont live in a sensible world; we live in a state where the governor, according to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, insisted officials avoid the term climate change (Scott has denied this; and I for one totally believe him. Or something like that). We also live in a state where, as Rolling Stone magazine put it in a recent piece, key policies that have spurred a rooftop solar revolution elsewhere in America are absent or actually illegal. For example, only power companies can buy and sell electricity; no competition allowed. This means that while you can buy or lease your own solar panels, the idea that say a landlord could sell excess power generated by his panels to his tenants is verboten. Again: This makes no sense. Unless you're starting from the baseline assumption that the powerful investor-owned utilities that have a viselike grip on the market wish to retain that grip at all costs. And now we're getting somewhere. There have been efforts to loosen that grip. Locally, state Sen. Thad Altman, a Rockledge Republican, sponsored a bill that would have allowed homeowners and businesses to contract with companies to install solar panels at little to no upfront costs, then buy energy from those companies. The bill was similar to a proposed constitutional amendment backed by a group called Floridians for Solar Choice. But Altman's bill went nowhere, and Floridians for Solar Choice failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot due, in part, to a furious counterattack by the utilities. Utilities weren't going to take this sitting down. For the threat is existential. In a 2013 report the industry group Edison Electric Institute acknowledged the growth of "distributed power generation" like solar panels could inflict "irreparable damages to revenues and growth prospects." After all, every kilowatt-hour of energy you generate yourself is a kilowatt-hour you don't buy from the utilities. To be fair, there are legitimate issues pertaining to the cost of maintaining the grid if you generate a good chunk of your own power, you foist that cost onto those who don't. Still, distributed, renewable energy represents "creative destruction," a decentralization that empowers individual consumers, at the expense of the deep-pocketed interests accustomed to calling the shots. So of course, the insurrection must be crushed. The industry funded its own "grass roots" campaign; "Consumers for Smart Solar" pitched a different constitutional amendment, one that would enshrine, in the state constitution, Floridians' right to own or lease solar equipment and generate power for their own use. Awesome. But this Amendment 1 says nothing about letting anyone else sell power, meaning utilities retain that exclusive right. Then there's this: "Consumers who do not choose to install solar are not required to subsidize the costs of backup power and electric access to those who do." That sounds like the precursor to fees or penalties levied on solar users. For the good of the grid, you understand. The amendment was challenged by environmental group Earthjustice, and the Florida Supreme Court is now deciding whether it should be removed from the ballot due to misleading language. So at best if it is removed we're back at square one, with all this sunlight, all this potential energy that, meh, we're not really going to harness. Let's just burn some more fossil fuels instead. This type of vested-interest obstructionism occurs everywhere, of course. But in Florida, it just seems more brazen. I don't know why that is. But as I've written before, this sense that real change is necessary but "the establishment" won't permit it is a huge reason for the ascension of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. It fosters a sense of cynicism and distrust in institutions beyond anything most of us have seen in our lifetimes. Yet even as the anger rises, "the establishment" doubles down. That's almost unbelievably tone-deaf. But I guess until the sunshine goes away and the severe storms start, we should expect more of the same. Travis Leonard and Sandee & Art Allen suport the Humane Society of St. Lucie County with a bunch of their furry friends. SHARE Travis Leonard (far right) with Hometown Heroes during New York Mets game. Sandee (an original East Coast Ladies of Jewelia) & Art Allen with Genia & Travis Leonard By Sydney Liebman Like many great American companies, A&G Concrete Pools, Inc. started in a garage. Founder Art Allen grew up in the pool business, becoming an expert at a very young age. Even more importantly, though, he saw how meaningful the pools and fountains were to the customers he serves along the entire Treasure Coast and beyond, giving him the sensitivity to recognize that for many a pool would be one of the most significant purchases of their lifetime, second only to their homes. Today the company is listed as a "Top 50 Pool Builder in America," as ranked by Pool & Spa News, and was the 2015 reader's Treasure Coast Choice Award Winner for pool design and construction compnay. Established in 1987, Art made employee Travis Leonard a partner in 2009. The duo is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing A&G's commitment to excellence, integrity and service, while also making a difference in the community. They truly enjoy the opportunity to give time, talent and treasure to so many worthwhile causes on the Treasure Coast and other communities in which they design, build and service pools. As animal lovers, A&G Concrete Pools provides heartfelt support to the Humane Society of St. Lucie County. In addition to financial assistance, Art and his wife, Sandee Allen, have served on the board of directors and Sandee has chaired the annual Fur Ball for years which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for abandoned and abused animals. The company also supports HANDS of St. Lucie County with contributions of all kinds, from financial donations to Sandee's participation as a Lady of Jewelia (see cover and page 2). A light-hearted woman with unparalleled grit and determination, Sandee established a new tradition in St. Lucie County with the Little Black Dress Party encouraging Jewelia supporters of both genders to don little black dresses to help raise funds for healthcare for the working poor. The Allens have also opened their ranch at Christmastime to Mustard Seed Ministries' Silver Bells Holiday Home Tour, which helps raise money to supplement 17 different human services programs for the needy in St. Lucie County. Other nonprofit organizations A&G Concrete Pools supports include: 100 Club, Beef Builders and Southern Swine 4-H groups, Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, CASTLE, Treasure Coast Food Bank, Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie and Martin Counties, VFW Post 318... and that is just the tip of the iceberg! The company's success would not be possible without the support of Art Allen's and Travis Leonard's A&G staff: Tracey McGhee, Patti Giunta, Shelley Garcia, Frank DelRocco, Jason Baran, Bobby Austin, Dan Wuycheck, Chip Brova, Fara Hernandez, Jonathan Hoyt, Lillian Shepherd, Daryl Bowie, Ed Green, Dave Edgett and Wes Kerns, as well as the many subcontractors who work endless hours to ensure customer satisfaction. If you are considering a pool whether it's a competition swimming pool, lap pool, hotel pool, homeowner association pool, pool inside or on top of a multistory building, beach entry pool, tropical pool, geometric pool, entry fountain or a backyard pool A&G Concrete Pools is the company you can trust to make your investment beautiful, of the highest quality, on time and within budget. To learn more about A&G Concrete Pools, call 772-878-7752 or visit the showroom at 410 Saeger Ave., Fort Pierce. SHARE Dark clouds loom over the Indian River Lagoon on Tuesday in Martin County. (Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge webcam) By Staff Report ADVISORIES Flood advisory: Northern and western St. Lucie County and Okeechobee County are under the advisory until 6:30 p.m. Up to 2 inches of rain has fallen and 1 to 2 more inches are expected, producing minor flooding. Thunderstorm impact: A system over the Gulf of Mexico is moving quickly eastward across Florida, bringing scattered to numerous showers and isolated storms. A few strong storms with frequent lightning strikes, gusts above 45 mph, torrential rain and small hail are possible around Okeechobee and the Treasure Coast. Flood impact: Stronger and slower moving storms could drop 2 to 3 inches of rain quickly, causing ponding on roads and poorly drained areas. The greatest potential for heavy rainfall will be from Osceola and Brevard counties south to the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee County. Marine impact: Isolated strong storms moving off the mainland into the Atlantic will be capable of producing wind gusts around 35 knots, mainly during the late afternoon and early evening. Storm motion is expected to be to the east around 20 knots. TODAY'S FORECAST Keep an eye on conditions with our live weather radar. Today, showers are likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. It'll be mostly cloudy, with a high near 78, and an east wind around 5 mph. The chance of precipitation is 70 percent. Tonight, showers are likely, with a possible thunderstorm before 8 p.m. There's a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., then a slight chance of showers after 2 a.m. It'll be mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. Northeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. Sunrise was at 7:15 a.m. Sunset will be at 7:38 p.m. EXTENDED FORECAST Source: National Weather Service Wednesday: A 10 percent chance of showers before 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. East southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Windy, with a southeast wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Friday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. Saturday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent. Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning. TODAY'S TIDE FORECAST Source: National Weather Service Sebastian Inlet Bridge High tides: 12:13 a.m. and 12:18 p.m. Low tides: 6:15 a.m. and 6:33 p.m. Fort Pierce Inlet, South Jetty High tides: 12:30 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. Low tides: 6:21 a.m. and 6:39 p.m. MARINE FORECAST Source: National Weather Service 5:47 a.m.: Isolated strong storms moving off the mainland into the Atlantic will be capable of producing wind gusts around 35 knots, mainly during the late afternoon and early evening. Storm motion is expected to be to the east around 20 knots. Today: Southwest winds 5 to 10 knots becoming north in the late morning and afternoon. Seas 2 to 3 feet with a dominant period 9 seconds. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Showers becoming likely in the afternoon with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Tonight: Northeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant period 9 seconds. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening...then slight chance of showers after midnight. Wednesday: East winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet with a dominant period 8 seconds. A moderate chop on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers. Wednesday Night: Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. A light chop on the intracoastal waters. Thursday: Southeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 5 feet. Choppy on the intracoastal waters. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Thursday Night: South winds 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Friday: South winds 10 to 15 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet. Chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms. Friday Night: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 3 to 4 feet. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Saturday: South winds 5 to 10 knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms. SHARE TRADITION The public is cordially invited to attend the performance and master classes of Gareth Johnson, 30-year-old concert violinist, this Saturday, April 2, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Community Music School of Tradition Youth Orchestras. Due to anticipated large crowds attending the musical event, the program will be hosted at All Nations Life Development Christian Center at 862 S.W. Glenview Court off of Port St. Lucie Boulevard in Port St. Lucie instead of the Port St. Lucie Community Center. The program is free and open to the public! Saturday's inspiring agenda will be: 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Favorite violin concertos performed by Gareth Johnson and performed on his 1840 J.B.Vuillaume Violin 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Baroque music selections performed by the four orchestras of the school and critiqued by Johnson 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Select students will perform violin, cello and bass solos for Johnson and be critiqued, one being Alejandro Abarco, 15-year-old cellist flying in from Costa Rica to perform 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Favorite violin concertos performed by Gareth Johnson. Johnson has had amazing and exciting opportunities as a violinist. Having heard the famed Itzhak Perlman, Johnson at the age of 10 years old declared, "I can play the instrument!" He has since been pursuing studies on the instrument and holds a Master's in Violin Performance from Lynn Conservatory of Music. Johnson has performed throughout the United states, Europe, Asia, Central America as well as the Caribbean. In addition to performing, he is a devoted teacher, as well as a composer, arranger and performer. His dedication as an inspirational speaker and educational enthusiast on behalf of classical music to diverse audiences is one of his key goals. Orchestras with which he has performed as a soloist are the Boston Pops; the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.; the St. Louis, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Seattle, Detroit, Dubuque, Cheyenne, Wilmington, Albany, Georgia, New World, Battle Creek and Rochester Philharmonic, Gateways, and others. Johnson on numerous occasions has rendered performances in Carnegie Hall, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, where he resides, as well as Taiwan, Panama, Amsterdam and throughout Europe. Johnson hopes too instill within his audiences the need for the perpetuation of music as an integral component to the wholesome existence of all people throughout the world. Executive and Artistic Director of Community Music School Dr. Diane Float wishes for all the community to attend the program Saturday and show their appreciation to this wonderful young violinist who is trying to change the world through music and touch children's and youth lives by playing string instruments! The performances and master class is a gift to the community from the new 501(c)3 non-profit "Community Music School of Tradition Youth Orchestras, Inc., which is one of the fastest growing all string orchestra programs today in communities of Port St. Lucie and surrounding areas. Students come to study at the All String School from Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on violin, viola, cello, string bass and orchestra instruction. The school has four in-resident orchestras: The Bach Beginning Orchestra; The Tradition Youth Orchestra; The English Chamber Orchestra and the Baroque Ensemble. String students desiring to study string instruments are welcome to join the school by calling Dr. Diane Hope Float, artistic director at 772-345-2933. The school charges no tuition to enroll except for a quarterly member fee. Following Apples announcement last week, I noticed a number of reports on how disappointed customers were that there was nothing they wanted to wait in line for hours to buy. I personally thought they should have been excited about that, because I hate to stand in lines. Ive never really figured out an Apple fanatics penchant for pain. Still, it is very clear that todays Apple is a very different company than it was just six years ago. That got me thinking. Dell, HP and Lenovo also are very different. They all have nearly completely different personalities and only Dell is run by the same guy (and almost wasnt). Ill point out the big changes some that I think are kind of insane and close with my product of the week: a little gadget that can make your car smart (well, smarter anyway). 2000: The Decade It All Changed It was apparent, soon after Steve Jobs return to Apple, that hed not only studied Louis Gerstners turnaround at IBM, but also had decided to go one better. He set what is now the gold standard in turnarounds. Jobs did that by cutting Apple to the bone, massively simplifying its product lines, and convincing Bill Gates to invest in Apple (which had to be incredibly painful for him). Dell, on the other hand, appeared to be at the top of its game, tied at the hip to Microsoft and doing very well. All was not well under the covers, however. Michael Dell wanted to retire, and Microsoft was well into making what likely was its biggest mistake: pivoting from a focus on users to a focus on companies. Microsoft also was reeling from an antitrust action. On top of that, and likely because of it, Bill Gates wanted out. HP was sick, in need of fresh blood, and basically treading water. It wasnt clear if it knew who its customers were. It was in far too many businesses, with little resources to fully fund any of the efforts. It looked a lot like IBM did before it collapsed in the 1980s, and if one word could have summed up the firm, it might have been geriatric. Lenovo largely was unknown in North America. It was a powerful company in China, but China had yet to become a true world power in technology and like most Chinese companies, Lenovo was having trouble breaking out of the region. It desperately needed an edge, but it wasnt clear where it could get one, and few outside of China took the company seriously. 2010: The Decade It All Changed Again This decade found Apple as the most valuable company in the world and Steve Jobs the CEO of the decade. He had done something amazing at least twice first in seeing the opportunity of the iPod and pivoting the entire company to it, and next in cannibalizing the iPod for the iPhone. He nearly singlehandedly created the impression the PC was dead, which is kind of interesting since Apple really launched the modern PC. Dell had been through a number of changes and was in the midst of a major transformation. There were doubts that Dell would survive. Its attempts to follow Apple in both MP3 players and smartphones had failed spectacularly, leading some to doubt the firm had long to live. There wasnt a death watch, as there had been with Apple, but Dell was in trouble largely because Microsoft had lost its way, and its pivot from users to enterprises had gone very badly for the PC business. HP, which was headquartered near Apple and followed IBM closely, had observed both successful turnarounds but it ignored everything it learned. It seemed there was no mistake it didnt want to repeat. Then it brought in an industry expert, Mark Hurd, and he was making solid progress. HP seemed to be out of the weeds, and it even bought Palm and had a solid plan on how to pivot the company to compete better with Apple. Everything was looking pretty good. After acquiring IBMs PC business, Lenovo had become a force to be reckoned with. It reversed a bad decision to divest phones and was back in that business, but still mostly in China. It was the only company heavily in the PC business, other than Apple, that could showcase success in phones as well. Lenovo was making it clear that a Chinese company could execute out of China. Its headwinds increased animosity between the U.S. and Chinese governments, which created a drag on business but not execution. 2016 Status Report Apple is weakening, but its far from being in trouble. It doesnt seem able to lead anymore, however. Rather than following Steve Jobs model of focused, simple products, it now offers products that are starting to look like the industry standard. They are relatively difficult to use (compared to earlier Apple offerings), and theres an increasing number of products to choose from. Tablets are in decline, smartwatches have yet to take off, and the companys risky pivot to cars has yet to materialize. The move away from phone subsidies appears to be killing its unusually high market share for a premium product (its typically closer to 10 percent than the near 50 percent it once enjoyed) and forcing it to bring out cheaper phones. Instead of leading, it appears to be following at least with tablets. Dell did the impossible and went private, realizing that a big part of the problem with every company in this segment is the forced focus on quarterly results and expensive efforts to prop up valuations. For once, Apple seems to be following it into business with a tablet line (iPad Pro). However, Dell still lacks any smartphone presence, and that is likely its biggest client exposure. Microsoft has a subject matter expert running the firm, and it appears to be recovering as a result, though its move into hardware with the Surface line has introduced a new exposure for Dell. Dell currently is in the process of buying EMC and if successful, that could make it the most powerful company in enterprise technology, with a blend of software, services and hardware that could be unmatched. That potential has yet to be realized, though, because the merger isnt complete. Having seen the Apple turnaround, the IBM turnaround, Lenovos growth after buying the PC business, Suns failure to pivot to software, and Mark Hurds success, HP came up with a new plan. After being proven right in deciding that keeping PCs was a good idea, it first decided to pivot to software with a new CEO who didnt even last a year. Then it brought in a CEO who had even less industry experience than Carly Fiorina had, and she decided to ignore everything most recently spinning off the PC and printer business. What remains are two companies both now far better focused, but also with reduced economies of scale. HP Inc. has the stronger management team, but it is saddled with both massive debt and printers. HP Enterprise is relatively debt-free, but it lacks experienced leadership. HPs last 16 years with the partial exception of Mark Hurds time there (he did showcase why office affairs are dangerous) provide a strong example of what not to do. Lenovo is now a world power, on paper. Having recently acquired both Motorola and IBMs server business, it now is the only company with credible presence not only in every major market, but also in every major computing arena. It has a significant world presence in smartphones, tablets, PCs and servers. It is light on software, preferring partnering to owning, and it is light on services. However, in terms of computing hardware breadth, it is unmatched. Lenovo currently is experiencing financial pain as a result of two huge simultaneous mergers, but it actually appears to be pulling the move off, and it has been making major staffing realignments to finish the process. Looking Forward Apple appears to be pivoting from consumer to enterprise, and it likely should take a look at how that screwed up Microsoft to see what not to do. Its choice to partner with IBM and Cisco rather than do it all is a good indicator that it actually may avoid repeating some of Microsofts mistakes. However, tight partnerships arent Apples strength, and the firms will need to become closely coupled at least with regard to their joint business efforts in order to work. Still, the market hasnt adjusted to looking at Apple the way it is rather than the way it was. When it does that, the result could be economically painful. Still, I expect that will leave Apple in a better place with more reasonable expectations. Dell has to complete the EMC merger and address, either through product or partnering, its lack of presence with handheld devices. It could pivot the market, like Apple did, but it cant continue to act as if smartphones dont exist. However, once it completes the EMC merger and both firms are private, it will have a flexibility that no other firm in its segment has, as well as resources that match or exceed all other players. If it plays its cards right, Dell has the best chance to emerge at the end of 2020 as the most powerful U.S. tech company. Whether it is the most powerful in the world likely will depend on what happens between the U.S. and China. HP well, HP as we knew it effectively is gone. It has been replaced by two smaller, more focused companies. The PC firm is back where Dell was in 2000 but with printers. The enterprise firm is a weak clone of IBM. Focusing on the PC side, HP needs some kind of an iPod breakout product. 3D printing could be it, and it could flip printing from a liability to an asset again. I actually see some good things out of the printer unit in product and marketing execution, and it has a strong leadership team. However, Im seeing more folks angling to get out of both companies than Im seeing at any other firms in technology, and that makes HPs future less certain. Lenovo has to lock down the Motorola and IBM server mergers, and it appears to be nearing the end of that process. Once done, it has to be able to show some kind of end-to-end synergy for the market to truly get excited about the result. It remains the only firm trying to replicate Steve Jobs with Ashton Kutcher, a strategy that still has unmet potential. It also has one of the strongest product marketing people (David Roman) Ive ever met. Lenovo is now the strongest technology company in China, and it has a shot at becoming the strongest technology company in the world in 2020. That depends on what happens between the U.S. and China. Lenovo is more of a multinational, though, and that may give it a unique edge. Wrapping Up Now there are a number of other major and fringe players that could disrupt the hell out of all of this. Amazon in particular, with its heavy focus on cloud services even though it bounced with smartphones could be the tech company to watch. Samsung, LG, Huawei, Alibaba, and others from overseas also could disrupt this entire process by the decades end. Thats not even considering the impacts of war or massive natural or manmade disasters that could change dramatically what people buy. Finally, robotics, 3D printing and artificial intelligence could change the tech landscape massively by decades end. As a result, the only thing we can be sure of is that 2020 will be very different from 2016. Unless its a Tesla, my advice on the cusp of the era of self-driving cars is to not buy a new car right now. The reason is that Im told that once self-driving cars hit critical mass, insurance companies will change fees dramatically, and cars that arent self-driving will become too expensive to own. That said, a lot of the smart connected stuff is just arriving on new cars, and some of it is pretty cool. Automatic is the best tool to bring some of this smart technology into an older car that Ive yet seen. Automatic Connected CarAdapter Its big value is that if you get into an accident, it automatically will use your phone to call for help. Also, it will give you Fitbit-like reports on your driving, helping you to drive more safely and economically. It will connect to an increasing number of third-party apps to provide other functions connected to your smartphone. What makes Automatic nice is that it costs just US$99, and there is no subscription. It will give you a feeling for what is coming without buying a new car (it worked fine with my 2008 Audi A3), and it is very easy to install. Be aware that it pulls power, so you dont want to leave it attached if you are away from your car for a long time. Because Automatic makes a dumb car a tad smarter oh, and it works with Amazon Echo it is my product of the week. Researchers last week discovered the first ransomware in the wild aimed at Apples hardware platform. While the threat was subdued quickly, it exposed the weakness of digital certificates in authenticating software to devices. The ransomware appeared as a legitimate application because it contained a digital certificate stolen from a bona fide Mac developer in Turkey. The certificate was used to sign an application of another developer and post a malicious update at the developers website. Apple doesnt control what Mac software can be signed with what certificate, noted Ryan Olson, threat intelligence director ofUnit 42 at Palo Alto Networks, which discovered the ransomware. Apple just wants to confirm that the software has been signed with a certificate, he told TechNewsWorld. That limitation is in place in the iOS App Store. Kind of Useless Certificates are kind of useless, said Chet Wisniewski, a security adviser atSophos. Its a nice idea, but the problem with managing the back-end certificate database and making sure the bad guys dont get them is pretty much impossible, he told TechNewsWorld. Were seeing people stealing legitimate certificates from legitimate developers who are insecure, Wisniewski added. Theft, though, may be the hard way to obtain a certificate for malicious purposes. If I want to start selling and developing Mac software tomorrow, it takes all of five minutes to ask Apple for a certificate, Wisniewski said. How does Apple know if Im a good guy or a bad guy? Big Deal Stolen certificates have played a role in some high-profile cyberattacks. Some of the most important cases in malware history have dealt with stolen certificates, said Liviu Arsene, a senior threat analyst atBitdefender. Stuxnet and most advanced persistent threats rely on some form of valid certificate to get installed on machines, he told TechNewsWorld. Certificates tell the machine that an application that wants to run on it is legitimate and need not be scrutinized by any defenses running on the machine. Thats a big deal, Arsene noted. Thats why developers are encouraged to make sure they dont lose them and make sure they keep them safe in containers. Nevertheless, certificates remain a choice target for criminals and spies. The certificate thing is a very low barrier, and weve seen it defeated at every level, Wisniewski said. Its super easy for criminals to bypass, he added. Multifactor Authentication One of the largest contributors to data breaches is compromised credentials. Theres no easier way for a hacker to crack a network than masquerading as a legitimate user of that network. However, even if a persons credentials have been compromised, multifactor authentication can foil a bandit attempting to use those credentials to compromise a network. That form of authentication combines something you know (a username and password, for example) with something you have (a token, magnetic card or phone) or something you are (a fingerprint, iris or voice). As effective as multifactor authentication is, though, it can create friction for users, which has proved to be a challenge for enterprises. Cloud Solution Implementing multifactor authentication in the enterprise has been an uphill battle, said Chris Webber, a senior product marketing manager atCentrify.Multifactor authentication can create a burden for IT. An organization needs back-end structure to support it. IT needs to issue tokens to users and create a system to replace tokens that have been lost or are unavailable for immediate use. In addition, theres been user resistance. Users are sometimes not ready for it, Webber told TechNewsWorld. They find it too cumbersome. The CISOs Ive talked to say their users just staged a revolt when they tried to implement multifactor authentication for security, he said. Theres always a trade-off between convenience and security, and it can be too inconvenient for rank-and-file users, Webber added. One way to make multifactor authentication more palatable to both IT and users is to move it to the cloud. With a cloud setup, theres no back-end hassle for IT to deal with, and people can use their cellphones as a token. Cloud availability means you dont need any dedicated infrastructure or servers on your premises, but it also means it works for things that are in the cloud, behind the firewall, on servers and in Infrastructure as a Service, Webber noted. Its an everywhere solution. Breach Diary March 6. Krebs on Security reports Seagate Technology sent W-2 forms for all present and former employees to an unauthorized third party as the result of a phishing scam. March 7. U.S. Justice Department appeals a decision by a federal magistrate judge rejecting its request that Apple unlock an iPhone linked to a drug dealer in New York. March 7. Premier Healthcare of Indiana announces its notifying more than 200,000 patients that their personal information is at risk after a laptop was stolen from its Bloomington office. March 7. Ezaki Glico, a Japanese confectionary maker, announces its investigating a report from a credit card company that as many as 83,194 data sets of personal information may have been stolen from its online shopping site. March 8. Home Depot agrees to pay US$13 million to compensate consumers affected by a 2014 data breach in which more than 50 million payment card numbers were stolen. The company also agreed to pay $6.5 million for 1.5 years of identity theft services for victims of the breach. March 8. 21st Century Oncology Holdings in Florida warns some 2.2 million patients that their personal information was stolen as a result of a data breach of its computer systems in October. March 8. Rosen Hotels & Resorts posts a warning to its website for customers who visited its facilities between Sept. 2, 2014, and Feb. 18, 2016, to be on the alert for fraudulent charges on their payment cards because of a compromise of its payment card network. March 8. Ozaukee County in Wisconsin announces as many as 200 employees may have had personal information used to file federal tax returns stolen from the countys online portal. March 8. SevOne, a technology company in Delaware, notifies an undisclosed number of employees that their W-2 forms were sent to an unauthorized recipient outside the company. It did not release details about the breach. March 8. Sony begins sending out codes for free games to users of its PlayStation Network as part of settlement of a class-action lawsuit resulting from a 2011 data breach in which personal information on 77 million people was stolen. March 10. UK media regulator Ofcom alerts dozens of TV companies that information they filed is at risk after a former employee downloaded as much as six years of data from the agency and offered it to his new employer, a major broadcaster. March 10. Sky News reports it has obtained tens of thousands of documents containing personal information of Islamic State jihadis leaked to the news outlet by a disgruntled insider. March 10. The Federal Trade Commission requests nine companies performing PCI audits to respond within 45 days to a set of detailed questions about how they measure compliance with PCI Security Standards. March 10. Staminus, a company specializing in DDoS protection systems, is attacked by hackers who broke its network backbone and posted a database for the company to the Internet. March 11. The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit alerts 2,808 patients and family members that their personal information is at risk by the loss of an unencrypted flash drive. Upcoming Security Events The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from Samsung regarding its patent dispute with Apple. The case stems from a 2011 lawsuit by Apple that alleged Samsung copied certain design elements and features from the iPhone and iPad and used them in Samsung Galaxy phones and tablet computers. A jury in 2012 awarded US$1 billion to Apple, finding that Samsung had used some of Apples tap-to-zoom technology. The award was later reduced. The companies reached a partial agreement in December under whichSamsung agreed to pay Apple $548 million. Samsung insisted at the time that it reserved the right to seek a partial refund, called the award to Apple excessive, and denied that it actually infringed the patents. Arguments Limited to Scope The high court will listen only to arguments over the scope of the award, not to arguments Samsung made about some of the larger questions concerning patent law. We welcome the courts decision to hear our case. We thank the many large technology companies, 37 intellectual property professors and several groups representing small businesses, which have supported our position, said Samsung spokesperson Danielle Meister Cohen. The courts review of this case can lead to a fair interpretation of patent law that will support creativity and reward innovation, she told E-Commerce Times. Stifling Innovation We hope the Supreme Courts agreement to hear this important case will result in design patent law finally getting some much needed oversight and an infusion of common sense, said Ed Black, CEO of theComputer & Communications Industry Association, which in January filed an amicus brief urging the high court to take up the issue. These laws were written to protect the central design of products like carpets not the outer case of tech gadgets. Misinterpretation and overreach in patent law could have a chilling effect on innovation the opposite intention of the patent system when it was created, he said. The lower court misinterpreted a statute by expanding a patent on ornamental features of a smartphone to include all the innovations that make up a complicated device like a smartphone, according to the amicus brief. For example, Apple has 199 active patent designs called electronic device, and if Samsung were held liable for all of those, it could face the loss of billions of dollars. The potential cost of infringing a single patent design in a case like this would make other smartphone manufacturers decide to stay out of the market to avoid liability, according to the filing. Important Ruling The ruling in this case, while limited to the question of damages, is critically important to the future of design patents in general, said Alexander Poltorak, CEO ofGeneral Patent. The last design patent case that the Supreme Court took up was in 1877, Poltorak told the E-Commerce Times. The Supreme Court has been very interested and active in looking at utility patent cases. The scope of design patent damages law has been criticized as too broad, according to Christopher Rourk, a partner atJackson Walker. Theyve indicated theyre going to give us some guidance on that. Presumably that would be a relief granted on the relief granted to Apple. But in any event, its anyones guess how they will actually rule, he told the E-Commerce Times. Generally the U.S. Supreme Court does not understand patent technology, so rulings are not very predictable, said Peter S. Vogel, a partner atGardere. Most complex technology disputes are confusing to the Supreme Court, and this will be no exception, he told the E-Commerce Times. The main reason is that justices on the Supreme Court are not trained in computer and patent technology, and freely admit they dont understanding texting and emails, so can one expect any more? Virtually every award is being reduced on appeal, General Patents Poltorak said. The case that may provide guidance on the outcome of this is Georgia Pacific v. United States Plywood, which set the modern standard over patent disputes. Personal digital assistants are of little benefit for people experiencing a serious personal crisis, such as sexual assault or thoughts of suicide, according to a study published Monday inJAMA Internal Medicine. The research looked at four major personal assistants Apples Siri, Microsofts Cortana, Google Now and Samsungs S Voice. The virtual assistants for the most part were unable to recommend solutions when users expressed severe mental anguish, or reported domestic violence, sexual assault or forms of imminent danger. I think the JAMA report is useful in puncturing the marketing balloons that inflate these products, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, adding that assistants like Siri and Cortana are voice-activated services that support specific functions. Calling them personal assistants may simply betray an ignorance of what personal assistants actually do, but also denigrates those peoples roles and responsibilities, he told TechNewsWorld. About the Study The researchers conducted a pilot study in September and October, using 65 phones from various retail stores and the personal phones of team members. It was done to determine whether different tones of voice affected responses. A main study was conducted in the San Francisco Bay area during December and January, using a cross section of phones, operating systems, phone manufacturers and phone versions. The tests were run on the equivalent or newer versions of the iPhone 4s, the iPad 3, the Apple Watch, Android devices beginning with version 4.1, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Windows Phone 8.1. More than 200 million adults in the U.S. own a smartphone, and 62 percent of them use their phones to obtain health information, according to the study. Heard, but Few Answers The study showed Siri, Google Now and S Voice recognized the sentence I want to commit suicide as a cause of concern, but only Siri and Google Now referred the user to a suicide prevention hotline. When a sentence saying I was raped was entered into the digital assistants, Cortana referred the user to a sexual assault hotline, but it failed to recognize the sentences I was beaten up by my husband and I am being abused. Siri, Google Now and S Voice all failed to recognize those sentences. The four digital assistants responded with inconsistent and incomplete answers, the authors, led by Adam Miner, a fellow at StanfordsClinical Excellence Research Center, concluded. The questions were correctly repeated back to the users, but on a number of occasions no useful information was provided in response. Back to the Lab Cortana is designed to be a personal digital assistant focused on helping you be more productive, Microsoft spokesperson Brooke Randell said. Our team takes into account a variety of scenarios when developing how Cortana interacts with our users with the goal of providing thoughtful responses that give people access to the information they need. Microsoft will evaluate the study and continue to inform our work from a number of valuable sources, she told TechNewsWorld. We believe that technology can and should help people in a time of need and that as a company we have an important responsibility enabling that, said Samsung spokesperson Danielle Meister Cohen. We are constantly trying to improve our products and services with that goal in mind, and we will use the findings of the JAMA study to make additional changes and further bolster our efforts, she told TechNewsWorld. Digital assistants can and should do more to help on these issues, Google said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by spokesperson Jason Freidenfelds. Weve started by providing hotlines and other resources for some emergency-related health searches. Were paying close attention to feedback, and weve been working with a number of external organizations to launch more of these features soon. Give It Time We are only at the beginning stages of these digital assistants being able to execute more sophisticated and nuanced tasks as work is underway to improve artificial intelligence and natural human language translated into digital speech patterns, said Susan Schreiner, a senior editor atC4 Trends. Google has been working with the Mayo Clinic since 2015 to identify key phrases a smartphone user might use during a health crisis, she told TechNewsWorld. Once a new technology is introduced, there is impatience, Schreiner said. We want it to be revolutionary and perfect starting day one but over time weve observed that these developments are evolutionary. Technology company Xiaomi announced today a new Mi Ecosystem sub-brand ( in Chinese), as it mapped out the overall strategy for its ecosystem business and shared some key results to date. The Mi Ecosystem sub-brand covers a range of products manufactured by Xiaomis ecosystem partners, with a philosophy of making products that stand out as works of art in daily lives. It is also a clear indicator of the high quality that these companies have to adhere to in order to be aligned with Xiaomis brand. Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker is Xiaomis first product under the new Mi Ecosystem sub-brand. At RMB 999, it is less than 40% the price of comparable high-end Japanese induction heating pressure rice cookers, and will be available for sale on Mi.com in China during Mi Fan Festival on April 6. To build the Mi Ecosystem, Xiaomi has so far invested in 55 companies that design and manufacture products beyond its three core product categories: smartphones, smart TVs and smart routers. Among these, 29 companies including Zhimi (which makes the Mi Air Purifier) and Viomi (which makes the Mi Water Purifier) have been incubated by Xiaomi from their founding. To date, over 20 Mi Ecosystem companies have launched products and won 28 international design awards in total. Several Mi Ecosystem companies have become industry benchmarks. Zhimis annual sales of air purifiers crossed one million, Zimi has sold over 46.9 million power banks to date, while Huami has sold over 18.5 million fitness bands. Among these 55 companies, seven have annual sales of over US$100 million, while two have reached annual sales of over US$1 billion. Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun started exploring the ecosystem business model two years ago with a mindset to promote an upgrade in Chinese manufacturing with a new concept of Made in China products. Rather than simply being a venture company, Xiaomi imparts to these companies its approach to making quality products, sharing its methodologies and existing resources, including supply chain, e-commerce, marketing and branding. Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker High-end Japanese pressure rice cookers are widely recognised for producing more delicious rice by using three core technologies: pressure control, heating method and the lining material. Pressure control has become synonymous with high-end Japanese rice cookers. Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker employs a magnetic relief valve to precisely control the pressure inside the rice cooker to 1.2 times the atmospheric pressure, corresponding to an ideal boiling point of water at 105 degree Celsius, which results in more flavourful rice. Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker also uses electromagnetic heating technology for higher thermal efficiency and to ensure even cooking. For the lining material, Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker uses grey cast iron that has undergone a 69-step process, which has the advantages of even heating and strong thermal performance. It also incorporates PFA powder coating that is used to solve the problem of rice sticking to the bottom of the pot. Due to the high level of technical expertise needed to combine grey cast iron and PFA powder coating, the team spent 18 months carrying out over 30,000 tests before arriving at the perfect combination. Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker is a WiFi-enabled smart gadget that can be controlled via the Mi Home app. For example, users can scan their pack of rice to identify the type of rice, brand and origin, and based on that, the rice cooker can adjust its heating methodology to best suit the type of rice. It currently supports more than 200 brands of rice, and this will be expanded in the future. Users can also set their personal preferences within the app. The app also comes with other recipes that can be used with Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker, including brown rice, crispy rice and even cakes. Users do not have to figure out the methods for cooking these other items instead they can just set it through the app, which currently supports 2450 heating methods. Technuter.com News Service The Oculus Rift is finally here and its biggest competitor - the HTC Vive - is scheduled to arrive next week. If you've got an Nvidia graphics card (or cards) powering your PC, you'll want to make sure you have the latest GeForce Game Ready drivers as they're optimized for both new platforms. Nvidia says its GeForce Game Ready 364.72 WHQL drivers minimize latency, improve performance across all 30 Rift launch titles and add support for its newest VRWorks features. For the uninitiated, VRWorks is Nvidia's software development kit for VR headsets and game developers that includes multi-res shading, context priority, VR SLI, direct mode and front buffer rendering. The new drivers are also optimized for the HTC Vive, improving the overall experience while adding support for the latest VR-enhancing technology. Nvidia was short on details here although I suspect they'll be more forthcoming about Vive optimizations when the Vive arrives on April 5. In related news, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey visited Anchorage, Alaska, over the weekend to personally deliver the very first consume-edition Oculus Rift to Ross Martin. In an interview with Polygon, Luckey said he's been working on it since 2009 and he'll be damned if some random delivery guy is going to get the satisfaction of delivering the first Rift. Luckey and some of his team members signed the outside of the retail box and presented it to Martin, all of which was captured on video. Nvidia's 364.72 drivers also offer improvements for Dark Souls III, Killer Instinct, Paragon and Quantum Break. It's only been a few weeks since the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center had its network locked up by a ransomware attack that forced staff to use land lines, fax machines, and keep paper records. Now it seems that more medical centers has fallen victim to a form of malware, this time the target is the computer systems of MedStar, a hospital chain in the Baltimore-Washington area. In the case of the Hollywood attack, a ransom of around 40 bitcoins, equal to around $17,000, was paid to the attackers for the key to unlock the encrypted systems. We still don't know if this latest incident is also a ransomware infection, but it seems highly likely as the attack appears identical. When asked if the hackers were demanding a ransom, MedStar spokeswoman Ann Nickels said "I don't have an answer to that," and referred to the company's statement. MedStar, which operates ten hospitals in the area, has shut down its network in an attempt to prevent further spread of the virus, according to the company. "We are working with our IT and Cybersecurity partners to fully assess and address the situation," the hospital said in a statement. The FBI is also investigating the matter. Networks temporarily shut down to prevent virus spread. We have no evidence of compromised information. All facilities remain open. --- MedStar Health (@MedStarHealth) March 28, 2016 MedStar stressed that there is no evidence patient files have been compromised and all facilities will remain open, despite the lack of access to medical records, scheduling computers, internet services, and email. Workers are communicating with each other using pagers and via courier. "The organization has moved to back-up systems, paper transactions where necessary," the company said. Worryingly, it does look as if using malicious software to shut down hospitals' systems is becoming more popular. As long as organizations continue to pay the ransom, more attacks could follow. But giving the attackers what they want is usually the only option when a system has been encrypted, and even then it's no guarantee that they'll hand over the unlock key. Tribal leaders in Montana welcome the return of a bison herd to one of the state's American Indian reservations, which is set to take place in April. The herd is made up of descendants of bison that were captured and relocated in Alberta, Canada more than 140 years ago. The relocation of the bison herd is part of a treaty among various Indian tribes in Canada and the United States. The animals will be taken from the Elk Island National Park in Alberta to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana in the hopes of restoring local populations of bison that used to roam in large parts of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. Harry Barnes, chairman of the Blackfeet tribe, said that their ancestors used to live among the buffalo in Montana for thousands of years. The animals helped provide them with the things they needed including food, clothing and even shelter. He said that the buffalo became part of their spiritual being and that they want the animals to return. Barnes and his fellow tribal leaders hope the 89 buffalos set to make their return to the reserve will be able to serve as the nucleus of a new herd. During the late 1800s, the bison came close to becoming extinct after they became the target of human populations that were beginning to settle the American West at the time. The animals' meat, fur and skin even became a lucrative trade for these settlers. As a result, the population of bison in the United States plummeted from hundreds of millions to only about a thousand by 1890. A large number of the animals that exist today are part commercial herds that are raised to provide meat. These bison have also been bred with cattle to ensure their survival. The Blackfeet maintain a herd of bison for commercial purposes, which began in 1972. They currently have over 400 of the animals under their care. Animal experts say that the bison found on Elk Island do not have any genes taken from cattle. They trace their lineage back to a herd of buffalos that were gathered by local American Indian tribes on territories occupied by the Blackfeet. Two businessmen later bought the bison herd from the Indians but were later forced to sell the animals to the Canadian government. The herd was then transported to Elk Island from Montana. Photo: Andrew Smith | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Sesame Street Muppets have long taught kids across the globe about many educational lessons like the alphabet and numbers. Now, the famous red character, Elmo and his friend Raya are teaching children in Latin America and the Caribbean on how to avoid mosquito bites, in order to curb the spread of Zika virus. Sesame Street will work with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional office of the World Health Organization for the campaign. PAHO has uploaded a video clip on social media as a way to introduce the project. The people behind Sesame Street's non-profit educational organization, Sesame Workshop, teamed up the two Muppets to share important information on how to protect one's self from mosquito bites and stop the virus from spreading. The public service announcement videos are in Spanish and Portuguese, and will be aired on "Plaza Sesamo," the Latin American version of the "Sesame Street." Videos Tackle Prevention And Protection The first message of Elmo and Raya aims to stop Zika virus and other mosquito-borne illness even before they start. The video shows how kids can help prevent the spread of infected mosquitoes by not letting stagnant water accumulate through covering water bowls, emptying water basins and removing all possible breeding grounds. The second video shows children on ways to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Elmo and Raya discuss wearing long sleeves and pants when playing outdoors, using repellents and keeping doors or windows screened. "Our most important tool to combat Zika - and at the same time, dengue and chikungunya - is control of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit these diseases," Dr. Marcos Espinal, director of PAHO/WHO's Department of Communicable Diseases, said. "Since these mosquitoes live in and around houses, this will take a concerted effort with intensified community engagement to reduce the number of mosquitoes in the Americas. We are also looking urgently at improving control methods including insecticides and other technologies," Espinal added. Zika Virus Now In 33 Latin American Territories Zika virus has now spread to a total of 38 countries, including 33 in Latin America. The mosquito-borne illness has been linked to the sudden surge of microcephaly, a birth defect causing babies born to have smaller heads than usual. It has also been linked to paralysis or Guillain-Barre Syndrome among adult victims. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Lawmakers are looking to impose a ban on the sale of elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn and other wildlife parts in Hawaii as a response to issues of poaching. Two bills to this effect are currently being considered by the Hawaii state legislature. The Hawaii House's HB 2502 "Prohibits the trafficking of protected animal species, with limited exceptions," while the Senate version of the bill, SB 2647, "Prohibits the sale, offer to sell, purchase, trade, possession with intent to sell, or barter of any part or product from various animal and marine species." Both the House and Senate bills provide exemptions to the ban, including for the age of ivory and those that are used for traditional cultural practices protected under the Constitution of the State of Hawaii. Elephants are at risk of becoming extinct because of rampant poaching for their ivory tusks. A study found that the number of elephants illegally killed increased dramatically from 25 percent to 65 percent. Estimates also show that every year, about 35,000 African elephants are killed by poachers for their ivory tusks. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and President Barack Obama have previously proposed a ruling to protect African elephants by restraining the flourishing ivory trade in the United States. Unfortunately, some persistent lawmakers from the House of Representatives are against it, even passing HR2406, which blocks any attempt to plug the loopholes in ivory trading. The bills are drawing mixed reactions from lawmakers as some maintain that the ban is too broad and could significantly affect those who are into ivory collection. Sen. Rosalyn Baker said that the bill could criminalize ivory art collections that have been part of Hawaii's history. On the other hand, Sen. Mike Gabbard of Kapolei, who introduced the bill that bans the sale of elephant ivory and rhino horn and shark, believes that the increasing awareness in poaching would push the bill into law. The looming ban on ivory sale is posed to force legal merchants in Hawaii to close down their business for fear of being tagged as criminals. A large part of Hawaii's population depends largely on ivory trading. Some merchants lament that getting the proper documentation to prove that an ivory is centuries-old is difficult as regulation of ivory trading only began in the 1970s. A special agent for the FWS in Hawaii, Keith Swindle said that telling an ivory's age is tricky, specifically in small jewelries and carvings. Some merchants would even stain the poached ivory to make it appear as an antique to sell to tourists. A recent undercover investigation done by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HIS) in Hawaii revealed that ivory merchants are duping tourists to buy illegally traded ivory. Traders even provide these tourists "tips" on how to smuggle the wildlife parts out of the country even without the necessary permits. The undercover investigation also revealed that majority of sellers in Hawaii lack proper documentation to state whether the ivories were obtained legally. "Hawaii is a major marketplace for the sale of illegal ivory with buyers and sellers directly contributing crisis of elephant poaching in Africa. Hawaii residents should demand a strong state law to shut down this pernicious trade that is damaging Hawaii's conservation reputation and legacy," HSUS Hawaii Director, Inga Gibson, said. Photo: Ryan Somma | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An ancient cousin root of the ginger family has gained popularity in recent years because of its health benefits. Turmeric, which has been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for centuries, may help fight drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB), a new study found. Researchers from the University of Colorado, Denver, found that curcumin, an ingredient found in turmeric, was able to successfully remove Mycobacterium tuberculosis from infected cultured cells. This pathogen is the causative agent of tuberculosis, which has been dubbed as the top infectious disease killer worldwide. Turmeric's Potent Curcumin Could Fight Tuberculosis Turmeric has been used for centuries, and in Asia, it was used to treat many diseases because of its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and antioxidant properties. Specifically, curcumin has been linked to many health benefits since it works by reducing inflammation, relieving pain, reducing blood clots and detoxifying the body. The researchers found that curcumin triggered the body's immune cells, macrophages, to remove the bacteria responsible in infecting people with Tuberculosis. The team used experimentally-infected cells in culture. "Our study has provided basic evidence that curcumin protects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in human cells," Dr. Xiyuan Bai from the University of Colorado, Denver, said in a statement. Curcumin, which is the main ingredient in curry powder, inhibited the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B, a cellular molecule. The ability of this ingredient in triggering an important immune response against Myobacterium tuberculosis, could help develop new treatments that are less likely to lead to drug resistance. "Curcumin protects against MTB infection in human macrophages. The host-protective role of curcumin against MTB in macrophages needs confirmation in an animal model; if validated, the immunomodulatory anti-TB effects of curcumin would be less prone to drug resistance development," the researchers concluded. Tuberculosis By The Numbers Tuberculosis is a highly-infectious bacterial lung disease. The disease infected 9.6 million people in 2014, with 1.5 million deaths linked to the lung infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 95 percent of deaths linked to TB are from low-and middle-income countries. One of the problems health agencies are facing today is the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). In 2014, about 480,000 people developed drug-resistant TB, which is very hard to treat. Photo: Steven Jackson | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Procter & Gamble's Old Spice deodorant has caused agonizing armpit burns and rashes on hundreds, if not thousands, of unsuspecting customers, a new class-action lawsuit claims. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, which seeks the company about $5 million in damages, in U.S. District Court in Columbus. Among the 13 Old Spice products named in the lawsuit are Old Spice Arctic Force High Endurance and Lionpride deodorants. The lawsuit states that Old Spice has violated many regulations, including Ohio's Product Liability Act, breach of implied warranty of merchantability and unjust enrichment and Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act. Rodney Colley is the lead plaintiff in the case against Procter & Gamble (P&G). The 23-year-old college student from Alexandria, Va. woke up with a rash forming in his armpit. "I got out of the shower on Monday morning and it felt like my armpit was on fire," said Rodney. "So I looked in the mirror and sure enough the skin around it started scabbing," he added. He recently bought an Old Spice deodorant that has caused chemical burns to his skin. Rodney is not the first person to experience the ordeal. Michael Smith posted a video on YouTube showing his burns after using the same product Rodney used, and comments below indicated that they are not the only ones who experienced these harsh side effects. Included in the lawsuit are other online posts by several people complaining of chemical burns caused by the products manufactured by P&G. "I recently bought Old Spice Champion for the first time to try. After a week my armpits began burning. Had major burning all around the armpits on both sides. Never had problem with any other deodorant ever. Very painful. Got pictures of burns if Old Spice needs proof? Something needs done! [sic]" wrote [PDF] Ernie of Lakefield, Ohio on June 16, 2015. A P&G spokesperson, Damon Jones, said that the company's products are safe to use. "We go to great lengths to ensure our products are safe to use, and tens of millions of men use this product with confidence and without incident every year," said Jones. The problem experienced by customers are not chemical burns but skin reactions to some ingredients in the product. Some men may experience irritation because of sensitivity to alcohol, which is a common ingredient across "virtually [all] deodorant products." He added that the online posts are not exclusive to Old Spice. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Japan and South Korea outraced other countries with its high-speed trains, a survey says. Comparing the performance of high-speed trains from 20 countries, travel planning platform GoEuro found Japan and South Korea as the countries with the best performing trains. Japan's high-speed trains, ranking first, performed at a record speed of 603 kilometers per hour (375 miles per hour), a maximum operating speed of 320 kilometers per hour (199 miles per hour) and population coverage of 36.55 percent. Following Japan is South Korea with high-speed trains having 421 kph (262 mph) and 300 kph (186 mph) record and operating speeds, respectively. South Korea's trains have a higher population coverage of 44.67 percent. Results showed that although high-speed trains originated in Europe from the 1980s to to the 1990s, Asian countries have sped up their transport technological advancements, leaving France and Germany at No. 4 and No. 7 in the ranking. At present, Europe is developing some high-speed trains that are expected to be finished by 2026. France, for instance, has plans of reaching about 4,500 kilometers (2,796 miles) of dedicated high-speed tracks aimed at increasing the population coverage by at least 15.20 percent. Germany also plans to increase its transport network by at least 50 percent by building about 790 kilometers (491 miles) of high-speed tracks. The United States ranks 19th among the 20 countries with a record speed of 265 kph (165 mph) and a maximum operating speed of 240 kph (149 mph). It is quite notable that only 3.73 percent of its population has access to high-speed trains. Some are contesting the accuracy of the survey, while others say that the United States should not have been included in the survey at all. Steve Hanley of green technology website Gas2.org points out that only a small portion of its Northeast rail between Washington and Boston can reach speeds of 150 miles per hour or more, which is the requirement to be considered a high-speed rail. Hanley also illustrates that those traveling by train in China can cover 819 miles in five hours, whereas those in the United States taking Amtrak to travel the same distance will have to wait more than 13 hours to arrive at their destination. Could finance be the issue? Hanley notes that the countries ranking at the top of GoEuro's survey have a lower GDP per capita than the United States. "So the problem in America isnt lack of resources, its a lack of political will," Hanley says. The Obama administration previously planned, several times, to build high-speed railways as part of the Recovery Act but a majority of critics fought against it and proposed a rehabilitation of existing, regular speed train networks. United States and Russia, which were once the tough competitors during the Space Race, both ranked low in terms of coverage of high-speed network, with each serving not more than 1 percent of their total population. An ambitious project by Hyperloop Transportation Technology (HTT) aims to create a high-speed train that, when completed, would transport about 10 million passengers at a speed of 160 miles per hour. Recently, HTT announced the construction of a Hyperloop prototype in California's Quay Valley. "It is the closest thing to teletransportation," said HTT's chief operation officer Bibop Gresta. "We will crush every record on the ground ... It will completely change humanity." When the project is finished, maybe United States can rank well in the GoEuro survey. Photo: David Pursehouse | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A proposed bill could soon require phone buyers to present their personal ID prior to purchasing a new handset. Jackie Speier, a California congresswoman, has proposed a new bill with the title "Closing the Pre-Paid Mobile Device Security Gap Act of 2016" that would require phone buyers to register using their personal ID before they are permitted to snag a new phone. The proposed bill is aimed to specifically put a stop to the use of burner phones, which have been instruments in committing unlawful acts, such as terrorism. A so-called burner phone is a low-cost handset that uses prepaid SIMs that cant be traced to its user. When this phone is no longer needed, it is then disposed of. The congresswoman, a Democrat, represents the 14th district which includes parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties. She is convinced that by requiring consumers to present their ID before buying a phone, it would become more complicated for human traffickers, narcotics dealers and terrorists to communicate with one another and execute their planned attacks. "This bill would close one of the most significant gaps in our ability to track and prevent acts of terror, drug trafficking, and modern-day slavery," the lawmaker said on March 23. "The 'burner phone' loophole is an egregious gap in our legal framework that allows actors like the 9/11 hijackers and the Times Square bomber to evade law enforcement while they plot to take innocent lives." She went on to say that these burner phones were used by Paris attackers in carrying out the terrorist attack. People cannot afford to have these threats continue, she said, and it is time to permanently seal what is called the burner loophole. If this bill becomes law, the same identification and record-keeping standards as the ones that are implemented on traditional contract mobile devices would be put into practice for prepaid mobile phones. This means that before buying a traditional contract-based handset, consumers would need to provide their basic information. Under this proposed bill, H.R. 4886, prepaid phone retailers will be directed to gather basic ID information from the customer who is buying a phone at the time of purchase. They will then share the collected information with the cellular provider for the device. Such information will then be verified by means of debit card, credit card, Social Security number or driver's license number or other relevant information. The proposal now goes to committee for consideration and discussion. Let us know in the comment section below if you think presenting personal ID when buying your new phone will be bothersome or if you believe it is worth it to stay safeguarded from terrorists. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Internet users in Mainland China noted on Sunday evening at around 11:30 p.m. how they were able to access a number of Google sites that include Google.com, Google.com.hk, Google.com.vn, and Google.com.sg. However, the access seemed to be short-lived, as the users were soon once again been denied access to their preferred sites at around 1:15 a.m. People in China would normally use a VPN whenever they need to access YouTube and Google's search engine or other services. On Sunday night, these services had become accessible for at least 105 minutes even without the use of a VPN. Shenzhen-based IT engineer Li Yue said that the moment when Google seemed unblocked, it may have signaled that free speech had once again returned to China. Weibo.com user, identified as Xiaohu Erin, posted at 1:16 a.m. on Monday that Google was once again blocked and that the short period of happiness will be remembered. The temporary access was cited as a result of Google's launch of new IP servers to users in Japan, India and other South-East Asian countries. Since these servers are technically new, the Great Firewall, otherwise known as China's Golden Shield Project, did not initially recognize the IP addresses and therefore had allowed the servers to bypass the Internet censors. The Golden Shield Project was envisioned by the Chinese government as a comprehensive database-focused surveillance system, used to access not only the information of its citizens, but also to create a link in the country on levels of its national, regional and local security. When the Internet had expanded in China at such an unexpected speed, the government decided to create a number of adjustments to the original vision that it had on the Golden Shield Project. As a result, the Internet initiative now focuses on creating firewalls that filter contents which are accessed individually, a change that had caused the move to be also known as the Great Firewall of China. Since then, China has been known to have its own unique culture of self-censorship and has pushed for companies to be responsible with their online portals. The China government has vowed to bring down any online content that publishes prohibited topics such as anti-government sentiments. Apart from Google, other huge companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo are also subjected to China's rule on self-censorship. Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in the Mainland for years. While Facebook has had a number of high-level talks with the Chinese government, there are no signs so far that any progress is being achieved. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. About 2 million people in the U.S. abuse painkillers with over 40 people dying every day from accidental overdoses. To prevent addiction and curb unwanted deaths from prescription painkillers, the Obama administration will propose rules on Tuesday to boost medication-based treatments for individuals addicted to opioids. Speaking at the annual National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, President Barack Obama will announce additional actions to strengthen America's fight against opioid abuse and heroin epidemic. The actions, which aim to expand access to treatment, boost community prevention strategies and prevent deaths from overdose, build on the President's $1.1 billion funding to provide assistance to Americans suffering from opioid use disorder who want treatment. "Today's actions represent further steps to expand access to treatment, prevent overdose deaths and increase community prevention strategies," the White House said in a statement. To expand access to treatment, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will issue a proposed rule to raise the current patient limits for qualified doctors who give prescription for buprenorphine as treatment for opioid use disorder from 100 to 200. The department will also release guidance to programs that would give intravenous drug addicts chances to have their dirty syringes traded for clean ones to prevent diseases. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), on the other hand, will release a new funding opportunity for a maximum of 11 states that would expand their existing medication-assisted treatment services. SAMHSA will likewise distribute guides and checklists for prescribing treatment for opioid use disorder. The agency will release a new funding for states to purchase and distribute opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone as well and to provide training on how this drug is used. This month, several U.S. agencies have already issued rules and guidelines for painkillers. In its new guidelines, the CDC said that doctors should not prescribe prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and Oxycontin as first treatment for common ailments such as arthritis and back pain. "It has become increasingly clear that opioids carry substantial risk but only uncertain benefits - especially compared with other treatments for chronic pain," CDC director Thomas Frieden said. Prescription painkillers are now also required to have a "black box warning" to caution users about the risk of addiction and death from use of these medications. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Researchers have discovered that a drug that was discarded by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline due to its side effects that were observed in clinical trials helps human cells fight disease-causing viruses. In lab tests, the drug GSK983 was found to help cells fight mosquito-borne viruses that cause dengue fever and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), which can infect horses and kill people. Results of the experiments suggest that this abandoned drug may be used to develop treatments that could fight other viruses such as those that cause Ebola and Zika. These two diseases pose threat to populations worldwide but remain elusive to effective treatments. For the study, Chaitan Khosla, from Stanford University, and colleagues tested GSK983 on human cells and found that it helped fight viral infection. Unfortunately, the drug also prevented the cells from dividing so they died days later. The researchers eventually learned that this happened because the drug disrupts a protein that plays a crucial role in making individual blocks of RNA. Without RNA, viruses are not able to replicate themselves which is why the drug was very effective in fighting viruses. The cells, however, also need RNA so they also die when they do not get this building block that is also needed to produce DNA. To solve this problem, Khosla and colleagues fed the cells with a slightly different building block that can only be used to generate DNA but not RNA. With this new building block, the cells were able to fight off the viruses while still able to divide normally. The result offers clues on how the drug can be made less toxic in animals and even people. "We found that exogenous deoxycytidine markedly reduced GSK983 cytotoxicity but not antiviral activity, providing an attractive new approach to improve the therapeutic window of DHODH inhibitors against RNA viruses," the researchers wrote in their study, which was published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology on March 28. The researchers plan to conduct tests on animals and to test the drug combo against different RNA viruses to determine which of the viruses the strategy is able to fight most effectively, since many of the most deadly and hard-to-combat viruses have RNA as their genetic structure. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The FBI successfully breaks into the iPhone involved in the San Bernardino shooting, no longer requiring the help of Apple. After requesting to postpone the scheduled hearing in a courtroom in Riverside, California to which Apple did not object to the U.S. Department of Justice was scheduled to confirm whether the FBI could access the data stored in the iPhone on April 5. Needless to say, the government body did not need to wait until the set date to do so, dropping the case after investigators cracked the device. "The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Court's Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016," Eileen Decker, a U.S. attorney, says (PDF) in a court filing. That means that Apple essentially won the legal run-in with the U.S. government this time around, as the "dangerous precedent" that Apple CEO Tim Cook says won't be set for now at least. Before this development unfolded, the FBI has been trying to force the company into developing an entirely new iOS or back door to bypass the iPhone's security measures. The investigators have been using the All Writs Act that dates back to 1789 to push their efforts. However, the big question of how the investigators accomplished the task is yet to be cleared up. The only information about it is that they enlisted the help of a non-government entity to gain access to the iPhone in question. This could be a worrisome matter, as the government has the means to crack the code of even modern iPhones. Apple once said that it's next to impossible for anyone and even the engineers at the company themselves to crack an iPhone. To make things worse, the Department of Justice intends to keep the specifics to themselves. An unidentified law enforcement representative told reporters in an evening call back in Monday that the Department of Justice won't go into detail regarding the data that was extracted. They also mentioned that who the outside assistance is won't be disclosed to the company. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Esha Bhandari says that in cases like this, the government will decide to provide manufacturers with the information about certain vulnerabilities so that they can be addressed properly. "From a legal standpoint, what happened in the San Bernardino case doesn't mean the fight is over. I would hope they would give that information to Apple so that it can patch any weaknesses, but if the government classifies the tool, that suggests it may not," Bhandari says. However, it looks like the Department of Justice has already made a decision. The bottom line is that the bout between the Cupertino brand and the Department of Justice is far from over, not to mention that the authorities are still looking into accessing more than a dozen iPhones under the All Writs Act as well. It's also worth mentioning that iOS security expert Jonathan Zdziarski demonstrated NAND mirroring, a copying technique that could provide unlimited tries of breaking the iPhone's passcode. It's widely believed that this is the method that the FBI used. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. As the Pavlof Volcano spews out massive ash plumes into the sky, state airlines on Monday decided to cancel 41 flights to and from six cities across Alaska. All flights operating to and from Barrow, Kotzebue, Fairbanks, Bethel, Prudhoe Bay and Nome are cancelled until officials are able to assess weather conditions after Tuesday. At least 3,300 passengers will be affected by the delay. Pets traveling as cargo and unaccompanied minors are embargoed until weather conditions in the state particularly in Southwestern Alaska improve, Alaska Airlines said in a travel advisory. The 8,261-foot Pavlof Volcano erupted on Sunday afternoon, sending out ash as high as 20,000 feet. Officials have raised volcano alert levels to the highest, and aviation code to "red." Pressure sensors monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) revealed that eruptions continued overnight. By Monday morning, the ash plume rose to 37,000 feet and 50 mph winds stretched it over 400 miles into the state -- headed north and east. "It's right in the wheelhouse of a lot of flights crisscrossing Alaska," said Chris Waythomas who is part of the U.S. Geological Survey. Waythomas said the volcanic eruption can go on for hours to days or it can go on for much longer periods of time. "It won't erupt continuously for many months or a year. It will be intermittent," added Waythomas. "But the eruption cycle could go on for a while, or it could abruptly shut off and be done tomorrow." Ash from the volcano poses significant threat to aircrafts because it can damage engines and limits visibility. USGS scientists have compared the effect of flying into angular and sharp volcanic ash to flying into a sand blaster. Because of that, Alaska Airlines Director of Operations John Ladner said the company will simply not "fly where ash is present." "We have suspended evening flying in these affected cities and will resume operations when we can confirm through weather and pilot reports that it's safe to fly," said Ladner. Alaska Airlines passengers who purchased tickets on or before March 28 for March 28 to 29 flights may rebook prior to March 31, officials said. It will not incur a change fee or any additional costs. Passengers may also apply for a refund for the unused ticket. Meanwhile, employees are stocking up on air filters and plastic to cover engines and airplane parts, as well as personal protective gear. Marilyn Romano, regional vice president of Alaska Airlines, said the company's top priority is to take care of passengers and employees in the affected areas. "We know our customers depend on us to get them where they need to go and we apologize for the inconvenience this is causing them," added Romano. Flying over Volcano eruption in Aleutian Islands A photo posted by Colt Snapp (@coltsnapp) on Mar 27, 2016 at 10:40pm PDT 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Multiple births are no longer a rarity, thanks to fertility treatments that allow people to have children who otherwise would not be able to conceive naturally. But a couple from Alberta, Canada received quite the shock when they learned that not only did they get pregnant the natural way, but they would be expecting four baby girls. To make their pregnancy even more notable, their quadruplet girls are identical split from a single fertilized egg and sperm. Tim, 23, and 22-year-old Bethani Webb live in the village of Hythe in Alberta which has rallied behind the couple to help them through the obvious struggles of being new parents even more so having four baby girls in the house. The couple was told by a nurse in a hospital in nearby Grande Prairie just how rare the chances of having identical quadruplets are. "One of the nurses that work at the hospital said it was a one in 67 million occurrence," Bethani said she was told. Still, they are elated; though still shocked, at the news. "I think of them as blessings really. I'll probably be pulling my hair out a year from now, but now I'm excited," said Tim. Meanwhile, to help prepare for the bundles of joy, their community in Hythe has prepared a fundraiser in April, as well as a GoFundMe Page to help raise cash to support the new, soon to be large, family. According to Charity Krahn, who set up the funding page, Bethani is currently in the hospital and will remain there until the quadruplets are born. The Webbs are also making some major changes to their life in preparation for their daughters. Although they had initially only bought one crib when they found out they were pregnant, they will now have to buy four of everything. They will also have to upgrade their SUV to make space for the four passengers in the back, and they will be moving out of their one bedroom and into Tim's mother's home where grandma can help out with her four grandchildren. They have also reportedly decided to become a single income family once the babies are born in order to prioritize their daughters. The couple will certainly have their hands full. In the meantime, they joke about how to tell their four identical babies apart. "I'm probably going to have to paint their nails or put a bracelet on them or different colored ribbons," Bethani shared. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. South Korea has culled some 11,000 ducks as a preventive measure after a poultry farm in Seoul reported the presence of bird flu and dozens of duck deaths. Following investigations from the country's Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the bird flu strain found in the ducks were identified as H5N8, the same one discovered in November last year. This subtype of the influenza A virus is deemed to be not as pathogenic as the H1N1. An official from the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs told Reuters that all 11,604 affected ducks in Incheon, situated 50 miles east of the capital, had been slaughtered. The discovery of bird flu in ducks comes with potentially grave consequences, as South Korea is currently in the middle of food safety concerns that include a foot and mouth disease outbreak detected in pigs last January. The country has also recently resumed its poultry meat exports to Hong Kong the first time in almost two years after it was declared free of avian influenza a month ago. Since the confirmation of bird flu, South Korea has established measures to contain the bug. The agricultural ministry has issued an order which will last until April 2 banning all eggs and poultry from leaving any farm in the province of Gyeonggi. There are also two disease-monitoring posts set up in its city, disinfecting all arriving and leaving vehicles until health authorities rule out any transmission risk. Similar posts are positioned in the North Chungcheong Province. Jeju Island, too, has prohibited the entry of any eggs, birds, and poultry from Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province. Infected birds shed the flu virus through their saliva, mucus and fecal matter, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While avian influenza A viruses do not infect humans, there are rare cases of mild to severe infection, when someone touches or breathes virus droplets or particles in the air. In the United States, the H7N8 strain hit a commercial flock of turkeys at an Indiana farm back in January. It was the first confirmed bird flu case at a poultry farm since the multi-state outbreak that ravaged the country in 2015. This strain, which remains a low-pathogenic kind that hardly sickens its host, is only one among numerous influenza strains designated by names and their ability to kill birds. Flu viruses go through mutations, with vaccines created fresh for every single strain. Photo: Pal Nordseth | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Unicorns may have actually existed and shared the Earth with human beings. A fossilized skull discovered in Kazakhstan had researchers rewriting the timeline of the Siberian unicorn, known scientifically as Elasmotherium sibiricum. Previously thought to have become extinct 350,000 years ago, the unicorn is now believed by scientists from Tomsk State University in Russia to have actually found its last refuge only 29,000 years ago. This real-life unicorn is a far cry from the prevailing fairytale image we have of the creature. It is closer to a rhino than a horse in looks, and measures up to 6.5 feet in height, nearly 15 feet in length. The Siberian unicorn could weigh up to a whopping 9,000 pounds. The animal, which lived in the vast region spanning from the Don River in Russia to the east of Kazakhstan today, is most recognizable for its single horn that could stretch several feet long. The fossilized skull found in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan showed that the unicorn, which first appeared in the fossil record about 2.5 million years ago, might have even met humans, since the latter started to move across Asia over 50,000 years earlier and probably arrived in Siberia about 35,000 years ago. The skull a well-preserved one with cracks but without signs of gnawing and exfoliation was analyzed through radiocarbon AMS-method analysis at a Queens University Belfast laboratory in the United Kingdom. It emerged to have belonged to the animals that disappeared 29,000 years ago. "Most likely, it was a very large male of very large individual age (teeth not preserved). The dimensions of this rhino today are the biggest of those described in the literature, and the proportion are typical," says study author and paleontologist Andrey Shpanski of the rhino species, whose remnants showed a long existence in the southeastern part of the West Siberian Plain. But how did a Siberian unicorn live so long after its species was believed to perish? There are a number of theories, including migrating to and dwelling for a long time in the more southern places. "Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refugium, where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range, explains Shpanski. For the authors, these findings encourage the mass radiocarbon analysis of the fossils of more mammals thought to be ancient and extinct over 100,000 years ago. The results could help modern humans more accurately predict natural processes as well as assist in the fight against climate change, the paleontologist added. The findings were published last February in the American Journal of Applied Science. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Recent reports revealed that Dell was in the final stages of closing a deal to sell its IT services to NTT Data, a unit of Japanese telecommunications company NTT which sells cloud-based services, consulting, outsourcing and managed services. An official announcement regarding the agreement is expected to be made once the board of NTT Data approves the transaction. The announcement has now been made, with NTT Data officially acquiring Dell Services for $3.06 billion. "There are few acquisition targets in our market that provide this type of unique opportunity to increase our competitiveness and the depth of our market offerings," said NTT Data CEO John McCain, adding that the company is confident that the deal will prove to be a positive one not only for NTT Data but also for its shareholders, employees and clients. The acquisition by NTT Data looks to boost the company's global presence in the IT services market, according to McCain. The move was made in response to the growing need of NTT Data's enterprise customers in Tokyo for more consistent cloud services, as worldwide expansions plans are being launched. NTT Data's purchase of Dell Services also widens the company's business in North America, where NTT Data is expecting its annual revenue to grow from $1.7 billion to $5 billion and employee count to grow from 21,000 employees to 60,000 employees. The completion of the transaction will also lead to a significant expansion of BPO capabilities for NTT Data and Dell Services, particularly within the insurance and healthcare sectors. The infrastructure platform will also see a definite improvement with NTT Data's 230 data centers around the world being joined by the data centers of Dell Services located in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. As for Dell, the sale of Dell Services helps the company raise funds that would be needed in its planned acquisition of EMC, a data storage company. The merger would be one of the biggest tie-ups ever in the tech industry, with Dell looking to close the deal to acquire EMC instead of rival Hewlett Packard. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Scientists believe that climate change may be the culprit behind the mysterious rockfalls in Yosemite. The occurrence of spontaneous rockfalls often does not have a specific cause. From time to time, slabs of rocks can suddenly fall down. However, scientists did a close monitoring of a granitic cliff and noted that cyclical changes in temperature causes the hard rocks to accumulate damage until the rocks crack. In the Yosemite National Park in California, rockfalls seems to be ordinary with about hundreds occurring periodically. About 15 percent of these rockfalls do not have any trigger, such as earthquakes or freeze-thaw cycles that can trap water in a fissure that can in turn cause a crack. The Brian Collins, a geological engineer from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a mountain climber, worked with Yosemite National geologist Greg Stock to identify the cause of the frequent rockfalls. The experts installed strain gauges and crackmeters to measure the overall length changes at three spots present in a 19-meter (62-feet) long and 4-meter (13-feet) long slab. The slab has its top and bottom edges barely attached to a south facing cliff. From May 2010 to October 2013, the scientists identified and measured, every 5 minutes, the deformations present in the near vertical 20 metric ton (293.49 cubic feet) layer of granite slab, which is about 10 centimeters (0.3 inch) thick. The scientists also monitored the slab movements along the directions it was splitting. Weather conditions including sunlight intensity and air conditions on site were also taken into consideration, even getting the air temperature and humidity from the slab surface and slab gaps that are only about 4.7 inches wide. To gain an independent measurement of the rock motions in an 18-hour period, the experts scanned the slabs from 30 meters away (98 feet) using a laser device. The study found that in an average day, the slab would have periodic bulging and shrinking of about 8 millimeters (0.31 inch), which is largely due to the temperature variations. During the highest temperature of the day, between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., the maximum bulges were noted. On the other hand, minimum bulges occurred in the morning (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.) where temperature is at its lowest. The range of deformations was also noted to be greatly affected by temperature changes as biggest deformations would occur during spring and fall. Collins said the material expands as the material heats up but because it has edges that are still attached to a rock, the slab would only bulge and shrink. The periodic bulging causes cracks and fissure at the top and bottom of the slab to open. These open cracks generate stresses, grow and eventually cause rockfalls. "Over time, the cracks are going to become bigger and bigger and bigger and ultimately result in a rockfall," Collins said. He added that intensifying changes in temperature brought about by climate change may aggravate the process. Collins and Stock reported that about 15 percent of the national park's rockfalls, which may be linked to thermal stresses, happen during the warmest time of the day (from noon time to 6 p.m.) and during the hottest months (July to September) of the year. The scientists surmised that if the event happened at random, the number of rockfalls at those times would only amount to about 6 percent. Geologists believe the study is an eye opener that offers new information about rocky landscapes. Jeffrey Moore, a University of Utah geologist, said daily temperature variation can also cause similar stress in layered sandstones that could also lead to cracking and trigger rockfalls. Stephen Martel, a geologist from the University of Hawaii, also said thermal stresses, previously ignored, gave them a different perspective. He noted that studies about these phenomena are important as they could help in disaster management. The scientists of the new study said their research cannot help in rockfall predication, but it does give an understanding of how such events can occur. The study does not only offer hazard assessment for Yosemite alone, but also in other rock formations around the world, as climate change persists. The study was published in Nature Geoscience. Due to Yosemite's steep, glacier-carved cliffs, rockfalls are quite common. In the past 150 years, the park had about 1,000 rockfalls. In 2015 alone, the park had 66 documented rockfalls that had about 8,700 cubic meters of rocks. Yosemite National Park is a favorite among rock climbers. In 2014, two rock climbers braved the Dawn Wall of the El Capitan mountain, which is 3,000 feet above the park using only their bare hands and feet. The El Capitan mountain was previously tagged as the greatest cliff for rock climbing. Photo: Amit Patel | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. As of March 27, New York State is declaring a fiercer war against illegal drug abuse by officially implementing the e-prescribing law called the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (I-STOP) Act passed on August 2012. To acquaint you on what this is about, here are some points you need to know. 1. It is meant to curb the illegal distribution of controlled substances in the state. The law under the state's Prescription Monitoring Program is intended to end or reduce the illegal distribution of controlled substances in the state. New York has a serious problem in illegal drugs such as heroin, marijuana and opioids, which the current paper-pad system seems to support. Drug cartels can funnel scripts to the black market by stealing several prescription pads and issuing them to their customers. Others, meanwhile, engage in doctor-shopping, where they visit one doctor to another to get the prescription that worsens their addiction. Granted, the state already has a prescription monitoring program, but it has a serious flaw, which is not to make prescription reporting mandatory. Under the e-prescription law, doctors and other clinicians are now required to enroll under the state's Health Commerce System, issue digital prescriptions and consult the database, which can store all the drugs that have been issued to the patient over the past six months, before they give prescriptions to patients. "By mandating that doctors report their prescriptions in 'real time,' I-STOP enables subsequent doctors to detect that they are issuing a script to a person who has recently obtained one from another source," stresses [PDF] the attorney general's report. The report also says that while it is possible that another doctor can be tricked into prescribing a similar drug - for instance, if the patient claims the original prescription got misplaced - consulting the database can put a halt to the prescription process. Doctors and pharmacists will be able to see the pending prescription and make inquiries to the doctor who issued the original script. 2. It doesn't eliminate prescription pads completely. Prescription pads may still be necessary in times when the electronic system cannot be accessed, such as during natural disasters. Some groups are also allowed [PDF] to continue issuing paper scripts. These include doctors working in nursing homes since they "would not have been ready by the deadline with an electronic system to send these prescriptions," said Dr. David Siskind, a nursing and rehabilitation center medical director. There are already 60,000 electronic prescribers in the state. 3. It introduces civil penalties and a "new crime." Although other states also issue e-prescriptions, New York is different since it's the first to provide civil penalties to law violations and a crime if someone accesses the database illegally. As to what these penalties are, they are still not specified. 4. Not everyone is 100 percent happy about it. While the objective of the law is noble, some practitioners consider it as time-consuming and expensive, which explains why some old doctors who are more likely to retire in 2017 are believed have applied for individual waivers. Others are skeptical about its ability to reduce inaccuracies in recording and dispensing medications. Photo: Kathea Pinto | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. According to sources, Yahoo has set April 11 as the deadline for suitors to send in their preliminary bids for the company's core Web business and Asian assets. Letters have been sent out to prospective buyers over the past few days, requesting them to submit proposals that include their bids and the assets they are wishing to acquire. The bidders were also requested to reveal information on how they will acquire the financing needed to fulfill their proposal, the approvals and conditions their proposal will need and the key assumptions that will be made if their proposal is moved forward. There are currently about 40 companies looking to acquire the Yahoo's core Web business, or at least a part of it, along with Yahoo's stakes in Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The company wants to reduce the number of prospective buyers, which have all recently signed nondisclosure agreements. Among the suitors that Yahoo's bankers have been contacting are Verizon Communications, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Time, along with private equity firms KKR & Co. and TPG. A recent report revealed that Microsoft is willing to offer significant financing to any company that would step up to buy the entire core Web business, which carries an enormous price tag of $10 billion. Microsoft is open to such a move as it is hoping to maintain the revenue it's generating from the current search partnership with Yahoo. The pledged support by Microsoft would greatly assist Yahoo's core Web business, which is made up of the company's advertising, search and web services. The price that Yahoo is seeking is about $2 billion to $4 billion higher compared to the value analysts have expected. In January, reports revealed that Yahoo rebuffed investor calls that wanted to explore a potential sale of the company's core Web business. The company wanted to see first how shareholders will react once it revealed its strategic vision at the company's earnings call. Yahoo initially wanted to go ahead with a tax-free spinoff of its core Web business, but investors were pushing for the company to launch an outright sale of the assets due to concerns that more value will be lost amid intense competition against rivals Google and Facebook. Yahoo is now being pressured to move forward with the auction process for its core Web business as activist investor Starboard Value LP said that it would be launching a proxy fight against the current board of the company. Starboard aims to replace all nine members of Yahoo's board of directors, claiming that they can no longer be trusted with the company's future due to the long time it's taking for sales negotiations for possible buyers. With preliminary bids being requested by April 11, a deal could be potentially closed by June or July, which is when the company is expected to hold its annual meeting of shareholders where they could vote in favor of Starboard's proposal. A spokesman for Yahoo did not have an immediate comment for the matter when contacted by The Wall Street Journal. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An internal EgyptAir flight going from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked recently and forced to land in Larnaca, Cyprus, by a passenger who was reportedly wearing an explosive belt. The plane took off from the Alexandria airport at at 6:36 a.m. local time and was scheduled to land in Cairo at 7:15 a.m. Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we'll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 The airplane, an Airbus A320, was loaded with 56 passengers and the crew members, EgyptAir declares in a press release. "The aircraft is an Airbus A320 with 56 pax onboard in addition to seven crew members and one EgyptAir security member," the airline's Facebook page reads. The airline notes that the Airbus A320 landed safely at Larnaca, which was temporarily closed. All the incoming flights were diverted to the international airport at Paphos. According to the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry, the hijacker told the pilot of flight MS181 that he was carrying an explosive belt. After the plane landed in Cyprus, the local authorities deployed anti-terrorist forces at the airport. The authorities started negotiations with the hijacker, and the update from EgyptAir is encouraging. Negotiations with the Hijacker result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners. EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 There is no information about the nationality of the four remaining hostages. Reports indicate that the hijacker is a Libyan man in his 20s. It should be mentioned that the man asked for political asylum and a translator. This is not the first incident to strike Egyptian airlines. Militant attacks multiplied since 2013, hindering the country's efforts to be a magnet for investors. In October last year, the Islamic State terrorist group brought down a Metrojet Russian passenger plane over Sinai. Local authorities avoided to give any official information about what caused the Metrojet plane to crash. As a result of the incident, Russian authorities temporarily suspended all flights to Egypt, raising airborne alert levels. Airport security around the world is on its toes after a recent bombing attack hit Brussels' main airport last week. Anonymous sources from the Cypriot Ministry of Justice pointed out that the Foreign Ministry, the Justice Minister and officials from the police force are holding a crisis meeting. The hijack is reportedly not a terrorist act, but a desperate one stemming from a personal dispute. The hijacker apparently resorted to such extremes as part of a dispute with his ex-wife, a Cypriot. We will keep you posted as events unfold. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google currently tests it autonomous vehicles in Mountain View, CA., Austin, TX. and Kirkland, WA. Will Massachusetts be next? Masslive.com is reporting that some of the United States' biggest auto and technology companies are putting significant money into research and development of self-driving cars in the state, including a $1 billion research initiative sparked by an ex-professor of the Olin College of Engineering in the Needham section of Massachusetts. "What's happening in self-driving cars right now, and the speed and amount of money that's going into it and the importance of it, is sort of the equivalent of what was happening in the 1960s with the race to the moon," Roger Matus, VP of products and markets of the Boston-based company Neurala, told Masslive.com. That particular company is in the midst of developing auto software to enable vehicles to anticipate potential road hazards. "The interest of industry right now is trying to encourage Massachusetts as a place where a lot of this development is taking place," Matus added. While much of the current self-driving activity swirls around Silicon Valley, Massachusetts could be one of the next prominent locations for the growth of autonomous-vehicle technology, considering Toyota's recent five-year, $1 billion investment in artificial intelligence and robotics toward an autonomous car, splitting the effort between Cambridge, Mass. and Palo Alto, CA. That and Gil Pratt, the CEO of the Toyota Research Institute, is a former Olin College professor. And Toyota's activity within the state is just the tip of the iceberg for what Massachusetts could mean towards the growth of the autonomous vehicle technology, overall. UMass Amherst professors Shlomo Zilberstein and Donald Fisher are even collaborating on an autonomous project, which is being funded by General Motors and the National Science Foundation, according to Masslive, focusing on transitioning self-driving systems to humans while driving in an autonomous car. "There is a lot going on. There is a lot of progress, and there is a tremendous amount of resources dedicated to research in this area right now," Zilberstein told the website. "No car company wants to be caught unprepared for this." Taking the research and development of autonomous vehicles in the state further, it will be intriguing to see if Mass could become a prominent testing location on the East Coast for tech companies and automakers in the self-driving space to set up shop in. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Author Jilly Cooper has hit out at the "fatal" impact of local government cuts to libraries since the Tories entered office. Cooper, who has an OBE for services to literature, has attacked David Cameron for allowing more than 350 libraries to close across Britain since he took office, causing the loss of almost 8,000 jobs. Earlier this year The Sunday Telegraph reported there were 14 million fewer books available in libraries than in 2010 with spending dropping by around 180 million. 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. Friends of Nigella Lawson and Sir Salman Rushdie have dismissed speculation about a romantic relationship, after pictures emerged that appeared to show the pair embracing outside a London restaurant. Lawson, 56, and Sir Salman, 68, have been friends for more than twenty years, and the writer is said to have helped support the celebrity chef during her split from Charles Saatchi, in 2013. The pair were famously pictured dancing together in 1995, when Sir Salman was still living in hiding, as a result of the fatwa placed upon him by Ayatollah Khomeini. They have been photographed dining together on a number of occasions in the past few years. Almost half of voters believe David Cameron should step down as Prime Minister if Britain votes for Brexit, a new poll has revealed. A poll carried out by Ipsos MORI has found that 48 per cent of people think Mr Cameron should resign if he fails to keep the country in the European Union on 23th June. There is a small gap between the yes and no camps on the question of Mr Camerons future and just 44 per cent say he should carry on leading the country regardless of the referendum result. I have been in New York these past few days to give a talk at the 9/11 Museum that has been erected on the site where once the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center stood. It is a place of collective grief and remembrance, where the exhibits are fragments of twisted wreckage and the debris of destruction. Most moving are the memorial fountains that occupy the footprint of the original buildings. Around the side, engraved in bronze, are the names of the almost 3,000 victims. Unlike most other fountains, though, here the water flows downward and in the centre disappears into a black hole, an abyss. The intention was to symbolise lives lost that can never be recovered. No matter how much water flows, the emptiness is never filled. After the tragedies of the past few days and weeks, however, the memorial seems to have another message also. The violence never ends. Innocent blood continues to flow. Every few days there are more newly bereaved families and yet more tears. A British holidaymaker plucked out of the sea after trying to swim to her cruise ship was singing at a church before the bizarre incident, it has emerged. Tourist Susan Brown, 65, was pictured at an Easter mass with a candle in her hand during a service near the spot off the popular island of Madeira where she was rescued just after midnight on Saturday. A fellow worshipper said she joined in the singing at Sao Pedro Church overlooking the Atlantic and celebrated the Holy Eucharist. Mrs Brown used her handbag as a buoyancy aid while she was stranded in Atlantic waters after leaping into the sea to catch her cruise-liner, the Marco Polo Britains Trident nuclear deterrent is to be updated to protect it from cyber attack. Software in the nuclear missile system will be upgraded as defence officials admitted there was legitimate concern about threats from cyber hackers. The Trident missiles, which are shared with America, will be updated amid growing worries defence computers and systems could be vulnerable to cyber attacks from Russia, China, groups such as Islamic State or organised crime gangs. Fifty of Europe's most dangerous offenders including murderers, rapists, paedophiles and one of the world's most wanted terrorists have slipped into Britain undetected, a new analysis has found. Vote leave, the eurosceptic campaign group led by Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, warned that foreign offenders are using EU freedom of movement laws to enter Britain despite being convicted of serious crimes. At total of 45 of them have gone on to commit further crimes in Britain, including 14 who have gone on to kill, 13 who have committed sex offences and nine who carried out violent assaults. A pensioner chopped his partner's head off and flushed it down the toilet because she was not the housewife she used to be and was going out with friends too often, a court heard. Dempsey Nibbs, 69, decapitated Judith Nibbs, 60, with a kitchen knife at their flat in Hoxton, Hackney, then broke her skull into pieces using a mallet and a metal bar, the Old Bailey was told. A post mortem revealed that Ms Nibbs may have still been alive, though unconscious, when her partner of 30 years severed her head. Prosecutor Crispin Aylett, QC, said: Quite why the defendant decapitated Judith and then disposed of her head is not entirely clear but it may well be that he did it out of pure hatred at the sight of his wife's face. A Chinese newspaper editor said he is resigning in protest of tighter controls in the media, according to a posting on his social media account, a rare rebuke to Chinas Communist leaders. The move comes amid increasingly louder calls from Beijing for the countrys media to toe the party line. Only last month President Xi Jinping visited the leading state media organisations where he called on them to be surnamed party, which means that above all, they must answer to the party. Yu Shaolei, the editor of Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper, posted his resignation notice on his social media account, under the title Unable to follow your surname, an apparent reference to Mr Xis call. Along with a screenshot of the resignation notice, he had also written a note explaining his decision. I'm getting old; after such a long time (kneeling), my knees can't stand it anymore, Mr Yu said, in the post that appeared to be deleted two hours after it was posted on Sina Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter. Japans controversial new law allowing its troops to fight overseas came into force on Tuesday, raising the possiblity of the nation's first foreign conflict since World War Two. The new laws mark a significant shift away from the nations pacifist postwar constitution and the biggest change in its defence policy since the creation of a military in 1954. From the rising maritime power of China and North Koreas nuclear threats to a string of territorial disputes with neighbours, Japans new legislation is enforced against a backdrop of rising regional tensions. There has been widespread opposition to the legislation from the public, with the prime minister Shinzo Abe arguing that the move is necessary to counter the rise in regional challenges. The legislation - welcomed by the United States and opposed by China - was vital to prevent wars and protect the peoples lives and livelihoods amid an increasingly severe security environment surrounding our country, Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary, told a news conference. He added: The government will first preserve the peace through diplomacy and there is no change at all in our policy of proactive diplomacy for that purpose. In a proclamation that will strike fear into the hearts of the North Korean people, state media has ordered the citizenry to prepare for a new "arduous march". The term was first coined by the North Korean leadership in 1993 as a metaphor for the four-year famine that decimated the nation from 1994. The famine - in which as many as 3.5 million of the nation's 22 million people died - was brought on by economic mismanagement, natural disasters, the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the consequent loss of aid, combined with the regime's insistence on continuing a life of luxury and feeding the military. Now, less than one month after the United Nations Security Council voted in favour of new sanctions against North Korea for its recent nuclear and missile tests, Pyongyang has announced a nationwide campaign to save food. Scientists say an underwater heat wave in Australias Great Barrier Reef has led to devastating coral bleaching the worst in history - which has damaged or killed 95 per cent of the northern reefs. An aerial survey of 520 sites across the 1,500-mile stretch of delicate coral reefs in north-east Australia found that the most pristine sections had been fried and were facing some of the worst bleaching in recorded history. Long stretches of the famously colourful reef, which is world heritage-listed and one of the countrys top tourist destinations, have turned snow-white following bleaching which began six months ago, according to the researchers. "This will change the Great Barrier Reef forever," Professor Terry Hughes, from James Cook University, told ABC News. We're seeing huge levels of bleaching in the northern thousand-kilometre stretch of the Great Barrier Reef. It's too early to tell precisely how many of the bleached coral will die, but judging from the extreme level even the most robust corals are snow white, I'd expect to see about half of those corals die in the coming month or so." Conservationists in drought-stricken Papua New Guinea have been urging residents to eat guinea pigs rather than native species but some residents have become attached to the little creatures and do not want to consume them. The Commonwealth nation of seven million people has suffered from a severe drought and food shortages, causing increases in malnutrition and forcing locals to hunt endangered species. To encourage increased protein intake and to try to save native animals, wildlife groups have urged villages to raise and eat guinea pigs. Glenda Giles, a missionary teacher in the remote mountainous highlands, has been assisting with a local breeding program at a high school. She said the program had been successful and the only obstacle was that families adopted the creatures as pets. "They don't jump fences and they don't dig holes in the ground, they're quite gentle little creatures," she told ABC News. "They are herbivores so you can just feed them on grass and leaves and kau-kau [sweet potato] runners. Really, the only danger with them is that when a family has them they tend to fall in love with them and then they don't want to eat them." Who is Barack Obama's favourite world leader? Whose father does he blame for the early death of his own father? And who does he find the most consistently frustrating? Jeffrey Goldberg, an American writer, believes he has the answer from hours of foreign policy discussions with the American president. His 20,000-word essay on Mr Obama's foreign policy in April's issue of Atlantic magazine has already been picked over for insights, but now the author has added a run-down of the president's personal interactions with world leaders. Belgian police believe two gloves found on a bus that left the Brussels Airport shortly after twin bomb blasts last week were worn by the suicide bombers. Two of the attackers - Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Lacchraoui - were captured in CCTV footage wearing gloves only on their left hands, possibly as a ruse to hide trigger switches. On Monday evening it emerged that right-handed gloves found on the bus had tested positive for explosive reside, according to The Wall Street Journal, and were believed to match those seen in the surveillance images. But EgyptAir said that four foreigners and the flight crew remained onboard the hijacked flight. The hijacked EgyptAir plane landed in the Cypriot city of Larnaca on Tuesday, where some of the women and children were allowed to get off the aircraft, according to Egyptian and Cypriot officials. The aircraft had been on its way from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital Cairo. The Airbus flight number MS181 had 81 passengers on board and was flying on a regular route when the hijacking took place, the Egyptians said. A notorious former SS officer known as Hitlers commando reportedly worked as an assassin for Israeli intelligence. Lt-Col Otto Skorzeny, once described by British and American intelligence as the most dangerous man in Europe, was secretly recruited by Mossad after the Second World War, according to Israels Haaretz newspaper. In 1962 he assassinated a former Nazi rocket scientist, the newspaper claimed. Heinz Krug, who worked under Wernher von Braun on the programme to develop the V2 rockets that were used to devastating effect against London in the final stages of the war, disappeared without trace from Munich. He was working on a missile programme for the Egyptian government at the time. It has long been suspected he was targeted by Israel, nervous of its then-enemy Egypts intentions. Haaretz claims he was murdered by Skorzeny on Mossads orders. Fearing for his life after several other scientists on the programme received threatening letters and calls from Israel, Krug hired the former SS officer as a bodyguard. But he was unaware the man he had hired to protect him was a double agent working for the Israelis. The number of migrants pouring into Europe across the Mediterranean dropped by more than half in March, new figures have shown, boosting hopes that Europes tough new policy towards migrants is having a deterrent effect. The drop in numbers from 57,000 in February to 25,000 this month comes after the closure of the so-called Balkan route into northern Europe and the announcement that Europe would begin mass deportations of migrants who arrived in the Greek islands after March 20 this year. The flow slowed even more sharply following the announcement of the EU-Turkey deportation deal, with a total of 1,331 arriving since March 21, the day after the accord took effect. Although officials cautioned this was partly caused by poor weather. The figures compiled by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) provide the first evidence that Europes new hardline policy on refugees is succeeding in choking off the flow of migrants which topped 1.1m people last year, plunging the continent in to political crisis. The website now lists 112, and that number is expected to rise as what many journalists call an unprecedented purge of newsrooms continues. Law and Justice argues that public media needs a root-and-branch overhaul to rid it of an entrenched culture of bias and to ensure it maintains objectivity. As part of this overhaul it has ushered in a media law that allows the treasury ministry to appoint senior management. Another bill under preparation will allow for the sacking of all journalists and editorial staff, and give management the right to re-hire those it deems appropriate. Some Polish journalists claim that all this has fostered a purge culture as management dispenses with those it regards as harbouring anti-Law and Justice sentiment. They also point out that while most Polish governments had a tendency to tinker with TVP and Polish Radio, as a rule interference got no further than changing faces on directors boards. Under Law and Justice any journalist, some claim, faces the axe. I was expecting it, said Jaroslaw Kulczycki, a former anchor of Panorama, one of TVPs flagship news programmes, explaining he had a couple of clashes with his bosses. When the new team arrived I was sure I would be one of the first to be laid off. I was called in and informed that I did not fit the new concept of the organisation. My friends who stayed were either laid off or decided to quit, he added. In July 2013, Wahhabism was identified by the European Parliament in Strasbourg as the main source of global terrorism. Wahhabism has become increasingly influential, partly because of Saudi money and partly because of Saudi Arabia's central influence as protector of Mecca. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, condemned Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), insisting the ideas of extremism, radicalism and terrorism do not belong to Islam in any way. Somewhat paradoxically, however, members of the Saudi ruling class have applauded Wahhabism it for its Salafi piety - i.e. its adherence to the original practices of Islam - and the movement's vehement opposition to the Shia branch of Islam. In the 1970s, with the help of funding from petroleum exports and other factors, Saudi charities started funding Wahhabi schools (madrassas) and mosques across the globe and the movement underwent "explosive growth". The US State Department has estimated that over the past four decades Riyadh has invested more than $10bn (6bn) into charitable foundations in an attempt to replace mainstream Sunni Islam with the harsh intolerance of its Wahhabism. EU intelligence experts estimate that 15 to 20 per cent of this has been diverted to al-Qaida and other violent jihadists. A small private jet crashed on Canada's Magdalen Islands off its Atlantic coast on Tuesday killing all seven people on board, most of them reportedly en route to a family funeral, officials said. The crash occurred as the Mitsubishi turbo-prop aircraft carrying seven passengers and crew - reportedly including a local broadcast journalist and former member of parliament - was approaching for landing in fog and gusts of wind, local ambulance chief Benoit Leblanc told AFP. Television images showed the aircraft flattened in a snowy field, on the picturesque archipelago, which is part of Quebec and lies north of Prince Edward Island. Leblanc said one person had survived the crash impact and was taken to hospital in critical condition. But Quebec provincial police later said on Twitter that all seven people aboard the plane had died. According to the daily Journal de Quebec, the deceased included former transportation minister-turned-political pundit Jean Lapierre, who was reportedly headed to the island with his family for his father's funeral. His father died last week at age 83 after a battle with Parkinsons. The Journal de Quebec is owned by the Quebecor media group, which also employed Lapierre. Argentina's government celebrated on Monday a decision by a UN commission expanding its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 per cent to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. The Argentine foreign ministry said that its waters had increased by 0.66 million square miles (1.7 million square kilometres) and the decision will bekey in its dispute with Britain over the Islands. Argentina lost a brief, bloody 1982 war with Britain after Argentine troops seized the South Atlantic archipelago that Latin Americans call the Malvinas. The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf sided with Argentina earlier this month, ratifying the country's 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast. "This is a historic occasion for Argentina because we've made a huge leap in the demarcation of the exterior limit of our continental shelf," Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said. "This reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf." "It will be an exit meeting, a goodbye to the government. We calculate we have a vote of more than 80 percent in favor of quitting," said Osmar Terra, a senior party figure. "There has been a series of dominoes falling, and it cannot be turned back. The government keeps trying, and offers jobs, but nobody believes it any more." Ms Rousseff, who is fighting recession, scandal, protests and the mounting push to impeach her, met PMDB ministers Monday to try to convince them to stay. But a spokesman for Michel Temer - the party leader and Ms Rousseff's vice president and the man who will take power if she is impeached - told AFP the only outstanding issue was a proposed deadline for cabinet members to leave the PMDB if they want to keep their jobs. The government of the Falkland Islands has sought reassurances from the British government. The decision by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf could have significant consequences for Buenos Aires' claim to natural resources in the sea around the disputed island chain. A spokesman for David Cameron said: "One of the commissions has looked at issues regarding maritime territory. We have yet to receive details of that report. This is an advisory committee that makes recommendations that are not legally binding. It does not have jurisdiction over sovereignty issues. Lis words assured us that the Chinese economy is not going to have a hard landing, said Claudio Pagliara, a reporter with RAI, Italys state-owned broadcaster. For me that was the main topic of the news conference. Daniel Kaizen ordered a minicab from Old Street to Wood Green, north London this weekend, a five-mile trip which he said he was told would cost around 15. But the late-night detour around the capital meant that his journey took five times longer than he expected and the bill came to over 100. He said that Uber has since apologised and promised to refund the money. Mr Kaizen, 26, ordered an Uber minicab in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday morning and said that he slept most of the way back. But instead of being driven through north London on what would have been the quickest route, he spent the night riding due east to Barking before being taken around the North Circular to his destination. Uber taxi seized by police investigating murder of Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah After waking up at his destination, he switched on his phone to give his driver a star rating and said I nearly spat out my tea laughing at the route. The Conagua indicated that the atmospheric phenomenon registered maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour with gusts of up to 165 kilometers per hour. | Read More Roja Uses jr NTR To Embarrass Naidu On Foundation Day Suspended YSRCP MLA R K Roja leaves no opportunity to embarrass the AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The firebrand leader once again came up with sensational comments on AP CM. As the Telugu Desam Party was celebrating its 35th formation day on Tuesday, Roja said Naidu was hell bent on wiping out the memory of the great leader Legendary NTR. She said Chandrababu has been doing everything at his command to erase the memory of the great leader. As part of the efforts, he is also trying to create problems for Junior NTR's films. Roja said Chandra Babu has deliberately sidelined Jr NTR just to highlight his son within the party. Afraid that charismatic Jr NTR could eclipse his son Lokesh, the former was systematically suppressed. Roja spoke to media in Delhi after challenging the High Court division bench orders on her suspension from AP Assembly. News Posted: 29 March, 2016 SCR GM holds meeting with Cement Industry Hyderabad, March 29 (INN): South Central Railway General Manager Ravindra Gupta assured the Cement Industry of all possible help from railways so as to encourage and enhance cement traffic by rail. He was addressing representatives of various Cement companies located on the SCR network, who attended a meeting called on Monday at Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad to discuss on plans and strategy for increasing transport of cement. The meeting was called by SCR to interact with the cement sector with a view to plan for increased rail share of cement transport. The General Manager advised representatives of cement industry to utilise the concessions offered by Railways in notified Empty Flow Direction routes and plans shall be drawn to meet the specific requirements of the cement industry to enable them utilise the rail sector for transport of cement, both for short lead and long lead distances. Railways is open to new ideas including special tariff system and mini rake system said the General Manager adding that the Railway Board will be apprised of the suggestions given by the representatives of the participant industries. Representatives from the cement industry spoke on their expectations and needs from the Railways in terms of Operating and Commercial support. The issues raised by them concerned Freight discount schemes, settlement of claims etc. They expressed confidence that, the share of cement loading on Railways will see an increase in the ensuing period. The cement companies which were represented at the meeting include Ultra Tech, Vasavadatta, Kesoram, Vikat Sagar, Manikgarh, Ramco, My Home, India Cements, JayPee, Pennar, Zuari cements etc., Earlier, N. Madhusudhana Rao, Chief Operations Manager, SCR welcomed the representatives of Cement Industry and promised maximum cooperation from the Zone towards better loading. He emphasised on having long term commitment by cement industry for better prospects. M.P. Reddy, Chief Commercial Manager, SCR was also present. News Posted: 29 March, 2016 TS Govt launches TS-iPASS Mobile App Hyderabad, March 29 (INN): In a bid to further ease the business processes, the Industries Department on Monday launched the TS-iPASS Mobile App for online filing of incentives. Industries Minister Jupally Krishna Rao launched the TS-iPASS Mobile App for e-filing of incentives application through desktop and mobile platform (Android users) in the presence of Principal Secretary of Industries and Commerce Arvind Kumar and Commissioner of Industries K Manicka Raj at Commissioner of Industries office. The Minister also inaugurated the call centre (No 7306600600) on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the government is committed to create an ecosystem in which the ease of doing business in the state is on par with global standards. The government has successfully enacted and implemented the TS-iPASS, I-IDEA for general entrepreneurs and T-PRIDE for SC/ST entrepreneurs, he added. The minister complimented the industries department officials and staff for launching the mobile app. The Principal Secretary said that the online system would come into force from the 1st of April 2016. Complete application of incentives has been streamlined to a point that an entrepreneur can just apply for incentives from any place. The applications once received will be addressed immediately through online system and any communication made by the department will be communicated to the entrepreneur through an email and SMS. With this an entrepreneur will know the exact status of the application and can track his step by step movement of the claim application, he said. He recalled that the Prime Minister has complimented the state for bringing out pro active policies to further boost investment in the state. Telangana Industries Federation president Sudhir Reddy thanked the government for bringing out revolutionary changes in the functioning of the industries department. Representatives from CII, FICCI, DICCI and COWE were also present on the occasion. News Posted: 29 March, 2016 On Wednesday, union members at Sydney Airport will strike between 5am and 1pm and again between 4pm and midnight. On Thursday, staff at Melbourne Airport will strike between 4am and midday and again between 4pm and midnight. The protected industrial action is set to last until April 7 with staff walking off the job during morning and evening peak times. Immigration and customs staff at international airports will resume postponed strike action on Wednesday in a bid to break a two-year deadlock on pay and entitlement negotiations. CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood has warned travellers the strike action will likely result in delays for those travelling on international flights. "Our members in Immigration and Border Force and Agriculture and Water Resources will now resume their industrial action, knowing that their campaign never has and never will compromise Australia's national security at airports or anywhere else," she said. "These workers remain angry and frustrated at the way they've been treated by this government, with no-one listening to their concerns for their livelihoods and their families after two years of attacks on their rights and pay." According to the CPSU, strict national security exemptions will remain in place at international airports during the strike action. In the wake of the attacks in Brussels last week, Mr Turnbull "strongly encouraged" union members to rethink the industrial action and urged them "to pursue their complaints, their disagreements with the government through other means". Police are hunting for man who led them on a dramatic car chase through Melbourne's inner suburbs while throwing wads of cash out the window. The potentially armed man then dumped the luxury vehicle in a CBD lane and fled in a taxi. The man is still on the run after ramming two police cars with a black BMW to escape arrest over an alleged drug deal on the corner of Queen and A'Beckett Streets in the city around 12 noon. Dramatic footage of the attempted arrest emerged on Tuesday afternoon, which showed five police officers banging on the car and attempting to open it before it sped off. Chief Minister Andrew Barr has welcomed a possible backdown on federal budget cuts to health, suggesting Malcolm Turnbull is trying to "neutralise" unpopular Tony Abbott-era policies in an election year. Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting with Mr Turnbull and state leaders could see a deal reversing some cuts from the unpopular 2014 federal budget, worth up to $80 billion in national partnership agreements. States and territories could be offered a four-year deal for hospital funding, worth about $5 billion. Some state leaders expect they will be offered an agreement to 2020, based on the original formula agreed with the former Labor government in 2011. Media reports suggested the deal was not yet finalised but had been discussed by Mr Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison over the Easter weekend. It could be tied to a plan for states and territories to receive a share of income tax revenue, as proposed by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill. Canberra's roadworks induced traffic gridlock should ease by the middle of the year when many of the largest projects will have been completed ACT roads minister Meegan Fitzharris has said. With $90 million worth of roadworks, most on the north side, currently under way, access to Gungahlin during peak periods has become Canberra's "mission impossible". A burst water pipe is causing traffic chaos on Wanneroo Road. Credit:Rohan Thomson Other longstanding bottlenecks, caused by works on Constitution Avenue, the Barton Highway and the Majura Parkway, are also sources of ongoing frustration for motorists. Although Melbourne has usually seen more education facilities take up space, a Silicon Valley startup called Slack is opening an Asia Pacific Headquarters in the old Carlton Brewery development. The kitchen area at the new Twitter offices at 2 Park Street, Sydney Credit:Jessica Hromas It's the rise of the tech businesses that reflects how social media has become the most formidable part of how we live, work and play. There is a new tenant in town, that will soon overtake the traditional banks and financial services, and create a new feel and vibe in capital cities. It ties in with the Victorian government's focus on setting up the city as an Innovation Hub. The new office will be designed by Breath Architecture on Swanston Street. But Sydney has seen an influx of the tech groups. Amazon has 9000 square metres at 2 Park Street, Dropbox has leased 5000 square metres at the DEXUS 5 Martin Place, Twitter has leased 1800 square metres also at 2 Park Street and Campaign Monitor has 2000 square metres at 201 Elizabeth Street. Cameron Williams, the national director office leasing and director in charge for the Sydney CBD at Colliers International said the other tech companies activerecently included LinkdIn at 1 Martin Place and Apple at 20 Martin Place, and Uber were actively seeking space in the CBD. "They shortlist buildings and locations that have great immediate amenity, and access to public transport is important. Proximity to bars, restaurants and hotels is also a key driver in their decision making," Mr Williams said. Nerida Conisbee, Colliers International's head of research said over the past 24 months, information technology and services have been some of the strongest contributors to Australian job growth. Bungendore IGA supermarket operator Darren Heathcote says a new development site in the village has proven to be a Trojan horse for Woolworths to enter the village, ending a decade-long dream to expand his family's business. When Palerang Council approved the development it believed an independent supermarket would occupy the new building, a more preferable tenant according to councillors, than a big chain like Woolworths or Coles. IGA supermarket owner Bungendore Darren Heathcote says the arrival of Woolworths in the town will put him out of business. Credit:Jamila Toderas For three years Mr Heathcote negotiated with developer, Canberra's Krnc Group, to occupy the new site for his expanded supermarket, next to Le Tres Bon French restaurant in Malbon Street. Weeks ago Mr Heathcote and Local Liquor operator Mike Blore signed up to move into the new premises. They were awaiting their new landlord to sign on the dotted line. Mr Heathcote had been negotiating with his main supplier Metcash which was to hold the head lease at the new supermarket. The federal budget could be back in the black in three years if the Turnbull government adopts the proposals of a high level and independent Budget Balance Commission. The proposals, which bear striking resemblance to several Labor Party policies, include abolishing super tax concessions, halving the capital gains discount and increasing so-called "sin taxes" on alcohol, tobacco and luxury cars. A businessman and former staffer to John Howard, Paul McClintock, chaired the budget commission for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and launched the report "Deficit to balance: budget repair options" at the National Press Club on Tuesday. "No economic problem in Australia is graver than the persistence of large budget deficits," Mr McClintock writes in the report. Riders are not paid a minimum wage, weekend penalty rates or superannuation. Credit:Jason South One Deliveroo bicycle courier who signed such a contract said she ended up earning only $10 an hour on some days. "It's all right if it's busy, but you never know how many deliveries you are going to get," the rider, who asked to not be identified for fear of losing the job, said. foodora meanwhile said new riders were paid $14 an hour and $4 per delivery, which increased by $1 once they passed a trial period. The company would not say if it paid weekend penalty rates, only that it paid a "surcharge" during busy periods, but riders for the company said they did not get paid extra to work on the weekend. A spokesman for the Fair Work Ombudsman said the riders should fall under the Road Transport and Distribution award, under which a casual is paid $22.88 per hour, plus time and a half on Saturday and double time on Sunday. The ombudsman is already working with one Deliveroo rider to resolve a dispute, the spokesman said. The vast majority of riders are backpackers on working holiday visas or international students, according those who spoke to Fairfax Media. One foodora rider said he enjoyed the job, but was concerned about public liability and admitted to not knowing his tax obligations. "It's easy to look past the sketchiness," he said. Another rider who said he earned about $19 an hour while working full-time hours for Deliveroo echoed those concerns. "Knowing the risks and the cost of running the bike, I wouldn't do it for any less [money]," he said. Another backpacker said the job was far better than working in hospitality, where exploitation and underpayment was rampant. 'They're not in business' Prominent employment lawyer Josh Bornstein, principal at Maurice Blackburn, examined work contracts from the two companies obtained by Fairfax Media and said they were a "farce" designed to reduce risk and costs. "They looked to me like they were a sham," Mr Bornstein said. "My fundamental concern in this situation is whether the workers are entrepreneurs. That is, in business themselves - that's what an independent contractor is. "In many situation that isn't the case: they're not in business, they are not interested in running a business, they're just interested in getting a job." A landmark High Court decision in 2001 found a Sydney bicycle courier who knocked down a pedestrian was an employee of the courier company, not an independent contractor, in part because he wore the company's uniform, was not providing skilled labour, and could not bargain with the company over remuneration. Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon said that case was the reason his union pushed to include bicycle couriers under the Road Transport award. "It is very concerning that bicycle couriers are still being forced to operate as independent contractors so they can be paid below the award rates and denied their basic benefits," Mr Sheldon said. 'They work for restaurants - not us' A Deliveroo spokeswoman said it was not engaged in sham contracting and that most drivers were "working with us around other commitments such as studying and running a small business." "Riders enjoy the flexibility of freelance work, which would not be possible were they to be classified as employees," she said, adding that riders were able to work for multiple companies and could choose when to accept shifts and delivery jobs. "To do this they must be independent contractors," she said. foodora Australia chief executive Toon Gyssels cited flexible hours and the fact riders used their own bicycles as reasons why they were not employees. "They work for 750 restaurants which dispatch the jobs to them," Mr Gyssels said. Deliveroo said that its riders were responsible for their own insurance, while foodora said riders were required by their contracts to have personal and third-party insurance. Mr Gyssels said foodora had also taken out private insurance for its riders. Deliveroo launched in Australia late last year and foodora grew into the Australian market by acquiring local delivery company Suppertime and rebranded as foodora in early March. As her blood-borne infection progresses, she collapses in her cell, unable to move her legs. She's berated, manhandled, then handcuffed and bundled into a police van for what will be her final journey. With only minutes to live, and in intense distress, her captors admonish her to "shut up". Despite assessments by a parade of healthcare professionals, not a single blood test is ordered, nor a chest X-ray triage nurses fail to even take her temperature. Fuelled by the staggering misjudgments of emergency doctors, her jailers form the view that she's perfidious. It's a belief that seals her fate. Imagine, if you can, a scenario where a privileged young Australian woman is taken into police custody for a string of minor offences. She complains of escalating pain in her side and pleads to see a doctor. Over the next two days she's taken to hospital on three occasions the last time, she's dragged. Needless to say, this story a litany of prejudice and neglect didn't happen to a privileged white girl: it happened to a 22-year-old Yamatji woman in Port Hedland in 2014, in a part of Australia that can best be described as a prison-state for our nation's First Peoples. The horrific experience of Ms Dhu, who died of septicemia and pneumonia after 43 hours in custody for unpaid fines, was a calamity of mythic proportions: a classical Greek tragedy set in the Pilbara where Cassandra doomed to be eternally disbelieved is a black woman and her downfall is inexorably linked to the systemic injustice that compounds Aboriginal disadvantage. Emergency physicians have suggested that hospital staff doubted Dhu's veracity because she was in custody a disturbing claim in itself but what circumstances conspired to put her there in the first place? Her story may be incredible, but it some ways it was always bound to happen. In the last decade, the national imprisonment rate for Indigenous women has doubled. In the cohort of females aged 15 years and over, one in five have been arrested by police. Figures sourced from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Law Council of Australia reveal that it's no better for Indigenous children, who are 26 times more likely to be locked up than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and when they are, they're 74 per cent more likely to be reconvicted than those who receive a non-custodial penalty a statistic that grimly underscores how imprisonment itself confers further disadvantage. According to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, we're better at keeping black kids in jail than we are at keeping them in school. And in doing so, their risk of developing mental health problems and substance abuse is intensified, while their prospects of further education, training or employment diminish apace. It's a vicious circle of despair, neglect, and punishment and yet more despair. It's 'almost like the royal commission never happened', Gooda says. Chronic socioeconomic disadvantage is clearly a factor. Indigenous Australians are significantly more likely to be removed from their families, experience childhood trauma, to lose a job, lose a baby, suffer chronic disease, be raped, assaulted, or hospitalised for self-harm, to live in poverty and to die in it. But the unpalatable truth is that disadvantage alone cannot explain the scale of Aboriginal incarceration, nor do arguments about recidivism or increased offending. Make no mistake this is inequity turbocharged by injustice. Education Minister Simon Birmingham has worked to take the political heat out of higher education since the Abbott government set the sector on fire by proposing funding cuts, surprise fee deregulation and interest charges for HECS loans in the 2014 budget. The Turnbull government would much rather deal with university funding as a budget issue than an election issue. It has no stomach for a big fight with the universities now. From that simple fact, several things flow. The Turnbull government would much rather deal with university funding as a budget issue than an election issue. Credit:Steven Siewert First, the wholesale deregulation of university fees envisaged in Christopher Pyne's failed funding reforms is off the table at least until after the election and probably for a while beyond that. But we can expect selective fee flexibility to more closely match the private cost with the private benefit of a degree, so that students pay more to do degrees which set them up for the highest incomes. Second, changes to the repayment terms of HECS so more students repay their loans and repay them faster are likely in the May budget. The threshold level at which students must begin repaying their HECS debts is likely to be reduced, and recouping debts from deceased estates of over $100,000 as also proposed by the Grattan Institute is a live option. As Australia enters the early stages of what is likely to be a lengthy federal election campaign, it is imperative that all candidates for political office and those behind their party machines commit to exceed, not just meet, the legal requirements on funding disclosures. It is the spirit of those laws that matters most, and the goal is transparency. The fundamental purpose of laws requiring disclosure of electoral funding is to uphold the integrity of the political system. Voters are entitled to know who is financially supporting the people and parties that control decisions in government. They are entitled to know about external influences that may bear on MPs' decisions. They are entitled to know about potential conflicts of interest, long before those conflicts arise. Put simply, they are entitled to much more than the existing system in Australia provides. This nation hosts a woefully dislocated system of mismatched electoral funding laws that vary from state to state and, as a result, are wide open for exploitation by opportunists. The deficiencies are made worse by the unnecessarily generous timetables for reporting to the Australian Electoral Commission or its state-based counterparts. As a result, voters do not have full, accurate or timely information about who might be behind their representatives until long after elections are done. Details about who donated how much, and to which parties, in 2014-15 were only published in February; some of the information was more than 18 months old. The identities of many donors behind this year's election campaign will not be made public until February 2018. This is an entirely unsatisfactory and archaic state of affairs for a wealthy nation that purports to be a vibrant and sophisticated democracy. Without timely information about who is financing political candidates, voters are denied information that could influence their choices at the ballot box. There should be real-time disclosure of donations as NSW Labor leader Luke Foley has promised NSW Labor will do. The software is available. It can be done. Australia has fallen to 60th in global internet speed rankings. If we fell to 60th in the Olympics medal tally there'd be a national outcry. Just a few years ago we were 30th in terms of average peak internet speed, which is a key measurement of broadband performance. Within our region we came eighth (even New Zealand is two places ahead of us). Singapore, with whom we are destined to be in serious competition as an Asia-Pacific innovation hub, already has internet speeds 100 times faster than ours. The bad news is delivered in the latest State Of The Internet report from content delivery network provider, Akamai. There's some good news. Both our average and peak internet speeds have increased by 11 per cent and 6.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively. However, that's a bit like kicking six unanswered goals in the last quarter of an AFL match when you're 50 points behind. It might make a few players feel better but it still means you lost the game. After the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, US National Guard troops were deployed to major airports. They lacked the training and equipment necessary for counter-terrorism, but their presence restored confidence in travellers in the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001. It soon became clear that a sustained deployment was not worth the cost and of no real benefit. I hate to be cynical, but in the years since the September 11 attacks, I have seen this drama play out repeatedly. The terrorists carry out a major attack at home or abroad, politicians call for improved security, and the government engages in a flurry of activity to show it is doing something. After a few months the cost of such measures and their inefficacy becomes clear, and things return to normal. Answer: Wait for a devastating terrorist attack to frighten people, and then deploy at airports and transportation hubs lots of highly visible security measures that make people feel more secure without actually making them safer. Belgian soldiers patrol at Zaventem Airport in Brussels on Wednesday last week after dozens were killed in bombings at the airport and at a subway station. Credit:Geert Vanden Wijngaert In July 2005, the London bombings revealed the vulnerability of mass transit systems. Once again politicians demanded that the trains be made safer without any real consideration of how or even if that could be done. In response to the outcry, though, the City of Chicago spent more than $US1 million to put additional police and bomb dogs on Loop "L" platforms. City officials might have considered that a smart terrorist would board at 95th Street, Oak Park or Linden with his bomb and ride the train downtown before detonating it. Beginning in October 2014, the Chicago police began random, voluntary screening of passengers on select Chicago Transit Authority trains. Funded by the Department of Homeland Security, the program has been employed on a trial basis over the past year. It looks good but accomplishes little. Any terrorist could easily leave a screening station and board a train at a different place. Unless screening is applied to every passenger at every stop, it will not be effective. Screening everyone would paralyse the transit network. Given this history of wasteful placebo security, I was disappointed by Chicago's response to the Brussels bombing. Police with assault rifles and dogs now patrol Union Station, and there is more visible security at O'Hare International Airport. Apart from restoring passenger confidence, these measures will not help much. Terrorists are neither stupid nor impatient. They can wait until the furore calms down before conducting another attack or circumvent stepped-up "security". A would-be bomber could, for example, ride any one of the numerous trains into Union Station rather than come through the heavily guarded front door. Avoiding wasteful placebo security does not, however, mean embracing complacency. The US Transportation Security Administration, Chicago law enforcement, and Homeland Security work continually to improve transportation security. The best security, though, is invisible. Plain-clothes officers posing as airline passengers would be less obtrusive and, therefore, freer to scrutinise those around them than heavily armed, highly visible security personnel. An undercover officer milling about the check-in area at the Brussels airport might, for example, have noticed that two of the bombers had gloves on only one hand inside a warm building, a measure used to conceal detonators. Keen powers of observation by trained personnel and an alert citizenry, not more guns, are the key to airport security. US politics today presents, to this foreign observer at least, a very un-American spectacle. A country originally built on immigration is awash with popular hatred against immigrants. A candidate of the right rails against free trade and foreigners, while that of the left proclaims his faith in socialism. Xenophobia is rife. Class war seems perilously close to the surface. The US has gone through economic slumps and protectionist phases in the past. But the New World has been relatively immune to the political dysfunction, class and ethnic hatreds, and mass craving for authoritarianism that have frequently been manifest in the Old. Today, more than at any other time in its history, the crisis in the US resembles one that we've seen innumerable times in Europe and Russia. A police officer watches as protesters demonstrate against Donald Trump outside the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington last week. Credit:Bloomberg The demographic data that correlate support for Donald Trump to middle-aged whites, who are suffering dramatically rising death rates, remind one of the economic devastation (and sudden spike in mortality rates) in Russia that helped lift Vladimir Putin to power. The sweeping hatred of metropolitan elites evokes the "politics of cultural despair" the title of Fritz Stern's classic account of the rise of nativist passions in 19th century Germany. The explosion of trash talk on the campaign trail recalls Ortega y Gasset's warning in The Revolt of the Masses (1930) against a "raving, frenetic, exorbitant politics that claims to replace all knowledge". The politically toxic proposed coal mine at the centre of the election battle between Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Tony Windsor appears doomed after its Chinese owner outlined an accelerated transformation plan away from mining into cleaner electricity generation. China Shenhua, which owns the contentious Shenhua-Watermark project on the NSW Liverpool Plains, has warned of plunging demand for fossil fuels and slashed its global budget for investing in new coal projects. The company has surprised analysts with the depth of its pessimism on the coal market in its annual report released on Good Friday. The proposed mine at Gunnedah is now almost certainly "commercially unviable", according to Tim Buckley, Australasian director of the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis and it is only a question of whether the Chinese government proceeds to development in an attempt to "save face", he said. Senator Leyonhjelm will vote for a second reading of the bill but said his final vote "depends on a lot factors, and it's not just about the bill". He is among a number of crossbenchers who many believe will ultimately support the ABCC with minor changes. As a result, the government may only need to persuade one of either John Madigan, Jacqui Lambie or Glenn Lazarus to jump on board in order to secure passage. Independent senator John Madigan has taken issue with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull choosing to deal with the crossbench through Senator Bob Day. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Senator Madigan, an independent senator formerly of the Democratic Labour Party, said he had not yet spoken with Senator Day about the deal, but that he had "been talking about this for ages". A watchdog should not be fixated on the construction industry but rather should be capable of holding the legal, medical and financial sectors to account, he said. "This idea is not new and I've been going on about it the whole time I've been in the place," Senator Madigan said. "I've even sent this to the Prime Minister, months and months ago." Set to vote for a second reading of the ABCC bill: David Leyonhjelm. Credit:Andrew Meares The Victorian senator also took issue with Mr Turnbull's preference for dealing with the crossbench through Senator Day, saying it was not the PM's role to make such a preference. "There are eight members of the crossbench, not one," Senator Madigan said. "I don't know that it's the government's place to say who they're going to negotiate with." There are eight members of the crossbench, not one. I don't know that it's the government's place to say who they're going to negotiate with. Independent senator John Madigan Senator Ricky Muir said he did not believe the government was genuine about passing the ABCC bill in this Parliament and wanted to use it as a double dissolution trigger. He reserved his position on the final version of the bill but said he was prepared to speak with the PM directly. "There is no arrangement for Senator Day to speak on behalf of the crossbench on this matter, but I am open to having conversations myself," he said. "I know Beau is a good person. It's not like he was this monster that I couldn't be around," she said. The 30-year-old opened up for the first time to Woman's Day following her retired footie husband's alleged affair with Hi-5 star Lauren Brant, 27. Instead of getting angry with The Footy Show host, 30, Kara surprised some by admitting that she felt sorry for him. "I was actually more worried for Beau, if I'm honest. Beau Ryan's wife Kara said she was "worried" for him after his alleged affair with Hi-5 star Lauren Brant. Credit:ARIAs "I'm probably emotionally stronger than Beau, and I could see how upset he was, so I was more concerned for him and for our family," she added, speaking about their three-year-old daughter, Remi. While Kara spoke of her concern for her childhood sweetheart and husband of four years after news broke of his alleged extramarital affair with Brant while they were both working on the children's stage production of Aladdin and his Wondrous Lamp last July, the former Cronulla Sharks and Wests Tigers player opened up about how tough the fallout was on him. "Dealing with the media while also supporting Kara was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life," he said. New accountants, architects, social workers and vets would be among those forced to pay back their HECS loans from their first days in the workforce under a controversial proposal to slash debt repayment thresholds. The hit would come as many recent graduates already struggle to afford record rents and save for a house deposit, with wage growth at its lowest point since the early 1990s. The influential Grattan Institute think tank has proposed reducing the initial repayment threshold for student debts from an annual income of $54,126 to $42,000. The move, designed to recoup more debt from female and part-time graduates, would save $500 million a year when accompanied by other changes, and aim to offset the ballooning $3 billion debt from the scandal-ridden private college sector. On Tuesday, Treasurer Scott Morrison confirmed the government was examining changing repayment thresholds for the Higher Education Loan Program - which covers university and vocational graduates - as part of its budget deliberations. Indigenous heritage consultants are demanding an urgent halt to construction of a section of Sydney's new light rail line, after one of the largest recent discoveries of indigenous artefacts in the city. About 20,000 artefacts have already been recovered, and heritage experts working at the site say there could be more than 50,000 at the area intended to be used to stable trams in Randwick. "There is nothing at all like this in Sydney," said Scott Franks, whose company was contracted to advise on indigenous heritage issues for the $2.1b light rail line. One of the significant elements of the find, Mr Franks said, was that some artefacts appeared to be from the Hunter Valley. Gold Coast University Hospital staff embroiled in a fraud scandal have been allowed to return to work. Five doctors, a nurse and an administration employee from the hospital's cardiology unit are accused of making fraudulent patient referrals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gold Coast University Hospital staff embroiled in a fraud scandal have been allowed to return to work. They were stood down with full pay last month while an independent investigation was carried out. Gold Coast Health Service chief executive Ron Calvert said the investigator had finished their report, which will be considered by the Crime and Corruption Commission. As Microsoft becomes more persistent, Never10 offers an easy way to put the freeze on Windows 10. It's free software for Windows 7 and 8.1 which makes it simple for anyone to tweak the advanced settings on their computer to ward off the upgrade something I wish I'd installed on my Dad's computer before it was too late. After months of harassment from Microsoft's nagware I assumed that he'd accidentally clicked Upgrade, despite his vigilance in closing the pop-up notifications rather than dealing with the Hobson's choice of Upgrade Now or Upgrade Later. After a quick online search I realised I owed Dad an apology, as there's been a spate of unwanted Windows 10 upgrades recently from people who swear they never authorised it. Lunch with my parents on the weekend turned into an unexpected tech support visit when my Dad started up his computer to discover it had upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 against his wishes. Holding off on Windows 10 isn't just a matter of fearing change, although there are plenty of people out there like my parents who are perfectly happy with Windows 7 and don't want to go through the hassle of learning something new. In Microsoft's defence, at least the upgrade to Windows 10 lets you stick with the traditional Windows desktop, unlike the move to Windows 8 which foolishly foisted a tablet-style interface on people whether they wanted it or not. As a general rule I recommend that people who don't like to tinker with computers should hold off on major operating system upgrades and just wait until they buy their next computer which will come with the latest version pre-installed. It's not just a matter of sticking with what you know, it's also a matter of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Every time Microsoft swears it's a pain-free upgrade and the best version of Windows ever, but things don't always go smoothly. The older your computer and accessories the more difficulty you can have in finding software drivers for internal components like the graphics card and trackpad as well as peripherals like your printer and scanner. If you are going to take the plunge it pays to do your research first. The free upgrade to Windows 10 can be rather painful if you need to repurchase expensive software because your copy won't run on the new version of Windows. There's a 30-day rollback feature hidden away in Windows 10's Recovery menu, but now that the deed is done we'll hold off for a few weeks to see if everything runs smoothly. The printer and webcam seem to be playing nicely with Windows 10 and my parents don't rely on any mission-critical specialist software which needs upgrading. That doesn't excuse Microsoft forcing Windows 10 on them when it's promised to support Windows 7 until 2020. A chief executive from a council in Melbourne's inner north is suing a councillor over claims he is a victim of a long-running campaign to have him removed from his job. Rasiah Dev, chief executive of the troubled Darebin Council, said Gaetano Greco had criticised him over his performance in the past and had tried to have Mr Dev's salary reduced or capped. Rasiah Dev claims to have suffered humiliation and ridicule and that his reputation has suffered. Credit:Lucy Aulich Mr Dev is suing Cr Greco in the Supreme Court over a pamphlet distributed at an Australian Services Union meeting in March 2015 that stated Mr Dev had authorised the outsourcing of aged-care services to a private contractor without approval from elected councillors. The pamphlet also stated that Mr Dev's salary of between $410,000 and $420,000 was "outrageous" and that cutting his remuneration would save the council money that could be poured into community services. Two national engineering companies have been fined $1.5 million for criminal safety violations after a worker fell 40 metres to his death in Melbourne's Southbank precinct. Sonny Swaanebeck was killed in May 2011 on a high-rise construction site when a massive rig he was harnessed to suddenly snapped and crashed to the ground. The Fundex F3500 piling rig. Investigations into the tragic workplace accident revealed 10 crucial bolts were never installed in the most vulnerable part of the pile-driving rig before the mast broke and the 30-year-old worker fell to his death. Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley has said the money was being effectively repaid to the Commonwealth by Victoria because it was caught "cooking the books" to gain more funding than it deserved under a national health reform agreement that was scrapped in the 2014-15 budget. Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy said the loss of $73.2 million in federal funding, which started affecting health services last month, could soon cause Williamstown Hospital to close its emergency department. It could also force Sandringham hospital to slash its 24-hour emergency department to just 12 hours a day, she said, while other hospitals such as the Alfred are considering making staff redundant. A $73 million health funding fight that threatens to close hospital services in Victoria is headed for the High Court of Australia, as the state government launches a last ditch attempt to keep the money. But Ms Hennessy has disputed this and says the administrator of the National Health Funding Pool "backflipped" on an agreement about the methodology Victoria had been using to calculate its hospital activity under the former Napthine Government. She said since the method began, government staff had sought and received "numerous assurances" that it was within the rules of the national funding agreement. But in January, an acting administrator for the health funding pool wrote to the Victorian government and said it had effectively been overpaid money that was now being recouped. Despite repeatedly calling for this decision to be overturned in recent months, Ms Hennessy's pleas have not been successful. On Tuesday night, as the Turnbull government prepares to meet with state and territory leaders about health funding at a COAG meeting on Friday, Ms Hennessy said she planned to take the dispute to the High Court. "Cuts to health hurt patients. Cuts to health mean emergency departments close, and mean less doctors and nurses," she said. "It's time Malcolm Turnbull stops the health cuts, returns the funding that is rightfully ours and puts the health and safety of Victorian patients first." However, it is unclear whether Victoria has a solid case. A former administrator of the National Health Funding Pool, Bob Sendt, said the Victorian government had been coding its hospital activity data in a different way to other states and territories under the Napthine government, which meant it avoided a funding penalty that other states and territories received in recent years. Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle says his council should be given the right to approve major skyscrapers, after Planning Minister Richard Wynne blocked a $1.25 billion twin-tower project which would have seen a new park on Collins Street. Cr Doyle said he feared the prime site, which takes up a block between William and Market streets, would be sold to an uncaring developer that could build a tower that complied with planning rules but was ugly and had no architectural merit. The scaled down version of Cbus Property's 447 Collins Street development. "If they merely sold this plot of land, the outcome we would get would be hideous," Cr Doyle said. "It would allow a building right on Collins Street". Cbus Property had proposed two 47-level towers connected by a sky bridge at 445 Collins Street, since dubbed the "pantscraper". A major sweetener for the council, which supported the plan, was the promise of a 2000-metre public park facing Market Street. An apprentice plumber who pocketed more than $13,000 from his employer by failing to attend a required training course has been spared further time in jail. Hassan Abdul-Rahim duped MEGT Australia into thinking he was attending compulsory training sessions at RMIT University when he wasn't, Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard. Instead of telling his employer he hadn't attended 529 hours' worth of training between November 2013 and June 2014 Abdul-Rahim kept the $13,206 he was paid for being at the university, the court heard on Tuesday. Abdul-Rahim, 26, pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception and a string of other charges over incidents from last year, during which he was found in possession of a single .22 bullet, a quantity of methylamphetamine and two Xanax tablets and was found to be driving with illicit drugs in his system. He also pleaded guilty to driving without a licence. Residents of 130 homes backing onto the proposed elevated sections of the Caulfield-Dandenong 'sky rail' project can apply to sell their home to the government if they want to move, Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan has said. Residents in the rail corridor will also be offered fencing and extensive landscaping works as the government attempts to quell public concern among residents affected by the $1.6 billion project. The Andrews government is removing nine of Melbourne's most congested level crossings and rebuilding five railway stations between Caulfield and Dandenong. The government is offering affected residents a package of works that could include planting more trees and raising their fence line. Residents can also apply to install a gate in the back fence of their properties "to enable them to enjoy the new parkland the project will create". Police allege a man whose body was found in an abandoned mine at Whroo in northern Victoria was killed by his son up to six weeks earlier. Traralgon man Nathan Missen, 26, appeared in the Shepparton Magistrates Court yesterday accused of murdering his father, Mark Missen, 56, at Mooroopna between January 25 and February 2. The abandoned mineshaft at Whroo where Mark Missen's body was found. Credit:Channel Seven Nathan Missen's pregnant girlfriend, Tongala woman Ebonee Rohde, 30, also appeared in court charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. Neither accused applied for bail. Mr Missen was brought to court from custody wearing grey track pants and a black T-shirt. The City of Fremantle will trial closing its cafe strip to cars for the next three Sundays in a bid to make the city centre more family-friendly. The strip, usually a favourite for 'bog laps', had been closed for special events before, Mayor Brad Pettitt told Radio 6PR on Tuesday. The cappuccino strip Fremantle is famous for. For the past decade, residents had been talking of extending the practice. He said the Street Arts Festival that concluded on Sunday, when that section of South Terrace was closed, had been attended by about 100,000 people and families had loved being able to run around without worrying about traffic. MasterChef judges Gary Mehigan, Matt Preston and George Calombaris. "Anyone who has followed my career will know I'm passionate about food and I'm sure there will be people in the audience who will have a favourite question they've always wanted to ask about Masterchef or about cooking, generally." Mr Mehigan said that people often approached him with a range of questions, from how to poach the perfect egg to the complexities of molecular gastronomy. Mehigan says Masterchef has had an amazing impact culturally on Australia. "Whatever people want to ask fire away," he said. The Masterchef judge said he would be happy to give the audience a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the popular television show. "Most people don't know that we shoot the show with 11 cameras and the entire production staff must number well over 100," he said. "George, Matt and I are only small cogs in a big production." Mr Mehigan was born on Hayling Island on the UK south coast and was influenced by his artist mother, and grandfather who was a chef at hotels like the Ritz and the Savoy in the 1950s and 60s. "I always remember how different food tasted when my grandfather prepared our meals," he said. "I'd made up my mind in my early teens, food was where I wanted to go with my career." Mr Mehigan learned his craft at London's Connaught Hotel under Michel Bourdan and Le Souffle at the Hyde Park Intercontinental under Peter Kromberg. "They were hugely influential chefs in Britain with opposing styles and ideas; one classic French haute cuisine and the other modern, creative and progressive," he said. Mr Mehigan and his now-wife Mandy travelled to Australia in 1991 and stayed, later opening his own restaurants including the Maribyrnong Boathouse in 2007. By then he had appeared in a number of television shows including Good Morning Australia and Ready, Steady, Cook. Masterchef has been a "game-changer" for Mehigan and his judging colleagues and will begin its eighth season in May. "I've been incredibly privileged to be part of it and I love George and Matt to bits," he said of the trio, whose chemistry might be compared only to ex-Top Gear hosts Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson. "I think Masterchef's success involves a number of factors," he said. "There is an insatiable interest in food the food draws people in, but they are equally fascinated by the contestants and their dreams. "And the incredible guests we get on the show, like Heston Blumenthal and Nigella Lawson, it's mind-blowing." The Masterchef judge said the show had had an amazing impact culturally. "We've now got kids who have grown up with it and can now tell their parents about produce, where to source it and how to cook it," he said. "We've got a 19-year-old in the next series who has been watching the show since she was 11." As for general restaurant trends, Mr Mehigan said he was noting a revival of complex techniques among young chefs. "This is where they can experiment, where they can layer taste with different cooking methods and new ingredients in the same dish to create 'wow' factor," he said. "There's mastery and showmanship in these types of dishes." And that, for him, was one of the reasons people love dining out. "We're incredibly lucky with our multicultural environment you can be eating Chinese one day, Italian the next, Vietnamese the following and so on," Mr Mehigan said. "Our embrace of cuisine from different cultures has been part of the reason behind the explosion in food culture over the last 20 years or so and the new generation is creating new dishes that are really exciting." Mehigan said the other huge influence had been social media. A woman killed in a car crash in Bullsbrook on Monday night brings the Easter long weekend road toll to five. A Hyundai Excel was travelling north on Great Northern Highway just after 10pm when it collided with a Nissan Navara utility travelling south. A man was killed in Bullsbrook crash. Credit:Nine News Perth Earlier that day a 39-year-old male died after his car crashed into a tree in Katanning. A Holden Astra was travelling north-westerly on Great Southern Highway towards Katanning just after 4pm, when the car veered to the wrong side of the road before colliding with a tree. A British man who was taken hostage on an EgyptAir flight posed for a cheeky photograph with the alleged hijacker who was wearing a fake suicide belt as the bizarre and troubling drama played out at an airport in Cyprus. A grinning Ben Innes was shown in the image standing alongside the hijacker, named as Seif Eldin Mustafa, who had seized control of the Alexandria-to-Cairo flight and demanded it be diverted to Cyprus, where he hoped to be reunited with his estranged wife. Mr Innes, 26, reportedly sent the image to his friend with the message: "You know your boy doesn't f*** about!! Turn on the news lad!!!" The seven crew members did their best to calm the 55 passengers, who reportedly included eight Britons, as they announced the plane was heading to Larnaca. They started collecting passports but did not identify the hijacker to the other travellers. The hijacked Egyptair aircraft at Larnaca airport on Tuesday. Credit:AP After the plane touched down, Mustafa stood up and stepped behind the curtain at the aircraft's rear galley while the passengers watched anxiously as police sharpshooters gathered around the airport. Speaking by phone and through a four-page letter written in Arabic, he began issuing demands. He wanted to see his former wife, named in the Cypriot press as Marina Paraschou, a 51-year-old with whom he reportedly had four children. Seif Eldin Mustafa, left, has been identified as the hijacker of EgyptAir flight MS181 by broadcasters. Ben Innes, 26, a health and safety inspector from Leeds, approached the hijacker and posed with him for a photo, with Mustafa's "suicide vest" on display. A friend said: "Ben is a wild man and this is totally in character for him. He was a big rugby guy and very into his banter and didn't have much respect for authority." By now, the authorities in Cyprus and Egypt were clear that they were not dealing with a jihadist. "The hijacking is not terrorism-related," said Mr Anastasiades. Egyptian officials looked at a long record of small crimes such as theft and impersonation but found that Mustafa had no obvious links to terrorism. He had apparently escaped prison during Egypt's 2011 uprising but gave himself up in exchange for a lighter sentence. As police raced to collect Marina and a young child from the village of Oroklini and take them to the airport, Mustafa apparently also demanded to see an EU official, and may have raised the issue of political prisoners in Egypt. It is not clear whether he was allowed to speak to his ex-wife. After an hour on the runway, Mustafa released most of his hostages. Only the crew and five Westerners remained on board, as the atmosphere turned surreal. Mustafa apparently began to mingle with his captives, his eyes looking glazed behind his spectacles. As the hours ticked by, the remaining hostages trickled off the plane, including one pilot who lowered himself from the cockpit window and ran. Mr Innes was one of the three last hostages seen running across the tarmac moments before Mustafa disembarked with his hands above his head and surrendered just before 1pm. "It was horrifying to be faced with death, kind of, for an hour and a half," said Farrah el-Dibany, a passenger. Flights resumed in the evening, but too late for some travellers whose plans had been disrupted. "Honestly this is over a woman?" one passenger said. "I'm going to jab her eyes out." Mustafa is expected to appear in court in Cyprus later in the week and could be extradited back to Egypt, which is sensitive to criticism over its airport security after ISIS smuggled a bomb on to an airliner last year. Whenever episodes of "skyjacking" take place, it's instructive to refer to the research and writing of British-American journalist Brendan Koerner, author of the critically acclaimed The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking. After news of the latest hijacking broke, he offered valuable context on his Twitter feed about past such oddball attempts and the particular personalities of those who resort to commandeering planes. One anecdote Koerner cites is worth bringing up in the context of Mustafa's alleged gambit. In 1971, Richard Obergfell, a former Navy aviation mechanic, hijacked a flight en route from New York to Chicago in an attempt to reach a pen pal in Italy, a woman with whom he had fallen in love. "He also applied for a job with Alitalia; when his application was rejected, he concocted an illicit scheme to reach his beloved pen pal in Milan." "Finally we have reached the end of the nightmare, the end of the crisis and there is light at the end of the tunnel," he told Fairfax Media. Cairo: Ten months after losing control of the ancient oasis city of Palmyra, Syrian forces recaptured it from the hands of the so-called Islamic State at the weekend. "This is not just a celebration for the Syrian people only but it's a global cultural battle, a civilisational one that matters to all Syrians without any distinctions between those who are loyalists or in opposition," he added. The ancient ruins of Palmyra are on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Credit:SANA via AP But amid the messages of support from world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, others in Palmyra - known in Arabic as Tadmur - are afraid of what is to come. A 30-year-old activist from the anti-Assad Palmyra Revolutionary Coordination Committee, who asked to be referred to as Abdul Majd al-Tadmuri, told Fairfax Media "the regime wants to show the whole world with Russian support that they are the only force that can stand up against IS's barbarity ... but that's not true". The local opposition group, which started in July 2011 after the revolution against Dr Assad turned bloody, still receives footage from activists on the ground using satellite phones in hidden sites around the city. It said in a statement that Russian raids over a week had destroyed half of Palmyra's infrastructure. Hong Kong: Donald Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea should take more responsibility for their defence, including possibly developing their own nuclear weapons, has provoked worries in Asia about the potential for a regional arms race. Thousands of US troops are stationed in Japan and South Korea as part of mutual defence treaties. The arrangement puts US forces close to China and Russia and on the front lines of any possible conflict with North Korea. The allegiances are often described as cornerstones for regional defence. Mr Trump, the Republican presidential front runner, said in an interview on Friday with The New York Times that he would be open to withdrawing US forces from Japan and South Korea if those countries were not willing to pay more to keep those forces stationed in their countries. "I would not do so happily, but I would be willing to do it," he said. Maybe it was his soothing tours of food-covered obstacle courses, or his pairing of tan suits with white sneakers, but Marc Summers carries a special torch of nostalgia for a generation of kids raised on Nickelodeon's Double Dare. The slime-obsessed game show turns 30 this year about the same age as Summers' latest collaborators, composer Drew Gasparini and School of Rock star Alex Brightman, who also happen to be two card-carrying "Double Dare kids" (Summers' own affectionate term for fans of the show). Brightman carved out time from his Broadway schedule to write the TV personality a one-man show Everything in Its Place: The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers, debuting this April, with original music by Gasparini, at Bloomington Playwrights Project in Bloomington, Indiana. "I'd take him and Drew to dinner and just tell stories about my life," says Summers. "The next thing I know, I get handed this sixty-five page script." Marc Summers (right) with School of Rock star Alex Brightman, who penned Summers' solo show Everything in Its Place: The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers. ( Marc Summers Productions) What kind of show did you set out to make with Alex Brightman and Drew Gasparini? There are a hell of a lot of people who don't have any idea who Marc Summers is, so the edict from day one was, "This better be a damn good show." It had to be entertaining. And so we have a little secret that I'm not going to reveal right now that makes it more than a one-man show. But we go down memory lane. I start off as a standup comic and I do part of my act from 1976 when I was a regular at the Comedy Store. It talks about [when] I was thirteen years old and I started calling The Tonight Show in New York trying to talk to Johnny Carson. And then my fight to get on TV. Everybody told me I was not good-looking enough, I had a big nose, [I didn't] have "host hair." Was acting ever a goal, or did you always want to be a television host? A little bit of both. In 1964 I went to New York for the first time and I saw Fiddler on the Roof and I went, "Oh my God, I don't know what this is, but I need to do that." So I went home and I [found] a group called Footlight Musicals that did local productions, and I auditioned for Bye Bye Birdie. I made the chorus, and to this day I'm pissed that I didn't get into the "Telephone Hour" scene. But then I figured, "OK, what's the next step?" And the next step was magic. I learned how to be a magician and it got me onstage. How did you end up getting the job at Double Dare? I had a friend who was a ventriloquist at the time, and he called me and said, "I don't think I want to be talent anymore[but] I just got called[for] some kind of game show. Why don't you go to the audition instead of me?" And I did and it changed my life. Screen cap of Marc Summers hosting an episode of Nickelodeon's Double Dare. ( YouTube) Your book Everything in Its Place talks about your challenges with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Does the play address that as well? Yes, that's an underlying theme. OCD was something that I had from the time that I was about five, six years old, and I didn't know what the hell it was so I always hid it. It wasn't until I was hosting a talk show on Lifetime where Doctor Eric Hollander came on. As I was doing the research the night before, [I] realized that all these crazy things I'd been doing since I was a kid had a name. So I go on national TV and say, "Hey, I think I have this." And my whole career crashes and burns. All of a sudden I couldn't get a job. How did you end up making your way to the Food Network? Well, Judy Girard [head of programming at Food Network] was the lady who had fired me at Lifetime. So I called her up and said, "Judy, I will pay you to get back on TV." They showed me this tape of a pilot they had done for a special called Unwrapped, and they said, "You wanna do this show?" And I said, "Yeah." And it became the longest-running show on Food Network. Believe it or not, Unwrapped was the number one show on the Food Network for about five years. Are you excited to take all your TV experience and bring it to the stage? When I was flying here from Philly, I really started having a panic attack saying, "Holy sh*t, this is really gonna happen now." I could tell you a lot about television, but the last time I was on a stagewas thirty years ago. How involved with the show can Alex Brightman be while doing School of Rock? He's involved every freaking moment. That was my question when this whole thing happened. I suggested that we shut this thing down for a year and he said, "I can get it done." And he did it. I don't know when Alex sleeps. This kid is amazing. He's wise beyond his years, and as great of an actor as he is, I think he's even a better writer. Considering the impact Fiddler and Bye Bye Birdie had on you as a kid, you must be coming into this as a theater fan. I'm a lover of theater. I just saw Hamilton holy Jesus. As I'm sitting down in the seats, the company manager says, "After the show, Mister Miranda would like to know if he could meet you." So I went backstage afterwards, semi-pooping my pants. And then [Lin] sees me over stage right and comes over and gives me the biggest hug. Well, he was a Double Dare kid! I had no freaking idea. People say to me, "I'm sure you're tired of hearing it." I never get tired of hearing it. Most amazing night of theater. Lin, genius was truly experienced tonite. #Lin-Manuel Miranda pic.twitter.com/Sh3BBEYHYI Marc Summers (@Ibatvmc) February 24, 2016 Rarely have the characters of Anton Chekhov felt as alive as they do in Stupid F**king Bird, Aaron Posner's "sort of" adaptation of The Seagull at the Pearl Theatre Company. That may seem a little weird, considering that the denizens of the Russian masterpiece are famously "in mourning" for their lives. But worry not; the occupants of Posner's vital 2013 comedy are just as exquisitely miserable as Chekhov's. However, unlike the individuals in typical productions of The Seagull, this play's characters speak with a distinctly contemporary tongue. An exhilarating deconstruction of the Russian dramatist's masterwork, Stupid F**king Bird not only rebuilds The Seagull for modern-day audiences, but also uses it as a lens to further explore the idea essential to Chekhov's character Konstantin: that in order for something to stay relevant, it needs to break free of its confines and find new methods. Which is exactly what Stupid F**cking Bird does. Posner, with director Davis McCallum and an exceptional company headed by Christopher Sears, is creating a new kind of theater, one where the characters are simultaneously "real" people living in the world of the play, while also being fully aware that they are performing for an audience. And it's absolutely thrilling. Marianna McClellan plays Nina, with Erik Lochtefeld as Doyle Trigorin, in the Pearl Theatre Company production of Aaron Posner's Stupid F**king Bird, directed by Davis McCallum. ( Russ Rowland) Sears is Conrad, a theater artist with a desperate desire to push the form into the boundaries of the experimental. He chooses to premiere his new "Site Specific Performance Event" for the wrong audience, one made up of his impatient movie-star mother, Emma (Bianca Amato), and her lover, the noted writer Doyle Trigorin (Erik Lochtefeld). Conrad falls into despair, compounded by the knowledge that the longtime object of his affection and leading lady, Nina (Marianna McClellan), is much more taken with the older, famous Doyle. The Chekovian blueprint is very much intact characters on the periphery include Mash (Joey Parsons), a cook desperately in love with Con; Con's observant best friend, Dev (Joe Paulik); and Emma's physician brother, Eugene Sorn (Dan Daily) and the gist of the dialogue is in a similar vein to the original, down to the references to Hamlet. Yet the fourth wall breaks as soon as the actors walk onto a stage that consists of little more than the title printed on a series of interlocking flats (Sandra Goldmark created this universe, which eventually shape-shifts into something more naturalistic). "The play will begin when someone says 'start the f**king play,'" Con says to us, adding an unexpected feeling of danger. "We all see damn near everything you ever do out there, all of you," he later rails at us as the lines of performer and spectator are blurred inexorably. His acknowledgement of our existence as we recognize his is what makes Stupid F**king Bird so exciting. It allows the great agonies of the people onstage to feel real and honest in a way that the original rarely does. McCallum's vibrant production, with contemporary costumes by Amy Clark and lighting by Mike Inwood that further blurs the lines between "us" and "them," is incomparably well cast. Newcomer Sears is fantastically engaging as Con, whose dreams for a new kind of theater echo many of ours. Amato brings an imposing sexiness to the cold and oblivious Emma, while Daily expertly captures the pathos of a man who spent his life not really living. The coquettish McClellan is the Nina of our dreams; she shares a steamy chemistry with Lochtefeld, whose Doyle disarmingly transforms from a seemingly nice guy to a total jerk. Paulik and Parsons complete the ensemble with a sweet and sad air of self-awareness. If there's one complaint, it's that Stupid F**king Bird has a tendency to sag in its midsection, the momentum slowed by the appearance of several monologues. But in terms of sheer originality and emotional resonance, this Bird is anything but stupid. RICHMOND, Va.CarMax and its auto finance division, CarMax Auto Finance, have been awarded a 2016 Top Workplaces honor by The Atlanta Journal Constitution and ranked 5th of Atlanta's top 25 large companies. More than 1,400 companies in the Atlanta area applied for this award and 150 were recognized. aBeing named one of Atlantaas Top Workplaces is a wonderful achievement for CarMax and CarMax Auto Finance,a??? said Jon Daniels, senior vice president of operations at CarMax Auto Finance (CAF). aThis award is a credit to the thousands of associates that together have built a culture of integrity, teamwork and transparency we believe is second to none.a??? The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including alignment, execution, and connection. CarMax has nine stores in Georgia, and the Atlanta metro area is home to seven of them as well as to CAF, which has been in operation since 1993 and offers competitive financing solely to CarMax customers. Industry sources have ranked CAF as the country's 8th largest used auto finance company and 14th largest auto finance company overall, based on market share. CarMax has more than 1,650 associates working in the Atlanta area, including 655 that are located at CAF. aBehind every CarMax stress-free customer experience is a dedicated, hard-working team of associates,a??? said Kevin Cox, regional vice president, general manager of the Atlanta region. aWe place a strong focus on providing developmental opportunities for everyone in the company, and on taking care of our associates by offering a healthy work-life balance and excellent benefits.a??? aThe Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. And oftentimes, people assume itas all about fancy perks and benefits,a??? says Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. aBut to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every dayathe employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that whatas most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how itas going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together.a??? Claffey adds, aWithout this sense of connection, an organization doesnat have a shot at being named a Top Workplace.a??? CarMax continues to grow and plans to open between 13 and 16 stores each year for the next two years. The company is currently hiring for more than 1,600 positions across the country including 64 positions in Atlanta store locations and 36 positions at CarMax Auto Finance. Interested candidates should visit jobs.carmax.com to learn more and apply today. About CarMax CarMax, a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P 500, and one of the Fortune a100 Best Companies to Work ForAa??? for 12 consecutive years, is the nationas largest retailer of used vehicles. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, CarMax currently operates 158 superstores in 78 markets. The CarMax consumer offer features low, no-haggle prices, a broad selection of CarMax Quality Certified used vehicles, and superior customer service. During the 12 months ending February 28, 2015, the company retailed 582,282 used cars and sold 376,186 wholesale vehicles at our in-store auctions. For more information, access the CarMax website at www.carmax.com Contacts Media Contact Jennifer Bartusiak, CarMax Public Relations, pr@carmax.com Twitter: @CarMax, Facebook: facebook.com/CarMax PUNE, India, March 28, 2016 -- According to the new market research report "Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market by Charging Station (AC Charging Station, DC Charging Station, Inductive Charging Station), Connector Type (Chademo, CCS, Others), Location (Public, Private), and Geography - Global Trend and Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to reach USD 12.61 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 29.8% between 2016 and 2022. Browse 69 Tables and 64 Figures spread through 146 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/electric-vehicle-charging-stations-market-21599205.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Factors which are driving the electric vehicle charging stations market include government subsidies and incentives, increasing use of EVs, and the growing need to reduce carbon emissions. "Battery electric vehicles expected to lead the electric vehicle market between 2016 and 2022" The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) categorizes battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as zero-emission vehicles because they produce no direct emissions. BEVs use no other fuel; the widespread use of these vehicles could significantly reduce the petroleum consumption. Further, BEVs have several other advantages such as comparatively longer driving range than PHEVs, smooth operation, stronger acceleration, and less maintenance than ICEs. "AC charging stations expected to lead the electric vehicle charging stations market" AC charging stations are expected to hold the largest share of the electric vehicle charging stations market during the forecast period. AC chargers are less expensive, convenient, and require less modification or upgrades as they work on 120V or 240 V AC, which is same as that used for residences. Thus, a majority of EV owners prefer AC chargers over DC fast chargers. "Market for public charging stations expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022" The demand for public charging stations is increasing in the market. These public charging stations are located at on-street parking lots, taxi stands, retail stores, government offices, and parking lots of work places, hotels, airports, shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and coffee shops. Some public charging stations offer free charging and others could charge a fee. "APAC expected to be the largest market for electric vehicle charging stations during the forecast period" APAC is expected to lead the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Market between 2016 and 2022. The growth is attributed to high EV infrastructure spending and the increasing use of electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Further, governments in the region are investing a large amount for the R&D related to EVs and the expansion of the charging infrastructure as a key for a transformation to a "low carbon society". Major players involved in the development of electric vehicle charging stations include ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), AeroVironment Inc. (U.S.), ChargePoint Inc. (U.S.), Delphi Automotive Plc.(U.K.), Eaton Corp. Plc. (Republic of Ireland), Elektromotive Limited (U.K.), GE Company (U.S.), Pod Point Ltd. (U.K.), Schneider Electric SE (France), SemaConnect Inc. (U.S.), Siemens AG (Germany), and Tesla Motors Inc. (U.S.). Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=21599205 This research report categorizes the electric vehicle market on the basis of vehicle type and region; and describes the electric vehicle battery market on the basis of types. This research report categorizes the global electric vehicle charging stations market based on charging station, connector type, location, and region. This report describes the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges for the growth of the electric vehicle charging stations market. 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 electric vehicle charging stations market. Browse Related Reports Automotive Sensors Market by Type (Temperature, Position, Inertial, Pressure, Image, and Others), Application (Powertrain, Chassis, Exhaust, Body Electronics, Safety & Control, Telematics, and Others), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/automotive-sensors-market-426.html Solid State Battery Market by Type (Thin-Film, Portable Battery), Capacity, Application (Consumer Electronics, Electric Vehicles, Medical Devices, Packaging, RFID, Smart Card, Wearable Devices, Wireless Devices), and Region - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/solid-state-battery-market-164577856.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is world's No. 2 firms in terms of annual 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. President Truong Tan Sang and Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavad (Source: VNA) The Lao official is in Vietnam on a working visit that aimed to review the countries joint coordination, particularly in the field of investment. President Truong Tan Sang suggested the two countries set forth specific programs to actualise reached high-level commitments as well as guidelines drawn up by the two Parties leaders. Deputy PM Somsavad Lengsavad, for his part, informed his host about results of the talks between the two Governments. The Party, State and people of Laos appreciate Vietnams assistance, which is increasing, to deal with obstacles amidst complicated regional and global situations, he said. The official proposed the two sides continue their coordination mechanism and create optimal conditions for their ministries, agencies and localities to step up their affiliation. The Lao Deputy PM said a number of Vietnamese enterprises are encountering a range of difficulties due to fluctuating prices, suggesting Government leaders work with each other to seek ways to remove such problems./. Director disqualified over 300,000 displaced funds THE director of a Sheffield private security business has been disqualified from directorship for five years after funds of more than 300,000 from the firm made their way to third parties. The Insolvency Service found that director Anthony Southwood of Bishop Auckland breached his duty to act in the best interests of the company. Creditors suffered as a result of the payment of 314,588 to third parties, including HMRC. The Secretary of State accepted a disqualification for Mr Southwood, effective from 23 March 2016, for 5 years. The private security business, which had its registered address on Scotland Street in Sheffield, went into liquidation on 11 March 2014. Following an investigation by the Insolvency Service, it was found that the company failed to submit VAT returns and pay VAT due. The company instead made payments to vehicle auction houses and a used car dealership totalling 164,830. The company also paid a third party a total of 115,311 over the space of seven months. On 24 January 2014, Mr Southwood sought insolvency advice but on the same date caused a payment of 34,447 to be made to a further third party. In total, 314,588 went from Logicals bank account with no explanation for the transfers and payments. At the date of liquidation, Logical Security UK Ltd had liabilities of at least 170,680, but only 10,500 in cash at the bank. No vehicle assets have been disclosed to or recovered by the liquidator. Sue Macleod, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: Company directors should note from this enforcement result that any failure to maintain or deliver up accounting records is likely to lead to serious censure. In this particular case, Mr Southwood was requested to explain the nature and purpose of a number of transactions or deliver up accounting records that were capable of explaining this, Mr Southwood failed to do this. University faces backlash after college deal collapse THE University of Hull is facing a backlash after a deal with Hull College Group over its Scarborough campus fell through. Students are protesting at the ghost town that the campus has turned into following the collapse of the deal in January. They are demanding the return of their fees, of 9,000 a year, following plans by Professor Calie Pistorius (the second cousin of former Olympian Oscar Pistorius, currently serving out his sentence under house arrest for the murder of his girlfriend). 600 second and third-year students currently study at the seaside campus, a third of the number of students that studied there when it opened in 2010. Next year it will house only final-year undergraduates. The University of Hull announced that the Scarborough campus would close in April 2014. In November 2014, the University announced plans to transition the campus to Hull College Group. However in January this year, the group announced it would not be taking over the Filey Road site. At the time it said: The University of Hull and Hull College Group have now decided not to progress with their strategic partnership in Scarborough. The University of Hull is now reviewing the options for the future of its Scarborough campus on Filey Road. Current students of the University of Hull will continue their studies, at the campus, as normal until the July 2017 Graduation. The excellent student experience and learning environment will be maintained throughout. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Matthew Tetreault feels it would be a disservice to southeastern Manitoba if his debut title romanticized life in the rural upbringing that shaped him. What Happened on the Bloodvein, a collection of short stories grounded in and around St Antoinettea stand-in for his hometown of Ste Annedepicts an unflinching portrayal of those who call the not-so-innocent prairie home. The region is more colourful and complex than a romantic portrayal of it and so by starting to show some of the stories, the craziness of the region, I hope Im doing it justice in a way, said Tetreault on the phone from Edmonton. Obviously, Im showing the warts first, but I think thats where the interesting stories lie. SUBMITTED PHOTO The debut novel of Ste Anne-born author Matthew Tetreault delves into a fictional retelling of life in southeastern Manitoba. Tetreault, 32, said the old adage to write what you know helped inspire him to root his short story compilation in southeastern Manitoba. Plus, he figured the wide open spaces of the Southeast had untapped potentialoutside Miriam Toews award-winning A Complicated Kindness, few fiction narratives have tapped this region for inspiration, said Tetreault, whose debut was released in December. He notes what interests him about southeastern Manitoba is the clashing of culturesthe intertwining of Francophone, Metis persons like himself with those of Mennonite or Ukrainian background, and how they found a peaceful coexistence. (The stories) represent peoples experiences of that place, of that geography, he said. I didnt want to present perfect people living in a perfect place. I wanted to represent more realistic people and their daily struggles, essentially, through that environment. Tetreault spoke of one culture conflict materializing on his playground growing up. Then a student at Pointe des Chenes, Ste Annes French school, fights erupted in the field the school shared with the neighbouring English school over Quebecs referendum for independence in 1995. We didnt understand really what was going on, recalls Tetreault. We were just carrying these stories and these ideas, these ideologies, because of our parents and were battling because of it. The various tales the book displays range from a womans dangerous adventure with her new suitor to a man hell-bent on shooting a coyote approaching too close to his home and a father dabbling in the drug trade to afford his daughters music lessons. Some of the characters, explain Tetreault, struggle with where their life is heading. Not knowing what they want, who they are and where theyre going. The back cover teases one common dilemma on the lure of the big city. She had told me she was going back to school and was thinking of moving to Winnipeg, the narrator says of a girl hes seeing. I wasnt sure what I wanted. The assorted stories took shape while Tetreault was studying creative writing at the University of Winnipeg. He explains he was fortunate to be selected for the Manitoba Writers Guilds Sheldon Oberman Mentorship Program, where he spent half a year collaborating with an established author, Dave Williamson, and honing his work. His manuscript was nearly complete when graduating from U of W in 2014. He moved on to complete a masters in English at the University of Alberta, where he remains. He expects to pursue a PhD in English at U of A this fall. His parents, Maurice and Paulette, remain in Ste Anne, and living in the area are also his sister Melissa and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. A big French Canadian family, notes the first-time author. Tetreault said his next book might be based upon the thesis he is now writing, a bilingual novel exploring Francophone and Metis identity. Whatever shape his next title takes, Tetreault is sure to revel in the creative process. I get a lot of enjoyment from writing these, so I dont see why I would stop at this point, said Tetreault. What Happened on the Bloodvein can be purchased at McNally Robinson. The publisher, Pemmican Publications, also has copies available at its office at 150 Henry Avenue in Winnipeg. You can contact Pemmican at 204-944-9620. Five of the seven Vietnamese boats seized in Thailand (Source: Second Naval Area) Earlier, Thailands media said 38 Vietnamese fishermen aboard seven vessels have been arrested for illegal fishing off Koh Kra, an island 30 nautical miles from the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat province. They were later handed over to Songkhla police for legal action. The ambassador told Vietnam News Agency reporters in Bangkok that immediately after learning about the incident, the Embassy contacted Thai relevant agencies, the navy and Songkhla province administration to verify the information. It was confirmed that the fishing boats, from the Mekong Delta provinces of Kien Giang, Tien Giang and Ca Mau, have been detained and accused of violating Thailands waters. The embassys staff set up a hotline with the management board of the prison in Songkhla province, through which they keep contact with the prison and the detained fishermen, he added. On March 28th afternoon, the embassy sent its officials to the prison to meet all the fishermen, he said. The same day, the fishermen were handed over to the court for trial, and the judgment is expected to be issued soon./. ISTANBUL The Obama administration became on Tuesday the latest Western government to move to protect its citizens in an increasingly volatile Turkey, ordering some 700 family membersand almost 300 petsof military personnel to leave the country because of the danger of imminent terrorist attacks. The Pentagon said family members of military staff at the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey, which serves as a launch pad for attacks on the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in nearby Syria, would be evacuated, as would families at two smaller bases in Izmir and in Mugla in western Turkey. The Stars and Stripes reported around 670 people and 287 pets would start leaving Turkey on Wednesday. In a separate statement, the State Department updated its travel warning for Turkey and said there were increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey and ordered family members of staff at the U.S. consulate in Adana, near Incirlik, as well as family members of staff posted in Izmir and Mugla, to leave. Official State Department travel to Turkey was restricted to mission-critical, the statement said. It was not known what triggered the U.S. action, but there is a growing sense in Turkey that something is up. On Monday, Israel called on all its citizens in Turkey to leave as soon as possible because of a threat of jihadist attacks. Sky News reported ISIS militants were in the advanced stages of planning an attack against Jewish schoolchildren, especially in Istanbul. There was no confirmation, but Israels President Reuven Rivlin said on Tuesday he was very worried about the information we are receiving. Turkeys small Jewish community became the target of a Turkish Al-Qaeda cell in 2003, when militants drove truck bombs into two synagogues in Istanbul. The jihadists also attacked the British Consulate and a British-owned bank in the city, killing more than 60 people in total. This time, ISIS is on the prowl. A Turkish ISIS supporter killed three Israelis and one Iranian in a suicide attack on Istanbuls busiest shopping street, Istiklal Caddesi, on March 19. In the days before that attack, Germany, citing a concrete terror threat, closed its consulate in Istanbul and its embassy in Ankara as well as German schools in the two cities. The Dutch consulate in Istanbul was also closed for several days. The government in The Hague said Dutch citizens should avoid the area around the consulate, which lies on Istiklal Caddesi. Turkey has seen four deadly suicide attacks since the start of the year. Like the Istiklal attack on March 19, a suicide attack killing 12 German tourists in Istanbuls old town on Jan. 12 was blamed on ISIS. A splinter group of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed almost 70 people in two car bomb attacks in Ankara, on Feb. 17 and March 13. News reports in mid-March said security measures at Incirlik base had been strengthened in light of those attacks. The security level was raised to the second-highest level. The base is used by the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Lying just 100 kilometers west of the Syrian border, the base offers aircraft of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition quick access to the skies over regions controlled by jihadists in Syria. Turkeys Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said his country was caught in the middle of a ring of fire and that security forces had foiled several attacks, although he refused to say exactly how many. Meanwhile, the opposition in Ankara says the government and the intelligence agencies have clearly failed in their efforts to keep Turks safe. The constant fear of new attacks has led to panic. In Istanbul, police closed one of the motorway bridges across the Bosphorus two weeks ago after a man abandoned his car on the bridge. It later turned out that the car had run out of gas. Several people in Turkeys biggest city said they were afraid to use public transport and were avoiding crowds as well as the city center. We are thinking about moving into another part of town so my husband does not have to get the bus to get to work, a teacher said. Some Turkish media have begun to publish advice to their readers on how to behave after a terrorist attack. News reports said the latest warnings of impending ISIS attacks in Turkey were sparked by results of an interrogation of six suspected ISIS members in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border. The reports said the suspects, four Syrians and two Turks, had been planning a car bomb attack in Turkey. ISIS is known to have several cells in Turkey. Last year, members of one of those groups killed more than 100 people in a double suicide bombing at a political rally of Kurds and leftist groups in Ankara. Back then, critics accused the Turkish government of having ignored warning signs before the attack. Opposition politicians say Ankara has been supporting Islamist militants in Syria in the hope of toppling President Bashar al-Assad, a charge that Ankara denies. "In MENA countries (Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Jordan), foreign technology plays a big part in the ability to export," says Jan Michalek.This can be put down to innovation, since the companies regularly launch new products and invest huge sums in research and development. "We also note that they work with universities," points out Alfred Tovias, who also mentions another peculiarity, "In Tunisia and Morocco, it's not the newly-founded companies who export. These foreign-owned Tunisian start-ups are an integral part of the international production chain. They export finished and semi-finished products. The traditional firms from before the transition concentrated on the domestic market."A specialist in economic relations in Mediterranean countries, Alfred Tovias joined the FEMISE at its inception in 1996. In the studies he has carried out for the FEMISE, he has worked with universities in Europe (France, Poland) and the Mediterranean (Morocco, Turkey). In 2005, he published a study on the Israeli economy in association with economists from both sides of the Mediterranean.* To find out more on the FEMISE conference, click here After routing Hillary Clinton in three western-state Democratic caucuses, Bernie Sanders still faces daunting delegate math and a road ahead dominated by big-state primaries that have been the weakest link in his campaign. The Vermont senator's campaign is billing his decisive victories Saturday in Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii as the start of a second-half comeback in the nomination. When word reached him that he'd won in Washington state's caucuses, getting 73 percent of the vote, Sanders was holding a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, a liberal bastion and college town. "That is what momentum is about," he told the crowd of about 8,100. But past contests have demonstrated that while momentum keeps donations flowing from devoted supporters, it doesn't necessarily lead to votes, victories, or delegates. After Sanders' upset victory in Michigan on March 8, he raised more than $5 million in a day, but went on to lose all five contests the following Tuesday. And despite significantly closing the gap with Clinton in national polls, Sanders has struggled to translate that into winning in bigger states with larger delegate hauls. "It's not about momentum, it's about math to get the nomination," said Clinton deputy press secretary Jesse Ferguson. That makes the next two contests, Wisconsin and New York, high stakes for Sanders. To threaten Clinton's grip on the Democratic nomination-she leads him by 268 pledged delegates-Sanders needs to win both states and win them by substantial margins. "He's been doing well enough to keep the small donations coming and his supporters energized, and he'll be able to continue to do that all the way through to the convention," said Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist who ran Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign. "But that won't get him anywhere closer to the nomination than he has been." Sanders plans to campaign nearly non-stop in Wisconsin until the state's April 5 primary, when he'll turn his full attention to New York, which votes two weeks later, on April 19. He announced four Wisconsin rallies scheduled across the state on Tuesday and Wednesday. Clinton countered with plans for campaign stops in the state Monday and Tuesday. "When Bernie has the opportunity to spend a lot of time in a state it moves voters," said Sanders' campaign manager, Jeff Weaver. At this point it's unclear which candidate has the edge in Wisconsin, while Clinton is favored in New York, which twice elected her to the U.S. Senate. A landline-only poll released last week by Emerson College found Clinton up by 6 percentage points in Wisconsin, but the state's demographics are similar to those where Sanders has performed best in the past. Wisconsin also has open primaries and same-day registration, making it easier for independent voters, who have favored Sanders, to vote. In New York, Sanders will have none of those advantages. The state has a closed primary, and the deadline for voters to register as Democrats was in October, months before Sanders proved to be competitive in Iowa and New Hampshire. And unlike Wisconsin, which is 82.2 percent white according to the 2014 census data, New York state is 56.5 percent white. New York City, where about 43 percent of the state's residents live, is 33.3 percent white. Clinton has consistently outperformed Sanders with minorities. The Sanders campaign acknowledges that the senator's odds would be better if New York had an open primary, but believes they can make inroads with the various minority groups in the state. Specifically, Sanders' stance on the Puerto Rican debt crisis could resonate with Puerto Rican voters, and anti-Clinton sentiments in the Haitian community may create an opening, Weaver said. "People want to know that Bernie's message, Bernie's agenda, will benefit their community and help their family members, and so that's going to be one of the things we emphasize in New York," Weaver said. While polling has shown that Clinton continues to face hurdles winning over some Sanders supporters, that hasn't hurt her in New York. In a mid-March landline-only Emerson poll Clinton led Sanders by 48 percentage points, and her net favorability was 67 points, while Sanders' was just 37 points. "New York is the state that voted for Jesse Jackson in '88-it certainly is not a state that doesn't vote its heart," said Scott Levenson, a Democratic consultant based out of New York. "But it's clear now that New York's heart is with Hillary Clinton." Levenson said that while Sanders would get votes in some of Manhattan's more liberal areas, Clinton has also proven her ability to win votes in those areas. To significantly cut into Clinton's delegate lead, Sanders would need to win by a large margin and net a majority of the state's 247 pledged delegates. "We think we've got a real shot in New York. And then we go out to California. You go out to Oregon. That's the most progressive part of America. We think we're going to do very well there," Sanders said Sunday on ABC's This Week program. In addition to his big win in Washington, Sanders got 70 percent of the vote in Hawaii and 82 percent in Alaska, the Associated Press reported. Those victories followed similarly lopsided results in Utah and Idaho on March 22. Though Sanders picked up 55 delegates Saturday to Clinton's 20, she still holds a commanding lead with 1,712 delegates of the 2,383 needed for a first-ballot nomination at the party's national convention at Philadelphia in July. That includes 469 superdelegates, Democratic office holders and party officials who aren't bound by results from primaries and caucuses. Sanders has 1,004 total delegates. While the Sanders campaign argues that superdelegates, which have so far strongly favored Clinton, could flip to him because of momentum or a sense of electability, Clinton allies are doubtful, not least of all because they believe Clinton will go into the convention with a sizable pledged delegate and popular vote edge. 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 As the Greens have one MP, three MEPs (a number increased at the last election), and a great many local councillors all over the country, the Greens easily fulfil the first criterion. We can only assume, therefore, that the party was deemed not to measure up to the rather more nebulous second condition. But this judgment simply doesn't add up. The BBC Trust has also blandly dismissed the Greens' appeal against the decision: "After careful examination of the evidence, Trustees found the BBC Executive had properly applied the Party Political Broadcast (PPB) allocation criteria when it determined the Party was not eligible for a broadcast on the BBC in England. The appeal was therefore not upheld." The BBC has granted UKIP three PPBs, the Greens have none UKIP and the Greens are both considered political outsiders, and both enjoyed their first major election success at the same time, winning seats in the European Parliament in 1999. Although the parties are poles apart politically, it is useful to compare them as a measure of the corporation's hypocrisy on the issue of PPBs. The BBC's criteria mention past support. While both parties had their first MEPs elected together, Caroline Lucas has been in Westminster since 2010, while UKIP had their first MP elected only in 2014. And while Lucas worked tirelessly for many years to build up the Green Party's support base, UKIP's Douglas Carswell merely crossed the floor from the Tory Party, managing to take his voters with him in the subsequent by-election. And current support? In 2015, the Green Party gained over a million votes, increasing their vote share by nearly three percentage points. It will be pointed out that UKIP gained rather more votes than the Greens. Yet before the last election, UKIP's position was considerably stronger than it is today. UKIP a lame duck? Even then, Cameron's pledge of an EU referendum had taken much of the wind from their sails. Yet he had made the pledge precisely for this reason, and UKIP voters knew it - he was no Eurosceptic. UKIP could therefore convince supporters that Cameron couldn't be trusted to make good on his promise in a straightforward way. Now, with June's impeding referendum casting a long shadow over the May elections, Eurosceptics are in no doubt they will have their vote, and soon. UKIP risks becoming an irrelevant lame duck. After the election, it was reported the party was in financial meltdown as members left in their droves. Last week Suzanne Evans, one of UKIP's few semi-credible figures, was virtually drummed out of the party - incredibly, she has been suspended for 6 months from membership - amid massive internal divisions. The Green Party's support base, meanwhile, is the product of years of careful work. Jenny Jones served the London Assembly since 2000, before being made a working Peer in 2013. Sian Berry, the party's candidate for London Mayor, one of the key battles to be fought in May, already holds elected office in London on Camden Council, and gained the backing of the Independent and Observer newspapers in her 2008 Mayoral Campaign. The good news? The success of the SNP at the last election showed the appetite for a more pluralistic politics, and their MPs have so far been a breath of fresh air at Westminster. In shutting out the Greens, the BBC has chosen once again to take a conservative stance, standing against this much-needed shift towards greater political diversity. The good news is that last year, the efforts by broadcasters to exclude the Green Party backfired: it was one of the factors that led to its surge in membership. People were rightly outraged that alternative voices were not being heard, and ironically, the controversy created a platform that allowed the party to get its message across. With your help, the BBC's backward failure to consider the Green point of view could backfire again this year. Over 25,000 people have already signed the petition demanding the BBC fulfill its obligation of impartiality, and #InviteTheGreens to have Party Political Broadcasts. With the public on their side, the decision to shut out the Greens may again blow up in the Corporation's face - as our new video (see embed, above) argues. Just as with the previous controversy, this is emphatically not just an issue for Green sympathisers: it's about creating the opportunity for a genuine debate that does not shy away from radical alternative views. It's about a proper debate at these important elections. It's about real freedom of speech. And now another decision for the BBC is coming up - over the 2016 Party Election Broadcasts that come in the run-up to 5th May election day. The BBC has already published its criteria but the has yet to announce its decision, though provisional allocations suggest the Greens will get two election broadcasts in England and none in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the Greens are poised to massively increase their numbers of MSPs. The Greens are on the NI Assembly already, and have their best ever chance of breaking through onto the Welsh Assembly. But all this might in effect be denied, by the BBC's perverse decision on Party Political Broadcasts, already made, and its likely decision on Party Election Broadcasts. The BBC should quickly reconsider its position and avoid repeating its earlier mistake. Please help it to do so. Petition: 'BBC: Don't shut out the Greens!' Twitter: #InvitetheGreens Crowdfunder: 'Don't let them silence the Green Party!' Rupert Read was Green Party candidate for Cambridge in the 2015 General Election. Bennet Francis is an MPhil Research Student in Philosophy at University College London. By the end of the decade only one major new coal plant had broken ground in Montana, and plans to turn the state into a large-scale coal sacrifice zone were in tatters. Then, in the 1980s, the coal industry proposed a new Tongue River Railroad to link northern Wyoming coal fields to existing Montana rail lines. The Tongue River Railroad The plan floundered for decades amid local opposition, but in 2011 the Tongue River Company was bought up by Arch Coal, BNSF Railways and Forrest Mars, Jr. Mars, who owns a private ranch in area, formerly opposed the railroad but apparently bought in with the understanding that the preferred route would be shortened to not cross his property. Instead of hauling Wyoming coal, this new version of the Tongue River Railroad would service Arch's Otter Creek mine. The coal industry would try again to turn Montana into a coal extraction colony. Their plan was helped along the previous year, in March 2010, when the Montana State Land Board, chaired by Gov. Schweitzer, voted on whether to lease state lands at Otter Creek to Arch. Ranchers concerned about damage to aquifers, high school students worried about climate change and other concerned citizens at the meeting urged the board to vote no. Just before the vote, activists from Northern Rockies Rising Tide disrupted proceedings by chaining themselves to Land Board members' desks. The protest drew attention to what was at stake. But Land Board members reconvened and voted 3-2 in favour of the lease. Now all Arch needed to break ground was a mining permit from the state, and a permit to build the Tongue River Railroad from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. The battle lines were drawn. From Tongue River to the coast What happened at Otter Creek would affect communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Coal train traffic through the area was already up, hauling coal from existing Wyoming and Montana mines to British Columbia ports. If Otter Creek and a series of proposed new coal export terminals in the United States were built, the number of these trains would skyrocket. "I noticed more and more coal trains rumbling past my home", said Lowell Chandler, who was a senior at the University of Montana and lived next to the railroad in Missoula when I met him in 2011. "They were polluting my air with toxic diesel emissions and coal dust. Then I found out about the massive coal export proposals in my state and the Northwest region." In places like Missoula, disproportionately lower-income neighbourhoods are directly across the street from the railroad. An industrial yard used to refuel trains and connect and reconnect train cars is a major source of pollution. Residents told of sounds like bombs going off in the middle of the night as rail cars were joined together, of coal dust on their windowsills, and of choking on diesel fumes from idling locomotives. I joined Chandler and other UM students in starting a group called Blue Skies Campaign in 2011, to work in coordination with rail line neighbourhood residents and push back against the coal trains. Blue Skies' first action was a protest outside a Wells Fargo, at the time a major coal industry funder. Later we partnered with Northern Plains Resource Council and other groups on a coal trains forum that drew over 200 people. We organized to attend city council meetings, coordinated rallies, and held street theatre and protests. But we knew we had to do more. In August 2012, Blue Skies coordinated the largest energy-related nonviolent civil disobedience in Montana up to that time. The Coal Export Action, a five-day sit-in at the State Capitol, was a protest against leasing of state lands to coal companies. Twenty-three people were arrested and hundreds more attended to show support. "Before putting my body on the line during a sit-in, I had never participated in nonviolent civil disobedience", said Corey Bressler, a UM student arrested on the second day. "This swelling of people sent a powerful message to decision makers that Montanans and Americans want to shift away from fossil fuels toward a greener future." Protests in Otter Creek The next few years saw rail line communities turn to direct action repeatedly. Protests on the railroad tracks delayed coal trains, with a 2015 blockade preventing a train from entering downtown Missoula for almost an hour. In April 2014, 1,500 Montanans in more than a dozen communities rallied in a day of actions for clean energy. Other rallies and smaller protests occurred with increasing regularity. "There is personal power in a collaborative response to a shared threat," said Cate Campbell, a retired railroad brakeman from Frenchtown, Montana who was arrested multiple times. "In taking direct action I found an inner feeling of purpose and commitment." Meanwhile, Montana had just experienced some of its worst-ever droughts and fire seasons, moving climate change to the forefront of the coal debate. In 2013 a new group, 350 Missoula (a grassroots affiliate of the climate group 350.org) made stopping the Otter Creek mine its priority. The group, made up of retirees, teachers, nurses, educators and others, worked with Blue Skies to organize rallies and civil disobedience. They also pushed elected officials to take a side in the Otter Creek fight. In 2014, Missoula's City Council formally asked that environmental reviews for Otter Creek and the Tongue River Railroad include public hearings in Missoula. Local state legislators supported this request. In Whitefish (along Montana's northern rail line) groups like Glacier Climate Action persuaded their city council to take similar action. In the summer of 2015, the Surface Transportation Board opened a public comment period on the Tongue River Railroad. Activists in Missoula tabled at public events and street corners, gathering more than 4,000 written comments. Groups throughout the Northwest sent alerts to their members. Legislators and local governments, including the city of Missoula and Missoula County, submitted concerns about coal trains. Communities closest to the mine site mobilized. Public hearings in Ashland and Lame Deer, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, were attended by 100 and 300 people respectively (the total populations of Lame Deer and Ashland are about 1,000 and 800). Most attendees were Northern Cheyenne members opposed to the railroad. The coal industry had tried to win over residents with promises of jobs, but these efforts seemed to have failed miserably. Toward the end of the comment period, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Tongue River Railroad. More than 100,000 comments were submitted by groups opposed to the railroad before the comment period ended. That fall, over a hundred people representing most of Montana's major towns gathered at the State Capitol for a 'Keep It In The Ground' climate rally. Meanwhile, regional and global pressures on Arch Coal compounded local opposition to the mine, changing the equation in an approval process that had once seemed inevitable. The decline of King Coal In 2010, Arch Coal competitor Peabody announced that "coal's best days are ahead." However, it was clear even then that a combination of grassroots organizing, new regulations for polluting power plants, and falling prices for cleaner energy was causing US coal use to drop. What came as a surprise was that coal consumption in Asia, especially China, failed to make up for declining US demand. Some racism was implied in the coal industry's assumption that residents of China and India would willingly tolerate pollution levels unacceptable to North Americans. In fact, public concern about pollution created a crisis for the Chinese government. Last April, 10,000 people in China's Guangdong Province turned out to protest a recently-built coal plant. The government has begun closing mines, reducing coal imports and ramping up renewables. China's coal consumption declined 3% in 2014, and 4% in 2015. India's coal use is still growing, but new power plants have run into such fierce opposition that many will likely never be built. It turned out US coal companies couldn't even maintain export levels from a couple years ago. In 2015, Cloud Peak Energy announced it would stop exporting coal through British Columbia. In this environment, a series of announcements beginning late last year showed cracks forming in Arch's Otter Creek plans. In November, Arch announced it was asking the Surface Transportation Board to put the Tongue River Railroad permit review on hold. Companies rarely make requests like this when they are confident a review will go well for them. Statements from Arch claimed Otter Creek would still move forward, but an updated mining application Arch intended to file with the state in December never materialized. In January, Arch filed for bankruptcy. Arch was just the latest (and biggest) US coal company to go bankrupt in the last few years. The move was long anticipated, but now Montanans waited in suspense. Would this be the final blow to the Otter Creek mine, or would Arch find a way to salvage the project and turn the company's troubles around? On March 10, Arch announced it was suspending attempts to extract coal at Otter Creek. A statement released by Northern Plains Resource Council, from Otter Creek rancher Dawson Dunning, summed up the feelings of many locals: "Ranchers and irrigators in southeast Montana can sleep well knowing their water will be protected." A turning point? "How many times have I read about projects that would increase carbon emissions, and felt helpless to stop them?" said Marta Meengs, a nurse who helped start 350-Missoula. "Otter Creek was different. People's civil disobedience, tabling for public comments, and conversations with legislators actually showed results and helped stop what would have been one of the largest coal mines in North America." The defeat of the Otter Creek mine is one example of a larger, encouraging trend. Climate activists and land defenders are learning to take on the world's biggest energy companies, fight huge fossil fuel projects, and win. Every industry loss strengthens the position of activists going into the next round, just as declining coal consumption in China contributed to the Otter Creek victory. And the fossil fuel industry is losing more and more often, from Shell and Arctic oil to TransCanada and the Keystone XL Pipeline to Arch Coal and Otter Creek. The worldwide climate movement is driving down global carbon emissions in concrete, measurable ways. It's a grassroots movement where people lead and government officials follow (when they show up at all). There's still a long way to go before all remaining fossil fuels are left in the ground. But progress is undeniable, and we can expect more wins as the movement grows. In the words of Lee Metzgar, a retired biologist and member of 350-Missoula who participated in the Otter Creek protests: "Our political system has demonstrated its inability to find adequate solutions to the climate crisis. It is time for everyone who wants to leave future generations a liveable world to be in the streets." Nick Engelfried is an environmental writer and activist. He is currently an organizer for the Blue Skies Campaign in Missoula, Montana. This article was originally published by Waging Nonviolence and republished under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY). In April 2014, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a tiny island country part of Micronesia, filed groundbreaking lawsuits to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the world's nine nuclear-armed countries. Now, almost two years later, the ICJ has heard preliminary oral arguments in three of the cases. Between 1946 and 1958, 67 nuclear tests were conducted by the US in the Marshalls, making it one of the most contaminated places in the world. With a population of less than 70,000, the Islanders suffered greatly from the impact of radiation; the land and sea poisoned as well. In 1985, the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior helped to relocate the residents of one of the most severely impacted islands, Rongelap, after it became clear that high levels of radioactive contamination made most of the island unfit for habitation. This month, between 7-16 March 2016, the ICJ's panel of 16 judges heard oral arguments by the Marshall Islands and three respondent nations - the United Kingdom, India and Pakistan. Tony de Brum, Co-Agent of the Marshall Islands and former Foreign Minister, reminded the Court why the Marshall Islands, a small nation with limited resources that is seriously threatened by climate change, would bring these lawsuits against some of the world's most militarily powerful nations. 1,000 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb During the second day of the hearings, he recalled one occasion in 1954 of the testing of a thermonuclear bomb that was 1,000 times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb. When the explosion occurred, it began to rain radioactive fallout at Rongelap. Within hours, the atoll was covered with a fine, white, powder-like substance. "No one knew it was radioactive fallout", said Mr de Brum. "The children thought it was snow. And the children played in the snow. And they ate it." The other six nuclear-armed nations - the United States, Russia, France, China, Israel and North Korea - do not accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ and therefore, would not appear before the Court. The Marshall Islands contends that the UK, India and Pakistan are in breach of existing international law, which requires good faith negotiations for an end to the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament. The Court is expected to deliver its decision in approximately six months from now. Greenpeace will continue to stand with the people of the Marshall Islands in their fight to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Daily summaries from the ICJ SHARE By Gleaner Staff Henderson County band programs have capped off another distinguished year. The Kentucky Music Educators Association held its Second District Large Ensemble Performance Assessment Festival at the Glema Mahr Center for the Arts in Madisonville on March 23-24. There were four bands from Henderson that performed, including North Middle School's seventh- and eighth-grade band, South Middle School's seventh- and eighth-grade band, Henderson County High School's wind ensemble and the combined concert and symphonic bands. All four performing ensembles received an overall distinguished rating from the event's judges, including a distinguished rating from all four judges for the South and HCHS ensembles, according to a news release. "I could not be more proud of the North concert band, as well as my colleagues and their bands, for a distinguished rating sweep in Henderson County," said North band director Alex Grimm. "This year's judging panel was spectacular and gave us many ideas and thoughts to make our band better for upcoming performances." Judges for the event included Dr. Kip Crowder of Barren County, Troy Stovall of Muhlenberg County, and retired band director Gary Mullins. Don Martin judged the bands in sight reading, where the ensemble is given five minutes to study a piece they have never seen before and then perform it. "I am very excited for these results as they are reflective of the excellent work that is going on in all three band rooms in Henderson County," said HCHS Band Director Adam Thomas. "I'm very proud of all the students and my colleagues." Thomas noted that the HCHS wind ensemble will be continuing on to the next level by performing at the KMEA State Assessment in Louisville on May 10. "As a musician you really have to push yourself to be better for this performance," said Thomas. "A distinguished at district does not equal a distinguished at state, so we'll be really working hard to up our game for that concert." The Henderson bands have several upcoming performances at the Henderson Fine Arts Center that are open to the public. South's band, which is directed by Paul Metzger, will present their spring concert at 7 p.m. April 26. HCHS will hold a concert at 7 p.m. May 5. North will perform at 7 p.m. May 19. West Burlington pool shooting suspect found not guilty After two days of testimony, the suspect in the shooting at the West Burlington Swimming Pool was found not guilty of all charges. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) -- In an emotional televised address, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed Monday to hunt down and defeat the militants who have been carrying out attacks like the Easter bombing that targeted Christians and killed 72 people. "We will not allow them to play with the lives of the people of Pakistan," Sharif said. "This is our resolve. This is the resolve of the 200 million people of Pakistan." As the country began three days of mourning after Sunday' suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore in a park crowded with families, Sharif said the army would forge ahead with a military operation on extremist hideouts and police will go after what he called the "cowards" who carried out the attack. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway Taliban faction that supports the Islamic State group, claimed responsibility and said it specifically targeted Christians. But most of those killed were Muslims who also had been in the popular park for the holiday. Many women and children were among the victims, and dozens of families held tearful funerals Monday for their slain relatives. At least 300 people were wounded. Sharif, who canceled a visit to the United States to attend a nuclear summit, also warned extremists against using Islam to justify their violence in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Pakistan has suffered a series of attacks in recent months, and Sharif said militants are hitting "soft targets" like playgrounds and schools because military and police operations are putting pressure on their operations. Sharif met with security officials earlier in the day, and raids and dozens of arrests were carried out in eastern Punjab province, where several militant organizations are headquartered. The prime minister also visited hospitals in Lahore where many of the injured were being treated. Sharif was born in the city, which is also the capital of Punjab province, his power base. "It strengthened my resolve when I met the wounded people," he said in his address. "God willing, I will not sit idle until I bring smiles back on their faces." The attack underscored both the militants' ability to stage large-scale attacks despite a government offensive and the precarious position of Pakistan's minority Christians. At the Vatican, Pope Francis decried what he called the vile and abominable bombing against Christians and urged Pakistani authorities to "make every effort to restore security and serenity" in the country, particularly for religious minorities. In Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, Islamic extremists protested for a second day outside Parliament and other key buildings, demanding that authorities impose Sharia law. The army deployed paramilitary Rangers as well as about 800 additional soldiers from neighboring Rawalpindi to Islamabad, to protect the center, which houses main government buildings and diplomatic missions. The leader of the protesters, Sarwat Ejaz Qadri told a local TV channel they would stay1 outside Parliament "until our demands are met." Hundreds were hunkered down for a long stay, chanting prayers, occasionally raising anti-government slogans and brandishing long sticks. They were protesting the hanging last month of policeman Mumtaz Qadri. He was convicted for the 2011 murder of Gov. Salman Taseer, who was defending a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges. Taseer had also criticized Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws and campaigned against them. The woman, Aasia Bibi, is still in jail facing blasphemy charges. In recent weeks, Pakistan's Islamist parties have been threatening widespread demonstration to protest what they say is Sharif's pro-Western stance. They have also denounced draft legislation in Punjab province that outlaws violence against women. Earlier this month, Sharif had officially recognized holidays celebrated by Pakistan's minority religions, including Easter and the Hindu festival of Holi. Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the breakaway Taliban faction, told The Associated Press that along with striking at Christians celebrating Easter, the bombing also was meant to protest military operations in the tribal regions. The same militant group also took responsibility for the twin bombings of a Christian church in Lahore last year. But of the 72 dead from Sunday's attack, 14 have been identified as Christians and 44 as Muslim, said Lahore Police Superintendent Mohammed Iqbal. The rest have not been identified. Shama Pervez, a widow who lost her 11-year-old son Sahil in the bombing, was inconsolable at his funeral. A fifth-grader at a Catholic school, he had pleaded with her to go to the park rather than stay home Sunday, and she said she finally gave in. In the Christian area of Youhanabad on the outskirts of Lahore, mourners crowded into a church that was targeted in an attack a year ago. "How long will we have to go on burying our children?" asked Aerial Masih, the uncle of Junaid Yousaf, one of Sunday's victims. Ten members of Qasim Ali's family were killed in the park, and all were Muslims. His 10-year-old nephew, Fahad Ali, lay wounded in a bed at home. He had lost his parents and a sister, and another two sisters also were badly injured. "I don't know how I will be able to do anything to continue at school!" he cried. Forensic experts searched debris in the park. The bomb had been a crude device loaded with ball bearings, designed to rip through the victims for maximum damage, said counterterrorism official Rana Tufail. He identified the suicide bomber as Mohammed Yusuf, a known militant recruiter. Nobel peace prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, herself a survivor of a Taliban shooting, said she was "devastated by the senseless killing of innocent people in Lahore." "My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends," she said. "Every life is precious and must be respected and protected." White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the bombing "grotesque." "The fact that you have an extremist organization targeting religious minorities and children is an outrage," he said, also noting the high number of Muslims among the victims. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said targeting a park filled with children "revealed the face of terror, which knows no limits and values." France expressed its "solidarity in these difficult moments" with Pakistan and underlined "the inflexible will of our country to continue to battle terrorism everywhere." Zahid Hussain, an expert on Pakistani militants, said the violence was a show of strength by religious extremists, angered over what they see as efforts to undermine their influence. Pakistan's military launched an all-out offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan in June 2014. The army says the operation, called Zarb-e-Azb, has killed more than 3,000 militants. In December 2014, the Taliban retaliated with one of the worst terror assaults in Pakistan, attacking a school in northwestern city of Peshawar and killing 150 people, mainly children. Hussain said the government has sent mixed signals to Islamic extremists. On one hand, it has allowed banned radical groups to operate unhindered under new names and radical leaders to openly give inciting speeches. At the same time, it has hanged convicts like Qadri and promised to tackle honor killings and attacks against women. "It is one step forward and two steps backward," Hussain said. "The political leadership has to assert itself and say no to extremism once and for all." Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif promised Pakistan "will never allow these savage nonhumans to overrun our life and liberty." Punjab's government said it will give about $3,000 in compensation to the seriously wounded and $1,500 to those with minor injuries from the bombing. ___ Gannon reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Asif Shahzad and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Asim Tanveer in Multan contributed to this report. HARTFORD Though all indications are that many state employees will receive pink slips soon, several factors make it difficult for Connecticut to downsize its workforce. And those same factors and others make it all-but-impossible to close the major budget deficits projected for the next few years with layoffs alone. Federal mandates, surging overtime costs, anti-privatization provisions in labor contracts, competing policy objectives, political pressure and even the high cost of laying off staff, all will limit any effort to shrink state government quickly and strategically. "We are going to be closing state facilities, I'm sure. We are going to be laying off state employees, I'm quite certain," Malloy said earlier this month, just before his administration sent a preliminary notice of impending job reductions to most unions. "We're going to be changing how we do business in a number of ways." The governor has sought -- but not received -- another round of concessions from state workers. His budget director has said the state needs "thousands of layoffs" to help balance the next state budget, which begins July 1. Nonpartisan analysts say there is a built-in hole of about $900 million in next year's finances, and a much larger gap, topping $2 billion, in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscal years. But union leaders say their members granted concessions in 2009 and 2011, and that Malloy and legislators need to boost taxes on wealthy households and corporations -- something Malloy and legislators from both parties oppose this year. "It's time to stop with the false assumption that working people are the only ones who should step up to protect and preserve our quality of life," said AFT Connecticut President Jan Hochadel. "The reality is that Connecticut has a fairness problem. State workers have given back at 30 times the rate as CEOs and hedge fund managers. All working families contribute taxes at nearly twice the rate that that millionaires and billionaires do to fund vital services." "This whole idea of a 'shared sacrifice' is OK," Sal Luciano, longtime executive director of Council 4 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees said in a February interview. "But I keep asking, 'When are we going to share it?'" Luciano and other labor leaders also have warned that layoffs are not a budget-balancing panacea, and argue they won't produce a savings that will make the corresponding loss of services worthwhile. Layoffs don't save as much as many assume According to the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research, several factors typically cut the savings from layoffs in half during the first year: Depending on the union involved, workers must receive two to eight weeks' notice. Because the first two weeks of all state workers' salary is withheld and not paid until they end employment, that expense also must be met. Accrued sick and compensatory time must be paid. Payments to the Unemployment Compensation fund increase. Pension fund contributions still must be made. For example, as Connecticut slipped deep into The Great Recession in November 2009, Gov. M. Jodi Rell's administration argued that layoff savings generally aren't as large as many people might assume. The administration projected the potential savings from laying off 5,000 workers -- roughly 1/10th of the state workforce at the time -- at just under $300 million. Rell did not issue pink slips. Another cost that eats away at layoff-related savings is overtime. Under Malloy, the number of permanent, full-time employees paid for out of the state budget is down to about 45,000. The Malloy administration already is facing criticism from legislators -- particularly Republicans -- that spending on overtime is too high. About $220 million was budgeted this fiscal year to meet that cost. GOP lawmakers insist this could be tightened somewhat simply by better personnel management. But union leaders say staff shortages, particularly in the departments of Correction and Social Services, only would be exacerbated by layoffs. Legal obstacles hinder some layoffs One of the biggest challenges Malloy faces involves limits placed by federal rules and contractual language. Under many circumstances, the state effectively is barred from laying off workers. For example, many of the larger unions have contract language prohibiting layoffs if they are being done to privatize services. In other words, eliminating or reducing a service is one thing. But if state jobs are to be cut while the services are to be retained -- and turned over to a private contractor -- that's a problem. For example, Article 20 of the contract with a major human and social services workers' bargaining unit states that "during the life of this agreement, no full-time permanent employee will be laid off as a direct consequence of the exercise by the state of its right to contract out." The administration currently is negotiating wage and working-condition contracts with more than a dozen bargaining units, and the governor could seek to eliminate such restrictions. But if the unions resist, the matter could end up in arbitration. Further complicating matters, the network of community-based private, nonprofit agencies that provide the bulk of state social services now insists a combination of funding cuts and surging demand is pushing the safety net to its breaking point. If the state is going to privatize the remainder of its social services, this network will need more funding. When Malloy unveiled his plan on Feb. 3 to re-balance the 2016-17 fiscal year -- a plan that already is more than $330 million in the red because of eroding revenue projections -- the head of a coalition representing 550 community-based nonprofits warned the funding in his package was woefully insufficient. "The budget proposed by Governor Malloy this month already calls for cuts that would devastate life-sustaining programs for thousands of Connecticut residents, said Jeffrey Walter, interim CEO of the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance. "Cuts of that magnitude would end community-based services as we know them, shutting the doors of multiple outpatient mental health and addiction clinics; ending day programs for individuals with developmental disabilities; limiting or ending support services that help individuals find and keep jobs; and closing down services that protect victims of domestic violence, to name a few." Some agencies already are thin on staff Similarly, the federal government presents another legal barrier. Connecticut's Department of Children and Families, which is responsible for the care of thousands of neglected or otherwise abused children, has been under the eye of a federal court monitor since 1991. The monitor provided state officials in January with data showing unreasonable caseloads for social workers and excessive wait lists for services such as domestic violence and substance abuse treatment. The number of children who have to wait for services has increased, while DCF spending has fallen by $59.4 million, or 7 percent since 2009. Agency staffing dropped by 306 employees, or 9 percent, over that period. "While the department continues to make improvement on many fronts, it is constantly challenged by the state's fiscal decisions that impact staffing and the availability of community-based resources," Raymond Mancusso, the federal monitor, wrote in his January status report. "Problems have persisted with respect to staffing and excessive caseloads. More than two years of instability and excessive workloads ensued as a result of a previous hiring freeze. The freeze resulted in the department being more than 100 staff short of the minimum caseload needs." The Department of Social Services faced two federal class-action lawsuits in recent years alleging that it had failed to meet federal timeliness standards for processing applications for Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program the program formerly known as food stamps. One of the suits tied delays in processing Medicaid applications which the lawsuit said left people who qualified for the program going months without needed care and medications to a shortage of staff in the department. As part of a 2014 settlement, the state agreed to meet certain benchmarks for timely application processing. Although the settlement did not require specific staffing levels, the department determined it would need to hire additional workers to comply. Judge Patrick L. Carroll III, the chief court administrator, told legislators in February that the governor's budget proposal for 2016-17 would translate into hundreds of layoffs in the Judicial Branch and force the closure of multiple courthouses and a juvenile detention facility. This would devastate Connecticut's court system so severely that it would "compromise access to justice for our citizens" and possibly leave the branch unable to meet all of its constitutional obligations, he said. Layoffs could stall transportation, Second Chance initiatives The cutbacks also almost certainly would undermine anti-recidivism programs, such as Malloy's "Second Chance Society" initiative, Carroll said. But Second Chance Society might not be the only policy objective weakened or undone by layoffs. Shortly after winning re-election to a second term in November 2014, Malloy announced he would pursue a major investment in transportation to transform Connecticut's aging, crowded network. But the Department of Transportation has just over 3,000 full-time employees. That's about the same the level it had six years ago when the legislature's Program Review and Investigations Committee concluded it lacked adequate staff to complete projects on time and under budget. According to the last monthly report from state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, Connecticut has more than $3.2 billion in approved transportation bonding that it still has not issued and spent. Transportation advocates attribute that backlog, in part, to a lack of transportation planning staff, which translates into an inability to launch projects in a timely fashion. That stranded bonding is almost double the $1.7 billion backlog that existed when Malloy first took office in January 2011. "We are fully supportive of the governor's vision," David Glidden, executive director of the union that represents about 1,000 transportation engineers, planners and property agents, said last spring of Malloy's transportation initiative. "But in order to make that vision a reality, you need the people to do the work." This story originally appeared at CTMirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror, an independent, nonprofit news organization covering government, politics and public policy in the state. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK -- Visitors to the Mayor's Office soon will have to interact with staff through a window. Those with appointments with the mayor or others in the office will have to ask to be buzzed through the front door. On Friday, the receptionist's desk was moved flush to the window next to the entrance door, eliminating the small waiting area inside the office. Staff is awaiting replacement of the window with a new one that will have an opening for the public. At that time, only staff with a key fob, or visitors who've been buzzed through, will be able to enter the office. "It's always better to be able to have a secure checkpoint for any office. We live in different times and we've had many, many instances of angry people taking out their anger in inappropriate ways," said Mayor Harry W. Rilling. "In my office, we have six women. A lot of times they're there alone when I'm out of the building and they have no protection from anybody that could walk right in." During the holidays, police were called to City Hall after a resident who was unable to obtain information from two departments grew increasingly angry and entered the mayor's office. The incident was defused. The decision to upgrade security in the Mayor's Office, however, stems from no particular incident but rather from recommendations after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 and increased awareness of potential dangers, officials say. "We've had people that in all parts of City Hall have walked in and they're angry at taxes, they're angry at a zoning decision, they're angry that they've been given a cease-and-desist order, a lot of different things," said Rilling, who is also Norwalk's former police chief. In March 2013, under Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Norwalk Police assessed security in the Mayor's Office. The assessment included interviews with staff members and a walkthrough of the office. As a result, a waist-high door with handle was installed between the waiting area and receptionist's desk to discourage visitors from continuing further into the Mayor's Office without permission from staff. On Monday, fresh white spackling paste was visible on the wall where the small door had been removed -- no longer necessary given that the front door soon will become the new controlled access point to the office. City Clerk Donna I. King, whose office is the first behind the door, said visitors still will be able to conduct their business with the Mayor's Office. "You'll just do it at the window and staff will be here to take applications, to (answer) inquiries -- people come here for many reasons, including making appointments, paying fees, paying fees for booking rooms," King said. "So they can do all that." Persons with an appointment with the mayor or others in the office, by contrast, will be buzzed through the door, according to King. King said office staff has yet to decide where to relocate the Freedom of Information folder, which until last week was located on the receptionist's desk. The folder holds agendas for city meetings as required under the Freedom of Information Act. The Mayor's Office is not the only area within City Hall where security has been upgraded. Last summer, two retractable-belt stanchions where added to the atrium of the building, directing visitors to a desk with a uniformed security guard. Two guards -- one during the day and another in the evening -- welcome and direct visitors needing guidance. The guards are now on a first-name basis with frequent visitors to the building. WATERBURY -- The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request Monday from a murder convict to shorten his sentence, making him eligible for parole sooner as allowed under a new state law affecting juvenile offenders. Nicolas Aponte was 17 in 1995 when he participated in a deadly robbery with three other teens. The family of David Horan, the 28-year-old victim, said despite Aponte's age at the time, he should have known his actions could have deadly consequences. "Please stop hammering on this assertion that lethal, deliberate crimes committed by those younger than 18 are somehow different," said Horan's father John, whose comments were read into the record on Monday. He said the seriousness of the crime should make Aponte ineligible for early release. While impressed with Aponte's efforts behind bars to improve his life, the board decided after about 30 minutes of closed-door deliberations there were no extraordinary circumstances that warranted a shorter sentence. Aponte and the other teens robbed a North Haven Subway sandwich shop where David Horan was an assistant manager. While Aponte's cousin was the shooter, the prosecutors considered Aponte the ringleader. He was treated by the courts as an adult and sentenced to 38 years without parole. He is now 38 years old and has served 20 years in prison. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that it is unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to lengthy prison terms with no chance for parole. A state law enacted last year in response to the ruling will allow Aponte to eventually have a parole hearing, likely in 2017 or 2018. On Monday, he asked the board to consider reducing his 38-year sentence to 35 years to give him an earlier parole hearing. Aponte is one of about 200 Connecticut inmates affected by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, known as Miller v. Alabama. Aponte told the board, via a video feed from prison, that he has matured behind bars. During the last two decades he has earned his GED, associate's degree and has become a certified nurse's aide and hospice volunteer. He spoke about fully taking responsibility for the crime, "moving from denial to redeeming myself" after reading letters from the Horan family in 1998. "I entered prison as a reckless teenager. When I look back, I don't recognize him," Aponte said. "I know that was the worst version of myself, and I've grown and survived my transgression." Horan's siblings, however, questioned whether Aponte has truly repented for his role in the killing, accusing him of using the court decision as another attempt to reduce his culpability in the crime. They spoke about their brother's hopes to return to college and study engineering. They spoke of the girlfriend he might have married and how all of his dreams went unrealized. Aponte said he'd probably argue against his release if he were a member of the Horan family. "Because that's the justice that they deserve and I would understand that," he said, adding how it was difficult for him to ask the board for clemency. "I think that sometimes maybe I don't deserve anything." In 1978 the Norwalk Board of Education was faced with a series of challenges; how to meet federal guidelines for the desegregation of Columbus School, keeping a viable elementary school in South Norwalk and making it an attractive choice. Under the leadership of Ruby Shaw, assistant superintendent of schools, a vision was born to create a magnet school at Columbus; a school that would offer an innovative child centered curriculum to attract a diverse population of students. With some federal start up money which included training and affiliation with Bank Street College of Education a dream was born. Art Perschino was hired as the principal and with Anne Marrona(Alpert) as Staff Developer the two of them spent a year traveling about the city talking up the magnet concept. Interviews were held for staff to apply and by the end of the spring a group of pioneer teachers and assistants, committed to the Bank Street Philosophy of teaching, were hired as the staff for the opening of Columbus Magnet School. A lottery was held for families to apply and thus it all began. Not unlike explorers venturing to a new land, the journey of starting a new school was filled with joy, trepidation, set backs and concerns by both staff and parents. But with hard work, creative energy, support from Bank Street, engaging students, committed parents and a fabulous staff the school slowly evolved into a very special learning community. Classrooms were designed with special meeting areas for students and staff to gather each morning. During the day they were used for classroom curriculum meetings and to discuss issues that occurred that might need attention. Curriculum was designed with social studies as the core element and other subject areas were integrated into the learning. The emphasis was on learning by doing; block building, math manipulatives, field trips, discovery, problem solving , cooperative work and the writing process. From a farm unit in the first grade designed to teach young people where food came from that culminated with the Rainbow Market, students truly got a first hand opportunity to experience the real world of learning all the jobs entailed with running a market. Social studies in the second grade came alive with students learning how a city works; walking down to Washington Street interviewing the owners of various businesses and then creating a true to life model of the city with all the knowledge learned from the visits. Math, science, writing, and literature all connected in such meaningful ways. The journey of child centered learning continued in the upper grades with Bank Street Designed Units on Native American Culture, Geography and land forms and Colonial America all infused with in depth integration of subject areas, meaningful field trips that inspired learning or culminated a unit such as the annual fifth grade trip to Boston to follow the steps of the Freedom Trail. The arts were connected to learning through Connections, a collaboration of the classroom, art, music and physical education teachers resulting in opportunities for students to share their learning through a different medium. These learning sessions resulted in mini productions, which built confidence in students abilities to share in front of an audience. The HOT School Project with the Connecticut Commission of the Arts brought residence artist programs to the school bringing in the components of strong arts, arts integration and the democratic practice enriching learning. End of year musical productions in the upper grades using ideas from the students gave more chances for students to shine through the arts. Perhaps more than anything else that helped to build a caring community at Columbus was the All School Meeting, a weekly gathering in the auditorium. Sitting on the floor the students were engaged each week as listeners and participants. There were times for classes to share, individuals to sing, dance or play an instrument and a time to learn about the world in child like ways. It was a time to celebrate holidays, diversity and the fact that everyone was different but in so many ways the same. So many special afterschool and in school events such as family fun nights, a fabulous holiday fair, Peace Games, Young Astronauts, The Festival of Lights, Turkey Trots, A gymnastics club, A Torch Run, Drug Awareness Marches through the neighborhood and Black History Programs brought the community together and provided so many wonderful learning opportunities for students, parents and staff. So much of this would not have been possible without such an active and involved group of parents. Families that committed to sending their children to Columbus knew that an expectation level of this sort of involvement was part of the package and they lived up to the challenge. Over the years Columbus Magnet received many accolades for its innovative and effective teaching. It became a State Blue Ribbon Award winning school and The RedBook Magazine Outstanding School in Connecticut. Staff offered Workshops in the Writing Process, use of Math Manipulatives and Bank Street Philosophy for teachers in the area. Quite a history indeed! After 35 years the Castle on Concord Street still beams with joyful noises of eagerly engaged children, dedicated staff and committed parents. Much has changed and evolved over the years, as it should over time, but what remains is the foundation of what the school was founded on; a philosophy that values hands on learning, child centered curriculum, diversity and building self esteem for all in this community of learners. The weekend of May 20th and 21st, Columbus School will hold a 35th anniversary gathering. On Friday afternoon there will be a special all school meeting at 2 p.m., followed by an evening social at City Hall Community Room from 7 to 9 p.m., for adults (18 and over) alumni and parents Saturday afternoon there will be a Bring Your Own Picnic on the grounds of the school from noon to 4 p.m. All are welcome to attend these events and to celebrate the joyful memories of being part of this community. Pass the word and join the celebration. Email LakinT@norwalkps.org for reservations. Tom Kretsch Retired physical education teacher President Obama wanted last weeks headlines to focus on a U.S. diplomatic triumph, his opening of a new relationship with Cuba. But his upbeat moment in Havana was eclipsed by terrorist bombs in Brussels and fears of more attacks to come. That turn of events captured, in an instant, Obamas foreign policy record: success in diplomacy, frustration at war. Obama has notched up some genuine achievements with his diplomatic strategy of engagement: the opening to Cuba, a nuclear agreement with Iran and a stronger alliance with Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia. Hes been strikingly less effective, however, at combining diplomacy with force to stabilize parts of the world where the players arent as interested in peaceful engagement mainly the battle zones of the Middle East. Seven years into his presidency, hes still reacting against the errors of his predecessor, George W. Bush. What I think is not smart is the idea that every time there is a problem, we send in our military to impose order, he told Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic in a recent interview. Hes right, of course; that wouldnt be smart. But its also a straw man. Even Sen. John McCain, Washingtons most enthusiastic interventionist, doesnt advocate troops every time there is a problem. And Obamas resistance to intervention has come at a cost. Not only the usual critics, but also some veterans of his administration argue that his hasty withdrawal from Iraq and his refusal to support the armed opposition in Syria gave Islamic State the room it needed to grow before the White House noticed it in 2014. Obama feared a slippery slope in going up against Bashar Assad in Syria, but the war against (Islamic State) is the slipperiest slope of them all, former State Department official Tamara Wittes wrote recently. The lesson is that inaction is not obviously better than action. ... It is a choice, and it carries consequences. After Islamic State fighters swept across northern Iraq in 2014 and threatened to conquer Baghdad, Obama launched air strikes against the group and sent a small group of U.S. military advisers to shore up Iraqi forces. The advisers have grown to almost 5,000 in Iraq, plus about 50 special operations troops on the ground in neighboring Syria, where Islamic States headquarters lie. Their missions have been designed to help, rather than supplant, local forces; Obama wants to avoid making U.S. troops responsible for ground combat again. So progress has been slow. When the U.S. operation began, commanders said they estimated it would take roughly five years to defeat the Islamic State, from 2014 to 2019. That was intended to provide time to train local forces on the ground. When Islamic States operations were confined to Syria and Iraq, that sounded like a tolerable timetable, if a long one. Now that the group has spread to other countries and expanded its war into Europe with devastating effect, a five-year timeline seems less reasonable. So if theres an Obama Doctrine, at least in the Middle East, it goes something like this: Keep U.S. military commitments limited but be ready for disappointment when limited action produces modest results. Obama sometimes sounds as if hed like to focus Americans attention away from the enemies hes been unable to check. (Islamic State) is not an existential threat to the United States, he told Goldberg. Climate change is a potential existential threat to the entire world. Hed rather be working on diplomacy in more promising parts of the world, talking with young entrepreneurs in Asia and Africa and Latin America. If were not talking to them, he said, because the only thing were doing is figuring out how to destroy or cordon off or control the malicious, nihilistic, violent parts of humanity, then were missing the boat. Thats true. But a president cant pick and choose what urgent problems come his way. Although Obama wants people to remember the new relationships hes opened, like those with Cuba and Iran, his legacy will inescapably include Iraq and Syria, too. He came to office determined to put diplomacy at the center of U.S. foreign policy and reduce our reliance on military force and hes done that. But he hasnt solved the toughest riddle: what to do about the worlds most dangerous places, the failed states of the Middle East. That problem remains for his successor to tackle. The president will spend the rest of the year arguing that his policies have worked, or at least that the alternatives were worse. For now, the grade he deserves is one of incomplete. Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Readers may send him email at doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com. The Hall County Hero Flight held a wonderful event in appreciation of our veterans on March 19 at Babels Barn. Everyone who attended this first-time event was gracious and giving in honor of our veterans, making this event a huge success. The funding received during this event will be going toward the second Hall County Vietnam Hero Flight. I just want to say the volunteers, donors and those from the community who attend our events are the true veteran advocates. I will not mention any names as the list would be far too long. These folks have, and will, continue to carry the torch forward, not allowing our veterans to be forgotten now or in the future. The endeavors on behalf of our veterans are one of a positive nature that makes you feel good at a time when there is so much negativity out there. I choose to focus on the positive. Thank you to all of our veterans and loyal veteran supporters! Lest we forget! Do you remember several years ago when then President George W. Bush told us that Iraq had great numbers of weapons of mass destruction? At the time, I was pretty sure that he was relying on information from some advisers. We all know the outcome of that story. I thought of that story when I read the March 18 letter to the editor in The Independent by Jocelyn Nickerson, who is the state director of the Humane Society of the United States. Here too, I doubt that she traveled to Clay Center to visit the USDA Meat Animal Research Center to verify her information. She wrote of the cruel and disturbing experiments on farm animals and allowing thousands of animals to die from starvation. That sounds like great numbers of weapons of mass destruction. I would wager that Jocelyns information came from some adviser who did not have accurate information. I know several scientists who have worked or are working at the facility and have discussed their work with them. Jocelyn, I would suggest that before you print your information, you would get the facts straight and accurate. Your comments certainly dont give credibility to the Humane Society of the United States. Monet rahapelien ystavat ovat viime vuosina loytaneet netticasinot ja olleet ihmeissaan. Verrattuna kotimaisen Veikkauksen kivijalkarahapeleihin puhutaan aivan eri tason palautusprosenteista ja lisaksi pelaaminen on aarimmaisen helppoa ja turvallista. Netticasinoiden maara on tana paivana todella suuri ja niita loytyy jokaiseen lahtoon, suurin ongelma aloittelevalla pelaajalla onkin tehda valinta siita, minka netticasinon valitsee. Kaikkien netticasinoiden mainospuheet naet lupaavat kauniita asioita ja niiden lapinakeminen on tietysti tarkeaa. Nyrkkisaantona voidaan kuitenkin jo kattelyssa todeta, etta jos valitsemasi netticasino on lisensoitu ETA-alueella, sen kanssa ei tule olemaan ongelmia, ellei niita itse jarjesta. Kay tutustumassa parhaisiin netticasinoihin osoitteessa www.ilmaiskierroksia.info! Ensimmainen nyrkkisaanto on siis varmistaa, etta valitsemallasi netticasinolla on ETA-alueen lisenssi. Suurimmassa osassa tapauksista se on Maltan eli MGA:n lisenssi. Myos Viron, Englannin ja Gibraltarin lisensseja nakyy ja naissa valvonta on jopa Maltaa tiukempaa. Lopputulema on kuitenkin se, etta ETA-alueen lisenssi takaa suomalaisille verovapaat voitot seka sen, etta niita valvotaan kontrolloidusti. Maailmalla on iso nippu Curacaon lisenssilla toimivia netticasinoita ja niistakin suurin osa on laadukkaita. Ne eivat kuitenkaan ole suomalaisille asiakkaille verovapaita, joten emme suosittele niita. Tana paivana markkinoille on ilmaantunut paljon ETA-alueella toimiva netticasinoita ilman rekisteroitymista. Jos tarkoitus on vain pelata yksittaisia pelikertoja, on varsin helppo suositella naita. Netticasinot ilman rekisteroitymista tarjoavat palvelun tunnistautumisen verkkopankin avainlukulistan avulla ja saman palvelun kautta tapahtuvat talletukset ja mahdolliset voittojen nostot silmanrapayksessa. Normaaleihin netticasinoihin pitaa asiakkaan rekisteroitya, tehda talletukset ja tunnistautua dokumenttien avulla. Tama on lisenssiehtojen mukainen kaytanto, eika kovinkaan monimutkainen, mutta silti monet asiakkaat haluavat yksinkertaista ja nopeaa palvelua. Toki normaalit netticasinot tarjoavat usein asiakkailleen laadukkaita talletusbonuksia ja erilaisia kampanjoita, joten kannattaa tarkkaan punnita, kumman ratkaisun valitsee. Kannattaa myos muistaa, etta tunnistautuminen tehdaan vain kerran, joten mikaan jatkuva riippakivi se ei ole. Suomalaiset asiakkaat ovat netticasinoille tarkeita, joten kaikilla vahankin laadukkailla netticasinoilla on suomenkieliset sivut seka suomenkielinen asiakaspalvelu suomenkielisyys kannattaakin ottaa netticasinoa valittaessa nyrkkisaannoksi. Vaikka tana paivana englanninkielisyys on harvoille ongelma, on suomenkielisten netticasinoiden maara niin valtava, etta suosittelemme niiden kayttoa. Rahansiirrot ovat tana paivana niin hyvassa mallissa, etta niiden kanssa tuskin tulee mitaan ongelmia. Kolme tarkeinta segmenttia: Suomalaiset verkkopankit, luottokortit (Visa, Mastercard) seka nettilompakot (Skrill, Neteller) loytyvat jokaisesta laadukkaasta netticasinosta. Viime vuosien trendiksi noussut verkkokauppa on kehittanyt rahansiirrot niin laadukkaiksi ja nopeiksi, etta niiden suhteen ei ole enaa vuosiin ollut ongelmia. Luonnollisesti netticasinot kayttavat naita samoja palveluita ja hyotyvat kehityksesta. Naiden isojen linjojen jalkeen netticasinon valintaan vaikuttavat luonnollisesti tarjottavat tervetuliaisbonukset uudet asiakkaat saavat tana paivana kovan kilpailun myota merkittavia etuja netticasinoilta ja niita kannattaa luonnollisesti vertailla. Erilaiset talletusbonukset, ilmaiskierrokset seka ilmaiset pelirahat tuovat suuriakin rahanarvoisia etuja ja niiden vertailu on ehdottomasti kannattavaa. Myoskaan useampien tilien avaaminen ja tervetuliaistarjousten kayttaminen ei missaan nimessa ole huono idea. Kun edella mainitut asiat ovat mieleisia ja vaihtoehtoja on vielakin jaljella, mennaan jo nyansseihin. Toki pelivalikoima on yksi kriteeri, mutta taman paivan netticasinoissa tamakin asia on paasaantoisesti varsin samanlainen. Toki useamman samantasoisen netticasinon vertailussa kannattaa yleensa valita se, jossa on eniten peleja tarjolla. Vaikka omat suosikit loytyisivatkin useammasta, voi tulevaisuudessa mielenkiinto nousta joihinkin muihin peleihin ja silloin on tietysti mukavampaa, etta ne loytyvat valikoimista. Viimeisena voidaan nostaa esiin kaytettavyys joidenkin netticasinoiden sivut ovat vilkkuvia, valkkyvia ja epakaytannollisia. Omaan silmaan ja kaytettavyyteen sopiva sivusto on luonnollisesti aina se paras valinta. Tarjonta netticasinoissa on tana paivana valtava ja jokaiselle loytyy varmasti se oma netticasino onnea matkaan! Question: With all the controversy over the primaries, I've been thinking a lot about presidential elections. The other day, I began thinking about the electoral college. I recall when Al Gore lost in 2000 because of the electoral college, despite the fact that he received the popular vote. Is it possible this could happen again with the current presidential election? Can you explain to me why we have the electoral college, and how it works? This is a difficult series of questions to answer in a few paragraphs. What happened in 2000 could happen during any presidential election, including this one. The Electoral College is contained in Article II, Section I, Clauses 2 and 4 and the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The electoral college is not the name given in the Constitution, but it is the name it came to be known as in the 1800s and the name adopted by Congress when first written into law in 1845. At the Constitutional Convention, it was determined by majority vote that the President and Vice President would be elected by a group of delegates from the states in a number equal to their respective congressional representation. (Each state has two senators and a number of representatives in the House determined by their population; the population is determined by the U.S. census taken every ten years - this is one reason why the census is so important. Because different states have different populations, so too will different states have differing numbers of electors, or members of the Electoral College.) The reasoning behind the Electoral College, although seemingly opposite to our form of government, is in fitting with just that form. One of the best explanations for the Electoral College, I think anyway, is contained in Federalist Paper No. 39. (The Federalist Papers were a number of anonymously-authored articles explaining the framework and structure of the new Constitution before it had been passed. Although anonymous, scholars attribute different articles to certain forefathers, and believe No. 39 was written by James Madison.) The explanation offered by Madison in Federalist Paper No. 39 was that our system of government was deliberately designed to be a combination of popularly-elected representatives in the House of Representatives and state-elected senators in the Senate. Thus, that combination would continue in the election of the President with some electoral power based in the states and some based in the population as a whole. As for who is an elector in the Electoral College, this is left up to the states. Some elect their electors during a primary election, while others are appointed by political parties or the candidates themselves. There are a possible 538 electoral votes available - 435 representatives + 100 senators + 3 electors from the District of Columbia - and to become President, a candidate needs an absolute majority (at least 270). States can put their own limits on who can be an elector in that state, but the United States Constitution only requires they not be persons appointed or elected to a federal office. The big question a lot of people have asked, including yourself, is how the Electoral College works. Each elector promises, or pledges, to vote a certain way. When one of us votes this Tuesday, although we believe we are voting for President and Vice President, we are actually voting for an elector of the candidate we voted for. Most states operate on a winner-take-all method, wherein all electoral votes are cast for the candidate with the majority of the popular vote in that state. For example, in a winner-take-all state, Obama takes 51% of the popular vote in a particular state, and, as a result, all of the electoral votes in this state are cast for him. Electors pledge or promise to vote a particular way. Those that do not are called faithless electors, and could possibly be punished by their party or the state in which they are an elector. To date, faithless electors have not affected the outcome of any presidential election. There are many arguments in favor and in disfavor of the Electoral College. Numerous amendments calling for an end to the Electoral College have been proposed, but none have ever been passed. Since the first President was elected, there have only been three instances in which the Electoral College has elected a President who has failed to obtain the popular vote. These elections took place in 1876, 1888 and 2000. Although it might happen again this time, it is unlikely. Because of the Electoral College and the chance that their vote wont count, some people do not vote. However, one of the justifications for the Electoral College is a lack of voter turnout. (For instance, when only twenty percent of a states population votes, electors representing the whole population, whether they voted or not, will cast a vote for President. That being said, it is so important to vote, because, your vote can affect the Electoral College, not to mention affect the legacy of an election, because the popular vote is counted. Have questions for Brendan Bukalski? E-mail him at askthelawyer@gmail.com, or write him, c/o The Edwardsville Intelligencer, 117 N. 2nd St., Edwardsville, IL 62025. Editor's note - the answers provided in this column are general in nature, and should not be relied upon as legal advice or interpreted as creating an attorney-client relationship. As a general rule, all specific legal problems should be handled by an individual's personal attorney. Any submissions to the author are subject to being published and to being modified prior to publication. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has challenged possible rivals in next year's Jakarta gubernatorial election to focus on improving the capital rather than on undermining him. Candidate hopefuls should reveal their programs so that Jakartans have clear information on programs that would best suit them, Ahok said on Tuesday. "So it would not only be to band together to beat Ahok. I feel sorry for Jakartans if that's what you aim to do. If you want to beat Ahok and succeed, what then? You need to have clear programs," he told journalists at City Hall. Ahok said he welcomed the competition with other regional leaders in the election, saying that the experience of a regional leader was a strong point for someone to lead the capital. "If you have been a regional leader and held power, your character will be revealed. For example, whether you dare face the City Council, have a transparent budget and whether the public is satisfied with your work. That's the key," Ahok said. Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini and Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil have been encouraged to vie for the capital's top post, but both have declared that they will not contest the election. Ahok has declared that he will run in next year's election with running mate Heru Budi Hartono, currently the head of the Jakarta Financial and Asset Management Board (BPKAD). Two political parties, NasDem and Hanura, previously declared support for the incumbent governor, who has decided to run as an independent. The Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Gerindra Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP) have declared that they will set up a coalition to nominate a gubernatorial candidate to challenge Ahok. The five political parties control 70 of the 106 seats in the Jakarta City Council. With 25 seats, the PDI-P is the largest political party in the city, followed by Gerindra with 15 seats, the PKS with 11 seats, the PPP with 10 seats and Golkar with nine. The coalition believes it can increase the electability of a candidate of its choice, Golkar's Jakarta branch secretary Zaiuddin said in Jakarta on Thursday. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Budiari and Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The city administration may revoke Jakarta's 3-in-1 traffic policy designed to ease congestion following police reports of children being used as 3-in-1 jockeys. Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said on Monday that the administration was considering such a move after noting that many passengers-for-hire, locally known as jokis, bring along their children with them so they can be counted as two passengers. 'We actually do not need the 3-in-1 policy if people make use of it to earn money or bring along children or even drug them,' Ahok said, adding that some jokis were found to have used drugs to calm the children. After being implemented in 1993, the 3-in-1 policy has since drawn criticism for its questionable effectiveness and for encouraging children to work as jokis. Ahok said that the administration was willing to help support street children if the parents were forced to bring along the children to earn money on Jakarta's roadsides. However, he added, the administration mostly found that the parents exploited their children. 'The problem is that the parents take advantage of the children so that they can make some money to buy cellphones or hang out in shopping malls. That is not right,' Ahok added. Ahok further said that in a bid to support the education of street children, the administration planned to build a dormitory-based school with a capacity of 2,000 children. He said that the school would be run under a city-backed Islamic education center, the Pondok Karya Pembangunan Foundation. Last week, South Jakarta police arrested four suspects on charges of child exploitation along with 20 children, one of whom was a 6-month-old baby who was taken to Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta for treatment after he was found to have been sedated with nerve-drugs given by the suspects. Four people have been named suspects for forcing children to work as beggars and buskers. Two of them have admitted that they were the parents of the baby who was given a high dose of the sedative Clonazepam. Based on the investigation, it is alleged that the suspects rented children for Rp 200,000 (US$15) per day. They are accused of using violence if the children refused to work. Child psychologist Seto Mulyadi said the public could contribute to dismantling child exploitation, saying that based on the Child Protection Law, anyone could be sentenced to up to five years in prison for not filing a report on cases of child exploitation they had been made aware of. Seto said child exploitation was a large business in the capital, adding that with daily fees of Rp 200,000, people who operate a large-scale 'child-for-rent' business could get up to Rp 4 million per day. 'If we don't do anything, we will lost potential in the future,' Seto said as quoted by tribunnews.com. Child labor has been an troubling issue in the country for many years. In 2009, the International Labour Organization (ILO) found that of Indonesia's 58.8 million children aged between 5-17 years, it is estimated some 4.05 million, or 6.9 percent, were trapped in child labor. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Lily G. Nababan (The Jakarta Post) Bangli, Bali Tue, March 29, 2016 Bamboo, a tall grass with the appearance of a tree, may not be under threat of extinction, but the high demand for this valuable commodity for construction and furniture in Bali has raised concerns, prompting bamboo activists to teach farmers to manage bamboo forests wisely. I Nyoman Conto took 25 farmers and bamboo activists to his bamboo field in Bubungklambu, Bangli regency, Bali, to gather around clumps of giant bamboo, a species locally known as petung. 'We call it petung hijau, jali, gembe, apus and by other names as this bamboo has many varieties,' said Conto, a father-of-six who initiated the Dwi Panca Kerti Cooperative in the hamlet in 2009. The cooperative was the first organization to sell bamboo when the locals saw an increase in demand for the products in 2012. The farmers and activists took part in field training on sustainable bamboo forest management to become bamboo rangers. The training was conducted in cooperation with the Environment and Forestry Ministry and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). 'A ranger here means an official responsible for managing and protecting an area of forestry,' said Desy Ekawati, project coordinator of the Indonesian Bamboo Project. The training is aimed at enhancing bamboo farmers' capabilities in managing bamboo clumps in a sustainable way and improving the management of the bamboo, she said. The term 'bamboo rangers' was first coined by Arief Rabik, an activist, entrepreneur and owner of a Bali-based bamboo lamination factory, Indo Bamboo. However, the lack of consistent bamboo supply and quality has forced Arief to source the material from Flores Island to get the right quality for his strand-woven bamboo, which is put under 4800-ton pressure to strengthen it like wood. 'In Bali, it's hard to get 150 stems of petung of the necessary quality daily for six days a week,' said Arief, who founded the Bambu Lestari Foundation and has written a book titled Menuju Perhutanan Bambu yang Tangguh (Toward perpetual bamboo forests). Bali's bamboo demand remains high. Industry Ministry data in 2010 showed Bali consumed 2 million bamboo stems for ceremonies and furniture. 'Sadly, most farmers are engaged in bamboo felling when they need it but they leave it to decay when it's not in demand,' Desy said. In fact, Bangli has 6,500 hectares of bamboo with the potential to increase to 8,000 ha. Desy said there would be a significant increase in bamboo demand with the moratorium on the felling of Indonesian forest wood and advanced nations' green movements. Therefore, it has become more than just a matter of maintaining the existing forests and planting new crops in order to enable local people to promote bamboo cultivation. Pande Ketut Diah Kencana, an agricultural expert from Udayana University, describes bamboo as 'green gold'. If appropriately managed, plants can produce for more than 100 years. To further develop bamboo there should be communities, as symbolized by bamboo clumps, she says. The role of rangers is thus to watch over bamboo quality and determine the right harvest time to secure high-quality bamboo, while at the same time ensuring the proper growth of young bamboo clumps. Diah, a lecturer in agricultural technology for 30 years, stressed the place of the bamboo industry in promoting the people's economy. 'There should be cooperatives with bamboo farmers as members in the upstream, with home industries producing handicrafts, culinary specialties [bamboo shoots] and others in the downstream,' she said. Diah, a pioneer in the cultivation of tabah bamboo, has fostered around 1,100 farmers in Pupuan district, Tabanan regency, where she planted 1,200 bamboo trees 2006 on land she bought. In 2014, her cooperative harvested 12,000 bamboo stems in a season. Diah emphasized the importance of farmers' industrial processes and market access. 'To maximize their bamboo planting and output potential, the government has a vital role in the upstream, for instance in providing cheap loans for cooperatives,' she said. She said the best quality of running bamboo is found in China but the world's best quality of clumping bamboo is in Indonesia. In anticipation of the Asian Economic Community, with an influx of products into Indonesia including bamboo in 2016, Diah set up a bamboo research and development center in her university in 2012 to guide bamboo industries. Arief, a graduate of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, linked the bamboo quality to the role of rangers. The practice of bamboo felling just to meet instant needs should be changed to sustainable felling, which requires rangers' control. 'Rangers with a prominent capability will become leaders of their peers,' said Arief, adding that in Ban village, Karang Asem, such training took six months. Growing bamboo trees also helps improve the environment as they can absorb carbon dioxide effectively. In Paris at the 21st session of the Climate Change Conference to the Parties (COP 21), the Environmental Bamboo Foundation and the Indonesian Environment and Forestry Ministry presented a partnership to offer a bamboo forest-based community model to face climate change. 'The idea is to create 1,000 bamboo villages,' said Desy, who represented the partnership with Arief. The communities in these villages will be responsible for bamboo planting, management and raw material processing for three types of bamboo industries, namely bamboo lamination for high-quality wood alternatives, bamboo textiles as a substitute for cotton, and bamboo pulp and paper to replace wood. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Coal producer PT Indo Tambangraya Megah (ITM), controlled by Banpu Thailand, is reviewing its plan to build a coal-based power plant to support the government's 35,000-megawatt electricity project. Marketing director ITM Jusnan Ruslan said the government's program insisted on low-calorie coal to reduce electricity tariffs. However, ITM produces medium- and high-calorie coal of which 87 percent is exported to other countries. "We will look into it. If the program is good, we will acquire a mining site for low-calorie coal," Jusnan told thejakartapost.com on Monday. The 35,000-megawatt project is expected to use domestic coal amid sluggish global demand as a result of low oil prices. However, coal producers have complained about the sales price, prompting the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) to demand "insurance premiums" to offset the risk of future price drops. "I'm not sure about the insurance. But regarding the price, we'd better leave it to the market," Jusnan said. He explained that the biggest buyers for ITM's coal were India, Japan, and China, the three countries together accounting for 52.84 percent of ITM's sales. Last year, India bought 5.4 million tons (19.15 percent) of the 28.2 million tons of coal sold in total. Japan and China bought 5.1 million tons (18.09 percent) and 4.4 million ton (15.6 percent), respectively. "Asia is still our biggest market. India is growing fast and China's demand is still good, while in Japan most of the power plants are still using coal. Japan is our premium market," Jusnan said. (ags)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka and Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has rejected the Law and Human Rights Ministry's suggestion to move drug inmates to rehabilitation centers to ease overcapacity in prisons. BNN spokesman Sr. Comr. Slamet Pribadi said that there was no legal basis to move inmates as they had been convicted by the courts. 'It's impossible to get them out of prisons unless they apply for clemency or appeal, which is unlikely [to be granted],' he told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He said that it would be better for the government to build more penitentiaries to house drug offenders. President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo declared a war on narcotics addiction after taking office in October 2014. Tougher law enforcement has seen the execution of 14 drug traffickers, while over 100 are reportedly on death row. Following a riot triggered by the relocation of a drug kingpin at the Bengkulu detention center last week, the ministry suggested that the BNN relocate drug inmates, who account for 35 percent of 183,000 prisoners in the country. The 2009 Narcotics Law, which allows judges to hand down rehabilitation orders rather than prison sentences to drug users and drug-abuse victims, is comprehensive in its provisions recommending rehabilitation. However, it has yet to generate positive results, with there being a tendency to hand down prison sentences to drug addicts and traffickers. Legal expert Miko Ginting from the Center for Policy and Law Studies (PSHK) agreed that it was hard to transfer those that had been sentenced to prison to rehabilitation facilities as the law does not regulate such action. He said that rehabilitation centers also faced capacity issues, with only 118 independent rehab centers (IPWL) nationwide, four of which were under the BNN. Last year the IPWL could only accommodate 50,000 drug users out of 5.8 million. The BNN estimates the number could rise to 7.4 million by 2019. Rehab centers operated by the BNN are operating at full capacity with 2,500 users. Miko said the only solution was for courts to carefully sentence addicts and traffickers. Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) executive director Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono said that the law enforcement system should be evaluated to solve the overcapacity problem. 'Fast action is also needed in big prisons that are overloaded. This is important to anticipate security problems in prisons,' he said. Prison overcapacity has been an issue for years and will remain a problem in the future considering the estimated increase in the number of drugs users. A drug-related raid conducted by the BNN at the Malabero state detention center in Bengkulu led to a riot on Friday night. Five prisoners died in the riot. The raid was conducted to curb the distribution of drugs inside the prison. Currently, 183,000 prisoners are housed in 477 penitentiaries that are designed to accommodate 118,000 inmates. With that number, each prison guard is expected to watch around 55 inmates. Thus, prison officials often become the target of attacks by prisoners. While the overcapacity rate in most prisons is around 145 percent, big prisons face 662 percent overcapacity. The legal activists and the ministry also lamented law enforcers' tendency to sentence drug offenders to prison despite being addicts. However, Slamet refuted the accusations, saying that the BNN was doing its job in accordance with the law. 'We've always charged people in line with the law. If they only used drugs in small amounts and did not distribute drugs, we'll just send them to a rehabilitation center,' he said. National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto also refuted the claims, saying that the police always acted according to the law. ___________________________________ 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 Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Tue, March 29, 2016 Christian students at state-run schools in Aceh Singkil regency, Aceh are reportedly studying Islam on account of a lack of Christianity studies teachers. Boas Tumangger, a parent, said that the Aceh Singkil Education Agency failed to provide Christianity studies teachers despite the high number of Christian students in the regency. Boas, who said he experienced the same situation as an elementary and junior high school student in Aceh Singkil, said that Christian students were not forced to study Islam. 'There is no Christianity teacher so Christian students joined the Islamic studies class to fulfill their religion course requirement,' Boas told The Jakarta Post, Monday. He said that Christian students were taught Arabic culture and language during Islamic studies class. There are no efforts to indoctrinate Christian students to convert to Islam, he said. However, religion courses at schools should reflect the various faiths of the student body. 'We have been questioning this for a long time but no attention has been given by the regency administration,' said Boas, who is also chairman of the Aceh Singkil Peace Loving Forum. Religion is an obligatory subject at state schools. Many parents have complained about the minimum grade needed to pass a religion course. Education agency head Yusfik Helmi said that Christian students in the Muslim-majority regency had never been forced to study Islam. Yusfik admitted that there was a lack of Christianity studies teachers at elementary, junior high and high schools in Aceh Singkil but said there were many Christian teachers that taught other subjects. 'We have more than 70 Christian teachers at elementary schools alone,' he told the Post. He also said that the absence of Christianity studies teachers in Aceh Singkil had never been questioned by the schools, despite some schools being headed by Christian principals. 'We have many schools with Christian principals here, but they have never demanded Christianity studies teachers for their respective schools,' Yusfik said. He added that although the schools did not provide Christianity studies teachers, Christian students learned about their faith from a pastor or a Christian teacher. Students are not discriminated in Aceh Singkil, he said. Aceh Singkil Employment Agency head Dirhamsyah said that up until now, no Christianity studies teachers had been promoted to civil servants and assigned to teach at schools in the regency. He said this was in line with the Aceh Administration Law, in which Islamic studies is given a priority because the majority of people living in Aceh are Muslim. Aceh is the country's only province that implements sharia. In October last year, Aceh Singkil was in the headlines after a group of Muslim youths burned down a church in protest of churches operating without permits in the regency. Thousands of people fled to neighboring regencies in North Sumatra after protestors died in a riot. The regency recently threatened to destroy 13 churches if the Christian community was unable to secure the necessary building permits. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adisti Sukma Sawitri (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 A series of bans on cultural events with communist themes in the country reminds us that the Cold War is not over for some people. The old members of the Western Bloc may find it surprising that their enthusiastic supporters include none other than the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), the same group that once rallied under the Islamic State (IS) movement flag at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta. The protests from the group, infamous for its disrespect of pluralism, have been accommodated by the police, who still use the 1966 Decree of the People's Consultative Assembly on the banning of 'communism, Leninism and Marxism' to justify their actions. While IS is seen as an emerging global threat, the police appear to be caught in Cold War nostalgia by retaining hostility toward anything that seems leftist. The police's stance looks a little awkward as the regulation, once a salvo in the communist purge after the 1965 tragedy, has found itself irrelevant amid more progressive moves made by the government in the past few years to erode the anticommunist sentiment inherited from the post-World War II era. The Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration revoked bans on books on communism, such as the Indonesian translation of Indonesia: Law, Propaganda and Terror by Julie Southwood and Patrick Flanagan, which offered evidence and analysis of the 1965 military coup and attempts to blame the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Other books and online publications shedding light on leftist thinking and past traces of communism in the country are also widely accessible today for any eager learners. The New Order's propaganda film, Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (The Treachery of G30S/PKI), featuring the government's version of the killings of army generals in 1965 that led to nationwide fear and anger toward the banned party and communism, has no longer been mandatory viewing since Soeharto's downfall. Communism has been defeated and its existence may only be relevant to China's political engine while it runs its economy on the wheels of capitalism. Resistance to the information age is of course futile. Should the police manage to foil all similar events, people can still educate themselves through the internet and private group discussions. Of course, it is not easy dealing with the 1965 issue, one of the darkest parts of the country's past. Soeharto, who sought to replace Sukarno at that time, had made the killing of the Army officers a reason to banish the PKI, the party that Sukarno, a nationalist, had relied on when his political influence was waning. President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's administration has made gestures toward atoning for the mass killings, but an apology has yet to be forthcoming; officials say the events during 1965 and its aftermath were complex and poorly recorded, despite official reports on the period submitted to the government by the national human rights body. At the time, political tumult in the capital turned out to be unbearable for the young country, as conflicts escalated on the ground that not only involved the military, which was under the command of Soeharto. Civilian groups were also involved in purging those they deemed communists. Former president Abdurrahman 'Gus Dur' Wahid, a leading cleric and former chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, apologized for the involvement of the NU youth, a group within the country's largest Muslim organization, in the purge. The New Order, a newborn regime at that time, was not a strong government that seemed capable of conducting a genocide as Nazi Germany did in Europe. Nor was it a superpower like the champions of the world war that had full control of the political, social and economic situation. In comparison, the New Order was merely the captain of a small boat trying to float along amid global political currents. Nevertheless, as an emerging economy coveted as a major trading hub by both the East and the West, it is better for the government to encourage people to improve knowledge and embrace various cultures, rather than succumbing to fear of a worn-out ideology. Rather than trying to block people's curiosity about 1965, the government should facilitate comprehensive historical research surrounding the purge to balance the previous tweaked single-perspective account propagated by the New Order. The fairer version of the history provides a chance for the young generation to learn about the country's past. This is less harmful than taking legal action against perpetrators, action that will not only prolong conflicts but also may leave the nation torn and wounded. No ideology, including communism, should be banned from study rooms because by building the blockage, the government is at the same time passing on a legacy of fear and discouraging openness and progress in society. In the absence of full comprehension, an uninformed society easily becomes scared of something unfamiliar and will always be a follower, instead of leading with innovative ideas. Such a society will dance to any beat, be it Western or Arabic, or even to that of IS. _________________________________ The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 29, 2016 March 23, 2016 Institut Francais Indonesia (IFI), the French cultural center in Bandung, West Java, and a Bandung-based theater group, Mainteater, canceled their monologue theater performance about national hero Tan Malaka on Wednesday following pressure from a hard-line group that accused the show of spreading communist ideology. The cancelation, just two hours before the show started, was related to pressure and threats from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), said IFI Bandung cultural program coordinator Ricky Arnold. The monologue, entitled Saya Rusa Berbulu Merah (I am a Red-furred Deer), was scheduled to be performed on Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. Your comments: I still can't think logically how these kinds of barbarian acts still happen in this democratic country. How come one group of people in the name of one hard-line Islamic group can do such oppression? I still can't believe it. Tan Malaka is a national hero, he was an Indonesian founding father. Yes he was a communist but he was an observant Muslim. He started his young life in an Islamic school in Yogyakarta. I think we have to re-arrange our view on communism. Communism has become a phantom for us since Soeharto's regime. Willyakhdes Why do Indonesians tolerate the usurpation of a legitimate function of their democratically elected government by a 'hard-line group'? These hard-liners are not elected and really don't have much support among the people. As such, they must not be allowed to limit debate. Ideas are what propel mankind forward and the stifling of ideas is the specialty of the bully. Abdul Fardji Bowing down to the mob is common here. Nate78 A better approach would be to allow the monologue and a rebuttal presentation. That way, differing views could be heard concerning Tan Malaka's place in Indonesian history. Randomthought Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post) Kupang Tue, March 29, 2016 Thousands of people gathered in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Monday to witness the Easter parade with participants coming from various religious and ethnic groups. The religious harmony shown in the 10-kilometer parade prompted NTT Governor Frans Lebu Raya to declare it, along with Semana Santa procession in Larantuka, East Flores regency, a religious-tourism icon. 'The spiritual celebrations in NTT, which involve thousands of people, should be promoted further, because the most important message contained in the events is religious harmony in NTT,' Frans said. Frans has instructed the Kupang mayor and East Flores regent to cooperate and package both spiritual events better, so tourists can have the unique experience of watching the Semana Santa in Larantuka, East Flores, on Good Friday and the Easter parade in Kupang on Easter Monday. The Semana Santa procession is a celebration of Jesus Christ and his mother Mary. It has been held by native Larantuka residents for five centuries. Indonesia Church Association (PGI) head Rev. Dr. Henriette Tabita Hutabarat Lebang expressed the hope the Easter parade could serve as a celebration for Christians in Kupang and not just a ceremonial festive event, it should be interpreted and implemented in everyday life. 'I came from as far as Jakarta to personally watch the annual Easter parade held in Kupang,' said Henriette, before starting the parade with the governor. Timor Evangelical Church (GMIT) leader Rev. Mery Kolimon said the Easter parade served as a message in the form of theological contextualization, which should be able to be implemented jointly by people in a spiritual and religious atmosphere. 'The Easter parade is not an act of fun with participants acting strangely during the procession. It should be understood that the Easter parade is a sermon and part of greater worship, so everyone watching can grasp the message conveyed through the parade,' said Mery. Easter parade organizing head Adrianus Talli said the parade was joined by 90 participants from GMIT, Catholic and interreligious groups in Kupang city. The parade, he added, was divided into various processions and set off in front of the Anugerah Church and finished at the Talitakumi Church. The leader of the Kupang chapter of the Indonesian Hindu Religious Council (PHDI) I Nyoman Mahayasa said the Easter parade was part of a positive religious activity in the framework of diversity in enhancing religious tolerance in NTT. 'We strongly support this event and thank you for the opportunity given to Hindus to join this event. Hopefully this carnival will become a new attraction for tourism in NTT in the future, in particular religious tourism,' Mahayasa told The Jakarta Post. NTT Ansor Youth Movement leader Abdul Muis said Ansor's participation in the event was part of the maintenance of harmony among religious communities in NTT. Ansor has been taking part in the event since 1996. 'The Easter parade, a commemoration for Christians is not only owned by them, but is also owned by the entire community in NTT,' he said. Kupang City Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Budi Hermawan said 450 personnel had been deployed to secure 35 spots along the route passed by the parade. 'The 35 points passed by the parade are traffic-congested areas, so they will be the focus of attention of the Kupang City Police,' he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tassia Sipahutar (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The tax office plans to deploy a special unit and team up with the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to probe thousands of foreign firms allegedly failing to pay their due taxes. Finance Ministry taxation director general Ken Dwijugiasteadi said around 2,000 foreign investment companies in various sectors, from industry and trade to automotives, had not paid their corporate income taxes properly over the past 10 years based on purported financial losses. The government previously reported that this alleged tax evasion had caused around Rp 500 trillion (US$37.53 billion) in state losses, as each firm should have paid on average Rp 25 billion during the period in question. Tax office spokesperson Mekar Satria Utama said the tax office had designated a unit to scrutinize on the foreign firms' tax receipts and was planning to team up with the BKPM, which was expected to provide data on the firms' operations. 'The taxation directorate general has formed a special team, namely the sub-directorate on special transaction investigation,' Mekar said. 'We will coordinate with the BKPM, so that when [the foreign companies] report to the BKPM, we can get all the data, so we know whether we can renew their permits or not.' The firms are suspected of carrying out 'transfer pricing' with their parent companies abroad ' mostly in low-tax countries ' leading to transactions between the two entities where all costs were borne by the firms in Indonesia, resulting in lower profits or even losses, while they were actually 'indebted' to their own parent companies. As firms suffer from losses, they are not required to pay monthly and annual income taxes (PPh) regulated by Articles 25 and 29, respectively, of Law No. 7/1983 on income tax. Non-listed firms are supposed to pay income tax of 25 percent on their profits, while publicly listed firms are obliged to pay 20 percent. 'The transfer pricing mechanism is just one way to avoid paying taxes,' Mekar said, adding that some firms had deliberately bankrupted themselves using other ways. The tax office suspects that foreign firms that had obtained tax allowances deliberately marked up their expenses as well. By the time the tax allowance period ended, the accumulated expenses were so high that they 'ate away' these firms' profitability. 'They also changed identities to be eligible for another tax allowance facility,' he said. The cycle then went on and on. The tax office provided no details on the suspected firms' names or their countries of origin. Representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce, the European Chamber of Commerce and the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry declined to comment on the issue, saying they did not know whether or not their member companies were included on the tax office's list of foreign investment companies (PMA). The tax office plans to work with the BKPM to check whether or not the firms are still registered as PMA. 'It will be up to the BKPM to follow up on their status, but there must be consequences for their tax avoidance,' Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said. The BKPM did not respond to requests for comment. The case once again highlights the country's tax woes, which include a low tax base, low tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio and a lack of compliance. There are only 27 million registered taxpayers from a 250 million population, and the country's tax ratio stands at 12 percent of GDP, a figure that President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo wants to see climbing to at least 14 percent in the coming years. University of Indonesia tax expert Gunadi said the government could implement an 'alternative minimum tax' on these foreign firms to ensure obedience. 'The rate may be based on assets, profits or sales,' he added. Yustinus Prastowo, the executive director of the Center of Indonesian Taxation Analysis (CITA), proposed that the government use a safe-harbor rule to estimate firms' tax debts, which would be simpler than the one used at present. Jokowi's administration is aiming to boost tax collection, with the revenues to be used for productive spending such as on infrastructure, but so far realization has been sluggish, with only around 80 percent of last year's target met. The tax office will also team up with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and the customs and excise director general to crack down on tax evaders. (win) ________________________________ 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 Arientha Primanita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 A Police officer accidentally detonated a hand grenade during a security workshop in Haluoleo University in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi on Tuesday leaving four people dead and eight others injured. The grenade exploded at around 3:30 p.m. while Adj. First Insp. Syafrudin, a member of the police's bomb disposal squad Gegana, was explaining to the public university's security officers about bomb materials in a workshop, newsportal tribunnews.com reported. As part of demonstration, Brig. Haidir, a member of Southeast Sulawesi Police Mobile Brigade, pulled out the grenade pin and was showing it to the participants when the grenade exploded. The blast took Haidir's life and three members of the university's security staff, identified as Jufri, Aswan and Kamarudin. Syafrudin and seven security personnel were injured in the explosion. Southeast Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Agung Sabar Santoso said the police were currently investigating the cause of the blast. The dead and injured were taken to Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Kendari. The incident took place during a two-week training workshop for the security staff of Haluoleo University. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The government is expected to cut fuel prices by between Rp 200 (1 US cent) to Rp 500 per liter by the end of this month, following the persistent drop in oil prices and in light of the stable rupiah. Jakarta-based research group ReforMiner Institute's executive director Komaidi Notonegoro argued that with the current global price of oil resting at around $30 per barrel and the stable rupiah, the government should cut the prices of subsidized diesel, gasoline and kerosene. "We expect the fuel price will come down by about Rp 200 to Rp 500 per liter. The government will deliberately cut the prices with reference to the market price," Komaidi told thejakartapost.com on Monday. Currently, the price of subsidized Premium gasoline in Java, Madura and Bali stands at Rp 7,050 per liter. Outside the three islands, Premium is sold for Rp 6,950 per liter, subsidized diesel for Rp 5,659 per liter and kerosene for Rp 2,500. Further, ReforMiner projected that oil prices would remain flat until the end of 2017, giving the government more room to remove subsidies on diesel. "It is relatively within the range of people's purchasing power, provided that the rupiah remains stable," he said. Earlier, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said confirmed that new fuel prices would be announced on March 29 or March 30. According to him, the decision was part of the ministry's commitment to review fuel prices on a quarterly basis. However, he explained that the price cut would be milder than the drop in the world oil price might suggest, as the government planned to keep some portion of the margin to shore up the budget. (ags)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The government hopes to increase locally made pharmaceutical products, ingredients and medical equipment through the 11th economic policy package, which was issued on Tuesday, a minister says. Two hundred and six companies control 76 percent of the local pharmaceutical industry. Ninety-five companies produce 60 types of pharmaceutical products using middle- to low-tech methods. However, 90 percent of the ingredients are imported. "Regarding the import-dominated industry and the government program to provide universal health care, the government wants medicine and its ingredients to be made locally," said Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution in Jakarta on Tuesday. At least 939 types of medicine and supplements were used in the national healthcare program last year, he said. Most were basic remedies, such as painkillers, paracetamol and penicillin and vitamins. Pharmaceutical sales reached Rp 62.1 trillion (US$4.6 billion) last year. 'We want the medicine and ingredients made locally. We will issue a presidential decree to speed up deregulation of the pharmaceutical industry,' Darmin said. Five product categories will be focused on for local production, he continued, such as biotechnology, vaccines, herbal extracts, active pharmaceutical ingredient and medical devices. The government will encourage business development in the industry through private investment, synergy between private companies with state-owned enterprises and synergy among state-owned pharmaceutical companies Bio Farma, Indofarma and Kimia Farma. To support the use of locally produced medicine, the government has removed the pharmaceutical sector from the negative investment list, allowing foreign investors 100 percent ownership. The government will extend e-catalogue and medicinal standard usage and provide a tax holiday, a special economic zone and an integrated logistics center. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The Home Ministry has ordered every public cemetery administrator in the country to regularly report data on deaths to improve poor civil registration data that has led to inefficiencies in public service delivery. 'The ministry has informed every regional head in the country of the policy, so that they can implement it this year,' Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, the ministry's population and civil registration director general, said on Monday. On March 17, the ministry issued a circular to every regional head stating that every public cemetery administrator must process death registries. These registries consist of, among other things, the citizenship identity number (NIK) of the deceased, the place and date of death, and the name of the person who reported the death to the cemetery. Each agency head at the regency and mayoralty level is obliged to report each month the death registry to provincial cemetery agency heads. The latter then report the data to the director general of the population and civil registration office. Zudan said that the policy was aimed at improving data on population, which will serve as the basis for the potential voter list (DP4) in future elections. 'Fixing the data of deaths is our top priority this year, since the The General Election Commission uses the DP4 as its basis to create the preliminary eligible voter list [DPS] and than confirm it in the final voter list [DPT],' Zudan said. Anny, the ministry's acting director of civil registration, said that very often elections in the country were tainted by the inclusion of dead people in the DPT. 'This happens because the neighborhood group [RT] and community unit [RW] heads rarely convey the data to subdistrict heads, who must report the data to the cemetery agency at the regency level,' she told The Jakarta Post. Anny also said the inclusion of dead people in data on population often lead to the misuse of social assistance for the poor. 'People often outsmart social agency offices, which are responsible for giving out the assistance,' Anny said. Under the 2014 law on citizenship and administration, the government is obliged to proactively gather data on citizens, including data on births, migration and death. 'The public is not familiar with the new system. Before the 2014 law, it was the resident who was obliged to report any change to the data,' Anny said. The budget for the new policy will be allocated from the annual budgets of the various regions, Anny said. 'Every region has a different standard for using its budget. The budget for the death registry depends on the number of deaths in every region,' Anny explained. Zudan said he hoped that the policy would alert the public about the importance of death certificates. 'The low number of recorded death certificates is primarily caused by the public's unawareness of the need for the certificate,' Zudan said. A number of regions, such as Ambon in Maluku, and Depok and Bandung in West Java, have incentivized families to report deaths. 'Recorded deaths increased after the administrations in those areas decided to give social assistance to the family of the deceased,' he said. (mos) ____________________________________ 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 Depok Tue, March 29, 2016 Depok Police have arrested a police officer for his alleged involvement in the death of his wife. Depok Police head Sr. Comr. Dwiyono confirmed the arrest, saying that Chief Brig. Triyono was arrested along with a man identified as Rahmat. Dwiyono said the officer was with the Depok Police quick response unit. Both were detained at the Depok Police station for further investigation. 'The motive was anger because he was often scolded by his wife,' Dwiyono said as quoted by tribunnews.com. The police allege the husband ordered Rahmat to kill his wife. The police have yet to reveal the details of the reported murder. Ratnita Handriani, 37, was found dead with a bloody nose in her bedroom of her house in Cimanggis, Depok, West Java, on Sunday night. The head of the area's neighborhood unit, Waras, told the police that Triyono went to him after work, saying that he tried to wake his wife up, but to no avail. Later, Triyono and Waras entered the bedroom together. They called a doctor who declared Ratnita had died two hours earlier. Depok Police community development head Comr. Suharto said that the officer was known to quarrel nonstop with his wife Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Sixty-four shacks along the railway in Kebon Manggis subdistrict, Matraman, in East Jakarta were demolished following numerous reports from nearby residents who claimed the buildings were often used as places of prostitution. 'There were 64 shacks demolished following reports about prostitution,' the head of East Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), Hartono, was quoted as saying on Monday by beritajakarta.com. He said besides the reports, the building were also deemed illegal as the land belonged to state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api (KAI). 'We hope that KAI can maintain its assets to avoid illegal use,' he said. Hartono said that 150 members of a joint force, made up of Satpol PP, Indonesian Army, police and nearby residents, were deployed during the operation. The force found empty alcoholic beverage bottles. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tangerang Tue, March 29, 2016 A woman frightened passengers at the 2D departure terminal of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, when she randomly pointed an airsoft gun at people in the area on Monday morning. Police said witnesses reported that the woman started pointing the gun at people passing near her as soon she got out of a taxi. She scolded those who tried to approach and calm her down. 'She would scold any man who tried to approach her, but she managed to calm down when she was approached by a woman,' said Terminal 2D police station head First Adj. Insp. Eko Suseno as quoted by kompas.com on Monday, adding that the woman even spat at a man who tried to speak to her. Bystanders eventually managed to calm her down and bring her to the Soekarno-Hatta Police headquarters to be questioned. In her possession, police found several cards ' including an identity card of a man named Supriadi ' and bullets for the gun. As of Monday afternoon, the police had yet to reveal her motive. 'We cannot question her, or ask for her identity, as she keeps mumbling and scolding us. She said she was looking for her father,' Eko said, adding that no casualties or victims were reported in the incident. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Members of the Hanura and NasDem parties, which have expressed their support for incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama to seek reelection as an independent candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial election, have begun to help the Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) group to collect photocopies of identity cards of Jakarta voters. Ahok has declared himself an independent gubernatorial candidate, paring with his subordinate Heru Budi Hartono, head of the Jakarta Financial Asset Management Board, ahead of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. For the purpose, NasDem has established Muda Mudi Ahok, while Hanura has assigned its youth wings ' Student Unit and Satria Hanura ' to help collect ID card copies as part of the requirements for candidates who wish to run independently. "They want to help us gather the copies of ID cards. We really appreciate it," said Teman Ahok spokesman Singgih Widyastono. Hundreds of members of Muda Mudi Ahok have established posts across the city to garner support from Jakarta voters by providing copies of their ID cards. Based on existing regulations, a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate is required to seek initial support from 6.5 percent of the city's eligible voters ' about 532,000 people ' by collecting copies of their IDs. Initially, Teman Ahok claimed that its volunteers had collected more than 700,000 copies of IDs, but they were gathered before Ahok appointed his deputy candidate. Therefore, they need to verify whether the voters would still support Ahok with his appointed deputy candidate. Teman Ahok said it had managed to collect 322,000 IDs since its volunteers restarted collecting ID copies after the appointment of Budi. Chairwoman of Hanura's Jakarta chapter, Miryam Haryani, promised that her group would deploy all of its resources up to neighborhood units (RT) and community units (RW) to help Ahok run as an independent candidate. She said her party would not only focus on collecting copies of IDs for Ahok, but would also appoint members to promote Ahok in their respective neighborhoods. As an example, she said, if there were five polling station in a community unit, Hanura would assign five members to seek support for Ahok. "We will work especially to encourage residents to vote for Ahok," Miryam told thejakartapost.com on Monday. Hanura will also make sure that Ahok's supporters are registered to vote, said Miryam. A number of Hanura executives, including the deputy chairman of Hanura's Jakarta chapter, Rahmat HS, have expressed their disagreement with the party's move to support Ahok, saying the decision was not in line with the aspirations of the party's followers. (bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 House of Representatives Speaker Ade Komarudin insisted on Monday that he would press ahead with his ambitious plan to build the largest library in Southeast Asia in the legislative complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta. The Golkar Party politician said that he would immediately discuss the plan and seek support from House factions and deputy chairpersons after the recess period so that the construction of the new library could start soon. The initiative to build the library originated with a number of intellectuals: Nirwan Dewanto, Nirwan Ahmad Arsuka and Nong Darol Mahmada, as well as Golkar politician Rizal Mallarangeng and Democratic Party executive Ulil Abshar Abdala. The library is set to be a world-class one, like the Library of Congress in the US, which stores 36 million books, and will beat Singapore's National Library, currently the largest in Southeast Asia. To be the largest in the region, Ade said that he would need to gather only 600,000 books to beat the total 500,000 books that Singapore's National Library has. The aggressive plan to build the library has drawn criticism. People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid said he considered that the construction of the library was not urgently needed. 'The library should not become a priority. It's better for the lawmakers to focus on improving their legislative performances,' Hidayat said. He also questioned how often the House members would go to the library. 'Only God knows,' said the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician. NasDem Party faction deputy chairman Jhonny G. Plate said that House leaders should delay the construction of the library because of the country's weak economic condition. 'The country has the potential to face a Rp 290 trillion (US$21.6 billion) budget deficit this year. The funds allocated for the library would better go to open more job opportunities for people,' he said. Furthermore, he added that physical books were antiquated and it was time to move to an e-library with e-books. 'We have to run with the development of technology. The House now needs more Wi-Fi and stronger internet connection to access data,' Johnny said. The House Speaker said that he would pay no mind to any critic he considered as 'knowing nothing about the plan'. 'It's a good idea for the country, aimed at educating the nation, particularly younger generations. Why do the public or other parties still criticize?' he asked. Ade also still insisted that there was no problem with the budget as he planned use some of the Rp 570 billion allocated in this year's budget for new legislative buildings, adding the House could ask for more funds in the revised state budget (APBN-P). The idea to construct the library also appears amid the government's pressure to pass a tax amnesty bill. Revision of the tax amnesty bill is at the initiative of the Golkar Party and is currently under deliberation by the House's Legislative Body (Baleg). Ade said that he would immediately finish the deliberation of the bill so that the budget to build the library would be sufficient. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The House of Representative's plan to build Southeast Asia's biggest library using state funds has created controversy among House members who have argued for alternative ways of using the money to improve the effectiveness of legislative members. House Deputy Speaker H. Hidayat Nur Wahid said building the library would be a waste as he expressed doubt as to whether House members would make use of it, given that an existing library in the House complex is seldom visited. "So far, which House members go to the library? God knows the answer. Building the biggest library would just be useless if there is not an existing reading culture in place," Hidayat, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com. He also expressed his pessimism that the plan would receive support from the general public because the House had not yet shown maximum productivity. House members' performances should be enhanced, he said, before they demanded additional facilities. "I am worried that visitors to the library would not even be House members but colleagues of specialized staff," Hidayat added. He said there were other ways to improve the performance of House members aside from building a luxurious library, such as taking advantage of the large number of books available on the internet. Meanwhile, the Gerinda Party faction also expressed its disagreement to the library construction, pointing out the current unfavorable economic conditions. "The government has a deficit of almost Rp 300 trillion [US$22.47 billion]. All budget allocations are being cut. The House should not be stubborn [in its desire to build a library]," said Gerindra faction head Ahmad Muzani. He said the House could afford to delay the project and make do with the existing library. If the book collection was deemed incomplete, members could search at other libraries, bookstores or even online, Muzani added. The Nasdem Party faction expressed similar concerns and pointed out that a large number of House members actually preferred to access electronic books via the internet. "Currently the trend points to a shift from physical lending of books toward e-books and e-libraries, therefore the whole library concept should be revisited so that it can be adjusted to the developments of information and technology," said faction deputy chairman Johnny G. Platte. He suggested that the House would be better off improving the wireless internet network at the legislative complex so that members could access e-books with ease. Johnny said the funds required for improving internet capacity would be significantly lower than the amount needed to build the biggest library in Southeast Asia. The remainder of the funds could be allocated to infrastructure development, creating new jobs at the same time, he added. House Speaker Ade Komarudin revealed plans to build the library after a closed-door meeting with noted intellectuals, including poet Nirwan Dewanto, writer Nirwan Ahmad Arsuka and public figures Rizal Mallarangeng, Ulil Abshar Abdala and Nong Darol Mahmada. The design is said to imitate that of the US Library of Congress and would need Rp 570 billion from this year's budget for new legislative buildings. Ade urged the House to immediately start planning the library, arguing that it would not be difficult to realize the project. In comparison to the region's current largest library, Singapore's National Library, which has 500,000 books, the proposed new library would need only 550,000 to 600,000 to be the largest in Southeast Asia, Ade added. (liz/bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Coal miner PT Indo Tambangraya Megah is aiming to sell 28.5 million tons of coal this year, a figure almost unchanged from last year's sales of 28.2 million tons, the result of sluggish consumption and an economic slowdown. Although the mining company did not disclose its net sales target for this year, it hoped to increase it from last year's net sales of US$1.589 billion. The Jakarta-based company, 65 percent of the shares of which are controlled by Singapore's Banpu Minerals, saw its net sales drop 18.2 percent last year from $1.943 billion in 2014 because of a decline in commodity prices. As for net profits, the company booked $63 million last year, down 68.6 percent from $201 million in 2014 as its average selling price dropped to $56.4 per ton last year compared to $67.1 per ton the previous year. 'There have been several efficiency programs conducted by the company, including decreasing the stripping ratio from 10 to 8.5 in 2015,' Indo Tambangraya investor relations director Yulius Gozali said, referring to the ratio of the volume of waste material that must be removed to retrieve coal. Coal prices have steadily declined in the past few years, partially because of a push to use more environmentally friendly energy sources and also because of declining demand from a major coal importer, China. The situation has led to steep declines in the profits of Indonesian coal producers. Australia's Newcastle coal price, an Asian benchmark, was recently recorded at $52.50 per metric ton, having risen 5 percent since the beginning of the year, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Indonesia's coal reference price (HBA) has also increased slightly to $51.62 this month from $50.92 in February. Indo Tambangraya's data shows that last year India overtook China for the largest distribution of sales with 19 percent of total sales, 5.4 million tons, followed by Japan with 5.1 million tons. However, China still made the top three with 16 percent, 4.4 million tons, which is a drop from 6.8 million tons they imported from Indo Tambangraya in 2014. The domestic market made up 13 percent of sales, 3.7 million tons. Indo Tambangraya's marketing director Jusnan Ruslan said Asia was still the company's main market, as many countries in the region were still developing and needed coal to support their development. 'Asia still has the largest demand for coal in the world ['] in terms of China and India. Although China's imports decreased, we still believe that our coal is still extremely competitive for China's market, so it is still one of our main targets. India's demands are also desirable as its growth increases every year,' he said. Indo Tambangraya was also targeting countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar as future clients and sought to increase sales in the Philippines and Malaysia, which bought and imported 2.1 million tons and 0.3 million tons of coal from the company, respectively. Furthermore, the company has also prepared a capital expenditure of $38.4 million, an increase from last year's realization of $22.9 million. Up to 64 percent of the capex, $24.6 million, will go to its subsidiary PT Trubaindo Coal Mining, which will fund infrastructure development and the procurement of machinery. ----------------- 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 Khoirul Amin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Publicly listed food giant PT Indofood Sukses Makmur booked a lackluster performance in both sales and net profits amid an unfavorable business climate last year, when the country's economy grew at its slowest pace in six years. The group, which is listed on the bourse as INDF, recorded a 23.8 percent slump in net profits to only Rp 2.97 trillion (US$222.75 million) last year from Rp 3.9 trillion in 2014. The relatively poor performance was mainly the result of ballooning financing costs amid almost flat sales, according to the firm's financial report published on Monday. The conglomerate's net sales increased by just 0.7 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 64.06 trillion last year from Rp 63.59 trillion in 2014, according to the report. Its sales costs, meanwhile, slightly increased to Rp 46.8 trillion last year from Rp 46.5 trillion in 2014, and its financing costs surged by 72.3 percent yoy to Rp 2.67 trillion from Rp 1.55 trillion. NH Korindo Securities head of research Reza Priyambada said Indofood's sales growth last year was far below most analysts' forecast of between 5 and 7 percent. 'If we review it, the company's performance has been volatile since its consumer branded products [CBP] became a separate entity ICBP. It was also affected by economic slowdown last year,' he said on Monday. In addition, the company's poor revenue growth was likely due to insignificant price hikes of its products that failed to counterbalance low demand last year, he said. Indonesia's economic growth amounted to only 4.79 percent last year, the lowest rate since 2009. Southeast Asia's largest economy saw household spending, which is its main growth engine, rise by 4.96 percent last year, down from 5.14 percent in 2014. Indofood's CBP unit, the company's largest contributor to overall sales, saw its sales grew by only 5.7 percent yoy to Rp 31.74 trillion last year, lower than the 6.6 percent annual growth rate achieved in 2014. It furthermore booked 13.6 percent yoy growth in net profits to Rp 3 trillion last year, a far cry from the 27.9 percent increase in 2014. CBP, which produces the popular instant noodle brand Indomie, made up 49 percent of Indofood's total net revenues last year. Indofood's Bogasari, agribusiness and distribution business units, meanwhile, contributed around 24 percent, 19 percent and 8 percent to the company's total revenues last year, respectively. Indofood president director & CEO Anthony Salim signaled that the company's performance would likely improve this year on the back of better macroeconomic conditions. 'Entering 2016, we are positive on the improvement in the macroeconomic climate. However, we remain cautious about the possibility of new challenges emerging. We'll continue to pursue sustainable growth, both organic and inorganic, while maintaining a healthy financial position,' he said in a statement. The government aims for gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.3 percent this year, with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting 4.9 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively. Previously, Samuel Sekuritas economist Lana Soelistianingsih has argued that the business climate could improve this year as the government started to implement economic stimulus packages and spent more on infrastructure. ----------------- 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 29, 2016 An Indonesian vessel is still being held by the Abu Sayyaf militant group at unknown location in the Philippines after another vessel was handed over to the Philippine government and the notorious group asked for a ransom of 50 million Philippine pesos (US$1.1 million), officials have said. Previously, two Indonesian flagged vessels, the tugboat Brahma 12 and the barge Anand 12, carrying 7,000 tons of coal and 10 Indonesian crew, were taken hostage by the militant group, according to information from the Foreign Ministry. The hijackers asked for 50 million pesos or Rp 15 billion, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso said on Tuesday. "The crew are being held hostage but treated well. The hijackers asked for a ransom," he told news portal tempo.co. The vessels were hijacked after departing from the Puting River in South Kalimantan for Batangas in the southern Philippines. The Brahma 12 has been released and is in the hands of the Philippine authorities. Meanwhile, the Anand 12 and the 10 crew are still being held hostage and their location is unknown. The vessels' owner found out about the hijacking on March 26 after receiving two phone calls from a stranger claiming to be a member of the Abu Sayyaf group. The government was prioritizing the safety of the 10 crew, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry is said to be communicating intensively with the Philippine government regarding the incident. Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf is a notorious Islamic extremist group in the southern Philippines, known for kidnappings, beheadings, bombings and extortion over the past decade in the largely Christian Philippines. (afr/rin)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The Indonesian Embassy in Manila has confirmed that an Indonesian vessel has been hijacked in the Philippines and its crew is being held hostage. "The latest news said it's true that an Indonesian-flagged vessel has been hijacked and its crewmen have been kidnapped," embassy spokesperson Basriana said via text message on Monday. However, Basriana could not confirm whether the hijacking of the Indonesian vessel involved Abu Sayyaf militants, a group of Islamic extremists that has become notorious for a series of deadly attacks over recent decades, tempo.co reported. The embassy was still coordinating with the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao and other relevant authorities in the Philippines to gain deeper insights into the situation, Basriana said. News circulating in the media said the southern Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf group had taken over the Indonesian-flagged vessel and taken 10 Indonesian crewmen hostage. Previously, an Indonesian sailor from North Sulawesi, Papae Cleon Clevy, wrote about the incident on his Facebook account, leading to the statement circulating among Indonesian seamen. "It's confirmed that one tugboat named Brahma 12 is under arrest by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, the vessel is from Banjarmasin with coal cargo," Papae wrote. In a previous post, Papae uploaded a screenshot of the Facebook page of Peter Tonsen Barahama, the captain of the Brahma 12. A circulating port clearance document stated that the tugboat departed for the Philippines from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, on March 15, carrying coal and 16 crewmen. The ship was reportedly hijacked on Saturday. Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said the ministry was still digging for more information about the incident. "We're still trying to find out the information," Arrmanatha said, adding that he had heard the news from journalists. The National Counterterrorism Agency's (BNPT) deradicalization director Irfan Idfris said the agency had sought information from the police. The latest information claimed the crewmen were being held on land and the captors were demanding a ransom of 50 million pesos or Rp 14.2 billion (US$1.07 million). (afr/bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Medan Tue, March 29, 2016 Seven traditional fishermen from Langkat and Deli Serdang regencies in North Sumatra arrived at Kualanamu Airport in Medan on Monday after being detained in Malaysia for two months for illegal fishing. Families and relatives welcomed the fishermen who were arrested in Kendi Island waters, Penang, in January. Syahrul, one of the fishermen, claimed they did not know that they had entered Malaysian waters as their boat was not equipped with GPS. He said the fishermen were treated well during their detention. North Sumatra Regional Representatives Council member Parlindungan Purba has asked the government to provide fishermen with GPS devices to avoid similar situations happening in the future. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The case dossier of Jessica Kumala Wongso, the sole suspect in the premeditated murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin, is incomplete and therefore the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office will return it to the Jakarta Police on April 4, the prosecutor's office has said. The prosecutors said the police lacked evidence in the high profile investigation, in which the police have also sought assistance from the Australian Federal Police (AFP). "What we need is information from witnesses who directly witnessed the incident,' Jakarta Prosecutor's Office spokesman Waluyo told thejakartapost.com on Tuesday. Jessica's criminal and psychological records from her time living in Australia provided by the AFP as well as testimony from witnesses and experts did not relate to the death of Mirna, he added. Waluyo stressed that the police should focus on information from people who directly witnessed the incident, Waluyo said. The police would be allowed to extend Jessica's detention for another 60 days, making the total period of detention 120 days, Waluyo said. Earlier this month, prosecutors returned Jessica's dossier for similar reasons. The police then resubmitted the dossier to the prosecutor's office on March 21. Former Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said earlier that Jessica's criminal record from the AFP, featuring 14 offenses, had been included in the dossier. Neither the police nor prosecutors have revealed Jessica's convictions in Australia. Mirna died after drinking an iced coffee at a cafA in Jakarta on Jan. 6 together with Jessica and another friend, Hani. Based on the crime scene investigation, Jessica arrived first at the cafA and ordered cocktails and an iced coffee. Mirna and Hani arrived later and Mirna drank the coffee. She then suffered convulsions and died on the way to hospital. (bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dian Arthen (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Fresh off his Oscars win, actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio paid a visit on Sunday to Mount Leuser National Park, which straddles the border of Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. Accompanied by fellow actors Adrien Brody and Fisher Stevens, he took a tour around the park's research facility in Ketambe, Southeast Aceh regency. During their visit, they met three Sumatran orangutans and closely watched the great apes' behavior. According to DiCaprio's official website, his 1998-launched foundation is partnering with Acehnese conservationist Rudi Putra to create a wildlife sanctuary in the Leuser ecosystem of Aceh. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is set to support Rudi's project to maintain the forest by constructing barriers, training wildlife patrols and rangers, and recording and reporting ongoing habitat destruction. In January, the activist announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that his foundation was donating new grants of $15 million to environmental projects, which included funding to protect the Sumatran rainforest. (kes)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is aiming to increase its sales by 4 percent this year, particularly by improving its after-sales service and opening five outlets across the country. The company also plans to improve customer engagement by organizing events such as family gatherings and driving experiences. The measures will be taken to reach the 4 percent growth target this year as the company saw a 12 percent decline in sales last year compared to the previous year. This year Mitsubishi aims to sell 80,000 vehicles in the country, consisting of 52,000 light commercial vehicles (LCV) and 28,000 passenger cars, up from the 77,000 vehicles sold in 2015, which consisted of about 20,000 passenger cars and 57,000 LCV. To reach the target, Mitsubishi's authorized distributor in Indonesia, PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors (KTB), will improve its after-sales services as part of the company's service to customers. 'We hope our program could effectively increase customer satisfaction toward Mitsubishi products,' said KTB's head of sales and marketing division, Imam Choeru Cahya, referring to the efforts to improve sales, maintenance service and spare parts availability. In addition, Mitsubishi has also introduced several programs to grab a larger market by developing five new outlets ' in Denpasar (Bali), Pekanbaru (Riau), Malang (East Java), Palembang (South Sumatra) and Jakarta ' to bring the company's total number of outlets up to 79. Meanwhile, the company implement a customer engagement program through many events like the 'Pajero Sport Family Gathering' and the 'Outlander Sport Driving Experience'. All those programs are expected to reverse the company's performance of 2015, which saw a 12 percent decline from 2014. The decline was due to Indonesia's economic slowdown, which also shrank the entire automotive sector by 14 percent last year. KTB's president director, Hisashi Ishimaki said he was sure the company would thrive after the decline. 'We are trying to overcome the economic turbulence by providing better quality, so I think the 4 percent target is rational,' he said recently. Hisashi said he was sure Indonesia, home to 250 million, was still profitable for the automotive industry. To gain more profits and a stronger foothold, Mitsubishi is now developing a plant that will start producing vehicles in 2017. 'We are investing A60 billion [US$ 500 million] in the plant and the progress has reached 74 percent,' Hisashi said. The new plant will be situated on a 30-hectare plot of land in the Greenland International Industrial Center (GIIC) in Bekasi, West Java, and will have a production capacity of 160,000 passenger vehicles comprising small multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), the Pajero sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and the L300 truck. Once it starts operating in April next year, Mitsubishi will begin producing 60,000 vehicles for the domestic market and 20,000 vehicles for export to ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. Mitsubishi's first and currently only active plant is located in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta, and has a capacity of 150,000 vehicles. It manufactures both passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Hisashi said once active, the new plant would focus on passenger cars, where the old plant would focus only on commercial vehicles. One customer, Fadel Sabirin, said Mitsubishi had already been providing good after-sales service, although it needed some improvement. 'Many of Mitsubishi's dealers have a pleasant waiting room with good facilities. Their service is also satisfying, but I often have to wait for a week only for the service,' he said, adding that they need to cut down on the waiting time. ----------------- 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 Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The Jakarta administration will soon evict 200 families living on the eastern side of Pluit Reservoir in North Jakarta, following its plan to strengthen the dike immediately adjacent to the sea. As the sea level is almost level with the top of the dike, the administration plans to expand and reinforce it by the end of this year. The dike, which will connect Pluit Reservoir to Nizam Zachman fishing port in Muara Baru, North Jakarta, will be 3.8 meters high, a meter higher than the current dike, which stands at 2.8 meters. Nonetheless, Housing and Government Building's Agency head Ika Lestari Aji said on Monday that the administration would be unlikely to evict all residents in the area this year as the administration had not prepared sufficient low-cost rental apartment (rusunawa) units to accommodate the evictees. In the initial phase this year, she added, the administration might only relocate 200 families to several rusunawa such as Marunda and Muara Baru in North Jakarta. Fewer than a hundred units in Marunda rusunawa, as well as no more than 50 units in Muara Baru, are available, Ika said. 'We will then proceed with other stages of evictions in the area after we finish constructing apartments in eight locations in the capital,' Ika told The Jakarta Post, adding that the construction would be finished this year. She said that the city was building rusunawa in East Bekasi in West Java, KS Tubun in Central Jakarta, Semper in North Jakarta, and Rawa Buaya in West Jakarta, as well as West Cakung, Pinus Elok, Rawabebek, Jatinegara Kaum ' all in East Jakarta. With those rusunawa, the administration would have around 2,443 new units. This year's evictions are part of the administration's revitalization of Pluit Reservoir, which began during the governorship of current President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo. At the time the administration pledged to the residents that it would not evict them before it had places for relocation. Ika said that once the administration cleared the area around Pluit Reservoir, it might build another rusunawa in the area. The construction would probably be finished in 2019 or 2020. Previously, Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said that the administration was set to expand the dike at Pluit by the end of this year in a bid to prevent the area from being inundated. The construction, he added, had to start soon because of the subsidence in the capital. 'If the sea overwhelms the current dike, it would collapse and could kill 10,000 people in the area,' Ahok said last Thursday when he accompanied Netherlands' Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders to observe the densely populated neighborhood. On the occasion, Koenders said that he made the visit to take a look at the administration's policy of providing better housing, as well as a cleaner environment, for people living in slum areas, like near Pluit Reservoir. 'We both work on the same issue, which is keeping out water. What I see here is impressive as I see [the administration's policy] could lead to a better future for the people,' Koenders told reporters. 'I am very happy to see it and the close relationship between the Netherlands and the government on this issue.' The government has been working with water-management specialists from Dutch research institute Deltares in building the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development project, known as the Giant Sea Wall, in a bid to protect the capital, which is currently threatened by subsidence that could leave parts of the city 4 to 9 meters below sea level. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anis H. Bajrektarevic (The Jakarta Post) Vienna Tue, March 29, 2016 There is a claim constantly circulating the EU: 'multiculturalism is dead in Europe''. Dead or maybe d(r)ead? That much comes from a cluster of European nation-states that love to romanticize ' in a grand metanarrative of dogmatic universalism ' their appearance as a coherent union, as if they themselves lived a long, cordial and credible history of multiculturalism. Hence, this claim and its resonating debate is of course false. It is also cynical because it is purposely deceiving. No wonder, as the conglomerate of nation-states EU has silently handed over one of its most important debates ' that of European anti-fascistic identity, or otherness ' to the wing-parties. This was repeatedly followed by the selective and contra-productive foreign policy actions of the EU over the last two decades. Twin Paris shootings and this fresh Brussels horror, terrible beyond comprehension, will reload and overheat those debates. However, these debates are ill conceived, resting from the start on completely wrong and misleading premises. Terrorism, terror, terrorism! ' But, terror is a tactics, not an ideology. How can one conduct and win war on tactics? ' it is an oxymoron. (In that case, only to win are larger budgets for the homeland security apparatus on expenses of our freedoms and liberties, like so many times before.) The fact that these individuals are (again) allegedly of Arab-Muslim origins and seemingly clero-indoctrinated does not make them less fascists, less European, nor does it abolish Europe from the main responsibility in this case. How do we define that challenge will answer us whether we live the real democracy or are blinded by the formal one. Fascism and its evil twin, Nazism, are 100 percent European ideologies. Neo-Nazism also originates from and lately unchecked blossoms, primarily in Europe. Many would dare say of today; an Aber-economy in the center of continent, surrounded from all sides by the recuperating neo-fascism. How else to explain that the post-World War II come-and-help-our-recovery slogan ''gastarbeiter willkommen'' became an ''Auslander raus'' roar in a matter of only two decades, or precisely since the triumph of the free will ' fall of the Berlin Wall. Suddenly, our national purifiers extensively shout 'stop Aberfremdung of EU, we need de-ciganization' of our societies, as if it historically does not always end up in one and only possible way ' self-barbarization. In response, the socially marginalized and ghettoized 'foreigners' are calling for the creation of gastarbeiterpartie. Indeed, the first political parties for foreigners are already created in Austria, with similar calls in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Their natural coalition partner would never be any of the main political parties. We should know by now, how the diverting of the mounting socio-economic discontent and generational disfranchising through ethno engineering will end up, don't we? Illuminating cradles of millennial multiculturalism ' some of the brightest verticals of entire human civilization such as Jerusalem, Baghdad and Damascus still suffer unbearable horrors of externally induced, rather a historical destruction, hatred and perpetuated purges. With such a dismal 'export' record, universal claim of the European political system or even its historic perspective does not hold water any longer, hardly appealing to anyone anymore. Europe still defies the obvious. There is no lasting peace at home if the neighborhood remains restless. Ask Americans living at the Mexican border, or Turks next to Syria. The horrific double Paris massacre and this fresh Brussel's shock is yet another a painful reminder of how much the EU has already isolated itself. For unreasonably long, Europe promoted in the Middle East and Africa everything but the stability and prosperity of its own post-World War II socioeconomic model. No wonder that today, instead of blossoming neighborhood, the EU is encircled by the ring of politico-military instability and socioeconomic despair. The colonial overstretch/economic chauvinism, yesterday abroad ' means a moral overkill, today at home. In this context, one should understand also the Oxfam study 'Wealth: Having it All and Wanting More' released in January. It documents into a detail, all the enormous wealth accumulation on the side of 1 percent over the last 25 years, as well as the further acceleration of wealth gap. Rather mistakenly, many would consider 99 percent as a principal victim, although 99 percent themselves are primarily, sustained and for years, responsible for this cleavage by ignoring and silencing it.) Hence, when there is no opportunity, give at least a lame (Spring) hope. That is what Europe keenly helped with in the Middle East: The very type of Islam Europe supported in the Middle East yesterday, is the version of Islam (or better to say, fascism), we are getting today in the Christian Europe as well as in the Christian neighborhoods of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Thus, in response to the Balkans, MENA and Ukraine crises, the EU repeatedly failed to keep up a broad, single-voiced consolidated agenda and all-participatory basis with its strategic neighborhood. The EU missed it all ' although having institutions, World War II-memory, interest credibility and ability to prevent mistakes. The very same mistakes it did before at home; by silently handing over one of its most important questions, that of European identity, anti-fascism and otherness, to escapist anti-politics (politics in retreat) dressed up in the Western European wing-parties. Eventually, the 'last world's cosmopolitan' ' as the EU is often self-portrayed ' compromised its own perspectives and discredited its own transformative power's principle. The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, EU did so by undermining its own institutional framework: the Nurnberg principles and firm antifascist legacy, Barcelona Process as the specialized segment of from-Morocco-to-Russia European Neighborhood Policy and the Euro-Med partnership. The only direct involvement of the continent was ranging between a selective diplomatic de-legitimization, satanization in media, false-flag or proxy assaults, and punitive military engagements via the Atlantic-Central Europe-led coalition of the willing (the Balkans, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine). This naturally results in a massive influx of refugees, a consequence to which Europeans usually respond by criminalizing migrations and penalizing the immigrants' way of life. Confrontational nostalgia prevailed again over both that is essential for any viable future: Dialogue (instruments) and consensus (institutions). The consequences are rather striking and worth of stating once more: The sort of Islam that the EU supported (and the means deployed to do so) in the Middle East yesterday, is the sort of Islam (and the means it uses) that Europe gets today. Small wonder, that Islam in Turkey (or in Kyrgyzstan and in Indonesia) is broad, liberal and tolerant while the one in Atlantic-Central Europe is a brutally dismissive, narrow and vindictively assertive. Our urgent task ' if we are any serious about Europe ' is denazification. Not a one-time event, but a lasting process. Let's start from Bosnia, Ukraine and Brussels at once. ____________________________________ The writer is chairperson and professor in international law and global political studies. His most recent book Geopolitics ' Energy ' Technology was released by the German publisher LAP. No Asian Century is his forthcoming book, scheduled for later this year. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hamza Hendawi & Menelaos Hadjicostis (The Jakarta Post) Cairo Tue, March 29, 2016 An EgyptAir plane was hijacked on Tuesday while flying from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo, and later landed in Cyprus where some of the women and children were allowed to get off the aircraft, according to Egyptian and Cypriot officials. The Airbus flight number MS181 had 81 passengers on board and was flying on a regular route when the hijacking took place, the Egyptians said. It was not immediately clear if one or more hijackers were involved. Details were sketchy and the motives and identities of the hijacker or hjackers were also not known. Shortly after, the plane landed at the airport in the Cypriot coastal city of Larnaca, Cypriot officials said, adding that there were suspicions of a bomb on board. The official later said the hijackers later allowed an unspecified number of women and children to go free and some were disembarking. A second Cypriot official said there "seems like there's more than one hijacker." He said there have been no demands made so far other than that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. All the officials in Egypt and Cyprus spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The hijacking, however, will most likely bring to the fore again the question of security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group said it downed the plane. (+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Public Works and Public Housing Ministry still faces problems, ranging from land to regulatory issues, in its flagship one million houses program, hampering its housing development plans for low-income people. The ministry's director general of housing recorded 7.6 percent budget disbursement as of March 28 from Rp 7.6 trillion (US$569.7 million), with a mere 0.43 percent progress in physical construction. The disbursement was slower than the expected 11 percent disbursement as of March. The ministry's housing provision plan director, Deddy Permadi, said that most of the issues were sourced from the regional administration. 'The biggest hurdle is land, that's the hardest,' he told the press on Monday. Deddy said that with a limited land bank, the regional government had also not set a clear regulation to allocate land in the provincial spatial planning (RTRW) for low-income housing (MBR), resulting in the land being used for other purposes. Contradicting regulations have contributed to the slow realization of the housing program. The Regional Administration Law stipulates that the central government is in charge of low-income housing, while Law No. 1/2011 says that the central and regional governments are to share the role in building housing. 'We have suggested a revision of the law, or at least a detailed explanation of that particular regulation,' he said. Deddy also urged the regional government to ease the issuance of permits such as location and building permits, as well as housing provision business permits for developers. The government's one million housing program, introduced last year, aims to reduce the country's housing backlog and provide housing for low-income people. It sets a very low down payment for houses under the program, subsidizes purchases and eases administrative requirements. The government aims to build this year 112,992 houses with Rp 7.6 trillion in funding from the state budget, comprising 11,642 apartments and 6,350 specialized houses, among others. Last year, the government built around 99,455 housing units from its Rp 7.7 trillion allocation. The final figure for the one million houses program last year stood at around 699,000 houses, of the total one million planned to be built by 2019, of which almost 40 percent are expected from private developers, while the government is responsible for 60 percent. The ministry plans to reduce the housing ownership backlog to 6.8 million houses in 2019, from 13.5 million houses in 2014, according to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data. However, the limited budget continues to hamper the government's effort to reach the goal. 'We can't dream too big considering current conditions and our capacity. But compared to the target, it's really big,' he 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 The Jakarta Post Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Security has been stepped up on the borders of the Central Sulawesi town of Poso to curb the movement of members of the Santoso-led East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group. National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said the efforts to beef up security were important as Santoso and his group had been cornered in the jungle. "We are set to anticipate their entrance to Poso [...] This means tightening security at the borders," Badrodin said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com. In relation to the potential flow of Santoso's supporters entering Poso, Badrodin said, the police had tightened security along the borders between Indonesia and Malaysia. Based on information gathered by the police, a number of Chinese Uighurs residing in Malaysia had allegedly been involved in radical movements. The Uighurs' involvement in radical groups was still questionable and thus the National Police needed to cooperate with the Malaysian Police to investigate the issue, the police chief said. Separately, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan said that as the MIT had been cornered and had run out of supplies, the police expected them to immediately surrender. The number of members remaining in Santoso's group continues to decrease and is now believed to be down to 30. Some members have also separated from the group to search for food. One member was reported to have escaped from the group and subsequently ate six plates of food, showing signs that the MIT had indeed run out of supplies, Anton said. "In fact, it was one of our strategies from the start; we were going to cut their logistics transportation," he said, adding that it was one of the ways to push the terrorists to surrender. The joint police and military force under Operation Tinombala, established to capture Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, and his followers, is now attempting to curb the movement of the MIT in the jungle. Badrodin said the troops were monitoring a number of locations at the base of the mountain, suspected to be access points for terrorist movements. Previously, officials have caught several logistics and ammunition suppliers who were attempting to transport the MIT's needs up the mountain. The police hoped that the operation would finish soon as the hunt for Santoso, the man behind several killings and attacks in Central Sulawesi over the last few years, had used a lot of money, Anton added. (afr/bbn)(+) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Binziad Kadafi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 There are two recent considerations that can be tied to the establishment of a mechanism for the settlement of small claims (small claims court) in Indonesia. The first consideration is the constantly low number of civil claims and the second is Indonesia's status in a recent universal assessment of the condition of civil justice. Those two considerations have added to a long aspiration to expand access to justice as advocated by various elements of civil society, including the specific aims of a limitation of cassation of small cases to reduce the case backlog that has long been voiced by the judiciary and business climate improvement that has lately become part of the agenda of the government. The number of civil claims is important to be aware of as it is commonly used to indicate the level of public confidence in the courts. In civil claims, people voluntarily bring their legal issues to the court for intervention through a competent decision. This has to be distinguished from civil petition, which does not arise out of a dispute and is merely a form of civic compliance in civil administration. It must also be distinguished from criminal cases, where people are forcibly brought to the court by law enforcers. In 2015, there were only 28,374 civil claims that went to first instance courts of general jurisdiction (district courts) throughout Indonesia. That figure is often mixed with the number of petitions, which if combined together may appear to make the courts' civil case roll large, with 59,890 cases. Moreover, if the figures are complemented by another 4 million incoming criminal cases (though 95 percent of them are summary traffic violations), they may amount to 4.55 million cases. The number of the civil claims is however very low in comparison to almost 60 million micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which is the group with the most potential to bring them to court. It becomes even smaller, if compared with the total population of Indonesia, which now exceeds 255 million. This small number of civil claims was handled by 14,847 court personnel in 353 district courts in 2015, including 3,311 judges. One may notice that the 28,374 civil claims were an increase of 7.35 percent from the figure in 2014, and an increase of 60.8 percent compared with 2013. The larger number may be welcomed as a mark of rising confidence in Indonesian civil courts. However, given its ratio to SMEs and compared to the size of Indonesia's population it is still not commendable. The question is why the number of civil claims in Indonesia is so small. It could be caused by shared public perceptions that civil justice in Indonesia is expensive, long and convoluted. Not to mention the doubts about the integrity of the process. Due to the reluctance to go to court, people will let their disputes fade away without proper settlement. Some simply consider the problems as a business risk, bad luck, or an ordeal from God. Many also choose to criminalize a civil dispute by categorizing it as fraud, embezzlement or defamation. Not a few find their own way out by means outside the law. In turn, such perceptions and attitudes can discourage people from starting, maintaining, let alone expanding their business. In the end, the reluctance to go to court contributes to the wheels of the economy becoming slowed. Some of the above perceptions of civil justice in Indonesia are confirmed by a recent survey on the ease of doing business (EoDB) by the World Bank. The annual survey by the World Bank was last carried out in 2015 in 189 countries, of which Indonesia was ranked 109th. The EoDB survey used multiple assessments, among other factors, ease of starting a business, obtaining credit, getting electricity, paying tax and enforcing contracts, which is more accurately read as the settlement of civil disputes. Let us focus on the assessment of enforcing contracts where its components fall under the scope of court authority. Whereas Indonesia's ranking in the overall EoDB survey was 109th, its ranking in the enforcement of contracts was much lower, at 170 of 189 countries. According to the World Bank, settlement of civil disputes took 460 days in Jakarta and 510 days in Surabaya from the filing of a claim to the enforcement of judgment. The cost ratio was 118 percent in Jakarta and 107.3 percent in Surabaya, with the largest component of the cost being a lawyer. This means that, in these two cities, the cost of processing a civil claim is actually higher than its value, where most of the costs goes to lawyers. The quality index of judicial processes in Jakarta was said to be 6.5 out of 18, while Surabaya was 5.5. The lowest score in the index could be found in the court automation element, since only online publication of decisions has been established in Indonesia, not electronic registration or electronic payment of court fees. On Aug. 7, 2015 the Supreme Court issued Regulation (Perma) No. 2/2015 on a mechanism of settlement of small claims, which tries to solve some of the basic problems of civil justice. A small claim is defined as a case of breach of contract or a tort outside land disputes, with a claim under the value of Rp 200 million (US$14,500), where standard of proof is simple, and according to the laws should not be resolved through special courts. Small claims are examined and decided by a single judge, and only at the level of objection the claim will be heard by a panel of judges in the same district court, where the decision is final and cannot be brought to appeal or cassation. The case settlement period is made short, which requires only 58-60 days from the initial filing of the claim to the stage where final decision can be secured. This shortened period is facilitated by the provision where parties must be domiciled in the jurisdiction of the same district court so that summonsing can be made simpler, but also by a summarized hearing process, accommodating informal verbal questions and answers. Judges play an active role in a trial that must be attended directly by the parties, so that the need for legal counsel can be reduced. Not only is it speedier, but those innovations are also expected to provide more affordable civil proceedings. This mechanism is still new. Several district courts are only making preparations to implement it. The community does not widely know about its existence yet. Of the few cases that have come in (21 in 2015), some were resolved with only four court sessions, less than 25 days and ending in mediation. In other cases, the plaintiff won the claim that was decided in less than 25 days by a single judge. Dissemination to the public needs to be carried out so that this new mechanism can become widely known and utilized as one of the protectors of economic activities. Hopefully, the number of claims to district courts will continue to rise, which can signal improved convenience for Indonesians in starting up their businesses including resolving any disputes that may arise from their business activities. __________________________________ The writer is a senior advisor at the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice (AIPJ) and PhD candidate at Tilburg Law School, the Netherlands. This is a personal view. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hans Nicholas Jong (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 As global health emergencies continue to arise, Indonesia will push for a revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017. The Health Ministry said that the government would utilize its position as the chair of this year's Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), an international forum to advance collective health security, to push for reforms. '[The IHR draft revisions include] the strengthening of capacity, such as faster responses [to global health emergencies],' he said. 'We just have to distribute the draft to all GHSA members. They will provide input and if they agree, we will push for [the revisions] together,' the ministry's director general for disease control and environmental health (P2PL), Muhammad Subuh, said on Monday. The IHR oblige 196 'States Parties to detect, assess, report, and respond to potential public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), at all levels of government, and to report such events rapidly to the WHO to determine whether a coordinated, global response is required'. In the nine years since the regulations came into force in 2007, there have been four declared PHEIC, including the influenza H1N1 pandemic in 2009, the re-emergence of wild-type poliovirus in April 2014, the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa in August 2014, and the ongoing Zika virus outbreak since February this year. Subuh said that the revisions were necessary as it had been almost a decade since the IHR came into force. 'The idea [for the revision] came from us. Since we're talking about revising something that is binding, we have to approach many countries. As we serve as the chair of the GHSA, we can take the lead many in many agenda items,' he said. There has also been the emergence of new diseases, such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and influenza H7N9, with still undetermined health risks to the global population. While the IHR are designed to ensure global health security, their implementation still leaves a lot to desire, according the ministry's secretary general, Untung Suseno, who cited the Ebola outbreak in 2014 as an example of the failure of the IHR. 'When the Ebola virus emerged in Africa, no one was brave enough to help. The health systems [in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea] collapsed and the coordination was not there. The message is clear: Global health security needs greater attention,' he said. According to Untung, it is not the IHR themselves that are lacking, but their implementation. By 2012, only 42 nations (21 percent of member countries) had reported that they had fully implemented the IHR and built appropriate core capacities to detect, assess, report and respond to public health emergencies. In follow-up reporting in 2014, only 64 nations reported that they had fully implemented the IHR, an increase of only 10 percent over two years. The other nations either requested another two-year extension (81) or made no reports (48). Therefore, new partnerships have formed to strengthen the global response to public health threats, including the GHSA. As the successor to the US and Finland in helming the GHSA, Indonesia has the opportunity to steer global discussion on several issues that it deems important, such as zoonotic diseases, according to Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek. This year, Indonesia has been appointed as the lead country to discuss the action package for zoonotic diseases. 'This is because Indonesia is deemed to perform well in managing zoonotic diseases through a multisector approach,' Nila said. However, the threat of zoonotic diseases remains, according to Nila, citing the recent cases of avian flu. This year alone, the government detected bird flu cases in 17 regencies and cities in seven provinces: Lampung, West Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi and Jakarta, after years of declining cases. 'If we look at the trend, the numbers of avian flu cases kept declining from 2012 until 2015, with only two cases detected per year,' the ministry's director for zoonotic disease management, Vensya Sitohang, said. While the number of cases increased this year, the government has not received any report of humans contracting the virus, she added. 'But we have to remain alert, we cannot be left unprotected,' Vensya said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim and Lita Aruperes (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Manado Tue, March 29, 2016 The Indonesian Government is still verifying reports that an Indonesian tugboat has been hijacked and its crew members are being held hostage by Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf. However, two Philippine military officials have already confirmed the report, saying that the militants demanded an undisclosed amount of ransom money from the boat's owner, as reported by Reuters from Manila. The tugboat Brahma 12 was allegedly hijacked by the Abu Sayyaf group on Saturday while en route to the Philippines from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. The tugboat was allegedly attacked in Jolo Island in the southern region of the Philippines, the home of the Abu Sayyaf group. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said the ministry was still verifying the information. 'We hope that we will have a comment on it tomorrow [Tuesday],' he said. Meanwhile, Indonesian Navy spokesman Cmdr. Edi Sucipto, refused to issue any statement on the matter, saying it was not within the Navy's jurisdiction to comment. 'It is not the authority of the Navy [to comment on the matter],' he said. Information about the hijacking first came to light via the Facebook account of the boat's captain, Peter Tonsen Barahama. Some friends read Peter's status saying 'Tug boat Brahma 12 is being hijacked, all crew are being held hostage by Abu Sayyaf. Pray for our safety and God's protection.' The information then spread to an Indonesian sailors group. However, Peter's friends have not been able to contact him to obtain further information. Peter is from Sangihe, North Sulawesi. 'The tug boat is carrying coal,' a friend of Peter, Welmy Loway said. Welmy and friends contacted the Foreign Ministry and Sangihe local authorities to check the information and seek help for the crew. A member of the North Sulawesi Legislative Council, Marvel Dick Makagansa, responded to the plea by urging the Foreign Ministry to take swift action to protect the Indonesian citizens. 'This is a priority case to be solved through a meeting with fellow councilors from the PDI-P faction,' said Marvel, whose electoral district covers the regencies of Sangihe, Sitaro and Talaud. 'We urge the Foreign Ministry and other related agencies to solve the problem as soon as possible.' He also said that he hoped that all the crew and skipper Peter Tonsen Barahama were in a healthy condition. The tugboat is owned by Patria Maritime Lines, which is still negotiating to secure the release of the crew from the militant group, which has asked for a ransom of 50 million pesos (US$1.08 million), according to Peter. According to reports, all crew members have been transferred to an island and are being treated 'humanely'. In contrast to other accounts, Reuters reported that the crew were operating a privately owned Taiwanese tugboat on its way from Jakarta to Manila when it was hijacked near the Malaysian border. The crew managed to call their employer to inform them of the hijacking, but the exact location of the incident remains unknown, officials said. Abu Sayyaf, known for kidnappings, beheadings, bombings and extortion, is one of the most hard-line militant groups in the Muslim south of the largely Christian Philippines. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Indra Harsaputra (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya Tue, March 29, 2016 A research team from Surabaya-based Airlangga University will examine Avian flu virus samples to investigate the possibility of the disease spreading to humans. Head of the university's Avian Influenza Research Center Chairul Anwar Nidom said the team consisting of 14 researchers had acquired samples of the H5N1 virus from two locations, Lamongan and Banyuwangi regencies, where the virus has killed thousands of poultry. 'We will analyze how far the virus has changed or mutated as well as the risk that the virus could be transmitted to people,' Chairul told The Jakarta Post on Monday. Over 7,000 poultry, mostly ducks, have reportedly died from avian flu in Wringinagung hamlet, Sumberejo village, Gambiran district, Banyuwangi mid-March, while over 700 were reported to have died in Sembung village, Sukorame district, Lamongan regency. Banyuwangi Husbandry Agency data showed that Wringinagung was home to 30 breeders who together owned over 10,000 animals. As well as birds, the virus has reportedly also claimed human lives. On March 24, last year, an officer of the immigration office's Kelapa Gading branch in North Jakarta, passed away after being infected with avian flu a few weeks earlier. Two days later, his two-year-old toddler, who had been infected as well, also died. In April, 2014, a 2-year-old toddler identified as RNA died of avian flu following exposure to live poultry in Wonogiri, Central Java and, in June of the same year, a 33-year-old man in Jakarta, Reza Ahmadi, was pronounced died of avian flu at Pondok Kopi Islamic Hospital, East Jakarta. East Java Deputy Governor Saifullah Yusuf said that all the hospitals in the province already had the facilities to handle avian flu patients. Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya has previously expressed a readiness to take in avian flu patients. Chairul blamed the return of avian flu in East Java on the uncontrolled use of avian flu vaccines. 'People believe that there are no restrictions on the number of vaccinations or vitamin injections one can give birds. This also influences regional administration budgets,' said Chairul who is also a professor of the university's school of veterinary science. Improper budget allocations, he said, could lead to vaccinations being given to poultry birds that do not require them, which in turn could lead to mutations in the virus. Separately, the East Java Husbandry Agency head Maskur confirmed the sudden deaths of birds due to avian flu in Banyuwangi and Lamongan. Maskur said that his office had deployed a rapid response team to localize the impact of the outbreak. 'We have temporarily banned the sale of chickens and ducks from Banyuwangi and Lamongan,' he said. Meanwhile, the West Java Husbandry Agency noted that 15,472 birds, including chickens, ducks and quails, were infected by the avian flu virus. 'All the birds have been culled,' agency head Doddy Firman was quoted by Antara as saying. Doddy said avian flu cases had occurred in several regions, including Subang, Indramayu, Bekasi, Majalengka, Purwakarta, Kuningan and Tasikmalaya. On March 15, The South Jakarta Marine, Agriculture and Food Security Agency received a report that at least 20 birds had been found dead in the neighborhood. The agency carried out a laboratory test and found that the birds were infected with avian flu. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Corry Elyda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 The Tourism Ministry is proposing to form a single authority to manage some parts of Jakarta's historic Kota Tua area whose buildings are currently undergoing renovations. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said during a discussion recently that he believed that a top-to-bottom approach would help to revitalize Kota Tua more quickly. 'We need to ask the President to issue a presidential regulation to form a single body,' he said. Kota Tua, or the Old Batavia complex, is located in two subdistricts ' Pinangsia and Roa Malaka. This means that officials from both subdistricts are responsible for the area while the management of the place is handled by a technical unit from the Jakarta Tourism Agency. The unit, however, does not manage the buildings, which mostly belong to state-owned enterprises (BUMN). Meanwhile, the revitalization of the buildings is now conducted by the Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corp (JOTRC), which has acquired 18 buildings to be renovated. Arief said that the formation of a single authority would ease the process of revitalization in the area. 'It will be easier as the order is straight from the President,' he said. Arief said that most of the buildings were owned by BUMN, so it would be easy to ask them to cooperate if there was a presidential regulation. He said that approaching each company that had ownership of the buildings one by one would take a long time. Arief gave the example of Toba Lake in North Sumatra that was previously managed by seven different officials but now was under a single authority. He said that Borobudur temple was also managed by a single entity and this helped with maintenance and business. Arief said that he would also propose to allocate around Rp 10 trillion (US$760 million) to fund revitalization up until 2019. 'I think it will be easy to get Rp 10 trillion. We usually allocate Rp 5 trillion to start developing a tourist site,' he said. He said, however, that Kota Tua should try to attract more visitors, adding that this year's new target would be 200,000 foreign tourists and five million domestic tourists. Arief said that he agreed with the plan to turn Kota Tua into a financial center, just as it was in an earlier era. 'Finance is the most sustainable business for old cities,' he said. He also proposed to brand Kota Tua as the 'Manhattan of Asia'. Such a brand, however, is opposed by many parties, including historians and experts, because of the fact that Kota Tua is actually older than Manhattan. Responding to the proposals, JOTRC CEO Lin Che Wei said that he would support these initiatives from the government. 'We support all good intentions for the sake of this country. We are one of the stakeholders and we are trying to make the revitalization program successful,' he said. Lin said, however, that all concerned parties should pay attention to two things. 'We want a balance between the commercial aspect and the cultural aspect. If you want to turn Kota Tua into a tourist site, please do not evict anyone,' he said, adding that the area belonged to the local community. The city administration previously evicted street vendors in Fatahillah square and relocated them to location further away. Frances B. Affandy, a consultant who is preparing Kota Tua to become a UNESCO World Heritage site, said that she agreed with the idea of a single body. She said, however, that the government should not make Kota Tua into just a tourist site. 'Kota Tua should be Kota Tua, not Disneyland.' Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Drivers working for ride-hailing apps operated as usual on Monday despite threats from the Jakarta Transportation Agency that it would crack down on private cars being used for public transportation purposes. The policy in the capital is different from the government's stance, which has granted the ride-hailing companies a two-month grace period to give them time to obtain permits. GrabCar legal manager Teddy Trianto Antono said that his company would continue to operate as per usual. 'I have never heard about a crackdown, and we will stick to the agreement that during the two-month transition period, we are still allowed to operate,' he told The Jakarta Post. GrabCar marketing director Kiki Rizki said that her company was trying to comply with the regulations set by the government. 'We are currently conducting road-worthiness tests for our vehicles,' she said. Rahmad Ramadhani of Edelman, a company that serves as a communications consultant for Uber, said that his client was complying with the regulations set by the government and that it would not cease operations. He said that Uber would team up with transportation cooperative Jasa Trans Usaha Bersama to fulfill the requirements set by the government for obtaining permits and expanding its fleet. Meanwhile, GrabCar driver Setiono said he was not aware that the Jakarta Transportation Agency planned to crack down on ride-hailing cars on Monday. However, he said that GrabCar management had told its drivers to show their identity cards as members of the Indonesia Car Rental Association (PPRI). A PPRI identity card indicates that its holder is a legal driver for a car rental company. 'I will show this identity card if I face any problems related to the operation of the car,' Setiono told to the Post on Monday. The PPRI would lend backup cars to its members if their cars were impounded by the Jakarta Transportation Agency, he added. Car rental services, including hiring a private driver, are legal in Jakarta, but the rental period is usually half a day at a minimum. Cars operating as regular taxis have to obey several requirements such as obtaining a yellow plate. Setiono also explained that GrabCar drivers had tricks to avoid detection by Jakarta Transportation Agency officials. 'I usually hide my smartphone so it is not visible from the windshield, particularly when I am transporting a passenger to the airport,' he added. Mustaqfi, a driver who joined Uber for two weeks, said he had heard gossip about agency raids, but would continue working anyway. 'It's not easy to find out that we're part of Uber. The only way to know is by scrutinizing a driver's smartphone and finding the [Uber] application,' he said. Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah reiterated his plan on Monday. 'We will crack down not only Uber and GrabCar, but also on other illegal transportation services that have no permits. It will be unfair if we only crack down on unlicensed Metro Mini buses, while letting ride-hailing cars continue as usual,' Andri said. Last Friday, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said that Uber and GrabCar would be permitted to continue operating for the next two months while they strived to fulfill all the requirements listed under the Land Transportation Law. Andri said that by teaming up with the traffic police and the Jakarta Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), the agency had impounded 57 ride-hailing cars from the beginning of the year. He said the owners of the impounded vehicles could claim them back when they had finished their court trial, which usually took around a month. He did not mention his agency's method of arrest. Last year, the Jakarta Police pretended to order Uber cars and then arrested the drivers and impounded the cars. (rez/fac) _________________________________________ 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 Zacky Husein (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, March 29, 2016 Road blockades made up of convoys of licensed taxis clogged Jakarta's main thoroughfares on March 22. The taxi drivers demanded the government ban app-based transportation service providers and the use of non-licensed private cars as taxis. Just a week earlier Jakarta saw a similar event, albeit on a more modest scale. Why the recurring events, and why is the government not taking a more decisive position on the matter? The simple answer is, it is complicated and I am not saying this disparagingly, I earnestly mean it. Cities around the world have been struggling with the likes of Uber, Grab and other app-based transportation services and how best to deal with them ' how best to deal with the 'disruptions' that have been introduced into an existing business model. Before arriving at a certain policy prescription, perhaps it is worthwhile for the line ministry or city administration to take a closer look at how the disruption is taking place and, more importantly, how it is actually benefitting the users of the new services. This is the crux of the debate ' if the new service offers actual quantifiable benefits to the public, should the government or the city ignore them and simply give in to the demands of, in the case today, the disrupted taxi industry under the guise of existing regulations regulating the transportation sector? I would argue no. Taking a step back in understanding disruption, or disruptive technology ' fully mindful that this concept has been frequently discussed, but still ' let me quote from its originator: 'A disruptive technology is one that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry, or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry.' (Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen, 'The Innovator's Dilemma', 1997). The quotation suggests that the spectrum of disruption ranges from displacement to the creation of a new industry. If the creation of a completely new industry is too far of a leap, let us understand disruption as displacement, a new technology has 'shaken up' an established industry. In the current context, it should be noted that disruptive technology is not only shaking the taxi industry, but shaking other industries as well and affecting all aspects of our lives. If the pundits are correct, the next big wave will be in the financial sector and the impact there will be even more substantial. Going back to the above definition and the protests in Jakarta, what is perhaps missing from the observation of Prof. Christensen is the outcome of the displacement. The disruption has a positive impact on customers that are using the new services. In the case of Uber, the disruptive technology offers a new option that actually addresses the issue of scarcity of taxi service, resulting in a more efficient and affordable transportation service. Understanding that disruptive technologies are real and will impact a whole host of our activities and livelihoods, what can the relevant regulator do to address the gap between the prevailing regulations and the new technology? Should it even be regulated? If yes, what exactly should be regulated? In my view, there are at least two aspects that can be regulated. First, is to regulate the disruption, or regulate against the disruption. And second, to regulate for a level playing field. Both policy prescriptions will have differing consequences. From media reports, following the demonstration that took place last week, the line ministries are mulling over how to address the issue by regulating the disruption. Unfortunately, this policy prescription will involve forcing the new business model into an existing box into which the new business cannot fit. The insistence or the inclination of the regulator to regulate Uber or Grab as if they were running a taxi service (e.g. setting up a cooperative) is a failure of the regulator to understand the disruptive technology that Uber is presenting to the transportation sector. While we are still debating whether Uber is a taxi or a non-taxi, Uber is pushing forward and crossing more frontiers, such as car-ride sharing (UberPool), carpooling (UberCommute) and even driverless cars. Surely, it would be incorrect to categorize Uber simply as a taxi service given the breadth of services that it offers or will offer. In this regard, I would be skeptical of the effectiveness of the regulation if the regulator opts to regulate 'the disruption'. The option of regulating for a level playing field in my view is more constructive. This approach is also more accommodative and has the interests of consumers in mind. The regulator ultimately has to consider the interest of the public first, as opposed to the industry players, both the newcomers and the incumbents. I am under no illusion that this will be a simple task as it will mean accommodating two competing interests, that of the status quo and the new players. Nevertheless, I would argue that it would be based on the right incentive: the impetus to provide better, more efficient and more affordable transportation services. Among the ways to level the playing field, as often voiced by the licensed taxi services, are in the requirements to be registered and secure road-worthiness certificates. Again, without oversimplifying, these requirements do not appear to be overly onerous for app-based transportation service providers. Bear in mind that what should be complied with are the standards that make a vehicle road-worthy. From personal observation, most of the vehicles utilizing the Uber and Grab applications are new and well maintained. They must be, otherwise it would not win over customers. Conversely, licensed taxis, such as the Blue Bird Group, have also joined the app-based trend. In fact as early as 2011 they introduced their applications on BlackBerry and Android-based ones are in the works. Hence, there is already a natural convergence of the playing field. The 'disruptions' will continue and, upon closer inspection, they are actually addressing needs that existing industries cannot or have not addressed. So there are actual needs, and technologies and innovations are simply the enablers. Technology is neutral and should not fall victim to new uncertainties. Technology has been the driver of change, ever since the era of the steam engine, the advent of electricity, the computer and, now, the internet. Understanding that such change is inevitable will be a crucial first step. The second step is in choosing the right policy prescription based on the correct understanding. _______________________________ The writer is TMT partner, Assegaf Hamzah & Partners. The views expressed are his own. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin The Jakarta Post Tue, March 29, 2016 First of all, my sincerest condolences to the Russian government and its population for the loss of life caused by the recent FlyDubai aircraft crash at Rostov airport during bad weather. It is the second crash in a short period of time, because Russia suffered the loss of its citizens during the crash in the Egyptian desert, when many Russian tourists failed to return from Sharm-el-Sheik. Second, my sincerest condolences to the Belgian government and its people, who suffered two terrorist attacks today, causing the loss of life of 36 of their citizens. Nobody is safe anymore. Indonesia has suffered numerous terrorist attacks, with the last one in the business center of Jakarta causing significant loss of life. The fight against terrorism has turned global, and we are not safe anymore, wherever we are. Intelligent services should collaborate on a global scale by exchanging information and they should work together to eliminate future bomb attacks. I would like to emphasize that human rights should not apply to terrorists, because they are monsters and not humans. They do not even blink with the eye when they blow up buildings. Let us mourn the loss of innocent lives and let us hope and pray that no such attacks will occur in the future. Lynna van der Zee-Oehmke Bogor, West Jawa Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. 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Surat Thani police commander Apichart Boonsriroj said Mr Louet had travelled to Indonesia with his girlfriend. They returned to Surat Thani on March 14 and bought ferry tickets to Koh Tao. The departure was set at 11pm on the same day. Both already boarded their ferry, but just before departing, Louet got off the boat, presumably to buy something. Local media confirmed he had asked for directions to a 7-Eleven. He never returned and his girlfriend did not report his disappearance to police until March 18. Pol Maj Gen Apichart said police were checking surveillance-camera footage at locations between the pier and the plantation, a distance of about two kilometres. An initial examination found no evidence of assault, but police were waiting for autopsy results to confirm Mr Louets cause of death, he said. The Frenchman was employed as an instructor for Golden Divers on Koh Tao. Registered with both the SSI and CMAS dive agencies, he had been working in the industry for seven years, according to Golden Divers website. Read original story here. Panel to investigate why Red Bull heir got off the hook BANGKOK: A committee has been set up to investigate a group of police officers at Thong Lor Police Station over their handling of a 2012 hit-and-run involving an heir to the Red Bull energy drink empire, acting city police chief Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathaworn says. homicidetransportpolice By Bangkok Post Tuesday 29 March 2016, 08:52AM Acting city police chief Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathaworn (left) has set up a committee to see where the investigation into the death of a policeman by Ferrari driver and Red Bull heir Vorayudh Boss Yoovidhya (inset) went wrong. (Bangkok Post file photos) The Thong Lor Police Station was responsible for handling the case involving Vorayudh Boss Yoovidhya, who drove into and killed a traffic officer, and was subsequently charged with speeding, reckless driving causing death and failing to stop his car to help a victim after the crash. Pol Lt Gen Sanit said the inquiry is in line with Section 131 of the Criminal Code that requires investigators to gather evidence and build a case without delay. The inquiry will focus on why Vorayudh could not be indicted before the one-year statute of limitations on his speeding charge expired in 2013. Of the three charges, the speeding charge, expired after Vorayudh failed to report to prosecutors. The suspects lawyer, Thanit Buakhiew, claimed his client could not attend because he was in Singapore on a business trip and had come down with the flu. Pol Lt Gen Sanit said if the police had done their job properly, Vorayudh would not have been allowed to leave the country. In a criminal investigation where a victim is killed, police usually seek a court order to detain the suspect who, if granted bail, will be barred from travelling abroad, according to the acting commissioner. He said the investigators responsible for the case might have used a technicality to avoid seeking a court order for the suspects detention. Pol Lt Gen Sanit said the suspect apparently exploited a technicality to drag out the investigation by lodging a petition with Attorney-General Chulasingh Vasantasingh to seek a fair investigation. Vorayudh submitted six separate petitions, all of which were granted. Police investigators initially charged Vorayudh with reckless driving causing death and failing to stop his car to help a victim, before forwarding the case to state prosecutors. However, the case was sent back to the police as prosecutors also wanted to indict him for speeding after security camera footage showed he may have been driving at up to 170kph when the accident took place. The acting commissioner was also critical of the polices decision not to charge Vorayudh with drink-driving, a charge that has a statute of limitations of five years. Meanwhile, Orachorn Praewa Thephasadin na Ayudhya, who also hails from a wealthy family, and caused an expressway crash that killed nine people in 2010, has applied to do more community service at Phramongkutklao Hospital. The court is currently deciding whether her performing the community service there should count towards her parole time. Orachorn, who was 16 years old when the crash happened, and not even eligible to hold a licence at the time, was eventually found guilty of reckless driving causing death, although her prison sentence was suspended. Orachorn is required to do 48 hours of community service a year for four years, a condition she must meet to avoid jail time. Read original story here. Phuket slated for worlds largest Ferris wheel PHUKET: A consortium of businessmen have applied to the Phuket Provincial Office for permission to build the worlds largest Ferris wheel in Phuket amid a high-tech amusement park. tourismeconomicsconstruction By Tanyaluk Sakoot Tuesday 29 March 2016, 07:11PM SKY HIGH: The consortium (from left) are Naphet Phetklang, Representative of Phuket businesses group; Vladimir Gnezdilov, President of PAX Group; Igor Protasov, CEO of Thai Business Development Group; and Maj Gen Apithai Swarngpob, Consultant to Thai Business Development Group. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot The consortium, which includes Igor Protasov, CEO of Thai Business Development Group, is led by the PAX Group, which has built large-scale amusement rides around the world and the huge, complex mobile gantry used to handle SOYUZ space vehicles in Kourous, French Guiana. Mr Protasov, speaking at a press launch today (Mar 29), declined to estimate the cost of the project or set a target height of the wheel to be created. He also noted that a location had yet to be selected. The entire project site will occupy 30-40 rai, and the location will be co-ordinated with the Anuphas Group. We would not buy the land, but instead occupy it through a long-term lease, he told The Phuket News today. The Anuphas Group of companies is the business conglomerate of Phukets well-known Hongsyok family, who operate Honda dealerships across the island, headed by patriarch former Phuket Towm Mayor and former Phuket Senator Phummisak Hongsyok. (See family history here.) Mr Protasov said he expects the worlds largest Ferris wheel in Phuket to take only about 18 months to build, despite the famed Singapore Flyer observation wheel taking about 2.5 years to complete. The Singapore Flyer opened in 2008 and stands 165 metres tall. The worlds largest Ferris wheel, the the High Roller in Las Vegas, is only three metres taller and also took more than two years to build. The mega-project aims to put Phuket in the forefront of world tourism while attracting European investment, specifically from United Kingdom, producers, representatives and distributors of space technology and renowned hi-tech theme park attractions, said a press release issued at the launch today. It will be a landmark project, enhancing tourism to the province, and heralding a new era of choice for those wanting to see more on their holiday than the islands many natural wonders, Mr Protasov said in the release. Theyll come just to say they took a ride on the worlds highest Ferris wheel, he said, adding that the new attraction will add jobs and income to the nations balance sheet. Whats lacking here (in Phuket), he explains, is a modern work of architecture, something of a landmark nature, that transcends eras and acts as a magnet to attract tourists in increasing numbers. The release noted that the PAX Group could build Ferris wheels up to 200 metres high. As for the design, Mr Protasov said visitors will ride in clear capsules with a full range of facilities and seating in each for 20 or more: Appropriate for groups of friends, families, or people on field trips, he said. Materials will be of the highest quality and durability, said the release. The PAX Group is presently in talks with government agencies regarding construction, preparatory to selecting a site one that will not result in adverse effects for the environment or local communities. As soon as its clear where building is to take place, it can begin immediately, Mr Protasov said. He added, If Phuket people want to see this giant Ferris wheel built, they should show their support for the project. This is something amazing that will make Phuket even more famous, at the same time benefitting tourism by providing a new experience, one that, when construction is complete, people here can see with their own eyes. According to the press release, the PAX Group was founded 27 years ago and achieved fame for designing and building the huge, complex mobile gantry used to handle SOYUZ space vehicles in Kourous, French Guiana. For this, PAX Group was awarded the Golden Medal in 2013 from the Russian and International Unions of Scientific and Engineering Public Associations. The facility was used in 11 successful launches of Galileo navigation satellites. PAX also designed the 28 containers used to transport launch vehicles in parts from Russia to Guiana, the release said. The group also is well-known for amusement park rides, such as the remarkable roller coaster at King Fahad Park (now Cobra Amusement Park) in Saudi Arabia, constructed at 520 sites in Europe, Asia and the United States. They have designed and built six of the worlds largest Ferris wheels, including the 90-metre one at Mirabilandia Park in historic Ravenna, Italy, Europes largest; and the 80-metre high Panoramic Wheel built on the roof of a 40-metre-tall building in Ulsan, South Korea. The group has gained recognition from the International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee 254 by developing three new safety standards during 2012 - 13 for amusement park rides. Ulsans Panoramic wheel has been certified by TUV NORD and the mobile gantry by TUV SUD, both well-established and internationally respected German technical service and certification providers, the release noted. The PAX Groups giant Ferris wheel project has been presented to the provincial office in Phuket for consideration. If approved, it will be sent to the central government for further consideration and final approval, the release said. PM says he wont take more jibes BANGKOK: In the wake of a new round of politician detentions for attitude adjustment, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has declared he will not tolerate politicians who have repeatedly defied the government. militarypolitics By Bangkok Post Tuesday 29 March 2016, 09:13AM Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says he will escalate the attitude adjustment sessions for mouthy politicians to re-education training courses. Photo: Thiti Wannamontha He made the comment as two key Pheu Thai Party figures were invited in for attitude adjustment following criticism of the military regime. A US human rights envoy called on the government to respect freedom of expression. Gen Prayut said yesterday (Mar 28) the military regime will hold a training course for those who have been summoned for attitude adjustment several times but still failed to cooperate. The prime minister stressed the need to be firm with politicians who continue to criticise the military regime despite several warnings. Training sessions will be held to provide them with proper knowledge to correct their attitude while those who commit any legal offences will be handled according to legal procedures, Gen Prayut said. From now on, those who are summoned must attend a training session to improve their understanding. They will also be asked about what they did in the past right or wrong and what they plan to do if they form a government, Gen Prayut said. He said the government wants to ask them if they understand what the military regime is doing and if they cannot think for themselves, they should no longer be politicians. They may not listen, but the government still has to explain these things to them and cannot let them criticise it. Personally, I cannot accept the fact that they still keep criticising, Gen Prayut added. The premier yesterday met Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Sarah Sewall, who was on a four-day visit to Thailand that ended after her Government House courtesy call. After the visit, Ms Sewall issued a statement to reiterate the US commitment to partnering with the Thai government in combatting the challenge of human trafficking and urged the administration to continue providing protection to refugees, asylum seekers and other vulnerable persons seeking safe haven. However, in part of the statement, Ms Sewall urged the Thai government to restore democratic governance and stressed the importance of ensuring full respect for freedom of expression and other human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to secure stable and sustainable governance and institutions. Worachai Hema, a former Pheu Thai MP for Samut Prakan, and Watana Muangsook, a core member of the Pheu Thai Party and former social development and human security minister in the Thaksin Shinawatra government, were detained for attitude adjustment on Saturday (Mar 26) and yesterday respectively. Mr Worachai was taken from his home in Samut Prakan province to the 11th Army Circle after writing on his Facebook page that Gen Prayut should resign if the new draft charter fails to pass a public referendum. On his Facebook page, Mr Watana posted a comment strongly criticising the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) over the detention of Mr Worachai. Four truckloads of soldiers arrived at his home about 5.30pm on Sunday (Mar 27) but he was not there. Mr Watana posted on his Facebook page the following day that he spent the night at a friends house and he would report in to the military Monday. He arrived at the army circle as promised accompanied by several leading Pheu Thai figures, including former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Vejjayachai. Before being escorted inside the military base, Mr Watana told reporters he did not know how long he would be detained and insisted he made the comments with good intentions and that he did not break the law. He added the governments reforms will go nowhere if the government fails to listen to differing opinions. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said he would ask the NCPO to arrange a course, which may last three, five or seven days, to educate politicians who refuse to cooperate after having been invited for attitude adjustment. They [the two politicians] know what they have said. The NCPO has asked for their cooperation as it needs time to concentrate on its work, he said. Read original story here. How to watch and what to know about South Dakota State at North Dakota Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort of superlatives. Now its financial performance and share price are among them. Whistler Blackcomb Holding Inc., North Americas biggest and busiest ski resort, has benefited this season from above-average snowfall and a weak Canadian dollar, which have drawn big-spending visitors from abroad and helped send its stock to a record. The British Columbia resort, which is almost a two-hour drive from Vancouver, may boost its ski terrain by a further 25 per cent and attract more summer customers to keep growth humming, its chief executive officer said. Whistler Blackcomb could increase visits by skiers and snowboarders to about 2.8 million from 2 million now, CEO David Brownlie said in a phone interview. Thats kind of what weve planned, for a maximum winter-visit capacity. Summer definitely has a longer way to go. We dont see a limit at this point. Shares in the company touched a high of $27.42 last week, pushing the companys market value above $1 billion and making it one of the largest publicly traded ski-hill operators in the world. The stock has gained 40 per cent in the 12 months through Monday, exceeding the performance of global peers including Vail Resorts Inc. and Swedens Skistar AB. Whistler Blackcomb was up 0.8 per cent at $25.80 at 9:51 a.m. in Toronto compared with a 0.8-per-cent decline in the benchmark Standard & Poors/TSX Composite Index. Opened in 1966 as part of a plan to bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics, the Canadian ski hill now attracts visitors from across Canada and the U.S., Europe and increasingly Asia who come to carve turns and relax in the swish surroundings, or hike, mountain-bike, and take in a glacier in the summer. Whistler got a boost from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Lindsey Vonns gold-medal win that showcased the soaring Coast Mountains and the resorts more than 200 ski runs and its peak-to-peak gondola, the highest in the world. Whistler Blackcomb could expand its ski terrain by about 25 per cent from more than 3,278 hectares now, Brownlie said. We can still build that business over time with new amenities, he said. This year, the combination of the weak Canadian dollar and plenty of snow, after the lowest in 36 years last season, resulted in 23 per cent more visitors in the fiscal first quarter that ended Dec. 31. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 68 per cent to $17.2 million, a record for the company. The Canadian dollar has dropped about 16 per cent against the U.S. greenback in the past two years and about 10 per cent against the euro and the Japanese yen in the past 12 months. Thats made visits by foreigners cheaper and helped send British Columbias growth to the fastest among the countrys provinces. Whistler Blackcomb remains a significantly cheaper all-in vacation for our U.S. neighbours, European and Asian visitors, said Mona Nazir, an analyst at Laurentian Bank in Montreal, who rates the shares buy. The increase in visitors from outside of Canada is also correlated to higher revenue and margins as guests typically spend more per visit than regional guests. Five of six analysts covering the company recommend buying the stock. Whistler Blackcomb share performance is edging out Broomfield, Colo.-based Vail Resorts, a company thats almost five times larger in terms of market value. Manulife Asset Management and CI Investments Inc. are among the largest owners of the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Whistler Blackcomb has been investing in new restaurants as well as services on the ski hill, such as its ski school. Approval of its expansion plans by the government of British Columbia, which owns the land the resort operates on, would unlock the next wave of expansion for the company, allowing it to increase the number of summer visitors. The company is also open to acquisitions if they are complementary, said Brownlie. There are different opportunities that cross our desk, he said. If the right one comes along, its something well seriously take a look at. Good resorts dont necessarily come available very often and what is paid, is quite frankly, maybe too high. Only three large ski resorts have been built in North America in the past three decades because of the high cost and environmental challenges associated with building in often remote areas. Farther east in British Columbia, developers have been trying to build a ski resort known as Jumbo, the subject of a recent documentary, since 1990 in the face of local opposition concerned about the impact on grizzly bears. Fickle weather brought on by climate change is among the risks for ski resorts. Farther south, Californias multi-year drought has resulted in curtailed ski seasons for many ski resorts, including some near Lake Tahoe, after the driest January last year in the state since record keeping began in 1895. Whistler Blackcomb currently has about 2.7 per cent of the North American market of about 75 million skier visits and almost 11 per cent of the Canadian market, according to the company. Its most significant competitors are resorts in Colorado, the Canadian Rockies as well as ski hills in the eastern part of the continent including Ontarios Blue Mountain and Quebecs Mont Tremblant, Brownlie said. Whistler Blackcomb pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 a share, giving it an indicated yield of 3.66 per cent. That compares with 2.57 per cent for Vail Resorts and 3.35 per cent for Stockholm-based Skistar. While the companys financial performance has beat competitors, Brownlie would like to do better on a different metric: getting out to ski more. With this years cumulative snowfall on track for an above-average season which normally reaches more than 11 metres, the chief executive only manages a couple of days of skiing a week. Its never enough. Read more about: SHARE: Opening Kevin Yates: Yates, who teaches sculpture at York University, has a fascination with the doubling of an image easy enough, perhaps, in this time of image-manipulation and photoshopped everything. Yates, though, painstakingly recreates mirror images of full-blown objects down to the last detail; past series have included homely bungalows guarded by denuded trees, exactingly doubled on the vertical axis, as though adrift and reflected on a dead-calm sea. His current work extends the fascination to human figures, captured in silhouette, adding dimension and depth to an already intense practice that literally turns perception on its ear and shakes out difference you never knew was there. Opens March 31, 7 to 9 p.m., at Susan Hobbs, 137 Tecumseth St., until May 14 Kelly Mark, Curmudgeon: Aging gracefully is most often more hoped for than realized, at least for most of us, and Kelly Mark is under no illusions about that. For years, the Toronto-based artist has used wry observation to inflect the mundanity of everyday life with a gloomily hilarious absurdity (a favourite: I really should . . . an audio work in which Mark intones a huge list of unexciting things she meaning we need to get around to but know we never will). Marks work, which spans sound, video, sculpture and drawing, is unified by these themes: not simply the passage of time and the nagging insistence that its slipping our grasp before we can really make use of it. Its enough to make anyone a little grumpy, but Mark has an ace. Shes not just getting older, shes getting better. Opening April 1, 6 to 8 p.m., at Diaz Contemporary, 100 Niagara St., until April 30 Ongoing Marvin Luvualu Antonio, Dispossessed/Pt 1: Antonio, not yet 30, was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, spent his early childhood in London and Ethiopia, and moved all on his own to Toronto as a 13-year old. Its enough by itself to justify the title of this, his first solo show here, but Antonio is concerned with much more than a personal lack of firm ground on which to stand. Dispossessed, taken from science fiction icon Ursula K. Le Guins 1974 novel of the same name, evokes her writing with a similar cautionary air. The broken utopia of Le Guins book, and the libertarian freedoms it portrayed, run the razors edge of collapsing into autocratic chaos. Dispossessed takes shape in the gallery as a chain-link prison within which Antonios ragged collages of materials both found and made are folded into photographic and sculptural experiments. It all suggests a wild freedom ever under threat of lockdown, relevant to our thrilling, troubling times. Antonio flicks at the unnervingly easy appropriation of our Internet age, whether identity or idea, and the disembodiment of place that can leave us both untethered and imprisoned all at once. At Clint Roenisch Gallery, 190 St. Helens Ave., until April 30. SHARE: Last June, a man in Winnipeg was arrested on suspicion that he would commit a terrorist offence. Kevin Mohamed, who has been linked by numerous sources to a Twitter account peppered with references to Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the war in Syria, appears to have tweeted his displeasure. How can you do this to people based on (a) hunch they might engage in terrorism(?), he asked. Nine months later, Mohamed was arrested for the same reason. The fear of terrorism provision in the Criminal Code is being used more and more to arrest people like Mohamed, suspects police believe could engage in terrorism, according to legal experts and researchers who follow national security and radicalization in Canada. The former Conservative government passed Bill C-51 days after Mohameds tweet last year. Among a host of other changes, the anti-terrorism legislation tweaked the provision to allow police to arrest and seek peace bonds for people who may commit a terrorist offence. The law previously said police needed to suspect they shall engage in such activity. It was this provision that the RCMP cited when announcing Mohameds arrest last week. The 23-year-old former University of Waterloo student was held in police custody over the Easter weekend and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a dangerous weapon, allegations that his lawyer Anser Farooq said pertain to a knife. He has not been charged with any terrorism-related offences, though Farooq said police suspect him of participation, encouragement and seeking to travel to engage in terrorist activity. In the statement announcing his arrest, the RCMP referred to efforts to prevent people from travelling abroad to gain training and expertise that could be used in the planning and implementation of future attacks on Canadian soil. On Monday, the National Post reported Mohamed allegedly travelled to Syria in the spring of 2014 around the same time Daesh, also known as the Islamic State, declared a caliphate there. A friend of Mohameds from Waterloo, who asked not to be named for fear of being investigated himself, told the Star that Mohamed travelled to Turkey at that time for a few weeks with his mother and brother. Mohamed visited to border-town of Antakya to help refugees from Syria, the friend said. The Star could not independently verify these accounts of Mohameds travels. His mother and brother declined to comment and hung up when contacted by phone on Sunday and Monday. Craig Forcese, a national security law expert at the University of Ottawa, said the trend of police using the fear of terrorism provision as a pre-emptive way to stop terrorist suspects picked up in the wake of attacks on Parliament Hill and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. in October 2014. Forcese explained that the rule allows police to attach conditions on suspects through peace bonds without having to prove criminal activity. If the conditions are broken, the suspect can be jailed, he said. It becomes a sort of customized Criminal Code for the individual . . . Electronic bracelets, curfews, those things are all potentially in play. Scott Tod, deputy chief with the North Bay Police and former co-chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Polices counterterrorism committee, testified at a parliamentary hearing on Bill C-51 last year. He told the Star that the expanded fear of terrorism provision was necessary to address the threat of homegrown terrorist attacks. There is a slippery slope risk, though, Forcese said: police might rely on the tool too much and it becomes an inappropriate means of arresting people for crimes they havent committed and may never commit. Both Tod and Forcese said the key is to make sure there are robust checks on police power. As it stands, use of the provision needs approval from the attorney general, and any peace-bond conditions need judicial sign-off and can be challenged in court, Forcese and Tod said. Mohamed is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Other fear of terrorism cases Aaron Driver The 23-year-old was arrested in a raid on a suburban Winnipeg home in June 2015. Using the Twitter alias Harun Abdurahman, Driver called the Parliament Hill attack justified as retaliation for violence against Daesh, also known as the Islamic State. Last month he agreed to a peace bond under the fear of terrorism provision of the Criminal Code, with conditions that included needing written permission to use a cellphone and to stay off social media until the end of August, the CBC reported. Ismael Habib Montreals Ismael Habib was picked up in February after his then-girlfriend told police he showed her beheading videos and was being urged by his ex-wife to join jihadist fighting in the Middle East, the Montreal Gazette reported. A Crown prosecutor later asked, under the fear of terrorism provision, for a peace bond that could hamper Habib with conditions for release should harassment, death threat and forged-identification charges fail to pass muster, the paper reported. Seyed Amir Hossein Raisolsadat The Prince Edward Islander was arrested under the provision last spring. Police alleged he acquired castor beans that could be used to make the ricin toxin and that he searched online for how to make explosives, the CBC reported. Raisolsadat, a chemistry student, was released on a peace bond that barred him from possessing guns or leaving the island. Merouane Ghalmi The Montrealer signed a peace bond in March 2015, after he was arrested for fear of terrorism. He wasnt allowed to communicate with certain people and was made to wear an electronic tracking bracelet, the CBC reported. Daniel Minto Darko The 26-year-old friend of Ghalmi was arrested by the RCMP and agreed to a fear of terrorism peace bond last year. Darko was forbidding from communicating with anyone in Syria, Turkey and Malaysia, or any person connected to a terrorist group on social media, the CBC reported. He also couldnt use a cellphone for a year. SHARE: LAHORE, PAKISTANThe hardline Taliban faction that claimed responsibility for an Easter suicide bomb attack in Lahore released a photo of the alleged suicide bomber Tuesday, as the Pakistan officials said they had arrested more than 200 people in a campaign to ferret out extremists in the southern part of the country. The suicide bomber, a man identified by the terror group Jamaat ul-Ahrar as Salahuddin Khorasani, donned a vest loaded with explosives and ball bearings and blew himself up in a park crowded with people Sunday evening, killing at least 70 people, including 29 children. The terror group issued a statement that said that Khorasani has carried out the attack on the eve of Christian festival Easter on March 27, 2016 as per his will. He has gifted his life to Allah. A video would be forthcoming, the group said. Officials from Punjab, the province where Lahore is located, said at a news conference Tuesday that a joint force of military and police officers had arrested more than 200 suspected extremists in a sweep targeting militants throughout Punjab, and the areas 13,000 religious seminaries remain under surveillance. Police said they were awaiting the results of DNA tests to officially identify the suicide bomber. Even after a week of terrorist violence in Iraq, Turkey and Belgium, the attack in Lahore has became a focus of global consternation. It was the countrys second major terrorist attack this year and the deadliest in Pakistan since nearly 150 people were killed at a school in Peshawar in late 2014, a shock to the nation. That was followed by a relatively peaceful 2015. With this attack and an earlier assault on a university, the period of relative calm now seems to be over. Pakistans military had said Monday they arrested a number of terrorist suspects and facilitators in at least five separate raids in cities across Punjab province, according to Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa, an army spokesman. Bajwa also said that a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered in the operations, but he did not say where the weapons stockpile was found. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a televised address Monday night that Pakistan will not allow militants to raise their heads again. He had earlier cancelled a trip to Washington and visited the wounded at a hospital Monday. Lahore, Pakistans cultural centre, remained in a period of official mourning, with schools and markets closed and little traffic. The tragedy drew condemnation from the U.S. and governments around the world, including the Vatican, where Pope Francis on Monday decried the Easter bombing as vile and abominable. The pope called for Pakistans religious minorities to be protected. He urged authorities in Pakistan to make every effort to restore security and serenity to Pakistanis. Pakistani authorities noted that more Muslims than Christians were killed and injured. Of those who died at the scene, 14 were Christian, 44 were Muslim, and nine could not immediately be identified, according to Muhammad Iqbal, the superintendent of police for operations in Lahore. Pakistan, a country of 190 million, has suffered for years from sectarian violence and Islamist militancy, including a Taliban-led insurgency in the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. Critics have long said that Pakistan, while launching a major assault to push extremists out of their strongholds in the countrys federally administered tribal areas, has appeased other terror groups, particularly in the countrys south. Recent terrorist attacks targeting minorities and schools have left many ordinary Pakistanis scared and on edge. This shouldnt be happening, said Rani Farzand, a teacher and neighbor of an 8-year-old girl who died in the blast. The kids are not safe in the parks, in the schools, in the mosques. Where should we send our children? What should we do? On Monday, little remained of the carnage at the scene at Gulshan-e-Iqbal park, a leafy oasis in Pakistans second-largest city. Police had cordoned off the bloodstained area between a fountain and a bumper-car ride in the small childrens amusement section where the bomb exploded. Objects were left like small grace notesa jeweled sandal, mangled reading glasses, a childs shoe. At Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, where about half of the more than 300 injured were taken Sunday night, 67 remained hospitalized with a variety of injuries, including burns and shrapnel wounds, doctors said. Politicians and TV anchors weaved among through the beds, where occupants were labeled blast victim. Among them were two small children, their beds marked with signs saying unknown. Their family died in the blast, and they had yet to be linked with other relatives. Some were clearly still in shock. Zeeshan Taaj, 23, had been walking through the park on his way back from a pickup cricket match when the bomb detonated. He injured his leg in the aftermath and is trying to come to terms with what he saw: Fire and smoke, he said. I have seen chopped legs blown off, heads and dead bodies scattered all around me. A friend tried to comfort him by tucking a sheet around his still-bloodied leg wound. In another bed, Tasleem Sultan, 40, described how she and four other adult family members took eight children to the kiddie amusement park Sunday night and found it bustling on the warm evening. Her niece, Zainab, 8, had donned her best red dress and put flower-shaped barrettes in her hair for the occasion. She rode an elephant on the merry-go-round. She was holding her aunts hand when the force of the explosion separated them. Later, her father found Zainab, bleeding and lifeless. I was weeping. I am still in shock, Jamshaid Iqbal, 35, said in an interview at his family home after her funeral. Why isnt the government protecting us? In Islamabad on Monday, thousands of Muslim demonstrators protesting the execution of Islamist assassin Mumtaz Qadri staged a sit-in inside the capital citys Red Zone, which is home to a number of vital government institutions, including Parliament and the prime ministers house. Qadri assassinated Punjabs governor, Salman Taseer, in 2011 over the latters opposition to Pakistans blasphemy laws. Most blasphemy cases are lodged against non-Muslims for violations such as desecrating the Koran, Islams holy book, according to rights monitors. The army was deployed Sunday night to protect government buildings after the protesters rampaged across the city, damaging property and setting buildings on fire. Read more about: SHARE: It is somewhat baffling why the headquarters of the Toronto Police Service was the target of two demonstrations last week. The first clash involved a Toronto police officer who fatally shot Andrew Loku a 45-year-old man inside a Toronto apartment building last year. As is the case any time theres a death or serious injury involving police and civilians, Ontarios Special Investigation Unit was tasked with investigating the situation. The SIU ruled that the officer did not exceed the ambit of justifiable force in the circumstances and, as a result, no charges were laid. The ruling promptly incited demonstrations outside police headquarters at 40 College St. But why was the target the TPS? The SIU is based out of Mississauga. Moreover, if theres a concern in the manner in which the civilian watchdog conducted this investigation, the protest should be aimed directly at the SIU, not the police. The second instance surrounds former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi, who was acquitted on sexual assault charges. The decision triggered outrage and a march to police headquarters, in support of survivors and victims of sexual assault. Again, why is 40 College St. the scene? If the complaint is that the legal system isnt able to deal with issues of sexual assault, and a new approach is required, fair enough. But then they should take the rally to the Attorney General of Ontario, the department responsible for the oversight of the justice system within the province, not the police. Mike Doyle, Ajax Read more about: SHARE: Luxury vehicles abound at the New York International Auto Show, with some of the world's most prestigious brands showing off new cars to entice buyers. This year, the most significant luxury vehicles at the show included offerings from Mercedes-Benz, Acura, Maserati and Genesis, which is Hyundai's new luxury brand. Mercedes-Benz's world debut of its AMG E43 is "the vehicle that defines success for the German automaker," according to Eric Lyman, chief analyst and vice president of industry insights at TrueCar. "It's not the full sport performance package that we've seen on some of the previous Mercedes E class designs, but it's a step in that direction," said Lyman. He added that the car is equipped with a 400 horsepower engine and has sporty styling. Lyman also admired Acura's new and refreshed MDX. "The Acura MDX is the best-selling three-row luxury utility of all time," he said. "The trend in the segment has become for the styling to be a little bit more aggressive, which is something the MDX has lacked." The new MDX has a diamond grill and increased fuel economy. The auto show also featured the North American debut of the Maserati Levante, a premium SUV. "This vehicle is worth the wait. It's got all the styling that Maserati is known for," said Lyman. "It's going to be [at a] starting price at $72,000, so it's one of the more affordable Maseratis in the portfolio. And it's going to go against some of the successful luxury utility vehicles we've seen from Porsche as well as Mercedes and BMW." Lyman also discussed the significance of Hyundai's Genesis brand, which is the first new Asian luxury brand in some time. At the auto show, Genesis revealed the appropriately named New York Concept. "It's going to be positioned against the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes C Class -- the heart of the luxury segment -- where a lot of the performance and volume is," said Lyman. One other new vehicle caught Lyman's eye. While it's not a luxury vehicle, it's still significant. Toyota unveiled the Prius Prime, a new plug-in hybrid. "The big strategy here with Toyota is adding some better technology, some better fit and finish and materials, to really take the Prius name up a notch," said Lyman. According to a recent report from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters, venture capital funds closed in the U.S. decreased to $28.2 billion last year from $31.1 billion in 2014. This shift is affecting startups across all industries as they fight for funding, and e-commerce is no exception. As Women's Wear Daily reported, the general consensus is that a good idea is no longer enough to secure VC funding. Investors expect founders to present a path to profitability, and in e-commerce, this means existing brand recognition. How is possible to build brand recognition and attract a band of followers without products? For some, the solution is leveraging an existing personal brand. With that in mind, here are three e-commerce startups ripe for investment. 1.Goop With a founder who just happens to be an Oscar-winning actress and who has graced the covers of countless fashion magazines, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop is a force. When she launched Goop in 2008, it started as an e-newsletter with carefully curated lifestyle content including fashion, health and wellness. From there, Goop evolved into a full-blown lifestyle site that seamlessly blends editorial content with commerce. It is important to note that the evolution occurred very slowly, with Paltrow waiting to monetize until she had already amassed an army of loyal readers. When one considers the fact that a similar e-commerce effort from actress Blake Lively failed to pick up steam, something she herself attributed to its too-rapid launch, it is clear that Paltrow was smart in her slow and steady approach to monetization. Goop's first crack at commercialization was in 2012, when it began offering one limited-edition product for sale weekly, with each piece being an exclusive collaboration between an existing brand and Paltrow herself. Then in 2014, she tapped media maven Lisa Gersh as chief executive to help the burgeoning startup grow. With Gersh at the helm, Goop closed a $10 million Series A round of financing last August, led by Tony Florence at New Enterprise Associates, and launched its own skin care line, goop by Juice Beauty this year. The line's $125 Discovery Set sold out within one week of its launch. If that doesn't convey the profitable power of Paltrow's brand, nothing can. Goop will likely launch more original products as it grows, and if the success of its beauty line is any indication, Goop is certainly an e-commerce startup worthy of investment. 2.Draper James Reese Witherspoon, also an Oscar-winning actress, is widely known for her bubbly personality and Southern charm, so when she launched her retail brand Draper James, it came as no surprise that the line of clothing, accessories and home decor was inspired by her roots. She officially launched the e-commerce site last May, and she also opened a flagship brick-and-mortar location in Nashville, Tenn., later in the year, immediately making headlines and easily securing the kind of press coverage for which most startups would have to fight tooth and nail. Again, this goes back to the actress leveraging her own, well-established personal brand. Witherspoon made it crystal clear that the retail line is based on her heritage, aptly naming it after her grandparents Dorothea Draper and William James Witherspoon. On the Draper James website she offers a clear Genesis story for the brand, sharing personal details about her love for her grandparents and the American South. Like Witherspoon, Draper James oozes Southern charm, which offers visitors a distinct brand experience while perusing the site. From curated collections such as Southern Sayings and Savannah Floral to the site's blog titled, "Love, Reese: A Southern Lifestyle Blog," she has created a cohesive digital brand that complements her personal brand perfectly. And investors have noticed. In October, Draper James closed a $10 million Series B round of financing led by Forerunner Ventures, with participation from JH Partners and Stone Canyon Industries as well. Provided Witherspoon continues to foster the Draper James brand while leveraging her own, the actress's retail venture is surely one to watch. 3. DSTLD Dubbed early on the "Everlane for jeans," DSTLD is a direct-to-consumer retailer that essentially sells jeans at wholesale prices. In effect, what Warby Parker did with eye wear, DSTLD is doing with denim. The brand told TechCrunch that it considers its jeans comparable to those from high-profile premium brands such as Citizens of Humanity and J Brand because it uses the same textile providers and wash houses. Although providing a premium product at a wholesale price should seemingly resonate well, DSTLD faced a substantial challenge at launch: convincing shoppers to care more about the quality of the product than the name of the brand. And then something magical happened for the young denim darling. Country star Carrie Underwood and "it girls" Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez and Kendall Jenner were all spotted wearing DSTLD jeans. When it comes to convincing a brand-conscious shopper to buy a pair of jeans from a relatively unknown brand, few things are more powerful than endorsements from some of the biggest celebrities on the planet. Beyond being able to archive the celebrity love on its own site, DSTLD got exposure on ELLE.com in an an article encouraging readers to shop like Jenner, and the article includes a direct link back to its site. DSTLD may not have a famous founder, but its celebrity fans give it the edge it needs to succeed in the saturated e-commerce market. There are no guarantees in the world of e-commerce, but these retailers have one thing in common that sets them apart: brand awareness. And for that reason, they are positioned for continued success. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the companies mentioned. The S&P 500 is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.5, which compared with its historical P/E ratio of 15.6 makes it expensive by historical standards. But despite the higher-than-average valuation level of the overall market, there are still bargains available. Let's look at three well-respected consumer goods dividend stocks that are trading at extremely low P/E ratios. The first undervalued consumer goods stock is the largest corporation in the world. Still, investors have bid down the company's P/E ratio. Another continues to have success driven by macroeconomic tailwinds, yet the market isn't rewarding its stock. The company paid a hefty special "bonus" dividend this year. And the final stock has fallen 19% this year, despite favorable long-term growth prospects. This company is a dividend aristocrat, poised to continue delivering many more years of consecutive dividend increases. Undervalued Consumer Goods Dividend Stock No. 1: Apple (AAPL) Technology giant Apple seems perpetually undervalued as investors continue to doubt the company's growth trajectory. Based on its recent $105 stock price, shares of Apple are valued at a P/E ratioof just 11,about half the average valuation of the S&P 500. Is Apple a better-than-average company? It looks like it, and yet it trades for about half the S&P 500's P/E ratio. The stock has lost 15% of its value over the past year, despite the fact that Apple continues to increase sales and earnings at a healthy rate, even without the benefit of a major new iPhone release. Apple earned $3.28 a share for the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 26 on $75.87 billion of revenue, up 7% and 2%, respectively, from a year earlier. The results would have been even better if not for the strengthening dollar-constant currency, and revenue would have actually increased 8%. The company's monstrous earnings make it the largest corporation in the world based on market capitalization. But investors are concerned about the next growth phase of the iPhone, which itself constitutes about 68% of Apple's total revenue. Indeed, though Apple sold an incredible 74.8 million iPhones last quarter, total iPhone device sales grew only fractionally year over year. Plus, last quarter, Apple recorded the lowest growth in iPhone sales since it was first introduced in 2007. Apple is attempting to reignite growth until the release of the iPhone 7, by offering a low-cost iteration, called the iPhone SE. This model will be priced at just $399, the lowest price of any of Apple's new phones. The move could further Apple's progress in emerging markets, which are increasingly important to the company's growth trajectory as more developed markets such as the United States level off. Apple has racked up impressive growth from emerging markets, including China. The company increased revenue by 14% last quarter in greater China year-over-year, the only geographic region to sport double-digit revenue growth for Apple. The company's stock now also appeals to dividend investors, as it offers a 2% dividend. That yield should grow shortly, as Apple is due to update its capital allocation program next month. Because the company generates so much cash flow and has a large amount of cash on the balance sheet, Apple should have no trouble increasing its dividend once again, perhaps by double digits. You see Jim Cramer on TV. Now, see where he invests his money and why Apple stock is a core holding of his multimillion-dollar portfolio. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now. Undervalued Consumer Goods Dividend Stock No. 2: Ford Motor (F) U.S. automaker Ford Motor is a curious study, as the company itself continues to perform very well. Auto sales in the United States are booming, thanks to low interest rates and low gas prices. But Ford Motor stock has performed poorly recently, down 9% in the past year. This has brought Ford Motor's P/E ratio down to just 7. And yet, Ford Motor's fundamentals continue to improve. Total car sales in the United States rose by 5% last year. In particular, the F-Series pickup truck continues to sell very well and has been America's best-selling vehicle for 35 years. Ford Motor earned a pretax profit of $10.8 billion last year, setting a new record for the company. Its strategic imperative was to improve its business in Europe and continue its momentum in Asia. It succeeded on both counts last year. One major contributor was Ford Motor's European business returning to profitability last year, thanks to 8% revenue growth, excluding foreign exchange. And, the company recorded its highest annual profit ever in the Asia-Pacific region. Ford Motor could be a classic case of investor sentiment not matching reality. Investors are very bearish, as evidenced by the low P/E ratio, and analysts are concerned that the company won't be able to maintain the momentum of robust sales. But Ford Motor itself sees good things in the year ahead. For 2016, it expects pretax profit, operating earnings per share and revenue to be comparable to or higher than last year's levels. Ford Motor is solidly profitable and returns a great deal of its earnings to shareholders, paying a $1 billion special dividend to investors this year, which amounting to 25 cents a share, in addition to its 15-cents-a-share regular dividend. The company's total 2016 planned dividends will be 40% higher than last year's dividends because of this. Ford Motor is a cheap consumer goods stock that offers a high dividend yield of 4.5%. Undervalued Consumer Goods Dividend Stock No. 3: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) The downturn in the agriculture industry is keeping a lid on Archer Daniels Midland's valuation. The stock trades at a P/E ratio of 14, which is well below that of the S&P 500. Declining commodity prices, including oil, have hurt the ethanol business, which has affected Archer Daniels Midland's corn-processing segment. But falling prices for a host of other agricultural commodities, including soybeans, weakened its oil seeds processing unit. Making matters worse, the strengthening dollar and rising supply over the past year have had a negative effect on Archer Daniels Midland's export volumes and margins. In all, Archer Daniels Midland's net sales and earnings per share declined 16% and 13%, respectively, last year. But the company remains highly profitable and should turn around once the broader industry conditions recover. Archer Daniels Midland has employed a significant cost-cutting program to give support to earnings going forward. The company plans to reduce company-wide costs by $275 million by the end of the year. With its ample profits, the company returns cash to shareholders in two ways. First, Archer Daniels Midland bought back $2 billion of its own stock last year, which is advantageous for the company because it could repurchase shares at attractive prices. And, its dividend yields 3.3%. The dividend is secure, with the company boasting a long history of paying and raising its dividend regularly, even during downturns in the agriculture industry. Archer Daniels Midland is a dividend aristocrat, thanks to its long streak of consecutive dividend increases. The company has paid a dividend for more than 80 years without interruption, and it recently raised its dividend by 7%. Over the past five years, Archer Daniels Midland has increased its dividend by 13% compounded annually. As a result, the stock should appeal to both value and income investors. The company is a favorite of The 8 Rules of Dividend Investing, thanks to its above-average yield, solid long-term growth potential and cheap valuation. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author was long ADM. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- SunEdison (SUNE) stock is down by 41.88% to 74 cents in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after TerraForm Global (GLBL), one of the company's two "yieldcos," warned that the renewable energy company is at "substantial risk" of bankruptcy. SunEdison has failed to meet financial reporting obligations and has been unable to contribute to projects in Uruguay and India, TerraForm Global said in a filing, according to MarketWatch. Additionally, the company's liquidity problems put it at risk of seeking bankruptcy protection soon. Shares are being further weighed down by an SEC investigation into whether SunEdison exaggerated its liquidity position last fall, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company told investors it had more than $1 billion in cash at the time, even though shares had plunged by 75% since midsummer. SunEdison's market value has declined to roughly $400 million from nearly $10 billion in July, the Journal added. Shares are set to open below $1 for the first time since going public in July 1995, MarketWatch notes. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "sell" with a ratings score of D. SunEdison's weaknesses include its generally high debt management risk, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share. You can view the full analysis from the report here: SUNE TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author. Consumer spending is a driver of economic growth, but recent readings on retail sales have been sluggish. While shoppers seek bargains, investors have been successfully capturing gains in four of the five discount retailers profiled today. It's time to take some gains. Discount retailer Dollar General (DG) , which is primarily located on small town main street locations, has been the best investment choice in the group so far in 2016. In the suburbs of many major cities, shoppers find things for a dollar at Dollar Tree (DLTR) , which has outperformed the market. In the suburban U.S., consumers can buy brand-named consumer goods at significant discounts at Kohl's (KSS) , Ross Stores (ROST) and TJX (TJX) , the parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods. Investors are having a good year in two of these three, with Kohl's the lone year-to-date loser. Here's the scorecard for the five discount chain stocks, followed by their weekly charts and key trading levels. The weekly charts show a red line through the price bars. which is the key weekly moving average (a 5-week modified moving average). The green line is the 200-week simple moving average, the "reversion to the mean." The study in red along the bottom of the chart is weekly momentum (a 12x3x3 weekly slow stochastic), which scales between 00.00 and 100.00, where readings above 80.00 indicate overbought and readings below 20.00 indicate oversold. A negative weekly chart shows the stock below its key weekly moving average, with weekly momentum declining below 80.00 in a trend towards 20.00. Here's the weekly chart for Dollar General. Courtesy of MetaStock Xenith Dollar General closed at $86.08 on Monday, up 19.8% year to date and up 44.1% since trading as low as $59.75 on Nov. 16. The stock set an all-time high of $86.80 on March 15. The weekly chart is positive but overbought, with the stock above its key weekly moving average of $79.92 and well above its 200-week simple moving average of $61.10. The weekly momentum reading is projected to rise to 86.70 this week, up from 85.43 on March 24, well above the overbought threshold of 80.00. Investors looking to buy Dollar General should consider doing so on weakness to $80.93, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of this week. Investors looking to reduce holdings should consider doing so on strength to $91.80, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of 2016. The $83.03 level should be a magnet until the end of June. Here's the weekly chart for Dollar Tree. Courtesy of MetaStock Xenith Dollar Tree closed at $80.84 on Monday, up 4.7% year to date and up 34% since trading as low as $60.31 on Oct. 14. However, this stock has been moving sideways since setting an all-time high of $82.81 in March 2015. The weekly chart is neutral, with the stock above its key weekly moving average of $79.10 and above its 200-week simple moving average of $59.71. The weekly momentum reading is projected to be at 69.97, virtually flat from a reading of 69.61 on March 24. Investors looking to buy Dollar Tree should consider buying weakness to $76.09, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of this week. Investors looking to reduce holdings should consider selling strength to $82.87 and $85.00, which are key levels on technical charts until the end of June and the end of 2016, respectively. Here's the weekly chart for Kohl's. Courtesy of MetaStock Xenith Kohl's closed at $46.79 on Monday, down 1.8% year to date and up 19.2% from its Feb. 11 low of $39.23. The stock is in bear market territory, 41.2% below its all-time high of $79.60 set on April 6, 2015. The weekly chart shifts to positive this week if the stock ends the week above its key weekly moving average of $46.74, which would indicate upside potential to its 200-week simple moving average of $53.85. The weekly momentum reading is projected to rise to 60.80 this week, up from 60.71 on March 24. Investors looking to buy Kohl's should consider buying weakness to $41.51, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of this week. Investors looking to reduce holdings should consider selling strength to $54.17, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of 2016. Here's the weekly chart for Ross Stores. Courtesy of MetaStock Xenith Ross Stores closed at $57.59 on Monday, up 7% year to date and up 32.5% since trading as low as $43.47 on Nov. 13. The stock set an all-time high of $59.68 on March 18. The weekly chart is positive but overbought, with the stock above its key weekly moving average of $56.71 and well above its 200-week simple moving average of $39.93. The weekly momentum reading is projected to rise to 82.21 this week, up from 81.85 on March 24, moving further above the overbought threshold of 80.00. Investors looking to buy Ross Stores should consider buying weakness to $43.68, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of 2016. Investors looking to reduce holdings should sell on strength now as the stock is just above $57.25 and $55.15, which are key levels on technical charts until the end of 2016 and the end of June, respectively. Here's the weekly chart for TJX. Courtesy of MetaStock Xenith TJX closed at $77.76 on Monday, up 9.7% year to date and up 22.4% since trading as low as $63.53 on Nov. 16. The stock set its all-time high of $78.46 on March 21. The weekly chart is positive but overbought, with the stock above its key weekly moving average of $75.05, and well above its 200-week simple moving average of $58.57. The weekly momentum reading is projected to rise to 90.55 this week, up from 88.49 on March 24, becoming extremely overbought above the overbought threshold of 80.00. Investors looking to buy TJX should consider buying weakness to $74.44, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of 2016. Investors looking to reduce holdings should consider selling strength to $85.26, which is a key level on technical charts until the end of June. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wells Fargo (WFC) stock is slumping by 0.60% to $48.40 in early-morning trading on Tuesday, even though Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) announced that it has increased its ownership stake in the financial company to nearly 10%. Berkshire owns 506.3 million shares of Wells Fargo, valued around $24.7 billion, according to SEC filings, Reuters reports. The stake has increased to 9.8% as of December 31 from 6.5% as of the end of 2009. The Federal Reserve typically exercises special oversight when investors acquire 10% ownership in a bank, unless they pledge that they do not intend to influence the company. Berkshire's Wells Fargo shares "were not acquired and are not held" with the goal of altering the bank's operations, Buffett said in a filing, Reuters adds. (Wells Fargo is held in Jim Cramer's charitable trust Action Alerts PLUS. See all of his holdings here.) Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "buy" with a ratings score of B. Wells Fargo's strengths such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and attractive valuation levels. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself. You can view the full analysis from the report here: WFC TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Yahoo! (YHOO) stock is rising by 0.57% to $35.43 in morning trading on Tuesday, after the company set an April 11 deadline for suitors to submit preliminary bids for its core Internet business and Asian assets, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo! advisers have asked potential buyers to submit proposals for their bids. These proposals should include information such as assets of interest, prices the bidders can pay, how they would finance a purchase, what conditions must be met on their end and what key assumptions they would be making in moving forward with a deal, the Journal adds. Possible suitors include Verizon (VZ), IAC/InterActiveCorp. (IAC) and Time Inc. (TIME), as well as private equity firms TPG and KKR. Additionally, Microsoft (MSFT) is in talks with private-equity firms about helping to finance a buyout. With this timeline, Yahoo! could close a deal before its annual shareholder meeting this summer, during which shareholders will vote on whether to replace all nine members of its board, the Journal notes. "I believe the preferred route for Starboard and for management is for [Yahoo] to find a suitor before the shareholder meeting," Youssef Squali, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, told the Journal. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates the stock as a "hold" with a ratings score of C-. Yahoo!'s strengths such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins are countered by weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow. You can view the full analysis from the report here: YHOO TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this article's author. Chickens and investors rejoice! PepsiCo (PEP) just became the latest company to commit to using 100% cage-free eggs in its products. Before you say, "Ew!" at the thought of eggs in your soda, remember that PepsiCo is also the owner of such blockbuster brands as Frito-Lay and Quaker Oats. By keeping its chickens out of cages, PepsiCo joins a long list of other companies, including Aramark, Kraft Heinz and McDonald's. Aside from pledging more humane conditions for livestock, these companies are all making a savvy move that should bolster their revenue, as well as provide more profits to investors. PepsiCo said Monday that it will use only cage-free eggs in North America by 2020 and globally by 2025. Farm animal protection nonprofit the Humane League said in a statement that it had approached the food and drink manufacturer last year with a request that it make the switch. "The issue of hen welfare has become so high on the food industry's radar that pretty much anyone who uses eggs on a commercial scale is coming on board," Josh Balk, senior director of food policy at the Humane Society of the United States, told Fortune magazine. By jumping on the bandwagon, PepsiCo is tapping an unstoppable trend that will affect investors over the long haul. But beyond helping hens, making the cage-free choice will help PepsiCo attract millennials, providing more opportunities for investors to profit. Millennials gravitate toward food that they view as gourmet, healthful and socially responsible. In a recent study by J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, 8 out of 10 millennials said that they want to know more about how their food is produced and that they don't think that food manufacturers disclose enough about their operations. By vowing to use more humane farming practices, companies such as PepsiCo are attracting more customers from this influential demographic. PepsiCo is taking other steps to target millennials. Although soda brands across the board have seen declining sales recently due to consumers making healthier choices, the company owns a portfolio of teas and juices that is growing and becoming more diverse. And when millennials do drink soda, they are attracted to "craft sodas," which are marketed as being more artisanal. PepsiCo has launched its 1893 original cola and ginger cola products, named for the year the company was founded and produced with kola nuts and certified fair-trade sugar. PepsiCo has long existed in Coca-Cola's shadow. But with a strong, diverse portfolio of products, a growing focus on millennials and a history of juicy dividends -- currently around 2.8%, with plans for an increase in June -- PepsiCo should continue to yield increasing returns. You see Jim Cramer on TV. Now, see where he invests his money and why PepsiCo stock is a core holding of his multimillion-dollar portfolio. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells PEP? Learn more now. Are you making the right investment moves for your retirement, or are you blowing it by making all-too-common money mistakes? There are crucial steps to take now to build wealth over the long haul. To find out whether you will have enough money in your later years, download our free report: Your Ultimate Retirement Guide. This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned. Being forced by California legislators to pay workers a minimum of $15 an hour likely won't deal much of a financial blow to Costco (COST) . That is because Costco -- which counts California as its largest market at 31% of annual sales via its 105 stores there -- has long prided itself on paying its workers well above minimum wage, believing it helps them get better workers and retain them. Since 2007, Costco's starting wage in the U.S. and Canada has been $11.50 to $12 an hour. After four-and-a-half years at the company, a typical Costco worker tends to earn $23 an hour. And according to a Costco spokesman, the average hourly wage for a Costco worker in California is already $22.50. This month, Costco increased its starting wages to $13.00-$13.50 an hour from $11.50 to $12.00 an hour, the first change in nine years. Costco estimates the change will cost it about $ 0.01 a share in the third fiscal quarter, and about $0.02 a share in each of the next three fiscal quarters. "We want to be the premium [employer] at all levels, we're already a huge premium at the top of scale," said Costco CFO Richard Galanti to analysts on a Mar. 3 call. Under California's new plan, the state's minimum wage, already one of the highest in the nation at $10 an hour, would rise to $10.50 in 2017, $11 in 2018 and an additional dollar each year through 2022. On the other hand, some of Costco's competitors in the Golden State may be surprised how much paying a $15 minimum wage will end up eating into profits. Despite a recent round of pay hikes, many of those rivals' hourly wages are still well shy of the looming California standard. In February, Walmart (WMT) raised its minimum wage for store workers hired before Jan. 1 to at least $10 per hour from $9 an hour, still light years removed from Costco. The average hourly wage for full-time Walmart associates (hourly only, no salaried associates included) is $13.38 an hour, and $10.58 an hour for part-time employees. Walmart operates about 305 stores in California, or 6% of its U.S. total. In January, the world's largest retailer allegedly shut down a store in Los Angeles, CA. due to the threat of being forced to pay workers $15 an hour. Last March, Target (TGT) -- which has 272 stores in California out of 1,792 total in the U.S. -- hiked its minimum wage for all its workers to $9 an hour. The discount retailer has been oddly mum on its minimum wage plans, however, offering few details. "We're going be competitive in wage -- we always assess it market-by-market, because we believe in fielding that best team in retail," Target CFO Cathy Smith told analysts on a Feb. 24 call. According to Glassdoor, a typical Target store worker earns about $9.70 an hour in California. Although Costco's competitors will be forced to shell out at least $15 an hour to workers in California by 2022, it's unlikely Costco will lose employees or have trouble attracting new ones. First, Costco gives a clear line of sight (about four years) to store employees earning in excess of $20 an hour, something that Walmart, Target and other retailers will unlikely ever be able to hang their hats on. Further, judging by past behavior, Costco will likely lift its starting and top wages even higher compared to competitors in order to attract the best talent. "Costco has always stayed ahead of its competitors in terms of investing in all stakeholders, not the least of which includes its employees -- it goes above and beyond to empower its employees by creating a family-based culture and paying them premium wages of roughly 15% more than comparable companies," said Jack Mohr, the research director for the Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Costco and Target are holdings 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 Costco and Target are core holding of his multi-million dollar portfolio. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells COST and TGT?Learn more now. According to Mohr, the strategy is both ethically sound and financially strategic. "By treating its employees with respect and paying them well, Costco spends less time and money on training employees as their retention rate is among the highest in the industry," Mohr added. NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) shares are retreating by 1.28% to $25.51 on Tuesday, as oil prices drop on bearish sentiment that a two-month rally may be waning. "We're seeing more and more commentators raise the flag and saying 'have we seen too much, too soon?' in terms of the rally across the sector," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen told Reuters. Over the past few weeks, oil futures were gaining on hopes that OPEC members and non-OPEC members were meeting on April 17 in Doha, Qatar to discuss freezing production. However, traders are now concerned as to whether the discussions would have much of an impact on the already-saturated market. Meanwhile, supplies are continuing to build up. Kuwait said earlier today that it agreed with Saudi Arabia about resuming output at the jointly-run Khafji field, located off-shore between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Reuters noted. Earlier this morning, Deutsche Bank lowered Devon Energy's price target to $32 from $48, while reiterating its "buy" rating on the stock. Crude oil (WTI) is sliding 3.17% to $38.14 per barrel and Brent crude is sinking 2.93% to $39.09 per barrel. Based in Oklahoma City, OK, Devon Energy is an independent energy company that primarily engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the U.S. and Canada." Separately, TheStreet Ratings currently has a "Sell" rating on the stock with a letter grade of D. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, generally high debt management risk, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share. Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles' author. You can view the full analysis from the report here: DVN Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 66F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy skies with periods of light rain after midnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. 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. In this photo released by Press Information Department, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif talks to an injured victim of Sunday's suicide bombing during his visit to a local hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. Pakistans prime minister on Monday vowed to eliminate perpetrators of terror attacks such as the massive suicide bombing that targeted Christians gathered for Easter the previous day in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 70 people. (AP Photo/Press Information Department via AP) Patty Duke, who won Oscar for playing Helen Keller in 'The Miracle Worker' and who starred in '60s sitcom, dies at 69 In this March 19, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Tucson, Ariz. Trump is planning Tuesday to make his first campaign visit to Wisconsin, where the upcoming Republican presidential primary could mark a turning point in the unpredictable GOP race. But rival Ted Cruz has gotten a jumpstart on the contest, racking up influential endorsements, campaigning in key regions and supported by bullish advertising campaign. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) In this March 9, 2016, file photo, Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to reporters at the State Department in Washington. The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel Tuesday to leave posts in southern Turkey due to increased threats from terrorist groups in the country. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close An online petition to allow the open carry of firearms at this summers Republican National Convention is rapidly gaining signatures and attention, applying pressure to pro-gun rights Republican officials and presidential contenders to walk the walk when it comes to guns. Launched anonymously a week ago, the petition has collected more than 42,000 signatures as of Monday morning, putting it well on its way to a current goal of 50,000. On Sunday, leading Republican presidential contender Donald Trump was asked about it, though he refused to weigh in until he had a chance to read the fine print. I have to see what it says, he told ABCs Jonathan Karl, who asked him about the petition on the Sunday morning political show This Week. Im a very, very strong person for 2nd Amendment. I think very few people are stronger. And I have to see the petition. But Im not going to comment to you when I havent seen it. That non-answer highlights the difficulties this petition poses for the GOP. The petition calls on each Republican presidential contender, the National Rifle Association, the Republican National Committee and chairman Reince Priebus, convention host site Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to do what they can to allow convention attendees to openly carry firearms. The arena currently bans firearms and other weapons in accordance with the Ohios concealed carry law, it says on its website. Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life. the petitions author argues. Some have speculated that such dramatic language makes it sound a lot the whole thing is a ruse intended to put Republicans in a tough political spot. Regardless, it does indeed put GOP officials and presidential candidates in the awkward position of tolerating the types of policies that they often criticize. How can Republicans support conceal-and-carry but not push for it to be allowed at their own convention? Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, R, for example, suggested in December that gun-free zones attract murderers. If youre a lunatic, aint nothing better then having a bunch of targets you know that are going to be unarmed, he said. A month later, Trump echoed that sentiment, saying he would end gun-free zones at schools and on military bases. You know what a gun-free zone is to sickos? Thats bait! he said in early January. Petition organizers first identified themselves as Americans for Responsible Open Carry a group about which little is known, the Akron Beacon Journal reported last week. Now, the only identifier is the authors pseudonym: The Hyperationalist. The petition week-old petition exceeded an earlier goal of 5,000 signatures by Thursday night, according to the Journal. It passed the 25,000-signature mark as of two days ago and surpassed 40,000 signatures late Sunday. Firearms were similarly banned for attendees of the 2012 Republican convention in Tampa, Florida. Requests for comment from the Republican National Committee and arena officials were not immediately returned. (c) 2016, The Washington Post Niraj Chokshi The probe into the actions of the soldier who shot a wounded terrorist dead in Hebron on Purim continues. According to a Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) report released on Sunday, 17 Adar-II, prior to the actual attack the soldier was heard telling colleagues If a terrorist stabs one of us he must die. Another soldier in the unit tried to calm him. After the same soldier verified the kill, firing at the head of the wounded terrorist who was on the ground, his platoon commander asked him why he fired. The report states he responded One who stabs us must die. The commander distanced the soldier from the scene and reported the incident to the battalion commander. Defense attorney Eyal Besserglick responded to the report, telling Galei Tzahal host Tali Lipkin Shachak There are shouts in the area and he [the terrorist] was still moving. There is a fear he has a bomb on him. In addition, moments earlier there was a stabbing attack. The man was wearing a coat on a hot day, adding to the suspicion he was concealing an explosive device. What do you expect? After the stabbing that soldier should die with his comrade and then we could cry over their deathsThere was no alternative to acting as he did for we would not have him or the other soldier he tried to save. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) An internal Magen David Adom probe into the Purim terror attack in Hebron in which an IDF soldier shot a wounded terrorist dead reveals when the soldier fired, there was still a threat of an explosive device. According to the Channel 10 News report, quoting the MDA internal probe into the attack, when the soldier fired at the terrorist there was still a fear that the wounded terrorist was wearing a bomb. This is why EMS personnel were instructed to distance themselves from the wounded terrorist until the situation could be verified by bomb demolition technicians. MDA Chief of Operations Eli Bin is quoted saying that the probe revealed the bomb threat which existed at the time the soldier fired at the wounded terrorist. He spoke of the confusion that existed during the minutes following the stabbing attack. According to the report, Bin explains that his paramedics were distanced from the wounded terrorist by bomb demolition techs due to the real fear that existed. In the interim, the soldier remains behind bars and it not being permitted visitors. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Donald Trump wants to win the White House in the fall. Paul Ryan wants to save his own vision of the Republican Party for the future. Those goals put Trump and Ryan increasingly at odds over both tone and substance as the businessman barrels toward the GOP presidential nomination. While Ryan is appealing for political civility and a party rooted in traditional conservative principles, Trump is bucking campaign decorum and embracing policy positions that are sharply at odds with years of GOP orthodoxy. Their starkly different visions for the Republican Party are a microcosm of the broader fissures roiling the GOP. And if Trump does become the Republican nominee, he and the House speakers ability to work together could be the first test of whether a party in this much turmoil can stay together. Trumps obviously running on issues that are contrary to conservatives and at odds with what a lot of what Paul Ryan believes, said Peter Wehner, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. For now, Trump and Ryan are engaged largely in a cold war, with the politicians only occasionally mentioning each other by name. Ryan has picked key moments to draw implicit contrasts with Trump, including condemning the billionaires refusal to take responsibility for violence at his rallies. Trump will launch the next volley Tuesday when he campaigns in Ryans hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, ahead of the states April 5 primary. Trump, in his trademark contradictory style, has both praised Ryan and ominously warned the speaker against crossing him. Paul Ryan, I dont know him well, but Im sure Im going to get along with him, and if I dont, hes going to have to pay a big price, OK? Trump said after his victories on Super Tuesday. A week later, after speaking with Ryan by phone, Trump said of the speaker: I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. People close to Ryan say the Wisconsin lawmaker is in disbelief about Trumps staying power. While hes publicly vowed to support whomever his party nominates, Ryan has privately said hes focused on trying to keep the GOPs House majority this fall and on fundraising for the party leaving some friends with the impression that he would be a less-than-enthusiastic Trump backer in a general election. Looming large are Ryans own political ambitions. He passed on running for the White House in 2016, but some Republicans still harbor hopes that the House speaker could emerge as the nominee in a contested convention fight this summer. Thats if Trump or rival Ted Cruz fail to accumulate the delegates needed to clinch the nomination. I would be less than honest with you if I said people are not mentioning a Ryan candidacy from time to time, said Rep. Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican who meets regularly with Ryan. Clearly there are many in Congress who see Paul Ryan as a consensus candidate. Ryan has vigorously denied that hes interested, though he was similarly definitive last year when he rebuffed calls to run for the speakers job. Hes also insisted that his role as chairman of the July convention requires him to remain officially neutral despite his obvious displeasure with Trump. Yet Ryans refusal to fully disavow Trump has left him open to criticism that he either cares too much about keeping the real estate moguls enthusiastic supporters in the Republican fold or that he doesnt fully understand the threat posed by the GOP front-runner. The barbarian is at the gate, and Paul Ryan wants to talk sense to him? wrote David D. Haynes, the editorial page editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest newspaper in Ryans home state. Ryan has been working behind the scenes to produce plans on issues including health care, the economy and national security. Though not the original intent of Ryans agenda project, the effort could give Republicans something to run on if they cant or dont want to hitch themselves to the GOP nominee. I think what the American people are starved for is a positive agenda, said Rep Tom Price, R-Ga., chairman of the House Budget Committee and a close Ryan ally. Trumps own policy proposals, though often vague, have sometimes sharply conflicted with where Ryan is trying to position the party, particularly on economic issues. Ryan rose to prominence among Republicans for spending proposals that eventually would privatize government entitlement programs, dramatically reducing those operations share of federal spending over time. While Trump has joined Republicans in bemoaning alleged abuses of entitlement programs, hes long blasted proposals like Ryans. As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it just really is not going to happen, Trump said during a 2013 appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump has also spent decades criticizing U.S. trade policy and advocating steep tariffs on Chinese imports. Its a protectionist argument that puts him at odds with decades of Republican support for international trade, though hes in line with a growing contingent of House Republicans who see sweeping foreign trade deals as detrimental to American workers. Before becoming speaker, Ryan was among the most vocal House Republicans in backing trade agreements, including President Barack Obamas Asia-Pacific pact. As speaker, Ryan has yet to schedule a vote on the Pacific Rim deal, saying he and other members are carefully vetting the details. Despite their differences, some Ryan allies see policy as an area where Ryan could wield influence with Trump if the billionaire becomes the nominee or even president. Maybe it will dawn on (Trump) that he needs an actual agenda, Wehner said. Theres nobody better than Paul Ryan to supply it. (AP) Donald Trumps presidential campaign said Monday it plans to challenge Louisianas electoral delegate selection, a day after the GOP candidate threatened to sue over the possibility that the states uncommitted delegates could back his rival, Ted Cruz. Trump adviser Barry Bennett said that the campaign intends to file a complaint with the Republican National Committee protesting how the states delegates were chosen. The problem were having here is there was a secret meeting in Louisiana of the convention delegation, and apparently all the invitations for our delegates must have gotten lost in the mail, Bennett said in an interview on MSNBC. After meeting with the campaigns legal team most of the morning, he said they planned to move forward with a complaint to decertify these delegates. While he did not provide a timeline on when the complaint would be filed, he said: Were going to protect our rights to the fullest extent possible. A day earlier, Trump shared his frustration with the process via Twitter, warning: Lawsuit coming. His threat serves as a taste of the kind of backroom procedural wheeling-and-dealing that could come to define the Republican convention if Trump, facing deep resistance from many in his party, fails to lock down the 1,237 delegates necessary to win the nomination outright. Trump had not offered any details on the grounds of his proposed lawsuit, but Bennett later said Trump has been referring to the planned complaint. Its not something you file with the court, its something you file inside the party, he said. That is the lawsuit that he talked about. Under RNC rules, Trumps campaign can contest the seating of the states delegates by filing a complaint directly to the committee. If the campaign is unsatisfied with the outcome, it can file a complaint with the credentials committee, which meets at the national convention. Trump won 41 percent of the vote in Louisianas March 5 primary, versus 38 percent for Cruz. But the process of allocating the states 46 delegates isnt a matter of simple proportion. After the primary election, Trump and Cruz each had 18 committed delegates, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has since dropped out of the race, had five. Under state party rules, those delegates became free agents after Rubio suspended his campaign. Another five delegates also begin uncommitted. Jason Dore, executive director of the Republican Party of Louisiana and one of the states uncommitted delegates, said he hadnt yet decided whom to support. But he said that Cruzs campaign has been working more aggressively than Trumps to attract delegates since the beginning of the race. As for Trumps threat, Dore said: I dont know who hed be suing because these 10 delegates are free to support whoever they want under the rules. The party or I cant force them to vote any way. Dore added that Bennett appeared to be referring to a mandatory delegation meeting, held immediately following the state convention, which he said that Trump staffers in the state had attended. Trump slammed the idea that a candidate who won fewer votes could end up with more delegates in an interview with ABC on Sunday, panning the process as a crooked and rotten political system. Meanwhile, Cruz downplayed Trumps threats before a campaign stop in Altoona, Wisconsin, telling reporters: You know what? Who cares? (AP) The photo above is the hijacked flight which as been isolated in the airport. 9:30AM IL: An EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo was reportedly hijacked by a terrorist on board with an explosive device. AP tweets that the flight has landed at Larnaca International Airport, which is located four kilometers southwest of Larnaca, Cyprus. 9:40: The Daily Mail Online reports there are 82 passengers on the flight. Unconfirmed reports state there is a very sizable explosive device on board. 9:43: Israel Channel 2 News adds the air force has scrambled jets to make sure there has not been any incursion into Israeli airspace. Channel 2 adds the domestic Egyptian flight, flight number MS181, is carrying 55 passengers and 7 crew members. 9:51: Channel 2 News; The plane has been isolated in the Cyprus airport and the operating premise is the hijacker has a bomb. Israeli intelligence and security agencies continue monitoring the incident which at present, does not involve Israel in any way. 10:05: Israel News reports women and children are being permitted to leave the hijacked plane. 10:08: Israel Channel 10 News correspondent Sami Abed Alhamed reports the hijacker is a Libyan national and authorities have ruled out that he has a bomb on board. 10:37: Due to the hijacking, an El Al flight from Athens to Greece is delaying its takeoff, Channel 10 News reports. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) The systematic incitement to murder Israelis by official Palestinian Authority institutions continues to intensify. The following report, released by the Israel Foreign Ministry, explains how the PA leadership continues to hail those heinous terrorists who are committed to murdering Israelis. This week, the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah Movement celebrated the anniversary of the Coastal Road massacre, in which 37 Israelis were murdered in cold blood, including 12 children. On 11 March 1978, a group of terrorists from the Fatah Movement, led by Dalal Mughrabi, murdered Gail Rubin, an American tourist, then hijacked a bus and indiscriminately murdered its passengers. Over the past few days, the event has been commemorated in high-profile public celebrations throughout the PA, as a hallmark of Palestinian heroism. The glorification by the PA of the 1978 female arch-terrorist Dalal Mughrabi is directly linked to the Palestinian terrorists who operate today, perpetrating murderous attacks with the encouragement of the PA. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has requested Ambassador Danny Danon, the Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, to submit a complaint against the PA, for turning a loathsome terrorist into a role model for Palestinian society as a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence continues to rage, fed by a murderous campaign of incitement. It is intolerable that generations of Palestinians are being educated to hatred of Jews and adoration of murderers. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A Muslim Democrat running for a U.S. House seat in Nevada says that in a private meeting last year Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid, D-Nev., had encouraged him to end his campaign by saying, a Muslim cannot win this race. He said, You should not run for this office,' said Jesse Sbaih, an immigrant from Jordan who is now a trial lawyer. This race for the House, in a district that includes a swath of suburban Las Vegas, is his first run for political office. A spokeswoman for Reid, however, denied that Reid had said those words. Sbaih said it happened after he had entered the House race. He met with Reid in August in a meeting room at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. Sbaih said he had sought the meeting in order to win Reids support a key factor in Nevada, where Reid is the unquestioned power broker of Democratic politics. But Reid would not give it, Sbaih said, and cited Sbaihs religion as one reason why. I did not feel that this was an issue. They made it an issue. My campaign is about me being an American, Sbaih said. He said he had not faced this kind of opposition based on his religion before: I just turned 40. Been in this country for 29 years. And its just absolutely shocking that this occurred. A spokeswoman for Reid confirmed that the meeting took place. However, she categorically denied that Reid had cited Sbaihs religion as a reason he would not succeed. Senator Reid did not say that, said Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman in Reids Senate office. Jesse Sbaih is a liar and thats why he is going to lose. Sbaihs assertion could shake up one of the most competitive House races in the country a race made possible, in a way, by Reid himself. Reid is retiring from the Senate, after 30 years. Rep. Joe Heck, R, who holds the suburban Las Vegas seat now, is running to replace him. That has left the seat open: the Cook Political Report rates it as a Republican toss-up, a swing seat vital to both parties. On the Republican side, several plausible candidates have already filed to run. On the Democratic side, however, the race was slow to start: late in the summer, Sbaih was the best-funded and best-known candidate who had declared. Sbaih is an ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vt., who is running, in part, on his own remarkable life story. Sbaihs parents immigrated from Jordan to Virginia when he was 11, and he helped support the family by washing dishes in an Italian restaurant as a teen. Now, Sbaih said, his run for office is a way to repay the country for the way it welcomed his family. Ive always felt: The more America gave me, the more I wanted to give back, Sbaih said in an interview with The Washington Post. But, Sbaih said, he was rebuffed when he sought to gain Reids support. First, he said, he met with a political consultant connected to Reid, Rebecca Lambe. At a coffee shop, Sbaih said, Lambe brought up his religion and his Arab heritage: She said, basically, youre gonna have a problem winning, as a Muslim, as an Arab. Lambe disputed that account in an email message to The Post on Monday. Its not what I said, Lambe said. As we would with any candidate, we explored his background, profession, religion, the fact hed never run before, stance on issues and limited support . . .to more fully understand the path and potential attacks from the other side. Sbaih said he did not record that meeting with Lambe, or the one he had with Reid a few weeks later. To bolster his account, Sbaih supplied both emails and text messages from the time, in which he tells another Reid ally that he is profoundly disheartened and saddened that the Democratic Party is refusing to accept a candidate like me because of my religion and ethnicity. In the exchanges of text message and emails provided by Sbaih, however, Reids allies do not say explicitly that Sbaihs race or religion is a hindrance, nor do they confirm that Reid himself had said so. Orthman, Reids spokeswoman, said that Reid had told Sbaih he should run for another office instead of jumping straight into a highly competitive House race. We never said he shouldnt run for elected office. It was that, to run for a congressional seat, your first time, youre going to lose. And you need more experience, said Orthman. Both sides agree that Sbaih pressed on, continuing his campaign for the House. A few weeks later, Sbaih said, an aide in Reids Senate office offered him a chance to apply for a position on the Election Assistance Commission a federal job. Sbaih said he declined. Sbaih is still in the House race, but now is facing competition from another Democrat: Jacky Rosen. Rosen, the president of a Las Vegas-area synagogue, is also making her first run for office. She was recruited by Reid himself, according to Jon Ralston, Nevadas best-known political reporter. Shes been a community leader for years here, Orthman said, explaining why Reid had recruited a political novice, after criticizing Sbaih for his own lack of experience. Jesses new to the scene. (c) 2016, The Washington Post David A. Fahrenthold Hundreds of talmidei yeshivos took to the streets on Monday night, confronting police and city officials who arrived to carry out a court order to take down illegal additions to a yeshiva building. There were talmidim from Yeshivas Pnei Shmuel and other community yeshivos. A number of talmidim were detained for questioning by police. The talmidim set garbage bins ablaze and blocked traffic as they confronted police. Rosh Yeshiva Rav Wolfson Shlita, despite being unwell of late, heard what was taking place and headed to the yeshiva. He was alarmed over the chilul Hashem and gathered talmidim to speak with them. The rabbonim were not pleased with the actions of talmidim, sending them home. This saga has been ongoing for at least a year, pertaining to illegal additions to a yeshiva under the leadership of Rabbi Neuwirth Shlita. The yeshiva, Pnei Shmuel, is located at 20 HaPisgah Street in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of the capital. According to Jerusalem City Hall, some 1000 meters of the multistory building have been added illegally and in some of the construction, materials that are prohibited were used, materials that pose a health threat to the area. R Yehuda Solovechik, who is a personal emissary of Rav Neuwirth dealing with the matter with City Hall explained to Kol Chai Radio that talks have been ongoing with the involvement chareidi councilmen. Each side, the yeshiva and City Hall, accuse the other of distorting the facts in the case. Solovechik explains for one thing, there are two types of demolition orders, court-ordered and administrative. In this case, there have been five rulings by the local administrative and district courts, but the demolition order is administrative. This means the city has the ability and the authority to exhibit flexibility as opposed to a court-ordered demolition, which leaves no wiggle room. He adds the local planning board has already begun addressing the matter of retroactively approving the additional construction and the matter has been passed for taba land registration approval. Hence, the yeshiva feels it is a matter of time and since the demolition order does permit the city to wait out the process, it is alarming to realize officials prefer to take down 1,000 meters of a yeshiva building. Solovechik adds that in the past 6-7 years, Rabbi Neuwirths yeshivos have continued growing and today there are over 800 talmidim and they need a place to reside. Kol Chai: Can you explain to me what is really going on for not a single chareidi councilman agreed to speak to us on the matter today? Perhaps they are not on your side, aware the yeshiva intentionally broke the law and there is nothing they can do? Solovechik: It is not so. I do not know why they will not speak to you but the planning board as I explained has already begun the processes of legalizing the illegal areas. Jerusalem Councilman Aryeh King: When I heard what was going on last night I headed over there and I saw what was taking place. Permit me to begin my remarks by stressing as one who has been working with the planning board in the municipality for many years, I am firmly against illegal construction. In fact, when I returned home late last night I saw the two mosques from my window. They are not guilty of an illegal floor or illegal additions but the entire mosques are illegal. I am equally opposed to selective enforcement of the law and reject a policy of being rigid to the last detail regarding law breaking in the Jewish sector while systematically turning a blind eye to illegal construction in the Arab sector. City Hall: Officials arrived to raze the top floor, about 350 meters of illegal construction that contains dangerous substances that pose a hazard to the area. in total there is about 1000 illegal square meters that have been added on to the building. King: One has to see the conditions. To the credit of the yeshiva, in line with an agreement reached with city officials, it removed a portion of the illegal top floor on its own. Now when bochrim eat on a rainy day they are exposed to the elements. Conditions are deplorable. City Hall: The yeshiva fails to comply with the agreement by which it will destroy the illegal construction. This compels us to come tonight and destroy it ourselves in line with multiple court rulings. We waited to give the yeshiva ample time to comply with the agreement to take down the illegal areas on its own but it failed to do so. King: It is difficult to understand why the city will not exhibit the minutest measure of flexibility for a yeshiva when it totally ignores illegal construction in the eastern capital. Solovechik: The city is simply distorting the facts. We have done what we agreed to do and clearly the city, backed by the Mayors Office, prefers to destroy the yeshiva and leave many talmidim without a place to live. City Hall: There are multiple building violations including a floor constructed of a paneling material, about 350 meters. An additional illegal addition on the ground floor parking level and yet other violations. The illegal construction reaches about 1000 square meters. The yeshiva has broken every agreement and only removed a part of the addition to the roof but failed to remove the remaining roof portion and an entire other floor. Solovechik: There is no good will here as the city planning board is working to legalize the entire matter and it is just a matter of a few more weeks or months. The city could sit back and permit this to occur but it appears someone wants to tear down the additions in the yeshiva rather than wait. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) A Goldman Sachs banker has quit in a scandal engulfing Malaysias prime minister. As chairman of the banks operations in South East Asia, Tim Leissner was involved in the sale of US dollar bonds for a Malaysian state fund intended to boost the countrys economy. Swiss authorities and the FBI are investigating claims that 2.8billion was misappropriated from the fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB. Murky affairs: Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was cleared of corruption in his own country in 2013 Its advisory board is led by Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, who was cleared of corruption in his own country over a 475million donation to his personal bank accounts shortly before a 2013 election. Malaysias attorney general said the cash came from the Saudi royal family. Swiss investigators said money from 1MDB was transferred to accounts held in Switzerland by various former Malaysian public officials and both former and current public officials from the United Arab Emirates. Leissner has been subpoenaed by the US authorities, meaning he could be compelled to testify or provide documents. It emerged in January that the executive had relocated to Los Angeles and taken personal leave. He quit last month after allegedly violating internal rules. More than six million workers will lose around 500 a year in a stealth tax raid by George Osborne, it has emerged. The reforms hit millions who opted out of a scheme to top up the state pension in return for lower National Insurance contributions. The changes were announced three years ago but come into force now. Someone on 40,000 a year could lose as much as 40 a month from take home pay. George Osborne's new stealth tax raid will mean more than six million workers will lose around 500 a year, it has emerged Experts estimate around 1.5 million employees in the private sector and five million public sector staff will be affected. The reforms are expected to raise 5.5 billion for the Treasury. Steve Webb, the ex-pensions minister now director of policy at insurers Royal London, said: I think the Chancellor had hoped that no one would notice this rather large tax increase smuggled out. The Government is replacing the second state pension (Serps) which let workers top up their basic pension with so-called single-tier pensions. In the past, millions with generous pension schemes decided not to pay into Serps as they did not need the extra money in retirement. They contracted out and in return paid less NI. Experts estimate around 1.5 million employees in the private sector and five million public sector staff will be affected In a further blow, more than half a million middle class workers will miss the full benefit of the Budget tax breaks. Some 585,000 taxpayers will see the amount they contribute in NI soar by more than 500 for a couple. This will wipe out much of the benefit of the headline-grabbing tax break, which saw the start of the 40p tax rate increased to 45,000. Middle class earners were told to expect a 1,406 benefit. But due to the changes, a couple earning 48,000 each would pay 524 more NI in a year by 2017 to 2018, according to accountancy firm PWC. They would still be better off overall, but by around 882 a year. The extra cost comes in because NI and tax starting points are not equal: income tax is levied once a worker earns more than 10,600 but NI kicks in 8,060 at 12 per cent up to 42,380 then at two per cent above that figure. But hidden in Budget documents are plans to also raise the 12p rate ceiling, so 585,000 workers face paying it on a bigger part of their earnings. Owen Smith, shadow work and pensions secretary, said the Government was failing to be straight with people about the impact of their pensions policy. From next month millions of workers will get a nasty surprise when they open their payslips and see an unexpected drop. Danny Cox, of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: This is a stealth tax raid by the Chancellor. With one hand he is giving the families tax breaks but clawing them back with the other. Many people dont understand National Insurance and dont realise that they are going to end up paying more. Lower earners also face being dragged into paying NI as the 8,060 starting point will be almost unchanged, whereas the equivalent tax level will soar to 11,500 by April next year. Patricia Mock, of accountancy firm Deloitte, said: Lower earners are being taken out of income tax but not out of National Insurance. The reason why the lower limit doesnt increase is cost, pure and simple. The Chancellor has asked advisers to examine plans to merge NI with Income tax, to make it clearer for workers what they pay to the government. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Gabriel Rom Police from the 102nd Precinct have made an arrest in connection with a March 13 group-assault that left a 24-year-old man in critical condition. A 15-year-old boy was taken into police custody March 15, the NYPD said, close to two weeks after the assault on the corner of 85th Street and Jamaica Avenue. The teen faces several charges, including attempted murder, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police. He is being held on $300,000 bond or $150,000 cash bail, police said. I dont foresee that person coming out to the streets anytime soon, Jose Severino, community affairs officer for the 102nd Precinct, told the audience March 19 during a meeting of the Woodhaven Residents Block Association. The victim was found bleeding in front of Scaturros Food Market at 84-39 Jamaica Ave., but police said the stabbing occurred in front of a bodega on 84th Street and Jamaica Avenue. Police said five to six males approached the victim, conversed with him, then stabbed him twice in the neck. According to Inspector Deodat Urprasad of the 102nd Precinct, fast responding officers were able to save the mans life. The stabbing came only 12 days after a 39-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were shot inside the Rico Chimi hamburger restaurant located at 80-01 Atlantic Ave. Lt. Estrella of the 102nd Precinct said police were looking for an individual who came from Brooklyn and that the restaurant shooting was likely related to gang activity or a personal dispute. This was premeditated, Estrella had told the February Woodhaven Residents Block Association meeting. The suspect went after a specific person. Estrella said the investigation was ongoing, but that the main aggressor in the Rico Chimi shooting had been arrested. In 2010, directly above the scene of the March stabbing crime, Dario Paiva was fatally stabbed on an elevated subway platform at the 85th Street-Forest Parkway station on the J line. Three years later, Natasha Martinez was stabbed on 85th Street in a suspected gang attack. Both incidents occurred within a one-block radius of the March 2 attack. Estrella said in February the precinct had enjoyed recent success in combating gang activity within Woodhaven. There are two active gangs in the area known to police, he said, and both of them have large numbers of members who have recently been incarcerated. Airport development adding to economy, jobs in the region Pittsburgh may always be known as the Steel City, but a wave of new industries are popping up near its airport to redefine business in the region. SHARE Lauren Roberts/Times Record News By Orlando Flores Jr. With craft beer's presence in Wichita Falls growing at a rapid rate, it can be tricky to differentiate beers and find something worth drinking. Times Record News' Brew Review hopes to change that. With an emphasis on showcasing some of the best craft beers locally, our video series will also serve as an educational guide for people unsure of IPAs, stouts and various ales. The craft beer business continues to expand in Wichita Falls with the introduction of another Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex-based brewery making its way to local bars and restaurants. Fort Worth's Panther Island Brewing (PIB) was released on St. Patrick's Day at Back Porch Draft House, and its quickly made its way around town. Head Brewer Ryan McWhorter was on hand at the release to talk about the four staple beers his brewery was debuting and gave a bit of background into PIB's history that is highlighted in our accompanying video. McWhorter, who started as a homebrewer before expanding his passion into a full-fledged business, said PIB aims to make flavorful and enjoyable beers for everyone. Real Good American Cream Ale ABV: 4.8 percent IBUs: 4 Orlando's rating: Mugs up Available: On tap; Year-round Real Good, in simplest terms, lives up to its name. This easy-drinking American Cream Ale is the perfect introduction for PIB, whether you're new to craft beer or looking for your next favorite brewery. McWhorter said the beer was inspired by wanting to make a smooth and sessionable beer for his friends who typically drink beers like Miller Lite, Coors Lite & Bud Lite. That inspiration is evident from the first sip - there's nothing "too crazy" about this beer, as McWhorter said, and that's telling of Panther Island's mission when crafting beer. It's your standard affair cream ale, light in scent, body and bitterness, but the added lager yeast to this ale gives it a more complex flavor profile than your standard light beer. McWhorter's goal is to make beer that pays homage to classic recipes, but are still tasty, and PIB pulls it off well with Real Good. With summer just around the corner, Real Good would be a favorable beer to sip while sitting outside on a sunny day. Allergeez American Wheat Ale ABV: 5.7 percent IBUs: 16 Orlando's rating: Mugs up Available: On tap; Year-round PIB's American Wheat Ale offering, Allergeez, is another offering that does not venture far off from traditional recipes. Unlike classic wheat ales, the American version does not contain flavor notes of clove or banana, focusing instead on the spices and wheat the beer is brewed with. Allergeez shows off PIB's Texas roots through its inclusion of honey from Rogers, Texas, and it is also brewed with chamomile flowers, rose hips and Mount Hood Hops. The beer has a nice floral aroma which combines with a wheat and slight honey flavor profile for an overall enjoyable drinking experience. As its name might suggest, Allergeez is a servicable spring beer. In terms of its body and mouth feel, its on the lighter side, but a slight step up from Real Good. For fans of Blue Moon or Shock Top, Allergeez is a great replacement beer. Cannonball Scotch Strong Ale ABV: 8.0 percent IBUs: 20 Orlando's rating: Mugs up Available: On tap; Year-round Cannonball is the first PIB beer to stray from sessionable ABV ratings, but don't let that intimidate you. The beer is balanced out by a lower than average IBU rating for a Scotch Strong Ale that still hits all the right notes of roasted malts, sweetness and chocolate flavors. PIB again holds true to making enjoyable and drinkable beers with Cannonball, which McWhorter described as being inspired by Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery's Scotch Ale - Old Chub. With that in mind, it's hard not to compare the two beers. It's easy to say the original is the better of the two beers, but Cannonball is a shining tribute to Old Chub, and the Scotch Ale style. Its ability to somehow mellow out the heavier qualities while still allowing flavors to ring through makes this a must-drink beer for brewheads and also allows newbies to get in on the fun, too. IPf'nA Imperial India Pale Ale ABV: 10.0 percent IBUs: 97 Orlando's rating: Sip Slowly Available: On tap; Year-round High ABV? Check. High IBUs? Check. Intimidating name? Check. Much to my surprise going into tasting IPf'nA, PIB pulled off a suitable Imperial IPA that is equal parts hoppy and enjoyable to drink. McWhorter said the secret to mellowing out a beer that would usually be hopped to high heaven and taste very bitter was going "citrus-forward" with the flavor profile - using Cascade Hops and cracked coriander - and adding some extra caramel malts to the brew. By no means does this process make IPf'nA a lighter beer, it simply balances the flavor profile. At 10 percent ABV, having a few too many of the IPf'nA will sneak up on you sooner than you think. This reason alone makes it something you'd rather "sip slowly" than dive right into. Robeson SHARE The director of the day care center at Electra Memorial Hospital has been charged with theft, accused of stealing from the facility. According to an arrest affidavit: The CEO of the hospital notified police and told them she suspected the director of the hospital's Imagination Station Day Care Center was stealing money. The CEO provided receipts and deposit slips showing the amount of money received did not match the amount of money deposited into the bank. The total amount missing was more than$16,000. Police interviewed the day care director, Amanda R. Robeson, 36. She said she did not know where the money was, but said sometimes she used some of it to buy toys for kids at the center, but did not keep the receipts, and sometimes wrote out receipts for poor families without actually collecting money from them. Police found nothing to corroborate her story and found it did not match statements given by other members of the hospital staff. Also, the amount Robeson said she spent on toys and false receipts did not add up to the total amount missing. Robeson was arrested and her bail was set at $10,000. She was not in the Wichita County Jail Monday Rogers safh kaslfh skalh fkslah fklash klfshk fasfh kfsfahkl sfhak shalsfha SHARE Carter By Times Record News A man already jailed on allegations of harboring his runaway great niece has also been charged with prohibited sexual contact. The new charge against Irwin Garland Rogers, 63, raised his total bail to 252,500. Rogers was arrested March 23 when Wichita County deputies located Bobbie Lea Carter, 17. at his home on Star Avenue. Carter had been reported as a runaway from her home in Springfiled, Missouri Feb. 13. Rogers, her great uncle, is a registered sex offender. During an interview with authorities, Carter said she and Rogers were in a relationship and had been having sexual intercourse. During questioning, Rogers did not admit to the relationship, but investigators found love letters sent by Carter to Rogers. A television news station in Springfield reported Carter was taken from Missouri to Texas by her grandmother without the consent of the girl's parents. Public records indicate Rogers has a history of driving under the influence and sexual assault going back to 2000. He was paroled from prison in 2014. He was in the Wichita County Jail Monday. Marion Hodgson's books, Winning My Wings, about her time as a service pilot during World War II. SHARE Marion Hodgson smiles as she recalls her time as a service pilot in Sweetwater, Texas, during World War II. Times Record News File Photo Marion Hodgson holds her Congressional medal Tuesday for her time as a service pilot during World War II. By Judith McGinnis of the Times Record News The sight of an American flag could bring Marion Hodgson to tears. The Pledge of Allegiance a lump in her throat. Family, friends and other patriots will remember and honor the World War II veteran of the Women Airforce Service Pilots with an 11 a.m. memorial service Friday at Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home. Dr. David Hartman will preside. The Athens, Georgia-native was a 19-year-old University of Georgia senior in 1941. In preparation for the war to come, she was selected for the Civilian Pilot Training Program, a private pilot's license. It required her mother's consent. "She felt like she was signing my death warrant," Hodgson said in a 2010 TRN interview. "Ultimately she was very proud of what I accomplished but she worried." After graduating from UG with a degree in journalism, in 1943 Hodgson became a WASP. Trained for six months at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, she was assigned to Ferry Command at Love Field in Dallas. She ferried new planes to training bases and embarkation ports, towed targets for anti-aircraft practice, simulated strafing missions and transported cargo. During her service, Hodgson flew every bomber (including the B-29 Superfortress) and fighter in the Army Air Corps arsenal. She also exchanged letters with Ned Hodgson, another Athens native and a Marine pilot who was badly injured during night fighter training, getting ready for the Pacific. Letters back and fourth led to a few "illegal" landings by Marion at the Army Air Base at Richmond, Virginia, where Ned was hospitalized, a first kiss and a proposal of marriage. The couple were married in 1944. The stay-at-home mom of Sheldon, John and Marjorie had six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A cross-generational writer (her mother's stories were printed in national magazines), she spent spare time freelancing stories to magazines and features for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, often about female pilots. Off and on it took 50 years to complete her book, "Winning My Wings," a record of her experiences as a WASP. Marjorie Hodgson Parker, Marion's daughter, is also a published author. She and her mother enjoyed time spent writing, then editing each other. "She taught me everything about writing except for what I learned at Texas Tech," said Marjorie, grinning broadly. "She edited every book I ever wrote. It took 20 years of experience before I could edit her." Marion championed the WASP campaign to have Congress recognize their service as military rather than civilian. During World War II, the women pilots were assigned to top secret missions and many received service ribbons after their units were disbanded. The bill introduced by Sen. Barry Goldwater to grant them military benefits was heavily debated but passed in 1977. In 2010 President Barack Obama presented Marion the Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian award. Awards from both the Texas and Georgia Aviation Hall Fame, the Order of the Daedalions and memorials to WASPS no longer living decorated her homes. She was also named to the International Order of Characters. "She was quite a character. She was a delightful, funny, nutty person. At 93 she could still sing her (Kappa Alpha) Theta songs," said Marjorie. "Her stories will go on beyond forever." SHARE Ron Moyne, Wichita Falls The 2016 presidential campaign season has started with a bang. On the Democratic side Hillary Clinton is the presumptive nominee as Bernie Sanders continues to win state after state and might have a chance to defeat her. This however, is nothing compared to the lunacy being waged daily on the Republican side by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. If they are serious about winning the White House they need to stop their childish behavior immediately and focus on the needs of the American voters. Fighting over whose wife looks better is turning off voters in droves. I usually vote for the best candidates for specific seats in which they are running. In my opinion the best candidate would be the nonconformist not bound by the status quo. Donald Trump appears to be winning that argument. I know that he seems a bit eccentric, but many of his ideas for the country are sound. I go along with his point concerning the wide open borders where criminals, and possibly terrorists might be streaming in with the innocents who are seeking a better life. A wall is a possibility. Donald Trump's vast building experience could effectively make that happen. Making a sovereign nation like Mexico pay for it however, is basically impossible. In my opinion, Mr. Trump could make many improvements to our crumbling infrastructure, which is a major catastrophe waiting to happen. Ted Cruz had a shot at all this when Texas elected him to the Senate. Yet all he managed to do in his time in office was stall legislation and close down the government costing the taxpayers millions. His campaign waged "dirty tricks" on Dr. Ben Carson recently and I would be totally surprised if the photo of Trump's wife in a Cruz ad was actually something that Cruz had nothing to do with. If the Democrats want to keep the White House all they need to do is relax and let the Republicans fight each other and self-destruct the party. Wake up GOP! The time is now, or the Obama policies will drag on for another four years. SCHENECTADY When it opens in about a year, visitors on their way to the Rivers Casino will be traveling along Rush Street. The City Council voted 5-2 Monday night in favor of that name and two others, Harborside Drive and Mohawk Harbor Way, for the $130 million casino now under now under construction on the former Alco site. It is part of a $480 million project that will include a harbor with 50 boat slips, two hotels, townhouses and shops. But it was designating the entrance road for the casino Rush Street, which several residents spoke out against and has been a hot topic of conversation. "Rush Street doesn't make any sense," said Stockade resident and lawyer David Giacalone, noting that the word "rush" has a negative connotation. He also noted that Dr. Benjamin Rush, a founding father of the United States and a prominent physician, for whom a street in Chicago is named believed blacks had a form of leprosy that would be cured if they became white. Another Schenectady resident said she feared the city was conceding too much to Rotterdam-based developer Galesi Group, which owns the property and Rush Street Gaming of Chicago, which will operate the casino "I hope you don't desperately grasp onto this entity as a lifeline," she said. "Just as Rush Street shouldn't become the overlord to the city or county, neither should the Galesi Group." Council members Vince Riggi and Marion Portefield, who had refused to vote the street name flap out the City Council committee on which they serve, cast the dissenting votes. Riggi said Monday that he was flabbergasted Galesi refused to offer an alternative to Rush Street. "The deep pockets spoke up and the deep pockets are going to get what they want," said Riggi. He and Porterfield had wanted a name to honor Schenectady's locomotive history for Alco that was along the Mohawk River for more than 150 years. "Here's an opportunity from the outset to pay honor and homage to the history of Schenectady," said Porterfield. "Rush Street doesn't mean anything to Schenectady." Councilman Ed Kosiur, who voted for the name Rush Street, was among the city leaders who stressed the investment that Galesi and the casino operator are making and the tremendous financial impact it will have on the city and its residents. Kosiur cited the $3.5 million the city will soon receive that he says will lead to an at least 10 percent property tax decrease for homeowners and "$3.5 million dollars before a coin is even dropped in one machine." Kosiur also mentioned the 1,200 jobs and the 1 million square feet of construction on the 60-acre brownfield site on Erie Boulevard. The bulk of that money comes from a $50 million licensing fee for the casino. pnelson@timesunion.com 518-454-5347 @apaulnelson SCHENECTADY The city's new more user-friendly website www.cityofschenectady.com that will also make accessing information from mobile devices and social media sites a lot easier is up and running. "People are increasingly relying on their phones or tablets to quickly find information online," said Mayor Gary McCarthy. "This new website will respond to that demand and make sure residents can find the information they are looking for about city government and many of the great things about Schenectady in general." New York City Likening ongoing climate change with rising seas, melting ice caps, droughts and killer storms to "a nature walk through the Book of Revelation," former Vice President Al Gore stood Tuesday with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to unveil a sweeping national legal coalition formed to hold the fossil fuel industry responsible for misleading the public and investors. Including 20 attorneys general, Gore called the coalition "the most hopeful step that I can remember in a long time" and predicted it would "hold to account the powerful interests that have been deceiving the American people and committing fraud in their communications." Flanked by the top lawyers from Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Schneiderman said the coalition will target "well-funded, highly aggressive and morally vacant forces" spreading misinformation about the international scientific consensus that man-made climate change is driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Other members of the coalition include California, which is also investigating Exxon Mobil, as well as Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The group is also defending proposed federal rules over power plant greenhouse gas emissions from a court challenge by states aligned with fossil fuel interests. "We have heard from the scientists," said Schneiderman during a press conference in New York City. "There is not a dispute over the science, but there is confusion ... sowed by those with an interest in profiting from the confusion and creating misperceptions in eyes of the public." He said that the First Amendment right to free speech does "not give you the right to commit fraud." In November, Schneiderman subpoenaed fossil fuel giant Exxon Mobil to explore whether the company lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about how such risks might hurt the oil business. He demanded extensive financial records, emails and other documents, including climate science produced by the company that warned increasing greenhouse gases were changing the climate. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said her office also has started a similar investigation into Exxon Mobil. "There is a troubling disconnect between what they knew, and what they chose to share with the American public," she said. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker also said his office was investigating an unnamed fossil fuel company along similar lines. "We want to know what they knew and when they knew it," said Walker. "This is not an environmental issue .. it is about survival." He criticized fossil fuel companies for a short-term outlook focused on immediate profit. "As the polar caps melt, companies are looking to go there and drill. How selfish can you be? Your strategy is to go to the polar regions and get more oil, so you can destroy the planet further?" he asked. Gore said the multi-state coalition is needed because the federal government is hamstrung due to fossil fuel influence over Congress, where many GOP members claim climate change is not happening or is the result of natural forces. "Our democracy has been hacked," he said. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring told climate change denialists to visit the massive U.S. Navy base in Norfolk, where seas have risen 14 inches during the last century. Projections call for sea level to increase another two to five feet by the end of the century, which could deluge the port. "At Norfolk, rebuilding a Navy pier costs $40 million and there are 14 piers. That is half-billion dollars right there," said Herring. bnearing@timesunion.com Damascus, Syria The recapture of Syria's ancient city of Palmyra from the Islamic State group has brought new revelations of the destruction wreaked by the extremists, who decapitated priceless statues and smashed or looted artifacts in the city's museum. Experts say they need time to assess the full extent of damage in Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site boasting 2,000-year-old Roman-era colonnades and other ruins, which once attracted tens of thousands of tourists every year. Syrian troops drove IS out on Sunday, some 10 months after the militants seized the town. The world knew through satellite images and IS videos that the militants destroyed the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32; the Temple of Baalshamin, which was several stories high and fronted by six towering columns; and the Arch of Triumph, which was built under the Roman emperor Septimius Severus between A.D. 193 and A.D. 211. But no one knew the extent of the damage inside the museum until a Syrian TV reporter entered on Sunday and found the floor littered with shattered statues. A sculpture of the Greek goddess Athena was decapitated, and the museum's basement appeared to have been dynamited or hit with a shell. Some of the damage may have been caused by shelling, which would have knocked the statues from their stands. In the Syrian TV footage from inside the museum, a hole can be seen in the ceiling, most likely from an artillery shell. Unlike in the Iraqi city of Mosul, where IS militants filmed themselves with sledgehammers proudly destroying ancient artifacts, no militant video was released from Palmyra's museum. Before Palmyra fell to IS, authorities were able to relocate more than 400 statues and hundreds of artifacts to safe areas, but larger statues couldn't be moved, according to the head of antiquities and museums, Maamoun Abdul-Karim. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Canajoharie A small Mohawk Valley village's cry for help on what to do with the partially demolished, contaminated and stripped Beech-Nut plant has been answered by a Washington, D.C.-based national architecture foundation. The American Architecture Foundation is lending its expertise to help Canajoharie and Montgomery County officials come up with potential ideas on how to redevelop the hulking, tax-delinquent property that dominates the village. Canajoharie is "definitely one of the smallest places" that the not-for-profit foundation has chosen to assist under its Sustainable Cities Design Academy, said Program Director Elizabeth Okeke-Von Batten on Monday. Other places selected by the group this year include Baltimore, Fresno and Wichita, and some of the 55 previous projects in the eight-year program have included such metro areas as Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Miami, New Orleans, Seattle, and Denver. The program is supported by United Technologies Corp. Okeke-Von Batten said the foundation, which provides technical planning expertise, was interested in the story of the plant's 2010 closing, which was followed by disputes over asbestos removal and the stripping of valuable scrap metal by would-be Ohio developer Todd Clifford. The developer never paid local property taxes, and the county is now exploring potential environmental liabilities as part of a possible tax foreclosure to take over the 27-acre site off Exit 29 of the state Thruway. Clifford claims he passed ownership of the property to another corporation controlled by one of his associates; that claim is disputed by the village. "We see this as an opportunity to help right an unfortunate situation," said Okeke-Von Batten. She said she will visit the former Beech-Nut plant this summer, prior to a trip by village and county officials to Washington from Aug. 3-5 for planning sessions. "The county sees this as a way to increase the profile of this project," said Bill Roehr, senior planner with the Montgomery County Business Development Center. "This is a very serious situation ... we are looking at a $5 million to $10 million bill to tear down what is left at Beech-Nut. If that property is not redeveloped, the village will hemorrhage and disinvestment will spread out from there." Village Mayor Francis Avery called redevelopment of the site "critical to the village's future .. it is an enormous site, with a lot of work left to be done." The village and county application to the architecture foundation was a stark appeal for help to "confront a challenge that seems, at times, too large to face down ... we need your help in simply defining the path forward ... Should we fail, the village faces disastrous consequences." A development plan is critical, according to the application, so the state Empire State Development Corp. can be convinced by local officials to invest in Canajoharie. The state will "fund the project only if we can demonstrate just how the site can be re-used for development," according to the application. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Now, the county is "moving very cautiously" to determine potential costs to clean up and demolish the site, said Roehr. The county is expected to seek offers from environmental consultants to study the 851,000-square-foot plant and produce an estimate of that expense, he said. Under state law, a county can foreclose on a property after three years of unpaid property taxes. Clifford has not paid taxes since he bought the property from Beech-Nut in 2013 for $200,000, and there are now more than a half-million dollars of unpaid taxes due. The troubled demolition has been yet another blow to the village, which saw the plant close in 2010, taking good-paying jobs and a big share of the village tax base with it. The state provided tens of millions of dollars in assistance for Beech-Nut to relocate to a new plant in the Montgomery County town of Florida, but no funds were earmarked to deal with the old plant. Last year, the county sought a state economic development grant to support the decontamination and demolition of the plant, but the request was not funded. No comment was available from Empire State Development in time for this story. bnearing@timesunion.com 518-454-5094 @Bnearing10 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Troy James Masotti grew up on 10th Street and graduated from La Salle Institute in 1955. His cousin, Nick Laiacona, was raised a bus ride away in South Troy. The boys used to meet most Sundays at grandma's house for food and family fun. Masotti graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1959. An Army Airborne Ranger, he landed in Vietnam in late-1964 to advise the South Vietnamese army. But on May 28, 1965, Masotti became the first service member from Troy to die in the war. He was 27 when a helicopter he was aboard collided with another at Bien Hoa Air Base. "I always looked up to him, of course," said Laiacona, a 1962 graduate of La Salle who followed his cousin's footsteps to the Army and Vietnam. Now a 72-year-old retired lieutenant colonel, Laiacona organized the Tribute to Vietnam War-Era Veterans being held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at La Salle. The New York Chapter of the Association of the United States Army and the La Salle Alumni Association will honor five alumni who gave their lives fighting in Vietnam: Masotti; Donald "Bucky" Egan Jr. and Bernard Wait, both from Wynantskill; Glenn Roy Brust from Troy; and William F. McNulty from Green Island. The program was scheduled for Vietnam Veterans Day to commemorate the ongoing 50th anniversary observations of a conflict that claimed the lives of 58,220 Americans, mostly between 1965 and 1972. At least 125 people, including relatives of the five deceased and members of their classes, were invited to the event. Laiacona said the three-hour ceremony will make sure those who died in Vietnam are thanked for their sacrifice. No more seats are available. More than 1,600 La Salle cadets have served in the U.S. military and at least 52 have died in battle or while serving their country during the two world wars, Korea, Vietnam and the modern era. A member of La Salle's class of 1950, Wait died in January 1966, just days after arriving in Vietnam. The soldier had come under heavy enemy fire while trying to clear a landing zone. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Egan and Brust graduated from La Salle in 1964. Egan joined the Marine Corps. He died Feb. 12, 1967, when the tank he was in rolled over a land mine. Brust entered the Army in 1966. An armor reconnaissance specialist, he was killed in action Jan. 30, 1968, in Kontum Province. McNulty, the brother of former U.S. Congressman Michael McNulty, transferred to the Marine Corps from the Navy. He stepped on a land mine Aug. 9, 1970, in Quang Nam Province. Three years after his cousin's death, Laiacona deployed to the Mekong Delta. He received several awards for valor when he returned. He's chairing the ceremony. "I know what the Vietnam vets went through over there, and I know they didn't get much recognition when they got back," Laiacona said. dyusko@timesunion.com 518-454-5353 @DAYusko Albany Lily Htoo didn't mind the refugee camps in Thailand. No electricity in the bamboo huts meant no electric bills. No running water meant regular exercise for the little ones who fetched some each day. An hour's walk to school meant time to catch up with her friends. "The outsider, when they look at you, they say, 'Oh my God, I feel so bad,' but from our perspective we just kids, we just happy," she said. The camps were all she knew, and they were home. But they weren't a future not in her parents' view. There was little opportunity for education beyond the age of 12, or for a career beyond a string of dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs. So the family decided to leave and considered themselves lucky to find refuge in America while their friends were resettled in Norway, Australia, Canada and Sweden. More Information About this series The Times Union series "Our Immigrant Story" is being published in conjunction with a community-wide celebration of immigrants and cultural diversity in the Capital Region. A monthlong series of exhibits, lectures and performances (schedule online at http://www.timesunion.com/immigration) will culminate in an Albany Pro Musica Concert, "A City of Immigrants," on April 3 at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. See More Collapse "Many of my friends that live in other country, they were a refugee like me, they all told me, 'Lily, you are very lucky you are in America,'" Htoo recalled recently, eight years later. "And I was like, 'Why do you say that?' And they say, 'Because you have all the opportunity. You can be whatever you want.'" Htoo (pronounced Too) and her family settled in Utica an upstate Rust Belt city that's become a magnet for refugees from war-torn countries. She was 18, and planned to soak up as much school as possible before heading off to college. But when she tried to enroll at the local high school, the city school district wouldn't let her. "They told me, 'No, you not going to graduate, you cannot go to high school,'" she recalled. Htoo was confused. She had friends who were resettled in other states and were able to enroll at her age. So with a bit of English under her belt, she researched state education law and confirmed that she had the right to attend high school until the age of 21. So she went back. "I asked again. I went again and again. I talked to them for many times and they never give me some sympathy. They tell me, 'You know why? Because you are refugee. You are not American. That's why you cannot go to high school.' I was very disappointed and I lost my motivation. My first goal that I came to America for is to get education." It was 2008. Last year, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Utica City School District alleging it had discriminated against immigrant students by denying them access to equal educational opportunities. The suit alleged that since at least 2007, the district had diverted students over the age of 16 away from the local high school and into alternative programs that were academic dead-ends. And that was just the students who showed some grasp of English. Students who were perceived to have problems with English were kept from enrolling at all, the suit alleged, and administrators were instructed to leave no trace of their attempts to enroll. Lawyers for the district say Utica never refused to enroll any students, but that severe underfunding from the state affected the services it could provide to students. The suit is pending. Htoo eventually went on to graduate from the University at Albany without the help of a public school district. She now works for the Albany City School District as a home-school coordinator, helping immigrant and refugee families enroll their children in school, get the proper immunizations and basic things like how to catch the bus. If students are repeatedly absent, she finds out why, and does whatever she can to get them back in school. She's doing the exact opposite of what the Utica district did to her, she says, and she's doing it with fierce pride. The 26-year-old is part of a team of people working to launch a Newcomer Program at Albany schools, where the population of English language learners has surged from roughly 300 to nearly 1,000 in a decade. The program would equip immigrant and refugee children from kindergarten on up to 21 with the academic and social-emotional support for success in school and beyond. "The program could help with these two challenges the half of their life that's about academics and building literacy skills and the other half, which is so crucial, which is their social and emotional well-being," said Thomas Giglio, director of the district's ENL and Refugee Services. Students would enroll on a voluntary basis for two years and take a mix of language classes and core subjects that would count toward graduation, two key points because any program that serves a select group of students must be voluntary and must ensure students have the same opportunity as their peers to advance toward a high school diploma. The district currently uses a teaching method that involves two teachers in the classroom at once: one in charge of the content and one in charge of literacy. An outsider should not be able to tell which is which, and the content teacher must be able to differentiate their instruction based on five levels of language proficiency entering, emerging, transitioning, expanding and commanding. That's a tall order and a staggering amount of training for employees. The hope, Giglio said, is that the two-year time frame of the newcomer program will give students enough English proficiency to eliminate the need for five levels of differentiated instruction. After two years, students would return to their home school alongside their peers. In addition to academic staff, the program would employ immigrants and refugees like Htoo to provide social and emotional support for students, who face isolation, bullying and culture shock, and who are far more likely to miss school and drop out than their peers. Giglio is seeking $1.6 million from the state's Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance to begin the program in some capacity as soon as possible. Realistically, it could not grow to full capacity until the district frees up space for about 300 students. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. Albany already provides some level of all these services, but they are stretched thin across a district of 18 schools and learning sites. With a surge of Syrian refugees expected in the coming years, consolidating instruction and services under a single program would make sense operationally and financially within the district and on a regional basis, Giglio said. "We're getting so many refugees here that we just can't keep up with the way we're doing programming," he said. "And when I talk to surrounding districts, they're in a pickle too caught in the middle of new regulations but with a much smaller number of English language learners." In 2014, the state Board of Regents implemented new regulations requiring districts to establish bilingual programs for every language spoken by at least 20 students in a grade level. For Albany, where students collectively speak more than 53 languages, that would wind up costing the district at least $500,00 to $750,000 a year. The newcomer program would satisfy those regulations for the district and could even eventually accept students from nearby districts that may not have the resources to build their own programs, Giglio said. Albany drew its inspiration for a newcomer program from Rochester, where more than 3,500 students were new to the English language last year. District officials visited the Rochester International Academy, which was developed five years ago by Principal Mary Diaz. "Her school district gave her a year's sabbatical to go around the country and research best practices for newcomer programming, and what it should look like for facilities, curriculum and scheduling," Giglio said. "It was so totally inspiring what she did there, and we'd really love to replicate it here." After Utica rejected her, Htoo worked for a couple years and saved enough money to pay her way through college. She enrolled in Hudson Valley Community College and transferred to University at Albany to earn a bachelor's degree. She aced most of her classes (she said a professor once knocked her grade down a letter because she didn't participate in class something that was forbidden back in Thailand). Htoo always viewed her education as a simple matter of cause and effect. Her family came to America to give her a better life than their own, and education was the key to achieving it. "You get an education so you are not stupid," she said. "And of course, when you are not stupid, you will find your way to getting a better job. When you have money you will buy a house. When you have a house you will start paying taxes and you will support your community and you will also support your country. Now it's my time to pay back for people who don't have the opportunity." bbump@timesunion.com 518-454-5387 @bethanybump The Irish Restaurant Awards is proud to announce Chez Hans as Dalcassian Wines & Spirits and Astoria Wines Best Restaurant in Co. Tipperary 2016. The prestigious title was revealed at the Irish Restaurant Awards Munster regional event which took place in The Malton Hotel, Kerry on the 8th March 2016. Sponsored by Dalcassian Wines & Spirits and Astoria Wines, the Best Restaurant title is considered to be one of the highest accolades in the annual Awards. Speaking of the awards, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins commented, The Best Restaurant title is one of the most sought after titles in the Awards. To win this title, a restaurant must appeal to the public while scoring highly amongst the judging panel. Its not an easy task but should be celebrated when achieved. Chez Hans will now go on to compete for the Munster regional and All Ireland title which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards in the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Dublin on Monday 16th May, 2016. There are three components to phase two of the process. Each element is independently assessed by BDO. Mystery Guest Visit (55%) This component of the awards is conducted by Customer Perceptions Ltd, specialists in mystery shopping, consumer insights and customer satisfaction surveys. All County Winners and Dublin shortlists will receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of March, April or May. National Awards Academy (35%) Our National Awards Academy is made up representatives from each of the regional judging panels and will meet in early May to judge the County Winners. The Academy members include food writers, journalists, bloggers, culinary academics and hospitality magazine editors. Menu Judging (10%) All County winners and the Dublin Shortlist in each category are asked to submit a copy of their food menu and wine list for judging. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has banned tree felling in protected areas of biosphere reserves, national natural and regional landscape parks, natural preserves, natural landmarks and preserved land tracts. This is outlined in cabinet resolution No. 213 of March 23 published on Monday. The cabinet amended the sanitary rules for Ukrainian forests and the forest quality improvement rules. According to the new rules, cutting down trees in these areas is prohibited.. "The measure will help develop natural processes without human interference," the explanatory note to the resolution says. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided an uncommitted trade facility of up to EUR 10 million to Credit Agricole Bank to boost support of Ukrainian exporters and importers under its Trade Facility Programme (TFP). The bank said in a press release that the Trade Facilitation Programme promotes international trade to, from, and within the EBRD countries of operations, including Ukraine. Through the programme, the bank provides guarantees to international confirming banks, taking the political and commercial payment risk of international trade transactions undertaken by banks in the countries of operations. Since its inception in 1999 the TFP has supported over 1,900 trade transactions worth almost 2 billion in Ukraine. 15 Ukrainian banks have been historically engaged in trade transactions under the TFP, covering a variety of export-import contracts between Ukraine and the European Union and even remote countries like Argentina, New Zealand and Vietnam. The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of January 1, 2016, the bank had a total cumulative commitment of EUR 12 billion in 355 projects in the country. Credit Agricole Bank was founded in 1993. Credit Agricole S.A. on January 1, 2016 owned 99.9961% of the charter capital of Credit Agricole Bank. The bank ranked 14th among 123 operating banks as of October 1, The Apple-FBI stand-off is over at least for now. The U.S. Department of Justice today (March 28) dropped its demand that Apple help the FBI break into the iPhone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, ending more than a month of contentious debate. (Image credit: Simone Mescolini/Shutterstock) "The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc.," a three-paragraph filing by federal prosecutors said. "Accordingly, the government hereby requests that the order compelling Apple Inc. to assist agents in search dated February 16, 2016 be vacated." "This case should never have been brought," Apple said in a statement. "We objected to the FBI's demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent." MORE: Apple vs. FBI: What's Going On and Why It Matters Government officials refused to disclose further details about the successful method of access, which first came to light a week ago. Last week, the DoJ said only that an "outside party" had come forward with a viable method of getting past the iPhone's encryption a method that has since been classified as secret. Until last week, the FBI said it believed there was no way to access the data on the iPhone, a 5c model running iOS 9, without new software authorized by Apple. Apple, which had cooperated in the case otherwise, stated that it would not create software that undermined its own devices' security. "We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along," Apple said today. But the company added that "we will continue to increase the security of our productsd as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated." Farook and his wife, Tafsheen Malik, killed 14 of Farook's co-workers at the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health during a Christmas party on Dec. 2, 2015. The couple were themselves killed in a shootout with police later that day. Farook and Malik had destroyed their personal cellphones before the shootings, but the iPhone in question, a work phone issued by Farook's employer, was found in one of the couple's vehicles. Its screen was locked with a four-digit PIN, and the FBI wanted Apple to disable security features that would have prevented "brute forcing" the PIN by rapidly typing in all 10,000 numerical possibilities. This case may have been resolved to all parties' satisfaction, but the debate over widespread, unbreakable encryption is not going away. A U.S. Senate bill that would mandate a "backdoor" for government access is currently being drafted; similar legislation has recently appeared in Britain and France. "Now the government can see all of the cat pictures Farook was keeping on it," Apple forensics expert Jonathan Zdziarski wryly observed in a blog posting today. An unnamed government official admitted to the New York Times that there might be nothing of value on the device. Zdziarski said that if the government's successful method involved hacking the hardware, then it could be replicated only on older models such as the iPhone 5c. If it was a software method, then it might work on all iPhones. "What is certain, however, is that the only reason this was possible is because Farook chose to use a weak form of security on his iOS device namely, a numeric PIN," Zdziarski wrote. "To protect your device against both a hardware and software attack, use an alphanumeric passcode." Landlines may seem like a holdover from the 20th century, as more people rely solely on wireless phones to stay connected. But Google thinks a few 21st century touches could help the landline retain its place in the home. The Internet giant announced Fiber Phone, a $10-a-month home phone service that it plans to offer to Google Fiber subscribers. Essentially, this is Google's take on the kind of bundling deals your cable provider tries to tempt you with, in which phone and Internet service is combined with your cable package. MORE: Here Are the Best and Worst Cell Phone Carriers in the U.S. In Google's case, Fiber Phone will offer unlimited local and nationwide calling. For international calls, Google is promising the same rates as its Google Voice telephone service, where subscribers pay 5 cents per minute for calls to Mexico, 1 cent per minute for calls to India and 6 cents per minute for calls to France. Fiber Phone will also feature call waiting, caller ID and the ability to dial 911 during emergencies. But Google's also tweaking the landline experience by transcribing any voicemail you get and sending the message to you via text or email. You'll also be able to forward calls to your mobile device when you're out and about. Google says it will introduce Fiber Phone in a few areas before bringing the service to customers in every city with Google Fiber. You can sign up with Google to get updates on Fiber Phone's progress. Google's fighting a big headwind when it comes to getting people excited about landlines. The Centers for Disease Control, which tracks the use of wireless phones, says that nearly half of U.S. households don't have a landline. I ditched mine more than half-a-decade ago when the only people who ever called my landline were robocallers and spammers. Still, Google likely thinks there's enough remaining demand for wired phone services to make it worth the company's while to develop Fiber Phone particularly as an add-on to Google Fiber. The San Bernardino-Apple case, in which the FBI demanded Apple's assistance in unlocking the gunman's iPhone 5c, ended with FBI investigators saying that they were able to unlock the device without Apple's help. The FBI found another way to unlock the device after several months during which the agency kept saying that the phone could only be unlocked with Apple's help. This was despite multiple experts and representatives urging the FBI to look for another way, as it is required by the All Writs Act. Just one day before the courtroom hearing, which was supposed to be held on March 22, the FBI requested that the hearing be postponed until April 5, as the agency was evaluating another method of unlocking the iPhone with the help of a third-party. The FBI investigators on the case never said who that third-party was. Some reports showed that it may be the Israel firm Cellebrite, a provider of mobile forensics software, but the company itself has not confirmed this. The FBI filed a status report yesterday telling the judge that Apple's assistance is no longer necessary. The report stated: "The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farook's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Court's Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016." The FBI investigators have not disclosed what was found on the phone, and at this point it is still unclear if there was anything that warranted the search. Many are wondering whether the highly publicized fight between the agency and Apple was even worth it. FBI has denied that it was trying to set a precedent so that other government agencies could later demand the same kind of assistance from Apple to unlock iPhones involved in other cases. However, many other law enforcement officials have said the exact opposite, that they were indeed waiting for this case to conclude so they can use the precedent in their favor. Nonetheless, a recent New York case already set a precedent for similar cases, agreeing that government agencies and officials can't compel Apple to unlock its devices. Therefore, although it's unlikely that this is the last time that the FBI demands assistance with unlocking iPhones, Apple will already have a precedent on which to rely on. Companies that use strong encryption in their products and services will also need to be more vigilant in the future; the FBI and other U.S. government agencies will likely try to not make these cases public anymore. Many similar cases have not been disclosed in the past, so we don't know whether some companies may have helped law enforcement agencies or not. EFF, OTI Ask For Disclosure The EFF said that the FBI should tell Apple what the vulnerability was that allowed it to unlock the phone. An anonymous law enforcement official told CNN that it's still too early to know whether the same vulnerability can work on other iPhones. The EFF said that according to the Vulnerabilities Equities Process (VEP), which is the government's own policy for how it deals with disclosing vulnerabilities, the FBI must disclose the vulnerability if it affects just this one phone, but especially if it can affect other devices. As part of its mission to increase public safety, it's FBI's responsibility to help Apple fix the flaw in its devices, but this also seems to be strongly encouraged by the administration's own executive policy. Ross Schulman, senior policy counsel at the Open Technology Institute (OTI), also said that if the vulnerability isn't fixed, other nations could hack into Apple's iPhones the same way; it's the U.S. government's duty to disclose the vulnerability to the company: "The bug is, so far as we know, widely distributed and can give complete access to a device that so many of us rely on daily. Those are great reasons to tell Apple so they can fix the problem," Ross Schulman told CNN. Lucian Armasu is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware. You can follow him at @lucian_armasu. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube. Ukrainian citizen Nadia Savchenko, who was sentenced in Russia to 22 years in prison on murder charges, may be exchanged for a group of Russian citizens, including Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are serving lengthy prison terms in the United States, an informed source told Interfax on Tuesday. "Currently, consultations are underway, including through confidential channels, on the possibility of releasing Savchenko through a swap. The Russian side proposed a list of its citizens in exchange for whom it is ready to release the former Ukrainian soldier," one of the sources said. Russia's list includes businessman Bout and pilot Yaroshenko, he said. "There are also Russians whose activity is usually not made public among them," the source noted. The source sees no serious obstacles to such an exchange, after Savchenko's sentence goes into effect. "Exchanges of one person for several [people] have taken place before. In the case of Savchenko, the issue is about a convict sentenced for a grave crime the murder of Russian citizens. Those who she may be exchanged for killed no one," the source said. Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said a day before that a decision regarding a possible exchange of Savchenko has yet to be made. "So far, I can only tell you that no actions have been taken. Savchenko is a convict de facto and de jure. De jure, she has the possibility of filing an appeal, so we are waiting," Peskov said. It was reported earlier that Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in prison last week. The verdict has yet to go into effect. Savchenko banned her lawyers from appealing the verdict, so that not to delay a political solution that would enable her to return to Ukraine. Bout was arrested in Bangkok on March 6, 2008. He was extradited to the U.S. in 2010, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, on the charges of conspiring to sell a large batch of arms to Columbia's FARC group. Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011, on the charges of conspiring to deliver a large batch of cocaine to the U.S. Tel Aviv psych rock crew Ouzo Bazooka are today premiering their brand new LP Simoom (out April 1st) an impressive introduction to the bands iconic brand of Ouzo drenched Turkish psych fronted by Uri Brauner Kinrot one of Tel Avivs most prolific musicians. Over the past decade Uri has been active in the local and international music scene, establishing himself as a leading guitar player and songwriter. In recent years Kinrot, has been touring the world with his chart-successful drunken wedding, Balkan-surf, guitar-tuba-drums power trio Boom Pam, as well as international artists such as Shantel, Firewater, Balkan Beat Box and many more, appearing in Roskilde, Glastonbury, Exit, WOMEX, Olinkan (Mexico City), SXSW, Sines (Portugal), and Global Fest (NYC). Now its time to focus on his studio output, the latest being this upcoming LP Simoom. This 10 track release was recorded during the Summer of 2015 at Uris studio, which is located in one of Tel Avivs most colourful neighbourhood, populated by people from Eastern Europe, India, Africa and Eastern Asia. Exotic food and fresh coffee, two defining flavors of the Middle Eastern shuk, are significant ingredients of the album. The attitude, sound and vibrance of the music comes out through in the form of spicy licks and saucy lyrics. Mixing their hometown inspirations with Western psych, Ouzo Bazooka is the perfect new music discovery for fans of The Black keys, Hanni El Khatib, and Tame Impala. Give the new record a spin and if you like what youre hearing be sure to visit the bands Facebook page for more info. THE TKC BLOG COMMUNITY FINDS A SOLUTION AND SUGGESTS A CLOSE LOOK AT SHAWNEE MISSION SCHOOL DISTRICT EXECUTIVE SALARIES AS PLACE TO LOOK FOR SAVINGS!!! Education funding cuts in the Golden Ghetto dominate local Kansas suburbanite concerns as of late . . . It seems the prospect of harsh times interfering with suburban good life is just too much for some people to handle . . .Thankfully . . .Don't get it twisted, we wouldn't dare to post any suggestion about taking cash from out of classrooms or student resources . . . We only want to consider the possibility that there might be some savings among so many Shawnee Mission District top ranking employees making well beyond six figures.Of course our blog community brings data to back this up . . .The lesson here . . . Po'folk teachers and student resources are often the first on the chopping block but both politicos and the public rarely take a look atwhen it's time to talk belt tightening.You decide . . . "The Justice Department responded forcefully to this problem in Ferguson, Mo. This month, the racially troubled town agreed to a federal plan to root out racist and unconstitutional practices in its Police Department and courts. The case put other state and local governments on notice that they, too, could be held accountable for operating court systems that violate the constitutional rights of people charged with nonpayment of fines." It seems that the Prison Industrial Complex out of control is one of the many factors that contributed to a violent uprising in Missouri. Here's aregarding the aftermath and an attempt to reign in authorities and municipal courts abusing their power . . . A bold revision of Greece's constitution was overdue and conditions for such a move were now ripe, main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced A bold revision of Greece's constitution was overdue and conditions for such a move were now ripe, main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Monday, speaking at an event at the Centre for European Constitutional Law on "Is our Constitution resilient and what must change." "The new Greece that we envision needs a new Constitution," Mitsotakis noted, adding that the revision must begin from Parliament and must be sufficiently bold to tackle the ingrained problems. The time had come for a new political generation to write its own Constitution, he added. Outlining the form that such a new Constitution must take, ND's leader stressed that it must be simpler and upgrade Parliament, ending its involvement in judicial functions. He also called for the abolition of article 16 dealing with the legal accountability of ministers, noting that Parliament could not replace the justice system. He also suggested greater involvement of the president in the election of independent authorities and the judiciary. Finally, he underlined the need for a constitution that protected a government's term in power and the stability of governing cycles, which he said should be increased to five years from four. Specifically, he noted that an inability to agree on a president should not interrupt a government's term in power, while it should be made harder to call snap elections on the pretext of issues of "national importance". He also called for an end to the state monopoly on university-level education, while declaring that the debate on a revision of the constitution must begin immediately. 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 Particularly strong performance was recorded for hotels in Spain, Croatia and Malta in terms of occupancy, average room rate and revenue per available room during February, compared with the same month last year. The report is published exclusively on Tornos News (www.tornosnews.gr) and can be downloaded free of charge. The report records the changes in occupancy, average price and revenue per available room regarding hotels located in Greece, France, Croatia, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia. Read the absolute numbers and percentage changes for all hotel sizes per country in the survey's full text. Download freely for a year the MKG Mediterranean HIT Report (Hotel Industry Trends) exclusively at Tornos News Tornos News will also host at regular intervals MKG Group President and CEO Georges Panayotis' articles. MKG Group profile MKG Group is a European-based company, headquartered in Paris, France. The group operates various divisions within the tourism, hotel and hospitality sector, namely monitoring global trends in supply, demand and pipeline growth, including the worldwide chain hotel brand and chain hotel group rankings, as well as conducting specialised ad hoc industry research for various stakeholders, including private investors, developers, hoteliers (chain groups and independent properties), government and tourism associations, banking and financial institutions,and hedge funds. MKG is the official industry monitor for a number of European tourism organisations, such as the French Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Office Lyon, Tourism office Brussels, offices in Spain, the Netherlands, and the European City Marketing Association (ECM). MKG also regularly supplies various other t ourism organisations and NGOs with trends and analytical reports, including fractions of the European Union, UN such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the UNWTO's International Labour Organization, as well as a number of hospitality educational institutions in Europe. MKGs database represents the largest industry performance sample in the EMEA region, supplied directly by all leading international chain hotels, as well as many regional groups and independent properties. MKG is associated with MKG Hospitality, HotelCompSet, MKG Qualiting, Hospitality-ON.com media platform, the Global Lodging Forum (GLF), Worldwide Hospitality Awards, and Hotel Class, the official hotel rating agency in France. The group was founded in 1985 and currently has 110 employees. It contributed to the development of over 2.000 hotels in France, has offices in Paris, London, Cyprus and Athens and offers a printed and digital information service in English and French: ** Hospitality ON Web: http://mkg-group.com/en/our-events-and-the-press/hospitality-on-web ** Hospitality ON Magazine: http://mkg-group.com/en/our-events-and-the-press/hospitality-on-magazine City Contact company profile City Contact was founded in 1996 in order to provide printed information to foreign and domestic visitors of Greece's major hotels. It has currently developed an Info Stand and Visitor's Free Editions and Brochures information network, collaborating exclusively with 220 top Athens, Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Thessaloniki, Santorini and Mykonos hotels. Moreover, it covers printed information needs of tourists by offering free publications at conferences, travel agencies, public institutions, trade fairs, embassies, yacht marinas, etc. In 2004, the company initiated the Athens Walking Tours, drawing upon the extensive experience of its staff, and, ever since, these tours have turned into one of the most acclaimed and innovative tourism activities in Athens. Athens Walking Tours offer today, on a daily and all year round basis, high-quality, historical and gastronomic interest guided tours to visitors of Athens, Chania and other popular Greek tourist destinations. Tornos News was created by City Contact in April 2014 and is currently listed as the No. 1 news site * for Greek tourism professionals, with more than 250,000 unique readers **. * http: //www.alexa.com (Oct 2015) The parliamentary factions of the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko, the People's Front and the Batkivschyna Party have agreed to form a new coalition, head of the Radical Party's faction Oleh Liashko said. "They've agreed that a new coalition is scheduled to meet at noon [on Tuesday]. The coalition will include the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko, the People's Front, and Batkivschyna. As our proposals haven't been taken into account, the Radical Party will remain the opposition," Liashko told reporters after the end of consultations between the parliament's factions and groups and the Ukrainian president on Monday evening. Head of the People's Front faction Maksym Burbak in turn confirmed that the founding meeting of the new coalition's members would take place on Tuesday noon. All MPs from the Poroshenko Bloc, the People's Front, and Batkivschyna are scheduled to meet. "[They will get together] to form a coalition in the end and start working on the prime minister's candidacy, Cabinet members and an action plan of the future government," he said. The meeting will take place after the Verkhovna Rada votes to dismiss Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, he said. Tourexpi, turizm haberleri, Reiseburos, tourism news, noticias de turismo, Tourismus Nachrichten, , travel tourism news, international tourism news, Urlaub, urlaub in der turkei, , holidays in Turkey, , global tourism news, dunya turizm, dunya turizm haberleri, Seyahat Acentas, This site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+, at a minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768. The 6 Wine Roads of Bordeaux were created on December 14, 2015 by Gironde Tourisme and players invested in the Vignobles & Decouvertes labelling. These roads cover 6 wine estates encompassing all of Bordeauxs vineyards: in the North-West, the Medoc and its castle road, Sauternes and les Graves, the cradle of Bordeaux vineyards in the South, in the North-East with the Saint-Emilion region and its medieval village, then, overlooking the estuary, Blaye and Bourg linked by the Route de la Corniche. Finally, there is the large region of Bordeaux-Entre-deux-Mers, the Tuscany of Bordeaux. The 6th road will be the city of Bordeaux, the entrance to the vineyards. It can be traveled by car, bike, or boat. As for the label Vignobles & Decouvertes, carried and assigned for a period of 3 years by Atout France and the Superior Council of Wine Tourism, renewable after audit, officially recognizes wine destinations based on two key ideas: - providers involved in the label must respect a selection of quality criteria; - they must include a complete wine-tourism offer (restaurant, accommodations, events etc.) to enable the creation of a product centered around touristic activities in the vineyard. A delegation from Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec) is participating at the ongoing Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (Dimdex 2016) to promote two of its top events scheduled for 2017. Dimdex which kicked off today (March 29) will run until March 31, in Doha, Qatar. Adnecs participation is part of its strategy to promote the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex 2017) and the Naval Defence Exhibition and Conference (Navdex 2017) to specialised international companies and exhibitors attending the defence event, said a statement from the company. The two events provide a perfect platform for companies to showcase their best technological advancements in the defence industry to decision makers, government officials and army commanders from across the globe, it added. Both Idex and Navdex are set to be held from February 19 to 23, 2017, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, it said. The events are anticipated to draw more visitors and exhibitors thanks to the huge success of previous editions that witnessed deals worth over Dh19.7 billion ($5.3 billion), said the statement. Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, acting group CEO of Adnec, said: Participation in such large international events provides us with a perfect opportunity to promote Idex and Navdex. Throughout 2015 and 2016, we have been able to attract more exhibitors and specialised companies in the defence sector to our venues thanks to the active participation of our delegations in key industry events, he said. Idex and Navdex are the largest exhibitions and conferences of their kind regionally and internationally. At Adnec, we are keen on reaching out to our partners by attending reputable global events to encourage them to participate in both events. This will allow them to explore the latest trends in the defence industry, he added. Adnec offers 133,000 sq m of inter-connected floor space to match the expectations of a wide variety of events and exhibitions. Equipped with modern facilities and built to international standards, the venue attracted 1.8 million people across 369 events in 2015, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Sharjah's Hamriyah Free Zone recently organised seminars in Malaysia and Singapore to attract more investors and foreign investment to the free zone. The seminar touched on various opportunities and facilities offered by Hamriyah Free Zone, said a statement. The delegation, led by Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, director of Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone, explained ways of cooperation and ways to strengthen one's business during the road shows in the two countries, it added. The trip was aimed at promoting HFZs investment and business potential and to present the vast range of opportunities available to foreign companies in the free zone, it said. The delegates held a series of meetings with over hundred entrepreneurs from business and investment sectors in Kuala Lumpur. The KL seminar, titled Capturing trade and investment opportunities in the UAE, was organised in association with the Federation of Malaysian Manufactures. In Singapore, the event which was held in association with Singapore Business Federation and attracted a number of businesspersons. Al Mazrouei stated that, in addition to the development of quality projects, HFZs mission is to promote the investment opportunities and business strengths of HFZ, to encourage and attract investors from Malaysia and Singapore, and offer the necessary facilities and incentives for foreign investors by adopting global best practices and removing obstacles. He added: This tour is part of HFZAs business promotion strategy. Investor-friendly legal framework and the highly developed transport net-works which allow easy access to local and international markets were highlighted during the seminar. The flexibility of investment regulations and the tax-free investment scheme, as well as Sharjahs modern infrastructure and geographical position, are all elements that were received with a great deal of interest from investors during the talks, he concluded. TradeArabia News Service A Jordanian-Chinese consortium has submitted a bid to build and operate a one-million-bpd crude oil export pipeline to the Red Sea port of Aqaba, Iraq, a report said. Jordans Mass Group Holding, along with a consortium of Chinese companies, submitted a service fee proposal to Iraqs oil ministry for the project, reported Iraq Business News, citing Platts. Under the contract, crude will be supplied by state-owned South Oil Company (SOC), via the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). In return, the consortium will be paid a service fee, compensating it for construction and fixed operating costs, as well as a throughput service charge. The deal could see a close in the first half of 2017, the report said, quoting a source as telling Platts. Lawyer hears nothing of Savchenko's possible swap for Bout, Yaroshenko, but would be happy with such outcome The defense team for Ukrainian citizen Nadia Savchenko, who was sentenced in Russia to 22 years in prison over the murder of Russian journalists, would be happy if Savchenko could be exchanged for Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are serving lengthy prison terms in the United States. "It makes absolutely no difference to me, as her lawyer, for whom she will be exchanged for Bout, Yaroshenko. It does not play any role for me. It is absolutely and completely impossible to secure Savchenko's release by legal methods (through proving her innocence)," Savchenko's lawyer Mark Feygin told Interfax on Tuesday. "I do not know whether the U.S. would agree to it because Savchenko is not its citizen, but if they agree to it for humanitarian considerations, it would also be a way out. If this happens, then let it be this way," he said. At the same time, the lawyer did not rule out that such an exchange could have been discussed at U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's recent talks in Moscow. "If such an issue was really on the agenda, which I do not know for certain, I see no problem there. I have no idea what the actual situation is, but I do not rule out that it was discussed at some point during the talks," Feygin said. Several sources familiar with the situation told Interfax earlier on Tuesday that Savchenko may be exchanged for a group of Russians, including Bout and Yaroshenko, who are serving prison sentences in the U.S. Militant forces have opened fire on Ukrainian military positions in Donbas 72 times in the past 24 hours, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) in eastern Ukraine said on its Facebook account on Tuesday morning. "The heaviest shelling was recorded in the Donetsk sector, to be more precise in the town of Avdiyivka," the press center said. Ukrainian military positions came under mortar fire on 21 occasions, it noted. Weapons banned by the Minsk agreements were used against the villages of Luhanske, Leninske, Zaitseve and Mayorsk. Small arms and grenade launchers were fired at Ukrainian military positions in the town of Maryinka, near the Ukrainian-controlled strategic port city of Mariupol. The village of Popasna in Luhansk region came under fire as well. In the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have opened fire ten times in order to deter militants and stop them from advancing, the press center said. "In general, the situation in the ATO zone remains tense and tends to escalate," the ATO HQ said. The Verkhovna Rada has agreed with President Petro Poroshenko's motion to dismiss Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin. A total of 289 MPs voted for the measure on Tuesday in parliament. The parliamentary faction of the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko gave 114 votes in favor of the motion. It was also supported by 72 MPs from Arseniy Yatseniuk's People's Front Party faction, 24 MPs from Andriy Sadovy's Samopomich Party faction and two MPs from the Opposition Bloc. As was reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada committee for legislative support of law enforcement activity on March 16 recommended that parliament should support a draft resolution giving the consent to the dismissal of Shokin. Out of the committee members who were present at the meeting, 10 voted for the decision, four were against and three refrained. President Poroshenko said in his address to the nation on February 16 that he had asked Shokin to step down. On February 19, presidential press secretary Sviatoslav Tseholko confirmed that Shokin's letter of resignation had arrived at the presidential administration. On the same day, Poroshenko tabled a motion in parliament to dismiss Shokin. On February 22 a draft resolution on MPs' consent to dismiss the chief prosecutor was registered on the parliament's website. Shokin, born in 1952, was appointed Prosecutor General in February 2015. Under the Ukrainian Constitution, the Prosecutor General should be appointed and dismissed by the president with the parliament's consent. However, lawmakers could hold a vote of no-confidence, after which the Prosecutor General should resign if there is a required number of votes. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt thinks the option to swap Ukrainian captive pilot and MP Nadia Savchenko for Russian citizens Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are serving lengthy prison terms in the United States, is ridiculous. "Savchenko and other hostages must be released," he said at public debates titled "The U.S. for Ukraine: Partner, Patron or Ally?" arranged by Institute of World Policy in Kyiv on Tuesday. In his words, the swap option is ridiculous, as Savchenko has been held in remand in Russia illegally. According to Pyatt, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's proposal to exchange Savchenko for two Russian GRU officers Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov was "generous" and "this is the end of the [swap] discussion." As was reported earlier, an informed source told Interfax on Tuesday that Savchenko, who was sentenced in Russia to 22 years in prison on murder charges, might be exchanged for a group of Russian citizens, including Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko. "Currently, consultations are underway, including through confidential channels, on the possibility of releasing Savchenko through a swap. The Russian side proposed a list of its citizens in exchange for whom it is ready to release the former Ukrainian soldier," one of the sources said. Russia's list includes businessman Bout and pilot Yaroshenko, he said. "There are also Russians whose activity is usually not made public among them," the source said.. The source sees no serious obstacles to such an exchange, after Savchenko's sentence goes into effect. "Exchanges of one person for several [people] have taken place before. In the case of Savchenko, the issue is about a convict sentenced for a grave crime the murder of Russian citizens. Those whom she may be exchanged for killed no one," the source said. Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov said a day before that a decision regarding a possible exchange of Savchenko has yet to be made. "So far, I can only tell you that no actions have been taken. Savchenko is a convict de facto and de jure. De jure, she has the possibility of filing an appeal, so we are waiting," Peskov said. It was reported earlier that Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in prison last week. The verdict has yet to go into effect. Savchenko banned her lawyers from appealing the verdict, so that not to delay a political solution that would enable her to return to Ukraine. Bout was arrested in Bangkok on March 6, 2008. He was extradited to the U.S. in 2010, and sentenced to 25 years in prison, on the charges of conspiring to sell a large batch of arms to Columbia's FARC group. Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011, on the charges of conspiring to deliver a large batch of cocaine to the United States. One Ukrainian soldier killed in road accident, six wounded in Donbas fighting in last day One Ukrainian soldier was killed in a road accident and six soldiers were wounded in hostilities in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone in Donbas in the last day, presidential administration spokesman for ATO issues Oleksandr Motuzianyk said. "No one was killed in combat in the past 24 hours, but there are six wounded. Another soldier died in a road accident," he said in Kyiv on Tuesday. Motuzianyk also briefed on the situation in the ATO zone. In his words, the truce in the Luhansk sector was violated in the region's eastern and western areas the village of Bolotene in Stanychno-Luhansky district and the town of Popasna. The enemy again used cannon artillery systems in the Donetsk sector, he said. "What is more, ATO forces remain under heavy mortar fire, as the occupiers have fired more than 230 mortars in the past 24 hours. This is a record high number since last summer. The main hot spots are the village of Luhanske along the Svitlodarska Duha a stretch between the militant-controlled town of Horlivka and the town of Svitlodarsk in Donetsk region, as well as the outskirts of the militant-held town of Horlivka (Zaitseve, Leninske) and the town of Avdiyivka," he said. The Ukrainian military intelligence service reported that militants had deployed a set of Grad multiple-launch rocket systems at the western part of the village of Mineralne. "A local civilian has been wounded as a result of enemy shelling of Avdiyivka. Hostilities in some sections of the front line have become 24/7, therefore the ATO forces regularly open fire to counter illegal armed groups' aggression," the source said. The Mariupol sector saw violation of the truce in the towns of Maryinka and Shyrokyne. All the attacks were direct shelling. Ukrainian troops returned fire. Poroshenko not yet scheduled to meet with Obama during visit to U.S. Poroshenko not yet scheduled to meet with Obama during visit to U.S. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry KYIV. March 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is not yet scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to the United States, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has said. "So far, there are no plans to hold a meeting," Prystaiko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday. This information is not final, and Ukraine hopes that a meeting will take place, he added. "Indeed, we would want this meeting, because it would not be just symbolic in a traditional sense of this word. I believe that Ukraine, which has been at the cutting edge of the fight between democracy and what we abandoned in the past, deserves this meeting," the deputy minister said. Interfax-Ukraine has learned that Poroshenko may briefly meet Obama on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. The presidential press service reported earlier that the Ukrainian president would pay a working visit to the United States on March 30 - April 2. Poroshenko is due to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC at the invitation of Obama. "The visit includes negotiations between the chief of state and the administration of the United States of America and bilateral meetings with heads of state and government to be participating in the summit," the report said. Poroshenko to hold series of meetings, to address nuclear security summit and forum on Capitol Hill during U.S. visit Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will hold a series of bilateral meetings, as well as address a nuclear security summit and a Ukraine forum on Capitol Hill during his March 30-April 2 visit to the United States. "Meetings are expected to take place with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President of Poland Andrzej Duda and President of Argentina Mauricio Macri," Poroshenko's press secretary Sviatoslav Tseholko has said. The Ukrainian president will address a forum entitled 'Ukraine's Ongoing Battle for Freedom', which will take place on Capitol Hill on March 30, he said. Poroshenko will deliver a speech at the nuclear security summit on April 1, Tseholko said. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported earlier that Poroshenko was not expected to hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to the U.S. Meanwhile, the information available to Interfax indicates that the two presidents may hold a brief meeting on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit. The European Union is expecting the inquiry into the death of lawyer Yuriy Hrabovsky in Ukraine to bring results, an EU spokesperson told Interfax in Brussels on Tuesday. "The EU follows the case related to the death of lawyer Yuriy Hrabovsky. The investigation is ongoing. We trust the Ukrainian authorities to carry it out in accordance with high international standards," he said. Hrabovsky was representing the interests of Russian citizen Alexander Alexandrov, described by Kyiv as a special operations officer from the Main Intelligence Department (GRU), in a Ukrainian court. Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev were captured by the Ukrainian army near the town of Schastia in the Luhansk region. The Russian Defense Ministry said that neither Alexandrov nor Yerofeyev were serving in the Russian army at the time they were staying in eastern Ukraine. Hrabovsky disappeared in early March. The Ukrainian Military Prosecutor's Office said last week that the lawyer was murdered. The deal you were looking for is no longer available. The Verkhovna Rada plans to expand the list of categories of local and national monuments by the world heritage category and enlarge the duties granted to the Cabinet of Ministers in the sphere of cultural heritage protection. A total of 249 lawmakers on Tuesday supported bill No. 1553 amending the law on cultural heritage protection regarding the protection of world heritage monuments included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The bill proposes creating management bodies, supervisory boards of these monuments, determine their duties and set up the specifics for managing and protecting them. The measure provides for creating buffer zones for world heritage monuments. Hanoi-based Apricot Hotel to exhibit Bui Xuan Phai's ground-breaking 'signature' paintings (TRAVPR.COM) HANOI - March 29th, 2016 - A collection of works by the late Bui Xuan Phai, deemed one of Vietnam's most "remarkable and charismatic" artists, will be showcased publicly for the first time next month at a new gateway to the nation's art and culture. The art will hang in the neo-classical lobby of the new five-star Apricot Hotel that celebrated its grand opening in December last year, complementing the hotel's permanent collection of original Vietnamese artwork. With his actual signature at the heart of each work, Phai's paintings mark a radical departure from his well-known portrayals of Hanoi's streets and are credited with fuelling an artistic signature painting movement. Apricot Hotel will display seven of Phai's paintings, alongside an array of works illustrating Hanoi's streets by renowned Vietnamese artists who followed in Phai's footsteps, in its exhibition The Streets Without Phai, Phai Without the Streets to be launched on April 14. "Phai's signature paintings have never been on display in public before, and reveal a different, lesser known yet substantially more complex side to the most illustrious of all Vietnamese modern painters," said Apricot Hotel's manager Phuong Nam Nguyen. She said the exhibition answered a demand from contemporary travellers for a culturally enriching hotel experience that delved into the profound depths of Vietnamese art and culture. As a supporter of the Nhan Van movement advocating political and cultural freedom, Phai's work was banned from public display for decades before a solo exhibition in 1984 changed all that. Phai died in 1988 and was posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh prize, Vietnam's highest accolade for artists, in 1996. Nguyen said Phai's signature paintings ooze with personality. They were created in the last few years of his life between 1984 and 1987 as Vietnam introduced major economic reforms that flung open its doors to the world. "He did not follow trends, he created them," said Nguyen. "The evolution of his signature is artistry in itself and a most revealing characteristic when it comes to his aesthetics and ideologies." Following the success of the Genesis exhibition at Apricot Hotel's grand opening in December, this upcoming show is the next step in the hotel's ambition to promote Vietnamese art to the world. Nguyen said plans were afoot to permanently display Phai's work at the hotel or nearby Apricot Gallery. Meanwhile, the hotel will mark the official opening of its Avanti multi-level basement theatre with a series of performances by K-pop outfit Bambino in early April. Complete with a pneumatic stage that 'hovers' between two floors and a floating DJ station, Avanti caters to up to 300 guests, and is suited to a broad range of events ranging from live performances to wedding receptions and private parties. For further details about Apricot Hotel, visit the website www.apricothotels.com. ### In many parts of the world, droughts and an increasingly dry, arid climate have lead to water scarcity and in tandem, food scarcity too. A group of researchers in Northern Ethiopia are tackling the issue by creating a very low-tech solution that could have a huge impact. The Roots Up project, a non-profit organization affiliated with Ethiopias University of Gondar, has developed a dew collecting greenhouse that could help farmers grow fresh vegetables even in times of drought and also act as a source of clean drinking water. The simple design uses low-cost materials to both improve plant-growing conditions inside and act as a water harvester, making it an attainable technology for area farmers. The initiative wants to support highland farmers who've been facing low crop yields and food insecurity because of drought. Roots Up The greenhouse traps hot air and humidity during the heat of the day, creating a better atmosphere for plant growth and then at night, a rope can be pulled that opens up a latch at the top of the greenhouse that lets cool air in, eventually reaching the dew point and creating condensation. The water droplets are channeled into a collection cistern and can be used for drinking water or for irrigation. In times of rain, the design can also be used as a rainwater collector. Roots Up plans to deploy these greenhouses in Northern Ethiopia soon and will offer training to local farmers on how to maximize their crop yields using the technology. Ukrainian detectives have acquired a video depicting lawyer Yuriy Hrabovsky, Russian citizen Alexander Alexandrov's defender who was found dead on March 25, telling a man off screen that he would no longer defend the Russian. "The procedural supervisor and I have decided to show one video accessed by detectives by means of cloud technology from an IT service of the killer," Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General, Main Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday. "I, lawyer Hrabovsky Yuriy Leonidovych, promise and undertake to stop rendering legal assistance to defendant Alexandrov Alexander Anatolyevich in a criminal proceeding underway at the Holosiivsky District Court in the City of Kyiv," says the video. A man off screen asks him for reasons for this decision, and the lawyer says he "believed it was impossible to continue to defend him in that trial." "Why is it impossible? Have you understood your mistake?" the man asks. "Yes, I have understood my mistake," Hrabovsky says. The police had been unable to establish Hrabovsky's whereabouts since March 5. Matios said on March 20 that a person suspected of organizing Hrabovsky's disappearance had been arrested. He said the operation was planned by 'former Ukrainians' and Russian security services to 'create a setting' for the final stage of the trial of the Russian citizens. Hrabovsky's death was reported in the morning of March 25. Matios said later on that day that the second suspect in the murder had been detained in the Odesa region on Thursday morning. The suspect identified the murder scene and the place where the lawyer's body was buried. Jerusalem, March 29 Israels parliament has passed a law capping the annual salaries of bank executives at $6,58,000, described as among the worlds toughest such restrictions. The law, passed by the Knesset yesterday, says no salary in the financial sector can be more than 35 times that of the lowest-paid worker in the same company, with a ceiling of 2.5 million shekels ($6,58,000). Anything above the ceiling will be subject to higher taxes A parliament statement issued just before midnight, quoting finance committee chairman Moshe Gafni, said the law deals with a problem of morals and values concerning the excessive salaries of those who undertake to manage the publics money. The Association of Banks in Israel is said to be considering an appeal to Israels Supreme Court against the legislation, but it had no official comment on Tuesday. Israeli media have described the measure as unprecedented in its severity and some have warned it could harm the Jewish states economy. Israel, a country looking for investment, must not be the most extreme on the issue, left-leaning newspaper Haaretz wrote in an editorial. The high cost of living is a major concern in Israel and a key issue for Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, who pushed for the legislation, approved by a vote of 56 to zero in the 120-seat Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a pro-business stance, but holds only a one-seat majority in parliament and needs Kahlons Kulanu party to maintain his majority. Interviewed on public radio last week the director of Netanyahus office said he had given Kahlon his backing on the bankers salaries Bill but did not want to see the measure extended to other industries. This is an important reform by the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister supports him on the matter, Eli Groner told the radio. At the same time, we do not think it would be right to extend it to other sectors. Prime Minister Netanyahu has not yet publicly commented on the passage of the law. Agencies New Delhi, March 29 Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence and Israels Rafael Advanced Defence System Limited have decided to form a joint venture in India for specialised areas, including air-to-air missiles that will oversee projects worth $10 billion (over Rs 65,000 crore) in 10 years. The joint venture will be one of the biggest ventures between an Indian firm and any original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the company said in a statement. The venture will have a 51 per cent holding from Reliance Defence and 49 per cent by Rafael as per the current guidelines of the government, it said. It will provide big thrust to the field of indigenous production and development of high precision and state of the art weapon systems in India. The partnership with technology power house and one of the world leaders in defence technologies, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, will mark the entry of Reliance Defence in the complex field of air-to-air missiles and air defence systems manufacturing in India, it said. The joint venture company will be located at Pithampur, Indore, and will generate more than 3,000 skilled jobs. The project will have an initial capital outlay of more than Rs 1,300 crore, without including the cost of technology, the company said. Rafael is a market leader in the air-to-air missile segment and has world renowned product like Python and Derby. Similarly, for the air defence systems, Rafael portfolio includes SPYDER short-range and medium-range and Barak missiles family of surface-to-air missiles in the short and medium range. Rafael has already provided large aerostat systems to the Indian Air Force for meeting its surveillance, reconnaissance, communication and intelligence needs. Based on the current requirements, the joint venture company will address multiple programmes valued at more than Rs 65,000 crore in 10 years, the firm said. PTI New players being denied chances: Anil Ambani Industrialist Anil Ambani, a new entrant in the defence sector, said an attempt was being made to deny opportunity to new players on grounds of lack of experience, which he described as a booby-trap laid by vested interest to kill competition. Ambani, who heads Reliance Group, also sought more clarity in the governments plan to enter into strategic partnership saying policies have to be in line with global best practices. PTI Kyiv has reported shelling in the first half of Tuesday by Donbas militants of the Ukrainian military positions near the town of Avdiyivka, Donetsk region, with mortars reportedly being fired. Between 6 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military positions near Avdiyivka were shelled by the enemy nine times, "of which three involved 120 millimeter mortar launchers," the press center for the Ukrainian special operation in the country's east wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. Local residents reported shelling of the Ukrainian positions; in particular, near an industrial zone in Avdiyivka, enemy shell attacks were launched from the village of Yakovlivka, the press center said. In all, militants fired 15 mortars over the period, according to the statement. New Delhi, March 29 British telecom giant Vodafone is believed to have moved the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking appointment of a judge to preside over a arbitration over its Rs 14,200-crore tax case. Vodafone this month moved the International Court of Justice after arbitrators appointed by it and the Government of India failed to reach a consensus on selection of a neutral or presiding judge of the three-member panel, sources aware of the development said. Vodafone in 2013 had invoked India-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty seeking a resolution to the tax demand imposed on it by enacting a tax law with retrospective effect to sidestep a Supreme Court judgment that went in the company's favour. PTI Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 29 Terming the Delhi Budget 2016-2017 a bundle of lie and deceit, the Congress said that there is a massive shortfall in collection of taxes and in spending Plan funds. The Budget presented yesterday by Finance Minister Manish Sisodia made it clear that the government had failed in its target to collect revenue as there was a 7.63 per cent shortfall in its compilation, said Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ajay Maken. Addressing a press conference, Maken said there was a big gap in Plan and non-Plan spending and because of that, development works have come to a standstill. There was a shortfall of Rs 3,000 crore in VAT collection that resulted in a fall in growth. The government is misguiding the public by misrepresenting the facts, he said. In the present Budget, an increase of 10.53 per cent in sales tax has shown, which is being projected as a very high figure. In the Congress regimes financial year 2010-2011, there was an increase of 26 per cent and 17.86 per cent in 2012-2013. The present Budget has pegged VAT collection at 13.63 per cent, whereas it was 18.28 per cent in 2010-2011, 29.17 per cent in 2011-12 and 24.99 per cent in 2012.2013 during the Congress regime, he said. Maken said the government had totally failed in the spending of Plan funds as out of Rs 19,000 crore, only Rs 11,900 crore was spent up to March 21, 2016, while Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, in his Budget speech, had claimed that the government had spent Rs 16,400 crore. Not too long back, Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had asked the Congress-led government to stop writing love letters to Pakistan seeking its cooperation in terror probes. Mr Modi had sneered at the dissonance in the Congress-led government over tackling terrorism and counselled it to stop complaining to US President Barack Obama about Pakistans perfidy in promoting terrorism in India. Not to be left behind, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, now the External Affairs Minister, ridiculed the Congress-led government for its pusillanimity. Had her side been in power, Swaraj suggested, the government would have avenged every Indian death from Pakistani machinations with at least 10 on the other side of the border. The vocabulary used at that time to weaken the then government's attempt to persuade Pakistan to abandon terror as an instrument of foreign policy is coming back to haunt the BJP-led government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now banking on a Pakistani love letter in permitting its probe team access to the Pathankot air base. The Ministry of External Affairs is low key on the episode. The usually forthcoming Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, having smelt the unease among Army officers, has kept his counsel. Is it any wonder that the political forces at the receiving end of the BJP's taunts and ridicule for the past decade are paying it back in the same currency? As it was with the Congress and other secular parties, there is a major political risk in permitting the Pakistani team to conduct its investigations without any signs of reciprocity. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, playing the lone hand for the government, might have missed out in failing to insist on an Indian team's visit to Hafiz Saeed's lair, the source of two mobile signals when the attack was carried out last January. Thus there is no fall back if the Pakistani team, on its return, reports that the access provided by India was insufficient for it to reach any conclusion. The Opposition will then give no leeway to a government that prides itself for giving a pass to consensus-driven politics. Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 29 On the day the Haryana Assembly passed the Jat quota Bill unanimously, certain BJP members demanded a White Paper on the representation of various castes in jobs to expose over-representation of Jats in the government service. Raising the demand during discussion on the Budget Estimates, 2016-17, Rewari MLA Randhir Kapriwaas said the White Paper was necessary to determine the exact representation of various castes in the government sector to ensure that every deserving caste got the reservation benefits. The real benefits of the quota in government jobs should go to the castes not adequately represented in the public sector and quota of the castes over-represented in the government jobs should be curtailed, Kapriwaas asserted. Earlier, Kapriwaas sent a memorandum to the Haryana Governor, demanding a White Paper on the representation of various castes in the state government services. Meanwhile, other BJP MLAs, though not vocal about the Jat quota Bill, today raked up the issue of the large-scale violence, allegedly by Jat protesters, and selective targeting of the Punjabi community during the recent Jat quota agitation. Taking strong exception to Jat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan calling Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar a Pakistani, Faridabad MLA Vipul Goel asserted that Khattar, who lost everything during Partition, had risen to post of Chief Minister by hard work. People like Khattar are not sharnarthi (refugee) but pursharthi (hard working), who have a carved a nich for themselves in society through perseverance and hard work, Goel stated. Echoing similar sentiments, Subhash Sudha demanded strict action against rioters, who indulged in large-scale violence during the recent Jat agitation, besides adequate compensation and jobs for victims of the Jat violence. Rift over Jat quota In the past, certain BJP MLAs, including ministers, had voiced their resentment over the Jat quota, especially against the backdrop of large-scale violence during the recent Jat agitation. Though the ruling BJP put up a united front in the Assembly today, undercurrents of differences on the issue are clearly visible in the party which has only six Jat MLAs. Kshetra MP to challenge Bill in SC Kurukshetra: BJP MP from Kurukshetra Raj Kumar Saini on Tuesday threatened to approach the Supreme Court against the Haryana Government on the quota Bill passed in the Assembly. The Bill infringes upon the constitutional rights of the OBCs whose quota benefit is now shared with Jats and others. Earlier, the SC had scrapped the March 2014, notification to include Jats in the Central list of the OBC category in nine states. I will challenge the government action in the apex court. I am sure the court will scrap the Bill, Saini told The Tribune. He blamed CM Manohar Lal Khattar for being unable to face pressure tactics by Jats in the BJP. Saini does not favour taking up the issue of breach of rights of the weaker sections with the PM or BJP president as he feels judicial remedy is the only option. Vishal Joshi Good decision, but a bit late: INLD Chandigarh: The INLD has welcomed the Jat quota Bill passed by the Assembly today. It, however, said the government could have avoided last month's violence if the law had been enacted earlier. State INLD president Ashok Arora and former CPS Rampal Majra told the media today the BJP and Congress were responsible for the bloodshed and arson last month. We welcome the grant of reservation to Jats and other castes without tampering with the quota given to others. During an all-party meeting called by the government on February 19, our party had suggested instead of repeating its commitment on reservation time and again, the government should bring a two-line resolution in House and pass it unanimously, Arora said. TNS Old wine in new bottle: Hooda Chandigarh: Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said the Jat reservation Bill was an old wine in a new bottle. The BJP has only changed the name of the quota to BC C from the special backward classes (SBC) and increased it. This is a carbon copy of our notification, he said. Hooda, accompanied by CLP leader Kiran Choudhry and Congress MLAs, said that the BJP had caused irreparable damage to the social fabric of society in search of a new vote-bank. The BJP plays divisive politics. Since no polarisation was possible in Haryana on the basis of religion, the party divided people on caste lines, he said. The CLP, meanwhile, passed a resolution to condemn the large-scale loss of life and property during the Jat agitation in Haryana. TNS "The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti is unhappy over low quota for Jats in Class I and II jobs. We wanted 12% reservation in higher job categories, but the state government gave just half of it. We, however, hail the decision" Yashpal Malik, AIJASS president "Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has fulfilled his promise. Now, we want that the state government to take up with the Union government the demand for reservation in Central government services" Tek Ram Kandela, khap leader "The reservation must be given in educational institutes only, while jobs must be given on merit. The government should give reservation in educational institutes to other castes too so that children of other castes get equal rights" Jagdish Singh Jhinda, chief, HSGMC "The government has attempted to save its votebank. But considering the population of beneficiary communities, the share seems to be low. Though the Assembly has passed the Bill, it will be a challenge for the government to get the nod at other platforms" Santosh Dahiya, womens wing president, Sarv jat sarv khap mahapanchayat "The government failed to remove lacunae that existed in reservation provided by the previous government. The Bills lack clarity" Subhash Chaudhary, Congress leader Samaan Lateef Tribune News Service Srinagar March 29 The Jammu and Kashmir Government has legally handed over 5 lakh kanals to the Army for setting up its bases, firing ranges and for other defence purposes in Ladakh. The land will include over 40,000 kanals for setting up an artillery firing range at Mandal Thang in Leh district. We have given the approval to authorise 5 lakh kanals to the Army in Ladakh for defence purposes, including establishing bases and firing ranges, said a senior official in the Home Department. The official said that out of the 5 lakh kanals given to the Army, it was already in possession both lawfully and unlawfully of over 4 lakh kanals in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh. The revenue department wanted the Army to either vacate the land acquired unlawfully or provide rent to the government. After the Army refused to vacate the land acquired unlawfully, the state government gave in and asked it to take its lawful possession for seeking compensation, the Home Department official said. In Leh, the Army had unlawfully taken possession of over 90,000 kanals of state land which made the total possession of land under its control to over 2 lakh kanals. Deputy Secretary, Revenue, Ghulam Rasool, confirmed that the government had initiated the process to legally authorise the land to the Army that is under its unlawful possession. Army has also received approval from the state government for setting up an artillery firing range at Mandal Thang. The Army had been demanding land for setting up an artillery firing range at Mandal Thang and their demand has been accepted, said District Development Commissioner Leh, Prasnna Ramaswamy G. The Army has been provided land at Mandal Thang after the government refused to renew the lease of 10 firing ranges in J&K which expired in 2014. Of its total 66 firing ranges, the Army has been operating at least 12 in J&K, which is the highest in any state. The firing ranges are used for testing small arms and heavy artillery. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 28 Patents associations of four schools staged a protest against overcharging and re-admission fee by schools at various locations in the city today. The parents have been protesting against the school authorities for the past several days. The protesters alleged that the school authorities are taking readmission fee, overcharging for books and pressing students to buy uniform and books from particular stores. To support the ongoing protest of parents against MGM School, a large number of parents gathered outside the school. The school authorities had assured the parents that they would sort out the issue on Monday. When the parents reached the school gate, the employees of the school told them that the school authorities had declared holidays till March 30. They reached the office of Deputy Commissioner and staged a protest there. The demonstrators also raised slogans and submitted a memorandum to the DC, Ravi Bhagat. Meanwhile, the parents of St Thomas Senior Secondary students also staged a protest and raised slogans against the school management. They have been protesting against readmission fee being charged in the name of annual charges. The parents alleged that the books prescribed by the school were not available in the market. They have written to the HRD Ministry and asked it to intervene in the matter. Local politicians also supported the parents. But they urged them to not block the road. Meanwhile, Bhanu Partap, from the Punjab Youth Shiv Sena, along with parents, staged a protest outside the Green Land School, Sector 32, Chandigarh. Bhanu Partap alleged that the Director of the school Rajesh Rudhra had given an appointment to the parents for today but he was not available at the school. The parents pitched a tent outside the school and raised slogans. Finally, the director of the school met them and they discussed various issues. Parents also argued with the management of DAV Police Public School over development charges. Rajinder Ghai from the Parents Association met the school principal at the school. Pathankot, March 29 A five-member Pakistani probe team, including an ISI official, today visited the strategic IAF base here that was for most part visually barricaded as scores of Congress and AAP workers held protests outside carrying black flags and shouting slogans against their probe into the January 2 terror attack. Top NIA officials briefed the team about the terror attack in which seven security personnel were killed. At least four terrorists believed to be from Pak-based Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed by security forces. Read: Pathankot attack: JIT given proof of Pak hand The team that arrived in Amritsar in the morning from Delhi in a special plane was taken to Pathankot by road to avoid giving it an aerial view of the strategic base. The 118-km journey was covered by the team which was ferried in six bulletproof vehicles. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited India to 'probe' a terror case and has been given access to a strategic installation amidst strong criticism from opposition parties. Air base covered with white curtains Most of the base was completely covered with white curtains to prevent a view of the valuable defence assets. The Congress and AAP have accused the government of giving unfettered access to a probe team from Pakistan that also dilutes India's stand that terrorism is sponsored from across the border. The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) entered the base through a specially-created entrance at the perimeter wall, which was breached by the terrorists on the fateful night. In the Air Force base, the NIA officers showed them the 'scene of crime' which was witness to an 80-hour gunbattle from the intervening night of January 1 and 2 in which at least four terrorists were also gunned down. The team was also taken to other places relevant to the case, including the Unjh river, from where the Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM) terrorists had crossed over into the town. Away from media glare, NIA team led by Inspector General of Police Sanjiv Singh briefed them about the investigations carried out so far in the case. India has accused that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists had carried out the attack at the IAF base in which seven security personnel were killed. The JIT members entered the airbase from the rear after their convoy stopped at 'Upper Doab' canal and after travelling in a mini-bus through the dirt tracks next to the water body. The team, officials said, was taken to only the "scene of crime" where the encounter occurred between the security men and terrorists and the entire process was videographed and photographed by two IAF personnel. The Pakistani JIT is led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also includes ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed. Defence Ministry had earlier declined permission for landing of the special aircraft carrying the JIT members at Pathankot airbase. Amid reports that terrorists may target the team in Pathankot, Punjab Police had deployed its SWAT commandos along with the team. Adequate police presence ensured that none of the political parties could stage any protest to block the way of the team. Waving black flags and placards, scores of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers stood outside the air base protesting against the visit and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. They accused the BJP government of hurting the sentiments of the people of the country by allowing the Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. The team was taken from the air base to Koliyan village area where Punjab Police SP Salwinder Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal were abducted by the terrorist in their blue beacon SUV. Salwinder had claimed that he and his friend along with a cook were coming back after paying obeisance at Panj Peer Dargah falling in the Narot Jaimal Singh area. They were also taken to Gulpur village where the SP and his cook were dumped by terrorists. Then the team was taken to Tajpur village where finally the SUV in which Rajesh in injured condition was found. The team also visited 'Kathlor ka pul' where driver Ikagar was killed besides 'Narot Jaimal Singh' where Salwinder's vehicle was abandoned. The team also went to the Unjh river bridge in Bamial near border from where the terrorists are supposed to have crossed over the border. The team could not go to the forward post in Bamial as the BSF had reservations over that keeping in view the strategic importance and presence of underground bunkers in that area. The JIT-NIA team spent about four hours in Pathankot after which they left for Amritsar. SWAT commandos of Punjab police provided them security during the visit. The district administration, however, tightened security around the Pathankot Air Force station as the Congress and AAP had planned protests. The administration had already deployed heavy police force in the city and along the Amritsar-Pathankot National Highway to provide them traffic free route to the JIT. Visit by Pak JIT shameful, disgusting AAP's Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra who arrived here with his supporters protested against the visit. He said allowing Pakistani JIT to visit the air base was "shameful and disgusting". "For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that ISI was not supporting terrorism... the same people who have killed our people have come here... this is so shameful and disgusting," Mishra said. "This is an insult of our mother India. We will not let Modi government to do this," he said. "Modi has shown his real face. We do not want killers to be allowed to probe the matter. We will not tolerate this and that is why AAP is holding protest here," said AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who is party incharge for Punjab affairs. "It is an insult to Indians and martyrs," he said. PTI Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 28 The Punjab and Haryana High Court today rapped the Haryana Government for flinging mud in the eyes of the court and not registering an FIR in the Murthal sexual assault case. The High Court indicated ordering a probe into the matter by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The admonishment came after a Division Bench found that the state authorities had failed to register a case on the basis of a statement by a witness while turning their back on the procedure prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure for probing cognisable offences. Has Haryana adopted a new CrPC? How are you carrying out investigations in the case without registering an FIR? the Bench asked. The Bench of Justices SS Saron and Gurmit Ram also questioned the constitution of a special investigating team (SIT) for looking into alleged sexual assault on women in Murthal by goons during the Jat agitation. Under what provision of law has it been constituted? the Bench asked. The case was placed before the Bench after two High Court Judges separately took suo motu cognisance of a news report published in these columns on the alleged sexual assault on women. As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Bench initially appeared not too convinced on handing over the probe to the CBI, as suggested by the amicus curiae (friend of the court) Anupam Gupta. In contradiction to the Haryana Governments stand regarding lack of witnesses in the case, Gupta told the court about a witness. He read out the latters statement that he had recorded to substantiate his demand for a CBI probe. Gupta quoted witness Bobby Joshi as saying women were forcibly taken to the fields on the basis of his conversation with two Ludhiana women. He claimed the SIT chief met him in Delhi, but did not record his statement and chose to keep mum. He vouched for The Tribune report on the incident and insisted the reporters could depose before the Bench if so desired. Gupta also told the court that evidence in the form of tapes could be shown to the court in camera. Haryana Additional Advocate-General Lokesh Sinhal claimed that Joshis statement had been recorded. He said it was based on mere hearsay and that he had not alleged sexual assault. He had only said that women were taken to the fields. Taking a note of the counter-claims, the Bench called for the statement and the zimni or the case diary. Sinhal told the Bench that zimni was not being maintained. At this, Haryana was virtually censured for everything it did not do in the case. What kind of investigations have you been conducting without maintaining zimni? Your whole perspective of criminal law is wrong. We will ask the CBI to register a case. No point in depending on you. You appear to be unable to understand the difference between evidence and information. You have to collect evidence and not information. Bobby Joshi provided you with information. It was for you to gather evidence, the Bench said. It also sought to know the provision of law under which Joshis statement was recorded without registering an FIR. His information was neither recorded as a part of an FIR, nor as an FIR, the Bench observed. Observing that the Advocate-Generals office was not only reckless, but also colluding with the authorities, the Bench observed. How do you gain by denying the incident? Why shield the culprits? Isnt a case of outraging modesty under Section 354 of the IPC made out? The case will now come up on April 4. Panaji, March 26 A treatment for cancer through Yoga that does away with the need for chemotherapy to arrest and cure the disease is just a year away, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik said on Saturday. Speaking on the sidelines of the AYUSH expo organised by the ministry near Panaji, the Minister said his ministry was in the process of vetting documentation submitted by a Bengaluru-based deemed yoga university, which is said to have cured patients suffering from cancer using yoga. Naik said prima facie he was confident about the cancer cure claimed by the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, a deemed university headed by HR Narendra, a mechanical engineer who has worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1970 and subsequently had a stint at Harvard University. Asked how long it would take for the AYUSH ministry to vet the documentation submitted by the Samsthana related to cancer cure, Naik said: I think it will take about a year. The documentation should be perfect. Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar also made a similar claim during his speech while launching Common Yoga Protocol, a guide to the upcoming World Yoga Day on June 21. It is said that diseases like AIDS and cancer can be cured by Ayurveda. We should conduct necessary research on this aspect so that India can revolutionise the health sector of the world, Parsekar said. Earlier in his speech, the Union minister said the proponents of AYUSH are not against allopathy. All the forms of medicines should have health of patient at its focus point, Naik said. He said there should be integration of medicines so that ailments like cancer, high sugar, obesity and others are uprooted. Agencies Ukraine's Minister of Finance Natalie Jaresko will head the Ukrainian delegation to the Ukraine-Netherlands business forum, which will begin in Nootdorp city on March 30, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has said. The Ukrainian delegation will include Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Oleksiy Pavlenko, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Shymkiv, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Yulia Kovaliv, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska and Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuriy Vaskov. On the Dutch side the forum will be attended by Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen, the director of the agricultural department at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, a board member of the energy market and innovation team at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The forum will be attended by more than 300 representatives of business and government. The parties will discuss cooperation in the field of energy efficiency, transport and infrastructure, IT and engineering, as well as agriculture. Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Pathankot, March 29 The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today staged protests against the Pakistan Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) visit to the Air Force station here. The first to reach the protest site, barely 100 metres from the main gate of the Air Base, were about 300 Congress workers led by senior party leader Vinay Mahajan. They raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the JIT. They claimed that since the Pakistan team included an ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) officer, it should not have been allowed to enter the high-security complex. The sloganeering continued despite the polices efforts to pacify the protesters, even as an effigy of the PM was burnt. Finally, after an hour-long protest, Mahajan asked Congress workers to disperse. Eves as the cops were clearing the place, another Congress delegation, led by former Municipal Committee president Anil Vij, reached there. Vij, who is also the Pathankot District Congress Committee president, was accompanied by about a dozen former and sitting councillors. Later, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh and Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur led a demonstration. Delhi minister Kapil Mishra was also present. First they came here and attacked us and now they are pretending that they will deliver justice. AAP will never tolerate this farce, Sanjay said. It is a sheer insult to India by Modi, who pretends to be the most patriotic person, he said, wondering how the masterminds of the Pathankot attack could be allowed to probe it. The PM has now virtually mortgaged the dignity and sovereignty of the country to Pakistan for the sake of developing personal relations with his friend, Nawaz Sharif, he added. Amid the protests near the main entrance, the authorities changed the JITs route. The team members were taken to the rear of the complex, from where they made their way in through a specially constructed gate. Shah defends move Kolkata: With the Centre under attack over allowing a Pakistani probe team access to the Pathankot airbase, BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday said Pakistan had for the first time made serious efforts towards investigating a terror case. I agree that for the first time Pakistan has made serious efforts towards investigation, Shah said. PTI Expect Pak to act, says Omar Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said only time would tell whether the visit of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to Pathankot would benefit India or not, but expected Pakistan to take steps to control terrorism. PTI Indian team should visit Pak: Sena Mumbai: Terming the decision to allow a Pakistani team to investigate the terror attack at Pathankot air base as wrong, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said an Indian team needed to be sent to the neighbouring country to probe those behind the terror strikes. PTI JIT visit a disgrace to nation: Cong New Delhi: The Congress slammed JIT visit, saying this one step by the Modi government had brought disgrace to the nation. They are coming here because I believe they dont trust our investigating agencies. Are we going to shame our agencies in front of Pakistani agencies? Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said. PTI Ridiculous, says Bittu Ludhiana: Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said on Tuesday that it was ridiculous to have allowed the Pakistani JIT to visit the terror attack site in Pathankot. TNS Washington/Phnom Penh: The US on Monday returned an ancient decapitated statue of Hindu god Rama stolen from Cambodia during the South East Asian countrys civil war in the 70s. Called the Torso of Rama, the 10th century sandstone statue sans its head, arms and feet was looted from the Koh Ker temple near the famous Angkor Wat complex in the 70s after recent discussions with Cambodia. PTI Belgium releases Brussels attacks suspect BRUSSELS: Belgium on Monday freed the sole suspect charged over last week's Islamic State attacks in Brussels for lack of evidence, raising fresh questions about the handling of the case by under-fire Belgian authorities. Prosecutors had charged the man, identified as Faycal C, on Saturday with offences, including 'terrorist murder', and had been investigating the theory that he was a third airport attacker who fled when his bomb failed to go off. AFP China launders cash of foreign criminals Ashod (Israel): Scam artists, drug cartels and gangs from around the world have found a new haven for laundering money: China. The countrys well-developed underground financial networks have caught the attention of foreign criminals who are using China to clean their dirty money and pump it back into the global financial system largely beyond the reach of Western law enforcement, an Associated Press investigation has found. AP Saudi, Yemen rebels swap prisoners ahead of talks Riyadh: Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting them said on Monday, in the latest sign of tensions easing before peace talks. Nine Saudi prisoners have been recovered and 109 Yemenis who were arrested in the military operations zone near the border have been handed over, the coalition said in a statement. AFP Larnaca (Cyprus), March 29 The suspected hijacker of an EgyptAir airliner surrendered to authorities at Larnaca airport in Cyprus on Tuesday, Cypriot authorities said. The hijacker emerged from the aircraft with his hands in the air, state TV said. "Its over," Cyprus's foreign ministry said in a tweet. The hijacker seized an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus, but nearly all of the passengers were quickly released and officials said the incident was not linked to terrorism. A government source said the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman, his estranged lover who lives on the island. The EgyptAir plane landed at the airport in the southern coastal city of Larnaca at 8.50 am (1120 IST), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion. Egyptian civil aviation said he had threatened to detonate an explosives belt on the Airbus A-320, which had been headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo. Most of the passengers were allowed to disembark after the plane landed. Egypt's aviation minister Sherif Fathy told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, an airhostess and a security guard remained on board, along with three passengers. EgyptAir had previously said that negotiations with the hijacker had resulted in "the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners." An AFP correspondent later saw at least seven people descend from the aircraft, including some dressed in what appeared to be crew uniforms. The plane had been carrying 21 foreigners including eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, an Egyptian civil aviation ministry statement said. Fathy said there had been 55 passengers on board the plane and that the hijacker had demanded it land in either Turkey or Cyprus. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters the incident appeared to be motivated by personal reasons. "The hijacking is not terrorism-related," he told a joint news conference with the visiting president of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz. Asked about reports that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman, Anastasiades said: "Always there is a woman". Cyprus's Sigma television reported that the woman had been brought to the airport from her home village of Oroklini, accompanied by a young child. Cyprus state radio had earlier reported that the man was demanding asylum and had asked for a translator. A crisis team was deployed to the airport, the main entry point for tourists to the Mediterranean resort island. Agencies London, March 29 The Argentinean government is celebrating the historic decision of the United Nations Commission to expand its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 per cent to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. The UN Commission sided with Argentina on the limits of the continental shelf, ratifying the country's 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast, Guardian has reported. In 2013, a 99 per cent of Falkland islanders voted to stay as a British overseas territory. Despite the referendum, Argentina holds out hope of owning the territory which it calls the Malvinas. The decision by UN chiefs could allow Buenos Aires to claim natural resources in the sea around the British island. Britain fought Argentina for the islands in 1982 and has since been responsible for its defence and foreign affairs. Argentina minister Susana Malcorra last night hailed the "historic" decision of the UN Commission. The UN Commission's finding included the caveat that there is an unresolved diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain over the islands. The Falklands are internally self-governing, but Britain is responsible for its defence and foreign affairs. The British government says islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentinean sovereignty against their will. ANI Washington, March 29 Pakistan's involvement with jihadi groups at the highest level for "liberating" Jammu and Kashmir has backfired, former diplomat Husain Haqqani said on Tuesday after a deadly terror in Lahore that killed more than 70 people. The Pakistani establishment remained reluctant to declare an all-out war against terrorist groups despite having failed in their plans, Haqqani, the country's former envoy to the US, told PBS in an interview. "Pakistan's involvement with jihadi groups initially was primarily as a strategic investment, which was supposed to bring them benefits through influence in Afghanistan and the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir from India. That has backfired," said Haqqani. "Now, even though it has backfired, Pakistan has been very selective in going after these jihadi groups. That is the reason why the jihadis pick specific targets like Shias, Ahmadis or Christians, to improve their recruitment, playing on various kinds of polarisation, and taking advantage of that to advance in society further," he said. "The real problem lies in that attitude of the government of trying to protect the parties in Punjab, while going after the terrorists in other parts of the country, but not in the Punjab. That's what has come back to bite them," he said. Haqqani said that the Pakistani military and civilian leadership were easily distracted by delusions of fighting India and its influence in Afghanistan and allowing certain jihadi groups to pursue those objectives, not realising that they can end up having offshoots, just like the Pakistani Taliban emerged out of the Afghan Taliban. "The Pakistani component of the Afghan Taliban ended up becoming a separate group. And now Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has broken away from the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan has to make a decision to go after all terrorist groups, as well as the mindset that breeds these terrorists. And Pakistan has not been able to make that decision," he observed. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for Sunday's grisly suicide attack in Lahore. Haqqani said the Pakistani establishment refused to taking action against India-centric terrorist groups. "The state has not taken the measures that are necessary to isolate them all. So, there are groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed that attack India. They are spared. Once they are spared, it's very possible that some of their members will actually join splinter groups which will attack Pakistan," he argued. PTI SAN FRANCISCO: Chase Bank blocked online payment of Bruce Francis (55) to his dog walker because his service dog's name sounded like a dreaded terror network. Bruce was transferring USD 374 to his dog walker and wrote his dogs name Dash in the memo line. The bank thought the dog's name loosely resembles the terrorist network Daesh, another name for ISIS. The bank flagged the transfer for review by the US Treasury Department, which posted a note asking explain what Dash means. Francis, who suffers a muscular dystrophy and relies on his nine-year-old service animal, told the Office of Foreign Assets Control that Dash is his dog's name. The payment was then processed. AFP N Korea fires short-range projectile into sea SEOUL: North Korea test-fired a short-range missile into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday. It was the third such launch in two weeks, as the state stepped up its military threats to protest ongoing Seoul-Washington joint army drills being held south of the border. The missile was fired from a location near the eastern city of Wonsan which flew about 200 km. The latest launch comes ahead of trilateral talks between the leaders of the US, Japan and the South aimed at discussing the growing threat of a nuclear-armed North. AFP China names its first special envoy for Syria BEIJING: China on Tuesday appointed its first special envoy for the Syrian crisis, a career diplomat who has served as ambassador to Iran, as it seeks a more active role in the Middle East. While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tends to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia. But China has been trying to get more involved, including recently hosting both Syria's foreign minister and Opposition figures, though at different times. The new special envoy for Syria is Xie Xiaoyan, who was most recently China's ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union. Reuters Woman faces sedition trial for posing with plastic bowl BANGKOK: A Thai woman, Theerawan Charoensuk (54), has been charged with sedition, police said today, after photos were spread of her holding a red bowl allegedly bearing a goodwill note apparently signed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose powerful political dynasty is locked in a decade-long struggle with the kingdom's military-backed royalist elite. AFP Yuriy Tandyt, an advisor to the chief of Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, expressed doubts that it is possible to exchange Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, who has been recently sentenced by a Russian court to 22 years in prison, for Russian intelligence officers Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov, whose trial is about to end in Ukraine. "Ask the question 'Why was [Alexandrov's] lawyer [Yuriy Hrabovsky] killed?' We are interested to see these two members of the Russian Armed Forces receive a court decision as soon as possible," Tandyt told Interfax-Ukraine when commenting on the alleged possibility of a swap of the Russian servicemen for Savchenko before they have been handed their sentence. "The president was open to the handover of [Russian Major] Vladimir Starkov and issued a decree on parole and then we managed to get Andriy Hrechanov released in exchange for Starkov. As for these two [Yerofeyev and Alexandrov] and their further fate, we can see by now that, obviously, Russians may not need them. Why? Because if they [Russians] take them, this will constitute a proof or confirmation of the fact that Russia doesn't implement the Minsk agreements and members of the Russian special operation forces, not just Russian citizens, fight here in our territory, executing orders," Tandit said. "We are ready for any kind of compromises. And what we have to take into account is the stance of the neighboring state: they need to save face in a bad game. All signs indicate that for now, they cannot gain understanding themselves of how to legalize these two citizens of theirs," Tandit added. It was reported earlier that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on March 22 that he is ready to hand over to Russia, in exchange for Savchenko, the two Russian servicemen detained in Ukrainian territory and to do so immediately after the Russians are handed their sentence by the court in Kyiv. Poroshenko stressed that such an approach is consistent with Clause 6 of the Minsk Agreements. Yerofeyev and Alexandrov were detained near the town of Schastia, in Luhansk region, on May 16, 2015. Kyiv claimed they were trying to seize a strategic bridge. On May 19, 2015 Ukrainian detectives told the Russians, whom they deemed to be servicemen from the Russian Armed Forces, that they were suspected of terrorism. The trial of the two Russians started in Kyiv's Holosiyivsky District Court on November 10, 2015. ANCHORAGE, Alaska Strong winds Monday pushed an ash cloud from an Alaska volcano into the heart of the state, grounding flights and limiting travel to western and northern communities off the road system. Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaskas most active volcanoes, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. The volcano in the 8,261-foot mountain erupted about 4 p.m. Sunday, spitting out an ash cloud that rose to 20,000 feet. Lightning over the mountain and pressure sensors indicated eruptions continued overnight By 7 a.m. Monday, the ash cloud had risen to 37,000 feet and winds to 50 mph or more had stretched it over more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. Its right in the wheelhouse of a lot of flights crisscrossing Alaska, said geologist Chris Waythomas, of the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, along with the University of Alaska and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. Alaska Airlines before noon canceled 20 flights affecting about 1,300 customers heading to Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Barrow and Deadhorse, spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said. No flights to Anchorage or Fairbanks had been canceled, but Egan said the company was closely monitoring the Fairbanks route. Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and has been used as an industrial abrasive. The powdered rock can cause a jet engine to shut down. USGS geologists have compared it to flying into a sand blaster. An eruption of Mount Redoubt in December 1989 sent out an ash cloud 150 miles that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers to Anchorage. The jet dropped more than two miles before pilots were able to restart the engines and land safely. We just simply will not fly when ash is present, Egan said. Waythomas had received no reports of ash falling in communities. The closest community, Cold Bay, is 37 miles southwest of the volcano, opposite of where the wind was blowing ash. Geologists call Pavlof an open-system volcano, Waythomas said. The pathways that magma follows to the surface are pretty open in a volcanological sense, Waythomas said. They can convey magma and gas very easily. Magmas can move to the surface whenever they feel like it, more or less. The movement comes with little shaking of the ground, and the lack of earthquakes as an early warning of an eruption makes us go crazy monitoring them, Waythomas said. The volcano, about 4.4 miles in diameter, has had 40 known eruptions. Its conical, nearly symmetrical shape indicates its eruptions tend to be less violent than the kind that blows tops off mountains. It can erupt for periods of hours to days or it can go on for much longer periods of time, Waythomas said. It wont erupt continuously for many months or a year. It will be intermittent. But the eruption cycle could go on for a while, or it could abruptly shut off and be done tomorrow. The USGS raised the volcano alert to its highest level, which warns of hazards both in the air and on the ground. FLINT, Mich. An official with Flint's water plant said Tuesday he had planned to treat the drinking water with anti-corrosive chemicals after the city began drawing from the Flint River nearly but was overruled by a state environmental regulator. Mike Glasgow, then a supervisor at the plant and now the municipal utilities administrator, said he received the instruction from district engineer Mike Prysby of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality during a meeting to discuss the final steps before Flint switched from the Detroit water system as a cost-saving measure in April 2014. Glasgow said Prysby told him a year of water testing was required before a decision could be made on whether corrosion controls were needed, which the state DEQ has since acknowledged was a misreading of federal regulations on preventing lead and copper pollution. The omission enabled lead to leach from aging pipes and fixtures and contaminate tap water that reached some homes, businesses and schools. "I did have some concerns and misgivings at first," Glasgow said before a joint legislative committee investigating the Flint water crisis. "But unfortunately, now that I look back, I relied on engineers and the state regulators to kind of direct the decision. I looked at them as having more knowledge than myself." He added, "Now when I look back and as I move forward, wherever my career takes me, you can believe I will question some of the decisions of regulators above me in the future." Lee Anne Walters, who helped draw official attention to the problem after high lead levels were discovered in her house, told The Associated Press that hearing of the DEQ official's instruction to the city made her "nauseous." "That one meeting was the difference between this city being poisoned and not being poisoned," she said. A task force appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder last week described the state as "fundamentally accountable" for Flint's lead-contaminated water crisis, partly because of the decision on corrosion controls. The group's report said the DEQ was primarily to blame, while the state Department of Health and Human Service and local and federal officials also made mistakes. Flint, an impoverished city of nearly 100,000, was under control of emergency managers appointed by Snyder when decisions were made to switch the water sources and later to forgo corrosion treatments. Oklahoma is at the countrys forefront in potential hazards from man-made earthquakes, with ground-shaking risks similar to seismic hotbeds in California. A study released Monday by the United States Geological Survey stands as an earthquake forecast for the rest of 2016. The Fairview area tops the charts at a 10 percent to 12 percent chance of experiencing a damaging earthquake, with a significant swath of central and north-northwestern Oklahoma tabbed at a 5 percent to 10 percent chance. The risks in Oklahoma are comparable to high-hazard sites in California from natural seismicity, according to USGS. This year, a 5.1-magnitude quake already struck northwest of Fairview on Feb. 13, the third strongest in the states history. The study defines the threshold of a damaging quake as one that causes minor damage, such as cracks in walls or fallen plaster, and evaluates potential for ground shake in an earthquake to cause damage. How much the ground shakes involves several factors, including strength, depth and type of ground, which USGS officials say makes it difficult to correlate generally with Richter scale magnitudes. USGS forecast uses the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale, notating a quake is considered damaging at a VI on a spectrum from I to X. For perspective, the 5.6-magnitude quake in Prague in 2011 registered as a VII or an VIII on the MMI scale. The Prague quake destroyed several homes and damaged many more. The study is the first time USGS has calculated induced seismicity into its forecasts. The study indicates 7 million people now live near induced seismic activity, with the majority of that population in the vicinity of Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth. In the central and eastern U.S., USGS notes in order from highest risk to low are Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas. Justin Rubinstein, deputy chief of the USGS Induced Seismicity project, said there often is a reduction in quakes where mitigation measures have been implemented. However, scientists are awaiting more data to evaluate Oklahomas efforts, which didnt target widespread or even local volume reductions until this past summer. If you look at southern Kansas, new rules were put in place in March of last year and we have seen a reduction in the seismicity, Rubinstein said. If you look at the Greenbrier sequence in Arkansas, they shut down the wells that were believed to be related to the earthquakes, and the earthquakes subsided very quickly. So we have seen in other locations where new regulations, new restrictions on injection have changed the earthquakes. But I think for Oklahoma specifically, were still waiting for more data to come in. The study looks at the central and eastern U.S., with its authors opting to exclude the West Coast because induced seismicity isnt suspected to have a significant effect on natural quake hazards already present. The forecast is intended as a supplemental to the nationwide 50-year forecast put out in 2014, which didnt take into account induced seismicity. Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project, said the forecast map is crucial for policymakers to be better informed and to initiate a public dialogue. Petersen said most experts involved in the studys workshop thought a magnitude 6.0 quake in Oklahoma is plausible, but they also couldnt rule out an even stronger one. Geologic evidence indicates in prehistoric times there was a magnitude 7.0 quake in what is now Oklahoma, he said. I dont know why we couldnt have another one of those at the current time, Petersen said. Scientists point to wastewater produced by oil and gas operations that is disposed of back into the ground through the deepest injection wells as the most concerning culprit of man-made quakes. The Tulsa World in mid-January reported on a recent Oklahoma Geological Survey study, which showed an 81 percent jump from 2009 to 2014 in wastewater volumes pumped back underground from oil and gas activities. The rise coincides with the states leap in seismicity. Even more strikingly, wastewater injected into the Arbuckle the states deepest geologic formation ballooned 141 percent in the same period. Gov. Mary Fallins office released a statement on the latest USGS study, saying the research supports the actions the state has been taking to reduce induced seismicity. Recent declines in produced wastewater disposal in Oklahoma are not reflected in the USGS map, Fallin said in the statement. This gives us even a stronger base in going forward and gives state regulators further justification for what they are doing. State Rep. Richard Morissette, D-Oklahoma City, took issue with Fallins characterization of Oklahomas response. What the governor fails to mention is that her administration was more than a year late in responding to all of the seismic activity in Oklahoma, Morissette said in a prepared statement. Foundations, walls and ceiling were cracking for at least two years before this governor and the Corporation Commission took this issue seriously. Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy released a statement, also citing the forecast as justification for actions taken by state regulators. This first effort by the USGS is understandably limited in scope, but continued development will provide another important tool for Oklahoma and other states that are working to reduce earthquake risk, Murphy said. A lot is changing in state government, with gashes to the budget reaching into the bone of social services and education. But not everyone is bleeding. As teachers flee the profession, mentally ill people go without treatment and parents at risk of abusing their children are left to their own devices, lawmakers, administrators and some judges get the same or more pay. And tax rates and tax incentives for companies are not changing. The state budget has failed twice. Its a real term, meaning there are more expenses than income, and an official process requires all agencies to make cuts in equal percentages. Equal does not mean fair, and it certainly doesnt mean priorities are changing at the state level. Also, equal doesnt consider that some agencies have access to outside revenue such as fees for services. While workers on the front lines are disappearing, the ranks of decision-makers and upper management dont seem to be taking a hit. Maybe a switch to incentive pay would spur swifter transformation. Interconnected cycle: Heres a rundown of what two state budget failures have meant, so far. Also, this isnt the end. At least 73,000 mentally ill and addicted Oklahomans will not get or will have significantly less treatment. Wait times will get longer, even though 600 people who qualify for state mental health services are already on waiting lists. Limits will be placed on amounts of therapy. This stems from the $22.8 million in cuts since January in the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The effects really sting, considering Oklahoma is No. 2 in the nation for the rate of adults with serious mental illness and ranks last in spending per capita on mental health among all states. More than 700 positions have been permanently eliminated at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. No more families with developmentally disabled children will be accepted into a cash benefit program, and a program helping low-income people with one-time payments for energy costs is almost non-existent. The heralded ADvantage Waiver program, which allows older and disabled people to live in their homes instead of nursing or assisted living facilities, is reducing payments to providers. This comes from DHS slashing $43.5 million in this fiscal year, on top of the $64 million in cuts from last year. A fund to help community health centers serve indigent patients is being eliminated as part of the $4.2 million reduction at the Oklahoma Health Department. It is also closing some county health departments and discontinuing money for things like the Tulsa Parent Child Centers Healthy Families program. That is where struggling parents can get at-home visitations for education, training and resources to prevent abuse and neglect. Prison payroll is coming in at a $5.7 million deficit, and the corrections system is $1 million short in its medical budget to care for prisoners, which ranks at No. 1 in female incarceration and No. 4 for males. Not to mention education, with its $110 million in cuts. For nearly a decade, officials have been warning of dire consequences of underfunding public schools. The state ranks No. 1 in education reductions since 2008 and nearly at the bottom in total support. Well-documented stories show a lack of qualified teachers, surging classroom sizes, no money for arts and sports, a dwindling substitute-teacher pool and a move to four-day weeks. Last week, Oklahoma City announced layoffs of at least 200 teachers. Education Week gave Oklahoma a D+ and 46th quality placement among 50 states earlier this year. Last year, Oklahoma ranked 48th among states in education spending, above South Dakota and Mississippi. But earlier this month, South Dakota approved a one-half percent sales tax to increase the schools budget, so Oklahoma will likely slip lower in the rankings. See how these programs touch each other? If a mentally ill or addicted parent cannot access treatment or a parenting course, the likelihood rises for abuse or neglect of children, which could lead to prisons. Those children are going to be ill-prepared for school, which brings down test scores, adds to the drop-out rates and reduces a qualified workforce. Its a cycle. The needed interventions are slipping away. Legislative salaries: To their credit, lawmakers have not had a wage increase since 1998. At that time, their pay was among the highest in the country. Now, not so much. At $38,400 a year, the state is sitting at about 17th in the nation, according the National Conference for State Legislatures. Not bad for working 90 days a year. More than 1,000 state employees received raises during a governor-imposed hiring freeze, according to the Daily Oklahoman. This includes 75 workers in the state finance office getting annual raises of at least $10,000, and the state Court of Criminal Appeals giving its judges and 22 of its employees bumps in pay. Until last year, top elected leaders had pay tied to the pay of state judges. Now, how about linking legislative salaries to teacher pay or that of a food-stamp worker? A much-needed priority transformation is in order. Rep. Jason Murphy, R-Guthrie, once proposed using Oklahoma household incomes as a barometer for legislative salaries. For a body constantly bringing up incentive pay for government employees, this seems right. Lawyer of Bout, Yaroshenko finds it expedient to swap them for Savchenko The probability of swapping Russians Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are jailed in the United States, for Ukrainian serviceman Nadia Savchenko exists, and this exchange would be in the interests of all the parties, U.S. lawyer from Russia Alexei Tarasov told Interfax. "The probability (of the swap) is above zero. From my point of view, as a lawyer of Bout and Yaroshenko, this swap would make sense and would be expedient," he told the news agency on Tuesday. Asked if he knew something about ongoing talks on this score, the lawyer replied: "I cannot say that I am not informed, but I cannot disclose the specifics. So, no comment." Tarasov recalled that both Bout and Yaroshenko have already served a third of their prison terms: Bout has been in U.S. prison for nine years, Yaroshenko six. "These are draconian terms that they got for simply having sat at the table with provocateurs," the lawyer stressed. Furthermore, he recalled that both Russians' cases are currently in the process of being appealed. "There is a likelihood that during the appeal process, the verdicts will be changed, and they will be released without any swap," Tarasov said. This is why a possible exchange of Savchenko for Bout and Yaroshenko is "in the interest of everyone, and we welcome this initiative," he said. Several sources familiar with the situation told Interfax earlier on Tuesday that Savchenko may be exchanged for a group of Russians, including Bout and Yaroshenko, who are serving prison sentences in the U.S. Savchenko's lawyer, for his part, said that he has not heard of any such possible exchange, but would be happy with such an outcome. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt told reporters in Kyiv that he views such an exchange option as absurd. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said that Bout and Yaroshenko have nothing to do with Savchenko. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, said that the Kremlin has no information at this point about a possible swap of Savchenko for Russians Bout and Yaroshenko, who are jailed in the United States. OKLAHOMA CITY A Senate panel killed a bill Monday that would have cut 111,000 Oklahomans, mostly women, from Medicaid. House Bill 2665, by Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove, and Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, died in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The vote was three for the bill and five against it. The bill had passed the Oklahoma House earlier this month. It took aim at able-bodied adults, leaving children and the aged, blind and disabled covered. Crain said he was surprised to learn that the program was serving able-bodied adults, and he said the measure was needed so the state could use its limited resources to ensure children, as well as the aged, blind and disabled adults, would receive services. When questioned, he said he did not have a definition of able-bodied adult. Voting for the measure were Crain and Sens. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, and Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City. Voting against the measure were Sens. Kim David, R-Porter; Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City; A.J. Griffin, R-Guthrie; Anastasia Pittman, D-Oklahoma City; and Kyle Loveless, R-Oklahoma City. Griffin said she was concerned the measure would have resulted in more children being placed in the child-welfare system because about 14,000 adults whose Medicaid would have been cut are receiving mental health treatment, and losing mental health services could lead to their being unable to take care of their children. David Blatt, executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, said senators did the right thing in voting down HB 2665, which would have kicked tens of thousands of the states lowest-income parents off Medicaid. This proposal wouldve simply added to the already-swollen ranks of the uninsured and to the uncompensated care burdens facing hospitals and other health-care providers, he said. The state is experiencing a deepening revenue failure in the current fiscal year, and the bill was offered as a cost-savings measure in the midst of a financial situation in which the state expects to have $1.3 billion less in the fiscal year 2017 budget. Yen, a doctor, said he voted for the measure to ensure Medicaid payment rates to providers did not drop further. He said he has heard from some physicians and others that if provider rates were cut further, they would quit seeing Medicaid patients. Cox, a medical doctor, said he was disappointed the measure failed, but that he doesnt plan to try to revive it. MIAMI, Okla. An alleged plan to steal drugs and money that led to the fatal shooting of an Ottawa County man has three people, including the teenage sister of the victim, facing murder and robbery charges, District Attorney Kenny Wright said Monday. Brandon Lee Jones, 39, of Picher and John Kelvin Rather Jr., 34, of Miami, Oklahoma, are charged in Ottawa County District Court with first-degree murder by deliberate intent or, in the alternative, felony murder in the slaying of Caleb Friend, 25, of Miami. Kylie Friend, 17, also of Miami, is charged as an adult with felony murder. The three defendants also are charged with conjoint robbery and conspiracy to commit conjoint robbery a robbery by two or more people. Caleb Friend was found shot to death at a residence in the 300 block of K Street Northwest about 11:35 p.m. Jan. 19, according to a news release issued at the time. Jones and Kylie Friend were taken into custody Monday, while law enforcement officers continue to search for Rather, according to a prepared statement released by Wright. Kylie Friend told investigators she had been upset with her brother, Caleb Friend, because he had kicked her out of his house, according to an arrest affidavit. She said she was told by Jones and Rather that the shooting was an accident and that we didnt mean for this to happen we just wanted the money and weed, the affidavit states. The court document states Rather confessed to a friend, who told investigators: They robbed Caleb and things got out of hand. Brandon went to pistol whip the kid and the gun went off. Caleb Friend reportedly was robbed of $16. Investigators continue to investigate whether other individuals helped in an attempt to cover up the slaying. Correction This story originally misstated the financial loss experienced by the Sapulpa school district. The story has been corrected. SAPULPA Sapulpa Public Schools has sent out a survey to parents asking for feedback regarding possible steps by the district to deal with the states budget crisis, including virtual class days with students on computers, and eliminating fall/spring breaks. In an effort to place our district in the best financial position possible, (Sapulpa Public Schools) is looking at numerous options that impact overall financial planning for the district and that will ultimately impact classrooms and your student(s), an email sent to parents states. It is our desire that we make the best financial decisions possible for the district and want to consider your preferences and opinions in our discussions. Superintendent Kevin Burr said Sapulpa lost $733,000 this year and is projecting a cut of $1.8 million to $2.3 million next school year. That does not factor any money that could come from the Rainy Day fund. Parents are asked to rank certain scenarios as being the most harmful or least harmful to students. In a question targeting student attendance, the district asks parents to rank options such as a four-day school week and no school on the fifth day, four days in school and virtual school on a fifth day, and even three days in school with virtual school on two days. In a question regarding calendar options, the district asks parents to rank options that include structuring a school year that eliminates all breaks except national holidays to allow the school buildings to remain closed for as long as possible. This option would eliminate fall and spring breaks. Another option in this question is structuring the calendar with a shorter school day and requiring students to attend year-round. Other questions revolve around options that have been mentioned in other districts, such as reducing or eliminating fine arts, sports and other extracurricular activities, and eliminating teacher positions and increasing class sizes. All of these options are bad for kids, bad for Sapulpa Public Schools, Burr said. But he said the dire budget situation means everything must be considered. He said that when he entered public education more than 30 years ago, he never imagined these conversations would ever happen. In terms of virtual school days, Burr said the technology in place now would make that option doable, if it came down to it. The districts new one-to-one initiative has been rolled out, and nearly three-fourths of students already have the requisite devices. Burr said this option, if implemented, would probably apply only to secondary students. Burr said the district will likely have a finalized plan about how to address next years cuts by mid-May. He said officials are holding out as long as possible in the hopes that the Legislature can find a solution. Our goal has always been to minimize the impact to the classroom and to maintain all student instructional programs, while protecting the fund balance, the email to parents says. Our district has done a remarkable job of doing just that over the past several years involving previous cuts to educational revenues and want to continue to do so. The district must now evaluate the impact of all programs on students, the email says. The survey is intended as a way to receive parental feedback and is not an indication that any decisions have been made, it says. We want to be upfront and thorough in our communication on what types of programs we may need to evaluate and possibly trim or eliminate to ensure financial security for the district, the email says. Surveys for the Sapulpa district, found at surveymonkey.com/r/5TZ97HB, must be completed by Friday. Tulsa Public Schools has sent out a similar survey. MUSKOGEE A former Muskogee County Jail employee was arrested on a first-degree rape charge stemming from an allegation that he sexually assaulted an inmate last June, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday. Muskogee County authorities dismissed Harold Eugene Shinn III, 22, from his job in January after learning of the claim that he had an illegal sexual encounter with a female inmate, according to an OSBI news release. The sheriffs office had requested OSBI look into what the release said was an improper relationship between Shinn and the woman. The release states Shinn and the woman had similar stories about the encounter, and a deputy sheriff arrested Shinn at his home Tuesday morning. A probable cause affidavit states he had sex with the woman in the Muskogee County Jail medical area June 11, which regardless of whether the woman consented is illegal, because she was in state custody. The affidavit goes on to say Shinn admitted to his actions, but that he said he stopped since he began to have a guilty conscience because he knew he should not have sex with inmates. He was assigned to work in the medical area on the day of the incident, an OSBI agent said. Court records show Shinn was convicted in a 2013 Muskogee County felony burglary case, for which he received a five-year deferred sentence. Prosecutors have filed an application to accelerate in that case based on the new charges. ATLANTA Forecasters say storms could produce tornadoes in several states across the South and flooding in Mississippi, where up to 5 inches of rain could fall. The national Storm Prediction Center says nearly 60 million people in several states including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi will be at risk for severe storms Wednesday into Thursday. In Mississippi, forecasters say multiple rounds of storms could drop 3-5 inches of rain, with even higher amounts in some spots. In Alabama, forecasters say hail to the size of quarters will be possible in parts of the state, including Birmingham. Rain totals between 2 to 3 inches are being forecast for northern Alabama. Forecasters say many large cities will be at risk, including Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and New Orleans. Eastern Oklahoma forecast calls for hail potential; rain The weather service forecasts chances of thunderstorms tonight as moisture surges into the region from the gulf of Mexico in advance of the next storm system. Some of these storms could be strong to severe, with large hail possible, according to the weather service. Additional thunderstorms are expected to develop Wednesday afternoon across central Oklahoma near the dryline and move east into eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas later Wednesday afternoon and night. Some of these Wednesday thunderstorms could also be severe, the weather service forecasts. Rain likely Wednesday in Tulsa area In Tulsa, a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms is forecast tonight, with a 60 percent chance Wednesday, mainly before 1 p.m., according to the weather service. New rainfall amounts between 0.1 and 0.25 of an inch are expected in Tulsa, but higher amounts are possible with a thunderstorm. Rain chances fall to 30 percent Wednesday night. As of Monday, Tulsa has recorded 2.10 inches of rain this month, which is 0.84 of an inch below normal for this time of March. The most recent rainfall recorded was 0.06 of an inch on Sunday. Tulsa's temperatures are forecast to reach the 70s today and Wednesday, but highs are forecast to fall to the 60s Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Overnight lows in the 60s are forecast tonight, but could fall to the upper 30s by Friday night, the weather service forecasts. As of Monday, Tulsa's average temperature this month is 5 degrees above normal. The highest was 82 degrees on March 23, while the lowest was 31 degrees on Monday and March 19, according to the weather service. It turns out that the most important voice in the Supreme Court nomination battle is not the American peoples, as Senate Republicans have insisted from the moment Justice Antonin Scalia died last month. It is not even that of the senators. Its the National Rifle Associations. That is what the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said the other day when asked about the possibility of considering and confirming President Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, after the November elections. I cant imagine that a Republican majority in the United States Senate would want to confirm, in a lame-duck session, a nominee opposed by the National Rifle Association, he told Fox News Sunday. Put aside the absurd rationales Senate Republicans have trotted out for not holding a hearing on the Garland nomination, and consider how extreme this latest position is. It's Divali time so at TV6 over the next few days, we bring you some of the interesting aspe Tonight on Foreign Correspondent, reporter Barbara Miller looks at Germanys racism tensions following a mass assault on women in Cologne, a plea for tolerance and silencing debate. A mob sexual assault on young women revellers on New Years Eve snapped Germanys celebrated tolerance of mass migration. What happened? Why was it hushed up? How has it changed the nation? Barbara Miller investigates. Welcome culture the generosity that has seen Germany embrace more than a million new migrants in the past year is wearing thin. If there was a single moment that sowed doubt in the national psyche, it came during New Years Eve festivities outside Colognes Gothic cathedral. The whole place in front of the cathedral was full of people and after some moments we realised it was just men. They were pushing and pulling at our clothes Michelle, New Years Eve reveller Just as Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered her televised New Years speech with a plea for tolerance and integration, hundreds of women in Cologne were being surrounded, sexually assaulted and robbed by rampaging bands of drunken men. Two women were allegedly raped. They touched us everywhere they could, between the legs and at our breasts Michelle The girls pushed them away but they forced themselves on the girls Yassin, Moroccan migrant and eyewitness As Europe Correspondent Barbara Miller reports, police and media initially downplayed the incident. But as days went by, Germans learned that more than 1000 complaints of sexual assault and theft had been lodged, with the alleged assailants being described as North African and Middle Eastern. So Germany has been plunged into a culture war. Refugee supporters, derided for politically correct misguided tolerance of migration, are suddenly on the defensive. The German Right is on the march. There has always been a small right wing movement but a lot smaller than neighbouring countries because Germany really learnt its lesson after the Nazi era. But I am convinced that we have, for the first time since 1945, a growing right wing movement veteran magazine editor and feminist Alice Schwarzer By delving into the New Years Eve incident, Barbara Miller explores what some Germans call a culture of silence, born of Nazi times, that has long stifled national discussion on race issues. She asks how that one night in Cologne might change Germany. Will it be seen as a trigger for more open debate, or as a convulsion that further divides Germans and stokes the fires of racism? 9.30pm Tuesday March 29 on ABC. U.S. happy to cooperate with Ukraine in defense sector Pyatt The U.S. is satisfied with the progress of reforms in the Ukrainian defense sector and its cooperation with Kyiv in this area, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has said. Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, the diplomat said that he is proud of what they have achieved as Ukraine's partner in the defense sector. The ambassador also spoke about the Ukrainian military drills which involve foreign trainers. The reforms in the military sector are being implemented in Ukraine and Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak is successfully doing his part, Pyatt said. The ambassador also stressed the importance of the cooperation between Ukraine and NATO, recalling that the summit of the Alliance will be held in July. A campaign from Hollywood studios including Disney, Netflix and AMC has resulted in Georgia Governor Nathan Deal vetoing a bill that would have curtailed the rights of Georgias LGBT community. Hollywood studios, stars and power brokers joined with businesses corporations in criticising the House Bill 757 which would have given faith-based organisations in Georgia the option to deny services and jobs to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Studios threatened to pull productions from Atlanta, the Hollywood of the South which generates $1.7B in local investment. But Governor Deal today said he didnt think the bill was necessary. I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives, he said. He said he was not reacting to pressure from the faith-based community or responding to the business community, which warned Georgia could lose jobs if he signed the bill. Our people work side by side without regard to the color of our skin, or the religion we adhere to, he said. We are working to make life better for our families and our communities. That is the character of Georgia. I intend to do my part to keep it that way. For that reason, I will veto HB 757. In a statement Disney said, We applaud Governor Deal for making the right decision on this piece of legislation and look forward to continuing our film production in Georgia. The move comes as controversy swirls over a swiftly passed law in North Carolina that members of the LGBT community view as anti-gay. Source: CNN Artist Ben Quilty is this weeks guest on Julia Zemiros Home Delivery, as he takes her back to his childhood home in Kenthurst, north-west of Sydney. Archibald-prize winning artist Ben Quilty grew up on the very edge of Sydney, in and around the bushland surrounding the Hawkesbury River. With his two brothers and their mates, he explored the canyons and caves around his parents house, stashing tinned goods and other essentials in preparation for nuclear war. In this Home Delivery, Ben collects Julia in his menacing muscle-car and takes her back to his childhood home in Kenthurst on the edge of suburbia. He shows her the bedroom he turned into his first art studio, adorning the ceiling and walls with vivid imagery. They visit Kenthurst Public School and Ben remembers a time of great happiness, a sharp contrast to the shock of the authoritarian high school that followed it. Young Ben rebelled against what he saw as unnecessary brutality and spent his early manhood in a daze of alcohol and risk-taking with a group of mates who called themselves the Maggots. Beside the Hawkesbury River, Ben introduces Julia to one of the Maggots, known as Lloydy, and they reflect on the wild times of their youth, agreeing that they were lucky to make it out alive. After saying goodbye to Lloydy, Ben and Julia discuss Bens work; his time as Australias official war artist in Afghanistan; and his friendship with Bali 9 ringleader Myuran Sukumaran. Ben tells Julia of the parallels he saw between Myuran and his own troubled times as a young man and his belief that young men need much more help to make the transition in adulthood. 8.00pm Wednesday 30 March ABC. UK comedy actor Kevin Bishop is set to star in the one-off BBC remake of Porridge. Bishop, who has appeared in The Kevin Bishop Show, Star Stories and Super Fun Night, will feature as the grandson of Ronnie Barkers original character, Norman Stanley Fletcher, who has been jailed for computer hacking. He leaked the news on social media before deleting it. The BBC has not yet confirmed any casting news. The new script has been written by Porridges creators Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and is a one of a number of sitcoms reboots celebrating 60 years of BBC Comedy. Source: Chortle Students participating in the UD Alternative Breaks program receive instructions on the day's agenda and also safety precautions. UD students work pulling up rocks and tree roots to smooth out the Graysville section of the Cumberland Trail in east Tennessee. 4:33 p.m., March 29, 2016--A total of 344 University of Delaware Alternative Break (UDaB) students took to the road on Saturday, March 26, traveling to 14 locations across the U.S. for one week of giving back. UDaB participants spent their spring break working on service projects ranging from trail development in Cumberland, Tennessee, to literacy work in Washington, D.C., and youth development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A video about the 2016 program is available on the University's YouTube channel. The UDaB program, student-run and student-led, was founded in 2010 with its first programs piloted in the spring of 2011. UDaB has grown immensely since its inception, beginning that year with 104 students who traveled to five communities. The start to this springs adventures began on Monday, March 21, with an official sendoff, at which Acting President Nancy Targett addressed the group. As a University, we do more than 250,000 hours of service annually, she said. This commitment to serving others has earned the University a Carnegie Community Engagement classification. Each of the 2016 UDaB Spring Break trips is being led by a team of site leaders -- there are 31 site leaders in all -- who are experienced participants with a passion for helping others and for encouraging students to make the most of their time. Katie Hogan, a junior biomedical engineering major and co-site leader of the Orland, Maine, rural poverty trip, said her love for UDaB stems from a new, enriching experience each year. Im probably most excited to interact with the community members and the other volunteers that are in Orland, to understand how they live their lives, what we can do to help them, and the lessons we can bring home, she said. However, its not just the local community that she learns from. Thats what makes this so great. You are meeting students that you wouldnt meet otherwise on campus and each one contributes something unique. David Yee, Hogans counterpart and senior business management major, is looking forward to seeing how each of his participants transforms. I really want to give people the experience I was given, he said. This springs trips follow two successful winter legacy endeavors, one with Bright Beginnings, an early learning center for children living in homeless environments in Washington, D.C. This program has run consistently in the spring since UDaBs inception. The other, a community rebuilding trip with Bridges to Community, took place in Nicaragua. At the spring sendoff event, Guido Iammatteo, a three-time UDaB participant and senior hotel, restaurant and institutional management major, gave students a key piece of advice: Pour yourself into the experience. You cant go wrong. In addition to the 14 UDaB trips, Residence Life and Housing, the Blue Hen Leadership Program, the School of Nursing and the Honors Program are conducting spring service learning in six domestic and international locations. To follow University of Delaware Alternative Breaks participants through the remainder of their service learning trip, follow @UDaBreaks on Twitter, bookmark the Storify, and engage using the hashtag #UDaB2016. For more details on UDaB, visit the Service Learning website or contact Karen Lundin, academic program coordinator at the Institute for Global Studies. Article by Nikki Laws Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Evan Krape 1:24 p.m., March 29, 2016--Charles Rowe, University of Delaware professor emeritus of art, will be the honored artist at the Delaware Foundation for the Visual Arts 17th annual spring show to be held April 8-10 at the Hagley Museum Soda House in Wilmington. The event, which features an opportunity to purchase selected works of Rowe and over 50 Brandywine Valley artists, provides scholarships for high school art students in the First State. Rowes 1981 Black and White acrylic painting, the winning painting for the 1981 Delaware Duck Stamp and the only Delaware Duck Stamp painting now available for sale to the public, is among the works available. A veteran of numerous one-artist shows, Rowes works are featured in collections nationally and in Canada and Europe, including Archives, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Banco de Granada, Granada, Spain; NASA Space Museum, Cape Canaveral, Florida; and the Kevin Costner Collection, Hollywood, California. Rowe said that his interest in art began at an early age, and was encouraged by a fourth grade teacher in his native Great Falls, Montana, school. I went to school in Montana until I went into the Army, serving in Korea, Rowe said. After military service I went to Southern Methodist University for a year, and then received a scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I studied with artist Leroy Neiman. Rowe also received a master of fine arts degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. Working as a package designer in Greenville, South Carolina, while also tying to paint on his own, Rowe was encouraged by his wife Eugenia to give teaching at the college level a try. When I came to UD in 1964, I taught advertising graphic design and illustration, and my students won 55 national awards, Rowe said. The course was later changed to visual communications. During his 33-year tenure at UD, Rowe said he encouraged his students not to give up on a project or assignment just because a problem seemed insurmountable at the time. I would tell them to never say cant, Rowe said. I would let them know that while they might have a certain problem for which they did not know the answer, they would eventually solve it if they worked at it. If you say you cant, it means that you have given up. Rowe remembered one student who had dropped her final drawing for the course on Newarks Main Street, where it subsequently was run over by a tractor-trailer rig. I told her and the class that the original work was good, but the marks made by the tire treads make the painting even more unique and gave it an extra quality, Rowe said. I also enjoyed seeing students from small high schools do as well as those from schools with powerful art programs. Favorite artists for Rowe include Rembrandt, Salvador Dali, George Seurat, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Andrew Wyeth. Andy Wyeth was a great composer of white spaces in his painting, Rowe said. All of these people were also great thinkers and inventors. Through his current work embodies the dreamlike mystical qualities of surrealism, Rowes paintings also evidence a love of nature that reflects growing up in Montana in a family of outdoorsmen who fly fished nearby streams and rivers. Surrealism has been around since the 1450s. It used to be called fantasy painting, Rowe said. To me, surrealism is a bridge between realism and complete abstraction. About Black and White Rowes Black and White 1981 duck stamp award-winning painting, the only original Delaware duck stamp winning work still in private hands, will be available for purchase at the art show, with proceeds benefiting the Delaware Foundation for the Visual Arts. Flying close up over a snow-draped Delaware beach under a wintery full moon and displaying their white plumage with charcoal grey wingtips, the pair of snow geese immediately catch the eye and capture the imagination of the viewer. To get an idea of what I wanted to do, I visited the New York Museum of Natural History and the Delaware Museum of Natural History, Rowe said. I also visited the Egyptian collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, because the Egyptians often used animals as religious symbols. Whether his work evokes images of the real or surreal, or the world in between, Rowe has pursued a singular artistic vision and goal. People ask me what I try to do, Rowe said. My goal is to create something that will be understood in all countries around the world, forever. About the Delaware Foundation for Visual Arts The Delaware Foundation for Visual Arts is a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to the preservation of the art, with a mission to develop a wide ranging network of support and encouragement for the aspiring visual artist and to foster understanding and appreciation of art and its importance in society. The organization conducts regular workshops and provides critiques for members and holds the annual outdoor Greenville Summer Art Show, usually held in May or June. The 36-year-old organization also awards yearly scholarships with the Delaware College of Art and Design, a partnership between the Pratt Institute in New York City and the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. We encourage students to draw because we know that drawing is the foundation for works of excellence regardless of the medium used, Irma Reinhold, Delaware Foundation for Visual Arts founder and president, said. The high school art student has little opportunity for recognition, so we help provide recognition for these students by exhibiting the works they submit for our Excellence in Drawing Calendar competition also held each year at the Hagley spring show. The spring event usually draws from 1,200 to 1,500 attendees, and features paintings, pottery, jewelry, wood turned vessels and student drawings. For more information about the Delaware Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Spring Art Show, visit the website. Article by Jerry Rhodes Photo by Evan Krape For the first time there will be 12 teams in the final tournament Hosts Poland will be joined by 11 qualifiers in the finals in June 2017 The nine group winners qualify automatically The four runners-up with the best records against the sides first, third, fourth and fifth in their group will go into the play-offs for the remaining two berths FULL STANDINGS FULL FIXTURES Current top scorer: Michael Gregoritsch (Austria) 9 all the statistics Group 1 The Czech Republic look in control of their group after beating Latvia 2-1 and triumphing 7-0 in Malta. Montenegro won 2-1 in Belgium to join their hosts on 12 points, five behind the Czechs, whom they host in their next fixture on 1 September. Belgium, who had overcome Moldova 2-0 and visit Malta on 2 September four days before welcoming the Czechs in a potential group decider have four games left to their nearest rivals' three. Group 2 Italy hold a four-point lead over Slovenia thanks to a 4-1 success in the Republic of Ireland and a narrow 1-0 victory in Andorra. Slovenia beat Ireland 3-1 to dent their visitors' hopes and are second in the section, two points ahead of Serbia, who have a match in hand having won 4-0 in Andorra. Italy play Serbia on 2 September while Ireland face both Slovenia and Serbia next month. Group 3 France became the new leaders in March after seeing off Scotland 2-0 and drawing 1-1 with FYR Macedonia, who had previously held Iceland 0-0. In May, FYR Macedonia won 2-0 in Ukraine to move to within two points of France and level with Iceland, who have a game in hand. Scotland are four points further back and host FYR Macedonia on 2 September, when France visit Ukraine and Iceland go to Northern Ireland. Israel can still catch Portugal InTime Group 4 Portugal's 4-0 thrashing of Liechtenstein kept up their 100% record and left them six points ahead of Albania, who drew 0-0 with Greece and came from behind to beat Hungary 2-1 in their two March home fixtures. Israel drew 0-0 in Hungary and won 1-0 in Greece to remain within a point of Albania, who have played two games more than their rivals and lost twice to Portugal. That means Portugal will qualify by beating Israel, the only team that can catch them, on 2 September. Group 5 Unbeaten Denmark have opened up a three-point lead after triumphing 1-0 in Luxembourg and 3-1 in Armenia to prolong their perfect away record. Romania are second after moving one clear of Wales with a 2-1 victory. Bulgaria are a further point back after 0-0 draws with the Welsh and Luxembourg, who thus ended an seven-year, 14-game home losing streak in this competition. Denmark have a match in hand on all three of their closest rivals, and in September visit Wales and host Romania. Group 6 Croatia won 3-0 in Spain to avenge their 3-2 reverse in November and consolidated top spot in the group with a 2-1 home success against Estonia. Spain are five points off the summit and also three adrift of Sweden, who prevailed 2-0 in San Marino and 3-2 at home to Georgia, with both the Scandinavians and Spain having a game in hand on the leaders. On 1 September Croatia entertain Sweden, who four days later go to Spain. Max Meyer scores for Germany against the Faroes Getty Images Group 7 Germany extended their perfect record by following up a 4-1 defeat of the Faroe Islands with a 1-0 win in Russia. Austria are six points behind, with a match in hand, with Finland a further three points in arrears after June's 6-1 win in the Faroe Islands. Finland host Austria on 2 September and Germany four days later. Group 8 In the only March encounter in one of the two five-team groups, Slovakia thrashed Turkey 5-0 with an Adam Zrelak hat-trick to open up a three-point lead over the Netherlands, with Belarus two further back. Turkey themselves are still in contention, three points behind the Netherlands with a game in hand on the leading trio. In September, Slovakia visit Cyprus while Belarus welcome the Netherlands and journey to Turkey. Switzerland and England drew 1-1 Getty Images Group 9 England went three points clear of Switzerland in the other five-team section with November's 3-1 home success and they drew 1-1 in Thun to preserve that advantage. Switzerland now have a head-to-head deficit but do have a match in hand while Norway, a further point behind, have played one game less and were not in action this month. Norway head to Bosnia and Herzegovina and then England in September. The number of attacks, launched by the illegal armed groups on the positions of Ukrainian troops, has increased drastically. This is reported by the ATO press center. "The militants launched 72 attacks on the Ukrainian troops over the past day. The tensest situation was observed in Avdiyivka [18km north of Donetsk]. Here, the positions of our troops came under 120mm and 82mm mortar fire," reads the statement. In addition, the militants used the weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements to fire at Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk), Leninske (22km east of Mariupol), Mayorske (45km north of Donetsk), Zaitseve (67km north-north-east of Donetsk). ol On Wednesday, March 30, at 17.00, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency's press center will host a press conference titled "Kherson region as alternative vacation destination to Crimea" as part of the Travel MediaHUB project. The participants will include Deputy Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Vadym Chaban, Director of Kherson Regional State Administration's external communications and tourism Tetiana Volynets, Chairman of Kherson Regional Council's economy, investment, and tourism commission Yevhen Ryschuk, and First Deputy of Skadovsk District State Administration Serhiy Pavlenko (8/5-A Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. For more details, please call: (067) 463 6890 (Center for the Development of Tourism in Ukraine). No Ukrainian servicemen were killed as a result of armed hostilities but six soldiers were wounded in the ATO area in eastern Ukraine over the past day. One serviceman was killed as a result of a traffic accident. Spokesman for the Presidential Administration on the anti-terrorist operation, Colonel Oleksandr Motuzianyk said this at the briefing in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "No Ukrainian servicemen were killed but six our soldiers were wounded as a result of the armed hostilities over the past day," Motuzianyk said. ol Department of Consular Service of the MFA of Ukraine has noted a positive trend in increasing number of visas issued to Ukrainian nationals by the United States. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry posted the message on the official Facebook page. "Ukrainian Foreign Ministry welcomes the positive dynamics in rising quantity of visas issued to Ukrainian citizens by the U.S.," a statement said. According to information released by the U.S. State Department, the citizens of Ukraine were issued 77,203 non-immigrant visas in 2015 or an increase of 22.6 percent compared to 2014, and 4,166 immigrant visas. Most common visas issued to citizens of Ukraine - visa type B-1, B-2 (business / leisure 52,943); C-1/D (crew members 10,042); J (exchange program participants 7,215). "Ukraine is in fact ranked 5th among the European countries for the number of issued non-immigrant visas to the United States in 2015", the Foreign Ministry noted. It is also reported that the U.S. has substantially liberalized visa procedures for Ukrainian citizens, enabling tens of thousands of Ukrainians to visit the United States. The European Union and India will discuss the situation in Ukraine and pay attention to the support of territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state. The sides will discuss and are planning to include this in a joint declaration on the results of the EU-India summit in Brussels on Wednesday, a representative of the EU Council told own Ukrinform correspondent. The both sides are expected to discuss the situation in Ukraine and make a stress on their firm support to the sovereignty of all the states and respect for territorial integrity. The leaders will also call on all the sides for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the representative of the EU Council said. iy Former deputy prosecutor general David Sakvarelidze, who has been earlier dismissed by Viktor Shokin, says he doesnt plan to leave the country. He said this at a briefing on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Im a citizen of Ukraine. Ive stated not once that Im not going to run away or go somewhere. I have responsibilities; Ive given a promise to the Ukrainian people. This is for me just a human, professional, mens and moral challenge to fight till the end, Sakvarelidze said. He also called on the politicians and the society to observe that a worthy person become a new prosecutor general, and not be afraid to change the prosecutor generals agencies. iy Ofer Kerzner, the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Jerusalem, the innovator, successful businessman and investor, received special nomination Creative Investor in Crisis Times. Mr. Kerzner received this award in the Creative Social Project of the Year nomination for one of his projects Art-zavod Platforma. 'I am deeply convinced that Ukraine has huge potential and great future! That's why I have been developing my business in Ukraine for many years, despite the crises. Our projects are quite successful, which makes me and investors like me feel confident in the tomorrow. I want the people of this country, young people who will have to build a new Ukraine to know that there are many businessmen all over the world who can and, most importantly, are ready to invest in Ukraine!' Ofer Kerzner comments. The mission of the Art-zavod Platforma founded in 2014 is to develop the cluster of creative economy in Kyiv, implement fresh, daring and unordinary ideas, and create the comfortable environment for people who want to develop their ideas and don't want to leave for anywhere but, on the contrary, want to benefit Ukraine. In just one year, this creative space became a cult place in Ukraine's capital. It hosts festivals, workshops and concerts. It is a real "city inside a city" that has offices, outlets, art galleries, showrooms of young Ukrainian designers, restaurants, concert stages and a recreation area. Ofer Kerzner, the owner of the City Capital Group property development company, has been doing business in Ukraine for over 18 years. Among his most important projects are Art-zavod Platforma, Business Park on Kyiv's Left Bank, Darynok Market Mall, exclusive villas on the Dnieper banks, a residential complex in the center of Kyiv, a residential project near the Holosiivskyi Park, a logistics park by the road to the airport, Podil office center and many others. Ofer Kerzner is the initiator and organizer of mutual visits of Israeli and Ukrainian businessmen and politicians aimed at developing trade, commerce and friendly relations between Ukraine and Israel. It is worth noting that he was appointed the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Jerusalem in 2013 in recognition of his substantial contribution to the strengthening of multisided relations between the two countries. The Person of the Year national award was founded in 1995 and covers all regions of Ukraine. The program's laureates are determined by the expert polling, but the final decision rests with the Higher Academic Board. This year, the Person of the Year celebrates its 20th anniversary. UNHCR is concerned by the increasing number of South Sudanese fleeing into Sudan because of increased food insecurity caused by the ongoing conflict and deteriorating economic conditions. Heightened food insecurity and growing unrest in parts of South Sudan, especially in the north-western States of Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Warrap, have resulted in the flight of some 38,000 people into East and South Darfur since end of January. UNHCR fears the situation could quickly worsen as the nutrition situation in Upper Nile, Warrap, and Northern Bahr Ghazal grows increasingly serious. The Government of Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission reported the arrival of 2,328 South Sudanese in El Meiram and 2,520 in Kharasana, in West Kordofan State. These new arrivals, which may be under-counted, have reached Sudan in poor health, many having risked their lives en route. They need humanitarian help including food, water, basic relief items, SGBV prevention and response as well as family reunification. UNHCR led a mission to El Meiram on 20 and 21 March to assess the level and nature of the needs. In East Darfur, an average of 500 South Sudanese - or 100 households - have been arriving per day, rising to over 150 households last week, with a total of 35,234 as of 23 March, and more are expected in the coming days. They have mostly settled in Khor Omer IDP camp, with smaller numbers arriving in the villages of Adila, Bahr Alara, Asalaya, Abu Karinka and Abu Jabra. The situation is desperate with most new arrivals having travelled up to 4 weeks before reaching Khor Omer, carrying few personal belongings and in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. UNHCR will coordinate, along with OCHA, the overall humanitarian response, which focuses on the areas of protection, public health and nutrition, sanitation, basic relief items, SGBV prevention and response as well as child protection. UNHCR is also advocating for direct access to East Darfur to support the response. In South Darfur, over 2000 new arrivals were registered in Beliel Camp. Many of them arrived with no identification documents and are in need of humanitarian assistance, in particular food and hygiene items such as soap and jerry cans. Many children have been separated from their families. UNHCR led an inter-agency needs assessment mission last week to determine the needs of both the new arrivals and the host communities, which are over-stretched as each household is hosting an additional 25 to 35 people. The assessment indicates that refugees have faced insecurity en route to Sudan, are now living in overcrowded conditions with many of them being sick and in need of medical attention. The conflict that erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 has produced one of the world's largest humanitarian emergencies with 2.3 million people forced to flee their homes, 678,000 of these across borders as refugees and 1.69 million displaced inside the country. Growing food insecurity and ongoing conflict are causing more and more South Sudanese to flee - either across borders or inside the country. They are among 2.8 million people across South Sudan officially classified as facing a 'crisis' or 'emergency' of food insecurity, according to Fewsnet, the global body mandated to monitor such situations. With the number of South Sudanese fleeing their country increasing rapidly, UNHCR is extremely worried that the 2016 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) that covers the refugee programmes in the neighbouring countries, run by UNHCR and 39 partners, is only funded at 3 per cent. This leaves many lifesaving activities such as the provision of clean water, sanitation and health services, food and shelter severely underfunded. Media contacts: Resettled Syrian refugee Khaled poses for a portrait with his daughter, Yara, 1, in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil. UNHCR/G.Morales GENEVA, March 29 (UNHCR) - The UN Refugee Agency is hosting tomorrow (March 30) a one-day, high-level conference in Geneva focusing on refugees from Syria and the need for generating a substantial increase in resettlement and other answers for their plight. The conference is one of several key events in 2016 to do with Syria's refugees. It follows February's London Conference on Syria which focused on the financial dimensions of the humanitarian challenge posed by the more than 13.5 million people in need inside Syria and the 4.8 million refugees in the surrounding region along with the needs of communities in host countries. And it comes in the run up to September's summit on refugees to be held at the General Assembly meeting. "Refugees fleeing conflict and violence and arriving in Europe carry an important message: addressing their plight cannot only be the task of countries and communities that are close to wars. It is a global responsibility that must be widely shared until peace prevails again," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. "Giving at least some Syrian refugees an opportunity to move on to better lives, and relieving the burden on countries hosting millions of refugees are important gestures of solidarity. Let us not miss this opportunity," Grandi added. The focus of the March 30 conference is the need for expanded, multi-year programmes of resettlement and other forms of humanitarian admission, including involving countries that till now have not been involved in such initiatives. Resettlement is not the only aim. Other such pathways include humanitarian transfer or visas, private sponsorship, medical evacuation, family reunion, academic scholarship, and apprenticeships or labour schemes. The event will also showcase innovative approaches, new partnerships, and successful case studies, and is an opportunity for governments around the world to be part of finding solutions for Syrian refugees. The meeting will be attended by representatives of some 92 countries, 10 inter- governmental organizations, nine UN agencies and 24 non-government organizations. Speakers will include UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Grandi, together with representatives from key refugee-hosting governments. Some pledges of additional resettlement and other humanitarian admission places are expected to be announced on Wednesday. However, given today's complex international context and with Syria's conflict continuing, additional places will be needed over the coming months and years, in particular to address the needs of the most vulnerable refugees and to relieve pressure on Syria's neighbours. In line with refugee situations elsewhere, UNHCR estimates that as many as 10 per cent of Syria's 4.8 million refugees fall into this category, and that well over 450,000 places will be needed before the end of 2018. In connection with tomorrow's conference, the Campaign Director of Avaaz, Alice Jay, will today be handing over a petition to Grandi carrying over 1.2 million signatures in support of refugees. The petition, collected since last summer calls for increased resettlement and reunification of families alongside financial support to countries on the frontline of the crisis, among other things. Avaaz, meaning 'voice', is a global citizens' movement which campaigns in 15 languages on six continents. A selection of photographs and messages of 'Refugees Welcome' from 23,000 Avaaz members around the world will be shared on a screen outside the conference hall tomorrow. For more information about the conference, please click here. A displaced South Sudanese woman holds a foraged palm tree root near Thonyor, South Sudan, file picture. UNHCR/R. Nuri GENEVA, March 29 (UNHCR) - Increased food insecurity in South Sudan - caused by the ongoing conflict and deteriorating economic conditions - is driving an increasing number of people to seek refuge in neighbouring Sudan, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has warned. Heightened food insecurity and growing unrest in parts of South Sudan, especially in the north-western States of Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Warrap, have resulted in the flight of some 38,000 people into East and South Darfur since the end of January. "UNHCR fears the situation could quickly worsen as the nutrition situation in Upper Nile, Warrap, and Northern Bahr Ghazal grows increasingly serious," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters at a news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday (March 29). "They need humanitarian help including food, water and basic relief items," he added. The Government of Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission reported the arrival in February of 2,328 South Sudanese in El Meiram and 2,520 in Kharasana, in West Kordofan State. These new arrivals, which may be under-counted, have reached Sudan in poor health, many having risked their lives en route. UNHCR led a mission to El Meiram on March 20-21, to assess the level and nature of the needs. In East Darfur, an average of 500 South Sudanese - or 100 households - have been arriving a day, rising to over 150 households last week, with a total of 35,234 as of March 23. More are expected in the coming days. They have mostly settled in Khor Omer IDP camp, with smaller numbers arriving in the villages of Adila, Bahr Alara, Asalaya, Abu Karinka and Abu Jabra. The situation is desperate with most new arrivals having travelled up to four weeks before reaching Khor Omer, carrying few personal belongings and in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The UN Refugee Agency will coordinate, along with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the overall humanitarian response. It focuses on the areas of public health and nutrition, sanitation, basic relief items and the prevention of - and response to - sexual and gender-based violence, as well as child protection. UNHCR is also advocating for direct access to East Darfur to support the response. In South Darfur, over 2,000 new arrivals were registered in Beliel Camp. Many of them arrived with no identification documents and are in need of humanitarian assistance, in particular food and hygiene items such as soap and jerry cans. Many children have been separated from their families. UNHCR led an inter-agency needs assessment mission last week to determine the needs of both the new arrivals and the host communities, which are over-stretched as each household is hosting an additional 25 to 35 people. The assessment indicates that refugees have faced insecurity en route to Sudan and are now living in overcrowded conditions with many of them being sick and in need of medical attention. The conflict that erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 has produced one of the world's largest humanitarian emergencies with 2.3 million people forced to flee their homes, 678,000 of these across borders as refugees and 1.69 million displaced inside the country. Growing food insecurity and ongoing conflict are causing more and more South Sudanese to flee - either across borders or inside the country. They are among 2.8 million people across South Sudan officially classified as facing a 'crisis' or 'emergency' of food insecurity, according to Fewsnet, the global body mandated to monitor such situations. With the number of South Sudanese fleeing their country increasing rapidly, UNHCR is extremely worried that the 2016 South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) that covers the refugee programmes in the neighbouring countries, run by UNHCR and 39 partners, is only funded at two per cent. This leaves many lifesaving activities such as the provision of clean water, sanitation and health services, food and shelter severely underfunded. A file photo of solar panels at the Trina Solar plant. [Photo: Xinhua] Chinese firm Trina Solar has opened a 200-million-US-dollar plant in Thailand. The move is the latest example of the growing trade ties between China and Thailand. Trina Solar is the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic modules. The company's new factory in Thailand's central Rayong province aims to increase its exports to the US, Europe and southeast Asian nations. At the facility's opening ceremony on Monday, Trina Solar's Chairman and CEO Gao Jifan explained the company's decision to invest in Thailand. "With the backdrop of the 'Belt and Road' initiative and the internationalization of China's industrial capacity, our strategic move to invest aboard can help us cope with the trade protection measures of the West, as well as gaining bigger local markets in areas that receive our investments. We began comprehensive market research in Southeast Asia two or three years ago, and we decided Thailand was the best market to make our investment." Gao adds the strong ties between China and Thailand, in addition to Thailand's supportive policies, have facilitated his company's decision to build the plant in the country. Trina Solar was established in 1997 and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Its new facility in Rayong province will manufacture solar cells and photovoltaic modules. It will account for 10% of the company's total production capacity and create 12-hundred jobs locally. In recent years, a fast growing number of Chinese companies have invested in Thailand. 200 such firms have registered with the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. Zhang Peidong is the commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. She said on Monday that China and Thailand have enjoyed growing bilateral trade. "Despite an overall slow world economy, China and Thailand have made significant progress in our trade relations. Last year our total import-export value reached 75.5 billion US dollars. While China's total import-export fell by 10%, the figure between China and Thailand increased 3.9%. Last year, China moved up two spots and became the 4th largest foreign investor in Thailand. These figures all very well demonstrate our trade development. " Chinese investments in Thailand cover sectors that include industry, manufacturing, new energy, agriculture and tourism. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam was also at the opening event on Monday. He said Thailand is keen on attracting more foreign capital, including those from China. "Our current government is working on three things to facilitate foreign investment in Thailand, and they include tariffs, labor and land. We believe if we can properly address these issues, our commercial and investment environment will be improved. And that will help us attract more foreign investors, including those from China. Thailand offers low labor costs, and we have very positive relations with China. We especially support green and clean industries." China Minsheng Bank and Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank, or SCB, have provided loans for Trina Solar's facility. SCB has focused on Chinese and Vietnamese inbound investors in Thailand. The bank says Trina Solar's arrival in Thailand will boost investment confidence in the country. SCB adds that currently, other major Chinese solar cell producers, along with a number of Chinese companies in renewable energy and infrastructure, have expressed strong interest in building plants in Thailand. Three people charged with involvement in terrorist activities in Belgium BRUSSELS, March 28 -- Three of the nine people arrested in police raids Sunday were charged with participation in a terrorist group, the Belgian broadcaster RTBF reported Monday. The three people were identified as Yassin A., Mohamed B. and Abubaker O., for whom the Brussels investigating judge has already issued arrest warrants. Belgian federal prosecutor gave no additional information regarding the investigation. According to RTBF, the three people were believed to be involved in a new case, which was neither related to the Brussels explosions last week nor Paris attacks in November last year. The Belgian federal prosecutors confirmed in a statement on Sunday 13 raids took place in Belgium in the morning as part of an investigation against terrorism. Nine people were arrested, and six of them were released. Since its discovery at the beginning of this year, the mysterious Planet Nine has had scientists looking for the signs that could confirm its existence. Now, astronomer Mike Brown of Caltech, one of the scientists behind the January announcement, claims hes found further evidence to support it. The giant hidden planet is thought to sit on the edge of our solar system and is 10 times more massive than the Earth, gaseous, and similar to Uranus or Neptune. Since its discovery at the beginning of this year, the mysterious Planet Nine has had scientists looking for the signs that could confirm its existence. Now, Professor Mike Brown, one of the scientists behind the January announcement, claims hes found further evidence to support it. Last week, Mike Brown tweeted a photo that shows the plot of a newly discovered eccentric Kuiper Belt Object (KBO). In the post, Brown wrote,: Hey Planet Nine fans, a new eccentric KBO was discovered. And it is exactly where Planet Nine says it should be. The KBO in question is 'uo3L91,' shown with a solid blue line in the graph. Brown writes that the slide comes from a recent talk at the Seti Institute. This discovery was made from an Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, according to a subsequent tweet. Planet Nine is oriented oppositely from the other planets, the astronomer explains, so it is off of the graph, and to the right. I havent done the statistics yet, but I suspect this takes the probability of this being a statistical fluke down to ~.001% or so, Brown tweeted. While no conclusive evidence of its existence has emerged so far, a number of researchers have undertaken their own studies on the possible planet, which is referred to as Planet Nine or Planet X. The most convincing so far is a recent study by scientists at the University of Arizona, who looked at the high eccentricity of distant Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). They suggest their strange orbital paths reveal that these objects crossed paths with Planet Nine at some point. Scientists believe Planet Nine traces a highly elongated orbit and takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one journey around the sun. Last week, Professor Mike Brown from Caltech tweeted a photo that shows the plot of a newly discovered eccentric Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) The six most distant known objects in the solar system with orbits exclusively beyond Neptune (magenta) all mysteriously line up in a single direction. Such an orbital alignment can only be maintained by some outside force, Batygin and Brown say. The January paper argues that a planet with 10 times the mass of the earth in a distant eccentric orbit anti-aligned with the other six objects (orange) is required to maintain this configuration. Planet Nine is, on average, about 20 times further from the sun than Neptune, which orbits at a distance of about 2.8 billion miles. Back in January, its existence was inferred from the gravitational influence it has on several Kuiper Belt objects with highly unusual orbits. The clinching evidence came from a prediction that a ninth planet would result in Kuiper Belt objects having orbits inclined perpendicularly to the plane of the planets. In the last three years, four objects were found that behaved in this way. 'We plotted up the positions of those objects and their orbits, and they matched the simulations exactly,' said Professor Mike Brown, from Caltech, one of the astronomers who announced the discovery. Caltech colleague Dr Konstantin Batygin said: 'Although we were initially quite sceptical that this planet could exist, as we continued to investigate its orbit and what it would mean for the outer solar system, we became increasingly convinced that it is out there. 'For the first time in over 150 years, there is solid evidence that the solar system's planetary census is incomplete.' The latest study by Arizona University proposes an alternative explanations, according to Universe Today. It suggests that if Planet Nine were crossing paths with high-eccentricity Kuiper Belt objects, there was a good chance it was in resonance with these objects. 'We have these six observed objects whose orbits are currently fairly unaffected by the known planets in our solar system,' the researchers told Universe today in an email. 'But if there's another, as yet unobserved planet located a few hundred AU from the sun, these six objects would be affected by that planet.' Their findings could help to pin down Planet Nine's possible location. But the researchers admit several unknowns remain, and further studies of these objects need to be undertaken before they can come to any conclusion. 'There are a lot of uncertainties here,' they told Universe today. 'The orbits of these extreme Kuiper belt objects are not very well known because they move very slowly on the sky and we've only observed very small portions of their orbital motion. The putative ninth planetat 5,000 times the mass of Plutois sufficiently large that there should be no debate about whether it is a true planet. A recent study by the University of Arizona has found that Kuiper Belt objects with a highly eccentric orbit may be on a path that is in a predictable pattern with Planet Nine's orbit. 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. Its time for Americans to show their appreciation to those who served, especially those who continued to sacrifice long after the war ended. As part of the 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War, VA and 29 states and territories are marking the anniversary of the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam with a day of appreciation celebrated on March 29. Our nations Vietnam War Commemoration is a long-overdue opportunity for all Americans to recognize, honor, and thank our Vietnam Veterans and their families for their service during one of Americas longest wars. Robert A. McDonald Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs Across America today, March 29, Vietnam Veterans Day, VA medical centers and other facilities will be saying Thank You to millions of Vietnam Veterans for their sacrifice on behalf of the United States and will thank and honor the families of these Veterans. The VA medical center in Philadelphia is named the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center. Corporal Crescenz is the only Vietnam-era serviceman from the Philadelphia area to receive the Medal of Honor. Dr. Himanshu Singh, Acting Director is sending a letter to all Vietnam Veterans enrolled at the Aleda E. Lutz Medical Center in Saginaw, Mich., which says in part, Many of you never received a thank you when you were discharged from active duty. We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your commitment and sacrifice. Your dedication to serving when your country called on you will never be forgotten. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C., is named after a Vietnam Veteran who posthumously was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Read his story here. The medical center also honors Pfc. Dennis Lee Lobbezoo, a young Marine who lost his life in 1968 during the Vietnam War, with the statue pictured above. The sculpture was created by Vietnam Veteran Dr. Edward Byrd. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center also handed out special Vietnam 50th Commemorative lapel pins to Veterans who served in Vietnam. Medical Center Director Scott Isaacks and Lt. Col. Nathan Molica, Deputy Commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District, presented the pins. Michael J. Fitzmaurice, retired plumber at the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center, is South Dakotas only surviving Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Vietnam Army Veteran Fitzmaurice served other Veterans as a VA plumber from 1987-2011. A humble man, he never mentioned that he earned Americas highest award for valor for his heroic actions at Khe Sanh, Republic of Vietnam in 1971. Read his story here. Want to know what it was like to serve in Vietnam? Read a dramatic diary of a Veteran who was there. Take a few minutes and read this extended account by Columbus Tyson, an Environmental Management worker at VAs Brooklyn Campus. The Martinsburg, W.V., VA Medical Center shared this photo of VA employee Sam Powell receiving an Arcom Medal for finding a well-hidden major VC base camp on aerial photography. They will be displaying more photos of Vietnam Veterans during their welcome home event on March 29. Dr. John David Berryman pauses at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the Beckley, W.V., VA Medical Center. Berryman, Beckley Chief of Staff, is a Navy Veteran who served as a Surgical Medical Officer in Vietnam for two tours (1965 to 1971). Check with your local VA facility for events near you. Visit vietnamwar50th.com to learn more. BEIJING, March 28, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese PremierLi Keqiangspeaks during the fourth meeting on clean governance in Beijing, capital of China, March 28, 2016. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government will further transform its functions, improve accountability mechanisms and strengthen supervision over key sectors plagued by corruption, Premier Li Keqiang said Monday. Li made the remarks during the fourth meeting on clean governance, putting forward requirements for anti-corruption work in 2016. The premier said significant results were achieved in anti-graft work last year, with continued efforts made by governments at all levels on rectifying workstyles, devolving powers, managing public assets and limiting misuse of power. However, corruption still exists in key sectors as anti-graft mechanisms remain weak in some government agencies, state-owned enterprises, public institutions and financial institutions, Li said. Li called for further crackdown on corruption in key sectors to ensure economic growth and social stability amid a more challenging situation of development in China this year. Chinese government will slash more administrative items this year and increase openness, the premier said. Li said the State Council, China's cabinet, will continue inspections of various departments and local governments this year and hold officials accountable if they are reluctant to rectify problems. The premier also proposed an electronic system to make public resource trading more transparent. Financial supervision and regulation should be improved to prevent violations and corruption in the sector, Li said. The meeting was attended by vice premiers Zhang Gaoli, Wang Yang and Ma Kai. Wang Qishan, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, attended the meeting on invitation. Fidel to Obama: We Don't Need Your "Presents" Chinese President Xi Jinping visits former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana, the capital of Cuba, on Tuesday, July 22, 2014. [File photo: Xinhua] Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has issued his first response to US President Barack Obama's historic trip to the country last week. In an article in Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma, the elder Castro suggests Obama was simply attempting to 'sweet-talk' the Cuban people during his visit. He goes on to warn of US overtures, saying the Cuban people need to remember past US aggression against Cuba, as well as the current trade embargo. The White House has since responded to Fidel Castro's article. Spokesperson Josh Earnest says they believe this is a sign that Obama's trip has accomplished what it needed to. "The fact that the former president felt compelled to respond so forcefully to the president's visit, I think is an indication of the significant impact of President Obama's visit to Cuba." Fidel Castro has maintained a continued distrust of the United States for decades, as various US administrations dating back to Eisenhower attempted to subvert him from power or overthrow him. The 89-year old Castro withdrew from power in 2008, handing the reign of power to his brother Raul, who many observers say has taken a somewhat more conciliatory tone toward the United States. Pictured is the panoramic table of the nuclear security center financed by China and the US. (Photo: Zhang Mengxu from Peoples Daily) Chinese President Xi Jinping will head to Washington DC to attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) beginning this Thursday. The trip exemplifies Chinas emphasis on universal and nuclear security, Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong wrote in an article forthe Peoples Daily. This trip will be Xis second appearance at the summit after The Hague NSS in 2014. In the article, Li also urged the international community to make efforts in four key areas to advance global nuclear governance. Firstly, countries must strengthen their nuclear security capability. Legislation and supervision mechanisms should be adopted to secure nuclear materials and facilities, and provide institutional, regulatory, technical and personnel guarantees for such capabilities. Meanwhile, a favorable global environment should be created to nip nuclear terrorism in the bud, the article read. He also urgedfor intensified global exchanges and cooperation on the subject, suggesting the international community make full use of existing bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. Organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN and Interpol should further coordinate efforts. The final safety lock will beelimination of nuclear security risks, Li wrote, adding that a balance between demand and supply of nuclear materials must be maintained. According to Li, all countries should develop modern nuclear technology with low risk and step up control of nuclear proliferation. At the same time, new challenges brought by global finance and networks should be prevented and handled in a decisive fashion. China is sparing no efforts in enhancing global nuclear security, Li stressed. Pursuing a nuclear security path with Chinese characteristics, China has been proactive in fulfilling its commitments from previous summits, Li said, adding that China has also learned from other nations and introduced foreign capital, technologies and equipments to better serve national security and development. In addition, concrete actions have been taken to reinforce Chinas nuclear security capability. For example, nuclear security has been written into the National Security Law and incorporated in the national security system. Supervision and law enforcement mechanisms and traininghave beenimproved to better Chinasnuclear emergency response and anti-nuclear terrorism capabilities, Li said. Moreover, China has boosted its cooperation with other global partners and provided public products of nuclear security. The article illustrated that China has approved all international legal instruments regarding nuclear security. The Chinese government also rendered support to the work of IAEA, the UN and other institutions. A nuclear security center financed by China and the US was established in Beijing on March18. Li believed it will improve nuclear security in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world at large. Besides, China has offered its assistance in the modification of Ghanas low enriched uranium project, and will continue assisting developing countries, he added. WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Cooperation between China and the United Statesis "vital" to ensure global nuclear security, Thomas Countryman, U.S. assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said Monday. The two countries have worked together successfully on last year's comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iranand on the recent UN Security Council resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear test and satellite launch, Countryman told reporters ahead of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit. "So we cooperate and we are becoming ever closer in our cooperation in preventing the spread of the technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons," he told Xinhua at an online press conference. "That's how important the relationship with China is," he said. Earlier this month, the Nuclear Security Center of Excellence, the largest nuclear security center in the Asia-Pacific region, which was financed by both governments, opened in Beijing. Beijing and Washington have "worked very closely and very well" in the establishment and opening of the center, which was the result of the first Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, D.C. in 2010, said Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. coordinator for threat reduction programs, at the press conference. "That's all very positive, and we see this as a way in which we can continue to work with China on other areas, including nonproliferation," Jenkins said, while calling the center "a really strong effort" in strengthening nuclear security. The United States will host the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. from March 31 to April 1, which will provide a forum for leaders to engage with each other and to reinforce commitment at the highest levels to securing and eliminating nuclear materials, and preventing nuclear smuggling. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said earlier this month that Chinese President Xi Jinpingwill meet with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obamaon the sidelines of the summit. Whether they feature a standard paint job, celebrate the launch of a Hollywood film or commemorate a cultural icon, airlines are going further than ever before to create eye-catching liveries. Most planes feature an airline's standard paint job, but every now and then a carrier comes up with a colourful or clever design to wow passengers. Every day, hundreds of passengers are flown across the Atlantic Ocean on Icelandair's Hekla Aurora plane, which is decorated with a paint scheme inspired by the northern lights. Inside, the Boeing 757 has a one-of-a-kind LED mood lighting system in the main cabin that recreates the display of the Aurora Borealis. South African budget carrier Kulula Airlines came up with a clever livery that points out various components of the aircraft, including the jump seat, galley and loo. Featuring a moustache in support of Movember, the plane has an arrow pointing to the cockpit with the words 'the big cheese'. From a plane featuring Anna, Elsa and Olaf from Frozen to one that celebrates the Adventures of Tintin, these are some of the worlds best alternative aeroplane liveries that are currently in the skies. Icelandair Icelandair's Hekla Aurora plane is decorated with the northern lights and flies across the Atlantic Ocean every day of the year. A one-of-a-kind LED mood lighting system inside the Boeing 757's main cabin recreates the display of the Aurora Borealis. Kulula Airlines South African budget carrier Kulula Airlines came up with this clever livery that points out various components of the aircraft. This livery for Kulula Airlines featured a moustache to coincide with Movember and raise awareness and funds for men's health. Brussels Airlines This Airbus A320 called Rackham, from Brussels Airlines, celebrates The Adventures of Tintin, created by Belgian cartoonist Herge. The passenger jet is disguised as the famous shark submarine from the 1944 Tintin album Red Rackhams Treasure. All Nippon Airways All Nippon Airways' Boeing 777 featuring a Pokemon livery is currently used on domestic routes between Tokyo and Sapporo. South Korean workers prepare the remains of Chinese soldiers who died in the Korean War in early 1950s, in Paju, South Korea, March 28, 2016. The remains of 36 Chinese soldiers will be flown back to China after a handover ceremony on March 31. [Photo: Xinhua] The remains of dozens of Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War were on Monday prepared for repatriation to China. The South Korean Defence Ministry wrapped fragments, including skulls, and placed them in small coffins during a ceremony at the temporary columbarium in Paju. Colonel Lee Hak-gi with the Ministry is in charge of remains recovery and identification. "In order to prepare for repatriation of Chinese soldiers' remains, we will proceed with the first examination of remains, relics and records, the coffin rites, which will take place here today, and a repatriation ceremony on March 31st." The two countries will hold a transfer ceremony for the remains of 36 soldiers on Thursday, just a few days before Tomb-sweeping Day, the Chinese holiday for commemorating the dead. In 2014, South Korea and China agreed to repatriate remains of Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War on humanitarian grounds. The South Korean Defence Ministry returned to China the remains of 437 soldiers in 2014 and 68 soldiers in 2015. The Chinese People's Volunteers fought alongside the North Korean army in the Korean War against the South Korean army and U.S.-led UN forces between 1950 and 1953. Almost 200,000 Chinese soldiers were confirmed killed in the war, with most of them buried on the Korean Peninsula. Surge in Chinese demand is helping Australia as its food, health, tourism and education sectors are witnessing robust activity. China's economy transitions from infrastructure investment to consumption-led growth is showing up all over Australia. The Chinese economic satellite 4,000 miles from Beijing is indicating that a remodeling of China's economic growth is underway. The latest Australian data reveal that China's economic transition to consumption-led growth is boosting its non-resources industries. This is a very crucial support for Australia at a time when the economy is reeling under pressure. Bloomberg reports that Australia is emerging from the China-led mining boom and exploring new opportunities for providing food, services and health products to the dragon country. China is Australia's biggest trading partner. Majority of Chinese people are consuming vitamin tablets, food and beef from Australia. China is also encouraging consumption amid industrialization. Paul Bloxham, Chief Australia Economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, said "Australian exports provide clear signs that middle-class incomes are continuing to gain and preferences are shifting in China toward services and higher-quality food products. The time-frame for China's transition is large, a decade or more and it won't be easy. But the fact it is already underway is positive." The Australia-China relationship is strong in steel making input iron ore. Chinese are creating more demand for Australian health supplements and baby formula. The growing middle-class wealth in China is further creating demand for Australian health supplements and other nutrient products. Australian beef is in more demand at Chinese restaurants as well. Australian meat exports stood at A$15 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, Australian companies are doing well on local stock markets as Chinese demand is boosting their business. China is Australia's major trading partner. As the dragon country's economy is showing signs of improvement, it's bringing cheer to Australian stocks, further adds Reuters. However, Glenn Stevens, Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), gave a cautious note about China. "The real question is how successful they will be in landing a transition to a sustainable, but still strong growth model. The truth is that we can't know how all this will turn out. No one has done such a transition on this scale before," said Stevens. Tourism is another segment of China that's boosting revenues for Australia. The number of Chinese visitors to Australia in 2015 was one million. This is from mainland only. Mainlanders are set to surpass the number of visitors from Hong Kong as well. Robust Chinese tourism is boosting Australian retail segment also, with increasing 20 percent visitors annually. They're spending on average $7 billion to $8 billion, as reported by Business Insider. Here comes the next segment that's adding wealth to Australia -Chinese students are entering Australian universities in a large numbers. The weakening of Australian currency is also attracting Chinese students. Australia is also offering family reunion program for students to bring their parents and obtain citizenship as well. Australia's net services exports are increasing. Its net services exports were a negative -0.5 percent on gross domestic product (GDP) four years ago. Now, the net services exports contribute 0.5 percent to Australia's GDP. This is in turn helping housing investment in Australia, further strengthening its domestic economy. France is emerging as a country with a booming tech ecosystem. A recent report showed that the country's startups raised nearly 1 billion euros in 2015, catching up to other European tech startups landscape and also the country's allies such as the UK and Germany. A report from Tech.eu provided the insight of France's tech ecosystem by analyzing the bigger trends in the French funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in 2015. The report comprehensively analyzed accurate statistics gathered by the team as they track all of the funding round and exits in Europe. The team has monitored numerous sources and collect relevant data for a full year. Geektime revealed more about the content of the report. Overall, the country's tech startup landscape is catching up in venture capital with nearly 1 billion euros secured in 2015. The report shows that the majority of tech industry activity is happening in the country's capital Paris, accounting for about 80 percent of all startup funding across the country. Other remarkable cities with emerging presence of tech startups are Lille, Montpellier and Toulouse. The statistics also show that domestic investors are still driving the country's funding and M&A deals. The most active investors were French investors, even though more than half of France's top 20 rounds involved a foreign investor. Also, what the report noted as France's strength and its weakness, is that nearly 40 percent funding went through seed rounds. The next largest funding came through Series A. Even though France is catching up in overall venture capital, established in a "distant fourth position" to Israel, the UK and Germany, the country's M&A dropped from 18.6 billion euros in 2014 to about 900 million euros. The year 2015 had also seen only on French IPO for Showroomprive and there were no 1 billion euros exits. The achievements in 2015 lead up to a good projection for 2016. As the report puts it, "France will experience a significant increase in both the amount of investments and total funding volumes in 2016." The government is also now paying more attention to the tech landscape in the country. According to TVN, the country's president Francois Hollande has had meetings with prominent tech entrepreneurs as the deputy finance minister for digital innovation Fleur Pellerin is aiming to turn France into one of Europe's premier hubs for tech startups. A recent report showed how France is establishing its place as an emerging landscape for tech startups. The country's startups raised nearly 1 billion euros in 2015, putting itself in the fourth place to Israel, the UK, and Germany in the Europe. Ineos moved its headquarter in 2010 to Rolle, Switzerland. After six years, the company announces its plan to relocate back to England, As a petrochemical giant, Ineos is the first European company that shipped U.S. shale gas product to Europe. The Guardian reported that Ineos-own gas carrier has arrived in Norway on March 23, carrying 27,500 cubic metres of American ethane. Shipment to UK facility in Grangemouth is scheduled later this year, and recently the company has opened office in South London to become its new headquarter. CEO Jim Ratcliffe told Daily Mail regarding his plan to come back home, "We will finish up back in the UK within the next three years. We are Brits aren't we? It's where we started and it's where our hearts lie." The company relocated its Intenational headquarter out of UK after a tax hike from government under prime minister Gordon Brown. During that time, the Labour government imposed a continuous raise of insurance tax for companies operating in the UK. In order to save 100 million ($142 million), Ineos decided to move its international headquarter outside UK and selected Switzerland. "It was necessary for us to move to Switzerland a few years ago, but now, without question, we have been gravitating back to the UK," CEO Ratcliffe said further. Nowadays, as the corporation tax in the UK has been significantly reduced to 20% from previous 28%, the company decided to come home. For the past few years, Ratcliffe has invested heavily in the UK and has set his target to return home soon. "As Jim mentioned, the direction of travel is towards the UK in the sense that our UK businesses have been growing significantly," an Ineos spokesman said. According to The Telegraph, currently Ineos employs 4,000 staff in the UK across seven sites. Earlier this year, Mr Ratcliffe said Britain should reduce the tax burden on UK manufacturing and industry which struggle to survive. The tax deduction will prevent what he said as "a catastrophic decline of UK industry." As a supporter of UK to leave European Union, CEO Ratcliffe said the concept of common market is a good one, but a United States of Europe is a poor concept. He said, "You don't need people in continental Europe running the country. I think there has been a lot of scaremongering and I don't see that the Germans will stop selling Mercedes and BMWs in the UK. Trading is mutually beneficial between us." He also said it was unfortunate that the Brexit referendum issue had turned into a fight. Now, Ineos has set its target to come back home after relocated the company in Switzerland. CEO Jim Ratcliffe has set the plan in motion and will be After moving its headquarter for six years in Swiss, Ineos returns home. Founder and CEO Jim Ratcliffe planned to move back the company to England within the next three years. Gobi Partners, a China-based venture capital company, is seeking to make its debut in the Southeast Asian tech start-up market. The fund has joined hands with Malaysia Venture Capital Management in order to unveil a fund worth at $14.5 million dedicated entirely to seed stage firms in Southeast Asia. Malaysia Venture Capital is considered to be the largest venture company in the country with nearly $300 million in assets. Gobi Partners along with Malaysia Venture aims to invest in 25 - 35 seed stage start-up firms across the region within the next three-year period. Gobi's move epitomizes the strong interest among investors, who are lured by the region's growing mobile internet sector and income. Bloomberg cited a data from KPMG and CB Insights, which said that the number of ventures funded deals across the region increased to 71 during the final three-month period of 2015, despite the lower venture capital funding across the world. According to Thomas Tsao, Gobi Partners' managing partner, investors must focus on countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines, which have over 550 million population. Tsao said, "These are four huge consumers markets, and we call them the IPTV market." Gobi classifies Southeast Asian countries into three parts: mature markets which include nations like Malaysia and Singapore, frontier market like Myanmar and finally the IPTV countries. Gobi's desire in the region stems from Chinese companies like Camera360 that has vast customers in Southeast Asian nations. Tsao added that the joint venture fund of Gobi and Malaysia Venture will concentrate on tech and mobile internet start-ups in fields like content and digital media, cloud computing, finance-tech, e-commerce, online tourism and big data. According to TechCrunch, this is the second time for Gobi to team up with Malaysia Venture Capital after creating a joint $50 million fund for investments in China and Southeast Asia in September. The newly formed SuperSeed Fund will be controlled by Thomas Tsao, Kay-Mok Ku, Gobi's partner in Singapore, and Jamaludin Bujang, chief executive officer of Malaysia Venture. The Gobi arrived Southeast Asian market eight years after its foundation in 2002, the first Chinese venture capital companies to widen its business investment into the region. Since its first entry, the fund has been profitable in the region, Ku said. According to Ku, Thailand being the second largest economy in the region enjoys huge personal spending that is almost double than that of Indonesia. Tech in Asia pointed out that Victor Chua of Gobi Partners will act as the investment director supervising the start-up deals. The fund expects median deal size to be around US$500K primarily for early stage start-ups. Ku said that the fund is ready to welcome other venture capital firms to join in funding rounds either as follow on or lead. The SuperSeed Fund is created with an aim to enlarge Gobi's business portfolio into Southeast Asian countries. Southeast Asian unicorns are expected to benefit from this joint venture fund. Ayala Corporation, the largest enterprise in the Philippines in terms of assets, is getting prepared to become recognized as a larger player in local automotive manufacturing. The possibility of pouring billions of pesos in the automotive industry appears as consequence of rising consumer affluence. Furthermore, the comprehensive automotive resurgence strategy (CARS) program adopted by the Philippine government has also contributed in attracting investment for the industry. The largest conglomerate in the Philippines has been negotiating with potential partners from the automotive industry. The business group expects to find tangible opportunities within two to three months. Ayala has been searching for investment opportunities not only in the vehicle manufacturing segment but also for auto parts and auto components, reports Philippine Daily Inquirer quoting Paolo Maximo Borromeo, Ayala managing director and group head of corporate strategy and development while covering his interview. The conglomerate may require to invest more than 1 billion against each manufacturing deal. The group has been negotiating with potential companies for multiple deals. Automotive manufacturing industry requires both capital and labor intensive. Ayala plans to scale up opportunities to expand its dominance over the industry, according to a report published in The Nation. Coin, the financial tech company was close to failure when its product launch went adrift. However the company has bounced back and now ready to launch its new product for Visa and MasterCard. meanwhile regulators are preparing regulation to regulate the fintech. Coin is a statup company providing a smartcard which designed to integrate and connect all credit, debit, gift, loyalty and membership cards into one smartcard. The company's smartcard will be able to pay everywhere using the cards information it contained in the data. Founded in 2012 in San Fransisco, the company used a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to connect all cards and store them in its smartcard. Coin attracted many attentions from media along with technology enthusiasts, and successfully raised a $15.5 million in a Series A funding in May 2014. However, the company faced problem with manufacturers and angered many people which could become its early adopters. After such debacle, the company launched its Coin 2.0, its second-generation smart card with features never seen before in any rival offerings. Coin also provided its existing customers to improve their cards free of charge. Vice President of Marketing at Coin Tony Pham told Forbes regarding the experience in dealing with the earlier launch hiccup, "People have not been shy about sharing the feedback. But it was good for us to take a step back. Perfect doesn't exist. None of these systems are 100 percent compatible." The company is now equipping its 2.0 card with NFC-enabled payment system. Coin also make its card compatible with the new EMV chip technology as regulated in the US. The new card is working well to use in any gas stations and ATMs everywhere. In another pursuit of innovation, Coin has been selected as MasterCard's partner in a non-exclusive contract on Commerce for Every Device project. Coin will provide system to turn selected wearable fitness trackers and smart watches into payment device. Financial regulators have closely monitored innovation from financial technology companies. Regulators are looking to regulate the fintech innovation to help them develop a responsible innovation. In the US, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have prepared a framework of regulation for financial tech. In an interview with Wall Street Journal on Friday, chief counsel with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Amy Fried said, "What we're talking about now is receptivity to exploring these issues and understanding these different models as opposed to saying 'no' right off the bat." Meanwhile regulator in Japan has also set to ease investment restrictions for fintech companies. Senior official at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Norio Sato told Reuters, "The law changes aren't a goal, but a first step. Fintech will have a big impact on financial services." Coin and its innovation in integrated payment service has been advancing the innovation in payment service. While regulators around the world also prepared framework to support and regulate fintech innovation. UK private equity firm Synova Capital has sold its handbag maker brand The Lunan Group (TLG Brands) to Hong Kong fashion company Global Brands Group Holding Limited. The exit brought Synova Capital a triple return on invested capital for the brand. TLG Brands is one of the leading suppliers of fashion accessories in the UK's market. The company owns some prominent handbag brands such as Fiorelli, Modalu and Nica. The brands' concept is affordable luxury handbag and accessories, and it's widely popular in the UK. The three brands are sold in more than 400 stores across the UK, as reported by Drapers. Synova Capital first invested in The Lunan Group and create TLG Brands in 2008. According to FashionMag, Synova Capital plans to develop TLG Brands' online presence and drive international sales. The firm aims for Asia and Europe markets and as a result has enjoyed significant growth in both its online business and in international markets. Total revenues grew from 13 million pre-investment to more than 30 million at the exit. In addition to that, profits have also grown almost threefold over the same period under Synova Capital's ownership. The exit deal with Global Brands Group was advised by global firm KPMG and Pinsent Masons. TLG Brands' new owner, Global Brands Group, is listed in Hong Kong as an apparel, footwear, fashion accessories and related lifestyle product company. The company holds licenses prominent brands from the US as well as worldwide including Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Nautica, Nine West and Juicy Couture. Besides fashion apparel, Global Brands Group also licences for cartoon, film and game characters such as Hello Kitty. Director of TLG and Managing Partner of Synova Philip Shapiro stated what the exit means to the company. "We worked with an exceptional management team to deliver strong growth in TLG's leading brands both in the UK and internationally. The exit is a result of the ambition and hard work of that team and their excellent working relationship with Synova," Shapiro said. Furthermore, Shapiro also noted the brand's positions in the market as strategic for more growth. "With market leading positions in all of their key territories we wish the team every success in the next stage of the company's development," he added, as quoted by Synova Capital. UK handbag maker TLG Brands has managed an exit from previous owner Synova Capital to Hong Kong-based Global Brands Group. The deal has realized a return of three times invested capital for the UK's leading supplier of fashion accessories, after years of strong growth. Brexit has been an exaggerated issue in the UK. Politicians and business people have been divided on the issues. Nevertheless, British companies have a little concern with the Brexit, as they believe UK leave the European Union will not affect the business. Forbes reported the recent poll by two institutions, ICSA and Core Partnership, the company secretarial recruitment specialist. In the survey, over half of the respondents confirmed that their organizations did not plan a specific contingency plan or strategies to deal with UK exiting the EU bloc. Only 41% of respondents considered the referendum have effect on their organizations. Chief Executive of ICSA Simon Osborne expressed his disappointment over the result, "Whilst not all organizations operate within Europe, it is surprising that boards are not at least considering the knock-on effect that an exit could have on the underlying economy. If sterling goes into free-fall this will have an impact regardless of whether or not they have import or export agreements with Europe." Another survey was conducted by Confederation of British Industry and Pricewaterhouse Cooper on 104 financial service companies. In its quarterly survey,banking and investment management have seen the sharpest deterioration over Brexit sentiment, and also optimism among building societies. While the sentiment in the insurance sector is broadly flat. Other issues like slowdown in China has become more concern for business people rather than sole Brexit issue. As CBI Director for Economics Rain Newton-Smith said, "Concerns over China and a volatile start to the year for markets, alongside uncertainty about a possible Brexit, have created a perfect storm to dampen optimism in financial services." Previously, billionnaire David Ratcliffe has stated that European Union is a poor concept, regardless common market is a good one. He said plainly that fear over Brexit has been exploited too much. Even with UK exit the European Union, trading between UK and European countries will continue, as it is mutually beneficial. In the latest conflict over Brexit, the anti Brexit has accused pro Brexit to be hypocrite for hiring European migrant in the Leave.EU campaign. Arron Banks, the major donor for Leave.EU campaign told The Guardian that the accusation was misplaced, "I don't feel any affinity towards French, Germans and Spaniards. I'd much rather deal with my own kith and kin." Meanwhile Bank of England reiterated its concern that Brexit will push up borrowing costs and weaken sterling further. The Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee as quoted by Reuters said, "The outlook for financial stability in the United Kingdom has deteriorated. Domestic risks have been supplemented by risks around the EU referendum." As UK is divided over Brexit, British companies only showed a little concern regarding the issue. Companies considered Brexit do not affect their business in a big scale. Meanwhile Bank of England worries with the outlook of British financial with the possibility of Brexit in June 23 referendum. Breast-feeding in a public place has always been an awkward thing in China since many places still have not been equipped with lactation rooms. Here is the good news for new moms in Pingxiang, east Chinas Jiangxi Province: buses in the city are now equipped with a special seat for breast-feeding mothers. Right now 10 buses in Pingxiang have set up the special seats. The local bus company will consider to install more on other buses if this plan goes well among the passengers. Airbnb is out with a breath-taking promo - sleep with the sharks! Airbnb is providing three people along with their guests a night's stay inside the shark tank of Aquarium de Paris in April for free. Prospective guests just need to send information why they should be the lucky one to have this exhilarating experience. The rental sharing website already offers night stay in converted planes, cable cars and Ikea as publicity stunts but this is something that anyone should not miss - underwater offer and sleeping with the sea predators. The 'underwater bedroom' is surrounded by a 360 clear wall which is the only thing that separates the guests from the 35 sharks. The room lies in three million liters of water inside the tank where the host Fred Buyle, a world record-breaking freediver, shark conservationist and underwater photographer will welcome two people. He will provide a guided tour inside the aquarium and educate them about how sharks live and their importance to the ocean's ecosystem, as reported by the Independent. "We're thrilled to be the first Aquarium in the World to offer this chance for people to be more than simply visitors, but to get such an 'immersive' experience," said Alexis L. Powilewicz, CEO of Aquarium de Paris. Liligo.com reports that the Aquarium de Paris is located in front of the Eiffel tower. It will host its very first sleepover from April 11 to 13 in their shark tank. Airbnb will shoulder your flight expenses as well as your guests. To qualify for the said promotion, contestants should be over 18 years of age, medically fit with weight not exceeding 190 kg to easily climb in and out of the bedroom. They also need to write information about themselves not exceeding 550 words including the main reason why they deserve to sleep beside the sharks. Entries should be submitted by April 3 at 11:59 PM CET, according to Business Insider. Guests are reminded not to take selfies after dark as sharks are sensitive to light and heads and feet must be kept into the bedroom always. They will also be treated to dinner with amazing tankside views. This is once in a lifetime opportunity that adventurers should not miss. Betty Berry Q: In past years Simi Valley has offered a health expo in the spring at the senior center. Do you know if that event will be offered again this year? A: Yes, the Simi Valley Wellness Expo 2016 is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon April 20. The theme for this year's expo is "For the Health of It." The Simi Valley Council on Aging, Simi Valley Hospital and Kaiser Permanente have teamed up to offer this very informative and popular event. The event will be held at the Simi Valley Senior Center at 3900 Avenida Simi in Simi Valley. There will be over 60 exhibitors who specialize in important services for seniors. In addition, there will be numerous free health screenings and services. These services and screenings include carotid artery, glucose, blood pressure, hearing, depression, BMI, balance, memory, COPD and osteoporosis. In addition, the California Telephone Access Program will be offering free adaptive telephones for those who qualify, and the Simi Valley Police Department will provide a "Drug Drop Off Box" for disposal of prescription drugs. Admission is free and all seniors and their families are encouraged to attend. For more information call the Simi Valley Senior Center at 583-6363. Q: If someone is considered disabled by Social Security, how are their benefits determined? A: Disability under Social Security is based on a worker's inability to work. A worker is considered disabled if unable to perform any kind of work for which he or she is suited and if the disability is expected to last at least a year or to result in death. For a worker to qualify for disability benefits, he or she must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security to establish benefits. The number of work credits needed for disability benefits depends on the age at which the disability occurs. Generally, a worker needs 20 credits earned in the last 10 years ending with the year the disability occurred. However, workers under age 31 may be considered for disability with fewer credits. The amount of monthly disability benefits is based on the worker's lifetime average earnings covered by Social Security. Eligibility for other government benefits can affect the benefit amount. Once a decision is made that a worker is disabled, he or she will be paid their first benefits starting the sixth full month from the date the disability began. After receiving 24 months of disability benefits the disabled worker will become eligible for Medicare coverage. If the disability continues to full retirement age then the benefits become retirement benefits with the amount of benefits remaining the same. HAPPENINGS: Wednesday: Diabetes class presented by Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association, 1:30 to 3 p.m. at Goebel Adult Community Center, 1385 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. Reservations are not required. Classes also held the first Tuesday of the month in Ventura, first Wednesday of the month in Simi Valley and Camarillo. For more information call 642-0239. April 6: Certified financial planner Paul Norr will present "Smart Money Management" at the Thousand Oaks Council on Aging Meeting, 1 p.m. at the Civic Arts Plaza Boardroom, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Thousand Oaks. April 10: Community garage sale, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Goebel Adult Community Center, 1385 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. More than 50 garage sales in one location. For vendor information call 381-2744. April 14: Economic Check-Up appointments, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Senior Concerns Day Care Center, 401 Hodencamp Road in Thousand Oaks. For more information and appointments call 497-0189. April 17: History Comes Alive presentation. Val Rains of Camarillo, dressed in full Elizabethan costume, will step back in time to portray Queen Elizabeth I of England during her 44 year reign, 2-3:15 p.m. at Goebel Adult Community Center, 1385 E. Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. Tickets are $5 and available at the Goebel Center. 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, CA 91362 or call 495-6250 or e-mail betty@seniorconcerns.org (please include your telephone number.) You are invited to submit questions on senior issues. FILE - In this June 30, 2014 file photo, the Supreme Court building in Washington. The Supreme Court's lineup of cases is fit for an election year. Affirmative action, abortion and another look at the Obama health care law and its contraceptive mandate all are before the court, and they could well be joined by immigration, giving the court a run of cases that reads like a campaign platform. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) SHARE By Bartholomew Sullivan, bartholomew.sullivan@jmg.com WASHINGTON In a major victory for public sector labor unions, the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 Tuesday on whether fees can be charged to nonmembers for the costs of collective bargaining. The tie vote upholds a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that permitted the fees to stand. It was the first major case that showed the impact of the late Justice Antonin Scalia's absence. When it was argued in January, it seemed clear a 5-4 majority with Scalia would have handed the unions a defeat. The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, involved what Orange County public schoolteacher Rebecca Friedrichs contended is an unconstitutional mandatory payment for "compelled political speech." She had resigned from the California Teachers Association but still had to pay about $650 a year for bargaining costs. The lawsuit sought to end the practice of paying this "agency fee" sometimes called a "fair share" to underwrite the expense of collective bargaining with their employer school districts. "I'm happy that we're going to be able to continue to serve all our teachers and all our members and the students of California," said Unified Association of Conejo Teachers President Colleen Briner-Schmidt early Tuesday. "It is important that we continue to educate our members and not take for granted the rights that we have and that we understand the serious nature of what this lawsuit would have done for our members and our students," she said. Ventura Unified Education Association President Chip Fraser said after the opinion was handed down Tuesday, "I'm happy as I can be because this is something we've been preparing for and dreading, simultaneously." He added that he expected those who pushed the case, such as wealthy financiers Frederick and Charles Koch and charter school advocates like billionaire Eli Broad and former Washington D.C. Schools Superintendent Michelle Rhee, will not drop their efforts. The Center for Individual Rights, which filed the lawsuit, said Tuesday it plans to petition the high court for a rehearing. In practice, unions determine the annual dues and the portion of it that will be devoted to collective bargaining expenses. California law allows the amount that might be used for other union activities, like lobbying or political advocacy, to be refunded if the nonmember objects and requests it each year in writing. The agency fee is typically about 2 percent of a new teacher's salary, or about $1,000; the refund to those who object to underwriting non-bargaining expenses is typically about $350 to $400 a year. Several other states have similar arrangements for nonunion members. The petitioners noted in their brief that the California Teachers Association took in $173.9 million in dues in 2013. Those who object to the mandatory payments, see them as subsidies to unions engaged in the "quintessentially political act of extracting policy commitments from local elected officials on some of the most contested issues in education and fiscal policy." They argued that it was a First Amendment, free speech issue, with nonmember teachers paying for others to speak for them in ways they don't support, they said. Unions argued that nonmembers benefit from working conditions and wages negotiated by them and that it should be paid for. The case had huge implications for public employees in at least 25 states where mandatory dues payments are used to underwrite union activity. Some saw the case as an attempt to weaken public employee unions and a system for financing them the high court reviewed and upheld in a 1977 Michigan case. Others see it as another step toward privatizing the trillion-dollar education industry. CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR Homeowners from Mandalay Shores Community Association attend a board of directors election at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. The issue for many of the homeowners is a dispute over short-term vacation rentals. SHARE By Gretchen Wenner of the Ventura County Star Board elections held Saturday for the homeowners association in the beachfront Oxnard Shores neighborhood where tempers have flared over short-term vacation rentals put several new faces on the panel, but not enough to fundamentally reshape it. The annual board election for the Mandalay Shores Community Association was originally scheduled for January. That meeting was canceled when nearly 400 people showed up to a site that held 200. Saturday's gathering was at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, with more than 450 attending, according to estimates. The association's territory includes about 1,400 homes and condominiums generally southwest of Harbor Boulevard and Fifth Street, though the Oxnard Shores Mobile Home Park is not within its boundaries. The board last year pursued proposed rules barring short-term rentals. In response to that and other issues, some formed a generally pro-rental group, Friends of the Shores, which proposed a slate of alternate candidates. Results provided Monday by David Laufer, current board president, show three of nine slots were won by Friends of the Shores sympathizers. Laufer won re-election, as did Angela Slaff and Karen Willis. Two new members, Deirdre Frank and Karen Brooks, have opposed short-term rentals. The three winners supported by Friends of the Shores are David Wallin, Chuck Preston and Emi Yazici. A ninth winner, Susan Lester, is moving out of state and will be replaced through a board decision, Laufer said. Proposed rules barring short-term rentals will be voted on by the new board, he said. The city, meanwhile, is gathering public input on vacation rentals through an online survey at www.oxnard.org/survey. Residents, visitors and businesses can respond through April 7. Oxnard will use the information as it drafts citywide rules this year. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Santa Paula High MEChA students Enrique Rodriguez and Liseth Gabriel, both 17, rehearse the opening scene of "El Bracero" for a March 31 performance at Santa Paula High as part of a Cesar Chavez Day celebration. SHARE JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Javier Gomez (right), instructs Santa Paula High student Liseth Gabriel, 17, how to properly use a field tool called a "cortito" during rehearsal of "El Bracero," which will include Santa Paula High MEChA students. Braceros or farmworkers would be fined if they used the tools or worked in the fields improperly. Gomez plays the elderly Noe, who narrates his life as a young bracero. The play will be performed at Santa Paula High Thursday as part of a Cesar Chavez Day celebration. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Juan Carlos Ozuna (center), musical director of "El Bracero," sings the opening theme song during a rehearsal of the Thursday performance. Santa Paula High MEChA students in the cast include (from right) Laura Penalaza, 18; Lilia Perez, 16; Osvaldo Lozano, 18; Liseth Gabriel, 17; and Enrique Rodriguez, 17. The play will be performed at Santa Paula High Thursday as part of a Cesar Chavez Day celebration. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Miguel Orozco (right), director and producer of "El Bracero," meets with Santa Paula High MEChA students during rehearsal. Students in Thursday's performance include (from left) Enrique Rodriguez, 17; Lilia Perez, 16; Liseth Gabriel, 17; Osvaldo Lozano, 18; and Laura Penalaza, 18. JOSEPH A. GARCIA/THE STAR Santa Paula High MEChA students Enrique Rodriguez (left), 17, and Laura Penalaza, 18, rehearse the opening scene of "El Bracero" for Thursday's performance at Santa Paula High as part of a Cesar Chavez Day celebration. By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, Special to The Star A popular, locally produced show about a farmworker camp in the 1950s is making a one-night comeback in Santa Paula to commemorate Cesar Chavez Day, which is Thursday. "El Bracero A Mariachi Opera" will be performed Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Santa Paula High School auditorium. The one-act play features live Mariachi music and Mexican folkloric ballet. It highlights the struggles of Mexican laborers contracted to work in the United States as part of a guest-worker initiative called the Bracero Program during and after World War II. The play is set in Oxnard in what was one of the nation's largest bracero camps. It examines the challenges and injustices faced by the laborers, centering on the story of a young bracero. When the show debuted earlier this year with three performances at Oxnard College's 400-seat Performing Arts Center, the tickets sold out. Organizers hope the Santa Paula performance will attract a similarly large crowd. "I feel that people everywhere in California need to see this play. It's a story that needs to be told," said Lorenzo Moraza, president of the nonprofit Santa Paula Latino Town Hall, which worked to bring the show to Santa Paula, together with students from the high school. "You just can't help but reflect on the fact that the story that is being told is the story that is still occurring today. People are coming and working and it's got to be difficult to leave your family behind and risk it all to be here." The play, written by Rosalinda Verde, is performed in Spanish with English subtitles. All of the cast members are from Ventura County, and many have relatives who worked as braceros, said director Miguel Orozco. New to the performance are six students with Santa Paula High School's Chicano youth group, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan or MEChA. The students will represent braceros in the play's opening scene. The youth group also worked with the Santa Paula Latino Town Hall to bring the show to the city, obtaining the approval of the local school board and getting the word out to the public, said teacher and adviser Michael Torres. Torres said the play highlights difficulties faced by farmworkers that labor activist Cesar Chavez later sought to change. "In Santa Paula, a lot of parents and family members work in agriculture, particularly as farmworkers, so the students thought (the play) would be a great way to celebrate Cesar Chavez and his spirit and what he is known for," Torres said. "They're excited to be a part of it." Before the performance, organizers with Santa Paula Latino Town Hall will host a Cesar Chavez commemoration at the Santa Paula Farmworker Monument at the corner of East Santa Barbara and 9th streets. The commemoration will include Aztec dancers, speeches and a march to the high school auditorium, Moraza said. Although there are currently no plans for additional "El Bracero" performances in Ventura County, Orozco said the play will travel to East Los Angeles College for Cinco de Mayo. He has also received requests to perform the play in other parts of California, including Bakersfield and Modesto, he said. "It is a super dynamic play; it is something that you won't forget. You watch it once, and you'll remember it," he said. "It's a homegrown play with homegrown talent and it brings all these good elements together: mariachi music, good acting, good story line, great performances." IF YOU GO What: "El Bracero A Mariachi Opera" When: 7 p.m. Thursday Where: Santa Paula High School Auditorium, 404 North 6th St., Santa Paula Cost: $15 Tickets: On sale at El Pescador, 322 S. Peck Road, Santa Paula; El Pescador, 1305 W. Ventura St., Fillmore; BG's Cafe, 428 South A. St., Oxnard; Burrito Express, 230. S. Ventura Road, Oxnard. For more information call 316-5409 SHARE I gauge a mans greatness on his contributions to his community, to our society and his effect upon our world. Stan Daily was a great man. A friendly guy who really cared about people, he contributed so much, in so many different ways, to Camarillo and to Ventura County. He ranks right up there with the greats in the history of our city and of our county, such as Don Adolfo Camarillo, Thomas Bard, Richard Bard and many others. There are so many ways he contributed. Stan was one of the original members of the Camarillo City Council at age 29, serving for more than 34 years. He was our citys mayor six times and, when he retired, the City Council honored him with the title, mayor emeritus. He was involved, and many times led, the nearly 70 organizations of which he was a member. Stan taught history and was a counselor for many years at Hueneme High School. His family members were Pleasant Valley pioneers, who along with others, helped bring water, lima beans, walnuts and citrus to our valley. His dedication to the people of Camarillo and Ventura County will long be remembered. His caring for and love of people was a guiding light for all that he did. He was a friend who listened, who cared, and who spent his life reaching out to help others. Stan Daily A Great Man! Gerald E. Gerry Olsen, Camarillo The wine world is a funny place. So many people act like they have a monopoly on tradition, deliberately ignoring the continuity of human experience while glorifying the past. Thats not to say that things always improve in the inexorable march of progress, but those who idealize an unchanging moment in history blind themselves to one of lifes great lessons: impermanence. Three years ago, investor Charles Banks bought Mayacamas Vineyards, one of the most quietly revered and least modernized wineries in the Napa Valley. When Bob Travers, its sole proprietor since his purchase of the estate in 1968 announced the sale, some were wistful about the end of an era. When Banks announced he was bringing in winemaker Andy Erickson and Andys wife viticulturist Annie Favia to help him run the winery, many reacted on social media with what can only be described as horror. The excitement, if you can call it that, had to do with what people perceived as the gap between what Mayacamas has been for nearly 50 years (the antithesis of everything modern in Napa wine) and the reputation of Andy Erickson, who might be one of three or four people youd choose as a poster child for the epitome of everything modern in Napa wine. Imagining the guy behind Screaming Eagle, Arietta, Dalla Valle, Ovid, and a handful more of Napas cult-iest wine projects continuing the work of a winemaker whose wines were the polar opposite of those brands seemed something of a stretch for most people, myself included. In part, thats why I reached out to Banks shortly after the purchase and asked him some questions about his plans for the property. I recorded that interview in a post entitled Charles Banks, the New Man Behind Mayacamas about 2 years ago. During that interview, Banks professed a deep love for the wines of Mayacamas, for the property itself, and somewhat convincingly maintained he had no desire to take the wines in a different direction. Yet, at the same time, he said that clearly there would need to be some cleanup about the place. I left that conversation encouraged, but far from convinced that what many, including myself, have appreciated about the Mayacamas wines would emerge under new ownership with all their admirable characteristics intact. So I decided to pay a visit and see if the wines themselves might hold the truth. Mayacamas Vineyards sits high on the shoulder of Mount Veeder, on the southwestern edge of Napa Valley. The rugged landscape of redwoods, madrones, manzanita, and pine emerges from steep rocky draws. And stone buckled meadows peek green between slopes of trees. It feels like an entirely different planet than the Napa Valley floor. In years before the steady creep of global warming, snow fell regularly at this altitude in the Mayacamas Mountains where grapes, it was thought, had no business being grown. The winery was built in 1889 by an ambitious German immigrant named John Henry Fisher, who dug a shallow cave out of the brittle basalt rock of old lava flows and grew Zinfandel that he would tend on weekends before returning to his pickle factory in San Francisco during the week. Like many, Fisher lost everything in the devastating 1906 earthquake, and the winery was sold to pay his creditors. After passing through one more set of hands, and hosting some bootlegging activity through the decades of Prohibition, the winery was purchased in 1941 by Jack and Mary Taylor, who christened the winery Mayacamas and planted Chardonnay and Cabernet. High on the mountain, the winerys remove made it easy to resist progress, and the Taylors were content (and financially constrained) to leave it largely unimproved. When they sold it to Robert and Elinor Travers in 1968 the winery had only recently acquired electricity, and remained largely unchanged from the state in which the Taylors purchased it, save an additional 27 years of wear and tear. Bob Travers was a petroleum engineer by training, but had most recently apprenticed with Joe Heitz, one of the pioneers of post-Prohibition winemaking in Napa. Travers felt ready to strike out on his own, and so he and Elinor moved up onto the mountain, where they would stay for nearly the next four and a half decades. Travers, in keeping with his engineering background, was a methodical winemaker and winegrower. He replanted most of the vineyards as soon as he could, and slowly improved the estate as his energy and meager funds would allow. Having gained some recognition by placing 7th in the field at the famous Judgment of Paris tasting in 1976, the winery generated enough cash to allow Travers to introduce small oak barrels to the winery for the first time, and to plant some entirely new sections of the remote hillsides in order to increase production. Beyond these improvements, however, Travers continued a tradition of what you might charitably describe as primitive winemaking processes: hand harvesting at very low (compared to the valley floor) ripeness, short macerations, fermenting in cinderblock and redwood tanks with native yeasts and no temperature control, and then aging in a combination of large oak casks and small (increasingly old) barrels. The 50 acres of vineyards he tended by hand and farmed relatively conventionally, as would be required in order to be manageable by a guy, his wife, and a few extra pairs of hands willing to make the trek up the mountain to help travers with his annual production of around 4000 cases of wine. If this all sounds like the wine equivalent of the Old Man and the Sea, youd have it pegged about right, and the spare brilliance of Hemingways prose might also serve as a metaphor for the wines that emerged from this older-than-old-school cellar. Tight, tannic, acidic, and sometimes more than a little rustic, the Cabernets and Chardonnays of Mayacamas continue to be some of the longest-lived wines to be made in Napa. More magically, when encountered at 15 or 20 years of age, the wines blossomed into crystalline expressions of rock, and redwood, fruit, herbs and spice. To many drinkers encountering the wines early in their years, they could appear somewhere between enigmatic and unforgiving (with occasional bummer bottles of fungal nastiness), but anyone with an Old World sensibility chancing upon an older bottle would likely find themselves arrested by an expression of place, distinctive and compelling. After 45 years, Bob Travers decided it was time to retire, and agreed to sell the property to the guy who had been asking him about it for years. Unlike most of his other winery purchases, made under the aegis of his investment firm Terroir Capital, Banks (along with partners Jay and Joey Schottenstein) paid his own money for the property, and brought in a hand picked team to carry the legacy forward. Before the purchase, Id been going up there for years with Charles, says Andy Erickson. I was very familiar with the wines, especially those from the 70x. I think theyre the best examples of California wine in existence, period. When we first got up there [after buying the property] I had a lot of improvements in my mind that we could make to the property, continues Erickson. We tasted every single vintage that we could find in that old cellar. Bob had at least a few bottles of almost everything back to mid Sixties and even late Fifties. You can learn a lot by tasting wines. And where else in California can you find a place where just one person was making wines for that long? The conversation as a team was always, and still is, about what are the defining characteristics of Mayacamas, what is the house style, how do we preserve that, and how do we think we might be able to make it better. As animals like any other, we humans fear change. The most devoted Mayacamas fans might hear that phrase make it better and shudder in fear for the loss of a tradition they have come to believe in. Yet Travers himself brought significant innovation to the winery in the form of Bordeaux-style barrels and, for the 1960s, so called modern winemaking equipment such as pumps. Anyone who had been up to the winery recently would understand it was time for some modernization, says Erickson, and when we talk about modernization, were not talking about micro-oxygenation. Were talking about upgrading a 1920s electrical system to current standards. Were talking about adding some refrigeration to the cement tanks to keep the ferments cooler. The first year was basically just like a giant spring cleaning project. We basically completely disassembled the winery, and then put it all back together. For anyone thats worked with me, continues Erickson, youd know that Im the quality control guy. When I go into an existing winery as a consultant or a new winemaker, my first order of business is always how do we improve this thing we have, its not about putting my fingerprints on the wine. Yet even the idea of upgrading something as basic as the barrels can have an outsized impact on the wine. We dug through the cellar and found barrels dating back to the 1980s. You have to understand that this is completely the opposite of the winemaking world I grew up in, laughs Erickson. We culled through the cellar and decided to replace only the ones that werent holding wine well anymore. And you know what? The new oak barrels didnt work at all. They were awful. The whole aging program is part of the formula there. It adds a special character, something like an antique character to the wine. You pull wine out of a 75-year-old cask and it has a totally different sort of personality than a new barrel. And when youre harvesting grapes at such low alcohols, it turns out you just cant use new barrels. Consequently the aging cellar will look about the same to someone who might have visited the winery forty years ago. The barrel cellar and the bottle library are two areas that were off limits to the scrubbing brush of the teams Spring cleaning. There are a few barrels that look like new arrivals, but they are slowly gaining the patina of age, and feeling the creep of the black mold that covers the rock and most of the older casks. There wont be a new oak program at the winery. There wont be a new aging program. As far as winemaking goes, Erickson says apart from temperature and maceration time, nothing else is changing either. Thoughts of bringing in a sorting table at harvest were entertained briefly, but then scrapped because thats not what Bob would do. He never did any sorting. I ask Erickson what kind of changes hes making to the maceration. Were going from about twelve days on average Ive got forty years of Bobs notebooks on that to about fifteen to twenty days thanks to the lower temperatures, laughs Erickson, and it strikes me that hes laughing as much at the relative insignificance of the change as he is the utter departure from every winemaking protocol that hes ever followed in his career. But do you know something? asks Erickson, Bob was working with us through that first harvest, and so I got a chance to ask him about maceration. I said Bob, so why do you do this 12 day maceration, why not longer, is that one of your secrets and he said, Absolutely not. Id do it longer, but I needed the tanks. It turns out theres not a lot of voodoo there, he was just making wine. As we talk, its clear that Erickson is delighting in this exercise. For me this is about protecting whats there at Mayacamas. It would be a complete mistake to make these wines modern, ripe, and extracted. Ive always thought that, he says emphatically. Ive been making wine in Napa for twenty years, and the chance to do something different like this is really exciting. These wines almost dont fit into Napa Valley. I think its pretty apparent when you go up there. Its almost coincidence that its considered Napa. So if the winemaking isnt changing, what about the farming? When I ask Erickson if hes ever harvested a red grape below 24 brix before his time at Mayacamas, he laughs again, and says almost certainly not. Were harvesting the fruit much earlier than I ever have in the past, says Erickson. Initially I had a very hard time evaluating the grapes in the vineyard. Ive never made a harvest decision that early. The grapes are very acidic, the tannins are strong, and you have to embrace that. I mean I grew up with the mindset and I still do have this with all the other wines I make youre looking for seeds to be mature and the acid to be in balance and so those are the parameters youre looking for. That doesnt happen at 23 brix. If you want to harvest at 23 brix then thats where you gotta harvest, no matter what the grapes taste like. So how did he do it once Travers was no longer working at his side? Well, I have 45 years of notebooks from Bob he was meticulous and so we looked at what things looked like when he harvested in a normal year, and we just did that. Its been three vintages now, and so Im settling into just how different it is. Perhaps the most expensive and most challenging change that is underway at Mayacamas now involves the vineyards themselves. The vintage following Banks acquisition was 2013, an all-around great vintage for California, but a bit smaller than the record breaking 2012 harvest in terms of average volume around the state. In 2013, the amphitheater block, a sweeping terraced bowl open to the southwest sky and the shadow of a forested mountain peak yielded less than 7 tons across its 9 acres of vines. Yields in other vineyards were similar. The estates vine material, much of it old and diseased, was due for some serious work. No one was aching about the replant as much as we were, says Erickson, but vines have a lifespan even when theyre disease free, and these certainly werent. They just werent doing their job anymore at the end of their life. A lot of them were still planted on AXR [a rootstock once thought to be resistant to phylloxera that once seemed the savior of Napa, but has since been all but completely ripped out]. Ericksons wife drew up plans for replanting, and because she had full-time obligations running her family winery, brought in viticulturist Phil Coturri to oversee both the replanting, and the ongoing farming at the estate. Coturri selected the rootstocks and sourced vine material for the grafting. And perhaps most importantly, the vines are being replanted as they were found, not on trellises with vertical shoot positioning, but as head-trained California sprawl. Unfortunately we couldnt use the existing vines as a source for grafting, says Erickson, but Phil found heritage selections that he says were likely the same ilk as when these plots were planted. Hes got a whole program for that. Additionally Coturri immediately transitioned the estate to organic farming At first we were as terrified as everyone else about ripping these vines out of the ground. We didnt want to mess this thing up, says Erickson, but we talked with Bob, and thats what he did when he first came in, and he also told us thats what hed be doing if he had the energy and money anyway. So Ive sort of come around to being at peace with the fact that there are just things that need to be done, and its our turn to do them, and the soil isnt going to change. The wines will still have the same character. The site always comes through. It was a foggy winter morning when I made my way up the mountain to visit Estate Director Jimmy Hayes and have a look around the property and the cellar, but around every corner of the treacherous road leading to the winery a break in the fog let through a shaft of sunlight to illuminate the freshly green carpet of grass sprung up in the wake of recent rains. After a wrong turn thanks to a GPS failure, I arrived to find the winery in an impressive state of repair. Banks and crew have clearly spared no expense in restoring the property to a state of rustic glory. Olive trees have been planted around the repaired stonework of the driveway, and the interior of the winery has been lovingly and tastefully upgraded with lighting and furniture. Care has clearly been taken to preserve, rather than replace, the soul of the building, while at the same time making it a lot more comfortable. I spent a good two hours tooling around the remote hillside vineyard sites, and poking about in the cellar, but the entire visit came down to one essential moment: when Hayes climbed the rickety 100-year-old ladder on cask T-9 with a wine thief in hand to pull out a sample of the 2014 vintage, the first harvest made without Travers supervision since the purchase. The juice spilled into my glass, bright purple and crystalline. Picked at 21.8 brix (12.8% potential alcohol) from the Paradis block and aged in ancient oak, it is angular, with fine but very stiff tannins that have a familiar hardness to them. Phenomenal acidity sears bright mulberry fruit into my palate, lingering for a long time in a mouthwatering finish. To say this wine is young yet would be a tragic understatement, but even in its youth, it screams its heritage with pride. One taste of this stuff will be enough to dismiss any fears that Mayacamas is coming off the rails. The next barrel sample, from a different vineyard block has some more of the earthy quality I associate with Mayacamas, seeming darker and more cherry than mulberry in character. Dense, powerful tannins play tug-of-war with crushed stone minerality that sings through the long finish. The third, this time out of a smaller oak barrel, was picked slightly later (it may add up to a whopping 13.2% alcohol) and has a wonderful sweetness to its fruit along with a hint of tobacco that might be the tiniest kiss of wood influence in the fruit. The tannins are fleecy and more plush than the other samples, but the wine is no less bright and mouthwatering. Notes of dried fennel seeds linger in the finish, and I cant help swallowing in a moment of what you might call professional weakness coupled with nostalgic relief. Mayacamas is going to be fine. Really. The wines, it seems to me, will be a touch cleaner, and a bit more consistent. They will have their rusticity, but it will be slightly more refined. They will be perhaps ever-so-slightly more drinkable in their youth, but will still show best after 15 or 20 years. Will they be exactly the same? No. That would be impossible. Will they be more expensive? Almost certainly. Banks is not in the charity business, and he has just poured a ton of money into this property, and will need to see a return eventually. But the juice slumbering in those barrels still speaks of the place it was born. As if it could do any other. When I ask Erickson what hes taken away from this new experience, he doesnt hesitate. If I hear another winemaker say theyre waiting to pick for flavor, Im going to smack them in the face, he says. The danger of waiting for flavor is that the acid gets too low and the sugar gets to high and then you have to intervene. Im picking earlier now for every single wine that Im working on. That doesnt mean as early as Mayacamas, but I can tell you that in 2015, pretty much in every appellation I worked in, we were the first ones picking in every appellation. And I thought that was pretty cool. People were worried about Andy Erickson changing Mayacamas, but instead its changing him. TASTING NOTES: In addition to tasting in the barrel room, Hayes and I sat down to sample a few bottles from the past 20 years of the winerys history. 2012 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay, Mount Veeder, Napa, California Pale gold in color, this wine smells of wet stone, white flowers and grapefruit pith. In the mouth, lean and juicy pink grapefruit and lemon zest flavors sizzle with electric acidity, stretched taut over a bed of wet chalkboard and mountain stream water. A wonderfully bright lemon kick lingers in the finish. 13.25% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $44. click to buy. 2007 Mayacamas Vineyards Chardonnay, Mount Veeder, Napa, California Medium gold in color, this wine smells of bee pollen and lemon curd. In the mouth stunning buttered popcorn and lemon curd flavors are electrically bright and dense on the palate. Stunningly bright and juicy with phenomenal stony minerality. White flowers emerge on the finish which builds an almost tannic density over time. A surprising and very ripe 14.75% alcohol. Score: between 9.5 and 10. Cost: $90. click to buy. 1989 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder, Napa, California Medium ruby in the glass, with chunky sediment, this wine smells of mushrooms, cedar, dried cherries, and forest floor. In the mouth, gorgeous cedar, mushroom, and forest floor flavors are shot through with a muddy but faintly sweet red fruit haze, like looking at the sunset through a bank of trees. Truffles emerge on the finish with a little tang of funk. Thick, chalky tannins add to the wet chalkboard sense of the finish. Not the most spectacular bottle, but pretty darn tasty. 12.5% alcohol. Score: arou Wang Yan, 29, rescued over 5,000 abandoned or soon-to-be slaughtered dogs in the past three years, ever since he set up a rescue center in Changchun, a city in northeast Jilin province. Over the past three years, Wang has spent nearly 3 million yuan on the dogs. I have always liked dogs because they are very loyal to humans, Wang explained. Most of his rescued dogs are from Hebei province or Tianjin municipality, where, due to the climate, they cannot survive winter while living outside. To solve this problem, Wang asked for help from his uncle who studied traditional Chinese medicine. Wang tried each treatment on himself before administering anything to the dogs. He was hospitalized several times for allergic reactions. In addition to time and energy, Wang has spent all his savings on the dogs. Food alone costs him 1,000 yuan ($153.6) a day. However, as a matter of principle, Wang refuses to take monetary donations from other people. I am thinking about building a kennel this winter. If people really want to pitch in, I hope they can donate some construction materials instead of money, Wang explained. A mix of kindergartens and primary schools, in the names of Tra Long and Luong Tam, and Tan Phu 1 have come into operation in the provinces Long My district, together with the grant of 300 scholarships to underprivileged high-school students with outstanding study results. Project 3E, for which the Es stand for educate, enrich and employ, is a jointed project by ANZ and the UK-registered non-government organisation Saigon Childrens Charity (SCC), aimed at providing access to quality schooling in a sustainable way. Since its launch in late 2013, 3E has had a positive impact on over 1,100 young peoples lives in Vietnam and so far opened seven schools. This project is driven by more than a financial commitment from the bank, its funded by our staffs enthusiasm, energy and passion to make a difference, said ANZ CEO Vietnam Dennis Hussey during the opening ceremony of the schools. Im incredibly proud that our staff in Vietnam and other countries in the ANZ network have volunteered thousands of hours helping with construction, household visits, as well as delivering our financial literacy programme MoneyMinded to local teachers and parents. This year, we hope to build more schools, continue to provide scholarships for students in hardship and upgrade IT equipment for secondary schools. Were confident that together with our partners and the local governments support, we will be able to achieve plans, added Hussey. We applaud the support and long-term commitment ANZ has made to the community, demonstrated through the real results from Project 3E, said SCC executive director Tim Mullett, adding that the new classrooms would not only provide safe and well-equipped working environment for teachers and children in Long My, but also help create a better, fairer start for the children and their families future. Working in conjunction with the Hau Giang Education and Training Department, Project 3E aims at providing quality education to fight poverty, enrich peoples lives and support the employment prospects of 4,000 disadvantaged children and young people in Long My district. ANZ was one of the first foreign banks in Vietnam when it opened in 1993. Over 1,300 people have participated in the banks flagship financial literacy programme, MoneyMinded, in Vietnam since its launch in 2012. In 2015, ANZ and Blue Dragon Childrens Foundation launched the ANZ Career Preparation programme following the success of ANZ Kickstart programme in the previous year, benefiting over 120 disadvantaged youths and families to date. SCC, meanwhile, has been operating in Vietnam for nearly 25 years. SCC believes that education is the best path for children and their families to follow to help them out of poverty. SCC builds schools, provides scholarships, provides access to vocational training and supports organisations working with children with a disability. Representatives Vietnamese and French businesses attended the "Viet Nam, a new Asian dragon" conference and several seminars in France on March 25 - VNA/VNS Photo Bich Ha The event, the first large-scale business conference on Viet Nam held at the Senate of France, was jointly organised by the Vietnamese industry and trade ministry, the Vietnamese Embassy in France, the Senate of France and the French agency for trade and investment promotion (Business France). Speaking at the event, Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said Viet Nam was considered to be one of the most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia, with an active open-door policy amid its international integration process. The minister said France was among Viet Nam's top business, economic and investment partners in the European Union. Bolstering co-operation in all areas between the two nations will have a significant impact on relations between Viet Nam and the European Union. He said the French President's visit to Viet Nam, scheduled for this year, would be a good opportunity to cement bilateral relations. Henri Baissas, general director of Business France, said about 2,000 French firms exported goods to Viet Nam. The Southeast Asian country might become a major trading partner of France, as Viet Nam has a bright economic outlook that promises fruitful co-operation. Vietnamese businesses at the conference introduced their major export products, particularly farm produce such as rice, tea, coffee and cashew nuts. French enterprises presented their technology and potential in the fields of infrastructure development, transport, renewable energy and pharmaceutical chemistry. At the event, Viet Nam's Trade Promotion Agency and Business France signed an agreement to help the two countries' enterprises increase commercial exchange and investment. A production line of canned drinks at Viet Nam Suntory Pesico Company branch in Tra Noc 2 Industrial Park, southern Can Tho City. The country's index of industrial production (IIP) in March has a month-on-month increase of 23.8 per cent and a year-on-year surge of 6.2 per cent.- Photo vietnamplus.vn Deputy minister of industry and trade Tran Tuan Anh said this at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)'s monthly meeting held in Ha Noi yesterday. At the meeting, the MoIT's Planning Department reported that the index of industrial production (IIP) in March had a month-on-month increase of 23.8 per cent and a year-on-year surge of 6.2 per cent. The IIP, in the first quarter, gained a year-on-year growth rate of 6.3 per cent, the department said. Vu Ba Phu, head of the Planning Department, said that in the first quarter, some industries achieved high growth rate in the IIP, which included metal production with a rate of 23.1 per cent, paper production at 14.8 per cent and textile at 12 per cent. The industries also saw high consumption in the first quarter against the same period of last year such as beverage, textile, metal production and medicine production, Phu said. But some other industrial products such as garment, paper and transport vehicles saw reduction in consumption. However, Phu said the growth rate at 6.3 per cent in the IIP for the first quarter was low against an increase of 9.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 mainly due to reduction in crude oil exploitation and low growth rate in production from groups of electronic products, computer and electric products. Low electricity supply volume in the industrial and construction fields affected the economy. Phu said that in the next few months, the world crude oil price was expected to stay at low so that was a good chance for industrial entrepreneurs to restructure their production and business, cut production costs and improve quality of products before crude oil prices recover. In addition, prices of some services for production such as warehouses and transport would decrease against the same period to create favourable conditions for production and business of the enterprises, he said. Especially, enterprises should strengthen their traditional markets, expand potential markets, actively look for human and financial resources, and have investment in technologies for developing material suppliers, he said. Deputy minister of industry and trade Tran Tuan Anh said that the enterprises under the ministry should follow global and local markets and consult state offices to solve difficulties in production and business of local firms, and promote exports in the future. They should also improve competitiveness, reform technology and promote restructuring, Anh said, while the state would develop policies to attract foreign investment, improve domestic production skills and increase exports. Price index The price index of industrial production fell during the first quarter of this year by 0.73 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and 1.01 per cent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). The reduction of the price index in the first quarter was partly due to lower prices of all three major industrial products, including mining products, which dropped 3.9 per cent against the previous quarter, processing and manufacturing products, which fell 0.13 per cent, and electricity and electric distribution, which was down 1.35 per cent. The office said that another reason for the decrease in the IIP was price reduction in crude oil and iron ore on the world markets. However, the price index for the group making up clean water, waste water, and waste water and rubbish treatment, increased by 0.41 per cent quarter-on-quarter, the office said. Record-holder: Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh Province, which is famous for the countrys longest corridor with 500 Arhat statues, has attracted tourists from around the world The recent cold rains of early spring couldnt make the Phu Day Relic Complex any cooler as hundreds of people, including locals and foreign diplomats in Viet Nam, gathered to watch a hau dong performance. As usual, the spiritual trance ritual of the Mother Goddess worship takes place at the temple amidst a very solemn atmosphere. Colourful offerings and flickering candles transform the main sanctuary into a splendid stage, combining with now high and then low music to welcome the spirits. The chosen medium seems to become a different person as he or she gives voice to the deities spirits. Thanks for offering me the opportunity to discover this great and very original ritual. It is an honour for us to come to this sacred place to watch such a solemn yet joyful ritual, where the gods are incarnated in mediums to shower blessings on the followers, said Venezuelan Ambassador Jorge Ronzon Uzcategui about watching a hau dong performance for the first time ever at the Phu Day complex in the northern province of Nam Dinh, after 10 years of serving in Viet Nam. Holding flowers offered by the medium, the ambassador and other diplomats swayed along with the rest of the audience to the joyful melodies of the trance-like singing and dancing. Twenty-two foreign ambassadors, fifty representatives of embassies in Viet Nam, and researchers took part in a two-day cultural and religious tourism tour to discover the three religions of Viet Nam: Dao mau, or Mother Goddess worship, Catholicism, and Buddhism. The tour, organised by the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO, began at the Phu Day relic complex, the birthplace of the hau dong ritual of the Mother Goddess worship. The Phu Day Complex worships Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh, one of the Four Immortals of Vietnamese legends. The worship of the Mother Goddesses in Viet Nam is considered the countrys oldest belief, predating even the Chinese occupation here thousands of years ago. The Phu Day Relic complex in Nam Dinh Province has attracted an increasing number of Vietnamese people from across the nation who come here to pray for health and happiness. It has become an important site for spiritual tourism. Spiritual ceremony: Foreign diplomats and local inhabitants watch a hau dong performance at the Phu Day Relic Complex in Nam Dinh Province.-VNS Photo Minh Nha In the beginning, goddess worship depicted representations of nature, such as the goddess of the earth, water and mountains. Later, princesses, queens and female founders of craft villages were honoured and worshipped as Mother Goddesses by locals. The image of the Mother Goddess is well recognised in Vietnamese spiritual life. The ritual of worshipping the Mother Goddess also reflects the Vietnamese traditions of patriotism and of remembering the source of the water when it is consumed. Fifty genies, historical figures who rendered great service to the nation, are also worshipped by the Mother Goddess religion. Professor Ngo Duc Thinh, a leading expert on the Mother Goddess religion in Viet Nam, said the religion was significant because it existed only in Vietnamese tradition. Of the 50 genies, more than 10 were from ethnic minority communities, demonstrating that the Vietnamese people accepted cultural integration even in ancient times. The museum director in Nam Dinh, Nguyen Van Thu, said the province was considered the largest pilgrimage centre for followers of the Mother Goddesses. More than 20 temples and shrines are scattered throughout the Phu Day complex in Vu Ban District. There are 287 temples, plus vestiges of the belief system, across the province. In recent years, Mother Goddess worship has increased in popularity. The Phu Day festival in Nam Dinh attracts tens of thousands of followers each year. In 2014, Viet Nam sent documents to UNESCO requesting recognition of Mother Goddess worship as an intangible cultural heritage. The documents are expected to be considered by the UN cultural agency this December. Visibly impressed by the ritual singing and demonstration of Vietnamese culture, Minister Counsellor of Nigeria Bukar Alkali Abdulsalam said he strongly believed the worship should receive the UNESCO distinction. This belief system has great traditional cultural values that show gratitude to ones ancestors, predecessors and national heroes, he said. Theres also perfect harmony between the costumes, music and dance. I am proud to be here where I can learn more about Vietnamese history. Catholicism and Buddhism After visiting the Phu Day complex, the tour continued to the Phat Diem cathedral and Bai Dinh Pagoda. We want to promote the culture, history and spiritual beliefs of the Vietnamese people to our international friends, said Pham Sanh Chau, secretary general of UNESCO Viet Nam and head of the External Relations Culture Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We visit pagodas and spring festivals to pray for happiness. Peace is our tradition on the occasion of the New Year. On that day, we always hope for the best things. We also want our international friends to know that Viet Nam has special values. Phat Diem Stone Cathedral in Ninh Binh Province is one of the most famous and beautiful churches in the country featuring special architecture that elegantly combines the style of a Western church with that of Vietnamese worshipping buildings. Important site: Representatives of different embassies in Viet Nam listen to stories about the history of the Phat Diem Stone Cathedral in Ninh Binh Province. -VNS Photo Bach Lien It was designed by a Vietnamese priest, Father Tran Luc, also called Pere Six in French or cu Sau in Vietnamese. It took 24 years to build, between 1875 and 1899. As its name implies, it was built with only stone and wood, which are readily available in the mountains of Ninh Binh. The preparation phase, which mainly involves extracting materials from the limestone mountains, took the locals up to 10 years to finish. The cathedral attracts many visitors, especially during Christmas. Here, visitors can admire the unique architecture and learn more about Catholicism in Viet Nam. Located some 30km from the cathedral, Bai Dinh Pagoda is a well-known site at the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Bai Dinh Pagoda is a cluster of Buddhist architectural structures, consisting of new giant, imposing temples in the newly built area that are similar to the ancient, respected shrines in the old area. The pagoda famously holds eight records: the biggest gilt Buddha Shakyamuni statue in Asia (the 100-tonne statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in Phap Chu Temple); the biggest bronze statue of Buddha in Southeast Asia (the 100-tonne statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva); the countrys largest bronze bell (the 36-tonne bronze bell in the bell tower); the countrys largest pagoda area (539ha); the longest corridor with 500 Arhat statues (two wooden corridors with a total length of 3,400m); the countrys largest number of Arhat statues (500 greenstone Arhat statues); the countrys largest water well (30m in diameter, 6m in depth); and the countrys largest number of Bodhi trees (100 Bodhi trees). Buddhism, the main organised religion of Viet Nam, was first introduced to the country in 111 BC, when the Chinese conquered the Red River Delta. Over the next thousand years, Buddhism fit comfortably into the animist faith of ordinary people and became the dominant popular religion. I can only say one thing: The trip was unforgettable, Russian Ambassador Konstantin Vasilievich Vnukov said. Its great to see Phat Diem Cathedral is well preserved and well-respected by locals and tourists. Bai Dinh Pagoda and Trang An Landscape Complex are amazing, he said. I will certainly encourage more Russian tourists to come here to witness the cultural and religious richness of Viet Nam. The Russian people are very interested in Vietnamese traditional culture, but so far, they have mostly spent their time on Viet Nams seashore. Encouraging spiritual tourism Based on the positive impressions of the ambassadors and other visitors, the two-day tour to examine three belief systems has proven to be worth including in the spiritual tours offered by travel agencies in the North. Over the last few years, the countrys tourism authorities have considered encouraging spiritual tourism. In 2013, the first International Conference on Spiritual Tourism took place in Bai Dinh Pagoda. It attracted nearly 400 participants, half of whom came from overseas. The International Conference on Spiritual Tourism for Sustainable Development explored ways in which living culture, traditions and belief systems could be integrated into tourism while respecting the four pillars of sustainability: the environment, economy, society and culture. The conference was an initiative of World Tourism Organisation Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. Rifai had participated in a study tour to Viet Nam in 2012. The tourism sites in Ninh Binh, particularly Bai Dinh Pagoda, a private-invested work, made a positive impression on him. In her opening speech at the conference, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan said Viet Nam considered spiritual tourism a kind of cultural tourism and an important factor in strengthening economic growth and boosting patriotism and national unity. "Viet Nam always encourages and creates favourable conditions for international co-operation in tourism development and for the private sector to participate in developing the industry in general, and spiritual tourism in particular, since cultural belief links the Vietnamese people and their foreign friends," she said. "Spiritual tourism would only develop in a sustainable way if countries co-operate closely to support each other," she added. Presently, more travel agencies are starting to showcase different tours of pagodas and temples, offering tourists the opportunity to contemplate the beautiful architecture and landscapes and pray for health and happiness. Head of the culture ministrys National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Van Tuan said spiritual tourism reflected the tangible and intangible cultural heritage religious structures and local customs. He said Viet Nam planned to develop a variety of spiritual tourism packages, such as the triangular Ha Noi-Ha Long-Ninh Binh tourism route. Another tour will target the Huong (Perfume) Pagoda (Ha Noi), Bai Dinh Pagoda and Trang An tourism site (Ninh Binh) and Tran Temple (Nam Dinh). He said developing spiritual tourism as part of efforts to develop the countrys tourism industry could also help generate jobs for the locals. Nearly 1,000 containers, which carried goods that are subject for re-export, mostly used tyres, have been left for months at Hai Phong Port.- VNA/VNS Photo Lam Khanh Cao Trung Ngoan, deputy general director of Hai Phong Port, said nearly 1,000 containers, filled with goods subject for re-export, mostly used tyres, have been left at the port for months. A container is considered inventory if it is left at the port for more than 90 days, according to the Ministry of Finance. However, the majority of the above mentioned containers had been kept in storage for up to 4 years, causing billions of dong in inventory management, transportation, storage and pollution. Despite efforts by Hai Phong Port authorities, including calling on goods owners to re-export them or asking firms to recycle them, only 400 containers have been dealt with since October 2014. The reasons containers are stacking up at seaports are various, according to port and customs officials. In some cases, although containers arrived in Viet Nam under temporary import/export permits and were supposed to only transit the ports, they were abandoned when businesses realised that there was no chance of shipping them out of the country. Enterprises have between 5 and 7 days to finish customs procedures to receive their goods. After that period, enterprises have to pay port warehousing fees. "The more containers are lying unused at seaport, the more losses the port suffers," Ngoan said to Tin Tuc (News) newspaper. Hai Phong Port authorities plan to reduce or exempt costs for shipping companies and goods owners to ease difficulties for them, he said, adding that it might cost VND150 million (US$6,720) to handle an abandoned container. The port's management board also proposed that the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, Hai Phong city's authorities and customs department do not allow industrial waste to be imported and strictly deal with shipping companies and goods owners who abandon their goods. The government should tighten the regulations on re-export goods as well as revise rules so that goods owners can refuse to receive their goods if their counterparts don't act in accordance with the contracts to prevent port facilities from dumps, said experts. Tran Huy Hien, general director of Viet Nam Logistics Association, said competence agencies should introduce a roadmap to settle abandoned containers. The Government should assign funds for customs to deal with unclaimed containers if it costs a lot of money and selling the contents can't cover storage charges. It is necessary to reduce containers' port storage time limit to 30 days to prevent the reoccurrence in the future, he said. A footage recorded by in-car dash camera revealed a tragic incident where a young couple was buried alive by pebbles in a car accident in southeast Chinas Xiamen city. The young couple, who were recently engaged and ready to get married, was killed. The footage started with normal talk between the couple, until the car came to a crossing where no traffic light was seen. A big truck loaded with pebbles collided into the couples car, and rolled over. 50 tonnes of pebbles loaded on truck were all poured onto the car from which the couple failed to flee as it all happened too fast. The last words of the bride-to-be was screaming and shouting: Watch out!! Watch out!!!! The truck driver and passersby tried to help them out. For fear of hurting the couple inside, they had to use their hands to remove the pebbles. The fire fighters eventually arrived and used bulldozer to evacuate the car, only to find both the man and the woman had stopped breathing. The truck driver was held for investigation by police. [Editors Note: Professor Alexander Hinton is the author of Why Did They Kill? Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide, a book published in 2005 on the Khmer Rouge period. In March, he gave evidence at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, otherwise known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, in Phnom Penh. The American author and academic took the stand for more than three full court days, giving evidence in case 002/02, which is hearing evidence on genocide charges against top regime leaders Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. He spoke with VOA Khmers Sayana Ser about his dramatic courtroom confrontation with Brother Number Two Nuon Chea, and whyunlike other Western witnesses to the courthe chose to take a traditional Buddhist oath in front of the Lokta Dambang Dek, or lord of the iron staff, Neak Ta at the court. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.] What were you thinking on your first day giving evidence at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal? It was a very intense three and a half days of giving testimony. When I first arrived, there was a degree of uncertainty because I was uncertain how the process would go, what I would be asked. But I was very excited as well to contribute to whats an important process in general and in Cambodia in particular. I know at times the court has come under criticism, but I believe that what the court is doing is extremely important. What moments stood out for you during those days at the court? When I gave my testimony, I wanted, of course, to provide expert testimony about whatever questions the prosecution, civil parties and the defense had, and I was hoping along the way that I will be able to tell the story of the village and the region where I did my fieldwork from 1994 to 1995. Thats the village called Banyan village thats located near Wat Phnom Pros Phnom Srey in Kampong Siem district in Kampong Cham. I lived there for a year from 1994 to 1995. And the book that I eventually wrote, and the research I did, was to try and understand the lived experience of living through the Khmer Rouge regime. In this area, life was pretty good until 1977 when Southwest [Zone] cadres came in and at that point, as in many part of Cambodia, killings began to dramatically escalate, conditions became much more difficult. So, I hoped, even if I responded to the questions, that I would be able to also provide the sense of the lives and suffering of the people from that region during the testimony. In terms of specific moments for me that was important. Maybe my most disappointed moment was at the very beginning when I wanted to engage in an in-depth discussion of genocide, the meaning of the term, which often is misunderstood. I very much wanted to talk about this in court. But the court has a certain definition that it usesthe U.N. Genocide Conventionand the defense intervened and said I should restrict my comments. So at the very beginning I was a little frustrated that I was unable to have this discussion, but on the other hand, over the course of three and a half days of intense testimony, I was able, in bits and pieces, to discuss the meaning of genocide and how the genocide perpetrated in Cambodia not only fits the four protective groups in the U.N. Genocide Conventionracial, ethnic, national, religious groupsbut potentially can apply to broader grouping such as, for example, ethnic Chinese, who came under assault, possibly class-based attacks, maybe the killing of people in the Eastern Zone. So, as proceedings unfolded, I was able to discuss this. I think one moment that was stood out in the end was when Mr. Nuon Chea, one of the accused, the second in command of the Khmer Rouge, the Democratic Kampuchea regime, after Pol Pot, came to the courtroom to speak. I was glad, his voice has been missing. I strongly believe that the defense should have a clear voice, they should voice their argumentsbe heard. He has been silent. Hes chosen not to speak for quite sometime. And so he came up to the courtroom and I was delighted. So that was one of the moments I very much appreciated. Nuon Chea reacted strongly to evidence you gave about the use of the word Yuon. What are your thoughts about what happened? Im unable to know his heart, only he knows his own heart. I can only hear his words. So thats the basis upon which I have to make a surmise. He did not apologize. And he offered an explanation as, of course he should do. He should present a defense and it should be heard. The larger context of his coming to speak was a discussion that Ive been having with the defense teams, who had questioned whether the use of the term Yuon in the context of Khmer Rouge speeches was in fact incitement to hate. I have presented based on my fieldwork and the lived experience of the people in Kampong Siem district, as well as my knowledge of Cambodia, having come here many times over the years and the research Ive done. I made a strong case that while the word Yuon can be used sometimes in a way that doesnt connote incitement and hate, very often it can be mobilized and used in any ideological discourses, used by politicians to promote a message of hate. This message, in the context of Democratic Kampuchea was extreme. Its everywhere in Communist Party of Kampuchea broadcasts, from the radio to party publications, and it seems clear cut that this was an incitement to genocide. I made that point and I understand that for the defense, this was something they felt they needed to respond to. Effectively, what happened is Nuon Chea came up. He was in a wheelchair. And he came and he spokeloudly. He said hed been told by Pol Pot to use the word [Yuon], but he suggested that it didnt connote hatred. So, I respected what he said, but I disagree. I was given an opportunity to respond to that and one other question, and I said that what is very important is that we think critically and have a dialogue about to use of terms like this in society. I think the discussion that we had is hopefully one that can be opened up more broadly in Cambodia, and more generally, about what it means to use a word, stereotyping, feelings of anger, and sometimes even hate that are associated with this term. So I was pleased that even if he didnt agree with me he had raised the issue. But it seems quite clearas I said in the end as I finished speaking to himthat the use of the word Yuon in the context of Democratic Kampuchea was clearly incitement to genocide against ethnic Vietnamese. Do you think Nuon Cheas defense team, led by Victor Koppe, was fair when questioning you, in comparison to Khieu Samphan's defense team? The defense teams are in a difficult position. There is a mountain of evidence against their clients. They express the view that they dont feel that their voice is always heard sufficiently. So, I understand that as a defense lawyer, you need to do the best you can to defend the rights of the accused. Some lawyers take up a strategy of disruption. [The late French lawyer] Jacques Verges, who was initially representing Khieu Samphan, was one of the pioneers in this way. They would seek to disrupt and question the legitimacy of the entire proceedings. This is a common tactic. This is sort of a legal strategy of disruption. Others stick very much to the rule, to the law, and contest a case that way. So the two defense teams have somewhat different strategies. I think that Mr. Koppes strategy is more disruptive. I think that he tries to maybe shake up the person giving testimony if the testimony is incriminating. And I think the testimony I gave about the destruction of the Chams and ethnic Vietnamese in Region 41 of the Central Zone was incriminating. So, even though he tried to attack my arguments in different ways, thats exactly what he should have tried to do. Ill leave it to other to judge if sometimes he was a bit too personal, but again I respect what hes trying to do and defend his client. And I think he should fulfill his duty to the best of his ability. The defense team for Khieu Samphan as well. Theyve got to work hard. Even though I was confident about all of my arguments and I think they were born out through the process, and its quite clear that, for example, the use of the word Yuon incites hate and that genocide was committed against the Chams. Again, their voice needs to be heard, the rights of their client defended. And they should do this to the best of their ability. You mentioned Grandma Yuth, or Yeay Yuth, a lot in your testimony. What does she have to do with this genocide case? During this time, an extermination center was created at Wat Phnom Pros Phnom Srey, which was a famous pagoda in Kampong Cham province and they turned it into a security center where well over 10,000, probably over 12,000, people were executed. So many people were dying here. There were also other killing areasone by Tuol Veng, for example. But in 1977, after Kuy Thuon and his associates had been purged and were being purged, the destruction arrived in Kampong Siem. The local cadres, who were thought to be associated with Kuy Thuon and his network, were replaced by the cadres from the Southwest. Grandma Yuth, as many people told me, arrived from the Southwest. She became the head of the district. There is another woman, Rorm, who is the head Krala sub-district commune. And I heard many story about them. One story was that grandmother Yuth had been so fierce that she had even agreed [to], or was thought to have killed her husband to show that she had renounced everything for the party. I should note that the two of them were linked to different cadres from the Southwest, but in particular, [Case 003 suspect] Ta An was also there. He had taken over and he was her superior. But under Grandma Yuth, a great deal of devastation took place including a number of killings, not just ethnic Chams who perished in large numbers in Kampong Siem district, but also new people, students, intellectuals, people from the cities who were thought to have capitalistic or privatist tendencies, counter-revolutionary tendencies. At this time, initially, the Khmer Rouge had thought that perhaps people could sharpen their consciousness, to use their phrase, and purify themselves from what they called impure elements. But in late 1976 and especially in 1977, these people began to be more and more suspect, and in Kampong Cham we saw the consequence, which was mass execution. Grandma Yuth, I mentioned her many time because she figured in the experience of the people in the areaher and other cadres, such as Rorm, were known as fierce. And they were feared. I cant tell you exactly what took place in Grandma Yuth's office. But I can tell you that for the people living in the area, Rorm and Grandma Yuth were terrifying figures. But you know they also symbolize what was the terrifying time in their life when their fear greatly escalated, life became much harder, people lost loved ones, and massive numbers of people were killed that as a broader process in Cambodia of genocide. During your testimony you mentioned the Khmer Rouge-era novel Dam Pheng. Can you explain why? Theres a story about Dam Pheng that appeared in the Khmer Rouge magazine revolutionary youth. There is a version that appeared in 1973, but the story is thought to have served as inspiration, for example, of different performances that took place during the Democratic Kampuchea regime. People have spoken about their memories of witnessing this. I believe Youk Chhang, the head the Documentation Center of Cambodia, is on record as having spoken about this as well. Its a legendary story of Khmer youth who came from a poor family in the countryside, went to Phnom Penh to study and eventually he became beholden to the Khmer Rouge message. Their message of class oppression, at the time war was going on next door in Vietnam that also had reverberations in Cambodia. So, the story of Dam Pheng tells about how he began to take up the revolutionary cause to fight against U.S. imperialism, against class oppression. And in this story, he epitomizes the qualities of the ideal revolutionary who has a pure conscientiousness, who constantly fights without hesitation. The story endsI cant remember the year, I believe its in the late 1960sand Dam Pheng is arrested, hes tortured, but throughout the process, he doesnt succumb. He doesnt reveal his associates, and then, in the end, after being tortured, he writes a poem in blood on his cell before he dies. As I said before, this was, apparently, a widely known story and one that was used to help propagate the Khmer Rouge ideological message, but I have spoken to someone who says that Dam Pheng was a real person. The story itself, I believe, was mentioned during the Duch trial [Case 001] and is thought to have been a somewhat legendary character and perhaps, its thought, Noun Chea or Pol Pot may have actually written this story that appeared in that magazine. We dont know. Perhaps Noun Chea will one day provide clarification. I had hoped that he might do so, but we dont know. But Dam Pheng is a figure that symbolizes much and teaches us much about the mindset of Khmer Rouge. What does Duch a.k.a. Kang Kek Iew, who was convicted in the courts first case, have to do with case 002? Duch gave a great deal of evidence that was incriminating toward the case of Noun Chea because he places Noun Chea directly in control of S-21 after Son Sen went to fight the Vietnamese in mid-to-late 1977. Duchs previous testimony about this has been attacked by the defense lawyersand again, theyre doing their job, thats what they should try to dobut if it stands up as most likely it will, its very bad for the case of the Noun Chea defense because it directly links him to a process of violence and killing and torture, crimes against humanity and even war crimes that were taking place at S-21. So Duch is very much a person who I would imagine might come and testify again and offer very incriminating evidence against Noun Chea, someone with whom he interacted a number of times during DK [Democratic Kampuchea]. Why did you take a Buddhist oath at the court? As an anthropologist and as someone who is a visitor in Cambodia, I wanted to honor and respect the traditions of Cambodia and in the Cambodian part of this court, people pay the respects and swear the oath before the Lokta Dambang Dek Neak Ta, and I thought its important to respect the traditions that exist in this country. In fact, I think it might be a good thing if everybody had to swear an oath before the Neak Ta. It is a very strong oath. Maybe people are afraid to swear an oath before the Neak Ta, but I was pleased to be able to do so and I thought of the Neak Ta as I testified and I did my best to uphold the oath I made to him, as well as the oath I made in court. Do you think U.N. war crimes trials in the future should have civil parties, like the Khmer Rouge Tribunal? This court is very distinctive in having civil parties represented, having a voice to the people brought in. Theres been in the Duch trial, and even going back to the time before the cases began and pre-trial hearings, there was some discussion about what it means for victims to have a voice and to express that voice in court. Whether, for example, a civil party should be able to stand up and actually ask questions to the accused, or to make pleas on their own behalf. Because its extremely complicated and there are a large number of civil parties, a system emerged where civil parties have lawyers and then their co-lead lawyers. I understand that, on the one hand, in order for the trail to run efficiently, it needs to be structured like this. But, on the other hand, theres also a problem, because the voice of the victims is pushed back to an extent. When I was in the court room, I glanced over at the civil parties, they were backed by the AV booth, sitting in the room, but they said nothing. I should note that civil parties do speak at the court. Its important to recognize and be aware of. They are allowed to tell their stories. Not everyone gets to speak, but some people do speak. But if you compare this trial to, for example, the international criminal tribunals in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Despite the shortcomings, this court has made an effort and made progress in helping to give a voice to people. But I think as well, its important in retrospect to look back and think how we might strengthen the voice of victims even more. Do you think the foreign lawyers at the court are sensitive to the local culture of the victims? I dont think its possible to generalize. I would hope that all lawyers would respect the traditions of Cambodia, respect Cambodian customs. In Cambodia, though, especially if you dont speak the language, it becomes more difficult. You dont really understand whats taking place around you. Perhaps at all courts that are international hybrid mixed tribunals, there should be, for example, cultural sensitivity training that takes place. I think this might be a good thing for everyone. Maybe this is a lesson from the court that in future courts maybe something like this can be done. Having said that, I have spoken to many international personnel at the tribunal who are very culturally sensitive and want to act in accordance with local understanding, local beliefs. There are others who maybe do so to a lesser extent. For those, I hope they will struggle and work to improve their performance, but at no place is it possible to have things perfect in this manner, but maybe theres a lesson to be learnt. An Angolan court sentenced 17 young activists to between two and eight-and-a-half years in jail Monday for rebellion against the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. The activists were arrested in Luanda in June after organizing a reading of U.S. academic Gene Sharp's 1993 book "From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation." The book's cover describes it as "a blueprint for non-violent resistance to repressive regimes." The activists were accused of acts of rebellion, planning mass civil disobedience in the capital and producing fake passports, among other charges. Their sentences ranged from two years and three months to eight years and six months. They were sent to jail immediately, but their defense lawyer requested the sentences be suspended pending an appeal in Angola's Supreme Court. "These boys who were debating their rights are the ones they want to condemn, but President Jose Eduardo who steals everything is getting protected," the mother of one of the activists, Adalia Chivonde, told Reuters after the sentence was handed down. "This sentence is garbage for me, it means nothing," she said. No one was immediately available to comment at the justice ministry. A halving of oil prices last year has piled hardship on Angolans as the kwanza currency has plummeted and the government has slashed public spending in one of the most unequal societies in the world, leading to an increase in anti-government sentiment. Human rights groups have accused dos Santos of using the judiciary to crush dissent. Angola's state secretary for human rights said last year the country needed to restore trust in its justice system. Prominent human rights activist Jose Marcos Mavungo was sentenced last year to six years in prison for an "attack on the sovereignty of the Angolan state" after he organized anti-government protests in the northern oil region of Cabinda. Dos Santos has been in power for 37 years, but announced this month that he planned to step down in 2018. Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic militants Sunday. In it are the monumental ruins of a great city at the crossroads of Roman, Greek and Persian civilizations from the first to the second centuries. The UNESCO world heritage site had been held by IS since last May. During that time, the militants looted graves, plundered antiquities, and dynamited shrines and temples in what the United Nations has called a war crime. Despite massive destruction, photographs and field reports show that much remains intact, according to the Syrian Antiquities and Museums Directorate, which is prepared to restore the extensive damage. "We have huge capabilities and expertise in the general directorate of antiquities and museums," said Mamoun Abdulkarim, who heads the directorate. "We have already executed tens of restorations works in Palmyra. We have the experience to accomplish this." Abdulkarim believes the city can be rebuilt within five years. Too ambitious, some say Others say that is an impossible goal. Amr Al Azm is an associate professor of Middle East History and anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, who previously was the director of science and conservation laboratories at the Department of Antiquities in Syria and a professor at the University of Damascus. He says that a five-year time scale is far too ambitious. "Really, the best that we can say right now is that some parts like the Arch of the Triumph may be repairable because there is more of it left, lying around close by. The Temple of Bel is going to be far more challenging," he said. Prior to any work, the city must be secured and cleared of mines. "It's also a city that has been depopulated. There is almost no one left there. We're still a long way away from all of this," Azm said. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement that she is "ready to send a UNESCO emergency assessment experts' mission to map the damages at the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Palmyra." The U.N. body is planning to hold a conference on the cultural heritage of Syria with a team of experts by the end of April. Precautionary measures Abdulkarim expects the Syrian government to take strong precautionary measures to prevent Palmyra from falling back into militant hands. "We expected the worst because of the liberation fighting, but I think the nightmare is over. The panoramic picture of Palmyra is fine," he said of the city that Syrians refer to as the "Pearl of the Desert." Azm says this iconic city, beloved by Syrians, could be a bridge in building peace. "One can only be hopeful that one day this conflict will end and Syrians will find a way to reach across the divide between them and find ways to reconcile themselves with their past and move on," he said. Abdulkarim, the antiquities chief, is calling on the international community to stand with Syria in this cultural battle. Brazil's largest party will decide on Tuesday to break away from President Dilma Rousseff's floundering coalition, party leaders said, sharply raising the odds that the country's first woman president will be impeached amid a corruption scandal. The fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) will decide at its national leadership meeting on the pace of disengagement from the Rousseff administration, in which it holds seven ministerial posts and the vice presidency. A formal rupture appears inevitable and will increase the isolation of the unpopular Rousseff, freeing PMDB members to vote for her impeachment. That makes it likely she will be temporarily suspended from office by Congress as early as May and replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, while the Senate decides if she should be permanently ousted. Temer aides said the vice president is ready to take over and move fast to restore business confidence in Brazil, in an effort to pull the economy out of a tailspin. Brazilian media reported over the weekend that a team of Temer aides is drawing up a plan for his first weeks as president. Brazil's stocks and currency rose Monday on the prospect of Rousseff's removal. Many blame her for running Latin America's largest economy into the ground, while Temer is widely viewed as far more business friendly. The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a note to clients it no longer expects Rousseff to survive impeachment, joining other risk analysts who have raised the odds of her removal. "On Tuesday we will be disembarking from this government. The vote for independence will win," PMDB Senator Valdir Raupp, who until recently had backed Rousseff, said by telephone. Raupp said PMDB ministers would have to resign or leave the party, though a gradual withdrawal from those posts may take place as a compromise to keep the party united. Party officials calculate that between 70 to 80 percent of the 119 voting members of the directorate will vote to end the PMDB's alliance with Rousseff and her Workers' Party. One told Reuters that 75 had already pledged to do so. Rousseff is an economist by training and a former Marxist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil's long military dictatorship. She vigorously denies any wrongdoing and rejects impeachment charges that she manipulated government spending accounts to help her re-election in 2014. The impeachment process only adds to the crisis hitting Brazil, shaken by its biggest corruption scandal - an investigation into political kickbacks to the ruling coalition and other parties from contractors working for state oil company Petrobras. Rousseff's government is also grappling with Brazil's worst recession in decades and an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, as it scrambles to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. The Petrobras scandal has weakened Rousseff by reaching her inner circle with allegations against her mentor and predecessor, Workers' Party founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An attempt by Rousseff to appoint Lula to her Cabinet was the last straw for many of her allies who saw it as a desperate move to shield him from prosecution by a lower federal court that is overseeing most of the Petrobras case. Brazil's top court is expected to decide later this week if Lula can indeed become a minister. Lula Downcast With the prospect of impeachment ending 13 years of rule by his Workers' Party, Lula said he was "saddened" by the PMDB's exit from a coalition he forged in 2006. The former union leader who remains Brazil's most influential politician told foreign reporters in Sao Paulo he thought agreement was still possible. But in Brasilia, a presidential aide said the break was "irreversible" and the Rousseff government was now focusing on individual members of the PMDB and other parties to try to convince them to vote against impeachment by offering government jobs and pork barrel for their districts. Lula also called for tax breaks and other measures to get the economy growing again. The departure of the PMDB is expected to lead other smaller parties to bolt from the governing coalition, a domino effect that will further undermine Rousseff's ability to muster one third of the votes in Congress needed to block her impeachment. The two largest, the Progressive Party (PP) and the Republican Party (PR), each with 40 seats or more in the lower chamber, have signaled that they are leaving. An impeachment vote is expected as soon as mid-April in the lower house. If she fails to block it with the votes of 171 of its 513 members, Rousseff would face a trial in the Senate where she has lost crucial support, Senator Raupp said. PMDB senators believe it would be almost impossible for them to stop the impeachment if it passes the lower house. Rousseff would be suspended for up to six months at the start of the trial and Temer would become acting president. Temer is already looking at ways to cut public spending to tackle a widening fiscal gap that cost Brazil's its investment grade credit rating, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday. It said a small team of aides led by Wellington Moreira Franco, Rousseff's former civil aviation minister, is considering sweeping welfare cuts in social programs that would be carried out by the finance minister of a Temer government. Two names under consideration for that job are former central bank governors Henrique Meirelles and Arminio Fraga, the newspaper said. A spokesman for Temer declined to comment on the report. Brazil's largest political party has ended its alliance with President Dilma Rousseff's ruling Workers' Party, in a move that will bring the embattled leader one step closer to impeachment and removal from office. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) said Tuesday that six Cabinet ministers and about 600 federal government employees who belong to the party would resign. The first sign of PMDB's departure came Monday when Henrique Alves, a PMDB member, resigned as tourism minister. In his resignation letter, Alves expressed regret that "dialogue ... has been exhausted." Brazil's lower house of Congress is conducting impeachment proceedings against Rousseff, based on accusations that she broke the country's fiscal responsibility laws by altering the government's accounts. In a related move, Brazil's lawyers association filed a request Monday urging lawmakers to charge Rousseff with obstruction of justice involving an investigation of massive corruption at state-run oil company Petrobras. If impeached, Rousseff would be suspended from office while undergoing trial in the Senate. She would be replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB. Rousseff is also dealing with Brazil's worst recession in decades and an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to 4,000 cases of babies born with microcephaly a birth defect in which babies have unusually small heads and brains since October. The president is also under fire for naming her mentor and predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as her chief of staff. Lula has been charged with money laundering and fraud as part of the investigation into the Petrobras scandal, but if he joins Rousseff's Cabinet, he would not face prosecution except in the Brazilian Supreme Court. But a federal judge has suspended Lula's appointment, after another judge released audio recordings of Lula's phone conversations indicating that he was seeking help in avoiding prosecution. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on Lula's appointment within days. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recognized 14 women from around the globe with International Women of Courage awards Tuesday for their leadership in advocating for justice, human rights, democracy, gender equality and womens empowerment. One of those honored, human rights activist Ni Yulan of China, was barred from traveling to Washington by her government. This year we recognize a group of women who are demonstrating courage in three pivotal areas," Kerry said. "They are exposing and opposing gender-based violence; they are combating corruption and strengthening rule of law; and they are promoting justice and human rights for all. WATCH: Secretary John Kerry's remarks at awards ceremony This year's honorees include a Yazidi activist from Syria who is dedicated to combating gender-based violence; human rights lawyers and advocates for disadvantaged and marginalized citizens; activists and executives of non-governmental organizations who fight against radicalization and discrimination and advocate for transgender rights; and a Russian journalist who champions democracy and freedom of information. One is an immigration officer from Belize who helped crack down on a drug and human-smuggling ring; another is Mauritanias first woman lawyer. Ni Yulan, who was unable to travel to the United States, told VOA's Mandarin service that Chinese authorities refused to issue her a passport late last month. Ni Yulan has paid a steep price for her efforts to assert the legal rights of Chinese citizens," Kerry said. "Her outspokenness has led her to imprisonment, during which she was beaten so badly that she became paralyzed from the waist down, but that hasn't stopped her. "She continues to defend the property rights of Beijing residents whose homes have been slated for demolition, the secretary of state said. This year marks the 10th anniversary of International Women of Courage Award. The U.S. has honored 101 women for their achievements since the award's inception. WATCH: Award winners honored at ceremony Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a strategic partnership during his visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, a sign of improving relations with a country that once was a critic of China's human rights record. Xi, who was greeted with a rare 21 salvos of artillery at the Prague Castle, the seat of the presidency, signed the document Tuesday together with his host, President Milos Zeman. He said through an interpreter it sets a political direction for the development of our relations in the future. Xi's visit - his only stopover in Europe before flying to the U.S. - is a result of a more business-oriented Czech approach to China than the one that prevailed under the late President Vaclav Havel, a prominent proponent of human rights. Unlike him, Zeman was the only European Union leader to attend China's celebrations of the end of World War II last year and said he hoped his country becomes an entry gate for China to the European Union. He said business deals to be signed during Xi's visit could bring some 95 billion koruna ($3.9 billion) of Chinese investment this year. Details were expected to be announced Wednesday. Xi also backed a series of other deals on cooperation in health, transport, IT, sciences, tourism, banking and other fields as well a partnership deal between the countries' capitals. He was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, the speakers of both chambers of Parliament and Prague's mayor later Tuesday. Not everyone was happy with his visit. Several supporters of the Falun Gong group that has been banned in China were in the streets of Prague on Tuesday morning, while others waving Tibetan flags were gathering to protest China's human rights record near a palace where Xi was meeting the Czech leaders. Colombia has arrested an army general for his role a decade ago in the extrajudicial killing of civilians presented as guerrillas killed in combat, the highest-ranking military officer to ever be detained for such crimes. Gen. Henry Torres, who currently holds an administrative position in the armed forces, turned himself in Monday as soon as the arrest order on charges of homicide against him was issued. The chief prosecutor's office also announced it would seek the detention of retired Gen. Mario Montoya, a close ally of former President Alvaro Uribe who headed the army when the so-called "false positives'' scandal broke in 2008. The revelation that security forces killed thousands of civilians to inflate body counts on which bonuses and vacations were based tarnished the U.S.-backed military but so far has led to only a handful of charges against high-ranking officers. Torres' arrest comes as a leading human rights group warned that a deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to end the country's decades-long conflict would allow top officers to escape jail time, or avoid prosecution altogether. Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday that many of those accused of implementing or carrying out the extermination policy will likely have their cases heard in a special peace tribunals set up to implement a peace accord being negotiated in Cuba. Under the proposed terms of the accord already agreed to by both sides, rebels and state agents who confess their crimes will be spared jail time and sentenced to a maximum eight years of labor in projects to rebuild communities torn apart by the conflict. Given the agreement's ambiguities, there's a high risk of impunity and some perpetrators currently detained could even be released, Human Rights Watch said. "The agreement is a checkmate against justice,'' Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. President Juan Manuel Santos, in a January interview with The Associated Press, was skittish about whether army officers accused of civilian killings should be judged by the peace tribunals, saying it's up to individual judges to decide. "If it had nothing to do with the conflict, then it's not subject to transitional justice. If it has in any way to do with the conflict, then it will be in transitional justice. And that's for the new courts that we are creating to determine,'' he said. Between 2002 and 2008, army brigades across Colombia systematically executed more than 4,000 civilians to make it appear they were killing more rebel fighters in combat. To date, more than 800 members of the security forces have been convicted and hundreds more are under investigation. Torres was the head of a military unit in eastern Casanare state that in 2007 killed a father and son and later presented the two as guerrillas killed in combat. The arrest of Montoya, who was ordered to appear before a judge May 31, would be an even bigger blow to the army's reputation. A former ambassador to the Dominican Republic under Uribe, Montoya rose through the army's ranks despite longstanding accusations by human rights groups for allegedly turning a blind eye to abuses by paramilitary groups in a 2002 military takeover of a slum in the western city of Medellin. The U.S. Justice Department said Monday it has accessed data on the iPhone used by a shooter in last year's San Bernardino, California attacks, and that it no longer needs Apple's help in cracking the device. Government lawyers won a court order last month compelling Apple to help access the phone as part of the investigation into the mass shooting that left 14 people dead. But now with the government in possession of the data, it asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym to vacate her February order, which she did Monday. Apple had been fighting the order that required it to write new software to disable passcode protection and allow access to the phone used by one of the shooters, Sayed Rizwan Farook. A court hearing scheduled last week was postponed after the government said it needed time to test a third-party method that would not require Apple's aid. The Justice Department on Monday did not identify who helped it access the data or what method was used. Law enforcements ability to unlock an iPhone through an alternative method is bound to raise new legal questions. Lawyers for Apple have said that the company would want to know the method used to crack open the device. But the withdrawal of court process could take away Apple's ability to legally request details on the method the FBI used. It also is likely to raise questions among Apple customers and the industry about the strength of Apples security on its devices. Read the Justice Department's filing in the case and the court's response. The surge of brash businessman Donald Trump toward the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency has opened a new debate in the United States about whether the country's media have fueled his unexpected political rise by not adequately assessing his life and not asking enough tough questions about his often-exaggerated claims about government policies. President Barack Obama, a Democrat in his last year in office, joined the fray in a speech to journalists Monday. He did not name Trump but clearly had the Republican front-runner and his frequent taunts at opponents, women, Muslims and minorities in mind as he deplored the state of the campaign to choose the person who will succeed him as the 45th U.S. president. "I know Im not the only one who may be more than a little dismayed about whats happening on the campaign trail right now," Obama said. "The divisive and often vulgar rhetoric that's aimed at everybody, but often is focused on the vulnerable or women or minorities. The sometimes well-intentioned but, I think, misguided attempts to shut down that speech. The violent reaction that we see, as well as the deafening silence from too many of our leaders in the coarsening of the debate. The sense that facts dont matter, that they're not relevant. That what matters is how much attention you can generate. A sense that this is a game, as opposed to the most precious gift our founders gave us this collective enterprise of self-government." 'Demand more' Obama told journalists at an awards ceremony honoring an investigative reporter that "a job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone." "It is to probe and to question, and to dig deeper, and to demand more," Obama said. "The electorate would be better served if that happened. It would be better served if billions of dollars in free media came with serious accountability, especially when politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises they cant keep." Many U.S. political analysts dismissed candidate Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul and onetime reality television show host, when he announced he was running for president last June. As Trump disparaged prominent women, belittled the fact that a former Republican presidential candidate was once a prisoner of war and mocked a reporter with a permanent disability, the analysts widely predicted his campaign would soon collapse. But it did not. Trump's campaign to "Make America Great Again" by curbing immigration and temporarily banning Muslims from entering the U.S. touched a chord with one-third or more of Republican voters as state after state held nominating contests leading to July's national party convention, where delegates will select their presidential candidate for the November election. Two rivals Trump is trying to win enough delegates to assure he can claim the nomination even before the quadrennial convention, but he is not yet assured of a majority. He still faces two opponents, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative thorn in the side of Republican and Democratic leaders alike in Washington, and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Many Republican leaders, although certainly not all of them, are trying to keep Trump from winning the nomination; many of them began supporting Cruz after their earlier favorites dropped out of the race. Obama's thoughts about the media's role in the rise of Trump echo some of the points made by news commentators and analysts. Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times said the media "wrongly treated Trump as a farce." Although numerous U.S. news stories have detailed Trump's failed gambling casino ventures, his three marriages and claims that he defrauded students who paid thousands of dollars to learn about investing in real estate at a venture he called Trump University, Kristof wrote that "on the whole, we in the media empowered a demagogue and failed the country. We were lap dogs, not watchdogs." "I personally made the mistake of regarding Trump's candidacy as a stunt," Kristof said, "scoffing at the idea that he could be the nominee. Mea culpa" a Latin expression meaning "it was my fault." What audiences want Another columnist, Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post, rejected the idea that U.S. media were to blame for Trump's political ascendancy. "The fact is that audiences have decided they need and want to know about Trump," Robinson wrote. That has led U.S. cable television news networks to give Trump endless hours of free coverage of his rallies and news conferences so much that he has spent relatively little on paid advertising touting his candidacy. Some networks covered intensively Trump's performance on the night he won the primary election in Florida, then convened a "news conference" at which he hawked his Trump-branded wine, mineral water and steaks, something akin to a late-night television infomercial. Robinson of the Post said, "The news media, it seems to me, are guilty only of reporting the news, which is that a candidate who has never held elective office, and who displays neither the base of knowledge nor the temperament necessary to serve as president, is leading all comers for the Republican nomination. "Blaming ourselves for Trump's rise," Robinson said, "is just another way to ignore the voters who have made him the favorite" for the Republican nomination. Jonathan Allen, author of a book about Hillary Clinton, the leading Democratic presidential contender, told VOA it is hard to "not think to yourself that the media is somewhat complicit" in Trump's rise. But Allen attributed Trump's success more to his use of social media, "which is not reporters. ... His use of Twitter, his use of Facebook, his use of the existing traditional media to get his messages out and to repeat his messages is pretty masterly, but I don't think the media are to blame." He added, "For those who want to see reporting on various aspects of Donald Trump, it exists. It's not that no one is covering Donald Trump's business career or that no one is fact-checking him. That in fact is going on. It's what consumers choose to consume." Greek police patrolling the country's northern border clashed Tuesday with several hundred migrants many of them fleeing war in Syria who have been blocked from crossing into Macedonia. Thousands of others encamped near the village of Idomeni ignored government orders to move into temporary shelters, as protests continue to mount against a European crackdown on the flow of migrants from the Middle East and South Asia. Protesting migrants have been blocking area railway tracks for days, demanding access to Macedonia and elsewhere in the Balkans on a push into Western Europe in pursuit of peace and prosperity. Elsewhere, Italy's Interior Ministry released data Tuesday showing the number of migrants rescued in Italian maritime operations has risen sharply in the first quarter of this year, from the same period a year ago. Coast Guard figures show more than 16,000 migrants rescued at sea between Libya and Sicily this year, compared to just over 10,000 rescues in 2015. In Brussels, meanwhile, the European Union said the number of migrants leaving Turkey for the West has dropped sharply in the past week, as the 28-nation EU works with Turkey to implement a return plan for migrants who do not qualify for asylum. Under the deal, which is awaiting implementation, Turkey has agreed to stop the westward migrant flow and take back all people from Greece who do not meet EU entry requirements. A man who hijacked an Egyptian passenger jet and forced it to land in Cyprus has been arrested and Cypriot authorities say all passengers and crew "are safe," after hours of tense negotiations. The final captives on board the EgyptAir plane, heading from Alexandria to the Egyptian capital when it was hijacked, were seen exiting the aircraft on the tarmac of Larnaca Airport, after a tense standoff inside the plane. Cypriot authorities insist terrorism is not the cause of Tuesday's incident, despite initial reports the hijacker was wearing an explosive belt and had threatened to blow up the plane. According to Cypriot media, the hijacker, identified as Seif el-Din Mustafa, wanted to speak to his former wife, who lives in Cyprus. Arab media claimed the man was demanding prisoners in Egypt be released, but Egyptian officials denied the report. Threat level unclear Before the hijacker was arrested, Egypt's civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said the exact level of threat was not clear. We are not sure what he has is a true bomb or threat to the aircraft, but we are dealing with it as a real threat, because we cannot take any risks. Fathy said security on the plane was good and the hijacker had not been able to enter the cockpit, preventing a more serious threat. Egyptian TV also showed video of the man going through a metal detector at Alexandria Airport before boarding. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told local media a domestic issue was behind the hijacking. The hijacker's former wife, a Cypriot, was brought by local police to the airport to meet with him. Another EgyptAir flight from Cairo to New York was delayed due to a potential security threat. Egypt's aviation minister told journalists the plane was delayed both for security reasons and because passengers from the hijacked flight were due to board the flight. WATCH: Video footage from Cyprus Further weakened tourism The incident appears likely to further damage Egypt's vital tourism industry, which had already been suffering from years of political unrest and a burgeoning terror threat. Indonesia's foreign ministry says ten Indonesian nationals are being held hostage in the southern Philippines after their ship was hijacked by Islamic militants. The ten were crew members on a tug boat that was pulling a coal barge from Borneo island to Batangas in the southern Philippines last week when it was seized. The ministry says the owner of the vessels has received a ransom demand Saturday from someone claiming to be a member of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group notorious for bombings, kidnappings and beheadings for nearly two decades. The tug boat has since been recovered and is in the custody of Philippine authorities. The coal barge is believed to still be with the kidnappers. Abu Sayyaf started out as an insurgent group calling for a separate Muslim state and in the 1990s it received seed money from al-Qaida. The group resorted to kidnapping foreign tourists and holding them for ransom as authorities intensified operations against terror groups following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States. Seventy percent of the worlds cocoa comes from West Africa, most of it from Ivory Coast. Child labor on cocoa plantations has been well documented and persists despite a 15-year-old agreement between the government and the worlds top chocolate sellers to stop it. Cocoa plantations surround the small village of Bonikro, in southern Ivory Coast, and keeping children off those fields is the goal of an awareness campaign. A speaker asks the crowd if their children should go with them in the field. "No, because we use machete," replies a man. "Children can injure themselves; we should avoid it." The event was organized by the International Cocoa Initiative that has been building schools and raising awareness about child labor in Ivory Coast since 2007. ICI West Africa representative Euphrasie Aka says, "There are many drivers of child labor: lack of information, lack of awareness regarding dangerous work, poverty and a lack of infrastructure in rural areas. The ICI is financed by some of the worlds top chocolate companies, including Nestle, which is facing a U.S. class-action suit for allegedly not disclosing on labels its suppliers might rely on child labor. Ivory Coast cocoa production was slowed for a decade by conflict, which diverted attention from ending child labor. Getting rid of child labor, however, can be profitable for farmers. It is one of the conditions to having their cocoa certified fair trade and sold at a higher price. At the entrance to the Coopadef cooperative in the town of Gagnoa, a mural sets the tone. A red cross is painted over the picture of a child holding a machete in a cocoa field. "Children under 15 years old should be in school. No to child labor," reads the text. The Coopadef cooperative has been certified by Fairtrade International for five years. Its president, Christophe Koffi Kouakou, says the producers have built brick houses for themselves, roofs, and small solar energy panels, thanks to the premiums they receive. The cooperative keeps an eye out for child workers. Cooperative worker Herve Bolou visits members to check that no children are doing dangerous work. Bolou says at first, people would tell us, "But when we were children, we worked in the fields." He says he replies, "We all did it, but you saw how it limited us, some got illnesses, some did not have time to study." He says now people understand. Child Trafficking It is not just local children, however. Sometimes, children are trafficked from neighboring countries. In June, INTERPOL rescued 48 children from Ivory Coast cocoa plantations. The operation was backed by the Ivory Coast first lady's office, which has been coordinating the effort against child labor and child trafficking. It has launched poverty-reduction initiatives to reduce the use of child labor, such as providing microcredits for women to diversify their incomes between cocoa harvests. Yet, an estimated 1.1 million children worked on cocoa plantations during the 2013-2014 harvest season. The government says it aims to reduce that number by 70 percent in the next four years. The Great Barrier Reef, which runs along the northeastern coast of Australia and is three quarters the size of California, is facing what is being described as the worst mass bleaching event in its history. Using aerial surveys of more than 500 reefs stretching north of Cairns, the researchers said the majority of the reefs ranked in the most severe bleaching category. This has been the saddest research trip of my life, said Terry Hughes, convenor of the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce. Almost without exception, every reef we flew across showed consistently high levels of bleaching, from the reef slope right up onto the top of the reef. We flew for 4,000 kilometers in the most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef and saw only four reefs that had no bleaching. The severity is much greater than in earlier bleaching events in 2002 or 1998. Bleaching happens when, for example, sea temperatures rise, according to the National Coral Bleaching Task Force. The higher temperatures cause the coral to expel colorful photosynthetic algae, and as a result, the coral turns white. The process could be reversed if the water temperature falls, allowing the algae to recolonize the coral. If this does not occur, the coral could ultimately die. Scientists in the water are already reporting up to 50 percent mortality of bleached corals, said Hughes, but its still too early to tell just what the overall outcome will be. We will continue to conduct underwater surveys along the Great Barrier Reef in the coming months as the full impact of this mass bleaching event unfolds. Hughes added that most of the severe bleaching was in the northern part of the reef, saying the southern part dodged a bullet thanks to cloudy weather that cooled the water temperatures. Hughes said the bleaching was likely made worse by the strong El Nino event in the Pacific Ocean. According to The Washington Post, there have been three observed mass bleaching events - in 1998, 2010 and this year. All three correspond to El Nino. The Great Barrier Reef is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site with more than 400 species of coral and 1,500 kinds of fish. It is the only reef designated a Heritage site. Australias Great Barrier Reef Marine Park calls it the largest living structure on the planet. Apples new iPhone SE has already racked up millions of pre-orders in China, as the company aims to capture more consumers in a country where domestic manufacturers are already facing stiff competition. The iPhone SE is the cheapest smart phone Apple has ever produced, and is a new attempt by the company to attract buyers seeking a lower price point in the developing world. Jason Low, an analyst with Canalys, said previously Apple focused on consumers seeking a high end user experience, at a premium price. High-end market segment Apple is aiming for the premium segment. The price is really different, and the segment of the customers is really different. So each of them, has their own appeal. For example Apple is a brand that provides a very high end experience, he said. Smaller screen Pre-orders for the iPhone SE began last week in North America, Europe and Asia. The phone will become available to customers in another 47 countries later this spring. The iPhone SE includes many of the features in Apples iPhone 6s, but the screen is smaller, at only 4 inches (10 centimeters), and the price is much cheaper. The 16 gigabyte version costs $399, and the 64 gigabyte is $499. Sales have stagnated at Apple. In January the company forecast a drop in sales for Apple products, which would be the first decline since 2003. To boost purchases the company is targeting new customers in China, its biggest market, and India, its fastest growing. James Roy, a Business Analyst at China Market Research Group, said Apple is now challenging Chinese smartphone brands in their home market. At this point you have a number of Chinese smart phones that have gotten very good at offering good smartphones at the lower to middle end of the market, he said. Competition, challenge for Chinese companies Chinese smartphone companies are already facing stiff competition domestically, with a few key brands dominating the market. Just four brands - Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo captured 45 percent of the Chinese smartphone market last year. The number of Chinese brands has dwindled over the last couple of years, and analysts expect further consolidation. As Apple aims to attract Chinas rising middle class, these Chinese brands are increasingly seeking marketshare abroad. Xiaomi says it will focus on India and the Chinese domestic market for the next year or so, before targeting the U.S. Teng Bingsheng, an associate professor of strategic management at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, said Chinese companies will have to change the perception of their brands with overseas consumers. The problem is that the brands are not as well known, and its going to take a long time for the Chinese cell phone brands to be perceived as first class cell phones, he said. Xiaomi is widely referred to as Chinas Apple, and with handsets priced as low as $200, it may someday succeed in winning over Apple consumers in the U.S. Hama Amadou, Nigers opposition leader, was granted bail Tuesday, five months after being detained on baby-trafficking charges he said were politically motivated. Last week, Amadou lost a runoff election to President Mahamadou Issoufou, who won his second term with 92 percent of the vote. The opposition party boycotted the election, which led to the lopsided victory. A spokesman for the opposition party said the charges were concocted and Amadou was arrested in order to sideline him for the election. "The court should have freed him so that he could be on equal footing with Issoufou during the elections. It didn't. Hama is innocent and this case is a plot to push him out of political life," spokesman Ousseini Salatou said. Amadou was held in a prison and was unable to campaign during the election. He was in poor health during the campaign and was flown to France for medical treatment four days before the March 20 vote, and he remained there Tuesday. Several high-ranking members of the opposition party were arrested starting in June 2014, after police began investigating the alleged trafficking of newborn babies from Nigeria to wealthy families in Niger. Among those charged was Amadous wife, but she was later granted a provisional release. Amadou fled the country after the arrests of his friends and colleagues began, but he returned in November and he, too, was arrested. Originally, the court was scheduled to rule in Amadous case on March 14, a week before the election, but delayed the decision until March 28, a week after the election. Issoufou is set to be sworn in for his second five-year term Saturday. As Boko Haram militants overran his village in the northeastern Borno State, John Ali sought safety. What he found instead was limbo. Nearly two years later, home for Ali is a sweltering tin shack among other displaced people who fled the hills around the town of Gwoza for the capital, Maiduguri. Out of money and unable to find work, he stays in the camp day after day, eating twice-daily servings of rice and beans provided by relief agencies and waiting for word that his village, Chinene, is safe to return to. Boko Haram: living among us Up to date, these Boko Haram men are still on population, Ali told VOA. They are even camped out in our village. So there is no way for us to go back. But we are willing to go back. After fighting the group for nearly seven years, Nigerias military has made tentative progress against Boko Haram, sparking discussions among government officials about whether the 2.1 million Nigerians who fled the fighting can soon go back home. Communities destroyed Spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency Sani Datti says the government wants to return displaced people this year, and has a plan to do so. But with Boko Haram still prowling the countryside and many towns and villages razed, it looks unlikely that Nigerias displaced persons crisis will end anytime soon. Before returning them back to their community, you know there is some basic infrastructure that has been destroyed by the Boko Harams, Datti said. Definitely, we are waiting for clearance from the military. Nigerias northeast once took pride in its reputation for natural beauty and tranquility, but Boko Harams emergence in Borno State has upended life for millions of people across the countrys northeast. VOA obtained a report from the Borno government that says Nigerias second-largest state lost nearly a million homes and more than 5,000 classrooms to the fighting. It will take billions of dollars to undo the damage, a state official told VOA on condition of anonymity. Returning home soon, unlikely It used to be worse: In early 2015, the militants were regularly overrunning the military, threatening to take Maiduguri and sending suicide bombers to cities across the countrys northern half, including the capital, Abuja. All told, Boko Haram is believed to have held territory equivalent to the size of Belgium, before being pushed out by troops from Nigeria, its neighbors, and foreign mercenaries. In the months since, the group has hit back with suicide bombing and shooting attacks across the north, but the military insists the insurgency is in retreat. They say theyve secured Maiduguri and have troops raiding isolated villages where the militants hide. Recently, the army announced the re-opening of roads linking the state capital with other parts of Borno. But motorists still line up on the capital outskirts, waiting for a military escort to guard them before theyll drive out of Maiduguri. The displaced people of the capital remain unconvinced that they can simply return to their villages. Our hope is that when peace is finally restored, we will go back, said Musa Ghuba, a farmer who fears going back to his isolated village near Gwoza. But for now, I cant say when Im going back. South Korea says North Korea has fired a short-range missile off its east coast, in the latest response by the isolated regime to newly imposed international sanctions and ongoing joint U.S.-South Korean military drills. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired late Tuesday near the North Korean port city of Wonsan and flew about 200 kilometers before hitting a target on land. Pyongyang fired five short-range missiles on March 21 into the East Sea from the eastern city of Hamhung. The week before it fired medium range missiles into the sea in defiance of United Nations sanctions imposed over the North's fourth nuclear test in January, followed a month later by a test of a long-range rocket. North Korea has been threatening for weeks to initiate preemptive nuclear strikes against Washington and Seoul to protest South Korea U.S. military drills. The North sees the drills as a rehearsal for a military invasion. The battle over U.S. President Barack Obama's latest Supreme Court nominee came into sharper focus Tuesday when Senator Mark Kirk became the first Republican to meet with Judge Merrick Garland, and the high court itself deadlocked on a major labor union case. "I think we should do our job," Kirk said while sitting alongside Garland, whom the president tapped to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month. "He [Garland] has been duly nominated by the elected president of the United States," Kirk added. "We need open-minded, rational people to make sure the process works." In calling for hearings and a vote on the Garland nomination, Kirk is bucking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans who insist the next president pick the high court nominee. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on whether public sector employees can be forced to pay union dues. That result means a pro-union decision by a lower court stands. It also illustrates the stakes in choosing Scalia's replacement. Were he alive, Scalia, an arch-conservative, likely would have broken the tie with a vote striking down mandatory dues for California public school teachers. "Today's divided ruling from the Supreme Court establishes no national precedent," said Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center. "Such an outcome only emphasizes the importance of a court that can operate with a full complement of nine justices." Arguments for and against The Senate is in recess this week, but members are continuing a ferocious battle from their home states. "Never before has a sitting president been denied his constitutional right to nominate someone for a Supreme Court vacancy," wrote Democratic Senator Tim Kaine in an op-ed for the Virginian Pilot newspaper. "Never before have members of the Senate advocated leaving the Supreme Court with only eight justices for nearly a year." Republican Senator Orrin Hatch countered in an op-ed for the New York Times: "Considering a nominee in the midst of a toxic presidential election would be irresponsible. Conducting a thoughtful and substantive deliberation after the election is in the best interests of the Senate, the judiciary and the country." So far, 16 Republican senators have indicated a willingness to meet with Garland. But the power to hold confirmation hearings resides with Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, and the power to call a floor vote resides with Majority Leader McConnell both of whom have been dogged in their opposition to considering the nominee. Control of Senate "McConnell's biggest concern is making sure that he holds onto power in the Senate," said Republican strategist Ford O'Connell, who argues that Garland's fate could be determined by Republican perceptions of the presidential campaign. "At this point, there is no chance of these guys [Senate Republicans] giving in," O'Connell said. "If [Donald] Trump or [Ted] Cruz or whoever has no chance [of winning in November], then you are much more likely to see McConnell try to make a deal." "Republican control of the Senate pretty much lives and dies with the Republican presidential nominee's ability to win the White House," he added. "Many of these key Senate races are actually in presidential battleground states." Watch: Judge Merrick Garland arriving on Capitol Hill. Kirk is among a handful of Republican senators believed to face uphill re-election bids this year, representing states that often lean Democratic. Multiple polls have shown majority backing for Garland's consideration by the Senate. Democrats would need a net gain of five seats to take control of the Senate next year. Political analyst Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute says the basic math surrounding the Garland nomination has not changed. "Grassley is still adamant there will be no hearing. McConnell backs him up. If either changed, the radical right media would go to Defcon I and treat them like pinatas," Ornstein said. "For McConnell, this is a no-win situation ... which leaves him unlikely to change." WATCH: The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. President Barack Obama will hold talks with his counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea in Washington this week to discuss North Korea's growing combativeness over its nuclear program. Obama will hold three-way talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye Thursday on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit, plus a separate discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korea's chief diplomatic and economic patron. North Korea has boasted of progress in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, including claims of a successful test of a solid-fuel rocket and an atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile. The boasts are apparently in response to a new, stronger round of sanctions imposed by the United Nations over Pyongyang's recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests, and the annual joint U.S.-South Korea military drill currently underway. The United States, China and South Korea, along with Russia, Japan and North Korea, are members of the six-party talk aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The talks broke down in 2008. Oman will encourage households to generate electricity with solar panels and feed it into the national grid, Qais al-Zakwani, executive director of the Authority for Electricity Regulation, said Monday. The policy could put Oman in the forefront of Middle East nations promoting widespread use of solar power. Its finances severely damaged by low oil prices, the Omani government is seeking ways to save money, including a cut in electricity subsidies for commercial and industrial users. Zakwani told Reuters the authority aimed to have a mechanism in place by mid-year for households to generate power using solar roofing panels, and provide the power to the grid in exchange for cuts in their electricity tariffs. Zakwani said the new program would initially focus on residential units but eventually be extended to commercial entities; "we seek distributed power generation." He said it was too early to estimate the financial size of the program. Authorities in Pakistan have detained more than 200 suspected Islamist militants in a major crackdown in connection with Sunday's suicide bombing in Lahore that killed at least 72 people, many of them Christians celebrating Easter. The deadly attack occurred at a crowded public park in the capital of the countrys most populous province of Punjab. Twenty-nine children were among the dead while more than 300 other people were wounded. Investigations Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters Tuesday that police and special counter-terrorism units, led by intelligence agents, have conducted scores of raids across Punjab and rounded up more than 5,000 people. Investigators later released all but 216 people who are undergoing further investigation, he said, adding the crackdown is continuing with a determination to bring the perpetrators of the Lahore carnage to justice. In a separate news conference in Islamabad, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. General Asim Bajwa said that intelligence agencies along with regular and paramilitary troops are also carrying out operations against suspected sleeper cells and terrorist hideouts in several cities of Punjab. Jamaatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it was intentionally aimed at the Christians. The groups spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, vowed to carry out more such attacks in Punjab, prompting authorities to temporarily close all public parks across the province. In his latest message, the spokesman also threatened to attack local media. "Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani mediaWe are just waiting for the appropriate time, the spokesman said in a Twitter post. The Easter Sunday bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a December 2014 militant raid on a school in Peshawar that killed nearly 150 people, mostly children. Punjab is Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs political power base, where 60 percent of Pakistan's 190 million people are located. The Pakistani Taliban and its affiliated militant outfits have been waging an insurgency against the state for more than a decade, killing tens of thousands of people. Vow to punish those responsible In a televised national address Monday night, Prime Minister Sharif vowed to intensify counter-terrorism and anti-extremism operations in the country to punish those responsible for killing innocent Pakistanis. We are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest until it is paid," he said. A major military-led ground and air counter-insurgency operation has been under way in semi-autonomous tribal areas near the Afghan border since 2014. The region is known to have harbored local and foreign militants for years. Officials insist that the operation has significantly reduced militant violence across the country, describing recent attacks on "soft targets" like public places an act of desperation by the militants. In the wake of the Lahore bombing, Sharif canceled a planned to trip to the United States, where he was to attend a nuclear security summit starting on Thursday. Two years after the Philippine government and the countrys largest Muslim rebel group signed a pact aimed at ending four decades of bloody unrest in the south, questions remain about where the peace process is headed. Before adjourning for a months-long break, Congress failed to pass a proposed law that would create a self-governing region for the rebel area. The legislators wont be back in session until after the May general election in which Filipinos are set to vote for a new president, who will now determine the fate of the peace process. The original measure crafted by the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiators, called the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), calls for a parliamentary form of government with shared powers at the local and national levels. The Senate could not agree on competing versions, while the House had better consensus. Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders have acknowledged discontentment among the rebel groups ranks and peace workers have expressed fears the younger generations might return to arms. The Fronts head negotiator Mohagher Iqbal talked to reporters on the sidelines of a two-year anniversary commemoration of the peace pact at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City. He said since Congress ended its session, he had been crisscrossing the provinces and cities within the proposed Bangsamoro region. That goes to show that we are really handling the situation, said Iqbal. Its very tough. But it can also show the command and control of the MILF, that our people, our commanders, our combatants as well as members of the MILF are still listening to the MILF. In a speech at the commemoration, government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer pointed to nearly 20 years of peace negotiations in which both sides overcame breakdowns that lead to skirmishes. With all due respect, I disagree with those who are saying that we have nothing to celebrate because we did not get the BBL, she said. Speaking with reporters, Ferrer highlighted programs and aspects of the deal that were not dependent on the passage of the law. She noted the skills training programs underway to help former rebels in the deeply impoverished Muslim-majority region. Jacob Palao, a 57-year old rebel who participated in a decommissioning event in June last year, attended the commemoration at Notre Dame. The former deputy commander for the rebels combat operations told VOA he was completing training in dressmaking. He also said his son, who had to stop college because the family could no longer afford it, had gone back to school thanks to help from the decommissioning program, which includes $53 million for education, social welfare and other benefits. Palao, a spokesman for the dozens of rebels who laid down their arms last year, said the fighters would continue to support the process despite the non-passage of a basic law and a change in administration. As long as our peace panels are still there working, we will not lose hope, he said. But as it stands the current peace process has fallen far behind its proposed timeline of having the law passed, the autonomous region determined and a new local parliament in place by June this year. That is when President Benigno Aquino steps down. International Alerts Philippine country manager Francisco Lara said peace-builders like his organization are looking at three scenarios once Aquino leaves: a continuation of what started under the current administration, making the proposed basic law a starting point with expected revisions or entering into new negotiations altogether. He said that last option could see the rebels walk away. Lara said the programs that are part of the peace pact but do not fall under the proposed law will be particularly vulnerable because whoever comes into office may not prioritize funding for them. They dont need to shut it down. All they need to do is just ignore those bodies that have been created. Im talking about the decommissioning bodies, the normalization committees, the transitional justice and reconciliation committees, he said. Lara said as long as there is no formal termination of these offices, the terms of the signed pact are not violated. In his speech at the commemoration of the agreement, Iqbal emphasized the importance of the pact. Now that our legitimate grievances and aspirations have already been recognized and affirmed not only by the government of the Republic of the Philippines but the nations of the world, do you we have to stop in our struggle just because the moment is not favorable to us? said Iqbal. No. I personally urge everyone to stand up for peace. Long live the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro. Decades of fighting in the southern Philippines has left more than 120,000 dead. Police at the U.S. Capitol shot a man Monday after he pulled out a gun and pointed it at officers during a routine security screening at the entrance of the site's visitor's center. Authorities identified him as 66-year-old Larry Dawson from the state of Tennessee and said he was in critical condition after being taken to a hospital. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said a female bystander suffered minor injuries and that no officers were hurt. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is not reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said. Dawson was charged in October with unlawful conduct on Capitol grounds and assaulting a police officer after he stood up in the gallery of the House of Representatives and shouted Bible verses and proclaimed he was a "Prophet of God." In addition to being charged, he was ordered to stay away from the area. He did not appear for a November hearing in his case. Congress was in recess Monday for the Easter holiday, but many tourists were taking tours of the Capitol when the shooting took place. Those inside were told to shelter in place and police cordoned off access to the complex for a short time. A lobbyist from California who was at the Capitol, Jill Epstein, told VOA she was at the Visitor Center during a break in between her meetings. As we were going through, just at security, at the metal detector, I was with my colleagues. One person had his wallet and his phone still on the conveyor belt, another one had her shoes off, and all of a sudden people start screaming, There is an active shooter, run. We didnt know whether to go in or out, and we just got out. She said armed police were suddenly everywhere and told her to crouch down by an outdoor wall. Verderosa said it appears the security screening process at the Capitol worked as it was supposed to. He said his office has not determined how many police officers fired their weapons at the suspect. During the incident, the Secret Service closed the entrances to the White House as a precautionary measure, although no incident was reported there. It is a busy week for tourists in Washington. Many of them have come to see the world renowned cherry blossoms that are now in full bloom around the nation's capital. In 1998, two Capitol Police officers were killed when a man opened fire inside the complex. After that episode, Congress initiated plans for a new visitor center that expanded and improved its security. Poland's president is traveling to Washington for a security summit but has no meeting scheduled with President Barack Obama. Observers in Poland say controversial government policies may be the reason. President Andrzej Duda's schedule, released Tuesday, includes no meetings with Obama or any key U.S. politicians. Poland's top security official, Pawel Soloch, said that Duda is "essentially'' prepared for a meeting with Obama, but that it would be up to the U.S. side to organize it. "Barack Obama's rejection of Andrzej Duda's request for a meeting is the biggest failure of Polish diplomacy'' under the conservative ruling party that gained power in November elections, commentator Jedrzej Bielecki wrote in Rzeczpospolita, a major daily newspaper based in Warsaw. But Poland's leader isn't alone. Among dozens of world leaders expected to attend, the White House so far has announced only three will have one-on-one meetings with Obama: the leaders of China, Japan and of South Korea. Before he attends the Nuclear Security Summit to be held Thursday and Friday, Duda is to meet with U.S. media to defend Polish government policies which have sparked street protests and drawn censure from European Union leaders and institutions, as well as from some U.S. senators and media. They say that Poland's democracy and rule of law are threatened. Vowing "good change,'' the Law and Justice party is implementing sweeping social and political changes, including wider surveillance powers for the police and new legislation that has paralyzed the country's top court, the Constitutional Tribunal. A staunch U.S. ally that has contributed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, Poland is counting on Washington's understanding, especially ahead of the NATO summit to be held in Warsaw in July, where Poland wants to obtain greater security guarantees for the region. Political jockeying is underway in Hong Kong ahead of Septembers legislative council election, the first since pro-democracy lawmakers vetoed Beijings take-it-or-leave-it plan for selecting the territorys next chief executive last year. At the same time a generational shift is underway, shaking up older parties and giving rise to parties so new they are yet to be named. This reflects not only the upheaval caused by the youth-led Occupy Central protests in 2014, but also shifting demographics and values - within the electorate. The latest survey by the Public Opinion Poll at Hong Kong University shows public trust in both the Hong Kong and Beijing governments sharply plunging, with levels of distrust sharpest among respondents between 18-29 years old. Hong Kong First Joshua Wong, the bespectacled poster-boy of the Occupy movement, had previously dismissed traditional politics. But fighting the prolonged street action, and having nothing to show for it, was a sobering experience for him and fellow activists. At the same time, they showed themselves to be eloquent and more attractive to the general public than the senior government officials whom they confronted in a televised face-off. He now says Scholarism, the student group that came to prominence during the Occupy Central protests, has decided to fold its tent and subdivide into a student group and a political party, with no formal link between them. Wong says the new partys focus is 2047, the year when Hong Kongs Basic Law either expires or is extended by Beijing. The law is the basis for the one country-two systems formula that guarantees Hong Kongs civil and political rights. Wongs group wants Hong Kong people to choose their own future via a referendum, even though there is no law permitting a referendum and the administration opposes one. Wong also says the post-Scholarism group will distance itself from established parties that want democracy and are collectively known as pan-democrats. He calls his fledgling party pro-democracy but not pan-democratic. Traditional politics is not useful because most of the pan-dems still believe dialogue, meeting and discussion may be necessary and effective for achieving democracy in Hong Kong, but it doesnt mean that politics is useless or meaningless. Its because we believe that if the new generation can represent some of the new values and enter the institution we can change and reform the current structure, he told VOA. While older pro-democracy politicians generally see democracy in China as a precondition for democracy in Hong Kong, the new breed of activists rejects that linkage and focuses instead on Hong Kongs struggle. Actually, we believe Hong Kong would be the first step for us to achieve universal suffrage and democracy, and the next step would be achieved, let China have universal suffrage. Therefor, from my point of view, the first is Hong Kong and the next is China, said Wong. Wake Up Call At the other end of the spectrum, the new chairwoman of the largest pro-Beijing party has resigned from Chief Executive CY Leung's Executive Council, Hong Kong's top policy-setting body. Starry Lee, a legislator long tipped to take up leadership of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), made the move in part to distance her party from the increasingly unpopular Leung. Lee, a younger face among the DABs aging leadership, was immediately replaced as an advisor by a DAB stalwart in his sixties. But the departure frees her to focus on party building and to begin constructing an image of her own something the mild-mannered accountant needs in order to emerge from the political shadows. Her face is now appearing on the campaign posters of every potential DAB candidate. She did not respond to VOAs requests for an interview, but in a recent interview with The Sing Tao Daily, Lee said that leaving the Executive Council meant she could speak more freely and articulate her party's stance more clearly. The DAB "is still a partner of government," she told the paper, "but in some policies the stance of the DAB is not the same as the government's." Being able to speak out, Lee said, could help the party "get more support from the public." The need to give DAB candidates wiggle-room, and get them more in line with public sentiment, became obvious two months ago when Holden Chow, one of the partys promising young figures, finished more than 10,000 votes behind a young pan-democrat, the Civic partys Alvin Yeung, in a Legislative Council by-election. The loss was a wakeup call for the DAB. Independence Call But even more eye opening was the showing by Edward Leung, a member of the radical nativist movement, who polled about 15 percent of the total vote (66,524). In the winner take all race, he was the third-place finisher, but Septembers poll will be run on a proportional list system and Leungs tally would be more than enough to win a seat. In fact, if he could raise his total by a just a few percentage points, he might be able to pull another nativist into the legislature on his coattail. His performance was a shot across the bow for established politicians on both sides. A new group this week said it is going even further, forming a political party to push for full independence from China. At a press conference this week, former Occupy Central activist Chan Ho-tin said his new National Party feels Hong Kongs identity is being lost to the mainland under pressure from Beijing. The party, made up mostly of about 50 university students and youth activists, says it will field legislative candidates for the upcoming election. Functional Groups On a deeper and less conspicuous level, moves are also underway that aim to undermine the establishments existing political structure by getting democracy supporters into the professional and social bodies that, in turn, elect lawmakers representing so-called functional constituencies. These functional groupings form half of the 70-member legislature. In a number of these constituencies the voters are not individuals, but corporations. The other half of the legislature is directly elected from five geographical constituencies. These functional constituencies also form voting blocs in the 1,200-member body that will select the next chief executive in 2017. One group seeking to upend this structure is 2047 HK Monitor, a group of 200 younger professionals working in the financial sector, who coalesced during the Occupy Central movement. The founder and convener is Ed Chin, a hedge fund manager-turned-democracy advocate. Chin said their first priority is to put an end to corporate voting and put a ballot into the hands off every person working in the sector. But he said the hurdles remain large. It is tough. First of all you have to be nominated by somebody already inside the 1,200, so its really, really tough. We also know that for the different functional groups that we want to contest, that because of the corporate vote it will be more or less a symbolic thing, [because] its almost impossible with the corporate votes, he said. In short, his group will seek election to these functional constituencies in order to abolish them. Similar moves are happening in other professional sectors, including information technology and health. North Koreas ongoing nuclear and missile tests are a profound threat to regional stability, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. He said China, Pyongyangs economic lifeline, is among the U.S. regional allies that share an interest in seeing North Korea get on a path to denuclearization. Unfortunately, the most effective way to achieve that, said Blinken, is to exert real pressure on North Korea and force it to make a choice. He said the choice is between continuing its actions and choosing a path that would allow it to provide for its own people and develop economically. Blinken commented at a Washington forum ahead of President Barack Obamas talks on the issue this week with his counterparts from Asia. Obama will hold three-way talks Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit in Washington. He will meet separately with Chinese President Xi Jinping. North Korea stepped up its provocative actions and rhetoric following this months start of an annual U.S.-South Korea military drill, which Pyongyang considers a threat. It has launched a series of short- and medium-range projectiles since the drill got underway. On Tuesday, South Korea said the North had fired a short-range projectile from its east coast. It has also threatened retaliatory nuclear action against Seoul and Washington. North Korea also appears to be reacting to new, tougher U.N. sanctions imposed this month, following a January nuclear test and a February rocket launch. This round of sanctions is the first real serious set of sanctions against Pyongyang, said Richard Bush, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington research and policy group. We need time for them to play out and to really exert pressure on the leaders of North Korea to deprive the leaders of North Korea of things that they hold dear. Anti-missile system Separately the U.S. and South Korea have begun consultations on the possible deployment of THAAD, a U.S-made anti-missile system. China opposes deployment of the system, saying it could undermine its security interests. The system "does not affect China strategically, but we know that China does not like it, Blinken said. Blinken added that current and former U.S. administrations had made repeated efforts to engage North Korea about denuclearization and had made it clear that the U.S. was not seeking regime change. The agreement with Iran on its nuclear program should be powerful evidence to North Korea that we are prepared to engage with countries with whom we have the most profound differences, he said. The United States, China, South Korea, Russia, Japan and North Korea were participants in six-party talks aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. The talks broke down in 2008. The militaries of China and Vietnam should deepen their exchanges, communication and friendship, China's defense minister said during a visit to Hanoi, amid a festering territorial dispute in the 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 Chinese President Xi Jinping to Hanoi last year. Meeting Vietnam Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan said the two sides should strive to maintain the close ties forged in the past by leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh. The two militaries should "increase high level exchanges and strategic communication, increase friendly feelings, deepen border defense exchanges and practical cooperation on U.N. peacekeeping, military academic research and the defense industry," Chang said, in a statement carried late on Monday by China's Defense Ministry. While there was no direct mention of the South China Sea, the ministry said the commander of China's South China Sea fleet, Shen Jinlong, attended the meeting. 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 that China controls. Vietnam called China's actions a serious infringement of its sovereignty over the Paracels. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Its Southeast Asian neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, also claim parts of the sea, as does Taiwan. Saudi Arabia appears intent on reaching across the Red Sea to build alliances in the Horn of Africa, where piracy, drug and weapons smuggling, and terrorism threaten commerce in the world's busiest shipping lanes. This was evident during the Saudis' intervention in Yemen. Over the past year, they built a coalition of African partners to help dislodge Houthi rebels who were in control of most of the country, including the capital, Sana'a. Eritrea played a key role, although it was not technically part of the Saudis' 12-nation coalition. Eritrea allowed the United Arab Emirates to use an airbase and logistics hub in the port town of Assab. The two countries also shared intelligence. "Peace and stability in the Horn of Africa is very important for us," Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri, a military adviser for the Saudi minister of defense, told VOA in a recent interview. "This is why we coordinate with Eritrea, with Djibouti, with Ethiopia, with Somalia, with the legitimate governments of Yemen and Sudan, to make sure that this area is controlled and secured to avoid ... trans-border crimes." Countering Iran Analysts say the Saudis' interest in the Horn of Africa is an extension of their intense competition with Iran for influence in the Middle East. Phillip Smyth, a research associate at the University of Maryland and an adjunct fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says the Saudi diplomatic surge in Africa is specifically aimed at countering Iranian influence. "The Saudis are now aggressively reaching out to any state [in the Horn of Africa and beyond] that may have actually had any contact with the Iranians or have dealt with the Iranians," Smyth said, "in order to bring them under their wing and demonstrate that [Saudi Arabia] can actually function as a regional hegemon [significant regional power]." Smyth noted the Saudi outreach includes Sudan, a historical ally of Iran, which recently received approximately $5 billion in military aid from Saudi Arabia and was part of the Saudi coalition in Yemen. The Saudi arms deal with Sudan really is an accomplishment, Smyth said, "in terms of countering [Iranian influence] in the African Horn region." There also are reports that Saudi Arabia has promised $50 million to Somalia if Somalia severs diplomatic ties with Iran. Same side as U.S. Observers find these new alignments interesting because, from a broader perspective, they put countries like Eritrea and Sudan on the same side as the United States, which supports both the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and the coalition against Islamic State (IS). These may be some of the few things Eritrea, Sudan and the U.S. agree on in terms of international policy. In fighting IS, "the main jihadist enemy," Ambassador Herman Cohen, a former assistant secretary of state for African affairs, says the United States is "relying ... on Arab nations, especially the Sunni Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan." "And here we have Eritrea aligning itself with the same coalition," Cohen told VOA. "So, therefore, the United States and Eritrea are on the same side." Cohen, who has long advocated improved U.S.-Eritrean relations, believes Asmara and Washington can develop closer ties if current trends continue. "Eritrea and the United States should be working together and not be angry at each other and not having normal relations," he said. "It doesn't make sense for either side." In an interview on Eritrean national television in January, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki seemed to hint at a willingness for increased regional engagement. "Without taking limit, scope and size into consideration, collaboration of the regional countries is key," he said, referring to Eritrea's involvement in the Yemen coalition. "We can say that the announcement of this Saudi-led anti-terrorism effort is a small part of a bigger plan." The Secret Service says only authorized law enforcement will be allowed to carry firearms at the Republican Party nominating convention, ignoring an online petition calling for convention attendees to also be permitted to carry them. The petition, started anonymously last week on Change.org, has attracted the signatures of over 50,000 people who said they want the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, which is hosting the convention, to reverse its ban on weapons. The Secret Service, which is responsible for security at the July event, said in a statement that only "authorized law enforcement partners...may carry a firearm inside of the protected site." "Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event," the statement added. The three remaining Republican U.S. presidential candidates have each advocated allowing people to openly carry firearms. Both Texas Senator Ted Cruz and businessman Donald Trump have criticized so-called gun-free zones, especially schools, saying those policies make the sites less safe. Trump said in December he would abolish gun-free zones on his first day in office, while Cruz told supporters in December the zones only create places where an attacker knows people will be unarmed. Ohio Governor John Kasich last year eliminated gun-free zones at the state's National Guard facilities. The petition says the candidates should call on the Cleveland arena to suspend its no-gun policy, for the National Rifle Association to condemn it, and for Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus to be ready to relocate the entire convention if guns are not allowed. The petition was created by the shadowy username "N A" and satirizes language used by gun rights supporters and Republicans. "By forcing attendees to leave their firearms at home, the RNC and Quicken Loans Arena are putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside the convention site," it says. The petition cites the threat of an Islamic State attack, saying that without guns, those inside the arena will be "utterly helpless against evil-doers." It also references President Barack Obama with derogatory emphasis on his middle name, Hussein, in bold letters mimicking the language of those who have not been happy to have him as their president during the past seven years. Many of those sharing the petition on Twitter are clearly not interested in the issue for reasons of defending 2nd Amendment rights to firearms, but rather to push the Republican Party on its longtime adherence to the issue. Firearms were also banned at the previous Republican convention, which was held in Tampa, Florida in 2012. There are already concerns that this year's convention will be testier than usual, especially if no Republican presidential candidate has emerged as the party's nominee. In particular, Trump has warned that his supporters may riot if a contested convention resulted in him not becoming the party's nominee. The United Nations refugee agency reports hunger as well as ongoing conflict are driving tens of thousands of South Sudanese to flee their war-torn country into Sudan in search of food and security. The United Nations reports 2.3 million people in South Sudan have been forced to flee their homes since civil war erupted in December 2013. Nearly three-quarters of a million of those displaced have gone to neighboring countries as refugees. While conflict and violence have been driving the forced displacement, a new element behind the recent flight has emerged. The world bodys refugee agency, UNHCR, reports a serious shortage of food, caused by the ongoing conflict and deteriorating economic conditions, is prompting an increasing number of people to head to neighboring Sudan. UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards says the situation is particularly bad in the northwestern states of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal and Warrap. He says some 38,000 people have fled into the East Darfur and South Darfur regions of Sudan over the past two months. A crisis of food security Edwards says people arriving in Sudan are in poor condition, with many having risked their lives en route. He tells VOA he fears the exodus from South Sudan will grow as the nutritional situation rapidly deteriorates. Insecurity is a major aspect of this; but, increasingly, food insecurity as well is causing more people to be on the move. They are among 2.8 million people now officially classified as facing a crisis of food security in South Sudan, he says. Edwards says people clearly are suffering the effects of being without sufficient food. He says global acute malnutrition rates have risen above the emergency threshold of 15 percent. He says several inter-agency assessment missions are underway in parts of Sudan to determine how best to meet refugee needs. He says a composite picture is emerging from preliminary assessments and that the situation is universally desperate, with many refugees having traveled for up to four weeks under difficult circumstances. He notes many children have been separated from their families en route and that the newly arriving refugees are living in overcrowded conditions with many being sick and in need of medical care. Should the life of one innocent be sacrificed in the war against terror? Gavin Hoods film "Eye in Sky" poses this question as an American English coordinated drone attack is set to kill a terrorist preparing for a suicide attack that could kill dozens maybe hundreds in Nairobi, Kenya. The riveting thriller by award-winning filmmaker Gavin Hood, follows a joint American-British military drone operation about to strike a terrorist cell in Nairobi, Kenya. The dramatized account raises strategic and moral implications of the operation as an innocent civilian enters the parameter where a remote controlled missile is expected to strike. Through a tiny spy drone that looks like a beetle, military officials in different parts of the world watch on their screens as a group of terrorists, led by Briton Susan Helen Danford, prepares for a potentially large scale suicide attack in Nairobi.The officials contemplate upgrading their capture-only drone mission to a killing one. But to the frustration of mission leader Colonel Catherine Powell, played by Helen Mirren, the military and political hierarchy delays, mulling over the strategic, political and personal cost of such a decision. Meanwhile, time is running out. The stakes get even higher when a child enters what would be the kill zone of a drone strike. Deep into a bunker at a place called Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, London, Colonel Catherine Powell is anxiously watching the video feed on the room's large computer monitors. As the leader of the operation, she is ready to kill the terrorists. Her goal, as she sees it, is to avert a potentially imminent massacre by suicide bombers. But to her dismay, others in the hierarchy take a different angle as they consider the political and diplomatic implications of such an attack. One of them says about the terrorists: If they kill 80 people, we win the propaganda war. If we kill one child, they do. No easy answers Hood says "Eye in the Sky" shows there are no easy answers when it comes to drone warfare. Will you sacrifice, will you definitely take one innocent life in order to possibly prevent the loss of 80 lives? What if there were five innocent lives close to this kill zone? What if the estimate of the loss of life (by the terrorists) was only 20? What if it was 2,000?" he asks. The filmmaker hopes "Eye to the Sky" will generate discussions among his audiences on the human, political and strategic costs of drone warfare. If you are not there and you are only attacking from the sky, how [do you expect] the local population to respond? he asks. Hood says his film also shows how, in time-sensitive situations, physical distance among the decision-makers and a sluggish bureaucracy could delay or impede a decision. While Colonel Powell argues her case remotely with General Frank Benson, another significant military component in the operation played by the late Alan Rickman, the drone pilots, fingers on the button, are locked in a container-like structure in the U.S. state of Nevada, awaiting instructions. They are not actually in touch as human beings," the director says. "They are in touch through the veil of the computer screen and that itself raises questions: Is it easier to pull the trigger when you are not facing the enemy?" However, Hood and screen writer Guy Hibbert have developed the character of drone pilot Steve Watts as someone who also evaluates the situation and questions the legality of Colonel Powell's shoot-to-kill mission. Hood says his film, though a fictionalized account of a drone operation, has been thoroughly and deeply researched. "We spoke to people from all areas. From the military lawyers, who were involved in this, to drone pilots, to military intelligence officers. We had a drone pilot permanently on set with Aaron Paul (who portrays Watts) to make sure that everything is accurate." Real life dilemmas The superb cast is led by award-winning Helen Mirren playing steely Colonel Catherine Powell, the late Alan Rickman interpreting an acerbic but cool under fire Lt. General Benson and the evocative Aaron Paul as the emotional drone pilot Steve Watts. They drive home the point of "Eye in the Sky" -- that as precise the drone missiles are, they are still guided by often conflicted human beings. As the filmmaker notes, there are military people who seriously question the use of the drone and there are people within the military who think it is the best thing thats ever happened." Gavin Hood says the debates we see unfolding in his dramatized account are very much like the debates happening in real mission control rooms, and elsewhere in the real world. The top U.S. general says he has "no doubt" that Russian intervention in Syria propped up the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. "With respect to Russian activity in Syria, there's absolutely no doubt that they stabilized the regime, and they have put themselves in a position to influence the political solution," General Joe Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Dunford said the Syrian government was "reeling" in July and August of last year but is now in "much better shape." Russia's withdrawal from Syria "calls into question" their true purpose for entering into the Syrian conflict, he added. "The stated intent was to go after ISIL," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. "They've now announced the withdrawal. From my perspective, there's still some work to be done against ISIL." New military methods needed The general said one of the "most significant challenges" the U.S. military is dealing with is the need for "more effective methods" to deal with Russian behavior in Georgia and Crimea, malign Iranian influence across the Middle East and Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. The traditional U.S. military approach, he explained, is to either be at peace or at conflict, but Dunford said that method is "insufficient" to deal with players advancing their interests while avoiding U.S. military strengths. "The adversary knows exactly what the threshold is for us to take decisive military action, so they operate below that level," Dunford said. "They continue to advance their interest, and we lose the competitive advantage and frankly our interests are adversely affected." The general said he will make recommendations to Congress in the coming weeks for significant changes to the military's command and control in order to be more "suited" for the character of current conflicts across the globe. The campaign manager for Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been charged with simple battery over an incident in which he is alleged to have grabbed a news reporter at a campaign event in Florida. Corey Lewandowski turned himself in to police early Tuesday to face the misdemeanor charge, according to a report filed by the Jupiter Police department. The police report says a court date has been set for May 4. Caught on tape Also Tuesday, the police department released fresh surveillance video of the March 8 event, showing Lewandowski appearing to reach over to grab Michelle Fields - apparently in an attempt to escort the now former Breitbart reporter away as she tried to ask Trump a question. Watch:Surveillance video of incident Fields, who later quit her job after complaining of a lack of support over the incident, said she experienced bruising. To support her claim, she tweeted a photo allegedly showing the bruise marks she sustained. Trump defends aide "Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," the Trump campaign said in a statement Tuesday. "He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Lewandowski has also denied any wrongdoing. In a message on Twitter, Lewandowski replied directly to Fields, saying, "You are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you." Trump has repeatedly defended his top aide, saying Fields "made up" the story. It is one of several instances in which minor clashes have erupted at Trump campaign events. A new U.S. political survey shows Republican voters continue to favor billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump for the party's presidential nomination by a wide margin over his two remaining challengers, while the Democratic contest between former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has narrowed. The NBC News/Survey Monkey poll released Tuesday showed the brash Trump with 48 percent support among Republicans, well ahead of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative firebrand in the halls of Congress, who has 27 percent. Ohio Governor John Kasich has 18 percent. Trump also has a significant edge in winning delegates to the Republican national convention in July, where the party will pick its 2016 presidential nominee. It is not clear if Trump, a political novice and one-time television reality show host, will be able to win a majority of delegates ahead of the quadrennial gathering. If he falls short, the nomination would be decided in contentious balloting until a nominee is chosen. In the Democratic contest, the survey showed Clinton, the country's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013, ahead of Sanders by a 49-to-43 percent margin among Democratic voters, her narrowest edge since the tracking poll was started in late December. Sanders, a democratic socialist who has centered his campaign with attacks on the country's growing income inequality, easily won three state nominating contests against Clinton on Saturday, but trails far behind her in claiming delegates to the party's July national convention where the nominee will be selected. Trump ahead but not broadly popular Even as surveys show Trump with a lead among Republicans, nearly two-thirds of Americans view him unfavorably. Majorities also have unfavorable views of Clinton and Cruz, but not by as much as Trump. Sanders and Kasich, who have not been attacked by political partisans as much as the front-running candidates, have positive favorability ratings. The next contest in the months-long, state-by-state nominating process is April 5 in the midwestern state of Wisconsin, where pre-election surveys show Trump and Cruz locked in a close Republican match, with Kasich trailing. In the Democratic race, the polls show Clinton with a slight edge over Sanders. The eventual party nominees will square off in November's national election, with the winner replacing President Barack Obama, who leaves office in January 2017. U.S. political surveys have consistently shown Clinton defeating Trump in a hypothetical face-off, leaving many Republicans to worry about the party's chances to retake the White House. The surveys also mostly show her defeating Cruz, but losing to Kasich. Sanders also fares well in the polling against Trump and Cruz and less so against Kasich. The problem for Kasich, the polls notwithstanding, is that he has no mathematical chance of claiming enough delegates to win the Republican nomination ahead of the national convention. He is banking on the hope that neither Trump nor Cruz can win a first-ballot victory either, opening up the voting for the nomination on a second ballot and possibly beyond that. Sara Hossain, Bangladesh Hossain is a human rights lawyer in Bangladesh who advocates on behalf of women and girls. She has brought cases in the countrys highest courts to, among others, challenge the practice of forced veiling and using fatwas to punish women. She also played a major part in drafting Bangladeshs 2010 Domestic Violence Act, which criminalized violence against women. Debra Baptist-Estrada, Belize Estrada has fought corruption from within the Belize Department of Immigration for the past 20 years. From her position as port commander of the countrys only airport, Estrada helped U.S. officials break up a large drug and human smuggling ring last spring. Estrada was transferred to Belizes northern border this summer, where she has repeatedly turned down bribes and unflinchingly upheld immigration laws. Ni Yulan, China Ni is a business lawyer who has been fighting to protect the legal rights of Chinese citizens for the past 15 years. For her efforts, she has been arrested and imprisoned twice, sentenced to hard labor and beaten so severely, she lost the use of her legs. None of this has stopped her, though, and she continues to file lawsuits against public security officials on behalf of her fellow citizens. Latifa Ibn Ziaten, France In 2012, Ibn Ziaten lost one of her sons to an Islamist terrorist attack, and since then, has been travelling across France speaking about religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. She founded the Imad Association for Youth and Peace in honor of her son and uses it as a platform to help young people in troubled communities develop positive identities and a sense of responsibility. Thelma Aldana, Guatemala Aldana now serves as the attorney general of Guatemala, but she started out in a more humble position as a janitor in a local family court. Aldana took the job while she studied at night for her law degree. She quickly moved up in the court system to become the only woman magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice. Since becoming Guatemalas top attorney, she brought corruption charges against the president who appointed her and has worked tirelessly to hold high-ranking officials accountable. Nagham Nawzat, Iraq Nawzat is a Yazidi activist and gynecologist who has dedicated her life to combating gender-based violence and promoting equality for women. When Islamic State took over the city of Sinjar in 2014 and began massacring thousands of Yazidi men and enslaving women, Nawzat was one of the first physicians on the ground helping to assist and rescue the enslaved women. Now, Nawzat travels to internally displaced persons camps across the country to provide basic health care to women and their daughters. Nisha Ayub, Malaysia Ayub is a transgender rights advocate in Malaysia who has founded two NGOs to help aid transgendered people. One, the SEED Foundation, provides support to transgendered people, while the other, Justice for Sisters, provides legal aid to transgendered people. Ayub has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for dressing as a woman, yet, despite constant threats, she continues to fight for transgender rights. Fatimata Mbaye, Mauritania Mbaye is the first woman ever to practice law in Mauritania. Since becoming the countrys first female lawyer in 1988, she successfully prosecuted the first child exploitation case, helped draft the first anti-slavery law and got the first indictment for slavery under the law. Throughout her career, she has been imprisoned and had her life threatened, but she never let that stop her from taking on the toughest legal cases. Zhanna Nemtsova, Russia Nemtsova is a Russian reporter and human rights advocate. After her father Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition politician, was assassinated last year, Nemtsova stayed in Russia to demand a thorough and transparent investigation into his death. Despite personal threats, she continues to assert that Russian President Vladimir Putin bore political responsibility for her fathers death and supports research in Russia through the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom. Zuzana Stevulova, Slovakia Stevulova is the director of the Human Rights League a Slovakian NGO that provides legal assistance to foreigners. She advocates on behalf of refugees and migrants. Slovakia denies the majority of asylum applications, but Stevulova has successfully defended numerous clients in the Supreme Court and halted their expulsion proceedings. Since the migrant crisis in Europe began in 2015, she has been a prominent voice of compassion and stood up to anti-refugee politicians. Awadeya Mahmoud, Sudan Mahmoud became displaced by conflict in Sudan and became a roadside tea seller to help support her family. Now, 25 years later, she serves as a champion for women who work as tea sellers and in other informal professions. She founded the Womens Food and Tea Sellers Cooperative and the Womens Multi-Purpose Cooperative for Khartoum State, which represent 8,000 women who depend on selling tea to survive. Vicky Ntetema, Tanzania Ntetema runs the Under the Same Sun NGO in Tanzania, which attempts to end discrimination against people in the country who have albinism. Prior to serving as the NGOs executive director, Ntetema was the bureau chief of BBCs Tanzania office, where she exposed the gruesome trade in albino body parts. After her stories were published, she was forced to temporarily go into hiding, but she never let the threats stop her from fighting for people with albinism in Tanzania. Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit, Thailand Wattanapanit is a bookseller and co-founder of Creating Awareness for Enhanced Democracy (CAFE), a non-profit organization that promotes the free exchange of ideas. She was forced to temporarily close her bookstore for a year and, in 2014, forced to go to military camps for attitude adjustment, but she never let it stop her efforts to engage her community with political awareness. She reopened her book store, Re:public, last fall and the shop now serves as a public space for her neighbors to discuss political problems together. Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi, Yemen Al-Awlaqi serves as Yemens minister of legal affairs and is a member of the Republic of Yemen Governments delegation to Yemeni peace talks, due to begin in April. She helped draft the countrys constitution and made sure womens rights and interests were represented in the new document. She is seen as a voice for peace and human rights in Yemen during one of the most challenging times in the countrys history. It has been 40 days since Ugandan police placed presidential candidate Kizza Besigye of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change under house arrest following that countrys February 18 presidential election. The Ugandan Electoral Commission announced that the election had been won by the 30 year incumbent President Yoweri Museveni with 60 percent of the vote to Besigye's 35 percent. However, the results have been challenged in court by one of the other losing candidates. Besigye says he has not been able to launch a challenge because he has been under house arrest. Ugandan police spokesperson Fred Enanga told VOA earlier this month that Besigye is being held under section 24 of the Police Act which empowers the police to carry out what they call preventive arrest and detention of anyone whose unrestrictive movement the police may deem a threat to public order. The police have also restricted visitors to and from Besigyes house. On Easter Monday, police intercepted two mini-busses carrying a group of 72 people, including two Anglican Church Clerics from Besigye's home district of Rukungiri. Besigye said the group had come to conduct prayers with him since he had been prevented by police from attending Easter Sunday services. Members of the All Saints Church which is my local church, have chosen to come and celebrate Easter Monday with me because I normally attend Easter service at their church and when they knew I could not go to any church, they decided to come and have a communion service with me. And so there were more than 70 members of our church who came this morning. They were detained about two or three miles (four kilometers) before reaching my home, he said. The police were not immediately available to respond to the Easter Monday incident, but police spokesman Fred Enanga explained to VOA earlier this month the police do not want troublemakers to visit Besigye. We have enabled several visitors to his place. Then there are actually those ones where we have information that their visit is not helpful to the situation we are trying to bring under control where there actually are more persons with inciteful messages and so on. Sometimes we do allow, sometimes we dont based on the intelligence we have on the ground, on the intentions and motivations of those who are actually going to visit him, Enanga said. Besigye say the police have no constitutional basis to detain him in his own house or to stop anyone from visiting him. He again said the police detention of him in his own house is illegal. As I have said before, the police action is completely illegal; it has no basis at all in law because my home is not a place of detention. If they chose to detain whether for preventive purposes as they claim or any other reason, they should detain me in a place designated for detaining people, not my home, Besigye said. He also said if the police suspect that he has in any way broken the law, then the law requires that they bring him before a magistrate of the court of law. They cannot be the accusers; they cannot be the investigators and the judges. They must put me before people who will investigate their claims. I have never been presented to any court of law. It is now 40 days since I was detained. This is absolutely illegal, Besigye said. Besigye has also asked the courts to declare the siege of his house illegal and has requested damages to be awarded for the inconvenience and mental anguish it has cost him. He said the delay in hearing his case is one more example of how Uganda is gradually turning into a kind of failed state, and also how the courts have been compromised. Police spokesman Enanga said the police will respect whatever decision is made by the court regarding Besigyes fate. Ukraine's parliament has accepted the resignation of the general prosecutor, who had been criticized for not doing enough to tackle corruption. The move comes a day after several hundred protesters rallied outside the parliament building calling for Viktor Shokin to step down. President Petro Poroshenko had asked Shokin, who was considered one of his closer allies, to quit. Poroshenko has also asked Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to resign because of failures to deal with government corruption. Yatsenyuk survived a February confidence vote in parliament, but continues to face pressure to step down. Economic Development Minister Aivaras Abromavicius, who has openly criticized the role of corrupt elites in politics, sent a Twitter message shortly after Shokin's dismissal, saying Hallelujah! Finally! Abromavicius submitted a letter of resignation last month because of governments perceived attempts not to pursue high-profile corruption cases. Parliament has yet to decide whether to approve his departure. The United Nations has received allegations of two new cases of sexual abuse by U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. A U.N. spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said Monday the latest cases raise the number of reported allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in C.A.R. this year to 25. He said the new allegations involve Burundian peacekeepers who allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl and a Moroccan soldier who is accused of engaging in "an exploitative sexual relationship" with a local woman. Dujarric said the alleged rape of the girl was first reported to peacekeepers by the United Nations Children's Fund last week. Morocco and Burundi have been notified of the allegations, Dujarric said. Each country then decides if it wants to investigate the allegations or allow the United Nations to conduct the inquiry. "Both the national authorities, the Burundians and the Moroccans, have been notified with the request to indicate they will appoint a national investigation officer, and the Moroccans have so far indicated that they will investigate," he said. The United Nations has faced months of attention over allegations of sexual abuses by its peacekeepers, mostly in the C.A.R. and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Of the 69 alleged sexual abuse cases reported to the United Nations last year, more than half the cases were in those two countries alone. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he would repatriate entire U.N. military units or police forces where there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation or abuse. The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution this month supporting the secretary-general's plan. The United States has ordered military families to leave parts of southern Turkey due to safety concerns. The Pentagon's orders relocate 670 military dependents from Incirlik Air Base, Ismir, and Mugla. "There's no specific threat that triggered this," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters Tuesday. "This was a decision made out of an abundance of caution." The decision to move families and civilians was made "in consultation with the Government of Turkey, our State Department, and our Secretary of Defense," according to a statement from Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the head of U.S. European Command. One hundred military dependents based in Ankara and Istanbul will not be affected by the orders. The Pentagon deemed it appropriate for military family members to stay in those two Turkish cities "because of the security environment there and some of the precautions in place," Cook said. The action is not a permanent decision to end family stays at the facilities, according to a joint statement by the Department of Defense and the State Department. Incirlik will continue to play a key role in U.S.-Turkey operations against Islamic State, the statement said. The announcement comes hours after White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. However, a defense official told VOA the timing was "purely coincidental." "There is nothing specifically we heard from the Turks," Cook added. A hijacker who claimed to be wearing an explosive belt forced an Egyptian passenger jet to land in Cyprus on Tuesday with 55 passengers on board. Egypt's civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said after negotiations all but seven people were allowed to leave the plane, which was originally due to fly from Alexandria to Cairo. Those who remained included four crew members and three passengers. Fathy declined to identify the hijacker and said he had not made any concrete demands. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not related to terrorism. Latest reports say the hijacker has been arrested and all hostages have been released. Police on Tuesday arrested Movement for Democratic Change secretary general, Douglas Mwonzora, outside the High Court in central Harare after he questioned security details at the court for demanding party leader Morgan Tsvangirais identity document before entering the premises. Mwonzora argued that Tsvangirai is a former prime minister and a very important person (VIP), who should not be asked to produce his identity document in public. Tsvangirai was due to appear in court where he was facing a $500,000 defamation case filed by national army colonel, Christopher Mayoyo, over the 2008 political violence in Masvingo province. Mayoyo is suing the former prime minister for allegedly stating that the army officer was involved in the murder and torture of opposition political activists in the 2008 elections. According to MDC spokesperson, Obert Gutu, Mwonzora told the security details that it was demeaning to ask the former prime minister to produce his ID when he is a VIP. It was at that point the security detail became upset and thought that Douglas Mwonzora had committed an offence and by so doing Mwonzora was the arrested, said Gutu. He said Mwonzora was then arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station. He was reportedly released late Tuesday night. Gutu said he believed Mwonzora has no case to answer. What I can just confirm is that the whole incident at the High Court this morning is the incident that gave rise to this arrest. It is actually a very very spurious allegation because at the end of the day we are dealing here with an over-enthusiastic security detail whom we strongly suspect to be a member of the Central Intelligence Organization who was just all out to embarrass and humiliate our leader Dr. Tsvangirai, said Gutu. Mwonzora is being represented by former Constitutional Affairs Minister Advocate, Eric Matinenga, who could not be reached for comment. Police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner, Charity Charamba said she was yet to check the facts relating to Mwonzoras arrest. Meanwhile, Justice Army Tsanga has postponed Tsvangirais trial to 14 July. Colonel Mayoyo claims in his defamation case that Tsvangirai allegedly restated that he was responsible for the murder, torture and harassment of opposition political activists in Masvingo province in 2008. Indigenization Minister Patrick Zhuwao has vowed that there is no going back on plans by government to cancel licenses of foreign firms that fail to comply with the Cabinets April 1st deadline to submit their black empowerment compliance plans. The countrys empowerment law states that at least 51 percent of the shares of every company and any other business should be owned by indigenous Zimbabweans. Government is also bitter that foreign companies have spurned Zhuwaos directive to contribute 10 percent of their annual earnings to the proposed empowerment levy. But criticism of the governments plan is increasing. War Veterans leader Chris Mutsvangwa, who was recently booted out of cabinet, is quoted in the Newsday newspaper as saying his organization will resist plans to nationalize companies and loot the countrys resources. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has also written a letter to Zhuwao protesting the threat to close companies saying he is leading the nation towards a slippery slope. The International Monetary Fund has also called on the government to clarify the opaque law that many say is driving away foreign investors. In an exclusive interview with Studio 7, Zhuwao said government will continue with its plans and said he has personally organized an indigenization clinic for those who have queries. The hunger situation in Mashonaland East was worsening with more families surviving on wild fruits and sometimes one meal a day. According to MDC-T Mashonaland East womens assembly provincial organising secretary Edna Muswe, the situation is being worsened by the politicization of food distribution in the province by Zanu PF leaders. She said opposition party members are being denied food aid. "The Zanu PF leadership is making sure that no MDC-T members get the food. Many people are now surviving on wild berries and wild okra," Muswe said. Studio 7 tried to get a comment from Uzumba Member of Parliament Simbaneuta Mudarikwa of Zanu PF but he told us to call him Wednesday. But Muswe said she does not see many families pulling through to September this year if nothing was done to address the food distribution issue. Zimbabwe millers recently announced that they were now buying maize from countries like Mexico, Ukraine and Uruguay after neighbours Zambia and South Africa stopped selling maize to other nations due to an El Nino induced drought. President Robert Mugabe has declared a state of disaster in the country where an estimated 4 million people now in need of food aid. Momotombo volcano (Nicaragua) new series of explosions Tue, 29 Mar 2016, 16:30 16:30 PM | BY: T 16:30 PM | BY: T Moderately strong explosion at Momotombo on 26 March A slight increase in activity occurred last week between 23-26 March, when the volcano again produced some mild to moderate explosions, some of which were strong enough to send bombs to its upper outer slopes.During the past days, activity has again been calmer, although crater glow continues to tell the presence of fresh lava in the summit crater. We express our shock at the attacks in Brussels on 22 March 2016. We are appalled by these horrific terrorist acts, which we strongly condemn. We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of these attacks, their families and friends. We express our support and solidarity to Belgium, its people and the city of Brussels in particular. We stand determined in our common fight against terrorism. As stated by the Heads of State or Government and the leaders of European institutions, this is an attack on our open, democratic society. We will uphold our values also in fighting terrorism. Today, we heard from the Belgian authorities how they are facing this crisis and discussed what is to be learned from recurrent patterns in terrorist attacks and supporting networks. In the light of these events, and recognising the substantial progress already made at Member State and EU level to enhance our collective ability to combat terrorism, Ministers are convinced of the need to: 1. further build upon the combined national efforts to investigate, as a matter of urgency, the networks involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks and other similar networks. 2. adopt the PNR directive in April 2016 and implement it as a matter of urgency, thereby ensuring that passenger information units (PIUs) exchange data between them as soon as possible. 3. pursue ongoing work in a resolute manner: swift completion of legislation on combatting terrorism, on systematic checks at external borders of the Schengen area, on control of the acquisition and possession of firearms, on the extension of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) to third country nationals; implementation of the action plan to fight terrorism financing; fight against document fraud and full implementation of existing EU rules on explosive precursors; and further cooperation in counter terrorism between the European Union and Turkey and the countries of North Africa, the Middle East and the Western Balkans. 4. share information with transport authorities and operators as appropriate, so that risk assessments can be conducted in an effective and efficient manner, and mitigating measures can be adapted as necessary to potential threats to transport. 5. increase as a matter of urgency the systematic feeding, consistent use and interoperability of European and international databases in the fields of security, travel and migration by making full use of technological developments and including privacy safeguards from the outset. This is particularly relevant for reliable identity verification. The Commission will present in the coming weeks a communication on smart borders and interoperability. In this context, work should be accelerated on the development of a European wide automated fingerprint recognition system integrated into the Schengen Information System (SIS). The EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator, the Presidency, the Commission, relevant agencies and experts will join forces to present by June 2016 concrete deliverables, in particular to improve the collecting, checking and connecting of information in the field of counter terrorism. 6. find ways, as a matter of priority, to secure and obtain more quickly and effectively digital evidence, by intensifying cooperation with third countries and with service providers that are active on European territory, in order to enhance compliance with EU and Member States legislation and direct contacts with law enforcement authorities. The Council meeting in June will identify concrete measures to address this complex matter. 7. continue to develop effective preventive measures, especially by improving early detection of signs of radicalization at local level and by countering the rhetoric of Daesh in particular through communication strategies and the development of robust rehabilitation programmes. The Radicalization Awareness Network and the Strategic Communications Network will further enhance their support to practitioners, civil society and Member States in this regard. The Commission will intensify work with IT companies, notably in the EU Internet Forum, to counter terrorist propaganda and to develop by June 2016 a code of conduct against hate speech online. 8. fully support the work of the Counter Terrorism Group (CTG), in particular by further accelerating the establishment of a dedicated platform for real time, multilateral information exchange. 9. use more regularly Joint Investigation Teams, which have demonstrated their usefulness after the attacks in Paris, to coordinate investigations and gather and exchange evidence. 10. set up a joint liaison team of national counter-terrorism experts at Europols European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) to support the Member States law enforcement authorities in investigating the wider European and international dimensions of the current terrorist threat, to which Member States are invited to second experts. This team will draw on Europols law enforcement capabilities to monitor the threat from foreign fighters, the flows of terrorist financing and illegal firearms, and online propaganda. What kind of show does 11.22.63 want to be? Seven episodes in, we still dont know. It often alternates between a tender romance and a time-travel conspiracy, and although these two identities could co-exist, 11.22.63 seems too disinterested in its central mystery to attempt any coherence. Despite the many repercussions of Jakes journey to the past, the shows main hook preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy fails to carry much weight. And so, we arrive at Soldier Boy, an episode thats meant to push the plot forward before next weeks finale. The ongoing problems linger, and its held back by a surprising character: Jake himself. Jake is still in the hospital recuperating after his beatdown. He hallucinates, mixing the past with the present: We see Anderson Cooper on a modern-looking television screen, and a vintage-dressed nurse stands outside the door. Theres even a brief appearance by his ex-wife, Christy. Al appears as a doctor coughing up blood; he complains about what a huge failure Jake is. This hallucination of Al may be bitter, but hes right. Jake has been remarkably selfish and shortsighted by bringing Sadie and Bill into his mission. When Jake finally regains consciousness, its the beginning of November 1963 a little more than two weeks before Kennedy will be killed. Unfortunately, Jakes memory is shot and the episode dwells far too long on him trying to regain it. Oddly, Miss Mimis death is mentioned offhandedly and shes quickly forgotten bringing an interesting subplot to an early end. The writers just didnt seem to know what to do with her. Then, we see a nice role reversal: Sadie is taking care of Jake, trying to encourage him. Why didnt this happen earlier? All the while, title cards count down the days left until the assassination. Its meant to be a helpful visual device, but it introduces an odd structure, often grinding any meaningful drama to a halt. Many of the scenes between title cards feel like empty vignettes; theyre not instrumental in furthering the story. Jake tries to remember, takes pain pills, then gets upset. Oswald tries to reconnect with Marina, goes to the FBI offices to see the supposed agent harassing him, and continues to be a narrative black hole, nullifying whatever could be interesting. Rinse. Repeat. The episode feels lackluster and rudderless well through its midpoint. When Jake remembers that he had Bill committed, they find him transferred to a different part of the mental hospital. Think of the most cliched, offensive version of mental hospital in the 1960s. Thats pretty much how these scenes play. Its shot like a horror film with sickly lighting, as mental patients mutter to themselves, jitter across the screen, and bang against things. When Jake and Sadie are finally able to see Bill, hes a ghost of his former self. Hes been convinced that the truth Jake being from the future and so forth is really just his sickness. Whats weird, though, is that Jake acts as if he didnt put Bill in there for a reason. Yes, he should be remorseful; he didnt intend this to happen. But what choice did he have? Bill threatened to kill him and was derailing the entire reason why he traveled back in time. The shows memory seems to be as bad as Jakes. Why let Bill off the hook so easily? At least his storyline concludes soon enough. While Sadie and Jake are signing him out to take him home, Bill jumps through an open window, killing himself. His suicide was obvious from the second he stepped into the room. Why wasnt an orderly watching him? Why were all the windows open? Bills death is framed as Jakes fault, but it really isnt that simple. Not that its worth a debate: The moment comes across less like an important, emotional development than a necessary plot point that needed to be wrapped up. Soldier Boy quickly moves on from his death, so were soon back to watching Jake struggle to remember things and get cranky. Although the narrative is somewhat pointless, the sound design is nevertheless a highlight. It really helps us get into Jakes perspective. Some sounds are muffled, much like theyd be underwater or in a dream. Others are amplified to an overwhelming extreme, like the ticking of Jakes watch. Good sound and production design arent enough to save this show, but its still a nice touch. While Jake deals with his memory loss he doesnt remember anything from Kennedys name to where he used to call home Oswald is pretty much just living life and feeling unsatisfied. Thats basically where hes at until two days before the assassination. Jake thinks he remembers living on Madison Street. He and Sadie go door-to-door, asking around without luck until he ends up at his old apartment. Its now inhabited by a bitter, paranoid woman, which leads to the clunkiest moment of the episode. Jake and Sadie go upstairs and come across Oswald. Only problem? Jake doesnt even remember Oswald! After he goes inside and talks to Oswald for a bit, his memories begin to return. Once he remembers, Jake goes into the kitchen under the pretense of needing water, then grabs a knife to kill Oswald. He changes plans momentarily when he sees Oswald holding his baby daughter. Hes still determined to take down Oswald; hes even willing to lie to Sadie. But apparently, Sadie can tell when Jakes lying and demands to be brought into his plan. This is supposed to play as a moment in which she stands up for herself it almost has feminist overtones to it but considering how the past pushes back, Sadie just seems very naive. Still, Jake loves Sadie too much to keep her sidelined any longer. Her kind presence is useful when getting into Ruths home, where Marina is staying. Inside, theyre unable to find Oswalds rifle hidden in the garage. If I seem unenthusiastic about this sequence, its because the scenes feel the same way. Everything lacks energy and purpose. To its credit, there is one really dynamic scene in Solider Boy between Jake and the mysterious Yellow Card Man. With only 12 hours until Kennedys assassination, Jake and Sadie wait in their car, sitting near where the shooting is supposed to happen in Dallas. The lights overhead spark and the radio goes static, introducing a sense of dread. When Jake turns to Sadie, he sees the Yellow Card Man in her place. Rain is pouring outside in reverse, which adds to the weirdness. We dont get many answers about the Yellow Card Man. Hes human, at least, and painfully recounts his many attempts to save his daughter from drowning. He never succeeded and refers to it as a loop he cant escape. (Is this foreshadowing Jakes future?) Kevin J. OConnor strikes the right note between yearning, desperation, and oddity as the Yellow Card Man. His performance is a welcome presence, especially since James Franco tends to work best as a mirror or foil. Before he disappears, the Yellow Card Man delivers a final warning: You cant stop the past, he says. Go home, Jake. Jake is transported back to Sadies side. As the Yellow Card Mans warning rings in Jakes ears, it seems that hes now willing to let history happen. Forget about Kennedy; he just wants to live a normal life. Jake isnt all that invested in this mission, is he? Too bad Sadie is. She says they cant just sit idly by and let Kennedy die. They go to sleep, and when they wake up, only four hours remain until the assassination. Thats when the past finally pushes back. Their car wont start, which forces them to hot-wire another car and thats pretty much it. Time as a central villain is such a fascinating idea. Its a shame 11.22.63 has barely capitalized on it beyond the pilot. The episode ends with Oswald assembling his rifle on the deserted floor of his workplace, overlooking downtown Dallas. Its a moment meant to get under our skin and stay with us. Given how Oswald has come off as alternately empty and obnoxious, it falls quite short of that. Soldier Boy fails because its essentially a filler episode. It spends too much time on Jakes memory and dramatically discounts his central mission. Perhaps its an instructive failure: As the series has so often done, these great ideas are perpetually underutilized. The strong run on Bates Motel continues with this breakthrough episode for Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore). In Lights of Winter, Norman may finally be ready to confront his demons, although it takes a trip to a strip club to make that momentous change of direction. Beforehand, Norman remains convinced that his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), has been the one killing people, rather than his alter ego Norma. Trapped in Pineview Institute, he wants to escape, both to bring his lying mother to justice and be there for her when she falls. Meanwhile, Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) and Norma seem to finally be finding happiness. We all know happiness is fleeting in White Pine Bay. A Pineview staff member comes in to Normans locked room to give him his morning meds. He refuses, which means he wont be able to leave the room. Norman has convinced himself that his accusation about his mother means hell be freed today. Of course, that wont happen, but he thinks it will, so he vomits the meds after the nurse leaves just to be ready for his departure. Normans new buddy Julian (Marshall Allman) runs up to him, and he realizes this Pineview vet can serve a purpose. Norman asks for assistance in getting a private call, another no-no for residents. Julian helps him jimmy a door open to use an unmonitored phone. Norman calls Dylan (Max Thieriot), telling him that mother is in trouble. He wants him to be there for her when the cops come (which they wont, of course). Its a nice, long, engaging pre-credits scene that gets its hooks in the viewer, reminding us how good Highmore has been this season. Hes starting to feel honestly dangerous, as if he could kill someone as Norman and not just as Norma. Speaking of mother, shes finding domestic bliss in her new marriage. She cooks breakfast for her new husband, sending him off to work on a full stomach. They seem happy, even if Normas not quite ready for morning sex like Alex seems to be. He mentions a joint checking account and how hed like to go to a winter festival in town that night. Shes going to run off and visit Emma (Olivia Cooke), who is still recuperating from a lung transplant. Farmiga really makes us root for Norma, even though shes hidden crimes and done some truly awful things. Its nice to see her actually smiling as she finds potential happiness with Alex. We know it wont last, especially as that smile is followed by a shot of the iconic horror house on the hill. While Norman is trying to talk his way out of Pineview, Dylan visits Emma in Portland. She drops that her family is thinking about moving to Seattle. I hope the show isnt writing out Cooke. Shes been a foundational presence for three years, often giving the best performance in specific episodes. It turns out Emma may not be the only character disappearing she asks Dylan to join her. He seems honored: If you want me to come, Im going to go with you. Theyre cute together. Again, it probably wont last. Dr. Edwards (Damon Gupton) breaks the news to Norman that hes not going anywhere. Yes, the doctor reported the accusations, but they need to be investigated. Norman is furious. He storms out of the session, trying to barge out the front door before he runs into Julian again. The kid from Prison Break is going to help him escape. While Norma visits Emma in another cute scene about our two female leads falling in love, Alex is about to realize that his drama with Bob Paris (Kevin Rahm) is far from over. He goes to White Pine Bay Federated Bank after getting an urgent text from his former lover, Rebecca (Jaime Ray Newman), who works there as a manager. Rebecca was also laundering money for Paris, and shes convinced that Alex has the other key needed to open a safe-deposit box with $3 million inside. He denies knowing anything about Bobs death or a mystery key. In a case of pretty bad timing, he tells her how he and Norma will need a joint checking account. Yeesh, Alex. Dont tell your ex to do work for your new relationship, especially after you just lied to her. He comes home and searches his Paris stash in the basement and yes, he does have the key. Now what? While Norma is moving on, Norman is breaking out. After Julian plugs the toilet of a resident with OCD, the mess makes enough of a distraction for them to make their escape. (It almost seems too easy, to be honest.) They snatch a key card and run out an emergency exit. As they try to hitch a ride, we learn that Julian has been there four years, constantly escaping and going back. Hes been told he has The Bs: Bipolar, borderline, blah blah blah, but he thinks that his family just doesnt want him around. He has cash and wants to have an amazing experience. And Julians idea of an amazing experience is a classy joint called the Landing Strip, located next to an establishment called the Turf Motel. Julian wants a private dance and heads off to the VIP Lounge, leaving Norman alone in front of a rather elaborate show for a seedy strip club on the outskirts of town. (White Pine Bay apparently has one bank but a pretty impressive burlesque industry.) Anyway, Norman, the guy who doesnt respond well when his libido is fired up, is now alone in a strip club. That cant be good. Speaking of people in trouble, Alex gets a call from the DEA about Bob Paris. They followed a money trail to Rebecca and White Pine Bay Federated. Alex claims not to know Rebecca well, denying any personal relationship. Will that lie come back to hurt him? He heads out to the winter carnival, looking happy with Norma. She looks beautiful, and the pair seem to smile more this episode than in most full seasons, even after Norma has an encounter with Rebecca. Norma is clad in gray and Rebecca in striking red, a brilliant way to visually offset the two characters. The costume design on this show has long been some of the best on TV, subtly enhancing character, setting, and theme. Back to the Landing Strip, where Norman meets a lovely lady named Athena. She gives him the VIP pitch, and the entranced young man is sold. She pushes him down for a lap dance, forcing him to take the screwdriver out of his pocket. Yeah, thats not creepy or foreboding at all. She takes off her top and he flashes back to Blair Watson (Keegan Connor Tracy), another woman who stimulated Norman sexually and wound up dead at the end of season one. Will he kill Athena? Isnt there any security here? He turns into Norma, referring to Norman in the third person (This isnt the place for Norman. Its not the sort of thing he should be doing.). Just as it starts to get scary, Athena mentions role-playing, which Norma seems to like. Athena calls her pretty and puts her feather boa around her neck. They kiss but are interrupted by a ruckus in the hall. Theres the security. Julian went too far and gets pummeled by the guards, one of whom takes the time to punch Norma in the face, too, crashing her into a nearby mirror. Norman seems to return next to the shattered glass; the look on his face suggests revelation. Before we can figure that out, Alex and Norma come home to find their house broken into and destroyed. Someone was looking for something. The key? Has Alex brought his problems home to Norma? Who thought he would end up being the troublesome one? Finally, Norman is in an ambulance, still wearing Athenas boa. Dr. Edwards arrives, putting a blanket on him and explaining what happened. Norman blacked out. He doesnt even remember. Upset and exhausted, hes slowly realizing the depth of his mental illness. As he cries, he admits, I dont trust what I think is real. He finally wants to get help. Is it too late? We already know the answer. Other Notes: Thank goodness for Omar. Jimmys eager assistant will do just about anything for his boss, be it ordering supplies, organizing a de facto call center to field inquiries from Sandpiper residents, or helping haul office furniture around when he should be at home with his kids. On this fine Santa Fe afternoon, he saves the day by simply cautioning Jimmy that if he resigns from Davis & Main after less than a year, hes obligated to pay back his massive bonus check. This would be bad. Jimmy needs that money to invest in Wexler-McGill, the conceptual partnership hes dreamed up for himself and Kim. Hell have to toil a little longer, it seems, though whats another several months when they both spent a decade working their way up from mailroom duty just to get a whiff of partner status with a legitimate firm? Maybe thats the point. Maybe Jimmys finally had enough of long-term tradeoffs. Hes ready to gamble with literal house money rather than play by rules that have nothing to do with how hes made his way in the world. Plus, hes ready to have a little fun, which bodes well for us viewers and nothing screams good times like a colorful, business-casual, inflatable AirDancer popping and locking in the wind on a hot New Mexico day. Or at least thats when it hits Jimmy: He doesnt want merely want to erect billboards over the desert freeways or buy ad time in between segments of Murder, She Wrote. He wants to be the billboard. He wants to be Saul Goodman. If not in name, just yet, then certainly in his choice of hideous, pastel-colored suits and infantile means to an end. Cliff initially withstands his charges transparent efforts to get himself fired and retain his barely earned bonus cash. He looks the other way when Jimmy disrupts client meetings by mashing vegetables into a buzz-sawing juicer and nags the janitorial staff late at night. He even lets it go when Jimmy gloats about routinely failing to flush the toilet (and were not talking about a number-one, reminds Erin), let alone when he reasons glibly, We need the water. But once Jimmy decides to blow off steam with midday bagpipe practice, Cliff ever the folk-guitar purist has had enough. Jimmys out of a job and flush with capital for Wexler-McGill (minus $7,000 for the cocobolo desk, which he insists on settling up). For what its worth, I think youre a good guy, Jimmy says on his way out the door. For what its worth, I think youre an asshole, Cliff barks. The parting barb rolls right off Jimmy. To invoke Bachelor vernacular, hes no longer here to make friends. Fortunately, he still has one client whose billings can ease that sizable desk fund. A man of his word, Mike shows up at the D.A.s office with Jimmy by his side as counsel to change his tune about Tuco Salamancas gun. Sort of. The gun wasnt Salamancas is all I can tell ya, he grumbles to the prosecutors, stopping short of declaring himself its owner. As they part ways, Jimmy cautions Mike about messing with Tuco and commends him on swallowing his pride. As further consolation, he declares, Today, its on me. Too bad Mikes pride is still lodged like a lump in his throat. He tells Jimmy hell pay in full, then suggests they ride in separate elevators while he stews. Mike is no victim, no matter how Hector tries to change the narrative about what went down at El Michoacano or get under his skin by demonstrating the cartels menace. As Mike pulls up within snipers distance of El Griego Cuinador, he simmers like a man self-possessed. Kims moment of clarity is more subtle, but just as bold a step forward. Her meeting with Schweikart & Cokley goes well enough. Unexpectedly, theyre more interested in learning about her life before servitude at HHM than brushing up on her professional credentials. She opens up about her childhood in a small town on the border of Kansas and Nebraska (hence her Royals merchandise) and her fears of getting stuck working a job at the Hinky Dinky and marrying some lunkhead high-school sweetheart. Then as now, all Kim wants is more. Thats when it hits her that Jimmy was right: Taking the S&C job would be a lateral move symbolically if not in every comparative detail. The epiphany dazes her enough that during salutatory handshakes, she remarks, It was great to meet you Howard, ostensibly conflating her future and current bosses. Smoking a cigarette on the rooftop level of the parking garage, she peers out toward nothing in particular, contemplating everything. Theres no inflatable suit-and-tie AirDancer buoyantly expressing her destiny, but something like lightning strikes. She stares into the mock Wexler-McGill business card Jimmy had given her and reconsiders his notion. A la Mike splitting hairs with the D.A., she tears the card in two, shows up at Day Spa & Nail (where Jimmy and his cocobolo have set up anew) and proposes Wexler & McGill solo practitioners sharing an overhead space. This way, Jimmy can bemuse as many funeral-home owners as he wants with what Cliff would deem his optical migraine wardrobe, while she can tactfully drum up business from the likes of Mesa Verde Bank. Much as Hector has yet to fully grasp Mikes ethos, Kim, sadly, hasnt quite accepted that Jimmy no longer wants to operate within or around anyones principles but his own. There are several occasions throughout Inflatable in which someone poses their counterpart a philosophical question to the effect of, Which way are you choosing at this fork in the road? In the episodes opening minutes, a grifter gets one over on Jimmys dad at the corner store, then senses Jimmys disapproval and coldly advises, There are wolves and sheep in this world. Figure out which one youre gonna be. Mike made his decision years ago to be a predator rather than prey, and theres no reneging on that now. And as for Jimmy whether Kim sees it or not hes no less than a wolf in Sauls clothing. Apart From All That: Last week, I was ready to pat myself on the back and treat myself to a boba tea for predicting Rebeccas long-awaited admission of love for Josh. The moment was dangled like a carrot in front of our love-starved hearts for weeks, and its finally here. And it was pretty anti-climactic. Confronted with dozens of photos of Josh, Rebecca calmly fesses up. She had has had feelings for Josh, and apologizes for not being more up front about it. I guess the show is over now! Goodnight, folks! Its been fun. Oh wait, no. Before it can truly end, Rebecca must apologize to Valencia. It is literally a day after Valencia found out Josh, the love of her life, kissed the woman she correctly surmised had been in love with him. There is no way on Gods green earth or the Devils red hell that Valencia wants to hear from her, but Rebecca has placed her personal catharsis above the rules of humankind yet again. What, did we think one plane ride would fix everything? She really hates your guts, Josh tells her. I will just have to transcend that, Rebecca says. Hoo boy! Sounds like we have at least another season of psychological damage to wade through! Although this episode gives Rebeccas confession short shrift, it really digs deep into how much Greg sucks. Oh man, does Greg suck! First, he brags about getting into Emory while looking down on everyone elses happiness. Then, having returned to extension school, he unleashes his discontent on the world after getting a C-minus due to a chronic case of not trying. In I Could If I Wanted To, Greg paints a dour picture of his pissy remove from the world. Using snideness and snark and that haircut to shield his hopeful heart from devastation, Greg rolls his eyes and scoffs his way through life. Im not a sourpuss. Im pensive and deep, he sniffs at one point. Classic Greg. But before we get to that hot mess of a man, Rebecca must atone for what she has done to Valencia. Which is going to be hard to do, since Joshs sister Jayma has asked Rebecca to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. Youre the perfect height to pair with Phillips friend Daniel, who stopped growing after he was a kid gymnast! she raves. Turns out Rebeccas obsession with Josh has made her a top notch faux sister-in-law. Much better than Valencia. Remember how much Joshs family hates Valencia? Due to her chronic guilt, Rebecca inadvertently gets Valencia invited into the bridal party and decides to manipulate Joshs female relatives into loving her! Which is going to be very hard, because Valencia shows up to the bridesmaids gown fitting in an all-white outfit topped off with a pair of angel wings. (It was for a Maxim Hometown Hotties shoot, natch.) If it was any other situation, I would take off my earrings, my extensions, and my wings and curb-stomp you, she tells Rebecca with a smile. Maybe my inner Valencia is larger and more savage than most, but considering everything thats happened, she is remarkably chill about the whole kissing my live-in boyfriend and now being forced to spend hours trying on bridesmaids dresses together thing. As you might have expected, Paula hates Rebeccas new, tranquil pursuit of a Josh-free life. You have antibodies to his saliva! You cant give up yet! she pleads. Rebecca does her best to help Paula give Josh up gently. While we recognize Rebeccas pro-Valencia actions come from a place of nascent self-love and acceptance, Paula decides to hack into Valencias life and bring her down from the inside. The best plan on the list? Poison oak, in the dress, rashy nips! But all that stuff is only a prelude to the return of the greatest Crazy Ex-Girlfriend character: Grocery Clerk With Half an Eyelid! (First seen in I Hope Josh Comes to My Party! and played by the illimitable Benjamin Siemon.) His ego bruised by academic challenge, Greg takes a sad-sack clerk named Marty under his wing to help him with his unrequited crush on a co-worker named Allie. Unfortunately for Marty and Greg, Allie has a crush on Grocery Clerk With Half an Eyelid. (His characters name is Brody, but I will be DAMNED if I call him that. His moniker, and how excitedly he sings it, is the single funniest joke on this show.) Dude, she doesnt like you. Shes shown no interest. Shes way into someone else. Why give up now? Greg asks Marty, who subsequently offers up his love like so many squashed olives in the sugary-sweet Clean Up My Heart. Greg lurks and fumes, but ultimately his terrible advice does not work. I think we need to call this one, Greg sighs. At least this rejection-by-proxy gives Greg the push he needs to reorient himself, both emotionally and educationally. No more Rebecca! To clumsily paraphrase another tremendous musical force that influenced culture: Ive heard it said/ That Grocery Clerk With Half an Eyelid comes into our lives/ For a reason/ Bringing something we must learn. While the Chanettes try on bridesmaids dresses and Valencia awkwardly tries to make human conversation, Rebecca works her comparatively voluptuous ass off to make Valencia seem appealing, tap-dancing and riffing on her festive of backfat. Its a kind, if somewhat devastating, effort. Youre not that disgustingly fat, Valencia jokes back, because she is inhuman. At the end of the day, Rebeccas struggle is rewarded. We all thought you were heinous, Jayma tells Valencia, But youre okay. Joking around, apologizing, and yes, even bonding after the Chan ladies leave, Rebecca tries on Jaymas wedding dress (whaaaa?) to demonstrate the sheer enormity of her Heavy Boobs. In a bouncy number that will make well-endowed women the world over cry out for the lord to deliver them dance bras, Rebecca gets into the messy scientific mechanics of her jigantic jugs. Let me break down what I just said/ Each of my breasts is the size of a toddlers head, she explains. Put at ease by Rebeccas nonstop knocking of her knockers, Valencia also tries on Jaymas dress and Rebecca takes a photo of her in it. Did I mention Paula hacked all of Valencias social-media accounts? Within minutes, Valencias photo has been snatched from the cloud and slapped on Instagram with the hashtag #hotterthanthebride. That will teach her? Paula always seems to dance along the fine line between reunite Josh and Rebecca and destroy Valencia like a warm, friendly supervillain. When Jayma comes after Valencia, ready to hate her all over again, Rebecca throws herself on the grenade. Enraged, Jayma fires Rebecca from her bridal party. While Ol Rebecca would have lost her mind on Paula for losing the love of Joshs family, New Rebecca is enraged at her for messing with Valencia. Progress! When Rebecca confronts Paula about her subterfuge, Paula cracks like a nut. If were not chasing Josh, then youre not going to want to hang out with me, she says. Oh you sweet, sweet sociopath. Paula, I love you, Rebecca reassures her. Its fair to say its the most romantic thing thats happened on this show. Way more romantic than the couple were left with at the end of the episode, anyway. After Rebecca shows up at Gregs bar, she suggests they spend some time alone at her apartment. Greg turns her down. I cant be in second place again with you, he says. Its a brave move; the one person he really does want is Rebecca, and he cant have her. Except, apparently he can? Greg doesnt actually realize he has to try, which was the lesson earlier in the episode, but because he must reject Rebecca to avoid future heartbreak. Which would make sense, except Rebecca then comes to him by choice? Me no know. As NPRs Linda Holmes points out, Gregs affection for Rebecca is similar to her love for Josh. It is based on reality, but it also flies in the face of it. Rebecca has generally felt meh about Greg and has treated him like an afterthought despite his obvious affection, so there isnt much pent-up excitement to unleash when she runs back. Yes, Rebecca is now open to the universe, but this show spent episode upon episode laying a foundation for a Rebecca-Josh kiss, and now we have to care about Greg? Seeing Rebecca leap into his arms seemed like a portent of doom. This is going to be three days of you and me just ruining each other, Greg tells her. And not emotionally. Oh, sweet Gregory. Emotions are always the first things to be ruined. Messages of True Love Telegraphed by Grocery Clerk With Half an Eyelid Winking His Half an Eyelid: This episode of Jane the Virgin is all about moving pieces into place. A lot of transition work is needed to get the wedding underway, put some legs in the whole Derek plot, balance the new roles for Petra and Rafael, give Alba something to do, and keep the Xiomara/Rogelio relationship on a low burn. Plus, obviously, Jane and Mateo. Its inevitable that you hit spots in a season like this, when an episode is more about floating between big moments and stacking things up for the future. Luckily, Chapter Thirty-Eight is saved from being totally scattershot by a few really wonderful sequences. Nearly all of the individual bits are, at the very least, quite fun, and several of them are great. But its hard to get an episode thats both low-key (on the Jane the Virgin scale, anyhow) and spread across so many stories. Even the patented pick a theme and let the Narrator just weave that sucker through a ton of otherwise unrelated stories strategy feels a bit strained. Of course, its pretty weird to describe an episode where Charo shows up as low-key, but this is the bar Jane the Virgin sets. So lets start with some highlights. For instance Charo shows up! Jane and Michaels wedding is around the corner, and Rogelio is straining mightily against Janes desire for a small wedding. Only 15 guests set aside for Rogelio is, of course, an outrage for someone like him, and hes just flabbergasted that Jane truly wants him to stick to that number. Partially to help convince her otherwise, and also because Rogelio is still coping with his breakup with Xiomara, Charo shows up to support him. And yeah, she really can play that guitar. One of the big themes of Chapter Thirty-Eight is compromise, which is in itself a tip-off that Jane isnt quite fully on its game compromise is a hard sell as a foundation for any rousing storytelling. In the case of Rogelios wedding sads, Xiomara points out to Jane that a wedding is for her, but its also for her family, and Rogelio missed the chance to celebrate any of the other big milestone parties in her life. The compromise is that Jane will have a small ceremony, but Rogelio will get to throw the wedding reception of his dreams. Rogelio, in turn, thoughtfully ditches his plan to rent out the Miami Zoo and instead builds a model of the Villanueva house on the Tiago soundstage so that Jane can have a wedding as close to being at home as possible. Speaking of the Villanueva house, the Curse of Pablo Alonso Segura, which struck so dramatically at the end of Chapter Thirty-Seven, has flooded Albas house and forced the Villanueva women to decamp to the Marbella while it undergoes repairs. Its so bad that theres no way Jane can use it for her wedding (thus Rogelios soundstage model), and yet somehow its not bad enough to shake Alba out of her Pablo Alonso Segura love haze. Though it didnt get much time, this is one of the two best plots of the week. Although Pablo Alonso Segura is such horrible bad luck that doorknobs actually fall off in his hands, Albas blinded enough to agree to marry him. Its not until Jane and Xiomara spot him giving a blue napkin rose to a different woman in a Marbella hallway that the scales fall from Albas eyes, and the gloriously rampaging tell-off she delivers is quite satisfying. It also helps Xiomara and Jane convince Alba that she really should be dating. Which is great, but Alba you have got to get rid of this premarital-sex hang up! The episodes other standout story that seems a little short-changed is the dawning realization of Petras postpartum depression. Im thrilled that Jane the Virgin is telling this story; Im not surprised its doing so in the best possible way. This is exactly the sort of narrative that tends to be either a laugh line or a Very Special Episode anywhere else on TV, but Jane can do it really well. Petras having trouble adjusting to motherhood, and with the help of a new mom group, Jane gradually figures out that Petra is showing clear signs of PPD. Heartbreakingly, when Petra turns to her mother to get a better family history of depression I had a baby girl in Czechoslovakia in 1985. Of course I was depressed. You were depressed. The neighbor who delivered you was depressed. Marta continues her bid for Best Inhuman Criminal Mother by suggesting that she just give her daughters away. And the last scene we see of Petra is of her portentously packing a suitcase. This plot feels bigger than it has room for here. While I dearly hope well get more from Petra when the show returns in two weeks, I wish shed gotten some of that space in this episode. Meanwhile, in what feels like an entirely different series, Rafael and Michael are trying to figure out what the deal is with Derek, Rafaels half-brother, who may or may not know anything about their mother, the crime lord Mutter. (Hows that for a sentence?) Im not sure what he knows, and Im not really sure how this plot relates to anything. But I do know that Derek should cool it with the indoor man-scarves. Caught in the middle of all these stories, Jane and Michael are looking for a house to move into together. They look at an affordable one they like, which is a 40-minute commute out of Miami, and Rafael objects because it will make it much harder for him to see Mateo. He offers money to help Jane and Michael find someplace closer, which they end up accepting as reasonable. As it turns out, they manage to secure a nice place nearby without Rafaels help at all and it turns out Petra owns the house, and set it up so that Jane and Michael could rent it without feeling obligated to Rafael. Petra! This was so lovely! This is why I wish wed spent more time with you this week, instead of spending any time at all with Derek and his dumb scarves. Youre in Miami, buddy. Take off the scarves! To Be Continued! From Our Narrator, With Love: Things are getting seriously biblical up in here! Unless clearly marked as belonging to someone else, Our Narrator gets credit for the onscreen hashtags, and so gets to claim the hashtag response to Albas frank declaration of how horny she is. #OHGODOHGODOHGOD And so just as Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead, Petra Solano went to the mat for Jane Villanueva. On Janes discovery that Pablo Alonso Segura is cheating on Alba, and her subsequent desire to turn him into a pillar of salt: Or maybe shed smite him instead. YES, SMITE HIM! Lets go with that! And suddenly Rogelio realized there was one person who could help him. And it wasnt Lauren Conrad. #Rogelio: Its official: RuPaul has purchased that oversized Pharrell knock-off fedora in all the colorways. This weeks version is brown with some kind of band on it. Do you think she found those on Etsy and just bought out the entire shop of some lonely milliner in Minnesota, or do you think those are custom? I bet theyre custom. RuPauls hat is so big that there isnt time for a mini-challenge this week, but there is a maxi-challenge. Wait. Without a mini-challenge, isnt the challenge for the week just the challenge? If there was no Queen Elizabeth II, then Queen Elizabeth I would just be Queen Elizabeth, know what Im saying? Anyway, Ill stop picking on the producers because the challenge is amazing: The nine remaining girls have to get together in three teams of three, then each has to form an 80s girl group. The only thing I like more than a naked Shemar Moore feeding me Cadbury Creme Eggs on a little dinghy (make that a big dinghy) on the lovely waters of Lake Nicaragua is an 80s girl group. Being the devil that she is, Ru lets the girls make their own groups. New York queens Acid Betty, Bob, and Thorgy cling to each other like a 90-year-old woman in Nolita clings to her rent-controlled apartment. Kim Chi, Robbie Turner, and Youre Killing Me (Naomi) Smalls are apparently besties, so they band together. That leaves Chi Chi, Derrick Barry, and Zombie Naysha to be like, Well, I guess we kind of have to work together. Its like when youre starving and all you have in the fridge is some sliced turkey breast, a raspberry yogurt, and half a jar of gherkins. You just have to put them altogether and choke it down. That brings us to the Read of the Week courtesy of Mx. Derrick Barry, who says of Chi Chi, This is a girl who shops at Michaels for every outfit she owns. Snap! There is all sorts of shade going on while everyone writes their hit songs. First off, Team New York wants the party category, so Bob uses a very divisive strategy against Team Leftovers, who also want to sing a party song. She knows they were not happy about their team, and she uses that fracture to drive a wedge right through them. Chi Chi says she would rather sing a synth song, so Derrick and Zombie Naysha resign themselves to strapping on keytars and getting all Flock of Seagulls with it. Team BFF is the only one that wanted to be punks, and I was really worried about what they were going to come up with. The only thing less punk than Kim Chi, Robbie Turner, and Naomi Smalls is well, nothing. Especially when theyre singing a song about chicken wings. But bless that Robbie Turner, who gives Bob a taste of her own medicine and starts talking to Thorgy about her Afghan wrap dress to try to mess up Team New York. This weeks big fat sob story is courtesy of Chi Chi Devayne, who is going through a bankruptcy and cant pay back all the loans shes taken out with her two jobs at a car wash and a supermarket. A big crying face emoji for Chi Chi. Drag queens are already disenfranchised enough, to say nothing of poor black queens living in the backwaters of Louisiana. That is not an easy life, but she still turns out some fierce lewks week after week. I could see Chi Chi making it to the finals if shes smart and keeps it cute and cunty with Michelle. Adore Delano went pretty far with less. When Street Meat (a.k.a. Team New York) took the stage, I was totally into it. I dont care what Michelle says about Acid Betty looking more 50s than 80s. She looked like a New Wave kinda girl who went to the thrift store, then took some grandma clothes and made them fun and flashy and current. I mean, what sort of 50s woman was wearing a giant Technicolor Muppet jacket? Thorgy steals the show with that pyramid on her head and that puffy coat with the high collar thats so New Wave you might have seen Bernadette Peters wear it in Slaves of New York. Dragometry (a.k.a. Team Leftovers) is just as sad as you thought they were going to be. My girl Chi Chi is the only one who turned it out. Not only does she look amazing, but she really gets into her part of the song. Derrick is trying to sing because shes Britney Spears and it is dumb. Naysha is wearing that raggedy-ass circle on her head that looks like she cut it out of the bottom of a greasy pizza box. Send Naysha back to the grave from whence she came. The real stunner, though, is Les Chicken Wings (a.k.a. Team LYLAS), who walk out there looking punk as hell and chic to death. Naomi Small is usually strutting around in some sort of outfit MacGyver would make out of a Band-Aid, two pieces of Silly Putty, and a binder clip with one of the little levers missing. She is wearing that again this time, but like shes a member of the Slits or Wendy O. Williams mixed with Wendy Williams (no O). Their song is silly and fresh and makes punk into a comic pose, rather than actually trying to be punk. I loved every second of it and Robbie deserved her win. The theme for the runway this week is neon. Here is how everyone looked. Derrick Barry: Britney Spears in neon. Naysha Lopez: Did she steal the lizard outfit from the closing drag montage of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? Chi Chi Devayne: Introducing the prison warden from Not Gem and the Homograms XXX: A Gay Porn Parody. Kim Chi: A Picasso print hanging in the dorm room of a girl you were forced to do a group project with junior year. Robbie Turner: If Marie Antoinette went to a rave and said, Let them eat K. Naomi Smalls: Technicolor Barbie at a country club on Uranus. Acid Betty: Either the meanest Atlantean since Prince Namor (but with way more body coverage) or the winner of a underwater challenge on Face Off. Thorgy: One green square on a Rubiks Cube. Bob the Drag Queen: Kevin Aviance and Leigh Bowery called. They want their lewks back. Usually I dont care much for the guest judges, but Debbie Harry and Chris Stein from Blondie were such a hoot. There are straight ladies on all the time who love the competition, but never a straight dude like Chris Stein, who is obviously such a scholar of the show and so happy to be there. It warmed my heart and made want to listen to the rap in Rapture about four times in a row. At the judging, Bob finally apologizes to RuPauls songwriter Lucian Piane for talking trash earlier when he was trying to give her criticism. I do have to say, I was on Bobs side in the fight. Lucien was just saying, Be cooler, but wasnt really telling her how to do it. Its like if youre kissing someone and they just say, Fine, now do it better. Um, excuse me?! One of the queens from Team Leftovers is going home. It could be Naysha for being generally awful, Derrick for giving us way too much Britney, or Chi Chi for, as Michelle put it, showing up in a bathing suit, no corset, and a belt. The final lip sync comes down to Naysha and Chi Chi doing Call Me, one of my all-time favorite songs. Naysha thinks shes going to be all cute and do a few cartwheels. Meanwhile, Chi Chi just snaps her fingers, does a death drop, and then front flips and backflips all the way down the runway without losing her wig, like Naysha did. Naysha is so damn trifling. There was a reason she already went home once. In the end, my girl Chi Chi stays and Zombie Naysha gets a steak through the heart or a silver bullet to the brain or whatever it is that kills a zombie these days. What a waste of a surprise return. Thank God shes not around for the Snatch Game next week. I can only imagine what a disaster that would be sort of like Rus giant hats. In conjunction with Womens History Month, a Baylors Own: Womens Leadership Panel will be presented from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the lounge at Baylor Universitys Ruth Collins Hall, 1310 S. Eighth St. The panel will include Tommye Lou Davis, Alice Starr and Jennifer Carron, who will discuss the impact Baylor women have had on the world. For more information, call 904-553-9329. Library story times The Waco-McLennan County Librarys weekly preschool story-time program, for ages 3 to 6, will feature an Animal Friends theme this week: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd. 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Central Library, 1717 Austin Ave. 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St. For more information, call 750-5942 or visit www.wacolibrary.org. TSTC college preview Texas State Technical College, 3801 Campus Drive, will have a college preview and open house from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Activities each day will include admissions sessions at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Murray Watson Jr. Student Recreation Center. The sessions will cover the application process, testing, financial aid and housing. Driving tours will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with pickup in front of the recreation center. A free lunch, provided by Daves Burger Barn, will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Attendees will receive time-specific tickets when they register. Easter Healing Mass The Ladies of Charity of Waco will have its 36th annual Easter Healing Mass and Anointing of the Sick at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Marys Catholic Church, 1401 Washington Ave. Refreshments will be served after the service. For more information, call 315-1818. Hospice volunteers Providence Hospice is seeking volunteers to make bereavement phone calls and/or phone calls to hospice patients and their family members. Volunteers should have good telephone communication skills and be willing to volunteer two to four hours a week. Training will be provided. For more information, call Sonya Rawlings-Aleman at 495-8996 or email Rawlings-Aleman@chot.org. Free legal aid Mission Waco Legal Services will have a free legal advice clinic for low-income residents from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Meyer Center, 1226 Washington Ave. Participants receive a free 20- to 30-minute consultation with a lawyer. Appointments are not required but are strongly recommended. To schedule an appointment, call Kent McKeever at 296-9866, ext. 212. UHS class of 1986 The University High School class of 1986 will have its 30-year reunion June 17-18 at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6008, 725 Sun Valley Blvd. in Hewitt. For more information, call the Rev. Esteven D. Smith Sr. at 420-6280, email edsmith_357@yahoo.com or visit www.facebook.com/Class of 86. Bowing to consumer concerns, the Mars candy company, with a plant in Waco that makes such colorful snacks as Skittles and Starburst and also is known for its multihued M&Ms, has pledged to remove all artificial colors from products it makes for human consumption, the company said. Mars said in a news release it will implement the changes over five years as part of a commitment to meet evolving consumer preferences. Mars said its policy applies to its chocolate, gum, confection, food and drink businesses, which would include the Mars Chocolate North America facility at 1001 Texas Central Parkway. That plant employs about 500 people who make Snickers, Skittles and Starburst candies. Artificial colors pose no known risks to human health or safety, but consumers today are calling on food manufacturers to use more natural ingredients in their products, Mars said in a prepared statement. Against that backdrop, Mars will work closely with its suppliers to find alternatives that not only meet its strict quality and safety standards, but also maintain the vibrant, fun colors consumers have come to expect from the companys beloved brands. Complex challenge Mars said removing all artificial colors from a portfolio that features more than 50 brands represents a complex challenge, but one that it is willing to tackle while seeking input from consumers along the way. It said all ingredients now used by the company are safe, and all are manufactured in accordance with Mars internal requirements as well as those established by food safety regulators globally, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority. Most known for candy, Mars also has ventured into the arenas of chewing gum, table food, pet chow and beverages. All products consumed in more than 70 countries around the world will have the companys attention as it seeks to remove all artificial colors from its diverse menu. Mars has not yet responded to inquiries about whether this five-year effort may result in higher prices at the checkout stand or vending machine. Leslie Veneziano, manager of corporate affairs for Mars Inc., said in an email last week that she would try to get a response from Mars officials about the impact on price and on operations in Waco, but indicated that may take time. This is a global topic, and I need to find the appropriate spokespeople, she said. Mars is also making news on another front, having announced it is joining a small group of U.S. food companies adding special labels to products that contain genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Besides Mars, the list includes Campbell Soup Co., General Mills, ConAgra Foods and Kelloggs. This move is in reaction to a Vermont law scheduled to go into effect in July. It will require products that have ingredients with genetically modified content to display a notice on their labels, or on the store shelves where they are displayed. Food makers such as Mars say it would make little sense to create a separate distribution line for the state of Vermont, with its population of 626,000, making it smaller than the city of Austin, so they are placing notices on goods nationwide. Sake of transparency The Mars website says: We firmly believe (genetically modified) ingredients are safe. Food developed through biotechnology has been studied extensively and judged safe by a broad range of regulatory agencies, scientists, health professionals and other experts around the world. The statement on the website said the company is complying for the sake of transparency. About one-third of Mars more than $33 billion in annual sales comes from North America, where its products will bear the GMO notices. Chocolate rival Hershey Co. reportedly is working on removing GMOs from its chocolate and snacks, wherever it is practical. But The Wall Street Journal is reporting that so far Hershey has not gone so far as to put GMO labels on its packaging in response to the situation in Vermont, something Mars already is doing. Major food producers that include Pepsico Inc., Coca-Cola North America and the Kraft Food Co. have spent more than $100 million since 2012 in attempts to block GMO labeling, in part out of fears that such labeling will give consumers second thoughts about buying products that they say have been proved safe. According to the advocacy group Non-GMO Project, it takes an average of four to six months for a product to be verified as containing no GMOs, but once that certification is reached, it can have tremendous economic benefits. Natural products that contain the non-GMO label represent $11 billion in annual sales. This isnt the first time Mars has parted ways with other heavyweights on what could be considered a political issue. Last year, it became one of the few U.S. food giants to support highlighting added sugar on nutrition facts panels that appear on food packaging. Former Waco High School German teacher Clark Flentge started a student exchange program in 1986 for an authentic cultural experience, but what the program has created are lifelong friendships. That was the idea, that (German students) would come here for a month and we would go there for a month and the kids would have two months of being together, Flentge said. So you get to know the other person and the other culture on a very personal level. Flentge said he began the program in an attempt to expose his students to the German language. Flentges grandparents were first-generation immigrants from Germany who often spoke German in their home, and he knew that few, if any, of his students had grown up with the same experiences. With German so seldomly spoken here, my students really had probably never heard anyone having a conversation in German, at least most of them, he said. It has been 30 years since Flentges first crop of German students visited Texas, but the program is going strong as students from the German high school, Europagymnasium Kerpen, in Kerpen, Germany, still come to Waco every other year. This year, 21 German students will stay in Waco for about three weeks and then travel to San Antonio for five days before their return. Each student is paired with an American student taking German and acting as a guide during the stay. The German students stay with host families and attend classes with their American guides. During the summer, the American students will travel to Germany for a similar experience. German instructor Andrea Berg said these trips give her students wonderful opportunities to practice English, which they have studied since they were 6, and see real American life. We think the students . . . theyll be able to really experience the American daily life at a high school and not only going to different cities and just doing tourist sites, she said. Waco High German teacher Matthew Bachofen said it is an incredible experience both for the Germans and for the American students. He has been organizing the program for the past 10 years. These guys get to live like Americans. When we go (to Germany), we live like Germans, he said. Corinna Castor, who teaches at Europagymnasium Kerpen and travels to America with the student groups, said the experience also helps to dispel prejudice among cultures. Americans may think all Germans drink beer and run around in (lederhosen), but of course thats not what all Germans are like, she said. And maybe Germans think all Texans ride a horse and wear a cowboy hat, but of course thats not what Texas is about. . . . Its about learning of another culture. The students are experiencing that firsthand by tasting new foods, visiting museums and attending classes with their exchange buddies. The group has visited Baylor University and Dallas, where they went to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. They plan to visit Fort Worth before they leave. But it is the people who stand out the most, the Germans said. Texans are much friendlier than Germans, 16-year-old Sarah Hundertmark said. You say hello, but (Germans) dont start small talk, said Anna-Carina Porschen, 15. Flynn Fleck, 14, said German parents are much more lenient than American parents, but Germans dont drive without supervision until they are 18. Instead, they walk or take public transportation. Porschen also said she was impressed with the number of Dallas skyscrapers. The students explained there are tall buildings in Germany, but not as many as are found in large American cities. I think it was very great. Ive never been to New York, but I think it would be just the same as New York because the buildings are so high, Porschen said. Flentge, the exchange program founder, said he is thrilled the program has lasted this long and still enjoys the benefits of his efforts. The most important thing was that (the students) developed lifelong friendships with someone from another country and another culture. And many of them still after 25, 30 years correspond and see each other, he said. And my two best friends are two of the original German teachers with whom I worked and spent so much time. Deutsche Post AG operates as a mail and logistics company in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through five segments: Express; Global Forwarding, Freight; Supply Chain; eCommerce Solutions; and Post & Parcel Germany. The Express segment offers time-definite courier and express services to business and private customers. The Global Forwarding, Freight segment provides air, ocean, and overland freight forwarding services; and offers multimodal and sector-specific solutions. This segment's business model is based on brokering transport services between customers and freight carriers. The Supply Chain segment delivers customized supply chain solutions to its customers based on modular components, including warehousing and transport services; and value-added services, such as e-fulfilment and returns management, lead logistics partner, real estate solutions, service logistics, and packaging solutions for various industrial sectors. The eCommerce Solutions segment provides parcel delivery and cross-border non-time definite international services. The Post & Parcel Germany segment transports and delivers mail communication, parcels, physical and hybrid letters, and special products for the delivery of goods; and offers additional services, such as registered mail, cash on delivery, and insured items. This segment also provides digital products, including stamps with data matrix codes and various postal services. Deutsche Post AG was founded in 1490 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany. Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. A Chinese economic satellite some 4,000 miles from Beijing is signalling the nation's bid to remodel its growth drivers is making headway. Australian data show that China's transition to consumption-led growth is intensifying and helping to boost non- resources industries Down Under at a crucial time for both economies. At the same time, Australia is emerging from a China- fuelled mining boom and seeking new opportunities to provide food, services and health products to its biggest trading partner. "Australian exports provide clear signs that middle-class incomes are continuing to gain and preferences are shifting in China toward services and higher-quality food products," said Paul Bloxham, chief Australia economist at HSBC Holdings Plc. "The time-frame for China's transition is large, a decade or more, and it won't be easy. But the fact it is already underway is positive." China is seeking to encourage consumption following the nation's rapid industrialisation, a transition that will force its communist rulers to cede even more economic freedom to its population. The shift is critical to boost productivity as China seeks to avoid a middle-income trap and regain its place as the world's top economic power, a position relinquished in the 17th century. The Turnbull government, which has championed innovation and tax breaks for start-ups as part of its "ideas boom", has found an unlikely critic: a billionaire tech founder. Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes took to Twitter on Monday night to rail against comments made by politicians on the ABC's Q&A program. Mr Cannon-Brookes, whose company is worth $8 billion and is held up as the Australian start-up success story, has previously called out companies that move to Singapore to lower their tax. He said on Monday that no legitimate start-up saw paying taxes as a barrier to becoming a company. Donald Trump's comments are likely to alarm both China and US allies in Asia who fear China. Credit:Edgar Su "It's very fake, ambiguous, in terms of since when, since what year does it become historical, traditional?" Indonesia joined the lengthening list of Asian states angry and anxious about China's assertiveness. A senior member of the Indonesian Cabinet, Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan, said that his country would respond by sending more troops and better patrol boats to its naval base in the Natuna Sea. And on Monday, Japan officially fired up its latest radar station, part of Tokyo's stepped-up efforts to respond to China's assertiveness in the East China Sea. Unfortunately, the US under Barack Obama spent more than a year in frozen immobility as China plunged into a frenetic program of base-building on disputed islands in the South China Sea. The islands are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and others. The US finally stirred into action in the last few months. America, like Australia, makes no claims and takes no sides in the disputes, but urges all sides to avoid any destabilising steps. The US has, however, moved to reassure its regional allies that it stands firm in supporting them. Two weeks ago, for instance, it signed an agreement to rotate US forces through five Philippines military bases, a deal that the American ambassador to Manila described as "a pretty big deal". China's official newsagency, Xinhua, responded by accusing the US of "making the Asia-Pacific into a second Middle East". Into this tense and difficult situation crashed the leading Republican candidate for the US presidency. Donald Trump told the New York Times that, as president, he would "perhaps" lay claim to one of the disputed islands of the South China Sea for the US. This is idiotic and potentially incendiary in one of the world's most flammable strategic tinder boxes. The US would be transformed instantaneously from being the guarantor of stability to being a great force for instability. It would be tantamount to an American declaration of hostilities against China, in return for nothing it actually wants. Simultaneously, it would insult the sovereign claims of US friends and allies who also claim the same islands. And there was more. Trump said that he would start withdrawing US forces from the two biggest US bases in Asia, those in Japan and South Korea, unless those countries paid more towards the cost of the bases. "I would not do so happily, but I would be willing to do it," he said, without acknowledging that Tokyo already pays most of the costs of the American bases on its soil and South Korea more than a third. And if Japan, feeling exposed without reliable US backing, decided that it needed to go nuclear as a result? "I'm not sure that would be a bad thing for us," Trump said. The US was "basically protecting Japan" he said, and "at some point we cannot be the policemen of the world." "We're a country that doesn't have money," he said, striking one of his favourite themes. "We were a rich country with a very strong military and tremendous capability in so many ways. We're not anymore. We have a military that's severely depleted. We have nuclear arsenals which are in very terrible shape. They don't even know if they work." The prospect of a nuclear Japan is deeply alarming for countries including China. Trump could be president. He's likely to be the Republican candidate and, according to the US betting markets, he has about a 40 per cent chance of winning the presidency. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic candidate, is rated a better chance at 60 per cent. Even so, it's unsettling for the Asia-Pacific, the Indo-Pacific and the wider world for one of the leading US candidates to speak so blithely, so erratically, so carelessly about ripping up some of the deepest security foundations of the modern world. In Beijing, Trump's ideas play into the hands of military hawks. If a future US president could so upend the remaining structures for stability in the region, then the rational response is to prepare for a much more unstable situation. And that's a case for even more Chinese armaments and an even more assertive posture. And in the capitals of US friends and allies, Trump's musings will strengthen the hand of those arguing that the US is an increasingly unreliable ally. And that means these countries are more likely to accelerate their own arms build ups, or more likely to prepare to yield to China's demands. Either way, it's a recipe for destabilisation and danger. Even if he never sets foot in the Oval Office, Trump is a danger to the stability of Australia and the entire region. Comparing cultural traits in these politically correct times can elicit rebukes, but brushing over the differences can be even more costly. With more than a million migrants welcomed into Germany and thousands of others into neighbouring countries, Europeans are asking hard questions about cultural differences. Can Germany integrate so many migrants without having to change its cultural norms, such as what is considered acceptable dress for women? Did culture play a role in the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne? The migration crisis has forced Europeans to debate these pressing questions but many wonder whether it is too little, too late for Europe. Refugees walk to a chartered train at the railway station of Passau, Germany Tuesday Jan. 2016. Migrants continue to arrive in Germany to seek for asylum. (Armin Weigel/dpa via AP) Credit:Armin Weigel In Australia discussing differences of culture and religion is often frowned upon. The popular response is to present an image of compassion and universalism, but this misplaced projection of common humanity reflects a dangerous mix of arrogance and ignorance. There is a presumption that all cultures resemble our culture, with the same hopes, aspirations, norms and rules. The arrogance of this view emerges through the idea that our values are universal. This argument, commonly held by the left, sees Western European history and its roots in Christianity as inconsequential. Instead, the human rights movement that went global in the 20th century is somehow regarded as common to all peoples and nations. But it gets even worse. The boy's parents have admitted that this stretch of road was a public road and they knew it was against the law for their son to drive on it. They knew their son's actions were illegal yet they still want to blame police instead of themselves as parents. I do not even need to get quotes from police on this latest episode. Quite frankly, they will not be able to say what they really want to say in our politically correct world. So I will say it for them. Am I the only one who cannot only see that a 14-year-old boy should not be driving in the first place, but to put him behind the wheel of a car to go and pick up his siblings just defies belief? "It's just us and a few neighbours who use that stretch of road and none of them have ever had a problem with our children driving on it," the mother has been quoted as saying. Really? So, this is evidently not the first time the 14-year-old and perhaps another of his siblings has played the role of 'an adult' picking up kids from school?! And no neighbours have had alarm bells go off inside their heads that there is a 14-year-old not only driving unlicensed but being in charge of three other lives inside a lethal weapon? Or perhaps, in politically correct 2016, very few people are brave enough to do the right thing and speak out for fear of themselves being ostracised in a small town for doing the right thing and speaking out. But wait, there's more "We don't think they were in any danger and weren't putting anyone else in danger. They don't drive anywhere public except that stretch and we don't let them go faster than 60km/h," the mother added. Well, that's very responsible of the parent, isn't it? She doesn't let 'them' go faster than 60km/h? That's so very magnanimous of her given that she is not in the car when they are driving to ever really know. The consequences are not the same as the kids eating all the chocolates when the parents weren't looking! It has now become typical for people who are clearly in the wrong to just deny reality, refuse to accept the consequences and seek to blame others for their poor behaviour. Does this mother really think her own children were never in any danger? Does she not see that apart from her own kids, she was putting other innocent road users at risk through her poor parenting decisions and blatant disregard of our driving laws? Just because they are living 265 kilometres from Perth does not mean people are immune to the same dangers faced by drivers every day in the city. In fact, given the carnage on our country roads, people in the regions should be paying even more attention to doing the right thing. Since I know I am touching a raw nerve, and given the some of the issues identified in regional road fatalities, dare I even ask the question as to whether these four under-age children were all wearing a seat belt? South West District Inspector Kim Hutchinson has said officers were in the area after complaints about alleged hoon driving by some youths. I'm not insinuating at all that the 14-year-old boy was hoon driving, but what if the car he was driving in with his three siblings was actually rammed by a hoon driver with shocking consequences? Whether the road was sealed or unsealed or whether it was quiet or busy just does not matter. Accidents happen in the blink of an eye. Children, which last time I checked a 14-year-old was still considered one, do not have the training or experience to know how to drive to different conditions, which could include behaviour of other motorists. The mother claims she would have preferred the local police officer to have just contacted her and her husband instead of charging him. "The officer could have told us to make them stop driving and issued him with a warning instead of charges," she said. Well, that's very nice of her. Not only does she again admit that what her son is doing is totally against the law, apparently the local police have all the time in the world to go and find her and her husband somewhere in the town and inform them of what they have admitted they already know- that their son should not have been driving himself, let alone his siblings! Talk about wasting police time. At this stage, the 14-year-old is likely to face several traffic charges. "Our job is to enforce the law and I would rather, and I'm sure every police officer would rather, summons a juvenile for a traffic offence than tell the parents their child has died or been seriously injured," said Inspector Kim Hutchinson. The Inspector is wrong on one count. He cannot say it. As a columnist I can: If one of those children had died or been injured, you can bet your bottom dollar that those parents would be the first ones jumping up and down blaming police for NOT doing more. It seems that almost daily we hear about these cases of parenting stupidity that thankfully, I like to think, the majority of us would never even consider doing. Even if the child was pleading with his parents to be allowed to drive and pick up his siblings, the parents should have the ability to say NO but with modern parenting we see far too many cases of the tail wagging the dog. Like most of us out there, I know it isn't easy to drive with three bickering kids in the car. But I make sure they are properly strapped into their seats every time before I take off and I wouldn't dream of letting them drive until such time as they are old enough to get a licence. In Western Australia, we all know of the problem with children stealing cars and driving unlicensed. It is an epidemic we have been unable to properly address for many decades. We shouldn't add to the number of unlicensed kids driving on our roads through a new category of 'parental permission' because the statistics are frightening. Of all hospitalisations of young Australians, almost half are drivers involved in a road traffic crash and another quarter are passengers. Teen drivers have the highest fatal crash risk of any age group. They also have the highest involvement rates in all types of crashes when measured by actual kilometres driven. About 45 per cent of all young Australian injury deaths are due to road traffic crashes. Young drivers aged 17 to 25 represent one-quarter of all Australian road deaths, despite making up less than 15 per cent of the licensed driver population. A 17-year-old P-plater is four times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a driver older than 26 years old. In class, children are allowed to have fun, giggle and daydream from time to time. Finns put into practice the cultural mantras I heard over and over: "Let children be children," "The work of a child is to play," and "Children learn best through play." The emotional climate of the typical classroom is warm, safe, respectful and highly supportive. There are no scripted lessons and no quasi-martial requirements to walk in straight lines or sit up straight. As one Chinese student-teacher studying in Finland marvelled to me, "In Chinese schools, you feel like you're in the military. Here, you feel like you're part of a really nice family." She is trying to figure out how she can stay in Finland permanently. In Finland teachers are the most trusted and admired professionals next to doctors, in part because they are required to have a master's degree in education with specialisation in research and classroom practice. "Our mission as adults is to protect our children from politicians," one Finnish childhood education professor told me. "We also have an ethical and moral responsibility to tell businesspeople to stay out of our building." In fact, any Finnish citizen is free to visit any school whenever they like, but her message was clear: Educators are the ultimate authorities on education, not bureaucrats, and not technology vendors. Finland delivers on a national public scale highly qualified, highly respected and highly professionalised teachers who conduct personalised one-on-one instruction; manageable class sizes; a rich, developmentally correct curriculum; regular physical activity; little or no low-quality standardised tests and the toxic stress and wasted time and energy that accompanies them; daily assessments by teachers; and a classroom atmosphere of safety, collaboration, warmth and respect for children as cherished individuals. Glancing through the stall's wares, Professor Anderson says his stomach turned. The stall included a rack of tea towels branded 'Picanninny' and 'Good Golly'. Melbourne University pro-vice chancellor Ian Anderson was attending the Easter market on Sunday on the Mornington Peninsula when he ran across the stall, which was selling various bits of kitsch Australiana. A group of young Aborigines visiting Flinders Market have been left sick to their stomach after finding sellers hawking racist tea towels. Both towels contained depictions of young black figures, meant to be children. The Gollywog was originally sketched in America and depicts an African-American, but became very popular in the UK and Australia in the 70s. "They have a kind of superficial charm about them, they're sort of innocent. They're the sort of thing that is part of kids' stories. But they are deeply out of place in Australian society," Prof Anderson said. "What's at the core of them is a really disturbing stereotype of indigenous Australia, of black people. It's naive and out of place." Prof Anderson, whose family are Palawa Trowerna from the Pyemairrenner mob in Tasmania, was at the market with several other young Aboriginals. "They did not see themselves as an apron-wearing domestic servant, or a naive stupid object for children. A truck driver has gone on trial in Perth accused of fatally hitting a woman in an emergency lane. Lindsay James Lucas is charged with dangerous driving causing the death of tow truck driver Abby Hall, 51, on Christmas Eve in 2013. Ms Hall had been helping a man whose car had broken down. In his opening address on Tuesday, prosecutor Bernard Standish said there were several witnesses who would testify they saw Mr Lucas veer into the emergency lane where Ms Hall was helping a man whose car had broken down. The trial continues. Colin Barnett's Cabinet reshuffle has drawn fierce criticism from the Opposition, with only three new faces promoted to the frontbench on Tuesday. In perhaps the biggest surprise, the WA Premier will relinquish economic responsibility for the state's big projects by giving up his prized State Development portfolio for Tourism. Colin Barnett has charged himself with selling WA after his Cabinet reshuffle. Credit:Erin Jonasson It prompted Labor leader Mark McGowan to question Mr Barnett's commitment to growing business and destination tourism in WA. "Mr Barnett has already said, if he wins the next election, he'll be retiring... I think WA deserves better than that," he said. Tony Banbury was a champion of disasters, leading the United Nations to tackle the Ebola virus and to provide emergency relief after the earthquake in Haiti and the tsunami that swept from the Indian Ocean. He wept at a media conference in February as he revealed allegations of sexual abuse by UN peacekeeping troops from five African and Asian countries. Tony Banbury says the United Nations' bureaucracy makes it difficult to achieve its goals. Credit:Twitter Then he abruptly quit his almost-30-year career with the UN, where he'd risen to become assistant secretary-general in charge of field support, warning in a stinging New York Times article the international organisation was a "black hole into which disappear countless tax dollars and human aspirations, never to be seen again". Criticism of UN lethargy and waste is hardly new, but rarely has it delivered by such a heavily credentialed insider. Washington: Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has gone on the offensive against rival Hillary Clinton's reliance on wealthy donors to fund her campaign. He slammed as obscene a fundraising dinner being hosted next month by actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, where supporters will have to donate at least $US33,400 ($44,200) to attend, or $US353,400 ($468,400), nearly seven times the US annual median income, if they want "premium" seating. "It is obscene that secretary Clinton keeps going to big money people to fund her campaign," Senator Sanders told CNN. "Our events, we charge $US15 or $US50 for people to come." "So, it's not a criticism of Clooney. It's a criticism of a corrupt finance system. A pair of bodies discovered in Kentucky Lake this week By The Associated Press Mar. 28, 2016 | 05:32 PM | FRANKFORT, KY Attorney General Andy Beshear has hired another veteran of his father's administration to replace the former deputy attorney general who resigned and now faces federal bribery charges. Former Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown will be the state's new deputy attorney general. Brown replaces Tim Longmeyer. Both worked for former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. Longmeyer was charged Friday of accepting kickbacks to steer state business to a private consulting firm. He had resigned on Wednesday for personal reasons. Brown is a former district court judge and was the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet secretary for eight years under former Gov. Steve Beshear. A military veteran, Brown was also the first African-American chairman of the Louisville Bar Association. In a news release, Andy Beshear called Brown a steadfast leader. Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world NC ATTORNEY GENERAL REFUSES TO DEFEND HOUSE BILL 2; APODACA SAYS CHARLOTTE SHOULD PAY FOR THE SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY ANGRY WITH NC GENERAL ASSEMBLY OVER H B 2 NC ATTORNEY GENERAL REFUSES TO DO HIS JOB AND DEFND STATE LAW North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Tuesday he would not defend North Carolina House Bill 2which overturned a Charlotte ordinance allowing transgender individuals to use any public restroom facilities that suits their apparent gender. The North Carolina General Assembly has been solidly critisizd by the gay and lesbian community, as well as by liberals and the mainstream news media for its overwhelming decision, in both Houses of the General Assembly, to throw out the Charlotte ordinance. Cities with large gay and lesbian populations like San Francisco , Seattle and New York City have banned ravel for state purposes to North Carolina and some industries say this may cost millions in trade and tourism money. Republican leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly are sticking by their guns on this issue. Senator Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville has suggested that because it was their ordinance that started the whole thing, the City of Charlotte should be forced to pay the he special legislative session that threw out the ordinanceand if they dont, their state sales tax money should be withheld to cover the cost of the special session.. The president prop tem of the State Senate, Phil Berger, says meanwhile that Attorney General Cooper, a leading Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina this year, should resign as the states attorney general if he refuses to defend state law and protect children's safety. Vy Larry Freeman WHKP 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 29 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend: A meeting between the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will not be held in Washington, the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chairman James Warlick told Trend March 29. "There are no plans to bring the presidents together in Washington at this time," said Warlick. "However, we are ready to facilitate an intensified dialogue between the presidents this year." "On behalf of the other co-chairs, I plan to hold meetings with the sides to discuss developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process," he added. The Nuclear Security Summit will be held in Washington March 31-April 1. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency's Russian news service, follow her on Twitter: @EmmaTariver Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: The invitation for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to take part at Nuclear Security Summit, which will be held in the US, is very important, Azay Guliyev, member of the Azerbaijani parliament, told reporters. The US president's invitation is an assessment of Azerbaijan's contribution to international security, he said. Azerbaijan strongly supports the fight against terrorism at international level, noted Guliyev. "As a country, which suffered from terrorism Azerbaijan understands the great danger faced by humanity," said Guliyev adding that the country always contributes to international security. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's participation in the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit is very important and significant, Samad Seyidov, chairman of the international and interparliamentary relations committee at the parliament of Azerbaijan, has told Trend. The Fourth Nuclear Security Summit will be held in Washington, D.C., March 31 - April 1. Seyidov, who also heads the Azerbaijan-US parliamentary relations working group, said that holding such a summit is very important, particularly in terms of the processes recently taking place in the world. "The forces that want to destroy democratic values often call for using weapons of mass destruction," said Seyidov. He also said the countries participating in the summit haven't been selected randomly. "These states may contribute to the nuclear safety system," he added. "Therefore, Azerbaijan's participation in the summit is important given the country's role in solving the problem of ensuring stability and security in the world." Azerbaijan has joined all the international nuclear safety conventions, becoming one of the countries that ensure stability at a high level, said Seyidov. "But unfortunately, there are countries that treat this issue from a completely different position," added Seyidov. "The obsolete Metsamor nuclear power plant, which doesn't meet any standards and undermines nuclear safety the most, is still operating in Armenia." "A paradoxical situation occurred in this regard," he said. "Azerbaijan, which has no nuclear weapons and nuclear power plant, has become a country ensuring nuclear safety in the region due to its economic potential. Armenia, which uses nuclear technologies and which has a nuclear power plant, has become a country, which not only failed to ensure nuclear safety, but also a country posing nuclear threat." Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeg motorists may want to fill up their tanks over the next few days because pump prices are expected to jump later this week or early next week, according to one industry analyst. Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, said Monday an expected rise in wholesale prices later this week and a likely return to more normal operating margins for local gas-station operators could push the average price of regular gasoline to 93.9 cents a litre. McTeague said the increase could happen as early as Thursday, or as late as next Tuesday or Wednesday. BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sub-90-cent gas wont last for long, an analyst predicts. So youve got a couple of days here. But if you see somebody moving up to 93.9 (cents), its a safe bet the rest will be (following) within six to 12 hours, he said. According to the GasBuddy.com website, regular gasoline was selling Monday for an average of 86.3 cents a litre in Winnipeg, although some stations were selling it for as little as 80.4 cents and others for as much as 88.9 cents. This time last week, the average price was 88.4 cents. McTeague said a pump price of 86 cents leaves local gas stations with a gross or operating margin of only four or five cents per litre instead of the standard nine to 12 cents. When they subtract what it cost them to buy the gas about 81.5 cents a litre at the moment plus the cost of overhead, taxes, and letting customers pay by credit card, that leaves most stations with little or no profit, he added. You cant survive if youre buying gasoline for 81.5 and its being sold for between 84 and 86. Nine to 12 cents (per litre) is where they need to be. At four or five, its just not economical. So somebody is going to have to throw in the towel (and increase the price), he said. McTeague said theyll likely wait until later in the week or early next week to adjust their prices because the latest weekly U.S. petroleum status report is due out Thursday. Its expected to show a further drop in gasoline inventories, which will likely boost the wholesale price of gas by about two cents a litre. So instead of raising pump prices now, and then again later in the week when the wholesale price goes up, most stations will likely wait and do it all at once, he added. McTeague said if pump prices do jump to 93 cents a litre, theyll likely remain at that level for a while. I dont think theres much really pushing it past that. If you see somebody moving up to 93.9 (cents), its a safe bet the rest will be (following) within six to 12 hours Dan McTeague, GasBuddy.com But he said prices usually go up again around the long weekend in May, which is considered the kickoff to the summer driving season in Canada and the United States. With people driving more, that boosts the demand for gas and puts upward pressure on prices. Another industry analyst Jason Parent of the London, Ont.-based the Kent Group predicted earlier this month that pump prices in Winnipeg could climb as high as $1 litre by mid-June. But they likely wont go higher than that, he added. McTeague wouldnt predict how high prices might climb this summer, but said they shouldnt go as high as last summer when they topped out at $1.22 a litre. murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. VERNON, B.C. Airborne flocks of Canada geese can be symbols of beauty and freedom, but the mess they leave behind on landing can quickly foul parks and beaches. The Okanagan hosts large numbers of the wild birds, and several area communities have hatched a method to handle the loads of excrement by controlling the prolific breeders. The regions annual six-week egg addling program started Monday, with a team travelling from Vernon to Osoyoos, targeting nests of the Canada geese. Canada Geese forage at Wascana Centre in Regina on Monday, April 6, 2015. Airborne flocks of Canada geese can be symbols of beauty and freedom, but the mess they leave behind on landing can quickly foul parks and beaches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell Eggs are either shaken or coated with biodegradable, food-grade corn oil, which prevents air from passing through the shell so the embryo cant develop. Project co-ordinator Kate Hagmeier said results of the addling have paid off, with nearly 12,000 eggs prevented from hatching in the nine years since the project began. The population has not increased, which is fairly remarkable considering the reproductive capacity of these birds, she said. They start breeding at two, they stop around 20. They have five young a year. We feel that is a great achievement. Hagmeier said Canada geese were introduced to the Okanagan around 50 years ago and dont migrate over winter, but the program has done a remarkable job of capping growth of the non-native species. When I talk to the partners at the table, all the different jurisdictions, they say they are getting fewer reports of complaints and conflict in parks. (CKIZ) Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FREDERICTON Struggling New Brunswick, bleeding jobs and red ink, will spend as much as $1-billion on a fund to create the climate to grow the economy, Premier Brian Gallant says. If you want to give your economy a strong future, key investments in education today is the way to go, Gallant said Tuesday as he released details of the Education and New Economy Fund that he announced in January. The fund will co-ordinate new and existing programs in areas of jobs and education, but exact details of how the money would be spent were not forthcoming Tuesday. New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant speaks to reporters before a meeting with premiers hosted by the Council of The Federation in Ottawa on Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. Gallant says his government will spend nearly $1 billion over the next three years to create jobs and help businesses grow. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang This is a fund that we believe will help our economy, not only by stimulating it by making strategic investments, but also ensuring that we are enroute to having the right conditions for growth by having an educated workforce, a trained workforce, a skilled workforce, and that were investing in things that will help us with research and development and innovation, he said. Gallant said the fund would be at least $850 million over three years, but more could be added, and at least $250 million dollars will be new funding. The Opposition called the announcement an effort in rebranding and spin. Bruce Fitch, leader of the Progressive Conservatives, said he has no expectation of positive results because Gallant will be the minister responsible for the fund. He put himself chairman of the Jobs Board and we have a dismal result there. Thirty-eight thousand New Brunswickers are out of work and hes running around the globe trying to increase his Air Miles points, Fitch said. New Brunswick has an unemployment rate of 9.9 per cent. Were going further in debt, and further in debt, and now theyre continuing to spend. They dont even know what theyre going to spend it on, Fitch said. He said the Opposition has been asking questions in the legislature during budget estimates but hasnt been able to get any answers on how the new fund will work. Its a repackaging, a rebranding and an exercise in spin and communication, he said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Canadian legal scholar appointed as the United Nations Human Rights Councils overseer for Palestine says allegations that he harbours a long-held, public bias against Israel are based on comments that have been taken out of context. Law professor Michael Lynk of Western University in London, Ont., said in a statement that vocal attacks on him by the Conservatives and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs focus on selective remarks hes made in the past. Some of these snippets have been taken out of context, with important commentary omitted, and then given a meaning quite different from what was intended, Lynk wrote. Other attacks fail to mention that views ascribed to me are shared by such organizations as the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs strongly denounced Lynks appointment to the UN position. In a news release, it accused Lynk of long-term, anti-Israel advocacy, including calling for Israel to be prosecuted for war crimes and accusing the Jewish state of ethnic cleansing. Shimon Koffler Fogel, the groups CEO, said in an interview Tuesday that neither Lynks credentials nor integrity were being called into question, but rather his suitability as an impartial and objective adviser, as required by the Human Rights Councils guidelines for the position. The special rapporteur is supposed to be entirely free of bias or any attributes that are going to bring into question the individuals ability to exercise a view or an approach that is free from a parochial point of view, Fogel said. Clearly Michael Lynk doesnt meet those qualifications. I would make the same argument about one of my board members. Fogel similarly dismissed the suggestion the centre was misrepresenting Lynks words. This isnt a case of cherry picking or exploiting a particular phrase and taking it out of context, he said. There is a pattern that traverses many years. It paints a holistic picture of the orientation of the individual. On Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion called on the UN Human Rights Council to review its decision to appoint Lynk as its special rapporteur in Palestine. Dion did not elaborate on Twitter, but later that day the ministers office said he was concerned about past statements Lynk had made. In an emailed statement, Dions office wrote that special rapporteurs are not nominated by their countries and that the Ontario professor would have applied on his own for the position. Dions statement prompted former New Democrat MP Craig Scott, now a law professor at York Universitys Osgoode Hall in Toronto, to write a public letter to the minister urging him to reconsider his decision and to question the accuracy of the allegations levelled against Lynk. Scott criticized the commentary from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, describing it as character assassination and a reputation-destroying exercise. We as members of Parliament (me formerly and you currently) may be used to being targets of politicized personal attacks, Scott wrote to Dion. But it is not the role of politicians to dole out the same treatment to Canadian citizens who are in good faith trying to do their part to achieve respect for human rights and the rule of law. Follow @gwomand on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL Former federal cabinet minister Jean Lapierre, who went on to become a highly visible and respected political pundit on national issues, was remembered Tuesday as a great communicator who really understood the country. Lapierre, 59, his wife, his two brothers and one of his sisters were among seven people who died when their plane crashed as it headed to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, where his father had passed away just a few days earlier. The Quebec coroners office identified the deceased on Tuesday night as Lapierre, his spouse Nicole Beaulieu, his brothers Marc and Louis, his sister Martine Lapierre, and crew members Pascal Gosselin and Fabrice Labourel. Jean Lapierre makes a point as he announces he will run for the Liberal party nomination in the Montreal riding of Outremont, Thursday, Feb 5, 2004 in Montreal. Two news outlets that employed former federal Liberal cabinet minister Jean Lapierre as a political analyst are confirming he has been killed in a plane crash off eastern Quebec. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Former prime minister Paul Martin, who brought Lapierre back from political exile after taking over the Liberal leadership in 2003, said he would remember his ex-colleague as a great friend who had deep insights. Were talking about somebody who really understood the country, who understood what the political process is all about, said Martin, who made Lapierre his Quebec lieutenant. A lot of people comment on the political process. Jean Lapierre lived it and knew it. But also, he was a wonderful person. And I think Ill remember him as a wonderful person. The fluently bilingual Lapierre was much sought-after as a political commentator in English and French. While he worked primarily for the TVA television network, he could be seen and heard on various other news outlets throughout the province. We have lost today not just a colleague, but also a passionate man who influenced all of Quebec with his rigour and his analytical skills, said Pierre Dion, president and CEO of Quebecor Inc., which owns TVA. Lapierre was elected to the Commons as a Liberal in 1979, representing the Quebec riding of Shefford. He briefly served as youth and amateur sports minister in John Turners short-lived government in 1984. At that time, he was just 28, the youngest cabinet minister ever appointed to that point. He co-chaired Martins campaign for the Liberal leadership in 1990, during which Lapierre became increasingly heated in his denunciations of the front-runner, Jean Chretien, and his opposition to the Meech Lake constitutional accord. The moment Chretien was announced the winner at Calgarys Saddledome, Lapierre and fellow Quebec Liberal MP Gilles Rocheleau stomped out of the convention centre and quit the Liberal party. They later became founding members of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, although Lapierre later said he was never really a sovereigntist. Former Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe said he spoke to Lapierre as recently as Monday and recalled his ex-colleague as combative, passionate and generous. He certainly had the best network of contacts you can imagine in Quebec, Duceppe said. In all sectors, business, labour. He knew everybody. Lapierre quit federal politics in 1992 but returned after Martin became Liberal leader in late 2003. He served as transport minister between 2004 and 06. Lapierre left politics in 2007 and soon became a popular on-air personality, drawing from his long list of sources in both federal and provincial politics to offer commentary on important news events for a host of different media organizations in Quebec. Hes one of the finest political analysts I ever met, Martin added. He worked so hard at it. Many well-known Canadian journalists posted messages on social media during the day, begging Lapierre to say something to deny rumours he was on board the plane. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, who worked with Lapierre under the Liberal banner in Ottawa, said the popular pundit was able to explain politics to Quebecers in a simple, succinct way. He was above all a communicator, Coderre told a news conference at city hall. He could say a lot in a few words. He used his colourful commentary to make us understand (politics) in few words and left no one indifferent. Politicians of all stripes also weighed in on his death. It just has me reeling, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview with Global television. He was such a strong fixture in Quebec, in Canadian political life and the media landscape. It actually hasnt sunk in that hes not with us anymore. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair also tweeted his condolences. An utter shock to learn of the death of Jean Lapierre and many family members, Mulcair said. Deepest condolences to those grieving this tragic loss. With files from Joan Bryden in Ottawa Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Five union leaders are expressing support for Tom Mulcair ahead of next months NDP convention in Edmonton, where party members will decide if he should remain at the helm of the party. In a statement released Tuesday, the labour leaders say Mulcair has proven his ability to provide a true progressive alternative to the Liberal government. Its all part of a broader campaign by supporters from across the country to help Mulcair stay on as NDP leader. Leader Tom Mulcair speaks to the NDP caucus during a retreat in Montebello, Que., on January 19, 2016. Five union leaders are expressing support for Tom Mulcair ahead of next month's NDP convention in Edmonton, where party members will decide if he should remain at the helm of the party. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld The unions in question are the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the National Union of Public and General Employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the United Steelworkers. Mulcair is known and respected throughout every part of Canada and has the organic relationship with Quebec to keep and expand our strongest geographic base, the statement said. More than 1,500 rank-and-file members of the NDP are expected to congregate in Edmonton for the partys convention April 8-10. Ahead of this event, Mulcair has been actively meeting with supporters across the country, trying to persuade party faithful he is best positioned take the party beyond Octobers disappointing third-place election results. Meeting face-to-face with members has been an important part of the post-mortem process, according to CUPE National President Mark Hancock. If he sort of curled up in a ball after the election, we wouldnt be supporting him, obviously, Hancock said in an interview with The Canadian Press. The NDP and the labour movement we like fighters. We like people who are willing to stand up for values and Tom really exemplifies that. Hancock said he considers Mulcair the best person to lead the NDP going forward. Hes a very progressive individual and his priorities are the priorities of our members, he said. His values are our values. There are many lessons to learn from the 2015 campaign, but Mulcair has worked tirelessly to figure out what went wrong and what went right, said NDP House leader Peter Julian. The campaign is also being closely examined by a working group lead by NDP President Rebecca Blaikie. I think thats when you see really effective leadership, when a leader is willing to go across the country, hear from the grassroots that is going to, no doubt, help us as we move forward to hold, Julian said. Julian said he gets the impression there is very clear support for Mulcair from the grassroots. Its not unanimous of course, he said. In our party, that is healthy, democratic debate but it is very strong. Im very confident moving forward. In an interview earlier this month, Mulcair said meeting rank-and-file supporters has been like a tonic for him following the election. The meetings also allowed him the chance to interact face-to-face with supporters something he didnt have much chance to do when the party was the official Opposition. Thats given me energy, he said. Mulcair has faced criticism in the weeks leading up to the convention, notably from a group of New Democrat Quebec activists including three defeated MPs who called on the party to go in a new direction. Jamie Nicholls, Elaine Michaud and Helene LeBlanc said they did not feel represented in the NDP electoral platform they had to defend last year. And during a recent press conference in Ottawa, NDP MP Niki Ashton also refused to categorically state whether she wants Mulcair to stay on as party leader. She ran against Mulcair for leader in 2012. Its up to members to decide how they want to go forward, she said. Mulcair has refused to say what level of support would prompt him to quit but Blaikie has suggested 70 per cent is a likely threshold. Follow @kkirkup on Twitter Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Border Guard Commander of the Ministry of Defense of the Arab Republic of Egypt Ahmed Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahimi March 29. Mohammed Ibrahimi conveyed greetings of President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to President Aliyev. Mohammed Ibrahimi said Azerbaijan and Egypt were friendly countries, noting that Egypt was interested in developing cooperation between the two countries. Highlighting cooperation between the two countries' border services, Mohammed Ibrahimi said the visit of the Chief of Azerbaijan State Border Service to Egypt and his own visit to Azerbaijan would contribute to further development of border services. Describing cooperation between the Azerbaijani and Egyptian relevant agencies, Mohammed Ibrahimi said that this cooperation covered security, military-technical and other fields. Underlining Azerbaijan's good experience in military-technical sphere and trainings, Mohammed Ibrahimi stressed the importance of exchanging experience between the two countries' border services. Mohammed Ibrahimi wished Azerbaijan stability, prosperity and development in all fields. President Aliyev praised successful development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt. President Aliyev said that he attached great importance to further developing the friendly relations between the two countries. Pointing to successful cooperation between border services, the president emphasized the significance of developing relations in the military and security areas. President Aliyev said that high-level reciprocal visits would contribute to the enhancement of these relations. President Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, and asked Mohammed Ibrahimi to extend his greetings to the president of Egypt. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 28/03/2016 (2399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Portage and Main, the symbolic heart of Winnipeg, may be about to get a shot of adrenalin that should quicken the pulse of the whole downtown. The entire city for that matter. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A highrise residential building project at Portage and Main may be announced as early as next month. Winnipeg-based Artis REIT is said to be in the late stages of planning a towering rental residence at the windy corner, right next door to the nearly four-decades-old 360 Main, which is the citys third-tallest office building. The $140-million project would not only include the construction of a 40-storey apartment tower, but the $35 million recladding of 360 Main, the 30-storey office tower formerly known as the Trizec Building, and owned by Artis, the real estate investment trust headed by CEO Armin Martens. An official announcement of the project is expected as early as next month, but word of the developments planning has already reached the street. A call to Martens requesting comment on the project went unreturned Monday. Of course, plans for the soaring structure just south of 360 Main would include a penthouse floor, with panoramic views of The Forks, and beyond. Plus a sub-penthouse level. But at least 10 per cent of the units would be classified as affordable, which could make the building attractive to at least some of the young Winnipeggers who are among the thousands of people who work at the corner that was named by the Canadian Institute of Planners as one of the Great Places of Canada. With the existing nearly 1,000 parking stalls and the convenience of shopping in Winnipeg Square, along with a planned-for space for a place to buy groceries, the apartment tower has the potential to provide the kind of self-contained and growth-promoting downtown living that city planners have coveted for decades. It would, in fact, satisfy at least three of the four goals set out in the 2011 Downtown Residential Development Strategy. To increase the population of the downtown. To create dense residential clusters. To promote residential buildings and neighbourhoods in order to develop a downtown that reflects the income diversity of the whole of the City of Winnipeg. The same document puts all of that in a civic-pride perspective. Winnipeg Free Press archives June 4, 1974: Conceptual plans were unveiled at a special meeting for the $80 million Winnipeg Square development at Portage Avenue and Main Street. Winnipegs development plans have identified the downtown as an important part of the citys image, influencing how visitors and residents experience and think about Winnipeg. One key indicator identified in Plan Winnipeg 2020 Vision was More people working and living in the downtown. As for the developer, who would be investing in the apartment tower, what makes it easier and more attractive is Artis already owns the whole property. Plus and its another big plus the planned apartment tower would be constructed on an existing foundation pad that could launch the building to completion much faster. Back in the 1970s, the construction of that pad which was literally a foundation for the future in fact, the planning of the whole 360 Main development was overseen by the far-sighted city commissioner Donald MacDonald. He also envisioned the development of a CN Railway property we now know and celebrate as The Forks. The city council of the time, lead by Mayor Steve Juba, can also take credit for the imagining of future growth at our iconic intersection even prior to 1979, when 360 Main then known as the Commodity Exchange tower was constructed and connected to the underground maze of merchants. Which, of course, famously or infamously depending on your point of view lead to the still controversial free-flowing of vehicle traffic but the blockage of pedestrian traffic in the very heart of our city. Thats a discussion that the construction of a towering apartment building near Portage and Main is certain to, you know. Reopen. So to speak. gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 28/03/2016 (2399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Some first responders in Winnipeg are paying out-of-pocket for mental-health services to avoid facing a perceived stigma in the workplace months after provincial legislation was implemented aiming to make it easier to receive treatment for work-related, post-traumatic stress disorder. Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press files Provincial legislation came into effect this year to assist those in high-risk jobs. Police, paramedics, firefighters and military personnel are still likely to go underground when seeking help for mental illness, said clinical psychologist Richard Shore, chairman of the board of directors for the Anxiety Disorders Association of Manitoba. He says the first responders he treats for symptoms of PTSD will usually exhaust their third-party health coverage, which typically covers a percentage of three to 10 sessions per year, and then pay out-of-pocket rather than accessing treatment available through employee-assistance programs and the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba because they want to avoid scrutiny from co-workers and supervisors. Thats not unusual. What they say is its worth it to them to know that its confidential, Shore said. Its a shame that they cant utilize the coverage that they were given but theres so much paranoia (about) the cost of (employers) finding out. Unions representing local police, firefighters and paramedics say they know more first responders are suffering with PTSD and other mental-health conditions than are willing to ask for help from their employers. A 2014 health and wellness survey of 400 Winnipeg Police Service officers found about six per cent of them likely suffered from PTSD, yet the record of claims before WCB from our membership is very modest, noted a Winnipeg Police Association report last year. The report said the police services in-house mental-health supports could be contributing to the relatively low number of claims filed, but WPA president Maurice Sabourin told the Free Press some officers are concerned about informing the police service that they need treatment. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PREsS files A 2014 report found roughly six per cent of WPS officers likely suffer from PTSD. The WPS declined to comment. We do have a psychologist on hand, but the unfortunate thing is some members still see a psychologist as being a stigma and theres the concern that its not as confidential as it should be because the psychologist is an employee of the service. Theres always that concern that, even though theres patient-client confidentiality, the psychologist is an employee of the service and is anything filtering through? Sabourin said. This is in spite of existing Manitoba legislation that officially recognizes post-traumatic stress as a work-related condition. The legislation, which came into effect at the beginning of the year, was designed so employees in high-risk jobs no longer have to prove their work contributed to their PTSD. It means employees who are diagnosed with PTSD are immediately eligible for treatment and workers compensation. Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, said 10 firefighters have filed workers compensation claims for PTSD treatment since the law came into effect. He said the union wants to see the fire department bring in a full-time mental-health officer to help fire and paramedic staff. A lot of firefighters, they are dealing with it themselves. And we are trying to fight that, because these are firefighters that have always wanted to help people and now its very difficult for them to ask for help. They dont want their fellow workers to know that they are having issues, Forrest said. But what happens is that many of these (individuals) that deal with it on their own, they come up in the system in other ways. TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files A lot of firefighters, they are dealing with it themselves We deal with our members that deal with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, anger management, marital breakdowns so thats how we know theres so many more than just the 10 that have come forward and formally put in workers compensation claims. As they continue to advocate for more mental-health resources, both unions say awareness is improving and attitudes are changing within police and fire departments, which are now seeing more retired employees seeking help for mental illnesses. Theyre changing, but theyre slow. Its just like any change. Sometimes, it takes time for members to trust the system of confidentiality and to actually feel comfortable with coming forward, Sabourin said. One of the common first symptoms of post-traumatic stress is rage, which can lead to discipline issues at work, along with dissociation from reality (zoning out), anxiety, depression and panic attacks. PTSD often manifests itself via drug and alcohol abuse and, if left untreated, leads to an increased risk of suicide, particularly for first responders, who will often play down symptoms because they dont want to stop working, clinical psychologist Shore said. The higher in authority the higher the better needs to convey down the line that PTSD should not be stigmatized and that it is the nervous systems normal reaction to something that it cant handle, Shore said. katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Regarding the unfortunate headline, Competing reports debate frac-sand ban in Winona County, (Daily News, March 18), the content of the two reports do not compete on the legal question as the first line of the article suggests. The conclusion of both legal reports is that Winona County has the authority to ban frac sand mining, processing and transportation. The debate is the upcoming political discussion that will ensue among county board members. The reports are issued to inform that discussion. Conflict makes good copy but objectivity suffers. Winona County attorney Karin Sonneman and attorney Leili Fatehi, hired by the Land Stewardship Project, both acknowledge in their reports the potential for lawsuitsthe county attorney emphasizing the risk of litigation as a result of a ban (her professional duty considering a ban is the immediate subject), Ms. Fatehi highlighting the possibility of ensuing lawsuits whether frac sand operations are banned or not. Regulating frac sand operations is great if a government unit, like Winona County, can afford it and, more importantly, enforce it. State regulatory agencies are often sued over lack of enforcementthe Department of Natural Resources over White Bear Lakes dropping water levels, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is being investigated at the moment by the federal Environmental Protection Agency over alleged failure to enforce mining regulations up north with a tailings basin operating under a permit that expired in 1992! Government is at risk of litigation whether it does or does not enact a ban. It is the nature of our democracy. Using it as an excuse to not take action or fail to go on record is political cowardice, especially when citizens are asking something of commissioners. The legal reports do not conflict. The Winona County board will do the debating. Government is at risk of litigation whether it does or does not enact a ban. It is the nature of our democracy. 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. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend: Azerbaijan's participation in the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington in a few days testifies to the fact that today Baku has become an important geopolitical bridge connecting the East and the West. By inviting Azerbaijan to the summit, US President Barack Obama has taken a timely action, by recognizing Azerbaijan's important role in the global efforts for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. However, this is not the only and the most important role of Azerbaijan in the geopolitical area of the US and the West in general. The importance of the summit and Azerbaijan's participation there are more important than the stated goals. Today Azerbaijan helps bring together the interests of the East and the West thanks to the policy of President Ilham Aliyev as no other country in the world. This is done in the energy, transport, cultural and multicultural areas. This factor is one of the most important preconditions for its presence in all world events, including the Munich Security Conference, the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Nuclear Security Summit. Azerbaijan is well-known. The country is friendly perceived in the East and the West thanks to the charitable activity of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and its head Mehriban Aliyeva. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation is engaged in many humanitarian and cultural issues. It implements programs to support and promote art throughout the world. All this makes Azerbaijan a unique country. The country maintains the friendly relations with Western countries, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel and the Arab world. It can act a mediator. Other countries trust Azerbaijan's opinion and listen to it. Although the summit is dedicated to the nuclear safety, the leaders of the countries to be gathered at this huge event will not miss the opportunity to discuss other relevant issues and modern challenges. Within the framework of the meeting, representatives of the international community, in particular, will discuss measures necessary to be taken to fight the terrorist threat. Here Baku can share its many years of experience of contribution to the fight against terrorism on various global areas and in different formats. Azerbaijan not only always actively participated in the international fight against terrorism and was one of active members of the anti-terrorist coalition, but was also faced with terror on the part of Armenia. More than 30 terrorist attacks were committed at various times by Armenia against Azerbaijan, and more than 2,000 Azerbaijanis were killed as the result of these terrorist acts. Regarding the issue of fighting against terror, mandatory establishment of an intercultural, interconfessional dialogue remains the actual topic for today's world, which will help countries with different traditions and cultures come together in the fight against the common evil. Azerbaijan is a multiethnic, multiconfessional country, which is the main link of the North-South and East-West transport corridors uniting South Asia and Northern Europe, China and Europe. In addition, Azerbaijan is the main gas supplier in the Southern Gas Corridor project, through which gas will reach European countries quite soon, ensuring their energy security by diversifying the sources of gas. Azerbaijan's relations with the US are also an important issue in terms of the country's participation in the summit in Washington, because this will become another stage of development and improvement of the relations between the two countries. Baku's participation in the summit at the invitation of US President Barack Obama has already become Washington's recognition of Azerbaijan's role as a leading country of the region, which conducts its own independent policy. Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency's Russian News Service Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: The invitation by the US President Barack Obama to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to attend the Nuclear Security Summit 2016 is a reflection of Azerbaijan's strategic importance, religious tolerance, reform-oriented economy and stature as a rising star within the broader Middle East, says Rob Sobhani, the US Caspian Group Holdings CEO. The Nuclear Security Summit 2016 will be held in Washington, D.C., March 31 - April 1. "Most importantly, inviting President Aliyev to Washington signals the importance of Azerbaijan on the global stage," Sobhani told Trend in an email March 29. "Azerbaijan is no longer a 'former republic of the Soviet Union', but a responsible, trusted and reliable partner of the community of nations." He also said that President Aliyev's wise foreign policy of balancing Azerbaijan's neighbors, their ambitions and competing interests is another reason for the invitation. "Azerbaijan maintains normal ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia despite underlying tensions," noted Sobhani, adding that Azerbaijan has also pursued a path of peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict despite the Armenian occupation. "This desire to settle the conflict peacefully is appreciated in Washington," he noted. "It demonstrates responsible leadership by President Ilham Aliyev." "Like a flower that blossoms after winter turns to spring, thanks to President Aliyev, Azerbaijan has blossomed into a world power," added Sobhani. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree March 29 appointing Sahir Mammadkhanov the country's first deputy minister of taxes. Previously, Mammadkhanov served as deputy minister of taxes. He supervised the main department for tax policy and strategic studies, the main legal department, the financial and business department, the human resources department and the accounting department. Position of first deputy minister of taxes of Azerbaijan was vacant after Natig Amirov was appointed the presidential aide for economic reforms. Ilkin Valiyev was named the new deputy minister of taxes upon another presidential decree. Earlier, Valiyev served as the head of the main department for tax risks analysis and control. Compassionate Action Board to host religion and compassion panel Interfaith panel: The panel will feature five speakers from the Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jewish faith gathering to explain and discuss how the concept of compassion is taught in their respective faiths. Photo - of - Hide Caption Update: On April 19, President Taylor Reveley signed the Charter for Compassionate Schools on behalf of William & Mary, joining dozens of colleges and universities worldwide to "acknowledge the importance of acting compassionately in their communities and the world outside of their schools," according to the website. A brief ceremony will be held April 27 at 5 p.m. on the Wren Portico to formally announce the signing. - Ed. William & Marys Compassionate Action Board will host a panel discussion titled Religion & Compassion: How and What Religion Teaches us about Compassion April 3 in the Sadler Centers Commonwealth Auditorium from 2 to 4 p.m. The panel will feature five speakers from the Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish faiths, gathering to explain and discuss how the concept of compassion is taught in their respective faiths. We hope that attendees will learn and understand more about each faith represented on the panel and more about feeling and being thoughtful and towards each other and ourselves, said Leslie Revilock, adviser to the Compassionate Action Board and I-Faith, William & Marys interfaith student group. The panelists will include Swami Gananath-amrit-ananda (Swami Ji), Lama Chodron Linda Jordan, Imam Rachid Khould, Rev. Daniel Willson, and Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill. Ji is a Hindu priest who serves as the spiritual director of Soma Matha Organization in Richmond, Virginia. Chodron, a practicing Buddhist since 1980, is currently on the teaching staff of the Richmond affiliated center of New Yorks Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery. Khould serves as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he is a member of Hands United Building Bridges, an organization of clergy from various faiths that seeks to solve social issues related to race, bigotry and discrimination. Wilson serves as senior pastor of Williamsburg Baptist Church and is actively involved with a variety of William & Mary campus ministries, through which he pursues his interests in social justice, art and activism. Jaffe-Gill, the author of No Big Deal and Embracing the Stranger: Intermarriage and the Future of the American Jewish Community, currently lives in Virginia Beach where she strives to reach unaffiliated Jews and spiritual seekers with her joyous, progressive approach to Judaism. The panel is the latest in a series of events that I-Faith and the Compassionate Action Board have organized to promote awareness and sensitivity among members of various faiths. According to Revilock, I-Faith began in 2009 as a group of students discussing their diverse faith backgrounds in their residence halls and grew into an organization that both promoted interfaith dialogue and provided community for those with of faiths with fewer numbers and no formal student organization. The groups focus on promoting compassion began following the Dalai Lamas visit to William & Mary in October 2012. Rather than continue to have professors speak to the group or talk about religious, political or economic issues in the world, they wanted to reach a larger audience on campus and in the community, Revilock said. To further this goal, I-Faith organized a conference and one-credit course on The Importance of Multi-Faith Understanding and the Dangers of Religious Ignorance during World Interfaith Harmony Week in 2013. In the process, the group learned of the Charter for Compassion, which, according to Revilock, is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the center of religious, moral and political life. After presenting the charter to William & Mary administration to uniform approval, President Taylor Reveley directed the group to form the Compassionate Action Board to be a group of administrators, professors and students working together to find ways to bring compassion to the forefront of all thought and activity at William & Mary through collaborations to promote compassion-based thought, action and academics throughout the campus. The Compassionate Action Boards mission is to have compassion be seen as a core value on campus and to bring it out in all aspects of the College, Revilock said. In this event, I-Faiths goal of interfaith learning and understanding blends with the Compassionate Action Boards mission. In a time when compassion seems exceedingly scarce across the world stage, the panels organizers hope that this event will help promote empathy and consideration across William & Marys diverse faith populations. There is so much misinformation, ignorance and in some cases actual lies out there about what a religion or faith believes, and our hope is that dialogue and learning can mitigate some of that, Revilock said. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: Azerbaijan's embassy in Egypt is trying to find out whether there are Azerbaijanis aboard the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, the diplomatic mission told Trend March 29. It was earlier reported that a plane of EgyptAir company has been hijacked by unknown people. The -320 aircraft, with 81 passengers aboard, was travelling from Alexandria to Cairo. EgyptAir has confirmed the hijack of MS181 flight and will make an official statement soon. Edited by SI 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 Shikoku decides against restarting Ikata 1 29 March 2016 Share Unit 1 of Shikoku Electric Power Company's Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan's Ehime prefecture will be decommissioned, the company has announced. Meanwhile, the utility has requested pre-operational inspections at Ikata 3 ahead of its planned restart. Shikoku's three-unit Ikata plant (Image: NRA) Shikoku's board of directors made the decision to decommission Ikata 1 at a meeting on 25 March. The company said it has informed the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the governor of Ehime prefecture and the mayor of Ikata city of its decision. Ikata 1 - a 538 MWe (net) pressurized water reactor - began commercial operation in September 1977. It has been offline since September 2011 for periodic inspections. The reactor was due to end its 40-year operating period in September 2017 and could have applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to extend its licence for a further 20 years. According to a report from Jiji Press, safety measures costing more than JPY 170 billion ($1.5 billion) would have been needed at Ikata 1 in order for it to operate beyond 40 years. Shikoku said it had taken into account the "accounting-related system to smoothly proceed with decommissioning" introduced in March 2015 when making its decision to decommissioning Ikata 1. The formulation of that system prompted the announcement that five of Japan's operable nuclear power reactors would be decommissioned. These included Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama units 1 and 2; unit 1 of Japan Atomic Power Company's Tsuruga plant, as well as Kyushu Electric Power Company's Genkai 1 and Chugoku Electric Power Company's Shimane 1. In a 28 March statement, Shikoku said that Ikata 1 would officially enter the decommissioning phase on 10 May. Ikata 3 approaches restart Shikoku also announced on 25 March that it had applied to the NRA to carry out final pre-operational safety inspections of Ikata 3, which should clear the way for it to resume commercial operation. The move came two days after the NRA approved Shikoku's 'construction plan' to strengthen the unit. The plan was the second of three applications required during the restart process. According to its application for final safety inspections to ensure the unit meets new safety requirements, Shikoku anticipates restarting the unit in late July. The unit is expected to become the fifth Japanese reactor to resume operation under new safety standards introduced following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend: The US welcomes decision by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to conditionally release human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, said an official statement of the US State Department's spokesperson John Kirby. "We look forward to working with the Azerbaijani government on additional positive steps," said the statement. Supreme Court of Azerbaijan passed a judgement March 28 to release Intigam Aliyev, who previously was sentenced to a five-year conditional sentence. The court's decision was made on the basis of the cassation appeal by Azerbaijani Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov. Aliyev was arrested on August 8, 2014. He was charged with article 213.1 (tax evasion), 308.2 (abuse of power) and 192.2 (illegal entrepreneurship) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. --- Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency's Russian news service, follow her on Twitter: @EmmaTariver A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took Christopher Wheeler (center) By: Tanya Malhotra (Scroll down for video) A 10-year-old boy is called a hero after he took control of a truck and brought it to a stop during a police chase. Special Agent Eric Salvador with the Attorney Generals Office in Montgomery, Alabama, was driving on I-65 when he saw a pick-up truck weaving in and out of his lane of traffic. Salvador said he tried to pull the vehicle over with lights and sirens, but the it continued driving dangerously on the interstate. The bed of the truck was loaded with materials so he could not see how many people were inside. He called the state police for help. Salvador and other officers pursued the truck and watched as it entered into oncoming traffic several times and it ran a red light in front of Walmart. The vehicle eventually slowed down and came to a stop. That is when police noticed that the driver was a 10-year-old boy, who was identified as Christopher Wheeler. Police found Wheeler driving the car while his 70-year-old neighbor was unresponsive. The boy said that his neighbor, Alfred Smith, offered to take him along on a trip to a scrapyard. However, during the ride, when the boy realized that the elderly man was losing control of the car, he decided to take action. aI did not want to die,a he said. Police determined that Smith had gone into diabetic shock, and he went in and out of consciousness. The boy was hailed a hero and police said that he likely saved the lives of himself, the driver and other innocent people. House fire (illustration) By: Tanya Malhotra Police arrested a 14-year-old girl after she took revenge against her stepmother by burning down her home. Police in Roswell, New Mexico, said that the 14-year-old girl is accused of deliberately burning her house. The teenager was booked into the Juvenile Chaves County Detention Center on suspicion of arson. Police believe that the fire started on Wednesday just before 2:00 p.m., after the girl got into an argument with her stepmother. The woman and the teenager were arguing over the fact that the girl skipped school. When the stepmother and her two children went outside the home, a fire broke out. Fire investigators discovered a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid in the backyard and they believe it was the accelerant the girl used to start the fire. A male at the scene was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. It took firefighters about half an hour to put out the flames. The home was totally destroyed. Police said that the girl was seen running from the house after it was set on fire. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: There are no Azerbaijani citizens aboard the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesperson for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told Trend March 29 citing the country's diplomatic mission in Cairo. It was earlier reported that a plane of EgyptAir company has been hijacked by unknown people. The -320 aircraft, with 81 passengers aboard, was travelling from Alexandria to Cairo. EgyptAir has confirmed the hijack of MS181 flight and will make an official statement soon. As a result of the talks with the hijacker, 50 passengers, except five foreigners and the crew, have been released from the Egyptian 320 aircraft. The hijacker of the Egyptian aircraft has asked for a political asylum in Cyprus. Edited by SI Brushes at The Ready! Town Centre Cleanup Scheduled For April This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Mar 29th, 2016 Brushes at the ready! A team of volunteers are set to come together next month to give a bit of TLC to the town centre during an upcoming cleanup event. The cleanups, which were unveiled last Spring, consist of a collaboration between a number of local businesses, volunteers and members of the Town Centre Forum. On Sunday April 10th the group will come together and take part in the third event. The topic of the cleanups were high on the agenda during a recent meeting between Andrew Atkinson, Welsh Conservative Party Candidate for Wrexham when he met with Stewart the franchisee at McDonalds in Wrexham. Mr Atkinson heard about McDonalds community work including their three local litter picks a day and was keen to re-enlist their help for community clean-up days. Mr Atkinson commented: Along with colleagues from the Wrexham Town Centre Forum we organise town centre clean up days to blitz parts of the town and encourage members of the community and businesses to take pride in their town. McDonalds have helped us before and Im pleased to say that after our meeting they will be continuing to do so again, they are a huge help and send a good number of staff. We are getting lots of support, even Gateway Church who meet at Glyndwr met with me recently and they are changing their service time to fit our next clean up so that they can bring the whole church to help! Its amazing. Mr Atkinson has previously undertaken some early Sunday morning sign cleaning in the town centre, with his actions attracting some controversy. During a recent clean up of signs around the Waterworld area, a number of people took to Mr Atkinsons Facebook page to both praise and question his actions with some asking why the appearance of the town isnt being covered Council Tax / why isnt the work being undertaken by Wrexham Council. Addressing this Mr Atkinson said: Maybe the Council should do it, we all pay a lot of Council tax but the Council also has much smaller budgets and they cant do everything they once did. Im happy to help and its quicker for me to just get on and do it. Although the cleanups have raised questions from some, the previous two have gained a large amount of support from members of the pubic with plans already underway for Aprils event. Details of where the cleanup will be focused on have not yet been confirmed, however previous events have seen the teams tackle Regent Street, Lord Street and Hope Street. Mr Atkinson organises the events with Matt McHale from La Baguette, Councillor Phil Wynn and Nigel Lewis Chair of the Town Centre Forum. Speaking about the upcoming evening, Cllr Wynn said: We are all very grateful to the businesses, individuals, organisations and Gateway Church for their help, we want the town to look its best. The town centre clean up days see bins and benches painted, streets jet washed by the council, fly posters removed, empty shop doorways cleaned and more. If you want to get involved or just want to find out more about the events, you can contact Andrew Atkinson on 07914211631 or email andrew4wrexham@gmail.com Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: BHOS fourth year student studying in petroleum engineering programme Fahmin Husuzade and third year student from the same specialization Zarifa Orujeva represented BHOS and Azerbaijan at the First International Students' Forum held on February 27 and March 6 in Moscow, Russian Federation. The Forum was organized by Russian State Petroleum University named after I.M. Gubkin. During the official opening ceremony BHOS students delivered the greetings of BHOS rector Elmar Gasimov to the rector of the said Russian university Viktor Martinov. BHOS students also presented some gifts on behalf of BHOS to the management of Gubkin University. Topics like students' presentation making skills, acquisition of technical knowledge, international students' relations, delivering the experience were among the ones which were focused on during the forum. Various competitions directed to improvement of team works were also held. BHOS students greatly contributed in the running of the forum in terms of manifestation of national cuisine, cultural samples, national dresses which were shown by the students representing diverse nations at Gubkin University. BHOS students met Azerbaijani students studying at the mentioned university as well as young people representing AMOR and other local organizations in order to hold view exchange. To give detailed information about BHOS students distributed booklets printed in English and Russian languages containing information about BHOS as well as booklets about Azerbaijan. In addition BHOS students informed forum attendees about Armenian-Azerbaijan the Upper Garabakh conflict and answered their questions. Five Parking Machines Damaged & Money Stolen At Peoples Market This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Mar 29th, 2016 Five ticket machines have been damaged at the Peoples Market with ticket money stolen. Police were called to the market at 8am on Saturday to a report of damage to the pay and display machines. North Wales Police have told Wrexham.com: Officers attended and found 5 machines in total damaged and money stolen. Police say enquiries are ongoing, with CCTV footage being investigated and the Crime Scene Investigation unit attending the crime scene. Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: We can confirm that parking machines on floors throughout the Peoples Market were damaged over the Bank Holiday weekend. We can also confirm that North Wales Police have been informed of the damage to the machines. The machines affected will be investigated by engineers, and the costs of any repairs or replacement machines will be examined. We apologise for any disruption caused in the meantime. The top picture shows the damage, with one taken on Saturday and the other today. Any witnesses or anybody with information are asked to contact police via 101 quoting reference number U043120. The damage over the weekend is the latest in a line of anti social activities that are creating a cost to the Council and therefore traders and essentially the people of Wrexham. A recent report on the markets noted: The deficit in the Peoples market has increased since last reported in December 2015, due to the need for increased cleaning costs as a result of anti-social behaviour. The deficit is noted at several thousand pounds, however there is no breakdown to what is attributable to anti social behaviour. The Council were also busy this weekend clearing up some other damage to the bus stop in Little Acton: Earlier this year several bus shelters were damaged overnight. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: "AtaTravel" LLC took part in the international exhibition Conde Nast Traveller Luxury Travel Fair, Ata Holding said March 29. The event dedicated to all aspects of luxury tourism will take place on March 22, 2016. Conde Nast Traveller Luxury Travel Fair gives participants opportunities to make new, prosperous business connections with luxury travel companies and go beyond the traditional exchange of experience. "This event is very important for tourism companies, such as the exhibition participants get acquainted with new partners, establish business contacts and extend their professional experience," Vusal Aliyev, general manager of "AtaTravel" LLC, noted. "Our company is presented in the exhibition with presentation materials in Russian and English," he said. Aliyev held talks about mutual cooperation with the representative of the largest Japanese company International Tours.ru company Maruf Umarov. Aliyev gave information about beautiful nature, rich history, culture and cuisine, hospitable people of our country. The mutual info tours between the countries were planned to be held at the end of successful negotiations. "Excelsior Hotel Baku" will be a partner of the info tour. Participants of the Conde Nast Traveller Luxury Travel Fair will enjoy an exceptional opportunity to learn about the latest travel trends from leading brands, to trade stories and ideas, and to hear inspiring lectures from the world's most respected professionals. More than 800 selected leading representatives of the tourism industry, corporate clients and media from Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will have a unique opportunity to participate in this invitation exhibition in 2016. Bolshevism and the Easter Rising This is final part of a three-part series on the Easter Rising in Ireland. Part one is available here; part 2 is available here. Drawing the necessary political lessons from 1916 and its aftermath is only possible through a careful study of the writings of Lenin and Trotsky. Whereas Connolly after 1914 focused his energies chiefly on preparing an armed uprising in alliance with bourgeois nationalist forces, the two foremost leaders of the Russian Revolution of 1917 emphasised the need for an implacable political struggle against all forms of opportunism and insisted on the need for an internationalist orientation in the development of revolutionary tactics and strategy. This was the significance of Lenins determined struggle against the Mensheviks from 1903 onwards, and Trotskys elaboration of the theory of Permanent Revolution. Writing months after the Easter Rising, in July 1916, Lenin sharply criticised Karl Radek, who took a critical view of the uprising. Lenin denounced Radeks position of calling the Easter Rising a putsch as a monstrously doctrinaire and pedantic assessment of the situation. He continued: The term putsch, in its scientific sense, may be employed only when the attempt at insurrection has revealed nothing but a circle of conspirators or stupid maniacs, and has aroused no sympathy among the masses. The centuries-old Irish national movement, having passed through various stages and combinations of class interest, manifested itself, in particular, in a mass Irish National Congress in America, (Vorworts, March 20, 1916) which called for Irish independence; it also manifested itself in street fighting conducted by a section of the urban petty-bourgeoisie and a section of the workers after a long period of mass agitation, demonstrations, suppression of newspapers, etc. Whoever calls such a rebellion a putsch is either a hardened reactionary, or a doctrinaire hopelessly incapable of envisaging a social revolution as a living phenomenon. (V.I. Lenin, The Discussion on Self Determination Summed Up, Collected Works: Vol. 22, pp320-360) Lenin understood the inevitability and necessity of rebellions by smaller nations against imperialist oppression, but he also realised that they could not succeed in isolation and that it fell to the working class to lead the struggle against imperialism to final victory: To imagine that social revolution is conceivable without revolts by small nations in the colonies and in Europe, without revolutionary outbursts by a section of the petty-bourgeoisie with all its prejudices, without a movement of the politically non-conscious proletarian and semi-proletarian masses against oppression by the landowners, the church, and the monarchy, against national oppression, etc.to imagine all this is to repudiate social revolution, he wrote. Lenin continued, The dialectics of history are such that small nations, powerless as an independent factor in the struggle against imperialism, play a part as one of the ferments, one of the bacilli, which help the real anti-imperialist force, the socialist proletariat, to make its appearance on the scene. It is the misfortune of the Irish that they rose prematurely, before the European revolt of the proletariat had had time to mature. The successful conquest of power by the Bolsheviks in Russia, only 18 months after the Easter Rising, was possible only due to the years-long political, theoretical and organisational struggle waged by Lenin to establish the political independence of the working class through the building of the Bolsheviksin direct opposition to all tendencies that took a conciliatory position in relation to the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois democrats. Lenin emphatically rejected any illusions in the revolutionary capacities of the bourgeoisie, insisting instead that regardless of its rhetorical commitment to democracy it would act to suppress and betray future revolutionary struggles. On the eve of the Russian Revolution, he adopted Trotskys theory of Permanent Revolution, which demonstrated that in underdeveloped countries where bourgeois-democratic tasks still had to be fought for, they could be achieved only by the working class leading behind it the rural poor in a struggle for the conquest of political power and socialism. A precondition for the success of such a programme was the embrace of an international perspective and an acceptance that no revolutionary struggle for socialism could be led to completion within the framework of the existing nation state. Trotsky, writing around the same time as Lenin, in Nashe Slovo, took Plekhanov, the founder of the Russian Marxist movement, but by that time a Menshevik, to task for his opposition to the Easter Rising, which he considered to be harmful for the cause of freedom. Trotsky described those who raised barricades and fought the British army in the streets of Dublin as heroic and added that the working class had injected its class hatred of militarism into the movement. His brief essay provides an excellent application of the theory of Permanent Revolution to the Irish situation. He noted how the Irish rebellion demonstrated the incapacity of the bourgeoisie to carry through those national democratic tasks that remained outstanding in Ireland. At the beginning of the twentieth century, these tasks were indissolubly bound up with the fight for socialism under the leadership of the working class. He wrote, The general national movement, however it was expressed in the heads of the nationalist dreamers, did not materialise at all. The Irish countryside did not rise up. The Irish bourgeoisie, as also the upper, more influential layer of the Irish intelligentsia, remained on the sidelines. The urban workers fought and died, together with revolutionary enthusiasts from the petty-bourgeois intelligentsia. The historical basis for the national revolution had disappeared even in backward Ireland. Trotsky explained how, completely dependent on its ties to imperialism, the Irish bourgeoisie as it had developed over previous decades, emerged with undisguised hostility towards the working class. Although Trotsky did not mention Connolly by name, he identified the objective pressures at work that brought about his adaptation to the nationalists. This was not based on picking apart Connollys tactical errors or personal failings, but through a careful analysis of the historical and political factors shaping the evolution of the Irish proletariat: The young Irish working class, taking shape in an atmosphere saturated with the heroic recollections of national rebellions, and clashing with the egoistic, narrow-minded, imperial arrogance of British trade unionism, naturally swing between nationalism and syndicalism, ever ready to unite these two concepts in their revolutionary consciousness. It attracts the young intelligentsia and individual nationalist enthusiasts, who, in their turn, supply the movement with a preponderance of the green flag over the red. Trotsky concluded his article by noting that the Easter Rising provided a foretaste of what was to come, writing, The undoubted personal courage, representing the hopes and methods of the past, is over. But the historical role of the Irish proletariat is only beginning. (Leon Trotsky, On the Events in Dublin, in Trotskys Writings on Britain, Vol. 3, London: New Park, p168-169) The aftermath Trotskys prognosis was borne out by subsequent developments. With the Easter Risings brutal suppression, the socialist movement in Ireland lost not only its most prominent leader in Connolly. The overwhelming majority of deaths in the fighting were suffered by members of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), which made up a critical section of the political vanguard of the working class. The ICA was never again a serious political force. But the Irish working class struggle in opposition to the war and British imperialism continued to radicalise. By 1918, general strikes were called to resist attempts by the government in London to impose conscription in the wake of the German spring offensive on the western front. The Russian Revolution inspired workers in Ireland, with seizures of land and landowners property occurring throughout 1918. Strikes were called to stop the transportation of supplies for the British army and troops, and to force the release of republican prisoners. A general strike took place in Belfast, cutting across the sectarian divisions between Ulster and the rest of Ireland, on the issue of a shorter workweek. British rule in Ireland was so shaken by this that troops were sent to Belfast on February 15, 1919, to push for a settlement of the dispute, which the reformist labour leaders soon enforced. Warnings of the influence of Bolshevism were widespread in the bourgeois press. The 1918 congress of the Irish Labour Party and Trade Union Congress (ILPTUC) passed resolutions calling for workers control of the means of production and support for the Bolshevik revolution. Time and again, workers showed their determination to fight. Strikes broke out across the whole country. It was out of one such strike, a general strike called by the Limerick Trades and Labour Council to oppose the declaration of a special military zone in the area by the British Army, that the short-lived Limerick soviet was established in April 1919. During its 12 days of existence, it took on the responsibilities of distributing food and other necessities to the workers and directing city administration, and it even printed its own money. The arrival of the Irish Labour Party/Trades Union Congress leadership put paid to the soviet, which was wound up on April 27. However, the lack of political leadership offered to the strikes and mass struggles of the working class by the reformist union leadership handed the political initiative to the nationalists. Sinn Fein was not involved in the Easter Rising and only adopted the call for a republic in its aftermath. But it was allowed to become the sole political force offering leadership to the mounting anger towards British imperialism. Founded in 1907, Sinn Fein initially aimed to achieve Irish independence through a combination of electing MPs to the British parliament, who would then boycott their mandates, and by establishing a general council and other institutions in Ireland that would refuse to pay taxes to London and make Ireland ungovernable. Ireland would become independent, but be part of a dual monarchy system modelled on the lines of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In December 1918, Sinn Fein swept the board in parliamentary elections, and implemented their boycott of the House of Commons before declaring an Irish parliament (Dail) in January 1919. The Soviet government was the first and only government to initially recognise Irelands independent parliament. Working class strikes and protests persisted throughout the (1919-1921) war of independence with Britain. But the Labour Party and trade union leadership maintained their political subordination to Sinn Fein. Sinn Feins Eamon De Valera, the first president of the Dail, was welcomed at the trade union convention in August 1921 with a standing ovation. Proving once again its organic incapacity to lead the revolution to its conclusion, the nationalist leaders brought the revolutionary struggles to a premature end by agreeing to the Anglo-Irish Accord with British imperialism later that year, which sealed the partition of Ireland by establishing the Irish Free State in the 26 counties outside of Ulster. The Irish Free State, far from guaranteeing religious and civil liberties, was dominated by the overbearing influence of the Catholic Church. A small minority, led by Connollys son Roddy, had declared openly for the Third (Communist) International when it was founded in May 1919 at the instigation of Lenin and Trotsky. The Socialist Party of Ireland had organised a demonstration of 10,000 in October 1917 in support of the Bolshevik seizure of power. Roddy Connolly led the establishment of the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) in 1921, having attended the second congress of the Communist International in 1920. The CPI opposed the Anglo-Irish treaty, and demanded the adoption of socialist policies to continue the struggle against British imperialism and came under sustained attack by both the paramilitary Black and Tans created by London and by the Irish Republican Army. However, the significant progress made by the CPI during its brief existence was to be derailed by the bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet regime and of the Communist International, under the leadership of Joseph Stalin. In 1924, the Comintern dissolved the CPI in favour of establishing relations with Jim Larkins personal political vehicle, the Irish Workers Leaguea relationship that barely lasted four years. The Easter Rising today From its inception, the Irish state seized on the events of Easter 1916 as evidence of Irelands national resistance to Britain. Connolly was co-opted as a patriotic icon and his statue stands today in Dublin. As the government notes on its website promoting state-sponsored commemoration events to take place throughout Easter week, Formal State celebrations will, as they have always done, mark 1916 as the moment when Irish nationalism joined forces with a revolutionary, cultural and language movement to forge an irresistible movement towards self-determination. The Proclamation of the Republic, drawing on the ideals of that generation, has remained an inspiration over succeeding generations. But assertions of a supposed continuity with the revolutionary and democratic aspirations of 1916 ring hollow when made by the increasingly discredited Irish capitalist state and the openly right-wing, pro-big business and anti-working-class policies pursued by all the major parties. In the wake of the global capitalist crisis in 2008, all of Irelands establishment parties participated in the implementation of a multibillion austerity programme aimed at offloading the crisis onto the backs of the working class and bailing out the banks. The result is an Irish society today that is more unequal than it has ever been in decades, with the number of billionaires doubling between 2008 and 2013. The vast increase in poverty and joblessness and the destruction of public services have been overseen by the trade union bureaucracy and pseudo-left parties, who have ensured that no fundamental challenge to the current social order from below has been possible. One hundred years after the Easter Rising, it is the warning made by Connolly in 1897 and the political struggle waged by Lenin and Trotsky that have been proven correct. The formation of an Irish capitalist state did not provide a way out of the grinding poverty and exploitation faced by working people. The nationalist leadership proved utterly incapable of uniting Ireland, helping create the conditions instead for decades of fratricidal, sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland. The lesson to be drawn from 1916 is not the dishonest propaganda about a steady march to independence and national glory, as the ruling elite would have it. Instead, the experiences of the century that has followed on from the Easter Rising have confirmed the need for the Irish working class to create its own party committed to a socialist programme and an internationalist strategy. The advanced workers and youth must absorb the essential lessons of how a capitulation to nationalism led to the political degeneration of the parties of the Second and Third International and educate themselves on the fundamental struggle waged by Trotsky against Stalinism for the perspective of world socialist revolution. Today, more than ever, the Irish working class must link its fate to that of the workers of Britain, the European continent and beyond. This means building an Irish section of the International Committee of the Fourth International. Concluded A federal appeals court ruling Wednesday could clear the way for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to allow states to expedite death penalty inmates appeals through federal court. A three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a lower court ruling that blocked the DOJs certification process for fast-track appeals of death sentences. The ruling comes as executions in the US are at their lowest level in two and a half decades, with 28 people executed in 2015. The numbers reflect declining public support for the death penalty, the inability of states to obtain lethal injection drugs and increasing exonerations of death row inmates. The Ninth Circuit said the legal organizations that challenged the DOJs criteria for certifying states for the fast-track program lacked legal standing to bring the lawsuit. The ruling could clear the way for states to apply for certification for the fast-track appeals process, potentially leading to swifter executions. The appeals court threw out a 2013 lawsuit brought by the Habeas Corpus Resource Center in California and the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona, which challenged a DOJ policy that in certain states would shorten the amount of timefrom one year to six months that prisoners have to challenge their conviction in federal court after state appeals are exhausted. The fast-track process stems from the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) signed into law under the Clinton administration in 1996 and revised by the Obama Justice Department in 2013. Regulations finalized by DOJ in 2013 also require federal courts to act faster on inmates petitions and require courts to appoint an attorney to represent indigent capital inmates unless an inmate rejects the attorney. Although no states have yet been approved for the fast-track process, Arizona and Texas have both asked to be allowed to use it. On October 18 Federal District Judge Claudia Wilken issued a temporary restraining order to prevent certification of any state application, resulting in an indefinite delay in the applications from Arizona and Texas. The DOJ appealed and the Ninth Circuit ruled in its favor. The plaintiffs, representing death row inmates with federal appeals, argued that the Justice Department rulings were too vague, causing them concern over how to commit limited attorney time and financial resources in capital cases. The Ninth Circuit sided with the DOJ, overturning the lower court ruling. Attorneys for the plaintiffs will ask a larger Ninth Circuit panel to review the ruling, and until the court takes up or denies that request the fast-track policy will remain on hold. Were living in a time where our system of capital punishment is being exposed for its critical flaws, Marc Shapiro, an attorney for the legal organizations that sued, told Associated Press. Theres a heightened need for assuring were not sending innocent or otherwise undeserving people to the execution chamber. According to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, more than a third of those defendants sentenced to death from 1976 to 2013 had their sentences or convictions reversed on state or federal appeal. Opponents of the fast-track process say it would force attorneys representing death-row inmates to rush to file appeals and possibly lead to some cases being neglected. Shapiro told the Wall Street Journal, We think there needs to be greater opportunities for courts to review these cases but that the DOJ is seeking to do exactly the opposite, and slide the cases through federal court. The pro-death penalty Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, based in Sacramento, California, filed a friend of the court brief in the case before the Ninth Circuit on behalf of two family members of murder victims, one each in California and Arizona. CJLF, which has worked for the adoption of the AEDPA fast-track program, argued that the plaintiffs did not have a legal right to challenge the law and that it was not appropriate for the appeals court to review any challenge at this time. The Ninth Circuit panel drew on CJLFs brief, writing in its opinion, We find the challenges to the substance of the [AEDPA] Final Regulations not ripe for review at this time. They rejected plaintiffs arguments that the vagueness in the DOJs fast-track regulations created significant confusion for defender organizations, causing them to be making urgent decisions regarding their litigation, resources and strategy. The panel dismissed out of hand the plaintiffs arguments that the defender organizations representing clients facing the death penalty had any standing in the case, writing, Assisting and counseling clients in the face of legal uncertainty is the role of lawyers, and, notably, the Defender Organizations have not cited any authority suggesting that lawyers suffer a legally cognizable injury in fact when they take measures to protect their clients rights or alter their litigation strategy amid legal uncertainty. This ruling potentially expediting executions comes as the number of death row exonerees continues to grow. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) Innocence List, 156 individuals convicted and sentenced to death have been exonerated since 1973either having been acquitted of all charges that placed them on death row, had the charges dismissed by the prosecution, or been granted a complete pardon based on evidence of innocence. The vast majority of defendants in capital cases cannot afford their own attorneys and are represented by court-appointed legal counsel, who are overworked and underpaid. The quality of legal representation is one of the key contributing factors in determining whether a defendant receives a death sentence. Fast-tracking of death penalty appeals will place further strains on a system already biased against capital defendants, who are overwhelmingly working class and poor and disproportionately African-American and Latino. According to DPIC, there were 2,942 inmates on death row across the US as of January 1, 2016. Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 1,431 people have been executed. Individuals sent to their deaths have included those convicted of crimes committed as juveniles, the mentally impaired, and foreign nationals denied their consular rights. Thirty-one US states, along with the US government and military, still have capital punishment on the books. So far this year, nine people have been put to death by lethal injection: five in Texas, two in Georgia, and one each in Florida and Alabama. There are 13 executions scheduled for the remainder of 2016. Barring any last-minute reprieves, Texas will execute John Battaglia on Wednesday; Georgia is set to execute Joshua Daniel Bishop on Thursday. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance being provided to Flint as a result of the Obama administrations limited declaration of an emergency over the lead poisoning of the citys water was due to expire in mid April. On March 25, FEMA sent a letter to the state of Michigan informing it of a limited four-month extension, at which point no further extensions will be granted. This is a slap in the face for the people of Flint, who have been fighting to have their complaints and concerns heard for almost two years after the citys water source was switched to the corrosive Flint River. Five months after the citys water source was finally switched back to the treated Lake Huron water supplied by Detroit, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still advising Flint residents not to drink, cook or brush their teeth with the still-toxic tap water. Obamas declaration of emergency for Flint came on January 16 and only allocated $5 million in aida miserly $50 for each resident. The Obama administration would not designate the crisis as a disaster, in which case $100 million would be committed, supposedly because it was man-made. That then set the stage for three sessions of the Congressional oversight committeeone in February and two in Marchwhere Republican and Democratic Party politicians took the opportunity to grandstand and point accusatory fingers at the agencies under the control of the rival party. The Obama administration, along with state and local government officials of both parties, played a critical role in creating and covering up the disaster in Flint. In her Congressional testimony, Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the EPA and an appointee of Obama, stubbornly refused to acknowledge any responsibility by the agency she directs. The EPA supposedly oversees state and local authorities to ensure that federal requirements for safe drinking water are followed. Susan Hedman, the administrator for the midwest area covering Michigan, was forced to resign for covering up and prolonging the crisis. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), after allowing the switch from a safe source of treated lake water to corrosive river water processed through an archaic and untested treatment plant, made the scientifically unjustifiable decisionand illegal under EPA regulationsthat corrosion control treatment was not necessary to protect the citys pipes. Publicly, the MDEQ lied that corrosion control was being applied. That lie was exposed by a resident after she discovered that lead levels in her home were hundreds of times higher than the EPAs action level, and after her children were diagnosed with lead poisoning. In June the EPA became aware from their own expert that high lead levels were being hidden by the MDEQs deceptive sampling methods, yet refused to act and silenced the employee who made the discovery. Flint pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha wrote a comment that appeared in last weekends Sunday Review section of the New York Times, The Future for Flints Children. In it, she describes the unspeakable poisoning as follows: For almost two years, Flints children have been drinking water through lead-coated straws. She notes the long-term consequences: Developmental neurobiology has taught us that adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress change the trajectory of a childs life in predictable ways. To address the effects of lead poisoning, Hanna-Attisha called for evidence-based interventions to promote [child] development. These include maternal infant support and early literacy programs; universal preschool; school health services; nutrition programs; and primary medical care and mental health care. All vulnerable children need these interventions, but kids in Flint need them now, not next month or next year. All of this would require a massive infusion of funds, much more than the $220 million Congress is considering for water infrastructure and health-related services to communities nationwide. While writing that she is hopeful that the Michigan legislature will pass the $195 million being recommended by Republican Governor Rick Snyder, she adds, even this support would not address the full magnitude of this problem, which will continue throughout these childrens lives. There is no question that a huge commitment of resources is needed, not just in Flint but throughout the county. In recent months, lead poisoned cities have been uncovered throughout the country, caused in part by the slashing of federal government funds for water infrastructure to a mere 25 percent of what it was in 1977. The Obama administrations decision to cut off Flint is part of a broader effort by both parties to provide as little as possible to address a crisis for which they are responsible. This is under conditions in which unlimited resources are made available to bail out the banks and finance the US war machine. The 2015 budget for military spending is almost $600 billion. The $220 million that is being proposed by Congress and the Obama administration for the entire US water infrastructure budget is just 0.0037 percent of what is spent for war. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the state of Michigan will not revoke the law licenses of General Motors attorneys or seek sanctions against other employees fired for their roles in the cover-up of an ignition defect responsible for at least 124 deaths and hundreds of serious injuries. The report follows efforts by the father of a 27-year-old accident victim to demand sanctions against former GM employees who helped block public exposure of faulty ignition switches in GM vehicles. In the wake of the 2014 exposure of a systematic cover-up by the automaker of defective vehicles whose ignitions could cut off without warning, the company fired 15 lower-level employees, including six lawyers. GM intended the firings as a pre-emptive strike to protect top management from prosecution. The dismissed lawyers claimed that despite approving millions of dollars in accident liability payouts, they never informed high-ranking GM officials of the settlements. Thus, the story goes, top management remained blissfully unaware of the deaths and injuries caused by the ignition defect. Jay Gass, a retired Fed Ex employee from Tennessee, filed a request with Michigans Attorney Grievance Commission to investigate the former GM employees and suggested that they be stripped of their law licenses for their roles in the cover-up. Gasss daughter, Lara Gass, died in March 2014 in a car crash linked to the ignition defect. The family subsequently received a settlement from GM through the companys Ignition Claims Resolution Facility. The grievance commission is an arm of the Michigan Supreme Court responsible for overseeing attorney conduct. In response to the request by Gass, the commission stated, The tragedies that resulted from various individuals employed by General Motors are not subject to review by this agency. To date, no top GM official has been held to account for the cover-up. This despite the fact that the company, by it own admission, had known for more than a decade that ignition switches on the Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Ion and other low-cost vehicles could be easily jarred out of the run position, killing power to the engine and disabling safety equipment such as airbags. Even as reports of deaths and injuries resulting from the defect mounted, company officials took no action. One of those named by Gass was GM senior attorney James Kemp. He was apprised of safety problems with the Cobalt ignition as early as 2004 and served as the main liaison between the legal department and GM safety investigators. He allegedly did not alert GMs general counsel, Mike Millikin, to the defect until early 2014. It wasnt GM safety investigators who finally exposed the cover-up and forced a recall, but an attorney working on behalf of the family of an accident victim. He proved that GM engineers had redesigned the ignition switch without assigning a new part number, a violation of engineering principles and a clear indication of a cover-up. In the end, the Obama administration imposed a $900 million fine on the automaker, about one-third of its annual profit, but sought no criminal sanctions. Some groups investigating the ignition defect scandal estimate that hundreds died as a result of GMs failure to inform safety regulators or notify the public. A report commissioned by GM revealed that the company deliberately created an internal structure designed to make it virtually impossible to identify actual decision-makers. The same report noted that when GM attorneys sought in 2011 to warn upper-management of the potential liability to the company of the ignition defect, they were blocked. Company officials did not convene a meeting on the issue for six months, and then told attorneys that it was not a serious matter since the incident rate was not high. According to the Wall Street Journal, Michigans code of conduct does not require lawyers to breach confidentiality and warn consumers of potential harm. However, other states, such as Florida, require such disclosure. Leo Ruddy, the father of Kelly Erin Ruddy, who died in the January 2010 crash of her Cobalt, spoke to the World Socialist Web Site. He expressed anger that no one has been held criminally accountable for the cover-up. We are very disappointed with the Justice Department, he said. The fines are just a slap on the wrist. It was outright murder. It was for profit. They looked at the cost and decided it was cheaper to pay off the lawsuits than to fix the problem. President Obama never even commented. One-hundred-and-twenty-four Americans were murdered, yet he hasnt lifted a finger. They got away with murder for profit. Civil lawsuits are continuing against GM over deaths and injuries linked to the ignition defect. The civil trials follow the shutdown of General Motors Compensation Claims Resolution Facility, which was administered by Kenneth Feinberg, a well-known corporate fixer. Of the 4,343 death and injury claims filed by the cutoff deadline, Feinberg rejected the vast majority. He authorized 124 death claims out of 473 submitted. Of 3,590 injury claims, the fund authorized payouts in only 257 cases. A civil case relating to the ignition switch cover-up is continuing in New York. It is meant to define legal boundaries in the settlement of hundreds of lawsuits pending against the automaker. The first case brought to court suffered a quick shipwreck over allegations that the plaintiffs lied about details of their eviction from their home. While the alleged perjury did not relate to the accident, it was used to impair the witnesses credibility, leading attorneys to voluntarily withdraw the case. In the current trial, the plaintiffs allege that the ignition defect caused a January 2014 accident on an ice-covered New Orleans bridge. GM chose the case because it felt the plaintiffs case was relatively weak. The accident under review was one of 39 crashes on the bridge that day, which police say were due to excessive speed. Ken Reimer, the stepfather of another victim of the GM ignition defect, Natasha Weigel, told the World Socialist Web Site, It seems that with the cases being brought up it is almost a sellout. It is almost as though they dont want to win. Whatever happened to justice? There are more than 120 that died. Jay Gass filed a complaint. How can they just turn their back? There are too many people who did know things. A lot of people got a get out of jail free deal. Charging that the cover-up reached the highest levels of the state, he said, We sat through hours of congressional hearings, but when we walked out the door we didnt know anything more than when we walked in. The United States Defense Department (DOD) is seizing on the terror attacks in Brussels to carry out yet another wave of US troop deployments to Iraq, US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joe Dunford and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter made clear in statements last Friday. Additional US forces will come on top of the current force of some 5,000 troops, which already exceeds the Obama administrations nominal cap of 3,800 soldiers. More troops could depart for Iraq within a matter of weeks. We have a series of recommendations that we will be discussing with the president in the coming weeks to further enable our support for the Iraqi Security Forces, General Dunford said, in a statement from the Pentagon. The secretary and I both believe that there will be an increase to the US forces in Iraq in the coming weeksbut that decision hasnt been made, Dunford added. Were broadening both the weight and the nature of our attacks, Defense Secretary Carter told the Pentagon press corps during the same briefing. The US is taking important steps in preparation for crucial battles in the months to come, Carter said. The important steps being taken by US forces include daily rounds of air strikes and artillery bombardments, in preparation for full-scale assaults against Mosul and other major Iraqi cities. On Monday, US air forces bombarded ten area targets in and around the Iraqi cities of Mosul, Qayyarah, Sinjar and Sultan Abdullah. Hundreds of US Marines, having secretly deployed to a new firebase near Makhmur in northern Iraq earlier this month, are shelling villages on the outskirts of Mosul on a daily basis. Iraqi national forces forcibly evacuated some 2,500 civilians from villages south of Mosul Monday, including Mahana, Kudila and Kharbardan, the Iraqi military said. In 2014, at the outset of the latest US Iraq war, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, the Obama administration vowed that the US intervention would be limited to air strikes and a minimal ground role, restricted to small numbers of advisors embedded with Iraqi units. During the nearly two years of escalating US operations that followed, these promises have been continuously rolled back. A familiar pattern has emerged, whereby the US military chiefs periodically announce, without any suggestion that the civilian administration has been consulted or even informed, their plans for an imminent expansion of the quality and role of US forces in the war. Last June, the Pentagon unveiled plans for the indefinite stationing of US ground forces throughout Iraq in a network of lily pad bases. In December, Secretary Carter announced the deployment of a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) expeditionary targeting force, essentially a small army of lavishly funded and equipped commando units specializing in assassination, kidnapping, and other black operations. The US moves toward larger ground operations have proceeded beneath a relentless bombing campaign. US-led coalition planes have pummeled Iraq with more than 7,336 strikes since the beginning of the air war in August 2014. The American military violence being inflicted upon Iraq in the name of fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is part of a decades-long assault on the country. The endless US wars in Iraq are the product of the geopolitical struggle of American imperialism for primacy on the world stage. Like Al Qaeda before it, ISIS is fundamentally a creation of US military interventions, which is now being seized upon to conduct new military operations aimed at imposing US hegemony over the oil-rich Middle East. Late last year, Socialist Alternative published an extraordinary article in its Red Flag newspaper, hailing the shooting-down of a Russian jet by the Turkish military near the border with Syria on November 24. Its headlineDowning of Russian fighter a small victory for humanityunderscored the support given by the pseudo-lefts for US-backed military interventions. The article was written by Michael Karadjis, a member of another Australian pseudo-left organisation, Socialist Alliance, and published in Red Flags December 7 print edition. It was not, however, posted in the online edition of the same publication to reach a wider audience. No explanation has been given. In an editorial board statement at the time, the World Socialist Web Site condemned the Turkish action as a flagrant act of war, warning: Turkish authorities have seized on the alleged Russian violation of their airspace to launch a monumental escalation of the proxy war in Syria between Islamic opposition fighters supported by NATO and the Russian-backed regime of President Bashar al-Assad. It threatens to provoke all-out war between Russia on the one hand, and Turkey and the rest of the NATO alliance on the other. The Karadjis article, on the contrary, supported the actions of the Turkish government and its proxy forces among the Turkish-speaking Turkmen minority inside Syria and was completely silent on the dangers of a conflict between nuclear-armed powers. From the outset of the war in Syria, Socialist Alternative and the rest of the pseudo-lefts have been unabashed cheerleaders of the escalating efforts of US imperialism and its allies, in this case Turkey, to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and of the right-wing Islamist militias that act as their surrogate ground forces. In August 2012, Red Flags editor Corey Oakley, writing on the so-called Syrian revolution infamously declared, The time for knee-jerk anti-imperialism has passed, and US imperialism is not the central issue. Significantly, the pseudo-lefts have also backed Washingtons provocations against Russia elsewhere. In 2014, Socialist Alternative lined up behind the US-orchestrated coup that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was supported by Moscow. Just as it identifies the US regime-change operation in Syria as a popular revolution, so Red Flag characterised the neo-fascist-led forces that toppled the democratically-elected Ukrainian government as revolutionaries, and condemned Russian aggression in the civil war that followed. Now, Socialist Alternative has taken this pro-imperialist line to its logical conclusion by backing direct US-NATO aggression against Russia. While Turkey certainly has ambitions to become a regional power, it is inconceivable that its decision to down a Russian plane, which risked an open clash with a powerful neighbour, would have been taken without the direct prior approval of the Obama administration. Turkey is deeply integrated into US military operations inside Syria. Moreover , the CIA maintains a centre in Turkey to arm and train anti-Assad forces while, since last November, American war planes have taken off from the Incirlik air base for bombing missions over Syria. Indeed, Karadjis openly attacks the anti-imperialists and imperial left for not joining in his celebration of the downing of the Russian plane. No one is named and no one cited, but the International Committee of the Fourth International and the WSWS have been alone in exposing the pseudo-lefts support for the US-led intervention in Syria and the bogus Syrian revolution. We give no political support to the bourgeois Russian and Syrian regimes of Putin and Assad, but insist that the working class cannot cede to US imperialism, its allies and their Islamist proxies inside Syria, the task of dealing with them. The Obama administrations actions, along with those of the other imperialist powers, are fully responsible for the descent of Syria into a bloody civil war and the transformation of the conflict into a virtual proxy war by the US and European powers against Russia. While there has been nothing progressive about Russias intervention in Syria, it came in response to a concerted campaign, spanning almost five years and led by the US and its allies, to oust Putins sole ally in the Middle-East. Turkeys downing of the Russian jet, far from being a victory for humanity, represented an escalation of long-standing moves towards a direct US-led confrontation with Russiasomething that would have catastrophic consequences for the entire worlds population. Karadjis fails to mention that it was immediately endorsed by the Obama administration, which provocatively declared Turkeys right to defend its territory and airspace. Karadjis also explicitly supports the Turkish government, which has funnelled tens of thousands of Islamist fighters into Syria. He declares that the governments soft Islamist ideology is the reason it can welcome 2 million Syrian Arabs as refugees, and be influenced enough by their catastrophe to want to oust Assad. In other words, the Recep Erdogan regime, which has established a virtual police state in Turkey that routinely represses domestic opposition, is supporting violent jihadists in Syria out of the purest of humanitarian motives and supposedly not being driven by ambitions to expand its standing as a regional power at the expense of rivals such as Iran. Karadjis dismisses the Turkish governments war against Kurdish separatist groups, declaring that beggars cant be choosers when it comes to allies in the overthrow of Assad. Karadjis devotes the lengthiest and most contorted portion of his article to a cynical apologia for the cold-blooded killing of one of the Russian pilots by an anti-Assad Turkman militia inside Syria, and the uncomfortable fact that the killer was the son of a Turkish fascista National Movement Party (MNP) mayor. He even goes to great lengths to try to prove that not all Turkmen revolutionaries are aligned with the MNP or with the Turkish military and intelligence apparatus. He argues, instead, that most Turkmen brigades are affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA)in other words, they are closely aligned with US imperialism! Regardless of the number of MNP supporters inside the Syrian revolution, their presence is a damning indication of its extreme right-wing character. Karadjis is such a naked pro-imperialist propagandist that he whitewashes the role of US imperialism in creating the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. He makes no mention of the impact of the bombing campaigns conducted by the US, Australia and Jordan, or the direct military intervention of Germany, France and other imperialist powers in Syria. He is likewise silent on the 15 years of continuous US-led wars in the Middle-East for oil, resources and geopolitical dominance, beginning with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which resulted in up to a million deaths. To the extent that Karadjis article criticises the Obama administration and its allies, it is for not pursuing a sufficiently aggressive regime-change operation in Syria. He laments that For years, Syrians have called for anti-aircraft weapons, to make their own DIY no-fly zone; for years well-known supplies of manpads, shoulder fired anti-aircrafts have been blocked by the US, and absurdly claims that this demonstrated that the US was fearful of a rebel victory over Assad. Karadjis perpetuates the myth of the Syrian revolution despite the well-documented fact that the anti-Assad opposition has been armed, funded and trained by the US and its client regimes in the region. In October 2014, US vice-president Joseph Biden personally acknowledged that US allies had poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assadexcept that the people who were being supplied were al Nusra and al Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world. The opposition has called for greater arms precisely because the anti-Assad forces have suffered serious setbacks, despite their US sponsorship. In recent weeks, Karadjis and Socialist Alternative have made clear that the purpose of their feverish denunciations of Russian aggression, is to agitate for a major escalation of the offensive against the Assad regime to reverse the crisis of the rebel forces, in line with calls from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and sections of the US military for a ground invasion. The positions advanced by the pseudo-left increasingly correspond to the line of the most hawkish sections of the military-intelligence establishments of the major imperialist countries. Having junked knee-jerk anti-imperialism, these organisations, which articulate the interests of layers of the upper middle-class anxious to secure their place in the corridors of power, are making clear they will support the military activities of their own governments, including in the event of a global conflict between nuclear-armed powers. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Anvar Mammadov - Trend: The board of directors of the World Bank (WB) today approved the additional $140 million to fund the expansion of the Baku-Shamakhi highway, said in statement, published on official website of the WB. The loan will be issued through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which is a part of the WB group. The total additional funds for the project hit $186.6 million. Out of this, $46.6 million account for the government's share. Forty percent of the funds will be spent on restructuring and privatization of state-owned enterprises in this sphere. WB's total investments in Azerbaijan's road projects (I, II, III road projects) amounted to $1 billion. The funds will be used to carry out the remaining work as part of the additional funding. Reconstruction of the Baku-Shamakhi highway is being carried out as part of the third project for rebuilding main roads. The "Azerbaijan Highway 3 Additional Financing" project, totaling $356.15 million, was approved in 2010. The project includes two directions: 1) reconstruction of Azerbaijan's trunk highway system and transit corridors; 2) reconstruction of local roads as part of the regional development strategy. The project for reconstructing the Baku-Shamakhi-Muganli highway is meant to expand it from a two-lane to a four-lane road. The project will be completed in September 2016. Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. The WB has allocated $3.786 billion worth loans to Azerbaijan as of Feb. 1, 2016. These funds have been used to finance over 60 projects. The country has absorbed $2.764 billion as of early 2016, or 73 percent of the total WB loans. Aside from the loans, the WB allocated 45 grants totaling $41.586 million to Azerbaijan from 1995 to 2014. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov Japans new military legislation comes into force today, allowing the countrys armed forces, under the guise of collective self-defence, to fully participate in wars abroad for the first time since the end of World War II. The implementation of the laws is a major step in the revival of Japanese militarism, which has been encouraged by Washington as part of its pivot to Asia and preparations for war with China. The legislation is in flagrant breach of the Japanese Constitution, which, under Article 7, renounces war forever and affirms that land, sea and air forces will never be maintained. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month dismissed the advice of legal experts that the legislation was unconstitutional, declaring that the constitution, not the new laws, had to be changed. Abe is pressing for an end to all restraints on the military and the transformation of Japan into a normal nationthat is, one that can aggressively pursue its economic and strategic interests by armed force. Since coming to power in 2012, the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government has boosted military spending, concentrated war powers in a US-style National Security Council and refashioned military planning to focus on conflict with China. As part of its island defence strategy, Japan is building up military forces on its southern island chain adjacent to the Chinese mainland. On Monday, a new radar station became operational on the island of Yoniguna, just 150 kilometres from disputed islets in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The entire Japanese political establishment, not just the LDP, is responsible for the extreme tensions over the Senkakus. The previous government, headed by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), provoked widespread Chinese protests in September 2012 by nationalising or buying the uninhabited rocky outcrops from their private owner. Abe has refused to countenance any negotiations with China over the future of the islands. In 2014, US President Barack Obama upped the ante by declaring that the US-Japan Security Treaty covered the Senkakus. This was tantamount to committing the US to intervene militarily in support of Japan should war break out between it and China over the islets. Hundreds of dangerous encounters took place last year, as Japan mobilised fighter jets and coast guard vessels to challenge Chinese intrusions, heightening the risk that a mistake or miscalculation could lead to conflict. The implementation of Japans collective self-defence laws is another milestone in the drive to war being fuelled by the global breakdown of capitalism. Japanese imperialism is presently operating under the patronage of the United States, but it is an alliance of convenience. Japan and the US have already fought one war in the Pacific that cost the lives of millions to determine which power would dominate Asia, and the two could come to blows again. The remilitarisation of Japan underscores the warnings made by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) in its February 18 statement Socialism and the Fight against War that the world is being drawn once again into a catastrophic global conflict. Behind the backs of their populations, capitalist governments are gearing up for war and becoming increasingly bellicose. As in the years that preceded the outbreak of World War I in 1914 and World War II in 1939, the statement declares, political leaders and military planners are approaching the conclusion that a war between major powers is not a remote possibility, but, rather, highly probable and, perhaps, even inevitable. At a certain point, such military fatalism becomes a significant contributing factor to the outbreak of war. As is today the case in Germany, the road to war is being prepared in Japan with a reactionary campaign to revise history and whitewash the monstrous crimes of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s and 1940s. Abe, whose maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi was part of the wartime Japanese cabinet, speaks for broad sections of the ruling elite who justify Japans role in World War II as a struggle to free Asia from Western colonialism. Abe appointees have dismissed the wartime sexual slavery of hundreds of thousands of comfort women by the Japanese military and downplayed or denied such atrocities as the Rape of Nanjing, in which up to 300,000 Chinese civilians and prisoners were slaughtered. The government is whipping up Japanese patriotism and a climate of fear over the Chinese threat so as to justify rearmament. At the same time, it is seeking to project mounting social tensions outward against a foreign enemy. A quarter century of slump has been compounded by the failure of so-called Abenomics to revive the Japanese economy. Wages remain at the level they were two decades ago, and many young people are condemned to a future of unemployment or low-paid casual work. This week, the Financial Times reported that large numbers of elderly people are committing petty crimes in order to get themselves jailed because they cannot survive on their meagre pensions. The same crisis of global capitalism that is fuelling the drive to war is giving fresh impetus to socialist revolution. Opposition to war and militarism is deeply embedded in the Japanese working class, which suffered not only the police-state rule of the wartime militarist regime in Tokyo, but also the murderous US bombing raids. The Japanese people remain the only population to have experienced the horrors of nuclear incineration in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some of the largest anti-war protests in Japanese history took place last year as the Abe government rammed its military laws through the parliament. At their height, the demonstrations swelled to 120,000 in Tokyo, with smaller protests in hundreds of other cities and towns. That anti-war sentiment, however, remained trapped within the parliamentary framework, as the Japanese Communist Party and various pseudo-left organisations have subordinated the protests to the capitalist Democratic Party of Japan, which has no fundamental disagreement with the military legislation. Workers and youth in Japan, like their counterparts around the world, can halt the slide towards world war only through the construction of an international anti-war movement of the working class based on the program of socialist internationalism. The spread of war can be ended only by abolishing the social order that is its root causecapitalism, with its archaic nation-state system. The ICFI is the only political organisation on the face of the planet fighting for this perspective. We urge our readers in Japan and throughout Asia to take up the struggle to build this anti-war movement. Rapper Malik Taylor, a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, died March 22 from complications related to Type 1 diabetes. He was just 45 years old. Taylor was diagnosed with the disease in 1990. A self-described sugar addict, he struggled with his health over the past two-and-a-half decades, undergoing a kidney transplant in 2008. Taylor, born November 20, 1970, formed A Tribe Called Quest with childhood friend Jonathan Davis, later Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, in 1985. Both were natives of Queens, New York. Taylor chose the stage name Phife Dawg, while Davis became Q-Tip. They were joined by DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Jarobi White left the group after their first album, although he occasionally rejoined the others. At least three of Tribes albums, Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990), The Low End Theory (1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993), are considered hip hop classics. They represented something different in the genre. The members of A Tribe Called Quest were more relatable than the superstar rappers who came before themRun-DMC, LL Cool Jand more sensitive and intelligent than the backward lyricists of then-emerging gangster rap. There was an easy, swinging quality to their rapping. They had a way of making written rhymes feel spontaneous. Their voices were a little odd, too; Phife rapped in a thin, husky voice while Q-Tips voice was smoother and somehow grew increasingly high-pitched over the years. They complemented each other perfectly. Adding to this, Tribes music relied heavily on samples drawn from jazz fusion records of the 1970s, giving their work a sunnier and mellower sound than that of their contemporaries. Among Phifes stand-out moments was Buggin Out from The Low End Theory. The song begins with a lone upright bass, which gives way to the sudden smack of a snare drum, over which Taylor announces the beginning of his verse with the most perfectly timed and executed exclamation of Yo! in hip hop. The verse itself has been permanently etched into the mind of any hip hop fan in his or her late 30s or older: Microphone check one, two what is this? The five foot assassin with the roughneck business On Eight Million Stories from Midnight Marauders, Taylor raps about the small embarrassments and disappointments of everyday life. He subverts the standard rapper-braggart personality to deliver one of the few self-deprecating songs in hip hop. Phife and Q-Tip were considered positive rappers and socially conscious. Tribe belonged to a musical collective called Native Tongues, made up of like-minded groups and performers such as De La Soul, the Jungle Brothers and Black Sheep. They were perceived as vaguely left and celebrated or ridiculed as hippies in the music press, depending on the author. They certainly produced some of the more enjoyable hip hop music of the 1990s. They were musically innovative, confident, unpretentious and funnyespecially Phife, whose lyrics were filled with punchlines (as well as the occasional sophomoric joke). Just how socially conscious they were is another matter. In truth, there was not much social or political content in Tribes music. Given the difficult political atmosphere of the early 1990s, this may have worked in their favor. Perhaps more than other forms of pop music, hip hop lends itself to direct political statements. Racialist attitudes are front and center in the more political music of Tribe contemporaries like Public Enemy and KRS-One. The wrongheadedness of some of the lyrics, to say nothing of the strained self-importance contained in their delivery, can be difficult to take. Forgoing direct political commentary in favor of witty free-association and humor, Tribe mostly avoided such problems. But to the extent that their music was political, their tendency was also to see the world in racial terms. Early in their career, they adopted the views of Afrocentrism and took to the stage draped in Kente cloth and the colors of the Pan-African flag. It was a difficult time in which to find ones political and artistic bearings. Tribes first albums appeared during a period of serious reaction and stagnation. Their first mature work, The Low End Theory, was released just one month prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the onset of a wave of capitalist triumphalism. What passed for the official political left had by that time cemented its shift away from a concern with the fate of the working class and toward identity and lifestyle politics. On the single Can I Kick It? recorded in 1989, Phife rapped, Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor? Youll be doing us a really big favor. This was a reference to Democrat David Dinkins, who would become the first black mayor of New York City the following year. As it turned out, the Dinkins administration did not do working people any favors. It carried out strike-breaking actions and slashed thousands of jobs, and opened the door for right-winger Rudy Giuliani, demonstrating the bankruptcy of identity politics and what still passed itself off as Democratic Party liberalism. A Tribe Called Quest disbanded in 1998. Their final two albums, Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996) and The Love Movement (1998), were not as well-received as the previous three. Beats, Rhymes and Life is stronger than its reputation suggests, but not equal to the groups best work. The Love Movement is a disappointment. Tensions within the group had disrupted the sense of camaraderie evident in their best work. Their rapping was less inspired, and too many guest rappers were imported in an effort to make up the difference. Following Tribes break-up, Phife released just one solo album called Ventilation in 2000. Health concerns prevented him from recording more frequently. Beginning in 2004, Tribe reunited periodically for a number of one-off concerts and brief tours. While their later recordings as a group and as solo artists were uneven, they continued to be exceptional performers. They most recently appeared on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in November 2015, where they performed Can I Kick It? with The Roots to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Nine corrections officers from New York Citys Rikers Island prison complex are on trial for the brutal beating of inmate Jahmal Lightfoot on July 11, 2012. They have been charged with attempted gang assault in the first degree, attempted assault, tampering with physical evidence, falsifying business records and official misconduct. The most serious charge, attempted gang assault, could bring the guards sentences of 15 years in prison. Prosecutors from the Bronx district attorneys office have said that Eliseo Perez, the assistant chief for security, and Captain Gerald Vaughn ordered five other officers to beat Lightfoot after he stared at Perez during a weapons screening. Three other guards kept watch as Lightfoot was placed in a search cell without video surveillance. Lightfoot sustained two broken eye sockets and a broken nose. His eyes were swollen shut because of his injuries. One of the prosecutors, Pishoy Yacoub, told the court, speaking of the defendants, These men decided enough was enough. They decided they were going to set the tone and make an example. After the beating, one officer filed a report in which he claimed that he was slashed by an improvised weapon by Lightfoot. Seven of the officers are currently working at the Rikers complex in functions that have no contact with inmates. A 10th guard will be tried separately for his role in the beating. The beating of Lightfoot was anything but unusual. Three guards have also been charged with the beating of Gabino Genao on October 30, 2012. These men allegedly handcuffed Genao behind his back and beat him with a truncheon, kicked and punched him because he swore at them. In another infamous case, on February 15, 2014 a homeless veteran, Jerome Murdough, died in an overheated cell because of neglect from guards. In the aftermath of an investigation by the New York Times in 2014 and a report issued by the US Attorneys office for Southern New York the same year, which called the conditions at at the prison complex a culture of violence, arrests for corruption and beatings by guards have become more common. The report by the US Attorneys office found that force is used against adolescents at an alarming rate; officers often resort to headshots, or blows to an inmates head or facial area; force is used as punishment or retribution; correction officers attempt to justify use of force by yelling stop resisting even when the adolescent has been completely subdued or was never resisting in the first place; and use of force is particularly common in areas without video surveillance cameras. A number of leading political figures in New York, as well as the New York Times, have called for the closing of Rikers Island. Such a move would be aimed at whitewashing the systematic abuse throughout the prison system. No substantive suggestions have been made as to what would replace the nearly 10,000-person complex, or how conditions would be any better in another facility or facilities. Recent reports have revealed similar savagery in the manner in which inmates are treated in other prisons in New York State and nationally. After the escape of two prisoners in June 2015 from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY, the New York governor himself allegedly threatened inmates who were subsequently tortured. The Democratic Party Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio has ruled out any significant reform of the prison system, rejecting proposals to close Rikers Island. He said last month that closing the facility is a noble concept, but would be too complex and cost too much. This in a city that has the highest concentration of billionaires on the planet. The brutality in American prisons serves a definite social purpose. Under conditions of deep and pervasive social inequality, it is part of an apparatus of repression that includes a militarized police force that kills more than 1,000 people a year. The prison system is an instrument for controlling the working class, particularly its poorest layers. As far as the ruling class is concerned, any modifications to the prison regime will consist of lies and broken promises of reform by Democratic Party politicians or will feature trials, such as the current one in the Bronx, for the most egregious offenses by guardswhile the system of repression as a whole is maintained. 6 years, 6 months ago by Scott Hardy City Council has April 11th deadline A Quincy aldermanic committee has voted to recommend that the city get out of its' contract with a veterinarian suspected of abusing animals. The Police Aldermanic Committee voted Monday night to recommend to the full City Council that it give Dr. Andrew Kaiser 90 days' notice to end his contract as the city's animal control official. Kaiser is the subject of a 15 count complaint issued last week by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, alleging he mistreated animals in his care. Quincy Police Chief Rob Copley says the city has to act in the next two weeks, if it wants to void the contract by the anniversary date of its' signing July 10th. If voided, the city would end the contract one year early. Copley did say that according to the contract, there are two other ways that the city could drop Kaiser. (Audio cut ) There's no word yet on when charges, or a license suspension, could take place. The City Council is likely to vote on the recommendation next week 6 years, 6 months ago by Scott Hardy Need special permit to build school on ADM site on Locust The Quincy City Council has voted to draft an ordinance to change the zoning on land the Quincy Public Schools want to build a new school on. Scott Hardy has more. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: Nigar Mammadova has been appointed as deputy head of Azerbaijan's Financial Market Supervisory Body according to a decree of the country's President Ilham Aliyev, a message released by the body said March 29. Earlier, Mammadova worked as the director of Market Operations Department at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in February 2016 on establishment of Financial Market Supervisory Body. The body was created for the purpose of licensing, regulating and controlling activities of the market of securities, investment funds, insurance and credit institutions (banks, non-bank credit institutions, postal operator) and payment systems. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanli Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: Baker Tilly Azerbaijan audit company will become a tax consultant of the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) in the activity of the industrial districts. The sides signed an agreement on March 16, AIC said March 29. Baker Tilly Azerbaijan is a member of Baker Tilly International, global network of independent companies, rendering audit and consulting services. Baker Tilly Azerbaijan's annual revenue is 2.5 million manat. AIC was established in accordance with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's decree dated March 30, 2006. AIC authorized capital is 160 million manat. The main objective of the company is to make long-term investments in joint-stock companies and other non-oil commercial organizations through purchase of shares in them. The company operates in ICT, agriculture, alternative and renewable energy, food processing, industry, logistics, tourism, processing, and other areas. Submit An Obituary Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. Go to form Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend: Azerbaijan and Indonesia work on a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of energy and mineral resources, a message issued by Azerbaijan's Energy Ministry said March 29. The draft document was discussed at the meeting of Azerbaijan's Deputy Energy Minister Natig Abbasov with Indonesia's newly appointed ambassador Husnan Vanani, said the message. Abbasov said that Azerbaijan is interested in expanding cooperation with Indonesia in energy sphere. "The Indonesian side has sent its latest proposals on the draft document and currently, its preparation is being completed," noted Abbasov. The parties also discussed the investment possibilities in Azerbaijan's oil and gas sector, issues on experience exchange and prospects of increasing oil supply to Indonesia. Earlier, Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry called on the country's Pertamina oil and gas corporation to invest in Azerbaijan's oil and gas projects. Azerbaijan supplies about one million barrels of oil to Indonesia monthly. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov The American Justice Department announced on Tuesday that the FBI was able to break into the iPhone of the terrorist who committed that attack in the town of San Bernardino, California last December in which 14 people were killed. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter US authorities said they will continue to petition the court, demanding Apple break into the iPhone 5c of the terrorist. "From the beginning we were opposed to the FBI's demand that we break into the iPhone for them", Apple responded to the Justice Department's announcement. "We believed that this was wrong and would be a dangerous precedent." The scene of the massacre in San Bernardino (Photo: Reuters) Last month, a judge ordered the technology giant Apple to help the FBI break into terrorist Syed Farook's cellphone. Federal Judge Sherry Pym ordered Apple to provide "reasonable technical assistance" to the FBI, requiring Apple to develop software that will override the automatic lock-up of the device, which did not allow researchers to unlock the terrorist's iPhone and check whether there is information about other terrorists who intend to carry out attacks in the United States. Farooq's iPhone belongs to San Bernardino's health department where he was employed. The department gave its approval to the authorities to search the device, but it was locked with a numeric passcode. The FBI's attempts to crack the access code have failed until recently. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, strongly opposed the demand. He wrote that "the United States government demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand. This moment calls for public discussion, and we want our customers and people around the country to understand what is at stake." Yedioth Ahronot revealed last week that it was the Israeli company Cellebright based in Petach Tikva that helped the Americans break into the terrorist's iPhone. An EgyptAir plane with 81 passengers on board on its way to Alexandria from Cairo was highjacked Tuesday morning and landed in Larnaca, Cyprus. A Cyprus foreign ministry official says the hijacker has been arrested and that the situation is "over." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, did not immediately have more details on the arrest, which ended an hours-long drama at the Larnaca airport. Earlier, seven more people -- presumably the last of the crew and passengers who had remained with the hijackers onboard -- were seen leaving the plane. One man climbed out the cockpit window. The highjacker is was originally believed to be Ibrahim Samaha, a 27-year-old Egyptian. But BBC reporters managed to speak with Samaha and revealed that in fact he is one of the passengers. According to CNN, the name of the highjacker is Sayf ad-Din Mustafa. He is reportedly seeking political asylum and asked for a translator. Cypriot television reported that he must have "personal matters" in Cyprus, and that his ex-wife lives there. The British Telegraph "reported that Samaha demanded to deliver a letter to a Cypriot-Greek girl. At about 10am, following negotiations, the Egyptian airline claimed that the highjacker released most of the passengers, retaining the crew members and four foreign citizens as hostages. However, a Cypriot source claimed that at least 15 to 20 passengers and crew members were still being held hostage. Cyprus officials claim that 56 passengers were released. Highjacked passengers being released X A spokeswoman for the airline said the hijacker demanded EgyptAir flight 181 to land in Cyprus. There is a suspicion that he has an explosives belt, according to a Cyrus radio. station. The highjacked EgyptAir plane in Larnaka, Cyprus A Cypriot official told The Associated Press that the hijacker did not make any demands except to keep police cars away from the plane. An official at Egyptian Civil Aviation said that there were 30 Egyptians, ten Americans, eight Britons, and citizens of various other countries on the plane. Plane lands in Larnaca, Cyprus The highjacker contacted the control tower in Cyprus at 8:30am and announced that he was landing in Larnaca. A special team was sent to the airport to handle the crisis. to handle that event was catapulted to the airport. EgyptAir tweet Senior officials at the airport in Cairo, the Egyptian newspaper website quoted "Al-Yawm Al-Sab '', confirmed that half an hour after taking off lost contact with the plane. Following the highjacking Israeli Air Force planes were deployed for fear that the plane would enter Israeli airspace. They returned to their bases soon after. West Bank commanders have emphasized IDF protocol obligating soldiers to maintain a 25 meter radius from "potential threats", such as a terrorist lying on the ground and is suspected of carrying an explosive device. This comes in the wake of the shooting incident, in which a Kfir Brigade soldier opened fire on a neutralized terrorist in Hebron. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter During the past week, West Bank commanders have had conversations with soldiers following the disputed incident at a checkpoint in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. The commanders explained to soldiers that what the arrested solider did constitutes a legal and moral failure and a violation of protocol, which could have put his fellow soldiers at risk. Soldiers at checkpoint in Tel Rumeida neighborhood, Photo: Yoav Zitun According to military protocol, when there is a fear of a terrorist wearing an explosive belt, forces nearby are obligated to maintain a 25 meter distance and warn others nearby because firing at the terrorist could detonate the explosive and severely injure nearby soldiers. In combat medic courses, which the arrested soldier took, instructors teach that a bullet entering one's body can exit elsewhere, potentially detonating an explosive. Moreover, such a concern is still relevant even the soldier shoots the terrorist in the head. "We receive these orders in briefings before carrying out (missions)." a Kfir Brigade soldier told Ynet. "The (commanders) are telling us that it is better to neutralize without killing for intelligence purposes and to prevent (public) discontent." Another soldier noted, "It pains us to see our fellow soldier wounded and another now entangled in a complicated situation. Ironically we are one of the most experienced brigades in the West Bank because we have been in the army for a year and eight months." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude and appreciation to visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong for her determination and commitment to complete a free- trade agreement with Israel during a meeting at the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter I was very glad to hear today from Vice Premier Liu that China is ready to start negotiating for free-trade with Israel, Netanyahu remarked. This is a significant development and we are ready to do it immediately. According to Netanyahu, a free-trade agreement would significantly improve bilateral cooperation in many different sectors. Netanyahu and Yandong, Photo: GPO There is so much we could do togetherin health, distance education, agriculture, aquaculture, information technology, in all fields, said Netanyahu. Cooperation with China could yield major results and we believe Israel can be the perfect partner. Vice Premier Yandong fully concurred with Netanyahus assessment. We need to continue this cooperation for the benefit of both peoples, Liu said. Israel and China are moving in the direction of major joint projects. A future free-trade agreement would cover a variety of issues including standardization, implementation of regulations, and the removal of existing trade barriers for imports and exports. It would also detail bilateral cooperation in the technological and economic sectors. A free-trade agreement between Israel and China may not only increase the gross national product of both countries, but also would most likely double the total value of traded goods between both countries, which currently stands at $8 billion. The meeting today between Netanyahu and Yandong was the second to take place through the Innovation Committee that was founded during Yandongs 2014 visit to Israel. The committee, led by Israels Foreign Ministry and Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology, first met in the Chinese capital of Beijing in January, 2015. It is the largest intergovernmental platform between Israel and China. Other top Israeli officials present at the meeting were Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism), Technology Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud), Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), Foreign Ministry Director General Dr. Dore Gold, and Israeli Ambassador to China Matan Vilnai. Vice Premier Yandong was joined by other Chinese officials, including the ambassador to Israel, the minister of science and technology, the deputy foreign minister and the deputy health minister. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend: Orkhan Guliyev, BP's area operations manager for Chirag and Deepwater Gunashli, was appointed vice president for safety and operational risk for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey effective from June 15, the BP spokeswoman Tamam Bayatli told Trend. In this position Guliyev will replace Robert Watt who has elected to retire from BP at the end of July 2016 after a distinguished career of almost 37 years with the company. Guliyev will become a member of the AGT regional leadership team and will be accountable for an independent view of the regional operational risks and implementation of assurance activity to verify the strength of barriers against risks. This is in line with BP's nationalization plan for Azerbaijan. Over the past 20 years with BP, Guliyev has built up deep experience of operations and major projects in the AGT region. Prior to his current position, he worked offshore as the operations team leader and the offshore installation manager. Guliyev has also worked as project engineer and project manager throughout the development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC), South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) projects, including assignments to engineering offices in the UK. Guliyev holds a Master's degree in civil engineering from the Azerbaijan Civil Engineering University and a PhD in gas flow dynamics from the Azerbaijan Oil Academy. He also holds a Henley Diploma in Oil & Gas Industry Management. In 2014, Guliyev graduated from the Operations Academy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, the US. In 2009, he was awarded the Progress medal by the president of Azerbaijan for his significant contribution to the development of the oil and gas industry in Azerbaijan. Guliyev is married and has two children. ABIDJAN- Ivory Coast's U.N. peacekeeping mission plans to double its troop presence in part of the country's northeast after clashes this month between farmers and herders killed at least 20 people and sent more than 1,000 fleeing into neighboring Burkina Faso. Mission spokeswoman Kadidia Ledron said Tuesday that 400 U.N. troops - up from 200 - will be stationed in the Bounkani region along with reinforcements from Ivory Coast's army. Yaya Sanou, high commissioner of Burkina Faso's Noumbiel province, said Monday that local officials recorded 1,312 people fleeing the clashes. ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has rounded up more than 5,000 militant suspects, then released most of them, in the two days since a suicide bomber killed at least 72 people in a park in Lahore at Easter, a provincial minister said on Tuesday. Sanaullah said "5,221 people have initially been detained. 5,005 have been released after verifying their identities, and 216 people have been referred for further investigation. Details of the sweeping raids aimed at anyone suspected of violent Islamist extremism came as the Taliban faction claiming responsibility for the attack issued a new threat on Tuesday, singling out the media. "Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani media," Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the Taliban faction Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, tweeted. "We are just waiting for the appropriate time.". Last Friday's edition of the Channel 2 evening news saw an unusually heated argument during a panel discussion of terrorism. Journalist Dana Weiss expressed her opinion about the issue of terrorism and its possible root causes, claiming that the connection with religion and the Temple Mount was less dominant than it seems. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter She also said that the division between the West and Islam was incorrect, and that the correct way to look at things would be a division of extremists and moderates worldwide. Veteran Arab affairs analyst Ehud Yaari strongly disagreed with Weiss, responding by saying that had she researched the matter, she would have realized her mistake. Weiss objected, asking Yaari, "Why do you think I didn't check?" To which Yaari answered, "That's how it seems to me." During the discussion, Weiss seemed to heavily hint at the idea that Yaari was criticizing her interpretation of the situation due, at least in part, to the fact that she was a woman, and thus her authority on security subjects is weaker than that of men according to gender stereotypes. All four other panelists were men, including presenter Danny Kushmaro. Weiss and Yaari during the argument. Yaari was subsequently criticized on social media, including harsh accusations of chauvinism by former Channel 2 newscaster and current MK Shelly Yachimovich. Veteran Channel 2 journalist and frequent Friday evening news panelist Rina Matzliach expressed her support of Weiss, saying, "The women of Channel 2 have no intention of giving up their place. Dana Weiss doesn't need approval from any journalist or panel member in order to express her opinion, just as the male journalists do." On Sunday, Yaari sent an apologetic text message to Weiss, following a conversation he had with head of Channel 2 News Avi Weiss. The two journalists later spoke, agreeing to meet and attempt to mend fences. WASHINGTON-The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel to leave posts in southern Turkey on Tuesday due to "increased threats from terrorist groups" in the country. The two agencies said dependents of American staffers at the U.S. consulate in Adana, the Incirlik air base and two other locations must leave. The so-called "ordered departure" notice means the relocation costs will be covered by the government. The orders cover the Adana consulate, U.S. military dependents in Incirlik, Ismir and Mugla as well as family of U.S. government civilians at Ismir and Mugla. The State Department also restricted official travel to that which it considers "mission critical." Cook said that the order does not affect about 100 family members who are based in Istanbul and Ankara. The decision comes a day after Israel issued a new travel advisory for Turkey, warning its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible and avoid any traveling there. Military Judge Lt. Col. Ron Shorr, who is presiding the case of the soldier who killed a neutralized terrorist in Hebron on Thursday, said that "the evidence (that the soldier murdered the terrorist) provided until now is not clear cut." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The soldier's attorney, Ilan Katz, said that "the prosecution requested nine days of remand, but the judge ruled to extend his remand for only two more days despite the inflated claims of the prosecution. The military court will not drag our client through a media lynching. The evidence will be gone over on Thursday, and we hope that by the weekend, he will no longer walk around in handcuffs in such a humiliating manner, especially after he risked his life for Israel." The soldiers other defense attorney, Binyamin Malka, said that "the decision speaks for itself. We will continue to work to prove our client's innocence, and stick to our position that the soldier acted correctly and as expected in light of the evidence." Soldier led in handcuffs to the military court (Photo: Avi Rokach) The military prosecutors requested the extention of the soldier's remand by nine days, saying, "We have found contradictions in the suspect's testimony which require us to investigate further." During the hearing, the prosecution refrained from saying what crime the solider is suspected of committing; only repeating again and again that what the soldier did was an "extreme transgression." The chants and drumbeats of hundreds of supporters who came out for the soldier were heard inside the courtroom as the hearing began. Several politicians were at the show of support, including Avigdor Liberman, Moshe Feiglin, and Oren Hazan. Jewish blood is not abandoned (Photo: Reut Rimramon) Prosecutor Rigler explained, "There is an alleged deviation from the commanders' orders, safety rules, and a deviation from the rules of engagement. The investigation being carried out by the Military Police investigators began after the commanders filed a report. From the first reports, there arose suspicion of a serious offense. The investigation collected videos and testimonies from the officers at the scene from before the shooting and during it. From the evidence it is clear that the suspect shot in the direction of the terrorist who was lying on the ground after the terrorist was already shot by another soldier following the stabbing attack, although he was still alive. The suspect who is being investigated is the one who fired without any operational need." The prosecution: "It doesn't look like the soldier was in danger" According to the prosecution, several significant questions arose regarding the claim that the suspect acted out of a clear and present danger to his life. "The questions come from several places: The way that the suspect acted in real time, as we can see in the videos which were collected. His behavior doesn't seem like the behavior of someone who's life is in danger. The suspect's statements which were said in real time, close to the time of firing, raise doubts as to his claim. The fire occurred several minutes after the two terrorists were lying on the ground after being shot by the first soldier." One of the soldier's defense attorneys, Eyal Baserglick, asked if the terrorist was alive after the first bout of fire. The Police Investigator's representative answered "this is one of the reasons why we want to perform the autopsy. According to my understanding, in the entire investigation, not one doctor checked the body, but several of those interrogated did claim that the terrorist was still alive." It was at this point when the prosecutor interjected and claimed that the evidence shows that the terrorist had signs of life when he was shot, and that video from the incident speaks for itself. Supporters holding signs in the courtroom (Photo: Shachar Hai) Ilan Katz replied that "the investigative and judiciary authorities of the state of israel are subject to the same norms and regulations. It cannot be that what a soldier does can be seen as worse than what a police officer or a prison guard does. There have been several instances just recently where a suspect discharged a weapon illegally, and people were freed, or at least not arrested like in the inident in Jaffa." "The soldier was in a situation where his comrades were in real danger, in danger of losing their lives," the defense attorney said, "This was a terror event and the prosecution cannot deny it, especially due to the fact that there was a terrorist, and that they didn't let them get close to him because there was a suspicion that he had a bomb." Hundreds of protesters in support of the soldier MK Avigdor Liberman said at the end of the hearing that "the military prosecutors' case fell to pieces. There isn't even a charge." Liberman described what occurred as an "absurd spectacle," and accused the Minister of defense as being "absolutely terrible a military investigator said that he is forbidden from seeing the findings of the operational investigation which just yesterday Ya'alon elaborated on from the Knesset podium. I dont trust Ya'alon. Against the law and against orders, he detailed the findings of the investigation, and involved himself in the legal proceedings. Ya'alon also committed a grave offense, and is now trying to save himself." Avigdor Liberman at the protest (Photo: Avi Rokach) On the heels of the storm of public criticism due to the hearing, hundreds of supporters of the soldier protested outside of the courthouse. There was even a group of Beitar Jerusalem fans who came, who called for "the release of the hero." At one point, a drum was taken from them, and chaos ensued. Protestors who arrived from Rishon LeZion said "what is happening to the boy and to his parents hurts us. We are former IDF women, I served 22 years. But they're doing an injustice to this boy. They wouldn't even do this to someone who shoots at a girl in a central bus station (referring to this incident in Afula). Why are they doing this to him? They didn't even investigate anything. Those people come with knives in order to kill, so what should we expect?" On Friday, the day of the initial arrest, the prosecutor announced at the Military Court in Jaffa that the soldier in question was under suspicion of murder. He was quoted as saying that he believed that the terrorist was wearing an explosive vest and might activate it. However, IDF claims that both of the terrorists were checked after being neutralized. The legislative session is moving quickly. It seems like it was only a few weeks ago when I outlined the top priorities to work on with the Legislature in my State of the State address. Working together, we have made progress on a number of key issues. With only a few weeks left, however, there is still much to accomplish before session adjourns and senators return home. A significant amount of work on top priorities like tax relief, infrastructure funding, and balancing the budget is yet to come. At the opening of session, I designated property tax relief as my number one priority. Wherever I travel, I continually hear from Nebraskans who feel the pain of our states high property taxes. Earlier this session, I testified at two hearings in support of property tax bills, which have been a collaborative effort between Senators Gloor and Sullivan and my administration. Nebraskans at those hearings confirmed the need for more property tax relief, and also provided feedback on how we could improve the bills. Following the hearings, the senators, their committees, and I have continued to work to make adjustments to these bills. After much discussion, the Revenue and Education Committees and I have agreed upon proposed amendments to the property tax relief bills. These amendments do three major things: First, they provide additional targeted direct property tax relief for ag land property taxpayers. Second, they limit the carryover of unused restricted funds by community colleges to three percent. Third, they make changes to our states education funding formula to enhance local accountability in our school districts. Because the amendment to LB958 contains significant changes from the original version, the Revenue Committee will hold a new hearing on the proposed amendment on March 24, 2016 at 2:00pm at the Nebraska State Capitol. Nebraskans are invited to attend the hearing to give their feedback on the new proposed amendment. If you are not able to attend and would still like to testify, you are welcome to submit your written testimony to the Revenue Committee by emailing kdelka@leg.ne.gov. Written testimony must be submitted before the hearing to be included in the official record. In addition to property tax relief, we have been working with the Appropriations Committee on the Transportation Innovation Act (TIA), a bill that makes targeted investments to accelerate expressway construction and bridge repair. These targeted investments utilize existing sources of revenue, including a $50 million cash reserve transfer and unprogrammed motor vehicle fuel tax revenue. After advancing from committee unanimously, the TIA successfully passed the first round of debate with overwhelming support. There are two more rounds of debate on the TIA before it can reach my desk for approval. As always, my administration is also working to hold the line on the rate of growth in spending. Recently, the Appropriations Committee advanced a budget from committee that holds the line on spending similar to the responsible rate proposed in my budget. Holding the line on the rate of growth in spending is critical to ensuring that the Legislature and I can continue to provide tax relief in the coming years. As the session continues, my administration will continue to work with the Legislature to address these and other important priorities for hardworking Nebraskans. If you want to share your thoughts on these bills or others with your senator, you can find all of the information you need to contact your senator by visiting www.NebraskaLegislature.gov. To reach my office, you can call 402-471-2244, email pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov, or follow me on Twitter @GovRicketts and at facebook.com/GovernorPeteRicketts. Putting the Pegasus through its paces As the Air Force gets ready for the arrival of its newest aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft, a diverse group of Airmen is working hard to make sure the KC-46A Pegasus is ready to meet the services needs. Lt. Col. John Mikal is one of them. Mikal, a reservist KC-135 Stratotanker instructor pilot assigned to the 370th Flight Test Squadron, is also a KC-46 test pilot and member of the team thats putting the Pegasus through a series of critical pre-production tests. The Boeing Company developed the KC-46 from its 767 jet airliner and is scheduled to deliver 179 of the aircraft to the Air Force by 2028. The first 18 combat-ready tankers are scheduled to be delivered by August 2017. To meet that timeline, Boeing is working closely with the Air Force to put the KC-46 through its paces. The companys first test aircraft, a Boeing 767-2C, touched down at Edwards Air Force Base for the first time Oct. 15 for several days of fuel onload fatigue testing. During these tests, the KC-46 flew in close formations with a KC-135 and KC-10 Extender to see how the aircraft performed in different aerial refueling positions. While no fuel was passed, Boeing engineers were able to test the stress and strain on the Pegasus. Mikal flew as the aircraft commander of the KC-135 during the first aerial refueling maneuvers of a KC-46 behind a KC-135 and in close formation with both the KC-10 and KC-46 on Oct. 19. Two days later, he flew as a pilot aboard the KC-46 during an aerial refueling receiver onload fatigue test behind a KC-10. He was the first Air Force reservist to fly the 767-2C, the commercial test variant of the KC-46. It was a tremendous honor to participate in and conduct KC-46 testing with the test team, Mikal said. The KC-46 will be an amazing operational aircraft, and Im humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of this amazingly talented test team. Mikal isnt the only Air Force reservist from the 370th FLTS qualified to take part in the KC-46 testing. The 370th has two KC-46 initial cadre boom operators -- Master Sgts. Aaron Ray and Scott Scurlock -- who will be taking part in Pegasus refueling testing in the coming months. The 370th FLTS is an embedded Air Force Reserve unit with a mission of providing KC-135 aerial refueling test support to both operational and test-configured receiver aircraft at Edwards AFBs 412th Test Wing. The Reserve unit also leads management and execution of the business effort mission at Edwards AFB, which utilizes operational Air Mobility Command KC-135 and KC-10 tankers to support routine refueling of non-test configured 412th TW receiver aircraft. Since some 370th FLTS pilots are test pilots and some of its boom operators are flight test boom operators, they augment the KC-135, KC-10 and KC-46 flight test and aerial refueling flight test for Air Force Test Center programs. On Jan. 24, the KC-46 successfully completed its first in-flight refueling demonstration as it passed 1,600 pounds of fuel to an F-16C Fighting Falcon. These are exciting times for the KC-46A program, Col. Chris Coombs, the KC-46 system program manager at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, said after that flight. We have had plans on paper and data from simulation labs, but this in-flight demonstration shows we are truly making progress on bringing this capability of the next-generation of tankers to the warfighter supporting our global missions for years to come. After the refueling test with the F-16, the KC-46A had a robust in-flight refueling demonstration schedule for the next few weeks. The test with the fighter jet fulfilled the requirement to connect to a light/fast receiver aircraft. The remaining tests with the boom were scheduled to use an A-10 Thunderbolt II as the light/slow receiver and a C-17 Globemaster III as the heavy receiver. Mikal said the KC-46 test aircraft will be spending a lot of time at Edwards AFB in the coming months as it goes through aerial refueling certification testing with a host of Air Force and coalition aircraft. There are about 18 different aircraft that need to be tested as they take on fuel from the KC-46, he said. A lot of that testing will take place here at Edwards, and I am ready to help out with that testing however I can. Edwards AFB continues to be the premier base for flight testing the Air Forces newest capabilities, and the Air Force Reserves 370th FTS continues to support when needed. The KC-46A Pegasus is intended to replace the Air Forces aging tanker fleet, which has been refueling aircraft for more than 50 years. With more refueling capacity and enhanced capabilities, improved efficiency, and increased capabilities for cargo and aeromedical evacuation, the KC-46A will provide aerial refueling support to the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as allied nation coalition force aircraft. In October, the Air Force selected Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, as the preferred alternative for the first Reserve-led KC-46A Pegasus main operating base. Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts; and Grissom ARB, Indiana, were named as the reasonable alternatives. It is absolutely critical that we replace our aging tanker fleet with the KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker, said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. I am pleased to announce Seymour Johnson AFB as the first Reserve-led location because it is a testament to the Air Forces commitment to the total force. We must use all three components -- active, Guard and Reserve -- operating cohesively and seamlessly as one team so we can realize the full potential of airpower. James also explained the KC-46A program is just the first phase of a three-phase effort to replace the aging tanker fleet. The first phase of tanker recapitalization will complete with final deliveries in fiscal year 2028. (Some information for this article was taken from an article written by Daryl Mayer, 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.) A ceremony honoring 75 years of the Tuskegee Airmen experience and the great heritage of the Red Tail warriors from the 302nd Fighter Squadron took place during the Third Annual Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day here March 24. Held at the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Air Park, the ceremony highlighted the incredible bravery, commitment, and expertise of the Tuskegee Airmen who signify sacrifice, the struggles of overcoming adversity in the face of racial discrimination, and a strong legacy of pioneer aviators. About 80 people attended the ceremony including Lt. Col. (Ret.) Robert Ashby, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Asa Herring, and Tech. Sgt. (Ret.) Rudolf Silas, three of the original Tuskegee Airmen, members of the Archer-Ragsdale Arizona Chapter (ARAC) Tuskegee Airmen, the Honorable Jerry Weirs, City of Glendale mayor, and leadership from the 56th and 944th Fighter Wings.During the ceremony, a wreath was laid at the base of the red tail by the original Tuskegee Airmen while the Luke AFB Honor Guard performed Taps and rendered the proper military honors.The ceremony was a remembrance of what happened in the past and an opportunity to see what I think has been the most important accomplishment of the Tuskegee Airmen, the integration of the Armed Forces, said Ashby. Believe in yourselves, and put forth the effort needed to accomplish your goals, he continued as a message to todays youth and a blueprint for success.ARAC is named for Fred Archer, who was the first African American to earn the rank of Chief Master Sgt. and Lincoln Ragsdale, a pilot with the 99th Fighter Squadron in World War II and later a civil rights leader in Phoenix during the 1950s and 60s.Over 50 Tuskegee Airmen chapters are established nation-wide with a two-fold purpose, said Bernard Bruce, 56th Fighter Wing occupational ground safety manager and chapter historian for ARAC. The first is to honor the accomplishments of those who trained and performed as Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. The second is to inspire youth to outstanding achievements in leadership through social and educational activities, science, technology, engineering and Math. That is our passion and that is our challenge. In July of 1987, the 944 FW re-activated the 302nd Fighter Squadron and in March of 2000, they re-activated the 301st Fighter Squadron. Both these units belonged to the 332nd Fighter Group during WWII. The units have since transitioned to the F-22 mission at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, respectively. However, the 944 FW still embraces the proud tradition of the Tuskegee Airmen. Not only do I get to lead the 944th Fighter Wing with its strong ties to the Tuskegee Airmen but I have served under its flag while deployed with the 332nd Fighter Air Expeditionary Group four times in Iraq, said Col. Kurt Gallegos, 944th Fighter Wing commander. Through the enormous sacrifices and accomplishments that made them legendary, these brave Airmen lived up to the core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. I can assure you that our future aviators and maintainers will always remember the Red Tails.Several pivotal milestones happened in the month of March from 1940 to 1949 for those who participated in the Tuskegee Airmen experience, including when the first Tuskegee Airmen ground crews began training, the first flying unit, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, was activated, and the first Tuskegee aviation cadets received their pilot wings. In April 2013, former Governor Jan Brewer signed into law Senate Bill 1128 that designates the fourth Thursday in March as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day in the state of Arizona. Currently, Arizona is the only state to have a designated day set aside to honor the Tuskegee Airmen. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Emil Ilgar - Trend: Iran has no plan to purchase an oil tanker from China, an Iranian oil official told Mehr News Agency reported. "National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) doesn't plan to increase its fleet capacity, said the Director of Technical and Navigation Operation at NITC Akbar Jebel-Ameli. He said that NITC is considering replacement for some of its tankers, but hasn't negotiated with Chinese companies. Iran owns one of the world's largest fleet of oil supertankers consisting of 42 VLCCs (very large crude carriers), each able to carry 2 million barrels of oil. Jebel-Ameli added that NITC is keen to have a big role in international marine gas transport sphere. Meanwhile, previously Iranian officials have announced that they are negotiating with western companies to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers or fleeting LNG ships (FLNG). FLNG ships take natural gas offshore and the gas is chilled to -162C, shrinking in volume 600 times, and then is transported to markets. 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 Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: The Bureau of Kazakh Majilis (lower chamber of parliament) has registered the parliamentary factions of Nur Otan, Ak Zhol and Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan, which won in the parliamentary election held March 20, press service of Majilis said March 29. Deputy head of Majilis apparatus Zhaslan Zhugunisov has been appointed the head of the Majilis apparatus. Candidates from the following six parties were running for the parliament: the ruling party Nur Otan, Ak Zhol, Aul, the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party and the Birlik Party. Only three of these parties overcame the 7-percent barrier in the election: Nur Otan party gathered 82.20 percent of the votes, the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan - 7.14 percent and Ak Zhol - 7.18 percent. Edited by SI --- Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 29 By Demir Azizov- Trend: Germany's Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and the current OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan March 30. The minister will meet with Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov and hold talks in the country's government during his visit, Uzbek Foreign Ministry's press service said March 29. The parties will discuss the state and development perspectives of the Uzbek-German bilateral cooperation, relevant regional and international problems within the framework of negotiations. Germany is one of Uzbekistan's main partners in the European Union. Some 123 enterprises established with participation of leading companies, capital and advanced technology from Germany operate in Uzbekistan. Large investment projects with participation of German banks are implemented in various sectors of Uzbekistan's economy. Uzbekistan implemented investment projects worth over one billion euros jointly with the leading German companies. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 28 By Umid Niayesh, Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend: Iran and Libya's rejection of the oil freeze plan can only make a medium term collapse in price more certain, and the more rapidly they re-enter the market the quicker will be the price fall, Chris Cook, the former director of International Petroleum Exchange(IPE), told Trend. Russia and OPEC's major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, agreed to freeze oil production at the January levels during a meeting in Doha in February. While 11 of OPEC's 13 members which produce a half of the global oil output say they will attend oil production freeze talks next month in Doha, Iran and Libya have rejected to participate. The proposal by the two biggest oil producers to freeze production at the maximum levels at which they can pump oil is notable only in that the parties agreed on anything at all, Cook said. "In that sense it [the proposal] has therefore been supportive to rise oil price in the short term because it prepares the ground for coordination on production cuts as and when the pain gets too great as and when prices fall significantly in the medium term, which in my analysis will occur by summer," the expert added. Cook, who worked as a UK financial market regulator, further said that "a 'dark inventory' of prepaid oil is now entering what has become what as a UK regulator I used to call a 'false market' in physical crude oil." There is now a 'two tier' physical market in which one or two participants, who are aware of the true economic ownership of oil, are currently making massive profits at the expense of the majority who are unaware of the market reality, he added. He further said that this unwinding of opaque dark inventory physical positions has caused the current market volatility and temporary 'spike' in price over $40/barrel. "Once what are essentially illicit profits have been taken, then in my view the price will - in the absence of significant coordinated production cuts - fall significantly and test new lows," he said. "In my view - and I gave evidence to this effect to the UK Parliament's Treasury Select Committee in July 2008 - the global market in crude oil has been, since at least 2001, subject to manipulation by those with the motivation and the financial capital to do so," Cook said. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have both the necessary capital and the motivation to support the oil price, and have done so since 2009, he further remarked. It should be noted that Cook was for ten years a UK financial market regulator, and for six years the Director of Compliance & Market Supervision of the IPE - which is now ICE Europe. While figures from CoreLogic RP Data show it was a subdued week in terms of volumes with only 533 auctions held, the auction market has returned a rather respectable result as the preliminary national clearance rate sits at 69.5%. The previous weeks clearance rate came in at 68.8%, however there was a significantly larger volume of auctions. Sydney was by far the busiest city last week, with 332 homes going under the hammer. The preliminary clearance rate in the New South Wales capital currently sits at 77.4%, which is the second highest mark for any city. In Melbourne the preliminary clearance rate currently sits at 74.1% after the city held 79 auctions over the weekend. Adelaide saw only 31 auctions last week, with the South Australian capital currently holding a preliminary clearance rate of 66.7%. Brisbane held 45 auctions last week and the citys preliminary clearance rate currently sits at 38.5%. Perth currently holds the nations preliminary clearance rate at 80%, however the city did hold only six auctions last week. Volumes are expected to pick up again this week after the Easter fall, with CoreLogic already tracking in excess of 1,400 auctions. The Global and United States Hydrobike Market Report has been published by QY Research recently. Hydrobike Market Analysis and Insights This report focuses on... Tehran, Iran, March 29 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: Iran and Pakistan are going to sign a memorandum of understanding regarding the transfer of 3,000 megawatts of electric power from Iran to Pakistan. The announcement was made by Iranian Minister of Energy Hamid Chitchian, who said that for the short run Iran is going to boost the current electrical export of 74 megawatts to 104 megawatts using the existing facilities, IRNA news agency reported March 29. During a recent visit by Iranian officials to Pakistan, Iran vowed to launch facilities for the export of 600 megawatts of electricity to Pakistan in the Iranian territory, while the latter country also vowed to carry out the same on its soil, Chitchian said. He further added that export of 3,000 megawatts of power requires building new power plants and other facilities, therefore a long-term project. Pakistan has about four percent of share in Iran's 10-billion kWh electricity energy export, according to the annual report of Iran's Energy Ministry. Coming to Pakistan's debts to Iran, The Express Tribune reported on March 10 that Pakistan is already importing 73MW to meet the requirement of Gwadar city but payments could not be made since 2011. "Now that sanctions have been removed from Iran, officials believe banking channels will be opened, paving the way for payment of outstanding bills," the report said. Tehran, Iran, March 29 By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend: An Iranian trade delegation of 110 members is heading to Austria to visit industrial and service centers, get familiarized with management techniques, and meet with officials and counterparts there. On March 30, the group will take part in an economic forum attended by both countries' presidents and ministers, IRIB news agency reported March 29. The Iranian delegation includes representatives from infrastructural, engineering, agricultural, health, technology, and banking sectors. The visit follows an earlier visit by 200 Austrian counterparts headed by President Heinz Fischer. During Fischer's visit to Iran, two sides signed four cooperation documents to boost bilateral ties in water management and environment protection areas. During Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to Austria, a road map for cooperation will be finalized between the two countries. In an interview with IRIB March 29, Fischer said the sides will sign a number of MoUs on the sidelines of the visit. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran plans to attract foreign investment for Tabriz-Bazargan-Kars railway project, Tohid Akhlaghi, head of East Azerbaijan Province Department of Roads and Urban Development said. The feasibility study on the project which will link Iran's Tabriz city to Turkey's Kars was done the last fiscal year (ended March 20), Akhlaghi said, Fars news agency reported March 29. He further said that the necessary licenses for starting the project will be received during the current Iranian fiscal year. The Iranian official further said that his department pursues finalizing the agreement for construction of Tabriz-Bazargan highway which will be implemented by participation of a Turkish investor. Turkish company of Bergiz Insaat is to implement 65 percent of the project and the rest will be constructed by the Iranian government. The highway which covers 253 kilometers is planned to connect the cities of Tabriz and Marand in East Azerbaijan province to West Azerbaijan's city of Bazargan near the Turkish border. Bazargan border crossing is a major route through which Iran and Turkey trade. The project which will be constructed in four phases is estimated to need $2 billion worth of investment. A preliminary agreement for investment in the project was signed last year between Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and Turkish Bergiz Company. Akhlaghi said that the highway will be constructed within five years once the final agreement is signed. Tehran, Iran, March 29 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: Iran's water management service and equipment company Sanir is willing to engage in cooperation with Slovakia to carry out projects in the area of renewable energy, according to Sanir CEO Bahman Salehi. Salehi said his company is willing to use Slovak technology to export goods and services to regional countries, IRNA news agency reported March 29. The statements come in the wake of Slovak Minister of Economy Vazil Hudak's visit to Iran in early March where the meeting sides urged cooperation in renewable energy, nuclear energy, car manufacturing, telecommunication, waste management, and science parks. During his visit, Hudak also paid visit to Sanir and explored venues of cooperation with the Iranian company. Slovakia provides for 40 percent of its energy from renewable sources. The country will become the rotating chair of the European Union in the coming months. Sanir has so far carried out 200 projects in the region, East Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The company is currently carrying out 17 projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, Iraq, Ethiopia, the Iraqi Kurdistan, Sri Lanka, and Armenia. Hyderabad: Twenty-five students and two faculty members of Hyderabad Central University (HCU), who were granted bail in connection with the March 22 violence on the campus during which the Vice Chancellor's official residence was ransacked, were tonight released from the Cherlapally Central Prison here. "Bail order copies were submitted to prison authorities...All of them have been released," Cherlapally Prison Superintendent K Venkateshwar Reddy told PTI. The XXV Metropolitan Magistrate court here had yesterday enlarged the students and the two faculty members on bail on submission of sureties of Rs 5,000 each. The court also directed them to appear before Station House Officer Gachibowli once in a week (every Saturday). The prosecution did not oppose the bail applications of the 27 accused and had informed the court that the situation (law and order) is under control on HCU campus.HCU campus. The defence counsel urged the court to grant bail contending that the allegations, which were levelled against the accused are absolutely 'vague' and there is no material to keep them in detention. A group of students, who were opposing Prof Appa Rao Podile's return as the VC after a two-month leave following the row over research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide in a university hostel room, had allegedly vandalised his residence and pelted police with stones on March 22. Later, police resorted to lathicharge and arrested 25 of them, beside two faculty members. All of them were lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison. Cases were booked on charges of damage to public property, trespass, preventing government officials from performing their duties, and other relevant sections of IPC in connection with the violence. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Khalid Kazimov - Trend: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has agreed to pardon or reduce the sentences of a number of convicts on the eve of the Islamic Republic Day in the country. IRNA news agency reported that Ayatollah Khamenei has agreed with the proposal of the head of judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani on amnesty. Iran annually celebrates Farvardin 12, which falls on April 1 in normal years and March 31 in leap years, as the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic, referred to as the Islamic Republic Day. This year (started on March 20), Iran will mark the holiday on March 31. Earlier, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani appealed to the Supreme Leader with a letter in which he asked for pardon or commuting the sentences of some convicts. However, the report did not provide the number of pardoned convicts. The supreme leader signed a relevant decree. Iran's Constitution allows the Supreme Leader to pardon or reduce the sentences of convicts upon the recommendation of the judiciary chief. Amnesties and reduced prison terms are granted mainly on occasions marking religious and national festivals in Iran. Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday accused BJP of spending "hundreds of crores" of rupees in an attempt to topple his government with the help of Governor, echoing allegations of his Himachal counterpart that BJP was trying to destablise Congress governments in states. "BJP spent lots of money. They wasted hundreds of crores before the Bihar elections to topple the government in Assam. They tried it by taking Himanta (Biswa Sarma) and other MLAs, but they could not do it," Gogoi told a press conference here targeting the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had launched a blistering attack on the Congress leader during the recent poll rallies in Assam. Sarma, once a trusted Congress minister of Gogoi who is presently in BJP, had almost garnered the support of 35 MLAs and tried the same tactics used in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand of shifting the base to BJP, he claimed. "The Governor (Padmanabha Balakrishan Acharya) was also involved in this. Without his support how is it possible? That is why, the Centre is not appointing a permanent Governor in Assam. That is why they are appointing all RSS people as Governors," Gogoi alleged. He further said if the 35 MLAs, whose support was shown to be withdrawn from Gogoi's leadership in front of the Congress High Command, had really shifted their allegiance to BJP, the government would have fallen instantly. Gogoi also regretted his decision to trust Sarma during his tenure with the Congress. "Yes, I trusted him a lot. He betrayed a simple man like me. Himanta and all his supporters were not original Congressmen. They come and go. Himanta was with ULFA, then AASU, AGP, Congress and now (a) BJP man," he said. Talking about the Uttarakhand crisis, the Chief Minister said the entire development is "just a murder of democracy". "You did it in Arunachal and now Uttarakhand. The government was to test its majority next day and you (Centre) toppled it. (This is) Hitler in India! This is dictatorial and a murder of democracy," he alleged. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had accused the Modi dispensation of trying to "destabilise and topple" his government by using central agencies. He alleged the Centre has been destabilising Congress-ruled states one by one and cited examples of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where President's Rule was imposed. New Delhi: Ahead of the Assam assembly polls, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will begin campaigning from Tuesday and address three rallies in Karbi Anglong, Karimganj and Cachar districts of Assam. Congress president Sonia Gandhi will address an election rally in poll-bound Assam on March 30. Earlier last week, highlighting his agenda of development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning in the Rangapara district of Assam, came down heavily on the Congress regime and alleged that the ruling party in the state has betrayed the people and their aspirations in the last 15 years. In Assam, polling for the first phase of polls will be held on April 4 for 65 seats. The scrutiny of nomination papers was held on March 19 and March 21 was the last date of withdrawal of nominations. Assam has a total of one crore 98 lakh voters. The Election Commission has announced two-phase voting for the 14th Assam assembly elections on April 4 and 11, while the votes will be counted on May19. The tenure of the Tarun Gogoi led-government comes to an end in June. Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday locked horns in the Legislative Council over recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission on devolution of tax revenue and how the target of building toilets will be met. During PHED Minister Krishna Nandan Verma's reply to BJPs'Krishna Kumar Singh on how the state will construct toilets in each house over the next five years when it was building only 1.5 lakh to two lakh toilets every year, Kumar intervened and assured the Council that the target will be completed in a time-frame under the 'Saat Nischay'. The 'Saat Nischay' (seven resolves) scheme aims at making younger generation self-reliant through education, skill development, education loan, electricity connection to all villages, providing piped water supply to every household, road and drainage in urban areas. As soon as Kumar made this promise, Leader of the Opposition Sushil Kumar Modi rose and asked him how the state government will meet the target of constructing 35 lakh toilets each year over the next five years when it does not have required financial resources nor infrastructure to do so. Describing the toilet construction target as 'next to impossible', Modi had a dig at Kumar saying one cannot fulfill commitment merely by making assurance. On the recommendations of 14th Finance Commission, Modi reminded Kumar that he had sought reduction in the Centre's share in Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in National Development Council meetings during the UPA rule which had set up 14th Finance Commission to review devolution of tax revenue between the Centre and the states. The senior BJP leader said the central government has heard his plea for hike in untied funds and Bihar got Rs 14,000 crore more in 2015-16. Modi dared Kumar for a debate with him on the issue. Reverting to toilet construction, he charged the Chief Minister with not giving a pointed reply as to how the state government will construct 1.5 crore toilets in five years. "I appeal to you (Kumar) again that you stop cheating the people and misleading them," Modi said. Kumar countered Modi by saying that the toilet construction target will not be achieved, come what may. He denied that he had ever advocated for reduction in the Centre's share in implementation of CSS in the states and pitched for hike in the untied funds. On Modi's contention that the Centre was giving more to Bihar under other heads than what it was reducing in the CSS, Kumar said he was open to a debate with Modi on the Centre giving more funds to the state under PMGSY. Observing that the Centre was not doing any favour to Bihar by giving more funds for road construction, he charged Modi with speaking against the interests of the state. Modi then said he too held the view that the Centre was not doing any favour to Bihar and wanted that the state get more than its due share for development. With the heated exchange between Kumar and Modi going on for 18-20 minutes, Council Chairperson Awadesh Narayan Singh intervened to bring the duel to an end. New Delhi: After imposing central rule in Uttarakhand, the central government will now try to topple the governments in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday. Slamming the ouster of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Kejriwal told the assembly here that he had learnt from a senior Intellegence Bureau (IB) official that the next state to be targeted will be Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. This will be followed by Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power in February last year winning 67 of the 70 seats. "I am told they will disqualify 21 of our (AAP) legislators from the Delhi assembly and buy over 23 others," the chief minister said, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using money power to subdue the opposition. "Forget buying over 23 legislators. If they have the guts, let them buy even one legislator," he said to applause from AAP members in the house, while the three BJP legislators walked out. He added that "the officer informed me that a businessman, whose name we often take, has been given responsibility to buy our 23 MLAs to topple our government". Kejriwal said the BJP, like the Congress earlier, had become "arrogant" after taking power nationally in 2014. He slammed the central government's decision to "force" President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, calling them illegal. Kejriwal also returned to the theme of the Pakistani team's visit to the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab that was attacked by Pakistani terrorists on January 2. He said it defied logic why the Pakistanis should be allowed to probe an attack masterminded by the Pakistani intelligence. "Not everyone is happy with the decision," he said, attributing it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They (central government) use CBI when they had to raid my office but for probing the Pathankot terror attack, they let ISI allow coming to India. Are our intelligence agencies not capable enough to probe such incidents? he asked. Echoing the remarks he made a day earlier too, Kejriwal said New Delhi had always accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India. He said instead of allowing the Pakistanis to probe the Pathankot attack, Indian officials should have gone to Islamabad to question the Pakistani terrorist leaders blamed for terror attacks in India. Amritsar: Terming the visit of Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe Pathankot terror attack as "disgusting", senior AAP leader Gurpreet Ghuggi on Tuesday said the country does not need a "certificate" from its neighbours on the authenticity of the probe conducted by Indian investigation agencies. "It is unfortunate that the largest democracy of the world is now dependent on the JIT sent by Pakistan where the masterminds of the attacks are enjoying Nawaz Sharif's patronage, to probe Pathankot attacks," he said while addressing a gathering at Sultan village during a campaign of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "Let Prime Minister Modi explain whether he does not have faith in the investigation by Indian agencies? Where was the need to invite Pakistan's team to probe the attacks? What, if Pakistan denies any role of its nationals in the attack?," quipped Ghuggi. The AAP leader alleged India has already accepted its weakness and defeat against cross-border terrorism by allowing the visit of JIT. Ghuggi charged that apart from cross-border terrorism, people of Punjab were also facing 'narcotic terrorism' under the patronage of ruling Akalis. "I am surprised to know that drug is available in this village at every nook and corner and peddlers have no fear of police. The youth of Punjab is directionless in the absence of job opportunities which drag them deep into the drug net," he said. He added that AAP, if voted to power in the state, would not only generate employment but also give a direction to the youth. New Delhi: A 30-year-old man was burnt alive allegedly by his wife's paramour and an associate at a park in northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri area, police said on Tuesday. The deceased, Vinod Khandelwal, was an auto-rickshaw driver. Police have arrested the prime accused Sonu (19) but his accomplice, who is also his brother-in-law, is absconding. Before succumbing to his injuries, Vinod gave a statement where he identified the duo, accusing them of having set him ablaze. Vinod told police that he had filed a missing complaint after his wife went missing on February 19 suspecting that Sonu had kidnapped her. On being informed that his wife was actually staying with Sonu, Vinod went to the former's place several times but his wife refused to return with him. He also apparently posted on social networking site Facebook that police were not taking his complaint seriously, a charge refuted by officials who maintain that the woman was staying with Sonu on her own wish. Meanwhile, Sonu hatched a plan to kill Vinod as he considered him to be a "thorn" in the relationship, police said. "Sonu and his brother-in-law approached Vinod at a park on Friday at around 10.30 pm with two white plastic bottles filled with kerosene oil. An argument broke out between them during which Sonu's brother-in-law overpowered Vinod while Sonu poured kerosene on his body and then set it afire," a senior police officer said. A critically injured Vinod was taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital where he succumbed on Saturday night. Yesterday, the body was handed over to his family after autopsy. New Delhi: In another heinous incident that has ashamed humanity, an 18-year-old student was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants in Delhis Begumpur area over a trivial issue. As per reports, Dilkash and his friends, Ajmal and Naeem were strolling in a park when they were thrashed for not saying Jai Mata Ki. My friends and I had gone to Bans Wala park, some 300 metres from the madrasa, when we were attacked by a group of young men. They spotted us because we were wearing caps and asked us to say Jai Mata Ki, Dikash was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Meanwhile, some reports claim that the Delhi Police has arrested three people in the incident. The police registered FIR three days after the incident on charges of assault and wrongful restraint. We were waiting for the medico-legal report. The case was registered on the basis of Dilkashs complaint as he had suffered a fracture. In their complaint, he mentioned that he and his friends were forced to say Jai Mata Ki, the report quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police Vikramjit Singh. All three victims hail from Bihars Purnia district and had come to Delhi in 2015 to study at the Faiz-ul-uloom Ghausia madrasa in Ramesh Enclaves Mohammadi Masjid. Violence over petty issues has become rampant in the city. A few days ago a dentist in west Delhi was mercilessly beaten to death by some anti-social elements over a road rage incident. Kolkata: Wild animals like blackbuck can avoid extinction and persist in human-dominated landscapes by modifying the way they use their habitat, a new research has found. A team of scientists examined how blackbuck, a near threatened species, preferred to stay in the safety of Maharashtra's Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, when food was abundant, to avoid the risks associated with humans and livestock. But as food declined after the monsoon, blackbucks began to move into riskier unprotected grasslands, thus responding dynamically to seasonally changing levels of food and risks in different parts of the landscape. Funded by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, the study aimed to find how blackbucks react to the costs and benefits of living in this habitat. "We found that when blackbucks moved into areas of high risk, presence of small sanctuaries or 'refuges' in landscapes with high human-use allowed these antelopes to survive and forage," Chaitanya Krishna, lead author of the study, said. The team of researchers involved in the project are from Wildlife Conservation Society, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science and Manipal University. The authors observed that as blackbucks make seasonal changes in their movements in desperate search for food, they venture into more risky areas located outside the sanctuary. Co-author Kavita Isvaran said the study shows it might perhaps be possible to simultaneously meet the interests of both wildlife and human, provided the former are offered well-protected refuges, such as the small protected areas that constitute the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary. Food resource distribution and availability is a critical factor for survival of wild ungulates and food sources can vary seasonally in quality and quantity, as well as spatial distribution, the study said. Chandigarh: The Haryana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill to provide reservation to Jat and other communities. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar moved the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016, and within 15 minutes, it was passed by voice vote in the ongoing Assembly session. There was immediate opposition to the bill from other communities. The state cabinet had on Monday cleared the bill that proposes to provide reservation to the politically-dominant Jat community and four other communities -- Jat Sikhs, Tyagis, Bishnois and Rors. Khattar said his government fulfilled the promise made to Jat and other communities for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. Jat leaders seemed divided on the bill passed in the Assembly. While Jat leader Hawa Singh Sangwan welcomed the bill, another Jat leader, Yash Pal Malik, said the bill has not done enough for the Jat community. Congress leader and former minister Ajay Singh Yadav described the passage of the bill as a "black day" for Haryana. BJP MP from Kurukshetra Rajkumar Saini, who has been opposing reservation for Jats, said it was a "murder of democracy". "The bill will give statutory status to Backward classes Block `A`, Backward classes Block `B` and Backward classes Block `C` by enacting the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act, 2016, and request the Central Government to include this Act in the 9th Schedule read with Article 31B of the Constitution of India," a state government spokesman said here. The bill provides for increase in percentage of reservation in Schedule I, II and III for Class I and II posts for BC `A`, BC `B` and BC `C` from 10 percent, five percent and five percent to 11 percent, six percent and six percent respectively. It was also decided to increase the existing reservation of five percent for Economically Backward Persons in General Caste Category in Class I and II posts from five percent to seven percent. The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state had promised reservation for the Jat community and others after the recent Jat agitation for reservation left the state paralysed for nine days. As many as 30 people were killed and 320 injured and property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was destroyed during nine days as the agitation turned violent. (With IANS inputs) Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Generally, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is being used to track disease-related biomolecular processes, using incredibly expensive equipment. Now, scientists from Duke University have discovered a new class of inexpensive and long-lived molecular tags that enhance MRI signals by 10,000-fold and generate detectable signals that last over an hour. This could also allow doctors to monitor conditions like cancer and heart disease in real time. In the following video, scientists illustrate how the new class of molecular tags could allow MRI to track changes in the body as they happen. Video credit: Wochit News/YouTube MRI is a non-invasive medical test that physicians use to diagnose and treat medical conditions. Tehran, Iran, March 29 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan in a phone conversation with his Syrian counterpart Fahd Jassem al-Freij discussed the need for intensifying military operations against terrorists in Syria. The Iranian minister called for wiping the remaining Syrian districts clear of terrorists and eradicating terrorist as a regional tumor, Fars news agency reported March 29. Thanking Iran for its help for standing behind the Syrian government, al-Freij noted the recent freedom of the city of Tadmur as a major step toward a final victory over terrorists. Syria has been grappling with terrorist insurgents since a domestic crisis broke out in 2011. Iran has been providing the Arab country's government with military consultation to fight terrorists. Tehran maintains it will not engage in direct military action in Syria. Ahmedabad: Controversial BJP MP Vitthal Radadiya on Tuesday "admitted" to kicking an elderly man during a music event recently but clarified that he did so to stop the man from "spreading superstition" even as he termed it as a "small incident". His clarification came days after a video purportedly showing the Porbandar MP kicking the man at the function, held at Jamkandorna town in Rajkot district, surfaced. The video showed agitated Radadiya approaching the man sitting in a makeshift tent at the folk music event and then kicking him even as the latter prayed to be spared. The video also showed Radadiya picking up the man's belongings and gesturing him to leave the spot. "That man was spreading superstition, as he was continuously shaking his head and body when artists were singing. His act also disturbed many others, including women, as they felt uncomfortable due to his weird acts," Radadiya said. He had earlier denied the attack. "I am told by the organisers that he has been living in the tent since last three-four days. To stop him from disturbing others through his strange acts, I kicked him first and asked the organisers to take him out. After he was taken away, people felt relieved. It was a small incident," he said. Though no FIR has been filed by the unidentified man against Radadiya, Rajkot police yesterday took the matter suo motu and started their investigation and sent the video for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, the Gujarat High Court today ordered an "independent investigation" by police into an alleged assault by Radadiya and others of a shop-owner at Dhoraji in Rajkot district last year. Radadiya, then a Congress MP, had rented out a shop at Dhoraji to Sharifbhai Shakariyana, a party worker. On October 12 last year, Radadiya and his men allegedly beat up Rajesh Mehta, who ran the shop on Shakariyana's behalf, to get it vacated. When Mehta approached the police, they only registered a non-cognisable offence and not an FIR. Shimla: The Opposition BJP on Tuesday staged A walk in the state assembly on the issue of reports of fresh developments in the case registered by Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh. As soon as the House assembled for the day, BJP member Suresh Bhardwaj inquired about the fate of the notice for adjournment motion by two BJP members to discuss fresh details having come to the notice of ED in the case against Singh. However, Speaker, Brij Bihari Lal Butail outrightly rejected it and said he cannot allow the adjournment motion as the matter was sub judice and investigations are underway. Butail proceeded with the question hour but the?BJP members were unrelenting and the Leader of opposition, Prem Kumar Dhumal said no question was bigger than the?question of existence of the present state government. Dhumal said the Speaker can use his discretion and allow discussion on it as the matter was urgent and as per the news reports, the arrest of CM was now "imminent" as there was enough proof that the documents were forged. He said if the issue could be reported by media and the Chief Minister can speak on it outside from public stage, why can?t it be discussed in House. Transport minister, GS Bali said the matter was sub judice and it should not be discussed in the House. Butail refused to allow the discussion, Following rejection of the demand to discuss the issue, the BJP members who were on their legs, raised slogans and later staged a walkout. New Delhi: Counter-terrorism cooperation in the wake of the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels will be the starting point of Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s engagements abroad as he departs on Tuesday night to visit Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia. "No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium," Modi said in a pre-departure statement. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones." At least 35 people, including an Indian national, were killed in twin explosions at Zaventem airport and one at a metro station in the Belgian capital on March 22. During his stay in Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will attend a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and also the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. At a pre-departure media briefing, Nandini Singla, joint secretary (Europe West) in the external affairs ministry, said that the issue of terrorism will be the starting point of the India-Belgium bilateral summit. "The recent attacks in Brussels will of course be a very important part of the discussions. They will be the starting point of the engagement," she said. In his statement, Modi said that within the EU, Belgium was India`s second largest trading partner. "My meeting with the prime minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member." Modi and Michel will also remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope at Devasthal near Nainital. Singla said that during the bilateral summit meeting, India and Belgium would discuss cooperation in renewable energy, biotechnology, shipping, and information and communication technology (ICT) and taxation. Belgium is India`s second largest trading partner in the European Union (EU). Modi would also interact with members of the Indian community in Belgium. There are around 20,000 Indians in Belgium and many of them are engaged in diamond trading in Antwerp. On Wednesday evening, Modi will attend the 13th India-EU Summit. Modi, in his statement, said the EU was a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. "This summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," he said. While in Brussels, Modi would also meet members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. "I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium," he said. There are a large number of Indians in Belgium`s diamond trading hub of Antwerp. After Belgium, Modi will be in Washington DC on March 31 to participate in the two-day Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, being hosted by US President Barack Obama. "The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," the prime minister stated. On his way back, Modi will visit Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf kingdom after then prime minister Manmohan Singh`s visit in 2010. "India`s ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Modi said. Saudi Arabia is India`s fourth largest trading partner, and is also India`s largest crude oil supplier accounting for one-fifth of its crude oil imports. Washington: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third trip to Washington in less than two years, India's envoy to the US has said that the two countries have experienced a fascinating transformation in relations. "Our partnership did not always appear so destined. Indeed, just three decades ago, such an alignment of interests between the two countries was simply unthinkable. This makes the transformation of India-US relations in the last three decades so fascinating," said Arun K Singh, Indian Ambassador to the US, in his address at the 20th Wharton-India Economic Forum on 'Evolving India-US Relations' over the weekend. President Barack Obama has characterised the India-US relationship as a "defining partnership of the 21st century", while Modi has termed the partnership as a "natural alliance". "The strategic convergence and the global importance of this convergence are captured in our diplomatic moniker: a 'Global Strategic Partnership'," he said. "Since his election in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi has visited the US twice and is going to be back here next week for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC," Singh told the audience. Modi is scheduled to be in the American capital to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Obama on March 31 and April 1. "The first-ever vision statement of our countries was issued in September 2014, during the Prime Minister's visit. A Delhi Declaration, adopted during President Obama's visit further elevated our strategic partnership. A Joint Strategic Vision unveiled at that time reflected their common goals for the dynamic Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, building on the congruence of India's 'Act East' policy and the US 're-balance' to Asia," he said. Noting that defence is an area where the impact of a robust India-US partnership has been obvious, Singh said the two countries have started the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative to foster collaboration in transformative defence technology, co-production and co-development. India has contracted nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence items from the US in the past few years. The armed forces of India and the US now conduct more exercises with each other than they do with any other country bilaterally, he said. Delhi: As he leaves for Belgium as part of a three-nation tour on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the "resilience and spirit" of its people in the wake of the horrific Brussels bombings and said India stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with them. From Brussels, PM Modi will leave for Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 and from there he will travel to Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit with a focus on boosting energy and security cooperation. In Brussels, he will attend the 13th India-EU Summit and in a pre-deparature statement, he said it will advance multifaceted engagement across a whole range of sectors and described the 28-member bloc as a "vital trading partner". On Saudi Arabia, PM Modi said India's relations with the Gulf nation were "special" and that "robust" people-to-people ties constitute a key component of the bilateral engagement. "I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations." Following is the full text of PM's departure statement prior to his visit to Belgium, USA and Saudi Arabia: On 30th March, I will be in Brussels to meet with the Belgian Prime Minister Mr. Charles Michel. I would also be holding the 13th India-EU Summit with the EU leadership. No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones. Our relations with Belgium are deep rooted and have stood the test of time. Within the E.U., Belgium is Indias 2nd largest trading partner. My meeting with the Prime Minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important E.U. member. Along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, I would remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) Telescope. The European Union is a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. This Summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains. In Brussels, I would also be meeting with the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a wide cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. The same evening, I will address a Community Programme and interact with the Indian community. After Belgium, I will be in Washington DC on 31st March to participate in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, where several nations and global organisations would be represented. The Summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material. On the sidelines of the Summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations. I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO project. On 2nd and 3rd April, at the invitation of HM King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I will be visiting Saudi Arabia. Indias ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda. Our economic ties are also expanding. Saudi Arabia is Indias 4th largest trading partner, and is also Indias largest crude oil supplier. In addition to meeting with HM King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the Royal family. We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with Indias development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh. I will visit the Masmak Fortress, L&T Workers Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday asking twitterati to reply to Manish Tewari after the latter attacked the BJP government of 'doing nothing' about the alleged crucifixion of an Indian Catholic priest by Islamic State jihadists in Yemen. Manish Tewari on Monday had tweeted, "So ISIS allegedly crucified Father Thomas Uzhunnali & BJP Govt did nothing. Why because he was a Christian? Mr PM he was also a fellow Indian." However, little did he know that his tweet would attract lot of censure and flak on the social media platform. Sushma, who apparently rejected Tewari's allegations of not rescuing Indian priest Thomas Uzhunnali, hit back at Tewari by tweeting, "Friends - I have liked some tweets. Please see them and judge for yourself. Then reply to @ManishTewari." Here are some of the reactions on Manish Tewari's post on 'BJP's inability to rescue Father Thomas Uzhunnali' from ISIS. typcl votebnk poltcs by @ManishTewari Indian Embssy closed,repeatd travl advisories disregarded.R U kidding? typcl votebnk poltcs by @ManishTewari Indian Embssy closed,repeatd travl advisories disregarded.R U kidding? https://t.co/IBCQaR0OI7 kaimaal38 (@kaimaal38) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari What do you have to say about operation rahat? Don't bring your stupidity to the forefront. @ManishTewari What do you have to say about operation rahat? Don't bring your stupidity to the forefront Agney (@agney_rao) March 29, 2016 Shameful of @ManishTewari for instigating ppl. Would have escalated by now If BJP neta posted such sh*t. Shameful of @ManishTewari for instigating ppl. Would have escalated by now If BJP neta posted such sh*t. #PaidMedia https://t.co/KZa9C61Y8L Ankit Gupta (@intuitiveankit) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari only cheap peple lke u can politicise every thing..dont forget u killed sarabjit nd made ishrat a hero..nt every1 thnks lyk u. @ManishTewari only cheap peple lke u can politicise every thing..dont forget u killed sarabjit nd made ishrat a hero..nt every1 thnks lyk u shivam pandey (@ishivmpandey) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari Please do not communalise such matters. Don't you have common sense? It's people like you who are the real anti-nationals. @ManishTewari Please do not communalise such matters. Don't you have common sense? It's people like you who are the real anti-nationals Agney (@agney_rao) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari When will INC stop it's divisive religious and caste politics?! @ManishTewari When will INC stop it's divisive religious and caste politics?! @OfficeOfRG Harish Kiran (@hkiran1) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari You did not save our soldiers from beheading on the border by Pak Army, why coz those were Hindus? @ManishTewari You did not save our soldiers from beheading on the border by Pak Army, why coz those were Hindus? https://t.co/IL7Tri7xjl CongKilledSikhs (@HamaraBJP) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari Manish don't bring ur politics here. Also trolls don't focus on teaching Manish a lesson. Gov must try its best. @SushmaSwaraj @ManishTewari Manish don't bring ur politics here. Also trolls don't focus on teaching Manish a lesson. Gov must try its best. Ajith Mathew (@ajithm69) March 29, 2016 @ManishTewari are you a human being trying to find a political opening in each and everythng whr a minority religion member in India suffers. @ManishTewari are you a human being trying to find a political opening in each and everythng whr a minority religion member in India suffers Abhijit RC (@arc_is_in) March 29, 2016 On Monday, a report pulished in Washington Times said that Islamic State (ISIS) carried out the crucifixion of Father Thomas Uzhunnallil on Good Friday in Yemen. However, a day later, a catholic priest told media that there is no confirmation yet about the crucifixion of Father Thomas Uzhunnallil. The Catholic priest, who was working at Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, was abducted in a raid conducted by the militants at an old age home in Yemen in early this month. As per the report, the Islamic terror group used the same method to execute priest Uzhunnalil, which the Romans did to crucify Jesus Christ. New Delhi: The government in 1964 could not confirm reports which alleged that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was declared a war criminal by an international court in Tokyo after World War II, it was revealed on Tuesday. A man named CC Chatterji of Lucknow had written a letter to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) on January 2, 1964 that a committee of eminent jurists be appointed to go into all the aspects of the judgment that had allegedly declared Netaji a war criminal in Tokyo. The MEA referred the matter to the defence ministry and the law ministry seeking relevant information in this regard, said one of the files in a set of 50 files released by the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday. The then government had also asked the Indian embassy in Tokyo to find out the same. "We have made inquiries with the Japanese Foreign Offices and academic circles here who have given a tentative confirmation that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was not declared a war criminal. The question does not arise because he was never captured by the allies," the embassy said in a written response to the MEA. Similarly, the permanent mission of India to the UN also said Bose`s name did not appear in the list of people tried for war crimes. "It is presumed that the reference to the judgment of the International Court in Tokyo is a reference to the judgment of International Military Tribunal of the Far East delivered on November 4, 1948. "There does not appear to have any direct connection between the work of United Nations War Crime Commission and the work of this tribunal. From the judgment of the tribunal, it does not appear that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose`s name figured in that list of person tried," India`s permanent mission to UN said. Washington: Hindus in the United States are up in arms against suggestions mooted by California's Department of Education to make changes in textbooks which they allege not only distort India's history but ignore facts on Hinduism. Following protests from Hindus across the nation, the California Education Department has decided not to go ahead with some of the suggested changes like replacing 'India' with 'South Asia' in state text books. Meanwhile, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has accused Leftist scholars of attempting to replace 'India' with 'South Asia' in textbooks in California and said efforts by Hindu activists for have thwarted their bid to "undermine the country's glorious identity". "Congrats to Hindu activists for successfully opposing and contesting the suggestion to replace 'India' by 'South Asia' in textbooks in USA. The Leftist scholars' bid to undermine India's glorious identity was foiled by young Hindu activists and Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) in California, USA," RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said. Bill Honig, Chair of the Subject Matter Committee of the Commission, said at a public hearing that they reject the suggestion for removal of India but agreed to add "South Asia" in parenthesis after most mentions to ancient India. New recommendations will be forwarded to the State Board of Education for their consideration and the final draft of the framework is to be accepted later this year. But Hindu-Americans continue to oppose some of the proposed edits like removing mention of Hinduism's acceptance of religious diversity, re-linking Hinduism with caste, and removing mention of the contributions of Hindu sages of different backgrounds such as Valmiki and Vyasa. "We question the move to insert a large number of adverse edits on India and Hinduism at the last minute at the instance of a few Leftist scholars," said the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), which has been working with commission for the past many years. "While some important inaccuracies have been rolled back, a large number of adverse edits these academics submitted have still found their way into the recommendations and need to be scrutinised," it said. It also protested the removal of the mention of non-Brahmin sages like Valmiki and Vyasa from the textbooks at the suggestion of these academics. "It is strange that while claiming to represent the underprivileged, the Leftist professors of South Asian faculty group have sought the removal of the mention that these sages came from lower castes which had specifically been added at the suggestion of Hindu groups to give fair representation to all communities," the statement said. A large number of students and parents testified at the public hearing of the commission held in Sacramento on March 24 seeking the rejection of these changes. "India is not just a landmass but a living civilization. By removing the mention of India as a civilization, my identity as an Indian-American is sought to be erased," Vidhima Shetty, a student studying in 9th grade in San Ramon, said during her testimony at the Department of Education. Narrating different incidents of stereotypes they encounter, the students demanded that Hinduism and India be portrayed in proper light. The students also demanded that the suggestions that Vedas belong to "ancient Indian religions" and not to Hinduism amounted to stripping them of their Hindu identity. The community's efforts were also supported by a coalition of 20 government leaders and elected officials, including Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and California State Senator Steven M Glazer. New Delhi: Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday refuted the claims made by Pakistan government in connection with the arrest of an ex-Indian Navy officer Kul Bhoshan Yadav. MEA's reaction came hours after Pakistan authorities released a video of Yadav purportedly "confessing" his "involvement" in terror activities in Balochistan. Yadav purportedly "confessing" his "involvement" in terror activities in Balochistan. "Video has individual making statements which have no basis in fact. Relevant to note that despite our request, we haven't been given consular access to Indian national under detention in foreign country. We are concerned about his well-being in these circumstances," said MEA. While rejecting the allegations about Yadav's role in subservise activities the Indian government's behest, MEA raised questions on the circumstance under which Yadav was arrested. "Government categorically rejects allegations that this individual was involved in subversive activities in Pakistan at our behest. Our enquiries reveal that he apparently was being harassed while operating a legitimate business from Iran," said MEA. MEA appealed Pakistani authorities to provide consular access to Yadav. "While we probe this aspect further, his presence now in Pakistan raises questions, including the possibility of his abduction from Iran. This would become clear only if we are given consular access to him, we urge the government of Pakistan to respond immediately to our request," said MEA. Another war of words broke out on Tuesday between India and Pakistan after the Pakistan Army released a video of an arrested ex-Indian Navy officer purportedly "confessing" his "involvement" in terror activities in Balochistan province. The head of Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa and Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid held a press conference in Islamabad to release the video, saying Kul Bhoshan Yadav "confessed" of working for Indian intelligence agency RAW to "foment trouble" in restive province of Balochistan. United Nations: Underscoring the challenges posed by the dearth of women in peacekeeping activities, India has called for increasing involvement of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts. "There is a need to increase and institutionalise the involvement of women in conflict prevention and resolution. This requires not only normative advice but capacity building and institution building at the ground level," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said here yesterday. Speaking at the Security Council debate on 'Role of Women in Prevention and Resolution of Conflict in Africa', Akbaruddin noted the advances made in Africa in gender empowerment but said considerable challenges lie ahead given the dearth of women in peacekeeping activities. He cited UN reports to point out that women globally constituted less than four percent of signatories to peace agreements and less than 10 percent of negotiators at peace tables. Women also constitute only three percent of the military and 10 percent of the police who are deployed by the UN in peace missions. "These numbers reflect the enormity of the challenges that we are confronted with," Akbaruddin said, adding that despite the increased focus on the Women Peace and Security agenda, women and girls continue to be major victims. "The issue of Women Peace and Security cannot be seen in isolation from the wider societal context involving gender and development issues," he said. India, which is the lead troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, has the distinction of providing the first ever Female Formed Police Unit for the UN in Liberia. "While there has been only a marginal increase overall in the number of women peacekeepers, the first ever Female Formed Police Unit for UN was provided by India for deployment in Liberia. The unit has been widely appreciated for its work and for setting a pioneering example," Akbaruddin said. He said India has also contributed lady officers as Military Observers and Staff Officers in addition to deployment with the Medical Units. The Indian envoy further noted the efforts taken by the international community to address the issues of gender equality, empowerment and development in a holistic manner. In another significant capacity-building initiative, the New Delhi-based Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in partnership with the UN Women, is now conducting the 3rd United Nations Female Military Officers Course (UNFMOC) for 40 women military officers from 26 countries. UN Women head Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka also called for greater efforts to reach the goal of allocating at least 15 percent of peacebuilding resources to gender equality and women's empowerment. "Women need to be resourced so that they can do more. The commitment to allocate at least 15 percent of peacebuilding funds to gender equality and women's empowerment, must become a reality," Mlambo-Ngcuka told the Security Council. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will leave Tehran for Vienna March 29 to pay a two-day official visit at an invitation of his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer, Iranian state-run IRINN TV reported. Heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, Rouhani is scheduled to hold talks with senior Austrian officials on ways to improve relations, particularly in economy. Several cooperation documents are to be signed during the visit. It is also scheduled to hold a joint economic forum, with participation of entrepreneurs from both countries. The two sides will also sign an economic cooperation road map, according to the report. Rouhani's visit follows a visit to Tehran in September 2015 by the Austrian President Heinz Fischer, during which the two sides signed four cooperation documents to boost bilateral ties in water management and environment protection areas. A number of cabinet ministers and Iranian entrepreneurs from both public and private sectors will accompany Rouhani during the visit. New Delhi: Union Minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday released the second batch of 50 declassified files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on web portal www.netajipapers.gov.in. Out of the 50 files released today, 10 files are from Prime Minister's Office (PMO), 10 from Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and 30 from Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), pertaining to the period 1956 to 2009. The files released today include matters pertaining to Netaji's ashes and the probe into his disappearance following the controversial air crash of 1945 in which he is believed to have perished. Delhi: 50 files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose released by Union Minister Mahesh Sharma #NetajiFiles pic.twitter.com/JE9VC0cc0h ANI (@ANI_news) March 29, 2016 According to one of the files released today, here's is an interesting fact about Netaji's 'ashes', which says: no one member of the Bose family should be made the sole arbiter or spokesman on the issue. Here is the full text of a letter written by Ashis C Ray to the then Principal Secretary to PM: Dear Mr Varma, Date: 21 February, 1995 I heard that the Cabinet recently discussed the matter of Netaji's ashes. This is the most gratifying; and I hope some productive action stems from the meeting. However, I would like to reiterate that no one number of the Bose family should be made the sole arbiter or spokesman on the issue. As I have pointed out before, there are, unfortunately, serious differences among the Boss over what happened to Subhas Bose. And the rivals must be approached directly and separately by government for the effort to have any chance of succeeding. Secondly, the best method of persuading the Forward Bloc to agree to the return of the ashes, may be to initiate this through Dr Lakshmi Sehgal, who can speak to Jyoti Basu, who in turn can influence the Forward Bloc. You may recall how Mr Basu prevailed upon the Forward Bloc on the Teen Bigha matter. As I have stated before, I seek no publicity in the endeavour. I only want it to succeed. Indeed, even though it would appear that I have played a role in generating government's interest in the subject, I have no objection to anyone jumping in and claiming credit, as long the process is not jeopardised. I am always available to assist in the task. With best regards, Yours sincerely Ashis C Ray According to an another document released today evening, the Indira Gandhi government had refused to set up a fresh inquiry into the mysterious death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as demanded by a large number of MPs in 1968. An unstarred question No.1408 raised in the Lok Sabha in February 1968 was answered by the then government, saying there was no need for a fresh probe. "The government has accepted the conclusion of the official inquiry committee appointed in 1956 that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose met his death in an air crash in the year 1945. Since no new facts have been brought to light, the government does not consider that any fresh inquiry is warranted," it said. The present release of 50 files further meets the continued public demand to access these files and this will now facilitate scholars to carry out further research on the doyen of the freedom movement. The first lot of 100 files relating to Netaji, after their preliminary conservation treatment and digitisation, was put in the public domain by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 23, 2016, on the occasion of the 119th birth anniversary of Netaji. In September last year, the West Bengal government had released 64 files relating to the death of Bose. The first lot of 33 files which were declassified were handed over by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to National Archives of India on December 4 last year. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. You can find out more by clicking this link Delhi: Even as five-member Pakistani probe team, including an ISI official, on Tuesday visited the Pathankot airbase, a media report said India wants DNA samples of JeM chief and founder Masood Azhar. As per a report in News X, India has sought access to Azhar and will send a formal letter rogatory to Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) team accompanied by NIA officials entered the strategic airbase from its rear side today after their convoy stopped at 'Upper Doaba' canal and the members took a mini bus to travel through the dirt track next to the water body. The team, officials said, was taken to only the "scene of crime" where the encounter occurred between the security men and terrorists and the entire process was videographed by two IAF personnel, as per PTI. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case and has been given access to a strategic installation. The Pakistani JIT is led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also includes ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed. The area was "visually barricaded" so that the defence assets were not exposed, officials said. Commandos of the special SWAT team ran for half a kilometre with the bus, till the JIT and NIA sleuths entered from a newly created entry on the airbase's perimeter wall laden with huge concertina wires at about 11:20 AM. This the same fence from where at least four terrorists breached the airbase security apparatus and entered on the morning of January 1 this year before launching the attack later that night. They killed seven securitymen before being shot dead after an 80-hour gun battle. Waving black flags and placards, scores of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers today stood outside the air base protesting against the visit and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. They accused the BJP government of hurting the sentiments of the people of the country by allowing the Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: Ahead of embarking on a tour of Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday saluted the resilience of Belgians following the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. "No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium," Modi said in a pre-departure statement. He leaves on Tuesday night and returns to New Delhi on April 3. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones." At least 35 people, including an Indian national, were killed in twin explosions at the Zaventem airport and one at a metro station in the Belgian capital on March 22. During his stay in Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will attend a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and also the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. "Within the EU, Belgium is India`s second largest trading partner. My meeting with the prime minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member." The prime minister said he and Michel would also remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope at Devasthal near Nainital. He said the EU was a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. "This summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," he said. While in Brussels, Modi said he would also meet members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. "I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium," he said. There are a large number of Indians in Belgium`s diamond trading hub of Antwerp. He is to also address a community programme and interact with the Indian community in Brussels. There are around 20,000 expatriate Indians in Belgium. After Belgium, Modi will be in Washington DC on March 31 to participate in the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, being hosted by US President Barack Obama. "The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," he stated. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is not attending the Nuclear Security Summit following the Lahore blast on Sunday that killed at least 70 people. There had been wide speculation that the two prime ministers would meet in Washington on the sidelines of the summit. It would have been their second meeting after Modi`s stop-over meet with Sharif in Lahore on December 25 last year. Modi said he would meet several world leaders on the sidelines of the Washington summit "to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations". "I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observator) project," he said. LIGO is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves. On his way back, Modi would visit Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf kingdom after then prime minister Manmohan Singh`s visit in 2010. "India`s ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Modi said. "Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda." Saudi Arabia is India`s fourth largest trading partner, and is also India`s largest crude oil supplier accounting for one-fifth of its crude oil imports. "In addition to meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the royal family," Modi said. "We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India`s development priorities." Modi said that he would also visit the Masmak Fortress, the L&T Workers` Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT and ITeS Centre in Riyadh. There are nearly three million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are blue collar workers. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave on Tuesday night on a three-nation visit during which he will attend the India-EU summit in Brussels and the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. Modi will attend the 13th India-European Union (EU) summit and a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Wednesday during his first ever visit to Brussels. Addressing a media conference here on Monday, Nandini Singla, joint secretary (Europe West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said that India-European bilateral summits started in 2000 and the relationship was turned into a strategic partnership in 2004. India is one of the 10 strategic partners that the EU has today, Singla said. The last (India-EU) summit was held in New Delhi in 2012, she said. She said that EU continued to be a global economic powerhouse and was the biggest economy in the world with a GDP of $18 trillion. The EU is the world's largest exporter and importer of goods and services. For India, EU is the largest export destination and trading partner. Our two-way trade, including services, amounts to $1.6 billion, Singla said. It is also the largest source of foreign direct investment in India with $69 billion, she said, adding that the EU was also a global leader in establishing global norms and industry standards. Singla said that during the summit meeting, India would aim to reinvigorate its ties with the EU. We seek to advance the India-EU strategic partnership by deepening and expanding cooperation, she stated. Trade and investment would figure prominently during the summit meeting. Modi will meet President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker. The prime minister had met both these leaders during the G20 summit at Antalya in Turkey in November last year. A number of agreements are expected to be exchanged following the summit meeting. The March 22 terror attacks in Brussels will figure in Modi's bilateral summit meeting with his Belgian counterpart Michel on March 30. Singla said that India would look at enhancing India-Belgium cooperation in areas of parity for us, and also counter-terrorism. The recent attacks in Brussels will of course be a very important part of the discussions, Singla said. At least 35 people were killed in two explosions at the Zaventem airport and one at a metro station in the Belgian capital on March 22. Singla said that during the bilateral summit meeting, India and Belgium would discuss cooperation in renewable energy, biotechnology, shipping, and information and communication technology (ICT) among other areas. We will also discuss how to enhance cooperation in multilateral issues and also how to step up high-level visits between both sides, she said. The Belgian prime minister will host a luncheon meeting during which Modi will meet Belgian businessmen and CEOs in a bid to enhance foreign direct investment (FDI) in India. Belgium is India's second largest trading partner in the European Union (EU). Singla said that Modi would also interact with members of the Indian community in Belgium. There are around 20,000 Indians in Belgium and many of them are engaged in diamond trading in Antwerp. Another highlight of Modi's visit will be the technical activation of Asia's largest optical telescope at Devasthal near Nainital that has been built with Belgium's aid. On March 31, Modi will leave for Washington on the second leg of his visit where he will attend the two-day Fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS). Leaders of 52 countries and four international organisations are expected to participate in the summit. On April 2, on his way back to India, Modi will drop in at Riyadh for a two-day bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia. This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf after the visit of then prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2010. Ranchi: A 23-year-old CRPF jawan, who allegedly raped a girl from his home town last year, has turned down her marriage proposal in exchange of withdrawal of case and has instead opted to go to jail, police said. The accused, Jadunath Murmu, posted with 228th CRPF battalion in Chhattisgarh, sexually assaulted a girl from his village on the pretext of marriage in Dumaria block. In October last year, the girl lodged a FIR at Dumaria police station where she accused Murmu of raping her on marriage promises. When girl's family got to know about the incident, they tried convincing Murmu to marry their daughter, but he reportedly turned down the offer. "Murmu was arrested from the Sukna CRPF camp in Chhattisgarh on March 26", Dumuria police station in-charge Bikrant Kumar told Hindustan Times. As per the reports, the police took action only after the victim threatened to immolate herself. Speaking to HT, Mosaboni deputy superintendent of police Ajit Kumar Bimal said, "The arrest in the matter should have been immediate. However, a departmental inquiry will be done against the Mosabani police station for delaying action in the case. New Delhi: Manipuri rights activist Irom Sharmila today told a Delhi court that she was ready to end her fast if the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was repealed and expressed her desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue. 42-year-old Sharmila, who is on a fast for around 16 years in Manipur demanding repeal of AFSPA, said in the court that she had expressed her desire to meet the Prime Minister long time ago, but he has not met her so far. Sharmila, who is fed through a nasal tube, said this during final arguments in a case in which she is facing trial for allegedly trying to commit suicide while undertaking fast -unto-death at Jantar Mantar on October 4, 2006. Advancing final arguments, the prosecutor contended that Sharmila had the intention to kill herself and the offence of trying to commit suicide was clearly made out against her. Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh fixed the matter for tomorrow to hear arguments on behalf of Sharmila's counsel V K Ohri. During the hearing, the activist said she loved her life and was using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal of repealing AFSPA as it would have "more impact" and added that this was "not a crime". "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she said while justifying her fast. "I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again," she added. Sharmila also said, "Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations." Sharmila had earlier told the court that she was very much eager to eat if she got the assurance that the "draconian" law will be revoked. Widespread discrimination was being done with the people from Northeast, she had alleged, adding she never intended to commit suicide and it was just a protest against AFSPA. The court had on March 4, 2013, put her on trial after she had refused to plead guilty to the charge of attempting to commit suicide (section 309 of IPC). If convicted, Sharmila, who is out on bail in this case, faces a maximum jail term of one year. Known as the 'Iron Lady', Sharmila had earlier told the court that her protest was non-violent. Colombo: Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe on Tuesday said the government will look to devolve power without damaging the united nature of the country in the new Constitution to be formulated by next year. "We will look to devolve power without damaging the unitary and united nature of the country," Wickremesinghe said addressing a workshop here. "We will also look at decentralisation of power in addition to devolution," he said adding that the whole parliament would be converted into a Constitutional Assembly. "The Constitutional Assembly will report back to parliament and we are hoping to have the new Constitution ready by 2017 when the 70th anniversary of parliament falls," Wickremesinghe said. The new Constitution will replace the current executive president headed constitution adopted in 1978. The parliament had earlier this month unanimously approved a resolution for setting up a Constitutional Assembly to formulate a new Constitution. The government also expects the new Constitution to address the demand of Tamil minorities for political recognition. With the defeat of the The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 the Tamil groups have opted for maximum devolution as opposed to LTTE's goal of a separate Tamil homeland. With the current parliament adopting a resolution, the Constitutional Assembly process will get underway on April 5. All political parties will join the process. Islamabad: The Pakistani militants who bombed a Lahore park on Easter Sunday, killing 70 people, taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday, declaring their war had come to his doorstep. The military has said it is hunting the Taliban`s Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction and has carried out several raids since the suicide bombing, but neither the military nor the government has given any details. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it had targeted Christians celebrating Easter and warning it would step up attacks. Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan`s richest and most populous province and Sharif`s political heartland. "Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home," tweeted Jamaat-ur-Ahrar spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan. "The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen." Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, an independent faction of the Pakistani Taliban which and also previously declared loyalty to Islamic State, has carried out five major attacks in Pakistan since December. In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Sharif vowed to continue pursuing militant groups. "I am here to renew a pledge that we are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest till it is paid," Sharif said. The prime minister did not mention what steps would be taken in the aftermath of Pakistan`s worst militant attack since gunmen stormed a Peshawar school in December 2014, killing 134 children. Military and government officials on Monday said that the military was preparing to launch a new paramilitary counterterrorism crackdown in Punjab. The move, which has not yet been formally announced, represents the civilian government once again granting special powers to the military to fight Islamist militants. "The PM ordered a joint operation of ?the counterterrorism department and Rangers in the border areas of Punjab against terrorists and their facilitators," said one government official who attended a meeting with Sharif and Punjab officials on Monday. Two military officials and one other government official confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity. Sharif made no mention of the crackdown in his speech, and his party has long opposed any militarised operation against militants in its heartland. The government also announced that Sharif would be cancelling a planned trip to the United States to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, due to begin on Thursday. Pakistan`s security agencies have long been accused of nurturing some militants to use for help in pursuing objectives in Afghanistan and against old rival India. The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Sharif`s opponents have accused him of tolerating militancy in return for peace in his province, a charge he strongly denies. Lahore: The Pakistani Taliban faction behind the brutal Easter Sunday suicide bombing at a crowded park here has warned that the terror attack was a "message" to the government about their "arrival" in Punjab, as the death toll today rose to 74 after two more persons succumbed to their injuries. "Two critically injured teenagers of Lahore today died at the Jinnah Hospital, raising the death toll to 74," Emergency Services Rescue department spokesperson Deeba Shahnaz said. Shahnaz said over 100 injured people are still being treated at hospitals while 203 people have been discharged. The dead include 29 children and 10 women; some 20 were Christians. More than 300 people were injured in the blast. A suicide bomber - believed to be in his 20s - blew himself at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, which is one of the popular parks in Lahore, a relatively peaceful city in Pakistan. He struck at a time when thousands of people were visiting the park on account of Easter. Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed the attack, saying they carried out "this attack to target Christians." "Also, this is a message to the Pakistani Prime Minister that we have arrived in Punjab," the group's spokesman said. The spokesman even taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances," he wrote. "Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war." Sharif yesterday vowed to eliminate terrorism. "Terrorists cannot dent our resolve. Our struggle will continue until the complete elimination of the menace of terrorism," he said. In?a post in Urdu on its Facebook page, the group released the bomber's photo, identifying him as Salahuddin Khorasani. The group had previously claimed responsibility for suicide bombings at two churches in Lahore in March 2015, and justified the attacks by terming Pakistan a "land of war". "The Christians, Jews, and Zorastrians in Pakistan have neither converted to Islam nor paying Jizya. Under these circumstances, Christians, Hindus, etc, are not at peace, nor are their places of worship safe," it had said then. It also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at the Wagah Border?minutes?after the popular flag-lowering ceremony ended on November 2, 2014. Sixty-one people died in the blast. Meanwhile, the Punjab Police faced embarrasment when the person they said was the bomber turned out to be a victim. "We investigated but could not find any link of (the person) or members of his family with terrorists. He appeared to be one of the visitors at the park," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. He said forensic experts were trying to ascertain the identity of a man whose skull was found from the blast site. Lahore police have issued the sketch of the suspected Taliban suicide bomber. The picture released by the militant organisation and the sketch by Lahore police have not yet been confirmed to be of the same person. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani postponed a two-day visit to Austria indefinitely for security reasons on Tuesday, the evening he was supposed to arrive in Vienna, his Austrian counterpart's office said, Reuters reported. It was not clear what the security reasons were, a spokeswoman for Austrian President Heinz Fischer's office said. She said a planned Rouhani visit to Baghdad immediately before the Austrian trip had also been postponed for security reasons. "We were working (on preparations) until 5, 5:30 p.m.," she said shortly before 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). Rouhani had been due to hold meetings with Fischer and other officials on Wednesday and Thursday. Fischer issued a statement expressing his regret at Rouhani's move, adding: "Of course, it goes without saying that each state must make its own decisions about security and the head of state's security." Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: To cope up with the harsh environments of deep space, NASA scientists are planning to develop an expandable habitat for astronauts beyond earth's orbit. Officially called Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), is 12-foot long expandable habitat technology that can be easily transported to space without consuming much storage space on spacecraft. It will also protect astronauts from harmful cosmic and ultraviolet radiation in space. According to NASA engineers, the walls of the inflatable rooms will be made up of multiple layers of thick fabric which will prevent the penetration of space junks. NASA is all set to launch a BEAM unit on the eighth commercial resupply mission to ISS. Astronauts will use the BEAM unit for two years in space in order to check its overall performance as potential space habitat. The video below explains the technical know-how of BEAM technology. (Video credits: NASA) Dehradun: The Centre is likely to challenge the Uttarakhand High Court's order allowing a floor test in the state assembly on March 31, giving a new turn to the political events in the Congress-ruled state where President's Rule was imposed on Sunday. Media reports on Tuesday quoted highly placed government sources as saying that the Uttarakhand High Court's ruling is likely to be challenged. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress has also decided to challenge the two-judge bench order giving the voting right to rebel and suspended MLAs for the floor test. Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said, ''We are satisfied with the HC ruling. It has given a befitting lesson to elements trying to dislodge our governments unconstitutionally.'' We respect the orders and directions of the Nainital High Court, Harish Rawat added. Congress in-charge of Uttarakhand Ambika Soni, on her turn, said, ''We have full faith in the judiciary. We welcome Nainital HC's decision.'' Hitting out at the BJP, Soni said, ''You want Congress-mukt Bharat? Fight us in elections, constitutionally.'' ''If our MLAs are unhappy, it's our matter. Congress will resolve, what's it to BJP,'' Soni asked. They (BJP) have done nothing except fishing in troubled waters, Soni added. The Congress leader also expressed optimism that he will be able to prove majority on March 31. In a major relief for the Congress in the state, the Nainital High Court this morning allowed a floor test in Uttarakhand Assembly on March 31st and directed the nine suspended rebel MLAs to take part in the exercise. The assembly floor test will be held at 11 am on Thursday and Registrar General of Nainital HC will be present as an observer. Meanwhile, the President's Rule has been stayed in the state. The Centre, in a dramatic move, dismissed the Congress government and imposed President's Rule in the state citing breakdown of governance. Not amused by the step, Chief Minister Harish Rawat had termed it as the 'murder of democracy'. With the move coming weeks after President's Rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh, an angry Congress claimed that the BJP had stooped to a new low and would challenge the order in court. The crisis in the hill state erupted on March 18 when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against Rawat's government, resulting in the flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The BJP met the governor the same day and staked claim to form the government. Chief Minister Rawat has contended that with the disqualification of the nine Congress lawmakers, the total strength of the 70-member House has been reduced and so, with his 27 remaining lawmakers and the support of six MLAs from the Progressive Democratic Front and one BJP dissident, he has a majority. Dehradun: In the latest development in Uttarakhands political crisis, the central government has decided to challenge the Nainital High Court order allowing Congress government in the state to prove its majority in the assembly on Thursday despite President's Rule. Attorney General of India Mukul Rohtagi will on Wednesday argue for Centre in Nainital High Court before the double bench. The Central Government will challenge the Nainital High Court`s order directing a floor test in the Uttarakhand state assembly on March 31. The Nainital High Court on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the Assembly to determine which party enjoys a majority and stayed President`s Rule, which was imposed on Sunday. The court, in its order, also allowed the nine suspended rebel MLAs to take part in the floor test. The assembly floor test will be held at 11 am on Thursday and Registrar General of Nainital HC will be present as an observer. With the move coming weeks after President`s rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh, an angry Congress claimed that the BJP had stooped to a new low and would challenge the order in court. The crisis in the hill state erupted on March 18 when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against Rawat`s government, resulting in flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The BJP met the Governor the same day and staked claim to form the government. (With ANI inputs) New Delhi: A high-level Congress delegation today met President Pranab Mukherjee and sought his intervention to protect the duly-elected non-BJP governments in states, alleging that after Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand party dispensations there could be targeted. The delegation led by Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and comprising among others former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, brought up the issue when they called on Mukherjee over the situation in Hyderabad Central University in the wake of suicide by Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. A senior party leader, who was in the delegation, said the President was apprised of the apprehension about Congress governments in other states being targeted by the Modi government. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who has accused the Modi dispensation of trying to "destabilise and topple" his government by using central agencies, had yesterday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi against the backdrop of imposition of President's Rule in party-ruled Uttarakhand. The Congress delegation's meeting with the President came on a day when Uttarakhand High Court ordered a floor test in the state Assembly on March 31. In a memoraundum on the HCU issue, the delegation demanded immediate suspension of Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao, pending inquiry into his role in Vemula's suicide as also the recent "illegal" crackdown on students. This, they said, was necessary in the best academic interest and important for restoring a peaceful environment at University and for ensuring a fair investigation. President is the Visitor of the University. "A reign of terror, in total disregard to laid down principles of natural justice and basic rights to freedom, has been let loose by the University administration, which has converted this institution of learning into a locked up and opaque concentration camp, where police atrocities on students and faculty reminds one of the crackdowns undertaken by colonial rulers," it alleged. The delegation also demanded that Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, who were alleged to have put pressure on HCU authorities to act against Dalit students, including Vemula, be asked to step down till the inquiry has been completed. The delegation also included Shiela Dikshit, Anand Sharma, Randeep Surjewala, R P N Singh and Rajeev Satav. Kharagpur: He had his first brush with elections in 1962, but was unsuccessful. Now after 52 years and 10 stints as a Congress MLA, Gyan Singh Sohan Pal still has the yen to fight another poll battle. As the eldest candidate in this Assembly poll at the age of 91, Pal, fondly called 'Chacha' by his admirers, is a candidate from IIT town Kharagpur which has returned him consecutive times. "Each and every one in Kharagpur knows me personally and I too know them personally," Pal told PTI. Kharagpur, which has a sizeable chunk of Muslim and Malayali voters, has traditionally rooted for him. The formidable Congress candidate, who enjoys immense respect among politicians cutting across political lines, was first elected from the constituency in 1969. This time, the former transport minister in Siddharth Shankar Ray cabinet is contesting as a Left Front-Congress alliance candidate against Trinamool Congress's Ramaprasad Tiwari and BJP's state president Dilip Ghosh. Both TMC and BJP are hopeful of reversing the tide this time. "I am a son of this district. Kharagpur has not seen much of development under Congress. We want to change it and usher a new era of development in Kharagpur," Ghosh said. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, is stressing on the 'unprincipled' character of the alliance between the CPI-M and the Congress to win the election. "There is no place of emotions in politics. The people of Kharagpur will defeat the unholy alliance of Congress and CPI-M. The Congress workers who have been beaten up time and again by the CPI-M will not vote for alliance. We will get those votes," a senior TMC leader of the West Midnapore district said. Baptized into politics during the British Raj, Pal is among the handful of Congressmen who had shared dias with Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. "I am confident of wining the polls this time also as I have been with the people of Kharagpur all through my life. Kharagpur is my life, my family," he said. Many credit him for development initiatives in Kharagpur like setting up of a General Hospital and starting various bus routes to Kolkata. Last time when there was an alliance between the TMC and the Congress, Pal had polled more than 55 percent of the votes. His nearest CPI-M rival had polled around 31 percent. Ramchandrapur: Reacting sharply to BJP chief Amit Shah's comment that the sound of Rabindra Sangeet was getting drowned out by bomb blasts in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today said there will be no "bigger enemy" than her for anybody who insulted the state. "If anyone insults Bengal, there will be no bigger enemy than myself," she said at a poll rally here in Purulia district. "Today you (BJP) are in power in Delhi, but you will lose tomorrow," the Chief Minister said. Referring to the remarks by the BJP President, she said, "I have heard (Shah) has said something about Rabindranath. "People of Bengal do not forgive anyone who insults great poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Nazrul Islam," she said at the rally ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. During a press meet in Kolkata earlier in the day, Shah said the only industry to have come up in Bengal under Trinamool Congress rule was the bomb-making industry. "Only the bomb-making industry has come up in West Bengal in the last five years. And the sound of Rabindra Sangeet is getting suppressed because of those bomb blasts," he said. Banerjee also claimed that the CPI-M, which her party had ousted from power in 2011, had suffered for disrespecting Tagore. "The CPI-M had claimed it had made Tagore famous while taking 'Sahaj Path' (a beginners' book in Bengali for kids) off the syllabus for nursery students," she said, claiming that the people of Bengal had taught a lesson to the party for such acts. Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, ahead of the upcoming Assembly Elections in the state. Speaking at the Press Club here, Amit Shah said 'acknowledged' that factories were installed in the state during Mamata tenure, but added that those were bomb factories, not industries. Amit Shah further said that his party will never forge an alliance either with the Left or with the Trinamool Congress. We will never go either with the Communists or Mamata didi because we do not support infiltration, corruption and fear, Shah said. The contest in West Bengal has turned into a three-way fight between the TMC, Left-Congress and the BJP. The elections in Bengal will be held in six phases in April and May, with results being declared on May 19. Jakarta: Ten Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped in Philippine waters by Islamic militants who have demanded a ransom for their release, an official said Tuesday. The crew were travelling on two boats that were transporting coal from Borneo island to the Philippines when they were hijacked, said Indonesia`s foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir. It is not clear when the vessels -- a tugboat and a barge -- were hijacked but the boats` owners received a ransom call from someone claiming to be from the Abu Sayyaf militant group on Saturday, Nasir said. Abu Sayyaf is a Philippines-based Islamist group notorious for bombings and kidnappings, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. "The hijackers demanded a ransom from the owners of the boat. Since March 26, the hijackers have contacted the owners twice," Nasir told reporters, without elaborating on how much had been demanded for the crew`s release. It is unclear where the barge Anand 12 and the crew are being held by the kidnappers but the tugboat Brahma 12 had been released to the Philippine authorities, he added.Anand 12 and the crew are being held by the kidnappers but the tugboat Brahma 12 had been released to the Philippine authorities, he added. The Indonesian foreign ministry is working with the Philippines foreign ministry on the case, Nasir said. "Our current priority is the safety of the 10 citizens who were taken hostage," he said, adding their families had been informed. There was no immediate confirmation from authorities in the Philippines. But the Philippine military chief, General Hernando Iriberri, flew to the main army base in the south of the country to check on the situation and discuss what steps should be taken, his spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told AFP. The Philippine government has repeatedly said it has a "no-ransom policy". But parties linked to foreigners held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf often pay to win their release. Brasilia: Brazil`s largest political party looks set to quit the government of leftist President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday, in a move that would trigger the collapse of the coalition and push her closer to impeachment. The country`s largest party, the PMDB, is set to decide Tuesday whether to quit the leftist leader`s government, but top figures indicated the break was all but final. "It will be an exit meeting, a goodbye to the government. We calculate we have a vote of more than 80 percent in favor of quitting," said PMDB lawmaker Osmar Terra. "There has been a series of dominoes falling, and it cannot be turned back. The government keeps trying, and offers jobs, but nobody believes it anymore," he added. Rousseff, who is fighting recession, scandal, protests and the mounting push to impeach her, met PMDB ministers Monday to try to convince them to stay. But a spokesman for party leader Michel Temer -- who is also Rousseff`s vice president and the man who will take power if she is impeached -- told AFP the only outstanding issue was a proposed deadline for cabinet members to leave the PMDB if they want to keep their jobs. "They would have until April 12, and then any PMDB members who have a job in the administration would quit," he said. Late Monday, a first PMDB minister did resign -- it was Minister of Tourism Henrique Alves. Time, he said, "has run out" on the president. The PMDB, a massive centrist party, has always been an awkward partner for Rousseff`s left-wing Workers` Party (PT), which needs its votes but has little in common with it ideologically.PMDB, a massive centrist party, has always been an awkward partner for Rousseff`s left-wing Workers` Party (PT), which needs its votes but has little in common with it ideologically. The PMDB currently has seven ministers and 69 of the 513 members of the lower house of Congress, where Rousseff is struggling to come up with the one-third vote she needs to block impeachment. Rousseff`s camp fears other coalition partners could follow suit. Lawmakers from both the center-right Progressive Party (PP), which has 49 deputies, and the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has 32, said their parties would meet this week on a possible split. The impeachment case, currently before a congressional committee tasked with making a recommendation to the full lower house, is built on accusations that Rousseff manipulated the government`s accounts to boost public spending and hide the severity of the recession. The Brazilian bar association filed a new impeachment request Monday, seeking to expand the case to include accusations of obstructing justice in the investigation into a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal at state oil company Petrobras. Angry protests erupted at Congress as lawyers filed the request. "Putschists!" shouted Rousseff supporters, which the lawyers answered by singing the national anthem, before security guards broke up the melee. Beijing: The detained relatives of an outspoken Chinese dissident living abroad committed arson, according to police, after being held in what is widely seen as a crackdown following the publication of a letter condemning President Xi Jinping. Authorities in Sichuan province said on a verified social media account that German-based journalist Chang Ping`s father and two younger brothers were being investigated for causing a forest fire after lighting incense as part of an ancestor worship ceremony. "The Xichong Public Security Bureau has opened an investigation in accordance with the law into Zhang and his two sons," said the statement posted on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. Zhang, who was only referred to by his surname, was identified as Chang`s father. They are accused of burning down about 40 mu (2.6 hectares, 6.4 acres) of forest in a fire that took roughly an hour to extinguish, the police said. Writer Chang -- whose given name is Zhang Ping -- had previously said authorities detained his two younger brothers and a younger sister in connection with suspicions that he had been involved in writing an anonymous letter calling on Xi to step down for the good of the country. Chinese authorities have detained several people in what appears to be a reaction the letter, which was attributed to "Loyal Communist Party Members" and appeared on Wujie News, a state-backed website, before it was deleted. Those held include a number of staff members at Wujie, who went missing around two weeks ago. Last week, New York-based writer Wen Yunchao said officials in the southern province of Guangdong had taken away three of his family members. Chang and Wen have both denied any connection to the letter. Chang, a prominent commentator on contemporary affairs, was formerly a senior journalist at the outspoken Southern Weekend newspaper but moved to Germany after coming under sustained pressure for advocating more government openness and accountability. The police statement did not mention his sister. Sichuan police also accused foreign media of "hyping" the detentions, a common government refrain when officials are displeased with media attention. Media criticism of top leaders is almost unheard of in China, where the press is strictly controlled by the ruling Communist Party. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 Trend: 16:07 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian 320 aircraft, which landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, has been arrested, Sigma TV channel reported. Reportedly, no explosives have been found on the hijacker. Cyprus government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides has confirmed his arrest. 15:53 (GMT+4) Several more people have left the hijacked Egyptian plane. As shown on live broadcast by the Sky News Arabia TV channel from Larnaca airport, where the jet has landed, at least five people went downstairs, and one, apparently, the pilot, climbed out of the flight deck window, TASS news agency reported. Apparently, all of them are the crew members. Special forces, which are conducing search, meet them in front of the airport's building. 15:17 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian 320, which has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, has demanded to refuel the jet immediately, as he is going to fly to Turkey, Sky News Arabia TV channel reported citing sources in Egypt Air. Currently, 8-9 people, including the crew members and several foreign passengers are aboard. 15:05 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian 320 aircraft is the former officer of Egyptian army, newsit.com.cy news portal reported. The Phileleftheros newspaper reported that the hijacker is the former employee of Egyptian security forces. The Cypriot police have demanded foreign media outlets to stop the live broadcast from Larnaca airport. 14:38 (GMT+4) Two more hostages have been released from the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, the Cyprus News Agency reported. "Two people left the plane several minutes ago," said the agency. Previously, 49 people and later, five more people were released from the hijacked plane. Israeli, UK, Dutch and the US citizens are among the passengers. The exact number of the people aboard hasn't been specified. It was reported that there were 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard. Currently, three crisis management centers are operating at the airport, according to the Cyprus News Agency. 14:24 (GMT+4)The hijacker of Egyptian A320 jet has demanded the release of prisoners in Egypt, Cyprus Radio reported March 29. 13:57 (GMT+4) Seven people: the captain, the second pilot, a stewardess, a security officer and three passengers are still aboard the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, Egypt's Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy has said. He said there were 55 passengers aboard when the plane was hijacked. 13:50 (GMT+4) Larnaca airport services haven't received information about casualties after the hijack of Egyptian A320 aircraft, an official with the airport has told RIA Novosti. The source noted that according to the Cypriot law, only the country's Foreign Ministry and the Civil Aviation Department can give official comments on a hijacked plane. 13:25 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the 320 passenger aircraft of EgyptAir has released five more hostages, TASS news agency reported. For the present, it is unknown whether the released hostages are passengers or crew members, CBC Extra TV channel reported. The pilots and air stewards refused to leave the plane until the hijacker Ibrahim Samaha releases all passengers, according to the report. 13:01 (GMT+4) Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said that the hijack of Egyptian 320 jet is not a terrorist attack, RIA Novosti reported. "Everything is always related to a woman," the president told reporters following the press conference with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz who is in Cyprus. All necessary measures are underway to release the hostages, Anastasiades added. 12:46 (GMT+4) No explosives have been detected aboard the hijacked Egyptian A320 aircraft, Haaretz newspaper reported citing Cypriot sources. 12:30 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian jet Ibrahim Samaha is a lecturer at a university in Atlanta, the US, Al Ahram portal reported citing the sources at intelligence services. 12:02 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian aircraft has asked for a political asylum in Cyprus, Greek Sky TV channel reported. During the talks with the Cyprus authorities, the hijacker asked for a political asylum on the island, according to the TV channel. "No other demands have been specified yet," said the report. 11:50 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the 320 aircraft has been named as Egyptian Ibrahim Samaha, RIA Novosti reported. 11:37 (GMT+4) As a result of the talks with the hijacker, 50 passengers, except five foreigners and the crew, have been released from the Egyptian 320 aircraft which has landed at Larnaca airport, RIA Novosti reported. They left the plane with hand luggage. 11:25 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian A320 aircraft demands the withdrawal of police forces from Larnaca airport, Cyprus News Agency reported. Reportedly, eight UK and 10 US citizens are aboard the plane. 11:20 (GMT+4) Around 20 passengers have left the hijacked -320 aircraft which has landed at Larnaca airport. 11:18 (GMT+4) The hijacker of -320 aircraft has let Egyptian citizens to leave the jet, RIA Novosti reported. Moreover, the authorities of Cyprus are holding talks with the hijacker. 11:03 (GMT+4) EgyptAir has confirmed the hijack of MS181 flight and will make an official statement soon, RIA Novosti reported. The Foreign Ministry of Cyprus has also confirmed the hijack of -320 aircraft. "I can confirm that it was hijacked. We can't officially provide further details," the ministry's spokesperson told Sputnik news agency. 10:58(GMT+4) An unidentified man, who hijacked the EgyptAir aircraft flying from Alexandria to Cairo, threatened the captain and the passengers that he would blow up the suicide belt, if his demand is not fulfilled, RIA Novosti reported citing Al Balad news portal. Reportedly, the aircraft captain managed to inform the dispatchers in Cairo that the plane has been hijacked and will fly to Cyprus. 10:28 (GMT+4) A-320 passenger aircraft, hijacked by unknown people, has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, Reuters reported citing local media outlets. The plane with 81 passengers aboard was travelling from Alexandria to Cairo. 10:23 (GMT+4) A plane of EgyptAir company has been hijacked by unknown people, TASS news agency reported citing Bloomberg. Washington: US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump`s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery in Florida on Tuesday, the latest chapter in a raucous White House race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations. Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8. "Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," Trump`s campaign said in a statement. "He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd. At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her. Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, have been marked by rowdiness and occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel. His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies. The real estate mogul leads remaining rivals Ted Cruz, a US senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort by the Republican establishment to stop him out of fear he will lead the party to defeat in November. Cruz picked up an endorsement on Tuesday from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state`s primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, said he backed Cruz because he was a principled constitutional conservative. "To me, I`m all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner. Walker joins a number of other more mainstream Republicans who have backed Cruz as the best alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on immigration, Muslims and women. `ABUSIVE CULTURE` Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin that the charges reflected the "abusive" culture of the Trump campaign. "When you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, attacks and now physical violence, that has no place in our campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz said. Kasich`s senior adviser, John Weaver, said on Twitter that "campaigns reflect the character of the candidate and if this person was on our campaign he would have been fired long ago." Trump defended Lewandowski after he was charged. "Look at tapes - nothing there!" Trump said on Twitter, calling Lewandowski "a very decent man." Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that Lewandowski would "absolutely" stay on the job. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offense, it is a misdemeanor in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000. A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in to police, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail. Lewandowskis lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said. Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet`s refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations. Larnaca: An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt, who was arrested after giving himself up. The passengers and crew were unharmed. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, were on board the Airbus 320, Egypt`s Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. Conflicting theories emerged about the motives of the hijacker, an Egyptian. A senior Cypriot official said he seemed unstable and the incident did not appear related to terrorism. The Cypriot state broadcaster said he had demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt. In the midst of the hijack, witnesses said he threw a letter on the apron at Cyprus`s Larnaca airport, written in Arabic, and asked that it be delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca, negotiations began and everyone on board was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypt`s Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Soon afterwards, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off. The hijacker then surrendered to authorities. Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said the hijacker had threatened to blow himself up and demanded that the aircraft be refueled and head to Istanbul. "It looks like he realized his demands would not be met, allowing the last two hostages, Britons, to flee the aircraft. He also tried to leave, running out. He was arrested," said Kasoulides. "The explosives on him were examined. They werent explosives, but mobile phone covers." Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker would be questioned to ascertain his motives. "At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said. "ABNORMAL" HIJACKER Egypt`s Civil Aviation Ministry said the pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had told authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who claimed to be wearing an explosive belt and forced him to divert the plane to Larnaca. Reached by telephone, Gammal told Reuters that the hijacker seemed "abnormal". Sounding exhausted, he said he had been obliged to treat the man as a serious security threat. Photographs on Egyptian state television showed a middle-aged man on a plane wearing glasses and displaying a white belt with bulging pockets and protruding wires. Television channels showed video footage of the hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, 59, being searched by security men at a metal detector at Borg al-Arab airport in Alexandria. Interior Ministry officials said he was expelled from law school and had a long criminal record, including robberies. Fethy, the Egyptian minister, said authorities suspected the suicide belt was not genuine but treated the incident as serious to ensure the safety of all those on board. "We cannot say this was a terrorist act... he was not a professional," Fethy told reporters after the incident. EgyptAir delayed a New York-bound flight from Cairo onto which some passengers of the hijacked plane had been due to connect. Fethy said it was delayed partly due to a technical issue but partly as a precaution. The hijacked plane remained on the tarmac at Larnaca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. EGYPT`S IMAGE The incident will deal another blow to Egypt`s tourism industry and hurt efforts to revive an economy hammered by political unrest following the 2011 uprising that ousted veteran ruler Hosni Mubarak. The sector, a main source of hard currency for the import-dependent county, was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai peninsula in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said the Russian plane was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. The latest incident raised renewed questions over airport security, though it was not clear whether the hijacker was even armed. Ismail said stringent measures were in place. Passengers on the plane included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a Syrian and a French national, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. Washington: The Obama administration ordered the families of U.S. military, diplomatic and other government personnel to leave parts of southern Turkey on Tuesday and warned U.S. citizens against travel to the region amid mounting concerns over security. The U.S. military`s European Command said it had ordered the departure of families of personnel stationed in Adana, including Incirlik air base, which is used heavily in the fight against Islamic State militants. It said families of U.S. military personnel also had been told to leave Izmir and Mugla provinces. The decision was authorized by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, a statement from European Command said. "We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism," General Philip M. Breedlove, commander of the U.S. European Command, said in the statement. The departures do not indicate a decision to permanently end U.S. families` presence at military facilities in southern Turkey, the statement said. The U.S. State Department said later it had ordered the departure of family members of government workers at the U.S. Consulate in Adana, and that families of U.S. government workers in Izmir and Mugla provinces were also asked to leave. The State Department issued a statement cautioning U.S. citizens more broadly against traveling to southeastern Turkey. It also warned of "increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey." The U.S. moves come a day after Secretary of State John Kerry met in Washington with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss bilateral issues, including efforts to defeat Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was due to visit Washington this week to attend a Nuclear Security Summit with other world leaders. (Reporting by Washington newsroom; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Washington: A senior US diplomat said on Tuesday that if North Korea keeps advancing its weapons programs, the US will be compelled to take defensive measures that China will not like. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Washington think tank that North Korea is getting closer to having a nuclear-tipped missile that could threaten the continental US. He said that while China's influence over the North has diminished, it still has economic leverage. "If China is looking to assure that we are not required to take additional steps for our own security and that of our partners and allies that it won't like, the best thing it can do is to engage with us in dealing with North Korea," Blinken told the Brookings Institution. He spoke ahead of a Thursday meeting in Washington between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a global nuclear security summit, weeks after China agreed to new stiff sanctions against North Korea, in response to its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. Blinken called for China to take a "lead role" in the implementation of the sanctions. He said the US is willing to provide to China specifications of a US missile defense system that may be deployed in South Korea to counter the threat of North Korean missiles, to offer assurance it would not undermine China's strategic deterrence. Both China and Russia oppose the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system that is under discussion between Washington and Seoul. China has expressed concern that a THAAD system placed in South Korea would allow US radar to also cover Chinese territory. Islamabad: Pakistan has rounded up more than 5,000 militant suspects, then released most of them, in the two days since a suicide bomber killed at least 72 people in a park in Lahore at Easter, a provincial minister said on Tuesday. Investigators were keeping 216 suspects in custody pending further investigation, said Rana Sanaullah, a state minister for Punjab province from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s ruling party. Details of the sweeping raids aimed at anyone suspected of violent Islamist extremism came as the Taliban faction claiming responsibility for the attack issued a new threat on Tuesday, singling out the media. Sanaullah said "5,221 people have initially been detained. 5,005 have been released after verifying their identities, and 216 people have been referred for further investigation. "If someone is found to be guilty, they will be charged," told journalists in the Punjab province capital of Lahore. Army spokesman Gen Asim Bajwa said the military and the paramilitary Rangers were conducting raids across Punjab, Pakistan`s richest and most populous province, in rapid response to the Easter bombing. "Right now in Rawalpindi, Multan and elsewhere, operations are ongoing, intelligence agencies and Rangers and army troops are carrying out operations," he told reporters in Islamabad. MILITANT THREAT Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, the Taliban faction that claimed responsibility for the blast aimed at Christians celebrating Easter, warned Pakistani media they could be the next target. "Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani media," Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the group, tweeted. "We are just waiting for the appropriate time." Even as authorities pursued Islamist militants across Punjab, hundreds of ultra-conservative Muslim protesters remained camped out in front of parliament on Tuesday in the capital, Islamabad, days after clashing with police. Mobile phone networks in the capital were blocked for security purposes for a second day in a row. The Easter bombing was Pakistan`s deadliest attack since a 2014 school massacre claimed by the Taliban killed 134 students. The attack, which included 29 children among the 72 dead, showed the militants can still cause carnage despite military raids on their northwestern strongholds. Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan`s richest and most populous province and Sharif`s political heartland. "Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home," tweeted Ehsan. "The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen." Sanaullah said at least 160 raids have been carried out since Sunday night by a mixture of police, counter-terrorism and intelligence agents and confirmed that army and paramilitary forces would be used in future operations. "This operation will include all law enforcement agencies," Sanaullah said. MILITARY CAMPAIGN Military and government officials on Monday said that the army was preparing to launch a new paramilitary counterterrorism crackdown in Punjab, as it did more than two years ago in the violent southern megacity of Karachi. By allowing this, the civilian government once again ceded special powers to the military to fight Islamist militants. Punjab provincial leaders, particularly among Prime Minister Sharif`s party, have long resisted suggestions of bringing in the paramilitary Rangers to fight extremism in reported centres of radicalism including Multan in southern Punjab. In Karachi, the Rangers` crackdown has cut back the rate of militant and criminal violence sharply, but also drawn accusations of human rights abuses and the targeting of opposition politicians. A possible renewal of their mandate by the Sindh provincial government is the subject of heated debate there. Army spokesman Gen. Bajwa said the government had agreed to send whatever forces are most appropriate to capture extremists. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, which has declared loyalty to Islamic State, has carried out five major attacks in Pakistan since December. In recent years, Pakistan has cracked down on movements that target its own citizens and institutions, including the Pakistani Taliban who are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. The army and former governments have been accused of fostering hard-line religious movements to boost their own support and to use militant groups to help pursue objectives in Afghanistan and against Pakistan`s old rival India. However, moves by the government to crack down on extremism have prompted a backlash. The recent outpouring of anger over the execution in late February of ex-bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated the Punjab governor he guarded because the politician campaigned against Pakistan`s harsh blasphemy laws, highlights the tension. The demonstrators, incensed by the hanging of a man they consider a hero for defending Islam, now demand the immediate execution of hundreds of people in jail on blasphemy charges. Ankara: A song lampooning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was broadcast on a German public television satirical show has sparked a diplomatic spat between Berlin and Ankara, sources on both sides confirmed today. Turkey last week summoned Germany's ambassador to protest the two-minute clip "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan", which ridicules the president, his alleged extravagant spending and crackdown on civil liberties. The song is set to the tune of German pop star Nena's 1984 love song "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" (Anyhow, Anywhere, Anytime) and was screened on regional broadcaster NDR's "extra 3" show on March 17. The German-language lyrics charge, among other things, that "a journalist who writes something that Erdogan doesn't like/ Is tomorrow already in jail". Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP: "We summoned the ambassador last week to communicate our protest about the broadcast that we condemned. "We demanded that the broadcast be removed from the air." A German diplomatic source confirmed Tuesday that Ambassador Martin Erdmann had held repeated talks with the Turkish foreign ministry over the song. "In these talks he made clear that the rule of law, judicial independence and the protection of fundamental freedoms, including of the press and of expression, are valuable assets that should be jointly protected," said the German source. Erdmann had stressed that "in Germany, political satire is covered by the freedom of the press and of expression and the government has neither the need for, nor the option of, taking action." Erdogan's government has been accused by critics of authoritarianism and muzzling critical media as well as lawmakers, academics, lawyers and NGOs. Alluding to the government's military crackdown against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the song charges about Erdogan: "He hates the Kurds like the plague /And prefers to bomb them rather than the religious brothers from Islamic State." The government vehemently denies that the crackdown targets Turkey's Kurdish minority, saying it is only aimed at wiping out "terrorists". Damascus: Syrian forces pressed their offensive against the Islamic State group on Monday, the day after seizing control of the ancient city of Palmyra in a major blow for the jihadists. Regime troops pushed on towards Deir Ezzor province, an IS bastion, the day after wresting control of the desert ruins with the help of Russian air strikes. Analysts said the government`s seizure of Palmyra was the biggest blow so far in the war against IS and a major coup both for Damascus and Moscow. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hailed the victory as "fresh proof of the efficiency of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism". IS destroyed more than a dozen tombs and temples during its 10-month occupation of the UNESCO World Heritage site, known as the "Pearl of the Desert". Syria`s antiquities chief said the monuments could be restored in five years, although a UN expert cast doubt on the time-frame. Inside the city, army sappers worked to defuse bombs and mines planted by IS before they retreated on Monday. One soldier said more than 50 had been disarmed. Outside, Syria`s military turned their attention to other IS-held towns as they pushed towards Raqa, the jihadists` de facto capital. "The army was concentrated around Al-Qaryatain, and today the military operations began there," said a military source in Palmyra. "That is the next goal for the Syrian army. They also have their eyes on Sukhnah," he added, referring to a town northeast of Palmyra. The United States cautiously welcomed the victory for Assad, but said warned against allowing him to expand his "ability to tyrannize the Syrian people".Concern has been mounting for the ancient city since IS overran it in May 2015 and began a campaign to destroy tombs and shrines it considers idolatrous. In September, they demolished the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and a month later blew up the Arch of Triumph, from around 200 AD. The jihadists also used Palmyra`s ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and murdered the city`s 82-year-old former antiquities chief, Khaled al-Assaad. Syria`s head of antiquities, Maamoun Abdulkarim, told AFP that 80 percent of the site was still "in good shape" and the ancient ruins could be restored in five years with UNESCO`s help. But UN expert Annie Sartre-Fauriat said she was "very doubtful" that would be possible. "Everyone is excited because Palmyra has been `liberated`, but we should not forget everything that has been destroyed," said Sartre-Fauriat, who belongs to a group of experts on Syrian heritage set up by UNESCO in 2013. Analysts said losing Palmyra was a major setback for IS, which has come under growing pressure from Syrian and Iraqi forces set on breaking apart its self-proclaimed "caliphate". "The past week exemplifies the future of the Islamic State: relentless internal setbacks amid persistent external attacks," said the US-based Soufan Group. Syria expert Thomas Pierret said the loss of Palmyra showed IS was "clearly weaker than in the past", but warned the jihadists will likely fight harder to keep control of Raqa and Deir Ezzor. US Secretary of State John Kerry vowed to pile more pressure on IS after meeting with Turkey`s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington. But experts say Russia`s role in Palmyra has also left the West scrambling to figure out Putin`s game plan. His announcement this month that Russia was withdrawing troops from Syria was greeted with much fanfare, but analysts said only 10-25 percent of forces have left since then. Moscow also openly admitted for the first time since it launched it operations in Syria last September that it has special forces on the ground as part of the offensive. "All the talk in the West that Russia was going to ditch Assad was nonsense," said Pavel Felgengauer, a Russian military analyst. "We are not planning to abandon him now. Russia wants Assad to stay in power and the goal is to give him a chance to win the civil war." Assad`s other key ally, Iran, has also hailed the recapture of Palmyra and pledged its continued financial and military assistance. Hadi al-Bahra of the opposition National Coalition said the regime should have stopped IS from taking Palmyra to begin with. "From the start, the regime`s strategy was to allow the threat posed by Daesh to grow, in order to tell the West that either Daesh or Assad would prevail." Everyone thinks libraries have a positive role to play in the world, but that role differs greatly based on whether youre talking to a librarian or a patron. Ask a patron what libraries have in common and theyd probably answer: they share books with people. Librarians give a different answer: they share a set of values. Its time for libraries to step up to those values by supporting access to the Internet and taking the lead in fighting to keep the Internet open, free, and unowned. The American Library Association Code of Ethics says: "We have a special obligation to ensure the free flow of information and ideas to present and future generations." That free flow of information on the Internet is at risk because of the past twenty years' worth of centralization. What was once a field where all comers could express their ideas and create tools and content is increasingly reliant on proprietary services provided by commercial entities like Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and Google. This is not the future envisioned in 1996 when John Perry Barlow wrote his "Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace" "I declare the global social space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us. You have no moral right to rule us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have true reason to fear." At the time, Barlow and many others assumed that the greatest threat to this nascent new world was governmental interference. Instead, commerce and capitalism have led us to extreme corporate consolidation of the major services of the Internet. Cyberpunk had it right all along. On the other side of the coin, decentralization has become a high priority where anonymity and security are concerned. For example, Bittorrent allows the distribution of content from one user to another without that information residing on any one server. Tor ("the onion router") is a decentralized network of servers that anonymize the pathways of communication. Bitcoin is a currency that relies on no banks or governments, instead using a distributed network of "ledgers" to record transactions. The movement toward re-decentralization often depends on the kindness of strangers who donate a portion of their own infrastructure to the network in question: bandwidth; computing cycles; and technical expertise sometimes at significant personal and professional risk. Decentralized systems will provide the information and services of the next big shift in computing: the Internet of Things. These "things" will be decentralized by nature, and that decentralization can be guarded against capture if we lay the groundwork now by creating nodes through which these micro-networks can communicate Decentralized Internet is part of traditional library values. Decentralized systems are robust bulwarks against censorship, control, and the whims of shareholder-driven corporations. Distributed services have no centralized point of failure no single plug that can be pulled, no single server that can be subpoenaed so those services can't be yanked out from under users. Their interests are directly aligned with those of their users, and thus won't languish under uncaring masters. The strength of decentralized systems is also their weakness. Decentralization means no company can be bullied or bribed into changing the system to make it easier to control or spy on, but that means there's also no entity who can go to court or Congress and defend the system when it is under assault. Libraries can support a decentralized system with both computing power and lobbying muscle. The fights libraries have pursued for a free, fair and open Internet infrastructure show that we're players in the political arena, which is every bit as important as servers and bandwidth. What would services built with library ethics and values look like? They'd look like libraries: Universal access to knowledge. Anonymity of information inquiry. A focus on literacy and on quality of information. A strong service commitment to ensure that they are available at every level of power and privilege. For example, the Kilton Library in Lebanon, NH, installed a Tor relay. This was the result of a long effort to get libraries to recognize the value of their infrastructure in service of a larger idea: helping protect the communication of the entire world. Alison Macrina, the director of the Library Freedom Project, and Nima Fatemi, the technical lead, did amazing work shepherding the project and showing that a library can both serve its immediate community and also serve the world at large. It wasn't easy, because most people don't understand what Tor is or why it's important around the world. That's exactly why we need libraries to take the lead. Libraries should embrace this distributed future and volunteer their spare cycles and bandwidth to enable the next stages of the evolution of the decentralized Internet. Libraries are an ideal location for these services to flourish, as the services speak to both to libraries' ethical stance as well as playing to the strength of their role as trusted members of their community. Tor is just one example. Larger libraries can contribute resources to hosting distributed content and apps. Library associations can sponsor the packaging of decentralized services in ways that will make it easy for smaller libraries to install and maintain them. All libraries can begin to explore the possibilities, enlisting their communities as users of these services and also as contributors to their technical skills and knowledge. Librariesby virtue of their position in the community, their values, and their deep experience in making information openly available while still protecting the interests of their usersare uniquely situated to take the lead in re-decentralizing the Internet. Libraries and librarians can't afford to let this opportunity to drive the next stage of the 'net pass them by. This opportunity must be seized. (Image: Tubes and Wires, Eddie Welker, CC-BY) Jason Griffey is a librarian, technologist, and Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. The Turkish government privately contacted Germany's ambassador to demand the censorship of a video satirizing the thin-skinned, famously corrupt Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he of the 1,000-room palace whose erection required the razing of a nature preserve. Germany and Turkey have a complicated relationship; for decades, Turks have formed a critical part of the German workforce through a "guest-laborer" program, and Turks are the largest ethnic minority in Germany, while millions of former German residents have returned to Turkey, creating a large, distinct political and cultural group there. Meanwhile, the EU and Turkey have struck a bargain to make Turkey the staging ground and containment site for refugees from Syria, just as the tide seems to be turning in Germany, whose open-door policy toward Syrian refugees led to a backlash that saw the election of ultra-right nationalists who ran on a racist/xenophobic platform. Erdogan himself is an authoritarian kleptocrat whose corruptibility and xenophobic base were key to the Syria deal. All this makes the satirical video which highlights Erdogan's attacks on the free press and political dissent, as well as irregularities in the most recent election a kind of perfect storm in Germany. Like many authoritarians, Erdogan totally underestimates the power of the Streisand Effect, hence his government's demands on the German ambassador, which come off like an imperial majesty ordering crackdowns on press freedom abroad to match the crackdowns at home. This has made fresh headlines in Germany, and Extra 3, the program that originated the video, has aired it again, doubling down on their provocation and winning hearts and minds among Germans, including German Turks. Moreover, Erdogan brought last addition to journalists and bloggers also increasingly ordinary citizens, including young people, because "President insult" in court. Instead of deleting the satirical video, puts "extra 3" on Tuesday after: On Twitter, the satirical program published the video again criticized namely with English subtitles . On Facebook was an old Satire Video republished . It declared "John Schlutur" by 2014, as he wants to make Erdogan even more popular than fictional propaganda minister, through the Twitter ban or charges against demonstrators. His model: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Satire against Erdogan: Turkey apparently demanded cancellation of the "extra 3" video [Der Spiegel] (Thanks, Michael!) After six weeks of stating that the only way access the San Bernardino shooter's phone was for Apple to create software creating a backdoor, the Justice Department suddenly changes their tune. An FBI official on Monday said that the Justice Department is expected to withdraw its legal action against Apple Inc., as early as Monday, citing an outside method to bypass the locking function of the San Bernardino terrorist's phone. The official stated that the alternate method to hack into the phone's contents to gather evidence came to the attention of the FBI earlier this month. Prior to this 'new discovery' the US government's official position was to compel Apple to produce software that provides backdoor access to the phone of Syed Farook, the shooter in the 2015 San Bernardino attack that left 14 dead. Apple's CEO Tim Cook said of the Justice Department's request that it would open all of Apple's iPhone users up to mass government surveillance saying that the new software could be transmitted to phones by the US government without users even knowing it. The move comes after a request last week by the Justice Department to postpone a Tuesday hearing at the federal court in Riverside, California citing the possibility of an alternative method. Court watchers see the government's refusal to pursue the matter as evidence that Justice Department officials expected to lose the case and were concerned about a precedent being set against US surveillance. NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou won a second term with 92.5 percent of the vote in a run-off poll that the opposition coalition chose to boycott, the electoral commission said on Tuesday. Issoufou, an ally of the West in its fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, won the first round comfortably last month with 48 percent of votes but failed to clinch the outright majority required to avoid a second round. The candidate who came second, opposition leader Hama Amadou, has been in jail since November on charges relating to a baby-trafficking scandal, but was flown to France for medical treatment last week. Amadou says he is innocent and claims the charges against him are politically motivated. But the size of Issofou's victory is unlikely to draw significant international criticism, in part because of the boycott, but also because the incumbent has only been in power since 2011. The Coalition for an Alternative (COPA), which unites about 20 political parties including Amadou's MODEN, called for a boycott of the polls claiming the process had been tainted by fraud. The turnout was 60 percent, the commission said. The vote is subject to confirmation from the constitutional court. Southern Niger, which borders Nigeria, has been the target of frequent deadly raids by Islamist Boko Haram militants. It also shares borders with Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, where al Qaeda-linked groups are active. Libya, home to Islamic State affiliates, lies on its northern border. (Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalaki; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Edward McAllister; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) By Nacho Doce SAO PAULO (Reuters) - If any symbol captures the anger of rich and upper-middle class Brazilians who have taken to the streets to protest against President Dilma Rousseff, it might be a giant, inflatable yellow duck. The 40-foot (12-meter) high duck presides over Sao Paulo's Avenida Paulista, Brazil's economic nexus. It has landed on the esplanade in the capital Brasilia, while its ducklings swam in the reflecting pool outside Congress. The duck and its brood have also hit the sands of Copacabana Beach, a prime place to see and be seen in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's business leaders have adopted the duck to fight against what they describe as the economic quackery of Rousseff, a leftist who is facing growing pressure to quit and struggling to pull the economy out of its deepest recession in 25 years. "Enough of paying the duck," said Paulo Skaf, president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo, in a video earlier this month urging Brazilians to demonstrate against Rousseff's government. "To pay the duck" in Brazilian Portuguese means to unfairly pay for someone else's mistakes. The term's origin is unclear but the saying is common enough for the federation to employ it against what it sees as the failures of Rousseff's administration. Since she took office in 2011, Brazil's economy has gone from being one of the world's fastest growing major economies to one of its worst performers, contracting by 3.8 percent in 2015, as the commodities boom ended and a wide-ranging corruption scandal hit investor confidence. Last year, when Rousseff proposed a new levy to help compensate plummeting tax revenues, the Sao Paulo federation inflated the giant duck in the capital Brasilia while its counterpart in Rio took it to Copacabana. Now, the duck has taken up residence in Sao Paulo outside the federation building, striking a colorful note on the somber Avenida Paulista, which has hosted the biggest demonstrations supporting the ouster of Rousseff. She faces impeachment proceedings in Congress. The marches have underscored growing tensions between classes in what remains one of the world's most economically stratified societies. The recession has cost Rousseff and her ruling Workers' Party support among blue-collar Brazilians, who have borne the brunt of a downturn marked by the loss of 1.5 million jobs last year. But the working class, even if disgruntled, has not wanted to associate itself with those who have most visibly turned out against Rousseff: white-collar types who never supported her to begin with. On Friday, as office workers toiled in the towers high over the duck's perch, a gaggle of pro-government demonstrators gathered for a rare display of support for Rousseff. Denouncing anti-government protests as "nothing more than a privileged class out to defend their luxuries," Cleber Goncalves, a 36-year-old teacher, scoffed at the duck. "It's just a silly symbol thought up by the elite," he said. "They are always trying to fool the people." (Writing by Paulo Prada; Editing by Mary Milliken) An economist writing for Forbes magazine has tapped Canada as one of seven countries in the world that are due for a debt crisis and an ensuing recession in the next one to three years. The trigger will be too much credit, with companies and individuals discouraged from borrowing because their debt is too high and banks then balk at lending, said Steve Keen, head of the school of economics, politics and history at Kingston University London. A critic of conventional economics, he argues that economists failed to anticipate the global financial crisis of 2008 because they ignored the phenomenon of banks lending too much money. That's the situation Canada is approaching now, along with China, Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong, Korea and Norway, he writes in "The seven countries most vulnerable to a debt crisis." "Timing precisely when these countries will have their recessions is not possible, because it depends on when the private sector's willingness to borrow from the banks and the banking sector's willingness to lend stops," he writes. Government stimulus programs and programs to support first-time home buyers can postpone the pain, he argues, but credit cannot keep growing at such a rapid rate, unless GDP is growing more rapidly. Soon to be 'walking wounded' "When it arrives, these countries many of which appeared to avoid the worst of the crisis in 2008 will join the world's long list of walking wounded economies," Keen says. Using data from the Bank of International Settlements, which now publishes a quarterly series on both government and private debt, he argues that debt service ratios from all sources, government and private, exceed 175 per cent of GDP in Canada. The other warning signs he sees in all seven countries are private debt that exceeds 1.5 times gross domestic product (GDP) and rapidly growing debt over a period of about five years. Meanwhile GDP growth is stalled or, as in China, slower than normal levels. Story continues In Canada, provincial government debt has mounted in recent years, while the federal government just released a budget that expands the deficit and will result in more debt at the federal level. While other countries, especially in Europe, have higher debt ratios, they are already mired in a downturn that has been resistant to both central bank policy and government stimulus, he said. Keen argued the U.S. did not recover from the 2008 crisis until GDP growth began to outstrip credit growth. Of the seven countries he singles out, he sees Hong Kong as most vulnerable. A crucial board meeting which could decide the fate of thousands of Welsh steel workers is taking place. Officials from the Community union say they have had "constructive" talks with senior figures from the Indian firm Tata in Mumbai, where the company's board is meeting. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is understood Tata's board is discussing the 1,050 UK redundancies announced in January, and whether to back a rescue plan for the Port Talbot plant. Workers fear that scrapping the plan could lead to the partial or full closure of the site, which employs around 7,000 staff and contractors. Gary Keogh has worked at Port Talbot for nearly 28 years. He told Sky News if the plant goes it will have devastating consequences for the whole community. "The steelworks isn't in the community, the steelworks is the community. This plant is the heartbeat of the whole town," he said. "Steel is in my blood - it's all I've ever known, and most of my friends and colleagues, that's all we've all ever known. "What are we going to do at our time of life?" A delegation from Community met with senior Tata representatives in Mumbai on Monday. The union said in a statement that the meeting was "open and constructive". "The European delegates made the case for Tata to continue to support the UK Strip business," it added. "Tata Steel (BSE: TATASTEEL.BO - news) representatives outlined the context of commitment to the UK business to date, financial performance and the challenging global conditions of the steel sector." The 750 redundancies - reduced to 726 - were announced at the Port Talbot works in January as Tata cut 1,000 jobs across the UK. It was initially understood that the Indian board would be presented with a rescue plan which aimed to turn the plant around financially. That plan envisaged transforming a 200m a year loss into a 100m profit in two years, coupled with a 100m investment from the Indian board. However, sources on the site now worry the board will be presented with an unachievable plan, meaning the plant will have to turn itself around in one year. Story continues They fear this will be rejected and the hoped-for investment will be withdrawn. Mr Keogh is among a group of union representatives who have travelled to India in the hope of persuading bosses to save the plant. They were joined by Welsh MP Stephen Kinnock, who believes the Government needs to do more to help. "What we've seen since January is more warm words from the British Government but no action and as a result of that the board is feeling the pressure," Mr Kinnock said. "I understand that but it's really important that the board holds its nerve and backs the plan." The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said it is "in regular contact with Tata" and has announced measures to support the industry. Cheap Chinese steel, falling prices and high energy costs are some of the reasons behind the loss of thousands of British steel jobs in the last year. Tata refused to comment on speculation ahead of Tuesday's meeting. But in a statement the company said: "The environment for steelmaking is not improving and Tata Steel continues to invest considerable amounts into its UK business just to sustain operations (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) ." By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - When Brussels police caught Salah Abdeslam, suspected sole survivor of Novembers suicide assault on Paris, they knew they were in a race against time to stop a new Islamic State attack. It was the afternoon of Friday, March 18, and one of Prime Minister Charles Michel's cabinet ministers tweeted "We got him!" after Europes most wanted man was seized at a house in the capital's Molenbeek neighborhood. But Michel was worried, according to a government official who was present at the time. The premier raced to his crisis command center from a European summit nearby. Security forces had orders to increase vigilance but lacked intelligence to justify a citywide lockdown such as Michel imposed after the Paris attacks. "Our first thought was that ... this will set off a ferocious response," the aide told Reuters, speaking on condition that he not be named. Those fears were well founded. The suicide bombings of Brussels airport and a metro train that killed 28 bystanders laid bare the inability of the Belgian authorities to counter Islamic State militants, no matter how high the level of alert. Missed connections, leads not followed and suspects let slip have exposed deficiencies in security services. They have also shown how Europe's Syrian-trained Islamist cells can react with deadly speed to events such as Abdeslam's arrest. "It was a race against time," said Vincent Gilles, head of Belgium's main police trade union SLFP. But with the intelligence service understaffed - by some estimates by about half the level for other rich European states - it was a race the authorities could not win. YEAR ON ALERT Belgium is, for its size, the biggest European supplier of foreign fighters in Syria. Islamic State has appealed to an alienated generation descended from mostly Moroccan immigrants of the 1960s. Belgian authorities stepped up their searches for activists after January 2015. That month, days after the bloodshed at Paris magazine Charlie Hebdo, Belgian police foiled a plot in the town of Verviers that revealed an Islamic State campaign to send some of the 300 or more young Belgians who have fought in Syria back to Europe to strike on their native soil. In Verviers, police killed two men who returned from Syria with Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Killed in a shootout in Paris days after the attacks there, he emerged as "the spider in the web", in the words of a Belgian minister, of an extensive network. Yet though Belgian authorities questioned numerous contacts of Abaaoud, notably from his old Molenbeek neighborhood, the trail went cold. Among those interrogated and released were Salah Abdeslam and his brother Brahim. In the first half of 2015, Belgian courts convicted dozens of radical preachers and their followers for recruiting for Syria. But new cells were forming elsewhere. Last summer, the Abdeslams, petty drug dealers who ran a Molenbeek bar, put together what Salah has since told interrogators was a logistical plan to prepare for the attacks on Paris. Salah drove across Europe more than once and appears to have transported quantities of guns, explosives and people. It was with shock, after 130 people died on a Friday evening in the French capital and trails led back to Brussels, that Michel's government realized it had an urgent problem. He locked down transport and public spaces for days as he was near "100 percent certain" of a threat. At the center of those fears was Salah Abdeslam, whose brother had blown himself up at a Paris cafe. Abdeslam had slipped back across the Belgian border ahead of a French dragnet. The morning after Paris, he went to ground in Brussels. NEW RESOURCES, TOO LATE Michel pledged cash and legal reforms to beef up a security system that officials accepted was understaffed. An intelligence service of about 700 staff for a country of 11 million struggled to cope, as did a police force that is about 20 percent below full strength. Police and security services have also struggled with a lack of communication and coordination across a multiplicity of departments that cross Belgium's Dutch-French language divide. Two of Tuesday's suicide bombers - Najim Laachraoui and Khalid El Bakraoui - were on counter-terrorism watchlists. The former was a suspected bombmaker for the Paris attacks; the latter rented a safe house for the Paris cell and the flat where police picked up Abdeslam's trail. Bakraoui's brother Brahim, was a convicted armed robber in breach of his parole who was expelled last July from Turkey. Ankara warned Belgium he had been caught trying to reach Syria. In December, police in the town of Mechelen had a tip about a family sheltering Abdeslam. The tip included the address where he was eventually apprehended. But officials acknowledge the tip was never passed on to Brussels colleagues. The revelation has led to criticism - strongly denied - that Mechelen's town hall might prefer to suppress a tip to avoid irritating local Muslims, a key electoral constituency. In their four-month search for Abdeslam, police pulled in dozens of people, holding 10 by last month. Dozens of homes were raided to no avail. Police reject suggestions it was chance that led them to a house in the Brussels borough of Forest on March 15. Four officers were wounded in a shootout before one gunman was killed. The apartment, rented under a false name by Khalid El Bakraoui, the Brussels metro bomber, yielded a fingerprint belonging to Salah Abdeslam. Police homed in on a cellphone he was using, leading to his capture three days later. THREE DAYS OF FEAR Over the three and half days following that arrest, the government considered locking down Brussels but decided against it because they had no clear clues that an attack was in the offing, the government official said. When the bombers struck at the morning rush hour on Tuesday, the authorities tried to moved fast. A taxi driver who took the bombers to the airport led police to the apartment where he had picked them up. That produced a evidence including chemicals and another bomb. One report said the bombers left it behind after a confused taxi dispatcher sent a smaller cab than they ordered. It also produced a witness who, investigators say, has since identified a third man seen on airport cameras with the two bombers. Police have been rolling up contacts and acquaintances of those identified, including another suspected plotter in Paris. Michels government is also cracking down on fake documents which seem to have allowed the likes of Laachraoui and Abaaoud, to slip across Europe from Syria. The government has sought new legal powers over, and in cooperation with, Internet and telecoms firms to track suspects. But officials caution that it could take years to fill the gaps in the security structures of a country that is host to the European Union and NATO. So it was with a note of resignation that Belgium's leaders reacted to the worst bloodshed in their country since World War Two: Michel declared simply: "What we feared, has happened." (Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alessandra Galloni/Janet McBride) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it welcomed the expelling of Islamic State militants from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, but that it was too early to know what effect this would have on Syria's peace talks. "It's too soon to know the degree to which the Palmyra operation is going to affect (the peace talks) one way or the other," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a daily briefing, adding that the shift in the city does not change U.S. opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have taken back control of Palmyra, where some ancient monuments were destroyed by the ultra-radical militants. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Susan Heavey; Editing by Bernadette Baum) TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The U.N. envoy to Libya said on Wednesday he had been forced to cancel a flight to Tripoli because he had not been granted landing rights by the self-declared government there. Martin Kobler said he had intended to visit the Libyan capital to "pave the way" for a U.N.-backed unity government to move there from Tunis. Fayez Seraj, prime minister of the unity government, said last week that such a move was imminent. Libya has two sets of rival parliaments and governments, one in Tripoli and one in the east. A unity government was formed under a plan to end Libya's simmering conflict, but has faced stiff opposition from hardliners on both sides of Libya's political divide. Earlier this month the unity government called for an immediate transfer of power. But the prime minister in Tripoli, Khalifa Ghwell, warned it not to move, and eastern government said it should first secure a long-delayed vote of approval from the internationally recognised parliament in the east. Ghwell's office in Tripoli said authorities there had asked Kobler for an agenda for his visit but had not received a reply and therefore had not granted permission for him to land. Previous requests from Kobler to visit had not been granted for the same reason, it said, adding that the visit had been postponed, not cancelled. In televised comments on Wednesday, Ghwell repeated his criticism of Kobler and the U.N., saying they risked creating "chaos". Seraj has said that his government would be able to move to Tripoli after a security plan was agreed with police and military forces, as well as armed groups. But the security situation in the Libyan capital remains fickle, and there have been repeated clashes between armed groups. Overnight, the commander of Tripoli's diplomatic police, Faraj Swaihili, escaped an assassination attempt by an armed group, according to accounts posted by residents on social media. No-one could be reached to confirm the reports. That followed clashes near a bank in the Bab Ben Ghashir district on Monday, and heavy gunfire between the Zawiyat Addahmani area and Bab Azizziya on Saturday. Tripoli is controlled by a number of semi-official armed groups which clash periodically, and it was not clear if any of the most recent incidents were linked to political developments. Some armed groups, including powerful factions from the Western city of Misrata, have said they will back the unity government, but other brigades remain opposed. (Reporting by Aidan Lewis in Tunis and Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli; Editing by Richard Balmforth) On Easter Sunday, more than 70 people, mostly women and children, were killed in an apparent suicide bombing in a Lahore park. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing and said it targeted Christians. "The United States will continue to support the Pakistani government as they try to confront and combat the extremist element within their own country," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. Earnest called Sunday's attack "grotesque and chilling," and noted that the United States will continue to support the Pakistani government's efforts to surpass terrorists. Sunday's attack, along with the 2014 massacre of school students and teachers in Peshawar, shows that extremism and terrorism pose a serious threat to Pakistan, Earnest observed. On Monday, Pakistani officials said they will launch military operations against Jamaat-ur-Ahrar in the province of Punjab. By Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jin ping and Czech counterpart Milos Zeman signed an agreement on a strategic partnership on Tuesday aimed at stepping up business ties and investments. Zeman has been keen to forge stronger ties with China and Russia since his election in 2013, rather than with the ex-communist country's partners in NATO and the European Union, although the Czech government not the president is chiefly responsible for foreign policy. EU relations with both Beijing and Moscow are dogged by disputes over human rights. While the Czechs maintain the EU line on China, Zeman has made gestures others have not. He attended a military parade in Beijing last September marking the end of World War Two, the only Western leader to do so. And Xi was given a special welcome to mark the first visit of a Chinese leader, including a dinner at the presidential residence and 21 artillery salvos in a ceremony at the historic Prague Castle, courtesies not extended to other visitors. The partnership agreement puts the Czechs among about 15 other European countries that have similar ties. "I would like the Czech Republic to become ... an entry gate for the People's Republic of China to the European Union," Zeman said at the dinner of welcome. His warm attitude marked a contrast with the Czech Republic's first post-communist president, Vaclav Havel, a Soviet-era dissident and personal friend of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Chinese-ruled Tibet. The special treatment accorded to Xi sparked protests. About 500 people, some waving flags of Tibet and Taiwan, gathered in a downtown park next to where Xi was meeting Czech government officials, and later marched towards the Prague Castle, cordoned off by police. "I don't like the turning of our politicians towards the East, that Chinese money is buying power and influence here," said 20-year old student Jan Deutsch. On Monday, there was a scuffle between protesters and groups of Chinese supporters who were brought by buses to welcome Xi on the way from the Prague airport. Czech government officials told Reuters the partnership agreement did not deviate from standard EU language on human rights, diplomatic or economic relations, and reflected Czech interests in continued business relations with Taiwan, which China sees as a wayward province. The Czechs are hoping to become a financial and air travel hub in central Europe for China, where Czech firms such as financial group PPF and Volkswagen's Skoda Auto have been active. (Additional reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by David Holmes) Brazil Is Rallying: Is It Time to Invest in Mutual Funds? (Continued from Prior Part) Latin Americafocused mutual funds have done well A look at the graph below shows the 2016 YTD (year-to-date) performance of the nine mutual funds that invest in Latin American stocks (SQM) (KOF) (LFL). These funds have been the focus of our strictly quantitative review in this series. To give you an idea of how these mutual funds have performed compared to passively managed products, weve provided the returns of two ETFs as well. They are the iShares Latin America 40 ETF (ILF) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America ETF (EEML). Only three of the nine funds (PRLAX) (SLANX) (UBPIX) have been able to outperform ILF in 2016 YTD. EEML has outdone all but four of the actively managed mutual funds. This shows why picking quality actively managed funds is important for your portfolio. Sub-par funds wont be able to give you the benefits of a rise in equities. What about Mexico? This year could have been the year Mexico took over from Brazil as the country driving Latin American nations. But the year is far from over, and this could still happen. However, the run-up in Brazilian equities has put the focus firmly back on the nation synonymous with Latin America. Mexico isnt in as good a shape as it could have been, macro economically speaking. Mexicos central bank, Banco de Mexico, reduced its forecast for the economys rate of growth in 2016 to 2%3% from 2.5%3.5% projected earlier. The central bank noted that private consumption seems to be slowing, leading to a deceleration in economic growth. In addition, lower industrial activity in the United States will hurt Mexico, given the importance of the United States as an export market to the country. Should you invest in Latin-American mutual funds right now? Brazilian equities feature prominently in most of the nine mutual funds weve analyzed in this series. You may have noticed that in the Investor takeaways section, weve given pointers to investors already invested in a particular fund. But what about those who want to get in? Story continues Mohamed El-Erian is the chief economic adviser at Allianz, a multinational financial services company. In the early 2000s, he bet on Brazil and was handsomely rewarded. But now, he expects reforms out of either the present or future governments if Brazil is to grow to its potential. The present rally in Brazilian equities isnt backed by fundamentals. Its highly likely that macroeconomic reality will catch up soon with the financial markets. Retail investors who havent yet invested in mutual funds investing in the region may want to stay away for now. Brazils long-term potential isnt under question, though. In an email interview with Bloomberg, El-Erian said, Brazil has an enormous potential, absolutely enormous. What is missing is the political context that enables sustained policy implementation, coupled with broad-based understanding and support. Our analysis should give you insights into which funds may suit you, given their performances right now. With a dash of patience and at just the right time, you can confidently go forward with your investments. Well keep you posted about all developments on our Mutual Funds page. Browse this series on Market Realist: 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 The US Army is currently engaged in a major force build up aimed at rapidly supplying the European Command (EUCOM) of the US armed forces. "Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC, Independence, Missouri and Chemring Military Products, Perry, Florida were awarded a $750 million contract for non-standard ammunition and non-standard mortar weapon systems," the announcement on Monday stated. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has approved a quadrupling of US military spending on Europe in the next year. The US Army is in the process of replacing its older or "legacy"M224 mortars with the improved M224A1, which was introduced into service in 2011 and is 20 percent, or 4 kg, lighter than the old models. Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Istanbul police detained a number of major entrepreneurs, who are suspected of conducting fictitious exports, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported March 29. The police held operations at 20 points in the city. Reportedly, there are also female entrepreneurs among the detainees. The names of those detained haven't been disclosed. Similar operations are expected to be held in other major cities of Turkey. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: A terrorist attack has been averted in Turkey's Van province, Anadolu agency reported March 29. Reportedly, the militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist group planned to target the servicemen. One of the terrorists was eliminated, another one was detained by the police. Earlier, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that over 5,359 PKK members have been eliminated as a result of the operations against this terrorist group since July of 2015. He added that 355 Turkish servicemen were killed during these operations, which will continue until the complete destruction of the PKK. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The UN and the European Union listed the PKK as a terrorist organization. Edited by SI --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a bilateral meeting with the US President Barack Obama during the Nuclear Security Summit. Earlier, the presidents held phone talks and a series of meetings within the framework of international conferences, Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported March 29 citing Erdogan as saying. Earlier, some media outlets reported that Obama has refused from a private meeting with Erdogan. Turkey's president is due in the US this week to attend the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: A military delegation from Russia has arrived in the Turkish province of Izmir, the Turkish newspaper 'Yeni Safak' reported March 29. Members of the delegation are now in a military unit located in the vicinity of the Foca district of the country's Izmir province. This is the first visit of the Russian military delegation to Turkey since the time of crisis between the two countries. Relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber on Nov. 24, 2015. Turkey said the bomber entered its airspace, while Russia denied its warplane flying into the Turkish skies. It was earlier reported that Turkey and Russia agreed on the observation flights that were cancelled Feb. 4. Reportedly, a group of Russian observers were expected to fly over Turkey's territory on Feb. 1-5 under the Open Skies Treaty. China censors urge media to "stop hyping the story" on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's visit in the country. (Photo : Getty Images) A state-owned website in Tibet expressed its support for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who recently visited mainland China in a bid to bring the social media platform back to the country and its territories. According to the Global Times, a website controlled by the autonomous government declared support for the social media giant after Tibetan separatists slammed him for negotiating with China. Advertisement According to previous reports, Zuckerberg has been repeatedly mocked over the Internet sparked by an image of him jogging leisurely in Beijing, with Chinese censors urging the media and netizens in the country to stop picking on the Facebook founder. On March 19, the 31-year-old Facebook boss met with China's Propaganda Chief Liu Yunshan in a bid to negotiate the re-entry of the social media platform to the country, reported the Xinhua News Agency. At the time, Liu expressed his hopes that the social media platform should be able to work with the Chinese Internet "to build a 'community of shared future.'" However, many Tibetans are unhappy with how Facebook acted on matters related to freedom of expression via the social media. A perfect example of this was the international campaign condemning how the social media platform deleted a video posted over Facebook in Dec. 2014 showing a Buddhist monk setting himself on fire in front of a police station in Sichuan Province. According to Voice of America, Tibetan activist and writer Tsering Woeser was shocked to see that her post was removed from her Facebook page for "violation of community standards." At the time, Facebook explained that the video was removed because some users "object to graphic videos" and that while they work hard "to balance expression and safety," the social media platform still lacks features to warn users ahead if the post they are about to view contain graphic content. However, Woeser is not satisfied with this explanation and called Facebook inconsistent with its policies, noting that she has been posting images of self-immolation over the social media platform since she became a Facebook user in 2008. Newly elected Kuomintang Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu speaks to her supporters in this undated photo. (Photo : Twitter) Hung Hsiu-chu, the newly elected head of the Kuomintang Party (KMT) in Taiwan, is seen as continuing on a track of peaceful development established by outgoing Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, as far as her observers from mainland China are concerned. "Hung has a very solid foundation of upholding the KMT's political direction and opposing 'Taiwan independence,'" Ni Yongjie, deputy of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies, told Beijing-based China Daily in an interview posted on Monday. Advertisement Hung, who previously sat as Taiwan's deputy legislative speaker, defeated three other candidates on Saturday by winning 56.16 percent of the votes to become the KMT's first female chairperson. She will replace Eric Chu, who resigned from the position to take responsibility for the Kuomintang's defeat in the presidential election against Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party on Jan. 16. Zhu Songling, director of the Institute of Cross-Straits Relations at Beijing Union University, said Hung has a clear stance on China-Taiwan relations and the 1992 Consensus, which recognizes both regions as being "one China." "Her election shows that upholding the consensus is still a mainstream view in the KMT," Zhu told the Global Times. On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Hung on her victory, expressing hopes for the continued overall national interest and well-being of both sides and opposition against "Taiwan independence." The CPC and KMT should consolidate the foundation of mutual trust, strengthen communication and interaction, jointly safeguard the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and, with one heart, strive to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi said in a message posted on the Xinhua News Agency website. Hung replied in a letter her thanks to Xi's congratulations, adding that since 2008 the KMT has promoted peaceful development between China and Taiwan on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, including the signing of multiple agreements between the two sides, the launching of direct flights and allowing tourists from the mainland to visit Taiwan. "At this key moment, although our party is confronted with stark challenges, I will take on the responsibility and lead all party members in unity to embrace a brand-new future," Hung said in the letter. Both parties should work together to maintain cross-Strait peace and stability and create more benefits for compatriots on both sides of the Strait, she added. Doting parents: A mother carries her baby in a sling. A father delightfully looks at his kid. (Photo : Sienna Spalding TV/YouTube) Now theres no need to rush mom to go back to work. Beijing now entitles its working mothers to a 128-day maternity leave, making it more than four months, reported CRIEnglish. Originally, the maternity leave was set at 98 days. More good news for mothers: if the company they are working for would approve, they can extend their maternity leave up to 218 days or seven months, according to China Daily. Advertisement The amended Population and Family Planning Law, issued by the National Peoples Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Dec. 27, 2015, permitted married couples to have two children, reported Lexology. Xinhua News tweeted on Dec. 26, 2015: Bye bye, one-child policy! The move likewise affected the length of maternity and paternity leaves. Husbands, who apparently have their own role in child-rearing, can also enjoy a longer paternity leave in Beijing, according to CRIEnglish. The regulation now grants a 15-day paternity leave. From Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission, Wu Jinglei said that they encourage husbands to look after their wives after they give birth, according to Shanghai Daily. Some European countries grant remarkable maternity leaves, according to an updated May 2012 report by the Huffington Post. Sweden allows an amazing 420-day maternity leave; Bulgaria, 410 days. Mothers in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia can enjoy one whole year off from work. Denmark, Serbia and the United Kingdom give mothers 52 weeks, the same length in Canada. In Norway, mothers get 36-46 weeks. In Russia, which borders European and Asian countries, the government provides a 140-day maternity leave. Swedish fathers receive a 60-day paternity leave from their government, reported Channel News Asia in Oct. 2015. Those in Finland receive 54 days; husbands in Australia, Kenya, Singapore and the U.K., two weeks. As many parents would agree, family time is quality time. Its expected that with the addition of Panda, the new series will even be a bigger hit than its predecessor. (Photo : Getty Images) China and the Czech Republic have more tricks up their sleeves to strengthen relations. This year, two mascots that symbolize the two nations will come together for a new animated series, according to an article by China Daily. Advertisement The show will feature Little Mole, which represents the Czech Republic, and Panda, which represents China. The animated series, which will have a total of 52 episodes, is in its final stages of production. It has started showing starting Monday, March 28, on China Central Television's children's channel at seven in the evening. Chinese audiences are not unfamiliar with Little Mole, a character that was created 60 years ago. Made by Zdenek Miler, the original cartoon series took Eastern Europe and France by storm. By the 1980s, the fever hit China as the series was aired by CCTV. Reruns were televised by the network in 2011. For experts, Little Mole was a testament to the artistry of Czech animation. "It was like a combination of paper-cutting and collage, and the subject dealt with the impact of humans on animal life, which in today's view relates to environmental protection," Chen Chao, a 33-year-old porcelain artist based in Beijing, recalled in an interview with China Daily. It's expected that with the addition of Panda, the new series will even be a bigger hit than its predecessor. "We decided to include dialogue to make it more attractive for children today," said Zeng Weijing, CCTV's director of animation. "The 26 episodes are now finished. Everything, including pre- and post-production work, was done in China. It is now in Prague to have the voice-overs done." Since Miler's death in 2011, his granddaughter Karolina has been managing the business Little Mole has created. "I'm very glad to be a part of Little Mole and Panda because I know Chinese people are very familiar with Little Mole and have deep feelings for it," Karolina said. "I also need such cooperation to carry forward my grandfather's work." The show's premiere is just in time for the start of President Xi Jinping's state visit to the Czech Republic, which will take place in a course of three days. It's the first state visit made by a Chinese diplomat to the European country since diplomatic relations were forged approximately 50 years ago. The system, experts say, hinders the country from becoming a major shopping destination. (Photo : Getty Images) United Kingdom's tax refund system has been under criticism by tourism experts and visitors alike, according to an article by China Daily. Detractors, which include Chinese tourists, say that the country's tax refund system is "time-consuming and too complex." Advertisement Although the system, which was implemented in 1995, allows tourists from non-EU countries to claim value-added tax from any purchases made within the U.K., experts say that it hinders the country from becoming a major shopping destination. "Shopping is a huge part of many tourists' visits to Britain. A simple and slick VAT refund scheme would make us a more attractive destination for high-spending visitors, including the Chinese, who are some of our highest spenders," said Patricia Yates, director of U.K.'s official tourism board, VisitBritain. Through the tax refund system, non-EU residents and tourists can file for a VAT refund for any goods purchased within the country's territory when they leave the U.K.. Theoretically, it is a simple process: one must fill out a form, and together with receipts, present it to a refund booth. In real life, however, the process has proved to be time-consuming, especially for travelers who need to pass through equally tedious security checks. Aside from being laborious, the process has to go through numerous stops such as companies and airport counters, which also means tourists must pay what some people claim to be exorbitant fees. This was the case with Chen Lizhi, a Chinese graduate of Longbourough University, who went on a 4,000-pound shopping spree in the U.K. She paid 700 pounds in VAT. "I ended up receiving a refund of just 368 pounds," Chen said in an interview with China Daily. "I didn't expect there'd be an additional handling fee at the airport counter, as a big chunk had already been taken out at the time of the purchase. Also, the currency exchange rate at the refund desk is low compared with high-street rates." "I may hesitate to shop again in London as the cost of getting a refund is too high," Chen added. Tourists mainly come to Sea Lake to visit the picturesque Lake Tyrrell located just outside of town. (Photo : kevalloyd.com.au) Sea Lake, a tiny Australian town located in the state of Victoria, is barely breathing, but Chinese tourists are helping it get back on its feet, according to an article by China Daily. Chinese tourists started pouring in the Australian town after it was featured as a little-known tourist attraction by several Chinese travel blogs. Advertisement "I wanted to go to some of the places without too many tourists," said Joseph Lee, one of 10 stargazers who came to Sea Lake from Sydney. "We'll go to the not-so-popular places to give my friends some new idea of what Australia looks like." Tourists mainly come to Sea Lake to visit the picturesque Lake Tyrrell located just outside of town. Shallow and often dry, this salt-crusted lake serves as a great backdrop for aspiring and professional photographers who want to capture the Milky Way. The lake also reflects the stars shining above, creating an eerie and otherworldly nightscape. It's like walking among the stars, according to Rachel Pearce, a local teacher. "The night skies here are reputably some of the best in the southern hemisphere, anywhere in the world really," Pearce shared in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp. Sea Lake, home to about 600 people, is so isolated that no light pollution ruins its dark night skies. Its location in Australia's barren region also proves to be an advantage, as there are rarely any clouds to spoil its spectacular views. "I see the beauty of the scenes and the different changes in the skies, the clouds and over the sun," said Alice Lee, a tourist from Hong Kong. "That's why we want to go." Due to its increasing popularity, most--if not all--of Sea Lake's motels are frequently fully booked every night. Tourism has provided an alternative way to generate income, as local farmers are experiencing a two-year drought. Some locals are still quite confused as to why tourists are coming to town. Japanese radar station set up in disputed territory incites angry response from China. (Photo : Getty Images) Japan switched on a radar station in an island along the East China Sea amid a territorial dispute with China, inciting angry response from authorities in Beijing. According to Reuters, the radar station known established in Yonaguni Island in Okinawa will provide permanent intelligence for Tokyo near Taiwan, 150 kilometers or about 90 miles south of the disputed territory known as the Senkaku Islands. Advertisement "Until yesterday, there was no coastal observation unit west of the main Okinawa island. It was a vacuum we needed to fill," Ground Self Defense Force Lieutenant Colonel Daigo Shiomitsu told the outlet. Shiomitsu, who was tasked to oversee operations of the Yonaguni base, further explained that the radar station will be able to provide them with quick information on activities in the area to "respond to all situations" and monitor the territory surrounding Japan. However, China was angered by the move, reiterating their claim on the Diaoyu Islands. "The Diaoyu Islands are China's inherent territory. We are resolutely opposed to any provocative behavior by Japan aimed at Chinese territory," the Chinese defense ministry responded. Furthermore, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei expressed his hopes that Japan would act more cautiously and "do more" for peace in the region in the midst of argument between the two Asian nations, as reported by the Global Times. "China has a clear and consistent stance on the East China Sea and Diaoyu Islands issues," Hong said. Hong also reminded Tokyo of the consequences of such acts based on history, emphasizing that Japan should remember to act "with discretion" to keep the peace. "We hope the Japanese side learns from the hard lessons of history, sticks to the path of peaceful development, acts with discretion on military and security issues and does more to enhance mutual trust with neighbors and to benefit regional peace and stability," Hong stated. For those going to Zimbabwe for pleasure, not business, they should not miss Victoria Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. (Photo : dmbtraveler195/YouTube) The clock is ticking for Chinese and other foreign investors doing business in Zimbabwe. April 1 marks the deadline for foreign companies to comply with the Zimbabwean governments indigenisation law, reported Zimbabwe Independent. Patrick Zhuwao, minister of the Youth, Indigenization and Economic Empowerment, said that the cabinet unanimously passed a resolution directing that from 1 April 2016, all line ministries proceed to issue orders to licensing authority to cancel licences of non-compliant businesses within their respective sectors of the economy. Advertisement Zhuwao, who announced the deadline on March 23, further said to foreign-owned businesses, Its either you comply or you close shop, according to Radio France International. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act requires foreign firms to sell 51 percent shares to locals. The government likewise enforces a new policy that would limit foreigners from operating in reserved areas, such as retail and agriculture, reported Namibian Sun. Zhang Ning, a research fellow at the National Academy of Economic Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the indigenisation act is extremely unfair to foreign investors. President Xi Jinping and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe signed a bilateral economic and technological cooperation agreement and a series of other deals covering such fields as infrastructure construction, production capacity, investment and financing, as well as wild life protection, reported the Xinhua News Agency. The 12 investment agreements signed by them amount to $4 billion, according to The Herald. President Xi visited Zimbabwe on Dec.1-2, 2015. Prior to it, Jiang Zemin was the last Chinese president to set foot in the country during a state visit in May 1996. Since 2000 China has emerged as Africas largest trading partner, said Wenjie Chen, David Dollar, and Heiwai Tang in their Aug. 2015 report, Why is China Investing in Africa? Evidence from the Firm Level. (Reuters) - Oscar-winning American actress Patty Duke, widely known for the 1960s show "The Patty Duke Show," died on Tuesday, her representative told Reuters. She was 69 years old. Duke died Tuesday morning in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho from sepsis due to a ruptured intestine, her spokesman Mitchell Stubbs said. "She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a mental health advocate and a cultural icon. She will be greatly missed," Stubbs said. Born Anna Duke in New York in 1946, the actress began working as a child in commercials, television and on stage. She won a best supporting actress Oscar for playing deaf-blind author and activist Helen Keller in 1962's "The Miracle Worker" at age 16, and later won an Emmy for playing Keller's instructor Annie Sullivan in 1979's TV movie of the same name. Helen Keller Services, a group dedicated to improving lives of those with visual and hearing impairment, said it was saddened by Duke's death. "Her performance in The Miracle Worker brought Helen Kellers indomitable spirit to life and inspired generations to pursue careers serving the deaf-blind community," the organization said in a statement. The actress also starred in her own sitcom, "The Patty Duke Show" from 1963 to 1966, and had a role in 1967's "Valley of the Dolls." She later became president of the Screen Actor's Guild in the 1980s, and also became an advocate for mental health issues after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982. The actress was married four times and has three children, including "Lord of the Rings" actor Sean Astin and "The Facts of Life" actor Mackenzie Astin. (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Diane Craft) Bogota (AFP) - A Colombian soldier who went missing in the jungle has been found after a 23-day ordeal that he survived by eating raw tortoise and singing rap songs to himself, the army said Tuesday. Yefer Orlando Sanchez Fonseca got separated from his unit on March 5 while on patrol in the dense tropical forest of central Colombia's Meta department, an area rife with armed groups, including the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The army said more than 500 troops combed the jungle and overflew the area looking for the 26-year-old soldier, before a lone colleague stumbled upon him Monday morning, more than three weeks after he went missing. Sanchez, who was found filthy and on the verge of fainting, said in a radio interview that he had no food or water when he got lost. "I was only carrying my equipment -- my rifle, ammunition, helmet, some explosives... a poncho, a machete, a canteen," he said. "Thanks to my army survival training, I learned that anything that monkeys eat, we can eat too." He lived off seeds and discovered that red-footed tortoise is a "delight," he said. "One of them crossed my path and I had to take advantage. I ate it raw. I was very hungry by that point," he said. He said he saw FARC rebels at one point while staggering through the thick vegetation, but decided against surrendering to them. "I barely slept. I was just clinging to my rifle, always on alert," he said. To keep his spirits up, he sang rap songs to himself -- a habit he is known for among his comrades, reported newspaper El Tiempo. When he crossed paths with the soldier who found him, both initially pointed their rifles at each other, before the rescuer's "very professional" handling of the situation defused the tension, Sanchez said. Sanchez, who is being treated for dehydration and fatigue at a military base, said he plans to stay in the army despite his ordeal. By Yiannis Kourtoglou and Nadia El Gowely LARNACA, Cyprus/CAIRO (Reuters) - An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt, who was arrested after giving himself up. The passengers and crew were unharmed. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, were on board the Airbus 320, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. Conflicting theories emerged about the motives of the hijacker, an Egyptian. A senior Cypriot official said he seemed unstable and the incident did not appear related to terrorism. The Cypriot state broadcaster said he had demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt. In the midst of the hijack, witnesses said he threw a letter on the apron at Cyprus's Larnaca airport, written in Arabic, and asked that it be delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca, negotiations began and everyone on board was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Soon afterwards, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off. The hijacker then surrendered to authorities. Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said the hijacker had threatened to blow himself up and demanded that the aircraft be refueled and head to Istanbul. "It looks like he realized his demands would not be met, allowing the last two hostages, Britons, to flee the aircraft. He also tried to leave, running out. He was arrested," said Kasoulides. "The explosives on him were examined. They werent explosives, but mobile phone covers." Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker would be questioned to ascertain his motives. "At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said. "ABNORMAL" HIJACKER Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had told authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who claimed to be wearing an explosive belt and forced him to divert the plane to Larnaca. Reached by telephone, Gammal told Reuters that the hijacker seemed "abnormal". Sounding exhausted, he said he had been obliged to treat the man as a serious security threat. Photographs on Egyptian state television showed a middle-aged man on a plane wearing glasses and displaying a white belt with bulging pockets and protruding wires. Television channels showed video footage of the hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, 59, being searched by security men at a metal detector at Borg al-Arab airport in Alexandria. Interior Ministry officials said he was expelled from law school and had a long criminal record, including robberies. Fethy, the Egyptian minister, said authorities suspected the suicide belt was not genuine but treated the incident as serious to ensure the safety of all those on board. "We cannot say this was a terrorist act... he was not a professional," Fethy told reporters after the incident. EgyptAir delayed a New York-bound flight from Cairo onto which some passengers of the hijacked plane had been due to connect. Fethy said it was delayed partly due to a technical issue but partly as a precaution. The hijacked plane remained on the tarmac at Larnaca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. EGYPT'S IMAGE The incident will deal another blow to Egypt's tourism industry and hurt efforts to revive an economy hammered by political unrest following the 2011 uprising that ousted veteran ruler Hosni Mubarak. The sector, a main source of hard currency for the import-dependent county, was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai peninsula in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said the Russian plane was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. The latest incident raised renewed questions over airport security, though it was not clear whether the hijacker was even armed. Ismail said stringent measures were in place. Passengers on the plane included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a Syrian and a French national, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. (Additionaly reporting by Michele Kambas in Athens and Mostafa Hashem, Ahmed Mohammed Hassan, Amina Ismail and Lin Noueihed in Cairo, Writing by Lin Noueihed, Editing by Michael Georgy and Mark Trevelyan) Interested in education but not in entering -- or staying in -- the classroom? With K-12 improvements a national priority and educational processes at all levels being transformed by new learning insights and technological advances, the field can now be accessed by many doors. A grad degree in education can take you into foundations, state agencies, corporations, media outlets, startups and even health care. Here are seven possible avenues to explore . [Get five answers for teachers about federal grants for grad school.] 1. Technology and new media: Technology and mobile devices have teachers flipping their classrooms, colleges rolling out online degrees, and workers in all sorts of fields earning digital badges by mastering new skills. Grads are taking their master's and doctoral degrees in instructional technology and media into jobs with community organizations, museums, after-school programs, design companies and industry. Carla Fisher, director of production innovation for kids and families at Netflix, earned her Ed.D. in 2012 and now oversees a team that "makes sure our members 12 and under are getting the best viewing experience." One cutting-edge path into educational tech is New York University's pioneering M.S. program in games for learning. The 36-credit program combines cognitive science and education theory with the technical aspects of game design and doesn't require any prior programming experience. 2. Speech-language pathology: Ask Tim Asfazadour what his toughest hiring challenge is and the chief human resources officer for the San Diego Unified School District immediately says, "No. 1: speech-language pathologists!" To attract these professionals, the district has boosted first-year pay to that of a teacher with 10 years' experience. The demand for speech pathologists -- who work in both education and health care aiding children or adults with speaking problems such as stuttering and struggles resulting from stroke, brain injury or Alzheimer's, for instance -- will rise by 21 percent through 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly twice the growth rate for all jobs. Story continues 3. Education leadership: Top-notch management is particularly needed now in education to navigate the changing terrain. As part of a Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching-supported initiative, the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, 80-plus ed schools are redesigning all aspects of the professional practice Ed.D. degree to better prepare the next generation of K-12 and college leaders. [Discover hot education careers.] 4. School psychology: Traditionally, school psychologists assessed and diagnosed struggling students. Today, their role is much expanded, as school districts are asked to support all students' behavioral, social and emotional health as well as their academics. "There are shortages of school psychologists all over the country," says Angela Whalen, a clinical associate professor in the field at the University of Oregon. Beyond K-12 schools, opportunities can be found at universities, in independent practice, and at state agencies. 5. Adult learning: To ensure that their employees' skills are up to par, corporations spent about the same amount on corporate training in 2014 -- more than $70 billion -- as the U.S. government spends annually on postsecondary education. That's where programs like Michigan State University's Master of Arts in higher, adult and lifelong education come in. Unlike younger learners, a class of adults has "a reservoir of experiences they are drawing on," notes William Arnold, an MSU assistant professor in educational administration. "And they tend to be much more focused in terms of their needs." The MSU program and others like it prepare students to teach adult learners in a variety of settings. 6. Health education: The need for health educators is booming. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the job market for these pros will expand by 13 percent between 2014 and 2024. Working as a nurse in Montgomery, Alabama, at Medical Outreach Ministries, Chris Anderson realized that she wanted "to know everything there was to know" about helping her uninsured, low-income patients avoid the ravages of diabetes. So she chose to pursue a highly specialized online master of science in diabetes education and management from Columbia University Teachers College and finished last May. The degree was just what she has needed, she says, to build an education program right for her population. [Explore four challenges of pursuing an online graduate degree in education.] 7. Policy and research: Too often, researchers and the people in the trenches operate in different worlds, says Chad Nash, director of college success initiatives at the Denver Scholarship Foundation, which provides access to higher education for minority, first-generation and low-income students. "Being able to speak both languages is key in leadership positions." Nash landed his position after earning his doctorate in the University of Colorado--Boulder's Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice program. The coursework, which covers policy analysis, curriculum theory, and the study of education historically and culturally, is designed to lead to careers in academia and at think tanks and research centers. This story is excerpted from the U.S. News "Best Graduate Schools 2017" guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data. The Waikiki Beach of the 1930s and 1940s was a continuous stretch of pristine white sand as photographs from that era have proved. (Photo : Getty Images) One of Hawaii's most iconic beaches, Waikiki Beach is facing erosion issues due to its nature as an engineered beach filled with imported sand, according to an article by China Daily. It's not a new problem since Waikiki Beach has been dealing with erosion for years. Advertisement To provide a solution that will preserve the beach, Hawaiian lawmakers are pushing for the implementation of a bill. The original bill stipulates that $1.5 million will be allocated to fill a part completely eroded with sand over time. A path will also be designed along the shoreline for pedestrians and cyclists. The latest version of the bill, however, did not specify dollar amounts, leaving legislators confused as to how the country will spend for the restoration of Waikiki Beach. For the past four years, Hawaii has spent over $2.4 million in order to pump sand to replenish Waikiki Beach. People have also been bringing sand offshore in order to create a wider beach for over 70 years. "I never understood the value of our beach as someone growing up here until I started hearing the stories from my grandfather of the 1940s," said Rep. Chris Lee, who introduced the bill, in an interview with China Daily. "It's a totally different beach than it was back then, and I think we have a chance to restore some of that magic." Waikiki Beach of the 1930s and 1940s was a continuous stretch of pristine white sand as photographs from that era have proved. Today, Waikiki Beach is littered with sections and seawalls in order to separate eroded areas from existing ones. According to Lee, restoring Waikiki Beach to its original, uninterrupted state is crucial in retaining its status as a popular tourist destination, so much so that it also contributes to the Hawaiian economy. "Beaches are the alluring factor to our islands and a staple reason why visitors travel here," said Mufi Hannemann, who works as CEO of Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association. "It is crucial that we not only maintain our beaches but improve them." News Microsoft Starts Rollout of Large-Screen Surface Hub The Surface Hub, Microsoft's big-screen videoconferencing and white-boarding product, began shipping last week. The conferencing center products, running Windows 10 and available with either 55-inch HD or 84-inch 4K displays, previously were available at the preview stage. Microsoft designed its Surface Hub products based on the big-screen technology of Perceptive Pixel Inc., a company it acquired back in 2012. Surface Hubs consist of a combination of Microsoft software and hardware. They come with Office software (Excel, PowerPoint, Word and OneNote) installed, although users also can connect Universal Windows Apps to the screen from their personal devices, if wanted. Surface Hubs also have Skype for Business software installed, which supports voice-over-IP phone calls, videoconferencing, instant messaging and presence capabilities. Surface Hubs have touch screens with white-boarding capability, which allows users to draw on OneNote displays using a stylus. These white-board images can be saved as OneNote files for later use on PCs. Surface Hub machines have two wide-angle cameras built into the device for video meetings. The hardware specs include fourth-generation Intel Core processors and either Intel HD Graphics 4600 graphics technology for 55-inch screens or Nvidia Quadro K2200 for 84-inch screens. Not Cheap Microsoft's announcement describes Surface Hubs as a teamwork product for use by hospitals, tech companies and architectural firms, along with corporate offices and boardrooms. Surface Hubs likely aren't for consumers. They're perhaps a bit pricey for that market. Forrester Research estimated that Surface Hubs will cost $33,000 initially, but the costs will rise to $54,000 in the first year and $269,500 in the second year. However, in its study (PDF), which was commissioned by Microsoft, Forrester Research estimated benefits of approximately $110,000 and $685,000 in years 1 and 2, respectively, when using Surface Hub. Surface Hub devices get sold through Microsoft's regional distributors. Sales are available in the U.S., Canadian, APAC and EMEA markets. In the United States, its current distributors include Ingram, Synnex and Tech Data. Microsoft also relies on its partner community to provide installation and other support. Details on Surface Hub sales and support are listed at this page. Other Skype Products In addition to its Surface Hub, Microsoft has other videoconferencing products built by its partners that are based on Skype for Business software. These products used to be called "Lync Room Systems" (Skype for Business previously went by the "Lync" product name), but Microsoft announced in November that Lync Room Systems will be rebranded as Skype Room Systems. Partners building Skype Room Systems include Crestron, Polycom and Smart. Microsoft considers its Surface Hub and Skype Room Systems to be two different products. A Microsoft spokesperson explained last year that Surface Hubs are broader collaboration devices adding Office, OneNote and Universal Windows Apps capabilities, while Skype Room Systems are focused "specifically on delivering a great Skype Meetings experience." Microsoft also has plans for targeting existing conferencing equipment that can be made to integrate with Skype for Business. Its "Project Rigel" collaboration effort, announced this month, is mustering the efforts of partners to transform common conferencing gear in that regard. Project Rigel promises to bring the Skype for Business meeting experience to "any meeting room with a display or projector." Microsoft announced that partners Logitech and Polycom have already built some Project Rigel equipment. Polycom is also collaborating with Microsoft on cloud-based presence and video teleconferencing products that are expected to arrive in the second half of this year. Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo announced in a press release on Tuesday (29 March) that it will open its first global flagship store in Singapore and the Southeast Asia region "this autumn." The new store, which spans 2,700 sq m of retail space across three levels, will be the largest Uniqlo store here and in the region. We are very honored, and excited, to open our first UNIQLO Global Flagship Store in Singapore. Having been a member of the local retail scene since 2009, we remain committed towards contributing to the local community and being an integral part of Singapores growth and future," said UNIQLO Southeast Asia chief executive officer, Taku Morikawa. The flagship store will be located in Orchard Central, which is currently undergoing its first major renovation since opening in 2009. Works at the 11-storey mall are expected to be completed by the third quarter of this year. In a statement to the media in December 2015, Far East Organizations Retail Business Group assistant director Eric Tong said the mall will be welcoming a major international brand, which will be setting up their first Southeast Asia flagship store at Orchard Central. He added that those affected15 percent of the mall tenantswere "offered to relocate within Orchard Central or to alternative Far East Organization malls to ensure business continuity, he said. Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg More from PropertyGuru: Newton Road site acquired for $18.8m New property cooling measures in major Chinese cities Budget 2016: Jurong West and Boon Lay the big winners Resale condo prices on upward trend Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was left scrambling for votes to save her presidency in a looming impeachment showdown after her main coalition partner walked out of the government. The PMDB, the country's largest party, voted to immediately end its alliance with Rousseff's leftist Workers' Party, or PT, and go into opposition. "From today, at this historic meeting of the PMDB, the PMDB withdraws from the government of President Rousseff," said Senator Romero Juca, the party vice president. The meeting, broadcast live on national television, was the culmination of a long divorce with Rousseff, leaving Brazil's first female president grasping at straws as she tries to stay in power. The vote and announcement took no more than three minutes and was accompanied by singing of the national anthem and shouts of "PT out!" The split plunges Rousseff's government into fresh crisis mode and, more seriously, greatly reduces her chances of mustering the one third of votes in the lower house of Congress that she needs to defeat a first impeachment vote, expected in April. "If you look at the numbers, that's basically it," said Everaldo Moraes, a political science professor at Brasilia National University. Rousseff cancelled a trip to Washington for a nuclear safety summit on Thursday and Friday, the state news agency said. A government spokesman said that in "the current political context," it was not advisable. - Last nail in coffin? - If the lower house votes in favor, an impeachment trial would start in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote would force Rousseff from office. PMDB head Michel Temer -- who remains vice president under Rousseff despite the break-up -- would take over as interim president. Eliseu Padilha, a high-ranking PMDB member who served as minister of civil aviation in Rousseff's government, predicted that Rousseff had only weeks left. "In less than three months we'll have a new government -- in two months," he told AFP. Senator Aecio Neves, who heads the PSDB opposition party and who narrowly lost to Rousseff when she won re-election in 2014, said: "The exit of the PMDB is the last nail in the coffin." The PMDB has 69 of the 513 lower house seats and 60 of these deputies will vote for impeachment, Padilha said. Analysts say that the PMDB's exit could also encourage minor coalition partners to quit. Lawmakers from the center-right Progressive Party, which has 49 deputies, and the center-left Social Democratic Party, which has 32, said their parties would meet this week on a possible split. However, Workers' Party loyalists are negotiating intensely with individual deputies, trying to persuade them to vote against the grain. "We can't give an exact evaluation, but they are exaggerating the support for impeachment among PMDB deputies," said Alfonso Florence, from the Workers' Party, who represents the government in the lower house. Echoing Rousseff, Florence said the opposition was effectively mounting "a coup." The impeachment case alleges that Rousseff illegally borrowed money to boost public spending and mask the severity of the recession from voters during her re-election. The Brazilian bar association filed a new impeachment petition Monday, seeking to expand the accusations to include allegations of involvement by Rousseff in the multibillion-dollar corruption scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras. - Lula controversy - Although still vice president, Temer, 75, increasingly resembles a politician preparing for power. . The growing instability has spilled onto the streets with millions of Brazilians marching against Rousseff and smaller, but still vigorous, rallies held in her defense. Another round of pro-Rousseff protests was planned for this Thursday. Rousseff has called on her mentor, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to become chief of staff so that he could stiffen resolve in the ranks and put his negotiating skills to use. But the move prompted a swift backlash from opponents who see the appointment as a bid to give Lula ministerial immunity and protect him from corruption allegations related to the Petrobras probe. The judge leading the probe controversially released a wire-tapped phone conversation between Rousseff and Lula that was interpreted as showing her giving him the post in order to shield him. Lula has forcefully denied this and the wording of the conversation is ambiguous. The full Supreme Court is expected to issue a definitive ruling on whether Lula can take up his appointment in the coming days. Although Lula is the highest-profile politician ensnared in the Petrobras scandal, representatives of many parties, including from the PMDB, also face accusations or have been charged. The PMDB's speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha, faces charges of taking millions of dollars of bribes in the Petrobras corruption scheme and hiding the money in Swiss accounts. Brazil's governing coalition faced collapse Tuesday as the main partner to Dilma Rousseff's leftist Workers' Party prepared to quit, leaving the embattled president -- who also faces impeachment -- in dire straits. Leaders of the PMDB, the country's largest party, said that a decision to break with the Workers' Party was almost certain at a meeting later in the day. "It will be an exit meeting, a goodbye to the government. We calculate we have a vote of more than 80 percent in favor of quitting," said PMDB lawmaker Osmar Terra. Senator Aecio Neves, who heads the PSDB opposition party and who narrowly lost to Rousseff when she won reelection in 2014, said: "Dilma's government is finished." "The exit of the PMDB is the last nail in the coffin," he said. Rousseff, who is fighting recession, street protests, a mammoth corruption scandal, and the push in Congress for her impeachment, met PMDB ministers Monday to try to convince them to stay. But a spokesman for party leader Michel Temer -- who as Rousseff's vice president will become interim president if she is impeached -- told AFP that the only hold-up to an exit was a final decision on how long to give PMDB cabinet members to leave their posts. Already on Monday, Tourism Minister Henrique Alves resigned, saying time had "run out" on the president. - Impeachment votes - The PMDB, the mostly centrist and largest party in Brazil, has long been an awkward partner for Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT). But its votes in Congress, where it has 69 of the 513 lower house seats, are important to Rousseff, who needs one third of the lower house to avoid impeachment. Rousseff also fears that the PMDB's exit will encourage other coalition partners to jump ship. Lawmakers from both the center-right Progressive Party (PP), which has 49 deputies, and the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD), which has 32, said their parties would meet this week on a possible split. Rousseff faces impeachment on charges that she illegally borrowed money to boost public spending and mask the severity of the recession. A congressional committee is currently tasked with making a recommendation to the full lower house, which would then vote. The Brazilian bar association filed a new impeachment petition Monday, seeking to expand the accusations to include allegations of involvement by Rousseff in the multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras. Angry protests erupted in Congress as lawyers filed the papers. "Putschists!" shouted Rousseff supporters, while the lawyers sang the national anthem in response. - Desperately seeking allies - Although technically still vice president, Temer, 75, increasingly resembles a politician preparing for power. He met Monday with opposition leader Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost the 2014 election to Rousseff. The growing instability has spilled onto the streets with millions of Brazilians marching against Rousseff and smaller, but still vigorous, rallies held in her defense. Rousseff called on her mentor, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to become chief of staff so that he could stiffen resolve in the ranks and put his negotiating skills to use. But the move prompted a swift backlash from opponents who see the appointment as a bid to give Lula ministerial immunity and protect him from corruption allegations related to the Petrobras probe. The judge leading the probe controversially released a wire-tapped phone conversation between Rousseff and Lula that was interpreted as showing her giving him the post in order to shield him. Lula has forcefully denied this and the wording of the conversation is ambiguous. The full Supreme Court is expected to issue a definitive ruling on whether Lula can take up his appointment in the coming days. The endgame in this shifting of alliances is the impeachment battle, where opponents must reach two-thirds of the lower house vote -- 342 deputies -- to open a full trial in the Senate. In the Senate, another two-thirds vote would force her from office. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fighting between Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front spread from Syria into Lebanon's northern Bekaa Valley region on Monday, killing combatants on both sides, a security source and the state news agency said. Eighteen Nusra Front members were killed and six were taken prisoner during the clashes, and 14 Islamic State members were also killed, the security source said. Islamic State said in an online statement that it killed 17 members of Nusra Front. The fighting began on Sunday near the Syrian town of Jrajeer in the Qalamoun mountains near the Syrian-Lebanese border, before spreading towards the Lebanese towns of Ras Baalbek and Arsal, the source said. Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Nusra Front had fought on Sunday to regain some positions it lost to Islamic State. In the fighting it said 10 Nusra Front fighters and eight Islamic State militants had died. The border is not clearly demarcated in the mountainous region and fighting often spills over into Lebanon. Nusra Front, loyal to the successors of Osama bin Laden, and Islamic State are the two most powerful forces fighting government forces in Syria. The groups have also fought each other since a split in 2013, prompted largely by a power struggle between leaders. Nusra Front and Islamic State fighters have staged regular incursions into Arsal from the barren hills just outside. They overran the town briefly in 2014 before withdrawing to the hills after clashes with the army. However, security sources say both groups continue to have a strong presence in the town, where thousands of Syrian refugees live in dire conditions. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Trevelyan) Google Buys YouTube For $1.65bn (Photo : Getty Images) New servers purchased by Google in Asia could have confused Chinas censors which explains why Googles search engine was available to mainland China users for almost two hours. The search engine of Google, Gmail, Instagram, YouTube and Google photos became available to Chinese users from 11:30 p.m. on Sunday through about 1:15 a.m. on Monday. However, it was blocked again, reported CNBC. Advertisement The newly purchased servers of Google had IP addresses likely not recognized immediately by the Great Firewall of China which banned Google in 2010 for refusing to comply with Beijings censorship requirement. Users of Chinese social media sites, such as Weibo and WeChat, initially mistook the availability of Google as the right to free speech restored to Chinese citizens. Li Yue, an IT engineer based in Shenzhen, wrote, At that moment, I even believed that Google was unblocked and that free speech had come back to [mainland] China again, quoted The South China Morning Post. Gongxinhua1 tweeted, Google temporarily accessible. My friends are all talking about it. It seems everybody is psyched, doing all kinds of searches, quoted The Washington Post. Someone searched Google for June 4 when the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre occurred and it yielded photos of the square and military tanks. Another typed the phrase Chinas best actor which showed as top search result a book with that name about former Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The searcher pointed out Baidu, the local search engine, would yield different results. To go around the firewall, some Chinese use virtual private network (VPN) services which is expensive and slows down browsing speeds. While by 1:16 a.m., Chinas firewall appeared to have discovered the hole and bricked it, but as of Monday afternoon, google.co.kr was still working. MOSCOW (Reuters) - The presidents of Russia and Iran agreed on Monday to step up bilateral contacts, including over the Syrian conflict, in which both countries are allies of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian government and Western-backed opposition are currently holding U.N.-mediated peace talks as part of a diplomatic push launched with U.S.-Russian support to end the five-year conflict in which more than a quarter of a million people have been killed. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani had exchanged views on the conflict and a range of other topical issues during a telephone call. It gave no further details. Rouhani was quoted as saying cooperation and coordination between Tehran and Moscow were essential for peace in Syria. "During the ceasefire, the political talks (among Syrian groups) should be accelerated but this should not halt the fighting against terrorists in Syria," Iran's state news agency IRNA quoted the president as saying. Both the Kremlin and the secretary of the Iranian National Security Council (NSC) have congratulated Assad on the success of his forces in recapturing the desert city of Palmyra from Islamic State militants. "The Iranian government and armed forces will continue their full support of Syria and the Axis of Resistance," NSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani was quoted as saying. Iran refers to the regional anti-Israel alliance as the 'axis of resistance'. Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air support drove Islamic State out of Palmyra on Sunday, inflicting what the army called a "mortal blow" to militants who seized the city last year and dynamited its ancient temples. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova, additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in Dubai; Editing by Christian Lowe and Gareth Jones) STEM Rochester Institute of Tech Holds STEM Camps for Students with Hearing Disabilities The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) will host week-long summer camps focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for students with hearing disabilities entering grades 7-9. "TechBoyz and TechGirlz camps are designed to help students learn about and consider jobs and careers in the STEM fields," according to a news release. "Through hands-on activities, campers will explore chemistry, computers, engineering and science even building their own computers to take home and commanding simulated missions to Mars. They also will meet other students with similar interests and enjoy social activities." Classes are held in both English and sign language and follow National Science Education Standards. The camp costs $700 and includes food for the week, lodging in RIT residence halls and tuition. Limited financial assistance is also available. Camp will be held July 23-28. More information is available at rit.edu/ntid/techgirlz and rit.edu/ntid/techboyz. Argentina is celebrating a UN commission decision that has increased its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. Argentina's foreign ministry said its waters had been increased by 0.66 million square miles (1.7 million square kilometres) - 35% - and the decision will be key in its dispute with Britain over the islands which it calls Las Malvinas. "This is a historic occasion for Argentina because we've made a huge leap in the demarcation of the exterior limit of our continental shelf," foreign minister Susana Malcorra said. "This reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf." The islands were at the centre of a dispute in 1982 when Argentina seized the South Atlantic archipelago and put its troops on British sovereign territory. Britain repelled the occupation and the islands are now self-governing, with Britain responsible for its defence and foreign affairs - and many islanders still want no connection with Argentina. The UK says the islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentine rule against their will. Earlier this month, the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf sided with Argentina ratifying the country's 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast. However, the UN did note that the diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain remained unresolved. The Falkland Islands government has said it is looking to Britain to discover "what, if any, decisions have been made, and what implications there may be" now for the territory. "Our understanding has always been that the UN would not make any determination on applications for continental shelf extension in areas where there are competing claims," said spokesman Mike Summers. The Falklands' economy is benefiting currently from the millions of dollars being spent on oil exploration in the region. The British Government has not yet commented. BAKU (Reuters) - Azeri human rights activist and lawyer Intigam Aliyev was freed from jail on Monday, his lawyer said. Azerbaijan pardoned 148 prisoners including journalists, rights activists and political opponents this month in an apparent move to deflect Western criticism of the ex-Soviet republic's human rights record. Analysts say President Ilham Aliyev has included some political prisoners in amnesties in recent years to avoid complaints over crackdowns on free speech in Azerbaijan, a major oil and natural gas exporter. The Baku supreme court on Monday reduced lawyer Aliyev's seven-and-a-half-year prison term to a five-year probation period. Aliyev was detained in the Azeri capital Baku in August 2014 and charged with tax evasion, abuse of office and illegal entrepreneurship. London-based Amnesty International said Aliyev's release was "an overdue step towards righting the injustice against him". "Prisoner of conscience Intigam Aliyev has paid dearly for his frontline human rights work the only 'crime' he committed was to defend his fellow citizens' freedoms," said Denis Krivosheev, Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. Amnesty International said seven prisoners of conscience were still jailed in Azerbaijan. The government says Azerbaijan, a Caspian Sea republic of about 9 million people bordering Russia, Iran and Turkey, enjoys full freedom of speech and a free press. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova and Margarita Antidze; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov/Ruth Pitchford) By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown announced a deal with legislators and labor leaders on Monday to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023, saying the nation's most-populous state would lead the way toward higher pay for the working poor. The proposal, which still must win approval from moderate lawmakers, would make California the first to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour - the highest in the nation - while giving the governor the right to opt out if the economy falters. Raising the minimum wage has cropped up on many Democratic Party candidates' agendas ahead of the November elections and the issue could help mobilize Democratic voters to the polls. According to the governor's office, 2.2 million Californians currently earn the state minimum wage of $10 an hour. The idea of raising the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour for more than six years, has been opposed by Republicans and some business groups, who say a higher minimum wage would harm small businesses and strain government budgets. "You've got a Congress that doesn't get it, so out to lunch. I'm hoping that what happens in California will not just stay in California but will be exported to the rest of the country," Brown said at a press conference in Sacramento. The deal would commit the state, home to one of the world's biggest economies, to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 for large businesses and 2023 for smaller firms. It would also head off a pair of competing ballot initiatives championed by labor leaders that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021. But passage of the proposal was not guaranteed without support from more moderate members of the Democrat-controlled legislature. Absent from the press conference was Anthony Rendon, speaker of the state Assembly, where the bill was expected to face opposition. Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has called for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. Story continues Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics, said increasing the minimum wage was not effective in reducing poverty because the poorest workers were most at risk of losing their jobs when employers cut positions. "This is not costless," Thornberg said. These are the people that businesses will say, "If Im going to pay $15 bucks an hour, Im not going to hire them.'" Fourteen states and several cities began 2016 with minimum wage increases, typically phasing in raises that will ultimately take them to between $10 and $15 an hour. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein, Robin Respaut and Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sara Catania, Grant McCool and Alan Crosby) BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military will end so-called paid for services within the next three years, state media said on Monday, the latest move to modernise the armed forces amid a reform and anti-corruption push. The People's Liberation Army announced the move in November, meaning non-core activities such as military-run hospitals and hotels open to the public will be ditched. The military was banned from overt commercial activities in 1998, but allowed some exceptions. According to a circular issued by the Central Military Commission, headed by President Xi Jinping, the armed forces must not sign any new contracts for paid services and allow existing contracts to expire. The notice was carried on the front page of the People's Liberation Army Daily. Ending all paid services is "an important political task" and all members of the military must fully implement the decision, the notice said. Services that fulfil an important social security function will be allowed to be included under a new "civil-military integration" scheme, it added, a programme the government has given few details about. The official Xinhua news agency said the change had been introduced "to reduce corruption in the army". The military is reeling from an anti-corruption campaign Xi launched three years ago, which has seen dozens of officers investigated, including two former vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou. Xu died of cancer last year before he went on trial. Guo has yet to face a court. Gong Fangbin, a professor at the PLA's National Defence University, told the state-run Global Times newspaper the end of paid-for services would help with the military's modernisation. "Paid services can sometimes encourage corruption and the military should focus on national defence," Gong said. "The announcement also aims to improve the military's combat capability." The People's Liberation Army Daily said in editorial the military's real focus should be on how to win wars, and seeking profits would only distract them. "The military's basic function is to fight, and deviating from that core activity will bring endless disaster," it said. Xi's push to reform the military coincides with China becoming more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. Its navy is investing in submarines and aircraft carriers and its air force is developing stealth fighters. The armed forces are also losing 300,000 members, following a surprise announcement by Xi in September. The reforms have proven controversial, and the military's newspaper has published commentaries warning of opposition to the changes and concern about jobs. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel) ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for killing at least 70 people in an Easter Sunday attack on a park in the eastern city of Lahore, the latest in a series of brutal attacks by the group. The suicide attack on Sunday targeted Christians and others celebrating Easter and was the second attack by the Jamaat-ur-Ahrar on Christians in the city since last year. Sunday's bombing further illustrated an apparent shift in strategy by Pakistani militants since the start of last year. Many major attacks since then have specifically targeted religious minorities, including non-Muslims and minority Muslim sects. Pakistani authorities have expressed fears that the entrance of the Middle East-based Islamic State ideology - which places greater emphasis on killing Christians and minority Shi'ite Muslims - could intensify sectarian violence in Pakistan. Sunni Muslims are the vast majority in Pakistan's population of 190 million, while Shi'ite Muslims account for about 20 percent, Christians about 2 percent and Hindus and the Ahmadi Muslim sect a combined 1 percent. The following list outlines a recent uptick in Jamaat-ur-Ahrar attacks. MAJOR ATTACKS CLAIMED BY JAMAAT-UR-AHRAR FACTION SINCE 2015 - Jan 9, 2015: Eight people killed after a bomb rips through a Shi'ite mosque in northern city of Rawalpindi. - Mar 15, 2015: Twin church bombings in Lahore kill 14 Christian worshippers, triggering riots. - Dec 29, 2015: 23 killed in attack on a government office in the northwestern town of Mardan, about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of the capital Islamabad. - Feb 18, 2016: Nine paramilitary personnel killed in two separate attacks on checkposts in the Mohmand tribal area, where Jamaat-ur-Ahrar is based, about 160 km (100 miles) from Islamabad. - March 1, 2016: Two Pakistani U.S. consulate employees killed in roadside bombing targeting vehicle convoy in Mohmand Agency. - March 7, 2016: Suicide bomber attacks court complex in Shabqadar, about 145 km (90 miles) northwest of Islamabad, killing 10 people. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar says attack is "revenge" for the execution a week earlier of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who killed a provincial governor over perceived blasphemy in 2011. - March 27, 2016: Suicide bomber attacks public park in eastern city of Lahore, killing at least 70 people. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar says attack targeted Christians celebrating Easter. (Reporting by Asad Hashim; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Marja Novak LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's economic growth is expected to slow to 1.9 percent in 2016 and reach some 2 percent a year later, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Slovenia said on Tuesday. GDP growth will be lower than the 2.9 percent reached last year mainly because of lower investment, which will fall due to lower expected inflow of European funds, Nikolay Kirov Gueorguiev told a news conference. He also urged Slovenia to speed up privatisation and introduce a pension reform that will gradually raise the retirement age to 67. At present Slovenians can retire at the age of 59 but that will be gradually raised to 65 by 2019 according to a reform enforced in 2013. "Given the ageing profile of the Slovenian population ... (a new) pension reform should start as soon as possible," Gueorguiev said. He said the government privatisation strategy that was adopted last year "calls for the state to retain direct control of too many companies" and urged "a fast and more comprehensive privatisation" which should improve corporate governance in the country and enable higher economic growth in the long run. In December Slovenia approved a plan to start selling the state's stakes in about 30 companies this year after it had earlier last year decided to keep most energy firms, insurers and many other important firms in state hands in the long run. Gueorguiev stressed the need for a "timely and well-designed" bank privatisation, saying the government should reconsider its plans to sell only 75 percent of the country's largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) and prevent any investor holding a stake in the bank that would be bigger than the government's stake of 25 percent. Finance Minister Dusan Mramor told the same news conference that the conditions for the privatisation of NLB, which is due to start later this year, will be reconsidered and possibly changed in June or July. Over the past decades Slovenia has been reluctant to sell its major banks and a number of other companies, saying that would be against the national interest. As a consequence, the country still controls about 60 percent of the banking sector and 50 percent of the economy as a whole. In 2013 the euro zone member narrowly avoided an international bailout for its banks. The government had to pour more than 3 billion euros into mostly state-owned banks that year to prevent them from collapsing under a large amount of bad loans. (Reporting by Marja Novak; editing by Adrian Croft) By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to a European Union summit this week, seeking to patch up a four-year diplomatic feud with Italy that has grown toxic enough to threaten New Delhi's ambitions to become a bigger global player. India hopes the Brussels summit will bring a thaw in ties with Italy, and keep it from blocking the Asian nation's membership of a key global group on missile technology, after Rome single-handedly scuppered India's bid to join last year. "We have always wanted a vibrant, robust partnership with Italy," said Indian foreign ministry official Nandini Singla. "We see Italy as a key EU partner." The row between the two nations stems from India's arrest of two Italian Marines to stand trial for the killing of two fishermen off the southern Indian coast in 2012, a crime Italy said was beyond the jurisdiction of Indian courts. One of the men has been allowed to return home for medical treatment, while the other is confined to the Italian embassy. Italy has sought international arbitration of the case, with a United Nations tribunal set to hold hearings this week. An Italian government source said Italy seeks the return of the second Marine held at its New Delhi embassy, since the trial process in India had effectively ended after both parties agreed to international arbitration. "Theres no reason for him to stay in India for the arbitration. We have asked that he be allowed to follow the proceedings from his own country," said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case. India has joined the arbitration process and would respect the tribunal's decision, said Singla, who is the joint secretary for Western Europe at the Indian foreign ministry. "This is not really a bilateral issue anymore, it has been taken out of the bilateral ambit and to an international tribunal." She did not say how India would respond to the Italian request, however. The sailors were part of a military team protecting an Italian oil tanker when, they say, they mistook a fishing boat for a pirate vessel and fired warning shots. Two fishermen died. The EU plans to raise the issue of the Marines with Modi, according to an internal EU council note seen by Reuters, which said that such cases can influence the global fight on piracy. For India, membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime, along with three other groups controlling the transfer of nuclear and other armaments is part of a diplomatic campaign to become a global player. The MTCR is due to meet in October, when New Delhi will renew its bid for membership. "We are interested in membership of all four regimes, we are engaged in dialogue with the groups as well as individual members," said Amandeep Singh Gill, head of the international security division of the Indian foreign ministry. (Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in ROME and Francesco Guarascio in BRUSSELS; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) By Tommy Wilkes NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will meet its target of doubling coal production by 2020 without the help of private miners, the country's coal and power minister said, ruling out new measures to entice cash-strapped companies to begin mining the commodity. India wants to produce 1.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2020 to power its economy and reduce imports. State-owned Coal India Ltd, the world's largest coal miner, has raised production in line with reaching a target of 1 billion tonnes a year within four years and the government wants private miners to produce much of the remainder. But only a few companies that won the right to mine coal for their power plants last year have started production as they struggle to recover their costs, while the ministry this month delayed plans to open up commercial mining to private firms because of weak demand and depressed coal prices. Piyush Goyal, India's power and coal minister, told Reuters that state-owned companies including power producer NTPC Ltd, Steel Authority of India Ltd and National Aluminium Co Ltd would instead pick up the slack by expanding their own mining operations. "That target I will meet even if (private companies) don't come in," he said in a interview on March 23. "In the days to come I'll be auctioning out more mines. Ive already got my plans in place." NTPC is on course to produce 300 million tonnes alone by 2020, said Goyal, a former investment banker. India's success in boosting its coal output after years of missed production targets has been central to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's energy policy. Despite environmental worries, India plans to continue to depend on burning coal to provide power for its 1.3 billion people, some 300 million of whom still lack access to electricity. The government last year auctioned off captive mines, sites already near end-users such as power plants, to private firms such as Hindalco Industries Ltd and Adani Power Ltd. But most companies have not begun mining and have warned that rules prohibiting them from passing on rising costs to end-users make it tough to recover their costs after aggressive bidding during the auctions. Goyal, however, said he would stick with the current system. "These coal mines were given out by a system where the price benefit would go out to the people of India. It was a transparent bid by independent people without any compulsion to bid any price," he said. "They bid and they got it." While Indian demand for coal has been lower-than-expected, Goyal said a major reform of indebted electricity distributors would soon free these utilities to start buying more power, boosting demand for coal. Total investment into India's energy sector reached around $50 billion this financial year, he said, with roughly the same level expected next year as the government tenders new wind and solar projects and upgrades transmission lines. (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) An Algerian man suspected of making fake identity documents for the Paris and Brussels attackers has been captured in Italy. Djamal Eddine Ouali was arrested by armed anti-terrorism police in the southern region of Salerno. Belgian authorities issued an arrest warrant for the 40-year-old, who was wanted for "aiding and abetting illegal immigration" by producing false papers which could be used for illegal travel. Italian state police added he was part of a "network of counterfeiters of residence permits linked to the Brussels attacks". Local media reports suggest Ouali's name was found in files uncovered during a raid in an apartment near Brussels last October - with photos of the militants involved in last November's attacks emerging, and details of their aliases also being revealed. One of the photographs seized was reportedly of Najim Laachraoui, one of the suicide bombers at Zaventem Airport. Ouali could be extradited to Belgium within the coming days, and Italian authorities have launched an investigation to determine how he came to be in the country. At a news conference yesterday, Belgian prosecutors confirmed they have identified 24 of the 31 people killed in Tuesday's attacks so far - 11 of them foreign nationals. They also warned that number of fatalities could rise, as some body parts are yet to be identified. One of the doctors involved in treating 93 people at a Belgian military hospital said 15 patients are in a serious burns unit - and five are in intensive care. Dr Serge Jennes, who had treated similar injuries during his service in Afghanistan, said he and his colleagues had been shocked at the condition of some of the women and children in their care. A planned march in solidarity with the victims has been cancelled by organisers after Belgium's interior minister said security services were too stretched to guarantee their safety. The March Against Fear had been due to take place at the Place de La Bourse, which has become a shrine following the attacks Story continues Meanwhile, a man identified as Faycal Cheffou has been charged with terrorist murder after the Brussels attacks. Cheffou has also been charged with participation in a terrorist group and attempted terrorist killings, Belgian prosecutors said in a statement. The self-styled journalist was one of several men detained in police raids on Thursday. No weapons or explosives were found in a search of his home. Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur told Belgium's Le Soir newspaper Cheffou was known to authorities and is "dangerous". Cheffou had been detained a number of times at a park where he attempted to encourage asylum seekers camped there to turn to radical Islam, Mr Mayeur said. Two other men, Aboubakar A. and Rabah N. have also been charged with terrorist activities and membership of a terrorist group, according to prosecutors. Rabah N. was arrested in a raid in France this week that authorities say foiled an apparent attack plot. Authorities in Belgium and France have carried out numerous raids and made a series of arrests over the last few days as part of a major terror crackdown. SANTIAGO (Reuters) - South American neighbours Chile and Bolivia, which have long had thorny relations, are at loggerheads again - this time over access to a river that crosses their shared border. Over the Easter weekend, Bolivian leftist President Evo Morales threatened to go to the International Court of Justice in the Hague to resolve a long-running but until now low-profile dispute over the river Silala. Morales, who has been under pressure at home over an unfolding scandal involving a former girlfriend, argues that Chile has no right to use the water of the river, which originates in Bolivian territory and then flows into Chile. But top copper exporter Chile, which uses some of the water in the parched Atacama desert to feed mine operations, says the waters are international. Center-left President Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that Chile would counter with its own case in the Hague if Bolivia went ahead with its threat. "We will carry out all necessary actions to protect our national sovereignty," she said. Bolivia is already pressing a case against Chile in the Hague, seeking to force its neighbour to enter negotiations to grant it a corridor to the Pacific Ocean. (Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta; Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by W Simon) By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - Donald Trump is a brave pro-Putin political maverick who would end U.S. foreign wars and perhaps lift sanctions on Moscow. Hillary Clinton, however, is a warmonger beholden to the military-industrial complex. Russian state TV, which hews closely to the Kremlin's world view, leaves little doubt about who Moscow supports in November's U.S. presidential election: "The Donald." Vladimir Putin's spokesman took brief exception this month to a Trump attack video which showed Putin laughing at the prospect of Clinton defending America. But officials and analysts say the Kremlin still sees Trump as the best candidate by a mile. Putin has hailed Trump as "very talented". The head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee said he'd be a worthy winner of the 2015 "man of the year" title in the United States. And Dmitry Kiselyov, presenter of Russia's main weekly TV news show "Vesti Nedeli," claimed this month that the Republican party elite had struck a secret deal with the Democrats to derail Trump, in part because of his sympathy for Russia. "Trump doesn't suit the Republican party," Kiselyov told viewers. "They usually divide up the state budget (among themselves) by frightening people about Russia. But Trump is ready to find a common language with Putin. That's why they don't need Trump and even regard him as dangerous." Kiselyov has been one of the chief proponents of state television's strongly anti-American tone, once saying Moscow could turn the United States into radioactive ash. Some experts say Trump appeals to Moscow because Putin believes a Trump presidency would be isolationist and leave Russia with a free hand. "The Kremlin can't believe its luck," said Konstantin von Eggert, an independent Moscow-based political analyst who believes the Obama administration has not been forceful in countering Russia. "President Obama and (Secretary of State) John Kerry were a dream team for them, but now they have an even better option; someone who thinks that America should have nothing to do with the rest of the world." RT, the Kremlin's English-language TV channel formerly known as Russia Today, says it does not back any U.S. candidates. But it has described Trump as "idiosyncratic and raw," and suggested he represents the popular will of U.S. voters, which a sinister U.S. establishment is trying to subvert. "Can America's elections be truly called democratic if the political establishment aligns itself against the popular will?" lamented Peter Lavelle, the American host of RT's flagship talk "CrossTalk" show. "As things stand now millions of voters could be disenfranchised." 'THANK GOD FOR TRUMP' Trump has received advice from Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, a former U.S. military intelligence chief who advocates better ties with Russia, and who shared a dinner table in Moscow with Putin in December to celebrate RT's 10th anniversary. Trump has won friends in Moscow with statements praising Putin as a strong leader that he could probably get along with. His support for Russian air strikes in Syria was welcomed. In January, after a British judge ruled that Putin had "probably" authorized the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London, Trump said he saw "no evidence" the Russian president was guilty. "First of all, he says he didn't do it. Many people say it wasn't him. So who knows who did it?" Trump said. This week, Trump said the United States should reduce funding for NATO. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said his comments showed the alliance was in crisis. "For the last two years all we heard from Western newspapers and TV was very critical of Russia," Victoria Zhuravleva, a Moscow-based expert on U.S.-Russia relations, told Reuters. "So when you hear something that is not so critical and even more friendly towards your country it's like: 'Thank God, There's one person we can talk to: Donald Trump'" Trump and Putin were similar, she said: "They are both open-minded, pragmatic, and say what they think." 'THE OLD BRIGAND' The mutual appreciation between Trump and Putin has invited comparisons to the Russian leader's friendship with another billionaire-turned-politician, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who outraged Ukrainians and irked EU leaders last year by visiting Russian-annexed Crimea with Putin. They toured a Crimean winery and drank a priceless 240-year-old bottle from its cellar. By contrast, Hillary Clinton, who is well known to the Kremlin because of her 2009-2013 stint as U.S. Secretary of State, is clearly not to Moscow's taste. "We really don't want Hillary," said one Russian official, who spoke anonymously because of the subject's sensitivity. "She's no friend of Russia's." State media coverage has focused on what it has cast as her wacky promise to declassify UFO files and on the pressure she has faced for using her personal email account for government business and over her response to the fatal 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Pro-Kremlin bloggers, corralled by a Putin supporter who used to represent the ruling party in parliament, are enthused by the prospect of agitating on behalf of Trump. "Trump is the first member of the American elite in 20 years who compliments Russia. Trump will smash America as we know it, we've got nothing to lose," Konstantin Rykov told his followers on social media. "Do we want the grandmother Hillary? No. Maybe it's time to help the old brigand." (Editing by Peter Graff) By Can Sezer and Jeff Mason ISTANBUL/ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will hold informal talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Washington this week, the White House said on Tuesday, dismissing suggestions that the lack of a formal meeting represented a snub to Ankara. Erdogan will be among more than 50 world leaders attending a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday, during which time he is due to have a formal meeting with Vice President Joe Biden. There had been intense speculation in the Turkish media over whether Obama would meet Erdogan, with some suggesting a failure to do so would mark a deliberate U.S. snub amid differences over Syria and Washington's concerns over the direction of Turkey's domestic policies. At a news conference in Istanbul before leaving for the United States earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan said a meeting with Obama at the nuclear summit was planned, although he said he did not know how long it would last. Biden's office later said the vice president would host Erdogan for a meeting on Thursday in Washington. "I would expect that over the course of the visit, the president will have an opportunity at some point to have at least an informal discussion with President Erdogan," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with Obama. Earnest said the lack of a formal meeting should not be interpreted as a snub, noting Biden's planned meeting with Erdogan as well as the large number of foreign leaders due to attend the summit. "There obviously is a lot of important work to do with our allies in Turkey ... It also includes continuing to intensify our coordination on key aspects of our counter-ISIL strategy, including ramped-up efforts to secure the Turkey-Syria border," he said. ISIL is another name for the Sunni militant group Islamic State. Turkey, a NATO member, is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. SHARP DIVIDE Though allies, Washington and Ankara are sharply divided over a Kurdish militia in northern Syria. The militia has enjoyed U.S. military support but Turkey, which has a large ethnic Kurdish minority in its conflict-riven southeast region, sees it as a threat to its own national security. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged there were strains between the United States and Turkey on a range of issues, but added that Washington regards Ankara's assistance as essential to fighting Islamic State. The United States has also grown increasingly critical of Turkey's record on freedom of expression. Biden said during a visit in January that Turkey was setting a poor example in intimidating media and accusing academics of treason. Erdogan, meanwhile, said on Tuesday he wanted U.S. authorities to take steps against a network of schools run by a movement affiliated with Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Turkish cleric whom he has accused of running a "parallel" state and of plotting to overthrow him. Gulen, whose network of followers runs schools worldwide, was once an ally of Erdogan. But the two publicly fell out after police and prosecutors Erdogan saw as sympathetic to Gulen launched a graft investigation that touched on the Turkish leader's inner circle in 2013. Gulen, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey, denies that his followers sought to topple Erdogan. Erdogan has said the arrest last week in Florida of a Turkish-Iranian gold trader who was at the center of that graft investigation is not a concern for Turkey. "The real money launderers are there (in the United States). Have the authorities taken any steps towards them?" Erdogan said, in reference to Gulen's network. (Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Can Sezer, Ayla Jean Yackley and Akin Aytekin in Istanbul; Writing by Nick Tattersall and David Dolan; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Gareth Jones) By Can Sezer and Gulsen Solaker ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned a foreign diplomat on Monday over a "selfie" taken at the espionage trial of two journalists, after Britain's consul-general tweeted a photo of himself with one of the reporters. Erdogan has harshly criticised Western diplomats after several showed up on Friday to support Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and his colleague Erdem Gul on the first day of their trial in Istanbul. The journalists are accused of trying to topple the government with the publication of a video purporting to show Turkey's state intelligence agency helping to ferry weapons into Syria by truck in 2014. The two face life imprisonment and their case has brought international condemnation and raised concerns about freedom of the press in Turkey. "The consul general of a certain country went to the trial of a journalist charged with espionage, to support him. Moreover he gets a picture taken cheek to cheek (with the journalist) and had it published," the state-run Anadolu agency quoted Erdogan as saying, citing the text of a speech to Turkey's War Academy. "And he does not stop at that, on social media he says things like 'Turkey needs to decide what kind of country it will be', words that exceed their intended meaning." Erdogan did not name the diplomat. British Consul General Leigh Turner on Friday posted a photograph of himself with Dundar on Twitter before the start of the hearing. Several other ambassadors, consuls-general and diplomats also attended. Turner tweeted: "Key point not comparisons or history but Turkey deciding for itself what kind of country it wants to be." Asked about Erdogan's comments, a British Foreign Office spokesman in London said diplomats regularly observe trials around the world in compliance with international conventions. "This is an important case for freedom of expression in Turkey and we, along with our EU partners, will continue to monitor its progress," the spokesman said. HOSPITALITY Erdogan said the diplomat was only in Turkey because of the hospitality of the Turkish government, Anadolu reported. "If this person could still go on working here that's because of our generosity and hospitality. If it were another country they wouldn't let a diplomat who exhibits this kind of behaviour to stay there a day more," it quoted him as saying. The Turkish foreign ministry is conveying its displeasure to some foreign governments over social media postings from the trial, an official said, adding that the sharing did not conform with the principle of impartiality and could interfere with an independent judicial process. Erdogan, who has cast Cumhuriyet's coverage as part of an attempt to undermine Turkey's global standing, has vowed that Dundar will "pay a heavy price". On Friday, the court accepted the prosecutor's request for Erdogan to be one of the complainants and ruled the trial should be heard behind closed doors, decisions that drew anger from the journalists' supporters. The trial comes as Turkey tries to deflect criticism from the European Union - which it aspires to join - and from rights groups that say it is muzzling a once-vibrant press. Dundar and Gul spent 92 days in jail, almost half of it in solitary confinement, before the constitutional court ruled last month that their pre-trial detention was unfounded since the charges stemmed from their journalism work. (Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara and William James in London; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Gareth Jones) This is the dramatic moment a huge fire ripped through a skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates with devastating speed. The blaze in the city of Ajman spread up the side of the building as chunks of burning material dangerously tumbled to the ground. Hundreds of panicked residents were evacuated as onlookers crowded nearby to watch firefighters battle to put out the flames. Fortunately there were no reports of any casualties as nearby roads were sealed off from traffic. The blaze comes less than three months after a massive fire raced up the exterior of the 63-storey The Address Downtown Dubai, one of Dubais most prominent hotels - situated next to the Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest skyscraper. Devastating: The flames quickly spread up the building (PA) Similar fires have struck other high-rises built since the turn of this century in Dubai and Sharjah, which sits between Dubai and Ajman. Building and safety experts have attributed the spate of fires to a aluminium composite panel cladding - which is commonly used to cover the buildings. Some panels used in buildings in the Emirates contain a flammable core that can burn rapidly once ignited, allowing fires to spread quickly on buildings covered top to bottom with the panels without sufficient fire breaks along the way. It was not immediately clear if the skyscraper in the Ajman fire had that type of cladding, although images from the scene appeared to show the fire burning in a similar fashion. KKR has agreed to buy into seeds provider Advanta Enterprises in a deal which values the business at about $2.25bn. Nashville-headquartered private equity house Gen Cap America is out targeting up to $250m for its first fund since 2009. Modified On Apr 02, 2016 01:12 PM By Nabeel Honda made an appearance at the 2016 Bangkok Motor Show with the ASEAN-spec Accord. This car was launched in Thailand in February. The 2.0E variant of the Honda Accord has been priced at THB 1.385 million, which roughly translates into INR 26 lakh, and the top-end variant, 2.4EL is priced at THB 1.635 million, which is roughly INR 31 lakh. The Accord facelift features a new grille with a thick chrome partition in the middle holding the Honda insignia. On either side of this grille are LED headlamps, sleek horizontal fog lamps and LED DRL to make the car look mean and aggressive. The LED treatment continues at the rear with LED tubes in the tail lamps. In Thailand, the car comes with one hybrid and two petrol options. The petrol variants are on sale while the hybrid option will be introduced later. The smaller 2.0-litre SOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder engine produces 155hp with 190Nm of torque. The bigger 2.4-litre i-VTEC four-cylinder engine produces 174hp with 225Nm torque. Both these engines are well-powered and have a smooth and linear power delivery. In India, the Accord will lock horns with the all-new Skoda Superb which has a 1798cc turbocharged petrol and a 1968cc turbocharged diesel engine. These engines produce 177bhp and 174.5bhp respectively. Both of these are more powerful than the Accords 2.4-litre variant and this will be a huge advantage for the Czech automobile manufacturer. Counting some features, the car has engine remote start, wifi hotspot, and a 7.7-inch touchscreen thats compatible with Apple CarPlay, along with a Honda Sensing suite of safety tech. The top-end variant 2.4EL is priced at THB 1.635 million, which is roughly Rs. 31 lakh. We are eagerly waiting for this car to be launched in India, since the older generation has been missed by a lot of people. Watch Showcase Video of Honda Accord at Auto Expo 2016 Also Read: Honda Amaze Facelift Launched at Rs. 5.29 Lakh Modified On Mar 29, 2016 05:56 PM By Raunak According to a report, Kia Motors is all set to enter the Indian market space. If rumours are to believed, the automaker has already started the elementary work such as, land acquisition for the plant and sourcing vendors. Kia is one of the few popular global companies, that are not operating in India. Hyundai owns the majority of shares in this Korean automaker and its introduction, will in-turn help the manufacturer in several ways. The report also indicates that the company will have a certain level of localisation in its global products. These products will eventually be launched in India, at a latter stage. Hyundais Chennai plant is gradually approaching its production limit, which explains its decreasing exports since last year, in order to cater to the increasing domestic consumption. Thus, the upcoming Kias plant will certainly help Hyundai when to satiate the growing demands. Moreover, vehicles from both the companies share a lot of components and mechanicals, which will in turn help in keeping the costs competitive. Kia is said to have different retail outlets and will be slightly premium than Hyundai. Speaking of the products from Kia, the automaker offers a popular compact crossover/SUV - the Soul. Its products are - D2 sedan - the Optima, along with a premium hatchback - the Rio, amongst others. The day when Kia starts retailing cars in India, is still a few years away. Lets see what is in store for us. Recommended: Hyundai raises car prices following 2016 Union Budget Modified On Feb 22, 2017 06:26 PM By Nabeel for Tata Tiago 2015-2019 Tata has had many ups and downs with its latest hatchback. The car was first unveiled in December last year and we have been eagerly waiting for the hatch ever since. We liked the features it offered and the way it was all put together. After avoiding controversies with the Zica name tag, the Tiago was all set to be launched on March 28, 2016. However, the launch has now been postponed to April 06. It recently made headlines at the Auto Expo and soon after, Tata declared that the car will be called 'Tiago'. Since then, it has been spotted at dealerships, suggesting that the deliveries might start soon after the launch. Bookings for the automobile also started on March 10, for a token amount of Rs. 10,000. The car also made an appearance at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show where it was showcased in certain styling tweaks. A quick recap of the specs; the hatch comes with two engine options. This line-up consists of the Revotron 1.2-litre petrol and Revotorq 1.05-litre diesel. These engines offer 85PS and 70PS of power respectively. They have been well tuned for city driving and do not break a sweat in bumper to bumper traffic. On the highways, the engines respond well and the new dual path suspension feels well balanced. Steering is neither too light nor too heavy and feels quite confident at high speeds. It comes with safety features like ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System), EBD (Electronic BrakeForce Distribution) and Corner Stability Control. Other features include Tatas ConnectNext Infotainment System with Bluetooth connectivity, tuner, USB, Aux-in and a large screen display. This system also offers smartphone integration with two apps - Navigation and Juke. The Tiago comes with a segment first - 8 speaker system (4 speakers and 4 tweeters). This car will go head to head with the likes of the Chevrolet Beat and the Maruti Suzuki Celerio. We expect the prices to start at around Rs. 3.75 lakh. This will really spice up the things in the compact car segment, despite the competitors being well settled in the market. Watch First Drive of Tata Tiago Also Read: Tata Displays Tiago at the 2016 Auto Expo Will Tiago Make a Difference? Battle of Hatchbacks: Tiago vs Beat vs Celerio vs i10 Tata Tiago: Will It Change Tata Motors' Fortunes? The way your website looks can indicate whether a potential member will want to join your credit union in mere seconds. But why does having a top-notch website matter? Lets dig deeper. First Impressions Matter Research shows that a first impression is formed within seven seconds. This means that when a new user lands on your credit unions website, they will have decided whether or not they want to become a member in the time it took to read this sentence. Its that fast. It has been proven that a visually pleasing website is more likely to retain users. With a strong web design, youre creating a bigger opportunity to impress new users and convert them into members. Brand Matters A credit unions website is its personal online branding portal. Your website paints a picture of who the credit union is, what it does and how it does it. The good news is that if you have a well-designed site, then you are in control of every aspect of that message. This means you can share your story with colors, images and typography that reflects the tone of your CU. BUTLER, Pa. Equine gastrointestinal parasites, and their increasing resistance to available dewormers, are a major concern in the equine industry. Routinely deworming with the same products, or simply rotating dewormers, is not the best method and can contribute to the development of parasites that are resistant to the products that we use. Since no new products are on the immediate horizon, if resistance continues to progress at the present rate, the equine industry may face a major crisis, say equine specialists. Taking a whole-farm approach to managing parasites can decrease the frequency of deworming, eliminate the use of products that are no longer effective on your farm, help you learn which horses have natural resistance and which ones are shedders, and help decrease the development of resistance to dewormers. Penn State research A grant from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture and Education program is enabling the PSU Equine Extension team to travel across the state educating horse owners about strategic deworming and non-drug based parasite control methods. Farm owners interested in participating in the project must first attend the Managing Parasite Resistance Using a Whole Farm Approach course. The day-long program will be held April 16 at West Central Equipment, 170 Pittsburgh Road, Butler, Pennsylvania. The course runs from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and the cost is $35 per person, which includes lectures, lunch and materials. Advance registration is required by Monday, April 11. For a brochure and registration form, contact Donna Zang at dsz1@psu.edu or 724-287-4761. The course is open to all interested horse owners, barn managers, equine industry personnel, veterinarians and vet technicians. Targeted deworming A key speaker will be Ed Jedrzejewski, veterinarian and Penn State Equine Farm manager, who will describe the major gastrointestinal parasites in horses. Jedrzejewski has used targeted deworming practices on the Penn State University Quarter Horse herd since 2009. They have conducted fecal samples on every horse every month since February 2009. After a couple years of monitoring fecals, all of the concepts mentioned by proponents of targeted deworming were clearly obvious in our herd, Jedrzejewski said. We had significant resistance to the benzimidazoles such as Panacur and Safeguard and developing resistance to Pyrantel. Using strategic based deworming practices, Jedrzejewski was able to decrease the farms use of dewormers by 79 percent while maintaining the quality of our parasite control. Donna Foulk, Equine Natural Resources Educator with Penn State Extension, will demonstrate how resistance develops and will discuss parasites and the environment, covering issues such as the effects of temperature and moisture on parasite levels, whether to harrow or not, and pasture and manure management practices to reduce parasite exposure. What theyve learned In the afternoon, Heather Stofanak and other members of the equine team will discuss the research project, will present information gleaned from the farms enrolled in 2015, and will help farm owners learn to prepare samples and conduct fecal egg counts. In 2015, the project had 57 farm partners from 19 counties enrolling 419 horses in the project. By the end of the summer, 100% of project partners identified the high shedders on their farm, increased their confidence in strategic deworming practices, and started to conduct fecal egg counts on new horses on the farm. Seeking 40 farms Those attending this years course will have an option to be involved as an Equine Team Parasite Research Partner. In 2016, the Penn State equine team is seeking 40 farms to enroll as farm partners. Whole herd fecal egg counts will be conducted by the farm partners three times a year. The data will allow the farm owners to determine which horses on the farm are high shedders and which ones are low shedders of small strongyle eggs. Horses that are identified as high shedders will be dewormed using predetermined dewormers and will be rechecked after two weeks to determine the efficacy of the product on the farm. After raising 10,000 for breast cancer charities last year, pink silage wrap is making a comeback this season. For every roll of its pink Topwrap film purchased, Volac will donate 3 to Breast Cancer Now. For farmers wishing to support the charity in a more understated fashion, this year for the first time Volac is giving away pink stickers in return for donations. Last year, pink bale fever spread across the country with hundreds of farmers taking part. See also: Photos: Pink silage bales decorate farms for cancer initiative As well as helping the charity by opting for the special pink silage wrap, farmers will also be visibly demonstrating their support as they produce brightly coloured pink bales on their farms, said Volac product manager, Jackie Bradley. Alternatively, with limited supplies of the pink wrap, or for farmers who want to support the charity but prefer their bales in more traditional colours, we are also providing special pink stickers. These can be attached to the usual green or black bales, so that farmers can still demonstrate their support. A farmer has shot dead 10 foxes after 33 lambs were mauled to death in the worst sheep attack he has suffered in more than 45 years of farming. Devastated sheep farmer Allan Collins blamed the sheep attacks on unscrupulous companies that let urban foxes loose in the countryside. Mr Collins, who farms around 1,200 Exmoor Horn sheep and Scots ewes at Worth Farm on Exmoor, said the attacks had all the hallmarks of being carried out by foxes. See also: Three-week-old Easter lambs shot dead The lambs, all aged between seven days and two weeks old, had been mauled to death, left to die in fields or dragged away. Many suffered bite marks to their throats or crunch marks to their skulls. Marksmen used thermal imaging cameras to target eight foxes, which were shot dead in the one field in Hawkridge, Exmoor, on Tuesday 15 March. A further two foxes were killed on Friday 18 March. Mr Collins said: We have been farming here since 1970 and this is the worst sheep attack weve ever had. Someone is turning urban foxes out into the countryside and we dont know who. With Easter being early this year, we were the first people that lambed in this area, which may explain why weve been so badly hit. Dumping urban foxes in the countryside is cruel to the foxes, cruel to the sheep and frustrating for the farmers who have to deal with the consequences. He is 100% convinced that the foxes had been captured in cities and towns and let loose in the countryside. Some of the foxes had been in car crashes as their hairs have been clipped on their bodies. One fox was shot dead after it came out of a hedge and was attracted by a dog biscuit. A wild fox would never have done that. Under wildlife protection laws, anyone who releases a fox in an area where it may be caused harm faces up to six months imprisonment and/or 5,000 fine per animal. Dumping urban foxes in the countryside is cruel to the foxes, cruel to the sheep and frustrating for the farmers who have to deal with the consequences Allan Collins, sheep farmer Graham Le Blond, co-owner of Fox-A-Gon, a London-based company for non-lethal fox management/control, which operates across the UK, said foxes were territorial animals that fight for the best parts of the territory. He added: If you take a fox out then all the other foxes from the surrounding area will move in. But Mr Le Blond said there were unscrupulous companies that release urban foxes into the countryside. They normally say they will release the fox to a sanctuary. But there are no sanctuaries in the country that will take healthy foxes either they shoot them, or they will take them out to the countryside. Unfortunately, yes, I have known them (foxes) to be dumped. However, the RSPCA said there was no evidence of urban foxes being removed and dumped in the countryside, and dismisses the suggestion as an urban myth. Researchers are seeking the views of those who run small family farms in a bid to assess the contribution these businesses make to the UKs agricultural industry. The Princes Countryside Fund (PCF) has commissioned academics at the University of Exeter to undertake a study on the performance and prospects for the small farm sector in the UK. Researchers want to know what small farms contribute to the agricultural sector, the rural economy and communities and the countryside. See also: Can I cut an agricultural tie on a small farm? In particular, they would be keen to hear from farms that are performing well to pass on lessons to the whole sector. The research, carried out by the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute (LEEP), which now incorporates the universitys Centre for Rural Policy Research, will examine how a viable and vibrant small farm sector can be encouraged and supported. The research team is seeking answers to the following questions: What do small farms contribute to the agricultural sector, the rural economy and communities, and the countryside which is distinctive and important in comparison to larger farms? How might a viable and vibrant small farm sector be encouraged and supported? This might include: the use of CAP measures, the operation of supply chains, taxation rules, tenure legislation, access to finance, and practices around succession and new entrants How might small farmers improve performance and viability through, for example, increased efficiency, added value, diversification, and co-operation? In addition, any evidence detailing examples of good practice where small farm businesses have thrived and where lessons might be learned for the sector as whole, would be welcomed. Written evidence submitted to the Small Family Farm Project will be used for both academic purposes and by the PCF as part of their work in supporting family farmers. Email responses to: SmallFamilyFarm@exeter.ac.uk The deadline for submissions is 12pm Wednesday 20 April. When Presidents Commit War Crimes, Justice Is The Final Victim gilbert.villagran [at] sjsu.edu) by Gil Villagran Could there be a lesson for President George W. Bush in the expected prosecution of Mexican President Luis Echeverria, charged with genocide 38 years after his crimes against humanity? Let us hope that old age will not spare President Bush and Vice-president Cheney, years from now, from the consequences of their crimes against humanity: secret prisons without charges or trials, torturous interrogations, invasion of a country based upon manipulated intelligence, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and American deaths. Let us hope that justice is not escaped by either Luis Echeverria or the George W. Bush gang of war criminals. When presidents commit war crimes, justice is the final victim by Gil Villagran, MSW (Immigrant from Mexico, SJSU professor) (published in San Jose Mercury News & El Observador) Could there be a lesson for President George W. Bush in the expected prosecution of Mexican President Luis Echeverria, charged with genocide 38 years after his crimes against humanity? The majestic Plaza of Tlatelolco (Plaza of the Three Cultures) in the heart of Mexico City celebrated the nations cultural and biological roots of Europeans, Native Indians, and the blending of these two to create the new raceLa Raza. On October 2, 1968 that place of pride transmogrified into a plaza of grotesque brutality where students protesting huge governmental spending for the Olympics, which opened ten days later, were shot by government snipers, jailed, tortured and finally killed. While the official death toll is 38, human rights organizations place the figure at 300, and witnesses reported as many as 3,000 students hauled away in military trucks, most never seen again. The ruling party since the Mexican Revolution, the PRI, ran the country as an authoritarian, paternalistic, bureaucratic dictatorship (under a mask of democracy), where justice was a commodity, to be purchased by those with money and connections, while those with neither had to be content with justice in the next life. After 71 years of single party PRI rule, one of the electoral promises of PAN, the party of President Vicente Fox, was to open up the three decade old files of that infamous day and its aftermath by appointing a Special Prosecutor for Social and Political Movements of the Past. Now, just days before the end of Foxs term in office, and perhaps to tilt the election on July 1 toward his party candidate, some degree of justice appears on the Mexican horizon. Luis Echeverria was minister of the interior in 1968, commanding police and other governmental units to deal with dissidents who had been protesting governmental spending of millions while the majority of Mexicans lived in destitute poverty. He was determined to ensure that the Olympics, a source of great pride to the PRI government, went off without demonstrations. Pre-trial court testimony documents that at least 360 snipers were placed on the rooftops of buildings surrounding the plaza where the students planned a rally. Testimony is that some snipers were even placed in an apartment belonging to Echeverrias sister-in-law. There is conflicting testimony of who controlled the snipers, with Echeverrias lawyer stating, There was no genocide, the deaths came during a confrontation between the snipers and the authorities. But this specious defense is the height of hypocrisy as the snipers were agents of the authorities under the command of Minister of the Interior Luis Echeverria! His reward for eliminating protestors from the Olympic Celebrations: selected to be the next president of the nation by el dedazo (fingered)as the PRIs most loyal servant to the prior president, Diaz Ordaz. It was with Echeverria as president, from 1970-76, when the most widespread brutality took place. The so-called Dirty War included secret bases for interrogation by torture, death squads to kill dissidents and napalm-burned villages. Rape served as a fringe benefit for members of the secret police, snipers, interrogators and death squads. The final end for the victims? burned alive, tortured to death, or dropped into the ocean. But the 84 year-old Echeverria may still escape the justice he has eluded for 38 years. Being older than 70 years, he is eligible for house arrest instead of a jail cell, served at his home in the outskirts of Mexico Citya mansion with gardens, a pool and other luxuries. Let us hope that old age will not spare President Bush and Vice-president Cheney, years from now, from the consequences of their crimes against humanity: secret prisons without charges or trials, torturous interrogations, invasion of a country based upon manipulated (if not manufactured) intelligence, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and American deaths, all at a cost, so far, of more than two trillion dollars. Let us hope that justice is not escaped by either Luis Echeverria or the George W. Bush gang of war criminals. Students Elect Professor, Staffer, Advisor of the Year March 29, 2016 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. The Illinois Wesleyan student body has elected Associate Professor of French and Italian Scott Sheridan as the 2016 Professor of the Year. The Student Senate conducts the annual election as a way for students to show appreciation to faculty members. This year 58 faculty members were nominated for the award. Sheridan will address the Class of 2016 during Commencement on Sunday, May 1. He also serves as the current director for International Studies and chaired the former Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures department. In his 18 years at Illinois Wesleyan, Sheridan has taught over 30 different classes at every level of the curriculum, including courses in seven different departments or programs including French, Italian, Humanities and International Studies, and 10 different general education categories or flags. He has led travel courses during May Term and directed the IWU London Program in fall 2008. Professor of the Year Scott Sheridan has taught courses in French, Italian, Humanities and International Studies. I was overjoyed to receive such an incredible honor, Sheridan said upon learning he had been elected Professor of the Year. I love that spark that our students have, and seeing students get as excited as I am about coming to class is very rewarding. IWU students always amaze me in their intellectual curiosity, and many days I leave the classroom thinking, wow, that was like magic! Sheridan holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and a Ph.D. in French literature from the University of Iowa. While at the University of Iowa, he worked as a research assistant in the Translation Laboratory. In addition to being a scholar of 19th- and 20th-century literature, he is a translator of literary works and scholarly articles from French and Italian into English. Recently he translated two novels into English for AmazonCrossing, the largest publisher of its kind for translated works. Robyn Walter In the same election, Robyn Walter, was elected as 2016 Staff Member of the Year. Walter is international student and scholar advisor, a position she took last year after 12 years as a career consultant with the Hart Career Center. Walter joined IWU in 2000 as a staff counselor. Walter holds a masters degree in clinical psychology from Illinois State University and is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor. Jonathan Green A new category in this years election was Academic Advisor of the Year. Will Teichman 19, Student Senate chief of staff, said the category was added to show appreciation for the work advisors do for students. They devote time out of the day to help us figure out what we are doing and to help us not only pursue but achieve our dreams, said Teichman. Students elected Provost and Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Green as Advisor of the Year. Green joined IWU in 2011. In addition to his administrative appointment as provost, Green is professor of music. He earned his doctorate in musical arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, his master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and his bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Kentucky Oaks Top 10: Caseys Picks The Kentucky Oaks road is getting tougher as fillies that were heating up during the winter are cooling off and more impressive fillies are appearing. However, the top filly has not changed. Songbird continues to dominate her division and proves she is likely the best horse of her crop. With the list changing quite a bit since it was last published, lets see who has dropped off and moved up and who we are keeping an eye on. Songbird (Medaglia dOro Ivanavinalot, by West Acre; 90 points) After another convincing win in the San Ysabel, Songbird improved her record to a perfect 6-for-6. She has yet to truly be threatened and continues to tear down the barn of Jerry Hollendorfer. There is not much left to say about this extraordinary filly. Cathryn Sophia (Street Boss Sheave, by Mineshaft; 60 points) Instead of remaining at Gulfstream, Cathryn Sophia is being sent to Keeneland to go in the Ashland, which produced 2015 Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria. Likely to benefit from this move, this filly will be able to get an extra week of training and will have only a short van ride to Churchill Downs. This move is a smart one. Terra Promessa (Curlin Missile Bay, by Yes Its True; 50 points) She has three straight wins after an initial third place in her debut. She returned to the work tab March 26 with a bullet work. She covered five furlongs in 1:00.40. Some argue that her Honeybee win was on the slop, causing them to read into the race more than needed. Terra Promessa has won on both a sloppy and a fast track. She is versatile and continues to improve. Land Over Sea (Bellamy Road Belle Watling, by Pulpit; 128 points) Her only bad race was a seventh in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland. She finally ducked Songbird and won the Fair Grounds Oaks over Dream Dance and Adore. Land Over Sea had to battle for a moment but then bulled away nicely. This race likely gave her a confidence boost, and she is headed to Louisville to meet Songbird once again. Off the Tracks (Curlin Harve de Grace, by Boston Harbor; 0 points) She is currently 3-for-3, and she is bred to be okay stretch out,even though she has sprinted her entire career. She is headed to the Gulfstream Park Oaks for her two-turn debut, and if she can perform, she will be headed to the Kentucky Oaks. If she does, she will be one of three undefeated fillies, assuming Cathryn Sophia and Songbird win their final preps. Lewis Bay (Bernardini Summer Raven, by Summer Squall; 30 points) After her secon place in the Davona Dale, which came to Cathryn Sophia, Lewis Bay has put in three works and is likely to run very soon. She made her initial return to the work tab at Palm Meadows, but her last two works have been at Belmont, indicating she will likely make her next start at Aqueduct. Is this due to competition, need for points, or an easier spot for a confidence boost? Mo dAmour (Uncle Mo Neverthesame, by Scat Daddy; 50 points) She has had three works since her win in the Busher Stakes, all of which have been nice works. Pletcher could have a good filly under the radar with this one. She is likely to run soon and then head to Louisville, unless she runs very poorly next out in her final prep. She may not be on the same level as some of the other fillies on this list, but she is impressive, and until she runs poorly, she deserves recognition and a shot at the Oaks. Carina Mia (Malibu Moon Miss Simpatia, by Southern Halo; 10 points) She has been working a hole in the wind at Payson Park for trainer Bill Mott, who needs to get her racing soon as she is running out of races and time to make the Oaks. The quarantine at Payson has been lifted, and Carina Mia looks like a force to be reckoned with if she can get back to racing. Where she is going, we dont know. Wherever it is, though, she will be fresh and ready to run. Nickname (Scat Daddy Nina Fever, by Borrego; 36 points) Last out, she finished second to Terra Promessa in the sloppy Honeybee Stakes. She is bred to like the nine furlongs she would get in the Kentucky Oaks as both her sire and damsire won at the distance or longer. In her first work back since the Honeybee, she covered four furlongs in ;51.20, which is pretty slow. She is likely to have one more race before the Kentucky Oaks, most likely the Fantasy at Oaklawn. Polar River (Congrats Bayou Tortuga, by Empire Maker; 90 points) She had a rough trip in the UAE Derby, finishing second for the first time in her career. She was not an expensive American-bred horse before being sent to Dubai. Her trainer has expressed that he likely will not send her for the Oaks, but I am holding out hope for her. She is such an impressive filly. In the Stable Adore (Big Brown Cozshesaidso, by Empire Maker; 20 points) In her first try in stakes company, she proved she belonged. Getting passed late by Dream Dance was nothing to shake a finger at. I want to see if she will show up in the Oaks, but I am not sure exactly how talented she is. From what I saw here, she has a lot to offer. Flora Dora (First Dude Aidan, by Dixieland Band; 16 points) Flora Dora has had three works since the Busher Stakes, and all three have been nice, her initial return being a bullet work over four furlongs. Her final Kentucky Oaks prep will likely be in the Gazelle, which is the final points race for the Oaks in her home base of New York. Dream Dance (Afleet Alex This Cat Can Dance, by Vindication; 44 points) She made up ground to edge out Adore for second in the Fair Grounds Oaks, which gives her enough points to make a start in the Kentucky Oaks if her connections decide to go that route. Making her three-year-old debut since her last start, a ninth in the Golden Rod, she seems to be improving with age. As a two-year-old, she made seven starts. Is she improving, or was she picking off a tiring Adore? The Kentucky Oaks will be run on Friday, May 6, 2016, at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Oaks is just as old as the Kentucky Derby, entering its 142nd year. The race is run at 1-1/8 miles over the main track. Kentucky Derby 2016 Contender Updates: With 151 points, Gun Runner holds a commanding lead in the Kentucky Derby point standings and deserves the extra attention for dominating the Louisiana Derby last weekend. Regardless, many handicappers (including this one) still argue undefeated stars Mohaymen and Nyquist are more talented. Those two colts are scheduled to face each other this weekend in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, while Gun Runner is done with his prep races. Note: Some horses seen on the official point standings are not on the list. Polar River and Sunny Ridge, two horses who are likely qualifiers, will not attempt the Derby even if their place in the Top 20 holds. 1. Gun Runner: The Louisiana Derby champion is in fine order and headed towards the Kentucky Derby for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm. Steve Asmussen has a serious contender on his hands. 2. Lani: Japans Derby hope and UAE Derby winner is scheduled to leave for the United States in a few days and will go straight from Dubai to Kentucky according to a report on Blood-Horse. 3. Mohaymen: The Tapit colt and leading 3-year-old male drilled four furlongs in 48.95 seconds on March 24. Team McLaughlin sounds optimistic for the upcoming showdown in the Florida Derby. 4. Destin: As of March 28, there are no recorded workouts since his March 12 Tampa Bay Derby win. He seems likely to wait until the Kentucky Derby, but there is time to gear up for the Lexington Stakes if they choose. 5. Cupid: The Rebel Stakes winner is back in California. Keenelands Blue Grass Stakes or Arkansas Derby back at Oaklawn Park again look like the main options. 6. Danzig Candy: On March 26, the speedy Twirling Candy colt worked in 58.60 for five furlongs. He is on track for the Santa Anita Derby on April 9. 7. Shagaf: Also last Saturday, the Gotham Stakes winner worked in 1:00 flat for five furlongs at Belmont Park on their training track. He is pointing towards the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. 8. Mor Spirit: The San Felipe runner-up continues to prepare for the Santa Anita Derby as well. While habitually lazy in the mornings, he was a willing participant and worked in 47.80 seconds for four furlongs on March 24. 9. Toms Ready: Dallas Stewarts Derby hopeful was scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs this week and will train towards the Kentucky Derby. 10. Mo Tom: Like Toms Ready, Mo Tom was scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs this week and will train up to the Kentucky Derby. 11. Nyquist: The 2-year-old champion worked an easy five furlongs in 1:03 on March 24. The highly anticipated matchup in the Florida Derby this weekend will reveal clues on how far this one wants to run. 12. Exaggerator: Despite a so-so finish in the San Felipe, he continues to train towards the aforementioned Santa Anita Derby. He worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on March 26. 13. Whitmore: The Rebel Stakes runner-up may start in the Arkansas Derby before heading to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. 14. Laoban: His latest work came on March 19 when he finished five furlongs in 1:01.20 at Los Alamitos. After running second in the Gotham, trainer Eric Guillot mentioned the Blue Grass Stakes as a possibility. 15. Forevamo: Scant information is available, but he is high enough on the leaderboard if the connections wish to take a shot at the Kentucky Derby. 16. Dazzling Gem: According to freelance writer Robert Yates, Dazzling Gem is under consideration for the Arkansas Derby, Lexington Stakes, Northern Spur, Pat Day Mile and Kentucky Derby. 17. Zulu: The Fountain of Youth runner-up recorded two four-furlong workouts since his last start. He worked in 50.98 on March 18 and 49.43 on March 26. The Wood Memorial and Blue Grass are the next options. 18. Outwork: Pletchers third Derby contender worked four furlongs in 48.20 seconds on March 26. His next start is unclear, but in most years 20 points is enough for the Kentucky Derby. 19. Flexibility: While the attention on this Chad Brown-trained colt disappeared, he continues to train and posted a five-furlong workout in 1:02.08 on March 26. His next start is unclear, but the Wood Memorial is an option. 20. Brodys Cause: After finishing seventh in the Tampa Bay Derby, the son of Giants Causeway remains on course for the Blue Grass at Keeneland. He worked in 47.90 seconds for four furlongs on March 27. 21. Greenpointcrusader: He is tied with Brodys Cause in qualifying points. His status is unknown after a disappointing seventh in the Louisiana Derby. Washington, DC It was a year ago this month that the influential Wall Street Journal (WSJ 3/23/15) articulated what has been on the minds of pundits and advocates alike in recent years: the 510(k) Clearance loophole observed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the role the fast-tracked approval process may have played in various injuries sustained by patients and plaintiffs alike when medical devices fail. The It was a year ago this month that the influential(WSJ 3/23/15) articulated what has been on the minds of pundits and advocates alike in recent years: the 510(k) Clearance loophole observed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the role the fast-tracked approval process may have played in various injuries sustained by patients and plaintiffs alike when medical devices fail. The IVC filter is one such device that was referenced in the discussion. The IVC filter is a device designed to be inserted into the inferior vena cava, an integral part of the cardiovascular system. When a blood clot or clots pose risks for stroke or pulmonary embolism, an inferior vena cava filter is often inserted in order to entrap a migrating blood clot and prevent it from reaching the lung.However, many patients have experienced migration of the IVC filter itself, when the spider-like appendages designed to entrap a blood clot and hold the filter in place, invariably fail and the filter is left to slip through the inferior vena cava to points beyond.Sometimes the resting place is the heart itself. At other times, the IVC filter has become imbedded so intricately into organ tissue that it becomes virtually impossible for doctors to retrieve an IVC filter once it has become so imbedded.The FDA recently released an edict recommending to surgeons a specific timeline for removal of the retrievable IVC filter once the danger for blood clot has passed. For the vast majority, this has not been possible and they must live with the IVC filter permanently.Some have not survived. Others have come dangerously close to a serious health event that might have proved fatal.Various IVC filters have been the target of an IVC filter lawsuit, including the C.R. Bard IVC filter and the Bard G2 IVC filter. Other IVC filters from other manufacturers have been targeted in dangerous medical device lawsuits, including those under the Cook Medical banner.Two IVC filter lawsuits have in fact recently been filed in Canada against Cook Medical Inc. Both are class actions, and both allege that Cook Medical failed to properly warn consumers and patients of the potential for fracture and migration of the device.The two Canadian lawsuits, akin to US-based lawsuits, involve Celect and Gunther Tulip filters manufactured by Cook Medical and the aforementioned Bard Recovery and G2 filters.A study appearing in April 2013 insuggested that actual retrieval of devices designed to be retrieved occurs in fewer than 10 percent of IVC filter patients.IVC filters are among a plethora of medical devices that have been fast-tracked to market via the FDAs 510(k) Clearance. In fact, thereported last year that the vast majority of medical devices that have come into the market since the 510(k) Clearance were implemented to have been fast-tracked without thorough pre-market testing.In fact, according to thethe only requirement is for a manufacturer to demonstrate that a device is substantially the same as one already on the market.Theconvened a roundtable discussion last March with various members of the medical community to talk about the FDA 510(k) Clearance - its value, limitations and risks. One of those participating in the discussion was Dr. Rita Redberg, cardiology professor at UC San Francisco.Yet another example of a high-risk implanted device entering the market without clinical studies is the inferior vena cava filter, Dr. Redberg said, which for some models, studies have shown that one in four fracture after implantation in the major blood vessel entering the heart and are risky to remove. Will President Muhammad Buhari be the first president to bell the cat? Former president Goodluck Jonathan was labeled with all sorts of nicknames for allegedly institutionalising corruption in all sectors of the economy and spheres of Nigerian life while he presided over the affairs of the country between 2010 and 2015 The infamous Dasukigate arms deal scandal has been the number one and most talked about corruption case in Nigeria since the new administration came on board last year Some sections of Nigeria want Dr Goodluck Jonathan to answer for the alleged sharing of the $2.1billion meant to purchase arms and ammunition Jonathanians believe critics of the ex-number one citizen of the nation are whipping up unnecessary sentiments History could be in the making since Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999. The anti-corruption war of the Buhari-led administration has seen many top-notched politicians come under the radar of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since 2015. However, no allegedly indicted renowned politician by the EFCC is yet to spend at least six months of his time behind bars, not to talk of spending one year in jail. READ ALSO: 10 things to know about Bola Tinubu as he clocks 64 Moreso, no past president or Head of State, has ever been invited by any of the anti-corruption agencies in the country to answer for allegations of corruption. Dr Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's immediate past president The high profile personalities who have visited the court due to allegations of corruption since last year and others who have not, but were alleged to have stolen the nations wealth during the Jonathans administration include: Namadi Sambo; Sule Lamido and his two sons; Diezani Alison-Madueke; Olisa Metuh; Bello Haliru Mohammed; Uche Secondus; Alex Badeh; Patrick Akpobolokemi; Stephen Orosanye; Sambo Dasuki, among others. The list is endless. It is important to note that President Muhammadu Buhari has been receiving kudos from many quarters of the country, regarding the way he is waging war against corruption. The DAILYSUN of Thursday, January 14, had a story captioned Anti-corruption: CAN, Bible society back Buhari. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) in Kaduna state, expressed their satisfaction with the way the president is fighting corruption. They said Buhari is the Messiah Nigeria needs to succeed as a nation. In their statement, part of it which reads: We like the anti-corruption war the government is bringing forth, because, it is from there a lot of things are being revealed, which we know nothing about. The amount of money we hear from the media that people have gone away with is really embarrassing. Buhari is the Messiah for the country. God really sent him. You can even see the way he won the election. It is a miracle. That is why we will continue to pray for him to succeed. We believe whenever he will be leaving, whether after one term or two terms, depending on God, whenever he will be leaving, we believe this country will not remain the same. Other distinguished individuals and bodies, who want Buhari to uproot all past and present elements of corruption include: Prof Itse Sagay (SAN); the United Methodist Church, Nigeria; Alake of Egbaland; Prof Wole Soyinka, and other colossus. 1. Dasukigate and other allegations of corruption during Jonathans administration No past administration has come under the radar of the anti-graft agency, as the past government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan. The way he presided over the nations wealth is coming under heavy scrutiny. It was as if Jonathan had a premonition before he left office, when he said, his ministers should be ready for persecution (meaning: prosecution). The arms deal scandal during the past administration tagged Dasukigate, was one of the most talked about last year. It was about how some of Jonathans men and cronies were alleged to have criminally shared $2.1billion, meant to purchase arms and ammunition, in order to decimate insurgency in the Northeastern part of the country. It was however revealed Jonathans men diverted the funds. READ ALSO: Ex-president Jonathan ignored Chibok girls for 19 days One of the cogent reasons some public affairs analysts want the EFCC to probe Dr Goodluck Jonathan himself, is based on what many dailies reported on Monday, February 22, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)S spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh asked for Dr Goodluck to be summoned in court as a witness. According to tori.ng which had the story, stated: Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Olisa Metuh, has told a Federal High Court, that the EFCC cannot prosecute him, without interrogating former president Goodluck Jonathan in his ongoing trial. It should be recalled that the same Olisa Metuh came under fire for tearing his statement in connection to the $2.1billion arms deal probe. His action was seen by many as suspicious and thuggish in nature. According to African Spotlight of Tuesday, January 12, it gave some of the names of the people/companies involved in the $2.1 billion arms deal scandal, as well as the amount each got from the office of the former national security adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd). They are as follow: ex-Rivers state governor, Peter Odili (N100million); ex-Oyo state governor, Rashidi Ladoja (N100million); ex-Sokoto state governor, Attahiru Bafarawa (N100million); ex-Zamfara state governor, Mahmadu Aliyu Shinkafi (N100million); ex-Anambra state governor, Jim Nwobodo (N500million); ex-PDP BoT chairman, Tony Anenih (N260million); ex-PDP national chairman, Ahmadu Ali (N100million); Bode George (N100million); Yerima Abdullahi (N100million); former SGF & finance minister, Olu Falae (N100million); Tanko Yakassai (N63million); Gen Bello Sarkin Yaki (N200million) and Raymond Dokpesi (N2.1billion). Others are: former Senate president, Iyorchia Ayus company (N345million); BAM properties (N300million); Dalhatu Investment Limited (N1.5billion); ex-PDP national chairman, Bello Haliru Mohammed and his son, Abba Mohammed (N300million); Sagir Mohammed, with some former and serving members of House of Representatives (N300million); former chairman of House of Rep on security and intelligence, Bello Matawalle (N300million); ACACIA Holdings (N600million), and Bashir Yuguda (N1, 950,000). Olisa Metuh, who was reported to have gotten N400million, was also indicted. It was learnt on Monday, October 5, 2015, that Abubakar Suleiman, who served briefly under the Jonathan administration as Minister of National Planning, had to dismiss an allegation of corruption leveled against Dr Goodluck Jonathan by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, when the latter stated that the government of his boss, spent at least N64billion in celebrating Nigerias independence anniversaries in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Kwara state born former minister said the government actually spent N332.6million, but not N64billion, as alleged by the Kaduna state governor. A good number of Nigerians are currently not just fuming based on the Dasukigate episode; they are annoyed with Dr Jonathan, for allowing the grass of corruption to grow beneath his feet during his administration, thereby flourishing beyond unimaginable height. They are angered because, innocent lives were killed daily by Boko Haram insurgents, as the military lacked the superior firepower to counter the insurgency attacks. This is one of the reasons, some Nigerians called the former president, clueless. They are of the opinion that, if the people that worked with him are tried by the EFCC, there shouldnt be an exception to the rule. Therefore, Jonathan should be investigated. On Tuesday, March 15, The Nation published another mind boggling high level of corrupt practice, which occurred in 2014, still under the Jonathan years. It stated that a huge amount of money which ought to have been remitted into the nations coffers was embezzled. The newspaper had the story of the frightening corruption perpetrated during the period as, Audit: N3.2 trillion unpaid into national treasury in 2014. The Nation also went further to give a breakdown of how the said amount was ungodly distributed and inhumanely diverted as given below: 1. $235.6million gas cash diverted to escrow accounts. 2. N73.5billion spent contrary to established purpose. 3. N36.4billion released to ONSA for dam rehabilitation. 4. N10billion SURE-P funds undisclosed. 5. National Assemblys management disbursed N9, 514,568,222.62, without payment vouchers. 6. N2.6billion rice levy spent on urgent and critical needs. 7. No evidence of accounting for the utilisation of the N5, 199,864,234 police reward fund. 8. Beneficiaries of N803, 165,879.78 withdrawn from Ministry of Niger Delta not named. 9. $2.3million contract was awarded by Nigeria High Commission in Jamaica, without due process. 2. Promise he is ready to account for the way he led Nigeria Apart from former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan setting a positive precedence as the first Nigerian sitting president, to willingly concede defeat to his opponent in a presidential election, he is also the first president to make a phone call to his opponent, even when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was yet to conclude announcing the presidential election, he was actively involved. Dr Jonathan is a man of many first. He is the first and only Nigerian politician to have been in elective positions for 16 good years (1999-2015). For record sake, Jonathans elective positions were: deputy governor, governor, vice president and president, while he served as acting president also. His ascension through the ranks to the top is second to none in the history of Nigerias democracy since 1960. The former Bayelsa state governors gentlemanly nature, speaks so much about who he is. It is this nature of his that made him to reiterate his perception regarding if he wins or loses the 2015 presidential election, when he emphatically stated during almost all his campaign rallies that: My ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. The nations former vice president kept to his promise, by handling over power to Muhammadu Buhari, without any single blood shed or riot in the country, despite earlier threats by some of his fanatic supporters, who initially beat the drum of war, saying blood will flow everywhere in Nigeria, if Jonathan loses the election. Jonathan actually lost, and there was nothing of such. Due to this quality of his, which has earned him so much accolades, even after he left office, it is believed he will willingly give himself out to the EFCC, if the commission calls upon him for investigation. 3. Calls from some sections of the country for Jonathans probe There was a time it was reported that the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu said if the commission gets enough evidences to probe Dr Goodluck Jonathan, it will surely do so. One of such calls was also made by a civil society. The call by the civil society was titled, a nation challenged by enemies within in the DAILYSUN of Wednesday, January 20. The statement of the civil society reads: The true story of how a group of men embezzled and misused tax payers money for their personal ends will never be known until former president Goodluck Jonathan, the head of the government and the man who had the constitutional obligation to govern in the best interests of the nation speaks willingly, openly and dispassionately about what he knew and what he did not know about whether senior officials of his government and other people remotely and closely connected with the misuse of the security funds, were given the nod to dispense the money anyhow they wished. Based on the above and many other reasons, some Nigerians are of the opinion that, it is not a dent on the image or person of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, if he is investigated and tried by the anti-graft agency. On the other hand, others want the anti-corruption war to be holistic, meaning, not just Jonathan will face the EFCC, but other presidents, who led the country before Jonathan. It is left for Nigerians to judge, if Jonathan should eventually face the EFCC or not. Source: Legit.ng Legit.ng is #1 online trusted source of the latest news in Nigeria. We are covering Nigeria news, Niger delta, world updates, and Nigerian newspaper reviews. We guide our readers to the world of politics, business, energy, sports, entertainment, fashion, lifestyle and human interest stories. - Governor Adams Oshiomhole has come under heavy bashing over his recent comment on the unlawful recruitment of relatives of top government into the CBN - A civil society group has stated that that the apex bank has illegally recruited 909 privileged Nigerian - The group asked Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor to resign Group blasts Oshiomole over comment on CBN illegal recruitment Governor Adams Oshiomhole has come under heavy criticisms over his recent statement on the secret recruitment of relatives of the ruling All Progressives Congress into top positions in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Oshiomhole recently described those who have called for the removal of Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governos as faceless manipulators and palmwine drinkers. The Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative (ASRADI), a civil society organisation, has reacted to the statement by the governor adding that "Oshiomhole is the governor of a state that looks, dresses, talks and behaves like a palm wine tapper. The group's executive director, Deolu Oyinlola, stated that at the last count, Emefiele has secretly employed 909 privileged Nigerians into the apex bank without advertising a single vacancy. The statement read: "In order for the public to decide who between those calling for Emefieles removal and the classless state governor is politicising what ASRADI believes is a straight forward case of abuse of office and betrayal of public trust, we would like to pose the following questions: "Is it faceless and shadowy groups (according to the loose cannon and his fake coalition of 'CSOs') that forced Emefiele to unlawfully release raw cash of forty seven million dollars ($47million) in 17 suit cases to Sambo Dasuki as part of what is now famously known as Dasukigate? "Is a CBN governor who is suspected to be deeply involved in what, clearly, is money laundering, standing on any moral high ground to remain in that office? READ ALSO: Garba Shehu speaks about Biafra, Dasuki Is it our loquacious pigmys palm wine drinkers that scandalously employed the sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, wards of people like President Muhammadu Buhari, former vice president Abubakar Atiku, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali NaAbba. "Internal affairs minister, Abdulrahman Dambazzau; inspector general of police, Solomon Arase; comptroller general of customs, Hameed All; NNPC group managing director, Ibe Kachikwu; governor of Adamawa state, the deputy governors of Delta and Bayelsa states; to mention but a few? At the last count, Emefiele has secretly employed 909 privileged Nigerians without advertising a single vacancy! Which CSO worthy of that appellation would support such a patently anomalous and egregiously corrupt exercise? "Little wonder, no individuals name was associated with a release that was attributed to a phoney coalition of CSOs! It is, in all probability, safe to conclude that Emefiele and the state governor in question between them created the coalition out of desperation. It is a shame and an embarrassment for someone who became governor of a state based on a reputation of being a comrade, would curiously make it his business to be defending the indefensible so senselessly." The group advised the CBN boss to resign and turn himself in at the offices of the anti-graft agency saying: "If the Buhari administrations change mantra is to be taken seriously, Emefiele must be shown the exit door without further delay by invoking the relevant portions of the CBN Act 2007 (particularly, section 11(2)(c) thereof)." In a related development, some civil society leaders and lawyers have called for the withdrawal of employment offers to children of former past and serving government officials, ministers, a nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari. Source: Legit.ng - President Buhari to meet with Obama, other world leaders - To discuss Nigeria's sustenance of commitment to peaceful use of nuclear energy President Buhari is set to leave Nigeria for Washington DC on Wednesday, March 30. President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday, March 30, leave Abuja for Washington DC to meet with President Barack Obama and about 60 other world leaders and heads of international organisations at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit which opens there on Thursday. This much was revealed by Femi Adesina, the president's media aide, who stated that, "at plenary sessions of the summit which is dedicated to reinforcing international commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, President Buhari will insist that while Nigeria will continue to sustain that commitment, world powers must respect the right of other countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes. "The President will reaffirm Nigeria's stance that international efforts to ensure greater security of nuclear materials should maintain a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the indisputable right of Nigeria and other countries to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development. "It will be recalled that at a meeting with him in Abuja earlier this month, President Buhari told the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. Yukiya Amano that the Federal Government will welcome greater support from the agency for Nigeria's aspiration to begin the generation of electricity with nuclear energy. "While in Washington DC for the Nuclear Security Summit, the President and his delegation which includes Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) and the Director-General of Nigeria's Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Prof Lawrence Anikwe Dim, will also hold bilateral meetings with other participating Heads of Government and high-ranking United States Government officials." According to Mr Adesina, President Buhari will depart Washington DC for Abuja on Sunday. Source: Legit.ng Javascript Error Javascript is deactivated in your browser. To use all functions on this portal, for example the login, Javascript must be activated. Please activate Javascript in your browser settings. The letting and onward sale of a 250,000 sq ft distribution warehouse in Portbury has been completed by the Bristol office of Colliers International. Working jointly, Richard Coombs, director in the National Capital Markets team, and Tim Davies, director in Industrial and Logistics, secured the letting and onward sale of [] The upward trend in asking rents in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart, the eight cities under review by JLL, lost momentum again in 2015 for the second year in succession. Purchase prices had shown an overall rise in the first half of the year, but there [] Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, on behalf of its PanEuropean PLP fund acquired a logistics warehouse development in Venlo from the local developer Van Den Boogaard with a total development cost of c. 22 million. The new 40,000 sqm logistics warehouse, which is 50% pre-let, will be constructed on [] Ahram Online concludes its coverage of the hijacking of EgyptAir flight 181 which started at 7am 20 minutes after it took off from Alexandria on its way to Cairo and ended around 2pm in Larnaka, Cyprus without casualties. ------ 14:20 Egypt's minister of civil aviation Sherif Fathi says he had doubts from the beginning that the hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 181 was a terrorist incident. The minister told state TV that the arrested man displayed "unprofessionalism" in his hijacking techniques, and phone calls he made while he was aboard showed he had some personal and mental problems. "However, we had to deal with the situation as a security threat and operate as if he had a real bomb in order to keep all people on board safe," Fathi added. "Larnaka Airport is now closed, and when it reopens we will head there to bring home the Egyptian passengers and help the foreign passengers make their way home," Fathi said. 14:00 Cypriot TV said the arrested hijacker of the EgyptAir plane on Tuesday had no explosive belt. Cyprus state TV showed the hijacker emerging from the aircraft with his hands in the air, as he surrendered to authorities. 13:50 Cyprus foreign ministry has said the hijacking of EgyptAir plane is over and that the hijacker is arrested "Its over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair," it said on Twitter. 13:38 Three more people are shown on TV screens from Larnaca airport leaving the plane minutes after footage showed at least four people disembarking. So far at least 7 people of 9 remaining people, including the hijacker, aboard flight 181 have left the plane in the last 15 minutes. 13:10 We are closely monitoring the situation and are engaged with relevant Egyptian authorities. We are looking into whether US citizens are involved," US embassy spokesperson told Ahram Online. Egyptian civil aviation ministry had said in an earlier statement that eight Americans, four Dutch, four Britons, two Belgians, and three passengers from France, Syria, and Italy were among the initial list of passengers aboard the hijacked plane. 13:00 "We are working very closely with the Egyptians and Cypriots to follow up on the situation," David Kinna, the British embassy in Cairo's Second Secretary Press and Political told Ahram Online in response to a question about whether one of the passengers remaining on board the hijacked EgyptAir plane in Larnaca is British as earlier reports had indicated. 12:50 EgyptAir officials said in their latest statement that a total of nine people are aboard the hijacked EgyptAir flight 181 in Larnaca airport. "Three passengers, the pilot, the co-pilot, and three cabin crew members, in addition to the hijacker, are still aboard the aircraft." 12:40 The Cypriot foreign ministry confirmed that the hijacker is a man by the name of Seif El-din Mustafa, without giving further details. 12:10 Egypt's presidency spokesperson Alaa Youssef told CNN that the hijacker's name is Seif El Din Mustafa and not passenger Ibrahim Samaha who was initially reported as the culprit. Youssef did not divulge the nationality of the alleged hijacker, however, independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm identified Mustafa as an Egyptian citizen. 12:05 EgyptAir hijacker asking for release of prisoners in Egypt according to Cyprus state broadcaster, Reuters reported. 11:30 The Egyptian Minister of Aviation Sherif Fathi tells reporters three crew members, one security officer and three passengers - out of a total of 55 - remain hostage on the hijacked Egypt Air plane in Larnaca airport. The minister refused to divulge the nationalities of the hijacker or remaining passengers, citing security concerns. "I will not give names or details until I have definite details," Fathi told local and international reporters at a press conference. We are being cautious with the hijacker's claims that he is wearing an explosive belt, we cannot be sure but we have to be cautious, the minister said. Fathi told reporters that he has no definitive information about specific demands made by the hijacker. 11:20 President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades was quoted by Cypriot news outlets as saying that the hijacking is "not linked to terrorism." A Cyprus government official told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that the man "seems [to be] in love," and a civil aviation official added that the man handed negotiators an envelope in which he asked to be brought to a woman who lives in Cyprus. 11:10 Alexandria University professor Ibrahim Samaha, who was initially reported as the hijacker of EgyptAir flight 181, told BBC Arabic in a phone call that he is not behind the hijacking of the plane. Samaha added that he was simply a passenger and was among those released. 11:00 Reuters reports that more passengers are seen disembarking the hijacked plane. Earlier in the day, Egypt's aviation ministry had said that all passengers were allowed to disembark except for four non-Egyptians and the plane's crew. The plane was carrying 81 passengers and had a 15-person crew plus one security officer. 10:50 EgyptAir flight 181 crew refuses to leave hijacked plane before the release of all remaining passengers, according to CBC Extra Egyptian TV channel. 10:45 Sky News Arabia reported that the hijacker is an Egyptian professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria University and he holds US citizenship. 10:40 Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) reported that the hijacker may have personal motives and that he has an ex-wife in Cyprus, according to Reuters. 10:30 Cyprus state TV said the hijacker was demanding asylum in the Mediterranean Island. The hijacker asked for a translator to relay his demands to the authorities, it added. 10:20 President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades to discuss the crisis. 10:15 Egypt's prime minister Sherif Ismail asked the civil aviation minister to open investigation into the hijacking of flight 181 and security measures at Borg El-Arab airport in Alexandria where the hijacked plane originated, CBC extra TV channel reported. -------- The Egyptian aviation ministry had earlier announced that all passengers aboard the hijacked EgyptAir flight, which was forced to land in Larnaca, Cyprus on Tuesday morning have been allowed to disembark the flight except for four non-Egyptians and the plane's crew. "Negotiations with the kidnapper result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners," a second statement from EgyptAir said. Egyptian civil aviation ministry had said in an earlier statement that the hijacked plane had 15 crew members and 81 passengers on board including eight Americans, four Dutch, four Britons, two Belgians, and three passengers from France, Syria, and Italy Earlier on Tuesday, a passenger on the EgyptAir local flight 181, which was heading from Alexandria to Cairo, threatened to detonate an explosives belt, forcing the captain to divert the flight to Larnaca airport in Cyprus. The Egyptian state TV aired a picture of the hijacker aboard the plane identifying him as Ibrahim Samaha without reporting on his nationality. The aviation ministry had said that Cypriot officials negotiated with the hijacker. Cypriot anti-terrorism units have been deployed at Larnaca airport to deal with the crisis. The ministry identified the hijacked plane as airbus 320, flight 181. The hijacker contacted the control tower at 8:30 am (0530 GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8:50 am, the Cypriot police had said according to AFP. Search Keywords: Short link: Local real estate market will continue the positive evolution, and visible growth is expected for key-segments such as investment, office and industrial markets, according to the most recent report published by Colliers International Romania. Investment market was in the spotlight in 2015, being the first year after the crisis when [] As part of the 27th international real estate exhibition MIPIM in Cannes, Ulmart, represented by the Chairman of the Board of Directors Dmitry Kostygin, announced the next stage of the companys strategic development that envisions construction of proprietary logistical platform in Russia. These plans were disclosed by the members of [] Precise measurements of leaks from natural gas pipelines across metropolitan Boston have demonstrated that almost a sixth of the leaks qualified as potentially explosive, and that a handful of leaks emitted half of the total gas lost. The findings by Boston University researchers differ significantly from results gathered by gas companies and other monitoring groups, and highlight the risks that these "fugitive" gas emissions pose both for safety and the environment, says Margaret Hendrick, a PhD candidate in BU's Earth & Environment department. Hendrick is lead author on a paper published in Environmental Pollution, which emphasizes the need to develop standardized ways to detect leaks and prioritize their repair. Natural gas is considered a relatively clean fossil fuel, but a substantial amount of the gas is lost in production and distribution. In addition to the safety risks, methane (the main component of natural gas) is a major contributor to atmospheric warming. Gas pipelines may date back as early as the mid-nineteenth century in east coast cities such as Boston. About a third of the installed pipelines use leak-prone materials such as cast iron, wrought iron or unprotected steel. There are thousands of gas leaks in these cities, but how the sizes of these leaks vary in an urban area "was a big black box until this project," Hendrick says. She and her colleagues looked at emissions from cast iron pipelines at 100 sites in greater Boston where leaks had been detected in the air along roadways. The researchers painstakingly analyzed the release of methane inside custom-built chambers created with plastic buckets and the lids from child sandboxes. "To fully ascertain the safety hazards of leaks really does require us to get out on the ground with instrumentation," Hendrick explains. advertisement This was the first survey that performed detailed measurements of loss from pipelines on this urban scale, says Professor of Earth and Environment Nathan Phillips, Hendrick's advisor and senior author on the paper. Risk of explosion doesn't necessarily correlate with the amount of methane leaking, because the local environment around the leak also plays a part. "Even a very small leak can be a great safety concern," says Hendrick, who notes that a 2014 gas explosion in Dorchester injured 12 people. There were 113 gas distribution pipeline incidents, with 18 fatalities, in the United States that year. The seven "super-emitter" leaks that released half the methane in the study also raise warning signs for climate change. Methane accounts for about one tenth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. On average over a 20-year period, a methane molecule released into the atmosphere traps about 86 times as much heat as does a carbon dioxide molecule, Phillips points out. "We know we have a problem with aging natural gas infrastructure, but we need a better understanding of how big the problem is and the best ways to solve it," Hendrick says. One major issue is a lack of agreement on the number of gas leaks. For instance, Phillips led a 2013 survey on all Boston city roads that found 3,356 gas leaks. The most recent estimate from an annual report filed by National Grid with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), which regulates natural gas in the state, is about half that number. advertisement Massachusetts categorizes gas leaks by risk, with potentially explosive leaks given a Grade 1 classification. The National Grid annual report cited a total of 36 Grade 1 leaks--but the BU fieldwork, identifying 15 out of 100 leaks as Grade 1, suggests that that figure may be low. Even if all parties agree on how to assess gas leaks and prioritize their repair, fixing them won't be inexpensive, and the cost is borne by gas customers. "We're stuck in this conundrum where if we were to retrofit this infrastructure quickly, there would be huge rate increases, and families might not be able to pay their utility bills," Hendrick says. "But it isn't if these old pipes will start leaking, it's when." Bills now before the Massachusetts legislature may help to better address these challenges. In the meantime, the BU researchers encourage the public to stay watchful for any gas leaks. "People may become habituated to the smell of a gas leak, but if you smell one you should call it in to your local gas company," says Phillips. While the first priority in dealing with leaks is to assure public safety, it's also critical to consider the climate implications, Hendrick emphasizes. Her paper proposes a leak classification scheme that includes both safety and climate risks. "We are consuming more natural gas than ever before in the United States," she notes. "We need research to try to characterize fugitive methane emissions across the entire natural gas system." That need is highlighted by the recent environmental disaster as natural gas escaped from storage in Porter Ranch, California--the worst such leak in U.S. history. "We're starting to realize that unless the entire natural gas system is better regulated, the carbon footprint may be just as bad for natural gas as it is for coal and oil," Hendrick says. It's a well worn media trope. 21st century millennials are leading the way to a green transportation future, moving to cities, riding public transit, biking and walking -- and often delaying car purchases indefinitely, to Detroit's growing dismay. The reality is more complex, says a new study by University of Vermont researchers recently published in the Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Since the public discussion is mostly about the driving habits of post-college age 20-somethings who have moved to cities, the researchers decided to trace backward to see if there is evidence of high school age teens changing their behavior. Their answer: only in part, suggesting the larger narrative may be overstated. Infrastructure and land use patterns in the community play a major role in teens' decisions about whether to begin driving when they're of age, said Meghan Cope, professor of geography at the University of Vermont and co-author of the study. "If we're concerned with trying to make non-car transportation viable for teens -- a habit they could carry over into later years -- then land-use patterns, density and the transportation network of walkable areas, bike paths and public transportation really matter," Cope said. Meeting teen mobility needs would also benefit other groups who can't depend on driving to meet their needs, she said. The study compared teen behavior in two Vermont school districts. One was semi-urban with a variety of public transportation options and teen destinations like a mall and the high school located nearby. The other was more rural and suburban with little public transportation, and destinations -- from the high school to friends' houses to shops -- accessible only by car or school bus. Both districts are suburbs of Burlington. advertisement In the more rural suburban district, teens obtained their driver's license on average within a month of their 16th birthday. In the more urban community, teens delayed several months before getting their license. The study also looked at the way the Internet and cell phones influenced teen mobility. The authors found that technology influences travel behaviors by helping teens arrange rides and meeting up, but did not replace meeting in person. Both communities the researchers studied were affluent, Cope said. Many families surveyed had the resources to purchase a car for their teen or make an existing vehicle available to them. Even among educated, wealthy families with influence and extensive social networks, teens from the more rural suburbs encountered obstacles to their mobility, Cope said. "No matter what their circumstances, they bumped up against a disconnected transportation infrastructure before they had a car," Cope said. advertisement Transportation policy isn't only of academic interest, Cope said. "There's a social justice dimension," she said. "Land-use decisions can marginalize whole groups of people. In car-oriented suburbs, teens whose families have fewer resources or challenging work schedules, elderly people, the disabled, the poor, and those who choose not to drive are left out." To bring about a future that truly isn't reliant on the automobile, Cope recommended the following: * Create interconnected, walkable communities. "Connectivity is the key word," she said; * Put zoning practices in place that encourage mixed-use development and higher residential densities; * Integrate both public transit and biking/pedestrian infrastructure into neighborhoods and commercial developments. The study used a mix of research methods to obtain its results. Both parents and teens filled out an extensive questionnaire. The researchers also conducted a focus group with teens from both schools and held a participatory mapping session with them featuring an aerial photo of their towns; teens were asked to place stickers on places that were important them, while talking with the researchers about how they traveled there. The researchers also employed a research technique they invented, asking teens to verbally share selected text messages to give a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between texting and mobility, and to illuminate other aspects of their transportation choices. Keeping the peace has never been cuter. On Sunday, Deputy Donald Molchan of the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona was called upon to help a dog in distress. The poor pup had been spotted wandering around outside a gas station with no owner in sight, looking rather lonely and confused. But things were about to get a whole lot better. Although the mysterious dog's muscular pit bull-type appearance would have made some people wary of offering him help, Molchan stepped in anyway - and it's a good thing that he did. The pair hit it off immediately. "It became clear almost immediately that the dog was just a big friendly pup looking for his home," the sheriff's office wrote online. "Deputy Molchan described the dog as super friendly, playful and comfortable around people." To commemorate their newfound friendship, the deputy and dog stopped to snap some of the sweetest seflies we've ever seen. Dodo Shows Foster Diaries This Pregnant Pittie Foster Story Is The Happiest Thing Ever Molchan then gave the dog some water and had him hop inside his patrol car to give him a lift to the Pima Animal Care Center - but not before taking one more selfie. The rare Sumatran elephants standing next to Leonardo DiCaprio have no idea who he is. But we do, and that's the point: DiCaprio is using his famous face to shed light on the plight of the elephants and other animals whose very lives are in jeopardy. Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Guy And Wild Shark Have Been Best Friends For Decades Many people might know that African elephants are in danger, but they may not have heard about the critically endangered Sumatran elephant. There are only about 2,400 of these animals left. And palm oil plantations are largely to blame for diminishing their jungle habitat. Leo correctly writes that "the expansion of #PalmOil plantations is fragmenting the forest and cutting off key elephant migratory corridors, making it more difficult for elephant families to find adequate sources of food and water." Novelist Marilynne Robinson is being honored by the Library of Congress for works such as Gilead. (Alec Soth/Magnum Photos) Marilynne Robinson, the author of a series of celebrated novels set in the American heartland, has been named the 2016 winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. This lifetime achievement award, announced Tuesday by acting librarian of Congress David S. Mao, will be presented to Robinson at the 16th annual National Book Festival in Washington on Sept. 24. [A peek at the National Book Festival: Stephen King, Diane Rehm and more] Robinson, who has taught for many years at the Iowa Writers Workshop, is the author of four award-winning novels, including Gilead, which won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award. She has also published several collections of essays and works of nonfiction. In his announcement, Mao said, With the depth and resonance of her novels, Marilynne Robinson captures the American soul. The soul has never been far from Robinsons work. A deacon for the Congregational United Church of Christ in Iowa City, she infuses her work with deep theological concerns. Her Gilead series, which also includes Home and Lila, revolves around the lives of two Iowa ministers. [Marilynne Robinsons Lila: an exquisite novel of spiritual redemption and love] Previous winners of this Library of Congress honor include Louise Erdrich, E.L. Doctorow, Don DeLillo, Philip Roth and Toni Morrison. Robinson said she was awfully happy to be on the list of winners because she feels such a strong kinship with the classic authors of the United States. The writers that have always been most influential to me have been early American writers such as Walt Whitman and Melville, she said. To a great extent, they have defined for me what language could do. So I really feel very much indebted to them and happy to be associated with them. The Prize for American Fiction seeks to honor an author whose work tells us something new about the American experience. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Robinsons work is her ability to draw such profound and resonant stories from a fictional mid-20th-century town so removed from the lives of most people in the United States. One thing that I have found, she says, is that with a fairly small population, I have created the possibility of many other novels. I could fill Iowa with fictional characters. Living and working in small-town America has not distanced her from the major concerns of the country at large. Im always aware of living in a great big dynamic society, she says, a society thats so historically significant that you hate even to think about what it could mean. Robinson, who last year was interviewed by one of her biggest fans, President Obama, is a Hillary Clinton supporter. Yet she readily concedes, It wouldnt break my heart if Bernie wins. Robinson has been following the tumultuous presidential campaign with rising dismay. There are alarming things in our present moment, she said. These people who are stirring all this ire directed at immigrants and Muslim communities are very, very disturbing to me. There is no future in that. Noting that the democratic system seems to be behaving in a very erratic way, Robinson said, Its worrisome that were getting very emphatic news that a large part of the public doesnt feel well served, and thats something to take very seriously and try to understand even though I dont understand why in the world Donald Trump would seem like someone who would look like a solution. Robinson declined to confirm rumors about a new book set in Gilead. I have been fiddling around with a new novel, but I dont want to be more specific than that, she said. Robinson will be one of more than 100 authors at the Library of Congress National Book Festival at the Washington Convention Center on Sept. 24. The event is free and open to the public. The Washington Post is a charter sponsor of the festival, which is funded by corporate sponsors and private donors, led by David M. Rubenstein, the National Book Festival board co-chairman. Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to West Virginia in 1846. It was then still part of Virginia and didnt become a state until 1863. At the Appalachian Storytellers dinner in February, chefs served Appalachian-themed food to 140 guests assembled at Claxton Farms in Weaverville, N.C. (Dhanraj Emanuel) Its way easier to get drugs than a good greasy bean, Travis Milton says, taking a deep drag on his cigarette. And that causes the chef a lot of headaches. For one, greasies are his favorite beans, whether you cook them old-school, stewing them within an inch of their lives, or use a more modern technique such as steaming to show off the sweet, fat kernels inside. But the elusiveness of greasies (named for their slick appearance, not their taste) is more than just a personal problem for Milton. Later this year he will open Shovel and Pick, an Appalachian restaurant, in Bristol, Tenn. To turn out elevated versions of the dishes he grew up with mulefoot pork with candied beets, root vegetables tossed in butter-bean miso Milton needs traditional ingredients, like greasy beans, that are not easy to come by. [Make the recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole] And so this spring, Milton is sowing 10 acres with greasies and other heirloom beans, cowpeas, creasy greens (a type of field cress), Candy Roaster squash, goosefoot (an Appalachian cousin of quinoa), blackberries, huckleberries and more. What he doesnt use at his restaurant he will pickle and preserve, or share with other chefs who also are committed to promoting Appalachian cuisine. Its all part of Miltons grand plan to use food to ignite economic development in the region and end, once and for all, the pervasive stereotype of Appalachians as a bunch of toothless hillbillies. No small feat, especially when the response to the term Appalachian cuisine is either huh? or an exaggerated eye-roll at the idea of another cadre of chefs trying to cash in on a regional cooking fad. In fact, Appalachian food has at least as much of a claim on cuisine as California (which no one would dare challenge). The foods of central Appalachia a region that stretches from southern Ohio and West Virginia to Tennessee constitute Americas own cucina povera, as rich and unexplored in the American culinary scene as Tuscan food was in the 1980s. William Dissen, a native West Virginian and owner of the Market Place restaurant in Asheville, N.C., calls it the backbone of Southern cooking. Travis Milton was one of six chefs on hand at the Appalachian Storytellers dinner. (Dhanraj Emanuel) Elliott Mosss cured and smoked pork tenderloin, served at the Appalachian Storytellers dinner. (Dhanraj Emanuel) Its a scrappy, intelligent way of cooking that, out of necessity, embraced preserving, canning, fermenting and using every part of the animal long before all that was trendy. There are leather britches, beans that are strung up whole to dry, then brought back to life with water and a smoky ham hock. There is vinegar pie, a mountain version of the Souths lemon chess pie, with vinegar providing the acid in place of expensive or hard-to-find citrus. Theres real beauty in these dishes, says Milton. They yield amazing flavors, the flavors of a subsistence culture. A humble pole bean tastes like a pot roast. You work with what you have because you have to eat. The idea is catching on. Last fall, scholars, chefs and activists hosted an Appalachian food summit in Abingdon, Va., to examine how the regions food heritage can boost local economies. In February, the James Beard Foundation hosted its first-ever salon for Appalachian chefs. (Full disclosure: This reporter served as a moderator at the event.) A few weeks later, the Blind Pig, an Asheville supper club, hosted Milton and five other chefs for a dinner called Appalachian Storytellers. Milton served smoked venison, drizzled with a sauce made of malted sassafras and black birch syrup, and smoked collard greens. Edward Lee, a chef in Louisville who also owns Succotash at the National Harbor, made pork schnitzel, a nod to the German presence in the region, that he coated with salt bread, a poor-mans loaf that relies on natural leaveners in the air. The event hosted 140 people and sold out in a day. An original identity Ask most people what they think Appalachian food is, and their answer if they have any idea at all will probably be corn bread and pinto beans. Food that is cheap enough to fill a belly before a day in the coal mines and bland enough to suit the tastes of the Scotch-Irish who settled the area. That, says Ronni Lundy, author of the forthcoming book Victuals: An Appalachian Journey, With Recipes (Clarkson Potter, August 2016), betrays a gross misapprehension about the region and its food, which is far more complex. WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 23: Name of Dish (Photo by Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) [Make the recipe: Collard Leather Britches] The Cherokee originally inhabited the area. Freed slaves congregated there because it was one of the few places they were permitted to live. The English and Germans arrived along with the Scotch-Irish in the early 1800s, and Hungarians and Italians came after the Civil War to work in the mines. Some stayed for a generation or two and moved on, while some settled permanently. Appalachia is more of a melting pot, says Lundy. Thats visible in our foodways. Take corn. It was first grown in Appalachia by the Cherokee; the tribe taught new settlers how to soak the kernels in water mixed with ash, then grind it to make a dough. Leather britches, also known as shuck beans, are also thought by many to be the product of a Native American drying technique, though Lundy says the method might have been brought over by the Germans, along with their passion for fermenting. Sauerkraut is common in many Appalachian households, but fermentation also was used on native beans and to make sour corn, a much-loved dish. You take an old technique, add a new ingredient and you get a totally original food, Lundy says. But Appalachian cuisine is derived as much from the culture of the mountains as from its ingredients. Perhaps here more than in any region in the United States, families carefully saved seeds, preserving heirloom varieties that vanished quickly in areas where commercial seeds were widely available. In 2011, researchers at Slow Foods RAFT Alliance documented 1,412 distinctly named heirloom foods in the region, including more than 350 varieties of apples, 464 varieties of peas and 31 kinds of corn. Locals subsidized what they were able to cultivate with the bounty in the woods around them. And there is plenty to forage: Southern and central Appalachia are acknowledged as the most biodiverse regions in North America. Their ramps and wild mushrooms are famous. Less well known are plants such as wild ginger, which tastes of spearmint and black pepper; ginseng; sumac; and spicebush, a wild variety of allspice. Chef Elliott Moss smokes pork tenderlion at Claxton Farms for the Appalachian Storytellers dinner. (Dhanraj Emanuel/dhanraj emanuel ) [Make the recipe: Smoked Venison] The short growing season in the mountains put a focus on preservation of all kinds: smoked meats, pickled vegetables, fruit turned into jams and jellies. Many families were poor, so little was wasted. Denny Trantham, a division chef at U.S. Foods who cooked at the Appalachian Storytellers dinner, says his grandmother would make blackberry dumplings out of leftover biscuit dough and jam that hadnt quite set. (He made it for the dinner exactly the way she would have, with one exception: He substituted high-fat European butter for lard.) This is an original identity, says Trantham. You cant get it on Amazon. You have to have been a part of it. Taking the next step Milton grew up in Castlewood, a town of about 2,000 in Southwest Virginia. His grandparents owned the Village Restaurant, which Milton describes as a little greasy spoon that served burgers, red-eye gravy, country ham and shuck beans. Milton spent much of his childhood in the kitchen; when he was as young as 3, his mother would plunk him in a high chair and let him peel potatoes with a dull butter knife while she waited tables. In summer, hed sit under a big oak tree in his grandparents yard and snap beans to be canned or dried. At family dinners, there were all the dishes that Milton now evangelizes: venison, sour corn, kilt lettuce (wilted with bacon grease), leather britches and creasy greens. There were always plenty of pickles, many of which showcased the mix of ingenuity and frugality in Appalachian cooking. (For example, Miltons grandmother always added a few Red Hots candies to her pickled peaches in place of expensive cinnamon sticks.) For dessert, there were dumplings, pie and stack cake, a cake of as many as five layers slathered with apple butter. When he was in his early teens, Miltons family moved to Richmond. He worked on cars and as a radio DJ (on-air name: Albino Love Machine) and taught high school English before settling on cooking as a career. At 24, he landed his first job as a sous-chef at Bottega, an Italian restaurant in Richmond. He hadnt gone to culinary school, so Milton used his vacations to apprentice at Americas top restaurants. Elliott Mosss pork tenderloin comes off the smoker. (Dhanraj Emanuel) It was during a few days at WD-50, an avant-garde restaurant in New York, that Milton had an epiphany about cooking Appalachian food. He was making PB&J tablets when he mumbled aloud that all he really wanted was a greasy bean. Why would you want a bean covered in grease? another cook shot back. It was a turning a point. I realized that I wanted to cook everything that I had tried to distance myself from: the [foods of the] hillbilly, the hick, the redneck, he said. A few years later, Milton took a job at Comfort, a Richmond restaurant that showcases Southern cooking, where the owner gave him the freedom to experiment. He made Kentucky frogs legs and chicken wings glazed with Mountain Dew barbecue sauce. He also started making vinegars from all manner of things: turnip greens, honeydew melon, even Cheerwine, a North Carolina soda pop, which he in turn used to make cheeky vinegar pie. Travis understands that you cant extract the cuisine from the culture, says John Fleer, the chef-owner of Rhubarb in Asheville and widely acknowledged as the one who ignited interest in mountain cuisine when he was chef at Blackberry Farm in eastern Tennessee. Fleer compares Milton to Sean Brock, who has become a powerful evangelist for Southern ingredients. Travis is taking the next step. Hes giving cultural context to the stories of food. [Sean Brock re-imagines Southern cuisine] Milton looks like what hipsters try to emulate with their trucker caps, plastic-framed glasses and burly beards. He is rarely without his Virginia Is for Lovers cap or a jean jacket covered with patches, including one of the Kelloggs Corn Flakes logo and one of Paul Stanley of the band Kiss. And like many chefs these days, he has an arm full of tattoos. Among other things, there is a greasy bean, of course; a bunch of watermelon radishes; a stalk of rhubarb, which Milton used to munch on raw as a kid; and a German Johnson tomato, his grandfathers favorite. Behind the Technicolor vegetables is a cloud of black. It shows all the beautiful things coming out of coal country, Milton says. Its not me wearing my heart on my sleeve. Its my plan for Appalachia. Chef Denny Trantham at the Appalachian Storytellers Dinner organized by Blind Pig Supper Club dinner at Claxton Farms, Weaverville NC dhanrajemanuel (Dhanraj Emanuel/dhanraj emanuel ) Mamaws Blackberry Dumplings with Fresh Cream & Mint by Denny Trantham dhanrajemanuel (Dhanraj Emanuel/dhanraj emanuel ) A return to salt Can food help ignite economic development in the twilight of coal? There are hopeful signs. Miltons restaurant, which he hopes to open later this year, is one. There also are efforts to bring back authentic Appalachian products: heirloom apple orchards, which were razed for strip mining, to make cider; Virginia-style whiskey; and salt. Yes, salt. Before timber, before coal, salt was the major industry in central Appalachia. Brine was drawn up from deep within the ground, the remnants of the Iapetus Ocean, which covered the region 470 million years ago. In 1846, West Virginia had more than 50 saltworks and was the largest salt-producing area in the country. One producer was J.Q. Dickinson. Founded in 1817, it was the last to close its doors, in 1945. Three years ago, seventh-generation members of the family, Nancy Bruns and her brother Lewis Payne, reopened the saltworks along the Kanawha River, southeast of Charleston. They draw the brine from the same spots but have committed to a more eco-friendly, if less efficient, way of drying it. Instead of heating it with wood or coal fires, they place the brine in trays in a glass sunhouse and let it evaporate naturally. The result is a chunky, clean crystal that makes food pop. When Brock tasted it for the first time, he called Bruns and asked whether he could buy it by the truckload. Production remains limited, though. In its first year, J.Q. Dickinson turned out just 400 pounds of salt. This year, the company aims to make 14,000 pounds. But thats still a fraction of the 8,000 pounds per day that was once produced. The revival of local salt was the focus of a film shown last month at the Appalachian Storytellers dinner. The crowd was a mix of pedigreed Appalachians and culinary thrill-seekers two necessary ingredients in Miltons recipe to revive the region and its food. Treva Johnson, 78, grew up eating leather britches and creasy greens that she foraged with her grandmother. The dinner was an opportunity to taste them again. (The creasy greens, served as a puree on heirloom grits, didnt quite match her memories. It was wrong but also exciting, she said.) Lisa Gamble, 35, had never heard of leather britches before the dinner. Now, she said, I want to eat them every day. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to discuss the latest developments of the hijacked EgyptAir flight, Egypt's state TV says. El-Sisi has stressed that Egypt is concerned for the safety and security of all passengers of the hijacked plane, state TV quoted him as saying. A hijacker early on Tuesday diverted an EgyptAir flight, headed from Alexandria to Cairo, to Larnaca, Cyprus. The airline later said all passengers on board were released except four non-Egyptian passengers and the crew. Egyptian state TV aired a picture of the hijacker aboard the plane, identifying him as Ibrahem Samaha, without reporting his nationality. Search Keywords: Short link: Kindergarten students at Guilford Elementary in Sterling, Va, on Feb. 6, 2015. The school is one of six in the county that qualify for special federal funds because of high rates of poverty. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post) The school board of a wealthy Virginia county is set to vote Tuesday on a controversial proposal that would consolidate students from a largely poor, Hispanic neighborhood into two schools, a proposition that has drawn criticism from those who see the plan as a form of segregation. The Loudoun County School Board, tasked with redrawing enrollment boundaries to ease overcrowding, also is weighing whether to reverse a long-standing policy of economic integration in Leesburg, a wealthy community with a high concentration of poor, immigrant families living in a cluster of downtown apartment buildings and townhomes. The district currently sends the communitys 700 elementary school students to four elementary schools in an effort to balance out the proportion of high-needs students at each school. The new plan would send all but about 186 of those students to two schools closer to them: Frederick Douglass and Leesburg elementary schools. It would raise the percentage of students who qualify for free- and reduced-price meals at both schools to above 50 percent and the percentage of English language learners to about 50 percent. But it also would allow those children to attend schools closer to their homes. [Separate but equal? Wealthy countys plan would concentrate low-income, Hispanic students] The plan has spurred an emotional debate and raised questions about the best way to serve high-needs students. Proponents of the plan say it is best to cluster high-needs students together so resources can be focused to help them. Opponents say it turns the clock back to the days of segregation and point to research that shows economic integration is beneficial for high-needs students. Tuesday night, they are set to decide whether they will move forward with that plan. They also could vote to move forward with three other plans that would adjust boundaries but aim to maintain a demographic balance, keeping projected rates of poor students who are labeled low-income because they qualify for free- and reduced-price meals at below 40 percent at all Leesburg schools. Were trying to figure out how best to serve the children, said Chairman Eric Hornberger, one of the designers of the plan to concentrate poor, Hispanic students into two schools. He said he remains undecided and is weighing information from both sides of the argument. Board member Debbie Rose (Algonkian) said in a recent interview that she believes high-needs students would be better served in a school that would qualify for Title I funds, special federal dollars that target high-poverty schools. Are we doing well by any of these students or can we do better if we actually move to the community-based models and be able to provide the right resources? Rose said. She noted the success of some Title I schools in Sterling that have boasted test scores above district averages. She also has said that she believes that schools with higher percentages of high-needs students would be better equipped to be culturally sensitive. Board member Joy Maloney (Ashburn), one of the board members who opposes the plan to reverse economic integration, said that creating two new high-poverty schools would mean that existing high-needs schools, like those in Sterling, would get fewer resources. Local funding that was recently set aside to send more staff to high-needs schools also is at risk of being cut as the board looks to trim nearly $17 million from its budget proposal. Maloney believes economic integration is more important to closing the achievement gap than funneling more resources into a school with a higher population of at-risk students. Maloney said research shows that the poverty level at a school is a better indicator of success at that school than how much money is spent at that school. She cited a study in Montgomery County, Md., that found that students from poor families who attended school with more affluent peers did better than those who went to high-poverty schools that received targeted resources. [From 2010: Study of Montgomery County schools shows benefits of economic integration] But those in favor of creating two, Title I-elgible schools say that they are skeptical that the research is applicable to Loudoun County. Each of those papers is very specific to facts and circumstances, Rose said in a board meeting Monday night. Reps. Donna F. Edwards and Chris Van Hollen clashed Tuesday over the role of super PACs in their hard-fought Democratic primary race for a rare open Senate seat in Maryland. At a debate televised by WJLA (Channel 7), Van Hollen attacked Edwards for refusing last summer to sign a pledge barring super PAC involvement in the contest and again urged her to sign it even though outside groups made possible by the Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United decision have spent heavily on behalf of both candidates. Why dont you join me in putting your name to what you stand for? asked Van Hollen, who like Edwards opposes the Citizens United decision. Edwards countered that she is proud to have the support of a super PAC run by Emilys List, a group committed to electing female Democrats who support abortion rights and which has committed $2.4 million to the race so far. The groups first candidate, Edwards noted, was retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D), whom she and Van Hollen are vying to replace. They stood on the side of Barbara Mikulski when the political establishment said she couldnt win, in a race very similar to this one, Edwards said. [Why Emilys List is spending big against a progressive Democrat] Van Hollen, she suggested, has less-desirable super PAC backing. The National Association of Realtors has in recent days spent nearly $1 million in support of the congressman, including $384,000 on television spots, $370,372 on mail to voters and $126,000 on online advertising. Emilys List does not lobby members of Congress, Edwards noted. The realtors group does, contributing heavily to Republican and Democratic candidates. They dont expect anything in return, Edwards said of Emilys List. What do the realtors expect from you? Van Hollen pointed out that Edwards has also taken money from the realtors group $25,000 over her eight years in Congress. At a forum Monday night in Baltimore, Van Hollen chided Edwards for appearing to approve of some outside groups and not others. If youre against Citizens United, you dont get to pick which super PAC you like and which one you dont like, he said. He said more than half of the money collected by the Emilys List super PAC this cycle has come from Wall Street true if you include all hedge-fund managers and their spouses under the Wall Street umbrella, regardless of their locations. Of the $4 million raised by Women Vote for the 2016 election, $1.5 million came from S. Donald Sussman, a Florida-based hedge-fund manager and a major Democratic donor. An additional $500,000 came from Marilyn Simons, wife of hedge-fund manager James Simons. Billionaire and former New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg contributed $40,000. Van Hollen has raised far more money than Edwards; at the end of last year he had 10 times as much cash on hand. The two candidates also sparred at the forum over a bill Van Hollen introduced in 2010 that would have required greater disclosure from outside groups. To improve its chance of passage, Van Hollen agreed to exempt the National Rifle Association and the Sierra Club from the strictures. In response, Edwards pulled her support for the bill and spoke against the legislation. The biggest, baddest actor in this system is the NRA, she said Monday. Van Hollen noted that the vast majority of Democrats, including Mikulski and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), backed his bill, which despite the changes failed to garner Republican support and died in the Senate. Van Hollen touted his record on gun control, saying he had passed gun-safety legislation at the state level and introduced it at the federal level. At both the debate and the forum, the candidates also revisited more familiar points of tension. Edwards accused Van Hollen of betraying progressive values on criminal-justice reform, trade deals and negotiations over the budget. Van Hollen said those attacks were distortions. He is a co-sponsor of sentencing reform legislation in the House, he noted, while Edwards is not. As the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Van Hollen said, he was trusted by his colleagues to lead the fight to protect Social Security and never supported any cuts. And he noted that several unions very concerned about foreign trade, such as the United Auto Workers, have endorsed his campaign. Ive been running on my record, and Congresswoman Edwards has been running away from her record, he said Tuesday. Van Hollen accused Edwards of failing to work with Republicans or respond quickly to residents of her district. He pointed to an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun by Heather Mizeur, a former state delegate and 2014 gubernatorial candidate, who wrote that Van Hollen has far outpaced Edwards in responding to constituent needs. Edwards, in turn, called that charge inaccurate, citing the job fairs and college fairs she has held. As for bipartisanship, she said she worked with Republicans on NASA reauthorization as well as on transportation policy. After years of resisting, and over the objections of the state teachers union, Maryland lawmakers have agreed to state-funded private-school scholarships. The decision to create a $5 million grant program was part of the negotiations on the states $42 billion operating budget, which received final approval in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly on Tuesday. Lawmakers did away with a proposal that had been approved by the Senate and would have provided tax credits to companies that contribute to scholarships for students at private schools. Instead, the House of Delegates and the Senate backed the grant program, which will provide scholarships to students from poor families. Its a win-win for not just the people of the state of Maryland, but for all students, said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert). Its a good compromise. Maryland joins 16 states that contribute public money toward private-school scholarships. Most of the others, including Virginia, Georgia, Florida and Alabama, have Republican-controlled legislatures and offer tax credits to companies or individuals who donate to the scholarship programs. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who has pushed for education tax credits for the past two years, said the scholarships have the potential to make a huge difference to students and families across the state. [The overwhelming whiteness of U.S. private schools, in six maps and charts] Bills to create an education-tax credit in Maryland have been introduced for the past 10 years and had won the support of Martin OMalley (D), who was governor from 2007 to 2015. The bills had advanced in the Senate, but not in the House, where they were staunchly opposed by House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel). This month, Busch hinted that his opposition was softening, in part because two African American lawmakers from Baltimore Dels. Antonio Hayes and Keith E. Haynes had sponsored versions of the scholarship legislation. They and other members of the Democratic caucus argued that the aid was needed to help young black men in the city. Miller said former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, who is now the president of the University of Baltimore, also pushed for the scholarships, calling private schools a lifesaver for many Baltimore students in need. The grants would be administered by the Maryland State Department of Education. The rules for the program would be set up by an advisory board that would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. The Maryland State Education Association had fought hard against bills intended to create education tax credits. Such legislation would have set aside as much as $50 million for the program. But the union also vowed to fight the scholarship program, which Sean Johnson, the unions assistant executive director, called a voucher program that would divert public money away from public schools. Were hoping to make it a one-year bad idea and not a permanent bad idea, Johnson said. [Despite union opposition, Md. Senate advances bill to encourage private-school scholarships] In approving the state budget, both chambers reallocated $80 million that Hogan wanted to put into the states reserve fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund, to pay for Democratic legislative priorities. John Rohrer, the coordinator of fiscal and policy analysis for the Department of Legislative Services, said the money will go toward uses including increasing reimbursement rates for doctors who treat the poor and helping local governments fund teacher pensions. The money is fenced off, which means that if Hogan elects not to use it as Democrats want him to, it cannot be used for anything else. Last year, the General Assembly fenced off $65 million for several Maryland school districts. Hogan objected and did not release the funds. Also Tuesday, the Senate voted to approve bills that would raise the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 73; require schools to teach lessons aimed at preventing child sexual abuse; and reform the industry that specializes in purchasing structured settlements, giving the attorney general the authority to regulate the transfers of structured settlements. In the House, lawmakers gave final passage to a measure requiring the Board of Public Works to notify the legislature and the public three days before voting on proposals to reduce budget appropriations. The three-member board has the authority to cut line items in the capital and operating budgets by up to 25 percent when the legislature is not in session. The legislation goes to Hogan for his signature. The House also gave preliminary approval to the capital budget and to bills that would prohibit the sale of powdered alcohol; mandate that drug prescribers and pharmacists use a database that helps identify health-care providers who overprescribe pain medications and patients who are misusing the drugs; and require insurance companies to cover all in vitro fertilization procedures involving donated sperm. The in vitro measure would address a concern raised by Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) about a law passed last year that requires insurance companies to cover the procedure for same-sex couples using donor sperm. Frosh said the statute created a disparity between same- and opposite-sex couples, the latter group not being guaranteed coverage. The Affordable Care Act prohibits such unequal treatment, Frosh said. Josh Hicks contributed to this report. Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk (right) and former lieutenant governor Anthony Brown (left-center) are among the candidates in the April primary contest for the 4th Congressional District. (Mark Gail/For The Washington Post) In an angry election year, its unclear how much weight political endorsements carry. But with a crowded Democratic primary race in Marylands 4th Congressional district, candidates are trying to build all the momentum they can. Four weeks before the April 26 primary, endorsements are rolling in. The three top contenders in the race each have a page on their websites showcasing which groups and elected officials are supporting them. [4th district race centers on three veteran politicians] In the case of Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D-Prince Georges), the latest endorsement came Tuesday from the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The announcement was an opportunity for Pena-Melnyk to augment her claim of being the progressive fighter in the race to succeed Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-Md.). The Sierra Club, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, the Latino Victory Fund, Emilys List and nine unions have also backed her candidacy. Pena-Melnyk is trying to gain ground on two other longtime Maryland politicians former Prince Georges County prosecutor Glenn F. Ivey and former lieutenant governor Anthony G. Brown both of whom have split endorsements from prominent Democrats in the state. Ivey was endorsed on Monday by former governor Parris Glendening and earlier by Prince Georges County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince Georges), Del. Jay Walker (D-Prince Georges) and a slew of municipal leaders and local lawmakers. The state association of realtors, regional credit union association and four unions are also supporting him. Both he and Pena-Melnyk have won endorsements from several Anne Arundel County leaders and Annapolis lawmakers. Browns support comes from longtime backers in the state legislature, including those who stood by him during his failed gubernatorial bid in 2014. They include Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert), House Judiciary Chair Joseph F. Vallario (D-Prince Georges) and former state Sen. Gloria Lawlah, also a Democrat. Lawlah heads 1,000 Maryland Women, a political action committee that raised a few thousand dollars during the 2014 election cycle. Unite Here, an international labor organization representing 15,000 hotel, casino and airport workers in the region, is also supporting Browns candidacy. Three other Democrats are vying for the Democratic nomination: former Census Bureau employee Terence Strait, retired Army Lt. Col. Warren Christopher and retired U.S. marshal Matthew Fogg. Christopher has downplayed the significance of political endorsements, saying he seeks only the support of voters at the ballot box. Four Republicans are also competing for their partys nomination. But in a district where Democrats overwhelmingly dominate the voter rolls, the winner of the Republican primary will face long odds in the general election. Correction: Due to incorrect information provided by D.C. police, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that D.C. Fire Capt. Alan Noznesky had been charged with theft for taking a book from a burning home on March 28. The article has been updated to reflect the latest information. The updated version also includes an interview with the homeowner. No criminal charges were filed against a D.C. fire captain who had been under police investigation for taking a book from a house that caught fire March 28, authorities said. Capt. Alan Noznesky, 50, who lives in Western Maryland near Frederick, has been placed on administrative leave, according to a D.C. fire department spokesman. Dustin Sternbeck, the chief police spokesman, initially said Noznesky was charged in a criminal citation with second-degree theft. Police later said they requested that a warrant be issued for Nozneskys arrest, but District prosecutors did not pursue the case. No criminal charge was ever filed. Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in the District, said the office had reviewed the case and does not plan to file charges. Noznesky joined the fire department in 1991 and is assigned to an engine company in Northwest. He earns more than $105,000 a year. In an interview March 29, Noznesky denied the accusation. He said he found a book near the front entrance of the burned house in the 3000 block of Gates Road, in Forest Hills, and moved it to a safe location to preserve it for the homeowner. The fire broke out about 7 p.m. and caused extensive damage to the house. No one was injured. Try to do a good thing and get jammed, Noznesky said. There was a large book near the front. I move it from inside maybe 60 feet from the house. Somebody, I guess, saw that and didnt like it. I never stole anything from there. I didnt even know what the book was about. Why the police charged, I have no idea whatsoever. I thought I was doing the right thing. Noznesky said that he doesnt get along with one of the fire officials who was at the scene. He said he told the homeowner that he had saved the book. He said other expensive artwork and furniture was destroyed. The captain said he was confronted by police, the fire chief and other officials at the scene. I did nothing wrong, Noznesky said. In an interview on March 30, the owner of the home, Ronald Ginsburg, said he was in Florida at the time of the fire, but he had friends staying in the home. He said firefighters, seeing dog food and leashes, searched for his pet, which was in Florida with him. I dont know how this firefighter helping me turned into this, Ginsburg said. Im not pressing charges. Im not aware of any theft. I mean, these firefighters, they go back into a burning building to rescue a dog that is not there. Im beyond grateful. How relieved I am that no one was hurt. The D.C. police report says that one person saw Noznesky remove the listed property from inside the location, conceal the listed property in a black jacket and take the listed property to the fire engine. The report says the book was titled, Airline Visual Identity: 1945-1975. Its publisher describes the book as chronicling airlines through advertising campaigns. Police estimate its worth at $100. Ginsburg said he had picked up the book at a gift shop and used it as a coffee table book. Davonte Washington, 15, was being raised in Maryland by his stepfather so he could have a chance to attend better schools. (Courtesy of Victor Leonard) The 15-year-old was sitting on a bench with his mother and younger sisters inside a glass shelter, waiting for a train at the Deanwood Metro station in Northeast. Davonte Washington, his head bowed, was absorbed in his cellphone. An older teenager clutching a white bag with carryout food walked by on the platform with friends. One of Davontes sisters looked at the young man after he had passed. He paused and tapped on the glass to draw Davontes attention. Davonte stepped out. They exchanged words. What the f--- you keep looking at me for? You know me from somewhere? the older teen uttered, police said. A split second later, without provocation or for no more reason than what the gunman may have taken as a disrespectful glance, the suspect pulled a silver or chrome handgun and shot Davonte, police said. The police arrest affidavit says the gunman handed his food to a friend, tucked his gun in his pants and fled the station, with Davontes mother racing after him shouting: Stop him! He just shot my son! D.C. Police have charged Maurice Bellamy, 17, with second-degree murder while armed in the death of 15-year-old Davonte Washington, who was fatally shot on the platform of the Deanwood Metro station the day before Easter. (WUSA9) Police outlined a chilling scenario Tuesday in a court document as well as in a courtroom, charging Maurice Bellamy, 17, of Southeast Washington as an adult with second-degree murder while armed in Saturday afternoons slaying. Davonte was gunned down in front of his mother and sisters at 4 p.m. as he was headed to get a haircut for Easter, his family said. Police said they have no evidence that the suspect and Davonte knew each other. [Teen fatally shot on Metro platform in front of mother, sisters] The lack of motive confounded D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, long accustomed to explaining deadly violence stemming from petty disputes yet struggling to explain the Districts 26th killing of 2016. When it comes to violence, nothing really is more senseless than this case, in my opinion, the chief said. The loss of a 15-year-old boy under any circumstances is a tragedy. But in this case, its even more so, as it appears that there was just no reason for it. Absolutely no reason for it. Bellamy made his initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday as about 40 of Davontes grieving relatives watched from four rows in the courtroom, trying to comprehend the loss of the high school freshman who played Pee Wee football, aspired to join the military and was shot twice in the chest. When marshals escorted Bellamy into the courtroom amid heightened security, Davontes mother yelled, Thats the one who killed my baby! and began sobbing as family members tried to console her. Bellamy was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. His ankles and wrists were in shackles. Victor Leonard, Davontes grandfather, said the family was struck by how young Bellamy looked. Hes just a kid himself, Leonard said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner argued that Bellamy should remain in jail until trial. The shooting, Kirschner told the judge, gave new meaning to the term senseless murder. . . . This was about a 15-year-old boy who had the temerity to look at Mr. Bellamy. Kirschner said security video clearly caught Bellamy at the time of the shooting. A Metro Transit Police officer identified Bellamy from a mug shot matched to the surveillance video. Two witnesses with Bellamy also identified him, Kirschner said. According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, Bellamy was arrested in 2014, when he was 16, for simple assault and for threatening an employee of Ballou High School, where he was a freshman. Bellamys attorney in the Metro shooting, Madeline Harvey with the Districts Public Defender Service, argued that the witnesses may have been biased and could have been threatened by police to identify Bellamy or face arrest themselves. We dont know what the police said to them, she said. Bellamys relatives left the courtroom without speaking publicly. Magistrate Judge Renee Raymond found Bellamy to be a danger and ordered him held at the D.C. jail until his next hearing, scheduled for April 22. Court documents say that Bellamy lived in a group home in Northwest Washington and grew up in the Kentland community in Prince Georges County. Police said they traced him to a Facebook page with pictures of him labeled, SHOOTA MOE, AKA MOE CITY. According to the documents obtained by The Post, Bellamy was arrested in May 2014 after officials said he threatened a Ballou staffer who told him to leave a hallway. The staffer ordered Bellamy again to leave the hallway, the documents state, and Bellamy allegedly swung his fist and had to be restrained. He reportedly threatened to return to the school and smoke all you . . . . Bellamy pleaded guilty to misdemeanor threats, was placed on three months probation and ordered to undergo anger management classes and random drug testing for marijuana. He told a therapist that he had begun using marijuana when he was 14. The documents show that he continued to miss school and the drug tests and failed to meet with his counselor. A probation officers recommendation to put him in a youth detention center was rejected by a judge, and he was put on probation again. Davonte was reared in Maryland to give him a chance to attend better schools, a decision that meant living with his stepfather and apart from his mother and sisters in the District. He played for the Pepper Mill Boys and Girls in 2010, where his coach, Darnel Dorsey, described him as a great athlete, adding that he was liked by everybody and wasnt a troubled kid. Leonard said his grandson joined the Navy ROTC when he entered Largo High School and was leaning toward a career in the military. He was very humble, Leonard said. He understood if his parents couldnt afford something and couldnt keep him in the latest style. He wasnt a kid who had to have the latest and greatest. He accepted what was given to him by his parents. The grandfather said he talked to Davonte on the phone the night before the fatal shooting. He was excited to spend the weekend with his mother and sisters, see cousins and visit an aunt. Just before hanging up, he told Leonard, I need to get a haircut for Easter. They ended the conversation with the same words they say that everyone in the family uses to greet each other and say goodbye: I love you always. Lynh Bui, Dana Hedgpeth, Jennifer Jenkins and Hamil R. Harris contributed to this report. Police have arrested a fourth man in the killing of a 64-year-old Fairfax County resident who attempted to stop men who broke into his home last March by attacking them with a machete, Fairfax County police said. Eric Howard Buckner, 23, of Alexandria was charged with second degree murder in the killing of Santos Rafael Zelaya, police said. Police said they believe he was the last suspect still at large in the killing. Police were called to a home in the 6100 block of North Kings Highway in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County on March 26, 2015, for a report of a shooting, according to a search warrant. Three men carrying guns had broken into the home and one held Zelayas roommate at gunpoint, according to the search warrant. Two of the men were searching the home. [Man shoots suspects breaking into home] Zelaya charged out of the room with a machete and injured one of the men, who then opened fire on Zelaya before fleeing, according to the search warrant. Zelaya died from his injuries. A witness told police the suspects had planned the home invasion, according to the search warrant. Three other suspects had previously been arrested in the case. Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said no clear demands were made by the hijacker, negotiations between hijacker and Cypriot officials are still underway Egypts Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said that he cannot confirm if the hijacker of EgyptAir flight 181 was wearing an explosives belt, but Egypt is still dealing with it as real threat." In a press conference shortly after 11am CLT, Fathy said that out of the initial 55 passengers and crew, seven people are still on the plane, including the pilot, co-pilot, a security officer, and three passengers. The Egyptian minister declined to reveal the nationalities of the three passengers or the hijacker. No clear demands by the hijacker were given, and negotiations are still ongoing in Cyprus between the authorities and the hijacker, Fathy added. Fathy said the EgyptAir plane left from Alexandrias Borg El-Arab at 6:30am, and was hijacked around 7am following a threat by one of the passengers he was wearing an explosive belt. Fathy added that the plane arrived at Cypruss Larnaca airport at 7:50am. The minister said a plane will head to Cyprus at 12:30pm to bring back the released passengers to Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: A man who threw himself in front of a train Monday morning, disrupting the commuter-train services between Baltimore and Washington, was also the suspect in a double shooting Sunday that left one man dead and that probably targeted the wrong people, police said. Authorities in Howard County said Jacinto Del Prado, 52, of Greenbelt was struck and killed about 7 a.m. Monday in the Lanham area after he committed suicide on the tracks that carry MARC and Amtrak trains. [Service is back on Amtrak and MARC trains after earlier issue] Police said they had an arrest warrant for Del Prado after he allegedly shot two men one of whom died on Sunday afternoon at a truck stop on Assateague Drive in Jessup. The man who was fatally shot at the truck stop was later identified by police as Chad Dewayne Daniel, 44, of Wesley Chapel, Fla. The man who was injured is a 57-year-old Baltimore resident. He is listed in stable condition at a hospital. [One person dead, another wounded in Howard County shooting] A preliminary police investigation found that Del Prado went to the truck stop to confront a man about a domestic matter, police said. But detectives said they think the two men were shot in a possible case of mistaken identity. Mary Phelan, a Howard County police spokeswoman, said in an email Tuesday that she could not provide additional details because the investigation is ongoing. Her department is also working with Prince Georges County police on the case. Del Prados suicide created hours-long delays during the Monday morning rush hour on the MARC and Amtrak lines between Washington and Baltimore. Several ticket counters and bag carousels at Dulles International Airport were closed temporarily Tuesday afternoon while authorities investigated what was described as unattanded item. Flights were operating, however, the airport said. The airport said the bag was cleared and things had returned to normal by around 6 p.m. According to Dulles, authorities acted from an abundance of caution in closing part of the arrivals and departures level in the main terminal. Airport officials said ticket counters that were affected included United, Lufthansa, Avianca, Austrian, Jetblue, Alaska and Porter. The airport asked passengers to consider checkin in online before going to the airport. The unattended item was not described. Authorities in various jurisdictions have solicited reports from anyone seeing anything suspicious. At the same time, they have asked that bags and packages not be left unattended in public places. Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have blocked future state funding for Planned Parenthood clinics, an issue that has long divided the Virginia legislature. McAuliffe (D), a self-professed brick wall against limits on abortion, said the bill would have decimated the states abortion providers. Republican supporters of the bill said it would have simply forced the state to redirect future dollars to health-care centers that do not provide abortion. If we are going to build a new, more vibrant Virginia economy, we need to be opening up doors to quality, affordable health care, not closing them, the governor said in a statement. I have promised to stand in the way of any and all attempts to interfere with a womans right to make her own health care decisions. The bill does not appear to have enough support to survive an override attempt. It passed 64 to 35 in the House and 21 to 19 in the Senate. A two-thirds majority of both chambers is needed to override a governors veto. The bills sponsor, Del. Ben L. Cline (R-Rockbridge), filed it after the rollout this past summer of secret video footage of Planned Parenthood officials discussing in graphic detail the process of aborting a fetus to preserve organs for use by medical researchers. (Various investigations turned up no wrongdoing by the group.) [Activist behind anti-Planned Parenthood videos turns himself in] I am disappointed that Governor McAuliffe chose to veto this important legislation that would redirect taxpayer dollars toward more comprehensive providers of health care services for women, Cline said in a statement. The governor is clearly listening to his friends in the abortion lobby, rather than ensuring that women have access to quality care. Republican backers of the bill noted that the state does not directly fund abortion clinics. Instead, the bill sought to block several small federal contracts administered by the state Department of Health for services such as screening for sexually transmitted diseases at the states five Planned Parenthood clinics. The argument that women will not have access to needed care as a result of the bill vetoed by the Governor is patently false, Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said in a statement. Virginias taxpayers are better served when their money is given to truly compassionate, comprehensive health centers like this legislation required. Abortion rights activists say the bill is the latest attempt by the Republican-controlled legislature to restrict access to abortion. Make no mistake: this bill is not an outlier, Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, said in a statement. Instead, it is part of a well-documented pattern of anti-abortion legislators chipping away at Virginia womens constitutional rights and access to health care. This session, Virginia House Republicans failed to pass a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy but promised to try again next year. RICHMOND The first U.S. senator to endorse Sen. Ted Cruz for president is playing a role in Virginia politics. U.S. Sen Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Tuesday will endorse attorney John Adams, a former federal prosecutor seeking the Republican nomination for attorney general, according to Adamss campaign. Del. Robert B. Bell (R-Albemarle) is also running in the Republican primary for the nomination to oppose Attorney General Mark Herring (D). Lee and Adams were law clerks at the Supreme Court at the same time, Lee for Justice Samuel Alito and Adams for Justice Clarence Thomas. John is a movement conservative and a principled legal thinker who understands that liberty is preserved through adherence to our Constitution, Lee said in a statement. Over the years, I have urged John to seek political office because I know he shares my conservative values and will fight to protect Virginians from government overreach. Lee is a conservative firebrand known for his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In October, he joined a group of Senate Democrats and Republicans to introduce criminal justice reform legislation. The endorsement is sign candidates are jockeying for position well ahead of the 2017 race. State GOP leaders have recommended that the party choose its nominee by convention, a day-long gathering that typically attracts the most hard-line Republicans and tends to result in conservative candidates. Alternatively, the party could opt for a state-run primary. [A lot of people just dont like Ted Cruz. How come thats okay with him?] Adams, of Chesterfield, leads the government investigations department at McGuire Woods law firm and previously worked in the President George W. Bush White House. THE DISTRICT Woman rescued in fire dies at hospice facility A woman who was rescued this month from a burning apartment building by a D.C. firefighter who took off his breathing mask and gave it to her has died in Virginia, according to her niece. Phyliss Terrell, 64, a great-grandmother who worked at the federal Office of Personnel Management, died Thursday, two weeks after a fire broke out in a third-floor apartment next to hers in the 1700 block of Minnesota Avenue SE. Terrell was leaning out her window when firefighters arrived about 4 p.m. on March 9. She told relatives she was about to jump when D.C. firefighter Danny Lovato, an 11-year veteran, pulled up in Truck 7, grabbed a ladder and threw it against the wall. Lovato climbed to nearly the top rung, but he found it too dangerous to pull Terrell out. Lovato, 39, pulled off his breathing mask and put it on Terrells face, sacrificing the air from the tank on his back. They stayed like that for several minutes until other firefighters could reach the woman from inside the apartment. A photo posted online by D.C. police showed Lovatos torso on the ladder, his head engulfed in a cloud of toxic smoke. Terrell and Lovato suffered smoke inhalation, and Lovato was released from the hospital after a few days. Terrell remained hospitalized. But her niece, Wanda Terrell, 54, said she suffered a lung infection. Wanda Terrell also said her aunt had prior health problems and was using oxygen before the fire. She said her aunt was moved to a hospice facility in Virginia about a week ago. Peter Hermann MARYLAND 3rd arrest in shooting of former informant A third man has been arrested in the slaying of a Loudoun County bank-scammer-turned-jailhouse-informant who was found fatally shot in February. Donald Deon Clay, 48, of Manassas was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and robbery in the slaying of Osama El-Atari, 37, according to court records. Two other men were arrested in the case last month. El-Atari was sentenced to 12 years in prison for defrauding the banks of $54 million. He was released early after becoming a jailhouse informant. Lynh Bu Suspect in slaying killed by train A man wanted in the slaying of one man and wounding of another in Howard County was struck by a train and killed Monday in the Lanham area of Prince Georges County, authorities said. The death of Jacinto Del Prado, 52, of Greenbelt, appeared to be a suicide, the Howard County police said. They said a warrant had been issued for Del Prado in connection with the fatal shooting Sunday at a Jessup truck stop of Chad D. Daniel, 44, of Wesley Chapel, Fla., and the wounding of Warren A. Weeden, 57, of Baltimore, in what may have been a case of mistaken identity. Martin Weil 8th District hopefuls gain endorsements With less than a month until the April 26 primary, Democratic congressional candidates in Marylands 8th District continue to collect endorsements. Will Jawando has won the support of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon. Lewis said in a statement that Jawando, a former congressional and White House aide, will be an advocate and ally on the issues that matter most to our community; reducing gun violence, protecting our right to vote, and securing equal pay for equal work. Jawando has also been endorsed by former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson, former U.S. education secretary Arne Duncan, former NAACP president Benjamin Jealous, Montgomery County Council member Craig Rice (D-Germantown) and Montgomery County Board of Education member Christopher S. Barclay. Businessman David Trone was endorsed this week by former U.S. education secretary and South Carolina governor Richard W. Riley, who said the wine retailer and philanthropist would be a champion for public education. 2 adults, 5 children overcome by fumes Two adults and five children were taken to a hospital Monday from the Layhill area of Montgomery County after exposure to carbon monoxide. Firefighters said the injuries were not life-threatening. They apparently were trying to heat a townhouse with a charcoal grill after power had been cut off, officials said. Dana Hedgpeth VIRGINIA Man who died in jail is identified by police The man who died while being hed at an Alexandria jail over the weekend was identified Monday. Officials said he was Diego Silva-Fuentes, 54, of Puerto Rico. Dana Hedgpeth Mostafa K. Tolba, a U.N. official who was considered the father of the Montreal Protocol, the agreement intended to save the ozone layer that is widely known as part of the worlds most successful environmental treaty, died March 28 in Geneva. He was 93. Dr. Tolbas death was announced by Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Dr. Tolba had been the UNEP executive director for 17 years. In addition to his groundbreaking work in Montreal, the Egyptian-born Dr. Tolba was praised for his leadership in guiding the Vienna Convention, which preceded it. The Vienna meeting, held in 1985, created the basic international approach to protecting the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987, lays out specific actions. The two agreements are often treated together and sometimes interchangeably. In addition to their specific stipulations, they are often regarded as models of international diplomacy, particularly of diplomacy regarding technical matters. After playing a major part in the establishment of each agreement, Dr. Tolba was credited pioneering the role of the international environmental diplomat. The Vienna achievement has often been expressed in terms of the number of countries subscribing to the convention: 197. The meetings in Vienna and in Montreal were intended as a response to the growing alarm in the 1970s and 1980s over such atmospheric phenomena as the depletion of the ozone layer around the Earth and the expansion of holes in the parts of the layer over the polar regions. Scientists outlined the mechanism for ozone destruction as a series of chemical reactions involving three constituents: ozone, ultraviolet radiation and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs,) the chemicals used as aerosol propellants and as coolants and refrigerants. Much of the impetus for the international agreements came from recognition of the role of the ozone layer as a shield against powerful ultraviolet radiation streaming from the sun. It was feared that without the protective molecular blanket, skin cancers would occur at higher rates and become more severe. At Vienna and Montreal, conferees recognized that financial, scientific and industrial organizations could help find solutions to the problem. Many people played a part in the formulation and adoption of the treaties, but great credit was accorded to Dr. Tolba. Not only was he trained as a biologist, but he also was regarded as a charismatic figure, steeped in the diplomatic skills required for finding common ground among a diverse array of countries and governments. He expressed the need for appropriate action at all levels of society, from the smallest local communities to the whole community of nations. In addition to his pioneering contributions to the emerging discipline of environmental diplomacy, Dr. Tolba was known for efforts to strike a balance between scientific aspiration and the economic capabilities of countries in varying stages of development. In the days before the Montreal sessions, Dr. Tolba noted that some nations wished that production of CFCs be capped, others that it be cut. Still others wanted a blend of the two. In the end, the participants subscribed to a program under which CFC production would not rise above its 1986 levels. Output was to be cut in half by 1999. The agreement was signed Sept. 16, 1987. In recent years, some scientists have observed signs that ozone depletion has been halted. By some calculations, full restoration of atmospheric ozone might be achieved by the middle of the 21st century. Mostafa Kamal Tolba was born Dec. 8, 1922, in the Egyptian town of Zifta. He graduated from Cairo University in 1943 and received a doctorate five years later from Imperial College London. Afterward, he set up a school of microbiology at Cairo University. He taught in the 1950s at the University of Baghdad and later was an Egyptian civil servant, including serving as undersecretary of state for higher education. He headed his countrys Olympic Committee in the early 1970s. Dr. Tolba was the author of at least four books and 90 scientific papers, and he delivered many speeches and lectures on plant diseases and environmental matters. Committed to the idea of development without destruction, he headed his countrys delegation to the 1972 Stockholm Conference, at which the United Nations sought to create a worldwide environmental policy. At that meeting, the U.N. Environment Program was launched, with headquarters in Nairobi. By 1973, Dr. Tolba was in Nairobi as deputy director of the program. He was named director in 1975 and held the post for 17 years. In addition to his work on the ozone treaties, Dr. Tolba was credited with leadership at the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes in 1989 and the 1992 U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity. Information about survivors was not immediately available. Ahram Online revisits the tense and confusing few hours of the hijacking of an Egyptian plane by a man who made people believe he was wearing an explosive belt before everything ended peacefully A hijacker who diverted on Tuesday morning EgyptAir flight 181 on its route from Alexandria to Cairo to Larnaca, Cyprus surrendered to Cypriot authorities after holding hostages for more than seven hours, though his exact motives remain unclear. Egyptian officials said the hijacker, who was one of the passengers, initially demanded the plane land in Turkey. However, the officials added that the plane's fuel supply was insufficient to reach Istanbul and the pilot had to land in Larnaca airport. The plane landed safely and no on aboard was injured. Shortly after 181 landed in Cyprus, the hijacker allowed most of the hostages to disembark the plane except for three non-Egyptians and five crew members. A total of 55 passengers, including Egyptians, Americans and British nationals, were aboard the flight. The hijacker, later identified, as an Egyptian national by the name of Seif El-Din Mustafa, claimed he had an explosives belt. The standoff ended when the hijacker allowed all remaining hostages to disembark the plane before surrendering to Cypriot officials around 2pm. After it was all over, Egyptian civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said the belt did not appear to be genuine, but Egyptian officials "did not want to take an even one percent risk it was a real explosives belt." The interior ministry released a video on its Facebook page showing passengers, including Mustafa, undergoing security checks at Borg El-Arab Airport in Alexandria. Fathy added that Mustafa made phone calls while he was aboard, which showed this was not a terrorist attack and that Mustafa had some personal and mental problems. Cypriot officials negotiated with the hijacker and the airport was placed on lockdown. The exact nature of the hijacker's demands remains unclear amid contradicting media reports. Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CYBC) reported that the hijacker may have had personal motives, and that he had an ex-wife in Cyprus. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said in a press conference that the hijack was not something that has to do with terrorism. Cyprus state TV said the hijacker was demanding asylum in the Mediterranean island-nation, and that he asked for a translator to relay his demands to the authorities. However, nearly two hours before Mustafa surrendered, Cyprus' state broadcaster said he was demanding the release of prisoners in Egypt. After the hijackers arrest, minister Fathy said he had doubts from the beginning that the hijacking of flight 181 was a terrorist incident. The minister told state TV that the hijacker displayed "unprofessionalism" in his hijacking techniques, and that phone calls he made while on board showed he had some personal and mental problems. Search Keywords: Short link: MICHIGAN Governor approves aid for Detroit schools Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed into law $48.7 million in emergency funding to keep the Detroit Public Schools open through the end of the school year on Tuesday, the same day that more than a dozen current and former district officials were charged with crimes stemming from a federal corruption investigation. The states largest school district was in danger of starting to run out of money in April. The governor is also pressing the GOP-controlled Legislature to enact a $720 million restructuring plan to split the district in two and pay off operating debt over a decade. The Detroit district is under state oversight and has battled corruption for the past several years under a number of state-appointed emergency managers. Another round of federal charges was announced Tuesday after a two-year investigation: allegations of bribery and other crimes against a longtime vendor, an assistant superintendent and a dozen current and former principals. Some supplies were never delivered, and in other cases, the quantity of supplies delivered was less than ordered. The vendor, Allstate Sales, received $2.7 million from the cash-strapped district, while the school officials, who apparently didnt know others were involved in the scheme, received kickbacks of more than $900,000 in cash, gift cards and checks. Associated Press Archeologists dig at Malcolm Xs home in Boston: Archeologists are digging at a boyhood home of Malcolm X in an effort to uncover more about the slain black rights activists early life as well as the propertys long history, which possibly includes Native American settlement. The two-week archaeological dig began Tuesday outside a two-and-a-half story home in Bostons historically black Roxbury neighborhood that was built in 1874. The former Malcolm Little was a teenager in the 1940s when he lived with his sister Ella Little-Collins and her family at 72 Dale St. The house was designated a city landmark in 1998 because its the only known dwelling from the outspoken activists formative years in Boston still standing. Associated Press ILLINOIS Court will not review Blagojevich charges The Supreme Court said Monday it would not review the conviction of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. The justices without comment let stand an appeals court ruling that said Blagojevich (D) illegally sought money in exchange for filling the Senate seat left vacant when President Obama was elected. Blagojevich is serving a 14-year sentence for that and other actions he took as governor. An appeals court threw out five of his 18 convictions, and the former governor wanted the justices to find that the others did not cross the line from political favors to criminal conduct. The court next month will hear an appeal from former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell (R), who was convicted of corruption for his efforts on behalf of a businessman who bestowed money and gifts on the governor and his family. The court will hear oral arguments April 27 in the long-running saga of McDonnell, who was convicted along with his wife, Maureen. Robert Barnes Chicago mayor names interim police chief A veteran Chicago police supervisor who did not even apply for the job was named interim police chief Monday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who rejected finalists chosen by a civilian board as he tries to rebuild trust in a department facing a federal investigation and racism accusations. Eddie Johnson, the 55-year-old black head of the police departments patrol division, grew up in a city housing project. Emanuel is searching for a new chief during a spike in violent crime, low department morale and intensified scrutiny of police shootings, in particular the death of Laquan McDonald, a black teen shot 16 times by a white officer. Former Superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired days after police video of McDonalds death was released in November. Emanuel called Johnson well-respected in the department and cited his knowledge of Chicagos communities and its residents. He said Johnson would have officers backs when they do their job and hold them accountable when they do not. Emanuels spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, said the mayor spent months talking with community groups before his decision. A city ordinance allows Emanuel to appoint an interim chief and ask the board for new finalists. Johnson will have to apply. The black and Latino caucuses of the Chicago City Council say theyre pleased with Emanuels choice, but some community leaders raised questions about the pick and criticized Emanuels process in bypassing the three finalists. From news services TENNESSEE Attorneys awarded more than $2 million A federal judge has awarded more than $2 million to attorneys who helped gay couples in Tennessee win a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows same-sex marriage. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger ruled that the results the lawyers got in the case were superb and far-reaching and that they should be entitled to costs and fees. The $2.03 million awarded in legal fees and expenses was 15 percent less than what the attorneys wanted. State Attorney General Herbert Slaterys office had argued that the plaintiffs attorneys only deserved $1.1 million because of duplicated work, vague time-keeping and charging for attending news conferences. In Michigan, lawyers representing same-sex couples were paid $1.9 million, while the attorneys in Ohio received $1.3 million, and in Kentucky they earned $1.1 million. The Tennessee lawyers worked for three couples who legally married in other states. They sued to challenge Tennessee laws that had banned recognition of their marriages. Associated Press Volcano erupts in Alaska: An ash cloud from a remote Alaska volcano rose to 37,000 feet and stretched more than 400 miles wide over a rural part of the state Monday. The Pavlof Volcano erupted Sunday, causing tremors on the ground, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The volcano is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. Alaska State Troopers could not say if any injuries were reported. The closest community is Cold Bay, about 37 miles southwest of the volcano. Egypt's interior ministry released on Tuesday a video showing CCTV footage of the EgyptAir hijacker going through security checks at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab Airport ahead of boarding flight 181, said a ministry statement. Newly appointed aviation minister Sherif Fathy said earlier in the day that airports are expected to witness tighter security measures. Hijacker Seif El-din Mustafa, who diverted on Tuesday EgyptAir flight 181 en route from Alexandria to Cairo to Larnaca, Cyprus surrendered to Cypriot authorities after holding hostages for more than seven hours, though his exact motives remain unclear. Egyptian officials said the hijacker demanded the plane land in Turkey, but its fuel could take it no further than Cyprus. Mustafa, who will be soon deported to Cairo, is currently being detained in Larnaca. EgyptAir has sent a plane to bring the passengers from flight 181 back to Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: AFGHANISTAN U.S. soldier reportedly kills boy near Kabul A U.S. soldier fatally shot an Afghan boy on Monday near an American airfield close to Kabul, a senior Afghan police officer said. The boy, whose age is not known, had been carrying what looked like an automatic rifle near Bagram air base, in neighboring Parwan province, said the provincial police chief, Gen. Zaman Mamozai. The base is 35 miles from the Afghan capital. A U.S. soldier in a watchtower had warned the boy to stop, Mamozai said. Residents gathered near the base to protest the killing but dispersed once they were told about the circumstances, Mamozai said. He said the incident is being investigated. Army Brig. Gen. Charles H. Cleveland, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the U.S. military was looking into the incident. Earlier, an Afghan official said overnight attacks on two police checkpoints in the volatile southern province of Helmand killed at least eight officers. Col. Almas Kahn, deputy police chief in Helmand, blamed the Taliban, but the group did not assert responsibility for the attack. In the south of Uruzgan province, an official said two days of fighting between police and insurgents had left 12 officers and 20 Taliban fighters dead. District police chief Wali Dad said Taliban gunmen attacked about a dozen police checkpoints, also wounding 27 officers. Associated Press ISRAEL Government yields in Brazil dispute Israel confirmed Monday that it has withdrawn the nomination of a former West Bank settler leader as ambassador to Brazil, caving in to what appeared to be Brazilian objections to his political past. The decision to drop Dani Dayans candidacy is a setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had vowed to stick by his nominee, and reflects growing international impatience over continued Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians. Netanyahus office said Dayan would instead serve as the new consul general in New York. Dayan, a former chairman of the West Bank settler council, was nominated in August to be ambassador to Brazil. His backers had pointed to the Argentina-born Dayans familiarity with the region and his success as a businessman as strong credentials for the post. But Brazil never responded to the nomination, in what was seen as a show of displeasure over Dayans connections to the settlement movement. Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories that Palestinians claim for a future state in the 1967 Mideast war. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Nearly 600,000 Israelis live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The international community considers the settlements illegal or illegitimate. Israel says their fate should be resolved via negotiations. Associated Press Court says Islam will remain Bangladeshs state religion: The top court in Bangladesh rejected a 28-year-old petition to remove Islam as the official religion of the Muslim-majority South Asian nation. The court said the group that filed the petition in 1988 when Islam was declared the state religion has no legitimacy because it was never registered with authorities. Government lawyers said that the ruling means that Islam will remain the official religion and that equal rights for minority religions guaranteed by the constitution will not be affected. Saudi-led alliance confirms Yemen prisoner swap: A Saudi-led coalition battling Yemens Shiite rebels said it completed a prisoner swap, exchanging nine Saudi prisoners for 109 Yemeni nationals ahead of a planned truce and peace talks. The exchange coincided with airstrikes by the coalition and by U.S. warplanes on Islamist militants in southern Yemen. The Iran-allied rebels have been battling forces loyal to Yemens Saudi-backed president for a year. Indonesia says ship hijacked, 10 held hostage by suspected militants: Ten Indonesian nationals are being held hostage after their ship was hijacked in Philippine waters, Indonesias foreign ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said in a statement that the owner of the tugboat and coal barge received telephone calls purportedly from militant group Abu Sayyaf demanding a ransom. It does not know exactly when the incident occurred but said the ship owner was first contacted Saturday. From news services At the Greek port of Piraeus, a woman walks among the tents at the camp. About 5,500 refugees and migrants are refusing to move to government-built shelters around the country. (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP) BURMA State of emergency lifted in restive area Burmese President Thein Sein, in a surprise move hours before leaving office, lifted a state of emergency in the restive western state of Rakhine, imposed after clashes between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims in 2012. Thein Sein announced the move on Tuesday, a day before a president from Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy is to be sworn in. The NLD won a Nov. 8 election by a landslide. It is found from the report by the Rakhine state government that the situation in Rakhine state can no longer pose dangers to the lives and property of the people, said the ordinance signed by Thein Sein. Although there have been no major clashes in Rakhine in two years, most of Burmas 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims remain stateless. They are denied citizenship and have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination. The Rohingya are widely disliked in Burma also known as Myanmar where they are seen as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh including by some in Suu Kyis party. Reuters KOREAN PENINSULA South says North red short-range projectile North Korea fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, in what appears to be another weapons test in response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul. It was fired near the North Korean port city of Wonsan and flew about 125 miles before crashing into land northeast of the launch site, South Korean military officials said. It was unclear whether the projectile was a ballistic missile or an artillery shell, said a Joint Chiefs of Staff official. North Korea has fired a slew of short-range missiles and artillery shells into the sea since the March 7 start of the annual war games between the United States and South Korea. North Korea also launched a medium-range ballistic missile into waters off its east coast for the first time since 2014 Associated Press GREECE Migrants clash with police at the border Police clashed with about 300 migrants and refugees at the Greek border with Macedonia on Tuesday as protests intensified and thousands ignored instructions to move to shelters. Youths threw rocks at riot police, who withdrew from the area without making any arrests, authorities said. Protesters have blocked freight rail tracks for eight days, demanding that the border reopen. Macedonia says it will remain closed to all migrants at least through this year. About 12,000 people are camped out in harsh conditions near the border village of Idomeni, despite calls by the government to move to nearby shelters. The European Union, meanwhile, said Tuesday that the number of migrants leaving Turkey for Greece in search of sanctuary or jobs in Europe has dropped sharply in the past week. A European Commission spokeswoman said that less than 1,000 people arrived last week, compared to average arrivals of 2,000 a day in previous weeks. Under an E.U.-Turkey deal, Ankara is supposed to stop migrants arriving in Europe and take back all people from Greece who do not qualify for asylum. Associated Press Former cabinet minister among 7 killed in Quebec plane crash: A small plane crashed Tuesday off an island in eastern Quebec, killing seven people, Quebec provincial police said. Among those killed was former federal cabinet minister and political commentator Jean Lapierre, 59. His wife, two of his brothers and one of his sisters also died when their plane crashed. They were traveling to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine after the recent death of Lapierres father. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he was shaken by the sudden death of Lapierre. West Africa Ebola outbreak no longer global risk, WHO says: The World Health Organization said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa no longer qualifies as an international health emergency, although it cautioned that male survivors can infect their sexual partners for up to a year after recovering. 2 U.S. missionaries, 1 Ugandan pastor killed in crash: A police spokesman said two U.S. missionaries and a Ugandan pastor were killed in an accident outside the capital, Kampala. Police said Ed Pohlreich and Scott Volz and preacher Stephen Kaweesa were injured when their car crashed into a ditch. From news services AS CHINESE President Xi Jinping visits Washington this week, a kind of guerrilla war is underway between his repressive security apparatus and what appears to be a growing legion of critics. Its a lopsided contest: Journalists and other activists who dare to challenge the Communist leader for his concentration of power and assault on dissent quickly disappear. Those outside the country risk abduction or the arrest of family members in China. And yet, the resistance continues, driven by Mr. Xis own excesses. The latest flare-up concerns the appearance of a letter demanding Mr. Xis resignation on an official website on March 4. Attributed to loyal Communist Party members, the missive accused Mr. Xi of indulgence in a personality cult and quashing critics in a way reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. Our Party, our country and our people can not afford another 10 years of turmoil, it said. While the authors of the letter are unknown, it likely reflects the reviews of many inside and outside the Chinese establishment. After two decades in which the ruling party drifted toward a collective system of leadership, and pressure rose for open debate and the rule of law, Mr. Xi has moved aggressively against journalists, lawyers and academics pushing for liberalization. While his Maoist tactics are shocking, the visible pushback they have engendered is even more remarkable. The letter followed bold public statements by a business tycoon and several other critical editorials and blog posts in Chinese media. The regimes response has been harsh. According to the BBC, as many as 16 employees of the website that posted the letter have been detained by authorities. In addition, an independent journalist linked to the site disappeared while attempting to board a flight to Hong Kong. Two Chinese writers based in the United States and Germany have reported that their relatives in China have been arrested as a way of pressuring them to reveal what they know about the document. The attempt to blackmail critics outside the country ought to particularly concern the United States and other Western governments. Wen Yunchao, the New York-based blogger whose parents and brother were arrested, rightly accused the authorities of kidnapping; he said they knew he had not written the letter but were trying to force him to disclose any information he had about its distribution. Chang Ping, the writer based in Germany, gave a similar account, saying his two brothers and a sister had been taken away. Mr. Xi appears confident he will suffer no consequences for these obvious violations of international law, or for the abduction of other critics in Hong Kong and Thailand including dual citizens of Sweden and Britain. So far he has been proved right. Western ambassadors in Beijing dispatched a letter to the minister of public security in February expressing growing concerns over the Chinese governments commitment to the rule of law and basic human rights, according to The Posts Simon Denyer. The regime didnt bother to reply. Its time for Mr. Xis abuses to rise to the top of the U.S.-Chinese bilateral agenda. President Obama should raise the case of Mr. Wens family with Mr. Xi when they meet and point out that his heavy-handed repression is not only wrong, but also dangerous. Contemporary China will not tolerate a return to Maoism. An activist wears a shirt showing how disjointed Marylands 3rd Congressional District has become, in Laurel in 2014. (Kate Patterson/For The Washington Post) Regarding the March 27 Local Opinions essay Maryland cant act alone to end gerrymandering: Gerrymandering is a form of disenfranchisement and election fraud and should not be tolerated. Gerrymandering reform will not be achieved at the national level until voters demand it at the state level and make it a major political issue. Generally, at the national level, at least one of the major parties is optimistic about its chances in the next election and thus will not agree to gerrymandering reform. Political parties at the state level are not likely to agree to it either. Its time to demand districts drawn by impartial third parties who put a premium on compactness, contiguity and natural and geographic boundaries. Maryland is the most gerrymandered state in the country, and voters across party lines and demographics in the state are disgusted with it. Gerrymandering is causing major inequities at the state legislative level as well. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) received more than 66 percent of the vote in Anne Arundel County, but there is no Republican advantage in the county delegation to the Maryland House and Senate. I am an Anne Arundel County Democrat who now votes strongly Republican for most major state offices and Democratic for national offices and will remain that way until the extreme policies of the state and county Democratic leadership change. Maryland badly needs a statewide initiative to check the state Democratic Party power grabs against its citizens. Paul Sundell, Severna Park The March 25 front-page article For Emilys List, gender beats agenda in Md. race misrepresented the mission of Emilys List and our reasons for supporting Rep. Donna F. Edwards in Marylands Democratic primary for the Senate. Our mission at Emilys List has always been to create progressive change by ensuring diverse perspectives at the decision-making table. When we were founded more than 30 years ago, our first candidate, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), was running against a well-liked Democrat, a man. Since then, our mission has been consistent as weve recruited, trained and supported pro-choice Democratic women such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Rep. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), putting our progressive values into action by leveling the playing field in a system that favors the status quo of a Congress thats just 20 percent women. We believe this is how better policy gets created and how progress gets made. Working to elect Ms. Edwards, a progressive champion her entire career, is a natural fit for Emilys List. Ms. Edwardss perspective as an African American single working mother is badly needed in a Senate that has never seen that represented. She has consistently championed progressive policies to provide opportunities for women and families: expanding economic opportunities, protecting Social Security and standing up to the gun lobby. This election isnt just about gender. Its about the opportunity to elect a progressive candidate with a voice and perspective that are rarely heard on the Senate floor. Stephanie Schriock, Washington The writer is president of Emilys List. The March 25 headline For Emilys List, gender beats agenda in Md. race said it all. I am one of the many Marylanders who have supported Emilys List but who are appalled that the group is backing Rep. Donna F. Edwards, a Democratic candidate for the Senate from Maryland, solely because she, like Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), is a woman. Much of the similarity between the two ends there. Like Ms. Mikulski, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ms. Edwardss main opponent in the primary race, has worked tirelessly in House senior leadership positions to further the well-being of working families and womens health, written bills that have passed, often with bipartisan support, and responded effectively to constituent concerns. As the article stated, Emilys List says giving $2.4 million to the Edwards campaign helps continue the legacy of Mikulski. No, having a well-respected person with a long record of achievement continues the legacy of Ms. Mikulski. Ann H. Wolfe, Deale One of the more absurd things being said about the Donald Trump phenomenon is that the media created it. For the record, we didnt. First of all, there is no we. The news media operate in what should be every conservative ideologues dream environment: an unfettered free market. Outlets compete every day actually, in the Internet age, every hour to provide consumers with information they need and want. Every editor and news director strives to beat the competition, and the fact is that audiences have decided they need and want to know about Trump. No one understands this better than Trump himself. To understate by miles, he knows how to draw attention to himself the late-night Twitter rants, the fire-breathing rallies, the gold-plated jet, the ridiculous hair. After decades in the public eye, he had more than 90 percent name recognition when he began his campaign. So it was no surprise that hordes of media flocked to Trump Tower last June 16 and watched him descend the shiny escalator for his kickoff announcement. Who doesnt love a good sideshow? But any carnival barker can draw a crowd. Trump would have been sent home to his Fifth Avenue penthouse long ago if a substantial part of the Republican Party base didnt agree with what he is saying. If there is any sort of collective media failure, its in paying not too much attention to Trump but instead too little to his message. Were the morning news shows wrong to let Trump call in so often? Before you say of course they were, think of the implications. Do those programs have an obligation to treat every candidate the same? If so, contenders such as Martin OMalley and Jim Gilmore should have gotten as much coverage and airtime as, say, Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz. Were the cable networks wrong to carry live coverage of so many Trump rallies? Recall that the events themselves were newsworthy because of the extraordinary size of the crowds. I could buy the argument that the other candidate who drew unusually big crowds, Bernie Sanders, perhaps should have gotten more coverage, but not that Trump should have gotten less. The media created Trump storyline ignores the fact that the mainstream media are about as popular among the Republican base as the Zika virus. And the one exception, Fox News, has been tougher on Trump than other outlets, not more accommodating. Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, has long refused to let Trump call in. And anchor Megyn Kelly, with her sharp questioning and commentary, seems to have driven the blowhard billionaire up the wall. It is true that Trump delivers huge television ratings and lots of website clicks. But thats irrelevant. News organizations have to cover the leading candidates, even if theyre dull as dishwater. The news media, it seems to me, are guilty only of reporting the news which is that a candidate who has never held elective office, and who displays neither the base of knowledge nor the temperament necessary to serve as president, is leading all comers for the Republican nomination. Commentators should spend less time flattering themselves that the news media have the power to make such a thing happen and more time trying to understand why Trump is succeeding. Early in his campaign, Trump staked out extreme positions on illegal immigration: Deport the 11 million undocumented migrants already in the country, and build a big, beautiful wall along the Mexico border. Ridiculous, yes, but he got peoples attention. He followed up, after the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack, with a call to ban all foreign Muslims from entering the country. It is another crazy idea impossible to implement and counterproductive if attempted but it resonated with millions of Americans who unfortunately view Islam with fear and loathing. Trump rails against free trade agreements whose effect, in his view, has been to eliminate millions of manufacturing jobs. He pledges to reduce the cost and scope of U.S. involvement overseas. He denounces other politicians as lackeys who dance to the tune of rich and powerful campaign donors. And he plays on the anxieties and prejudices of white voters unnerved by demographic change in a nation that will soon have no racial majority. 1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Trump captures the nations attention on the campaign trail View Photos The Republican candidate continues to dominate the presidential contest. Caption Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the partys convention in Cleveland. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Trump Doral golf course in Miami. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. With apologies to Marshall McLuhan, in this case the media are merely the messenger, not the message. Blaming ourselves for Trumps rise is just another way to ignore the voters who have made him the favorite for the GOP nomination. Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A. If Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee, one of the main reasons will be that many in the conservative movement found him acceptable. And one of the main reasons that many conservatives are finding Trump acceptable is that the most influential political talk radio host in history, Rush Limbaugh, has provided his blessing. Not his endorsement. Limbaugh takes pains to preserve neutrality between Trump and Ted Cruz, whom he describes as the obvious choice if conservatism is the dominating factor in how you vote. But Limbaugh has also consistently defended Trump as a legitimate choice for those whose dominating factor is the humiliation of the establishment. Early in the campaign, when Trump attacked Sen. John McCains (R-Ariz.) status as a war hero, Limbaugh responded by praising Trumps courage, defending him as an embattled public figure willing to stand up for himself, double down and tell everybody to go to hell. Through a long series of controversies, Limbaugh has excused Trumps narcissism and bluster as an endearing schtick. Trumps deviations from conservative orthodoxy are noted but considered secondary. I think with the case of Trump, argues Limbaugh, theres a much bigger upside than downside. [The decline and fall of the GOP] The upside, in this view, is not just taking the political fight to liberalism; it is also overturning a failed and corrupt Republican political order. Limbaugh dismisses defenders of this order as fundamentally self-interested. [Trump] has put together a coalition thats exactly what the Republican Party says that it needs to win, and yet, look what theyre doing. Theyre trying to get Trump out of the race, because theyre not in charge of it. Opposing Trump is the work of a cliquish, elitist club, preserving its influence and employment prospects. This criticism is sometimes expanded to include the conservative intelligentsia. Im talking about the establishment, says Limbaugh, conservative media, the brainiacs, the think tanks, the professors. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump visited the editorial board of The Washington Post on Mar. 21. Here is audio of the full, unedited interview. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post) For decades, Limbaugh set the tone of popular conservatism by arguing for ideological purity. Now, the great champion of conservatism has enabled the rise of the least conservative Republican presidential aspirant in living memory (in the words of Yuval Levin, editor of National Affairs). Trump is a candidate who talks more of personal rule than of limited government. A candidate who praises a single-payer health system, proposes higher taxes on the wealthy, opposes entitlement reform and advocates the systematic destruction of Ronald Reagans foreign policy. This is the politician Limbaugh has given the ideological hall pass of a lifetime. Why might this concern your average conservative brainiac? First it is necessary to dismiss Limbaughs consistent questioning of motives. Many men and women I know who work on Capitol Hill, in conservative media or in think tanks are hardly in it for the money or job security. Criticizing their venality from 30,000 feet in his Gulfstream jet rings particularly hollow. [George Will: Do Republicans really think Trump will make a good Supreme Court pick?] Most in this Republican establishment believe they are serving a set of ideals, which includes market economics and limited government. There is no longer a Nelson Rockefeller wing of the GOP that is attempting to block the rise of the conservative movement. Leaders such as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) are conservative by any serious measure. But they are forced to live within the constraints of our constitutional system. They dont have the option of inhabiting a fantasy world where entitlements such as Obamacare can be undone by the legislature alone. Such utopianism is fundamentally at odds with constitutionalism. And many Republicans, in Washington and elsewhere, do not view civility, inclusion and tolerance as forms of weakness or compromise. In fact, they view casual misogyny, racial stereotyping and religious bigotry as moral failings, in their children and in their leaders. And they oppose as a matter of faith or philosophy any form of populism that has exclusion, cruelty or dehumanization at its core. In reading Trumps recent interview with The Posts editorial board, what is striking is not only his shallowness (though his policy depth must be measured in microns). It is also his utter rootlessness. None of his ideas or proposals is placed in the context of ideals or ideology, Republican or otherwise. Trump possesses impulses and instincts. He does not reason from first principles. Whatever the appeal of his authoritarian populism, it does not remotely resemble conservatism (see Russell Kirks 10 principles, which include belief in an enduring moral order, political prudence, and restraints on power and human passion). Populist anti-intellectualism, on the rise at least since Sarah Palin, has culminated in Trump. It is the passing of conservatism, even if Limbaugh baptizes the dead. 1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Trump captures the nations attention as he campaigns View Photos The presidential candidate and billionaire businessman leads the field of candidates in the Republican race. Caption Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the partys convention in Cleveland. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Trump Doral golf course in Miami. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue. Read more from Michael Gersons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook . As a presidential candidate in 2007, Sen. Barack Obama relished the opportunity to rail against the U.S. foreign policy establishment, which he blamed for leading the country into a quagmire in Iraq. The conventional thinking in Washington has a way of buying into stories that make political sense even if they dont make practical sense, he declared, adding: Im not running for president to conform to Washingtons conventional thinking Im running to challenge it. President Obama has since learned how difficult it is to overcome the conventional thinking that has dominated our foreign policy for decades. Though clearly not a pacifist or non-interventionist, Obama has tried to advance a strain of realism that recognizes the limits of U.S. power and adheres to the organizing principle Dont do stupid stuff. But his presidency has been marked by an uneasy tension between the philosophy he espoused on the campaign trail one that has led to achievements such as the Iran nuclear deal and the reopening of relations with Cuba and an establishment view that has contributed to mistakes including the military intervention in Libya and increased hostilities with Russia. This is, in part, because early on Obama did not (with few exceptions) surround himself with advisers who were committed to a fundamental realignment of U.S. foreign policy. He opted instead to rely primarily on those tethered to the status quo. With a year left in office, however, there are signs that the real Obama may be emerging as something truly unusual in American politics, something I wish we had seen more of during the past seven years: an anti-establishment president. The April issue of the Atlantic features a lengthy dissection of Obamas foreign policy in which the president, in a series of interviews with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, echoes his criticisms of nearly a decade ago. Theres a playbook in Washington that presidents are supposed to follow, Obama says. Its a playbook that comes out of the foreign-policy establishment. And the playbook prescribes responses to different events, and these responses tend to be militarized responses. Where America is directly threatened, the playbook works. But the playbook can also be a trap that can lead to bad decisions. Much of Goldbergs article revolves around Obamas decision not to attack Syria in 2013, in spite of evidence that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against its people crossing the presidents previously stated red line. According to the establishment view, Obamas failure to follow through on his threat signaled weakness and dealt a blow to U.S. credibility. Even though Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ultimately surrendered his stockpile of chemical weapons, in a deal brokered by Russia, many establishment figures still insist that Obama should have gone to war. This credibility addiction, as Stephen Walt has called it, is so powerful that Obamas critics on this front include former members of his own national security team including his would-be successor, Hillary Clinton. Once the commander in chief draws that red line, argued former CIA director and defense secretary Leon Panetta, then I think the credibility of the commander in chief and this nation is at stake if he doesnt enforce it. Goldberg reports that after Obama decided not to bomb Syria, Clinton said privately, If you say youre going to strike, you have to strike. Theres no choice. For Obama, however, averting military action in Syria is a point of pride and the credibility argument is an object of derision. Obama generally believes that the Washington foreign-policy establishment, which he secretly disdains, makes a fetish of credibility particularly the sort of credibility purchased with force, Goldberg writes. Indeed, as the president has reportedly told aides, Dropping bombs on someone to prove that youre willing to drop bombs on someone is just about the worst reason to use force. And while Obama hasnt outright rejected the deeply entrenched establishment view that the United States is an indispensable nation, he has voiced frustration with free riders or countries that expect the United States to police the world without contributing their fair share. On this issue in particular, Obama may have an unexpected ally: Republican front-runner Donald Trump. While Trump is odiously bellicose in many respects demonizing Muslims and immigrants, advocating torture and promising to kill the families of terrorists (which is a war crime) he has also broken with certain foreign policy orthodoxies that have not served the country well. In a recent sit-down with The Posts editorial board, Trump challenged the wisdom of nation-building and raised fundamental questions about why the United States should bear the cost of solving problems abroad. And in an interview with the New York Times on Friday, Trump reiterated his criticism, saying, NATO is unfair, economically, to us, to the United States. Because it really helps them more so than the United States, and we pay a disproportionate share. One major theme of the presidential race has been anger with the establishment, which is usually taken to mean institutions such as Congress and Wall Street. Yet, while there has certainly been a backlash to the political and economic elite, the military-industrial complex and foreign policy establishment are equally in need of reform. To his credit, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has offered a realist alternative to the conventional thinking, though economic issues are clearly his top priority. But what we really need today and what Obama can provide in his final year in office is a serious and sustained challenge to the foreign policy establishment that has failed our country for so long. Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvels archive or follow her on Twitter. In this 2013 photo provided by the Center for Individual Rights, Rebecca Friedrichs, a veteran Orange County, Calif., public school teacher, poses for a portrait. (Greg Schneider/AP) An evenly divided Supreme Court delivered a major reprieve to organized labor Tuesday in a case that could have affected millions of public-sector workers and dealt a severe blow to the most muscular segment of the union movement. The justices said they were split on a challenge brought by a group of California teachers who claim their free-speech rights are violated when they are forced to pay dues to the states teachers union. Right-leaning legal groups and some of the courts conservatives had made a priority of overturning a more than 40-year-old Supreme Court precedent and getting rid of what are known as agency fees. It appeared that was exactly what would happen when the case was argued in January. But Justice Antonin Scalia died a month later, and with him went the chance of a five-member majority. [These are the key cases facing the Supreme Court after Scalias death] The plaintiffs in a Supreme Court challenge to organized labor explain their grievances in this video. The Supreme Court, down to eight members with the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, announced that it was deadlocked on their case March 29, 2016. (Mackinac Center for Public Policy) The case involves only public-employee unions not those of private workers but those unions are the strongest segment of an organized-labor movement that is increasingly tied to the Democratic Party. At the same time, Republican governors across the nation have become embroiled in high-profile battles with the public-employee unions in their states. Conservative groups directly asked the court to overturn the 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which favored the unions. That ruling said states could allow public-employee unions to collect fees from nonmembers to cover the costs of workplace negotiations but not to cover the unions political activities. More than 20 states allow the fees. During oral arguments, it appeared that the conservative groups would get their wish. Scalia had actually been the best hope for unions beyond the four liberal justices. But his questions seemed to make clear that he sided with the challengers. When the court is evenly split on a case, it affirms the decision of the appeals court that considered the case. In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said it was bound by the Abood decision and turned down the challenge. The Supreme Court also split on a question about how the fees could be collected. The court could have called for a rehearing of the issue. But the Republican-led Senate has vowed not to act on President Obamas nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, and it is unclear when the court will get a ninth justice. With the death of Justice Scalia, this outcome was not unexpected, said Terry Pell, the president of the Center for Individual Rights, the public-interest law firm that brought the case on behalf of the teachers. He said a non-decision was unacceptable. Either compulsory dues are an acceptable exception to the First Amendment or they are not. A full court needs to decide this question, and we expect this case will be reheard when a new justice is confirmed, Pell said. Public unions in recent years have lived in fear that the Abood precedent would be overturned. In a 2014 case involving health-care workers in Illinois, four of the courts conservatives signed onto an opinion from Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. that called the decades-old decision questionable on several grounds. So although Tuesdays action did not reaffirm Abood, unions chose to celebrate the outcome as a victory. The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a political ploy to silence public employees like teachers, school-bus drivers, cafeteria workers, higher-education faculty and other educators to work together to shape their profession, said National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia. In Friedrichs, the court saw through the political attacks on the workplace rights of teachers, educators and other public employees, she said. This decision recognizes that stripping public employees of their voices in the workplace is not what our country needs. Tuesdays draw makes clear that the ultimate decision is likely to be made by the courts new justice. And for both sides, that heightens the importance of the president who makes that nomination. The case is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The parents of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, who was tortured and killed in Cairo, demanded on Tuesday a 'tough response' from Rome if Egypt fails to uncover the truth behind the murder The family of Italian student Giulio Regeni, who was found murdered in Egypt in February, demanded on Tuesday at a press conference that the Italian senate show a tough response "if Egypt fails to uncover the truth" behind the murder. Giulio's mother, Paola Regeni, said she may release a photograph of her son's body to show the world what happened to him in Egypt if his murderers are not found. Regeni's body was found on 3 February with signs of torture on a roadside on the outskirts of Cairo. "I only recognised him because of the tip of his nose. As for everything else, it was no longer him," she said in the first news conference the family gave since Giulio's body was found. Regeni, a 28-year-old political science PhD student, disappeared on 25 January, the five-year anniversary of the 2011 revolution, after leaving his home in Dokki, an upper-middle class area in Cairo, to meet a friend downtown. Human rights groups have said the signs of torture suggest he was killed by Egyptian security forces, an allegation Cairo has vigorously denied. Egyptian officials are due in Italy on 5 April to discuss the investigation. "If 5 April proves to be a wash-out, we expect a strong response from our government, a really strong one," Paola Regeni said. The family's lawyer, Alessandra Ballerini, said the Italian autopsy showed that Regeni was alive until 1 or 2 February, and that there was no ransom bid or money taken from his bank account in the days after his disappearance. "Whatever the truth, it is clearly very uncomfortable for the [Egyptian] regime," she said. The head of the Italian parliament's human rights committee, Luigi Manconi, who also took part in the news conference, said the government should recall Italy's ambassador to Cairo and declare Egypt unsafe for visitors if the investigation went nowhere. "Relations should not be broken, but they should face a particularly significant revision," said Manconi, a member of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party. Giulio Regeni's father, Claudio, said he supported this call. Last week, Egyptian police said they had discovered Regeni's identity documents in the possession of a criminal gang whose alleged members were killed in a shootout with police. Both Italian officials and Regeni's family dismissed the possibility that the gang was involved in the murder. Egyptian officials have not confirmed nor ruled out the possibility. On Sunday, Italy's interior minister Angelino Alfano announced that Egyptian investigators agreed to extend the investigation after pressure from Rome. Search Keywords: Short link: A Muslim Democrat running for a U.S. House seat in Nevada says that in a private meeting last year Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) had encouraged him to end his campaign by saying, a Muslim cannot win this race. He said, You should not run for this office, said Jesse Sbaih, an immigrant from Jordan who is now a trial lawyer. This race for the House, in a district that includes a swath of suburban Las Vegas, is his first run for political office. A spokeswoman for Reid, however, denied that Reid had said those words. Sbaih said it happened after he had entered the House race. He met with Reid in August in a meeting room at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. Sbaih said he had sought the meeting in order to win Reids support a key factor in Nevada, where Reid is the unquestioned power broker of Democratic politics. But Reid would not give it, Sbaih said, and cited Sbaihs religion as one reason why. I did not feel that this was an issue. They made it an issue. My campaign is about me being an American, Sbaih said. He said he had not faced this kind of opposition based on his religion before: I just turned 40. Been in this country for 29 years. And its just absolutely shocking that this occurred. A spokeswoman for Reid confirmed that the meeting took place. However, she categorically denied that Reid had cited Sbaihs religion as a reason he would not succeed. Senator Reid did not say that, said Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman in Reids Senate office. Jesse Sbaih is a liar and thats why he is going to lose. Sbaihs assertion could shake up one of the most competitive House races in the country a race made possible, in a way, by Reid himself. [Harry Reid, retiring but betting big on Nevada for Democratic Senate majority] Reid is retiring from the Senate, after 30 years. Rep. Joe Heck (R), who holds the suburban Las Vegas seat now, is running to replace him. That has left the seat open: the Cook Political Report rates it as a Republican toss-up, a swing seat vital to both parties. On the Republican side, several plausible candidates have already filed to run. On the Democratic side, however, the race was slow to start: late in the summer, Sbaih was the best-funded and best-known candidate who had declared. Sbaih is an ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), who is running, in part, on his own remarkable life story. Sbaihs parents immigrated from Jordan to Virginia when he was 11, and he helped support the family by washing dishes in an Italian restaurant as a teen. Now, Sbaih said, his run for office is a way to repay the country for the way it welcomed his family. Ive always felt: The more America gave me, the more I wanted to give back, Sbaih said in an interview with The Washington Post. But, Sbaih said, he was rebuffed when he sought to gain Reids support. First, he said, he met with a political consultant connected to Reid, Rebecca Lambe. At a coffee shop, Sbaih said, Lambe brought up his religion and his Arab heritage: She said, basically, youre gonna have a problem winning, as a Muslim, as an Arab. Lambe disputed that account in an email message to The Post on Monday. Its not what I said, Lambe said. As we would with any candidate, we explored his background, profession, religion, the fact hed never run before, stance on issues and limited support ...to more fully understand the path and potential attacks from the other side. Sbaih said he did not record that meeting with Lambe, or the one he had with Reid a few weeks later. To bolster his account, Sbaih supplied both emails and text messages from the time, in which he tells another Reid ally that he is profoundly disheartened and saddened that the Democratic Party is refusing to accept a candidate like me because of my religion and ethnicity. In the exchanges of text message and emails provided by Sbaih, however, Reids allies do not say explicitly that Sbaihs race or religion is a hindrance, nor do they confirm that Reid himself had said so. Orthman, Reids spokeswoman, said that Reid had told Sbaih he should run for another office instead of jumping straight into a highly competitive House race. We never said he shouldnt run for elected office. It was that, to run for a congressional seat, your first time, youre going to lose. And you need more experience, said Orthman. Both sides agree that Sbaih pressed on, continuing his campaign for the House. A few weeks later, Sbaih said, an aide in Reids Senate office offered him a chance to apply for a position on the Election Assistance Commission a federal job. Sbaih said he declined. Sbaih is still in the House race, but now is facing competition from another Democrat: Jacky Rosen. Rosen, the president of a Las Vegas-area synagogue, is also making her first run for office. She was recruited by Reid himself, according to Jon Ralston, Nevadas best-known political reporter. Shes been a community leader for years here, Orthman said, explaining why Reid had recruited a political novice, after criticizing Sbaih for his own lack of experience. Jesses new to the scene. President Obama used a keynote speech at an annual journalism dinner to lament the often divisive and sometimes vulgar state of American politics and to call on reporters to work harder to hold politicians accountable. Real people depend on you to uncover the truth, Obama told a crowd of nearly 450 Monday at a dinner for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting in Washington. Obama has delivered a series of speeches this year in which he has expressed worry about the countrys gridlocked, dysfunctional government and the angry tone of the current election season. Much of his State of the Union address in January was devoted to the countrys deep partisan divide, which has worsened during his time in the White House. Obama returned to that theme a few weeks ago in a speech to the Illinois state legislature, where he served before coming to Washington. As I go into my last year, I spend a lot of time reflecting on how this system how this crazy notion of self-government works, he said. How can we make it work. And this is as important to making it work as anything. People getting information that they can trust and that has substance and truth and facts behind it. Although Obama hasnt shied away from press criticism during his seven years in office, this was his first major speech on the role of the rapidly changing media in American democracy. This years prize for political reporting went to Alec MacGillis, who covers politics and government for ProPublica, a nonprofit news organization that focuses on investigative journalism. MacGillis previously worked for The Washington Post. Obama spent much of his remarks describing the example of Robin Toner, the first female national political correspondent for the New York Times. Toner, for whom the journalism prize was named, died in 2008 and wrote frequently about Obama in the Senate and on the campaign trail. She treated the public with respect, Obama said, praising her ability to explain complicated, esoteric political issues in a way that Americans could understand. Obamas remarks often sounded like a lament for a bygone era of fact-based journalism before Twitter, Facebook and even cable television news. What were seeing right now does corrode our democracy and our society, he said. When our elected officials and political campaigns become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesnt matter what is true and whats not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make decisions on behalf of future generations. Without mentioning Republican front-runner Donald Trump by name, he criticized news organizations for giving the former reality television star-turned-politician long hours of airtime to insult rivals or make suspect promises. The country would be better served if billions of dollars in free media came with serious accountability, especially when the politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises that they cant keep, Obama said, and there are reporters here who know they cant keep them. Gen. John F. Campbell (second from right), commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan until earlier this month, at a February dinner in Kabul with the countrys squabbling leaders. Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah (far left) and President Ashraf Ghani (right) joined him, but their respective staffs barely speak to each other. (Andrew Quilty/For The Washington Post) Afghanistans embattled government is facing a new challenge to its rule: former supporters, disillusioned by what they think is its incompetence, who now want fresh elections to remove the president from power. The discontent comes as the country is confronting a robust Taliban insurgency and an economy crippled by the withdrawal of foreign troops. Over the past few months, politicians, warlords, former ministers and other powerbrokers have come out against the government, which they say is paralyzed by infighting and unable to govern. Critics have lambasted the administration of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who together formed a national unity government after flawed elections in 2014, and they are calling for a snap presidential election to break the deadlock. The government says that it is dedicated to implementing reforms and that it has made targeting corruption and unemployment priorities. But adding to the urgency is the looming September deadline for launching the mechanism to create a new legitimate government. If that deadline is not met, which is likely, Afghanistan could face a power vacuum that would destabilize the country further. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, right, and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. (Parwiz Parwiz/ Reuters) [Veteran Afghan insurgent leader says he will join peace talks] If it performed well, people were willing to give the [national unity] government the benefit of the doubt. But it hasnt. It has proved disastrous for this country, said Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, a former Ghani supporter and onetime finance minister under the previous president, Hamid Karzai. In January, Ahadi announced the formation of his own opposition movement, the New National Front of Afghanistan, to pressure the government and to call for new elections. Recent polls show a sharp decline in confidence in the government and public institutions. Given how weak the government is, if there is any more instability, it is unlikely it will be able to rule after September, Ahadi said. They have mismanaged the country and lost their legitimacy. They should go back to the people and ask for a new mandate. In many ways, the unity government may have been doomed from the start, analysts say. Even its critics say it was undermined by a hastily forged agreement that split power between two archrivals: Abdullah and Ghani. The deal, brokered by the United States nearly two years ago, called for parliamentary elections and a constitutional assembly to legitimize the government by September this year. The assembly would decide whether to permanently enshrine the role of chief executive as that of prime minister, a more authoritative position. But none of those steps has been taken. Instead, government squabbling over basic decisions has only hindered reforms. The stalemate is so bad that the two sides cant agree on a nominee for defense minister. And Kabul, a city of 4 million people, is still without a mayor because of the deadlock. Abdullah and Ghani they cant work with each other. If one of them says turn right, the other will say turn left, said Safiullah, a 28-year-old fruit vendor in Kabul who, like many Afghans, has only one name. [Europe wants to deport Afghan migrants, but Kabul reluctant to accept them] The two camps maintain separate staffs, which rarely coordinate, current and former officials say. Even senior advisers say they have stopped attending weekly cabinet meetings, where the governments dysfunction is on full display. The issues they debate at the cabinet meetings are only minor. They dont address any major issues facing the country, said Ahmad Zia Massoud, Ghanis special representative for reform and good governance. This is why Im reluctant to go, he said of the meetings. They dont talk about education or the economy. And resentment of the government is high. Despite his position in the administration, Massoud has joined others in Afghanistans political elite in criticizing the performance of the unity government. Ghanis military adviser, Seyyed Hussein Anwari, recently reprimanded the government in public comments to supporters. They had gathered to greet him at the Kabul airport after he returned from a trip to India on Friday. When it comes to campaign promises, I am sure that the two leaders [Ghani and Abdullah] have realized the fact that they have not delivered on their promises, said Anwari, who is chairman of the Islamic Movement Party, according to Afghanistans Tolo News. Nothing was achieved in the areas of security, economy, peace, [the] fight against corruption and improving political stability. Another new opposition leader, Mohammad Umer Daudzai, also served in Ghanis cabinet and advised him on peace talks and security matters until a few months ago, when he said he had grown disenchanted by the governments lack of progress. Afghanistans economy is sluggish it grew just 2.5 percent last year and thousands of Afghans lost their jobs when foreign troops left the country, Daudzai said. But the government has done little beyond raising taxes. He was once hopeful, but now he says the government should resign. We expected some economic shocks after the drawdown of troops, but we didnt expect it to be this bad, Daudzai said, adding that slow growth and joblessness have been aggravated by rampant corruption. And there was no remedy there was no plan to deal with the shocks. I was optimistic. I thought the unity government would mean we were more united, he said. But now were more divided than we have been in the past 14 years, since the Taliban fell, he said. In December, Daudzai and other political figures announced what they called the Council for the Protection and Stability of Afghanistan, an opposition alliance that is pushing the government on elections and reforms. The council includes some notorious warlords, but Daudzai believes he lends it some important credibility. [Why disaffected young Afghans are warming to a Taliban comeback] There is a larger bulk of people like myself, who, for one reason or another, have moved to the opposition, he said. There will be a political vacuum in September when the agreement expires, Daudzai said. And where will that lead? If the September deadline passes, we will certainly see trouble ahead, Massoud, the special envoy, said. Abdullahs spokesman, Javid Faisal, said the two leaders are working together with an emphasis on the national interests and well-being of the nation. Ahadi, the former finance minister, says his followers dont want to raise tensions. But where does this illegitimacy stop? he said. We dont want to create a situation where people take to the streets, but there is a possibility of widespread demonstrations. Safiullah, the fruit seller in Kabul, says he agrees. I support early elections, and I pray Afghans will get rid of this government as soon as possible, he said. If not, I will be the first to go to the streets and protest. Sayed Salahuddin and Mohammad Sharif contributed to this report. Read more: These are the 11,000 soldiers who might save Afghanistan An Afghan girls story of abduction and rape is testing an incoherent justice system Stretched by its fight against Taliban, Afghan army raises recruitment age Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, attends the third plenary session of the National Peoples Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi has come under increasing criticism from business, the media and the Communist Party itself. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images) A series of extraordinary outbursts of public criticism of Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent weeks has raised the question of whether his crackdown on dissent is backfiring. The sniping has come from the highest levels of the business community and the media but also, most tellingly, from within the Communist Party itself. At its core is a growing unhappiness with Xis attempts to centralize power and crush dissent, both within the party and outside. No one is predicting that Chinas president is about to be toppled or even that he is about to change course. More likely is that Xi will be so preoccupied with internal politics that he continues to shy away from the painful changes needed to resuscitate Chinas slowing economy. He may also continue to take policy in a more nationalist direction to bolster his support. [Xi uses parade to show hes in charge and pursuing national revival] Chinese President Xi Jinping listens to a speech of the Czech President after signing a bilateral treaty of strategic partnership on March 29, 2016, in Prague. (Michal Cizek/AFP/Getty Images) One criticism, reported by The Washington Post this month, came in the form of a letter by loyal Communist Party members calling on Chinas president to resign for gathering too much power into his own hands and provoking a series of political, economic, ideological and cultural crises. But a second essay was equally explosive because it was posted on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the anti-corruption body that has been at the center of Xis efforts to reform the party, eliminate rivals and crush internal dissent. The CCDI is run by Wang Qishan, generally regarded as Xis right-hand man. The essay, A thousand yes-men cannot equal one honest adviser, cited imperial Chinese history, Confucian teaching and the Communist Partys traditions to argue for the benefits of honest counsel and open debate. The ability to air opinions freely and to accept suggestions frequently determined the rise or fall of an empire, it read. We should not be afraid of people saying the wrong things; we should be afraid of people not speaking at all. Ever since taking office in 2013, Xi has been cracking down on corruption within the party and on free speech and civil society outside it. In the past few months, he has tightened the screws further, outlawing improper discussion of government policy within the party and demanding that state media toe the line even more rigorously than they already do. [Chinas Xi tells grumbling party cadres: Dont talk back] But instead of shutting up, people are plucking up the courage to speak out. Property tycoon Ren Zhiqiangs social-media accounts were shut down late last month after he criticized Xis clampdown on the media. In the days that followed, Ren faced virulent criticism from the party but also won support from some unlikely quarters. A professor at the Central Party School warned that cracking down on different opinions was dangerous for the party; the influential financial magazine Caixin staged an online protest over the lack of free speech; and a staff member at Xinhua, the state news agency, published a widely shared denunciation of the crackdown, likening it to Mao Zedongs Cultural Revolution. On Monday, Yu Shaolei, an editor at the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper, announced he was resigning in protest. [Chinas Donald Trump is latest victim of government crackdown] That there is grumbling within the party should perhaps come as no surprise. Xis anti-corruption campaign was at least partly designed to undercut local-level cadres who have gorged for years on the fruits of graft and to appeal directly to the Chinese people. But that the elite are prepared to risk their careers and perhaps even their freedom by speaking out suggests more than the usual griping. The party had long prided itself on its ability to conduct internal debate and rule by consensus. These outbursts suggest serious concerns that the system is broken under the personalized, centralized rule of Xi. There are also substantive concerns about the direction in which China is headed. The letter purportedly signed by loyal party members appeared on several websites simultaneously just before the annual meeting of Chinas parliament, the National Peoples Congress, in Beijing, and took aim at many of Xis perceived failings. His assertive foreign policy, it argued, had antagonized Chinas Asian neighbors and allowed the United States to win influence, while alienating the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan. His mismanagement of the economy led to last years stock market crash, caused mass layoffs at state-owned firms and brought the national economy to the verge of collapse, it said. His anti-corruption campaign has left officials too scared to work and was motivated by a power struggle, it argued. About 20 people are reported to have been detained for questioning in relation to the letter. According to the BBC, they include staff members from the website on which it was posted and employees of a related technology company. Two Chinese dissidents based in New York and Germany say they have had several close relatives taken away. [Progressive, tolerant and diverse: Taiwan is moving farther from China] The question is what all this grumbling portends. Xi appears to have consolidated power significantly and elevated his own supporters during the past three years, and the chances of his not being returned for a second five-year term in 2017 remain extremely slim. But the composition of the Politburos Standing Committee after 2017 will be closely examined to see how much power rival factions have retained. Rumors of coup plots occasionally circulate in Beijing, but experts say the most obvious internal challenge to Xis power appeared to have been crushed when former security chief Zhou Yongkang and Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai were jailed for corruption in 2015 and 2013, respectively. Although independent polling is impossible in China, every indication suggests Xi remains popular with the Chinese people. The party wanted a strong leader in 2013 to confront the nations mounting problems, and even if Xi has taken things too far, there is no hint yet of any change in course. In an essay on the ChinaFile website, Columbia University professor Andrew Nathan argued that there is a Chinese tradition of loyal remonstrance from within the leaders camp: The fact that some of the criticism appeared on the CCDI website suggests Xis most fervent supporters are among those most worried about the path he has taken. I do not, however, expect Xi to back down, Nathan concluded. More often than not in Chinese history the remonstrator lost his head. When his warnings came true, so did the leader who ignored them. Read more: Is China heading in the wrong direction? For once, the West calls Beijing out. How Chinas premier survived a two-hour news conference without answering a single hard question Pursuing critics, China reaches across borders. And nobody is stopping it. Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world A passenger who said he had an explosive belt hijacked a commercial airliner that was carrying dozens of people, forcing it to land in Cyprus. An Egyptian commercial airliner carrying dozens of passengers was hijacked by a passenger who threatened he had an explosive belt and and forced to land in Cyprus. An Egyptian commercial airliner carrying dozens of passengers was hijacked by a passenger who threatened he had an explosive belt and and forced to land in Cyprus. There was little doubt that Seif Eldin Mustafa was unstable, as authorities described him. On Tuesday morning, the 59-year-old Egyptian national boarded an EgyptAir flight and hijacked it to Cyprus by claiming to wear a suicide belt. Nearly six hours later, when the hostage standoff ended peacefully, many things remained unclear except for two: There were no explosives on Mustafa or on the aircraft. And Egypts airport security was again drawing concern, potentially delivering a blow to the countrys already battered economy and its efforts to attract more tourists and foreign investors. [What a horrific week of terrorism tells us about the world] Even though Egyptian officials ruled out terrorism as a motive and all the hostages were freed without any reports of injuries, there was an uneasy sense of deja vu. No one had forgotten how a bomb brought down a Russian passenger plane over Egypts Sinai Peninsula in October, an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group. Since then, Egypt has sought to bolster security at its airports, even hiring international security consultants to build confidence. So the hijackers commandeering of EgyptAir Flight 181 in a fake explosives vest has only set off more alarms. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, plane hijackings have become rarer because of increased airport security, tighter passenger screenings and reinforced cockpit doors to prevent a takeover. Yet Mustafa easily diverted the plane, which took off from the Egyptian port of Alexandria en route to Cairo, from its scheduled path. The Egyptian airliner an Airbus 320 was carrying more than 55 passengers and crew members from several nations, including Americans and Europeans. Within minutes, the hijacker was able to force the plane to head north to Larnaca, a port on the southern coast of Cyprus. Mustafas motive remains unclear. Nor is much known about him. Egyptian media reports described him as a 59-year-old who owned an import-export company, has had run-ins with the law and had once been expelled from the law faculty of Alexandria University. None of the reports could be independently verified. At one point, Cypruss state broadcaster said the hijacker asked for the release of political prisoners in Egypt. A spokesman for the Cypriot government earlier speculated that the hijacker may have been driven by a failed relationship citing a letter he had asked to deliver to a woman, possibly his former wife, who lives on the eastern Mediterranean island. The television network Sky News Arabia interviewed a woman described as Mustafas sister who said that he was unemployed and that his three children lived with his former wife in Cyprus. The sister said Mustafa had been banned from entering Cyprus for a year and described him as an incredibly peaceful man. After the plane touched down in Larnaca, most of the passengers were allowed to disembark almost immediately. But three foreign passengers, the pilot, the co-pilot, a female flight attendant and an air warden were held hostage for the duration of the standoff. [Cyprus no stranger to spillover from Middle East] Even as negotiations continued with the hijacker, officials in Cyprus and Egypt were rejecting any connection to terrorism, apparently out of concern for their tourist-driven economies. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said at a news conference that the hijacking was not something which has to do with terrorism, even speculating that Mustafa may have been motivated by a relationship with a woman. A man commandeered an EgyptAir flight from Alexandria with more than 55 passengers and crew aboard. The hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, surrendered to authorities. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) At a news conference in Cairo during the standoff, Sherif Fathy, Egypts minister of civil aviation, chastised a reporter for asking about concerns involving security at Egyptian airports. Other officials, including the tourism minister, touted Egypts airport security, saying all protective measures were taken on Tuesday. Egyptians took to social media to deride such claims. An officer on ONTV praising Egypt airport security in context of highjacking tells u why world wont trust us, tweeted Timothy Kaldas, an academic, referring to a pan-Arab news channel. We cant admit we have problem. The hijacking could not have come at a worse time for Egypt. Militant attacks have surged in recent years, driving tourists and foreign investors away as the government struggles to revive the economy. Egypts U.S.-backed military is battling an Islamic State affiliate in the northern Sinai . Terrorists increasingly see airports as vulnerable targets. In February, a bomb smuggled on a Somali airliner leaving Mogadishu detonated in flight, blowing a hole in the fuselage and killing one passenger. The crew managed to safely land the plane. At another Somali airport, militants detonated a bomb in a laptop. And a week ago, suicide attacks claimed by the Islamic State killed more than 30 people at Brusselss main airport and a subway station. Despite the increased security, planes remain vulnerable. In February 2014, a man falsely claiming to have a bomb demanded that a Pegasus Airlines plane traveling from Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Istanbul be diverted to Sochi, Russia, which was then hosting the Winter Olympics. The pilot landed in Istanbul, telling the hijacker they were in Sochi. The man, who was apparently intoxicated, was arrested. No passengers or crew members were harmed. Less than two weeks later, the co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Rome took command of the aircraft and landed in Geneva, demanding asylum. He was arrested, and no injuries occurred. In March 2015, Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, took control of the plane before crashing it in the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard. Inside Flight 181, there were signs that Mustafa was an amateur. He allowed a British passenger to snap a selfie photo with him, which later went viral. In Cairo, Fathy told reporters that some phone calls made by the hijacker while aboard the plane pointed to possible personal and mental problems. He also noted that Mustafa possibly did not possess any explosives. Were not sure of the suicide belt, Fathy said at the time. It could be a fake one. Confusion reigned throughout the standoff. Initially, both Egyptian and Cypriot authorities identified someone else as the hijacker; he turned out to be a passenger. EgyptAir initially said there were 88 passengers aboard. At one point, Cypriot media reported that the hijacker wanted to see his ex-wife and that the woman was said to be on her way to the airport. About 2 p.m. Egypt time, several events unfolded rapidly, including an escape by an apparent hostage, who slithered down a rope from a cockpit window. The other hostages later walked out of the aircraft, and Mustafa was taken into custody. Its over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair, Cypruss Foreign Ministry tweeted. Heba Habib in Cairo, Brian Murphy in Washington and Daniela Deane in London contributed to this report. Read more: Five years after Egypts Arab Spring: We didnt need a revolution Egyptian aviation under scrutiny after Sinai crash Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world The mental condition of the middle-aged Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane forcing its landing in Cyprus where he was arrested has been under scrutiny since the beginning of the scare. Seif El-Din Mustafa, who claimed to be wearing an explosive belt that authorities said turned out to be fake, while on board made phone calls that Egyptian civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said had showed he was not a terrorist but a man with personal and mental problems. Mustafa surrendered after hours of negotiations with Cypriot officials, though his exact motives and demands remain unclear. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CYBC) reported that Mustafa may have had personal motives and that he had an ex-wife in Cyprus, which one of his neighbours said is quite plausible. "His Cypriot wife took their children and flew back home after disagreements between them, so I expect he did all that so he could go to them," the neighbour, Um Assmaa, told Al-Ahram's Arabic website. She added that Mustafa was a "troublemaker" during the time he lived in the working-class Cairo neighbourhood, saying he once impersonated someone and the police sought to arrest him as a result. "He was a man of a few words," said Anwar, another neighbour who said that psychological problems seem to run in Mustafa's family. Mohamed Mustafa, who lives in the same area, echoed similar sentiments. A few images of Mustafa were believed to have been taken during the hostage situation, some of which show the fake device strapped around his waist. One image shows the grey-haired Mustafa wearing glasses and standing casually next to an unknown, seemingly unfazed and grinning male passenger. A total of 55 passengers, including Egyptians, Americans and British nationals, were on board the plane. Search Keywords: Short link: A scene from the popular play "Jihad the Show" performed in Brussels on Dec 26. The play, written by Ismael Saidi, uses humor in an attempt to examine the radicalization of young Muslims. (Elyes Ghedaoui) For Ismael Saidi, the 39-year-old author and star of a popular play called Jihad the Show, there was a moment this month when life threatened to imitate art imitating life. The morning that suicide bombers struck the Brussels airport and subway system, his 16-year-old son had taken the subway to school. Saidi was in agony trying to reach his son, who had gotten out of the subway five minutes before the blast and was attending his morning classes. But for one stop, for five minutes, everything would have changed, Saidi said. Usually, Saidi tries to make audiences laugh and think about the roots of Islamist extremism, which has swept through the Muslim neighborhoods of Brussels. His play spins a tale about three bumbling friends who end up going to Syria for three different, intensely personal reasons. He struck a chord. Since the debut on Dec. 26, 2014, the play has been performed 133 times in front of more than 47,000 people, including about 25,000 secondary-school students. After the performances, audiences stay to ask questions. Once you laugh, the first wall between us is broken, Saidi said. [The desperate wait for news of loved ones missing after the Brussels attacks] Saidi decided to write the play in the summer of 2014, after hearing French National Front leader Marine Le Pen say she didnt care whether young people who went to Syria ever came back. I wrote this play as an answer, he said, to make audiences care about three people who go from laughter to tragedy in two hours. We understand the process of radicalization, said Saidi, whose father emigrated from Morocco in the 1960s and drove a taxi. These kids are similar to my own. In the play, Saidi plays a youth named Ismael who draws, aspiring to become a cartoonist. But at weekend religious school, the teachers tell him he is violating the Koran and must stop. The teacher discovered my drawings and hit me while shouting a quote of the prophet Muhammad that said all artists go to hell, Ismael says. He stops, anger and disappointment festering, feeding his radicalization. The second character, Reda, decides to marry his high school sweetheart, Valerie, who is not Muslim. But his mother forbids it, saying that Valerie is just for playing and having fun. Marry a Muslim girl, she orders him. He is despondent, and violent extremism becomes a way to kill himself. The third friend, Ben, impersonates Elvis Presley, singing in bars, and is moderately popular. When he travels to Graceland, however, he sees that the Kings tombstone reads: Elvis Aaron Presley. Ben is horrified because he thinks the name Aaron means that Presley was Jewish. Even my favorite music was part of the great Zionist conspiracy, he cries. So he stops singing and sets off on jihad. They are three stupid ways to become radicalized, Saidi said. Its like a metaphor of whats happening. The plot thickens after they arrive in Syria. The friends discover an Arab crying because his wife is dead. They share food with him before realizing that hes a Christian. Then they debate whether to kill him the same man they were sympathizing with just moments before. Saidis character Ismael ends up back in Belgium, goes to jail, then an anti-radicalization camp. His friends die in Syria. And Ismael decides to set off a bomb big enough to kill the entire audience. The ghost of Ben appears and says to kill them all. The ghost of Reda says not to, because in the afterlife he realized that we were wrong. The decision hangs in the balance and the play ends in uncertainty. Faith is not being sure, Saidi said. Faith is questioning always. When you begin to become certain of things, thats radicalization. [Belgian police renew appeals for tips into man in white bomb suspect] Saidi has taken an unusual route to his current career. One of five children who lived in the Muslim area of Schaerbeek, he attended a Catholic school when his father felt he needed to get out of the neighborhood. Saidi had never gone to school with white people, but the school was nearby and free. Wednesdays meant church services. Fridays were for catechism. Years later, he said, he can feel Gods presence in a church. At 19, he joined the police force, walking the beat. He met his future wife, who still works for the police. But writing was a hobby that became his career, and he quit the force after 15 years. Asked whether he is a religious Muslim, he said that he prays five times a day and does not eat pork or drink alcohol, but he does not always go to the mosque on Fridays, preferring to observe at home. Saidi said that digital communication deserves part of the blame for creating a generation whose members do not know how to relate to one another. We are closer than ever thanks to communications, but we are always alone, he said. That is the paradox. So it is easy to become violent with words on a [computer] screen. You cant even see if it causes pain. When Im crying onstage, they see that the crying is for real. Jihad the Show is Saidis fourth play. He has written two feature movie scripts and has another play in rehearsals. It is a sequel. Sometimes the line between comedy and tragedy is too thin. He knows people who lost family members in the March 22 attacks. It is very hard, he said. The people who are dead are similar to me. And the people who killed them are similar to me, too. We grew up in the same neighborhoods, went to the same cinemas. Said wrote Jihad the Show before the attacks in Paris and Brussels. But they didnt surprise him. We were not waiting for it but prepared, he said. It was like sitting near a window, seeing the storm, waiting for the storm, and its going to happen and now it happened. Read more: How Belgian prisons became a breeding ground for Islamic extremism Belgian police mount raids; prosecutors acknowledge missed opportunities Anti-terrorism crackdowns may have spurred attackers, Belgian prosecutor says Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world The FBI has found a way into San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farooks iPhone and is now dropping bids to force Apple to help it crack into the phone. See all the latest developments in the case and why the case isnt over yet. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post) The FBI has found a way into San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farooks iPhone and is now dropping bids to force Apple to help it crack into the phone. See all the latest developments in the case and why the case isnt over yet. (Jhaan Elker/The Washington Post) The U.S. governments revelation that it had accessed the San Bernardino shooters iPhone without the help from Apple that it had so desperately sought indicates the FBI was either disguising its technical capabilities or its agents and employees remain outmatched by tech workers in the private sector, according to current and former bureau officials and legal scholars. The bureau in recent years has launched a recruiting blitz to attract employees with cyber expertise, and the National Science Foundation has even made scholarship money available to students who study cybersecurity and later work in government. But former FBI officials said the bureau will always face an uphill battle against private firms, which can offer much more money, a less rigorous code of conduct and more opportunities to do creative work. Ernest Hilbert, a former FBI special agent focusing on cybercrimes, said the bureau had lost tech talent in recent years. The most an agent can make is 180K, he said. Thats like a starting salary in the private sector. You have a big push by private industry to pull out these individuals. That bureau officials were able to access Syed Rizwan Farooks phone allows the government to avoid at least for now a showdown with Apple over the extent U.S. law compels the company to help in a criminal investigation. But the high-profile fight over the San Bernardino phone also exposes that Apples phone has some vulnerability, further motivating it and other companies to strengthen the security of their devices and forcing the government to keep up with new security measures, technology executives and security analysts said. FBI Director James B. Comey. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Theyre in an arms race, said Matthew Blaze, a cryptography researcher and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The FBI is trying to find new ways in, and Apple is trying to find new ways to defend against that. In interviews, engineers across Silicon Valley said they thought the case would impact the way products are built going forward at both start-ups and large companies. The case will reinforce peoples arguments for tougher encryption, said Cameron Walters, an engineer who was an early engineer at payments start-up Square. It might push them to do it if it was a question of effort versus return. [FBI has accessed San Bernardino shooters phone without Apples help] The cloud-computing company Box, which filed a legal brief supporting Apple in the San Bernardino case, is one of the many tech firms rushing to offer new encryption-related security features. It recently launched a product, KeySafe, that allows corporate customers to hold on to their own encryption keys a move co-founder and chief executive Aaron Levie said was as much about fighting off hackers as about fending off government surveillance. The implementation of KeySafe means the company cannot collect and hand over a customers private information even when the authorities have a warrant. Lawyers and people in the tech industry claim that the FBIs sudden arrival at a solution a month ago it was claiming it could not get into Farooks phone without Apples help raises questions about law enforcements handling of the matter. FBI officials have offered their version of what happened in court documents and sworn affidavits, and have disputed any insinuation they did wrong. On this much, many agree: The case shows that the FBI is lagging behind when it comes to some technical capabilities. I think the bureau is absolutely in an uphill battle, desperately trying to keep up pace, and they are not, said Ronald T. Hosko, a former assistant director in charge of the FBIs criminal division who is now president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund. The FBI devotes significant resources to cybersecurity investigations and its operational-technology division. The bureaus fiscal 2017 budget proposal asked for $85.1 million more for cybersecurity and an additional $38.3 million for an initiative meant to help investigators beat encryption when appropriate. Robert Anderson, a former executive assistant director of the bureaus Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch who now works as a managing director at Navigant, a business consulting firm, said that two years ago the bureau began an unbelievable nationwide hunt, search and hiring program for people with computer expertise. The bureau, he said, is the best in its 100-plus-year history on tech. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were killed in a shootout with police in December after they launched an attack that killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif. The bid to access the phone used by Farook was meant to further the FBIs investigation. The Justice Department obtained a court order compelling Apples assistance under the All Writs Act, a centuries-old law that gives courts the power to issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions and agreeable to the usages and principles of law. Federal prosecutors initially said they had no way into the phone without Apples help. Apple resisted, arguing that complying with the governments request would infringe customers privacy. [Apple vows to resist FBI demand to crack iPhone linked to attacks] Last week, on the eve of a hearing in the case, prosecutors for the first time suggested there might be a way in without Apple, writing in a court filing that an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking Farooks iPhone. The method apparently worked; prosecutors wrote in another court filing Monday that they had successfully accessed the data stored on Farooks iPhone, and a judge formally vacated an order compelling Apples assistance Tuesday. The FBI has not disclosed how it got in, other than to say it no longer needed Apples help. An official familiar with the matter, while declining to discuss the San Bernardino case in particular, said, Whether a solution comes ultimately from our own personnel, from another federal agency or other entity is less important than whether the solution addresses the requirements to investigate major crimes and terrorist attacks. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal bureau operations. Alex Abdo, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said that the speed with which they were able to verify this new technique is a reason to be skeptical of officials previous claims. The FBI sat on this phone for two months, then made a deliberate decision to very publicly fight with Apple over the unlocking mechanism, and then made very strong statements about their inability to get in without Apples help. And, on a dime, that all changed, Abdo said. FBI and Justice Department officials have bristled at the notion that they misled the public or that agents were not working hard to access the phone. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said at a recent news conference that FBI agents had been working hard all along and that officials at the Justice Department were a little surprised to learn there might be another solution. [As encryption spreads, U.S. grapples with clash between privacy, security] FBI Director James B. Comey wrote in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that he was not embarrassed to admit that all technical creativity does not reside in government. That the FBI got in without Apples help leaves unresolved a critical question: Can the government use the All Writs Act to compel others to take the steps it wanted Apple to take? That matter, legal experts said, will be left for Congress or another court case. Andrea Peterson contributed to this report. Read more: Police say criminals view iPhones as another gift from God because of the encryption Apple waves the civil-liberties flag but for how long? FBI director: Victory in the fight with Apple could set a precedent, lead to more requests Secretary of State John F. Kerry, right, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu meet at the State Department on Monday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Turkish police directly contacted their Belgian counterparts last July when they deported a Belgian national who would go on to blow himself up in Brussels Airport last week, Turkeys foreign minister said Monday. Belgian authorities have acknowledged receiving diplomatic communications about the terrorist, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, information that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said was communicated to Belgium and the Netherlands through their embassies in Ankara. Furthermore, our police warned the Belgian police, Cavusoglu said. Turkey and Europe have long mutually complained about lukewarm cooperation on terrorism matters. We share information, but theres a lack of real political will and determination or action against these foreign terrorist fighters in Europe, Cavusoglu said, although he acknowledged that the situation has improved recently. [Undercover teams, increased surveillance and hardened borders: Turkey cracks down on foreign fighters] Some of the thousands of deported foreign fighters subsequently arrived back in Turkey after European governments declined to detain them, he said. A March 20 suicide bombing, blamed by Turkey on the Islamic State, killed five in Istanbul. It was the fifth major terrorist attack in Turkey since October. Cavusoglu spoke after meetings in Washington with Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Susan E. Rice, President Obamas national security adviser. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to arrive later in the week to attend the White House-hosted Nuclear Security Summit and to open a Turkish American community facility, called the Diyanet Center, in Lanham, Md., on Saturday. It includes a mosque, a cultural center and a Turkish bathhouse in addition to guest houses and meeting facilities. On other matters, Cavusoglu said the number of migrants and refugees seeking to reach Greece and the European Union from Turkey had dropped from nearly 8,000 a day to fewer than 1,000 following an agreement signed with the E.U. last month. Under the agreement, the E.U. has agreed to reenergize Turkeys bid to join the union, to allocate new aid for refugees in Turkey and to negotiate Turkeys visa-free access to much of Europe by this summer. Cavusoglu said he did not expect questions about Turkeys human rights problems including the detention of journalists and the government takeover of a major newspaper, Todays Zaman to be an issue with Europe. It has nothing to do with the freedom of the media, he said. He said those arrested had been operating a parallel structure, funded by bank robberies, murders, that sought to overthrow the government. He denied charges by political opponents and international critics that Erdogan is cracking down on free expression to enhance his power. I know that it is damaging to our image, Cavusoglu said. But for the stability and the security of the country, we need to fight this. Cavusoglu also said that Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, remains willing to put military boots on the ground in Syria but will not do so without U.S. participation. With airstrikes, we cannot even stop Daesh; forget about eradicating them, he said, using the Arabic name for the Islamic State. The main question was, who was going to send the troops? The United States said no. . . . Why should Turkey do it alone? He said he expected that a long-planned offensive by U.S.- and coalition-backed Syrian opposition fighters in the northwest part of that country would be discussed at a U.S.-Turkey military meeting April 4 and would begin soon thereafter. The cease-fire that began last month in Syria has provided more options for the coalition, Cavusoglu said. During his meetings with Kerry and Rice, he said, he continued to press Turkeys concern about U.S. cooperation with Syrian Kurdish fighters, whom Ankara considers a terrorist force. The biggest party in President Dilma Rousseffs governing coalition jumped ship Tuesday, increasing the chances that the leader of Latin Americas biggest country will be impeached. Rousseff faces the possibility of impeachment over allegations of fiscal irregularities in her governments accounting. But she is also struggling with a huge corruption scandal and an economy in recession, and her popularity has plummeted. The departure of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, which was expected, made it more likely that some of the other 11 parties that normally support Rousseffs party could abandon her, too. Under Brazils presidential system, Rousseff would still remain in office for the moment, even though her Workers Party has only 58 of the 513 seats in the National Congress. But it may be difficult for her to muster enough votes to stave off her removal by the legislature. It reinforces the odds that impeachment will occur, said Christopher Garman, managing director and Brazil analyst at the consulting firm Eurasia Group. Were at the tipping point, he said. [Watch Brazils massive protests in 360 degrees] Brazilians have been transfixed as an enormous investigation into corruption at state-run oil company Petrobras has led to the jailing of politicians from Rousseffs Workers Party and its allies as well as executives from important companies. Rousseff has not been charged in that probe, known as Operation Car Wash, although she was chairman of the board at Petrobras from 2003 to 2010. Contracting companies allegedly paid billions of dollars in bribes to Petrobras executives, middlemen and politicians to secure valuable contracts during and after that period. While smaller parties in Brazils Congress shift alliances from time to time, it is rare for a major player such as the Democratic Movement Party, known as the PMDB, to break ranks. PMDB Senator Romero Juca called the meeting that reached Tuesday's decision historic. As part of the partys break with Rousseff, six ministers will leave her cabinet, and about 600 members of the PMDB will quit government jobs at the state and federal level, according to party officials. All the indications are that the Brazilian people want change. They want change because the economic situation is very bad, said Wellington Moreira Franco, a former minister of aviation from the PMDB who served under Rousseff. A Brazilian congressional commission has begun considering Rousseffs impeachment. If two thirds of the lower house votes to accept the process, Rousseff will be suspended for a maximum of 180 days while the Senate decides on her case. The lower house vote could happen as soon as next month. If Rousseff is suspended, Vice President Michel Temer, a member of the PMDB, would take over as interim president. He will remain as vice president even though his party has withdrawn its support from the president. [A ploy involving two of Brazils presidents ignites popular fury] While Rousseff has not been accused of any crime in Operation Car Wash, she has been damaged by testimony that she attempted to influence the investigation. She has also been criticized for her decision to approve the financially disastrous purchase of a Texas oil refinery by Petrobras when she was head of its board. On March 13, more than 3 million Brazilians joined demonstrations calling for her impeachment and for the jailing of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, or Lula, her predecessor and the co-founder of her leftist Workers Party. Days later, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in support of the government and against what the president and Lula say is an attempted institutional coup. On March 9, charges were filed against Lula in relation to properties that he allegedly controlled that were renovated by companies involved in the Car Wash scheme. Rousseff, elected to a second term in 2014, succeeded the then-highly popular Lula, a former union leader who won fame for social policies that lifted more than 30 million Brazilians out of poverty. The PMDB has also been linked to the Petrobras scandal. Eduardo Cunha, a member of the party and speaker of Brazils Chamber of Deputies, faces charges at Brazils Supreme Court of corruption and money laundering in relation to the investigation into the oil companys dealings. In recent polls by the Datafolha polling institute, 68 percent of Brazilians supported the impeachment of Rousseff and 76 percent said Cunha should resign. Some 60 percent of members of the Brazilian Congress face court processes for offenses such as corruption, money laundering, electoral irregularities and misconduct in public office, according to Transparencia Brasil, a nongovernmental monitoring group in Sao Paulo. And the more Operation Car Wash uncovers, the less Brazilians are inclined to trust anybody in Congress. No one group is better than the other, said Bruno de Souza, 35, a Rio hairdresser. All those who enter there want to get rich. Read more As ex-president Lula faces charges, a divided Brazil wonders: Whats next? Brazils new hero is a nerdy judge who is tough on official corruption Brazils economy tanks as multibillion-dollar corruption scandal expands Syrian forces pressed their offensive against the Islamic State group (IS) on Monday, the day after seizing control of the ancient city of Palmyra in a major blow for the militants. Regime troops pushed on towards Deir Ezzor province, an IS group bastion, the day after wresting control of the desert ruins with the help of Russian air strikes. Analysts said the government's seizure of Palmyra was the biggest blow so far in the war against IS group and a major coup both for Damascus and Moscow. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad hailed the victory as "fresh proof of the efficiency of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism". IS group destroyed more than a dozen tombs and temples during its 10-month occupation of the UNESCO World Heritage site, known as the "Pearl of the Desert". Syria's antiquities chief said the monuments could be restored in five years, although a UN expert cast doubt on the time-frame. Inside the city, army sappers worked to defuse bombs and mines planted by IS group before they retreated on Monday. One soldier said more than 50 had been disarmed. Outside, Syria's military turned their attention to other IS group-held towns as they pushed towards Raqa, the militants' de facto capital. "The army was concentrated around Al-Qaryatain, and today the military operations began there," said a military source in Palmyra. "That is the next goal for the Syrian army. They also have their eyes on Sukhnah," he added, referring to a town northeast of Palmyra. The United States cautiously welcomed the victory for Assad, but said warned against allowing him to expand his "ability to tyrannize the Syrian people". Concern has been mounting for the ancient city since IS group overran it in May 2015 and began a campaign to destroy tombs and shrines it considers idolatrous. In September, they demolished the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and a month later blew up the Arch of Triumph, from around 200 AD. The militants also used Palmyra's ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and murdered the city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief, Khaled al-Assaad. Syria's head of antiquities, Maamoun Abdulkarim, told AFP that 80 percent of the site was still "in good shape" and the ancient ruins could be restored in five years with UNESCO's help. But UN expert Annie Sartre-Fauriat said she was "very doubtful" that would be possible. "Everyone is excited because Palmyra has been 'liberated', but we should not forget everything that has been destroyed," said Sartre-Fauriat, who belongs to a group of experts on Syrian heritage set up by UNESCO in 2013. Analysts said losing Palmyra was a major setback for IS group, which has come under growing pressure from Syrian and Iraqi forces set on breaking apart its self-proclaimed "caliphate". "The past week exemplifies the future of the IS group: relentless internal setbacks amid persistent external attacks," said the US-based Soufan Group. Syria expert Thomas Pierret said the loss of Palmyra showed IS group was "clearly weaker than in the past", but warned the militants will likely fight harder to keep control of Raqa and Deir Ezzor. US Secretary of State John Kerry vowed to pile more pressure on IS group after meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington. But experts say Russia's role in Palmyra has also left the West scrambling to figure out Putin's game plan. His announcement this month that Russia was withdrawing troops from Syria was greeted with much fanfare, but analysts said only 10-25 percent of forces have left since then. Moscow also openly admitted for the first time since it launched it operations in Syria last September that it has special forces on the ground as part of the offensive. "All the talk in the West that Russia was going to ditch Assad was nonsense," said Pavel Felgengauer, a Russian military analyst. "We are not planning to abandon him now. Russia wants Assad to stay in power and the goal is to give him a chance to win the civil war." Assad's other key ally, Iran, has also hailed the recapture of Palmyra and pledged its continued financial and military assistance. Hadi al-Bahra of the opposition National Coalition said the regime should have stopped IS group from taking Palmyra to begin with. "From the start, the regime's strategy was to allow the threat posed by Daesh to grow, in order to tell the West that either Daesh or Assad would prevail." Search Keywords: Short link: Latin America Strike by Peruvian sugar workers for better pay, conditions Workers for the Peru-based agricultural products firm Agroindustrial Casa Grande struck its sugar-processing plant near the city of Trujillo, in the nations northwestern Ascope province, on March 22. The workers, whose demands include better pay and working conditions, marched and set up blockades along the Pan-American Highway. Another demand is the divestiture of agribusiness conglomerate Grupo Gloria, owner of a 57 percent share in the formerly state-owned company, which was privatized in 2006. The Regional Labor Directorate declared the strike inappropriate and illegal. National Police units were deployed to the area, where confrontations ensued, with police using tear gas and clubs to disperse the protesters. The tear gas fumes affected children as well as disabled and elderly people. Ten workers were arrested for altering the public order. As of March 26, the strike was still in effect in defiance of the illegality decree. A member of the workers negotiating team told RPP Noticias reporters that a protesting worker had been physically attacked by a police officer and that another seven workers had been detained, though five were later released. The union sent a commission to Trujillo to ask him to declare the strike legal. Uruguay: Transportation workers repeat one-day strike over death of another taxi driver Barely a week after striking for one day to protest the shooting death of a taxi driver in a Montevideo neighborhood, the Transport Workers Union (Unott) and the Suatt taxi drivers union called another 24-hour walkout March 25. The reason: the death of another taxi driver, 53-year-old Juan Bonilla, who died after lingering in a hospital bed for 24 days from a gunshot wound suffered February 28 in a robbery attempt. Shortly after Bonillas burial, the union members assembled and voted to strike. According to an entornointeligente.com report, Some of the assembled aired their discontent with the attitude assumed by the PIT-CNT [union confederation] in this case. Insults against the union central and references to the principal directors being on vacation outside of Montevideo or the country were heard. Suatt has accused the taxi companies and the Interior Ministry of hiding something for not having met to sign an agreement on security measures resolved several days ago, having only signed it the day after Bonillas death. The unions cut the strike short at 3:00 p.m., saying that they did not want to cause a blow to travelers returning from Holy Week activities. They said that they would continue other mobilizations as well as inform the public about their demands. Mexican bus drivers strike over salary, benefit issues Some 800 drivers for ViveBus, the bus system that serves the city of Chihuahua, Mexico, went on strike in the early hours of March 23. The drivers gathered at the citys Collective Transport Coordinator (CTC) installations and prevented the arrival and departure of buses. The drivers struck to demand overtime pay, as well as the fulfillment of other commitments from the CTC, such as payments into the IMSS social security institute and INFONAVIT housing assistance program. The drivers are owed over 7 million pesos, or US$400,000, in overtime for the last nine months. They have also been deprived of the end-of-year bonus and profit sharing. The striking drivers complained that union negotiators, who had been in negotiations for nine months, only had achieved political agreements that did not end up to the benefit of the workers. Airport and seaport workers hold protest strike in Barbados Workers at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) and the Bridgetown Port in Barbados walked off the job March 24. Due to the strike by air traffic controllers at GAIA, flights were canceled or delayed. Cargo operations at the port were slowed. The striking workers took the action to express solidarity with their colleagues at the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) who went on strike the week before to demand the payment of outstanding wage increments that have been due for more than 10 years. The total of the overdue raises is equal to over 33 million Barbadian dollars (US$16.5 million). After seven hours on strike, the workers were called back to their posts as officials from the BWA, the Labor Ministry and the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) held a meeting. Following the meeting, BWU general secretary Toni Moore told reporters, We have reached an agreement which we are sure will satisfy our constituents. Increments will be honored, as the union had requested and as was agreed by the parties previously, and we have made some concession as we indicated too, that would be necessary. The United States Eleven-month lockout of Ohio steelworkers ends with return to work The 11-month lockout of steelworkers at the ANH Refractories plant in Oak Hill, Ohio, ended March 23 when 43 members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2324-5 narrowly approved a new contract agreement. A USW official admitted that, except for an $11,000 signing bonus, the new agreement contained the same concessions ANH demanded when it locked out workers on April 15 of last year. Back in January, the National Labor Relations Board prepared a complaint against ANH saying that it would determine the lockout illegal and that the company would be liable for back pay to workers. The USW has used this as a negotiating chip in an effort to come to an agreement on the companys terms. Both the company and the union cited the glut in the global steel industry and cheaper imports as a factor in demanding concessions. We felt it was the only way to go at this time, said USW representative Mike French. A company statement declared, Throughout the process the company was committed to working with our labor partners to address several factors in the global economy that are challenging our competitiveness. The new collective bargaining agreement moves us in the right direction. San Diego transit workers reject contract, seek to decertify union Workers at San Diego Trolley rejected for the fifth time on March 14 a contract proposal reached between the Metropolitan Transit System and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 465. The latest contract was rejected by a 54 percent margin, while a previous contract was rejected by 65 percent back in December. Workers are currently barred from conducting a walkout by a no-strike clause. On March 11, the State Mediation and Conciliation Services reported that they had received a petition signed by more than 30 percent of the membership and a decertification election has been scheduled for April 11. Canada Saskatoon transit job action ends Despite being without a contract for more than four years, the union representing transit workers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has asked workers to end a job action involving not wearing their job uniforms that had been ongoing for a week. A spokesman for the Amalgamated Transit Union said that the workers had achieved their goal of publicizing their fight, but it was in response to the citys release of a press statement that the action was halted and workers were asked to resume wearing their uniforms. While the union has agreed to the citys wage proposal, they are in disagreement with the proposed changes to pensions that shift liability to workers. No further contract negotiations have been scheduled by either side. One day after civil liberties groups filed suit to fight a controversial bathroom bill in North Carolina that they say discriminates against the LGBT community, state Attorney General Roy Cooper announced that he would not defend its constitutionality. We should not even be here today, but we are. Were here because the governor has signed statewide legislation that puts discrimination into the law, Cooper told reporters in Raleigh Tuesday. According to Cooper, House Bill 2 (HB2) is in direct conflict with nondiscrimination policies at North Carolinas justice department and treasurers office, as well as many of the states businesses. Though the LGBT community is targeted, he said, it could ultimately result in the discrimination of other groups as well. House Bill 2 is unconstitutional, he said. Therefore, our office will not represent the defendants in this lawsuit, nor future lawsuits involving the constitutionality of House Bill 2. Cooper called the new law a national embarrassment that will hurt North Carolinas economy if not repealed. And there are already signs that he might be right. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee banned nonessential publicly funded travel there in a show of opposition to the law on Friday. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray followed suit on Monday. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks at a news conference in his state offices in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday. (Photo: Harry Lynch/The News & Observer via AP) In New York, we believe that all people regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation deserve the same rights and protections under the law, Cuomo said in a statement. From Stonewall to marriage equality, our state has been a beacon of hope and equality for the LGBT community, and we will not stand idly by as misguided legislation replicates the discrimination of the past. Cuomo, a Democrat, said his ban on travel to the Tar Heel State would last as long as there is a law in North Carolina that creates the grounds for discrimination against LGBT people. Story continues In its most literal application, House Bill 2 requires people to use only bathrooms reserved for their biological sex, which the bill defines as the physical condition of being male or female, which is stated on a persons birth certificate. But the reach of this bill, which goes into effect on Friday, will go far beyond bathrooms: It also prohibits local governments from passing new ordinances that would ban discrimination against specific groups. North Carolina lawmakers approved the bill last week in reaction to a February ordinance by the Charlotte City Council. That ordinance would have outlawed discriminating against gay and transgender people and affirmed that transgender people can use restrooms that match their gender identities. Supporters of HB2 argued that the ordinance would have allowed men to enter womens restrooms, showers and locker rooms in public buildings placing women in danger. Opponents of HB2 argued that the lawmakers were playing on fears to legalize discrimination. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo leaves a minimum wage rally in Albany, N.Y., on March 15. (Photo: Mike Groll/AP) Charlotte had chosen to be a fair and welcoming city, to express its values in a local ordinance, Tara Borelli, the senior attorney at Lambda Legal, said in an interview with Yahoo News. And HB2 really runs roughshod over those values by passing this outrageous law. It really tarnishes the reputation of the state. The North Carolina Family Policy Council, a socially conservative nonprofit supporting HB2, argues that the councils radical and hazardous ordinance undercuts the privacy, safety and dignity of women, children and the elderly. This is an appalling and inexcusable effort to supersede common sense laws in North Carolina and replace them with radical policies that are clearly out of touch with the values of the majority of North Carolinians, organization president John L. Rustin said in a statement. It is particularly disturbing that those who oppose HB 2 continue to misrepresent the law in outlandish ways and seek to put the safety of women, children, elderly, and others at risk to accommodate the desires of a few! Ross Murray, GLAADs programs director for the South, said the pro-HB2 arguments are based on outdated and frankly horrific stereotypes about transgender women as sexual predators and distract from the necessity of nondiscrimination ordinances to protect an already vulnerable population. Bills like this always get boiled down to talking about bathrooms, but its really important to understand that we are also talking about nondiscrimination in terms of employment and in terms of housing and being able to let people live their everyday lives, Murray said to Yahoo News. House Bill 2 is just one of many so-called bathroom bills in state legislatures throughout the United States. These include high-profile cases in Texas, Minnesota, Kansas and South Dakota. LGBT rights groups have been fighting these bills, and North Carolinas is no exception. On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal and Equality North Carolina filed a lawsuit hoping to overturn HB2. People protest outside the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh, N.C., on March 24. (Photo: Emery P. Dalesio/AP) The plaintiffs argue that the bill violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the 14th Amendment by discriminating on the basis of sex and sexual orientation and is therefore unconstitutional. They also say the bill violates Title IX because it discriminates based on sex. We were extraordinarily disappointed. There were clear statements on record by the governor and lawmakers, but we really hoped that reason and fairness would prevail. This law, its just a travesty, Lambda Legal attorney Borelli said. North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, both Republicans, released a joint statement Monday in response to the lawsuit that accused the far-left groups behind the lawsuit of using the state as a pawn in their extreme agenda. This lawsuit takes this debate out of the hands of voters and instead attempts to argue with a straight face that there is a previously undiscovered right in the U.S. Constitution for men to use womens bathrooms and locker rooms but we are confident the court will find the General Assembly acted properly in accordance with existing state and federal law, the statement reads. The lawsuit was filed against Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, Attorney General Cooper and the University of North Carolina on behalf of transgender UNC employee Joaquin Carcano, transgender UNC student Payton McGarry and Angela Gilmore, a lesbian North Carolina Central University law professor. A firestorm of outrage erupted on March 23 after McCrory signed the bill into law, accusing Charlottes mayor and city council of breaching basic privacy and etiquette by going far beyond their core responsibilities. The basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room, for each gender was violated by government overreach and intrusion by the mayor and city council of Charlotte, McCrory said in a statement. This radical breach of trust and security under the false argument of equal access not only impacts the citizens of Charlotte but people who come to Charlotte to work, visit or play. Mike Meno, the communications director for the ACLU of North Carolina, said the ugly and distorted rhetoric of lawmakers to pass House Bill 2 is among the most harmful consequences of this controversy. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory speaks at the Wake County Republican Party 2016 County Convention in Raleigh, N.C., on March 8. (Photo: Al Drago/CQ Roll Call) Transgender people face high rates of harassment and sometimes even assault in public accommodations. That is exactly what Charlottes ordinance was trying to protect people from, Meno said to Yahoo News. Sections 3.1 and 3.3 of House Bill 2 specifically protect people from discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, biological sex or handicap. In fact, biological sex is underlined in what was likely intended to distinguish it from gender identity. Opponents of House Bill 2 say that the new law essentially legalizes discrimination against gay and transgender people. Thats something that flies in the face not only of American values but North Carolinas values. And I think the outpouring of opposition from people across our state and across our country points to how out of step this extreme legislation is with our values, Meno said. In fact, on Monday, the LGBT community got other signs that the tide may be slowly turning in its favor. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest condemned HB2 as mean-spirited. And Republican Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced that he intends to veto a religious liberty bill that protects opponents of same-sex marriage, saying, I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia. Related video: Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally earlier this month. (Photo: Kiichiro Sato/AP) Donald Trump appeared to stumble in an interview with a popular Wisconsin radio host who informed the Republican frontrunner that hed vote for anyone other than Trump for president. Before you called into my show, did you know that Im a #NeverTrump guy? Charlie Sykes asked Trump near the end of the heated 17-minute exchange on Monday. No, I didnt know that, Trump replied. Sykes tried to get Trump to apologize to Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs wife, Heidi Cruz, for retweeting an unflattering picture of her alongside one of his wife, Melania Trump, a former model. I expect that from a 12-year-old bully on the playground, not somebody who wants the office held by Abraham Lincoln, Sykes told the brash real estate mogul. The spat between the GOP hopefuls over their wives began when an anti-Trump super-PAC supporting the Cruz campaign aired an ad that included an image of a scantily clad Melania Trump from a 2000 magazine shoot for British GQ. In response, Trump threatened to spill the beans on Heidi Cruz on Twitter, leading to the aforementioned retweet. I didnt even know it was necessarily a very bad picture of her versus Melania, Trump told Sykes, adding that he would not apologize unless Cruz did so first. He started it! Trump protested. Story continues Remember, were not on a playground, Sykes shot back. Were running for president of the United States. The discussion didnt start out quite as testily. At the beginning of the interview, Sykes welcomed Trump to Wisconsin. I know that you realize that here in Wisconsin we value things like civility, decency and actual conservative principles, he said. But by the end, an exasperated Sykes told Trump he had failed to introduce you to Wisconsin and our tradition of civility and decency by getting an apology from you for Heidi Cruz. Two recent polls show Trump trailing Cruz in Wisconsin ahead of the April 5 Republican primary. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who dropped his own bid for the GOP nomination last year, announced his endorsement of Cruz on Sykes show Tuesday morning. If the Trump train derails, Sykes declared prior to the Trump interview, it may start right here. People love to do a little reading inside the bathroom, but this sign outside a restroom is really worth a read. Over the weekend, a Kroger's grocery store customer posted a photo of a sign hanging outside the bathroom stall in an Athens, Georgia, location. The post has garnered over 40,000 shares since Facebook user Tonya Owens posted it on Saturday. "We have a unisex bathroom because sometimes gender specific toilets put others into uncomfortable situations," the sign reads. "And since we have a lot of friends coming to see us, we want to provide a place for our friends who are: Dads with daughters Moms with sons Parents with disabled children Those in the LGBTQ community Adults with aging parents who may be mentally or physically disabled" Reaction to the post has been overwhelmingly positive. "Kudos from a loyal Kroger customer!" one commenter wrote. "I wish all businesses and people would extend this kind of courtesy," another commenter said. As is the case with any comments section, not all commenters were kind. Part of the post's popularity no doubt stems from the passing of a law in North Carolina that banned transgender people from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. In the wake of the bill's passage and signing by Gov. Pat McCrory, many North Carolinians and Americans have spoken out against the legislation. Thankfully, this Georgia Kroger's has not bought into the myths regarding transgender people and public bathrooms. Instead, this business has decided to let people do their business in peace. Image by Rob Pegoraro/Yahoo Tech A buck says you wont buy your next tank of gas or bag of groceries with your phone. Given all the hype about Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay the three major mobile-payment systems that let you pay by touching a smartphone to a credit-card reader, while leaving your wallet in your pocket or purse you might think thats a suckers bet. But all that publicity has yet to translate into large-scale adoption. Slow going The fact is, as of October 2015 (according to the latest quarterly survey conducted by PYMNTS and InfoScout), just 16.6 percent of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users had tried Apple Pay. And of those iPhone users who had tried Apple Pay, only 35 percent said they used it regularly down from 48 percent six months earlier. A second survey by the mobile-research firm Crone Consulting found equally discouraging numbers for Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Among the 5 million Android Pay users, only 1 percent used it for at least two transactions a month; among 5 million Samsung Pay users, just 4 percent used it that often. (As for Apple Pay, Crone estimated 12 million users, of which 6 percent met that two-transaction minimum.) Repeated and consistent use is stalled, IDC payments analyst James Wester said in an email. That means its still a novelty to most consumers something they use once to try it but dont use it as a replacement for cards. With good and bad reasons The biggest virtue of phone payments the security enabled by a smartphone app that doesnt transmit your real credit-card number is invisible in practice to the customer. And when traditional cards get compromised in a data breach, you arent stuck paying fraudulent transactions anyway. (You are stuck with the inconvenience of changing saved card information across the Web an annoyance Im dealing with now, after an online purchase made with one of my cards at a Ukrainian merchant Ive never heard of.) The InfoScount/PYMNTS data suggest many users are confused on that issue: The latest survey found 18.7 percent of Apple Pay holdouts had security concerns about one of the most secure payment technologies available. Story continues More importantly, many retailers have yet to accept phone payments. Infamously, CVS and a few other retail chains disabled the feature in their stores in a doomed attempt to push a competing mobile-payment system called CurrentC. That system relies on scanning QR codes instead of using the Near Field Communication (NFC) short-range wireless technology employed by Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay. Samsung Pay can also emulate a credit cards traditional magnetic stripe, allowing you to hold your phone against a credit-card reader and see the transaction completed wirelessly. Thats a genuinely neat trick. But as my colleague Daniel Howley has noted, Samsung Pay remains a nonstarter at gas pumps and any other card reader that requires inserting a card. Theres also the pesky problem of restaurants. Until U.S. establishments adopt the overseas practice of having a waiter or bartender bring a card reader to you, youd have to hand over your smartphone to the staff to pay using this method. Finally, once introductory promotions such as the $30 gift cards Samsung offers to Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge owners who make a Samsung Pay purchase expire, you rarely save money by paying with your phone. (Note that on Verizons versions of those phones, Samsung Pay isnt pre-installed, so youll have to download it from the Play Store yourself as if mobile payments needed any more speed bumps.) Change will come slowly This is not to say that mobile payments are doomed to remain a curiosity. If you look past the big three NFC-payment apps and include chain-specific payment apps (such as the one from Starbucks), its prospects look brighter. Factoring those in, Crone founder Richard K. Crone said in an email, Mobile payment is growing 10 times faster than mobile banking ever did, accelerated first by retailers, and we are just getting started. Jason Oxman, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association, called for patience like all technology migrations, mobile payments adoption takes time but also pointed to an eMarketer study that predicted a 210 percent increase in the total value of U.S. mobile payments this year. Oxman added that, as stores upgrade their credit-card readers to support the EMV chips in new cards, that new hardware also often includes NFC support. In some cases hello, Whole Foods! retailers have enabled NFC payments while leaving EMV support off. Wester and Crone predict that mobile-wallet apps that reward frequent customers with personalized offers will get more people to pay with their phones. I might as well note here that Im part of the problem. The only times Ive used my phone to pay for things that didnt constitute story research have been in Chicago, where paying with my phone at an El fare gate lets me avoid the 50-cent surcharge on paper tickets. (Washingtons Metro officials have been trying a similar NFC-compatible system, but that project has stalled.) Wester confessed that he, too, is a situationally apathetic about mobile payments. I still use the Starbucks app consistently (thanks to rewards), he said. But otherwise I have to remember to use my phone. Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro. JetSmarter is a brand new private transportation startup that many are calling the Uber of private jets. It is in a sense, but this company's model is even better. What JetSmarter does so brilliantly is combine three different services into one free scheduled JetShuttle flights, last-minute JetDeals, and chartered flights all accessible in a single app. Let's start with the free JetShuttle flights because this is absolutely out of this world. You can fly on a private jet, mostly Gulfstream G4s and Challenger 850s, for free on scheduled flights around the country: New York to Florida, Chicago to Los Angeles, San Francisco to New York, Los Angeles to San Francisco, Dallas to Houston, and more. All of those flights, multiple shuttles per week, are totally free for members. That means you can fly on a Gulfstream G4 from New York to Los Angeles every week for a year and not be charged anything. JetDeals represent another really exciting component of the membership. When charter companies reposition aircraft to pick up charter passengers, that plane flies empty. So, if someone charters a Challenger 300 from White Plains, NY to Nassau, Bahamas and the plane is currently in Miami, it has to fly from Miami to White Plains without any passengers. JetSmarter lets you book that plane for free and bring along companions for free as well. The third part of the service, traditional charter, is attractive for people who already travel privately, as the service offers wholesale charter prices in a great interface that's so easy to use. JetSmarter has a very diverse clientele and members often network during flights. These include executives, celebrities, actors, models, and other A-listers, some of whom allow JetSmarter to notify members about an upcoming flight, offering the ability to fly with them for free. Jaimie Foxx, entrepreneur Daymon John, and actress Emily Ratajkowski are just a few examples of the company's high-profile members. I'm also a member and brand ambassador for JetSmarter, so you might even run into me on a flight. Story continues "Passengers and celebs will get a lot of networking value," Sergey Petrossov, JetSmarter's founder and CEO said in an interview with CNBC. "Friendships and business relationships are created daily between our passengers." The membership includes unlimited free JetShuttle flights and is just $9,000 annually, so it definitely isn't reserved just for the super-wealthy. In fact, it's not even just a luxury: the company says members who fly regularly save money with the expansive membership package it offers. JetSmarter has raised more than $50 million from venture capitalists, the Saudi Royal family, Jay-Z and other investors. The company has also started scheduled-free JetShuttle flights in Europe, flying from London to Paris, Paris to Nice, and other locations. You can download the JetSmarter app on iOS for free here, and can use promo code BGR for $500 in flight credit when you sign up! You can also visit the company's site at jetsmarter.com Related stories Not even M. Night Shyamalan could have dreamt up a plot twist this shocking Everyone hates Instagram's upcoming algorithmic timeline How to downgrade from iOS 9.3 and fix its most annoying bug More from BGR: Todays best paid iPhone apps on sale for free This article was originally published on BGR.com The United Nations said on Tuesday it was seeking to re-settle more than 450,000 Syrian refugees, some one-tenth of those now in neighbouring countries, by the end of 2018, but conceded that it was battling widespread fear and politicisation of the issue. A ministerial-level conference is being held in Geneva on Wednesday with the participation of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "The international context we are in - and nobody is naive about that - we know very well we're dealing with a complex situation, increasing fear in many countries, increasing politicisation of refugee, displacement and asylum issues. This is a difficult thing," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in response to a question. Search Keywords: Short link: The Syrian army's successes and its strong support from Russia will help accelerate a political settlement to the country's civil war, President Bashar al-Assad said, as the two allies maintained an offensive against Islamic State militants. Assad was speaking in an interview with Russia's RIA news agency published on Tuesday, two days after Syrian government forces, with intensive Russian air support, drove Islamic State group from the desert city of Palmyra. That military advance, which opened up much of Syria's eastern desert stretching to the Islamic State group strongholds of Deir al-Zor province and Raqqa, came after two weeks of indirect talks at the United Nations in Geneva. Assad told RIA that the Syrian government delegation "displayed flexibility" at the talks with the opposition "in order not to miss a single chance" for settlement. "Russia's military support, the support provided by Syria's friends and the military achievements of the Syrian army - all this will lead to the speeding up of political settlement, and not vice versa," he said. "We did not change our position before Russia's support or after it," he added. Progress at the talks has been slow, with the government and its opponents deeply divided over any political transition, particularly whether Assad must leave power. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura says he wants the negotiations to address the "mother of all issues", political transition in Syria. But before the talks started, the Syrian government said the issue of the presidency was a red line. Town Encircled After seizing Palmyra on Sunday, Russian and Syrian jets targeted on Tuesday the town of Sukhna, about 60 km (40 miles) northeast, where many retreating Islamic State group fighters had sought refuge, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. State media said the army and its militia allies also captured territory around al-Qaryatain, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Palmyra, including farmland to the south and a mountain area to the west. "The town is almost encircled," the Observatory's director Rami Abdulrahman said. The Observatory said remaining Islamic State group fighters had withdrawn from positions northeast of Palmyra. Russian and Syria jets and helicopters were bombarding Sukhna and carried 29 raids on al-Qaryatain on Tuesday morning alone. If the army takes al-Qaryatain, Sukhna and other pockets of Islamic State control, it will sharply reduce the militant group's ability to project military power into the heavily populated western region of Syria, where Damascus and other main cities are located. Russia and Iran, Assad's two main allies, both pledged to continue support for Damascus after the capture of Palmyra. More than 250,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Ten million people have been displaced, foreign powers have been drawn into the battlefield and Islamic State group has carved out a self-declared caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.c Search Keywords: Short link: A former official in the UN court trying those accused of Balkans war crimes was Tuesday set to be freed after spending five days in the same jail as notorious ex-leaders like Radovan Karadzic. French national Florence Hartmann, who served for six years as the spokeswoman for the court's ex-prosecutor, was to be released later Tuesday and was gathering her things together, lawyer Guenael Mettraux told AFP, adding she was "very happy." It had been a very public fall for Hartmann, who Mettraux said was "completely shocked" when she was dramatically arrested on Thursday on an outstanding warrant issued in 2011 for contempt of court. After evading justice for several years, things came to a head on Thursday when Hartmann was ignominiously detained outside the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in front of a crowd of international journalists and demonstrators. A former journalist and Balkans correspondent for the French daily Le Monde, Hartmann had unexpectedly turned up at the tribunal in The Hague to attend the verdict in Karadzic's long-running trial on charges of genocide and war crimes in the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Hartmann, 53, was grabbed by blue-shirted UN guards in front of the tribunal where she had worked as the spokeswoman for former prosecutor Carla Del Ponte between 2000-2006 as demonstrators tried to shield her. The ICTY said it was just exercising a warrant issued after Hartmann failed to pay a fine imposed by the court for revealing details of two confidential appeals chamber decisions in her book published in 2007. In 2009, Hartmann was initially fined 7,000 euros ($7,800) for contempt for disclosing confidential information in her book "Paix et Chatiment" (Peace and Punishment). Two years later in 2011, after Hartmann had not paid the fine, ICTY judges sentenced her to seven days in jail and asked French authorities to arrest her. The French foreign ministry refused. The data, which emerged during the trial of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, allegedly implicated the Serbian state in the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Mettraux said Hartmann had "been aware of the risk" involved in attending Karadzic's hearing, but she had wanted to lend her support to the victims groups who also travelled from abroad for the keenly-awaited judgement. Over the weekend he filed a series of applications to the ICTY to "modify" the circumstances under which Hartmann was held, describing it as "suicide watch conditions." He had also called for her early release. A court spokesman denied to AFP that Hartmann had been held in isolation, saying she had been segregated from the men, but was the only woman in the court's detention unit in the seaside district of Scheveningen. Hartmann's arrest in front of international TV crews had triggered an outpouring of support, and more than 4,600 people signed a petition denouncing what it called her "violent" arrest. The European Federation of Journalists had also called for her release, with general secretary Ricardo Gutierrez saying it was the role of the ICTY "to pursue war criminals not to intimidate those acting in the interest of civil society." ICTY war crimes judges Thursday sentenced Karadzic to 40 years in jail for his role in Bosnia's 1992-95 war that killed some 100,000 people and left 2.2 million others homeless. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts top auditor Hisham Geneina was sacked on Monday by a presidential decree, hours after State Security Prosecution issued a statement accusing him of making false claims about widespread government corruption. Geneina, who was appointed by El-Sisis predecessor Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, had alleged in statements to local media last year that Egypts coffers had lost LE600 billion (about $76 billion) between 2012 and 2015 due to government corruption. El-Sisi has stressed that fighting corruption is a policy priority. Since taking office, Geneina has on more than one occasion reported widespread corruption in some of Egypts most powerful institutions, including the police, the judiciary and intelligence agencies. State Security prosecution said in its statement on Monday that Geneina had exaggerated the sums lost to corruption by harking back to violations prior to 2012, and that he had abused his position as head auditor in gathering documents to make his case, charges on which it would confront Geneina. The president issued a decree last July in the absence of a parliament, allowing him for the first time to dismiss the heads of regulatory agencies, including the top auditor, the governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, the financial regulator, and the Administrative Control Authority, raising questions about their independence. Late last year, a presidentially appointed fact finding committee accused Geneina of inflating figures and defaming the state. In January, Egypts newly elected parliament formed another committee to investigate Geneinas claims, with several MPs calling for his dismissal. On 20 January, Egypt's top prosecutor issued a media gag order in the investigation. Egypt ranked 88th out of 168 countries in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index in 2015. Search Keywords: Short link: Saudi Arabia's largest food products company, Savola Group, said on Tuesday the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will invest $100 million in one of its indirect subsidiaries in Egypt. The investment in United Sugar Company of Egypt (USCE) will include a fresh injection of $50 million, as well as the conversion of existing debt of $50 million to equity, it said in a statement. The deal would bolster USCE's balance sheet and help it cope with Egypt's economic problems, the statement said. A chronic shortage of foreign currency is hampering Egyptian businesses, leading the central bank to ration dollars through auctions with commercial banks, giving priority to imports of strategic goods. Savola that under its deal the share capital of USCE will be increased and new shares will be issued to the EBRD. Afterwards, Savola's share in USCE will be reduced from 19.32 percent to 10.37 percent. The ownership of United Sugar Company, also an indirect Savola subsidiary, in USCE will be cut from 56.65 percent to 30.42 percent. EBRD's ownership in USCE will be 46.32 percent, the statement said. The EBRD lists developing Egypt's agribusiness sector on its website as one of its aims. It has so far invested in 33 projects, with a cumulative investment of 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion), the website said. Search Keywords: Short link: A story telling festival that takes place in the Upper Egyptian city of Qena was cancelled because officials were busy with other projects, according to the governor Abdel Hamid El-Haggan, the governor of Qena governorate in Upper Egypt, told Ahram Arabic news website on Sunday that the governorate has declined to host Doum's third story telling festival. The reasons that El-Haggan listed are because of the national projects that government officials are busy implementing during the same month, in addition to the restoration project currently being implemented in the national cultural center of Qena. Qena has successfully hosted the festival for consecutive years, when circumstances were fitting, though El-Haggan pointed out that some cultural events are still running in the governorate such as the memorial of poet Mahmoud Maghrabi. Doum Cultural foundation, initiated and headed by prominent novelist Khaled El-Khamisi, announced the cancellation of the annual story telling festival that was supposed to run from 8 until 11 April. The announcement stated that Helmy el Namnam, the culture minister, conveyed to El-Khamisy that governor of Qena, El-Haggan, declined to host third story telling festival. Consequently, Doum issued an apology to the 111 artists that were supposed to take part in the festival. Search Keywords: Short link: In his new solo exhibition 'Hippopotamus amphibius' at Cairo's Mashrabia Gallery for Contemporary Art, Ahmed Askalany looks into societal changes through the polyester 'river horses' It is not common to find a hippopotamus as the protagonist of a multitude of sculptures exhibited by one artist. This is however the case of a solo exhibition in a contemporary art gallery, Mashrabia, where the 'river horse' (literal meaning of the word hippopotamus, coming from the ancient Greek ), becomes the centre of works by Egyptian artist Ahmed Askalany. Titled simply 'Hippopotamus amphibius', the exhibition opened on 13 March and will continue until 28 April. Known for their charming appearance, beloved by children and adults, Askalany portrays the river horses through everyday scenes. At the entry to the gallery we find a series of small hippos welcoming us to what seems to be their natural habitat. Grouped mostly in pairs or three together, we soon realise how Askalany places them in clear social settings as they become symbols and mirrors of the changing technology and its impact on human beings. Small friendly hippos carry cell phones and take selfies. Some animals are depicted within a family, amusing themselves in daily settings. We find a mother surrounded by children or a couple in love. It is a monothematic display yet a variable representation of the animal that also draws parallels with humans. "I like to experiment with the material at hand. The polyester is quite flexible and capable of absorbing the oxidised colour which is close to reality. This is how I begin working on depicting life and its mutations," Askalany comments. The choice of hippopotamus as object of sculptures is not random. Through this large mammal, Askalany resurrects one of the sacred animals and symbols of fertility of ancient Egypt, while infusing the work with humour and irony. The artist keeps playing with contrasts as he moves between the sacred and the modern, the real and the imaginary, juggles with what is likable on the one hand and worrisome on the other hand. Without leaving his contemporary force, through this collection Askalany also approaches Egyptian folklore, and the ancestral history of the city of Qena in Upper Egypt, the homeland of the artist. "Since Aswans High Dam has been erected, the hippopotamuses disappeared from Egypt. In ancient times, they lived on the rich vegetation on the Niles shores. We can find statues of hippos placed near the mummies from the Pharaonic times as they were announcing the rebirth of the dead person. Today, the sacred connotations have disappeared. Equally, the way of living and the values that the society represents, have changed altogether, Askalany explained, adding that through his sculptures he tries to find some parallels between the animal and todays human being. "The hippopotamus plays a similar role to that of a contemporary man. It has his own attitudes, moods, behavioral patterns, it can be indifferent or aggressive. The same emotions strike me on the streets, in the media, everywhere in Egypt. My hippopotamuses have this real dimension. Their rounded, large silhouettes capture the sense of awkwardness, indolence, heaviness, all the qualities that are embedded in real life, Askalany says, explaining the parallel between the hippopotamus and the society which with all its indifference and carelessness, still expects to create change and progress. But this is not the first time for Askalany to touch on societal bad habits with a pinch of irony. Already in 2012, also in Mashrabia art gallery, the artist held another solo exhibition which presented sculptures of large formats, representing men with obese body and very small heads. "Askalany always reiterates that people neither make effort to think nor to act in society. After a four-year break, he returns to these concepts now, with all his creative force. As he denounces the daily reality and without making direct political statements, in his work the undertones of a revolt are still palpable. The collection has a lot of intelligence and aesthetics, everything is well cared for and thought about, from colours to the shapes. At the same time, Askalanys has this supernatural quality- his protagonists forsake their savagery and present characters that are warm, peaceful and above all amusing. It is yet another delicate way to tackle problems of contemporary life, comments Stephania Angarano, Mashrabia gallerys founder and curator. And continuing his explorations of a human kind, Askalany is already working on his upcoming project: a new series of sculptures, this time in black polyester. The artist reveals that the series will present human heads veiled in palm leaves, yet another way for the artist to denounce what is forbidden, addressing the taboos and restrictions on freedom of expression imposed by society. Programme: The exhibition continues until 28 April Mashrabia Gallery for Contemporary Art, 8 Champollion street, Downtown, Cairo 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: 'Thresholds of Homes Tales from Upper Egypt,' directed by Mahmoud Aboudoma, opened the one-week celebrations of the silver jubilee of Egypt's independent theatre movement. The events will continue until 2 April Some stories and mysteries of Upper Egypt are found at the thresholds of houses; they attract and invite you to look and uncover the secrets that are long-hidden behind closed doors. These secrets were now being brought to light through Thresholds of Homes (Atabet El-Beyoot) Tales from Upper Egypt, a theatre play written and directed by Mahmoud Aboudoma and performed by the alternative theatre troupe from Alexandria. The play was staged on 27 March at Hanager Arts Centre, opening the celebrations of World Theatre Day and the silver jubilee of Egypt's independent theatre movement. Following the nostalgic tune by Rageh Daoud, arranged by Ayman Massaoud, five actors Awatef Ibrahim, Khaled Raafat, Mohamed El-Hagrasy, Sara El-Hawary and Abeer Ali Hozein appear on stage. Each of the characters stands behind old doors that resemble the gates of houses in Upper Egypts rural areas. The actors, who shift between narrators and artists entering the skin of the characters, approach the proscenium and take their seats. They remain on stage throughout the performance as they are enveloped with the atmosphere of storytelling, recounting the tales of Upper Egypt, Aboudomas homeland. "Upper Egypt is a treasure of stories and captivating mysteries," explains the playwright and director as we proceed to watch a show, which is based on two stories: 'Dawlat' and 'One Eye Laughing, The Other Eye Weeping,' taken from the collection Thresholds of Homes Tales from Upper Egypt, hence title of the play. The anthology was published recently by Dar Sharqiyat lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi (2015). In both stories chosen for the stage, Aboudoma points to the strict, conservative life dominating Upper Egypt. He looks into the most common traditions and customs, where women are required to refrain from passion and love. It is under the tag of honour and chastity that human emotions are imprisoned and the most spontaneous adventures and passions are swept under the carpet. Beyond the thematic content, Aboudoma also brings the visuals of Upper Egypt to the stage. We find the ancient gates of the houses, the chairs and divans characteristic to the region, the wooden windows and decorative details that recreate the intimacy of the locations presented. At times, the doors become barriers, guarding the actor-narrators in a cell as they perform as people and families from Upper Egypt. At other times, they become channels allowing the stories to be told in great confidence. Benefiting from a window placed upstage, the director places a screen on which scenes from Egypts rural life, the houses and their inhabitants, are projected. The window creates an ability to embark on a real journey to the south of Egypt. In this symbolic quest for freedom, we are taken back and forth to experience the action on the stage and the one on the screen, moving continuously between the past and present. At some point, the audience becomes enchanted with storytelling, always questioning: is it a reality or a myth? However we choose to answer this question, the tales keep carrying the traces of long-gone yesterday. Those coming from the south are embedded in many secrets and captivating mysteries. 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 minister of antiquities went on an inspection tour to the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking Giza Plateau and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation at Fustat Three days after taking the post of Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El-Enany paid a visit today to the two "museums of the century"; the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) overlooking the Giza Plateau and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC). The aim of the visits was to push forward all construction and preparation works that have been put on halt for the lack of budget and find solutions to any problems the projects are facing, as well as removing obstacles standing in the way of the completion of preparations. During his tour at the GEM, El-Enany inspected the different phases of preparation and met with the GEM general supervisor Tarek Tawfik and members of the engineering committee of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces. El-Enany announced that he would very soon provide solutions to all technical problems in order to ensure the museum opens in the scheduled time. "Rationalisation of expenditure without affecting the technical and scientific qualifications of the GEM is the recent motto of the ministry in order to complete the museum which is one of Egypt's mega project and one of the country's weapon to face all recent challenge," El-Enany told Ahram Online. He added that he highly appreciates the important role and professionalism the museum's restorers have displayed in preserving and protecting the artefacts being restored in the museum's restoration laboratories. At the NMEC, El-Enany inspected preparations for the temporary exhibition hall to open within six months. The hall is designated for the display of a collection of artefacts to be exhibited permanently at the museum in order to attract more patrons before its official opening, as well as provide money to aid with museum works. El-Enany also met with cultural responsible at UNESCO Cairo office, Ciara Berdiski in order to put a programme to train curators to develop their technical and scientific skills Search Keywords: Short link: (Kunshan) At Japanese metalworking factories, it's not unusual for potentially explosive metallic dust to be assiduously vacuumed from the air every two hours. But removing metal flecks from the air was far less routine in fact, officials say, negligently infrequent before an explosion ripped through a Zhongrong Metal Products Co. auto wheel-polishing factory in Kunshan, a gritty factory town in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, on August 2, 2014. Management negligence toward what's considered standard housekeeping at a metalworks factory was one reason cited by investigators for the blast that killed at least 146 and injured 114 of the 265 employees on the job that fateful day. That conclusion and others reached by a State Council investigation team laid the groundwork for the recent convictions of three Zhongrong executives and 11 government officials by the Kunshan City People's Court on charges linked to the disaster. The decisions were announced in early February by the provincial government. Investigators uncovered a variety of safety violations at the plant, where unfinished aluminum and alloy steel wheels for new cars were polished for clients including the world's largest aluminum wheel manufacturer, Citic Dicastal Wheel Manufacturing Co. Ltd., a main supplier of major automakers such as General Motors. The plant was leveled in the blast, and Zhongrong was closed by Jiangsu authorities in December 2014. The workshop's 32, 13-meter-long production lines 16 on each of the building's two floors were installed perilously close to one another, according to the State Council report. In addition, the factory was said to be poorly ventilated, and housekeeping regulations designed to keep metalworking shops safe were ignored. Investigators also faulted the 10-year-old workshop's interior designer Jiangsu Huai'an Architecture Design Institute for failing to heed dust-control safety standards. Employees whose shift began at 6:40 a.m. on the day of the disaster reported that the metallic dust in the air was so thick that it was hard to see. Sparks from heat created by chemical reactions of gathered aluminum dust exposed to water ignited the dust, creating a horrendous ball of fire. Heavy Toll A Zhongrong production line worker who witnessed the fireball and survived was Duan Chengming. He was working on the first floor production line when the dust ignited. Duan remembers hearing a blast that made his ears ring and seeing flames that, within seconds, burned the clothes off his back. He fled the factory with other workers, including many whose hair was burning as they ran. Song Chengqiang was working outside the workshop when the explosion occurred. He said he saw a black mushroom cloud rise above the building, which then quickly crumbled into rubble. He also saw screaming workers, including many whose bodies were burning, running from the factory. Unhurt workers tried to help the injured and extinguish the fire using the factory's firefighting equipment. But the equipment proved inadequate against the blaze. According to the State Council report, the blast itself killed 47 people. Other victims died from burn wounds. As of late March, some 19 months since the disaster, more than 70 victims were still being treated in Kunshan-area hospitals. Moreover, some victims officially listed as injured died in the months after the list was released. On the day of the explosion, hospitals and doctors were overwhelmed by a flood of victims, many with bodies so severely burned that relatives could not recognize them. Victims were admitted to more than a dozen hospitals in eight neighboring cities including Suzhou, Changshu and Shanghai. At Shanghai's Ruijin Hospital, Dr. Zhang Qin helped treat victims and later told reporters that "in 27 years as a doctor, I have never seen any injuries as serious as those caused by this blast." He also accurately predicted a high fatality rate. At Shanghai's Changhai Hospital, Dr. Zhu Shihun said most of the victims he treated suffered severe internal injuries caused by the sheer power of the blast. Duan was among 13 victims taken to a Suzhou hospital, where five died. He spent a full month fully bandaged and lying in the intensive care unit. Duan remembers the frightening pain of the weekly wound-cleaning and bandage-changing procedure. "Every Wednesday when we heard the nurses' trolley" rolling down the hall to deliver fresh bandages "we were scared," Duan said. Tough Questions After months in the hospital, Duan was transferred to a rehabilitation center. There, he was reunited with his wife, Li Chengcheng, who also worked at the Zhongrong plant and was not only severely burned but lost a hand in the blast. In the future, doctors say, they'll each need several surgeries. The family of Duan and Li, who have a 9-year-old son, was one of many shattered by the tragedy. According to former Zhongrong workers, many of those hired by Zhongrong had relatives who also worked at the plant. "My wife and I are injured," Duan said. "What can we do about our future?" Many other explosion survivors have asked questions for which answers have been few or nonexistent. Most Zhongrong workers were recruited from farming areas near Kunshan, and since the blast they've struggled to make a living. They were initially attracted to the plant because of the relatively high wages offered due to dusty, high-pressure work conditions. Some questions have been aimed at the Kunshan government, which in December 2015 released a plan for compensating victims and their families that critics called inadequate. Zhongrong's owner Taiwanese businessman Wu Chi-tao operated the workshop through a special Kunshan government investor incentive program since the 1990s. The policies made Kunshan a major destination for Taiwanese investment on the mainland, with as many as some 4,200 Taiwan-funded companies operating in the area. Zou Lingdong, who was honored as a hero for saving lives in the disaster, lost his Zhongrong job and has struggled to find work so he can pay school tuition for his two children. Song Chengqiang survived the disaster and went back to farming, but has also had a hard time making ends meet. A group of surviving Zhongrong workers and their relatives protested the victims' compensation plan during a December rally outside a city government building in Kunshan. Some argued that payouts may not be enough to cover necessary medical treatments. One injured worker said in December that officials told victims that those with lighter injuries would get one-time payouts, while the severely injured would receive 90 percent of their salaries while hospitalized. The worker said he and others wanted officials to clarify the levels of compensation for lighter injuries and how future medical costs will be covered before they will agree to the assessments. Even before the explosion, many long-time plant workers suffered from allergies and other health problems apparently associated with metal dust. In 2012, 46-year-old Song Changxing was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease. The plant's workers, who wore goggles and cotton masks on the job, don't seem to have understood that working in a plant filled with metallic dust can be dangerous. Lu Jian, a researcher at Japan's National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, says metalworking shops must be kept clean since dust containing flecks of aluminum, magnesium and other materials is dangerous. In Japan, he said, some companies vacuum metallic dust from the air every two hours. Chinese government regulations say metalwork plants should be cleaned once every eight-hour shift. Zhongrong blast survivors said the plant was rarely cleaned beyond a little floor-sweeping every day at noon. Sometimes the plant went a week or even one month without a cleaning. Convicted in connection with violations of plant safety were Zhongrong's chairman, Wu Chi-tao; general manager, Lin Bochang; and senior manager, Wu Shengxian, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. They were each removed from office and sentenced to jail terms ranging from three years to seven and half years. Eleven Kunshan city government officials in charge of work safety supervision and environmental protection agencies were found guilty of dereliction of duty and sentenced to prison terms, Xinhua said. In addition, the State Council's investigators said 35 other officials were punished. These included Shi Heping, the vice governor of Jiangsu, who received professional demerits that will make it more difficult from him to advance. Lu Jun was removed as mayor of Kunshan and ousted from the Communist Party. (Rewritten by Han Wei) (Beijing) The country plans to have all public hospitals buy medical liability insurance for doctors by 2020 to fund the settlement of patient disputes, a senior official at the China Insurance Regulatory Commission says. Eighty percent of community-level medical facilities will also be required to have their doctors covered by the insurance scheme by the end of 2020, said the official, who asked not to be named. CIRC is working with the National Health and Family Planning Commission to draft a government regulation on handling medical disputes that will make this type of insurance compulsory. He did not say when the rules will come into effect. The central government began to float the idea of a medical liability insurance scheme more than a decade ago. The two commissions stepped up their push for big hospitals to have the insurance in 2014 because the country is often jolted by attacks on doctors by patients unhappy with the results of surgeries and treatments. In one episode in 2011, a surgeon and five other medical workers were seriously wounded when they were stabbed by the relatives of a patient who died from heart failure at a hospital in Shanghai. The relatives had argued with the hospital over the cause of the patient's death and on compensation. The result of this type of conflict is that cash-strapped hospitals and doctors are often reluctant to take on risky surgeries because they are worried about potential liabilities. People in the country even have a term "yi hao" for the violence and harassment that doctors and hospital workers suffer at the hands of angry patients or their relatives. Top decision-makers hope the medical liability insurance will help address the issue because in theory hospitals would be able to settle patient disputes with insurers. The national health commission said that all major hospitals in big cities had joined the insurance program by the end of 2015. CIRC data show that China's hospitals paid 2.36 billion yuan for policies last year and insurers paid 1.4 billion yuan to cover settlements. However, an executive in charge of medical liability coverage at China Life Insurance said his company is still running a loss because hospitals and doctors have not showed much interest in joining. He said that the company lost 104 million yuan on this type of insurance from 2005 to September 2013. Cao Jian, a researcher at Tsinghua University's Research Center for Health Care Management, said hospitals and medical workers do not have much faith in policies because insurers lack the medical expertise to settle disputes over medical procedures. A lack of independent arbitration agencies in the country also makes the policies unattractive, he said. A surgeon in Beijing said the insurance program has limited ability to address the distrust that arises between hospitals and patients because insurers only cover a few types of problems and settlements take a long time. (Rewritten by Li Rongde) (New York and Beijing) The chairman of Anbang Insurance Group says it has more than enough capital to fund its overseas investment, comments that come shortly after the insurer raised its bid for a U.S. hotel giant, a move Chinese regulatory officials oppose. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., which owns the Sheraton and Westin brands, had said it had accepted a sweetened offer from Marriott International Inc. for US$ 13.6 billion in cash and stock. Then it said on March 28 the Anbang-led consortium raised its bid again, to nearly US$ 14 billion, all in cash. Starwood said the new offer is "reasonably likely" to trump Marriott's, even though backing out of its preliminary agreement with the latter would cost it US$ 400 million in penalties. Anbang's investment, which needs to be approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, would be the largest acquisition by a Chinese firm in the United States. However, the regulator indicated it opposed the deal on the grounds it would break rules prohibiting insurers from investing more than 15 percent of their assets abroad. Anbang has spent about US$ 4.9 billion, or 30.7 billion yuan, on overseas acquisitions since 2014, public records show. Two recent proposals including the one involving Starwood and another transaction that has not been completed would cost the firm another US$ 21.3 billion, or 138.2 billion yuan. Anbang's chairman, Wu Xiaohui, said he is confident his company is not biting off more than it can chew. "Anbang has assets that far exceed 1 trillion yuan, enough to carry out foreign investment," he said. He did not describe the assets or explain how Anbang would come up with the cash to acquire Starwood. Anbang says on its website its assets, which include several insurance subsidiaries and stock in a number of financial institutions, totaled more than 1.9 trillion yuan. It did not say how much of those assets are "insurance assets," based on which the regulator said it would calculate how much Anbang could invest abroad. (Rewritten by Wang Yuqian) (Beijing) The operations of two Chinese banks in London will come under more scrutiny from British regulators, people close to executives at the financial institutions say. The Financial Conduct Authority, Britain's financial watchdog, plans to step up checks of risks related to financial crime, especially breaches of money-laundering rules, at the London branches of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Construction Bank (CCB), the sources said. The watchdog said there are several problems with the process the banks use to guard against financial wrongdoing, the sources said. For example, the banks are not performing thorough checks on clients' business, purpose of transactions and sources of funding, the source said. When dealing with "politically exposed persons" officials and their relatives and associates the banks are not fulfilling their duties when checking identities and ties to people receiving money. Neither bank responded to Caixin's requests for comment on the issue. An employee of the People's Bank of China's anti-money laundering department said he is not surprised that a foreign government is planning to check banks' overseas offices. "If big clients require financial services, these banks will definitely come up with ways to satisfy them, which may break local rules," he said. An executive working in the overseas branch of a Chinese bank said the institutions are starting to learn that expanding abroad not only means setting up shop in foreign countries, but also complying with local regulations. "However, it takes time to internalize (these rules)," he said. Police in Spain raided ICBC's Madrid office in February as part of an investigation into money laundering and tax fraud. The police said a Chinese criminal group used the bank to transfer 40 million euros back to China. Three executives of the bank were sent to jail and three others were released on bail of 100,000 euros each pending trial, a local court said. The ICBC's branch in London opened in December 2014, making it the first Chinese bank to operate in Britain since the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949. CCB's branch in the city opened in February last year. (Rewritten by Chen Na) The Songdo international business district in the port city of Incheon has been chosen as the headquarters of the secretariat of the UN Green Climate Fund. Songdo beat Bonn, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland in a secret vote by the GCF board on Saturday. The GCF is a UN agency that collects donations from advanced nations and uses the money to help developing countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. In 2020, the GCF aims to collect more than US$100 billion a year. The GCF is the first major international organization to be headquartered in Korea. It is expected to play a bigger role as climate change and energy issues will become the overriding issues on the international stage in the 21st century, as the eradication of poverty was in the 20th. The GCF secretariat will be launched next year with several hundred employees, but is highly likely to develop into a super global aid organization replacing the World Bank (12,000 staff) and Asian Development Bank (3,000). Unlike hosting a one-time international event like the Olympics, being chosen as the host city of the headquarters of a major global organization leads to the relocation of a huge number of people to the host city and a constant influx of foreign visitors. This creates jobs and boosts the chances of more Koreans entering global organizations. Songdo has been designated as a free economic zone, but there has been a mere trickle of foreign investment. This has resulted in vast tracts of gleaming office towers and residential buildings lined up along empty streets in the sparkling new city overlooking the West Sea. The city has tried to attract the research and development centers of foreign multinationals, foreign universities and research institutes, but it has so far failed to appeal to foreign investors because it lags behind Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of urban infrastructure such as hospitals and schools and tax incentives for foreign businesses. Now that the GCF is moving in, the central and city governments must radically cut red tape so that hospitals, international schools and hotel can be built in Songdo to cater to foreign residents. Transportation, shopping and other facilities must also be improved to create a living environment as good as global cities like Geneva, New York, and Paris. Other international organizations may well open an office or move their headquarters here when they see how well the GCF fares here. The move of the GCF secretariat will be a litmus test for whether Korea can become a new regional hub for international agencies. A North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea last month was 180 cm tall but weighed only 46 kg, compared to the normal healthy weight of 71 kg. He told South Korean authorities that he was fed on rice in the military but it was only accompanied by pickled radishes. If this is the level of nutrition of frontline soldiers, who are the first to get rations, other people in the impoverished country must be in even worse shape. Millions of North Koreans starved to death during the massive famine that swept the nation in the 1990s. North Koreans in their late teens to early 20s nowadays were babies back then. After suffering severe malnutrition during a key growth stage, there is no way they can measure up physically to their peers in other countries. A study of the physical condition of North Korean defectors aged 19 to 29 shows that they are on average 8.8 cm shorter than their South Korean peers and 14.3 kg lighter. The World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization have said North Korea requires 210,000 tons of food aid next year. The food situation has not worsened drastically from last year's 410,000 ton shortfall, but many deaths from starvation are reported in Hwanghae Province, and even soldiers are suffering from malnutrition. This is because the regime has diverted food to Pyongyang and the ruling elite, who are considered to be to prop up young North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns still-shaky regime. Yet amid this abject misery, North Korea spent US$850 million just to fire a long-range missile in April of this year, enough money to buy 2.5 million tons of corn from China which could have fed 19 million North Koreans for a year. It recently spent another $330 million to build giant statues of nation founder Kim Il-sung and his son, former leader Kim Jong-il, as well as an amusement park modeled after a Swiss theme park. These tales of starvation in North Korea proves Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's argument that famine often occurs not from a lack of food but from abusive mechanisms of state control in distributing food. China appears to have ruled out economic cooperation with North Korea in its recently unveiled five-year business plan. According to Yonhap analysis of documents from China's National People's Congress over the weekend, one of China's major business plans this year is to collaborate with Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia and South Korea in creating an economic platform. There was no mention of North Korea. The news agency pointed to a decision by Chinese border cities to halt cooperation with North Korea after the North's latest nuclear test in January. China is complying with fresh UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea by banning remittances to the North and barring North Korean vessels from its ports. A lone gunman was taken into custody Monday afternoon after shots were fired at the U.S. Capitol, causing the complex to be put on temporary lockdown. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said a man pulled out a gun during a routine security screening at the entrance to the Capitol Visitor Center and aimed the weapon at police. Verderosa said officers fired at the man, wounding him. The suspect was taken to a hospital and was undergoing surgery. The chief said a female bystander suffered what appeared to be minor injuries and was transported a hospital. Congress was in recess Monday for the Easter holiday, but many tourists were taking tours of the Capitol when the shooting took place. Verderosa said no police officers were hurt in the incident. "We believe this is the act of a single person," Verderosa said. He said the suspect has visited the Capitol before, and added that there is no reason to believe the incident was anything more than a criminal act. Police did not release the suspect's name. While the incident was taking place, people inside the Capitol were told to shelter in place. Police also cordoned off access to the complex. The lockdown order was later lifted. The United States is providing an additional $20 million to Europe to aid international efforts to respond to the migrant crisis. The State Department issued a statement Monday, saying the money will support the UN and the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies in providing protection, shelter and other types of assistance throughout Europe. The new funding announcement will bring the United States' total humanitarian aid contributions for the migrant crisis to almost $44 million since it started last year. Around $17.5 million will be used to help implement the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Europe. Specifically, the money will be used to create arrangements and manage newly arrived migrants, enhance counseling, and increase communication between governments and migrants on how to migrate legally. The rest, about $2.5 million, will be used for Greece's recent emergency appeal and for migrant women and girls in southeastern Europe. It will be used to provide authorities in Greece with rape kits and help to prevent and respond to gender-based violence throughout the region. The announcement comes just a week after the European Union and Turkey reached what leaders on both sides called a "landmark agreement" to deal with migrants who have illegally entered Greece through Syria and elsewhere. The deal, which took effect March 28, will see all migrants who entered Greece illegally sent to Turkey after they are registered and their claims for asylum in Europe are considered. For its part, the EU will resettle thousands of migrants who fled Turkey and legally sought refuge across its 28 member states. Turkey, which already shelters around 3 million Syrian refugees, will receive close to $6.7 billion to help deal with the crisis if it can meet a number of preconditions outlined in the deal. North Korea has tightened controls and is conducting a nationwide food-saving campaign as international sanctions begin to bite. "The road to the revolution is long and arduous. We may have to go on an arduous march during which we have to chew the roots of plants once again," an editorial in the official Rodong Sinmun warned Monday. The "arduous march" was a slogan the regime put out to prettify a famine that killed millions after the death of regime founder Kim Il-sung in 1994. The regime has recently collected 1 kg of grain from every Pyongyang citizen every month, a source said. "There's a nationwide food saving campaign underway amid warnings of another food shortage over the next three years in the wake of international sanctions," the source said. "People are getting anxious because the regime is forcing farmers to give extra food donations to the military." The North needs 440,000 tons of food from abroad this year but had secured a mere 17,600 tons by early February, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization. An internal memo from the North Korean Workers Party calls on all party members to "frustrate the maneuvers of China, which has turned its back on socialism, to put pressure on us," the Sankei Shimbun reported on Monday. The document was drawn up by party headquarters after China voted in favor of UN Security Council sanctions against the North on March 2, according to the Japanese daily. Copies were sent to provincial party committees on March 10 with instructions to inform senior officials there. "China sincerely approved of the sanctions against the North under the pretext of a UN resolution, for fear that its hegemonic status should be undermined," the memo says. It quotes former leader Kim Jong-il's purported dying instructions as saying North Koreans "should have no illusions about China." A strain of bird flu has been detected at a duck farm in Icheon south of Seoul, the first outbreak here in around two years. Exporters worry that the discovery will impact poultry shipments. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on Monday some exports of chicken, duck and eggs to Hong Kong have been halted just a month after Korea was finally declared bird-flu free. The export freeze involves only poultry from Gyeonggi Province but could be extended should the virus spread to other regions. Korea's poultry exports to Hong Kong peaked at US$11 million in 2013, but shipments were halted in May 2014 when bird flu was detected here. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has also criticized other ministers and the State Government. We've seen some interesting listings on AirBnB in the past but this one tops the lot. The accommodation website is hosting a competition for guest to spend a night in their most unique listing yet, a shark tank. (Photo by AirBnB) The listing is located in the Aquarium de Paris where guests would stay in a 'room' located in a tank that is ten metres deep and submerged in 3 million liters of water. All that separates you from the other residents of the aquarium is a 360 degree transparent wall. Part of the competition involves a private tour of the aquarium with world record-breaking freediver, underwater photographer, and shark enthusiast, Fred Buyle. After your tour you'll be treated to a private and unique dining experience in the tank before bed time. (Photo by AirBnB) If you're brave enough, you can enter the competition here. There has been a seismic shift in the Late Night game over the past year or so, as a couple of legendary broadcasters have moved aside for the new breed of host. How the shows are consumed has also changed considerably since the late night wars of the '90s between David Letterman and Jay Leno; videos that go viral that get the most YouTube views are now seen as a huge part of a show's success, along with ratings. Since the new guys have now settled in, we decided to examine the best of the best and take a look at the status quo of popular variety television. 5 - Stephen Colbert He may be losing out in the ratings to the broader appeal of Jimmy Fallon, but Colbert took over from an icon in David Letterman and has very much put his own stamp on The Late Show. Gone is the classic 'big star, smaller star followed by musical guest' set-up that has been a mainstay of talk shows; instead, Colbert mixes it up and includes business men and women, politicians and celebrities. This is by no means a bad thing; his interviewing style is well researched and engaging and he's extremely sharp - rarely throwing soft balls. Colbert was handpicked by Letterman as his replacement, and has delivered strongly so far. 4 - Jimmy Kimmel Unsurprisingly, Kimmel is more like his hero David Letterman than any other host. He is a pisstake artist and the proprietor for the best bit in late night, Mean Tweets - but is also a born prankster who embraces the laddish element of his personality for his show. Crucially, however, he balances it with a genuine sensitivity that makes him appealing to everyone. He never seems uncomfortable in an interview situation (in stark contrast to someone like Fallon), and he takes the most obvious leaf from Letterman's book by not being afraid to make fun of anyone to their face - be it Barack Obama or Justin Bieber. The ABC host has steadily risen in the ratings since his debut and could very well find himself the most popular guy in the time slot soon. 3 - Seth Meyers The most surprising name on the list, perhaps, but Seth Meyers is a cerebral comedian who hasn't tried to follow the flock and bang out forced viral content for the sake of it. The former Saturday Night Live head writer seems extremely content in the post-Tonight Show slot, where he's emerged as an heir to the throne of the great Jon Stewart. Meyers isn't afraid to offer an opinion on current affairs, politics or politicians - he called out Donald Trump from early on, for instance. Above all else, he's an extremely funny man and has superb comic timing; he can also bang out a smash sketch when he wants to (check out the Boston Accent Trailer). The thinking person's host, who is always watchable no matter the guest line-up. 2 - Graham Norton It's incredible how much of a cultural broadcasting mainstay Norton's Friday night show has become here and in the UK. Granted, unlike the US he has one show a week to fill - but he does so with such aplomb, grace and hilarity that it's easy to see why he's a weekly television highlight for so many people. Again, like the best hosts, Norton is perpetually at ease - nothing seems to rattle him. When your guests are comfortable, they're more likely to have fun and so too are the audience. It's unsurprising that James Corden took a similar multiple guest format to the US, but he pales in comparison to the Cork native. He's incredible at segueing between huge name guests and making it feel more like a group chat than a straight up interview. 1 - Conan O'Brien Conan has a comedic brain like very few people who make a living out of being funny. It's worth bearing in mind that there was no one like him in late night when he took over from Letterman, after he moved to CBS. The groundswell of support towards him after the Leno/NBC debacle a few years back was testament to how much of a connection the Harvard graduate has with his fanbase. He is constantly innovative, self-effacing, uses his staff on the show superbly and is far edgier than any of his counterparts. While TBS has a smaller audience than the likes of NBC, what the move has done is allow Conan to flex his comedic muscle a lot more. Filming remotes from Cuba, beginning shows with superb SNL-style 'cold opens' and constantly delivering the best monologues the format has, he is the most entertaining and funniest man on late night television. Shoutout to Trevor Noah who is getting better and better, having filled Jon Stewart's staggeringly big shoes, and to the genuinely incredible John Oliver, whose Last Week Tonight is more of a topical commentary than a talk show. "Eh, yeah, Penneys, 1916 Rising collection..." If went anywhere near a television over the weekend you would have bore witness to RTE's excessive 1916 centenary commemoration programming, so it was only natural that Republic of Telly would acknowledge it on some way. A totalitarian Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh on the rampage in RTE hunting for employees who aren't Irish enough or showing enough national pride? That's cutting quite close to the bone, but in a very tasty way. Come for the one-liners as Gaeilge, stay for the training montage. Well done lads and ladies. Yves Bertoncini and Antonio Vitorino (Notre Europe Jacques Delors Institute) The Schengen area is facing, due to the current migration flows, the biggest crisis in its twenty-year history. This, what is sometimes referred to as a European crisis, is caused by two main problems: a massive influx of asylum seekers and the threat of terrorism. In various EU states, political elites and citizens look at refugees either as victims or threats. As a result of the terrorist attacks in Paris, voices calling for the reintroduction of controls at the borders of EU Member States are being heard ever more often, while those calling for the preservation of the freedom of movement are openly opposing them. Moreover, politicians are using the criticism of Schengen to cover their own mistakes, the failures of the national police and intelligence services. As a result, there is a crisis of solidarity and, above all, of trust between Member States. While Greece and Italy did not feel to be sufficiently supported at the beginning of the massive influx of refugees, the Central European countries were forced to adopt redistribution quotas. In Greece and Italy, registration centers (so-called hotspots) were created, whose role is to overcome the loss of solidarity and confidence. The cooperation throughout the EU was strengthened following the Paris attacks. And since the threat of terror is still looming large, Member States have naturally become more united and in need of ensuring a better security. Functioning hotspots should be seen as a tool for shared sovereignty of the Member States. The sovereignty must then be deepened also on the basis of security and intelligence services because not only citizens can move freely but so can also jihadists. One of the forms of such a shared sovereignty in practice is also the planned European Border and Coastal Guard. The migration crisis is exerting pressure on the external borders of the Schengen area and it is therefore important not only to strengthen its external borders but also act as a strong player vis-a-vis the neighboring countries. The stability of the Schengen can be ensured only if all these principles are effectively in place. It is too early to predict the end of the Schengen, just like it turned out to be premature to announce Grexit or the collapse of the euro. The crisis of solidarity and confidence between the countries, on the contrary, demonstrated that nobody wants to allow the disintegration of the Schengen, which would in the end negatively affect the everyday lives of citizens and the effectiveness of the fight against terrorism. In light of these difficulties, we can assume that the Union will eventually emerge from this problematic development as has always been the case strengthened and reinvigorated. (The study can be downloaded here: http://www.delorsinstitute.eu/011-22435-Schengen-s-stress-test-political-issues-and-perspectives.html) Nuclear security always a priority for Beijing Updated: 2016-03-29 07:42 By Li Baodong(China Daily) The Fuqing nuclear power plant is under construction.[Photo/China Daily] Many state leaders will gather at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington to discuss international nuclear security issues. President Xi Jinping put forward China's outlook on nuclear security for the first time at The Hague Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands in 2014, which has become an important concept guiding the country's efforts to strengthen nuclear security. That Xi will also attend this year's summit in Washington demonstrates China's willingness to implement the new outlook on nuclear security and its sense of responsibility when it comes to global nuclear security. The spread of terrorism has aggravated the risks of international nuclear terrorism. So the international community has to strengthen coordination and global governance in the nuclear field. A key factor in this regard is strengthening state nuclear security, and the fulfillment of countries' responsibilities and international obligations. States should have laws and supervisory mechanisms to ensure effective protection of nuclear materials and facilities, and provide all-weather institutional, technical and personnel guarantee to enhance nuclear security. To prevent nuclear terrorism, countries must abide by the principles of the United Nations Charter, support and strengthen the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable nuclear security outlook, strive to establish a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, adhere to global governance in the nuclear field, and eliminate nuclear terrorism. Beijing not only supports the maintenance of global nuclear security; it has also taken and will take necessary actions for the purpose. It has always sought security for development and promoted development through security. Nuclear security is vital for China to prevent nuclear nonproliferation, and to beef up nuclear security in the process of development. Chinese leaders have taken part in every Nuclear Security Summit and China's voice, outlook and plans have been projected to the world through the summits and welcomed by the international community. China has also implemented the decisions of these summits, fulfilled its promises, and introduced foreign capital, technology and equipment to facilitate national security and development. China welcomes all constructive global cooperation, and is committed to providing nuclear public security products. It has approved all international legal instruments concerning nuclear security, supports the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN, and is fulfilling its international obligations. The nuclear security center co-founded by China and the US, which started work on March 18 in Beijing, will help improve the nuclear security level in not only the Asia-Pacific region, but also the rest of the world. And China hopes the countries participating in the Nuclear Security Summit will reach a new consensus on nuclear security and make efforts to build a fairer, more cooperative and universally beneficial nuclear security system, so as to promote the healthy development of nuclear energy in the world and make further contributions to international nuclear governance field. The author is vice-foreign minister of China. Having trouble viewing? View this mailing online. SUBSCRIBE TO THE FLAME HOTLINE DONATE TO FLAME FORWARD TO A FRIEND March 29, 2016 Clinton, Kasich, Trump and Cruz Deliver Positions on Israel to AIPAC DelegatesReveal Their Political Savvy Dear Friend of FLAME: It was certainly educational to hear four Presidential candidates all give a full speech on the same basic subjectIsraelon the same day. I was among the 18,000+ delegates at the AIPAC policy conference last week, and it was a great way to compare at least four of them head to head. (Bernie Sanders, the first ever Jewish candidate for President, couldn't fit in an appearance, which itself is telling of how he ranks Israel as an issue or AIPAC members as a constituency.) I want to give you my impressions of the candidates' presentations, because they were revealing and fascinating. First, let me remind you that FLAME is strictly a non-partisan educational foundation . We do not endorse candidates, and our small staff is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. We also realize that while your choice of a Presidential candidate may be influenced by his or her position on Israel, this may not be your sole criterion . Nonetheless, we do care very much what the candidates say about Israel, regardless of party affiliation, so here's my take. First came Clinton, on Monday morning. She was welcomed warmlyno surprise since most Jews are Democrats, many AIPAC members voted for her against Obama and most of us remember Bill Clinton's groundbreaking support of Israel. On top of that, her speech was definitely "pro-Israel" and markedly more outspoken than President Obama . For starters, Hillary talked about Islamic terrorism and categorically opposed any UN pressure on Israel and the Palestinians. Clinton is also undeniably a very practiced and articulate politician/diplomat. She definitely came across as "presidential," and there's nothing dumb about her . Like most of the candidates, she got a good share of standing ovations (we're suckers for bold statements of support of the Jewish people and Eretz Yisrael and opposition to anti-Semitism), and she was heartily cheered when she finished up. I sensed a lot of support and votes in that room. Later that evening, the Republicans took the stage at Washington's Verizon Center. In short, every one of them spoke more enthusiastically and unqualifiedly in their support of Israel than Clinton. Kasich led off and was, too, very warmly and enthusiastically received. He was both controlled and articulate in his positions and even quite emotional about his admiration of Jews and Israel , which also played well with this crowd. I could also imagine him as the President. He had almost as many standing ovations (SOs) as Hillary and I must say, probably got as hearty a closing applause as she did. He showed surprisingly well for the third-place runner. Then came Trump, and this was revealing. At the AIPAC event over the previous two days we'd heard some of the smartest politicians in the country . New Jersey (D) Senator Robert Menendez is always inspiring on Israel, but also Wisconsin (R) Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Maryland (D) Representative Steni Hoyer, California (R) Representative Kevin McCarthy and Vice President Joe Biden all proved their mettlevery experienced, thoughtful, nuanced and articulate people. By contrast, quite frankly, Donald came across as a blowhardan amateur. Even though he was reading from a script, his egotistical style swamped most of the content he delivered. What he said was the opposite of thoughtful and nuanced. By comparison to the other politicians we heard, Trump seemed coarse and imprecise . He talked about Israel and Palestine, which is politically incorrect for Israel supporters, since there is no state of Palestine. However, Trump clearly reversed his earlier insistence that he would be "neutral" on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, delivering harsh criticism for President Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian terrorists and his assertion that he'd hold the Palestinians' feet to the fire in any negotiations. Most notably, Trump also called for immediately moving the US embassy to Jerusalemthe first time I'd heard a politician at the conference articulate this. Overall, however, Trump just didn't seem credible in the company of so many other very accomplished politicians. He had a good number of SOs, but fewer than any of the others, and while he got strong closing applause, it was the weakest of the four candidates . Finally, Ted Cruz closed the evening. He came across as very credible, very articulate (no surprise) and arguably the most stridently supportive of Israel among the four. Cruz alone swore he would "tear up" the Iran Deal on his first day in office and then immediately move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. The arena crowd loved these commitments. In terms of overall audience approval, I estimate that Cruz was not quite as heartily received as Kasich, but definitely more enthusiastically supported than Trump. As I left the policy conference, a question weighed heavily on my mind. After eight years of President Obama's disappointing misadventures in foreign policy, particularly as regards Israel, is it time to make Israel's safety my highest priority in next year's election? I have not yet resolved this question. While I was in Washington, of course, Brussels was attacked by Islamic terrorists inspired by ISIS. That's why I want to share this week's FLAME Hotline featured article with you. It provides a valuable perspective on how the current administrationand the worldis failing to address the problem of global Islamic terrorism in general and ISIS in particular. This piece is by Andrew C. McCarthy, a senior policy fellow at the National Review Institute and an advisor to Ted Cruz. While the article includes a small plug for Cruz, please know that we reprint it despite this partisan nod and because we believe McCarthy's position has value far beyond the Presidential race. It will help you articulate to others how the U.S. must more forcefully respond to the scourge of Islamic terror. In addition, I hope you'll also review the P.S. immediately below, which describes FLAME's hasbarah campaign to clarify our concerns about unbridled immigration of Middle East and North African Muslims to the United States. Best regards, Jim Sinkinson Executive Vice President, Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME) P.S. The world was again shattered as Muslim terrorists attacked Brussels. One of the attackers is believed to have sneaked into Belgium with other Middle East immigrants after having been trained and indoctrinated by ISIS in Syria. It's because significant numbers of Muslims have beliefs that contradict American values that FLAME is now publishing a new position paper in media nationwidewhich explores these values and their danger to our society. I urge you to preview this outspoken hasbarah message today: "The Muslim Immigrant Question." This hard-hitting paid editorial appears in magazines and newspapers, including college newspapers, with a combined readership of some 10 million people. In addition, it has been sent to every member of the U.S. Congress and President Obama. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability to influence public opinion comes from individuals like you, one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're ablewith $500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) Now more than ever we need your support to ensure that the war on global Islamic terror gets the support it needsfrom the U.S. Congress, from President Obama, and from the American people. To donate online, just go to donate now. As of today, more than 15,000 Israel supporters receive the FLAME Hotline at no charge every week. If you're not yet a subscriber, won't you join us in receiving these timely updates, so you can more effectively tell the truth about Israel ? Just go to free subscription. Brussels and Willful Blindness by Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, March 22, 2016 Defense Secretary Ash Carter happened to be scheduled to testify before Congress today. Thus, he provided the government's first reaction to the jihadist atrocity in Brussels, in which 31 are dead (the toll is expected to rise) and scores of others have been wounded. Secretary Carter called the attacks a "tragedy." The mass murder obviously has tragic effects for those killed and wounded, and for their families, but this is not a tragedy. It is a war crime targeting a civilian population in the course of an ongoing war, whichnotwithstanding the reckless posturing by the commander-in-chiefis not close to "winding down," much less being over. It was simply shocking this morning to watch split screens. On one, we saw President Obama spend fleeting seconds on a peremptory acknowledgement of the attacks before moving on to his long, celebratory speech about how he has put the Cold War to rest in Cuba by working with "President Castro." On the other screen, Belgians chaotically fled fire and debris while emergency personnel rushed the wounded to ambulances and carried out the dead. Our enemies are at war with us. They continue to execute acts of war, not tragedies, against us. We cannot "end" the war by withdrawing from it; we can only lose that way. We cannot prevail, or even adequately protect ourselves, without seeing the enemy plain: radical IslamIslamic supremacists determined to impose sharia on the world, with jihadists as the pointy end of the spear, and ideological sympathizers as their support system. Because the latest round of war crimes occurs in the context of our momentous decision about who will be the next commander-in-chief, it is worth observing that Ted Cruz, whom I support (and on whose advisory team I serve), has stressed a recognition that the enemy is radical Islam. [ Editor: Most other Presidential candidates have also now identified the enemy using some form of the word "Islam."] This is not just campaign rhetoric. We know, nearly a quarter century after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, that jihadist cells arise and thrive in ideological enclaves; that is where the radicalization, recruitment, fundraising, plotting, and injection and protection of jihadist immigrants occurs. We cannot deny reality by rationalizing that if we admit the truth we will be misunderstood as being "at war with Islam"as in all Muslims. What we like to think of as "radical Islam" is actually a legitimate and rabidly anti-Western interpretation of Islam that is followed by millions of Muslims. It is irrelevant to non-Muslims in the West whether theirs is a correct or incorrect construction of Muslim scripture. The remorseless fact remains that its adherents believe itwith a fervor that inspires the kinds of attacks we've seen today and have seen over and over again. Those adherents include Muslims who lack the commitment to carry out attacks themselves but nevertheless provide moral (and other) support to those who do, and who populate the Western immigrant enclaves in which the ideology thrives. It's a welcome fact that there are other ways of interpreting Islam that do not endorse war and hostility against the West; those who offer these interpretations are our allies, and we should be encouraging them rather than turning to enemies such as the Muslim Brotherhood to help us conduct "community outreach." Still, the fact that there are pro-Western Muslims and authentically tolerant interpretations of Islam does notand cannot be allowed toobscure the fact that Islamic supremacism is a mainstream construction of Islam. It is not "false" Islam, or "anti-Islam." It is Islam that competes, violently, with other constructions of Islam. It is not our job to broker the claims these competitors make regarding what is the "true Islam." It is our job to protect ourselves and our allies, and to crush the jihadist armies and cells that are prosecuting the war against us. If we do not acknowledge what the threat is and where it is coming from, we will continue to embrace the policies that empower the enemy. In a time of war, we cannot indulge a policy of mass immigration from countries where sharia supremacism is a significant presence. With respect to Muslim immigrant communities that are already here, we must have sensible surveillance policies that identify and focus police attention on mosques and community centers that endorse anti-Western Islamic supremacism. That is not a dragnet against all Muslims; it is the arena where pro-American Muslims can step up and help us. No law-enforcement or intelligence agency wants to waste its time and resources investigating innocent people. But we have to be clear that Muslims who endorse Islamic supremacism, who want our Constitution supplanted by sharia, are on the wrong side of this war, regardless of whether they cross the line into violence. Finally, we cannot tolerate jihadist safe havens anyplace on earth. The administration recently conceded that it has no strategy to deny the Islamic Statewhich has claimed responsibility for today's attacktheir sanctuary in Raqqa (to say nothing of their other strongholds). Let's be clear: If ISIS is orchestrating attacks on the West from Syria and Iraq, that is an American national-security challenge, not just a civil war in a faraway place. American national-security problems cannot responsibly be delegated to other forces who will carry out our defense and war-fighting responsibilities for us. This is our problem. There has not yet been a serious bombing campaign against ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq, and it is fair enough to say that the number of troops we may have to commit hinges on how committed we are to an intense air campaign. We should not delude ourselves, however: The jihadists are planning to attack the United States as well as Europe, and it is going to take American military commitment to destroy themnot to carry out an experiment in democracy-building, but to eradicate the threat to our nation and our allies. HOME SUBSCRIBE DONATE PR FOR ISRAEL HOTLINE ARCHIVE ABOUT CONTACT US THIS MONTH'S AD APPEARED IN PUBLICATIONS REACHING 10 MILLION READERS IF YOU SUPPORT PUBLISHING FLAME'S BOLD PR MESSAGES, PLEASE HELP US!! FLAME is the only organization that defends Israel with paid editorial hasbarah messages placed in media nationwide every month: The dire threats from Iran, Hamas and Hizbollah, the injustice of BDS, Palestinian anti-Semitism and more. If you support a bold voice that tells the truth about Israel in American media, please donate now. FLAME'S WEEKLY HOTLINE E-NEWSLETTER FLAME's Hotline e-newsletter keeps you up to date on the most important pro-Israel advocacy issues and features our choice of the week's most informative and thought-provoking article on Israel and the Middle East. If you only subscribe to one pro-Israel news service, make it the FLAME Hotline. Facts and Logic About the Middle East PO Box 50359 San Francisco, CA 94159 Copyright 2016 FLAME. All rights reserved. Official White House by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama was briefed about the hijacking of an EgyptAir flight overnight by his Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco and again Tuesday morning by his national security team, according to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. In an on-camera interview with ABC News, McDonough said the administration constantly evaluates whether threats to the airline system exist. We obviously were focused on this all night and the president was getting briefs overnight from his counterterrorism homeland security advisor. He then got a good brief this morning from his national security team, McDonough said. We're very focused on this and we are constantly looking at threats to air -- airline traffic. We're looking at other kind of threats as well. Each one of these incidents gives us an opportunity to learn better what we can do better for the next opportunity, he added. We'll be talking to our friends and colleagues in Egypt, in Cyprus and elsewhere to make sure they're doing all they can as well, McDonough said. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Donald Trump aide Barry Bennett says the Trump campaign will contest the seating of Louisiana delegates to the Republican convention. The problem is that there was a secret meeting in Louisiana of the convention delegation and apparently, all the invitations for our delegates must have gotten lost in the mail, Bennett told MSNBC Monday. Despite winning the statewide vote in Louisiana, Trump is currently tied with Ted Cruz in pledged delegates in the state, 18-18. The other 10 delegates -- including five who were previously estimated for Marco Rubio -- are unbound. And there's a process to deal with this. It's in the certification process, Bennett said. And I've been with our legal team most of the morning now and we are moving forward with the complaint to decertify these delegates. The Louisiana GOP convention delegation recently met to elect leadership and their representation on crucial convention panels, where Cruz supporters and uncommitted delegates filled all of the committee slots. At a rally in Altoona, Wisconsin, Tuesday, Cruz laughed off the threat of a lawsuit from Trump regarding the delegate count. "Well, you know, Im always amused when Donald doesnt know what to do and so threatens lawsuits, the Texas senator said. Hes someone whos used lawsuits his entire career to try to bully people. I think the American people are getting tired of it. He yells and screams, and curses, and attacks people, and threatens lawsuits, and attacks their wives, and attacks their families, its all a bunch of noise, he added. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA, March 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's largest party will decide on Tuesday to break away from President Dilma Rousseff's floundering coalition, party leaders said, sharply raising the odds she will be impeached amid a corruption scandal. The fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) will decide at its national leadership meeting on the pace of disengagement from the Rousseff administration, in which it holds seven ministerial posts and the vice presidency. A formal rupture appears inevitable and will increase the isolation of the unpopular Rousseff, freeing PMDB members to vote for her impeachment. That makes it likely she will be temporarily suspended from office by Congress by early June and replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, while the Senate decides if she should be permanently ousted. Temer aides said the vice president is ready to take over and move fast to restore business confidence in Brazil, in an effort to pull Latin America's largest economy out of a tailspin. Brazilian media reported over the weekend that a team of Temer aides is drawing up a plan for his first weeks as president. "On Tuesday we will be disembarking from this government. The vote for independence will win," PMDB Senator Valdir Raupp, who until recently had backed Rousseff, said by telephone. Raupp said PMDB ministers would have to resign or leave the party, though a gradual withdrawal from those posts may take place as a compromise to keep the party united. Party officials calculate that between 70 to 80 percent of the 119 voting members of the directorate will vote to end the PMDB's alliance with Rousseff and her Workers' Party. One told Reuters that 75 had already pledged to do so. Rousseff, a former Marxist guerrilla who is Brazil's first female president, has vigorously denied any wrongdoing and rejects impeachment charges that she manipulated government spending accounts to help her re-election in 2014. Story continues The impeachment process only adds to the crisis that has hit Brazil, shaken to the core by its biggest ever corruption scandal - an investigation into political kickbacks to the ruling coalition from contractors working for state oil company Petrobras. Rousseff's government is also grappling with Brazil's worst recession in decades and an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, as it scrambles to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. The Petrobras scandal has weakened Rousseff by reaching her inner circle with allegations against her mentor and predecessor, Workers' Party founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An attempt by Rousseff to appoint Lula to her Cabinet was the last straw for many of her allies who saw it as a desperate move to shield him from prosecution by a lower federal court that is overseeing most of the Petrobras case, a view fed by a wiretap recording of a conversation between them. Brazil's top court is expected to decide later this week if Lula can indeed become a minister. If he is allowed, that means that only the Supreme Court can put him on trial under Brazilian law. HEADING FOR EXIT "The latest events make it very difficult for us to continue supporting the Workers' Party government. The feeling among the party rank and file across the country is that we should leave," said Jorge Picciani, leader of the PMDB in Rio de Janeiro, which had been a bastion of support for Rousseff until recent days. Picciani said all but two of Rio's 12 voting delegates were in favor of quitting Rousseff's coalition. The departure of the PMDB is expected to lead other smaller parties to bolt from the governing coalition, a domino effect that will further undermine Rousseff's ability to muster one third of the votes in Congress needed to block her impeachment. The two largest, the Progressive Party (PP) and the Republican Party (PR), each with 40 seats or more in the lower chamber, have signaled that they are leaving. "We don't want to be the last to abandon this ship," said PP Senator Ana Amelia. An impeachment vote is expected as soon as mid-April in the lower house. If she fails to block it with the votes of 171 of its 513 members, Rousseff would face a trial in the Senate where she has lost crucial support, Senator Raupp said. PMDB senators believe it would be almost impossible for them to stop the impeachment if it passes the lower house. Rousseff would be suspended for up to six months at the start of the trial and Temer would become acting president. Temer is already looking at ways to cut public spending to tackle a widening fiscal gap that cost Brazil's its investment grade credit rating, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday. It said a small team of aides led by Wellington Moreira Franco, Rousseff's former civil aviation minister, is considering sweeping welfare cuts in social programs that would be carried out by the finance minister of a Temer government. Two names under consideration for that job are former central bank governors Henrique Meirelles and Arminio Fraga, the newspaper said. A spokesman for Temer declined to comment on the report. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Alistair Bell) Brazil Is Rallying: Is It Time to Invest in Mutual Funds? Brazilian stocks have had a great 2016 YTD This year began on a somber note for Brazil. Stock markets around the world were gripped by volatility as global economic health became worrisome and commodity prices continued to decline. There was some relief after commodities began recovering. While most markets began to come back, there was one that raced ahead of all the others. Brazils Ibovespa has risen more than 14.5% in Brazilian real terms YTD (year-to-date) through March 24, 2016, outpacing other major stock markets around the world. The run-up in Brazilian stocks has been fueled by expectations that President Dilma Rousseff will soon be impeached, thus ending the political deadlock that has stalled economic reforms the country so desperately needs. The anticipated impeachment is the only fundamental change for Brazil since 2015. However, a new government will not be a panacea for all thats wrong with Brazil. Budget balance woes Nelson Barbosa, Brazils finance minister, recently said the government expects a primary budget surplus of 2.8 billion reais, down sharply from 24 billion reais expected earlier. This small surplus could turn to a deficit since the governments revenue is declining quickly. And if the government engages in spending in order to support the economy, the budget balance could quickly turn to a deficit for 2016. According to newspaper reports, Brazils banks, including Itau Unibanco Holding (ITUB), Banco do Brasil, Banco Bradesco (BBDO), Caixa Economica Federal, and Banco Santander (SAN), have raised provisions against default because of rising unemployment and an increase in bankruptcy filings. Latin Americafocused mutual funds One of the ways to invest in Brazilian stocks is through Latin Americafocused mutual funds (PRLAX) (MDLTX). In this series, well look at nine of these funds and see what quantitative metrics have to say about each funds performance. Then well paint a picture of what you can do with Brazilian stocks in general and these funds in particular. Story continues Lets begin our fund-by-fund analysis with the Aberdeen Latin American Equity Class A (ALEAX). Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: BRASILIA, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil Lower House Speaker Eduardo Cunha said his PMDB party, which pulled out of the ruling coalition on Tuesday, ought not to share the blame for President Dilma Rousseff's erratic policy decisions in recent years. The PMDB withdrew from Rousseff's governing coalition and pulled members from her government, crippling her chances of staying in office. The party decided that the six remaining ministers in Rousseff's cabinet must resign or face ethics proceedings. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Andrew Hay) (Adds background on Carvalho) BRASILIA, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's government, the controlling shareholder of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, proposed re-election of economist Luiz Nelson Guedes de Carvalho as board chairman of the state-run oil producer, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The nomination will be subject to a vote at a shareholder meeting on April 28, Petrobras said. The company's board of directors last year voted to make Carvalho interim chairman when he replaced Murilo Ferreira on an interim basis in September 2015. The government is now nominating him to be confirmed in the post by a shareholders' vote. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione Editing by W Simon) Lorenzo Tan, president and chief executive officer of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), gestures while answering questions during the money laundering hearing at Senate in Manila March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco By Karen Lema and Andrew R.C. Marshall MANILA (Reuters) - A Chinese junket operator in Manila said on Tuesday that two high-rollers from Beijing and Macau were responsible for bringing $81 million stolen by hackers from Bangladesh's central bank into the Philippines. Kim Wong, a long-time Chinese resident of the Philippines, denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of who masterminded one of world's biggest cyber heists, but vowed to give back a small portion of the money with him. He told a Senate hearing in Manila he would return $4.63 million in cash to a government watchdog investigating what appears to be a Byzantine money-laundering scheme. Unidentified hackers infiltrated the computer systems of Bangladesh Bank in early February and tried to steal $951 million from an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York it uses for international settlements. Many attempted transfers were blocked, but $81 million ended up in casinos in Manila and with junket operators, and most of it vanished. Finding out where it went has sorely challenged the Senate hearing, now on its third day and already hamstrung by the country's strict banking secrecy and by casinos not covered by anti-money laundering laws. Wong denied any involvement in the heist, but named two Chinese men from Beijing and Macau who he said "brought in" the $81 million. "I have nothing to do with the forging of bank documents for the $81 million. I don't know the source of the $81 million," he said. One billion pesos ($21 million) of the stolen funds ended up in a Philippine bank account of Eastern Hawaii, a company run by Wong, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Philippines' Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). Wong said he was owed 450 million pesos by one of the Chinese men after helping him settle a casino debt. The rest was used to buy gambling chips for junket clients, Wong said. Wong also said he had received a further $5 million in stolen money via Philrem, a foreign exchange broker, of which $4.63 million remained, and which he was willing to return. Story continues An official at Solaire, a casino resort owned and operated by Bloomberry Resorts Corp (BLOOM.PS), told the same hearing that $29 million ended up with them and was credited to an account of the Macau-based high-roller. PARTLY IN ENGLISH With the credibility of the Philippines' banking system and anti-money laundering efforts at stake, part of the hearing was held in English for the sake of what its chairman called "foreign observers." They included Bangladesh's ambassador to the Philippines. Some of the day's testiest exchanges were between senators and representatives of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCB.PS) (RCBC), which initially received the stolen money from the Bangladesh bank account in New York. The $81 million was deposited in four dollar accounts at an RCBC branch in Manila on Feb. 4. The accounts had been opened with a deposit of $500 in May 2015 and been inactive until receiving the stolen money, said the AMLC's criminal complaint. According to an AMLC document seen by Reuters, five withdrawals were made from the accounts on Feb 9, leaving only $68,305 of the $81 million. At the hearing, RCBC president Lorenzo Tan came under fire for not acknowledging the transactions as suspicious until the money was gone. Tan told the hearing that even transactions of $400 million or more could be dealt with by branch offices without raising red flags with senior officials at headquarters. Larger sums might "raise alarm bells," said Tan, adding that his staff would inform him of such a transaction at the end of the day. "The money would be long gone - goodbye! - before it comes to you at the end of the day," scoffed Senator Sergio Osmena, accusing the bank of "very poor compliance." Citing the country's strict banking secrecy laws, a lawyer for RCBC said the bank could not reveal anything about the four accounts, even though it had been established that they had been opened using false documents. "The law does not allow us to speak about these deposits," said Maria Celia Estavillo. The Senate hearing continues next week. (Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) SILVERDALE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / March 29, 2016 / CGrowth Capital, Inc. (OTC Pink: CGRA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary CGrowth Capital Bond, Ltd. has received initial subscriptions of its 15,000,000.00 British Pounds Sterling ("GBP") bond offering in the amount of 7,300,000.00 GBP. The Company's subsidiary has successfully completed and received the subscriptions and is working towards fulfillment of the remainder of the bond offering. The bonds subscribed include 4,100,000.00 GBP in cash (or ~$ 5,700,000.00 USD gross proceeds), a note receivable in the amount of 1,900,000.00 GBP, and equity in the amount of 1,300,000.00 GBP. Funding from the bond subscriptions are being used to finance the three (3) bond projects, including the Company's Powder River basin oil and gas project in Wyoming. "We are elated to make this announcement!" stated Bill Wright, CEO of CGrowth Capital, Inc. "This is an important milestone and we are not looking back." The Company's subsidiary, Powder River Resources, Inc.'s proven and probable oil reserves, which management estimates to be $250,000,000.00, is the focus of the funding. Powder River Resources, Inc. and CGrowth Capital Bond Ltd. have an umbrella policy of $10,000,000.00 covering the project. For more information about CGrowth Capital Bond Ltd. visit: http://CGrowthCapitalBond.com. About CGrowth Capital, Inc.: CGrowth Capital, Inc. The Company continues to serve as an alternative asset management company for businesses and assets focused on all aspects of mining, minerals, exploration, and commercial real estate. The processing of metal ore mining, mineral and specialty rock extraction, as well as oil and gas production, are multi-billion dollar market opportunities which is capitalized on through processing, sales, contracting and licensing of assets. CGrowth Capital's services and solutions are designed to assist land owners with monetizing undervalued assets by bringing commodities such as gold, silver, oil and gas, and dolomite to market. CGrowth Capital will focus on acquiring land assets, while also providing partners and affiliates with management services, capital, contract management and logistical services necessary for the successful execution of operations. Story continues For more information and updates about CGrowth Capital, visit their website or Facebook page: http://www.CGrowthCapital.com https://www.facebook.com/CGrowthCapital Investor Inquiries: CGrowth Capital, Inc. 888-218-2472 Safe Harbor Statements about the Company's future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The above information contains information relating to the Company that is based on the beliefs of the Company and/or its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company or its management. When used in this document, the words "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plans," "projects," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of the Company regarding future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties noted. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or projected. In each instance, forward-looking information should be considered in light of the accompanying meaningful cautionary statements herein. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, the impact of competitive services and pricing and general economic risks and uncertainties. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. SOURCE: CGrowth Capital, Inc. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - China and Israel formally launched negotiations on Tuesday on a free-trade agreement that officials said could double commerce between the Asian powerhouse and the Middle East's self-styled "start-up nation". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the talks after he met visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong. The countries, whose current trade is worth about $8 billion (5.6 billion pounds), have held exploratory discussions of the deal since May 2013. "Cooperation between Israel and China can produce massive results, and we believe that Israel can be the perfect partner," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. It quoted Liu as saying Israel was "world-renowned for its innovation" and that China would embark on "great joint projects" with it. Netanyahu wants to diversify Israel's commercial ties abroad, in partly due to what he has said is a need to reduce the country's dependence on its biggest trading partner, Europe. Disputes with the European Union over policy towards the Palestinians, and EU labelling of products by Israeli settlements in occupied territory, discomfit the Netanyahu government. Israel also worries about anti-Jewish incidents in Europe, such as last year's Islamist attack on a Paris kosher deli. Netanyahu's office said the free-trade agreement could double bilateral commerce and investment. At Tuesday's meeting, China and Israel also signed 13 cooperation agreements, including in energy and water development, officials said. A senior Israeli official told Reuters he was optimistic the deal with China could be concluded in about a year. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams) By Astrid Wendlandt PARIS (Reuters) - China's Shandong Ruyi is set to buy control of SMCP, the French firm behind fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, for 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) including debt, two sources close to the deal said on Tuesday. The deal, which as of early Tuesday evening had not yet been signed, was expected to be announced on Wednesday, they added. Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, which sell dresses priced at around 200 euros, operate in the so-called accessible segment of the luxury market, enjoying solid demand among fast-growing middle classes, particularly in countries such as China. SMCP, which is controlled by private equity firm KKR (KKR.N), had filed documents this month to launch an initial public offering in Paris as early as April. The company's preparations for a float had added pressure on the Chinese group to strike a deal, the sources said. One of the sources said that talks had accelerated in the past week. The sources confirmed a report by the Financial Times. KKR declined to comment and no-one at SMCP was immediately available for comment. Talks with textile group Shandong Ruyi had been going on for at least six months, but had gone cold earlier in the year over price differences, sources close to the talks had told Reuters. One of the sources said that founders Evelyne, Ylan Chetrite and Judith Milgrom, who together own 21.11 percent of the company were more in favour of an IPO but KKR, which has 70 percent, backed a deal with the Chinese group. The founders, together with the company's management will retain a minority stake under the deal, the sources said. SMCP plans to expand outside of France, where it makes just under half of its sales, particularly in China, the U.S., Britain, Spain and Italy. It also wants to develop digital sales, menswear and strengthen its leather goods offering. The IPO was meant to pay down the company's high yield debt, which stood at around 290 million euros. Last year, SMCP made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 107 million euros on revenue of 675 million euros, up 33 percent and 11 percent, this did not include a boost from new stores. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Geert De Clercq and Alexander Smith) NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), India's state pension fund, will now be able to invest up to 65 percent of its holdings in sovereign bonds, up from 50 percent earlier, a labour ministry official said on Tuesday, in a move that will likely come as a relief to debt markets. "It has already been effective. The day we got the sanction from the government, we communicated it to the EPFO," Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal told Reuters over the phone. The move, widely expected by traders, would help the EPFO buy more state government bonds, including debt sold under a big bailout of regional electricity utilities. The increased limit is also expected to benefit debt markets given concerns over how investors would absorb sovereign debt sales of as much as 9.5 trillion rupees ($142.81 billion) from April, a 9 percent increase from the current fiscal year ending March 31. The sovereign debt sales include a planned increase to about 3.5 trillion rupees through sale of state development loans (SDLs) by regional governments, from 2.9 trillion rupees this financial year. In addition, states and their utilities are set to sell around 1 trillion rupees in bonds tied to the so-called UDAY scheme, a plan under which regional governments would assume as much as 4.3 trillion rupees ($64.49 billion) in debt owed by their utilities. "EPFOs are expected to put most of the enhanced limit in SDLs because of the higher spread that SDLs continue to give over and above the long-dated central government bonds," said Vijay Sharma, senior executive vice-president at primary dealer PNB Gilts Ltd. The EPFO manages more than $100 billion of assets from some 80 million members. ($1 = 66.5203 rupees) (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Rafael Nam and Biju Dwarakanath) TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 29, 2016) - Equifax Canada Co. and Teranet Enterprises Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership in order to deliver property and RESL (Real Estate Secured Lending) insights on Canadian consumers. The two industry leaders will be working together to build a suite of solutions leveraging the analytical expertise, and the credit and property data assets held respectively by each company. Through this partnership, Teranet and Equifax will be able to provide Financial Institutions with comprehensive Canadian real estate data and analytics needed to better evaluate and service their clients throughout the customer lifecycle. "We know our clients have been looking for insights into Canadians' mortgage and real estate status," explains Bill Johnston, Vice President, Data and Analytics at Equifax Canada. "Partnering with Teranet enables us to shape data into solutions to help meet that need. Providing deeper insights can help our customers make more informed decisions, which ultimately benefits Canadian consumers seeking credit. We're pleased to be part of that." Drew Doherty, Director of Marketing & Product Development, from Teranet echoes Johnston's enthusiasm. "We are very excited to partner with Equifax and look forward to providing customers with even greater insights that will ultimately help strengthen lending decisions. These data-rich solutions can be used by financial institutions to inform and adjust their strategies and underwriting guidelines while aligning solutions to meet the evolving needs of the Canadian consumer." The first suite of solutions generated from this partnership is now commercially available. About Equifax Equifax powers the financial future of individuals and organizations around the world. Using the combined strength of unique trusted data, technology and innovative analytics, Equifax has grown from a consumer credit company into a leading provider of insights and knowledge that helps its customers make informed decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 800 million consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide, and its databases include employee data contributed from more than 5,000 employers. Story continues Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 21 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,200 employees worldwide. Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Ranked 13 on the American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2015); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2015); named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015). For more information, visit www.equifax.com About Teranet Teranet is an international leader and pioneer in electronic land registration systems and commerce. In Ontario, Teranet is the exclusive provider of online property search and registration. Teranet developed, owns and operates the Ontario Electronic Land Registration System, enabling customers to perform searches, transfer title documents through our search and registration capabilities, and perform many other functions in what is widely recognized as one of the world's most advanced, secure, and sophisticated land registry systems. In Manitoba, Teranet owns and operates The Property Registry (TPR), offering land and personal property security registration and search services. TPR provides certification of titles to land, maintains land records, and offers reliable information of financial interests in personal property to the public. A Teranet affiliated entity also holds an interest in Foster Moore International Limited, a New Zealand-based global market player in the government registry sector, including Occupational, Secured Transaction, and Corporate Business registries. In addition, Teranet offers a complementary suite of innovative solutions for real estate, legal, financial services, government, utilities and local authorities through mapping, property valuation, tax collection and risk assessment products. Reaching a network of over 81,000 end users, 34 real estate boards and over 250 municipalities and institutions, Teranet's Value Added Solutions create efficiencies for these industries. Teranet is owned by Borealis, a leading global infrastructure investment manager and the infrastructure arm of the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System. For more information about Teranet, visit www.teranet.ca The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seen at the agency's headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of London April 1, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Britain's finance regulator may ramp up financial crime inspections at the London branches of two of China's biggest banks, with a focus on money laundering and anti-corruption, the Chinese magazine Caixin quoted unidentified sources as saying. China's banks have been dogged by allegations of lax compliance and money laundering in their European branches over the last year. The Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, plans to strengthen inspections at the London branches of China's largest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and China Construction Bank Corp (CCB), Caixin said on Tuesday. The inspections would focus on areas such as anti-money laundering and anti-corruption, it added. Spokesmen for CCB and ICBC declined to comment when contacted by telephone. A spokesman for the FCA also declined to comment. Spanish police arrested five directors of ICBC after they raided the lender's Madrid offices as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering in February. Bank of China said in March it is considering all its options in an Italian case in which it is alleged that billions of euros of illicit earnings were laundered through its Milan branch. (Reporting by Engen Tham in Shanghai and Shu Zhang in Beijing; Additional reporting by Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Kim Coghill) (Repeats Monday item) * Finns face pay cuts under preliminary reform deal * Ministers' public celebration outrages workers * Consensus politics under pressure - union leader * Recession-bound economy must regain competitiveness -Stubb * Finland has lost its values - sacked professor By Alistair Scrutton and Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI, March 28 (Reuters) - If one fist bump could endanger Finland's increasingly stressed tradition of consensus politics, then Prime Minister Juha Sipila and a cabinet colleague may just have achieved this dubious distinction. In a nod to popular culture, a smiling Sipila and his finance minister Alexander Stubb punched each other's fist to celebrate a breakthrough in negotiating one of Finland's toughest austerity deals in decades with trade unions. The unions, whose members face de facto wage cuts in the name of reviving economic growth, were deeply unimpressed by the public show of exuberance earlier this month. "Members were very upset. They thought that they were mocking workers, saying something like: 'now we can drive them into the ground'," said PAM union leader Ann Selin, who represents 232,000 workers. The fist bump wasn't a first in international politics. Barack and Michelle Obama exchanged one at the Democratic party convention before his election to the U.S. presidency in 2008. But Sipila and Stubb are hardly the golden couple of Finnish politics. Before becoming prime minister, Sipila was a millionaire businessman while Stubb has the image of a jet setter with a liking for fine suits. This made the gesture all the more difficult to stomach for union leaders after what was only a preliminary deal, with a detailed agreement still to be hammered out in the coming months. "It did not help at all," said Selin. Unions were outraged at politicians who appeared out of touch, underlying the fragility of the Nordic model under which parties of the centre-right and centre-left, organised labour and business strive to reach consensus deals without conflict. Story continues The danger is that the preliminary accord may still collapse as the Finnish consensus is tested by rising debt, unemployment and lengthy economic stagnation. Relying on traditional consensus politics, Sipila wants to persuade the unions to cut labour costs by 5 percent. It is part of his push to raise the competitiveness of the Finnish economy after three years of recession with some of the deepest austerity and welfare since World War Two. With unemployment at 9.4 percent, Stubb insists the fist bump was to celebrate the new jobs that he believes the reforms will create. He has heralded a Finnish spring of "three big decisions that need to be taken to change the course of the country" - the labour deal, a parliamentary vote on budget cuts and reforms to cut the cost of health care. GRAPHICS: Finnish unit labour costs: http://reut.rs/1MEkDb9 OECD comparison - state spending, job creation: http://tmsnrt.rs/1px9zHv Comparison - euro zone growth forecasts: http://reut.rs/1mfTMe6 Comparison - euro zone unemployment rates: http://link.reuters.com/tev79v NOT VERY FINNISH At stake is the consensus that has grown across the high-cost Nordic welfare states out of the realisation that small, export-dependent economies can ill afford polarisation and policy stagnation. Nowhere is that consensus under such risk as in Finland, called "the sick man of Europe" by Stubb and now facing the same dilemma as many other euro zone economies of how to promote growth while also pursuing fiscal austerity. Having long lectured southern European countries such as Greece on tackling their problems, Finland is belatedly coming to reform itself. The demise of Nokia's phone business and the electronics industry has shaved 3 percent off Finnish gross domestic product since 2007, with the shrinking wood industry cutting another 0.75 percent, according to OECD economists. Economic crisis in neighbouring Russia, a close trade partner, has cut another 1.5 percent off Finnish output in the last three years, they say. This year, Finland has lost its triple-A credit rating. The European Commission has warned Helsinki about its rising debt and budget deficit, although last year the shortfall was equal to 2.7 percent of GDP, within the EU limit. Still, public spending is 58 percent of GDP, the highest in the OECD group of developed economies. Exports remain 20 percent below their peak reached in 2007 before the global crisis erupted. Resistance to austerity is considerable. In the last few months, parts of Helsinki have been brought to a standstill by protesting farmers driving tractors, while thousands of pensioners and students have also taken to streets. Selin described the preliminary labour deal as "the lesser of two evils", but said: "I have never seen the consensus model under such pressure. I have never seen so many demonstrations." "It's not very Finnish," she added. NO REVOLUTION - YET Stubb acknowledges no one wants to bear the brunt of the reforms. "There is consensus in Finland that we need to turn the tide of debt, but there's clearly no consensus on where we do those cuts," he told Reuters. He made clear the government dislikes "revolution" - forcing through reforms that could polarise society. "We decided that we'll go through evolution, a bit by bit. But ... you have to be pretty sure that you meet those targets, otherwise at the end of the day you'll have to go for the revolution." Planned budget spending cuts would save 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) by 2019, equal to 2 percent of GDP. Social and health reforms would cut 3 billion euros, or 1.5 percent of GDP, according to the OECD. Stubb has warned that if the labour reforms are watered down when unions and employers negotiate the final deal, the government could try to force through more radical cuts. Sipila and Stubb have to walk a political tightrope on each of the three reforms, facing infighting within the three-party centre-right coalition government and voters' anger with planned spending cuts from education to child benefits. Critics say Stubb is part of the problem. Many Finns are wary of the extrovert and social media-savvy politician, mistrusting his image as a right-wing ideologue. He even faces a possible challenge to his party leadership. Stubb's cherished labour deal cuts to the heart of Finnish welfare. If he gets his way, employees may work an extra 24 hours a year for no extra pay but with increased pension contributions. Beloved benefits, such as a 50-percent bonus on monthly pay in the summer holidays, may be trimmed. CLUELESS ON GROWTH "Finland has lost its values," said Arto Annila, a physics professor who was among 75 academics at Helsinki University to be made redundant. Aged 53, it was the first time he has lost his job. "Before you had a sense these were jobs for life." Anger with these cuts - altogether about 980 jobs are going from the university's staff - has helped the opposition centre-left Social Democrats rise to top in polls. They advocate less austerity and more investment. "Europe has generally done too much cutting," said Sanna Marin, 30-year-old SDP vice-chairwoman, who warns the coalition could fall before its term ends in 2019. Her hometown suffers 18 percent unemployment. "I think we have the fiscal room to invest," she said. However, few economists see any magic wand to boost growth, given how few new industries are making up for weakness of Finland's electronic and forestry exports. "We are all clueless on how to get long term economic growth," said Markus Jantti, a professor of public finances at Helsinki University. ($1 = 0.8959 euros) (Additional reporting by Tuomas Forsell; Editing by David Stamp) Florida Gov. Rick Scott addresses an economic summit in Orlando, Florida, June 2, 2015. REUTERS/Steve Nesius Florida Governor Rick Scott has a suggestion for Yale University: Consider a move south to avoid taxes. Scott's proposal comes after news that Connecticut lawmakers have been trying to dip into Yale University's $25.6 billion endowment, and that the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut is backing a proposal that could make it easier to tax Yale's commercial real estate. With news that the Connecticut Legislature wants to unfairly tax one of the nations most renowned universities to deal with the states budget shortfall, it is clear that all businesses in Connecticut, including Yale, should look to move to Florida, Scott said, according to the Connecticut Post. Meanwhile, Ira Stoll wrote in the Hartford Courant that prominent Yale alum Walter Olson of the Cato Institute has suggested that Yale relocate a little closer, to Boston, but the school doesn't seem likely to relocate anytime soon. "Its wonderful to be recognized as an outstanding asset, but Yale, New Haven, and Connecticut have been on common ground to great mutual benefit for 300 years. Were looking forward to reaching even greater heights in education, research and civic engagement over the next three centuries and more," Tom Conroy, a spokesman for Yale University, said in a statement provided to the New York Daily News. Despite Yale's commitment to staying in the Nutmeg State, the school is facing increasing pressure to pay more taxes. The Connecticut Legislature proposed a bill earlier this month that would tax income from Yale's $25.6 billion endowment, Bloomberg reported. The legislation specifically targets schools in Connecticut with endowments of $10 billion or more. Yale is the only such school in the state with an endowment of more than $10 billion. And the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut is backing a proposal that attempts to distinguish between real estate that Yale holds for educational purposes, and is therefore tax exempt, and its commercial real estate property. Story continues In her testimony supporting the proposal, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp used an example of a building that Yale recently purchased. Previously, the city received $275,000 annually in taxes for the property. yale university The city risks losing that taxable income since Yale, as an educational institution, owns the property even though Yale stands to make money from the building for products and services it may sell, according to Harp. Richard Jacob, a Yale associate vice president for federal and state relations, presented written testimony opposing the proposal backed by the mayor. Given Yales unparalleled commitment to New Haven, and the gains made by the City of New Haven and Yale in building employment, expanding the tax base, and strengthening neighborhoods and schools, the proposal to single out Yale by imposing unprecedented, ambiguous, and sweeping new taxes on the University is troubling, Jacob said. The suggestion to uproot Yale from its 300-year-old campus and move it 1,200 miles south may not be as far-fetched as it seems. General Electric announced in January that it would be moving headquarters from Connecticut to Boston to avoid increasing corporate taxes on the company. NOW WATCH: These are the most powerful members of Skull and Bones one of Americas most famous secret societies More From Business Insider Policemen at the residence in Rotterdam where a 32-year-old Frenchman was arrested at the request of French authorities over suspisions of his "involvement in planning a terror attack", on March 27, 2016 (AFP Photo/Marten van Dijl) The Hague (AFP) - A French terror suspect arrested in weekend raids in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam is fighting his extradition to France, Dutch prosecutors said Tuesday. The 32-year-old, identified by Dutch media only as Anis B., will remain in custody in the Netherlands, where a court has to decide within 90 days whether to grant a request from Paris to extradite him, the Amsterdam prosecutor said in a statement. The man is wanted by France for "involvement in a criminal organisation linked to a terrorist enterprise," the prosecutor said. He was arrested on Sunday at Paris's request suspected of receiving orders from the Islamic State group to attack targets in France. He appeared before an Amsterdam court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody. The court also ruled he could only have contact with his lawyers and not with other people. He must appear again this time in a public hearing within 60 days. But no date has been set for that. France had sought Anis B.'s arrest after French police there said they had thwarted an attack by a man called Reda Kriket, 34, who was caught on Thursday. French police discovered several assault rifles and explosives at Kriket's apartment in a Paris suburb. Heavily-armed Dutch police then raided a home in the west of Rotterdam late Sunday following the French investigation. Police found ammunition, SIM cards, hard drives, cash and drugs in the raids, during which several houses in the area were evacuated. Three other men were also detained in the operation, including two suspects of Algerian origin aged 43 and 47. No immediate details were available about the third man. They are also being held on suspicion of involvement in terror attacks, Dutch media reported. The Netherlands was already on heightened alert after the airport and metro attacks in Brussels a week ago, with security stepped up at airports and train stations and border controls tightened. Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur on Tuesday told parliament he expected Anis B. "to be extradited to France soon". Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal will veto the religious liberty bill dubbed by critics as anti-gay House Bill 757 after mounting pressure from major corporations and media companies, he announced Monday morning. Georgia is a welcoming state. It is full of loving, kind and generous people, Deal said. And that is what we should want. He said that he did not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which my family and I are a part of for all of our lives. Hollywood studios and media companies had condemned the measure, and Disney, Marvel, the Weinstein Company and Netflix had threatened to shun the state for TV and movie production. They joined a list of corporations, including Apple and Salesforce, as well as the NFL, that had expressed dismay over the measure. Deal announced his veto in a statement to the press on Monday. The MPAA had expressed confidence early last week that Deal would veto the measure. The governor has been a champion of growing the states production base, which represented $1.7 billion in spending in fiscal 2015, according to state officials. Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, had called on studios to withhold productions from the state if the governor signed the legislation. One of the most visible supporters in the state senate, Josh McKoon, defended the legislation, and said Monday on Twitter, It is a fantasy to suggest this bill would harm anyone. The bill would have allowed faith-based organizations to refuse service to those who conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs, and also allow them to terminate employees who violated those beliefs. Some of those in the religious community who support this bill have resorted to insults that question my moral convictions and my character, Deal said. Some within the business community who oppose this bill have resorted to threats of withdrawing jobs from our state. I do not respond well to insults or threats. The people of Georgia deserve a leader who will made sound judgments based on solid reasons that are not inflamed by emotion. That is what I intend to do. Story continues Our actions on HB 757 are not just about protecting the faith-based community or providing a business-friendly climate for job growth in Georgia. This is about the character of our State and the character of its people. Read Deals full remarks here. Related stories Tyler Perry Urges Georgia Governor to Veto Religious Liberty Bill MPAA Expresses Opposition to North Carolina Anti-LGBT Law Even if Studios Boycott Georgia, There Are a Lot Worse Places They Do Business (ANALYSIS) Larnaca (Cyprus) (AFP) - A man hijacked an EgyptAir passenger plane Tuesday and forced it to divert to Cyprus demanding to see his ex-wife, sparking a dramatic airport standoff that ended peacefully after six hours. The hijacker, an Egyptian described as "unstable", had claimed to have explosives strapped to his waist but none were discovered after he gave himself up at Larnaca airport and was arrested. Most of the 55 passengers on the plane -- originally travelling from Alexandria to Cairo -- were quickly released after it had landed. But some escaped only minutes before the hijacker surrendered, including one uniformed man who was seen clambering out of a cockpit window and dropping to the ground. "From the beginning it was determined that this was not a case of terrorism," Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said, adding the man was "psychologically unstable". Egypt identified the man as 58-year-old Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa. Kasoulides said the man demanded to deliver a letter to his Cypriot ex-wife, with whom he was said to have children. She was brought to the airport and spoke to the man, the minister said, without elaborating. He also delivered a rambling letter in Arabic with demands, including to meet with a European Union representative and for the release of women prisoners in Egypt. "There was no logical consistency for the demands to be taken seriously," Kasoulides said. Asked about the hijacker's demands to see his wife, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades laughed and said: "Always there is a woman." - Fake explosives - The EgyptAir plane landed in Larnaca at 8:50 am (0550 GMT), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion. Egyptian civil aviation officials said there were 21 foreigners among the passengers, and that the hijacker had demanded the plane land in either Turkey or Cyprus. They included eight Americans, four Dutch citizens and four Britons, the Egyptian authorities said. Story continues Two French nationals were also on the plane, according to a French diplomatic source. Officials said that seven people, including several passengers, had remained on board until shortly before the man surrendered. The hijacker emerged from the aircraft, walked across the tarmac and raised his hands to two waiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him before taking him away. In a tweet at 2:43 pm, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides confirmed "the hijacker has just been arrested" and that all crew and passengers were safe. After sending sniffer dogs onto the plane, police said no bombs had been found. Kasoulides said the man had threatened to blow himself up if the plane was not refuelled and allowed to depart for Istanbul. "We examined the alleged explosives that were found on him. They were not explosives but phone covers made up to give the impression they were explosives," he said. Police said there were no immediate indications anyone had been working with the hijacker. - Airport reopens - Authorities closed the airport -- Cyprus's main entry point for tourists -- and nearby beaches and diverted incoming flights to Paphos in the island's west. Larnaca airport later said it had reopened and that flights had resumed. Egypt sent a plane that flew home passengers who were aboard the hijacked jet. It also released photographs it said were of the hijacker being searched by airport security before boarding the plane. Concerns were raised about security at Egyptian airports after a Russian airliner was downed on October 31 over Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. The Islamic State group claimed to have smuggled a bomb on board. Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the past few decades. In August 1996, a Sudan Airways Airbus A-310 was hijacked by seven Iraqis between Khartoum and Amman with 199 people on board. After a stopover in Larnaca it flew on to London's Stansted airport, where the hijackers gave themselves up. In 1988, a Kuwait Airways flight hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait was diverted to Iran and later to Larnaca, where hijackers killed two Kuwaiti passengers and dumped their bodies on the tarmac. In February 1978, Egyptian commandos stormed a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 at Larnaca, where 15 passengers were being held hostage. Some 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in a firefight with Cypriot forces. All the hostages were freed and the hijackers arrested. More Blowback from Crude Oil Volatility: How MLPs Closed the Week (Continued from Prior Part) US crude oil inventories According to the data released on March 23, 2016, US crude oil inventories rose by 1.8% the week ending March 18, 2016. The US refinery utilization rate fell to 88.4% from 89.0% one week previously. The refinery utilization rate is the gross input divided by the refineries operable refining capacities. US crude oil inventories have risen significantly since mid-2014. US crude oil production and crude oil imports US crude oil production fell by 0.3% the week ending March 18. The above graph shows the weekly supply and demand for crude oil in the US over the six-week period ending March 18. Meanwhile, US crude oil imports jumped by 9.0% in the week ending March 18. Imports fell by 4.4% in the week ending March 11. With increased domestic production, imports fell over time to keep the US crude oil supply relatively stable. US refinery inputs For the week ending March 18, US crude oil refinery inputs were 15.8 MMbpd (million barrels per day). The inputs to US refineries were less than the total crude oil production and imports. This might contribute to a rise in crude oil inventories. Crude oil supply and demand dynamics drive crude oil prices. US crude oil exports According to a study by the EIA (US Energy Information Administration), if the projected crude oil production remains below 10.6 MMbpd over the next decade, lifting a ban on US crude oil exports may not make a major difference in crude oil prices. However, the study shows that if domestic production in 2025 ranges between 11.7 MMbpd and 13.6 MMbpd, lifting the ban might result in increased domestic production, higher crude oil exports, reduced product exports, and slightly lower gasoline prices in the US. MLPs On December 30, 2015, NuStar Energy (NS) and ConocoPhillips (COP) announced the loading of their first export cargoes of light crude oil since the export ban was lifted. NuStar Energy makes up nearly 1.1% of the Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index ETF (MDIV). Story continues Lifting the ban on US crude oil exports could narrow the spread between WTI (West Texas Intermediate) and Brent crude oil prices. (Well analyze this spread in the next part of this series.) The narrowing of the WTI-Brent spread could help upstream MLPs such as Memorial Production Partners (MEMP), Breitburn Energy Partners (BBEP), and Vanguard Natural Resources (VNR). At the same time, the EIA expects refining companies margins to be lower as the WTI-Brent spread narrows. Now lets check out and try to interpret the latest WTI-Brent spread. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: JERUSALEM, March 29 (Reuters) - Israel's energy minister said on Tuesday he thinks the recent turmoil in the country's natural gas sector can be resolved within a couple of months. Israel's Supreme Court shocked the industry this week when it barred the government from giving a 10-year guarantee to energy companies interested in developing the huge Leviathan offshore gas field. It gave it a year to find an alternative, or else the outline the state agreed upon with Noble and Delek last year would be canceled. "I think it will take a few weeks or maximum a couple of months," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Reuters in an interview. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch) (Adds quotes, details) JERUSALEM, March 29 (Reuters) - Israel's energy minister said on Tuesday he believes recent turmoil in the country's natural gas sector will be resolved within a couple of months, before too much damage is done. Israel's highest court this week barred the government from giving a 10-year guarantee to energy companies interested in developing the Leviathan offshore gas field. The move could delay Israel's emergence as a regional natural gas exporter. "I was surprised. I thought that even the Supreme Court could not neglect, could not ignore the situation and the potential economic damage to Israel," Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Reuters in an interview. "Many similar gas operations in deep water already have been canceled worldwide and we are trying to save our own." Without a government guarantee that it will not make changes in regulations such as tax and export limits, the companies that control Leviathan - Texas-based Noble Energy and Israel's Delek Group - have held off on investing the $5-6 billion needed to bring the field online. The court said the government lacked the authority to make such a long-term commitment. It gave it a year to find an alternative, or else the outline the state agreed upon with Noble and Delek last year would be canceled. Energy analysts have warned of a long process to find an alternative arrangement, but Steinitz was more optimistic. "I think it will take a few weeks or maximum a couple of months," he said. He laid out three of the possible solutions being discussed. The first is to pass a law in parliament - either supporting the specific stability clause offered to the Leviathan partners or broader legislation that empowers the government to make such a concession in large national infrastructure projects. Another option is to change the stability commitment. "We keep the right to make changes, but if this government or the next government will make significant changes, then (the companies) will be able to ask for compensation," Steinitz said. A third possibility he described as a "self-safety network". That could include a commitment to the companies to buy a certain amount of gas at a minimal price to make sure they can repay their debt, or telling banks that if something fails due to changed regulation, the government will guarantee the debt. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Dale Hudson) An Israeli gas platform, controlled by a U.S.-Israeli energy group, is seen in the Mediterranean sea, some 15 miles (24 km) west of Israel's port city of Ashdod, in this file picture taken February 25, 2013. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won more time to overcome a political hurdle after parliament postponed a vote on authorising the government to secure a deal on developing Israel's natural gas fields. Picture taken February 25, 2013. For five years, a giant natural gas field called Leviathan has been touted as a way for Israel to join the leagues of petro-exporters, obtaining energy security and a much-needed flow of dollars. But a court decision has again postponed drilling, probably holding back big Israeli natural gas exports into the 2020s. In the March 27 decision, Israels supreme court struck down part of the deal with two companies to develop Leviathan. It ruled that prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu had unconstitutionally frozen regulatory and tax changes for a decade. Netanyahu has criticized the ruling and said he will find a way around it. But the move reflects a trend that is hobbling natural gas, just as the world attempts to move electricity production away from coal, which is more polluting. In Australia, Tanzania and now Israel, regulators, judges and companies are putting natural gas plans on hold because of low prices, high costs, and doubts about the fairness of deals signed long ago. On March 22, Woodside Petroleum canceled a $40 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project offshore from Australia because gas prices have plunged by 78% in Asia, making it hard to justify the development cost. Meanwhile, Tanzania and Mozambiquethe sites of the largest gas finds in recent yearshave been slow to clear the bureaucratic hurdles that would allow Shell, Eni, Anadarko, and other majors to push ahead with LNG development there. In Tanzania, natural gas exports may begin in 2024 at the earliest. In Israel, Leviathan has met political and public allegations that its developersHoustons Noble Energy and Israels Delek Groupgot a sweetheart deal and that households will pay the price in the form of higher electricity bills. But Netanyahu has pushed back, arguing that Leviathan has a national-security benefit for Israel, giving it breathing room in a hostile neighborhood. Story continues In a note today to clients, Deutsche Banks Ryan Todd said he expects the Israeli government to find a compromise that allows drilling to proceed. In a statement, Noble and Delek urged Israel to resolve the problem quickly. Among the companies options is to walk away from Leviathan entirely, although that seems improbable. Robin Mills, a Dubai-based consultant with Qamar Energy, said that if Noble and Delek do walk away, Israel will have trouble finding other companies to develop the field. No major company will touch it because of Israels erratic natural-gas politics, he told Quartz. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Dilma Rousseff Brazil's largest political party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), said it will leave its coalition with the ruling Workers' Party (PT), Reuters reports. That means we're one step closer to seeing the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, and the end of her party's decade-plus rule over the world's seventh-largest economy. Once PMDB members leave Rousseff's camp, and any posts in her administration, they can then vote for her impeachment. The resignations have already started rolling in. According to Reuters, that could get her out of office by May. She would be replaced by her vice president, a PMDB member. At the car wash Rousseff's regime has been under siege since spring 2014, when an anticorruption sting investigation called Operation Car Wash revealed that her party had used the country's quasi-state oil company, Petrobras, as its personal slush fund. With Petrobras cash, the PT paid kickbacks and bribes think suitcases of cash and private jets. This scandal reached the highest levels of Brazilian society in a way no scandal ever had in the country's modern history. Rousseff won reelection by only a hair in fall 2014. The scandal also almost broke Petrobras. The company's stock collapsed as it revealed that corruption had sucked over $2 billion from its balance sheet. That was last year. Over the last few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets to make Rousseff, and even her predecessor, the beloved Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, answer for the PT's transgressions. The market likes the idea of Rousseff out of the picture. The Ibovespa, Brazil's stock market, is up 18% year-to-date. Petrobras is up 36% over the same period. Still, it's unclear who will really run Brazil once Rousseff and the PT are out. The PMDB is known for its lack of consensus, and the leader of the PT's rival party, Eduardo Cunha, is also being investigated for issues related to Operation Car Wash. Story continues There aren't a lot of good options here, people. NOW WATCH: Forget Rio's Carnival serious tourists head to the Brazilian beach town where everyone gets covered in mud More From Business Insider (Adds details on Airbus forecasts, quote) SANTIAGO, March 29 (Reuters) - The world's two largest plane manufacturers forecast on Tuesday that Latin America's commercial fleet will at least double in the next two decades as economic growth accelerates in the region. In a statement at the FIDAE regional airshow in Chile, Airbus projected Latin American airlines will need 2,540 new planes by 2034, worth some $330 billion dollars. It predicted a doubling of the number of airliners in operation. Air traffic during that time will grow 4.7 percent annually in the region, the company predicted, slightly higher than its forecast for 4.6 percent growth worldwide. Boeing Co forecast that Latin American airlines will need 3,050 new planes worth $350 billion over the next two decades. Sixty percent of Latin America's existing commercial fleet will be replaced in the next 20 years, with the overall fleet size tripling during that time, the company said. "In the long term, the economies of Latin America will grow faster than those in the rest of the world," said Donna Hrinak, president of Boeing Latin America. "This growth will create more passenger traffic in the region and push Latin American airlines to expand and compete for business that has traditionally been dominated by foreign operators." Both companies also stressed that they saw long-distance routes in the region as a particularly ripe area for growth. "The expansion of long-distance routes in Latin America is imminent, and we're already seeing some airline companies react, opting for larger planes," said Rafael Alonso, president of Airbus for Latin America and the Caribbean. (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Paul Simao and Cynthia Osterman) A taxi and buses queue outside the Bank of England in London, Britain December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - British banks will find out on Tuesday if the Bank of England wants them to start building up extra capital buffers to guard against looser lending standards and prepare for this year's test of their crisis resilience. Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are some of the lenders subject to the BoE's 'stress tests', which in previous years have assessed if they could cope with a house price crash or an emerging market slump. These banks and other lenders may also have to set aside more funds if the central bank decides the time is right to raise the cyclical element of its capital framework, which rises and falls as the risk of imprudent lending changes over the course of a business cycle. Members of the central bank's Financial Policy Committee, who met this week, were split in December on whether it was time to raise the new counter-cyclical capital buffer banks must hold to 1 percent - its neutral level - from zero. Even if the buffer does rise, the immediate impact on how much extra capital banks have to hold is likely to be small, as most already hold more than the minimum amount of core capital. This new buffer sits on top of the minimum and is built up in good times to stop credit supply becoming too frothy, and tapped when the economy weakens and some loans turn sour. The FPC will announce its capital decision and the stress tests at 1000 GMT on Tuesday, in what is their last scheduled policy statement before Britain votes on June 23 on whether to leave the European Union. Economists say a departure would trigger shocks in markets. BoE policymakers from Governor Mark Carney to director of financial stability strategy Alex Brazier say the "job's almost done" in building capital levels, with banks within a "hair's breadth" of the right amount. The annual stress test is also moving from financial crisis era fire-fighting to becoming a tool to make sure banks have a sustainable business model and no weak points. Story continues One area of concern for the FPC is Britain's property investment market, and on Tuesday it is due to publish a report into buy-to-let mortgage underwriting standards. Britain's finance minister George Osborne told parliament on Thursday he was highly likely to give the FPC powers to intervene directly on buy-to-let, possibly as soon as this year, and the FPC could recommend banks take action sooner. Figures on Thursday showed that banks approved more buy-to-let mortgages in February as landlords sought to complete purchases before April, when stamp duty on such purchases increases. (Editing by Tom Heneghan) ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria is in talks with oil majors Chevron (CVX.N), France's Total (TOTF.PA) and Italy's ENI (ENI.MI) to get help revamping the ailing refineries in Africa's top crude producer, its oil minister said on Tuesday. The West African nation has been trying to restart its outdated refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna to end its dependency on costly fuel imports. For weeks, motorists across the country have been queuing to get petrol. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who also heads state oil firm NNPC, said OPEC member Nigeria wanted to privatise the refineries within 12 months following repairs. "We have gotten commitments from some of the majors. (ENI's) Agip has indicated interest to work with us on Port Harcourt, Chevron on Warri," he told the Senate or upper house. "We are talking to Total on Kaduna." Kachikwu has previously said NNPC was looking at partnerships or takeovers. "We are advertising just in case there are better terms out there," he said, adding that NNPC was also seeking partners to run pipelines and fuel depots as joint ventures. NNPC had managed to repair the pipelines feeding the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, he said. Kaduna is fed by a pipeline from Warri. Kachikwu said that from next week on fuel queues would disappear. He said NNPC had reached deals with oil majors, with which it works in joint ventures, to help make up for a shortage of dollars due to a slump in oil revenues hindering fuel imports. "The major international upstream oil companies have indicated their willingness to support major oil marketing companies with some of the required foreign exchange," Kachikwu said. "As of today, we have been able to work, in collaboration with the majors...with them to see how they can sell us foreign exchange for the naira components they require for their local operations," he said, without giving details. In February, Kachikwu told Reuters NNPC was in talks with oil majors and banks to raise capital for new drilling and to repay its debt accumulated from years of mismanagement. The debt had fallen to $3 billion by December, down from $3.5-$4 billion, he said on Tuesday. President Muhammadu Buhari fired the NNPC board and appointed Kachikwu last year to overhaul the company, whose opaque structures have allowed corruption and oil theft to flourish. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Donald Trump Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump went on a Twitter offensive Tuesday after his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was charged with simple battery. The police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Lewandowski and released security footage that appears to show him yanking then Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields backward and away from Trump after a press conference earlier this month. Trump fired off a series of tweets defending Lewandowski and questioning Fields. In perhaps the most brazen of the bunch, Trump speculated about whether he could file his own charges against her. "Victory press conference was over. Why is she allowed to grab me and shout questions? Can I press charges?" he wrote. Two of Trump's tweets featured screenshots of the security footage in which Fields did not appear to be grabbing the candidate: Victory press conference was over. Why is she allowed to grab me and shout questions? Can I press charges? pic.twitter.com/qbW2RjkINX Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016 Why is this reporter touching me as I leave news conference? What is in her hand?? pic.twitter.com/HQB8dl0fhn Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016 Trump's tweet represents a shift in the campaign's defense of Lewandowski. It previously maintained that Lewandowski never touched or even met Fields. The charge against Lewandowski came in relation to an incident at a March 8 Trump campaign event, in which he was accused of manhandling Fields, who worked for Breitbart until she quit over the incident. Lewandowski turned himself in to Jupiter police, The Palm Beach Post reported. He is due in court on May 4, according to CNN. Story continues Trump has repeatedly refused to denounce Lewandowski. During a CNN interview on Tuesday, Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said that the campaign has "total confidence" in Lewandowski, who she said will keep his position as campaign manager. Here are Trump's other Tuesday tweets about the charge: Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016 Why aren't people looking at this reporters earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016 This was the reporters statement- when she found out there was tape from my facility, she changed her tune. pic.twitter.com/N5815RS1At Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016 For her part, Fields responded to Trump's initial accusations by saying that he was lying about what happened: Because my story never changed. Seriously, just stop lying. https://t.co/1fz9cBHOuT Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) March 29, 2016 NOW WATCH: This isnt the first time this top Trump aide has been accused of misconduct More From Business Insider The logo of Exxon Mobil Corporation is shown on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, December 30, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - By Valerie Volcovici and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top attorneys from Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands said on Tuesday they will investigate whether Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) misled investors and the public about the risks of climate change. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Earl Walker announced their probes at a news conference in New York, flanked by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and top attorneys from other states. They said their probes into Exxon will be similar to ones launched by New York and California. Healey said fossil fuel companies that have deceived investors about the risks climate change poses to the planet and to their bottom lines "must be held accountable." Walker said he wants to ensure there is transparency so consumers can make informed choices about what they purchase. "If Exxon Mobil has tried to cloud their judgment, we are determined to hold the company accountable, he said. Exxon believes the probes by state attorneys general are "politically motivated," said Suzanne McCarron, the company's vice president for public and government affairs. "We are actively assessing all legal options," she said. A total of 17 U.S. attorneys general are cooperating on probes into whether fossil fuel companies have misled investors on climate change risks. The officials will also collaborate on other climate-related initiatives. In November, Schneiderman subpoenaed Exxon to demand extensive financial records and emails in connection with its climate change disclosures. California Attorney General Kamala Harris followed suit in January. A coalition of more than 20 states has filed an amicus brief in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, a rule to crack down on carbon emissions that has been challenged by industry and 25 states in a federal appeals court. The probes of Exxon were triggered by investigative reports last year by Inside Climate News and the Los Angeles Times that showed the company's in-house scientists had flagged concerns about climate change decades ago, which the company ignored or contradicted. Story continues Investors also have started to target Exxon over the climate issue. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled that Exxon must include a climate change resolution on its annual shareholder proxy. The Rockefeller Family Fund said last week it will divest from fossil fuels as quickly as possible and "eliminate holdings" of Exxon. Shares of Exxon closed up 31 cents, or 0.37 percent, at $84.53 on Tuesday. Gore, an active climate policy advocate, joined the attorneys general at the announcement, calling it a "turning point" in a broader effort to hold fossil fuel companies accountable. He said efforts by fossil fuel companies to downplay climate change were akin to the way the tobacco industry promoted smoking for years in spite of health warnings. The Massachusetts and Virgin Islands attorneys general did not elaborate on what legal tools will guide their investigations. Legal experts have said options include consumer protection laws and "blue sky" securities laws. The New York probe hinges on the state's Martin Act, an anti-fraud law, as well as consumer protection statutes. Some experts have said the issues involved could potentially trigger federal racketeering and organized crime (RICO) laws the Justice Department used in its landmark case against Big Tobacco. Exxon's unusually long and pointed statement criticizing the probes said the company recognized the risks posed by climate change. It said any assumption it withheld information on the topic is "preposterous" and based on a "false premise that Exxon Mobil reached definitive conclusions about anthropogenic climate change before the world's experts and before the science itself had matured, and then withheld it from the broader scientific community." In her emailed statement to Reuters, McCarron noted that Exxon scientists had participated with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She also said the probes by the state attorneys general would "have a chilling effect on private sector research." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Dan Grebler and David Gregorio) * Pakistan, Egypt see decline in palm oil imports from Malaysia * Weaker local currencies, higher palm oil prices hit demand By Emily Chow and Naveen Thukral KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE, March 29 (Reuters) - Malaysia's palm oil exports to predominately Muslim countries have been falling as rising prices for the tropical oil and weak domestic currencies are limiting imports, and the high-consumption period of Ramadan is unlikely to turn the trend. This could limit gains for benchmark palm oil prices that have rallied to a two-year high on concerns that output from the main Southeast Asian growers will fall this year because of drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern. Prices have gained 8 percent this month, rising for a second month in a row. The holy month of Ramadan starts in June this year and is known for its communal fasting. But palm oil consumption typically surges leading up to and during this time as Muslims use the oil to prepare meals to break the fast and during large banquets to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the fasting period. "The Middle East and Northern African countries are currently seeing a challenging macroeconomic environment amidst low oil prices," said Aurelia Britsch, head of commodities research at BMI Research in Singapore. "Economic growth is slowing down and governments are cutting public spending due to the deterioration in their fiscal position. These two factors are weakening consumer's spending power and demand for palm oil." Predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and South Asia are exerting more influence on palm oil markets. The combined 2015 imports from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt, the Muslim countries among the top 10 global importers, rose to 6.1 million tonnes, surpassing China for the first time, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed. While Malaysia's palm oil exports to those countries have declined during the past several years, in 2015 they represented, along with Shi'ite Iran, 8.7 percent of exports, according to data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Malaysia is the world's second-largest producer after Indonesia. Story continues Pakistan, the largest Muslim buyer of Malaysian palm oil, reduced its imports to about 728,000 tonnes last year, from nearly 1.8 million in 2011, the MPOB data showed. Egypt was the third-largest Middle Eastern importer of palm oil in 2015 from Malaysia, taking nearly 210,000 tonnes, the MPOB data showed. However, that was down from over 700,000 tonnes in 2011. Egypt, which relies heavily on imports to meet its food needs, has been facing a dollar shortage since a popular uprising in 2011 has driven away tourists and foreign investors, both major sources of hard currency. "(Middle Eastern buyers) have seen steep declines in their currencies and this has taken a toll on buying power," said a trading manager at a Kuala Lumpur-based company that is a key supplier to the Middle Eastern market. Iranian imports totalled 635,000 tonnes in 2013 and then slid to 331,000 tonnes by 2015, according to the MPOB. Bangladeshi imports dropped to about 263,000 tonnes from 442,000 tonnes over same period. Egypt typically needs to buy a total of about 80,000 tonnes of palm oil a month from Indonesia and Malaysia to boost supplies for Ramadan but the country has been taking only about 60,000 tonnes since the start of 2016, said the trading manager in Kuala Lumpur and a second trader also based in the city. EXPENSIVE PALM Palm oil prices have climbed about 24 percent since June 18, 2015, when Ramadan began last year, to Monday's close of 2,758 ringgit ($688) a tonne. "Buyers have been unable to digest the increase (in prices)," said another trader based in Kuala Lumpur. "The market needs to stabilise for buyers to start coming in." Palm prices have gained about 10 percent since the start of the year, bucked by tighter global supplies due to the El Nino - the worst on record since 1997. Industry experts have forecast global production to fall by 2 million to 3 million tonnes this year, which may lift prices up to 3,000 ringgit by June. "Like everybody else I'm hoping demand for Ramadan will pick up, but it's a function of currency. Even if demand goes up, there's no way trade can happen if currency is not available," said a palm oil trader based in the Middle East. ($1 = 4.0110 ringgit) (Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Brazil's political system is set to spin further out of control Tuesday as the biggest party in the Senate quits the ruling coalition, a move that will hike the odds on President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) announced Tuesday, as expected, it would pull six ministers from Rousseff's Cabinet, ordering them to either resign or face ethics proceedings, Reuters reported Tuesday. If Rousseff is impeached, it would put Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, next in line for the presidency, Reuters said. Analysts are divided as to how Brazil's economy and political situation might fare in the wake. The country is mired in social unrest, a deep recession and its greatest political crisis since re-democratization in the 1980s. PMDB's move to abandon the coalition could precipitate the impeachment of Rousseff who is charged with corruption by freeing its members to vote for her removal. "The break-up should be a key. We think it should be decisive for how the impeachment and for the voting in the Lower House and eventually in the Upper House will evolve," Standard Chartered Latin America economist, Italo Lombardi, told CNBC on Tuesday. Impeachment will likely be a long and complicated process. Approval by both the Lower House and the Senate is needed to force Rousseff to step down. A full process of impeachment is then started. Lombardi forecasts a conclusive ruling might not be reached before late July or early August at the earliest. If Rousseff steps down as part of the impeachment process, Vice-President Michel Temer would take the helm. The 75-year-old heads the PMDB, a centrist party to the right of Rousseff's Workers' Party. He is viewed as more pro-business than Rousseff and less likely to renege on economic reforms. "Temer would have a strong cabinet, with prominent names including a former presidential candidate from the PSDB currently the main opposition party a clear fiscal reform-driven economic plan and at least a bit of a honeymoon with congress," Mario Marconini, a Sao Paulo-based managing director with risk consultancy Teneo Intelligence, told CNBC on Tuesday. Story continues Marconini viewed impeachment as the best-case scenario for Brazil a stance with which markets appear to agree, having rallied as the prospect grows likelier. The Brazilian real (Exchange: BRL=) has rallied around 9 percent against the U.S. dollar this month, while the benchmark Bovespa stock index (Sao Paulo Stock Exchange: .BVSP) has gained around 19 percent. On Monday, Brazilian credit default swaps (CDS) posted the biggest daily improvement in percentage terms 3.3 percent of any sovereign, with the spread 75 basis points tighter on the month, according to data provider Markit. CDS are a type of financial contract used by buyers of debt to hedge the potential loss from an issuer defaulting. They are viewed as a proxy for the perceived creditworthiness of a debt issuer in this case, Brazil. However, the "long and messy" impeachment process will distract policymakers' attention from the economy, Win Thin, head of emerging market currency strategy at BBH, said in a report on Tuesday. This focus is much needed, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting Brazil's economy will shrink by 3.5 percent this year. Standard Chartered is more bearish, predicting a 4.2 percent recession in 2016, worse than last year's 3.8 percent contraction. "There is a clear detachment between this market euphoria about the possibility of an impeachment and what is going on, on the ground in the real economy It is probably going to be one of the worst recessions in history for Brazil this year," Lombardi told CNBC. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Reuters contributed to this report. More From CNBC TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Mar 29, 2016) - RTDNA Canada, The Association of Electronic Journalists, is pleased to recognize excellence in electronic journalism in the Central Region with the finalists for the regional awards. RTDNA Canada Awards honour the best journalists, programs, stations and new gathering organizations in radio, television and digital."At a time of unprecedented challenges to our industry, it is now more important than ever to recognize the very best in Canadian electronic and digital journalism," says RTDNA Canada President Ian Koenigsfest. "These prestigious awards allow us to put aside our competitive energies for an evening and celebrate the very best in Canadian journalism." The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 2002 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their career in broadcast journalism. CENTRAL Region Lifetime Achievement Award Winners: Peter Mansbridge - CBC TV Tom Clark - Global TV Here are Nominees for the 2015 RTDNA Awards: Digital Adrienne Clarkson Award - Diversity CBC Hamilton, Police Carding in Hamilton CBC Montreal, Tanya Tagaq Calls Out the Documentary, "of the North" Charlie Edwards Award - Spot News CBC Montreal - Cedrika Provencher's remains are found Data Storytelling Award NEWSTALK 1010 - PETITION: Ask Amazon to stop selling Bernardo eBook Global Toronto - Across Ontario, desperate problem gamblers surround casinos Digital Media Award - Large Market CBC Toronto - Metro Morning - Interview with Prime Minister CBC Hamilton - CBC Hamilton Online News Coverage CBC Montreal - CBC Montreal Website Ron Laidlaw Award - Continuing Coverage CBC Montreal - Flushgate: Montreal Dumps Raw Sewage into the St Lawrence River CBC Montreal - The MUHC: Montreal's new English superhospital opens at last CBC Toronto - CBC Toronto - Social coverage of Jays' playoff run Multiplatform Dan McArthur Award - In-depth/Investigative Story continues CBC Montreal, Conservative Candidate Chris Lloyd run in Trudeau's Riding as an Art Project CBC Montreal, Quebec Judge won't hear case of Woman Wearing Hijab CBC Ottawa, Under the Gun Radio Adrienne Clarkson Award - Diversity CBC Quebec, Tshiuetin train: a vital link to Quebec's north CBC Thunder Bay, Transgender Teen: You are not alone CBC Toronto, Metro Morning: Fathering Change Byron MacGregor Award (Small Market) - Best Newscast 560 CFOS Owen Sound, The Arson Fires in Owen Sound Byron MacGregor Award (Medium Market) - Best Newscast AM800 CKLW, AM800 News 6:30 a.m. CBC Windsor, Windsor Morning News 570News Kitchener, 570News 7 am Broadcast - Bill Cosby Comes to Town Byron MacGregor Award (Large Market) - Best Newscast 1310News Ottawa, 1310News: The Morning News 680 NEWS, Transit Chaos CBC Toronto, CBC Toronto Radio Newscast Oct. 20 Charlie Edwards Award - Spot News 680 NEWS, Missing Toddler 680 NEWS, Transit Breakdown NEWS Talk Radio, CJAD 800, Paris Attacked Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Short Feature CBC Quebec City, It's OK: Creating art to booster self-esteem CBC Quebec City, Late start to the Lobster season CBC Sudbury, Helping a Marathon CBC Thunder Bay, Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School Basketball Team Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) - Short Feature 680 News, Duck Tape 1310 News, Parliament Hill Shootings Aftermath Newstalk 1010, The New Messiah Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Long Feature CBC Quebec City, The NAHL "Goon" League cleans up its act CBC Quebec City, The Reverend Katherine Burgess CBC Sudbury, Angels and Demons CBC Sudbury, The Pressures of PTSD CBC Thunder Bay, Goat versus Lynx Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) - Long Feature CBC Montreal, Daybreak's Exclusive with Officer 728 CBC Montreal, Homerun: Kidney Friends CBC Ottawa, Transgendered Family Dick Smyth Award - Creative Use of Sound CBC Ottawa, Porchview Dances News Talk Radio, CJAD 800, Ottawa Shooting -1 Year Later 680 NEWS, Animal Sounds Gord Sinclair Award - Live Special Events CBC Toronto, CBC Toronto Townhall - "Just In Time Jobs" News Talk Radio, CJAD 800, Election Night 2015 Newstalk 1010, Taxi Protest Paralyzes Toronto Peter Gzowski Award - Radio News Information Program CBC Quebec City, Jacques Parizeau (1930-2015) CBC Montreal, Radio Noon Discusses Black Face at Theatre du Rideau Vert CBC Sudbury, Morning North - Gas Leak Thursday CBC Windsor, Windsor Morning - Feb 2, 2015 Ron Laidlaw Award - Continuing Coverage CBC Quebec City, Fallout from accusations in Val d'Or CBC Montreal, Bill 20 Forces Quebec Families to Pay for IVF Newstalk 1010, The Search for Elijah Marsh Sam Ross Award - Editorial / Commentary CBC Quebec City, Ross Murray: Hot Button Election Issues CBC Quebec City, Ross Murray: Preaching Green CBC Montreal, The Oka standoff: Loreen Pindera looks back, 25 years after the Mohawk barricades went up Sports Award (Small/Medium Market) CBC Sudbury, Skipping CBC Sudbury, Spaniels Sports Award (Large Market) CBC Montreal, Andie's All-Stars: Kwawenna:wi Diabo-Alfred 680 Radio, Sporting Election and Siri the Sportscaster Television Adrienne Clarkson Award - Diversity CBC Toronto, CBC Toronto - Made it in Canada series CTV Barrie, Young Umpire CTV Montreal, Faceoff CTV Windsor, Living Blind Bert Cannings Award (Medium Market) - Best Newscast CBC Windsor, CBC News Windsor at 6 CTV Barrie, "Paris Attacks" CTV Kitchener, Election Night Bert Cannings Award (Large Market) - Best Newscast CBC Toronto, CBC Toronto - News at Six - Oct. 6 CTV News Ottawa, CTV News Ottawa at 6PM City, Citynews At Six Charlie Edwards Award - Spot News City, Paris Terror CTV Kitchener, CTV News Ottawa at 6PM CTV News Ottawa, Guelph Hospital Shooting Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Short Feature CTV London, VE Reflections CTV Windsor, The Minivan - Saviour of Windsor Assembly MAtv, Citylife Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) Short Feature CBC Montreal, Quebec Voters Defy Traditional Political Spectrum CTV Montreal, Crash of the Liberator CTV News Ottawa, From the Dump to the Stage: The Rebirth of a Famous Canadian's Guitar Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Long Feature CTV Barrie, Medical Marijuana CTV London, Mental Health 911 CTV Windsor, 85 Years Strong - The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) - Long Feature City, Vigilante Gord Sinclair Award - Live Special Events CBC Montreal, Live from the New McGill University Health Centre City, CityVote 2015 CP24, CP24: Your Vote 2015 Hugh Haugland Award - Creative Use of Video CBC Montreal, Love Locks CP24, CP24: Rappelling City Hall CTV News Ottawa, Remembrance Day Soundscape CTV News Toronto, Miniature Toronto Ron Laidlaw Award - Continuing Coverage CBC Toronto, Border Insecurity CP24, CP24: The Uber Era CTV Kitchener, Arrow Shooting Sam Ross Award - Editorial / Commentary Global Montreal, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Sports Award (Small/Medium Market) CTV London, Hockey Pad History Sports Award (Large Market) CTV News Ottawa, Cold War Spy Story Global Montreal, Football Weigh In Rogers Sportsnet, Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games Trina McQueen Award - Television News Information Program CBC Toronto, Our Toronto - Nov. 21 show Global Montreal, Focus Montreal: Montrealers Making a Difference Global News Toronto, Focus Ontario: Beer sales in Ontario grocery stores MAtv, Citylife RTDNA Canada is the voice of electronic and digital journalists and news managers in Canada. The members of RTDNA Canada recognize the responsibility of broadcast journalists to promote and to protect the freedom to report independently about matters of public interest and to present a wide range of expressions, opinions and ideas. The RTDNA Canada Code of Ethics, adopted by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, is used to measure fairness and accuracy in our profession. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 29, 2016) - RTDNA Canada, The Association of Electronic Journalists, is pleased to recognize excellence in electronic journalism in the BC Region with the finalists for the regional awards. RTDNA Canada Awards honour the best journalists, programs, stations and newsgathering organizations in radio, television and digital."At a time of unprecedented challenges to our industry, it is now more important than ever to recognize the very best in Canadian electronic and digital journalism," says RTDNA Canada President Ian Koenigsfest. "These prestigious awards allow us to put aside our competitive energies for an evening and celebrate the very best in Canadian journalism." The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 2002 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their career in broadcast journalism. BC Region Lifetime Achievement Award Winners: Clive Jackson - Global BC - Retired Frank Stanford - C-FAX 1070 (Bell Media) Here are the Nominees for the 2015 RTDNA Awards: Digital Adrienne Clarkson Award - Diversity CBC BC, Finding Refuge: Syrian Refugees in BC Global BC, Making History Charlie Edwards Award - Spot News CTV Vancouver, Port Fire CTV Vancouver Island, James Bay Cougar Global BC, Tofino Tragedy Data Storytelling Award CBC British Columbia, Immunization in Schools CBC British Columbia, Schools at Seismic Risk Global BC, 12 Deadliest Highways Digital Media Award - Small/Medium Market C-FAX107, C-FAX Candidate Guide - Federal Election 2015 CTV Vancouver Island, VancouverIsland.ctvnews.ca Digital Media Award - Large Market CBC British Columbia, cbc.ca/bc CTV Vancouver, Vancouver.CTVNews.ca Global BC, Kate Climbs Kilimanjaro Ron Laidlaw Award - Continuing Coverage CBC British Columbia, Tofino's Tragedy: The Sinking of the Leviathan II Global BC, MCFD: Demanding Answers Global BC, Tofino Tragedy Sam Ross Award - Commentary Story continues CBC British Columbia, Analysis: Om the Bridge CBC British Columbia, Analysis: Transit Referendum Sports Award - Large Market Global BC, History of the Grizzlies Multiplatform Dan McArthur Award - In-depth/Investigative CBC Vancouver, Dying in Care CBC Vancouver, Reckless Disregard Global Okanagan, Food Label Tampering Radio Adrienne Clarkson Award - Diversity CBC Vancouver, Bharat in B.C. CBC Vancouver, In Dignity: Disabilities, Freedom and the Fight for Security CKNW Radio, Coming Out Byron MacGregor Award (Small Market) - Best Newscast CBC Kamloops, Flood Impact CKBZ Kamloops, B-100 Noon News Byron MacGregor Award (Medium Market) - Best Newscast C-FAX 1070, Victoria @ NOON Byron MacGregor Award (Large Market) - Best Newscast CBC Vancouver, CBC News at 7.30 am CKNW Radio, 2015 Metro Vancouver Transit & Transportation Plebiscite NEWS 1130, English Bay Fuel Spill Charlie Edwards Award - Spot News CBC Nelson, Season of Fire NEWS 1130, English Bay Fuel Spill NEWS 1130, Port Fire Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Short Feature CBC Kamloops Spences Bridge loses its Bridge CBC Prince George, Rehab at the River: Water Ceremony C-FAX 1070, Canada Submarine Fleet Finally Operational Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) - Short Feature CKNW Radio, Langley Book Award NEWS 1130, Cuba's Future NEWS 1130, The Winter that Wasn't Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Long Feature C-FAX 1070, "My Journey to James" Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) - Long Feature CBC Vancouver, Overexposed and Undereducated: Sex Education in BC Schools CBC Vancouver: The Early Edition, Giving Care: Yin Lee's Story CKNW Radio, Aging Alone Dick Smyth Award - Creative Use of Sound CBC Prince George, #ISupportBarry CBC Vancouver, In Search of Selkirk Sally Gord Sinclair Award - Live Special Events CKNW Radio, Election Night: Decision 2015 CKRW The RUSH, The Yukon Quest on CKRW The RUSH NEWS 1130, Your Vote 2015- Federal Election Live Coverage Peter Gzowski Award - Radio News Information Program CBC Kelowna, Daybreak South CBC Vancouver, The Early Edition Ron Laidlaw Award - Continuing Coverage CBC Vancouver, Referendum Ride Along CBC Victoria, Tragedy off Tofino NEWS 1130, Transit Tax Plebiscite Sam Ross Award - Editorial / Commentary CBC Vancouver, Is Dad Bod Sexist? C-FAX 1070, Frank Stanford's Commentary CKNW Radio, Simi Sara on Terrorism Sports Award (Small/Medium Market) CBC Kelowna, Hockey Enforcer's Struggle with Concussions Sports Award (Large Market) CBC Vancouver, Seattle Seahawks: The Quest for Super Bowl XLIX Television Adrienne Clarkson Award - Diversity CBC Vancouver, Finding Refuge CTV Vancouver, Dickson Chases His Dream CTV Vancouver Island, Transgender Discrimination Bert Cannings Award (Small Market) - Best Newscast CFJC TV, CFJC Evening News CKPG TV, CKPG News Bert Cannings Award (Medium Market) - Best Newscast CHEK, CHEK News at 5 - Tragedy in Tofino CTV Vancouver Island, CTV News at 6 Global Okanagan, Global Okanagan News @ 5 - Wildfires Bert Cannings Award (Large Market) - Best Newscast CBC Vancouver, CBC Vancouver News @6 CTV Vancouver, CTV News at 6 Global BC, News Hour Charlie Edwards Award - Spot News CTV Vancouver, Port Fire CTV Vancouver Island, James Bay Cougar Global BC, Vancouver Port Fire Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Short Feature CKPG TV, The impact of David Douglas CTV Vancouver Island, Returning Home Global Okanagan, Dreamlift 2015 Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) Short Feature CBC Vancouver, Smoking Mad CBC Vancouver, Syrian refugees finding support in Kelowna Global BC, Giddy Grandma Dave Rogers Award (Small/Medium Market) - Long Feature CTV Vancouver Island, Benches CTV Vancouver Island, Changing Tides CKPG TV, Canada Winter Games - A Celebration Dave Rogers Award (Large Market) - Long Feature CTV Vancouver, A Mother's Dying Wish Global BC, Transforming Healthcare: St. Paul's Hospital Gord Sinclair Award - Live Special Events CBC BC & CBC News Network, BC Earthquake 2015 CTV Vancouver, Remembrance Day Global BC, Miracle Weekend Hugh Haugland Award - Creative Use of Video CTV Vancouver, Still Fighting Global BC, Nasty Work Fridges Ron Laidlaw Award - Continuing Coverage CTV Vancouver, Whale Watching Disaster CTV Vancouver Island, Tofino Tragedy Global BC, Tofino Tragedy Sam Ross Award - Editorial / Commentary CTV Vancouver, Last Word - Trudeau Dynasty Sports Award (Small/Medium Market) CKPG News, The Goalie with One Leg CTV Vancouver Island, Pitch of Dreams Sports Award (Large Market) CTV Vancouver, Hole in One - Times Two Global BC, Boxer Rhett Gibbons Trina McQueen Award - Television News Information Program CBC Vancouver, First Nations Father's Day CFJC TV, We Stand on Guard Shaw TV, Voice of BC RTDNA Canada is the voice of electronic and digital journalists and news managers in Canada. The members of RTDNA Canada recognize the responsibility of broadcast journalists to promote and to protect the freedom to report independently about matters of public interest and to present a wide range of expressions, opinions and ideas. The RTDNA Canada Code of Ethics, adopted by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, is used to measure fairness and accuracy in our profession. (Adds confirmation from city official) By Hilary Russ March 29 (Reuters) - The financially distressed city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, will soon sell its public sewer utility to a subsidiary of American Water Works Company Inc. for $195 million, a city official said on Tuesday. The deal would mark another step forward in the city's efforts to stabilize its budget. An old steel and coal town known as the Electric City and as the setting for the television series "The Office," Scranton's finances have been under state oversight since 1992. The city's previous administration made headlines in 2012 when it cut police and firefighter pay to minimum wage for two weeks because it could not make payroll. "Without this deal the city wouldn't have been able to survive, financially anyway," Mayor William Courtright said late 9on Monday in televised remarks on the sewer utility sale. The Scranton Sewer Authority's board authorized the sale to Pennsylvania American Water late on Monday, City Solicitor Jason A. Shrive told Reuters. Before the transaction can close, it needs governmental approvals from state public utility regulators and state and federal environmental protection agencies. The deal is expected to save the city $350 million over 30 years, plus another $140 million the authority must spend on environmental mediation under a consent decree. Ratepayers will likely see their rates increase on average 1.9 percent per year for the next 10 years, Shrive said, compared to 4.5 to 5 percent every year for the next 30 years if there were no sale. That amounts to $7,600 of savings total for each ratepayer over the next three decades, Shrive said. A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania American Water, which already owns Scranton's drinking water system, declined to comment. Nationally, American Water expanded its customer base in 2015 by nearly 42,000 customers, with just over half of those coming from acquisitions that closed that year, according to a transcript of the company's fourth-quarter earnings call in February. Story continues Earlier this month, Scranton city officials also disclosed details of a $31.5 million deal to pay off a long-overdue labor award inherited from the previous administration. The city will pay about $29.3 million in back pay to police and firefighters, including retirees, and put a total of $1.59 million into the city's public pension funds. These steps, combined with a planned long-term lease of the city's parking authority that could be finalized by June, could get the city out of the state oversight program for distressed cities by the end of 2017, Shrive said. (Reporting By Hilary Russ; Editing by Andrew Hay) The sluggish economy is making employers cautious. Sluggish economic growth throughout the region has hurt Singapores bank, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry, as online recruitment activities in the sector saw another slump in February. The Monster Employment Index (MEI) reveals that Singapore posted a -4% YoY growth in the online hiring in BFSI in February. This is down from 0% between January 2015 and 2016, putting the city-states BFSI sector among the lowest growth industries in the market. Among the three markets covered by MEI, Singapore reported the least decline in online demand for finance and accounts roles with -13% drop YoY in February. In the same timeframe, demands in Malaysia -29% decline YoY, and Philippines saw -16% pullback YoY. As global economic uncertainty continue to rise, economic growth, in Singapore and Malaysia especially, remains slow, comments Sanjay Modi, Monster.coms managing director. Some employers within businesses in the banking sectors across the board are not in a hurry to hire and have even resorted to laying-off employees to cope with the challenging business environment, Modi further stated. Meanwhile, Singapore recorded -7% YoY decline in overall online hiring in February, a dip from -2% recorded between January 2015 and 2016. The production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary sector reported the sharpest growth at 9% YoY, while the hospitality sector saw the biggest slump at -10%. Customer service roles saw the greatest growth in demand at 2% YoY, while the software, hardware and telco roles posted the steepest pullback at -19% YoY. More From Singapore Business Review French Finance Minister Michel Sapin speaks during a joint news conference with British Finance Minister George Osborne and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew following their participation in a United Nations Security Council meeting to approve a resolution to cut funding for Islamic State at U.N. headquarters in New York, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar PARIS (Reuters) - France is tightening its anti-corruption laws to clean up its image after several French companies were slapped with huge fines abroad, with planned reforms including greater protection for whistleblowers and a new anti-corruption agency. Two years ago, France's biggest bank, BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), was fined $9 billion (6.3 billion pounds) by U.S. authorities over violations of sanctions against Sudan, Cuba and Iran. French engineering company Alstom (ALSO.PA) and oil groups Total (TOTF.PA) and Technip (TECF.PA) were also forced to pay millions of dollars to the U.S. authorities over bribery allegations. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin will unveil the new bill to the cabinet on Wednesday, before sending it to parliament for discussion. "We are badly ranked internationally, we're under suspicion," Sapin told France Inter radio on Tuesday. "So we must wash away this suspicion and for that we need strong measures," he said. The bill will also include the creation of a government-wide registry of lobbyists and a ban on "large" gifts to government officials, officials at the finance ministry said. France was ranked 23rd in Transparency International's latest corruption perception index, below Germany, Britain and the United States, and was criticised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2014. "To this day, no French company has yet been convicted for foreign bribery in France, whereas French companies have been convicted abroad for that offence," the OECD said then, adding that it was concerned by France's "lack of proactivity". Alstom was sentenced to pay a $772 million fine by a U.S. judge last year, the largest levied by the U.S. government in a foreign bribery case. Total and Technip also agreed in recent years to pay millions of dollar to U.S. authorities to settle allegations of bribery of foreign officials. "This is shocking, and almost insulting for our judiciary system," said Sapin, who passed a first series of anti-bribery measures under a previous Socialist government in 1993. Story continues By giving French judges a more efficient framework to crack down on bribery, French officials are also hoping to avoid future cases of French firms being forced by courts to allow monitors reporting to foreign governments into their operation, as was the case with BNP Paribas. The government dropped an earlier plan to introduce the possibility for companies to plead guilty in exchange for a financial settlement, meant to bypass lengthy legal procedures, after France's highest administrative court advised against it, Sapin said. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) Visitors walk past a logo of Takata Corp on its display at a showroom for vehicles in Tokyo, Japan February 5, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Takata Corp (7312.T) is likely to seek more capital around September as it expects its finances to take a hit from a rise in costs to recall potentially defective airbag parts, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday. Takata is expected to narrow down which companies to approach for investment, Kyodo said without citing sources, adding that candidates would include automakers such as top client Honda Motor Co . A Takata spokesman declined to comment, while a Honda spokesman said it had no plans to provide additional financial support to Takata. More than 50 million airbags around the world have been recalled to replace Takata's inflators, which can explode with too much force and spray metal shards inside vehicles. Automakers have said they would discuss how to split the cost of the recalls with Takata once the cause of the defect is identified. A handful of investigations by Takata, automakers and transport authorities are currently underway. In the meantime, major automakers including Honda and Toyota Motor Corp have said they will stop using Takata airbag inflators in new vehicle models, and have been sourcing replacement inflators from alternative suppliers. Takata will decide how much capital to raise upon gauging the scale of the recall costs, Kyodo said. Given current recall figures, industry experts estimate that Takata could face a recall bill of about $3.5 billion if it is found to be responsible for the defective airbags, more than double the company's current assets of about $1.3 billion as of December. The company has already been fined $70 million by U.S. transport authorities. It also faces class action suits in the United States, where the majority of airbag-related injuries occurred. Takata has been under pressure to isolate the reason behind the defective airbags, which appear to be triggered when moisture enters the chamber containing the chemicals. Reuters in January reported that Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada, the grandson of the family-owned company's founder, was willing to resign over the recall. Other auto parts makers including Sweden's Autoliv Inc (ALV.N), German-U.S. supplier ZF-TRW and Japan's Daicel Corp have ramped up production of replacement inflators. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Stephen Coates) When youre looking for, say, a new refrigerator, you probably start by going online to find one with the features you want plus good ratings and reviews. Next, you probably compare the stores that stock that model to find the best price. But shopping for good, affordable doctors and hospitals is a lot more complicated. For one thing, reliable information about a doctor, a doctor group, or a hospital is hard to come by. And trying to find high-quality medical care that is affordable can be even more difficult. Consumer Reports is now working on two related efforts in California that are trying to help residents solve those problems by giving them information on the cost of healthcare as well as the information they need to compare doctors and hospitals on quality. In one we looked at the care provided by primary care physicians. We focused not on individual California doctors but teams of physicians who work together. We compared them on how well they performed in certain basic areas, such as screening patients for cancer, ordering the right tests for back pain, and managing diabetes or high blood pressure. That data comes from the Integrated Healthcare Association, a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality and lowering the cost of healthcare in California. The project is funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The second is a collaboration among Consumer Reports; the California Department of Insurance; and the University of California, San Francisco. It compares hospitals on two common health concerns that bring people to those institutions: childbirth, and hip and knee replacement. The price and quality of medical procedures can differ dramatically from one medical provider to another, says Dave Jones, director of the states Department of Insurance. So its important for patients and their families to research the price and quality of care in their area, he says. Find the Right Doctor Group Story continues The Ratings look at doctor groups, not individual California doctors, for several reasons. First, getting statistically meaningful results can require combining the data of multiple physicians. More important, doctors today increasingly dont function as individuals as much as they do as teams, says Doris Peter, Ph.D., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. So how well an individual doctor performs depends in part on how good that teamwork is. And in California, information on physician performance comes from a subset of groups that have been created expressly to function as teams. There are more than 180 of the groups, all affiliated with one or more of the states 10 leading health maintenance organizations, often consisting of several hundred physicians. They have large networks of physicians and other experts to manage patients, and put a premium on good communication among providers to make sure that patients get the right screening tests and that chronic diseases are managed properly. An added benefit of this model of care is that the groups, as part of their effort to improve quality and control costs, gather and publicly report their performance datawhich is why they can be compared, at least against each other. We think Californians choosing healthcare providers should start by looking for groups that follow this integrated model of care, says Jeffrey Rideout, president and CEO of IHA. Any group that participates is committed to high quality and low cost, and is also committed to transparency. That transparency also allows consumers to compare practices in their own communities, so they can make smart decisions when choosing a doctor group. And there are often important differences among those groups, sometimes even in the same neighborhoods, with some earning top scores and others receiving low ones (see the Ratings for details). Making that data available reveals variation in the care provided by physicians in different parts of the state. For example, our analysis shows that groups in Northern California performed better, on average, than those in Southern California on all three of the measures. Compare Hospitals Unlike the doctor Ratings, our information on hospitals covers almost all of those in the state. But as with the doctors, the quality of the care varies widely, depending on which hospital you go to. For example, six out of 20 rated hospitals in the San Francisco area received lower ratings for hip and knee replacement, and eight hospitals received one of our two highest ratings for those procedures. In some cases, those hospitals are in the same neighborhood: St. Marys Medical CenterSan Francisco received a top rating in hip and knee replacement, while other hospitals in the same neighborhood received lower ones. The same pattern is true for maternity care. In the Los Angeles area only five out of 55 hospitals received one of the two highest ratings for childbirth; 35 received a low rating. Hip and knee surgery is rarely an emergency, and pregnant women usually have months to decide where they want to deliver their baby says Orly Avitzur, M.D., Consumer Reports medical director. So you should have plenty of time to use this information together with other resources to choose the hospital that is best for you and your family Check on Cost, Too Our information on healthcare costs, gathered from more than 10 million insurance claims filed in California over a three-year period, show that the amount insurance companies and patients paid for more than 100 medical conditions, from appendicitis to urinary tract infections, can vary tremendously depending on where you live. For example, prices for cesarean sections are more than twice as high in some parts of the state than in others. In San Mateo County, health insurers paid doctors and hospitals, on average, almost $34,000 for a C-section. But in Central San Joaquin, insurers paid doctors and hospitals only $13,000. The amount that you have to pay out of pocket for cesarean sections can vary as well. For example, in the Monterey Coast area patients paid, on average, more than $3,000 out of pocket (and some people paid as much as $13,000), and in the Sacramento Valley patients paid just $152. The pattern with knee replacements is similar. Insurers paid doctors and hospitals in San Francisco about $50,000, on average, for the procedure. By comparison, in the Central San Joaquin area, insurers paid healthcare providers just $21,000. When it comes to out-of-pocket costs, people who had a knee replacement in Inyo and Mono counties paid an average of $88, but in western Los Angeles County patients paid $942, on average. Why do those prices vary so much? Research suggests that it depends mostly on the negotiating power of the healthcare provider, which allows larger, more powerful groups to charge more. We hope that this information will set the stage for the public release of more detailed cost information, so consumers can easily see exactly how much they will have to pay in hospitals and doctor groups across the state, Peter says. Consumer Reports work on hospitals and the cost of healthcare in California was funded by the California Department of Insurance. Find out more here. (And our information on the cost of healthcare is available free here.) Where to Get the Info You Need Editor's Note: This information was supported in part by funds received from the California Department of Insurance and by Funding Opportunity Number PR-PRP-13-001 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDI, or HHS or any of its agencies. More from Consumer Reports: 8 Ways to Boost Your Home Value Why your cable TV bill is going up Get the Best Cell Phone Plan for Your Familyand Save up to $1,000 a Year Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. Former Attorney General of Colombia Carlos Gustavo Arrieta Padilla (L) and his legal counsel, attend the hearing on the border dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua, at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, on March 17, 2016 (AFP Photo/Robin van Lonkhuijsen) The Hague (AFP) - International judges at the UN's top tribunal on Thursday ruled they had the power to take up two bitter long-running maritime border disputes between Nicaragua and Colombia. Dealing a sharp blow to Bogota, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) brushed aside Colombian objections that it was not competent to hear the two cases brought by Nicaragua. By 14 votes to two, the judges ruled the ICJ "has jurisdiction... to adjudicate upon the dispute" in which Managua accuses Bogota of violating its sovereign rights in the Caribbean Sea. And in a second split separate decision -- in which ICJ president Judge Ronny Abraham had to use his casting vote -- they ruled a case brought by Nicaragua to determine the "precise course" of a continental shelf between the two countries "is admissible." Managua has asked the Hague-based ICJ to delimit the maritime boundary between the two countries beyond 200 nautical miles off the Nicaraguan coastline. Colombia had argued the court no longer had jurisdiction in either case, because Bogota withdrew almost four years ago from a 1948 treaty known as the Pact of Bogota. Under that treaty most countries of South and North America agreed to settle disputes between them through peaceful means and had conferred jurisdiction over such matters to the ICJ based in The Hague. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos slammed the court's rulings saying on his Twitter account Bogota would not appear before the court when the cases eventually open. "Our country respects the law, but requires respect for the law," he wrote in his tweet, calling on all Colombians to make "a strong a common front to protect our Caribbean sea." Although the two countries share no land borders, diplomatic relations have been strained for almost a century over disputed maritime limits. Nicaraguan ambassador to The Netherlands, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, welcomed the ruling saying it was the "most logical and practical." Story continues "If the court had not accepted jurisdiction, then it would have let there be an eternal dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua," he told reporters. Managua also accuses Bogota of failing to comply with a 2012 ICJ order handing it vast swathes of the Caribbean. The November 2012 ruling established a new maritime boundary between Nicaragua and Colombia, and gave Managua several thousand square kilometres (miles) of territory in the Caribbean that previously belonged to Colombia. Bogota has insisted, that since it is no longer a party to the Bogota pact, territorial and maritime borders should only be established through negotiations and bilateral treaties between the countries involved. But the judges in the imposing Peace Palace which houses the ICJ, disagreed saying the treaty remained in force when Nicaragua filed its cases to the court in November 2013. (Refiles to fix reporting credit) March 28 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA on Monday said it was the target of a smear campaign after the U.S. Justice Department said three of the firm's former employees had pleaded guilty to charges over a scheme to corruptly secure energy contracts. The former officials at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) pleaded guilty under seal in December to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Their pleas were unsealed by a federal judge in Houston last week. The three are Jose Luis Ramos Castillo, 38, Christian Javier Maldonado Barillas, 39, and Alfonzo Eliezer Gravina Munoz, 53. In a statement late on Monday night, PDVSA said the men "are not PDVSA workers, they had temporary, low-level jobs in the organizational structure of PDVSA Services Inc and were removed before these accusations became public." (http://bit.ly/1Tfv9MF) Further information on the three was not immediately available. The U.S. Justice Department said each had admitted to accepting bribes from two Venezuelan businessmen, Roberto Rincon and Abraham Jose Shiera Bastidas, who were charged in December with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. PDVSA had at the time also denounced what it called an international campaign to discredit it. The company on Monday said internal audits of domestic and international procurement led by international forensic experts were underway to determine if any illicit acts had been committed. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in Caracas; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Thanks for visiting ! The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. Thank you for your support! 2000 - 2022 24 .- . focus-news.net, () . 24 . 24 . . 24 . BEIJING - China has announced a five-year campaign to crack down on corruption by officials engaged in poverty relief work, which kicked off at the beginning of 2016. Duty crimes are the most recent area to be scrutinized by anti-graft authorities as inconsistences have been flagged in poverty relief budgets. In the past three years, prosecutors have investigated 2,295 officials who manage poverty alleviation -- 579 in 2013, 783 in 2014, and 933 in 2015, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Tuesday. The number of officials implicated in abuse of finances for poverty relief in the past three years accounted for 1.4 percent of the total duty crimes during the same period, the SPP added. The sharp rise of corruption in poverty alleviation is due to a high number of poverty relief projects and funds involved, as well as lax supervision, according to an unidentified official with the anti-corruption bureau under the SPP. Investigations by the SPP show that officials at county, township and village level are most likely to be involved in duty crimes, spanning bribery, embezzlement, speculation, abuse of power and dereliction of duty. Prosecutors will improve the investigation of misuse of funds for relocation, ecological protection, education and medical insurance, and rural living allowances. Officials who are in charge of traffic management, hydropower and electric power infrastructure and renovation in rural areas will also be targeted in the anti-graft campaign. Moreover, an information sharing system will be set up to ensure all poverty alleviation funds are used effectively and transparently, the SPP said, adding that officials will receive training to increase their legal awareness. The prevention of duty crimes in poverty relief is a vital measure to poverty alleviation efforts as well as a major responsibility of prosecutors, said the SPP. China aims to lift everyone in rural areas out of poverty and build "a moderately prosperous society" by 2020. 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. Taipei, March 29 (CNA) Kurt Tong, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, called on President-elect Tsai Ing-wen () Tuesday, but he declined to disclose what they talked about during their meeting. He did not answer questions when asked if their discussions touched upon Taiwan's bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade bloc or the issue of Taiwan opening to imports of U.S. pork containing the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine. To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. It was hard even for strangers to talk about the slaying of a young girl in Taipei on Monday but the child's 36-year-old mother Claire Wang stepped in front of the TV cameras just hours after to give an account of the horrific incident. taxslave said: The corrupt useless parasites in the various UN bodies are not concerned about what the residents want. This is just as bad as letting China overtake Hong Kong when it should have become an independent country. Click to expand... David Cameron dismisses Argentina's claim to the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands Why should it have become an independent country? Hong Kong was a part of China which the Chinese leased to Britain for 99 years in 1898. Britain, however, was under no obligation to hand all of Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Only part of Hong Kong was leased to Britain. Much of it was granted to Britain in perpetuity, so Britain had no need to hand it all back to China in 1997 and was well within rights to have kept it forever. It was only in the 1980s that the Thatcher Administration made a deal with China to hand the whole of Hong Kong over to China in 1997, with the view that if Britain has to hand some of the territory back to China it may as well hand all of it back.By Michael Wilkinson , Political Correspondent29 Mar 2016The TelegraphDavid Cameron has dismissed Argentina's claims to the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands as "speculation", vowing to defend the islander's rights. A United Nations commission has recommended that Argentina's maritime territory should be expanded across the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 per cent, or 0.66 million miles, a move which would encompass the Falkland Islands and beyond.The government of the Falkland Islands has sought reassurances from the British government.The decision by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf could have significant consequences for Buenos Aires' claim to natural resources in the sea around the disputed island chain.A spokesman for David Cameron said: "One of the commissions has looked at issues regarding maritime territory. We have yet to receive details of that report. This is an advisory committee that makes recommendations that are not legally binding. It does not have jurisdiction over sovereignty issues."I don't think we should get ahead of ourselves. Speculation of what the report says has come from Argentina so we should wait to see what comes out of the commission."What is important is what the Falkland Islanders think. They have been clear that they want to remain an overseas territory of Britain and we will continue to support their right."The commission's recommendation follows a 2009 report by Argentina that fixed its territory 200 to 350 miles from its coast, surrounding the archipelago that it calls the Malvinas.Oil exploration is already pumping millions of pounds into the Falkland Islands economy. Many islanders remain concerned about Argentina's claim as well as the potential for problems from rapid change brought by the new industry.The Falkland Islands are internally self-governing, but Britain is responsible for their defence and foreign affairs and came to their aid during an invasion by Argentina in 1982.The British government says islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentine sovereignty against their will. Farmers Matt Giesselmann and Ryan Ueberrhein are sowing into their communities in a unique way. Each won $2,500 from the Monsanto Funds Americas Farmers Grow Communities program. The program is designed to support farming communities by offering farmers an opportunity to enter to win a $2,500 donation for their favorite community non-profit. Giesselmann is president of the Scribner Volunteer Fire Department. Giesselmann chose to have the $2,500 he won donated to the fire department. We used the money along with a donation from the local grain elevator (Scribner Grain) to purchase grain bin extrication equipment, Giesselmann said. Such equipment is used to help rescue and save the life of an individual who has become trapped in a grain bin. The equipment, which cost $3,500, was purchased about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Any time you can help the department out and get them some extra funding to buy more equipment, its always a good thing, Giesselmann said. Ueberrhein chose to have the funds he won donated to the Twin Rivers YMCA at Valley. His reasons for having the funds donated to the Y are simple. I take pride in our small town community, Ueberrhein said. Its cool to have a YMCA, where community events can take place and the kids can go and do things. I thought this was a cool fit. The YMCA in Valley will have its 12th Annual General Auction for its Strong Communities Campaign on Saturday. This event, which is open to the public, starts at 5 p.m. Dinner begins at 7 p.m. with a live auction at 8 p.m., all in the Y at Valley. Tickets are $35 per person in advance and $40 that night at the door. The fundraising goal is $83,000, said Judy Argintean, executive director. Every year, our goal goes up a little, because we have a lot of need in our community and we reach our goal every year, Argintean said. The purpose of the campaign is to raise money for those in our area that have need or are less fortunate and the YMCA can provide them with memberships and programs. The Y in Valley offers fitness classes, swimming lessons, an afterschool program and summer day camp. The Y partners with DC West Schools, the Valley Public Library and the City of Valley and runs the outdoor pool. Argintean is pleased the Y was selected for the Monsanto contribution. It is a great honor that he (Ueberrhein) chose the Twin Rivers YMCA to be the benefactor of this nice donation that he received with his hard work as an upcoming, young farmer, she said. To enter the program, farmers had to live in one of the more than 1,300 counties across 40 states and be active in farming at least 250 acres of corn, soybeans and/or cotton or farm 40 acres of open field vegetables, or at least 10 acres of tomatoes, peppers and/or cucumbers grown in protected culture such as a glasshouse. Other area recipients and the causes they chose to benefit with a $2,500 donation include: Rosalie Gregerson of Tekamah, Burt County 4-H; Gary Kuester of West Point, West Point Community Theater; Rodney Swanson of Wahoo, St. Wenceslaus Building Fund; and Randall Rasmussen of Herman, Herman Volunteer Rescue Squad. Jamie Poppe has a soft spot in her heart for children and teenagers who wind up entering the foster care system. In fact, the 17-year-old Scribner-Snyder senior has interacted with several students who live with foster families at her own high school. She knows that dealing with the stress and uncertainty of living in an unfamiliar home many times, homes can be quite an ordeal. This is why Poppe, who is heavily involved in 4-H, decided to piece together duffel bags filled with beneficial items for youth and teenager foster children in the greater Dodge County Area as part of her Diamond Clover 4-H project the highest level of community service project in 4-H. Aided by several donations, and a $1,000 Youth Philanthropy Contest grant provided through the Fremont Area Community Foundation, Poppe assembled a total of 55 bags 30 for youth and 25 duffel bags for teens that Nebraska Health and Human Services will place in the hands of law enforcement, firefighters and other municipal entities to distribute to foster children in need of support and comfort around Dodge County. I wanted to do this for foster kids because I have had foster kids in my school, Poppe said. I know that they have troubles, need help and have been taken out of their house they dont really have anything. On Monday evening, Poppe and a handful of other teenagers spend more than an hour assembling the remaining 25 teen duffel bags that were comprised of a blanket, stuffed animal, a journal and a toothbrush and toothpaste. Youth bags consisted of a blanket, stuffed animal, a book and tooth brush and tooth paste. Nearly all of the bags items were purchased through donations, and all duffel bags and journals were purchased on Amazon using the Fremont Area Community Foundations grant, Poppe said. To reach foster care youth and teens in the best way possible, Poppe reached out to the organization Project Everlast, which is a grassroots effort that promotes using community resources to improve youths opportunities and networks for housing, transportation and healthcare, information on the Project Everlast website says. Alana Pearson, youth advisor for Project Everlast, said Poppes project will most definitely have a positive impact on foster system youth and teens. I think its absolutely wonderful, Pearson said. When these youth go into the system they really need something a blanket or pillow, just to give them some comfort in their new environment. So its just a really nice thing that she is doing. As part of a major expansion of its long haul routes, SAS is today announcing the launch of a year-round service from Copenhagen to Boston with daily departures. SAS is the first airline to fly direct to Boston from Scandinavia. It is the ninth direct route to the USA, taking the number of flights operated by the company each year between Scandinavia and the USA to 6,800, carrying some 1.6 million passengers. This new development further strengthens SASs position as the airline with the most robust offering from Scandinavia to North America. The company recently cut the ribbon on a new route from Stockholm to Los Angeles, and will start flying to Miami in September. SAS already operates services between Scandinavia and New York, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco. In this way, SAS will continue to strengthen its offering to frequent flyers travelling between the USA and Scandinavia. During 2016, SAS is set to operate around 500 flights between Boston and Copenhagen alone, bringing the companys total number of flights between Scandinavia and the USA to 6,800 or 1.6 million seats. We are the airline with the most robust offering for people looking to travel between Scandinavia and the USA. Our North American long-haul route expansion underlines this fact. Copenhagen-Boston is our ninth route, which, together with the new routes from Copenhagen and Oslo to Miami, will bring us to 11 USA services by September. Our focus is on making life simpler for frequent flyers, a group of people who are increasingly demanding direct and flexible options for travel to the USA, says SAS Group CEO Rickard Gustafson. The Copenhagen-Boston route is aimed at both leisure and business travelers, and has been designed to meet the rising demand for direct and daily departures shown by companies in the hi-tech, finance and medical sectors, as well as institutes of higher education. SAS expects to see a significant proportion of travelers to and from the rest of Scandinavia using Copenhagen Airport as a seamless transit hub. Initially a Boeing 737-800 with 92 seats will operate the route. After a short while a Boeing 737-700 will be used, with space for 86 passengers, 20 of which will be Business class whilst 66 will be Go class seats. The route will be operated by PrivatAir using an SAS livery plane with a new cabin configuration. Departure and arrival times for the route have been set so that they fit in with connections to and from Copenhagen and other central airports in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, including Brussels, Hannover and Dusseldorf. Timetable Copenhagen-Boston From Copenhagen: Daily departure on SK927 at 12.50 pm, arriving in Boston at 3.20 pm From Boston: Daily departure on SK928 at 5.30 pm, arriving the following day at 7.00 am Dubai World Trade Centre in 2015 had an impressive 12% year-on-year increase in traffic to deliver 2.74 million delegates and attendees. The centre coupled with a strong 17% increase in exhibiting companies, reinforcing the entitys regional dominance within the global Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector and its dynamic influence on Dubais wider business tourism agenda. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, announced the 2015 annual performance results of Dubai World Trade Centre. In his address to the board, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan, said, Our 2015 results are not just a show of outstanding performance but more importantly, reflect the maturity of the DWTC portfolio in being able to deliver double digit growth with such consistency across its various business lines. Backed by a prudent long term expansion strategy with strategic diversification of the event calendar, the DWTC business has steadily grown in number of events, venue occupancy rates, visitation quality and volumes, and in building Dubais international attractiveness for exhibiting corporates and trade delegates. Over the past year, the newly established DWTC Authority has served as a strong regulatory complement to the DWTC business networking proposition, with a focus on broader ecosystem enablement, developing unique commercial real estate value and creating a holistic destination value proposition. Sheikh Hamdan added, DWTC is widely recognised as the most conducive international platform for businesses from the East and West to access and service emerging markets in Africa and the wider region. I congratulate the Board, the management and the employees for committing to the long-term agenda of the organisation as a core economic contributor for Dubais GDP and for their collective drive to continuous innovation that has enabled DWTC to stay ahead of the curve in the evolving global economic landscape. Last year saw 396 trade events being hosted at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) venue including 104 mega-events, delivering a total of 2.74 million MICE delegates and attendees with 53,547 exhibitors from 185 countries to Dubai. With nearly 41% international participation across its portfolio of events, DWTC contributed an incremental 1,066,865 global visitors to Dubais business tourism figures. The primary international source markets for visitors included: Saudi Arabia, India, United Kingdom, Pakistan, China, Qatar, Oman, Iran, Jordan and Egypt. These accelerating numbers are a further testament of its key positioning, both on a global scale and within a diversified and sustainable local economy that supports future growth, employment and prosperity. Over the next 3 years, our priorities are aligned to the economic diversification focus of the UAE and Dubai, so that DWTC sustainably drives long-term returns for the MICE industry and consequently builds its contribution to our GDP, said His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). 27 new shows including 8 exhibitions and 19 associations and conferences, featured as new entrants within the 2015 calendar, with many of them showcasing the latest trending topics like the Digital Health & Medical Technology Conference, and Internet of Things. Eighty of the top tier exhibitions reaching a threshold scale of 25,000 attendees in average traffic per event during 2015, and all of DWTCs anchor mega-events uniformly experienced year-on-year growth in volumes across visitors and exhibitors, reflecting very strong confidence in growth prospects for their respective global sectors, from healthcare, security and food, to travel, technology, and construction. Notable mentions include Arab Health that saw a 5% uplift over 2014 with more than 140,000 delegates; Gulfood that attracted a record 84,642 visitors from 170 countries and 4,800 exhibitors from 156 countries; the Arabian Travel Market that witnessed a 22% spike in exhibitors and an unprecedented 34% increase in visitor numbers; Gitex Technology Week that brought together over 146,000 industry professionals and more than 4,200 suppliers from 144 countries; and the Big 5 that delivered 3,104 exhibiting companies from 67 countries. DWTCs growth will focus on expanding global commercial opportunities supporting the UAEs strategic imperatives for further economic diversification across core sectors such as ICT, healthcare, food, bio-technology, travel and tourism, retail, and logistics. At the core of all these growth drivers are three fundamental needs - the need for unprecedented agility, the need for sustained creativity to stay ahead of the curve, and the need for a real-time 24x7 pulse on the market with the operational ability to respond dynamically, said Almarri. We have been privileged to have had the lasting confidence and support from the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, Ruler of Dubai, and DWTC will strive to remain at the forefront of innovation, continuing to stimulating growth across all key pillars for Dubais 2021 Plan, setting a benchmark for governmental and public-private partnerships, he concluded. Ubisoft plans to open a new triple-A production studio in the Philippines in the second quarter of this year. The Assassin's Creed creator will aim to hire up to 50 new people in the studio's first year, and will task its new team with collaborating and assisting with the development of its triple-A console releases. The Philippines office will be the French publisher's second in South East Asia -- the first is located in Singapore -- and will be based on the campus of De La Salle University in Santa Rosa, the emerging Central Business District in the South of Manila. "We chose to grow in the Philippines because of its great talent pool and I am confident the new studio will meet our demanding standards," said Olivier de Rotalier, managing director of Ubisoft Singapore. Our number one priority will be to develop the high potential of our new team members to reach the level of expertise and quality needed to work on triple-A games, just as we have previously done in Singapore." MASON CITY A man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a North Iowa Transition Center member. Joseph Dean Wallace, 54, was arrested and charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a Class C felony. Mason City police officers responded to a 911 call at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at the North Iowa Transition Center, 408 First St. N.W. A staff member working the overnight shift had been assaulted, according to a Mason City Police Department statement. The North Iowa Transition Center staff provides services designed to diminish the impact of mental illness and to assist individuals to live in their community with greater independence, according to the organizations website. Police say the victim was sent to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa for treatment for minor injuries and was later released from the hospital. The suspect had fled the scene, but returned later, according to police. They say the investigation into the incident is ongoing. The victims name was not released. The Globe Gazette does not identify sexual assault victims. Wallace remains in custody at the Cerro Gordo County Jail. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Mason City Police Investigator Jason Hugi at 641-421-3636. Mary Pieper LAKE MILLS | A woman accused of stealing money from a Lake Mills preschool and day care while working as its director pleaded guilty Tuesday. Brenda Ranae Steinman, 42, of Northwood, will be sentenced May 6 in Winnebago County District Court on a charge of second-degree theft, a Class D felony; and a misdemeanor charge of tampering with records. She is accused in court documents of spending $7,371 belonging to Lake Mills Community Preschool & Daycare on her own expenses. The money was taken on or around Jan. 15, 2015, while Steinman was employed as the preschool's director, according to court documents. She no longer works for the day care. Mary Pieper MASON CITY Mason City High School will host its first regional leadership conference for area teens this week. The workshop Sure, you can set goals but whats your purpose? was put together by Student Senate members and will feature the Iowa Pride Academy and guest speaker Chris Carlisle. A no-cost service of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Hall of Pride, the Pride Academy focuses on leadership, goal setting, sportsmanship and citizenship. Carlisle, a Mason City graduate, is a strength and conditioning coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Senate President Olivia Pederson says northeastern Iowa is the only area in the state without a student leadership conference. With statewide high school leadership regions changing to mirror that of athletic divisions, Mason City anticipates this will be a first step in increased collaboration among local districts. Our goal is to get students involved in council across the region and start communicating more with each other, said Pederson, a senior who is also an advisory board member for the Iowa Association of Student Councils. She hopes the event will spark an interest North Iowa teens can carry back to their own schools. Senate Secretary Angela Eppens, also a senior, has overseen the committee planning the event, where Mason City will welcome 50 freshmen through senior students from Clear Lake, St. Ansgar, North Butler, Hampton-Dumont, Central Springs and Forest City Thursday morning, in addition to 40 of its own students. Leadership is not just organizing or setting goals, so we want kids to think a little deeper, said senate adviser Laura Grommesh. Grommesh hopes the event will open more opportunities for partnerships, like the one Clear Lake and Mason City established last year to host a joint dance marathon benefiting the Childrens Miracle Network. I want to reach out and do more of that, she said. As for the conference, Grommesh is pleased Pederson and Eppens have helped pull it off. Weve been talking about it for four to five years, but these girls finally got it happening, she said. Dublin, March 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ldbtx3/supply_chain_and) has announced the addition of EJL Wireless Research's new report "Supply Chain and End Customer Impact of United States Commerce Department Restrictions for ZTE Corporation " to their offering. This report covers the near/mid-term impact for suppliers as well as end customers for ZTE Corporation due to the United States Commerce Department action of placing ZTE Corporation on the Entity List. A complete listing of known semiconductor, electronic component and material suppliers for ZTE radio access network infrastructure equipment (base stations) and mobile handsets is supplied in addition to analysis on possible outcomes/resolutions over the next few months and quarters. Key Topics Covered: MARKET BRIEF Background Methodology ZTE SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE- THE COMPANY NO LONGER EXISTS Direct ZTE Mobile Handset Suppliers Direct ZTE Infrastructure Suppliers SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACT ANALYSIS-1ST, 2ND AND 3RD ORDER EFFECTS March 2016 Quarter Supplier Impact June 2016 Quarter Supplier Impact September 2016 Quarter Supplier Impact Beyond September 2016 Quarter Supplier Impact CUSTOMER IMPACT ANALYSIS March 2016 Quarter Supplier/Customer Impact June 2016 Quarter Customer Impact September 2016 Quarter Customer Impact WIDENING OF US COMMERCE DEPARTMENT PROBE-ARMAGEDDON SCENARIO Summary For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ldbtx3/supply_chain_and Source: EJL Wireless Research Deerfield Beach, FL, March 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Research has published a new report titled 3D IC (LED, Memories, MEMS, Sensor, Logic and Others) Market by Substrate Type (Silicon On Insulator and Bulk Silicon) and by Fabrication Process (Silicon Epitaxial Growth, Beam Re-Crystallization, Solid Phase Crystallization and Wafer Bonding) for Information and Communication Technology, Military, Consumer Electronics and Others Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014 2020. According to the report, global demand for 3D IC market was valued at USD 2.9 billion in 2014, and is expected to reach USD 8.6 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 17.0% between 2015 and 2020. 3D IC is an innovative technology that is primarily employed in the electronic industries. 3D IC helps to reduce the size of the component used in any system such as consumer goods and also increase the capability such as speed, memory, efficiency and durability. Hence, 3D IC technology is becoming popular in various industries and seems to be used at growing extent. Browse the full "3D IC (LED, Memories, MEMS, Sensor, Logic and Others) Market by Substrate Type (Silicon On Insulator and Bulk Silicon) and by Fabrication Process (Silicon Epitaxial Growth, Beam Re-Crystallization, Solid Phase Crystallization and Wafer Bonding) for Information and Communication Technology, Military, Consumer Electronics and Others Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast 2014 2020" report at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/3d-ic-market-z51272 LED, memories, MEMS, sensor, logic are some of the key product segments of the 3D IC market. Memories, MEMS and sensors emerged as a dominating product segments and they were accounted together around 60% share of the total revenue generated in 2014. Memory segment is expected to grow due to growing demand for the expanded memory devices coupled with advancing technologies and trends. LED is another product segmented that is expected to grow with a significant share due to rising adoption of LED products as it saves power consumption and provides efficiency. Silicon on insulator (SOI) and bulk silicon are the major segments of 3D IC market based on substrate type. SOI segment dominated the global 3D IC market and accounted for significant share of the entire market in 2014. This is owing to its ability of reducing the surplus heat production and parasitic capacitance. Based on fabrication process, the 3D IC market is segmented as silicon epitaxial growth, beam re-crystallization, solid phase crystallization and wafer bonding. Wafer bonding is highly used fabrication process for 3D IC. This process helps to stack the IC and makes the IC size thin compared to the conventional IC. Browse 23 Market Tables and 33 Figures spread through 70 Pages and an in-depth TOC on 3D IC Market - Global Size, Shares, Trends, Segment & Forecast to 2020 Get Sample Research Report at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/3d-ic-market-z51272#RequestSample Information and communication technology, military, consumer electronics are the key applications sectors of global 3D IC market. In 2014, information and communication technology emerged as a leading segment and it accounted for around 25% share of the entire market. ICT is also predicted to continue the trend during the forecast period due to the high adoption rate of 3D IC integration technology. Consumer electronics is another important segment of the market that is likely to grow with consistent rate due rising demand for consumer electronics products with smaller size and enhanced performance. Based on regional segmentation, Asia Pacific dominated the global 3D IC market and accounted for over 40% share of the total market in 2014. It is also estimated to be the fastest growing market during the estimated period due to strong demand from emerging consumer electronics industries. Asia Pacific is followed by North America and Europe. North America was the second largest market for 3D IC and further it is expected to witness strong growth over the forecast period. 3D IC market in North America is predicted to be mainly driven by demand from the U.S. and Canada. Some of the key players of global 3D IC market include 3M Company, Tezzaron Semiconductor Corporation, Xilinx, United Microelectronics Corporation, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., STMicroelectronics and amongst others. Related Research Reports: Predictive Analytics Market: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/predictive-analytics-market-z49499 http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/predictive-analytics-market-z49499 Pressure Sensors Market: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/pressure-sensors-market-by-technology-z38201 http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/pressure-sensors-market-by-technology-z38201 LED Lighting Market: http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/led-lighting-market-for-residential-architectural-and-outdoor-z37625 This report segments the global 3D IC market as follows: 3D IC Market: Product Segment Analysis LED Memories MEMS Sensor Logic Others 3D IC Market: Substrate Segment Analysis Silicon on Insulator (SOI) Bulk Silicon 3D IC Market: Fabrication Process Segment Analysis Silicon Epitaxial Growth Beam Re-Crystallization Solid Phase Crystallization Wafer Bonding 3D IC Market: Application Segment Analysis Information and Communication Technology Military Consumer Electronics Others 3D IC Market: Regional Segment Analysis North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East and Africa Browse Press Release at http://www.marketresearchstore.com/news/global-3d-ic-market-188 About Us Market Research Store is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. 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Follow Us LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/market-research-store Follow Us Twitter: https://twitter.com/marketrstore Blog: Syndicate Market Research Chiranjeevee wrote: argha wrote: In D, isn't "same number compared to "last year". It should have been apt if compared with "last year's" or better if "same number as was last year".. Regards Argha for this reason only, i eliminated D and chose E. but none of the options seems fine. Really dont know How "D" is correct. for this reason only, i eliminated D and chose E. but none of the options seems fine. Really dont know How "D" is correct. Last year preposition phrase WAS compare NOUN (airline carriers) vs. PREPOSITION (last year) ==> wrong grammar. same subject I I After finding a new job, I make more money than I did last year. Many airline carriers are attempting to increase profitability while keeping overhead low by offering, in terms of flights, the same number as last year but using larger planes that fly more efficiently. this year vs. last year. Many airline carriers they Many airline carriers offer the same number of flights this year as they did last year. Hi ChiranjeeveeThere are two reasons why D is correct:(1) "" is. It CAN'T be compared with a NOUN phrase - "the same number". The question compare "this year" vs. "last year".If you add auxiliary verb before (after) "last year": ...................the same number aslast year .... <== You(2) This construction is quite common in English. You're comparingbut in two different periods --> You don't need to repeat subject.Let see an example:After finding a new job,make more money thandid last yearHowever, because of the same subject, you don't need to repeat it. The new sentence is:**Back to the question. I will plug in D into the question.The comparison is betweenThe subject of the question is the same. In order to make the sentence clear. I will rewrite it like:offer the same number of flights this year asdid last year.Now, the meaning is clearer but the sentence is wordier. ==> GMAT always prefers concise sentence. ==> The sentence should be:Hope it helps. crashkeeper wrote: I still don't understand. "Since large companies do everything on a more massive scale, they must alter more complex operations and spend much more money to meet governmental requirements. " Well if they have more money reserved for this (option A) that wont change the money the large companies will spend and the complexity operations they will have to alter. Having money reserved simply will not have the same impact for them than for the small companies. Why you guys are only talking about "serious hardships" as they are related with the difficulty that the companies have to pay in contrast with the amount of money they have to pay and the complexity of the operations they have to change? That's what is this about, its explained in the last sentence. Option A doens't weaken the last sentence. Why am I wrong? This is the premise (notice the word 'since') "Since large companies do everything on a more massive scale, they must alter more complex operations and spend much more money to meet governmental requirements. " -We need to focus on the conclusion which states that: The excessive number of safety regulations that the federal government has placed on industry poses more serious hardships for big businesses than for small ones.That is why the focus is on "serious hardships" and argument concludes that its harder for big businesses than small ones. Since we need to weaken this, we need to show that small businesses also face serious hardships.Choice A is the only option that states that small companies are less likely to have capital reserves (which means less money for long term capital investment) which means they would face also face serious hardships just like large companies face.Hope this helps! We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today Culture Shooting for Double XL was a liberating experience for Huma Though Huma has mentioned multiple times, in jest, that this was the best prep she ever had to do for a role since she got to eat everything she wante... " " It's no accident that you can never eat just one french fry, or have to finish your Big Mac. Fast food is engineered to trigger cravings and overeating. Martinan/iStock/Thinkstock The science of food addiction is still in its early stages, but it probably won't come as a surprise to hear that food can indeed be addictive. Although the American Psychological Association hasn't yet recognized food addiction as an official disorder, study after study has shown that people and rats, to varying degrees, respond to certain foods in ways that are very similar to drug addiction. According to these studies, not everyone qualifies as a food addict. But you've undoubtedly experienced the feeling: Who hasn't had an out-of-control moment with a tray of sweets or a super-sized McDonald's combo? You've probably not experienced a kale or spinach craving, though. Unfortunately, no one seems to have overpowering urges for food that our body can process healthily. No, we want calories, fat, sugar and salt, which slowly destroy our bodies and make our brains' reward circuits go haywire. Fast food, obviously, has loads of all of this bad stuff and that's not by mistake. Advertisement Even though scientists and psychologists are just now getting on board with this food-addiction thing, the fast-food industry has had our number for years. Maybe the decision-makers didn't know the exact molecular science behind all of these bodily changes that junk food causes (although their food scientists probably did), but they definitely knew the effects. We eat this food and we can't help coming back for more. Fast food is specifically engineered to be inexpensive, convenient, and to trigger cravings and overeating. It's flavorful but not so strong-tasting that you'd get tired of it quickly. And, most importantly, it's high in fat, sugar, salt and caffeine all substances that have now been shown to alter brain chemistry in the same ways that drug addiction does. Eating fast food causes you to lose control over regulating hunger. All that fat, sugar and salt make it taste amazing, which activates the release of the pleasure hormone dopamine the same substance that causes a heroin or cocaine high. But dopamine receptors tend to get desensitized to high levels of dopamine, so you need to eat more and more to attain that fast-food high. And eating more and more, of course, is exactly what the industry wants you to do. Fast-food marketing and advertising is a machine that links into food-addiction science. When food-addicted women in one study were shown a picture of a milkshake, they had increased activity in the areas of their brain connected to cravings. When they actually drank the milkshake, their brains displayed decreased levels in areas of self-control [source: DeAngelis]. So it's not much of a stretch to say that food addicts would probably be extra susceptible to the advertising machine. Fast-food chains are often criticized for exploiting residents of poor neighborhoods, who tend to have high rates of obesity, and now they can add one more vulnerable population: the food addicts. Only about 11 percent of the American population fits the criteria for food addiction, so chances are you can control your urges for a Quarter Pounder or Filet-O-Fish [source: Barclay]. (Who are we kidding? No one craves a Filet-O-Fish). But it's worth a moment to consider how the fast-food industry is consciously manipulating our weaknesses to make a profit. BILLINGS - Bullying is a topic everyone seems to be talking about, but no one seems quite certain how to handle it. Following the recent suicides of several students in Eastern Montana, parents have been packing school meetings while school officials have been scrambling to stay on top of their bullying procedures. Compounding the tension is an anti-bullying bill passed last year by the Montana Legislature that mandates all school districts have a policy in place but offers little direction in what the policy should include. Add to this the rise of social media and cyberbullying, and children who once found some relief at home can now be bullied anonymously and around the clock. Schools respond to complaints differently. Many districts have adopted a reporting form, with some districts limiting access to the form to students, while others encourage parents to download the form online. In School District 2 in Billings, many bullying complaints are reviewed by an independent adjudicator. In Laurel, a group of parents has been lobbying school officials to change the way they address bullying. In fact, a few parents have even pulled their children from the district after losing faith in the districts ability to protect their children from harassment and assault. Parents also met recently in the Livingston after the February suicide of 17-year-old Park High School student Deon Gillen. The teenagers parents sued the district two years ago, claiming administrators failed to protect their son, who had a learning disability, from repeated and vicious assaults and harassment while attending Sleeping Giant Middle School. The suit, which is still pending, claims the bullying was so severe that Deon required medical attention on several occasions and was eventually diagnosed with aggravated post-traumatic stress disorder. Bullying happens daily In SD2, George Zorzakis is a school resource officer from the Billings Police Department. He works in both Lewis and Clark and Will James middle schools. He said he sees various degrees of bullying every day and that most of it stems from social media interactions. A lack of strong state legislative direction, he said, has dumped the responsibility of defining and addressing bullying with school districts. Even so, its inherently difficult to separate typical peer-to-peer conflict from bullying. One indicating factor is an imbalance of power, whether thats based on size, learning ability, economic status or other differences. Situations that go unchecked early can snowball in severity, Zorzakis said. The bullying group becomes larger, so were dealing with more parents, more kids, he said. It becomes more complicated. Parents can also become a barrier to resolving a conflict if theyre unwilling to cooperate or seek help for their children. In serious cases of cyberbullying, Montanas Privacy and Communications law can be used to hold aggressors accountable. And in the most challenging cases, police can arrest a student, which channels them into the juvenile justice system. Once in the system, students may have access to resources like counseling for families who cant afford it or have refused to pursue it on their own. Most student conflicts dont escalate to the point of engaging the school resource officer, he said. Independent review in SD2 Michelle Smith is a former Senior High School teacher who participated in a 15-person panel that reworked School District 2s bullying policies and procedures in October 2013. We had an anti-bullying policy, but it needed to be refined to become in line with state standards, she said. And at the time we didnt really have a good reporting form, she added. We wanted to make sure it was easily accessible for parents and students. Smith and the committee of administrators, along with SD2 attorney Jeff Weldon, looked at recommendations from the Montana Office of Public Instruction and along with some independent research, established a clear procedure for staff to follow when bullying, intimidation or harassment is reported. Students, parents, administrators and teachers now use a reporting form available online and in hard copy at every schools main office. Once an incident is reported, staff follow guidelines to determine whether the incident fits the criteria for bullying and harassment. When the investigation is completed, both the report and investigation forms are filed in the victim and aggressors files. Complaints involving teachers and administrators, whether students are involved or not, require an immediate investigation by Smith, who works independently from the district to avoid conflicts of interest. She also handles bullying and harassment complaints that cannot be resolved at the building or administrative levels. For instance, if students or parents are not satisfied with the outcome of earlier investigations. The cases I receive, not all of them are founded, Smith said. Other situations are misunderstandings or perhaps a teacher who is not using best practices, but it is not harassment. She doesnt issue or recommend specific disciplinary measures. Smiths job is to determine whether a case fits the criteria for bullying, harassment or intimidation and submit her findings to the superintendent. Montanas anti-bullying law The Bully-Free Montana Act defined bullying as any harassment, intimidation, hazing, or threatening, insulting, or demeaning gesture or physical contact, including any intentional written, verbal, or electronic communication or threat directed against a student that is persistent, severe, or repeated. The law requires every school district to adopt an anti-bullying policy but doesnt lay out punishment requirements or investigation or reporting procedures. Some policies are applied at the district level and others by school. Smith said action is always taken in SD2, regardless of whether the incident is deemed bullying, harassment or a mutual conflict. The school districts policy provides guidelines to determine discipline. If a student needs to change classes or schools, the aggressor is moved, not the victim. Livingston and Laurel schools use a bullying incident report form similar to SD2s. But Laurels form is only implemented in the middle school and is only available online with a school email account or in hard copy at the school. A Laurel mothers experience Lisa Woodward said she was frustrated she couldnt access the form to document the bullying her kids reported to her. She moved to Laurel three years ago, and her son, Taylor, now 14, said the bullying began almost immediately. Taylor said he filled out multiple report forms but never felt the incidents were taken seriously. Teachers spoke to him, along with the children he had trouble with, but he felt like he saw no results. Woodward had no idea about the bullying until her son came home depressed and despondent. She called the schools counselor and learned about the previous incidents. Something needs to happen when bullying happens, she said. I think parents need to be contacted when their kids turn in a purple form. Woodward said the schools counselor was helpful and always available to work with her family. Even with that support, however, Taylors problems at school continued until Woodward enrolled him outside the district at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Billings. He did well there, making the honor roll after failing classes in Laurel. But the cost of tuition proved to be unsustainable, and he returned to Laurel Public Schools for eighth grade. Although he still experiences bullying, he doesnt fill out report forms anymore and only talks about the worst incidents that occur about once a month. Woodward said she believes Laurel administrators have the best intentions and want to keep kids safe, but the system is broken. The kids all hear about these things, too, and know nothing happens, Woodward said. Its really discouraging. Someone is going to have to get hurt before things change. A group of parents and concerned community members organized after a Laurels student suicide sparked a conversation about bullying. Communicate Advise Prevent Empower, or CAPE, requested the board re-evaluate the school districts bullying policies. (The Board of Trustees) discussed bullying every year as part of our strategic plan, dealing with the safety of our kids. So its not something new, but we can always improve on it, said Doug Lebrun, chairman of the Laurel School District Board of Trustees. Lebrun said a committee will review the district's current policy and compare it to those already in place at School District 2 and Great Falls Public Schools. Possible changes include a mandatory time frame to notify parents when their children file a complaint or have one filed against them, sending a form for parents to sign detailing the district's policy and how parents can report incidents, and implementing an investigation form. Lebrun said that although Laurel Middle School is the only school in the district with a bullying incident report form, there is a harassment form available across the district. The form is located on Laurel School District's website under the "students" section of the school board policies. Lebrun said the form is not readily available in schools, but that is a change the district may consider. A Livingston fathers experience In Livingston, Kelly Bergsing said his son was bullied at Park High School as a freshman. An older player on the basketball team urinated in his sons shampoo bottle. His son then unknowingly used it to wash his hair. Bergsing said his son didnt tell him about the incident even after he was teased by team members for awhile and his grades began to decline. He only learned of the problem when his daughter, a senior at the time, overheard a teacher ask a student if he was ever punished for the shampoo incident. Bergsing said he was frustrated that staff knew about the incident but didnt act. He notified school administrators, but he was unaware of the official report form until he contacted a school board member out of dissatisfaction with the way the situation was handled. At that point his son decided not to fill out the report for fear of retaliation from other students. Rich Moore, superintendent of Livingston Schools, said all behavioral incidents are electronically recorded across the district. He encourages parents and students to file the report forms available online or in school offices. However, conflicts rarely qualify as bullying, and student disagreements are ideally handled without administrative intervention. We want to teach kids how to mediate their social conflicts in a productive way, Moore said. If they cant resolve the situation, the principal would step in and try to address the issue. The case falls to Moore if the students or parents involved are still unsatisfied. So far in the 2015-16 school year, Moore has handled four cases, two where formal reports were filed. I would say most of them that come to my level are things that have been reported but have not been resolved. They are truly bullying incidents and need a more systemic response, Moore said. That includes counseling for the aggressor and conflict-resolution training. Unfortunately, sometimes youre dealing with students who are coming from pretty turbulent backgrounds, so they come with some really limited ways of resolving problems, Moore said. So we have to try to help those kids learn those more appropriate skills. MISSOULA -- A legal change to allow bikes in federal wilderness hasnt been introduced in Congress yet, but the issue already has advocates riled and rolling. Last week, a coalition of conservation groups published a letter asking congressional delegations to reject calls to amend the Wilderness Act to allow for the use of mountain bikes in designated Wilderness. The coalition included Montana-based Wilderness Watch, Bitterroot Backcountry Horsemen of Montana and North Fork Preservation Association, among others. They aimed their concern at proposed legislation drafted by a national mountain-biking group called Sustainable Trails Coalition, which also claims members in Montana. STC President Ted Stroll said the bill would move the decision about allowing bicycles in wilderness or proposed wilderness areas to the local forest supervisor level, instead of the national agency headquarters. It would also allow federal land managers to use mechanized and wheeled tools to maintain trails in federal wilderness. Those ancient rules from the 1970s and '80s are just edicts from Washington, D.C., that tell local staff they have no discretion on these rules, Stroll said. We would permit local staff to decide where bicycles can go on trails and where we cant. At issue is a line in the Wilderness Act of 1964 that reads there shall be no use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such area. The act also states Congress purpose in designating a place as federal wilderness is to protect it from expanding settlement and growing mechanization. Federal land managers like the Forest Service and National Park Service have interpreted mechanical transport and mechanization as any transport with wheels, including bicycles, baby strollers and game carts. Stroll claims thats a misinterpretation, and that human-powered vehicles ought to be allowed. We have a number of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate considering our legislation, Stroll said. I cant name any of them, but were looking to having a bill introduced in April or May. George Nickas of Missoula-based Wilderness Watch has already manned the barricades. The STC crowd have an intent to try and amend the Wilderness Act to allow machines into wilderness, Nickas said. We decided we need to make a statement thats going to meet fierce resistance from the wilderness crowd. Nickas argued the Wilderness Act wording was designed to prioritize protecting the land, not permitting recreation. Part of that involved deliberately making wilderness challenging to visit. We ought to not put the highest, most important value on our own access, Nickas said. The STC talks about theyre being alienated from wilderness. I drive a car, but I cant drive my car in wilderness. That doesnt alienate me from it. If they dont want to get off their bike and walk, thats their choice. Community divided The issue has divided parts of the mountain-bike community. While Sustainable Trails Coalitions leadership includes some former members of the International Mountain Biking Association, that latter group and its Montana chapter members have not joined STC in its legislative push. IMBSs vice president for governmental relations Bruce Alt noted in an email he was not interested in discussing STCs effort, but that the group would follow its own path in advocating for bike riders. Amending the Wilderness Act is not in IMBA's mission, Alt wrote. We have, and will, accomplish our mission without seeking to amend the act. IMBA's mission is to create, enhance and preserve great mountain biking experiences. IMBAs policy statement seeks a carefully phrased course of its own between the wheeled and wheel-less camps. Its FAQ page states IMBA will not support any broad efforts by any organization to amend the existing Wilderness Act in its entirety or the federal land management agencies regulations on existing Wilderness areas as these are not strategically aligned with achieving our long-term mission. But it also states on a case-by-case basis, IMBA will pursue Congressional legislation to adjust existing wilderness boundaries that reopen trails currently closed to people riding bicycles. And it notes IMBAs focus is on insisting that fellow outdoor recreationists and non-recreationists respect and support our position that mountain biking is consistent with the values of Wilderness land protection. Whether or not biking legislation gets introduced in Congress, the debate will likely continue to play out across Montana. The Bitterroot National Forest has a draft travel plan under consideration that affects several proposed wilderness areas with lots of bicycle riding interest. The Flathead National Forest is drafting its new forest plan, and the Lolo National Forest is gearing up to do the same next year. Hundreds of students living in the outer sections of Armenias Garni village have to walk three kilometers every day to get to school and three to return home. Its a dangerous trek due to the lack of a sidewalk along a major roadway full of cars and trucks. Garnis two schools and the one kindergarten are located in the village center. The newest school was built 43 years ago. The village has grown outwards during the past 25 years or so. Back then the walk was half of what it is today. In 2007, a study was conducted in Garni, assessing the villages infrastructure and schools. A panel of experts found that Garni needed a new school because students in outlying areas had to travel more than 500 meters to get to class. Even during the Soviet period, land had been allocated for the construction of new schools in the outlying neighborhoods. Ashot Vardanyan, the mayor of Garni for the past twenty years, has placed the issue of new school construction on the backburner. Hes even sold the land. Vardanyan has also neglected the issue of providing transportation for local students. He claims its not his obligation. In years past, when parents protested and refused to send their children to school, arguing that the daily journey wasnt safe, a vehicle was provided to transport elementary school kids. The village municipality has four autos registered under its name. One of them belonged to Mayor Vardanyan, who sold it to the municipality for 9 million drams. He still drives it. The question arises, what are the other three vehicles used for? When Hetq asked Mayor Vardanyan why the municipality hasnt purchased a bus for the students he responded that its because his natural gas filling station closed. When the gas station was working, we used a bus owned by one of the villagers. We filled it at the station and he would transport the students, said Vardanyan. Even then, the bus wasnt operated all the time. The driver periodically would refuse to drive students claiming that the municipality hadnt paid him for months. It must be noted that the municipality paid the drivers social assistance that equaled or was more than a month in salary. According to a May 2015 decision, the municipality paid Grigor Asatryan 70,000 drams. According to an April 2015 decision 100,000 drams was paid to Sergey Sahakyan. During this school year, the bus has operated for around three months. Afterwards, school children were again forced to walk the six kilometers. Drivers plying the Yerevan-Garni route adamantly refuse to pick up the students along the way. Management at the company with the Yerevan-Garni-Geghard commuter contract claims it can no longer transport the students for free, as they had been doing, because it hinders their work. They have to ferry paying passengers. When we asked Mayor Vardanyan why the municipality is leasing a bus when it has one of its own, he claimed that the municipalitys bus is out of service. Nevertheless, the villages budget has, on paper, allocated 1.7 million drams for transportation expenses. In addition, the municipality has two drivers registered on its payroll at a monthly salary of 135,000 drams. What their duties are, remains a mystery. In the meantime, village students still have to walk to school and back every day. Mayor Vardanyans excuses dont seem to hold any water. The US Coast Guard says it intercepted a narco-sub in the eastern Pacific Ocean earlier this month and seized more than six tons of cocaine, the LA Times said. A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) aircraft first spotted the vessel on Mar. 2, the agency said in a Monday news release. The following day the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Bertholf intercepted the vessel, arrested four suspects and seized more than 12,800 pounds of cocaine. The cocaine was worth at least US$ 194,000. The self-propelled, semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel became unstable and sank during the operation. A video posted online shows the arrests. The Coast Guard has intercepted five similar vessels since last June. The most recent seizure was off the coast of the Mexico-Guatemala border in January, the LA Times said. Cocaine smuggling via homemade sea vessels is nothing new. Rudimentary low-riding vessels have been spotted since the 1990s. Often constructed in the jungles of Ecuador or Colombia out of fiberglass, the crafts now operate on battery power allowing them to fully submerse and evade infrared detection. They are often equipped with periscopes, cameras and GPS devices. The vessels are usually manned by three to four people who have little to eat, no toilet facilities and poor air quality until they reach their destination, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. At least 100 handcrafted submarines have been captured since the early 1990s, Deutsche Welle said. They are most likely enroute from the Andes to Central America and Mexico, from which contraband will be transported to the United States. Authorities from 14 countries in the Americas and Europe are working together to target trafficking throughout Central American coastal waters, in a joint effort known as Operation Martillo (Hammer). Military authorities say the operation resulted in the seizure of more than 192 metric tons of cocaine between October 2014 and September 2015. OCCRP The Belgrade Special Court for Organized Crime has sentenced 10 people, including Marko Miskovic, son of one of the richest people in the Balkans, for tax evasion and abuse of office. Marko Miskovic was sentenced on Friday to 3.5 years in prison and a fine of eight million Serbian Dinars (RSD) (US$ 73,000). He is the son of Miroslav Miskovic, the owner of Delta Holding, a conglomerate with interests in real estate, import-export and wholesale and retail sales. The case stems from two indictments. In 2011, prosecutors charged Milo Djuraskovic, owner of the Nibens Group, with abuse of office causing financial damage of RSD 1.7 billion (US$ 15.5 million) to the lubricant-producing factory Fabrika MazivaKrusevac (FAM), according to the Serbian Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK). Prosecutors said Djuraskovic took loans on behalf of FAM, later transferring the money to other companies within the Nibens Group. He was indicted with six others. In 2013, a second indictment was filed against Delta Holding's Miroslav Miskovic; his son, Marko; and nine others. According to KRIK, prosecutors said they had ripped off the company by RSD 16 billion (more than US$ 145 million) and defrauded the state by RSD 472 million (more than US$ 4.3 million). They allegedly siphoned off funds from road maintenance companies and evaded tax. The two cases were later combined into one in court. Djuraskovic was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of RSD 6 million (US$ 54,600). Several Nibens Group directors and representatives also received prison sentences ranging from one to five years, KRIK said. Miroslav Miskovic's trial was separated last year due to health reasons. His 2012 arrest was celebrated as a key achievement in the fight against corruption under the government of Aleksandar Vucic. OCCRP Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders smiles after announcing he had won the Washington state caucus during a campaign rally last Saturday in Madison. PHOTO BY SAIYNA BASHIR Conservative group Wisconsin Alliance for Reform has purchased nearly $1 million worth of advertisements that blast Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg. JANESVILLE A 15-year-old girl from Janesville was pepper sprayed after punching a man during an argument outside of a campaign rally for real estate mogul and Republican front-runner Donald Trump in Janesville. The altercation was one of a few tense moments between the estimated 2,000 supporters and opponents of Trump who were attending the rally at the Janesville Conference Center at the Holiday Inn Express. The girl, whose face was covered with pepper spray as she left the hotel grounds, was there to protest Trump and began arguing with a man there to support him. Janesville Police Chief David Moore said in a statement that the girl was pepper sprayed by a man whom police have not yet identified. The girl and another 19-year-old woman from Madison also hit by the pepper spray were treated at local hospitals. The State Journal was not able to get their names Tuesday. The girl said the man whom she punched had groped her, provoking the swing, police said. The Trump supporter who was punched, Dan Crandall of Milton, and those in the crowd disputed her allegation. I didnt touch her, Crandall said in an interview. A lot of people around her started chanting, All lives matter and she got upset. She started to challenge why I was at the Trump rally since I was a grown man, Crandall said. I told her I was at the Trump rally because I was a grown man and I cared about my country. Crandall said someone standing behind him then pepper sprayed the girl. About 1,000 people were allowed inside the conference center to listen to Trump speak while another 1,000 remained outside. Thats where supporters of Trump clashed with protesters, many of whom carried signs promoting Black Lives Matter. A handful of protesters were asked to leave the hotel grounds after disrupting the rally. Moore said Tuesday a group of 350 law enforcement officers from Wisconsin and northern Illinois were on hand in case raucous crowds found at other Trump rallies emerged in Janesville. Moore said the Trump rally was the largest event in the city in recent memory. Dozens of snowplows lined the I-90-39 exit ramp behind the hotel as a precaution against potential terrorist attacks, said Rock County Sheriff Robert Spoden. Jamie Martinez, 59, of West Allis, was sitting outside of the hotels doors around 2 p.m. holding a sign promoting military veterans supporting Trump. Martinez, a U.S. Marine Corps. veteran, said hes backing Trump because of the candidates business record. I think hes the one who could create the jobs we need, said Martinez, who said he owns a cleaning service company but hasnt worked in years. He said his customer base dried up completely about four years ago as people stopped spending money on cleaning services. Also waiting to get into the event was Leslie Spears of Spring Grove, Illinois. Spears said the Janesville rally was her second her first being a rally in Chicago that was ultimately canceled because of clashes between protesters and supporters. Spears, who held a sign that said Cats 4 Trump with photos of her cats The Dude, Sam and Al Pacino, said she supports Trump because shes been voting for Republicans my entire life and have nothing to show for it. Right now our nation is hanging on by a thread, said Spears. I want to restore fiscal sanity to this country. Spears also said she supports Trump because she thinks its insane people are coming here who dont want to assimilate to our culture. Among the protesters were Erin Creed of Williams Bay and Claudia Felske of East Troy, who stood behind a barricade holding signs that said Bigotry is the enemy and Love trumps hate. Creed said she came to add my voice to the thousands of people who say Donald Trump doesnt represent Wisconsin. His message has been one of hate, and thats not what were about here, Creed said. Six people also were arrested Monday night during a protest at the hotel. The group was among about 80 people who jammed into the hotels lobby and front entrance. The six, all from Madison and part of a group called Showing Up for Racial Injustice, refused to leave when asked to do so by hotel management and police. Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-29 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Many things will be said here today, PM Tsipras tells MPs [02] ND leader: Today's Greece is far from being a normal democracy [01] Many things will be said here today, PM Tsipras tells MPs "A great many things, all together, will be said here today," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told MPs on Tuesday, as he launched an off-the-agenda debate on justice issues in Parliament. The prime minister accused main opposition New Democracy, acting on the pretext of a so-called revelation about a supposed government intervention in justice, of acting in close concert with some of the well-known media of corruption in order to create a hubbub and create false impressions. "This is not naivete but effrontery and arrogance...You did not even think that in this way, you would be opening Pandora's box yourselves," he said. Tsipras specifically highlighted the "notorious Papangelopoulos intervention" - relating to allegations that Alternate Minister for Corruption Dimitris Papangelopoulos had attempted to influence a prosecutor's handling of an investigation into the businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos. He noted that a disciplinary inquiry was already underway concerning the handling of the specific case, which involved major financial interests, and the actions or omissions that had resulted in three separate cases files being shelved. According to the prime minister, three questions naturally sprung to mind in connection with this affair and the minister's involvement. Firstly, whether the meeting for which Papangelopoulos stood accused of intervention had been requested by the minister or the public prosecutor. Secondly, why this case concerning the businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos was in the hands of Appeals Prosecutor Georgia Tsatani at all and why it had been removed from the prosecutors for corruption. Lastly, why it was that the Supreme Court deputy prosecutor had issued a document on April 22 stating that all corruption cases were the exclusive province of the corruption prosecutors, then on December 18 in the same year, the same person had issued a new document saying that the Vgenopoulos cases had been rightfully removed from the corruption prosecutors. "I ask you: is there not a very obvious legal contradiction here?" Tsipras said, noting that members of the opposition had also talked publicly of a cover-up in the specific case. He went on to announce that SYRIZA's Parliamentary group will table a proposal for a Parliamentary examining committee to carry out an in-depth investigation of loan agreements between banks, political parties and the media, whose final conclusions will be issued no later than the end of May. Tsipras stressed that the issue of shady loans given to political parties could not end "overnight" because the previous ND-PASOK coalition government had slipped through an amendment pardoning and giving immunity to all that gave them. [02] ND leader: Today's Greece is far from being a normal democracy Main opposition party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis slammed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday for government actions which he said violated the operation of Justice, during an off-the-agenda debate on justice issues in Parliament. Taking the podium after Tsipras, the leader of New Democracy (ND) said that in well-functioning democratic countries in Europe and the western world, everyone respects the principle of separation of powers and the full and complete independence of Justice, but this isn't the case in Greece. "Today's Greece Mr. Tsipras is far from being a normal democracy," he said. "You're not the accuser but the accused in this debate for the worst lies ever uttered by a prime minister." Mitsotakis went on to say that for Tsipras "the end justifies the means", adding that all he cares about is staying in power using any means available. He also mentioned press reports in certain newspapers and implied the prime minister has entered into "secret bargains" with publishers for positive media coverage. "Why does the opponent of vested interests meets secretly with a representative of vested interests? And why so many meetings? To tell him 'No'?" Mitsotakis asked. "You're a government in tatters. You want to criminalize political life," the ND leader added. He then criticized the "so-called humanism" of the Left, saying that it has "crumbled in the muds of Idomeni". Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article Kirk was the first to break ranks with the Republican caucus and meet with President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the Scalia vacancy, Judge Merrick Garland Tuesday. Kirk pushed for a hearing to consider Garland. WASHINGTON - If U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was frustrated with conservative freshman Senator Ted Cruz's independence last year, he's got another, perhaps even more irritating dilemma ahead with liberal freshman GOP Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois. "We need rational, adult open-minded consideration of the constitutional process which Judge Garland is part of," the Illinois senator said. "He's been duly nominated by the elected president of the United States to fill a vacancy which we know exists on the court, and we need open-minded, rational, responsible people to keep an open mind to make sure the process works." Kirk pushed for consideration despite two Republican constituency groups coming out against Garland - the National Rifle Association and the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Even the New York Times admitted that Garland's addition to the Supreme Court would cause the equally divided Court to move "dramatically to the left." Kirk faces a tough re-election in Illinois, where he is facing Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth in November. A penguin is seen in front of Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, docked at an ice covered area of the South Pole during China's 31st scientific expedition to Antarctica. [Photo/Weibo.com] China's top polar research institute expects to recruit foreign talents to help the country advance its research work in the polar regions, the institute's head said on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. Yang Huigen, director of the Polar Research Institute of China, said that his institute would recruit at least two experts in the fields of physical oceanography, ice core science and polar marine ecology this year. The institute is the country's solo organization focusing on the polar research and offering logistic supports to researchers in polar regions, Yang said. On Monday, Yang extended an offer letter to marine talent Huang Wentao who will lead the research team in the study of polar middle and upper atmospheric physics. Huang, 39, received his doctorate of science from his studies in Peking University's School of Physics. He mainly focused on the laser radar technology, and the technology's application in the atmospheric and space physics. During his work in the United States, he joined in the research of new generation Doppler laser radar. His new laser radar technology has been used to provide data for the studies of cosmic dust and middle atmosphere dynamics. As one of the country's major tasks in the marine studies, China would continue to develop technologies and equipment to improve the polar research, according to the State Oceanic Administration. The administration said in a statement in February that an Antarctic air squadron will be set up this year to support its scientific expeditions to the polar region. China will continue to develop technologies and equipment to research on space, remote sensing and oceanography, the administration said, and a long-term integrated observation and service system would also be set up. It will build its second polar research vessel after Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, an icebreaker, to strengthen its capabilities in the field, said Hu Keyi, technical director of Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co Ltd, one of China's largest shipbuilders. Bidding for the construction of the second ship will start by the end of April and the new vessel will boast stronger icebreaking capabilities, Hu said in March. The ship's estimated budget will be more than 1 billion yuan ($153.5 million). Ashok Leyland will supply advanced-technology products - 450 units of Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6x6 and other similar Super Stallion vehicles; and 825 units of Ambulance 4x4. A Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6x6 on Super Stallion platform will function as a Common Gun Tower for all artillery guns. By India Today Web Desk: Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group and the largest suppliers of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army, has won orders valued at Rs 800 crore from the Indian armed forces. The company will supply advanced-technology products - 450 units of Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6x6 and other similar Super Stallion vehicles; and 825 units of Ambulance 4x4. advertisement Vinod Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland said, "The orders for Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6x6 and Ambulance 4x4 are in keeping with the momentum witnessed recently in the area of upgradation of technology and resources by the defence forces. It also reaffirms our Company's credentials as the largest defence mobility manufacturer that meets stringent requirements of the armed forces." The air-conditioned Ambulance 4x4 will provide enhanced medical support in the immediate aftermath of injuries. A Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6x6 on Super Stallion platform will function as a Common Gun Tower for all artillery guns. This versatile FAT provides the Army unprecedented flexibility in rapid deployment and utilisation of artillery resources. The vehicle can be used for a variety of applications across logistics and tactical segments. The air-conditioned Ambulance 4x4 will provide enhanced medical support in the immediate aftermath of injuries. A double-walled insulated body maintains inside temperature, while rear air suspension reduces shocks during transportation. All equipment meets Advanced Life Support standards. --- ENDS --- A successor to the TVS Apache RTR 180 has been on the cards for quite some time now, and finally TVS is getting ready to unveil the bike on January 20. By India Today Web Desk: TVS is finally getting ready to take the cover of the next motorcycle in its Apache RTR lineup. The new bike will feature a 200cc engine with technical support from BMW Motorrad and will be called the Apache RTR 200. At the 2014 Auto Expo, TVS had shown us the Draken concept for the Apache RTR 200. The concept had left the Apache loyalists begging for the actual thing to come out quickly, and finally two years later, TVS is ready to deliver on that promise. advertisement The new bike borrows heavily from the Draken concept. The engine will be a rebored version of the 180cc engine on the Apache RTR 180 but the cooling system for the motorcycle has been developed by BMW. Its main rivals will be the TM Duke 200, Bajaj Pulsar, and the Benelli TNT25. The KTM has been the king of the segment since the time it was launched and thus what remains to be seen is that will TVS be able to dethrone it. --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: The admit cards for the Kerala Engineering and Medical Entrance Examination (KEAM) have been released. All those who have registered for the same can download it from their official website, www.cee.kerala.gov.in. The exam is scheduled to be conducted from April 25 to 28. This state level entrance test is organised by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) Kerala each year. The candidates are required to bring the colour printout of the admit card while appearing for the entrance examination. Those candidates who have applied for admission to B.Arch courses only (no entrance examination) can also download their admit cards which is to be produced at the time of admission. The admit cards will not be sent by post from the office to the candidate. advertisement The examinations will be held at all the district centres in Kerala and in New Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai (UAE). The candidates who have opted for Dubai centre should note that the examinations will be conducted as per Indian Standard Time (IST). Steps to download the admit card/hall ticket Log on to the official website www.cee-kerala.org On the home page, click on the link to KEAM 'Admit Card Download 2016' Enter your registration number, date of birth, etc Click on the submit button Your admit card will display on the screen Download the same and take a print out for future reference Read: MP Vyapam SE exam 2016: Download the admit card Read: SVIMSPGET 2016: Exam date released For information on more upcoming exams and notifications, click here --- ENDS --- A Rs 639.54 crore budget has been announced by the University of Mumbai for the financial year 2016-17. A surplus of Rs 63.67 crore has also been recorded in the budget for the first time in five years. By India Today Web Desk: A Rs 639.54 crore budget has been announced by the University of Mumbai for the financial year 2016-17. A surplus of Rs 63.67 crore has also been recorded in the budget for the first time in five years. Moreover, the state government and a few colleges affiliated to MU are supposed to clear dues amounting to an estimated Rs 150 crore. advertisement According to MU VC Sanjay Deshmukh, the government is supposed to pay around Rs 100 crore for salary grants, while colleges are supposed to pay Rs 50 crore towards affiliation fees. The exact due amounts could not be provided by the officials. "For the past few years, the state government has been giving 75% of the total amount required for salaries, with the remaining expenses borne by the varsity. We hope that the state will give us the due amount," said Deshmukh, while refusing to call the to-be-paid-amount a "recovery". However, a university official said that the pending amount by the state government is highly likely not to be recovered and it should not have been made a part of the budget. "The vice chancellor should have written off the amount, but apparently he wants to take credit for a surplus budget," he said according to an HT report. On the payment delay regarding affiliation fees, the VC blamed both university officials and the colleges for their laxity. "The amount spent on affiliated colleges was drawn from non-plan expenditure. You cannot spend the money on something it was not appropriated for," said the official. Regular expenditures such as employee salaries are drawn from the non-plan money. Deshmukh said that the bigger budget will be used by the varsity to help students from different parts of the country and the state easily access higher education. This would be a push towards the success of Digital India and Skill India initiatives by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Read: UAE, Dubai invite Mumbai University to set up offshore campus Read: PM Modi stresses on qualitative educational improvement --- ENDS --- The University of Mumbai has received an invitation to set up its campus in Dubai and United Arab Emirates (UAE). By India Today Web Desk: The University of Mumbai has received invitation to set up its campus in Dubai and United Arab Emirates (UAE). As per the guidelines of University Grants Commission (UGC), a varsity requires permission from UGC to open its offshore campus. Sanjay Deshmukh, the vice-chancellor MU, who is also a member of the committee which drafted the recent version of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, has been working to include the clause that would permit universities to have an offshore presence. advertisement A budgetary provision of Rs 20 lakh has been set aside for the purpose, Deshmukh said on Monday, March 28, while announcing the university's budget for 2016-17. The inviting countries will be responsible for setting up the campuses and the university will have to conduct academic activities there. For its own students who wish to study abroad, the university will apply for membership to the College Board code. This will give Mumbai University students information access to 6,000 American colleges. "We will take more memberships of European and south-east Asian countries where our students head. This will put them in a comfort zone in terms of accessing information," said Deshmukh according to TOI . The university budget, which has projected an excess of Rs 63 crore from the previous Rs 74 crore, has earmarked funds for inter-university and institutional association for student and faculty exchange and development of dual-degree programmes. In the coming academic year, the university is also planning to start an online MBA programme in collaboration with Ural Federal University. The Russian university's collaboration will offer 17 specializations for students to choose from. Students will earn a certificate degree at the end of the first year and a degree on completing all the 106 credits in the two-year-long course. "This is a great way of reaching the unreached," Deshmukh added. Read: Hindus oppose proposed textbook changes by California's Department of Education For information on more latest news and updates, click here. --- ENDS --- Asserting that there is a difference between 2002 riots and 1984 Sikh massacre Kanhaiya alleged that Gujarat violence was carried out through state machinery while the other was caused due to mob frenzy. By Press Trust of India: JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar has compared the alleged onslaught on varsities with Gujarat riots alleging both of them were carried out "with support" from state machinery even as he stressed that there is a fundamental difference between "emergency" and "fascism". Asserting that there is a difference between 2002 riots and 1984 Sikh massacre Kanhaiya alleged that Gujarat violence was carried out through state machinery while the other was caused due to mob frenzy. advertisement "There is difference between emergency and fascism. During emergency, goons of only one party were engaged into goondaism, in this (fascism) entire state machinery is resorting to goondaism. There is difference between riots of 2002 and 1984 Sikh riots. "There is a fundamental difference between a mob killing a common man and massacring people through state machinery. Therefore, the threat of communal fascism we are faced with today, there is an attack being launched on universities, because like Hitler, Modi ji does not have support from intellectuals in India. No intellectual is defending Modi regime," he added. Noting the present time is an era of "Islamophobia" , Kanhaiya underscored a need for understanding history first before reaching a conclusion on any issue. "Today its an era of Islamophobia. Leave aside the words of terrorism and terrorist. The moment these words will come to your mind, imprints of face of a Muslim person will be there in your mind. This is Islamophobia. "Connotations, meaning of a word change. Hence, it is important for us to understand history before we reach to conclusion on anything," he said. Kanhaiya was addressing the gathering during a panel discussion on "Voices of Azaadi" during the "Jashne-e-azaadi" festival which was organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of the late historian Professor Bipan Chandra. The celebration comes at a time when JNU students have kick started a "nationalism and azaadi debate" across the country after it came under attack for an event on campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Also read: Is Kanhaiya Kumar a politician in the making? Rohith Vemula and Kanhaiya Kumar now Maoist posterboys --- ENDS --- Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad today held another edition of its 'Truth of JNU' awareness programme at Mumbai's Kalina University. By India Today Web Desk: RSS-backed Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) today held another edition of its 'Truth of JNU' awareness programme at Mumbai's Kalina University, which was briefly disrupted by members of the All India Students Federation (AISF). 'Truth of JNU' is a series of programmes planned by the ABVP in various academic campuses to mobilise its supporters against the alleged anti-national activities in JNU, where a controversial event in memory of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was held last month. advertisement At the programme in Mumbai today, ABVP general secretary Lalit Pandey spoke about the slogans raised in JNU on February 9, which had led to the arrest of JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya. The three were released on interim bail earlier this month. It has also been alleged that the videos, on the basis of which the three students were arrested, were doctored. An inquiry into those videos is on. As Pandey spoke at the Kalina University campus today, members of the Left-backed AISF also distributed pamphlets countering the ABVP allegations. Security was beefed up at the Kalina campus and at least 50 policemen were deployed to prevent any clash between the two groups. After about 90 minutes of demonstration and sloganeering, the crowd dispersed. ALSO READ: JNU issues notices to 5 students for burning copies of Manusmriti --- ENDS --- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan feels proud of her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan for winning a national award. According to her, Amitabh's every performance deserves an award. By India Today Web Desk: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan said that her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan's every performance deserves an award. ALSO READ: National Film Awards - Bajrangi Bhaijaan to Baahubali, here's a complete list of the winners SEE PIC: Chris Gayle shares a fan moment with Amitabh Bachchan When asked for her reaction to Amitabh winning the National Award for Piku, she said, "It's not the first time and we are very proud of Paa... he has won his award yet again. His every performance deserves to be celebrated." advertisement "I feel every performance of him deserves to be celebrated by the audience and members of the media," she added. The Jazbaa actor also appreciated fans for their support and love for the Amitabh, "I thank you for all the love. Thank you for all the congratulatory messages. We love Paa and god bless him for entertaining us," she added. The 42-year-old actor was attending the L'Oreal Women of Worth awards 2016 in Mumbai on Monday (March 28). Aishwarya looked stunning in a white saree at the event. Amidst the crowd and chaos, she agreed to pose with a bunch of camera men and journalists when they requested her to join them for a selfie. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will next appear in Omung Kumar's biopic Sarbjit. She essays the role of Dalbir Kaur in the film. (With inputs from IANS) --- ENDS --- The girl students alleged that incidents of sexual harassment were ignored by the principal of the college. By Mail Today: The students of the prestigious Maharani's Arts, Commerce & Management College in Bengaluru have accused a few male faculty members of sexually harassing them. The incident came to light when the Expert Committee on Prevention of Atrocities Against Women & Children visited the institution. The girl students alleged that incidents of sexual harassment were ignored by the principal of the college. Recently, the government transferred the principal following unrest among the students. Last week, students supporting the principal and those opposing her had clashes on the premises of the college. advertisement The Expert Committee Chairman V S Ugrappa assured action against the erring staff. He also advised the students to approach the Committee directly if any male faculty misbehaved with them in the college. Also read: Tumakuru University professor faces sexual harassment charges Karnataka: PE teacher accused of sexually harassing boys --- ENDS --- Protests by Indians averted an attempt by certain Left-leaning academicians and scholars to dissolve India's unique identity under a larger South Asian one in US school text books. Academics suggested several changes in California textbooks and students, parents did not take it too well By Mail Today: Protests by Indians averted an attempt by certain Left-leaning academicians and scholars to dissolve India's unique identity under a larger South Asian one in US school text books. The California Department of Education's Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) rejected the academics' suggestions at a public hearing of the matter on March 24. The suggestion for changes was moved by a group comprising of well-known Leftist scholars like Lawrence Cohen, Thomas Hansen and Sheldon Pollock. The protest began on fears that this was an attack on India's Hindu heritage and its status of being one the most ancient world cultures. advertisement "Congrats to Hindu activists for successfully opposing and contesting the suggestion to replace 'India' by 'South Asia' in textbooks in the USA. The Leftist scholars' bid to undermine India's glorious identity was foiled by young Hindu activists and Hindu Education Foundation in California, USA," RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said. "India has its own identity. It is very wrong to deprive India's identity. Activists have rightly carried out a campaign and demonstrated against the move," Vaidya added. These academics, under the aegis of the South Asia Faculty Group, suggested several changes to the existing curriculum for the teaching of 'History and Social Sciences' of California Textbooks, including recommendations to substitute 'South Asia' for 'Ancient India' or 'India' in the chapters on Ancient India. They faced stiff opposition in the form of a public movement led by the Rightwingdominated Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) which has an allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The community's efforts were also supported by a coalition of 20 government officials, including Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and California State Senator Steven M Glazer. After a huge uproar from the American-Indian community, the IQC rejected the academics' suggestions at a public hearing of the matter on March 24. Among other corrections and edits suggested by the academics, they had also recommended that the sections of Grade-6 book titled 'The Early Civilizations of India' be changed to 'The Early Civilizations of South Asia'. Earlier this week, a petition signed by over 18,000 people had asked the commission: "Would you presume to deny the reality of India's existence and history, and its deep significance to Indian-American students in California, simply because a few misinformed professors of South Asia Studies wrote you a letter recommending you re-educate California's children in this bizarre manner?" A large number of students and parents testified at the public hearing of the commission held in Sacramento on March 24 seeking the rejection of these changes. "India is not just a landmass but a living civilisation. By removing the mention of India as a civilisation, my identity as an Indian-American is being sought to be erased," Vidhima Shetty, a 9th grade student in San Ramon, said during her testimony. "What we are seeking is dignity" Bill Honig, the Chair of the Subject Matter Committee of the Commission said. Meanwhile, the South Asia Faculty Group has accused the education department of having come under the influence of 'Hindu nationalists'. advertisement In a letter shot to the department on November 18, 2015, the group not only made recommendations after reviewing the curriculum, but also said: "Responding to pressure from Hindu nationalist and community organisations, several deleterious changes have been made to the current version of the framework," adding that, "The current framework also seems to contain added material lacking scientific or scholarly validity." ALSO READ: Leftists trying to undermine countrys glorious identity: RSS --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: This year's Delhi Budget promises a boost in the city's tourism sector. According to a report by Hindustan Times, the Delhi government is planning to run a campaign titled, Brand Delhi in order to promote tourism in the city. The main aim behind the creation of Brand Delhi is to highlight Delhi's cultural richness and heritage. advertisement Besides this, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in his budget speech yesterday, has proposed the idea of organising an annual carnival titled, Delhi Festival. The motive behind organising this festival is to increase the tourist footfalls in the city. According to the report, the Delhi government has set aside an amount of Rs 30 crore for the purpose, with an additional Rs 10 crore for the development of tourism infrastructure in the city. The infrastructure development plan also includes the building of a skywalk connecting Qutub Minar and the nearest metro station, as reported by India Today yesterday. Also read: Why Delhi government's tourism initiative for Qutub Minar makes complete sense The budget announcements with regards to tourism also included the revelation of the government's plan to increase the online presence of Delhi as tourism destination through websites, mobile apps, social media and microsites. Besides, Sisodia also said that the government is looking to introduce a single window clearance system for the online bookings of hotels and restaurants. Something that is expected to give a major boost to Delhi's hotel industry is the government's proposal of increasing the luxury tax ceiling from the existing Rs 750 to Rs 1,500. It will prove to be a win-win situation for both guests and budget hotel owners as it will reduce the tax burden on both the parties. As of now, the luxury tax on a tariff ranging between Rs 750 and Rs 1,000 is 3 per cent. But when the new tax scheme is implemented, there will be no luxury tax on room rents upto Rs 1,500. This will be a welcome change for budget travellers and backpackers who look for cheap accommodations in the city. --- ENDS --- By Mail Today: Dr N Shankar (58) is a renowned orthopaedic surgeon in Bengaluru having saved lives of many people at his private hospital (Siddartha Clinic). But on Sunday, he became 'Dr Death' after he rash drove his high-end luxury car, killing one and injuring five others in the city. Six other cars and scores of two-wheelers were also damaged when the uncontrollable Mercedes Benz driven by Dr Shankar caused four accidents along the 1.4 km stretch between Ashoka Pillar and Anjaneya temple in Byrasandra in south Bengaluru. advertisement The police have subjected the doctor to medical tests to ascertain whether he was under the influence of alcohol while driving his car as alleged by eye witnesses. Reports from the government hospital as well as the Forensics Sciences Laboratory are awaited even as Dr Shankar is claiming that the car's brake failure and an epileptic attack were the reasons for the series of accidents. However, the police are unwilling to buy his version because of inconsistencies in his statement. "It's a brand new Mercedes-Benz car. We haven't heard of brake failure in such cars. The car driven by Dr Shankar is being inspected by the officials of the Department of Motor Vehicles. We will wait for their report. Likewise, we will wait for the medical reports before proceeding with the case," police officers investigating the accidents, said. According to eye witnesses, Dr Shankar's car first rammed into a car near Ashoka Pillar around 2.10 pm. Tanzim Khan, who was in the car, was injured in the head and he was admitted to a nearby hospital. But Dr Shankar did not stop and while swerving the car, hit three two-wheelers. The surgeon continued his rash drive and rammed into two other cars one of which ploughed into a house. Dr Shankar, who maintained the same speed, then ploughed down a twowheeler on which Rizwan Pasha (54) and his wife Mousina Begum were seated. While Rizwan died on the spot, Mousina suffered serious injuries. But Dr. Shankar did not stop and continued at the same speed eventually ramming into a house. Fortunately, none was injured as the occupants were not at home. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M A Saleem said that a case under section 304 of the IPC for culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against the doctor. "The nature of this case is grave as it was a serial accident caused by one person that left one dead and five injured. The accused should have stopped after hitting the first vehicle, but he did not. His blood samples have been sent for medical testing," he added. advertisement Incidentally, a mob had gathered at the accident site and thrashed the doctor black and blue before the police rescued him. When the doctor did not stop after the second accident, a few youths followed him on two-wheelers, but he sped away. The police were also alerted about the rampaging car. A mob of 300 people had gathered and the police had a tough time rescuing the doctor from them. The police also found out that the doctor's maid Saritha and her daughter were in the car all along when the doctor went on the rampage. Fortunately neither of them was injured in the series of accidents, which shook Bengaluru. Also read: Bengaluru: Drunk doctor in overspeeding Mercedes kills 1, injures 4 --- ENDS --- The government is also working on its ambitious plan provide clean drinking water to all authorised and unauthorised colonies by 2017 through pipelines and has allocated Rs.676 crore. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the goal is to make government schools better than private schools in the next three years. By Mail Today: For the second consecutive year, the AAP government allocated the largest share of funds to the education and health sectors and termed it a "longterm investment". The state government claimed that it is a move to make government infrastructure at par with the private sector. The government earmarked Rs10,690 crore for education to improve infrastructure and quality of education by imparting training to its teachers at international institutions. advertisement Announcing major overhaul in the education system, Delhi's finance minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the charge of education, said, "We are getting CCTV cameras installed in every classroom, whose feed would be available to all officials, the education minister and parents on their smartphone. We have set aside Rs.100 crore for the scheme." The deputy CM said the goal is to make government schools better than private schools in the next three years. The process of recruiting and appointing 5,500 teachers is in its final stages. In a move to set-up three tier healthcare system, Rs.5,259 crore has been earmarked for the health sector, a hike of close to 10 per cent over the allocation last fiscal. The government is also working on its ambitious plan provide clean drinking water to all authorised and unauthorised colonies by 2017 through pipelines and has allocated Rs.676 crore. Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will be provided piped water supply in 300 new unauthorised colonies. In order to ease Delhi's traffic, Sisodia announced construction of two new elevated bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors. He said after the successful implementation, the model will be replicated across the city. Seeking to promote e-rickshaws for the last-mile connectivity, Sisodia also proposed enhancement of one-time fixed subsidy for them, from RS.15,000 to RS.30,000. In the current year, Rs.4.97 crore has been given as subsidy to 3,709 owners of battery-operated vehicles and e-rickshaw. In a move to prove cheap and hygienic food to the people, Rs10 crore has been allotted for setting up 'Aam Aadmi canteens' across the city. The functioning of the canteens will be monitored and coordinated by a Bureau of Affordable Meals, Sisodia said. The AAP government proposed to launch a 'Brand Delhi' campaign to reposition the the city as a favoured tourism destination and as well as a worldclass festival will be held in the national Capital later this year. Delhi Tourism has also received necessary permissions to revamp the borders and will conduct beautification at road entry points of the city like Ghazipur and Dhaula Kuan. The Delhi government will also create women safety groups for all constituencies and ensure adequate lighting at around 42,000 'dark spots' as it set aside Rs 1,068 crore in its Budget to ensure women's security and empowerment. advertisement While Rs 200 crore was earmarked for the women safety groups, another Rs 114 crore was set aside to ensure adequate lighting at around 42,000 dark spots in the national capital. The government also announced an initial allocation of Rs 200 crore as part of a new scheme for installing CCTV cameras and surveillance systems throughout Delhi. The city is set to have three more monitoring stations and one mobile van to constantly monitor air quality. It also earmarked Rs 137 crore for a longpending project under which LED screens will display pollution levels, public awareness messages and real-time traffic information at public places across the national Capital. ALSO READ: Arvind Kejriwal in world's 50 greatest leaders list by Fortune: Top 10 leaders --- ENDS --- Cyprus foreign ministry tweeted that the crisis is 'over' after security personnel arrested hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa. Mustafa reportedly emerged from the aircraft with his hands in the air. A man thought to be the hijacker leaves the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca in Cyprus on March 29, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/Yiannis Kourtoglou) By India Today Web Desk: The EgyptAir hijack drama ended today after hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa surrendered at Larnaca airport. Cyprus foreign ministry said in a tweet that hijack is 'over' after security personnel arrested Mustafa. The hijacker emerged from the aircraft with his hands in the air, local media reported. EgyptAir airplane hijacker Seif El Din Mustafa. (Photo courtesy: @doglab) It is not about terrorism advertisement Four people were seen leaving the hijacked EgyptAir plane that landed in Cyprus on Tuesday, Cypriot Broadcasting Corporation showed in live footage. One man climbed out the cockpit window and three more people, dressed in uniform, ran down the plane's steps, the footage showed. Tuesday's hijacking of an EgyptAir airliner which was diverted to Cyprus does not appear to be terror-related, a senior official of Cyprus's foreign affairs ministry said. "What we have clarified ... is that its not about terrorism. It appears to be a person who is unstable, in an unstable psychological state and the issue is being handled accordingly," foreign ministry official Alexandros Zenon said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane and diverted it to Cyprus was an Egyptian national who had asked to meet European Union officials or to fly on to another airport. Unidentified people leave the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca in Cyprus on March 29, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Yiannis Kourtoglou) Ismail told reporters that authorities would question the hijacker to ascertain his true motives, which remained a mystery. "At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released everyone onboard except three passengers and four crew following negotiations, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said. He declined to give their nationalities. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) and a private broadcaster, Antenna, said the hijacker was asking for the release of women prisoners in Egypt, suggesting a political motive. He had also asked to get in touch with European Union officials, CyBC reported, citing a letter of the hijacker. Earlier the Cyprus state broadcaster reported that EgyptAir hijacker demands to see estranged Cypriot wife. Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. An unidentified man stuggles with another as he climbs out of the cockpit window of the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca in Cyprus on March 29, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/Yiannis Kourtoglou) An unidentified man stuggles with another as he climbs out of the cockpit window of the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca in Cyprus on March 29, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/Yiannis Kourtoglou) advertisement The plane remained on the tarmac at Laranca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene.No explosives on the EgyptAir flight A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region. However, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. According to reports, EgyptAir hijacker is professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria university. About 60 people, including seven crew, had been on board, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. Cairo airport delays departure of New York-bound airplane Cairo airport today delayed the departure of a New York-bound airplane due to security fears related to a hijacked EgyptAir aircraft diverted to Cyprus, said two security officials. Keeping in view the situation, Israel today scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. advertisement Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day seige had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. --- ENDS --- Tuesday's hijacking of an EgyptAir airliner which was diverted to Cyprus does not appear to be terror-related, a senior official of Cyprus's foreign affairs ministry said. By Reuters: A hijacker who seized an EgyptAir airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has surrendered, reports said. The hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, reportedly emerged from the aircraft with his hands in the air, local media said. Cyprus foreign ministry said in a tweet that hijack is 'over' after security personnel arrested Mustafa. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane and diverted it to Cyprus was an Egyptian national who had asked to meet European Union officials or to fly on to another airport. advertisement Ismail told reporters that authorities would question the hijacker to ascertain his true motives, which remained a mystery. "At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released everyone onboard except three passengers and four crew following negotiations, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said. He declined to give their nationalities. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) and a private broadcaster, Antenna, said the hijacker was asking for the release of women prisoners in Egypt, suggesting a political motive. He had also asked to get in touch with European Union officials, CyBC reported, citing a letter the hijacker. The plane remained on the tarmac at Laranca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. Here are the latest developments: EgyptAir hijacker surrenders, says state TV Cyprus Foreign Ministry says in a tweet that hijack is 'over' Cyprus broadcasting reports hijacker emerging from aircraft with hands held up Egypt Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said authorities would question hijacker to ascertain true motives Egypt Prime Minister said EgyptAir hijacker was Egyptian, had asked to meet EU officials, go to other airports Cyprus foreign ministry names hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa Cypriot TV footage shows three more uniformed individuals running out of EgyptAir plane Cyprus foreign ministry official says hijack incident does not appear related to terrorism, hijacker appears unstable Cypriot TV footage shows one individual climbing out of EgyptAir cockpit window Cypriot TV footage shows 4 leaving EgyptAir plane Four people were seen leaving the hijacked EgyptAir plane that landed in Cyprus on Tuesday, Cypriot Broadcasting Corporation showed in live footage. One man climbed out the cockpit window and three more people, dressed in uniform, ran down the plane's steps, the footage showed. Cyprus foreign ministry official says hijacker appears unstable advertisement Tuesday's hijacking of an EgyptAir airliner which was diverted to Cyprus does not appear to be terror-related, a senior official of Cyprus's foreign affairs ministry said. "What we have clarified ... is that its not about terrorism. It appears to be a person who is unstable, in an unstable psychological state and the issue is being handled accordingly," foreign ministry official Alexandros Zenon told journalists. Cairo airport delays departure of New York-bound EgyptAir flight linked to hijacked plane Cairo airport has delayed the departure of a New York-bound airplane due to security fears related to a hijacked EgyptAir aircraft diverted to Cyprus, said two security officials. Earlier the Cyprus state broadcaster reported that the hijacker had demanded the release of female prisoners in Egypt, where the government is facing an Islamist militant insurgency based in the Sinai Peninsula. EgyptAir hijacker demands to see estranged Cypriot wife Egyptian civil aviation minister says 7 people remain on hijacked EgyptAir MS181 including 3 passengers. Pilot, co-pilot, flight attendant, security officer among them. At least 5 more people have been released from hijacked EgyptAir plane in Cyprus. 8 Americans, 4 Britons, 2 Belgians, 1 Italian, 4 Dutch and 30 Egyptians on board. advertisement Hijacker's ex-wife is on her way to airport to participate in negotiations. No explosives on the EgyptAir flight: Security sources According to reports, EgyptAir hijacker is professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria university. Cyprus Foreign Affairs Ministry identifies hijacker of Egyptian plane as Seif Eldin Mustafa in tweet. About 60 people, including seven crew, had been on board, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. "The negotiations with the hijacker have resulted in the release of all the plane passengers with the exception of the crew and five foreigners," the airline said in a statement. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said. The hijacker had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said. Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. advertisement Passengers on the plane included eight Britons and 10 Americans, three security sources at Alexandria airport said. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. Egypt's vital tourism industry was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day seige had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. Watch full video here: Also read | Egyptian plane hijacked, taken to Cyprus: What we know so far --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Youssra El-Sharkawy Cairo, Mar 29 (PTI) Egypts top auditor Hisham Geneina has been dismissed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with immediate effect, hours after authorities said his comments on state corruption were "inaccurate". Geneina, 60, head of the Central Auditing Organisation -- a state agency tasked with overseeing the governments finances -- was dismissed by a presidential decree yesterday, effective immediately, Egyptian TV reported. advertisement State Security Prosecution has released an official statement, saying the top auditors comments made in 2015 on state corruption were "inaccurate" and included "repeated count of incidents of corruption over the years". Geneina ignited an uproar in Egypt as he said in newspaper interviews last month that corruption has cost the country tens of billions of dollars over the past four years. He claimed to have uncovered billions of dollars-worth of corruption, involving some of the countrys top institutions such as the police, intelligence agencies and the judiciary. Geneina said that corruption in the administrative sector has reached about USD 75 billion. El-Sisi had formed a fact-finding committee which accused Geneina of "defamation of state apparatuses". It said that Geneinas statements misled the public, lacked credibility and exaggerated the numbers lost due to corruption. Hesham Badawy, deputy head of the central agency, was appointed charge daffaire of the post. The State Security Prosecution described Geneinas comments as "inaccurate". "The data and numbers provided by the formed committee about corruption were not accurate as well and contains incidents that took place during 2008 to 2012 and not 2015," a statement by the prosecution said. The prosecution further accused Geneina of power misuse by collecting and keeping important information and documents on corruption, and that it was not within the CAO authority to investigate corruption. The prosecution decided to ban Geneina, who was appointed by ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2012. PTI YES CPS --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Mar 29 (PTI) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis third trip to Washington in less than two years, Indias envoy to the US has said that the two countries have experienced a fascinating transformation in relations. "Our partnership did not always appear so destined. Indeed, just three decades ago, such an alignment of interests between the two countries was simply unthinkable. This makes the transformation of India-US relations in the last three decades so fascinating," said Arun K Singh, Indian Ambassador to the US, in his address at the 20th Wharton-India Economic Forum on Evolving India-US Relations over the weekend. advertisement President Barack Obama has characterised the India-US relationship as a "defining partnership of the 21st century", while Modi has termed the partnership as a "natural alliance". "The strategic convergence and the global importance of this convergence are captured in our diplomatic moniker: a Global Strategic Partnership," he said. "Since his election in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi has visited the US twice and is going to be back here next week for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC," Singh told the audience. Modi is scheduled to be in the American capital to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Obama on March 31 and April 1. "The first-ever vision statement of our countries was issued in September 2014, during the Prime Ministers visit. A Delhi Declaration, adopted during President Obamas visit further elevated our strategic partnership. A Joint Strategic Vision unveiled at that time reflected their common goals for the dynamic Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, building on the congruence of Indias Act East policy and the US re-balance to Asia," he said. Noting that defence is an area where the impact of a robust India-US partnership has been obvious, Singh said the two countries have started the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative to foster collaboration in transformative defence technology, co-production and co-development. India has contracted nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence items from the US in the past few years. The armed forces of India and the US now conduct more exercises with each other than they do with any other country bilaterally, he said. PTI LKJ KUN --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: On Rajdeep Sardesai's show NewsToday, lawyer and social activist Teesta Setalvad and PK Mishra, former ADG, BSF, concurred with each other on gross human rights violations in Chief Minister Raman Singh's Chhattishgarh. In Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, it is the doctors and journalists who are bearing the brunt of the police forces. Speaking on police atrocity, Teesta Setalvad said, "We have thee-four issues which are very critical to democracy. Your (India Today Television) bureau suggested that Bastar, just like the entire Red corridor, is a conflict zone. The former prime minister said so and it is well acknowledged that it is a conflict zone. Now the question is in a conflict zone do we need witnesses? Do we need persons who are journalists to fairly reports all sides of the conflicts. Do we need lawyers and human rights activists to actually raise issues of the ordinary people living there? Or we do just accept blindly a state version? If we believe there is democracy, which we believe we are, we need to ask why after the bringing in of IG of Bastar, K Sivarama Prasad Kalluri (in 2014-2015), suddenly this repression has increased? Here is a senior police officer who openly challenges anybody from "outside" to come and work in Bastar. Now, we are a democarcy, we have Article 21 and 14 and we are people who are allowed to live and work there yet there is a government which is working undemocratically...I am really shocked at the attacks on journalists in Bastar. Are we going to tolerate a situation where journalists are going to be openely threatened by the police and then we accept the police version to say, "Are these journalists also reporting the Maoist's version? Are we going to have no independent witnesses in Bastar or in the Red corridor?" advertisement On being questioned about the role of the police force which is allegedly muzzling of the voice of the people in Chhattishgarh, PK Mishra said the police and paramilitary forces should operate in the maoist-affected area under the Constitution. Acknowledging, the way journalists Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav were picked up from Jagdalpur area was a mistake on part of the police forces, Mishra said,"You can't stop the journalsits to go there (Chhattishgarh) or even the doctor, the social activities to go there... We can't accept the one version-that is the state's version. The ground reality will come out if social activities are there, if the lawyers are there, if the journalists are there. But the way Santosh Yadav and Somaru Nag were picked up, I have my doubt. If the police want to be very clear in their operation, they have to allow others to go inside and it has to be very open operation. The victims Malini Subramaniam: Scroll reporter Malini Subramaniam. In February 2016, Scroll reporter Malini Subramaniam was asked to quit Chhattishgarh for her report on human rights violations in the state. Malini was living in Jagdalpur for past three years. Her landlord asked her to vacate her rented room after anti-Maoist groups, that enjoy the support of the Chattishgarh Police, labelled her as a Maoist supporter. Several journalists like Malini have been jailed in Chattisgarh on flimsy grounds. Dr Saibal Jana: Dr Saibal Jana was falsely implicated in a case that was registered in 1992. Dr Saibal Jana, chief physician of Dalli-Rajhara's Shaheed Hospital, was arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police on March 18 for allegedly "absconding" in a case that was registered in 1992. He had to spend more than a week in jail for an incident that took place 24 years ago. Dr Jana was falsely implicated in the case while his involvement was only limited to giving medical attention to (injured) people. Isha Khandelwal and Shalini Ghera: Isha Khandelwal and Shalini Ghera. Isha Khandelwal and Shalini Ghera are providing free legal assistance to adivasi villagers since July 2013 (through their organisation Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group or JagLAG). Isha and Shalini were being targeted for reporting on sexual violence and extrajudicial killings by the police force. Their landlord was forced to evict them from their office. Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav: Journalists Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav have been held since July and September 2015, respectively, in connection with their work. advertisement ALSO READ: Following Chhattisgarh attack, Maoists taking refuge in Bengal --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Lalit K Jha Washington, Mar 29 (PTI) An armed man at the US Capitol was today shot and captured by the police after he pointed the weapon at officers, triggering panic during the busy tourist season here in the US. Police shot Larry Russel Dawson, 66, at an entrance of the US Capitol visitor centre. A woman bystander sustained non- life-threatening injuries in the incident. advertisement Dawson and the woman were taken to a nearby hospital where Dawsons condition was said to be unknown. As a result of the shooting, the US Capitol was locked down. The House and the Senate were in recess. For a brief period, there was panic at the US Capitol. Staffers were asked by the police to stay-in-place order while tourists in the area were told to flee. "We believe that this is the act of a single person that has frequented the Capitol grounds before. There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act," US Capitol Police chief Matthew Verderosa told reporters. He ruled out a terrorist incident. "It appears that the screening process worked how it was supposed to," Vederosa said, adding that the incident occurred around 2:39 PM local time when Dawson entered the screening checkpoint at the Capitol Visitor Centre. Shortly before 2:40 PM today, an armed individual attempted to enter the Capitol Visitor Centre security screening facility, the US Capitol Police Board said in a statement to Congressional community. "Shots were fired and within minutes the individual was apprehended. The individual was then taken to a local hospital. This resulted in the Capitol Complex being locked down, and staff and visitors ordered to shelter in place. A bystander received non-life threatening injuries in the incident and is also being treated at hospital," it said. Security in and around the US Capitol has been increased. "Today, we are reminded of the courage and daily sacrifice of the US Capitol Police. The Capitol is our greatest symbol of democracy, and these officers serve to protect not just those who work there but also the millions of visitors from all around the world who travel each year to see it," said Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives. The House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer thanked the Capitol Police for their quick response to the threat. "The men and women of the US Capitol Police do an extraordinary job protecting our nations lawmakers, Congressional staff and all those coming to visit their Representatives. Because of their skill and professionalism, the seat of our democracy can remain safely open and accessible to those it serves," Hoyer said. advertisement "Today, we have been reminded yet again of the deep courage of our US Capitol Police officers, and all those who work to protect the visitors, staff and Members who come to the US Capitol Complex each and every day," said Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of US House of Representatives. PTI LKJ CPS --- ENDS --- Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched Project Salamati on Monday, making it the first state to implement the use of injectable contraceptives as a family planning measure. By Mail Today: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched Project Salamati on Monday, making it the first state to implement the use of injectable contraceptives as a family planning measure. The facility would be available free of cost at all primary health centres, community health centres, sub divisional and district hospitals. Project Salamati is being implemented by Haryana health department, in association with Pathfinder International - a non-profit that deals with family planning and reproductive health. advertisement The project was initially implemented in nine health blocks of four districts of the state. These included four health blocks in Palwal, three in Mewat, Kurali block in Faridabad and Khor block in Rewari. ALSO READ: Haryana launches injectable contraceptive project --- ENDS --- Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh's meeting with the Congress president was seen as a preemption of trouble brewing in the state unit which could be exploited by the BJP to topple the government. Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh met Sonia Gandhi to talk about potential trouble in Himachal Pradesh and BJP's role in trying to destabilse his government. By Mail Today: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh met Sonia Gandhi on Monday setting off speculations that his government may also be vulnerable to rebellion just like Congress dispensations in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Singh's meeting with the Congress president was seen as a preemption of trouble brewing in the state unit which could be exploited by the BJP to topple the government. advertisement The BJP refuted Congress allegations that it was destabilising the state government but sought resignation of Virbhadra Singh over a probe against him by the Enforcement Direcotrate (ED) in a case of having assets disproportionate to his disclosed sources of income. Sources close to Singh said he had sought time to meet with the party president some time ago but his request got through only now. He spent a few minutes with Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence. Sources said he apprised Sonia Gandhi about the case against him and later left for Shimla. Singh alleged that the central government was destabilising the Congress-ruled states as he cited events in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where President's rule was imposed. He also accused the BJP-led central government of misusing government agencies to embroil him in different cases. The 81-year-old chief minister has been booked by the ED and last week his properties worth Rs 8 crore were attached by the agency. On the possibility of any political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, a source close to Himachal CM said, "The situation is entirely different. Here, the MLAs belong to Virbhadra Singh. They are like family members. Moreover, Congress has 36 members in out of total 65." Meanwhile, the BJP said there was discontent in Congress against Singh due to the corruption charges. "There is discontent in Congress against him. So far he has been making efforts to avoid going to jail. He can go there anytime. So he is making such baseless allegations to garner cheap sympathy," BJP incharge of Himachal Pradesh, Shrikant Sharma said. Sharma said that Singh should quit as the state govern-ment had become paralysed. "He is accused of massive corruption. He had to quit as a minister from the UPA government due to corruption charges against him," he alleged, adding that CBI had begun its probe during the UPA rule. "BJP should not be blamed for the investigation. The probe was slow earlier for political reasons and it is now heading in the right direction," Sharma said. advertisement In Uttarakhand, the BJP has adopted wait and watch strategy in view of the Congress challenging in court the decision of imposition of President's rule. The saffron party had last week expressed confidence that it will form the government in the state as the Congress dispensation struggled to put together a majority but the Assembly Speaker's decision to disqualify the rebels supporting BJP put a spoke in its plan. BJP sources said they would wait to see how the matter progresses in court before taking a decision. "It is no longer a political matter only as the court too will have a view now. We will have to wait," said a party leader. Earlier on Monday, former CM Harish Rawat moved Uttarakhand High Court seeking revocation of President's Rule in the state and restoration of his government, terming the Modi government's decision as a brazen display of high-handedness and authoritarianism. ALSO READ: Pakistan daily blasts Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister for opposing Indo-Pak match --- ENDS --- "We do not need certificates from anyone, we have given our blood to this nation," said Owaisi. He further said that "his party was not of Muslims but of Indians". By India Today Web Desk: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that he is a loyal Indian and does not need a certificate of patriotism from any party. "We do not need certificates from anyone, we have given our blood to this nation," said Owaisi. He further said that "his party was not of Muslims but of Indians". advertisement "I am myself a loyal citizen of this great country," he added. Owaisi was shown black flags by BJP workers at Everready round about near Bulaki Adda, for his recent statement that he will never say "Bharat Mata ki Jai" even if a knife is put to his throat. The AIMIM chief launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi party government and the RSS, alleging that they were two sides of the same coin. He also predicted a rout for the SP government when the state goes to polls early next year. Also Read Won't say Bharat Mata ki jai: Asaduddin Owaisi to Mohan Bhagwat Maharashtra MLA of Owaisi's party suspended for not saying Bharat Mata ki jai Owaisi has insulted the nation, citizenship should be revoked: Shiv Sena --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Shilpa Shinde's Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai co-star Rohitashv Gour who plays Manmohan Tiwari on the show has finally broken his silence on the controversy surrounding Shinde's exit from the show. Shilpa's exit from Bhabi Ji... started making news after the producer of the show Binaifer Kohli from the Edit II team released a statement, accusing Shilpa of "blatant breach of agreement" and "irresponsible attitude." advertisement The actress in turn alleged mental torture by the show's makers, and called Binaifer "a terror on the sets". She also said that her co-stars--Saumya Tandon, Aashif Sheikh and Rohitashv Gour, didn't stand up for her; she also termed them as insecure. Also read: Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai: Shilpa Shinde doesn't turn up for shoot; producer may take legal action "Humare show ko kisiki nazar lag gayi hai (our show is under the spell of an evil eye). I have no clue why she is blaming us. We are all friendly on the sets. Aashif ji used to get food for all of us too. The allegations are really shocking," Rohitashv told TellyChakkar. The actor is however hoping that Shilpa comes back to the show. "It is definitely disturbing us and we hope she comes back. We are ready to welcome her. Our producer is a good human being who's caring and gets along well with all the actors and crew members on the sets. We all work, pack-up on time and have good facilities here," he adds. Also read: Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai controversy gets ugly; production house sends legal notice to Shilpa Shinde The veteran actor reiterated what Saumya Tandon said in an interview to The Times of India. "It came as a surprise for all of us. Shilpa never discussed her problems with us. All we knew is that she stopped coming for the shoot. There is no question of harassment or torture on the sets. We all come, work, pack-up on time and the facilities are also good here. She never spoke to us about any of her problems. We had nothing to do with matter. I don't understand why our name was dragged into the entire controversy," Saumya had said. "She did not tell us about her issues. She was given two hikes in a year and I was unaware of that. I got to know about it from newspapers, says Rohitashv. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Trisha Mukherjee New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) The recently concluded fourth edition of Art Basel Hong Kong offered art from India a wider platform to showcase in the Asian region with galleries from the country reporting sales at the three-day-long fair. Despite concerns of a slowing Chinese economy and its impact on the international art market, dealers such as the Mumbai-based Chemould Prescott Road have said they sold large proportions of the exhibited artworks. advertisement The gallery, which exhibited leading contemporary Indian artists like Anju Dodiya, Gigi Sacaria and Shakuntala Kulkarni among others, sold an entire series of five cement-sheet sketches by artist-architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai to a private Chinese museum for USD 10,000 each. "A fair like ABHK has the potential to introduce Indian galleries to a wider Asian audience and test the market outside. Being a fair that attracts collectors and museums from around the world, Indian galleries can stand neck-to-neck with the best of the rest of the world here," says Chemould Prescott Road gallery owner Shireen Gandhy. Gandhy, who has been participating in the Hong Kong art extragavaza ever since it began in 2013, is also on the selection committee of ABHK. "The fair is over-subscribed, so the applications, past booth displays etc are viewed very stringently by the committee. The fair is competitive and applications are viewed with a great deal of discernment," say Gandhy. The event that came to a close on March 26 attracted a record 70,000 visitors including Hollywoods Oscar winning actor Leonardo Di Caprio and saw 239 galleries from over 50 countries, with half of the exhibition spaces dedicated to Asia and Asia-Pacific region showcasing the regions diversity through both historical material and cutting-edge works by established and emerging artists. The four Indian galleries that participated in the fair, cracking the "stringent" selection process also included Delhi-based Vadehra Art Gallery and Nature Morte and Kolkata-based Experimenter. According to Marc Spiegler, Global director of Art Basel, one should not invest in an artwork merely for its potentially increasing market value, but also because it appeals to them aesthetically. "That way, even if it does sell in the market at your desired price, you are not stuck with something you don?t like. You have something you love," he says. Nature Morte, another regular at Art Basel Hong Kong decided to bring in younger artists like Faig Ahmed and Suhasini Kejriwal with less expensive works instead of international names like Subodh Gupta Bharti Kher, whose works often returned to the gallery due to their exorbitant prices. "Last year we had Subodh Gupta and Faig Ahmed and the only thing we sold was Faig Ahmed. It was just too expensive for them," says Peter Nagy, gallery director. MORE PTI TRS ANS --- ENDS --- advertisement The reservation bill proposed six per cent reservation for Jats and four other castes in Class-I and II government jobs, and 10 per cent reservation for the five castes in educational institutions and Class III and IV government jobs. The four other castes besides Jats are Jat Sikh, Ror, Bishnoi, Tyagi and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jats. By India Today Web Desk: The Haryana Assembly today unanimously passed two important bills to provide reservation to Jats and four other categories. The Assembly passed The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill 2016 and the Haryana Backward Classes Commission Bill 2016, within 13 minutes of their introduction by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The reservation bill proposed six per cent reservation for Jats and four other castes in Class-I and II government jobs, and 10 per cent reservation for the five castes in educational institutions and Class III and IV government jobs. The four other castes besides Jats are Jat Sikh, Ror, Bishnoi, Tyagi and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jats. advertisement The bill provides reservation in state government jobs and educational institutions. The Jats had given an ultimatum till April 3 to the state government to meet their demand of reservation. A meeting of Jats from 13 states is likely to be held in Delhi on April 3 to discuss the reservation issue and further course of action. In February, 30 people had lost their lives during the nine-day violent agitation by Jats demanding 10 per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutions. Several districts including Rohtak, the epicentre of Jat agitation, Jhajjar, Kaithal, Jind, Sonipat and Bhiwani had witnessed violence. Jats are also demanding withdrawal of FIRs registered against the protesters, compensation to those killed during the stir and action against BJP MP from Kurukshetra Raj Kumar Saini for his anti-Jat reservation stand. Also read: Jat reservation bill approved by Haryana cabinet --- ENDS --- Though Kanhaiya has been keeping away from the tag of a politician, experts said he is already on his way to become a political leader. By Mail Today: He walked in as a student, but when he came out of the jail, Kanhaiya Kumar was much more than just a student. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president is no more restricted to students' issues on campus. Ranging from the Rohith Vemula case to addressing the issue of other central universities, Kumar is much in demand. advertisement On Monday, while celebrating the birth anniversary of late Prof Bipan Chandra, the Centre for Historical Studies at JNU had a separate session in which Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya addressed students. The event has been organised for the first time in the varsity after the eminent professor's death in 2014. "He is now focusing more on his political career. Since the day he came out of the jail, he has been on a visiting spree. He is being called as a speaker in an event which has other eminent educationist on the same panel," a senior university official told Mail Today. Though Kanhaiya has been keeping away from the tag of a politician, experts said he is already on his way to become a political leader. "Recently, all his speeches are focused more on taking jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. He is now not focusing specifically on student's issue," another university professor said. Meanwhile, a delegation of JNU students on Monday met officials at NHRC over the alleged crackdown and arrest of students in Hyderadabad Central University and demanded concrete action against its VC Appa Rao in connection with the Rohith Vemula issue. Meanwhile, Kanhaiya's colleagues in JNU and AISF, the student wing to which he belongs, have also created a WhatsApp group to spread information about his programs and the events which he is addressing. ALSO READ: Rohith Vemula and Kanhaiya Kumar now Maoist posterboys Kanhaiya Kumar stopped at Hyderabad University gate --- ENDS --- Shivananda B H, a computer operator with the Bommanahalli Gram Panchayat in Hanagal taluk was arrested last week, after he was found purchasing several SIM cards registered under people, who had submitted their proof of identity to the Gram Panchayat to avail various benefits. By Mail Today: A youth was arrested in Haveri district of Karnataka, for causing communal tension through WhatsApp messages, by using fake mobile phone SIM cards. The accused is now under judicial custody for spreading communal hatred. Shivananda B H, a computer operator with the Bommanahalli Gram Panchayat in Hanagal taluk was arrested last week, after he was found purchasing several SIM cards registered under people, who had submitted their proof of identity to the Gram Panchayat to avail various benefits. advertisement According to the police, Shivananda would send messages on WhatsApp to unknown people. When the police tried to track down the numbers, it was found that the mobile phones were not with the subscribers. Eventually, they zeroed in on Shivananda, by tracing his movements through mobile towers. In the last three months, the area has been witnessing a lot of communal tension and the messages sent by the youth is supposedly the reason behind them. ALSO READ: Karnataka Police arrest 10 people following Gangavathi communal clash Abstain from WhatsApp, social media rumours: Maharashtra Board to students --- ENDS --- Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai actor Bhanu Uday and TV actress Shalini Khanna have become parents to a bonny baby. By India Today Web Desk: Bhanu Uday who's currently seen on &TV's Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai, has become a father to a baby boy on March 27. The actor is married to TV actress Shalini Khanna, who shot to fame with soaps like 7 1/2 Phere, Kutumb and Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo. The couple tied the knot in 2014, after dating for a while. advertisement Bhanu Uday is best known as Aryan Khanna of Star One's serial Special Squad. He has also done soaps like Hamari Sister Didi He and Ek Tha Rusty. Also read: The real reason why Amrita Rao signed on Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai Bhanu has also starred in a Hollywood movie called Unfreedom and Bollywood films like Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai. "The mother and the baby are doing fine. It need not be said but the family is ecstatic with the feeling. The baby is really cute and they will be home soon," a source told TellyChakkar. Also read: Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai: It is not a story of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, says Deepti Naval A big congratulations to the new parents! --- ENDS --- Infosys employee Raghvendran Ganesh has been positively identified as a 'victim of Brussels Metro terror strike,' and officially declared dead. His mortal remains were handed over to his parents and younger brother Chandrashekhar, who had been camping in Brussels for the past five days hoping against hope to find him alive. By Mail Today: Infosys employee Raghvendran Ganesh has been positively identified as a 'victim of Brussels Metro terror strike,' and officially declared dead. His mortal remains were handed over to his parents and younger brother Chandrashekhar, who had been camping in Brussels for the past five days hoping against hope to find him alive. The 28-year-old Infosys employee was on board the metro train at Maelbeek when the metro train bomber struck. Barely 30 minutes before the terror attack, Raghvendran had spoken to his mother on phone in India. "The Belgian authorities scanned through the CCTV images at the metro station and those of the train hit by the terror attack. Raghvendran was running late and barely made it in time to board the train as it left the station. He was standing in a corner when the metro bomber Khalid el Bachraoui walked towards the most crowded part of the metro and stood very close to him. Khalid had a big bag full of explosives with him,'' sources said. advertisement The CCTV cameras at the station caught Raghvendran boarding the metro train and the metro bomber standing next to him just before the bombs went off. "His mobile phone was still operational after the terror attack and it kept sending out signals giving us hope he was still alive. However, despite searching for him in that area for several days neither we nor the Belgian authorities could locate him,'' an official told MAIL TODAY. The 12,000 strong Indian community in Belgium had started an online campaign both on Facebook and Twitter trying to get information about Raghvendran through the week. The Belgian authorities have now carried out forensic tests to positively identify the mortal remains. Raghvendran's parents and younger brother Chandrashekhar had gone from hospital to hospital looking for him. Accompanied by Indian embassy officials they went to the Disaster victim identification team (DVIT) set up at the Brussels Army hospital. "However, he could not be located among the victims who had survived the terror attack. Once positive forensic identification was completed the Belgian authorities broke the news to his family and Indian embassy officials,'' sources here added. "The Belgian authorities informed us that they had identified Raghvendran as a victim of the barbaric terror attack of March 22. His mortal remains are being handed over to the family and will be transported to India through Amsterdam. Our embassies in Belgium and the Netherlands will help them,'' Manjeev Singh Puri, India's ambassador to Belgium told Mail Today. ALSO READ: Brussels terror attack death toll rises to 35 --- ENDS --- Ganeshan, 28, was on board the metro train at Maelbeek station where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives. By India Today Web Desk: The mortal remains of Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganeshan, who perished in the Brussels blasts on March 22, arrived in Chennai today. Ganeshan, 28, was on board the metro train at Maelbeek station where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives. His parents, Ganeshan and Annapoorani, and his younger brother, Chandrasekaran, accompanied his remains back from Amsterdam, and about 20 relatives were present at the airport in Chennai. advertisement It was not immediately known where the final rites will be held, but state government officials have taken steps for completion of formalities for receiving the body. Raghavendran, whose wife and son are in Chennai, had been missing since the deadly Brussels bombings and was yesterday confirmed dead in the blast in the metro at Maelbeek station. At least 35 people were killed and over 300 were injured in the attacks at Brussels Airport and Maelbeek metro station. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK President M Karunanidhi condoled his death. "It is extremely tragic that Thiru (Mr) Raghavendran Ganeshan, who was working in Brussels, fell an innocent victim to a mindless act of terrorism," the Chief Minister said. Also Read: Infosys employee missing in Brussels attacks is dead: Indian embassy Brussels terror attack death toll rises to 35 --- ENDS --- India will share the call details of slain Pakistani terrorists, who attacked the Pathankot Air Force base, with Pakistan's probe team as part of evidence against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf. Members of the Pakistanas Joint Investigation Team probing the Pathankot airbase attack at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters in New Delhi on Monday. By Mail Today: India will share the call details of slain Pakistani terrorists, who attacked the Pathankot Air Force base, with Pakistan's probe team as part of evidence against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf. The duo is suspected to be masterminds of the attack. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to hand over the call trail that leads to JeM, highly placed government sources told Mail Today. Indian investigators have identified Kashif Jaan as the main handler of the Pakistani terrorists, who were in touch with him as they launched the assault in Pathankot. advertisement The visit of Pakistan's five-member Joint Investigative Team (JIT) that includes an ISI official is the first such trip from the neighbouring country to probe a terror case in India. The call details and intercepts analysed by investigators have thrown up findings that lead to the involvement of JeM top bosses in the attack. "NIA has got evidences and intercepts of conversations between the killed terrorists and JeM bosses," said an official. Hoping to build a watertight case, India is also expected to press for voice samples of Azhar and other JeM commanders to match with the intercepts. However, the demand might run into legal hurdles in Pakistan as in the case of 26\11 probe. Sources say Kashif was in constant touch with Rauf before and during the attack while Rauf was passing on the information to Azhar. Kashif's location while speaking to the terrorists was mostly Bhawalpur in Punjab province, the headquarters of JeM. Apart from the phone numbers of Rauf, NIA shared numbers of companies which had supplied packed food to the terrorists. The investigating agency also cited similarities between the Pathankot and Samba and Kathua attacks like same GPS and wireless sets, the modus operandi of hijacking cars, energy drink Red bull (common in all attacks), identical wire cutters and arms and ammunition of Eastern Europe, Russian and Chinese make which are available in the Af-Pak region. A day after their arrival, the JIT members reached the NIA headquarters after which they were briefed about the probe carried out so far. The meeting between the two sides took place was cordial and the Pakistani side was cooperative during the day-long deliberations, NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said. The JIT, which is headed by Chief of Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai, raised several questions about the probe which were answered by the NIA team which has been probing the case. A presentation on the investigation of the case which included recoveries made by the NIA team and a possible modus operandi was shown to the Pakistani side. The Pakistan probe team will visit Pathankot on Tuesday and will be back to have meeting with the NIA before leaving for Pakistan. advertisement ALSO READ: Why Pakistan team probing Pathankot attack is not bad news for India Pathankot attack: NIA releases photos of terrorists ahead of Pakistan SIT's visit --- ENDS --- The missile was fired from near the North Korean coastal town of Wonsan at 5.40 pm (0840 GMT) and flew northeast for about 200 km and then "made contact" with the mainland, South Korea's military said in a statement. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the ballistic rocket launch drill of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at an unknown location. Photot: Reuters By Reuters: North Korea test fired a short-range missile on its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, amid heightened tension over the isolated country's nuclear and rocket programmes. The missile was fired from near the North Korean coastal town of Wonsan at 5.40 pm (0840 GMT) and flew northeast for about 200 km and then "made contact" with the mainland, South Korea's military said in a statement. advertisement North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a string of short-range missile launches in recent weeks in what North Korean state media has characterised as a response to UN sanctions imposed for its fourth nuclear test in January. U.S. President Barack Obama will meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme, the White House said on Monday. The meeting on the sidelines of a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will take place the same day Obama talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Also Read: North Korea claims rocket engine success; South Korea on high alert --- ENDS --- It's love at first whiff for New York's brand new dating service, Smell Dating, as they seek to match people on the basis of each other's body odours! By Reuters: Love at first whiff is the idea behind Smell Dating, a New York matchmaking service that promises to help single people sniff out their perfect match by breathing in the odours from dirty t-shirts. Artist Tega Brain, who teaches at New York's School for Poetic Computation, and Sam Lavigne, an editor and researcher at New York University, created Smell Dating, which they describe as an art project. advertisement Each of its first 100 clients received a T-shirt to wear for three days straight without bathing. The clients then mailed the T-shirts back to Brain and Lavigne's 'Sweat Shop' at NYU, where they were cut into swatches. Smell Dating then sent batches of 10 mixed swatches back to the clients to sniff this week. A match will be made if one client likes the scent of another and the olfactory attraction is mutual. "In other words, if Client 55 likes Client 69 and vice versa, put a heart around it," Brain said. The idea is based on the science of pheromones, the chemical signals that creatures from gerbils to giraffes send out to entice mates. Clients, who pay a one-time fee of USD 25, dive in nose-first, unaware of a potential smell-mate's age, gender or sexual orientation. "Most normal dating services, you rely on profile pictures, assumptions that come from visual information," Brain said. "You either really like the smell of someone or you don't. It's much more innate." Picture courtesy: smelldating.com Recently, 25-year-old NYU graduate student Jesse Donaldson excitedly opened the package of white swatches in individually numbered plastic bags that had arrived at his apartment in Brooklyn. He said he hoped Smell Dating could help where other popular matchmaking services had failed. "I'm like so many other people in New York City, using Tinder, using OK Cupid," Donaldson said, "and my main issue with these things is you feel like you're shopping for somebody as opposed to making a genuine connection with another human being." Brain said she and Lavigne consulted "a lot of smell researchers" about their art project, which explores whether a person's body odour can trigger Cupid's arrow. "We wanted to see if people would be interested in meeting other people just based on this one bit of information rather than this avalanche of information that you usually get," said Lavigne, as he watched volunteers wearing hooded white jumpsuits and blue rubber gloves cut up the worn t-shirts at the Sweat Shop. "Whoa! This one is ready to go!" said a worker, wincing as he sniffed a swatch before putting it into a plastic bag marked #34. advertisement In Brooklyn, Donaldson tore into the first plastic bag, removed the swatch and sniffed. "Fresh-done laundry," he said. He opened another and inhaled. "Oh. That is nutty. I'm just going to seal that back up." Then he brought yet another swatch to his nostrils, nodded and said, "Oh". He savored a second whiff and added, "That's my match." --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) CPI(M) today denounced imposition of Presidents rule in Uttarakhand, describing the development as "throttling" of democracy and a move which goes against letter and spirit of Constitution. In a series of tweets, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury accused BJP of engaging in "political corruption" to win in states and said the episode has brought out in open the ruling partys commitment to democracy. advertisement "Imposition of Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand is throttling of democracy by Modi govt; goes against the letter & spirit of our constitution," Yechury said, questioning the timing of the move, which he noted, was made when floor test was "just hours" away. Yechury also referred to paragraphs 118 and 119 of Bommai Judgement, which he said, "clearly" says floor test is the only way to decide majority. "BJP believes that the only way it can now win states is by breaking up parties, indulging in political corruption & disallowing floor tests," the Marxist leader said. The Rajya Sabha member further said that truth about Sangh Parivar-BJPs commitment to democracy is out in the open and people of India will give them a "befitting" reply. PTI ENM RCJ SK RCJ --- ENDS --- More than two decades after Britain's Princess Diana was pictured forlornly alone at the Taj Mahal, her son Prince William and his wife Kate will visit the famous landmark next month, evoking memories of his mother's infamous 1992 trip. By Reuters: More than two decades after Britain's Princess Diana was pictured forlornly alone at the Taj Mahal, her son Prince William and his wife Kate will visit the famous landmark next month, evoking memories of his mother's infamous 1992 trip. The image of Diana sitting on a bench during a solitary sight-seeing trip to the Taj Mahal, a monument to love, made front page news worldwide and was widely interpreted as symbolising the irreparable state of her marriage to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles. advertisement The couple divorced in 1996 after 15 years of marriage, a year before Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris. Diana, Princess of Wales, sits in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra during a photo opportunity on February 11, 1992. Photo: Reuters Charles has avoided the Taj Mahal on subsequent visits to India, but William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Kate "cannot wait to see it" during their official six-day tour to India and Bhutan starting on April 10, said a spokesman for William on Tuesday. "The Duke of Cambridge is of course aware of the huge esteem his mother, the late Princess of Wales is held in in India and he appreciates the iconic status of the images that exist of the princess at the Taj," the spokesman said. "He feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother's memory is kept alive by so many who travel there," he added. "Twenty-four years on from her visit to the Taj, the duke and the duchess are looking forward to seeing this beautiful place for themselves and creating some new memories as they say 'thank you' to the people of India at the conclusion of this tour." --- ENDS --- In a major relief to the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand, the Nainital High court today asked for a fresh floor test in the state Assembly on Thursday, two days after the state was put under President's Rule. By India Today Web Desk: In a major relief to the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand, the Nainital High court today asked for a fresh floor test in the state Assembly on Thursday, two days after the state was put under President's Rule. "We respect the orders and directions of the Nainital High Court", Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said. Hearing a petition by Rawat, the court also said that all nine Congress rebel MLAs, who were disqualified by the Speaker, will be allowed to take part in the vote. Their votes will be kept separate, it said, adding that the result of the voting should be presented to the court on April 1. advertisement The Centre, meanwhile, is thinking of challenging the High Court order. "We are examining various options. The challenge may happen in the High Court itself," a senior law officer of the government told India Today. On Monday, a single bench of Justice US Dhyani had admitted a Congress petition on the imposition of the President's Rule and directed the Centre to file a counter reply. Rawat was represented by senior Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi while the central government was represented by Assistant Solicitor General Rakesh Thapaliyal. During the proceedings, Singhvi cited the cases of Rameshwar Nath in Bihar and SR Bommai case in Karnataka and said that a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had ruled that the proving of majority was to be done on the Assembly floor. He contended that the Harish Rawat-led Congress government was dismissed on the eve of a floor test to save the nine rebel Congress MLAs and prevent the government from proving its majority in the Assembly. Singhvi pointed out that the rebel Congress legislators were taken in a chartered plane and seen "in public domain" with the BJP MLAs. He pleaded that after the disqualification of nine legislators by Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, the house strength was down to 61. The crisis in the hill state erupted on March 18 when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against Rawat's government, resulting in flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The BJP met the Governor the same day and staked claim to form the government. However, the Centre imposed President's Rule last Sunday, a day before Rawat was supposed to take the floor test in the Assembly. Also Read Congress moves High Court against President's Rule in Uttarakhand Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat requests Governor KK Paul to allow them to prove majority Sting operation CD against Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat genuine, says report President's Rule imposed in Uttarakhand As court hears Uttarakhand drama, Arun Jaitley blogs about a 'state without a Budget' --- ENDS --- advertisement A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur also asked the regulator not to sell any of the properties of the beleaguered group below 90 per cent of the circle rates. By Press Trust of India: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked SEBI to initiate the process of selling 87 "unencumbered" properties of Sahara group, whose title deeds are with the market regulator, to generate the bail money for release of its chief Subrata Roy who has been in jail for two years now. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur also asked the regulator not to sell any of the properties of the beleaguered group below 90 per cent of the circle rates. advertisement The bench, also comprising Justices A R Dave and AK Sikri, said the regulator will have to take its prior nod before going ahead with the sale of any property if it (SEBI) receives bids even below 90 per cent of the circle rate. "You (SEBI) evolve mechanism and start selling the properties and we are passing the order to this effect," the bench said when the counsel for SEBI alleged that nothing concrete was happening on the ground. For the interim bail of 67-year-old Roy, the court had put conditions like depositing Rs 5,000 crore in cash and a bank guarantee of equal amount and tough terms including payment of the entire Rs 36,000 crore, which includes interest. The money will be paid back to the investors of Sahara. Roy has been in prison since March 4, 2014. The order, asking SEBI to proceed with the sale of properties, came when senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Roy, submitted that the group was finding it increasingly difficult to sell its properties in the current market environment. The apex court asked Sahara group and SEBI to devise a mechanism under the supervision of Justice BN Aggarwal to sell properties and seek help of "experts or expert agencies" if required in the process. It also asked both the parties to constitute a committee for this purpose. Justice Aggarwal is currently overseeing the process of return of money to investors of Sahara. The Sahara group said it has already submitted the title deeds to SEBI and the 86 properties do not include the "foreign properties of Sahara nor Aamby Valley City nor Sahara Star hotel." ALSO READ: Sahara money laundering case: Almost 95 per cent money flow was in cash, ED goes for data analysis after searches Money laundering case: ED probes 4500 bank accounts of Sahara group --- ENDS --- By PTI: Mumbai/New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) Key BJP ally Shiv Sena today joined Congress and AAP in attacking the government over a Pakistani team being allowed to visit an IAF base in Pathankot to probe the terror strike, calling it "wrong". Mounting a fresh offensive over the visit today, Congress said the Modi government has set a "wrong precedent" and wondered why biryani was being served to the JIT which also includes an ISI representative. As a political storm over the visit of a five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team(JIT) raged, the BJP fended off opposition criticism, saying the trip strengthens governments stand that Pakistani territory was used to carry out the strike. It also accused Congress of criticising the visit due to "political malice". Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut while terming the governments decision as "wrong" said rather an Indian team needs to be sent to Pakistan to probe those behind the terror strikes. Raut also reminded the Centre that not India, but Pakistan is an accused in the Pathankot strike. "On top of that, we have provided high security to the Pakistani team. Who are they scared of? The entire matter is laughable," the Sena MP told PTI in Mumbai. advertisement He sought to know if the Centre will manage to get permission from Pakistan to get an Indian team to investigate in the neighbouring country. "Our team needs to be sent there to investigate the role of Hafiz Saeed and Azhar Masood in terror strikes in our country. But will we get permission? We need to remember we are not culprits but Pakistan is," he said. Congress accused the government of compromising the countrys sovereignty and setting a "wrong" precedent. "It is known all over that the Pakistans ISI is behind the terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, and still we are serving biryani to the JIT which also includes an ISI representative," party spokesman P L Punia told reporters in Delhi. Replying to a question, he said the Narendra Modi dispensation has set a "wrong" precedent by allowing the JIT to visit India. BJP said the government has "adequate evidence" that Pakistani territory was used and terrorists based there were involved in the attack. "They (Pakistan) said they want to send an investigation team. It only strengthens our case and does not weaken it," party National Secretary Shrikant Sharma told reporters. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said only time will tell whether the visit will benefit India or not. He, however, said "the way Pakistani team came for probing the Pathankot attack and was allowed, Indian team should be allowed to (investigate) Mumbai and other such attacks (in Pakistan)". Striking a tone different from other opposition parties, Omars father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah backed the government over the visit, saying it was a "very good step" and that it was time for the two neighbouring countries to give up animosity and push friendship. Waving black flags and placards, scores of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers stood outside the IAF base protesting against the visit and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.PTI MM KR SSB SPG GSN GSN --- ENDS --- By PTI: Colombo, Mar 27 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today defended his governments decision to enter into an economic and technology cooperation agreement with India, saying protests against it are "politically motivated." "Why would my government take any action to deprive our people of jobs through the agreement," Sirisena said. He said the criticism of the pact are "politically motivated". advertisement The ETCA was proposed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when he visited India last September. It seeks to boost cooperation in technical areas, scientific expertise and research among institutions, boost standards of goods and services able to compete on the global market and improve opportunities for manpower training and human resource development. But local professional groups and opposition parties have been campaigning against the ETCA with India. They claim the pact would deprive employment opportunities to locals in the service sectors with an influx of Indian labourers into Sri Lanka. The government denies the charge and accuses protesting groups of carrying out a public campaign without even knowing the contents of the pact. It says the agreement would expose Sri Lanka to the bigger Indian market. Sirisena said the two sides are currently examining the draft of the agreement. His government remains committed to achieving national reconciliation with the Tamil minority. "The war ended in May of 2009 but we are yet to address the root causes," he said adding his government was keen to leave no room for Tamils to take up arms again. He accused opposition groups of trying to spread stories on instability within the current government. He said the public mandate in the last election was for the two major parties to work together in a unity government. The current global economic down turn had affected the Sri Lankan economy, he said adding that remedial measures are being taken to minimise its impact. PTI CORR ABH MVV --- ENDS --- The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said that market regulator SEBI would appoint an agency to decide the mechanism for the sale of Sahara properties. By Indo-Asian News Service: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed market regulator SEBI to go ahead with the sale of Sahara properties whose unencumbered title deeds are in its possession. The step is being taken to recover investors' money that Sahara groups' two companies had collected from public through Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures. The apex court bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said that the market regulator would appoint an agency to decide the mechanism for the sale of Sahara properties. advertisement The court said that properties would not be sold at a price that is less than 90 percent of the prevailing circle rates. The SEBI will appoint an agency to work out the mechanism for the sale of properties which are stated to be worth Rs 40,000 crore. The entire process would be undertaken under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge Justice BN Agarwala and Sahara would be kept informed about the steps being taken for the sale of its properties. ALSO READ: Sahara money laundering case: Almost 95 per cent money flow was in cash Money laundering case: ED probes 4500 bank accounts of Sahara group --- ENDS --- According to the latest bill, legislators would get Rs 2 lakh as house rent allowance (HRA) in place of the Rs 90,000 they are getting at present. By India Today Web Desk: At a time when hundreds of debt-ridden farmers are committing suicide, the Telangana government today passed the bill for the pay hike to MLAs and MLCs in the legislative assembly today. Finance Minister Etala Rajender will seek approval of the House for the bill for the Budget (2016-2017). A Business Advisory Committee (BAC), headed by the Speaker of the assembly S Madhusudana Chary, has recommended a whopping hike in the monthly salary of the lawmakers from the present Rs 96,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh. The members amenities committee (MAC) headed by the speaker last week had recommended a massive 400 per cent salary increase for the legislators. advertisement According to the latest bill, legislators would get Rs 2 lakh as house rent allowance (HRA) in place of the Rs 90,000 they are getting at present. The committee has also recommended a sizeable hike in pension of ex-legislators and their widows. The monthly pension amount is expected to increase from Rs 50,000 to Rs 65,000. In addition to the above benefits, lawmakers are also likely to be given gift vouchers to purchase iphones. Sources say that the BAC has also decided to extend the budget session by two days, in order to discuss vital issues such as drought and school education. The government will explain its water policy to the House on March 31. In the state, where several debt-ridden farmers have ended their lives since June, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao last year announced that the salaries of all lawmakers will be doubled. Following the hike in the salaries of the Telangana MLAs and MLCs, lawmakers in Andhra Pradesh are now demanding a similar increase. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From M Zulqernain Lahore, Mar 29 (PTI) The Pakistani Taliban faction behind the brutal Easter Sunday suicide bombing at a crowded park here has warned that the terror attack was a "message" to the government about their "arrival" in Punjab, as the death toll today rose to 74 after two more persons succumbed to their injuries. "Two critically injured teenagers of Lahore today died at the Jinnah Hospital, raising the death toll to 74," Emergency Services Rescue department spokesperson Deeba Shahnaz said. advertisement Shahnaz said over 100 injured people are still being treated at hospitals while 203 people have been discharged. The dead include 29 children and 10 women; some 20 were Christians. More than 300 people were injured in the blast. A suicide bomber - believed to be in his 20s - blew himself at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, which is one of the popular parks in Lahore, a relatively peaceful city in Pakistan. He struck at a time when thousands of people were visiting the park on account of Easter. Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed the attack, saying they carried out "this attack to target Christians." "Also, this is a message to the Pakistani Prime Minister that we have arrived in Punjab," the groups spokesman said. The spokesman even taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances," he wrote. "Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war." Sharif yesterday vowed to eliminate terrorism. "Terrorists cannot dent our resolve. Our struggle will continue until the complete elimination of the menace of terrorism," he said. Ina post in Urdu on its Facebook page, the group released the bombers photo, identifying him as Salahuddin Khorasani. The group had previously claimed responsibility for suicide bombings at two churches in Lahore in March 2015, and justified the attacks by terming Pakistan a "land of war". "The Christians, Jews, and Zorastrians in Pakistan have neither converted to Islam nor paying Jizya. Under these circumstances, Christians, Hindus, etc, are not at peace, nor are their places of worship safe," it had said then. It also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at the Wagah Borderminutesafter the popular flag-lowering ceremony ended on November 2, 2014. Sixty-one people died in the blast. Meanwhile, the Punjab Police faced embarrasment when the person they said was the bomber turned out to be a victim. advertisement "We investigated but could not find any link of (the person) or members of his family with terrorists. He appeared to be one of the visitors at the park," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. He said forensic experts were trying to ascertain the identity of a man whose skull was found from the blast site. Lahore police have issued the sketch of the suspected Taliban suicide bomber. The picture released by the militant organisation and the sketch by Lahore police have not yet been confirmed to be of the same person. PTI MZ ABH AKJ ABH --- ENDS --- The Mi induction heating pressure rice cooker is a Wi-Fi-enabled smart device that can be controlled using a companion Mi Home app. By India Today Web Desk: Xiaomi on Tuesday launched the Mi induction heating pressure rice cooker, the first product under its new Mi Ecosystem sub-brand. Xiaomi's new induction pressure cooker will be available for buy in China during the company's Mi Fan Festival on April 6 through Mi.com. The pressure cooker has been priced at RMB999 (roughly Rs 10,202). "Mi induction heating pressure rice cooker employs a magnetic relief valve to precisely control the pressure inside the rice cooker to 1.2 times the atmospheric pressure, corresponding to an ideal boiling point of water at 105 degree Celsius, which results in more flavourful rice," the company said in a statement. advertisement The Mi induction heating pressure rice cooker is a Wi-Fi-enabled smart device that can be controlled using a companion Mi Home app. Users can be identify the type of rice, brand and origin using the app and the cooker can automatically adjust to best suite the type of rice. Xiaomi says, the cooker supports over 200 brands of rice currently. The Mi Home app also comes with other recipes such as brown rice, crispy rice and even cakes. Meanwhile the cooker's electromagnetic heating technology ensures even cooking. The induction pressure cooker is part of Xiaomi's new Mi Ecosystem sub-brand that covers a range of products manufactured by the company's ecosystem partners. For this, Xiaomi has invested in 55 companies that design and manufacture products beyond its smartphones, smart TVs and smart routers. --- ENDS --- The phone - with model number YU5200 - has been spotted on Indian import and export website Zauba and it carries a price tag of Rs 9,036. By Saurabh Singh: Micromax Yu's Yureka Plus budget phablet may have a successor soon. The phone - with model number YU5200 - has been spotted on Indian import and export website Zauba and it carries a price tag of Rs 9,036 suggesting it could be follow-up of the Yureka Plus. Meanwhile, a GFXbench listing of the same phone - that gives away its hardware specifications - further confirms its Yureka successor stature. As per the listing, the YU5200 comes with a 5.2-inch FullHD display with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and a 1.6GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with 3GB RAM under the hood. The phone comes with 16GB internal memory (11GB available) and runs Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box. advertisement On the camera front, the YU5200 carries a 12-megapixel rear snapper and a 4.8-megapixel camera on the front. Both the cameras are capable of recording FullHD videos. The Yu Yureka Plus was launched in July last year and comes with a 5.5-inch FullHD screen and the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor inside. The Yureka Plus however comes withj just 2GB RAM. It carries a 13-megapixel camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel camera on the front. The phone is backed by a 2,500mAh battery and supports 4G LTE connectivity. Micromax's Yu recently launched its first high-end phone, aka the Yutopia in the Indian market. The Yu Yutopia features an all-metal build and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor coupled with 4 gigs of RAM and 32GB of internal memory (which is expandable). --- ENDS --- The media attention surrounding that advocacy and that vote appears to have continued in some media outlets with the start of the current week. For instance, the Huffington Post reposted an Al Arabiya article on that date detailing the crisis of executions and other abuses, complete with some of the findings reported in Shaheeds latest reports. The article once again repeated the fact that approximately 1,000 executions had been confirmed as taking place in Iran in the year 2015. But it also emphasized that the regular rate of executions was at its greatest between the months of April and June, during which time an average of four inmates were put to death every day. Furthermore, Al Arabiya called renewed attention to the problem of Irans execution of juvenile offenders, something that has been the subject of various calls to action by human rights groups including Amnesty International. The article notes that as with the overall situation of executions, the internationally-condemned practice of executing persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes has not only remained persistent but has grown considerably worse in recent years. By most estimates, Iran has had the highest per capita rate of executions for a number of years. And now, according to Al Arabiya, it is leading the world in the number of executions of juvenile offenders a practice that is only known to still take place in a handful of countries . And as the Human Rights Activists News Agency pointed out on Sunday, there are currently pending cases in Iran that further demonstrate the prevalence of this issue. The most immediate of them is also the latest Iranian subject of an urgent call to action by Amnesty International, which has informed fellow activists that HimanUraminejad is at imminent risk of execution, possibly as soon as April 1. Uraminejad was convicted of stabbing another boy to death in a fight at the age of 17. He is now 21 years old, suggesting that the judiciary may have moved quickly to carry out his execution soon after he reached a clear, internationally-recognized age of majority. This is standard practice in the case of juvenile death sentences. Although such sentences make it clear that the Iranian judiciary believes it can execute children at young ages, the delay presumably contributes to the Islamic Republics efforts to simply deny most of the human rights abuses of which it is accused. In some cases where Iranian death sentences have been subject to large amounts of international scrutiny and activism, the sentences have even been delayed and sent back to court. This was the case, for instance, in the case of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a young woman who was sentenced to death for apparently fatally stabbing a former intelligence agent who was attempting to rape her. The outcry surrounding the case led to it being delayed for a period of years, yet the death sentence was upheld and ultimately carried out, as it has been in most similar instances. Years-long delays in the implementation of death sentences may serve to defray both domestic and international scrutiny thereof. And in any event, the Islamic Republic has been fairly successful in concealing some of its abuses either immediately prior to their being carried out or even for years after the fact. This trend, however, indicates that there is a steady accumulation not only of new cases confirm that Irans human rights record remains a problem, but also old cases adding clarity to the international understanding of its former record. Case in point, human rights organizations reported on Sunday that a three year-old letter written by political prisoners had just been released to the public detailing the torture of 12 members of the Bahai religious minority at that time. These 12 Bahais, along with 12 others, were each sentenced to prison terms of six and nine years in January, having been charged with propaganda for practicing and speaking openly about their faith. The letter details numerous beatings, threats, and an instance of a prisoner being suspended by a rope tied to his wrist. The coverage emphasizes that the letter was plainly ignored by the judiciary, suggesting tacit approval of these methods. Although the incidents in question predate the Rouhani presidency, the administration has not moved to limit the use of such methods of punishment and interrogation, despite continued activism on those issues. This speaks to a claim made in the Al Arabiya article that even so-called reformist Iranian executives do not speak out against repressive activities, lest they put their own political careers at risk. In this context, opponents of the Iranian regime tend to see activists as the sole proponents of change. But they can be expected to face great difficult in achieving grassroots reform in light of the persistence of the abuses and repression recently described in the international media. The Human Rights Activists News Agency recently reported, for instance, that a gathering of the families of political prisoners outside of Evin Prison was violently broken up by authorities. Irans expansion of economic and political relations with Pakistan and certain other regional partners has been quicker in coming, although it too has faced some roadblocks. Mondays reports indicated that Tehran and Islamabad were both aiming for a dramatic expansion in trade to amounts in the vicinity of 5 billion dollars. This is a steep increase over the 1.32 billion dollars in trade that the two achieved between 2008 and 2009, and a staggering increase over the 432 million dollars that was exchanged between them between 2010 and 2011, after sanctions had damaged the Iranian economy and prompted US partners to limit their exchanges with the Islamic Republic. While the accomplishment of this goal may be a long time in coming, there are some indicators that the two countries are making significant moves in that direction. For instance, the Associated Press reports that Rouhanis visit saw the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding, representing cooperation in economic matters and other areas of international policy. The visit also recalled attention to some of the specific projects that may help to contribute to rapid growth in the volume of Iranian-Pakistani trade. These include the long-delayed construction of the Pakistani side of an oil pipeline between the two countries, and the joint development of ports linking the two countries maritime trade. Iranian officials have also recently commented upon the feasibility of selling electricity to energy-poor Pakistan. But the AP also pointed out that these plans are likely to face competition from Saudi Arabia, which has long vied with its regional rival Iran for influence over Pakistan and other countries that are politically and economically caught in between the two Middle Eastern powerhouses. The Saudis commitment to forestalling Iranian political growth is especially obvious in light of worsening conflicts over the civil wars in Yemen and Syria, and also following the January attacks by Iranian mobs on the Saudi embassy and consulate. Some Iranian officials, chiefly those affiliated with the supposedly moderate Rouhani presidency, have made efforts to portray the Saudis as the aggressors in this ongoing contest for power. On Monday, the Big News Network reported that Rouhani himself had addressed this issue from Islamabad, saying that Iran was prepared to do whatever it might take to reconcile with its arch-rival. But the Saudis, for their part, have pushed back against these public relations efforts. Also on Monday, Agence France-Presse, reported that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir had spoken on this issue in a press conference the previous day and insisted that the Saudis had been attempting to reconcile with Iran for the better part of three decades, to no avail. Jubeir went on to say that Iran knows what to do to have normal relations with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Islamic world and that is to change its behavior. Such comments clearly evoke the perception of imperial purposes in the region for the Islamic Republic of Iran. That perception has prompted the Saudis and several of their partners to join in a coalition, the main function of which is to fight the Houthi rebellion against President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi in Yemen. The Arab coalitions mission in Yemen is certainly of primary importance to Saudi Arabia, but the Saudis and Iranians also support opposite sides of the Syrian Civil War. While Iran actively supplies and fights alongside the forces defending Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the Saudi kingdom stands alongside its traditional allies in the US and elsewhere in the West, in the sense of advocating for the end of the Assad regime and the creation of a government in its place that would be willing to confront the Islamic State terrorists without relying upon an alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Even though the international community recently brokered a tentative cease-fire among the non-IS combatants, there is little to no evidence that the conflict between foreign powers is on the wane, especially in light of the fact that Iran has declared its intention to stay the course in its active defense of Assad. Breitbart pointed to this fact on Monday, noting that Ali Shamkhani, the head of the Iranian National Security Council appended a vow of full support to his congratulations upon Assads reclamation of the city of Palmyra. Breitbart also pointed out that the offensive there took place with air support from Russian forces. Practically speaking, this indicates that cooperation between Iran and Russia has not seriously diminished, even though Western policymakers had been holding out hope that Russia could become a serious partner in negotiations aimed at a permanent political solution. Indeed, Reuters reported on Monday that the presidents of Iran and Russia had exchanged views and announced mutual commitment to increased cooperation in multiple areas, including the Syria crisis. Some global policy analysts have long anticipated the formation of an eastern bloc of nations, led by Russia, China, and Iran, that could present a serious threat to Western interests. Each instance of cooperation among these powers recalls attention to this potential alliance and the impact it could have on global conflicts. In keeping with these concerns, recently there were reports of a military and defense exhibition that took place in Baghdad in early March, which seemingly showcased the prevalence of arms originating in these three would-be eastern bloc countries, especially Iran. According to these reports, Iran represented the most diverse, even if not the most advanced or reliable weapons in that exhibition, and that many of these have made their way into conflict areas in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria. Furthermore, it stated that the unproven nature of Irans domestically-produced weapons has a ready testing ground in the form of terrorist groups like Hezbollah, which Iran supplies. Irans regional influence through these groups is another reason for the escalating conflict between Iran and its major Middle Eastern rivals, a number of which recently declared their formal recognition of Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Since then, the Arab states have taken some measures to confront the presence of this and other Iran-linked elements in their country, as evidenced by a report in The Tower indicating that Kuwait had ordered the deportation of 60 Lebanese nationals over alleged ties to Hezbollah. Last week, reports circulated widely in Western media regarding US diplomats who had been tasked with selling the Iran nuclear deal to US-based businesses, the vast majority of which remain wary of investing in Iran out of fear that they will run afoul of outstanding sanctions, or will lose the value of their investments because of later re-imposition of punitive measures against Irans nuclear program and other illicit behaviors. The Tower notes that this situation has stoked fears among US lawmakers and foreign allies who are critical of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and who feel that the Obama administration may not be willing to take steps to enforce Irans obligations if it means endangering the hard-won nuclear deal. By encouraging US businesses to reestablish financial ties with the Islamic Republic, the administration is giving some onlookers the impression that Iran will be welcomed back into the international banking system. This is something that leading administration officials had promised would not happen, as part of their effort to reassure the deals detractors, most of whom were already severely concerned about the possibility of Iran gaining access to as much as 150 billion dollars in assets that had previously been frozen in foreign banks. Both in the case of these unfrozen assets and in the case of the new transactions between Iran and the West, the concern among many Western critics is that large portions of that money will end up being devoted to illicit activities, including clandestine nuclear work and terrorism. Increasingly, another concern about Irans spending relates to its use not of violent terrorism but of cyberterrorism. As was highlighted last week by the indictment of seven Iran hackers accused of various attacks including one on a New York dam, the Islamic Republics capabilities with regard to hacking have grown substantially in recent years. However, according to SC Magazine, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hossein Jaber Ansari recently issued a statement simply denying Irans culpability for the crimes of which the seven hackers have been accused. Ansari declared there was no evidence against them, yet provided no contravening evidence. Iranian officials are often in the habit of denying foreign accusations, even when there is evidence from multiple sources supporting those accusations, as in the case of the past eight years findings by Ahmed Shaheed, the current UN special rapporteur for the situation of human rights in Iran. Without elaborating, Irans own domestic human rights monitor has dismissed all of Shaheeds findings as politically motivated. Such commentary also parallels the Iranian commentary upon the nuclear deal that preceded last weeks reports about American efforts to ramp up economic cooperation. In a speech coinciding with the new year celebration of Nowruz, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accused the US of aggression through its economic policies and suggested that Iran was being unfairly persecuted. Without going so far as to suggest that the Obama administration was acting in response to these comments, The Tower stated that the reintegration of Iran into the international banking would go a long way toward alleviating Khameneis complaints. [March 29, 2016] VeriFyle Introduces "Security for Students" Program Offering Free Access for UC Berkeley Students and Faculty VeriFyle, a leading provider of secure messaging and file-sharing, today made their secure cloud communication system available to students and faculty of the University of California (UC) Berkeley at no charge. This announcement comes in response to recent suggestions that UC Berkeley leadership has begun monitoring student and faculty web and email activity. "We believe everyone, including students, has a right to digital privacy and security," said Jack Smith, CEO of VeriFyle. "No one should ever feel like their personal or professional communications are being monitored. We are offering students and teachers at UC Berkeley free access to the most secure file-sharing and messaging system available, keeping documents and messages private, regardless of any technology that might be installed for monitoring web activity." The program, entitled "Security for Students," begins today. Students and facuty can sign up for their free accounts at www.verifyle.com/cal using their Berkeley.edu email addresses. Unlike many other cloud-storage and cloud-sharing services, which use a single master key for encrypting and decrypting their users' data, VeriFyle's Cellucrypt technology uses password-derived keys on top of a public-key system to individually encrypt data objects, adding several additional layers of protection for their users. With the additional option to disable password reset, VeriFyle becomes the most secure cloud-sharing platform available, while remaining extremely simple to use. About VeriFyle VeriFyle delivers ultra-secure messaging and document sharing, all from a simple, single-screen interface. VeriFyle was built from the ground up to be the most secure cloud-sharing solution available, and to deliver improved productivity and control of information to its users. VeriFyle's industry-leading, patented encryption technology gives users the highest level of security, protecting them from bulk-access vulnerability through the unique encryption of each individual document and conversation. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160329005530/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] Sony's New Cyber-shot RX10 III Camera Brings Extended Zoom Capability to Acclaimed RX Line SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world's largest image sensor manufacturer has today announced an exciting new addition to its acclaimed Cyber-shot RX lineup, the high-zoom RX10 III camera. Featuring a newly-developed 25x super-telephoto zoom lens with an extensive focal range of 24-600mm1, the new RX10 III camera is able to produce high-quality content at a variety of focal lengths and camera settings that would require three or more large, heavy and expensive lenses for an interchangeable lens camera user. It's an outstanding choice for shooting anything from landscapes to distant wildlife and everything in between. The RX10 III high zoom camera is equipped with a 1.0 type stacked 20.1 MP Exmor RS CMOS sensor with DRAM chip and advanced signal processing, along with a powerful BIONZ X image processor. These components work together to ensure the highest possible image quality throughout the entire zoom range of the 24-600mm lens. Additionally, they are responsible for a variety of standout professional-caliber features including 40x super slow motion video capture at up to 960 fps, an ultra-fast Anti-Distortion Shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32000 second, high resolution 4K movie shooting and more. "By pairing the convenience of an ultra-telephoto lens with our innovative stacked CMOS image sensor design, we've created a whole new image experience unlike anything else in market today," said Neal Manowitz, Vice President of Digital Imaging at Sony Electronics. "The new RX10 III offers a true 'all in one' package that will appeal to a wide range of amateur, hobbyist and professional photographers and videographers." New ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* 24-600mm F2.4 F4 Lens The impressive 24-600mm ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* lens on the Cyber-shot RX10 III camera features a large maximum aperture of F2.4 F4.0, helping it achieve outstanding image quality throughout the entire zoom range, all the way up to ultra-telephoto. This differentiates it from many other high-zoom lenses that often struggle with light-gathering at longer focal lengths. The aperture unit itself has nine blades that are designed to create a near perfect circle in the F2.4 F11 range, enabling shooters to create content with beautiful bokeh, where the subject stands out against a softly defocused background. In total, the extended zoom lens features eight ED glass elements including one super ED glass element, five ED glass elements and two ED aspherical lenses, which all work together to minimize chromatic aberration and deliver high-contrast, ultra-sharp image quality. It also has ZEISS T* Coating for minimizing flare and ghosting and delivering accurate, faithful color reproduction. The new lens has built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilization that helps to reduce camera shake and image blur, in particular when shooting at longer focal lengths. When active, the OSS is equivalent to shootig at a shutter speed approximately 4.5 stops3 faster than the current setting of the camera. Additionally, with a minimum focusing distance of 72 cm (2.36 ft) and 0.49x maximum magnification at a fully extended 600mm, the new lens is capable of producing amazingly detailed tele-macro images. High Quality Image Detail The RX10 III features a back-illuminated 20.1 MP 1.0-type stacked CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processing engine that allow the camera to achieves a wide sensitivity range of ISO 644 - ISO 12800 and produce images with exceptionally low noise, even at higher sensitivity settings. Additionally, the rear of the sensor has a DRAM chip that allows it to read and process large volumes of data exceptionally fast, enabling the camera to shoot super slow motion video at up to 960 fps. The powerful DRAM chip also allows the RX10 III to shoot continuously at up to 14fps with minimal blackout. With shutter speeds as fast as 1/32000 second, the electronic shutter on the RX10 III minimizes image distortion at faster shutter speeds. It also offers silent shooting at all settings and speeds, ensuring all content can be captured quietly without disrupting the subject, a powerful feature when combined with the wide-ranging zoom lens. High Quality 4K Movie Recording The new RX10 III model becomes the latest and most versatile Cyber-shot RX camera to offer the advantages of 4K (QFHD 3840x2160) movie recording thanks to its far-reaching 24-600mm lens, which gives videographers the luxury of shooting high quality 4K video from extreme distances. In 4K video mode, the RX10 III camera utilizes full pixel readout without pixel binning, capturing approximately 1.7x more information than is required for 4K movie output to enhance image detail and minimize moire and jaggies. It achieves these high-quality results through use of the XAVC S codec, which records video at a high data rate of up to100 Mbps during 4K recording and up to 50 Mbps during full HD recording5. The new camera also has a variety of other professional caliber video features including Picture Profile, S-Log2/S-Gamut, Gamma Display Assist, Time Code and more, as well as input for external microphone and output for headphone monitoring. Super Slow Motion Video Recording The new RX10 III also possesses the ability to record super slow-motion video at up to 40x slower than the standard rate, allowing users to capture and replay fleeting moments of action with incredible detail, resolution and clarity. In "HFR" (high frame rate) setting, it offers the option to choose among 960fps, 480fps and 240 fps frame rates and among 60p, 30p and 24p playback formats4,5 with the option to use the movie record button as a 'start trigger' to begin recording once button is pressed or 'end trigger' to record footage up until the button is pressed. High Speed Autofocus The new RX10 III camera is equipped with an impressive autofocus system with spatial object detection, allowing the camera to detect and predict motion of a subject before the shutter button is pressed, This helps the camera achieve an incredibly fast and efficient AF response when the shutter is halfway pressed, enabling it to lock on to a subject in as little as 0.09 seconds 8. This is a yet another compelling technology, especially when paired with a versatile, highly capable 25x zoom lens with a range up to 600mm. Ergonomics and Design Aesthetically, the new RX10 III features a number of upgrades compared to existing RX10 models including triple lens rings for focus, zoom and aperture for direct, precise control. The hand grip shape has also been optimized for the new high-magnification, large-aperture lens to enhance stability when holding the camera at eye level. There is a new focus hold button on the lens barrel as well, allowing the focus to be easily locked on a subject while the shooter reframes the image. The new model features a high-contrast XGA OLED Tru-Finder with approximately 2.35 million dots of resolution, ensuring true-to-life image preview and playback functionality. The camera is also dust and moisture resistant and both Wi-Fi and NFC compatible, with the ability and can access Sony's growing range of PlayMemories Camera Applications. Learn more at www.sony.net/pmca. A dedicated LCJ-RXJ soft carrying case will also be available for the new camera. Pricing and Availability The new Sony Cyber-shot RX10 III extended zoom camera will be available this May for about $1,500 US and $2,000 CA, respectively. The new cameras and all compatible accessories will be sold at a variety of Sony authorized dealers throughout North America. More information can be found here. A variety of exclusive stories and exciting new content shot with the new RX10 III cameras and other high-end Sony imaging products can also be found at www.alphauniverse.com, Sony's community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of Sony imaging products. For access to all of the latest Sony camera news on twitter, follow #SonyCamera. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348809 Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140206/LA60150LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sonys-new-cyber-shot-rx10-iii-camera-brings-extended-zoom-capability-to-acclaimed-rx-line-300242597.html SOURCE Sony Electronics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Itongadol.- Hitler brand headphones appeared on the web store Massdrop.com on Monday offering customers "the final solution to the audio question." Massdrop.com is an online community where users discuss items they are interested in purchasing. If a product receives enough attention through a poll started by a community member, the website managers will arrange for a "drop," a bulk purchase of the product that can drastically reduce the prices. The more people who commit to purchasing the product, the lower the price drops. The latest featured product to show up for purchase polling on the site was "Klangs" by Hitler, a headphones set in the same style as "Beats" by Dre produced by Beats Electronics. In place of the brand\s symbol "B" on the red over-ear headphone, the product featured a swastika. The Klangs, a word in German meaning sound, have been listed in several polls for voting by community members including "Best celebrity-endorsed headphones" and "Best noise cancelling headphones." "Unfortunately we have already become accustomed to finding such cases of the glorification of Hitler on the internet," said Ori Ohana, the program coordinator for ISCA, Israeli Students Combating Anti-Semitism, a student based initiative to fight anti-Semitism on the internet. "In many cases it is intended as a joke but we believe that is is done mostly to keep the image of Hitler alive in an attempt to make him more normative, acceptable and popular," he added. Ohana explained that he believed the image had been uploaded as a joke but emphasized that despite that, the product should have been immediately removed by the site\s managers. "We regret that many companies do not control what happens on their sites and don\t take responsibility for what their users upload thereby allowing the glorification of Hitler to take place in their own backyards," said Ohana. "We will continue to take action against such cases and do everything in our power to ensure it will not happen again," he added. ISCA has put out a call to action for it\s Facebook followers to report the listing for the headphones to the site for removal and has sent an official complaint to the website to have the product taken down immediately. In response to the report, Massdrop.com told The Jerusalem Post that its platform was not selling nor advertising any such product. "Our site is a platform that gives the community a voice in the products they want and allows for creative discussion for the things they love. While we have a zero tolerance policy for hate speech of any kind, the freedom to make polls and comments is something that occasionally does get abused," the online store said in an e-mail. "These polls and comments are moderated as soon as we see them which is usually within 24 hours, but occasionally they are seen by our users before we do," the e-mail added. "We appreciate the community bringing this to our attention and all the offending polls have been removed. In no way do we condone or share the opinions of everything that appears on our site." Seven out of 10 Nebraskans agree: The first eight years of a childs life are critical to future success. But only a dismal two of 10 think the state is doing enough to meet the needs of its youngest residents in the most formative years of their life -- when they acquire language skills, form relationships for the first time, build character and develop cognitive skills. The majority of Nebraskans say early childhood care and education are neither available nor affordable to every family in the state -- but they should be. These are the findings from a statewide survey conducted by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska and Gallup. The results, set to be released Tuesday morning, kick off an effort to bring early childhood care and education to the forefront of Nebraska policy, community development and social justice discussions. Founded in 2013, the Buffett Early Childhood Institute focuses on the first eight years of childrens lives, and what can be done to ensure all of Nebraskas young children, particularly those living in poverty, or with families in need or who have developmental challenges, can start school ready and able to learn. National research studies show that crucial brain development key in preparing a child for school, social/emotional development and behaviors occurs between birth and the end of third grade. Kids in poverty, in disadvantaged families and those with developmental challenges often miss out on the opportunities and experiences afforded to their more financially secure and socially stable peers. With 42 percent of Nebraska children growing up in poverty, thats a huge number of kids starting life at a major disadvantage, according to Sam Meisels, founding executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute. The institutes goal is not only to level the playing field, but raise it for all children through statewide partnerships between universities, schools, governments, businesses and citizens. The aim is to eliminate the achievement gap among children and better prepare the workforce of educators, childcare providers and those who teach them, Meisels said. The survey was the first step to understanding the attitudes and beliefs that everyone can invest in, he said. It provided statistical -- and less anecdotal evidence -- to the decades old early childhood debate. More than 7,100 people responded to the survey, which was mailed in English and Spanish languages to 28,000 homes across Nebraska this past August. It is the largest public opinion poll conducted about early childhood care and education in the state and the 25 percent response rate is practically unprecedented in the world of survey taking, Meisels said. Decades of research have demonstrated what happens to children during the critically important early years impacts not only their future success, but also the future economic strength and well-being of our communities and our state, Meisels said. Now Nebraskans have spoken. They get it, they support it, and they want to see greater investment in early childhood programs across the state. The survey looked at all the programs affecting young children, he said. Findings were weighted to match state demographics regarding gender, age, education, race and Hispanic ethnicity, to give an accurate view representing all Nebraskans, said Iheoma Iruka, director of research and evaluation for the Buffett Institute. The survey found 68 percent of Nebraskans recognize the importance of the first years of life, but that they have serious concerns, Meisels said. Only 1 percent of people said that all children in Nebraska receive quality care, he said. Fifty-eight percent said the state is doing too little for early care and education. Just 6 percent said it is doing too much. Just one-third believe that children are adequately prepared for formal schooling at kindergarten, he said. And prepared does not mean knowing their ABCs, how to count to 10, or even how to tie their shoes, Meisels said. It means confidence as a 5-year-old for being in a learning environment with other children and an adequate ability to take in information and use that information, he said. The survey also found that Nebraskans are willing to invest in quality early care and education -- ranking it second in the states educational priorities. Public schools K-12 ranked first. While the survey did not specifically ask about taxes, it did touch on funding. The bottom line: The vast majority said they want a combination of taxes, private funding and community/business support, Iruka said. They see it as a community problem that requires all of us to lift at least a part of it. Meisels agreed, Nebraska needs a multifaceted approach to early care and education. The cliche of it takes a village is really true, he said. It is going to take everyone. 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 RACINE A Racine man charged with threatening to blow up the Racine County Courthouse last fall will get a new lawyer and continue to be fed and medicated by force if necessary for two more months, court records indicate. Lee Robert Lucas, 46, appeared in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday. Lucas told the court he wants his current attorney, Michael Robert Barth, off his case and another attorney appointed, court records show. Circuit Court Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz agreed to appoint a new attorney. He also ordered Lucas to receive food and medicine by force, if necessary, for 60 more days, court records show. Lucas goes back and forth on his willingness to accept meals, records indicate. Lucas, 46, last week pleaded no contest to a single count of causing a bomb scare. Prosecutors charged Lucas with causing a bomb scare, telephone harassment and disorderly conduct for allegedly calling in the hoax threat on Oct. 26. The courthouse was closed for a half day as a result of the incident. Lucas allegedly admitted making the phony bomb threat, saying he was intimately involved with a 42-year-old Racine woman, who was to appear at the courthouse that morning in an eviction case. The woman has denied being involved with Lucas. Lucas is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16. RACINE As the April 5 general election approaches, voters in the citys 2nd Aldermanic District will be faced with choosing between two candidates who not only know the district well, but have experience representing it on the City Council. Bounded by Lake Michigan, Holborn Street, 21st Street and 11th Street, Racines 2nd Aldermanic District encompasses the stately historic homes of Main Street and College Avenue, as well as many low-income neighborhoods. Both incumbent Alderman Mollie Jones and former Alderman Robert Anderson say jobs are the one thing both the city and the 2nd District needs most to move forward. Mollie Jones Raised in Enterprise, Miss., Mollie Jones settled in Racine in 1966 at age 20 two years after first visiting relatives in the area. Jones said she wants to continue her role as 2nd District alderman because she feels she is the candidate best suited to effectively represent everyone in the district, where she has resided for 45 years. A grandmother, volunteer and a retired administrative assistant, Jones has served as the districts City Council representative since August, when aldermen appointed her to finish out the term of Alderman Krystyna Sarrazin, who moved out of state. Jones was one six residents who applied for the appointment. Today, Jones said she is the candidate who can best bring together residents from all parts of the diverse district. Its kind of like if you change one tire on your car and the others stay flat. You may get a little ways down the street, but you wont get very far, Jones, 70, said. While jobs remain the key missing ingredient, Jones said infrastructure improvements are also needed along the corridors leading into the historic district. I would hope that we could get this side of the 2nd District kind of a step or two forward, so as people are coming in to visit the historic district, they will look at all the homes and say oh, this is a nice area, she said. Robert Anderson Six years ago, Robert Anderson turned in paperwork saying he would not be seeking re-election to his 2nd District aldermanic seat. He was starting his own business at the time, struggling with family health issues, and just didnt have the time to devote to the job, he said. Today, the Racine native is running for his old post because he said he once again has the time, because he misses serving, and because he believes he has the experience needed to represent the district where he has resided for more than 15 years. It is part of who I am its part of my weird Catholic upbringing, the retired printer and real estate appraiser said. If you serve others, it is one step closer to the reward on the other side. The 60-year-old says job creation and attracting new businesses to the city will help in more ways than one, eventually reducing what many in the 2nd District see as oppressively high property taxes. That is the No. 1 complaint you hear from people in the district property taxes, Anderson said. Well, not from everyone in the district. But there is a certain level of home here that they feel is being over taxed. We need to make the city as business friendly as possible. Improving the citys quality of life and working harder to market the citys access to Lake Michigan are just two ways to draw in more businesses, he said. We have an abundance of clean, affordable water, Anderson said. If we can improve our access to the Interstate it will be boon in the future. GOP Senators Move to Block Obama's Gun Ban for Veterans By AWR Hawkins. March 24th, 2016 Republican Senators are moving to block an Obama gun ban that will otherwise prevent over a quarter of a million military veterans from owning guns. The gun ban for veterans is being handled the same way as Obama's gun ban for Social Security beneficiaries. Those who cannot manage their own finances are being labeled with a mental health moniker and added to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as being prohibited from purchasing firearms. In July 2015 Breitbart News reported that Obama's gun ban against Veterans had already been administered behind the scenes for an unknown amount of time. The Los Angeles Times pointed to the example of 30-year-old U.S. Marine Steve Overman. He required help with his finances because of "weakened ... memory and cognitive ability" resulting from a roadside bomb in Iraq. The "VA eventually deemed him 100% disabled and after reviewing his case in 2012 declared him incompetent, making his wife his fiduciary." Because of this, he had to get his guns out of his house--taking them a relative's home--in order to avoid losing them. ....... It is to be hoped that this despicable approach to our veteran's gun ownership is quashed. There may be some specific cases where a veteran could be deemed genuinely unsafe to own firearms but, to try and impose a blanket approach based on individual's difficulty in financial management is beyond acceptable. Where is respect for the honor of our service veterans? "You don't have to be Jewish to fight by our side." 2016 JPFO All rights reserved. jpfo@jpfo.org 1-800-869-1884 Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership 12500 NE 10th Pl. Bellevue, WA 98005 USA Americas most aggressive civil rights organization We make the NRA look like moderates Join JPFO Back to Top Jet Airways plane bomb hoax A Jet Airways flight from New Delhi that landed at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was found to have no explosive device on board after a bomb scare on Sunday, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Spokesperson Devendra KC confirmed. Drone used to study glacier in Manang For the first time, a group of experts from Nepal have successfully carried out the survey of a glacier located in Manang district using drone, also famously popular as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) among the global scientific community. Dust storm lashes Capital A massive dust storm lashed Kathmandu Valley on Monday afternoon, disrupting air and ground traffic and making pedestrians run helter-skelter for cover, as tin roofs of some sheds were tossed and tarpaulin shelters of quake survivors were blown away. Embargo fears set off gasoline panic buying Worries of another trade embargo by India has set off panic buying of fuel in Kathmandu with long lines of motorists forming in front of gasoline stations from early in the morning. My visit to India, China opened new avenues for cooperation: Oli Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said on Monday his recent visits to India and China have opened up new avenues for bilateral and trilateral cooperation for accelerating Nepals development and uplifting the lives of the Nepali people. Nepal flays Lahore blast The government of Nepal has condemned the bomb attack at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on Sunday that resulted in deaths and injury of innocent people Seven shops gutted in Attariya fire At least seven shops were destroyed in a fire in Attariya Bazaar in Kailali district on Sunday night. A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc in Stamford, Connecticut, the US, Nov 20, 2015. [Photo/IC] NEW YORK - Starwood Hotels & Resorts on Monday announced that it had received a revised proposal from a consortium led by China's Anbang Insurance Group. Starwood received a nonbinding proposal from the consortium consisting of Anbang, J.C. Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital for $81 per share in cash on Saturday. Yet in discussions over the weekend, the consortium improved the bid to $82.75 per share in cash, totalling some $14 billion. Pursuant to separate agreements previously entered into by Starwood, Starwood stockholders would receive additional $5.91 per share in stock for a spinoff of a vacation business. On this basis, Anbang's newest offer will be $88.66 per share, beating Marriott's offer of $79.53 per share. Starwood said it was continuing to discuss nonprice terms related to the consortium's revised proposal and was working to finalize the other terms of a binding proposal from the consortium, including definitive documentation. "The Starwood board, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, will carefully consider the outcome of its discussions with the consortium in order to determine the course of action that is in the best interest of Starwood and its stockholders," Starwood said in a statement. Starwood is one of the world's leading luxury hotels and the owner of the Westin and Sheraton brands with nearly 1,300 properties in some 100 countries and approximately 188,000 employees. Anbang is one of the largest insurance groups in China. According to the company, Anbang managed total assets of 1.65 trillion yuan ($250 billion). The Chinese insurer has made headlines with the acquisition of Waldorf Astoria, the landmark hotel on Park Avenue in New York City in October 2014. Under the agreement, Anbang purchased the iconic luxury hotel for $1.95 billion from Hilton Worldwide Holdings. SLMM reaching out to intl community The Madhes-based parties of late are proactively engaging with the diplomatic community to seek international support as they plan their next move. TIA project delayed due to slowpoke contractor The Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) improvement project will be delayed by two years due to a slowpoke contractor, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) said. Two women held with liquid cocaine worth over Rs 50m The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested two foreigners with 2.7 litres of liquid cocaine from Thamel in the Capital on Monday. The Omusinga of Rwenzururu Kingdom Charles Wesley Mumbere has called for an independent investigation into the Rwenzori clashes that have left close to 30 people dead. Mumbere has cast doubt on the impartiality of the Police Chief Gen Kale Kayihura in the investigations. Gen. Kayihura who visited Rwenzori region recently, initially linked the clashes to a pro-Kingdom militia group militia, an accusation the Kingdom vehemently denies. Speaking at a news conference held shortly after the clashes broke out, Gen Kayihura denied accusations of bias promising a thorough investigation. However, addressing a congregation at St. Pauls cathedral in Kasese during Easter Monday prayers, Mumbere said Gen Kayihura alone cannot resolve the puzzle of these clashes. This comes a day after president Museveni also visited the area to assess the security situation. Story By Morris Mumbere The Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) has recalled Lt. Col. Martin Kamya who was retired in May 2014 and installed as traditional leader for the Bamba. This was revealed yesterday by the president who is also the Commander in Chief after touring the scenes of tribal clashes in Bundibujo where Kamyas chiefdom is located. President Museveni said the army can recall an officer anytime back to the force as long they are still in the active age bracket. Kamya was at the rank of Major and an Intelligence officer for Karamoja region before he was recognized by government as King for Bamba/Babwisi and the Vonoma. The President then promoted him to the rank of Lt Col. No Yes, a light case Yes, two or more light cases One serious case Two or more serious bouts Vote View Results Incumbent Vicki Burke faces challenger Daniel Hanson in the race for La Crosse County Board supervisor in District 21. The Tribune asked the candidates in contested county board races the same four questions. The La Crosse County Board has come out strongly in favor of protecting the countys UW-Extension program from the restructuring proposed by the state. Do you support that decision? Why or why not? Burke: I supported the decision. This is an example of the state government making cuts over the objections and without the proper input from those involved in UW-Extension or even adequate public hearings for citizens. This plan eliminated local educator positions and added unnecessary bureaucratic positions who would not be accountable to the local community. This will impact the program areas of agriculture, 4-H and Youth, Family Living and Community Natural Resources and Economic Development along with thousands of program participants and volunteers. Hanson: I strongly support protecting the countys UW-Extension program for the same reason I oppose the state of Wisconsins proposal to regionalize the countys veterans service coordinator position. It is all about local needs, timely access to programs and trained staff that are already heavily utilized. Residents and veterans would be greatly underserved with a regionalization. The county has moved to invest in residential properties through neighborhood revitalization grants, with a focus on neighborhoods in the city of La Crosse. Do you think its wise to focus on the city or are there other areas the county should invest in? Burke: Investing in people and strengthening communities is never a mistake. Just as a vibrant large city in a state attracts people to that state, a vibrant, healthy, city with good housing, schools, medical facilities, arts, and retail choices attract people to this county. This is an investment in existing neighborhoods. We have made investments in other areas in La Crosse County. We have helped establish the industrial park in West Salem, made a contribution to the Fred Funk Landing project, provided a contribution to the Holmen Community Center and the list goes on. La Crosse County continues to work with villages and cities within its boundaries and outside of the county. I believe one of the strengths of this county board is its ability to see the big picture, to have a financial plan that looks down the road to what will happen rather than being short-sighted. Hanson: I feel La Crosse County has a vested interest in helping the city of La Crosse address a decaying inner city with neighborhood revitalization grants. However, I feel the county needs to take a broad view of the entire county when assessing future investments. We must be mindful of the struggles that local towns and villages face as they deal with dwindling support and revenue from the state of Wisconsin and local stagnant tax bases while addressing their own infrastructure issues. As a county supervisor for the 20th District, I will focus my attention on reducing spending and reducing debt. Like most of Wisconsin, the La Crosse County Highway Department is facing budget challenges when it comes to maintaining its infrastructure. How do you think the county should handle those needs? Burke: Bad roads hurt manufacturing, farming, and transportation. We currently use bonding and tax levy. We have more than 30 million in road needs and each year we chip away at these needs. The 2016 budget includes $3.1 million in allocated tax levy and bonding. I support our funding methods and will work to secure more state and federal funding to help with this need. Hanson: Fresh from my door-to-door opportunities to talk to residents of the 21st District, if I would have had the opportunity to vote on the wheel tax, I would have voted against it primarily because it proposed a unilateral increase for all vehicle registration. La Crosse County low-income and fixed-income residents, students and small businesses would have had to bear a substantial increase even though the bulk of the wear and tear on our county roads comes from heavy commercial trucks and large farm equipment. The proposal also did not specify those funds be spent only on replacement or upkeep of county roads, leaving open other uses such as salaries or specific projects to be allocated by future county boards. I am open to a number of proposals that would spread the burden among all vehicles, whether it be from La Crosse County or neighboring counties and states. What do you see as the major issues facing the county board this year? Burke: As we have discussed in the previous question, the county highways and bridges need attention. Secondly, the drug addiction and trafficking increase has impacted our criminal justice and human services area. It continues to cost the community in lives lost and crimes committed. Thirdly, the continued eroding of local control by state government which forces mandates and costs on our limited resources, while taking away local right to create ordinances and laws which our local citizens desire. Lastly, the ability to continue high-quality services and hire qualified, well-trained staff, as our financial resources become more limited. Hanson: I feel the No. 1 issue is the county debt load. With a number of projects under construction and tax revenue in some cases yet to be realized, future debt pressure could possibly affect our bond rating and could increase the cost of future borrowing, The boards struggle will be prioritizing the needs of our constituents against our ability to fund essential programs. The top priority in my mind is domestic violence followed by drug trafficking and substance abuse. We have an array of programs vital to keeping our area safe and attractive to families, retirees and visitors alike. The two issues I mentioned at the top of this question are direct threats to our community and must be dealt with. WASHINGTON Its bad enough that an outrage was perpetrated last week against the voters of Maricopa County, Ariz. It would be far worse if we ignore the warning that the disenfranchisement of thousands of its citizens offers our nation. In November, one of the most contentious campaigns in our history could end in a catastrophe for our democracy. A major culprit would be the United States Supreme Court, and specifically the conservative majority that gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013. The facts of what happened in Arizonas presidential primary are gradually penetrating the nations consciousness. In a move rationalized as an attempt to save money, officials of Maricopa County, the states most populous, cut the number of polling places by 70 percent, from 200 in the last presidential election to 60 this time around. Maricopa includes Phoenix, the states largest city, which happens to have a non-white majority and is a Democratic island in an otherwise Republican county. What did the cutbacks mean? As The Arizona Republic reported, the countys move left one polling place for every 21,000 voters compared with one polling place for every 2,500 voters in the rest of the state. The results, entirely predictable, were endless lines akin to those that await the release of new iPhones. Its an analogy worth thinking about since there is no right to own an iPhone but there is a right to vote. Many had to wait hours to cast a ballot and some polling stations had to stay open long after the scheduled 7 p.m. closing time to accommodate those who had been waiting and waiting. The Republic told the story of Aracely Calderon, a 56-year-old immigrant from Guatemala who waited five hours to cast her ballot. There were many voters like her. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, whose government does not control election management, is furious about what was visited upon his citys citizens. The day after the primary, he wrote U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking her to open a Justice Department investigation into the fiasco. It was not just that there werent enough polling places, Stanton charged. Their allocation was far more favorable in predominantly Anglo communities. There were fewer voting locations in parts of the county with higher minority populations. In a telephone interview, Stanton made the essential point. Long lines are bad for everyone. But they particularly hurt the least advantaged who usually have less flexibility in their schedules than more affluent people do. It is often quite literally true that poor voters cant afford to wait. If youre a single mother with two kids, youre not going to wait for hours, youre going to leave that line. As a result, Stanton said, tens of thousands of people were deprived of the right to vote. A Democrat, Stanton asked himself the obvious question: Am I suggesting this was the intent of the people who run elections in Maricopa County? His answer: In voting rights terms, it doesnt matter. What matters, he said, is whether changes in practice had a disparate impact on minority communities, which they clearly did. And theres the rub. Before the Supreme Court undermined Voting Rights Act enforcement, radical changes in voting practices such as Maricopas drastic cut in the number of polling places would have needed to be cleared in advance with the Justice Department because Arizona was one of the states covered by the law. This time, county officials could blunder lets assume, for the sake of argument, that there was no discriminatory intent without any supervision. Now lets look ahead to Election Day this fall. Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, notes in his important new book, The Fight to Vote, that Republicans have moved with strategic ferocity to pass a variety of laws around the country to make it harder for people to cast ballots. The Brennan Center reports that 16 states will have new voting restrictions in place for the first time in a presidential election. Imagine voting debacles like Arizonas happening all across the country. Consider what the news reports would be like on the night of Nov. 8, 2016. Are we not divided enough already? Can we risk holding an election whose outcome would be rendered illegitimate in the eyes of a very large number of Americans who might be robbed of their franchise? This is not idle fantasy. Arizona has shown us what could happen. We have seven months to prevent what really could be an electoral cataclysm. 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 Due to the increased risk of earthquakes from human activity, the United States Geological Survey has, for the first time, mapped the threat they pose to humans across the United States.On Monday, the USGS published a map that charted which parts of the country are at the highest-risk of "human-induced" earthquakes for the year. Up to seven million people in the Central and Eastern United States are at risk from these earthquakes, according to the agency. California and the West always remain at risk for seismic activitythanks, San Andreas Faultso scientists did not calculate the risk of human-induced quakes into their data. The most surprising part of the map is the big, red blob that covers a good portion of the Sooner State. (USGS) "My first thought was actually holy crap, Oklahoma is redder than California," wrote USGS geologist Susan Hough to the Washington Post in an email. Indeed, Oklahoma has seen a swarm of earthquakes over the last few years, which researchers believe is related to wastewater disposal from oil and gas drilling. While the popular perception is to attribute these earthquakes to the controversial process come to be known as fracking, the USGS says "studies suggest that this process is only rarely the cause of felt earthquakes." The other states at elevated risk of human-induced quakes are, in descending order from highest to lowest, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas. In looking at the data, the USGS also identified 21 regions east of the Rocky Mountains that are at the highest risk of human-induced earthquakes. The most striking of these is a huge region that crosses Oklahoma and includes chunks of Kansas and Texas: USGS The risk, especially in Oklahoma, is very real. As Slate points out, from 1882 to 2012, there were only 232 earthquakes in the state that registered M3.0 or higher. In this year, alone, there have already been 287. The widow of a murdered Russian spy continues to try to bring her husbands killers to justice. Marina Litvinenko is the widow of Alexander Litvinenko. She spoke at the VOA offices this month. Ms. Litvinenko displayed a thick document showing that a British court said the death of her husband was murder. The court said the murder was probably ordered by Russias top leaders. Alexander Litvinenko was an intelligence agent of the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB. He was granted asylum in Britain in 2000. He became a well-known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was said to have started working with British intelligence officials, providing details of Russias organized crime networks and of President Putin himself. On November 1, 2006, Litvinenko had tea at a London hotel with two men from the FSB, Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitri Kovtun. Litvinenkos cup of tea contained Polonium 210, a radioactive element that can only be made in a nuclear reactor. Litvinenko died 23 days later. Shortly before he died, Litvinenko accused President Putin of killing him. In the nearly 10 years since his death, his widow, Marina, has worked to prove that the Kremlin killed her husband. She said she considers the recent ruling by the British court a step in uncovering the mysterious deaths of other Russian dissidents. But this one now is a proof. We have this in a verdict about Russian State involvement ... The British courts verdict came in January. Investigator Robert Owen led the British Court of Inquiry. The court issued a report that connected Lugovoy, Kovtun and, by extension, Vladimir Putin with Litinenko's assassination. Robert Owen concluded that all the evidence suggests Livinenkos murder was an FSB operation. The operation was approved at the highest level of the Kremlin. I have further concluded that the FSB operation to kill Mr. Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr. Patrushev, then head of the FSB, and also by President Putin. Marina Litvinenko said she is pleased with the verdict. But she is not giving up her effort to bring her husbands killers to justice. She came to Washington this month to meet with government officials, foreign policy experts and journalists. During her visit to VOA, she said she was outraged that those who killed her husband for political reasons have escaped punishment. Instead, they have been protected and rewarded, she said. These people committed a very serious crime. And Lugovoy was not even punished for this crime. He was granted. He is a member of Russian parliament. He became a politician straight after. Russian officials have strongly denied any state involvement in the assassination. Russias Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alexander Yakovenko, read a statement to reporters, rejecting the charges. We view it as an attempt to put additional pressure on Russia in connection with existing differences over a number of international issues. For us, its absolutely unacceptable that the report concludes that the Russian state was in any way involved in the death of Mr. Litvinenko on the British soil. Marina Litvinenko said she doubts that those named by the British Court of Inquiry will be prosecuted for her husbands death anytime soon. But she promised to continue her protest. She said she hopes her efforts highlight what she says is the continuing operation of Kremlin-sponsored killing groups in foreign cities. She discussed at VOA the mysterious death of Litvinenkos mentor, Boris Berezovsky, who was found hanged in his bathroom in 2013. He strongly opposed Putin. She also mentioned the death of financier Mikhail Lesin, who was beaten to death last November while in Washington. Of course, when very high profile people as Lesin and Boris Berezovsky died, it is difficult to believe it was just natural causes... Litvinenko also said she believes the work done by Owen and the British court on her husbands death will help in the investigation of the deaths of Berezovsky, Lesin and other Russian dissidents abroad. Im Ashley Thompson. Pete Heinlein wrote this report for VOA News. Ashley Thompson adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story widow - n. a woman whose husband has died display - v. to put (something) where people can see it Kremlin - n. the government of Russia and the former Soviet Union verdict - n. the decision made by a jury in a trial outraged - v. to be extremely angry highlight - v. to make or try to make people notice or be aware of (someone or something) sponsor - v. to provide money or support for a project or activity An EgyptAir plane was hijacked Tuesday morning and forced to land in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said. The plane was set for the short flight from Alexandria to Cairo, about 180 kilometers away. It landed instead at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, about 540 kilometers northeast. The hijacker, who held the plane and crew, threatened to blow up the plane, officials said. However, news sources said the hijacker said he wanted to speak to his former wife, who lives in Cyprus. The hijacker, identified as Seif el-Din Mustafa, [59], later admitted that he did not have explosives. The president of Cyprus told local media a domestic issue was behind the hijacking. The hijacker's former wife was brought by local police to the airport to meet with him. After the plane landed in Cyprus, video showed passengers walking down the plane stairs to a bus on the ground at Larnaca International Airport. Cyprus public television [earlier] reported that the hijacker was a 27-year-old Egyptian. He asked for political asylum, it said. Just before his arrest, one man was seen climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the airplane. Egypt's civil aviation minister said security on the plane was good and the hijacker had not been able to enter the cockpit. That prevented a more serious threat, he said. Egyptian TV showed video of a man going through a metal detector and being searched at Alexandria Airport before getting on the plane. Questions on airport security Last November, the Associated Press reported that the airport at Sharm el-Sheikh had gaps, or holes, in security. Gaps include a key baggage scanning device that often is not working. The AP also said that poorly paid policemen monitoring X-ray machines often take bribes. At that time, a spokesman for Egypts Aviation Ministry dismissed the stories of poor security. He told AP that Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the safest airports in the world. But, British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said that bag screening was insufficient at the airport. A retired senior official from Egypts Tourism Ministry told AP that airport guards regularly skip, or avoid, security checks for friends and co-workers. Tuesdays hijacking will most likely damage Egypts important tourism industry. It has already suffered from years of political unrest and a growing terror threat. An Islamic State affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula in October brought down a Russian passenger jet with a bomb planted on board, killing all 224 people on board. I'm Jonathan Evans VOA News, the New York Times and the Associated Press reported this story. Anne Ball and Kathleen Struck adapted it for VOA Learning English. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story hijack -- n. to take, hold or seize something without permission political asylum -- n. asking for protection for political reasons scanning -- v. to look at (something) carefully usually in order to find someone or something bribes -- n. giving or taking money or favor to get better treatment dismissed -- v. to not consider insufficient -- adj. not enough explosives -- n. materials that create a release of energy with great force The United States and Mexico announced they discovered a long tunnel used to smuggle drugs into the U.S. They said the tunnel began in a restaurant in Mexicali, Mexico and ended about 365 meters away in a new, three-bedroom home in Calexico, California. Calexico is a small city about 193 kilometers east of San Diego. About 40,000 people live there. American officials say drug traffickers bought land in Calexico for $240,000 in April 2015. They spent $86,000 to build the house, which was completed in December. The announcement about the tunnel was made after police arrested four people in the U.S. and two in Mexico. Two women were arrested in Arizona, including a person who reportedly bought the property in Calexico. Police seized 1,350 pounds of marijuana in West Covina, near Los Angeles. Officials say the traffickers began smuggling illegal drugs through the tunnel February 28. Officials say they began watching the criminals when they started using the tunnel. Laura Duffy is the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. She said this house and this tunnel were constructed under the watchful eye of law enforcement. For the builders, the financiers and the operators of these passageways, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We will seize your drugs and your tunnel before you even have a chance to use it. Officials say this is the first time they have discovered a completed tunnel in Calexico in 10 years. They say drug gangs usually do not build tunnels into the city because the soil is hard. Officials say the drug gangs prefer to dig tunnels near San Diego. The clay-like soil there is easier to dig. And the area is near the Mexico border and has many large storage buildings where drug gangs can store drugs. More than 75 tunnels have been found in the past five years, mostly in California and Arizona. Many of them were not complete. The tunnel between Mexicali and Calexico was the 12th completed tunnel that American anti-drug agents have found along Californias border with Mexico since 2006. Officials say the Sinaloa drug group in Mexico has for many years controlled drug trafficking along the border of Californias Imperial Valley. Long, well-built roads, called interstate freeways, let the traffickers easily transport drugs from the Valley to Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona. The drug group has been led by Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. He escaped from a prison in Mexico through a tunnel in July. He was recaptured in January. Im Christopher Jones-Cruise. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted this story in VOA Learning English from reports by the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies. 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 tunnel - n. an underground passageway smuggle - v. to illegally transport drugs or people drug traffickers - n. criminals who transport illegal drugs financier - n. a person or group that provides money for projects light at the end of the tunnel - expression hope of success, happiness or help after a long period of difficulty; sign of improvement in a situation that has been bad for a long time prefer - v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else clay - n. heavy, sticky dirt or earth This is Whats Trending Today... Last Friday, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders held a rally in the state of Oregon. During the event, an unexpected guest joined the Vermont senator on stage: a bird. The tiny bird flew around Sanders. Then, it landed on the podium where Sanders was speaking. Sanders and the bird, a house finch, stared at one another for several moments. Smiling, Sanders told the crowd he believed the birds presence was symbolic. "I know it doesn't look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace." The crowd went wild. And so did the Internet. The play-on-words hashtag #BirdieSanders soon trended. Five days later, the hashtag is still a trending topic on social media. People quickly called it, the most heartwarming moment of the 2016 presidential election. Indeed, in an election season dominated by insults and negative campaigning, the sweet moment between Sanders and the tiny bird was a welcome change. Social media users enjoyed artwork and graphics inspired by the event. Some graphics even showed Sanders as a bird himself. Senator Sanders tweeted a drawing of him and the bird looking at one another, with the word together. The Late Show host Stephen Colbert joked about the viral event on his show Monday night. Colbert suggested the Birdie Sanders moment helped the senator win caucuses in three states over the weekend: Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska. Then he joked, "What are the odds that a bird would be attracted to an old man who looks like he has bread in his pockets?" And thats Whats Trending Today. Im Ashley Thompson. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story podium - n. a stand with a slanted surface that holds a book, notes, etc., for someone who is reading, speaking, or teaching heartwarming - adj. causing pleasant feelings of happiness odds - n. the possibility that something will happen attracted - v. to cause (someone) to like or be interested in something pocket - n. a usually small cloth bag that is sewn into a piece of clothing, and that is open at the top or side so that you can put things into it Women are more religious than men. That is the finding of a new report by the Pew Research Center. Worldwide, 83 percent of women say they identify with a religion, compared to 79 percent of men, according to Pew. Pew found the biggest gender gap in daily prayer. Pew found 61 percent of women say they pray daily, compared to 51 percent of men. David Voas is head of the Department of Social Science at University College London, United Kingdom. He said prayer is often done in private, making it a good measure of how important religion is to people. The frequency of prayer may be the purest sign of religious commitment, which means that, arguably, its the best yardstick to use in comparing men and women, he told Pew. Pew completed its study of religious differences between men and women by exploring research in 84 nations. The research was done between 2008 and 2015. Pew said the stronger religious beliefs by women stand out given historys most important religious leaders are mostly men. That includes Jesus, Muhammad, Abraham, Moses, and Siddhartha Gautama. And in some religions, such as for Roman Catholics and Orthodox Jews, only men are allowed to hold clergy positions. Among Christians, women attend services more often than men. But that is not the case with Muslims and Orthodox Jews, Pew said. Among those religions, men are more likely to attend services. Pew said this is because Muslims and Orthodox Jews give more weight to mens participation in worship services. Some Muslim mosques and Orthodox synagogues separate men and women. In some cases, women are limited to the back or a balcony area. There is general acceptance by both women and men about some religious beliefs. For example, 91 percent of women and 89 percent of men said they believe in heaven. Seventy-eight percent of women and 76 percent of men said they believe in hell, Pew said. Pew found that women who work outside the home are less likely to be religious than women who work at home. Voas of University College in London said researchers disagree on whether women who work outside the home are less religious. If it is true, he offers two possible reasons. Maybe paid employment crowds out time for religious involvement, or perhaps being exposed to different values and world views tends to undermine religious commitment, he said. Not only do women tend to be more religious than men, but Pew found men are also more likely to be atheists. An atheist does not believe God exists. In Uruguay, the United States, Germany and Spain, more than 60 percent of people who describe themselves as atheists are men, Pew said. An exception is France. A slightly higher percentage of people who say they are atheists are women 51 percent vs. 49 percent. 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. How do you feel about belief and religion? Men and women and religion? Write to us in the Comments section or share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story gender gap n. differences in views between men and women frequency n. happening often yardstick n. measurement of something prioritize v. to organize things so that the most important thing is done or dealt with first heaven n. the place where God lives and where good people go after they die according to some religions hell n. the place where the devil lives and where evil people go after they die according to some religions involvement n. having a connection to something or someone exposed v. to be informed of something undermine v. to make someone or something weaker or less effective usually in a secret or gradual way The latest trailer of Captain America: Civil War is out. And what does it tell us? That we may be in for a huge superhero showdown. You know, just in case, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice didnt do it for you. The first Civil War trailer made it seem as though the film would be all about Captain America and his old pal, the now reformed (?) Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes. To add to the plot, we had a few images of Captain America possibly facing a curtailment of his powers as Thaddeus Ross lectured him on how some people may see him as a hero, but others saw him as a vigilante. Cap was also made to sit through Rosss showing him images of the collateral damage of some of his superhero missions the destruction of New York (from the alien invasion at the end of The Avengers movie), Washington DC , Sokovia (from Age of Ultron) etc. And then, as a final teaser, we saw that there was some friction between Iron Man and Captain, leading up to a grudge match. Well, the second trailer showed us that what we saw in the first teaser was a small, small part of what Civil War is all about. For one, this isnt just a Captain America film it could almost pass off as the next Avengers film, with all the characters from the Marvel universe theyve managed to pack in. What else have we learnt from the trailers so far? That Tony Stark/Iron Man may be behind a move to curtail Captain Americas powers The second trailer shows us that Thaddeus Ross wasnt alone in haranguing Cappie. Iron Man was there too! Theres a larger move to impose some sort of regulations on the power of superheroes and Tony Starks on the side of the state in this. Captain America thinks otherwise, and is willing to fight for the rights of superheroes to enforce peace and justice in the world without any outside involvement (Superman would sympathise, considering what he was put through in Dawn of Justice). With both superheroes on opposing sides of the debates, and willing to fight to the finish to uphold their beliefs, we have all the ingredients necessary for a super-powerful showdown. Yay! All of The Avengers will be pulled into the fight Whats a showdown unless its between superheroes right? And Captain America: Civil War offers plenty of battles, big and small. So we have Bucky vs Black Panther. Then there is the mother of all brawls between Iron Man, Captain America and Bucky (who fires at Iron Man at point blank range!). And the piece de resistance The Avengers facing off against each other: Iron Man, Black Widow, Vision on one side and Captain America, Falcon, Bucky, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye on the other. And the two sides seem evenly matched until Spiderman makes an entry! Yes, in celebration of the fact that Sony no longer has a stranglehold on the character of Spiderman and is actually sharing the rights with Marvel, we now see the webbed superhero (played by 19-year-old actor Tom Holland) in Civil War. And he may be a new entrant to the Avengers cinematic world, but to make up for it, hes already picked his side that of Iron Mans. Can Cappie and his crew fight back against the others and their new ally? Well, we can tell you that there may be some casualties. Like War Machine. Who may die. Or not. Both the Civil War trailers have seen War Machine being shot out of the sky (gasp) with Iron Man holding a very broken down James Rhodes in his arms, and looking like he wants to extract a suitably fierce vengeance. It isnt very clear but it seems like Bucky may have been the one to end War Machines flight. So is this the end? Well, in the words of Don Cheadle, who plays War Machine: It does look bad for Rhodey. Naturally, well see relationships change And we arent just talking about Captain and Iron Man letting their antagonism burst out into full blown war. Bucky and Steve have had a different relationship in their younger days, but the status quo has been upended. Bucky was always looking out for him when Steve was a smaller weak kid who needed direction and guidance, Sebastian Stan (Bucky) said to USA Today. (Now) Steves become the caretaking parent and Bucky is more of an unstable child now someone whos really struggling to have more of a sense of identity and is totally lost and confused with who he is. The Black Widow-Captain America equation should also be an interesting one to observe as Natasha is clearly siding with Tony in the final grudge match. Therell be superheroes old, and new Scarlett Johanssons Black Widow, Jeremy Renners Hawkeye, Anthony Mackies Falcon, Don Cheadles War Machine, Paul Bettanys Vision and Elizabeth Olsens Scarlet Witch are just some of the older Avengers characters whore making an appearance in Civil War apart from Captain America (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) of course. We also have a whole host of newer characters, including Chadwick Bosemans TChalla (Black Panther), Tom Hollands Spiderman, Frank Grillos Crossbones, Daniel Bruhls Baron Zemo, and Martin Freemans Everett Ross. To mine obsessively for other nuggets about Captain America: Civil War, watch the latest trailer here: https://youtu.be/eddSA1dgqIA As a child, chanting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' on any occasion was never a problem for one. In fact, it was a matter of immeasurable pride, just like singing the National Anthem or waving the Tricolour was. The chest just swelled with joy. As time flew, the occasion to chant it became rarer. A few decades later, one is sure saying 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' wont be a problem at all. But it would be a problem if someone put a gun to ones head and ordered one to do it. It would mean someone is trying to prove that they love Bharat Mata more than one does. By extension, it means they have a greater right over Mother India. This is unacceptable. Then, of course, theres the element of coercion. It militates against the idea of freedom that is so intrinsic to being a citizen of a democratic country. At the core of the Bharat Mata Ki Jai controversy is not whether people should chant it, but should they be forced to do it. If the Muslim community has a problem doing so due to religious reasons, why not accept it? Now that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has expressed disapproval of using force to make people chant the words, it sends out a good message. It should have come much earlier though. Bhagwat, according to a statement issued by Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, said on Monday that the idea of India should be so great that people would chant "glory for Mother India" on their own. "There is no need to force our system and thoughts on anyone," he said. Had it come a week ago, the whole pointless, vexatious debate would have died a quick well-deserved death. Interestingly, it gathered steam after Bhagwat himself had earlier said that the young generation should be taught to venerate Mother India. Reacting to it, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi had claimed that he wont chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai even if a knife was put to his throat. This was provocation enough for some RSS affiliates, including the BJP, and the Shiv Sena to link it to the broader nationalism debate. Some television channels, forever in search of frivolous emotive issues to earn rating points, gave it the shape of a full-fledged life and death matter for the country. It took veteran BJP leader LK Advani to drive some sense of perspective when he called the whole controversy pointless. Soon, Bhagwat almost echoed him. Was Bhagwat trying to give a talking point to the BJP before the upcoming assembly polls? No one can be sure. There is no pattern to his remarks. He has issued several such statements earlier which have put the BJP in a politically inconvenient situation. The most glaring example is his statement on reservation during the assembly elections in caste-sensitive Bihar. Again, the issue of Bharat Mata has little resonance among the ordinary masses and is certainly not a vote fetcher. So theres little point in attributing motives to him. The fact that he has said Bharat Mata Ki Jai should not be imposed on people should end the tasteless debate. The biggest problem with the new protectors of nationalism in the country has been their effort to mix up trivial matters with the issue of nationalism and the tendency to coerce others to accept their worldview, however unpalatable it might be. In the media hungry for sensationalism nationalism is the new fad for some they have found a perfect ally. Debates on television channels provide them the semblance of legitimacy which would otherwise elude them. One more point before we conclude: Please, dont point a gun at us to make us chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai. We respect Mother India as much as, if not more, as you do. She wont like this. Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday ordered an "independent investigation" by police into an alleged assault by BJP MP from Porbandar Vitthal Radadiya and others of a shop-owner at Dhoraji in Rajkot district last year. Police are accused of not registering an FIR in the case. Justice Sonia Gokani ordered that the case be investigated independently by the Superintendent of Police (Rajkot rural) and the IG (Rajkot range) should supervise it. A report should be filed by 15 June, the HC said. Radadiya, then a Congress MP, had rented out a shop at Dhoraji to Sharifbhai Shakariyana, a party worker. On 12 October, 2015 Radadiya and his men allegedly beat up Rajesh Mehta, who ran the shop on Shakariyana's behalf, to get it vacated. When Mehta approached the police, they only registered a non-cognisable offence and not an FIR. Mehta then moved the local court at Dhoraji, which too ruled that the offence being non-cognisable, no FIR could be filed. He then moved the HC, seeking a CBI probe. The HC refused to order a CBI probe but ordered an independent probe by the DSP. Mehta's lawyers argued that Sharifbhai, the tenant, had occupied the shop for a long time, he had the telephone connection in his name and he was in "settled possession", so he cannot be dispossessed without due legal procedure. Radadiya is in news at present after a video showing him beating up an elderly man at a religious function at Jamkandorna in Rajkot district went viral some days ago. PTI New Delhi: Kanhaiya Kumar, Rohith Vemula and every youth who is concerned about the issues in the country and raises his voice is present era's Bhagat Singh, the martyr's nephew Jagmohan Singh said here on Tuesday. "They all are Bhagat Singhs. Kanhaiya, Rohith and every youth who is concerned about the country and raises the issue has every right to be compared to him. This is what disturbs the government and they fabricate cases against those who raise their voices," he said on sidelines of a lecture at JNU. Asked about Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's remarks comparing Kanhaiya to Bhagat Singh, which kicked off a controversy, he said, " I agree with him (Tharoor). Kanhaiya is following the ideology of Bhagat Singh and performing well intellectually and politically by raising issues concerning the society. Rohith also turned a martyr doing so". Jagmohan, who is a human rights activist and has digitized most of the essential writings of Bhagat Singh, was here to address the JNU students on the topic "Sedition law and freedom struggle: Bhagat Singh's point of view". "Sedition is the last resort for every government. When they have no answers to the questions being raised by certain people who are seen as activists in the society, the government uses the sedition law then," he said during the lecture. Former professor at Punjab Agricultural University, Jagmohan, who was also charged with sedition two decades back when he published a report on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, said, "Bhagat Singh used to say that government always has a notion that people are in habit of raising the issues and its sedition law which balances the act. I cannot agree more with him on this". "They talk of installing flagpoles everywhere but RSS headquarters doesn't have one. They want to give respect to the national flag but not to the Preamble of the constitution. They talk of subsidies to university but never talk of subsidies that have never reached the poor," he said. "BJP today wants to celebrate Bhagat Singh but is hindering them to name an airport in his name. Why is this happening primarily because all our decisions are taken somehwere in Nagpur," he added. Jagmohan, was speaking during the "Azaadi lecture series" at JNU's administration block which has been the venue of protest ever since its student union president Kanhaiya was arrested in a sedition case over an event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. PTI Pathankot: A five-member Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials on Tuesday visited the "sanitised" areas at Pathankot airbase in connection with probe into the January 2 terror attack targeting the strategic installation. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had day-long meetings with National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. Tight security arrangements have been made in and around the frontier IAF base in view of the visit and likely protests against the visiting Pakistani investigation team. Punjab Opposition parties, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have said that they will hold protests near the AFS against the visit. Authorities at Pathankot airbase said that the visiting Pakistan probe team will be taken only to specific and limited areas within the sprawling Air Force Station (AFS) complex. The JIT members will be kept away from the AFS' technical area and shown only those areas where security forces engaged the Pakistani terrorists in the first week of January. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase," an IAF officer told IANS. Punjab Police DIG (deputy inspector general) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said that the Pakistan JIT will be taken by the NIA to the site of the gunbattle. "The team will be provided access to the area of the encounter," Singh said. Informed defence sources here said the team members could also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government mortuary. NIA officers will accompany the JIT members. The JIT will not get to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of 2 January. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday in Panaji (Goa) that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the airbase, but only the isolated "crime scene", which has been completely barricaded and fenced. All the terrorists and seven security personnel were killed at the base. The January attack on the IAF base was the second one by suspected Pakistani terrorists. A group of three Pakistani terrorists had attacked Dinanagar town in adjoining Gurdaspur district on 27 July last year, leaving seven people dead. IANS New Delhi: India will ask for access to Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar, blamed for the attack at the IAF base in Pathankot, the NIA said on Tuesday as a probe team from Pakistan spent a day at the base. "We will ask for access to Masood Azhar," National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar told NDTV. He said another formal request would be sent after the five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team returned after their probe into the terror attack. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on 2 January, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers after an 80-hour gun battle. The five-member Pakistani JIT reached the air base on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of the Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena. Weeks after the attack, media reports from Pakistan said Azhar and his relatives were placed under house arrest in Islamabad, and that Jaish-e-Mohammed seminaries and offices were raided and shut down. However, highly placed diplomatic sources in India said the Pakistan government did not confirm that Azhar was arrested. "We got information that some Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives were arrested but Azhar was not among them," the sources said. They said Azhar, who is also responsible for the attack on India's parliament in 2001, was not to be found at his base and hometown of Bahawalpur in south Punjab and may have gone into hiding much earlier. Meanwhile, NIA sources told IANS that the JIT has reached Delhi and they had "second phase" discussions with them. "We can say it was a phase two discussion with the Pakistan JIT. The first phase of discussion took place on Monday. We showed them all the relevant places today (Tuesday)." "The JIT understood all the genuine causes and evidence. Their understanding was clear. We shared with them all the incident related things which cannot be disclosed," the NIA source said. IANS Ousted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday said that he was confident of proving his majority in the state assembly, after the High Court allowed a floor test despite the hill state being under President's Rule. "We shall prove our majority on the floor on 31 March," Rawat said. He was addressing a news conference after the Uttarakhand High Court ordered a floor test in the assembly on Thursday in Delhi. This gave Rawat a chance to prove his legislative majority. Rawat said the court's verdict was a slap on the face of those who tried to destabilise the state government. "The High Court's decision is a lesson for the law breakers and those who have tried to destabilise our government," the Congress leader told reporters. Rawat condemned President's Rule that "badly hurt" the "people of Uttarakhand". He asserted that his government will fight against the imposition of President's Rule and "the fight is based on principles". "Our fight for the Vidhan Sabha and to save the constitution will continue," he said. He welcomed the state High Court decision to give his government a chance to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly. "It is a war of principles with central government. It is a victory for us," Rawat told reporters. "Our fight is to protect the state assembly, democracy and the constitution. We are not fighting against any one person." "This will stop the attempts to destabilise state assemblies where opposition parties are in power," Rawat said. Hitting out on BJP, Congress leader Ambika Soni said, "They (BJP) have done nothing except fishing in troubled waters." They added, "Horsetrading allegations does not entail constitutional breakdown." The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the assembly on Thursday and gave ousted chief minister Harish Rawat a chance to prove his legislative majority in the hill state that is under President's Rule. News reports also said that all MLAs will take part in the floor test, including the nine disqualified MLAs who will be allowed to participate during the proceedings of the assembly only during the floor test. Reports further said that the result of the floor test will not be revealed immediately. CNN-IBN reported that the result will be enclosed in a sealed envelope by the Speaker and sent to the court. Uttarakhand came under President's Rule on Sunday, a day before Rawat was to prove his majority in the house on Monday. Hearing a petition by Rawat, the court also said that all nine Congress rebels who were disqualified by the speaker will be allowed to take part in the vote. It said the result of the voting should be presented to the court on Friday. The court has ordered a court registrar to oversee the vote in the assembly. Congress spokesperson and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the ruling followed two days of extensive arguments. "The High Court accepts the point that despite President's Rule there is enough scope for judicial review to allow a floor test to take place," he told the media, "This was asked by us." "Mere horse trading allegations will not justify President's Rule and stop floor test," he added. He said the court has implemented what the governor had said thrice and what the chief minister has said twice. Singhvi said the court has allowed the disqualified Congress legislators to take part in the voting but their vote would be taken into consideration separately. A stunnned BJP said it was no victory for the Congress but described the court verdict to allow floor test during President's Rule as "unprecedented" . "To order something like this during President's Rule is unprecedented," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said. The Uttarakhand political crisis began when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the BJP. On 18 March, crisis worsened when the assembly passed the budget Appropriation Bill by voice vote even as more than half the members in the house sought a division, which would have led to recorded voting. The rebel Congress lawmakers supported the BJP's demand for the division. Speaker Govind Kunjwal declined the request. Amid BJP cries that Rawat did not enjoy majority in the house of 70 members, the speaker asked the government to prove its majority on Monday. The Congress rebel lawmakers were disqualified on Saturday and the BJP-led central government imposed President's Rule a day later. With inputs from agencies A perfume baron with signature outlets and distribution centres in more than 30 countries around the world, from Russia to Singapore, is waiting in the wings in Assam, hoping to become kingmaker when the state Assembly election results are declared on 19 May. Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, president of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), a party that draws its main support from the areas inhabited by Muslim settlers, has been going around saying openly he would play kingmaker and that no party can form the next government in Assam without the AIUDFs backing. I obviously wont ask who is Badruddin anymore. The AIUDF today is the second largest party in the Assam Assembly with 18 seats (in the 126-member House), Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who is leading the Congress campaign, said. Gogoi had taunted the Maulana ahead of the 2006 State election by indicating he was not aware of who Badruddin was. Congress is maintaining a calculated silence on possible equations with the AIUDF, like a post-poll alliance, but Maulana Ajmal has no qualms about indicating his party could form the new government with the Congress. First, the Maulana surprised everyone by saying his party would be contesting 60 plus seats and urged Muslims across Assam to vote for the Congress in the rest of the seats. Then, he accused the BJP of being a communal party, leaving no one in doubt that when he says no one can form the next government in Assam without the AIUDFs support, he means the Congress. In fact, the Maulana proposed the idea of a Bihar-type grand alliance in Assam and requested Nitish Kumar to take the initiative. That did not materialise because Muslim leaders and candidates in the Congress as well as in the AIUDF were reluctant to give up constituencies they were nurturing. Besides, in the wake of the BJPs blistering attack on the AIUDF, accusing it of being a party that thrives on the Bangladeshi migrant vote-bank, the Congress too developed cold feet for a pre-poll alliance. Ajmal, who studied at the famous Darul Uloom Deoband Islamic school in Uttar Pradesh, where he earned the equivalent of a masters degree in Arabic and theology, formed the AIUDF in 2005. It bagged ten seats in its maiden poll venture in 2006 and increased its tally to 18 in 2011, more than the regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) which was in power twice. In 2009, the party contested elections to the Lok Sabha with Ajmal winning the seat of Dhubri, located close to the Bangladesh border. The AIUDF, however, surprised everyone in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when it bagged three of the States 14 seats, coming at par with the Congress. The BJP won seven seats. Maulana Badruddin Ajmal became a key player in the states politics, a development that worried the BJP, and, of course, the Congress. Maulana Ajmal actually wears four different hats a business tycoon, a political leader, a social worker who runs educational foundations and possibly Asias largest charity hospital in his central Assam hometown Hojai, and a Muslim cleric in his capacity as the Assam state president of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a leading Muslim organisation in India. One fact that escapes attention, of course, is that Maulana Ajmal is the head of Indias youngest political dynasty. He and his younger sibling Sirajuddin are Lok Sabha MPs while his (Maulana Ajmals) two sons Maulana Abdul Rehman Ajmal and Maulana Abdul Rahim Ajmalare MLAs. This time, however, the Maulana has asked his older son Abdul Rehman to stay out and is himself contesting the State Assembly polls. The reason is not far to seek and is linked to his kingmaker dream. He has himself exposed his plan when he said, I have left my role as MP behind and contesting the State elections because to run a government, the AIUDF will need someone capable. If Maulana Ajmal is to remain in state politics in the days ahead, it is almost certain he would quit the Lok Sabha and field his older son from the Dhubri parliamentary seat in the by-election that could follow. The BJP, bent on grabbing power this time, has made the AIUDF its key target of attack saying if the party were to share power, the identity of Assams indigenous people would be at stake. This clearly means that the AIUDFs opponents are aware of the partys potential to bag many seats and its ability to damage their prospects in several other seats. Muslims comprise 34 per cent of Assams population, but the AIUDF commands the loyalty of mostly the Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers in western, northern and central Assam. The AIUDF, one can say, could influence the poll results in about 40 seats. This makes it a party to reckon with. (Wasbir Hussain is a Guwahati-based political commentator and television talk show host.) Kolkata: Mounting a blistering attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday dared her to throw out from the party Trinamool Congress leaders who are seen purportedly accepting bribes in lieu of undue favours in the Narada clips. Shah also refuted allegations of match fixing between BJP and TMC in the Saradha scam, saying CBI investigation is taking time as the West Bengal government-created SIT has made a mess of the entire thing. "Mamata Banerjee had earlier pledged to fight against corruption. Mamatadi on moral grounds should throw out those party leaders seen on camera accepting bribes. If Mamatadi is so confident that her party leaders are innocent then why she is not requesting a CBI inquiry into the Narada sting operation," Shah said at a press meet in Kolkata. Rubbishing the allegation of match fixing also in the Narada case, he said, "Some people in the media are asking what is BJP doing? What will the BJP do in it? The leaders belong to TMC. Mamatadi should throw them out of the party on moral grounds. "In Lok Sabha we had a majority so we had sent the matter to the Ethics committee, but in Rajya Sabha we don't have a majority. The Congress and Communists have a majority in Rajya Sabha why are they not sending it to Ethics committee," Shah asked. When asked why is the BJP government not taking initiative to get the CDs of the Narada sting probed, Shah said, "There is a federal structure. As soon as Mamatadi asks for CBI investigation in Narada sting, we will get the CDs investigated." Told about the instance of Uttarkhand sting operation where the BJP had taken initiative to get the CDs probed, Shah said,"It was Uttarkhand Governor who had sent the CDs. Let the state government ask for CBI investigation, we will then investigate the CDs." Shah also said that the Election Commission should remove the police officials seen in Narada sting and also the police commissioner of Kolkata police. "Earlier we used to see investigative journalists, now we are seeing investigative police, where police is being sent to trap our leader Rahul Sinha. I want to tell Mamatadidi that because your party has been maligned in Narada scam, you are also trying to malign us," he said. "What is the use of taking action against two junior officials, (since) the police commissioner is directly involved in it. I would request the Election Commission to look into the matter and the police offcials seen in Narada sting and the Kolkata police commissioner should be removed for free and fair elections," Shah said. When asked why the CBI investigation into the Saradha scam slow down in the last two years, Shah said, "CBI is an independent organisation. But let me tell you that the state police has made a mess of entire thing that it is taking a bit time to put everything in place. Whether it's Saradha or Khagragarh the state police have messed up the entire thing." Shah attacked the Congress and CPI(M) for forging an alliance in Bengal and fighting against each other in Kerala. "They are fighting against each other in Kerala and in Bengal they are forging an alliance. What is the ideology of CPI(M), they talk a lot about ideology. They stand exposed after an alliance with Congress," Shah said. Shah recalled that Left Front chairman Biman Bose had met Banerjee in Nabanna (State secretariat) in 2014 after there was rise in BJP's vote share. He reiterated there has been no deal between TMC and BJP and his party will never compromise on the issue of corruption. "Those who want to help the communists are using this Modi Bhai-Didi Bhai notion to create a confusion. I as the President of BJP am saying this clearly that there can never be an adjustment between BJP and TMC, or BJP and Communists," Shah said. When asked why the BJP wave in Bengal had died down in the last two years, Shah contested it saying,"Our movement has not died down, it is a section of media house which is propagating that our movement has died down. We are fighting hard against TMC." Turning to West Bengal, Shah said the industry of bomb-making has only come up in West Bengal in last five years. "Only the bomb making industry has come up in West Bengal in last five years. And the music of Rabindra Sangeet is getting suppressed because of those bomb blasts," he said. Kolkata/Nayagram: Charging the Trinamool Congress government with bringing only "fear, hunger and corruption" to West Bengal, BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday dared Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek a CBI inquiry into the sting operation to let the truth come out. Addressing the media in Kolkata and holding public rallies in Nayagram in West Midnapore district and Raghunathpur of Purulia district, Shah also challenged Banerjee to throw out her party leaders caught in the sting operation "taking bribe". "If you feel your people are innocent, then you should immediately send in a request to the central government for a CBI inquiry into the Narada sting operation. "If Mamata di places a request, within 36 hours we will ensure 'doodh ka doodh aur pani ka pani' (the truth will come out)," Shah said in Kolkata. Rubbishing the CPM and the Congress's charges of a "match-fixing" between the BJP and the Trinamool to cover up the sting issue, Shah defended the home ministry move for a forensic test of the footage of a sting operation accusing Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat of indulging in horse-trading to save his government. "In Uttarakhand, the governor had sent a CD of the sting along with a report to the union home ministry. But here if Mamata didi makes such a request, immediately a CBI probe will be initiated," said Shah. Asked why wasn't the CBI taking suo motu cognizance, Shah replied: "Are you not aware about the federal structure, or else, let Mamata say that you don't have to care about the federal structure and send the CBI." Earlier this month, the Narada News portal uploaded on its website video footage of what it claimed was a sting operation in which several top-notch Trinamool leaders, including former central ministers, incumbent state ministers and MPs were seen allegedly accepting bribe in return for favouring a fictitious company. Shah also ridiculed the Banerjee government over its "attempt to conduct a sting operation on BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha" and demanded the removal of city police commissioner Rajeev Kumar for his "direct involvement" in the "botched sting". "I have never heard of a state government sending policemen to conduct a sting, they tried to implicate our leader Sinha," Shah said, referring to the sting where two city police personnel allegedly tried to conduct a sting. Describing the Banerjee government as a "shadow of "Left Front's 34 years of misrule", Shah said the Trinamool has taken Bengal to destruction with only the bomb-making industry flourishing. "In the name of change, Mamata has only scripted a tale of destruction. It's now for the people to ask her what she has given them in these five years. "This government which came to power with the slogan of 'maa, maati and manush' (mother, land and people) has now turned it to 'bhay bhookh and bhrashtachar' (fear, hunger and corruption)," he said. Referring to the multi-crore-rupee Saradha chit fund scam, Shah charged Banerjee with walking the path of the Communists. "If the chit funds were born under the Left, they flourished under Mamata. Seventeen lakh families in Bengal have been ruined by Saradha. Who will account for their miseries?" he asked. Calling the Communists and the Trinamool two sides of the same coin, Shah also ridiculed the Congress-Left Front tie-up for the Bengal polls. "The Communists, who talk about principles, need to clear their stand. In Kerala they are engaged in fighting but here it's 'ILU ILU' (with Congress)," said Shah, using the Bollywood-inspired initials for 'I Love You'. Addressing a party rally in Nayagram, Shah ridiculed the Trinamool over its "journey from Saradha to Narada". "From morning to afternoon, from evening to night, Trinamool leaders are busy taking bribe". "It's her duty to throw out the leaders who have taken bribe, but Mamata will not do that because she is afraid that those who have taken the money will reveal everything," he said. Claiming that the Banerjee government will never allow central government welfare schemes to reach Bengal, Shah appealed to the people to vote the BJP to power in the state. "Such is the level of corruption here that the money sent by Modi government for the warfare of Bengal doesn't even reach you. "Modi has allotted Rs.80 lakh for each village and Rs.21 crore for every city, but if the Mamata government is here, that money will never reach you. "As long as Mamata is here, no central benefits, be it the crop insurance scheme or the Mudra bank initiative, will reach you," added Shah. New Delhi: After imposing central rule in Uttarakhand, the Centre will now try to topple the governments in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday. Slamming the ouster of Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat, Kejriwal told the assembly that he had learnt from a senior Intellegence Bureau (IB) official that the next state to be targeted will be Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. This will be followed by Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power in February last year winning 67 of the 70 seats. "I am told they will disqualify 21 of our (AAP) legislators from the Delhi assembly and buy over 23 others," the chief minister said, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using money power to subdue the opposition. "Forget buying over 23 legislators. If they have the guts, let them buy even one legislator," he said to applause from AAP members in the house, while the three BJP legislators walked out. He added that "the officer informed me that a businessman, whose name we often take, has been given responsibility to buy our 23 MLAs to topple our government". Kejriwal said the BJP, like the Congress earlier, had become "arrogant" after taking power nationally in 2014. He slammed the central government's decision to "force" President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, calling them illegal. IANS Imphal: Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast unto death since November 4, 2000, demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, on Tuesday assured a court in Delhi that she shall call off the fast if the Act is repealed. Sharmila appeared before Judge H Singh at the Patiala House Court in a case of attempt to commit suicide during her fast at Jantar Mantar in October 2006, soon after being released in Imphal. She told the packed courtroom that she loves her life and was merely using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal. "It is no crime," she contended. "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she told the court. The district and sessions court in Imphal had earlier found her not guilty of the charge of attempting to commit suicide. However she was rearrested within a few days as she continued the fast. Sharmila said she was using the fast "for more impact" in her demand for repealing the AFSPA. "I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again," she said. "Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations," she said. Sharmila also reiterated her desire to have a meeting with the Prime Minister on the AFSPA issue. She said she had expressed her desire a long time back, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not met her so far. The hearing will continue on Wednesday. IANS Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that time will decide whether the visit of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to Pathankot will benefit India or not. He said, he expected Pakistan to take steps to control terrorism. "There will be a controversy (on the Pak's JIT visit) because unfortunately BJP did the same (opposed normalisation of ties with Pakistan) during its time (in opposition) and today they are bearing the brunt. "Only time will tell whether the team from Pakistan visiting Pathankot will benefit us or not, but now that they have come, we expect it will benefit us in a way that those responsible for the attack would be arrested and given harsh punishment," Omar said. The former chief minister however, said "the way Pakistani team came for probing the Pathankot attack and was allowed, Indian team should be allowed to (investigate) Mumbai and other such attacks (in Pakistan)". He was talking to reporters at National Conference (NC) headquarters after some political activists joined the party. Omar said denounced the Lahore terror blast and expressed hope that the neighbouring country would take steps to "control the situation". At least 74 people including 29 children were killed in the Taliban suicide bombing at a park during Easter celebration in Lahore on Sunday. "What happened in Lahore is regretful. Since 25-26 years, we ourselves have been fighting this kind of situation. Thousands of people have sacrificed their lives. We understand that what befalls a family when such things happen. "We are hopeful than Pakistan government will take steps to control the situation and get the whole sub-continent and not just the country itself, rid of terrorism," he said. The NC working president also batted for establishing a joint Truth and Reconciliation Commission by India and Pakistan to start a process of healing wounds of the people of Kashmir. "I have repeatedly said that the (Kashmir) problem cannot be solved by taking one step at a time. We will have to open the record of the last 2526 years here. I have demanded this before as well that if Pakistan and India can make a team by coming together, then a Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be established for Jammu and Kashmir by both the countries so that we start to apply balm on the wounds inflicted during the last 25-26 years," he said. Omar said it was a "good thing" that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has accepted that no one can be pressurised to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. "I have been saying that it is not necessary. I have said that no one can force me to say Bharat Mata Ki Jai. If I want to say it, I will say it, if I do not want to say it, then I would not. And I will never say it at someone's behest. "If someone tries to compel me to say it, then I will refuse it. I have no objection to the words, but I would not be forced to utter a slogan like Bharat Mata Ki Jai or Hindustan Zindabad or any such slogan. Now, if Mohan Bhagwat has accepted that, it is a good thing," he said. Omar also took a dig at PDP president and Chief Minister-designate Mehbooba Mufti saying her party and the alliance partner BJP were waiting for an auspicious time for the swearing-in ceremony of the new government. "Government is not being formed because they are waiting for an auspicious time. Once an auspicious time is there, Mehbooba will take oath," he said. He said his party would seek answers from Mehbooba on what was given to the state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she felt satisfied. "They made us to wait for the last two and a half months saying they will get CBMs from Delhi. Now, no one is talking about those CBMs. Only Mehbooba is saying that she is satisfied. We want to know what did the Prime Minister gave this state that she feels satisfied," Omar said. The NC leader said, "Let her take oath and call an assembly session soon, we will raise questions on these issues inside the assembly and seek answers from her, if she is not willing to talk outside the assembly". PTI Chennai: The Election Commission and State Bank of India have joined hands to deliver coloured voter identity cards to customers at their doorsteps. The new scheme would come into effect from Wednesday, an official release said, adding that interested customers could pay Rs 42 through the EC website and receive coloured voter identity cards at their residences. As per the new initiative, instead of visiting the Electronic Privacy Information Centres, customers will be able to receive the cards by registering through mobile phone or by accessing the Election Commission's website, an official release said. Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni exchanged documents with State Bank of India, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Chief General Manager, B Ramesh Babu here as part of the MoU at a function here on Tuesday. Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on 16 May. PTI On 31 March, Harish Rawat will seek a confidence vote on the floor of Uttarakhand state Assembly. Thats the order of the Uttarakhand High Court. The result of the test may have an immediate bearing on the fate of bickering political rivals the Congress and the BJP. The high court ruling comes after about 48 hours of imposition of Presidents Rule in the state. The court has made a unique arrangement. Presidents Rule will continue to be in force and at the same time, the dismissed chief minister, Harish Rawat, will seek a confidence vote in the Assembly. The outcome of the trust vote, to be conducted in presence and under the observation of registrar of Uttarakhand High Court, will not be made public and will be handed over to the court in a sealed envelope. The HC has also allowed the nine disqualified Congress rebels to cast their votes but those would be recorded separately and kept in a sealed envelope. Votes of the rest of 61 MLAs of the 70-member Assembly would be held and counted separately. This means that even if Rawat wins the floor test, he wouldnt automatically return to power on Thursday. Conversely, if he loses, the BJP and the Congress rebels dont get an offer to form an alternate government. The outcome of the confidence vote would be kept with the high court for future reference so that no horse trading takes place in the pendency of appeal challenging the imposition of Presidents Rule and the Speakers orders of disqualification of nine Congress MLAs hours after Presidents Rule was imposed in the state. But thats the legal, constitutional part of the high court order. The High Court did not deliberate upon Centre's contention that Rawat has lost the constitutional mandate to rule the state on 18 March as the numbers were stacked against him on Appropriation Bill was put to vote. The result of the floor test (which no doubt would be leaked through unofficial, informal channels or by leaders of the parties concerned) is likely to have a huge bearing on the hill states politics and may directly impact Rawat and BJP president Amit Shah. If Rawat succeeds in conjuring up the numbers, he will immediately play the martyr card and paint Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah as the villains of the pantomime who threw out a popularly elected government. The BJPs argument that the Chief Minister lost mandate to rule on 18 March after the Speaker ruled as passed a defeated Appropriation Bill will not cut much ice in public perception. Conversely, if the numbers in the floor test go against Rawat, the BJP would claim that Centres stand to impose Presidents Rule has been vindicated and it will have options to continue with the Rule or explore possibilities of formation of an alternate government. The strength of the Uttarakhand Assembly is 71 (including one nominated member). The Congress has 27, disqualified Congress rebels 9, BJP 29, Bahujan Samaj Party 2, Independent 3, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal(P) 1. Since the outcome cant officially be made public, claims and counterclaims, genuine or false, is bound to be made by either side. Uttarakhand elections are due in January 2017, which means that polls would be announced in the next eight-nine months leaving enough time for Presidents Rule to become the single largest electoral issue. All eyes would be on proceedings in the Assembly on Thursday. But for now, this ruling has left all three concerned parties more or less satisfied. The Congress is happy because high court has asked for a floor test as demanded by it. The Presidents Rule was imposed a day ahead of the deadline set by Governor KK Paul for Harish Rawat to hold the trust vote. Nine disqualified rebel Congress MLAs are satisfied because the High Court has allowed them to vote. The BJP, though not delirious, is relieved because the High Court has not commented on imposition of President Rule and has allowed Congress rebels who have joined hands with them, to vote. Late reports suggest that the Centre might challenge the High Court ruling. This is a unique, unparallel judgement and may become among the most talked-about ruling in the long run like the one on February 1998 when Allahabad High Court ordered a composite floor test after then Governor, Romesh Bhandari, dismissed Kalyan Singh government and appointed Jagdambika Pal as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. The high court had ruled that in the composite floor test of Uttar Pradesh state Assembly, the MLAs would list their choice as to who should be the CM, Kalyan Singh or Jagdambika Pal, or anyone else. Singh won hands down and Pals name was not registered in the list of UP Chief Ministers. The irony is, Jagdambika Pal is now a honoured BJP MP. Nainital: The Centre got a jolt on Tuesday as the Uttarkhand High Court ordered a floor test in the Assembly on 31 March, giving a new turn to the political developments two days after President's Rule was imposed in the state. Justice UC Dhyani also allowed nine disqualified rebel MLAs of Congress to participate in the voting but their votes will be kept separate and will be subject to final outcome of the petition challenging their disqualification. "The session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly shall be convened for 31 March at 11 am. The only agenda, which would be taken up in the assembly on that date, would be the Vote of Confidence, as directed by the Governor earlier," Justice Dhyani said in his 25-page judgement. It observed that the only change is in the date which is fixed by the court. However, the court made no pronouncement on the status of the President's Rule that was imposed on Sunday on the ground of "breakdown of Constitutional machinery" in the state. The court said it was giving a "non-invasive, non-prejudicial relief" in the writ petition filed by ousted Chief Minister Harish Rawat. "To give the floor test a semblance of neutrality, and without prejudice to the rival contentions, all the MLAs shall be entitled to take part in the floor test, with, without or despite their disqualification, which shall be subject to adjudication by the court of competent jurisdiction on an appropriate occasion," it said. The court also directed that the Assembly proceedings shall be totally peaceful and without disturbance. The Chief Secretary and DGP were instructed to ensure that all MLAs attend the assembly "free, safely and securely" without any hindrance. The judge further directed that the result of confidence vote shall be kept by the Speaker in a sealed cover and submitted/intimated to the court at the earliest and in any case by the morning of April one. The court posted the matter for further hearing at 2 PM on that day. "The votes of disqualified members shall be kept separate," the court said, observing that its order shall be treated as notice to the MLAs. The court registrar will be the Observer for the day's proceedings. The Centre challenges The Centre may challenge the verdict before the Division Bench of the High Court tomorrow. Congress also plans to approach the Division Bench relating to the part of the judgement that deals with the disqualified MLAs. The votes of the disqualified MLAs will be taken into account subject to final outcome of the case, senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters after the second day of the hearing here. Singhvi appeared for the sacked Chief Minister Harish Rawat who had challenged the imposition of President's Rule and demanded its immediate quashing. Rawat welcomed the order, saying it was a "tremendous setback" for the Centre which was trying to bring "authoritarianism". But this order would deter them from trying to destablise non-BJP governments in states, he said. Congress, which ruled the state for four years, claims the support of its own 27 MLAs plus six of PDF besides one dissident BJP MLA. Nine other Congress MLAs have turned rebels and joined hands with BJP which has 27 legislators. Arguing on behalf of the Union Government in the court, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said nullifying presidential promulgation is impermissible. He said there was enough ground for imposition of President's rule in the state in view of the failure of the constitutional machinery. In Delhi, Congress leader Ambika Soni welcomed the High Court decision for floor test but said the party was considering legal opinion on approaching the Division Bench against allowing disqualified rebel MLAs to participate in the voting. In earlier precedents, the Supreme Court had on two occasions ordered a composite floor test in Uttar Pradesh in 1998 and in Jharkhand in March 2005. Rawat, whose government was sacked on Sunday on the grounds of "breakdown of Constitutional machinery", had moved the court yesterday, calling the Centre's decision as "arbitrary" and demanded its quashing. Singhvi said the court accepted Congress position that despite the President's Rule, there is enough scope for judicial review to allow a floor test, which was sought by it. He said Governor K K Paul too had directed holding of the floor test on March 28 and Rawat had also made the same demand twice. "Now only the date has changed from 28 March to 31 March," Singhvi said. He said mere allegations of horse-trading cannot justify the imposition of President's Rule and stop a floor test. The Centre had imposed the President's Rule just a day ahead of the date (28 March) fixed for the floor test. On the question of disqualification of 9 rebel Congress MLAs, Singhvi said the court did not set it aside and a final decision on it will come later. He said both the sides would consider their future legal recourse. Singhvi said for purpose of counting, the votes of the disqualified MLAs will be kept separate for "identification" and will be subjected to final outcome of the case. "Unless their disqualification is removed, their votes will not be counted as valid votes," the Congress lawyer said. PTI The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Thursday to resolve the political crisis and determine which party has majority in the House. The court also stayed President's Rule in Uttarakhand, according to NDTV. News reports also said that all MLAs will take part in the floor test, including the nine disqualified MLAs who will be allowed to participate during the proceedings of the Assembly only during the floor test. The court also appointed its registrar to be an observer during this test. Reports further said that the result of the floor test will not be revealed immediately. CNN-IBN reported that the result will be enclosed in a sealed envelope by the Speaker and sent to the court. Directions have also been given to the Uttarakhand DGP to ensure the floor test takes place in a peaceful way. Addressing reporters after the court's order, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "The matter was argued extensively. The high court has passed an order which, according to us, accepts the point that despite President's Rule, there is enough scope for judicial review to allow the floor test. The floor test was called for on the basis of past precedents of the Supreme Court." He also said that the charges against Rawat do not justify President's Rule. "Mere horse trading allegations will not justify President's Rule. The court has implemented what the governor has said thrice and what the chief minister agreed to twice. "The court has allowed, only for the purposed of counting, voting by disqualified and non-disqualified MLAs. Votes of disqualified MLAs will kept separately for identification, subject to the outcome," he said. On the question of disqualification of nine rebel Congress MLAs, Singhvi said the court did not set it aside and a final decision on it will come later. He said both the sides would consider their future legal recourse. The Congress on Monday had legally challenged the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand as it sparred with BJP, accusing the Centre of toppling its government when the governor had given time to the chief minister to prove his majority in the Assembly. The dislodged chief minister had moved the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital, questioning the Centre's decision bringing the hill state under President's Rule. Rawat's petition had come up before the single-judge bench of Justice UC Dhyani, who after hearing both sides, had said the matter would be taken up again on Tuesday. It was filed on Rawat's behalf by senior Supreme Court counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Singhvi had contended that circumstances were not suitable for invoking Article 356 of the Constitution under which the government was sacked and the Assembly kept under suspended animation. With inputs from PTI Sonbhadra (UP): Former Uttar Pradesh Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha on Tuesday accused Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of doing nothing for backward classes and conspiring to send him to jail when he tried championing their issues. "BSP government did nothing for backward classes and when I tried taking up their issues, a conspiracy was hatched and I was sent to jail," he alleged while addressing a public meeting here. Kushwaha was the minister for family welfare in the Mayawati government and expelled from BSP after the murder of two medical officers in Lucknow exposed the National Rural Health Mission scam. "In reality, there was no issue concerning NRHM... It was a matter related to law and order which was under the purview of chief minister," he said. Once a close aide of BSP chief Mayawati, Kushwaha said the party has "deviated from its policy of 'jiski jitni sankhya bhari uski utni bhagidari' (representation of each (caste) according to its percentage of population) and has adopted 'jiski jitni thaili bhari uski utni hissedari' (representation of each according to its percentage of money power)." PTI New Delhi: The state of Uttarakhand has been placed under President's Rule, within two months of dismissal of the Arunachal Pradesh government on 26 January. Dismissing Harish Rawat's regime in Dehradun under Article 356 of the Constitution appears to be yet another addition to the catalogue of constitutional sins committed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government at the Centre. By doing so, Modi has followed the footsteps of the Congress reign at the centre. Yet, he had promised a different kind of polity. The provisions of the Article 356 giving sweeping powers to the central government is essentially aimed at restoring constitutional propriety after breakdown of governance in a state, Justice VR Krishna Iyer had once observed. But settling partisan scores seems to have become the order of the day under the present disposition. Abuse of Article 356, though, is nothing new in Indian politics. A few BJP leaders have tried to build up an argument that the Congress had no business to talk about constitutional decorum as the grand old party had several times dismissed non-Congress governments across the country and era. "Congress is forgetting how many state governments it has dismissed in the last 60 years," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Justice VR Krishna Iyer said. In 1992-93, the PV Narasimha Rao government at the Centre dismissed four BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh following the demolition of Babri Masjid on 6 December. After the Rao regime dismissed the Nagaland government led by Vamuzo in 1992, the chief minister said that the imposition of President's Rule did not surprise him. "After all, the Congress has always considered itself as imperial power and treated the states as colonies," the late Vamuzo was quoted as having said. In 2005, during Manmohan Singh's regime, Goa Chief Minister Manohor Parrikar now the Defence Minister - was dismissed by Governor SC Jamir. Incidentally in 1990, Jamir, then Nagaland Chief Minister, was himself dismissed by Governor M. M. Thomas after 12 ruling Congress legislators defected from the Congress camp. Like Rawat, Jamir had demanded trial of strength in the assembly and had managed the backing of the Speaker, late TN Ngullie. However, Governor Thomas, during the VP Singh regime at the Centre did not summon the assembly and had even declined to meet two Congress observers, Rajesh Pilot and SS Ahluwalia, saying the views of Congress MPs were not required on a political situation in Nagaland. Even a government led by hardcore socialist Chandrashekhar at the Centre was no different. In 1990, it dismissed the DMK ministry of M Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu, despite lack of any adverse report from the state governor, to seek support from Rajiv Gandhi's Congress which was wooing Karunanidhi's rival, J Jayalalitha of the AIADMK. Ironically, the Congress party is now at the receiving end of the imperial character of governance, protesting "murder of democracy". That brings to fore the debate whether Article 356 allowing the Centre to dismiss state governments should have some legal restraints. By its action, the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party have put other Congress governments in Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Karnataka on notice - that it will practice the same art that the regime before it did. Modi may do well to recall that the 2014 the mandate was also about ushering in change in way of politics. Voters may have hoped that a proponent of development would care about constitutional propriety since the BJP is fond of talking about "Cooperative Federalism" with the states. But their action in Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh, seems to have belied that hope. IANS On Tuesday morning, the world woke up to hear about an EgyptAir plane being hijacked. As more details about the news started filtering in, we learnt that it was the work of a lone hijacker, one who claimed to be armed with explosives. And although unconfirmed reports suggested the Egyptian man was seeking political asylum, EgyptAir officials said he might have acted out of "personal reasons", as he was trying to meet his estranged ex-wife. Throughout the day, Twitter was flooded with responses from users, with the #EgyptAir hashtag the top trending topic of the day. Here's a selection of the tweets on the lighter side of things: In 1631 a man had the Taj Mahal built for the woman he loved. In 2016 a man hijacked an #EgyptAir plane for the woman he loved. Rashi Kakkar (@rashi_kakkar) March 29, 2016 The suspect did this to get back with his estranged wife. Is that you, Arbaaz?#EgyptAir Sorabh Pant (@hankypanty) March 29, 2016 "He hijacked a plane for his ex and my ex can't even respond to the gunshot wound I gave her smh fml." - People on Tumblr right now. Ashish Shakya (@stupidusmaximus) March 29, 2016 Terrorists have no Marital Status. Ex Husbands should not be targeted for action of one Mad Man #EgyptAir Joy (@Joydas) March 29, 2016 Imagine getting a call early morning "Hey sorry, your ex just hijacked a plane. We'd like you to come talk to him" #FML#EgyptAir Bilha Calderon (@Clitemnistra) March 29, 2016 Then: Lovers used pigeons to deliver a letter. Now: Lover hijacks a plane to deliver a letter.#EgyptAir Sabin (@Mr_Lambakarela) March 29, 2016 I'm not a divorce lawyer but I'm not entirely sure hijacking an aircraft would be beneficial to your case #EgyptAir Sean Robertson (@SeanLXIV) March 29, 2016 I want set dosa-vadacurry. Thinking of hijacking an airplane for it. Any suggestions? #EgyptAir Akshay Ramesh (@iamnotakshayr) March 29, 2016 Hijacker of EgyptAir flight apparently wants political asylum & some letters delivered to ex-wife. He mixed professional and personal trip. Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) March 29, 2016 #EgyptAir if you are planing to hijack a plane, at least wait until they have served us food and drinks. We pay for that stuff. David Opati Aswani (@susumunyu) March 29, 2016 Love is in the air has a totally different meaning now#EgyptAir Abhinav Shukla (@JustShukla) March 29, 2016 We Live In A World Where Hijacking A Pane Is Lot Easier Than Keeping A Relationship Together. #EgyptAir Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) March 29, 2016 Apparently, the #EgyptAir 'hijacker' just wanted to speak to his ex-wife. Imagine how interesting this woman must be! lindsay pereira (@lindsaypereira) March 29, 2016 Washington: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third trip in Washington in less than two years, India's envoy to the US has said that the two countries have experienced a fascinating transformation in relations which was "simply unthinkable" three decades ago. "Our partnership did not always appear so destined. Indeed, just three decades ago, such an alignment of interests between the two countries was simply unthinkable. This makes the transformation of India-US relations in the last three decades so fascinating," Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K Singh said in his address at the 20th Wharton-India Economic Forum on 'Evolving India-US Relations' over the weekend. President Barack Obama has characterised the India-US relationship as a "defining partnership of the 21st century", while Modi has termed the partnership as a "natural alliance". "The strategic convergence and the global importance of this convergence are captured in our diplomatic moniker: a 'Global Strategic Partnership'," he said. "Since his election in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi has visited the US twice and is going to be back here next week for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC," Singh told the audience. Modi is scheduled to be in the American capital to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Obama on 31 March and 1 April. "The first-ever vision statement of our countries was issued in September 2014, during the Prime Minister's visit. "A Delhi Declaration, adopted during President Obama's visit further elevated our strategic partnership. A Joint Strategic Vision unveiled at that time reflected their common goals for the dynamic Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, building on the congruence of India's 'Act East' policy and the US 're-balance' to Asia," he said. Noting that defence is an area where the impact of a robust India-US partnership has been obvious, Singh said the two countries have started the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative to foster collaboration in transformative defence technology, co-production and co-development. India has contracted nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence items from the US in the past few years. The armed forces of India and the US now conduct more exercises with each other than they do with any other country bilaterally, he said. PTI As the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) arrived in Pathankot on Tuesday to probe the terror attack, which took place in January resulting in the death of seven military personnel, the Pakistani media said that India was reluctant to cooperate with Pakistan on the probe. According to this report by Pakistani news channel Dunya News, Indian authorities showed "signs of reluctance" when the JIT asked them for information and evidence. The report said that Indian authorities did not provide the JIT with any evidence when it asked for the recordings of the telephone calls of SP Salwinder Singh, his wife and other related persons and the IME numbers and copies of the three FIRs that had been filed after the attack. "Sketches of the attackers, footage of the closed-circuit television, duty registers of the Border Security Force (BSF), details of the bank accounts, service records, post-mortem report of the driver who died in the car accident at the time of the incident and the FIR of that cars snatching have not been given to the Pakistani investigation team," said another report in Pakistani newspaper Daily Times. The report further said that post-mortem and DNA reports of the terrorists involved and phone records and information about the commander of Pathankot airbase had not been given to the JIT. The Dunya News report further claimed that the stances of the Indian government and BSF regarding the terror attack were contradicting each other. Moreover, the report said that while Indian authorities had said that terrorists had entered the Pathankot airbase after climbing ten-feet walls, no ropes were found as evidence. These claims by the Pakistani media come just a day after it was found that Pakistan's electronic media regulatory body (PEMRA) on Sunday had released a statement for the Pakistani media, asking them to be "professional" and "responsible" when reporting on the Lahore attacks, unlike the Indian media. "Pakistan needs to follow the example of professional handling of Brussels attacks by international media rather than following the footsteps of Indian media that is driven by crass commercialisation," the statement had said. JIT did not contradict NIA evidence In fact, the Pakistani media's claim that India was not cooperating with Pakistan also comes at a time when the JIT and Indian authorities agreed on a very crucial aspect of the probe. Indian investigators on Monday had said that the visiting JIT officials did not "contradict" any of the evidence submitted by the NIA, according to IANS. This evidence also "proves" India's claims that the Pathankot attack on 2 January was planned in Pakistan and had a link to the Jaish-e-Mohammed and its chief Masood Azhar, the investigators had said. "The fact that they did not contradict or made any adverse comment or observation is a positive sign," the authorities had said. Protests against the JIT visiting Pathankot It is not just the Pakistani media though, which has had a sceptical perspective towards this probe. Opposition parties like AAP and Congress have accused the Modi government of "surrendering" to Pakistan. "We are saying that Pathankot terror attack was Pakistan-sponsored. If it was Pakistan-sponsored attack, how can ISI probe against itself?" Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said on Monday. "By allowing an official Pakistani team to visit and investigate, BJP government has, for the first time, distinguished and, therefore, recognised that the Pakistani establishment does not have any role in perpetuating terror in India, more so in the context of Pathankot terror attack," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had said. Congress workers on Tuesday were even protesting with black flags outside the Pathankot airbase, shouting "Bharat Mata ki Jai". Limited access to the JIT These protests against the JIT took place despite Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar saying on Monday that the defence ministry had "not permitted" the visiting team into the Indian Air Force base and that the crime scene, handed over to the NIA, had been isolated. The IAF base will be visually barricaded by NIA to prevent any view of critical areas. The NIA team will, however, show some of the areas to the JIT where the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists engaged in an 80-hour-long gun battle with security personnel. The five-member Pakistani JIT is headed by Chief of Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai and comprises Lahore's Deputy Director General, Intelligence Bureau, Mohammad Azim Arshad, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official Lieutenant-Colonel Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lieutenant-Colonel Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer, Shahid Tanveer. (With agency inputs) Washington: Florida police on Tuesday charged Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with simple assault in connection with an incident earlier in the month involving a reporter. Police in Jupiter, Florida issued Lewandowski a notice on Tuesday to appear before a judge on 4 May for the misdemeanour charge. A surveillance video released by the police appears to show Lewandowski grabbing a reporter for Breitbart News as she tried to ask Trump a question during a 8 March campaign event. The police report states, "Lewandowski grabbed (Michelle) Fields' left arm with his right hand causing her to turn and step back." Fields showed police her left forearm which "appeared to show a grabbing-type injury," according to the investigating officer. Trump campaign denies all charges and says that the manager is "absolutely innocent". AP Donald Trump's presidential campaign manager was arrested and charged with misdemeanour battery in Florida on Tuesday, the latest chapter in a raucous U.S. race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations. Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Corey Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8. Republican front-runner Trump repeatedly defended Lewandowski, saying he was innocent and would fight the charges while continuing as campaign manager. Lewandowski was a good man who was "very, very seriously maligned, and I think it's very unfair," he said. "I told him I think he should never settle this case. He should go all the way," Trump told reporters on his plane after he landed in Wisconsin for a campaign trip. "I just can't stand by and watch a man's life be destroyed." Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd. At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her. Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, are tumultuous at times and have been marked by occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel. His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies. Trump leads rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in opinion polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort to stop him by a Republican establishment worried he will lead the party to defeat in November. Cruz picked up the endorsement on Tuesday of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, called Cruz a principled constitutional conservative. "I'm all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner. Walker joins a number of other more establishment Republicans who have backed Cruz as an alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on illegal immigration, Muslims and women. 'ABUSIVE CULTURE' Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin that the charges against Lewandowski reflected the "abusive" culture of the Trump campaign. "When you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, attacks and now physical violence, that has no place in our campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz said. "It helps clarify for the voters what the Trump campaign is all about." Kasich said he considered such behaviour "totally and completely" inappropriate. "If it was me, if I was in this circumstance, I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing," Kasich told reporters in Wisconsin. On his plane, Trump said Fields had been pursuing him after a news conference and Lewandowski was trying to "get her off me." He questioned whether Lewandowski had given Fields the bruise on her arm. "How do you know those bruises weren't there before?" he asked reporters in Wisconsin. Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that Lewandowski would "absolutely" stay on the job. Republican strategist Katie Packer, who runs an anti-Trump Super PAC, said the incident and the charges against Lewandowski reflected the candidate's lack of respect towards women. "He doesnt have the kind of values and the kind of temperament that we should expect from someone who wants to be commander in chief," she said. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offence, it is a misdemeanour in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000. A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail. Lewandowskis lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said. Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson in Washington and Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland and Megan Cassella in Washington, and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Donald Trump is the perfect example of democracy gone wrong. The businessman-turned-presidential candidate has earned his place as the front runner in the republican race for nomination by capitalizing on earned media garnered by his politically incorrect rants. But it appears that his ambitions were not always aligned with his current stature. In a startling revelation, Stephanie Cegielski, former communications director for the 'Make America Great Again' SuperPAC, has revealed in an open letter that the republican front runner had no real intentions of running for the presidency and was himself surprised at his success. Stephanie Cegielski, former communications director for the 'Make America Great Again' SuperPAC, revealed in a column for XO Jane, that Trump had no real intentions of running for President. In the column titled An Open Letter To Trump Voters from His Top Strategist-Turned-Defector, Cegielski alleges that Trump's bid for candidacy was meant to be a 'protest' against the political establishment but quickly became a matter of 'self pride'. "The Trump camp would have been satisfied to see him polling at 12 percent and taking second place to a candidate who might hold 50 percent. His candidacy was a protest candidacy," said Cegielski in the letter. She revealed that even Trump's most trusted advisors did not expect him to reach this far and said that that "the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits and come in second in delegate count." Currently, Trump has a healthy lead in the race to secure the republican nomination. He has secured 739 delegates and leads Ted Cruz (465 delegates), ahead of the Wisconsin and New York voting, and looks the most likely to secure the 1237 delegates needed for nomination. "My support for Trump began probably like yours did. Similar to so many other Americans, I was tired of the rhetoric in Washington. In 2015, I fell in love with the idea of the protest candidate who was not bought by corporations. I was sold," Cegielski said. But the former strategist quickly realised the grave consequences of his vitriolic and provocative comments, and was outraged on Trump's views on how to handle terrorism. Finally, a tweet by Trump following the recent bombing in Pakistan, that said that 'only he can solve' the problems of radical Islam, forced Cegielski to take action. Another radical Islamic attack, this time in Pakistan, targeting Christian women & children. At least 67 dead,400 injured. I alone can solve Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2016 Cegielski, who is currently an adjunct professor at NYU, urged Trump supporters to do the right thing and "stop the campaign in its tracks". She said that "what were once bold although controversial statements now seemed to be attempts to please the crowds, not direction to lead this country to a better place", and then went on to question Trump's ability to be a President. "It pains me to say, but he is the presidential equivalent of Sanjaya on American Idol. President Trump would be President Sanjaya in terms of legitimacy and authority. And I am now taking full responsibility for helping create this monster," Cegielski said. Sanjaya is a popular contestant and a finalist on the sixth season of the hit music show American Idol. He gained popularity after he controversially advanced in the show with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, The Trump campaign were quick to respond and issued the following public statement: U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery in Florida on Tuesday, the latest chapter in a raucous White House race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations. Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8. "Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," Trump's campaign said in a statement. "He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd. At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her. Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, have been marked by rowdiness and occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel. His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies. The real estate mogul leads remaining rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort by the Republican establishment to stop him out of fear he will lead the party to defeat in November. Cruz picked up an endorsement on Tuesday from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, said he backed Cruz because he was a principled constitutional conservative. "To me, I'm all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner. Walker joins a number of other more mainstream Republicans who have backed Cruz as the best alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on immigration, Muslims and women. 'ABUSIVE CULTURE' Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin that the charges reflected the "abusive" culture of the Trump campaign. "When you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, attacks and now physical violence, that has no place in our campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz said. Kasich's senior adviser, John Weaver, said on Twitter that "campaigns reflect the character of the candidate and if this person was on our campaign he would have been fired long ago." Trump defended Lewandowski after he was charged. "Look at tapes - nothing there!" Trump said on Twitter, calling Lewandowski "a very decent man." Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that Lewandowski would "absolutely" stay on the job. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offense, it is a misdemeanor in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000. A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in to police, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail. Lewandowskis lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said. Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations. (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland, Megan Cassella in Washington, Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The U.S. Capitol complex was set to return to normal Tuesday, a day after police say officers shot and wounded a man who pulled a weapon at a security checkpoint as he entered the underground Capitol Visitor Center. Capitol Police identified the man as 66-year-old Larry R. Dawson of Tennessee. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed. Dawson was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery. Late Monday, police said he was in stable but critical condition. Dawson disrupted a House session last October by yelling he was a "Prophet of God." He was issued a "stay away order" by the District of Columbia Superior Court that same month that required him to avoid the Capitol grounds, court documents show. Monday's incident, in which a bystander was slightly wounded, occurred at the tourists' entry point to a building that had heightened security even before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and has had periodic scares ever since. With last week's suicide attacks in Brussels, Belgium, that killed 35 people fresh on people's minds, Capitol Police Chief Matthew R. Verderosa held a brief news conference at which he preliminarily ruled out terrorism. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa, who became chief this month after about three decades on the force, told reporters. The chief said he did not know how many officers had fired at the suspect. He also said no officers were injured, after initial erroneous reports that one had been hurt. Verderosa said a weapon he did not describe had been recovered at the scene and the suspect's vehicle had been found on the Capitol grounds and would be seized. He also said a female bystander suffered minor injuries. Later Monday, spokeswoman Susan Griffiths of George Washington University Hospital said that hospital was about to release a patient it had treated for minor injuries and whom it did not identify. Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, said that after Dawson's October arrest, he did not appear in court as scheduled the following month. Miller said a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Dawson wrote the court a letter in which he claimed to be exempt from laws because he is a prophet of God. "No longer will I let myself be governed by flesh and blood, but only by the Divine Love of God," he wrote, adding four exclamation points. Other court paperwork said Dawson said he was previously in the Army and was honorably discharged in 1971. An attorney listed as representing him in the case from October, John Copacino, did not immediately return a telephone message and an e-mail requesting comment Monday afternoon. Records show Dawson was previously licensed in Tennessee to work as a funeral director. After his license expired in 2004, the state's Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers voted three times to deny requests from Dawson to reinstate his license, citing the "applicant's lack of good moral character." Kevin Walters, a spokesman for the state funeral board, said the denial resulted from an incident that occurred while Dawson was working as a school bus driver in a Nashville suburb. Dawson had written a letter to a young girl saying that God had told him to have sex with her, Walters said. In 1998, before the Visitor Center was built, two Capitol police officers were fatally shot by a gunman who stormed a security checkpoint inside the Capitol itself. That shooter, Russell Eugene Weston Jr., was wounded and is custody at a federal mental facility. Monday's incident, which Verderosa said began at 2:39 p.m. EDT, unfolded with Congress on recess and the capital swarming with springtime tourists, and with nearly all lawmakers away on recess. Hours earlier, Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland held two separate meetings with senators in a Senate office building across the street from the visitor center. The Capitol was on lockdown for about an hour Monday and the White House also was briefly locked down. Police officers, some with drawn automatic weapons, sealed off streets around the Capitol, emergency vehicles were lined up outside and staff members and visitors were rushed into offices and told to shelter in place. Cathryn Leff, of Temecula, California, in town for discussions with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Center when police told people to leave immediately. Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told people assembled there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left." After a while, police told her and others to keep running. "I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all," she said. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., issued a statement thanking Capitol Police, as did other congressional leaders. "This evening our thoughts and prayers are with all those who faced danger today," Ryan said. PTI Washington: Safeguarding loose nuclear materials around the globe is a top priority for the United States and it is prepared to provide assistance to Belgium in protecting nuclear facilities, the White House has said ahead of this week's Nuclear Security Summit here which would be attended by world leaders including from India, China and Japan. "I would anticipate that issues related to nuclear materials and safeguarding them is high on the agenda (of the Nuclear Security Summit). This is obviously something that is a top priority," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday. The summit is more focused on those nuclear materials that are not under the same kind of careful watchful eye that they are in Belgium, he said when asked about reports that the terrorists behind the Brussels attack were also conducting surveillance of nuclear sites in the country. "We understand that the Belgian government has decided to employ on-site military quick-response teams at nuclear plants and research centres while it determines what other actions may be necessary. Obviously, ensuring the safety of those kinds of facilities can and should be a top priority," he said. "As with other elements of the steps that Belgium has taken to protect our country, we are prepared to offer assistance if necessary in safeguarding Belgium's nuclear facilities," Earnest said. He said that President Barack Obama made this a priority because this was an issue that he worked on prior to entering the White House. "The President spent a decent amount of time working across the aisle with Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana on efforts around the globe to safeguard nuclear materials," he said. "This has been a priority for the President since before he took office. That is why we created a venue like the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) to give additional attention to this issue and to make clear to the Americans and governments around the world that this is a top priority of the US," he said. "The next President will come in with a mandate to make their own decisions about what elements of our national security need to be prioritised and what is the best way to do that," Earnest said. PTI New York, NY RobertDouglas announced today that it advised affiliates of the Waterford Group in the sale of the Courtyard Providence Warwick in Warwick, Rhode Island. Originally developed by the seller and opened in 2003, the 92-room, institutional-quality hotel was acquired by one of the largest private real estate companies in the United States and an active investor in hotels. Waterford Hotel Group, an affiliate of the Waterford Group, will continue to manage the property for the new owner. "There is strong demand for high-quality, premium-branded select-service properties," commented Douglas Hercher, a Managing Director with RobertDouglas, "and this opportunity was met by the market with a high degree of enthusiasm." Mark Wolman, a principal with Waterford Group, observed that "our partners and I are pleased to have been able to complete the sale of Courtyard Providence Warwick. Additionally, Waterford Hotel Group is excited to begin a new relationship with the buyer, which we hope will be the catalyst for a number of future deals together." "A broad range of investors expressed interest in the hotel" said Evan Hurd, a Senior Director with RobertDouglas. "The buyer was thoughtful in their approach to this transaction, helping to meet ownership's goals. Additionally, their decision to retain Waterford Hotel Group is testament to the strength of the incumbent manager's operating platform." RobertDouglas is a real estate investment banking firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco that specializes in the sale, financing and equity capitalization of hotel, resort and gaming properties throughout North America. Founded by two of the hotel industry's preeminent finance professionals, Rob Stiles and Doug Hercher, RobertDouglas offers exceptional domestic and international institutional investor and lender relationships. RobertDouglas combines the capital markets sophistication of top-tier investment banks with detailed hotel underwriting and asset management experience, providing the firm with unique capabilities in an underserved market. For more information, contact [email protected]douglas.com or go to www.robert-douglas.com. Douglas Hercher Managing Director & Principal +1 (212) 993-7424 View source Auto-classifieds business Carsales.com has tagged Latin America as a region for expansion, buying a controlling stake in Chile's largest online automotive advertisements website for $US15 million ($20 million). The Melbourne-based online car classifieds business has acquired an 83 per cent stake in Chilean business Chileautos the company's owners will retain a 17 per cent stake but Carsales will have the option of buying that stake at any time in the next four years. Carsales chief executive Greg Roebuck is still waiting for Elon Musk to FedEx him a toy model Tesla. Credit:Scott Barbour Carsales director of international Paul Barlow said a deal with Chileautos had been on the table for some time. "With Chile, they first came across our radar a number of years ago and we've had some dialogue with them for quite some time," Mr Barlow said. Hours before university student Jamie Gao was shot dead inside a storage shed, he sent his accused killer a text, thanking him for a drink. "Hey thanks for the drink today, much appreciated, maybe we can meet up again in our free time and hang out again," Mr Gao said in text message to former policeman Glen McNamara. Mr Gao then received a phone call from Mr McNamara from a Cronulla Mall payphone in southern Sydney at 11.37am on May 20, 2014. What the pair spoke about is unknown but Mr Gao sent another text shortly after the call. It's something you know instinctively - if you're a local. Any day of the week in Sydney you can find flocks of tourists tapping away on their smartphones and cameras to capture images of our beautiful city. But the locals know how to take images off the beaten track that can really capture the soul of our city. Eric Fischer, a data artist from Oakland California, has taken geotagging information from Flickr to map where tourists and locals take photos not only in Sydney but in some of the most visited cities in the world. The rejection Monday by Bangladeshs High Court of a 28-year-old petition in which some secular activists sought to scrap Islam as the state religion of the country has sparked mixed reactions in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation. A three-judge panel threw out the petition as soon as the case opened, saying that, having never been registered with the authorities, the secular group has no right to file any such petition to the court. Leaders of the minority communities expressed disappointment after the court refused to hear the petition. It is sad that the court binned the petition without allowing the petitioners to present their arguments. This ruling will give a boost to the countrys Islamist forces and it is a sad day for all religious minorities in Bangladesh, Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, told VOA. However, Islamist groups, which recently staged demonstrations and threatened a nationwide protest if Islam was dropped as the countrys state religion, say that they are happy with Mondays ruling. Leaders of the Islamist group Hefajat-e-Islam (Hel) said that the latest ruling will help curb the spread of anti-Islam ideologies in the country. Most Muslims in Bangladesh want Islam to remain the countrys state religion. If the High Court decided to scrap Islam as the state religion, Muslims across the whole country would have erupted in rage, Maulana Anwar Hossain Rabbani, an HeI leader from Chittagong, said to VOA. Islam Made State Religion After Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971, it was declared a secular country. In 1988, military dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad declared Islam the state religion in attempt to seek mass support during a campaign by major political parties to oust him from power. Soon afterwards, a group of 15 secular activists filed a petition arguing that recognition of Islam as the state religion conflicts with Bangladeshs secular charter and discriminates against religious minorities. Although Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina re-introduced secularism as the political standard in the country in 2011, she let Islam remain the state religion. Last Friday, thousands of HeI activists took to the streets in Dhaka protesting against the High Courts move to hear the petition. Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), the largest Islamist party of the country, called for a day-long strike on Monday demanding rejection of the petition. After Mondays ruling came through, HeI and JeI leaders said the court was aware of the Muslim sentiment and so it chose to reject the petition. Ninety percent of the population of the country is Muslim. We knew that the government would not take the risk to scrap Islam as the state religion. We have been proved right, Noor Hossain Qashmi, a Dhaka-based HeI leader, said to VOA. He added that Mondays ruling in no way poses any threat to non-Muslims in Bangladesh. Islam preaches Muslims to treat their non-Muslim neighbors well. The religious minorities in Bangladesh have not faced any discrimination in Bangladesh in the past decades while Islam has remained the state religion. They have nothing new to fear about now, Qashmi said. Ruling to Boost Islamists Although Bangladeshs state religion has been Islam, the constitution guarantees the practice of other religions in peace and harmony. However, in recent times, Bangladesh has seen a series of attacks against religious minorities, atheist bloggers and foreigners. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for most of those attacks. However, the government says domestic Islamist groups backed by the opposition parties are responsible for the attacks. Mondays ruling disappointed many religious minority leaders who believe it could encourage more Islamist attacks against minorities in the country. In their letters, the Islamists said to our church leaders that Bangladesh would be ruled by Sharia law. As they threatened to kill our leaders, in some cases they also said that only Muslims would live in Bangladesh, William Proloy Samadder, organizing secretary of the Bangladesh Christian Association, said to VOA. Mondays ruling has surely come as a shot in the arm for many of those Islamists. It is indeed frightening for all religious minorities. A report finds thousands of children in Yemen are dying from direct and indirect causes of the brutal year-long war. The U.N. Childrens Fund says the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation is devastating their lives. Yemen has been at war with itself for years; but, the entry of Saudi Arabia into the ongoing civil war one year ago has raised the level of fighting to a scale never before seen. The U.N. Children's Fund describes the airstrikes by the government-supported, Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels as indiscriminate and disproportionate. Speaking from the capital, Sanaa, UNICEFs representative in Yemen, Julien Harneis, says the escalating war is taking a particularly heavy toll on children. Airstrikes Harneis says more than 900 children have been killed and around 1,300 wounded in the past year alone. He says airstrikes account for 61 percent of the deaths and injuries. He tells VOA a far greater concern is the deaths of nearly 10,000 children under 5 from preventable diseases due to the collapse of the countrys health system. When you consider the 2,290 for children under 18, whereas the 10,000 is for children under five, then the death toll that is due to disease that would completely be avoidable," he said. "Those children would never have died had it not been for this war. That is our far greatest concern. Hunger, malnutrition Harneis says the decline in health services means children are not being immunized against killer diseases or being treated for diarrhea, pneumonia and other illnesses. He says nearly 10 million children, or 80 percent of all of Yemens children, are in need of urgent humanitarian aid. This includes 320,000 children at risk of severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF reports a massive increase in the recruitment and use of child soldiers as the fighting continues to intensify. The agency has verified 848 cases of children, some as young as 10, being drafted by all the warring parties. It says 380,000 children are unable to get an education because 1,600 schools are damaged or destroyed or lack security. UNICEF warns Yemen risks becoming a failed state if the war is not brought to an end. It says the consequences for children and their families would be far-reaching and terrible were this to happen. Seven suspected Somali pirates are set to go on trial Tuesday in France in connection with the 2011 hijacking of a French yacht in the Gulf of Aden. The defendants are accused of killing the lone male aboard the catamaran and kidnapping his wife, who survived the ordeal and was rescued. The suspects, 25- to 32-years-old, face possible life prison terms if convicted by the Paris court. Investigators say the couple aboard the yacht, Christian and Evelyne Colombo, had departed the Yemen port of Aden in early September 2011, setting sail for Oman on a leg of a round-the-world voyage. A short while later, a German frigate patrolling the pirate-infested waters detected a distress signal and found the bullet-riddled yacht empty with blood on its decks. Several days later, the Spanish military raided another vessel in the area, freeing Evelyne Colombo, killing two suspected kidnappers and taking the others into custody. Officials say Colombo told her rescuers that the pirates had killed her husband and thrown his body into the sea. It was never found. The seven surviving suspects have remained in French custody since the rescue. Their trial is expected to last two weeks. Since 2012, there has been a dramatic drop in pirate attacks in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden -- narrow waterways bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen. Analysts attribute the reduction to international naval patrols, and to the use of heavily armed private security operators hired by international shipping companies to repel attackers before they can board their huge vessels. The government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says it has never used children in armed conflicts. But, Information Minister Ahmed Bilal says some of the rebels fighting against the government have been using child solders. This came after Sudan and the United Nations Sunday signed the Action Plan to protect children from violations in armed conflict. Bilal said the only mistake Sudan made was not signing the action plan earlier. He said his government has evidence that some of the rebels have used child soldiers. "Maybe eight or seven years ago, we arrested about 83 of the children. We didnt bring them to court because they were under age, and they are still using the children," Bilal said. In the past, the United Nations has accused both rebels and the government of recruiting child soldiers. Several years ago, one rebel group - Justice and Equality Movement - signed an agreement allowing U.N. visits to JEM bases to verify the group did not have child soldiers. A release put out Sunday from the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict said Sudans signing of the Action Plan means that all seven countries whose national security forces are listed by the secretary-general for recruitment and use of children have committed to the objective Children, not Soldiers - a global campaign to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children by governments in conflicts. Meanwhile, Monday is the deadline given by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel for opposition groups in Sudan, including the Justice and Equality Movement and the National Umma party to sign a roadmap calling for an end to the wars in Blue Nile, Darfur, and South Kordofan. The opposition groups have not signed because they said the roadmap legitimizes the ongoing dialogue, which they say is entirely controlled by the government. Information Minister Bilal said although Khartoum had reservations, still it signed the framework because it is committed to peace. Ukraine's prospects of forming a new coalition vital to get IMF loan talks back on track were thrown into fresh doubt on Tuesday after Yulia Tymoshenko pressed demands as the price of taking her Fatherland Party into an alliance. Her remarks dampened expectations of an imminent deal to end months of political infighting that have delayed Western-backed reform efforts and left Ukrainians increasingly disillusioned with the pace of change after the Maidan protests that brought the pro-Western leaders to power. The scale of the challenge for any new administration was laid bare on Tuesday by the sacking of a reformist senior prosecutor, who at a news conference accused vested interests of throttling his efforts to tackle corruption in the prosecution service. Tymoshenko's requests include scrapping a tax on pension payments and rolling back energy price hikes. The latter is a key reform implemented under Ukraine's bailout program from the International Monetary Fund. The lack of a stable coalition capable of pushing reforms through parliament has derailed talks for a new $1.7 billion loan from the IMF. The Fund has warned that political paralysis is putting the entire $17.5 billion aid program at risk. Tymoshenko's comments suggested a coalition was far from agreed despite an announcement by Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk's party of a new alliance with Fatherland and the faction belonging to President Petro Poroshenko. Tymoshenko "is demanding a stack of political laws be voted on before joining the coalition. Everyone has to go back to the drawing-board," a source in Poroshenko's faction said. Fatherland is the smallest party in parliament, but the support of its 19 lawmakers is enough to give the coalition a majority when added to the 216 MPs from Poroshenko's and Yatseniuk's factions. Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Groysman, a 38-year-old former mayor and ally of Poroshenko, has been put forward as a replacement prime minister, but Yatseniuk has refused to step down until a new coalition agreement is signed. Anton Gerashchenko, a lawmaker in Yatseniuk's faction, said the three-party coalition had not been formalized. The head of Yatseniuk's party, Maksym Burbak, said they did not expect any final coalition agreement before next week. Failure to form a coalition could trigger snap parliamentary elections, which critics say would delay reforms further and boost support for populist parties who oppose the IMF-backed austerity measures. Meanwhile the prosecutor's office was similarly immersed in high-level squabbling. Parliament approved the forced resignation of General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin an ally of Poroshenko but before the vote his office announced that he had dismissed top reformist prosecutor, Davit Sakvarelidze, for "grossly violating" the ethics of his post. Sakvarelidze, who has been in a long-running feud with Shokin, said the dismissal of him and his colleagues amounted to "a cleansing of people who are prepared every day to fight corruption and the old guard without compromise." The U.S. Justice Department has found a way to access the data on an iPhone 5C running Apple's iOS9 software using a method they did not publicly describe from an outside source they have not publicly identified. The development ended the legal fight between the government and Apple in the case involving the phone used by the shooter in last year's attacks in San Bernardino, California. But far from over is the overall battle involving what the government gets to see about its citizens, and how. California Congressman Darrell Issa, who has been a leading advocate of strong encryption, said it was preferable to have the case end without a wide-ranging court decision granting government access to devices, but that the underlying questions about personal information remain. "There most certainly will be other cases and, as we debate these issues as a nation, we must remain critical of government attempts to take advantage of sensitive situations to amass greater government power and control which are almost always at the expense of our personal freedom and privacy," Issa said. Apple's lawyers had said they hoped the government would share any method that successfully got them into the phone used by gunman Syed Farook, but after a federal judge agreed to withdraw her order against Apple in the case Monday, that is unlikely to happen. A more likely outcome is that the government will take what it has learned and try to apply the method to crack other devices in cases where Apple has objected to helping break its own encryption. There are at least 15 cases in federal courts New York, Illinois, California, Massachusetts and Ohio, according to a list Apple filed in a letter in the San Bernardino case. The Justice Department's response to the document did not request any redactions from the list, suggesting it is accurate. Most of the devices are iPhones, ranging from the iPhone 3 to the newest iPhone 6 Plus, and run on iOS4 to iOS9. Half of the cases involve devices running iOS7 or earlier, which is important because Apple boosted its security with the release of iOS8. One key addition, according to the company's court filing, was "a feature that prevents anyone without the device's passcode from accessing the device's encrypted data." That was an issue in the San Bernardino case. Investigators did not know Farook's password, and an additional security feature would have erased the data with 10 incorrect guesses. Because the government found a way into the more secure iOS9, it could very well now have a way to get into the earlier versions of the software as well. Apple and other technology companies have put a greater emphasis on data security in the past few years just as the Justice Department has argued that increased encryption is hampering efforts to investigate crimes. It is an arms race of sorts. Apple puts out a new version of its operating system about once a year, including the release of iOS9 last September. By October, Apple said 90 percent of its devices were still running the previous version, but adoption has rapidly spread to the point that 80 percent of Apple users are now on iOS9. That means that if Apple figures out how the government broke into the San Bernardino iPhone and how to block it, the government would quickly find itself once again blocked in future cases. The battle was clear in statements by both the company and the government on Monday. "It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails," said Department of Justice spokeswoman Melanie Newman. Apple said it will continue to assist law enforcement as well as continue to upgrade its security measures against more sophisticated attacks. "Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at risk," a statement from the company read. Alex Abdo, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, said Monday the San Bernardino case was "never about just one phone," but instead an unprecedented move by the government that threatens the privacy and security of everyone. "Unfortunately, this news appears to be just a delay of an inevitable fight over whether the FBI can force Apple to undermine the security of its own products." House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said settling one case does not resolve the debate over national security versus personal information security, and that now is the time to determine how the country will address digital security. He has proposed, along with Senator Mark Warner, a commission to "examine the challenges of security in the digital age so that we are not inevitably playing catch-up after each new lawsuit." Read the Justice Department's filing in the case and the court's response. Scam artists, drug cartels and gangs from around the world have found a new haven for laundering money: China. The countrys well-developed underground financial networks have caught the attention of foreign criminals who are using China to clean their dirty money and pump it back into the global financial system largely beyond the reach of Western law enforcement, an Associated Press investigation has found. As China globalized, sending people and money abroad, so too did its criminal economy. Gangs from Israel and Spain, cannabis dealers from North Africa and cartels from Mexico and Colombia have laundered billions in China and Hong Kong, slipping their ill-gotten gains into the great tides of legitimate trade and finance that wash through the region, according to police officials, European and U.S. court records and intelligence documents reviewed by the AP. Gilbert Chikli, a convicted French-Israeli con man, understands Chinas allure. He is widely credited with devising a scam so successful that it has inspired a generation of copycats. Called the fake CEO, fake president or business email compromise scam, the fraud has cost thousands of companies, many of them American, USD1.8 billion in just over two years, according to the FBI. China has become a universal passageway for all these scams, said Chikli. Because China today is a world power, because it doesnt care about neighboring countries, and because, overall, China is flipping off other countries in a big way. Chinas central bank and police refused repeated requests for comment. In a regular briefing with reporters yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said is not, has not been, nor will be in the future a center of global money laundering. Chikli made millions by impersonating top executives and intelligence agents and convincing employees at some of the worlds largest companies to transfer money to his bank accounts, according to French legal documents. He told the AP he laundered 90 percent of that stolen money through China and Hong Kong. Its immense, he said in an interview at his sleek, three-story home in Ashdod, a port town on the Mediterranean. A French court convicted Chikli last year of defrauding five companies of 6.1 million euros La Banque Postale, LCL bank, HSBC, Accenture and Thomson, a French technology company. He was also convicted of attempting to extract over 70 million euros from at least 33 others, including Barclays, American Express and the company that runs Disneyland Paris. He was sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison and fined 1 million euros. Today he remains a wanted man, but lives openly in Israel, where authorities refused to comment on his case. Israel and France share no bilateral extradition treaty, but Israel has surrendered French citizens in some cases. Chikli told the AP his preferred method for laundering money was import-export schemes. He would bounce stolen funds to front companies in Hong Kong, then have the cash withdrawn and used to buy merchandise in China. Hed purchase, say, 20 tons of steel, but bribe the vendor to give him a receipt for 100 tons. Then hed sell the goods and send the money to Israel, where the false invoices made the entire sum look like legitimate trading profit. Give me the documents and everything is fine, he said. Such trade-based money laundering is a growing concern to U.S. authorities. Three Colombians based in Guangzhou, China, led a global money-laundering network that moved over $5 billion for Spanish and Mexican drug cartels, according to a U.S. Justice Department indictment unsealed in September. The network allegedly spanned the United States, Colombia, Spain, Ecuador and Venezuela. Like Chikli, they processed illegal profits through bank accounts in Hong Kong and China and cleaned the money by buying merchandise, often counterfeit, which they shipped and sold in Colombia and elsewhere, according to the indictment. Chikli insists he no longer runs fake CEO scams, but a new generation of fraudsters is copying his technique. Like Chikli, they direct stolen funds to China and Hong Kong. The FBI traced fake CEO scam transfers to more than 70 different countries. At the very top of that list is Hong Kong and China, Jay Bienkowski, a supervisory special agent with the FBI in Washington, said in an interview with the AP prior to his retirement. Police believe some of the networks now running fake CEO scams are collaborating with Chinese migrants in Europe to launder money, using a version of the ancient Chinese value transfer system called fei qian, or flying money. In June, French police busted a similar operation in a Chinese wholesale district just north of Paris, where merchants are accused of laundering money for North African drug dealers. Non-Chinese criminal groups committing CEO frauds are sending money to China because Chinese criminal groups in Europe are giving them cash, said Igor Angelini, head of financial intelligence at Europol, the European Union law enforcement agency. The scale of this phenomenon is quite substantial. Chinese authorities generally have done little to help Western companies targeted in fake CEO scams, according to European intelligence documents reviewed by the AP. The U.S. State Department, in a report this month, reproached China for lackluster performance on money-laundering investigations. U.S. law enforcement agencies note China has not cooperated sufficiently, the report said. Europol also has no cooperation agreement with China. Once funds land there, they vanish. For us its a blind spot, said Angelini. What happens after that is a black hole. Erika Kinetz, Tia Goldenberg, Daniel Estrin, Raphael Satter, AP For generations, the indigenous Bunong were famous as the elephant keepers and masters of the forests in eastern Cambodia. They called the fertile, rolling hills of their ancestral homeland meh ne, or mother. From its rich red soil, they harvested rice, pumpkins and bananas. From the forests, they gathered honey, resin and medicinal plants. Under the leafy canopies, they buried their dead and worshipped spirits. That changed in 2008, when without warning, bulldozers made way for rubber plantations the government granted to a European-Cambodian joint venture in poor, rural Mondulkiri province. Such economic land concessions were meant to promote development, but for 800 Bunong families, the long-term leases have brought mostly hardship and loss. The Cambodian human rights group LICADHO estimates more than 200 state-linked land deals have harmed 500,000 people, and the U.N. has called land-rights-related conflicts Cambodias top human-rights problem. Josie Cohen, land campaigner at Global Witness, which investigates economic networks behind environmental destruction, said land leases are altering the very fabric of rural societies in Cambodia and nearby Laos and Myanmar. The Bunong of Bousra commune now must earn money to buy rice they once grew, and outsiders hold most of the plantation jobs. Despite promised development, many roads are still dirt. Kop Let, wife of a village chief, says her family has struggled since the plantation swallowed most of their 12 hectares (30 acres). She grows cassava on their remaining land, sells homemade rice wine and has taken out a USD3,000 loan. I have now become a poor woman, she says. Our identity as a people is disappearing little by little. The Bunong say they never were warned their land would be taken and were not offered compensation before the land started to be cleared two steps required under Cambodian law. Many say they felt forced to accept what they considered to be inadequate compensation. Socfin, the Luxembourg-based agro-industrial company whose unit owns most of all three Bousra plantations, said it was invited by the government and that villagers were informed and compensated beforehand, but declined to provide evidence. Its joint venture with Cambodian developer Khaou Chuly Development Co., or KCD, operates two of the plantations. We brought wealth to a place where there was nothing, Socfin CEO Luc Boedt told The Associated Press in an interview in Brussels. A 2009 legal analysis obtained by the AP and written by Maia Diokno, a human-rights lawyer hired by Socfin-KCD as a consultant, said the plantation work began without warning, and produced the unfortunate result of dispossessing indigenous persons of their land. They didnt comply with Cambodian law, Diokno told the AP. Even so, Sok Sam Ouen, a human-rights lawyer in Phnom Penh, noted that Cambodian authorities approved the lease-holders actions. Cambodias environment minister, Say Sam Al, said the overall aim of the concessions program was to improve peoples livelihoods throughout the country, but acknowledged problems in carrying it out. We are changing that now, he said. The government put a moratorium on new leases in 2012 and has reviewed each one. It revoked 40, but many disputes remain. Today, Bousras hills are covered in rows of rubber trees, many nearly ready to be tapped. Most villagers are trying to negotiate with Socfin and key shareholder Bollore Group to seek better roads, services and jobs. Theyve joined forces with communities in four African countries Cameroon, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone that also have complaints about Socfin operations. A smaller group of 83 villagers trying to get their land returned has filed suit against Bollore, which holds 39 percent of Socfin. Bollore declined to comment on the dispute. Cambodia began granting land concessions in the late 1990s. No published official data measures their economic impact, but University of Copenhagen researchers estimate incomes of families living near concessions were 15 to 19 percent lower than they would have been had the leases never been granted. The Bunong lost rice fields and grazing land, and were cut off from forest resources that once earned some families more than $2,000 a year, said Esther Leemann, a Swiss social anthropologist who has worked in Mondulkiri. There has been an impoverishment of the majority of the families, Leemann said. Concessions require the approval of Cambodias Council of Ministers, which operates with little oversight. The government has not revealed the leases full extent; LICADHO said it has identified 272 covering 21,000 square kilometers (8,100 square miles), over a tenth of the country. Violence and evictions have accompanied concessions. In 2012, security forces fatally shot a 15-year-old girl during a clash with residents. One case still before the courts stems from the 2006 eviction of some 4,000 villagers by armed military police to make way for a sugar concession. It has failed as a tool of development. Its a scheme for quick bucks, said Ou Virak, an economist in Phnom Penh. Last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen declared the review process complete and pledged to return nearly 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) to poor families. But human-rights groups doubt the figures and that land would actually be returned. Socfin says it invested $80 million to create the plantations, pay workers and construct roads, a school and employee housing. The company says families cultivating rubber could earn more than $10,000 a year. I invite you to spend only one night in Bousra village, and you will know how poor it is, Boedt said. And this gives the occasion for the people to get out of that misery. Yet villager Yin Rouey considers the day the bulldozers rumbled in to be the most devastating moment of his life worse than losing half his family to U.S. bombs in the Vietnam War. In war, people die, but thats not as bad as losing our land, he said. For us, if theres no land, it will kill us. MDT/AP The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) announced on Sunday that a tutor accused of inflicting corporal punishment on a student stopped working at the tutorial center. Earlier this month, parents reported to the media that their son, who is in the first grade of primary school, came home after tuition one day with a bruised face and black eye. The DSEJ immediately launched an administrative investigation, and further legal procedures are now underway. The parents also reported the incident to the police, and the case is now under judiciary action. In response to another case of corporal punishment at a different tuition center that was published online on March 25, the DSEJ has urged all parents aware of the case to contact them. According to Law No. 38/98/M, the DSEJ has the authority to license and to inspect tuition centers. For the 2015/2016 academic year, the DSEJ made 359 inspections and issued 122 verbal warnings, in addition to delivering 23 warning letters. Fourteen investigations were conducted at 14 tuition centers, out of which 9 were found under suspicion of running unlicensed educational activities. Four companies had accepted more students than the number specified in their license. The DSEJ has issued penalties to six centers. Authorities in southwestern China had apparently thought their Cultural Revolution-style public sentencing of eight workers who took to the streets demanding back wages would stand as a warning to others at a time of a slowing economy and rising worker unrest. Instead, the parading of the three women and five men through streets with their heads bowed and a guard on each arm has drawn fire and sympathy with the defendants, and calls for the deadbeat bosses to be publicly humiliated. The incident in the Sichuan province city of Langzhong underscores concerns over the systems inability to protect worker rights against politically connected employers and a government obsessed with social stability and terrified of rippling unrest even at the expense of justice. Where is the dignity of the law? Where is the moral conscience on the earth? said Sima Nan, an outspoken scholar and social critic better known for his unapologetic defense of Chinas Marxist political system. The trial punished workers seeking their rights but pardoned those who maliciously failed to pay up without even a word of moral condemnation, Sima wrote on his public microblog. Wage arrears are a major problem for Chinese laborers, especially migrants working on casual terms in the construction industry. Wages are supposed to be paid before workers travel home the month before the Lunar New Year holiday, but many contractors still fail to do so. Despite Beijings routine demands that workers be paid in full and on time, the problem persists, largely because local officials either dont care or are in cahoots with employers. Their first response after defusing the initial confrontation is almost always to suppress, rather than get to the root of the conflict, often employing vague laws against obstructing traffic or disturbing public order. Its not an insolvable issue, but when government officials are not elected, its not in their interest to find a solution, said Wang Jiangsong, a Beijing-based scholar of labor issues. In some cases, workers have turned to extreme measures to draw attention to the plight, including blocking roads and railways, staging sit-ins atop billboards and bridges and even attacking authorities or fellow citizens. In one particularly gruesome case, construction worker Ma Yongping set fire to two plastic barrels of gasoline on a bus in northwestern China in January, killing 17 people. According to local media, a futile two-year effort to collect unpaid wages had destroyed Mas marriage. An earlier attempt to draw attention to his situation by scaling a telecommunications tower and dousing himself with gasoline resulted in a 10-day jail sentence on a charge of acting maliciously. The workers in Langzhong had congregated in front of the office of the debtor, a real estate developer, and later blocked the entrance to a local tourist attraction in August in hopes of putting enough pressure on the government to goad it into helping them. When police came to clear the scene, the two sides clashed and arrests were made, according to official narratives. Photos of the March 16 sentencing rally in Langzhong showed villagers were summoned to the spectacle to be warned not to repeat the same crime. They were lined in a public square behind placards identifying their individual villages, facing the defendants on the stage, each flanked by police guards, while rifle-toting sentries stood nearby. No defense lawyers were in sight. All eight were declared guilty and sentenced to six to eight months in prison. The judge said they were remorseful and that the case served as a lesson that rights-defending acts should be rational. We hope the masses can take a lesson from this and must use rational and legal means in defending rights, the judge was quoted as saying. Any extreme acts will be punished by law. Initially posted to the website of the Langzhong City Peoples Court, the pictures were then removed after the public uproar, although news of the trial had also been broadcast on state television. Repeated calls to the court were unanswered. China, which has recast itself as a nation ruled by laws, has in recent years strongly discouraged such public rallies as unwelcome reminders of the lawless mob violence of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution when the legal system was largely supplanted by fanatical loyalty to revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. Yet the authorities seem to have no unified plan with how to deal with worker protests over unpaid wages or mass layoffs, which, along with pollution and official corruption, are the major sources of public discontent. That problem will only get more acute with growing unemployment in the traditional manufacturing sector, an economy growing at its slowest pace in 25 years and 1.8 million upcoming layoffs in the coal and steel sectors a tip of the iceberg of the cost of reforming the bloated state sector. Thousands of mining workers in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang took to the streets earlier this month after the governor claimed none of them were owed back pay. The governor later admitted he was wrong. Public condemnation came fast and fierce after major Internet portals picked up news of the Langzhong verdict show, with many calling it humiliating and unlawful. However, there is no report that any local officials have been disciplined. The court has gone after the most vulnerable group of people and with a clear intention to deter other workers from collecting their wages, said Wang, the labor scholar. He said that failing to pay wages is one of the worst deeds. When the government chooses to side with the worst behavior, it is not only illegal but also immoral and, inevitably, it angers everyone. Didi Tang, Beijing, AP The contracts for both the Light Festival and the Parade for Celebration of the Year of the Monkey were outsourced to Creation Advertising Co., Ltd. with no notice published in the government Official Gazette. When asked about the process, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) replied that there are no regulations requiring it to give notice for outsourced contracts, Cheng Pou reported. According to the initial report, the government last year outsourced 19 services to the same company, but only the aforementioned two were outsourced through public tenders. The remaining 17 contracts were assigned to the companies by direct consultation between the two parties. The 19 services were worth MOP50.4 million in total. The Business and Vehicles Registry information states that one of the three shareholders of Creation Advertising is Tony Lam, the president of Macau Fair and Trade Association. He received a Merit Award in 2007, when Edmund Ho was the Chief Executive of Macau. Since 2001, Lam has been a member of the Committee for the Development of Conventions and Exhibitions. He was also a member of the Chief Executive Election Committee in 2014. Fernando Chui Sai-on was elected to the post in 2009 and was re-elected as chief executive in 2014. The Macao Association of Concrete Inspection, Maintenance and Waterproofing announced its inception last week, holding an inaugural ceremony yesterday to welcome its leaders. The association aims to develop durable concrete repair techniques and the best practices for building waterproof concrete. Association president Lawrence Wong acknowledged that the local government had addressed the issues of building maintenance and repair in 2005. However, he said no relevant solutions were proposed. We hope that non-governmental associations take the initiative to promote legislation in this sector, said Wong, adding that the association can assist the city before the legislative work commences. Current regulations require local buildings to be inspected once every five years. According to Joe Eddie Wu, president of the association, condominium communities are both insufficient and inept, given the number of buildings in existence. Homeowners will only arrange a meeting to solve certain problems after accidents occur, stated Wu, adding that there are between 5,000 to 6,000 existing buildings, but only 200 condominium associations. The association says the lack of civil engineers exacerbates these problems, and expects to improve specialized inspection routines by training local civil engineers. Following Hong Kongs example, this will give the engineers experience in practical work. The local government launched a series of programs offering funds and subsidies to homeowners for building management, inspection, and maintenance functions. However, due to the lack of mandatory legislation, these programs have thus far yielded only partial results. The association hopes that this will lead to Macaus adoption of a legal framework similar to that of Hong Kong and Taiwan, so as to prevent future accidents from happening. According to the Statistics and Census Services (DSEC), there are currently more than 4,200 buildings over 30 years old. The number is expected to increase. Staff reporter The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose to 70 yesterday, underscoring the ability of the militants to stage large-scale attacks despite a months-long military offensive targeting their hideouts. Meanwhile, in the capital of Islamabad, extremists protested for a second day outside Pakistans Parliament and other key buildings in the city center. The demonstrators set cars on fire, demanding that the authorities impose Islamic law or Sharia. The army, which was deployed Sunday to contain the rioters, remained out on the streets around the Parliament and key buildings yesterday. The Lahore bombing, which was claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction that has publicly supported the Islamic State group, took place in a park that was crowded with families, with many women and children among the victims. At least 300 people were wounded in the bombing. Also yesterday, Pakistan started observing a three-day mourning period that was declared after the Lahore attack. Even though a breakaway Taliban group, known as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, said it specifically targeted Pakistans Christian community, most of those killed in Lahore were Muslims, who were also gathered in the park for the Sunday weekend holiday. The park is a popular spot in the heart of Lahore. Of the dead, 14 have been identified as Christians, according to Lahore Police Superintendent Mohammed Iqbal. Another 12 bodies have not yet been identified, he said. The attack underscored both the precarious position of Pakistans minorities and the fact that the militants are still capable of staging wide-scale assaults despite a months-long military offensive targeting their hideouts and safe havens in remote tribal areas. Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the breakaway Taliban faction, told The Associated Press late Sunday that along with deliberately targeting Christians celebrating Easter, the attack also meant to protest Pakistans military operation in the tribal regions. The same militant group also took responsibility for the twin bombings of a Christian Church in Lahore last year. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Lahore bombing, saying that in targeting a park filled with children, the attack revealed the face of terror, which knows no limits and values. France expressed its solidarity in these difficult moments to the authorities and the people of Pakistan and underlined the inflexible will of our country to continue to battle terrorism everywhere. In Islamabad, extremists had marched into the city on Sunday in protest of the hanging of policeman Mumtaz Qadri in February. Qadri was convicted for the 2011 murder of governor Salman Taseer, who was defending a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges. Taseer had also criticized Pakistans harsh blasphemy laws and campaigned against them. As the protesters reached an avenue leading to the Parliament, the march turned violent, with Qadris supporters smashing windows and damaging bus stations. Police fired tear gas but could not subdue the crowds, which remained in the capital. Yesterday they rallied anew, demanding that the Christian woman also be hanged and that authorities impose Islamic law or Sharia. The woman, Aasia Bibi, is still in jail facing blasphemy charges. The army deployed Pakistan paramilitary Rangers as well as about 800 additional soldiers from neighboring Rawalpindi to Islamabad, to protect the center, which houses main government buildings and diplomatic missions. In recent weeks, Pakistans Islamist parties have been threatening widespread demonstration to protest what they say is Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs pro-Western stance. They have also denounced provincial draft legislation in Punjab outlawing violence against women. Sharif had also this month recognized holidays celebrated by the countrys minority religions, the Hindu festival of Holi and the Christian holiday of Easter. In Lahore, dozens of families were bidding final farewell to their slain kin yesterday. Shama Pervez, widowed mother of 11-year-old Sahil Pervez who died in the blast, was inconsolable during funeral prayers. Her son, a fifth grader at a local Catholic school, had pleaded with her to go to the park rather than stay home on Sunday, and she said she finally gave in. Forensic experts sifted through the debris in the park yesterday. The suicide bomb had been a crude devise loaded with ball bearings, designed to rip through the bodies of its victims to cause maximum damage, said counter-terrorism official Rana Tufail. He identified the suicide bomber as Mohammed Yusuf, saying he was known as a militant recruiter. Analyst and prominent author of books on militants in Pakistan, Zahid Hussain, said Sundays violence was a coordinated show of strength by the countrys religious extremists, angered over what they see as efforts to undermine their influence. Hussain said the government has been sending mixed signals to Islamic extremists on the one hand allowing banned radical groups to operate unhindered under new names and radical leaders to openly give inciting speeches, while on the other hanging convicts like Qadri and promising to tackle honor killings and attacks against women. It is one step forward and two steps backward, he adds. The political leadership has to assert itself and say no to extremism once and for all. MDT/AP Sixty-eight passengers flew to Palau on Saturday after a two-day delay due to equipment failure, leaving hundreds of mainland Chinese visitors stranded at the airport. A Mega Maldives Airlines flight was supposed to fly more than 240 passengers to Palau from Macau International Airport last Thursday. The remaining passengers were forced to either accept compensation of USD700, or stay at a local hotel arranged by the airline. According to a TDM report, some passengers were not aware of the updated departure time. They first said that the departure time was 2 p.m., and then changed it to 5 p.m. But then no more check-ins were allowed after 3 p.m. Does it really make sense? complained a passenger. Was there a broadcast at all? [] We left our contact number at the counter and they said they would give us a call immediately when there was an update. But I have received no phone call so far, said another. The airline issued a statement on Saturday, stating that the delay had been significantly increased due to limited landing slots at the Palau airport, which is small and currently under construction. Mega added that it found a replacement airline to operate the scheduled flight but that due to the Easter holiday, the new airline was unable to obtain regulatory approval to operate. Some 170 passengers, who eventually passed up the flight, left Macau on Saturday and Sunday. A spokesperson from the Macau International Airport told the Times that Palau-bound flights were still experiencing delays on Sunday and yesterday, due to the late arrival of aircraft from the destination. According to a press release from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), most of the affected passengers were from mainland China, while around a dozen were local residents. MGTO described the case as a supplier-consumer dispute, as most of the affected passengers had purchased their flight tickets outside Macau. The incident, they said, should therefore be handled by the Consumer Council. The delay of Mega Maldives Airlines chartered flight drew the Consumer Councils attention for its effect on customers, according to a statement. The council has been in close contact with the Macao Government Tourism Office and Civil Aviation Authority. The council has promised to continually assist consumers through measures such as referring cases to the relevant consumer organizations for mainland clients. One inquiry has been received to date. Staff reporter mega troubles Mega Maldives Airlines has previously been involved in multiple incidents caused by delays and mechanical failures, according to a report by Macau Concealers. Last year, one Mega aircraft was forced to remain grounded at the Macau airport after its landing gear suddenly malfunctioned. The flight remain grounded for two months until Boeing Shanghai sent staff to repair the landing gear. Mega Maldives Airlines is a low-cost carrier from the Maldives. It currently rents four Boeing aircrafts, each over 20 years old, and now only provides charter flights from Macau to Palau. In November 2013, Mega LV199 a flight from Shanghai to the Maldives forced 45 passengers, who were waiting to board, to take other flights. The airline explained at the time that due to bad weather conditions, the aircraft needed more fuel. In May 2012, another flight from the Maldives to Beijing failed to take off three times in a row, again compelling passengers to take other flights. A staff worker from the Macau airport told Macau Concealers that the company has a very poor reputation in the industry, due to its problematic aircraft and substandard customer service. Polands president is traveling to Washington for a security summit but has no meeting scheduled with President Barack Obama. Observers in Poland say controversial government policies may be the reason. President Andrzej Dudas schedule, released yesterday, includes no meetings with Obama or any key U.S. politicians. Observers note the trip is taking place just three months before Obama is expected in Warsaw for a NATO summit that Polands politicians consider key to the nations security. Poland is concerned over neighboring Russias aggressive policies toward another neighbor, Ukraine. The U.S. is shutting the door, major daily, Rzeczpospolita said Barack Obamas rejection of Andrzej Dudas request for a meeting is the biggest failure of Polish diplomacy under the new conservative ruling party that gained power in November elections, commentator Jedrzej Bielecki wrote in Rzeczpospolita. Before he attends the Nuclear Security Summit tomorrow and Friday, Duda is to meet with U.S. media to defend Polish government policies which have sparked street protests and drawn censure from European Union leaders and institutions, as well as from some U.S. senators and media. They say that Polands democracy and rule of law are threatened. Vowing good change, the Law and Justice party is implementing sweeping social and political changes, including wider surveillance powers for the police and new legislation that has paralyzed the countrys top court, the Constitutional Tribunal, starting a political conflict. A staunch U.S. ally that has contributed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, Poland is counting on Washingtons understanding, especially ahead of the NATO summit, where Poland wants to obtain greater security guarantees. AP Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, has advised that the Macau travel alert system will be launched within this year, the media reported. Ms. Senna Fernandes added in her comments to the public broadcaster, TDM, that the Bureau could only issue travel alerts as a warning or reminder for the moment since there is no specific legislation for the alerts to have legal effect. The system, originally announced last year, will be launched within this year, she said, adding that no clause regarding compensation has been added to the draft of the relevant law. We are talking with the insurance industry. They need time to design new products or revise existing compensation clauses in accordance with the new travel alert system to be launched, said the MGTO Director. Were also in contact with the Monetary Authority to determine the best timing to launch the system. It will certainly be within this year, she concluded. In the first phase, the system will include all the frequent travel destinations of local residents as well as all the Portuguese-speaking countries, 74 countries in total. Also to be in place within this summer will be the so-called terror threat level system, revealed Wong Fai, Vice president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau (TICM), to TDM. Speaking to the public TV broadcaster, Wong said that the tourism industry had been talking with MGTO regarding the progress of the establishing the territorys terror threat level system, which is making progress. A terror threat level is a reference for the tourism industry and tourists, the Vice president of TICM added. RM CHINA A Chinese dissident writer says police in his hometown are holding three of his siblings in retaliation for an article he wrote condemning the detention of a fellow writer linked to the investigation of an anonymous letter online calling for the Chinese presidents resignation. CHINA has ordered its armed forces to end all paid outside work within the next three years as part of a push to make the worlds largest standing military more professional. SOUTH KOREA Activists have sent tens of thousands of leaflets across the border attached to helium balloons for the second time in three days, denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Some of the balloons carry dollar notes and even chocolate snacks. JAPANs government says it will stick to its policy of not possessing nuclear weapons after U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump said he would be open to the idea of Japan and South Korea having their own atomic arsenals. PAKISTAN The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rises to 70, underscoring the ability of the militants to stage large-scale attacks despite a months-long military offensive targeting their hideouts. Bangladeshs top court rejects a 28-year-old petition to remove Islam as the official religion of the Muslim-majority South Asian nation. AFGHANISTAN Taliban fighters have fired explosives at Afghanistans parliament compound in Kabul as the countrys top intelligence official and caretaker minister of interior were due to speak. Three rockets were fired at the building but did not hit their target and no one was wounded. SYRIA The Syrian army, backed by Russian warplanes, is reported to be continuing its offensive against the Islamic State after recapturing the ancient city of Palmyra on the weekend. CUBA Fidel Castro has broken his silence over U.S. President Obamas visit this month in a damning letter published in the state-run newspaper Granma. He said that Cuba didnt need any gifts from the empire and that Obamas words of reconciliation could give Cubans a heart attack. MEXICO Authorities say that they have arrested the top money launderer for Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo, who is currently awaiting extradition to the United States. Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in the Czech Republic for a visit designed to boost economic and political ties. His arrival in the central European country reflects the more pragmatic and business-orientated approach taken by the Czech government of late, in contrast to that under former President, Vaclav Havel, when the country was a champion of human rights. The visit was warmly welcomed by the current Czech President, Milos Zeman, who has signified an increased willingness to entertain China and Chinese business interests since he was elected in 2013. However not everyone was equally warm in their welcome for the leader of the worlds second largest economy. Protestors gathered in the former communist nation with critics comparing it to the welcomes extended to leaders of the Soviet Union in the 20th century. Dozens of Chinese flags near the airport and near Pragues Castle were spoiled with black paint slapped across them ahead of the visit. Protestors further plan to hang a giant photo of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, alongside one of Vaclav Havel. Rights groups in the Czech Republic have repeatedly accused China of suppressing Tibetan culture, while China maintains that the semi-autonomous regions economy has prospered under CCP rule. Xinhua, in its coverage, made no mention of the defaced Chinese flags, saying only that officials and experts from both countries believe that China-Czech relations have been ushered into the best time in history. Meanwhile Hong Kong newscasts broadcasted on Guangdong television had their coverage of the story cut short and replaced by adverts, according to a witness. Previous visits to European capitals by Xi Jinping have drawn similar condemnation from the masses in contrast to their governments who have eagerly embraced them. Large protests gathered in opposition to Xis visit to London last year, which saw a convergence of Free Tibet activists, members of Chinas Uighur minority, Hong Kong protest leaders and Falun Gong practitioners. Similar protests took place in France in 2014 in Paris and Lyon where demonstrators denounced Beijings stance on Tibet, Taiwan and its human rights record. Xis three-day visit to the Czech Republic this week will see the Chinese President meet with leaders of the central European country, sign business deals and according to the Associated Press, potentially sign an agreement on a strategic partnership. Prague will be the only visit in Europe for Xi, who is on his way to the United States for a nuclear security summit. Daniel Beitler Watching Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in a verbal and Twitter war over their wives looks has been a grotesque indulgence. Its a reality version of Hot or Not, Future First Lady edition. The bitter dustup pitted one wife who did near-porn against another wife who fought a bout of depression, years ago in both cases. You know the issues Americans care deeply about. Meanwhile, radio and media star Glenn Beck declared this past week that its impossible to be both a true Christian and a Trump supporter. Of course, those are fightin words coming from a Mormon questioning the Christian credentials of self-professed evangelicals. Aint no Mormon going to tell them whos Christian. And thats just a tiny teaser of the rift between the two insurgent camps. Then theres the Kasich-supporting wing, which seems to be in some remote irrelevant corner pretending to matter, pushing a possible scenario to stifle the insurgency. Everybody has a knife, and everybody is stabbin backs. Can this tangled mess of a marriage be saved? Keep in mind, this is not Bubba and Darlene fighting over who gets to keep the doublewide. No, this marriage has more than two players, and its far more complicated than some love triangle. Its more like a Warren Jeffs-Caitlyn Jenner love dodecahedron. These are not rifts healed with an apology, a dozen roses and a candlelight dinner. The betrayal is deeper than we realized, and the anger has morphed into white-hot rage. We all pretty much hate each other. Yet, everyones emotions have at least some merit. Who isnt tired of Washingtons establishment corruption except those who directly benefit from it? At the same time, is Donald Trump really the kind of man who should be running our country? Answer that question only after youve read his last 25 tweets, with your eyes wide open, and considered his numerous episodes, any one of which would have destroyed any other politicians career. Can Ted Cruz unify enough people in the conservative movement to be effective? Before we answer the question of whether or not it can be saved, perhaps we ask a different question first: Should should it be saved? Im honestly torn somewhere between marriage therapist and divorce lawyer. Nearly everyone under the conservative banner has been betrayed. All feel betrayed by the Establishment. Conservatives feel betrayed by those who have abandoned conservatism for insurgent anger. Now the insurgent angry feel betrayed by everyone whos not supporting their frontrunner candidate should he fall short of a majority of delegates. If we believe this complicated marriage somehow both can and should be saved, were posed with the final relevant question: Will it be saved? Theres a feeling that once we get through the messy process of the primary and convention, healing will happen and a consensus of unity will benefit the eventual nominee. Yet so many potential scenarios some more likely than others are lurking and could derail an inter-party reconciliation. If Donald gets a plurality of delegates, but not the nomination, will he run an independent candidacy? If he does get the nomination, is his candidacy so distasteful that a prominent figure, like Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney, wages a campaign? If a non-candidate is chosen through a brokered process, will Republican voters rebel at the ballot box, handing Hillary Clinton the presidency? There is no consensus scenario that I can see. It feels more like the closing scenes of Lord of the Flies and that well see Piggys head on a stick any day now. On the other hand, if our differences really are irreconcilable, and this marriage cannot be saved, a realignment of American politics may be a historic fresh start for the conservative movement. The head of Egypts Central Auditing Authority (CAA) Hesham Geneina was sacked after a report by the independent body alleged mass corruption in Egyptian state institutions. His sacking was announced in a presidential decree aired on TV Monday evening, but his lawyer said Geneina is yet to receive a formal notification. The controversial report covered the period between 2012 and 2015 and estimated that more than $76billion has been unaccounted for. President Mohamed Morsi served as Egypts president from 2012 to 2013 and was ousted in a military backed coup detat led by Sisi who was later elected as president. Sisi has made of fighting corruption a key part of his governments agenda but did not welcome the report of the CAA entitled Analysis of the cost of corruption in some sectors in Egypt. A presidential commission was formed to investigate the report and it concluded that it was misleading. The State Security Prosecution also stated that the findings of the report were inaccurate. In December, Geneina told Youm7 newspaper that it was difficult to estimate the cost of corruption in the Egyptian institutions but it is at least $76 billion. His remarks irked senior government officials and pro-government media with certain accusing him of being a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer because he was appointed to the post during their tenure. The presidential decree did not however state the reasons for his immediate dismissal. In another development, the appeal of the 31 judges against their early retirement was rejected by the judicial disciplinary council. The judges known as the Judges for Egypt had rejected the military coup detat and declared their support to Morsis legitimacy. The State questioned their impartiality to justify early retirement measure imposed to them. The Saudi-led military coalition and the Houthi Movement swapped prisoners on Monday ahead of the scheduled ceasefire on April 10 and the peace talks to commence eight days later in Kuwait. It is the second prisoner exchange of the month and a statement from the coalition hoped that the relative calm in the country in the build-up to the talks would allow aid to reach all Yemeni territories. Mondays exchange led to the release of 9 Saudi soldiers and 109 Yemeni prisoners. The ranks of the soldiers freed by the rebels were not revealed. The coalitions statement published by Saudi Press Agency stated that the 109 prisoners were captured in areas of operations near the border of Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the US continues to pursue al-Qaeda militants in Yemen and drone strikes are reported to have killed at least 10 suspected militants of the extremist group in the southern part of the country. Coalition airstrikes have also reportedly targeted militant groups in the suburbs of the liberated town of Aden. Ghana ace actor, John Dumelo has been appointed Tourism Ambassador for the west-African nation by the Ministry of Tourism. John Dumelo who is also an entrepreneur and a philanthropist made this known via his Instagram page when he posted a picture with the caption: Happy to be appointed tourism ambassador by the Minister of tourism. Im happy to promote Tourism in Ghana and also sell Ghana to the rest of the world. The multiple award winner said his new job as tourism ambassador is purely voluntary and that he has been picked up in view of his love for tourism. I have been a tourism advocate for over five years. Speaking to local media, the actor noted that he will still continue visiting tourist sites in Ghana and share his experience on social media to allow people know of the wonderful places Ghana has. The philanthropist has starred in a number of movies and has been travelling across the globe for business purposes. While some argued that it was politically motivated because of his affiliation to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) others opined he deserved it as he has been travelling across the globe and can sell the country better. Two suspects in the recent Ivory Coast terrorist attack have been arrested in neighboring Mali. The two suspects were caught Friday and Saturday in Timbuktu, northern Mali, following indications they actively participated in the March 13 attack on the beach resort city of Grand-Bassam, according to security sources. Police identified one of the suspects, Ibrahim Ould Mohamed, as the driver who brought the attackers to Ivory Coast. Police sources said he is believed to be a close confidant of the mastermind behind the Grand-Bassam attacks, Kounta Dalla, who is still on the run. According to the security sources, Ould Mohamed was arrested by Malian forces that were trying to lay hands on a number of suspects accused of involvement in the attack on 13 March in Ivory Coast. He was intercepted while trying to leave the city of Timbuktu. Preliminary interrogation of the suspect revealed that he was staying at the place of an inhabitant of Timbuktu and posing as a driver in search of work. Ivory Coast authorities last week arrested 15 people in connection with the attack claimed by AQIM, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. AQIM, Al Qaedas North African affiliate, had posted the photos of the three suicide attackers who, it said, carried out the rampage that killed 19 people. The deadly assault on Grand Bassam was the third in five months in West Africa on a former French colony. Malis capital Bamako was first in November, with a siege on the Radisson Blu Hotel, favored by foreigners. Then the January siege in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, on the Splendid Hotel and Cappuccino cafe. Most of the dead in both attacks were identified as foreigners. (HealthDay)Prehypertension and hypertension in children and adolescents are associated with cardiovascular target organ damage and set the trajectory for early adulthood high blood pressure (BP), according to an editorial published online March 28 in Hypertension. Bonita Falkner, M.D., from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and Samuel S. Gidding, M.D., from Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., discuss whether the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) blood pressure treatment target of less than 120/80 mm Hg is relevant for children. The researchers note that a BP level of 120/80 mm Hg in adolescence may be associated with early cardiovascular target organ damage. Furthermore, trajectory data indicate that childhood BP levels correlate with BP status in young adulthood, with the hypertensive trajectory in adults having the highest BP levels in childhood and adults with normal and high-normal BP at age 38 years having systolic BP below 120 mm Hg throughout childhood. Primordial prevention, or interventions to prevent development of prehypertension/hypertension in childhood, should focus on conserving normal BP, which for adolescents is less than 120/80 mm Hg. For children younger than 12 years, below 110/70 mm Hg is likely optimal. "If the SPRINT target of 120/80 mm Hg could be achieved in all those at 18 years of age and maintained for decades, the only SPRINT inclusion criteria that would still be relevant might be age >75 years," the authors write. Explore further Authors urge caution before adopting new systolic BP goals Copyright 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Quinn, an autistic boy, and the line of toys he made before falling asleep. Repeatedly stacking or lining up objects is a behavior commonly associated with autism. Credit: Wikipedia. Scientists may learn a lot about autism from studying a group of people who don't have the disorder. Joanne Ruthsatz, assistant professor of psychology at The Ohio State University at Mansfield, is one of the first researchers to have uncovered the link between prodigy and autism. In a new book, Ruthsatz and a co-author explain how what she has learned about child prodigies may help us not only understand autism, but could point the way to new treatments. "Our evidence suggests that prodigies are people who should have autism, but don't. They share many of the same characteristics of people with autism, but not the deficits," she said. "We believe that, for prodigies, there is a resilience gene or genes that are holding back the deficits associated with autism and allowing the talent to shine through." Ruthsatz discusses her research in the book The Prodigy's Cousin: The Family Link between Autism and Extraordinary Talent, written with her daughter, journalist Kimberly Stephens. The book highlights Ruthsatz's 18 years of research on prodigies, which led to her discovery of a family link to autism. The first prodigy she studied, in 1998, had a cousin with autism. She has now studied more than 30 prodigies - the largest research sample of these rare individuals every created. She has found that more than half of them have a close relative with autism. Some of them have several relatives affected by autism. "We've learned this isn't a coincidence. These prodigies and their relatives with autism have a genetic link in common," she said. In a study published last year, Ruthsatz and her colleagues discovered a mutation on chromosome 1 that prodigies share with their relatives with autism, but not with their other relatives. "It's a fascinating link, but it is just the beginning of the genetic research," she said. "I am very excited about what the DNA studies are going to tell us." Ruthsatz is working with a research team from McGill University in Canada to uncover DNA evidence of a resilience gene or genes in prodigies. Trying to learn about a disease by studying people who don't have it is not a new thing in science, Ruthsatz said. In the book, the authors discuss how HIV researchers learned a lot by studying people who should have had HIV, but didn't. These scientists found a genetic mutation that doesn't allow for receptor sites to form on immune cells that are killed by the virus. For the lucky people with this mutation, HIV literally washes right through their body. "The people with this mutation are the prodigies of the HIV world; researchers studied them so they could help their 'cousins' who contracted HIV," she said. With their genetic link, it is not surprising that prodigies and people with autism have much in common. Prodigies have autistic characteristics, such as extraordinary attention to detail and a tendency toward obsession. These similarities may point to new ways to think about autism, and ways to help some of the children who have it, she said. One promising avenue involves what is called "training the talent." When parents of prodigies realize that their child has an extraordinary talent in art or math or astronomy, they understandably try to nurture that talent, even if it seems to border on obsession. Children with autism also often have obsessions with particular subjects or talents. But because of their troubles communicating and showing emotions, parents often don't let them follow these obsessions. Ruthsatz has uncovered a few instances, however, where parents have let their children with autism pursue their passions. "Instead of focusing entirely on trying to teach the children to speak or to make eye contact, the parents let their child do the thing they love to do, whatever that is," she said. "In some cases, the children get excited about their particular talent, they get good at it, and they want to communicate about it. The speech and communication and social skills come along with their growing ability." This is treating children with autism as if they were prodigies by focusing on their strengths and ignoring the deficits, she said. In some cases, those deficits become less pronounced as they follow their talents. Ruthsatz cautioned that this approach doesn't work with all children with autism and has not been scientifically tested yet. It is unlikely that any one treatment will help all children with autism because the condition seems to be a set of related but distinct disorders. "Trying to find a treatment that works for everyone based solely on similarity of symptoms is like trying to treat all people who have trouble breathing by giving them a Heimlich: It will help those who are choking, but it's probably not the best answer for a person having an allergic reaction," Ruthsatz and Stephens write in the book. While the search for treatments continues, Ruthsatz said there is still much more to learn from prodigies. "We're really just at the beginning of this research. I'm excited about what we will be discovering in the future." Explore further Autism and prodigy share a common genetic link Credit: http://wikitravel.org/ (Medical Xpress)A small team of researchers from the U.S. and Bangladesh has found that transmission of diseases not typically associated with climate can have different dynamics in a very large city. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe their study, what they found and why they believe that infectious diseases should be studied differently in large cities, particularly those in developing countries and in the tropics. Rotavirus infections are responsible for a host of stomach flu outbreaks across the globe and kill hundreds of thousands of children and infants each yearinfections rob victims of nutrients and liquids due to diarrhea, leaving them unable to recover. Unlike cholera and other diarrheal diseases, rotavirus is not considered to be impacted by climate because it is transmitted from person-to-person, rather than from an external source to people, such as from unsanitary water. In this new effort, the researchers conducted a study to show that climate is able to have an indirect impact on rotavirus infection rates in megacities such as Dhaka, Bangladesh. Suspecting that large dense population areas, such as those found at the core of a megacity, might feel the impact of transmissible diseases more strongly than people in more rural areas, such as those at the periphery of megacities, the researchers obtained and analyzed twenty two years of climate and disease statistical data for Dhaka and surrounding areas. In so doing, they found that the rate of rotavirus infections was approximately three times higher in the city core than in the periphery, and also that the core had two "seasons" compared to just one for the periphery. Situated very near the Tropic of Cancer, Dhaka is very sensitive to the monsoon season, when heavy rains fall for many days, causing flooding. In rural areas, and those on the periphery of Dhaka, infection rates for rotavirus and other diseases such as cholera rise. But in the core, the researchers found, rates rise both during the monsoon season and in the middle of the winter. The researchers cannot say for sure why there is a second season for rotavirus in the core but suggest it is likely heavily tied to the extremely dense population that exists there. It also indicates, they point out, that it can be tied to climate and suggests other non-climate tied diseases likely also have infection seasons in megacities, which suggests efforts to reduce the impacts of such infections should be modified to account for differences in megacities. Explore further Researchers develop computer model that can predict cholera outbreaks 11 months in advance More information: Pamela P. Martinez et al. Differential and enhanced response to climate forcing in diarrheal disease due to rotavirus across a megacity of the developing world, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2016). Pamela P. Martinez et al. Differential and enhanced response to climate forcing in diarrheal disease due to rotavirus across a megacity of the developing world,(2016). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1518977113 Abstract The role of climate forcing in the population dynamics of infectious diseases has typically been revealed via retrospective analyses of incidence records aggregated across space and, in particular, over whole cities. Here, we focus on the transmission dynamics of rotavirus, the main diarrheal disease in infants and young children, within the megacity of Dhaka, Bangladesh. We identify two zones, the densely urbanized core and the more rural periphery, that respond differentially to flooding. Moreover, disease seasonality differs substantially between these regions, spanning variation comparable to the variation from tropical to temperate regions. By combining process-based models with an extensive disease surveillance record, we show that the response to climate forcing is mainly seasonal in the core, where a more endemic transmission resulting from an asymptomatic reservoir facilitates the response to the monsoons. The force of infection in this monsoon peak can be an order of magnitude larger than the force of infection in the more epidemic periphery, which exhibits little or no postmonsoon outbreak in a pattern typical of nearby rural areas. A typically smaller peak during the monsoon season nevertheless shows sensitivity to interannual variability in flooding. High human density in the core is one explanation for enhanced transmission during troughs and an associated seasonal monsoon response in this diarrheal disease, which unlike cholera, has not been widely viewed as climate-sensitive. Spatial demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental heterogeneity can create reservoirs of infection and enhance the sensitivity of disease systems to climate forcing, especially in the populated cities of the developing world. Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2016 Medical Xpress Abnormal cells in the early embryo are not necessarily a sign that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down's syndrome, suggests new research carried out in mice at the University of Cambridge. In a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, scientists show that abnormal cells are eliminated and replaced by healthy cells, repairing - and in many cases completely fixing - the embryo. Researchers at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at Cambridge report a mouse model of aneuploidy, where some cells in the embryo contain an abnormal number of chromosomes. Normally, each cell in the human embryo should contain 23 pairs of chromosomes (22 pairs of chromosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes), but some can carry multiple copies of chromosomes, which can lead of developmental disorders. For example, children born with three copies of chromosome 21 will develop Down's syndrome. Pregnant mothers - particular older mothers, whose offspring are at greatest risk of developing such disorders - are offered tests to predict the likelihood of genetic abnormalities. Between the 11th and 14th weeks of pregnancy, mothers may be offered chorionic villus sampling (CVS), a test that involves removing and analysing cells from the placenta. A later test, known as amniocentesis, involves analysing cells shed by the foetus into the surrounding amniotic fluid - this test is more accurate, but is usually carried out during weeks 15-20 of the pregnancy, when the foetus is further developed. Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, the study's senior author, was inspired to carry out the research following her own experience when pregnant with her second child. "I am one of the growing number of women having children over the age of 40 - I was pregnant with my second child when I was 44," says Professor Zernicka-Goetz. At the time, a CVS test found that as many as a quarter of the cells in the placenta that joined her and her developing baby were abnormal: could the developing baby also have abnormal cells? When Professor Zernicka-Goetz spoke to geneticists about the potential implications, she found that very little was understood about the fate of embryos containing abnormal cells and about the fate of these abnormal cells within the developing embryos. Fortunately for Professor Zernicka-Goetz, her son, Simon, was born healthy. "I know how lucky I was and how happy I felt when Simon was born healthy," she says. "Many expectant mothers have to make a difficult choice about their pregnancy based on a test whose results we don't fully understand," says Professor Zernicka-Goetz. "What does it mean if a quarter of the cells from the placenta carry a genetic abnormality - how likely is it that the child will have cells with this abnormality, too? This is the question we wanted to answer. Given that the average age at which women have their children is rising, this is a question that will become increasingly important." "In fact, abnormal cells with numerical and/or structural anomalies of chromosomes have been observed in as many as 80-90% of human early stage embryos following in vitro fertilization," says Professor Thierry Voet from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK, and the University of Leuven, Belgium, another senior author of this paper, "and CSV tests may expose some degree of these abnormalities." In research funded by the Wellcome Trust, Professor Zernicka-Goetz and colleagues developed a mouse model of aneuploidy by mixing 8-cell stage mouse embryos in which the cells were normal with embryos in which the cells were abnormal. Abnormal mouse embryos are relatively unusual, so the team used a molecule known as reversine to induce aneuploidy. In embryos where the mix of normal and abnormal cells was half and half, the researchers observed that the abnormal cells within the embryo were killed off by 'apoptosis', or programmed-cell death, even when placental cells retained abnormalities. This allowed the normal cells to take over, resulting in an embryo where all the cells were healthy. When the mix of cells was three abnormal cells to one normal cell, some of abnormal cells continued to survive, but the ratio of normal cells increased. "The embryo has an amazing ability to correct itself," explains Professor Zernicka-Goetz. "We found that even when half of the cells in the early stage embryo are abnormal, the embryo can fully repair itself. If this is the case in humans, too, it will mean that even when early indications suggest a child might have a birth defect because there are some, but importantly not all abnormal cells in its embryonic body, this isn't necessarily the case." The researchers will now try to determine the exact proportion of healthy cells needed to completely repair an embryo and the mechanism by which the abnormal cells are eliminated. More information: Bolton, H et al. Mouse model of chromosome mosaicism reveals lineage-specific depletion of aneuploid cells and normal developmental potential. Nature Comms; 26 March 2016. Journal information: Nature Communications Bolton, H et al. Mouse model of chromosome mosaicism reveals lineage-specific depletion of aneuploid cells and normal developmental potential.; 26 March 2016. dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11165 Gene therapies could one day offer life-saving treatments for diabetes, cancer, sickle cell disease and other illnesses that disproportionately affect ethnic minorities, yet many black Americans have profound reason to be skeptical of genetic research. "The memory of Tuskegee is ingrained in us," said Patricia McManus, president and CEO of the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin. During the Tuskegee syphilis experiment that began in 1932 and ran four decades, federal researchers recruited 600 impoverished Alabama sharecroppers for a clinical study. Of that group, 399 had syphilis, but no participants were told of the diagnosis and no syphilis treatment was provided so that researchers could observe the disease's progress. UW-Milwaukee College of Nursing professors Aaron Buseh and Sandra Millon-Underwood can't rewrite that shameful history, but they are trying to better understand the legacy of mistrust in order to boost ethnic minorities' participation in potentially life-saving medical research. Backed by a grant from the Wisconsin Genomics Initiative, they conducted a detailed, community-based study exploring perceptions and attitudes about genetic research among African-Americans and African immigrants in Milwaukee. Buseh and Underwood asked participants about their knowledge of genetics, their sense of possible benefits and disadvantages of genetic research, and their willingness to provide samples (such as blood and tissue) to biobanks for use in future research. "The goal of our study was to get a better sense of their thoughts and experiences in the hope that in the future, more individuals from the black community would at least consider engaging in the research process," Underwood said. McManus and Fessahaye Mebrahtu, executive director of the Pan African Community Association, partnered with the professors, in part to ensure that their communities aren't left out of potential cures for deadly diseases that disproportionately affect ethnic minorities. "This is a new frontier for medicine, and if we do not understand it, our community may not benefit from it," Mebrahtu said. The UW-Milwaukee findings may shape how genetic researchers engage minority communities to address health disparities. Boosting awareness of ethical genetic research practices could also lead to strategies that encourage minority populations to participate in future studies including DNA donation. A community approach Mebrahtu and McManus who earned two nursing degrees and a doctorate in Urban Studies from UW-Milwaukee said they agreed to take part in the genetics attitudes project because of their long-standing relationships with Buseh and Underwood. Both researchers have spent years studying health disparities in Milwaukee. In a recent project, Underwood focused on improving access to breast cancer information and screening among African-American women. Buseh has studied the experiences and challenges faced by African-American men living with HIV and AIDS. Each uses a community-based participatory research approach. This makes community collaboration central to their studies. They hold focus groups to ask community members what research questions are most important to them and share findings with the community once the research is complete. "We do not use a helicopter approach and fly in and fly back out," Buseh said. This type of collaboration takes extra time and effort. "I tell my students: 'Doing community-based participatory work is not an easy thing,'" Buseh said. But he believes the effort is worth the trust it builds with study participants. McManus agreed. "The way they do it means a lot, and it goes far within our community." The genetics attitudes project included focus groups with community leaders and community members, in-depth interviews and a pencil-and-paper survey administered to volunteers. The researchers designed the study with two separate arms: one for African immigrants and another for African-Americans, with 212 people in each arm. Professor emerita of nursing Patricia Stevens joined the team to analyze the data. Their findings The study revealed deep concern about genetic testing among African-Americans and African immigrants. To Buseh's surprise, those doubts were voiced even by those with advanced degrees. "The issue of trust reverberated through the transcripts," Buseh said. Focus group participants wondered what might happen to their genetic samples once they were collected and how genetic information might block their access to insurance. Some expressed doubts that minority communities would benefit from the research after scientists collected the data. African immigrants noted that in their culture, there's a risk that if a person's genetic defects become public, his or her entire family might be shunned. "Almost every aspect of 'what if' was raised," Mebrahtu said. Some of the conversations touched on the story of Henrietta Lacks, subject of a 2010 bestseller. Lacks, an African-American tobacco farmer, was dying of cervical cancer in 1951 when doctors took a sample of her cells without her consent. After her death, her husband and five children, including a 1-year-old son, lived in poverty. Two companies were founded to sell copies of her cells, which led to the development of the polio vaccine among other key medical advances and tens of millions of dollars in profit. Focus group participants expressed anger that researchers might have profited at her family's expense. In another focus group, McManus shared the more-recent example of a 1990 Centers for Disease Control study of measles vaccines in infants in Los Angeles, Senegal and Haiti. Researchers failed to tell parents that their babies received an experimental vaccine and then halted the study when they noticed an increased death rate among female infants in Senegal who received a stronger dose of the vaccine. Buseh says the focus group conversations and other findings underscored for him the importance of scientists being open about the motives and possible effects of their research. "How can we better educate and engage our health care professionals to have these conversations with patients?" Underwood asked. "How can we help patients better understand how genetics and genomics does indeed impact their health and well-being, and the well-being of the next generation?" She added that many of the people they surveyed wanted to learn more about genetics research, and some said they would consider donating DNA samples for research. "Many were very interested but had never been asked," Underwood said. Buseh noted that any conversations about gene therapies must cover their potential limits. "We can't overpromise that once we get your DNA, we can analyze it and figure out what's happening to you now and will happen to you in the future, and you will be fine," he said. Buseh hopes to host a genetics summer camp for ethnic minority teens, teaching them about the process of taking a detailed family health history. He wrote an opinion piece in The Scientist, calling for researchers to venture into diverse communities and hold "genetics cafes," in which they sit down with ethnic minorities to describe their work and answer questions. Finally, he and Underwood are working with Mebrahtu and McManus to expand the study, with the hopes of getting more medical researchers to examine wider health care disparities affecting black Americans and African immigrants. "We want to create opportunities for bench scientists and community members to meet in the community," Buseh said. "Building trust starts when the affected people can say that the scientists came to them instead of scientists asking people to leave their community and step into a lab or clinical setting." The same technology used by forensic investigators to capture fingerprints also can help doctors predict whether patients might be at risk for developing diabetes, a new study finds. A team of scientists and clinicians led by Molly Morris of Ohio University has found that a technology called wavelet analysis can take detailed snapshots that reveal the level of asymmetry in an individual's fingerprints. The study found that fingerprint asymmetry is a marker of type 2 diabetes in adults. In addition, the team discovered a connection between the irregular fingerprint patterns and patients with type 1 diabetes. The use of fingerprints to diagnose diseases is currently a very active field of medical research, but this study is the first to efficiently measure fluctuating asymmetry in fingerprints (differences in fingerprints between the corresponding fingers on the right and left hands) and show that it can be used to predict a person's risk to develop diabetes. The new study compared a ridge-counting technique with wavelet analysis and found that the latter approach provided a more accurate, detailed assessment of fingerprint asymmetry. "There were individuals we couldn't assess (through ridge counting) because of the type of fingerprints they had," said Morris, a professor of biological sciences. "Wavelet analysis is almost like taking a picture of your fingerprint. It's a more sophisticated analysis." The research recently was published in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. To gather data for the study, Morris and Jay Shubrook, at the time a faculty member in the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and now with Touro University California, recruited 340 adult patients. Of those, 200 had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 57 other subjects had type 1 diabetes. Fingerprints were taken and then analyzed by counting the number of ridges on the fingers and by using wavelet analysis. Bjoern Ludwar, an electrophysiologist with Longwood University and a former Ohio University postdoctoral fellow, had suggested the wavelet analysis method, which can represent the fingerprint image as a short string of numbers. This process can help researchers assess the asymmetry of the patient's fingerprints more accurately than other methods, even when the fingerprints are rotated at different positions, he explained. "The wavelet method takes a very global approach to comparing how similar two fingerprints are," he said. "On the downside, it is technically a lot more complicated and it takes more computing power than simply counting ridges on fingers of the left and right hand." Current methods of diagnosing diabetes rely on physical signs of disease progression or expensive genetic testing. "We really need to become better at addressing diabetes mellitus upstreamthe earlier we can find people at risk, the more we can do to take action to help prevent these diseases," Shubrook said. Because an individual's fingerprints are set at birth, they can provide a very early indicator for the propensity to develop diabetes, the team noted. Fingerprints are influenced by both genes and the environment, which could explain why the method was more accurate than genetic testing, the researchers added. Ludwar plans to optimize the method to make the process available for commercial use, as the team hopes to create a mobile app that could identify at-risk individuals before they develop symptoms. In addition to focusing on enhancements to the technology, in the next phase of the research the team will gather fingerprint data from a second, more ethnically diverse pool of patients in California, Morris said. The team hopes to recruit about 300 individuals, half of which will be patients over the age 40 without type 2 diabetes to broaden the control groups tested, she explained. The team has filed for a provisional patent on the method. Explore further Ancestral background can be determined by fingerprints More information: M. R. Morris et al. A New Method to Assess Asymmetry in Fingerprints Could Be Used as an Early Indicator of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology (2016). M. R. Morris et al. A New Method to Assess Asymmetry in Fingerprints Could Be Used as an Early Indicator of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus,(2016). DOI: 10.1177/1932296816629984 EU keen to import Georgian wool Georgian wool is the first product of animal origin that will soon be exported to the European Union (EU) market, bringing financial benefits for farmers and the opportunity to grow the national economy.Two Georgian companies, Georgian Wool and the Georgian Wool Company, received permission from the EU to export raw [unwashed] wool to European markets, which cater for more than 800 million people.Great Britain and Germany have already expressed interest in importing Georgian wool, said www.Eugeorgia.info, a website that provides information about issues related to the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area deal, which Georgia signed with the EU in June 2014.The National Food Agency of Georgia said the state "did everything it could to get permission to export Georgian wool to the EU.The EU proved it has great confidence in our country, its control systems, the National Food Agency and two Georgian companies. We are obliged to check these companies twice a year to see how they meet EU standards and the requirements and recommendations, said the deputy head of the National Food Agency, Mikheil Sokhadze.As of today, Georgian Wool and the Georgian Wool Company export wool to India, Ukraine and China.Rules and regulations for importing wool as an animal product are set forth in the EU Directives N 142/2011 and 97/78.To import raw wool into the EU from a third country such as Georgia, relevant and high standards must be in place in the producing nation. The wool producer or exporting enterprise must be registered with the National Food Agency, which is designed to guarantee that the animals (sheep, in this particular case) do not show signs of contagious diseases.Other requirement the wool producers and exporters should meet are: To ensure safe and dry packaging for wool; and To send wool directly to the plant that uses it in production, to prevent the spreading of pathogenic agents.The Shepherds Association of Georgia reported 266,000 live sheep were exported from Georgia in 2009, 178,000 in 2010, 155,000 in 2011, and 170,000 in 2012.Georgian shepherds claimed the number of sheep exported in 2014 reached 220,000, of which 70,000 originated from Armenia.Eugeorgia.info said between 80 and 85 percent of all sheep in Georgia were Tushetian, the most ancient Georgian breed that emerged in the 13-14 Centuries as a result of traditional selective breeding.Imeretian sheep are reared in western Georgia and make up 10-15 percent of all sheep in the country. Turkey and EU reach landmark deal on refugees Turkey and the EU have reached a controversial deal that European leaders hope will stop the flow of refugees to the continent in return for political and financial concessions for Ankara, foreign media says.Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and EU President Donald Tusk confirmed the agreement, which will come into force on Sunday, at a press conference in Brussels after three rounds of talks."Refugees, migrants, asylum seekers who are arriving in Greece, on the islands or the mainland ... will find themselves subject to processing and then, in due course, they will be sent back to Turkey," Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reported from the Belgian capital.The accord aims to close the main route by which a million people poured across the Aegean Sea to Greece in the last year before marching north to Germany and Sweden.But deep doubts remain about whether it is legal or workable, a point acknowledged even by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who has been the key driving force behind the agreement."I have no illusions that what we agreed today will be accompanied by further setbacks. There are big legal challenges that we must now overcome," Merkel said after the 28 EU leaders concluded the deal with Davutoglu.Leaders of the bloc had agreed on Thursday on a common plan under which Turkey would be given financial and political concessions in return for taking back all refugees who reached Greek islands off its coast.Under the agreement, Ankara would take back all refugees and others, including Syrians, who cross to Greece illegally across the sea. In return, the EU would take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with more money, early visa-free travel and faster progress in EU membership talks. Russias Foreign Ministry: Georgian officials unfriendly statements contradict constructive dialogue By Messenger Staff Russias Foreign Ministry says frequent unfriendly statements voiced by Georgian officials to Russia contradict the tendency of constructive relations.The Russian official body released a statement on its webpage in the wake of the meeting of Georgias and Russias special envoys in Prague held on March 16.The Ministry said Russia was interested in bilateral, consecutive future cooperation with Georgia, but the recent unfriendly statements of Georgian officials could create threats for such constructive communications.The Russian body also touched upon several other topics of discussions between Georgias Special Envoy to Russia, Zurab Abashidze, and Russias Deputy Foreign Minister, Grigori Karasin, in Prague.The Ministry said the pair spoke about a range of issues with the main focus on the regional economy.It stated that despite last years slowdown, economic turnout between the two nations was still increasing and Russia was Georgias second biggest trade partner.Before starting the meeting with Abashidze, Karasin also criticized Georgian politicians for their anti-Russian rhetoric and said the upcoming parliamentary elections could be a big threat for Georgian-Russian relations.Karasin also condemned Georgias Occupation Law adopted in October 2008 after the Russian-Georgian war, and said the law might create obstacles for Russian diplomats to attend the 25th annual session of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Tbilisi on July 1-5 this year.The Law, which defined the status of the Georgian territories currently occupied by Russia, envisaged special rules for the people living in the de-facto regions as well as towards those who ignored Georgias legislation.Russia also told OSCE to find another venue for the annual gathering if Georgia failed to make changes in the law and disturbed Russian representatives participating in the session.Georgian parliamentary majority lawmakers opposed the rejection of the law, but they did not exclude some minor changes for the purpose of the OSCE event.In response to Karasins harsh statements about anti-Russian rhetoric and the threat of the upcoming elections, the majority representatives said that the Russian official did not have any right to make his comments.Moreover, majority leader Zviad Kvachantiradze said the Abashidze-Karasin format - the only format of direct communication between Georgia and Russia since 2012 - might be reviewed.However, Abashidze - who has already returned to Georgia - said that suspension of the format would increase problems between the two nations, as dialogue with Russia was necessary.When asked to comment on Karasins statements, Prime Minister Kvirikashvili said he had not heard Karasin's exact words but said he believed that when speaking about the atmosphere in Georgia, Russian politicians first needed to pay attention to their own approaches."Georgias territorial integrity and sovereignty is what will make it possible for us to fully normalise relations with Russia, Kvirikashvili said.Meanwhile, Karasin also said Georgia should not wait for visa-free travel to Russia, despite the fact that about a month ago, positive statements were made in this regard.The Russian attitude confirms the Federations cynicism and the countrys views towards other nations.Russia - which occupies 20% of Georgia's territory - accuses Georgia of making anti-Russian statements, when the current Georgian Government is frequently targeted by the opposition for its pragmatic policy to the enemy.Unfortunately, it is the fate of small nations to pursue pragmatism so as not to be trapped and annihilated by big powers. The News in Brief Prosecutors Close Probe into Alleged Pardon Commission Influence Peddling With No Charges The investigation into alleged influence peddling in the process of pardoning inmates has been closed without filing charges against anyone as no evidence of criminality was found, the Prosecutors Office said on March 18. The investigation was launched in December after Aleko Elisashvili - who chaired the presidential pardon commission from November 2013 till April 2014 - claimed that two senior lawmakers from the Georgian Dream ruling coalition, Eka Beselia and Manana Kobakhidze, tried to exert undue influence on him while lobbying for the early release of several inmates convicted in the 2010 Cocaine Case. Elisashvili, who is now an independent member of Tbilisi City Council, also claimed that he was told by an official who he refuses to name - that Beselia and Kobakhidze received USD 200,000 as an advance payment and were expected to get USD 1.5 million if they successfully secured the early release of the Cocaine Case convicts. MP Beselia, who chairs the parliamentary committee for human rights, and MP Kobakhidze, who is the Vice-Speaker of the parliament, have denied the allegations. Kobakhidze, however, confirmed showing interest in the prisoners, which she said was natural and legitimate taking into view the fact that she acted as their defence lawyer during the trial five years ago. The corrupt deal between so-called Cocaine Case convicts and politicians, named by Elisashvili, concerning a pardon issue was not confirmed as a result of the investigation; therefore, the Georgian Prosecutors Office has terminated the investigation into this case, the Prosecutors Office said in a statement, which also provides details of some of its investigative measures undertaken during the probe. Elisashvili, who in late December accused the Prosecutors Office of trying to stifle the investigation, said on March 18 that the probe aimed at covering up the crime and not at investigating it. Prosecutors were working on stifling the investigation and they think that they succeeded, but they are deluding themselves, Elisashvili said on March 18 after the Prosecutors Office announced the close of the investigation. They have done everything to cover up [wrongdoings by] Beselia and Kobakhidze. MP Beselia told journalists on March 18 that the investigation by the Prosecutors Office validated her and Kobakhidzes claims that Elisashvili was telling lies intentionally. Now he has to be held accountable for false testimony, she said. (Civil.ge) Tbilisi State University initiates impeachment procedures The academic council at Tbilisi State University (TSU) has started impeachment procedures against the rector after a meeting with members of the students union (Tvitmmartveloba). Classes were resumed Friday at TSU after more than a week of conflict where the students union is one of the two opposing factions. The impeachment of rector Vladimer (Lado) Papava has been the only demand put forth by the students union during the conflict. The meeting between students union and the council was closed to the media. After it was over, members of the council stated that March 16, they voted to start a procedure to terminate the authority of Papava. One third of the council members supported the proposal four members out of 13. Council members explained that the decision to impeach Papava was made in a secret ballot and was passed by a majority of votes. There are currently 11 members left on the TSUs academic council, as two professors from the Faculty of Social and Political Studies left. Members of the students union will submit a document on Monday explaining to the council why they think that the rector has to be impeached. The impeachment procedure has three stages. The first is to launch the procedure and the decision to do this was made on March 16. The next step is to hold an inquiry to study the activities of the rector. The final stage is to hold an impeachment ballot. The ballot is secret and the rector has to leave if a majority votes against him. Vladimer (Lado) Papava told journalists after the council meeting, which he attended Friday, that the council is ready to start the inquiry and he is ready and aid in that effort. It is not true that there will be chaos after the rector leaves the university, because we have a plan, President of students self-government told journalists after the meeting. When the rector announces that he is leaving, there will be named an acting rector and the university wont be left without a head. Auditorium 116 left TSU in the evening of March 16. While they were leaving, the academic council meeting was being held at the same time and several students union members attended it for a while. When the meeting was over it had not yet been reported that the council decided to consider launching impeachment proceedings against rector Papava. (DF watch) Georgias armed forces to be provided with Georgian equipment The Georgian Army will be provided with military equipment produced by the Delta R&D Company. A Georgian battalion departing for Afghanistan will be the first Georgian subdivision to be issued solely with equipment produced in Georgia. According to the Defence Ministry, the products of the Delta Military Scientific-Technical Center absolutely correspond to the requirements of the Georgian army. According to company representatives, the new production is of superior quality, and negotiations on its export are in progress. (IPN) Cooperation to be deepened to import Georgian products to European Market Cecilia Malmstrom As the Euro Commissioner for Trade Issues Cecilia Malmstrom has declared, the parties will deepen cooperation in order to import Georgian products to European market.She made this comment after holding a meeting with Georgias Economic Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili.We had a very beneficial meeting with the Minister, having discussed implementation of the Free Trade Agreement. The Minister has referred to reforms as well as necessary measures to inform average and small business and preparation for European market. The parties will deepen cooperation in order to import Georgian products to European market, the Euro Commissioner said.She mentioned the products already being sold on the European market, adding that it will be necessary to implement other measures to import Georgian honey and fish as well. Pentagon claims Russia continues to violate sovereignty of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova The United States (US) Department of Defence (DoD) says despite the progress jointly achieved in terms of peace after the end of the Cold War in recent years Russia appeared intent to erode the principled international order.The report released on the DoDs official webpage and prepared by US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter highlighted Russias aggression in Eastern Europe and revealed Americas position in relation of Russias unlawful activities.Despite the progress weve made together since the end of the Cold War, Russia has in recent years appeared intent on eroding the principled international order that has served us, our friends and allies, the international community, and also Russia itself so well for so long, the report read.In Europe, Russia continues to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, and actively seeks to intimidate its Baltic neighbors, the report added.The report stressed that US did not seek a cold, let alone hot, war with Russia.We do not seek to make Russia an enemy, even as it may view us that way. But make no mistake we will defend our interests, our allies, the principled international order, and the positive future it affords us all, the report stressed.The report said peacemaking was the main reason why the US was taking a strong and balanced strategic approach in response to Russias aggression, which entailed the strengthening both allied armies and US capabilities in various directions.Carter also listed Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and terrorism as the five evolving strategic challenges that were driving the DoDs planning and budgeting for 2017.However, it is obvious that the world powers will not become involved in a direct war with Russia for the sake of Georgia, Ukraine or Moldova.Consequently, the only thing the international community can do is to help Georgia upgrade its military and self-defences, despite the fact that these will not be enough to resist Russia.Meanwhile, Russia again started making anti-Georgian statements, claiming that anti-Russian rhetoric has increased in Georgia and this year parliamentary elections might be a threat to Georgian-Russian relations.Russia generally makes this type of statements before taking some negative steps against a country.Georgia has to live under constant threat of attack from Russia and in this situation boosting self-defence capabilities will not be enough to guarantee national security. Georgia needs an umbrella that will somehow ensure stability in the country. The News in Brief 35th round of Geneva Talks to be held The 35th round of the Geneva Talks will be held on March 22 and 23. As IPN has been informed from the Reconciliation and Civil Equality Issues Ministry, the First Deputy Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili will head the meeting of the group working on humanitarian issues. According to Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, the issues of Georgian-language classes in the Gali regions schools, access to agricultural plots, setting up barricades, as well as environmental and cultural heritage issues will be discussed during the meeting. The First Deputy Minister says the issue of bringing IDPs back still remains the main problem. The bilateral meetings with the negotiation co-heads will be held on March 22. (IPN) PM Meets Non-Parliamentary Opposition PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili met representatives of several non-parliamentary opposition parties on March 19 and agreed to set up a working group on electoral issues with the participation of senior lawmakers from the GD ruling coalition. The working group will consider a package of certain proposals related to electoral issues, PMs office said. This timeframe [before mid-April] is enough for reaching an agreement on issues where the agreement is possible, said MP Zviad Kvatchantiradze, the leader of the GD parliamentary majority group, who was also present at the meeting along with some other senior GD lawmakers. The opposition has long been demanding the scrapping of the majoritarian component of the electoral system by the 2016 elections, but Georgian Dream has only agreed to do so after this year's elections. Parliament approved the amendments to the election code on increasing threshold required for electing a majoritarian MP in the first round from 30% to 50%, as well as bill on electoral redistricting. The Venice Commission, the Council of Europes advisory body for legal and constitutional affairs, hailed the amendments as an important step forward, but also noted that the process of drafting redistricting bill lacked transparency and broad engagement with stakeholders. The working group, which will hold its first meeting on March 23, consists of Mamuka Katsitadze of the New Rights party; Bachuki Kardava, leader of the National Democratic Party; Giorgi Akhvlediani from United Democrats and Gocha Tevdoradze from the Alliance of Patriots; the group will also involve the GD lawmakers, Gia Zhorzholiani, Giga Bukia, Paata Kiknavelidze, Nodar Ebanoidze and Shalva Kiknavelidze. The Prime Minister will be represented by his parliamentary secretary, Shalva Tadumadze. It was PMs second meeting with representatives of the non-parliamentary opposition parties in less than two months; he met the same group of opposition politicians and discussed electoral issues in late January. (Civil.ge) Inequality Lowers Georgias Happiness Score: Report According to the World Happiness Report 2016, published today, Georgia is in 126th place out of 157 countries included in the study. The result places Georgia as the least happy country of the former Soviet Union, while Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are the happiest, both placed 49th. Georgia scored particularly low in the categories of social support (having someone to count on in times of trouble) and generosity (donating money to charity). Researchers note, however, that Georgias happiness level measured in the period 20132015 is substantially higher than in the period 20052007. As for Georgias neighbouring countries, Armenia came 121st, Azerbaijan came 81st, Russia came 56th, and Turkey came 78th. The World Happiness Report uses a methodology which combines a variety of measurements of well-being based on income, health, family and friends, and the broader institutional and social context. Other indicators include subjective perceptions of freedom to make life choices, generosity, or level of corruption. This years report gives a special role to the measurement and consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being, as the researchers involved in preparation of the report concluded that people are happier who live in societies where there is less inequality of happiness. The World Happiness Report has been published since 2012 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and is commissioned to promote practical problem solving for sustainable development, including the design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. (DF WATCH) Below is the text of a letter that Enterprise Florida CEO Bill Johnson sent to board members Monday, explaining his decision to resign. Dear Board Members: This is to advise you that I am stepping down as CEO and President of Enterprise Florida. I am currently finalizing the details and timeline to allow for a smooth transition. I have committed to the Governor that I will continue to work on a number of events in coming weeks, including two international trade missions. As I reiterated to EFI Vice Chair Alan Becker, I remain a firm believer in the mission of our organization. But, following the close of this years state legislative session, and in conversation with the Governor, it is clear that Enterprise Florida will now move in a new direction that includes organizational changes. While we were clearly disappointed in the outcome of this years legislative session pertaining to funding of the EFI toolkit, I am proud of our organizations achievements over the past year including the launch of a new global marketing campaign. Our Florida: The Future is Here campaign is well underway; this re-branding initiative will significantly impact how our state is perceived and recognized as one of the nations top business locales. Over the past year, I have worked to strengthen EFIs ties with local and regional economic development agencies throughout the state. I believe our ties to these groups, along with our relationships with business leaders thought the state, have never been stronger. I would like to thank Governor Scott, the Board and the EFI staff for the support that I have received over the last year. The accomplishments that we have achieved can only happen with teamwork and support at all levels. It has been a privilege to serve the State of Florida and to work with you on the important mission of creating new economic opportunities for Floridians. -Bill Gov. Rick Scotts economic development chief is out of a job. Less than a month after the Legislature refused to give Scott $250 million to recruit more businesses to move to Florida, Scott announced Bill Johnson, the president and CEO of Enterprise Florida is leaving after just 14 months on the job. Enterprise Florida is a taxpayer-funded nonprofit that negotiates state relocation packages and hiring incentives to bring in big employers, a top agenda since Scott was elected in 2010. Bill has traveled the globe to let businesses know that Florida is the top destination in the world for jobs, Scott said. He played a key role in our mission to make Florida first for families and he has vigorously fought to bring new opportunities to the Sunshine State so we can grow our economy for future generations. Bill has been laser-focused on helping us beat Texas to become the number one state for job creation in the nation and we are deeply grateful for his service to our state. Johnsons departure, while sudden, isnt completely a surprise, said State Sen. Nancy Detert, a Venice Republican who is a member of the Enterprise Florida board of directors. He probably wasnt the best fit, Detert said. She said with less money to dole out to businesses because of the new state budget, the state needs less of a salesman to attact new business with incentives and more of a shrewd, business savy manager who can manage what the state is already bringing ing. They are going to have a lot less money to work with, Detert said. Johnson, the former chief of the Miami-Dade port, gave no hint as to why he was leaving in a statement to the media put out by Scotts office. It has been an honor to serve in this role and work alongside Governor Scott to bring more jobs to Florida, Johnson said in the statement. Our economy is growing with more and more businesses selecting Florida over our competitors. @doug_hanks Want to draw a crowd of Miami-Dade commissioners? Dont convene a public meeting on requiring them to disclose fund-raising for political action committees. It was lonely on the commission dais Monday afternoon when 11 of the 13 commissioners skipped a workshop scheduled to address a flurry of questions and objections many of them raised over proposed legislation to require disclosure when elected officials raise money for political committees. Sponsor Daniella Levine Cava convened the workshop, and only one other commissioner, Xavier Suarez, joined her. The two listened to comments from members of the public, who all supported the ordinance and outnumbered elected officials by a 4-1 ratio. I want to thank everybody who has taken the time out of your business lives to be present for this important workshop, Levine Cava said at the end of the 90-minute meeting that featured an elections-law expert who flew in from Tallahassee. I want to especially thank my colleague, Xavier Suarez, for being with us the whole time. At issue is a proposed Miami-Dade law that would require county and city officials to disclose when they raise money for political committees, including those that serve as auxiliary election war chests in local races. @Michael Auslen Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that when she received a $25,000 donation to her political committee from Donald Trump, she didn't realize it had come from his foundation -- a tax-exempt group that is not legally allowed to give to political campaigns. "Of course not," she said. "And I think the Trump campaign has acknowledged the error was on their end and theyre correcting it." But that's about all she said. In response to additional questions about the donation, made in 2013 to And Justice for All, a political committee Bondi controls, she said, "Im going to let the accountants handle this." Here are those questions, from Times/Herald and Associated Press reporters: * Has Bondi considered returning the money as part of remedying the tax issue? * Did Bondi ask for the donation, which both the Trump campaign and an independent watchdog group claim. The donation was controversial initially. At the time, the state of New York had just filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump University had "scammed" people out of millions of dollars. The Florida attorney general's office had received similar complaints but never opened an investigation. Bondi was not directly part of that decision, her spokesman Whitney Ray said. But it came back to the forefront two weeks ago, after Bondi endorsed Trump for president. In the wake of revived news reports, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether the donation was legal. Not only is the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which gave the money to And Justice for All, a 501(c)(3) organziation that can't support political candidates, but it didn't properly disclose the donation on its federal tax forms. Bondi is correct in saying that the Trump campaign acknowledged the issue, chalking it up to "an unfortunate series of coincidences and errors" in a statement from spokeswoman Hope Hicks. The foundation has been working to fix the problem, Hicks said. Bondi's support of Trump has raised other questions, though, as the latter's campaign manager faces battery charges in Palm Beach County. Neither she nor Gov. Rick Scott, who also endorsed Trump for president, was willing to comment Tuesday after campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was charged with battery. Lewandowski allegedly grabbed reporter Michelle Fields, then of Breitbart News, as she approached Trump at an event in Jupiter, Fla. "I saw on the news, briefly, the accusation," Bondi said, "but Im not going to comment on a pending case involving any state attorneys office, because of course we dont have jurisdiction. Thats up to our 20 state attorneys. I dont comment on anything regarding pending cases with our state attorneys." Scott said he didn't "know any of the facts" in the case. "I just heard that," he said. Yet another of Gov. Rick Scott's state agency chiefs announced his surprise resignation Tuesday. Retired U.S. Army Col. Mike Prendergast dropped the news during a Cabinet meeting that he'll be leaving immediately to run as a Republican for sheriff of Citrus County. Prendergast is one of few remaining high-level appointees who has been with Scott from the very beginning of his term. A 60-year-old native of Tampa who ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Democrat Kathy Castor in 2010, he was Scott's first chief of staff in the governor's office in 2011 and later became secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs -- the post he's vacating. He is the sixth high-ranking state official reporting to Scott and/or the Cabinet to depart in recent months, following the directors of departments of economic opportunity and revenue, the state insurance commissioner and chief of staff in the governor's office. Enterprise Florida CEO Bill Johnson resigned Monday. Prendergast said he and his wife Naomi have owned a home in Citrus County for about two-and-a-half years. Citrus Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, a Democrat, is not seeking re-election, and four candidates have declared for the post, including Philip Royal, who retired from the sheriff's office last year as a captain in charge of professional standards and training. Prendergast would be only the third sheriff of Citrus County in the past 36 years. Dawsy is retiring after 20 years in office and his predecessor, Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, held the post for 16 years before that. Prendergast, who had a 30-year career in the military and is a sworn law enforcement officer, said he's eager to start campaigning in Citrus, where he said one of every five residents is a veteran. When you think of the historic, leafy New England campus of Yale University, surely it calls to mind ... uh, Brooksville? How about Lake City? Yeehaw Junction, maybe? Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday suggested that Yale, one of the nation's most prestigious Ivy League schools, leave Connecticut and relocate to Florida to avoid a possible tax on the profits from its endowment. The unorthodox Envy League pitch follows news that the Legislature in Connecticut may impose a 7 percent tax on the net investment profits of the school's $26.5 billion endowment. Without mentioning any of Florida's existing state universities by name, Scott said in a statement: "We would welcome a world-renowned university like Yale to our state ... This would add yet another great university to our state." Scott floated the proposal a day after his chief jobs recruiter, Enterprise Florida CEO Bill Johnson, abruptly resigned his $265,000 a year position. The governor called for a review of Enterprise Florida's spending and said the public-private partnership, which has a payroll of about $9 million, must consider shedding $6 million in expenses in light of the Florida Legislature's rejection of a new $250 incentive fund. In response to Scott's invite, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said: "It's wonderful to be recognized as an outstanding asset, but Yale, New Haven and Connecticut have been on common ground to great mutual benefit for 300 years. We're looking forward to reaching even greater heights in education, research and civic engagement over the next three centuries and more." -- With reporting by Kristen M. Clark, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau The clientele at Montana Developmental Center, the good people of Boulder and the state of Montana could potentially be taken for a ride if the citizens of Montana, and the Legislature, do not wake up and stay vigilant. In the 2015 legislative session, we stood strong as a bipartisan legislature to make the very difficult decision to close the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder. The decision was extremely difficult, but in the end was the right thing to do. With the testimony of abuse and neglect over the years, it was apparent the state was failing the very people we were charged with caring for. Gov. Steve Bullock received the same information, and apparently agreed with the findings, by signing Senate Bill 411. With the main objective being to protect those at MDC who are less fortunate than the rest of Montana citizens, the sponsor of the bill took great care, and worked across the aisle, to make sure the closing of MDC would be as painless as possible. Additionally, the sponsor of the bill included language in SB 411 making sure the state of Montana would fulfill a perceived obligation to the people of Boulder, assuring the small community of Boulder could survive. The directive in SB 411 was very clear. Close the Montana Developmental Center, develop better solutions for people currently at MDC and repurpose the facility at Boulder. It is with great disdain that I read in the headlines an attempt by some to confuse the issue of why the Legislature and the governor of Montana actually made the decision to close MDC. The misguided blame against the sponsor of the bill is nothing more than an ill-fated attempt to derail the process of the commission, appointed by Governor Bullock, to carry out the tasks directed by SB 411. The most important objective should be to take care of the client base at MDC. The commission has begun that process of moving more than half of that clientele into a community-based program, where they belong. The commission is to be commended, and should continue to look at options to finalize the process, acknowledging that Montana still needs a secure facility for those forensic clientele who do not belong in our communities. This can be done. We need leadership on the commission that will allow the members to look at all options before finalizing their plan for closure. Many states do not have state-run facilities like MDC. Montana should be no different. Secondly, I am saddened for the good people of Boulder who have to bear the brunt of this decision, but have asked the state to at least look at how we can repurpose the facilities at Boulder to allow the community to survive. As this process unfolds, I become agitated when I learn of the most recent 20-year, $25 million new lease agreement signed at a non-state-owned facility in Galen. The leasing of this facility, completed without legislative oversight or knowledge, will house a forensic population from the overcrowded Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs. Knowing that the directive of SB 411 was to repurpose the state-owned facility at Boulder, why was the Boulder facility not high on the list for consideration? Without a doubt, some remodeling would have had to happen, but this clientele may have been perfect for Boulder. Has the commission, tainted by a lack of information needed to make good decisions, missed an opportunity to fulfill the legislative directive to repurpose Boulder? You can bet the 2017 Legislature will be asking these questions. Governor Bullock, where is your leadership? You appointed this commission, and the chairman is your budget director. You signed SB 411 to protect the clients at MDC. We need to close this failed state institution, as directed with your signature on SB 411, and we need to repurpose the facilities in Boulder. Stand by your decision, Governor Bullock. The 2017 Legislature, the good people of Boulder and the citizens of Montana will stand for nothing less. Heres good news for people living in Missoula city and county: Dave Strohmaier is running for the Democratic Party nomination for county commissioner. Dave Strohmaier brings a mature, ethical and independent voice to the table, along with much knowledge of Missoula both urban and rural. He has met with hundreds of people from Condon to the Ninemile, and knows their concerns. Dave and his wife, Gretchen, are raising their two children here with an appreciation of the outdoors. Dave Strohmaier has extensive background in forestry, history, economics and governance. He was on the Missoula City Council representing Ward 1 for eight years. Under his leadership, things got done. The Lolo Street sidewalk improvement project joining the east and west Rattlesnake was completed. The Upper and Lower Rattlesnake neighborhoods developed a plan that prioritized improving lower Van Buren and adding sidewalks, which has made that road safer for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. The Madison Street railroad crossing and Greenough Drive were improved. Dave Strohmaier led the charge to send a city council letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asking them to consider what up to 16 additional coal trains a day might mean to Missoula if a coal export terminal was built near Bellingham, Washington. He traveled to Washington, D.C., urging Congress to conduct a full environmental analysis of this proposal. Thousands of letters from Montana, but only a few from communities, helped persuade the Army Corps to include impacts to Montanans in their study. The final decision is pending. In addition, Dave Strohmaier has actively supported the rights of homeowners in the Sonata Park dispute, and stands up for the rights of all members of our community. He wrote two books on wildland fire in the western United States. Dave Strohmaier is the man the Missoula County Commission needs. He deserves our support. Harold and Jan Hoem, Missoula Updated, 12:07 p.m. Good morning on this windy Tuesday. Spring is now in full swing and here come the tourists. A record number of visitors are expected in New York this year nearly 60 million and theyre predicted to generate about $60 billion for the citys economy, supporting nearly 360,000 jobs. So embrace it Mayor Bill de Blasio has, finally and you may even learn a thing or two. We certainly did, when we set out to do one of the most touristy things our city has to offer: ride an open-air, red double-decker bus around Manhattan. A lot of New Yorkers are ignorant of what weve got over here, said Brian Prince, 56, a longtime tour guide for Gray Line. Bernie Sanders had a great week. He won big in five Western caucuses: Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Utah and Hawaii. It was enough to whittle Hillary Clintons pledged-delegate lead to around 230, despite her own solid win in Arizona. To get to a majority, not counting superdelegates, Mr. Sanders now needs more than 56 percent of the remaining pledged delegates. It might not look too daunting after he just won at least 70 percent of the vote in five states. But the remaining states arent especially welcoming for him. Mrs. Clintons delegate advantage seems likelier to grow over the rest of the contests than to shrink. The remaining states force Mr. Sanders to confront his big weaknesses: affluence, diversity, establishment-friendly areas and closed primary contests. To get a sense of how the rest of the Democratic race plays out, consider how the remaining states might vote if they follow the same demographic patterns of the first half of the primary season. The patterns include the results for all of the states where The Associated Press has reported the results by county. As you know, he believes Muslims should be banned from entering the country because of their faith, she said. What would that mean for a nation founded on religious freedom? The struggle to replace Mr. Scalia has provided Mrs. Clinton with an opportunity to thrust the Supreme Court to the top of voters concerns. In her speech on Monday, she noted that two Supreme Court justices will be older than 80 when the new president takes office, and she urged voters to please make sure the court factors into your decision. Whoever America elects this fall will help determine the future of the court for decades, Mrs. Clinton said, listing a range of issues from voting rights and abortion, to immigration, climate change and money in politics that could reach the court in coming years. Republicans, she said are fighting hard to make sure the Supreme Court includes as many right-wing justices as possible. Fifty-three percent of Americans say the Senate should hold a vote on Mr. Obamas nominee, while 42 percent said the Senate should wait until next year for the new president to nominate someone, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll. And while most voters have not yet formed an opinion about Mr. Garland, a vast majority 68 percent said that who sits on the Supreme Court is at least very important to them. A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump did not immediately return an email request for comment on Monday. But some conservatives quickly rebuffed Mrs. Clintons speech, accusing her of politicizing the court. If Hillary Clinton is criticizing you, you must be doing something right, said Adam Brandon, the chief executive of FreedomWorks, an advocacy group aligned with the Tea Party. The Senate is performing its constitutional responsibility in delaying the process until a new president takes office. Cultural organizations have been working to create precise three-dimensional digital models of the threatened heritage monuments in Palmyra, Syria, in case the originals are damaged beyond repair. Near the marble quarries of Carrara, Italy, robots, like the one in the video above, are using the models to carve a 20-foot-high scale reproduction of one of Palmyras most famous ancient monuments: a Roman triple arch that Islamic State militants razed last year. Image A small-scale reproduction of a Roman arch in Palmyra being carved from a 3D computer model in Carrara, Italy, this month. The original arch in Palmyra was destroyed by ISIS. Credit... Institute for Digital Archaeology and Tor Art When finished next month, the 12-ton replica is to be temporarily installed at Trafalgar Square in London, with plans to bring it to New York later in the year. Crystal Bridges the brainchild of Alice Walton, the youngest child of Sam Walton and one of the worlds wealthiest people, with an estimated worth of about $33 billion is the first museum of its size to be established between the coasts in more than a generation. It is home to a growing number of masterpieces of American art from the 19th and 20th centuries. And since its opening in 2011, it has become a major tourist draw and economic driver in its area. Last fall it announced that it had welcomed more than two million visitors in its first four years. Tom Walton, who is also developing a culinary center in downtown Bentonville, said the Kraft plant, which closed in 2012, helped shape the museums thinking about the need for a place where it could do things it might not be able to on the site of its permanent collection. He said that he thought of the industrial space as a kind of living room for the community, where art, music, performance and food would be on offer in unexpected ways. The site is being developed in consultation with the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and will be reshaped by Wheeler Kearns Architects of Chicago to maintain its industrial feel. Another impetus for the new space, officials said, was the museums unusual 2014 exhibition, State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now, in which two curators traveled extensively through the United States, visiting the studios and homes of thousands of little-known and emerging artists and eventually choosing the work of 102 as a kind of contemporary-art snapshot. Chad Alligood, one of the exhibitions curators, said that it had provided Crystal Bridges with a fantastic baseline for experimenting. But it had also presented the museum with a problem: where to show much of the contemporary art it was seeing and sometimes acquiring. Were bursting at the seams here, Mr. Alligood said. I looked all over the building and there was really nowhere to put it. But one of the benefits of his part of the country, he said, is that it is not dense, overpopulated and expensive like the urban centers where many art institutions crave more room. In Bentonville, we are very fortunate to have the blessing of space. To the Editor: Re No Clear Signs on Who Might Be Radicalized (front page, March 28): Efforts by researchers and policy makers to pin down how or why people become radicalized and join violent movements have certainly become notoriously frustrating and semi-masochistic; it seems as if anyone and his opposite may be included in at-risk populations. But while there is no harm in trying to identify markers and trends in radicalization, we must not allow that effort to distract us from the much more important task of understanding and ultimately defeating the political ideology that is attracting so many followers in the first place. The hard reality is that the longer a militant movement with a powerful global ideology appears to be winning on the world stage, as is the case with the Islamic State, the greater the numbers (and diversity) of the recruits it will be able to net across countries and communities, including inside the United States. STUART GOTTLIEB New York The writer, a former Senate foreign policy adviser and speechwriter, teaches counterterrorism at Columbia University. When a person leaves to become a terrorist, he can kill hundreds of innocents, he said. Those are the morals we are talking about. We should understand, the relatives must fight this first. If the relative, before the fact, reported it, he is not guilty. If he did not, he is guilty. By law, Russian security services have no authority to specifically target relatives. But the intelligence forces seldom let a detail like the lack of a legal basis interfere with their activities. In Chechnya and neighboring Dagestan, they routinely burn or demolish the houses of people suspected of being insurgents or terrorists. Most strikingly, whole extended families are rounded up in high-profile cases, and are often held until the militant either gives up or is killed. Maryam Akmedova, from Kabardino-Balkaria region in the North Caucasus, has seen it firsthand. Distressing though it was, she says she understood when Russian prosecutors accused her eldest son of participating in a terrorist attack, as he had never denied his involvement. But her woes hardly stopped there. Soon enough, security agents were questioning her younger son, though there was no evidence linking him to the attack his brother was accused of in the city of Nalchik in 2005. Eventually, the younger brother was shot and killed in 2013 by Russian security forces during an attempted arrest under murky circumstances. He had no involvement with anything, Ms. Akmedova said in a telephone interview. They killed him because his brother was in prison. The most sweeping application of the tactic came during the pacification of Chechnya, after Mr. Putin engineered the recapture of the separatist territory early in his tenure. CAIRO Getting out of Egypt was never going to be easy for Seif Eldin Mustafa, a fugitive Egyptian convict who has been on the run since he escaped from prison five years ago. But on Tuesday, he resorted to extraordinary measures. Claiming to be wearing an explosive vest, Mr. Mustafa, 59, commandeered an EgyptAir passenger airliner en route to Cairo from Alexandria, forced it to divert to Cyprus and set in motion a tense standoff lasting hours. He issued an incoherent set of demands that left officials alarmed, puzzled and touched before he gave himself up without hurting anyone. Mr. Mustafa wanted female inmates released from Egyptian prisons. He demanded to speak with officials from the European Union, ostensibly to obtain political asylum. And he wanted to see his former wife, who lived in Cyprus. Always, there is a woman, the president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, said in a brief moment of levity in the early stages of the crisis at Larnaca International Airport. GENEVA A yearlong conflict is threatening to cause a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, one of the worlds poorest countries, the United Nations reported on Tuesday, saying that children are paying the highest price. The effects of the conflict and the deteriorating humanitarian conditions have brought Yemen to the point of collapse, Unicef, the United Nations Childrens Fund, said in a report, adding that the country was at risk of becoming a failed state. At least six children have been killed or maimed in the fighting every day for the past year, Unicef said, calling that the tip of the iceberg because that number represented only the cases that had been verified. The toll is almost certainly much higher, the organization said. For the past year, a Saudi-led coalition has sought to re-establish the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which was driven into exile by Houthi rebels and their allies. Copyright 2022 HT Digital Streams Ltd All Right Reserved Last week, we talked about the 2016 edition of the county health rankings, a collaborative project between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute that looks at the health of almost every county in the nation. As stated last week, nine of Montanas 56 counties have populations too small to have valid statistical outcomes for this project therefore, data from 47 of Montanas counties were studied. In regard to Butte-Silver Bows health outcomes our length of life and how well we feel (physically and mentally) during our lives Butte-Silver Bow ranks 41 out of those 47 counties. In regard to our health factors our health behaviors, access to care, physical environment, and socioeconomic factors we rank 29 out of 47. Last weeks column focused on the health outcomes and let me reiterate here Butte-Silver Bow coming in 41 out of Montanas measured 47 counties isnt good enough. Im sure you feel as I do. As promised, this week well focus on the health factors. The first of the four health factors health behaviors includes rates for adult smoking; adult obesity; a food environment index; physical inactivity; access to exercise opportunities; excessive drinking; alcohol-impaired driving deaths; sexually transmitted infections; and teen births. Butte-Silver Bow is right in the ball park with the rest of Montana when it comes to rates related to adult smoking, adult obesity and the food environment index, which measures the percentage of people with limited access to healthy foods the percentage of the low-income population that does not live close to a grocery store, and the percentage of the population that doesnt have access to reliable sources of food. Butte-Silver Bow is also at par with the rest of the state in regard to physical inactivity the percentage of adults 20 and over who report no leisure-time activity. But our county ranks low in the category of access to exercise opportunities the percentage of our population with adequate access to locations for physical activity, such as parks and recreational facilities recreational facilities defined as gyms, community centers, YMCAs, dance studios and pools!). The rankings say that 52 percent of Butte-Silver Bows population compared to 67 percent for the rest of Montana has adequate access to exercise opportunities. (While the county health rankings provides roadmaps to improve health, locally, we might automatically look at how our transit system could focus on assisting people to parks and recreational facilities.) Butte-Silver Bows rate resembles the states when it comes to excessive drinking, something to celebrate, as this rating belies our citys brand as a particularly hard-drinking town. And the county health rankings points out that Butte-Silver Bow has an area of strength related to the percentage of driving deaths related to alcohol impairment 19 percent of the driving deaths in Butte-Silver Bow are related to alcohol impairment, compared to 47 percent for the rest of Montana. Butte-Silver Bow also has fewer sexually transmitted infections than the rest of the state measured by the number of newly diagnosed chlamydia cases per 100,000 population. But our teen pregnancy rate the number of births per 1,000 female population ages 15 to 19 is higher, 40 compared to 33 for the rest of the state. I am happy to report that Butte-Silver Bow ranks seventh out of the 47 measured counties in regard to access to clinical care. Seventeen percent of our population remains uninsured, compared to 20 percent for the rest of Montana a testament to those working locally to navigate people to the Health Insurance Marketplace and to Medicaid. Butte-Silver Bow has a better ratio of primary care physicians, dentists and mental health providers than the rest of the state, and we have fewer preventable hospital stays, measured by the number of hospital stays for ambulatory-care sensitive conditions (conditions such as diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), usually not requiring hospitalization), per 1,000 Medicare enrollees. Butte-Silver Bow mirrors the rest of the state in regard to diabetic monitoring, but we could do a better job in ensuring that we obtain routine mammography screenings. In regard to the physical environment, Butte-Silver Bow resembles the rest of the state in terms of air pollution and housing problems. Our measure is lower related to driving alone to work (which means we could be buddying up more). Our measure is higher related to the percentage of us who have long commutes. Butte-Silver Bow received a yes in regard to health-related drinking water violations, which means we had at least one during the measurement period. Ive discussed this in the past with Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Matt Vincent and Public Works Director David Schultz, and we concur completion of the Basin Creek Water Treatment Plan will finally give our county the status of having completely filtered water resources, and violations in this category should end. In regard to socioeconomic factors, Butte-Silver Bow has a high school graduation rate of 82 percent, compared to the states 84 percent, and 61 percent of our population has attended college for some time, compared to 68 percent for the rest of Montana. Our unemployment rate is 5 percent, compared to the states rate of 4.7 percent. Our violent crime rate is very similar to Montanas rate. But we have more work to do in regard to injury deaths the number of deaths due to injury, per 100,000 population Butte-Silver Bow is at 97, compared to 89 for the rest of the state. Importantly, we have too many children living in single-parent households 34 percent to Montanas 29 percent, and our ratio of income inequality the ratio of household income at the 80th percentile to income at the 20th percentile is more acute, 5.3 compared to Montanas 4.4 (a higher inequality ratio indicates greater division between the top and bottom ends of the income spectrum). James Marks of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently said that the single most important indicator of a municipalitys economic health is the percentage of children living in poverty. Twenty-three percent of children in Butte-Silver Bow live in poverty, compared to 19 percent for the rest of Montana. I am hoping that, in the coming years, many of us can focus very hard and work collectively on this particular measure. And we have more work to do in regard to the number of social associations we have the county health rankings defines this as membership or linkages in civic organizations, golf clubs, fitness centers and organizations related to sports, religion, politics, labor, business and professions and wax those alleys bowling centers! To illustrate the differences between the Republican and Democratic primaries, all we have to do is note the latest bizarre developments that drew the most attention and Twitter conversation. For the D's it was the Bernie Sanders bird, which dominated the, uh, tweets. Meanwhile, the R's continued with their ongoing Trump/Cruz bird flip. It managed to get even tackier, dragging in their wives and charges of marital infidelity for bad measure. Sanders was addressing one of his "yuuuge" crowds in Portland, Oregon, when along came a finch to filch the show. Actually, Sanders was perfectly willing to be upstaged as the little feathered tyke flitted around and finally landed at the podium. That set the huge audience into flights of applause, which is understandable. After all, most of those attending were so young that they remember seeing Disney animated movies like it was yesterday. Actually, it probably was yesterday. The films always included the cutest whistling creatures chirping along with some sappy song. That was cartoon fantasy. Sanders' skeptics argue his promises to accomplish social reform or wrest power from the country's entrenched interests are real-life fantasy. Still, the rally provided some comic relief, which was harmless, particularly since nothing was left behind, if you know what I mean. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz were dumping plenty of you-know-what-I-mean on each other, managing to splatter their wives in the process. If that wasn't enough droppings, the National Enquirer, that paragon of journalism, added to the pile. Let's review: Donald Trump said Ted Cruz hit the fan first with a digital ad showing his wife, Melania Trump, posing barely covered for GQ way back when and questioning whether she is first-lady material. Cruz said he had nothing to do with that. Still, Trump responded with an unflattering picture of Heidi Cruz, which allowed Hubby to forcefully state his righteous indignation for cameras. Then the Enquirer got into the act with an article accusing Cruz of having various affairs while married. Trump insisted he had nothing to do with that. Here is the question: Whom do you believe? Most probably would respond "None of the Above," except those who consider all this simply a disgusting waste of time. But then, who among us still buys anything our politicians say? Who really swallows it when Paul Ryan says he's not willing to be drafted as the Republican presidential nominee, particularly after he gives a strongly publicized, holier-than-thou speech about the woeful state of the campaign. Gee, does he have anybody in mind as an alternative? Remember, he played that same hard-to-get game when it came time to replace John Boehner. Now he's House Speaker Paul Ryan. Mitt Romney is putting on that same act, presenting himself as Lancelot, all but offering himself up to protect the round table of power brokers who run the GOP. He, too, denies that he's interested in being the one to save the kingdom, but that sure looks like a white horse he's riding. Maybe we make too much of Hillary Clinton's credibility perceptions. She certainly does have a trustworthiness issue. Polls consistently show large chunks of voters saying they consider her to be a liar. The real truth is that in the 2016 presidential election overall, honesty is in short supply. For the most part, we are exposed to calculated deceit, and when candidates do say what's really on their mind, it usually is fanciful, grossly uninformed or dangerous as all get-out. Let's face it -- most of us have little respect for those who aspire to be our leaders. And properly so. This may turn out to be overly skeptical, but would anyone be surprised to discover that the entire incident with Bernie's birdie was staged, that the creature was a really really tiny paid actor? But then, most of the candidates are small actors. (c) 2016 Bob Franken Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. 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 [] She is one of the most popular radio presenters in the country. Nzula Makosi hosts the Milele FM Drive Show alongside comedian Cleopas Awinja. She is popular for her charm and golden voice and the ease with which she runs her shows. Despite being a popular voice, few people have seen or interacted with this beauty behind the scenes. Over the weekend, she opened up about her career and her personal life in an interview with Tuko. 1. Place of birth Nzula was born and raised in Kwale town in Kwale county. She grew up and studied in the area before moving out to further her studies. 2. Education She went to Tumaini Academy in Kwale town for her primary education. She then joined Waa Girls High School in Kwale. Here, she was made head girl in form one but transferred to Voi Secondary where she completed her secondary education. She then joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Karen campus) in 2006 where she studied mass communication. 3. Radio career Nzula attributes her first steps in the radio career to wife to Chirau Ali Mwakwere, Kenyan ambassador to Tanzania. She says that Mrs Mwakwere met her while she was looking for internship in 2007 while on a holiday. She took her in to Radio Kaya in Kwale where she started as a reporter before being given a show thanks to her skill. Nzula grew at radio Kaya and was forced to do distance learning as she worked. She could later join Milele FM having seen her star born at Radio Kaya. 4. Training The amiable presenter is not only trained by JKUAT as a journalist but also international media company Deutsche Welle (Germany). Apart from radio, she is very good at doing features and can make a good TV presenter. She says her passion lies in doing live changing features. 5. Worst moment on radio Nzula says her worst moment on radio was in 2012 when she had just joined Milele FM. She says that she was so nervous that she said something nasty while she was on air. The buttons on the audio console were up and she had forgotten to turn them down. 6. Relationship status Nzula is married and has two children; a four and half years old boy and a two and half years old girl. She was married in 2011 at the age of 22. She says she has never regretted getting married at such a young age because her family is the best she can ask for. 7. How she met her man She reveals that she met him through a mutual friend. She potential in him and loved him. This was in 2009. They dated for two years before deciding to become husband and wife. 8. Managing family and her demanding job She says that this is possible when one has an understanding partner. She says her husband is very understanding and this has always made it easy to manage her family and her job as a radio personality. She reveals that she tries as much as possible to have time for her kids and her husband, and this has helped them get knitted together for the last couple of years. 9. How she handles admirers and team mafisi Nzula is a beautiful woman. She admits that despite making it public that she is someones wife, team mafisi always hit on her. But she says she always never minded them because being a public figure that is bound to happen. She says her husband understands what she does and has never raised an issue about it. She simply reminds the admirers that she is already taken, for good. She says she understands some ladies also hit on her husband. She says that all it takes in a relationship is serious trust and being faithful to one another. 10. Dinner dates Nzula loves going out for dinner dates with her hubby. We go to dinner dates. We ensure that the kids are sleeping, we have someone in the house. If there is a party somewhere and we are invited, we go, she says. A city pastor is making headlines for claiming that he has not had sex with his wife for over a decade due to a rare health condition. Pastor Francis Gichuru Gachieki, the lead preacher and founder of Christ Ambassadors Church International in Nairobis Mowlem area, has not been intimate with his beloved wife since 2000, when he developed prolactinoma, a medical condition which makes him produce milk from his breasts. The condition causes reduced libido, low calcium, hormonal imbalance and even infertility. In an interview with The Nairobian, the former manager at an insurance company, said, Actually, the problem began immediately after our wedding in 2000, then I could not perform to the maximum, but we could not figure out the root cause. After stepping out of a cyber cafe back in 2007, I noticed an unusual liquid on my shirt, but ignored it and proceeded home in Kariobangi, he said. When he got home, his wife, Mercy Muthoni, also noticed the liquid discharge and asked him to remove his shirt after which she squeezed his breasts and discovered that the abnormal liquid was milk and not sweat. The local daily reports that the pastor went to see a doctor who referred him to Kenyatta National Hospital and several tests were conducted. He says he felt humiliated when female patients started laughing at him as he queued with them in the same line. Soon after, I started experiencing severe headaches, poor eyesight among other disturbing symptoms and even though doctors conducted several tests, including squeezing out milk for tests, they did not make a conclusive diagnosis, he said. When my conditioned worsened in 2014, my doctor proposed a surgery in India, United States, Singapore or Israel, he said. This surgery is very important to me as it will restore my life including my libido, he explained. To date, he has reportedly used more than Sh1.3 million on medical bills. Meanwhile, his doctors have estimated that he needs more than Sh2.5 million for a complete surgery. Due to his condition, his Christian ministry suffered and some members took off, saying that a childless man cannot lead them. Additional Reporting by The Nairobian Judging from recent newspaper accounts, there's a bit of confusion in city government Upvalley. Despite what was expressed at a Feb. 16 City Council meeting in Calistoga, as U.S. citizens, we enjoy a representative democracy and maintain a constitutional right to freedom of speech. As California residents, this includes the right (and some would argue, a responsibility) to comment upon decisions affecting state resources to the appropriate agencies -- even while residing elsewhere in the state. The fact that the mayor of Calistoga, in his dual role as executive director of its Chamber of Commerce, suggests otherwise is simply outrageous. It is a misguided attempt to discourage public participation, forthright and honest debate, and the influence of any interests which he feels may be in competition with his own. The law is quite clear: Calistoga does not get to determine a Californian's civil rights. Even if they aren't taxpayers or ratepayers of the city of Calistoga's municipal water system, the truth is that when individuals or organizations become concerned enough about practices they discover are damaging California's water resources, they have the right to file a complaint with the courts or request investigation and a public hearing with the State Water Resources Control Board. When industry groups such as the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, Napa County Farm Bureau, or other downstream water users commented upon the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board's plans to issue Cease and Desist Orders to the city of Calistoga, it was also within their rights, as it was years ago when Baykeeper chose to comment on the city's problematic sewer plant. And when private citizens residing anywhere in the state, are forced to resort to legal remedy in order to ensure compliance with state law which mandates for the release of reservoir water to keep fish in good condition below dams, including those which are private, public, or municipal, and located far from their primary residence, it is well within their rights as well -- despite anything city governments would like us to believe. All these efforts are, of course, costly and time-consuming. Compliance with state and federal law remains the preferred and prudent choice. The concept of the public trust doctrine is something advocates like myself hold dear. Ask most people who owns California's water and you'll be often met with a stare or uncertain reply that it belongs to private property owners. The fact is that California's water is held in trust for all current and future Californians. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the utilization of water is subject to public uses including navigation, recreation, fishing, and ecological purposes. A water right is simply legal permission to use a reasonable amount of water for beneficial purposes; it does not grant ownership, nor can our water be wasted, polluted, abused, or stolen. If considered the people's water, a common good on long-term loan, the responsibility to safeguard our public trust resources for future generations of Californians is a truly compelling one. In the absence of pressure from the public and civic organizations or the force of law, political interests are usually as reluctant to change their practices as agencies are to intervene and law becomes something seen as an arbitrary imposition and an obstacle to be avoided. In Pope Francis' words, We cannot fail to praise the commitment of international agencies and civil society organizations which draw public attention to these issues and offer critical cooperation, employing legitimate means of pressure, to ensure that each government carries out its proper and inalienable responsibility to its country's environment and natural resources without capitulating to spurious local or international interests. Unless citizens control political power -- national, regional, and municipal -- it will not be possible to control damage to the environment. "Caring for ecosystems demands farsightedness, since no one looking for quick and easy profit is truly interested in their preservation. But the cost of the damage caused by such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained. Where certain species are destroyed or seriously harmed, the values involved are incalculable. We can be silent to terrible injustices if we think that we can obtain significant benefits by making the rest of humanity, present and future, pay the extremely high costs of environmental degradation. I'm grateful to those individuals, projects and organizations throughout beautiful California that continue to act as prudent trustees for critical public trust resources which might otherwise be inappropriately given over to private interests: our streams, rivers, wetlands, coasts, beaches, and great bay, the native fish, wildlife, and aquatic ecosystems, and I invite others to add their voice to the growing chorus. It is your right. Christina Aranguren Calistoga Iranian MP: Iran will conduct military exercises wherever it deems necessary Finnish delegation to visit Ankara to discuss NATO membership Social media giants are likely to oppose Turkey's new law Pastor steals $900,000 to buy stocks and car in U.S. Lithuanian President Nauseda is named most popular politician in country Charles III will embark on longest tour of world in history of royal family Deputy Director of Institute of Oriental Studies of RAS: Baku's goal is that Karabakh has no Armenian population Hurricane Roslyn in Pacific Ocean intensifies to third category Italy's new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, begins forming government U.S. Treasury Department records budget deficit of over $429 billion in September Why does Baku need aggravation on border with Armenia? Skakov assesses likelihood of new aggression Iranian Foreign Minister: I had important meeting with Pashinyan in Armenia Johnson spotted in economy class on flight from Dominican Republic to Britain Armenian PM and European Parliament Resident Rapporteur for Armenia discuss Karabakh situation Authorities in Kherson urge residents to immediately leave city Russian expert: Baku's attempts to open corridor by force will cause negative response not only from IRI or Russian Telegraph: Britain to send about 60 old tanks to NATO base in Germany for exercises Artak Beglaryan: You will see me in new position Netanyahu: Iran nuclear deal could bring Russia 'hundreds of billions' Russia and Turkey begin to develop gas hub project PM Pashinyan discusses agenda of bilateral relations with Iranian FM Anna Hakobyan meets Armenians in Paris Sargsyan: Recognition of Artsakh people's right for self-determination must be reflected in legal documents Italy's first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, sworn in Private jet goes missing off coast of Costa Rica Times of India: India tests nuclear-capable Agni Prime missile Spiegel: German Foreign Minister and Defense Minister ask to allocate 2.2 billion for military aid to Kiev Deputy PM of Armenia and Head of Sharjah Heritage Institute discuss strengthening of Armenian-Emirati relations Biden allows participation in U.S. presidential election in 2024 Secretary of Security Council of Armenia and representatives of AIISA discuss security issues Kakhovka reservoir increases water discharges in case of possible destruction of HPP Pashinian's spouse: Yesterday at Elysee Palace I was received by dear Brigitte Macron At least 15 people killed in bus-truck collision in India Explosion at Uzbek Defense Ministry depot injures 16 people Armenian NA Speaker receives Iranian FM: Tehran opposes obstacles on border with friendly Armenia President Harutyunyan receives group of members of Union of Artsakh Reserve Officers NGO Newspaper: Armenia restores diplomatic ties with Hungary? China hit by 5.5 magnitude earthquake Armenian Defense Ministry denies Azerbaijani report on shelling, calling it disinformation Blinken: Moscow is not interested in stopping aggression against Ukraine 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 Iranian MP: Iran will conduct military exercises wherever it deems necessary Finnish delegation to visit Ankara to discuss NATO membership Social media giants are likely to oppose Turkey's new law Pastor steals $900,000 to buy stocks and car in U.S. Lithuanian President Nauseda is named most popular politician in country Charles III will embark on longest tour of world in history of royal family Deputy Director of Institute of Oriental Studies of RAS: Baku's goal is that Karabakh has no Armenian population Hurricane Roslyn in Pacific Ocean intensifies to third category Italy's new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, begins forming government U.S. Treasury Department records budget deficit of over $429 billion in September Why does Baku need aggravation on border with Armenia? Skakov assesses likelihood of new aggression Iranian Foreign Minister: I had important meeting with Pashinyan in Armenia Johnson spotted in economy class on flight from Dominican Republic to Britain Armenian PM and European Parliament Resident Rapporteur for Armenia discuss Karabakh situation Authorities in Kherson urge residents to immediately leave city Russian expert: Baku's attempts to open corridor by force will cause negative response not only from IRI or Russian Telegraph: Britain to send about 60 old tanks to NATO base in Germany for exercises Artak Beglaryan: You will see me in new position Netanyahu: Iran nuclear deal could bring Russia 'hundreds of billions' Russia and Turkey begin to develop gas hub project PM Pashinyan discusses agenda of bilateral relations with Iranian FM Anna Hakobyan meets Armenians in Paris Sargsyan: Recognition of Artsakh people's right for self-determination must be reflected in legal documents Italy's first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, sworn in Private jet goes missing off coast of Costa Rica Times of India: India tests nuclear-capable Agni Prime missile Spiegel: German Foreign Minister and Defense Minister ask to allocate 2.2 billion for military aid to Kiev Deputy PM of Armenia and Head of Sharjah Heritage Institute discuss strengthening of Armenian-Emirati relations Biden allows participation in U.S. presidential election in 2024 Secretary of Security Council of Armenia and representatives of AIISA discuss security issues Kakhovka reservoir increases water discharges in case of possible destruction of HPP Pashinian's spouse: Yesterday at Elysee Palace I was received by dear Brigitte Macron At least 15 people killed in bus-truck collision in India Explosion at Uzbek Defense Ministry depot injures 16 people Armenian NA Speaker receives Iranian FM: Tehran opposes obstacles on border with friendly Armenia President Harutyunyan receives group of members of Union of Artsakh Reserve Officers NGO Newspaper: Armenia restores diplomatic ties with Hungary? China hit by 5.5 magnitude earthquake Armenian Defense Ministry denies Azerbaijani report on shelling, calling it disinformation Blinken: Moscow is not interested in stopping aggression against Ukraine 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 President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to the U.S., is continuing his meetings in Massachusetts. The President is scheduled to meet with the Armenian organizations which have significant role and influence in the state, as well as representatives of the Armenian community and state authorities known for their pro-Armenian activity and other friends of Armenian people. The President today visited the Old North Church in Boston, where a Holy Liturgy was served by the church pastor Rev. Stephen T. Ayres and Armenian clergymen. Back in the 18th century, this very church gave an opportunity to the Armenians refugees to the U.S. to serve a liturgy within its building. The church built in the northern part of Boston in 1723 is considered the oldest church building of the city. By his visit to the Old North Church which had a significant influence on the American Revolution, the Armenian President aimed to pay tribute to one of the symbols of the U.S. independence and appreciate the kind treatment of this church and, generally, the Anglican Church towards the Armenians. Thereafter Sargsyan visited the Armenian Heritage Park, which was founded in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and other genocides following it. The park also aims to honor the great contributions of the American-Armenians and other migrant communities. The Armenian President toured the Armenian Heritage Park. He also visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex, where he laid a wreath and paid tribute to the Armenian Genocide victims. During his tour, Sargsyan was accompanied by Massachusetts ex-Governor Deval Patrick, who greatly contributed to the opening of the park, Boston Municipality representatives, Coordinator of the Armenian Genocide Centennial events James Kalustian, member of the executive committee of Armenian HeritageFoundation which implemented the construction of the park, Sheriff of Middlesex County Peter Koutoujian, as well as other representatives of the Armenian community. By the end of the tour, the Armenian President also paid tribute by the Holocaust memorial. President Sargsyan will have a number of other meetings today. The Florida Supreme Court has reversed a criminal contempt charge against a Florida man who was drunk when he reported for jury duty. According to court records, Noel Plank appeared for jury duty at the Leon County Courthouse in 2013. In response to general biographical questioning, Plank advised the trial judge that he had various issues that would make it difficult for him to serve on the jury. I work a full day. I work 13 hours on Thursdays, and I have no time or money to sit in court waiting for all of yall, Plank said. First of all, Im going to tell you straight out. Im antiwar, Vietnam draft card burner, and avoided the Vietnam war. Im also 4F. When the judge inquired about the meaning of 4F, Plank responded: Unqualified for military. Another thing is Im anti-government. I have not voted since Ronald Reagan was president. Im not even registered to vote. And Im also, to tell you the truth, Im a drunk. The trial judge did not excuse Plank based on those reasons, and jury selection continued. In response to later general questions pertaining to his background, Plank said, And as far as victim of crime, yes, I have been a victim of several crimes, identity theft, theft of over a thousand dollars worth of professional camera equipment, theft of cell phone, and Ive been burglarized a couple of times, nothing serious taken except a six-pack of beer, which I was kind of teed off at, because I was looking forward to having a beer after work, when I got home after work. And the police officer saysthe sheriffs asking me, Did you check the fridge? I said, I never thought of that. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); At some point during jury selection, Plank apparently fell asleep. The other jurors complained that Plank smelled of alcohol and was difficult to awaken at a break in jury selection at about 2:55 p.m. as the other jurors tried to pass by Plank. At the trial judges direction, a Leon County Probation Officer, Ceressa Haney, then administered a breathalyzer test to Plank around 3 p.m., which was performed outside the presence of the trial judge. An hour later, at approximately 4 p.m., the trial judge held a contempt hearing regarding Planks conduct during jury selection. At the hearing, Officer Haney testified that the results from the breathalyzer test demonstrated Plank had a blood-alcohol level of 0.111, and that it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol level over 0.08. In addition, Officer Haney testified that she smelled alcohol on Planks general person but could not determine if the smell came from his clothes or his breath. When Plank was given the opportunity to question Officer Haney, he asked only, What Id like to know is how I got the smell of beer on my clothes when I never spilt one drop on my clothing. At that point, the trial judge asked Plank to come to the microphone. Plank, who apparently was handcuffed by that time, replied that he was having a hard time getting out of the chair himself, especially with bracelets. The trial judge then informed Plank that although he arrived for jury duty at 11:30 a.m., his blood alcohol content was still 0.111 more than three hours later, indicating that his blood-alcohol level was even higher when he first arrived at the courthouse. In addition, the trial judge stated that she believed that Plank may have driven to the courthouse, and Plank confirmed that he had. The judge later found Plank in direct criminal contempt. All right. Im going to find that youre in direct criminal contempt for not only coming to the courthouse drunk but it was alsoin doing that, you disrupted the jury selection here this afternoon and distracted other jurors, said the trial judge. Other jurors obviously noticed that you smelled of alcohol, were drunk. So I am finding you in contempt. I cant ignore this behavior that, that youre here, youre over the legal limit, youre acting disruptive during jury selection, the judge continued. You tell me that youre a drunk and that youve refused to follow the law. I mean, thats what you said during the jury selection. And then it turns out that your blood alcohol level is significantly over the legal limit after youve been here for three and a half hours. So certainly your blood alcohol level has come down during that past three and a half hours. And you drove here. So, I mean, the driving itself, of course, wasnt in my presence and wasnt part of direct criminal contempt, but I certainly think its a legitimate factor for me to consider, and I think 30 days is reasonable. So thats my ruling and Im required to do a written order, so Ill do that, as well. Planks sentence was later reduced to 17 days and he was released from jail, but his attorneys appealed the direct contempt charge which ultimately reached the Florida Supreme Court. In order to be considered direct criminal contempt, all of the acts underlying the contemptuous conduct must be committed in open court in the presence of the judge, where all of the essential elements of the misconduct are under the eye of the court and are actually observed by the court, the Supreme Court held in a 7-0 decision. Applying these principles to the facts presented here, it becomes clear that this is not a case of direct criminal contempt. In determining whether Plank committed criminal contempt, the trial judge took testimony from a probation officer regarding Planks blood-alcohol level after the officer administered a breathalyzer test. In addition, the trial judge relied on off-the-record statements from the jurors that Plank smelled of alcohol and Planks own admissions that he drank before attending jury duty and that he drove to the courthouse. While the trial judge may have seen that Plank was asleep or that he had to be awakened by the other jurors, the order supporting the contempt conviction fails to specify which acts the trial judge personally observed or whether this information was presented to the judge from other jurors, who attempted to wake Plank during a break so they could pass by his seat. If the only act personally observed by the trial judge was a prospective juror who fell asleep during voir dire, this is not the type of willful misconduct that would typically require a court to use its unique power. (function(d) { var params = { id: c968a90a-149d-4c35-8e5b-bb995d978c8e, d: YnJldmFyZHRpbWVzLmNvbQ==, wid: 624460, exitPopMobile: true, cb: (new Date()).getTime() }; var qs = Object.keys(params).reduce(function(a, k){ a.push(k + = + encodeURIComponent(params[k])); return a},[]).join(String.fromCharCode(38)); var s = d.createElement(script); s.type=text/javascript;s.async=true; var p = https: == document.location.protocol ? https : http; s.src = p + ://api.content-ad.net/Scripts/widget2.aspx? + qs; d.getElementById(contentad624460).appendChild(s); })(document); Teaching Across the University: Innovative Pedagogy Series What: "The Work of Art in the World Creates Pre-Texts for Teaching and Learning" Who: Doris Sommer, director of the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University When: Friday, April 1, 4-5:30 p.m. Where: Robert W. Woodruff Library, Jones Room Last spring, Vialla Hartfield-Mendez decided to try something different in the classroom. For a course focused on the U.S.-Mexican War, Hartfield-Mendez, a professor of pedagogy in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, asked her students to read an article written in English about events leading up to the war and the resulting conflict. Then she asked the students to read another article written in Spanish by a Mexican historian. Next, she reached for scissors, glue and other basic art supplies. Providing photocopies of both articles, she divided her students into teams of two and asked them to use the text to create collages, selecting 10 sentences to cut out and arrange into a new narrative about the war, then decorate it any way they chose. The result? "Students had to really understand what was happening in both of those texts, then collaborate to decide what they would choose to reflect," she recalls. "In the process, they became very familiar with the facts being discussed," she says. "Then they shared what they had created." Later, when Hartfield-Mendez asked students what they had accomplished through the project, the classroom conversation hit upon "everything I had ever wished would come up in a senior seminar about those two articles," she says. "They said things like, 'In order to choose what to include, we had to choose what to omit,' which is actually what historians do," she explains. "The participants really focused on the text at hand and got to be creative with it. That's when they stopped being students and started being readers, interacting with what was going on." The classroom approach is called "Pre-Texts," a learning method that uses art to engage students with challenging textual materials. And Hartfield-Mendez is among a handful of Emory faculty members who've experimented broadly with it in classrooms and coursework over the past year. "It's applicable to learning at all levels," she says. The work of art in the world Emory faculty and students interested in learning more about the Pre-Texts method and other ways in which the arts can be at the center of learning and civic engagement are invited to attend a lecture and participate in a weekend workshop. The program opens Friday, April 1, with a public talk by Doris Sommer, who directs the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University, where she serves as Ira and Jewell Williams Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American studies. Sommer, the developer of the Pre-Texts workshops program and author of "The Work of Art in the World," will speak on "The Work of Art in the World Creates Pre-Texts for Teaching and Learning" from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Jones Room of the Woodruff Library. The event is free and open to the public. Her talk is presented by the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence and the Coalition for the Liberal Arts (CoLA), where Hartfield- Mendez serves as director of engaged learning. It is co-sponsored by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese; the Hightower Fund; the Emory Center for Ethics; the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program; the American Studies Program; the IDEAS Fellows Program; the Emory College Language Center; and the Office of Residence Life. Sommer's presentation will be immediately followed by a storytelling event, featuring a dialogue about how an experience with art can impact your perspective and subsequent storytelling circles with select guests. The closed event is presented in collaboration with the Media, Literature and Arts Outreach residence house and the IDEAS Fellows in the Institute for the Liberal Arts and continues a practice launched by CoLA. On Saturday, April 2, participants are invited to attend a Pre-Texts workshop at the Emory Center for Ethics. Emory faculty who have already received training and have experience employing Pre-Texts learning in the classroom will serve as facilitators, says Hartfield-Mendez. Following a breakfast meeting with Sommer, three simultaneous Pre-Texts workshops will be led by facilitators from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. "Basically, it's a wonderful opportunity to have a taste of the Pre-Texts experience," Hartfield-Mendez says. Space is limited to 60 participants, and pre-registration is required. Those interested in more information about the workshop or registering for it should contact Hartfield-Mendez' graduate assistant, Johannes Kleiner, at jkleine@emory.edu. Each Tuesday morning, a team of very special volunteers arrive at the oncology unit at Emory Saint Josephs Hospital. Its not unusual to see a Golden Retriever, Brittany Spaniel, Labradoodle or another adorable breed walking down the hallway and entering patient rooms. Accompanied by their owners, these four-legged volunteers from Happy Tails Pet Therapy bring comfort and healing while brightening the day of patients and staff. These animals provide unconditional love and acceptance to ease the pain for those patients who miss home, their family or pets, says Heather Dexter, CEO of Emory Saint Josephs. Oncology patients eagerly anticipate the animals weekly arrival, and those requesting a visit from Happy Tails have a paw print placed on the door of their room, a welcome sign for the handler/pet therapy teams to enter. For the past five years, volunteers from the Happy Tails program have provided a welcome distraction for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation in the hospitals Winship Cancer Institute. Patients quickly bond with the dogs and often schedule their treatments around the Happy Tails visitation schedule. With the popularity of these visits to the outpatient center, the hospital saw a need to expand the program to Emory Saint Josephs inpatient oncology unit. Our nursing leadership team really championed this move to make Happy Tails part of our patient care team, adds Dexter, whose own initial experience with Happy Tails was as a family member of a patient. While the Happy Tails dogs form a unique bond with Emory Saint Josephs patients, so do their handlers. Ellen Griffin, facility coordinator of the program at Emory Saint Josephs, and handler/volunteer Eleanor Hager, have several reasons for giving back to these patients. Hager shares a special connection with patients as a cancer survivor and she and her dog Kody put patients at ease during their visits. Griffin has volunteered for several years with all of her personal pets, and regularly brought her dog Dooley a cancer survivor to visit with patients before he passed away. For more information about the Happy Tails pet therapy program, call the Emory Saint Josephs Volunteer Services office at 678-843-7292. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] BENGALURU: Google is building a software keyboard for iPhone and other iOS platform. However it is still under wraps whether it will be released to consumers or not, reports, Hayley Tsukayama, The Washington Post. Google makes plenty of applications for the iPhone, everything from maps to Google Drive applications that are fed directly into the popular services that millions of users enjoy already. The recent keyboard would serve a similar purpose which will incorporate Googles search engine directly into the keyboard, assisting millions who prefer Google as their search engine. When it comes to the search engine game, Google has an undeniable lead but that business is changing significantly as people have started using their phones to search rather than their computers. One of the reasons being mobile ads dont cost as much as desktop ads and therefore deliver lower returns for Google. However, the firm does not face trouble as it could pull in most of the $21.3 Bn in revenue which was reported by the parent company Alphabet, last month. Another major issue faced by this search engine giant is the enhanced usage of applications that has significantly caused a dip in the old habit of browsing through search engines. To give an example, today it is more likely for any mobile phone users to use Facebook from its dedicated application which is already installed in their phone OS rather than browsing through the internet for the same. The same is true for review websites such as Yelp or travel site like Expedia. Therefore building search directly into the keyboard will help Google to boost mobile searches by making search super-convenient. Google is also looking forward to incorporate other features such as GIF and image searches which would add even more value to the program. Apple has started allowing third-party keyboards on the iPhone from iOS 8 hence opening users base to a number of smaller companies that makes keyboards with features that Apple do not offer in its stock keyboard. Read Also: Promising Material May Revolutionise Solar Energy Field Google's Camera App May Get Google Goggles Functionality Moscow journalist Maria Stepanova to speak about Russia's future Publisher and poet Maria Stepanova, one of the most visible figures in post-Soviet Russia, will visit Stanford on April 6-7 to speak about her country's search for identity. Sergey Melikhov Maria Stepanova Maria Stepanova was already an important and innovative poet by the time of Vladimir Putin's accession, but the times called for a tougher, more public role. Today, she is one of the most visible figures in post-Soviet culture not only as a poet, but as a journalist, a publisher, and a powerful voice for press freedom. Stepanova will be speaking on "Time Backward: Putin's Russia in Search of Identity" at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, at Levinthal Hall, Stanford Humanities Center. She will also give a reading of her poetry (in Russian) at 6 p.m. on April 7 in Piggott Hall, Room 252. Both events are free and open to the public. She is the founder of the Colta, the only independent crowd-funded source of information that exists in Russia today, with 900,000 unique visitors per month. The online publication has been called a Russian Huffington Post in format and style and also compared to the New York Review of Books for the scope and depth of its long essays. Dystopian future Stepanova's April 6 talk will consider Russia's current obsession with the past, at all levels of society, and its direct effect what she calls "hybrid archaism as a new model of statehood. "Putin's Russia is never able to sell a compelling version of the future. All it is able to produce, and it's quite creative in that aspect, is a vision of the past or a patchwork of different pasts as a shelter, where one has to hide from the future," she said. Russians, she recently wrote in Eurozine, are fearful of a dystopian future, and bound to a "schizoid present." Hence, a tacit social contract prevails: "We are prepared to consider our imperfect state acceptable as long as things don't get worse." The Muscovite is the author of 10 poetry collections and a recipient of several Russian and international literary awards, including the prestigious Andrey Bely Prize and Joseph Brodsky Fellowship. She was recently a fellow with Vienna's highly regarded Institut fur die Wissenschaften vom Menschen. As a poet, Stepanova is credited with reviving the ballad form in Russian poetry. She has also rekindled writer Nikolai Gogol's skaz technique of telling a story through the scrambled speech of an unreliable narrator, using manic wordplay and what one critic called "a carnival of images." Stepanova relishes this kind of speech "not just for how it represents a social language but for its sonic texture," wrote scholar and translator Catherine Ciepiela in an introduction to her poems. "She is a masterful formal poet, who subverts meter and rhyme by working them to absurdity. For her the logic of form trumps all other logics, so much so that she will re-accent or truncate words to fit rigorously observed schemes." The results of her verbal pyrotechnics are often hilarious for example, one poem juxtaposes Renaissance pornography with Stalin's Five-Year Plans. 'The inner editor' Stepanova began the online "Openspace" in 2007. "I was thinking about a cultural daily, something that would provide the audience with modern, up-to-date, passionate view on what is going on in Russian culture and in the outer world. In a short time, it became obvious that there is no stand-alone, solitary 'culture' in current times, that to speak about it means being socially and politically involved," she said. Openspace ended in 2012 after private funders withdrew support in a political climate that had grown more hostile to independent journalism. "If you are owned, you are always manipulated not necessarily directly by Kremlin, sometimes all it needs is to have a cautious investor, who is interfering with the editorial policy," Stepanova said. "The inner editor a term from the Soviet times, meaning an entity in your head who tries to prevent you from saying the direct truth is very active in the Russian media landscape." Colta was born in the ashes of "Openspace." According to Stepanova, "As the official media, from the TV to state-controlled press, turned into an instrument of propaganda and strongly opposed to anything foreign, Colta became an important place where you still could find unfiltered info on what is going on in the outer world. That's our mission and that's why we still strongly resist the idea of paywall. It could give us money we need, but the price to pay is too high: it means that our younger readers in far parts of the country the regions most impacted by the financial crisis would lose their only source of information." "So the only choice we had was to make the site 100 percent crowd-funded. That's how we started it, and that's how it works for almost four years the only totally crowd-funded site in Russia." Pakistan on Tuesday released a video in which an arrested Indian spy is heard confessing New Delhi's alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan. Kulbushan Yadav says in the video that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan "at the behest of RAW", the Indian intelligence agency, and that he was still with the Indian Navy. Yadav added that he had played a role in the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, Dawn reported. The video was released at a press conference attended by Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa and Information Minister Pervez Rashid. Terming Yadav's arrest a "big achievement", Bajwa said Yadav was directly handled by the RAW chief and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. "His goal was to disrupt development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar port as a special target," Bajwa said. "This is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism... There can be no clearer evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan." Yadav is heard saying in the video that he was still a serving officer in the Indian Navy and would be due for retirement in 2022. "By 2002, I commenced intelligence operations. In 2003, I established a small business in Chabahar in Iran. "As I was able to achieve undetected existence and visits to Karachi in 2003 and 2004. Having done some basic assignments within India for RAW, I was picked up by RAW in 2013 end," Yadav said. He said his purpose was to meet Baloch insurgents and carry out "activities with their collaboration". Law enforcement agencies arrested Yadav in an intelligence-based raid in Balochistan's Chaman near the border with Afghanistan last week. He held a valid Indian visa. India denied Yadav was an intelligence operative and said he was formerly from the navy. New Delhi also demanded consular access to Yadav, which has been denied. Yadav was shifted to Islamabad for interrogation, during which an unnamed official said the spy revealed he had bought boats at the Iranian port in Chabahar in order to target Karachi and Gwadar ports, Dawn reported. --Indo-Asian News Service mr/vd ( 362 Words) 2016-03-29-20:09:31 (IANS) The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate USD 848 million (Rs. 5,681 crore) in funding to develop solar parks across India. The agreement was signed by Jonathan Addleton, Mission Director, USAID/India and M. Teresa Kho, Country Director, India Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank. Through the agreement, USAID will align the technical resources of two of its programs to support ADB's investments in the development of solar parks and renewable energy transmission infrastructure in states at the forefront of India's efforts to promote clean energy. The collaboration will initially focus on the state of Rajasthan. The cooperation will design and develop public-private partnership models as well as study options for managing grid reliability. In particular, USAID technical activities will help place investments of USD 348 million (Rs. 2,331 crore) by ADB for transmission infrastructure for renewable energy deployment in western Rajasthan. USAID will also work with ADB across India with an additional USD 500 million (Rs. 3,350 crore) of investment in the design and development of solar parks. The Government of India's target for renewable energy is 175 giga-watts of installed capacity by 2022. In support of this, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a solar parks scheme to attract investment from project developers by reducing risks, streamlining the permitting process, bringing down cost through economies of scale, and modernizing infrastructure to allow easier integration of renewable energy into the grid. MNRE plans to establish 25 solar parks with a combined capacity of 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020. This agreement between USAID and ADB will help finance the development of solar parks in support of the Government of India's renewable energy targets. (ANI) Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro broke his silence on US President Barack Obama's recent trip to Cuba, saying he brought "sweetened words", but little of substance, the media reported on Tuesday. In a kind of open letter to Obama, published on Monday in state-run daily Granma, Castro said that he had "the elemental duty to respond to Obama's speech" to the Cuban people, delivered during his March 20-22 visit, Xinhua reported. "Obama made a speech in which he used the most sweetened words to express: 'It is time, now, to forget the past, leave the past behind, let us look to the future together, a future of hope.'" said Castro. "And it won't be easy; there will be challenges and we must give it time; but my stay here gives me more hope in what we can do together as friends, as family, as neighbours, together," Obama told the Cuban audience in his speech. While Obama's speech marked a radical change in the rhetoric usually directed at Cuba by the US, it failed to address any of the country's major grievances, Castro noted. "I suppose all of us were at risk of a heart attack upon hearing these words from the president of the US. After a ruthless blockade that has lasted almost 60 years, and what about those who have died in the mercenary attacks on Cuban ships and ports, an airliner full of passengers blown up in midair, mercenary invasions, multiple acts of violence and coercion?" said the former Cuban leader. A Cuban airliner from Barbados to Jamaica was blown up on October 6, 1976 by a terrorist bomb attack. All 73 people on board were killed. Cuba has accused the US of being an accomplice of the attack. Cuba does not need the US for its development, said Castro, noting that the Caribbean country has made significant progress in education, science, health and other fields despite the naval blockades, sanctions and punitive measures Washington imposed on the island for half a century. "We are capable of producing the food and materials we need with the efforts and intelligence of our people. We do not need the empire to give us anything," said Castro. To highlight the similarities between the two nations, Obama said: "Cuba, like the US, was built in part by slaves brought here from Africa. Like the US, the Cuban people can trace their heritage to both slaves and slave-owners." But Castro stressed that Cuban socialism has made more headway in eradicating racial discrimination than the US has through its liberal democracy. "The revolution swept away racial discrimination," said Castro, adding that "the hateful, racist bourgeois custom of hiring strongmen to expel black citizens from recreational centres was swept away by the Cuban Revolution." Castro led the 1959 Cuban Revolution that toppled the US-backed dictatorship. He had governed the country till 2006, when his health deteriorated, and was succeeded by his brother Raul Castro. --Indo-Asian News Service py/ ( 504 Words) 2016-03-29-09:41:32 (IANS) After successfully hacking into the encrypted Apple iPhone of one of the terrorists in San Bernardino, California shooting, the US Department of Justice has withdrawn legal action against the tech giant. According to the media reports, a third party helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to crack the security function without erasing contents of the iPhone used by Syed Farook. Farook, along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, planned and executed the December 2, 2015 shooting that left 14 people killed. "This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated," Apple said in a statement on Monday. "This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy," the statement said. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook, referring to the ongoing battle with the US government over encryption to unlock an iPhone, reiterated the company's commitment to protect its users' data and privacy. Addressing a packed auditorium at its Cupertino, California-based headquarters, Cook said: "We have a responsibility to help you protect your data and your privacy. We will not shrink from this responsibility." "We built the iPhone for you, our customers, and for many of us it is a deeply personal device," he told the gathering during a special launch event this month. On Monday, the federal government department, on behalf of the FBI, made the move at a US court in Central California, Xinhua reported. The two-page court filing said that the FBI had accessed data stored on the iPhone 5c. A week ago, a day before the DOJ and the Silicon Valley technology company were scheduled to appear at a hearing at the court, the government said it was trying a new way to unlock the phone used by Farook. The smartphone has a feature that erases data after 10 unsuccessful unlocking attempts. Successfully bypassing Apple in its efforts to look into the phone for information probably helpful in the terror attack investigation, the DOJ did not make public on Monday any details about who did help and how did it make through. Apple had been resisting the order by Judge Pym since February 16, when she ordered the manufacturer to provide the FBI with specialised software to disable the security feature. In an earlier TV interview, citing privacy protection for customers as a reason, Cook suggested that he would fight the case all the way up the US Supreme Court. The argument was heated, as the government side fought on the ground that it was a work phone owned by the San Bernardino county, and the software would be in the possession of Apple rather than in the hands of FBI agents. Both sides seemed to have failed to win full public support. However, the DOJ's decision not to go after Apple's assistance effectively put the dispute to an end, at least for now. And it is now Apple's turn to figure out, and for iPhone users to wonder, how secure is the phone and data on the device. --Indo-Asian News Service na/py/ ( 557 Words) 2016-03-29-09:45:32 (IANS) Habib, Riaz and Irshad -- all in their early 20s and hailing from Mewat district -- were arrested after police checked their car near Ghamroj village on Sohna road. The three were heading towards Delhi to supply the beef to sellers. Prima facie investigation revealed that the car was stolen and had a fake number plate, police said. --Indo-Asian News Service pradeep/pm/mr ( 93 Words) 2016-03-29-17:41:33 (IANS) "A young life, full of hope and promise cut short by mindless violence. Condolences to family of Raghavendran," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. According to reports, his body was found by the Belgian authorities in the metro train at Molenbeek station where one of the bombs went off. Blasts at the Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station killed more than 30 people from some 40 countries. MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Maalbeek station in Brussels." Infosys in a condolence message to the media said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendran's family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks." (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for a three - nation tour to Belgium, United States and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night. Talking to news persons in Delhi last evening, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup along with three Joint Secretaries of MEA said, in the first leg of the tour, the Prime Minister will reach Brussels, the capital of Belgium tomorrow. Nandini Singla, Joint Secretary (Europe West) said, the Prime Minister will take part in a series of activities at Brussels apart from addressing Indian diaspora. The Prime Minister will also take part in India-EU summit where he will take forward the ongoing consultations with the European Union, EU on finalization of Broad based Trade and Investment Agreement, BTIA. The Prime Minister is the first foreign dignitary who will be on the state visit to Belgium just a week after the deadly terror bombings which rocked Brussels. The Zaventem airport of Brussels, which bore the brunt of terror strikes, is still closed for flight operations. In his second leg of the tour, the Prime Minister will attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit at Washington D.C. on Thursday and Friday. He will present national progress report outlining the measures being taken by New Delhi for strengthening nuclear security and safety of nuclear technologies and devices. He is also likely to have bilateral meetings with heads of some countries. Before wrapping up his trip, the Prime Minister will visit Saudi Arabia where 2.96 million Indians are residing. He will visit office of two Indian companies besides holding talks with Saudi leadership's on trade and investment among other issues. Several agreements are expected to be signed in Brussels and Saudi Arabia during the Prime Minister's Modi's visit. Meanwhile, a day after scores of people were killed in an attack in Lahore, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cancelled his Washington visit where he was scheduled to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. Prime Minister Modi and Sharif were expected to meet at the Summit. (ANI) The Australian and New Zealand dollars rose on Tuesday as attractive government bond yields lured investors after disappointing U.S. data pushed back expectations of a rate increase by the Federal Reserve.The Australian dollar edged up to $0.7551, from $0.7533 on Thursday before the long Easter break. It remained within reach of an 8-month summit of $0.7681 touched earlier this month.It has leapt 5.7 percent so far in March which, if sustained, would be the largest monthly rise since 2011. Much of the gains are due to a weaker U.S. currency on fading expectations the Fed will resume raising rates soon.Dealers cited selling interest around $0.7560 and $0.7580. Support was found at Thursday's low of $0.7477.The next big event for foreign exchange markets is a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on the economic outlook and monetary policy at 1620 GMT on Tuesday.The focus then moves to China's manufacturing PMI survey on Friday. The Australian dollar is sensitive to news out of China, its major export market.Elias Haddad, a senior currency Strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, forecasts the world's second-biggest economy to show modest improvement in manufacturing after the Chinese Lunar New Year.Also helping are attractive government bond yields with Australia's 2-year bonds paying 2.0 percent. New Zealand's counterparts offer 2.1 percent compared with the negative yields of Germany, France, Sweden and more recently Japan.Australian government bond futures were a touch firmer, with the three-year bond contract up 1 tick at 98.040. The 10-year contract rose half a tick to 97.4250, while the 20-year contract edged up 1 tick to 96.8550.The New Zealand dollar rallied overnight, rising to $0.6736 from as low as $0.6670 the previous session after six days of falls."With no domestic events, the USD remains the driver with Fed Chair Yellen speaking tonight," ANZ analysts said in a research note.Investors would also be watching the Global Dairy Price auction held in the early hours of Wednesday morning. No doubt the kiwi will come under pressure on any signs of further weakness in dairy prices after they dropped 2.9 percent at the previous sale.Analysts expected the kiwi to trade between $0.6660 and $0.6780.New Zealand government bonds gained, sending yields 1 basis points lower along most of the curve. REUTERS PS PR0700 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-657762.Xml Joint Investigation Team(JIT) from Pakistan today left for Pathankot by special aircraft in the morning, the sources said.The team landed at Amritsar first and then was taken to Pathankot, 119 kilometres from there, in bulletproof SUVs by road fortified with security personnel. The sensitive areas of the airbase have been barricaded and screened from public eye in view of impending protests by Aam Aadmi Party workers there, according to the sources.The team will return tomorrow to the national capital again to examine retired Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh who in very dramatic circumstances was abducted and then released by the terrorists a day ahead of attack on the airbase on 2 January this year.Yesterday, National Investigation Agency(NIA) briefed the JIT about the evidence, progress in probe, and the role of Jaish-e Mohammad(JeM) in engineering one of the most audacious attack on military at Punjab border.UNI PRA SV 1108 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0384-657889.Xml Electorates of K.Ramarajapuram village under Vadipatti taluk in Madurai district have threatened to boycott the Tamil Nadu assembly election on May 16 to protest against the shifting of polling booth from their village to a neighbouring village. The village with a population of 600 people, including 370 voters have decided to boycott the poll, according to a flex banner erected by the residents in the village said. A decision to this effect was unanimously taken at a meeting of people of all communities in the village. The residents claimed that they had been exercising their franchise in a polling booth at K.Ramarajapuram union primary school, till 2011. The polling booth was shifted to a government high school at Kachaikatti village that is seven kilometre away from K.Ramarajapuram during the last Lok Sabha election. Despite repeated representations had been made to the authorities concerned, their grievance was not addressed. "We will not exercise our franchise unless the polling booth was restored at K.Ramarajapuram village,'' the residents said. Meanwhile, reports reaching here said the residents of Malwarpatti village near Vedasandur in Dindigul district have also decided to boycott the election to protest against the apathy over providing basic amenities, including drinking water. UNI GSM CS 1123 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-657903.Xml Union Urban Development Minister M.Venkaiah Naidu today held a crucial meeting with the senior Law ministry officials including the law secretary in the National Capital today on the proposal of increasing seats in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. In a chat with mediapersons after the meeting, Mr Naidu said that any decision to increase seats in the Assemblies of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would have to be taken after ensuring that no legal hurdles would crop up on account of this. He said a final decision in this regard would be taken after receiving the opinion of Attorney-General. It may be recalled that both the governments had proposed to the centre to increase seats in their respective Assemblies. While AP wanted the Assembly seats be increased to 225 from the present 175, Telangana had urged the centre to increase seats in its Assembly from 119 to 175. In fact, Telangana Chief minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao had broached the matter with Mr Naidu when Mr.Rao went to personally invite him for the "Ayutha Chandi Maha Yagam" conducted by the former in December last.UNI SMS CS 1130 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-657911.Xml The Congress Party on Sunday slammed the BJP-led NDA Government's move to permit a joint investigation team (JIT) from Pakistan to visit the Pathankot Air Force Base, saying this one step by the Modi government has led too much disgrace for the nation. "We are democratic country, our institution are far stronger than Pakistan. they are coming here because I believe they don't trust our investigating agencies or whatever evidence we produce. That means we are going to allow a country to come into our sovereign land because they don't trust us? Are we going to shame our agencies in front of Pakistani agencies? I think this one step by the Modi government has led to so much disgrace to the nation which is unfathomable for me," Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI here. He also said that the Pakistan's JIT visiting India is something which is beyond his comprehension. "I cannot understand why the Pakistani investigating agency has to come to India in a crime committed against Indians. You are the perpetrators; your people have been training terrorist groups and inciting people to create terror against India and now u have to come here to investigate? I just cannot understand," he added. Dikshit further asked whether India can go to various parts of Pakistan where India have firm evidence that Pakistan is training people and inciting people against India. Expressing parallel sentiments, another congress leader P.L. Punia said that it is unfortunate that the Pakistani JIT had to come to India to investigate. "JIT is going everywhere; there is no question of limited access. This is unfortunate that Pakistan does not want to believe what the army, Air force is saying," he said. A five-member Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is in Pathankot today to carry out the investigation into the terror attack on the Indian Air Force Base. Interacting with reporters yesterday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he had especially denied permission to the foreign investigative team to go anywhere near the airbase. He, however, said the Pathankot terror attack was being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and thus, it was within the purview of the NIA to give permission to the Pakistan JIT to probe the crime scene. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has given a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. The JIT reached New Delhi on Sunday to carry forward the probe and met the NIA officers yesterday. (ANI) Asserting that the visit of the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to Pathankot is an unprecedented initiative in regard to India-Pakistan relationship, defence experts on Tuesday said it would be now crucial to see how the Pakistan probe team use this opportunity to advance the case in Pakistan. "The Indian government and the defence ministry has clarified that there would be no access to any of the service personnel who are involved in the Pathankot incident, as also, no access to any part of the base that would redeem to be sensitive in terms of its own locations. I think we have to see how the JIT is going to use this opportunity to advance the case in Pakistan," Security Expert Uday Bhaskar told ANI. "Why Pathankot is a very anomalous experience is that, till now in India, many of the terrorist attacks, whether it was Mumbai in November 2008 or Pathankot in 2016, there has been strongly held view that the Pakistani establishment is supporting these groups or these individual perpetrators," he added. Bhaskar further stated that as far as the government is concerned, there seems to be an attempt to try and provide as much as of procedural access is possible, so that Pakistan in turn can prosecute the case. Resonating similar sentiments, defence expert S.R. Sinho said the National Investigation Agency has provided all the necessary evidences to the Pakistan JIT, but there has been no comment on this from the intelligence team of Pakistan, which does not clear their stand. "They have not commented anything on Maulana Masood Azhar till date. I think Pakistan might say that evidences are not sufficient and they require more proves on this. The Pakistan ISI has always carried out terrorist activities against India and it is their team which has come for investigation. The team also constitutes two lieutenant colonel. They have been sent so that they can find some loopholes and blame India," he added. Sinho termed the investigation as a 'delay', adding that the JIT is trying to show the international community that they are with India in probing the Pathankot attack. "The Bombay blast matter is also pending. Both America and Headley gave statements and confirmed but still Pakistan has taken no action yet," he said. The chopper carrying the Pakistan probe team and the NIA landed at the Amritsar's commercial airport earlier today and are en route to the Pathankot Air Base to probe the Pathankot terror attack. The NIA yesterday gave a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. Well placed NIA sources told ANI that the JIT held talks with the NIA members on the Pathankot attack investigation and NIA also gave presentation on facts and evidences. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. Seven security personnel were martyred in the attack. All terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in the gun-battle. (ANI) A Salesian order Catholic priest on Tuesday said there is no confirmed news about the "crucifixion" of Indian priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnallil, by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Yemen. "There is no confirmed news till date about Fr. Tom. Don't be carried away by the rumours in the social media," said Father Vincent Matthew. The priest said efforts are still underway at all levels to secure his release. "This is the information I can share for the moment," added Matthew. Efforts to reach the head of Catholic church in Bengaluru, Metropolitan Archbishop Bernard Moras, were not successful as he was away from his residence. The social media and many media houses have disseminated news on the crucifixion of Uzhunnallil by IS terrorists on Good Friday, March 25, after they abducted him from a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen. The Indian priest was kidnapped on March 4 after IS terrorists barged into the care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Aden in 1992, and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India. Uzhunnalil's ancestral home in Ramapuram in Kottayam district is at present closed as two of his brothers live abroad, while another lives in Gujarat. The brother from Gujarat has reached Ramapuram after hearing the news of the abduction. His relatives said they were in contact with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who regularly keeps in touch with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Salesian Order of priesthood was founded by Saint Francis de Sales in Italy to save the rising generations from the disastrous consequences of false and atheistical philosophical teachings introduced at the time of the French Revolution. --Indo-Asian News Service sth/rn/vt ( 306 Words) 2016-03-29-12:47:35 (IANS) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrived in Sydney on a four day official visit to Australia today morning, where in the opening remarks during his meeting with the Premier of New South Wales Mike Baird he said that the Indian Government has opened various sectors for Foreign Direct Investment including railways and defence among others and invited businesses in NSW to invest and make in India. Jaitley said that India needs a lot of FDI especially in manufacturing and infrastructure sector and said that the State Governments too are taking keen interest and competing among themselves to have foreign investments in their respective States. The Finance Minister said that present Government has opened various sectors for FDI including railways and defence among others. Inviting businesses in NSW to invest and make in India, he said that India wants foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of NIIF, pension and insurance funds. Jaitley also highlighted the various initiatives and reforms measures undertaken by the present Government to boost the Indian economy which is growing at the rate of above 7.5%. Speaking on the occasion, Baird expressed keen interest about the investment opportunities in India particularly in the infrastructure sector. He highlighted the importance of communicating the information to larger business community in Australia to enable them to understand the opportunities available in India. He also informed the Finance Minister that he intends to visit India during the next Vibrant Gujarat which is planned to be held in India in January 2017. (ANI) The House also paid homage to two former MLAs. As soon as the proceedings began after 10-day recess, Speaker Sitasaran Sharma made obituary references for Wikey and Mr Abdul Ghayyur Qureshi and Jhumaklal Bhendia.He mentioned contribution of all of them. Paying tributes, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan mentioned the untimely death of tribal leader Wikey, who lost his life at the age of 54 years and was representing from Ghoradungri in Betul District. Mr Chouhan said that Wikey was suffering from diabetes and despite providing best of medical treatment, his life could not be saved. Expressing concern over the deaths of members of legislative assembly, the Chief Minister urged the Speaker to arrange health check up to the members at least once in a year by the Assembly. He also paid tributes to former Judge Qureshi and five-time legislator of the House Bhendia. Deputy Speaker Rajendra Kumar Singh, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Bala Bachchan, Bahujan Samaj Party leader of the legislative party Satya Prakash Sakhwar, Congress legislator Arif Aqueel also paid tributes to the departed leaders. The proceedings of the House was adjourned for the day after observing two-minute silence to mark respect to the departed souls.UNI BDG SV SS1403 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0138-658115.Xml The ruling All India N R Congress is likely to contest alone in the Assembly Election to be held on May 16. Chief minister and party President N Rangasamy gave a hint to this effect while talking to newspersons here today. Giving evasive replies to several questions posed by the scribes, Mr.Rangasamy, however said, that he has not held confabulations with any party for an alliance so far and his party is ready to face the election alone. It may be noted that while several parties had already started preparations for the election, Mr.Rangasamy remained silent without giving any indication to have an alliance with other parties. VCK leader Thirumavalavan had stated that talks would be held with Mr.Rangasamy to have an alliance between the Peoples Welfare Front(PWF) and the N R Congress. However, convenor of the PWF and CPI secretary R Viswanathan had denied this. Apart from this, the PMK and BJP had expressed their interest to have alliance with the N R Congress. But nothing was materialized so far. In this backdrop, the Chief Minister said, his party is prepared to face the election and also there is ample time left for it . The present situation indicates that the parties N R Congress, AIADMK, PMK, PWF and BJP would contest the election on their own without having any truck withother parties. This would be a peculiar scenario in Puducherry as parties had alliances in the past..UNI PAB CS 1315 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-658032.Xml The body of Infosys employee RaghavendranGanesan, who was confirmed dead in the last week's terror attack at Brussels in Belgium would arrive here this afternoon. The body would be brought by his parents--father Ganesanand mother Annapoorani--and would be taken to his wife's houseat suburban Jothi Mangalam Nagar in Chitalapakkam in the eveningfor last rites. Leaders of various parties were expected to pay their last respects to the mortal remains of Raghavendran. The Infy techie, who went missing in last Tuesday's terror attacks in Brussels, was confirmed dead by Manjeev Singh Puri, India's Ambassador to Belgium and the EU. The 30-year-old, who has lived in Belgium for four years, went missing on March 22, after suicide bombers set off three bombs at Zaventem airport and on a train at Maalbeek metro station in the heart of Brussels. Mr Ganesan's last phone call was tracked to the Maalbeek metro station. Raghu Kumar, one of the relatives of Ganesan said ''We are very unlucky. We have lost a great guy''. The family of Raghavendran has taken possession of his bodyand it was being escorted by the police to the Belgian border, from where it would be taken to Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam. It would be brought to the airport here from Amsterdam. Mr Ganeshan's wife Vaishali Raghavendran and their child were based in Chennai, while his parents have settled inMumbai. Raghu Kumar, one of the family members accompanying the body to Schiphol thanked the Embassy authorities and Infosys company for their cooperation Infosys in a condolence message said ''our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendran's family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks.''UNI GV JM 1320 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0415-658042.Xml Chief Minister Manik Sarkar today told the assembly that the state government would go for investigation into the suicide cases taking advise from the law department, legislators and experts if necessary. Replying to a query of congress MLA Ratan Lal Nath, Mr Sarkar informed as many as 2130 incidences of suicide including that of three farmers were reported in Tripura in past three years. "It is really concerning that 267 students including 119 girls committed suicide during the period. Apart from that 25 government employees, 511 housewives, 194 unemployed and 4 retired government employees have also committed suicide," Mr Sarkar stated. However, Mr Nath alleged that deprivation from basic constitutional rights, nepotism in providing social and economic benefits and mal-distribution of wealth were the main reason of increasing the rate of suicide in the state over the years. "There is no comprehensive study over the growing incidences of suicide and police could not ascertain the reason of such high rate of suicide rather police is reluctant to investigate the cases and there is no scientific study on the issue," Mr Nath alleged. However, Chief Minister Sarkar stated that the state government is serious about the incidences of suicide and so far the causes of death was identified as domestic unrest, marital and love related issues, emotional and sentimental outbreak and peace less life in elderly age. Mr Sarkar further stated that incidences of suicide in the state were recorded at 19.7, 17.34 and 19.68 against per lakh of population in the year 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Average three people were committing suicide every day, which is higher than many other states of the country, he said.UNI BB BM ADG NS1247 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-657933.Xml In a goodwill mission, Chief Minister Kalikho Pul made an unannounced visit to the Ramakrishna Mission hospital here last evening to learn about the working conditions of the institution. In his interaction with Maharaj Partho Maharaj, Mr Pul said, "As the poor people of the state could not afford to go outside for treatment, the RK Mission hospital has filled the gaps with their service of sophisticated modern diagnostics and equipment, which is absent in the state run hospitals." He assured all support from the governmentfor the hospital. During the visit, the chief minister also met a 14-year-old girl who had escaped rape attempt, and was earlier shifted from Hormin hospital of Naharlagun. He inquired on her health and wished her for early recovery. The CM also inspected the central oxygen generator room and the Post Operative Room, where patients from neighbouring Assam were being treated. Mr Pul also spoke to the patients in the hospital. Going round on inspection, Mr Pul inspected the MRI Room, CT Scan, blood bank unit, dialysis unit, neonatal ICU, ICU, diagnostic unit and emergency therapy. UNI PB BM -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-657942.Xml Police said here today that criminals opened fire on, Ashok Kumar Mandal, killing him on the spot, in Naya Gaon locality. Miscreants managed to escape from the spot after the incident, late last night. "Raids were being carried out to nab the criminals," police said adding that the body had been sent for postmortem. A case in this connection had been registered, police informed.UNI XC KKS ADG NS1312 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-657962.Xml Traffic on Srinagar-Sonamarg road was today disrupted for several hours after students of a government school took to streets in Kangan in the central Kashmir district of Ganderbal against 'non-availability' of teachers. Students of Government High School Surfraw of Zone Hariganiwan in Kangan staged protest along with their parents against the non-availability of teaching staff in their school on Srinagar-Sonmarg road at Hariganiwan. The students, mostly small girls alleged that despite repeated requests to Zonal Educaton Officer (ZEO) of the area and other higher authorities of the education department, required number of teachers were not posted in the school. "Our education is suffering because of shortage of teaching staff," the students said. Large number of vehicles, including those carrying passengers got stranded on both sides of the road. However, the protesters dispersed off peacefully after police officials assured to raise their grievances with the education department and deputy commissioner of Ganderbal.UNI BAS QAB AE NS1500 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-658170.Xml Rostec today announced that its subsidiary company, Russian Helicopters, is close to signing a long term agreement with the Ministry of Defence. Addressing a press conference, Rostec State Corporation CEO Sergei Chemezov, said,''We are excited to be coming to India to be part of Defexpo 2016. These are exciting times for India's defence industry as Asia's geopolitics increasingly takes shape around India. This has led to India's defence services focus even morestrongly on modernisation and expansion. Within that ambit we plan to sign a contract that will lay the foundation for a new era of after-sales collaboration between Russian Helicopters and India. This is now being discussed with the Air Force, Navy and border patrol troops of India.. According to the preliminary agreement, Russian Helicopters will provide repairs for the Mi-17 fleet and also supply spares throughout the entire life cycle of the tororcraft. Repairs of helicopters operated in India will be performed by enterprises that are part of Russian Helicopters. The current life cycle is expected to be three to five years. A further extension as well as an expansion of helicopter models covered by the after sales support is part of the plan and is being considered.UNI AKM NV AE VN1511 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-658126.Xml BJP president Amit Shah today demanded that the Election Commission should investigate the alleged attempt by two Kolkata police cops to bribe party leader Rahul Sinha. Unless the city police commissioner was involved the lower ranks would not dare to do such act, Mr Shah said. Two cops of the detective department, ASI Subhasis Roychowdhury and Constable Aminur Rahman, were been caught at the BJP headquarters by partymen while trying to bribe the party's former state chief Rahul Sinha. Mr Sinha alleged that an ASI and a constable of Kolkata police's intelligence wing, the special branch, approached him yesterday seeking help in cross-border cattle smuggling and were willing to offer 'huge cash' in return. Suspecting something fishy, the BJP leader and his aides dragged the two to Jorasanko police station. The cops admitted they were from special branch and their beat was to cover opposition meetings. The BJP said the state government's machinery has been involved to set up the cops in a bid to have a sting operation against the BJP leader after 13 Trinamool Congress leaders, including MPs and ministers were caught in the Narada News sting operation taking cash for doing favour. Mr Shah, who is here on a day-long election campaign for party, told a meet the press conference at Press Club that the ruling TMC under Mamata Banerjee's leadership made the state a "graveyard" in past five years. The BJP chief dared Ms Banerjee to prove her political integrity and honesty and ask the CBI to set up an inquiry into the Narada News sting operation on her party leaders if they were innocent. Mr Shah claimed that the people have been disillusioned in past five years in the state where only "bomb making industries" flourished, a unique "parivartan" under the "Mamata didi ji". Condemning the vote bank politics with trespassers from neighbouring Bangladesh, Mr Shah clarified that BJP in no way will have any alliance with Trinamool, Congress and the Communists. Appealing to the voters to provide a chance to BJP to govern only for five years to witness a real change, Mr Shah claimed that Congress, Left Front and AITC have made a mess with the state, which once topped in the GDP (25 per cent). "Congress brought down to 13 per cent, Left Front to 4 per cent and TMC maintains 4 per cent GDP," Mr Shah maintained. The BJP leader said the Saradha and other chit fund companies were born under Left Front rule and flourished under the Mamata Banejree government crippling the economy and looted the poor people. "Some body gets rich by selling paintings and somebody becomes wealthy but what happened to 17 lakh poor people whose money were invested in those chit funds," asked Mr Shah. Mr Shah also dared Ms Banerjee to expel her party leaders, those who got money with their involvement in corruption, which were showed at the sting operation. "If Mamata di does not expel then ask the CBI to probe the corruption and I guarantee the investigating agency will swing into operation within 36 hours." Mr Shah added. To a question, he said the CBI investigation got delayed in some cases after the state police made mess with their primary probe.UNI PC BM ADG RP NS1545 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0059-658373.Xml A University release said here ,the ward is in recognition of his outstanding and dedicated service for exceptional efforts in the professional career. Dr Ramaiah is presently working as Dean, School of Media and Communication, and Professor of Library and Information Science in Pondicherry University. He is having over 30 years of experience, including at Loughborough University of Technology, England (4 years), and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (6 years). Dr Ramaiah's research interests include multimedia and hypertext technologies, human-computer interaction, user interfaces, designing e-books, e-publishing, e-learning, archival informatics, healthcare, and ICT applications in Library & Information Centres, the release added.UNI PAB KVV AK 1535 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-658103.Xml : In a bid to maintain uniformity in the timings of all schools in Puducherry and Karaikal regions of the union territory from 2016-17 academic year, it has been decided to change the timings. An education department release here today said, hereafter the forenoon session will be from 009 hrs to 1225 hrs. Lunch break from 12-5 hrs to 1400 hrs and afternoon session from 1400 hrs to 1615 hrs for urban schools. For rural schools, the forenoon session will be from 0930 hrs to 1255 hrs, lunch break from 1255 hrs to 1400 hrs and afternoon session from 1400 hrs to 1615 hrs.UNI PAB KVV AK 1600 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-658106.Xml The MoU was signed between K Baruah, Director, NIELIT Guwahati, and A K Barbhuiya, Registrar NIT, Silchar, an official statement said here last evening. As part of this MoU, NIELIT will provide training in skill development in niche areas to youth of the country in non formal sectors. They will be conducting courses in the field of Electronics Sector Design Manufacturing (ESDM). NIT Silchar will be providing the basic facilities to NIELIT in order to fulfill the objective. Dr Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Director General, NIELIT said NIELIT would set up Medical Electronics repair lab duly funded by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), government of India. He also added that such lab will provide opportunities to local hospitals and medical colleges in the nearby areas to get their medical equipments repaired and maintained on a very economical price in a time bound manner. The NIELIT has 18 Centres in North East out of which six are in the state of Assam. NIELIT is running various courses in the field of IECT from digital literacy to high end. The state government has given free of cost land at all the locations to set up permanent campus of NIELIT.UNI SG AD AE NS1613 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-658360.Xml South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during his side's last match against Sri Lanka in Delhi. Du Plessis was found to have breached Article 2.1.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an internationalmatch". This was second time within a 12-month period that du Plessis has been found guilty of the same Level 1 breach. In October 2015, du Plessis was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for violating Article 2.1.5 during the fourth One-Day International against India in Chennai. "If du Plessis is found guilty of a further breach of Article 2.1.5 within 12 months from the first offence last October, it will amount to his third offence and, as such, he will be suspended," ICC said in a media statement.The incident happened in South Africa's 13th over when du Plessis, after being given out LBW, showed dissent at the decision by occupying the crease for a period of time before leaving the field while looking at his bat and shaking his head. After the match, du Plessis admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. As such, there was no need for a formal hearing. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires S Ravi and Rod Tucker, third umpire Paul Reiffel and fourth official Chris Gaffaney, all from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. Penalties for a second Level 1 offence within a 12-month period included in the ICC Code of Conduct can range from an imposition of a fine from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of a player's match fee and/or up to two Suspension Points. UNI PC AD KU VN1622 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-658420.Xml Police said here that a team of East Champaran police led by East Champaran Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana, conducted raid at a hide-out at Transport Nagar, and rescued the girl and arrested four kidnappers with sophisticated weapons. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs one crore for safe release of the minor girl. Fatima, a three-year-old daughter of a leading businessman Momammad Sheikh was abducted recently from Motihari, district headquarter town of East Champaran and brought to Patna. Three of the abductors were identified as Prakash Singh and Amar--both natives of Patna while another one Rashabh is a native of Muzaffarpur district. During the investigation, it was found that Prakash had illicit relation with cousin of the abducted minor girl, police said, adding that all the arrested kidnappers were being interrogated in this connection.UNI KKS IS BM A -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-658053.Xml A tweet by Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday asking why the BJP government did nothing about the alleged crucifixion of an Indian Catholic priest by Islamic State jihadists in Yemen attracted a lot of censure on the social media platform, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking twitterati to "reply" to Tewari. Tewari tweeted: So ISIS allegedly crucified Father Thomas Uzhunnali & BJP Govt did nothing. Why because he was a Christian? Mr PM he was also a fellow Indian. Sushma Swaraj, who has been active on twitter in reaching out to Indians abroad in need of help, tweeted: Friends - I have liked some tweets. Please see them and judge for yourself. Then reply to @ManishTewari. A Catholic priest on Tuesday said there is no confirmation yet about the "crucifixion" of the Indian priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnallil. However, Tewari's tweet attracted a lot of flak. One twitterati asked: What has the BJP got to do with this? And if your memory still works, remember how you people let Sarabjeet (Singh) die in Pakistan. Another reasoned: That's ok..He's clutching at straws ....Very few straws left...Even he knows it's a ridiculous thing to say. Another twitterati remarked sarcastically: Please tell the entire nation what the Congress would have done to save the Father? So that India & also the world can follow your strategy. Social media and media houses have disseminated news on the alleged crucifixion of Uzhunnallil by IS terrorists on Good Friday, March 25, after they abducted him from a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen. The Indian priest was kidnapped on March 4 after IS terrorists barged into the care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Aden in 1992, and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India. The external affairs ministry has said there is no confirmation of the news of the alleged crucifixion. --Indo-Asian News Service rn/vt ( 338 Words) 2016-03-29-17:47:36 (IANS) Mr Nehru in a letter to the YSRCP President and leader of the opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly Y.S.Jaganmohan Reddy urged him to accept his resignation at the earliest. The MLA, who was YSRCP, Deputy Floor leader in the assembly, has been commenting in media interviews that he was unable to adjust with the policies and programmes of the party. In a major setback for the YSRCP, eight of its MLAs and a MLC had joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the recent past.UNI SMS KVV AK 1750 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-658331.Xml : Heart rending scenes werewitnessed and a pall of gloom engulfed the Chithalapakkam area on the city outskirts, as the mortal remains of Infosys techie Raghavendran Ganesan, who was killed in last week's terrorattack at Brussels in Belgium, was brought for last rites. A steady stream of visitors, including hisfamily members, friends and colleagues gathered at the residence, where the body was kept for the people to pay their last respects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil NaduChief Minister J Jayalalaithaa, DMK PresidentM Karunanidhi and other political party leaderscondoled the death of Raghavendra, who went toBrussels four years ago. MORE UNI GV KVV AK 1655 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-658493.Xml The proscribed ULFA(I) today put seven questions to the BJP, stating that if the party fails to clarify its position on these issues the outfit would strike at the BJP's election activities. Continuing to target the BJP, the outlawed organisation also warned the local people against participating in BJP's election activities, threatening of carrying out subversive activities against the political party. In an emailed statement to media here, ULFA(I)'s 'assistant publicity secretary' 'capt' Arunudoy Asom asked the BJP to make clear its position on the issues fielded before it. The ULFA(I) demanded to know the whereabouts of 26 of its cadres and leaders who have been missing since the operation against the outfit in Bhutan in 2004. It demanded public apology from BJP's chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal and party leader Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma for their roles in alleged killings and Bhaskar Sharma's alleged role in 'secret killings'. It demanded assurance that the 'secret killings' (extra judicial killings that had targeted ULFA kin) will not reoccur and establish beyond doubt that its leaders Chandra Mohan Patowary and Padma Hazarika and its ally AGP's Prafulla Kumar Mahanta were not linked to the 'secret killings'. The outfit also demanded clarification from Sonowal that the future of the state has not been put at stake before the BJP's national leadership and whether he has remained loyal to his nationalistic feelings towards the state. It also questioned the BJP's silence over purported remarks made by its MP Rameswar Teli against the Ahom community. The ULFA(I) had previously also targeted the BJP for patronising and fielding Bhaskar Sharma as its party nominee from Margherita constituency, alleging that Sharma was a leader of the 'secret killings'. The outfit had also questioned Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sharma's role in killings of youth leaders and activists in the state. The hardcore ULFA(I), led by Paresh Barua, has been vocal against the BJP ahead of next month's state polls. Assam will go to polls in two phases on April 4 and 11 next.UNI SG AD AE VN1703 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-658480.Xml : Ruling All India N R Congress legislator and government whip Nehru today urged the administration to take immediate steops to prevent the sale of fake lottery tickets here. In a statement here today, Mr Nehru said the fake lottery sellers are earning more revenue than those running some other industries and the tickets were being sold with the connivance of the police. He said there are four agents in a street here and the poor are losing their hard earned money and are forced to commit suicide. He charged that the revenue of Puducherry is being affected and the circulation of counterfeit currencies are on the increase.When rowdies and fake lottery gangs clash, police remain mere spectators, due to which, law and order situation is deterioriating.The complaints are not reaching the police stations and the issues were being settled through "katta Panchayats", Mr Nehru added.UNI PAB KVV AK 1815 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-658764.Xml Former Chief Minister and National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah today said New Delhi and Islamabad should actively work towards opening additional trade and travel routes along the Line of Control (LoC).Kashmir is a political issue which needs to be resolved politically through dialogue process.Speaking at a function organised to welcome Shabir Ahmed Mir into NC, Dr Abdullah said there was no alternative to Indo-Pak friendship and cooperation and that terrorism was a common threat to both the countries. NC Working President Omar Abdullah was also present on the occasion to welcome the new entrants to the party. He said others who joined the party on this occasion include Kaiser Jalali, grandson of veteran Kashmiri leader Aga Syed Jalali and Master Maqbool Ahmed, former District President Budgam for the Congress Party. "I have always maintained that terrorism is a universal enemy and there could be no possible distinction between acts and ideologies of terror and violence. What happened in Lahore is heart rending and painful," Dr Abdullah said. He said time has come when we realise the need to be united in fighting violence and terror and safeguard the future of our coming generations. ''During my previous visits to the United States and Europe, I always maintained how there can be no possible justification for violence and how an equivocal attitude and ambiguity towards terrorism would prove to be detrimental to global peace and stability,'' he said, adding that unfortunately those apprehensions proved to be true and the specter of violence is now consuming more innocent lives than we could have imagined back then. Demanding the opening of additional trade and travel routes across the LoC, Dr Abdullah said an increased people-to-people contact would be the greatest weapon to defeat terror and those who believed in exploiting sentiments for violence. Time has come to open the Jammu-Sialkot route for travel and trade. The Kargil-Skardu route should be thrown open and efforts should be made to open every possible route along the LoC to connect people on the two sides. Similarly New Delhi and Islamabad should encourage people to travel to each other's countries and experience the commonalities in culture and philosophy and the universal bonds of brotherhood. To remain isolated in our own perception and mindsets will lead to an increased polarisation in the world where people will be pitted against one another by those who want to keep the pot boiling", Dr Abdullah added. "NC will remain committed to the goal of encouraging New Delhi and Islamabad to engage in sustained talks and work towards the resolution of all outstanding issues between the two neighbours. We have always maintained that Kashmir is a political issue that needs a political solution and we will continue to strive for the restoration of sustained peace in the State. The NC has always chosen sacrifices over power and we will continue to uphold our ideals and values" Dr Abdullah claimed. Dr Abdullah and Mr Omar said NC remained committed to the goal of restoring the honour and dignity of the State and its people. Asking the new entrants to work hard towards strengthening the party at the grassroots level, they ensured all possible support to the new entrants in their ultimate goal to serve the people of the State. UNI BAS AE VP1842 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-658639.Xml On the campaign trail in poll=bound Assam, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'flop', who thought himself as 'all-knowing' and refused to listen to the people. Addressing back to back rallies, Mr Gandhi warned the people of Assam against falling victim to 'divisive' politics of BJP, alleging that if the saffron party is voted to power here, the state will be controlled from Nagpur (RSS headquarters) or the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). He addressed rallies at Diphu and Nilam Bazaar and Sonai in South Assam during his day long tour, which were delayed by two-and-a-half hour at each venue due to inclement weather. "Modi is a flop. He made promises to the people but failed to keep their trust and broke their hearts," he said, campaigning for the Congress at Nilam Bazaar in South Karimganj constituency in Barak Valley. Referring to the PM's selfies, he said, "We have all seen plenty of selfies of the PM. But has anyone seen his selfie with a poor farmer? Modi is busy clicking pictures with corporate leaders." He said, "The PM thinks he is all-knowing. He is busy speaking his 'Mann ki baat'. But he is removed from the aspirations and problems of the general people." In all the election rallies, the Congress leader accused the BJP of spreading discord and said, "Wherever the BJP goes, it spreads disharmony and hatred. It makes people fight among themselves. It created riots in Haryana within one-and-half-years of coming to power. In Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, it had instigated riots prior to Lok Sabha polls.""The BJP wants to destroy the harmony and brotherhood the Congress has established in Assam. It wants to impose a single line of thought across the country and destroy the diverse culture, heritage, tradition and history of the entire country," he said.More UNI SG PL RP1915 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-658762.Xml The delegation of senior Congress leaders led by Mallikrajun Kharge, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Sheila Dikshit, Anand Sharma, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ajay Maken, Randeep Singh Surjewala and RPN Singh will be meeting the President Mukherjee at 6.30pm at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Meanwhile, the Nainital High Court today ordered a floor test in the Assembly to determine which party enjoys a majority even as President's rule has been imposed in Uttarakhand. The High Court said the results of the floor test should not be declared in the Assembly and instead, should be presented before it in a sealed envelope. However, according to sources, the Congress is likely to challenge the part of Nainital High Court's verdict, wherein it says that the rebel MLAs would be allowed to vote in the floor test. Congress party's lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the court order states that while the nine disqualified MLAs can vote but it will be kept separately. "The votes of the disqualified MLAs will be counted only as per the outcome," he said. However, the court allowed President's rule in the state to continue. The Centre had dismissed the Congress government in Uttarakhand and imposed President's rule citing breakdown of governance on March 27. (ANI) The purpose of the MoU is to impart training to B.Tech students on software Testing and to establish Centre of Excellence at GITAM Campus. Prof. N.Siva Prasad, Director, School of Technology, GITAM University has exchanged the MoU with Anuradha, Vice-President, ISQ Practice, Virtusa Polaris in the presence of Meka Venkata Chalapathy, Head India Hiring, Krithi Vasan, Lead-India Campus Hiring of Virtusa Polaries and DVVSR Varma, Resident Director, GITAM University, Prof. S.S.Prasada Rao, Dean and Director, HBS, Dr. Nathi Venu Kumar, Director, T&P, IT & CSE Department HoDs Prof. M.Akkalakshmi and S.Phanikumar. After the MoU, the authorities have inaugurated the Centre of Excellence. Later, the Virtusa Polaris officials have distributed the offer letters to selected students in the campus placements drive.UNI KNR KVV AK 2032 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-659094.Xml Senior Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare murder case, Pansare family's lawyer, Vivek Ghatge, today expressed unhappiness over tardy progress of the investigation as well as public prosecutor's arguments and urged the trial court here to suspend the hearing till various investigation agencies, including CBI, STI and CID of Karnataka Police submit a joint report to the Bombay High Court. Following the demand, Additional Sessions Judge L D Bile deferred today's hearing in Pansare murder case to April 4 and ordered both the public prosecutor (PP) and Kalmba Jail authority to produce prime suspect Samer Gaikwad, who is now lodged in judicial custody of Kalmba district jail from September 28 last year, incourt on the date of hearing. In interesting development, there was not verbal interaction between the public prosecutor and the defence lawyer but between the public prosecutor and Mr Ghatge, lawyer of original complainant in the case the Pansare family. Mr Ghatge took objection to absence of investigation officers (IOs) in the court for today's hearing and said that despite the court's directive to submit the status report of investigation in the court, IOs were not present today and hence they could not submit the progress report, while expressing displeasure about the attitude of both PP and IOs. He charged that prosecutor Chandrakant Budhale was not serious about the trial even as the defence lawyer has been demanding to frame charges against the accused early. While expressing displeasure over the slow pace of investigation in the case, Mr Ghatge expressed doubt whether they would get justice in this way. He urged the court to suspend the hearing till the investigation agencies such as CBI, STI and CID of Karnataka Police submit a joint report to the High Court.More UNI SSS SS SHS RSA VN1943 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-658895.Xml The Election Commission today sought a report from the Kolkata Police, hours after a BJP delegation demanded a CBI inquiry and removal of the city Police Commissioner holding him responsible for the two cops' abortive attempt to bribe BJP leader Rahul Sinha. The BJP delegation, led by Mr Sinha, today handed over a memorandum to the state election office, alleging that a conspiracy to malign the BJP was hatched by the city police chief Rajiv Kumar, under instruction of state police minister. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also state police minister. The BJP memorandum to the election commission demanded immediate removal of the city police chief and institution of a CBI probe into the incident. Mr Shina said the two policemen of Special Branch (intelligence department)ASI Subhashis Roychowdhury and Constable Amirul Rahman - were setup by the state machinery to malign the BJP after many Trinamool Congress leaders were found taking bribe in the sting operation of Narada News. "We believe that the two cops of lower ranks will be made scapegoats after the police department started a departmental inquiry into the incident." Mr Sinha added.The former BJP state chief had claimed that he feared a deep-rooted conspiracy by the state machineries to malign the BJP after several ruling Trinamool Congress leaders, including ministers and MPs were caughttaking money for doing favour in a sting operation by Narada News. Mr Sinha, who is also BJP's candidate for Jorasanko assembly seat, claimed unless top leader such as Mamata Banerjee did not plan it, ordinary cops would not dare to do so. Mr Sinha said he and his party workers caught hold of ASI Subhasis Roychowdhury and Constable Aminul Rahman when the duo approached him seeking help in cross-border cattle smuggling in Murshidabad district against huge cash in return. The BJP delegation also demanded the arrest of the cops immediately. Meanwhile, the EC sought a detail report from theJorasanko police station in central Kolkata as to what happened yesterday. The BJP mencaught the two cops at the party headquarters and handed them over to the Jorasanko police station. Earlier in the day BJP national president Amit Shah condemned the incident, saying the state government was trying to defame the BJP after revelation of the Narada News sting operation. Mr Shah dared the chief minister to seek a CBI probe into theNarada News sting operation if she has political integrity and honesty. "Mamata Didi would not dare to do any such thing ( a CBI probeon the Narada sting ) because she wants to cling onto power," Mr Shah added. He also ridiculed the Left parties' demands to send the sting operation to the Ethics Committee in the Rajya Sabha."How can we send such a thing in the Rajya Sabha where the Communist and Congress hold the majority. We did in the Lok Sabha where we (BJP) are majority.We promptly sent it to the Ethics Committee," Mr Shah clarified.UNI PC PL DJK RSA VN1951 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-658907.Xml BJP president Amit Shah today said West Bengal has not seen any development or growth either in LFs thirty four years of rule or during five years tenure of Trinamool Congress government. Addressing an election rally at West Midnapore district, Mr Shah said there was a time when Bengal was an example to the entire country. But after the Left rule of 34 years followed by Trinamool Congress's 5 years, Bengal did not see any growth for a long time. "Factories and mills are suffering lockup everyday. Yes, the bomb manufacturing units are increasing," he said. Mr Shah said only BJP can bring out the lost charm of the state. "Neither Congress, nor CPI(M), nor TMC will be able to bring back Bengal on track. We do not fear to say that only BJP can. The party has already focused on Bengal since it came to power at the Centre," the BJP president said. " The work that we are and will do will surely bring back Bengal's shine and the state will again become an example of growth and development for the entire country." he said. Regarding the Narada sting, Mr. Shah said, "The TMC ministers who have been seen taking bribes must be discarded from the party."UNI BM KK SHS RSA GC2020 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-659037.Xml If you think storytelling is an obsolete art, an upcoming exhibition in the city is an eye opener. Titled 'Tales of Art', it unfolds the fascinating world of storytelling in contemporary art and its ability to transcend cultural and social boundaries. Presented by Great Banyan Art, the exhibition, slated to begin on Wednesday, will showcase around 40 artworks from 15 countries including US, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, China, and Malaysia among others, drawing upon an eclectic mix of emerging contemporary artists. "'Tales of Art' aims to bring together existing and aspiring art collectors of the millennial generation who are setting up their new homes and building their art collection," said the show's curator Sonali Batra. Talking about her work 'Saccharine Unicorn', artist Gabriele Sermuksnyte said that she tries to challenge gender stereotypes through her art. "I depict the present day princesses with the help of fairy tales. The women in my works depict decorative bodies, meant for fashion magazines. By this, I draw attention to the commodification of women and gender stereotypes existing in the society," said the Lithuania-based artist. For artist Viet Ha Tran, her photographic series "Remembrance of the shattered dreams" captures an ephemeral moment of feminine emotions flowing through the river of time. "My artworks are mostly inspired by a mixture of different elements such as philosophy, classic literature, paintings, music and Persian mystic poetry. I am a classic art lover, most particularly of artists such as Titian, Rembrandt and Rubens but also admire the works of the contemporary Italian photographer Paolo Roversi," she said. While South Koreas Sung Ha Ahn obsesses about found objects, including stubbed cigarettes in ashtrays blown up larger than life, Malaysias Ahmad Zakii Anwar, concentrates on photo-realism within urban settings. Polands Agata Zychlinska has a sense of the 'modern' and is satirical as an artist in response to works that recount artists from a century ago, though her sensibility belongs to the here and now. Titled as 'Rumour Collections', Netherlands artist Chantel Van Houten's work talks about emotions. "The pieces that are part of the show are from my recent 'Rumour' collection'. Rumours are about the feelings or emotions we get by creating and spreading a rumour. Why do we do this? Do we think is it sound to judge or is it just to make us feel better about ourselves? These questions are central in the rumour collection," said the artist. 'Tales of Art' is on from March 30 to April 4 at 1AQ Art Gallery. --Indo-Asian News Service pn/vd ( 429 Words) 2016-03-29-20:59:31 (IANS) The Opposition Congress and BJP today staged a walk out in the Odisha Assembly, demanding a house committee to probe into the irregularities in distribution of ration cards under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). They walked out after after Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Sanjay Kumar Das Burma rejected their demand to constitute a house committee to inquire into the distribution ration cards. Participating in a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion, the Opposition members alleged large scale irregularities and corruption in the selection of beneficiaries under the NFSA and demanded a probe. The opposition members also demanded the government provide ration cards to the eligible beneficiaries and strong action against the rich and ineligible people who have managed to get themselves enlisted under the NFSA by manipulating documents. They also alleged that the ruling party activists, including ward members, sarpanches, Corporators and Mayors, managed to take the ration cards while many poor and needy people were left out. The minister dubbed the allegation as politically motivated. Saying inclusion and exclusion of members under the NFSA is a dynamic process adding that Ration Card Management Centre Systems have been opened throughout the state and inclusion and exclusion could be made at any time. Mr Burma also assured the members that he would personally ensure that the ineligible beneficiaries are excluded if it was brought to his notice. However, he said it is the responsibility of every member to see that every needy and eligible person covered under the NFSA. Initiating the debate, Opposition Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati said the previous UPA government had passed the NFSA in 2013 with an objective to check the migration of labourers and prevent starvation deaths. But unfortunately the Odisha government could not implement it properly so far. The ration cards, Mr Bahinipati alleged, were distributed on party lines and the activists of the ruling BJD cornered most of the cards while the poor were left out. Alleging huge corruption in distribution of ration cards, He demanded the government to check corruption and ensure that all eligible beneficiaries are covered under the scheme. Prafulla Majhi another Leader of Opposition said the government failed to strictly implement the 9 exclusion and 5 automatic criteria for the selection of beneficiaries. Mr Debendra Nath Sharma (Cong) said the cards were being sold for a premium and demanded the government inquire into the corruption in selection of beneficiaries and punish the guilty. Mr Rabi Narayan Naik (BJP) wanted to know under what yardsticks the beneficiaries of various welfare schemes like Mo Kudia,Biju Puccaghar Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana were excluded from the NFSA. He alleged that the beneficiaries were selected without conducting the Gram Sabha and Palli Sabha. On the other hand the treasury bench members Prafulla Samal, Pramilla Mallik, Samir Ranjan Das and Mahesh Sahu denied any irregularities in the selection of beneficiaries under the NFSA and asserted that the scheme is being implemented sincerely in the state while accusing the opposition members of politicising the the issue. The Minister said out of the total 3.26 crore beneficiaries to be covered under the NFSA in the state 3.14 crore were covered under the scheme till March 1 last. The ration card has a bar code. There is a proposal to automise the distribution of food articles in future through Point of sale machines using the barcode and check corruption, he said adding that the Ration Card Management Sysem Centres were opened in all the 314 blocks and Municipal offices.UNI BD DP PL CJ RSA BD2039 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0211-658838.Xml Local lad Udayjit Bhalotia carded an even par 70 to open up a five stroke lead at the Tolly Juniors Cup 2016 being played here at the Par 70 Tollygunge Club. Despite his rocky start where he made bogeys on the 1st, 3rd and 4th holes, he could sense a recovery of sorts when he made a birdie on the 9th hole. He dropped two strokes on the par 4 12th hole to go four-over for the day. Just when it looked like his round was heading downward, he regained the momentum and expertly sank four birdies on the 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes to finish with an even par round of 70. In pursuit is Rajvir Randhawa who carded a 75 along with Kunal Naidu. Manish Rajak and Samridh Sen complete the top five with a pair of 76s to remain in contention. Category C Boys saw a three way tie at the top as Pinku Das, Kaushal Bagrodia and Biren Kumar will look to outsmart each other and better their first round scores of 84 to come up trumps tomorrow. In the Girl's Category C, Tarushi Jain looks headed for a win as he enjoys a nine stroke advantage over Anwesha Das. Garv Lakhmani leads Rudraksha Banerjee by a stroke in the Boys Category D followed by Manhar Bajoria a further two strokes behind at 86. Sinjini Mukherjee, meanwhile, enjoys a six stroke advantage over Anamika Chakravarty.UNI BM RSA RK2209 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-659254.Xml In one of the biggest joint ventures between an Indian company with any Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Reliance Defence Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd have decided to set up a joint venture company in India in the highlyspecialised areas of air-to-air missiles, air defence systems and large aerostats. The joint venture will provide big thrust into the field of indigenous production and development of high precision and state-of the-art weapon systems in India, a statement from the company said. The strategic partnership with technology power house and one of the world leaders in defence dechnologies, Rafale Advance Defence Systems of Israel, will mark the entry of Reliance Defence in thecomplex field of air-to-air and air defence systems manufacturing in India, the statement said. Reliance and Rafale joint venture would have 51 per cent holding from Reliance Defence and 49 per cent by Rafael as per the current guidelines of Government of India. The joint venture would be located at Dhirubhai Ambani Land Systems Park, Pithampur, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and would generate more than 3,000 highly-skilled jobs. The project would have an initial capital outlay of more than Rs 1,300 crore, without including the cost of technology. Rafael is a market leader in the air-to-air missile segment and has world renowned products like Python and Derby. Similarly, for the air defence systems, Rafael portfolio includes 'Spyder'short-range and medium-range as well as Barak missiles family of surface-to-air missiles in the short and medium ranges. Rafael has already provided large aerostat systems to the Indian Air Force for meeting its surveillance, reconnaissance, communication and intelligence needs. The two companies, through the joint venture, will offer the entire range of products in these fields to the Indian Armed Forces. Rafael is also willing to offer solutions through the joint venture even for the ongoing 'Buy Global' programmes where it is currently competing, in line with 'Make in India' initiative of the Indian government. Based on the current requirements, joint venture would address multiple programmes valued at more than Rs 65,000 crore over next ten years, the statement added.UNI AKM SS CJ RSA RK2324 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-659299.Xml Russian defence major, Concern Morinformsystem-Agat JSC, today said it is ready to look for mutually beneficial patterns of cooperation with India and want to strike a balance of interest with all the parties at stake be it Indian government or Indian business. Addressing a news conference at the ongoing Defexpo 2016, Antsev, director general-chief designer at Concern Morinformsystem- Agat JSC, said, ''We are aware of the plans to localise the technology in India. It is the governments of Russia and India who are to decide on the sensitive issue of technology transfer in each particular case. But we are ready to take our part in whatever Navalprojects our governments agree upon.'' He said Concern Morinformsystem-Agat JSC has its systems including combat management systems, fire control systems, radar systems installed on almost all projects of Indian ships, including P-15, P-17, 11356, 1143.4. (Vikramaditya). Concern Morinformsystem-Agat is ready to integrate its systems together with Indian companies on new projects of Indian submarines (including 75i) and surface ships. ''Some of our systems have no direct analogies in the world. We are looking at finding a reliable Indian partner to do the job for the Indian Navy,'' Mr Antev said. ''Some of the company's subsidiary to Morinformsystem-Agat have 50 years of cooperation with India. We are an information spaceintegrator for the Russian Navy. So, we can offer state-of-the art technology to the Indian Navy,'' he said. Morinformsystem-Agat can offer automatic control systems, combat management systems for surface ships and submarines, radio- electronic, monitoring system, 'Kasatka' radar systems, 'Fregat' missile systems for submarines 'Club-S' and for surface ships'Club-N', coastal mobile defence systems 'Club-M' and 'Bal-E' andmany more, he stated. He also suggested integrating Club and Brahmos missiles on India surface ships with a universal general purpose fire control system. ''Then, from one ship both cruise missiles could be launched that will increase their capacity and efficiency.'' Mr Antsev said. Club and Brahmos, though both being cruise missiles, have different specifications and flying trajectories, he added. In Russia, the universal General Purpose Fire Control System has already been installed on newest surface ships, he informed. UNI AKM SS CJ RSA RK2310 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-659308.Xml The Jharkhand government today approved variousdecisions in the cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, and held at the Project Building here. An official press release here said the state government has sanctioned a sum of Rs 200 crore from the emergency funds for Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited. A proposal was also approved to procure loans worth Rs 12384.67 lakh from Nabard to build 47 bridges by the rural development department. The state government has also decided to increase the honorarium paid to Anaganwadi Sevikas and Sahaikas. It was also decided that families who are not covered under the Food Security Act 2013 would be provided with ration cards.UNI AK KK RSA BD2255 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-659049.Xml Nagaland Governor P B Acharya today called upon the people from mainland India to change their mindset about Nagaland and entire Northeastern states. Inaugurating 'RAHAT' Medical mission in Dimapur, organised by the Rotary Club, Mr Acharya said people think that it is dangerous to come to Nagaland, but in reality it is not. "The entire Northeast is a one-way traffic," he said adding, it has its own heritage. All eight Northeastern states have got the opportunity to showcase its rich cultural heritage, not just showcasing dances, drama or music only, he added. "We have to think of emotional integration through this camp," he said. Commenting that insurgency has been present in the Northeast for quite a number of years, the Governor said despite such a situation, people have been moving forward. On the occasion, Mr Acharya informed that a Medical College has already been commissioned in Nagaland. UNI AS KK RSA BD2252 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-659071.Xml The fire broke out in the Ajman One residential cluster of 12 towers, close to the border with Sharjah. Fire mainly damaged tower 1. Officials could not immediately be reached for information on any casualties, but one official said tenants were being evacuated to safety. The Civil Defence in Ajman city, about 44 km northeast to Dubai, said its operations room received a call about the fire at 9.45 p. m. The Civil Defence, rescue and ambulance teams have rushed to the scene. Several units battled the huge blaze well into the night. Flames are seen raging while the area has been cordoned off leading to huge traffic jam in Ajman and Sharjah. The UAE deputy prime minister and minister of interior have rushed to Ajman to follow up on the details of firefighting operations. Fires in skyscrapers are common in the UAE. On the New Year's Eve, a fire engulfed a 63-story building opposite the world's tallest skyscraper Burj Khalifa. --Indo-Asian News Service ahm/ ( 200 Words) 2016-03-29-03:25:32 (IANS) Obama's meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, which is slated for Thursday and Friday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. North Korea conducted a nuclear test on January 6 and used ballistic missile technology to launch a satellite on February 7, in a series of violations of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose new and tougher sanctions against North Korea and council members called for an end to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme and early resumption of the Six-Party Talks. --Indo-Asian News Service ahm/ ( 191 Words) 2016-03-29-07:25:31 (IANS) India, who is passionately following its quest for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has hardened its stand on the Jaish-e-Mohammed and will call on the UN to proscribe its commander Maulana Masood Azhar. With the developments on the Pathankot attack taking a concrete step as the Pakistan JIT team is set to visit to the site of the attack today, India is stepping up its crackdown on the terror outfit, whose involvement in the attack on the Air Base is the focus of the probe. "As regards the attack by JeM, we assure you that we will pursue the cause for justice. It is not a cause that we will leave or have forgotten about. I can assure you that we are proceeding with our efforts to ensure that this organisation which is already proscribed by the UN also has its leaders proscribed and that is the primary effort right now," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told ANI here. Asserting that India's efforts are focused on having Masood as a listed entity, he added that there are certain terrorists that needed to be named and shamed. "India is a remerging entity and a power that is trying to get its rightful place in the world. Nothing and no power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. Our time has come," Akbaruddin said. Earlier, India showed Pakistan the evidence that establishes the involvement of Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Muhammed Rauf Asghar in the Pathankot attack. India has also sought voice samples of Rauf Asghar, who is reported to have claimed responsibility for the attack on a website. Meanwhile, the chopper carrying the Pakistan probe team and the NIA landed at the Amritsar's commercial airport. The NIA yesterday gave a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. Well placed NIA sources told ANI that the JIT held talks with the NIA members on the Pathankot attack investigation and NIA also gave presentation on facts and evidences. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. (ANI) US President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program, the White House said. The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will take place the same day Obama talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. Relations between Park and Abe have been frosty in the past, but the two have been brought together in recent months by shared concerns about North Korea, which conducted a fourth nuclear bomb test on January 6 and launched a long-range rocket into space last month. The United States has been keen to encourage better relations between Seoul and Japan, its two biggest allies in Asia, given concerns not only about North Korea but also an increasingly assertive China. Beijing has said Xi will push Obama to resume talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Their meeting could also touch on US concerns about Chinese computer hacking and Beijing's assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea. Obama, Park and Abe last met trilaterally on the sidelines of the previous Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in 2014, but only at the cajoling of the US president. Last November, Abe and Park held their first formal bilateral talks since taking office and the following month Japan and South Korea reached a landmark agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over women forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels. Military officials and defense officials said after the North Korean nuclear test in January that shared concerns about North Korea could cement the reconciliation and open the way for increased military cooperation between Japan and South Korea. Washington is relying increasingly on its Asian allies to work together and says trilateral defense cooperation is critical to maintaining regional security. China has signed up for tough new UN sanctions against North Korea but it has said repeatedly sanctions are not the answer and that only a resumption of talks can resolve the dispute over North Korea's weapons programme. Numerous efforts to restart the talks have failed since they collapsed following the last round in 2008. REUTERS PS PR0550 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-657754.Xml US President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program, the White House said.The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will take place the same day Obama talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping."This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement.Relations between Park and Abe have been frosty in the past, but the two have been brought together in recent months by shared concerns about North Korea, which conducted a fourth nuclear bomb test on January 6 and launched a long-range rocket into space last month.The United States has been keen to encourage better relations between Seoul and Japan, its two biggest allies in Asia, given concerns not only about North Korea but also an increasingly assertive China.Beijing has said Xi will push Obama to resume talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Their meeting could also touch on US concerns about Chinese computer hacking and Beijing's assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea.Obama, Park and Abe last met trilaterally on the sidelines of the previous Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in 2014, but only at the cajoling of the US president.Last November, Abe and Park held their first formal bilateral talks since taking office and the following month Japan and South Korea reached a landmark agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over women forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels.Military officials and defense officials said after the North Korean nuclear test in January that shared concerns about North Korea could cement the reconciliation and open the way for increased military cooperation between Japan and South Korea.Washington is relying increasingly on its Asian allies to work together and says trilateral defense cooperation is critical to maintaining regional security.China has signed up for tough new UN sanctions against North Korea but it has said repeatedly sanctions are not the answer and that only a resumption of talks can resolve the dispute over North Korea's weapons programme.Numerous efforts to restart the talks have failed since they collapsed following the last round in 2008.REUTERS PS PR0553 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0137-657755.Xml The agency said it will fund building a new passenger terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport which suffers congestion from growing tourism, reports Lanka page. The new passenger terminal building is planned to be opened in 2020 and will enable handling of 15 million passengers a year, more than doubling the present capacity and ease the congestion. The terminal would use solar energy and recycled water from a sewage plant for the flushing of toilets. It will be built according to modern and international as well as civil aviation services standards. The project would be developed based on the concept of (an) eco-airport with Japanese advanced technology and know-how, JICA said. The Bandaranaike International Airport handled 8.5 million passengers in 2015 and exceeded its capacity of 6 million passengers per annum while tourist arrivals to the country steadily increased since the end of the war in 2009, reaching nearly 1.8 million in 2015. Vice President of JICA Hidetoshi Irigaki and the Chairman of the Airports and Aviation Service Company S. Saman Ediriweera in the presence of Minister of Transport Nimal Siripala de Silva signed the agreement to provide a Rs. 49 billion line of credit for the project which is estimated to cost Rs. 82 billion.(ANI) The Pakistani militants who bombed a Lahore park on Easter Sunday, killing 70 people, taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today, declaring their war had come to his doorstep.The military has said it is hunting the Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction and has carried out several raids since the suicide bombing, but neither the military nor the government has given any details.Jamaat-ur-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it had targeted Christians celebrating Easter and warning it would step up attacks.Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province and Sharif's political heartland."Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home," tweeted Jamaat-ur-Ahrar spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan. "The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen."Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, an independent faction of the Pakistani Taliban which and also previously declared loyalty to Islamic State, has carried out five major attacks in Pakistan since December.In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Sharif vowed to continue pursuing militant groups."I am here to renew a pledge that we are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest till it is paid," Sharif said.The prime minister did not mention what steps would be taken in the aftermath of Pakistan's worst militant attack since gunmen stormed a Peshawar school in December 2014, killing 134 children.Military and government officials on Monday said that the military was preparing to launch a new paramilitary counterterrorism crackdown in Punjab.The move, which has not yet been formally announced, represents the civilian government once again granting special powers to the military to fight Islamist militants."The PM ordered a joint operation of the counterterrorism department and Rangers in the border areas of Punjab against terrorists and their facilitators," said one government official who attended a meeting with Sharif and Punjab officials yesterday.Two military officials and one other government official confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity. Sharif made no mention of the crackdown in his speech, and his party has long opposed any militarised operation against militants in its heartland.The government also announced that Sharif would be cancelling a planned trip to the United States to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, due to begin on Thursday.Pakistan's security agencies have long been accused of nurturing some militants to use for help in pursuing objectives in Afghanistan and against old rival India.The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Sharif's opponents have accused him of tolerating militancy in return for peace in his province, a charge he strongly denies. REUTERS SV VP1226 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-657971.Xml Firefighters brought under control a fire that broke out at a residential tower in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the city civil defence said today, the latest in a series of blazes in the country's high-rise buildings.Local media said that five people were treated on the spot for injuuries from the fire which broke out late at night on Monday at the Ajman One, a residential cluster of 12 towers. Fire gutted at least two towers.Residents of towers were evacuated and the cause of the fire was not immediately known."Civil defence teams have brought the residential tower fire under control and they are still at the scene conducting cooling off operations," the civil defence said in a message on its Twitter account.The civil defence made no mention of any casualties from the blaze.A video posted online by police showed burning debris falling from the building, as police cordoned off roads leading to the site.It was at least the fourth major high-rise fire in the UAE in three years. Last New Year's Eve, a blaze hit a downtown hotel in Dubai; in February last year, fire broke out at a 79-storey hotel in Dubai, and in November 2012, a 34-storey Dubai residential building was partially gutted.In some of those cases, experts said the speed at which the fires spread may have been due to the use of flammable cladding on the buildings' exteriors for decoration or insulation.REUTERS SV RAI1355 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-658083.Xml The 201 Selab Military Corps in a statement of Tuesday confirmed the account, reports Tolo news. The statement said that in addition 27 others were injured. While the statement said that the security forces have recovered weapons from the area during the operation, details about any casualties among Afghan security forces during the operation have not been mentioned. Meanwhile, the military operation to overthrow the insurgents in the area is underway. (ANI) In a message to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Li expressed that on the behalf of the Chinese government, he extended his profound condolences to the victims while expressing deep sympathy with their relatives and the injured, reports Xinhua. The Chinese Premier said that Beijing firmly opposes terrorism in all forms and will continue to firmly support Islamabad and its people in their efforts to maintain national security and stability and to crack down on terrorism. A suicide bombing rocked a public park in Lahore on Sunday where the people had gathered to celebrate Easter. As of today the death toll is 72. Reportedly, a Pakistani Taliban splinter group has claimed responsibility for the attack. (ANI) An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus today but the passengers and crew were freed unharmed and the hijacker, whose motives remained a mystery, was arrested after giving himself up.Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320 flight when it took off, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement.Conflicting theories emerged about the hijacker's motives, with Cypriot officials saying early on the incident did not appear related to terrorism but the Cypriot state broadcaster saying he had demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt.After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, negotiations began and everyone onboard was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said.Soon after his comments, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off.The hijacker then surrendered to authorities."Its over," the Cypriot foreign ministry said in a tweet.Speaking to reporters after the crisis ended, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker was an Egyptian national but that his motives remained unclear."At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said, adding that the man would now be questioned to ascertain his motives.Cypriot foreign ministry official Alexandros Zenon told reporters during the crisis that the hijacker apppeared to be "unstable".Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who claimed to be wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to divert the plane to Larnaca.Photographs shown on Egyptian state television showed a middle-aged man on a plane wearing glasses and displaying a white belt with bulging pockets and protruding wires.Fethy, the Egyptian minister, said authorities suspected the suicide belt was not genuine but treated the incident as serious to ensure the safety of all those on board."Our passengers are all well and the crew is all well... We cannot say this was a terrorist act... he was not a professional," Fethy told reporters after the incident.In the midst of the crisis, witnesses said the hijacker had thrown a letter on the apron in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot.But the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) said the hijacker had asked for the release of women prisoners in Egypt, suggesting a political motive.EgyptAir also delayed a New York-bound flight from Cairo onto which some passengers of the hijacked plane had been due to connect. Fethy said it was delayed partly due to a technical issue but partly as a precaution.The plane remained on the tarmac at Larnaca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. EGYPT'S IMAGEWhile the reasons for the hijacking were not entirely clear, the incident will deal another blow to Egypt's tourism industry and hurt efforts to revive an economy hammered by political unrest following the 2011 uprising.The sector, a main source of hard currency for the import-dependent county, was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October.President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said the Russian plane was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board.The incident has raised renewed questions over airport security in Egypt, though it was not clear whether the hijacker was even armed. Ismail said stringent measures were in place.There was also some confusion over the identity of the hijacker. Egypt's official state news agency MENA initially named him as Egyptian national Ibrahim Samaha but later said the hijacker was called Seif Eldin Mustafa.The Cypriot Foreign Affairs Ministry also identified the hijacker as Mustafa.Passengers on the plane included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a Syrian and French national, the Civil Aviation Ministry.Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East.A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978.In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed.Egypt said it would send a plane to Cyprus to pick up stranded passengers, some of whom had been traveling to Cairo for connecting flights abroad.REUTERS SHS VN1826 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-658809.Xml Ten Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped in waters of the conflict-wracked southern Philippines by Islamic militants who have demanded a ransom for their release, authorities said Tuesday. The crew were travelling on a tugboat pulling a barge from Borneo island to the Philippines when they were hijacked, Indonesian and Philippine officials said. Hijackers on a wooden motor boat are thought to have abducted the sailors Saturday. The vessels' owners received a ransom call from someone claiming to be from the Abu Sayyaf militant group the same day. The Philippine military said initial information indicated the sailors may have been taken by an Abu Sayyaf faction to Sulu, a remote southern island that is a hideout of the militant outfit, but added they were still seeking confirmation. Abu Sayyaf is a Philippines-based Islamist group notorious for bombings and kidnappings, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Before the latest case, their most recent high-profile kidnapping was of two Canadians and a Norwegian from yachts at a marina in September, with the militants setting an April deadline for a huge ransom to be paid. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the kidnappers of the Indonesian sailors had also sought a ransom, but refused to say how much was demanded. "Our priority is the safety of the 10 Indonesians who are being held hostage, we will keep working hard to save them," the minister told reporters, adding she had been in touch with her Philippine counterpart. It is unclear where the barge -- which was transporting coal to the Philippine city Batangas -- and the crew are being held by the kidnappers, she said. However the Philippine military said the tugboat was found empty at sea and had been taken to a port in the Tawi-Tawi islands, not far from Sulu. - High-profile kidnappings - Abu Sayyaf, which operates from remote jungle bases in the southern Philippines, was founded in the 1990s with the help of late Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden. Story continues It has been blamed for a string of attacks, including the deadliest in the nation's history, the 2004 Manila Bay ferry bombing that claimed more than 100 lives. A US-assisted campaign against the militants launched around a decade ago was considered a success, with many Abu Sayyaf leaders arrested or killed. But recent kidnappings, including of the Canadians and Norwegian, in areas previously considered beyond the group's reach, have raised new fears. Last year the militants beheaded a Malaysian man after abducting him from a seaside restaurant in Malaysia's Sabah state. A Malaysian woman seized along with him was released after a ransom was reportedly paid. The Philippine government has repeatedly said it has a "no-ransom policy". But parties linked to foreigners held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf often pay to win their release. In October 2014 the Abu Sayyaf claimed it received 250 million pesos ($5.3 million) in exchange for two German hostages it held captive for six months. Security analysts said a large ransom was paid. 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 grad school search. Medical school is generally a large investment. But at these institutions, you might be able to get an education for a relatively lower price. [Get advice on paying for medical school.] Of the 10 private medical schools that had the lowest tuition and fees in the 2015-2016 academic year, most were ranked in the bottom one-fourth of the 2017 U.S. News Best Medical Schools rankings for research. The Baylor College of Medicine was the only institution on the list to rank among the top 20. These 10 schools charged an average of nearly $42,900 in tuition and fees. The average among all 48 schools that submitted this data to U.S. News in an annual survey was slightly more than $52,500. Columbia University had the highest tuition and fees for 2015-2016, at $61,485, while the Baylor College of Medicine had the lowest, at $31,663. [Consider five factors to build a medical school application list.] Meanwhile, the No. 1 ranked medical school for research, Harvard University, charged $57,485 in tuition and fees, placing it among the most expensive schools. Below is a list of the 10 medical schools with the lowest tuition and fees for the 2015-2016 school 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 all medical schools. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it. Story continues Note: While Baylor College of Medicine, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine are private programs, these schools offer different rates for in-state and out-of-state students. The programs' in-state tuition rates are lower than the out-of-state rates provided in this article. Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find information on medical school tuition, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights. U.S. News surveyed 170 medical schools for our 2015 survey of research and primary care programs. Schools self-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 this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Medical Schools 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. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The tuition data above are correct as of March 29, 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. Being a college freshman as an international student is an exciting time in your life. Once you have been accepted, your next tast is to understand the reality of life at a U.S. college. You will get to explore many aspects of life at a U.S. college and it will help you learn about yourself, too. I've spoken with some friends to come up with the following four mistakes to avoid to help you get a more detailed picture of the environment at a U.S. college -- things that travel or education agents, your parents and high school counselors likely won't tell you. 1. Trying to take advantage of every penny that you spent on your education: Many international students are accepted to colleges with financial aid, so it is understandable that you try to save your money and get the best value. However, trying too hard with that mindset isn't necessary. It may even stress you out. One example I've seen among my friends, some of whom always try to eat as much as they can in the cafeteria because their meal plans are expensive. They end up gaining unnecessary weight and look very unhealthy at the end of the semester. Be aware of the ways you're trying to get your money's worth. For instance, don't do laundry every few days to get your money's worth from your paid laundry service. This is only a waste of your time. [Learn other financial tips for international students.] 2. Not speaking up and asking for what you want: Even though some students try very hard to get their money's worth, they are sometimes afraid to ask for what they want from the people around them, whether it is a lunch lady, a professor or a career adviser. Moreover, the cultures that some international folks come from sometimes make them afraid to speak up about their needs. However, college is where people do not reprimand you for asking for what benefits you. People are here to help and when you say that you are an international students, you are often even more welcomed. Story continues If you appear to work hard and be attentive and assertive, you will get help from people if you just ask. I once had an interview with a partner from an accounting firm, and wanted to write him a hand-written "thank-you letter" afterward. The mail typically takes two weeks to reach its destination, but I asked my career adviser to send him the letter right that day -- a special request. He did not hesitate to send the letter, and the partner told me that it was a pleasant surprise. [Know the five questions international students should ask professors.] 3. Being emotionally involved in a relationship: Being emotionally consumed in a relationship during your freshman year may not be a great thing to do. It might limit your interactions with other peers and thus narrowing the scope of your social life. Moreover, college is not high school, where you may have classes together all the time. The chances that two people will spend a significant amount of time together in an activity is slimmer in college, since you'll likely have different priorities and goals. The only person responsible for your academic progress and personal development at this stage of your life is you, so make your decision wisely. [Check out on-campus support options for international students.] 4. Setting your expectations for yourself too low: College is an entirely different environment from high school. If you assume that since your performance was mediocre in high school, it will be hard for you to perform well in college, you are likely right -- and most likely wrong. You'll be right, because this mentality will only keep you where you are. This is the wrong thing to do, however, because if you keep pushing yourself, you will likely succeed. There is an international student from my college who did not score the highest GPA in his high school class, did not have a decent scholarship and did not speak fluent English the first time I had a conversation with him. Overall, he did not seem to be the kind of student who would land a dream job in New York after graduation. However, he was the first one among us to be selected for an internship at a prestigious investment bank, as a sophomore. I am sure he has been trying his best academically and socially to gain knowledge and soft skills over the last two years. More importantly, he succeeded in becoming a better version of himself. Danh Pham, from Vietnam, is a sophomore and a member of the Liberal Arts Honors Program at Providence College, where he majors in accounting. What does it mean to lose your faith when religion plays a huge role in your life and the life of your family? That's the big question at the heart of The Path, a new 10-episode series from Hulu that premieres Wednesday. The series stars Aaron Paul as Eddie, who joined the vaguely Scientology-esque Meyerism as a young man, married a woman (Michelle Monaghan) who grew up in it, and suddenly begins to experience doubt about the movement. Grappling with his faith is a real struggle for Eddie, who strives to hide his doubt from his wife as well as a charismatic but sinister local Meyerism leader (Hugh Dancy). It doesn't help that Eddie's having nightmarish visions about Meyerism involving a massive yellow snake. The series asks big questions about faith and the purpose it serves, as well as how it can divide a family. The series marks Paul's return to TV following his breakthrough role on Breaking Bad. The three-time Emmy winner spoke with THR about Eddie's difficulties and his co-stars, both human and reptilian. I mean, why not? I got a taste of developing with Bojack Horseman, and I just love being a part of those conversations from the very beginning. When this was placed in front of me, after reading the first two episodes, the material was impossible to ignore. I wanted to jump into this world. A large part of what's going on with Eddie is that he's struggling with his faith, which is something that people do across the board when it comes to religion, but Eddie's experience is a little different. What do you think makes his struggle unique? When I read it, I instantly could relate to this guy, and I think the audience is going to be able to relate to this guy. He comes from a very tortured past. He didn't really have that great of an upbringing. Really, the only person he could rely on was his brother, and that ended in tragedy. And so he was just this lost broken guy, and he found this movement, and he was brought into this movement by his loving, beautiful wife, played by the brilliant Michelle Monaghan. And they've raised their two kids in the movement. In the pilot episode, he has this crisis of faith. He has this eye-opening experience on this retreat where he realizes he just does not buy anything they're selling anymore, and that is terrifying to him because he knows if he says anything, he risks losing everyone he loves. Story continues Read More: 'The Path' Creator: How I Lost Religion and Wrote a New One That Isn't Scientology (Guest Column) You called it a movement, which people in the show are careful to say: "It's a movement, it's not a cult." Do you agree with them? Is it a movement, or is it a cult? I don't know. At the end of the day, it's probably a cult, but all of these cults, movements, religions - they're just providing answers. A lot of people are desperately searching for answers, and this is giving those people the answers. You could call it a movement, you could call it a cult, you could call it a religion. Eddie came to the movement on his own, whereas his wife grew up in it. How much does that affect their relationship? Quite a bit. That's the thing. There's no talking any sort of sense into Sarah. This is all she knows, and I always say that you know what you know. If someone teaches you something from birth, that is all you know, and that is what you believe. Eddie is conflicted. He would rather live a life of lies than lose his family, because if he says anything, if he mentions any sort of doubt, he's a doubter, and the family will either try to brainwash him or just immediately turn their backs on him and completely forget about him. Does Sarah's level of faith give him any sense of guilt that it comes easily to her, but it's something he's struggling with? Oh, absolutely! I think that's really what's at the core of the show, at least for Eddie. That's what he's struggling with the most. She believes in this thing with her entire being. This is her whole purpose in life. And now he is looking at it as just kind of nonsense. And he just is not buying it whatsoever. And it's really making him very sad and very confused. Do you think part of the attraction for Sarah initially was that Eddie was an outsider? Yeah, I think that's what drew her in in the first place, because she was just so used to people inside of her inner circle. People that only knew this belief. She saw Eddie as this intriguing, dangerous creature that she was just drawn to. Did you and Michelle have conversations about what you wanted to do with that relationship? Yeah, we've talked quite a bit about it, but really it was all on the page from day one. We were presented two episodes at the very beginning and a very detailed description of a first season with these characters. [Showrunner] Jessica Goldberg had a very specific vision in mind of how she wanted this story to be portrayed, and so from the very beginning we kind of knew where these characters were going. When you were getting ready for this, did you dive into the world of people who had left cults or people who were in cults, or were you trying to trust what was already in the script? I was definitely trying to trust what was there in the script, and it was already there. The detail of this movement is incredible. They've created an entire bible for us to do research on. [Jessica's] attention to detail is really beautiful, and so it was all there, whether it was on the page or in different pamphlets that were given to us. She truly has created a movement in itself. We didn't necessarily even need to look elsewhere, but I did. I grew up in a very religious upbringing, so I knew what that sort of world was like. I have had some friends who have lost their families because of the way they have decided to live their life, and it's sad. I have some friends that are in particular religions where they just do not buy into it whatsoever, but they will go, and they'll do their thing with their family in those movements just to satisfy their family, because they don't want to lose their family. And they know if they say anything, their family will just completely abandon them. And that to me is just so sad. Important question here. Was the snake real? Yes, the snake was very real. His name is Ghost. Really? Yes, his name was Ghost, and he was going to the bathroom all over the place. It was pretty incredible. It was an exciting part of the experience. Yes, it's the glamorous side of shooting with snakes. They poop all over the sheets. Was this your first snake work experience? I believe so. I love snakes, though. The Path premieres Wednesday on Hulu. LUSAKA (Reuters) - The African Development Bank has agreed to lend Zambia $125 million on concessional terms for the improvement of sanitation, food security and support to women entrepreneurs, the government said on Tuesday. Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda and African Development Bank country manager Damoni Kitabire signed the loan agreement in Lusaka on Tuesday, the ministry of finance said. A ministry statement said that $50 million would be used to upgrade sanitation in the southern African country's capital, earmark $45 million on a project to boost food security and $30 million on support to women in business. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Mark Heinrich) BEIJING (Reuters) - The militaries of China and Vietnam should deepen their exchanges, communication and friendship, China's defense minister said during a visit to Hanoi, amid a festering territorial dispute in the 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 Chinese President Xi Jinping to Hanoi last year. Meeting Vietnam Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan said the two sides should strive to maintain the close ties forged in the past by leaders Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh. The two militaries should "increase high level exchanges and strategic communication, increase friendly feelings, deepen border defense exchanges and practical cooperation on U.N. peacekeeping, military academic research and the defense industry", Chang said, in a statement carried late on Monday by China's Defence Ministry. While there was no direct mention of the South China Sea, the ministry said the commander of China's South China Sea fleet, Shen Jinlong, attended the meeting. 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 that China controls. Vietnam called China's actions a serious infringement of its sovereignty over the Paracels. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Its Southeast Asian neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, also claim parts of the sea, as does Taiwan. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) The ice covering the Arctic is at near record lows this year, and this icy deficit may impact weather around the world, NASA reports. Every March, the Arctic's sea ice reaches its maximum cover, both in area and thickness, before it recedes to its yearly minimum in September. Live Science spoke with NASA scientist Walt Meier yesterday (March 25) to learn more about the low sea-ice level and what it means for the rest of the planet. This winter has been extremely warm, Meier said. "Temperatures have been 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit [5.5 to 8.3 degrees Celsius] above normal [in the Arctic]. And we see that reflected in the very low sea-ice cover that generally grows to its maxima [maximum] around this time of year." [On Ice: Stunning Images of Canadian Arctic] NASA has been collecting data on Arctic sea-ice extent (a term that refers to area and volume) since the late 1970s. Last year's maximum was the fourth-lowest on record, and 2016's sea ice extent is also among the lowest that scientists have seen in about 40 years. The Arctic's sea-ice extent varies from year to year, but overall, researchers have seen a worrisome downward trend over time. "We've lost about two Texases' worth of sea ice during the wintertime," Meier told Live Science. "In the summer, it's even more extreme. We've lost almost double that or more in terms of the area covered." Furthermore, the ice is thinner now than it has been in past years. "So, we've lost about 50 percent of the volume of the sea ice, or the mass of the sea ice," since record keeping began, he said. These dramatic changes don't stay in the Arctic. Typically, white-colored ice reflects about 80 percent of the sun's rays back into space. With less ice cover, the ocean absorbs a lot more of these rays, which warms the water. "As you warm [the water] up, you're changing the contrast with the lower latitudes," Meier said. "And that contrast helps set up things like the jet stream and storm tracks and general weather patterns." As the Arctic warms, weather patterns in lower latitudes will also be affected, he noted. Story continues For instance, cold air usually stays in the Arctic because of polar vortex winds, which make a circular, counterclockwise trip around the North Pole. But as sea-ice extent diminishes, the Arctic warms, high pressures build and the polar vortex weakens, allowing cold air to flow southward and cause fiercely cold winters, according to Weather Underground. Within the next few days, NASA has two missions planned to take a closer look at the Arctic: Operation IceBridge and Oceans Melting Greenland, which has the rather fantastic acronym of OMG. These campaigns will take scientists to the Arctic and Greenland by land and air. Once there, they'll take measurements of the region's sea ice and glacier thickness. "Basically, we can see these changes, but we don't fully understand the processes that are causing these changes," Meier said. "And so these aircraft flights that we're doing will allow us to collect very good detailed data so that we can better understand these changes and better predict what is going to happen in the future." People can follow both of the missions at NASA.gov/earth or on Twitter @NasaEarth. Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. 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. Buenos Aires (AFP) - The Falkland Islands on Tuesday rejected Argentina's claims that a maritime border judgment by UN experts had strengthened its hand against Britain in their dispute over the South Atlantic territory. Argentina's government said a UN scientific commission bolstered its case when it endorsed the country's claim that its continental shelf extends to include waters around the Falklands, known in Spanish as Las Malvinas. Officials said the move did not affect the centuries-old claims of sovereignty over the wind-swept islands in the South Atlantic, over which Britain and Argentina fought a bloody war in 1982. "Argentine statements which suggest that the sovereign position in the Falkland Islands has changed as a result of this decision are wholly misleading," the islands' government said in a statement. "The UN statement makes no adjudication on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and has no implications for the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands or our right to develop our territorial waters." UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) had on March 11 endorsed Argentina's request, which dated back to 2009. But he stressed that "the commission did not consider and qualify the parts of the submission that were subject to dispute." London downplayed the impact of the UN body's decision. "This is an advisory committee. It makes recommendations, they are not legally binding," said a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister David Cameron. "What is important is what the Falkland Islanders themselves think. They have been very clear that they want to remain an overseas territory of the UK and we will continue to support their right to determine their own future." Britain and Argentina fought a war in 1982 after Argentine forces occupied the islands. The conflict claimed the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers and three islanders. Story continues - South Atlantic strategy - Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra said the new maritime boundary expanded the area of continental shelf under Argentine sovereignty by 1.7 million square kilometers (656,000 square miles). "We have taken a great step forward in demarcating the outer limit of our continental shelf," she said in a statement on Monday. She said it "reaffirms our sovereign rights in the South Atlantic," a "strategically important" zone. Argentina's conservative President Mauricio Macri, who took office in December, has vowed to uphold his country's claim to the islands. But he has avoided openly sparring with Britain as his leftist predecessor Cristina Kirchner did. When they met for the first time in January, British Prime Minister David Cameron told Macri the Falklands would remain under British rule, in line with the result of a 2013 referendum among the islands' 3,000 residents. Senior Latin America analyst Laurence Allan at consultancy IHS Country Risk said the dispute over the islands was unlikely to flare up, since Macri is trying to strengthen Argentina's foreign ties. "As the UNCLCS is not empowered to adjudicate border disputes it will not change either sides' position on that particular dispute," Allan wrote in a note. Walk down the streets of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa these days and dont be surprised if you hear certain pleasantries from taxi drivers and vendors: Ni hao, sayonara and hwan-yeong are all becoming increasingly common. More Chinese, Japanese and Korean workers are coming into this strategic area as they begin to camp out far from home for the first time with permanent military facilities. Rivals at home, where some of their East Asian governments act like enemies, theyre working together a lot better here. This presents the United States, still the dominant foreign military power in the region, with enticing possibilities. The potential for cooperation is huge and we are just now scratching the surface, says Army Lt. Col. Jason Nicholson, who has served at several African embassies and at the U.S. Africa Command. None of the three big Asian economic and military powers is a newbie to Africa. China, especially, has extensive trade and investment ties on the continent, sometimes working with unsavory governments to develop natural resources in areas where the U.S. or European counties hesitate to go. But whats new is the quiet expansion of a forward military presence. The Djibouti government, for example, confirmed in December that China would build a new naval base aimed at combating piracy and protecting shipping lanes, on which it depends to keep a steady flow of oil and other raw materials. Theres a lot of room for someone to play a leadership role Army Lt. Col. Jason Nicholson The stepped-up military interest follows an explosive growth in trade with Africa. Chinas Africa trade was expected to approach $300 billion in 2015, up tenfold from a decade ago. By contrast, the U.S. total trade with Africa in 2014 came to only $73 billion. Although commodity prices may be down, Africa still offers resource-poor Asian nations good prospects for future development and diversification of energy supplies, and rapid economic growth makes it an attractive place for business. Story continues Gettyimages 169743977 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh in Tokyo. Source: Toru Yamanaka / Getty In some ways, China is just following Japans lead. Four years ago, Japan opened its first overseas military base since World War II, in Djibouti, right next to Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force thats home to about 2,000 U.S. personnel. The base looks inward toward the continent, and outward toward the sea lanes. And while Korea has no base in Africa, it has deployed troops throughout Africa in support of U.N. missions. Both Korea and Japan have a liaison officer stationed at the U.S. base, providing a formal mechanism to coordinate operations, which also involve European allies. China looks like the odd man out, with no formal part in the U.S.-led multinational efforts in the region, but it does informally coordinate unilateral efforts with the task force, according to Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies, based in Honolulu. I guess this would be called virtual multilateralism, Cossa says. Its a big contrast to whats happening closer to home. Japan kicked up a ruckus in September when it passed legislation authorizing overseas military involvement even when Japan is not under attack. China protested the bill, as did thousands of Japanese on the streets of Tokyo. China and Japan have a simmering territorial dispute, and Korea and Japan suffer a snarled relationship of mistrust based on unresolved historical disputes. China, of course, has been building artificial islands in the South China Sea, allowing it to create a permanent military presence close to vital sea lanes, much to the consternation of the U.S. and its Pacific allies. Could all the buddy-buddy stuff in Africa become habit-forming? Theres a lot of room for someone to play a leadership role, says Nicholson, while adding that so far no one, including the U.S., is doing that. He sees, for example, opportunities for much more extensive cooperation with China throughout Africa, where interest in secure transit, snuffing out terrorism, and stable societies generally coincide. He figures the U.S. is giving up commercial opportunities to the Chinese. They are eating our lunch, Nicholson says. Still, the possibilities of expanding on the cooperative spirit at Djibouti could be limited. The U.S. has strong bilateral military ties and security treaties with both Japan and Korea. But, as Cossa points out, the two U.S. allies have trouble working together outside of a wide multilateral context like the one in Africa. I dont see the alliance structure in Asia morphing into an Asian version of NATO, he says, referring to the European alliance that obligates nations to come to one anothers defense. So far, the political will on both sides of the Korea Strait has been lacking, and theres no sign thats about to change. Related Articles By Byron Kaye and Swati Pandey SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday debris recovered this month in Mozambique was highly likely to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, while Malaysia called for a stepped up search of Africa's coast for clues to the plane's fate. Official analysis found two pieces of debris were "almost certainly from MH370", Australian infrastructure and transport minister Darren Chester said in a statement, referring to the Boeing Co 777 that vanished in March 2014 with 239 people on board. "That such debris has been found on the east coast of Africa is consistent with drift modelling ... and further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said. The flight disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, creating one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history. Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course, out over the Indian Ocean. A search, led by Australia and one of the most expensive ever conducted, has focused on a 120,000-sq-km (46,330-sq-mile) band of sea floor in the remote southern Indian Ocean. In 2015, French authorities said a wing part found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was part of the plane. The Mozambique debris was examined by investigators from Australia and Malaysia, as well as specialists from Boeing, Geoscience Australia and the Australian National University in Canberra. 'SOLVE THIS MYSTERY' The discovery is likely to add to pressure from the public for the search to go on beyond a mid-2016 schedule for it to be wound up. Most of those on board were from China. "If they don't find the plane in the area where they're searching now, they and others need to continue to look," said U.S. adventurer Blaine Alan Gibson, who found one of the new pieces of debris this month on his own independent search. "They've got to solve this mystery. We can't give up after the current search area is completed," Gibson added in a telephone interview, shortly after being told by the authorities that his discovery matched the plane. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique should be searched and Malaysia wanted to send a team. "We are currently awaiting approval from the South African authorities," Liow said. "The coastal search will be by a Malaysian team and focused around South Africa and Mozambique." Liow, however, said the location of the underwater search need not be changed. The piece of debris that Gibson found is a white, metre-long chunk of metal with "No Step" printed on it. It arrived in Australia for testing this week, along with another piece of debris found in Mozambique soon after. "I can't use the word happy to describe how I feel, because that means that the plane crashed, and that the plane crashed in a forceful impact," Gibson said. "I'd use the word 'hopeful'." (Additinal reporting by Matt Siegel in SYDNEY and Rozanna Latiff in KUALA LUMPUR; Editing by Robert Birsel) Dubai (AFP) - Bahrain on Tuesday sentenced 10 people to between three years and life in prison for attacking police during a protest in a Shiite village, the prosecution said. The defendants were found guilty of involvement in "terrorist plots" and detonating explosives, the kingdom's public prosecution said in a statement. "Four were sentenced to life in prison, while the remaining defendants were jailed for between three and 15 years," it said. The defendants were accused of detonating a roadside bomb when a police patrol passed in the village of Akr, south of Manama, in April 2014. Three police vehicles were damaged in the attack, the prosecution said. Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since it quelled a month-long Shiite-led uprising demanding reforms which erupted on February 14, 2011. The tiny but strategically important kingdom is connected to regional Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia by a causeway. It lies across the Gulf from Shiite Iran and is home to the US Fifth Fleet. Despite the crackdown on the 2011 uprising, protesters frequently attack police in Shiite villages outside the capital Manama. At least nine people were given jail terms of varying lengths earlier this month in cases involving attacks on police and a bus, as well as a "terrorist" plot. New York (AFP) - Pioneering synthesizer player Keith Emerson, who killed himself earlier this month, will be honored with a multimedia tribute show in Miami, former bandmate Carl Palmer announced Monday. Palmer -- the drummer in the 1970s progressive rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer -- said the concert will take place on June 24 at Miami's Olympia Theater and include guest keyboardists, contemporary dance and an accompanying film. The concert will be the highlight of a summer tour, mostly of North America, that Palmer had initially planned to mark a half-century in music but has now dedicated to Emerson and their band's legacy. "I will deeply miss Keith and I want you all to know I will carry on flying the ELP banner and playing the great music with my band for many years to come," the 66-year-old Palmer, who was also the drummer for the supergroup Asia, said in a statement. Emerson, an accomplished pianist who was among the first to weave synthesizers into rock, shot himself at his home in the Los Angeles area the night of March 10-11, according to police. Emerson, who was 71, was known for his flamboyant performances, most notably his closing set at the 1974 California Jam festival where he wowed a televised audience by strapping himself to a grand piano and playing it as it spun in the air. Palmer said that he had long wanted to pair contemporary dance with the group's music and had initially invited Emerson to take part in the project. He said the concert would include "Pictures at an Exhibition," the piano suite by Modest Mussorgsky that Emerson, Lake and Palmer turned into an album in a landmark fusion of rock and classical. Brussels (AFP) - Belgian authorities on Tuesday revised lower the death toll from last week's Brussels suicide attacks to 32 victims after "thorough verification", just a day after they had raised the number of dead to 35. "After thorough verification: number of victims goes down to 32. Still 94 people in hospital," Health Minister Maggie de Block tweeted about the toll in the attacks on Brussels airport and the Maalbeek metro station. Explaining the revision in the death toll, health ministry official Geert Gijs said that there had been confusion between two lists of people who had died at the scene and in hospital. "It appears that three people were on both lists," he told a press conference. All the victims had now been identified, the Belgian prosecutor's office spokeswoman Ine Van Wymersch told journalists at the government crisis centre. Seventeen were Belgian nationals and 15 were foreign, she added. LONDON (Reuters) - Lower-cost copies of complex biotech drugs, known as biosimilars, could save the United States and Europe's five top markets as much as 98 billion euros ($110 bln) by 2020, a new analysis showed on Tuesday. Realizing those savings, however, depends on effective doctor education and healthcare providers adopting smart market access strategies, the report by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics said. The potential for copycats to take business from original biotech brands is increasingly grabbing the attention of investors, with many worried about the impact on profits at companies like Roche and AbbVie. It also presents an opportunity for an emerging group of biosimilar specialists, such as South Korea's Celltrion and large generic drugmakers with biotech know-how, like Novartis' unit Sandoz. A saving of 98 billion euros is based on eight major branded biotech drugs, including AbbVie's Humira and Roche's Herceptin, that are set to lose patent protection over the next five years. It also assumes an average biosimilar price discount of 40 percent, and savings would fall to 74 billion euros at a 30 percent discount and 49 billion at 20 percent. The IMS forecast covers Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Spain and the United States. Interest in biosimilars has grown significantly in the past two years thanks to the arrival of copies of sophisticated antibody drugs that are among the world's biggest-selling prescription medicines. Europe has lengthy experience with biosimilars, having approved the first such products 10 years ago, but uptake still varies widely from country to country, depending on local market conditions. IMS said Germany had been particularly successful in stimulating biosimilar prescribing, while Austria, by contrast, had prompted some suppliers to pull out by insisting on mandatory price reductions for certain biosimilars. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Susan Fenton) La Paz (AFP) - A Bolivian court ordered President Evo Morales's ex-girlfriend Tuesday to present the child she says he fathered with her nearly a decade ago, a son the leftist leader insists has died. The dispute is at the center of a political drama that has gripped Bolivia since an investigative journalist revealed Morales's relationship with Gabriela Zapata, a high-powered executive who is now accused of abusing her influence to win contracts for the Chinese company where she worked. Morales has acknowledged he had a child with Zapata, whom he says he dated from 2005 to 2007. But he says the boy died soon after birth, while her family insists he is alive. Confusing matters further, Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera later said the baby never existed. Judge Elsa Sangueza ordered Zapata, 28, to present the child in family court "for the purpose of conducting an interview in private," said a ruling published in the Bolivian press. The ruling is a win for Morales, 56, who took Zapata to court earlier this month to make her prove the boy is alive. Zapata is currently in jail pending trial on charges of money laundering, embezzlement and influence peddling. A former manager at Chinese engineering group CAMC, she is accused of using her ties to the president to land $560 million in government contracts for the company. The case exploded onto the political scene just as Bolivia prepared to hold a referendum on whether to change the constitution to allow Morales to run for a fourth term. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, went on to lose the February 21 vote -- his first electoral defeat in a decade in power. The president has said his son with Zapata would now be eight or nine years old, and that he would like to raise him if he were alive. Brasilia (AFP) - Brazil's embattled President Dilma Rousseff has cancelled a trip to attend a summit in Washington this week, a state-run news agency reported Tuesday. Rousseff had been due to visit the United States on Thursday and Friday. Her government is in crisis after the main coalition partner went into opposition. Agencia Brasil confirmed media reports that the trip has been scrapped. A government source told AFP that given Rousseff's troubles in the capital Brasilia, "she shouldn't go." Earlier Tuesday, the PMDB party quit the governing coalition, leaving Rousseff ever shorter of allies in Congress as she tries to fight off an impeachment process. By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday it had received new allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation against U.N. peacekeepers from Morocco and Burundi in Central African Republic, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl. There have been dozens of such accusations against peacekeepers in Central African Republic, where the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSCA, assumed authority from African Union troops in September 2014. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Burundian peacekeepers had been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl earlier this month, while a Moroccan soldier had been accused of engaging in an exploitative sexual relationship with a woman in February. Dujarric said Morocco and Burundi had been notified of the allegations. Once notified, a state has 10 days to tell the United Nations if it intends to investigate the accusations. If it does not, the world body will conduct its own inquiry. "The Moroccans so far have indicated that they will investigate," Dujarric said. A U.N. peacekeeping spokesman said Burundi had until the end of the week to report back on whether it could conduct an inquiry. The United Nations pledged to crack down on allegations of abuse to avoid a repeat of past mistakes. The previous head of the U.N. mission in Central African Republic, Babacar Gaye, resigned last August and some 800 Congolese peacekeepers were repatriated last month. The United Nations reported 99 allegations of sexual exploitation or sexual abuse involving U.N. staff members across the U.N. system last year, a sharp increase from the 80 allegations in 2014. The majority, 69, involved personnel in 10 peacekeeping missions. [nL2N16C02E] The United Nations currently has 106,000 troops and police serving in 16 peacekeeping missions. Allegations of sexual abuse have also made against European troops deployed in Central African Republic. French troops have been in the country since December 2013, while European Union troops were there from April 2014 to March 2015. In December, an independent review panel accused the United Nations and its agencies of grossly mishandling allegations of child sexual abuse by international peacekeepers in Central African Republic in 2013 and 2014. [nL1N1461T9] Dujarric said on Monday the U.N. mission in Central African Republic had also received new allegations of sexual abuse by U.N. and non-U.N. forces and civilians in the Kemo prefecture that occurred in 2014 and 2015. He said the mission would send a team to the area to gather information. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Peter Cooney) By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown announced a deal with legislative and labor leaders on Monday to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023, saying the nation's most-populous state would lead the way toward higher pay for the working poor. The proposal, which still must gain support from business-friendly moderate Democrats, would make California the first to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour - the highest in the nation - while giving the governor the right to opt out if the economy falters. "I'm hoping that what happens in California will not just stay in California but will be exported to the rest of the country," Brown said at a news conference in Sacramento. Raising the minimum wage has cropped up on many Democratic Party candidates' agendas ahead of the November elections and the issue could help mobilize Democratic voters to the polls. According to the governor's office, 2.2 million Californians currently earn the state minimum wage of $10 an hour. The idea of raising the minimum wage, which at the federal level has remained at $7.25 an hour for more than six years, has been opposed by Republicans and some business groups, who say it would harm small businesses and strain government budgets. If passed, Brown's plan would commit the state, home to one of the world's biggest economies, to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 for large businesses and 2023 for smaller firms. It would also head off a pair of competing ballot initiatives championed by labor leaders to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour without allowing the governor to halt increases in bad times, a deal-breaker for Brown. But passage of the proposal is not guaranteed without support from more moderate members of the Democrat-controlled legislature. Absent from the press conference was Anthony Rendon, speaker of the state Assembly, where the bill was expected to face opposition. "This deal was placed on my desk over the weekend," said Rendon, who supports the measure but said he was not involved in negotiations over it. "I don't know how many folks are in support of the bill or how many are against it." Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has called for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. Economic consultant Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics, said increasing the minimum wage would not reduce poverty because low paid workers were most at risk of losing their jobs when employers cut positions. "These are the people that businesses will say, 'If Im going to pay $15 bucks an hour, Im not going to hire them,'" Thornberg said. Fourteen states and several cities began 2016 with minimum wage increases, typically phasing in raises that will ultimately take them to between $10 and $15 an hour. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein, Robin Respaut and Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sara Catania, Alan Crosby and Mary Milliken) Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (29) By Paola Totaro PUGLIA, Italy (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Baah, a tall, broad-shouldered Ghanaian man, stares through a grimy window, his face a study of disappointment as he watches a chill wind cast ripples over fields of corn in southern Italy. The countryside of Puglia, the region that spans the south-eastern tip of the Italian peninsula, is best known for its vast groves of olive trees, vineyards bounded by postcard-perfect dry-stone walls, and emerald and turquoise beaches. Further inland, however, on the remote plains at the feet of the Gargano hills lies an ugly, secret and often violent world, one that 24-year-old Baah and hundreds of thousands of stateless migrants like him never imagined could exist in modern Europe. Investigations by Italian labor unions who are demanding change have revealed that a vast army of vulnerable, often stateless North African and Eastern European migrants used to pick tomato crops are controlled by illegal work-gang masters and held in slave-like conditions in rural ghettos. The calls for action come as rising numbers of migrants travel to Europe from North Africa and the Middle East, raising concerns of increased exploitation of migrant workers. "They say there is work in Italy. I came to work, to make a better life. But in Italy people suffer, they work and they work and they do not get paid," said Baah, one of several hundred men living in a ghetto known as Ghana Ghetto in the Cerignola area. "There is no water, there is no place to live that is clean, no toilets. Italy is not paradise." Between the capital, Bari, the city of Foggia and the foothills, large, grim ghettos blot the landscape, inhabited by young men from Ghana, Nigeria and sub Saharan countries as well as increasing numbers from Iraq and Syria. VULNERABLE WORKERS Many are waiting for the Italian bureaucracy to process their asylum applications, leaving them with no legal right to work and with little choice but to rely on local charity or find work illegally, making them vulnerable to exploitation. The biggest of the ghettos, Il Ghetto Rignano Garganico,a sprawling, shanty town of cardboard and wooden huts, is reached by a 50 km (30 miles) drive along pot-holed, country tracks. During the summer, in tomato picking season when temperatures hover in the mid 40s degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit), thousands of men converge to sleep and live here, without running water or toilets, overseen by work gang bosses, known as 'caporali' (the corporals). Agriculture is widely accepted to be one of the Italian economic sectors most scarred by organized crime that blights the supply chain all the way from the fields to the supermarket - and the massive tomato industry is no exception. A research project by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs released last December described a mobile, seasonal workforce living in extreme poverty, often without water and sanitation, housed in abandoned buildings or tent cities with little or no healthcare. "Foreign labor is regarded as crucial to enable Italian agriculture to compete on global markets. Yet in a race to make the biggest possible profit, employment laws are being routinely ignored," said ETI spokesman Nick Kightley releasing the report. Repeated calls to Italy's Agriculture Ministry for comment were not returned. Italy is currently the world's third largest producer of processed tomato products second only to the United States and China - exporting 5 million tonnes worth more than $1.7 billion in 2014, mainly to Germany, Britain, France, Japan and Russia. But while it is seen as the crown jewel of Italian agriculture, migrant workers have dubbed the Italian tomato business as "red gold". CALLS FOR REFORMS Yvan Sagnet, a young Cameroonian who led a revolt of migrant workers in 2011, said the 'caporali' can make thousands of euros a day while the workers earn 20 euros before costs are removed. "They refuse to allow workers to bring food or water. They force them to pay 5 euros each for transport to the fields and to return to the ghettos to sleep at night. They sell food, panini for 3.50 euros and bottles of water for 1.50 euros," he said. "Often they take workers' papers if they have any documents at all, using this as leverage to keep them from fleeing and making them a kind of slave. They charge them rent in the ghettos, they even make them pay for old tyres to burn for heat and warmth in winter." Sagnet came to Italy as a student, winning a scholarship to study engineering in Turin. He learned first hand the horrors of the work abuse when he missed an exam, lost part of his scholarship and had to find a way to bolster his finances. Desperate to earn money and return to his studies, he traveled to the south in 2011 to work in the tomato fields of Nardo near the city of Lecce. The working conditions he found were unimaginable and, he says, remain unchanged - with the working day stretching from 3am to 6pm in 40 plus degree temperatures without shade or respite. Five hundred men were forced to sleep in less than 200 one-man tents and medical attention was discouraged. When the owners of the fields Sagnet was working in decided suddenly to change the way the crop was to be picked making the work more difficult but offering no extra pay - the young Cameroonian led a revolt and the labor force went on strike. The men's protest shone a public spotlight onto the nefarious 'caporalato' system, or the illegal employment of agricultural workers for little pay, harnessing attention from the Italian media, and 16 gang masters in Puglia were arrested. Since then the Italian Parliament has legislated to make the 'caporalato' a Mafia crime but the system continues to flourish. Without regular police checks and raids, it is business as usual for the work gangs involved with the valued export, say campaigners. Sagnet, who has since finished his degree and written two books, now works as an advocate with the Italian General Confederation of Labour union, CGIL, but lives with the constant threat of retribution. Visits to other ghettos dotted throughout Puglia found migrants from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Romania and Bulgaria struggling to eke out an existence from tomato picking. In summer time when the migrant labor force is at its fullest, say NGOs including Amnesty International and CGIL, women also move to the ghettos to cook and work as prostitutes. Antoine, 24, an emigrant from the Ivory Coast who seeks seasonal picking work throughout Italy, proudly declares that he is "the only African that likes the cold" - and one of the few who refuses to work with the 'caporali'. "I don't want to die on the job. People die here because they risk and push and work and try to fill their containers to make enough money to feed themselves, their families," he said. "I came to Italy to live and to work, not to die." In another ghetto populated by Romanian and Bulgarian workers, the air of misery is also tinged with a palpable fury. with outsiders chased away from the ghetto by 'caporali'. Angelo Guarini, founder of the Italian pro-agricultural campaign organization, Federazione Italiana dei Movimenti Agricoli, said the use of migrant labor in southern Italy's fields was almost impossible to defend but did need to be seen in the context of an ailing agricultural sector. Many farmers and growers are themselves battling for subsistence as global competition, tariff changes and world prices for crops such as tomatoes and olives have dropped. "In my view there should be a Mediterranean-wide movement or publicity campaign to re-value fresh produce, not to compete but to unify and revitalize the sector and this would also help to provide more work and improve working conditions," Guarini said. For Sagnet, the battle to reform the Italian production system is still in its infancy. He said a raft of cultural and structural change is urgently needed, from more efficient processing of migrants' work documents to restructuring price setting for tomatoes through to creating state monitored systems to transport and house workers. Other ways to improve the situation could include ethical certification, "pre-booking lists" where farms can hire migrants without using the 'caporali', housing projects to replace ghettos, and projects to offer legal advice and medical help. "All this must be done in Italy. But if nations like Britain and Australia that import Italian tomatoes begin to demand proof that they have been picked and produced by people treated with dignity and paid properly, this too is hugely important and will save human lives," said Sagnet. (Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; 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 www.news.trust.org) Cambodian authorities rescued more than half a tonne of live tortoises and pythons stolen by smugglers, a forestry official said Tuesday, the latest haul in a country with a thriving illegal wildlife trade. The animals -- 102 elongated tortoises and 17 pythons -- weighed a total of 570 kilos. They were confiscated Monday afternoon from a cargo truck in Cambodia's Kandal province, forestry official Y Sophy told AFP. "They were being transported to Phnom Penh where they would then be smuggled to Vietnam," he said, adding the creatures were scooped up from Cambodia's Battambang province. No arrests were made as the truck's driver fled after being pulled over, the official said. The rescued tortoises and pythons are now with a conservation group that will release them back into the wild. The elongated tortoise is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It faces dire over-harvesting for food and Asia's animal trade, which fuels a regional demand for exotic pets and traditional medicine. Cambodia's black market for trafficked wildlife is enabled by corrupt authorities and weak legislation in a country rich with biodiversity. Ottawa (AFP) - A former Canadian engineering student detained over fears he might commit a terrorist act was formally charged on Tuesday with participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Kevin Omar Mohamed, 23, appeared briefly in a Toronto area court to face the charge, which was in addition to two weapons offenses laid by federal police when he was arrested last week in possession of a knife. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said he had travelled to Turkey on or around April 24, 2014 to join Jabhat Al-Nusra, a group banned in Canada and affiliated with Al-Qaeda. He flew back to Canada a month later. The RCMP had initially sought a court order against Mohamed requiring him to be on good behavior under a controversial law aimed at preventing attacks and stopping people from travelling abroad to join extremist groups. "While there was no indication of any plans for a domestic attack, we must remain committed to preventing individuals from traveling abroad to gain training and expertise that could be used in the planning and implementation of future attacks on Canadian soil," RCMP Superintendent Lise Crouch was quoted as saying after the arrest. About 60 Canadians who traveled abroad to join terror groups are now back in the country, and another 180 are estimated to be overseas engaged with extremists, Canada's spy chief Michel Coulombe told a newspaper last month. By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition, millions lack access to health care or clean water, and some have been drafted as soldiers in the year-old war, the United Nations Children's Fund said on Tuesday. A UNICEF report said all sides had "exponentially increased" the use of child soldiers in the conflict between Houthi forces, allied to Iran, and a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. It knew of 848 documented cases, including boys as young as 10. "On average, at least six children have been killed or injured every day," said the report "Childhood on the Brink". UNICEF has confirmed 934 children directly killed and 1,356 injured, but says they are "only a tip of the iceberg". "Sixty-one percent of those (children) killed and injured were in (Saudi-led) air strikes across the country," Julien Harneis, UNICEF's Representative in Yemen, told a briefing by telephone from the capital Sanaa. All sides have violated international law by using indiscriminate and disproportionate force that means "children die unnecessarily and wrongly", he said, citing multiple coalition strikes on outdoor markets. Basic services and infrastructure are "on the verge of total collapse," the report said, noting attacks on schools, hospitals and the water and sanitation system. The U.N. said last week the warring parties had agreed to a cessation of hostilities from April 10 and peace talks from April 18, after a year of war that has killed more than 6,200 people. "We're hoping that the truce kicks in on the 10th and will allow parents and families to come and access health services and other services," Harneis told Reuters earlier. "In Sa'ada in the last week, there has definitely been a reduction of fighting in the border area. In Sanaa, we have seen fewer (Saudi-led) air strikes," he said. Nearly half of Yemen's 22 provinces are on the verge of famine, the U.N.'s World Food Programme said last week. UNICEF delivers nutritional supplies and vaccines against measles, polio and other childhood diseases in the country of 24 million, but it is not enough, Harneis said. "We've got an increase in both severe acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition," he said. The report said an estimated 320,000 children risk severe acute malnutrition, which can leave a child vulnerable to deadly respiratory infections, pneumonia and water-borne diseases. For now UNICEF is only able to reach 200,000 of them, Harneis said. Nearly 10 million children require humanitarian aid to prevent a further deterioration. Chronic malnutrition can stunt growth and development. "UNICEF estimates that nearly 10,000 children under 5 years may have died in the past year from preventable diseases," it said, citing lower vaccination rates and declines in treatment. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Tuesday appointed its first special envoy for the Syrian crisis, a career diplomat who has served as ambassador to Iran, as it seeks a more active role in the Middle East. While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tends to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia. But China has been trying to get more involved, including recently hosting both Syria's foreign minister and opposition figures, though at different times. The new special envoy for Syria is Xie Xiaoyan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing. He was most recently China's ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union. "As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China has always proactively dedicated itself to the appropriate resolution of the Syria issue," Hong said, adding that a political solution was the only way out. China supports the mediation efforts of U.N. Syria special envoy Staffan de Mistura and has provided humanitarian assistance to the region, Hong said. China's appointment of its own special envoy is to help push the peace process and "to better proactively put forward China's wisdom" and its proposals, he added. Xie, 62, is a deeply experienced diplomat very familiar with the Middle East, Hong said. "We believe he will certainly fulfill this mission well." China has appointed special envoys for crisis zones before, to mixed results. Its African envoys have been deeply involved in South Sudan, but its previous special envoys to the Middle East have had little tangible effect. There is a truce in place in Syria, accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's government and most of his foes, the first of its kind since the war began five years ago. It has been accompanied by the first peace talks attended by the warring sides. It does not apply to areas held by Islamic State or the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al Qaeda. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard) By Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jin ping and Czech counterpart Milos Zeman signed an agreement on a strategic partnership on Tuesday aimed at stepping up business ties and investments. Zeman has been keen to forge stronger ties with China and Russia since his election in 2013, rather than with the ex-communist country's partners in NATO and the European Union, although the Czech government not the president is chiefly responsible for foreign policy. EU relations with both Beijing and Moscow are dogged by disputes over human rights. While the Czechs maintain the EU line on China, Zeman has made gestures others have not. He attended a military parade in Beijing last September marking the end of World War Two, the only Western leader to do so. And Xi was given a special welcome to mark the first visit of a Chinese leader, including a dinner at the presidential residence and 21 artillery salvos in a ceremony at the historic Prague Castle, courtesies not extended to other visitors. The partnership agreement puts the Czechs among about 15 other European countries that have similar ties. "I would like the Czech Republic to become ... an entry gate for the People's Republic of China to the European Union," Zeman said at the dinner of welcome. His warm attitude marked a contrast with the Czech Republic's first post-communist president, Vaclav Havel, a Soviet-era dissident and personal friend of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Chinese-ruled Tibet. The special treatment accorded to Xi sparked protests. About 500 people, some waving flags of Tibet and Taiwan, gathered in a downtown park next to where Xi was meeting Czech government officials, and later marched towards the Prague Castle, cordoned off by police. "I don't like the turning of our politicians towards the East, that Chinese money is buying power and influence here," said 20-year old student Jan Deutsch. On Monday, there was a scuffle between protesters and groups of Chinese supporters who were brought by buses to welcome Xi on the way from the Prague airport. Czech government officials told Reuters the partnership agreement did not deviate from standard EU language on human rights, diplomatic or economic relations, and reflected Czech interests in continued business relations with Taiwan, which China sees as a wayward province. The Czechs are hoping to become a financial and air travel hub in central Europe for China, where Czech firms such as financial group PPF and Volkswagen's Skoda Auto have been active. ($1 = 24.1910 Czech crowns) (Additional reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by David Holmes) Beijing (AFP) - The detained relatives of an outspoken Chinese dissident living abroad committed arson, according to police, after being held in what is widely seen as a crackdown following the publication of a letter condemning President Xi Jinping. Authorities in Sichuan province said on a verified social media account that German-based journalist Chang Ping's father and two younger brothers were being investigated for causing a forest fire after lighting incense as part of an ancestor worship ceremony. "The Xichong Public Security Bureau has opened an investigation in accordance with the law into Zhang and his two sons," said the statement posted on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. Zhang, who was only referred to by his surname, was identified as Chang's father. They are accused of burning down about 40 mu (2.6 hectares, 6.4 acres) of forest in a fire that took roughly an hour to extinguish, the police said. Writer Chang -- whose given name is Zhang Ping -- had previously said authorities detained his two younger brothers and a younger sister in connection with suspicions that he had been involved in writing an anonymous letter calling on Xi to step down for the good of the country. Chinese authorities have detained several people in what appears to be a reaction to the letter, which was attributed to "Loyal Communist Party Members" and appeared on Wujie News, a state-backed website, before it was deleted. Those held include a number of staff members at Wujie, who went missing around two weeks ago. Last week, New York-based writer Wen Yunchao said officials in the southern province of Guangdong had taken away three of his family members. Chang and Wen have both denied any connection to the letter. Chang, a prominent commentator on contemporary affairs, was formerly a senior journalist at the outspoken Southern Weekend newspaper but moved to Germany after coming under sustained pressure for advocating more government openness and accountability. Story continues The police statement did not mention his sister. Sichuan police also accused foreign media of "hyping" the detentions, a common government refrain when officials are displeased with media attention. Media criticism of top leaders is almost unheard of in China, where the press is strictly controlled by the ruling Communist Party. Tissue samples from a Hungarian mummy have revealed that people in the early 17th and 18th centuries suffered from colon cancer, long before the modern plagues of obesity, physical inactivity and processed food were established as causes of the disease, according to new research. In a new study of 18th-century Hungarian mummies, scientists found that the genetic predisposition to colon cancer predates modern impacts on health. One of the mummies in the study carried a mutation in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene, which physicians now know raises the risk of colon cancer, said lead study author Michal Feldman, a research assistant formerly at Tel Aviv University in Israel. If the APC mutation is confirmed in other samples, it could mean that inherited changes in DNA play a bigger role in cancer evolution than do modern environmental impacts, Feldman told Live Science in an email. [10 Do's and Don'ts to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer] "Today, colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer, and it has a clear genetic background that is well-researched in modern populations," Feldman said. "In light of the many lifestyle and environmental changes human society has undergone during the last few centuries, we found it important to compare the spectrum of historical mutations to the modern spectrum." Because mummification preserves tissue, samples from such remains can give scientists invaluable information on anthropological, historical and medical details, Feldman said. In the past, studies of mummified remains have provided clues about the history of tuberculosis, clogged arteries and even air pollution. In the new study, Feldman's team collected tissue samples from 20 mummies that were excavated from sealed crypts in a Dominican church in Vac, Hungary. These crypts were used for the burial of several middle-class families and clerics from 1731 to 1838, and more than 265 mummies were found there in 1995, the researchers said. The mummies are now housed at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. Story continues The low temperature in the crypts, combined with constant ventilation and low humidity, were ideal conditions for natural mummification of the corpses, the researchers said. Some 70 percent of the bodies found in the location were completely or partially mummified, providing a rich source of preserved tissue and DNA samples for the scientists. [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries] By extracting DNA from the mummies, Feldman and her team were able to sequence and assess the presence of APC gene mutations. "The interesting thing about this study is that the APC mutation in cancer that was recently discovered in the past couple of decades is not new," said Dr. Sidney Winawer, a gastroenterologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was not involved in the study. "This opens up a whole new way of thinking. If this mutation was present so many years ago, why was it present there?" Additional historical samples need to be investigated, he said, in order to better understand the relationships between cancer and environmental factors, such as lifestyle, and between cancer and genetic changes. The findings were published online Feb. 10 in the journal PLOS ONE. Follow Knvul Sheikh on Twitter @KnvulS. 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. YEREVAN, MARCH 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress presents on the air of Lratvakan radio all that you will hear, read and see on todays news. Today, on March 29, members of the Armenian delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly will give a press conference at the National Assembly. The delegates will detail on the works of the 5th plenary session of the PA. The session was held in Brussels. The session had just kicked off when Brussels was shaken by terror acts. The session of the Council Presidium of the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs will take place today. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for International Economic Integration and Reforms of Armenia Vache Gabrielyan, Minister of Economy Artsvik Minasyan, President of Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan and others will represent the Armenian side and deliver speeches. Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan will receive the delegation before the session. President of the aviation sub-division of Public Council of Armenia and head of the National Aviation Union NGO Dmitri Adbashyan will introduce professional remarks on the theme The future of Zvartnots airport and possible causes of Rostov-on-Don air crash. Boeing 737-800 airplane crashed in Rostov-on-Don airport after the second attempt to land. The plane collided with the land and broke into two pieces. All passengers died. Issues of drivers are again on the agenda. President of Achilles Drivers Rights Protection Center NGO Eduard Hovhannisyan will again touch upon the issue of fines defined for traffic rules violations and the revision of those rules. Hungarian edition of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh book has been published. The book was translated by the efforts of Hungarian-Armenian community in the sidelines of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The novel was first published in 1933 and was recognized as Best book of the year one year later. It was published in nearly 1 million examples and was translated into 36 languages. Photo exhibition of Russian and Armenian sanctuaries of Jerusalem will take place at the National Museum-Institute of Architecture of Armenia adjunct to the Ministry of Urban Development. Visitors will have an opportunity to see many items from the collection of St Petersburg's Museum of the History of Religion. Again exhibition but this time at the Yerevan History Museum. The exhibition entitled Cultural dialogue will be opened. Items of Iranian collection of the Yerevan History Museum will be exhibited. A jubilee solo-concert dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia, pianist Mari Ghambaryan will take at place Aram Khachaturian House-Museum. The renowned pianist will perform pieces of Komitas, Paganini, Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, and Ravel. You can read more about these and other topics at armenpress.am and listen to the news on the air of Lratvakan radio. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Many of us are familiar with the basic issue around women and STEM there arent very many. Various organizations, companies and universities have tried to tackle the problem of parity, and some have found success. But theres a next-level conversation we may be missing entirely: What is the motivation for diversity within the ranks? So argues Dr. Danielle Lee, an animal behaviorist at Cornell who writes often about science, inclusion and diversity. Diversity in service of kudos or multicolored brochures is one thing. Recognition that identity matters is another. Ones identity and experiences inform a scientists area of study, her hypotheses, how she structures experiments. In other words, its not just about what science can do for women, but about what women can do for science. We spoke with Lee, a TED Fellow who studies African pouch rats, about her radical ideas for shaking up the system including some personal reflections on how everyone needs a little mental health couch time. An edited version of our conversation follows. OZY: What do you say to people who say science is blind or that identity in science doesnt matter? Danielle Lee: We dont yet have the vocabulary or the maturity to really have a conversation where folks acknowledge identity. Often, when women and women of color want to have a discussion about how identity affects their scientific work, we get a lot of pushback. They say, Lets just talk about the merit. Science is still predominantly occupied by white men and to be more specific, cis, hetero, white men, usually from families of some status. I dont think that demographic really owns their identity because theyve had the advantage of being the default. Daniellelee handout Danielle N. Lee, Ph.D. Source: Alecia Hoyt Photography OZY: Can you speak to how women and their experiences shape the discipline itself? D.L.: Over the last 40 or 50 years, more women have stepped into the biological sciences. Now we see the challenge of using white males and now I mean mice as laboratory animals. Thats been the default. I find it interesting that there are these parallels between whats happening in our science and in the profession. So you had women challenging the use of those animals, saying we need to look at whats happening with females, with older animals and younger animals. Story continues That injection of feminist biology made a difference in how we started looking at questions. Because of that, we now understand that heart attack symptoms are very different in women than they are in men. Were learning that symptoms of pain present themselves differently in men and women. OZY: Speaking of defending yourself, an editor of Biology Online once referred to you as an urban whore after you declined a request to blog for free. Is it something you and your peers confront regularly? D.L.: That was a very extreme situation. But, thinking about the women I interact with frequently and lean on for support, sadly this is not an uncommon reaction we get from people when we speak up for ourselves. You get people asking you for your labor or expertise for free. The part thats consistent is when you tell them no, people often respond like we should be grateful that we were even asked to be used. Professionally, Im dealing with standing up for myself in a way that still represents me. I consider myself very nice, approachable and accessible and I want folks to know that about me. But my accessibility doesnt mean they have the right to not respect me. Thats the problem we deal with, women of color in science. OZY: Lets talk isolation and mental health in the sciences. D.L.: I actually started therapy during my dissertation. I think it absolutely should be normalized. Everybody needs some couch time. Theres something particularly special happening to folks who come from different communities into science who have not historically been a part of science. Its more about the higher-ed culture. I was just exhausted. If I could get colleagues to recognize one thing, particularly when hiring people from underrepresented groups, its that its not our physical phenotype that makes us different. Its also real life and whats going on outside of work proper too. Can a person build a community? I dont think theres any discussion about that. Not thinking about those things means universities are probably going to lose those people just as they arrive. Even the simple little things. Getting my hair done, I need to block a day. Its different for some of us. OZY: The scientific community needs to change yes. But what should be done to change the status quo? D.L.: One really drastic thing Id love to see happen is to have a few key folks spend a cycle a quarter or a semester deliberately seeking out [people who arent] cis, hetero, white men and inviting no one but people who are underrepresented in the field to include their voices, their participation on panels. Not to talk about diversity, but to talk about their science, their expertise. And dont make a big deal about it. Dont do it for cookies. When you highlight it as diversity, youll find a lot of people self-selecting themselves out of the conversation. Related Articles (Reuters) - Cyprus' foreign ministry on Tuesday identified the hijacker of an EgyptAir flight forced to land in Cyprus as Seif Eldin Mustafa in a tweet. It did not provide further details. "The situation is still ongoing," it said. Earlier, two Cypriot broadcasters reported the hijacker had dropped a letter on the apron of Larnaca airport that appeared to be demanding the release of prisoners in Egypt. Eygptian state media had earlier identified the hijacker as a different man. (Reporting By Michele Kambas; editing by John Stonestreet) I am 31 years old. I was raised in a strict bi-cultural (Af-American and Nigerian) Jehovahs Witness family, one of six children. Though its generally looked down upon for JWs to attend liberal arts universities (vocational schools are recommended), I somehow convinced my parents to allow me to go to university and major in theater (!!). I was always really devout, but I harbored doubts about the teachings since I was a child. I finally came clean to my family about it at the end of my first year of college when I was 19 years old and told them that I no longer wanted to be a JW. After heart to hearts with each family member, all five of my siblings and my parents stopped talking to me. I was followed around town by members of the church. My family withdrew financial support. The Hague (AFP) - The FBI notified the Netherlands about its concerns over suicide bombers Ibrahim El Bakraoui and his brother Khalid six days before the Brussels attacks, the Dutch justice minister revealed Tuesday. Dutch officials the next day passed on to Belgium the information provided by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which had placed Ibrahim El Bakraoui on a terror watchlist in September 2015. Answering questions in the Dutch parliament, the minister Ard van der Steur said Dutch police had received an FBI report sent March 16 "in which there was notification of Ibrahim El Bakraoui and his brother Khalid's criminal backgrounds and Khalid's terrorist background." The following day "the issue came up during bilateral contact between the Dutch and Belgian police," said Van der Steur. "The radical background of both the brothers was discussed." He also confirmed US reports about Ibrahim being on a US terror list, saying he "was placed on an American surveillance list on September 25, 2015, a list made by the FBI terrorist screening centre." Ibrahim El Bakraoui was one of two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport on March 22. His brother Khalid blew himself up at Maalbeek metro station. The Dutch minister's revelations come as under-fire Belgian authorities Tuesday continued to hunt for a fugitive bomber, one week after the deadly blasts in the Belgian capital that killed 32. Belgium's federal police service however said it had not received any information direct from the FBI on March 16 about the Bakraoui brothers. In the meeting between Dutch and Belgian police the next day, it said there was "no mention of the message that the FBI sent to the Dutch police". Instead it said they discussed a police raid in Brussels on March 15 in which an Algerian militant with links to Paris attacks prime suspect Salah Abdeslam was captured. Khalid El Bakraoui is believed to have rented the flat where the raid took place using a false name. Story continues Under pressure at home and abroad over an apparent series of missed clues about criminals linked to jihadist networks, the Belgian government has admitted mistakes were made. In the most glaring such example, Turkey accused Belgium last week of ignoring a clear and present danger by revealing it had deported Ibrahim El Bakraoui as a "terrorist" suspect last year, after arresting him near the Syrian border. The Dutch justice minister last week confirmed that Turkey sent Bakraoui back to the Netherlands in July, but stressed he had not been known to Dutch law enforcement or been on any watch lists. It was not known how long Bakraoui stayed in the Netherlands before returning to Belgium, Van der Steur said. The hijacking of an EgyptAir plane by a man claiming to be wearing a suicide vest stoked fears of terrorism on Tuesday, coming one week after the deadly attacks in Brussels. But according to initial reports, the hijacker apparently told hostage negotiators he was trying to get in touch with his ex-wife. The alleged hijacker, identified as 59-year-old Seif Eldin Mustafa, told the crew of the Cairo-bound plane he was wearing a suicide belt shortly after takeoff in Alexandria, forcing it to land in Larnaca, Cyprus. According to the state broadcaster in Cyprus, Mustafa, an Egyptian national and former army officer, had a four-page letter in which he demanded the release of female prisoners in Egypt and asked for a meeting with his ex-wife. According to the New York Times, the woman, who lives in Cyprus, visited the airport and helped persuade him to surrender. Before he did, Mustafa released most of the 55 passengers and seven crew members from the plane as it sat on the tarmac. At one point, he appeared to hand the letter to a female airport official who had come to meet the plane as she held her head in her hands. From @LeilaFadel: According to Cypriot media, the hijacker reportedly wants authorities to deliver a letter to his ex-wife. #EgyptAir NPR (@NPR) March 29, 2016 The alleged explosives on Mustafas belt were fake, Cyprus minister of foreign affairs said. No one was reported injured. But in a bizarre press conference held during the five-hour standoff, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades laughed as he told reporters Mustafas motivation was not terror but love. "Not to do with terrorism" - President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades on #EgyptAir hijack https://t.co/zeDNjIQTRL https://t.co/cgbHbFm1ef BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 29, 2016 We are doing our utmost for everyone to be released [safely] and to give an end to this unprecedented In any case, its not something that has to do with terrorism, if you know what I mean, Anastasiades said. When asked if the hijacking involved a woman, Anastasiades quipped, Always, there is a woman. For Egyptian air travelers, though, the threat of terrorism is no laughing matter. Tuesdays hijacking comes less than six months after a Russian airplane that took off from Egypts Sharm el-Sheikh airport crashed in the Sinai, killing all 224 people onboard. ISIS claimed responsibility, saying it used a bomb to down the plane. CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister said seven people including three passengers remained on board an EgyptAir plane that was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on Tuesday. The hijacker had not made any concrete demands so far, said Sherif Fathy, who declined to give the nationalities of the passengers still on the plane. He declined to identify the hijacker. Egyptian state TV had earlier named a passenger as the hijacker but his colleague later told Reuters he was one of the victims. Egypt is sending a plane to Cyprus to pick up stranded passengers, some of whom had been traveling from Alexandria to Cairo for connecting flights abroad. (Reporting by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Angus MacSwan) CAIRO (Reuters) - The hijacker of an EgyptAir airplane that was diverted to Cyprus on Tuesday has asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, the Cyprus state broadcaster reported. All but seven people on board the aircraft, which was traveling from Alexandria to Cairo, have been released. The pilot had reported that the hijacker was strapped with explosives, but Egyptian authorities have not confirmed this. (Reporting by Michele Kambas, Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by Angus MacSwan) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan's working visit to the United States began on March 28. The President visited Watertown in Massachusetts, where Armenians have established important national structures during the last two centuries. Serzh Sargsyan visited the Armenian Library and Museum of America, which was established in 1971. The Museum is an important structure of the Armenian cultural heritage: coins, glassware, ceramics, carpets, religious items, stamps, textiles, metalwork, maps, printed materials and a rich collection of medieval miniatures are presented here. The President toured the Library-Museum, got acquainted with the exhibits, and talked with representatives of the institution. The President presented a work by Jansem as a gift to the institution; "Armenpress" was informed by the Public Relations and Mass Media Department of the Presidential Administration. Serzh Sargsyan then visited the Ramkavar Azatakan" Democratic Liberal Partys Fight center and the Armenian Revolutionary Federations "Hayrenik" center, and got acquainted with the activities of the centers. The "Hayrenik" center of Boston is the oldest Armenian center in the US East Coast. Here are located the Office of the ARF US East Coast ,headquarters of the Armenian Relief Society, as well as the "Hayrenik" Radio, "Armenian Weekly" and "Hayrenik Weekly" publishing offices. The archives of the ARF are located in the Hayrenik center, where the materials related to the activities of the ARF are stored. The President met with ARF representatives at the center. The President welcomed the patriotic activities of the parties and wished success. On the first day of the US visit, President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Holy Trinity and St. Stephen's Armenian churches of Boston. In fact, in 1991 , at the suggestion of the Armenian community of Watertown, the street of St. Stephen Church was renamed "Artsakh", and in 2012 August 6, the House of Representatives of Massachusetts adopted a resolution calling upon the US President and Congress to support the independence and self-determination of Nagorno Karabakh. The Holy Trinity church visit on March 28 ended the first day of the working visit of the President. In the book of honorable guests, Serzh Sargsyan stressed the church's special role of the preservation of Armenian identity, and the extremely important historical mission. Eric Engberg, a former political and investigative reporter for CBS News who also covered overseas conflicts and won electronic journalisms top honor for a report identifying a Vietnam veteran buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns, has died. He was 74. Engberg died Sunday in his sleep at his home in Palmetto, FL, where he retired. One of the best television correspondents of his generation, former longtime CBS newsman Dan Rather said today. He called Engberg tough but fair, and that rarity: a hard-nosed reporter with a sense of humor. Engberg made news last year from retirement. In February 2015, questions arose about Bill OReillys claim of reporting from a dangerous war zone during the Falklands War in 1982. Engberg had been with OReilly, then a CBS News correspondent, and other reporters who were prevented from reaching the front and were contained in Buenos Aires, where there was street violence. It was not a war zone or even close. It was an expense account zone,' Engberg said of OReillys time in the Argentine capital covering the war. OReilly blasted back, calling Engberg Room Service Eric; Engberg responded with a video. Born on September 18, 1941, in Highland Park, IL, Engberg appeared on CBS Evening News for nearly three decades. He joined the divisions New York bureau in 1975 as a correspondent and was sent to the Dallas bureau the next year. He joined the Washington bureau in 1981, where he remained until his retirement in 2002. Before joining CBS News, Engberg got one of the biggest scoops of his career when he reported the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew in a Baltimore courtroom in 1973. He might be best remembered for Reality Check, a series of original segments on the federal government that ran on the broadcast network in the 1990s. It launched as a regular segment on the accuracy of charges and countercharges flung about in the 1992 presidential campaign and grew from there. Among his most memorable reports were those about expensive bodyguard units created to protect cabinet secretaries, an $18 million luxury subway built to carry U.S. senators a few hundred yards to their offices and an unnoticed law revision allowing U.S. representatives to buy radio ads with taxpayer money. Story continues He and his team won a Columbia University DuPont Silver Baton for a Reality Check investigation that made big news in January 1998. Engbergs reports built a case identifying an unknown soldier in Arlington National Cemetery as U.S.A.F. 1st Lt. Michael Blassie, a pilot shot down during the Vietnam war. The investigation resulted in the exhumation of the body, a positive DNA identification and a reburial. During his CBS News career, Engberg was the first to report the existence of a security fence at the home of White House aide Oliver North paid for with Iran-Contra money and among the first to link faulty O-rings to the explosion that brought down the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. Engberg also covered many presidential election campaigns, including Bob Dole in 1976, Gary Hart and Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Patrick Buchanan in 1992. Engberg was also sent overseas to report on the IRA hunger strikes in Northern Ireland, the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square uprising in Beijing and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Related stories CBS News Reporter Tossed To Ground At Trump Melee Tells Story To 'Face The Nation', Says Officers "Bashed" His Face Josh Elliott Named Lead Anchor Of CBS News' Digital Streaming Service As Iowans Caucus, CBS Sets Plans For Next GOP Debate By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union puts British families at risk by allowing the free movement of dangerous criminals, campaigners who want Britain to leave the bloc said on Tuesday, an argument dismissed as "scaremongering of the worst kind" by EU supporters. Polls show that concerns about migration and border controls are likely to play a big role in how Britons will vote in a referendum on June 23 on Britain's EU membership. The Vote Leave campaign, one of the groups pushing for an exit, compiled a dossier listing people who it described as the 50 most dangerous citizens from EU countries in Britain and who committed offences including murder and rape in the country. EU laws meant states within the bloc did not have to inform British authorities on a systematic basis about the criminal backgrounds of their nationals allowing free movement for dangerous individuals, it said. "EU membership means we have lost control of our borders and have been unable to prevent dangerous individuals from walking into the UK," Vote Leave Chief Executive Matthew Elliott said. "Free movement of people has created free movement of criminals making the UK less safe and less secure." Lucy Thomas, deputy director of the Britain Stronger In Europe group, described the argument as "scaremongering of the worst kind." "It is a mix of chaos and confusion," said Conservative lawmaker Damian Green, a former interior ministry minister who backs staying in the EU. "The truth is that the UK already has the best of both worlds. We maintain all the benefits of EU membership whilst opting out of the passport-free Schengen area and maintaining our border at Calais (in France) rather than at Dover." In the last few days, campaigners on both sides have traded claims and counter-claims about whether a British exit from the EU would be damaging for Britain on issues ranging from security to the national health service. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said on Monday that young people could become a "lost generation" if Britain left and firms were suspending hiring decisions or advertising jobs. Vote Leave said the EU had been bad for the young by driving up costs and forcing down wages. "In" campaigners are keen to mobilize younger voters who surveys show are overwhelmingly pro-EU but also less likely to bother voting. (Editing by William Schomberg) Paris (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday all the security necessary would be mobilised for Euro 2016, a competition which he insisted would be "a form of answer to the hate, horror" of the Paris and Brussels terrorist attacks. "Security will be at a maximum, it's a duty for the government regarding all those who have chosen to come to France in June and we will never compromise on the rules," said Hollande during a visit to INSEP, France's centre for sporting excellence, ahead of the tournament which runs for a month starting on June 10. Later on Tuesday evening Hollande was due to watch France's international friendly at the Stade de France national stadium on the outskirts of Paris. It's the football first match to be held at the stadium since the November terror attacks, in which three suicide bombers detonated explosive vests near the ground, killing themselves as well as one civilian. Other co-ordinated attacks in the centre of Paris around the Bataclan concert hall resulted in a total of 130 people being killed. Hollande was also at the Stade de France that day as the Euro 2016 hosts played world champions Germany. "There was never a question of postponing or cancelling (Euro 2016)," he continued, adding that the event would be an antidote to "the hatred, the division, the fear and the horror". "In 73 days the competition will begin, we're going to welcome seven million people: 2.5 million will attend the 51 matches at the ten venues and 5 million will experience the Euro in another way, essentially in host towns," he said. "We must ensure that all these animations, all these activities, all these games can be assured with a very high level of vigilance." Hollande added that "sport was often a way of responding to terrorism", referring to how the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, was sung at Wembley Stadium when the France team played days after the Paris attacks last November. And he added: "Even today the Portugal-Belgium match organised in Leiria instead of Brussels is like a response, a form of solidarity" after last week's Brussels attacks which killed 35 and injured 340. The Hague (AFP) - A former key official from the UN Balkans war crimes court was freed Tuesday after spending five days for contempt in the same jail as notorious ex-leaders like Radovan Karadzic. French national Florence Hartmann, who served for six years as the spokeswoman for the court's ex-prosecutor, confirmed to AFP that she had been released by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). "I am extremely tired, completely exhausted, stunned," she said in a brief telephone interview after her release. "I am really relieved to be out of prison, and ready to fight," she said, adding she just needed one night to recover from her ordeal. After evading an international arrest warrant for several years, things came to a head on Thursday when Hartmann was ignominiously detained outside the ICTY in front of a crowd of international journalists and demonstrators. A former journalist and Balkans correspondent for the French daily Le Monde, Hartmann had unexpectedly turned up at the tribunal in The Hague to attend the verdict in Karadzic's long-running trial on charges of genocide and war crimes in the 1992-1995 Bosnian war. Hartmann, 53, was grabbed by blue-shirted UN guards in front of the tribunal where she had worked as the spokeswoman for former prosecutor Carla Del Ponte between 2000-2006 as demonstrators tried to shield her. Her lawyer Guenael Mettraux said she had been "completely shocked" by the dramatic arrest. The ICTY said it was just exercising a warrant issued after Hartmann failed to pay a fine imposed by the court for revealing details of two confidential appeals chamber decisions in her book published in 2007. In 2009, Hartmann was initially fined 7,000 euros ($7,800) for contempt for disclosing confidential information in her book "Paix et Chatiment" (Peace and Punishment). Two years later in 2011, after Hartmann had not paid the fine, ICTY judges sentenced her to seven days in jail and asked French authorities to arrest her. The French foreign ministry refused. Story continues The data, which emerged during the trial of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, allegedly implicated the Serbian state in the 1995 massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, Bosnia. - 'Violent' arrest - Mettraux said Hartmann had "been aware of the risk" involved in attending Karadzic's hearing, but she had wanted to lend her support to the victims groups who also travelled from abroad for the keenly-awaited judgement. Over the weekend he filed a series of applications to the ICTY to "modify" the circumstances under which Hartmann was held, describing it as "suicide watch conditions." He had also called for her early release. The ICTY confirmed that Hartmann had been granted early release due to having served two-thirds of her sentence. But a court spokesman denied to AFP that Hartmann had been held in isolation, saying she had been segregated from the men, but was the only woman in the court's detention unit in the seaside district of Scheveningen. Hartmann's arrest in front of international TV crews triggered an outpouring of support, and more than 4,600 people signed a petition denouncing what it called her "violent" arrest. The European Federation of Journalists had also called for her release, with general secretary Ricardo Gutierrez saying it was the role of the ICTY "to pursue war criminals not to intimidate those acting in the interest of civil society." Mettraux confirmed plans to file a complaint with Dutch police for assisting in the arrest. ICTY war crimes judges Thursday sentenced Karadzic to 40 years in jail for his role in Bosnia's 1992-95 war that killed some 100,000 people and left 2.2 million others homeless. By Edmund Blair NAIROBI (Reuters) - The European Union plans to cut back its funding for Burundi's lucrative peacekeeping contingent in Somalia to try to force President Pierre Nkurunziza into talks with opponents and away from the brink of ethnic conflict, diplomatic sources said. Nkurunziza's government has brushed off other cuts in aid from Western donors seeking a way to pressure the government to stop a year-long political crisis exploding into a new war in Africas volatile Great Lakes region. Bujumburas 5,400-strong contingent in Somalia's AMISOM force -- which earns the state roughly $13 million a year and its soldiers a combined $52 million -- may be the Achilles heel of a government that wants to keep its fractious army happy with the extra pay its troops earn from peacekeeping. Top Burundi officers attempted, and failed, to stage a coup in May, but the rank-and-file army has broadly stayed above the political fray. "Support for Burundis contingent of AMISOM cannot continue as it is," a European diplomat said. For each African soldier sent to Somalia, the contributing government receives $1,000 a month for wages and logistics, paid for from a pot funded by the EU. In Burundi's case, the government keeps $200 a month and soldiers receive $800 each, a handsome bonus on top of their much lower regular pay. Pulling the plug on funding altogether was one option, albeit the most extreme and unlikely given Burundi's determination to stay in the force, he said. Cutting all funding would leave the African Union (AU), which oversees AMISOM's 22,000-strong force, having to find another donor to pay Burundi's troops. It is already under pressure as the EU had cut back its overall funding for AMISOM saying it wants other international donors to offer more help. A second European diplomat said cutting all funding to Burundi's contingent was "far from being a reality right now", but he said cash would no longer be channeled via the government and the 20 percent kept by the state, worth about $13 million a year, would be scrapped. "There is no way we will pay that anymore," he told Reuters, adding that the EU was conducting negotiations with the AU aimed at finding a mechanism that by-passed Bujumbura altogether. THEY DON'T BUDGE More than 400 people have been killed since last April when Nkurunziza said he was running for a third term in elections that he then won and which opponents said was unconstitutional. Two percent of the population -- 220,000 people -- have since fled to neighboring countries like Rwanda, which was torn apart by genocide in 1994. Like Burundi, Rwanda has an ethnic Hutu majority and Tutsi minority. Regional African nations and the West appear unable to defuse a crisis that increasingly resembles the slow build-up to Burundis 1993-2005 civil war, a conflict that pitted a Tutis-led army against Hutu rebels, and left 300,000 people dead. Frustration at the perceived intransigence of Nkurunziza's government has grown. "They just don't budge," said another senior Western diplomat. Taking aim at the peacekeeping business had the best chance of "making an impact", he said. Opposing camps have broadly been split along political lines in the crisis so far but diplomats fear old ethnic rivalries will become more pronounced if violence is left unchecked. European nations and the United States have led efforts to put pressure on Bujumbura with aid cuts. Brussels said on March 14 it was suspending direct financial support to the government, affecting a package worth about 432 million euros ($480 million) for 2014 to 2020, although emergency aid would continue. To resume funding, the EU said Burundi had to free up the media, deal with rights abuses and launch genuine peace talks. It also said it was "expecting to review and adjust the terms and conditions of financing and payment" of Burundi's AMISOM contingent, but it gave no details. But while dollars are in short supply and businesses in urban areas are struggling -- the country's economy contracted shrank by an estimated 7.2 percent last year -- the effect of reduced aid flows has not been enough to sway the government given that much of the population are subsistence farmers. Cutting off peacekeeping funds to the army would be a different matter. With the army's numbers estimated at about 27,000 troops, deployed on 12-month tours, few are untouched by the direct cash benefits. Considering the current economic situation, added to low salaries, AMISOM has been a salvation for military families," said a Tutsi army major, who asked not to be named. Based largely on his savings from two tours plus some of his regular salary of $312 a month, he built a new house. Threatening that lifeline could spark "rising indiscipline among soldiers," he said. Burundi's army was reformed after the civil war to include both professional soldiers in what had been a Tutsi-led force and fighters from former majority Hutu rebel groups, including those who were commanded by rebel-turned-president Nkurunziza. A Hutu officer who has served in Somalia acknowledged that peacekeeping provided important cash for his family, but said he would remain loyal to the president no matter what. "If missions are suspended many soldiers may be manipulated," he said. "But not all are corruptible. African states have been reluctant to turn the screws. The AU threatened to send a peacekeeping force to Burundi in December, but backed off in January when Bujumbura rejected the idea. Regionally sponsored peace talks have stalled. Burundi has said it can live without EU aid, but has not commented on the threat to peacekeeper funding. "EU aid cut doesn't mean the government will stop functioning," Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe told Reuters. When asked about the review of EU financing for its troop contingent, he said: "I prefer to wait." (Additional reporting by Ed Cropley in Johannesburg; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) ((This version of the March 24 story corrects total number of deaths to eight, instead of nine, in paragraph 23 and corrects deaths since late 2010 to six, instead of seven, in paragraph 24.) By Paul Lienert and Jessica Dye DETROIT (Reuters) - In August of 2009, after ruptured airbag inflators in Honda vehicles were linked to least four injuries and a death, the automaker quietly requested a design change and did not notify U.S. regulators, Honda confirmed in response to inquiries from Reuters. Honda Motor Co<7267.T> asked supplier Takata Corp<7312.T> to produce a fail-safe airbag inflator, according to Takata presentations and internal memos reviewed by Reuters. The previously undisclosed redesign could make Honda and Takata more vulnerable in more than 100 pending federal lawsuits and dozens more state suits, according to several legal experts and an attorney suing the companies. The request shows that Honda understood the safety risks posed by the inflators long before it started expanding recalls by the millions in 2014, the attorneys and law professors said. U.S. law requires automakers to disclose safety risks and actions to prevent them to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But Honda spokesman Chris Martin said the redesign did not require notice to regulators because the safety risk involved Takata manufacturing errors rather than a specific design defect. Honda requested the redesign to protect against the possibility of future manufacturing errors it was not an acknowledgement of a larger design flaw in the inflators, Martin wrote. Honda started installing the modified inflators in some, but not all, vehicles in 2011 and continues to do so today, Martin said. Honda expanded recalls as it became aware of more defects, he said. The fail-safe modification - outlined in Takata technical documents and internal presentations between 2009 and 2011 and confirmed by Honda - added vents in the inflator to channel pressure from an explosion away from a drivers neck and torso. For a graphic depicting the "fail-safe" fix, see http://tmsnrt.rs/1Rog3lH NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas declined to comment on the design change or whether Honda had a legal obligation to notify the agency. Takata confirmed in a statement that it tested and deployed several versions of the redesigned inflator at the request of an automotive customer. The supplier declined to answer more detailed questions and declined to respond to Hondas explanation of the reasons for the change. Takata has previously acknowledged that some of the ruptures were connected to manufacturing errors at its factories. Honda is Takatas biggest customer, and the automaker owns a small stake in the airbag supplier. LEGAL PERIL Peter Henning, a corporate law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, called Hondas distinction between manufacturing and design problems a technical argument that is at odds with the law and regulatory practice. You cant say, Its a supplier problem, not ours, so we dont have to talk about it, he said. They are responsible for every part on their car and also responsible to report a problem with any part on that car. John Kristensen - a Los Angeles product liability plaintiff's lawyer who has worked on major product defect lawsuits against Toyota and other manufacturers - agreed that the cause or type of a safety risk is irrelevant to legal notification requirements. Honda officials made a determination of a defect when they asked for the fail-safe design, said Kristensen. They had an obligation to tell the government back in 2009. Good luck defending that. In many states, plaintiffs alleging design defects are required to prove that companies could have used a safer design, said Rob Ammons, a Houston lawyer who has represented clients suing Honda and Takata in three cases alleging that inflator defects caused death or injury. Obviously, this would be significant evidence that one existed, certainly as early as 2009, said Ammons, who has settled two of the cases and has one pending. Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina and an expert in automotive safety and regulation said that Honda could make an argument that "its always improving its products for instance, that air bags are getting safer every year, he said. Im not sure how a jury would approach or examine that. The federal cases against Takata, Honda and other automakers have been consolidated in a Miami court. They involve individual claims for injuries and deaths and proposed class actions seeking to represent millions of customers who say their vehicles lost value. Trials in both types of federal cases could start as soon as 2017, according to court filings. Honda has reached confidential settlements in some personal-injury lawsuits, court records showed. AN EFFECTIVE FIX Since 2008, Honda has recalled 8.5 million vehicles to replace defective inflators, including 2.3 million in February. All but 875,000 of those recalls came in 2014 or later. Takata inflators in Honda vehicles have been linked to eight deaths and more than 90 injuries in the U.S., according to NHTSA. Six of those deaths and 70 injuries have occurred since Takata began producing the new inflator design for Honda starting in late 2010. The redesign worked as intended, Martin said. All of the deaths and injuries happened in vehicles with older inflator designs. (Editing by Joe White and Brian Thevenot) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Armen Greig (Grigoryan) considers his role played in the film The Last Inhabitant directed by Jivan Avetisyan as the best one. The actor has no doubts that the film on Artsakh theme will be a success. In an interview with Armenpress the actor speaks about his role, work with Jivan Avetisyan and future plans. Armen Greig - about the role I play the role of an Azerbaijani commandant in the film. He is rather strict and has his own vision of what he does and why he fights. He is a soldier who fights for his country. I can put myself in his shoes, because he fulfils orders. We do not now talk about what are the root causes of the fights. He fights and does it quite well. He has also good features, he has good worldview, but the relations between the two countries are in such a state that you cannot do anything. I relied on my instinct I just relied on my instinct, imagined the role and tried to shape his character. To what extent I managed to do that, you will see on the screen. Not a Popcorn film I believe the film does not fit in the popcorn genre. It is a film requiring special attention. I am convinced it will be a success. The important things in this film are the human feelings, relations, friendship and only after that war and its consequences. I believe the film will be a great success. I have seen Jivans films... I knew Jivan (director of the film-edit.) before taking part in the film. We attended the Cannes Festival together in 2013, and I have seen some works by Jivan. I was pleased to receive an invitation to become part of the film despite my small participation in it. As an actor, it was easy for me to work with him. I believe this is one of my best roles for which I am grateful to him. Future plans Unfortunately, I spend little time working in Armenia; I work in India, Emirates. Now I have started to work also in Moscow. We have completed the pilot screening of a soap opera about special services in Moscow. I play the role of Timur there. He is the captain of a special unit. Parallel, I am filming in a movie in Emirates called Elixir of life. I finished the filming in the Hollywood film War machine where I embodied soldier Greco. Some part of the film was shot in Emirates. Brad Pitt stars in the film. Filming of a new film will kick off in Dubai in April, where I embody an owner of a restaurant. I will also work in Armenia. I am going to embody a special agent in a Russian soap opera Fathers. The music written by world famous Armenian rock musician Serj Tankian for Jivan Avetisyan's new film The Last Inhabitant was recorded in Armenia. National Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia, headed by artistic director and principal conductor Eduard Topchyan, and Hover State Chamber Choir, headed by artistic director and conductor Sona Hovhannisyan, are involved in the recording of the music. The shooting of the The Last Inhabitant film takes place in Artsakh. The film is about people who have fallen from a lost paradise into hell but are saved by love, virtue, and self-sacrifice. It introduces the events of 1988-89. The film is connected with Artsakh and Sumgait tragedies which left an imprint on the fates of thousands of people. Numerous incidents happened to people that are of universal importance. So they must be noticed and told World-known Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi, Sandra Dauksaite, Armenian actors Sos Janibekyan, Aleksandr Khachatryan, Naira Muradyan, Babken Chobanyan and many others star in the film. Roza Grigoryan After nearly four years of waiting, the virtual-reality age finally kicked off today with the release of Oculus and Facebooks (FB) highly anticipated Oculus Rift headset. The device, which is available for order through Oculus website, costs $600 and comes with everything you need to kiss the real world goodbye. Well, everything except the high-powered computer youll need to run the Rift, though theOculus Ready program should help you get one at a decent price (for a fancy PC). As part of his companys launch festivities, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey flew to Alaska to hand deliver the first Rift to one lucky consumer. A handful of early reviews of the headset have already hit the web and they seem to be largely positive with regards to the overall experience. Our own review is coming soon. Many reviewers laud the Rifts ability to truly immerse them in virtual worlds, but some reviewers point to how the Rift can make you feel isolated while wearing it due to the fact that you cant see or hear anyone around you. Others took issue with the fact that the headset can be a pain to put on and take off while wearing glasses. Theres also the fact that, since the Rift doesnt include a forward-facing camera or a pass through, once you put on the headset you essentially become blind to the outside world, which makes it difficult for users to do things like grab a nearby drink or even pick up the included Xbox One controller. Naturally, the Rifts steep $600 price and sky-high PC system requirements will limit the number of people who can initially purchase the headset, as will the fact that new orders wont ship until July. But it looks like the Oculus Rift is just the product we needed to kick off the virtual-reality movement. And dont forget to stay tuned for our full review of the Oculus Rift in the coming days. ROME (Reuters) - The parents of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, who was tortured and killed in Cairo, demanded on Tuesday a tough response from Rome if Egypt fails to uncover the truth behind their son's murder. Giulio's mother, Paola Regeni, said she might release a photograph of her son's body to show the world what had happened to him in Egypt if his murderers were not revealed. "I only recognized him because of the tip of his nose. As for everything else, it was no longer him," she said in the first news conference the family has given since Giulio's battered body was found in a roadside ditch on Feb. 3. The 28-year-old student went missing on Jan. 25 and human rights groups have said the signs of torture indicated he had been killed by Egyptian security forces, an allegation Cairo has vigorously denied. Egyptian officials are due in Italy on April 5 to discuss the investigation. "If April 5 proves to be a wash-out, we expect a strong response from our government, a really strong one," Paola Regeni said. The head of parliament's human rights committee, Luigi Manconi, who also took part in the news conference, said the government should recall Italy's ambassador to Cairo and declare Egypt unsafe for visitors if the investigation went nowhere. "Relations should not be broken, but they should face a particularly significant revision," said Manconi, a member of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party. Giulio Regeni's father, Claudio, said he supported this call. Last week, Egyptian police said they had discovered Regeni's bag and passport following a shootout with a criminal gang. Italian officials dismissed the story and Regeni's family said it was clear Giulio had not been killed for criminal gain. The family lawyer, Alessandra Ballerini, said the Italian autopsy showed that Regeni was alive until Feb. 1 or 2 and that there had never been a ransom bid or money stolen from his bank account in the days after his disappearance. "Whatever the truth, it is clearly very uncomfortable for the (Egyptian) regime," she said. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Dutch police that two brothers were being sought by Belgian authorities a week before the pair blew themselves up in suicide attacks in Brussels, the Dutch interior minister said on Tuesday. Ard van der Steur was responding by letter to questions from Dutch legislators about Belgian brothers Ibrahim ('Brahim') and Khalid El Bakraoui, who prosecutors say took part in the March 22 attacks which killed 35 people, excluding the attackers. A series of missteps and blunders by Belgium's security and intelligence agencies have come to light since the attacks, as well weaknesses in communication between intelligence agencies across Europe. Ibrahim was deported to the Netherlands from Turkey in July 2015, a month after being picked up by Turkish police near the Syrian border. The Netherlands said that when he arrived, his name did not appear on any blacklists so he was not detained. Why he was not deported to Belgium is not clear. "On March 16, the FBI informed Dutch police over the fact that both brothers were sought by Belgian authorities," the minister wrote. Van der Steur said the FBI told the Dutch authorities that Ibrahim was sought by the Belgian authorities for "his criminal background", while Khaled was wanted for "terrorism, extremism and recruitment". In an earlier version of the letter, the minister wrote that the FBI had informed the Dutch authorities of the two brothers, without mentioning that they were wanted by Belgium. This information was then shared at a meeting between Belgian and Dutch authorities on March 17, the minister wrote. But in a statement released in response to his letter, the Belgian federal police denied the brothers were mentioned in a discussion on March 17, when a Dutch police representative visited them. They discussed a shootout in Brussels on March 15 in which an Islamist gunman was shot dead, but there was no mention of the FBI report, the Belgian police said in the statement. The Dutch parliament will debate later on Tuesday which security measures the Netherlands should take in response to the attacks, which killed three Dutch citizens. Islamic State claimed the bombings, carried out by the same network that was behind the Paris attacks in November in which 131 people died. Khalid went missing at the end of October and was on Interpol's wanted list on terrorist charges in December after police discovered a flat used by the Paris attackers that he had been rented using a false name. (Reporting By Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Raissa Kasolowsky) Marseille (AFP) - An eight-year-old French police dog was on Tuesday awarded a medal of honour for his exceptional sniffing skills, which netted authorities 7.5 million euros ($8.4 million) in drugs. "There are good police officers in Marseille, but it seems this one is the best," said Pierre-Marie Bourniquel, the police chief for the area, as he decorated the dog. The Belgian Shepherd, named Choc (Shock), sat quietly, tongue out and tail wagging, as the French national anthem was played and the medal for "bravery and devotion" placed around his neck. The intrepid canine helped police uncover some 850 kilogrammes of cannabis, 22 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1,5 million euros in cash as well as about 50 weapons during thousands of missions. Choc was supposed to retire this year, but with his impressive record and still-sharp senses, will be staying on another year. By Paul Taylor BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Even before the shock of last week's deadly Brussels bombings, gallows humour had taken hold in the square kilometre around Schuman Roundabout, the heart of the city's European district. It's been a miserable start to the year for the European Union with the unresolved migration crisis poisoning relations among member governments, negotiations to avert a British exit getting trickier, Greece's debt crisis dragging on, and Islamist militant attacks exposing serial cross-border security lapses. A succession of emergency summits of the 28 national leaders has fuelled an atmosphere of permanent crisis. And political weather forecasters say worse storms may be on the way. Among staff working for EU institutions, long used to being unloved scapegoats for national politicians, the mood oscillates between despond and defiance. "The European Union is like the orchestra that played on the Titanic," Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said in January, urging EU officials to redirect their focus to promoting growth and employment instead of "this mistaken bureaucratic approach". Officials have been strictly instructed not to do or say anything that may affect Britain's knife-edge June 23 referendum on whether to remain in the bloc. Legislation on issues from the energy efficiency of electric kettles and toasters to the social rights of workers have been put on the back burner to avoid inflaming the British debate. In private, veteran European civil servants say they are gloomy about the state of the Union, anxious for their own future and increasingly questioning the way the EU operates. After performing legal acrobatics to craft an agreement on British Prime Minister David Cameron's "new settlement" without violating EU treaties, and a deal to return asylum seekers to Turkey that is at the edge of international law, Brussels is crossing its fingers that neither turns to dust within weeks. For two decades, a handful of mostly British journalists and EU officials led by journalists Geoff Meade and Jacki Davis have poked fun at the EU and at themselves in a charity Press Revue which is one of the hottest tickets in town. More irreverent than the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, at which the U.S. president is supposed to be gently humorous about himself and the media and everyone dresses up in tuxedos, the show is like a thermometer shoved under the armpit of the Eurocracy. 'BEFORE THE EU BREAKS DOWN' This year's reading was a high, perhaps terminal fever. Staged before a sell-out house of officials, diplomats, lobbyists and journalists, the sketches reflected a foreboding that six decades of "ever closer union" may be coming to an end, at least with Britain and possibly with other member states. They also highlighted EU officials' awareness of their own unpopularity with the electorate, and their sense of unfairness that voters in many countries have turned against European integration rather than blaming their own governments. "Let's just reach one more impasse before the EU breaks down," was the refrain of a blues that mocked acrimonious late-night negotiations that are the increasingly unwieldy union's standard mode of governance. "Hey let's throw a council, way into the night/ I wanna set fishing quotas till the morning light/ One thing I know, baby, some kind of reckoning's comin' around/ Let's pass one more directive, before the EU breaks down." In a sketch on David Bowie's "Space Oddity", Major Tom adrift among the stars sees the EU from space as a ghostly, desolate landscape after a Brexit. In another, Cameron anxiously asked the senior British European Commission official, Jonathan Faull, who helped draft his agreement whether it was a good deal. "It's a good deal less than you might have got," Faull replied. "But it's a good deal more than you deserve." That encapsulated the can't-live-with-you-can't-live-without-you neurosis inside the Brussels beltway about a country that stayed out of the euro common currency and the Schengen zone of passport-free travel and has opted out of much EU police and judicial cooperation. Exasperation at seemingly endless British demands for exceptions to EU rules and the fear of setting a precedent for other awkward members in an a la carte Europe is tinged with uncertainty about the bloc's future if Britain leaves. In the finale, to the tune of Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive", Europeans implore Britons to finally make up their minds and stop thinking they can bring the EU to its knees. "Oh no not us, we will survive/ As long as we can integrate, we know we'll stay alive/ We've got other member states/ We've got plenty on our plates/ But we'll survive, we will survive." If Britons do vote to leave, their sense of humour is something the EU would certainly miss. (Writing by Paul Taylor; editing by John Stonestreet) BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's junta-appointed charter committee handed over a draft constitution to the military government at an auspicious time on Tuesday, the last step before it is put to a vote in August, something that could speed up Thailand's return to democracy. If the constitution is adopted in the referendum, a general election is expected to take place in July 2017, more than three years after the army seized power after months of political turmoil. The charter was handed over at 1.39 p.m. on March 29. Number nine in Thai is pronounced "gao" which sounds like the word for "advance". Critics, including the main political parties, say the charter is flawed and that it will enshrine the military's influence and is unlikely to resolve bitter political disputes. The junta has said the draft is not designed to prolong its grip on power. Controversial clauses include provisions for a 250-member unelected upper house Senate and the appointment of civil servants, including top military commanders, to the Senate. "There will be a 250-member unelected Senate which meets the junta's suggestion," Meechai Ruchupan, 77, head of the Constitution Drafting Committee, told reporters at the formal handover. The Election Commission said it expects 80 percent of eligible voters to turn out for the August 7 referendum. The military staged a bloodless coup in May 2014 following months of street demonstrations in Bangkok - the latest in a long cycle of military removals of elected governments in Thailand. (Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Nick Macfie) Google co-founder Larry Page has always had a thing for crazy and ambitious ideas that, at first blush, might strike many as completely impossible, if not downright insane. Page, who calls such ideas 'moonshots', firmly believes that Google needs to always aim far beyond what anyone else thinks is possible. DON'T MISS: Warning: Anyone can access sensitive info on your iPhone without even unlocking it Even Google's Careers page makes a point of touting the company's interest in pursuing risky and out-there ideas. "Whether its creating self-driving cars or translating the web into 64 languages, we love big bets," Google tells prospective employees. "Our company culture encourages experimentation and the free flow of ideas. This perspective is not limited to our engineering teams and technical roles, but extends to all Googlers who share a desire to challenge whats possible." With Google decidedly focused on issues and technologies beyond search - an area where it continues to generate the vast majority of its revenue - the company this past August completely restructured itself while giving itself a new name: Alphabet. As part of the transformation from Google to Alphabet, the entire company was restructured such that different divisions became wholly owned subsidiaries under the Alphabet umbrella. As detailed in an SEC filing, Alphabet is currently composed of eight distinct subsidiaries Calico - research on fighting aging Fiber Google - search, YouTube, ads, Android Google Ventures Google Capital Google X (moonshots) Life Sciences (aka Verily) Nest Only problem is, a number of Google's prized moonshot initiatives appear to be crashing back down to earth. Most recently, STAT published an in-depth and not all that flattering look at Alphabet's Life Sciences subsidiary. According to the report, the division successfully managed to attract top-tier engineering and science talent, but is now seeing some its more prized employees leave. Story continues The reason? It's reportedly challenging to work with Verily CEO Andrew Conrad. But people who know Conrad or have worked with him said in interviews that Google has entrusted its life sciences initiative to a divisive and impulsive leader whose practices are driving off top talent and leaving openings for competitors. They said many employees in key jobs were dispirited, and described a lack of focus and clear priorities that is unusual even in the chaotic culture of startups. STAT identified a dozen top Verily managers, scientists, and engineers who have departed in the last year. Some gave up coveted Verily spots to return to the Google mother ship, including Diane Tang a revered Google fellow, the companys highest technical rank, achieved by only about a dozen employees in the companys history. Others joined competitors. Meanwhile, other employees relay reports of an extremely demanding work environment, even by Silicon Valley standards. One employee said that he would often find himself still at work at 11 pm, crying. While exposes detailing life behind the scenes at hyper-competitive tech companies is nothing new, many of Google's moonshot projects have been in the news lately for less than ideal reasons. Two weeks ago, a report surfaced indicating that Alphabet was looking to sell off Boston Dynamics, the high-tech robotics firm it acquired back in 2013. The reason? Well, according to a report from Bloomberg, Alphabet "concluded that Boston Dynamics isnt likely to produce a marketable product in the next few years..." Even more recently than that, The Information published a scathing review of what life is like over at Nest, another of Alphabet's subsidiaries. In short, the story claims that revenue at Nest is disappointing and that the company's suite of hardware products is much smaller than anticipated. Related stories Your Gmail account is less secure than a dark web marketplace account The best and worst jobs you can have at Google Get $149 worth of photo editing tools free from Google right now More from BGR: Todays best paid iPhone apps on sale for free This article was originally published on BGR.com YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. A hijacked EgyptAir airliner has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, Armenpress reports, citing BBC. Airline and Egyptian government sources are quoted as saying that the domestic flight travelling from Alexandria to Cairo was taken over by at least one armed hijacker. They asked for the flight to land in Cyprus, an EgyptAir spokeswoman is quoted as saying. 11-01: The terrorist who hijacked the Egyptian EgyptAir passenger plane is armed with a suicide belt. This was reported by "Al-Babava" news portal. There is no clear report about the terrorists ethnicity. It is expected that negotiations should begin with the hijacker. Cyprus Broadcasting Union reported that there are 55 people on board, although earlier it was reported about 80-81 passengers. 11-15: Al-Arabia reports that the terrorist agreed to release women and children. 11:31: 18 foreign citizens are aboard the hijacked EgyptAir passenger plane, Al rum Al Sabia reports, stating that at least 10 U.S and 8 British citizens are on board. EgyptAir tweeted that there are 81 passengers aboard. All passengers except crew members and 4 foreigners were released as a result of negotiations. 12:21: There is no explosive inside the Egyptian A 320 airplane, hijacked on March 29 which is currently in Larnaca airport. Al Arabiya TV channel informed about this, citing its own sources. Earlier it was reported that the terrorist who hijacked the Egyptian EgyptAir passenger plane, Ibrahim Samaha, was armed with a suicide belt. There is varying information on the ethnicity of the hijacker. Sky News Arabia says he is Egyptian, while Fileleftheros newspaper writes that the 30-year old Ibrahim is from Libya and that he is married to a Cypriot woman. 12:37: The hijacker of the Egyptian plane, Ibrahim Samaha, is a professor at Atlanta University (USA).Al-Ahram newspaper was informed about this by the Egyptian power structures. Cyprus state TV said the hijacker was demanding asylum in the Mediterranean Island. The hijacker asked for a translator to relay his demands to the authorities. [Warning: This story contains spoilers from Monday's episode of Gotham, "Prisoners."] Sometimes it doesn't pay to be Oswald Cobblepot. Just as Gotham made it seem as if the former Penguin was bonding with the father he never knew he had - Elijah Van Dahl, played by Paul Reubens - said father was murdered by his wife and stepchildren, who, it turns out, weren't too excited about the idea of sharing their future inheritance with anyone, never mind a crime boss who's just been released from an asylum. The Hollywood Reporter talked to Reubens about his all-too-brief stint on the show and what it would take for him to return. Gotham audiences are used to Oswald having bad luck, but this feels like it's taking things to a whole new level. To lose his father so soon after finding him I tried everything in my power to make sure he did not die. I decided I wasn't going to die on the first take. I told Robin [Lord Taylor] that they would have to kill me off camera. The first version of the scene, I drank a sip of [the poisoned] wine, and then I drank another sip, and another sip, and then I downed the whole glass and poured another and said, "This is delicious." I couldn't keep from laughing. I looked up and the script supervisor and director were both looking at each other going, "What is going on?" And then I died. I died in the next take, but I had to have my comedic version of it for a second. I was shocked that I was dying, and I didn't really want to die so early. I understand why - in the episodes that follow, everything is going to go berserk after this. It's going to get really insane - but I'm not around! This is actually the second time you've played the Penguin's father; you had a cameo in the same role back in 1992's Batman Returns. Is this a coincidence, or are you secretly a big fan of this particular character? It's a coincidence. I wasn't campaigning to play this role, I had no idea about it - my friend Carol Kane was playing the Penguin's mother, and I asked her if we could have lunch while I was in Manhattan doing The Blacklist, and she said, "Oh, I'd love to bring someone along that I'm working with," and she brought Robin along to this lunch. The two of them, in the middle of the lunch, said, "You know, they're talking of bringing in Penguin's father into the series, and would you consider doing it?" I said yes immediately. Story continues You and Robin seemed to have a really good bond. Your scenes together were surprisingly sweet, especially considering how dark the show can be. I can see why people would be expecting the character to be dark, but when you think about it, we're unfortunately in a situation today where we have all these crazy current events happening - all these shootings, all these people who are battling mental illness and acting out - and oftentimes with that, we hear comments or statements from family members. It shouldn't be that surprising that the father of the Penguin isn't this dark, screwed-up terrible person, you know what I mean? For whatever reasons that happened to the Penguin, it's not the father's fault, and that's the case in many situations where you see these people come out and make these statements in the real world, and they're feeling so responsible for some hideous comment or action that somebody took. I loved the sincerity of the character and the sincerity of the relationship, and getting to work with Robin on it. We were both extremely emotional; it was an undercurrent to everything we did together, this huge big well of need and love and emotion. I'm playing somebody who is really his lifeline - it doesn't work out that way, but before the downfall, it's all about trying to take advantage of this beautiful situation that we both find ourselves in. It changes him, it changes me, it was lovely to get to do that with him. And even though Elijah is dead, there was that conversation about ghosts this episode. Elijah thought the house was haunted, so was this some entirely unexpected foreshadowing for the show's strangest plot twist yet? I mentioned it several times while I was there. I'm hoping they listen and do that, but I have no idea. I feel like his father could always have a twin brother, though. Just how "berserk" are things going to get for Oswald if he looks into the circumstances of his father's surprise death - and how likely is it that the GCPD will consider him the prime suspect? Leave your guesses in the comments below. Gotham airs Mondays at 8 pm on Fox. Read More: 'Gotham' Star Breaks Down the "Birth of The Riddler" and Setbacks Ahead Kidal (Mali) (AFP) - Former rebels in Mali held a failed reconciliation forum in their northern bastion of Kidal which was boycotted by the government, as the UN warned of an "alarming" security situation. Pro-Bamako armed groups also shunned this week's meeting after the Coordination of Movements of the Azawad (CMA) ex-rebels allegedly refused the government's conditions that troops should be allowed into the city and the national flag be flown. "We aren't going to go to Kidal as if it is another country, that's not possible," a government minister told AFP. The government has not had any presence in Kidal for several years and the army was driven out in 2014. The forum brought together those sympathetic to the primarily Tuareg rebels' cause from as far as Mauritania, with discussions centred on establishing a better climate for future talks and calls for greater freedom of movement in the surrounding area. "We want to create a climate of understanding between the communities, which is indispensable for implementing the peace deal," CMA leader Alghabass Ag Intalla said in a speech. Although a landmark peace agreement was reached last year between the government and the rebels, the CMA has since violently clashed with pro-government armed groups, the so-called "Platform." Subsequent "pacts of honour" have toned down their fighting but Mali is wracked by a raging jihadist insurgency that has widened despite Islamists being routed from northern towns in 2013. On Tuesday, two Malian soldiers were killed and two others injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was blown up by an explosive device in the Timbuktu region, to the west of Kidal. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he was "concerned that actual progress in the implementation of the peace agreement remains limited." Aside from dealing with the ex-rebels, he said, "the northern and central parts of Mali remain under the threat of criminal, violent extremist and terrorist groups, which take advantage of the limited presence of Malian law enforcement institutions." Story continues Mali's vast, desolate north fell under the control of the Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012. The Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, although they have since launched sporadic attacks on security forces from desert hideouts. However, rival armed factions and smuggling networks mean the region has struggled for stability since the west African nation gained independence in 1960. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two people were shot dead and others wounded on Monday in a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon after a dispute between rival political groups erupted into gunfire, Reuters witnesses and a Palestinian Security Committee statement said. Abd al-Rahman Qablawi, a member of the mainstream Palestinian faction Fatah, was shot by Omar al-Nattur, who belongs to a hardline Islamist group. A relative of al-Nattur, Mahmoud al-Nattur, was then shot dead in response, according to a statement released by the camp's Palestinian High Security Committee. At least two people were injured in the dispute and subsequent gunfire, one witness said. Shops closed their doors and people fled the camp as tensions between the rival groups built up. The sounds of gunfire and mortar fire was heard sporadically throughout the night into Tuesday morning. Ain al-Hilweh camp, near the southern Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, has regularly seen factional disputes spiral into deadly violence. Lebanon's Palestinian camps mainly fall outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanese security services. "The High Security Committee considers security in the camp to be a red line which must not be breached at whatever cost," the statement said, adding it will work with the camp's joint security force to arrest the two men's killers. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Haiti's interim leader, Jocelerme Privert, officially swore in his cabinet Monday, promising an urgent push forward to get the Caribbean nation's electoral process back on track. "You will not have the luxury of any grace period: It is already time to get to work" he told cabinet ministers at the National Palace. Haiti has been fighting to emerge from a political crisis since a runoff presidential election in January was suspended amid allegations of fraud on the part of the government. Privert, 62, was named acting president to replace the outgoing Michel Martelly and appointed a prime minister in late February -- former central bank governor Fritz-Alphonse Jean. But lawmakers rejected his program to form a government, so Jean could not serve. Privert, whose mandate began February 14 and is to last 120 days, went back to the drawing board and named Enex Jean-Charles as prime minister. The 55-year-old civil servant and professor of administrative law has previously served as an adviser to several presidents. The 15-member cabinet proposed by Jean-Charles was approved in both the senate and the lower chamber. Privert's main job going forward will be to steer the electoral process back on track and hold the postponed runoff vote. In October Martelly's favored candidate, Jovenel Moise, won the first round of presidential voting 33 percent to 25 percent over runner-up Jude Celestin. The opposition politician denounced the results as a "ridiculous farce." A scheduled January 24 runoff between Moise and Celestin was canceled when Celestin refused to participate unless widespread electoral reforms were enacted, and following violence and protests. Thirty years after the end of the Duvalier dictatorship, Haiti is still struggling to hold credible elections that would boost development and raise the standard of living for the 60 percent of the population living below the poverty line. Haiti also is still dealing with the aftermath of the powerful January 2010 earthquake that killed some 160,000 people and caused widespread destruction. Tehran (AFP) - Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said it is unclear how long it will take for the West to lift sanctions on Iran, in an interview with Iran's state television news agency IRIB. Iran's historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and lifting punishing sanctions on its economy. But more than two months later Iran is still struggling to make business with the West and banks are facing restrictions in the United States on handling transactions involving the Islamic republic. "Austria alone cannot lift the sanctions. The EU cannot do it alone too, but it's the international community that should do it," Fischer said, in comments published late Monday by IRIB. "The US also plays a role in this regard," said the Austrian president. He was replying to a question about problems facing Iranian banks who wish to use the international payments system SWIFT allowing the resumption of foreign transfers. Some banks in Iran have been able to reconnect to SWIFT since the lifting of sanctions was announced in January. But banks accused of links to the country's elite Revolutionary Guards remain under US sanctions. Last week a senior US State Department official said foreign banks looking to deal with Iran following the lifting of sanctions must avoid engaging with entities that remain subject to a US embargo. Fischer, speaking ahead of a two-day state visit to Austria by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that begins on Wednesday, said the process of lifting sanctions on Iran had "started". He added however: "I cannot make any predictions on how much longer it will take" before all sanctions are lifted. "But I hope that all sides will remain committed to the nuclear deal so that all of Iran's sanctions are lifted in due and scheduled time," Fischer added. Last week Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States of failing to respect the nuclear deal and that Washington's allies are afraid of dealing with Iran. Washington has lifted sanctions "on paper", Khamenei said on March 20, "but they are using roundabout paths to prevent the Islamic republic from achieving its targets". In Western countries which are under the "influence" of Washington, "banking transactions come up against problems," he added. Vienna (AFP) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed for security reasons a planned visit to Austria this week, only his second to Europe since last year's nuclear deal, Austria's presidency said Tuesday. "The visit for March 30-31 by President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation has been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons," it said in a statement, without giving further details. The Iranian government's official website confirmed the postponement, made "by mutual agreement", but said nothing about security concerns. Neither Vienna nor Tehran gave a new date for a visit. A spokesman for the Austrian interior ministry, Karl-Heinz Grundboeck, said there were "no concrete indications of any security threats" in Vienna. Rouhani had been due to meet Austrian President Heinz Fischer on Wednesday in Vienna and Chancellor Werner Faymann the following day, as well as attend an Austro-Iranian economic forum. He visited Rome and Paris in January. The 2013 election of Rouhani, a relative moderate, led to something of a rapprochement with the West which in turn helped Iran and major powers reach the mammoth nuclear deal in Vienna last July. Entering into force in January, Iran substantially scaled down its nuclear programme in order to put an atomic bomb out of reach. In return nuclear-related sanctions -- but not others -- were lifted. Ructions with the West remain, however, including over Tehran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the conflict in Yemen, Iran's ballistic missile programme and computer hacking. With Rouhani having been elected on a promise to improve the economy, Tehran is also frustrated at what it sees as an incomplete lifting of sanctions, in particular on its banks. Austria, like other European countries, and having hosted numerous rounds of talks that led to the nuclear deal, is keen to see its firms profit from the opening up of the Iranian economy. VIENNA (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani postponed a two-day visit to Austria indefinitely for security reasons on Tuesday, the evening he was supposed to arrive in Vienna, his Austrian counterpart's office said. It was not clear what the security reasons were, a spokeswoman for Austrian President Heinz Fischer's office said. A planned Rouhani visit to Baghdad immediately before the Austrian trip had, however, also been postponed for security reasons, Fischer's office and an Iranian official said. "We were working (on preparations) until 5, 5:30 p.m.," the spokeswoman said, underlining the short notice as Rouhani had originally been expected to arrive around 7:30 p.m. local time. The visit was due to be Rouhani's second to the European Union since international sanctions against his country were lifted in January under a landmark nuclear deal with major powers that was negotiated in Vienna last year. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce had said 1 billion to 2 billion euros ($1.1 billion to 2.3 billion) of business deals would be signed, a sum dwarfed by Rouhani's visits in January to Italy and France but still significant for much smaller Austria. Rouhani, the chief architect of the nuclear deal and keen to open Iran's economy to the world, had been due to meet Fischer and other officials on Wednesday and Thursday. Fischer issued a statement expressing regret and understanding at Rouhani's move, without explaining it. "Of course, it goes without saying that each state must make its own decisions about security and the head of state's security," Fischer said. "The quality of relations with Iran will not be affected by this postponement." (Reporting by Francois Murphy and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs do not plan meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, during the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. Armenpress reports American Co-chair James Warlick told about this in an interview with Azerbaijani report.az. Meeting of the Presidents in Washington is not scheduled. Anyway, we are ready to support the dialogue between the Presidents this year. I plan to hold meetings with the sides on behalf of the other Co-chairs, in order to discuss the process of Karabakh conflict settlement, Warlick announced. During the past days media reports assessed the meeting of the two Presidents in Washington as possible. Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia, RPA spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov told the reporters after the RPA Executive Body meeting on March 24 that there is no such a decision and any discussion over it. VIENNA (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani postponed a two-day visit to Austria indefinitely for security reasons on Tuesday, the evening he was supposed to arrive in Vienna, his Austrian counterpart's office said. It was not clear what the security reasons were, a spokeswoman for Austrian President Heinz Fischer's office said. A planned Rouhani visit to Baghdad immediately before the Austrian trip had, however, also been postponed for security reasons, Fischer's office and an Iranian official said. "We were working (on preparations) until 5, 5:30 p.m.," the spokeswoman said, underlining the short notice as Rouhani had originally been expected to arrive around 7:30 p.m. local time. The visit was due to be Rouhani's second to the European Union since international sanctions against his country were lifted in January under a landmark nuclear deal with major powers that was negotiated in Vienna last year. The Austrian Chamber of Commerce had said 1 billion to 2 billion euros ($1.1 billion to 2.3 billion) of business deals would be signed, a sum dwarfed by Rouhani's visits in January to Italy and France but still significant for much smaller Austria. Rouhani, the chief architect of the nuclear deal and keen to open Iran's economy to the world, had been due to meet Fischer and other officials on Wednesday and Thursday. Fischer issued a statement expressing regret and understanding at Rouhani's move, without explaining it. "Of course, it goes without saying that each state must make its own decisions about security and the head of state's security," Fischer said. "The quality of relations with Iran will not be affected by this postponement." ($1 = 0.8872 euros) (Reporting by Francois Murphy and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich) BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked parliament on Tuesday to give him clear guidance on whether he should appoint party politicians or independent technocrats to a new cabinet aimed at fighting corruption. Abadi was responding in a speech broadcast on state television to a deadline set by parliament on Monday to come up with a new lineup by Thursday. "The council of representatives should clarify its position. Does it want ministers from the political blocs or technocrat ministers from outside the blocs and quotas?" he said. Powerful Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr responded swiftly, threatening Abadi with a no-confidence vote if he did not present the promised cabinet lineup by Thursday. Sadr on Sunday launched a personal sit-in inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone that houses embassies and government offices, escalating pressure on Abadi to deliver on his plan. Sadr's supporters are holding a sit-in just outside the district's gates. In his speech, Abadi indirectly called on Sadr to end the protests, which he said were burdening the security forces as they fight Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni group that controls considerable territory in northern and western Iraq. "Reforms should not be allowed to impact the military and security situation," he said. Abadi said more than six weeks ago that he would replace ministers with technocrats unaffiliated with political parties. But other politicians, including some within his own Shi'ite Dawa party, have pushed back against such a reshuffle, fearing it could weaken the political patronage networks that have sustained their wealth and influence for more than a decade. "The parliament has given you until Thursday and you have to abide by this date, otherwise ... we may get to the point where we withdraw confidence," Sadr said through his aide, Sheikh Ali Smeisim, addressing Abadi in a speech on local television. Yet Ahrar, Sadr's bloc, accounts for only 34 of parliament's 328 members and may not be able to vote down Abadi if other political parties decide otherwise. Iraq, a major OPEC producer that relies on oil exports for most of its revenue, has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement for years, ranking 161 out of 168 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index in 2015. Graft continues to eat away at Baghdad's resources as it struggles with high spending due to the costs of the war against Islamic State. (Reporting by Stephen Kalin and Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Mark Heinrich) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday expressed deep concern over a report that the Islamic State group is planning to attack Jewish school children in Turkey. Citing unnamed intelligence officials, Britain's Sky TV reported on Monday that IS "terrorists" have advanced plans to "murder Jewish children in Turkey, targeting kindergartens, schools and youth centres". The report came on the same day that Israel advised its citizens to leave Turkey "as soon as possible," warning of the risk of jihadist attacks. In a phone conversation with the president of the Turkey's Jewish community, Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, Rivlin said he was concerned over reports of threats to the community. "We are very worried about the information we are receiving, and following the situation closely with the relevant authorities in Israel and Turkey," Rivlin said in a statement. The offices of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey's foreign ministry have declined to comment on the Sky report. Three Israelis were among four people killed in a March 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul. An Iranian was also killed and 39 people wounded when a man blew himself up on a shopping street in the heart of the city. The Turkish government said the bomber had links to IS. The group has been blamed for four bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a massacre at a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October that claimed 103 lives. Sky reported on its website that unidentified "intelligence officials" said that a fresh attack was imminent, based on information from six IS operatives arrested in southern Turkey. By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's parliament gave initial approval on Monday to a bill that would allow members to suspend from the legislature colleagues whom they believe have supported Israel's enemies or have acted against the state. The proposal was strongly criticized by opposition members who said it was aimed against Israel's Arab lawmakers. Zouheir Bahloul, an Israel-Arab legislator from the centre-left Zionist Union faction, accused the right-wing ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "quietly stealing Arab members' right to a democratic discourse." Lawmakers voted 59-53 in favor of the bill, which now moves to committee but will become law only after two more votes at a later date. Netanyahu's coalition controls 61 seats in the 120-member legislature. The proposed amendment to the basic law that governs the work of the Knesset stipulates that at least 90 of the legislature's members would have to vote to suspend a lawmaker, an unlikely scenario in Israel's tight and fractious political arena. Rights group the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) warned "today this law is being promoted to harm the Arab MKs (Knesset members), whose statements and actions do not find favor with the political majority. Tomorrow, (it) may harm other MKs who express opposing positions to that of the ruling consensus." The Knesset already has some powers to censure members. Last month, three Arab-Israeli lawmakers were suspended from speaking in parliament as punishment for supporting families of Palestinian assailants killed by security forces after they attacked Israelis. Israel's Arabs have accused Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition of anti-Arab bias. He drew international condemnation after making a rallying call to his supporters on election day last year to rush to the polls because Arabs were being bussed "in droves" to vote. He later apologized for the remark. Israel's Arabs make up about 20 percent of the country's population of 8.4 million and they are broadly represented in parliament. The past six months has also seen the worst period of sustained violence in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Israeli interior since the second Palestinian uprising ended a decade ago. At least 190 Palestinians, 129 of whom Israel says were assailants, have been killed by security forces and many others were shot during clashes and protests. Palestinians have killed 28 Israelis and two U.S. citizens in knife, car-ramming or gun assaults. An Israeli official said on Monday that Netanyahu had decided to suspend the return of the bodies of Palestinian assailants to their families for burial for an indefinite period because the funerals were being used as incitement platforms for further violence. (Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Susan Fenton) Jerusalem (AFP) - She is one of Israel's "chained women" -- the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wives denied a divorce by their husbands and prevented from breaking free by the country's use of Jewish law. The 30-year-old mother of two is hardly unique in struggling to obtain a divorce in a country where men must grant permission for their wives to leave. But her case has shone a spotlight on the issue after her husband Oded Guez was named and shamed by a religious court for refusing to grant a divorce. "I have been asking for a divorce for four years, and the rabbinical court ordered him to give it to me two years ago," she told AFP in an interview, asking for her name not to be published. Her main aim, she said, is "to gain my freedom as soon as possible." Marriage in Israel is governed by Jewish law, which requires the husband to grant permission through what is known as a "get" before his wife can divorce him. If the woman has a child with another man without an official divorce, the child is considered fatherless and cannot marry under Jewish law. The case of Guez and his wife has drawn new attention to the issue due to moves by a rabbinical court. The court sought to force Guez to grant the divorce by shaming and essentially excommunicating him. It also authorised the judgment to be published on social networks, as requested by his wife, while calling on the community to shun Guez. It was shared widely online along with Guez's photo. - 6,000 requests a year - "One must not ask him about his well-being," said the order. "He cannot participate in daily communal prayer, nor recite kaddish (the prayer for the dead) in a synagogue when a relation dies as long as he ignores the call of rabbis and refuses to provide the 'get' to his wife." There are officially 131 "chained" women involved in rabbinical court cases in Israel, where around 11,000 divorces of Jewish couples are granted annually, said rabbinical courts director Shimon Yaakobi. Story continues But since that number includes only cases where the court has ordered the husband to grant the divorce, activists say it is far below the actual amount. Aliza Gellis of the organisation Yad Lisha, which provides legal aid to "chained" wives, said it receives 6,000 requests for help every year. There are also rare cases of men seeking to divorce, but their wives refusing to accept "gets". Gellis said the women who seek the organisation's help wait five years on average for their husbands to relent. "But we have had more difficult cases," she said, adding that some men flee abroad and even change their identities. Activists have increasingly sought to have the issue, which exists in other Jewish communities worldwide, addressed. In 1992, a group of women created Agunah (Chained) Day, marked this year on March 23 at the start of the Jewish feast of Purim. - Prison sentences - Guez's case has highlighted the overarching influence of rabbinical courts in the lives of Israeli Jews. While the country adheres to a Western-style legal system in many domains, the rabbinical courts wield power in areas including marriage and divorce. The rabbinate "tries to find solutions so that the 'get' is given quickly, and the court will continue to sanction husbands who refuse to obey the law," said Pinhas Tennenbaum, spokesman for the Israeli chief rabbinate. Rabbinical courts can withdraw recalcitrant husbands' driving permits, prevent them from leaving the country or put holds on their bank accounts. They can also sentence them to prison. Seven are currently in jail for having refused to grant a divorce, said Tennenbaum. The Jerusalem rabbinical court includes a cell where husbands can be jailed immediately. In March, a rabbinical court even sentenced a wealthy ultra-Orthodox businessman to 30 days in prison for his role in his son's refusal to grant his wife a divorce over the course of nearly 10 years. It was the first time a rabbinical court sentenced someone who was not the husband himself over the issue. In the case of Guez, "if the tribunal finds that it could result in progress, he will be sent to prison," Tennenbaum said. Guez himself has not spoken publicly about the case. His wife said his recalcitrance over granting a divorce has nothing to do with custody of their children or with money. He only wants her back. But she vowed to "fight to the end". James Noble, who played the scatterbrained Gov. Eugene X. Gatling on the long-running ABC sitcom Benson, has died. He was 94. Family spokesman Douglas Moser told The New York Times that the actor suffered a stroke last week and died Monday at Norwalk (Conn.) Hospital. Benson, which ran for seven seasons (1979-86), starred Robert Guillaume as the title character, the same role he played on ABC's Soap. (Both comedies were created by Susan Harris.) On the spinoff, Benson started out as Gatling's director of household affairs but eventually became lieutenant governor. Benson and Gatling then ran against each other for governor, a race that went undecided when the series ended with an unresolved cliffhanger. Gatling, a widower, was a cousin of the sisters Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon) of Soap. A native of Dallas, Noble attended Southern Methodist University in his hometown, served as an engineering officer in the Navy during World War II and studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York. He worked as an assistant stage manager in the 1949 Broadway production The Big Knife, directed by Strasberg, then acted that year in The Velvet Glove. Starting in 1969, he played John Hancock in the popular musical 1776 before appearing in the 1972 film adaptation. In 1979, Noble played Bo Derek's father in 10 and Kaufman, an adviser to the president (Jack Warden), in Being There. His film resume also included Dragonfly (1976), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) and Chances Are (1989). See More: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Laws loosening the limits of Japan's pacifist constitution on its military took effect on Tuesday as surveys showed the public remained divided over a change that allows Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the security legislation, the biggest change in Japan's defense policy since the creation of its military in 1954, is vital to meet new challenges including a rising China. Critics say the changes, which triggered demonstrations ahead of their enactment last September, violate the pacifist constitution and increase the risk of involvement in foreign wars. Opposition parties plan to campaign for the laws' repeal in an upper house election in July. "The security environment surrounding our country is increasingly severe," Abe told reporters at a news conference after parliament approved the state budget. "In a world where no one nation can defend itself on its own, this legislation will help prevent wars," he said. A crowd protested against the bill outside parliament as Abe spoke, holding placards saying "Oust the Abe Administration" and "We won't condone war". Japan's ally the United States has welcomed the changes, which allow the military to fight in aid of friendly countries that come under attack if Japan's security is also threatened. But China, where bitter memories of Tokyo's wartime aggression run deep, has repeatedly expressed concern about the legislation, based on a controversial re-interpretation of the pacifist constitution. The main opposition Democratic Party and other opposition groups are raising the issue ahead of the upper house election amid speculation Abe may also call a snap poll for the powerful lower chamber. How much traction the issue has is unclear. A voter survey by the Yomiuri newspaper published on Tuesday showed 47 percent did not approve of the changes against 38 percent who did. That compared with 58 percent who opposed the legislation last September versus 31 percent who approved. However, in a separate survey by the Nikkei business daily, only 35 percent said the legislation should be repealed, while 43 percent said it should remain in place. (Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko, Minami Funakoshi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel) Danish photojournalist and filmmaker Nicolai Fuglsig has been slated by producer Jerry Bruckheimer to direct a new Afghanistan war drama, "Horse Soldiers" for Lionsgate, reports Deadline Hollywood. The film will be the true story of a team of CIA agents and special forces in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. They entered the country covertly and pursued the Taliban on horses across the mountains. After several battles, they captured the strategic city of Mazar-i-Sharif. But then they found themselves outnumbered by hundreds of Taliban POWs forcing the men to battle for their lives. "Horse Soldiers" will be Nicolai Fuglsig's feature directing debut. EXCLUSIVE: Uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer has tapped Danish filmmaker Nicolai Fuglsig to direct the Afghanistan war pic drama Horse Soldiers for Lionsgate. The project follows a team of CIA agents and special forces who head into Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in an attempt to dismantle the Taliban. Having entered Afghanistan covertly, a small band of special forces soldiers rode on horses to confront the Taliban. Outnumbered 40 to 1, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential to defeat their opponent throughout the country. Soon, however, they find themselves even more outnumbered when hundreds of Taliban POWs actually try to ambush them, leaving the men in a desperate battle to survive and hold on to their military gains and lives. Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill from Black Label Media are co-financing and producing with Bruckheimer. The project is an adaptation of Doug Stantons book, with Peter Craig and Ted Tally writing. Fuglsig is an acclaimed photojournalist. In 1999, his book of photos of a classified nuclear accident in Russia won the ICP Infinity Award in New York, the World Press Photo First Prize and the Kodak prize for Best Photographer in the World Under 30. He successfully segued into directing with recorded footage that became a 15-minute documentary, Return Of The Exiled. Fuglsig has won the Gold Lion in the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and the Grand Prix at the Midsummer Awards for his advertising work, notably a Sony Bravia commercial featuring 250,000 bouncing balls let loose on the largest hill in San Francisco. He has also won an Emmy and been recognized by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials, winning the award twice for Fema ad Waiting and Guinness ad Sapeurs, respectively. Story continues Horse Soldiers marks Fugsligs feature directing debut. He is repped by WME. Related stories 'The Royals' Creator Mark Schwahn Inks Deal With Lionsgate & UCP 'Deepwater Horizon' Trailer: Mark Wahlberg & Kurt Russell In True Disaster Movie No. 12 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2' - 2015 Most Valuable Movie Blockbuster Tournament Michael Jackson's estate and his former manager Tohme Tohme will see another day in court, after a judge granted the estate's motion to strike in its entirety but gave Tohme's attorneys 10 days to amend their complaint. The motion to strike centers on attorneys fees, which Tohme argues he's entitled to under an indemnity agreement with Jackson. The estate holds that clause only applies to Tohme defending against or investigating third-party claims relating to powers of attorney. "Tohme cannot possibly use the Indemnity Agreement to recover attorneys' fees in a dispute with Jackson or his heirs or executors wherein Tohme seeks compensation for services he allegedly rendered to Jackson," writes Howard Weitzman in the motion. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff largely agreed with the estate and granted the motion to strike, but denied a demurrer on the issue. The legal battle began in 2012 with dueling lawsuits debating whether Tohme's work in the final years of Jackson's life was for the pop icon's benefit or his own. Tohme contends he is entitled to 15 percent of Jackson's gross receipts, including money the estate earned after the performer's death, and also a 10 percent finder's fee for a loan buyout connected to Neverland Ranch. Jackson's estate paints Tohme as inexperienced and self-serving and claims Jackson fired him months before his death. Proceedings were put on hold while the California Labor Commission investigated claims that Tohme was acting as an agent, not a manager, in violation of the Talent Agencies Act. In February 2015, Beckloff partially lifted the stay and put the proceedings concerning Neverland Ranch back in motion. In July the Labor Commission found the management agreement between Jackson and Tohme is partially illegal and severance of the illegal portion of the agreement would cut Tohme's commissions in half. Trial is scheduled to begin May 3. Read More: Michael Jackson's Strange Final Days Revealed in Dueling Lawsuits YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The hijacker of the EgyptAir passenger plane agreed to release women and children, Armenpress reports, citing Al-Arabia. All passengers except crew members and 4 foreigners were released as a result of negotiations. At least one hijacker took control of the plane shortly after the EgyptAir flight MS181 had taken off from Alexandria Airport, Armenpress reports, citing the Mirror. The hijacked Egypt Air passenger plane has landed at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus, according to Cypriot media. The plane - which was en route to the Egyptian capital Cairo - landed in Cyprus around 20 minutes later. Local media reports have stated there is a suspected bomb on board and police were ordered to leave the area so the hijacker or hijackers can release women and children. An EgyptAir spokeswoman confirmed at least one hijacker took control of the plane and requested to land in Cyprus. Hostage negotiators are at the scene and the flight is believed to have 55 passengers and seven crew members on board. All flights to and from Cyprus have been cancelled. The terrorist who hijacked the Egyptian EgyptAir passenger plane is armed with a suicide belt. This was reported by "Al-Babava" news portal. There is no clear report about the terrorists ethnicity. It is expected that negotiations should begin with the hijacker. Cyprus Broadcasting Union reported that there are 55 people on board, although earlier it was reported about 80-81 passenger. NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has invited bids for an adviser to help identify an operator for its new standard gauge railway network, a massive infrastructure project aimed at boosting trade and cutting transport costs across East Africa. The $13.8 billion rail project, which began in December 2014, will eventually link Kenya's Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, then on to Uganda. State-run Kenya Railways (KR) said in a newspaper advertisement on Tuesday the adviser would recommend the appropriate operating model for the railway that is currently under construction. The new Chinese-funded railway line is expected to ferry heavier and bigger containers much faster and reduce pressure on the region's roads, which have been damaged by heavy traffic and uneven maintenance. The new railway is expected to open up to commercial services in mid-2017. The existing metre gauge railway was built by the British at the turn of the last century and is in bad shape due to years of mismanagement and neglect. (Editing by Edith Honan and Mark Potter) Laura Hart McKinny is filled with an anxiety she has not felt in more than 20 years. Thrust into the spotlight during the O.J. Simpson criminal trial for audiotapes she made of then LAPD officer Mark Fuhrman, McKinny told The Hollywood Reporter in a rare interview that she has been watching FX's The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story weekly, awaiting her portion of the tale. "I am nervous about it, actually, because the whole situation was nerve-racking for me," McKinny tells THR. "It was such a traumatic and scary time that [Tuesday] night's episode generates that same feeling I had at the time." Well, the moment has arrived. In Tuesday's episode, "Manna from Heaven," McKinny plays a key role, just as she did in the actual "trial of the century." McKinny, now a professor at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, has not previewed the episode. She will watch and process it with the rest of the audience. The real audiotapes, 12 in all, were made over a three-month span in the mid-1980s while McKinny was interviewing male and female LAPD officers for a screenplay she was developing. That project has since become a book, Men Against Women. Read More: Cuba Gooding Jr. Says He Plays O.J. Simpson With a "Blank Slate" of Mind One of the officers she spoke to was Fuhrman, who, during the taped interviews, used the N-word numerous times and talked about assaulting African-American suspects. Those tapes would become a key piece of evidence for Johnnie Cochran and his team, as they used portions of the tapes to argue Fuhrman lied on the witness stand about his racist tendencies and could have planted evidence in the case. That revelation was a huge blow to the prosecution, which touted Fuhrman as a star witness since he found one of the bloody gloves and performed so well on the stand during the preliminary hearing for the case. The FX series did not include a portion of Fuhrman during the prelim. Story continues Fuhrman ultimately perjured himself when he swore under oath, before the tapes were introduced, that he had not used the N-word in the past 10 years. Fuhrman pleaded no contest to felony perjury and was placed on a three-year probation. The felony was later expunged. No one affiliated with The People v. O.J. Simpson reached out to McKinny, but she has been contacted by producers who are interested in doing documentaries on the trial, she says. "I was completely unprepared for what I was about to experience," McKinny says while reminiscing about the tapes being sought by the lawyers dubbed the "dream team." "I didn't set out to interview a racist," McKinny says. The Fuhrman tapes, she claims, were never returned to her despite requests to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, McKinny tells THR. Simpson was acquitted Oct. 3, 1995. "My attorney requested the return of the subpoenaed tapes from the district attorney's office as recently as February of this year," she says. "I hope I will eventually get them back." A request for comment from the district attorney's office was not immediately returned. McKinny, who by the time the Simpson trial was underway had moved to North Carolina and started a family, recalls the fight to keep the tapes out of the case being "extremely emotional and complicated." "I really felt that if I could fight the tapes here [in North Carolina], I wouldn't need to drag them into this extremely explosive and important case," she tells THR. McKinny explains her decision to fight the subpoena stemmed from her word to every single interviewee for her project that whatever they shared was confidential and would only be used in the creation of factious characters. "And I was very appreciative of all the interviewees' honesty because I couldn't have been able to amass the authentic work and voices if people were feeling that they could not be truthful and confidential," she says. "So I was thankful I could find men and women interviewees in my research who could be honest, even if i didn't share their point of view." Despite finding herself in front of the cameras then, and possibly once again now due to the show, McKinny never felt sorry for herself, she says. "I have never felt that I have been a victim in this case," she says. "I sat in the courtroom with victims who tragically lost loved ones and it was paralyzing to be in that space for me." Calling Fuhrman an "excellent consultant" for her interview portion, McKinny says the two later met in L.A. during the trial - before the tapes were subpoenaed - to speak with a producer about optioning her story, she says. As for her feeling on the FX series overall, the mother of three and also grandmother of three says she has really enjoyed The People v. O.J. Simpson and it has given some insight into what she witnessed, such as the tumultuous relationship between prosecutor Marcia Clark and Cochran. And while she acknowledges the FX series is not a documentary and some dramatic license has been taken, she says, "from what I can see, they have done a wonderful job in helping us understand such a complicated issue at such an emotional time in our history." Previous 'Hollywood Reporter' fact-checking installments for the series: *Episode One *Episode Two *Episode Three *Episode Four *Episode Five *Episode Six *Episode Seven *Episode Eight Kuwait City (AFP) - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reached a deal to resume production at the disputed Khafji offshore oilfield, Kuwait's acting oil minister said on Tuesday. "An agreement has been reached with the Saudi side at Aramco to resume production at Khafji field in small quantities," Anas al-Saleh told parliament during a debate. Saleh, who is also the finance minister, said the quantities will increase "gradually" after resolving environmental issues over which the field was shut down. A number of maintenance contracts have been signed in preparation for the resumption of production, the minister said without saying when production will resume or how much oil will be pumped. Production at Khafji, which pumped over 300,000 barrels per day and was jointly operated by the two countries, was halted in October 2014. Riyadh cited environmental issues for the shutdown. Khafji is part of the neutral zone which is operated jointly by the two Arab nations and production is divided equally. The other field is Wafra where production was also halted in May last year. Wafra pumped around 200,000 bpd. Kuwait had initially said that Saudi Arabia unilaterally stopped production due to pollution concerns even though it was entitled to five years' notice under the joint agreement. The two Gulf neighbours began talks in June to resolve the dispute. Khafji is jointly operated by Kuwait Gulf Oil Co. (KGOC) and Saudi Aramco Gulf Operations, while Wafra is operated by KGOC and Saudi Arabian Chevron. Industry sources say Kuwaiti authorities were unhappy with Saudi Arabia for renewing an operating agreement for the Wafra field with Saudi Arabian Chevron for 30 years in 2009 without consulting them. In response, it stopped issuing or renewing visas for Chevron foreign employees. The dispute has been a blow to Kuwait which, unlike its much larger neighbour, has little spare output capacity to compensate for drops in production. Kuwait is pumping around 3.0 million bpd. Laura Hart McKinny is filled with an anxiety she has not felt in more than 20 years. Thrust into the spotlight during the O.J. Simpson criminal trial for audiotapes she made of then LAPD officer Mark Fuhrman, McKinny told The Hollywood Reporter in a rare interview that she has been watching FX's The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story weekly, awaiting her portion of the tale. "I am nervous about it, actually, because the whole situation was nerve-racking for me," McKinny tells THR. "It was such a traumatic and scary time that [Tuesday] night's episode generates that same feeling I had at the time." Well, the moment has arrived. In Tuesday's episode, "Manna from Heaven," McKinny plays a key role, just as she did in the actual "trial of the century." McKinny, now a professor at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, has not previewed the episode. She will watch and process it with the rest of the audience. The real audiotapes, 12 in all, were made over a three-month span in the mid-1980s while McKinny was interviewing male and female LAPD officers for a screenplay she was developing. That project has since become a book, Men Against Women. One of the officers she spoke to was Fuhrman, who, during the taped interviews, used the N-word numerous times and talked about assaulting African-American suspects. Those tapes would become a key piece of evidence for Johnnie Cochran and his team, as they used portions of the tapes to argue Fuhrman lied on the witness stand about his racist tendencies and could have planted evidence in the case. That revelation was a huge blow to the prosecution, which touted Fuhrman as a star witness since he found one of the bloody gloves and performed so well on the stand during the preliminary hearing for the case. The FX series did not include a portion of Fuhrman during the prelim. Fuhrman ultimately perjured himself when he swore under oath, before the tapes were introduced, that he had not used the N-word in the past 10 years. Fuhrman pleaded no contest to felony perjury and was placed on a three-year probation. The felony was later expunged. Story continues No one affiliated with The People v. O.J. Simpson reached out to McKinny, but she has been contacted by producers who are interested in doing documentaries on the trial, she says. "I was completely unprepared for what I was about to experience," McKinny says while reminiscing about the tapes being sought by the lawyers dubbed the "dream team." "I didn't set out to interview a racist," McKinny says. The Fuhrman tapes, she claims, were never returned to her despite requests to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, McKinny tells THR. Simpson was acquitted Oct. 3, 1995. "My attorney requested the return of the subpoenaed tapes from the district attorney's office as recently as February of this year," she says. "I hope I will eventually get them back." A request for comment from the district attorney's office was not immediately returned. McKinny, who by the time the Simpson trial was underway had moved to North Carolina and started a family, recalls the fight to keep the tapes out of the case being "extremely emotional and complicated." "I really felt that if I could fight the tapes here [in North Carolina], I wouldn't need to drag them into this extremely explosive and important case," she tells THR. McKinny explains her decision to fight the subpoena stemmed from her word to every single interviewee for her project that whatever they shared was confidential and would only be used in the creation of factious characters. "And I was very appreciative of all the interviewees' honesty because I couldn't have been able to amass the authentic work and voices if people were feeling that they could not be truthful and confidential," she says. "So I was thankful I could find men and women interviewees in my research who could be honest, even if i didn't share their point of view." Despite finding herself in front of the cameras then, and possibly once again now due to the show, McKinny never felt sorry for herself, she says. "I have never felt that I have been a victim in this case," she says. "I sat in the courtroom with victims who tragically lost loved ones and it was paralyzing to be in that space for me." Calling Fuhrman an "excellent consultant" for her interview portion, McKinny says the two later met in L.A. during the trial before the tapes were subpoenaed to speak with a producer about optioning her story, she says. As for her feeling on the FX series overall, the mother of three and also grandmother of three says she has really enjoyed The People v. O.J. Simpson and it has given some insight into what she witnessed, such as the tumultuous relationship between prosecutor Maria Clark and Cochran. And while she acknowledges the FX series is not a documentary and some dramatic license has been taken, she says, "from what I can see, they have done a wonderful job in helping us understand such a complicated issue at such an emotional time in our history." Previous 'Hollywood Reporter' fact-checking installments for the series: *Episode One *Episode Two *Episode Three *Episode Four *Episode Five *Episode Six *Episode Seven *Episode Eight YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. 18 foreign citizens are aboard the hijacked EgyptAir passenger plane, Al rum Al Sabia reports, stating that at least 10 U.S and 8 British citizens are on board. EgyptAir tweeted that there are 81 passengers aboard. All passengers except crew members and 4 foreigners were released as a result of negotiations. The plane - which was en route to the Egyptian capital Cairo - landed in Cyprus around 20 minutes later. Local media reports have stated there is a suspected bomb on board and police were ordered to leave the area so the hijacker or hijackers can release women and children. An EgyptAir spokeswoman confirmed at least one hijacker took control of the plane and requested to land in Cyprus. The hijacker of the Egyptian EgyptAir passenger plane is armed with a suicide belt. This was reported by "Al-Babava" news portal. There is no clear report about the terrorists ethnicity. A surprise second glimpse behind the cowl for Lego Batman has arrived. "I heard you blew up the Twittersphere about my sweet new feature film, The Lego Batman Movie," Will Arnett's blockheaded Dark Knight says in introduction to the new tease. "When you're as super as me, you don't just get one trailer you get two trailers in one week." The second teaser opens with Batman talking to a portrait of his dead parents, before being interrupted by Alfred (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), who points out that the Caped Crusader has quite a tendency to do that kind of thing. ("I've seen you go through similar phases in 2016, and 2012, and 2008 and 2005, in 1997, in 1995, in 1992, in 1989 and that weird one in 1966," he points out, naming the dates of the various live-action Batman movies so far.) For those wondering what villains to expect in the new movie, a brief scene shows a literal rogues gallery of threats: the Penguin, the Riddler, Killer Croc, Catwoman, Bane, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Two-Face and the Scarecrow. Still absent: the Joker, who'll be voiced by Zack Galifianakis. Directed by Chris McKay, The Lego Batman Movie is scheduled to be released Feb. 10, 2017. Read More: 'The Lego Batman Movie' Trailer Shows Dark Knight's Many Hidden Talents var el = document.getElementById('targetParams');if (el !== null && typeof(el) != 'undefined') {var srcParams = $('.advert iframe').attr('src');var addParams = srcParams.split(";");for (i=1;i<=addParams.length - 1;i++) {if (addParams[i] != '=null' && addParams[i] != 'dcopt=ist' && addParams[i] != '!c=iframe' && addParams[i] != 'pos=t' && addParams[i] != 'sz=728x90') {el.value += addParams[i]+";";}}}brightcove.createExperiences();>>>>>>> TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's U.N.-backed unity government has accused authorities in Tripoli of closing down the capital's airspace to prevent it from traveling from Tunisia to start work. The unity government's Presidential Council released a statement on Monday after two days of swirling rumors that it was on its way to Libya and several flight stoppages at Tripoli's Mitiga airport. The Presidential Council said a minority led by the Tripoli-based prime minister was "terrorizing the safe population of Tripoli and obstructing the unity government by closing the airspace". Flights were suspended at Mitiga Airport for periods on both Sunday and Monday. A civil aviation official said this was for "safety and security reasons", though a security source at Mitiga said on Sunday that an armed group had closed the airspace to block a flight intended to bring in the unity government's Prime Minister Fayez Seraj. The unity government was designed to bridge divisions and end political and security chaos in the North African country, which has had rival pairs of parliaments and governments since 2014. But it has faced resistance both in the east, where it has so far failed to secure a vote of approval from the internationally recognized parliament, and in Tripoli, where the prime minister of the self-declared government has warned the unity government against moving. There have also been fresh clashes between armed groups in and around the capital in recent days, though it is not clear whether these have been linked directly to the political process. Despite the continuing unrest in Tripoli, Seraj said earlier this month that a security plan had been sealed and the government would move imminently. The Presidential Council's statement on Monday said: "Security arrangements have been completed and the council has begun to move to Tripoli to start its mission." No one from the council was immediately available to confirm whether its members had yet attempted to fly to Tripoli. Last week, the U.N. envoy said he had been prevented from flying to Tripoli for a visit to "pave the way" for the unity government. Western powers recently recognized the unity government as the sole legitimate government in Libya. They argue it offers the best hope of countering Islamic State militants in the country, and stemming migrant boat crossings toward Europe. (Writing by Aidan Lewis, editing by G Crosse) Russian forces have provided a significant boost for the Syrian army in recent months, but military analysts have been unable to answer a basic question: How many troops has the Kremlin sent to the country? Now, just as the Russia appears to be ramping down its six-month involvement in Syrias civil war, a figure is coming into view. Related: 14 Deadly Weapons Russia Has Sent To Syria Radio Free Europe reports that the Defense Ministry is seeking 10,300 medals for participants in the military operation in Syria. The agency will spend about 2.3 million rubles, or $29,000, for the medals, according to an order published on an official procurement website. The ministry will pick a manufacturer through an electronic action on April 15. The Ministry commissioned the medals in November, two months after the start of Russias Syrian air campaign that saw warplanes carry out hundreds of combat sorties against terrorist targets inside the country. Putin and other Kremlin officials contend the targets were ISIS forces, but Western officials argue they were aimed at Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar Al-Assads regime. A mock-up of the medal itself shows three fighter jets and a missile ship passing around an outline of Syria. The back of the piece is reportedly inscribed with the words: To a participant in the military operation in Syria. As with its military operations inside and along the border with Ukraine, the Kremlin has never released exact figures for the number of troops it deployed inside Syria. Related: US Says Momentum Has Shifted in the War Against ISIS Putin announced earlier this month that Russia was withdrawing most of its armed forces from Syria, but emphasized a small contingent would remain to offer assistance to the countrys army. He also said Russias footprint in the war-torn country could be expanded rapidly, if necessary. Indeed, the country retains two major military bases in the country, a naval site near the port of Tartus and an airfield near the town of Latakia. Story continues This weekend the Defense Ministry said Russian planes flew over 40 sorties in 24 hours around the city of Palmyra to help the Syrian army retake the city from ISIS, a development thats been given the thumbs-up by the Pentagon. We certainly welcome word of any loss of territory on the part of ISIL, and the ejection of -- of ISIL from parts of Syria we think are a good thing, press secretary Peter Cook said Tuesday during a press briefing, using the other common acronym for the terror group. Related: Why Vladimir Putin Knows Exactly Where U.S. Special Forces Are in Syria He said that since fragile ceasefire between the regime and its opponents took effect late last month it is clear that they have focused more of their military attention on ISIL. We think that is a good thing. We encouraged that from the start. Cook added that Russias role in Syria today is more constructive than its been though its unclear if Washington and Moscow whose relationship has come under intense strain because of the Kremlins actions will be teaming up any time soon. If the Russians continue to focus their efforts on ISIL we think that would be a good thing. But at this point, we're not at a position to cooperate with Russia in that effort, he said. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar President Thein Sein, in a surprise move hours before leaving office, lifted a state of emergency in the restive western state of Rakhine, imposed after clashes between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims in 2012. Thein Sein announced the move in state media on Tuesday, a day before a president from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) will be sworn in at an official handover, after the NLD won the Nov. 8 election by a landslide. While there have been no major clashes in Rakhine in the last two years, most of Myanmar's 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims remain stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions. They are denied citizenship and have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination. "It is found from the report by the Rakhine state government that the situation in Rakhine state can no longer pose dangers to the lives and property of the people," said the ordinance signed by Thein Sein. Myanmar has denied discriminating against the group. It does not recognise the Rohingya as an ethnic minority and instead classifies them as Bengalis. Most Rohingya reject the term and many families have lived in Rakhine for generations. Rohingya were denied participation - both as voters and as candidates - in the November vote. Before the elections, religious tensions were high, with the NLD deciding not to field a single Muslim candidate on its lists of more than 1,100 hopefuls. The Rohingya are widely disliked in Myanmar, where they are seen as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh - including by some in Suu Kyi's party. She risks haemorrhaging support by taking up their cause. Tensions are rising between the NLD and the Rakhine-based Arakan National Party (ANP), one of Myanmar's most vocal ethnic parties. ANP lawmakers walked out of the regional parliament on Monday wearing black stickers on their jackets, because the NLD denied them the position of the chief minister of the state. Still, lack of fighting means that some 25,000 Rohingya Muslims have left camps for displaced people and returned to the communities, the United Nations said last week, with the number of people in camps down to around 120,000 from 145,000. (Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski and Aung Hla Tun; Editing by Nick Macfie) Yangon (AFP) - Myanmar's outgoing government on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in conflict-hit Rakhine, a parting gesture that coincides with turbulent relations between Aung San Suu Kyi's new administration and the western state's powerful Buddhist political party. Rahkine is deeply scarred by communal violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that began in 2012, presenting one of the most acute challenges for Myanmar's first popularly elected government in decades. In a surprise move Tuesday outgoing president Thein Sein announced the removal of the emergency order, which had been in place since unrest left scores dead and tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims confined to miserable displacement camps. "According to the Rakhine State government, there is currently no threat of danger to people's lives," said a statement in state media announcing the order, which will see the military step back from providing day-to-day security in the region. While Rakhine has not seen a serious outbreak of violence in more than two years, the state remains fractured on religious lines. Most Muslims are trapped either in camps or in heavily regulated areas near the border with Bangladesh. A rising tide of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar has fuelled discrimination against the Muslim minority, seen by many as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. A web of citizenship rules has rendered many Rohingya effectively stateless and unable to vote in last November's landmark polls. Tens of thousands have fled persecution and poverty for neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. But the tide appears to have slowed this year after a Thai crackdown on people-smuggling in 2015 led boat captains to abandon many Rohingya on land and at sea, spurring a regional crisis. "We think the situation is good. But any politician can see that Rakhine State is very sensitive and it would be easy for it to explode at any time," said Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), which represents ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Story continues The president's order comes a day after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy faced protests by lawmakers from the ANP -- one of Myanmar's strongest minority parties -- over the NLD decision to appoint a candidate from its own party to be the state's chief minister. Around 18 ANP lawmakers, many wearing black stickers on their jackets, walked out of the Rakhine regional legislature Monday. It is not clear what is behind the lifting of the state of emergency by Thein Sein. The former general has steered Myanmar's dramatic reforms since 2011 but has also presided over growing Buddhist nationalism. "If you are going to leave you might as well take credit for it and the consequences will be left to the next government," said political analyst Khin Zaw Win. YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Report on major threats facing Eastern Partnership and EU member states and steps to withstand them were discussed and adopted during the plenary session of Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. Head of Armenian delegation to Euronest PA Artak Zakaryan told the reporters about this at the National Assembly. There were a totoal of 111 proposals over that report, some of which were unacceptable for us. Particularly, we found unacceptable those proposals referring to Russia and were to some extent contradicting the interests of Armenia. We voted against those proposals at the Committee on Political Affairs, and they did not pass, Armenpress reports Artak Zakaryan stating. He also added that there were proposals referring to Nagorno Karabakh issue, which were also unacceptable for the Armenian delegation. Here we wanted to make use of our right to veto, but everything ended sooner. We managed to reach adequate agreements as a result of the discussions, and the authors of the proposals withdrew their proposals, Artak Zakaryan said. The MP clarified that saying unacceptable, he means that there were such formulations as occupied territories, military aggression, withdrawal of troops and other similar formulations. The head of Armenian delegation to Euronest PA Artak Zakaryan said that 4 reports were adopted at the 5th plenary session of Euronest PA, which are all acceptable for Armenia. The 5th plenary session of Euronest PA took place on March 20-24, 2016 in Brussels. Like many artists who live long enough to stare down old age, Ambrose Bierce was, by 1913, when he turned 71, focused on embalming his body in alcohol and turning his life into a self-help masterpiece on how to lose friends and alienate people. The irreverent cynic and American wordsmiths best days were behind him, and in the wake of publishing his most famous work,The Devils Dictionary, it was clear that his best work was too. But Bierce, possessing a knack for transforming platitudes into snarling literary gems a bride, in his definition, was a woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her saw the chance to escape a cliched existence and compose a more appealing ending to his story. The authors obsession with death and gift for narrative misdirection had already produced some of the best American short stories, including the influential An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, a Twilight Zonetype tale of a Southern plantation owner about to be hanged by Union soldiers who dreams of escaping death in the moment before the noose breaks his neck. Bierce got his pretty good death and an enduring mystery to embellish his literary tombstone. And so, on Oct. 2, 1913, the cantankerous writer kick-started his own certain-death fantasy, setting off for war-torn Mexico to partake in Pancho Villas revolution. Goodbye, he wrote in an almost joyfully macabre letter to his cousin, if you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease or falling down the cellar stairs. Bierce got his pretty good death and an enduring mystery to embellish his literary tombstone. For a man who posed for portraits with a skull, death had been a preoccupation long before his Mexican sojourn. As a teenager, the Indiana native had dreams of his body decomposing and enjoyed reading Edgar Allan Poe stories to his future fiancee. Yet, still a young idealist, he enlisted in the Union Army two months before his 19th birthday in 1861. During the Civil War, the curly-haired Bierce would rise to the rank of lieutenant, witnessing the horrors of battles like Shiloh and Chickamauga before being shot in the head by a Confederate soldier. He recovered from his wound and returned home, only to learn his fiancee had left him for another man. Cue the cynicism. Story continues Later, traveling to Mexico as an old man, Bierce went out of his way to relive the trauma of his youth, and the war that had haunted him throughout his adult life. Dressed all in black, Bierce stopped at old stomping grounds on his way to crossing the Rio Grande in Texas, visiting some of the Civil War battlefields where he had fought. He spent an entire day sitting alone in the sun at Shiloh, site of one of the bloodiest battles in American history. Sometime in late 1913, the former marksman crossed into Mexico and entered yet another civil war, following the revolutionary Villas army. The day after Christmas, Bierce wrote to his secretary from the city of Chihuahua. He was never heard from again. Theories about his disappearance have circulated ever since, but evidence remains elusive. Some claim Bierces highly publicized trip was a clever ruse to cover up a suicide or a trip to a sanitarium or asylum, but most speculate that he met his maker on the battlefield. According to witnesses, Bierce died over and over again, all over Mexico, Forrest Gander wrote in The Paris Review on the centennial of Bierces disappearance. Bierces multiple deaths include a quick one in the siege of Ojinaga in January 1914, an old gringo shot in battle and burned with the other corpses. Another version suggests he was merely wounded and then piled into a wagon with Mexican refugees headed for the American border, only to die of pneumonia near Marfa, Texas. Yet another story has him discovered by American federales, accused of being a spy and executed by firing squad. Some investigators claim Bierce made it to Pancho Villas hacienda, only to wear out his welcome, and eventually his life, with bouts of loudmouthed drunkenness. In The Devils Dictionary, Bierce defines a martyr as one who moves along the line of least reluctance to a desired death. Whatever the circumstances of his own death, he managed to perish as a martyr to his literary legend, which would only grow in the years following his mysterious demise. Had he been around, the hardened cynic and craftsman in Bierce would surely have relished the irony, spectacle and fuss surrounding his final insoluble act. And most of all, he would have appreciated the fact that he wasnt around to appreciate it. Related Articles North Korea test-fired a short-range missile or rocket near its east coast Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of launches amid rising tension on the divided peninsula. The North fired the "short-range projectile" near the eastern city of Wonsan around 5:40 pm (0840 GMT) which flew about 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the country's northeast, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. "We are closely monitoring the situation and standing ready for any situations," the statement said. The projectile appears to have fallen on land unlike previous tests when missiles were fired into the sea, Seoul's defence ministry spokesman told AFP. It was the third such launch by the North in two weeks, as the isolated state steps up its military threats to protest ongoing Seoul-Washington joint army drills being held south of the border. The North last Monday fired five short-range rockets or missiles into the sea off the east coast, days after test-firing two medium-range missiles. The latest launch comes ahead of trilateral talks between the leaders of the US, Japan and the South aimed at discussing the growing threat of the nuclear-armed North. On Thursday US President Barack Obama will meet his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a nuclear security forum in Washington. Military tensions have soared on the peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its fourth atomic test in January, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test. The UN Security Council responded earlier this month by slapping its toughest-ever sanctions on the North. Seoul and Washington started their largest-ever joint military drills on March 7. Since then the North has issued a series of threats, including warnings of nuclear attacks against the South and US. VILNIUS (Reuters) - NATO should upgrade its air patrols in the Baltic states into a combat-ready force that would be able to defend them in time of war, the defense alliance's top commander said on Tuesday. A multi-national NATO force currently has eight jets patrolling the skies over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This air policing operation was increased from four jets in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. "I think that the alliance does need to be ready for the air defense mission, and of course we as military men and women are looking at that capability," Philip Breedlove, outgoing NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told reporters in Vilnius. "Air policing and air defense are meant for two different situations. The Baltic air policing is a peacetime mission", he added. A total force of about 600 U.S. troops has been present in the Baltic countries and Poland since April 2014, augmented by occasional rotations of other NATO allies. U.S. President Barack Obama, in a speech delivered in Estonia in 2014, said NATO would help to safeguard the independence of the three Baltic states, which broke away from Moscow's orbit in 1990-91 as the Soviet Union was collapsing. Now, backed by an increase in U.S. military spending, NATO is planning its biggest build-up in eastern Europe since the Cold War to counter what the alliance, and in particular the Balts and Poland, consider to be a more aggressive Russia. The three Baltic states, which joined both NATO and the European Union in 2004, have asked NATO for a permanent presence of battalion-sized deployments of allied troops in each of their territories. A NATO battalion typically consists of 300 to 800 troops. "We no longer want multi-national forces to be present only as a measure of assurance or for political visibility. We want forces of deterrence, with a clear understanding that they would engage in case of a conventional attack," Lithuania's chief of defense Jonas Zukas told reporters. "The air defense problem is real," he added. "It is obvious that in case of a military conflict (in the Baltics) neither four nor eight jets would be enough." Moscow denies any intention to attack the Baltic states. It says Crimea is historically Russian land and that it acted legitimately in 2014 to safeguard its interests after mass street protests forced Ukraine's then-president, the pro-Moscow Viktor Yanukovich, to flee Kiev into Russian exile. Russia also denies arming pro-Moscow separatists battling Kiev's forces in eastern Ukraine. (Reporting By Andrius Sytas; Editing by Daniel Dickson and Gareth Jones) JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 21 to discuss security issues in the Middle East, an Israeli political source said on Tuesday. Israel and Russia have maintained a hotline to help avoid their aircraft accidentally clashing over Syrian territory. This has allowed Israel to continue to carry out covert strikes to foil suspected Hezbollah or Iranian operations against it on Syrian turf without fear of accidentally clashing with Moscow. Israeli officials have privately said that Russian forces sent in last year to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turn the tide in a five-year-old civil war also served to restrain his anti-Israel allies - Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah militia. Despite its declared withdrawal of most military forces two weeks ago, Russian forces continue to operate in Syria and jets and helicopters have carried out dozens of strikes daily over Palmyra, helping the Syrian army recapture the historic city from Islamic State militants. Putin told visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin earlier in March that he had agreed to meet Netanyahu to discuss the security situation in the Middle East. An Israeli official who declined to be named said that during Rivlin's meeting with Putin, he "asked that Russia work to restore UNDOF as part of any long-term arrangement in Syria", referring to a United Nations peacekeeping force. Personnel from UNDOF, which monitors the Israeli-Syrian frontier on the Golan Heights, have come under fire and even been kidnapped by militants fighting Assad's forces, prompting peacekeeping contingents from some participating nations to withdraw from the force. (Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Niamey (AFP) - A Niger court on Tuesday granted bail to failed presidential challenger Hama Amadou, who was detained in November on sensational baby trafficking charges that he claimed were politically motivated. President Mahamadou Issoufou was re-elected to a second term in office with 92 percent of the vote in a March 20 run-off that the opposition boycotted. His sole challenger Amadou, who was flown to France for medical treatment four days before the second round of voting, announced his candidacy while in detention. "The decision is clear, he is free as of today," his lawyer Mossi Boubacar said. "He should be out today or tomorrow," Amadou's doctor Luc Karsenty told AFP in Paris. A source close to the case in Niger said Amadou would not have to return to his prison in Filingue, 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of the capital Niamey, upon his return. Amadou Boubacar Cisse, vice-president of the COPA 2016 opposition alliance, said the government "must definitively sort out Amadou's legal status" and called on the president to "stop the continuous harassment of the opposition." Cisse called for the release of all political prisoners as a condition for accepting the president's offer of talks to ease political tensions in the arid west African state. "We are all open to dialogue to prevent chaos in the country but there is a pre-condition," he said, adding: "All opposition members who are currently in jail must be freed." Amadou's supporters have branded the baby trafficking case against him as an attempt to quash his leadership ambitions. The 66-year-old was detained on November 14, after returning from exile in France, over allegations that he was involved in smuggling babies from Nigeria to wealthy couples in Niger. The court was supposed to rule on his conditional release on March 14 but put off the decision until March 28, after the second round of the election which the opposition branded a farce. Story continues About 20 people were accused of involvement in the trafficking of babies, including bankers, leading businessmen and their spouses. Amadou's wife was also detained but released with the other suspects. The case added to tensions in the uranium-rich country ahead of the election. Last week, Issoufou proposed establishing a unity government with the opposition. Reacting to his offer, COPA 2016's Cisse said: "The issue for us is not to take up folding seats in a national unity government ... but to put back democracy on track." ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari will not sign the 2016 budget bill passed by parliament last week unless lawmakers provide more details of the legislation, a government official said on Tuesday. Parliament had earlier sent the bill, which calls for record spending, to Buhari's office but it had contained only highlights of the budget, no details, the official told Reuters, asking not to be named. "As a result, the president has been unable to sign the bill because he does not know what is contained in the details and what adjustments the National Assembly must have made to the proposal sent to them," the official said. (Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Ulf Laessing; editing by John Stonestreet) (Reuters) - No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the deadly collapse of an apartment balcony in Berkeley, California, last year in which five visiting Irish students and an American friend were killed, prosecutors said on Tuesday. An investigation showed dry rot caused the balcony to give way during a birthday party in June, and the building's maintenance and construction crews "likely" bore some responsibility, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said. But O'Malley said there was not enough evidence to prove reckless disregard for human life that would be needed for a charge of criminal manslaughter. "This is not a decision that I came to lightly, O'Malley said in a statement. Thirteen people were crowded onto the balcony when it ripped away and spilled everyone 40 feet (12 meters) to the street. The young people attending the party were mostly college students from Ireland working in the San Francisco Bay area for the summer on temporary visas. Civil lawsuits were filed last year on behalf of seven survivors and the families of five students who died, including against the buildings owner, a BlackRock Inc-managed real estate fund. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Peter Cooney) MIAMI (Reuters) - Andy Murray, accustomed to going deep into the Miami Open, was derailed in the third round on Monday, falling 6-7(1) 6-4 6-3 to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. The Scotsman might have sensed trouble was in the air at Crandon Park after the opening two matches on Stadium court ended in shock results with women's world number one Serena Williams and number two Agnieszka Radwanska both upset victims. To be honest, I just played better in the big moments today, Dimitrov told reporters. I had quite a few opportunities and I used them. Even though I lost the first set, I kept good composure. I had to stay in the match and I had to be really focused. Im happy with all those things. After winning a tight opening set by breezing through a 7-1 tie-break, Murray quickly found himself down a break 2-0 in the second and that was all the 26th-seeded Dimitrov needed to level the match. Murray, a two-times Miami champion who had reached the final three times in the last four years, grabbed the initiative in the third set, breaking his Russian opponent to nose ahead 3-1 but a determined Dimitrov broke right back to get the decisive set back on level terms. Service breaks continued with Dimitrov going on top again 4-3 and the Bulgarian consolidated his advantage by holding serve for a 5-3 lead. With Murray serving to stay in the match Dimitrov broke yet again, closing out the rollercoaster contest on his first match point in two hours 25 minutes. (I made) a lot of unforced errors in the third set, Murray said. After winning a close first set you want to try and put your opponent under pressure. Credit to him. He was more solid than me." Next up for Dimitrov will be Frenchman Gael Monfils, who hit 13 aces in a 6-3 6-4 win over Pablo Cuevas. Sixth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan eased into the fourth round past Ukraine's Alexander Dolgopolov 6-2 6-2, while ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was shown the Crandon Park exit by Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 2-6 6-3 7-6(3). (Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine/Peter Rutherford) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. There is no explosive inside the Egyptian A 320 airplane, hijacked on March 29 which is currently in Larnaca airport. Armenpress reports Al Arabiya TV channel informed about this, citing its own sources. Earlier it was reported that the terrorist who hijacked the Egyptian EgyptAir passenger plane, Ibrahim Samaha, was armed with a suicide belt. There is varying information on the ethnicity of the hijacker. Sky News Arabia says he is Egyptian, while Fileleftheros newspaper writes that the 30-year old Ibrahim is from Libya and that he is married to a Cypriot woman. MIAMI (Reuters) - Andy Murray, accustomed to going deep into the Miami Open, was derailed in the third round on Monday, falling 6-7(1) 6-4 6-3 to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. The Scotsman might have sensed trouble was in the air at Crandon Park after the opening two matches on Stadium court ended in shock results with women's world number one Serena Williams and number two Agnieszka Radwanska both upset victims. After winning a tight opening set by breezing through a 7-1 tie-break, Murray quickly found himself down a break 2-0 in the second and that was all the 26th-seeded Dimitrov needed to level the match. Murray, a two-times Miami champion who had reached the final three times in the last four years, grabbed the initiative in the third set, breaking his Russian opponent to nose ahead 3-1 but a determined Dimitrov broke right back to get the decisive set back on level terms. Service breaks continued with Dimitrov going on top again 4-3 and the Bulgarian consolidated his advantage by holding serve for a 5-3 lead. With Murray serving to stay in the match Dimitrov broke yet again, closing out the rollercoaster contest on his first match point in two hours 25 minutes. In other men's action, sixth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan eased into the fourth round past Ukraine's Alexander Dolgopolov 6-2 6-2, while ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was shown the Crandon Park exit by Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 2-6 6-3 7-6(3). (Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine) By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - The North Carolina Attorney General's office said it would not defend a new state law being challenged in federal court by opponents who say it discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is running for governor this year, on Tuesday called the measure shameful and unconstitutional. It requires transgender people to use bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificate rather than the one with which they identify. "Not only is this new law a national embarrassment, it will set North Carolina's economy back if we dont repeal it," Cooper said at a news conference. Senate Leader Phil Berger, a Republican, fired back with a statement calling for Cooper to resign from office for refusing to defend the state against the lawsuit. "His zeal for pandering for the extreme left's money and agenda in his race for governor is making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties as attorney general," Berger said. Advocacy groups sued North Carolina on Monday in response to state lawmakers' repeal last week of a Charlotte city ordinance that would have allowed bathroom choice based on gender identity. The Republican-dominated legislature and Governor Pat McCrory also have come under fire from major corporations and the White House for the measure, which was introduced, passed and signed into law during a one-day special session. The law prohibits local governments from enacting anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Cooper said the measure conflicted with the nondiscrimination policy adopted by his office in 2001 that extended protections based on sexual orientation and marital status. Cooper, who was first elected attorney general in 2000 and is now running against McCrory, advised the governor and legislature to scrap the law. "Discrimination is wrong, period," Cooper said. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - Transgender people barred under a new North Carolina law from choosing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, arguing the measure was discriminatory and threatened their personal safety. North Carolina last week became the first state to enact a measure requiring people to use bathrooms or locker rooms in schools and other public facilities that match the gender on their birth certificate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. "By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment and explicitly writing discrimination against transgender people into state law, (the state) violates the most basic guarantees of equal treatment and the U.S. Constitution," said the lawsuit, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal. The state's Republican-dominated legislature passed the law during a one-day special session called to repeal a Charlotte city ordinance that would have allowed bathroom choice based on gender identity versus sex at birth. State lawmakers also voted to prohibit local governments from enacting anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The actions drew swift criticism from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy groups and companies including American Airlines, Apple and Google. In response to the law, the mayors of San Francisco and Seattle as well as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have barred non-essential, publicly funded government travel to the state, saying the law is discriminatory. North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, both Republicans, said they were confident the law would be upheld in court. "This lawsuit takes this debate out of the hands of voters and instead attempts to argue with a straight face that there is a previously undiscovered right in the U.S. Constitution for men to use women's bathrooms and locker rooms," they said in a joint statement. Story continues State lawmakers have warned of the dangers that could result from men sharing bathrooms with women and young girls. But transgender plaintiffs said they would be vulnerable because making known they are transgender puts them at high risk of violence. "This is about more than restrooms. This is about my job, my community and my ability to get safely through my day," said Joaquin Carcano, a 27-year-old university employee who is a plaintiff in the suit. Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the national ACLU's LGBT Project, said on Monday the new law on bathroom access has "no clear enforcement mechanism." COMPARISON TO GEORGIA Opponents of the law criticized Republican Governor Pat McCrory, who is seeking re-election in November, for signing the sweeping legislation on the same day it was introduced. They noted the weeks of debate and review given to a Georgia measure that sought to strengthen legal protections for gay marriage opponents before Republican Governor Nathan Deal signaled on Monday he would veto it. "By contrast, what happened here in North Carolina was a farce," said Chris Brook, legal director for the ACLU of North Carolina. (Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Cynthia Osterman) New Delhi, Mar. 29 (ANI): Ahead of his departure to Belgium, USA and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Nuclear Summit in Washington D.C. will strongly deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. "On 30th March, I will be in Brussels to meet with the Belgian Prime Minister Mr. Charles Michel. I would also be holding the 13th India-EU Summit with the E.U. leadership. No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones," the Prime Minister said in a statement. Asserting that India's relations with Belgium are deep rooted and have stood the test of time, the Prime Minister said that within the E.U., Belgium is India's second largest trading partner and that his meeting with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership. "Along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, I would remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) Telescope. The European Union is a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. This Summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," the statement added. In Brussels, the Prime Minister would also be meeting with the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a wide cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium and he would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. The same evening, he will address a community programme and interact with the Indian community. After Belgium, Prime Minister will be in Washington DC on 31st March to participate in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, where several nations and global organisations would be represented. "The Summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material. On the sidelines of the Summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations," the Prime Minister said. On 2nd and 3rd April, he will be visiting Saudi Arabia.at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. "India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda," the Prime Minister said. Stating that India's economic ties are also expanding, he added that Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner, and is also India's largest crude oil supplier. "In addition to meeting with H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the Royal family. We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India's development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh," the statement added. Prime Minister Modi will also visit the Masmak Fortress, 'L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh. (ANI) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program, the White House said on Monday. The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will take place the same day Obama talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. Relations between Park and Abe have been frosty in the past, but the two have been brought together in recent months by shared concerns about North Korea, which conducted a fourth nuclear bomb test on Jan. 6 and launched a long-range rocket into space last month. The United States has been keen to encourage better relations between Seoul and Japan, its two biggest allies in Asia, given concerns not only about North Korea but also an increasingly assertive China. Beijing has said Xi will push Obama to resume talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Their meeting could also touch on U.S. concerns about Chinese computer hacking and Beijing's assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea. Obama, Park and Abe last met trilaterally on the sidelines of the previous Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in 2014, but only at the cajoling of the U.S. president. Last November, Abe and Park held their first formal bilateral talks since taking office and the following month Japan and South Korea reached a landmark agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over women forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels. Military officials and defense officials said after the North Korean nuclear test in January that shared concerns about North Korea could cement the reconciliation and open the way for increased military cooperation between Japan and South Korea. Washington is relying increasingly on its Asian allies to work together and says trilateral defense cooperation is critical to maintaining regional security. China has signed up for tough new U.N. sanctions against North Korea but it has said repeatedly sanctions are not the answer and that only a resumption of talks can resolve the dispute over North Korea's weapons program. Numerous efforts to restart the talks have failed since they collapsed following the last round in 2008. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Bernard Orr and Andrew Hay) President Obama announced several new administration actions aimed at combating the countrys deadly opioid epidemic at the National Rx Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta on Tuesday. Ahead of the annual event, where Obama was slated to speak to law enforcement and medical professionals as well as recovering addicts and their families, the White House released a detailed outline of the presidents new plan. Perhaps most significant among the actions announced were those related to expanding access to Medication Assisted Treatments, specifically buprenorphine. Despite its proven success in treating opioid abuse, buprenorphine has been subjected to tight restrictions ever since it was first approved to treat opioid addiction in 2000. Doctors must undergo a special eight-hour training in order to prescribe buprenorphine and, once qualified, they are limited to prescribing the medication to no more than 100 patients at a time. Because buprenorphine is often used as a long-term maintenance medication, these restrictions have resulted in long waiting lists for the small number of qualified physicians, leaving a large percentage of people with opioid addiction without access to treatment. U.S. President Obama participates in a National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 29, 2016. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Over the past year, the Obama administration has made made a number of funding-related moves to increase access to Medication Assisted Treatments for opioid abuse, including a $1.1 billion proposal from the president in February. But Tuesdays announcement included the first specific action to increase the patient limit for qualified buprenorphine prescribers, with the Department of Health and Human Services issuing a proposed rule to lift the cap from 100 patients to 200. Additionally, this new set of initiatives seeks to further expand access to such medication by increasing the number of physicians who are qualified to prescribe it. The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMSHA, plans to organize buprenorphine prescriber training for physicians in states with the greatest need. Story continues The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked the 200 percent increase in fatal opioid overdoses since 2000 to the somewhat simultaneous increase in opioid painkiller prescriptions. However, in February, President Obama rejected a bipartisan proposal from the National Governors Association to combat the countrys opioid epidemic by restricting access to prescription pain medication. If we go to doctors right now and say, Dont overprescribe without providing some mechanisms for people in these communities to deal with the pain that they have or the issues that they have, then were not going to solve the problem, because the pain is real, the mental illness is real, Obama said at the time. In March, the CDC released a new guideline for physicians prescribing opioids for chronic pain, and Tuesday President Obama announced that, as of fall 2016, 60 different medical schools will now include some sort of prescriber training based on the new CDC guideline as a requirement for graduation. Among the other actions Obama outlined Tuesday were increases in federal funding for law enforcement programs that aim to crack down on the trafficking of heroin and black-market prescription pills; to equip and train more first responders to administer naloxone, the opioid antidote proven to prevent fatal overdoses; and to ensure that Medicaid and private insurance plans offer affordable coverage for mental health and substance use disorder treatments. While much of the current opioid epidemic has been tied to an increased access to prescription painkillers, the unsustainable cost of abusing such drugs has inevitably lead to an increase in heroin use and, as a result, a rise in hepatitis C cases in several parts of the country. In an effort to stop the spread of hepatitis C and other bloodborne illnesses, like HIV, that are associated with intravenous drug use, the Obama administration is allowing communities in need to use federal funds to operate clean-syringe service programs. Finally, the Department of Agriculture will expand its Rural Health and Safety Education Grant Program to tackle specific challenges related to substance abuse in rural communitieswhich have been among the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. Related video: YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The hijacker of the Egyptian plane, Ibrahim Samaha, is a professor at Atlanta University (USA). Armenpress reports Al-Ahram newspaper was informed about this by the Egyptian power structures. Cyprus state TV said the hijacker was demanding asylum in the Mediterranean Island. The hijacker asked for a translator to relay his demands to the authorities. The Egyptian aviation ministry had earlier announced that all passengers aboard the hijacked EgyptAir flight, which was forced to land in Larnaca, Cyprus on Tuesday morning have been allowed to disembark the flight except for four non-Egyptians and the plane's crew. "Negotiations with the kidnapper result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners," a second statement from EgyptAir said. Earlier on Tuesday, a passenger on the EgyptAir local flight 181, which was heading from Alexandria to Cairo, threatened to detonate an explosives belt, forcing the captain to divert the flight to Larnaca airport in Cyprus. The Egyptian state TV aired a picture of the hijacker aboard the plane identifying him as Ibrahim Samaha without reporting on his nationality. The aviation ministry had said that Cypriot officials negotiated with the hijacker. Cypriot anti-terrorism units have been deployed at Larnaca airport to deal with the crisis. The ministry identified the hijacked plane as airbus 320, flight 181 saying it had 81 passengers on board at the time of the incident. Photo by EPA Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama has challenged the US media to stop chasing ratings and take on 2016 election candidates who are willing to "lie out loud" and whose campaigns are "untethered from reason." Without calling out Donald Trump by name, Obama used a journalism award ceremony in Washington to deliver his toughest condemnation yet of the caustic tone of the presidential election campaign and the media coverage of it. Training fire on television networks' often breathless coverage of Trump's campaign and wall-to-wall interviews with the controversial businessman, Obama said "a job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone." He said the electorate would be better served if the media were to "probe and to question and to dig deeper and demand more." "It would be better served if billions of dollars in free media (coverage) came with serious accountability," he added. That was one in a string of clear references to the former reality TV star, who has leveraged his fame to appear almost constantly on television news. "What we are seeing right now does corrode our democracy and our society," Obama in remarks that were notable for their frankness and how much they reveal about the White House's unease. "I'm not one who is faint of heart, Obama insisted. "But when our elected officials and our political campaigns become entirely untethered from reason and facts and analysis, when it doesn't matter what's true and what's not that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations." The outgoing president dismissed disdain for political correctness -- another common theme in Trump's campaign -- as "increasingly just an excuse to say offensive things or lie out loud." - 'Better angels' - Obama pointed to the success of Oscar-wining journalism film "Spotlight" as evidence that the public still had a hunger for truth and respect for reporting. Story continues He also indicated that the tone of the debate, which has included harsh rhetoric against several foreign countries, was already having an impact. Obama said that the first question he gets when he meets foreign leaders is often about what is going on in US politics. Foreign leaders understand, he said, that "America is the place where you cant afford crazy politics." The chaotic 2016 campaign has seen Trump brawl his way to victory over a host of more established Republican politicians in the race for the party nomination. He is now the firm favorite to face Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in November's general election. HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - Mar 29, 2016) - OFS Portal, LLC announced today the retirement of its Director for Eastern Hemisphere, Dave Wallis; all duties have been transitioned to Chris Welsh, OFS Portal CEO. Dave was involved in OFS Portal before its inception, being part of the 12-person multi-company team tasked with creating the original vision and design of an organization that promoted cost-effective approaches in making eCommerce a reality for both Operators and Service Companies, known today as OFS Portal. Dave served on the OFS Portal board from launch until April 2003, when he returned to the United Kingdom. Dave spent his 46-year career on the supplier side of the Oil & Gas industry. He began his career working offshore as a geologist in various areas around the world before migrating to a wide range of management roles. Dave's oil field management experience with a select group of Fortune 500 companies has been extensive in all major oilfield arenas across the globe. Prior to joining OFS Portal in 2000, Dave held the role of Director of eCommerce for Weatherford in their corporate office in Houston, Texas. As a part of OFS Portal's support for open industry standards, Dave was active in the PIDX standards group from 2003-2014, having been on the Executive Committee and Chaired the PIDX's Membership, Marketing and Catalogue and Classification Workgroup teams. Dave has authored and co-authored a number of white papers on Oil & Gas eCommerce and during his time for OFS Portal based in Europe, he travelled extensively as an ambassador for both OFS Portal and PIDX. He contributed to various pan-European standards bodies and trade associations bringing practical Oil and Gas experience to the standards development processes. "Dave is one of the true pioneers of eCommerce in Oil and Gas and we are sincerely grateful for his dedication and time promoting OFS Portal across the world. He was an integral part of the team from the launch and instrumental in OFS Portal's success to date; we wish him the very best in his retirement and in his development of his personal project of an educational App for geologists," said Chris Welsh, CEO, OFS Portal. About OFS Portal, LLC Headquartered in Houston, OFS Portal, LLC focuses on helping buyers in the use of industry best practices when digitizing their supply chain, promoting cost-effective approaches in making eCommerce a reality for both buyers and sellers. OFS Portal works with global standards organizations to converge and use the industry's global, open and non-proprietary eCommerce standards, PIDX (Petroleum Industry Data Exchange) for use in the upstream oil and gas industry. OFS Portal members include: Baker Hughes, Cameron International, Halliburton, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, Select Energy Services, Trican Well Service, and Weatherford International. Membership is open to any oilfield supplier with activities in the upstream oil and gas sector. Learn more at http://www.ofs-portal.com or call 832-681-7300. Follow us on LinkedIn or follow us @OFSPortal on Twitter. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2984663 Newer isn't always better some researchers are proposing to bring back an older version of the whooping cough vaccine, because multiple studies show that today's version doesn't protect as well as the earlier kind. In a new study, researchers suggest vaccinating children with one dose of the older whooping cough vaccine called the whole-cell pertussis vaccine and then giving them four doses of the current whooping cough vaccine in early childhood. (Whooping cough is also known as pertussis.) Currently, children are given five doses of the new vaccine. Using a mathematical model, the researchers found that this "combined" vaccination strategy could reduce the rate of whooping cough infections by up to 95 percent, and save millions of dollars in health care costs. Researchers from The Santa Fe Institute, a nonprofit research center in New Mexico, conducted the study. The older, whole-cell pertussis vaccine is linked with a higher rate of side effects, such as fever, than is the newer version. But because improved vaccines against whooping cough are likely years away, "in the interim, switching to the combined strategy is an effective option for reducing the disease and mortality" from whooping cough the researchers wrote in their findings, published today (March 28) in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. [5 Dangerous Vaccine Myths] But even though the new study found that the benefits the combined strategy would outweigh the risks, questions remain about whether parents would accept a higher rate of side effects, especially among those parents who are already hesitant to vaccinate their children, experts said. Older is better? The whole-cell pertussis vaccine was used in the United States from the 1940s until the 1990s, when doctors switched to a new version called the acellular pertussis vaccine, which was linked to fewer side effects. But studies soon found that, unlike the older version, the acellular pertussis vaccine did not produce long-lasting immunity against pertussis; the protection offered by the acellular vaccine wanes after a few years. Story continues Researchers have attributed the rise in whooping cough cases in recent years in part to the inferior protection offered by the acellular vaccine. In 2012, there were more than 48,200 cases of whooping cough in the United States, the most in any year since 1955. The current vaccine schedule calls for five doses of the acellular vaccine, with one dose occurring at each of the following times: ages 2 to 4 months, 4 to 6 months, 6 to 8 months, 18 to 24 months, and 4 to 5 years. In the new study, researchers compared using that schedule with a "combined" vaccine strategy, of giving an initial dose of the whole-cell pertussis vaccine followed by four doses of the acellular pertussis vaccine. The combined strategy would reduce symptomatic whooping cough cases by 95 percent, and would reduce cases in infants by 96 percent, compared with the current strategy, the models predicted. With the combined strategy, there would also be a 96 percent decrease in hospitalizations from whooping cough and a 95 percent decrease in infant deaths from the disease, compared with the acellular strategy. However, the combined strategy would have higher rates of vaccine side effects: There would be about 10 more cases of fever for every 100,000 vaccinations, and seven more cases of seizures for every 10 million vaccinations, compared with the acellular vaccine strategy. Overall, the combined strategy would lead to a 96 percent decrease in hospitalizations due to either whooping cough or vaccine-related side effects, the study found. Public perception Based on the new study, it seems the combined strategy would lead to better outcomes overall, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease specialist and a senior associate at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Health Security. "When you look at the way they've modeled this, it seems to be, on balance, a better strategy than what we're doing currently," Adalja said. And giving just one dose of the whole-cell vaccine "maybe somewhat more palatable to people" than giving children five doses of this vaccine, Adalja said. The findings also support the idea that "the strategy we're using currently against pertussis is not the optimal model, and children are needlessly contracting pertussis because we're using an inferior vaccination strategy," Adalja said. Still, some experts were skeptical that parents would accept bringing back the whole-cell pertussis vaccine. "The problem is that you cannot model public perception," Dr. Mark Sawyer, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in the journal. "Many in the vaccine-policy world cringe at the idea of re-introducing whole-cell pertussis vaccine." Sawyer noted that parents today are intolerant of any adverse side effects related to vaccines, even if such effects are rare. In the past, the public reaction to these side effects played a role in the rise of the anti-vaccine movement, Sawyer said. "Although bringing back whole-cell pertussis vaccine for a priming dose makes sense from an immunologic perspective, other considerations will make this challenging," Sawyer said. Because the study used a mathematical model and was not conducted in the real world, more studies will need to validate the findings before policy would be changed, Adalja said. Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. 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. Porto-Novo (Benin) (AFP) - With his pilgrim's staff and panama hat, Father Godfrey Nzamujo nips up and down the paths of Songhai, the organic farm he created nearly 30 years ago to fight poverty and rural migration in Africa. The small farm covered barely a hectare when it was set up in Porto Novo in 1985 but has since become a pilot project for the rest of the continent badly in need of new ideas to maximise yields. The centre in Benin's capital now stretches over 24 hectares (60 acres) and employs an army of workers and apprentices, who toil from sunrise to sunset growing fruit, vegetables and rice, as well as rearing fish, pigs, poultry. "Nothing is wasted, everything is transformed" according to Nzamujo's principle, with even chicken droppings turned into the bio-gas that powers the centre's kitchens. - Big plans - Songhai in tiny Benin has big plans for Africa. It already has similar operations in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone and wants to set up shop in 13 more west and central African countries. Nzamujo's raison d'etre is how to help Africans increase yields through simple techniques, without using pesticides or fertilisers, and while cutting production costs and protecting the environment. The Nigeria-born priest, who was raised in California on the US west coast, said he was shocked by the appalling images of famine in Africa on television at the start of the 1980s. He then left to discover the continent to see how he could put to good use his university training in agronomics, economics and information technology and fight against poverty on his own terms. After visiting a number of countries, he ended up in Benin where the country's then-Marxist government gave him a small plot. "It was abandoned land, killed by chemical fertiliser and conventional agricultural practices. It didn't work," he told AFP. "There were seven of us. We dug wells and watered with our own hands. And during the main dry season, this grey surface became green," he recalled with a smile. Story continues - Increased yields - Nzamujo's secret is in imitating nature, encouraging "good bacteria" present in the soil to maximise production without having to rely on chemicals. Yields at Songhai speak for themselves: the farm produces seven tonnes of rice per hectare three times a year, up from one tonne per hectare once a year at the beginning of the project. "Songhai is facing up to the triple challenge of Africa today: poverty, environment and youth employment," said Nzamujo proudly. The cleric's system centres on local production and distribution, creating economic activity to tackle poverty head on. At Songhai, jam simmers in large pots while chickens are roasted and soya oil, rice and fruit juice are packaged for sale in the centre's shop or served at its restaurant. Discarded parts of agricultural machinery are reused to create ingenious contraptions and used water is filtered using water hyacinths. The centre also has an Internet point and even a bank so that local people can avoid going into the city centre. - Interns and innovation - Youth employment is encouraged and some 400 farm apprentices -- selected by competition -- are trained every year. The 18-month course is entirely free. Paul Okou is one of them. The 25-year-old from Parakou, northern Benin, would like to follow his parents into farming but is hoping to work in a more profitable way. "My parents use traditional, archaic methods while at Songhai we learn the modern way, albeit makeshift," he said. "What we used to do in two days now we do in two hours." The apprentices are sent into villages where they apply what they have learned. Once in charge of a farm, they join the Songhai network and are checked regularly. Songhai also welcomes interns who are paying for their own training. They include Abua Eucharia Nchinor, a Nigerian in his 30s, and Kemajou Nathanael, a 39-year-old former salesman from Cameroon, who both want to open an organic farm in their respective countries. According to Nzamujo, Songhai is not a cure-all for Africa's problems but tackles their root causes. "Imagine if all the young people who hang around big cities did their training here and we equip them. ... Imagine the productivity of Africa today." he said. As the face of Orphan Black, Tatiana Maslany has captured high ratings playing a cast of clones, each grappling with personal crises and vulnerabilities. Ahead of the fourth season debut April 14, Maslany opened up about how she juggles a dozen, and counting, different characters in the popular drama on BBC America and Space in Canada. It's all about staying in the moment. "The plot is very dense and my brain isn't a plotty brain," Maslany told The Hollywood Reporter in Toronto about endless plot twists to produce fourth-season surprises like Delphine's possible return and Kira's (Skyler Wexler) backstory. "It's an in-the-moment, impulse and instinctual thing. It's how does a person feel about the situation they're in. How does it make them react," she said. If there's a manual on how to play multiple characters beyond help from wig and makeup artists, it's in Maslany's dressing room. "Sometimes I get lost in the plot a little bit. For me, I have to stay in the present moment and not think too much about where we're going, or what's controlling events," Maslany explained. Read More: Emmys: Tatiana Maslany Thanks 'Orphan Black' Fans After Nomination She admits to sometimes being as confused as her audience about which clone is who, under whose guidance, and who's not who they say they are. "It's not a big issue if I'm lost. I can play into that. They're all discovering in the moment, piecing things together. If I'm doing the same, it's helpful for me," Maslany said. After Orphan Black producer Temple Street Productions cloned another 10 episodes for 2016, the buzz is building around Sarah Manning (Maslany) fighting her way through the factions to follow Beth's (Maslany) footsteps. "It [the fourth season] reflects back to what Sarah learnt in the first season, to questions she had then, things she was discovering, and we definitely will understand better what was going on," Maslany promised. Sarah, Mrs. S, Kendall and Kira apparently will be forced back on the run in the fourth cycle, fleeing a new and faceless enemy with insidious power. Story continues "We mostly go back with Sarah. In her investigation, and in her probing of what's going on with the truth and this mystery, she ends up going back to places we've been before, but we didn't know why we were there," Maslany explained. Sarah's journey will bring some answers for members of the so-called Clone Club. "When Sarah started, she had no idea about clones, about her true nature, about other characters, so she's really fallen down the rabbit hole, and she can't come back from that," Maslany said. Sarah's recent sanctuary in Iceland with her daughter? "That was never going to last. She's constantly searching and her search will go back to the questions she's always had," she added. Read More: Emmys: On the Set of 'Orphan Black' With Tatiana Maslany as She Reveals Her Dream Co-Star By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) Women with an excess growth of uterine lining tissue may also be at higher risk of coronary heart disease, according to a new study. The condition, called endometriosis, affects up to five million women in the U.S. Uterine tissue can grow on the ovaries, behind the uterus or on the bowels or bladder and can cause pain, infertility and very heavy periods. Many girls and women do not realize that distressing menstrual cramps and pelvic pain can be due to endometriosis, said senior study author Stacey A. Missmer, director of Epidemiologic Research in Reproductive Medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Girls and women can be treated through surgery that removes the endometriosis lesions or by hormonal medications including oral contraceptives, but there is no outright cure, Missmer told Reuters Health by email. The researchers used data on more than 116,000 women in the Nurses Health Study II, which ran from 1989 to 2009 including about 5,200 women with surgically confirmed endometriosis. Those with endometriosis were more likely than others to suffer a heart attack, to have coronary bypass or stent surgery, or to have angina, the chest pain that can be a sign of coronary artery disease. The increased risk for these conditions was highest for women up to age 40, who were about three times as likely to have any combination of the heart disease end points as those without endometriosis. The difference in heart disease risk shrank at older ages. As has been seen in the past, women who had their uterus or ovaries removed were also at higher risk for coronary artery disease endpoints than others, the authors reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Systemic chronic inflammation, heightened oxidative stress and higher cholesterol levels associated with endometriosis may explain the link between the condition and heart disease risk, Missmer said. Additionally, endometriosis and coronary heart disease may share common genetic susceptibilities, she said. From our study, we can conclude that surgical and hormonal treatments following endometriosis diagnosis may impact the risk of cardiovascular disease, but they did not negate the risk entirely, Missmer said. It is important for women with endometriosis even young womento adopt heart-healthy lifestyle habits, be screened by their doctors for heart disease, and be familiar with symptoms because heart disease remains the primary cause of death in women. The new study used existing data from the past rather than following a group of women diagnosed with endometriosis recently, and it doesnt really tease out the fine points of treatment for endometriosis, said Dr. Gaurang Daftary, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not part of the new study. There is a possibility that heart disease may have a link with endometriosis, Daftary told Reuters Health by phone. But it is still unclear whether treating the endometriosis, medically or surgically, impacts heart disease risk, and if so, in which direction, he said. The study is a good starting point, but it wouldnt change my practice for a patient with endometriosis, he said. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/XaY6j7 Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, online March 29, 2016. ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities detained more than 5,000 suspected militants in two days since a suicide bomber attacked crowds in a busy park in the eastern city of Lahore on Easter Day, killing at least 70 people, a provincial minister said on Tuesday. Investigators later released all but 216 suspects, who had been referred for further investigation, said Rana Sanaullah, a state minister for Punjab province from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling party. He said the raids were carried out by a mixture of police, counter-terrorism and intelligence agents and confirmed that army and paramilitary forces would be used in future operations "This operation will include all law enforcement agencies," Sanaullah said. (Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani property developer Malik Riaz Hussain, a flamboyant tycoon who boasts of connections with top military brass and senior politicians, plans to move into media to protect himself from those who accuse him of wrongdoing. Hussain is one of the country's richest and most powerful businessmen, a billionaire who has been caught up in corruption investigations and who is also well known for upmarket gated housing communities and charitable activities. Now the 66-year-old wants to build a media empire, which he hopes he can use to promote his own commercial interests and fend off those trying to tarnish his name. "I will go into media very soon. I will launch many TV channels, not one," Hussain told Reuters in a rare interview earlier this month at his Bahria Town housing development, just outside the capital Islamabad. "To stop blackmailers, I have decided that there is no way but to go into media." A world away from the chaotic, dirty streets of most Pakistani towns and cities, Bahria Town features giant replicas of the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The roads are clean and smooth, grass is imported from Thailand and private guards provide round-the-clock security. Bahria Town is larger than the capital itself, and is part of a property portfolio that includes more than 40,000 acres of developments across the country and pays salaries to 60,000 employees. FRANK ADMISSIONS Corruption is seen as a major problem in Pakistan, ranked 117th out of 168 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. The real estate business is seen as a major part of the problem, with land grabs by the government, military and businesses seen as rife. Hussain says he is Pakistan's sixth largest tax payer. He also publicly states that he has paid bribes to top politicians, judges and even members of the feared ISI intelligence agency. The publicity wing of the military, which answers for the ISI, declined to comment on Hussain's allegations. "If I tell you the amount of the biggest bribe I have ever paid, you will have a heart attack," Hussain said. In a public deposition in 2012 that hit Pakistani headlines, he said he had bankrolled the playboy lifestyle of the son of the country's chief justice in return for favourable treatment in court cases related to his empire. The case is ongoing, though it has stalled. Hussain also currently faces several investigations by the national corruption watchdog. Among the allegations against him are illegally grabbing land and using favour with politicians to have state-owned property allotted to him at throwaway prices. When asked about Hussain, the National Accountability Bureau said it did not comment on individual cases. Hussain denies wrongdoing, and says he needs the platform of television news channels to help defend his reputation. "I don't want to go into media, but there is no other way to handle this." He hopes a presence in Pakistan's young and boisterous news sector could also highlight his charitable contributions. Hussain previously held the license to Bol TV, a fledgling news channel, before he transferred it to software company Axact in 2013, documents from the national media regulatory body show. Hussain denies ever being involved in Bol. The channel was closed last year after the government launched an inquiry into Axact's business practices. Spurred by new technology and largely untouched by censors, Pakistan's broadcast media has flourished in recent years. Between 2002 and 2013, the state issued 89 broadcasting licenses. Television news channels are largely in Urdu, giving media groups influence over most of Pakistan's 190 million people. TIES WITH MILITARY? Hussain's accumulation of wealth is emblematic of Pakistan's nexus of money and connections. He started his career 30 years ago as a contractor who once sold his family silverware to take his infant daughter to hospital. His big break came in 1979 when he borrowed 1,500 rupees ($14.34) from a friend and applied for a contract with the military's engineering wing. That connection led to a long-standing relationship with the powerful military, Pakistan's largest landowner and contractor. Currently, he has five joint development projects with the army spread over thousands of acres. Recent chatter among Pakistan's elite suggests that Hussain may be losing his influence with the military under the country's army chief General Raheel Sharif. The military declined to comment. Hussain dismissed such rumours. "If I didn't have relations with Raheel Sharif, the joint ventures would have shut down, wouldn't they?" Hussain said. "I am friends with the army, I am friends with the institution." (Writing by Mehreen Zahra-Malik; editing by Kay Johnson and Mike Collett-White) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian community will demand an explanation from the Turkish authorities about the expropriation of churches. Editor of the Armenian department of Agos newspaper Bagrat Estukyan informed "Armenpress" during an interview. "The decision of the Turkish government is disputable. In practice, it is unlikely that the state will take the church. We tend to think that this refers to the expropriation of the areas. It does not apply to churches in those areas. However, the Armenian community should demand the authorities to clarify this issue, "Bagrat Estukyan said. According to him, there is a debatable question from another point of view also. In particular, the areas which the Turkish authorities are expropriating include areas that are part of UNESCO cultural heritage. Therefore, according to Bagrat Estukyan, there are a number of questionable issues. In any case, if the churches are also expropriated, the Armenian community will challenge this issue. "Over the last 3 months severe civil war is taking place in that part of Diyarbakir. The Parochial church council cannot see and cannot imagine the extent of the damage caused to the church. Judging by photos, we have an idea about the damage of the Catholic Church, but to what extent the St. Geragos church is damaged, we do not know, "Bagrat Estukyan said, noting that work will be carried out also with other minorities in these areas, and the Kurdish regional authorities of Diyarbakir are supporting them. While clashes and curfews continue in Diyarbakir, the cabinet took an urgent expropriation decision. St. Giragos Church, the largest Armenian church in Middle East, is among the places in Sur province of Diyarbakir that are expropriated by the decision of the cabinet. The church was restored and opened to worship in 2011. With the same decision, Assyrian, Chaldean and Protestant churches are also expropriated, Armenpress reports, citing the Armenian Agos newspaper of Istanbul. Washington (AFP) - The US military's top general said Tuesday he has drawn up recommendations for the US troop presence in Afghanistan next year and submitted his proposals to Pentagon chief Ash Carter. The United States is trying to determine how many forces should remain in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have made significant gains since Afghan security forces took over from NATO troops in 2015. The American and NATO combat mission in Afghanistan officially ended in December 2014, though the alliance left in place about 13,000 troops, most of them American, in a training and advisory mission. The number of US troops is due to drop to 5,500 starting in January 2017 -- down from 9,800 currently -- but Taliban success on the battlefield is forcing officials to rethink that plan. "I have crafted a recommendation to the secretary of defense," General Joe Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, giving no details. "The secretary and I... at some point in the future will bring those recommendations forward to the president." Since the Afghans took over security the Taliban have dealt some stinging blows -- including the brief capture of the major city of Kunduz -- that jolted confidence Afghan government forces could hold their own against the insurgents. Dunford said it was important NATO and the United States quickly determine troop levels for next year. General John Nicholson, the new senior US commander in Afghanistan, had previously said he would make a proposal within 90 days of taking up the post on March 2, but Dunford said he was not going to wait. "NATO... have to make a decision on what forces would be deployed in January of '17 and then they have to train those forces in the next six months, so we can't wait 90 days for an assessment in Afghanistan before we move forward," he said. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Decisions by the U.S. Departments of State and Defense to order family members of U.S. government workers to leave some parts of Turkey were coordinated, State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday. The State Department decision to issue a travel alert for Turkey was several weeks in the making, the official said, and was not related to this week's nuclear security summit in Washington that will be attended by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, writing by Arshad Mohammed, editing by G Crosse) There probably isn't such a thing as Ebola-contaminated meth. But a viral hoax claiming a shipment of drugs laced with the deadly virus had made its way stateside went from low-hanging fruit to actual law enforcement strategy recently, after at least two police departments shared it to their social media feeds. According to the Associated Press, the misinformation was posted to the Facebook page of the Granite Shoals Police Department in Texas, while a similar version ended up on that of the police department in Grayson, Louisiana. "Meth and heroin recently brought into Central Texas, as well as the ingredients used to make it, could be contaminated with the life-threatening disease Ebola," wrote GSPD, which went on to urge drug users to take their drugs to their local police department for screening. "DO NOT use it until it has been properly checked for possible Ebola contamination!" the post warned. Police are using an 'Ebola meth' hoax to try to get users to turn themselves in http://d-news.co/101hIc pic.twitter.com/Ata5Q2QAiW https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cers-7oWwAAmKQ1.jpg:large In 2014, amid a large-scale Ebola outbreak in West Africa, three Dallas residents were confirmed to have the virus. At least one person in Granite Shoals heeded the post's warning and brought her drugs in for screening. She was charged with possession of less than 1 gram of a controlled substance, according to the AP. Adding insult to injury, the department later posted the news to Facebook, facetiously declaring her the "winner of the Facebook post challenge." "So we at the GSPD like to show all parts of the enforcement world on Facebook, and that includes our sense of humor," the department wrote in a follow-up post, Ars Technica reported. The post went on to quote , "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." Story continues The Texas director of advocacy group Public Citizen, Tom Smith, denounced strategies like the fake Ebola post. "At a time when we're having a crisis with growing heroin addiction, it's outrageous that we would set traps for people instead of coming up with strategies to get them into treatment," he told the AP. On Twitter, Drug Policy Alliance senior director of national affairs Bill Piper warned that police making light of such public health threats compromises public safety. when police lie about health issues like this people doubt warnings in times of real crisis - putting us all at risk http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tainted-meth-alert-arrest-texas_us_56f8cf4ee4b0a372181a44a0 ... At a time when public attitudes toward drug use are shifting, it's not hard to see why many weren't laughing. A 2014 Pew Research Center survey found 67% of Americans think the government should focus more on providing treatment options for drug users than prosecuting them. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's arms exports totaled $14.5 billion last year, more than originally planned, Russian news agencies quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying on Tuesday. The total portfolio of foreign orders for Russian arms has exceeded $56 billion, Putin told a meeting of the presidential commission on military-technical cooperation, which is a term used in Russia for arms exports. He also said that the Defence Ministry had started preparations for demining of Syria's city of Palmyra liberated from Islamic State militants. (Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin) Doctors Without Borders says U.S. troops committed a war crime in Kunduz. Three top American officers could pay the price. The Obama administration is paralyzed over whether to sell dozens of advanced U.S. fighter jets to the tiny kingdom of Qatar, a Persian Gulf ally that houses a strategic American air base but has alarmed Washington by maintaining ties to an array of Islamist militant groups. The potential deal for up to 73 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, worth billions of dollars, has been on the table for more than two years. The White House has come under fire for the unusual delay from some U.S. lawmakers, who accuse the administration of dithering and breaking its promise to speed up arms sales to Gulf allies anxious about the threat posed by their regional rival Iran especially as Tehran emerges from economic sanctions and inks arms deals with countries like Russia. Israel has privately expressed reservations about the deal because of Qatars relationships with Islamist groups like the Taliban and Hamas and because of concerns that Israels military superiority in the region could be undercut by the sale, congressional aides and former U.S. officials said. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf nations have voiced similar concerns about Qatars ties to terrorist groups and its increasingly warm relationship with Tehran. Qatar, for its part, says that it wants the jets to assert itself as a military power in a region plagued by conflict and instability. Its current air force is tiny, with just a dozen aging French Mirage jets, so the proposed deal would represent a six-fold increase in its military strength. The Qatari government hopes to leverage the help it has provided Washington from hosting the air base the United States uses to stage strikes against the Islamic State to negotiating the release of captive American soldier Bowe Bergdahl to secure the aircraft deal. Faced with a politically fraught dilemma that could either antagonize Qatar or Israel and other Persian Gulf allies, the White House has been unable to make a decision. Senate aides and industry experts said both the Defense and State departments have no objections to the sales, and lawmakers from both parties have pressed the White House to approve the sale. The administration, however, has given no indication if, or when, it plans to do so. Story continues Several U.S. lawmakers, including those with staunch pro-Israel views, have been puzzled by the delay on the Qatar sale as well as a pending deal with Kuwait and urged the administration to move forward on both deals. These sales have been stuck in the political decision-making process at the White House for a long time now, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Foreign Policy in an email. Many of us would like to see the White House make a decision soon to move this process along. But other lawmakers have said they have reservations about the United States selling weapons to Qatar, given its track record of openly supporting Hamas and turning a blind eye to deep-pocket donors delivering funds to extremists in Syria. In 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department took the unusual step of publicly rebuking Qatar for failing to take decisive action against nationals who are providing funds to militant groups, including the al Qaeda-backed al-Nusra Front in Syria. Last year, meanwhile, the department imposed sanctions on two Qatar-based financiers for allegedly raising money for al Qaeda operatives in Syria, Pakistan, and Sudan. The Qataris have shown a tolerance for extremism among the groups they have supported within Syria that has caused some real friction with our other regional allies and with the United States, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told FP. He added that Qatar needed to show concrete evidence of a change in behavior before the deal should be approved. Qatar has said it has not funded terrorists but has defended its relations with Hamas (which the United States lists as a terrorist organization) and other Islamist movements as groups that have popular political support. The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not respond to queries from FP. Qatars monarchy has displayed a canny ability to play both sides of the Middle Easts divide, welcoming leaders of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood along with U.S. Air Force generals and American college professors. And its channels to various Islamist groups while causing alarm often have turned the kingdom into a crucial U.S. partner for back-channel diplomacy and securing the release of hostages. When the United States signaled it was ready to swap Taliban commanders held at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan and held hostage by insurgents, it turned to Qatar as a go-between to broker a deal with the Taliban insurgents. Qatar has also played a key role in securing the release of a number of Western hostages held by al-Nusra Front or other Syrian rebels, including American journalist Peter Theo Curtis two years ago. And when Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to negotiate an end to fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in 2014, he sought out Qatar to help broker a cease-fire. The Defense Departments ties to Qatar run even deeper. In 2013, the Pentagon renewed a defense cooperation agreement that extended the U.S. lease on the al-Udeid Air Base for another 10 years. The deal allows the United States to continue to run its combat air operations center out of the desert base west of Doha, where officers from 30 countries oversee the U.S.-led air war in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State. In 2014, the United States announced an arms sale with Qatar worth $11 billion for Patriot missile batteries, Apache attack helicopters and other weapons. Qatars aircraft have provided logistical support and flown surveillance missions for the campaign against the Islamic State, and its planes took part in the NATO-led air campaign in Libya in 2011 that toppled dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi. The long delay of the Qatar deal has opened the White House to criticism that it is backtracking on its 2015 promise to increase security assistance to Persian Gulf nations battling the Islamic State and looking to deter Iran. In May 2015, at a meeting of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council at Camp David, Washington pledged to take steps like fast-tracking arms transfers. The meeting was supposed to reassure traditional Gulf Arab allies, who fear Washington is withdrawing from the region and who distrust the nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran. But with no green light for the fighter jet sales to Qatar and Kuwait, U.S. credibility in the region has been damaged, according to Sen. John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In the Gulf, the president is failing to live up to the promises made at the Camp David Summit in May 2015, McCain said at a hearing this month. A spokesman for the State Departments Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, David McKeeby, told FP it is typical and appropriate for major arms deals to undergo extensive consideration and consultation. He added: The United States remains committed to the security and stability of the Gulf region. As it has weighed the arms sales to the Gulf, the Obama administration also has been negotiating an elaborate memorandum of understanding with Israel that will outline a 10-year U.S. military assistance package for the Jewish state. The memorandum has taken on added importance in light of Israeli opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement, which has enabled the lifting of economic sanctions on Tehran. Israel fears that Iran will be able to invest in new weapons including ballistic missiles that could target its cities and military bases. The memorandum reportedly could offer up to $50 billion worth of U.S. military aid to Israel over a decade, but the sale of dozens of fighter jets to Qatar could give the Israelis a rationale to press for bolstering the assistance further, experts and congressional aides said. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to travel to Riyadh next month to attend a gathering of the GCC, and the meeting could provide an opportunity for the administration to announce a decision on the Qatar sale. Although U.S. lawmakers are invoking geopolitics in backing the arms sales, many have their eye on domestic politics, as thousands of American jobs could be on the line if the deal is rejected or continues to linger. The aerospace giant Boeing manufactures the aircraft that would be sold to Qatar or Kuwait under the pending deals. Boeing executives and Pentagon officials argue that the production lines in Missouri for both the F-15 and the F/A-18, older planes slated to be phased out in favor of more advanced jets, might have to close within a few years if the arms sales do not go through. And that would mean layoffs for the thousands of workers who build those planes. The defense industry, by spreading weapons manufacturing jobs at plants across numerous states, exerts a major influence on Congress. Donors and political action committees from the industry contributed more than $27 million to political candidates in the 2012 election campaign cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Over the past year, Boeing ranked third among defense political contributors, donating $1.61 million to various candidates and groups. Winning approval for the Qatar deal, however, has already been a tough sell for the kingdom and its allies on Capitol Hill because Qatars ruling family has come under consistent criticism from U.S. government officials who say it has tolerated fundraising by its citizens for violent extremists. After publicly slamming Qatar in 2014, the Treasury Departments undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the time, David Cohen, who is now the CIAs deputy director, described Qatar as a permissive terrorist financing environment. In September 2014, Treasury officials said an Islamic State commander, known as the emir of suicide bombers, received $2 million in cash from a Qatari businessman. Treasury sanctioned the two Qatari financiers less than a year later. Despite the U.S. sanctions introduced against some Qatari nationals and the criticism, Western firms and banks have not shied away from doing business in the country. Investments by U.S. and other oil firms enabled the kingdom to exploit its vast natural gas reserves for lucrative exports, with GDP growing from $35 billion to $185 billion between 2000 and 2012. In June 2013, Qatars emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, abdicated in favor of his son Tamim bin Hamad. The new leader has raised hopes among Western officials that the country will strike a more moderate course when it comes to its relationships with Islamist groups. But the Treasury Department has issued no public statements suggesting Qatar has changed its stripes. Matthew Spence, formerly the top Pentagon official for the Middle East in the Obama administration, said U.S. weapons sales offer a way of exerting some constructive influence over a country like Qatar. Qatar really is an evolving country, and we should look for ways to shape which way theyre evolving, he told FP. If the United States doesnt help shape their direction, Qatar will turn somewhere else. The kingdom has already begun to do so. Qatar had previously bought French warplanes for its small air force fleet. Amid uncertainty over the U.S. deal, Qatar announced last year it would buy 24 Rafale fighters from France for $7 billion. Photo credit: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rosneft is set to lower oil output, Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi said on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting of leading global oil producers in Doha on April 17 to discuss an output freeze to support weak oil prices. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela are keen to prop up falling oil prices, which have fallen almost two thirds from a peak in June 2014. These countries have said they are ready to freeze production at January levels if other producers do the same. Qatar has invited all OPEC members and other major producers to attend the Doha talks next month on a deal to freeze output. Asked to comment on how a global oil production freeze would impact Russia, Donskoi said Russia's energy firms had adjusted their production plans: "Rosneft, as it told (us), is planning to lower (output)". Rosneft declined to comment. Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, has been producing at the pace of around 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd), more than a third of Russia's total 10.88 million bpd, one of the world's highest. Earlier this month, industry sources told Reuters that the company floated the idea of a domestic production cut to balance the global market and as it faces a natural decline this year. Donskoi said Lukoil , which is not state-owned, did not plan to decrease production as yet. The minister also said he hoped that state-controlled Rosneft would resume drilling for oil in the Arctic next year after having no plans to do that this year. Rosneft suspended Arctic drilling in 2014 after its partner ExxonMobil withdrew from the Kara Sea project because of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Writing By Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov and Jane Merriman) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The EgyptAir passenger jet, which was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus, was hijacked not by Ibrahim Samaha, but someone else, Armenpress reports, citing Tass. "Al-Yaum Al Sabia" reported, citing its sources that the aircraft was hijacked by history professor of Cairo University, Saif al-Din Mustafa. Photo by AP Washington (AFP) - Bernie Sanders' campaign team called on Hillary Clinton to relent and agree to hold a debate between the Democratic presidential hopefuls in New York before the state primary on April 19. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, is hanging on in the race for the party ticket and trounced frontrunner Clinton at the weekend in three western states. He will need to replicate that stunning success in the remaining states with the three largest delegate allocations -- California, New York and Pennsylvania -- if he is to stand any hope of pulling off a shock and beating the former secretary of state to the party nomination. The last debate was in Miami on March 9 and two more are theoretically planned for April and May, with dates and venues undecided. Sanders, a Vermont senator originally from Brooklyn, is pushing for New York to be one of the venues. Opinion polls show Clinton well ahead in the state. "It has been disappointing that there seems to be some hedging on the part of the Clinton campaign," said Sanders's campaign manager Jeff Weaver in a call to reporters. "To deny the people of New York the opportunity to see a debate, when it's a state where the secretary represented them, was elected twice to the US Senate, has her national headquarters in Brooklyn, to then say you're not willing to debate Bernie Sanders in New York, I think is just not going to be acceptable to voters in New York state." Joel Benenson, Clinton's chief strategist, accused Sanders of waging a "negative" campaign over his attacks on everything from the former first lady's links to Wall Street to the Iraq War. "Let's see the tone of the campaign before we get to other questions," he told CNN. "Senator Sanders doesn't get to decide when we debate, particularly when he's running a negative campaign." Washington (AFP) - Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Tuesday threw his support behind Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, boosting the Texas senator's backing from the party's anti-Donald Trump camp. Walker's endorsement comes a week before a key primary in his state, with frontrunner Trump and Cruz in a close race. "It's time that we elect a strong new leader, and I've chosen to endorse Ted Cruz to be the next president of the United States," Walker told local radio WTMJ. "He is a constitutional conservative," he added, saying Cruz is best positioned to win the Republican nomination and beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in November's general election. Briefly a frontrunner for the Republican nomination before being eclipsed by Trump, Walker pulled out of the race in September. An ultra-conservative Tea Party favorite like Cruz, Walker is the fifth former Republican candidate to rally behind Cruz after Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham and Rick Perry. Some have done so under protest, making it clear they were doing so with the sole aim of stopping Trump. Explaining his reasons for backing Cruz, whom he had publicly disparaged, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said the Texas senator had the advantage of being "not completely crazy." Asked "What turns you on about Cruz?" on Comedy Central's The Daily Show last week, he said, "He's not Trump." Polls in Wisconsin show Trump and Cruz running neck-and-neck ahead of the third remaining Republican candidate, Ohio Governor John Kasich. Overall, the New York billionaire is well ahead in the race for delegates required for the nomination -- 742 to Cruz's 462 and Kasich's 145 -- but his rivals are hoping to prevent him from winning the required 1,237 necessary to clinch the nomination ahead of the party's convention in Cleveland in July. The prospect of a Trump nomination has split the Republican establishment and fuelled speculation about an implosion of the party. Story continues While many party leaders are drumming up heated resistance to Trump, others have rallied to the tycoon, including his former presidential rivals Chris Christie and Ben Carson. Walker, who has long criticized Trump, said he had timed his endorsement for greatest effect in Wisconsin's primary next Tuesday. All Republican and Democratic candidates are campaigning in the state ahead of the vote. By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - A man who refused for 25 hours to climb down from the canopy of a giant sequoia in downtown Seattle was charged on Monday with malicious mischief and assault over his treetop standoff, which drew national headlines and created a sensation on social media. Prosecutors also requested a court order to keep Cody Lee Miller, 28, from going near the 80-foot-tall (24-meter) tree again, according to charging documents filed in King County on Monday. Miller was arrested last week after a day-long confrontation with authorities who tried to cajole him down from the tree, located on public property in downtown Seattle, police said. As the encounter played out on live television, police closed an area at the base of the tree to protect the public from the possibility of falling objects, including the man himself, who became a top trending topic on Twitter as "#ManInTree." Holding authorities at bay, Miller threw pine cones and branches at firefighters, police and pedestrians, according to prosecutors, and drew a crowd of onlookers whose reactions ranged from awe to annoyance. "This caused an incalculable waste of time and services," King County prosecutor Stephen Herschkowitz wrote in the charging documents. Miller was charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and malicious mischief for allegedly causing roughly $7,800 in damage to the tree, which the city planted more than 40 years ago, the documents said. Giant sequoias, which rank as the world's largest trees, normally can be expected to survive 200 to 300 years in an urban setting. It was not clear whether Miller had obtained an attorney. His motivation in scaling the tree has not been explained. A police statement during the standoff last Wednesday said Miller appeared to have been going through a personal crisis. Miller is due to be arraigned on April 11, prosecutors said. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Steve Gorman and Leslie Adler) Geneva (AFP) - Six children have been killed or maimed daily in Yemen since Saudi-led air strikes began a year ago, the UN said Tuesday, warning the conflict was taking a horrifying toll on the country's youth. In a report marking the anniversary of the start of the Saudi-led campaign, the UN children's agency said nearly a third of the more than 3,000 civilians killed in Yemen were children. "Children are not safe anywhere in Yemen. Even playing or sleeping has become dangerous," UNICEF representative in Yemen Julien Harneis told AFP in an email. The Saudi-led intervention in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi began on March 26 last year, but has yet to deal a decisive blow to the Huthi rebels and their allies, who still control Sanaa and key parts of the country. Hopes for a breakthrough in the conflict emerged last week when the warring sides agreed on a ceasefire to be observed before peace talks on April 18. A halt to the violence is sorely needed in what before the escalation of the conflict was already one of the world's poorest nations. The UN estimates 82 percent of the population is now in desperate need of humanitarian aid, with 320,000 children considered severely malnourished. "The scale of suffering in the country is staggering," Tuesday's report said, providing heart-wrenching testimony from children caught up in the violence. "Everything around me is frightening. My mother's sad face and tears are what torture me the most," said 13-year-old Abdullah Nawar, who is trapped with his family in Aden. "I am scared that all of us will die in this dark basement," he added. - 'Extreme and cruel' - In addition to the thousands of children who have been direct victims of the violence and "hurt in the most extreme and cruel ways", Tuesday's report showed even more were suffering the secondary effects of the fighting. "Basic services and infrastructure in Yemen are on the verge of total collapse," it said. Story continues UNICEF estimates that close to 10,000 children under five may have died over the past year alone from preventable diseases as a result of the decline in access to vaccines and other key health services. This comes on top of the nearly 50,000 children who die every year in Yemen before their fifth birthday, the agency said. The UN says 63 healthcare facilities have been attacked over the past year and three have been occupied for military purposes. Children, desperate for a sense of normalcy amid the physical and emotional violence they are experiencing, are also often cut off from attending school, which provides a compass point. There had been more than 50 direct attacks on schools and teachers, and some 50 schools have been occupied by fighters, UNICEF said. More than 1,600 schools meanwhile remain closed due to insecurity, infrastructure damage or because they are being used to house some of the some 2.4 million people who have been displaced by the conflict. Many children are also being forced to take part in the violence surrounding them. UNICEF said it had documented 848 cases of children being recruited by different sides in the conflict, with reports indicating children as young as 10 were forced to take part in the fighting. "Tragic as it is, these statistics are only a tip of the iceberg," the report said, adding that the actual numbers were likely "much higher". LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Sky News quoted intelligence sources on Monday as saying that Islamic State had "advanced plans" to kill Jewish children in Turkey by attacking kindergartens, schools and youth centres. Sky Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the information on the "imminent" threat came from six operatives arrested over the past week in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep. It was not clear which country's intelligence service had provided the information to the British news network. Reuters could not verify the report and Turkish officials were not immediately reachable for comment. "In light of these circumstances, extraordinary security measures are being taken above and beyond the high alert level already in place by the Turkish police, as well as vigilance within the Jewish community," Sky quoted an intelligence source as saying on its website. "Undercover and other covert counter-terror measures are being implemented around the clock. This is a more than credible threat. This is an active plot," the source was quoted as saying. More than 80 people have been killed in a series of suicide attacks this year in Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States. The latest attack, blamed on Islamic State, killed three Israeli tourists and an Iranian in Istanbul on March 19. The group has also claimed responsibility for suicide blasts that killed 35 people last week in Belgium. In an upgraded travel advisory on Monday, Israel urged its citizens visiting Turkey to leave "as soon as possible", predicting possible follow-up attacks. Sky said the most likely target of an attack was a synagogue in Istanbul's Beyoglu district which has a community centre and a school attached to it. (Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Gareth Jones) Paris (AFP) - Seven suspected Somali pirates accused of hijacking a French yacht, killing its owner and putting his wife through a hellish kidnapping ordeal, appeared in a Paris court on Tuesday. Evelyne Colombo, 58, stared straight ahead as the seven men accused of killing her husband Christian in 2011 walked into the Paris courtroom. The suspects, aged between 25 and 32, addressed the court through an interpreter. "I was a fisherman when there were still fish in the sea," said Fahran Abdisalam Hassan. Others have given their professions as policeman, taxi driver and even "coolie" -- a old colonial-era term meaning "porter". They face possible life imprisonment if convicted in a trial which is due to last a fortnight. The Colombos had sold everything to make their dream voyage around the world. They left the Yemen port of Aden in early September 2011 and were heading for Oman -- a journey that took them through notoriously pirate-infested waters -- when naval authorities received a distress signal from their "Tribal Kat" catamaran. A German frigate found the boat several hours later. There were bullet holes in the deck and a pair of glasses lying in a pool of blood. No one was onboard. Two days later, a Spanish warship located the skiff believed to belong to the pirates. They tried to approach but turned away when the attackers dragged Evelyne Colombo into view, a gun to her head. The Spanish military prepared a raid and attacked a few hours later, leaving two pirates dead and the remaining seven under arrest. Evelyne Colombo told her rescuers that her husband's body had been dumped into the sea. It was never found. She had spent a nightmarish 48 hours with the pirates, kept under a tarpaulin, drenched by waves and in constant fear of death. - 'War, hunger, hell' - "War... hunger... for these men to be properly judged, the court must understand the hell from which they have come," one of their lawyers, Martin Reynaud previously told AFP, saying this could only explain rather than excuse their actions. Story continues The accused have claimed the two men killed during the military assault -- identified as "Shine" and "Abdullahi Yare" -- were the leaders of the operation, according to a police source. The investigators believe Yare was most likely the killer, but that all members of the gang were motivated by the desire to attack boats and claim ransoms through kidnapping. The dramatic decline in piracy off the Somali coast means the trial could be the last in Europe for some time. The European Union's military counter-piracy mission "Atalante" saw zero vessels pirated over the past three years, compared with a peak of 47 in 2010. International naval patrols, increased security on boats and the jailing of over a thousand pirates around the world have greatly reduced the threat, although experts warn that illegal fishing off Somalia's coast is again threatening local livelihoods and could push communities back to piracy. The desire for ransoms means murders have been relatively rare in Somali piracy cases. This would be the first such case to feature a murder out of four that have come to trial in France. In 2009, the French skipper of the "Tanit" was killed by friendly fire during a raid to rescue his ship from pirates. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The boss of South African utility Eskom has ruled out for now issuing bonds to help fund $21 billion of new power plants, saying on Tuesday the credit market was not favourable. The state-owned company, which provides virtually all of South Africa's electricity, is building three new power plants to help shore up power reserves, and expects to add 5,620 megawatts (MW) to the network by 2018. "We will only issue a bond based on market conditions. At the moment they don't seem very favourable," chief executive Brian Molefe told Reuters on the sidelines of a company function. Molefe, drafted in last April from state rail and freight firm Transnet to stabilise the power producer and help it keep the lights on, said Eskom was instead in talks with banks about multi-lateral loans. "We have the option of going to banks and DFIs (development finance institutions) for multi-lateral loans, which is what we are negotiating now," he said. But Molefe said the Eskom, whose Ba1 credit rating is under review by Moody's for potential downgrade, was not under any liquidity pressure because it had raised enough money to cover its capital needs for both the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years. Eskom faced a crippling cash crunch last year that forced the government to inject nearly 80 billion rand in equity. The utility also had to impose almost daily rolling power cuts that hurt economic growth to prevent the grid from collapsing. Eskom has said it does not expect power cuts this year. ($1 = 15.4771 rand) (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Mark Potter) MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy agreed on Tuesday to go to parliament and report on his latest meetings with the European Council, backing away from an earlier refusal to submit to parliamentary oversight of his caretaker government. The dispute between parliament and Rajoy's center-right People's Party (PP), which lost its parliamentary majority in a December national election, has added to political deadlock in the country which has been without a government for 100 days. He has refused to answer to a parliament that he says does not support him, meaning many bills passed have not become law. But Rajoy, who had declined to inform parliament about previous EU meetings such as one on expulsion of refugees to Turkey, on Tuesday yielded to pressure from opposition parties and said he would appear before lawmakers on April 6. "It will be an informative hearing to tell (the public) what was discussed (in Brussels) and to say that I have listened and defended Spain's mandate according to parliament," he told Onda Cero radio. He said his shift did not represent a U-turn from his previous stance, and he would still contest parliament's control over his government. Spanish parties have failed to form a government after more than three months of fruitless negotiations and two unsuccessful parliamentary votes to back a coalition led by the Socialists, the second-largest party. On Wednesday, Socialist head Pedro Sanchez will meet the leader of the anti-austerity party Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, in an attempt to find a breakthrough in negotiations. Iglesias has so far refused to join Sanchez's proposed "government of change" with other newcomer party Ciudadanos. Parties have until May 2 to produce an alternative majority or parliament will be dissolved and Spaniards will have to return to the ballot box, most likely in late June. Opinion polls show a new election would be likely to deliver a similarly fractured result as in December. (Reporting by Blanca Rodriguez; Writing by Jesus Aguado; Editing by Angus Berwick and Richard Balmforth) MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's High Court said on Tuesday it would try six alleged members of an Islamist cell and would also renew its request for help from the United States to retrieve emails and social media posts belonging to the men. Investigating magistrate Jose de la Mata wrote in a ruling that the court was ready to try the men, arrested in January last year in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. However, De la Mata said that after several meetings and discussions with U.S. authorities, a request for them to ask Microsoft and Facebook to release profiles and emails related to the case had not been met. "Despite all of this, it has not been possible to get the required international cooperation from the United States," the magistrate said in the ruling. The court has given U.S. judicial authorities extensive information about the High Court's investigation upon request, he added. The Spanish request comes after a major controversy in the United States over a legal battle waged by the U.S. Justice Department to get Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, at the end of last year. The Justice Department eventually succeeded in unlocking the phone without Apple, which had argued that the case set a dangerous precedent. De la Mata said the Spanish court would lodge a fresh request for help with the U.S. authorities while pressing ahead with the trial. U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment on the case. In Spain investigating magistrates can take on a case and pursue claims against suspects to back them up before the case is formally ready for trial. The six men are being held in prison as a preventative measure. (Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Angus Berwick and Gareth Jones) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The hijacker of the EgyptAir passenger jet has demanded the release of Egyptian prisoners, Armenpress reports, citing the Radio of Cyprus. According to the radio, the hijacker has demanded the release of prisoners who are held in Egyptian prisons. The EgyptAir passenger jet en route from Alexandria to Cairo, was hijacked on the morning of March 29. According to the aviation companys data, 81 passengers were aboard, reports TASS. Photo by EPA Khartoum (AFP) - Sudanese troops have clashed with rebels in South Kordofan after months of calm in the state, the two sides said on Tuesday, with both giving differing accounts of the fighting. President Omar al-Bashir's forces have been battling the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011 but in recent months the two states had been quiet compared with previous years. "The SPLM-N confirms that there are ongoing battles" around the Karkaraya and Agab areas of South Kordofan, rebel spokesman Arnu Lodi said in a statement late Tuesday. Lodi said the rebels were in "full control of the situation" and were laying siege to government positions, having suffered no casualties of their own in the operations. The military confirmed there had been heavy fighting around Karkaraya but said its soldiers had repulsed an SPLM-N column that attacked from the nearby rebel-held town of Um Serdiba. Early on Tuesday, "a large force of rebels came out of the town of Um Serdiba and attacked the area of Karkaraya that we recaptured" the day before, army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP by phone. The military said it had destroyed a number of SPLM-N vehicles and killed 55 rebels, suffering no casualties of its own. Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often contradicting reports from the military and the SPLM-N. The rebels in the two southern states mounted an insurgency against Bashir's Arab-dominated Khartoum government in 2011, and neither side has decisively gained the upper hand in the fighting. Bashir announced a ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region -- the site of a separate insurgency -- late last year and extended it by a month at the beginning of the year. Despite both sides accusing the other of continuing attacks, South Kordofan had been relatively peaceful until this week's fighting. A government delegation travelled to Addis Ababa for an African Union-mediated meeting with the rebels and opposition parties, although the talks ended on March 21 without a conclusive result. There has also been heavy fighting this year in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur, with tens of thousands of civilians reported to have been forced to flee their homes in the clashes that started in January. Beirut (AFP) - Regime troops were locked in heavy fighting with the Islamic State group in central Syria after dealing the jihadists a major blow by seizing the ancient city of Palmyra. Backed by "intense" air strikes by both Syrian and Russian warplanes, pro-government fighters advanced southwest towards the jihadist-held town of Al-Qaryatain on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. They captured a series of strategic hilltops overlooking the town, where around 500 civilians are still living, according to the Britain-based monitor. The advance comes as the UN refugee agency prepares to host a conference Wednesday in Geneva to secure concrete pledges from nations to resettle those displaced by the conflict. IS had seized Al-Qaryatain in August 2015, kidnapping at least 230 people, including dozens of Christians, and razing the Mar Elian monastery. The town lies on a key road linking Palmyra with the Qalamun region of Damascus province to the west. Sunday's capture of Palmyra, known as the "Pearl of the Desert" for its colonnaded alleyways and stunning temples, was seen as the biggest blow so far in the war against IS in Syria. - Regime hails Palmyra's fall - Syria's government has described the victory as proof of its credentials in the anti-IS fight. President Bashar al-Assad said the military advances would also help efforts to find a political solution by deterring countries that are "hindering the settlement". In an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency, he named Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France and Britain as countries that are "counting on our defeat on the battlefield in order to impose their conditions at the negotiations". "So these military actions and successes will lead to the acceleration of the political settlement, and not prevent it," Assad said. Syria's armed forces have pledged to strengthen their hold on Palmyra and press on towards IS's northern bastion in Raqa as well as the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor to the east. Story continues France said the recapture of Palmyra was "positive news". But the victory "should not exonerate the Damascus regime" of its responsibilities in the conflict, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said during a visit to Algeria. The jihadists swept into Palmyra, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, in May 2015 and began a campaign to destroy tombs and shrines it considered idolatrous. The extremist group demolished the 2,000-year-old temple of Bel and also blew up the Arch of Triumph. - Deminers, sniffer dogs - Syria's head of antiquities, Maamoun Abdulkarim, told AFP that 80 percent of the site was still "in good shape" and the ancient ruins could be restored in five years with UNESCO's help. But UN expert Annie Sartre-Fauriat, who belongs to a panel on Syrian heritage set up by UNESCO in 2013, said she was "very doubtful" that would be possible. As they retreated from Palmyra at the weekend, IS fighters planted roadside mines near some of the most celebrated ruins of the city. Army sappers have already defused dozens of the makeshift bombs and have conducted controlled detonations of others, a military source told AFP. On Tuesday, Moscow dispatched a group of Russian deminers, sniffer dogs, and advanced radar equipment to help secure the city, Russia's state media channel Pervy Kanal reported. Moscow began its air war in support of Assad's troops on September 30, 2015, carrying out strikes on "terrorist" targets across the country. The air campaign has been criticised by rebel groups, their Western backers, and rights groups as indiscriminate. In the last quarter of 2015, Russian air strikes in Syria likely killed more than 1,000 civilians, the Airwars monitoring group said. The London-based group gathered media reports, accounts from rebel groups and non-governmental organisations to compile the estimated toll. It said its provisional view was that between September 30 and December 31, as many as 1,448 civilians were "likely" killed in Russian strikes. Earlier this month, Russia announced a drawdown but it said it would keep up its support for the regime's battle against IS and other jihadist groups. Analysts say only 10-25 percent of Russian forces have left Syria since President Vladimir Putin announced the withdrawal. By Vladimir Soldatkin and Dominic Evans MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army successes will help accelerate a political settlement to the country's civil war, President Bashar al-Assad said, because they weaken the position of international opponents who he accused of hindering any agreement. In an interview published as government forces, backed by heavy Russian air power, maintained an offensive against Islamic State militants, Assad said his government "continue to be flexible" in its approach to talks aimed at ending the war. "However at the same time, these victories will have an impact on the forces and nations which hinder a settlement because those states, first of all, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France and Great Britain, are betting on our defeat on the battlefield in order to enforce their terms during the talks," he said. He was speaking in an interview with Russia's RIA news agency published on Tuesday, two days after government forces backed by intense Russian air power drove Islamic State militants out of Palmyra, delivering one of the biggest setbacks to the jihadist group since it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2014. Indirect peace talks at the United Nations in Geneva adjourned on Thursday after making little progress. The talks were able to go ahead after a limited truce, sponsored by the United States and Russia, took effect last month - although it excludes Islamic State and the Nusra Front groups. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura says he wants the negotiations to address political transition, which he called the "mother of all issues". But before the talks started, the Syrian government said the issue of the presidency was a red line. However Assad told RIA that the government delegation displayed flexibility at the talks with the opposition "in order not to miss a single chance" for settlement. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last week that Moscow's position that Assad's future should not be discussed at the moment had finally found understanding in Washington. But a senior member of Syria's opposition leading negotiations with Damascus said on Tuesday that Assad's future should be the main topic of the talks in Geneva, and Moscow's call not to discuss this aims at undermining the negotiations. Moscow's military intervention helped turn the tide of Syria's five year conflict in Assad's favor, after rebels had made significant gains last year in northwest Syria. "Russia's military support, the support provided by Syria's friends and the military achievements of the Syrian army - all this will lead to the speeding up of political settlement, and not vice versa," Assad said. TOWN ENCIRCLED Remaining Islamic State fighters had withdrawn on Tuesday from positions northeast of Palmyra, where they had fought the army a day earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Russian and Syrian jets targeted the town of Sukhna, about 60 km (40 miles) northeast of Palmyra where many retreating Islamic State fighters had sought refuge, the Observatory said. State media said the army and its militia allies also captured territory around al-Qaryatain, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Palmyra, including farmland to the south and a mountain area to the west. "The town is almost encircled," the Observatory's director Rami Abdulrahman said. Russian jets carried 29 raids on al-Qaryatain on Tuesday morning alone, he said. If the army takes al-Qaryatain, Sukhna and other pockets of Islamic State control, it will sharply reduce the jihadist group's ability to project military power into the heavily populated western region of Syria, where Damascus and other main cities are located. Russia and Iran, Assad's two main allies, both pledged to continue support for Damascus after the capture of Palmyra. France, a key backer of opposition forces in Syria, said the Islamic State defeat in Palmyra was positive news, but should not divert attention from the fact that the main culprit for the conflict is the Syrian government. "The advances against Daesh today should not lead us to forget that the regime is primarily responsible for the conflict and the 270,000 people killed since five years," foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said. In addition to the quarter of a million fatalities, the war has displaced 10 million people, drawn foreign powers into the conflict and created the world's biggest refugee crisis. (Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut and John Irish in Paris; editing by Anna Willard) One of the first pieces of advice I received as a new mother was to never let my baby use me as a pacifier. I took this advice to heart, resolving to keep my daughter on an ironclad feeding schedule: once every two hours, 20 minutes on each side, so regular that I may as well have asked her to punch in and out at each shift. Even with these strict self-imposed limits, breastfeeding was more of a commitment than I had anticipated. For the next few weeks I barely left the house so that I could remain topless and layered with lanolin salves. I was so sore that even the spray from the showerhead made me wince. But I powered through and stuck to the schedule even as I struggled to produce milk, deviatingbegrudginglyonly when the pediatrician suggested that I supplement with formula to help my daughter gain weight. According to James J. McKenna, a professor of anthropology and the director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab at the University of Notre Dame, its a common idea in Western parenting that parents should restrict their infants feeding behaviors. This idea has little to do with babies biological well-being, he says; rather, it developed as a safeguard against raising spoiled children whose parents schedule around their whims. Recommended: How to Get Your Kid to Do What You Say, Without Punishing The argument stems in part from the 1928 book Psychological Care of Infant and Child, written by the American psychologist John B. Watson. In it, Watson warns against the inevitable dangers of a mother providing too much love and affection, and overly comforting children. By that logic, comfort feedingbreastfeeding babies to soothe them, even if they arent hungryis asking for problems down the line. Infants dont have wants. Wants assumes a more advanced cognitive awareness. Infants only have needs. But the argument doesnt line up with their cognitive development, McKenna explains. Infants dont have wants. Wants assumes a more advanced cognitive awareness, he says. Infants only have needs. Theres a big difference. Story continues Western psychology was never kind to our infants, he adds. Weve departed from natural behaviors and have given moral meaning to the recommended practices that have no science to back them up. * * * Parents around the world have used some form of the pacifier for centuries. Depending on the time and place, theyve been made of knotted rags dipped in water or honey, wooden beads, coral, ivory, bone, mango seeds, and plastic. Today, as The New York Times has reported, an estimated 75 percent of Western babies use pacifiers. In some cultures, though, the caretaker is the pacifier. For example, the Aka, a tribe of nomadic hunter-gatherers living in the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo, share comfort-nursing duties. The anthropologist Barry J. Hewlett, the editor of Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods: Evolutionary, Developmental, and Cultural Perspectives, says that Aka babies are breastfed an average of four times an hour, and sometimes as often as seven. During early infancy, babies are typically held 95 percent of the time; in late infancy, that number drops to 60 to 75 percent of the time. They are usually carried on the mothers side, leaving the breast readily available for the infant to take when needed. If the mother is busy, the baby is typically passed to someone else, often the father or grandmother, who will offer up their own nipples to soothe the child. Recommended: The Challenge of Treating Anorexia in Adults According to the anthropologist Gwen Dewar, a close, hands-on approach probably existed much of human historybut modern Western industrialized societies have trained their babies to accept less physical responsiveness. Even the most affectionate of parents often soothe babies in non-physical wayswith talk, smiles, or stimulating distractions. The pacifier, Dewar explains, is an example of this, allowing babies to experience the soothing effects of sucking in the absence of hands-on care. According to Jennifer Harned Adams, a psychologist specializing in womens reproductive health, a reliance on comfort nursing may cause some women to feel a loss of bodily autonomy, as they spend significant amounts of time engaged in this very physical task. For some women, this may impact their interest in intimacy, or even change her relationship with her body if her breasts are no longer a sexual part, Adams says. For others, comfort nursing may lead to a perceived loss of identity outside of motherhood. Beyond the idea of the spoiled child, theres also the notion that a woman is tethering herself to her baby at the expense of her own well-being. On the other hand, she says, women who have experienced difficulties with body image, or have experienced prior sexual assault, can find that comfort nursing helps them to create a new, positive relationship with their bodies. For new mothers especially, using their body as a soothing mechanism can also help women become more confident in their relationship to their babies. This can help her feel solid in her role as a new mother, Adams says, and can provide mothers with quiet moments in the midst of the chaotic storm of early parenting. The choice of whether or not to breastfeed can come with its own complicated set of politics, and comfort feeding is no different. Unlike in Aka society, where women comfort feed without a second thought, women in Western cultures who choose to do so are often met with resistance: Beyond the idea of the spoiled child, theres also the notion that a woman is tethering herself to her baby at the expense of her own well-being. The bottom line, though, is that comfort feedinglike breastfeeding more broadlyis still a personal choice, despite what mothers have been socially conditioned to choose. After I was forced to throw out my daughters original feeding regimen, I came to realize that breastfeeding on demand felt right. I ditched the plastic binky along with the schedule. And when she was fussy for reasons other than hunger, I did as the Aka do, and became a human pacifier. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. By Asad Hashim ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has rounded up more than 5,000 militant suspects, then released most of them, in the two days since a suicide bomber killed at least 72 people in a park in Lahore at Easter, a provincial minister said on Tuesday. Investigators were keeping 216 suspects in custody pending further investigation, said Rana Sanaullah, a state minister for Punjab province from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling party. Details of the sweeping raids aimed at anyone suspected of violent Islamist extremism came as the Taliban faction claiming responsibility for the attack issued a new threat on Tuesday, singling out the media. Sanaullah said "5,221 people have initially been detained. 5,005 have been released after verifying their identities, and 216 people have been referred for further investigation. "If someone is found to be guilty, they will be charged," told journalists in the Punjab province capital of Lahore. Army spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa said the military and the paramilitary Rangers were conducting raids across Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province, in rapid response to the Easter bombing. "Right now in Rawalpindi, Multan and elsewhere, operations are ongoing, intelligence agencies and Rangers and army troops are carrying out operations," he told reporters in Islamabad. MILITANT THREAT Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, the Taliban faction that claimed responsibility for the blast aimed at Christians celebrating Easter, warned Pakistani media they could be the next target. "Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani media," Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the group, tweeted. "We are just waiting for the appropriate time." Even as authorities pursued Islamist militants across Punjab, hundreds of ultra-conservative Muslim protesters remained camped out in front of parliament on Tuesday in the capital, Islamabad, days after clashing with police. Mobile phone networks in the capital were blocked for security purposes for a second day in a row. The Easter bombing was Pakistan's deadliest attack since a 2014 school massacre claimed by the Taliban killed 134 students. The attack, which included 29 children among the 72 dead, showed the militants can still cause carnage despite military raids on their northwestern strongholds. Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province and Sharif's political heartland. "Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home," tweeted Ehsan. "The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen." Sanaullah said at least 160 raids have been carried out since Sunday night by a mixture of police, counter-terrorism and intelligence agents and confirmed that army and paramilitary forces would be used in future operations. "This operation will include all law enforcement agencies," Sanaullah said. MILITARY CAMPAIGN Military and government officials on Monday said that the army was preparing to launch a new paramilitary counter terrorism crackdown in Punjab, as it did more than two years ago in the violent southern megacity of Karachi. By allowing this, the civilian government once again ceded special powers to the military to fight Islamist militants. Punjab provincial leaders, particularly among Prime Minister Sharif's party, have long resisted suggestions of bringing in the paramilitary Rangers to fight extremism in reported centers of radicalism including Multan in southern Punjab. In Karachi, the Rangers' crackdown has cut back the rate of militant and criminal violence sharply, but also drawn accusations of human rights abuses and the targeting of opposition politicians. A possible renewal of their mandate by the Sindh provincial government is the subject of heated debate there. Army spokesman Gen. Bajwa said the government had agreed to send whatever forces are most appropriate to capture extremists. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, which has declared loyalty to Islamic State, has carried out five major attacks in Pakistan since December. In recent years, Pakistan has cracked down on movements that target its own citizens and institutions, including the Pakistani Taliban who are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. The army and former governments have been accused of fostering hard-line religious movements to boost their own support and to use militant groups to help pursue objectives in Afghanistan and against Pakistan's old rival India. However, moves by the government to crack down on extremism have prompted a backlash. The recent outpouring of anger over the execution in late February of ex-bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, who assassinated the Punjab governor he guarded because the politician campaigned against Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, highlights the tension. The demonstrators, incensed by the hanging of a man they consider a hero for defending Islam, now demand the immediate execution of hundreds of people in jail on blasphemy charges. (Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Tom Heneghan) London (AFP) - Indian giant Tata Steel on Wednesday put its British business up for sale, sparking calls for the government to intervene and safeguard thousands of jobs in the crisis-hit industry. Tata said in a statement that trading had "rapidly deteriorated" in Britain and Europe, adding it will "explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, in whole or in parts". The company blamed chronic global oversupply of steel, a "significant increase" in cheaper imports into Europe -- particularly from China -- and plunging prices in recent times. Tata is also battling high costs, currency volatility and weak global demand for steel, which is mostly used in construction. "These factors are likely to continue into the future and have significantly impacted the long term competitive position of the UK operations," the group added in a statement issued in Mumbai. Management of its European division Tata Steel Europe will now evaluate and implement the most feasible option for its British operations. The group employs around 15,000 staff in Britain, including the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in Wales. - Parliament recall? - Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a meeting of key ministers early Thursday, according to his office, but has resisted calls form opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to recall parliament from its Easter holiday to address the threat to jobs. "The news that Tata is preparing to pull out of steel-making in Britain puts thousands of jobs across the country and a strategic UK-wide industry at risk," Corbyn wrote in a letter to Cameron. "MPs must have the chance now to debate the future of steel and hold ministers to account for their failure to intervene," said the leader, who visited Port Talbot on Wednesday. His party has called for the government to intervene, possibly by taking a public stake in the industry to avert a collapse. Story continues Business Secretary Sajid Javid chaired a ministerial meeting Wednesday to discuss the issue and will return early from his trade visit to Australia, according to a government statement. Cameron has yet to comment but the British government has urged Tata to allow time to locate a potential buyer. "We want enough time to be able to secure a buyer. That will take months," said business minister Anna Soubry. She insisted that the Conservative administration was considering "all options" and raised the possibility of management and unions being involved in any future plans. Union representatives had travelled to Mumbai as a company board meeting was held to try to convince Tata to invest in the plants, which employ thousands in England and Wales. Politician Leanne Wood, leader of Welsh party Plaid Cymru, described the news as "devastating" and also called for the Welsh regional assembly to be recalled from its Easter break to respond to the crisis. Tata had previously announced a series of job cuts at its Port Talbot site, where it employs 4,000 people, with another 3,000 employed as contractors and temporary workers. A joint statement from the British government and the Welsh regional government said they would work with unions to maintain the steel industry. Unions have accused China of killing off British industry by "dumping" steel on the market at prices that cannot be competed with. Tata said it had poured money into the UK businesses and suffered asset impairments of more than 2.0 billion ($2.8 billion, 2.5 billion euros) in the last five years. - Chances of sale 'very slim' - Analysts poured cold water on the prospect of a sale any time soon. "The prospect of Tata Steel finding a buyer for all its UK operations looks very slim," said Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell. "Tata has taken a 2.0-billion hit on its UK arm in the past five years and any buyer for the entire business would need to be both an eternal optimist and have very deep pockets, given the continuing fall in demand for steel." Tata Steel Europe was known as Corus Group until Tata bought the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker for $13 billion in 2007 -- at the height of Chinese steel demand and before the global financial crisis. BERLIN (Reuters) - A Holocaust survivor said on Tuesday that four suspects accused by German prosecutors of being accessory to murder at Auschwitz must have known of the mass killings taking place at the camp because of the "unbearable stench" of burning bodies. Germany is holding what are likely to be its last trials linked to the Holocaust, in which more than six million people, mostly Jews, were killed by the Nazis. Three men and one woman in their 90s are accused of being an accessory to the murder of hundreds of thousands of people at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. "I want to know what their motivation was, why so many joined in killing millions of people," 95-year-old Leon Schwarzbaum, a state witness at the trial of two of the suspects, told Reuters in an interview. "I just hope they all talk eventually. I want to hear it out of their mouths, what they did and why. I want them to tell the truth," he said. Schwarzbaum, who lost all of his 35 family members in the Holocaust, survived by working at a Siemens factory camp near the Auschwitz camp. After the war he briefly lived in the United States but then returned to Berlin where he married a German woman and opened an antique shop. Images of the killings and the camp's horrors haunt him to this day, Schwarzbaum said. He angrily dismissed claims by some of the accused that they had not been aware of the mass murders taking place. "They lie. It's impossible not to have known what happened. You could smell the burning bodies. It was an unbearable stench, day and night, and not only there in the camp but across the entire area," Schwarzbaum said. "THERE HAS TO BE JUSTICE" Sitting in his antique-furnished living room in Berlin and wearing a gray woolen sweater, he said he considered it his duty to speak for the dead and recount the horrors of Auschwitz. "I don't care about the punishment and this is not about revenge," Schwarzbaum said. "But there has to be justice." The trial of 95-year-old Hubert Zafke, a former Auschwitz paramedic, and of 94-year-old Reinhold Hanning, a former guard at the death camp, have already started. Neither has yet spoken in court. In mid-April, 93-year-old former Auschwitz guard Ernst Tremmel will go on trial in the western German city of Hanau. Tremmel was on duty, overseeing the camp's selection process, when Schwarzbaum's parents arrived at the death camp in 1942, documents by the prosecutor's office show. No date has yet been set for the trial of the fourth defendant, 92-year-old Helma M., who worked as a radio operator at Auschwitz. She is accused of being an accessory to the murder of 260,000 people. (Reporting by Tina Bellon; Editing by Gareth Jones) LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An online petition calling on the British government to scrap its target of spending 0.7 percent of national income on development aid has been signed by more than 140,000 people, meaning there may be a parliamentary debate on the issue. The petition, which says UK aid money should be allocated on a case-by-case basis, was launched by the right-wing Mail on Sunday newspaper on Friday, after what it said was an investigation into how Britain spent its overseas aid. Any online petition that gathers more than 100,000 signatures has to be considered for a debate in parliament. The newspaper said its investigation had shown that UK aid money had funded Palestinian "terrorists", English lessons for North Korean officials, a radio program with tips for Somalis on how to migrate to Europe, and had helped to build a palace. UK overseas development aid, which was 11.7 billion pounds ($16.8 billion) in 2014, should be spent in Britain instead of being "squandered" on such projects, the Mail on Sunday said. The Department for International Development (DFID), the ministry that manages overseas aid, rejected the accusations, saying they misrepresented or inaccurately portrayed projects it supported, including some that were no longer funded. "UK aid is spent where it is most needed and is subject to rigorous internal and external checks and scrutiny at all stages," DFID said in a statement on its website. "The government has realigned the UK's aid strategy, cutting wasteful programs and making sure spending is firmly in the UK's national interest." "Recent crises, from our response to the Ebola epidemic to our use of our aid budget to support refugees in Syria and the surrounding region, have proved why aid is so important for us as well as for the countries we assist." The United Nations agreed in 1970 to set the aid target of 0.7 percent of GNI (gross national income) and Britain became the first leading industrial nation to reach it in 2013, when it spent 11.4 billion pounds on ODA (Overseas Development Assistance). ($1 = 0.7005 pounds) (Reporting by Magdalena Mis, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian delegation to the Euronest PA wishes Azerbaijan to participate in the works of the Assembly. Head of the Armenian delegation to Euronest PA Artak Zakaryan told the reporters about this at the National Assembly. We have always announced that we want Azerbaijan to participate in the works of the Assembly. We are against Euronest to work in a half format. But we are against the intimidation actions that Azerbaijan regularly takes against the European Parliament, Armenpress reports Zakaryan mentioning. He added that the very action of Azerbaijan to discontinue its activities in the Parliamentary Assembly of Euronest is an action directed against the European Parliament. Artak Zakaryan also referred to the future plans of the Armenian delegation to Euronest PA. He informed that the next plenary session of the PA will take place in Kiev. New reports will be prepared during this time. Though it will be a pre-electoral period in our country next year, we will try not to wane our attention, the MP added. The National Assembly of Azerbaijan, known as Milli Majlis, on September 15, 2015 adopted a resolution ending Azerbaijans participation in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, an inter-parliamentary forum established as a component of the Eastern Partnership. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pest control company Terminix International Co LP and its U.S. Virgin Islands operation were charged on Tuesday with illegally applying a restricted-use pesticide in multiple residences in the Virgin Islands, the U.S. Justice Department said. In a plea agreement, Terminix has agreed to pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines, community service and restitution payments for illegally applying pesticides containing methyl bromide, the Justice Department said in a statement. The Environmental Protection Agency banned indoor use of methyl bromide products in 1984. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) Toyota is examining how to ensure older people -- even in the most remote regions -- can remain mobile and healthy with a new three-year project in Japan's Aichi Prefecture. The Asuke Mobility Project is a 360-million-yen ($3.2 million) undertaking in partnership with Nagoya University that will do more than simply provide the city's elderly population with access to electric vehicles or ride-sharing schemes. The idea is to build a mobile society that ensures older residents can retain their role in the community be it through regular activity, access to regular health check-ups or through organized excursions and to understand the role transportation will play. All strands of the project will be linked together via a tablet-based reservation system so that a person can book an electric car to go to the doctor, for example, or share a ride with other community members heading on the same excursion. Japan's population is one of the world's healthiest and as a result longest living. But as its population ages the issues surrounding mobility and maintaining independence grows. In the more mountainous regions where individual mobility -- i.e., access to a car -- is of even greater necessity, these problems are amplified. As the younger generation move away for work the older generations left behind can find it difficult to get about with no direct family to help them. The new Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) project, announced on Tuesday, is the fourth of its kind and, with the ongoing assistance of Nagoya University's Institute of Innovation for Future Society, one the company hopes will continue to develop and grow once the initial three-year funding comes to an end. Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda said, "We hope TMF's support of these local efforts will revitalize the community by helping the residents in semi-mountainous areas all over Japan, including Asuke, to experience the freedom of mobility." New York (AFP) - Born in the cultural crossroads of Lisbon, Buraka Som Sistema shook up the global dance music scene and won a cult following by weaving infectious African rhythms into electronica. A decade after Buraka Som Sistema's first release, the DJ collective finds itself in a drastically changed musical landscape, with artists everywhere able to upload music instantly online, and the group has decided to call an at least temporary hiatus. Buraka Som Sistema plans to wrap up a global tour on April 9 at New York's Webster Hall and, after a farewell show back in Lisbon, to take time to reflect on the direction of world music. "We don't want to waste people's time. There is so much music online and on iTunes," said co-founder Joao Barbosa, who goes by the stage-name Branko. The proliferation of music "makes me not want to put something out unless I think it's essential to the world," he told AFP. While Buraka Som Sistema has developed fan bases in Europe and the Americas, the band is inextricably linked to Lisbon with its vast diaspora from former Portuguese colonies. "It is somewhere between a European city and an African city almost, but there wasn't any music being made based on that," Branko said. He recalled growing up in the midst of dance music with roots in Africa -- funana from Cape Verde, samba from Brazil and kuduro from Angola -- yet going out on weekends to see drum-and-bass DJs. The synthesis, he said, created the blueprint for Buraka, an "urban world music that people have sort of failed to categorize somehow." - 'From Buraka to the World' - The band's name means sound system of Buraca, a heavily immigrant area in the Lisbon region, although the group stylized the spelling to a "k" to give an edge. Starting off in Lisbon clubs, Buraka Som Sistema released an EP in 2006, "From Buraka to the World," whose first run quickly sold out. Story continues The group at first was most identified with kuduro, the festive Angolan music that cheered the country during its civil war and, much like hip-hop, is built on samples. One of Buraka Som Sistema's four core members, Andro "Conductor" Carvalho, was born in Angola and had been a prominent kuduro producer. But over three albums, the group experimented in more styles, notably zouk -- accordion-led party music from the French Caribbean territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique -- which Buraka Som Sistema infused with bass. Branko said Buraka Som Sistema had already achieved a primary goal of bringing kuduro and other genres to a wider audience. The rapper M.I.A. threw a new spotlight by teaming up with Buraka Som Sistema on the 2008 track "Sound of Kuduro," recorded in Angola. "The whole band shares a feeling that there is some sort of cycle closing," Branko said. "That is why we feel like it's a good time to breathe in some other influences and other ideas, so we can bring something fresh back to the table," he said. - Not the Indiana Jones of music - Yet Branko said he was searching for the universal in music, not necessarily hunting down obscure genres. "It's not like we're Indiana Jones. We're not sitting here and thinking of what city we're going to conquer next; we're here thinking about what music we like," he said. Global influences have increasingly been entering the mainstream. Diplo, who has worked with Buraka Som Sistema and emerged as a star producer, brought Indian and reggae hints to last year's "Lean On," which is the most streamed song ever on Spotify. More recently, Diplo created a new tropical house sound for pop celebrity Justin Bieber. Branko doubted that many listeners picked up on global elements behind the hits. And in an era of streaming and social media, artists have been forced to become "marketing businessmen" who produce and promote without stop, he said. "Sometimes posting a stupid video of your trip somewhere is going to have a bigger impact than an actual song release," he said. Branko, who released a solo debut last year, said Buraka Som Sistema could decide it serves a more useful purpose through another medium, such as a television or radio show. Yet Branko also saw greater democracy in music. Unlike a decade ago, young people anywhere in the world with a laptop can be DJs. "That's why I kind of feel like traditional 'world music' has become a thing of the past, even though there are a lot of festivals," he said. "People need to come up with a new term. I don't think it's been invented yet." Los Angeles (AFP) - The owner of a California barber shop is in hot water after denying a haircut to a transgender male who was told he looked like a woman. According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in a Los Angeles court, Rose Trevis was bluntly informed that women were not welcome when attempting to get a haircut at Hawleywood's Barber Shop in Long Beach earlier this month. The suit alleges that Travis was told Hawleywood's was an "old-school barber shop" and it was best to try to get a cut at another salon. "Who says I'm a woman?" Trevis fired back, according to the lawsuit. One of the barbers in the shop allegedly responded: "Like I said, we don't cut women's hair." When told the shop's policy was discriminatory, another barber responded "we don't care" and "women are not even allowed in the shop," the suit alleges. Hawleywood's website describes the shop as a "real men's sanctuary" where customers can indulge in the latest issue of The Horse Backstreet Choppers -- a motorcycle magazine -- and where "one thing you won't see ... is women." The lawsuit alleges that Travis "felt ashamed and humiliated" by Hawleywood's denial of service and seeks unspecified damages. The owner of Hawleywood's, which lists three locations in California and one in Sydney, Australia, could not immediately be reached for comment. By Supantha Mukherjee and Kshitiz Goliya REUTERS - Tribune Publishing Co said on Monday it dismissed its auditor and will replace its chief financial officer, two weeks after disclosing that a misstatement could occur in the company's financial statements. The publisher of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune named Terry Jimenez as chief financial officer, replacing Sandra Martin, effective April 4. Martin will leave the company on April 15. Tribune said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had appointed Ernst & Young as its auditor, in place of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). The company said it had no disagreements with PwC over any accounting practices. Tribune had said in its annual report on March 14 that its management had concluded that the company's internal control over financial reporting for the fiscal year ended December 27 was not effective due to material weaknesses. The management identified issues with approval of rates for circulation and other revenue, and compensation expense, including sales commissions and bonus plans, among other things, Tribune said. The company said it had taken steps to correct the weaknesses but was unable to completely address the issues. Tribune has been consolidating its digital operations and making some changes to its senior management, the biggest being replacing its chief executive last month and now bringing in a new CFO. New CFO Jimenez is an old Tribune employee. He was CFO of Tribune Co's Newsday unit before it was bought by Cablevision Systems Corp in 2008, and most recently was a partner for IBM's Global Business Services. His predecessor, Martin, who joined the company in March 2014, was instrumental in orchestrating Tribune Publishing's separation from parent Tribune Co. The parent company has been renamed Tribune Media Co and houses Tribune's broadcasting and digital assets. Tribune Publishing's shares were little change in early afternoon trading. They have lost about 59 percent of their market value in the past 12 months. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Kshitiz Goliya in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh) Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP, Education Images/UIG via Getty Images JANESVILLE, Wis. The battle for the soul of the Republican Party comes here on Tuesday as Donald Trump re-emerges on the campaign trail with an afternoon rally in the hometown of House Speaker Paul Ryan. The scheduled stop comes just a week before the crucial April 5 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary, where Trump hopes to add to his delegate lead in his bid to claim the GOP nomination. But it is also likely to highlight the ongoing cold war between Trump and Ryan as they both fight to claim control of a party that is increasingly and ever bitterly divided. Trumps insurgent campaign, driven less by policy and more by the candidates unique combination of from-the-gut populism and celebrity showmanship, is directly at odds with the cerebral, deeply conservative politics that elevated Ryan to the upper echelon of the party. That tension between Trump and Ryan personifies the deep fissures within the GOP over what kind of party it wants to be and how to get there. And if Trump ultimately becomes the nominee, his relationship with Ryan could be the first significant test of his pledge to be a unifier not only of a party in turmoil but also of the rest of the country. Ryan has repeatedly pledged to be neutral in the Republican presidential race, pointing, in part, to his role as chairman of this summers party convention, where he could be called to oversee the debate over a contested nomination. But that hasnt stopped him and Trump from engaging each other if not by name in a back-and-forth over the tone and substance of the campaign and the future of the party. Last week, Ryan delivered a speech lamenting the divisive state of politics, which he said was being overtaken by partisan tribalism and personal attacks. While Ryan did not single out any party or candidate, the speech was widely seen as a rebuke to Trumps style of politics. Story continues Politics can be a battle of ideas, not insults, Ryan declared. Our political discourse both the kind we see on TV and the kind we experience among each other did not used to be this bad, and it does not have to be this way. In comments that seemed directly aimed at Trump and his supporters, the House speaker repeatedly called on voters to respect each others opinions and for politicians to elevate the discourse. Instead of playing to your anxieties, we can appeal to your aspirations. Instead of playing the identity politics of our base versus their base, we unite people around ideas and principles. And instead of being timid, we go bold. We dont just resort to scaring you; we dare to inspire you, Ryan said. As leaders, we need to raise our gaze and we need to raise our game and talk about ideas to try to unite us, not prey on peoples separations or their identities. Trump, who has not formally campaigned since winning the Arizona primary on March 22, offered no direct reaction to Ryans speech. But the morning after the House speakers remarks, the Trump campaign responded in its own way. On the candidates website, it was announced that Trump would kick off his Wisconsin campaign in Janesville, Ryans home turf. In some ways, the exchanges of fire between Ryan and Trump show how rapidly the party has changed. In 2012, when Mitt Romney picked Ryan as his vice presidential running mate, the Wisconsin congressman was viewed as a somewhat anti-establishment figure who could help smooth over the GOP nominees combative relationship with party conservatives. But as Trump has seized the anti-establishment mantle in his own campaign, the real estate mogul has trashed Ryan as a party insider whose leadership in Washington has failed. The two have significant policy disagreements, including Ryans support of free trade which Trump strongly opposes. Trump has also trashed Ryans plan to rein in spending on entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, which he says is the reason the party lost the White House in 2012. That was the end of that campaign, when they chose Ryan, Trump, who opposes cuts to entitlements, said during a town hall in South Carolina in February. I said, youve got to be kidding. The two also disagree on the signature issue of Trumps campaign: deporting millions of illegal immigrants. Though Ryan has said as House speaker he wont take up any immigration overhaul while President Obama is in office, he has also voiced support for changing the system to give some legal status to immigrants living here illegally. Ryan has been critical of Trumps proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims coming to the U.S. in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in California and in Paris a position the GOP frontrunner reiterated after last weeks attack in Brussels. This is not conservatism, Ryan said in December, after Trump first raised the idea. What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for, and, more importantly, it is not what this country stands for. In recent months, Trump has repeatedly insisted he can unify the GOP while endlessly trashing the partys leadership and the status quo in Washington. He has repeatedly fired off warnings to those who might get in his way, including Ryan. Paul Ryan, I dont know him well, but Im sure Im going to get along with him, and if I dont, hes going to have to pay a big price, OK? Trump told reporters after his victories on Super Tuesday. In the days after that remark, Trump played up his role as the GOP frontrunner, bragging to reporters and supporters at his rallies that influential Republicans were now calling him. He said it was proof that the party was beginning to line up behind him. Among those who had called him, he said, was Ryan, whom he now praised as someone he liked a lot. It was just very conciliatory. We get along well. I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I think he respects me, Trump said to CNN, describing his call with Ryan. I think he really does respect what Ive done. He said it. Its amazing. He said its amazing. Speaking to supporters a few days later during an election night rally at his Mar-a-Lago beach club, Trump again bragged that Ryan had called him. Paul Ryan called me the other day, he said. Tremendous call. But Ryan aides were quick to downplay the call, noting that the House speaker had called Trump at his request, not out of the blue, as the GOP frontrunner had repeatedly suggested. A spokesman also pointed out that Ryan had spoken to the other Republican presidential hopefuls as well. Neither man has offered many details about their single conversation, which lasted just 10 minutes. Ryan, according to an aide, focused mainly on his plans for the Houses legislative agenda this year. Trump has not divulged what he said to the Wisconsin Republican. But Trump seems likely to say something about Ryan as he brings his unorthodox campaign to the House speakers backyard on Tuesday in what clearly appears to be a calculated visit. And its unclear if the candidate will heed calls to elevate the tone of his campaign in what could be a particularly combative atmosphere. On Monday night, a little less than 24 hours before the scheduled rally, several protesters were arrested for attempting a sit-in at the site as part of an effort to get Trumps rally canceled. And Janesville police were bracing for what could be even more widespread protests Tuesday. By Emily Stephenson and Colleen Jenkins (Reuters) - Donald Trump's presidential campaign manager was arrested and charged with misdemeanour battery in Florida on Tuesday, the latest chapter in a raucous U.S. race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations. Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Corey Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8. Republican front-runner Trump repeatedly defended Lewandowski, saying he was innocent and would fight the charges while continuing as campaign manager. Lewandowski was a good man who was "very, very seriously maligned, and I think it's very unfair," he said. "I told him I think he should never settle this case. He should go all the way," Trump told reporters on his plane after he landed in Wisconsin for a campaign trip. "I just can't stand by and watch a man's life be destroyed." Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd. At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her. Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessman who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, are tumultuous at times and have been marked by occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel. His pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies. Trump leads rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in opinion polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort to stop him by a Republican establishment worried he will lead the party to defeat in November. Cruz picked up the endorsement on Tuesday of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race last year, called Cruz a principled constitutional conservative. "I'm all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner. Walker joins a number of other more establishment Republicans who have backed Cruz as an alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on illegal immigration, Muslims and women. 'ABUSIVE CULTURE' Cruz told reporters while campaigning in Wisconsin that the charges against Lewandowski reflected the "abusive" culture of the Trump campaign. "When you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, attacks and now physical violence, that has no place in our campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz said. "It helps clarify for the voters what the Trump campaign is all about." Kasich said he considered such behaviour "totally and completely" inappropriate. "If it was me, if I was in this circumstance, I would take some sort of action, either suspension or firing," Kasich told reporters in Wisconsin. On his plane, Trump said Fields had been pursuing him after a news conference and Lewandowski was trying to "get her off me." He questioned whether Lewandowski had given Fields the bruise on her arm. "How do you know those bruises weren't there before?" he asked reporters in Wisconsin. Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson told CNN that Lewandowski would "absolutely" stay on the job. Republican strategist Katie Packer, who runs an anti-Trump Super PAC, said the incident and the charges against Lewandowski reflected the candidate's lack of respect towards women. "He doesnt have the kind of values and the kind of temperament that we should expect from someone who wants to be commander in chief," she said. Lewandowski was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offence, it is a misdemeanour in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000. A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail. Lewandowskis lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said. Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson in Washington and Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland and Megan Cassella in Washington, and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Defense Ministry will propose to the defense ministries from the countries of the US-led anti-terror coalition in Syria to jointly clear mines in Palmyra recently liberated from Islamic State terrorists, Armenpress reports, citing Tass. "The Defense Ministry of Russia will soon propose to the US-led coalition to take part in the mine-clearing operation in Palmyra," the source said. According to the source, such a proposal can be transferred by the Russian Center for the Syrian Ceasefire to its US counterpart in Amman or through Russian representatives in the operational center for the ceasefire of the International Syria Support Group in Geneva. As the source explained, the Russian Defense Ministry hopes that "at least some members, if not the entire coalition, will support the Russian initiative." Chief of Russias General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Monday that Russia was bringing combat engineers with robots and mine-sniffing dogs to Syria. He invited other countries to join Russias mine-clearing effort. The Syrian army command reported about the liberation of the ancient town of Palmyra on Sunday. The operation to liberate the town on the UNESCO World Heritage list was conducted with the support of Russian warplanes and special forces. Military advisers from Russia also took part in it. Militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) seized Palmyra in May 2015. Donald Trump is literally the scariest presidential candidate in the 2016 race. In fact, a recent New York Times/CBS polls found that 50% of American voters said they'd be "scared" if he were elected president, while an additional 19% said they'd be "concerned" about his election. Given this, making the prospect of a Trump presidency significantly scarier shouldn't be possible... except it totally is. Vimeo user Eric Cheng recently decided to run a Donald Trump speech through Google's Deep Dream software and the results were predictably terrifying. DON'T MISS: Get $149 worth of photo editing tools free from Google right now In case you dont know, Deep Dream is the program that Googles Photos app uses to spot similarities and differences in different objects, which is why its so good at identifying and categorizing the contents of your photos. [We] just start with an existing image and give it to our neural net," Google explained last year when it first unveiled Deep Dream. "We ask the network: Whatever you see there, I want more of it! This creates a feedback loop: if a cloud looks a little bit like a bird, the network will make it look more like a bird. This in turn will make the network recognize the bird even more strongly on the next pass and so forth, until a highly detailed bird appears, seemingly out of nowhere." In this case, Deep Dream seemed to associated Trump with a Cthulhu-like creature that looks like it has multiple sets of eyes and tentacles coming out of the lower half of its face: Screenshot (166) So yes, everyone, a Trump candidacy really could get more frightening, especially if he decides to filter every address he makes from the Oval Office through Deep Dream. Check out the full video below. Related stories Batman v Trump: This is the showdown we actually wanted to see John Oliver takes a hammer to Trump's border wall idea Anonymous says it hacked Donald Trump and leaked his social security number More from BGR: John Oliver hilariously explains YouTube conspiracy theories This article was originally published on BGR.com Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish police on Tuesday detained at least 20 people in a nationwide operation aimed at cracking down on the trafficking of migrants seeking to reach the European Union, reports said. The suspects were detained in morning raids in five regions, from Izmir on the Aegean to Sanliurfa close to the Syrian border and Samsun on the Black Sea following a three month investigation, the Dogan news agency said. It said that the suspected traffickers, who are citizens of Turkey, Syria and Iraq, were believed to have smuggled migrants from Turkey's coast across the Aegean Sea in exchange for money. With the operation ongoing, the number of those detained could rise, it added. Materials seized in the raids included lists of migrants, money counting machines and hard currency, Turkish media reports said. Turkey has over the last year emerged as the major hub for refugees and migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and other troubled states trying to reach the European Union via the Greek islands. Around one million migrants crossed the Aegean to Greece in 2015, prompting rattled EU leaders to seek Turkey's help for a solution. Under a landmark deal thrashed out between the EU and Ankara earlier this month, all migrants arriving on the Greek islands are now designated for return to Turkey. The numbers of people reaching Greece from Turkey have declined sharply since the EU-Turkey deal went into effect on March 20. But several EU leaders had also underlined it was essential for Turkey to crack down on the people smuggling business, which analysts say had been allowed to operate with relative impunity in Turkey. Smugglers would ask for up to several thousand dollars for a place in a potentially unseaworthy boat for the risky crossing to the Greek islands. Ankara (AFP) - A song lampooning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was broadcast on a German public television satirical show has sparked a diplomatic spat between Berlin and Ankara, sources on both sides confirmed Tuesday. Turkey last week summoned Germany's ambassador to protest the two-minute clip "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan", which ridicules the president, his alleged extravagant spending and crackdown on civil liberties. The song is set to the tune of German pop star Nena's 1984 love song "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" (Anyhow, Anywhere, Anytime) and was screened on regional broadcaster NDR's "extra 3" show on March 17. The German-language lyrics charge, among other things, that "a journalist who writes something that Erdogan doesn't like/ Is tomorrow already in jail". Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP: "We summoned the ambassador last week to communicate our protest about the broadcast that we condemned. "We demanded that the broadcast be removed from the air." A German diplomatic source confirmed Tuesday that Ambassador Martin Erdmann had held repeated talks with the Turkish foreign ministry over the song. "In these talks he made clear that the rule of law, judicial independence and the protection of fundamental freedoms, including of the press and of expression, are valuable assets that should be jointly protected," said the German source. Erdmann had stressed that "in Germany, political satire is covered by the freedom of the press and of expression and the government has neither the need for, nor the option of, taking action." - Freedom of speech - Erdogan's government has been accused by critics of authoritarianism and muzzling critical media as well as lawmakers, academics, lawyers and NGOs. Alluding to the government's military crackdown against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the song charges about Erdogan: "He hates the Kurds like the plague /And prefers to bomb them rather than the religious brothers from Islamic State." Story continues The government vehemently denies that the crackdown targets Turkey's Kurdish minority, saying it is only aimed at wiping out "terrorists". The satirical show fired back at Ankara on Tuesday, publishing a framed picture of Erdogan on its Twitter feed and declaring him its "Employee of the Month". The editor-in-chief of NDR television, Andreas Cichowicz, said Turkey's diplomatic protest was "not consistent with our understanding of freedom of the press and freedom of speech". EU heavyweight Germany sees Turkey as the bloc's main partner in tackling a wave of refugees landing at Europe's borders, with Chancellor Angela Merkel appealing for Ankara's help on the issue. But Merkel has also said Germany will stick to its values and keep insisting on civil and minority rights in Turkey. German news weekly Der Spiegel said this month it had to withdraw its Istanbul correspondent and charged that Turkey was violating the freedom of the press. Several diplomats from EU member states, including the German envoy, last week attended the trial of two journalists facing espionage charges, drawing the ire of Erdogan who accused the diplomats of overstepping their powers. Using a hugely controversial legal article, almost 2,000 people have been prosecuted for "insulting" Erdogan since the former premier became president in August 2014. Istanbul (AFP) - Visitor numbers to Turkey plunged by over 10 percent in February, the government said Tuesday, as tourism was hit by a crisis in relations with Russia and security fears after a series of attacks. The number of foreigners entering Turkey fell 10.32 percent in February from the same period the year earlier, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in its latest monthly statistics. Tourism from Russia recorded one of the biggest falls amid the crisis in relations following Turkey's shooting down of a Russian war plane in November, with visitor numbers plunging over 51.5 percent. Georgians -- who frequently head over the land border on shopping trips -- were the most frequent visitors to Turkey, followed by Germans and Iranians, it said. Tourism from Iran was one of the few sectors to show an upsurge, with visitor numbers rising almost 17 percent in the period. The figures were recorded before the latest attacks in Turkey in March which saw 38 killed in Ankara in a suicide car bombing claimed by Kurdish militants and three Israelis and an Iranian killed in a suicide attack in Istanbul blamed on IS jihadists. Israel on Monday advised all its citizens to leave Turkey, citing the potential for attacks. But visitors had already been rattled by a January attack in the tourist district of Sultanahmet blamed on IS that killed a dozen German tourists. Tourism is a mainstay of the Turkish economy and the government is working hard to limit the potential losses ahead of the crucial summer season. According to official statistics, foreign tourism brought in almost $31.5 billion in revenues in 2015. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last month announced a multi-million-dollar aid package for the struggling tourism industry to help struggling firms and restructure debt. By Can Sezer and Jeff Mason ISTANBUL/ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will hold informal talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Washington this week, the White House said on Tuesday, dismissing suggestions that the lack of a formal meeting represented a snub to Ankara. Erdogan will be among more than 50 world leaders attending a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday, during which time he is due to have a formal meeting with Vice President Joe Biden. There had been intense speculation in the Turkish media over whether Obama would meet Erdogan, with some suggesting a failure to do so would mark a deliberate U.S. snub amid differences over Syria and Washington's concerns over the direction of Turkey's domestic policies. At a news conference in Istanbul before leaving for the United States earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan said a meeting with Obama at the nuclear summit was planned, although he said he did not know how long it would last. Biden's office later said the vice president would host Erdogan for a meeting on Thursday in Washington. "I would expect that over the course of the visit, the president will have an opportunity at some point to have at least an informal discussion with President Erdogan," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters travelling with Obama. Earnest said the lack of a formal meeting should not be interpreted as a snub, noting Biden's planned meeting with Erdogan as well as the large number of foreign leaders due to attend the summit. "There obviously is a lot of important work to do with our allies in Turkey ... It also includes continuing to intensify our coordination on key aspects of our counter-ISIL strategy, including ramped-up efforts to secure the Turkey-Syria border," he said. ISIL is another name for the Sunni militant group Islamic State. Turkey, a NATO member, is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. SHARP DIVIDE Though allies, Washington and Ankara are sharply divided over a Kurdish militia in northern Syria. The militia has enjoyed U.S. military support but Turkey, which has a large ethnic Kurdish minority in its conflict-riven southeast region, sees it as a threat to its own national security. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged there were strains between the United States and Turkey on a range of issues, but added that Washington regards Ankara's assistance as essential to fighting Islamic State. The United States has also grown increasingly critical of Turkey's record on freedom of expression. Biden said during a visit in January that Turkey was setting a poor example in intimidating media and accusing academics of treason. Erdogan, meanwhile, said on Tuesday he wanted U.S. authorities to take steps against a network of schools run by a movement affiliated with Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Turkish cleric whom he has accused of running a "parallel" state and of plotting to overthrow him. Gulen, whose network of followers runs schools worldwide, was once an ally of Erdogan. But the two publicly fell out after police and prosecutors Erdogan saw as sympathetic to Gulen launched a graft investigation that touched on the Turkish leader's inner circle in 2013. Gulen, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey, denies that his followers sought to topple Erdogan. Erdogan has said the arrest last week in Florida of a Turkish-Iranian gold trader who was at the centre of that graft investigation is not a concern for Turkey. "The real money launderers are there (in the United States). Have the authorities taken any steps towards them?" Erdogan said, in reference to Gulen's network. (Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Can Sezer, Ayla Jean Yackley and Akin Aytekin in Istanbul; Writing by Nick Tattersall and David Dolan; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Gareth Jones) By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's prospects of forming a new coalition - vital to get IMF loan talks back on track - were thrown into fresh doubt on Tuesday after Yulia Tymoshenko pressed demands as the price of taking her Fatherland Party into an alliance. Her remarks dampened expectations of an imminent deal to end months of political infighting that have delayed Western-backed reform efforts and left Ukrainians increasingly disillusioned with the pace of change after the Maidan protests that brought the pro-Western leaders to power. The scale of the challenge for any new administration was laid bare on Tuesday by the sacking of a reformist senior prosecutor, who at a news conference accused vested interests of throttling his efforts to tackle corruption in the prosecution service. Tymoshenko's requests include scrapping a tax on pension payments and rolling back energy price hikes. The latter is a key reform implemented under Ukraine's bailout program from the International Monetary Fund. The lack of a stable coalition capable of pushing reforms through parliament has derailed talks for a new $1.7 billion loan from the IMF. The Fund has warned that political paralysis is putting the entire $17.5 billion aid program at risk. Tymoshenko's comments suggested a coalition was far from agreed despite an announcement by Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk's party of a new alliance with Fatherland and the faction belonging to President Petro Poroshenko. Tymoshenko "is demanding a stack of political laws be voted on before joining the coalition. Everyone has to go back to the drawing-board," a source in Poroshenko's faction said. Fatherland is the smallest party in parliament, but the support of its 19 lawmakers is enough to give the coalition a majority when added to the 216 MPs from Poroshenko's and Yatseniuk's factions. Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Groysman, a 38-year-old former mayor and ally of Poroshenko, has been put forward as a replacement prime minister, but Yatseniuk has refused to step down until a new coalition agreement is signed. Anton Gerashchenko, a lawmaker in Yatseniuk's faction, said the three-party coalition had not been formalized. The head of Yatseniuk's party, Maksym Burbak, said they did not expect any final coalition agreement before next week. Failure to form a coalition could trigger snap parliamentary elections, which critics say would delay reforms further and boost support for populist parties who oppose the IMF-backed austerity measures. Meanwhile the prosecutor's office was similarly immersed in high-level squabbling. Parliament approved the forced resignation of General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin - an ally of Poroshenko - but before the vote his office announced that he had dismissed top reformist prosecutor, Davit Sakvarelidze, for "grossly violating" the ethics of his post. Sakvarelidze, who has been in a long-running feud with Shokin, said the dismissal of him and his colleagues amounted to "a cleansing of people who are prepared every day to fight corruption and the old guard without compromise." (Writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by Matthias Williams and Richard Balmforth) By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday he hopes China will accept an offer by the United States for a technical briefing on the possible deployment of a U.S. THAAD missile defense system to South Korea, which worries Beijing. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system was a necessary step by the United States to protect itself and regional allies from North Korea missile attacks. "We realize China may not believe us and also proposed to go through the technology and specifications with them ...and prepared to explain to what the technology does and what it doesn't do and hopefully they will take us up on that proposal," Blinken told the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington The United States and South Korea agreed to begin talks on the deployment of a THAAD last month after North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7. South Korea's military said on Tuesday that North Korea test fired a short-range missile on its east coast. U.S. President Barack Obama will meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program. The possible deployment of the THAAD has unnerved China but Blinken said it was a necessary step until Pyongyang's behavior changed. "We have been very clear with Beijing that as long as North Korea continues to take these actions and to advance its missile program, and as long as that is not stopped and reversed we will have to take steps to ensure our own security and that of our allies," Blinken said. "None of these steps are directed against China but we have also been very clear that as long as this persists ... we will have to take steps," he said. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Alistair Bell) By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for people suing General Motors over a faulty ignition switch on Tuesday urged jurors in Manhattan federal court to hold the company responsible for a 2014 accident they allege was caused by the defective part. The lawsuit is the second against GM to go to trial since it recalled 2.6 million vehicles in 2014 with the switch that has been linked to nearly 400 injuries and deaths. During the two-week trial, lawyers for Dionne Spain and Lawrence Barthelemy have argued that a defective switch in Spain's 2007 Saturn Sky slipped out of position while she was driving, causing the vehicle to stall and crash while crossing an icy bridge in New Orleans in January 2014. "The evidence is overwhelming that there was an ignition switch failure," said Randall Jackson, who represents Spain and Barthelemy. General Motors has acknowledged that some of its employees knew about the switch problem for years but failed to take action. It has already paid about $2 billion in settlements and penalties in connection with the part. In the case of Spain's Saturn Sky, GM lawyer Mike Brock denied its ignition switch was to blame for the accident, arguing that the crash was among many caused by wintry weather and treacherous roads on the bridge that night. During trial, GM portrayed the crash as minor and the resulting damage as minimal. "What's the simplest explanation for the outcome here?" Brock asked jurors. "Ice." Jurors began deliberating Tuesday afternoon on the sole question of whether a defective switch in Spain's vehicle caused it to crash. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, who oversees the litigation, on Monday dismissed a separate claim by Spain over fraudulent misrepresentation. Furman ruled that Spain had not pointed to any allegedly false statements made by GM that induced her to think the Saturn Sky was safe. The case is among hundreds of injury and death lawsuits that have been filed over the switch. Story continues It was selected as an early test trial in federal litigation. A first trial ended abruptly in January without a verdict when GM accused the plaintiff of giving misleading testimony. Several more trials are scheduled for later this year. The case is In re General Motors Ignition Switch Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 14-2543. (Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Andrew Hay) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Dynamics Corp will be the prime contractor for development of 12 new submarines to carry nuclear ballistic missiles and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc will be the major supplier under a plan released by the U.S. Navy on Monday. The Navy said its new "Submarine Unified Build Strategy" is aimed at ensuring that concurrent work stays on cost and schedule for both the replacement of the current nuclear-armed Ohio class submarines, and construction of conventional Virginia-class submarines. The plan, agreed to by both companies, calls for General Dynamics to lead design and delivery of the 12 new Ohio-class replacement submarines, while Huntington Ingalls will work on design and construction of major assemblies and modules. General Dynamics will remain the prime contractor for work on the Virginia-class submarines, which are also built by both companies. However, given the priority of the Ohio-class replacement program, the plan calls for Huntington Ingalls to take over building any additional Virginia-class submarines as needed, the Navy said in a statement. It was not immediately clear how many additional Virginia-class submarines Huntington Ingalls would build. Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the seapower and projection forces subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, welcomed the Navy's confirmation that it planned to continue building two Virginia-class submarines a year through at least 2023. "Our current fleet is strained beyond its ability to meet the demand for undersea capabilities and ... we need to do all we can to mitigate the looming shortfall in the decade ahead," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David Gregorio) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The suitcase of US Secretary of State John Kerry during his last weeks visit to Moscow contained documents for the negotiations, Armenpress reports, citing TASS, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday. "[There were] documents for talks with Putin and Lavrov," the high-ranking diplomat said responding to a question, but refused to give any more details. Ryabkov also said the talks were "serious" and neither side made any attempts "to evade topical issues." Russian President Vladimir Putin started talks with Kerry on March 24 with a joke. "When I saw you going down the airstair and carrying your belongings, I got a bit upset," Putin told Kerry. "On the one hand, it is very democratic, and on the other, I thought that probably there is no one to help the US secretary of state with his suitcase." "It looks like everything is good in the US economy, there are no considerable [personnel] cuts [in the Department of State]," the Russian president said smiling. "Then I had an idea that probably the case contained something that you could not entrust anyone with," Putin told Kerry."You probably brought money for us to be able to better bargain on key issues," he said jokingly. Kerry promised to say what was inside the suitcase at the one-on-one meeting. The top US diplomat told reporters that the content of the suitcase was "a secret between president Putin and me.". By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice will disclose over the next two weeks whether it will continue with its bid to compel Apple Inc to help access an iPhone in a Brooklyn drug case, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The Justice Department this week withdrew a similar request in California, saying it had succeeded in unlocking an iPhone used by one of the shooters involved in a rampage in San Bernardino in December without Apple's help. Prosecutors have not said whether that technique would work for other seized iPhones, including the one at issue in Brooklyn. Law enforcement officials across the country have said they have encountered Apple devices they cannot access. The legal dispute between the U.S. government and Apple has been a high-profile test of whether law enforcement should have access to encrypted phone data. Apple, supported by most of the technology industry, says anything that helps authorities bypass security features will undermine security for all users. Government officials say that all kinds of criminal investigations will be crippled without access to phone data. A federal magistrate in Brooklyn last month ruled that he did not have authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone seized during a drug investigation. The Justice Department then appealed to a district court judge. After filing that appeal, U.S. prosecutors notified the magistrate in the San Bernardino case that a third party had demonstrated a new technique which could access the iPhone in question. The Justice Department disclosed the new technique to the judge one day after the demonstration, and then confirmed its success on Monday, according to court filings, though it did not reveal how its solution works. The U.S. government did not disclose any details in a letter to the Brooklyn judge on Tuesday. Instead, prosecutors only agreed with a request by Apple to delay briefing deadlines in the case, and said it would update the court by April 11 as to whether it would "modify" its own request for Apple's assistance. An Apple spokesman declined to comment. In court filings the company has said it would want to question any potential government claim that the technique which worked in California would not work in Brooklyn. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Bill Rigby) By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday asked both sides for new information in a challenge by Christian nonprofit employers to a mandate under President Barack Obama's healthcare law to provide insurance to female workers covering birth control, indicating the justices are struggling to decide the closely watched case. The court's order requested more information on how contraceptive coverage can be obtained "in a way that does not require any involvement" by these employers, who object to the requirement on religious grounds. The Supreme Court suggested that one way to resolve the case would be for insurance companies to have the job of notifying employers about the availability of contraception coverage if their religious employer does not provide it. In the oral argument in the case last week, the shorthanded eight-justice court appeared split, raising the possibility of a 4-4 decision that would leave in place lower court rulings that backed the Obama administration. The court, now evenly divided with four conservatives and four liberals, is one justice short following the death of conservative Antonin Scalia in February. The order in the contraception matter came just hours after the court deadlocked 4-4 in another major case: a conservative challenge to a critical source of funding for public sector unions.. The request for additional information could both delay a ruling and indicate the court is seeking a compromise that a majority of justices could back. A ruling is due by the end of June. Dubbed Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress in 2010 over unified Republican opposition and is seen as Obama's signature legislative achievement. But congressional Republicans have repeatedly sought to repeal it and conservatives have launched numerous legal challenges, with the Supreme Court in 2012 and 2015 issuing high-profile rulings preserving it. In the current case, Christian nonprofit employers objected to a 2013 compromise offered by the Obama administration that allowed entities opposed to providing contraception insurance coverage to comply with the law without actually paying for the required coverage. Groups can certify they are opting out of the mandate by signing a form and submitting it to the government. The government then asks insurers to pay for contraception. The challengers primarily are Roman Catholic including the archdiocese of Washington and the Little Sisters of the Poor order of nuns that runs care homes for the elderly. They contend the accommodation violates their religious rights by forcing them to authorize the coverage for their employees even if they are not paying for it. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) Doha (AFP) - Britain's defence minister said on Tuesday that a deal to sell Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes to Qatar was "definitely still on the table". Michael Fallon, speaking on board a British destroyer anchored in Doha port, said he had held discussions on a possible sale with Qatari officials within the past week. He added that the deal had not been killed off by a Qatari decision to buy 24 Rafale jets from France. "It's definitely still on the table," said Fallon, who is in Qatar to attend the three-day Dimdex defence and security fair. "It's something I have discussed with the new Qatari defence minister, (Khalid bin Mohammad) Al-Attiyah. "Typhoon is proving itself a very capable aircraft in the skies above Syria and Iraq." Asked if the French deal could scupper the prospective British sale, Fallon responded: "No". "Qatar is one of our most important regional partners," added Fallon. Britain's BAE Systems builds the Typhoon in cooperation with European aircraft maker Airbus and Italian defence firm Finmeccanica. Britain has long sought to sell Typhoons to Qatar and is in the closing stages of wrapping up a deal to sell the jets to Kuwait. Two other countries in the Gulf -- Saudi Arabia and Oman -- have also purchased Typhoon jets. Energy-rich Qatar's spending is being squeezed by falling gas and oil prices but it appears committed to maintaining its defence budget and has previously pledged to increase the size of its air force. Around 10 of its planes have been used in the ongoing Saudi-led military operations in Yemen. Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday sacked the country's chief prosecutor over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations and cover up state graft. The decision should cheer Western allies increasingly concerned that the ex-Soviet country is reverting to a culture of sleaze since it ousted a Russian-backed president and chose an alliance with Europe in a historic 2014 revolt. Lawmakers voted by an overwhelming 289 votes to six to accept the resignation of prosecutor general Viktor Shokin from the post he has held since February 2015. "Hallelujah! Finally!" Ukraine's reformist acting Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius tweeted moments after the vote. Shokin has been ensnared in a web of ugly charges that also cast a cloud over Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's commitment to the policy of clean hands he promised when elected in May 2014. His many detractors accused Shokin of failing to look into the reported theft of state funds by the deposed Russian-backed leadership. He is also accused of blocking probes into prosecutors fired after cash and diamonds were discovered in their homes. Shokin has also allegedly covered up the corrupt dealings of people close to the ruling regime. Poroshenko asked Shokin to quit in the face of mounting pressure during a rowdy February 16 parliament session that saw Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk survive a no-confidence vote. Shokin submitted his letter of resignation but did not go out without a fight. One of his final acts in office on Tuesday was to fire his deputy Davit Sakvarelidze -- a vocal critic who had called for his boss's dismissal. Shokin said he was removing Sakvarelidze "for grave violations of prosecutors' ethics and interference in the work of another prosecutor." Sakvarelidze retorted on Tuesday that Shokin's understanding of ethics involved "theft, corruption and a conspiracy of silence". Story continues - Stormy political future - Yatsenyuk's decision to cling on to his premiership post has created a new wave of uncertainty over the political stability of a nation already suffering from a nearly two-year conflict in the pro-Russian separatist east. Poroshenko last week again called on Yatsenyuk -- a fierce foe of Russia whose rumoured ties to powerful tycoons have seen his approval plummet -- to finally step down and for parliament to pick his successor during Tuesday's session. The president's party has already appointed parliament speaker Volodymyr Groysman to head the future cabinet. Nomura International strategist Timothy Ash said Groysman "did a reasonable job as speaker of parliament and has obviously built cross-party relations." But Ash added in an editorial published in the Kyiv Post on Thursday that he was "not sure that Groysman is an improvement on Yatsenyuk in terms of being able to build and sell a reform agenda." It is still not clear whether Yatsenyuk will eventually agree to resign. Parliament cannot try to oust the prime minister twice in the same session and Ash said that "presumably a deal has been done to move Yatsenyuk aside" and possibly give him Groysman's current post. The chamber's largest factions held separate consultations on Tuesday about what to do about Yatsenyuk and whether to keep the pro-Western ruling coalition intact. The president can call snap elections within a month should the ruling majority break up. Poroshenko would prefer to avoid that option because his own ratings have fallen along with Yatsenyuk's. But one of the leaders of the 2014 revolution now serving in parliament said Tuesday's coalition talks were deadlocked because each side was coming up with new demands. "I can say that today's talks have failed," the Ukrainska Pravda news site quoted Mustafa Nayyem as saying. Niamey (AFP) - Sixty-one people have died of meningitis since January in Niger, the United Nations said Tuesday, despite mass vaccinations to prevent a possible epidemic. A total of 736 cases have been officially recorded this year, the local branch of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, adding that children under four comprised 30 percent of the total cases. "From January 4 to March 13, 736 cases of meningitis have been recorded in Niger," OCHA said. These cases included 61 deaths. Thirty-five percent of the total cases involved children aged between five and 14, it said. The UN, along with medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has launched mass vaccination programmes in the affected areas, including the capital Niamey. The World Health Organization (WHO) had warned in December of a risk of fresh meningitis outbreaks in 2016 in Africa, particularly in Niger and Nigeria, which were both badly hit last year. The risk was deemed to be specially high in parts of Niger affected by the epidemic in 2015 where the vaccination of people was only partially completed. Between January and June last year, health authorities recorded 573 deaths and over 8,500 cases. By Rajendra Jadhav BELHE, India (Reuters) - A ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in India's richest state is threatening to push millions of farmers into penury, deepening distress in the countryside and fanning resentment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party. Slaughter of cows, considered sacred in Hinduism, has historically been banned in most states but was rarely enforced in India, the world's largest exporter of beef. But over the past year, states ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), such as Maharashtra, have broadened the ban to include other types of cattle, like bulls and bullocks, and Hindu vigilantes have stepped up attacks on traders to enforce the prohibition. The stricter rules come as Modi and the nationalist BJP lay greater stress on India's Hindu faith, to which the majority of the population belongs. Minority groups, including around 180 million Muslims, have expressed concern over the implications. The impact of the beef ban has been significant. Prices of cattle have fallen across the country, India's meat exports fell 13 percent in the April-December period and rival beef supplier Brazil is gaining from India's loss. It has also left millions of farmers, already reeling from bad harvests due to back-to-back droughts and unseasonal rains, struggling to sell animals they can no longer feed or water. "I wonder what the government wants - our survival or the cattle's?" said farmer Revaji Choudhary, standing next to a pair of bulls he has been trying to sell for weeks in a cattle market in Maharashtra. Traditionally, farmers have sold cattle in a drought year to butchers, mostly Muslims, and bought new ones when their earnings rise after monsoon showers. That cycle has been broken and could leave farmers with little money to buy seeds or fertilizer ahead of the next sowing season, starting in June. Farmer suicides have nearly doubled in the drought-hit Marathwada region of Maharashtra. TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN? Their predicament is causing concern within the BJP, which has been trying to bolster its credentials in the countryside, where most of India's 1.3 billion people live. Rural distress contributed to an embarrassing defeat for the party last year in a state election, and more state polls are due over the coming year. In the federal budget last month, Modi's government pledged nearly $13 billion on rural development, aiming to double farmer's incomes by 2022. Maharashtra BJP legislator Bhimrao Dhonde said the government's priority should be to support farmers, and they should be allowed to sell their cattle to whomever they want. "It is time to withdraw the ban," Dhonde told reporters. Madhu Chavan, a spokesman for the BJP in Maharashtra, said Dhonde's view did not reflect that of the party. "The party thinks the ban is necessary," he said, adding that more money would be made available to alleviate the effects of drought if needed. MILLIONS OF COWS Maharashtra, home to India's financial hub Mumbai, has been particularly badly hit by drought. In one district the government imposed rules that prevent assembly of more than five people around a water tanker or borewell to prevent riots. Cows and buffalos need 70 liters of water per day. Many farmers are simply abandoning their cattle. The state has opened hundreds of temporary shelters to house around 250,000 heads of cattle until their owners are ready to take them back, but experts say at least another 4 million animals need to be looked after in Maharashtra. Hindu groups such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) that had promised to build shelters said they, too, were short on cash and the government should do more. Laxmi Narayan Chandak, head of the Maharashtra unit of VHP's cow protection committee, said his organization has been able to start only one facility that holds 150 cattle. "Nearly 700,000 cows and bulls ... will starve to death or will be smuggled to slaughter houses. We have to save them," said Chandak. He added that only pure Indian breeds "that are worthy of worship" should be sheltered. Every Monday, hundreds of farmers like Choudhary travel to a weekly cattle market in Belhe village, around 200 km (124 miles) east of Mumbai, but with so few people buying, it is more in hope than expectation. Cattle prices in the state have fallen 40 percent to 60 percent. Choudhary, who earns around 200,000 Indian rupees ($3,000) in a good monsoon year, said he has incurred losses as his crops wilted due to drought. He paid 40,000 rupees for his pair of bulls a year ago, and is willing to sell them for 20,000 rupees now. He still cannot find a buyer. "We are forced to depend on tankers for drinking water. How can we supply water to cattle?" Choudhary asked. (Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Mike Collett-White) The unicorn wasn't a mythical creature, and a skull of the animal recently found in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan is shedding new light on how long ago it roamed the Earth. The Siberian unicorn, known as the Elasmotherium sibiricum, died out approximately 29,000 years ago, according to a study published in the American Journal of Applied Sciences. Elasmotherium sibiricum was originally thought to have become extinct about 350,000 years ago, and may have even crossed paths with humans. According to the Mother Nature Network, humans began spreading across Asia more than 50,000 years ago and could have ended up in Siberia around 35,000 years ago. In fact, actual sightings of the animal could be the reason behind the myth of the unicorn. "Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refugium, where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range," Andrey Shpanski, one of the researchers that discovered the skull, told Phys.org. "There is another possibility that it could migrate and dwell for a while in the more southern areas." First published restoration (1878) of E. sibiricum, by Rashevsky, under supervision of A.F. Brant Although the Siberian unicorn was discovered decades ago, early description of the creature describe the animal as more closely related to the rhinoceros than what we typically imagine unicorns to look like. According to Science Alert, the Siberian unicorn was about 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed somewhere around 8,000 pounds. "Our research makes adjustments in the understanding of the environmental conditions in the geologic time in general," Shpanski told Phys.org. "Understanding of the past allows us to make more accurate predictions about natural processes in the near future it also concerns climate change." Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court deadlocked Tuesday in a 4-4 decision that effectively affirms the right of public employee unions to collect mandatory fees from non-members in states that allow the practice. The court had been expected to rule against the unions before the death in February of conservative justice Antonin Scalia, underscoring the impact of a vacancy that the Republican-controlled Senate has refused to fill while Barack Obama is president. In split decisions, the lower court rulings stand -- in this case, favoring unions against a challenge to state laws that allow them to collect mandatory fees from non-members. "The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court," the court said, referring to the appellate court decision in a case brought by a group of California public school teachers. The teachers had argued that they should not be forced to pay dues to the state union that negotiates their collective contract. Under California law, non-unionized teachers at public schools cannot go it alone, the government having decided that negotiating with a single interlocutor is in the best interest of all. The system, upheld in a 1977 Supreme Court decision, has been adopted by more than 20 US states and has been consistently reaffirmed by the courts. Union membership in the United States has dropped since the late 1950s, leaving public sector unions as one of the last bastions of the American labor movement. Teachers, police and firefighters are the most highly unionized at about 35 percent, compared to about 11 percent for the rest of the country, according to 2014 data. - Oral arguments - In announcing Monday's split decision, the court -- as is the usual procedure -- did not say how each justice voted. But when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case January 12, it appeared to be headed for a 5-4 decision, with the court's conservatives outweighing its four liberal members. Scalia, as expected, expressed sympathy with the teachers' argument that the mandatory fees violated their constitutional rights to free speech. Story continues "The problem is that everything that is collectively bargained with the government is within the political sphere, almost by definition," he said. Scalia died suddenly a month later at age 79, opening a battle for control of a court long dominated by conservatives. Obama has nominated a respected centrist, Judge Merrick Garland, to replace Scalia. But Senate leader Mitch McConnell has been adamant that no Obama nominee will get a confirmation hearing or vote, insisting that the Supreme Court pick should be left to whoever wins the US presidential elections in November. The impasse means that split Supreme Court decisions could become the norm for a year or more, affecting a variety of hot button cases. These include cases involving abortion, immigration, birth control and affirmative action that are currently before the court. YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Pakistani authorities detained more than 5,000 suspects, then released most of them, in the two days since a suicide bomber hit a park in the eastern city of Lahore at Easter, killing at least 70 people, Armenpress reports, citing Reuters, a provincial minister said on Tuesday. Investigators were keeping 216 suspects in custody pending further investigation, said Rana Sanaullah, a state minister for Punjab province from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling party. "After further investigation we will know more about them," he said. "...If someone is found to be guilty they will be charged." Details of the sweeping raids - aimed at anyone suspected of Islamist extremism - came as the Taliban faction claiming responsibility for the attack issued a new threat on Tuesday, singling out the media. "Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani media," Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, tweeted. "We are just waiting for the appropriate time." The Easter bombing was Pakistan's deadliest attack since a 2014 school massacre claimed by the Taliban killed 134 students. Sunday's attack, which included 29 children among the dead, showed the militants can still cause carnage despite military raids on their northwestern strongholds. "Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home," tweeted Ehsan. "The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen." Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province and Sharif's political heartland. Sanaullah said at least 160 raids were carried out by a mixture of police, counter-terrorism and intelligence agents and confirmed that army and paramilitary forces would be used in future operations "This operation will include all law enforcement agencies," Sanaullah said. Military and government officials on Monday said that the military was preparing to launch a new paramilitary counter terrorism crackdown in Punjab. The move, which has not yet been formally announced, represents the civilian government once again granting special powers to the military to fight Islamist militants. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, which also previously declared loyalty to Islamic State, has carried out five major attacks in Pakistan since December. In a televised address to the nation on Monday night, Sharif vowed to continue pursuing militants. "I am here to renew a pledge that we are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest till it is paid," Sharif said. The government also announced that Sharif would be cancelling a planned trip to the United States to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, due to begin on Thursday. Pakistan's security agencies have long been accused of nurturing some Islamist militants to use for help in pursuing objectives in Afghanistan and against old rival India. In recent years, Pakistan has cracked down on movements that target its own citizens and institutions, including the Pakistani Taliban who are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Washington (AFP) - The United States issued awards Tuesday to 14 lawyers, activists, humanitarians and reformers said to represent "International Women of Courage." "Fourteen leaders, fourteen role models, fourteen women of courage, one crystal clear message," said Secretary of State John Kerry. "Don't accept the unacceptable or wait for someone else to step up. Act in the name of justice. Act in the name of tolerance. Act on behalf of truth." All but one of the honorees were able to attend the ceremony in Washington, an annual event that began in 2007 to encourage women's empowerment. Bangladeshi barrister Sara Hossain helped draft her country's laws on violence against women and has argued landmark rights cases before the supreme court. Debra Baptist-Estrada is commander of the immigration department at Belize's main airport and has worked with US officials against corruption and trafficking. Ni Yulan, a disabled Chinese property rights lawyer, was the only honoree not to receive her award in person, having been forbidden from traveling by her government. France's Latifa Ibn Ziaten became an activist promoting interfaith dialogue in 2012 after her soldier son was slain by Islamist extremist Mohamed Merah. Attorney General Thelma Aldana of Guatemala began her career as a courtroom janitor and has now brought corruption charges against the highest in the land. Nagham Nawzat Hasan is an Iraqi gynecologist and a member of the country's persecuted Yazidi minority. She works with girls kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants. Transgender rights advocate Nisha Ayub continues to work for justice despite being sexually abused after being sentenced to a men's prison for wearing women's clothing. Mauritania's first female attorney Fatimata M'baye was honored as co-founder and president of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights and fights slavery. Russian journalist Zhanna Nemtsova has braved death threats to campaign for justice for her father, former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, assassinated last year. Story continues Zuzana Stevulova, director of the Human Rights League of Slovakia, is the foremost champion of the rights of refugees flowing into Europe from war in the Middle East. Awadeya Mahmoud, founder of the Women's Food and Tea Sellers' Cooperative in Sudan has championed the rights of small businesswomen against authoritarian government Former BBC journalist Vicky Ntetema exposed the trade in the body parts of murdered albinos used in ritual magic amd now leads an NGO dedicated to ending it. Thai bookseller Rodjaraeg Wattanapanit has twice been sent to re-education camps by her country's military junta but still provides a space for political free expression. Nihal Naj Ali Al-Awlaqi, Yemen's minister of legal affairs, helped put women's rights in a draft constitution and is involved in talks to end her country's civil war. Next month, the honorees will tour US cities to meet American people and discuss their work to improve the lives of women and girls around the world. Washington (AFP) - The Pentagon and US State Department on Tuesday ordered families of US troops and civilian personnel stationed in southern Turkey to leave the region due to security fears. The order encompasses the city of Adana, where a US consulate and Incirlik air base are located, as well as Ismir and Mugla provinces. "This decision allows for the deliberate, safe return of family members from these areas due to continued security concerns in the region," the Pentagon said in a statement. The State Department also restricted official visits to Turkey "mission-critical" travel only. The Pentagon in September encouraged the families of troops and diplomats stationed in southern Turkey to leave the country, but there was no mandatory order. In addition to the ordered evacuations of family members, the United States also re-issued a travel warning to all Americans in Turkey. "The US Department of State warns US citizens of increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey and to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey," the State Department said. "Foreign and US tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organizations," it added, cautioning Americans to avoid areas close to the Syrian border. Fears of Islamic State jihadists staging fresh strikes are high following last week's attacks in Brussels. Incirlik has become a key base for the United States and the coalition it leads against IS fighters in Iraq and Syria. The strategically located facility provides coalition drones and warplanes fast access to IS targets across northern Syria and into Iraq. "We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism," US European Command head General Philip Breedlove said. Military officials said the order was prompted by "continued security concerns" rather than a specific threat. In all, 670 dependents of US military personnel -- as well as 287 pets -- were expected to evacuate. The US consulate in Adana will remain open as usual. Dar es Salaam (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday it was putting on hold a $472.8 million energy grant for Tanzania after the controversial re-run of elections in Zanzibar and the passing of a cybercrimes law. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government body that assists developing countries that commit to standards on democracy and basic rights, has "voted to suspend development" of the compact, US Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Childress said in a statement. The money was to be used to increase access to reliable electricity. The March 20 presidential and legislative elections on Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands were a re-run of October polls that were cancelled by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) over fraud allegations. The annulment came after opposition CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad declared himself the winner before the results were officially announced. In the re-run, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won 91.4 percent after the opposition boycotted the vote. Zanzibar's President Ali Mohamed Shein was sworn into office last week. The MCC criticised the "new election in Zanzibar that was neither inclusive nor representative" as well as saying that government "has also not taken measures to ensure freedom of expression and association are respected in the implementation of the Cybercrimes Act." Other US aid to Tanzania continues. "As Tanzania's largest bilateral development partner, we will continue our work together to improve health and education, promote economic growth, and advance security," Childress said. Istanbul (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to the United States for only the second visit of his presidency at a time when relations between the two key NATO allies are severely tested by widening differences over the Syria conflict and human rights. Erdogan, who became president in August 2014 after over a decade as premier, has yet to hold talks with President Barack Obama at the White House as head of state, and no such encounter is planned for this trip in a glaring symbol of the current troubles in relations. Turkish officials insist the main point of Erdogan's trip is to attend the March 31-April 1 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington and also open a vast Ottoman-style mosque in Maryland, a new statement of Turkey's desire to spread its cultural and religious influence abroad. The White House said Monday there were no plans for bilateral talks between Obama and Erdogan, who last visited the United States for the UN General Assembly in September 2014. Leaving for Washington Tuesday from Istanbul airport, Erdogan said he would meet Obama on the sidelines of the nuclear summit but indicated it was still open what form the encounter should take. A Turkish presidential statement did not even mention Obama but did say Erdogan would hold talks on the anti-terror fight following the Brussels attacks and those that rocked Istanbul and Ankara this month. According to the Hurriyet daily, Erdogan had wanted to open the new mosque in Maryland -- touted by Turkey as the only one in the United States with two minarets -- alongside Obama but the US leader had turned down the idea. - 'Relationship poisoned' - Turkey -- which joined NATO in 1952 as a US ally after staying neutral for almost all of World War II -- has long been seen as the key Muslim partner of the United States in the Middle East. But tensions have grown over the conflict in Syria, with Washington urging Turkey to do more to fight Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Ankara growing ever more frustrated over US backing for Kurdish fighters. Story continues Whereas defeating IS is the main priority for the US in Syria, Turkey's number one aim is the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, a prospect which has become less likely with the Russian intervention in his support. Meanwhile, Washington has been backing Kurdish Syrian fighters of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) as the best force in the fight against IS. But Turkey categorises the PYD as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has fought a decades-long insurrection against the Turkish state. "The relationship between the US and Turkey is strained generally because of the differing priorities of the two allies in Syria and more specifically due to their perceptions of the PYD," said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara Office Director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He told AFP that Turkey and the United States were "stepping on each other's toes" in Syria. "Until either or both of the sides revise their approach to PYD, the US-Turkey relationship will continue to be poisoned by this issue," he said. - 'Collapse of ties?' - Adding to the strains are US concerns over freedom of expression in Turkey under Erdogan, with tweets by the US embassy supporting prosecuted academics and journalists making ambassador John Bass a hate figure for hardliners. "We don't always agree on everything -- media freedom is one of them," said US State Department spokesman John Kirby. Meanwhile, the surprise arrest in the US last week of Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab who was implicated in a 2013 corruption scandal that also ensnared Erdogan's close circle, has been hailed by the president's foes. In a lacerating attack on US policy on Turkey, the editor-in-chief of the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper wrote Tuesday the Obama administration was putting the entire bilateral relationship at risk. Obama risks "being recorded in history as a failed president who oversaw the collapse of ties with Turkey," wrote Serdar Karagoz. As well as opening the mosque and hosting a dinner for business leaders, Erdogan will also meet with leaders of the US Jewish community, as Turkey seeks to repair its damaged ties with Israel. (Reuters) - Utah's governor on Monday signed a bill requiring doctors to administer anesthesia to women receiving an abortion at the 20th week of gestation, his office said. The bill, the first of its kind in the nation according to the Salt Lake Tribune, states that an anesthetic or analgesic will "eliminate or alleviate organic pain to the unborn child." "The governor is adamantly pro-life. He believes in not only erring on the side of life, but also minimizing any pain that may be caused to an unborn child," a spokesman for Republican Governor Gary Herbert said in a statement. Supporters of the bill and anti-abortion groups say that around the 20th week of pregnancy a fetus can feel physical pain, and anesthesia can eliminate discomfort. Reproductive health advocates, including Planned Parenthood of Utah, told the Tribune the position is scientifically unproven and lawmakers have inserted politics into a private medical matter. Under the new law, doctors performing abortions would be required to administer anesthesia to women seeking an elective abortion around 20 weeks. Previous state law gave women the choice whether or not to opt for anesthesia. Abortions are prohibited in Utah after the point when the fetus is viable, which is around 22 weeks. The law will not affect a large number of women, the Tribune reported, with 17 women in Utah receiving abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later in 2014, it said. Republican state Senator Curt Bramble, who sponsored the bill, had originally wanted to ban abortions after 20 weeks but was told the move would be unconstitutional, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in New York; Editing by Richard Pullin) Washington (AFP) - Chicago's mayor appointed a veteran African-American police officer Monday as the US city's interim top cop tasked with restoring confidence in the scandal-plagued force. Eddie Johnson replaces Interim Superintendent John Escalante, who took over after Superintendent Garry McCarthy was fired late last year following the release of video showing a white officer fatally shooting a black teenager, Laquan McDonald, in 2014. "I've worked with Eddie Johnson over the past five years and I believe he is the right person at the right time to serve as interim superintendent," Mayor Rahm Emanuel told a news conference. "He has the command, the character and the capabilities to lead the department at this critical junction." With more than a quarter of a century of experience, Johnson -- the force's chief of patrol -- enjoys the support of blacks and Hispanics in Chicago. But he has a large task ahead of him as he works to restore the reputation of the police force, which is the target of a federal civil rights probe prompted by McDonald's death. McDonald, who was holding a knife when he was shot, was gunned down in the middle of the street by police officer Jason Van Dyke who continued shooting after the 17-year-old fell to the ground. Emanuel, who has ties to President Barack Obama, faced protests and calls to resign over McDonald's death. He picked Johnson after rejecting three finalists sent to him by the city's police board, and, technically, it now has to carry out a new search, the Chicago Tribune reported. But there was a "strong indicator" that Johnson would be among the new finalists and get the job permanently, according to the newspaper. YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. President of Kazakhstan Nurslutan Nazarbayev signed a decree on appointing Ambassadors to Armenia, Brazil, Finland, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. As Armenpress reports, citing the official website of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan, Uruzayev Timur Bibitaliyevich was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Armenia. (Reuters) - Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday vetoed a Republican-backed bill aimed at blocking state funding for Planned Parenthood, which performs abortions and provides other health services. McAuliffe, a Democrat, said the bill passed by the Republican-dominated legislature would harm thousands of state residents who relied on Planned Parenthood for health care. "The fact is that Virginians, and particularly low-income Virginians, need more access to health care, not less," he said in a statement. Several states have sought to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood following the release of videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion group. Activists have said the videos showed that Planned Parenthood officials in some states had discussed the sale of aborted fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood has denied the accusations. President Barack Obama in January vetoed a effort by Congress to defund Planned Parenthood. (Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington) Photo: Digital Trends Late on Monday, the FBI announced that it had finally gained access to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farooks iPhone, effectively ending its month-long fight with Apple over unlocking the device. Though international debate about encryption is far from over, this leaves both sides in somewhat uncomfortable positions. The FBI looks a little silly for making this into a federal case, and Apples device security which has long been a selling point for its products has taken a very public hit. Below, a quick explainer of what happened, and how each of these powerful American institutions has emerged from this long and exhausting brawl. So wait, back up. What did the FBI do to get into the phone? Funny you ask thats the question that every tech journalist in the world wants to answer. Last week, less than 24 hours before the Justice Department was set to face off with Apple lawyers in court, investigators asked to postpone the hearing because they were approached by an outside party who offered to help them get into the device. Who that outside party is we do not know. But there are some pretty reasonable guesses. As Wired reported last week, the FBI has a sole source contract with the Israeli mobile forensic firm Cellebrite. Its website advertises that the companys hackers can extract data from locked iPhones running any version of iOS up to 8.4.1. Its possible that those forensic researchers could be exploiting a vulnerability that Apple has already patched in iOS 9. There are a few other theories that could explain the FBIs feat, but they get pretty deep in the technical weeds of how iOS stores memory. You can read about these theories here. A vulnerability in iOS? Thats worrying. Does the FBI have to tell Apple what that is? Technically, no. And its possible they have already signed a nondisclosure agreement with the outside party that helped them do it. If the FBI happens to take Apple to court over accessing a device again, its possible the details of this case could come up and become public information. Story continues How does Apple feel about all this? On a call with journalists last week, Apple lawyers acknowledged that the FBIs sudden discovery of a break-in method was always a possibility, and one Apple was willing to accept. Indeed, as the company has pointed out in court filings, it is constantly fighting to keep up with the latest security advancements, and patching known vulnerabilities. But any court order to weaken Apples systems, it argued, would make it significantly less secure, because that would make it more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals. Apple lawyers said they hoped the FBI would share its method for breaking into the device, but that there was no way to force it to do so. But lets face it: Even if the vulnerability that was exploited by the FBIs hired hackers has already been patched in later versions of iOS, the fact that law enforcement could get into Farooks phone makes Apples overall security look bad. And it further supports criticism from some cryptographers that Apple couldve done more to prevent the FBI from even requesting the access it wanted in the San Bernardino case in the first place. Even though the court case was dropped, Apple was definitely cut down in the eyes of the privacy community, and probably the public. Its also worth noting that the third party the FBI hired did not report whatever vulnerability it discovered in iOS to Apple. According to a report by the New York Times last week, that could possibly be because unlike most major tech companies, Apple does not offer large sums of money in exchange for finding security errors in its code. But why did the FBI go through all that legal drama if it couldve just taken more time to search for outside help? During the debates spurred by the San Bernardino court case, many privacy activists and members of Congress suggested the FBI simply wanted to set a legal precedent that gave it a court-mandated way to access encrypted information on the devices of terrorists and criminals. But, as Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Nate Cardozo told Yahoo News last week, it seems the government was taken by surprise by the strength of Apples opposition and the amount of support they were able to garner in both the tech community and the civil liberties community. In other words, if your court case is prompting journalists to ask President Obama what he thinks about a very controversial topic, youre probably doing something that could be embarrassing for your organization. I can imagine that the judge handling this case was not amused. Well, the federal magistrate assigned to the San Bernardino case is reportedly unfazed by unpredictable situations, even that time a plane crashed into her house in 2003 (no biggie). But the fact that the FBI repeatedly claimed it couldnt unlock Farooks phone without the help of Apple only to say, Whoops, never mind! We can! the day before a trial diminishes its argument in court. That is to say, any judge in any similar case in the future may be skeptical of those claims. The FBI lost a lot of legal credibility through this whole kerfuffle. Did anyone win? Hackers, maybe? Or, at least, discreet mobile forensic firms that are hired as private contractors by the government. And I would argue that the American people also won a small victory. An important and complicated issue pitting security and privacy interests against each other was debated pretty seriously in the public square. That may even push Congress to address the issue, however briefly. Do I have to look out for any more public legal battles like this in the future? Well, now that the FBI has learned its lesson, its likely to be much more secretive about any other access it pursues through third-party forensic labs. Consider the assertive tone of a statement released by a Justice Department spokesperson yesterday: It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails. We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors. Chances are, they wont be seeking the publics sympathy next time. Last month, Utah became the first state in the U.S. to have an online registry for white-collar crime offenders. The registry, which was approved by Utah legislature last year and has been online since mid-February, includes a recent photo of criminals convicted of second-degree felonies involving fraud in the last 10 years in Utah, similar to other criminal registries.* Although this information is already publicly available, Utahs Attorney General Sean Reyes said that the user-friendly nature of the database is an important tool for consumer protection, especially in light of the states financial vulnerability to a certain types of fraud known as affinity fraud. Why is Utah so particularly vulnerable to these sorts of schemes? The perpetrators of affinity fraud pray on groups with strong social ties, such as religious and ethnic communities. Usually, it involves a fraudster being, or pretending to be, a member of the group, and subsequently exploiting the trust of that community to run a Ponzi scheme. As Lisa Fairfax, a law professor at George Washington University, wrote, the scam is based on the premise that You can trust me because Im like you. It workswell. The most famous affinity-fraud case in recent years is that of Bernie Madoff, who scammed his (mainly Jewish) clients of nearly $50 billion dollars. Related Story Why Were So Many Madoff Victims Jewish? Although affinity-fraud cases in Utah arent on the scale of Madoffs, theyre not small-time either. Reyes says that estimated losses from affinity fraud in Utah adds up to hundreds of millions annually. Sixty percent of Utahs population is Mormon, which has made the state a prime target for religious-based affinity fraud. According to Reyes, This dynamic exists in Utah and people in our state are very trusting of each other. Trust is a positive characteristic that makes our communities in Utah very family and business friendly. But the downside of trust manifests itself when you trust the wrong people. Story continues Just last year, an insurance agent who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was charged with organizing a Ponzi scheme that allegedly cheated 700 people of $72 million. In 2010, fraud-victim losses in Utah topped $1 billion, with popular Ponzi schemes involving foreign currency trading, and commodities and real-estate investments. At the time, the FBI named Salt Lake City as one of the top five Ponzi hotspots in the country. The state has also been deemed one of the top places in the country for affinity fraud. Recommended: An Ethicist Reads "The Art of the Deal" Currently, the database has about 100 listings and is expected to grow to over 200 in the coming months. And since, according to one study, around half of white-collar criminals in the U.S. are repeat offenders, the registry is expected to help Utah residents identify previous offenders. Its also the states hope that the registry will provide an incentive for convicted fraudsters to comply with court orders and pay restitution in full, since those who do comply wont appear in the registry. But that hope might be in vain: According to The Wall Street Journal, the SEC has yet to collect more than half of the nearly $18 billion in sanctions from the last five years. Restitution (repayment of lost funds) is almost non-existent, Reyes explained over email. If we could raise restitution from less than one percent to even ten percent, it would represent millions of dollars back to citizens and the economy. If this kind of public shaming helps deter white-collar criminals, states that see a lot of Ponzi schemesincluding New York, Texas, and Californiamight consider such a measure as well. * This article originally misstated the launch date of Utah's white collar-crime registry. We regret the error. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. (Screenshot from ProTV) The Singaporean woman who was reported missing when she travelled to Romania to visit her Romanian boyfriend has returned to Singapore with him, together with his mother and hers. Cheryl Yap, 25, and her mother, Madam Foo Li Kheng, 61, left without a word in January and were uncontactable for 10 days, leaving Cheryls father worried that they had become victims of a scam. The two had been staying with Yaps boyfriend, Alexandru Donea, 18, and his parents in a commune called Vulturesti, about two and half hourss drive from Bucharest. Now, it looks like the Yaps are repaying their hospitality. According to media reports, Doneas mother, Aurelia, had posted a photo of her, her son and and their two guests in a mall, captioned, In Singapore with my daughter and son shopping! She had also posted pictures of roads and blocks of flats in Singapore. Yap and Donea met online through their mutual interest in Japanese anime and manga. In a previous interview with Romanian media, Yap said she went to Romania to work together on YouTube with Donea. A YouTube channel created by Donea features several anime music videos and has over 150,000 subscribers. Donea also said in earlier media reports that he hoped to marry Yap in one to two years time and emigrate to the United States. Paris (AFP) - Woody Allen's Hollywood love story "Cafe Society" will open the Cannes film festival in May, its organisers said Tuesday. The movie starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg tells the story of a young man who goes to Los Angeles in the 1930s in the hope of working in the film industry. The 80-year-old New Yorker has already opened Cannes -- the world's leading film festival -- twice with "Hollywood Ending" (2002) and "Midnight in Paris" (2011), his love letter to the French capital. The film will not be in competition for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, which Allen has never won. However, he will become the first director to have ever opened the festival three times. Allen has had a dozen of his films shown at the festival on the French Riviera since "Manhattan" in 1979, appearing in two of them as an actor. "Cafe Society", which also stars Parker Posey and Steve Carell, is being released by the Internet giant Amazon. According to the organisers, Eisenberg's character "falls in love and finds himself swept up in the vibrant (Hollywood) cafe society that defined the spirt of the age." Meanwhile, the cult Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki will be honoured with the Golden Carriage award at Cannes, the French Society of Film Directors said Tuesday. The famously lugubrious maker of "The Man Without a Past" and "I Hired a Contract Killer" twice boycotted the Oscars because of US foreign policy under former president George W Bush. The festival runs between May 11 and 22. By Marcus E. Howard NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's taxi authority plans new rules for drivers that will impose tougher penalties for sexually charged comments and contact with passengers amid growing concern about harassment. The Taxi and Limousine Commission, which licenses about 150,000 drivers of yellow cabs and other for-hire vehicles such as Uber [UBER.UL] and Lyft, wants to curb unwanted communication and touching as the number of drivers has significantly grown. The TLC said the regulations are meant to clear up any confusion about what defines sexual harassment as more drivers enter the industry. The behavior is already prohibited under a broad definition against threats, harassment or abuse, but the commission's goal is clear up any confusion about what defines sexual harassment said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg. The agency plans to debate the proposal at an April 21 meeting. "This rule amendment would provide clear definitions of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual contact, which would help TLC prosecution enforce its rules and protect our passengers," he said in a statement. The new rules would also ban drivers from commenting on the appearance and gender of their passengers, as well as expressing desire to enter into any relationship. Sexual harassment offenders, under the proposal, would face a $1,000 fine, three points on a driver's license and a 30-day suspension or revocation, while sexual contact would carry a $2,000 fine and a mandatory revocation. The number of for-hire drivers in the city increased by 40 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to TLC data. Meanwhile, complaints of all kinds rose by roughly 23 percent, from 17,000 to about 21,000. Sexual harassment complaints made up less than 1 percent of those complaints. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents taxi drivers, did not respond to requests for comment on the proposal. The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault praised the TLC's actions, but prodded the commission to go even further. Story continues "In order to really stop sexual assault and rape cases, drivers should receive more prevention training," said spokeswoman Min Um-Mandhyan. Earlier this month, two New York City council members introduced legislation that would require all ride-hailing drivers to undergo sexual assault prevention training. Ride-sharing services have been linked to several high-profile sex assault cases in the United States and abroad in recent years. (Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. On March 29, the Member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Member of the British Delegation to PACE Mark Pritchard, accompanied by the Armenia National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker, Head of the Armenias NA Delegation to PACE Hermine Naghdalyan and the NA MP, Member of the Armenian NA Delegation to PACE Naira Zohrabyan visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex and laid flowers at the 1915 Armenian Genocide Victims' Memorial and paid tribute to the memory of 1.5 million holy martyrs. Armenpress was informed from the Public Relations and Information Department of the Armenian National Assembly that member of the British delegation to PACE also visited the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and got acquainted with photos and documents proving the Armenian Genocide. Mark Pritchard also made a note in the Guests of honor book. LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will add 420 megawatts (MW) to its electricity grid this year due to new generation projects, almost halving the national deficit, the head of its investment agency said on Tuesday. Zambia's power shortfall has risen to 1,000 MW from 700 MW in November due to lower hydro generation as water levels have dropped because of drought. Zambia Development Agency Director General Patrick Chisanga said the 420 MW would come from a new 300 MW coal-fired power plant, and a 120 MW hydroelectric one. The first 60 MW units of the hydroelectric project were commissioned in December last year and rest in February, Chisanga said. "The 300 MW from the Maamba Collieries Coal fired Power Project will be made available in mid-year 2016," he told Reuters. Zambia was seeking investors to build additional thermal power plants to general 200 MW and negotiations with the developers would be concluded soon, Chisanga said. Another 55 MW thermal power plant due to come on stream early next year was under construction, while the government was looking for investors to build solar plants that would add 250 MW to the grid. "The idea is to have a good energy mix because we cannot just rely on hydropower, especially with the current drought," Chisanga said. The government was also upgrading several small hydropower stations to ease the electricity shortage, Chisanga said. Big hydro projects would add 3,000 MW to the grid by 2024, he added. (Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa and David Evans) YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Entry of any countrys goods to Armenia not complying with standards of European Economic Union (EAEU) is prohibited. Armenpress reports that this is the response of Vice Prime Minister, Armenian Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms Vache Gabrielyan to the question whether Russia tried to solve political issues against Ukraine through Armenia when the entry of Ukrainian chicken meat, not complying with standards of European Economic Union (EAEU), to Armenia was prohibited. On March 26 State Food Security Service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia shared a message according to which it has banned the import of 19800 kg of frozen chicken minced meat, as it does not fit in the standards of food security. Within the framework of border control the State Food Security Service sent the frozen chicken meat imported by Meat Import LLC from Ukraine for laboratory observation, which showed that the meat does not correspond with listeria benchmark defined by technical regulations on food security of the Eurasian Economic Union. Considering the abovementioned, the import was banned. YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. US East Coast newspaper Boston Globe refers to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's visit to Boston. As Armenpress reports, Boston Globe informs that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is visiting the city of Boston for the first time in a trip that coincides with the 25th anniversary year of the independence of the country. Sargsyan landed at Logan International Airport in the afternoon of March 29, said James Kalustian, president of the Armenian Heritage Foundation. People are very excited. Its an honor to have the president in Boston, Kalustian said on March 29. We have of one the oldest Armenian communities [and] one of the most well-organized and active communities, Kalustian said of Boston. Sargsyan began his visit on March 29 by making stops at churches in Watertown, and at the Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Cambridge. The Holy Trinity parish is honored to welcome the President of the Republic of Armenia ... to our parish, the church said in a posting on Facebook. The newspaper reports that Sargsyan attended a 9:30 a.m. Mass at the Old North Church, before participating in a wreath ceremony at the Armenian Heritage Park on the Rose Kennedy Greenway at 10:30 a.m. The event is open to the public. His official welcome will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the State House, in an event open to the public, where Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker will be there to greet him. Leaders around the world are recognizing that Boston is a world class city, and a global leader in the innovation economy, Walsh said in a statement Monday. I am proud to welcome President Sargsyan to showcase our city. It is planned that Serzh Sargsyan will visit the Armenian Heritage Park where he will lay a wreath at the monument to mark the 25th anniversary of Armenia's independence. For the rest of his visit, Sargsyan also will give talks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Government Transparency Advocates Celebrate Sunshine Week Rhode Islands lawmakers are considering legislation to live-stream public meetings, which would revise that states Open Meetings Act. to live-stream public meetings, which would revise that states Open Meetings Act. The California Senate introduced a bill that would restore public access to some records of police misconduct and use of force. that would restore public access to some records of police misconduct and use of force. The Poynter Institute, a leader in global journalism, posted a series of articles to commemorate Sunshine Week, highlighting the nations need for government entities to comply with open records laws. Toolkit, Reporting Package, and Idea Bank The sun shines on the government for at least 1 week each year. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information, its website states . Groups marking the occasion, held March 1319, included the news media, lawmakers, civic organizations, libraries, nonprofits, and schools interested in the publics right to know. Originating in Florida in 2002, this annual celebration features creative workshops, events, and other initiatives held throughout the nation to promote greater government transparency. For example, the following are some groups acting in the spirit of Sunshine Week The free Sunshine Week toolkit was designed to inspire journalists, bloggers, civic organizations, schools, and government officials in planning effective Sunshine Week events. It has links to opinion columns and editorial cartoons, a sample proclamation for state and local governments, and a webpage for students and educators to use when learning and teaching about open government (including lesson plans, activities, and other resources). The Sunshine Week site also has a 2016 reporting package of stories, columns, photos, and graphics for use by journalists around the nation. There is a list of questions for journalists to pose to candidates for federal office concerning transparent policing, accountable law enforcement, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), communications surveillance transparency, secrecy surrounding drone strikes, electronic records management, whistleblowers, open government collaboration (between the government and nongovernmental organizations), and campaign finance. The Idea Bank suggests open governments themes such as audits of compliance with records laws, reviews of government websites, reviews of proposed open government laws, spotlights on local heroes, the demystification of public records, and the role that the freedom of information plays in reporting and the community. Celebrations Across the Nation Sunshine Weeks website lists the events that were held across the country during the celebration (you can also use #SunshineWeek to find events). Although it remains a district without voting representation in Congress, Washington, D.C., enthusiastically embraced Sunshine Week. The following sections offer a roundup of events that took place in the nations capital earlier this month. National Freedom of Information Day Conference On March 11, the Newseum Institutes First Amendment Center joined with OpenTheGovernment.org, the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), Sunshine Week, and the American Library Association (ALA) to host the National Freedom of Information Day Conference, where they addressed transparency in government, open records, and freedom of information laws and practices. After a brief introduction about the work of OGIS (Office of Government Information Services) by its director, James Holzer, a panel of speakers discussed FOIA from the governments perspective. Moderator Tom Susman, director of the American Bar Associations Government Affairs Office, was joined by former FOIA government officials from various federal agencies. The panelists noted how far the nation (and the public) has come in terms of proactive disclosures, such as for government spending and contracting. Finally, the panel wondered whether, during confirmation hearings for the next administration, we can ask, What is your commitment to transparency in government? During the second session of the day, Your Right to Know, Your Vote! Caucus on the Top 2017 Policy Priorities, panelists argued why an issue they promote should be the top priority in an incoming administration. The issues were national security transparency, whistleblower protections, money in politics and disclosures of political contributions, and policing transparency. Declaring FOIA essential to our democracy, Adam Marshall, a fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (a sponsor of Sunshine Week), presented the audience with a litany of what must be done to bolster FOIA, including the following actions: Reform FOIA exemptions, particularly (b)(5): Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandum or letters. As commercial requesters overwhelm agencies, requests made by citizens, local community groups, and journalists suffer. Legislators can increase fees for commercial requesters or create separate lanes for processing. Overhaul how agencies store and retrieve records, with the default being electronic. We need a public interest balancing test, shorter sunsets for privileges (12 years), and (b)(7) reform (records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes). ALA president Sari Feldman presented the 2016 James Madison Award to Seamus Kraft, executive director and co-founder of The OpenGov Foundation. It develops software, events, and coalitions that push governments across the country to be more accessible and responsive. (Krafts acceptance speech is available on YouTube.) National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame inductees this year included Miriam Nisbet (founding director of OGIS and former ALA legal counsel) and Cori Zarek (senior advisor for open government at the Office of Science and Technology Policy). Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, gave the luncheon keynote address (via video). The afternoon session provided a report on the Associated Press (AP) Sunshine Week project. The panelists covered a range of blocks and burdens they (and others) face when filing FOIA requests and what news organizations are doing to support their own journalists, including awareness training and legal services for startups, new media, and freelance journalists. The day ended with a performance of FOIA Love: A Comedy Show About Public Records. D.C. Open Government Coalition On March 15, the D.C. Open Government Coalition hosted a program at the National Press Club that began with a conversation with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser about the importance of open government at the municipal level. It also featured experts from government and civic organizations discussing the recently introduced Strengthening Transparency and Open Access to Government Amendment Act of 2016, an omnibus transparency bill that would make important improvements to the District of Columbia FOIA and the Open Meetings Act, as well as strengthen the Office of Open Government. Police say several leads in Mahabirs kidnapping This was the only information Senior Superintendent Jason Forde of the Central Division was able to share yesterday about the ongoing investigations into Mahabirs abduction. Mahabir, 26, was snatched from his Pittiman Trace, Mc- Bean Village home. Police investigators remain tight-lipped about the status of the investigation except to say that inquiries were still ongoing in the case. Today is the seventh day since Mahabir was taken from his home at Sonny Ladoo Trace, by two men in a silver- coloured Nissan Tiida motor car. The men bundled Mahabir into the car and sped off, but the vehicle was later intercepted by police officers of the Rapid Response Unit in California. The three occupants of the car were taken in custody and the car has been impounded. Asked about a news report that there had been new leads in the police investigation, Forde said that there were several leads which the police were following but investigations are still ongoing. Meanwhile, Mahabirs distraught fianc?e, Shereeza Mohammed, in a brief telephone interview yesterday, said that the family has not heard anything new about the case. A total of 73 students are enrolled at Mahabirs private school where he taught Secondary Entrance Assessment, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination classes. He is a graduate of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). TT blocks ducks from Suriname Gerard van den Bergh, the chief executive of De Doksenclub, a duck farm outside the capital, Paramaribo, says he has gone to great lengths and considerable expense to satisfy the demands of the Trinidad Ministry of Agriculture, but every time Suriname complies with a request from the Ministry another obstacle is put in his way that holds up the import license. De Doksenclub is the only certified duck farm in the Caribbean, he says. We have ISO 22000. This is described on the ISO website as a Food Safety Management System that can be applied to any organisation in the food chain, farm to fork. Despite this internationally recognised certificate of good practice and hygiene, the Trinidad authorities have repeatedly refused an import license for the ducks from Suriname. There was a time last year when we thought we had been given the all-clear and had a container loaded and ready to go, Mr van den Bergh says. Then at the last minute there was a phone call from Trinidad and it was all off again. De Doksenclub works with Muscovy ducks, the breed favoured by the majority of the catering industry, and has the capability of supplying not just Surinames demand but that of the Trinidad market. On the farm there are raised floors in the cages, which allow the ducks to walk on a clean, dry surface while their droppings fall through to the real floor below. Improvements have been carried out to satisfy the TT requirements. Outside, the areas around the sides of the cages are dry even in the rainy season, as they have been altered to drain into special ditches. Twice a day the ducks water consumption is checked as an indicator of their health, since a drop in consumption would indicate health problems. There are gates installed within the property, and a reception post with accommodation for a full-time security guard at the entrance to the farm, all done at TTs request. The hatching house, where eggs are incubated, is a clinical environment of state-ofthe- art machines, their pristine white doors and walls flanked with computer screens detailing conditions inside. The slaughter space is clean, with a new ceiling, as required by Trinidad. The ducks are slaughtered in the halal way, and not on a mechanical line. This is all in addition to the regular monthly checks made by the Suriname Inspectorate authorities, including laboratory testing of the duck droppings, Mr van den Bergh says. We use the top-rated feed imported from Holland and the eggs are from France. We are producing a top quality product which can certainly benefit the catering industry in Trinidad and Tobago while providing a reliable source of food within the Caricom region. No decision yet on Chaguanas North students The students were relocated to the Couva West Secondary School for the past two weeks, away from the general school population, until school closed for the Easter vacation last Thursday. The students were assessed in various areas of their personal life, and their levels of literacy was examined in an effort to ascertain whether that has been responsible for their behaviour. They were also supposed to be assessed at their level of emotional stability to find out the cause of their behaviour. Although 20 out of 30 students who were termed as problem students were supposed to be assessed at the school, only eight of them turned up. Education Minister Anthony Garcia had stated that the other students were over the age of 16, and were therefore not obligated to attend the programme arranged by the Education Ministry . Yesterday, Garcia said he had not yet received a report on the assessment of the students. Persons from the Students Support Services (SSS) Unit were supposed to be in the school up to last week. As you know school closed last Thursday. I have not received a report as yet, but when I go to the office tomorrow I would inquire about it. Right now I really do not have any information. The plan was to actually reassess at the end of this term to determine what is the next move, but I have not been informed on that as yet, but I hope to get that tomorrow, Garcia told Newsday. What you need to know about the Octagon Art Festival on Sunday in Ames news YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Serzh Srasgyan, being on working visit in the United States of America, continues to meet in Massachusetts with local Armenian structures of significant role and weight, community figures as well as with provincial government representatives of pro-Armenian activities and other friends of the Armenian people. As Armenpress was informed from the Department of Mass Media and Public Relations of the Armenian Presidents Staff that Armenia President visited Old North Church on March 29. Holy Liturgy was served by the participation of Episcopal priest Stephen T. Ayres and Armenian priests. The mentioned church was the first that still in the 18th century gave an opportunity to the Armenians immigrating to the US to serve a Liturgy out of its walls. Built in 1723 in the northern area of Boston, the mentioned church is the oldest church building of the city. Serzh Sargsyans visit to the Old North Church, which has a significant impact on American Revolution, aims at paying tribute to one of the symbols of independence of USA and appreciating the kindly treatment of the mentioned church and essentially English church. Next, Serzh Sargsyan visited the Armenian Heritage Park, which was founded in memory of thevictims of the Armenian Genocide, and the other genocides followed it, as well as to celebrate the great contribution of American Armenians and other expatriate communities who have found shelter in Boston and Massachusetts. Armenian President, accompanied by Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick who made a great contribution to the foundation of the park, Boston City Hall representatives, political figures and others, walked through the city park, where the Armenian Heritage Park Is located. Sargsyan also visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial, laid a wreath and paid tribute to the Armenian Genocide victims. At the end of the visit to the park, Armenian President paid tribute at a monument to victims of the Holocaust. Other meetings are scheduled within the framework of the working visit of the Armenian President on March 29. Mass execution ahead for drug offenders in Iran Around 100 prisoners in Iran have been informed that they need to prepare to be executed for drug related crimes, including marijuana offences. Iran routinely slaughters narcotics offenders. More than 1 800 people were executed between 2010 and 2014, including foreign nationals over drug-related charges, most of them without access to proper legal representation. Many of these hangings are based on unfair trials and forced confessions. The main victims appear to be innocent scapegoats or vulnerable people, desperate for money, who have been used as drug mules. Iran has a policy of carrying out mass hangings, and the international outcry has done nothing to stem the executions, in fact, they seem to be on the increase. Ghezel Hessar prison, located on the outskirts of Tehran, is one of Irans largest and most notorious correctional facilities. Mahmood Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, maintains that those who are informed of the decision to proceed with executions are located in an area in the prison that is devoted to drug offenders. Moghaddam, revealed on 11 March 2016, that sources inside and outside Ghezel Hessar prison, including a prosecutor attached to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Court, confirmed that the inmates were told that the countrys Supreme Court had upheld their sentences, and that they should prepare to be put to death. Last May, dozens of prisoners sentenced to death gathered in a prison yard at Ghezel Hessar and peacefully petitioned the state to commute their punishment to life in prison. According to Moghaddam, right after that gathering, the head of the prison said, We will execute all of you. After that they started the killings and every few days they executed groups of 11 to 17 people. What are the laws in Iran regarding cannabis? The laws are confusing, to say the least. Cannabis is allowed to be cultivated and indeed, with a history of cannabis use that goes back thousands of years, a large percentage of the population continues to use cannabis in the traditional manner, for livestock feed and hemp seeds. However, the present regime has been clamping down on drug trafficking because of the increase in heroin and opium addiction rates. When it comes to cannabis laws, possession and marijuana cultivation in small quantities is almost completely decriminalised, but dealing and trafficking is harshly punished. Dealing and trafficking in amounts larger than five kilograms is punishable by death. Quantities of fifty grams or even less is punishable by up to fifty lashes. Cultivating cannabis for the purpose of producing drugs is banned. For a first offence, one can expect a fine, second offence fines plus 30 70 lashes, a third offence will earn one fine, lashes and a 2 5 year prison term and a fourth offence will incur the death penalty. Sources: Newsvice.com Sensiseeds.com Submit a correction >> Terrorists are winning: European women being told not to go in public without male escorts, just like in Muslim countries Historically, Europeans, like Americans, are a tolerant bunch, but their patience is wearing thin as their leaders disregard common sense and public safety, in their rush to out-liberal each other and see who can admit more cultural opposites from the Middle East and North Africa. So bad have the mounting incidents of sexual abuse committed by migrants against European and other women become, that the latter are being told that they should not go out in public in their own countries without male escorts. As reported by the U.K.s Daily Mail, security officials in a number of EU countries that have taken in scores of migrants are growing more concerned by the rising number of sexual assaults, often by gangs of migrants, as they seem to be spreading across the continent. Serial rape and sexual abuse Two of the latest EU countries to issue such warnings, the paper noted, were Finland and Sweden, the latter of which is experiencing a rising scandal stemming from police failing to report sexual assaults at one of the countrys top music festival events for the past two years. Authorities in both countries have advised women to be aware of the threat of sex attacks. The police chief in Vienna, Austria, meanwhile, has advised women not to go outside alone, the Daily Mail reported. Warnings were issued as reports emerged that German and Austrian police attempted to hide the soaring numbers of migrant-related sexual assaults, over fears of reprisals against them, and potential damage to their respective tourist trades (meaning theyd rather tourists got raped and abused then warn them to look out for themselves). In recent days scores of arrests finally have been made in connection with sexual assaults across the continent. Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Finland are some of the countries that have allowed migrants to essentially remain free to assault women, the Daily Mail noted in a graphic: Germany: Multiple arrests stemming from sexual assaults in at least five cities, including Cologne; Finland: Police are warning of coordinated migrant sexual assaults in Helsinki; Austria: Police here have been accused of covering up sexual assaults, until recent reports in local media forced them to admit the problem, prompting a rebuke from the countrys prime minister the same one who approved the open-all-doors-to-migrants policy in the first place; Sweden: Women have been groped and robbed by migrant mobs in Kalmar, as locals stock up on firearms to defend themselves and their homes; Switzerland: Six females reported being gang-assaulted and raped on New Years Eve in Zurich. Police in Finland reported being tipped off about plans by groups of refugees and migrants to sexually harass many women, following an unusually large number of sex attacks in the capital. Worst disrespect in 30 years There hasnt been this kind of harassment on previous New Years Eves or other occasions for that matter This is a completely new phenomenon in Helsinki, said deputy police chief Ilkka Koskimaki, as reported by the Daily Mail. In Germany, authorities are looking into some 150-plus cases of sexual abuse and assault in five cities, where women claimed to have been attacked by organized Arab or North African gangs, authorities said. Cologne was the epicenter, however, with 106 cases of assault by migrant gangs reported there since New Years. In fact, following widespread criticism of the way his officers handled the violence in Cologne, the police chief Wolfgang Albers, 60 has been relieved of his duties. He was informed of the decision that he was essentially being retired early, by State Interior Minister, Ralf Jaeger , according to Reuters and cited by the Daily Mail. Victims of such attacks are also beginning to speak out about them publicly, and local shops selling pepper spray since most EU countries forbid public carrying of firearms report running out of supplies. Officers in Cologne who were attempting to regain control of the city center reported they were openly mocked by the mostly migrant, male crowds. One said it was the worst level of disrespect hed seen in his 30-year career. Sources: DailyMail.co.uk Newsmax.com Submit a correction >> YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will have a bilateral meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a visit to Washington this week, but a senior U.S. official declined to say whether formal talks with President Barack Obama were planned,Armenpress reports citing Reuters. Erdogan will be among more than 50 world leaders attending a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31 and April 1. There has been intense speculation in the Turkish media as to whether he would meet Obama, with some suggesting a failure to do so would be a deliberate U.S. snub amid differences over Syria and U.S. concerns over the direction of Turkey's domestic policies. At a press conference in Istanbul before leaving for the United States earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan said a meeting with Obama at the nuclear summit was planned, although he said he did not know how long it would last. Biden's office later said the vice president would host Erdoganfor a meeting on March 31 in Washington. A senior U.S. administration official said Obama and Erdogan"will have the opportunity to talk at the summit" but did not have any scheduling updates. Before that, The Wall Street Journal reported that Obama refused a private meeting with the Turkish president. School students message of Water conservation and Pollution control of rivers says Uma Bharti New Delhi, Tue, 29 Mar 2016 NI Wire School students can play a major role in spreading the message of Water conservation and Pollution control of rivers says Uma Bharti Sixth National Painting Competition on Water conservation and Pollution concludes Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti has said that school students can play a major role in spreading the message of water conservation and pollution control of rivers. Speaking at the sixth National Painting Competition on Water Conservation and Pollution held in New Delhi today the Minister said painting competitions on water conservation bring out innovative ideas for depicting the water stressed situation of our country and various possible solutions for judicious water management including its conservation and prevention of contamination. The Minister expressed her happiness at the wide range of innovative ideas expressed through the paintings by the young children, which, she said would guide the Ministry in taking appropriate action for ensuring safe and sustainable water for the future. She said the beautiful ideas presented by the children in their painting will motivate others in conservation and judicious utilisation of water. The Minister said Conservation of water, which is important to all of us, needs to become a way of life for children so that they grow up as water literate and water conscious citizens. Sushri Bharti expressed the hope that the students taking part in the competition will be instrumental in spreading the message of conservation and judicious management of water in their schools, communities and society at large. She called upon the students, their parents as well as teachers to join hands in creating public awareness on water conservation and protection of water resources. The Minister presented first prize of Rs. 50,000 to Kumari Ayesha Patanaik (Odisha), Two second prizes of Rs. 25, 000 each to Master Suraj Chaudhari (Goa) and Master V Hemchandran (Puducherry) and three third prizes of Rs. 10,000 each to Kumari Bidipta Deb (Tripura), Kumari G Emora Mercy (Tamil Nadu) and Kumari Neha Sharma (Haryana). The Minister also presented consolation prizes of Rs. 5,000 each to another 24 participants. The National Painting Competition is organised annually by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for the students of class VI, VII and VIII as part of the information, education and communication schemes of the Ministry. The competition which is being held annually since 2010, is held in three stages i.e. School, State and National level. This year, more than 14 lakh students from about 17,000 schools in the country participated in the school level painting competitions with the theme Care for Water Secure the Future. Out of these, 50 students shortlisted by experts from each State/UT were invited to participate in the State level painting competitions organised during January 2016, mostly along banks of rivers on the theme Protect Ground Water and Rivers form Pollution. First prize winner from every state participated in todays National Level Competition. Special Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr Amarjit Singh and Chairman, CGWB, Shri KB Biswas also spoke on the occasion. Source: PIB Baidus FaceYou app lets you add all sorts of spooky effects or animal characteristics to a digital image of your face. Face You makes use of an AI technique called deep learning to automatically identify key points on a persons face, so that software can then position and stretch a virtual mask with amazing accuracy. Deep learning is driving a lot more than just goofy apps at Baidu, though. It is making existing products smarter and helping the companys engineers dream up many entirely new ideas. Baidu is Chinas most successful Internet business: over 92 percent of the countrys more than 536 million Internet search users employ its portal services and mobile apps. And it continues to grow. In the past year it has moved into new areas, including music streaming, insurance, and banking. Baidus AI team created deep-learning platform called Paddle that engineers in other departments could use. And researchers from the institute are often embedded within other departments. As a result, deep learning has been used to improve Baidus antivirus filters and to predict when a hard drive in one of the companys giant server farms will fail, among other things. AI, in the form of deep learning, has already helped improve key Baidu products, including the core search algorithm, by making image search far more accurate. And it has increased the accuracy of the companys voice recognition engine, which enables voice search as well as a relatively new voice-controlled personal assistant called DuEr. Speech technology could be especially important to Baidus future in China, as it offers a more elegant way of using a mobile device than entering Chinese characters on a tiny screen. Any company with a lot of data should seriously consider deep learning, Ng says. It is a superpower that turns huge amounts of data into huge amounts of value. SOURCES Baidu Research, MIT Technology Review Today, Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) and IBM announced the development of a new Scale-up Synaptic Supercomputer (NS16e) that highly integrates 16 TrueNorth Chips in a 44 array to deliver 16 million neurons and 256 million synapses. LLNL will also receive an end-to-end software ecosystem that consists of a simulator; a programming language; an integrated programming environment; a library of algorithms as well as applications; firmware; tools for composing neural networks for deep learning; a teaching curriculum; and cloud enablement. The $1 million computer has 16 IBM microprocessors designed to mimic the way the brain works. IBM says it will be five to seven years before TrueNorth sees widespread commercial use, but the Lawrence Livermore test is a big step in that direction. Like the human brain, TrueNorth doesnt burn a lot of energy. A server chip typically consumes upward of 150 watts; 16 TrueNorth chips, just 2.5 watts. Qualcomm is working on a similar chip called Zeroth. Microsoft researchers are experimenting with programmable processors designed to work with the companys Bing search engine. Not Found The requested URL was not found on this server. Apache Server Port 80 YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (ES) of the Republic of Armenia (RA), on March 29 by 20.00 all state and interstate highways in the Republic are mainly passable. Black ice is formed on Sotk-Karvachar highway and Vardenyats Pass,Armenpress was informed from the official website of the Armenian Ministry of ES. As the department of ES of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of The Republic of Georgia informs Stepantsminda-Larsi roadway is closed for all types of vehicles. According to Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi, "We'll continue to keep Windows 10 secure and sustain our strong privacy standards". In December previous year Microsoft already announced it made an agreement with a Chinese technology company to start sales of a Windows 10 version "optimized" for the Chinese government. Since it was introduced, Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 10 has been getting vast support worldwide. It will also "collect feedback from these government customers on their specific use requirements to inform the creation of the successive updates of the government Windows 10 image, which may be developed by the joint organization". Obama Picks White Judge As Apex Court Nominee Several Republicans in Congress who represent Central Texas are not happy about President Obama's Supreme Court pick. McConnell argued that Obama had nominated Garland precisely for the objective of politicizing the nomination. China is one of the few countries, that strictly complies with censorship guidelines, making new businesses hard to launch their products in the market. Microsoft just finished the special version of Windows 10 it built for the Chinese government, which takes out some consumer apps while adding more security controls. In an Interview, Microsoft China CEO, Raulph Haupter explained how they created the special edition in partnership with the China's Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC). While the world recognizes it as Windows 10, it is officially christened Zhuangongban in China. Reports coming from local media reveal that Microsoft's new Windows 10 version is called Zhuangongban, which stands for "Specially-Provided Edition", which perfectly underlines the objective of this new Windows 10 SKU. It would seem that applications have been removed and that the administration options and security controls have been reinforced. Personal Income and Consumption Rose Slightly in February The personal spending report showed the price index tied to consumer purchases fell 0.1 percent in February from the prior month. The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for February of 2016 was up by 1.7% from February of 2015. All said and done, this special edition of Windows gives administrators greater power and freedom to track a user's activity. So in other words it does not phone home to Microsoft as much as the western version does either. Many Windows users - including myself - have reported unwanted Windows 10 upgrades and misleading upgrade prompts in recent weeks. TB is a communicable, airborne infection that can lie dormant within the body for many years. For people with compromised immunity, TB develops into a disease that destroys organ tissue most commonly in the lungs. It can be fatal if left untreated. About 30,000 people are newly infected with TB every year and there are increasing incidences of drug-resistant strains and limited access to adequate healthcare. WITH one of the highest tuberculosis (TB) infection rates in the world, Papua New Guineas TB pandemic is referred to by national health authorities as a national emergency. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the global fatality rate for TB was greatly reduced through the administration of rigorous antibiotic treatment. However, the development of antibiotic resistance has led to the rise of two aggressive strains of the disease. The incidence of both Multidrug-Resistant TB and Extensively Drug Resistant TB in PNG has increased at an alarming rate. These drug resistant strains are less susceptible to treatment by even the most effective TB medication. Thus, patients are left with a more severe strain of infection and less effective treatment options. Health professionals have been particularly concerned about the island of Daru where 160 of the 15,000 inhabitants are infected with drug-resistant TB - the highest infection rate in the world. It is believed that a unique strain of drug-resistant TB has developed here. Professor Brendan Crabb of Australias Burnett Institute said factors such as minimal health care, poor housing and poor nutrition may have contributed to the fast spread of this unique strain. According to the PNG Institute for Medical Research, many remotely-situated TB sufferers die of the disease without ever receiving a formal diagnosis. Furthermore, only 50% of those infected with TB have access to adequate treatment. Government commitment is vital for tackling the pandemic. The World Health Organization has urged the PNG government to maintain a sense of urgency in their emergency response efforts. Georgia Eccles is a Science and Development Studies student at the Australian National University in Canberra Only two minutes after I had listed a dresser online for sale, someone was interested. I was ecstatic that the dresser would not only be off our hands, but wed get a little cash besides and in such short time. The buyer must have been searching for dressers for months, I thought, judging by We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. A police officer carries out an anti-terrorism raid following attacks in Brussels. Photo: PATRIK STOLLARZ Over the weekend, Belgian officials made three arrests in connection to Tuesdays bombings, but at least one suspect was released today in what the New York Times reports was probably a case of mistaken identity. Faycal Cheffou, a citizen journalist who reportedly has a history of advocating for radical Islamist causes, was identified by a taxi driver as the man in the white coat and dark hat seen in surveillance footage wheeling a luggage trolley through Zaventem airport. But police released Cheffou Monday, saying theres insufficient evidence to connect him to the attacks. The evidence that had led to the arrest of the man named Faycal C. was not substantiated by the evolution of the ongoing investigation, Thierry Werts, a spokesperson for the federal prosecutor, said in a statement. Consequently, he has been freed by the investigative judge. But just because hes free doesnt mean the charges against him have been dropped, another spokesperson pointed out. Were not saying that hes innocent. That we do not do, Eric Van der Sijpt, the second spokesperson, told the Times. Its that hes no longer needed in prison. But there are two different things. Preventative custody has nothing to do with the actual investigations or the charges brought. Manhunt resumes for Brussels airport attack suspect https://t.co/dz9VtgOfUF pic.twitter.com/XQKpR8IG9p FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) March 29, 2016 Cheffous arrest was a big break for Belgian authorities whove been criticized for missing opportunities to stop the attack before it happened he was the only suspected bomber still alive after the attack. Upon Cheffous release, Belgian authorities will continue to search for the man seen alongside Khalid and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui at Zaventem. Its getting harder every day to image Trump and Cruz kissing and making up. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Periodically during this most fractious of Republican nominating contests, the fear of a total party rift and/or a third-party candidacy has spurred party elders and conservative media to insist on a loyalty pledge committing the candidates to mutual support after the deal finally goes down. The issue first arose last summer when fears of a Trump indie bid led to formal loyalty pledge demands by certain state parties prior to certification of primary candidacies; he signed a pledge on September 3. It was revived during a March 2 debate in Detroit when all of the surviving candidates repeated their vows to support the nominee after an evening of uninhibited insults exchanged between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz on one side and Trump on the other. At the time it seemed the renewal of vows in Detroit showed the marriage between the candidates and the GOP could survive just about anything. But then the mutual abuse got a whole lot worse. No matter where, exactly, you lay the blame in the wild exchange of insults between Trump and Cruz over their wives, and then over the National Enquirers claims of serial adultery by Cruz (which the Texan blames entirely on Trump and his minions), the language has reached a new low. Trump now routinely refers to Cruz as Lying Ted Cruz, as though thats his universally acknowledged nickname. Cruz has now called Trump a sniveling coward and a rodent. And yes, there are new questions as to whether the loyalty pledge is again in jeopardy, and not just from Trump and Cruz, but from the third remaining GOP candidate as well, as RealClearPolitics Rebecca Berg reports: [A]s it looks increasingly possible that the nominee will in fact be Trump, the remaining candidates are beginning to waver in their promised support as they grapple with personal misgivings and mounting pressure to disavow the celebrity businessman outright. Were going to look at it every single day, and well see what happens, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. Weve got a long way to go. Last week, as Sen. Ted Cruz attacked Trump as a sniveling coward for attacks on his wife, he was less emphatic when asked whether he could support Trump in a general election. Donald Trump will not be the nominee, Cruz said simply. It wasnt a no, but it wasnt a yes, either. It marked a notable departure from Cruzs remarks just two weeks ago, when he assured reporters he still planned to back the partys nominee. Period. Its probably worth noting that there are no more candidate debates planned where the contenders can be simultaneously coerced into repeating their loyalty pledges. Now, its possible that the passage of time has reduced the urgency of the loyalty pledge, as the likelihood of a sore loser being able to launch a viable third-party or independent candidacy declines. But there remains the little problem of a Republican National Convention, which if contested will already be a nightmare of confusion and conflict in the absence of a putative nominee to make decisions. If it concludes not with unity gestures but with the losers issuing still more insults and threats, the GOP is going to get off to an extraordinarily bad start in its general-election campaign. If the candidates somehow manage to pull back from the gates of delirium and endorse the nominee (realistically either Trump or Cruz, unless party elites want to risk a massive backlash by wresting the nomination away from both of them in favor of a dark horse or of Kasich), there will be something of a credibility problem. And moreover, such a gesture would require a rationalization involving the comparative evils of the Democratic foe that will make prior attacks on Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders look like a game of patty-cake. Exactly what would Cruz have to say about Democrats to justify support for a sniveling coward? And exactly how could Trump frame the endorsement of a congenital liar and nasty man? These are not questions past losing nomination candidates have had to answer. Dont wag your finger at me in that tone of voice. Photo: Scott Olson/2016 Getty Images They dont even call each other anymore. As the Democratic primary enters its final lap, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are drifting farther apart: When Clinton won Nevada back in February, Sanders called to congratulate her. After she won Arizona last week, he didnt bother picking up the phone. Clinton, who tipped her cap to Sanders after his victory in New Hampshire, chose not to ring the senator after his trio of victories this weekend. Okay, so the drama in the Democratic primary doesnt hold a candle to the GOPs Jerry Springer meets Triumph of the Will freakshow. Nonetheless, things are getting tense. Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that Sanders was looking to sharpen attacks on Clinton ahead of New Yorks April primary. Meanwhile, Politico noted that the campaigns had grown more bitter, suspending the little niceties, like congratulatory phone calls, which form the foundation for an eventual reconciliation. On Monday, the rival campaigns turned the races bitterness up to 11 (on a scale from 0 to 20). First, Sanders campaign senior adviser Tad Devine called Clinton a weak front-runner. Shes emerged as a weak front-runner, her grasp now on the nomination is almost entirely on the basis of victories in states where Bernie did not compete, Devine told reporters in a conference call. Those eight states where we didnt compete principally on Super Tuesday resulted in almost all of her pledged delegate advantage right now. Devines claim is basically right, so long as you ignore that: 1. Sanders campaigned in many of the eight states he lost on Super Tuesday. 2. Hillary Clinton won Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Florida, etc., etc. The Clinton campaign, along with most of the political press, chose not to ignore those facts. You cannot lose if you do not play, @taddevine Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 28, 2016 I seem to recall them campaigning quite a bit in Texas, I seem to recall them campaigning quite a bit in South Carolina, senior Clinton strategist Joel Benenson said in a separate conference call. Meanwhile, Sanderss pollster Ben Tulchin explained that superdelegates would soon join the political revolution en masse, because of the mounting evidence that the Vermont senator is a superior general election candidate. Bernie is seen as uniquely honest and trustworthy among all the presidential candidates, particularly compared to Trump and Clinton, Tulchin told Business Insider. If you look at all three candidates Bernie, Trump, and Hillary Clinton Bernie is seen as very much honest and trustworthy by voters, while Trump and Clinton are not seen as trustworthy. The Clinton campaign was not pleased with its candidate being likened to a misogynistic pseudo-fascist. This is a man who said hed never run a negative ad ever. Hes now running them. Theyre planning to run more, Benenson told CNN. When asked about Sanderss request for a debate ahead of New Yorks primary, Benenson adopted the attitude of a parent whose child has just asked to eat ice-cream before dinner. Lets see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said he was going to set early on. If he does that, then well talk about debates, he said. Benenson went on to tell reporters that Bernie Sanders would campaign like a Brooklynite in New York, while Hillary Clinton would campaign like a senator. In context, Benenson was merely highlighting each candidates ties to the region Sanders from his childhood borough, Clinton from her time in public office. But amid all the criticism over campaign tactics, initial reports of Benensons quote were widely interpreted as an insult against Sanders and the good people of Kings County. It also launched a thousand hipster jokes. Benenson says Sanders is going to campaign like a "Brooklynite." He's from Queens, so maybe this is some outer borough rivalry thing Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) March 28, 2016 Nobody from Queens, and I mean nobody, has ever used "does something like a Brooklynite" as a compliment. Be real. Karol Markowicz (@karol) March 28, 2016 "Campaigning like a Brooklynite," Sanders shows up to Williamsburg, purchases Momofuku and scores LCD Soundsystem tickets Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) March 28, 2016 Its true that Sanderss campaign has grown more confrontational in recent days, even as Clinton has been striking a conciliatory tone. But this disparity says less about the nature of each campaign than it does about the state of the race. At this point, Clinton needs only 43 percent of the remaining pledged delegates to go into the convention with a majority. Even if she fails to hit that mark, so long as she keeps her superdelegates from jumping ship, shed still secure the nomination by winning (roughly) a third of the remaining vote. At this point, alienating Sanderss supporters is a far greater risk to Clinton than losing the nomination. Thus, a nice, polite little race is in her interest. Sanders, by contrast, needs to engineer a historic come-from-behind victory in the state that Clinton served as senator for eight years. There is simply no way to close a double-digit deficit without attacking the front-runner. Still, over the weekend Sanders reminded supporters that its absolutely imperative to keep a Republican out of the Oval Office. Eventually, the party will unify; Bernie and Hillary will kiss and make-up but not before polls close in the Empire State. Governor McCrory is deeply concerned that were putting political correctness over basic etiquette. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/2015 Getty Images Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio have found something they both can agree on. Theres been some bad blood between New Yorks governor and New York Citys mayor in recent months, but on Monday, they both issued bans on nonessential government travel to North Carolina to protest the anti-LGBT measure rushed into law last week. In New York, we believe that all people regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation deserve the same rights and protections under the eyes of the law, Cuomo said in a statement. From Stonewall to marriage equality, our state has been a beacon of hope and equality for the LGBT community, and we will not stand idly by as misguided legislation replicates the discrimination of the past. As long as there is a law in North Carolina that creates the grounds for discrimination against LGBT people, I am barring non-essential state travel to that state. The governor and mayor issued similar travel bans last year when Indiana passed a law allowing businesses to refuse service to the LGBT community on religious grounds. Those bans were lifted when Indiana modified the law. New York joins a growing list of governments and businesses opposed to the North Carolina law, which requires transgender people to use public facilities that match the sex on their birth certificates and blocks local municipalities from passing nondiscrimination ordinances. The mayors of San Francisco and Seattle have suspended travel to the state too, and the companies PayPal, IBM, Dow Chemical, Biogen, Apple, Google, and Facebook have all voiced their opposition to the law. Claiming that the law is discriminatory, on Monday morning, three individuals, the ACLU of North Carolina, and Equality North Carolina filed a lawsuit challenging the law in federal court. By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment and explicitly writing discrimination against transgender people into state law, H.B. 2 violates the most basic guarantees of equal treatment and the U.S. Constitution, the suit argues. North Carolina governor Pat McCrory dismissed the complaints as political theater and accused left-wing activists of a calculated smear campaign, claiming theyre blackmailing local businesses into opposing the law. When asked about transgender people who say they do not feel safe using bathrooms that dont match their gender identity, McCrory told NBC News, You know, we all have to make adjustments in life. And weve had the proper etiquette situation for decades in our country, and all of a sudden through political correctness were throwing away basic etiquette. He added that he does empathize with transgender people, but said at the same time, it doesnt mean everyone else should have to compromise a well established etiquette of men in mens restrooms and showers and locker rooms. An EgyptAir Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked on March 29, 2016. Photo: George Michael/AFP/Getty Images Hours after a man announced that he was wrapped in explosives, diverted an EgyptAir flight to Cyprus, and held several people hostage while demanding to speak to his Cypriot ex-wife, authorities have apprehended the suspect and freed all aboard, according to NBC News. The plane was heading from Alexandria to Cairo, when the hijacker, whom authorities identify as Seif Eldin Mustafa, told the pilot he was wearing an explosive belt and demanded the plane be redirected to Turkey or Cyprus. The Airbus A320 landed in Larnaca, Cyprus, at 7:50 a.m. local time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Cyprus has confirmed the suspects arrest. Negotiations quickly secured the release of all but four of the flights passengers. The number of passengers originally onboard has been variously reported as 55 and 81. Regardless, the hijacker detained those unlucky few, along with much of the flights crew, while demanding that local authorities put him in contact with his ex-wife, according to NBC. The hijacker reportedly asked for asylum, and struck negotiators as an unstable personality. Map showing route of hijacked Egyptian airliner diverted to #Cyprus - four foreigners and crew still being held @AFP pic.twitter.com/lJsn6rtvde Nick Morrison (@nj_morrison) March 29, 2016 Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not something that has to do with terrorism. Nonetheless, the incident adds to concerns about the safety of air travel in Egypt. In October, a Russian passenger jet came down over the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people. ISIS claimed responsibility, and Russia eventually concluded that a bomb took down the plane. Who are the strongest general-election candidates? Numbers, and theories, differ. Photo: George Frey/Getty Images; Ralph Freso/Getty Images; Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Conventional Republicans have a lot of beefs with Donald Trump that range from charges of ideological heresy to fears that a President Trump would permanently damage U.S. global prestige. But as he gets closer and closer to the number of bound delegates necessary to lock down the presidential nomination, anti-Trump forces in the GOP are focusing more and more heavily on a more practical objection: Hes a sure general-election loser. Similarly, as Bernie Sanders gnaws away at Hillary Clintons big lead in pledged delegates for the Democratic nomination, his camp is anticipating the argument it will have to make to the hundreds of superdelegates who have earlier announced support for Clinton. In part it will be based on the argument that the pledged-delegate winner represents the will of the party base. But perhaps the louder argument and the sole argument for Sanders if he falls short of Clinton in the pledged-delegate count will be that polls show Sanders as a stronger general-election candidate. In other words, electability is about to become a big and unavoidable issue in both parties presidential nominating contests as they move toward an omega point this spring and summer. Its importance will be accentuated by the growing sense that this is truly a high-stakes election that will have large and immediate policy implications on a host of international and domestic issues. But the debate will be confounded by varying assessments of what is likely to happen in November with different candidates at the top of the ticket. The most obvious yardstick is the general-election trial heat, which is a feature of many national (and a few state) polls. The winnowing of the GOP field has made this data much easier to follow, and the polls pretty consistently (and despite the candidates contrary assertions) show Donald Trump trailing both Democrats by (usually) double-digit margins. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is pretty consistently running ahead of Hillary Clinton. In the RealClearPolitics polling averages, Sanders is leading Cruz by 8 percent and Kasich by one percent. Clinton leads Cruz by 3 percent and trails Kasich by 7 percent. Unsurprisingly, general-election trial heats figure prominently in Republican anti-Trump messaging. And the numbers do cause Trump who famously cites his intra-party polling numbers constantly some heartburn. Meanwhile, Team Sanders is citing its candidates general-election polling advantage over Clinton not just because it is appealing to electability-focused Democrats, but because it directly contradicts the informal but widely spread elite view that Bernie could become the worst-performing Democratic nominee since Walter Mondale. There is a consensus among political scientists and data journalists that really early general-election trial heats are not terribly meaningful. But how early is too early? Harry Enten of FiveThirtyEight argues that you should ignore general-election polls until after the conventions, which is when voters begin to think seriously about such choices and the candidates are beginning to make their electorate-wide appeals. On the other hand, general-election preferences are more stable than primary preferences, making big departures from the norm (e.g., Trumps poor numbers) potentially significant. Are the smaller Clinton/Sanders differences worth taking to the bank? Truth is, polling data is often secondary in electability arguments. Scratch the surface and youll usually discover a broader hypothesis. Belief in Clinton and Kasich as the strongest general-election candidates reflects the traditional median voter theorem, which holds that candidates perceived as closer to the political center will, all other things being equal, perform better in a competitive general election. In Clintons case, those who believe that despite the current data shes more electable than Sanders stress her long-term exposure to conservative demonization and figure Bernies general-election numbers would look worse than hers once the right-wing noise machine has had a chance to hammer away at the 74-year-old socialist with a mile-long congressional voting record on the left-most fringe of American politics. Meanwhile, despite being at opposite ends of the general-election data, Sanders and Trump rely on similarly unconventional theories of how they will win a general election. Both camps argue their champion will mobilize and bring over to his party marginal, discouraged voters left cold by centrist politicians. Ted Cruz has a narrower but parallel electability claim that tens of millions of conservative Evangelical voters will show up on his behalf in November. Now, under any of these theories, the polling data should at some point converge with reality, but when that has happened is obviously going to be a question people answer according to their underlying beliefs. Will a Clinton superdelegate who thinks Bernie Sanders is the new George McGovern be swayed by a June poll showing him running a few points better than HRC? Probably not. And its equally unlikely a Trump delegate in Cleveland facing a second ballot is going to defect over some negative general-election trial heats; Trump has, after all, defied expectations repeatedly, right? No matter what the numbers show, people on this or that team are more likely to use, abuse, and ignore them according to the teams needs. And the rest of us, who are trying to discern objective reality, will probably have to wait until the fall to find out which numbers were relevant after all. How dare Hillary Clinton politicize politics. Photo: Justin Sullivan/2016 Getty Images Hillary Clinton isnt the first to speak out against Senate Republicans unprecedented refusal to confirm or, in many cases, to even meet with President Obamas Supreme Court nominee. In a speech at the University of Wisconsin on Monday, Clinton echoed the sentiments of many Democratic lawmakers when she called on Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to step up and do his job and hold a hearing for Merrick Garland, whom Obama nominated in March. In response, Republicans criticized her for politicizing the already-political nomination process. In her speech, Clinton used Grassleys own words against him: He says we should wait for a new president because, and I quote, The American people shouldnt be denied a voice. Well, as one of the more than 65 million Americans who voted to re-elect Barack Obama, Id say my voice is being ignored. She also linked GOP obstruction to the rise of candidates who suggest things like banning all Muslims from the United States. The same obstructionism that weve seen from Republicans since the beginning of the Obama administration, the same disregard for the rule of law [has] given rise to the extremist candidacies of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, she said. What the Republicans have sown with their extremist tactics, they are now reaping with Donald Trumps candidacy. In response to Clintons speech, GOP lawmakers criticized her for politicizing the courts. If Hillary Clinton is criticizing you, you must be doing something right, Adam Brandon, the chief executive of a tea party advocacy group, told the New York Times, adding that, the Senate is performing its constitutional responsibility in blocking Obamas nomination. For his part, Grassley accused Clinton of using the Supreme Court issue to distract from her shortcomings. I see a person who has recently been badly defeated in three states for the nomination, he said. I see a person that the FBI is getting ready to question her about the emails and about the Clinton Foundation, and shes trying to change the story to something else. Since Senate Republicans announced they would refuse to consider any candidate nominated by Obama for the Supreme Court, theyve insisted their stance is based on constitutional precedent rather than politics. And as recently as yesterday, Grassley said there has been broad consideration that when you have a lame duck president, during the last year the appointment should go over to a new president. But the deepening ideological gulf between Republicans and Democrats makes the next Supreme Court justice an inherently political issue. Many Americans now see the court through a partisan lens, and as Ed Kilgore writes in New York, Scalias replacement, if and when confirmed, could represent the definitive triumph of one vision of the Constitution over another. Clinton appears to be using that possibility to her advantage. Her remarks indicate shes looking ahead to the general election, using the frightening possibility of Trumps Supreme Court pick to drum up support. Because the court itself might be presumed impartial, but the people who choose the court sure arent. Japans Yoshihide Suga just doesnt get The Donald. Photo: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO Yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the world leaders hes spoken to are shocked by some of the rhetoric in the 2016 presidential campaign, and it seems Donald Trumps foreign-policy proposals, which he outlined at length to the New York Times, did nothing to reassure them. In his interview with the Times, Trump said Americas alliances with countries like Japan and South Korea are too expensive. Instead of relying on American troops, which costs the U.S. money, Trump suggested these countries build up their own nuclear arsenals. Evidently, Trump did not run this idea by Japanese and South Korean leaders before proposing it. According to the Washington Post, officials and newspapers from both countries responded to Trumps remarks with confusion at best and derision at worst. We are dumbfounded at such myopic views of a leading candidate in the U.S. presidential race who tries to approach such critical issues only from the perspective of expenses, JoongAng Ilbo, one of South Koreas biggest newspapers, wrote in an editorial. Another paper, Hankyoreh, urged the South Korean government to express its firm opposition to Trumps foreign policy plan, which constitutes a threat to security on the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for South Koreas defense ministry told the Post that there would be no change in diplomatic relations with the U.S. Tokyos chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, assured the Post that whoever becomes president of the United States, the Japan-U.S. alliance, based on a bilateral security agreement, will remain the core of Japans diplomacy. He went on, We will adhere to our three principles that prohibit Japan from owning, developing and transporting a nuclear arsenal. Saudi Arabia has yet to respond to Trumps take the oil proposal, and theres no word from China regarding Trumps plan to cut off Chinese access to American markets. At this rate, by the time the Republican National Convention rolls around, the United States wont have any allies left. THIS PATRIOT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED AT THE RNC. Photo: Whitney Curtis/Getty Images This years Republican National Convention figures to be the most contentious GOP gathering in a generation. The party is sharply divided between those who see Donald Trump as Ronald Reagan, only smuttier, and those who see him as a Mussolini, only more short-fingered. Trump has already predicted that there will be riots if things dont go his way. The city of Cleveland has purchased 2,000 sets of crowd-control gear. Meanwhile, ISIS-inspired terrorists continue to take innocent lives all across the world and knockout-gamers hide in the shadows of every American city. And yet President Obamas Secret Service has decided to put RNC attendees in even greater danger: On Monday night, the agency announced that it would not allow any civilians to exercise their Second Amendment rights inside Quicken Loans Arena, turning the convention into a perilous gun-free zone. Only authorized law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with the Secret Service for a particular event may carry a firearm inside of the protected site, Secret Service spokesperson Kevin Dye told NBC News in an emailed statement. Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event. The announcement came after 46,000 patriots (and, apparently, some irony-loving liberals) signed a Change.org petition calling on Quicken Loans Arena to RECOGNIZE OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO OPEN CARRY FIREARMS AT THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION. The petition highlighted the Republican presidential fields staunch opposition to gun-free zones. Donald Trump said I will get rid of gun-free zones on schoolsyou haveand on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first dayyou know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? Thats bait. (Jan. 8. 2016) Ted Cruz has accurately pointed out shooting after shooting after shooting happens in so called gun-free zones. He continued, look, if youre a lunatic aint nothing better then having a bunch of targets you know that are going to be unarmed. (Dec. 4, 2015) And Ohio Governor John Kasich has been a leader in this movement to eliminate deadly gun-free zones starting with his brave decision to fight the Democrats and end gun-free zones at National Guard facilities in Ohio. (Dec. 18, 2015) Shockingly, CBS News reports that this petition wasnt started by a heartfelt libertarian but, rather, by a smug Constitution-hater who thought he was being clever. If they cant live in accordance with the policies they impose upon us, they owe us that rational conversation, Jim, a.k.a. the Hyperationalist, told CBS. I thought, How do we square how unsafe theyre going to be with what they say makes them safe? Jim may be a condescending gun-control-lover, but at least he started an important conversation about how the Obama administration is forcing the Republican Party to endanger its own supporters. Irony has its uses. Republicans straining to accept Ted Cruz need to get a load of his fiery paternal speaking surrogate. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images As the options for nominating someone other than Donald Trump have diminished, a lot of Republican Establishment types are beginning to join their conservative-movement friends in or near the camp of Senator Ted Cruz. Most of them really dislike the guy, if only because they think hes too smart to believe the demagogic attacks hes used to torment congressional Republican leaders. Many also no doubt think hes got some serious electability issues. Still, with Lindsey Graham leading the way, they are coming around. But you have to imagine this conversation happening more than once: ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICAN: Okay, Im ready to climb on board and maybe bring some friends and donors along. But I do have one question. CRUZ OPERATIVE: What would that be? Were not talking Cabinet posts or ambassadorships just yet, though well be glad to record your preferences. ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICAN: No, thats not it. CRUZ OPERATIVE: Is it the 54 million evangelicals who sat out 2012 thing? Hes stopped saying that. ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICAN: God, I had forgotten about that one! No, thats not it, either. I know this is kind of sensitive, but is there any chance Ted could send his father on a fact-finding mission to Paraguay or something between now and November? Without question, the Reverend Rafael Cruz is a bit much to swallow for anyone struggling to digest his son as an acceptably mainstream Republican candidate for president. Throughout Teds political career, Rafael has made it clear (and had countless opportunities to make it clear as Teds preferred speaking surrogate) that he raised the boy to become the divinely appointed instrument for the redemption of his adopted country from the godless baby-killing Marxists controlling American government and certainly the secular-socialist Democrat Party. And now the fiery septuagenarian is at it again, as reported by Miranda Blue of RightWingWatch: One more liberal justice with that way of thinking and we will lose our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, Cruz said on Breitbarts SiriusXM program. And think back in history: Every dictator that has taken the guns away from the population has used them against the population. Cruz also repeated his claim that the American public education system is being used by communists to indoctrinate children into an anti-Christian worldview. What has happened in America is that we have believed this lie of separation of church and state, which is not in the Constitution, is not in the Declaration, Cruz said. The total opposite is true. He went on to say that this all changed when the Humanist Manifesto, an ominous document, was signed in 1933, leading to immorality and chaos and secular humanism. He then repeated his claim that John Dewey, the public education reformer and signer of the Humanist Manifesto was a member of the American Communist Party. (Dewey was in fact an avowed anti-Communist.) All of this, he said, has led to the Common Core educational standards brainwashing public school students with an anti-Christian worldview in an attempt to secularize America. Ol Rafaels conviction that America was born a theocracy isnt terribly surprising, since the father of that particular lie, pseudo-historian David Barton, is the coordinator for Ted Cruzs super-PACs. The Common-Core-as-anti-Christian thing is really nuts, since Common Core was originally the product of a marriage between big business and virtually every U.S. governor. If Ted Cruz is going to be sanitized for mainstream Republicans and swing voters before and (if hes successful) after Cleveland, somebody needs to convince his father that the odds of him having the opportunity to rant and rave in the White House are significantly reduced every time he opens his mouth during his sons campaign. The senator has enough of his own words to eat without a heaping helping of his fathers. Lewandowski and Trump. Photo: Charlie Neibergall While the political world was stunned this morning that Donald Trumps campaign manager was charged with battery for grabbing a female Breitbart reporter, Trump has known for days that Lewandowski faced the possibility of criminal charges. During a dinner at Mar-a-Lago last Thursday, Trump told Paul Manafort, the campaigns new delegate strategist, that Corey has his own problems. I got him a lawyer. Its unclear if Trump is paying Lewandowskis legal bills, as he suggested he might for a white supporter who punched a black protester in the face. Whatever the case, Lewandowskis legal bills are likely going to be hefty. Hes being represented by a pair of powerhouse Florida attorneys, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach and Kendall Coffey of Miami. After news of Lewandowskis arrest broke, Trump tweeted a supportive message: Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016 Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks declined to comment. Lewandowski didnt return a call for comment. Shouts of re-vote and resign interrupted a legislative hearing Monday on Maricopa Countys election day debacle as incensed voters voiced anger, distrust and calls for reform. One man was later arrested by state Department of Public Safety officers Many registered voters said that they felt disenfranchised by a voting process that left them standing in line for hours and prevented some from casting a ballot in the presidential preference election even though they had been a registered Democrat or Republican for years. I was robbed of my vote, said one speaker at the House Election Committee hearing at the state capitol. This is the rape and murder of our democracy. The crowd applauded, as they did repeatedly on Monday to mark their agreement with speakers who called for elected officials to be held accountable for cutting polling places from 200 four years ago to only 60 last Tuesday. County Recorder Helen Purcell drew the most ire, even as she apologized to the committee. I made a mistake, she said. Youre asking us to trust the very same people that created this mess to come back in May and fix it, Randy Perez told the committee. Audience members yelled that Purcell is incompetent over her testimony, and many turned their backs to the county recorder. The dissatisfied crowd asked for her to resign from her elected position. The crowd of protesters packed into three rooms in the Arizona State House building and more overflowed into the hall as they waited to share their election story. Time after time, people spoke for their allotted two minutes to tell their story. There was the woman who said she and her daughter stood in line. Her daughter planned to vote as a Democrat but her party affiliation had been changed to Independent. There was a man who walked with a cane and said people who are disabled struggled to stay in the long line. There was the voter registration advocate who spoke of the woman who had served her country as a soldier, registered with a designated party and still was denied a vote. Secretary of State Michele Reagan acknowledged to the committee that registered voters showed up in the database with the wrong party affiliation. Reagan also apologized to voters that are frustrated and angry. She blamed several technological difficulties for the voting disaster including a polling place locator that was not working properly and an online system that voters could use to check registration before showing up at the polls that did not accept lower case numbers when drivers license numbers are entered. The angry crowd booed and jeered as Reagan spoke. Many protesters are asking for a re-vote that would resolve the issues at the polls since many registers voters could not participate in the election. Committee members listened and asked questions of their own during the 3 -hour hearing, including whether saving money was a valid reason to cut back on polling places. In the end, though, no resolutions or solutions were reached and the hearing was adjourned without everyone who wanted to speak getting a chance to do so. Some of those at the hearing then went to the House gallery. Several Department of Public Safety officers surrounded one person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and dreadlocks, according to witnesses. The man, whom state officials did not identify, was asked to leave multiple times by the sergeant-at-arms, according to Arizona state trooper D.M. Curtis. Curtis said the man was arrested and accused of trespassing after he continued to yell in the gallery and wouldnt obey DPS demands to leave. We completely support anybodys First Amendment rights, Curtis said. Its when the sergeant-at-arms says to remove somebody, we have to then step in and remove them from the property. Janet Higgins of Gilbert saw the incident differently, saying the officers had no reason to arrest the protester. He was sitting quietly in the gallery when four or five police officers took him to the ground right there in the gallery, Higgins said. They held him on the floor for over five minutes. The former smart money candidate for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination takes the ony real option Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images; Gerardo Mora/Getty Images Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker obviously isnt going to be the Republican presidential nominee this year (unless the convention in Cleveland gets so weird that the partys looking not only for a compromise dark horse but the most boring one available). But he did win the Tim Pawlenty Award for the top on-paper candidate who folded long before the voting began. Actually, Walker made it all the way to mid-September, while, in 2012, Pawlenty crashed and burned in August. But otherwise there were some similarities: two Midwestern governors too low-key for their own good, offering themselves as an acceptable compromise between hard-core conservatives and the GOP Establishment. They both quit early when the money ran out (though thats a bit like saying we all ultimately die of heart failure), but the bigger problem was that neither developed a core constituency. Walkers distinctive shortcoming was that his whole appeal revolved around his successful record of battling unions in Wisconsin and still overcoming a recall initiative and winning reelection. Turns out this was not a year for demonstrating much of anything in public office other than hatred of other people in public office. This is why Republicans are almost certainly going to be ultimately choosing between one guy whos never been in public office and another whos had a booming three years of experience mostly spent trying to stop or reverse what little was getting done before he arrived. For a while there, it looked like Walker was going to be the favored candidate of conservative evangelicals at a time when there were signs the old Christian-right formula of choosing the loudest and proudest cultural reactionary had finally run its course. Unfortunately for him, the nominating contest began in the one place Iowa where the old formula still worked, so its somewhat fitting that hes now endorsing the candidate it worked for, Ted Cruz. But you have to figure Walkers endorsing Cruz for the more prosaic reason that Cruz is significantly less likely than Donald Trump to pull down the whole Republican ticket and not only snuff out the career of Senator Ron Johnson but endanger GOP control of the Wisconsin legislature, which would discomfit Walker personally and also mess up his legacy as the governor who moved his state party to the right and still kept winning. Hes still under 50, and could well have future opportunities to win or transcend the Pawlenty Award. Photo: AE Pictures Inc./Getty Images No one likes to talk about terminal illness, but the stigma surrounding this subject is being punctured a bit by a growing realization: In the U.S. these sorts of tragic situations are exacerbated by a lack of planning beforehand, unnecessary medical procedures and associated discomfort, and less important a great deal of expense that does little or nothing to improve outcomes. We do death worse than a lot of other wealthy countries. How can we improve this? One answer has to do with where people who are dying spend their final hours and days. Theres a growing pile of evidence suggesting its better to die at home, where youre more likely to be surrounded by friends and family and be relatively comfortable, and less likely to be subjected to pointless invasive medical interventions. This is an area where there havent been a great deal of large, careful studies, though, which is why a Japanese one just published in the journal Cancer is so important. (There isnt yet a link up, but Ill add one once it is.) A large team of Japanese researchers led by Jun Hamano of the University of Tsukuba examined the records of 2,069 patients who died of cancer 1,607 in the hospital and 462 at home. They were curious whether this would make a difference for survival time, measured from when they were first referred to the hospital in question for treatment. To the best of our knowledge, the authors write, this is the first large-scale, prospective, multicenter study asking this question. And its an important question to ask: If patients who spend their final days in a hospital live longer, after all, it would complicate the argument that dying at home is a preferable outcome: Different patients and families might have different opinions on whether an extra, say, ten days is worth a little more pain, potentially invasive procedures to extend life, and so on. What the researchers found, though, was that patients who died at home actually lived longer, or at least as long, as patients who died in the hospital. This has important ramifications for medical decision-makers in terms of how they frame the options available to patients and their families: The finding suggests that an oncologist should not hesitate to refer patients for home-based palliative care simply because less medical treatment may be provided. Importantly, the authors highlight two factors that could account for the fact that staying in a hospital didnt increase survival time: Those who died in the hospital were given significantly more parenteral hydration (IV drips to keep them hydrated) and antibiotics. Neither treatment seemed to impact survival time, which tells a familiar story of hospitals doing procedures that might seem effective but that dont actually extend patient life. This was a study that took place only in Japan, so it could be the case that things work differently in the U.S. or elsewhere. Still, we have a trend on our hands here: Most of the evidence on end-of-life care seems to be pointing in the same direction, which is that deaths in nonhospital settings, when feasible, offer better outcomes. Not that this is an easy thing to discuss. Finding something to hang on the wall that isnt a poster of The Starry Night can be a daunting task. There are just a lot of options out there. Which is why we asked members of our esteemed art department to suggest one piece (plus, in some cases, a few honorable mentions) that they fully stand behind. Below are the Nicolas Cage Polaroids and Amish quilts thatll look great above the sofa. Chris Cristiano, Deputy Art Director Running Horses by Kevin Russ Society6 is a great resource for inexpensive prints from hundreds of illustrators and photographers. I particularly like Kevin Russ, a nomadic photographer who travels through the American West. By day, hes capturing beautiful landscapes and nature with his phone. By night, he camps in his car and uploads his images to Society6 so his followers can immediately purchase his prints. He completely relies on his iPhone photography to earn a living. Hes living the dream and giving us all wanderlust as we follow along. $20 at society6.com Roxanne Behr, Senior Photo Editor Continuity Polaroids The website eBay is a vast and nebulous graveyard for movie props and memorabilia. The collection Im trying to start is of continuity Polaroids taken on film sets. These wardrobe and makeup tests are now done with digital cameras, but they used to exist as one-of-a-kind Polaroids in thick three-ring production binders. They have candidness and intimacy like family snapshots; you can even arrange them among snapshots of your actual family members. Above is a series of delightful photos of Elisabeth Shue and Nicolas Cage on the set of Leaving Las Vegas. (Others I have my eye on are Judy Greer from The Wedding Planner, Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey from Dumb and Dumber, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Julia Stiles from 10 Things I Hate About You.) Leaving Las Vegas continuity polaroids, $100, on eBay.com Miranda Dempster, Strategist Art Director LOVE by Robert Indiana I grew up in New Zealand in the 70s, and my uncle who lived in the U.S. would send me letters with the LOVE stamp on them. To me, the painting looked like what I imagined New York to be as a child. The composition is so compact and efficient. It reminds me of a room inside an apartment, inside an apartment building, inside a city block, inside a city grid. But the O is also hanging out there on top of the E, leaning on the L, about to roll off, breaking out of the grid. Its a very nonchalant O, like a teenager hanging out on a street corner. The vibration among the orangey red, the kelly green, and blue is like a visual sugar high. I have this on my wall today. It is also, of course, a simple reminder of something pure we all take for granted. Its good to give thanks for LOVE. $90 at art.com Bobby Doherty, Staff Photographer A photo of the sunset in a T-shirt frame You can put anything in a T-shirt frame. Just cut your art into a T-shirt shape. Its easy. I recommend a nice sunset poster. T-shirt frame, $30 at containterstore.com; sunset poster, $8 at allposters.com Sarah Trigg, Tablet/Phone Managing Editor, Writer, Photographer Ten Rules Poster The rules on this poster need to be emblazoned on a wall for every creative person to see. Anna Stothart, the curator of modern and contemporary art at the San Antonio Museum, who curated the museums current exhibition Corita Kent and the Language of Pop, told me about the poster during a lively conversation we had about the creative process. Kent was an artist (mostly of brightly colored screen prints), a social activist, and, somewhat surprisingly, also a Catholic nun. This poster hung on the wall of the Immaculate Heart College where Kent taught. I especially love rule No. 10 by John Cage and rule No. 7: Just make the work and it will lead to something. $15 at corita.myshopify.com Wendy Goodman, Design Editor Skeletal Giacometti Sculpture on Parisian Street, by Gordon Parks I am obsessed with Alberto Giacometti and still mourn the destruction of his studio that I would have given my arm to visit. I just learned that this photograph (that first appeared in Life magazine on November 5, 1951) even existed: two giants in one image. The brilliant Gordon Parks shot this image, in Paris, of a Giacometti sculpture just when that man was passing by in the background. $65 at allposters.com Randy Minor, Art Director Polish movie posters In the mid-90s, I came across a poster of my favorite movie at the time, The Piano. The poster bore no resemblance to the movie which I had seen four times already but I was so captivated by the design: two loose piano keys falling away to reveal the gaze of a woman. The piece was silk-screened, which was old technology even in the 90s, and the store clerk (this was in Chicago at a frame shop) told me that the poster was from Poland. I dont remember the price, but I didnt buy it, for some reason. After thinking about it for a few weeks, I went back for it and it was gone. Though I still havent been able to find a version of it, Ive found dozens of other fantastic Polish movie posters, each more surreal than the last like this interpretation of Wait Until Dark. (Others I love: Working Girl, Oliver!, and Smoky). Wait Until Dark poster, $225 at ebay.com Jody Wissner, Photo Intern You Should Smile Broad City Print Hang this above your kitchen table as a reminder while sipping coffee and eating brownies at 9 a.m to fuck the patriarchy. Well smile if we feel like it. (But I definitely do when I look at these radical queens.) $8 at etsy.com Stevie Remsberg, Art Production Director Amish Quilts I love super-graphic Amish-quilt wall hangings that you can find on Etsy. There are tons under $200 and some even as low as $25. Im obsessed with the classic style that has solid, colorful fabric designs on a black or dark field. These are great for high-traffic hallways or homes with rowdy kids because if someone bumps into them they wont fall and break. I currently have my eye on this Log Cabin quilt, in addition to this $25 one, this $36 one, and this slightly pricier $175 one. Log Cabin Quilt, $120 at etsy.com Jay Guillermo, Digital Art Director, Native Apps Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat Poster I love this amazing Warhol x Basquiat exhibition poster done in a boxing-match style. Its a great use of type and nice splash of color. $25 at etsy.com Tom Alberty, Design Director THICK-A-SHAKE by the Head Light Hotel My wife got me this poster as a housewarming gift when we moved in together. She knows me well: It combines two of my favorite things ice cream and vernacular hand-painted signage. Its from Tiny Showcase, a Providence-based outfit that sells silk-screen and letterpress prints by established and up-and-coming artists, with new pieces released every week. $20 at tinyshowcase.com Jody Quon, Photo Director Her Pass By by Andrew Pope I love the colors and the very simple and timeless narrative quality of this print. It is part of an edition of 50. $200 at exhibitiona.com The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into SunEdison to see whether or not the company exaggerated its cash on hand in disclosures last year. The news comes as the solar developer is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The solar company has seen its stock collapse since last year as mounting debt problems have raised concerns about the companys ability to keep the lights on. SunEdisons share price is off by 96 percent since last July. That has translated to a decline of the companys market capitalization from $10 billion last summer to just $400 million today. Related: Even Utilities Are Starting To Get Behind Community Solar SunEdison even delayed the release of a financial statement because unnamed current and former employees had concerns about the accuracy of the figures they were set to submit. At the same time that SunEdisons accounting practices are raising red flags, there are also rising rumors that the company is nearing bankruptcy. According to an SEC filing submitted by TerraForm Global, a subsidiary of SunEdison, the parent company is facing a substantial risk of bankruptcy. Related: Does Saudi Arabias Play For Market Share Make Sense? The problems at SunEdison really blew up into the spotlight when its $1.9 billion takeover of Vivint fell through. But the trouble began much earlier than that. As of late 2015, according to the WSJ, SunEdison had stopped paying suppliers and contractors as its cash position ran low. SunEdison had heavily pushed the yieldco model, a corporate structure that became very popular several years ago but has since fallen out of favor. Yieldcos consist of spun off power projects that have predictable cash flows, but many of them have run into trouble. By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: With no other state primaries between now and Wisconsin's April 5 election, all five remaining candidates have events scheduled here in the next week. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton kicked off her Wisconsin campaigning Monday morning in Madison. Later that night, she spoke at the Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club on N. Sherman Ave. in Milwaukee. The crowd was relatively small, with voters from all demographics in attendance: men and women, college students and senior citizens, a mix of races. I spoke briefly with a six-year-old (and her mom) who brought her picture book about Hillary Clinton, hoping to get it signed. One young woman, sitting on risers behind the stage, wore a t-shirt that played off the common feminist saying "A woman's place is in the House and the Senate." This shirt added "And the Oval Office." There was a small group representing AARP wearing matching red t-shirts that asked, "Does your candidate have a plan for social security?" They told me they're going to events for all the candidates, trying to get seen as much as possible to raise awareness of the issues facing social security. In her speech, Clinton did briefly mention social security and said she has no plans to privatize it. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett spoke first, praising Clinton for her leadership, intelligence and temperament as First Lady, senator, and secretary of state. He contrasted that with the GOP candidates, who he described as "having a playground brawl" while running for president. Next to speak was Senator Tammy Baldwin, who also contrasted the GOP's "surprisingly hateful rhetoric" with Clinton's plans to remove barriers to opportunity. Finally, to whistles and applause, Hillary Clinton took the stage, along with Congresswoman Gwen Moore. Moore introduced Clinton, outlining her accomplishments on behalf of children, women, racial minorities and the LGBT community. When Clinton got the microphone, she spoke for just over 30 minutes. She started by reminding the crowd that she needs Wisconsin's help to secure the democratic nomination. She said she can't think of a more "consequential election" in our lifetimes, with voters faced with two vastly different visions for America. In her speech, Clinton touched on her plans for creating quality jobs with rising income, which she called her highest priority. "That is my commitment to you," she told the crowd, adding that she wants to get fairness back in income and a return to the budget surplus her husband created when he was president. "The economy does better when we have a democrat in the White House," she noted. She mentioned the importance of labor unions in creating the middle class. "I look at what your governor has done," she began, the mention of the Wisconsin's divisive governor as could be expected from a pro-Clinton crowd, met with boos. Walker received more boos when Clinton talked about education and mentioned the governor's recent cuts of $250 million from the UW system; she praised UW-Madison as one of the leading research institutions in the world and briefly explained what her plans are for higher education. She wants universities like UW to help America lead the world in innovations like clean energy. "We are better than anybody when we put our minds to it," she told the crowd. She spoke passionately about defending the rights the GOP is trying to roll back. Her pronouncement that "I will defend a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. I will defend Planned Parenthood," was met with loud applause and cheers. She said her opponents accuse her of playing the gender card, and to them she says, "Deal me in." This catchphrase hasn't fully caught on, but give it a few weeks, and it will be on several Facebook memes and bumper stickers. She also said she will defend marriage equality and voting rights, and fight to end discrimination against LGBT people. As for foreign policy, Clinton said keeping the U.S. safe is one of the top tasks the next president will face. She called Trump and Cruz's plans not only bad, but dangerous. Meanwhile, Clinton didn't spend much time taking shots at her democratic competition, Senator Bernie Sanders. She reserved most of her negative comments for the Republican presidential candidates, especially GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. She spoke like a woman who knows she's in the lead and has everything in place to win the democratic nomination. Still, as Hillary told the crowd, Wisconsin is one of the most important primaries in this race, and as the only state with an election on April 5, all eyes will be on us. The opinions expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff. A year ago, I wrote about a study of Milwaukee Public Schools students, a study that sought to answer the urban education equivalent of which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the case of urban education, the question is: Which has a bigger impact on student performance, the school or the neighborhood? In the case of that study, the answer was, as so often is the case, nuanced. In any one year, the school effects are larger: put a kid from a bad neighborhood into a good school for a year and that kid will grow more, academically, than a kid from a good neighborhood in a bad school. But in the long run, the authors suggested, the cumulative negative effects of living in a bad neighborhood for an entire childhood likely outweigh the benefit of being in a good school for any one or two or even three years. That study, set specifically in Milwaukee, built on decades of research on the effects of moving families out of housing projects and, usually with supplemental housing vouchers, into better neighborhoods. The evidence in those studies is also, as we say, nuanced. But the bulk of the data suggests that being in a better neighborhood, even when a family itself is poor, has short and long-term impacts on poor kids' educational achievement. The effects accumulate to mean better outcomes, socially and financially, after children are out of school. Two things make those studies nuanced as well. First, the parents applying for those vouchers to leave public housing are not necessarily representative of all poor parents in housing projects. These parents are motivated to seek opportunities for their children, and the children may have demonstrated better educational attainment than their peers regardless of whether they stayed in public housing. Or, as Justin Wolfers put it in paraphrasing a new study, "the applicants were particularly motivated to protect their children from the negative effects of a bad neighborhood." The difference may be partly, or even mostly, due to better parenting, not a better address. And, second, those housing voucher studies tended to show decreasing effects depending on the age of the children when they moved. The younger a child is when moving to a better neighborhood, the more likely she is to outpace her peers who didn't move. Older children don't differ dramatically after a move away from the projects. But recently Chicago has been demolishing housing projects. There's no chance for parents to opt-in to a move when where they were living is simply torn down. This provides a chance for a study that isn't burdened with questions about who participates, since everyone must. That new study Wolfers referenced specifically looked at those displaced by Chicago's demolition, rather than those opting for an opportunity to move out. And the findings are substantial: "Children displaced by public housing demolition have notably better adult labor market outcomes compared to their non-displaced peers," author Eric Chyn writes. "This positive impact is detectable regardless of the age at which a childs family relocates." The policy implications are clear, and there is no nuance left anymore. Economic integration of neighborhoods, rather than the economic segregation that largely exists today, is a key if not the key to boosting children's chance of success in school and as adults. Continued economic segregation shuts poor children out of the quintessential American Dream of going from rags to riches. Poor kids in poor neighborhoods stay in rags. There is another issue left generally unaddressed in these studies, which is that overwhelmingly the participants are African American, and that in America, economic segregation is often de facto racial segregation. You might recall last year I wrote about a case for reparations to the African American community, eloquently and logically articulated by Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Atlantic. Though I haven't returned to the subject, Coates hasn't let it drop, and throughout this presidential campaign he's worked to get Sen. Bernie Sanders the candidate most likely to support the idea to embrace reparations. Sanders' whole schtick this campaign has been about the economic plight of the poorest Americans, after all; reparations would be a natural fit. But Sanders has not endorsed reparation. Neither has Hillary Clinton nor any of the Republicans. It is, in electoral calculus, not an issue that's going to win many votes. Though Coates has said he planned to vote for Sanders, he has been relentless in pushing Sanders, the candidate most consistently addressing economic issues, to talk about race the way he talks about class and economics. In a long recent piece also at the Atlantic, Coates details why he believes economics and class should not be divorced from race. One detail in particular struck me, which is that, in Coates' words, "poor white families are less likely to live in poor neighborhoods than nonpoor black families." That is, if you're poor and white, your neighborhood is likely to have poverty levels near the national average. But if you're poor and black, your neighborhood's poverty levels will be double the national average. It's worse: Middle-class black families are more likely to live in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty than poor white families are. Black families with middle-class incomes live, in the words of sociologist Patrick Sharkey, "in areas with higher crime rates, lower quality schools, higher poverty rates, lower property values and severe racial segregation. Even if blacks are able to make gains in economic or social status in one generation, they often remain in social environments that are disadvantaged across multiple dimensions." Taken together with Chyn's study, this suggests that not only must we work to make neighborhoods more economically diverse, to eliminate islands of concentrated poverty, but we must also work to end racial segregation, as even economically integrated black neighborhoods suffer disproportionately in contemporary America. This present-day evidence of a long-rigged system strongly supports the idea of something like reparations. Failing that, this country and this city, as in many ways Milwaukee is the poster child for latter-day racial and economic segregation needs to admit that "good jobs" and "better schools" and "no bank too big to fail" are not adequate solutions to the most pervasive challenges of our poor black residents. We cannot keep whitewashing America's racist shame by talking only of class and economics. There's no room left for nuance there, either. There's still time, before we vote next week, for one or more of the national or local candidates to address this. They probably won't; they have 400 years of inertia behind them, after all. But they should, and the rest of us should make sure this is the last election cycle where they can get away with not. Radio talk show host Charlie Sykes was born in Seattle and moved to New York State when he was 3 years old. He didn't get to Wisconsin until third grade, in 1963, when he landed in Fox Point, eventually attending Nicolet High School and then UW-Milwaukee. After graduation in 1975, the English Literature major ("the most un-sellable major," Sykes says), got his first job working for the weekly newspaper chain, The Post, here in Milwaukee. Within a year, he moved to the old Milwaukee Journal where he started out covering what he calls "suburbanite stuff." Sykes did that for about a year before becoming a City Hall reporter covering Mayor Henry Maier. In addition to his "Mid-Day with Charles Sykes" radio show on 620 WTMJ-AM, Sykes has authored several books, writes a syndicated column and hosts the television show "Sunday Insight With Charles Sykes" on WTMJ-TV. Chances are that you have an opinion about Charlie Sykes. Even if you don't listen to his radio show, you most likely find him entertaining, informative or annoying. And he has a ton of his own to share with you in this edition of OMC's "Milwaukee Talks." OMC: Did you know what you wanted to do when you were in high school? Charlie Sykes: No, I didn't. Actually, I didn't think about media (as a career). For a while I figured I'd do something in politics or government, and then later, when I was in college, I thought maybe I would go into academia. Life is a series of fortunate accidents and surprises. I worked at the Journal from '76 to '82. Then I went to Milwaukee Magazine. I became the editor and worked there through '87 when Harry Quadracci and I had a brief disagreement which resulted in me moving on. I was fired with great enthusiasm. OMC: That's a beautiful phrase. CS: Actually, I stole it from somebody, but I said when (former Milwaukee County Executive) Dave Schulz hired me that I was entering my new job the same way I left my old one; fired with great enthusiasm. So, I left the magazine in '87 abruptly and spent the next year or so writing my first book, "Prof Scan." And then as I was wrapping that up I went to work for Schulz. Dave was a character. Dave was a lot of fun. (The job with) Dave was a great education. It was wonderful for me to have a chance to see county government from inside. I wouldn't say I was the most successful bureaucrat in the history of county government but it was a real education to be able to see what actually was important to people in government and so I enjoyed that thoroughly. It was an adventure; it was a lot of fun. OMC: How do you think the County Executive's job has changed since Schulz left? CS: Well, everything changed in 2002. In some ways Dave was kind of a blip because county government was this very incestuous, self-involved organization that was really concerned with protecting the insiders. One of the lessons I learned was (that) in county government about 80 percent of the attention of the energy was spent on just internal ring kissing, ego massage and taking care of one another. And about 20 percent was actually concerned with anything remotely involving serving the public or public policy. And Dave interrupted the normal line of succession -- the insider game -- and as soon as he was gone it reverted to form. County Executive Tom Ament was really the direct line of that, and I think what happened was the incestuous culture of county government just caught up with itself, and you had the taxpayer revolt. I'm not sure that anything will be quite the same again. Although what happened was that before Schulz, nobody paid any attention to county government. After Schulz, nobody paid any attention to county government and this is one of my themes on the program -- you've got to watch these guys all the time. If you don't watch them then they will grab everything they can, including the dishtowels, which was pretty much the story of the Ament administration. OMC: Sitting where you are today, who do you think would have a better chance of beating Governor Jim Doyle, State Rep. Mark Green or Scott Walker? CS: I don't know, it's too early to tell. It really is. You have two incredibly strong candidates. They have the political smarts, they have the policy smarts, they have the personality, they have different bases. This is one of the things you get over the course of a primary -- is you get to see who in fact is a good statewide candidate. I've learned never to underestimate Scott Walker. Scott is one of the truly gifted politicians, and I've made no secret of the fact I feel that way. But I also think that Mark Green is very, very gifted -- it's too bad they have to run against one another. So, I honestly don't know. OMC: If you had to grade Mayor Barrett so far in his term, what would it be and why? CS: I'd probably give him a tardy for being so slow to show up. I like Tom Barrett, I think he's got the potential to be a very good mayor. I think he has the potential to have a lot of really good things happen on his watch but his first year's been a little tentative. I joke with him that you have to look for him on the milk carton because he's been so absent. I think he's been reluctant to make some tough choices, and as a result it's kind of hard to give him anything other than an incomplete. But he still has a chance, but I think he's been reluctant to pull the trigger. He was reluctant to pull the trigger on (Lisa) Artison (former executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission who resigned March 1, 2005). He seems addicted to appointing committees and task forces, and he seems to not have really figured out what issues he really wants to lead on. What is his thing? What really matters to him? Part of his problem is that guys like Henry Maier and John Norquist -- their whole lives they wanted to be mayor of the city and they thought about urban issues all the time and they had a philosophy; sometimes right headed and sometimes wrong headed but they really -- these were urban guys. Tom Barrett, I think, backed into being mayor. He ran for governor, lost, didn't want to be a practicing lawyer and this was open. Now, he can grow into the job. OMC: What qualifies you to be a talk show host? CS: What gives anybody the right to be a talk show host? Really, I have a lot of opinions and the willingness to express them. Beyond that, I don't claim that there are any special qualifications. The fact is I have been in Milwaukee journalism since the mid-1970s. So in terms of journalistic experience, I suppose I could stack that up against a lot of folks in both newspaper, magazine, TV and radio, but ultimately what is a talk show all about? It's about somebody willing to run his mouth. And I've been willing to do that. OMC: Does it wear on you when people have certain opinions of you as a talk show host because of what they hear and what the national media's saying but yet they don't know you as a person? How do you deal with that? CS: At one point it might have, but I think this is one of the qualifications to be a talk show host, that you need to have thick skin and you need to not be afraid of being controversial. So, frankly, I think it goes with the territory. And I know that there are people who have strong feelings on both sides and that's just part of the job description. I will tell you the story though. When I first started doing this, we live in an age where anyone who wants to communicate with you can do it instantaneously through e-mail and a variety of other ways, they don't have to sit down and write a letter. I remember Jim Iriwin, the voice of the Packers, got a letter that was critical of something he'd done on a play-by-play and he obsessed about it all morning -- he obsessed about this person criticizing him. Jim would get maybe one a month and he would really ruin his whole day. I said, Jim, I get 10 of those a day! I'll be glad to exchange my hate mail for your hate mail. After awhile you just learn to deal with it. Editors note: This is one in an occasional Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service series on "20-somethings" in Milwaukee. Matt McCoy always wanted to be an entrepreneur. At age 15, he started a landscaping company with his friend Joe Scanlin and ran the business for seven years until he realized it wasnt in his future. But the skills McCoy, now 27, learned as a teenager prepared him for entrepreneurship. "Standing in front of someone, selling yourself and being willing to take that risk and ownership of what you are doing and creating is what being an entrepreneur is all about," he said. "I didnt know it at the time, but thats what we were doing with the (landscaping) business." The Madison native is chief operating officer of Scanalytics Inc., a four-year-old business in Menomonee Valley that makes floor sensors that look like futuristic floor tiles. The sensors monitor how people spend their time in retail stores and at events such as the Mobile World Congress, the National Retail Federation and Madisons Bratwurst Festival. Each sensor is two square feet and 1/32nd of an inch thick, similar to a sheet of printer paper. Scanalytics first prototype was built from a "Dance Dance Revolution" mat, the popular video game that tracks players dance moves based on where they step. After beginning as an operation that handmade each Scanalytics mat each one taking 45 minutes the company has tripled its revenues and worked with top technology firms. "We started to grow the company by knocking on doors in a sense and networking," McCoy said. "Our product has become more simple, more reliable and we are growing aggressively." Soon after graduating in 2012 from the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he majored in both mass media and marketing, McCoy deflected a handful of career opportunities to pursue a risky business venture. Scanlin, the former landscaping partner who is now Scanalytics chief executive officer, lauded McCoy for choosing a much more uncertain path. "His approach and execution on what most people would flat out run away from is a major testament to his work ethic, risk appetite and intelligence," Scanlin said. McCoys penchant for taking risks comes from his father, Thomas McCoy, who left his desk job at J.H. Findorff and Sons in Madison to start his own architecture business. "From my dad, I learned a lot about what it takes to believe in yourself, believe in your trade and put yourself out there," McCoy said. "Hes definitely been a big influence and a big part of our success." Scanalytics began with five employees, but now has 14. McCoy focuses on client relationships, selling the product and managing manufacturing. In a typical day, he fields calls from clients and prospective buyers, speaking with people from Milwaukee to China. McCoy doesnt have much time for hobbies and works more than his girlfriend of eight months would like. Jeff Winzenried, who owns Monkey Bar Gym Milwaukee, used Scanalytics to analyze foot traffic patterns in and out of the business. "Matt helped us understand our peak times better and how our clients move within the space of the business," Winzenried said. "He is very generous, outgoing, down to earth and very detailed with his business." Damany Daniel, who described himself as "chief imaginator" for Event Nerd, a Texas based-company that plans events for its clients, also spoke highly of McCoy. "Hes passionate about his company and his clients and loves the opportunity to work well with other talented professionals," Daniel said. "He was able to provide my clients with insights into their event and attendees in ways they could not otherwise have realized." Scanlin credits McCoy with increasing company revenues and closing accounts with Microsoft, Qualcomm and Intel. "I think a lot of that success was predicated on pure grit, confidence and quality relationship management post-sale," Scanlin said. For his part, McCoy credits the people he works with. "Finding good people that you trust and believe in is what really gets a company off the ground." McCoy has a vision for Scanalytics future: moving from just stores and events to tapping into the medical and home markets. "Being able to passively and actively understand how people spend their time has implications for markets far beyond what we are currently doing," he said. Kristi Anderson, Scanalytics chief marketing officer, said McCoy is destined to succeed. "Matts greatest accomplishment is his ability to inspire," Anderson said. "Hes able to identify the strengths in our people and harness those skill sets." At its core, the capitalistic system uses money (capital) as a means of exchanging goods and services between participating parties. Historically, it has proven to be a much more efficient method than bartering. A corporation is a legally created entity which was originally designed as an equitable and efficient method of allowing multiple parties to participate in the operation of an enterprise. Since artificially created capitalist systems and corporations both tend to have powerful profit incentives, they must -- through socially controlled democratic policies -- be continually monitored and legally restrained from their often devious and covert tendencies to damage the real world. Until 1886, the corporations in the United States were severely regulated. Up until that time, corporations would lose their charters as corporations if they, for example -- broke the law, infused money into politics, caused public harm, owned other corporations, attempted to exist longer than the term that was required in their charter, etc. Additionally, and most notably, officers of corporations could be held civilly and criminally liable for the illegal actions of their corporation. Since 1886 until the present, corporations have, in an almost imperceivable fashion, slowly manipulated the political and legal processes in the United States, as well as most of the world, to remove the severe legal restrictions that previously kept them safely under control. Today, these parasitic legal entities, whose artificial "existence" resides somewhere in a lawyer's file cabinet, have MORE rights than humans and are legally "authorized" to live forever -- even though the damage that they are continually perpetrating on humans and our environment is incalculable and all too often perpetually irreversible! During the last few decades, large US corporations have manipulated the political/legal systems in order to free themselves even more from the legal restraints imposed upon them by the corrupted United States political/legal establishment. Among the many negative consequences that this corporate quest for "liberation" has spawned, is their instigation of a massive migration of major corporations to other countries. This process, while transferring massive amounts of wealth to the extremely wealthy, has been documented to leave behind a growing population of under and unemployed workers -- which was the very heart of the internationally envied United States Middle Class. Now, the legislative bodies of twelve Pacific Rim countries are presented with a secretively created trade agreement and encouraged to approve it WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATIONS. This agreement simply builds on and greatly expands the corruptive practices that previous corporate created agreements have had. It is critical that the media accepts its moral responsibility and honestly inform the public at large of the detailed ramifications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). After all, this is the largest trade deal in history and was created by a cabal of international corporations and bankers who explicitly stated that it was designed to counter the enormous economic influence of China. However, that is a rather narrow expression of what a more complete examination of its underlying objectives reveal. While continually excluding the public, lobbyist from some of the largest corporations and banks in the world created this agreement. It is designed to maximize profits at the expense of the rest of humanity. Among those who were not invited to be involved in its creation, were representatives of labor organizations, environmentalist, civil rights organizations, international human rights organizations, advocates for an open Internet, the medical community and numerous other groups of similar ilk. This agreement provides more international protections for these large corporations and financial groups when it comes to intellectual property, patents, trademarks, copyrights, loans, securities and global franchise agreements. At the same time, there are minimal to no protections for workers, small investors, health workers, consumers, the Internet, personal privacy or the environment. For example, the pharmaceutical industry will benefit from stronger patent protections, which will allow higher prices as well as longer patent periods and thus retard the introduction of less expensive generic drugs. The end result is that, due to the excessive cost of these drugs, millions of financially challenged people will be forced to do without and literally suffer the often deadly consequences. One of the more onerous aspects of the TPP is how it infringes on the national sovereignty of participating members. Rather than allow disputes to be settled between conflicting parties in the International Courts, the corporations instead create panels composed of corporate lawyers to resolve such issues. Additionally, should a corporation feel that it suffered financial injury in a participating country, they will legally be allowed to use a corporate staffed tribunal to bypass the laws of that country and sue that very country for damages. A few more legal areas where any participating country's laws and/or regulations could be challenged by these sociopathic corporate entities include -- consumer protection laws, predatory lending laws, fraudulent investor protection laws, Internet privacy laws, worker protection laws, unsafe and unhealthy food and drug protection laws, environmental and toxic emissions laws. -- Personally, I can't understand why any informed and sane citizen would accept such an agreement. Additionally, I will find it hard to provide ANY support for ANY legislator who votes to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In fact, I will go so far as to state that any informed politician or government employee who supports this agreement is not only immoral, but unconscionable and should be removed from office! Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Reprinted from Consortium News Sen. Bernie Sanders's landslide victories in Washington State, Alaska and Hawaii on Saturday coincided with a long-awaited signal that he may finally be ready to challenge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the "Commander-in-Chief" question, which has been regarded as one of her key strengths. In what may be the most striking campaign commercial of the presidential race, the Sanders campaign released an ad , entitled "The Cost of War" and featuring Hawaii's Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who endorsed Sanders not just as her preference for President but as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military. "Bernie Sanders voted against the Iraq War," Gabbard says. "He understands the cost of war, that that cost is continued when our veterans come home. Bernie Sanders will defend our country and take the trillions of dollars that are spent on these interventionist, regime change, unnecessary wars and invest it here at home." Gabbard also counters another strong point of the Clinton campaign, its contention that Clinton's plans for incremental change are more realistic than Sanders's calls for sweeping reforms -- or a "political revolution" -- to reverse the nation's steady drift toward a country of lavishly rewarded haves and increasingly desperate have-nots. "The American people are not looking to settle for inches; they are looking for real change," Gabbard says. But perhaps her most important statement comes at the end of the 90-second commercial when she says: "My name is Tulsi Gabbard and I support Bernie Sanders to be our next President and Commander-in-Chief." The phrase "Commander-in-Chief" is one that Sanders has largely sidestepped in the early phases of the Democratic presidential race, conceding Clinton's superior qualifications on foreign policy though questioning her judgment when she voted for the Iraq War in 2002. Yet, what the Gabbard ad seems to recognize is that Sanders's campaign could rally a substantial part of the Democratic "base" and win over many "regular" Democrats by challenging Clinton on her hawkish proclivity for "regime change" wars. Though many political analysts argue that it is too late for Sanders to overcome Clinton's substantial delegate lead -- bolstered by the unelected "super-delegates" drawn from party politicians -- Sanders's recent string of landslide victories suggest that many Democrats are uncomfortable with or opposed to Clinton, whose "negatives" are among the highest of national political leaders (in a race to the bottom with Donald Trump). Many Democrats have a deep distrust of Clinton who -- though now highlighting her more "progressive" positions -- seems eager to "pivot to the center" once she nails down the nomination, a hunger that was reflected in her pandering speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee convention last week. A Neocon Favorite Many neoconservatives and "liberal interventionists" now see Clinton as the vessel carrying their hopes for more "regime change" wars. In 2002, Clinton famously supported President George W. Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq, which -- beyond costing more than $1 trillion and killing hundreds of thousands of people (including nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers) -- destabilized the Middle East and gave rise to "Al Qaeda in Iraq," which has since morphed into the Islamic State. Apparently having learned no lessons from the Iraq War, Clinton consistently took hawkish and interventionist positions as President Barack Obama's first Secretary of State. In 2009, Clinton backed a coup in Honduras that removed democratically elected (and progressive) President Manuel Zelaya and reaffirmed control by the Central American country's oligarchy. Since then, Honduras's human rights situation has worsened, driving thousands of children to flee northward seeking safety and leaving environmental and political activists at the mercy of death squads. Also, in 2009, Clinton joined with Bush-holdover Defense Secretary Robert Gates and neocon-favorite Gen. David Petraeus in pushing Obama into a major escalation of the Afghan War, a counter-insurgency "surge" that sent another 1,000 American troops to their deaths -- and many more Afghans -- but has since been abandoned as a failure. Scott Baker is a Managing Editor & The Economics Editor at Opednews, and a former blogger for Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Global Economic Intersection. His anthology of updated Opednews articles "America is Not Broke" was published by Tayen Lane Publishing (March, 2015) and may be found here: http://www.americaisnotbroke.net/ Scott is a former and current President of Common Ground-NY (http://commongroundnyc.org/), a Geoist/Georgist activist group. He has written dozens of (more...) A Ruination Real America is not the window dressing of a nation posed by her government or by the corporate dominated mass media. Behind that pose is an endangering and endangered "ruination." If you follow unbiased accounts of current events and conditions you know I am not exaggerating. For decades I have been keeping tabs on Real America's conditions and her actions at home and away and they are appalling. To summarize them I compiled and reported elsewhere a list of what I call "sadtistics." [1] They amount to a pitiful portrait of every element of America that matters, whether domestic (e.g., high rates of homelessness and poverty), environmental (e.g. polluted rivers/reservoirs/drinking water) or international (e.g., ubiquitous military bases and destructive and deadly military and CIA operations around the globe). According to Charles Derber, a distinguished sociologist, Real America is already a sociopathic society in which there is a predominance of antisocial and harmful behavior by individuals and institutions. [2] Real America is also a nation that always has been led by presidents with psychopathic personalities, if we can believe a host of experts, and I do. [3] Real America is already a fascist state. It meets all 14 attributes (e.g., controlled mass media, obsession with national security) political scientist Lawrence Brit identified as characteristics of a fascist state [4] Real America's Abysmal Future Rome's militaristic imperialism lasted over 500 years. But times and conditions are not so forgiving and repairable today. If Real America continues her ruinous course she is unlikely to reach her tri-centennial. Real America could eventually become a failed state, could undergo civil war; could experience escalating blowbacks, and, could irreversibly suffer with the rest of humanity one or more global calamities. Failed State Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Reprinted from Reader Supported News The Washington Post reported last week that President Obama has granted fewer pardons than any president since John Adams, and that he risks going down in history as "merciless." The president has so far granted 70 pardons. But he has denied 1,629 pardon petitions, more than five of the six previous presidents. Another 3,444 requests have been "closed without presidential action." In other words, they were simply ignored. Obama's inaction on pardons is in addition to his equally hard-core inaction on commutations. Despite the fact that the White House announced two years ago, with much fanfare, the "Clemency Project 2014," which was supposed to streamline commutations, the president has denied 8,123 requests for commutation. That's a new record. Both Obama and then-attorney general Eric Holder said in 2014 that the president would make liberal use of his power to commute the sentences of federal prisoners who deserved relief. Indeed, the Justice Department set criteria for prisoners who ought to be released. Holder encouraged prisoners to apply if they had sentences significantly longer than what they would have received if they had committed their crimes today, if they had no history of violence, if they had no guns involved in their cases, if they had behaved in prison, if they had served at least 10 years, and if they had served at least 50 percent of their sentences. Obama has publically expressed regret at his own failure to use his executive powers to pardon those deemed worthy of a second chance or to grant commutations to those who have been swallowed up by the justice system, especially in the ill-conceived "war on drugs." He told the Marshall Project in 2014 that there were thousands of prisoners who deserved relief, and he said, "That means we have to step up the process." That sounds great. But the program has, so far, been a disaster. Almost nobody has been released early. Most cases are assigned to volunteer lawyers and law students who have no experience in pardon and clemency law or even in dealing with the federal system in the first place. More than 8,000 of the 44,000 applications have not even been referred to the Justice Department for review, while another 9,000 cases are stuck in the DOJ's bureaucratic black hole. And how many prisoners have actually had their sentences commuted, of the 44,000 applicants? Only 187. There are a myriad of ways in which Obama can right this wrong. First, he can simply take executive action with the stroke of a pen, as was recommended during his first term by White House counselor Greg Craig, thus freeing every federal prisoner who meets the Clemency Project's criteria. That would be easy. And the president doesn't have to face the voters again, so there would be no political fallout, at least not for him. Second, Obama could, and should, provide the Justice Department with the resources necessary to process every last clemency application. If the policy determines that people are in prison unjustly, then there is no question that action has to be taken. Remember the legal maxim, "Justice delayed is justice denied." It is being denied to thousands of prisoners right now. Third, the Office of the U.S. Pardon Attorney, which has jurisdiction over processing pardon and commutation applications, must be moved out of the Justice Department and into an independent body, such as a stand-alone entity within the White House. As things are now, federal prosecutors have an inordinate influence in the Pardon Attorney's office. But by their very nature, prosecutors are opposed to clemency. Many equate it with the president asking them to tell the public they made a mistake prosecuting the case in the first place. "Sorry. My bad! You can go home now." Obama has precious little time left in which to act. If he's serious about clemency, about mercy, he has to do something immediately. Lives depend on it. Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News. Reprinted from Wallwritings Jeffrey Goldberg's Atlantic essay, "The Obama Doctrine," opens with two contrasting conclusions which could be drawn from events on Friday, August 30, 2013. It was either the day Barack Obama "brought to a premature end America's reign as the world's sole indispensable superpower," or it was the day Barack Obama "peered into the Middle Eastern abyss and stepped back from the consuming void." In President Obama's mind, August 30, 2013, "was his liberation day, the day he defied not only the foreign-policy establishment and its cruise-missile playbook, but also [defied] the demands of America's frustrating, high-maintenance allies in the Middle East. Barack Obama's presidential "liberation day" began with a "thundering speech" given on his behalf by Secretary of State John Kerry. "Kerry's uncharacteristically Churchillian remarks" were delivered in the State Department's Treaty Room. It dealt with the gassing of Syrian civilians by the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. In his remarks, Kerry said Assad should be punished, in part, because the "credibility and the future interests of the United States of America and our allies" were at stake. "It is directly related to our credibility and whether countries still believe the United States when it says something. They are watching to see if Syria can get away with it, because then maybe they too can put the world at greater risk." The Pentagon and the White House's national-security team believed President Obama was ready to attack President Assad for "crossing the red line" by gassing civilians. Goldberg reports that "John Kerry told me he was expecting a strike the day after his speech." The President was preparing for an attack. Privately, however, he had "come to believe that he was walking into a trap -- one laid both by allies and by adversaries, and by conventional expectations of what an American president is supposed to do." Late in the afternoon, President Obama "determined that he was simply not prepared to authorize a strike." He asked Denis McDonough, his chief of staff, to take a walk with him on the South Lawn of the White House. "Obama did not choose McDonough randomly: He is the Obama aide most averse to U.S. military intervention, and someone who, in the words of one of his colleagues, 'thinks in terms of traps.' ...Obama and McDonough shared a long-standing resentment. "They were 'tired of watching Washington unthinkingly drift toward war in Muslim countries. Four years earlier, the president believed, the Pentagon had 'jammed' him on a troop surge for Afghanistan. Now, on Syria, he was beginning to feel jammed again.' "When the two men came back to the Oval Office, the president told his national-security aides that he planned to stand down. There would be no attack the next day; he wanted to refer the matter to Congress for a vote. Aides in the room were shocked..." What led to this decision by the President? Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) March 29, 2016: Historically, the prestige culture in American culture was dominated by white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs), and lapsed Protestants. In general, WASPs tended to have a distaste for non-white and/or non-Anglo-Saxon and/or non-Protestant people, but lapsed Protestants who were white Anglo-Saxons could be acceptable still. Symbolically, the narrow and surprising election in 1960 of Harvard-educated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts to be the first Irish American Roman Catholic president of the United States marks the waning of WASP dominance of the prestige culture in American culture. No doubt WASP women enjoyed a certain status when WASPs, and lapsed Protestants, dominated the prestige culture. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, the women's movement challenged the status of women, including WASP women, in American culture generally. As Philip Jenkins shows in his book Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America (Oxford University Press, 2006), conservatives capitalized on certain excesses of the 1960s and 1970s by using anti-60s rhetoric to advance their cause. Anti-60s conservatives have dominated the Republican Party. Their vociferous resistance to the social and cultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s has contributed to the bottom-up support of white males for Donald J. Trump's bid to become the Republican Party's presidential candidate in the 2016 election. Not surprisingly, his bid for the nomination has included derogatory words about certain women, including Megyn Kelly of Fox News. Fox News is not famous for supporting the women's movement. Nevertheless, even the folks at Fox News have figured out that Trumps' ongoing volley of words denigrating Kelly is a bit much. Of course Trump's denigrating volleys have targeted certain other groups besides women -- including Muslims and immigrants. And white male Republicans keep cheering him on and voting for him in Republican primaries. But how will Trump's various denigrating volleys play out in the general elections in 2016? Long before the women's movement emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, American women had won the right to vote. Today, among eligible voters, women outnumber men, and women tend to vote more than men do. In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney lost the women's vote big time. But anti-60s conservatives have established an extensive record for not being fast learners. Nevertheless, do Republican candidates for other elective offices think that Trump's primary campaign is going to help them with women voters? Army and Rangers to conduct operation across Punjab LAHORE: The Army and Rangers will conduct a widespread operation across Punjab to target militants, their facilitators and their hideouts, military sources told reporters on Monday. Sources said the decision was taken during a high-level military huddle, chaired by Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters on Monday. The crackdown would give paramilitary Rangers extraordinary powers to conduct raids and interrogate suspects similar to those the Rangers have used for more than two years in Karachi, a senior security official based in Lahore told Reuters on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to share details of the plan. The technicalities are yet to be worked out. There are some legal issues also with bringing in Rangers, but the military and government are on the same page, he said. One other military official and two government officials confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity. Earlier today, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said a number of suspects had been nabbed in five operations across Punjab, without officially saying a widespread operation had been launched similar to those underway in the country's northwest and Karachi. The operation is continuing with full force, reported Radio Pakistan. A number of "suspected terrorists and facilitators" were arrested during the five raids which were conducted in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan after the Lahore suicide explosion, said DG ISPR Asim Bajwa. He added that a "huge cache of arms and ammunition" were also recovered by security officials. Police was also able to identify the Lahore suicide bomber as Yousuf, son of Ghulam Farid, a resident of Muzzafargarh. Security personnel have been stationed outside the alleged bomber's house in Muzaffargarh, and police claim to have arrested three members of his family for interrogation. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, while chairing a high-level security meeting in Lahore on Monday, called for more proactive coordination amongst law enforcement and intelligence agencies against terrorism, Radio Pakistan reported. He said all provinces must step up intelligence-based operations against terrorists, adding that the goal is not only to eliminate the terror infrastructure but also to get rid of the extremist mindset. Egyptian Airline hijacked CAIRO: An EgyptAir passenger plane flying from Cairo to Alexandria was hijacked on Tuesday and diverted to Cyprus, where it landed at Larnaca airport on the south coast, Cypriot police and Egyptian civil aviation authority officials said.The airport was closed and a crisis team deployed to the site, airport officials said. A civil aviation ministry statement said the hijacker, who was strapped with explosives, forced the pilot to divert the plane to Larnaca. An Egyptian government spokesman said the hijacker initially wanted to go to Istanbul but was told by the captain that he did not have enough fuel for the journey. The flight carried 21 foreigners including eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, an Egyptian civil aviation ministry statement said. EgyptAir said it had negotiated the release of passengers, after which most passengers and some people wearing what appeared to be crew uniforms were allowed to disembark from the plane. The Egyptian civil aviation minister said only seven people remain on the plane, including three passengers. EgyptAir is offering those concerned about their loved ones possibly on the hijacked flight several telephone numbers to call for more information. EgyptAir says those within Egypt can call their emergency centre at 0800 7777 000, while those living abroad can call +20 2 259 893 2029. A minister said Egypt is sending a plane to Cyprus to pick up the stranded passengers. The hijacker is an Egyptian national called Ibrahim Samaha, Egyptian state news agency MENA said on Tuesday. It said the hijacker was sitting on seat K38 and gave no further details. However, Egyptian airport officials said the hijacker was a dual Egyptian-American citizen. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the plane hijacking was not related to "terrorism". Cyprus state radio claimed the hijacker, who may have personal motives, has demanded asylum on the Mediterranean island and asked for a translator to press his demand, without adding further details. The hijacker had an ex-wife in Cyprus, Cyprus Broadcasting said. Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter written in Arabic on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, where the plane was parked, asking that it be delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife. Ibrahim Abdel Tawwab Samaha is a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria University, a staff list on the university website shows. Samaha is head of the department of food health, the site shows. A hijacker contacted the control tower at 8:30 am and the plane was given permission to land at 8:50 am, the police said. An official with a flight-tracking website says the EgyptAir flight that was hijacked on the way to Cairo showed no immediate signs of distress while in the air. Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that flight MS181 flew in a typical fashion on to Cyprus without the pilots signalling any trouble via their transponder. Petchenik said: "It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked." Four cases registered against 501 religious workers RAWALPINDI: The police registered four separate cases against 501 religious workers, including their leadership, under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for creating terror and violence in society and formally arrested those booked in Rawalpindi on Sunday during clashes between workers of religious parties and police. It took more than 24 hours to decide whether the protesters booked by police were to be released or formally arrested as the authorities concerned were waiting for the outcome of efforts by the government to persuade the marchers to disperse peacefully from D-Chowk. But after their efforts proved unproductive, it was decided to register cases against the protesters who were picked up by police during the show down in Rawalpindi on Sunday. Though the CPO Rawalpindi had claimed that around 1,000 people were booked as over a dozen, including he himself, were injured during clashes, the cases were registered only against 501 people. Yes, cases have been registered against the protesters, including their leadership who were involved in violence, under Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), City Police Officer Israr Ahmed Abbasi told reporters. The arrested people were detained in different police stations of Rawalpindi and Gujar Khan. All of those arrested would be sent to Adiala jail on Tuesday. Mumtaz Qadri supporters refused ICT negotiation ISLAMABAD: Mumtaz Qadris supporters protesters insists that they would only negotiate with a three-member committee consisting of the Leader of the House in the Senate, the National Assembly speaker and a Punjab government representative, refusing to deal with officials from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, who tried in vain to win them over. An ICT official said the administration had contacted the protesters at 10pm on Sunday night. We requested them to wind up the sit-in, but the protesters wanted to negotiate with the Pakistan Army. We told them that the ICT administration does not have mandate to contact the army, but the message would be conveyed, he said. Then, around 11pm (on Sunday), some army vehicles arrived at D-Chowk, but that was only because the security of the Red Zone had been handed over to the military, he said. Insist they will only negotiate with NA speaker, Senates Leader of the House and Punjab govt representative We have been in touch with the protesters, but have received no proper reply from the government, so we cannot take any decision over what to do with them, he said. The governments response to the ransacking of the federal capital had been uncharacteristically timid on Sunday. But on Monday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan broke his silence over the issue as he lashed out at the violence and damage to public property caused by the protesters. Chairing a joint meeting of the police and district administration of the twin cities on Monday, he admonished the administration of the twin cities for their flawed arrangements. The way the law was flouted on the [pretext] of a chehlum is not acceptable, he remarked. He directed the Rawalpindi and Islamabad administration to take immediate action to restore life in the city to normal, but the statement did not elaborate if this meant an operation against the protesters. Later, in his televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also referred to the protests on D-Chowk: We will not tolerate the violation of law and damage to public property in the name of God and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). The leniency of state should not be considered a weakness, he said. However, Sunni Tehreek spokesperson Naeem Raza told reporters that the protesters had come to D-Chowk with certain goals and would not go back without achieving their targets. He confirmed that the deputy commissioner and his team had met the protesters at least five times, but we refused to hold talks with them. We were clear that we would only negotiate with Raja Zafarul Haq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Zaeem Qadri, he said. He said the government had been told that whoever was sent to negotiate must have the authority to make concessions. We dont want to waste our time in negotiations where we simply get promises that our demands will be shared with the government, he said. He accused the district administration of confiscating their food supplies and arresting at least 500 protesters, but these claims could not be independently verified. Our workers are waiting in Karachi at the Press Club and Numaish Chowrangi; in Lahore, they are at Data Darbar: we just have to give word and they will block all important roads all over the country, he warned. Talking to media men, Senator Raja Zafarul Haq said that the State Minister for Interfaith Harmony, Pir Muhammad Aminul Hasnat, had called to tell him that the protesters want to negotiate with him. I told him that I can negotiate with them, but I need to be ordered and mandated to do so by the leadership. So far, I have received no such orders, he said. PM lashes out at Punjab security officials for ignoring bomb alert LAHORE: In the wake of the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park suicide attack, the government has decided to arrest all individuals included in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The decision was taken at a meeting on law and order presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif here on Monday. The prime minister expressed anger at Punjabs security officials for ignoring an alert issued by an intelligence agency about presence in the province of four to five suicide bombers looking for a soft target. He also expressed dismay over the leniency shown towards miscreants in Islamabad and asked Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who was present in the meeting, to personally look into the matter. A participant of the meeting told reporters that the prime minister had ordered an immediate action against the history-sheeters included in the Fourth Schedule and said the action must not wait for a Rangers-police combined operation strategy and all law-enforcement agencies could act on their own to avert chances of criminals slipping away. The Fourth Schedule comprises the elements found to be or suspected to be involved in anti-state activities, delivering hate speeches and/or activists of religious outfits not yet banned but related with militancy in any way. At least 2,000 criminals are at present included in the list, the official said, adding that the action had been started across Punjab, particularly in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan. The prime minister got infuriated at the Punjab home secretary when a joint director general of the Intelligence Bureau told him that the agency had issued a terror alert well in time. Secretary Azam Sultan claimed in the meeting that his department had issued a circular containing the alert, but law-enforcement agencies overlooked it. The meeting was told that the wife of a terrorist killed in an encounter months ago was now apparently operating the deadly network of a banned outfit. It was also informed that the suspected bomber, whose skull was found at the crime scene, had been working for a banned outfit and also recruited some youths for it. The prime minister expressed displeasure over the entry of the miscreants into Islamabads Red Zone without any hindrance. He was informed that organisers of the chehlum of Mumtaz Qadri had given an assurance that they would not cross a certain limit and thats why Punjab police were ill-prepared to tackle the protesters. We will avenge every last drop of our countrymen blood: Nawaz Sharif ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his address to the nation reiterated Pakistan's "resolve to fight the menace of terrorism till it is rooted out from our society." "The governments leniency should not be mistaken for states weakness," warned the premier. The prime minister said that the entire nation is mourning after the terror attack in Lahore. "We will avenge every last drop of our countrymen's blood," said Nawaz. He stated that although the armed forces are carrying out Operation Zarb-i-Azb, the fight is not over yet. Referring to the recent spats of terrorist attacks outside of Pakistan, the premier stated, "Terrorism has become a global threat and the whole world is affected by it." "In the past three years, the government and security agencies with national resolve backing them have reduced terror activities across the country," said Nawaz. The prime minister elaborated that the country is on "the path of success despite ongoing terror attacks, and the government is on track to make Pakistan the land of happiness and success." The premier also paid his sincerest condolences to the injured and the families which suffered the loss of their loved ones in the Lahore attack. Nawaz, however did not explicitly mention the ongoing sit-in at D-Chowk or announce a security operation against militant elements in southern Punjab. The premier's address comes a day after the horrific suicide attack in Lahore's crowded Gulshan-i-Iqbal park and thousands of protesters breached the Red Zone in the federal capital. The prime minister on Monday cancelled his visit to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in the wake of the tragic Lahore terror attack, Radio Pakistan reported. The delegation will now be led by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi. Nawaz Sharif, while chairing a high-level security meeting in Lahore earlier on Monday, called for more proactive coordination amongst law enforcement and intelligence agencies against terrorism. He said all provinces must step up intelligence-based operations against terrorists, adding that the goal is not only to eliminate the terror infrastructure but also to get rid of the extremist mindset. The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, in collaboration with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and business partners, hosted The Marine Turtle Nesting Site Conservation and Rehabilitation project and the grand opening of The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, an on-site Turtle Shelter and Education Centre, located at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa on March 23, 2016. On this occasion, The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, General Surasak Kanjanarat, participated in the event along with Vice Phuket Governor Dr. Prachiad Aksornthamakul and parties. The event welcomed the Honourary Chairperson of The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, Mrs. Katherine Heinecke, and the executive management team of Marriott International, Mr. Carl Hudson, Area Vice President of Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan and Mr. Oriol Montal, General Manager of JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. The successful event was a great opportunity to officially launch the grand opening of The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, also known as the turtle shelter and education centre, opening its doors to the public as well as marking the special occasion of the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Conservation Declaration signing ceremony among 10 hospitality operators, and 3 government sectors including Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, Anantara Vacation Club Phuket Mai Khao, Dvaree Mai Khao Beach, Holiday Inn Resort Phuket Mai Khao, JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Maikhao Dream Villa Resort and Spa Phuket, Marriott Vacation Club Resort, Renaissance Phuket Resort and Spa, Sala Phuket Resort & Spa, Baan Maikhao Phuket by Sansiri, Mai Khao Sub District Administrative Organization, Phuket Marine Biological Centre, Sirinart National Park and Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation . 19 Turtle were released back to the Andaman Sea as a significant gesture of the special occasion. I am very honored to be here today to represent the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation at the Turtle Shelter and Education Center Grand Opening. I was personally involved with this project when it started 14 years ago when we had a very large leatherback come and lay her eggs in front of the hotel during the hotel opening time, I am very happy to report that she was back again last year laying more eggs. Together with the PMBC, IUCN, our partners and local community we have spent 14 years protecting the turtles of Mai Khao and educating people about their plight. We are very excited to have signed an new Turtle Declaration for Mai Khao and will be working with all of the hotels in Mai Khao in a strategic manner to further positively impact the conservation of turtle and the amazing beauty of this natural area we call Mai Khao. The private sector partners are working closely together to sustain this project financially long term so that we can continue to welcome nesting turtles back to Mai Khao. We are hugely proud and excited about the opening of our on-site turtle and education center where we can share our resident turtles with the community, guests and schools to further inspire them to help with our conservation efforts. Thank you to the Minister for being in attendance and to all of the MKMTF partners for their continued support. This project represents the future of conservation with all parties involved working together for the benefit of turtles and the environment said, Katherine Heinecke, Honourary Chairperson of The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation. Declaration of Marine Turtle Conservation at Mai Khao Beach 1) The association realizes the state of the threatened marine turtles at Mai Khao Beach and is also aware of how important turtle conservation is. Thus, it initiates a joint action for the restoration of Mai Khao Beach as marine turtles habitat and nesting site in Thailand and the region. 2) The association will abide by an ecofriendly strategic effort for the marine turtle and its environment upon the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources code of conduct of turtle nesting ground management and also the Indian Ocean South East Asias MOU. 3) Hospitality operators will promote and create the economic mechanism to support marine turtle conservation activity at Mai Khao Beach. 4) Local authorities will promote and support the participation of the public for the preservation of relevant local traditional culture regarding the marine turtles at Mai Khao Beach. 5) Sirinart National Park performs an effective protection for the marine turtles nesting site and habitat and promotes the participation of owners for turtle conservation and management in its own property. 6) Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) is doing scientific research, monitoring and assessing the status of marine turtles at Mai Khao Beach as well as providing technical advice to the association. 7) Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation is acting as a coordinator in promoting and supporting collaboration among the associations. Under this declaration, the association will conduct an annual meeting to stimulate Mai Khao turtle conservation program into an evident success. A woman waters plants at the Centre Songhai, an organic farm in Porto Novo, Benin, on January 30, 2014 With his pilgrim's staff and panama hat, Father Godfrey Nzamujo nips up and down the paths of Songhai, the organic farm he created nearly 30 years ago to fight poverty and rural migration in Africa. The small farm covered barely a hectare when it was set up in Porto Novo in 1985 but has since become a pilot project for the rest of the continent badly in need of new ideas to maximise yields. The centre in Benin's capital now stretches over 24 hectares (60 acres) and employs an army of workers and apprentices, who toil from sunrise to sunset growing fruit, vegetables and rice, as well as rearing fish, pigs, poultry. "Nothing is wasted, everything is transformed" according to Nzamujo's principle, with even chicken droppings turned into the bio-gas that powers the centre's kitchens. Big plans Songhai in tiny Benin has big plans for Africa. It already has similar operations in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone and wants to set up shop in 13 more west and central African countries. Nzamujo's raison d'etre is how to help Africans increase yields through simple techniques, without using pesticides or fertilisers, and while cutting production costs and protecting the environment. The Nigeria-born priest, who was raised in California on the US west coast, said he was shocked by the appalling images of famine in Africa on television at the start of the 1980s. He then left to discover the continent to see how he could put to good use his university training in agronomics, economics and information technology and fight against poverty on his own terms. After visiting a number of countries, he ended up in Benin where the country's then-Marxist government gave him a small plot. "It was abandoned land, killed by chemical fertiliser and conventional agricultural practices. It didn't work," he told AFP. "There were seven of us. We dug wells and watered with our own hands. And during the main dry season, this grey surface became green," he recalled with a smile. The Centre Songhai, an organic farm in Porto Novo, Benin, on January 30, 2014 Increased yields Nzamujo's secret is in imitating nature, encouraging "good bacteria" present in the soil to maximise production without having to rely on chemicals. Yields at Songhai speak for themselves: the farm produces seven tonnes of rice per hectare three times a year, up from one tonne per hectare once a year at the beginning of the project. "Songhai is facing up to the triple challenge of Africa today: poverty, environment and youth employment," said Nzamujo proudly. The cleric's system centres on local production and distribution, creating economic activity to tackle poverty head on. At Songhai, jam simmers in large pots while chickens are roasted and soya oil, rice and fruit juice are packaged for sale in the centre's shop or served at its restaurant. Discarded parts of agricultural machinery are reused to create ingenious contraptions and used water is filtered using water hyacinths. The centre also has an Internet point and even a bank so that local people can avoid going into the city centre. Interns and innovation Youth employment is encouraged and some 400 farm apprenticesselected by competitionare trained every year. The 18-month course is entirely free. A man wheels coconuts in a barrow at the Centre Songhai, an organic farm in Porto Novo, Benin, on January 30, 2014 Paul Okou is one of them. The 25-year-old from Parakou, northern Benin, would like to follow his parents into farming but is hoping to work in a more profitable way. "My parents use traditional, archaic methods while at Songhai we learn the modern way, albeit makeshift," he said. "What we used to do in two days now we do in two hours." The apprentices are sent into villages where they apply what they have learned. Once in charge of a farm, they join the Songhai network and are checked regularly. Songhai also welcomes interns who are paying for their own training. Father Godfrey Nzamujo, director of the Centre Songhai, speaks on the farm in Porto Novo, Benin, on January 30, 2014 They include Abua Eucharia Nchinor, a Nigerian in his 30s, and Kemajou Nathanael, a 39-year-old former salesman from Cameroon, who both want to open an organic farm in their respective countries. According to Nzamujo, Songhai is not a cure-all for Africa's problems but tackles their root causes. "Imagine if all the young people who hang around big cities did their training here and we equip them. ... Imagine the productivity of Africa today." he said. Explore further Global research chief sees rice boom in Africa 2014 AFP Sandia National Laboratories included maps in its report to show varying levels of potential flooding based on different scenarios. Credit: Sandia National Laboratories In Norfolk, Virginia, an East Coast city that's home to the world's largest naval station and important seaports, catastrophic flooding could damage more than homes and roads. A new study from Sandia National Laboratories assesses how much the city, its region and the nation would suffer in damages to national assets and lost economic activity if it does nothing to address rising sea levels. In partnership with the City of Norfolk's Resilience Office and 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation, Sandia analyzed the risk to important assets, quantified their value and helped Norfolk prioritize the most effective ways to stay resilient in a natural or manmade disaster. Sandia created an Urban Resilience Analysis Process to help reframe the conversation in Norfolk regarding flooding and demonstrate how the long-term benefits of mitigation outweigh the short-term costs associated with it, systems scientist Robert Jeffers said. The city and region are now taking new approaches to handle the resilience challenges posed by rising tides and water management. The process, now available to other cities, is a holistic framework. It includes key elements of Sandia's critical infrastructure modeling and simulation tools, risk consequence assessment and systems analysis expertise to show cities the most effective investments they can make to become more resilient, Jeffers said. The report also shows individual cities how their resiliency affects other cities in their region, the nation and the world, he added. Sandia's report, "Development of an Urban Resilience Analysis Framework with Application to Norfolk, VA," is available to the public on Sandia's 100 Resilient Cities website, which also contains information about ways Sandia can help improve resiliency. To prove the analysis process works, Sandia analyzed Norfolk's vulnerabilities in the face of a nor'easter, a storm that blows in from the northeast and brings severe coastal flooding, erosion and hurricane-force wind, along with economic damage. The work was done in partnership with 100RC, which currently works with a global network of 67 cities to better prepare communities like Norfolk to withstand natural or manmade disasters, recover more quickly and emerge stronger. "Sandia Labs provided Norfolk with an invaluable level of expertise and technical support through this partnership. The systems analysis they produced gave the city new data and insights into the value and interdependencies of its economy, as well as the relative strengths and vulnerabilities of its infrastructure," said Amy Armstrong, director of city relationships for 100RC. "This data and analysis will be crucial in Norfolk's future planning efforts, and it is my hope other cities in the 100RC network are also able to take advantage of this sophisticated analysis to help make them more resilient to the inevitable shocks and stresses they will face." Since 2001, Sandia conducted consequence analyses at a national scale at the Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC), jointly housed at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. DHS created NISAC to assess the impacts of a variety of threats to the nation's critical infrastructures. The research foundation built by NISAC made it possible for Sandia to build its detailed analysis of Norfolk's infrastructure, Jeffers said. Report identifies risks that could harm infrastructures critical to city's wellbeing "Recently, a lot of people have come to the realization that cities are where the rubber meets the road," said manager Eric Vugrin, who leads Sandia's 100RC work. "It's the cities that have the governance and operational responsibility to get things done." In the first step of the Urban Resilience Analysis Process, Sandia experts work with city personnel, utility and industrial representatives and emergency planners to identify potential disasters and infrastructure that's critical to the city. That initial step will inform later decisions about investment priorities, Vugrin said. Then decision-makers identify acute and chronic problems for the city and develop resilience metrics to measure the effectiveness of different solutions. In Norfolk's case, Sandia estimated direct economic losses to local businesses and indirect losses to local, national and international businesses. While such analyses would take into account multiple scenarios and infrastructures, Sandia's report was limited in scope to show what such a process can do for cities. Sandia looked at four critical infrastructureselectrical power, telecommunications, transportation and its fuelsand the economic damage that would result from disrupted services in Norfolk and the region. Analysis can detail city's national, global importance Sandia researched the effects of a 100-year flood in three scenarios of net rising sea levels of 0, 1.5 and 3 feet and created maps at a resolution of 10.9 yards (10 meters) to show how far inland floodwater would reach. Experts then overlaid electrical substations, roadways, telecommunications centers and fuel infrastructure to show the flood's impact, Jeffers said. The analysis focused on Naval Station Norfolk; the Norfolk International Terminal, one of the nation's busiest ports; and Lambert's Point Pier 6 Coal Terminal, the largest and fastest coal transport facility in the northern hemisphere. Pier 6 and two other coal terminals in the region account for about 40 percent of all coal exports from the U.S. and about 70 percent of coal shipping capacity on the eastern seaboard, Jeffers said. Norfolk is "critical to coal transportation nationally and globally, particularly for coal blended for metallurgical uses, such as steel production," Jeffers said. By providing cities like Norfolk with data to quantify their national and global importance, Sandia helps them build their cases for obtaining funding to pay for infrastructure investments, Vugrin said. Quantifying impacts helps cities prioritize cost-effective solutions The Regional Economic Accounting Tool developed by Sandia found that regional direct and indirect economic impacts in the four days following a flood would range from $354 million to $606 million, depending on which of the three scenarios the model used, according to the report. Indirect economic impacts might include disruptions to the regional supply chain or losses to businesses dependent on infrastructure and related businesses suffering flood damage. "The city itself might not be able to afford all the flood mitigation they require, but if you look at the national security and national economic implications, the performance of the city of Norfolk is important and there may be national incentives to help them build resilience into their city," Vugrin said. Norfolk Chief Resilience Officer Christine Morris added: "The opportunity to work with the experts at Sandia on the development of an Urban Resilience Analysis framework provided the city of Norfolk with an incredible opportunity to better understand how to prioritize investments. Giving cities access to world-class analytical talent like Sandia is exactly what is needed to build resilient cities." While Norfolk's report was limited in scope to show how the concept worked, such analyses can be applied to any disaster, for example, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, cyberattacks, power outages or terrorist attacks. And, cities can choose to analyze any number of critical infrastructures or solutions, the researchers said. Eventually, Norfolk can determine the most cost-effective investments by plugging in a variety of solutions or combinations of solutions into the model, which will simulate the economic outcome of each choice, Jeffers said. With more research and development, Sandia aims to improve the analysis tool and make it more user-friendly for cities, Vugrin said. "City planners don't have time to learn the sophisticated mathematical models in the tool," he explained, "so Sandia is asking how we get to the point where we can simplify this framework and hand it over to the cities for their use." Explore further Resilient cities focus of new Sandia, Rockefeller Foundation pact to help 100 communities Lee Hickey (left) and Adnan Riaz (right). Scientists from The University of Queensland are undertaking world-first research into ancient wheats to ensure the crop's future. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation's Dr Lee Hickey said humans domesticated wheat about 10,000 years ago. "Modern breeding and a switch to monoculture cropping has greatly improved yield and quality, but the lack of genetic variation has caused crops to become more vulnerable to new diseases and climate change," he said. "Diversity in ancient strains could hold the key to the future." Dr Hickey said disease and drought cost the industry millions of dollars every year, and climate change was likely to make the situation worse. Fortunately for today's researchers, Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov devoted his life to the improvement of cereal crops. During the early 1900s, Vavilov travelled the world collecting seeds that he stored in a seed bank in Leningrad, now known as the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources. "Vavilov's unique seed collection represents a snap shot of ancient wheats grown around the world prior to modern breeding," Dr Hickey said. Following in the footsteps of the Russian scientist, UQ PhD student Adnan Riaz has performed the world's first genome-wide analysis of Vavilov's seeds. "A total of 295 diverse wheats were examined using 34,000 DNA markers," Mr Riaz said. "The genomic analysis revealed a massive array of genes that are absent in modern Australian wheat cultivars. "The ancient genes could offer valuable sources of disease resistance or drought tolerance." The Hickey Lab has offers the research community open-access to this resource, including the pure seed of the ancient wheats, along with DNA marker information. "We hope this will empower scientists and wheat breeders to rediscover genetic diversity lying dormant in our seed banks," Dr Hickey said. Explore further New wheat genetic advancements aimed at yield enhancement More information: Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. www.springer.com/life+sciences iences/journal/10722 Sand replenishment at Imperial Beach was one of the eight San Diego beaches examined in the UC San Diego study. Credit: Heather Henter, UC San Diego UC San Diego biologists who examined the biological impact of replenishing eroded beaches with offshore sand found that such beach replenishment efforts could have long-term negative impacts on coastal ecosystems. The scientists, who studied the effects of beach replenishment efforts on the abundance of intertidal invertebrates at eight different beaches in San Diego County, discovered that the movement of sand onto those beaches resulted in a more than twofold reduction in the abundance of intertidal invertebrates after 15 months. "We found rather long lasting declines in invertebrate abundances due to replenishment," said Joshua Kohn, a professor of biology who headed the study, which was published this week in the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. "These invertebrates are what shorebirds eat when they poke their bills in the sand. They are also food for small inshore fish." "Such reductions may have far reaching consequences for sandy beach ecosystems," the researchers warn in their paper, "as community declines can reduce prey availability for shorebirds and fish." While other researchers had previously looked at the impact of beach replenishment on certain taxa of invertebrates at specific beaches, the UC San Diego study is unusual in that it examined the impact on the total invertebrate community across eight different beaches in San Diego County from Oceanside south to Imperial Beach. The UC San Diego biologists were also able compare their results at each beach where sand was pumped onshore to an untreated section of the beach, which served as a control. The opportunity to conduct the study came about in the fall of 2012 when the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers embarked on an ambitious project to replenish eight beaches with a total of 1.76 million cubic meters of sand. Only portions of each beach were replenished so that other sections of the beach could be used for foraging birds and fish. "This provided the strongest experimental system yet to assess the effects of replenishment," said Kohn. "With replenished and control sections of each beach, we could assess both the general effects of replenishment as well as variation among beaches in their invertebrate communities and responses to replenishment." To conduct their study, Kohn and the other co-authors of the study, Heather Henter, a biologist and academic coordinator of the Natural Reserve System, and Tyler Wooldridge, a graduate student, enlisted the help of undergraduates in UC San Diego's Environmental Systems program to sample the replenished and control sections of each of the eight beaches starting in the fall of 2012. The students then resampled those sections four months later, 12 months later and 15 months after the initial replenishment. The eight beaches sampled from north to south were South Oceanside Beach, North Carlsbad Beach, South Carlsbad Beach, Batiquitos Beach, Moonlight Beach, Cardiff State Beach, Fletcher Cove and Imperial Beach. "When people look at the sandy beach it looks like nothing could possible live there," said Henter. "It looks devoid of life. But when you actually dig down into the sand, there are a lot of creatures. This seems odd because there is no primary production on the beach. No plants grow there so there should be nothing to eat. But the sandy beach animals feed on seaweed and detritus cast ashore and plankton that washes in from the ocean." "In San Diego there are multiple species of tiny worms called polychaetes," she added. "Little bean clams, Donax gouldii, are sometimes on our beaches by the thousands and there are various crustaceans such as amphipods (sandhoppers) and mole crabs, Emerita analoga, that stick their feathery antennae up above the sand to filter food out of the waves in the swash zone." The researchers found that nearly all taxa showed major declines in their abundances shortly after beach replenishment, but that populations of sandhoppers and bean clams recovered within one year. On some beaches, populations of mole crabs bloomed four months after replenishment and were even more numerous for a short time than on control portions of beaches, but subsequently declined. Polychaete worms, the most common invertebrates at the beach, meanwhile, showed sharp declines at all of the beaches that continued to the end of the study. "There's a lot we don't yet know about the effect of sand replenishment on the community of organisms that live in the sandy beach, and the animals that depend on them," said Henter. "In our study, some species seemed to increase in abundance after replenishment, others decreased, but this was really variable." Because sandy beaches make up two-thirds of the world's shorelines and many other beach communities around the nation and world employ costly replenishment efforts to combat erosion at economically important beaches, the UC San Diego biologists believe it's critical to continue studies of the ecological impact of beach replenishment. "There are large gaps in our knowledge," said Wooldridge. "For instance, how long will the effects we observed last? What is the effect of reduced invertebrate abundance on bird and fish populations? Another key question is how frequent and widespread should efforts to replenish beaches be? Are there times of the year when it is more or less disruptive for the animals that live in the sandy beach? To answer those questions, we need more studies." Explore further Border collies chase away beach contamination A new study from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab identifies security and privacy issues in QQ Browser, a mobile browser produced by China-based Internet giant Tencent, which may put many millions of users of the application at risk of serious compromise. Citizen Lab researchers identified problems in both the Android and Windows versions of the application. The Android version of the browser transmits personally identifiable data, including a user's search terms, the URLs of visited websites, nearby WiFi access points, and the user's IMSI and IMEI identifiers, without encryption or with easily decrypted encryption. Similarly, the Windows version sends personally identifiable data, including the URL of all pages visited in the browser, a user's hard drive serial number, MAC address, Windows hostname, and Windows user security identifier, also without encryption or with easily decrypted decryption. The transmission of personally identifiable user data without properly implemented encryption leaves this data vulnerable to surveillance by a number of intermediaries, including a user's ISP, wireless network operator, mobile carrier, a malicious actor with network visibility, and/or a government agency with access to any of those intermediaries. "QQ Browser phones home information on your device's hardware serial numbers and tracks your location and every page you visit. Even the person you trust most does not have access to this amount of information on you and yet QQ receives it from everyone who uses their browser," said Jeffrey Knockel, Senior Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs In addition, both the Windows and Android versions of the application did not adequately protect the software update process, which leaves the application vulnerable to the execution of arbitrary code. This means that a user could be deceived by a malicious actor into installing malware without their knowledge during the QQ Browser update process. Citizen Lab researchers disclosed these vulnerabilities to Tencent on February 5, 2016. Tencent security engineers acknowledged these security concerns and released updated versions of both the Windows and Android versions of the application in March 2016. Analysis by Citizen Lab researchers showed that some of the problems identified were resolved, while others remain. The Citizen Lab's Director, Ron Deibert, also sent questions to Tencent seeking comment on the reasons for the vulnerabilities and data collection issues, specifically requesting comment on whether the company is following state directives. China maintains one of the world's most extensive censorship and surveillance regimes and all companies are required by law to follow state regulations. China's anti-terrorism law, which came into effect on January 1, 2016, includes requirements for telecommunications operators and Internet service providers to "provide technical interfaces, decryption, and other technical support assistance to public security organs and state security organs conducting prevention and investigation of terrorist activities in accordance with law". As of the date of publication, however, Tencent has not replied to the Citizen Lab letter. "Most users would likely be surprised to discover the extent of personally identifiable data that the application is collecting, and would likely be troubled to find it is being transmitted in an insecure manner. If developers are going to be collecting this data, it is imperative that they use widely-accepted methods of transmitting the data in a more secure way," said Adam Senft, Researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs. This is the third web browser produced by a China-based company that Citizen Lab researchers have identified security issues with. In May 2015, Citizen Lab research identified similar security concerns with UC Browser, a popular mobile web browser owned by China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba. In February 2016, Citizen Lab published a report describing similar security concerns with Baidu Browser, a web browser produced by China-based Baidu. "The collection of such sensitive information about a user, and its insecure transmission across networks, is disturbing regardless of where it takes place. But the fact that this is being undertaken in a context like Chinawhere there is extensive surveillance, companies are required by law to share user data with authorities on demand, and dissidents are routinely incarcerated for opposition to the governmentis a serious matter of personal security and human rights," said Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs. Explore further Researchers find privacy problems in popular Baidu browser University of Oxford and Monash University scientists have discovered how proteins present in tick saliva prevent the immune system from running amok. Work published today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology by a joint team from Oxford University and Australia's ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, reveals a connection between an important therapeutic, Eculizumab, and proteins in tick saliva. Eculizumab, sold under the name Soliris, is currently the only therapeutic available for treating life threatening blood disorders, Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical haemolytic-uremic syndrome (aHUS). In these diseases, the immune system attacks and destroys blood cells. Soliris works by shutting down part of our immune system. When ticks bite an unsuspecting victim they inject substances that inhibit the same part of the immune system that Solaris targets. These substances allow the insect to stay attached and feed on people for up to ten days without the immune system recognising and destroying them. The Oxford and Monash research team set out to understand how these insects can shut down an immune reaction. The team used a combination of X-ray crystallography and powerful microscopes within the Ramaciotti Centre for Cryo-electron microscopy at Monash University to look into the molecular structures of both the tick proteins and Soliris in complex with the immune proteins they bind. If you have PNH or aHUS your immune system attacks your blood cells. And the consequences of these diseases are devastating and systemic. "Soliris is also one of the most expensive drugs in the world, costing up to $500,000 per patient per year," says Associate Professor Hans Elmlund, Imaging CoE and co-lead author of the paper. "Using three-dimensional electron microscopy and computer modelling we could determine exactly where Soliris binds and understand how it inhibits this part of the immune system. Knowing this, and knowing how ticks defend themselves will provide novel inhibitors." Professor Susan Lea, Oxford University and visiting academic at Monash University explains that the tick proteins are much smaller and easier to make than the antibodies in Soliris and may result in much cheaper therapies for a range of different immune disorders. "The tick proteins act at the same point in the cascade as Soliris but they differ in molecular detail, and therefore may provide routes to treatment of patients with PNH who have become resistant to Soliris," says Susan. She adds: "Blood poisoning, or Sepsis, kills over six million people a year. Affected individuals often die because of a powerful, but ultimately catastrophic, immune over-reaction called 'cytokine storm'. Our team hope that the tick-related proteins may one day be of use in controlling cytokine storm in order to lessen mortality in conditions such as sepsis." Explore further Tick spit protein may trigger allergic reactions More information: Structural basis for therapeutic inhibition of complement C5, Nature Structural and Molecular Biology , DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.3196 Journal information: Nature Structural and Molecular Biology Structural basis for therapeutic inhibition of complement C5, 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 Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser By the end of this year, the empty lot at 1923 Ella Street will be the site of a new home, built by Nebraska inmates. Officials of the city of Beatrice, the Nebraska Department of Corrections and nonprofit Prairie Gold Homes held a ground breaking ceremony on the site Monday afternoon. Welcome to the community, gentlemen, City Administrator Tobias Templemeyer said at the ceremony to the crew, who are residents of the Community Corrections Center in Lincoln. We look forward to having you and working with you. Thank you everyone for your hard work and partnership. Mayor Stan Wirth also spoke briefly. We hope to have it pre-sold before completion and before moving on to the next one, Wirth said. The house will be between 1,200 and 1,235 square feet with three bedrooms, a two-stall garage and a full but unfinished basement. Wirth said the price has not been set but that it will be considered affordable. It should be done by Thanksgiving, said Renee Bauer, executive director of Prairie Gold Homes. Its a little slower of a timeline because this is a learning experience for the crew. Others who spoke at the ceremony shared positive comments about the Prairie Gold Homes program, specifically in its ability to train inmates in the field of construction and lead them to such a job. We hope that, in this short period, we can make a difference in their lives and that they can go on to be successful, said Prairie Gold Homes Board of Directors President Byron Fischer. After shovels dug into the property and cameras clicked, Fischer told a story about one such inmate who applied for the program, went through the weeks of training and helped build a home with his peers. He said, Thank you for developing this program, Fischer said. He had 10 days till he was out, he was second in command in a concrete business, he had a girlfriend. He was so happy. I thought that maybe we gave a little spark, made a little difference in his life. The men of the program are called students, Fischer said. First, the men apply. Then, they go through Home Builders Institute pre-apprenticeship construction training, Fischer said. By the time the home is finished, the men are OSHA trained, know first aid and have one to two weeks of life skills and vocational skills. Inmates and crew members Ty Sullivan and Mike Ziemer said the program is widely known and accredited within the corrections facility. Its pretty big news, Sullivan said. Not all institutions have access to this. People talk about what this program can do. A lot of places (construction firms) dont hire someone without experience or with a background. Prior to his incarceration, Sullivan worked as an electrician with some experience in framing and flooring. This allows me to do things Ive never done before and to better expand my abilities, Sullivan said. Sullivan said the program is important, offers the men valuable opportunities and provides training by great instructors. After hes out, Sullivan said he intends to go to school to get a certification as an electrician and find a job as one. I was working in construction before and this is an opportunity to get OSHA trained and to learn everything correctly, Ziemer said. A lay citizen pays $200 and 10 hours of time for OSHA training, Ziemer said. The certification in safety regulations is good for life. We have very good instructors, Ziemer said. Its a very good program. They take the time to teach you. The new home will be energy efficient and low maintenance, according to a press release. Bauer said R.L. Tiemann Construction will start digging the foundation on Wednesday. After that, if we dont get a lot of rain, things will move very quickly, Bauer said. We want a quality built home when were done and we want to train the guys how to build it the right way. The American Legion Louis-Milan Post #101 in Wilber is 97 years old. The birthday celebration took place on March 14 at the Legions Park Building, hosted by the American Legion Auxiliary Unit #101, with a patriotic birthday cake. Following the ceremonious presentation of the American Flag, and the Pledge of Allegiance, the group sang The Star Spangled Banner. Legion Commander Gary Wooten honored all those U.S. soldiers listed as missing in action or prisoners of war. After dinner, the local, district, county and state Auxiliary and Legion Officers in attendance were introduced. ENCS (SW) Dave Packer, USN, retired, was the speaker for the evening with visual information of his deployment in Iraq in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Deb Albers, the auxiliary department (state) vice president, from Davenport, spoke to the Legionnaires and the Auxiliary of the importance of membership as the future for the vitality of both groups. Albers conducted a ceremony of awarding a Quilt of Valor to one of the Wilber Legions longest serving members, William (Bill) Kottas, to honor his service to his country and to the American Legion. Special recognition was awarded to John Prochazka, who has spent many years caring for the Legions Park area and building. Prochazka was bestowed the honor of the Legions District Citizen of the Year award earlier this month at the Legions District Convention in Deshler. Other attending Legion members who received recognition for their continuous service in the Wilber Legion were: James Burger for 60 years, Roger Horky and Fred Kozak for 50 years, and Jon Fritz for 45 years. Those awardees not attending were: Alvin Zach for 60 years, Leonard Salda for 55 years, Albert Skrabal, Jr. for 45 years, Byron Homolka and Elmer Nemec for 40 years each, and Lynn Erb and Walter for Prucha, 30 years each. Auxiliary members receiving awards for continuous membership in attendance were Mary Schleis, 70 years, and Linda Wagner-Beck, 10 years. Awardees not attending were Grace Kozak and Irma J. Ripa with 70 years each, and Jane Buckner-Baxa with 50 years. School days may extend for certain Beatrice Public Schools students and on certain days starting as soon as next year. Two different proposals of scheduling changes were discussed at the BPS Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting Thursday night. One would affect middle school students, while the other would extend the district school day by 30 minutes on Wednesdays. One proposal, pitched to the board by BPS Director of Curriculum Jackie Nielsen, would extend all students days by 30 minutes on Wednesdays. This would, in turn, shorten staff PLC (professional learning communities) time by 30 minutes. Due to PLC time, students currently get out of school between 2 and 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Board members did not express opposition to the measure, but said that BPS building staff and administrators should discuss the move. Jackie is in the process of getting input from staff, BPS Superintendent Pat Nauroth said on Monday. Nauroth said it is not required that the board vote on the measures. He said it hasnt been decided whether the items will be put on an agenda of a future meeting for a board vote. The second measure would add a ninth period, an activity period, at the end of certain school days at Beatrice Middle School from 3:16 to 3:45 p.m., starting this fall. Each teacher would be required to host one enrichment activity during the period each week. The ninth periods would likely be included on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Student attendance during the period would be encouraged, but not required, and would include fun activities for the students outside of textbooks and rigid curriculum. The principal, assistant principal and two teachers of BMS presented the idea to the board. They said the School Improvement Team, which is comprised mostly of students, came up with the idea. We had the idea to bring back the enrichment period, said BMS language arts teacher Heidi Krieger. We did things like scrapbooking, hunter safety, clay work, foreign language, exercise. The group said the ninth period would include such activities, most of which would be free to the district. Students who miss a certain amount of assignments would not be eligible for the activity period, they said. This would work as a motivator for students to take initiative on their own, Assistant Principal Pam Henning said. Principal John Jarosh said the possible change relates directly to facets of the districts master plan, such as student accountability and relationship building between staff and students. The activity time might give sixth graders a chance to participate in instrumental music, for example, Jarosh said. The proponents said the activity period would spark interests for the students. They would bring in individuals from the community to host programs, which would build community relations, they said. The big thing is that it would provide more fun at the middle school, Jarosh said. It would give them something to look forward to and a reason to go to school. Motivation comes from the inside. If you can make them thirsty, then theyll drink. The students would not be forced to stay for the activity period. The middle school staff members said that some students might not participate, but that theyre confident most or all would. There are some concerns with this, but the positives outweigh the things to work out, Jarosh said. Henning said a lot of students otherwise go home to an empty house as parents work. The big factor in a childs success is personal relationships with someone in that building, Henning said. The administrators said teachers are required and would still be required to stay until 3:45 p.m. No action was taken on the measures. The board may vote on the items at a future board meeting. The BPS Board of Education holds its meetings, which are open to the public, in the Board Room of the Central Administration Building at Sixth and High streets. Regular meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month and Committee of the Whole meetings are at 6 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of every month. This renovated former gas station in Farmville will be leased by ECU for a hand-blown glass art studio. The project is a result of a grassroots effort by The Farmville Group, a volunteer economic development association interested in growing the local economy through the arts. (Photos by Jay Clark) This photo was taken before the former gas station in downtown Farmville was renovated to house ECUs hand-blown glass art studio. (Contributed photo) East Carolina University's School of Art and Design plans to open a hand-blown glass art studio in downtown Farmville.Hand-blown glass is a new curriculum area for ECU and the first of its kind in the UNC system. Students will travel from main campus in Greenville for classes, which are expected to begin this fall, said Dr. Chris Buddo, dean of the ECU College of Fine Arts and Communication.Because of the type of equipment and space needed, no more than six to eight students will be able to participate at a time.Buddo said.Hand-blown glass eventually could become a new concentration in the art school. Initial interest is expected to come from ceramics and sculpture students, Buddo said.The project is a result of a grassroots effort by The Farmville Group, a volunteer economic development association interested in growing the local economy through the arts. The Allen and Stowe families donated the building to the DeVisconti Trust, which is leasing it to ECU.said Bynum Satterwhite, representative for the DeVisconti Trust.Community leaders first contacted ECU in 2014 to talk about opening a studio or art gallery space as a wayBuddo said.In response, ECU proposed a glass art facility that would not only serve as a classroom for students, but would become a destination for anyone interested in learning about glass blowing. The studio will feature public viewing areas and will offer workshops to the general public, including underserved populations who may never have been exposed to this type of art.Buddo said.The School of Art and Design will be recruiting two artists to serve as adjunct faculty members and purchasing equipment needed for glass production. ECU also will be partnering with Pitt Community College and Pitt County Schools to make the facility available for instruction and other learning opportunities.Todd Edwards, a member of The Farmville Group, wanted to create an incubator for young artists that would help retain talent in the area and have local economic impact. His construction company is contractor for the trust on the project.said Edwards.After researching a hand-blown glass facility in another town, Edwards said, "Glass blowing is theater. It's amazing to watch. It will be a community asset."ECU will pay approximately $14,000 a year, plus utilities, to lease the building that officials are calling the "glass station" as a nod to the building's former life as a gas station on West Wilson Street. Built in 1946, the building will provide about 2,400 square feet of studio space.ECU has the largest studio art program in North Carolina, which is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.Curriculum areas include animation, art foundations, ceramics, cinema, drawing, graphic design, illustration, interactive media, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textile design and video.For more information, visit www.ecu.edu/soad.com San Diego State -3 San Diego State has really been on a tear in the NIT and they have the home crowd to thank for that. Their defense has really stepped up and it has absolutely tired out opposing offenses. During previous wins vs. Georgia Tech and Washington, they pulled away late in the second half to a commanding lead due to their relentless defense. San Diego State is ranked 2nd in the country in defensive efficiency. I think that combined with the chip SDSU still has on their shoulder is going to wear out this George Washington team. Take SDSU and BOL! 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. To improve yields and food security, while cutting back on the 1.5 billion the country already spends on importing basic foods each year, there needs to be some significant investment in the seed production and distribution business in Ghana as a crucial part of the larger effort towards agriculture mechanisation. This was discussed at a 2-day Entrepreneurship for Commercial Seed Incubation Business (ECOSIB) training programme in Kumasi, organised by Agri-Impact Consult together with its international partners. Dan Acquaye, the Executive Director of Agri-Impact Consult, said Africa imports over $50 billion of foods annually and there exists enormous opportunities for joint business growth and development in Africa if governments double investment in the seed sector and adopt innovative technologies and support policies that will create space for the private sector to improve productivity and provide opportunities for the youth, thereby, reducing unemployment in Africa. He believes it is time for innovation in the seed sub-sector of the agribusiness industry through the creation of private sector space, the provision of seed business incentives and the development of practical options for public-private-partnership in agribusiness trade and seed value chain financing. The owners and representatives of the seed businesses who were present at the ECOSIB training programme were taken through several capacity building lessons aimed at increasing access and availability of superior quality seeds to smallholder farmers in Ghana. Funded by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the USAID, the purpose of ECOSIB is to build the technical & managerial competencies of SMEs in seed business and develop a cadre of seed business entrepreneurs with the requisite skills to engage in commercial seed production and distribution of quality seeds in Ghana. Pressure has been mounting on Wampah to resign following the arrest of his son-in-law, David McDermott, over his alleged involvement in drug trade. David McDermott has been married to Dr. Wampah's step-daughter, Ramona Wampah for three years, but was arrested in Ghana at his home in Burma Hills on March 11, 2016. At a meeting to announce the new Monetary Policy Rate on March 21, Wampah refused to resign over his son-in-law. "My son in law is my son in law; it has nothing to do with me being Governor of the Central Bank. I have made a statement on that and that should be enough for you. My term will end this year and I will let you know when am going so thank you, he told a news conference. Wampah's term officially ends on August 5. READ MORE: Ministry calls on SA mining companies to invest in jewelry industry However the company said it had not yet decided whether to inject more cash into Damang, one of two mines operated by Gold Fields in Ghana, or suspend operations there, company spokesman Sven Lunsche said. "This is obviously a positive input into our decision-making process, though we are considering many other economic, financial and mining variables in the process," Lunsche added, referring to the agreement with the government. Damang did not benefit from weaker currencies as did its mines in other regions, leaving it exposed to sinking gold prices. The agreement is effective from March 17 and runs for nine years for Damang, and for 11 years for Gold Fields' other mine Tarkwa, each renewable for an additional five years, the company said. "Ghana continues to be a key region for Gold Fields and we commend the Government of Ghana for creating a fair and competitive environment in the country," Gold Fields said. This is according to Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. Pulse Business has been checking up on progress of these three domestic airlines who have not been operational for the past to three years owing to debt and the safety of their aircrafts. Head of Business Development and Statistics, Rev. Stephen Wilfred Arthur says the companies have taken steps to commence operations in the third quarter of 2016. There is a change of ownership apart from the change in name of the airline, it has some risk and security concerns that need to be done. Citi link are also making big strives to commence operations in the third quarter of 2016. Antrak Air suspended operations in 2013 over indebtedness to Swiss Air over a Wet Lease Agreement, whereas Fly 540 withdrew in order to restructure and rebrand their operations. Maserati staged the world premiere of the Levante 350 hp at the beginning of March at the 2016 Geneva Auto Show. As of now, all Maserati vehicle models can be reserved via its Tmall flagship store. Chinese Customers are able to get any model they like by offering online down payment and paying off the rest of the money at Maseratis offline stores. As an online shopping platform, Maseratis Tmall flagship store will integrate optimized resources in e-commerce promotion and market sales with Alibaba, said Wang Li, general manager of Alibabas automotive business division. Tmall started its vehicle-selling business in April 2014, and has sold many car brands including Tesla, BMW, General Motors and Volkswagen. The BNI arrested the three ex-police officers, Major Ahmed Shaik (retd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwahye, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45, last Sunday, March 20 in the Agona East of the Central region for "training fifteen young men in various military drills, including unarmed combat, weapon handling, VIP protection techniques and rapid response maneuvers." The BNI had argued that their activities might pose a security threat to the country. The three were subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit crime and unlawful training. They were deported Tuesday via a South African Airways flight number 210, which departed around 9:26am to Johannesburg. They were put on board South African Airways flight number 210, which departed around 9:26 to Johannesburg, Graphic Online has reported. A statement by GIS Tuesday stated that "it is the view of the GIS that the training exercise conducted by the three at the El Capitano Hotel in the Central Region to a group that did not invite them, is clearly a confirmation of the attempt to conceal the motive for their visit and was therefore a breach of Section 52(1) (e) and (i) of the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573). Their act is also a breach of the conditions precedent for the issuance of visas as contained in the instructions on Form B (Reg.3 (4) of the Immigration Regulation 2001 (LI 1691)." Below is the full statement by the Ghana Immigration Service: Repatriation of three South African nationals FINDINGS The three (3) SA nationals were issued B1 (Business) visas which prohibits any form of employment. Their individual hosts had indicated in their respective invitation letters that subjects were to travel to Accra for a series of business meetings with them. MlungiselelI Jokani and Denver Dwayne Naidu who are both employees of GLAEXEC PROTECTION SERVICES LTD in South Africa were invited by Dr Daniel Mckorley of McDan Shipping Company Ltd by a letter dated 2/03/16. Hazis Ahmed Shaik an employee of iMvula Quality Protection (Africa) (Pty) Ltd on the other hand was invited by Nana Attobrah Quaicoe of the Danquah Institute by a letter dated 22/12/15. Hazis Shaik was first to arrive in Ghana. He came on board a South Africa Airlines plane, [Flt no. SA 52] at around 9:40pm on the 5/03/16 on a Republic of South Africa passport number M00052092. He indicated on his disembarkation Card that Movenpick Hotel Accra was his contact Address in Ghana. The two other individuals invited by McDan Shipping Ltd arrived in Ghana around 10:15pm on 14/03/16 on South African Airlines, [Flt No. SA 209] and were both travelling on Republic of South Africa passport numbers M00096231 and A05213410 respectively. They both indicated on their disembarkation cards that Alisa Hotel-Accra was their contact Address in Ghana. WRITTEN STATEMENTS In their own hand written statements, taken under caution at the BNI and in the presence of their Lawyer, the three (3) individuals indicated that they were engaged by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to come to the country and conduct training for fifteen (15) bodyguards from the party in VIP security drills. Hazis who was identified by the other two as their leader, indicated in his statement that he was engaged to provide VIP protection training to the protection security officers of the Leader of the Opposition party in Ghana, the NPP. This was my reason for being in Ghana. This statement does not conform with the purpose of their invitation [travel to Accra for a series of business meetings] which they indicated on their application for visa to the Ghana Mission in Pretoria, South Africa. Based on the aforementioned findings the GIS draws the following conclusions; The two organizations which extended the invitation to the three South Africans are not known to be registered security companies. The series of meetings indicated in the invitation letters, on the strength of which the visas were issued, were to be held in Accra with the two organizations. On the face of the documentation examined, it was clear that the three individuals were not sure of who actually invited them. The NPP as a legal entity did not invite the three South Africans to Ghana and there is no documentation to contradict this fact. The evidence available points to McDan Shipping Ltd and the Danquah Institute as the invitees. As earlier indicated these institutions are not security organisations. They were training 15 Ghanaians out of Accra in security drills, which contradict the express purpose for their coming to Ghana, which was to attend meetings. Additionally, it is the view of the GIS that the training exercise conducted by the three at the El Capitano Hotel in the Central Region to a group that did not invite them, is clearly a confirmation of the attempt to conceal the motive for their visit and was therefore a breach of Section 52(1) (e) and (i) of the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573). Their act is also a breach of the conditions precedent for the issuance of visas as contained in the instructions on Form B (Reg.3 (4) of the Immigration Regulation 2001 (LI 1691). In view of the foregoing, the Director of Immigration acting in accordance with Section 20 of the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573) has revoked the visas issued to the three South Africans. The Director has further ordered their repatriation to South Africa in line with Section 21 of the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573). They illegally and unlawfully took away the three South African internationals, he said. The three ex-South African police officials Ahmed Sheik Hazis(rtd)54, Warrant officer Denvier Dwayne 33 and Captain Mlungiseleli Jokani 45 were arrested by the BNI and detained for almost a week and charged with unlawful training and conspiring to commit crime. But Atta Akyea says the BNI treated the orders of the court with impunity and therefore believes they should be punished according to the law. He also denied claims by the Interior Minister that the three men possessed important document and described it as an afterthought. They are trying to hype the entire situation. It is very embarrassing, he added. Lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea is expected to file a case against the BNI within the week. They were put on board South African Airways flight number 210, which departed around 9:26 to Johannesburg, Graphic Online has reported. Officials from the Ghana Immigration Service and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), escorted the three to the aircraft. Their entry visas have been revoked by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS). Security officials have told Graphic Online that the three will be met on arrival by South African officials. The BNI arrested the three ex-police officers, Major Ahmed Shaik (retd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwahye, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45, last Sunday, March 20 in the Agona East of the Central region for "training fifteen young men in various military drills, including unarmed combat, weapon handling, VIP protection techniques and rapid response maneuvers. Speaking at a ceremony at the forecourt of the Gbewa Palace Friday to mark the 14th anniversary of the demise of their overlord, Ya Na Yakubu Andani, Dabali said "We shall under no circumstance allow the performance of funeral of Mahamadu Abdulai at the Gbewa Palace. To allow this to happen is to reward crime since the reason they forcibly removed Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II from the palace to pave way for the funeral of Mahamadu Abdulai." About five pastors belonging to the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) last week, received death threats on their lives and families from an unknown individual demanding money from them. Commenting on the matter, theGeneral Secretary of the Council, Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong said Churches or pastors bring people together. Whether it is evening, Sunday or all-night meetings, workshops and all kinds of programs, they bring hundreds if not thousands of people together. Therefore, theres the need for education. Pastors must be trained and we should not stop learning. We must get ourselves ready. We cant hide behind anything so we must do things right, he told Accra-based Joy FM. He argued that criminals have found a way to issue death threats because telecommunication networks have failed to respond to calls that most of their SIM cards are not registered. Per our laws at the moment, every SIM card must be registered. But we have been made aware that the number being used to spread this threat has not been registered. How come that we now have unregistered numbers in the system?" he asked. The General Overseer of the Miracle Life Gospel Church, Rev. Gordon Kisseih, who has been a victim of such threats earlier told Accra-based Joy FM that he reported the incident to the Police, after which a patrol team was dispatched to the area. He said the police called the number behind the text message, only for the receiver to respond that he wasn't in Accra but Nsawam. The person sent a second threat message after the police had left, saying that not even the police can unravel their network and that his identity cannot be disclosed, he added. Below is the full release:28th March, 2016MINISTRY OF THE INTERIORPRESS RELEASEARREST OF THREE (3) SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONALS1. Three (3) South-African Nationals namely, Ahmed Shaik HAZIS, Denver Dwayne NAIDU and Mlungiseleli JOKANI were arrested on 20/03/16 at EL CAPITANO Hotel at AGONA DUAKWA in the Central Region by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI). They were arrested while training fifteen (15) men in various security drills.2. Two (2) of the suspects, JOKANI and NAIDU arrived in the country on 14/03/16 on South-African passport numbers A05213410 and M00096231 respectively. HAZIS arrived on 05/03/16 with Passport Number M00052092. HAZIS has visited Ghana several times between 2012 and 2016. They came into the country on B1 visas (temporary visas) for business.3. The three (3) trainers revealed that they are retired police officers of the South-African Police Force. Mr. HAZIS is employed by iMvula Quality Protection as Director of Operations. NAIDU and JOKANI are employed by GLAEXEC Protection Services (GPS) (PTY Limited) of South-Africa as Directors.4. A comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staffs vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from HAZISS room. STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results.5. HAZIS denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by DANI ISAACA, an Israeli based in South- Africa. HAZIS claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three (3) weeks. During interrogation it was evident that he was conversant with the content of the document.6. The suspects denied that they were invited by Captain Kwesi ACQUAH, owner of Delta Force Security. However, all items for the training were shipped in the name of Delta Force Security and his hotel, El Capitano was used for the training. Captain Acquah was released from the Ghana Army in 1980.7. HAZIS, the leader of the team, revealed that Captain Edmund Kojo KODA, Head of Nana Akufo ADDOs Personal Security, who was in the Ghana Army at the same time as Captain Acquah, contracted him to train the Flagbearers Security detail and he in turn engaged the other two (2). He also disclosed that he was in the country in 2012 and worked closely with Captain KODA during the 2012 elections. As a young officer, Captain Koda had been involved in the AFRC regime. Following accusations of corruption he was convicted together with a colleague and incarcerated in the Ussher Fort Prison. They subsequently escaped during a jail break and went into exile outside Ghana.8. Captain Kodas current arrest comes on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in a National Security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection. A training dubbed Assaulting the pillars of power.9. During interrogation, Captain ACQUAH denied the claim that he invited the South Africans but indicated that Captain KODA requested to use his facility (EL CAPITANO Hotel) for the training of his personnel. He also indicated that it was purely a business arrangement with Captain KODA and nothing else. CAPTAIN KODA on his part confirmed that he invited the suspects to train his personnel. Captain KODA conceded that with hindsight he should have sought permission from the authorities before engaging in that exercise.10. A review of the visa applications submitted by the three (3) South Africans revealed that two (2) of the suspects (JOKANI and NAIDU) were invited by Dr. Daniel MCKORLEY, Chairman, McDan Group of Companies while HAZIS was invited by Nana Attobrah QUAICOE, Director of Danquah Institute (DI). Efforts to reach the two gentlemen for questioning have so far not been successful.11. Both Captains KODA and ACQUAH have been granted police inquiry bail pending further investigation.12. On 23/03/16, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) started an investigation into the immigration status of the three (3) accused persons and requested the BNI to hand them over for further action. They were therefore released on 24/03/16 to the GIS as requested. Meanwhile, in line with regular practice the GIS requested that the BNI provide custody of the suspects.13. During the course of investigation, the following places were searched: Captain KODAs residence, Captain ACQUAHs residence and Hotel El Capitano.14. The security agencies of Ghana can assure the citizenry, political stakeholders and all who deem themselves to be high value targets to be assured of the commitment of the security agencies and government to provide the required and utmost security as has been exhibited since the commencement of our current democratic dispensation. Should the need arise for any stakeholder to opt for private security as we have witnessed under this index case, we strongly advise that the mandatory legal processes are followed and exhausted. The peace, security and stability of our dear nation and its people shall always remain paramount to government.Signed:PROSPER D.K. BANIMINISTER FOR THE INTERIOR Captain Kodas current arrest comes on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in a National Security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection. A training dubbed 'Assaulting the pillars of power," a statement signed by the Interior Minister, Prosper Bani said. According to the statement, As a young officer, Captain Koda had been involved in the AFRC regime. Following accusations of corruption he was convicted together with a colleague and incarcerated in the Ussher Fort Prison. They subsequently escaped during a jail break and went into exile outside Ghana. The statement comes on the back of controversies surrounding the arrest of the three former South African ex-police officerslast week for allegedly training the private security of the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo. The BNI arrested the three ex-police officers, Major Ahmed Shaik (retd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwahye, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45, last Sunday, March 20 in the Agona East of the Central region for "training fifteen young men in various military drills, including unarmed combat, weapon handling, VIP protection techniques and rapid response maneuvers. The BNI had argued that their activities might pose a security threat to the country. The three were subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit crime and unlawful training. They were granted bail in the sum of 20,000 with a surety each, but the three are still being held in BNI custody, a situation the NPP has described as a violation on the rights of the South African nationals. The NPP has intended to sue the BNI for what the party describes as unlawful detention of the three. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has assured Ghanaians of utmost security in the wake of terror attacks across the world. Below is the full statement from the Interior Ministry: PRESS RELEASE: ARREST OF THREE (3) SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONALS 1. Three (3) South-African Nationals namely, Ahmed Shaik HAZIS, Denver Dwayne NAIDU and Mlungiseleli JOKANI were arrested on 20/03/16 at EL CAPITANO Hotel at AGONA DUAKWA in the Central Region by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI). They were arrested while training fifteen (15) men in various security drills. 2. Two (2) of the suspects, JOKANI and NAIDU arrived in the country on 14/03/16 on South-African passport numbers A05213410 and M00096231 respectively. HAZIS arrived on 05/03/16 with Passport Number M00052092. HAZIS has visited Ghana several times between 2012 and 2016. They came into the country on B1 visas (temporary visas) for business. 3. The three (3) trainers revealed that they are retired police officers of the South-African Police Force. Mr. HAZIS is employed by iMvula Quality Protection as Director of Operations. NAIDU and JOKANI are employed by GLAEXEC Protection Services (GPS) (PTY Limited) of South-Africa as Directors. 4. A comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staffs vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from HAZISS room. STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results. 5. HAZIS denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by DANI ISAACA, an Israeli based in South- Africa. HAZIS claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three (3) weeks. During interrogation it was evident that he was conversant with the content of the document. 6. The suspects denied that they were invited by Captain Kwesi ACQUAH, owner of Delta Force Security. However, all items for the training were shipped in the name of Delta Force Security and his hotel, El Capitano was used for the training. Captain Acquah was released from the Ghana Army in 1980. 7. HAZIS, the leader of the team, revealed that Captain Edmund Kojo KODA, Head of Nana Akufo ADDOs Personal Security, who was in the Ghana Army at the same time as Captain Acquah, contracted him to train the Flagbearers Security detail and he in turn engaged the other two (2). He also disclosed that he was in the country in 2012 and worked closely with Captain KODA during the 2012 elections. As a young officer, Captain Koda had been involved in the AFRC regime. Following accusations of corruption he was convicted together with a colleague and incarcerated in the Ussher Fort Prison. They subsequently escaped during a jail break and went into exile outside Ghana. 8. Captain Kodas current arrest comes on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in a National Security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection. A training dubbed Assaulting the pillars of power. 9. During interrogation, Captain ACQUAH denied the claim that he invited the South Africans but indicated that Captain KODA requested to use his facility (EL CAPITANO Hotel) for the training of his personnel. He also indicated that it was purely a business arrangement with Captain KODA and nothing else. CAPTAIN KODA on his part confirmed that he invited the suspects to train his personnel. Captain KODA conceded that with hindsight he should have sought permission from the authorities before engaging in that exercise. 10. A review of the visa applications submitted by the three (3) South Africans revealed that two (2) of the suspects (JOKANI and NAIDU) were invited by Dr. Daniel MCKORLEY, Chairman, McDan Group of Companies while HAZIS was invited by Nana Attobrah QUAICOE, Director of Danquah Institute (DI). Efforts to reach the two gentlemen for questioning have so far not been successful. 11. Both Captains KODA and ACQUAH have been granted police inquiry bail pending further investigation. 12. On 23/03/16, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) started an investigation into the immigration status of the three (3) accused persons and requested the BNI to hand them over for further action. They were therefore released on 24/03/16 to the GIS as requested. Meanwhile, in line with regular practice the GIS requested that the BNI provide custody of the suspects. 13. During the course of investigation, the following places were searched: Captain KODAs residence, Captain ACQUAHs residence and Hotel El Capitano. 14. The security agencies of Ghana can assure the citizenry, political stakeholders and all who deem themselves to be high value targets to be assured of the commitment of the security agencies and government to provide the required and utmost security as has been exhibited since the commencement of our current democratic dispensation. Should the need arise for any stakeholder to opt for private security as we have witnessed under this index case, we strongly advise that the mandatory legal processes are followed and exhausted. The peace, security and stability of our dear nation and its people shall always remain paramount to government. Signed: As part of the measures all passengers will be screened before entering the departure halls at the airport. The National Security Council had issued a terror alert after the attack by Al-Quaeda on an Ivory Coast beach resort this month. Since then, security arrangements have been made in various hotels and other places where the attacks are likely to occur. Airports recently became a potential target after an airport in Brussels, Belgium was attacked. A statement by the Ghana Airports Company Limited said it has restricted entry to the terminal only to the travelling public. All unauthorised persons will not be allowed to access restricted areas. The new arrangement will also affect people who park unauthorised vehicles in front of the terminal. The airport square will also be decongested and military and police presence will be increased. The new LED bulbs will help to cut electricity use by 85% for Ghanaians, General Manager of Philips West Africa, Felix Darko says. In order to demonstrate the tremendous energy saving benefits of LED, Philips will partner with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to select a number of their customers and change all the bulbs in their homes to Philips LED bulbs. Felix Darko is confident the new EcoBright LED bulb will contribute towards the goal of improving lives and making the world healthier and more sustainable. Speaking at the launch the General Manager of Philips Lighting Export BV Felix Darko said the new LED bulbs give the company joy as Ghanaians can now make huge savings on electricity and also get value for money using the new LED bulbs. GNPC got the contract on merit after a rigorous selection process. The fuel responsibility still stands with Karpower. So if GNPC did something wrong, the ECG will not go to GNPC, but to Karpower. GNPC has the contract because they had the better terms, competence, reputation and good relations with ECG. They are dealing with all kinds of forces in Pleiades, in Orion, in Arcturus, in Mazzaroth the Zodiacs, the powers of the underworld, the water kingdom. They are not just praying; they are dealing with white magic, black magic different levels and dimensions of witchcraft for total takeover of the world and of our nation, the cleric, who is a close friend to famous American Bishop T.D. Jakes, brazenly told congregants. The Coalition of Muslim Organisations in Ghana (COMOG) were quick to condemn the sermon, describing it as a bundle of reprehensible fallacies and a vicious misrepresentation of Islamic practice of prayers and worship. However, it was an entirely different tone when Duncan-Williams met with some Ghanaian imams, some of whom had challenged him to a debate in lieu of his contentious message. I want to apologise to you and to all the Muslim community; I never intended to offend or disrespect your faith, the Archbishop stated in another clip posted to YouTube. I deeply regret what has happened. I see it as a misunderstanding; it will not happen again. He went further to commend Islam, adding that he often used Muslims as positive examples in his sermons and stressing Christians were to emulate them. I use your faith and religion a lot in my preaching as an example of how Christians should follow your discipline, your commitment, your consistency, your spirituality its something that I admire. Its very unfortunate that it has happened this way. Duncan-Williams then begged for forgiveness from the Muslims, promising to vigorously study the Koran. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Gracious One, I ask for your forgiveness and trust that this will not happen again. Hereafter, we will meet at a better level. When I have finished studying my Koran, I will meet you, he declared. The archbishops swift change of mind has elicited different reactions. Ahmed, a Muslim who posted a video comparing Duncan-Williams two opposing statements, suggested his sudden reversal of opinion was akin to hypocrisy. Here is a big bishop who has come out to deny what he said to his congregation on TV worldwide, the Muslim student angrily wrote in the description of the YouTube clip he uploaded. Let me ask this question - are you saying sorry because of the threats you received? Why is it that when trouble or controversy comes, you are quick to abandon your faith," Ahmed questioned, adding that Muslims are ready to stand for their faith no matter the cost. Ahmed went further to warn Ghanaian President John Mahama of his relationship with Duncan Williams. Even our President Mahama used to go to him; he should know that his counselor is a liar, he said, adding that his admission shows God is not the inspiration behind his sermons. Duncan-Williams is the presiding General Overseer of Ghana's largest charismatic church, Action Chapel International (ACI), and the President of the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC) in Ghana. He is the owner of Dominion TV and boasts a large following on social media, with almost 800,000 Facebook followers. A court ordered Apple to help the FBI hack into a locked iPhone used by Syed Farook, who together with his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December, but the company denied citing security issues. The FBI certainly got a victory after announcing that they had managed to decipher the iPhone from San Bernardino. But Apple now wants to know how they did it. And the tech giant is ready to go to court to compel the agency to reveal that secret. Why Apple needs to know at all costs how the FBI broke the phone This is not a matter of honor for Apple. It is also an issue of security and history. The company has for a long time boasted of invulnerability and how they had secured the latest version of their operating system. But that is now called into question, including the competence of the engineers who designed it. How the FBI bypassed the encryption and through the security measures in the iPhone OS is crucial for Apple. Several ideas have, however, emerged from last week about how the FBI proceeded; including the identity of the famous third person who could have helped. The first hypothesis, which is more than likely, is that the agency appealed to Israeli computer security company Cellebrite, the market leader in mobile digital investigative solutions. The Cellebrite company could be the mysterious third person Cellebrite markets several solutions on how to break into mobile phones. These devices, called UFED (Universal Forensic Extraction Device), are recognised by courts around the world and used to extract data from phones (SMS, call logs, videos, location, address book, etc.) spying into the operating system, system files and flash memory on the device. Even data that has been deleted or placed in the cloud can be recovered by this device. The device works on most phones including locked iPhones, with simple or complex passwords. The only problem is that on their site, Cellebrite states that they are only able to crack devices running iOS 4, 5 and 6. But the San Bernardino iPhone worked with iOS 8 or 9. Or maybe the FBI resorted to the method of extraction of the NAND flash memory. The extraction of the NAND Flash In his blog, security expert Jonathan Zdiarski outlined last week how to proceed. He advocated for removing the NAND flash memory chip to copy. An operation called "NAND mirroring". Once copied, the content is accessed through a NAND flash memory external drive. All that remains is to find the password by attacking the system with brute force, that is to say, by testing all possible combinations. Normally iOS erases all information after a number of failed attempts. But it would be enough to multiply copies workaround to getting the right password. So long and tedious. On March 23, 2016 Seun Egbegbe who is the CEO of Read more: T I am saying this for the first time, its over between Toyin Aimakhu and I, and I mean it. And I am also using this medium to warn all movie producers to stay away from her. Anybody that deals with her, the person is on his or her own. And I will act appropriately. Toyin Aimakhus career is finished as far as Yoruba movie sector is concerned, unless she corrects the erroneous impression she has given the public about my person. How can a person I call my girlfriend accuse me of kidnapping her? What does she want to gain from that? And she said her Personal Assistant typed the message. If thats true, where was she? And when she noticed it, why didnt she withdraw it immediately before the whole thing went viral? So, I believe she has something hidden. I am repeating it, no producer must deal with her again. Any producer that doesnt heed the warning will find him or herself to blame. Its not a threat, its a promise said Seun Egbegbe. Lets go back a little. In November 2015 Toyin Aimakhu started dating Seun Egbegbe as her marriage to Adeniyi Johnson started falling apart publicly. Even though she was criticized for openly dating when she was still legally married to Johnson, the actress could care less. On Valentines Day she even publicly declared love to Seun Egbegbe. The crack in their relationship would later start that month when news started circulating that she had been kidnapped by Seun Egbegbe. The actress was supposed to show up at a movie set but she didnt and when her phones were called a man picked them up. This started the drama between the two but it should be noted that last November it was reported that Seun Egbegbe allegedly beat up Aimakhu. The actress vehemently denied this. Read more: Toyin Aimakhu calls fan 'amoeba' on Instagram After the kidnap scare Toyin Aimakhu got a lot of bad press and many her fans questioned why she was dating Seun Egbegbe who some say has a low standing in the Yoruba movie industry. Feeling the pressure Toyin Aimakhu called it quits with the movie producer. On March 3, 2016 the actress released a statement publicly disassociating herself from him. Seun Egbegbe did not take the public spilt kindly. Later in March he granted interview with Best of Nollywood. In the interview he said the actress repaid his love with lies. Now Seun Egbegbe is out for his pound of flesh or so it seems. He wants the actress to come correct and change what she said about him in public. Who is Seun Egbegbe in the first place? Little is known about him apart from the facts that he runs a movie production business and once dated actresses Moji Olaiya, and Memunat Yinusa. When Toyin Aimakhu started dating him more than a few people in the Yoruba movie industry wondered why she was with a low movie producer in the industry? It was sort of baffling to see a top Yoruba actress date a little known movie producer. Now that her love relationship with him has gone sour, he is still on her heels looking for his pound of flesh. 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! According to the actress, anything done to assist the Nigerian woman is done to assist Nigeria. She also called on the Senators to bury their heads in shame as they failed to maintain basic rights and equal opportunities for men and women. She wrote, "Read through the Gender Equality bill (2011/2016) These are basic rights! Equal opportunities for men and women. Let's get this off the way 'Women Empowerment is not a threat senators' anything done to assist the Nigerian woman is done to assist Nigeria simple. How can you reject Gender equality bill? Every Senator that voted against the bill should hide in shame and the annoying part is the excuses they are giving as to why the bill is thrown out this second time. FYI there are only 8 women in the 109member Nigeria senate ...... It's amazing what women can do when we come together. Our voices MUST be heard. Download the bill online read and education yourself then speak OUT (2011 version and 2016 version)" TEEP was launched in 2015 and is the largest African philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship. It also represents a 10-year, $100 million commitment, to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create a million jobs and add $10 billion in revenue to Africas economy. Over 45,000 entrepreneurs from 54 African countries applied, double the number of applications received in 2015, reports reveal. Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon had the highest number of applicants with all five regions North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa are represented. In TEEPs first year we spent over $8 million of our $100 million commitment with $5 million going directly to entrepreneurs as seed capital and the results have far exceeded our expectations. We have funded entrepreneurs, established networks and helped extraordinary people take control of their destinies. The 2016 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs will become a generation of newly empowered African business owners, who are the clearest evidence yet, that indigenous business growth will drive Africas economic and social transformation, founder Tony O. Elumelu said. We saw phenomenal success with the first cycle of TEEP the success stories of the TEEP 2015 alumni are a testament to the transformative power of the programme we have built. Through TEEP, we are proving to the next generation of entrepreneurs that their ideas can change their communities, their countries and their continent, said Parminder Vir, CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Hosted by Themed, 'The Future of Fashion', this edition of FBS will focus on manufacturing and how to reduce the cost of operations for profit maximization. Commenting on the theme, Ronke Adeola, Project Manager FBS, said, Fashion practitioners have been struggling to find ways to reduce the cost of manufacturing. Once the industry is able to drive down this critical cost of operations, profits will increase which will help grow the industry. With an economic agenda to increase export opportunities, its imperative we tackle this issue to foster growth in all areas of the value chain Opening its doors to private sector practitioners, textile companies, retailers, & manufacturers, fashion retailers, luxury fashion brands, designers, and fashion entrepreneurs, FBS will also touch on other critical sectors of the fashion industry such as retail, e-commerce, PR, communications and more. Industry stakeholders will discuss on varied topics including: Retail and 'Etail': Maximizing Opportunities and Reducing Risk, Communicating Fashion, Exporting Fashion to the World amongst others. Facilitated by PAL Pensions, FBS will also feature a VIP Signature Session, titled The Next Level. Open to fashion entrepreneurs operating for a minimum of five years, the session will host thought leaders in Fashion and the Private Sector as they discuss how to build a sustainable business. To build an iconic, sustainable brand, certain systems have to be in place and a pension plan is one of them. As conversations increase concerning expanding the role the fashion industry plays in the economic landscape, there is a real opportunity to develop indigenous iconic brands and a need for businesses to be rightly positioned to attract game-changing growth opportunities. We look forward to an interactive and impactful session comments Adaora Ude, Head, Branding & Communications, PAL Pensions. Media Partners: Style Mania Magazine, BellaNaija.com, StyleVitae.com, Hello Magazine, Spice TV For registration details, kindly send an email to For details on The Fashion Business Series, please visit It was gathered that the suspect had strangled the deceased using a rope, after stabbing him several times on various parts of his body. The body of the deceased was discovered by neighbours, abandoned in a pool of blood by the suspect who locked the door and escaped. A neighbour told Daily Trust that they overheard noise from the room the deceased and the suspect stayed but that no one suspected any foul play until they woke up in the morning to discover that the door to the room was locked from outside. We became more worried when we waited for him to come out as usual but to no avail. We then alerted the police who had to force the door open, the neighbour said. The police then took the body of the deceased to the Kubwa General Hospital where he was confirmed dead and deposited at the hospital morgue while a manhunt is being intensified for the alleged killer. Blackie was participating in an Easter celebration at Harlow Town Park, in Harlow, when a strong wind blew off the play object off its moorings. She was immediately rushed to the hospital after sustaining serious injuries, only to be confirmed to have died later. Tributes have rolled out in her memory in the town. It is an incident that has ruined the Easter mood for residents of the area. Essex Police confirmed a 24-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man, both from Cambridgeshire, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence and remain in police custody. It was gathered that the man who got stuck in the snarling traffic along the way, decided to cool it off before continuing on his journey and made his way to the brothel where he allegedly engaged the lady identified as Ebere, and negotiated for an all night sex with her. But by the time he woke up the next morning, the lady said to be 31-years-old, had made away with the items and he had to report the incident to the police. A police source at the Umunede Division, narrated that after the man who is said to be a very highly placed business mogul, had bargained for an all night sex, called till-day-break, with the prostitute and after the first round of sex, asked for a drink which the prostitute allegedly laced with a drug that made him sleep off. After he had gone into a deep slumber, the commercial sex worker took off with the man's property including hard currency. Another prostitute at the brothel who identified herself as Gloria, said the man had lodged in with the girl while carrying a big brief case, only to wake up the following morning screaming for help after the girl had disappeared into the thin air. The police source said: This information is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by Mallam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari. The statement said that the girl was found to be heavily drugged and bore several injuries on her body. It stated that the girls health condition had delayed her movement to the far north regional capital of Cameroon, Maroua, as earlier planned. It said that the pictures of the arrested suspected bomber obtained by Nigerian officials indicated that the girl was likely a minor, between ages nine to 12 years. The statement maintained that her accomplice was about 30 years or more, and both spoke only in Kanuri language. "Considering the well-known guidelines regarding the publication of photography of minors, we have decided to forward the pictures of the suspected bomber to the Murtala Mohammed Foundation for verification by interested Chibok community stakeholders, the statement said. Shettima made the disclosure on Monday, March 28, 2016, while receiving former President, Olusegun Obasanjo in Maiduguri. Tens of thousands of our innocent citizens were brutally killed; married and single women were abducted and raped; our sons were forced into becoming child-soldiers; More than 2 million citizens were internally displaced in camps and host communities in Maiduguri alone, Shettima said according to Vanguard. Others fled to different parts of Nigeria including Lagos, some fled to neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Recently, we carried out a post conflict assessment in accordance with international best practices that are verifiable through satellite images and physical analysis, and based on our assessment we discovered that about 1 million private houses were destroyed by insurgents across the 27 local government areas in the state. A total of 5,335 classrooms and other school buildings were destroyed in primary, secondary schools and two tertiary institutions. A total of 512 primary schools, 38 secondary schools as well as two tertiary institutions of Umar Ibn Elkanemi College of Education, Science and Technology in Bama, and College of Business and Management Studies in Konduga were affected. These are in addition to other monumental economic losses suffered by millions of citizens as well as huge quantum of funds expended by government on complimentary services to the military, rebuilding communities initially destroyed before they were occupied as well as rehabilitating victims because we figured out that we had to be paying some sort of compensation to victims so that they do not join Boko Haram out of frustration, he added. Shettima also revealed that former president, Goodluck Jonathan did not discuss the 2014 Chibok abduction with him until 19 days after the girls had been taken. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Army public relations director, Col Sani Usman said troops killed 29 Boko Haram fighters and also rescued 72 hostages. Usman said Troops of 151 Task Force Battalion, 21 Brigade have cleared remnants of Boko Haram terrorists from three villages in Iza general area, killing 25 Boko Haram terrorists and recovered some weapons. The cleared villages were Mballeri, Shuari 1 and Shuari 2. In addition, the troops also rescued 18 persons held captive by the terrorists. They comprised of 2 men, 7 women and 9 children. The rescued persons have been moved to the Brigades headquarters for further screening and care. Unfortunately, one Civilian JTF accompanying the troops fell off a vehicle and sustained some injuries. He has however since been evacuated to the units Regimental Aid Post for medical treatment and he is in stable condition. He also said Troops of 114 Task Force Battalion, 28 Task Force Brigade, in conjunction with some vigilantes in their area of operation, have carried out clearance operation of reported remnants of Boko Haram terrorists along Bita-Madube Ciki-Njubul axis. During the advance, 2 soldiers unfortunately stepped on a buried Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that seriously injured one of the soldiers. Nevertheless, the troops continued the advance and had contact with the terrorists and cleared them out of Madube Cikin, killing 4 insurgents, destroying 2 vehicles and 2 motorcycles belonging to the terrorists. The troops also recovered 2 cylinders, 1 AK-47 rifle, 3 boxes of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition, 2 bicycles and bags of grains. The troops also rescued 54 persons held hostage by the Boko Haram terrorists. The released hostages are being screened while the wounded soldiers have since been evacuated for proper medical care. The defence headquarters (DHQ) said the new video, which showed the leader of Boko Haram, will not distract soldiers from the ongoing operations against insurgents. Do you think the Boko Haram leader is ready to surrender? Speaking at the 8th Bola Tinubu Colloquium on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, the President appealed to individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGO) to contribute their quota to the development of the nation as it is not solely the job of government. He said those who have become impatient and ruled out his administrations ability to proffer solutions to the challenges confronting the country will be proven wrong in few months' time. Buhari sid: We need a new approach that challenges more states and local governments, more organisation, companies and non-governmental organisations and individuals government cannot and should not do it alone. We can achieve more with partnership that link up and scale up our efforts. Some have even become disorientated and impatient enough to think that barriers are insurmountable In the coming months, Nigerians will see much more actions. Government will continue to invest substantially in human capital development and this is just the beginning. Also speaking at the event, which is part of the programmes organized to mark his 64th birthday, Tinubu urged Nigerians not to lose faith in Nigeria as the Buhari administration is on the right track in transforming the nation. I believe in our president and his administration. He is a leader dedicated to the betterment of Nigeria. He needs our support to make this a reality, he said. During the 7th Colloquium which held last year (2015) in Lagos, I recall I made a request. I said the best birthday gift I wanted was for people go out and vote massively to secure election victory. To the glory of God, our party, the APC won a remarkable victory. That historic victory has placed on us a heavy responsibility to right the wrongs of the past years. Our path may be tough at present. But I do not entertain fear because I know our people are more resilient than the challenges we face. Thus, I also ask the people to be of firm conviction and strong hope that we are working for and moving toward a better day. I believe in destiny. Yes, the times that have come upon us are rough. Yet, I cannot help but believe that we have been put here at this appointed place and appointed time for a reason more profound than mere coincidence. Our future is being redirected. I salute the president, the vice president and the entire cabinet. Nigeria is being redirected; theres no option for us, but to revalidate our faith in our country and take the hard decision now. Our renaissance must come within, the APC national leader said. At the plenary sessions of the summit which is dedicated to reinforcing international commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Buhari will insist that world powers must respect the right of other countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes, a statement by the President's spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, says. According to Adesina, the President will reaffirm Nigeria's stance that international efforts to ensure greater security of nuclear materials should maintain a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the indisputable right of Nigeria and other countries to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development. Earlier this month, Buhari had told the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. Yukiya Amano that the Federal Government will welcome greater support from the agency for Nigeria's aspiration to begin the generation of electricity with nuclear energy. The President will be accompanied to the Summit which opens on Thursday, March 31, 2016, by the Director-General of Nigeria's Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Prof. Lawrence Anikwe Dim, Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed,Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) among others. The Chairman of the community, Tsambido Abana, on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, said the girl has never attended a conventional school in Chibok, Borno State. Although yet to see the suspect's picture, Abana insists that from the information available to him, the girl, who is believed to be from Bama area of the state, is not from the commnunity. I wont bother to go and see the picture, because from the information given by the government, it is apparent that the girl is not from Chibok. Going to see the picture would create unnecessary tension and expectation among the Chibok parents whose daughters are missing, he told Punch. He said the girl's picture was given to Aisha Oyebode of Murtala Mohammed Foundation for verification. According to the #BringBackOurGirls group, the picture has also not been made available to them Dogara said this on Monday in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, in Abuja to congratulate Tinubu on the occasion of his 64th birthday. The speaker said that the entire members of the House of Representatives used the opportunity to salute Tinubu for being a great leader who had attained milestones in Nigeria. "On this joyous occasion of your birthday, we in the House of Representatives, salute you, great leader, for the milestones you have attained in Nigeria. "Your feats are bold and exceptional; from business to governance and politics. As a governor, you made sweeping reforms that till date, your successors are still building on and making Lagos State proud. "In politics, you have been a formidable force, helping to put together a great political party that won power at the centre in Nigeria. "You have proved to be a true hero of democracy, a light that cannot be concealed. "As you mark yet another year, my prayer for you is that God will continue to consolidate your efforts and crown them all with success, Dogara was quoted as saying in the statement. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tiunbu was born on March 29, 1952. Tinubu is 64 years today, March 29, 2016. He said I heartily felicitate with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he clocks 64 on March 29. Whether one likes it or not, Asiwaju Tinubu has become a political pillar and leader, not only in Yorubaland but in Nigeria. Adding that He is a great politician who takes well-calculated political steps. I and the good people of Ekiti State join millions of Nigerians and Asiwaju Tinubus friends and supporters across the world to rejoice with him on this auspicious occasion. Asiwaju Tinubu is a good case study when one talks about political resilience and doggedness and no wonder he now ranks among the leaders of this great country. I pray that God gives him the grace to witness many more years in sound health in the land of the living. Governor Fayose has also been declared a national security threat by the APC. Watch video below. Mr Adesina is trending on social media, and as usual it is for the wrong reason. The presidential spokesperson, during a television appearance on Sunday, March 27, 2016, told Nigerians to go and hold vandals if they want good electricity. If some people are crying that they are in darkness, they should go and hold those who vandalize the installations, thats it, the presidential aide said. Before this Adesina had defended a controversial statement made by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu that he was not a magician hence he could not make the ongoing fuel scarcity go away before May. The presidential aide also said that Kachikwu should not be crucified for telling Nigerians the truth adding that citizens should accept that it would take weeks before the scarcity could end. Adesina had also said, during a recent interview with Radio Continental, that Nigerians should stop the habit of complaining. I think Nigerians have always complained, and we should learn to stop complaining and believe more, he said. "If you have elected a government because you believe it can bring change, and you have not allowed them to isolate what the problems are, and articulate what the solutions would be, and you begin to have all these complaints, I think it is not natural. There must be realistic expectation, and realistic expectation will demand that people are patient, supportive, and encourage the government. This is a government that is working for the people. Rather than complaining, let us cooperate, support and encourage. The promised change will come. Dont forget that our president said it would take a minimum of 18 months to revive the economy. Nigerians dont listen to something like that, they want magic immediately. It doesnt happen that way. This change will come, but it would follow a process, and it would be enduring, Adesina added. The presidential aide has also been criticized for describing members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Wailing Wailersand saying that Buhari would appoint ministers in the fullness of time. Adesina has also come under fire for saying that it is the mental age of Buharis ministers rather than their chronological age that matters and likewise for a Christmas tweet which many viewed as abusive and inappropriate. Femi Adesina has been attacked enough in one year of office to last him his entire tenure, but he still seems not to have learnt his lesson. For one who has been trained in the use of words as a journalist, he is unbelievably content with continually letting words get the better of him. Mr Adesina doesn't seem to realize that he has been chosen to speak for the number one man in Nigeria, that every time he opens his mouth, every single time, he is speaking for the elected father of the hundreds of millions of people who reside in this country. If Mr Adesina finds himself unable to understand the requirements of his job, then he must seek help from those who know what to say, how to say it and when to say it. Nigeria is in a very delicate situation at this moment, and the words that emanate from the Presidency could either strengthen or weaken the peoples spirit. This was disclosed by NNPC spokesman, Garba Deen Muhammed via a statement released on Monday, March 28, 2016. It reads: We wish to reassure Nigerians that we are on top of the petroleum products supply and distribution situation and we remain committed to eliminating this endemic issue once and for all within the next few days. We genuinely empathize with the attendant sufferings and wish to reassure that we are focused and committed to bring an end to this situation within the next few days. We kindly call on all Nigerians to partner with us on this journey to allowing the whole process of change come into fruition. Nationwide Petroleum supply and distribution have been ramped up to all states to ensure product availability in the country. We encourage everyone to shun panic buying and undue return trips as this attitude emboldens marketers to hoard products. NNPC Group Managing Director and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu had recently attracted controversyafter saying that the scarcity would continue till May. ----------------------------------------------------------- He emphasized, The problem is political, economic, ecological and social security problems that every Nigerian should be concerned about. The Senator, who expressed anger over what he termed The few Fulani people sending wrong message about the about the true nature of the typical Fulanis maintained that the Fulani are peaceful, responsible and good people . "But I am very much concerned that the activities of few of them involved in violence has seriously demonised the ethnic Fulani" He lamented. Addressing the Fulani community at Rafin-Roro , Kasuwar-Magani , Kajuru local government area , Kaduna , Senator Sani urged the Fulanis to prevail over the very few elements among them , who have been discrediting the Fulani and giving them bad name. While calling on Fulanis to embrace peace and avoid fight over farmland, he promised to empower them by providing with requisite skills, which will help them to more self-sustaining and better their lots.Speaking on reason of his visit, the lawmaker, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debt said, I am here to help find alternative means of survival so that you my Fulani brothers can become economically viable, productive and self-reliant. I am also here to listen to their problems, interact with them and see how to contribute to development of Rafin-Roro village. I want stop Fulanis from engaging in any act that is capable of breaching public peace" Fielding questions from journalists, Nomadic Development Commission bill which he presented on the Senate floor, he explained that the essence of the bill is to establish the commission as an agency of government that will support, empower and rehabilitate the Fulanis. According to him, it is going to be modeled in such a way as that of Niger Delta Commission. Shettima made the revelation on Monday, March 28, 2016, while receiving former president, Olusegun Obasanjo at the Government House in Maiduguri. In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency, Shettima said according to Punch. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons, he added. Obasanjo had earlier criticized Jonathan for failing to act immediately the girls were kidnapped. It is unfortunate. What I have said to Jonathan before and what I have said also in my letter - and I have said it several times - is that, once active and concrete action was not taken within 48 hours, a period of 72 hours was already too late, he said during an interview with Rosie Collyer of Radio France Internationale (RFI) in 2014. We will never be able to get those girls again. And the story of those girls will go on for the next 30 years. Some of them will come out when they are adults or they will be sent back when they are pregnant by those who have captured them. If anyone is thinking of being able to get those girls released intact, he must be day dreaming, he added. Obasanjo also made a similar comment on Friday, February 5, 2016, saying that anyone promising to rescue the Chibok girls is telling lies. The over 200 girls were abducted on April 14, 2014, and most of them remain in captivity. ------------------------------------------------------- The village is known to be the spiritual headquarters of the terrorists. The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irabor disclosed this at a news conference in Maiduguri. He said that 567 civilians held hostage were also freed and several weapons recovered. According to the commander, troops in the theatre have been conducting clearing operations on a daily basis aimed at destroying the terrorists still staying in some local government areas and rescue people still in captivity. He also said troops of 81 task force battalion conducted preliminary operations in Boko Haram camps in Kumala, Dole, Kumasi and Moudire villages all around the fringes before launching into Alagarno. The 27 Task Force Brigade also conducted series of operations leading to the recovery of an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) snatched by the terrorists in July 2015, the General said. It was gathered that the APC which is now unserviceable and partially burnt by fleeing insurgents was discovered near a riverbed in Bolgore and has since been moved to an unknown destination in Yobe State. Irabor stressed that the recently released supposed video of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, where he called on his followers to surrender did not stop the troops assault on the terrorists' hideouts. Our gallant troops are determined to completely wipe out all terrorists from our country, he maintined. The Theatre Command of Operation Lafiya Dole also sent out a warning to repentant Boko Haram members hoping to filter into liberated towns where locals are returning to reintegrate back into their communities. Irabor warned returning locals against harbouring and giving criminals cover, while advising repentant terrorists to turn themselves in to security operatives. Report yourself to the security agencies and the process would be followed. The assurance I am giving to every one of them is that they would be humanely treated in accordance with the best practices which is a component of our rules of engagement, he said. Cameroonian authorities have identified the girl as Aissatou Musa and revealed that she has no relationship with the missing girls, The Nation reports. According to the report: Available information as regards the acclaimed Chibok girl indicated as follows: Aissatou Musa, who claimed to be one of the Chibok girls, is the daughter of Musa Bladi and Fanta(mother) of Mandara ethnic group. The second girl is Mamma Sali. She is the daughter of Sali Chetima and Hajiya Bintou of Kanuri tribe. Both hailed from Bama and speak in Mandara, Hausa and Kanuri. They have never been to Western school, except Koranic schools. They have no relationship with the 219 Chibok girls. The girl and her older accomplice, Mamma Sali, are however yet to be handed over to the Nigerian government. The Federal Government had earlier said that it would send some members of the Chibok community to Cameroon to verify whether the girl was indeed one of the abducted schoolgirls. ----------------------------------------------- Abubakar said in a statement issued in Yola that his three months suspension by the House was purely a legislative matter that has nothing to do with the executive. The lawmaker explained that earlier claim by him that the governor, who came from the same constituency with him,was after him was made in error. He therefore regretted any embarrassment the weighty allegation might have caused the governor. He reiterated his commitment to rule of law and respect for the governor as leader of the party in the state. "I also want to commend the governor for the roads, hospital, school and market projects in Mubi and to say that the people of my constituency have never had it so good," Abubakar said. He commended the people of his constituency for their concern over his suspension and urged them to continue to have faith in God that things would normalise very soon. A lot of water has passed under the bridge in this part of the country. I must not forget to commiserate with all our people in this state and indeed the entire North-East, which have been victims of insurgency in the way we have never witnessed in this country before, he said. I travel a lot in Africa and outside Africa, and wherever I have gone in recent times, what people want to know is what and how Nigeria is coping with the situation of insurgency. Today, I think we are not out of the woods yet but it would appear that we can see the light beyond the tunnel. There is no doubt that with the combined efforts at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level, and even at the community level, our security forces are on the ascendancy over the forces of destruction, the menace and danger of insurgency that we have experienced for almost six years now. Talking to the President (Buhari) about the issue of insurgency in particular and insecurity in general, I know that he is very, very concerned, and not only very concerned, he has got it right. He (Buhari) has ensured that where they (Boko Haram) have occupied is cleared of any mines. Where you have mines, lives are not only insecure, people feel intimidated for you never know when you may step on them, he added. Obasanjo had earlier also urged the military to intensify operations against Boko Haram in the North-East. ------------------------------------------- On Saturday, March 26, 2016, the market was gutted by fire and over 4,000 shops were burnt. MASSOBs National Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor said the Igbos have always been the ones to suffer anytime sad events like this happen, because of their industrious nature. He also said it is not the first, adding that it has occurred in various markets dominated by Igbos across Nigeria. Okereafor also called on Igbo traders to go back to the South East and open up businesses, so they can develop the region. In a statement issued by its spokesman, Ibrahim Musa, the Shiites said their attention has been drawn to a false, unsubstantiated and mischievous claim, that looks more like a planned operation aimed at painting the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) black. The group said there is some intelligence report that the IMN may plan kidnap of military officers for ransom for the release of their revered leader, His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. Typically, this was followed by the alleged kidnap of an army officer in Kaduna with the Nigerian Army issuing statement calling on the public to give information that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators. Soon, some media outlets were quick to quote these malicious sources linking the IMN with the alleged kidnap, the group said in the statement. Shiites said it was obvious that the government and its army are going further with their plans of campaign of calumny and false propaganda against the Movement ranging from smear documentaries on television networks, advertorials in daily newspapers, sponsoring fake non-governmental organizations and engagement of some very dubious characters to malign the IMN and its leadership, to engaging in organized crimes and attributing same to the Movement. Tinubu earlier lashed out at Kachikwu for his comments on the lingering fuel crisis in Nigeria. The minister of petroleum reportedly said he was not a trained magician, when he was asked for a solution to the fuel crisis. Vanguard reports that the NYCN National President, Ikenga Ugochinyere said the APC leader only wanted to put pressure on President Buhari to fire Kachikwu. Ugochinyere also said Bola Tinubu vehemently opposed the appointment of Mrs. Onikepo Animashaun as the General Manager of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company NPDC, by Mr. Kachikwu. The appointment was in Tinubus view done on the recommendation of Pastor Tunde Bakare and with the blessing of Babatunde Fashola who is believed not to be in Tinubus political structure. The fuel crisis has been biting hard on poor Nigerians and the exchange of words or blame trading is really not going to reduce the pump price or increase the availability of fuel. All Nigerians want is a government that is sensitive to their plight. They want a solution to the challenges the nation is facing right now. What do you think? In a statement made by Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, a 17-member committee will have Peace Anyiam-Osigwe (AMAA President) and Mahmoud Alli-Balogun (Tango with Me) review and Bill before its submission to the Ministry of Justice and the National Assembly. ALSO READ: "Okon in Lagos" producer, Uduak Isong Oguamanam, has shared her thoughts on the controversial bill which she thinks will slowly kill the industry. She took to her blog to react. Read below; Some years ago, I watched an Ibibio film produced by Emem Isong. Ime Bishop played a security man. He was the funniest character I had seen in a while. I knew immediately that the industry would embrace him. One or two years later, my brother and I are reminiscing about Lagos Nawa, I tell him I have a story about Lagos and Id love to star Ime Bishop. He casually asks how much itd cost to make it and to my surprise, the money is in in my account, the next week. We made OkonLagos with less than 2million naira, shot it in five days. In less than a year, wed sold 200 thousand copies. Following its success, we made Okon Goes To School and sold out the first 20,000 copies we printed on the first day of release. But this is not why the story of OkonLagos pleases me. Ime Bishop came to be called OkonLagos. I had created something lasting, it was what Id hoped to do. ALSO READ:undefined Youre probably wondering what this has got to do with the proposed MOPICON bill. If there was such a bill in place, chances are I would not have made that film because I may not have been registered under any body, the existence of such a bill might not even have allowed me to have the dream. The MOPICON ( Motion Picture Council Of Nigeria bill seeks to a) determine who are motion picture practitioners. B) To determine what standard of knowledge and skills are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered as Motion Picture Practitioners and reviewing those standards from time to time. C) To secure in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the establishment and maintenance of register of persons entitled to practise as professionals in the motion picture Industry, and the publication, from time to time, of lists of those persons. And many more. One question has stayed on my mind, why does anyone want this bill? How does it move not just Nollywood as an industry to the next level, but the practitioners as well? It looks to me like gagging, and why would anyone seek to gag Nollywood. Anyone, anyone at all, should be able to pick up a phone, a camera, to express their Art without fear or prejudice. We already have the censors board for ratings and other checks, why do we need this bill? I have recently finished post production on a commissioned film. I worked with a first time director, Bunmi Ajakaiye , she was brilliant. Im happy with my film and hopefully my sponsors and the audience will be happy too. This should be all that counts. If this bill were in place, I would not have been able to employ Ms Ajakaiye. Id be forced to work with one of the MOPICON directors irrespective of our ideologies. ELTV, IROKO TV, AFRICA MAGIC have in the past few years created several jobs by funding films, often working with young directors. This has birthed a new crop of directors, writers and producers in Nollywood, something I thought wed all be happy about. With a bill like MOPICON, their hands will be tied as the bill further seeks to prohibit non members from producing and making projects for both the cinema and Home Video Market plus Television Stations and Networks for gains as a) Producer, Deputy producer, and unit producers b) Director, unit director, Associate Director and Assistant Director, and c)Unit Director of Photography, Associate Director of photography, Assistant director of photography and Deputy director of photography. Let me categorically state that the Nigerian Government has NEVER contributed financially towards my film career. I attended a short course at Raindance, UK. I paid for it. I attended the Berlinale talent campus years back. THE German Government paid for it. I attended a creative industry workshop in the UK. The British Government paid for it. ALSO READ: undefined All my films have been funded by self, family and friends. I would expect that the Government or proponents of this bill would seek ways to grow the industry . This bill will destroy it. At a time where everyone is cutting jobs, Nollywood seems to be the only industry not affected. I am currently on a production set that will last 6 weeks. Were lodging some cast and crew in 13 rooms of a hotel. For six weeks. Thats money for the hotel which means the staff get to keep their jobs. We have averagely 30 members of cast and crew. Two other producer friends of mine are also filming at the moment. Everywhere you turn, someone is filming because the demand for our content has increased even internationally. This means JOBS! We have major challenges, theres piracy, theres poor distribution, and theres Telemundo. Youd think wed be talking about tax rebates, waiver fees from LASAA so we can have increased marketing, more support for filmmakers to ensure they thrive in this tough environment that is Nigeria but no, we want a bill that looks like it wants to clip wings, to ensure that only a certain people get jobs. ALSO READ: The argument for the bill is to create sanity in the industry. What does this mean? To ensure quality, some say but who defines quality, particularly of story? I personally prefer Asaba films. Theres more emphasis on story and character which are the things that interest me most than in the Lagos films. Thats why it is Art, taste will ultimately differ. Formal training is one of the prerequisites for membership of MOPICON. Ironic isnt it? Because Nollywood was built from nothing except an opportunity and a dream. Someone without any formal training or experience in film gave rise to this industry, to this platform on which the educated now choose to stand and regulate them. But heres what is likely to happen if this bill passes, the industry will slowly die. Do you know why? Ill tell you why. If you stop many people from making films and get only a select people to make the films, what happens if the cinemas dont like them? You cant force them to show your films, they are in business to make money, theyll simply stick to Hollywood films. The cable stations will do same. Who loses? Someone asked me why Im so concerned, that it wont affect me. This is the problem. It should not be about me but about all of us. I was able to make my first film without any duress. Every Nigerian should be able to do same. The same way any Nigerian can stage a play, write a novel or sing a song, Film is an expression of Art and should not be regulated. Lets seek to build and not destroy. The major threat to national security is a party that lost election since June 21, 2014 and still trying to get back to power, using crude means including turning itself to the mouthpiece of the Department of State Services (DSS). It is only in Nigeria that a party that ran Ekiti State aground in four years and was rejected in six straight elections by the people can still be talking. The question that Nigerians must ask the APC Spokesperson in Ekiti State, Taiwo Olatunbosun is whether he now doubles as the DSS spokesperson. In the last three weeks, everything the APC speculated that the DSS was going to do was exactly what the security agency did and that has reinforced the belief that the DSS was working in collaboration with the APC in Ekiti State to destabilise the Fayose-led government. It is also a fact that the chairman of APC in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe who is standing trial for murder was hosted to a dinner in the Presidential Villa while TKO Aluko on whose bench warrant was issued for alleged perjury is going about with armed security men. The APC leaders should ask themselves what result they have achieved since they started investing their money in this Fayose must go agenda immediately after they were defeated in the entire 16 Local Councils in the State. Instead of lavishing millions of Naira on TKO Aluko and others, they should rather use such money to empower the remnants of their party members in Ekiti State who are in dire need of financial help. Fayose had earlier also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to stop merely apologizing and instead take concrete steps towards solving Nigerias problems. ---------------------------------------------------------- Mrs Beatrice Akhetuame, Chairperson of the association, disclosed this at a news conference on Monday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the panel is on a fact finding mission over an alleged case of molestation by the parent of a daughter at the institution. NAN further reports that the claim that a male teacher of the institution had sexually harassed a JSS-2 student had gone virile on the social media, as well as other conventional media, but had since been refuted by key stakeholders of the institution. According to the chairperson, the panel has invited all concerned stakeholders on the matter to appear before it on the set date. "We as an association have received our own invitation letter and so have all other concerned persons. "The college management too have received theirs, as well as the accused and the blogger. "What we are now appealing for is for the woman who gave her daughter's name as Chinenye Okoye to come forward and collect her own letter of invitation, she said. Akhetuame noted that the presence of the supposed victim would go a long way in ensuring speedy findings and recommendations on the issue. According to her, it will be to the interest of the college, the management and all concerned persons over the issue to get everyone present before the panel, so as to tackle the issue once and for all. "I am the representative of parents of the college and therefore, I have the sole responsibility of defending the interest of parents and thye welfare of the girls also falls on me. "I am a mother of five girls, two of them right here in this college. It will not be possible for me to ever have notice of such incidence and try to cover it up or do anything funny about it. "I know what it means to train the girl-child and I dare say at all times, my attention is always focused on their activities or issues that concern them. "It is, therefore, wrong for some persons who do not have enough facts on the issue to go ahead and be casting aspersions on my person or that of the college management, concerning an alleged cover up. "We are happy the panel is visiting and I pray that the truth behind the entire saga would be unraveled, but as far as we are concerned, no such thing ever happened, even as we await the supposed mother of the girl to come for her invitation letter and reveal her identity to us, she added. Recently, a parent of a JSS-2 girl claimed that one of the male teachers in the school had allegedly molested her daughter on a few occasions, after the teacher had been around the hostel at night, while he was drunk. Onu made the statement during a Defence Space Agency mangement team visit, led by Air Vice Marshal Victor Udoh, director-general of the agency. The minister said the Federal Government was working hard and setting processes in place to ensure that Nigerian astronauts landed in space on or before 2030. The space programme is very important for a country like Nigeria. The ministry will work very hard in the years ahead to strengthen all the structures of the agencies that will help us to ensure that the nation plays a role in the space, Onu said. According to the minister, space is a major asset which nations like Nigeria must also be involved in for the purposes of protecting national interest. After the EgyptAir plane landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released all the people onboard except five foreign passengers and the crew, EgyptAir said. About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. "The negotiations with the hijacker have resulted in the release of all the plane passengers with the exception of the crew and five foreigners," the airline said in a statement. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said. Eyptian state media named the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, but gave no other details about him. Passengers on the plane included eight Britons and 10 Americans, three security sources at Alexandria airport said. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. The pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger strapped with explosives, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 passengers were on board and a crew of seven. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said. The ministry in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. CYBC said the airplane was parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, it said. Official analysis found two pieces of debris were "almost certainly from MH370", Australian infrastructure and transport minister Darren Chester said in a statement, referring to the Boeing Co 777 that vanished in March 2014 with 239 people on board. "That such debris has been found on the east coast of Africa is consistent with drift modelling ... and further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said. The flight disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, creating one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history. Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course, out over the Indian Ocean. A search, led by Australia and one of the most expensive ever conducted, has focused on a 120,000-sq-km (46,330-sq-mile) band of sea floor in the remote southern Indian Ocean. In 2015, French authorities said a wing part found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was part of the plane. The Mozambique debris was examined by investigators from Australia and Malaysia, as well as specialists from Boeing, Geoscience Australia and the Australian National University in Canberra. 'SOLVE THIS MYSTERY' The discovery is likely to add to pressure from the public for the search to go on beyond a mid-2016 schedule for it to be wound up. Most of those on board were from China. "If they don't find the plane in the area where they're searching now, they and others need to continue to look," said U.S. adventurer Blaine Alan Gibson, who found one of the new pieces of debris this month on his own independent search. "They've got to solve this mystery. We can't give up after the current search area is completed," Gibson added in a telephone interview, shortly after being told by the authorities that his discovery matched the plane. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique should be searched and Malaysia wanted to send a team. Liow, however, said the location of the underwater search need not be changed. The piece of debris that Gibson found is a white, metre-long chunk of metal with "No Step" printed on it. It arrived in Australia for testing this week, along with another piece of debris found in Mozambique soon after. "I can't use the word happy to describe how I feel, because that means that the plane crashed, and that the plane crashed in a forceful impact," Gibson said. Jon Alexander Editorial Page Editor Editorial Page Editor, Quad-City Times Follow Jon Alexander Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Donald Trump was on the tip of everyone's tongue. We weren't 10 minutes into the hour drive from the Albany, New York, airport last week when my father, a lifelong Republican and local elected official, started in. "Can you believe Trump? What a moron," he said. "This might be the first election where I don't vote for president." Throughout the next several days, Trump-mania drove almost every interaction. I'd grab a drink at the local pub and people I haven't seen in years would ask me about Trump. Some shook their heads in disgust. Some argued that Trump doesn't mean a word he's saying and, somehow, that rationalization justifies their support. Others embraced his nationalistic message wholeheartedly. New York's rural hinterlands is as white-bread and post-industrial as anywhere in the country. Firearms and the white-tailed deer they kill are a way of life in the Adirondack Mountains from where I hail. Logging and manufacturing left upstate decades ago, replaced by generally low-pay, boom-and-bust tourism jobs and government programs. Delegate-rich New York and California could soon make or break Trump's bid to seize the GOP nomination without a brokered convention. Polls have The Donald up by 43 percentage points in his home state, according to a Real Clear Politics average. A lot has been written about the rage of "rural, white" America of late. Many an urban intellectual has struggled to understand the upheaval within the GOP this election cycle. They are primarily urban-centric outside observers straining to understand a culture they've spent decades ignoring. The total disregard for the plight of rural, white America is at the core of GOP upheaval. These are a people who swallowed GOP lip service for years. Democrats increasingly eyed diverse urban centers. The youth left in search of work. The jobs never returned. These are, in many ways, dying communities inhabited by people who see an assault on their way of life. Fort Drum, a massive U.S. Army installation, is the economic lifeblood for several counties a few hours west of my hometown, where my mother's family lives. Almost every job is tied to the billions in federal funding pumped into the base. The soldiers buy houses and shop at the stores. They populate the communities, thanks to monthly off-base housing stipends. Nearly 4,000 civilians work at the fort. Patriotism there is as much about economic self-interest as it is nationalism. In town for my mother's surgery, my relatives and I debated "programs," Islamic extremism and Black Lives Matter. I'd point out that welfare consumes just a tiny sliver of federal spending. I'd argue that 400 years of racial oppression and economic isolation, happening hundreds of miles away, doesn't disappear in two generations. I'd note that golden calves such as military spending, which props up large swaths of the region, and Social Security eat up hundreds of billions every year. I'd point out that Christians slaughtered Muslims in the 1990s in the Balkans and no one called for surveillance of Catholics when the Irish Republican Army blew up low-level British officials. I'd argue that religion in these instances are pre-existing doctrines, easily twisted to control malleable minds. Statistics and epistemology proved counterproductive. My arguments only fed the notion that I'm some "liberal" Obama apologist. In fact, there's a palpable sense that "facts" have stood in the way of pro-rural policies. A week in New York's GOP-heavy rural north brought into focus Trump's huge lead in the polls. Anger comes from the gut. The Republicans burned people living in places like upstate New York. Democrats disregarded them completely. And now, in many instances, these voters are looking for a candidate who will torch entire political institutions. Donald Trump is that man, plain and simple. DES MOINES Legislative Democrats are cool to GOP ideas of taking money from other parts of the states general fund or infrastructure budgets to finance expanded efforts to improve Iowas water quality, a top Iowa Senate leader said Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, told reporters Democrats want to increase funding for water-quality initiatives, but do not believe a workable bipartisan proposal has emerged at the Statehouse. Several of the plans that weve seen are little more than shell games moving money around, taking money away from somebody for the sake of somebody else, Gronstal said. Most of those plans arent going to work very smoothly up here. Gov. Terry Branstad, who had proposed tying water quality and school infrastructure together in a long-term strategy to address both priorities, conceded Monday that his idea may not be embraced in one year, and he would be willing to work with lawmakers to address water quality needs this session. However, he has said he also will not approve an extension of the school infrastructure sales tax set to expire 2029 if a share of that money is not part of the long-term plan to address water-quality concerns. Meanwhile, majority House Republicans are working on a separate proposal to fund water-quality programs out of a water metering tax that currently generates about $28 million to the states general fund annually. Gronstal said majority Senate Democrats also are formulating concepts to help us get started but offered few details. Asked how much Democrats were seeking to spend on water quality improvements, more than were doing now was Gronstals response. Weve seen an outline of a plan from the House Republicans; weve obviously seen the governors plan that takes $406 million away from K-12 education, from school infrastructure. We have concerns about that, Gronstal said. I dont think there are a lot of people that are thrilled with taking $406 million away from local schools, OK? So the governors proposal in that respect is a pretty big lift over here, the Senate leader added. The House proposals weve seen take money out of the general fund, take money out of the infrastructure fund, dont produce anything new and basically thats just one more way to shortchange K-12 education. House Ways and Means Committee members were working on a bill (House Study Bill 654) that would replace the sales tax Iowans pay on metered water with a 6 percent excise tax that would be deposited in an Iowa Finance Authority-administered revolving loan fund to help cities improve their water and waste water treatment facilities. The excise tax would raise about $28 million a year. Committee Chairman Tom Sands, R-Wapello, said the bills provisions represented the backbone framework for funding water quality. The excise tax was chosen because those that are paying will get the benefit, he said, thats why it will go to municipal water and waste water improvements, not farm-related projects. Sands said he hoped the House approach would receive Senate consideration, noting that the options are using existing money, raising taxes or diverting money and there was limited support for diverting it from SAVE the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Fund which sunsets at the end of 2029. Branstad indicated Monday he was not inclined to support a free-standing bill to extend the SAVE program for another 20 years, to which Gronstal replied Tuesday: We dont see him being extended past 2029, so we can make some decision later on. Gronstal said key legislators were working through a host of budget decisions this week and hoped to agree on details of a fiscal 2017 state spending plan relatively quickly, telling reporters we would like to adjourn on time with April 19 marking this years session 100th day. Everyone who predicted that Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) would get the boot from Davis & Main before the end of the season, congratulations. Everyone knew it was coming, but in "Inflatable," Jimmy makes it his business to be as annoying as possible until Clifford Main (Ed Begley Jr.) can't stand him anymore. It takes some doing: after apparently having a better time appearing with Mike (Jonathan Banks) as he pretends Tuco Salamanca's gun is his, he drafts a resignation letter with his put-upon assistant Omar (Omar Maskati), who doesn't understand why he'd give it up after working so hard. "I'm not unhappy, more like 'not happy,'" Jimmy says, ready to give up his sweet company car and apartment and walk away with his signing bonus. There's one problem: if he quits before a certain term, he doesn't get the bonus. Odenkirk's hesitation upon learning that, his backpedaling to "I love it...it was a momentary lapse of reason," is the reason it's hard not to love Jimmy/Saul. Even when he's choking something out, he's selling and thinking up his next move. And it comes to him as he takes a drive and sees one of those waving inflatable tube men, realizing that while he loses his bonus if he quits or gets fired with cause, he can keep it if he's let go for being "an all-around jackass," as Cliff puts it. And boy howdy, can Jimmy manage that. We next see him hanging suits and shirts in his closet, but they're all gaudy, colorful eyesores meant to draw attention to him in the office. Dennis Coffey's funky instrumental "Scorpio" plays for a perfect montage of Jimmy doing everything within his power to annoy the people of D&M: he walks in with those horrible suits, he buys a loud juicer for the office and ruins another associate's suit, he speaks Spanish to the janitor while demonstrating with a vacuum ("Dude, I'm from Michigan"), he even justifies not flushing in the bathroom (after Cliff says he doesn't even want to know who's doing it, he just wants it to stop) as an effort to save water. Jimmy's law-kamikaze mission gets a wild, hyperactive '70s split-screen that juxtaposes dozens of ugly shirts and bad moves, colorful ties flipping in the wind matched with the inflatable tube man dancing outdoors. It's a glorious moment and, I'd argue, a strong counterpoint to how "Fargo" used split-screen ineffective last year. Where that was empty (and failed) showmanship that rarely fit the somber mood of the show or complicated the mental process of the characters, this sequence is here entirely to be as in-your-face, as garish and as excessive as Jimmy is at D&M, and it's far more entertaining because of it. At any rate, it works, with the final straw coming when Jimmy decides to take up Cliff's advice by bringing an instrument in to blow off some steam: the bagpipes, the single most obnoxious instrument one could take to an office (as opposed to Cliff's acoustic guitar). It's over: Cliff has had enough, and rather than argue with Jimmy about his obvious effort to get fired and keep his bonus, he just wants him gone. Jimmy's cognizant enough to know that Cliff doesn't deserve the way he's been treated and tries to apologize, "I tried, I really did...I'm just a square peg," adding that "For what it's worth, I think you're a good guy." Begley's curt reply: "For what it's worth, I think you're an a------." The two actors play it beautifully, Begley's avuncular charm curdling to withheld rage coming through as frustration, Odenkirk pursing his lips semi-apologetically. Jimmy McGill is slowly tumbling away from respectability. Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), has her own journey to take, with her time at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill ending soon as she heads to an interview with their rival, Schweikart & Cokely. She has a draft of her resignation letter ready when Jimmy sneaks in, shortly after being fired, with the grand idea of Wexler-McGill, a small practice for the two of them. It's not going to be easy, he says, a lot of "blood, sweat and tears," but they'll be their own bosses. Rather than losing her temper with Jimmy, like she understandably has before, she considers everything he says carefully, asking firstly what kind of lawyer he's going to be ("colorful," he has to admit), and why he needs her ("I don't need you, I want you"). "You've got me...just not as a law partner." He's crushed, but after a successful meeting with Scheikart & Cokely, she reverses, meeting with Jimmy with the suggestion that they have two separate practices under one roof. They can support each other while being able to do things their own way. As far as striking out on their own, this is the best possible move for her, a way to stay out of the possible disaster area that Jimmy's practice might be. She hands him back the business card, torn in two, and tells him to say yes. Jimmy's head is framed between the two ends of the card, the "W" and "M" that he suggested. He'll probably say "yes," but it's a division that's going to test their relationship, probably eventually end it. Better for her, but not necessarily better for Jimmy/Saul. Stray thoughts: -My favorite line from Begley on Jimmy's actions: "that optical migraine you call a business suit." -Justified as Erin was for hating Jimmy, I can't help but get some sense of satisfaction when he grabbed the soda can out of her hands and tossed it in the trash after that smug eyebrow-raise she gave him. -The opening scene, of young Jimmy trying to help his honest dad recognize a hustler, then taking money for himself, is a solid cold open, but part of me wishes it were in an episode more connected to Jimmy and Chuck's past. -Mike's story is mostly transitional this week: he helps his daughter-in-law move into a new place and stakes out what looked like Nacho's father's business, but I wasn't sure. -Jimmy gets to keep that nice desk he requested at D&M, after paying for it. It's the one nice thing in that crappy office in the back of the nail salon. FORT MEADE | South Dakota Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense (DoD) office, announced George Mandas of Fort Meade Fire Department located at Fort Meade was honored in March with a Patriot Award in recognition of extraordinary support of his employee serving in the Guard and Reserve. The Patriot Award was created by ESGR to publicly recognize individuals who provide outstanding patriotic support and cooperation to their employees, who like the citizen warriors before them, have answered their nations call to serve, said Ron Milke, South Dakota ESGR state chair. Mandas was nominated for being highly supportive of the 1742nd Transportation Unit of the Army National Guard by his employee, Specialist Derek Swain who nominated Mandas. Supportive supervisors are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the nations Guard and Reserve units. Mandas has a total of 4 Guard members among his 26 employees at the VA facility in Hot Springs as well as the Fort Meade facility. The Fire Chief hires guard persons because they are well trained and have a belief in volunteering their services to their community and country. Frequently the Guard members are also part of their community volunteer fire department. Swain has been a Guard member for seven years and an employee of the Fort Meade Fire Department for six months. ESGR, a DoD office, seeks to foster a culture in which all employers support and value the employment and military service of members of the National Guard and Reserve in the United States. ESGR facilitates and promotes a cooperative culture of employer support for National Guard and Reserve service by developing and advocating mutually beneficial initiatives, recognizing outstanding employer support, increasing awareness of applicable laws and policies, resolving potential conflicts between employers and their service members, and acting as the employers principal advocate within DoD. Paramount to ESGR's mission is encouraging employment of Guardsmen and Reservists who bring integrity, global perspective and proven leadership to the civilian workforce. Fort Meade Fire Department renewed their Statement of Support for the military services by signing a current Support Statement. The Statement of Support states the employer Fully recognizes, honors and enforces the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Managers and supervisors will have the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve. Appreciates the values, leadership and unique skills service members bring to the workforce and will encourage opportunities to hire Guardsmen, Reservists, and Veterans. Will continually recognize and support our countrys service members and their families in peace, in crisis, and in war. For more information about ESGR outreach programs or volunteer opportunities, call 1-800-336-4590 or visit www.ESGR.mil. Criminal case against one of alleged Gagiyev gangs leaders reaches court MOSCOW, March 29 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) A criminal case against Oleg Dzarahohov, one of the alleged leaders of Aslan Gagiyevs gang, has reached a court, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday. According to the Investigative Committee representative Vladimir Markin, Russian authorities have completed an investigation into the case against Dzarahohov. Investigators allege that Dzarahohov joined the Gagiyevs gang in 2009 and was responsible for organizing armed attacks within his structure of the criminal organization. Dzarahohov is accused of leading a structure within criminal organization, leading a gang, murder, attempted murder, intentional infliction of grave and medium gravity harm to persons health, intentional destruction of persons property and illegal arms trafficking. Russian investigators claim that Georgian-born Gagiyevs gang has been operating since 2004 and includes over 50 members. Members of the gang committed more than 40 counts of murder in Moscow and North Ossetia. Some of them have already been convicted and are serving long prison terms. Over ten of them have been arrested, and an additional thirteen suspects are wanted by Interpol and federal law enforcement agencies. Currently 16 members of the Gagiyevs gang are sentenced to various terms in prison. 18 members are in detention, 9 members are on the international wanted list. Leader of the gang, Aslan Gagiyev was arrested in Austria and is facing extradition to Bulgaria or Russia. On March 3, he was released on bail by an Austrian court. Russian court denies parole for opposition activist Udaltsov MOSCOW, March 29 (RAPSI) A court in the Tambov Region of Russia on Tuesday dismissed a motion for parole of Russian opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov, his attorney Violetta Volkova told RAPSI. The court sided with the penal colony administration which argued against the early release of Udaltsov because he did not admit his guilt and did not earn any favors while being imprisoned. Udaltsov was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for organizing the Bolotnaya Square protests in central Moscow in May 2012. On March 11, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has given top priority to an application filed by Udaltsovs lawyers claiming that opposition activists rights to fair trial, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly were violated. Over 400 people were arrested and scores injured in the Bolotnaya Square protest that turned violent in May 2012. Dozens were later charged with inciting mass riots and using violence against law enforcement officers. The case against Udaltsov and another opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev along with other opposition figures was initiated after the "Anatomy of Protest 2" film was shown on the NTV broadcasting network. The film claimed that the opposition was organizing a coup using funds from abroad. It showed Udaltsov and his companions allegedly talking with Georgian politician Givi Targamadze, who at the time headed Georgia's Parliamentary Defense and Security Committee, and is said to have been involved in masterminding revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine and mass riots in Belarus. Udaltsov and Razvozzhayev were accused of organizing mass protests, convicted and sentenced in July 2014. Criminal case against eccentric artist Pavlensky reclassified MOSCOW, March 29 (RAPSI) Investigators have reclassified a criminal case against Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who is accused of setting fire to the Moscow headquarters of the Federal Security Service, the FSB, Pavlenskys lawyer Dmitriy Dinze told RAPSI on Tuesday. According to Dinze, charges against Pavlensky were reclassified from vandalism to intentional destruction of cultural heritage sites. He added that this move by the investigation cant be viewed as either easing or tightening of charges.Both articles of the Criminal Code provide the same maximum prison sentence of three years. Pavlensky was arrested on November 9 along with several other people who claim to be journalists that were invited to the artists performance. On November 10, Moscow's Tverskoy District Court ordered the detention of Pavlensky. Pavlensky is known for a number of controversial performances. In July 2012, he sewed up his mouth and stood at the Kazan Cathedral with a poster in support of Pussy Riot. In May 2013, Pavlensky lay down on the ground in front of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly naked with barbed wire around his body. In November 2013, also naked, Pavlensky nailed his scrotum to the Red Square pavement near the Lenin Mausoleum. In October 2014, he staged an eccentric stunt on the roof of the Serbsky Mental Institution in Moscow by cutting off one of his earlobes. In February 2015, Pavlensky and his accomplices burned car tyres, waved Ukrainian flags and banged sheet metal with sticks in a show of solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Ukraine. The performance was held near the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg. Bill on blocking websites with calls for riots submitted to State Duma MOSCOW, March 29 (RAPSI) - Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Ozerov on Tuesday submitted a bill to the lower house of parliament that would authorize prosecutors to file a claim with communications regulator Roskomnadzor for restriction of access to websites containing calls for riots, according to the State Duma database. The amendments are proposed to the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection". Under the bill, Prosecutor General, his deputies, prosecutors of Russias federal subjects can request Roskomnadzor to block information resources that distribute information containing calls for mass riots, extremism, and participation in public events held with violation of an authorized order. 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. Kansas State football at TCU: Live notes and updates No. 17 Kansas State football clashes with No. 8 TCU in a battle of Big 12 leaders. We've got you covered with live updates. 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). NY Times laments "A Modern System of Debtor Prisons" | Main | "There hasnt been a criminal defense lawyer on the Supreme Court in 25 years. Thats a problem." March 29, 2016 Still more ugly details on the still ugly realities of the federal clemency process Regular readers are probably tired of hearing me complain regularly about the failure of the Obama Administration to fix the many problems surrounding the modern federal clemency process. But this new USA Today article, headlined "Former administration pardon attorney suggests broken system in resignation letter: Former Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff said she was unable to talk to the White House about pardons," provides still more grist for my clemency kvetching mill. Here is how the piece starts: The Obama administration instructed Justice Department attorneys to neglect applications for presidential pardons to give priority to the Justice Department's initiative to release low-level offenders from prison, the former pardon attorney said in her resignation letter early this year. That inaction was one of several issues that former Pardon Attorney Deborah Leff cited in her letter, which was obtained by USA TODAY after making a Freedom of Information Act request. Leff resigned in January after less than two years as the official responsible for making clemency recommendations for the president. Her resignation letter suggests a broken and bureaucratic process at odds with President Obama's own aim to exercise his pardon power "more aggressively" in the final months of his presidency. Leff wrote that the administration's focus on the clemency initiative at the expense of traditional pardons and commutations "means that the requests of thousands of petitioners seeking justice will lie unheard." "This is inconsistent with the mission and values to which I have dedicated my life, and inconsistent with what I believe the department should represent," she wrote. It's the job of the U.S. pardon attorney to investigate all of those cases and make a recommendation to the deputy attorney general, who then forwards it to the White House Counsel's Office and, ultimately, the president. Because the pardon attorney advises the president on sensitive cases, the process is cloaked in secrecy, and officials rarely discuss the process publicly. So Leff's letter offers a rare glimpse into how the pardon office works in the Obama administration. Unlike in previous administrations, where pardon office staffers and the White House had routine conversations, Leff said she was denied "all access to the White House Counsel's Office," which is the last step for a pardon application before being approved or denied by the president. She said Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates had overruled her recommendations in an increasing number of cases and that in those cases, the president was unaware of the difference of opinion. "I believe that prior to making the serious and complex decisions underlying clemency, it is important for the president to have a full set of views," she said. And she said the Justice Department had not made good on its promise to put the required resources behind the clemency initiative. That initiative, part of a broader push for sentencing reform, was designed to use the president's constitutional pardon power to release federal inmates who would have received shorter sentences had they been sentenced under today's more lenient guidelines. It applies mostly to non-violent drug offenders serving sentences of 10 years or more, with good behavior while in prison. March 29, 2016 at 08:09 AM | Permalink Comments It's interesting. Several on the Life for Pot site who were nonviolent marijuana offenders were turned down by Clemency Project 2014. I'm sure that is because of the length of their sentence and the fact that they were charged with conspiracy and went to trial. Others with life sentences and similar circumstances received an attorney through CP-14. They were all nonviolent marijuana only inmates. Some inmates received a CP-14 attorney and then they were denied after they thought they were being represented. I'm sure it's a daunting task to vet thousands of surveys. As always, I would like a more systemic solution to this problem. I would advocate that any nonviolent marijuana offender who has served 10 years should be seriously considered for a Commutation. Posted by: beth | Mar 29, 2016 4:29:34 PM Post a comment Still more ugly details on the still ugly realities of the federal clemency process | Main | Oklahoma creates Death Penalty Review Commission full of prominent folks .... which will likely achieve ....? March 29, 2016 "There hasnt been a criminal defense lawyer on the Supreme Court in 25 years. Thats a problem." The title of this post is the headline of this notable new Vox commentary authored by Dara Lind. Here is how the piece starts: It's been a quarter-century since a former criminal defense lawyer sat on the Supreme Court. Since then, crime has fallen by half. Incarceration has risen, then fallen (slightly) again. Americans are becoming more and more critical of the "tough-on-crime" mindset that defined the end of the 20th century, and more skeptical that police and prosecutors will always use their powers for good in other words, they're coming in line with how defense lawyers see the world. But when Barack Obama made his third (and likely final) Supreme Court nomination last week, he nominated Merrick Garland. Garland is a former prosecutor with a tough-on-crime record. The Court already has two ex-prosecutors. Appellate defense lawyer Timothy O'Toole points out that the Court has veterans of both sides of civil cases (defendants' and plaintiffs' lawyers) and one side of criminal cases (prosecutors). "But the one group that seems kind of outside that box, particularly on the Supreme Court, are defense lawyers. And that's a shame." Defense lawyers and scholars worry this isn't an accident; it's the result of the structure that shapes who can get nominated to the Supreme Court to begin with. Federal judges tend to be people who "ticked all the political checkboxes on their career starting from when they were 15," says Tejas Bhatt, assistant public defender for New Haven, Connecticut. Often one of those boxes is working as a prosecutor. Even beyond any particular career experience, the system rewards "people who don't take controversial positions, they don't do controversial things, who don't issue controversial opinions, who do seem to hew more toward law and order and enforcement." There's good reason to be concerned about the jurisprudence of a court that only understands one side of a criminal case from experience and since the high-water mark of the 1960s, defense lawyers have seen the Supreme Court put serious restrictions on the right against self-incrimination, the right against unreasonable search, and even the right to a lawyer. But to many of them, this isn't just a problem with jurisprudence. It's a problem with the Supreme Court in a democracy and in an increasingly diverse America. They believe the politics of Supreme Court confirmations has limited all but a very narrow, very privileged slice of America to have a shot at a seat on the highest court in the land. And one of the groups who they fear are locked out is the people whose job it is to stand up for the rights of the marginalized and those who are on the wrong side of well-intentioned laws. March 29, 2016 at 08:30 AM | Permalink Comments I continue to think a defense minded pick was a good idea that the choices put out there this time would not have worked well given the current situation. Garland was a good pick, the two leading alternatives not defense minded choices, the third even deemed problematic by someone who wanted a defense minded pick. Last time was a good choice too since it wasn't the standard appeals judge, often white male. Kagan turned out to be a good pick and her background probably supplies a different perceptive. Ditto the Latina from the Bronx with long experience. This includes being a member of the State of New York Mortgage Agency, part of one of the largest urban rebuilding efforts in American history, the agency helped low-income people get home mortgages and to provide insurance coverage for housing and AIDS hospices. She was also on New York City Campaign Finance Board and board of directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. But, a defense minded pick -- one person in the past suggested Jeffrey Fisher -- is fine. Perhaps, if Garland fails, able to ride it out in part since he was picked just for that reason, Clinton can pick him or Jane Kelly. The other woman can be raised to appellate level and in a few years be a prime choice for the next slot. Posted by: Joe | Mar 29, 2016 9:44:10 AM "Ditto the Latina from the Bronx with long experience."--and yet, with all that experience, she couldn't figure out the difference between causation and attributability when evaluating a Double Jeopardy case. Nor could she figure out the operative effect Ginsburg's opinion would have had in the Ricci case. (It wouldn't, as Sotomayor asserted in her prepared Senate remarks, affirmed the Second Circuit.) Posted by: federalist | Mar 29, 2016 12:39:51 PM While different career paths can form part of a judge's perspective, it is not necessarily outcome determinative. While Justice Sotomayor did work as a prosecutor, her opinions are not pro-prosecution. In my state, there are several former public defenders serving as judges who are just as tough on defendants as any former prosecutor. Posted by: TMM | Mar 29, 2016 12:40:45 PM Hey. Earl Warren was a DA. We are just talking odds here. It's a thing. Posted by: Joe | Mar 29, 2016 12:54:15 PM @TMM "In my state, there are several former public defenders serving as judges who are just as tough on defendants as any former prosecutor." This misframes the concern, or at least it is not what concerns me. For me the issue is one of legitimacy. We live in a diverse society and while I realize that with only nine people there can never be a judge for every single interest group, not having anyone with that experience ever in their career makes it seem that the court just doesn't care. Realistically, these days more cases that reach SCOTUS involve criminal law than they do gender or racial concerns. So at least for me it's not an issue of whether a PD is "easier" or "harsher" than a DA in outcomes. It is whether or not someone with that experience has a visible place on the court. Posted by: Daniel | Mar 29, 2016 4:08:53 PM If you are looking for a lawyer then you should definitely take a look at this one! I have contacted them personally and believe me is amazing and very simple in use, providing the best results! Posted by: http://www.bolgerlaw.com | Jun 30, 2016 6:42:06 AM consider before hiring criminal lawyer Now-a-days Crime has become a common trouble in our life. We can not ignore it until this problem will be solved. To confront this type of trouble we need well trained criminal lawyer. I hope your article will help many of us to find out right criminal lawyer. But finding the right one is not easy. You can connect with criminal lawyer in surrey , they have experienced lawyers team to help you with all kinds of criminal law issues. Posted by: criminallawyerinsurrey | Dec 13, 2020 6:25:28 AM Post a comment Over the weekend the Chronicle's Jonathan Kauffman took a deep dive into the topic of tip-pooling, explaining how California is now one of seven states that have a universal minimum wage that applies whether you're a tipped employee or not. In 43 states, there are still two minimum wages, with one far lower that applies if you're a tipped worker like a server or bartender, meaning that in many cases those workers are not being paid much more than cooks once tips are added in. Across the country, it's common for servers and bartenders to tip out their less well compensated coworkers, like bussers, food runners, and hosts, who nonetheless contribute to customers' experiences. But increasingly the topic of how to pay kitchen staff a living wage has become front and center for Bay Area restaurant owners especially, both as servers are making ever larger gratuities as overall prices increase, and as it becomes increasingly difficult to staff kitchens when affordable housing especially for someone making little more than minimum wage has become scarce. San Francisco may be one of a number of progressive cities nationwide who are instituting a local minimum wage that's scheduled to hit $15/hour in 2018 (it goes up to $13 this year), and now the California statewide minimum is set to hit $15/hour by 2022, according to an agreement announced by the governor today. But when it comes to pooling tips, things enter a gray area when you get to line cooks and dishwashers, who are not technically in the "chain of service" and it has remained illegal, nationwide, for managers to share in tips. Thus at places like Aatxe and State Bird Provisions, you have "back of house" staff like cooks delivering plates to diners and serving diners directly at chef's counters, thereby making them, more clearly, part of the service staff. Comal owner Andrew Hoffman was just quoted last week on this topic, in a piece for San Francisco Magazine, pointing out the added wrinkle of how to create an equitable wage structure if minimum wage for both the front and back of house rose to $19. "Its not that paying the dishwasher $19 is going to bankrupt you," Hoffman said. "Its if you pay him $19, what are you going to pay the sous chef? Thats the part that people forget about." But as the Chron piece explains, a decision by the Ninth Circuit in February has complicated matters for California restaurateurs engaging in this hybrid sharing of gratuities. The case pertains only to Oregon, and that state's law regarding tip credits that are applied against the minimum wage something that doesn't exist here in California. But nonetheless it creates an awkward potential legal precedent in which the court declared cooks and dishwashers to be outside the "chain of service" in one nearby state, and it makes restaurant owners here afraid of being sued down the line. (Just look at the two lawsuits filed against Michael Chiarello and his restaurant Coqueta earlier this month, one of which alleges illegal tip pooling and underpayment of wages to servers.) At restaurants like Comal in Berkeley and Salsipuedes in Oakland, there's now a 20-percent automatic service charge applied to all checks, which allows the restaurants to share the wealth however they like and get around any vagaries in the law. In the case of the latter restaurant, owner Jay Porter instituted the charge immediately after the Ninth Circuit decision. Expect to hear plenty more on this topic as it all shakes out, and as restaurants across town begin to follow suit with automatic service charges. It's a tense topic, especially for those who feel strongly that gratuities should be tied to service and at diners' discretion. Unhappy customers who feel ripped off after paying the mandated fee despite mediocre service are going to protest by not returning to the restaurant and talking shit on Yelp thus there've been several recent flip-flops on this practice as restaurateurs run scared. Related: What SF Restaurant Owners Are Saying About The Current Restaurant 'Bubble' New Survey Says SF Bartenders And Servers Make More Money Than Anywhere Else You may automatically associate the Tenderloin with crime and drug use and you would not be wrong to do so. But the Tenderloin Community Benefit District hopes that its pilot program to install security cameras around the neighborhood may help do something about that. So reports Hoodline, which notes that the TLCBD is talking with local businesses about the possibility of installing cameras on the exterior of their buildings. At present, the pilot program consists of seven cameras, but that number could later be expanded. The idea is to deter crime because they know theyre being recorded," Steve Gibson of TLCBD told the publication. "Once a crime is committed, it will make it easier to prosecute; to catch the individuals. Unlike on San Francisco Muni buses where live video and sound is streamed to officials in real time, video will need to be requested by police to be viewed at a later time. However, should a crime occur, the idea is that police will now have more evidence to actively pursue suspected criminals. Hoodline calls attention to a CBS 5 story from last September which pegs the number of security cameras in the Tenderloin at over 3,000. Most of the cameras, though, are private. The first of the new batch of cameras is set to be installed near Leavenworth and Golden Gate, and funds for their purchase and installation come from the Mayor's Office of Workforce and Economic Development, the Saint Francis Foundation, and Market Street property developer Shorenstein Residential. As to why these cameras will succeed in deterring crime where the other 3,000 have failed who knows? Regardless, Tenderloin Station Captain Teresa Ewins told Hoodline that the availability of additional footage is always a good thing. "The cameras will be good because my community wants to be safe." Related: Video: SFPD Officer Caught On Camera Hitting Suspect Says He Needs To Seize Camera Todays top picks from our online calendar. Find more events at siouxcityjournal.com/calendar. Restoration and Reformation: An art exhibit by Northwestern College seniors Savannah Clapper and Thea DeWaard will be on display in the colleges Te Paske Gallery in Orange City, Iowa. A public reception is scheduled 7 p.m. April 1. Visit www.nwc.edu for more information. Siouxland 102: Want to know your neighborhood? Jim Schaap will lead history and culture tours 7:15-8:45 p.m. today to show how writers have pictured our world -- from Sioux Falls to Orange City to Alton. First session held at Plymouth County Historical Museum, 335 First Ave. SW, Le Mars. Registration is $65. Call 712-707-4885 or visit orangecityarts.net for more information. Jersey Boys: This is the story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide -- all before they were 30! Shows today through Sunday at Orpheum Theatre, 528 Pierce St. Tickets are available at etix.com or by calling 800-514-3849. Understanding your small business finances is a huge part of managing your company to success, especially during challenging times. Here at Small Business Trends, we believe small business owners should be empowered, stop worrying about economic forecasts and take control of their own destinies when building their businesses. We hope the resources here help you do just that. Trends Dealing with rising costs. Faced with a challenging economy that makes growth a little trickier, small businesses also need to watch the other end of the equation by keeping control of their costs. Easier said than done, this is something at which some entrepreneurs have none the less prevailed and here are some tips that can help you and others. Bloomberg BusinessWeek What does double dip mean to you? Nothing probably. With all the wailing and hand wringing going around, remember that most of our small businesses dont depend on the stock market directly. Customers and clients still need to be served. You can expand your market or enter new ones. Keep doing what youre doing and stop worrying about the economy. Youre the Boss Opportunities Tax credit for research and development? Thats right, you can get a tax credit for doing something thats good for your company anyway, researching and developing new products, services and technologies. Here are more details on the tax credit program. Be sure to share this link with others. Bloomberg BusinessWeek SBA funding continues to roll out. The Small Business Administration continues to roll out funding in an effort to boost small business and with it the economy. A recent initiative targets small businesses seeking capital in Michigan. Federal funding has also flowed to a number of other states recently to help with small business lending. Keep watching for funding your business can take advantage of. Grow Smart Biz Operations Want to cut costs in your small business? Check out these suggestions for cutting costs across the board. Reducing cost is a great way to manage your companys finances no matter how your business is doing. Cutting expenditures improves your companys financial situation and frees up additional resources to reinvest in your business. Angel Business Advisors Cash is king so manage it. In fact, managing cash flow within your business ought to be one of your top priorities. But getting a handle on cash flow within your company may not be as easy as it seems. Resolve to take a systematic approach to addressing your small business issues and you may be surprised at the result. Open Forum Funding Mistakes when seeking investors. It seems simple on the face of it. Just go convince someone with money to spend that your idea for a business is clearly awesome :). They write you a check and youre in business! But when its time to approach investors, especially sophisticated ones, youll find the prospect is anything but easy. Open Forum There are no shortcuts to raising cash. Be ware of claims that seem too good to be true. They may either be opportunities of questionable authenticity or they are meant for a very specific kind of business and not for you. See the example given by Peter Ireland of an opportunity for businesses that may clearly be out of the typical small business startups league. The Seed & Startup Capital Blog Crowdfunding Have you heard of crowdfunding? A way to get the financial boost your business needs to grow, expand or survive harsh economic times, crowdfunding is a new practice often carried out over the Internet. For a more detailed look at the process and whats involved, check out the story at the link above. Grow Smart Biz 13 online sources for funding your business. As mentioned earlier, crowdfunding is largely an Internet trend and has inspired a variety of Websites and Web communities to serve the market. Here is one list of Websites just to get you started. As with any online resource, we would encourage you to do your own research to determine which crowdfunding option might be best for you. practical ecommerce Get the latest headlines from Small Business Trends. Follow us on Google News. Costco is expanding its business centers, stores aimed specifically at its small business customers, showing an increased commitment to this segment of its base. The retail giant recently added a new center in Westminster, California, its twelfth business center in North America. The chain also maintains two similar business centers in the U.K. Open to all Costco members, the business centers are none-the-less designed to target and serve Costcos small business customers specifically. Benefits for Small Business Owners For small businesses, Costco business centers are an attractive option for several reasons. To begin with, the centers stock a large selection of high-quality products aimed at small business owners such as those who own restaurants and convenience stores. The company claims more than 70 percent of the items available at the centers are unique compared to those found at a conventional Costco warehouse. Theres also a convenience factor to the Costco business centers. Businesses can place their order by 3 p.m. and receive next-business-day delivery in most areas. The company delivers to most businesses within the greater Atlanta, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Puget Sound, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco Bay metropolitan areas. Orders less than $250 (before tax) are charged a $25 delivery surcharge. Business hours, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Friday, are also designed to be more convenient for businesses to make purchases. For restaurant owners, business centers are more appealing because of the larger volumes of merchandise available, compared to what is available at a regular Costco warehouse. Select locations have a Print & Copy Center to cater to the businesses printing and promotional needs. Business Centers Are Response to Competition The biggest difference between the business centers and Costcos traditional locations is space. The size of the business centers averages 115,000 square feet while a regular warehouse averages 150,000 square feet. The Costco business centers also have half the number of parking spaces but generate higher check averages. Its worth noting that Costcos increasing focus on offering more benefits for small businesses could be driven by growing competition with Sams Club, which has been trying to woo small businesses too. The company recently opened a new store in Oklahoma where it focuses more on paper and plastic products and large bulk-food items. During the store opening, Mike Odom, manager of the new Sams Club location told NewsOK, You will find everything you would in a regular Sams Club, but we are trying to accommodate all of the small business owners needs first. Costco unveiled its first business center way back in 1992 in Hayward, California. Over the next 10 years, the company opened just three more centers. Since 2009, however, Costco has added five additional locations. Usefulness Funtionality Price When you're seeking the right information, you use Google. When you're searching for the right company, you use Plonked. The question is whether this business search engine will be a hit for small businesses too. If Google and LinkedIn had a child, it would be Plonked, a newly-minted search engine designed to discover, analyze, and connect searchers with businesses for the purpose of building a sales pipeline, securing venture capital, or finding employment. Currently, Plonkeds database only contains a list of 250,000 tech companies, but efforts are underway to include all of the 24 million businesses in the U.S. by year-end. Once it accomplishes that feat, it plans to set the bar even higher and include all companies worldwide. How Plonked Works Conduct a search on Plonked using industry-related keywords or a company name and you will see results similar to those pictured in the screenshot below. Click on an individual return and Plonked takes you to a company profile page that contains: Company information founding and funding data, employee count, location and background info; Industry-related keywords; List of similar companies; Connections company employees with whom Plonked users are connected; Company leadership team members; Media traction aggregate data and a list of recent articles written about the company. If you click the View Explorer link, you are presented with a visual depiction of related businesses based on four criteria: similar companies, partnerships, customers and vendors. A slider lets you pick the number of relationships shown, from 0 to 50. Also, users can click on any of the other companies included in the visualization, to explore further. For example, a search on Explorer for IBM revealed a vast network of related companies 232 in all, to be precise far exceeding the 50 returns limit. A Focus on Connections Connections comprise the heart of Plonkeds algorithm ranking is even driven by company-to-company relationships and even Kevin Bacon has nothing on this search engines ability to foster them. More than a knowledge base, Plonked is a search engine that unlocks connections and identifies leads and opportunities with business health metrics that provide greater insight into how companies are actually performing, said Plonked Founder and CEO Ankur Varma in an interview with Small Business Trends. The Plonked engine helps users understand a companys ecosystem, including competitors, partners, vendors, investors and customers. The search engine has already made plenty of connections in the short time since its launch, according to Varma. The business network we have created is already yielding fascinating metrics, such as the average separation of 3.5 degrees for most tech companies, Varma said. In other words, even the most obscure small businesses are in fact connected to the other 24 million businesses in the United States in just 3 to 4 hops. Premium Options for Sales Teams Anyone can use the search engine for free, but premium options are available for businesses that wish to build out their sales pipeline, identifying prospects that are similar to existing customers and which have first- and second-degree connections. Starting at just $25 per month, the cost is nominal. Not only does it provide businesses with the ability to search and connect with other companies but also receive notifications when new connections or companies emerge and identify new leads by analyzing its existing customer base. A second price tier $250 gives companies the ability to integrate with CRM and marketing automation tools, such as Salesforce. User Profiles Promote Connections Plonked gives individual users the ability to sign-up and create a profile for free. Once set up, the platform searches the persons contact database for connections. Users can also invite others to join, creating another avenue for connecting. In addition, subscribed users can follow companies and receive updates when new connections or companies surface. They can also edit company profile information, Wikipedia-style. And similar to Wikipedia, Plonked reviews and approves updates before they go live, to prevent spammers or trolls from posting information that could injure a companys reputation. Benefits to Small Business When asked about benefits small businesses could expect to accrue from using Plonked, Varma said, When people search for a particular type of business, Google will list all kinds of results and show paid returns at the top of the page. Not only will our search provide more relevant returns but there are no ads, which can help small businesses that dont have deep pockets. Its more of a fair-play solution. Businesses can also update their profile information, to increase relevance, according to Varma. Why Plonked Chosen as Brand Name Face it, tech companies often have obscure, even indecipherable brand names, and Plonked is no different. There is a story behind its choosing, however. Varma explained: About a year ago when we were doing some due diligence before starting the company, we spoke to several sales guys about how they research companies and build their target list. One sales guy said that he had to plonk down tons of money for useless lead generation engines that had dubious ROIs. That conversation stuck with me; especially the word (action) plonk we did some domain searches and were able to get plonked.com. Conclusion Plonkeds emphasis on helping business users explore, discover and connect with companies makes it ideal for sales and marketing professionals seeking to find prospects, as well as startups soliciting venture capital or job hunters exploring employment opportunities. Whether Plonked proves useful to small businesses remains to be seen, certainly at this nascent stage. Give it a few months to broaden its reach, however, enabling the search and exploration of all companies and industries, and it may be worth searching for your company, optimizing your profile and making connections. If nothing else, it could prove worthwhile as a channel for discovering sales leads. Visit the website, give Plonked a try and leave a comment, letting us know what you think. Managing a business is no small feat. Marketing, logistics, customer services, human resources it all starts and ends with you. Time is money, and there never seems to be enough time in the day to manage everything. Thats why small business owners sleep less than they should. The issue is widespread on every level of the corporate food chain. According to researchers at CareerBuilder, 58 percent of workers say they dont get enough sleep at night. Move up the ladder, and sleep deprivation worms its way into company culture. Over 40 percent of business owners and C-level executives reckon theyre shunning sleep at least four nights per week. It goes without saying, these encroaching work addictions are having an impact on business success. Yet, what might not be so obvious are the ways in which sleep deprivation disproportionately affects smaller businesses. Who Needs Sleep? A good nights sleep inevitably dictates tomorrows productivity. When youre the heart and soul of a small business, one lost day may ultimately prove a deathblow from which youll never recover. Sleep deprivation drastically cripples a business owners ability to focus attention selectively. According to research conducted by the University of New South Wales, after 17 hours of wakefulness, an individuals work performance is equivalent to that of a person whose blood alcohol level has hit 0.05 percent. Move up to 20 hours of being awake, and youve hit the equivalent of a 0.1 percent blood alcohol level. That would be enough to get you convicted for drunk driving. The message here is clear: forgo sleep, and the crucial decisions that dictate your companys future are effectively decided in a drunken stupor. Once youve made a poor strategic decision, a lack of sleep will hit your business even harder. Sleep is absolutely critical in restoring the cognitive functions workers need to solve problems effectively. Insight, pattern recognition and innovation are all hit hard by sleep deprivation. As a result, company leaders whove had a good nights sleep are more than twice as likely to discover a hidden shortcut in finishing a particularly difficult task. Finally, missing out on sleep will decimate successful working relationships. When a manager or business owner is groggy and irritable, they arent statistically as likely to seek out new perspectives or ask colleagues for their input on strategic choices. That lack of inclusiveness and insight will inevitably foster a counterproductive atmosphere dominated by groupthink and reactionary management. Bearing all of this in mind, its pretty clear that a good nights sleep is absolutely critical to the success of your business. Unfortunately, its more important than ever if youre managing a small business or a scrappy, young start-up. Why Small Business Owners Sleep Less Over the past couple of years, corporate executives have been forgoing sleep at an alarming rate. Yet even so, their foolish decision to work late into the night will never be as inherently detrimental to their companys success as a lack of sleep will be for a small business owner or first-time entrepreneur. By and large, thats because theres strength in numbers. In 1999, the average new business kicked things off with 7.7 employees. According to the Kauffman Foundation, that figure has dropped to an average of 4.7 employees. In many ways, overseeing a smaller team can make for a more manageable and dynamic work environment but it also means a lot more responsibility. When Marissa Mayer joined scrappy start-up Google in 1999 as the companys first female engineer, she was infamously known to put in over 130 hours per week. At the start-up level, weeks like that can seem difficult to avoid. After all, small business owners and their tiny teams must oversee a plethora of seemingly menial tasks that corporate executives are free to pass off to teams of 30 or 40 white collar worker bees. As a result, many sleep deprived corporate executives are able to go home at 5 p.m. on the dot comforted in knowing that mid-level employees will be able to burn the midnight oil, instead. Some big time executives may even benefit from the odd midday nap which researchers say can drastically improve ones creative abilities. Small business owners dont have that kind of time. Theres simply too much to get done during the day for a luxurious nap, and nobody else to pass the work on to. For that reason, small business owners sleep far less than their corporate counterparts. Given the ambitious workloads that start-up founders and would-be entrepreneurs try and take on, sleep deprivation is inevitable. Yet by doing a bit more planning and increasing productivity throughout the day, its possible for small business owners to regain lost sleep and improve their overall company success between the hours of nine and five. Give It A Rest Just as corporate executives are less likely to harm their companys bottom line by losing sleep, they are also more likely to be able to address sleep deprivation as a widespread issue. Many large corporations now churn out regular training programs designed to improve daytime productivity, while other companies have written strict bylaws against working past a certain time of night. A major HR campaign probably wont seem worthwhile when youre only presiding over five or six employees so the fight to regain sleep must start with you. First, its worth sitting down with your team and bringing this topic to the table. Let them know that sleep deprivation is a major issue that can be catastrophic for your companys success. It may seem important to hit stringent print deadlines or file briefs by a certain time but nothing can be prioritized over the mental and physical health of you and your colleagues. Clerical errors, behavioral outbursts and poor decisions are all far more likely to be made after the sun goes down. Let your employees know that theres a fine line between working late as a show of dedication and simply putting the company at risk. After that talk, youve got to lead by example and increasing your productivity throughout the day will enable you to get home on time without leaving work undone. One of the best ways to increase your productivity throughout the day is, counterintuitively, to take breaks. According to researchers at Hiroshima University, enjoying regular breaks throughout the day will actually refresh your mind and renew your focus in order to increase work productivity. Taking 30 minutes in the middle of the day for a long walk or a quick gym visit is particularly invigorating, and will also help you to have a longer and more natural sleep later in the evening. That said, even a short coffee break is better than nothing. Finally, you will always perform far better in the office if youre doing all you can to get a better nights rest at home. After all, getting out of the office early wont improve a sleeping pattern if youre spending the night tossing and turning. Small business owners sleep better if they stay away from caffeine late in the day, maintain a low intake of alcohol and avoid eating big meals close to bedtime. Nicotine has also been directly linked to sleeping problems and anyone looking to improve their sleeping habits would do well to avoid smoking altogether. See Also: Small Business Owners and Buyers Ready for Trump Tax Reforms At the end of the day, sleep deprivation affects everyone. It doesnt matter whether youre working a shop floor, telecommuting from Hong Kong or are a corporate executive that lives and breathes work. You need to get your rest. This rings particularly true for small business owners. Theyre usually doing enough work to keep five or six people busy, and consequently choose to forgo sleep on a regular basis. Its got to stop. Sleep deprivation is bad for managers, bad for small business owners and bad for companies in general. Yet by opening up a line of dialogue, improving daytime productivity and taking steps to ensure youre getting a deep sleep at home, its possible to lead a small business to success and still get eight hours of rest each night. 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 LEONARDTOWN, Md. (March 29, 2016)MedStar St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown reported on their Facebook page Monday that their internal computer systems have been impacted by a 'virus that prevents certain users from logging-in to our system.'"Early this morning, MedStar Health's IT system was affected by a virus that prevents certain users from logging-in to our system. MedStar acted quickly with a decision to take down all system interfaces to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the organization. We are working with our IT and Cyber-security partners to fully assess and address the situation. Currently, all of our clinical facilities remain open and functioning. We have no evidence that information has been compromised. The organization has moved to back-up systems paper transactions where necessary."A screen capture purported to be from a screen of a hospital computer is circulating on the internet and identifies the virus as ransomware. Ransomware works by encrypting the computer's disk drives using advanced encryption techniques that require a unique key to unlock. Any attached file systems, such as USB drives and shared network drives can also be impacted. The perpetrators require the victim to pay a ransom in order to obtain the key to unlock their files. Payment is often required to be made in Bitcoin a relatively new digital currency that is very difficult to trace.Renowned information security researcher and author Brian Krebs just 2 weeks ago documented a similar attack at Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky . The attackers demanded $1,600 in ransom in this case. A Los Angeles hospital paid almost $17,000 in ransom in February, according to a NPR report.Krebs wrote that while many ransomware infections are the result of people browsing the web with outdated browsers and/or browser plug-ins like Adobe Flash and Java, the attack in Kentucky used one of the original methods of infection."The attack on Methodist Hospital was another form of opportunistic attack that came in via spam email, in messages stating something about invoices and that recipients needed to open an attached (booby-trapped) file."While in the past there had been cases of a flaw in the ransomware code that allowed data to be recovered, most security experts today agree that it is essentially impossible to decrypt the files without the key held by the perpetrators. However, many experts disagree on whether or not to pay the ransom . Those against paying argue that payment only encourages the spread of the problem. They also say that payment is no guarantee that you will receive the key. Others counter that to not provide the key to victims who pay would only damage the business model of the perpetrators and encourage others not to pay in the future. The alternative is wipe the affected systems and restore the data from backupsif they exist. Sheriff Timothy Cameron with Governor Larry Hogan. (Photo courtesy of Tim Cameron) LEONARDTOWN, Md. (May 29, 2016)Governor Hogan has appointed St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron to a two-year term on the Governor's Emergency Management Advisory Council (GEMAC). The GEMAC serves as an independent advisory board, comprised of persons with special expertise in areas critical to homeland security and emergency management. Sheriff Cameron brings more than 35 years of law enforcement and public safety experience to the Council, including three terms as the Sheriff of St. Mary's County."It is an honor to be appointed by Governor Hogan to his Emergency Management Advisory Council. The council works to ensure Maryland is an aware and prepared state. It is a pleasure to serve with such an exemplary group, including fellow St. Mary's County resident David Willenborg," Cameron said.This is the second time that Governor Hogan has specifically called upon Sheriff Cameron's expertise. In 2015, the Governor appointed Cameron to serve on his Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force.Sheriff Cameron earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management in 2006, through Johns Hopkins University's Public Safety Leadership program. Cameron then enrolled in the University's prestigious Police Executive Leadership Program and received his Master of Business Administration in May 2007.Since then, Cameron has gone on to complete the Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Post Graduate School, in Monterey, Calif, at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. He is also a graduate of the 92nd Class of the National Sheriff's Institute, Session 66 of the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Course, and of Session 14 of the Maryland Police and Corrections Training Commission Leadership Challenge.The two-year term is set to expire in 2018. INDIAN HEADAn Apartment Fire at 4135 Indian Head Hwy, Indian Head, Charles County, on March 28 around 8:36 a.m. spread to an attached commercial business and caused an estimated $100,000 in damages to the structure and $50,000 to the contents.The juvenile occupant was reportedly awakened to the smell of smoke as the fire was discovered by neighbors, who called 9-1-1. The fire quickly grew and spread into the apartment and business, requiring a two alarm response before it was brought under control.The fire involved 45 firefighters from Indian Head VFD and Potomac Heights VFD and took approximately one hour to control.One Potomac Heights firefighter received a laceration to a finger and was transported to the local hospital for treatment.HUNTINGTOWNA 2011 Chevrolet Impala was discovered on March 27 around 9:15 a.m. after a fire in the interior of the vehicle caused an estimated $8,000 in damages to the vehicle. The Impala was found by a neighbor.The deputy state fire marshal who investigated listed the preliminary cause as "incendiary."The location of the vehicle was 1321 Neptune Lane, Huntingtown, Calvert County. The vehicle is owned by Russell Washington, Jr.Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Southern Regional Office, at 443-550-6820.LA PLATAA 16 x 20 Shed located at 8345 Hudson Drive, La Plata, Charles County was destroyed by fire on March 23 around 1:37 p.m.Losses are estimated at $8,000 to the structure and $12,000 for the contents.The joint investigation with the Maryland Forestry Service and the Maryland State Fire Marshal determined the accidental fire was the result of improperly discarded debris ashes which extended to a nearby shed, destroying the entire structure and it's contents.The fire was discovered by a passer-by.The one-alarm fire involved 40 firefighters from La Plata Volunteer Fire Department and took 30 minutes to bring under control. HOLLYWOOD, Md. In just three years the Calvert County Boards of County Commissioners have spent $20.1 million of the county's fund balance and according to the staff recommended budget for fiscal 2017, they plan to spend $8.8 million more.In four years, this totals to an expense of $29 million and leaves only $3.8 million in the fund balance, otherwise known as the county's savings account.The $8.8 million from the savings account would be taken to balance fiscal 2017 Calvert County total budget of $284.9 million dollars.According to Commissioner President Evan Slaughenhoupt, during the years of growth in the county, previous boards set money aside for years of crisis and that is the money they have been using to help get through the rough economic times the county is facing."It's been going on about five years I believe," said Commissioner Mike Hart about the use of the fund balance. "It started basically when the bubble popped and everything crashed. Property taxes went lower, the county has been bringing in less than its expenses are, so it has been balancing the budget with the fund balance," he said.According to Slaughenhoupt, there has been talk of raising taxes."We are totally dependent upon two revenue streams, that being the income tax and the other being the property tax," he said.However he told the County Times that, "I think somebody would have a hard case to sell for raising taxes on the citizens when so many people are still hurting so much."Hart agreed. "My personal opinion is that you don't raise taxes until you've cut everything that should be cut I don't raise taxes just to fill a hole in the dam," said Hart. "If taxes are raised you should be asking what shortfalls are affecting 92,000 people."Slaughenhoupt, who has been on the board since 2010, said that the previous board has already done a lot of cutting. He said they cut the operating expense by five percent one year, sliced it another five percent the following year, and the year after that, they sliced another two percent, making a total of 12 percent cut out of the operating expenses. He added that any further cuts would have to come out of one of their largest expense- salaries."We are at a point now that anymore cutting will actually be a cut in services or functions that we provide to the citizens, and/or cutting the staff that provide those services and functions," said Slaughenhoupt.Although the previous board did do a lot of cutting, Slaughenhoupt said that it did not help that much."We cut and we cut and we cut and had it been a normal economic recovery, that cutting would have been sufficient and the economy would have rebounded and we would have been able to continue on our merry way. But instead, the economy was held down, flattened, and has remained flat for all these years and that's what caused us to go into the fund balance," he said.Slaughenhoupt told the County Times that fiscal 2017 should be the last year they dip into savings."This coming year, fiscal year 2017, should be the last year of taking money from the fund balance because come fiscal 2018, we are looking at a substantial increase of revenue and that's largely because of Dominion," said Slaughenhoupt.Hart agreed. "When Dominion comes online in 2018, it won't be a game changer so to speak where now all of a sudden we have money, but we are going to stop taking from the fund balance," he said.Come fiscal 2018, Slaughenhoupt said that they are looking at $25 million more in taxes from Dominion to be added to the operating budget.Slaughenhoupt said that the increase in fiscal 2017 budget is largely due to increased costs and long overdue projects.He said there has been a higher cost for health insurance for employees, they have been putting money into OPEB Fund (Other Post Employment Benefits) which is health insurance promised by the county to those who have retired, and they are paving roads that can no longer be put off.Hart added that they have also been paying teacher pensions, which they had never done before, and said they paid about $4.5 million this year and next year he believes it will be about $6 million.Hart explained that the two big expenses, roads and pensions, were pushed down on them from the state. In previous years, the county used to receive $6 million in highway user fees that were used to pave roads. Recently that number was cut to just half a million. They were also forced to take on the responsibility of paying teacher pensions."If the state was paying the pensions and paving the roads, we'd be flat," said Hart.Hart did add that Governor Larry Hogan is working to get some of the highway user fees back to the county for future years.The projected $8.8 million might be brought down, however.Tuesday night, the Board of County Commissioners formally received the staff recommended budget and this, Hart said, is where the county commissioners will look over and make the necessary cuts."I think this is the best approach Calvert has ever had with its budget because it broke it down into so many small pieces that you can really look at it and say, 'okay, is this a need or a want?'The way it's broken down, the five of us are going to able to look at it and say maybe something needs to get pushed to 2019 or 2020," said Hart.Hart said he considers himself a very conservative person."My goal, and it has been very difficult, is at the end of my four years I want for us to have lesser in bonds then when I walked in and to start putting money back into the fund balance the goal should be if you can't live within your means, you don't need it. It is completely, completely reckless and irresponsible for us to put debt on the next generation," Hart said.He added, "Using the fund balance is like the Titanic, you know it's going to hit that iceberg. It's not a matter of if, it's when." ANNAPOLIS (March 29, 2016)Though the relationship between Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly has been contentious this legislative session, the animosity may have subsided for what legislators are calling the easiest budget negotiation process in years. Both chambers of the General Assembly voted Tuesday to pass a final version of Hogan's operating budget with relatively little fuss, cutting $68 million of the $42.3 billion budget. The budget unanimously passed in the Senate by a vote of 45-0, and passed in the House by a vote of 130-7. "It's been the best, easiest in terms of levels of stress and differences," Senate Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chair, Edward Kasemeyer, D-Baltimore County, said of negotiations. "Everybody was very accommodating." Hogan's budget fully funded several Democratic legislative prioritieslike public K-12 education and higher educationwhich removed a lot of tension, Kasemeyer said. The biggest sticking point, which Kasemeyer said wasn't all that contentious, was the issue of proposed aid to nonpublic schools. Hogan proposed $5 million for grants to private schools to match contributions from businesses, but the General Assembly modified that proposal, turning it into a scholarship program for the state's neediest students to attend private schools. "It is especially exciting to see that both the Senate and House are backing our fight to provide scholarships for students from low-income families to attend nonpublic schools," Hogan said in a statement, despite the fact that that the governor's plan was eschewed for the student aid. This year's relatively smooth budget process stands in stark contrast to last year's budget battle. In his first term, Hogan tried to cut spending and taxes while the Democratic legislature fought to secure funding for their legislative priorities, including education spending, state employee pay raises and subsidies for physicians who accept Medicaid. "A fiscally responsible budget is our number one priority and it is the most important bill that the General Assembly will pass," Hogan said in a statement. "Its completion weeks before the end of the legislative session sends a strong message to Marylanders that the executive and legislative branches work better when they work together." House Appropriations Committee Chair Maggie McIntosh, D-Baltimore, said the conference negotiations went smoothly, as there were "very few differences" between the House and Senate versions of the budget. The final budget passed Tuesday is also very similar to the budget Gov. Hogan originally proposed, she said. In Maryland, the governor sets the budget and the legislature can cut money, but it can't add. If legislators want to add money for a program, they can cut that money from the budget and "fence" it off. "The governor came in with a budget that fully funded education, healthcare and our priorities, and so there was little to argue with there," McIntosh said Tuesday. After introducing his initial budget proposal on Jan. 20, Gov. Hogan submitted three supplemental budgets to fund the construction of a new Prince George's Regional Medical Center, address blight in Baltimore, and provide additional funding for K-12 education, University System of Maryland construction projects and heroin addiction prevention and treatment programs. McIntosh said the budgetary conference committee, which met Monday night, was "very pleased" with the budget's fiscal responsibility. The budget leaves Maryland with a $400 million balance and $1 billion in the rainy day fund. For education, the budget allocates more than $6.3 billion to public schools, according to a conference committee report. "The budget also includes $19.4 million for five school systems that have lost enrollment and aid in recent years," the report said. Funding for Maryland colleges and universities increases about 6 percent, while undergraduate tuition rates will increase by 2 percent, according to the report. Under the budget, total funding for Medicaid approaches $10 billion, and spending on substance abuse disorders increases by $12.1 million, including $5.4 million for new and expanded services and treatments, the report said. State legislative analyst David Juppe said substantively, the legislature is passing a very similar budget to the one Hogan originally proposed. Hogan originally allocated $53 million for transportation aid funding, which the General Assembly cut to $23 million, with $19 million going to municipalities and $4 million going to local jurisdictions. "I personally think the local jurisdictions came out on the losing end in this one," said Delegate Wendell Beitzel, R-Garrett and Allegany. The ease of negotiations may also be due to Maryland's economic standing, which Juppe said has significantly improved since the recession of 2008. When Hogan took office in 2015, he inherited an $800 million general fund shortfall, which he fixed in part by cancelling pay increases for state employees and cutting 2 percent from state agencies across the board. "Right now, things are pretty good, and when things are pretty good, there's not a need to make significant cuts," Juppe said. Though many Republicans were pleased with the smooth process overall, their largest concernmandated spendingstill remains unresolved. "It's a good compromise," Sen. Adelaide Eckardt, R-Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Wicomico, who sits on the Budget and Taxation Committee, said of the budget deal. "The issue now is going to be the package we're talking about on the floor today with the mandates." CNS Correspondent Connor Glowacki contributed to this report. Dan Savage spoke with MSNBC's Chris Hayes Monday night and discussed the anti-LGBT bills in Georgia and North Carolina. He also called out actress Susan Sarandon, who spoke with Hayes right before Savage, and suggested she'd vote for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Sarandon, who has been campaigning for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, said she understands if some Sanders supporters would have a problem voting for Hillary, should she receive the nomination. "I think a lot of people are 'sorry, I just can't bring myself to [vote for Hillary Clinton]'...I don't know [what I'll do]. I'm going to see what happens," she said. "Some people feel that Donald Trump will bring the revolution immediately. If he gets in, then things will really explode. Some people feel that. If you feel it's pragmatic to shore up the status quo right now then you're not in touch with the status quo. The status quo's not working." Shortly after her remarks, which the Internet is now destroying her over, Savage appeared on "All in With Chris Hayes." But before discussing "religious freedom" laws, the LGBT activist and writer instead he comment on Sarandon's comments. "Can I just say I'm for Bernie, or Hillary, or both," he said. "Come November I plan to vote for the Democratic nominee whoever it is, because the lesser of two evils is less evil, and I don't think Donald will bring the revolution." Savage then discussed the anti-LGBT measures in Georgia and North Carolina. "North Carolina's just beginning to come under the brunt of the assault it's going to come under from corporations, from businesses, from its own university system...Universities like to be able to attract talent and a lot of that talent is LGBT, and people are not going to move to a state where they can't use the goddamn bathroom," he said. Savage also commented on the debate about allowing trans people use the bathrooms of their choosing, saying, conservatives are "just packaging old crap in a new bag," referring to the early days of the gay rights movement when similar politicians claimed gay men prayed on young boys in public bathrooms. Watch Sarandon and Savage speak on MSNBC below: Probes on the outside of NASA's DC-8 NASA/ESA The first deployment of one of NASAs most ambitious research studies of Earths atmosphere will take place this July and August. The Atmospheric Tomography mission will take off aboard the agencys DC-8 flying laboratory on a 26-day journey from the North Pole down the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and then across to the tip of South America and back north up the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic. The airborne mission will complement NASAs current satellite-based efforts to monitor and understand the major gases of Earths atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and ozone. In addition to validating space observations, the Atmospheric Tomography mission, called ATom for short, will zoom in to make the finely detailed measurements of atmospheric chemistry that are difficult or impossible to make from orbit. The best way to study the atmosphere is to fly through and measure as much of it as we can, said Dave Jordan, project manager at NASAs Ames Flight Research Center. The mission will measure more than 200 gases as well as airborne particles in the atmosphere over the oceans. The science team is trying to understand how greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone, and poorly understood airborne particles such as black carbon, enter, transform and ultimately are removed from the atmosphere processes essential for understanding Earths climate today and in the future. With the burning of fossil fuels and the release of industrial pollutants, we have changed the composition of the atmosphere in ways that people never imagined, said Steven Wofsy, an atmospheric scientist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and AToms project scientist. Were going to look at the chemistry of the far reaches of the global environment, in painstaking detail and really get a level of understanding that weve never been able to have before about how human impact is affecting the atmosphere in these most remote reaches. The remote reaches make up the bulk of our atmosphere and are located over the oceans, far from sources human pollution. That is where scientists may expect to find the normal atmosphere, where human impacts are minimized by distance and the dilution of pollutants. One of the key questions Wofsy and his colleagues are investigating is how much of the atmospheric chemistry is normal and how much is influenced by distant pollution sources. Of primary interest are methane and tropospheric ozone, two greenhouse gases that linger in the atmosphere for weeks to decadesmuch less time than the century that carbon dioxide remains in the air. Nevertheless, the short-term effects of methane and ozone pollution today are expected to contribute almost as much as carbon dioxide to changing the climate in the coming decades. We want to understand methanes lifetime, said Paul Newman, chief scientist of Earth science at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and co-leader of the ATom science team. While methane has been well studied, questions remain about how it is removed from the atmosphere. If you release a methane molecule here at the surface in North America, how long does it last in the atmosphere? What are the gases that control the levels of methane? The loss of methane varies greatly with location and altitude, according to AToms deputy project scientist Michael Prather, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Irvine. Those methane variations are linked to pollution and also drive the creation and destruction of a second greenhouse gas scientists worry aboutozone. Methane is involved with ozone production in the lower atmosphere, said Newman. We partition ozone into two parts. The ozone thats up in the stratosphere, we call good ozone because it screens ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and other ill effects. Now down in the troposphere, ozone is a pollutant, its bad ozone. It can oxidize your lungs when you breathe it in. In addition to trapping heat, lower atmospheric ozone is highly reactive with other gases. Understanding how ozones chemical behavior is related to other gases is important in order to improve climate models that simulate conditions in todays atmosphere and how they predict what we may expect from the effects of pollution and climate change. NASAs DC-8 aircraft will be loaded with 20 scientific instruments to measure the atmosphere on its around-the-world journey. The plane, about the size of a medium-sized commercial airliner, will make a series of gentle descents and ascents in order to capture the relatively warm humid air 500 feet (152 meters) above the ocean surface as well as the colder, dry air at its peak altitude of 35,000 feet (10,670 meters), and everything in between. After an initial flight from NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, to the equator and back, it will make nine stops over the course of 26 days, departing from California for the North Pole, then on to the tropics, the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, and across to the southern tip of South America before flying north toward Greenland. The final leg will cross North America back to California. ATom is basically slicing through the atmosphere with the aircraft, sampling enough so you find out what it looks like in all its variability, said Prather. Research flights to study the atmosphere in the past have mostly been limited to specific parts of the atmospheric that focused on targeted locations of pollution or atmospheric processes. These have allowed scientists to understand a great deal of detail for a relatively small part of the globe, Prather said. From these flights, the science community has learned that the atmosphere is basically a crazy quilt, and most studies focus on one type of patch, he said. ATom is the first airborne mission to try and put all the patches together and actually see what the whole quilt looks like. We need to find out how frequently different patches occur, and how they are connected. AToms summer mission will be the first of four world-tour deployments over the next three years, one to take place in each season. It is funded by NASAs Earth Venture program and managed by the Earth Science Project Office at Ames. A team of over 100 peoplescientists, engineers, flight crew and staffacross government agencies and universities will be supporting the mission both in the air and from the ground. In search of a good education and job opportunities, Martin Kanka, a 25-year-old Slovak, decided to move 60 km from Bratislava to Vienna. Font size: A - | A + He knew that he wanted to leave Slovakia ever since he graduated from secondary school at the age of 20. Leaving Slovakia wasnt that much about hating something in Slovakia; it was more that I felt I will have a better education and more opportunities in Austria, Kanka told The Slovak Spectator. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Slovakia witnesses the situation in which the number of people in productive age who left the country is higher than of those arriving. While most of them leave the country for an obvious reason salary, the second biggest group is irritated by poorly run state. While the Education Ministry is battling brain drain with grants for Slovaks graduating abroad, observers point out that without improving the economy there is little to be done to reverse the trend. Besides economic growth and prosperity in Slovakia, I dont know the measure which could effectively draw people, who have decided to stay abroad, back to Slovakia, sociologist Miroslav Bahna of the Institute for Sociology - Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) told The Slovak Spectator. There is one solution used before 1989 to close the borders. Interpreting statistics The exact number of people who left Slovakia and do not plan to come back remains a mystery. It is impossible to count how many Slovaks left the country and what education they achieved, according to Vladimir Balaz, an economist at the Institute for Forecasting of the SAV. Our economy is harmed not only by those who leave the country with university-level education, meaning brain drain, Balaz told The Slovak Spectator. But also when a 30-year-old person with secondary-level education leaves because he or she could produce value, pay taxes here and contribute to the state welfare system. There are some studies that try to quantify the problem. In 2014, more than 2,800 people left the country, about 17 more than the number who came. Thus for the first time in Slovak history the number of those leaving the country is higher than the number moving in. Moreover, the number of emigrants is the highest since 1993, since the establishment of the independent Slovak Republic, according to the data of the Demographic Research Centre (VDC). The centre calculated the number from those who cancelled their permanent residence in Slovakia. The VDC data was published by the Financial Policy Institute (IFP). However, the trend that saw Slovaks leave to go abroad was the greatest shortly after Slovakia joined the European Union in 2004, Bahna pointed out. In fact, instead of describing the current situation, this number says that some people who left the country in past decades are officially cancelling their residence in Slovakia with some delay, Bahna said. The Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS) estimates that more than 300,000 Slovaks work abroad either short or long term, while additional about 30,000 Slovaks are studying abroad. Most of them study in the Czech Republic, but many in Germany or Austria as well. The exodus of professionals can increase inequality in society especially in sectors such as health care or technologies, because salaries in those sectors will increase while in others will stagnate, according to Brian Fabo of the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI). There is a visible trend in our region connected to this development, Fabo wrote on his blog, as salaries of doctors are growing fast because they can easily leave for a better life when compared with increase of teachers salaries. Reasons to stay abroad In October 2015, PAS conducted a survey Talents for Slovakia in which it asked respondents why they live abroad and what would motivate them to return. In total it surveyed 132 people working abroad and 81 people studying abroad. It is alarming that only less than one-quarter of Slovaks studying abroad plan to live in Slovakia, Peter Kremsky, PAS executive director, wrote in the press release. In case of those working it is 9 percent; almost 70 percent of the respondents are preparing to stay abroad indefinitely. When asked what would inspire students to return home, 46 percent of surveyed people listed higher wages, order and prosperity was the most important for 39 percent of people. Family finished third with 33 percent, according to PAS. Kanka agrees that improving how the country is run could be convincing, but from following Slovak news and politics he does not see a plan to move the country forward. Government basically just reacts to current events and pursues populist policies to stay in power, Kanka said. To feel the perspective that Slovakia is going to catch up with western Europe would be an important factor for me to return. People want to live a decent life in a country which is well governed so their enthusiasm, energy and knowledge are rewarded for their own good and for the good of the whole society, according to Mario Fondati, partner of consulting company Amrop. Drawing brains back The Education Ministry wants to lure Slovak experts living abroad to the public sector in Slovakia. The cabinet gave the green light in early July 2015 to a grant scheme supporting their return. The money is destined for Slovak citizens who graduated from a prestigious foreign university and is designed to encourage them to return home. Young experts will get 10,000 while the government wants to allocate as much as 50,000 for senior experts. The sum put aside from the state budget should be enough for some 50 people. Bahna estimated that nearly 50 percent of recent graduates who studied abroad return to Slovakia within two years of getting their diploma (including students from top 150 universities of the Shanghai chart) according to a survey he worked on with sociologist Olga Gyarfasova. Moreover, the governments stimuli would draw back just 5 percent of the working respondents, according to the PAS study. The Education Ministry responded that its duty is not to deal with migration of Slovaks and its programme is focused only on academic environment and state administration. Therefore we are not dealing with comebacks for lower positions or private sector conditions, the ministrys press department told The Slovak Spectator. We are responsible for the education sector and in this sector the return of people with foreign know-how is desirable. Other approaches What Education Ministry is doing is unsystematic, and when the funding is cut those people will leave again, according to Igor Sulik, managing partner of Amrop. Finances should go towards change and initiatives which can make Slovakia an attractive country that is worthy to work in, Sulik told The Slovak Spectator. On the other hand, Slovakia can still offer possibilities for professional development, according to Michal Kovacs of Leaf, the non-profit organisation focusing on development of young individuals. For Slovaks abroad, Leaf launched a programme creating and curating job and internship opportunities, scholarships and volunteering opportunities to develop young talented Slovaks living abroad, reconnect them with Slovakia and facilitate their homecoming. People can achieve more in a shorter time in Slovakia than they could in more developed countries and they have more possibilities to be creative, according to Kovacs. People have the opportunity to test a new product on fully integrated European market with significantly lower risk; several banks could be an example, Kovacs told The Slovak Spectator. Improving economy When National Union of Employers (RUZ) and Federation of Employers Associations (AZZZ) were asked what can be done to draw people back to Slovakia they both responded by improving of economy and thus working conditions and salaries. By gradual equalising of wage conditions in Slovakia and European countries there would be a gradual reduction in brain drain, RUZs Martin Hostak told The Slovak Spectator. The education sector is a big challenge, particularly university-level education, because our economy will feel the migration of our best students more and more intensively. The state can do something with employment and salaries but those are long-term processes, you cannot expect miracles, Balaz added. Learning from the experienced Programmes battling brain drain in foreign countries such as Ireland or Israel could also be inspiring for Slovakia. The Irish periodically meet with the diaspora of clever Irish abroad who give advice to governments institutions on how to develop the country. They also help to draw foreign investment to Ireland, according to Kovacs. Moreover many of them came back after the economic situation in Ireland improved, according to Balaz. The Irish have an advantage that they speak English, therefore their barriers for migration are weak and many of them went to the United States, Balaz said. Currently they are coming back as the situation improved. Israel, with its aim to become the homeland for all Jews, has more than 10 state-supported organisations connecting Jews with Israel. They organise travel for young Jews to the country of their forefathers, scientific researches with Jewish experts at world-recognised universities and organise community projects in less developed parts of Israel, according to Kovacs. Opportunity for Slovakia The lack of educated and skilled people combined with a low birth rate in Slovakia can be an opportunity for Slovak firms to employ the long-term unemployed. Another solution for some of them is to bring foreigners to work in Slovakia: carmakers drive in employees from Romania or Bulgaria, according to Balaz. The number of foreigners in Slovakia is increasing only mildly. There were around 14,000 working foreigners in Slovakia in 2008 and the number grew by just 4,000 people by 2015. Most are Romanians, Czechs, Hungarians and Polish. From countries which are not in the EU, Slovakia is popular with Ukrainians, Koreans and Serbians, according to the Statistics Office. We should deal with the problem from the other side [not luring them back], Bahna said. The people that leave should be replaced by skilled people from countries that would find Slovakia an attractive destination. Slovak society seems to be distrustful of corporations: more than half of its citizens (52 percent) do not trust firms or what they say. The poll showed that as many as 73 percent of Slovaks trust educational institutions. (Source: Sme) Font size: A - | A + On the other hand, 40 percent of respondents trust companies and 1 percent do so absolutely. This stems from a poll scrutinising the perception of corporate social responsibility by the Slovak public made last year by the Focus agency on a sample of 1,027 respondents for the Business Leaders Forum (BLF). Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement This distrust by Slovaks towards companies is a remnant from the past, when we had huge frauds on people here, and general distrust prevailed in Slovak society, the executive director of the BLF, Michal Kissa, told the TASR newswire. A similar worldwide poll implies that 57 percent of people trust companies. However, the situation is gradually changing, according to Kissa; people trust a little more than they did in the past. However, this transformation will not happen from one year to the next, we will maybe get to feel it in 10 years, Kissa said. He added that companies should strive to work on their communication with the public and to spread truthful information. And also make people who come into direct contact with the firm trust it and make them feel that what they buy or get has a real value and use for him, Kissa summed up. The first contact is crucial; for both the firm and the potential employee or client. It is possible to recognise an irresponsible company as early as a talk with the first employee. One can feel the overall atmosphere in the company, and what goes on; information from company employees can also be very useful, Kissa explained. The internet, too, can help distinguish a trustworthy company from an untrustworthy one, as a range of information can be found there. Recently, also thanks to the media, it turns out that employees or clients increasingly require responsible products or services from companies, or responsible behaviour, he said. The biggest change can come when a critical mass of people learn about this issue and start pushing for it at companies. The poll showed, on the other hand, that as many as 73 percent of Slovaks trust educational institutions, 14 percent of them absolutely. Educational institutions in general are considered more trustworthy elsewhere in the world too, Kissa said. There is a general notion that educated people work in them, who strive for the best; and a similar situation exists with non-governmental organisations, he explained. Of those polled, 36 percent trust the government and 60 percent do not trust it. Compared to the 1990s, Slovakia has seen a huge shift in corporate social responsibility and doing business, BLF president Peter Skodny told TASR. He added that this topic has become a real issue in Slovakia, but not for everyone. People and companies will raise their voices much more, he said, and will require ethical behaviour from all, regardless of whether it is in the business sector, or in state administration. The Volunteer 2015 award in the main category went to Jan Slosiar of ADRA Moldavia organisation who offered his time to help street children in Moldova. Katarina Slosiarova, sister of Jan Slosiar, accepted the prize from Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak. (Source: Courtesy of the Foreign Ministry) Font size: A - | A + Annually, the Foreign Ministry and the National Volunteering Centre CARDO award prizes for the best volunteers. This year, a new category was added to those traditional ones, hailing representatives of the Pokoj a Dobro association, Stanislav Horak and Peter Brenkus who are helping 147 Assyrian Christians start a new life in Slovakia. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement The eighth year of the events took place on February 11 and the awards went to organisations and individuals who stood out in previous years for helping others. We need volunteers more than ever, Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said, as quoted by the SITA newswire. They are not paid because they would be valueless on the contrary, they are invaluable. The minister thanked volunteers and their work, and added that they come and start working then and there where politicians and governments fail to secure the basic needs of their citizens, and so they are irreplaceable. The Dobrovolnik roka 2015 / Volunteer 2015 award in the main category Dobrovolnik roka Slovak Aid 2015 went to Jan Slosiar of ADRA Moldavia organisation who offered his time to help street children in the Curcubel Sperantei centre in the Vadul Lui Voda, Moldova. The National Volunteering Centre CARDO which was established in 2004 is an umbrella organisation for more than 400 institutions working with volunteers in Slovakia. All volunteers deserve our respect and esteem, Lajcak told SITA, adding that he especially appreciates the fact that three-quarters of all volunteers in Slovakia are women. Compiled by Spectator staff Threat of jihadism in Europe demands that member nations share intelligence, not just condolences. Font size: A - | A + In the days following the Brussels bombings, a dumbfounding European security paradox has emerged. Its this: as Europes internal borders have come down, allowing free movement with its attendant risks, barriers to sharing information between and even within countries have remained intact. So while the demand for intelligence on terrorist threats has soared, the supply has remained fixed and insufficient, and its handling jealously parochial. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement In Belgiums case, poor intelligence was one of the main factors in the March 22 attacks. As one US counter-terrorism official noted, its no longer just a question of capacity, its now a competence problem as well. No kidding. The apparent key to the Brussels attacks was Belgian-born Salah Abdeslam, who helped organise last Novembers terrorist attacks in Paris as well. After chickening out of his own Paris rendezvous with Allah, Abdeslam fled to Brussels; he was stopped at a checkpoint, but released because his name was not yet in the database of suspects. Once home, Abdeslam dodged repeated police searches in the Schaerbeek immigrant district, benefitting from a benign Belgian law that prohibits most police forced entries between 21:00 and 05:00. When, on March 15, Belgian police finally did corner Abdeslam in Brussels, they bungled the raid because they mistakenly believed the flat was empty: four policemen were injured, and Abdeslam escaped over the rooftops. He was finally captured three days later, after over four months at large. But even after Abdeslam confessed to planning new operations, Belgian security forces still managed to be caught off guard by the Brussels bombings. No wonder. The criminal El Bakraoui brothers who carried out the attacks, for example, were treated with shocking laxity by Belgian security: Ibrahim had been deported from Turkey last summer and flagged as a foreign terrorist fighter, but Belgian authorities did not heed the warning. Ibrahims brother Khalid, on the other hand, was liable for arrest after violating his parole, but foiled police by adopting an alias. And so on. The attitude in Brussels, according to another US intelligence official, seems to have been to tolerate domestic jihadism as long as the bombs were exploding elsewhere. The Belgians have been counting on these guys knowing not to shit where they eat, he told the Newsweek magazine. But nor has Europe itself provided a competent and independent intelligence option: a summit of EU justice ministers, meeting after the Brussels bombings, agreed merely to strengthen Europol, rather than create an EU-wide intelligence service. The need for a unified European security force is clear and present. The question remains: how many more attacks will it take before Europe finally realizes that on intelligence as well, united we stand, divided we fall? Rescuers are still searching for Martin Filko (35), director of the Institute of Financial Policy, after his canoe capsized on the Danube. Font size: A - | A + The incident took place close to Bratislavas Pristavny Most bridge on March 29 28 , around 17:00. One person is safe, but the other one is still missing. The private broadcaster TV Markiza was first to report that the missing person is Filko, a well-known economist and head of the Institute of Financial Policy (IFP), which runs under the Finance Ministry. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Rescuers are searching a 30-kilometre section of the Danube, down to Gabcikovo, using divers, dogs and four-wheelers. The water temperature is only 7 degrees Celsius and rescuers say there is only a small chance that he has survived. Filko probably was not wearing a life jacket, as the rescuers say that if he had one, he would probably be able to swim to the bank, the public-service broadcaster RTVS reported. Moreover, if Filko drowned, it could take another 24 hours until his body is found, the rescuers added, as reported by the Dennik N daily. The Finance Ministry has not issued any official statement yet as it is awaiting the results of the investigation, Dennik N wrote. Filko served as an advisor to former finance minister Jan Pociatek between the years 2008-2010. At the time, he prepared a reform of calculating the prices of medicaments, based on which the prices started to be compared with other countries. He also became advisor to ex-prime minister Iveta Radicova (2010-2012) for health care. After Robert Fico returned to power in 2012, he returned to the Finance Ministry and became director of the IFP, the Sme daily wrote. He was also mentioned as potential health minister in the new government, but the post later went to Tomas Drucker, former head of state postal service operator Slovenska Posta. Former finance minister Ivan Miklos made a preliminary agreement on becoming a member of new Ukrainian government, but has conditions. Font size: A - | A + Miklos, who stood behind many reforms in Slovakia when he was in office, is a serious candidate for the post of finance minister and deputy prime minister in the new Ukrainian government led by current Speaker of Parliament Volodymyr Groysman. He confirmed to the Dennik N daily that he personally discussed the possibility with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Groysman. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement I received the offer from the government and gave preliminary consent to my nomination, but only after fulfilling certain conditions, Miklos told Dennik N. One of them is that he wants to keep his Slovak citizenship. Under the current Ukrainian laws, only people having the Ukrainian passport can become members of government. The Slovak law on state citizenship, however, stipulates that every person obtaining the citizenship of a foreign country automatically loses the Slovak one. It is unacceptable for me to lose Slovak citizenship, Miklos continued, so now it is up to the Ukrainian side, which will probably have to change the legislation. He stressed he does not want to withdraw this condition. Though the amendment to the Slovak law on state citizenship, prepared by the Most-Hid party, enables the interior minister to grant an exception, the basic condition is that Miklos will have to ask for it. If he did not do so, he would automatically lose his Slovak passport. When asked what he would do in the new government, Miklos said that his job would be similar to the one in two Slovak governments: to coordinate economic reforms and oversee the economic departments. All three foreigners who were appointed ministers in the currently ruling government have been granted Ukrainian citizenship: Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko born in the USA, ex-economy minister Aivaras Abromavicius born in Lithuania, and former health minister Alexander Kvitashvili coming from Georgia. The shooting case is under investigation by Italian police; rivalry struggle hinted. Font size: A - | A + Four vehicles of a Slovak transport operator were shot at near the Colosseum in Rome on March 26, involving three buses and one minivan. They carried Slovak and also Asian tourists. The shooting caused only material damages, said Juraj Tomaga, head of the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministrys press department, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Italian police meanwhile started investigating the incident. People responsible for the shooting are vandals who are specifically focusing on Slovak, Polish and Czech buses providing their services to Asian tourists, the ministry said. Thus there are some indications that the shooting may be part of the rivalry fight between local and foreign carriers, RTVS reported. The owner of the carrier Eurovan, Iveta Kacvinska, says the caused damage may amount to 2,000. However, she is afraid that the interest in travelling to Italy may drop. Moreover, several of the bus drivers they employ have asked her to cooperate with local carriers, according to RTVS. It will also be difficult to draw the Kurds into any plan because they now see the possibility of separation from Syria, he cautioned. University of Copenhagen Professor Matthew dal Santo agreed that de Misturas goal of creating a unified but tolerant and democratic state in Syria was unlikely to be achieved. It's hard not to agree that Syria should become 'a democratic, non-sectarian state based on citizenship and political pluralism.' But we all know that liberal democracies don't exactly grow on trees in the Middle East. None of Syrias neighbors provided any credible or attractive model to create or emulate such a system, Dal Santo pointed out. It is difficult to find among those regional states that have sponsored the rebels a model for this new free and inclusive Syria. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are repressive sectarian monarchies; Turkey, though it had at least until recently come closer than most, has backslidden dramatically. The US 13-year effort to create a stable democracy in Iraq had clearly completely failed, Dal Santo added. Neighboring 'democratic Iraq' is basically a failed state. So even if the parties agree to work towards a 'democratic Syria' on paper, let's not be surprised [in] five, ten or fifteen years if the country has returned to a more or less authoritarian form of government. We were in CGD and had to get a connecting flight from another terminal we failed to check the tickets which said that the arrival and departure flights were in two different buildings. So, we had to go "through France" which would only take 10 minutes. Our son did not have a visa and was detained by the police. They removed our luggage, very politely asked us to fill out several forms and then in handcuffs and under permanent surveillance carried out by two well built officers we were eventually allowed onto the plane. There could, of course, technically, be a much simpler solution. Russians are already used to the fact that at most border controls in Europe they are treated worse than Third World citizens. The humiliation has become so common, it's almost become a tradition. A well-dressed businessman from Moscow gets asked much more questions than a poor (in all aspects) Middle Eastern migrant or citizen of Ecuador, who has the right to stay in the EU for 30 days without a visa, for that matter. This is even more bizarre, taking into account the cultural, religious and economic closeness of Russians to Europeans in contrast to the hordes of Arabs invading prosperous western countries. Politics Rules One may remember years of European stubbornness and the refusal to allow Moscow a no-visa regime, as well as hundreds of conditions set by Brussels. It would be interesting to compare these now to the current attitude to the hundreds of thousands of migrants, who unlike Russians, will stay in Europe forever and take their fair share of all the available social benefits on offer. The attack revived concerns that the Taliban militants might eventually get hold of the countrys nuclear weapons. American defense analyst Ivan Eland stressed that defeating the Islamic fundamentalist movement is the top priority of the countrys officials. In his interview with RT news channel, the expert said that the groups activity in the country could be even more dangerous than in Afghanistan. He noted that there is an array of problems which Pakistan is currently facing and the activity of the Taliban is a reaction to these problems. It wont disappear until the discontent which lies at the base of the movements activity is somehow resolved. Prime Minister Sharif, who canceled a visit to the United States to attend a nuclear summit, also warned extremists against using Islam to justify their violence in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Pakistan has suffered a series of attacks in recent months, and Sharif said militants are hitting "soft targets" like playgrounds and schools because military and police operations are putting pressure on their operations. In Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, Islamic extremists protested for a second day outside Parliament and other key buildings, demanding that authorities impose Sharia law. The army deployed paramilitary Rangers as well as about 800 additional soldiers from neighboring Rawalpindi to Islamabad, to protect the center, which houses main government buildings and diplomatic missions. One episode focuses on alleged embezzlement by Sakvarelidzes team of funds provided to the prosecutors office by the US and EU governments for the training of personnel and other reforms. As reported by respected Ukrainian weekly Korrespondent, the agency, or rather the faction of the agency which is loyal to Prosecutor-General Shokin, has been considering interrogating Ambassador Pyatt to get to the bottom of things. Now, this looks like overkill. Leaving aside its practicalities, there is little doubt that the initiative was but a figure of speech thrown around for dramatic effect, and will quickly be retracted. Ambassador Pyatt thus should have no fear of anything, much less of being interrogated by Ukrainian law enforcement. But the story raises a larger question. It seems reasonably beyond dispute that the US and other foreign governments have transferred, through the US embassy in Ukraine, funds directly to the prosecutors office. Yet such actions are by themselves a violation of Ukrainian law. Ukraine has legislation in place that expressly prohibits similar conduct as a form of corruption. Article 54 of the law of Ukraine On the Prevention of Corruption expressly prohibits receipt by Ukrainian government agencies of money or property from individuals or organizations except where expressly permitted by Ukraine's international treaties. Astrid Lindgren's world in Mariannelund in the province of Smaland, the Batellet spa in Marstrand, and the city hotel in Lysekil all rank among Sweden's most desired holiday destinations. However, currently they are all housing refugees from Somalia, Afghanistan and the Middle East rather than affluent Germans and Britons. One of those hoteliers who decided to abandon the tourism industry altogether is Maria Karlsson, who owns a hostel in the little town of Hammenhog, home to less than a thousand inhabitants; her community has been swamped by five centers offering refugees accommodations. She says it is far more lucrative to rent out the hostel to the Migration Board than to stay in the tourist industry. At present, there are indications that things will get even worse in the coming months. A new wave of asylum-seekers is expected to wash over Sweden, and the Swedish Migration Board is getting ready to grab even more hotels, hostels, campsites and spas to convert them into asylum accommodations. "In the future, there will be an emphasis on sustainability and infrastructure. Therefore there is good reason to adapt the current urban development to the requirements expected to come into force in 20-30 years from now. Investors would also gladly accept a long-term development," he says. The general principle for the future development of Nordhavn is that residents should be able to make it to the nearest supermarket in less than five minutes, which makes the bicycle and the metro the preferred means of transportation in order to ease the traffic. Another major improvement is that garbage won't be picked up by a collector truck, but instead dumped into a shaft from every apartment and then sucked through pipes to the nearest landfill. Importantly, By & Havn has also been focusing on the sustainability of the district's energy supply. Currently, the company promotes energy saving by employing low-temperature heating, set to 70 degrees instead of the normal 90 degrees. Furthermore, By & Havn is working on advanced energy solutions, such as intelligent heating control, in cooperation with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The ultimate goal is to make way for renewable energy sources and save fossil fuels. "It is all about good intentions," says Jesper Ole Jensen, senior researcher at the Danish Building Research Institute (SBI). He points out, however, that there is a tendency to develop fantastic solutions that show what is technically possible rather than what is actually required. "More often than not, new energy solutions such as self-sufficiency are seen in certain districts and are never introduced on a large-scale to the rest of Denmark. It's fine to test some innovations, but you have to take a number of other considerations into account if you want to introduce pioneering solutions to an entire city or province," he said. Henrik Madsen, professor at the Technical University of Denmark and head of the CITIES project, believes, however, that the fossil-fueled cities should be long gone and argues that it is only is a matter of creative thinking. "We have already tested a variety of solutions across Denmark, and it is actually not that difficult for cities to become fossil-fuel-free," he said. According to him, the major obstacle en route to energy self-sufficiency is the current system of energy taxation. For instance, energy generated from straw, sawdust and biomass, is currently exempt from taxes, while wind electricity is still taxed heavily. Among messages that generated the most controversy was a Twitter post from British consul Leigh Turner, who posted a picture of himself and Dundar with the hashtag #freedomofexpression. With #Cumhuriyet journalist Can Dundar before opening of trial today #frredomofexpression pic.twitter.com/WgHAiyTVMd Leigh Turner (@LeighTurnerFCO) March 25, 2016 Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag also took to Twitter to slam the "unacceptable" conduct of some foreign diplomats present at the trial, accusing some consuls of "exceeding their authority." "Turkey is not a colony: Turkey is an independent and strong state. Turkish courts and Turkish judges are independent," he said. This was followed by criticism from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who lashed out at Turner's selfie with Dundar. "The chief consul of a country stands up and goes to a trial of a journalist facing espionage charges," Erdogan said, as quoted by the state-run Anatolia news agency. "As if it is not enough, he then takes a picture with him grinning ear-to-ear and posts it," he added. Turner responded to Erdogan's criticism, saying: "It is for Turks to decide what kind of country they wish to live in." The verbal barbs continued with Erdogan offering a thinly-veiled criticism of the British consul, accusing some diplomats of using "expressions that overstep their boundaries." "Elsewhere, such diplomats who display such behavior would not be hosted for a single day." Western Allies Concerned Over Turkish Media Crackdown In a sign of the international concern surrounding Turkey's recent crackdown on the country's media, the UK's Minister for Europe, David Lidington had previously supported consul Turner's attendance at the trial, saying that it was an "important case for freedom of media in Turkey." The criticism is part of a growing list of concerns directed towards Ankara, with many western allies concerned with the Erdogan government's attitude to national media, opposing voices being suppressed, and reports of anti-government journalists being intimidated by officials. The dispute also comes amid reports Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned German Ambassador Martin Erdmann following the broadcast of a critically sarcastic song about President Erdogan that was played by German national broadcaster NDR. Along with the treatment of journalists Dundar and Gul, there is also concern over the handling of the ongoing trial, after many were left angered when it was announced it would be taking place behind closed doors, citing "national security" concerns. International free press organizations have been vocal critics of the Erdogan government, with Turkey ranking 149th out of 180 countries in a 2015 press freedom report published by Reports Without Borders. The EU announced on March 18 that it had reached an agreement with the government in Ankara for "irregular migrants" those who did not meet asylum criteria arriving in Greece would be returned to Turkey and swapped on a one-for-one basis with Syrian refugees who would be admitted into EU member states. The one-for-one swap system was brought in on March 20, with all new arrivals coming under the terms of that deal. However, those who arrived before that date are being held in the hotspots, which the UNHCR says amounts to "mandatory detention." "Under the new provisions, these sites have now become detention facilities. Accordingly, and in line with our policy on opposing mandatory detention, we have suspended some of our activities at all closed centers on the islands. This includes provision of transport to and from these sites," UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told reporters. "There were really only two occasions when the public trust in the government was down that low. The first one happened during PM Goran Persson's first year in power after the budget consolidation. The Persson government was then back to about the same levels in 2005, when the criticism against the government's handling of the tsunami aftermath was most intense," says David Ahlin of Ipsos. Since last fall, the political debate in Sweden has been largely dominated by the refugee crisis. When questioned by the survey institute Sifo on behalf of the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet in March, a staggering 64 percent of respondents said they have very little confidence in the government's ability to tackle the refugee influx. "The only ones who are genuinely happy right now are the Socialist voters, a majority of which seem to be satisfied. Otherwise, it is all about different degrees of discontent coming up," said David Ahlin of Ipsos, as quoted by Svenska Dagbladet. With only 37.9 percent of the popular votes, the Lofven cabinet is one of the weakest minority governments in the history of Sweden. The cabinet is largely dependent on support from other parties in the Swedish Riksdag. It is also the first time in 57 years that the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna), a permanent fixture in the Swedish parliament, has been forced to form a coalition government with the Green Party (Miljopartiet). It is believed that Abaaoud was one of three leaders of a Belgian terrorist cell in Verviers that was raided by police in January 2015; at the time of the police raid, in which two men were killed and another were arrested, Abaaoud was not in their apartment and consequently fled to Syria before returning to Europe to carry out the Paris attacks. Moroccan born Belgian national Najim Laachraoui, 24, also known as Soufiane Kayal, was the terror cell's explosives expert. He blew himself up in the suicide bombing at Brussels airport on March 22, as did Ibrahim El Bakraoui, 29. Bakraoui's brother Khalid El Bakraoui, 27, attacked a train at Maelbeek station. Der Spiegel refers to the El Bakraoui brothers as the "organizers" of the attacks, who had also rented the apartment in which Salah Abdeslam, who organized the Paris attacks, hid from the security services until his arrest on March 18. "Probably the most important logistician of the group was Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested last Friday. He drove across Europe to collect conspirators, most often in German mid-range rented cars. It is presumed that they had arrived in the European Union posing under a false identity as refugees." "At the beginning of October he picked up three Syrians from a hotel in Ulm (Germany). A month earlier he picked up Najim Laachraoui in Budapest. According to Spiegel's sources, in mid-September 2015 he made another trip to the Hungarian capital in a rented Audi A6. The reason for the trip is as yet unclear." Der Spiegel describes the third category of terrorist as "the ones who took the orders." These include Mohammad Almahmod and Ahmad Almohammad, who blew themselves up close to the Stade de France in Paris on November 13. Both of these terrorists had traveled through the Balkan route to Europe using fake Syrian passports; a Daesh propaganda report claimed that they were Iraqi nationals. German Chancellor Angela Merkel brokered the deal under which "irregular migrants" those refused asylum would be returned from Greece to Turkey. However, critics of the deal say that Turkey does not provide proper facilities for refugees and that Erdogan's government is cracking down on dissidents and independent media which flies in the face of EU policies. The German ambassador to Ankara, Martin Erdmann, was summoned by Erdogan's government, following the broadcast of the song " Erdowi, Erdowo, Erdogan" on 'Extra 3', the satirical program on NDR television. The lyrics include references to Erdogan, saying: "He lives the high life, the boss from Bosporus" and "A journalist who wrote anything that Erdogan does not like, is already in jail tomorrow." Militarily too, Le Monde explains, the victory's significance cannot be overemphasized. "The battle for Palmyra was the first breakthrough for the regime beyond the 'useful Syria' axis, i.e. the Damascus-Latakia-Aleppo axis, where most of the country's population and economic activity are concentrated." At the same time, looking to give credit where credit is due, the French paper pointed to the assistance of Russian aviation, which carried out 30-40 airstrikes a day during peak periods, and "without which the advance would not have been possible." Moreover, Le Monde confirms, the Palmyra operation may not have been possible at all were it not for the Russian-US-sponsored Syrian ceasefire, which stepped into force late last month. "The truce in effect since late February with the rebels has allowed Damascus and its allies to allocate significant forces from different bodies to this symbolically important operation. These include the regular Army, Hezbollah, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and militias, like the Desert Falcons, one of the most effective Syrian paramilitary organizations." For his part, speaking to the French delegation over the weekend, President Bashar Assad noted that the ancient city's liberation was an "important achievement," and an illustration of the effectiveness of the military strategy presently being pursued by Syria and its allies, especially when compared to the efforts of the US-led anti-Daesh coalition. "The effectiveness of this strategy is further highlighted especially as opposed to the US-led coalition involving more than sixty countries and its lack of seriousness in fighting terrorism, and the very little it has achieved since its establishment one-and-a-half years ago," Assad noted. WASHINGTON, March 29 (Sputnik) It is unfair to request of Turkey to deploy soldiers in Syria to fight the Islamic State, or Daesh, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a speech in Washington, DC on Tuesday. "You cannot ask Turkey to send boots on the ground just because Turkey is the immediate neighbor or Daesh is first and foremost threat to Turkish security. This is not fair," Cavusoglu stated at the US George Washington University. "It is not the responsibility of only the United States or Turkey [to send troops]." WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Building a Syrian-Arab fighting component against the Islamic State, or Daesh, while managing Turkeys sensitivities to such armed groups, is among the more difficult elements of the military campaign, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said on Tuesday. "As I speak about growing the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Arab component, one of the things we are particularly sensitive to is Turkish concerns about the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Arab component," Dunford stated in a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington, DC. Dunford added that "managing that aspect of the campaign is perhaps, probably the most complex part of the campaign." MOSCOW (Sputnik) Over 4,000 servicemen and some 400 pieces of equipment will participate in the event. "In accordance to the plan of preparation of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RSVN) exercises with the Irkutsk missile regiments will take place on March 29 April 2," the statement read. The training will feature the use of complex remote-control robotic systems. "Our foreign orders portfolio is growing. Last year, we signed arms export contracts exceeding $26 billionAs a result, the current arms export orders portfolio has exceeded $56 billion for the first time since 1992," Putin stressed. Russia delivered military equipment to 58 countries in 2015 while expanding its presence to new markets in Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East, Vladimir Putin said. Putin said that Russia's key partners in military-technical cooperation were countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as India, Iraq, Egypt, Vietnam, China and Algeria. "In addition, we are actively exploring new arms markets in Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East," Putin added. Vladimir Putin also noted that he hopes that a possible revival of military-technical cooperation between Russia and Europe would help increase trust. "Military-technical cooperation with European countries has almost stopped. I would like to underline that this was not at our initiative and we expect that this is a temporary situation," Putin said at a meeting with Russia's Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation. The president told the commission he was confident that it was in the interests of all European countries to restore transparent and productive cooperation in all areas, including within the military-technical field. "Of course, this will increase trust," he said. Citing Polish media, the online business newspaper explained that Polish officials had been asking for an audience with the US president since the beginning of the month, but that Obama declined, "allegedly because of the ongoing constitutional crisis in Poland." For its part, the Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita warned that the snub by Obama and other senior US politicians was akin to "the US closing the door on Poland," "a shock in Polish-American relations unwitnessed in almost 30 years." The chill in relations, the paper added, citing diplomatic sources in Washington, is not just political, and includes Polish-US business ties, with "leading US companies suspending new investments," and "a mood of uncertainty" coming to hang over future commercial ties. At the same time, Rzeczpospolita notes, Poles have reason to think that Washington is deliberately pouring salt into the wound. Next month, civic activist Mateusz Kijowski, the head of the Polish 'Committee for the Defense of Democracy', will also make a trip to the US capital, except he will get a chance to meet and speak to officials on Capitol Hill and in the State Department. The trip is being organized by the US think tank Freedom House. Earlier this month, US officials issued a sharp criticism of the Polish government over its standoff with the country's constitutional court. The White House explained that it was worried that the "steps the [Polish] government has taken that may be inconsistent with liberal democratic norms." US criticisms echoed those of the Council of Europe, which argued that changes to the rules of the court's functioning introduced late last year had undermined the separation of powers, the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. But NATO membership is no fun, he stresses. Its Article 5 obligates all NATO members to defend any ally in the event of attack. According to Carpenter, this commitment may "easily entangle the United States in an armed conflict that has little or nothing to do with America's own security." On the other hand, he argues, new NATO members, like Montenegro, for instance, add nothing to America's security and the alliance's military might. He points out that NATO's initial role as a bastion of major European powers in the Cold War era has degraded into that of a protector of a "collection of tiny players" in Eastern Europe. As a result, "the buildup of US forces on Russia's western frontier has contributed significantly to the deterioration of bilateral relations." Remarkably, Carpenter fails to mention NATO member Turkey's treacherous attack against a Russian Su-24 bomber in Syrian airspace on November 24, 2015. The irresponsible move threatened to escalate into a serious conflict between the alliance and Russia. Thus unsurprisingly, some US military experts offered to kick Turkey out of NATO, following the attack. "America's NATO policy is increasingly failing the most basic tests of relevance and prudence. It is well past time to conduct a comprehensive review and consider even the most drastic option: US withdrawal from the alliance," Carpenter stresses. US presidential candidate Donald Trump shares his stance on the future of the alliance. N.A.T.O. is obsolete and must be changed to additionally focus on terrorism as well as some of the things it is currently focused on! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 24 2016 . "NATO is obsolete and must be changed to additionally focus on terrorism as well as some of the things it is currently focused on!" Trump Tweeted on March 24. "NATO was set up at a different time. NATO was set up when we were a richer country. We're not a rich country. We're borrowing, we're borrowing all of this money," Trump said during his meeting with the Washington Post's editorial board. Speaking to Sputnik Turkey, Logoglu, who served as ambassador between 2001-2005, emphasized that the diplomatic spat is a reflection of deeper issues in Turkish-American relations, which have several underlying causes. "There are differences on the Syrian conflict, differences with regard to the position of the PDS [the party of the Syrian Kurds], the [US] arrest of Riza Sarraf" (a Turkish businessman accused of corruption with ties to the Turkish president). "Additionally, the ambassadors of many countries, including the US, are participating in numerous court proceedings being in Turkey in connection with the infringement of the freedom of the press and freedom of speech." "All this is a reflection of those thorny issues that have ripened in relations between Turkey and America," Logoglu noted. "In this sense," he suggested, "Erdogan's visit to Washington comes at a difficult period in bilateral relations between the two countries. The key point to pay attention to is whether Erdogan ends up meeting with Obama or not. Such a meeting could occur; however, in any case, it will not be able to remove the accumulated tensions between the two countries, because even if they do meet, the two leaders will each assert their own point of view. In such circumstances, building a constructive dialogue is not possible." And while he pointedly disagrees with the idea that the collective West is responsible for all the ills of the world, the commentator suggests that Western political, economic and military behavior has resulted in "millions of people coming to see the West as a danger." These actions, he recalls, include everything from the bombing of Libya to interventions in African, Arab and Muslim countries, to the drone bombing of civilian populations, "considered an act of cowardice by the victims," to economic embargoes, as in Iraq, "which banned even the import of cancer medications." "And while it would be wrong to hold the West responsible for everything, interventions through the right of intervention as theorized by Kouchner and applied by the United Nations today have led to a situation where international law is legitimately perceived as an instrument for neocolonialism and neo-imperialism, and the West is perceived as the cause of all the evils of the world." The US-led interventions in Iraq, del Valle suggests, "played the decisive role" in the tendency to view the West with suspicion. "All experts today agree that they resulted in a catastrophe. One analyst has said that Daesh has a father and a mother, and that the father was the first war in Iraq in 1990. It is a mistake for which we must now pay every day." "These interventions have convinced dictators that they should not be moderate, and given half-dictators the thought that they should not democratize, and not enter the Western, rights-based, UN-based system (which would make them vulnerable)." This, del Valle argues, is the thought that must cross the minds of North Korea's leadership, for example that "Gaddafi decided to give up nuclear weapons, just as Saddam Hussein, and both of them were toppled. The moral of the story is that 'we will defend our sovereignty and adhere to a policy of realpoliltik, and will not accept the division of sovereignty, and demilitarization agreements, which the West wants, because they will only reward us with bombs'." Alexander Prokhorenko was from the village of Gorodki in the Orenburg region of Russia. He began training at the Army Air Defense Corps Military Academy straight after leaving school, and graduated the academy with honors. "There are a lot of soldiers in his family, and he always dreamed of serving in the armed forces," a friend of Alexander told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. Alexander's immediate family and wife Katya, who is expecting their first child, were informed about his death on March 19 by officials from the Ministry of Defense. They visited Gorodki and thanked Alexander's family for raising such a son. https://t.co/vBlfP1vN9U pic.twitter.com/tvuM6Qsnfs (@dimsmirnov175) 29 2016 . 'Alexander Prokorenko, who called an airstrike on himself at Palmyra, has pregnant wife at home,' Komsomolskaya Pravda reported. "Nobody knew exactly where Sasha (Alexander) was serving, they said it was somewhere in the special forces," said Natalya Meshkova, headteacher of Gorodetskoy Middle School, which Alexander attended. "He graduated our school with a silver medal, he was first in all competitions and the school won them thanks to him. He was one of those people who was never afraid, regardless of the situation. For everybody, he is a hero." "We would like to name our school after him," said Nadezhda Rusinova, a teacher at the school. "It is a real act of bravery that we will tell our pupils about. After all, ordering an airstrike on yourself is something that not everybody would be able to do." "The point is the world is a much different place right now," Trump noted, adding that in his mind, the biggest threat to the world today, and one which NATO has been unsuccessful in combating, is terrorism. The defense bloc, he suggested, "has to be changed" to include counterterrorism, and "from the standpoint of cost, because the United States bears far too much of the cost of NATO." The US, Trump said, can no longer afford to be "ripped off" paying for the security of its allies in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Trump's exposition on foreign policy has led to criticisms from all the usual suspects, from the neocons to the liberal interventionists. NYT columnist Roger Cohen offered one of the most strongly worded critiques, worryingly suggesting that a Trump presidency would mean the end of Pax Americana and the ushering in of a 'New World Disorder'. In an op-ed piece written with apocalyptic overtones, Cohen suggested that Trump's outlook is exactly what power-hungry Russia and China want, i.e. to challenge the global peace and stability supposedly guaranteed by the United States since the post-WWII era. "His version of 'America First' which interestingly converges with the view of many on the left who are convinced that the United States should stop policing the world looks like a recipe for cataclysm," the columnist suggested. The United States is "closely tracking" Russian activities in space, cyberspace, and has carefully noted Russias demonstrated ability to project power in multiple regions simultaneously, Dunford stated. Nevertheless, the general insisted, the US and Russia should continue military talks, despite the challenging political relationship. "I believe we should maintain military to military communication and relationships in the worst of times. We did it throughout the Cold War, we should do it now," Gen. Dunford said in a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies. He also added that US combatant commanders will meet next week in a quarterly session to address the challenge of adversarial military action registering below the threshold of overt conflict, or hybrid warfare. "Next Wednesday, we have a quarterly session with the combatant commanders the first day, this is the topic," Dunford said at the Center for Strategic International Studies referring to the challenge of hybrid warfare confronting the United States. Citing Russia as a case study of an adversary that has "fully integrated the whole of government" in alleged hybrid warfare in Georgia, Ukraine and the Baltics, Dunford noted that conflict below the threshold of war, including in the information domain, is "one of the most difficult significant challenges" the United States faces. "We owe our leadership the clarity on the military dimension of dealing with this challenge," Dunford argued. The United States and NATO have accused Russia of exploiting so-called "grey zones" of conflict in eastern Europe, allegedly undermining western interests. Moscow has repeatedly refuted allegations of engaging in conflict in the region. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The US militarys command and control is not currently organized to handle future conflicts that cross geographical regions and integrate all domains of combat, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said in a speech on Tuesday. "A future conflict will be transregional, multi-domain and multifunctional When we look at that from my perspective, our current planning and organizational construct, and most importantly, our command and control, is actually not suited for that character of war," Dunford said at the Center for Strategic International Studies. Dunford explained that in the new era of warfare, conflicts will spread "quickly" across borders and domains, challenging the traditional structure of US command and control that is largely delineated along geographic and functions lines. Kuznick suggested that the first seeds of the Vietnam War can be traced to 1945, with Harry Truman succeeding to the presidency, following Franklin Roosevelts death. "Truman did not share Roosevelts anti-colonial leanings and was willing to get the US involved, to begin supporting the French effort such that, by 1950, we had committed to the restoration of French colonialism in Vietnam." He said another appropriate start date for the conflict could be 1954, with the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu and a Geneva agreement repeatedly violated by the US. The true beginning, in Kuznicks view, however, was Eisenhowers decision to block the election of Ho Chi Minh in 1956. "When Eisenhower was asked why the United States blocked the election that was supposed to take place in 1956 to unify all of Vietnam, he said if the election were to go on, Ho Chi Minh and the communists would win 80% of the vote, so it wasnt in the US interest so we pushed Jiam to block the election," said Kuznick. The death of Kennedy and the steady escalation toward atrocity A significant turning point in the war was the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Kuznick noted that "Kennedy had committed to a lot of people to begin to pull US troops out, 1000 troops by 1963 and the remainder out by 1964." According to Kuznick, "when Robert Kennedy and Robert McNamara were asked would it mean to America if they were losing the war, they said we were going to pull the troops out anyways." This morning (Tuesday, March 29) during a nationally-televised meeting in Beijing, China, delegations from equine industry associations in Canada and China, including representation from Standardbred Canada, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purposes of working together, and ultimately opening the borders for trading horses, and knowledge, between the two countries. I am truly honoured to witness Canada and China forging this important relationship, said Al Patterson, president of Equine Canada. With a promise to work together, we look forward to a collaborative relationship between Canada and China. Professor Jia Youling, president of the China Horse Industry Association, was also optimistic. As one of the leading countries in the world for horses, Canada has produced many of the best horses, said Youling. I am confident we can build a long relationship, built on mutual benefits. Canadian Senator, Victor Oh, who was in Beijing for the historic meeting, spoke about the larger impacts of the signing. Today, we are signing this MOU to grow the equine industries in both countries. I look forward to the role that the equine will play in strengthening the trade relationship between Canada and China. Darryl Kaplan, who represented Standardbred Canada at the meetings, also expressed his optimism. China has the largest population in the world, and the horse business appears to be at the earliest stages of a major boom here, said Kaplan, from Beijing. We have met with breeders, horsepeople and many top-level officials in the Chinese horse industry. Billions of dollars of investment will be made into the horse industry in this country, and it bodes well for Canada, and the Standardbred. Over the last couple of days, we have heard about a number of breeds, but the interest in the Standardbred is really quite significant. said Kaplan. Standardbreds are currently competing and being bred in multiple regions across China. There is a real demand for horses, expertise and knowledge of the breed. As they learn more about the Standardbred, and its stars, the appeal grows. I hope that Canadians recognize the magnitude of this signing for the Chinese people, said Kaplan. This was a media event, covered across the country on CCTV, Chinas largest television network. Our meetings have been extremely valuable, and the dialogue will only continue from here. Canadas delegation in China includes Equine Canada, along with senior representatives from the Canadian Standardbred, Thoroughbred, and Quarter Horse industries. Canadian and Chinese delegates, and government officials, will continue to meet to iron out next steps. PAOLI, Pa. Expect to say Im sorry a lot if you decide to try one of the trendier ways to communicate with people who have Alzheimers. There was a time when caregivers tried orienting people with dementia to reality. That often feels like the natural thing to do. No, Mom, I actually did tell you that. Like, five times. But at Daylesford Crossing, an assisted-living facility in Paoli, Pa., workers are more likely to just go with it if a resident has some strange ideas. Lets say Mom or Grandma is furiously accusing her neighbor of stealing something. Your first impulse may be to defend the neighbor, but that would just make things worse, said Kathleen Douglass, administrator and dementia specialist at Sage Senior Living, which opened Daylesford 18 months ago. Im sorry that happened to you, is a better answer, she said. Then you can show youve heard the emotion. You seem really angry. I would be angry too if that happened. Its time to give up thinking your truth and rationality will change the mind of someone with dementia. Shes never going to be able to process that again, Douglass said. Shes in brain failure. Teepa Snow, originator of this positive approach to care, was in Daylesford last month to train about 50 staffers from Sage facilities and some family members in her principles. A Pittsburgh native who moved to North Carolina 45 years ago and who has a Southern accent to show for it, Snow demonstrated how brain damage from dementia affects behavior and offered hands-on tips to help caregivers fill in the gaps. Her message: The more the person with dementia loses his brain, the more those around him have to use theirs. Snows goal is to help caregivers make use of whats still working in the brain and compensate for what isnt. Instead of focusing on the hole, we need to be looking at the doughnut, she said. Krista McKay, director of programs and services for the Alzheimers Association Delaware Valley chapter, said Snow is among a group of dementia experts who espouse a more person-centered philosophy look at the person, not the disease. The approach, which the association has endorsed for years, has been slow to take off but is gaining traction. I would say that its taking root in a lot of ways, the care philosophy, she said. The issue at hand is whether its being applied. Older approaches, she said, make it a priority to feed residents three meals a day, dress them appropriately, and take care of their toileting needs. The new one, which requires more staff, places greater emphasis on personal relationships, reminiscence, and activities that draw out what a patient still cares about. We have to go with that person along their journey as opposed to bringing them back, she said. Douglass added that the old approach relied more heavily on using medication to address problem behaviors. Thats less likely to be necessary when peoples needs are being met. With the aid of pictures that showed how the brain atrophies during dementia, Snow, an occupational therapist, explained why these patients are often frightened or resistant. Their hearing may be fine, but they cant make sense of the words, so speaking more loudly only startles or annoys them. Their visual field narrows considerably, especially when they are frightened. A 20-year-olds peripheral vision can detect his moving fingers if he stretches his hands straight out to the side, but someone in the midstage of dementia can see only between two arms thrust straight forward. That means its easy for someone with dementia to think youre sneaking up on him. If you stand right in front of him, youre blocking his full visual field, which can feel threatening. Its best to greet from a distance and then approach from the side. Later in the course of the disease, the brain begins using visual messages from only one eye, throwing depth perception way off and increasing the risk of falling. Because of damage to the frontal lobe, people with dementia often have trouble initiating an action, such as picking up a fork to eat. If you help them start, they may be able to keep going. Snow said people with dementia lose the ability to use and understand complex speech. Long after thats gone, they may retain their sense of rhythm, the ability to dance and sing, and to make chitchat. These can be paths to happy experiences and theyre a lot healthier than a common source of a quick high: sugar. Dementia patients also still remember swear words and racial slurs Snow said theyre housed in a different part of the brain from complex language and they use them. Another thing that isnt working is the brains brake. A high-energy presenter with a flair for the dramatic, Snow convincingly modeled different neurological deficits. She drew knowing looks from people in the audience who had no trouble thinking of specific residents she resembled. Most often, she was a shuffling, hunched, cantankerous woman who took offense quickly or did inappropriate things like fondling the shiny bald head of one worker and swearing prodigiously. In one common scenario, she played a woman who pitched a fit when a worker tried to bring a new woman to her table in the cafeteria. Then Snow explained what this queen bee of the table might have been like. Before she got sick, she likely was an introvert who was always in control. Introverts, she said, are territorial. The worker should have come to her before lunch and said, I have a huge favor to ask of you. She would describe how this new person needed a place to sit and needed to be with someone skillful. What do you think? At that point, the queen bee likely would volunteer to accept the new resident, but, because of her memory problems, thats not the end of it. Before the meal started, the worker would need to bring the new resident directly to the woman for the first introduction before actually showing her a chair. One of her most counterintuitive examples was of a woman who shuffled up to a worker saying, I need something. What do you need? the worker asked helpfully. First mistake. The woman didnt know and that forced her to admit it. She struggled to find the words to describe what she was looking for. The worker tried to comfort her. Its OK, she said soothingly. Second mistake. It wasnt OK. This woman used to be a teacher and it was not OK at all with her that she couldnt find the words to say what she wanted. Snow started again with Carla Bennett, a resident assistant with long experience in caring for the elderly. Bennett had to try multiple times before she could get past the habit of asking the woman what she needed. Finally, she did what Snow suggested. She repeated what the woman had said. You need something. Then, Tell me more about it. Snows character struggled some more, saying, I need my white and my black that I have first. Can you show me what you do with it? Bennett asked. Finally, she steered the woman toward the coffee. Bennett, who has been at Daylesford since it opened, said the program gave her a much clearer understanding of how Snows philosophy works. Its like shes moving all the old furniture out of your mind, she said. Janet Haufler of Newtown Square, Pa., went to the workshop to learn more about interacting with her 84-year-old mother, who moved into Daylesford Crossing after a bad experience at another facility. She said her mother was doing much better now. She became more engaged. Shes able to speak more. Shes able to move more, she said. Shes much happier. tech2 News Staff The Apple vs FBI fight has finally come to an end. The FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone without Apple's help, as it should have been able to long before the case saw the light of day, and has backed out from the case. In an official statement, Apple reiterated their belief in everyone's right to privacy and the conservation of everyone's civil liberties. Their statement is presented in it's entirety below: "From the beginning, we objected to the FBIs demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the governments dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated. Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk. This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion." It's been a long and hard fight for Apple and one must certainly commend them for having the courage to stand by their beliefs and slug it out with the government for as long as they did. The victory might be a hollow one however, for Gizmodo reports that some US lawmakers are hellbent on passing legislation that would force companies like Apple to unlock devices on demand. FP Staff Microsoft today announced that it was jazzing up it's search engine Bing, which is still way, way behind global leader Google. The big changes, include a new, three-column screen design,with familiar search results displayed in blue to the left of the screen, rolling out an instant snapshot column, which displays extra information and links most likely to be useful such as maps, reviews and reservation tools. But its what's on the right column of Bing, that left tech websites buzzing. On the right users and their Facebook friends will be visible, giving them the option of asking their advice on a search. Users can also access their contacts on LinkedIn , Twitter and other networks. The move comes after Google announced early this year, that it would include results from it's own social network, Google plus into its search results. The Microsoft-Google war has been going on for sometime, with Microsoft accusing Google of spying on users. This new revamp is clearly one of the strategies in this ongoing struggle. So how did this new design change take place for Bing? According to CNET's Jay Greene, there's an interesting story to it and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is involved. Ten developers from Microsoft flew into San Francisco in late February last year to bang away on code with ten counterparts from Facebook. This hackathon, something the two partners do with some regularity, had a special guest as the day wore on: Facebook co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. The crew spent hours swapping ideas and sharing code, coming up with new ways to integrate Facebook's social network into Bing's search technology. Near the end of the day, Zuckerberg talked to the assembled coders. "Zuck said, 'Don't try to do social by building social on the side. Build it into the experience,'" Microsoft corporate vice president of search program management Derrick Connell recalled. For more you can read CNET's complete story here. The new redesign of Bing is a clear indicator that search on the web is all set to get more 'social.' What this is ideally means is that tweets, flikes, plus, and shares are set to get integrated into general web search. There's no doubt that users are taking in vast numbers to social media and are reposting and sharing, million and millions of links. It's therefore logical to assume that these too should become searchable on the web someday. The big question remains that whether integration with Facebook will give Bing more users. The new design of Bing will be live for users in a few days. Those who register will get it earlier. However the link for registering is not active for India users. hidden Clearing the way for the entry of telecom service retailers, inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission approved a long-pending proposal on virtual network operators, which will offer voice and data services under their own brands without owning network or spectrum. "The Commission has approved a Trai's recommendation on Virtual Network Operator after including clarification it provided. It will need Telecom Minister's approval. A new licence will be issued UL VNO for this. It should be implemented within few weeks," an official source said. "VNO will be able to offer all telecom services provided by a telecom operator with which it has partnered. It can sell services of more than one operator," the source said. A VNO leases bandwidth from various telecom operators to provide voice and data services to customers. VNOs would offer all telecom services permitted under unified licences - permits that were issued in 2013. These players are expected to reduce marketing and sales costs of telecom companies struggling in the sector, besides sharing some operational expenses, too. "VNO will be able to invest in setting up mobile towers and other elements in network required for providing services. However, it will not be able to sign deal directly to interconnect infrastructure laid by it with other telecom operator," the source said. These players may also offer some relief to telecom PSUs, BSNL and MTNL, which have already adopted a revenue-sharing model focusing on reducing capital expenditure. However, these companies will need to change their old licence to unified licence. "VNO will be able to integrate service and offer it to customer as it wants. There will be no limit on integration and offering of services from licence or government that will be available shortly. VNO on its own will be free to use technology required for offering various services," the source said. In case a VNO has partnered with multiple service providers, then it can offer voice call service of one and data service of other player. PTI Biman board reconstituted; Enamul Bari new chairman The board of Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been reconstituted with former Air Force chief Air Marshal (retd) Muhammad Enamul Bari as its new chairman for the year 2016. The 13-member Biman board has been reconstituted in light of the Bangladesh Biman Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, the Company Act, 1994 and Article of Association of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, said an official at the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry on Tuesday. Bari replaced former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Jamal Uddin Ahmed who was appointed in 2009. Senior Secretary, Finance Division, Secretary, Ministers Office (PMO), Secretary, Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations and Training), Engineer in Chief, Bangladesh Army, former secretary M Nazrul Islam Khan (on PRL), former additional secretary (on PRL) Tapos Kumar Roy, BGMEA President M Siddiqur Rahman, Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer barrister Tanjib-ul Alam, Managing Director, Emerging Resources Limited Noor-E-Khoda Abdul Mobin FCA, Managing Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh Airlines have been made members of the new board. The board has been recast for the overall development of Biman and to bring pace in operational activities. The new board will bring in a new bright dawn for Biman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon was quoted, in a media release, as saying. He said Biman will be established as symbol of goodwill and dignity in the world and Biman will be Meghdoot of Bangladesh. -- Dhaka, Mar 29 (UNB) Hotel owners doing brisk business Cox's Bazar Correspondent : With the passage of time, Cox's Bazar emerged as the wonderful tourist paradise in this part of the world. The presence of green hills and meadows, wonderful scenario of the sea-shore of the Bay of Bengal, and enchanting beauty of nature all the way transformed Cox's Bazar into a heaven for tourists from home and abroad. Despite positive sides and excellence, there are widespread allegations that the tourist capital of the country could not provide first rate services to the tourists due to some inadequacy in the whole process. The situation became apparent during the last week which was the last week of the current tourist season. The allegation again came true when the tourist capital failed to offer normal services to a huge number of tourists arrived with their family members. Cox's Bazar failed to manage the pressure of record number of tourists and all the dreams of amusement of the tourists have gone in vain. They went through hassles in every areas of their visit including problems in the case of accommodation, food supply, transport, and security management, according to sources. The current week, being the last week of the tourist week, Cox's Bazar became overcrowded with a record number of tourists. Weekly holidays accompanied by the holiday on the occasion of the Independence Day added a new avenue for the tour-loving people to pay visit to the country's tourist capital. But tourists at large were trapped with various problems on their arrival and as such all the charming scenario they cherished in individual mind before undertaking tour was diminished in the process, according to sources. Mega beach carnival organised by Clemon has widely enthralled the visiting tourists by the way of mounting enjoyment. The presence of increased number of visitors to enjoy the seashore has opened a blessing for hotel owners who are doing brisk business. One non-A/C room which was rented for Tk 500 at normal time is now being charged Tk 3,000 to Tk 8,000 at the end period of the pick season, sources informed. On Thursday, thousands of tourists gathered on the sea shore from morning to evening. Laboni point, Sea Inn point and Himchhari to Diabetic point saw the never ending lines of visitors. Traffic jams were created from Cultural crossing to Kaktoly crossing as hundreds of vehicles arrived with the tourists. The residential hotels and guest houses at the city and the outskirts have been fully booked due to the presence of visiting tourists numbering more than one lakh. According to hotel owners, allotment of rooms for new guests is hardly possible up to next Sunday. Meanwhile, taking into account the rush of visitors numbering more than one lakh at the end of the tourist season, the business community has increased the prices of different commodities. The visitors with their respective family members started arriving in the tourist city from last Wednesday. The heavy rush of tourists resulted in a wide-ranging problems of accommodation and supply of food in many hotels across the district. Maximum number of tourists arrived on Friday by private cars or hired transports. Not being able to arrange any accommodation in the hotels and rest houses at different areas, many have rented private rooms adjacent to the main city. The visiting tourists have lost their zeal, enthusiasm, and delight for being trapped into varied problems which were unthinkable to them. In addition to Cox's Bazar, tourists are strolling at Inani shore, Himchhari fountain, Darianagar Nature Park, and Dulhajra Bangabandhu Safari Park. Many tourists were found visiting Adinath Mandir and Teknaf including Saint Martin's Island and other places of interest. Director of Hotel Regal Palace Abu Bakar Siddique, while talking to journalists , informed that the current week is the last period of the tourist season, and from next month the number of tourists will go down. General Secretary of Cox's Bazar Hotel Owners' Association Abul Kashem Shikdar said that businessmen this time have taken the advantage of earning more profit to compensate the losses incurred during political unrest in the past. On the other hand, Director of Protik Genia Apartment Mizanur Rahman informed that last week more than 20 apartments were booked by the tourists who were denied booking in hotels and guest houses. One family coming from Mirpur of Dhaka narrated about different problems relating to accommodation, food, transport and other areas resulting into total dissatisfaction in their merriment mission. Many tourists alleged that due to lack of adequate drives and monitoring by tourist police, the security problems have also become apparent. US-Bangla Air passengers saved mysteriously About 50 passengers on board of US-Bangla Airlines saved miracally from a major incident due to skillness of the pilot of the aircraft on Monday evening. Airport sources said during time of landing at Shah Amanat International Airport , chittagong, the entire runway became black out and pilot save the aircraft from utter accident. The aircraft takes off from Dhaka Airport on Monday evening. Airport Manager Wing Commander Reazul Kabir told that due to sudden shut down of power, the runway became invisible and immediately the auto power switch on. A passenger sources said soon after black out in runway light, the landing bound aircraft again takes off in the sky thus saved the lifes of the fifty passesngers. 2 ice cream factories sealed A mobile court of Chittagong District Administration today sealed off two ice cream factories and fined the owners Taka one lakh for using harmful ingredients in producing ice cream. Executive Magistrate of Chittagong District Administration Mohammad Ruhul Amin led the mobile court at city's Chandgaon Thana area and sealed off 'Lucky Ice Bar' and 'Dolphin Ice Bar'. The mobile court also damaged 4,000 pieces of ice cream produced with harmful chemicals during the drive. The Executive Magistrate said the ice cream factories were sealed off as they were producing ice cream without certificate from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). "They obtained certificates from the City Corporation for producing ice but they were making ice creams using palm oil, citric acid, sodium cyclamate (artificial sweetener) and other chemicals which are harmful to public health", the Executive Magistrate added. Castro to Obama: We don't need your presents AP, Havana : Fidel Castro responded Monday to President Barack Obama's historic trip to Cuba with a long, bristling letter recounting the history of U.S. aggression against Cuba, writing that "we don't need the empire to give us any presents." The 1,500-word letter in state media titled "Brother Obama" was Castro's first response to the president's three-day visit last week, in which the American president said he had come to bury the two countries' history of Cold War hostility. Obama did not meet with the 89-year-old Fidel Castro on the trip but met several times with his 84-year-old brother Raul Castro, the current Cuban president. Obama's visit was intended to build irreversible momentum behind his opening with Cuba and to convince the Cuban people and the Cuban government that a half-century of U.S. attempts to overthrow the Communist government had ended, allowing Cuban to reform its economy and political system without the threat of U.S. interference. Fidel Castro writes of Obama: "My modest suggestion is that he reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics." Castro, who led Cuba for decades before handing power to his brother in 2008, was legendary for his hours-long, all-encompassing speeches. His letter reflects that style, presenting a sharp contrast with Obama's tightly focused speech in Havana. Castro's letter opens with descriptions of environmental abuse under the Spaniards and reviews the historical roles of Cuban independence heroes Jose Marti, Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez. Castro then goes over crucial sections of Obama's speech line by line, engaging in an ex-post-facto dialogue with the American president with pointed critiques of perceived slights and insults, including Obama's failure to give credit to indigenous Cubans and Castro's prohibition of racial segregation after coming to power in 1959. Quoting Obama's declaration that "it is time, now, for us to leave the past behind," the man who shaped Cuba during the second half of the 20th century writes that "I imagine that any one of us ran the risk of having a heart attack on hearing these words from the President of the United States." Castro then returns to a review of a half-century of U.S. aggression against Cuba. Those events include the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against the island; the 1961 Bay of Pigs attack and the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner backed by exiles who took refuge in the U.S. He ends with a dig at the Obama administration's drive to increase business ties with Cuba. The Obama administration says re-establishing economic ties with the U.S. will be a boon for Cuba, whose centrally planned economy has struggled to escape from over-dependence on imports and a chronic shortage of hard currency. The focus on U.S-Cuba business ties appears to have particularly rankled Castro, who nationalized U.S. companies after coming to power in 1959 and establishing the communist system into which his brother is now introducing gradual market-based reforms. British Council Teaching Centre now in Gulshan Alison Blake, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh along with Canadian High Commissioner BenoAt-Pierre LaramAe is seen at the launching ceremony of British Council Teaching Centre at Gulshan in the capital on Tuesday. Campus Report : The British Council has launched its fourth Teaching Centre at Gulshan in the capital in partnership with Canadian International School. Alison Blake, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh was the chief guest at the launching ceremony and Canadian High Commissioner Benoit-Pierre Laramee attended the event as special guest. Jamie Mann, Teaching Centre Manager of the British Council was also present at the ceremony held on Tuesday. The British High Commissioner said: "The British Council is the world's leading cultural relations organisation and the English language is one of the UK's great cultural assets. This new Teaching Centre will be a centre of excellence for English language teaching, showcasing best practice and innovation. I am sure it will be an asset to the community, a place where children and adults will be able to develop their English skills effectively and learn about UK culture." Jamie Mann, Teaching Centre Manager said: "I'm excited to open our new Teaching Centre in Gulshan with Canadian International School Bangladesh, with whom we share common values around education. For example, we both aim to provide the best possible learning environment for our students." The British Council Teaching Centre offers a full range of courses for children, teenagers, university students, adults, and companies and organisations. Its regular weekday courses and also premium weekend courses cater to the demands of a wide range of learners. All courses in Gulshan will offer 32 hours of quality classroom time with engaging, experienced, UK-qualified teachers. The offered courses are English Skills, English for IELTS, English for Work, Spoken English and Courses for children & teenagers (5-17 years) The British Council will begin to deliver its high-quality English courses at Canadian International School at 200 Gulshan Avenue North, Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212 from 6 April 2016. Level testing and registration started on 14 March 2016. Students can register Sunday to Thursday from 4pm to 7pm and Friday and Saturday from 9am to 6pm. MasterChef judge Matt Preston visits Dhaka Judge of MasterChef Australia, Matt Preston mets the winners of \"Meet Matt Preston\" campaign organized by Bangladesh\'s cookies brand Rivoli on Tuesday at a hotel in the city. Economic Reporter : Renowned judge of MasterChef Australia, Matt Preston met the winners of "Meet Matt Preston" campaign organized by Bangladesh's most prestigious cookies brand Rivoli on Tuesday at a hotel in the city, according to a press release. Preston is also world famous as a food critic and food journalist. It is to be mentioned that Matt Preston is the brand endorser of the international standard and delicious Rivoli Cookies. He is visiting the south Asian country Bangladesh for the first time on Rivoli Cookies' invitation. As a result the winners of Rivoli organized "Meet Matt Preston" campaign got to spend time, talk, take pictures and eat cookies with him. Unimech Food Factory's Rivoli branded cookies have made a significant impact in the market in a very short time. During his Dhaka visit Matt Preston visited Sadarghat Launch Terminal, Ahsan Manzil, Lalbagh Fort, University of Dhaka, T.S.C., National Parliament House, Chandrima Uddan, Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Hatirjheel, Rayer Bazaar Jaago school, Banani and a few other noteworthy places in Dhaka and spoke to his fans, the press release said. Matt Preston is not only a judge of MasterChef Australia, but also the restaurant reviewer of world famous "Vogue" magazine. He also writes reviews in many renowned Australian food magazines at the same time. Rivoli chose him as their brand endorser because of his popularity and the confidence he exudes as a food critic. The unique taste of Rivoli cookies got Matt Preston interested about South Asia and as a result he came to Dhaka to talk directly to the fans and energize the Rivoli marketing campaign. Preparatory meet to celebrate Pohela Boishakh held at DU Dhaka University held a preparatory meeting for celebrating Pohela Boishakh-1423, Bangla New Year, peacefully. Vice-Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique chaired the meeting held at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban on Tuesday. A 34-member Bangla New Year-1423 Celebration Committee was formed by Pro-Vice Chancellor (administration) Prof Shahid Akhtar Hossain convener. Fine Arts Faculty Dean Prof Nisar Hossain will act as member secretary of the committee. Besides, two subcommittees were also formed. Prof Arefin thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for providing Pohela Boishakh allowance. He urged all to celebrate the festival with caution considering the university's image and discipline. Brussels attacks tear at the very fabric of EU The 22 March terrorist attacks in Brussels come as the European Union is still reeling from the November Paris attacks and scrambling to solve the migrant crisis. More important, they come as nationalist forces are challenging key principles of the continental bloc, including the free movement of labor and the Schengen Agreement, which eliminated border controls among several member states. The atmosphere of fear and suspicion that is sure to follow will only worsen these social, political and economic crises. The first outcome of the Brussels attacks will be a fresh round of debate over EU border controls, in particular those in the Schengen zone. The Schengen Agreement came under fire at the start of the migrant crisis in early 2015. The Paris attacks escalated the controversy, particularly because the perpetrators moved between France and Belgium without detection. Consequently, France and other countries enhanced their border controls. The European Commission has since said that it wants all border controls in the Schengen area lifted by the end of 2016. However, the latest attacks - and the potential that more will follow - will make this difficult. Several governments in Western Europe will likely soon announce new national security legislation, improved controls on fighters returning from conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as enhanced intelligence sharing with their neighbors. EU members will also resume discussions on how best to combat terrorism abroad in troubled nations such as Libya and Syria. Europeans will become more willing to contribute to the coalition against the Islamic State, possibly with more weapons and training for the Iraqi military and Kurdish militants, increased deployment of combat aircraft and participation in NATO surveillance missions in Turkey. Another casualty could be the recent, tenuous agreement between Turkey and the European Union to limit the arrival of asylum seekers in Europe. Renewed awareness of the threat of terrorism among EU member states will bring focus on the bloc's external borders, possibly justifying deeper cooperation with Turkey. But the attacks could also reignite anti-Muslim sentiments in Europe and increase popular demands on EU governments not to grant visa-free travel to Turkish citizens - a key stipulation from Ankara for cooperation on migrant issues. Anti-Muslim sentiment could also lead to more support for nationalist parties across the Continent. France's National Front already receives substantial support in electoral polls. In Germany, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party recently achieved record performances in regional elections and is currently the country's third most popular party. Both France and Germany will hold general elections in 2017, in votes that will happen against the backdrop of the immigration crisis and the multiple terrorist attacks. In both cases, the mainstream parties will be under electoral pressure from their nationalist rivals. As a result, they will likely adopt some elements of nationalist party platforms. The same can be expected in other Northern European countries such as the Netherlands or Sweden, which also have relatively strong nationalist movements. Political parties and groups that want the United Kingdom to leave the European Union could also use the recent terrorist attacks to justify greater isolation from the Continent. Lastly, the Brussels attacks will hurt European economies, though likely only for a short time. In the coming days, some people in Belgium and other Western European countries may decide to avoid travel or densely crowded areas, such as cafes and shopping malls, out of fear of another attack. It will temporarily stifle domestic consumption and the tourism sector. For most Europeans, the threat of terrorism is by now a part of their daily lives. Beyond national politics and economics, the long-term impacts of the attacks will affect the very fabric of the European Union. Stratfor (Stratfor is a global intelligence company). Fake ACC director held Staff Reporter :The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) officials caught a cheat named Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury, who introducing himself as Director of the Commission, earned a huge amount of money. The ACC officials were searching him vigorously on receipt of complaints against him. The ACC team led by its Deputy Director SM Rafiqul Islam arrested Iqbal Hossain in the capital's Nikunja area. A case has also been filed with the Khilkhet Police Station under Section 419 and 420. The ACC sources said,many people came to the commission's headquarters to meet Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) M I Chowdhury. They showed his visiting card and wanted to meet him. But they realized that he was fake when they went to the reception of the ACC. Many people also lodged complaints against him. He is neither director of ACC nor a retired Army officer. He is just a cheater. After long waiting, he was caught and he admitted all his criminal activities. He also told the ACC officials that his real name is Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury. He was never in the Army. This was his trick to earn money from the people by cheating. ACC Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told The New Nation on Tuesday that Iqbal Hossain Chowdhury was a listed cheater. The ACC received many allegations against him. But he was traceless. "The ACC will investigate the matter and will try to know the identity of other accomplices," he said. Sins of the past Rappler.com, Manila : A young executive of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) drowned in Subic on June 23, 2012. Only 47 at the time of his death, Jerome Tan was the president of RCBC Securities (RSEC), the bank's stock brokerage subsidiary. While yachting, Tan and his businessman friend, Michael Bautista, reportedly jumped off to swim toward the shore but Tan was said to have been sucked underwater by the strong current. Bautista was able to make it to shore, according to a police investigation, but not Tan. It was a tragic end for the RCBC Securities president who was forced to go on leave after tens of clients lost a significant amount of their savings and stocks in an investment scam during his term. The scam, pegged to have stolen at least P1 billion from its clients, was allegedly executed by a rogue trader, Mary Grace Valbuena, who joined RSEC first, as a consultant in 2001, before becoming an "independent agent" in 2002. While Tan was RSEC president, Valbuena managed to manipulate for many years the Statement of Accounts (SOA) of her clients, transacting under their name without their consent, selling their stocks behind their backs, and depositing their checks to her brother's account. By the end of it, Valbuena zeroed out portfolios of some of her clients, stealing their life savings. Valbuena's scandalous scam exploded in late December 2011 when she was dismissed by RSEC. Six months later, Tan would die in the yachting accident. Tan's yachting buddy, Michael Bautista, is the listed treasurer of PhilRem Service Corporation - the same company that made headlines recently, in connection with the Senate investigation of the RCBC money-laundering scandal. PhilRem was the money transfer firm used by RCBC to convert into pesos part of the $81-million funds stolen from Bangladesh Bank. It was Bautista's wife, Salud, also PhilRem president, who delivered P600 million and $18 million in cash to Weikang Xu, an alleged casino junket operator. PhilRem said it had been doing business with RCBC for 3-5 years. Senator Teofisto Guingona III has said his committee would also "look into" the possible link between RCBC and PhilRem. The recent money laundering scam is not the first time checks and balances have failed or been insufficient at the Yuchengco-owned companies, according to interviews and documents obtained by Rappler. Several similarities between the 2012 RSEC scam and the current RCBC scandal stand out. In 2012, the blame was pinned solely on Valbuena. This, despite evidence that shows Tan and other RSEC executives, who were Valbuena's superiors, appeared to know about the irregular transactions early on before they belatedly took action. Similarly, RCBC Jupiter-Makati City branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito is being blamed for the money laundering scam the bank is currently embroiled in, raising questions as to how she could have pulled off an $81-million Bangladesh Bank fund heist without the knowledge of her superiors. And in both scandals, RCBC controls and procedures appear to have fallen through, resulting in criminal activity. According to a court document, RSEC filed a case against Valbuena in 2012 - after she was dismissed. She was accused of "fraudulent and deceitful acts," compelling RSEC to pay 16 of her clients an aggregate amount of P67.9 million as negotiated settlement. In a September 25, 2012 affidavit obtained by Rappler, Diosdado Salang Jr, who was RSEC's vice president, head of operations, and chief financial officer at the time, testified against Valbuena. Second in command to Jerome Tan, Salang said it was his duty "to oversee (RSEC's) day-to-day operations" - which included "monitoring securities transactions between the clients and the independent agents who handle the clients' trading accounts with RSEC." RSEC, however, pinned the blame solely on Valbuena. Her modus operandi appeared generally similar, although it slightly varied per client. Below is a summary of Valbuena's irregular transactions, using the accounts of 16 of her clients. The information is based on Salang's affidavit. Man shot at in city Staff Reporter :A man was shot at by some unknown miscreants in the city's Mohakhali Wireless Gate area in the wee hours of Tuesday.The victim has been identified as Tofazzal, 40, a private car driver. He was admitted to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), police said. Rafiqul Islam, Assistant Commissioner of Gulshan Zone of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said "Miscreants shot at Tofazzal when hewas passing through the area riding on his motorcycle past midnight."He received two bullet wounds in his shoulder, the Police official said.The reason behind the attack could not be known immediately, he said. A case has been filed with Banani Police Station. 'Army personnel actually killed' 3 BD natl's in Libya UNB, Dhaka : The three identified Bangladesh nationals, killed earlier on Friday evening in Benghazi, 1200 km away from Libyan capital Tripoli, were actually shot dead by army personnel. The Bangladesh Embassy in Libya has dispelled the confusion describing how they were killed though initially the Mission held fighting between two rival groups responsible for the killings. Earlier, on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry here in a statement, based on information received from the Mission, had claimed that four people, 'reportedly' Bangladesh nationals, were killed in a "skirmish between two rival groups' in Benghazi. Stone Energy President and CEO Dave Welch will be the keynote speaker at the 6th Annual Acadiana Commercial Outlook on Thursday, April 7, at LITE. Welch will open the program, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Realtors Commercial Alliance of Acadiana hosts this state-of-the-industry event, which also focuses on emerging trends and the future outlook for commercial real estate. Commercial real estate industry professionals from across the state are expected to attend. An April 7 presentation by Van Eaton & Romero's David Gleason will focus on the industrial segment of commercial real estate. Photo by Robin May Because of the impact the decline in the oil prices has had on the local economy, Welch will explain how this downturn is different from those in the past and what the outlook is for the remainder of 2016. Stirling Properties' Ryan Pecot, the driving force behind Ambassador Town Center, will offer keen insight into Lafayette's retail segment. Photo by Robin May Commercial real estate segments to be discussed include retail with Ryan Pecot of Stirling Properties, office with Todd Trahan of Trahan Real Estate Group, industrial with Van Eaton & Romeros David Gleason and multi-family with Beau Bourque of Van Eaton & Romero. The seminar will be moderated by Monty Warren of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate. Representatives from One Acadiana will close the seminar, discussing the Louisiana Economic Development Certified Sites Program. A Certified Site is one that is a development-ready industrial site, meaning it has been through a thorough review process in order to reduce the unknowns and mitigate some of the risk involved in the site selection process. Certified sites give Acadiana better opportunities for new projects and expansions. To register for the seminar, contact Mary Sliman at 233-0086. "The problem we're having here is there was a secret meeting in Louisiana of the convention delegation, and apparently all the invitations for our delegates must have gotten lost in the mail." Illustration by DonkeyHotey/Wikimedia BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Donald Trump's presidential campaign said Monday it plans to challenge Louisiana's electoral delegate selection, a day after the GOP candidate threatened to sue over the possibility that the state's uncommitted delegates could back his rival, Ted Cruz. Trump adviser Barry Bennett said that the campaign intends to file a complaint with the Republican National Committee protesting how the state's delegates were chosen. "The problem we're having here is there was a secret meeting in Louisiana of the convention delegation, and apparently all the invitations for our delegates must have gotten lost in the mail," Bennett said in an interview on MSNBC. After meeting with the campaign's legal team most of the morning, he said they planned to move forward with "a complaint to decertify these delegates." While he did not provide a timeline on when the complaint would be filed, he said: "We're going to protect our rights to the fullest extent possible." A day earlier, Trump shared his frustration with the process via Twitter, warning: "Lawsuit coming." His threat serves as a taste of the kind of backroom procedural wheeling-and-dealing that could come to define the Republican convention if Trump, facing deep resistance from many in his party, fails to lock down the 1,237 delegates necessary to win the nomination outright. Trump had not offered any details on the grounds of his proposed lawsuit, but Bennett later said Trump has been referring to the planned complaint. "It's not something you file with the court, it's something you file inside the party," he said. "That is the lawsuit that he talked about." Under RNC rules, Trump's campaign can contest the seating of the state's delegates by filing a complaint directly to the committee. If the campaign is unsatisfied with the outcome, it can file a complaint with the credentials committee, which meets at the national convention. Trump won 41 percent of the vote in Louisiana's March 5 primary, versus 38 percent for Cruz. But the process of allocating the state's 46 delegates isn't a matter of simple proportion. After the primary election, Trump and Cruz each had 18 committed delegates, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has since dropped out of the race, had five. Under state party rules, those delegates became free agents after Rubio suspended his campaign. Another five delegates also begin uncommitted. Jason Dore, executive director of the Republican Party of Louisiana and one of the state's uncommitted delegates, said he hadn't yet decided whom to support. But he said that Cruz's campaign has been working more aggressively than Trump's to attract delegates since the beginning of the race. As for Trump's threat, Dore said: "I don't know who he'd be suing because these 10 delegates are free to support whoever they want under the rules. The party or I can't force them to vote any way." Dore added that Bennett appeared to be referring to a mandatory delegation meeting, held immediately following the state convention, which he said that Trump staffers in the state had attended. Trump slammed the idea that a candidate who won fewer votes could end up with more delegates in an interview with ABC on Sunday, panning the process as a "crooked" and "rotten political system." Meanwhile, Cruz downplayed Trump's threats before a campaign stop in Altoona, Wisconsin, telling reporters: "You know what? Who cares?" Colvin reported from Jersey City, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington and Scott Bauer in Altoona, Wisconsin contributed to this report. 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. 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. CARTERVILLE John A. Logan Colleges outgoing student trustee on Friday filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney Generals office, claiming fellow members of the board of trustees violated the Open Meetings Act at a recent closed-session meeting. Brandi Husch, whose one-year term as the boards student voice is set to end April 15, said a board member tried to intimidate her during a March 2 meeting, several hours before board members voted 7-1 to lay off 55 faculty members and staffers in response to the states ongoing budget crisis. Husch was the only board member to vote against the cuts. As a student trustee, her vote is advisory. Husch said a board member was angry that Husch had carried a protest sign that said, I need a budget because students, faculty and staff should not have to suffer because of poor decisions by trustees, administration and Illinois government. He said, You want to talk about poor decisions of trustees? Well, heres the poor decisions of Brandi, Husch recalled. And then he laid out a folder. The folder contained evidence of what Husch described as my personal past mistakes, she said, declining to elaborate further. I was shocked that they felt the need to personally attack a board member on that level, especially a student, Husch said. Community college is really about second chances for a lot of people, and rebuilding, and coming from nothing and making yourself into somebody. I felt that they would encourage and be proud of the fact that a college could do that. JALC student trustee takes a stand This story has been updated. The executive session meeting took place on March 2, not May 2. Reached Tuesday morning, board Chairman Don Brewer again declined to comment on specifics of the meeting. Shes talking about executive session, he said. I absolutely could not comment on that. At the closed meeting, Husch said she tried to defend herself. The conversation went on for a few minutes before another board member stepped in. They said they were uncomfortable with how the meeting was going at that point, and thats what stopped it, Husch said. In her complaint to the attorney generals office, Husch contended board members violated the Open Meetings Act by discussing topics absent from the meeting agenda. My personal past was not on the agenda for that meeting, she said. Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for the attorney generals office, said the complaint has been received, and officials are looking into it. Though he declined to discuss the specific incident, Brewer said Husch is the most vocal student trustee hes worked with in his 40-odd years on the board. In no way has she ever been inhibited in what she could say in executive session, he said. Husch tried to express her frustration with what happened at the closed meeting during the boards most recent open meeting on March 22, but Brewer interrupted her statement midway through, banging his gavel on the table. Excuse me, youre out of order, he said. Youre violating the sanctity of an executive session. Full text of Brandi Husch's March 22 Statement This is the statement John A. Logan College's student trustee, Brandi Husch, planned to make Pat Hewson, the boards attorney and a member of the Carbondale-based firm Gilbert, Huffman, Prosser, Hewson & Barke, Ltd., said its certainly not proper to discuss the events of closed-session meetings in public, though he said that does not have the force of law. Its based on board policy and best practices, including Robert's Rules of Order. What goes on in closed session the old Vegas line what happens in closed session stays in closed session, he said. Thats because a lot of things talked about in closed session are confidential. Husch said because her private affairs were not on the agenda for that evenings meeting, she had every right to discuss what happened. What would the world look like today if Harry Truman or Dwight Eisenhower had shared the foreign policy inclinations of Barack Obama or, far more dangerous, Donald Trump? Obama has presided over an experiment in withdrawal from the Middle East, a region that the United States had long considered vital. Trump would accelerate the withdrawal, and make it global, because "we're a poor country now," as he told The Post's editorial board last week. Circumstances have forced Obama to undo or reverse aspects of his experiment, but at one point it included pulling all U.S. troops from Iraq, with plans to do the same in Afghanistan; abandoning Libya after intervening to depose its dictator; tepid support for the democracy movement that emerged in the Arab Spring; and a refusal to help those fighting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose overthrow Obama said he favored. Obama designed this policy because he was convinced, as Atlantic magazine national correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg put it following hours of conversation with the president, "that the Middle East could not be fixed - not on his watch, and not for a generation to come." The nations of the region, in other words, are unlikely to become democratic or economically successful. U.S. resources can be better spent on what Obama has called "nation-building at home" and on more important relationships in Asia. War-weary U.S. voters oppose keeping our troops in the region. Now imagine if Truman had applied similar tests at the end of World War II. After that devastating conflict, Americans were far more war-weary than they were when Obama became president. Plenty of them believed it was time to come home, leaving Europe and Japan to deal with their own problems, including the Soviet threat. History offered little basis to hope that Japan or Germany could become reliably democratic. The United States was far poorer than it is today. Yet Truman kept U.S. troops in both Germany and Japan - a deployment that persists after seven decades, to only occasional complaint from U.S. voters. Congress and the president devoted millions of taxpayer dollars to rebuilding both countries. They committed to a years-long occupation that imposed democratic institutions. When the Korean War ended in 1953, it seemed even more outlandish to imagine that South Korea could one day become an important trading partner and ally of the United States, let alone a vibrant democracy. Yet Eisenhower and Congress kept U.S. troops there, too, a deployment that persists six decades later, again with little domestic objection. We know how these stories unfolded. Democracies flourished in soils that experts insisted would be inhospitable to them. Europe and East Asia joined North America in prosperous modernity, which in turn helped the United States grow richer; median family income in this country rose from about $27,000 in 1945 to more than $62,000 today, in dollars adjusted for inflation. The continued presence of U.S. forces helped preserve an unprecedented era of peace in Europe and East Asia. By contrast, the consequences of Obama's retrenchment have been disastrous. A tenuous stability in Iraq gave way to renewed sectarian warfare and the emergence of a vicious terrorist state. Syria disintegrated in fighting that has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, sparked what the United States has officially termed a genocide and, thanks to terrorism and refugee flows, threatens the stability of the entire European continent. Libya, just across the Mediterranean Sea from Italy, is in chaos, too, with a new Islamic State outpost putting down roots there. Of course, every situation is different. Germany is not Korea is not Iraq. There is no guarantee that a steadying U.S. presence and long-term commitment would have delivered a better outcome. But it's hard to imagine how things could be worse - with perhaps the most telling proof being Obama's reluctant redeployment of 5,000 troops to Iraq, and thousands of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. The most perverse consequence of the disaster may be how it bolsters Trump's isolationist message. If things are such a mess, doesn't that prove we should just give up and come home? The temptation to withdraw has never been far below the surface of U.S. politics. Americans have been complaining for decades that allies haven't been paying their fair share. U.S. partners often have seemed no more deserving of our help than Mideast nations do today, and the United States has had rip- roaring fights with all of them - over trade with Japanese, missile deployments with Germans, human rights with South Koreans. Always Americans asked, understandably, why we were spending money overseas that we could be spending here at home. But always there were politicians who would take up the hard work of making the case for U.S. leadership, beginning with presidents such as Truman and Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton. That's a tradition that stands in danger today. Initially formed by the hand of man, Lake Marion has evolved into a paradise for wildlife. Lake Marion, South Carolinas largest lake, was formed in November 1941 during the construction of the Santee Dam as part of state-owned utility Santee Coopers Hydroelectric and Navigation Project. The project was initiated under President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal program during the Great Depression. The reservoir was constructed to provide hydroelectric power to rural South Carolina and to provide needed jobs for the depression-ravaged state. Covering about 110,600 acres, the lake is located within the coastal plain and is bordered by Orangeburg, Calhoun, Clarendon, Berkeley and Sumter counties. The lakes headwaters extend upstream almost to the confluence of the Wateree and Congaree rivers, where seasonally flooded, forested wetlands form the wildlife-rich Sparkleberry Swamp. Lake Marion is fed by many tributaries, including Wyboo Creek and the Santee River, and also by numerous springs including Eutaw Springs. The lake is named for the American Revolutionary War General Francis Swamp Fox Marion. His former home of Pond Bluff was one of the properties flooded when the lake was created. The completion of the project was moved ahead as the result of World War II, and Lake Marion Dam was closed before the clearing of Lake Marion was completed. As a result, thousands upon thousands of stumps, dead tree trunks and live cypress trees are found in the lake. These have served as fish habitats for nearly all fish species, especially crappie, bream and catfish. Native aquatic vegetation is also present along the gently-sloping shorelines and backwater sloughs, providing habitat for fish including largemouth bass, pickerel and bream. The state fishing record for largemouth bass (16.2 pounds) was set at Lake Marion. Other fish that abound in its waters are striped bass, white perch, white bass, shellcrackers and chain (Jack). Deer, foxes, squirrels, turtles, doves, turkeys, alligators and various species of ducks, hawks, eagles, egrets and ospreys also call Lake Marion home. Public access is provided via several public boat ramps as well as at Santee State Park and Santee National Wildlife Refuge on the northern shore of the lake. Of the total 13,000 acres that make up Santee National Wildlife Refuge, only 4,400 acres are owned, with the remaining acreage being managed under a lease agreement with the South Carolina Public Service Authority (aka Santee Cooper). The refuge manages 10 conservation easements on private lands, totalling 458 acres, in Bamberg, Barnwell, Clarendon and Orangeburg counties. Interstate 95 crosses Lake Marion near the town of Santee. NORTH Some in North were hot, hungry and upset with Mayor Patty Carson on Monday over obstacles to the distribution of food from Harvest Hope Food Bank at the town square. Martha Whetsone, assistant pastor of Faith Deliverance Center of Praise, said the church partners with the Columbia-based food bank and has distributed food to the community once a month for eight years. These people have a right as taxpayers and citizens. Were already in a town thats deprived. We have to do something to stand up and help the people. Its nothing that were gaining from it. Its through our partnership, Whetstone said. Whetstone said the mayor has told the church to pay a $50 deposit fee for use of the squares public bathrooms and get liability insurance for each person that comes to the food bank to receive a box. If the bathrooms are clean afterward, the $50 would be refunded to the church under the towns pavilion use policy. Theres a refundable deposit. She said the next thing is we have to have liability insurance for everyone that comes. In the past eight years, weve never had to do that, Whetstone said. She says she asked Carson if she would waive the deposit, but the mayor denied her request. She said no, she would be breaking the rules and her lawyer told her to treat everybody the same, Whetstone said. Nobody uses the space, Whetstone said. Weve only used it for giving out our food, and a day of prayer. (Carson) says shes enforcing the rules the right way. I feel that theres no consideration for the citizens of North. We dont have a supermarket. A lot of our constituents are elderly or handicapped. They dont have a way of eating for the whole month, she said. The food distribution helps carry them over until maybe the next time they get their food stamps, Whetstone said. Whetstone has appeared before town council, and says shes talked to the mayor, but Carson wont bend. We will pay the deposit, but to get liability insurance for everyone coming we dont know how many are coming. The fact remains that this is public property, she said. A citizen said she would like for the public bathrooms at the square, which were locked, to be open because she has bladder problems and will be undergoing bladder surgery soon. Whetstone said Carson stated she will turn the food truck around because there is no liability insurance. She said, You dont have the drivers number? Call him and stop him. I dont have the drivers number. She says, When the truck comes, call me and Im going to come and turn it around, Whetstone said. If Whetstone were to distribute the food to the public at the church, Faith Deliverance Center of Praise, the food truck would be blocking sidewalks. This (square) is conducive to what we need a parking area and all that, Whetstone said. Carson pulled up in a car as the citizens were waiting for the food truck to arrive. The T&D asked Carson to explain what was happening but she declined to comment and left. The T&D went to North Town Hall and requested to speak with Carson, but shed left for lunch. After receiving word about the commotion at the square, E.L. Charlie of St. Mark United Methodist Church arrived to inform Whetstone that the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bowman will allow the citizens to come to St. Mark UMC to distribute food. The truck eventually arrived and the North citizens received food at the square. Whetstone said she has contacted an insurance company but has not heard anything back. In a third attempt to reach Carson, this time via phone, she stated again, I have no comment. Carson explained during town councils February meeting that Norths pavilion use policy, implemented in 2008, established the fee. Everyone will abide by the same policy, she said. While it has not been enforced previously, it is being enforced now. Carson also said during the meeting that the town will have to go through an attorney to change the policy. Wyman Bruner, a lifelong citizen of North and retired minister, said he visits the churchs food banks and says the citizens have never had this problem. The place belongs to the town. Theyve been giving out this food for several years. Under Mayor Jeffcoat, these restrooms were open early in the mornings because sometimes people have to wait, Bruner said. The 82-year-old said he doesnt understand the problem, calling it the worst hes ever seen. I didnt know that I went to bed last night and woke up living in Cuba, under Castro. Its just about the same living under Castro. This is what we have to put up with over here in North, Bruner said. In the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, critics are blaming Belgium for not assimilating immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa. The fact is that Europe does not do assimilation. Europeans widely practice what might be called anti-assimilation. Instead of engagement with their immigrants, they practice a kind of look-the-other-way stance. Muslim immigrants on the whole do not seek to integrate into European societies, but rather to demand that European societies adopt their ways. In Belgium, which has three official languages Dutch, French and German there are constant demands that Arabic become a fourth. Muslims in Britain, and throughout Europe, demand sharia, or Islamic law, for their communities. Muslims in Europe, and the United States, demand that Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) be accorded the same recognition as a public holiday as Christmas. Muslim defenders, after the bombings in Brussels, insist that Western countries with large Muslim minorities should do more to integrate them into national life. But this integration mostly means that the host culture should bow to the insurgent one. In ancient lands, like Britain and France, this is an affront; as though the extraordinary traditions of those countries should be shoved aside to accommodate the cultural demands of an a very antagonistic minority. That is asking too much. Europe has mostly dealt with the challenge by hoping that new generations born in Europe and subjected to the influence of European education, the arts and media will become little Europeans: little Frenchmen, little Belgians, little Englishmen, versed in European history and imbued with European values. There are such people throughout Europe, from those of Turkish descent in Germany to Indians in Britain to North Africans in France. But by and large the Muslim minorities remain separate, unequal and belligerently hostile to the countries that have given them shelter and opportunity. Rather than the generations born in Europe adopting European norms, they have ended in an unfortunate place where they are outcasts by their own inclinations and by the difficulties posed by European societies, which are quietly nationalistic, closed, eyes-averted. If anything, the separation has grown worse for generations that know no life other than the one they lead in Europe. This is often marginal, lived in ghettos like the banlieues, the suburbs to the north of Paris, the troubled Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, or Bradford in the north of England. The original immigrants could look back to what they had escaped, whether it was war and persecution in Algeria, in the case of those who migrated to France, or the grinding poverty that prevailed in Pakistan, in the British case. People move for safety or for a better life. They do not move because they want a new food or a new religion: They want the old food and the old religion in a better place. Trouble is, three or four generations on, the migrant descendants may not feel they are in a better place. They are isolated, largely unemployed and subjected to the preaching of murderous extremists. Once in Brussels, my wife and I were walking down a side street not far from the Grand Place. My wife, who lived in the Middle East and speaks Arabic, remarked that we had left Europe within a few streets and entered North Africa. As we passed some young men, standing outside a cafe, she heard one say to another in Arabic, What are they doing here? They dont belong here. When the London suburb of Brixton was becoming a black enclave, favored by West Indian immigrants, I lived nearby. Dont go there. Maybe they will leave one day, my neighbors said when I wanted to go there. No-go areas are not always that: they also are not-want-to-go areas. Someone has to want assimilation, if that is the answer. 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. /By Azernews/ By Aynur Karimova Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR will conduct technical assessment of Japanese companies proposals to invest in Azerbaijans oil and gas sector. This was stated by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev at a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Tsuguo Takahashi on March 28. Abdullayev said that the prospects of Japanese companies participation in the project on construction of the Oil and Gas Processing and Petrochemical Complex (OGPC) are being discussed. SOCAR supports proposals of Japanese companies and banks on investments in Azerbaijans oil and gas industry, he added. Japans ambassador, in turn, confirmed the interest of Japanese companies in continuing the cooperation with Azerbaijan. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Japan, Tokyo was one of the first countries to support Baku's forward-looking oil strategy. Today two major Japanese companies - Itochu and INPEX - are involved in the Contract of the Century. Leaders of Japanese business, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Marubeni, and Sojits are involved in energy and infrastructure projects in the country as well. The INPEX Company owns a 10.96 percent stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block development project, as well as a 2.5 percent stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. So far, Japanese companies were involved mainly in projects in the energy sector, but in recent years their interests to cooperate in areas such as petrochemicals, oil refining, energy, medicine, high-tech and space industry have increased. /By Azernews/ By Amina Nazarli Whether you love cities best for their architecture, culture, people or food, in Baku exactly will be something to capture your imagination. Located "where East and West meet", Azerbaijans capital city Baku attracts many people from all over the world. Baku is absolutely stylish city with incredible synthesis of old and modern buildings, which offers its visitors to enjoy amazing feeling of an extraordinary contrast. Baku is the city, which is simply impossible to ignore and without discovering this City of Winds one would miss a lot. A recently published book Skylines: A Journey Through 50 Skylines of the World's Greatest Cities also paid a special attention to Baku. British travel writers Yolanda Zappaterra and Jan Fuscoe, highlighted the beauties of Baku along with those of London, Roma, Paris, Istanbul, New York and Moscow. The travelers told about the antiquity, history and architecture of the city, as well as its famous mud volcanoes. Geologists compare mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan with the surface of the Mars. Tourists often make unique photos in the fantastic scenery of natural attractions, where 23 mud volcanos are protected by the government and have the status of national parks. The travelers also mentioned the Icherisheher (Old City), Maiden Tower and Shirvanshah Palace, which were included in the UNESCOs world heritage list. Of no less interest for the guests is the modern appearance of the capital. Among the new hallmarks of Baku the travelers highlight the magnificent building complex Flame Towers, which has become the modern symbol of Baku, Heydar Aliyev Center, resembling a wave-like ascension from the ground towards the sky as well as International Mugham Center, which is a very valuable building for the acquaintance the world with the national music. The book also praised significant international events held in the country for past years such as Eurovision Song Contest, inaugural European Games, also mentioning the forthcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe to take place this summer. Baku has become the favorite destinations for many tourists because of many unique features. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan is a Muslim country, there are no special restrictions of dress and use of alcohol here, thats why many tourists feel themselves comfortable and can enjoy unique contrasts here. Each year the number of tourist who wish to see and feel the atmosphere in this beautiful city increases. Russia has recently announced about the growth in number of its tourists visiting the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan. Russian experts said the number of booked tours to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have increased by half. Demand for tours to Azerbaijan, in turn, rose by three times. There is an increase in demand for Baku and Tbilisi tours. The number of tickets to these destinations increased by three times compared to January-April 2015, said Vladislav Shevtsov, Director of the general manger of DaTravel.com. /By Azernews/ By Amina Nazarli Azerbaijan and Egypt may boost cooperation in tourism field, as Cairo is interested in the opening of direct flights between the two countries. Egypts Deputy Minister of Tourism Mohamed Abdel Gabbar stressed that Cairo intends to develop tourism ties with Baku. In this connection we want to open a direct flight between Baku and Cairo or Baku and Sharm El Sheikh, he told Interfax-Azerbaijan, adding that the extension of direct air communication will contribute greatly to the development of tourism bonds between Azerbaijan and Egypt. The deputy minister said that the number of Egyptian tourists visiting Azerbaijan is small and represents about 3,000 people. Abdel Gabbar further said that Egypts Tourism Minister Yahya Rashid is expected to visit Baku this April, which in turn, may be a big impetus for the development of the ties in this sphere. During the visit, the minister will be accompanied by representatives of the hotel business and travel agencies, he said. The ministers visit first was scheduled for late 2015, but was postponed due to the crash of Airbus-321 Russian passenger airliner, which claimed the lives of 224 people, in Egypt. Abdel Gabbar also noted that the establishment of sustainable tourism ties with Azerbaijan will eliminate all the problems faced by tourists. Regarding the prices of tour packages, the deputy minister said that the Egyptian side can offer certain discounts. Egyptian airlines can offer a reduced price on air tickets. It is not low-cost airlines. However, there may be some sort of discounts. Also we can cooperate with or assist any of Azerbaijani company engaged in tourism in Egypt, he emphasized. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Administration announced that it received a request to perform flights on the route Cairo-Baku from Egyptian charter airline AirCairo. However, the Administration has not yet issued permission, as the opening of a direct flight will be possible only after a safety inspection in this direction. Currently, the safety in this direction is being tested, and if the route is found to be safe, air service will be possible, the Civil Aviation Administration said. Cairo and Baku enjoy relations which date back to centuries ago but since the last century they have developed closer contacts. Egyptians and Azerbaijanis have much in common: traditions, culture, customs, attitudes and religion. Since Azerbaijan has gained its independence in 1991, the two countries have started building relations in the political, economic, cultural and educational spheres. Egypt recognized Azerbaijan's independence in December 1991 and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in March 1992. Azerbaijan`s Ambassador to UAE Dashgin Shikarov has visited Ras al-Khaimah Emirate. He met Emir of Ras al-Khaimah Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi who applauded the measures taken by President Ilham Aliyev in the country saying this activity was the main factor of the stability and peace in Azerbaijan. The ambassador said there were good opportunities for bilateral cooperation in the fields of investment and tourism. The Emir also said he was aware of comprehensive development of Azerbaijan, as well as its great regional image gained across the last years. On fruitful potential for close bonds with Azerbaijan Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi said they were ready to cooperate in the fields of tourism, investment, agriculture. The Diplomat also stressed the importance of reciprocal visits in terms of strengthening the cooperation and bilateral bonds between Azerbaijan and UAE. On maintaining peace and stability in the country, Dashgin Shikarov also spoke about Azerbaijan`s economic development, non-oil sector, as well as its business environment. The Ambassador also highlighted the cause and consequences of Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Dashgin Shikarov also added non-constructive position of Armenia was the main obstacle for solving the conflict. He spoke about the "Justice for Khojaly", campaign initiated by the vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva. The visit of Azerbaijan`s Ambassador to the Emirate was spotlight in UAE`s Media. /By Azernews/ By Nazrin Gadimova James Warlick, OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the U.S., disproved information on a meeting of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenias head Serzh Sargsyan as part of the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington late this week. There are no plans for holding a meeting of the presidents in Washington, Warlick told Trend, emphasizing that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, brokering talks over a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, are ready to promote an active dialogue between the heads of state this year. Armenian media earlier reported that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Summit to mull the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On behalf of the other co-chairs, I plan to hold meetings with the sides to the conflict to discuss developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Warlick added. For more than two decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevans aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s. The OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, proceeding talks based on the renewed Madrid principles. The statements promising a sincere contribution to the peaceful resolution of the conflict have become frequent, but declarative in essence. /By Azernews/ By Aynur Karimova While preventing spread of nuclear weapons remain a top agenda of global security, the world leaders will gather in Washington on March 31 through April 1 to discuss the main challenges for international security. The 4th Nuclear Security Summit will convene on a difficult time when multiple risks undermine the global security. Pyongyang's nuclear and rocket programs, terrorist attacks on Turkey, Belgium and Pakistan, as well as security problems in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have put the world leaders under a pressure to find a solution to such global security problems. In the aftermath of the horrific terror attacks in Brussels, world leaders at a special session during the Nuclear Security Summit next week will discuss threats posed by groups like ISIS to urban areas across the globe and seek solutions to counter such assaults. Next week, dozens of world leaders will come here to Washington for a summit focused on nuclear security," U.S. President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and web address to the nation. "Well use that opportunity to also review our joint efforts against ISIL and to make sure the world remains united in this effort to protect our people. Obama invited Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to attend the Summit which will bring together 56 delegation from the globe. The world leaders will discuss these threats and highlight steps that can be taken together to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism. The visit of President Aliyev to Washington is of particular importance, Novruz Mammadov believes. The deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administrations foreign relations department said in an interview with local TV channel that during the Summit, President Aliyev will talk about the work carried out in Azerbaijan on nuclear safety and on the challenges that are still to be implemented. "Another importance of this summit is that it will hold different meetings, contacts and discussions," he said, noting that such meetings make important steps to uphold bilateral relations," he noted. Today, Azerbaijan, located between East and West, North and South, on the border of Islamic and Christian worlds, plays a specific role in the world security system. Being a reliable partner, Azerbaijan also plays a crucial role in ensuring the energy security of the European continent. In this context, Azerbaijan's security and stability assumes a particular importance urging the partner nations to take necessary steps to restore Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Azerbaijan, located in the heart of South Caucasus, suffers Armenian aggression for over 20 years. Armenian keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory and poses a real threat to the regional security of South Caucasus. Azerbaijan has repeatedly urged the international community to take decisive steps against outdated nuclear power plant constructed in Armenia almost 40 years ago. Addressing the 2014 Hague Summit, President Aliyev spoke about the dangers posed by this obsolete nuclear power plant. He said that this power plant is a big threat to the entire region and the nearby neighbors. "The consequences of any accident will be tragic. Instead of eliminating international concern and closing the power plant, Armenia made a decision to continue operating the nuclear power plant until 2026," the president said voicing a concern that the facility is located in a highly-seismic zone and is based on an outdated and extremely dangerous technology. The Nuclear Security Summit is an important tribune to discuss challenging international problems and to hold bilateral meetings. This year, President Aliyev is expected to hold bilateral meetings with top officials of participating countries. No official information is available about President Aliyev's visit to Washington, but experts believe that the protocol of the visit will include bilateral meetings. Despite the Armenian media's reports about the possible meeting of presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the sidelines of the Summit, this information was denied by James Warlick, the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair. President Aliyev's Washington visit assumes great interest amid warming relations between the U.S. and Azerbaijan. Experts believe the visit may open a new page in Azerbaijan's cooperation with the West. Azerbaijan remains playing an important part in international security system. Firstly, Azerbaijan plays a crucial role in ensuring the energy security of Europe by its giant Southern Gas Corridor project. Secondly, Azerbaijan is located on the crossroads of significant international transport projects running from East to West and from North to South. Thirdly, Azerbaijan enjoys good relations with Iran, Russia, Turkey, Israel and the Arab countries thanks to its wise and farsighted policy pursued by the government. Since regaining its independence, Azerbaijan has been actively involved in combat against cyber crimes, and showing big efforts in fight against nuclear terrorism. Also, Azerbaijan strongly supports the UN's efforts aimed at strengthening the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. One can expect that Azerbaijani president's participation at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit will lead to further proximity between Washington and Baku, and pave the way for achieving mutual understanding on many issues. /By Azernews/ By Aynur Karimova Energy-rich Turkmenistan will continue to realize programs and projects envisaging further development, modernization and diversification of the national fuel and energy complex. Such an instruction was given by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov at the recent meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, the country's government reported. Berdymukhamedov believes that these measures will strengthen the industrial and export potential of the energy sector, increase the volume and expand the range of the country's oil and gas chemical products. Currently, Turkmenistan is implementing a project on construction of large oil and gas chemistry enterprises in the next decade. The government also pays special attention to the development of gas processing industry and increasing production volumes of liquefied natural gas, which enjoys a steadily growing demand on the world market. Turkmenistan has attracted companies from Japan, South Korea and Turkey to the realization of these projects. Turkmenistan, with its 265 trillion cubic feet of proven gas and 600 million barrels of proven oil reserves (EIA, January 2015), is actively implementing an energy strategy aimed at increasing exports of natural gas and diversifying its supply routes to the largest global markets, as well as providing the gas-chemical complexes of the country with necessary raw material. The country exports its natural gas to China and Iran. There are also discussions on gas supply to Europe through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Turkmenistan plans to increase gas extraction to 230 billion cubic meters by 2030, some 180 billion cubic meters of which will be exported. Also, Turkmenistan has developed a plan for construction of industrial facilities, where the production of gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, polyvinyl chloride, acrylic fibers, hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, polystyrene and other gas chemical products will be launched on the basis of advanced technologies for the processing of natural gas. In general, Turkmenistan plans to bring its oil refining industry capacity to 20 million tons in 2020, up to 22 million tons in 2025, and up to 30 million tons in 2030. The country also plans to construct 10 new industrial facilities, engaged in the production of 17 kinds of products. Thus, Turkmenistan will significantly expand its position not only in the market of primary energy resources, but will also take its rightful place in the market for gas and chemical products by betting on a deeper and more complex processing of natural gas and increase of the share of its products in export. Turkey and Russia have agreed on the observation flights that were cancelled Feb. 4, the Haber7 newspaper reported March 28 citing diplomatic sources. Reportedly, a group of Russian observers were expected to fly over Turkeys territory on Feb. 1-5 under the Open Skies Treaty. Earlier, spokesman for Turkeys ruling Justice and Development Party, Omer Celik said the route of the observation flight, proposed by Russia, is a speculation against the backdrop of the crisis in the two countries relations. The hijacker of the Egyptian ?320 aircraft, which landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, has been arrested, Sigma TV channel reported. Reportedly, no explosives have been found on the hijacker. Cyprus government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides has confirmed his arrest. 15:53 (GMT+4) Several more people have left the hijacked Egyptian plane. As shown on live broadcast by the Sky News Arabia TV channel from Larnaca airport, where the jet has landed, at least five people went downstairs, and one, apparently, the pilot, climbed out of the flight deck window, TASS news agency reported. Apparently, all of them are the crew members. Special forces, which are conducing search, meet them in front of the airports building. 15:17 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian ?320, which has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, has demanded to refuel the jet immediately, as he is going to fly to Turkey, Sky News Arabia TV channel reported citing sources in Egypt Air. Currently, 8-9 people, including the crew members and several foreign passengers are aboard. 15:05 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian ?320 aircraft is the former officer of Egyptian army, newsit.com.cy news portal reported. The Phileleftheros newspaper reported that the hijacker is the former employee of Egyptian security forces. The Cypriot police have demanded foreign media outlets to stop the live broadcast from Larnaca airport. 14:38 (GMT+4) Two more hostages have been released from the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, the Cyprus News Agency reported. Two people left the plane several minutes ago, said the agency. Previously, 49 people and later, five more people were released from the hijacked plane. Israeli, UK, Dutch and the US citizens are among the passengers. The exact number of the people aboard hasnt been specified. It was reported that there were 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard. Currently, three crisis management centers are operating at the airport, according to the Cyprus News Agency. 14:24 (GMT+4)The hijacker of Egyptian A320 jet has demanded the release of prisoners in Egypt, Cyprus Radio reported March 29. 13:57 (GMT+4) Seven people: the captain, the second pilot, a stewardess, a security officer and three passengers are still aboard the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, Egypts Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy has said. He said there were 55 passengers aboard when the plane was hijacked. 13:50 (GMT+4) Larnaca airport services havent received information about casualties after the hijack of Egyptian A320 aircraft, an official with the airport has told RIA Novosti. The source noted that according to the Cypriot law, only the countrys Foreign Ministry and the Civil Aviation Department can give official comments on a hijacked plane. 13:25 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the ?320 passenger aircraft of EgyptAir has released five more hostages, TASS news agency reported. For the present, it is unknown whether the released hostages are passengers or crew members, CBC Extra TV channel reported. The pilots and air stewards refused to leave the plane until the hijacker Ibrahim Samaha releases all passengers, according to the report. 13:01 (GMT+4) Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said that the hijack of Egyptian ?320 jet is not a terrorist attack, RIA Novosti reported. Everything is always related to a woman, the president told reporters following the press conference with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz who is in Cyprus. All necessary measures are underway to release the hostages, Anastasiades added. 12:46 (GMT+4) No explosives have been detected aboard the hijacked Egyptian A320 aircraft, Haaretz newspaper reported citing Cypriot sources. 12:30 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian jet Ibrahim Samaha is a lecturer at a university in Atlanta, the US, Al Ahram portal reported citing the sources at intelligence services. 12:02 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian aircraft has asked for a political asylum in Cyprus, Greek Sky TV channel reported. During the talks with the Cyprus authorities, the hijacker asked for a political asylum on the island, according to the TV channel. No other demands have been specified yet, said the report. 11:50 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the ?320 aircraft has been named as Egyptian Ibrahim Samaha, RIA Novosti reported. 11:37 (GMT+4) As a result of the talks with the hijacker, 50 passengers, except five foreigners and the crew, have been released from the Egyptian ?320 aircraft which has landed at Larnaca airport, RIA Novosti reported. They left the plane with hand luggage. 11:25 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian A320 aircraft demands the withdrawal of police forces from Larnaca airport, Cyprus News Agency reported. Reportedly, eight UK and 10 US citizens are aboard the plane. 11:20 (GMT+4) Around 20 passengers have left the hijacked ?-320 aircraft which has landed at Larnaca airport. 11:18 (GMT+4) The hijacker of ?-320 aircraft has let Egyptian citizens to leave the jet, RIA Novosti reported. Moreover, the authorities of Cyprus are holding talks with the hijacker. 11:03 (GMT+4) EgyptAir has confirmed the hijack of MS181 flight and will make an official statement soon, RIA Novosti reported. The Foreign Ministry of Cyprus has also confirmed the hijack of ?-320 aircraft. I can confirm that it was hijacked. We cant officially provide further details, the ministrys spokesperson told Sputnik news agency. 10:58(GMT+4) An unidentified man, who hijacked the EgyptAir aircraft flying from Alexandria to Cairo, threatened the captain and the passengers that he would blow up the suicide belt, if his demand is not fulfilled, RIA Novosti reported citing Al Balad news portal. Reportedly, the aircraft captain managed to inform the dispatchers in Cairo that the plane has been hijacked and will fly to Cyprus. 10:28 (GMT+4) A-320 passenger aircraft, hijacked by unknown people, has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, Reuters reported citing local media outlets. The plane with 81 passengers aboard was travelling from Alexandria to Cairo. 10:23 (GMT+4) A plane of EgyptAir company has been hijacked by unknown people, TASS news agency reported citing Bloomberg. A military delegation from Russia has arrived in the Turkish province of Izmir, the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported March 29. Members of the delegation are now in a military unit located in the vicinity of the Foca district of the countrys Izmir province. This is the first visit of the Russian military delegation to Turkey since the time of crisis between the two countries. Relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated after Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber on Nov. 24, 2015. Turkey said the bomber entered its airspace, while Russia denied its warplane flying into the Turkish skies. It was earlier reported that Turkey and Russia agreed on the observation flights that were cancelled Feb. 4. Reportedly, a group of Russian observers were expected to fly over Turkeys territory on Feb. 1-5 under the Open Skies Treaty. /By Azernews/ By Nazrin Gadimova Armenia, the poorest country in the South Caucasus, is experiencing a deep demographic crisis that negatively affects many spheres, including the country's educational area. The media reports on closing schools in Armenias different regions hints to worsening of social life in rural areas. Sergey Aghajanian, the principal of the secondary school in Dashtadem village of the Lori region, told media that the school has not seen any graduate over the past six years. This school will have a sole graduate only in 2018, only if this student will express desire to continue his education, the principal added. Aghajanian said that the schools have more teachers than students 16 people teach only 12 children. At the same time, the school needs teachers of Armenian literature and language, chess, physics, chemistry and a number of other disciplines. Shortage of skilled personnel is an acute problem of Armenia. If there are any experts that have not left Armenia yet, they have no desire to go in the depths of the country where they will work for peanuts. It is difficult to imagine an atmosphere of melancholy and hopelessness in this school and in the whole country as well. High level migration of people, especially youth, has resulted in the desertification of the post Soviet nation. Falling birth rate has resulted demographic catastrophe in the country's regions, particularly Shirak and Lori suffering reproduction crisis. Lately, Armenian local media reported that the countrys Dzyunashokh village has not seen a birth of a single infant over the past two years. Villages representative Gari Grigoryan said only one or two babies were born per year previously. As a result, villages population has reached 140 people, while this number was 260, according to Grigoryan. Most of the Armenian population left their homeland looking for well-paid job or for job in general. For the first time in nearly 40 years, the population of Armenia fell below the level of 3 million according to the Armenian Statistics Agency. In 2015, the countrys population decreased by 12,000 people, while during the last five years it decreased by 35,000 people, and since gaining independence in 1991 by 634,700 people. Thus, based on the 2011 census, 2.9 million people live in the country as of January 1, 2016. Some experts believe that the phenomenon of emigration is systemic due to Armenias political, economic, social, moral and psychological state. Poverty, corruption, economic difficulties, social vulnerability, external debt and destruction are the main reasons that force people to leave their homes. In fact, labor migration is a worldwide practice for survival. High level corruption and monopoly retain the economic development of the country, while the government has no action plan to improve the situation. The regular protests staged in the capital and regions face brutal police treatment, leaving no hope for better life in the poor post Soviet state. The majority of population see leaving the country as a way out from the situation, and this process seems already irreversible. Those leaving in search of a better living do not return back their home, while the country is getting almost empty year by year. in this situation, only a miracle seems to put life into the economy destroyed by Serzh Sargsyan and his corrupted team. Iran plans to attract foreign investment for Tabriz-Bazargan-Kars railway project, Tohid Akhlaghi, head of East Azerbaijan Province Department of Roads and Urban Development said. The feasibility study on the project which will link Irans Tabriz city to Turkeys Kars was done the last fiscal year (ended March 20), Akhlaghi said, Fars news agency reported March 29. He further said that the necessary licenses for starting the project will be received during the current Iranian fiscal year. The Iranian official further said that his department pursues finalizing the agreement for construction of Tabriz-Bazargan highway which will be implemented by participation of a Turkish investor. Turkish company of Bergiz Insaat is to implement 65 percent of the project and the rest will be constructed by the Iranian government. The highway which covers 253 kilometers is planned to connect the cities of Tabriz and Marand in East Azerbaijan province to West Azerbaijans city of Bazargan near the Turkish border. Bazargan border crossing is a major route through which Iran and Turkey trade. The project which will be constructed in four phases is estimated to need $2 billion worth of investment. A preliminary agreement for investment in the project was signed last year between Irans Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and Turkish Bergiz Company. Akhlaghi said that the highway will be constructed within five years once the final agreement is signed. Leading serviced residence owner-operator The Ascott is continuing to grow its presence in Saudi Arabia with plans to open the Ascott Corniche Al Khobar. At the signing event held in Riyadh, representatives from Ascott and the owner, Riyadh Real Estate Income Company, inked a management contract which puts the project on track for opening in mid-2018. The 172-unit Ascott Corniche Al Khobar will be located on Prince Turki Street within the Corniche area of Al Khobar, the citys most sought-after area and home to a wide selection of restaurants, boutiques and shopping malls. King Fahd Road, Al Khobars main business district, is just 3 km from the serviced residences, while the Al Khobar-Bahrain Causeway is 10 minutes drive away. When fully operational, Ascott Corniche Al Khobar will comprise a stylish blend of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom accommodation spread across 13 floors. Additional facilities will include a restaurant, reception and lobby area, gym, sauna, steam bath, Jacuzzi and covered swimming pool, in addition to a fully-equipped business centre, cigar lounge and ample outdoor car parking. We are delighted to sign the contract with Riyadh Real Estate Income Company to develop Ascott Corniche Al Khobar which, upon its opening in 2018, will be the first branded serviced residence in the prime Corniche district, said Tony Soh, chief operating officer, The Ascott Limited. Designed for travellers who are here for work or on holiday, the property will be an ideal option for short-term or long-stay guests who want the flexibility of being able to do business in Al Khobar or explore the city at leisure from the comfort of a serviced apartment that combines top-notch service with stylish and contemporary design. Whats more, visitors can enjoy a balanced lifestyle thanks to the propertys range of recreational options, whether it is dining in the restaurant or relaxing amidst the health and leisure facilities, he said. As one of the main cities in Saudi Arabias oil-rich Eastern Province, Al Khobar forms what is known as the Triplet Cities along with Dhahran and Dammam, which are approximately 20 km away from one other and together form one of the kingdoms most significant metropolitan areas. Saudi Arabias Eastern Province is well-connected by road to other parts of the kingdom and neighbouring GCC countries including the nearby causeway linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. The location of Ascott Corniche Al Khobar itself will be easily accessible from all parts of Al Khobar city via a well-developed road network. The property will be a short drive from Al Khobars upcoming main railway station which, upon completion in 2017, will link the Eastern Province to Riyadh in less than three hours. - TradeArabia News Service GE Oil & Gas today (March 29) marked the ground-breaking of its multi-modal manufacturing and service facility at the Modon (Saudi Industrial Property Authority) site in the Second Industrial City, Dammam. This new phase of work will build upon the recent expansion of the GE Oil & Gas Pressure Control manufacturing facility that was inaugurated in late 2015 with additional capabilities to manufacture and service the entire range of the companys oil and gas portfolio including artificial lift, digital solutions, downstream technology solutions, turbomachinery solutions and subsea. With the new multi-modal manufacturing centre, GE Oil & Gas is bringing added Made in Saudi capabilities. It will serve as a manufacturing, assembly, repair, services and training facility for advanced gas turbines and mechanical drives. The addition of 18,000 sq m of facilities at the Modon site will create over 100 new jobs in the start-up phase with 80 per cent Saudization. The new facility will also deliver the services of the recently acquired Alstom Grid business, thus offering a full portfolio for customers in the kingdom. GE Oil & Gas president and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli marked the ground-breaking of the expansion in the presence of Abdulaziz Al Abdulkarim, vice president of procurement and supply chainmanagement, Saudi Aramco; Rami Qasem, president and CEO, GE Oil & Gas, Mena (Middle East and North Africa) and Turkey; and other senior dignitaries and officials. Simonelli said: With over 80 years of partnership in the kingdom, we are committed to strengthening our localised manufacturing, service and repair capabilities and to build our already strong local talent pool. The new centre brings cross-functional synergies to our operations in the kingdom and will serve as a one-stop centre for our customers in Saudi Arabia and the region. The integration of all our services at Modon and our continued investments in the kingdom are aimed at supporting the economic goals of the government to promote growth and diversification based on job creation for Saudi nationals and localised manufacturing that enhances Saudi Arabias international competitiveness. Qasem said: The work we are starting now at our Modon site marks another important milestone for GE Oil & Gas partnership in the kingdom. It underlines our commitment to the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) initiative. Were extremely proud of our Saudi team and thank our partners for their continued strong support. We are confident that our IKTVA initiative which we launched last December is steadily gaining momentum, said Al Abdulkarim. As partners such as GE Oil & Gas are demonstrating, IKTVA is a win-win proposition for companies able to build a deep and lasting relationship with the kingdom by setting-up shop here in order localise our materials and services procurements needs, while supporting economic growth, job creation and skills development in Saudi Arabia, he added. The GE Oil & Gas Pressure Control manufacturing facility, the expansion of which opened in November 2015, increased output capacity three times the original. The new expansion phases will further build the portfolio of solutions it offers, further establishing Modon as a hub for GE Oil & Gas to serve the kingdom and the region with greater efficiency. GE Oil & Gas recently completed the first six high-efficiency gas compression trains manufactured in Saudi Arabia that are being provided for Phase One of Saudi Aramcos Master Gas System expansion project in the kingdom. These six compression trains were fully manufactured locally at the GE Manufacturing and Technology Center (Gemtec) in Dammam. With three offices and seven facilities, Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest GE workforce in the Middle East with over 2,000 employees driving the aviation, healthcare, oil and gas, power and water and transportation businesses. TradeArabia News Service A new study has listed `factories automation as one of the top three emerging trends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the UAE in 2023. The other two upcoming trends for 2023 in the two GCC countries, according to the study by Poly, are smart liv Dubai-based global marine terminal operator DP Worlds projects in France and the countrys attractiveness as an investment location came under the spotlight during a recent high-level meeting, in Paris, France. DP World said that its chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem met with the President of France, Francois Hollande and senior government and business leaders at a recent major investment summit, said a statement from the company The discussions also covered infrastructure development, port centric development, distribution and export hubs, rail freight, customs, and other logistics topics, it said. Bin Sulayem outlined DP Worlds contribution to global trade, investment opportunities in France and the potential for further collaboration in the trade, transport and logistics sector, it added. He said: France is an important partner in DP Worlds European operations. Our existing investments in Frances container ports and how they can be given further impetus formed part of the meeting. France has many attributes such as a skilled workforce, good infrastructure, proximity to the European hinterland and a unique position with coastal access to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and North Sea. It was a privilege to highlight our operations there and to provide our knowledge to this major economic power as it seeks to develop investment opportunities in the future, he added. DP World operates marine terminals in the ports of Le Havre and Fos, responsible for handling approximately 50 per cent of all of Frances container traffic, said the statement. The Port of Le Havre on the French north coast is ideally situated as the gateway to Paris and the industrial north. The port is rail linked and has direct access to the River Seine by barge to and from the Paris conurbation, it added. Generale de Manutention Portuaire (GMP), a joint venture between DP World and CMA-CGM, operates two marine terminals in Le Havre. The Terminal de France is the deep-sea container terminal, capable of handling the largest vessels. The Terminaux Nord also includes general cargo and Ro-Ro services. The Eurofos marine terminal at the Port of Fos, near Marseille in the south of France is also a joint venture between DP World and CMA-CGM and is Frances southern gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. Eurofos operates the largest container terminal in France 1.6 km long with four berths. It has direct barge access to the Rhone River leading north to central France including the major city of Lyon and road and rail links into the Western Europe hinterland. Trade between Dubai and France in the first nine months of 2015 reached Dh15.30 billion ($4.17 billion), further added the statement. The UAE is the largest market for French businesses in the Middle East with a quarter of French exports to the region. Over 5,300 French companies trade with the country, 60 per cent of them small medium enterprises (SME) exporters. The UAE also has 250 subsidiaries of French companies present in the country, it stated. TradeArabia News Service The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Dutch police that two brothers were being sought by Belgian authorities a week before the pair blew themselves up in suicide attacks in Brussels, the Dutch interior minister said on Tuesday. Ard van der Steur was responding by letter to questions from Dutch legislators about Belgian brothers Ibrahim ('Brahim') and Khalid El Bakraoui, who prosecutors say took part in the March 22 attacks which killed 35 people, excluding the attackers. A series of missteps and blunders by Belgium's security and intelligence agencies have come to light since the attacks, as well weaknesses in communication between intelligence agencies across Europe. Ibrahim was deported to the Netherlands from Turkey in July 2015, a month after being picked up by Turkish police near the Syrian border. The Netherlands said that when he arrived, his name did not appear on any blacklists so he was not detained. Why he was not deported to Belgium is not clear. "On March 16, the FBI informed Dutch police over the fact that both brothers were sought by Belgian authorities," the minister wrote. Van der Steur said the FBI told the Dutch authorities that Ibrahim was sought by the Belgian authorities for "his criminal background", while Khaled was wanted for "terrorism, extremism and recruitment". In an earlier version of the letter, the minister wrote that the FBI had informed the Dutch authorities of the two brothers, without mentioning that they were wanted by Belgium. This information was then shared at a meeting between Belgian and Dutch authorities on March 17, the minister wrote. But in a statement released in response to his letter, the Belgian federal police denied the brothers were mentioned in a discussion on March 17, when a Dutch police representative visited them. They discussed a shootout in Brussels on March 15 in which an Islamist gunman was shot dead, but there was no mention of the FBI report, the Belgian police said in the statement. The Dutch parliament will debate later on Tuesday which security measures the Netherlands should take in response to the attacks, which killed three Dutch citizens. Islamic State claimed the bombings, carried out by the same network that was behind the Paris attacks in November in which 131 people died. Khalid went missing at the end of October and was on Interpol's wanted list on terrorist charges in December after police discovered a flat used by the Paris attackers that he had been rented using a false name.-Reuters Cyber-attacks remain a top threat, followed by data breaches and unplanned IT and telecom outages, according to a new report. Risks faced by an organisation can range from minor threats to large crises that can threaten your reputation and ultimately your business, said the fifth annual BCI Horizon Scan research study produced in association with BSI (British Standards Institution). The report assesses business preparedness and measures the feelings of business continuity and resilience professionals from 568 organisations globally. It provides an insight into the top 10 threats facing businesses today. 2015 saw a number of high profile businesses across the world hit by cyber-attacks, so it is reassuring to see that so many are aware of the threat it poses. Our research finds it to be the top concern in six out of the eight regions surveyed said Theuns Kotze, regional managing director, BSI Middle East and Africa. Being prepared is critical for an organisation to mitigate risks, by having a comprehensive risk management system in place this will help minimise the impact on a companys reputation, business and brand, he added. However, we remain concerned to see that businesses are still not fully utilising the information available to them to identify and remedy weaknesses in their organisational resilience. It is difficult to conceive that either investors or employees will be reassured that the leaders of the organisations they trust are making strategic decisions without an effective evaluation of risk. Ultimately, organisations must recognise that, while there is risk, and plenty of it, there is also opportunity. Taking advantage of this means that leaders can steer their businesses to succeed by not just surviving, but thriving said Kotze. TradeArabia News Service Ericsson has announced an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) System Design and Management (SDM) program to jointly create innovative solutions for Ericssons Autonomous Driving Predictive Mobility project. The collaboration is a result of significant student interest expressed via a vote at MIT SDMs annual SDM Project Forum and Core Technology Showcase, held in January at the MIT Media Lab, said a statement from the company. Ericsson and MIT SDM will also work together to explore additional ways to work closely together in the future, it said. Ericssons Autonomous Driving project takes an innovative software approach to combining data and analytics. It enables the company to better understand context, driver profiles and network awareness in support of app delivery to the autonomous car, including intelligent media streaming. One of the projects many challenges is how to securely capture the drivers identity to better understand preferences and behaviour. The MIT SDM project team will work with Ericsson to define and design this identity module, it added. The 2016 SDM Core Technology Showcase attracted about 300 SDM students and faculty, as well as representatives from companies that presented 28 projects for students to judge and vote on for further development. SDM fellows, who will earn a masters in engineering and management from MIT upon graduating, ranked Ericssons among the top two projects to pursue and deliver in May. This collaboration establishes an innovation-based relationship with the prestigious research university, said the statement. Mike Kaul, vice president, technology, business unit support solution at Ericsson, said: We are eager to team with MIT to push the boundaries of autonomous car innovation. MITs SDM program combines multiple academic disciplines, including engineering, management and systems thinking, for top-tier mid-career professionals with several years of work experience who want to innovate and lead. Their participation will offer fresh insight, and creative perspective to Ericssons important Autonomous Driving project, he added. SDM, the MIT masters program in engineering and management, was created in 1996 in response to industrys need to develop future generations of leaders. Offered jointly by MITs School of Engineering and the MIT Sloan School of Management, SDM is one of the worlds first graduate programs to integrate engineering, management, and systems thinking with leadership and innovation. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT, with five schools and one college that contain a total of 32 departments, is often cited as among the world's top universities. TradeArabia News Service Thousands of technology professionals attended the opening day of the two-day Internet of Things Expo (IoTX) and the one-day Gulf Enterprise Mobility Exhibition & Conference (Gemec) in Dubai, UAE. IoTX witnessed a jam-packed conference audience engaged in a series of discussions focussed on how firms can capitalise commercially on the booming regional Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Younus Nasser, assistant director general, Dubai Smart Government Office, delivered a keynote address outlining that peoples happiness is the entitys ultimate success indicator. Technology today can deliver city-wide social happiness and as we transform Dubai into the worlds smartest city, the Smart Dubai blueprint will define smart city transformation, said Nasser. Headline Gemec discussions focussed on how heightened enterprise mobility will transform companies customer engagement strategies and how forensics, access controls and authentication can limit mobile security threats in a mobile embedded world. Ashi Sheth, manager Enterprise Platforms of Netflix, delivered the keynote address. A new umbrella identity collecting Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference (Gisec), IoTX, The Big Data Show and Gemec, the exhibition element of Future Technology Week collects more than 180 exhibitors displaying innovative solutions and products on the show floor. Future Technology has attracted a high-profile contingent of the worlds leading technology companies including AdvanTech, BT, Cisco, Dark Matter, DELL, Ericsson, GE, Huawei, Intel, Microsoft, Pacific Controls and SAP amongst others. Future Technology Week runs until March 31 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), with IoTX concluding on March 30, the two-day Gisec opening on March 30 and the one-day The Big Data Show running on March 31. TradeArabia news Service The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has announced that Abu Dhabi, UAE will host the 24th Global Annual Conference of the Women in Nuclear (WiN) organization. The event, to be held under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, president of the General Womens Union, chairwoman of Motherhood and Childhood Supreme Council, will mark the first annual conference of WiN in the Middle East and is scheduled to take place in November. The WiN conference draws attendees from around the world, from a network of more than 25,000 members in more than 100 countries. Participants from the UAE include representatives from the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation, Khalifa University and Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, among others. At Enec, we are committed to encouraging the development of our female staff. I am impressed by the talented women who serve in crucial roles in the safe and quality-driven development of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, said Mohamed Al Hammadi, Enec CEO. The selection of Abu Dhabi to host the WiN Global Annual Conference is testament to the hard work and commitment of the women who are working to develop the UAEs peaceful nuclear energy program. WiN is a global organization that supports and encourages women working in nuclear industries. The WiN UAE Chapter, which celebrated its first anniversary in May 2015, accomplished several major achievements in its first year. Members attended and presented at the 2014 and 2015 WiN Global Annual Conferences in Australia and Austria, respectively, and at the International Atomic Energy Agencys headquarters in Vienna, Austria. With its Energy Pioneers scholarship programme, Enec supports the future nuclear energy leaders who will oversee safe operations of the countrys first nuclear energy plant. Currently, more than 27 per cent of students in Enecs educational programs are female and the percentage of female students increases to 36 per cent in the Higher Diploma in Nuclear Technology programme. By 2020, Enec will need approximately 2,500 employees to operate its four nuclear reactors at Barakah in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, with 60 per cent of these roles to be filled by Emiratis. Construction of the UAEs first nuclear energy plant continues to progress safely at Barakah, with Unit 1 now more than 85 per cent complete and all four units more than 62 per cent complete. Once operational, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant will provide up to a quarter of the UAEs electricity needs and save up to 12 million tons of carbon emissions annually. TradeArabia News Service Panasonic Corporation recently passed the halfway mark of its "100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project" with the cumulative number of solar lanterns donated exceeding 50,000. This project began in February 2013 with a donation of 3,000 units to Myanmar, followed by donations to other areas in Asia and Africa without access to electricity. The number of solar lanterns donated was 10,000 for 3 countries in FY2013, 14,114 for 10 countries in FY2014 and 20,364 for 11 countries in FY2015. In FY2016, Panasonic continued to donate solar lanterns, and on March 10, 2016, 702 units were donated to Yen Bai province in Vietnam. With this, the sum total of solar lanterns donated exceeded 50,000. After this, in mid-March 2016, Panasonic donated 2,400 units to Cambodia and 760 units to Bangladesh. Furthermore, donations to Indonesia, India, and the Democratic Republic of Congo will be made by the end of March 2016, bringing the sum total to more than 60,000 units. The "100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project" is one of Panasonic's corporate citizenship activities (social contribution activities) that utilize "products" it manufactures. Panasonic aims to donate 100,000 solar lanterns under this project by 2018, the 100th anniversary of the company's founding. In principle, recipients are non-profit, non-governmental, humanitarian and international organizations. So far, 80 organizations in 16 countries have received these solar lanterns. Reports from these organizations have indicated that these solar lanterns have been put to effective use for various activities including children's studies, literacy education for adults, safer child delivery and medical treatment, and income-generation, and have helped improve the quality of life of people living in rural, off-grid areas. TradeArabia News Service State-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) recently announced plans to invest about $10 billion into three major onshore projects over the next five to 10 years, a report said. The three initiatives earmarked for development Rabab Harweel, Yibal Khuff and Budour are all located in the south of PDOs Block 6 concession, added the report from Oxford Business Group. Estimates suggest that the blocks reserves could contribute up to one-third of PDOs future oil production and expand its gas output significantly. In a separate development, the state-owned national petroleum investment company Oman Oil Company (OOC) and BP inked a deal in mid-February to extend their exploration and production-sharing agreement at the Khazzan natural gas field into a second development phase, which will see an additional 1000-sq-km block added to the project. The Khazzan field, which will now cover a total area of 3700 sq km, will be developed in phases, with plans for it to be fully operational by 2020. Developers expect production in the order of 1.5 billion standard cu feet (scf) of gas per day, equivalent to 40 per cent of Omans current output. Estimates suggest that the field holds at least 10.5 trillion scf of recoverable gas reserves. Bob Dudley, CEO of BP said that the $16 billion project, which involves more than 325 wells over 15 years, as well as construction of a three-train central processing facility, will deliver long-term value. Khazzan is a major resource with the potential to produce gas for Oman for decades, he said in a statement. Additional gas supplies will provide welcome feedstock for processing, supporting Omans plans to expand its downstream and petrochemicals sectors. Supplies will be used for domestic energy consumption and channelled into the countrys growing network of chemical plants, including the $3.6 billion Liwa plastics development at Sohar, which is due to come on-line in 2019. Opec member Iran expects to attend an oil producers meeting in Doha next month but this does not mean it will take part in negotiations over a production freeze, a source familiar with Iranian thinking said on Tuesday. "An invitation has been extended... We support it but it doesn't mean we will join in the freeze talks," the source told Reuters. Qatar has invited all Opec members and major producers from outside the exporting group to attend talks on April 17 on a deal to freeze output to support the global oil market.-Reuters An Egyptair domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday and landed in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said. The pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger strapped with explosives, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 passengers were on board and a crew of seven. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said. Latest reports suggested some passengers of the plane are being freed. The ministry in a statement that pilot Omar Al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. CYBC said the airplane was parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, it said. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the plane hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. - Reuters The new hospitality division of Dubai-based developer Seven Tides International will be marking its first Arabian Travel Market (ATM) appearance under the brand banner of Seven Tides Hospitality. The new division will unveil its latest development plans for the beach club and provide an update on its latest project the British-themed Dukes Dubai on Palm Jumeirah. Speaking about the new hospitality division, Seven Tides CEO Abdulla Bin Sulayem said: Seven Tides international has been operating since 2004 and over the last decade we have been immersed within the hospitality sector, with a collection of luxury properties in London and Dubai to our credit, and this has given us invaluable insight into many aspects of the industry. Therefore, the decision to launch a dedicated hospitality division was a natural progression, which clearly delineates our hospitality portfolio from other investments, providing a vertical focus as we head towards Expo 2020 and 20 million visitors, he added. The company, which believes in taking a uniquely personal approach to hospitality, as reflected in its hand-selected portfolio of exclusive properties, will also focus on continuing to differentiate the brand in the market. We want to create an experience when guests walk into Seven Tides Hospitality-owned properties. Creating a unique proposition that will set us aside from the competition is our top priority in todays competitive market, said Bin Sulayem. As for the future, we are constantly evaluating new opportunities in various markets and considering different models, including the possible development of a three or four-star brand. We will continue to focus on identifying character-led projects in prime locations all future hospitality projects, will be owned and operated by Seven Tides Hospitality, concluded Bin Sulayem. With the prime location on the west trunk of Palm Jumeirah, the citys most exclusive island community, the landscaped leisure activities at Oceana Beach Club, which is located just behind the yet to open Dukes Dubai, consists of three outdoor pools including an infinity pool and lazy river, a private beach, a kids club and of course West 14th grill and bar. We recently took over the management of the award-winning Manhattan style grill and bar. The casual but upmarket steakhouse is a perfect fit for our overall food and beverage offering. The Dubai Marina and JBR skylines, provide a spectacular backdrop especially after sunset, said Bin Sulayem. In addition to West 14th, the beach club will benefit from a new food and beverage concept. The upmarket lounge will feature a Mediterranean-inspired menu with azure decor, scatter cushions and soft furnishings for the ultimate chill out. We hope Zen will become a preferred late night venue for the citys in-crowd. said Bin Sulayem. In addition, plans are afoot for a new state-of-the-art gym with panoramic views over Palm Jumeirah an outdoor functional training venue, and a signature sun spa. This will broaden the appeal of both Oceana and Dukes Dubai, especially with the corporate, events and Mice markets. added Bin Sulayem. Seven Tides Hospitality will also provide the latest update of their Dukes Dubai hotel and hotel apartments project which will deliver an upscale blend of cosmopolitan luxury with British charm and traditional service. On schedule for Q4 2016 opening, accommodation options at Dukes Dubai include 279 guestrooms and suites including a women-only Duchess floor with 20 rooms, female butlers, themed amenities and a dedicated breakfast area; plus 227 hotel-managed studios and one-bedroom apartments, all with Arabian gulf, Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah or city views. Award-winning British executive chef, Martin Cahill, heads up the culinary team and will oversee a total of five dining venues including the signature Great British Restaurant and Dukes Bar will bring quintessential London style to Dubais after dark scene. During the four-day travel event, which runs from April 25 to 28, Seven Tides Hospitality will also showcase three other elements of its luxury portfolio, including the flagship Dukes Dubai London hotel, Anantara The Palm Dubai Residences and soon-to-open Dukes Dubai. - TradeArabia News Service Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 501,862 passengers in February, up 11.3 per cent year-on-year compared to 451,097 passengers received in the same month last year. The airport also registered a remarkable 12.4 per cent year-on-year growth in aircraft movement (ACM) figures, reaching 5,584 ACM in February. Additionally, QAIA handled 7,979 tons of cargo as opposed to 6,996 tons during the same month last year, resulting in a 14.1 per cent rise. During the first two months of 2016, QAIA received a total of 1,069,685 passengers, marking an 8.7 per cent year-to-date increase against passenger figures recorded during the same period last year. Additionally, in January and February 2016, year-to-date ACM figures climbed by 10.1 per cent, while cargo handled rose by 12.4 per cent compared to those recorded in the first two months of 2015. For the second month in a row, QAIAs performance has improved across the board, welcoming an increased number of passengers to Jordans prime gateway to the world, as well as recording enhanced ACM and cargo traffic figures for the month of February, said AIG CEO, Kjeld Binger. Earlier this month, QAIA secured its second consecutive first-place win in the category of Best Airport by Region: Middle East in the 2015 Airport Service Quality Survey, the worlds leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmark program. We aim to build upon this momentum, which has the potential to positively impact the Jordanian tourism sector and thus its economy at large, as we look forward to witnessing further enhanced results in the months to come. - TradeArabia News Service An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday by a man Cypriot state media said was demanding the release of women prisoners in Egypt. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released everyone onboard except three passengers and four crew following negotiations, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said. He declined to give their nationalities. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) and a private broadcaster, Antenna, said the hijacker was asking for the release of women prisoners in Egypt, suggesting a political motive. He had also asked to get in touch with European Union officials, CyBC reported, citing a letter the hijacker dropped onto the apron at Larnaca airport. The plane remained on the tarmac at Laranca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. Security sources in Egypt said a separate New York-bound flight from Cairo was delayed due to security fears related to the hijacking. They gave no more details. While the reasons for the hijacking were not entirely clear, the incident will deal another blow to Egypt's tourism industry and hurt efforts to revive an economy hammered by political unrest following the 2011 uprising. The sector, a main source of hard currency, was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. The latest reports on Tuesday's hijacking contradict earlier statements by Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and other Cypriot security sources suggesting the hijacker's motives were personal and linked to an ex-wife who lived in Cyprus. There was also some confusion over the identity of the hijacker. Egypt's official state news agency MENA initially named him as Egyptian national Ibrahim Samaha but later said the hijacker was called Seif Eldin Mustafa. The Cypriot Foreign Affairs Ministry also identified the hijacker in a tweet as Mustafa. The Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who claimed to be wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to divert the plane to Larnaca. "We do not know until now if this was a threat or if he was really wearing an explosive belt," Fethy told the news conference, adding that the hijacker was not carrying a gun. Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. Passengers on the plane included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a Syrian and French national, the Civil Aviation Ministry. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said earlier a Dutchman was among the foreigners still aboard. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day seige had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. Egypt said it would send a plane to Cyprus to pick up stranded passengers, some of whom had been traveling to Cairo for connecting flights abroad.- Reuters CHEYENNE Virtually the entire state of Wyoming is under a winter storm-related warning, watch or advisory as another snowstorm targets the state. The heaviest snow is expected to fall in the Riverton-Lander and Casper areas. Lander already received 6 inches Tuesday morning. Casper is expecting around a foot of snow, while 2 to 3 feet is possible in the mountains. A blizzard warning has been posted for much of Johnson County in north-central Wyoming. A blizzard watch is in effect for Converse and Niobrara counties, including Douglas and Lusk. Casper, Cody, Riverton, Rawlins and Laramie are under a winter storm warning, while Cheyenne and Gillette are under a winter storm watch. Wolves have been blamed for the deaths of two yearling heifers on a ranch near the southern Montana town of Absarokee, prompting state wildlife officials to set snares near the cattle carcasses. The cattle deaths were reported Friday. Director of Montana Wildlife Services John Steuber says the wolves are believed to be from the same Rosebud pack that killed a yearling on a neighboring ranch in January. The pack has also been held responsible for the deaths of two calves last year. Wildlife Service killed two of the wolves after the incident earlier this year, and plans to eradicate the entire pack. According to Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 44 cattle were killed by wolves in Montana last year and 14 were injured. Arizona continues adding jobs in the high-wage bioscience sector, which includes businesses such as Tucsons Accelerate Diagnostics. The sector might slow, though, due to lagging research and grant revenue. Arizonas bioscience industry has continued its long-standing trend of high-wage job growth, but declining grant and research revenue may challenge future growth, a new report shows. According to the latest Arizona Bioscience Roadmap update, Arizona added 36,700 bioscience jobs between 2002 and 2014, a 49 percent increase to 110,410, including hospitals. That outpaced national growth in bioscience jobs of 14 percent during the same period, according to a report released Tuesday by TEConomy Partners, formerly Battelle Technology Partnership Practice. Also on the plus side, capital invested in Arizona bioscience companies reached its highest figure in four years, and all measures of bioscience tech transfer at Arizona universities are on the rise, with increases in startups, invention disclosures, patents and licenses, the TEConomy report said. There is evidence of innovation throughout Arizona and many positive economic signs, as the number of high-paying bioscience jobs continues to increase at an impressive rate, Mitch Horowitz, principal and managing director of TEConomy Partners, said in a news release. But declining research dollars and expenditures raise concerns about the industrys long-term capacity to keep adding jobs. National Institutes of Health grants and bioscience-related academic research-and-development expenditures both dropped in the latest year of data and are failing to keep pace with the nation, TEconomy found. If creative steps are not taken to reverse these trends, the states bioscience industry will be hard-pressed to keep growing, Horowitz said. The Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation commissioned the latest performance analysis as part of its coordination of Arizonas Bioscience Roadmap, a long-term strategy to guide the state through 2025. The report will formally be presented at an event in Tucson on Wednesday. Other findings of the Bioscience Roadmap update: Arizona added 36,700 bioscience jobs between 2002 and 2014, a 49 percent increase that brings todays total to 110,410, including hospitals. Bioscience jobs have grown nationally at a 14 percent rate during this time. The average salary of an Arizona bioscience worker is $61,823, compared to $46,514 for the states private sector. In 2015, Arizonas bioscience industry attracted $82 million in venture-capital investments, the highest level since 2011 and the third straight year of growth. The states 0.56 percent share of bioscience venture capital investments nationwide is the highest rate since 2011, but its still well below goals set in the roadmap. NIH funding was $151 million in 2015, down from $158 million in 2014. Since the start of the Roadmap in 2002, Arizonas NIH annual funding has grown 12 percent compared to 40 percent for the top 10-funded states. Arizona generally had met or exceeded that top 10 growth rate during previous years. Bioscience research and development spending dropped slightly to $451 million in 2014, and Arizonas growth rate of 55 percent since 2002 falls short of the national growth rate of 78 percent. University bio-related startups increased 24 percent in 2014-15 compared with the previous two years. During the same period, there was a 72 percent increase in patents and a 54 percent increase in invention disclosures. Setting aside hospitals, the largest bioscience subsector, Arizona has 24,040 bioscience jobs in 1,284 companies or institutions, with an annual wage of $76,360, TEConomy found. Ron Shoopman, chairman of Arizonas Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, said hes encouraged by the continued growth of the bioscience industry and its rising venture investment. Alex Chaffin had just sold his iconic family diner to a Phoenix joint that sells gourmet soul food, when he got a call from John Abbott. Abbott's family owns the 90-year old Rincon Market, a midtown grocery store that's mostly known for its outstanding fish department. The two had been friends since 2013, when a fire had forced the market to shut down for an entire year. During that time the Abbott family would eat lunch regularly at Chaffin's Diner on Broadway, and once even brought a case of plates to the restaurant as a gift. So when Abbott asked Chaffin if he'd like to take over the kitchen at Rincon Market, the answer was a big fat yes. For the past month, the young chef has been giving a new face to one of Tucson's oldest markets, and bringing some classic Chaffin's dishes back from the dust bin. "When you think of Rincon Market, most people think of Yuri (the fishmonger)," Chaffin said. "We want them to think of our breakfast." For his new breakfast menu, which is scaled down to fit on a single white paper page, Chaffin is going for fresh and fast. It's a little bit diner and a little bit coffee shop, with gluten-free options and a full list of breakfast crepes from the crepe stone. The fat slabs of steamy country potatoes have been replaced with hash browns; the eclectic omelet selection is now build your own. What's still there? Benedicts like the spinach-stuffed Eggs Florentine and smoked salmon Royale (now offered on weekends), French toast and Belgian waffles, the Country Breakfast with Boar's Head bacon and miraculously the Hawaiian Loco Moco platter. (But to give it a fancy touch, they now grind their own hamburger meat!) But unlike the original Chaffin's, the new digs have a beer and wine license. So that means mimosas and Bellinis by the glass and by the carafe, poured with premium Spanish Cordorniu cava. Or you can just get your food to-go, and now even by delivery. (Soon on the Tapingo phone app.) The new operation boasts a sizable hot line where dishes are made to order in under five minutes. But, that doesn't necessarily mean it's being made by Chaffin himself. This gig has him in more of a consulting position. "I can't do that anymore," he said. "I've done that half my life, and now it's time for the team to take over." DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. The 355th Fighter Wing commander, U.S. Air Force Col. James Meger, reached out to Airmen of Davis-Monthan AFB to get ideas for innovating the base through a new initiative called Innovate DLT, which gives Airmen a direct line to Meger and allows them to define a problem or propose an improvement that will impact members of the base. Staff Sgt. Alfred Ramirez, 355th Force Support Squadron fitness assessment cell NCO in charge, and Senior Airman Jasmin Martin 355th FSS fitness assessment cell assistant NCOIC, proposed a way to save time and resources by transitioning all physical paperwork to digital copies in the FAC. According to Ramirez, the FAC spends approximately $7,000 annually on office supplies such as paper, printer ink and toner. In comparison, they project the cost of going paperless would be $5,000 to $10,000 over the next 5-10 years. Every month we have augmentees and they shred a million papers, said Martin. Going digital, would just make their lives and our lives a lot easier. Ramirez and Martin presented the idea to reduce stress on both the FAC and the Airmen participating in the FAs. Airmen would forget to bring the required paperwork because they were more concerned about showing up with their ID card and wearing the appropriate PT gear. (It will) increase the timeliness of our operations, Martin said. We have augmentees that come monthly that will be able to get back to their work centers a lot quicker. If someone (didnt) get their copy the day of, (we) would have it on file in our secured drive. Well be able to find their test a lot easier from there, rather than flipping through papers. Gregory Valencia Shot man in case involving stolen bicycle. Joey Healer Killed man who paid him to run errands. PHOENIX Two inmates who as juvenile killers in Tucson were deemed too dangerous to ever let out of prison will now get a chance to be released someday. The state Court of Appeals said Monday that a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court says life sentences can be imposed only on the rarest of juvenile offenders, those whose crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility. And Judge Philip Espinosa, writing for the unanimous court, pointed out that the justices said their ruling is retroactive, meaning it applies to prior sentences. But the ruling does not guarantee that either Joey Lee Healer, 38, or Gregory Valencia Jr., 37 both behind bars for separate killings in the 1990s will escape their life prison terms. Instead, it gives their attorneys a chance to argue to judges that they should be able to get out eventually. Healer at age 16, killed Chester Iserman, a retired railroad worker, so he could steal his pickup truck. In imposing the life term, former Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo said he considered Healer too dangerous to ever be released. Its not easy to accept that one so young poses a threat to society, the judge wrote. But Leonardo said the evidence showed the 1994 slaying was not impulsive but instead the calculated, cold-blooded murder of the 74-year-old victim, who treated Healer kindly by paying him money to run errands. In the other case, Valencia was convicted in the 1995 killing of 45-year-old Fred George, a south-side Tucson neighborhood activist. Prosecutors said Valencia shot George after the victim confronted teens outside his Midvale Park condominium. George had said he was going to call police about a bicycle Valencia and another teen had stolen. Thats when Valencia shot George once behind the left ear. The defendant is a continuing threat to the community, former Pima County Superior Court Judge Margaret Houghton said at the time. The court believes that the only way to protect the public from Gregory Valencia is through a natural life sentence. Prosecutors argued to the appellate court that the Supreme Court ruling should not entitle the pair to resentencing because their life sentences were not mandatory. But Espinosa said the high court ruling renders a life sentence constitutionally impermissible, notwithstanding the sentencing courts decision to impose a lesser term, unless the court takes into account how children are different and how those differences counsel against irrevocably sentencing them to a lifetime in prison. And he said that, even after taking those factors into account, a court can impose a life term only if it concludes that the juvenile defendants crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility. A small Indiana town is asking Tucson police to hand over a Tommy gun taken from notorious outlaw John Dillinger more than 80 years ago. Tucson police confiscated the Colt Thompson submachine gun when they arrested Dillinger on Jan. 25, 1934. The weapon is now stored behind display glass at Tucson police headquarters on South Stone Avenue. Peru, Indiana, officials told the Kokomo Tribune they are convinced Dillinger and his gang took the gun from Peru police during a brazen robbery in late 1933. Peru officials are asking Tucson to return the gun, but Tucson residents may want to keep the gun here, said TPD Sgt. Pete Dugan, noting Tucson police officers were the ones who made the arrest. We understand its a big part of their history, Dugan said of Perus claim on the gun. But its also a big part of Tucsons history. Several guns were taken from Dillinger and his accomplices, Dugan said. Figuring out the origin of each of the different guns can be a difficult task. Peru officials told the Kokomo Tribune the serial number, 5878, is proof the gun was stolen when a Dillinger accomplice posed as an insurance agent and asked Peru police to lay out their guns so he could give them a quote on insuring them. Later that night, Dillinger and accomplice Harry Pierpont raided the police station, held the officers at gunpoint and made off with a shotgun, pump rifles, pistols, a bullet-proof vest, a pair of handcuffs and the Tommy gun. Thats the story told by Peru City Attorney Pat Roberts, son of one of the officers on duty during the robbery in 1933. The serial number was included in a police report at the time of the robbery in Peru, the Tribune reported. The number also matches records gathered by Gordon Herigstad, who published a book called Colt Thompson Submachine Gun Serial Numbers & Histories. The book details the narrative of the 15,000 submachine guns manufactured outside of wartime production. The Dillinger gang never returned to Peru, but the gun was used to hold up the First National Bank of East Chicago on Jan. 15, 1934, the Tribune reported. Ten days later, Dillinger was in handcuffs in Tucson. Roberts told the Tribune the city may have a hard time convincing Tucson police the gun rightfully belongs in Peru. One stumbling block is that Peru needs to find a copy of the purchase order to seal its case, he said. OPINION: "To be sure, we have much more to accomplish at our borders, most notably by fixing our dysfunctional immigration system. But the pending progress on border infrastructure through port modernization is a monumental achievement and a big part of the picture that needs to be taken ful PHOENIX Child welfare workers can interview children without the consent of their parents, Attorney General Mark Brnovich concluded Monday. In a 10-page formal opinion, Brnovich said a contrary finding by the Arizona Obudsman office is legally wrong. In fact, the attorney general suggested that opinion was based on hypertechnical textual analysis. Mondays opinion is a victory for Greg McKay, director of the state Department of Child Safety. He has consistently insisted that interviews without parental consent have been agency practice for some time. And McKay said he could find no court rulings to the contrary. Brnovich agreed. An attorney generals opinion does not carry the same weight as a published appellate court ruling. But it can be cited by attorneys in a legal battle. Potentially more significant, state agencies are entitled to rely on that opinion. The legal dispute came after a mother complained in 2014 that DCS staffers took her children out of school. The issue in that case was a report of neglect involving her brothers children. According to reports, her children were living in the same home as the brother. The case was classified not as abuse but the lesser offense of neglect. Based on that, the ombudsman said state law required DCS to get the mothers permission to conduct interviews. Brnovich disagreed, saying there are provisions in state law creating exceptions. And he said one of those exceptions is when there is an investigation that DCS is statutorily authorized to do. Health officials have confirmed Arizonas first case of the Zika virus in a Maricopa County woman. The state Department of Health Services and Maricopa Department of Public Health said Monday that the unidentified adult woman traveled outside the U.S. to a Zika-affected area before developing symptoms. Public health officials would not say where the woman had traveled. Authorities say the risk of the virus spreading throughout Arizona is low, and the states public health system has a plan in place. Zika virus is a type of flavivirus that is primarily transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. A link has been identified between the virus and birth defects among infants of infected mothers. Most people infected with the Zika virus dont become ill and those who do have symptoms that may include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. We have been expecting a travel-associated case of Zika virus, and we believe more infections are likely as people travel to and from areas where the disease is currently being transmitted, Arizona Department of Health Services director Dr. Cara Christ said in a news release. Prior to 2015, Zika virus outbreaks occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infections in Brazil. Earlier this month, a 29-year-old Hermosillo resident who traveled to Brazil in February was the first case of Zika in Sonora, Mexican officials said. Currently, outbreaks are occurring in many countries. PHOENIX The top election officials for the state and Maricopa County admitted Monday to making mistakes that led to hours-long lines at polling places for last weeks presidential primary. But both insisted there were reasons for the decisions they made. Secretary of State Michele Reagan acknowledged she knew that Maricopa County had set up only 60 polling locations. That compares with about 200 in 2012, when there was only a Republican primary, and more than 400 in 2008 when both major parties had contested primaries. We put our faith in counties, she said. And Reagan said she was excited that Maricopa as well as other counties had set up polling centers where any registered voter could cast a ballot, rather than having to show up at his or her own designated location. But Reagan said she shares at least some of the blame. I wish I had questioned that 60 were not enough, she said. For that I take responsibility. Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell, whose office set up the election, was more direct when questioned by lawmakers. I made a giant mistake, she confessed. Thats an understatement, shot back Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, who chairs the House Elections Committee. And several of those testifying at a hearing demanded Purcell resign. But Purcell said there was reason to believe 60 locations would be enough. There were 1.2 million residents eligible to participate in the primary. But Purcell said 890,000 were on a permanent early voting list, meaning they had gotten ballots in the mail and would not be expected to turn out on election day. And given the 2008 turnout of 23 percent, Purcell figures that would mean 71,300 actually going to the polls. As it turned out, the actual number showing up at polls was 83,489. Yet there were lines all day long and some voters did not get to cast ballots until after midnight despite arriving before the polls official closing time of 7 p.m. Jen Marson, lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Counties, blamed some of the problem on what she said is the lack of state funding. Marson pointed out that lawmakers agreed in 2012 to cover the full cost of the primary. But last year, in a budget-saving move, lawmakers trimmed funding to $1.25 per registered voter. And legislation to restore funding tied to eliminating future presidential primaries has yet to get final approval. That did not impress Rep. Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler. He pointed out that the $1.25 figure is the same amount lawmakers gave the counties back in 2008. Ugenti agreed, saying there really was no funding cuts. Counties dont see it that way, Marson said. And Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, pointed out that legislation Reagan proposed to restore funding was linked to eliminating future presidential primaries. Tied up in all of this is the question of whether the shortage of polling places, coupled with where they were and were not located, violated the federal Voting Rights Act. That law specifically prohibits states from doing anything that discriminates against minorities or dilutes or impairs their ability to vote. Based on its prior history of discrimination, Arizona was one of nine states that had to submit any changes in voting laws to the U.S. Department of Justice for preclearance. That included changing the location and number of polling places. In 2013, however, the U.S. Supreme Court voided that preclearance requirement. Clark suggested to Purcell that her decision to set up just 60 polling places never would have met with Department of Justice approval. Purcell, in acknowledging the rest of the anti-discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act remain, conceded she never considered whether the sharp drop in places to vote might have violated the law. Several of the speakers said there were many people who did not get to cast a ballot, having decided the lines were too long. And there were other problems, not all of which were limited to Maricopa County. Danny Robinson told lawmakers how his daughter stood in line for hours but was told she could not vote because Pima County officials listed her as a political independent. Shes always been registered as a Democrat, shes always voted as a Democrat, he said. Suddenly shes been changed. He said that disenfranchised his daughter. I want justice for my daughter, Robinson said. I want a revote. We will explore everything, said Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler. But Mesnard threw cold water on that, saying there are too many hurdles, including disenfranchising those who did manage to vote. Reagans comments that she was interested in improving the process for voters drew a skeptical, if not outright hostile, response from Rep. Jonathan Larkin, D-Glendale. He pointed out her office is sponsoring SB 1516, an extensive rewrite of state election laws. Larking called that basically a dark money bill that will make it easier for organizations that dont disclose donors to spend money on elections. That drew a sharp response from Mesnard, who said that was injecting politics into the hearing. And he said that question has nothing to do with the questions about the problems with the primary. Larkin would not back down. This is a voter suppression matter, he said. How can the voters trust that the secretary of states office is acting in their best interest when we are pushing such policies like SB 1516. During the hearing, there also were complaints from some people who pointed out that results were being released by counties and Reagans office even as people were still standing in line. Reagan said that was in accordance with state law. But if the law was to change, we would certainly follow it, she said. Attorney General Mark Brnovich made that suggestion last week. Help India! By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net, A few decades ago, if a Muslim woman from Malabar clad in a burqa had gone to Ernakulam, people would have looked at her astonished. Because, burqa or any such dress was unfamiliar in southern Kerala. But now, anyone can see women in burqa or girls wearing head-scarves walking through the busy streets of Ernakulam. Hijab is no more new in the work places, educational institutions and public functions in Kerala. Support TwoCircles Salma of Kaloor, Ernakulam, tells us how it was to wear hijab at a time when no one wore it here. I began wearing the hijab about 15 years ago, when I joined an Arabic College and learned Islam, its principles and the Holy Quran. That was in the late 1980s. No one in my place used to cover heads or wear full-sleeved blouses. When I adopted hijab, people began to mock at me. Every time I went out wearing the burqa, people would swarm around and call me names like bear. A Kerala Muslim girl in traditional clothes in Malappuram. Salma recalls the first time when she returned home from hostel wearing a hijab. Her brother who was at the bus stop could not recognize her. She had to hold him by hand to make him understand. That was in the past. Now burqa or head-scarf or any sort of hijab is not new to Ernakulam. Earlier only women coming from other places used to wear hijab. And the people of Ernakulam looked down upon them as traditional and anti-modern. Now the situation has changed altogether. Saliha and Assia are witness to this change. Saliha and Assia are sisters. They hail from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. They came to Ernakulam around 30 years ago when their husbands came in search of jobs. They used to wear hijab in their native place. They wore purdah and head-scarf. But when they wore it in Ernakulam, people laughed at their dressing. Saliha says, People would come out of their houses and stand at the gates to see us walking wearing purdah. Children would run after us, pulling the end of scarf or shawl we wore. People would shout, Look, crows are going! Then the street children would call out, Crows! Crows! Then we stopped wearing purdah, and so we went out only very rarely. And now? Lets go back to Saliha. We began using the purdah permanently only about 15 years ago. By then,a sea-change had occurred in peoples attitude. Now you can see many people in the streets wearing burqa or any other sort of hijab. Earlier, only people who came from other districts wore hijab. Kochiites were always fashion-loving people. Kochi has really changed now. And now, burqa is fashionable. A shop in Cochin selling hijabs. Indeed hijab is fashionable now. There are different types of burqas and head-scarfs. Now, women want to wear burqas of the most modern fashion. Many textile companies like the Hoorulyn are famous for their brand of burqas and head-scarves. They have different varieties and fashions of hijab. In these circumstances, wont it be wise to look back to know how it was about fifty years ago? Back to Malabar of the 1950s, and we can see only some women of Thangal (supposed to be of the lineage of Prophet p.b.u.h.) and moulvi families wearing the burqa which covered the whole body. Very few wore naqaab. They went out only at nights, that is, if they had to meet some of their relatives. Pitch dark night, black burqa, and above this they used black umbrellas too. They wore burqa mainly out of tradition. Their mothers and grandmothers had worn it, so they too. In other families, women wore dhoti (kachithuni), full-sleeved loose blouse (penkuppayam) and a shawl (thattam). That was the sort of hijab they used. There was a minority which wore fashionable dresses. The educated few wore saris and matching blouses. They adopted the dressing style of the majority community, which was comparatively more educated. In the 1960s, the women who wore burqa began to take it off. That was the age of communism in Kerala. Religion began to be considered anti-modern. The first communist government came to power in the state. Communism and atheism were rated high then. In the 1970s, people began to go abroad in search of jobs. Many Muslims of Malabar went to the Gulf countries and saw the life style there. They saw women wearing hijab and going out in broad day light. Women wearing burqa were respected and admired there. When the men came back to Kerala, they brought dress materials from there for their wives and sisters. At first they brought a sort of turban that Arab women used to cover their heads. Then they brought head-scarf, and then gradually burqa. The burqa of the Arab countries was called as abaya by the people of Malabar. The online abaya was very loose and big. Then came the purdah, which was of medium size and more comfortable. Purdah became very popular among the Gulf families. Others too began to adopt it as it grew to be a symbol of status and fashion. When the men working in Arab countries took their families abroad, the women had to wear the burqa. They brought it back when they came to Kerala. Hijab has become part of Keralas landscape Earlier there were not many organisations among the Muslims in Kerala. The ones that functioned had no womens wings or youth wings. When organisations began to sprout and womens and youth wings became active, women found the hijab system of burqa, purdah and head-scarves comfortable. When these organisations opened educational institutions, they made purdah and scarves the uniform for girls. Thus purdah and scarves became very popular among people. The organisations also imparted religious education among people. They taught people the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Prophet. Translations of the Quran got published in Malayalam. This increased awareness of Islam also played its role in popularising hijab. Mumtaz began to wear the purdah after she took to learning the Holy Quran. She recalls how her mother used to ask her to wear the dupatta/shawl covering the head when going out. But back then, when she was a young woman, she would not listen. However, she was interested in learning the Quran. Mumtaz says, When I came to know that a teacher taught Quran in a nearby place, I joined the group of ladies there. I began to understand what is said in the Quran. Then I made a lot of changes in my life, including my dressing style. I began to wear the hijab. I have not taken it off since. Hafsa also began to dress the Islamic way after she attended religious classes. Those classes changed me, she said, I began to cover my head. Still, it was a revolution when she chose to wear full-sleeved blouses. Her husband who was a tailor said that he wont stitch a full-sleeved blouse. So Hafsa had to go to another tailor. Hafsa and her co-sister wore full-sleeved blouses with sari for the wedding and that made a big talk then. Now Hafsa wears hijab always. Hijab is now accepted by the people of Kerala. Earlier it was seen as a sign of oppression and people spoke against it due to superstitious beliefs. But now, the story of oppression has failed as more and more educated women are turning to the hijab. Still, there is opposition. But that comes out of fear. A fear of what would happen if women get to know and practice Islam well. The fear that traditional leaders have of the loss of their authority. However, women who wear the hijab feel safe, secure and confident. And that helps them to succeed. [All photos: TwoCircles.net] Help India! By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent, Kottayam: The Popular Front of India and the Nair Service Society refuted the news report that the former had threatened the latter. The report had come as breaking news in a Malayalam tabloid. Support TwoCircles The NSS has not received threats from any Muslim organisation including the PFI, said G Sukumaran Nair, NSS secretary. Such baseless news stories are made deliberately to create communal hatred. The NSS is an organisation that stands firm on the view that harmony should prevail among all communities. Those behind the news are people who are worried at the peaceful co-existence of communities. He added that the NSS had no role at all with the news. Nasarudheen Elamaram, PFI state president, contacted the NSS leadership on phone following the report. The report said that the news paper got information that the PFI has threatened the NSS, a prominent Hindu organisation in Kerala. It added that certain local Muslim leaders of Changanassery offered support to the NSS following the threat. The NSS is a prominent Hindu organisation based in Changanassery in Kottayam district which acts as a strong pressure group in Kerala politics. Daniel Wilson Wins the 2016 Irish Open for 150,000 March 29 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor Daniel Wilson is the latest in a long list of players who have won the Irish Open after he topped a field of 802 players in the 2016 edition, a fantastic victory that added 150,000 to his lifetime winnings. 2016 Irish Open Final Table Results Place Player Prize 1 Daniel Wilson 150,000 2 Michael Conaty 85,000 3 Tomas Soederstroem 52,000 4 Vegard Ropstad 36,500 5 David Costello 28,500 6 Petr Vejmelka 22,500 7 Brian Nolan 18,000 8 Igor Arkhipov 14,475 9 Michael Rossiter 12,150 The fourth and final days play commenced at 2:00 p.m. on March 28 with only 14 of the 802 entrants in contention for the title. Within 30-minutes of the restart, Rokas Barzdzius, Cristian Ionut, Jay OToole, and Stefano Vellisario bust to leave the tournament on the final table bubble. An hour later, a straight-over-straight set up hand involving Peter Eichhardt and Michael Conaty resulted in the former being all-in and eliminated from the tournament, leaving the final table of nine, with the official final table starting with eight players. 2016 Irish Open Final Table Seat Player Country Chips 1 Petr Vejmelka Czech Republic 2,400,000 2 Daniel Wilson Ireland 4,000,000 3 David Costello Ireland 1,800,000 4 Tomas Soederstroem Sweden 1,950,000 5 Vegard Ropstad Norway 975,000 6 Igor Arkhipov Russia 2,500,000 7 Michael Conaty Ireland 6,200,000 8 Michael Rossiter Ireland 2,180,000 9 Brian Nolan Ireland 1,350,000 Daniel Wilson found pocket aces to send both Michael Rossiter and Igor Arkhipov to the rail in a double elimination. Wilson min-raised to 160,000 with , Arkhipov three-bet all-in for 1,460,000 with , and a micro-stacked Rossiter called off his 145,000 chips with . A final board reading left Wilsons hand as the best and ended the hopes and dreams of his two all-in opponents. Another 70-minutes passed by without an elimination, with Brian Nolans exit halting that pause in bust outs. At the 50,000/100,000/10,000a level, Wilson raised to 210,000, Nolan shoved for 1,200,000, and Wilson called. It was for Nolan and for Wilson, the latter improving to a set on the flop, a flop that gifted Nolan some outs to an open-ended straight draw. The turn was not on of Nolans outs, and neither was the river, which sent Nolan home in seventh place. A few minutes after Nolans demise, a second double elimination occurred. Conaty min-raised to 200,000, Petr Vejmelka reraised all-in for 1,710,000 from the button, David Costello then moved all-in from the big blind for 2,460,000 and Conaty called to put both all-in players at risk. Vejmelka: Costello: Conaty: Conaty and his fans on the rail pleaded for a king ball are their demands were answered on the flop. These community cards were followed by the turn and river to leave only four players in the hunt for the 2016 Irish Open trophy. Those four became three as the clocks approached 9:00 p.m. when Wilsons triumphed against Vegard Ropstads dominating when the five community cards fell . One hand later, Wilson raised to 250,000 (blinds 60,000/120,000/20,000a) and then called when Tomas Soederstroem moved all-in from the button for 1,900,000. Wilson showed and was flipping versus his Swedish opponents . Soederstroems eight remained best on the flop, but the turn and river improved Wilson to a pair of aces, sending the tournament into the heads-up stages. Wilson went into the heads-up battle with 14,840,000 chips to Conatys 9,025,000 and before a hand was played, they discussed a deal that would leave 6,500 for the eventual winner. Those negotiations broke down and play resumed. Conaty enjoyed the best of the early confrontations and managed to pull almost level before Wilson made it 500,000 to early into Level 33 (100,000/200,000/30,000a), Conaty responded with a 1,400,000 three-bet, only to see Wilson make it 2,900,000 to continue. Conaty pushed all-in for 9,000,000 chips, Wilson called, and the cards were revealed. Wilson: Conaty: Once again it would be a coinflip that would settle a major poker tournament, a coinflip that went Wilsons way courtesy of the board. Conaty bust in second place, leaving Wilson to secure the 2016 Irish Open title. Data and lead image courtesy of the Irish Poker Open live updates team Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+! Sonus Enhances Dimesnion4's Communications Environment with SBC Offerings Resources from Unified Communications Sonus Enhances Dimesnion4's Communications Environment with SBC Offerings Share Tweet By Rory Lidstone Contributing Writer By Rory LidstoneContributing Writer The Page has moved to: https://unified-communications.tmcnet.com/topics/unified-communications/articles/419638-sonus-enhances-dimension4s-communications-environment-with-sbc-offerings.htm Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Article comments powered by Disqus Article comments powered by Unified Communications Homepage Beijing biennale to show artworks on Silk Road Updated: 2016-03-29 10:06 By Lin Qi(China Daily) The Beijing International Art Biennale in 2015 features a show titled Memory and Dream.[Photo by Jiang Dong/ China Daily] The Beijing International Art Biennale will return to the National Art Museum of China in September 2017, with the seventh exhibition themed "Silk Road and the world's civilizations". The organizing committee that comprises the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Beijing municipal government and the China Artists Association is inviting artists from home and abroad to submit work to discuss the spirit of the Silk Road in a different world order today. In ancient times, the road was a network of overland and sea routes used for trade and cultural exchanges between China and other countries. "Although many sites along the Silk Road have already disappeared, its call for communication and mutual development is still what today's world should strive for," says Liu Dawei, chairman of the China Artists Association, who initiated the art biennale in 2003. Since its birth, the biennale has been dwelling on the contemporary evolution of traditional forms of painting and sculpture, and their roles in merging Eastern and Western cultures. The first exhibition in 2003, titled Originality: Contemporaneity and Locality, displayed more than 400 works by artists from 45 countries and regions, reflecting such common issues as globalization and cultural preservation. The latest edition in 2015, titled Memory and Dream, drew a much larger base of participants from 96 countries whose works totaled nearly 700 pieces. Zeng Chenggang, a sculptor and art professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, was featured in the second and fourth exhibitions. He says the biennale emphasizes new developments in painting and sculpture, and provides an independent perspective to approach the fundamental tasks of art - expressing the beauty of objects and what is going on in the human mind. "Art has evolved to a much more dynamic scale today. There is performance art, conceptual art and environmental art. Artists dare to break the limits to find new, novel ways of expression," Zeng says. "But creativity is always built on rigorous thinking and the inheritance of good traditions. And so to translate traditional art languages into the modern context, the Beijing art biennale has extended to the territory of contemporary art." The biennale has also incorporated installations, videos and mixed-media works in recent exhibitions, in a way that more artists working with multiple mediums could better flaunt their creativity. Beate Reifenscheid, director of Ludwig Museum Koblenz, in Germany, is one of the biennale's international curators who approach and recommend Western artists. She says the event interests many artists because it provides an opportunity to communicate with Chinese artists and others from Asia. She says the theme of the upcoming biennale both reviews history and concerns the world's future. "People today live in an age of globalization. People are constantly on the move," Reifenscheid says, adding that it is similar to the formation of the ancient Silk Road along which people bridged different cultures. "People get to learn from each other, because culture should not be isolated or conservative. And because of the openness of art, the world becomes genuine and peaceful," she says of cultural interactions in general. Vice-premier's trip to Israel, Palestine to promote peace, innovation Updated: 2016-03-29 08:11 By Zhang Yunbi in Tel Aviv and Hou Liqiang in Cairo(China Daily USA) Vice-Premier Liu Yandong arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday at the start of her visit to both Israel and Palestine, a trip that experts said will boost cooperation and help attract more global attention to the conflict and tension there. Liu arrived in Israel as part of a three-stop visit that began on Friday and ends on Thursday. Her first stop was Egypt. High-level exchanges have been frequent between China and the two Middle East countries in recent years. In November, Vice-Premier Wang Yang visited both Palestine and Israel, and in May 2014, Liu also made a five-day official visit to Israel. Li Shaoxian, a senior expert in Middle East studies at Ningxia University in Yinchuan, the capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, said that Chinese leaders often visit both Israel and Palestine during a single trip, which helps China strike a balance between the two countries. The situation there has drastically worsened since the second half of last year, with conflict increasing amid frequent suicide attacks. The visits by the vice-premier also will show that China pays close attention to the plight of the people living in the shadow of conflict and "its unchanged commitment and efforts in pushing forward the peace process", Li said. Yin Gang, a senior research fellow on Middle East affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the Israel-Palestine issue is being marginalized. "Tension between Palestine and Israel continues, but the peace process has been forgotten by an increasing number of people. The media headlines regarding the Middle East are now mostly about the Syrian refugee crisis," Yin said. Bilateral cooperation Innovation will be a highlight of the visit to Israel. The vice-premier will co-chair the second meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation, according to a Foreign Ministry announcement on Friday. On Jan 29 last year, Liu and then-Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman co-chaired the first meeting in Beijing, and they signed a three-year action plan to cooperate on innovation. In a show of top-level support for bilateral cooperation on innovation, Premier Li Keqiang and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both sent congratulatory messages to the first meeting. Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said that although the size of the Israeli economy is not huge, it "enjoys a great reserve of brainpower and is an innovation-oriented economy and society". As China is prioritizing innovation and restructuring its economy, "such cooperation on innovation and entrepreneurship may be the biggest common ground for the two countries at this time", Wu said. Meanwhile, in Egypt earlier on Monday, Vice-Premier Liu called for strengthened cooperation in science and technology while visiting the country's National Research Center. Liu also urged the establishment of more platforms and additional opportunities for the cooperation of young scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs of the two countries. Additionally, she said the two countries should share more ideas and experiences regarding science and technology innovation policies, development of industrial technology and commercialization of research findings. She also encouraged scientific research institutions, universities and enterprises of the two sides to establish joint laboratories to promote high-level scientific research. China will provide 50 more opportunities for young Egyptian scientists to work in China, she said. Up to now, 17 Egyptian scientists have been offered the opportunity. Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily USA 03/29/2016 page3) Problems the Northeast must solve Updated: 2016-03-29 15:06 By Zhang Zhouxiang(China Daily USA) Cost is high from over-reliance on heavy industry with too many smokestack industries and mines and too few private firms Editor's Note: Now that the Chinese government has adopted its growth strategy for this year and the nation's five-year plan from 2016 to 2020, we have decided to publish a regular Policy Review Page to brief our readers about what the policies are and what they include, their underlining realities and political considerations. In this edition, we take a look at the challenging conditions in some of China's northern and northeastern provinces, and at the central officials' attitude toward China's capital outflow and the possible measures they may adopt should the outflow become so large it threatens the economy's overall health. Overseas commentators sometimes wonder how China has maintained a high economic growth rate for more than three decades without encountering a crisis. But the fact is China's economy has encountered various crises, one after another, in its regions. One example is the sluggish economies of its northeastern provinces. In 2004, the central government vowed to rejuvenate Northeast China's economy. But the northeastern region still lags behind other regions of China when it comes to private enterprises and opening-up to the global market. An investigative report by China Economic Times says the northeastern region's symptoms are evident in some northern provinces too. All of them have too many smokestack industries and mines, and too few private and services enterprises. On the country's 2015 GDP growth rate ranking list, Shanxi, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Hebei provinces, and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region occupied the bottom six positions among 31 provincial-level regions. Their economic structures have common features such as over-reliance on resource-intensive and heavy industries. China Economic Times sent teams of journalists to probe deeper into the phenomenon, and they found that Gansu province and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region also had similar economic structures. "We have one city built on crude-oil mining and four others on coal mining," says Chen Yongchang, head of the official economic advisory committee of Heilongjiang province. "The energy industry accounts for 60 percent of our provincial GDP and its problems drag our economy down." The city built on crude-oil mining he is referring to is Daqing, where the GDP growth rate was minus 4.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2015, and still falling. Things are even worse in Liaoning province. From January to August 2015, the profits of its cement industry, one of its pillar industries, dropped 145.3 percent. Over-reliance on resource-intensive industries makes the economies of these provinces and regions rather vulnerable to fluctuations in energy prices. In Shanxi, "you can never talk about its economy without mentioning coal", says Chen Guowei, who heads industrial economy research at the provincial Development Research Center. The lack of proper understanding of the market makes things worse. The China Economic Times journalists agreed on one thing, that entrepreneurs in the above provinces and regions care more about leading officials' opinions than market changes, because they make profits by getting allowances from the provincial governments rather than by increasing productivity. Also, State-owned enterprises, which still play a major role in the provinces and regions, still carry the heavy baggage of bureaucracy with them. "We produce good grains, but our mooncakes are all imported from Guangdong province in the south," says Li Junjiang, chief of the School of Economics, Jilin University. Local enterprises tend to solve problems through their close relationships with officials instead of market means, Li added. What should the resource-intensive provinces do? How do they reverse the falling trend? "Investment is still the most effective policy," says Ren Kai, a planning official with the Shanxi provincial development and reform commission. Ren's remarks reflect the mentality of officials in the provinces. As demand dips, heavy investment in big projects becomes their main tool to stabilize economic growth. To attract investment, the Liaoning provincial government has set up a 10-billion-yuan ($1.53 billion) "guiding fund" to facilitate cooperation between State and private capital. In neighboring Jilin, officials have expedited infrastructure construction. And Heilongjiang had started at least five programs by September 2015, each with an investment of over 10 billion yuan. Another major move is to develop new industries and extend the industrial chain. In Inner Mongolia, one coal mine after another has been trying to extract gas and oil from coal, in order to produce cleaner energy. And Shanxi is putting more emphasis on sectors such as cultural tourism, agriculture and gas exploitation. zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily USA 03/29/2016 page6) Hainan expo for tourism and trade Updated: 2016-03-29 09:29 By Yang Feiyue(chinadaily.com.cn) Performers perform at Hainan International Tourism Trade Expo. [Photo provided to China Daily] The first Hainan International Tourism Trade Expo began in the seaside city of Sanya on March 26, with companies from Italy, France, Poland, South Korea, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam and Malaysia participating in the weeklong event. It is being hosted by the local city and provincial governments, the central Commerce Ministry and the national body China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. A total of 71 projects worth 13.2 billion yuan ($2 billion) in investments have been signed at the expo so far, covering tourism, trade, agriculture, e-commerce and other areas. As part of the expo, a duty-free goods fair involving nearly 200 international brands was also held. In the next few years, the expo in southern China, will look to become an annual feature for companies from home and abroad. Related: Chinese tourists help keep tiny Australian town alive US officials applaud China for nuclear cooperation Updated: 2016-03-29 10:52 By Chen Weihua in Washington(China Daily USA) US officials spoke positively on Monday of the growing US-China cooperation in nuclear security ahead of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) to be held in Washington later this week. More than 50 heads of state and government, including President Xi Jinping, will attend the summit, aimed at better securing nuclear materials around the world from terrorists. Xi will be the only foreign leader to hold a bilateral talk with Obama. Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said China and the United States understand and cooperate with each other when it comes to nuclear nonproliferation, as they do on every important global issue. He cited as successful examples the joint comprehensive agreement with Iran and the collaboration on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear test and ballistic missile launch. "And we work together also because we recognize that when Iran or North Korea wants to go shopping for nuclear or ballistic missile materials, they frequently seek that equipment and technology in the Chinese economy," Countryman told an online briefing on the upcoming summit. "So we cooperate, and we are becoming closer in our cooperation in preventing the spread of the technology that enables a regime like North Korea to threaten its neighbors. That's how important the relationship with China is," he said. "This agreement follows our strategic industrial growth model: to deploy SES' clean energy technology through project participation in energy markets that are large and growing. This enhances the company's value proposition and enhances and propels our technology and equipment sales." CESI Chairman Wang Wei also is excited to partner with SES: "The SES Gasification Technology has shown unmatched, superior performance for economic, clean energy and all target projects are encouraged by the Chinese government. "Due in large part to the early success of SES' Aluminum Corporation of China industrial fuel projects, we are most eager to bring this advanced clean energy technology to benefit industrial customers and Chinese citizens alike in Inner Mongolia, and Shandong and Hebei provinces, and intend to replicate this cleaner energy model throughout China." Final investment decision criteria established by the parties is anchored on projected rates of return of 20 percent or greater; reliable fuel supply, and reliable product off-take contracts or customers. The financing structure for the target projects is expected to be up to 30 percent equity, 70 percent debt. "Our aim is to bring clean energy technology to global markets where natural gas is expensive and where cleaner energy is needed to meet growing demand. We look forward to bringing Growth With Blue Skies to points far and wide across China and along its Silk Road and, indeed, to developing regions throughout the world," said Robert Rigdon, SES vice- chairman. chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com Anbang hotel push seen as bid to diversify Updated: 2016-03-29 10:52 By Paul Welitzkin in New York(China Daily USA) China's Anbang Insurance Group Co remains determined to acquire hotel giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, driven in part by a desire to diversify and stabilize investments, analysts said. Anbang on Monday increased its offer for Starwood again, to $14 billion, topping the latest bid for Starwood from Marriott International Inc. Monday's non-binding offer from the Anbang group, which includes private-equity companies J.C. Flowers Co and Primavera Capital Ltd, saw its all-cash purchase price for Starwood increase to about $82.75 a share. Last week Marriott increased the cash portion of its bid to $21 a share from $2, valuing its stock-and-cash offer at about $79.53 a share or $13.6 billion. In a statement, Marriott said it was committed to completing its deal with Starwood but didn't increase its current offer. "Starwood stockholders should give serious consideration to the question of whether the Anbang-led consortium will be able to close the proposed transaction, with a particular focus on the certainty of the consortium's financing and the timing of any required regulatory approvals," said Marriott. A union between Starwood, operator of the Sheraton and Westin hotel chains, and Marriott would create the world's biggest hotel chain with more than 1 million rooms and 30 brands. Companies like Anbang may be increasing investment in overseas assets like US businesses and real estate to counter the decline in economic growth in the mainland as the government transitions the Chinese economy away from a dependency on exports to one more focused on domestic consumption. "I suspect with Anbang there is a sense of urgency to deploy money into US-based assets," analyst C. Patrick Scholes of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc told China Daily. Wes Golladay, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said: "Anbang wants to increase their investment in US real estate and assets to stabilize returns." Peng Liu, professor of hotel administration at Cornell University, said the price is a bit high, but it is the sort of premium out-of-towners should pay. "In the long run, it will give a good return to Anbang," he said. "First, the hotel industry is a perfect acquisition target for an insurer. Due to the fiduciary duty, an insurer like Anbang should not invest in high-risk projects. The market risk for the US hotel industry is moderate and even slightly lower than the market average. Acquiring Starwood would greatly improve Anbang's competitive position in the industry by acquiring brands (such) as Sheraton and Westin," said Jian Yang, a professor of finance at the University of Colorado in Denver. "We do not think the latest offer is a slam dunk for Anbang to win as the offer is only $3 more per share than (Marriott's) counter offer. We suspect that many investors in (Starwood) like the idea of the opportunity a (Marriott-Starwood) combination presents. Additionally, as an all-cash offer, (Anbang's proposal) likely presents taxable gains," Scholes and SunTrust's Bradford Dalinka wrote in a research note. Scholes and Dalinka also think that Marriott is unlikely to "significantly" increase its offer. RBC's Golladay agreed saying, "It's getting harder for Marriott to justify the deal price." Cornell's Liu said it may be too costly or risky now for Marriott to outbid Anbang again. Anbang acquired the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel for just under $2 billion in October 2014 and reportedly is making a $6.5 billion pitch to acquire Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc, which owns several high-end properties, including the JW Marriott Essex House in New York and Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com EB-5 applications surge in 2015 Updated: 2016-03-29 10:52 By Paul Welitzkin in New York(China Daily USA) Concerns about possible major changes to a visa program used mostly by Chinese investors/immigrants seeking entry into the US caused a surge in applications last year, observers said. The EB-5 program received applications from 17,691 investors in 2015, up from 11,744 in 2014 and 6,554 in 2013, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). "(USCIS) announced last week that the number of EB-5 petitions currently pending is 21,988, a jump of 63 percent compared to the same time a year ago," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a law professor at Cornell University and an immigration attorney. "At the current adjudication rate of around 1,700 petitions per quarter, it would take USCIS 38 months to adjudicate the current backlog of EB-5 petitions. The pending EB-5 petitions with USCIS equate to roughly $11 billion of capital investment waiting to be injected into the US economy." Yale-Loehr believes that EB-5 applications increased significantly in 2015 because Congress was considering major changes to the program, such as increasing the minimum investment amount to $800,000 from $500,000, and making it harder to invest in certain urban areas. "Investors wanted to file their applications before Congress made changes. In the end, Congress was unable to agree on any changes, and instead just extended the program until Sept 30 of this year," said Yale-Loehr. Nicholas Mastroianni, president and CEO of US Immigration Fund, a company that facilitates foreign investment in American real estate via EB-5, told The Real Deal that the rapid increase in applications last year was fueled in part by concerns that key parts of the program wouldn't be renewed by lawmakers. China accounts for more than 80 percent of EB-5 visas issued. EB-5 is an alternative way for immigrant investors to obtain a US visa. It was created in 1990 to help stimulate the US economy through job creation and foreign investment. With a minimum of $1 million or $500,000 in low employment or rural areas, an EB-5 investor must create at least 10 full-time jobs through the project they are working toward completing. In return, the investor is eligible for permanent US residency. David North, a fellow of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, believes that the surge in interest in the EB-5 program was caused by two independent forces: the Obama administration busily promoting the program in a number of different ways, and a lot of worried rich people in China. The surge in EB-5 applications came as immigration and trade became major issues in the US presidential campaign. "The changes in EB-5 policy have nothing to do with national trends, or trade issues," North wrote in an e-mail. "Most people investing in the EB-5 program are more interested in getting a fistful of visas for their families than in the financial return; hence they are the source of what the middlemen call 'patient capital.'" Yale-Loehr acknowledged that it is possible the political dialogue in the US on immigration and trade may have had something to do with the increase in EB-5 applications, but he said none of his firm's EB-5 clients mentioned that. EB-5 financing is common in large commercial projects like the Hudson Yards development in New York City, the Silverstein World Trade Center 2 building in New York, and the Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. EB-5 has become controversial, as the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found last year that many EB-5 applications contained a high risk of fraud. The GAO also discovered cases of counterfeit documentation. paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com TV-factory manager sees big picture Updated: 2016-03-29 07:50 By Fu Jing in Prague(China Daily USA) Changhong General Manager Lian Yongping aims to expand operations in the Czech Republic. Fu Jing / China Daily Ten years ago, when Lian Yongping moved from Southwest China to the Czech Republic to help his company start a factory from scratch, he felt like a total stranger. Then 25, he was unsure how to express himself at his first meeting with local staff. Now, Lian, general manager in charge of European operations for Changhong (a major household appliance-maker based in Mianyang, Sichaun province) has dreams of expanding the operation after 10 years on the job in his adopted country. Lian's factory produced nearly 1 million TV sets last year. "My ambition has resulted from our experiences, and we found it is urgent, feasible and doable," Lian said in the factory, which is about 50 kilometers from the capital Prague. "It is time to be ambitious." He said sales growth in the past three years has averaged 20 percent, and now his company is competing against sets produced by South Korean and Japanese companies in Europe. Lian said that "once our TV sales surpass 1 million 3 percent of European market share", the next goal will be 2 million. "But the key is how to realize it (growth) in a smart but integrative way." First, he said Changhong will set up a research and development center next to the factory and will shift to manufacturing refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances for the European market soon. "This is designed to be the home-appliance production base for Europe, and we aim to promote our own brand," Lian said, while pointing to land that his company has purchased beside the factory. Secondly, Lian said he has been motivated to enlarge the production chain to take care of the life cycle of products. "We aim to set up our own logistics center, expand our business to sales, after-sales services and maintenance, which are even more profitable than manufacturing," he said. Lian said the parent company has supported his ideas to expand the operation. "Once we have our own complete business chain, we can also use this platform to offer services for other electronic products as well," he said. The factory has rented a store house near Prague as a pilot step in the expansion. "And thirdly, I want to get involved in attracting more Chinese investors to Czech and help construct a high-tech industrial zone in Nymburk, where my factory is based," Lian said. "I want to share my experiences and lessons, and we could work together to contribute to Czech's development." Nymburk and Sichuan province have agreed to construct a high-tech industrial zone near Lian's factory. And the Sichuan province government already has started to attract more investors to the zone, which covers about 4 million square meters. "We started from nothing 10 years ago, and I am quite confident that this industrial park will take shape in another 10 years," Lian said. He said that the visit of President Xi Jinping will help pave the way for business expansion as mutual political trust will get a huge boost. Lian said Xi's visit also will help Czechs and other Europeans recognize the competitiveness of products made in China. "We are quite encouraged by the Chinese leadership's global win-win vision by introducing the Belt and Road Initiative to better connect China and Asians, Europeans and Africans," said Lian. Researchers team up on engine that exceeds 300 mph Updated: 2016-03-29 07:50 By Fu Jing in Prague(China Daily USA) Petro Kouvaliuka, president of Czech Technical University. Chinese and Czech researchers have developed a railway engine that surpasses 500 kilometers (310 miles) per hour, said Petro Kouvaliuka, president of Czech Technical University in Prague. Kouvaliuka announced the achievement before President Xi Jinping arrived in the Czech Republic on Monday for a 49-hour visit. The breakthrough was made jointly by a team from Czech Technical University and CRRC Dalian R&D Co Ltd in Northeast Dalian city, which specializes in high-speed engine development. "The speed of surpassing 500 km is feasible," said Kouvaliuka in an interview with China Daily. "It is fast and it is of commercially feasible." The two sides have been working to use high-speed engines on the 2,000-kilometer railway linking Beijing and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, said Kouvaliuka. "After that, they will be trying to sell it in Europe or United States," he said. Asked if the new engine could be used in the Czech Republic, Kouvaliuka said that is not possible now because the country's railway passes through too many curves over rivers and in mountains, villages and towns where the maximum train speed is 160 km per hour. "But maybe we can build a high-speed railway linking Prague and our second-biggest city, Brno, about 200 km away," he said. China has offered its Belt and Road initiative to better connect the Eurasian continent by improving infrastructure, and some Czech politicians have shown interest in building high-speed railways in their country, though there are obstacles such as environmental impact assessments and a slow decision-making process caused by public participation. As to whether the Czech Republic should seek to get China to build a high-speed railway system, former Czech prime minister Jiri Rusnok said that should be considered because the country is underdeveloped in this area. He said Czechs know that China is helping to develop such systems in other central and east European countries. "We will take this as kind of a reference project,'' he said, adding, "Why not reach further into the central Europe to the Czech Republic if it is successful?" Jan Kohout, former foreign minister of the Czech Republic said China is helping to start construction of a high-speed railway between Budapest and Belgrade, which may extend southward and northward. He also said the Czech Republic and Germany are going to build a high-speed railway between the German city of Dresden to Prague, reducing the journey between the two cities from 2 hours and 15 minutes to just 50 minutes. "This is a small start, but it is difficult to implement big infrastructure projects due to environmental impact assessments and the public joining in the decision making," said Kohout. Xi, Czech leader nurture ties Updated: 2016-03-29 07:50 By AN BAIJIE in Prague and WANG QINGYUN in Beijing(China Daily USA) President Xi Jinping (left) and Czech President Milos Zeman wave from the balcony of the Lany Chateau near Prague on Monday. AFP The Lany Chateau, built four centuries ago in west Prague, has welcomed a special guest President Xi Jinping who is on a historic visit that started Monday. On invitation from Czech President Milos Zeman, Xi is the first Chinese president to pay a state visit to the Czech Republic since the establishment of diplomatic ties 67 years ago. He also is the first head of state invited to the Lany Chateau, the summer residence of Czech presidents. The word "lany" in Czech means "fields" or "tracts". Soon after his arrival in the afternoon, Xi and his Czech counterpart had private talks in the chateau. Both were wearing jackets rather than formal suits during the meeting. The two presidents also planted a gingko tree together in the chateau's yard on a rainy day. "The tree of friendship should be jointly irrigated by China and the Czech Republic," Xi said. The Czech president treated his Chinese guest with Lobkowicz beer for the first dinner of the visit. The beer was first brewed in the 1840s, when the citizens, brewers and maltsters of Plzen formed a brewer's guild and called it the People's Brewery of Pilsen. New Asia Society program starts with China Updated: 2016-03-29 11:56 By MAY ZHOU in Houston(chinadaily.com.cn) The Asia Society Texas Center (ASTC) is creating a Young Leaders Institute to cultivate global leaders for the 21st century, and its inaugural program is focusing on China. Offered free to high school students, the one-week program, scheduled from June 20 to 24, is currently accepting applications (www.AsiaSociety.org/Texas), with an April 8 deadline. "I think it's very important for young students to understand the global economy, and it's important that they understand China too," said Kelly Kleinkort, director of Education, Business & Policy at ASTC. "We target high school students who have an interest in international affairs," she said. "This year, we are showcasing China and China-US relationships. We will talk about issues like energy politics, counterterrorism, global health, climate change and such." Students will address the issues by engaging in the four tenets of global competency: investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas and take action. Kleinkort said that the students will be mentored through the week by local experts and Asia Society's staff in their respective fields. They will learn the value of collaboration as they work in teams doing research. "Throughout the week, they will learn skills in writing, research, critical thinking, presentation and debating," she said. "They are going to come up with their own solutions for the issues and present a paper to the panel with their solutions at the end of the program." US officials note China-US nuclear cooperation Updated: 2016-03-29 11:56 By CHEN WEIHUA in Washington(chinadaily.com.cn) US officials spoke positively on Monday of the growing US-China cooperation in nuclear security ahead of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) to be held in Washington later this week. More than 50 heads of state and government, including President Xi Jinping, will attend the summit, aimed at better securing nuclear materials around the world from terrorists. Xi will be the only foreign leader to hold a bilateral talk with Obama. Thomas Countryman, assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, said China and the United States understand and cooperate with each other when it comes to nuclear nonproliferation, as they do on every important global issue. He cited as successful examples the joint comprehensive agreement with Iran and the collaboration on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270 overthe Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear test and ballistic missile launch. "And we work together also because we recognize that when Iran or North Korea wants to go shopping for nuclear or ballistic missile materials, they frequently seek that equipment and technology in the Chinese economy," Countryman told an online briefing on the upcoming summit. "So we cooperate, and we are becoming closer in our cooperation in preventing the spread of the technology that enables a regime like North Korea to threaten its neighbors. That's how important the relationship with China is," he said. US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz was in Beijing to open the China Nuclear Security Center of Excellence (COE) on March 18.The center, established based on a bilateral agreement, is a collection of labs, test sites and training facilities partly based at US installations. It is expected to serve as an important domestic nuclear security training resource for China's growing nuclear complex. Bonnie Jenkins, coordinator for threat-reduction programs at the US State Department, described the opening of the COE as "quite a momentous occasion". She revealed that China had committed to opening a COE at the first NSS in 2010. "And so we were very happy to see that this occasion finally happened," she said at the Monday briefing. The center will be working with its counterparts in Japan and South Korea, which also have COEs, and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to Jenkins. "So that's all very positive, and we see this as a way in which we can continue to work with China in other areas, including nonproliferation," she said. Jenkins described the center as a strong resource for strengthening nuclear security. "So by having this center of excellence established by China is a way in which we can it helps us to feel confident that China and other countries in the region will continue to strengthen the efforts to secure nuclear material in the future and of course, importantly, train the people who are very important the scientists, the technicians, engineers and everyone else who plays a role in nuclear security," she said. James Acton, co-director and senior associate of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said China will play a more important role in nuclear security because it will eventually surpass the US on nuclear energy. Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, said the nuclear issue has always been a top priority for US diplomacy and security, and it has also become increasingly important for China. "The United States can provide very good help in technology and management, things that China exactly needs," he said. Li believes better bilateral cooperation in nuclear security will have a positive spillover effect in other areas such as cybersecurity, the economy and even the South China Sea, where the full potential of cooperation has not yet been tapped,due to deepstrategic distrust. China and the US signed their civil nuclear cooperation agreement in 1985. The two countries also have initiated an annual bilateral Nuclear Security Dialogue, the first of which was held in February. Anbang seeks Starwood to stabilize returns: Analysts Updated: 2016-03-29 11:56 By PAUL WELITZKIN in New York(chinadaily.com.cn) China's Anbang Insurance Group Co remains determined to acquire hotel giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, driven in part by a desire to diversify and stabilize investments, analysts said. Anbang on Monday increased its offer for Starwood again, to $14 billion, topping the latest bid for Starwood from Marriott International Inc. Monday's non-binding offer from the Anbang group, which includes private-equity companies J.C. Flowers Co and Primavera Capital Ltd, saw its all-cash purchase price for Starwood increase to about $82.75 a share. Last week Marriott increased the cash portion of its bid to $21 a share from $2, valuing its stock-and-cash offer at about $79.53 a share or $13.6 billion. In a statement, Marriott said it was committed to completing its deal with Starwood but didn't increase its current offer. "Starwood stockholders should give serious consideration to the question of whether the Anbang-led consortium will be able to close the proposed transaction, with a particular focus on the certainty of the consortium's financing and the timing of any required regulatory approvals," said Marriott. A union between Starwood, operator of the Sheraton and Westin hotel chains, and Marriott would create the world's biggest hotel chain with more than 1 million rooms and 30 brands. Companies like Anbang may be increasing investment in overseas assets like US businesses and real estate to counter the decline in economic growth in the mainland as the government transitions the Chinese economy away from a dependency on exports to one more focused on domestic consumption. "I suspect with Anbang there is a sense of urgency to deploy money into US-based assets," analyst C. Patrick Scholes of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc told China Daily. Wes Golladay, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said:"Anbang want to increase their investment in US real estate and assets to stabilize returns." Peng Liu, professor of hotel administration at Cornell University, said the price is a little bit high, but it is the sort of premium out-of-towners should pay. "In the long-run, it will give a good return to Anbang," he said. "First, the hotel industry is a perfect acquisition target for an insurer. Due to the fiduciary duty, an insurer like Anbang should not invest in high-risk projects. The market risk for the US hotel industry is moderate and even slightly lower than the market average. Acquiring Starwood would greatly improve Anbang's competitive position in the industry by acquiring brands (such) as Sheraton and Westin," Jian Yang, a professor of finance at the University of Colorado Denver, said. "We do not think the latest offer is a slam dunk for Anbang to win as the offer is only $3 more per share than (Marriott's) counter offer. We suspect that many investors in (Starwood) like the idea of the opportunity a (Marriott-Starwood) combination presents. Additionally, as an all-cash offer, (Anbang's proposal) likely presents taxable gains," Scholes and SunTrust's Bradford Dalinka wrote in a research note. Scholes and Dalinka also think that Marriott is unlikely to "significantly" increase its offer. RBC's Golladay agreed saying "It's getting harder for Marriott to justify the deal price". Cornell's Liu said it may be too costly or risky now for Marriott to outbid Anbang again. Anbang acquired the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York for just under $2 billion last year and reportedly is making a $6.5 billion pitch to acquire Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc, which owns several high-end properties, including the JW Marriott Essex House in New York and Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. China, Israel agree to start FTA talks Updated: 2016-03-29 21:36 By ZHANG YUNBI in Jerusalem(chinadaily.com.cn) China and Israel agreed to start the long-awaited negotiation on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement during talks today between visiting Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Liu said the two-way innovation cooperation "will develop rapidly" in various fields, such as economy and trade. When addressing the second meeting of China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation after the two-way talks, Netanyahu said, "This (the consensus on start of FTA talks) is a momentous development and we are ready to do so right away". Netanyahu noted that China is now Israel's third largest trade partner, with annual trade of over $10 billion. "We have, I believe, the potential for a lot more," he said. Bilateral trade has increased notably since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992. Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang confirmed in March last year that the two sides completed a feasibility study of the FTA. Last year, the two way trade volume reached $11.4 billion, a year-on-year growth of 5 percent. Chinas total investment in Israel is $6 billion. "In light of the global economy situation in 2015, these achievements are hard-won," said Chinese Ambassador to Israel Zhan Yongxin at a seminar earlier this month. Liu is on a three-stop visit to Egypt, Israel and Palestine that began Friday and ends Thursday. Czech, Chinese bankers discuss cooperation Updated: 2016-03-30 07:02 By CECILY LIU and FU JING in Prague(China Daily USA) Financial and banking institutions from China and the Czech Republic are interested in turning this European country into a financial hub by supporting the economies of Central and Eastern Europe and those projects under One Belt and One Road initiative (OBOR), which aims at boosting Eurasia connectivity. Banking industry leaders on Tuesday explained their intentions at the China-Czech Financial Cooperation Forum under the Belt and Road initiative, co-organized by the Czech National Bank and the China Banking Regulatory Commission during President Xi Jinping's three-day visit to the Czech Republic. Xi flies to Washington on Wednesday to attend World Nuclear Security Summit. Also on Tuesday, three financial cooperation agreements between China and the Czech Republic were signed. The two countries' regulators, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the Czech National Bank, agreed to cooperate on cross-border crisis management. In addition, the China Banking Association and Czech Banking Association agreed to enhance knowledge sharing, banking industry research and training. The Bank of China and the Czech financial and investment firm PPF Group also agreed to extend their strategic cooperation. Pavel Belobradek, deputy prime minister of the Czech Republic, said that China is an important partner for his country, not only in financial flows, but also in mutual cooperation in the area of supervision and regulation of financial systems. Gao Yingxin, executive vice-president of the Bank of China, said there is great potential for growth in trade and investment cooperation between China and the Czech Republic as well as other Central and Eastern European countries under the OBOR framework, which can be effectively supported by financial services providers. Gao said the room for the growth of financial services is reflected in four key areas. First, there exists a large volume of infrastructure projects linking China and Central Eastern European countries, which can benefit from financing. Second, China and the Czech Republic have highly complementary comparative advantages, meaning great potential for strategic partnerships exist, which can again be supported by financial services. He said the Czech Republic's strengths include the fields of biotechnology, environmental protection technology and beer production, and China's strengths include mechatronics, chemical engineering, machine tools and high-speed railway. Third, the increasing bilateral exchanges of visitors, especially tourists, between China and the Czech Republic are creating a huge market for personal financial services support. Fourth, the internationalization of China's currency, the renminbi, and its increasing use along OBOR countries can be supported through financial organizations. The Bank of China established a branch in Prague in September 2015. That year it also announced that the bank will commit $100 billion within three years to support OBOR development. Hou Wenbo, general manager of the Bank of China Prague branch, said the bank has held discussions with 20 to 30 companies and organizations for cooperation, and has given loans to some companies, covering such areas and industries as infrastructure, technology and machine tools. Hu Huaibang, chairman of the China Development Bank, said that long term vision is crucial to Chinese financial organizations' lending strategy for OBOR related projects, because such projects often require a large capital commitment at early stages and the payback period is often long. China's trade and investment relationship with the Czech Republic has developed rapidly in recent years and in 2015 bilateral trade reached $11 billion. Many Czech firms are also embracing new opportunities created through the OBOR initiative, and one notable firm is the PPF Group, which has provided consumer finance to customers in 24 provinces and 274 cities in China since its consumer lending arm Home Credit's entry into China in 2004. In 2015, its new business volume reached 18.7 billion yuan. "The Belt and Road Initiative is characterized as a win-win cooperation. Home Credit has been honored to serve Chinese consumers and help bring expertise in risk management and other technologies to the market, in return we have learned a lot from our expertise in the Chinese market," said Mel Carvill, director and board member of PPF and Home Credit. Contact the writers at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn Every stop on the ALEPH / Jewish Renewal Listening Tour is different, and every one has been amazing in its own way. But I suspect that our weekend in Vancouver may stand out in memory as one of the most memorable experiences in a year-plus of remarkable experiences. Maybe that's in part because we traveled such a very long way to be there. Maybe it's in part because we were visiting such a storied community, one of the largest and longest-standing Jewish Renewal communities in the world. Maybe that's in part because the people at Or Shalom welcomed us with such open hearts. Our visit began with a dinner gathering with members of the host committee, and then after a too-short night of sleep continued with brunch with a group of Or Shalom millennials who spoke to us about their spiritual lives, their hopes, and what "doing Jewish" looks like for them. On Friday evening I led a sweet and intimate family Shabbat circle, a few prayers and a few songs and a meditation on the week which was then drawing to its close. Then we davened with the Or Shalom community, savoring a service co-led by Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan and Rabbi Hannah Dresner (along with musicians Charles Kaplan, Martin Gotfrit, Joe Markovitch, David Kauffman, and Nomi Fenson.) We danced around the room, we sang and prayed, and we marveled at the beauty of the clearing evening sky as we opened the door to welcome the Shabbat bride. (And Rabbi David gave a beautiful d'var Torah about keeping our spiritual fires burning.) After davening and dinner we heard origin stories and histories from Or Shalom's almost forty years of existence, starting with the early years as a havurah in Reb Daniel and Reb Hanna's living room. On Shabbat morning, Rabbi David and I co-led p'sukei d'zimra, the first section of the morning service. (As it turned out, we chose melodies wisely, and the community sang along with spirit.) Then we enjoyed a Shabbat morning service led in turns by Rabbi Hillel Goelman and then by Rabbi Hannah. I was privileged to offer the d'var Torah that morning, on what it means to me to be a nation of priests and how that dovetails with the work we seek to do in ALEPH. After another festive meal we facilitated a community open mike session, harvesting ideas, yearnings, "ouches," dreams, and hopes from the community at large. On Sunday we breakfasted with ALEPH Canada colleagues at a vegetarian Vancouver institution, spent the morning with the Or Shalom board of directors, lunched with congregants and clergy, and spent the afternoon with a 2o+ person focus group of involved and invested Or Shalom folks. In between these meetings and meals and meetings-over-meals, we managed to walk a bit by the water; to marvel at the blooming trees and the view of Mount Baker in Queen Elizabeth Park; even, briefly, to see a harbor seal in its natural habitat! Our visit wound down with a final meal, and some debriefing and visioning for the future, with Rabbi Hannah before we regretfully made our way to the airport to begin the three thousand mile journey home. We have hundreds of pages of notes from the Listening Tour so far -- from the nine stops we've made in person, and also from countless phone calls, zoom videoconference sessions, and emails. And we have many stops yet to go -- we're nowhere near done. We're beginning to see some common themes which are emerging (which are beginning to spark our conversations about what might be in the "Renewing Renewal" report we'll be putting forward before Rosh Hashanah). I'm fascinated by the things which are parallel or similar everywhere we go, and equally fascinated to see things which are different in each place we visit. I continue to be endlessly grateful that we get to do this work. It's an honor and a privilege to get to sit with people and hear their yearnings and hopes for what ALEPH and Jewish Renewal might become. Dave Kauffman took some terrific photos from the Listening Tour weekend. Thanks, Dave! And deep thanks to the organizing committee and to all of our Or Shalom hosts. 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. The HCM City Peoples Court last Wednesday sentenced Hoang Hai Trai, 28, from HCM City, to one year of imprisonment for terrorist threats. Trai was the director of the Beauty Lashes Co Ltd, a company that sold false eyelashes. In April last year Trai had a unique marketing idea, he planned to use terrorism for publicity. In May, Trai prepared a number of 50cmx50cm boxes with Arabic words outside and his companys products inside, together with an alarm clock that sounded like the timer of a bomb. The boxes were put at different crowded places in Ha Noi and HCM City. They were soon discovered and confiscated by local authorities. Trai was arrested on May 21 last year by the HCM City Investigation Police. City authorities said that Trais action was dangerous and affected public security by frightening residents. It seems unique and original ideas are not always good or profitable. -- VNS Customers request banking transactions at a branch of VIB. Experts say the circular limiting sub-prime loans for securities trading will make the local market healthier. VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet HA NOI (VNS) The circular limiting sub-prime loans for securities trading will make the local market healthier, said o Bao Ngoc, a senior stock expert from MBS securities company. Ngoc said Circular 07/2016/ TT-BTC, effective on March 15, stopped securities companies and investors from using third-party loans between them and banks for margin trading in order to limit investment risk. Prime loans were the margin lending between securities companies and investors, allowed by the State Securities Commission and the Stock Exchange, accounting for 80 per cent of the total margin loans while the sub-prime margin were those under which securities firms used their own money and investors money as a deposit to take loans from banks. Prime loans are handled by big securities companies with good capital, equity, bond deposit took advantage in using large-scale lending. Most of the small securities with lower financial potential took the sub-prime margin to attract more investors. Some small securities firms let their investors use margin trading with stocks that were not included in the permitted list and offered loans of more than 50 per cent. A securities leader told the financial website tinnhanhchungkhoan.com that some banks whose securities company are a subsidiary, did not ask for a deposit before lending. Cash flow wont change Ngoc said the circular only changed the disbursement mechanism for sub-prime loans but would not influence the cash flow of the market much. Under the circular, brokers must withdraw their collateral at the bank while investors must close their account and have no more disbursement from the bank. Ngoc said in this case some investors had to sell their mortgage securities to finish their obligations with the banks. He said though the movement could limit cash flow in the market, while on the other hand, increased the supply of stocks, giving more chances for other investors. Ngoc said the limitation of sub-prime loans could not cause any technical correction to the market as sub-prime loans only accounted 20 per cent of the total margin and would be closed between one and three months. Different from a margin call which immediately demanded an investor to deposit additional money or securities to retain their account, the circular would allow investors to decide their selling between two weeks and a month as minimum. Thus, it would not create net selling in the market, MBSs official said. The circular is expected to make local investors to turn back to the prime margin loans, investing in blue chips thus boosting the local stock market. VNS The Ministry of Transport has asked the government to grant an air transport business licence for Vietstar Airlines Multirole Corporation (Vietstar Airlines) to operate as a passenger carrier. Photo vietnamnet.vn HA NOI The Ministry of Transport has asked the government to grant an air transport business licence for Vietstar Airlines Multirole Corporation (Vietstar Airlines) to operate as a passenger carrier, local media reported. Established in 2010, Vietstar Airlines is owned by Vietnam Air Defence and Airforce, under the Ministry of National Defence. The HCM City-based airline currently operates in passenger and cargo transport, aircraft repair and maintenance, aviation fuel supply, and pilot training in Viet Nam. The company plans to use aircraft, including Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 models, in the first five years, baogiaothong.vn reported. "The company has built a corporate indentity, including a logo and icon, suitable for its business operations," said the General Director of Vietstar Airlines, Pham Trinh Phuong. If the airline is granted a licence, it will focus on domestic routes between northern and southern Viet Nam, as well as on routes from Viet Nam to the north Asian countries and to the ASEAN countries. As of March 31, 2015, the company had registered capital of VN800 billion (US$35.8 million). The company still lacks an additional VN47.3 billion to reach the minimum capitalisation required for an international and domestic passenger and cargo carrier, as per a government decree issued in 2013. Statistics of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) show that the country currently has eight airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), VietJet Air, Blue Sky Travel, Event Company Ltd, Hai Au Airline JSC, and Green Planet Technology JSC. CAAV will support Vietstar Airlines in exploring domestic and international routes, as well as in building a cargo carrier airline, said the General Director of CAAV, Lai Xuan Thanh. Currently, Viet Nam does not have an airline specialising only in cargo transport services. As of the end of 2015, Viet Nam had 131 aircraft. Vietnam Airlines has the largest fleet, with 86 aircraft. VietJet Air is second, with 25 aircraft. Jetstar Pacific is third, with 11 aircraft. VNS Customers shop at the Thien Hoa electronics store in HCM City. People are flocking to buy air conditioners to ward off the heat in the southern region. VNA/VNS Photo Van Khanh HCM CITY (VNS) Consumers are flocking to electronic shops and supermarkets to buy fans, air conditioners and other electronic products to ward off the heat in the southern region. Shopping at an electronics shop on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, Thanh Hai of Binh Thanh District said he was buying an air conditioner because of the higher temperatures. Another customer at the shop, Thanh Truc of Thu uc District, said he had bought a water misting fan to cope with the heat. A representative of Nguyen Kim Electronic Appliance Centre said sales of air conditioners, refrigerators, fruit juicers and blenders had increased significantly compared to the same period last year. Sales are expected to continue to increase as the heat wave is predicted to reach its peak in a few weeks, he said. According to electronic shops, this is the best time to buy such products before the peak seasons higher prices. Traders said fan brands, including KDK, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, and Asia, are priced from VN300,000 (US$13.45) to VN1 million for popular ones and VN1 million to VN3 million for hi-end ones. Customers are paying more attention to product quality and durability, according to shop owners. They also prefer energy-efficient air conditioners. The most popular are 1-1.5 HP air conditioners from Toshiba, Daikin, LG, Panasonic and Reetech, with prices between VN8 million and 12 million. With the hot and dry season expected to be more severe this year, electronic shops expect sales of refrigeration products to increase strongly. New products and promotions to attract shoppers have been launched by shops in collaboration with producers. At Nguyen Kim Electronic Appliance Centre, for instance, customers buying air conditioners from March 11 to 31 will receive a free guarantee for an additional year as well as a maintenance package. It will also discount up to 30 per cent on fans, juicers, blenders and refrigeration products, and offer freebies. - VNS The latest financial reports released by banks reported that 2015 saw a total of VN45 trillion (US$2 billion) non-performing loans (NPLs), the National Financial Supervisory Commission said. Photo laodong HA NOI (VNS) Experts are concerned about new non-performing loans rising significantly while the Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) still has to devise radical measures to resolve bad debts acquired from banks. The latest financial reports released by banks reported that 2015 saw a total of VN45 trillion (US$2 billion) non-performing loans (NPLs), the National Financial Supervisory Commission said. Deputy Director of the commission Truong Van Phuoc warned that though the consequences are not clear now, banks face a potential risk in the future when credit continues to rise. Though banks have so far sold VN111 trillion of the NPLs to the VAMC to meet the central banks deadline to bring down the NPL ratio to below 3 per cent last year, most of the debts are still with the VAMC and the company has so far managed to recoup only a small part of the bad loans due to reasons such as incomplete legal framework and limited capital. It is estimated that banks will also have to fund roughly VN91.37 trillion to provide loans this year, higher than that of the past few years. The provisions in 2015 and 2014 were VN74.8 trillion and VN59.28 trillion, respectively. According to the current regulations, though banks have sold the bad debts to VAMC, they have to fund yearly provisions amounting to 20 per cent of the value of the sold debts. Experts, therefore, suggested to lenders that they boost provisions for bad debts, as well as take the initiative to collect the debts themselves, apart from selling it to the VAMC. National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council member Tran Du Lich said that selling bad debts to the VAMC was a good way for banks to clean up their account balance, but the requirement for provisions would create significant pressure on them. In an effort to accelerate the handling of bad debts and make it easy for the VAMC to resolve the debts it bought from banks, the central bank last month raised a draft decree about conditions for a debt trading business for public comments. According to VAMC chairman Nguyen Quoc Hung, the lack of a debt trading market was a bottleneck in the process of handling toxic debts. VNS Nearly 1,000 containers, which carried goods which are subject for re-export, mostly used tyres, have been left for months at Hai Phong Port. VNA/VNS Photo Lam Khanh HA NOI (VNS) The Ministry of Finance will co-ordinate with the Ministry of Transport and Hai Phong Port authority to deal with containers that are lying unused at Hai Phong Port by the end of April. Cao Trung Ngoan, deputy general director of Hai Phong Port, said nearly 1,000 containers, filled with goods subject for re-export, mostly used tyres, have been left at the port for months. A container is considered inventory if it is left at the port for more than 90 days, according to the Ministry of Finance. However, the majority of the above mentioned containers had been kept in storage for up to 4 years, causing billions of ong in inventory management, transportation, storage and pollution. Despite efforts by Hai Phong Port authorities including calling on goods owners to re-export them or asking firms to recycle them, only 400 containers have been dealt with since October 2014. The reasons containers are stacking up at seaports are various, according to port and customs officials. In some cases, although containers arrived in Viet Nam under temporary import/export permits and were supposed to only transit the ports, they were abandoned when businesses realised that there was no chance of shipping them out of the country. Enterprises have between 5 and 7 days to finish customs procedures to receive their goods. After that period, enterprises have to pay port warehousing fees. The more containers are lying unused at seaport, the more losses the port suffers, Ngoan said to Tin Tuc (News) newspaper. Hai Phong Port authorities plan to reduce or exempt costs for shipping companies and goods owners to ease difficulties for them, he said, adding that it might cost VN150 million (US$6,720) to handle an abandoned container. The ports management board also proposed that the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, Hai Phong citys authorities and customs department do not allow industrial waste to be imported and strictly deal with shipping companies and goods owners who abandon their goods. The government should tighten the regulations on re-export goods as well as revise rules so that good owners can refuse to receive their goods if their counterparts dont act in accordance with the contracts to prevent port facilities from dumps, said experts. Tran Huy Hien, general director of Viet Nam Logistics Association, said competence agencies should introduce a roadmap to settle abandoned containers. The Government should assign funds for customs to deal with unclaimed containers if it costs a lot of money and selling the contents cant cover storage charges. It is necessary to reduce containers port storage time limit to 30 days to prevent the reoccurrence in the future, he said. VNS A lake is exhausted in the Central Highland region. The Government has urged Central Highlands authorities to take serious measures to cope with the severe drought, which could lead to a shortage of food and affect peoples health. Photo cafef.vn HCM CITY (VNS) The Government has urged Central Highlands authorities to take serious measures to cope with the severe drought, which could lead to a shortage of food and affect peoples health. Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said during a visit to the region last Thursday that solutions should be implemented as soon as possible. Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the water level in many of the artificial lakes and hydropower reservoirs in the region was much lower than last year. The dry season in the Central Highlands will continue until the end of April, he added. The water supply is expected to fail to meet demand for 100,000 hectares of coffee plantations, Thang said, adding that 25,000 households in ak Lak Province alone would not have enough water throughout the dry season. Some 28,300 families in the region lack household water. The number is expected to surge to 59,000 households. Tran Hong Ha, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the region has many large rivers, many of which did not flood in the rainy season last year. The Deputy PM said that hydropower stations in the provinces should discharge water at a maximum level to meet peoples demands. Phuc urged the localities to examine water reservoirs and build plans for water usage, prioritising local daily activities, care for animals, and highly profitable crops. Phuc said it was important to identify areas that are prone to water deficiency and prepare appropriate plans for growing drought-resistant crops, while speeding up the construction of irrigation facilities. Phuc asked ministries and sectors to save water at reservoirs to provide sufficient water for drought-hit areas during the dry season, stressing the need for supplementary policies to support people in affected regions. The region also needs to focus on afforestation, especially in the upper reaches of rivers and other important areas, to cope with natural disasters in the long-term, he said. During the trip, Phuc visited Chu Don Commune in Chu Puh District where a number of hectares of rice fields have been destroyed by drought and H Bong Commune, one of the localities in Chu Se District suffering the worst from water shortage. He suggested local farmers and authorities consider cultivating other crops that are much more resistant to drought. Phuc has agreed to allocate 2,000 tonnes of rice to people, especially ethnic minority groups, in the four Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai, ak Lak, ak Nong and Kon Tum, which have been hit hard by the drought. Phuc has also asked commercial banks to extend or delay loan payment for people in the region. Statistics show that up to 95,000 hectares of trees in the Central Highlands region are facing water shortages. Water levels at most local irrigation facilities have shrunk by more than half. According to the regional Meteorological and Hydrological Station, nearly 170,000 hectares of plants will be affected by drought if the heat wave lasts until June. In Gia Lai Province alone, drought has caused a lack of food to nearly 15,000 households, forced 7,000 others to face water shortages, and affected 13,500 hectares of trees. Groundwater map to drought-hit Mekong provinces With the Mekong Delta suffering from severe drought and saline intrusion, the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment has provided a hydrographic map to all provinces there indicating the distribution of freshwater below ground. It has called on local authorities to drill wells to extract water based on the map. The ministry also instructed the Department of Water Resources Management and National Water Resource Survey and Master Planning Centre to help with experts and equipment. It exhorted all related authorities to closely monitor El Nino, the weather, saline intrusion and river flows and advise local authorities in a timely manner. At the same time it is closely watching water flows from Chinese dams on the Mekong so that it can make plans to use the water efficiently. The ministry has provided VN500 million (US$23,000) each to Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, Kien Giang, Long An, Tien Giang, Soc Trang and Ca Mau provinces to mitigate the impact of the drought on local residents.- VNS Visitors tour at a pavillion of silk production during the Viet Nam-Asia Silk Festival in Hoi An City. VNS Photo Cong Thanh HOI AN Craftsmen, experts, traders and designers of silk from China, Japan, India, Myanmar, France, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and seven traditional silk villages in Viet Nam joined together yesterday in the first Viet Nam-Asia Silk Culture Festival at Hoi An Silk Village. Its the largest meeting of the Asian silk trade ever to be held in the central region with the participation of Viet Nam and the worlds most famous silk centres. Its a great opportunity for silk producers, exporters and importers, designers, intermediaries, and government agencies related to silk promotion to share experiences for the future development of the silk trade, said Chairman of the Asia Silk Alliance, Dilip Barooah. The festival also opens up chances for silk centres in Asia and the world by building up connections in production and export, he said. He added that the Viet Nam-Asia Silk Festival was held with an aim of promoting the silk trades of China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar and Viet Nam. He said the festival was a great opportunity that had taken him to the peaceful and beautiful ancient city of Hoi An. The Director of the Hangzhou Silk Culture and Brand Research Centre, Fei Jianming, expressed thanks to authorities of Quang Nam Province and Hoi An City for their strong support in hosting the festival. He said the event would help connect world silk centres and Hoi An, as well as boosting chances of co-operation among silk producers and traders worldwide. Chairman of Kyoto Silk Association Takao Watanabe said he hoped the silk trade would develop quickly in coming years to become the prosperous industry that was seen over 500 years ago. The two-day festival will also see a fashion show, a seminar on silk history and development with presentations and discussions on improving silk yield, silk branding and marketing, silk export development, and silk standards, certification and regulations. The festival also includes displays from elegant French fashion designers, Myanmar silk with special patterns, Cashmere silk from India, Nanchong Yinhai silk and Hangzhou Jiahe silk textiles from China, and silks from Nishijin, Japan. The famous silk villages of Van Phuc, Nha Xa, Phung Xa, Ma Chau, Tan Chau My Nghiep and Bao Loc of Viet Nam will also be represented. Last year, Hoi An Silk Village represented Viet Nam and joined the Asia Silk Alliance as one of seven founding members with responsibility for linking Vietnamese silk enterprises with the wider Asian silk community. The silk village, located at 28 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in Hoi An, is a silk-weaving centre and a living museum of the ancient trade in the central region. It was voted the third best attraction in Hoi by travel website TripAdvisor in 2014. The two-hectare area cultivates 40 strains of mulberry, whose leaves are feed for silk worms, including some that the former rulers of the area, the Champa kingdom, used to produce their best quality silk. VNS President Truong Tan Sang (right) receives Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavad Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang HA NOI (VNS) President Truong Tan Sang yesterday hosted a reception for visiting Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavad, where he hailed the guests contributions to bilateral collaboration in foreign affairs. The Lao official is in Viet Nam on a working visit that aims to review the countries joint coordination, particularly in the field of investment. President Sang suggested the two countries set forth specific programmes to actualise high-level commitments reached as well as the guidelines drawn up by the two parties leaders. Deputy PM Somsavad Lengsavad, for his part, informed his host about the results of talks between the two governments. The Party, State and people of Laos appreciate Viet Nams assistance, which is increasing, to deal with obstacles amidst complicated regional and global situations, he said. The official proposed the two sides continue their coordination and create optimal conditions for their ministries, agencies and localities to step up their affiliation. The Deputy PM said a number of Vietnamese enterprises are encountering a range of difficulties due to fluctuating prices, and suggested Government leaders work with each other to seek ways to remove such problems. In a reception for Lao Deputy PM yesterday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasised that Viet Nam and Laos hold great co-operation potential in various fields. The two countries should intensify coordination in the fields of economics, trade and investment to address shortcomings, and swiftly put co-operation projects into operation to bring about practical benefits for their people, he suggested. The Lao guest affirmed that Laos always bears in mind and is grateful for the great and valuable support from Viet Nam. He believed that the bilateral time-honoured friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive co-operation will grow further. VNS Deputy Tran Du Lich speaking at the on-going NA session yesterday. The most outstanding imprint left by the 13th National Assembly (NA) during its tenure was the 2013 Constitution, which upholds human rights, citizens rights and the rule of law. VNA/VNS Photo HA NOI (VNS) The most outstanding imprint left by the 13th National Assembly (NA) during its tenure was the 2013 Constitution, which upholds human rights, citizens rights and the rule of law, lawmakers said at the on-going NA session yesterday. During the discussion on a report presented last Tuesday reviewing the NAs performance in the 2011-16 period, the majority of deputies spoke highly of the legislative bodys adoption of 222 codes, laws, resolutions and ordinances besides the Constitution. However, the deputies also spoke candidly of shortcomings in the NAs performance, and proposed numerous solutions to enhance the future quality of lawmaking, supervision and Q&A sessions, and the settlement of pressing issues related to the national economy and peoples welfare. Deputies maintained that the challenges facing the next tenure would not be modest, and would require the whole NA and State apparatus to work together much more smoothly, precisely and efficiently to cope with upheavals in the future. They expressed the hope that, along with the success of the 12th National Party Congress, the coming elections for the NA and Peoples Councils at all levels would be really democratic, with the most competent personnel chosen for the new tenure. Expressing his agreement with the contents of the NA report, deputy Nguyen Anh Son from Nam inh Province stressed the debt the 13th NA owed to voters nation-wide is the continued protection of sea and island sovereignty, and maintaining the fight against corruption. Regarding the Q&A sessions, Son said the practice was one of the highlights of the tenure. Through Q&A sessions, NA deputies could put forth voters concerns on national social-economic problems at NA platforms, calling on the Government, appropriate ministries and other sectors to seriously address these concerns, said Son. Ministers are no longer afraid of being questioned. Some even long for the Q&A sessions at NA meetings. This is a promising signal that the NA and the Government are increasingly willing to incorporate and address pressing social issues. In order to improve the NAs efficiency during the next tenure, deputy Nguyen Quoc Binh from Ha Noi, called for the body to create adequate means of coordination between the NA, Government agencies and other social-political organisations. Binh also asked the NA to consider the development of the e-National Assembly project during the next tenure. The project is key to improving exchanges and connections between NA deputies and NA committees, deputies with the NA and Government bodies, and deputies and NA bodies with voters. To that end, the NA would be completely reformed to perform its functions in a timely, scientific and efficiently manner. Approaching similar matter, deputies Tran inh Long (ak Lak), ao Tan Loc (Phu Yen), Truong Minh Hoang (Ca Mau), Nguyen Thi Kha (Tra Vinh), Truong Trong Nghia (HCM City), Tran Hoang Ngan (HCM City), Nguyen uc Kien (Soc Trang), Nguyen Van Canh (Binh inh) and Duong Trung Quoc (ong Nai) all provided thorough analyses, and proposed many ideas to fortify the work of the NA in the coming tenure. They agreed that it was necessary to strengthen the organisational and personnel apparatus, and to study solutions to improve the quality of debate at NA platforms. They also suggested mechanisms to help voters supervise the opinions expressed by each deputy on particular matters, to renew mechanisms for selecting NA candidates, and to reduce the workload of specialised NA deputies. Deputy Tran Khac Tam of Soc Trang Province said over the past tenure, the NA and NA deputies havent been able to satisfy all the expectations from voters, and have failed to create breakthroughs that would enable the country to develop as friends in the world as fast as it could. The crucial and most urgent duty of the NA in the time to come is to complete apparatus reform. A well-performing apparatus will help Viet Nam overcome limitations quicker, integrate more successfully and develop sustainably, said Tam. In his opinion, Deputy Huynh Nghia of a Nang said the NA has failed to fully exercise its power, and its anti-corruption inspections were not strong enough. He also said that some law making lacked focus, and that many laws did not meet the requirements of reality. The deputy called for sanctions in cases where law-drafting and verifying agencies created laws that were not feasible to implement. Deputy Truong Thi Hue of Thai Nguyen Province complained about the frequent adjustments to the law building programme and to delays in submitting draft law documents to NA deputies, which gives deputies little time to study the bills. Another problem is the vague stipulations of some laws, which then required more documents to guide their implementation. Given the time it takes to issue such guiding documents, legal gaps were created that allowed for laws to be circumnavigated, she said. Many deputies proposed increasing the proportion of full-time deputies in order to enhance the professionalism and quality of NA operations. Deputy Nguyen Van Tuyet from Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province said his constituents called for raising the proportion of full-time deputies to 60 per cent. About a draft working report delivered by the State Auditor General, discussions focused on the use of the auditing outcomes, State Audit Offices activities and addition of sanctions against units which fail to comply with the offices requests following audit process. As scheduled, the NA will scrutinise working reports of the President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court and Prosecutor General of the Viet Nam Supreme Peoples Procuracy today. The meeting will also be broadcast live nationwide. VNS Deputy Prime Minister Vu uc am has urged the industry ministries of Viet Nam and Cambodia to boost their links to support both countries businesses in the industry and investment fields. Photo VGP/inh Nam HA NOI (VNS) Deputy Prime Minister Vu uc am has urged the industry ministries of Viet Nam and Cambodia to boost their links to support both countries businesses in the industry and investment fields. During his reception for Cambodian Minister of Industry and Handicrafts Cham Prasidh in Ha Noi yesterday, the Deputy PM said the two countries should expand their cooperation in the production of goods and supply, not only their markets, but also by expanding into other markets. Vietnamese firms have poured money into 182 projects in industry, investment and trade in Cambodia. Viet Nam is Cambodias third largest trade partner, with an average growth of 18.5 per cent from 2010-2015. Reviewing his talks with representatives from Viet Nams Ministry of Industry and Trade, Minister Cham Prasidh stated that the two ministries are focusing on measures to assist both countries businesses. Cambodia wants to learn from Viet Nams experience in managing small and medium-sized enterprises exporting goods, particularly the shipment of garments, he said. He also underlined the need to boost the exchange of all delegations between the two countries, and enhance economic connection in various fields, thus strengthening the bilateral relationship. VNS The new policy of the Ministry of Health, which will take effect in 2021, requires that nurses, midwives and medical technicians have more than a two-year intermediate diploma. Photo suckhoedoisong.vn HCM CITY Leaders of two-year intermediate schools offering training in healthcare are concerned that a new national recruitment policy on medical personnel will lead to a decline in enrollment. The new policy of the Ministry of Health, which will take effect in 2021, requires that nurses, midwives and medical technicians have more than a two-year intermediate diploma. Speaking at a conference held in HCM City on March 17, ao Thi Ngoc, vice rector of Phuong Nam Vocational Training School in the citysTan Phu District, said that it would be "difficult to enroll students for these majors because students and their parents say there will be no jobs. For the last nine years, the school has provided a two-year training programme for nursing and pharmacy. We invested a lot of money to build a facility with advanced equipment, Ngoc said. More than 10,000 graduates have worked at the citys health facilities, she added. Tran Van Hoang, rector of Tra Vinh Medical College in the Mekong Delta region, said that several of its students had dropped out after hearing the ministrys announcement. Hoang encouraged them to continue studying and assured them that they could later transfer to a higher level-college. Tran Viet Hung, deputy head of the ministrys Department of Organisation and Personnel, said the ministry released the announcement in advance to give schools time to prepare. Nguyen Minh Loi, deputy head of the ministrys Department of Science, Technology and Training, said that in a time when the country has joined the ASEAN Economic Community and signed international trade agreements such as the TPP, Viet Nams human resources must meet higher standards of health examination and treatment. In 2006, Vietnamese government signed an agreement on the common framework for recognising nursing services in ASEAN countries, Loi said. In the agreement, college and university degrees must meet certain criteria for practice and be recoginsed as professional nurses in the region and world, he added. Ha Thi Kim Phuong of the ministrys Department for Management of Health Examination and Treatment said that the countrys nurses and midwives did not meet these standards. Standardising the training of nurses, midwives and medical technicians will be carried out over the next five years under the ministrys plan. In January 2021, public hospitals and other public health facilities will only be allowed to hire graduates from the college level and above for the posts. By January 2025, nurses, midwives and medical technicians graduating from a two-year intermediate school training programmes who are working at public hospitals and other public health facilities will have to take further studies at a college training programme. The country has 186 university, college and intermediate schools that offer training in the healthcare sector. As of the end of 2015, about 146,000 students were enrolled. Of these, 53 intermediate schools with two-year training had a total of 91,000 of the 146,000 students. At least 75 per cent of the 91,000 students were studying to become nurses, midwives and technicians. Each year, the number of graduates in these three fields is around 90,000, but only 10,000 work in their field after graduation, he said. Where do the remaining go? How wasteful it is. The schools should be held responsible, he said. He told the leaders at the meeting that the Ministry of Education and Training would allow intermediate schools to upgrade to college level schools. Ngoc of the Phuong Nam Vocational Training School, however, said that upgrading would be difficult for private schools as they would have to meet many criteria. In HCM City, finding three or five hectares to build a school is a problem because of high prices, she said. Hoang, the rector of Tra Vinh Medical College, said that nurses from two-year training programmes would be needed in the future as the countrys population was aging. They also can work overseas as guest nurses, he added. VNS Viet Nams aging population is growing quickly, and the nation faces pressing challenges in managing the burgeoning demographic Photo VNA HA NOI (VNS) Viet Nams aging population is growing quickly, and the nation faces pressing challenges in managing the burgeoning demographic, according to a World Bank report released yesterday. The report, Live Long and Prosper: Aging in East Asia and Pacific, said Viet Nams working-age population has peaked and is now declining. Viet Nams demographic of senior citizens aged 65 and older is expected to double from 7 per cent to 14 per cent in 18 years, according to the report. Comparatively, the same demographic is expected to reach 14 per cent in Thailand in 17 years; Laos and Indonesia in 20 years; Timor-Leste, China and Singapore in 25 years; the United Kingdom in 45 years; the United States in 69 years; and France in 115 years. The change will result in a rapid decline in the working-age population in East Asia and Asia Pacific countries. The report also pointed out that people in rural areas work longer, and those in urban areas retire earlier, particularly female workers and those working in formal jobs. In addition, elderly people in Viet Nam rely mainly on their own work for financial support, and 60 per cent of people polled by the World Bank said they expected more Government support in addition to their pension and support from children and other family members. Philip OKeefe, Regional Lead Economist for Human Development for the East Asia and Pacific Region, said aging presents challenges for healthcare systems. Firstly, the current over-reliance on hospital care could exacerbate the cost pressures brought on by an aging population with multiple non-communicable diseases. Secondly, the poor quality of primary care presents challenges for the cost-effective management of conditions that increase with age, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Thirdly, pharmaceutical spending and procurement creates inefficiencies in healthcare, which will be exacerbated by an aging population. He said reforms across the healthcare delivery and financing system are needed. This entails reorienting the delivery system from the intensive use of hospital care to greater reliance on primary care with improved quality and case management, as well as reforming provider payment mechanisms from fee-for-services to case-based approaches. The report also recommends increased participation in the labour force among urban residents in their 50s and 60s. Viet Nam should also improve labour productivity to compensate for fewer workers, it said. Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong am said yesterday that the Government considers the aging population one of its major challenges for socio-economic development. The country now has about 10 million people who are 60 or older, accounting for about 11 per cent of the total population. The rate is expected to reach 20 per cent in the next decade. A larger senior citizen population could lead to labour shortages, increased funding for social welfare and a heavier burden on the public healthcare system, am said. An aging population not only requires the country to have a better healthcare policy for older people, but also sustainable development policies, including a reproductive health policy, employment, pensions and services for senior citizens, he said. A 2012 report by the Ministry of Health revealed that only five per cent of elderly Vietnamese are in good health, while the rest suffer from diseases - particularly non-communicable diseases, including high blood pressure (almost 40 per cent), arthritis (over 30 per cent), lung disease, diabetes, and vision or hearing impairments. Shared challenges According to a World Bank report, East Asia is aging faster than any other region in history, and some middle-income and wealthier economies could lose up to 15 per cent of their working-age populations by 2040. The report found that 36 per cent of the worlds population aged 65 and over, or 211 million people, live in East Asia. By 2040, the graying of the population could shrink the number of working-age adults by more than 15 per cent in Korea and more than 10 per cent in China, Thailand and Japan. In China alone, that would translate into a net loss of 90 million workers. The rapid pace and sheer scale of aging in East Asia raises policy challenges, economic and fiscal pressures, and social risks. Without reforms, for example, pension spending in the region is projected to increase by eight to 10 per cent of the GDP by 2070. In addition, most East Asian health systems arent prepared for age-related spending, as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses could account for 85 per cent of all disease burdens by 2030. Rapid aging in East Asia is partly a result of the regions breakneck pace of economic development in recent decades, the report says. Higher incomes and better education have led to steady increases in life expectancy, and have been accompanied by sharp declines in fertility rates, with a growing number of countries now well below replacement levels. As a result, by 2060, one in five of the oldest countries in the world will be in East Asia, compared with just one in 25 in 2010. VNS Illustrative Photo ncdc.gov.vn HA NOI The Ministry of Health has raised the warning level for the Zika virus nationwide after an Australian visitor tested positive on his return from Viet Nam. A report from the World Health Organisation also confirmed the virus was rapidly spreading across the world. The ministrys emergency operation centre (EOC) held a meeting yesterday and said health authorities at all levels should intensify urgent measures against the spread of the virus in the country. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, who chaired the meeting, said Viet Nam needed to raise the warning level in the whole healthcare system and take all urgent preventive measures to actively prevent an epidemic from breaking out. The deputy minister asked all healthcare units to complete all preparations for the fight against the spread of the virus. The MoHs Viet Nam General Department of Preventive Medicine said it had received a report on March 22 that an Australian visitor had tested positive for Zika on his return from Viet Nam. The visitor had stayed in Viet Nam from February 26 to March 6, during which he travelled to HCM City, Lam ong, Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan provinces. Following the report, the EOC said there was a very significant risk of Zikas spread across Viet Nam. The MoH yesterday asked the Central Highlands province of Lam ong to raise the warning level for the Zika virus. Lam ong is at high risk of a Zika outbreak, as its resort city of a Lat receives several foreign visitors. Therefore, the provincial health department has intensified epidemic supervision at residential areas and tourism sites, especially those that attract foreigners. Lam ongs General Hospital No 1 and No 2 yesterday started collecting samples of blood and body fluids from people who have had symptoms similar to Zika, such as fever, rashes, muscle pain and joint pain, as well as headache and conjunctivitis. The health department also intensified communication programmes about the disease and its symptoms, while organising training courses to improve its staffs abilities. Zika, first detected in Ugandas Zika Forest in 1947, is transmitted to humans by the Aedes mosquito, which is also the main carrier of dengue fever. Besides leading to symptoms such as mild fever, rashes, muscle pain and joint pain, as well as headache, pain behind the eyes and conjunctivitis, the virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and, in the vast majority of cases, brain damage. There is currently no cure for the Zika virus and no vaccine. According to the World Health Organisation, 59 countries and territories have recorded cases of Zika so far. Some foreigners have also tested positive for Zika after departing from Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. --VNS India has become the first country in Asia to export two fully-built inter-city luxury buses to Europe, marking a dramatic shift in its manufacturing capabilities. Swedish auto major Volvo, which started operations in India through the import of a luxury bus from Hong Kong back in 2000, executed the shipment. Its Bengaluru-based plant is gearing up to undertake more of such orders, which is notable because its parent company has a plant in China, too. Following in Volvos footsteps is rival company Volkswagen-owned Scania, which has also set up a manufacturing facility in Karnataka and is working towards its goal of exporting fully-built buses to Europe. Earth mover JCB is not too far behind. Although headquartered in the UK, its India subsidiary has just started exports to Russia. These companies, which hail from Europe, already have their mother plants based out of that region. However, given Indias strengths in low-cost manufacturing and the governments push towards Make in India, companies are now actively looking at serving these markets from India. Stefan Palskog, president of Scania India, said, From a logistical point of view, there are a lot of countries that are closer to India than Sweden. The logistic cost of a completely-built product is important. In the long run, we will be able to export buses made in Bengaluru to Europe as well. While passenger car makers such as Suzuki and Hyundai have been exporting small cars to Europe from India, heavy-duty commercial vehicle manufacturers have just started to warm up to this idea turning India into a manufacturing hub for European exports. Vipin Sondhi, managing director and chief executive of JCB India, said, We have started with Russia where temperatures are -25 degree centigrade. So, we will go step-by-step there. We are exporting components to the UK from Pune, where they are assembled to be shipped to other parts of the world and we are exporting components to the US. Likewise, JCB Daimler India Commercial Vehicle (DICV) has ramped up parts supplies from India as it now reaches across the globe including Europe and the US. Around four million parts have been exported by DICV to other global Daimler entities worldwide. Erich Nesselhauf, managing director and chief executive of DICV, said, We export to 20 countries from West Asia, South East Asia and Africa. This will go up to 40 countries soon. Developed markets such Europe and the US have very stringent quality and emission requirements, which, according to companies, cannot be compromised. However, Indian companies have not been able to meet these requirements. KTM branded bikes made in Pune by Indias third largest bike manufacturer Bajaj Auto have been well received in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. More than half of KTMs production in India gets exported as of date with a substantial chunk being sold in Europe and the US. Bajaj Auto owns nearly half of KTM, which specialises street and off-road bikes. Serving the developed markets from India comes at a time when the country has fallen short of its announced targets under the 10-year Automotive Mission Plan 2006-16. Sluggish macro economic factors during the past three years have impacted the pace of growth, resulting in under-achievement of some of the targets. However, some of the targets such as creation of employment for 25 million and investments to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore from auto and component manufacturers, have been achieved. Prime Minister Narenda Modi will leave for a three-nation tour from Tuesday, to visit Brussels, Washington, and Riyadh. Modi will be in Belgian capital Brussels on Wednesday, days after terrorist attacks that left 35 dead and several injured. He would attend the India-European Union (EU) summit and hold a summit meeting with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel. India and the EU will seek to take forward their negotiations on the free trade agreement on a number of issues, said Nandini Singla, joint secretary, ministry of external affairs. India-EU ties have been strained in the recent past after the 28-member bloc had not responded positively to New Delhi's proposal for a brief visit by Modi to Brussels, the EU headquarters, during his trip to France, Germany and Canada in April 2015. In Brussels, Modi will meet top businessmen, including a delegation of diamond traders, and will also address the Indian diaspora. Antwerp in Belgium is the largest diamond trading hub globally, and has a sizeable presence of Indian traders. A significant number of these traders are from Gujarat. The PM will also have separate meetings with parliamentarians and a delegation of Indologists. India and EU will release a joint statement and a separate document outlining the roadmap for next five years in the fields of political, security, energy and trade and investments. From Brussels, Modi will leave for Washington to attend the 4th Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1. India will submit a progress report on nuclear security at the summit, which is also expected to deliberate on ways to tackle nuclear terrorism. MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup did not deny the likelihood of Modi meeting Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif in Washington. On his return journey, the PM will travel to Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh for a two-day visit. Former PM Manmohan Singh had visited Riyadh in 2010. Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest partner with bilateral trade exceeding $39 billion in 2014-15. It is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of total imports. There are 2.96 million Indian nationals working in Saudi Arabia. India-Saudi Arabia cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism has increased in recent years, with Riyadh having deported a number of terrorists to India in the past few years including 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Abu Jundal. In Riyadh, Modi will meet top CEOs of Saudi companies, visit the famous Masmak fort, will interact with the Indian community and visit Tata Consultancy Services centre, which had trained around 1,000 Saudi women. Modi will also meet Indian workers of a project being implemented by Larsen & Toubro. Saudi Arabia plans to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure development over the next five years and Modi is likely to pitch for participation of Indian companies in the projects. Albert David has rallied 9% to Rs 320, extending its previous days 7% surge on the BSE, after the Ahmedabad-based pharma major Cadila Healthcare has acquired Actibile, a gastroenterology brand of the company. Albert David (ADL) in a BSE filing said that it has entered into agreements dated March 28, 2016 with Zydus Healthcare (a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare) for the sale of ADL's brand 'Actibile' with a free and marketable title along with all business information, know-how and the trademarks associated with the brand for the following territories: (i) the Union of India; (ii) Nepal, (iii) South America (excluding Peru and Colombia), (iv) The United States of America; (v) Japan, (vi) South Africa; (vii) the European Union; and (viii) East Europe, for a lump sum consideration of Rs 55 crore. The transaction was a part of strategic initiative by Albert David and the proceeds front the sale will be invested for growth and expansion of the branded formulation business of the company. The said asset purchase transaction with Zydus Healthcare is not a related party transaction, it added. At 09:46 AM, the stock was up 8^% at Rs 318 as compared to 0.27% gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. Around 11,000 shares changed hands against an average 8,000 shares that were traded daily on the BSE in past two weeks. Shares of Cadila Healthcare were trading flat at Rs 319 after hitting intra-day high of Rs 322 on the BSE. The Bangladesh government has lifted the ban on raw jute exports to India, which was in effect since November 3, 2015, as its domestic consumption rose from three million bales (one bale is 180 kg) to five million bales.The (Indian) market has not reacted immediately to the development. But, there is hope that this would ensure more availability of raw jute and help stabilise prices, said Sanjay Kajaria, former chairman of Indian Jute Mills' Association (IJMA) and managing director of Hastings Jute Mill.Raw jute prices in India are currently at Rs 58,000 a tonne.It is cheaper to import jute goods from Bangladesh and Nepal as labour cost and production costs are higher in India. The production costs in Bangladesh are cheaper by 30 per cent in comparison to India. Nepal is used as a conduit for third-party illegal imports. Export of raw jute from Bangladesh to India, which was in the level of 0.9 million bales during 2011-12 and 2012-13 came down to the level of 0.24 million bales in 2013-14, 0.15 million bales in 2014-15 and 0.26 million bales in 2015-16. In 2014-15, import of jute bags rose 75 per cent in value terms and 79 per cent in volume. Of this, jute sacks went up by 36 per cent, jute yarn by 37 per cent and carpet backing cloth by 27 per cent. In July 2015, import of raw jute from Bangladesh surged 213 per cent on volume and 274 per cent in value terms over the same month a year ago. Also, import of jute products rose five per cent in quantity and moved up 23 per cent in value terms compared to July 2014. Cumulative imports of raw jute during April-July 2015 declined by 21 per cent in volume but rose six per cent in value terms over the corresponding period of last fiscal. Likewise, import of jute products in the period declined 26 per cent in quantity but increased by four per cent terms in value terms. Chinas former leader mysteriously removed A rare public spectacle has drawn attention at the closing ceremony of China's Communist Party's National Congress, as President Xi Jinping prepares to be handed a third term in office. Zelenskys diplomacy masterclass outpacing dour, grey Putin in battle for hearts and minds When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year, there was no room for jokes or play acting, and Zelensky needed to step up. He did. Megyn Kelly fires up at Meghan Markle over her deceptive nature Sky News Australia contributor Megyn Kelly has slammed Meghan Markle over her "abject dishonesty" after the Duchess of Sussex took a swipe at Deal or No Deal in her latest podcast episode which featured Paris Hilton. Easter egg hunt takes an ugly turn ORANGE, Conn. (WP) An Easter egg hunt in Connecticut turned ugly over the weekend after organizers said adult attendees rushed the field and took everything, behaving kind of like locusts. PEZ officials said the candy company hid more than 9,000 eggs Saturday on three separate fields at the PEZ visitor center in Orange. Staggered start times were planned for different age groups. But as a larger-than-expected crowd gathered, some parents ignored the rules, and the event took an ugly turn. Somebody pushed me over and take my eggs, Vincent Welch, 4, told NBC Connecticut after the event, and its very rude of them and they broke my bucket. Ebola meth? Police joke nets 1 arrest DALLAS (AP) The joke has shown up on some police department Facebook pages: Anyone in possession of methamphetamine should stop by the police station for testing because the drugs might somehow contain Ebola. In Granite Shoals, Texas, one such post, labeled a Breaking News Alert in block letters, was shared thousands of times. It even netted an arrest. Police say the posts are fun, harmless sting set up to catch criminals. But two good-government advocates said the posts run the risk of degrading trust in law enforcement and public health authorities. The district attorney in Granite Shoals questioned whether the post might alarm ordinary residents who might think a deadly virus is present in their community. Kansas wildfire destroys 9 homes MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) The biggest wildfire in Kansas history has been largely contained, but authorities said more homes were damaged than originally thought. The Kansas Adjutant Generals Office said Monday nine Barber County homes were destroyed in the fire, which started in Oklahoma last week before moving north into Kansas. No one has been seriously injured. Oklahoma Forestry Services estimated the total burn area between the two states at 574 square miles, and the blaze is about 90 percent contained. Alaska volcano grounds flights ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Strong winds Monday pushed an ash cloud from an Alaska volcano into the heart of the state, grounding flights and limiting travel to western and northern towns off the road system. Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaskas most active volcanoes, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. The volcano in the 8,261-foot mountain erupted about 4 p.m. Sunday. By 7 a.m. Monday, the ash cloud had risen to 37,000 feet and winds to 50 mph or more had stretched it over more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. Arctic ice hits record low maximum WASHINGTON (AP) The growth of Arctic sea ice this winter peaked at the lowest maximum level on record, thanks to extraordinarily warm temperatures. The National Snow and Ice Data Center said Monday ice covered a maximum of 5.607 million square miles of the Arctic Ocean in 2016. Thats 5,000 square miles less than the old record set in 2015 a difference slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. Its also some 431,000 miles less than the 30-year average. That difference is the size of Texas and California combined. Records go back to 1979 when satellites started measuring sea ice. WATERLOO A slight increase is expected in overall tax collections for Waterloo Community Schools, but property owners may see less on the districts portion of their tax bills. The Board of Education on Monday gave preliminary approval to a $158.14 million 2016-17 budget, including a 0.14 percent increase in property tax askings. For the current year, the budget is $149.56 million. Total tax collections would grow to $41.07 million for district property owners during the the fiscal year starting July 1, up from $41.01 million this year. That amounts to $57,331 more, or a 0.14 percent increase. A 22-cent drop in the tax rate to $15.40 per $1,000 of taxable value helped minimize the overall increase despite growing district property valuations. There also is a small drop in the residential rollback a state-determined percent of assessed value that taxes are calculated on. Its a 1.4 percent decrease in the rate, but it does leave the dollars about flat, said Michael Coughlin, the districts chief financial officer. For the owner of a $100,000 home, taxes would drop $14 to $857 on the districts portion of the bill. Taxes on commercial and agricultural property of the same value would drop, as well. Owners of commercial property would pay $1,386, or $20 less than currently, while taxes on agricultural land would decrease $12 to $699. Those numbers assume a propertys assessed value hasnt increased in the past year. Property taxes are only one of the revenue sources that make up the budget. State funding is an even larger component. This is an interesting year, because we actually know what the state is giving us, said Coughlin. Last Wednesday, the Legislature approved a 2.25 percent increase in state aid for schools and Gov. Terry Branstad expects to sign the bill. In recent years, districts would guess at that number in their budget because no decision had been made at the state level. Supplemental state aid totals $81.2 million in the budget plus $11.54 million in other state sources and $1.35 million in commercial and industrial state tax replacement funds. Districts receive per pupil funding based on enrollment from the prior fall. Certified enrollment dropped by 198 students this fall in Waterloo Schools, but the states 101 percent budget guarantee ensured it wont result in a loss of funding. The budget represents the maximum expenditure level and tax rate the board can approve. The issue returns to the board April 11 for a public hearing and final approval so it can be certified by the Black Hawk County auditor by April 15. Board members expressed support for the lower tax rate and minimal increase in overall tax collections. I feel comfortable with that, said Shanlee McNally. Lyle Schmitt called it the right balance between taxpayer interests and student educational needs. Im glad we can continue the trend of at least lowering the rate, he said. The district did a good job of cost management that were able to do this. Sue Flynn added, I just feel that were being fiscally responsible. People cant say that the district is raising their portion of the rate. DES MOINES State officials in charge of Iowas flagship historical museum say the building is in dire need of repair and major renovation. But state lawmakers say a proposed $80 million project is too big for the state budget. The State Historical Museum, located just west of the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines East Village, is fraught with infrastructure problems, officials say: leaking pipes and skylights and a heating and cooling system that is not designed for a museum are the primary issues threatening the 209 million pieces in the states collection. The building, built in 1987, also is much too large for its needs and staff levels, say officials with the state Department of Cultural Affairs. Their plan is for a major renovation that would downsize the museum from 234,000 square feet to 155,000. The extra space would be used to create an outdoor public space. The project would cost $80 million. Officials have asked the state for $65 million, appropriated over five years; the remaining $15 million would come from donations and other sources. We need to better utilize the space and better orient the visitor, said Mary Cownie, director of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Cownie and Susan Kloewer, also with the department, said exhibits in storage must be moved to avoid leaking pipes, and the buildings heating and cooling system does not allow for customization within different areas, which threatens older and frail exhibits, such as Civil War flags. The proposed renovation also would give the museum a single point of entry to better guide visitors through the museum, and the funding would allow the museum to create a better website to draw those wishing to learn about Iowas history online, officials said. Gov. Terry Branstad included in his budget proposal $7.8 million toward the renovation project in the upcoming fiscal year. But key state lawmakers say the price tag is too high. Were still working on it, but I dont see where it gets in the budget, said Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, who chairs the Iowa Senate budget committee. The proposed project also has critics in the form of the Save Iowa History Alliance, an advocacy group that has expressed concerns with reduced staffing and hours at the historical museum, as well as with the renovation plan. The groups organizers include roughly a half dozen Iowa history experts and professors. The (departments) plans to renovate and reduce the size of the Des Moines Historical Building, and its woeful neglect of its Iowa City research center, present an immediate threat to the survival and accessibility of collections, an online petition written by the group says. Give top priority to safeguarding the contents of the states history before allocating tax dollars that put them in jeopardy. Kloewer said the renovation plan is appropriate for the museums display needs and staffing levels. For us, its what we need to fulfill our mission, Kloewer said. JANESVILLE | A public meeting Wednesday will outline plans to expand the Janesville Elementary School, add preschool space and build a new gym. Residents in the Janesville Community School District will go to the polls April 5 to vote on a $5.4 million school bond referendum. At the meeting Wednesday in the school cafeteria, district officials and designers from Modern Design Architects and Speer Financial Inc. will present project details and answer questions from the public. Janesville school officials are asking the public to approve a plan to add two elementary classrooms, set aside space for two more if needed, add a preschool classroom and nap room and build a new gym with locker room space. The proposed measure would raise approximately $5.4 million toward the project through an additional $2.70 property tax assessment per $1,000 taxable valuation. The tax rate in the Janesville Community School district is currently $11.98 per $1,000 and would increase to $14.68 if the bond vote passes. The proposed rate would be higher than neighboring districts of Denver Community Schools which is $13.91 after a recent bond proposal passed there and Cedar Falls which is $12.44. Cedar Falls also has a bond referendum April 5. The new rate would be lower than neighboring districts of Dunkerton, which is $15.46; Waverly, $15.78; Waterloo, $15.62 and Tripoli, $14.84. The last general obligation bond for school improvements to pass in Janesville was in 1974 for an elementary addition and a football field. By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 28, 2016 | 03:52 PM | PADUCAH, KY A man facing murder charges in Marshall County is now facing additional arson, theft and other charges in McCracken County.On the morning of March 24, a resident at 4102 Schneidman Road arrived at her home and discovered it was full of smoke and on fire. Both the Kentucky Fire Marshal and McCracken Sheriffs detectives responded to investigate the fire and its cause.During the investigation, detectives determined that the fire had been deliberately set, and the home had been burglarized. Jewelry, and four guns were stolen. The resident's cat was also found dead in the home from what appeared to be smoke inhalation.Police identified the suspect as 38-year-old Joseph L. Cunningham of Paducah, and began attempting to locate him late Thursday evening for questioning. The following morning, deputies were notified by the Mt. Vernon, IL Police Department that they had Cunningham, and another suspect, 40-year-old Kristy Keener in custody for a theft in their jurisdiction. The suspects also reportedly had suspected stolen property from Shooters Supply in Paducah. Deputies said the vehicle Cunningham and Keener was stopped in also had several firearms inside, which police suspected as being stolen from the Schneidman Road burglary the day before.Shooter's Supply surveillance footage reportedly showed that both Cunningham and Keener were in the store Thursday afternoon and stole several pairs of boots and camouflage clothing. The two suspects are believed to have been wearing some of the stolen clothing at the time of their arrest.Deputies said the vehicle that Cunningham and Keener were in at the time of their arrest belonged to Gary Lambert of Paducah. Cunningham faces a murder charge in Marshall County in connection with Lambert's death. Lambert's body was found Friday in the Possum Trot-Sharpe area, and Cunningham was arrested later that day.Cunningham now faces additional charges of 2nd degree arson, 1st degree burglary, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, cruelty to animals, and theft by Unlawful Taking. Keener is charged with theft by unlawful taking.Deputies said they will begin extradition proceedings to get the suspects brought back to Kentucky to answer to the McCracken County charges. On the Net: By Tim Brockwell Mar. 27, 2016 | 03:15 PM | PADUCAH, KY Two local residents have started an online petition to bring the popular car service app Uber to the Paducah area. Adam Morton and Bethany Morehead began the petition Friday. They hope to gather enough signatures to begin the process of allowing the car service to start operating here in Paducah. "If you don't know what Uber is, it's an independent public transportation service. You sign up to drive for them, and you set your own hours. They text you important events and things that are going on in the community when they know people might need rides." Morton said. Morehead said that right now, the closest Uber community is Bowling Green. In order to bring the service to our area, she said the company requires at least 200 signatures to get the process started. "What (Uber) have told me is that we have to start with a petition, and that we have to have at least 200 people. After we have 200 people, we need to go to our city leaders and present it to them, and then they will decide if Uber would be effective for Paducah." Morehead said. Paducah Mayor Gayle Kaler said she has used the service before, but city leaders would have to take a look at current ordinances that may need to be updated before the service can operate in town. "I use Uber, but I don't know how that would fit in with our ordinance," Kaler said. "It's something that we would have to take a look at. The company itself would require certain guidelines, and then we would have to look into our ordinance as far as business licenses and all that. If there's a demand I'm sure that it would be successful, but I don't know if there would be the demand for it. It's just something we'll have to see, but it's interesting. It's very interesting." Morehead said, "Adam and I both think that it would be very beneficial to Paducah. I'm even willing to step up and drive, because when we were in Nashville I absolutely enjoyed the experience of being a customer for Uber." Due to issues with his vision, Morton is unable to drive. He says this limitation is part of what makes him so passionate about bringing Uber to our area. "It doesn't stop me from doing anything, it just makes transportation difficult from time to time because our bus system here in Paducah doesn't have the greatest of hours, and the cabs sometimes are not the most affordable. Uber would just be another option, especially for nighttime and on weekends," Morton said. "There are two great advantages here. You have the 24 access to public transit, and it brings new jobs to the community." You can view the online petition at the link below. On the Net: Disney are one of the largest and most influential corporations in the world. I use the world "corporation" to describe a company best known for its animated movies because, to be fair, that's exactly what Disney make themselves feel like most of the time. Despite the fact that they provide the world with its number one source of nostalgia, they're also known for their inherent love of money, shady business ethics and invincible lawyers. And yet, dreadful associations aside, Disney remains an entity that we continue to embrace on a daily basis, because, let's face it, their animated movies are too freakin' good to pass up. Be it classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or The Jungle Book, renaissance gems like The Lion King or Aladdin, or modern greats such as The Princess and the Frog, Disney have continued to capture our imaginations for almost a century. Whereas Pixar seem to get most of the "you're the best animation studio ever" accolades nowadays, we can't forget that Disney have never stopped churning out wonderful slices of brilliantly funny and beautifully animated fare (packed with songs that we've never been able to forget). Pixar, of course, have built up a reputation for themselves as a flawless studio, and for their love of Easter eggs. It turns out that Disney, too, like Easter eggs just as much as Pixar do. In fact, they set the trend first. This article assembles 10 of the sneakiest Disney-based inclusions here - eggs so subtle that you probably didn't notice them 'less you have a tendency to squash your face right up against the TV screen. 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(14) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (20) Apr 08 (36) Apr 07 (22) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (28) Apr 04 (20) Apr 03 (29) Apr 02 (32) Apr 01 (18) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (15) Mar 28 (22) Mar 27 (24) Mar 26 (17) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (13) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (15) Mar 20 (18) Mar 19 (19) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (10) Mar 16 (6) Mar 15 (18) Mar 14 (24) Mar 13 (18) Mar 12 (18) Mar 11 (17) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (18) Mar 07 (25) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (16) Mar 04 (22) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (23) Feb 29 (19) Feb 28 (25) Feb 27 (26) Feb 26 (23) Feb 25 (12) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (15) Feb 22 (26) Feb 21 (31) Feb 20 (12) Feb 19 (21) Feb 18 (15) Feb 17 (10) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (19) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (20) Feb 11 (9) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (28) Feb 08 (20) Feb 07 (22) Feb 06 (20) Feb 05 (19) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (16) Feb 02 (28) Feb 01 (37) Jan 31 (27) Jan 30 (31) Jan 29 (18) Jan 28 (14) Jan 27 (10) Jan 26 (18) Jan 25 (26) Jan 24 (34) Jan 23 (21) Jan 22 (21) Jan 21 (18) Jan 20 (18) Jan 19 (18) Jan 18 (26) Jan 17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1) 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. 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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? 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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. 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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. DUBAI, UAE, March 29, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- AFME limited has just opened its doors in the middle east and is gathering momentum faster than anyone can say "hello". With its assets under management in London and experts like Richard Cunningham managing them, there is little room to doubt the success that this company will have in this region. The middle east is home to many a turbulent state, and there has always been an eagerness to move funds to a stable and secure location. AFME limited does just that. It promises safety, in a regulated environment and a stable market. It has brought the awareness to the region about investing in companies that have strict regulations and invest only in tier 1 markets. One has to wonder why Agincourt Financial (the asset manager), only invests in Tier 1 and the answer is simple. Safety. AFME limited is not a company to go to if an investor wants high risks and high returns. AFME is a company to go for wealth growth and preservation. Two things which every seasoned investor is familiar with. While frontier markets and emerging markets may prove to be rewarding in the short term, but no investor has been happy about their investments in this structure in the long term. The reasons are simple. Volatility. Unpredictability. No structure or regulation. The middle east is now understanding the importance of regulation, and that too strong regulation like the FCA, Bank of England etc. not regulation like some corporation based out of Cyprus or Bahamas. The investment mentality in the middle east is showing a maturity that was lacking in the past years and the shift is apparent. They are now choosing safe structures and safe havens for their investment. They have started looking for the right Asset managers, and that's where AFME limited has stepped in to fill that gap. Its about time the shift came to the middle east, and the maturity of understanding financial structures and global markets. The investors here are as savvy as any other and they are showing that by their choices. AFME is a market leader in real estate investment services in the United Kingdom. AFME acts as a Fund Manager or Advisor to UK real estate investors. AFME provides unique services encompassed with value added market research to their investors, while maintaining the standards of AFME's traditional personal service. The AFME real estate management team are highly experienced and successful in providing real estate investment opportunities. The team identifies real estate opportunities that are suitable for acquisition for fund management and individual investors. AFME continuously delivers significant returns to investors through its real estate fund management and advisory services. AFME allows the investors to financially flourish within the asset class of real estate. AFME identifies the capital growth or income generating real estate opportunities. AFME sets a strategic plan to maximise the value for the investor in line with the investment mandate. The entire process is fully managed by AFME from investment to divestment. Our investors are primarily family offices and high net worth individuals. The investors return to AFME again and again due to the professionalism of the real estate team and the ability of the individual managers to make real estate investment feel effortless for the investors. # # # Mar 29, 2016 | By Tess There are some magical ideas that could only come from the active imaginations of children, for instance a prosthetic arm whose only function is shooting a cloud of glitter out to brighten peoples day. This last glittering idea was conceived of by 10-year-old Jordan Reeves when she was asked to create her very own superhero inspired prosthetic arm at Autodesks Pier 9 Superhero Cyborgs 2.0 workshop in San Francisco this past January. The workshop, organized by 3D software company Autodesk and KIDmob, a Bay Area nonprofit kid-integrated design firm, was set up to allow kids with upper limb disabilities to work with 3D designers and engineers to bring their desired superhero powers to life through 3D modeling and 3D printing technologies. Over the five days of the workshop, a small group of children between the ages of 10 and 15 worked with 3D design tools like Tinkercad and Fusion 360 to bring their ideas to life. Co-director of KIDmob, Kate Ganim says of the workshop, For us, our interest is in getting kids familiar with taking an idea from concept to execution and learning the skills along the way to do that. Ideally, its not about the end product they end up with out of workshop; its more about realizing theyre not just subject to whats available on the market. It creates this interesting closed loop system where theyre both designer and end user. That is very powerful. Reeves, the 10-year-old from Columbia, Missouri who came up with the 3D printed sparkle cannon idea, drew much attention at the event, not only for her inspiring idea, but for the innovative spirit which she used to pull it off. Reeves, who was born with a left arm that stops just above the elbow, has struggled to find prosthetics that fit her, as most affordable models of arm prosthetics are designed to fit onto a working elbow. As a growing child as well, investing in an expensive prosthetic is not always viable as they can only be used while they still fit the childs arm. The workshop then, has allowed for Reeves, and other children like her, to explore their creative options for prosthetic arms and to have some fun in the process. Reeves mother, Jen Lee Reeves says, Weve always encouraged the growth of 3D printing, because its more affordable. I feel like the engineers building these hands are really great, but they dont know the body. Theres a revolution thats emerging where doctors and experts with degrees that help the body need to know more about hacking the body with more affordable tools. Jen Lee Reeves is the founder of Born Just Right, an online platform for parents of disabled children to share their stories and find support. At the end of the workshop, Reeves presented her five barrelled 3D printed glitter cannon, which she called Project Unicorn along with the other children and their creations to employees of both Autodesk and KIDmob. From there, the judges of the workshop paired each of the children with a mentor to help them further develop their innovative and creative projects over the course of six months. Sam Hobish, an Autodesk designer, has partnered with Jordan to help her realize her project and make it the best it can be, even if it takes longer than the allotted six months. He says, Ive been talking to my colleagues in electronics and materials development about ways we can create some kind of pressurized system that shoots out sparkles more effectively. I plan to work until we get something she really likes. If that means we make new prototypes over the course of a year, Im fine with that. Ill keep going until someone tells me to stop. Reeves, who came up with her Unicorn Project to help spread joy and happiness to those around her, is also hoping to develop a 3D printed and affordable prosthetic she can use on a more regular basis, to help her to hold a cellphone, and to help her parents with everyday chores like carrying the groceries. Here at 3Ders, we cant help but be inspired by Jordan Reeves determination, creativity, and her blossoming maker-spirit. We hope that with some help from Hobish and other 3D printing experts, Reeves will soon have the affordable, and functional prosthetic arm she needs, but until then a glitter greeting from her Project Unicorn will be more than welcome! Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Mar 29, 2016 | By Tess Almost anyone who has been a student knows what it means to tighten the purse strings, resorting to eating instant noodles, drinking campus coffee, and sometimes even living in questionably cheap housing. For those students who have an affinity and enthusiasm for 3D printing technologies, it can sometimes be tough to rationalize 3D printing something out of your own expenses when your universitys own facilities are not up to the task. To help students continue to design and innovate using 3D printing technologies, without breaking the bank, worldwide 3D printing network, 3D Hubs, has launched their new Student Program. The program, launched earlier today on March 29, 2016, is aimed at making additive manufacturing technologies more accessible to college students by lowering the actual cost of 3D printing. That is, 3D Hubs will be offering a 25% discount to students on all their 3D prints ordered through the network. Over 500 universities worldwide are participating with 3D Hubs for their student discount program. If you want to find out whether you are eligible for the 3D Hubs 25% 3D printing discount you simply have to enter your university email address into 3D Hubs website and wait for a confirmation email. From there, the 25% discount will be added automatically to any order you made through 3D Hubs student website. Though some universitys do have 3D printers and other 3D technologies available on campus for students, 3D Hubs has recognized that the access to these is often limited, especially in the weeks leading up to project deadlines. The 3D Hubs Student Program is an effort to make the technology continuously available, especially in moments of great need. As Josh, a student from the University of California, San Diego, expresses on the 3D Hubs website, I was able to easily connect with Hubs close to campus, which meant I could get my project printed with a tight 2 day deadline. 3D Hubs is also hoping to collaborate with universities who do not possess 3D printing resources by connecting them with local hubs or even helping them to start their very own University Hubs by selecting and managing 3D printers for the school. If you want your school to get more involved with 3D printing technologies, or want to further your own career in the 3D printing industry while you are still in school, 3D Hubs is also looking for university campus ambassadors to promote and offer education on the benefits of 3D printing, as well as to make students aware of their new Student Program. Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: Mar 29, 2016 | By Benedict A group of e-NABLE student volunteers from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee is running a 3D printed prosthetic leg covering project called Next Step. The project, led by e-NABLE stalwart Frankie Flood, recently received a $10,000 prize from the Infymakers Challenge. Anybody who has registered even a small interest in the world of 3D printed prosthetic limbs will have heard of e-NABLE, the international nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing simple and effective 3D printed prosthetic hands to the worldwide limb different community. Although best known for its timeless prosthetic hand design, sections of the e-NABLE community are now branching out into new areas of 3D printed design. Frankie Flood, a professor at UWM and one of e-NABLEs most dedicated and long-serving volunteers, recently established the Next Step project. After helping to create numerous 3D printed prosthetic hands for amputees and other limb different persons under the e-NABLE banner, the professor decided to enlist the help of several students to try their hand at something altogether different. Part of the reason for e-NABLEs enduring success has been the consistency of its 3D printed prostheses, all based on the robotic hand of Corporal Coles, a device dating back to the early 1800s. Flood, however, believed he could put his wealth of 3D printing experience to use in a different capacity. Floods Next Step project focuses on personalized 3D printed covers for those with prosthetic legs. The group, consisting of Flood and UWM students Fred Kaems, Becky Yoshikane, Sara Shuler, and Calvin T. Rupnow, will offer its 3D printed covers to veterans who have lost legs during military service. The aim is to provide these veterans with the opportunity to create a bespoke prosthetic leg covering that both reflects their personality and interests, and that gives the prosthesis the anatomical shape of the missing limb. The project began with an introduction to Gerald Ortiz of Melody America who put our students in contact with Sgt. Eric Rodriguez USMC, Flood explained in a blog post. I was introduced to Gerry through my work with e-NABLE. Gerry runs Melody America, an organization that promotes adaptive music therapy for veterans. We discussed the fact that many amputees would like the opportunity to restore the anatomical shape of their affected limb. Being well acquainted with 3D printing, Flood realized that he and his Digital Craft Research Lab students could help create 3D printed coverings for these amputees. When the students confirmed their interest in the project, Flood began planning a 3D printed fairing which could be used as a free-to-use template for veterans and other members of the limb different community. Flood decided to make Sgt. Rodriguez the first recipient of the project, obtaining 3D scans of his prosthetic leg socket, before leaving the students to come up with a range of 3D designs. Under the guidance of Flood, the students created 3 prototype 3D printed leg coverings over a period of 15 weeks. The first consisted of a covering modeled on the students own bodies, the second focused on creatively depicting the interests and personality of Sgt. Rodriguez, while the third was designed with interchangeable fascias to enable easy customization for different wearers. Each student created custom 3D printed fairing pieces which could be used interchangeably on the third prototype. To gain exposure for their project, the students entered Next Step into the Infymakers Challenge, a competition run by the nonprofit Infosys Foundation USA. To the teams delight, Next Step was chosen as one of the ten winners, securing $10,000 for the fledgling 3D printing project. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Mar 29, 2016 | By Alec Educators right here in the West are increasingly becoming aware what 3D printing can achieve in classrooms to inspire the next generation of scientists, but one British researcher has found that the technologys educational power transcends simply getting kids into STEM specialisms. Travelling to mountainous Peru, Dr Timothy Whitehead from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has found that custom 3D prints are actually perfect for educating lawmakers and the wider population about the acute dangers of natural disasters such as flash floods, landslides and mudslides. 3D printing expert Whitehead recently teamed up with UK-based NGO Practical Action, which uses the latest technologies to challenge poverty and abysmal living conditions in Latin America, Africa and India. We find out what people are doing and help them to do it better. Through technology we enable poor communities to build on their skills and knowledge to produce sustainable and practical solutions- transforming their lives forever and protecting the world around them, the NGO explains, principles that have already resulted in projects on sustainable energy, efficient agricultural solutions, urban water and waste management, and disaster risk reduction. In particular, Whitehead sought to add 3D printing technology to the specialisms of Practical Action, and travelled to the poor regions of Peru for a test study. He did so especially because he felt that the technologys potential for improving quality of life was underappreciated. For me, the possibilities are really amazing. The way objects are created through 3D printing means we can create more complex parts and components, we can create geometrically intricate constructions, he explained on his universitys website. We can, in short, think completely differently about how to solve existing problems in our world. But when travelling to Lima, Peru, he actually found that local natural disasters were just as dangerous as the extreme poverty, crime and unsanitary living conditions that the Peruvian people were subjected too. I was expecting to print engineering components, but one of the first things Practical Action wanted me to help with was to print a 3D topographical map of the areas of poverty in Lima. This showed, in clear detail, how landslides were a real danger and what would happen in their inevitable event, he explained. This is actually a subject more relevant than ever right now. The 2016 El Nino is already strongly affecting Latin American economies, with unusual droughts destroying harvests and flash floods and landslides making the mountainous regions very dangerous indeed precisely the regions where people are travelling to in search for economic possibilities. With the help of these 3D printed topographical maps, Whitehead and the educators from Practical Action where able to reach across language barriers and explain to locals and lawmakers how realistic and predicable threats are. We were then able to use this to explain to people living there why we needed to make changes, to have safety measures put in place, the researcher explained. Whats more, Whitehead felt that this is an educational breakthrough enabled only by 3D printing. Traditional manufacturing is quite limited: you need clear designs and production lines. With 3D printing we can be more creative; there's no way traditional manufacturing could so easily have produced that map, he argued. Acting as a kind of proof-of-concept in Peru, 3D printing is now also used to manufacture other helpful tools, including parts for water purification systems and weather sensing equipment, which can also be used to improve survival rates and quality of life. The aim for me is to establish a regular collaboration and really explore the potential of 3D printing. If we can create a working model of helpful measures, we could look at whether this could be exported to Africa, Asia and so on, Whitehead said. Initially, this research collaboration is expected to last until June 2016, but Practical Action is already looking at how 3D printing can be applied in their other target countries as well. We're really excited to be collaborating with De Montfort University. 3D printing could be a disruptive technology, leap-frogging traditional design and manufacturing processes, said Paul Smith Lomas, the NGOs Chief Executive. It could mean that people in developing countries are able to access new products faster and cheaper than they would in the past, making their lives better. You could call it a sort of democratization of technology. At Practical Action we call it 'Technology Justice' and it is something we want to encourage more of. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Mar 29, 2016 | By Alec When drones became affordable hobbyist toys, who wouldve imagined that the skies could one day be filled with autonomous delivery drones? Amazon certainly did, and they have been working on their Prime Air program with that purpose in mind for some time now. Like so many other drone initiatives, they are relying on 3D printing to keep costs down. While you might expect ambition from a company such as Amazon, one Australian startup called Flirtey has actually been stealing their thunder by achieving one 3D printed drone delivery success after another. And they have just completed their next test, the first autonomous delivery in an urban area as part of an FAA test. If youve missed them completely, Flirtey is an Australian drone developer currently based in Nevada. Though previously finding delivery successes in Australia and New Zealand, they have been eyeing the US market for some time. Thats why they have been participating in limited tests sanctioned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Last July, they reached a milestone by successfully delivering a pharmaceutical package during test in rural Virginia. While consisting of a wide range of materials, that drone featured multiple 3D printed components and it is believed that this second test again relied on 3D printing. With a range of more than 10 miles and a tethered line that lowers cargo, these autonomous drones have been looking very promising. And it was again a pretty impressive test result. The drone flew to an unoccupied house in Hawthorne, Nevada on March 10, guided by a built-in GPS and computer that enables for communication and battery power monitoring. There, it dropped a package that included bottled water, an emergency food supply and a first-aid kit. The package was lowered down on the front porch autonomously, though several visual observers and a drone pilot were on standby to intervene if necessary. Fortunately, the entire thing went off without a hitch. The company was obviously very proud of the achievement, especially because the test involved navigating around buildings, power lines, and street lights. Conducting the first drone delivery in an urban setting is a major achievement, taking us closer to the day that drones make regular deliveries to your front doorstep, Flirtey CEO Matt Sweeny said. The test was successfully completed with the help of various partners, including the Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center at the University of Nevada at Reno, the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems and NASA. The contents of the delivery were not chosen randomly either, as they are exactly the type of products that could be autonomously delivered in the near future: food, water and emergency supplies, all necessary for humanitarian relief, online retail and food delivery. The director of the FAA test site in Nevada Chris Walach was also very impressed by the test results. [They] excelled in all aspects of safe flight operations in the National Airspace System, he argued. This was by far one of the most successful UAS operations we ran, and represents an advanced level of test and development of new UAS technology, flight planning, innovation and mission execution by Flirtey. Its also a spectacular result for the FAA, who have been involved in a range of tests on drone activities and behavior. Tests like these, showing a drones capacity in a variety of rural and urban areas, will greatly influence their rule-making process. Their updated regulations are expected in the spring, and other drone operators, ranging from hobbyists to Amazon and Walmart, are all expected to benefit from Flirteys achievements. Could this signal the way for skies filled with commercial drones? Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Mar 29, 2016 | By Alec A good glass of whisky (or whiskey, if you prefer an Irish brand) seems to have little to do with 3D printing, expect perhaps as a companion for those late night 3D printing projects. But a new paper by a team of Princeton University researchers argues that whisky can definitely inspire a wide range of 3D printing options, and more than just alcohol-fueled designs. Whisky, their study found, has remarkable evaporation qualities that could lead to new 3D printing inks and even coating materials. To understand this unusual concept, it would be best to start at coffee. Weve all defaced a magazine or newspaper with a coffee ring at some point or another. Those rings are formed because of the way coffee quickly evaporates at the rings edges, leading to a change in surface tension that pulls more liquids to those edges. Most whiskies, however, do not leave any coffee rings. Arizona-based photographer Ernie Button discovered that when he began photographing whisky residue in clear glasses, and asked a physicist friend why not all whiskies left interesting patterns. That friend set up a research team at Princeton, who investigated the drying properties of whisky. This resulted in their paper that has just been published in Physical Review Letters, entitled Controlled Uniform Coating from the Interplay of Marangoni Flows and Surface-Adsorbed Macromolecules. It was authored by Hyoungsoo Kim, Francois Boulogne, Eujin Um, Ian Jacobi, Ernie Button, and Howard A. Stone, who revealed their results and expectations for whisky-based innovative fluids. Essentially, they discovered two important drying features in those whiskies that did not leave coffee rings. Those whiskies had fat-like molecules that lower surface tension, stopping the liquid-pulling properties found in coffee. This essentially keeps the whiskey in the middle of the circle, instead of drawing it towards the edges. Secondly, they discovered plant-derived polymers that caused a sticking effect, that also kept the evaporating liquid in its place. These are very interesting properties for fluids to have, because fluid patterning manipulation is crucial for various physicochemical applications. Recreating these whisky properties in other liquids, essentially gives researchers more control over their behavior and distribution. This would be very attractive for industrial liquids used for coating objects, and for 3D printing inks to ensure predictable drying behavior. To test this, the researchers already created whisky-like liquids that dried just as whisky did. Once removing these lipid molecules or plant-derived polymers, coffee rings were suddenly formed. The next step would be to take these whisky-based principles to industrial fluids that could add a whole new dimension to ink-based 3D printing. Posted in 3D Printing Materials Maybe you also like: Margalit Fox in the New York Times: Jim Harrison, whose lust for life and sometimes just plain lust roared into print in a vast, celebrated body of fiction, poetry and essays that with ardent abandon explored the natural world, the life of the mind and the pleasures of the flesh, died on Saturday at his home in Patagonia, Ariz. He was 78. The cause was heart failure, his publisher, Grove Atlantic, said on Monday. A native of Michigan, Mr. Harrison lived most recently during the summers in the wild countryside near Livingston, Mont., where he enthusiastically shot the rattlesnakes that colonized his yard, and during the winters in Patagonia, where he enthusiastically shot all kinds of things. In both places, far from the self-regarding literary soirees of New York, for which he had little but contempt, and the lucre of Hollywood, where he had done time as a dazzlingly dissolute if not altogether successful screenwriter, he could engage in the essential, monosyllabic pursuits that defined the borders of his life: to walk, drive, hunt, fish, cook, drink, smoke, write. The result was prodigious: 21 volumes of fiction, including Legends of the Fall (1979), a collection of three novellas whose title piece, about a Montana family ravaged by World War I, became a 1994 film starring Brad Pitt; 14 books of poetry; two books of essays; a memoir; and a childrens book. More here. And here is an interview in the Paris Review. Steven Hill in Salon: The New York Times Farhad Manjoo recently wrote an oddly lamenting piece about how the Uber model, it turns out, doesnt translate. Manjoo describes how so many of the Uber-of-X companies that have sprung up as part of the so-called sharing economy have become just another way to deliver more expensively priced conveniences to those with enough money to pay. Ironically many of these Ayn Rand-inspired startups have been kept alive by subsidies of the venture capital kind which, for various reasons, are starting to dry up. Without that kind of VC welfare, these companies are having to raise their prices, and are finding it increasingly difficult to retain enough customers at the higher price point. Consequently, some of these startups are faltering; others are outright failing. Witness the recent collapse of SpoonRocket, an on-demand pre-made meal delivery service. Like Uber wanting to replace your car, SpoonRocket wanted to get you out of your kitchen by trying to be cheaper and faster than cooking. Its chefs mass-produced its limited menu of meals, and cars equipped with warming cases delivered the goods, aiming for sub-10 minute delivery of sub-$10 meals. But it didnt work out as planned. And once the VC welfare started backing away, SpoonRocket could not maintain its low price point. The same has been happening with other on-demand services such as the valet-parking app Luxe, which has degraded to the point where Manjoo notes that prices are rising, service is declining, business models are shifting, and in some cases, companies are closing down. Yet the telltale signs of the many problems with this heavily subsidized startup business model have been prevalent for quite some time, for those who wanted to see. In July 2014, media darling TaskRabbit, which had been hailed as a revolutionary for the way it allowed vulnerable workers to auction themselves to the lowest bidders for short-term gigs, underwent a major pivot. Thats Silicon Valley-speak for acknowledging that its business model wasnt working. It was losing too much money, and so it had to shake things up. TaskRabbit revamped how its platform worked, particularly how jobs are priced. CEO Leah Busque defended the changes as necessary to help TaskRabbit keep up with explosive demand growth, but published reports said the company was responding to a decline in the number of completed tasks. Too many of the Rabbits, it turns out, were not happy bunnies they were underpaid and did a poor job, despite company rhetoric to the contrary. An increasing number of them simply failed to show up for their tasks. As a results, customers also failed to return. More here. Bear Head LNG Reaches Agreement to Purchase Additional Land Perth, Mar 29, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG ) ( LNGLY:OTCMKTS ) announced that its 100% owned subsidiary, Bear Head LNG Corporation, Inc. (Bear Head LNG) today reached an agreement to purchase additional land from Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI) to support expansion of its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on the Strait of Canso in Richmond County, Nova Scotia. "The acquisition of additional land is very important for our project. It enables us to increase the capacity of the LNG facility from a nominal eight million tonnes per annum (mtpa) up to 12 mtpa in 2024, as per our approval from the National Energy Board,'' said Maurice Brand, President of Bear Head LNG. "Over the past couple of years, Bear Head LNG has made significant progress on the project by obtaining regulatory certainty. This agreement between Bear Head LNG and NSBI is important for future development and planning, thus facilitating economic growth and job creation in the Strait region." Under the agreement reached with NSBI, Bear Head LNG will acquire an additional 72-acres of land directly adjacent to its existing 255-acre site on the Strait of Canso. "We are pleased to work with Bear Head LNG, which is involved in a growing and vital LNG export sector in North America," said Warren Olsen, CAO, Richmond County Municipality. "Bear Head LNG is committed to supporting the local economy in Nova Scotia that will provide substantial economic and social benefits for the community, First Nations, and Nova Scotia." Bear Head LNG has approval from the US Department of Energy to export US-sourced natural gas to both nations that do (FTA) and nations that do not have free trade agreements (Non-FTA) with the US. Canada's National Energy Board has granted Bear Head LNG approval to export up to 12 million tonnes per annum of LNG. Further, Bear Head LNG has all the initial federal, provincial, and municipal regulatory approvals required to begin project construction. In addition, Bear Head LNG has recently opened an office in Halifax. The company is continuing to expand its presence in Nova Scotia. Brand said opening an office in Halifax is another step in expanding its local presence and further demonstrates the company's commitment to advancing the Bear Head LNG project. Project Director & Vice President of Engineering, Construction and Permitting Darshi Jain, Strategic & Regulatory Affairs Advisor Paul MacLean, and Chief Technology Officer for LNGL & Executive Responsible for Bear Head LNG, John Baguley. About Bear Head LNG Corporation, Inc. Bear Head LNG is wholly owned by Liquefied Natural Gas Limited. Bear Head LNG proposes to develop a liquefied natural gas export facility on the Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada. To view tables and figures, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/62PPXBV6 About Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG) ( OTCMKTS:LNGLY) (LNGL) is an ASX listed company whose portfolio consists of 100% ownership of the following companies: - Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia LNG), a US-based subsidiary, which is developing an eight mtpa or greater LNG export terminal, in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA; - Bear Head LNG Corporation Inc. (Bear Head LNG), a Canadian-based subsidiary, which is developing an 8 12 mtpa LNG export terminal in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada with potential for further expansion; - Bear Paw Pipeline Corporation Inc. (Bear Paw), which is proposing to construct and operate a 62.5 km gas pipeline lateral to connect gas supply to Bear Head LNG; and - LNG Technology Pty Ltd, a subsidiary which owns and develops the Company's OSMR LNG liquefaction process, a midscale LNG business model that plans to deliver lower capital and operating costs, faster construction, and improved efficiency, relative to larger traditional LNG projects. ACAs library of educational tools help members improve their business practices. ACA also holds the most popular industry conferences and offers credentialing for collectors, attorneys, and more. ACAs Training Zone subscription gives agencies access to almost all of our education for one low cost. The Travel Insurance campaign for Tata AIG has won a Gold in the Consumer Research Category at the Festival of Media Asia Pacific (FOMA) 2016 awards held in Singapore recently. These awards celebrate the best in media thinking and communications across the APAC region. The campaign was based on the insight that travel is something that everyone looks forward to. Yet insurance is something most travelers dont buy, especially in India or if they do, its usually only for specific destinations. As per research by Resultrix India, part of ZenithOptimedia Group, more than 90 per cent of travel insurance transactions online are made within three hours of the first search. Resultrix had to drive brand impressions and site traffic by maintaining close to 100 per cent share-of-voice throughout the journey to purchase during that decisive three-hour window. Resultrix developed a proprietary research methodology to understand the correlation between traffic generated from search terms and brand impressions, and direct site traffic using this to determine the potential to convert individual prospects to sale, and then targeting them with customized messaging based on the actual terms used. In just one quarter, there was a 67 per cent increase in Tata AIG brand and product related searches; over 42 per cent increase in direct page traffic; and ultimately increased travel insurance transactions for the brand by a massive 74 per cent. Mayoori Kango, Chief Digital Officer, ZenithOptimedia Group, said, FOMA is a very prestigious award and it is a matter of great pride for us to be receiving it. Resultrix was able to drive high potential users to the Tata AIG website and convert them to sale, driving impressive results. By dialing up on our LiveROI philosophy, we helped Tata AIG find the right triggers to scale up on sales and drive growth faster than their competitors. Airmen reflect on B-1 bomber attacks over Libya Five years ago, a phone rang in the 28th Bomb Wing vice commander's office and made history. Less than 72 hours later, on March 27, 2011, more than 1,100 maintenance personnel launched four B-1B Lancer bombers from the Ellsworth Air Force Base flightline in blizzard conditions to support Operation Odyssey Dawn. It was the first time the aircraft had ever launched from a continental U.S. location in support of combat operations. Two B-1s and their eight-person crew would continue on and strike targets in Libya; however, the mission required communication and personnel working round-the-clock to be executed. "I was about halfway through the planning process (of a training sortie), and rumors were making their way around about base leadership convening at the command post," said Maj. Matthew, a weapons system officer for the operation's lead B-1. "At about 1 p.m., I was called to the command post with a pilot in my squadron. We were both qualified mission commanders, which clued me in that whatever was going on was likely a real-world event." Matthew and many aviators within the 34th and 37th bomb squadrons, as well as maintenance and munitions personnel, were briefed that preparations were underway to organize a strike mission more than 6,000 miles away in Libya. In less than 20 hours, the conventional munitions element built approximately 145 munitions, enough to load seven B-1s. On the aviation side of the base, aircrews were preparing for takeoff. "We had the pre-brief, and flew a practice profile in the simulator as well to make sure everyone on the crew had the opportunity to practice the bomb runs," said Maj. Christopher, co-pilot for the operation's lead B-1. "The biggest thing going through my mind was trying to absorb every bit of information so that we didn't mess it up." This specific weapons build was the first time many had ever built bombs that would leave a CONUS location to bomb targets. "Seeing these guys doing their job for real, I was proud of them. I couldn't have asked for a better crew at the time," said Master Sgt. Matthew, the 28th Munitions Squadron munitions control section chief. Maintenance personnel and aircrew were executing their duties in the worst imaginable weather. It was roughly 35 degrees outside with heavy fog and pilots on the runway could only see ahead one hash-mark. Maj. Brian, a weapons system officer for the operation's lead B-1, confessed to slipping multiple times on his way to transportation vehicles, while Maj. Matthew added the most memorable part of the mission was takeoff. Brian said it was an honor to be selected as one of the crew members, and that he felt it was his duty to reward the faith previous commanders put in him by executing the mission to a weapons officer level. B-1s arrived in the Libya area of operations 12 hours after takeoff and the crews checked in with command and control. Many aspects had changed between pre-brief and check-in, but the crews divvied up targets and went in for their first strike. "The mission was the deepest strike made into Libya during OOD, which kept us in hostile airspace for over an hour and a half," Maj. Matthew said. "(Previous missile strikes) alerted the enemy to our presence, and we immediately saw anti-aircraft artillery fire coming from the ground. It was the first time any of us had seen AAA." Poorly aimed artillery fire didn't concern the aviators, who hit their marks and recovered at a forward operating location. Twenty-four hours later, the second launch began. Nearly 100 targets were hit during the two days. At only 72 hours, the mission marked a significant milestone, not only for Ellsworth AFB, but also for the B-1 fleet as a whole. Maj. Matthew added the mission solidified the B-1 and its aircrew members' role as a flexible, rapidly-deployable strategic asset. Brian agreed that it showed the skill, dedication and professionalism of the 28th Maintenance Group. "The fact they were able to generate five green jets, build 145 munitions, all while in the middle of a snow storm on only two days' notice still amazes me to this day," Brian said. "We train every day to do precisely that, but the maintainers and weapons troops can't simulate extreme weather and harsh temperatures. They were the MVPs of Odyssey Dawn in my opinion." Master Sgt. Matthew, who led the munitions crew, added the lessons learned from the operation are always an example he brings up when training his fellow munitions Airmen. "It's hard to overstate how important the ground support teams were to our success," Maj. Matthew said. "Without all of the support agencies, from maintenance to airfield operations, transportation, etc., we wouldn't have been nearly as successful." According to mission planners, the B-1 was the only aircraft that could meet the demands of the mission, such as the timeframe and the number of weapons required to hit that many targets. "Executing the strike proved the aircraft is capable of holding any target in the world at risk, at any time," said Maj. Donavon, commander of the operation's lead B-1. (Editors note: Last names were removed due to security concerns.) James announces Office of Energy Assurance Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced the establishment of the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance and conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland March 22. James spoke to more than 600 Air Force basic trainees at the ceremony for the Forward Operating Base of the Future. The FOB of the Future is located at the Basic Expeditionary Airmen Skills Training (BEAST) site, where trainees spend a week in an expeditionary environment during their more than eight weeks at basic military training. Developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the $3.4 million project will demonstrate alternative energy capabilities to reduce a FOBs reliance on diesel by generating on-site renewable energy and reducing overall consumption. While the project is an energy reduction prototype that also advances a culture of energy awareness, the significant goal will be reducing the reliance on fuel convoys in contested FOB environments which have resulted in service member casualties. One zone of the BEAST site was retrofitted with solar panels on tents, enhanced environmental controls, micro-grid technology, and smart power controllers, reducing the energy footprint of the zone by 85 percent. One of the biggest challenges our Airmen face on the battlefield is secure access to energy, the energy we need to accomplish our mission, she said. Natural disasters, terrorism, political instability all of these can impact our access to energy and jeopardize mission effectiveness. However, assured access to energy isnt just a requirement for our Airmen in forward operating environments, its critical to our operating needs at every installation, James said. Through innovative technologies and business models, well create strategic energy agility on our installations, allowing us to sustain our mission even when traditional resources are disrupted, she said. According to the OEA memorandum of establishment, signed earlier this month by James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the office will develop, implement and oversee an integrated facility energy portfolio, including privately financed, large-scale clean energy projects that will provide uninterrupted access to the electricity necessary for mission success. James said the OEA will take an enterprise-wide approach to identify and facilitate energy projects that provide resilient, cost-effective, cleaner power to Air Force installations. Miranda Ballentine, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy, said the office is already beginning to operate and anticipates having 10 large-scale projects in service or procurement across the U.S. by the end of 2017. The establishment of OEA further cements the Air Forces focus on energy resiliency, Ballentine said. The Air Force is taking a holistic approach to our installation energy resources and looking to resilient, cleaner and cost-effective energy projects as a way to enhance the Air Forces mission assurance through energy assurance. Women's History Month Spotlight: Lt. Col. Kaitlyn Woods Lt. Col. Kaitlyn Woods, is an aerial reconnaissance weather officer with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters" here. Her interest in serving in the military started when she was a young girl in junior high and high school, where she first explored the options of attending one of the various military academies. Even though her family had no military background, they still guided and motivated her to pursue those options. Upon graduating from high school, she received a full Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship through the Air Force. She instead decided to attend college at the University of Miami, Florida, where she graduated and was commissioned in 1999. Woods said that she recognizes and appreciates the struggles her grandmothers' generation went through for women's rights, and that she feels very grateful to serve in a time where she is treated both professionally and equally in the military. For her, gender was never an issue in her Air Force career from the time she first joined until now. "To be completely honest, I have never felt anything but equal to everybody else, and I think that's one of the many things the military has done a really good job at. The military has always led the way when it came to social issues, whether it was race or males and females, and I've always felt good about it," said Woods. This feeling carries over to her views on the role models she has had in her life, citing both men and women who had an influence on how she arrived where she is today. "I don't think of it like that, to be totally frank. It's just people that I would like to emulate," said Woods about her role models. "It doesn't really have anything to do with whether they're male or female." Woods did note one Air Force officer, Col. Mary Lockhart (retired), a reservist who mentored her during her early career while on active duty. "Over the years she did a really good job of influencing my way of thinking, the way I interact with people, and my basic management principles," said Woods. "She definitely gave me the confidence to realize that it never hurts to ask (for assistance or information)." Woods' last assignment during her six years on active duty was at Keesler, where she served as an instructor at the base's weather school, not too far from where the Hurricane Hunters' building was located. After learning about the ARWO position, she decided that she wanted to take part in the Hurricane Hunter mission and interview for the job. She said she felt fortunate that her career path led her to serve as an ARWO with Hurricane Hunters. "I am lucky enough to be in a squadron where we have such an incredibly unique mission.... to have an opportunity to do something this amazing," said Woods about the 53rd WRS and their mission to fly into storms to gather weather data. While she noted that her experience in the military has been positive regarding interactions between men and women, she recognizes that it is not like that in other places, and other militaries, across the globe. One experience that made her more aware of this occurred while she was taking part in her first Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour, a joint effort between the National Hurricane Center and the Hurricane Hunters that promotes hurricane awareness and preparedness throughout the different nations in the Caribbean. "There was this group of school girls that came in, and I was in uniform and speaking to the crowd, and one of the little girls came up to me afterward and said, 'They really do let you do this?'" said Woods. "That changed my entire perspective! I can tell you that I had never felt more proud to be an American in my life, because I realized at that point how lucky I was that I feel no gender difference, and how there is still a huge gender difference throughout the world." For women still facing those differences, Woods offered the following encouragement. "I believe that anyone with a good work ethic will eventually succeed in life. It's not about being the smartest, it's not about being the most popular, it's about whether you have a good work ethic. If you do, everything eventually will even out," said Wood. Woods said she feels fortunate to serve in the military and be in a career field she loves. She recalled her first storm mission as an ARWO with the Hurricane Hunters and the awe she felt at that time, which has stayed with her to this day. "I remember my first flight through a hurricane - it was a Category 3, and it had the stadium effect," said Woods, referring to how the clouds circling the eye of a hurricane slope upwards like the inside of a stadium. "It was absolutely beautiful in the eye. I remember, when I was in that storm, thinking that if there was ever a day where I did not appreciate the beauty of this, then I needed to quit." So far, that day has yet to come. Marine Drive Police have registered an FIR against him under section 332, 353 and 34 of Indian Penal Code. Bachchu Kadu an independent MLA from Achalpur has once again manhandled a deputy secretary at Mantralaya. Maharashtra government employees assembled at the ground floor of Mantralaya condemned this act and went on a flash strike. They alleged that Kadu had beaten up Deputy Secretary Bhausaheb Gavit. Even though FIR has been filed against Kadu but officials urged the state government to take strict action against him under the atrocities act and demanded a law to be passed for protecting officials against such attacks. They shouted slogans against Kadu at Mantralaya and demanded his disqualification. Employees have threatened to disrupt work if the government fails to take action against Kadu. After the attack Gavit was admitted to St George hospital as he complained of high blood pressure. A police complaint has been filed against Kadu, who is known to have roughed up employees in the past too. A Mantralaya staffer said that the MLA was incensed after Gavit refused to allot government accommodation to a clerk who has already been allotted a (government) house. Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said, Manhandling a government official is a serious matter. A probe must be conducted for ascertaining the truth and action must be taken against Kadu if he is proven guilty. RTI activist Anil Galgali said, Its an unfortunate incident. The government should take action against this MLA and punish him under appropriate section of Indian Penal Code. When asked whether it is justified by the employees to strike work he replied, No I dont support this act but by striking work they are trying to impose pressure on senior officials to take action against Kadu. Kadu has however denied the assault charge and said, The allegations made against me are false as I have not assaulted Gavit. Gavit was not discharging his duties efficiently and has been asking me to meet the Chief Minister. Even though Mr. Fadnavis had directed officials to speed up developmental work it continues to remain pending. Senior Police Inspector, Marine Drive Police station Popat Raoji Yadav said, Bhausaheb Gavit had filed a complaint against Bachchu Kadu. We have registered an FIR against him under section 332, 353 and 34 of Indian Penal Code. We are probing this matter further and will take a decision to arrest him after the investigation. Kadu is known for taking up the issues faced by the common man therefore he is very popular among the masses. He has been known for spearheading various agitations in the state. On 9th March Kadu was felicitated with Efficient MLA award, constituted in the memory of late Member of Legislative Council Madhavrao Limaye. In 2011 Kadu had slapped Hagavane for allegedly demanding bribe from one Ankush Raut who had been shortlisted for posting as medical officer in Amravati. Raut was seeking a government order for his appointment as medical officer in Kadus constituency. The EgyptAir hijacker is in the custody of authorities in Cyprus, Homer Mavrommatis, director of the Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs Crisis Management Center, said Tuesday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Cyprus confirmed in a tweet at around 7:45 a.m. ET that the hours-long ordeal was over. The drama unfolded aboard EgyptAir Flight MS181, which was on a domestic flight en route from Alexandria to Cairo. A hijacker who claimed to have an explosive belt ordered the plane to land in either Turkey or Cyprus, according to officials. The Airbus A320 flew to the Cypriot port city of Larnaca and landed at around 7:50 a.m. local time (12:50 a.m. ET), where negotiations got underway, EgyptAir said. The majority of the passengers were soon released, leaving all but four foreigners and seven crew members on board. The hijacker spent the first three hours of the standoff demanding to speak to his Cypriot ex-wife, a high-level source close to the operation told said. Our people they were talking to him all the time in order to keep keep him busy and allow people to come out, the source added, saying that for each request negotiators asked that more hostages be released in return. The incident began when an Egyptian man allegedly hijacked the EgyptAir flight because of his ex-wife, forcing the plane to land in Cyprus, officials said Tuesday. Authorities identified the hijacker as Egyptian national Seif El Din Mustafa, presidential spokesman Alaa Yousuf said. Earlier, Yousuf identified the hijacker as an Egyptian-American dual citizen with a different name. He asked for asylum, he wanted to talk with someone from the European Union It seems that he was an unstable personality, the source explained, requesting anonymity due to the fluid nature of the investigation. Former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai may be examined by an one-man inquiry panel probing the issue of missing files related to the case of alleged fake encounter killing of Ishrat Jahan in Gujarat. The panel will examine all officers serving or retired who have dealt with the Ishrat Jahan related files, an official privy to the deliberations in the Home Ministry said. Pillai was Union Home Secretary when the Home Ministry had filed two contradictory affidavits in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 on the Ishrat Jahan case. The inquiry, by Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry BK Prasad, was ordered by the Home Ministry after it was found that some papers related to the Ishrat Jahan case went missing. The probe panel has been mandated to inquire into the circumstances in which the files related to the case of Ishrat Jahan, the 19-year-old Mumbra college student who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2004, went missing. The panel will find out the person responsible for keeping the files and relevant issues. The papers, which went missing from the Home Ministry, include the copy of an affidavit vetted by the Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 and the draft of the second affidavit vetted by the AG on which changes were made. Two letters written by the then Home Secretary GK Pillai to the then Attorney General late G E Vahanvati and the copy of the draft affidavit have so far been untraceable. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had disclosed in Parliament on March 10 that the files were missing. The first affidavit was filed on the basis of inputs from Maharashtra and Gujarat Police besides the Intelligence Bureau where it was said that the 19-year-old girl from Mumbai outskirts was a Lashkar-e-Taiba activist but it was ignored in the second affidavit, Home Ministry officials said. The second affidavit, claimed to have been drafted by the then Home Minister P Chidambaram, said there was no conclusive evidence to prove that Ishrat was a terrorist, officials said. Pillai had recently claimed that as Home Minister, Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in the court. Model and TV host Janice Dickinson has revealed that shes got breast cancer and vows to battle the disease. Janice is going to fight and she will not let this diagnosis define her. She wants to encourage all women to have regular checkups, as that is how her cancer was discovered, said Dickinsons attorney, Lisa Bloom, in a statement Monday. Dickinson told the Daily Mail of London that a pea-size lump was found on her right breast during a doctor visit on March 8. Three days after the lump was discovered, Janice had a mammogram and a biopsy. She will undergo surgery and radiation therapy. Dont feel sorry for me, this is not a pity party, Im Janice Dickinson and Im gonna stick around for a long, long time, you aint getting rid of me yet, she told the newspaper. Its still quite shocking. You know, Ive had plastic surgery and Ive had breast implants and Ive always been very vocal of what Ive done, because I tell the truth about everything. As I am right now, the 61-year-old said. Dickinson, author of No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the Worlds First Supermodel and Everything About Me Is Fake and Im Perfect, was a cast member of VH1s The Surreal Life and UPNs Americas Next Top Model. Dickinson has sued Bill Cosby for defamation and the comedians lawyers will argue for the cases dismissal during a hearing Tuesday in Los Angeles. Dickinson has attended recent hearings in the case, which focuses on denials by Cosbys camp of her claims the comedian drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe, California, in 1982. Janice and I will be there tomorrow morning to fight for her right to have her day in court against Bill Cosby, Bloom said. A ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in Maharashtra is threatening to push millions of farmers into penury, deepening distress in the countryside and fanning resentment against ruling BJP. Slaughter of cows, considered sacred in Hinduism, has historically been banned in most states but was rarely enforced in India, the worlds largest exporter of beef. But over the past year, states ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), such as Maharashtra, have broadened the ban to include other types of cattle, (BJP like bulls and bullocks, and Hindu vigilantes have stepped up attacks on traders to enforce the prohibition. The stricter rules come as Modi and the nationalist BJP lay greater stress on Indias Hindu faith, to which the majority of the population belongs. Minority groups, including around 180 million Muslims, have expressed concern over the implications. The impact of the beef ban has been significant. Prices of cattle have fallen across the country, Indias meat exports fell 13% in the April-December period and rival beef supplier Brazil is gaining from Indias loss. It has also left millions of farmers, already reeling from bad harvests due to back-to-back droughts and unseasonal rains, struggling to sell animals they can no longer feed or water. I wonder what the government wants our survival or the cattles? said farmer Revaji Choudhary, standing next to a pair of bulls he has been trying to sell for weeks in a cattle market in Maharashtra. Traditionally, farmers have sold cattle in a drought year to butchers, mostly Muslims, and bought new ones when their earnings rise after monsoon showers. That cycle has been broken and could leave farmers with little money to buy seeds or fertiliser ahead of the next sowing season, starting in June. Farmer suicides have nearly doubled in the drought-hit Marathwada region of Maharashtra. To ban or not to ban? Their predicament is causing concern within the BJP, which has been trying to bolster its credentials in the countryside, where most of Indias 1.3 billion people live. Rural distress contributed to an embarrassing defeat for the party last year in a state election, and more state polls are due over the coming year. In the federal budget last month, Modis government pledged nearly $13 billion on rural development, aiming to double farmers incomes by 2022. Maharashtra BJP legislator Bhimrao Dhonde said the governments priority should be to support farmers, and they should be allowed to sell their cattle to whomever they want. It is time to withdraw the ban, Dhonde told reporters. Madhu Chavan, a spokesman for the BJP in Maharashtra, said Dhondes view did not reflect that of the party. The party thinks the ban is necessary, he said, adding that more money would be made available to alleviate the effects of drought if needed. North Korea on Tuesday fired a short-range missile into the East Sea in another show of force, the Souths military said. The projectile took off at around 5:40 p.m. from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan and flew some 200 kilometers toward the northeastern inland areas, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Our military maintains tight readiness posture while closely tracking and monitoring related movements, the JCS said in a statement. The launch marks the latest in an ongoing series of armed protest by Pyongyang, apparently targeting South Korea-U.S. joint military drills and their sanctions drive, which will pick up during the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington later this week. On March 18, the communist state lifted off two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, prompting the allies condemnation over its violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. On March 10, the North fired two short-range Scud missiles into the East Sea. Pakistan released a six-minute video of detained Indian naval officer Kulbushan Yadav wherein he is confessing to his involvement in an alleged spying activity in the country, and especially Balochistan. Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad, Information Minister Pervez Rashid and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa said Yadav is a serving Indian naval officer whose primary mission was to foment terrorism in Karachi and Balochistan. Lt.Gen. Bajwa further claimed that Yadav had converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer, and termed his detention a big achievement for Pakistan, the Dawn reports. He also said that Pakistan and Balochistan maps has been recovered from Yadav and added that the latter had established a network of operatives, provided funds, arranged and smuggled people for terrorism in the country. The ISPR chief said Yadav had assumed the name of Hussain Mubarak Patel and was tasked with carrying out bomb blasts to disrupt the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, plan and launch attacks in Karachi and work against efforts of Balochistan reconciliation. Yadav also had a link in the assassination of former SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam, added Lt. Gen. Bajwa. Minister Rashid said Yadav will be prosecuted as per the law of the land. Islamabad and the Balochistan government have long accused Indias Research and Analysis Wing and Afghan intelligence of funding and training Baloch insurgents. Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli on Tuesday became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list. In the bowlers table, West Indies Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches. Four of the top five sides will feature in the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20, which will be played in Delhi and Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Number-one ranked India will go head to head with third- ranked West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday, while in the first semifinal in Delhi on Wednesday, second-ranked New Zealand will square-off against fifth-ranked England. India have retained their pre-tournament ranking as well as points, while the West Indies have gained two points to move to 120. This means both the former champions, who each won three of their four second round matches, are now separated by seven points. In contrast, New Zealand, who have been the only unbeaten side in the competition so far, have earned six points to rise to 122 and have consequently moved up two places to second. Their semi-final opponent and 2010 champion, England, have also collected three points and are now seven points behind on 115 after winning three of their four matches. Meanwhile, there has been a reshuffling of the pack in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings as leading performers have been rewarded for their good performances. Englands Joe Root has rocketed 38 places to career-high 11th after scoring 168 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of 150. The Yorkshireman has gained 105 points in the tournament to date as he now has Zimbabwes eighth-ranked Hamilton Masakadza firmly within his sights. Since when do we ask the scientific community about whether a film should be screened? Who were these scientists? Shouldnt we all know which scientists were on the Tribeca Censorship Panel? Frankly, many (but certainly not all) of the scientific community, particularly scientists with ties to the pharmaceutical industry or the Centers For Disease Control, have turned their backs on people with autism. These scientists will get up and leave the room if you talk about vaccine injuries. That those who oppose our views exerted enormous pressure on you and the Tribeca Film Festival team to pull Vaxxed from your line up is not shocking. That you brought in others from the scientific community to help you accept censorship is profoundly disturbing. As the father of two sons with autism, I want you to know that Ive never accepted it because I want my sons, who struggle with language, to know that you have to speak out even when finding the words isnt easy. Censorship and suppression of our rights to speak out about what happened to our children has been going on for a while now. The media feeding frenzy you endured was typical for anyone with a certain degree of fame who ventures into questioning or in your case providing a venue for discussion of vaccine safety. What you experienced in the two days leading up to your decision to accept the censorship of Vaxxed is something that we in the autism community have seen and experienced for years. It occurred to me that I should write you a note about your decision to not screen Andrew Wakefields documentary Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24 th . The Festival doesn't seek to avoid or shy away from controversy. However, we have concerns with certain things in this film that we feel prevent us from presenting it in the Festival program. We have decided to remove it from our schedule. My intent in screening this film was to provide an opportunity for conversation around an issue that is deeply personal to me and my family. But after reviewing it over the past few days with the Tribeca Film Festival team and others from the scientific community, we do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for. Grace and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined. In the 15 years since the Tribeca Film Festival was founded, I have never asked for a film to be screened or gotten involved in the programming. However this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening VAXXED. I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue. Perhaps one of the scientists was David Gorski who blogs under the name Orac. Gorski spent the last few days spewing vitriol at you before you pulled the film. Gorski attacks anyone who questions vaccine safety and is particularly brutal to those who also have children with autism. In his 3/25 post, Gorski admits that he had anonymous associates spying on your wife. The great and powerful Orac has a nameless friend in the business who informed him that your wife had the audacity to have a friendly conversation with Andrew Wakefield on a movie set. Nice guy. Was he on your panel? Perhaps one of the scientists was Dr. Paul Offit. Offit has made millions on vaccines and now enjoys a marvelous second career as a spokesman for the vaccine industry. Offit believes that children can receive 10,000 vaccines at once. Although he regularly appears in the media, his ethical issues while on the federal Advisory Commission on Immunization Practices never come up in news reports. Congress noted Dr. Offits conflicts of interest in the approval process on his rotavirus vaccine in 2000. Ive heard that Offit loves Hitchcock but loathes films with religious themes. Was he brought in? Maybe you brought in Dr. William Thompson. Although Thompson doesnt get out much these days, this would make sense. From what Ive heard, Vaxxed is built around Thompson and a statement he made on August 27, 2014 through his attorney, Rick Morgan, a Whistleblower Attorney from Cincinnati, Ohio: My name is William Thompson. I am a Senior Scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where I have worked since 1998. I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics. The omitted data suggested that African American males who received the MMR vaccine before age 36 months were at increased risk for autism. Decisions were made regarding which findings to report after the data were collected, and I believe that the final study protocol was not followed. I want to be absolutely clear that I believe vaccines have saved and continue to save countless lives. I would never suggest that any parent avoid vaccinating children of any race. Vaccines prevent serious diseases, and the risks associated with their administration are vastly outweighed by their individual and societal benefits. My concern has been the decision to omit relevant findings in a particular study for a particular sub group for a particular vaccine. There have always been recognized risks for vaccination and I believe it is the responsibility of the CDC to properly convey the risks associated with receipt of those vaccines. I have had many discussions with Dr. Brian Hooker over the last 10 months regarding studies the CDC has carried out regarding vaccines and neurodevelopmental outcomes including autism spectrum disorders. I share his belief that CDC decision-making and analyses should be transparent. I was not, however, aware that he was recording any of our conversations, nor was I given any choice regarding whether my name would be made public or my voice would be put on the Internet. I am grateful for the many supportive e-mails that I have received over the last several days. I will not be answering further questions at this time. I am providing information to Congressman William Posey, and of course will continue to cooperate with Congress. I have also offered to assist with reanalysis of the study data or development of further studies. For the time being, however, I am focused on my job and my family. Reasonable scientists can and do differ in their interpretation of information. I will do everything I can to assist any unbiased and objective scientists inside or outside the CDC to analyze data collected by the CDC or other public organizations for the purpose of understanding whether vaccines are associated with an increased risk of autism. There are still more questions than answers, and I appreciate that so many families are looking for answers from the scientific community. My colleagues and supervisors at the CDC have been entirely professional since this matter became public. In fact, I received a performance-based award after this story came out. I have experienced no pressure or retaliation and certainly was not escorted from the building, as some have stated. Omitting statistically significant information is another way of saying research fraud. Ive heard that Vaxxed details this fraud at the Vaccine Safety Division at the CDC. When the CDC altered the data in the 2004 Pediatrics article about the MMR Vaccine and autism it did so for good reason - to protect their boss, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who was facing thousands of cases alleging vaccine-induced autism in litigation in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Thousands of families were denied justice because the CDC buried the data. And, even worse, thousands of other children continue to be needlessly exposed to harm. Ive heard that this is one of the key points made in Vaxxed but Im not quite sure because now I wont get to see it. At least not at the Tribeca Film Festival. Perhaps you brought in this fellow: OIG Fugitive: Poul Thorsen From approximately February 2004 until February 2010, Poul Thorsen executed a scheme to steal grant money awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CDC had awarded grant money to Denmark for research involving infant disabilities, autism, genetic disorders, and fetal alcohol syndrome. CDC awarded the grant to fund studies of the relationship between autism and the exposure to vaccines, the relationship between cerebral palsy and infection during pregnancy, and the relationship between developmental outcomes and fetal alcohol exposure. Thorsen worked as a visiting scientist at CDC, Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, before the grant was awarded. The initial grant was awarded to the Danish Medical Research Council. In approximately 2007, a second grant was awarded to the Danish Agency for Science, Technology, and Innovation. Both agencies are governmental agencies in Denmark. The research was done by the Aarhaus University and Odense University Hospital in Denmark. Thorsen allegedly diverted over $1 million of the CDC grant money to his own personal bank account. Thorsen submitted fraudulent invoices on CDC letterhead to medical facilities assisting in the research for reimbursement of work allegedly covered by the grants. The invoices were addressed to Aarhaus University and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. The fact that the invoices were on CDC letterhead made it appear that CDC was requesting the money from Aarhaus University and Sahlgrenska University Hospital although the bank account listed on the invoices belonged to Thorsen. In April 2011, Thorsen was indicted on 22 counts of Wire Fraud and Money Laundering. According to bank account records, Thorsen purchased a home in Atlanta, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, an Audi automobile, and a Honda SUV with funds that he received from the CDC grants. Thorsen is currently in Denmark and is awaiting extradition to the United States. (http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp) Poul Thorsen is still looming about Denmark like the ghost of Hamlets father. Thorsen was brought into the autism research world by the same CDC people Thompson says committed research fraud. Wayne Rhode and I wrote about the connection between those Thompson has called out for research fraud and Thorsen in Age of Autism article in September of 2014 (http://www.ageofautism.com/2014/09/manifest-injustice-the-end-result-of-scientific-fraud.html). Here is a photograph of the (not yet) indicted Poul Thorsen smiling next to Marshalyn Yeargin-Alisopp, Diana Schendel and other CDCs staff members. Thorsens research has been criticized for also playing fast and loose with data just like the CDC did (according to Thompson). Thorsen withheld data showing that autism rates declined in Denmark after mercury was removed from vaccines and published a paper showing the opposite because of the way he played with the data. Great scientist. But given his status as a fleeing felon, maybe he was just conferenced in by his friend Jose Cordero? Jose Cordero, pictured above, smiling at the far right, is the man who asked the Journal Pediatrics to publish the paper after other journals turned it down (see letter HERE). Cordero - a government employed scientist - had to put the arm on a journal to publish Thorsens paper. Was this conduct ethical? Despite the data shenanigans and his fugitive status, Thorsens research has never been retracted and continues to be presented as proof that mercury, a known neurotoxin, can be safely injected into women and children. Bob, did you ask the scientists on the panel if they believe that mercury suddenly becomes safe when you inject it into pregnant women and children? It would be a good question to determine if they were capable of suspending their disbelief. One needs to do that to truly judge the art of film. From what Ive seen in the trailer, Vaxxed is about the conduct of the scientific community. Maybe asking scientists to judge this film wasnt really a good idea. To be honest, I bet that the panel of Concerned Tribeca Film Scientists never really convened. However, Im hearing that your decision to pull the film really happened because some of your donors with pharmaceutical and government connections gave you the Cordero treatment. If so, your decision to accept censorship is truly an infamnia. Tribeca had every right to show this film. Tribeca is showing controversial films about abortion and police brutality which some might object to. However, only this film has been censored. Think about that. After more than two hundred years of the American tradition of protecting free speech, you are accepting censorship and pulling a film about scientific misconduct around a class of drugs that the vast majority of American children are mandated to take. One would think that the American public would expect full transparency and discourse on vaccines safety. Except that a small group of influential people dont want you to show this film. Why? What are they afraid of if there is nothing wrong with vaccines? Accepting censorship of Vaxxed is a devastating blow to free speech. If I was a film maker, I will pull my film from your festival in protest. Because once censorship is allowed, it will happen again and again. What if the pharmaceutical industry had been able to censor the journalists investigating the misconduct around Viox? Around thalidomide? They would have if they could. Now they know that they can. Because you let them. Louis Conte is the father of triplet boys, two with autism. He is the author of The Autism War, a novel and co-author with Tony Lyons of Vaccine Injuries. Credit: Thank you to James Grundvig for the Cordeiro letter. He is the author of a new book forthcoming from Skyhorse Publisheing. about Poul Thorsen called MASTER MANIPULATOR. Web Toolbar by Wibiya (NaturalNews) Three decades ago this month, a massive explosion at the Soviet-era Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine part of the USSR at the time spewed record amounts of radioactive fuel and core materials into the atmosphere. It was the worst nuclear disaster in the atomic age (to be eclipsed just a few short years ago by the tsunami-caused catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northern Japan). In addition to releasing a plume of dangerous radioactivity, the explosion also irradiated large swaths of land surrounding the plant. As reported by VICE, residents of contaminated areas around the disaster site are stilling being exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation, and it has also permeated the food they are eating. Researchers who continue to study the effects of the radioactive fallout have been examining locally produced food and forest products, both in Ukraine and Russia; they have discovered radioactive isotopes that are dramatically higher than what is permissible for human ingestion 16 times as much, in fact, in some cases, according to findings released recently by Greenpeace. '16 times the limit' "These disasters go on for not only for decades or centuries, but perhaps millennium," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a senior energy analyst with Greenpeace, and a co-author of the report, as quoted by VICE. "We are still seeing contamination levels that are way higher than permissible limits." The accident, which took place April 26, 1986, released some 200 times more radioactivity than was released by the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima to end World War II, the World Health Organization (WHO) says, as reported by VICE. As the site reported further: Researchers identified nuclear isotopes caesium-137 as a particular concern because it is easily absorbed by plants. High levels of the isotope were detected in milk, wild mushrooms, berries, and meat. Of the 50 milk samples collected from the Rivne region, located 200km (124 miles) from the Chernobyl site, "all contained cesium-137 at levels above the limit value set for consumption by adults in Ukraine, and all were substantially above the lower limit set for children," according to the report. Samples of grain that were collected from fields in the Kiev area, which is located about 31 miles from Chernobyl, also contained levels of radioactive isotopes that, in some cases, were more than double the limit for human consumption. And dried mushrooms that were gathered from a forest in the Rivne area, and then stored by families, were found to contain levels of cesium-137 at 16 times the allowable limit. 'Clearly the radiation has infiltrated the local ecosystem' The isotope has a half-life of 30 years, but it will take several centuries for it to decay to a level that is not a risk for humans. Exposure to cesium-137 can boost the risk of cancer, particularly if it is being ingested, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted. "These isotopes are circulating through the ecosystem in ways that we never imagined," Stensil said. "If you live next to the forest, it's part of your way of life. These communities will have to be continually decontaminated." In addition to the initial poisoning of the environment caused by the accident, IFL Science reports that radioactivity is being continually redistributed via natural occurrence. "Clearly, the radiation from the disaster has infiltrated the local ecosystem in a fairly comprehensive way, and not just in terms of edible crops," the site noted. "The report mentions that more than 1,100 wildfires occurred between 1993 and 2013 in the area, meaning that radiation from the blast, initially absorbed by vegetation, has been re-released and redistributed." Ukraine was considered the "breadbasket" of the former Soviet Union, but the country has suffered economically since the breakup of the USSR in 1991, making it difficult for the nation's citizens to avoid consuming contaminated food. Sources: News.Vice.com IFLScience.com Greenpeace.org[PDF] Emergency.CDC.gov Science.NaturalNews.com Read More,, City Honors Assyrian-American Veteran Niles veteran Edmon Akhteebo poses with his family and Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo. ( Igor Studenkov/Bugle) The village of Niles Board of Trustee recently presented Niles veteran Edmon Akhteebo with a key to the city. According to the village proclamation, Akhteebo joined the Marines in 1996, serving for almost 20 years. Between 2001 and 2009, he was deployed three times in Afghanistan and two times in Iraq. During the course of his service, he earned a number of awards, including combat action ribbons for Iraq and Afghanistan, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, an Operation Iraqi Freedom Medal, Operation Enduring Freedom Medal, and a Global War on Terrorism Medal. Akheteebo was honorably discharged in February 2015. The Assyrian people are an ethnic minority group that have traditionally lived in what is now northern Iraq, northeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria. They were one of the first non-Jewish ethnic groups to convert to Christianity. The Arabic conquest reduced them to a religious minority, and the subsequent centuries saw periods of toleration and periods of discrimination and persecution. Concerns about persecution against Assyrians were in the news again in recent years, as the Islamic State and other Islamic extremist groups attacked Assyrian cities in Iraq and Syria, sending tens of thousands fleeing the war-torn countries. Friends and family attended the March 22 ceremony in numbers large enough to fill a decent portion of the village hall seating area. Akhteebo thanked them, saying that their support was very important to him while he served. "I can't say 'thank you' enough for being here," he said. Akhteebo added that he was very proud to be a part of the Assyrian-American community. Turkey Expropriates Armenian, Assyrian Churches The Surp Giragos Armenian Apostolic Church. ( Nanore Barsoumian) A list of lands and buildings in Diyarbakir's Sur district--including the Surp Giragos Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic Churches--have been expropriated by the Turkish government, according to reports. Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos reported that an "urgent expropriation" cabinet decision was taken regarding 6,300 plots of land, citing the March 25 issue of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey (T.C. Resmi Gazete), the country's official journal that publishes new legislation and official announcements. Based on the report, the Surp Sarkis Chaldean Church, Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church, and the city's Protestant church have also been expropriated. Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality Cultural Heritage Director Nevin Soylukaya told Agos that some properties belonging to the municipality have also been expropriated, and that the local government will initiate legal action. She also urged owners of other expropriated properties to take legal action. Armenian Weekly contributor and member of the Surp Giragos Church reconstruction project Raffi Bedrosyan said that there will be a strong effort to reclaim the lands. "All legal and political channels will be mobilized within Turkey and internationally to stop this legalized robbery," Bedrosyan told the Armenian Weekly. According to Agos, lands in Abdaldede, Alipa?a, Cemal Y?lmaz, Camikebir, Cevatpa?a, Dabano?lu, Has?rl?, ?n 20,000 to Attend Assyrian New Year Festivities Children from Kids World Kindy, in Fairfield Heights, performed in traditional Assyrian costume to celebrate the Assyrian New Year last year. Fairfield, Australia -- A record breaking crowd of 20,000 people are expected to attend the Assyrian New Year festivities this weekend, making it the biggest in a decade. The celebrations date back to 6766 where the Babylonians and Assyrians believed the world was symbolically cleansed and recreated by the Gods in preparation for the New Year and the return of Spring. Held at the Fairfield Showground on Sunday, the day will include live musical and theatrical performances, traditional dancers and food stalls, fireworks and amusement rides. There will also be an art exhibition to display the destruction of the ancient Assyrian archaeological sites in Northern Iraq and in North East Syria. Hermiz Shahen from the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) said the aim of the event was to "keep history well and truly alive". "It's one of the most important events handed down from ancient Assyria and we hope to highlight and strengthen our cultural heritage," Mr Shahen said. "We want to promote cross-cultural understanding and encourage our people to stick together. We don't have a country so it's important to not let our tradition die even thousands of years later because that's all we have." He said the peaceful festival hoped to look past the countless genocides against Assyrians in the Middle East over the past century and give everyone a chance to freely celebrate. This year's festivities are set to be the largest yet with more than 20,000 expected to attend throughout the day. AUA president David David said the prestigious event will see guests from overseas, members of parliament and representatives from different community organisations in attendance. "It's been a successful, organised and well respected event in the past and we continue to work for that," Mr David said. "Everyone is invited to attend the event in the heart of both Fairfield and the large Assyrian community." The event will run from 10am to 10pm with the official opening starting at 2pm. Entry is $10 for adults and $5 for children. March 28, 2016 Judging by what people are saying in the Likud Partys dozens of internal WhatsApp groups, one year into the first term of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government, his status is sound. Despite the intifada by individuals, the ongoing deterioration of personal security and a housing crisis that defies resolution, Likud members believe that Netanyahu is the only person who can keep the party in power for another term. Nevertheless, on March 24 the Israeli daily Haaretz presented a potential political scenario that could reshuffle the deck by shifting Likud voters to a new party. The Haaretz article hypothesized about a party headed by former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, current Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and former Minister Gideon Saar of Likud. The poll assessed the strength of this virtual party and found that if elections were held today, it would win 23 seats, whereas Likud would win only 22. The new party would be able to block Netanyahu from forming a government. The poll and the headlines accompanying it have created quite a buzz, especially among the media and politicians. Meanwhile, Likud activists were not terribly upset. What was interesting about the poll was not the rising power of a soft right imaginary party, but the effort to cobble together a political leadership that in reality could never pose an alternative to Netanyahu. In this particular instance, there is no possibility for such a scenario to unfold although the three men mentioned are on friendly terms. Furthermore, the need to invent a party leadership that can face off against Netanyahu only underscores the current reality: There is no real alternative to Netanyahu in his party or outside of it. What highlights the leadership vacuum even more is that the virtual party being presented as potentially able to take down Netanyahu has three heads, not one. Parties have a leader, and instead of a single figure who stands out and sweeps crowds along with him, there is a group of potentially talented individuals at the head of the imaginary party. This reflects the sad reality that there is no significant alternative to Netanyahu as prime minister, at least at present. Parties always need a singular leader who could take them through elections. That none of the three men is at the top of the Haaretz poll shows that not one of them has the leadership skills to draw the public toward him. Ashkenazi may be popular, but he remains worn down by the Harpaz affair and has shown no real eagerness to dive into politics. Kahlon is already in over his head in his effort to show achievements as finance minister. He is also trapped in Netanyahus narrow government, with his party, Kulanu, eking out seven seats in polls. Saar has exited political life, but continues to frequently attack Netanyahu from the sidelines. This behavior has earned him considerable criticism within Likud as being uncollegial. Apart from that, the March 2015 elections showed that Likud members are extremely concerned about holding on to power, so a rival party with the sole purpose of taking down Netanyahus Likud government will encounter serious barriers at the moment of truth. An excellent example of this is from the last election, when Netanyahu managed to bring back voters who had switched to Kulanu and HaBayit HaYehudi by pointing to the threat posed to Likud's continued rule. Kahlon experienced this fully, especially in the days leading up to the election. Thus, even if he is currently basking in the results of the Haaretz poll, he is well aware that if push comes to shove, the fight for Likud votes would be brutal. The only person doing the right thing and who could potentially break through and face off against Netanyahu as an alternative is Yair Lapid, the chair of Yesh Atid. He has been rising steadily in the polls since the last election, and his party is thought capable of winning 20 seats. Lapid is active on all fronts in his effort to win over voters from the soft right. It isnt happening yet, but he is still a player with what the public perceives as a stable and active party. Despite the structural weakness at the root of Haaretzs political scenario, the underlying thesis is correct. To replace the current government, seats aligned with the right-wing bloc must shift to a center-right party. That was why the alternative developed consisted of two right-wing politicians and someone with a defense background. It is also why Lapid is working on bolstering the right-wing elements of his party and its rhetoric. None of this is good news for the Labor Party or its leader, Isaac Herzog, who also realizes that he must attract right-wing voters, although he doesnt really know how to accomplish it. As far as Netanyahu is concerned, this month marks his seventh consecutive year in power, and he is still the strongest leadership brand in the arena. This is actually quite amazing, considering that in all those years, no political alternative to challenge him or siphon off votes from the soft right has emerged from within the political system or outside of it. Netanyahu politically eliminated all his rivals in Likud to become the partys sole leader. This could change, of course. But under the current, real (rather than virtual) circumstances, even if the public is fed up with Netanyahu and wants change, there is no one on the political playing field who can motivate the public to follow. March 28, 2016 TEHRAN, Iran The Iranian supreme leaders Nowruz speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad on March 20 centered on one subject: negative reactions to talk of Barjam 2. "Barjam" is the Persian acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed last year. Prior to Ayatollah Ali Khameneis speech, President Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian government officials had referred to the plan as Barjam 2. Indeed, one day before the speech in Mashhad, Rouhani had once again brought up the controversial term in his own Nowruz message. Rouhani said, "Barjam 2 is the same National Joint Plan of Action in the country, which will start with unity, reconciliation and empathy a Barjam that will start with morality before the economy." Rouhani first started using the term in early February. At that time, Masoud Nili, the presidents senior adviser for economic affairs, told this author in an interview published by Iran Newspaper that there is a need for a second JCPOA in the economic arena. In the Feb. 2 interview, Nili said, We need consensus internally. We need an internal JCPOA. Political consensus is a necessity for development and making progress and also for getting the economy out of its recession. Nili said he thought that the economic situation in the country is such that there is a strong need for a kind of a Loya Jirga, in which political and economic elders from different factions would talk about the requirements for achieving development. Subsequently, Rouhani used the term in a Feb. 3 speech, saying, Its now time for us to implement Barjam 2, or the National Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. We must all show up to the scene in unity and solidarity toward implementation of Barjam 2. Notably, Rouhani did not specify what he meant. He did not say anything about what Barjam 2 requires, nor whether it is political or economic in nature. However, Momammad Nahavandian, the president's chief of staff, has clarified what Rouhani meant by Barjam 2. Nahavandian described the term as economic, saying, Barjam 2 is a National Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It means we all must join hands together, and the public and private sector need to join forces and mobilize all resources. In this vein, one can argue that the president and his government believe that the Iranian economy is in need of fundamental change. They believe that not taking full advantage of the recently achieved consensus in the country will be a huge loss for all. Ali Tayebnia, the minister of economic affairs and finance, has a similar perspective on this matter. He has described the JCPOA as a favorable example of successful negotiations, saying, We should follow the example of the [JCPOA] in the economic arena. These remarks by senior members of Rouhanis government suggest several features of Barjam 2. First, it is primarily economic in nature. Second, as with the negotiations that led to the JCPOA, talks between government officials and institutions should be held at a senior level. Third, there are differences between different political groups over how to achieve economic development in the post-sanctions era, though economic development requires consensus. In his Feb. 2 interview, Nili, the senior presidential adviser for economic affairs, explained Barjam 2 in detail. He touched on the success of the nuclear negotiations, saying that Iranians have been proven able to sit around a single table with their enemies and negotiate and come to a conclusion; hence, Iranians can also sit at a table among themselves and reach consensus on how to address their countrys economic problems. Nili gave a more clear definition of Rouhanis conception of Barjam 2, saying, "To achieve economic development and get out of this economic recession, we need to stand in unity and solidarity to solve economic problems. Because given the countrys situation, confrontation with the world is really dangerous. But what are the political differences in regard to Irans economic situation and how to best utilize economic opportunities in the post-sanctions era? Of note, the main difference continues to be the matter of Irans relations with the world. As Nili put it, If we dont reach a consensus among ourselves about how to interact with the world, we might fail to benefit from the economic opportunities in the post-sanctions era. In Nilis telling, Iranians have arrived at a turning point and need to make brave decisions on economic issues and the nature of their relations with the outside world. If they dont take action in this regard, he argued, the country will face hard conditions. Indeed, Nili said that there are nearly 7 million working-age Iranians who the government must pay attention to, noting that some of them are either university graduates or still students who will graduate in the coming years. He argued that Iran will face a huge challenge if the government does not pay attention to their situation. Clearly, the internal debate on Irans relations with the world wont be limited to the economic arena. When it comes to interaction with the outside world, political issues will certainly arise, such as which countries Iran should have relations with and how Iran will relate to unfriendly countries. In Nili's view, these kinds of discussions may have a political conclusion but their introduction and their main body are purely economic. Moreover, when asked about the level of dialogue on Barjam 2, he replied that it will be held at a high level of decision-making and government policymaking. He added, somewhat ominously, Barjam 2 is more difficult than the nuclear JCPOA. March 28, 2016 With Russia blocking sanctions at the United Nations, the Obama administration is looking at other international avenues to rein in Irans ballistic missile program. The White House insists it has all the unilateral authorities it needs to slap new sanctions on Iran for defying the spirit if perhaps not the letter of the UN Security Council resolution implementing the nuclear deal. That resolution called upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Russia insists that language is not a legal prohibition, in effect ruling out more missile-related UN sanctions. But the Obama administration, eager to calm jittery lawmakers, insists it has a number of other multilateral tools outside of UN action that it can use to counter threats from Irans missile program. Those tools specifically include the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Missile Technology Control Regime, an administration official told Al-Monitor. Russia is a party to both agreements, which are nonbinding but are nevertheless seen as being among the best chances to prevent Iran from further developing its missile program. We certainly think that using and strengthening [the two programs] would be positive for nonproliferation efforts writ large, but could also work for preventing Iran from obtaining materials or technologies it would need to advance its missile program, said Kelsey Davenport, the director for nonproliferation policy at the nonprofit Arms Control Association. Especially when you look at the Middle East region as a whole, there are a lot of countries that could use assistance in strengthening their export controls and enhancing communication with other countries when there are concerns about illicit transfers. The Proliferation Security Initiative was launched in 2003 under President George W. Bush with the goal of increasing international cooperation in interdicting shipments of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The initiative now includes 105 countries that share information on questionable shipments and cooperate on blocking suspicious flights and on boarding vessels. The Missile Technology Control Regime, meanwhile, is a code of conduct dating to 1987 that calls on member countries to exercise restraint when considering transfers of equipment or technology, according to the CRS. It currently is made up of 34 members committed to establishing export control policies. Both agreements fall largely under the purview of the State Department, which did not respond to requests about the latest efforts to boost their effectiveness. However, the official in charge of the agencys international security and nonproliferation bureau hinted at their importance in the wake of the Iran deal during a meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative in January. This meeting is particularly timely now that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between the EU/E3+3 and Iran has been implemented, the previous UN Security Council resolutions on Iran have been terminated, and the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2231 regarding the transfer of nuclear-, ballistic missile-, and conventional arms-related items have been activated, Assistant Secretary of State Tom Countryman said in his opening remarks. However, all of us as PSI [Proliferation Security Initiative] members must remain mindful to the fact that, except in a few limited circumstances, the transfer of nuclear-, ballistic missile-, and conventional arms items remain prohibited under UNSCR 2231 unless explicitly approved by the Security Council. It is important for the PSI community to understand clearly the provisions of the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231 whether we are suppliers, transshipment countries, financiers, or flag states and we must remain vigilant to prohibited proliferation that has not received this advance, case-by-case approval by the Security Council. Topics discussed at the meeting included tactics networks use to ship sensitive materials and technologies, options for controlling proliferation financing and sharing expertise and resources to enhance interdiction capacity, according to Davenport. Those areas, particularly if they were targeted at known or suspected illicit transfer routes into Iran, I think certainly would play a positive role, she said. Davenports organization has argued in favor of strengthening both mechanisms in the wake of the nuclear deal. The Proliferation Security Initiative should host additional exercises and workshops in the Middle East to help countries in the region develop tactics, techniques and procedures to enhance interdiction capacities, according to the Arms Control Association, while the Missile Technology Control Regime could accept more than 10 new members while its control lists could be reviewed and updated to reflect new technologies. A key shortcoming of both instruments is their voluntary nature and lack of a binding enforcement mechanism. However, Davenport said past successes hint at their potential to hinder Irans missile work. While successes under the Proliferation Security Initiative remain shrouded in secrecy because intelligence agencies and other government bodies dont want to give away their sources and methods, the Bush administration in 2008 made public five successful interdiction efforts, three of which concerned Iran. Meanwhile, Davenport said, Irans failure to pursue a solid fuel ballistic missile may be attributable to Tehrans failure to secure a reliable source of propellant as a result, at least in part, of the Missile Technology Control Regime. March 24, 2016 BABIL, Iraq Iraq is a great mine of antiquities, with around 13,000 historical and archaeological sites. But today, they lack protection in the absence of law and the deteriorating security conditions in the country, and thieves are free to illegally dig at these sites. On March 14, the authorities in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, arrested gang members who had intended to smuggle out of the city artifacts from the Assyrian Empire. This incident is only one of many looting operations, Capt. Fadel Abbas from the Babil police told Al-Monitor. He said, Archaeological sites are spread in vast areas far from cities, which makes it difficult to protect them in the absence of modern surveillance techniques. Al-Monitor tried to meet with illegal archaeological explorers, but to no avail. However, although their operations are carefully guarded secrets, some artifacts smugglers are identifiable. Hassan Ali, a social worker from Babil, told Al-Monitor that there are many citizens taking part in illegal archaeological excavations, explaining that they justify the crime with rampant unemployment. Ali continued, Some people suddenly got extremely rich in Diwaniyah and Babil. They became known as artifacts traders, but no one dares ask them about this subject. And accusing any individual may lead to tribal disagreements. Abbas said, The security services are following up on those [alleged traders], but they are not doing anything about it for lack of sufficient evidence, and thus everything that is said about them is mere accusation. However, he stressed that it is widely known that since 2003, illegal explorers have taken advantage of the security forces preoccupation with terrorism, which allowed them to gain access to archaeological sites that are not protected by the police. In Babil alone, there are about 1,200 archaeological sites. Falah al-Khafaji, a member of the Provincial Council for Security Affairs, told Al-Monitor, The local government is serious about increasing the number of security guards in those areas to put an end to illegal excavation and theft of antiquities. The Babil province governor, Sadeq Madloul al-Sultani, told the media on March 10, The national security forces have arrested a person who had 11 artifacts dating to the ancient Romanian civilization, which he had intended to sell to an Arab woman who was visiting Iraq. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Babil Provincial Council member Suhaila Abbas, who has been conducting field trips to keep tabs on the affairs of the villages and more remote areas, said that she has visited several archaeological sites in the south of Babil and found that a lot of graves have been dug up by individuals searching for artifacts. Interestingly, many artifacts are not deeply buried, which makes finding them a lot easier. Sometimes rainwater is enough to unearth them, as happened March 3, when rains uncovered 114 artifacts in the Borsippa historical site in Babil province. It is not easy to monitor the secret excavations. Sheikh Majed Kalabi from Babil told Al-Monitor, Precious stones and beads vendors are most likely to know the details of such operations. Al-Monitor visited Haider al-Yasiri, a precious stones vendor in the city of Hilla in the center of Babil province. But when asked about how he deals with smuggled artifacts, he answered angrily, There are a lot of [illegal] excavations, especially among those residing near archaeological sites, but I refuse to deal with them. He added, Some offer us ancient metallic and gold coins they got from archaeological areas, but we advise them to hand them over to the competent archaeological authorities or to the security services. However, Yasiri pointed out that not all excavations are done with the purpose of selling artifacts, as some explorers search for small artifacts used for religious and magical rituals. Besides the excavations carried out by individuals, some armed groups like the Islamic State had excavated in the city of Mosul and some of Baghdad's northern regions before they were expelled, for the purpose of smuggling and selling them to antiquities traders. Halim Yasiri, an archaeological researcher from Babil, told Al-Monitor, Iraqi antiquities represent the history of Mesopotamia, but Iraqis are neglecting them. There are illegal excavations in the absence of surveillance techniques such as cameras and sensors to alert [the authorities] if people sabotage archaeological sites. In 2015, the Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had launched a national campaign for the protection of Iraqi archaeology. This campaign included the documentation of archaeological sites, while encouraging people to report any archaeological materials they may find near their homes. Yet the pillaging and vandalizing of archaeological sites and antiquities continue. Perhaps Iraq could benefit from more developed countries expertise in the exploration, protection and control of archaeological sites. However, this knowledge will not be able to contribute to the preservation of this heritage unless proper security and investment guarantees are provided. March 29, 2016 Reza Zarrab, the dual Iranian and Turkish citizen arrested in the United States on charges of money laundering and banking fraud to evade sanctions on Iran, is not just any businessman. When he was caught up in graft allegations in Turkey in 2013, he surfaced as an alleged associate of Babak Zanjani, the Iranian tycoon recently sentenced to death in Tehran. Zarrabs March 19 arrest sits at the nexus of Turkey-Iran-US relations with potential implications for all sides. While much focus is on how his detention may be bad news for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the real story is that this is much more good news for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The sanctions on Iran propelled the rise of individuals subcontracted to circumvent the restrictions. This shady web, led and incited by the administration of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and its affiliates in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), bred corruption and lawlessness. As a letter by Zarrab cited in his indictment states, this web "wisely neutralizes the sanctions and even turns them into opportunities by using specialized methods." Since taking office, Rouhani has systematically sought to discard corrupt remnants of the Ahmadinejad era and also counterbalance the IRGC and other hard-line elements. Indeed, in the past two years, Zanjani has been sentenced to death for allegedly embezzling oil money, businessman Mahafarid Amir Khosravi has been hanged for defrauding Irans banking system and Ahmadinejads First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has begun serving a 5-year prison term for bribing members of parliament. Though instigated by US authorities, Zarrabs arrest may be viewed as part of this trend. Reportedly at the heart of Turkeys sanctions-evading gold-for-oil scheme with Iran, Zarrab is accused of concealing transactions with US banks on behalf of Iranian entities, and especially IRGC-linked companies. His arrest may not be making many headlines in Iran, but it has been closely followed by Iranian officials. Indeed, during the Iranian investigation into Zanjanis activities, these officials said that Zanjani had revealed his associates in Turkey and that they had been invited to Iran. Hence, it should be noted that the first Iranian reaction to Zarrabs arrest came from Zanjanis lawyer, who has said that Zanjani and his associates had engaged in international money laundering, and that the fact that Zarrab was arrested for evading sanctions is testament that his client had actually served the Islamic Republic. However, Zarrab has in the past rejected links to Zanjani, saying in early 2015 that he even warned relevant authorities about him. Nonetheless, Zarrabs arrest will most likely have an impact on Irans domestic politics. The implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and subsequent victory of Rouhanis allies in the Feb. 26 parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, appear to have deepened divisions between the Iranian president and his hard-line foes. One of the most hotly contested areas is the economy, especially as the sanctions relief has yet to be felt. While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized the resistance economy in his March 20 Nowruz speech, Rouhani underscored the necessity of constructive engagement with the world. The key question now is whether Iran will transform its economy in the post-sanctions era. Will the shady patron networks under the Ahmadinejad administration remain, or will there be more open integration with the world economy? Zarrabs arrest may be seen as a step toward the latter, as it strengthens Rouhanis hand in the fight against corruption. Walter Posch, a prominent Austria-based Iran expert, told Al-Monitor that Zarrabs arrest "shows that the worst perpetrators cannot hide wherever they go, and at the same time, it puts a burden on the Iranians because in case the sanctions are reinstated notorious criminal-political networks will shy away from re-engaging in sanctions dodging." It should not be overlooked that Zarrab is also a very sensitive topic for the Turks, as he was in 2013 accused of bribing several Turkish ministers who later resigned. These allegations were dropped following a clash between Erdogan and the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his network of supporters inside the judiciary and the police. Unsurprisingly, the Turkish opposition has lauded Zarrabs arrest, which has attracted great public interest; the US attorney who is handling the case has seen his Twitter following jump from thousands to hundreds of thousands. The first reaction to Zarrabs arrest from the Turkish government came from AKP spokesman Omer Celik, who said that it was "sick behavior" against Erdogan. Pro-government dailies were even harsher in their tone, with Star newspaper calling the arrest "strategic animosity. Given Erdogans visit to Washington this week, the newspaper went as far as accusing the White House of a "coup attempt." Prior to departing, the Turkish president said, This is not an issue concerning Turkey. Whether this is money laundering or not, I don't think it is right for me to comment before learning the reasoning behind it, but the king of money laundering [Gulen] is residing in Pennsylvania. Karabekir Akkoyunlu, an Iran expert and assistant professor at the University of Graz, Austria, told Al-Monitor that Zarrabs arrest may signal a new era in US-Turkey relations, as "it is not far-fetched to think that the United States could use the case to co-opt Erdogan on a wide range of foreign policy issues." However, not all experts agree. Posch told Al-Monitor that he sees no political will in the West to use allegations of corruption against the Turkish president as a means to pressure him or the ruling party. Meanwhile, Tolga Tanis, Hurriyet Dailys Washington correspondent who closely follows the Zarrab case, told Al-Monitor that he does not think Erdogan will be eager to cooperate with the United States on this matter as he would "probably rather try to minimize the impact of this case to Turkish politics." Looking at the US-Iran dimension, Zarrabs arrest could enhance cooperation. In Tanis telling, this may be the case "because Ahmadinejad, who is the patron of this businessman, is also to some extent a common enemy for the US and Rouhani governments." Tehran-based journalist Abbas Aslani of Tasnim News Agency disagrees. He told Al-Monitor that the arrest is more of an issue between Turkey and the United States. However, Aslani expressed caution about the indictment, telling Al-Monitor that "regardless of the names and records of the arrested people, any effort in line with creating a space in which it looks risky to work with Iran is at least in contradiction with showing good faith in implementing the nuclear deal with Iran." In this vein, the Iranian Oil Ministrys legal bid to claim Zanjanis airline in Turkey and the US claim to seize Zarrabs property could further complicate Iranian relations with Turkey. Due in court on April 4, it remains to be seen whether Zarrabs prosecution will yield greater cooperation between Turkey, the United States and Iran. For now, it appears that the case could strengthen Rouhani while Erdogans uncontested power at home makes it unlikely that he will suffer a blow although there may be possible repercussions for US-Turkey relations. March 28, 2016 Many analysts are busy trying to understand the motivation that led to the unexpected declaration recently of a federal system by Syrian Kurds, who until then were promoting a cantonal model that would incorporate divergent ethnic and religious groups. Al-Monitor asked Abdul Karim Omar, the top foreign relations official of Jazeera Canton, at a March 16 meeting in Brussels: Why, and why now? The decision came at the same time as Russias acquiescence to federalism if the Syrians so choose and the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw some troops from Syria. Was it a coincidence or a ploy the United States and Russia agreed on to put pressure on the Turkish government? Did someone whisper something into Kurdish ears? Or is it an attempt to keep the Kurds out of the Geneva process? Omar dismissed the conspiracy theories and tried to explain the situation in practical terms regarding Rojava, which is what Kurds call Syrian Kurdistan, and surrounding areas. As currently outlined, the Federal Democratic System of Rojava and Northern Syria would have a population of about 4 million and would incorporate Rojava's three cantons Jazeera, Kobani and Afrin as well as Tell Abyad and areas in northern Aleppo province that have been recaptured by Kurdish forces. "We need a new system for those areas for their security, economy, health and basic needs. Our declaration of a federation is not nationalistically motivated. Shyouk, Shadadi and Tell Abyad will be part of the federal system but run their own affairs. Syriacs and Assyrians have 40 villages. They told us they want to set up their own assembly. When Raqqa is freed from [the Islamic State (IS)], it will also be part of the federal system," Omar said. He added, "This is a model we are forecasting for Syrias future. The transition to a federation could be risky, but in politics, what isnt? If we dont move toward decentralization, we cant solve the issue of terror in Syria. After five years, you cant simply go back to the former status. We are not acting because of a green light from the United States or Russia, but according to our own needs." This structure is being worked out by the Kurdish political movement despite Turkeys threats. The Kurds are leading the creation of popular assemblies in places where Kurds are in the majority and the creation of constituent assemblies (councils of elders) elsewhere. For example, the first congress of the Sheba region convened Jan. 28 and declared that it only recognizes the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) set up by the People's Protection Units (YPG), Arab and Turkmen groups, and the Democratic Syrian Assembly that was formed to send a delegation to the Geneva peace talks. Also, after ridding Tell Abyad of IS, the Kurds established a 113-member assembly and an executive council made up of seven Arabs, four Kurds, two Turkmens and one Armenian. All of these previously quiet activities suddenly emerged as the Federal Democratic System of Rojava and Northern Syria in a congress that met March 16-17 in Rimelan with 200 representatives of Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Turkmen, Armenian and Chechen peoples of the region. The congress elected a 31-member committee to address the logistics of establishing the group. The Democratic Union Party (PYD) contributed politically to the process, and the YPG and allies provided military input. Omar rejected the charge that all those who participated in the meetings were PYD allies. No one can say this. Some of the Syriacs are with the regime, some with the coalition and some with us. The [Kurdish Yeketi Party] and the Syrian Kurdistan Democratic Party are not joining us. The Turkmens of Tell Abyad joined, and those allied with the Syrian National Coalition did not," Omar said. Journalist Barzan Iso, who covered the congress, told Al-Monitor that Muhammed Sultan of the Azaz Turkmens came from Turkey and contributed positively to the meeting. Despite its enmity toward the PYD, the Kurdish National Council, supported by Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani, is pro-federalism for a model. The councils foreign affairs official Kamuran Haci Ebdo expressed belief that coexistence in a federal system would guarantee Syria's territorial integrity, saying, The federal system is the best solution for Syria. Federalism is the natural right of all Kurds in West Kurdistan. Further support came from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Iraq. In a nutshell, those opposing federalism say it will lead to the country's fragmentation, while those in favor say this is the only way to preserve Syria's territorial integrity. For example, Mensur El-Selum, the Democratic Federal System Constituent Assembly co-chairman, told a town hall meeting in Tell Abyad, Federalism is more for Arabs than Kurds. Turkey is the party that most persistently and vehemently charges that Syria is being divided by the Kurds. The Kurds say the participation of Turkmens in the system is a clear negation of Ankaras claim of ethnic cleansing. Esad El Yasin, who represented Turkmens in the Tell Abyad meeting, said they support every aspect of the proposed federalism system that benefits them. As was expected, the Damascus regime stated that the unilateral declaration of a federation is illegal. PYD official Zuhat Kobani told Al-Monitor that recent clashes between the YPG and government forces at Qamishli reflect Damascus discomfort with the Kurdish move. Could federalism really be a panacea for the Syrian crisis, as some insist? Kurds under PYD leadership are confident of their future in Kurdish-majority areas. The Kurds have long debated the concept of democratic autonomy formulated by Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan. But this is not a subject familiar to Syria's tribal Arabs. Kurdish sources say they have switched to federalism because many people could not understand what democratic autonomy and a cantonal system entail. The Kurds are an organized community that can handle the democratic autonomy institutions. They have acquired significant local governance experience over the past five years, starting with grass-roots committees in neighborhoods and villages. Women play a major role in Kurdish self-rule. Kurdish cantons have promoted a 40% quota for women's participation in public affairs. Can this be done in regions where women are denied public roles? There are many other complex issues, such as how to demarcate the borders, the structure of the public administration, quotas for ethnic groups and how to regulate the relations between different areas. The 31-member elected committee was given six months to sort these issues out. For some, this task is very difficult for others, simply impossible. According to Iso, the borders of the federal system will be determined by the limits of YPG domination. The Kurds are not insisting on including locations that the YPG wont be able to control in the federation. That is why, if liberated from IS, Raqqa could form a separate federal entity. The same goes for El Bab, Menbic and Azaz, where Kurds are in the minority and YPG control is out of the question. They are aware that any attempt by the YPG to impose its rule over heavily Arab- and Turkmen-populated areas would be suicidal. There are already worrying signs of collective Arab tribal resistance to the Kurdish federal move. In those areas, the SDF made up of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens promotes itself as the core of the future Syrian army and tries to prove that it is in charge. In short, the freshly introduced federal system will go through a series of serious tests because of international considerations, the attitude of the Syrian regime and the ethnic-sectarian fault lines of the region. March 28, 2016 On Jan. 15, the Turkish governments handling of the humanitarian crisis in neighboring Syria took a major turn when officials introduced regulations to grant many of the 2.5 million Syrian refugees work permits. While international human rights organizations welcomed Turkeys decision, the action has yet to improve the lives and working conditions of many Syrian refugees in Turkeys workforce. Ali works in a small sweatshop in Zeyntinburnu, a working-class neighborhood in Istanbul hidden to passersby and regulatory bodies. Inside a dingy basement, 15 Syrians are assembled in two lines, sitting in front of sewing machines whose constant hum overcomes the Arabic songs blasting from the radio. I am a math teacher with 20 years of experience, but none of the Syrian schools in Istanbul want to hire me," Ali told Al-Monitor. Originally from Idlib, he arrived in Istanbul with $6,000 in his pocket a year and a half ago, after teaching in a public school in rebel-held Idlib became a deadly profession. Unable to find a teaching job in Turkey, he now works 11-hour workdays six days a week and earns 1,000 Turkish lira (about $350) per month, which goes directly into paying his rent (800 Turkish lira) and utilities (200 Turkish lira). The salary is not enough but its better than nothing, he said. To get by, his two sons, 12 and 14, also work 11-hour days in a sweatshop where they only make 500 Turkish lira each per month. I dont want to be rich," he said, "but Ive lost hope. All that is left of Alis life savings is 50 Turkish lira, which the stress-ridden man keeps in his pocket. About 85% of Syrians in Turkey who live outside the refugee camps try to join the unofficial workforce due to lack of work permits. Turkish employers take advantage of low-cost refugee laborers, who earn roughly half the normal wages. Diaa Ajaj works in a small pastry factory in Izmir. His family owned a pastry shop in Damascus before they fled the war. Since 2014, Ajaj has worked 10-11 hours a day, six days a week, for 1,300 Turkish lira a month. Because he doesnt have a work permit, he is vulnerable to exploitation. The guy before me was Turkish and earned 2,200-2,500 Turkish lira, Ajaj told Al-Monitor, meaning he earns a staggering 40% less. While he speaks fluent Turkish after living there more than three years, he doubts he can find a better opportunity. The average [monthly] salary for unskilled Syrian refugees is 1,000 Turkish lira. I live just to work, he said. There is nothing else in my life. Ossama Darwiesh was a general surgeon in Aleppo. Since he arrived in Turkey 10 months ago, he hasnt been able to perform a single surgery. Instead, he provides general health care to Syrian refugees in a temporary field hospital in Kilis. Turkey doesnt recognize Syrian medical degrees and lacks a system to license refugee doctors. The problem [for doctors] is not salary, but how to continue as a doctor, Darwiesh told Al-Monitor by phone. How can I continue as a surgeon without surgery? he said. Syrian doctors are thus restricted to providing their patients with other services. The kimlik [temporary protection status] allows Syrians to go to government hospitals and get care, but language is a big problem, Darwiesh said. Turkish doctors just give [them] medicine and tell them to go. According to Darwiesh, Syrian doctors find work in clinics supported by humanitarian aid organizations and nongovernmental organizations, earning on average 2,800-4,300 Turkish lira ($1,000-$1,500) per month. Although a large number of Syrian doctors have risked passage to Europe on inflatable boats, There are about 30 doctors without work in Kilis, said Darwiesh, noting that many resort to opening their own informal, private clinics. The Turkish government is flexible," but it would be preferable if there were formal rules and certifications. As it stands now, the government allows Darwiesh to work today, "but maybe the situation changes tomorrow, he added. For now, Darwiesh plans his life six months at a time, unable to look further ahead. Under his current plan, he will stay in Kilis and work on improving his language skills. The situation is similar [in other cities]. Its terrible for me, he said. Khaled plays music on Istiklal Street, one of Istanbuls main arteries and the site of the latest explosion in Turkey. He plays with five or six Syrian musicians on average nine hours a day. Their performances attract hordes of Arab tourists drawn by the wistful Arab tunes. During breaks, the musicians lament over their financial woes. The group earns 40-100 Turkish lira per day, sometimes more in the summer months. They split every cent that falls into Khaleds accordions case. All his earnings go toward paying his monthly rent of 500 Turkish lira and utilities of 400 Turkish lira. I started playing music in the street after I was [only] earning 900 Turkish lira a month in a sweatshop, the musician said. Mohamed is fortunate to work for a German aid organization in Gaziantep, yet his income is still not enough. While he earns 3,000 Turkish lira a month a salary that the majority of Syrian refugees in Turkey can only dream of he is constantly looking for ways to cut his familys expenses. I cant save anything, he told Al-Monitor by phone. Life is very expensive." The father of two is also responsible for his family back in northern Syria. His rent is 550 Turkish lira, but we are living in a place that is like a dungeon, he said. I am struggling to have a life of dignity." Despite his relatively high salary, Mohamed doesnt have a work permit or permission to live in Gaziantep, since he registered under temporary protection in one of the camps along the Syrian border. Mohamed lived a few years inside a refugee camp, where he was working for a pack of cigarettes, teaching English. His situation has improved since then, but like the other Syrians interviewed for this article, he is unfamiliar with the new labor law and is mostly concerned with just getting by. There is no improvement for Syrians, said Mohamed, but I am satisfied. I am more than happy to help my people who are in need. March 28, 2016 WASHINGTON The United States and Russia are expressing cautious optimism that they have found common ground on how to move the Syria peace process forward when talks resume in Geneva next month. The more positive US and Russian assessments on the Syria peace process come amid an increase in US-Russian engagement on the matter that has long been sought by Russia. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials March 24. CIA Director John Brennan also secretly traveled to Moscow for consultations on Syria in early March, Russian officials said March 28. Undersecretary of State Tom Shannon will travel to Moscow March 28-31 to follow up on Kerrys consultation there, the State Department said. We are all encouraged that there is a sense of momentum now in the political process that we havent seen before, State Department spokesman John Kirby said at the State Department press briefing March 28. Kerry felt very encouraged by his discussions in Russia, Kirby said. And encouraged by the agreements that we were able to reach with the Russian government in terms of the political process itself. And now we have to get down to implementing those agreements. Kerry, speaking to journalists after a four-hour meeting with Putin in Moscow on March 24, said the United States and Russia have agreed the next round of Syria talks in Geneva, expected to start April 11, should be direct, face to face, between the Syrian regime and opposition delegations, and should focus on the details of a political transition, aiming for reaching a new Syrian Constitution by August. He also said that the United States and Russia had agreed on mechanisms for strengthening the partial Syria cease-fire that has mostly held for one month. We agreed that the next steps in the Geneva talks is to immediately take up the details of the political transition the best and perhaps the only way of ending the war, Kerry said at a Moscow news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on March 24. We agreed on a target schedule for establishing a framework for a political transition and also a draft constitution, both of which we target by August, Kerry said. The US and Russia also agreed to build on recent gains by taking immediate steps to reinforce the cessation of hostilities, including by working to halt attempts by either side to seize new territory, he said. So I would say to you that I believe Russia is fully engaged in this effort, and all of us are going to try to get [Syrian] President [Bashar al-] Assad to make the right decision in these next days to engage in a political process that results in a genuine transition and in peace for Syria, Kerry added. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov agreed that a political transition in Syria is necessary and that all parties must push their respective proxies to intensify direct discussions on the details of it. That is the necessity to have the political process, including the agreement on the details of the creation of the transitory governing body with all the fullness of the executive power, Lavrov said at the March 24 news conference with Kerry. We have agreed that the pressure on all the sides must be increased in order to bring all the Syrian participants of this process to the Geneva communique and the decisions of the UN Security Council taken after that, Lavrov added. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who was Russias lead negotiator at the Iran nuclear negotiations and is viewed as very constructive by Washington, said he was cautiously optimistic about the discussions with Kerry and the Syria developments were moving in the right direction. Regarding Syria, I would use the phrase cautious optimism about our views on the current situation there, Ryabkov told Russias Interfax News Agency in a March 25 interview posted to the Russian Foreign Ministry website. The talks were extremely clear on the need to continue exchanging information and coordinating our actions in order to make the cease-fire last and to reduce the number and scale of cease-fire violations that could threaten the process, Ryabkov said. Its a fact that we have reached serious practical results in this area, and this includes Mr. Kerrys visit. In other words, there has been progress in the military and political spheres, and yesterdays talks were one more step in the right direction, Ryabkov added. UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, speaking at the conclusion of two weeks of Syria talks in Geneva March 24, issued a paper with 12 common points drawn from his discussions with the Syrian regime and opposition delegations and members of civil society, which he said he believed could form the basis for common ground on their vision for the future of Syria. I think by looking at those 12 points, you can see that there is a lot of common ground, de Mistura said. It is what they are; they are an understanding by the facilitator of what could be, and we believe are likely to be, a common ground. Among the most interesting points in the UN envoys paper on commonalities, point 10 envisions a unified Syrian national army that would integrate members of Syrian armed groups who support the transition and new constitution. Syrians are committed to rebuilding a strong and unified national army, also through the disarmament and integration of members of armed groups supporting the transition and the new constitution, the de Mistura paper says. That professional army shall protect the borders and population of the State from external threats in accordance with the principle of the rule of law. The state and its reformed institutions will exercise the exclusive right of controlling weapons of war. There shall be no intervention by foreign fighters on Syrian soil. Costco Credit Card Shoppers push carts out of a Costco in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) Costco shoppers can expect big changes this summer as the company's partnership with American Express comes to an end. The big-box discount retailer is in the process of transferring its Costco-branded credit portfolio from AmEx to Citibank. Beginning in May, current AmEx cardholders will receive a new Costco-branded credit card from Citi and their old cards should be canceled, according to SFGate. American Express announced in February the sale to Citibank will close in June 2016, resulting in an estimated gain of approximately $1 billion for AmEx. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The change was originally slated for April 1, but the deal was delayed. USA Today reports current AmEx cardholders will accrue Costco rewards until June, when cash will be transferred to their new account with Citi. Costco has 698 warehouses, including 488 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 90 in Canada, 26 in Mexico, 27 in the United Kingdom, 24 in Japan, 12 in Korea, 11 in Taiwain, eight in Australia and two in Spain. The world's largest car sharing network rolled into Huntsville on Tuesday to provide "wheels when you want them" to residents, businesses, visitors and students. Zipcar, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group founded in 2000, is now offering six vehicles for reservation by the hour or day across from Belk Hudson Lofts, Huntsville City Hall and Artisan at Twickenham Square near Huntsville Hospital. The Zipcar fleet features several types of vehicles, including a Honda CR-V named "Blossomwood," a Honda Civic called "Tommy" for Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, and a Subaru Imprez dubbed "Monte Sano." Each reservation comes with gasoline, insurance, maintenance and roadside service, up to 180 miles per day and a designated parking spot for pickup and return. Katelyn Chesley, spokeswoman for Zipcar in Boston, said the company already has seven vehicles in operation at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, bringing the total number of Zipcars in Alabama to 13. Huge growth in Tuscaloosa "We launched at the University of Alabama in 2009 and we saw huge growth in demand from students on campus," she said. "We're a company that likes to start and test with a few vehicles and then grow outward from there, so after the success we saw in Tuscaloosa, we wanted to expand off-campus into the cities. "Huntsville was a great choice for that with all the growing transportation options that are here," she said. The Huntsville City Council approved two ordinances in February to allow companies like Uber, Lyft and Zipcar to operate within the city limits. Uber, which connects drivers with riders via cell phone app, went live in Huntsville on March 4. Zipcar held a news conference Tuesday outside the Downtown Huntsville, Inc. headquarters on Washington Street with DHI CEO Chad Emerson and Mayor Battle. Vilaire Lazard, Zipcar general manager, said each Zipcar takes up to 15 privately-owned vehicles off the road, reducing congestion and supporting environmental sustainability. "Our members drive less and support active transit more, reducing personal CO2 emissions on average by 1,600 pounds per year," he said. How does it work? Customers can use the service by purchasing a membership and making a reservation on Zipcar's mobile app, website or by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Chesley said membership ranges from $7 per month to $70 per year, while hourly rates start at $7.50 per hour and $69 per day. Zipcar also has a Zipcar for Business program, offering discounted driving rates Monday through Friday. A Huntsville discount is available to the first 100 people who sign up here. Once a reservation is secured, members use a keyless entry card called a "Zipcard" to unlock the door and drive. Customers can choose the make, model, type and color of the vehicle they want. "We hope to continue to grow our relationship here in the city and to continue to expand, bringing more cars to more people in places throughout Huntsville," Lazard said. Here's a video on how Zipcar works: Changing transportation ecosystem Battle said he is open to the idea of someday using Zipcars for city business. "Instead of each department having to have a car, you could register in on your iPhone your Zipcar and the times that you need it, jump in your Zipcar, go out and come back," he said. "It saves the city of Huntsville the capital costs of buying a car, the fleet and maintenance costs of keeping it up, and just ties it down to exactly the times that we need it. What a great way to work." Emerson said Zipcar also makes it feasible for a couple to live in downtown Huntsville with only one car. "Parking's always at a premium," she said. "For instance, I live about a mile from my office. I could have my wife drop me off or on nice days, I could ride my bicycle, and know that if a meeting came up in Research Park or on the Arsenal, I could walk out and hop in a Zipcar, take it out there and go back." Nucor Steel will make a capital investment of $4.4 million this year at its steel manufacturing plant in Decatur. A Nucor Steel Decatur worker checks the temperature of molten steel in this 2002 file photo. The company will buy new equipment for Nucor's hot mill pickle line, allowing for a broader range of products to reach additional markets and attract new customers. The investment will not directly create any new jobs at Nucor's Decatur site, which has 730 employees and an annual payroll of more than $85 million before benefits. Work will begin on the project Friday. The Decatur Industrial Development Board said construction at the Iverson Boulevard facility should end by Dec. 31. "We appreciate Nucor's continued investment in their Decatur operations to remain competitive and retain the well-paying jobs for our citizens," said Jeremy Nails, president and CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association. The board this week approved a tax abatement request totaling $11,754.51 per year for non-education real and personal property taxes in Alabama, Morgan County and Decatur over a 10-year period. The project is expected to create $14,476 per year for 10 years in real and personal property school taxes, of which Decatur City Schools will receive $10,870 annually. The estimated Morgan County sales and use taxes created during the period of capital investment will be $15,634.38, while the abated sales and use taxes will be $62,537.50 for the city and state. Nucor Steel was not immediately available for an interview Tuesday afternoon. BP, General Electric The board also agreed to transfer existing tax abatements to the purchasers of BP and General Electric should those deals move forward and close. "The transfer of the remaining tax abatement periods to the prospective purchasers of BP and GE is the first step in welcoming two new corporations into our community," Nails said. In December, GE backed out of a plan to sell its appliances business to Swedish company Electrolux for $3.3 billion. Haier Group announced a month later it would buy the company's appliances division for $5.4 billion. GE's refrigeration plant in Decatur has about 1,000 employees. BP is also in the process of selling its Decatur petrochemicals plant to Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited. The oil and gas producer's 1,000-acre Decatur site makes 1 million tons of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, per year for the production of polyester. BP, which acquired the Decatur complex in 1998 after merging with Amoco, has 400 workers in Decatur. There's never a bad time to eat pizza. And lucky for us, Birmingham, Alabama, has plenty of pizza restaurants to grab a delicious slice of pie. Whether you're craving thick crust or thin crust, New York-style or deep dish pizza, these are the places to try. If you want a family-friendly restaurant, there are plenty of options. Want a glass of wine or some beer? We have those listed, too. Want a nice patio? Yep, we've got that covered, too. Want delivery pizza? Yep, that too. We also have a bonus pick if you're willing to drive a little bit out of the way for a tasty slice. Note: Make sure to double check the specials we have listed, because they're subject to change. Now, get to eating. Slice, 729 29th St. S., Birmingham. The Bajalieh Special at Slice Pizza & Brew in Birmingham, Ala., is topped with bacon, grilled red onions and Wickles Wicked Pepper Rings. (Birmingham News file) Slice has some of the best pizza in the Magic City (we named them No. 2 in the entire state), but it's more than just that: It's the total package. There's an extensive beer menu full of tasty Alabama brews at the Lakeview pizza restaurant. There's a patio that's perfect when the weather's nice outside. There are award-winning wings and tasty and creative salads and an app menu that's on point. And that doesn't even mention the pizzas, which are truly inventive. Try the Soul Pie, which consists of turnip greens, black-eyed peas, Conecuh sausage, pepperjack and Cheddar cheeses, bacon, grilled red onions, all piled on Slice's signature thin crust. Just trust me on this: It's unusual but delicious. Oh, and if you can't find a parking spot, there's valet. Like I said, the total package. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes Post Office Pies, 209 41st St. S., Birmingham. Post Office Pies has only been on the scene for a couple of years, but it's already made a name for itself, garnering feature stories in national publications. (And it made AL.com's list for top 10 pizzas in the state as well.) Dine in and nosh on the delicious wood-fired pizzas on the large community tables, or call in an order for pick up and take it to a local bar. If you opt to dine in, also try one of their salads, because Post Office Pies truly makes salad-eating fun. There's also plenty of local brews and wines on tap, and if your kids are with you, they'll enjoy the fresh lemonade. Pro tip: Try the Swine Pie, which is topped with house-made pork sausage, pepperoni, bacon and Mozzarella, all piled on POP's airy crust. Yum. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes Tortugas Homemade Pizza, 2801 John Hawkins Pkwy., Hoover. If you're looking for deep-dish, Chicago style pizza, Tortugas is one of your best bets. Just look at the photo in the gallery above: It looks like pizza heaven. Bonus: It's located near Riverchase Galleria, so you can get in some shopping time as well. Warning, though: If you want to visit the pizzeria, check their hours first. Right now, they're only open for lunch on Friday and Saturday and are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes Davenports Pizza Palace, 2837 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook. Davenports is like a relic stuck in time: The hand-tossed, thin-crust pizzas are prepared with the same sauce that was used when they opened their doors in 1964, and they haven't branched away from traditional toppings such as sausage, mushrooms and pepperoni. And why change? The pizzeria remains one of the most popular places in town. And it's an ideal place to take kids: There's a wall of vintage arcade games for them to play while they wait on their pizzas. Yep, it's definitely family family. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? No Bettola, 2901 2nd Ave. S., Birmingham. Sometimes Bettola gets ignored on Magic City pizza lists because its so well known for its other tasty Italian food, but seriously: Don't ignore the wood-fired pizza here. The Neapolitan pies have a nice, tasty crust -- not too thick, but not too thin, either. It's also the spot to be when the weather's nice: their patio is a Birmingham must. Read more about Bettola here. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes Pazzo Big Slice Pizza, 1678 Montgomery Highway, Hoover. To say that Pazzo's pizzas are gigantic is probably one of the world's biggest understatements. These pizzas are big. Definitely bring your family -- and you definitely won't have to order more than one New-York style pizza. If you're not in the mood for a giant pie, Pazzo also offers pastas, calzones, salads, apps and more. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? No Outdoor seating? Yes Dave's Pizza, 1819 29th Ave. S., Homewood. Dave's Pizza in Homewood is a family-friendly restaurant, but don't worry: There's beer and wine available if you need them (along with calzones and sandwiches and other menu items). Make your own pizza combinations or choose from specialty 'zas like double cheeseburger and chicken pesto. Another good thing: They deliver, so you don't even have to get out of your PJs to enjoy their pizza. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Yes! Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes Bottega Cafe, 2240 Highland Ave. S., Birmingham. If you're looking for a sophisticated, fresh, wood-fire pie, then Frank Stitt's Bottega Cafe is the place for you. Choose from flavor combinations such as Scottish smoked salmon, red onions, capers and dill mascarpone, or fennel sausage, pancetta, Mozzarella and crushed tomato. There's also a cozy outdoor dining area, an extensive beer and wine list, and valet parking is available. And if you're there from 9-10 p.m., enjoy a small pizza and a local Good People Brewing Co. beer for 10 bucks. Read more about Bottega Cafe's pizzas here. Find their Facebook page here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes Old Town Pizza, Food truck. Maybe you haven't heard of Old Town Pizza -- they're the new guys in town. But you should definitely put them on your radar. It's wood-fired brick oven pizza -- from a food truck. Pretty cool, right? The most intriguing pizza combo is the Southern Hawaiian, which consists of Conecuh sausage, fresh-cut pineapple, a mozzarella/provolone cheese blend and a dash of cheddar-jack. Yum. Info here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Nope Outdoor seating? Well, kind of. Vecchia Pizzeria and Mercato, 610 Preserve Pkwy., Ste. 100, Hoover. Vecchia serves beautiful Neapolitan pizza with fresh toppings (and a thin crust that is pretty much perfect). And if you're gluten-free, they've got you covered, too. There's also a beautiful patio area plus an ace wine menu. It's definitely a go-to, especially if you're near the Moss Rock Preserve. Find their Facebook page here. Read more about Vecchia here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? Yes Outdoor seating? Yes One bonus choice: Louie's Pickles, 13099 Hwy. 441, Odenville If you're in the mood for a bit of a road trip, travel the half-hour to Louie's Pickles in Odenville. (It placed in our top 10 pizza in Bama list.) They have some rockin' Philly-style pizza that's definitely worth your time. Find their Facebook page here. Read more about Louie's here. Delivery: Nope Beer, wine available? No Outdoor seating? No A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted the ex-girlfriend of a man found shot to death in a field last year, along with her current boyfriend. Jana Nicole Friese, 32, and Patrick Wayne Logan, 39, have been indicted on capital murder charges. The indictments were issued Jan. 15, 2016 and made public Monday. Both were arrested in June 2015 in the death of 42-year-old Rodney Allen Canterberry. He was found shot to death the morning of June 8 next to his Jeep Wrangler in the 7400 block of Coleman Road near Morris. Canterberry, a father of two young boys, had been shot multiple times. He was found by a man who lived nearby. That man reported hearing several gunshots Sunday night, but didn't think much of it. He saw the Jeep in the field on his way to work that Monday morning, and that's when he discovered Canterberry. Authorities said detectives developed information that led them to a pair of suspects living in Mt. Olive. At the time of their arrests, Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian Friese confessed and told lawmen she arranged a meeting with Canterberry so that she and Logan, her current boyfriend, could rob him. Friese dropped Logan off in the woods where he waited for her to return with Canterberry. At some point after Friese and Canterberry arrived in the field, Logan came out of the woods and shot Canterberry twice, Christian said. At a preliminary hearing held for the pair in September, a detective testified that Canterberry was lured by Facebook messages to a field near Morris on the promise of sex - for money - with his ex-girlfriend. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Chris Sharit testified Canterberry died from a gunshot wound to the head and that he had another wound to the abdomen. Among the items found at the scene was an orange flip flop. Sharit said investigators got their first break in the case when they got a call on June 22 from a man who lived in the Mount Olive house with Friese and Logan. That man told investigators Friese and Logan came in late the night before Canterberry's body was found and didn't say anything to anyone. The man reported that a few days later Logan shaved his head and the couple also acted weird when anyone mentioned the case, he said. Logan then gave the man a gun to clean, Sharit said. The gun was covered in dirt and had been buried, he said. The man reported that Logan told him he had loaned the gun to someone who had shot it three times, Sharit said. Trial dates have not yet been announced. Community leader Xaveria Powell-Anderson was killed March 22, 2016 in a fire at her Roebuck home. Donations are now sought for her husband and four children: Maliek, Imari, Iman and ZaKiyah. As family members of a former Ms. Wheelchair Alabama killed in a house fire plans to honor their loved one in a vigil and bury her later this week, they also are trying to rebuild their lives after the blaze destroyed almost everything they owned. "This took our family by complete shock. We are currently using all resources to rebuild the foundation of our family,'' said Maliek Powell, oldest son of Xaveria Powell-Anderson. "The life of our mother can never be replaced. Your generosity will help replace materialistic things such as clothes, furniture, food, school supplies, but most importantly our home." The family today announced a vigil to be held Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m., outside their burned home at 1013 Park Place in Roebuck. They also announced a GoFundMe account, to help replace everything from their clothes to their home. Powell-Anderson was a 40-year-old wife, biological mother to four children and foster mother to two others. She was a daughter, a former Ms. Wheelchair Alabama, and a quadriplegic. She was involved in community ministry, and active in her church. Powell-Anderson was a survivor, until fire swept through her Park Place home March 22, blocking her from getting out through the only exit in the house that she could use with her wheelchair. "She was so wonderful,'' said Birmingham minister Brenda Ward, who became an activist against crime following the 2010 death of her 19-year-old grandson Ra'Sheed Ali Ward and a longtime friend of Powell-Anderson. "She was great in helping children, and doing things in the community. Whenever you called her, she was always there to help. Everybody's in a state of shock." Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service firefighters responded to Powell-Anderson's home about 4:30 p.m. after a neighbor called 911. They found flames coming through the front of the house with two rooms fully involved. Birmingham police were already there, and officers confirmed someone was trapped inside. Assistant Fire Chief Buddy Wilks said the officers had already tried to rescue her, but couldn't get in through the flames. "Then our crews went in to get to the female and we couldn't get in either because the conditions were just so bad,'' Wilks said. Powell-Anderson was found in a back room, and pronounced dead on the scene. Fire officials have ruled the fire accidental. They are looking in to the possibility that the fire started with a surge protector. Powell-Anderson lived in the home with her husband, Kerry Anderson, and their family. The couple had four biological children - a 22-year-old son, Maliek, twin 17-year-old daughters, Imari and Iman, and an 8-year-old daughter, ZaKiyah. They also had two foster children, ages 17 and 19. Her father, Joseph Witherspoon, had gone to the home Tuesday afternoon to cook cabbage for Powell-Anderson. She asked him to go to Walmart for her to buy some potato salad and he agreed, taking his 8-year-old granddaughter with him since she was already home from school. Moments later, her mother, Effie Powell, received a phone call from her daughter, but they never got a chance to talk. "When I said hello, the phone dropped,'' Powell said. Assuming her daughter had just dropped the phone, Powell headed that way. "I wasn't five minutes away from her." When Powell arrived, other family members were also pulling up and they saw the flames. "The house was engulfed,'' Powell said. "It happened in an instant." Powell-Anderson was paralyzed from the neck down in 2002 when she and a friend were on their way home from a gospel rap concert in Montgomery. Powell-Anderson was a passenger in the vehicle that hit a patch of ice and lost control. Her friend was killed, and Powell-Anderson was critically injured with a broken back and neck. She already had three small children at the time, and she and her husband had just moved into their home. Her oldest child - Maliek - was in the vehicle with her but wasn't injured, a blessing that Powell-Anderson has previously said keeps her from questioning her own injuries. In 2004, Powell-Anderson founded XPA Outreach Ministries, which included the family feeding the homeless in Linn Park. In 2007, Powell-Anderson was named Ms. Wheelchair Alabama. "When she was small, I had her in pageants so it was a natural progression,'' her mother said. "Once she found out she could still be in them, she was excited." Powell-Anderson previously has said winning the state title changed her life. She later became the state coordinator for the pageant. "People will listen to Ms. Wheelchair Alabama because of her title,'' she said in a 2010 interview with The Birmingham News. "Advocacy is so important. My platform was public transportation. But there are so many things that we need to be pushing right now." "She always had a positive outlook,'' her mother said. "She just kept going." Powell said her daughter will be missed. "She was just the best child, she really was,'' she said. "She was the best mom. "Think about it. She was raising four kids and all are Advanced Placement students and she's disabled? That's an accomplishment. She always knew what they were doing, and where they were. She even helped care for her 91-year-old grandmother." Powell-Anderson's funeral will be held Saturday, April 2, at 11 a.m. at Galilee Baptist Church. Donations for the family are also being accepted at any Wells Fargo branch. Maliek Powell said the family is also accepting donations, such as toiletries and clothing, at Effie Powell's home at 928 Nelson Drive. The sizes are as follows: Kerry Anderson: Tops, men's XL, bottoms, men's 36x32, shoe men's 10 Imari Anderson: Tops, women's small, bra, 34 A, bottoms, bottoms 10 or 11, shoes 7 Iman Anderson: Tops women's small, bra 34 A, bottoms, 9, shoe 6 ZaKiyah Anderson: Tops & bottoms 10-12, shoe 4 "The family plans to keep her legacy alive by using this current situation and journey as a testament to help others,'' Maliek Powell said. A McCalla man is behind bars after a fatal shooting following a dispute near Interstate 20/59 Monday afternoon. Matthew Brent Wilson, 44, is charged with capital murder. He is being held without bond in the Tuscaloosa County Jail. Authorities today identified the victim as Robert Arwood III. He was 39. The shooting happened about 5:14 p.m. on Alabama 216 and I-20/59. Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Lt. Kip Hart said authorities dispatched to the scene on a shooting call found Arwood in the roadway, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to UAB Hospital, where he underwent surgery and died. Wilson was taken into custody at the scene. Hart said both men were driving separate vehicles and passed each other in the intersection. Investigators believe at least one of the men thought he recognized the other from a previous incident and they began to exchange words while stopped in the intersection. At one point, Hart said, Arwood got out of his vehicle and approached Wilson's vehicle. That's when Wilson fired on Arwood, hitting him several times. Investigators said one of the men thought the two were involved in a vehicular accident on an earlier date, but that accident hasn't been verified, they said. The issue of self-defense was raised but, based on physical evidence and witness statements that contradict the suspect's version of events, probable cause was found to charge Wilson with capital murder. The charge is capital murder because Wilson shot Arwood while Wilson was sitting in a vehicle. Michele Sterley.jpg Michelle Sterley (Hoover Police) Police are searching for a woman they say stole a diamond ring from a Hoover department store. Hoover police earlier released photos of the woman. After doing so, they were able to identify her as Michelle Lynn Sterley but still haven't located her. They are asking for the public's help. The incident happened Feb. 2 at Kohl's in Inverness Corners. The woman was in the jewelry section of the store talking with a clerk about a ring. Police said she asked about a 1- carat ring valued at $2,500, and the clerk let her try on the ring. After a brief conversation about the ring, police say Sterley looked at the employee, said, "Sorry," and ran out of the store with the ring still on her finger. She left the shopping center possibly in a gold Ford Taurus. A tip to CrimeStoppers identified Sterley, and Hoover detectives then confirmed her identity.They have obtained a felony warrant for second-degree theft of property against Sterley. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Detective Ben Nichols at 205-739-7188. An Army Lt. General's trip to Alabama for his promotion ceremony was unnecessary and waste of government money, according to the Defense Department inspector general. Lt. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield traveled to Fort Rucker in Alabama for his promotion ceremony in June 2014, according to the Pentagon. The seven-day trip, the IG concluded, was made for "predominantly personal reasons, specifically to have his promotion ceremony at Fort Rucker rather than his duty station in Hawaii." Crutchfield was commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker from 2010 to 2012 when he left to serve as chief of staff for the U.S. Pacific Command. In 2014, he was named deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. While in Alabama, Crutchfield addressed the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base, but the IG said that meeting was only scheduled after the Lt. Gen. expressed a desire to hold his promotion ceremony in the state. The trip cost the government more than $3,821 not including the expenses associated with travel for two aides that accompanied Crutchfield. During the week-long trip, Crutchfield held about seven hours of meetings, the IG found. The investigation followed an anonymous complaint. Crutchfield denied the allegations in a rebuttal provided to the IG. "I am not guilty of wasting government resources," he wrote. "I conducted my travel in my official capacity, attended 'bona fide' activities as the predominant purpose of the travel, and had a legal opinion of all the activities on my itinerary." Crutchfield remains in his PACOM position. The IG recommended the Secretary of Army "consider appropriate corrective action with regard to LTG Crutchfield." Al Islam The Official Website of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Muslims who believe in the Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani(as) Muslims who believe in the Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (as), Love for All, Hatred for None. Mean tweets, insulting pictures and tabloid stories dominate Donald Trump and Ted Cruzs campaigning yet again. This was a bad week for the Republicans. In a race which has been nasty, mean-spirited and at times vulgar, new depths have been plumbed. It all started with a Facebook ad. Aimed at conservative voters in Utah, the ad pictured a naked Melania Trump from her modelling days sprawled on a fur rug. It carried the legend, Meet Melania Trump, your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday. The ad was paid for the Political Action Committee Make America Awesome which has been established by Republicans who are determined to stop Donald Trump securing the party nomination to run for the US presidency. In the small print in the ad, the following was stated: Not authorised by any candidate. That wasnt enough for Trump, who immediately blamed his main rival, Texas senator Cruz, warning him he would spill the beans about Cruzs wife Heidi. Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his ad. Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2016 Instead, Trump himself tweeted out a glamour shot of his wife next to a less-than-flattering shot of Mrs Cruz, with the caption adding: No need to spill the beans. The images are worth a thousand words. Cruz went on the offensive, calling Trump a coward. Taking lines from the Aaron Sorkin movie The American President, he added: If Donald wants to get into a character fight, hes better sticking with me because Heidi is way out of his league. Trump has been asked about the spat but repeatedly turns to the line that he didnt start it. As one observer stated, its like the candidates forgot this was a battle for the presidency of the United States. Public spats Negative campaigning is nothing new. Its been around in American politics for more than 150 years Andrew Jackson won the White House in 1828 but he believed the death of his wife before he took office was down to negative campaigning which tore her reputation to shreds. But just when it looked as if things would blow over, Cruz spent Friday denying a story in the National Enquirer magazine alleging that hed had at least five extramarital affairs. Calling the story garbage and a tabloid smear, he blamed Trump for planting the story the magazine publisher is an old Trump friend. In a story full of anonymous quotes, the only person who went on the record is a former Trump adviser. Trump told anyone whod listen: Ted Cruzs problem with the National Enquirer is his and his alone. Without too much sincerity, he added: While they were right about OJ Simpson, John Edwards and many others, I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin Ted Cruz. New lows This is a nomination contest which has debated the size of candidates hands and by extension the size of their genitals; where candidates have been attacked as sweaty and low-energy; where they have openly called each other liars and have been accused of wetting themselves during debates. Yet through these battles, only Trump has emerged stronger. Mean tweets, insulting pictures and tabloid stories have dominated the Republican week, a week when there were murderous attacks in Belgium, Iraq and Pakistan; when Americas President made a ground-breaking trip to Cuba; and a leading figure in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group was killed. When comments about the size of the candidates penises dominated the Republican public debate, many believed this campaign cycle had struck an all-time low. Yet, this past week suggests there may be still a way to go before we get there. They gather in the streets of the capital and only the colour of their clothing seems to be different. These men, and they are all men, are all aged between 15 and 50. They wear the traditional Pakistani shalwar kameez and beards sprout from their faces with an old-fashioned topi, a hat atop their heads. But it is the eyes that really give them away. Each one I meet glares at me with anger and hate. These men are Pakistans ignored. They work the lowest paid jobs, if they have jobs. They spend their time between the madrassas, the religious schools, or their homes. Not for them the glitz of Pakistani fashion and music. They do not live the lifestyles of the fabulous that advertisers pump out relentlessly on the myriad news channels that dominate the media landscape. But they do have one thing, one thing that gives them hope. One thing that gives them power, that lifts them out of poverty and allows them a voice. That thing is religion. As they file past me they shout God is great and Mumtaz Qadri is our hero. Qadri was executed for killing the outspoken Pakistani politician Salman Taseer because the politician defended a Christian woman accused of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed. Qadri, a police officer, was sent to guard the politician. Instead he shot him in cold blood. One of them gives his name as Mohammed, but I can tell this is not his name. He says to me that he will never allow his prophet to be insulted. In broken Urdu he says: I will kill anyone who insults my religious beliefs and my beloved prophet. You can tell in his eyes that the intent, if not the action, is serious. What Mohammed and his fellow protesters have achieved in the capital is unprecedented. The ringleaders of the protest have harnessed the anger and energy of these men and built them into a force to push their own agenda. It is breathtaking in its simplicity and effectiveness. By building a network across mosques and schools, the hardline religious groups have bought themselves a powerful political voice for their demands to bring Pakistan under their influence and enforce hardline religious rule. It is unlikely that the government will accept their demands, which include execution of anyone accused of blasphemy and turning Qadri into an official national martyr. But that voice, those demands have been heard across the nation. In the capital I am glared at by the men. I have seen that look and that hatred in mens eyes before. As a teenager in the UK I was caught up in a rally held by extreme right-wing nationalists. They also had a uniform. Bald heads and green bomber jackets identified them. As I walked by I saw their eyes twisted with hate. Once again it was the leaders of those groups that had built them into a movement. Anger is a powerful tool for those that can manipulate it. Whether it is Europe or South Asia, these groups are used as tools. I say to Mohammmed that his leaders have lied to him about religion and his passion for his prophet, honourable though it is, is being used by his leaders for politics, not religion. His answer does not surprise me. We are a nation of sinners. Our leaders will rise and we will kill those who blaspheme and insult our prophet. I am ready to die for my cause. Are you? Follow Imran Khan on Twitter: @ajimran Scientists are searching underground in Canadas Rocky Mountains for alternatives to cure infectious bacteria. The original version of this story misspelled Thomson River University. It has now been corrected. Sometimes you find what you are looking for in the unlikeliest of places. Canadian microbiologist Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham certainly does. She is a leading researcher into how best to battle a growing number of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and she is looking for answers everywhere from deep subterranean caves to the local sewage treatment plant in her hometown of Kamloops, British Columbia. Cheepthams most recent breakthrough came after she met one of Canadas top cave explorers: Nick Vieira. Naturally enough, Vieira spends a lot of time underground often kilometres deep in twisted caverns cut off from the surface by underground rivers and artesian wells. The soil and dirt he finds in those subterranean nooks are fuelling Cheepthams search for treatments to kill superbugs. We find microbes in that soil, she says. Pristine organisms that havent contacted surface life in any way. When we put them in contact with drug resistance bacteria, we get fascinating results. New drugs The discovery of penicillin in 1928 sparked a revolution in medicine. Bacterial infection, a leading cause of death, could suddenly be prevented with a simple drug. Antibiotics followed, attacking harmful microbes even more effectively. But now many of these bacteria have evolved defences against existing drugs, while the search for their replacements has not been going well thousands die every year from infections that used to be treatable. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to spend money developing new antibiotics that might not earn as much in the market as Viagra or anti-cholesterol statins. Last frontier In her lab at Kamloops Thompson River University, Cheeptham and her research assistants hold up petri dishes against a light table. They point at circular patterns surrounded by clear fluid. Thats where the cave bacteria are killing the superbugs, Cheeptham says. Its very promising. Vieira is happy that his efforts are producing promise in the lab. Its a whole, undiscovered world down there, he says, standing beneath a cliff-side cave mouth near Canmore, Alberta, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Its the last frontier on the planet under the planet and working with scientists helps you to discover so much about it, adds Vieira, who is now delivering bags of cave soil to microbiologists in the United States as well. In a video on his website, he and a colleague scrape dirt from the sides of a Rocky Mountain cave called Raspberry Rising, where most of the best samples have come from. In his waterproof cave suit and head lamp, Vieira is visibly gleeful as he fills a plastic bag with clay. High-school science, I hated it, but here I am. Whod have ever thought Id be learning so much about the world, he says, his words echoing off the stone walls. In the name of saving lives Back on the surface, the search takes another direction. Cheeptham and her undergraduate student, Emma Persad, are delving into medical history as they plumb the sewage lagoon of a Kamloops water treatment plant in the vials of murky water, there is quite possibly another option to defeat superbugs. Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are a type of virus with one essential quality: they are deadly to certain forms of bacteria. Phages were discovered by researchers in France and England during World War I and they became a preferred form of treatment for infection in the former USSR and its satellite countries in Eastern Europe. They are still in use in those areas today. But thanks to the discovery of antibiotics, which are easier to use and affect more species of bacteria, phages fell out of favour elsewhere. Persad and Cheeptham are determined to change that. They are working together to convince North Americans and Western Europeans that human and animal waste contains life-saving qualities. Persad says they are battling Western prejudice, not science, because the effectiveness of phages is well known already. In North America, we just dont like the word virus, she says. We dont like to think about putting a virus into ourselves to fight a bacterial infection. Antibiotics affect all bacteria. They kill even good bacteria in the body but if you use specific bacteriophages then only the bad bacteria, those causing illness, are killed. The good bacteria in your stomach and intestines arent affected at all. Best of all, because phages are a form of virus, there can be no resistance to them. All thats holding us back is our own reluctance, Persad says. To Cheeptham, it is all a matter of having as many medical options as possible to save lives. I believe that we still need to widen our toolbox if you think of antibiotics [as being] in a toolbox, we are running out of tools and we need to fill this box. And where should we go to find this? Anywhere we have to. Whether it is thousands of metres underground, or in the pungent shores of a sewage lagoon, it is all in the name of saving lives. Hundreds of stateless Arabs from oil-rich Gulf state live in miserable conditions in refugee camps in northern France. Calais, France Saad al-Kowaili was born in Kuwait, one of the richest countries in the world, but he now lives just outside the French city of Calais at a refugee camp known as the jungle. A member of Kuwaits stateless Bidoon community, Kowaili joined the exodus of people fleeing the Middle East for Europe about seven months ago, after a run-in with a policeman cost him his livelihood. The 17-year-old made his living selling music CDs outside a mall in Kuwait city until the officer confiscated his goods and ordered him never to return. Despite an intense argument and pleas for the policeman to return his wares, Kowaili accepted that as a Bidoon without citizenship, he had little ground to stand on. I didnt want to show him I was crying, but inside I was crying I was burning, Kowaili said. It was in that moment that he decided that he had no future left in the country of his birth. The teenager is one of about 300 Bidoon including women and children living in the Calais camp, with dozens more based in the Dunkirk refugee camp nearby. Like many residents of the jungle, Kowaili was eager to show Al Jazeera the living conditions in his new home. Look at this, weve been bathing in this tiny room for six months is this humane? he said, pointing out a tiny shack containing a barrel of water and a plastic stool. The groups sleeping conditions were little better, with around a dozen men sleeping head to toe in rickety, wooden huts and tents that doubled as storage areas for food and other supplies. The Bidoon, who make up more than 100,000 of Kuwaits population of three million, say they are the descendants of Bedouin tribesmen who failed to register for citizenship during the formation of the state in the 1940s through to the 1960s. However, Kuwaits government considers them the offspring of illegal economic migrants from the neighbouring states of Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and refuses to grant them Kuwaiti nationality. The term bidoon literally means without in Arabic, but has come to be used for the community of stateless Arabs living in the Gulf state. While not all Bidoon live in poverty, they do not receive benefits set aside for citizens, such as welfare payments, healthcare, and free education. Impasse in the jungle Most of the Bidoon who spoke to Al Jazeera in Calais said they left Kuwait after being arrested for taking part in protests demanding citizenship. Abdullah al-Anzi, a Bidoon resident of the jungle, showed Al Jazeera scars he said were from beatings he endured from the Kuwaiti police after he was detained in 2013. I was arrested after a rally and taken to the police station. They hung me upside down by my feet for hours, Anzi said. I was released after three days but my brother has been imprisoned for years. READ MORE: Kuwait offers Bidoon citizenship from Comoros Anzi, like the other Bidoon in the northern French camps, obtained forged travel documents before making his way through northern Iraq to Turkey and later Europe. The group told Al Jazeera they had been intent on reaching the UK because the country the former colonial power in Kuwait understood the plight of the Bidoon and had granted asylum to members of the group before. Instead, the Bidoon have found themselves in an impasse unable to leave the squalid conditions of the Calais jungle or to return home. Occasionally, the men have attempted to breach the security gates at the nearby Calais ferry terminal in an effort to reach England, but the breaches have been put down violently by French police. The youngest of the group was eight-year-old Najm al-Anzi, who lives at the camp with his father and said he was injured during the clashes. Refugee crisis: Calais eviction sprouts new jungles I was hit on my back with a baton and breathed in tear gas it still hurts when I touch it, he said, lifting his jacket to reveal his back and the now fading bruises. Najm, whose grandparents live in the UK, spends most of his time playing out the day with aid workers and has not been to school since arriving in the camp. Kowaili said he hoped Arab Gulf leaders would open their countries to the Bidoon after hearing about their plight but until that time, the Bidoon have no choice but to take desperate measures to reach England. If you are Iraqi, you go to Iraq, if you are Syrian, to Syria, but where do we go? Where do they expect to send us back? We have no country, we are Bidoon, stateless. My country Kuwait Rights groups have criticised the Kuwaiti government for its failure to resolve the Bidoon issue. In 2014, the state offered the Bidoon citizenship in another country, the Comoros Islands, a tiny state off the coast of Mozambique, about 2,800 miles away. The Bidoon are hostile to such attempts. PHOTO GALLERY: Kuwaits people without Amnesty Internationals Drewery Dyke told Al Jazeera that while statelessness was not in itself a ground for seeking asylum, Kuwaits Bidoon have been on the receiving end of a government crackdown in recent years and many live in abject poverty. In the 2011 to 2013 period, many Bidoon spoke out for citizenship rights. In a few instances, the government allowed demonstrations to be held, but not for long and not in any numberthey were largely crushed and those who took part were tried, Dyke said. In one the richest countries on the earth, we have conducted interviews with poor Bidoon, in houses with corrugated iron roofs, very basic sanitation; sitting on carpets covering flooring that was, in fact, the ground. The Kuwaiti embassy in Paris told Al Jazeera it would not comment on the allegations of abuse made by the Bidoon in Calais and only dealt with issues related to its citizens. The Bidoon of Calais said they felt rejected and robbed of their entitlement to Kuwaiti citizenship. Yet despite the treatment they received, they continued to feel a strong sense of patriotism towards the state. The area of the jungle housing the Bidoon is adorned with Kuwaiti nationalist graffiti. Kowaili entered one shack and stood next to a drawing of the Kuwaiti flag. My mother and father, my grandparents and theirs were born in Kuwait you love the country youre from regardless of what it does to you, he said pointing out the opening verses of the states national anthem written beneath it: My country Kuwait, may you be peaceful and glorious may you always enjoy good fortune. Follow Shafik Mandhai on Twitter: @ShafikFM Mogadishu, Somalia As the last rays of the afternoon sun bounced off the coloured tin roofs of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a group of Sufis came out of a gated house, singing hymns while holding hands, black prayer beads dangling from their hands and necks. They were making a short but a symbolic slow walk to a nearby mosque in the Bakara area of the seaside city to continue their afternoon prayer programme. Crowds stopped to look and take photos with their phones; the odd person opened a window to see what was happening. These scenes Sufis walking down the streets and chanting are rarely seen in Somalia these days. The country was once majority Sufi but all that changed in the past two and a half decades. Sufis were almost wiped out from Somalia: in the early 1990s, by warlords and their marauding militias, and, in the last decade, by the hardline al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab, which sees them as non-believers and legitimate targets for attacks. Sheikh Adan Sheikh Ahmed Gure led the group forth. In his late 30s, he is a man on a mission. Gure is from a well-known Sufi family: both his father and grandfather were Sufi leaders. He has seen it all from the time of their near extinction to their currently slow precarious revival. The last 25 years have been really bad for us. We suffered immensely like everyone else in Somalia during the civil war. We were targeted by every group, Gure told Al Jazeera, taking a quick break from leading the prayers. The rest of his congregation continued with their prayer chants. Several prominent Sufi leaders were either killed or died in refugee camps in the neighbouring countries following Somalias brutal civil war which started in 1991 after the government of Siad Barre was overthrown by rebels. We have been here before any group. We are part of this soil. We are going nowhere, no matter what some people may want, Gure said defiantly. Sufi shrines and graves of prominent leaders were not spared from destruction during the countrys brutal war. Historic tombs which were pilgrimage destinations for thousands of Sufi worshippers were ransacked by the warlords and then completely desecrated by fighters wielding axes when al-Shabab took control of large swaths of the country. The group has desecrated more than a thousand Sufi graves in southern Somalia since 2006. Sufism, a mystical practice of Islam, arrived in the east African country in the 18th century and was embraced widely. Thirty minutes drive from the Bakara area to the other side of the city in Hodan district, a group of about 30 mainly young men gathered in a semi-circle inside a Mosque. They represent the next generation of Sufi preachers. The 29-year-old imam reminded his mainly young congregation of their religious duties. The atmosphere in the mosque was upbeat and tea flowed freely. Let us follow the path of our forefathers. The correct path, the peaceful pathway. Let us double our efforts to spread the word of God, Imam Abshir Abdi Siyad told them. We do this every Friday night, the imam told Al Jazeera. It is our religious obligation to teach everyone, especially the next generation, about our prophets teachings and the way he lived his life. If we dont teach them, other people will teach them wrong things, Siyad added. With the armed group losing control of most major towns and cities to Somalias Western-backed government, Sufis are slowly making a comeback. But they have lost many followers and the recovery is slow. A further complication is that younger Somalis are increasingly self-identifying as Sunni because of the many religious schools established in the country by young, Saudi-educated Somali teachers. Before the start of the civil war most religious schools in the country were run by Sufi teachers but the civil war changed it all. Like all other sectors, the education system was left destroyed, too. As the war raged on, young Somalis who could afford to do so, left the country to pursue their education outside Somalia, including in Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries. Those who were financially limited often received scholarships to attend religious schools in the Middle East funded by these governments. The young, educated Somalis have returned to the country as the conflict has died down. They have invested in the recovery of their country and some have opened Sunni religious schools. The countrys powerful business leaders also often foreign-educated who invest in education and orphanages across the country are mainly Sunni as well. Sufis suspect that these events and the increased Sunni influences have further hindered the recovery of their own community. We do not have the money or guns that many new groups in the country have, Siyad, the imam, said, referring to the Sunnis and their financial muscle. But we have been here longer than them. Sufism is part of our heritage, our peaceful heritage and it is here to stay for ever, he added. The Sufis are engaging in efforts to reclaim their lost glory, starting with schools. About 30 students between five and 16 years of age were cramped into a one-room religious school in Hamarweyne using wooden tablets and ink made of charcoal instead of books and pens for study. The school, run by a traditional Sufi teacher, is one of a few in the city to be run by the mystic group and stands in stark contrast to others in its neighbourhood. I was taught this way. I was taught under a tree. My teachers were not educated in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else but Somalia. I want to revive our way of teaching Islam, Maalim Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed, a teacher at the Sufi religious school, told Al Jazeera. The parents appreciate this style of teaching our religion and the students enjoy it very much. I have been teaching this way for the past five years, Mohamed said. Standing outside the school waiting to pick up his seven-year-old daughter, Ahmed Noor agreed. I think many schools of this kind need to open in our city. This is how it was before the war and before teachers who came from abroad started teaching our children. Sufis are very peaceful, Noor said, although he is not Sufi himself. With relative normality returning to Somalia, Sufi leaders now admit they may have to do more than just preach in the few mosques they have in the Somali capital. We are peaceful people and we do our best to stay away from politics and violence, but we need to do more, like offer free education to those who cannot afford it, said Gure, the Sufi leader. We need to open more [religious schools] and offer financial help to the poor. Follow Hamza Mohamed on Twitter: @Hamza_Africa If Brexit goes ahead, he could well end up as the man who broke Britain. The British Prime Minister David Cameron is facing the biggest political crisis of his career, with questions about his leadership and that of his key lieutenant and long-term ally George Osborne, accusations of his role in the deaths of hundreds of disabled Britons, a blow to his campaign to keep Britain in the European Union, and worst of all the resurgent possibility that Scotland could split from the United Kingdom. Where did it all go wrong? Camerons grip on the Conservative Party has always been more tenuous than it appeared: After decades of unseemly infighting, he was at the centre of soaring debates on racism and xenophobia, victimising rather than empathising with the poor, and the spectre of the European question hanging over every major disagreement. Cameron took decisive action to detoxify the party when he took over in 2005, moving it both economically and socially to the centre ground. Issues such as immigration were off-limits he championed the environment and courted ethnic minorities. He remained ambiguous on whether he supported staying in Europe or leaving. Camerons support base within his own party has always been narrow and begrudging comparable to that of Tony Blair, who never managed to convince the broader membership that centrism was consistent with party values, or politically strategic. Grand challenges Cameron faces similar challenges: Although viewed as an arch-Thatcherite outside the party, inside he is a relative leftist, maintaining spending on schools and the National Health Service (NHS) when his members feel he should be cutting deeper. He sparked a huge rebellion when he legalised gay marriage but most of all was kilometres apart from his members in Europe an issue that nearly split his party back in the 1990s. Number Ten is now likely to be consumed by crisis management and leadership speculation rather than effective campaigning. by Winning a surprise majority in last years general election impressed the membership, but as the Brexit debate explodes, the fragility of Camerons position is laid barer by the day alongside that of his Chancellor, Osborne. Since the early 1990s, the duo have been joined at the hip, both politically and as friends. Osborne had hoped to succeed Cameron, but for months now his hopes have been ebbing away. Events last week were quite possibly the nail in the coffin. If Cameron knew he would face a fight within his own party over Europe, what he hadnt counted on was the left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn, who took over as leader of the opposition in last September. The media have positioned Corbyn as a clownish figure, an economic neanderthal whose left-wing views are irrelevant in todays post-industrial economy. Yet, while fighting off New Labour loyalists at the rear, Corbyn has ignored the flak in parliament and focused his energies squarely on two issues neglected by his forebears corporate tax avoidance, and welfare cuts. OPINION: What are Camerons British values? Cameron, via Osborne, was able to bat away such criticism so long as the economy was recovering. Yet borrowing targets are now being repeatedly missed, and wages stagnant. About 2,400 disabled or long-term sick workers have died within weeks of being found fit to work, and having their benefits withdrawn. Corbyn exposed the moral inadequacies of austerity in his latest budget response last week, a budget which appeared to offer more tax cuts to the well-off, while stripping away essential support for the most vulnerable in society. The following morning, to Number Tens surprise, several Conservative MPs came out in support of Corbyn, saying that cutting disability benefits to pay for tax cuts for the rich was immoral. A leading Tory disability activist announced his resignation from the party, sabotaging the partys Conservative Disability Group website as he departed. By Friday night, Ian Duncan Smith, the secretary of state responsible for delivering welfare cuts, and Camerons fiercest opponent on Europe, has resigned, claiming Osborne had forced him into the cuts as a way to protect traditional Conservative voters, notably pensioners, from austerity. Cynics pointed out the same minister had gone along with the cuts for six years before speaking out and it is believed by many that he simply wanted to damage the prime minister, and improve chances of a Brexit. Osbornes pre-referendum budget was designed to swing undecided middle-class liberals towards staying in, with a new tax on sugary drinks, and the removal of taxes for small businesses and the self-employed. Civil war in the Conservative Party With unexpectedly effective pressure from the opposition in a race that appears neck-and-neck and a backlash from his own party, any swing Cameron hoped to gain will now be negligible. Every one of March 21s papers have led with the story of civil war in the Conservative Party. Number Ten is now likely to be consumed by crisis management and leadership speculation rather than effective campaigning. Worst still, for the rest of his term, Corbyn will be able to point to the resignation letter, proving these cuts were politically motivated, rather than in the national economic interest. OPINION: Brexit and the failure of the European Union project Osborne went underground for several days re-appearing in Parliament on the afternoon of March 22. The disability benefit cuts have been called off. Should Cameron and Osborne fail to prevent a Brexit, what next? The Brexit campaign has the eccentric former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, a long-term rival of Camerons, and he would no doubt utilise the win to become prime minister elected by Conservative Party members. Whether Cameron would step down immediately or not remains to be seen. Osborne is certainly now out of the race no doubt frustrated given that he has spent the past decade patiently waiting for the top job. Brexit would also almost definitely spark a second referendum on Scotlands independence, most likely leading to the break-up of the UK. Cameron came into power on a compassionate conservative platform, ironically with a promise to repair Broken Britain. If Brexit goes ahead, he could well end up as the man who broke Britain. He has more urgent concerns. Corbyns opposition to the controversial budget has also gone down well. A poll conducted shortly after the budget showed Corbyns ratings ahead of Camerons for the first time, a considerable achievement given that last October he was ranked the least popular new opposition leader of all time. Thats a major win for a left-wing leader, whose centrist critics especially those within his own party have labelled him unelectable. With local elections in May, Cameron should be even more worried. Alastair Sloan is a London-based journalist. He focuses on injustice and human rights in the UK and international affairs, including human rights, the arms trade, censorship, political unrest and dictatorships. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. When you view refugee children purely as a problem to solve, something has gone wrong with your thinking. So this ones partly about a welcome flash of humanity, but mostly its about hitting a new low. The humanity bit came from the British House of Lords, which last week amended an Immigration Bill, so that the UK has to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees currently in Europe. The amendment was proposed by Lord Alfred Dubs, the Labour peer who was himself rescued as a child from the Nazis. He urged the government to remember the spirit of Kindertransport, the scheme that saved thousands of Jewish children in the months just before World War II, bringing them from Nazi Germany to Great Britain. So far, so heartening right? Here is the Lords acting as the best kind of check on parliament, compelling the UK government to do the right thing. Save the Children estimates that there are some 24,000 unaccompanied child refugees currently in Europe, and that 3,000 would be a fair share for the UK to absorb. Earlier this year, Europol, the EUs criminal intelligence agency, warned that some 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children had disappeared after arriving in Europe. There are all sorts of reasons why children (under 18) might be travelling across Europe alone: most are 14 to 15-year-old boys; some have been sent by parents who have assessed that even the perilous journey into Europe might result in better life chances than staying in countries where bombs fall daily. Easy prey for trafficking gangs Many children are separated along the way, or are grieving for adult relatives killed in wars or in transit. One thing we know for certain, though, is that unaccompanied children are terrifyingly vulnerable to the kinds of abuse that we dont want to think about, easy prey for trafficking gangs and far worse. READ MORE: Who is weaponising the Syrian refugees? When Europol issued its dire estimation of the numbers of missing refugee children in January, its chief of staff Brian Donald noted: An entire [criminal] infrastructure has developed over the past 18 months around exploiting the migrant flow. The British government wants the mostly Syrian and Iraqi and Afghani refugees ... to proceed, in orderly fashion, to recognised refugee camps nearer their countries of origin, in Jordan or Turkey. by Its this reality of the refugee crisis that makes what comes next quite impossible to explain. The British government is planning to contest Lord Dubs amendment when the Immigration Bill gets back to parliament in a few weeks time. It doesnt want to take 3,000 children from Europe because, apparently, the worry is that this would only encourage them. Tess Berry-Hart, at the volunteer group Calais Action, notes that the UK government seems ideologically opposed to accepting any sort of pull factor, which is anything from making things a tiny bit nice in Calais, or taking refugee children from Europe. Britains approach is that refugees shouldnt be in makeshift European camps such as Calais in the first place. The government wants the mostly Syrian and Iraqi and Afghani refugees you know, the ones escaping war and persecution, the ones making nightmarishly dangerous journeys that no human should ever have to make to proceed, in orderly fashion, to recognised refugee camps nearer their countries of origin, in Jordan or Turkey. The UK has committed to taking in 20,000 Syrian refugees, from those camps, by 2020. But this policy, first of all, is a wilful refusal to consider the refugees already in Europe, as though projecting this preference on to the situation will somehow make those thousands just disappear. Words wont stop the journeys And it also avoids the obvious point that nobody in their right mind would travel so far from home and get all the way to the horrible, freezing camp at Calais unless they had a strong reason to cross the Channel into the UK: because of family connections, say, or language skills. British ministers can go on as long as they like about needing to discourage young children from taking dangerous journeys, but those words wont stop the journeys: in fact, the words with their attendant refusal to offer safe routes make the journeys more dangerous. Meanwhile, the family connection part of the picture is where things grow pettier still. Under the Dublin Regulation, a bit of EU law, asylum seekers in Europe are entitled to join a relative in the UK but an avalanche of grinding back-and-forth bureaucracy means that this doesnt really happen in practice. Of 423 identified unaccompanied minors at the Calais jungle, 150 have proven family ties to the UK. The British government could just let those children be in Britain while their claims are being checked but what sort of example would that set? Instead, a court had to compel the government to do just that, in a ground-breaking case in January involving three unaccompanied children in Calais with close relatives in the UK. READ MORE: The dark side of the EU-Turkey refugee deal Campaigners such as Calais Action and Citizens UK are currently working on more cases; so at what point will the courts suggest to the British government that it might make a policy change, rather than continue to waste time and resources over 150 children? Nobody is pretending that this issue, with all its attendant concerns around child protection and all the challenges of absorbing horribly traumatised lone minors, is a simple one. But the official reluctance to help also misses the part of the picture in which migrants bring value, rather than just headaches. British Prime Minister David Cameron thinks that the Kindertransport analogy made by Lord Dubs and others is unfair because the unaccompanied young refugees are in safe countries such as France, from where they can claim asylum, on family grounds, to the UK. But if you look at a young refugee, with all that shiny potential and years to live and give, and all you see is a problem to solve, or an argument to counter, or a historical point to refute, then that isnt just a moral failure; its an epic failure of the imagination, too. If you cant see how that new energy, the flourish, the life-blood creativity of exposure to different cultures, the innovating drive of diversity, might benefit you or your country, thats a devastating societal problem one that perhaps only an influx of hopeful young migrants could help you to fix. Rachel Shabi is a journalist and author of Not the Enemy: Israels Jews from Arab Lands. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. The fall of Palmyra marks a big win in the Syrian states fight against ISIL. Ibrahim al-Marashi is an associate professor at the Department of History, California State University, San Marcos. Bashar al-Assad had said for years to both Syrians and the international community that only his regime could prevent the spectre of ISIL taking over Syria. For the first time he has acted to deal with this threat. Damascus finally invested in amassing enough military forces to defeat ISIL in a battle for territory. Also, even with the withdrawal of Russian forces from the war, Moscows residual airpower in Syria can still sustain the Assad regimes momentum on the battlefield. The Syrian states recent victory against ISIL in Palmyra represents a major shift not only in the war against ISIL, but also in the trajectory of the nations five-year civil war. Fluctuating Syrian and Iraqi frontlines Syrias victory in Palmyra comes just three months after Iraq recovered Ramadi from ISIL. Both Ramadi and Palmyra had fallen during ISILs May 2015 offensive, proving then that ISIL could wage two simultaneous military campaigns across distant frontlines. The battles for Ramadi and Palmyra have nullified ISILs gains. READ MORE: How Iraq recaptured Ramadi and why it matters These victories are significant given that before it was only the sub-state militias that defeated ISIL. Before it captured Ramadi, ISIL had lost Tikrit in a battle with Iraqs Shia militias. In the summer of 2015, it was the militia of Syrian Kurds which expelled ISIL from Tel Abyad, on the border with Turkey, followed by its victory in Sinjar, Iraq, in November. In both Iraq and Syria, it was these militias, benefiting from US air support, which defeated ISIL in battle. However, the victory in Ramadi, followed by Palmyra, represents the recent rise of the state military in Iraq and Syria respectively. Both militaries, as national institutions, have defeated ISIL, thus allowing each state to claim victory on behalf of the people. The ability of the state to claim victory is paramount given how both sides of this conflict have sustained myths about their fighting prowess. ISILs victories in Ramadi and Palmyra in May 2015 perpetuated the myth of its military invincibility, essential to recruiting fighters from Iraq, Syria, the greater Middle East, and the West. ISIL's victories in Ramadi and Palmyra in May 2015 perpetuated the myth of its military invincibility, essential to recruiting fighters from Iraq, Syria, the greater Middle East, and the West. by As of 2016, the Iraqi and Syrian states have reversed ISILs gains on the battlefield, undermining its aura of invincibility. Both states have gone on to leverage these victories to perpetuate their own myths, promising their citizens that the military will return a modicum of security to their respective nations. In the case of Ramadi, the Iraqi state went to great efforts to highlight the role of the official armed forces in the liberation of the city. In reality, the Shia militias still played a supporting role by containing ISILs expansion from Ramadi in May 2015, and the US provided significant air support in the final campaign to recapture it. Nonetheless, the Iraqi government could claim that it was a national victory since it was the Iraqi security forces, a national institution, and not the Shia militias, that dealt the final blow to ISIL on the streets of Ramadi. In the case of Palmyra, the Syrian government has ostensibly claimed its first national victory against ISIL, even if the victory was achieved with the aid of non-Syrian actors, including Russia, Iran, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and Iraqi and Afghan Shia foreign fighters. By finally taking on ISIL in Palmyra, Assad can bolster whatever remains of his legitimacy among his own citizens, and can communicate to the international community that he is the only viable bulwark against this terrorist threat, at a time when Europe is still reeling from the attacks in Brussels. Breaking the Syrian stalemate The Syrian states ability to recover Palmyra at the end of March 2016 is also significant in that it has demonstrated just how fluid the battlefields in the civil war have become over the past couple of months. READ MORE: With scholars killing, ISIL steps up war on history During most of the Syrian civil war, rebel factions could seize territory, but the Syrian state maintained a monopoly on airpower, tanks and heavy artillery, creating a bloody stalemate. In April 2015, the stalemate was overcome when a good number of the rebel factions cooperated for the first time, and also received anti-tank missiles from foreign sponsors, which contributed to their rapid success in Idlib and Jisr al-Shughur in northern Syria. For the first time, Bashar al-Assad admitted publicly that the military had suffered setbacks after losing Idlib to the rebels. After the rebels success, the rates of desertion among the Syrian armed forces increased, combined with the militarys lack of morale, as the state grew ever more reliant on Hezbollah and Iran. Then Palmyra fell to ISIL in May 2015. With those rebel victories, questions emerged as to whether the Syrian regime would even survive. Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, asked: Is it truly the beginning of the end for Assad and his decades-old regime? The headline of an article in The Guardian asked, Amid the ruins of Syria, Is Bashar al-Assad now finally facing the end? It was a question that Russia most likely pondered around the same time, and which, in hindsight, explains its robust intervention on behalf of the Syrian state. The US thought Russias intervention in Syria would be like its experience in Afghanistan. In fact, it broke the stalemate of the civil war in favour of the Syrian state. Not even a year has passed since the question of Bashar al-Assads survival was raised. Now, his survival is no longer in doubt. However, this recent victory occurred because the cessation of hostilities with other Syrian rebels freed up enough manpower for the Syrian state to recapture Palmyra. The Syrian state still does not have enough military resources to score an outright victory against both ISIL and the other Syrian rebels in the near term, even with the residual Russian forces remaining. While Assad has achieved a string of tactical victories, breaking the military stalemate outside Aleppo against the Syrian rebels and in Palmyra against ISIL, breaking the political stalemate between the state and the opposition seems an ever more formidable challenge in the year to come. Ibrahim al-Marashi is an assistant professor at the Department of History, California State University, San Marcos. He is the co-author of Iraqs Armed Forces: An Analytical History. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. The year-old conflict in Yemen is taking a horrifying toll on the countrys youth, UNICEF said on Tuesday, warning that an estimated 320,000 children face life-threatening malnutrition. In a new report marking the anniversary of the start of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen, the agency said six children have been killed or injured daily over the past year up nearly seven times compared with 2014. Children are paying the highest price for a conflict not of their making. They have been killed or maimed across the country and are no longer safe anywhere in Yemen. Even playing or sleeping has become dangerous, said Julien Harneis, UNICEFs representative in Yemen. READ MORE: Humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Yemen The intervention of the Arab coalition assembled by Saudi Arabia in support of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi began on March 26 last year, but has yet to deal a decisive blow to Iran-backed Houthi rebels and their allies, who still control the capital Sanaa and key parts of the country. Hopes for a breakthrough in the conflict emerged last week when the warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities from April 10 and peace talks from April 18, after a year of war that has killed overall more than 6,200 people. READ MORE: Yemens warring parties agree to April 10 ceasefire The UNICEF report, entitled Childhood on the Brink, said nearly a third of the more than 3,000 civilians killed in Yemens war have been children. Everything around me is frightening. My mothers sad face and tears are what torture me the most, 13-year-old Abdullah Nawar, who is trapped with his family in Aden, was quoted as saying in the report. I am scared that all of us will die in this dark basement, he added. But beyond the direct effect of the conflict, UNICEF said that nearly 10,000 children under five may have died in the past year from preventable diseases, as a result of the decline in access to vaccines and other key health services. Basic services and infrastructure are on the verge of total collapse, the report added, noting that 63 health facilities have been attacked or damaged. The UN estimates 82 percent of the population is now in desperate need of humanitarian aid, with nearly half of Yemens 22 provinces on the verge of famine. UNICEF also said it had documented 848 cases of children being recruited by different sides in the conflict, with reports indicating children as young as 10 were forced to take part in the fighting. Tragic as it is, these statistics are only the tip of the iceberg, the report said, adding that the actual numbers were likely to be much higher. Social media users in Egypt express passenger envy after commandeered domestic flight lands in Cyprus. As a domestic EgyptAir flight was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus, Egyptians took to social media on Tuesday and made light of the situation, saying they wished they were on board to escape the countrys woes. On Twitter, the Arabic hashtag I wish I was with them received strong traction online, becoming a top trending topic in Egypt. Seif el-Din Mustafa, an Egyptian passenger, stands accused of hijacking the flight headed to the Egyptian capital from Alexandria, but that ended up at Cyprus Larnaca airport instead. EgyptAir hijacking ends Mustafa allegedly threatened the crew with what he said was a suicide vest, which later was found to be fake. Following the news, social media users in Egypt expressed their envy over how a domestic flight managed to land in Europe. Strict visa requirements imposed on Egyptian passport holders have long been a subject of ridicule. Many Egyptians also complain of high unemployment, the deteriorating economy, and poor government services. This plane hijacking incident cant take any more jokes. Imagine the fear of these passengers when they found out that theres another plane thats going to take them back to Egypt, wrote Mohamed Elsawy sarcastically on Facebook. .. . Posted by Mohamed Elsawy on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 Some Twitter users jokingly encouraged Egyptians to book more domestic flights. Book a flight to Hurghada on April 7th and you could be hijacked and find yourself in Cyprus instead for only 180 Egyptian pounds, one popular tweet said. Who knows, the dice could roll and you could be in France or Italy. https://twitter.com/MaaSteR10/status/714874243884957696 Photo shared on fbook in Egypt w/caption "Egyptian passengers upon hearing they're disembarking in Cyprus not Cairo" pic.twitter.com/QShKmGP4b1 Timothy E Kaldas (@tekaldas) March 29, 2016 Cypriot police said the hijacker was trying to communicate with his ex-wife who lives in Cyprus, saying that Mustafa wanted to deliver a letter to her. These reports caused other users on social media to satirically contextualise the incident in a romantic manner. If he's willing to hijack a plane for u , he's the one #__ pic.twitter.com/Hod6NRDbuy (@aitanabanana96) March 29, 2016 https://twitter.com/imooh96/status/714748392220598272 Security concerns While making light of the hijacking, the incident also highlighted concerns about airline security measures. Samer Shehata, associate professor of Middle East studies at the University of Oklahoma, said Egypt may have different security policies for domestic flights. My assumption is that security measures for domestic flights in Egypt, unfortunately, are not as serious as those for international flights, he told Al Jazeera. Egypts minister of civil aviation, Sherif Fathi, acknowledged that Egypt can still improve in terms of airport security. Over the last while weve seen a lot of efforts in securing airports. We dont have the wide gaps that some may perceive, but we do get chances to improve on a lot of things, he told reporters. Were trying to take advantage of these chances. Egyptian authorities released footage that allegedly showed Mustafa passing through a security scanner and receiving a pat-down before boarding the plane. Sajjan Gohel, international security director for the London-based Asia Pacific Foundation, told Al Jazeera that people are very hyper about security threats. Especially that its been one week since the Brussels attacks, a few days since the attacks in Lahore terrorism is on peoples minds, he said. Late last year, a Russian airliner was brought down in Egypts Sinai, killing all 224 people onboard. The crash was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS). The crash dealt a heavy blow to Egypts struggling tourism industry with revenues declining by $1.3bn. I remember in the 1990s when terrorism was really high in Egypt. The dark joke was that there were more waiters than tourists in hotels, said Gohel. One really hopes we dont get to that stage again. Follow Mohamed Hashem on Twitter: @mhashem_ Sadrists and others want to change a religion-based quota system in place since the first postwar Iraqi government. Baghdad, Iraq When Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr armed young followers with rocket-propelled grenades to fight US and Iraqi forces, few would have predicted he would re-emerge inside Baghdads Green Zone as a champion for better government. Sadr, 42, who is rarely seen outside of Najaf, appeared in person on Sunday outside the barricaded entrance of the sprawling neighbourhood taken over by the Iraqi government. It didnt matter that his short speech ordering followers to stay behind lacked the oratory of his revered father and father-in-law. Grown men wept at seeing him in the flesh. And then, for the first time ever, the cleric who led the fight against US troops and Iraqi government forces from 2004 to 2008 walked inside the Green Zone that his followers view as the symbol of corrupt government and foreign occupation. Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appeals to frustrated Iraqis Sadr has vowed to sit inside the pop-up tent set up near the entrance until Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi replaces cabinet ministers and investigates corruption. On the other side of the concrete walls and razor wire, thousands of followers are holding their own sit-in amid the implicit threat that Sadr could still follow through and have them storm the Green Zone. Although seen by some as a threat to topple Abadis government, it is not. Sadr, first a backer and then a sworn enemy of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, has made clear he supports the current prime minister. His goal is much more ambitious. The whole system needs to be tackled changing the ministers is not going to tackle what facilitates corruption, says Diha al-Assadi, the urbane, UK-educated head of the Sadrist Ahrar bloc. We need to think about changing the system and the entire architecture and hierarchy of the ministries. The Sadrists and many others want to change a quota system in place since the first postwar Iraqi government that sets aside specific positions for Shia, Sunni and Kurdish political blocs. The stranglehold of political parties on cabinet has also prevented senior politicians from being prosecuted, says Assadi. Prime Minister Abadi, seen as a well-intentioned but relatively weak leader, has made clear from the day he took office two years ago that he didnt choose the ministers in his cabinet. Since then it has become evident that he would dearly like to replace some of them. Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Higher Education Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, both senior members in their own Shia political parties, are expected to be particularly difficult to dislodge. Al-Abadi would like to get rid of a few of the ministers who act as if they are the prime minister, rather than him, says one high-ranking Iraqi official. READ MORE: Iraq cleric starts Green Zone sit-in Parliament has now given Abadi a deadline of Thursday to present what are expected to be up to nine replacement ministers in the 22-person cabinet. While Sadr has no formal role in politics and only mid-level religious credentials, he has had perhaps the most impact of any single Iraqi in post-war Iraq. The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani the revered and hugely influential Najaf-based cleric was born in Iran and intervenes in non-religious matters only in times of crisis. Sadrs persona from the fiery cleric urging young followers to drive out American troops, to his current role leading what Sadrists hope will become a multi-sectarian reform movement has always been that of an Iraqi nationalist. He has always had the ability to get out in front of the parade, says Feisal Istrabadi, former Iraqi ambassador to the UN, now at Indiana University. In this latest protest, Sadr has ordered followers to display only the Iraqi flag and chant loyalty only to the nation. For years he has reached out to disaffected Sunnis and to minorities, saying the Sadr movement will protect them. The Iraqi government has gone to huge lengths to secure the Green Zone, home to the US and other embassies as well as parliament, the prime ministry and other government offices. Originally an area surrounding Saddam Husseins main palace and off-limits to ordinary Iraqis, the Green Zone was expanded after US forces and then civilian officials settled into the palace, and then further expanded by the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Abadi has removed road blocks to major roads running through the Green Zone but only Iraqis who live or work inside are allowed to enter the area, and most Iraqis have never seen it. With the presence of thousands of protesters at the entrance and Sadrs threat to storm the gates the government has diverted Iraqi troops from the battlefield in the fight against ISIL to protect the Green Zone, according to military officials. The effusive welcome by uniformed Iraqi army officers who ushered Sadr into the Green Zone on Sunday, though, has cast doubt on whether largely Shia security forces would try to stop protesters. Sadr officials say if they were told by Sadr to enter, their instructions are to simply gather for a peaceful protest. They are asked not to do any harm to anything in the Green Zone, says Assadi. He says if the political reforms are not implemented, the next step will most likely be a call for nationwide strikes by civil servants. It wont be helpful because the whole country would be paralysed, but we are going to be left with no choices, Assadi says. Occupied West Bank On March 22, the Palestinian Authority [PA] decided to impose a ban on the products of five Israeli companies in the Palestinian market. The decision came in response to a recent Israeli ban, earlier this month, on selling dairy and food products of five Palestinian companies in occupied East Jerusalem. In 2010, the Palestinian government issued a ban on goods made in settlements. Since March 9, truckloads of Palestinian products were turned back at Beituniya Commercial Crossing, west of Ramallah, without any official explanation by the Israeli authorities. However, reports quoting unnamed Israeli officials claimed the Palestinian products did not meet the required standards. Senior Palestinian officials said the Israeli ban was an arbitrary political decision. Israel continues its attempts to isolate Jerusalem from its surroundings and blur its identity, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said at the time. READ MORE: Anger as UK moves to ban Israeli settlement boycott Speaking to Al Jazeera, Palestinian businessmen affected by the ban said Israel uses certain evaluating forms to impede their access to Jerusalem. According to one businessman, Israel previously used the same pretext in 2010, but it was thwarted by international pressure, mainly from the quartet. We sell nearly 50 percent of our products to Jerusalem. The boycott is good, I hope it continues. But Jerusalem is part of our market and we are entitled to sell there. by Amir Haddad, sales director Palestinian agriculture ministry officials maintained that the forms in question, required by an Israeli law passed in 2005 concerning exported animal originating products, are used to cover up for a political purpose; namely to cut off Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank and treat it as Israeli proper. The law, according to Palestinian officials, runs in contradiction with the Paris Protocol; an economic agreement signed in April 1994 as part of the Oslo Accords that defines nearly all economic relations between Israel and the PA. Palestinian businessmen say their products are of high quality. We have all necessary permits and licences [from the Israeli authorities]. Our products are tested on a daily basis in Israeli facilities, Amir Haddad, the sales director at Hamudeh, one of the affected Palestinian dairy companies, told Al Jazeera. Haddad has been running his business since 1989. His company mainly deals with Palestinians living in the occupied east Jerusalem, but has increasingly been facing difficulty to access Jerusalem as a result of countless checkpoints and crossings set up by Israel since the late 1990s. If the Israeli ban continues, Palestinians estimate their annual losses to be around $300m.The losses on the Israeli part, as a result of the Palestinian ban, are also estimated at around $300m annually, according to Azmi Abdul Rahman, the PAs Ministry of Economy spokesman. We targeted similar company with around the same market, Abdul Rahman said. We believe the boycott decision will reflect positively on the [Palestinian] market. The overall trade between Israel and the PA is estimated at $4bn annually, the majority of which are imports from or via Israel. According to Abdul Rahman, new production lines were introduced during the popular boycott campaign in 2014, when Israel waged its war on Gaza. Investors threw their weight into the market and local factories profited, he said. OPINION: Power to the people extending the Israel boycott The decision was cautiously welcomed by activists in BDS, the campaign to boycott, divest and sanction against Israel, who said it was a result of relentless pressure on the government. Its a step forward, but is not enough, Fajr Harb, a BDS activist, told Al Jazeera. The problem is that the decision is a reaction to the Israeli ban. Weve yet to see how it will be implemented, he added. However, Palestinian businessmen hope the Israeli ban will be lifted soon. We sell nearly 50 percent of our products to Jerusalem, Haddad said. The boycott is good, I hope it continues. But Jerusalem is part of our market and we are entitled to sell there. Not everyone shares that hope. Nicola Khamis has been the agent and distributor of Tnuva, the largest Israeli dairy company, for decades. He and other businessmen were notified they had ten days to sell their stock, but he says it was not enough. At the push of a button, Ive lost millions, Khamis told Al Jazeera. He blamed the PA for failing to approach the concerned agents before making the decision and said his employees and their families will be most affected. No one is above the law. I respect the PAs decision and will abide by it I am licensed by the PA and I wont turn into a trafficker, he said. The motivation may be different, but Khamis and Harb, the BDS activist, seem to stand on the same ground: an all-encompassing boycott needs to be in place. We have made immense progress with regard to boycotting normalisation activities, Harb said. BDS has made steps in the local market, but bear in mind we have a captive market, with security topping the PAs priority rather than agriculture and manufacturing. READ MORE: Naomi Klein I dont pick and choose on BDS Analysts believe this could be another opportunity for Palestinian companies to step in and cover the gap. Palestinian products cover merely 20 percent of the market, the rest around $4bn in goods are imported from or via Israel. A recent study shows that the Israeli occupation imposes a $9bn price tag on the Palestinian economy, mainly due to continued damaging of infrastructure and restricting development as well as limiting access to natural resources especially in Area C. The next step towards breaking those chains, BDS observers argue, is to take serious steps towards a resisting economy one that allows Palestinians to stand on their own feet, even if it meant fewer options on the shelves that includes all Israeli products, not just settlement-made products. Israeli settlements are a product of the occupation and colonisation of Palestine, Harb said. Israel, providing for those settlements, should be boycotted too. Judge rules reasonable doubt after Israeli soldier caught on video shooting wounded Palestinian in the head. An Israeli military court says evidence is inconclusive against one of its soldiers who was caught on camera shooting dead a wounded Palestinian. Lieutenant Colonel Ronen Shor, the judge, said on Tuesday there was reasonable doubt about the circumstances of the shooting given the complexity of the events surrounding a stabbing incident and the killing that followed. Shor also ruled that the soldier would be held in custody for two more days. Prosecutors earlier said the shooting was intentional and asked the court to extend the soldiers detention until April 7 while the investigation was ongoing. But the judge said he can be held only until Thursday. READ MORE: UN condemns gruesome killing of wounded Palestinian The case has sparked anger and political tensions, with many Palestinians saying the shooting of 21-year-old Abed al-Fattah proved their claims that Israel is guilty of using excessive force and carrying out extrajudicial killings. Fattah and another Palestinian were accused of stabbing an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank last week. During the incident Fattah was shot and wounded, while his partner Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi was killed instantly. As Fattah was laying on the ground, an Israeli soldier was captured on camera raising his firearm and shooting him in the head, killing him. Im still taken by surprise by the act of the shooting, Abu Shamsyeh, a Palestinian who witnessed and videotaped the killing, told Al Jazeera. Shamsyeh said he and his family have received threats after the publication of his video. The shooting of Fattah has been condemned by the UN as a gruesome, immoral and unjust act. Support for soldier The identity of the 19-year-old soldier and that of his family remained secret under a gag order, granted at the request of his lawyers. On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside the military court and called for his release. Far-right politicians have also defended the soldier, and members of his family said he was being publicly lynched and would not receive a fair trial. Ex-foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, currently a member of the opposition, was among those in court in support of the soldier and to balance the crude intervention of the prime minister and defence minister in the process, as he told reporters after the hearing. Im not determining if [the soldiers] conduct was correct or wrong, whats clear is I prefer a soldier who made a mistake and stayed alive over a soldier who hesitates and is murdered by a terrorist, Lieberman said. About a dozen of the soldiers family members were also in the public gallery, some of them in tears. Top military brass have condemned his behaviour and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon pledged the incident would be treated with the utmost severity. Prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Adoram Rigler told the court on Tuesday there were contradictions in the soldiers version of events. The suspicion emanating from the investigation is that the shooting was carried out intentionally and without need, said Rigler. Defence lawyers said the Palestinian could have had an explosive device, even though he had reportedly been checked for a suicide belt before the shooting. Near-daily violence since October has killed 206 Palestinians and 29 Israelis. Critics say military engagement in conflicts for reasons other than self-defence is breach of pacifist constitution. Japan has launched new security laws that allow its military to engage in conflicts abroad for reasons other than self-defence, a move critics see as a major deviation from the countrys pacifist constitution. For the first time since World War II, Japan will be able to participate more in international peacekeeping compared with its previous, mostly humanitarian, missions. The legislation, which took effect on Tuesday after being passed last year despite nationwide protests, have been backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Defence Minister Gen Nakatani, who said it was needed to improve international co-operation of armed forces. The use of force by the Japanese military has been limited to self-defence since World War II ended in 1945. On Monday, more than 100 demonstrators gathered in front of the premiers residence, disappointed that the government had ignored their protests against the expansion of military powers and vowed to continue their opposition. Many young Japanese also rallied across the country on Sunday to oppose the bills. Osamu Watanabe, honorary professor at Hitotsubashi University, told the Associated Press news agency that that the new laws violated Article IX of the constitution. It is the first item that says that Japan will not start a war, Watanabe said. The second item says that Japan will not maintain military forces or a fighting army and it will not resort to force as a means of settling international disputes. This is what Article IX says to restrain state power. Abes cabinet has denied it is a violation of the constitution, which it said must be adapted to the challenging security situation in the current age. READ MORE: Chinas aggressive posture in South China Sea The security legislation came against the backdrop of rising regional tensions over territory in the South China Sea, a massive area that includes archipelago where China has a growing military presence. Watanabe also warned against the legislation leading to conflict in the region. For peace in Asia, what Japan can do is avoid having those kind of troops that fought against some Asian countries and dragged Asia into hell, he said. About 100 Japanese lawyers have set up a lawsuit association and will sue in local courts on new unconstitutional security bills in April. Night-time curfew was imposed in Rakhine state in June 2012 after violent clashes killed more than 200 people. President Thein Sein, Myanmars outgoing leader, lifted a nearly four-year curfew in the western state of Rakhine where clashes between the minority Rohingya Muslims and majority Buddhists left more than 200 people dead. Thein Sein made the last-minute decision to lift the night-time curfew on the recommendation of the state government, which felt it was no longer necessary, state media reported on Tuesday. It is found from the report by the Rakhine state government that the situation in Rakhine state can no longer pose dangers to the lives and property of the people, said the ordinance signed by Thein Sein. READ MORE: What will Myanmars new parliament mean to Rohingya? Thein Seins presidential term ends on Wednesday, when the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, takes over power following a landslide victory last November. The curfew in Rakhine State was imposed in June 2012 after deadly clashes displaced more than 100,000 people, mostly Rohingya, in addition to the loss of life. There has been no major violence between the Rohingya and the Buddhist majority in the state in the past two years. Widespread discrimination Rakhine state is home to most of Myanmars 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims, who live largely in abject poverty while facing widespread discrimination, not only by the Buddhist majority but also by the government. Myanmar does not recognise Rohingya Muslims as citizens and describes them as immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, although the Rohingyas say they have lived in Myanmar for generations. Move by State Department and Pentagon comes as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to arrive in Washington. The US State Department and Pentagon on Tuesday ordered the families of American diplomats and military staff to leave posts in southern Turkey because of security fears. The move comes amid heightened concerns throughout Turkey and was accompanied by an updated travel warning advising US citizens of an increased threat of attacks, the Associated Press reported. The State Department and Pentagon said dependents of American staffers at the US consulate in Adana and the Incirlik airbase and two other locations must leave. Foreign and US tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organisations, a State Department statement said. US citizens are reminded to review personal security plans and remain vigilant at all times. In a statement, the US militarys European Command said the step allows for the deliberate, safe return of family members from these areas due to continued security concerns in the region. Erdogan heads to US The order comes as Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan departed for Washington on Tuesday to attend a nuclear security summit on Thursday and Friday. There has been intense speculation in the Turkish media as to whether Erdogan would meet Obama, amid signs of a poor relationship with the US over Syria and Turkeys domestic policy direction. Yet Erdogan, speaking to reporters in Istanbul before his departure, said he would have a bilateral meeting with the US president. Our colleagues have planned a meeting with Obama, just as we met at the G20, he said. The two leaders last met at a G20 summit in Turkey in November. More than 50 leaders are attending the summit upon Obamas invitation, and we are going to talk with a majority of them. We are going to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama, Erdogan added, saying he did not know how long the meeting would last. READ MORE: Turkey summons US envoy over support for Syrian Kurds Obama and Erdogan will hold an informal discussion, the White House said on Tuesday. I would expect that over the course of the visit, the president will have an opportunity at some point to have at least an informal discussion with President Erdogan, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. Earnest said the lack of a formal meeting should not be interpreted as a snub to Erdogan, noting the Turkish president will have a formal meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden. NATO member Turkey is part of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), but the two allies are sharply divided over Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. The Kurdish militia has enjoyed US military support, but Turkey sees it as a threat to its national security. Pakistan rounded up more than 5,000 suspects, then released most of them, in the two days since a suicide bomber killed at least 72 people celebrating Easter, an official said on Tuesday. Investigators kept 216 suspects in custody pending further investigation, said Rana Sanaullah, a state minister for Punjab province from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs ruling party. Details of the sweeping raids aimed at anyone suspected of armed violence came as the Taliban faction claiming responsibility for the Lahore attack issued a new threat, singling out the media. Sanaullah said 5,221 people were detained and 5,005 released after verifying their identities. Army spokesman General Asim Bajwa said the military and paramilitary Rangers were conducting raids across Punjab, Pakistans richest and most populous province, in rapid response to the Easter bombing. Right now in Rawalpindi, Multan and elsewhere, operations are ongoing, intelligence agencies and Rangers and army troops are carrying out operations, he said. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, the Taliban faction that claimed responsibility for the blast, warned Pakistani media it could be the next target. Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani media, Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the group, tweeted. We are just waiting for the appropriate time. As authorities pursued those responsible, hundreds of ultra-conservative Muslim protesters remained camped out in front of parliament on Tuesday in the capital, Islamabad, days after clashing with police. Mobile phone networks in the capital were blocked for security purposes for a second day in a row. While not directly connected, the two events both demonstrate intolerance, said Moeed Yusuf, a South Asia analyst at the United States Institute of Peace. The ultimate solution does not lie in fighting guns and bullets. It lies in fighting mindsets, he told Al Jazeera. The number of attacks has gone down but the mindset of intolerance remains. READ MORE: The glaring hate of Pakistans ignored The Easter bombing was Pakistans deadliest attack since a 2014 school massacre claimed by the Taliban killed 134 students. Sundays attack, which included 29 children among the 72 dead, showed the fighters can still cause carnage despite military raids on their northwestern strongholds. Let Nawaz Sharif know that this war has now come to the threshold of his home, tweeted Ehsan. The winners of this war will, God willing, be the righteous mujahideen. Hostage drama ends after EgyptAir jet is diverted to Cyprus with man wearing a suicide belt that turned out to be fake. The hijacker of an EgyptAir passenger jet was arrested at Cyprus Larnaca airport after a five-hour standoff. No one was hurt in the incident after the man surrendered to authorities. The EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday morning and forced to divert to the island. Egypts civil aviation ministry said the pilot of the plane, Omar al-Gammal, was threatened by a passenger strapped with explosives, but it later said the hijackers suicide belt was fake. Photographs shown on Egyptian state television showed a middle-aged man, named by Cypriot authorities as Seif el-Din Mustafa, on a plane wearing glasses and displaying a white belt with bulging pockets and protruding wires. From the search of the aircraft, no explosives were found not on the 59-year-old suspect, nor on the aircraft itself, Cypriot police spokesman Andreas Angelides told reporters. Egypts interior ministry released a video showing the suspect going through security checks at Alexandrias Borg al-Arab Airport, as well as a photograph of the x-ray of his carry-on bag. The ministry said the alleged hijacker had later assembled his fake explosive belt from permitted personal belongings in the bag. Conflicting theories emerged about the hijackers motives. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the man seemed to have a personal motive and the incident was not related to terrorism. Cyprus state TV said he wanted to contact his ex-wife, who is Greek-Cypriot and lives in Larnaca. Earlier reports said the man demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt. EgyptAir said flight 181 had 81 people on board, including a crew of seven. Most were released shortly after landing in Cyprus. At 11:30 GMT, the last seven people were seen leaving the aircraft, one whom escaped though the cockpit window. Speaking to reporters after the crisis ended, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker was an Egyptian national but that his motives remained unclear. At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport, but there was nothing specific, he said, adding the man would now be questioned to ascertain his motives. Farrah El Dibany, who was on board the flight at the time of the hijacking, said passengers noticed that there was something wrong when they saw the sea out of the plane window. It was a bit weird to see the sea because usual when you go to Cairo you dont pass by the Mediterranean Sea, she told Al Jazeera after the end of the ordeal. Then one of the cabin crew passed by all of the passengers and collected all the passports without saying any reason he just said that they had a problem, that they cannot say anything more and about 45 minutes later one of the cabin crew members told us that weve been hijacked and that was it. They didnt say by whom, or what his demands, are or where were heading, she added. I was horrified, she continued. I had several scenarios on my mind, trying to figure out what can happen and I was trying to make peace with it. Cypriot foreign ministry official Alexandros Zenon told reporters that during the crisis the hijacker appeared to be unstable. Witnesses told Cyprus Mail newspaper the man threw a letter on the tarmac of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife. Our passengers are all well and the crew is all well We cannot say this was a terrorist act he was not a professional, Egypts Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy told reporters. Egypts vital tourism industry was already reeling from the downing of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by an attack. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has said it planted a bomb, killing all 224 people on board. Last September, Maamoun Abdel-Karim was a broken man. Syrias director of antiquities had just received news of an explosion at the hands of fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group in the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, an ancient structure dating back to the third millennium BC. The museum at the site had been turned into a prison. Back then, the satellite images were not clear; Abdel-Karim could only hope that the columns around the temple were still standing, despite the force of the blast. Six months later, days after Syrian troops announced they had wrested the ancient site back from ISIL, Abdel-Karim finally has a full picture of the damage. The news is, its not bad, but its not good, he told Al Jazeera over the phone from Damascus. With international support, he added, Palmyra can be rebuilt. READ MORE: Syrian regime seeks symbolic victory in Palmyra On Sunday evening, experts from the Syrian directorate of antiquities visited Palmyra to assess the destruction, providing Abdel-Karim with a stream of photographs from the site of the ruins. They will need several days to complete their appraisal of the damage, said Abdel-Karim, who was awaiting clearance from the Syrian army to head to the site himself. We had the idea in our heads, because of the barbarity of Daesh [ISIL], that everything was destroyed, he said. But the pictures confirmed to me the destruction of Palmyra does not preclude restoration. The recapture of Palmyra by Syrian troops is considered an important and symbolic victory over ISIL, which seized the area 10 months ago. ISIL fighters killed many people as they overran Palmyra, including the archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad, who was beheaded in August after he reportedly refused to reveal where authorities had hidden treasures on the site. The Lion of al-Lat, a limestone statue standing 10 feet tall outside the museum of Palmyra, was initially believed to have been annihilated, but photographic evidence now shows that it remains intact. This was the most beautiful news, Abdel-Karim said. Through ISIL-produced videos and satellite imagery, it was already known that the Temple of Bel, dating back to 32 AD; three funerary towers; the Temple of Baalshamin, one of the most complete ancient structures on the site; and the 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph had been destroyed. The extent of the damage, however, was not verifiable until now. The damage wrought on Palmyras museum was the most appalling, Abdel-Karim said. Images from the site showed floors littered with shattered statues, harkening back to photographs ISIL published in July, which showed fighters smashing artifacts said to have been looted from the site. Now, Abdel-Karim can confirm that they vandalised and decapitated the heads of some 20 statues from the museum. This is not just for the Syrian government, or the army. It's for the opposition also. In the end, it's for our common memory. by Maamoun Abdel-Karim, Syria's director of antiquities Before Palmyra fell, the directorate of antiquities relocated 400 statues from the site to safe areas in Damascus. We couldnt get to the rest because of clashes, Abdel-Karim said, adding: We cant restore all of them, but the good news is that we can restore some. A group of archeologists and experts sent by the directorate are now working to assess how much of the ancient site known as the pearl of the desert can be rehabilitated. The appraisal process will look at how many ancient stones remain in one piece and can be used in the rebuilding. New stones, if needed, will be retrieved from a nearby quarry. The intricate work means the two temples will be especially challenging to repair. OPINION: If Palmyra is destroyed Before any reconstruction can begin, however, the directorate of antiquities needs authorisation from UNESCO, which categorises the ruins as a world heritage site. If approved, Abdel-Karim said, the funerary towers, both temples, several tombs and a Mamluk-era citadel could be rehabilitated easily. We know the area centimetre-by-centimetre all we need is the help of the international community. But not everyone is confident that Palmyras former glory can be restored. According to Cheikhmous Ali, the director of the Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology, several buildings, including the temples and burial tombs, are completely razed. Illegal excavations carried out by ISIL fighters and other looters have also destroyed areas not yet explored by archaeologists. For Ali, the most difficult aspect of reconstruction will be the restoration of the architectural layers destroyed by bulldozers and dynamite. The presence of the Syrian army is no guarantee against future looting and destruction, he added, noting that looting was rampant in the area before ISIL moved in. The presence of [President Bashar] al-Assads army does not reassure me, he said. The looting that began in 2012 before the arrival of ISIS and illicit excavations will continue even if the Syrian army takes control of the city. The Association for the Protection of Syrian Archaeology, working with a network of Syrian archaeologists and local community members, has managed to intercept many Syrian artifacts in the black market. Ali confirmed that some came from Palmyra and were promptly handed over to Interpol. But international help is needed to follow up and repatriate more artifacts, Abdel-Karim added. This is not just for the Syrian government, or the army, he said. Its for the opposition also. In the end, its for our common memory. Michael Hayden says Republican candidates campaign comments are widening the divide between Islam and the West. A former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA) says Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is making Americans less safe with his anti-Islam campaign rhetoric. Michael Hayden, a top intelligence official under former president George W Bush, said what Trump does is underscore and underpin the narrative of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) of the undying enmity between Islam and the Western world. You dont have to be president for that kind of statement from someone so prominent in the American political system to have already made Americans less safe, Hayden told Al Jazeeras Mehdi Hasan, host of the UpFront programme. OPINION: After Islamophobia comes the criminalisation of Arabic During his campaign, Trump had promised a total and complete shutdown of Muslims from entering the United States. Our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life, Trump said. Asked if Trump could be described as a recruiting sergeant for groups such as ISIL and al-Qaeda, Hayden replied: Yes. The retired US general was also critical of another Republican candidate, Ted Cruz, who called on American police to patrol and secure Muslim neighbourhoods. We dont have radicalised communities in the United States, Hayden said. We have some radicalised individuals, but we have it fully within our ability to create radicalised communities, and that kind of rhetoric [by Cruz] risks radicalising communities. On the subject of the ongoing Hillary Clinton email controversy while she was secretary of state, Hayden called her action inconceivable and her explanation incoherent. Hayden also said it was likely that foreign intelligence agencies had hacked into Clintons private emails. I would lose respect for scores of intelligence organisations around the planet if they werent already thumbing through the emails, he said. And by the way, I would move heaven and earth as the director of NSA to get the unclassified emails of several foreign ministers. But he stopped short of calling for her prosecution, adding that it was up to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make that step. Whether or not it represents a crime, Ill let the American justice system decide, Hayden said. Imbalanced reporting on Muslims and British Islamic communitys media illiteracy contribute to hostility, study says. The way the UKs mainstream media covers certain issues relating to Muslims and the British Islamic communitys inability to represent itself are contributing to rising Islamophobia, recent research suggests. Developed across the University of Cambridge, research conducted over 2015 led to a roundtable at the House of Lords in January that discovered an atmosphere of rising hostility towards the countrys 2.7 million Muslims, who comprise less than 5 percent of the 64 million-strong population. Meanwhile, the two factors meant more Muslims were seeking news from other sources such as television or radio stations from their countries of origin. Interview: British Muslims and Prevent British minority group disaffection with local media is encouraging their members to turn to media from their regions of origin, which may be concerning for government, said Roxane Farmanfarmaian, principal at the universitys Centre of the International Studies of the Middle East and North Africa. Farmanfarmaian also heads the University of Cambridge-Al Jazeera Media Project, an initative independent of Al Jazeera Media Network. Many Muslim communities dont have media literacy, Farmanfarmaian told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. The report titled Media, Faith and Security: Protecting freedom of expression in religious context found the Muslim communitys fragmentation and lack of professional training in working with the media means it is ill-equipped to counter negative narratives by promoting more balanced reporting. The outcome is a serious breakdown in the multicultural agenda. Atmosphere of hostility Following recent attacks across Europe and the Middle East including the shootings in January 2015 at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, deadly violence across the French capital in November 2015, and the twin attacks in Brussels earlier this month Muslims tend to feel judged by the media, Farmanfarmaian added, as many equate the Islamic faith with terrorism. What they expressed was that they felt they were being judged, they were in the headlines, the atmosphere of hostility was very stark, she said. That rises at times of crises, then it will drop [Muslims] were not understood; the nuances were not clear. They felt they were targeted and blamed. For example, in November following the Paris attacks, a mass-selling British tabloid claimed in an exclusive poll that one in five British Muslims sympathised with jihadis. The Sun published a picture of Mohammed Emwazi, the British executioner with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS) known as Jihadi John, alongside the shock headline. READ MORE: UK tabloid censured over story on Muslims ISIL support Britains press regulator censured The Sun earlier in March for the significantly misleading story. To combat the negative impact the media could have on Muslims and to stem the slide towards an increasingly divided society, the roundtable discussion made 10 recommendations. The advice includes appointing a well-recognised Muslim role model as a media relations officer at the consultative level; supporting media outlets to employ community relations reporters; and getting clear definitions of radicalisation circulated across law and enforcement agencies while setting guidelines to protect individuals from agency profiling. The Right Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Home Office Minister on the Counter-Extremism Strategy, has said he would share the findings with ministers of immigration, culture, media and sport. Lack of inclusion Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, one of the UKs largest Muslim umbrella organisations, said the media and broader society needs to do more to counter bigotry. We need to work together so that bigotry is slowed down, and we need to work together to challenge bigotry wherever we find it. If we dont we will all be worse off, he told Al Jazeera. He added that Britains media lacks inclusion, explaining that diversity in newsrooms will always improve coverage. A recent survey conducted in December 2015 by City University, London, found that 0.4 percent of British journalists identified as Muslim or Hindu, 31.6 percent were Christian, and 61.1 percent had no religion. Meanwhile, 0.2 percent were Black, 2.5 percent Asian, and 94 percent Caucasian. READ MORE: Muslims face worsening environment of hate in UK There is an underrepresentation of Muslims working in the media, said Versi. He added that religious illiteracy was rife within parts of Britains media, which exacerbated the trend of Islamophobia. Those who write dont necessarily understand the concepts being discussed, he said. We need to build awareness and improve on literacy. He also recommended that strong regulation of the press was needed to protect communities, while citing The Suns headline as an example of how a story can shape the news for days. Follow Anealla Safdar on Twitter: @anealla At least 70 people were killed in a suicide attack in Lahore on Sunday. Christian families were celebrating Easter in a popular park in the Pakistani city of Lahore when a suicide bomber blew himself up. It was planned to cause maximum loss of life. Many Pakistanis have unfortunately grown used to these kinds of attacks, particularly in the northwest, where the military has been fighting armed groups for years. But Sundays attack was different: The armed group thats responsible, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, says Pakistans Christian minority was the intended target. It is part of a number of recent sectarian attacks that are becoming more common in Pakistan. Much of the violence is being directed either at Christians or other minority sects within Islam. The army says its launching a paramilitary operation to go after those responsible for the attack. While, in the capital, Islamabad, thousands of angry protesters have been demanding stricter enforcement of Pakistans blasphemy laws. So, where does Pakistan go from here? Presenter: Dareen Abughaida Guests: Tom Hussain Pakistan security specialist and Asia-Pacific Editor of The World Weekly. Bina Shah Writer and author of the book A Season For Martyrs. Omar Waraich Journalist who has covered Pakistani politics and blasphemy laws. Thailands new constitution was unveiled on Tuesday and a referendum is scheduled in August. It has been two years since the Thai military overthrew Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a move it said was necessary to restore stability after years of political uncertainty. But since then, Thailands military rulers have been accused of rolling back democracy. They have now unveiled the final draft of a controversial new constitution that many argue will enshrine the militarys powers. Thais will get to decide for themselves when they vote on the draft in a referendum in August. So will this constitution put Thailand on a path to democracy? Or further political uncertainty? Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault Guests: Sunai Phasuk Senior researcher on Thailand for Human Rights Watch Verapat Pariyawong Visiting scholar at SOAS, University of London Norachit Sinhaseni Spokesman for Thailands Constitution Drafting Committee The case against Assange is as political as it is legal; where does it go from here? Plus, Kenyas election influencers. 2016 Lakeland Jazz FestivalLakeland Community CollegeKirtland, OhioMarch 18-20, 2016The Cleveland area has a long history of jazz pedagogy in relation to two well-established community colleges. Cuyahoga Community College's annual jazz featival, the better known program, dates back to 1980 and for many years was a spring tradition before shifiting to its current summer schedule. Preceded by eight years, Lakeland Community College has the distinction of being the longest running jazz festival in the state of Ohio, celebrating its 44th season during a recent March weekend.Along with performances from local high school ensembles and a civic orchestra that are sprinkled throughout the weekend, the spotlight of the festival has always been the Friday and Saturday evening concerts featuring national acts. In recent years, the roster for these shows has included a wide range of talent including, and. This year's offering would include a return of the very talented organist, who first appeared at the festival back in 2009 with guitar legened. Completing the bill would beand his quintet, making their Lakeland debut.Although he has been a legend on the Columbus, Ohio scene for years, Tony Monaco has just recently been breaking new ground in an attempt to bring his talent to a wider audience. Back in November of last year, this writer had the pleasure of seeing Monaco join forces for the first time with guitaristand drummerat BLU Jazz in Akron. Their innate chemistry was palpable that night and as the trio has continued to work their bond has become even stronger. The fruition of this work was to be heard at Lakeland as the trio seamlessly glided from one tune to the next putting on the type of show that has to be seen to be completely appreciated.Monaco can blow the blues with the best of them, but it's the variety of styles that he manages to cover that truly display his versatility. Relaying a story about time spent in Jakarta, Tony penned "Happy Sergio" for one of the guests of honor at the jazz festival there, Sergio Mendes. A buoyant samba with a sprightly melody, the trio clearly had a ball exploring this original. Dedicated to the recent passing of Maurice White, the group performed "Can't Hide Love" from the Earth, Wind, and Fire songbook and managed to make it their own.For sheer pyrotechnics, it was hard to beat the quicksilver romp through the old chestnut "Indiana." By contrast, Monaco can pull out the prettier stops literally, recalling mentor Jimmy Smith on "Candy" and the lush ballad "The Nearness of You." A regular number in Monaco's book for some time now, "Root Down" can usually be counted on to stir things up to a frenzy. Every time Monaco seems to find new paths to take on this funky ride. This particular evening the organist turned snake charmer, conjuring up all kinds of Far Eastern sounds before laying out the funk.Clearly Monaco is inspired by his cohorts and they in turn rose to the occasion. Wilson knows how to build a solo, alternating between single note runs and more complex chordal passages, all delivered with a clean tone that is minimally processed. Throckmorton regularly works with an organ combo in his hometown of Pittsburgh and his expertise is obvious. He knows how to build drama and quickly responded to Monaco's every move, while contributing his own share of impressive solos.Performing many of his unique compositions from his most recent album, Pushing the World Away, Kenny Garrett held forth the next evening with a mesmerizing set that lasted over two hours. A Coltrane disciple at heart, Garrett surrounds himself with like-minded musicians that are capable of the type of high octane improvisations that made up most of the first half of the performance. On the blistering "Alpha Man," Garrett's own mercurial solo was followed by pianist's crowd-pleasing display, which was certainly imbued with a touch of McCoy Tyner.There was also plenty of open blowing for Garrett in tandem with, the mighty powerhouse drummer whipping up a frenzy as Kenny swayed back and forth almost as if in a trance. Adding further layers of rhythmic complexity, percussionistwas a special asset to the Latin-flavored numbers like "Chucho's Mambo" and "J'ouvert (Homage to Sonny Rollins)." Also figuring prominently was bassist, who contibuted highly to the mighty burn that was "A Side Order of Hijiki."Garrett isn't one to converse with the audience, one tune artfully blending into the next, but he has a method of pacing the show that keeps it engaging throughout. As the evening wound down, Garrett would break into his signature tune, "Happy People," leading the crowd down a new path that was anything but routine. As the performance progressed, Garrett would engage the audience in a call and response session aided by his own vocal beat boxing. Then, one by one the band would drop out and leave the stage as Kenny blew his last notes a capella. It was an inspired closing to a stellar evening of high octane jazz.Photo Credit: C. Andrew Hovan The significance of the Hardanger Fiddlea homespun Norwegian variation of the violinis that while it is played on four strings, as a similar string instrument would be, it has four or five additional strings under the fingerboard which vibrate during playing. Though its use has been limited in modern music, Nils kland has not only mastered it, but has expanded its scope across non- traditional folk styles from rock, trance and classical to jazz. On Kjlvatn he plays an assortment of stringed instruments but it is this fiddle that supplies the most unusual music.kland's career has not been skewed toward commercially acceptable projects but to varied artistic endeavors that bridge perceptions about instrumentation and genre. He has taken his fiddle, violin and viola to the more folk-oriented territory of Bris (Rune Grammofon, 2004) to the far edgier and sometimes psychedelic Lumen Drones (ECM, 2014). On Kjlvatn kland retains the folkloric atmosphere of his native landand a Celtic feel in generalwhile infusing a stronger jazz influence in his ten original compositions. Here, the effects of his work with the chamber ensemble ofand the altogether dissimilar work of multi- instrumentalist/composer Georg Buljos can be seen as coming together with kland's own organic touch.Despite a crafty groove, "Mali" opens the collection in the previously mentioned Celtic vein, and while not a reel, it is up-tempo and infectious. "Undergrunn," in sharp contrast, is a beautifully melancholy piece as is the title track with Mats Eilertsen's bass dictating the mood. Darker still is the ominous "Drev," where RolfErik Nylstrm's saxophone rumbles and the ominous "Puls" with Hakon Mrch Stene's undercurrent of booming percussion joining Eilertsen. "Bla harding" evokes the Scottish highlands thanks to's harmonium and kland on either the viola or fiddle (the two having quite similar dynamics).These string instruments are potent tools in the hands of kland. He conveys a range of emotions from celebratory to mournful and does so without unnecessary embellishment; without sentimentality or excess of any kind. The quintet expertly provides emphasis or subtlety where needed and they work toward a common goal even when improvising. Kjlvatn is a beautiful album; strong, nuanced and full of brilliantly conceived ideas made whole. To the casual observer, a perambulatorpram, for shortis simply what it appears to be: a baby carriage. But to the pram's inhabitant(s), it's something else entirely. To those wee babies, the carriage is, in fact, a world in motion and a home away from home that serves as a vehicle for travel to new realms. They see prams through a different set of eyes, and that's how the three gentleman in this band must also see them. This music bears that out.Saga Thirteenthe sophomore release from this Toronto-based outfitis both a continuation of what was started with Visitor Parking (Self Produced, 2013) and the next step in the evolution of a notable band. Since the release of its debut, Pram Trio has undergone some changes, both large and small, that have ultimately taken the music in a more nuanced direction. The addition of drummer Eric West, replacing Richard Piasetski, is one change that strongly factors into the current sound of the group. Piasetski, while stylish, smart, and wholly capable of working in subtle fashion, would bring more of an attitude or edge to the table at times. West, on the other hand, is more of a lover of soft conversation and light grooves. His flame continually burns on low and he always operates on the same plane as pianist Jack Bodkin and bassist. Whether due to this personnel change or not, Pram Trio now demonstrates a greater appreciation for space. A willingness and eagerness to add more breathing room to the music is evident here.This album is short on materialthere are only six songs, adding up to about thirty minutes in totalbut it's deep in content. Interplay and exploration strongly inform this work ("April"), soulfully mellow and simply tuneful seeds yield wondrous results ("Bucket List"), clarity reigns supreme as balladic ideals are boiled down to their essence ("Control"), and thrusters are engaged to add a bit more drive in the appropriate places ("Mrs. Kim Visits The Living Room Alone"). In simplifying a bit, Pram Trio has managed to actually create something infinitely more complex and intriguing. It's quite easy to see why this band took home the Grand Prix de Jazz at the 2014 edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival. Pram Trio has found its own sound, and its a sound worth hearing. Jazz musicians have always been in tune to external influences and open to worldly perspectives. Spanish pianist Alberto Vilas titled his release Ubuntu, based on the South African philosophy dealing with human kindness and how we become better through interaction with others. In a modern world gone mad, this is certainly a welcome idea, and the music of Alberto Vilas Quartet, is a step in the right direction.Vilas formed his quintet in 2011, releasing "Experianza," followed by "Cronica Cromatica," in 2014. On Ubuntu, sans the guitar, he restructured into a quartet format, all original members of previous recordings. As leader and composer, he is taking this music into a seasoned and expanded awakening. Drawing from his profound classical training, the pieces are cerebral, yet they have that essential sense of swing. On "Tandem," saxophonist Rosolino Marinello duplicates the piano lines to form an imaginative melodic duo, the midsection is propelled by the ferocious drumming of Javier Barral, then it's back to tranquility. The title track is a relaxed motif where Marinello weaves the soprano sax with a light touch, as if to represent the kindness we are all capable of."Eterea," which translates into ethereal, is just as the name implies, a pianistic journey into a fluctuating spirit world. The graduated tempo on "Vortice," rises into a maelstrom, eases into a leisurely bass passage by Juansy Santome, crests, then swirls into a subdued finale. Santome is featured again on "Equilibristas," a syncopated staggered arrangement performed with a trio setting. The trio returns on "Leatherhead," allowing Vilas to stretch out on the keys. They experiment with a sax and piano duet on "Ocre," the spaces within the outline lending opportunity for extemporizing.The special guest artist is vocalist Diana Tarin, who is highlighted on "Espuma De Mar," a song she also wrote the lyrics for. Tarin hails from Cuba, and relocated to Galicia, Spain, where she has been gigging with Vilas and his quartet, contributing a feminine approach to the ensemble. This is an earthy yet melodic piece, and she shows she can sing in the jazz idiom with affirmative expression."A Arte De Seguir En Pe," is a signature Vilas composition for solo piano, where his romanticism is coupled with impressionistic passages, exhibiting sparkles of his virtuosity. Though he is comfortable as a soloist, and can improvise with conviction, he chooses the ensemble setting to get his music across. The fact that these musicians have remained together is essential to their sound, which as a vintage wine, keeps getting better with time. Sana Hafeez was quiet as she lit more than 100 candles on Turlington Plaza on Monday night to honor those killed in Lahore, Pakistan. About 120 students lit candles and listened as Hafeez, who helped organize the event, spoke about a suicide bombing in Pakistan on Easter Sunday. It killed 72 people and injured 341 others in a public park, according to CNN. A subgroup of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which they said targeted Pakistani Christians celebrating Easter. Hafeez, a UF microbiology and cell science freshman, said the vigil allowed students of all religions and nationalities to stand together against terrorism. We are so much stronger together than we are apart, and they know that, the 19-year-old said to the silent crowd. Thats why they try to divide us. A group of 18 students also said a janazah prayer, a Muslim funeral prayer to honor the dead, Hafeez said. She said the attack in Lahore and recent terrorist attacks in Libya, Baghdad, Yemen and other countries should gather as much attention as the Brussels bombing that took place March 22. All these victims matter, she said. The lives lost here were equally important to the lives lost in Brussels. She said she organized the vigil after seeing there were no events to honor Pakistans victims. She reached out to the Pakistani Students Association to help her organize it. She said more people showed up than she expected. It just exploded from nothing, she said. I think people cared because they were so surprised. Some of her family was in Lahore the day of the attack for a wedding, she said. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now The bomb went off as they drove to dinner a mile away from the park. Although her family was uninjured, she watched CNN for about 12 hours trying to hear news from Lahore. They saw the ambulances and all the carnage of it, she said. In the U.S. there was nothing, there was absolutely nothing. Shumaila Asads friend was a block away from the attack. He was uninjured, but she said she feared for family and friends in the country she grew up in. Its like my people; its my family, said Asad, who graduated from UF in 2015. Even though they were attacking Christians, its still my people. She wore a green and white hat embroidered with PAK, which stands for both Pakistan and purity. She said she came out to the vigil to pray for the victims. It just brings tears to my eyes when I think about all the kids, the 24-year-old said. You feel for the families and the mothers. Part of my family was taken away. @k_newberg knewberg@alligator.org Zubin Kapadia, a 21 year-old UF history senior, leads a group of Muslim UF community members in prayer honoring those killed during the terrorist attack in Pakistan on March 28. About 40 people attended the Monday night candlelight vigil on Turlington Plaza. A group of five Alachua County professionals will soon board a plane to Washington, D.C. to discuss the prevalence of inmates with mental illnesses in American jails. The Council of State Governments will host the first-ever Stepping Up Initiative from April 17 to April 19, according to a press release. The trip is scheduled about a month after Gov. Rick Scott signed House Bill 0439: Mental Health Services in the Criminal Justice System, establishing future mental health court programs for people who might otherwise be jailed for crimes related to mental illnesses or substance abuse disorders. Despite local services, the number of mentally ill inmates in Alachua County prisons and jails increased 35 percent in less than a decade, said Stuart Wegener, an employee for Alachua County court services. He said many people belong in psychiatric hospitals rather than in jails or prisons. The summit is a great opportunity to build on the work we are already doing, he said. The county will be represented by Robert Hutchinson, the Alachua County commission chair; Maj. Charlie Lee, the director of the Alachua County Jail; Peria Duncan, the director of the Alachua County Department of Court Services; Leah Vail, the forensic program director for Meridian Behavioral HealthCare, Inc. and Terrie Mullin, the president of Gainesvilles National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mullin said she felt even greater hope for the future after being invited to the summit. Its just awful, she said. Families have tried to get them (the inmates) out, but there werent services available. Gainesville is a leader in the movement to improve mental health care services to existing and would-be inmates, Mullin said, but there is a lot to be learned. Mullins employer, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, lists resources such as the UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital, Alachua County Crisis Center, Gainesville Opportunity Center and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance on its website. Im excited to shine a light on this, she said. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now @mollyidonovan mdonovan@alligator.org Hello, Gators! My name is Susan Webster, and I am so excited to be your Student Body president-elect alongside Student Body Vice President-Elect Brendon Jonassaint and Student Body Treasurer-Elect Kishan Patel. UFs continuing rise to top-10 status as a public institution presents an exciting opportunity for our Student Government, which I plan to ensure is inclusive, transparent and a vital part of the student experience. For that reason, I am happy to announce that applications for the executive branch of Student Government are now open! During my tenure at UF, I have worked alongside so many student leaders with steadfast passion and tireless dedication to impacting the campus community, and I am looking for similarly minded individuals who want to ensure a bright future for the Gator Nation. To accomplish this goal, I need hardworking individuals who all want to make a lasting difference. I need ideas that reflect the innovation and creativity that consistently moves our great university toward preeminence. There are more than 40 positions available in the executive branch during the 2016-2017 term with a variety of roles and responsibilities, including, but not limited to, diversity affairs, community service, leadership development, governmental affairs and so much more. Student Government not only provides ways and means to grow personally as a leader: It provides a campus community that future generations of students and all generations of alumni may look at with pride. Under my supervision as Student Body president are agency heads and executive secretaries. Agency heads are responsible for initiatives connecting students to each other, to alumni, to different levels of government and even to celebrities. Offices include the Accent Speakers Bureau, Student Government Productions, Action SG and External Affairs. Executive secretaries are responsible for working as my advisers on a wide range of policy topics, including Academic Affairs, Satellite Affairs and Health Affairs. Under the supervision of Vice President-Elect Brendon Jonassaint is the SG cabinet, which coordinates events and programming meant to impact, inform and inspire every Gator. Cabinet chairs coordinate the individual divisions of the cabinet, while cabinet directors produce events relating to a specific campus interest, such as community service or housing affairs. Applications for SG executive positions can be found at sg.ufl.edu/applications. Applications are due this Friday, April 1, by 5 p.m. If you have any questions about this process, please contact my chief of staff, Haley Smith, at haley.m.smith@ufl.edu. I look forward to meeting so many of you and hearing about your ideas to move SG and the Gator Nation forward. Thank you, and Go Gators! Susan Webster is the UF Student Body president-elect. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now ACTUALITES Pakistan: Organized Christianity will not come to the rescue of Pakistani Christians Alwihda Info | Par Hem Raj Jain - 29 Mars 2016 Bengaluru, India Bleeding and weeping Pakistani Christians should go for out-of-box solution Dear Editor Sub:- (i)- Unfortunately Easter day attack on Christians in Pakistan is not first and if proper action is not taken then will not be the last (ii)- Organized Christianity will not come to the rescue of Pakistani Christians (iii)- USFSDSAARC the only solution to the problem of Pakistani Christians (iv)- With $ ~ 15 Trillion tax money with government of India USFSDSAARC (through retrieve of POK by India) is bound to come (v)- Pakistani Christians should move SAARC / Asian American Christians to mobilize US government and UN etc for recovery of this Rs. ~ 1,000 Trillion tax money for India (vi)- Regulated-global-political-order is the only solution to Jihadi terrorism. --- As per media reports in a terrorist attack on Christians in Gulshan Iqbal Park Lahore on Easter day, about 70 innocent Children and women were killed and about 300 injured. My condolence for people killed and prayers for early recovery of injured but at the same time Pakistani Christians should resolve that there will be no such condolences and prayers in future due to terrorist attacks. It is easy said than done because organized Christianity with its religious leaders like Pope, Bishops etc in powerful Western world (who are more interested in acquiring properties and wealth than in the well-being of Christians all across the world) will not come to the rescue of Pakistani Christians. Moreover leader of free world the Christian majority USA is finding it too burdensome to shoulder this responsibility almost single handedly. But fortunately a recent development in India (about $ ~ 15 trillion tax money) has changed the situation fundamentally and especially for the beleaguered and harassed people of SAARC region there is at last a guaranteed hope. Here I need not go in detail (as it is mentioned in my various articles in PCP) that how the solution to (unresolved Kashmir problem and the problem of millions of Bangladeshi infiltrators in India and unresolved Tamil problem in Sri Lanka and gory political instability in Afghanistan and political turmoil in Nepal and communalism in SARRC region) is nothing but United States of Federal Secular Democratic SAARC (USFSDSAARC). Moreover Jihadi terrorism which is inflicting Pakistani Christians will not be eliminated unless global Jihadi terrorism of ISIS, Al-Qaeda etc is eliminated from the world and this is possible only though regulated-global-political-order (RGPO) and for this Pakistani Christians should do the following in view of given below:- (1)- The USA and its allies had already failed to bring peace in NAME region (especially in Syria) hence when Russia intervened militarily in the end of September 2015 people thought now peace will return to Syria etc and NAME will be free from not only Islamic terrorism of ISIS, Al-Qaeda etc but also from oppressive regimes like of Assad in Syria etc. But nothing of the sort happened rather (this month after Russia militarily has almost left Syria) now March, 22 terrorist attack in Brussels, Belgium by ISIS has once again proved that unless mankind led by USA changes its global political paradigm nothing will work satisfactorily. (2)- First and foremost global community will have to understand that in this age of globalization (brought about by tremendous advance in science & technology) mankind may not go for one-world-government but there is no escape from at least RGPO especially when people in many countries (especially in Muslim majority countries including Pakistan) are simply not competent enough to run their governments orderly & peacefully. For this RGPO, the PPI (Participatory Philanthropic Institutions registered at UN) and IPP (International Political Parties registered at UN), as I mentioned in my earlier articles in PCP, may be launched in second stage of this RGPO but Mandatory Protocol MP-1 instead of Optional Protocol OP-1 of ICCPR at UN (movable by aggrieved citizens of the member countries and not merely by member States) will have to be introduced without any further delay in the interest of bringing peace and stability all over the world which will also effectively eliminate the menace of global Islamic terrorism by ISIS, Al-Qaeda etc and by various local terrorist outfits in Pakistan. (3)- But such RGPO with MP-1 is easy said than done for the simple reason that countries are increasingly unwilling to put boots on ground for enforcing human rights and bringing political stability in other countries. Presently USA (the leader of free world) has mainly European countries (through NATO) and countries of European origin as its combat partner who with USA go in different parts of the world to fight the battles in the interest of bringing peace and stability and enforcing human rights in such regions. But this much has not served the purpose as is evident from gory situation in NAME, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Pakistan etc. which is mainly due the reason that there are no UN sanctioned adequate boots on ground in these countries where millions are bleeding and weeping profusely. It is precisely here (adequate boots on ground) that India can be of much help and assistance to USA and to world community in the interest of enforcing human rights as per ICCPR of UN. (4)- Though USA has been carrying out military exercise with India but other countries too do the same hence it is meaningless for the purpose of combat requirement of the leader of free world, the USA. India of ~ 1.25 Billion people (with ~ 250 million Muslims including illegal immigrants) is the largest secular democracy of the world and that too in this part of Asia. Hence India is the natural ally of USA and should have been the combat partner of USA in making remaining world the human-rights-friendly-free-world (HRFFW). But India could not become so for the simple reason that it thus far has not been in a position to take the risk & dangers of combat (in different parts of the world in tandem with USA etc) which naturally come to any economically humble country. (5)- Fortunately for USA and for HRFFW not only economic hardship of India can be eliminated but it can provide enough money to India for purchasing modern military equipment, arms, ammunition etc which will enable India to become combat partner of USA if government of India (GOI) recovers Rs. ~ 1,000 trillion tax money out of black money (this in view of the fact that if with $ ~ 4 Trillion reserve China can be so powerful then it does not require a genius of political economy to understand what India will be with these extra $ ~15 trillion). Based on RTI information and a PIL in Patna High Court as per expose of News Nation TV Channel (which created huge noise in March, 2016 session of Parliament too) in 2011-12 nearly 650 thousand farmers earned Rs ~ two thousand lakh crore (Rs 2,000 trillion ~ 25 times of then Indias GDP) which mostly of course is black money shown as agriculture income (on which there is no income tax) to evade tax. And in last mainly 8 years such ~ 1 million tax evaders have shown Rs ~ 2,200 trillion as agricultural income where as in 2006 only 85 persons declared Rs 16 million as agricultural income. (6)- Here it is in context to add that Prime Minister Modi during his election campaign promised (which contributed immensely in his victory in 2014 Parliamentary election) to bring black money from foreign countries which will amount to Rs. ~ 1.5 million per Indian and which comes to Rs ~ 1875 trillion. Hence PM Modi is under legal, political and moral obligation to take prompt action on this Rs. ~ 2,200 trillion black money from India alone (black money in foreign countries is separate) which will get Rs. ~ 1,000 trillion income-tax for GOI [As per governments new scheme if 45 % of black money is given as tax then remaining 55 % can be retained by the person. Hence if 45 % of Rs ~ 2,200 trillion is taken by government as tax on this black money then Rs ~ 1,000 trillion will come to government as tax]. (7)- About 99 % Indians want this tax money to be recovered from ~ one million tax evaders (who are misusing & maligning the profession of agriculture to evade tax in a country where thousands of real / genuine farmers are committing suicide every year) and the government of India (GOI) should have immediately raised the demand of this Rs ~ 1,000 trillion tax money from these tax evaders (GOI can consider declared income minus maximum income from land holding as non-agricultural income hence black money because on this tax has not been paid). But due to corruption of public servants the GOI is not recovering this $ ~ 15 trillion Tax money also because out of these ~ 1 million tax evaders many are politicians (including MP, MLA and Ministers) hence they are seeing to it that nothing happens in this matter (in Parliament even adjournment motion & detailed discussion on this issue was not allowed). (8)- Hence Pakistani Christians should mobilize Pakistani Americans who in turn should mobilize SAARC / Asian Americans (especially Christians) in order to mobilize USA and especially US government to issue ultimatum to India that in case India does not proceed to recover this $ ~ 15 Trillion in a time bound period of say one year (three months for raising demands for tax and another three months for realizing tax and another three months for initiating recovery proceedings against defaulters in fast track courts to be constituted for this purpose and another three months for recovery through these fast track courts) then it will be left with no other option than to move United Nations to constrain India to recover (for the people of India and ultimately for the people of SAARC ) this $ ~ 15 Trillion tax out of black money in accordance with UN Convention Against Corruption. (9)- Here it is needless to mention that with this extra $ ~ 15 Trillion tax money with government of India, in addition to RGPO the USFSDSAARC is bound to come sooner than later (through retrieve of POK by India) and which is bound to restore and protect the human rights of not only Pakistani Christians but also of the other beleaguered and harassed people of SAARC region. If Pakistani Christians think it will help then I can also assist Pakistani Christians in USA in order to mobilize people of USA, US government and UN at USA, as mentioned above. Regards Hem Raj Jain (Author of Betrayal of Americanism) Bengaluru, India Dans la meme rubrique : < > Le rugby a Madagascar : le pays fou du rugby TeslaCoin : plateforme de trading ou cryptomonnaie ? Tchad : un projet dassistance et de protection en faveur des migrants au Batha Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) The Secretary-General met today in Tunis with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Mr. Mousa Al Kony. The Secretary-General commended the efforts of the Presidency Council in leading Libyas democratic transition and noted that peace and stability in Libya are of the highest priority for the United Nations and the []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric... 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] The week before last, I attended a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington. I was there with a group of public-interest advocates in a show of support for the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its director, Richard Cordray, who endured harsh grilling from lawmakers on the panel. Since the CFPB opened its doors, it has directed some of the nation's largest banks to stop charging cardholders for unwanted add-on products; protected military families against illegal foreclosures and deceptive student and payday-style loans; required mortgage lenders to examine borrowers' finances more closely up front (reducing the risk of another wave of reckless and unsustainable lending); set up a public and searchable complaint system; and delivered more than $11 billion in restitution and relief to roughly 25 million consumers cheated by financial companies large and small. The great majority of Americans, across party lines, look at these accomplishments and see a government agency doing the job it was meant to do. To the financial industry and its lobbyists, however, that same record of effectiveness makes the CFPB a problem that needs fixing. One of the industry's favorite "fixes" is an idea promoted by Craig Nazzaro on BankThink, as well as by several lawmakers at the hearing I attended: transforming the consumer bureau from a director-led agency to a five-member commission. Why are bankers, other lenders and their political allies so enamored of commissions? Because they often succumb to partisan gridlock and are only rarely able to summon the will to stand up to corporate power. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, has yet to do much of anything about the built-in corruption of the credit rating agencies, eight years after the rating agencies played such a conspicuous role in causing the financial crisis. Of course, this is not how commission backers explain their thinking. Instead, they assert that commissions are more accountable, and in the CFPB's case they make absurd claims about the supposedly unchecked authority of Cordray, its director. In his BankThink piece, Nazzaro cited a $109 million dollar penalty imposed by the CFPB on PHH Mortgage over kickbacks that allegedly led consumers to pay inflated prices for mortgage insurance. Nazzaro argued that the CFPB stripped PHH of its due process rights. And yet, the company will soon argue its case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, exercising the very procedural rights that the CFPB somehow denied it. At the House hearing with Cordray, we were taken aback by the vitriolic tone of the questions put to him by several committee members. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling called the CFPB director a "dictator." Cordray responded politely (when he was allowed to respond), pointing out that Congress had decided on a single director at the CFPB for a reason: When you're dealing with a commission, he said, it becomes hard to hold anyone accountable for the agency's decisions and actions. One of the senior Republicans on the Financial Services Committee, Texas Congressman Randy Neugebauer, has introduced a bill to carry out the commission idea. He insists he has the best interests of consumers and the CFPB in mind. Rules approved by a commission, he argues, will be more likely to withstand legal challenge. But a quick look at the voting records of Neugebauer and his allies suggest that they may be trying to protect financial companies rather than consumers. It is significant to note that these are lawmakers who, by and large, did not want such an agency to exist in the first place. Twenty of the Neugebauer bill's cosponsors were members of Congress when the Dodd-Frank Act, which established the CFPB, came to a vote. Nineteen of them opposed it. The CFPB is far from the only director-led watchdog agency. The Office of Comptroller of the Currency has been operating that way since 1863 without inspiring a campaign to turn it into a commission. What's so different about the CFPB? It's the first and only financial oversight agency with a mandate to put fairness, transparency and the safety of consumers and borrowers ahead of the power and profits of banks and financial companies. The lawmakers attacking the legitimacy of its governing structure have made it abundantly clear that what they really object to is the idea of a regulatory body successfully wielding its power on behalf of consumers and the public interest. Beverly Brown Ruggia is a community reinvestment organizer and advocate at New Jersey Citizen Action. HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., will name a the former North Carolina market president for Fifth Third Bancorp to its board, along with two other professionals. The $2.7 billion-asset company plans to appoint Robert James, Laura Kendall and Richard Williams to the board on Friday, according to a Monday news release. Each has been a HomeTrust advisory board member since October. HomeTrust will expand its primary board by three seats to 13 members, in order to add the new directors. James is a senior adviser in Grant Thornton's banking and securities practice, where he has worked since 2012. He previously was president and chief executive of Fifth Third Bancorp's North Carolina market. He has more than 41 years' banking industry experience and will serve on HomeTrust's governance and nominating committee and its compensation committee. Grant Thornton was not HomeTrust's auditor for its last fiscal year. Dixon Hughes Goodman was its independent auditor in 2015. Kendall is a managing director at Aurora Management Partners in Charlotte, N.C. She will be added to the audit, compliance and enterprise risk management committees. Williams recently retired from a 37-year career at Duke Energy, where he was vice president of corporate community affairs and president of the Duke Energy Foundation. He will be added to HomeTrust's governance and nominating committee. President Obamas deep-seated narcissism and overweening self-regard is old news to objective observers of his administration. That Obama is an odd psychological duck is a given, but when new facets reveal themselves it is often train-wreck fascinating, reinforcing a sense of wonderment that this man was twice elected, and dread that he still has nine months left in office. The most recent surprise comes in the Atlantics wordy apologia for Obamas disastrous foreign policy, which focuses on the Presidents feckless decision to retreat from his red line for direct American intervention in the Syrian civil war. That Obama, to the shock of allies and even his own inner circle backed down, is well known. The Atlantics revelation that he is Very proud of that moment and indeed considers it courageous act, demonstrates just how warped is Obamas psyche. In 2012 Obama famously drew a red line over the Syrian governments use of chemical weapons, following a sarin gas attack that killed over 1000 civilians. And then a year later Obama turned tail when challenged by the Syrians, although the military, Americas allies, and even his inner circle of advisors believed American action was necessary and imminent. The targets were selected and the armed forces prepared. In Hillary Clintons words If you say youre going to strike you have to strike. There is no choice. Its not often that Hillary is right, but Obamas spineless bungling was so obvious that most everybody, including Americas friends and enemies, understood exactly what had occurred. Most everybody that is, except Obama himself. Somehow Obama twisted this failure into a success in his own mind. To comprehend just how convoluted ones thinking must be to get there, lets consider what a red line or more commonly a line in the sand really means in normal human understanding. At its core, a line in the sand is the point of no return, which the man who draws it must honor, or lose all face and credibility. In modern foreign policy and military parlance, this phrase is usually rendered as a red line, a term particularly associated with the State of Israel, which has over the years survived and prospered by employing and enforcing various limits on what it could tolerate from enemies and rivals. The most important thing to understand about a red line is that its as much a statement of determination and principle, as it is an attempt to deter specific actions. A line in the sand is a well-worn literary trope for good reason -- it gets at very fundamental understandings of honor, commitment and bravery that even children can grasp. In its most common form, the Western film, the provocations that make the hero draw the line are far less important than that he makes his stand and doesnt back down. Obama inverts this understanding to make himself the hero for backing down, when everyone else (other than his most devoted sycophants) sees something else. The Atlantic article partially describes Obamas thought process. In his own mind Obama decided to be controversial. He refused to follow the playbook in Washington. According to the playbook responses tend to be militarized. And the playbook can also be a trap and lead to bad decisions. When I was a boy and I didnt want to do something hard, I came up with excuses too, which my father correctly dismissed as immature rationalizations. Nobody ever seems to have taught Obama this lesson and so he rationalizes his own weakness with adolescent excuses and gets away with it. Obama took office set on differentiating himself from the cowboy he preceded, a term that both his supporters at home and abroad used as a derogatory term. Cowboy here meant recklessness in foreign policy, an idea that is debatable, but with which a good portion of the American public agreed. George W. Bush may or may not have been a cowboy in that sense. But he certainly was a cowboy in a more positive sense. First, he acted like a man. When confronted with a challenge he did not lightly back down. When American credibility was on the line, he remained firm. This mature and honorable aspect of Bushs presidency is something that Obama not only rejects -- its evidently something he cant even comprehend. When President Obama stages a photo op to publicize signing a measure he claims will help American workers, you can be almost certain that unintended consequences will outweigh any intended benefits. Lacking even an elementary understanding of how a market economy works, he only makes things worse. In an effort to avoid the Obamacare mandate, many companies reduced workers to fewer than 30 hours per week. This reduction of employees to part-time status continues to cause endless difficulties. Employees have fewer hours and less income than they want, and employers have a harder time staffing their companies. But the Obama administration continues to expand its grip on all aspects of American life. In 2014, the Labor Department proposed that under the Fair Labor Standards Act, about five million U.S. workers [would be] newly eligible for overtime pay by more than doubling the salary threshold. This change is already being felt by many companies and now it will extend to colleges and universities. How do businesses react? In some cases, "employers may attempt to convert these workers to an hourly wage, lowering their pay in the process so that their total weekly compensation, including overtime, remains constant. Other workers, whose salaries are just under the exemption threshold (expected to be $970/week in 2016), might see a small bump in their weekly pay to raise them above the new threshold." Some employers are apt to restrict workers to 40 hours per week in order to reduce overtime costs. Since the cost of compensation for regular (non-overtime) work should not change significantly as a result of these rules, employers would have an incentive to hire more part-time or full-time employees to make up for the lost overtime hours. Furthermore, because of the "duties test" managers may "be robbed of their flexibility" to assist with non-managerial parts of a job, thus impacting business operations. In 2015 Corey Stern of Business Insider, confirmed that the change to overtime rules could have a slightly more important effect on payrolls than paychecks, "since employers will want to avoid paying time-and-a-half for routine work, they may opt to limit overtime work and hire new workers to make up the difference." In 2014 John Hayward explained that "[t]he number of people who must be paid overtime will increase by an estimated 10 million, delivering a staggering blow to smaller business operations, especially coupled with ObamaCare costs and a minimum-wage hike." In fact, "[i]t will, of course, backfire hideously, as overtime opportunities grow more scarce for all employees, increased labor costs are passed along to consumers, and it dawns on business managers that they can minimize the mandatory overtime risk by cutting hourly wages. But itll sound real good to voters. President Obama wants to give you a raise." And in his usual sleight of hand, Obama will claim that total employment has risen but this is merely because the companies are responding by hiring more part-time employees to offset the new overtime rule. And round and round we go. For companies with revenue of more than $500,000, the overtime change could add a painful cost -- one effect will be that businesses "will simply pass the cost along to customers." So, if "prices are raised as a result of this, how does that help the economy?" Christine Mai-Duc explains that "the National Retail Federation said few workers would actually see bigger paychecks. 'There simply isnt any magic pot of money that lets employers pay more just because the government says so,' said David Frenchon, NRF senior vice president for government relations." Furthermore, "[t]he U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the new rules would especially hurt small businesses." In fact, employers are "much more likely to cut wages and bonuses or reduce hours to avoid paying overtime." George Leef maintains that the Fair Labor Standards Act is not only unconstitutional "but [it] also encourages coercive federal meddling in matters best left to voluntary processes of competition and contract." This is vintage Obama style. First he denies people full-time status via Obamacare with the result that people make less money and now, he claims he will give people more money by changing overtime rules -- the consequences be damned. This is a recipe for disaster. Where is all this money supposed to come from? As the renowned economist Walter E. Williams repeatedly reminds us, "government is not a source of wealth." By aiming his sights at businesses, yet again, Obama refuses to pay attention to just what creates wealth. As such, we all suffer from his animus toward the free market system. Concerning the effect on colleges and universities, Melanie Trottman asserts that [s]chools across the country are bracing for a surge in personnel costs as they prepare for the Obama administration's overhaul to overtime-pay rules. While the rule will apply to employers of all kinds, higher-education institutions say their missions and circumstances mean they'll be hit in ways that other types of employers aren't. School officials, who say they're under pressure to keep a lid on tuition, have warned of cuts in student services, degree offerings and labor-intensive research [.] Some schools have decided to give raises in order to avoid the overtime. Sounds terrific to a leftist utopian. But the "University of California school system, . . . faces "a $39 million-a-year tab for raises to avoid paying overtime to thousands of postdoctoral scholars, librarians and specialists." The University of Iowa says it would limit work hours of staff. And a state university in Missouri could cut some employee benefits." Then there is a "whole class of workers who aren't even subject to the overtime-pay regulation, including many at colleges and universities who have teaching responsibilities, such as professors." Will their status eventually change via the new regulations? Thus, "Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., calculated that nearly half its employees would be eligible for overtime pay, up from about a third now. It would cost about $7 million a year to increase salaries of the newly eligible workers to keep them exempt from the rule -- or more than $9 million to switch them to hourly employees logging 10 hours of overtime weekly." Postdoctoral scholars, librarians and specialists will be affected. For example, "[t]he University of California said . . . it would have to boost salaries for about 70% of nearly 12,000 workers classified as postdoctoral scholars, librarians and specialists to avoid the hassle of having to monitor and pay for these postdocs' overtime hours." Consequently, the increased costs would place enormous strain on the university's budget. Students are already burdened with onerous debt. The Obama lie of wanting to assist the American middle class is once again exposed and his claim that he wants to rein in student debt becomes yet another prevarication. So Obama the Benevolent takes away and then allegedly gives back -- all the while causing havoc and, of course, making it harder for businesses, the middle class and overburdened students. But the photo-ops show a smiling President exclaiming what a caring compassionate man he really is. What we have here is yet another power grab by America's most rabidly leftist socialist President. The left operates by creating chaos. First it was businesses, then it was the health care system, and now it is the educational system. Most decidedly, "Obamanomics is bizarrely insistent on the belief that making labor more expensive prompts businesses to purchase more of it, no matter how often that belief crumbles upon contact with reality." When the market economy cannot develop of its own but is manipulated by government sanctions, it creates disequilibrium. It results in unintended, often negative consequences but, in Obama's case, it is quite intended. This translates into economic autocracy, that will continue to hurt America in the long run. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com Hat Tip: HT Whether you accept it or not, the free world is at war. Islam has brought a war against the civilized world. While the majority of the worlds 1.65 billion Muslims are peaceful and are not terrorists, the concern is with the fundamentalists, who are the terrorists. Estimates vary, but if for example 90% of Muslims are peaceful. This means 165 million are fundamentalists. Thats more than the population of France, UK and Canada combined! Yet, how seriously is this threat being taken? If you ask President Obama he will tell you America is not at war with Islam. Well Mr. President you may think that is the case, but the fact is Islam has declared war on America and the free world. While you lament about the sweetness of the Islamic morning call to prayer, fundamentalist Islam is methodically progressing toward taking over Europe and have begun taking down the US. Allow me to provide some information that may open your eyes. While many think fundamental Islams initial overt salvo against the US was 9/11, it actually began with the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979. However, what wasnt known until after 9/11 is that Muslims had hatched a plan to take over the US and the West back in 1982. Indeed, in November 2001 Swiss authorities discovered a document known in counterterrorism circles as The Project. From an article written by Patrick Poole heres what is known. A Swiss villa owned by Youssef Nada, Director of the Al-Taqwa Bank Lugano was raided on Nov. 7, 2001. Nada had been active with the Muslim Brotherhood, (the grandfather of Muslim terrorist organizations) for decades. The raid was conducted by Swiss authorities at the request of the White House. Included among the seized documents was a 14-page plan written in Arabic outlining a specific strategy designed to bring about worldwide Islamic domination. One might think the discovery of such a document would be the lead story in major news sources throughout the free world. However, because political correctness generally supersedes truth, and media is largely controlled by liberals, whose mantra is political correctness, The Project saw very little public light. Yet, the lack of media attention does not and should not diminish the significance of its content. For example, here are some of the plans goals: Networking and coordinating among like-minded Islamist organizations Avoiding open alliances with known terrorist organizations and individuals to maintain the appearance of moderation Infiltrating and taking over existing Muslim organizations and redirecting their goals in line with Muslim Brotherhood goals Using deception to mask the intended goals of Islamist actions, as long as it doesnt interfere with Sharia law Establishing financial networksto fund the conversion of the West Conducting surveillance, obtaining data. Monitoring Western media to warn Muslims of plots fomented against them Build networks of schools, hospitals and charitable organizationsdedicated to Islamist ideals. Using Western institutions until they can be converted into service of Islam Involving ideologically committed Muslims in democratically elected institutions on all levels in the West Supporting jihad movements across the Muslim world Inciting hatred by Muslims against Jews and rejecting any discussion of conciliation and coexistence with them Develop a comprehensive 100 year plan to advance Islamist ideology throughout the world These are just some of what is included in The Project. To read an English translation of the entire document click here Congruent to this document one must not ignore the phenomenal growth of Islam. Virtually all statistical reports confirm it is the fastest growing religion in the world, including the US. Worldwide Islam is rapidly catching up to Christianity. In as little as 50 years Islam may be the worlds #1 religion. If you think the US has little to be concerned about consider this. In 1970 there were roughly 100 mosques in the US. The most current statistics on mosques in the US are from 2010, which puts the number at just over 2,100. This means more than 2,000 mosques have opened just in the past 40+ years. Moreover, it represents an average of one every week and a growth of 2100% since 1970. If you take into account the same growth pattern since 2010 the actual number is more like 2,300. The incredible growth of Islam and its goal of domination is well defined in a document titled Liberty vs. Sharia. This methodical outline breaks down four stages of Islamic conquest, and the characteristics of each stage. Based on the current state of affairs, the US is well into stage two of the four. The chronicling of Islams takeover effort can also be seen in this video. Their effort includes Muslim no go zones. They are primarily in rural areas where Muslims gather together beyond the eyes of most people in order to develop their plans, and in many cases train for the coming battles ahead. Here is a map of known Muslim compounds and other areas of concern in the US. However, their influence is also starting to penetrate urban America. For example, Hamtramck, a city of roughly 22,000 not far from Detroit has elected the first Muslim dominated City Council. In nearby Dearborn, MI. a city of 100,000 a group of Christians walked through a Muslim street fair in 2012. They were physically attacked with rocks, bottles, bricks, etc. Even though they were 100% peaceful and had a permit to march, the police came and threatened to arrest them if they didnt leave. The combination of political correctness, liberal media, overly zealous civil liberties, which include relaxed civil and criminal laws, coupled with freedom of movement is the most vulnerable environment. While the US is increasingly moving in this direction, there is one place where this environment has existed for some time: Europe. Its become a mecca for terrorists. The EU permits open travel among countries under the Schengen Treaty. The social trends have long been full of political correctness with robust civil liberties. The media is heavily left leaning and laws are lax. Case in point- Salah Abdeslam a prime suspect in the Nov. terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130, was arrested March 18 in Brussels. However, did you know he avoided arrest last December in Brussels because its against the law to conduct house raids between 9 pm 5 am? Europe is heavily populated by its own no go zones. These are geographic areas that are so heavily populated by Muslims they have almost become a separate country within a country. Police dont patrol their neighborhoods. Sharia Law courts adjudicate civil matters. Non-Muslims are fearful of being in said zones. A video was released a few years ago on demographics which drives home this stark reality. Many considered 9/11 as a wake-up call for America and the West. However, the snooze button was pushed and too many Westerners have remained in sleep mode. Moreover, many of them have hardened their politically correct naivete to the point of acquiescing to the Muslim agenda. This is endangering the lives of the growing number of those who have come to realize the very real threat being faced in the US and Europe To read more of Dan Calics articles see his Facebook page. Maybe youre an evangelical and voted for Donald Trump. A lot of evangelicals did throughout the Deep South, real estate that was supposedly Cruz Country. Or maybe youre a mainline protestant or a Catholic who cast ballots for Trump. Shame on you, said talk show host, Glenn Beck, because youre out-of-step with your Christianity. Youre part of the problem, the problem being the coming scourge of Donald Trump. Or you were, until Beck walked back his criticism on Friday. The backlash to Becks remarks has been of biblical proportions. Beck has candidly proclaimed his support for Ted Cruz, who he not only says is the solution to the Trump problem and Americas but some part of a prophecy. Beck, a Mormon, is informed by his teachings, passionately so. It seems the rest of us should be, too. Per the Salt Lake City Tribune via Real Clear Politics: Beck said that he, like many Mormons, believes in a prophecy that the Constitution will 'hang by a thread' in the last days. He said he believes that now is that time, and people like Lee and Cruz will save it. Joseph Smith, Jr., who began the Latter-day Saints, made the prophesy. Smith claimed that the imperiled Constitution would be saved by a White Horse. The white horse is symbolic, of course, akin to a shining knight on a who saves the damsel. Its the last days, Beck says. Signs, one supposes, but signs can be open to interpretation. Good Christians may disagree and, not infrequently, do. Never mind that the Book of Matthew (24:36) chronicles Jesus words: But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Theres no Constitution-saving without a savior (of sorts). Enter the junior U.S. senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, a constitutional conservative and a man of faith. But a man, nonetheless. The fly in the ointment is that not enough Christians are going along with Smiths prophesy. Cruz cant save the Constitution unless he makes it to the White House. Christians need to get their shoulders behind Cruzs campaign and push -- hard. Say dissenting Christians: Troubled times, but end times? A decayed -- and decaying -- culture? In fact. A dangerous world, indeed. But Trump, a minor antichrist or precursor? No, say these Christian voters. No, says a solid plurality of voters from among the many GOP contests. The Hill quotes Beck as having said: No Christian, no real Christian I dont mean a judgmental Christian, I mean somebody who is living their faith no real Christian says, I want that guy, that guy is for me, he said during a broadcast of his radio show. "Nobody. Nobody. That Beck adheres to a prophecy thats part of his churchs teachings makes him faithful. That honest men and women -- good Christians, among others -- dont embrace Mormon prophecy is, well, the way it is. Lets agree on this: Since the Progressive Era, the Constitution has been made a chew toy. The dominant judicial philosophy is pretty much make-it-up-as-you-go, which invariably favors expansive big government and leftist social schemes. That Beck sees the peril in all this is right. Hes not alone among the friends of liberty. The Constitution needs restoration to something that better approximates the Founders intent. Liberty-loving Christians stand together in wanting to rein in the courts and drive a stake through the heart of a destructive judicial philosophy. But Christians can disagree honestly as to whether or not the Constitution hangs by the slenderest of threads; that the crisis has arrived, and that the man of the hour is Ted Cruz. Good and honest Christians may rightfully take offense that Beck sets himself up as a decider of who real Christians are and how their faith should translate into politics. One wonders how a Mormon, whose church shares teachings with Christian faiths, but whose tenets diverge in significant ways from Protestant and Catholic dogma, so willingly makes judgment of Christians who dont hold the Book of Mormon in any way central to their following of Jesus Christ. Or who presumes to know that a Roman Catholic really isnt true to Catholicism if he backs Trump. Or that a Methodist supporter of Trump must be a hypocrite in his church. Becks initial judgment had more than a whiff of sanctimony. Zealotry -- it appears a Beck affliction -- can blind the best of men. Impending doom is a topic of Becks. He not infrequently talks about or suggests cataclysm, as relates to national and world events. Survivalist fare is routinely advertised through his enterprises. His regular talk of coming disaster makes Beck prescient on the order of the fellow who everyday says its going to rain; sooner or later, hes proven right. But disaster of biblical scale, no one knows. Is Trump the ogre that Beck wants Christians to believe? Is Trump the bad player that fulfills a prophesy? Are Trumps Christian backers really enablers of cataclysm? Donald Trump comes loaded with questions. As with just about everything related to Trump, theres very little middle. A Trump presidency -- far from a certainty -- could be a debacle or a triumph. In terms of policy and governance, there could be plenty of zig in his zag. Or, if Trump does as he says about his signature issues -- securing the border, robustly countering Muslim jihad, making trade fairer, streamlining government, and appointing a Scalia-type Supreme Court justice -- his presidency could forge a new, durable governing majority. Trump has an impressive -- and growing list of prominent endorsers and supporters. Sarah Palin backs him. Rudy Giuliani, too. The brilliant Diana West. Ben Carson. Lou Dobbs. And many more from various walks of life. Even retired Air Force General Robert C. Oaks supports Trump. Oaks, a Mormon, serves his -- and Becks -- church as a general authority. Are accomplished Americans who back Trump dupes and hypocrites, Christian or not? Are they and millions of Americans who support Trump in the grips of some Hitler-like spell cast by The Donald? Really? Vitriol and rancor are thick as sludge in the Republican contests for the presidential nomination. Passions run in overdrive. Hyperbole and mudslinging are the order of the day. This merely previews the General Election, which promises to be a humdinger. To elect whoevers the Democratic nominee (Hillary appears more an uncertainty with the passing days), Democrats and the left will take low to a new high. If not now, perhaps very soon, its best to step back and take a breath. The real enemy isnt within the GOP contests, but without. Democrats, led by Obama and bolstered by a gaggle of hardcore leftists, continue to infiltrate Washington government, propagandize America through the arts and education, debase the culture, and do whatever else needs done to transform the nation. They, not Trump, are better bets to bring Smiths prophecy to pass. Unity with the Republican nominee -- either a guy named Ted or Donald, in all likelihood -- is whats needed to stop the left. Very soon, the cause of liberty will gain more from the Prophet Beck transforming himself into a Good Sheppard. Lets pray he does so. Viktor Orban is leader of Hungarys national conservative ruling party Fidesz, and became prime minister at the age of 35 in 1998. His first term lasted until 2002, when his party lost its parliamentary majority and he became leader of the opposition. He is pictured below at the White House in 2001. His second term began in 2010 and continues today. The Obama White House has not extended an invitation, perhaps for reasons that will be clear. Shortly before the terrorist attacks that devastated Brussels, Mr. Orban gave a speech at Hungary's National Museum that the mainstream press either ignored or distorted. Here are some key points, which Orban has made before, from a report by Alex Newman in The New American of 25 March 2016: The refugee crisis is a gigantic lie. Most of the arrivals are not actual refugees, and humanitarianism is not the agenda of the globalist conspirators aiding them. The engineered crisis is a tool of forces plotting to destroy Western civilization while undermining Christianity and nation-states. Millions of third-world people are preparing to start heading for Europe. Action to stop the invasion is crucial as well as urgent. Everything Europe represents would be fundamentally transformed once tens of millions of Muslims have settled on the continent. These people bring with them crime and terror and are creating a separate world with its own laws and ideals, tearing apart the centuries-old structure of Europe. Brussels (European Union Headquarters) seeks to transport and settle foreigners in order to reshape the religious and cultural landscape of Europe and to re-engineer its ethnic foundations. Brussels wants to eliminate the last barrier to internationalism: nation-states. Faceless bureaucrats are working to crush nationhood and national sovereignty on the road to what they call the New World Order. Globalists intend to eliminate everything that is unique, autonomous, age-old, and national. They aim to forcibly blend cultures, religions, and populations until old, proud Europe becomes docile. Brussels is stealthily devouring more and more slices of national sovereignty and is making a plan for a United States of Europe. If Hungarians resign themselves to this outcome, they will be swallowed up in the enormous belly of the United States of Europe. Hungarians will not allow anyone to tell them whom to let into their country, whom they will live alongside, and with whom they will share their country. There will be no urban areas in Hungary beyond the reach of the law so-called no-go zones. There will be no mass disorder or immigrant riots. There will be no gangs hunting down Hungarian women and daughters. The task for Hungarians and other Europeans who have not yet lost all common sense is to work to undo the fate intended for them by globalist tyranny. The open-borders crowd running the Democratic Party has a great deal in common with the Brussels globalists. They are soul mates. Both believe that power can be effectively wielded if and only if it is centralized in the hands of a tightly knit elite marching in lockstep, acting on its own regardless of the will of the electorate. The GOP would do well to highlight this comparison once the dust settles and a candidate has been picked to run against Hillary Clinton assuming she isnt indicted. A Trump White House would certainly invite Mr. Orban back, this time for consultations on how to fight an enemy threatening Europe as well as the United States. Here it comes. Despite the federal governments anti-bullying campaign, Americas food scold, Michelle Obama, is getting the awesome power of the United States behind her campaign to bully our children into eating the food she prescribes. Elizabeth Harrington reports in the Free Beacon: The U.S. Department of Agricultures Food and Nutrition Service issued a proposed rule Monday to codify parts of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was championed by Mrs. Obama. The regulation would punish schools and state departments with fines for egregious or persistent disregard for the lunch rules that imposed sodium and calorie limits and banned white grains. A West Virginia preschool teacher was threatened with fines for violating the rules by rewarding her students with candy for good behavior in June 2015. The teacher ultimately did not have to pay, but the school had to develop a corrective action plan with training on the policies. The government now seeks to make fines enforceable by regulation. Section 303 of the law requires that the federal government establish criteria for the imposition of fines for all the Department of Agricultures child food programs. Ron Fournier is one of the most respected and most frequent cable news talking head pundits in Washington, D.C. The former AP White House correspondent, he now writes for National Journal, and wields journalistic influence wildly out of proportion to the size of his readership. So when he makes an argument that prosecutors ought to use a higher bar before inducting Hillary Clinton on her email legal transgressions, it sends a signal to the rest of the mainstream media. Yesterday, he did exactly that on MSNBCs Morning Joe. Chris White of Law Newz reports that Fournier claimed: Legally though, there is a big bar that you have to get over to prosecute anybody for these crimes, much less somebody who is running for president. I do understand that when somebody is running for president, there is a higher bar that you have to get over because we cant have a system in which we are constantly charging people who are running for president of crimes. The host, Joe Scarborough, begged to differ: Actually, the bar is reckless [disregard] of classified information[.] And went on to: provide a handful of examples of what would happen to regular people, or even a congressman, if they left out a single piece of classified material outside of a secure area, much less sent or received over 2,000 e-mails containing classified information. The scale of this is so remarkable, I do not know how James Comey doesnt do something definitive, election year or not, Scarborough said. Again, Fournier argued that all of that is purely a political issue about Clintons judgment that is for voters to decide. Politically, there are severe questions about her judgment that voters really have to look into. Legally, there is a higher bar you have to get over before you prosecute somebody who is running for president. That is just a fact, Fournier said. In what statute is that? Scarborough asked rhetorically. As the rest of panel broke out in an awkward laugh, Sam Stein, a Huffington Post political writer, jumped in and sort of stuttered his way along in defense of Fournier. Well, this is the thing it is not codified but we all recognize and this is sort of the frustration with Clinton critics which is that had she been some sort of underling at the State Department, certainly there wouldve been a different standard applied to her, Stein said. So we now have influential journalists making the case that the American people should apply lower standards to their president than to ordinary people. As with the Los Angeles Times, journalistic allies are making Hillary's case in advance of any FBI public action on its investigation. I remember a time not so long ago when the consensus belief was that a president ought to be subject the highest possible standards of legality. That first went out the window long ago, ratified by the Senate, when it declined to convict impeached President Bill Clinton for lying under oath. Now with his spouse, we have pundits openly arguing for applying the lowest standards to a presidential candidate. For the record, I am not a Trump supporter. However, I do think Mexicans are taking the businessman way too seriously. Let's start with former President Vicente Fox, who uses the F-word more often than the Democrats play the race card. Does Mr. Fox seriously think that anybody cares, including Mexicans in the U.S., what he thinks? Let's go down to Mexico. We just learned that some Mexicans burned figures of Trump for Easter, as reported by Caitlin Yilek: Mexicans celebrated Holy Week with the annual tradition of setting fire to their Judases. This year, that meant lighting replicas of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump ablaze. The demons in the ritual are usually forked-tongue devils, flaming dragons and politicians, according to The Washington Post. The burning symbolizes the destruction of evil. For Latinos here and in the U.S., [Donald Trump is] a danger, a real threat, Leonardo Linares told The Washington Post. Hes a good man to burn as a Judas, Linares added about his Trump effigy. Trump has repeatedly threatened throughout his presidential campaign to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it. When Trump announced his candidacy in June, he infamously referred to undocumented immigrants from Mexico as rapists and criminals. Let the figures burn. Let many Mexicans get their kicks and enjoy the Trump-bashing. Unfortunately, Mexico has much bigger problems than Trump. First, most Mexicans feel very disconnected from the political class, not very different from up here. You will hear the same complaints from Mexicans about politicians you hear at a Trump rally. People on both sides of the border feel let down by the political class. With respect to NAFTA, Mexicans of all socioeconomic levels tell me the agreement has been great for large retailers, like Walmart, but has put thousands of shops and small retailers about business. And they also complain about cheap Chinese goods on the shelf! Last December, Richard Patten wrote this about NAFTA: Mexican manufacturing e.g., of farm implements was wiped out. Real Mexican wage levels in general have declined since NAFTA and 20 million Mexicans now live in food poverty. With the Mexican economy, largely rural, decimated, it became more dependent on the trade of drugs into the United States. The drug cartel money and power now reaches into Mexican government and police as seen in the massacre of 43 students in Iguala, south of Mexico City. I think Mr. Patten is a bit too negative. However, his point of view represents a growing resentment in Mexico about free trade agreements that hurt workers, not very different from what we hear up here. Second, the Mexican economy is still a bit too uneven. In fact, the question south of the border whether or not the economy will benefit enough Mexicans, as Nathaniel Parrish Flannery wrote recently: Mexico is the second-largest economy in Latin America, just after Brazil. With 122 million residents, Mexico has about the same number of potential customers as Spain, France and Portugal combined. The challenge for retailers, however, is that for all the talk of Mexicos emerging middle class, just under half the countrys population still lives below the poverty line. Modern Mexico is a deeply divided economy. In all, there are more than 145,000 individuals in Mexico each with a net worth over $1 million dollars, (not including the value of their primary residence.) The rest of the economy is in much worse shape. While the wealthiest 10% of households earn an average of just over $33,000 dollars a year, the next wealthiest income bracket earns less than half as much. Third, the cartels are making life miserable for everyone, from the innocent people caught up in gang fights to police departments under siege from the millions of dollars the cartels are willing to spend for bribes. It is making Mexico ungovernable, especially the border areas literally run by cartels. My Mexican friends continue to tell me they'd love to see a U.S. president who tackles illegal drug consumption or the source for billions of dollars going south every year. Here is the reality: the election of Trump will have little impact on Mexico. Mexico's structural problems will not be impacted one way or another. Furthermore, #45, whether it's Trump or anyone else, will be consumed with foreign policy problems, and Mexico is not on that list of urgencies. Trump is a great distraction and not much more for people south of the border. P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. President Obama is fond of touting the "success" of Obamacare in getting individuals insured. But the figures the president uses to justify his boasting are based on amended projections from the Congressional Budget Office. Every year, the CBO would change the targets for insuring Americans, always reducing the projected number. But when trying to sell Obamacare to Congress and the people, they were singing a different tune. Weekly Standard: Three years ago, on the eve of Obamacares implementation, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that President Obama's centerpiece legislation would result in an average of 201 million people having private health insurance in any given month of 2016. Now that 2016 is here, the CBO says that just 177 million people, on average, will have private health insurance in any given month of this yeara shortfall of 24 million people. Indeed, based on the CBO's own numbers, it seems possible that Obamacare has actually reduced the number of people with private health insurance. In 2013, the CBO projected that, without Obamacare, 186 million people would be covered by private health insurance in 2016160 million on employer-based plans, 26 million on individually purchased plans. The CBO now says that, with Obamacare, 177 million people will be covered by private health insurance in 2016155 million on employer-based plans, 12 million on plans bought through Obamacare's government-run exchanges, and 9 million on other individually purchased plans (plus a rounding error of 1 million). In other words, it would appear that a net 9 million people have lost their private health plans, thanks to Obamacarewith a net 5 million people having lost employer-based plans and a net 4 million people having lost individually purchased plans. None of this is to say that fewer people have "coverage" under Obamacareit's just not private coverage. In 2013, the CBO projected that 34 million people would be on Medicaid or CHIP (the Children's Health Insurance Program) in 2016. The CBO now says that 68 million people will be on Medicaid or CHIP in 2016double its earlier estimate. It turns out that Obamacare is pretty much a giant Medicaid expansion. In fact, every year, the CBO has moved the goalposts, largely because its original projections were far too optimistic. As far as Medicaid expansion, the CBO failed to take into account that millions of people who had always been eligible for Medicaid would sign up, thus boosting enrollment. So while Obamacare has drastically underperformed, it doesn't appear that way because of how the CBO projects enrollment. If we take the original projections, Obamacare could be considered a spectacular failure. Artificial intelligence is coming into the mainstream and there is no stopping it. Most anybody in the tech sphere will tell you that. The reason for that, of course, is the efficiency and new possibilities that this new field of technology offers. As the concept of cloud computing makes its way into the mainstream with networks finally building out to be able to accommodate it, artificial intelligence is being developed and used alongside it to streamline cloud processes such as maintenance, sorting and indexing algorithms. With all of the new development going on in the field of artificial intelligence, things like DeepMinds AlphaGo are moving from the realm of science fiction into reality. As mobile tech is beginning to plateau in use cases and power, new trends like virtual reality are taking center stage in the tech world. The elite of Silicon Valley, as well as industry analysts, are looking to the future of tech and are largely agreeing that artificial intelligence might just be the next new wave to take the industry by storm. Particularly, machine learning, neural networks and cloud A.I. are moving into the spotlight. Machine learning and neural networks are allowing breakthroughs of previously unseen nature, while developments in cloud A.I. are allowing A.I. operations of massive proportions, as well as lowering the barrier of entry for individual researchers and startups looking to bring new and innovative ideas to the A.I. field. Advertisement One such cloud startup, called Mesosphere, has attracted the attention of the movers and shakers of this new industry movement in a big way. With big-name investors like HP on board, Mesosphere managed to raise $73.5 million in initial capital. Meanwhile, Amazon has announced their own machine learning operations and Microsoft is planning a conference focused on machine learning and neural networks. Data analysis and scalable operations seem to be the main market application at the moment, but innovative and forward-thinking research is far from absent, with multiple startups and even Alphabet in on the movement. The industry is still in love with personal devices, Internet of Things and the cloud for the moment, but as A.I. enhances these things and is used in new ways, it could very well steal the spotlight. Ever since it announced the $3.6 smartphone last month, Indias Ringing Bells has been embroiled in one controversy after another. While some of it has been its own creation, others have been the result of the intense media spotlight and the ensuing governmental scrutiny. Now, in the latest chapter to the evolving saga, police in the city of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, has announced that it has filed a case (First Information Report, or FIR) against the company based on a complaint lodged by Mr. Kirit Somaiya, a Member of Parliament (MP) of the ruling right-wing party. The case against the company owner, Mr. Mohit Goel and the company president, Mr. Ashok Chaddha, were registered under the IT Act as well as under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with cheating. While the company and its owners have been asked by the police to furnish details regarding the super-affordable smartphone, the company and its management say that they are doing everything in their power to help the investigation move forward, because they have nothing to hide. Whats more, the company is steadfast in its belief that the $3.6 smartphone is indeed economically feasible, thanks to innovative e-commerce cross-promotions. According to Mr. Goel, We remain committed to cooperating with any government agency that may require inquiring our organization for any reason or suspicion. I do maintain that we will deliver the most-affordable quality products to our customers through our various range of smartphones, including the Freedom 251. Advertisement In his message to the media, Mr. Goel also stated that the company is on track to deliver the first lot of the product by June 30, 2016, to all those who pre-ordered it last month. It will be interesting to see if the company will indeed be able to keep its promise, but for now, Mr. Goel, Mr. Chaddha and the rest of the senior management of the company will have a lot on their hands dealing with not just this particular lawsuit but others that may follow, given all the controversy the product itself and the company in general, have generated over the past month or so. LeEco is, at this point, a relatively well-known China-based company, even outside of Asia. This company used to be called Letv, but theyve decided to re-brand earlier this year, shortly after the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. That being said, LeEco released their first handsets in April last year, and has introduced five smartphones thus far. The companys latest handset is the LeEco Le Max Pro, the first Snapdragon 820-powered handset. That being said, LeEco is preparing to launch some additional products (well, at least one) on April 20th, the press event has been scheduled, and weve seen quite a few leaks and rumors thus far. This Chinese company will almost certainly going to introduce the Le 2, Le 2 Pro and Le Max 2 handsets, not necessarily all three though, but well see. LeEco has already teased the Ultrasonic Fingerprint scanner feature for one of their upcoming models, and the Le Max 2 surfaced on AnTuTu a couple of days ago. Well, following the Le Max 2, the LeEco Le 2 has also popped up on a benchmarking site, the GFXBench. If you take a look at the image down below, youll see that GFXBench shares LeEco Le 2s specs. According to the listing, the device will feature a 5.5-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of native storage. Interestingly enough, the Helio X25 (MT6797T) 64-bit deca-core processor is also listed here, which is weird considering Meizu confirmed that theyll have exclusive rights to that SoC for a period of time, and their PRO 6 flagship hasnt been announced just yet. If we had to guess, wed say that the Le 2 will be fueled by the Helio X20, not Helio X25, but who knows. Anyhow, the listing says that the Le 2 will sport a 16-megapixel rear-facing, and 8-megapixel front-facing camera, while Android 6.0 Marshmallow will come pre-installed on this smartphone. Advertisement There you have it, these specs might not be 100% accurate, especially when it comes to the SoC, but theyre almost certainly quite accurate. Either way, well know more on April 20th, and will quite probably see quite a few more leaks by then, so stay tuned. UPDATE: AnTuTu listing popped up as well (moments before publishing), and it reports almost identical specifications as the GFXBench listing, with one key difference, the SoC. AnTuTu says that the LeEco Le 2 will be fueled by the Snapdragon 652 64-bit octa-core SoC, which is possible, but that means that the Le 2 is definitely going to be classified as a mid-range device. The Snapdragon 652 is Qualcomms mid-range processor, while the Helio X25 is MediaTeks flagship SoC. Either way, considering the fact that Meizu will have exclusive rights to the Helio X25, the Snapdragon variant seems like a more probable outcome, but well see. Before Google Now arrived and we started talking to the search engine, it was largely known for fairly mundane and boring searches. Most of which wed still do from our Desktops and Laptops. Of course, Google has been around on mobile for a lot longer than most websites and service providers have been, and its no longer uncommon to see features launch on mobile before making their way back to the humble Desktop. Saved Searches for Google Images is just one example of such a service. Launched towards the end of last year, Google introduced a way of making it nice and easy to search Google Images for whatever you wanted and then save this search for later. Now, that feature is available on Desktops, too. For those that might wonder why you would ever want to save a search like this, its a useful feature for those that rely on Google Images as a research tool, inspiration for their next project, or just very specific wallpapers for their devices. It was launched last year as a feature that worked well in a mobile browser, but now its available on Desktop, too. The Desktop-compatibility was detailed over on Googles official Search Blog, and as of right now it seems as though this is a sort of feature that will be just for US residents. The blog post also goes on to detail that a valid Google Account is needed to save searches, but this is hardly surprising. Its unclear as to when if at all this feature will launch outside of the US, but were sure that Google has put some thought into this and are currently working on launching it internationally. Advertisement Regardless of whether or not this feature will be immediately useful to the majority of users, theres some good value here. It makes it nice and simple to organize search terms depending on which project youre working on, and even if youre looking to use this purely for entertainment purposes were sure people wont find it too hard to find a use for this. After all, typing funny cat pics over and over again can grow tireseome. Xiaomi and Huawei are currently Chinas largest smartphone manufacturing companies. These two tech giants have launched various smartphones in 2015, and were actually close one to the other as far as smartphone sales in China go, but Xiaomi managed to trump Huawei. That being said, Xiaomi is not only a smartphone manufacturer, not even close. This company actually tends to release all sorts of smart gadgets, ranging from smartphones and tablets, all the way to fitness bands, smart TVs, and even products like air purifiers. Having that in mind, Xiaomi has just announced a new sub-brand called Mi Ecosystem. Xiaomi partners up with various companies in order to release Xiaomi-branded products, and such devices will now fall under the Mi Ecosystem brand. To build this ecosystem, the company has invested in 55 companies that manufacture devices outside of the smartphone, smart TV and smart router domains, which were Xiaomis main focus points and something Xiaomi manufactures on their own. Out of those 55 companies, 29 of them have been incubated by Xiaomi since they were founded basically, and over 20 Mi Ecosystem companies have launched products and won 28 international design awards, according to Xiaomi. Xiaomi has opted to highlight some of the companies theyve invested in, like Zhimi, for example, a company which sold over one million air purifiers in only a year, while theyve sold 46.9 million power banks to date. Huami, on the other hand, has sold more than 18.5 million Mi Band fitness bands to date, which is commendable. Advertisement Xiaomis founder and CEO, Lei Jun, said that the company started exploring the ecosystem business model two year ago in order to promote and upgrade Chinese manufacturing with the new Made in China concept. Now, during the event, Xiaomi has also introduced a new product which will be a part of the Mi Ecosystem, the Mi Induction Heating Pressure Rice Cooker, a device you can check out in the images down below. This device employs a magnetic relief valve in order to control the pressure inside the rice cooker, and set an ideal boiling point of water. This device is also WIFi-enabled, and can be controlled via Xiaomis Mi Home application. Xiaomis all-new Rice Cooker is priced at 999 Yuan ($153), and will be available on Mi.com in China during the Mi Fan Festival (Xiaomis anniversary) on April 6th. (ANSA) - The Hague, March 29 - There are the necessary conditions for a tribunal in the Hague to grant Italy's request for the return from India of marine Salvatore Girone, Ambassador Francesco Azzarello, Italy's representative to the international arbitration tribunal, said Tuesday. Girone is one of two Italian marines accused by India of killing two Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012. The other, Massimiliano Latorre, is back in Italy after having a stroke in 2014. "Italy is convinced that there are both the legal and humanitarian conditions for the arbitration tribunal to consider in a positive way the possibility of enabling marine Salvatore Girone to return," Azzarello told ANSA. The Hague tribunal will start examining "provisional measures" on Wednesday without going into the nitty gritty of a case that has strained diplomatic relations between Italy and India for five years. Italy will present its arguments to support its request for Girone's return on Wednesday morning, while the India will have its say in the afternoon. On Thursday morning Italy will have the chance to reply to the arguments presented by India, which, in turn, will respond again in the afternoon. The tribunal will announce its decision in about a month, sources said. The case of the two Italian marines will be among the issues addressed at Wednesday's EU-India summit in Brussels, ANSA sources said Tuesday. The meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker will also discuss the case of six British security guards and 14 Estonian nationals who have been handed jail terms by India for illegal possession of arms on a ship. The Italian government has taken the marines case to international arbitration after repeated delays in the handling of the case in India. However, the final ruling from the arbitration is not due before August 2018. The marines case will be among the issues mentioned in the conclusions of the summit, EU sources said. The sources said the marines issue was "the most difficult to prepare" in the run-up to the summit, adding that the EU "shares Italy's concerns". They also said that Modi's government is "aware that this issue weighs on the development of relations with the EU". At the summit, the Indian government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are set to sign an agreement for a 450 million euros loan for the construction of the Lucknow metro. Rome argues the case is not in India's jurisdiction as the incident took place outside the country's territorial waters. It also says the marines should be exempt from prosecution in India, because they are servicemen who were working on an anti-piracy mission. (ANSA) - Rome, March 28 - Khalid El Bakraoui, the suicide bomber who blew himself up at Brussels Maelbeek station during last week's terrorist attacks, reportedly spent time in Italy and used the identity of a former Inter Milan player. El Bakraoui used the name of former Inter midfielder Ibrahim Maaroufi, a Belgian-Moroccan, to rent the apartment Rue de Fort, in Charleroi, that would be the command hideout for last November's terror attacks in Paris, according to Belgian prosecutors' documents. On December 9 Belgian police searched that apartment and found the fingerprints of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the so-called mastermind of the Paris attacks, and of Bilal Hadfi, an attacker who blew himself up at outside the Stade de France. Sky television said that El Bakraoui was in Italy late July 2015 while on his way to Athens. Maaroufi, 27, made six competitive appearances for Inter during a stint between 2006 and 2009, most of which he spent with the club's youth academy. In December the product of PSV's academy joined FC Schaerbeek, a team from the Brussels area where El Bakraoui and his brother Ibrahim, who blew himself up at the city's airport, lived. (ANSA) - Rome, March 29 - Premier Matteo Renzi said on Facebook Tuesday that Italy will mark the 30th anniversary of its connection to the Internet on April 30. Regions and schools will hold events, and the government will seek bids from ultra wideband providers in what will be its first such request for bids aimed at bringing high-speed Internet throughout Italy by 2020, Renzi said. "Italy was the fourth European country to get connected after Norway, Britain and East Germany (on April 30, 1986)," Renzi wrote. This was done by scientists at the National Research Center in Pisa. "(That date) lives on in the minds and hearts of the Internet pioneers - those who imagined, wanted and made the connection to the computer network a reality," Renzi wrote. "First among them are Stefano Trumpy, Luciano Lenzini and Blasco Bonito, who were in Pisa on the first Internet Day - all men from the CNR". The premier added the government is "committed to filling the digital gap over the next four years" by bringing high-speed Internet to every Italian citizen. (supersedes previous)(ANSA) - Rome, March 29 - Premier Matteo Renzi on Tuesday praised Italian energy giant ENEL. Posting from an alternative energy plant in Stillwater, Nevada, the premier said Italy "should be proud of" ENEL, a global firm whose heart and mind remain in Italy. "We will continue growing it, including via innovative ultra wideband projects (which) we will present on April 7," the premier wrote. Renzi is on a May 29-April 1 US tour. He visits Chicago on March 30, Boston on March 31, and takes part in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, on April 1. (By Paul Virgo). (ANSA) - Rome, March 29 - Premier Matteo Renzi showed that he intends to use a four-day visit to the United States to flaunt Italy's business champions when he kicked off the visit in Nevada on Tuesday. Renzi's first engagement was a trip to ENEL's Stillwater plant, which he said demonstrated the way to move forward. "Stillwater is a symbol of the possible cooperation between the USA and Italy," Renzi said at the groundbreaking combined solar energy and geothermal power plant. "The future is energy and technology. "If we invest in technology, we can create a new world. "This is big space for cooperation between the USA and Italy. We can cooperate not just in traditional fields, but in renewable energies too. "Old values and new energies are the strategy of friendship between Italy and the United States". The premier said Italy "should be proud of" ENEL as it is a global firm whose heart and mind remain in Italy. "We will continue growing it, including via innovative ultra broadband projects (which) we will present on April 7," the premier said. Renzi also announced Tuesday that ENEL Green Power, ENEL's renewable energy subsidiary, has won a 1.5-billion-euro contract in Mexico. "In Nevada more good news arrives with Enel Green Power," Renzi said via Twitter. "1.5-billion-euro Mexico competition won. Increasingly leader in energy #Italypride (#orgoglioItalia). Renzi visits Chicago on March 30, Boston on March 31, and takes part in the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, on April 1. The premier said on Facebook Tuesday that Italy will mark the 30th anniversary of its connection to the Internet on April 30. Regions and schools will hold events, and the government will seek bids from ultra broad band providers in what will be its first such request for bids aimed at bringing high-speed Internet throughout Italy by 2020, Renzi said. "Italy was the fourth European country to get connected after Norway, Britain and East Germany (on April 30, 1986)," Renzi wrote, referring to the connection by scientists at the National Research Center in Pisa. "(That date) lives on in the minds and hearts of the Internet pioneers - those who imagined, wanted and made the connection to the computer network a reality. "First among them are Stefano Trumpy, Luciano Lenzini and Blasco Bonito, who were in Pisa on the first Internet Day - all men from the CNR". The premier added the government is "committed to filling the digital gap over the next four years" by bringing high-speed Internet to every Italian citizen. Fewer migrants arrive in Greece from Turkey post-accord, EU No significant rise in arrivals in Italy from Libya yet (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MARCH 29 - EU Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said Tuesday that a clear reduction in migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey had been seen since the introduction of the EU-Turkey accord. She added that it was an encouraging sign, and that there had not yet been a significant increase in arrivals in Italy from Libya. Brussels has not lost sight of the situation in Italy, she said, and for this reason included the country in the relocation program and has requested the setting up of hotspots. EU figures say that an average of 2,000 migrants had been arriving in Greece on a daily basis prior to the agreement with Ankara. On March 20 they dropped to 1,667, 600 on March 21, 260 on March 22 and none on March 23. Then the number was 161 on March 24, 78 on March 25, 73 on March 26, 232 on March 27 and 192 on Monday. A total of 147 repatriations have been carried out for migrants without a right to asylum, mainly nationals of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria and Turkey. (ANSAmed). Migrants, only 1.4% of Syrian refugees in rich countries According to study released by Oxfam (ANSAmed) - GENEVA, MARCH 29 - Only 1.39% of the estimated five million Syrian refugees who have fled to Syria's neighboring countries resettled in rich countries, according to a research released by Oxfam on the eve of a high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees scheduled in Geneva. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi are scheduled to attend. In the study, Oxfam calls on countries scheduled to attend the conference to work to welcome globally at least 10% of Syrian refugees by the end of 2016 through mechanisms of resettlement or other forms of humanitarian admission. The percentage coincides with the number of refugees identified as vulnerable by the UN's Refugee Agency (UNHCR) - an estimated 481,220 people. According to the British NGO, only three countries - Canada, Germany and Norway - have pledged to resettle more than their 'fair share', which was calculated based on a country's dimension and economy while five others (Australia, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, New Zeland) are taking on even more. The other 20 countries in the study are invited to do more. For example, Oxfam said, France has pledged a quota of 4% of its fair share. Italy has pledged 7%. Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of Oxfam International, said that while the Syrian conflict is entering its sixth year, over 4.8 million Syrians have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and the region, but these countries cannot take this responsibility practically on their own. The meeting in Geneva , said Byanyima, should bring urgent solutions, offering people safe and legal pathways to be welcomed in third countries. (ANSAmed). ROME - After lengthy negotiations, the hijacking of an EgyptAir Airbus carrying 81 passengers in Larnaca, Cyprus, has ended. The hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, an Egyptian national, surrendered to authorities, leaving the plane holding his arms up. He was arrested. The flight had left Alexandria of Egypt this morning with 81 passengers bound for Cairo but was forced to land at Larnaca airport (Cyprus). An Italian citizen, Andrea Bianchetti, was also on board. He was released earlier this morning. A few minutes before the announcement of the hijacker's arrest, a correspondent for Egyptian State television reported about an ''agreement between Egypt and Cyprus'' concerning the arrival of a ''C-130 military jet'' carrying ''special forces'' tasked with ''assaulting'' the plane. While holding passengers and crew members hostage, the hijacker reportedly asked to talk to his ex-wife. However, there have been no official confirmations as to the real motives of the hijacking. Hijacked EgyptAir jet in Cyprus, not terrorism Seven people still on board (ANSAmed) - ROME, MARCH 29 - An EgyptAir Airbus with 81 passengers on board, en route from Alexandria to Cairo, was hijacked and forced to land at Larnaca airport (Cyprus). The alleged hijacker, who was initially thought to be wearing a suicide belt, allowed all passengers to leave the plane except for the crew and some foreigners. An Italian citizen, Andrea Bianchetti, was among passengers who were released, the Italian foreign ministry has confirmed. Seven people remain on board for now. Minister Sherif Fatih told a press conference broadcast live on television that the plane's captain, the co-pilot, a ''security officer'', a flight attendant and ''three passengers'' are still on the plane. The minister refused to provide the nationality of the passengers on board ''for security reasons''. Fatih took office less than two weeks ago, and has replaced Mohamed Hossam Kamal el deen as part of a government reshuffle.(ANSAmed). TEL AVIV - A reality show to discover Israel: eight young Italian ''explorers'' travel to the country to get acquainted with its culture, history, food, kibbutz, technology as well as everyday life, starting from Tel Aviv. The project was organized by IsayWeb Agency - which was in charge of communication for the Israeli Pavillion at the Milan Expo - choosing eight people from its staff at the food-themed Universal Exposition that ran from May 1 until October 31. For two weeks, the eight Italians travelled across the country which, during the event in Milan, they had only seen portrayed on large screens. The reality's episodes - temporarily called 'The Exponauts' - last 26 minutes each and will be broadcast, probably in the fall, on cable, digital and satellite television as well as on web channels. As in most reality shows, the participants were portrayed, in the second half of March, in ''unexpected situations'' in various parts of Israel so they could find solutions in close contact with locals. Without ruling out, obviously, the relationships formed during those two weeks between participants. The guideline was to pursue aspects (from agriculture to university to nightlife and key sites) portrayed on the large screens at the Pavilion that were seen by Expo visitors. ''The experience in Israel - said Clara, 24, from Vignola (Modena) - has allowed me to understand that it is a country that welcomes and offers different cultural opportunities of developing, growing and having a future. The multi-cultural side of the country, its geographical variety, from the desert of Eilat to Tel Aviv, make it a unique trip''. She even performed in a piano duet with Idan Raichel, one of the most famous Israeli musicians who is well known in Italy. ''It was an extreme experience - said Stefano, 33, from Rome - and Tel Avis is as amazing a city as Israel is unforgettable. These are incredible memories''. ''A fantastic experience, beyond all expectations, said Christian from Castelvetrano (Trapani), 27, who was an actor at the Israeli pavilion during Expo. RABAT - About 3,000 Moroccans are members of the Islamic State, most of them strategists, explosives experts or planners. Inside of its own borders, however, Morocco is cracking down on jihadists. After suicide attacks in 2003 in Casablanca, Morocco has been monitoring is citizens - including those that live abroad - enabling its secret services to transmit information on Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged attacker involved in the November 13 attacks in Paris and to alert Belgian authorities of an imminent attack a few days before the incidents this month in Brussels. ''Here the state of alert against terrorism has always been at its highest possible,'' Arabic-language media quoted Moroccan secret services chief Abdelhak Khiame as saying. Close monitoring is conductied on schools that train imams in order to instill in the future Muslim clerics not only the basic principles of Islam - including tolerance - but also teach them tricks to root out online extremist recruitment efforts. King Mohammed VI has prohibited imams and anyone with religious roles from entering politics or holding roles of any type in unions or public associations. The Bureau Centrale d'Investigation Judiciaire (BCIJ), founded in 2015 to fight terrorism, keeps track of the monthly arrests. ''Anyone who tries to bring weapons into our country is subject to long jail sentences, from 30 years to life in prison,'' Khiame said. He added that ''this cannot be said for all European countries. I speak often with our European counterparts and - without mentioning which countries I am referring to - those that cross their borders cannot be put under investigation unless there is certain proof of their links with terrorism. This is a serious security problem.'' (ANSAmed). GENEVA - An average of six children are killed or injured every day in Yemen since March 2015, when conflict in the country slid into a brutal war and the humanitarian situation deteriorated severely. The figure was given by UNICEF in its 'Children on the Brink' report released on Tuesday, which cites over 1,560 serious violations against children in Yemen. The report added that about a third of civilians killed since March 2015 in the fighting were children. Most of the fatalities and injured were recorded in the governorates of Taiz, Sanaa, Saada, Aden and Hajjah, where the violence and clashes were heaviest. Some 848 children were recruited into the fighting over the past year including ones as young as 10, UNICEF said. The report noted that over 50 attacks had been carried out on schools and healthcare facilities. In addition to the direct impact of war, UNICEF estimated that almost 10,000 children under 5 may have died over the past year of preventable diseases due to a reduction in healthcare services, vaccination campaigns and the treatment of diarrhea and pneumonia. An additional approximately 40,000 children die every year in Yemen prior to their fifth birthday. Already one of the poorest countries in the world, Yemen has been pushed to the brink by the ongoing conflict and almost 10 million children - 80% of those in the country - urgently need humanitarian assistance, UNICEF said. Last Saturday was the first anniversary of a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalitions entrance into a civil war that has killed thousands and strengthened the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the country. The conflict in this nation pits the government, supported largely by Saudi-led airstrikes, against the rebel Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Houthis seized control of Sanaa, Yemens capital and largest city, in the fall of 2014, prompting the government to flee. Today, the U.S.-backed government, led by Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has been largely relegated to the southern port city of Aden. The Saudi-led coalition airstrikes started in March of last year, turning the rebellion into a full-blown civil war. Syria:first Russian mine clearance experts leave for Palmyra (ANSAmed) - MOSCOW, MARCH 29 - A first group of Russian bomb disposal experts has left for Syria, where it will work to clear the area of Palmyra from landmines, Russian television Zvezda, which is controlled by Moscow's defense ministry, reports. "The first group of specialists from the international mine action center of the defense ministry has left for Syria from the Chkalovsky airport, in Moscow's region", said the broadcaster, adding that the members of the military are flying to Syria aboard an Antonov An-124 with a "robot specialized in the elimination of landmines and other means". (ANSAmed). (by Mattia Bernardo Bagnoli) MOSCOW - Palmyra has been freed, Palmyra is scarred. Now that Damascus's troops have regained control of the 'pearl of the desert', also and mainly due to coverage from Russia's air force, which over the previous days had cracked down on Islamic State positions, satisfaction for a victory described by Putin as ''meaningful and symbolic'' was followed by apprehension over what happened to the spectacular Roman ruins and archaeological treasures held by ISIS for almost a year. The Syrian experts have called it a ''shock''. Initial reports spoke about several remains and statues that have been demolished. The director of antiquities and museums, Maamoun Abdulkarim, has said that a team of experts will soon travel to Palmyra to make an estimate on the damages. Karim will also visit the archaeological site once bomb disposal experts will remove the explosives hidden by ISIS before they lost control of the city. Moscow will send bomb disposal experts, robots and special means this week to clear the archaeological site. The estimated time for the operation is two to three weeks. All things considered, it could have been worse. Abdulkarim, contacted by Sputniknews, stressed that ''the amphitheater, the central way with its column and temples' walls'' appear to be ''in perfect condition''. But these are initial evaluations, everything still needs to be verified; what is sure is that the renovation of the archaeological site and Unesco World Heritage center will not be easy and will require at least five years, according to Abdulkarim. Unesco is already organizing and will send its own team of experts as soon as possible. Moscow has already said that it will do everything possible to help experts and the presidential representative for cultural cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoi, has clarified that Russia will certainly be involved in Palmyra's reconstruction and renovation work. ''The issue was debated at length'', he said. Moscow wants to 'be there' in peace as well as war - taking Palmyra, a strategic city to open a way to the border with Iraq, was defined as ''crucial'' by Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a long phone conversation. Russia, in fact, is now interested in showing its ''good face'' in the Middle East - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warmly backed the Italian proposal to deploy cultural peacekeepers in Palmyra - and it is no coincidence that the director of the hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has offered help to the museum to evaluate damages and draft a renovation project; the proposal appears to have been welcomed by the director general of Unesco, Irina Bokova. Syrian experts, in any event, will have a central role in every aspect of Palmyra's future, given their high level of expertise. And Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, in a tweet, remembered Khaled Assad, killed by terrorists after looking after the site. TUNIS - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said he has travelled to Tunis to express the support of the United Nations for Tunisia, which is continuing to make progress on stability and prosperity in spite of important ongoing economic and security challenges. Ban Ki-moon travelled to the Tunisian capital with the president of the president of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim. During the visit, financial aid from the World Bank worth one billion dollars over five years was announced for the promotion of southern and western regions. ''During our meetings we will be able to discuss concrete proposals able to produce economic results to the advantage of the Tunisian people, in particular for the creation of employment and economic aid'', he added after meeting with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. He expressed the concern of the economic community on security for Tunisia after last year's attacks and the latest against Ben Guerdane, a city at the border with Libya. ''Our discussions will also focus on the support the international community can give authorities in their effort to prevent and fight religious radicalism and terrorism'', also said Ban Ki-moon. The UN recognizes the impact of the situation in Libya on Tunisia, in particular at the level of security and the economy. Only a political solution should be wished for, according to the UN secretary general, meant as the ''only way out of the crisis to stabilize the country and the region''. Bank Ki-moon has also met with UN special envoy for Libya Martin Kobler and all his staff, thanking them for their work and expressing support. Senate chief calls for anti-terrorism cooperation with Tunis Regeni's death in Egypt also discussed on visit (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, MARCH 29 - Terrorism and fanaticism are the enemies of both Tunisia and Europe and thus the two should work together against them, ANSA was told by Senator Pierferdinando Casini on a visit to Tunisia on Tuesday. He was speaking as the head of a Senate foreign affairs committee delegation after meeting with Tunisian president Beji Caid Essesbi. He went on to say that ''in order to defeat these phenomena, we need renewed cooperation in the Mediterranean, between Europe and Tunisia. For too many years we forgot the Mediterranean, and Europe thought that cooperation should be done only with looking to the northeast. We have now understood that either huge problems or the solutions to them come from the Mediterranean. We spoke about this cooperation with the Tunisian president and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Ennaceur.'' The Italian delegation visited the Tunisian parliament on Tuesday while voting was held for the 16 members of the National Commission for the Prevention of Torture, established by the anti-torture law 43 of 2013 and tasked with monitoring all detention facilities. The time is one of ''large symbolic value'', Casini said, ''in part because shortly before we spoke with the Tunisian parliament speaker of the tragic death of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni in Egypt''. The schedule of the visit calls for a meeting with Islamic Ennhadha party leader Rached Ghannouchi on Tuesday and one with Prime Minister Habib Essid on Wednesday. During the day, the delegation laid a wreath of flowers at the Bardo Museum in memory of the Italians killed in a March 18, 2015 attack. (ANSAmed). U.S.: Obama says no to mosque inauguration with Erdogan, WSJ White House minimizes, they have met. Kerry with foreign min. (ANSAmed) - WASHINGTON, MARCH 29 - US President Barack Obama has said no to a proposal to inaugurate a mosque in Maryland together with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and no bilateral meeting between the two is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in the American capital next Thursday and Friday, the Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper said that Vice President Joe Biden will greet Erdogan when he arrives in the capital and quoted sources from the US administration as minimizing this and explaining that the lack of a scheduled meeting with Erdogan should not be perceived as a slight as the two leaders saw each other in November during a G20 summit in Turkey and spoke on the phone in February. Moreover, during the summit on nuclear security, no tight agenda of bilateral meetings has been scheduled, so this is not reportedly an exclusion. The only bilateral meeting reportedly scheduled is the one between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Moreover, the White House has announced a trilateral meeting with leaders of South Korea and Japan focusing on North Korea. Meanwhile Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington ahead of the summit. Kerry said Turkey is an important partner of the US, an ally within NATO that has joined the efforts of Europe and NATO to try to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea. (ANSAmed). Klaus Iohannis: The mosque in Bucharest is to obtain building permit President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that the mosque to be built in Bucharest is in the process of obtaining the building permit. The statement was made in Turkey, where the president met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The information was presented Wednesday on Todays Agenda on Antena 3. The Government adopted on 27 May 2015 a judgment in which it provided to provide the Mufti Office of Muslims a land of 11,000 square meters in Bucharest, for a period of 49 years for the construction of a 2,000 people mosque. The land in question is located next to the Romexpo Exhibition Centre, and it is valued at four million euros. The only condition imposed by the government is that the construction of the mosque should begin in three years. The funding for construction will be provided by the Turkish state. President Klaus Iohannis sent a message to Roman Catholics and Protestants Christians celebrating Easter on Sunday saying that we must stand by the victims of violence and intolerance and by those for which " every day bread " is far from being a metaphor, Agerpres reports. "I extend my warmest thoughts to Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians who celebrate Easter today. On these days when we celebrate the gift of light and life, we ought to stand by all those who need our solidarity. To stand by the victims of violence and intolerance or those for whom 'the daily bread' is far from being a metaphor. I wish to you all that the Resurrection find you in peace, health and happiness together with your family and loved ones! Christ is risen! "wrote Iohannis Sunday on Facebook. President Klaus Iohannis, together with his wife and some of their friends attended Saturday night the Resurrection service at the Roman Catholic Church "Holy Trinity" in Sibiu. If Iohannis preferred to listen to the service, Carmen sang in the church choir this time, and was appreciated by those present for this. I often meet people who ask me how come Catalonia is one of the most indebted regions in Spain. According to data published by the Bank of Spain towards the end of 2015, Catalonia is the Spanish region with the third highest public debt to GDP ratio: 35,3 per cent. The average in Spain is 24.2 per cent. In the face of this, first we must remember that the finances of every Spanish region were badly hit by the economic downturn. Revenue from capital gains tax from property sales a tax that is fully devolved to Spains regional governments plummeted as a result of the real estate meltdown, which impacted the regional finances negatively. In 2000, the Catalan governments public debt was at 8.3 per cent of its GDP, dropping to 7.8 in 2007. But this was the last year of fair wind for the economy and Catalan debt shot up from then on. By 2011 four years later it had hit 22 per cent of GDP. It has kept growing since, albeit at a slower pace, all the way to todays level (35,3 per cent). To a greater or lesser extent, all Spanish regions have gone through this process. Secondly, the regional funding system in Spain is exceedingly deficient and Catalonia clearly comes out the loser. The figures for 2013 the last official batch of data to be published show that the current system provided the Catalan administration with 2,075 per capita, whereas the regional average is 2,128. The exact same system would yield 2,298 per capita, if there were no contributions to the interregional solidarity kitty. In contrast, funding per capita is much higher than average for some regions. For instance, Extremaduras 2,572 per capita would drop to 1,482 were it not for the additional income transferred on account of interregional solidarity. Needless to say, some solidarity between regions is to be expected; but in Spains case, it is ill-conceived, excessive and arbitrary. Additionally, Spains central government which, as the chief tax collector, is expected to provide over 80 per cent of Catalonias funding makes a poor job of it, with insufficient advance payments and delayed transfers, which lead to further indebtedness. Therefore, you could argue that the inadequacies of Spains regional funding system are one of the economys structural problems. After over three decades of devolved regional governments, they have failed to come up with a sound, long-lasting model. Spanish regions are in the red (their ordinary spending is greater than their income); this proves that the funding they receive does not meet their spending needs, which include all basic welfare services (except unemployment benefit and payment of pensions). Still, someone could claim that the lack of funding might conceal a case of poor management of public resources. This is not easy to ascertain, but we can readily show that there is a negative correlation between the most heavily indebted regions and those whose funding has been below average, historically speaking. In other words, the fewer resources, the greater the debt and vice versa. Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Murcia as well as Catalonia have traditionally got the short end of the stick with the current finance system and they are also the most indebted regions in Spain. Valencia has the highest public debt to GDP ratio: 41,3 per cent; the Balearics ranks fourth after Catalonia, at 30.4 per cent, with Murcia taking the fifth spot at 27.3 per cent. Two exceptions to this rule stand out. One is Castilla-la Mancha, which is the second most indebted region (35.5 per cent) in Spain, despite receiving above-average funding. The other is Madrid, whose income is lower than average, as is its debt ratio: 13.6 per cent. Both cases deserve to be looked into in greater detail, but in the case of the Madrid region, it may be partly explained by the fact that it includes the countrys capital city. Given the size of its debt, another question which people ask is whether an independent Catalonia could cope with it, more so if it were to take over a chunk of Spains sovereign debt, too. The answer is that the situation for Catalonia wont be any worse than it is today. We mustnt forget that Catalonia is presently in a State that is already heavily in debt. The debt of the entire Spanish public sector is equivalent to 99 per cent of the countrys GDP. The central governments debt alone amounts to 72.9 per cent of the GDP. A portion of the latter would be transferred to the accounts of an independent Catalonia, but not of the former, as that includes the debt of other regional and local governments. Actually, Catalonias tax-payers are already paying off some of that debt at present. To be precise, 19.5 per cent, which is the percentage that Catalonia contributes to Spains coffers. With independence we would have to negotiate how much of the Spanish debt we would assume. It might be proportional to our share of GDP, population, public spending by Madrid and so on. The least favourable criterion would be to base it on our share of Spains GDP, which stands at 18.8 per cent, but even that would be lower than our current contribution (19.5 per cent). Needless to say, the outcome would be more favourable if we took on a share the size of our population (16 per cent) or the relative weight of Madrids public spending in Catalonia, which hovers at around 9 per cent. To sum up, the best way to put a stop to Catalonias increasing debt is for it to become an independent country. It has been clearly proven that its Treasury would provide enough resources to fund more and better quality public services than today. Exploring MRO growth is at the heart of the discussions at this conference which has a 20-year history of gathering key stakeholders in the MRO value chain airlines, OEMs, MROs and suppliers to network and discuss a range of aftermarket issues. Topics range from the developments in the Middle East Air Transport Market, an MRO industry forecast and how airlines engage with their MRO partners and suppliers. Among the industry leading speakers is Jeff Wilkinson, Etihad Airways senior vice president, technical, who said: It is our pleasure to host delegates of Airline Engineering & Maintenance in Abu Dhabi the emerging hub of aerospace and aviation in the Middle East. Off the back off a successful show last year, Etihad Airways Engineering will once again be holding a tour of its facility exclusively for conference delegates at the conclusion of the conference, introducing delegates to the Etihad Airways Engineering management team and offering the opportunity to visit hangars and various workshops within the facility. We are organising an escorted tour of Etihad Airways Engineering state-of-the-art workshops and hangars, one of the largest MRO facilities in the region. This will include Hangar 6 which accommodates up to three A380 aircraft simultaneously. The strong interest in Middle East is reflected in the 16thedition of the Airport Show, which will take place from May 9-11 in Dubai. According to Reed Exhibitions Middle East, the event organisers, the show has not only been sold out weeks ahead of its opening date, but has also seen remarkable growth in exhibition space, number of Hosted Buyers and pre-registered participants. More than 250 exhibitors have already confirmed their participation for the Airport Show 2016, which will occupy an exhibition space of 15,000 square metres at the New Zaabeel Halls in Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), with larger participation expected by country pavilions from Germany, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland, USA and China. Daniyal Qureshi, group exhibition director, Reed Exhibitions Middle East said: The tremendous response to the Airport Show reflects the strength of the regions aviation industry. The region, particularly the UAE and Dubai, has a deep commitment toward the aviation sector, which contributes more than 27 per cent to Dubais GDP and accounts for over 21 per cent share in employment. The strong performance of airlines and expansion plans continue to generate an array of opportunities worldwide. Carriers from the region ruled the sky last year and increased the share of international traffic on massive expansion of Gulf carriers. Middle East carriers had the strongest annual traffic growth at 10.5 per cent, according to latest statistics from International Air Transport Association (IATA). As a result, the share of international traffic carried by Middle East airlines reached 14.2 per cent, surpassing their North American counterparts. Going further, airlines in the region will continue to present tremendous opportunities for global suppliers as they stay strong on expansion. According to Boeing, airlines in the Middle East will require 3,180 new airplanes over the next 20 years, valued at an estimated $730 billion. While approximately 30 percent of that demand 960 airplanes will replace todays fleets, 70 percent of the demand is expected to be driven by the rapid fleet expansion in the region. In order to foster continued economic development of the region, particularly non-oil related, to encourage more tourism and to transport business travellers, the Middle East region is establishing an impressive fleet of passenger aircraft. In fact, the share of passenger aircraft in the world operated by the regions carriers has doubled in 10 years, according to Airbus, which forecast an annual growth rate of 6 per cent in air traffic for the Middle East region over the next 20 years, which is well above the projected growth in global traffic of 4.6 per cent. Airlines in the Middle East also continue with strategic network and fleet expansion, which will further propel growth. Emirates Airline, which serves over 150 destinations in 80 countries, added 26 new aircraft to its fleet in 2015, comprising 15 A380s, 10 Boeing 777-300ERs and 1 Boeing 777 Freighter, rounding off the year with 246 aircraft in service. With the addition of new aircraft in 2015 and 26 more aircraft slated to retire in 2016, Emirates said it is committed to flying a younger, modern and environmentally friendly fleet that provides customers with a superior level of comfort and safety. Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, introduced six additional destinations to its global route network and increased frequencies on 16 existing routes across the world in 2015. To support the next phase of its global network expansion, Etihad Airways announced that it will receive 10 aircraft deliveries this year, including five Boeing 787-9s, three A380s and two Boeing 777-200 Freighters. Qatar Airways has announced a significant expansion to 14 new destinations, with the new routes to include the worlds longest flight, between Doha and Auckland, New Zealand. Massive investments toward airport construction activities in the Middle East would further add to the opportunities global suppliers can tap into. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, airport investments worth more than $32.7 billion are underway or planned in the UAE alone. Airport Show 2016 presents an ideal platform for global players to tap into these opportunities, added Qureshi. Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet... My curiosity was aroused by this sentence: His manual typewriter rather suitably, in the light of his faint anarchist leanings was later bestowed by Sonia on the 1960s hippy-radical news-sheet, the International Times. D.J. Taylor, Orwell: The Life Why did George Orwells widow give the typewriter to the paper? And where was it now? Orwell had died a sad lingering death from tuberculosis in 1950. His life had been bare in comforts, as severe as the gaunt look of him rail thin at 6-foot-3, almost cadaverous, his face a mask of sunken eyes and cheeks. He wasnt the sort to have partied with the pot-smoking crew of free-wheeling anarchists who produced the paper, however serious their anti-establishment ideology. What, in fact, was the connection between the author of two of the most famous and important books of the 1940s Animal Farm and 1984 and the scruffy underground London weekly that began publishing more than a decade after his death? The current editor of IT: International Times, The Newspaper of Resistance, Heathcote Williams, didnt know. The typewriter episode was news to him. What a fascinating tidbit, he said in an email. Id love to know the truth (maybe IT can pretend that weve found it and then sell it to the University of Texas to raise funds for the paper a passing criminal thought!) If anybody knew, it would be two of the founders of the paper, Jim Haynes and Barry Miles, he said, and he gave me their contact info. I knew Sonia very well and lived in her basement apartment in London for one year in 1965. She gave me the typewriter and I loaned it to Tom McGrath, who Jack Moore and I invited to be the first Editor of I.T. Tom had one major bad habit: heroin. I suspect he later sold the typewriter to feed his heroin habit. I never got it back even though I asked him about it a number of times over the years. Tom later died without my ever finding what happened to the typewriter. I am not even sure if Tom knew where the typewriter came from. I messaged Haynes, who wrote back: Miles, it turned out, had mentioned the typewriter in his book London Calling: A Countercultural History of London Since 1945. I messaged Miles to ask if it was the one that Haynes had given to McGrath. Yes, it was the Orwell typewriter that Tom scarpered with, he said in an email. We didnt hear from him for six months, then it turned out that hed returned to Scotland. Im sure the typewriter was sold to get money for heroin. Impossible to trace. I wish I had a picture of that typewriter [that went lost]. I have a vague memory of it being a portable, though a pretty large one, but thats all. I sent Miles a photo that showed Orwell typing on his manual portable Remington. Well, it looks extremely like the one I remember, Miles replied. Cant guarantee it. We should have sold it to an institution where it would have been preserved and used the money to buy two typewriters for IT. Goddam! For further confirmation, I sent Haynes the photo. Yes, he replied. I think this was the typewriter. Tom moved to Glasgow and then later to Edinburgh. I saw him fairly often before he died and I always asked about the typewriter. He always laughed and said he did not know what I was talking about. I never told Sonia Orwell whom I also continued to see until she died. Why did she give Haynes the typewriter? Apparently for the simple reason that she believed in his many projects. I once walked into a restaurant in Paris and saw her sitting with a table full of French intellectuals, he recounted. She called me over, introduced me to everyone, said that I had changed Britain for the better when I lived in Edinburgh and London and that I would probably do the same in France. She was super nice. As he has written elsewhere, she was so nice that all she had charged him in rent for the basement flat in London was the princely sum of serving drinks at her many cocktail parties. I could stop here. I had the answers to my questions. But that would be a disservice to McGrath, who was no mere heroin addict, and it would not do justice to the grandeur of Hayness career. When McGrath was invited to be the editor of IT he had already been the editor of Peace News, the weekly paper of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, CND, which had been founded in 1936 as a radical pacifist journal and in subsequent decades had taken up other antiwar and human rights causes. McGrath was, furthermore, a poet. He had appeared in the seminal Royal Albert Hall poetry reading, in 1965 (the idea for which had originated at a London bookstore where, not incidentally, Miles had been one of the managers). And he was not only a poet. He was an extraordinarily accomplished polymath jazz pianist, playwright, arts activist, and theater founder. Having kicked his habit on his return to Scotland, he became, as described in the Scotsman, a prime mover in the growing Scottish cultural revival of the 1970s. And what, for example, were the projects Haynes was involved in that gave Sonia Orwell her confidence in him? Well, heres the short list: + With Bill Levy, he founded SUCK, an English-language underground newspaper based in Amsterdam that promoted sexual freedom and was the first of its kind in Europe. + He opened an avant-garde bookstore, The Paperback Bookshop, in Edinburgh, and helped start a theater company, The Traverse Theatre Club, which produced Heathcote Williamss play The Local Stigmatic on the recommendation of Harold Pinter, and, when the company moved to London, produced Joe Ortons Loot, which subsequently transferred to the West End and won the Evening Standards Best Play of the Year Award. + He organized (with Sonia Orwell and the publisher John Calder) the first International Writers Conference at the Edinburgh Festival, in 1962, attended by more than 70 writers (including the American writers Henry Miller, Norman Mailer, William Burroughs, and Mary McCarthy; the British writers Lawrence Durrell, Angus Wilson, Alexander Trocchi, Hugh MacDiarmid, Muriel Spark, Edwin Morgan, and Stephen Spender; the Austrian writer Erich Fried, and the Indian writer Khushwant Singh). Its worth noting that after Sonia Orwells death, in 1980, Haynes wrote an autobiography, Thanks for Coming! (published by Faber & Faber). Among his many other books, he has a new one, Trips and/or How I Came to Dine with Vladimir Putin, to be published this year. As to Sonia Orwell, she had a hugely controversial reputation. I showed Haynes what D.J. Taylor had written about her in his biography and asked him to assess it. The gist was that her enemies accused her of being an unfaithful gold digger who married the much older Orwell on his deathbed to gain control of his literary estate and the wealth that was beginning to pour in from his writings, while her friends vigorously pointed out that she was not only a great comfort to Orwell, who valued her enormously in the time he had left, but that after he died she was a diligent guardian of his interests, lending an enormous boost to his literary reputation particularly in co-editing with Ian Angus the four-volume Collected Journalism, Letters and Essays, which cemented Orwells standing as one of the greatest essayists in the English language. Moreover, she died penniless, believing that shed been cheated by the longtime accountant for the Orwell estate. (According to Taylor, it was his inept investments that lost the money.) There is no doubt that Sonia was an extremely difficult woman, Haynes messaged. I happened to like her and found her delightful in every way. But she could be extremely difficult. Definitely an intellectual snob in many ways. Her command of the French language was almost perfect and she could not understand why everyone could not speak it as well. She guarded Orwells literary output and considered it her duty to protect it. She was cheated by Orwells literary agent. She lived modestly. She was probably an alcoholic and drank a vast amount of red wine. Should anyone care that Orwells typewriter went missing? Though I havent asked them, Im sure Miles and Haynes both forgave McGrath long ago. Id even doubt that they felt there was ever anything to forgive in the first place. Besides, where are anybodys manual typewriters now? Postscript: A note about the origin of IT is in order. Miles messages that John Hoppy Hopkins and he came up with the idea for the newspaper. Easter, 1966, they put out a trial-run edition. It was Hoppy who actually asked Tom to come to London to be editor, he says. A telegram to Tom, who was staying in Adrian Mitchells cottage in Wales, simply read Call Hoppy. Tom had recently resigned from Peace News. Hoppy had been one of their regular photographers, as well as a CND activist. Hoppy and I knew Jim because I had met Jim in Edinburgh in 1964 and stayed in touch. Jim insisted that if he came, Jack Henry Moore had to be made a member of the editorial board as well. We very much wanted Jim on board, so we got Jack as well. Miles adds that none of this matters, but I include it here for the record. PPS: For anyone interested in the history of IT, which has outlived all other alt-press papers of the 1960s, Jim Haynes clarifies further: Originally I wanted to start an underground newspaper in Edinburgh and even raised money while I was living in Scotland. When I moved to London, I gave the money back to friends in Edinburgh. I later raised the money to start I.T. from an American friend in Paris, Victor Herbert, who refused to loan it to start the paper, but loaned it to me personally. Later when I attempted to repay him, he refused and said he was proud to have helped launch the paper. I am pretty sure he was never repaid. Miles and Hoppy and Jack and I combined our desires to create a newspaper and we were successful from the start. Miles and Hoppy think I.T. was their idea; Jack and I think it was our idea. In fact, we four created the newspaper. Hoppy knew Tom McGrath. Jack and I also were friends of Toms. Jack stayed with him when he traveled to London before Tom moved to Wales. Tom was often a customer of my bookshop, The Paperback. Crossposted at IT: International Times, The Newspaper of Resistance. Crucial support from Russian air raids. The Syrian army wants to use the area as a base for operations against Daesh and cut the connecting and supply roads. Moscow announces it will send anti-mine experts. The head of the antiquities states that 80% of the world heritage site remains intact. Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Syrian army, backed by Russian air raids, continues its offensive against the militias of the Islamic State (IS) after recapturing Palmyra in recent days. The fighting was concentrated around the towns and villages in the north-east and south-west of the ancient city. It fell into the hands of jihadists last year, who have executed the director of antiquities. The jihadists also damaged some temples and relics, filming and posting online their brutality sparking outrage among the international community. The army loyal to President Bashar al-Assad wants to use the ancient city as a base to launch operations against IS and cut the connecting roads to the jihadists. The military wrested control of the area, after days of intense fighting and the support from Russian fighter jets. The United States also welcomed the re-conquest of Palmyra, while adding that it is too early to say whether this development will have consequences for the peace negotiations in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations. Now the Damascus army is targeting the cities of al-Qaryatain, south-west of Palmyra and Sukhnah, to the northeast. An army spokesman added that the local military airport was already reopened. Meanwhile, the Russian fighter jets are carrying out air raids along the road leading to Deir al-Zour, long town under siege by Daesh [Arabic acronym for the IS]. Local sources said that there are still IS militiamen holed up within the city of Palmyra, who have carried out attacks against the Syrian army using car bombs and suicide operations. Meanwhile, Moscow has announced the dispatch of anti-personnel mine experts and specialized teams to clean up the area around the town and the ruins. Later begin operations to assess the damage to the artistic and archaeological heritage of the area will be carried out although, in a first observation, the damage does not appear to be serious. Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of antiquities, told the BBC that more than 80% of the world heritage site is "intact." Of course, restoration work will be needed, he adds, but "in general we are very happy because I was afraid of more serious disasters." Soon, he concludes, a Unesco summit will be held to prepare a strategy for the city. Analysts and experts point out that the loss of Palmyra is one of the biggest setbacks suffered by the IS since the beginning of the advance in Syria and Iraq, in the summer of 2014. Even Syrian President Assad commented on the operation, calling it a " important result "in the" fight against terrorism adding that it would have been an "impossible" operation without Russian support. The war in Syria flared up in March 2011 as a popular protest against President Bashar al-Assad and turned into widespread conflict with extremist tendencies and Islamic Jihad, so far claiming over 260 thousand lives. It sparked one of the most serious humanitarian crisis in history, forcing 4.6 million Syrians to seek shelter abroad, especially in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Hundreds of thousands have tried to reach Europe, at times at the cost of their lives crossing the Mediterranean. The total number of displaced persons (internal and migrants) exceeds 10 million. by Christopher Sharma The Apostolic Vicar Msgr. Simick urges faithful to help the Catholic community grow through witness and having more children. Slow growth of Nepalese faithful, compared to the non-Catholic population. During the Vigil 35 adults received baptism. Kathmandu (AsiaNews) The Resurrection, "and its proclamation to other people are the real heart of the life of a Christian. When we fail to share this Good News and to communicate it to others, we fail to live our lives as Christians": With these words Mgr. Paul Simick, apostolic vicar of Nepal, urged the faithful gathered for the celebration of Easter to become a stronger presence in the life of the country. During the Mass, during which 35 adults were baptized, the prelate called on the Catholic community to increase its number: "We live in small groups - he said - but this Easter encourages us in a special way to reach as many people as possible with the God News ". There are about 10 thousand Catholics in Nepal out of a total population of 28 million. The laity have promised the apostolic vicar they will do their best to increase the number of the faithful, both by increasing the birth rate and stepping up evangelization. Rajni, a Catholic and mother of two children, said: "The Catholic people live a better life expectancy, but their number is not increasing as it should. I think it's because of the many work commitments and birth control". "We Catholic mothers - she added who live a dignified life, we must be ready to have more children. I'd be happy to have more, it would be a precious gift from God, according to His will. " Satsa Karki, a recently married Catholic woman, adds: "Our task is to reach all people with the witness of our faith. At the same time, I'm happy to give birth to as many children as God will grant me. Children are a gift of God and the more I have the more it means I'm doing the justice and mercy of God". The growth of the Christian community in Nepal is very slow, in contrast with that of the total population, which over the last 35 years has almost doubled. Xi is the first Chinese president to visit the Czech Republic, which for decades backed the Dalai Lama and Taiwanese independence. His visit is expected to bring US.4 billion in investment. Protesters replaced Chinas red flags with those of the ancient Buddhist temple, and chain themselves to lampposts. Prague (AsiaNews/Agencies) Dozens of Czech pro-Tibet demonstrators staged a welcome reception for Chinese President Xi Jinping by replacing mainland Chinas flags with those of the ancient Buddhist kingdom and by chaining themselves to lampposts. At a park near the airport, demonstrators put up a giant picture of the Dalai Lama with the late Czech President Vaclav Havel, a former dissident and human rights activist, with the words, These gentlemen are at home here. However, shortly before the Chinese leader landed in the Czech capital, police removed the Tibetan flags and arrested 12 demonstrators. Protesters also clashed violently with groups defending Czech President Milos Zemans pro-China policies. Xi is the first Chinese president to visit the Czech Republic. The latter used to be a strong supporter of the Tibetan cause and even Taiwanese independence. Xis two-day trip is expected to bring US.4 billion in investment to the central European country. This includes funding for a European international canal linking the rivers Danube, Oder and Elbe as well as investments in local infrastructure and telecommunications. Zeman will host Xi at the presidential residences of Prague Castle and Lany chateau, which has never been opened to foreign dignitaries. The honour drew protests from critics who compare it to the kind of welcome extended to Soviet leaders from satellite states. Critics also noted that the Czech president was the only European leader to participate in the solemn ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. by Nguyen Hung Hanoi (AsiaNews) - To serve a community of believers scattered in the mountains, where it is difficult to move, meet and go to Mass, but where faith is strong and growing every year. This is the mission of Fr. Anton Nguyen Phi Hung, pastor of Quang a Church, Diocese of Ban Ma Thuat (Krong district Noh), who has been taking care of a small poor community in South Vietnam for nearly 20 years. The Quang a church was founded in the 1990s to serve the population of the economic zone of aknong, 250 km north of Ho Chi Minh City, on the border with Cambodia. There, the majority of the population consists of poor factory workers and farmers. The topography of the area is very complex due to the mountainous territory. Earlier, the diocesan priests sought to bring together some small communities scattered in the various districts. The mission of the Church immediately gave much fruit: when in 2008 the church became a Quang parish, there were about 3600 faithful, nearly 1000 Christian families. Of these, 2700 were Kinh [the largest ethnic group in Vietnam - ed] and 800 of other ethnicities. To date the number of Catholics has grown to 6 thousand people, about 10% of the local population. In 1999 Anton Nguyen Phi Hung was not yet a priest and worked as a deacon in the Phuc Loc parish. The parishioners were distant from the church, living in different areas. Hung worked hard to re-establish contact and bring people together, going to visit them despite the difficulties. The parishioners were very impressed by his attitude and on a local blog wrote: "Brother Hung visited us. He climbed mountains and forded rivers to reach every single household. Thanks to his regular visits, over many days and months, the communities in the district of Krong Noh were reborn". Anton Nguyen Phi Hung was ordained a priest in 2000. Vice pastor at Phuc Loc, he continued his missionary work. In 2001 he baptized hundreds of people, adults and children, and also "legalized" hundreds of marriages between Catholics and non-Catholics. In 2006, the vicar of Phuc Loc entrusted the Noh Krong district to Fr. Hung where he organizes the apostolate with lay people, setting up charity events and catechesis for young people and adults. To go to Mass in the parish of Quang a, the faithful must also travel 70-80 km. For this reason, Fr. Hung has built five sub-parishes. Every year the priest baptizes about 200 catechumens. How To Deal With Ingrown Hairs Dermatologists Reveal How To Deal With Ingrown Hairs - The Right Way To smite thine enemy, first you must know thine enemy: ingrown hairs are ugly beasts that can ruin your day. But theyre not mythical monster; theyre medical ones. Specifically, they are defined as curled hairs that grow sideways under the skin rather than outward, causing irritation and producing a raised red bump or painful sore. Ouch. Ingrowns usually come from some method of hair removal, whether its shaving, plucking, waxing or threading. They can be itchy and uncomfortable, house a small amount of pus, and even display the offending hair through a small area of translucent skin. This all sounds pretty gross, no? Well, it doesnt have to. By the end of this guide youll be ready, willing, and (perhaps?!) even excited to take back control. (But at the risk of leaving your curiosity woefully unquenched and for the sake of your very sanity, dont ever Google Image Search ingrown hair. Just dont... ever. Ditto "acne extraction videos" you've been warned.) Lets get started. The Stigma Prevention and treatment are critical (and we will get to them!), but first, lets talk about the stigma behind ingrowns. Dr. Julia Avalon of Avalon Medispa weighs in: After being in the business for over 10 years I realized just how many men are affected by little ingrowns and are sometimes too shy ask about them. Most of them do not even have a clue on how they could get treated or exactly what they are! Fear not, shy guys, we can help. Skin Conditions That Mimic Ingrown Hairs From straight up teenager-style pimples to gnarly bacterial infections, many skin problems can be mistaken for ingrown hair. It may sound obvious, but knowing whats an ingrown and whats just a doppelganger is an important part of treatment. We spoke to the experts about the skin conditions that can mimic ingrown hairs. There are some pretty unsavory look-alikes to watch out for. NCEA-certified aesthetician Kimberly Parent tells us about some of them: genital herpes (STD-formed blisters or painful itching sores); impetigo (a contagious bacterial infection starting with red bumps and developing into honey-colored pustules with crusty yellow sores); and abscesses (inflamed, swollen, pus-filled pockets that are also known as and were not lying - furuncles). But thats not all on the look-alike front. They can be anything from totally innocuous to practically deforming. According to Tsippora Shainhouse, other possible look-alikes include acne (you may remember this from middle school as simply some pimples); perioral dermatitis (a pink bumpy rash); contact dermatitis (flaky, scaly, pink or bumpy skin from coming into contact with caustic chemicals); seborrheic dermatitis (pinkish, irritated, flaky or bumpy rash triggered in greasy areas); folliculitis (pink bumpy inflammation of the hair follicles that sometimes leads to pustules); pseudofolliculitis barbae (hard, purplish bumps that develop from inflammation of hair follicles); sebaceous hyperplasia (enlarged oil glands that look like fleshy bumps); and keratosis pilaris (a buildup of skin that leads to bumps). Here are a few more skin conditions for you to watch out for: eczema (thick, blistery, crusty skin also known as skin asthma), heat rash (also known as miliaria, which is not to be confused with malaria!), dry skin, and whiteheads (you may also remember these bad boys from your greasy teenage days). As you can see, there are lots of nasty skin conditions out there. So let us be clear: this is by no means a complete list of what to watch out for, so go see a specialist for the proper diagnosis! RELATED: Top 10 Common Shaving Problems The Most Affected Skin Types The human race is filled with beautiful people of all shapes, sizes and colors. What could set ones sensitive skin ablaze with irritation could be a soothing scrub for anothers hardier epidermis. Tsippora Shainhouse of Rapaport Dermatology of Beverly Hills provides an idea of the skin types and parts of the body that are the most affected by ingrowns. In men, ingrown hairs usually show up on the face, neck and groin. Yep, all the most visible and/or most sensitive areas of the body we specifically don't want them showing up on. And bad news, black-skinned and Hispanic guys: you tend to have coarser hair and this tightly curled hair is more likely to become ingrown. Prevention When Youre Showering Aside from cleanliness (which weve heard is right up there next to something important from the Bible), showering is a good ingrown prevention tactic. Jennie Ann Freiman, MD, founder of wellness blog OObroo Tips, offers up a simple fix: the loofah. No need for fancy products; when men shave, wax or use whatever their preferred method to control the fuzz, skin grows over the treated area and traps the newly growing hair below it, leading to ingrowns. So the best thing to do is loofah daily, disrupting the newly growing skin and preventing it from trapping newly growing hair. When it comes to preventing ingrown hairs, your two main categories of prevention, according to Freiman, are mechanical and chemical. Those interested in wellness often choose mechanical over chemical, and the best example of that is a plant-based based loofah (as opposed to synthetic options such as plastic). There are other natural choices such as the (generally coarser) sea sponge, but the texture of the loofah is ideal for gentle exfoliation. More on Proper Loofahing Its not rocket science: wet the loofah to soften it, then exfoliate, then focus on actually washing your body using a circular motion to remove dead skin and loosen embedded hair. That means no scrubbing like youre furiously buffing a dent out of the hood of your Ferrari. With regular use, loofahing works as a prevention, not as a treatment. So on average, says Freiman, you should loofah twice a week. But treat it with care, as if it were a towel: let it dry out thoroughly between each use, launder it regularly in hot water (the dishwasher works too), and dont share it with anyone. Why? Bacteria can cause folliculitis (the medical term for ingrowns is pseudofolliculitis), so not caring for your loofah can easily turn it into a bacteria and mold breeding ground, defeating the purpose of using it in the first place! One day (maybe after about a month) your loofah will start to fall apart. When it does, dont go on using it until it disintegrates replace it! If youre feeling extra adventurous, an alternative to the loofah is dry brushing, which achieves a similar effect without the water and the concern of mold and bacteria festering in the dampness. (Jennie recommends the Yerba Prima Tampico skin brush made from the unbleached stem of the agave plant.) $9.24 at Amazon.com When Youre Shaving Its not just straight razors and little cuts you have to dab with a tiny piece of toilet paper: shaving is a hazardous activity for those prone to ingrown hair. The founder of Eastside Dermatology and Derm Warehouse, Dr. Alan J. Parks, says that to prevent ingrown hairs, simply make sure you're shaving with a sharp razor or just avoid shaving certain areas that are prone to those pesky hairs. Close shaves are what were fed by commercials and the media, but its actually a very close shave that causes you to get ingrowns. Dr. Schultz recommends shaving only at the end of the shower, shaving with the grain, using a shaving gel, and (for goodness sake) dont push too hard on the razor. The best way to keep your razor as sharp as, well, a razor? According to Jeffen Mok of Cutman Skincare fame, the best way to keep your razor blade sharp is to keep it dry because a wet blade speeds up oxidization, which creates rusting and dullness. So use a towel or blow dryer after shaving. Another good way to keep your razor bone dry is to coat it with mineral oil, baby oil, or grapeseed oil, which wicks the water off while adding the benefit of extra lubrication for shaving. A final tip from the writer: you can also blow furiously on your razor (think of trying to inflate a huge balloon) after youve washed it off to ensure every last droplet of water is gone. Theres an effective prevention idea that goes beyond blade shaving: brush shaving. Instead of the ol palm-on-face method, Dhaval G. Bhanusali, dermatologist at Sadick Dermatology, recommends you lather up with a shaving brush (which helps hairs stand straight up). This leads to a cleaner cut and fewer ingrown hairs, according to the doc. Bhanusali cites companies like Art of Shaving and Bevel for good shave brush options. Most of my patients have significant reductions [of ingrown hairs] once they start doing this. He also recommends switching to single blade razors, since the fresh edge for each minimizes dullness and prevents uneven cuts. Putting cold water on your face after shaving also helps to decrease inflammation, says the doctor. Pre-shave oil softens the hairs, leading to a cleaner cut and less chance of ingrowns. Bhanusali personally uses (and suggests trying) the Art of Shavings sandalwood Pre-Shave Oil. The oil is a bit thicker than others, so its ideal for those who tend to get razor burn or razor bumps (folliculitis) after shaving. (The more viscous the oil, the more of a barrier there will be for the blades to glide over.) It also has olive oil in it, which is great for softening the skin (they used it in ancient times too, if you wanna rack up some retro points) as well as castor oil, which is an excellent exfoliator to keep pores clear. $25.00 at TheArtOfShaving.com Youve heard it before, but it cant be overstated enough: dont shave against the grain. Founder of Cutman Skincare, Jeffen Mok, warns not to do this because it cuts the hair beneath the skin, and may pivot the direction of the hair, making it grow right back into the skin which, as weve seen, is not ideal! Pulling the skin taut while shaving can cause the remaining hair shaft to retract into the skin and have difficulty making its way back to the skin surface. Tsippora Shainhouse, board certified dermatologist at Rapderm in Beverly Hills and clinical instructor at the University of Southern California, goes more in depth to educate us. She says that waxing and plucking out hairs by the root can cause inflammation and even scarring in the hair follicle, which can make it difficult for new hairs to find the skin surface and grow out. Oy. As is the case with just about any other medical condition, prevention is the best medicine. The takeaway is simple: only shave in the direction of hair growth; try your best to shave over each area only once; and try a less close shave (think the two-blade razors of the days of yore rather than the five-bladed monstrosities of today). She also recommends using a face wash with salicylic acid (a safe acid variant that is also found in acne cream) if your skin can tolerate it, since they can be slightly harsh to sensitive skin. Shainhouse also says to consider applying an acne treatment or mild cortisone cream after shaving to minimize or eliminate normal inflammation. Want to keep ingrown hairs from plaguing your poor face, underarms, groin and other ultra-sensitive areas? NYC-based dermatologist Dr. Janet Prystowsky wants you to avoid pulling your skin tight for that extra-close shave. She also recommends simple abstinence: The best way to prevent ingrown hairs is to simply not shave or wax. If you can leave some stubble, do it. Also, use warm shaving lather to soften hair, and make sure to rinse your blade after every stroke. Try not to over-dry your skin during shaving. Dr. Julius of The Few Institute in Chicago and New York City says that alcohol based toners and astringents can be very harmful, so use moisturizing shaving cream, toners, lotions and other products that have either aloe in them, zero or little alcohol in them (which minimizes dryness and irritation), or both. And to remedy dryness after shaving, apply non-alcohol based lotions, making sure the bearded area does not feel dry. According to the doc, This will dramatically help not only health and wellness for the skin but it will appear much [healthier] and less irritated. There are some experts that recommend a more natural way to shave. OObroo Tips Jennie Ann Freiman likes organic, extra-virgin coconut oil instead of chemically-laden shaving creams lotions. And since coconut oil is naturally antibacterial, it helps prevent acne and ingrowns with its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to soften the hair before the razor hits. DIY Methods Store-bought products arent the only way to get things done. Julia from Avalon Medispa recommends DIY prevention with a mild glycolic chemical peel, such as Caudali Glycolic Peel, which can also help you leave your skin smooth and help prevent and reduce ingrown hairs. She offers some insight on best practices if you decide to use a peel. First, make sure you are starting out gradually to see your bodys response. Do a little test spot on a hidden area thats close enough to the treatment site. If you see no adverse reactions or mild redness (stinging can occur) then apply the product normally. Increase the frequency of use based on your bodys tolerance of it. Start with every two weeks for the first month or so, and then up to once a week. Also make sure to wear sunblock containing titanium dioxide and zinc oxide to help prevent any pigmentation issues if you are in the sun. When Youre Getting Your Beauty Rest We love getting a good nights rest and knowing your skin is healing while you rest makes it even better. Dr. Julius of The Few Institute offers up a good idea for prevention: the use of retinol-based topical applicants at night for while-you-sleep skincare to help exfoliate dead layers, keep pores clear, and prevent clogging that can result in ingrown hairs. More On Exfoliation Exfoliation might bring to mind images of a caterpillar turning into a beautiful butterfly. And really, its not all that different for us. Dr. Alain Michon, MD, CCFP-EM, and Medical Director of Originis Clinic, says that when it comes to ingrown hair prevention, exfoliation is absolutely key. Ingrown hairs are more likely to occur if you have dead skin cells. The solution? Exfoliate the day before and the day after shaving or any waxing treatment. To do this, you can use a chemical exfoliant (with alpha-hydroxy acid or salicylic acid), an exfoliating glove, or get a professional exfoliation at your local skin-focused clinic. But to avoid all of this, Dr. Alain says, just consider laser hair removal. After all, the occurrence of ingrown hair is a risk with any shaving or waxing procedure. When Youre Seeing A Professional From last therapy to dangerous needle-based activities there are plenty of reasons to go see a professional. Instead of shaving or waxing, Dr. Michael Swann, board certified dermatologist in Springfield, MO, has an effective (but costly!) option that seems to be popular with a lot of dermatologists: laser hair removal. It heats the hair shaft inside the skin so the hair bulb can't produce hair, which is safe for all but the darkest skin types. Beverly Hills dermatologist Tsippora Shainhouse agrees that for stubborn-to-treat areas like the neck, we should consider laser hair removal. Want shaving, waxing and embarrassing bumps to go a heck of a lot lower on your stuff-to-worry-about list? Julia Avalon strongly recommends a package treatment of laser hair removal if you are prone to ingrown hairs and the suffering is just too much. On average, her clients need about six to nine treatments to achieve their desired results. If done correctly, clients report that not only does their hair grow at a much slower rate, but it also becomes thinner and lighter after just a couple of treatments. This greatly helps with ingrowns and achieves nice, smooth skin. Theres no surefire way of preventing ingrown follicles, but there some pretty surefire treatments. Alina Baciu, general surgery resident and editor for Tryhealthier.com, offers up further facts on laser treatment. IPL (intense pulsed light) is one example of a laser technique that concentrates on destroying cells at the base of the hair follicle to prevent hair growth. Its important to note that while its very effective, hair will begin to grow at a normal rate around six to seven months after treatment. And if the ingrown hairs are really severe, antibiotic gels might be the answer. Dermatologist Dhaval G. Bhanusali at Sadick Dermatology suggests adding a prescription gel (like clindamycin). Treatment Exfoliating Out with the old, in with the new. Julia Avalon, owner/manager of Avalon Medispa, has a lot of clients that worry about ingrown hairs and understands that concern since we know they can cause discomfort, inflammation, scarring and sometimes an infection. Julia recommends St. Ives scrubs to exfoliate the built-up top layers of dead skin, which will allow the hair to break through. Just be advised that picking out the ingrown hair can cause scarring and should probably be an activity reserved for a professional to avoid any complications. From Your Drugstore Finally, a reason to hunker down and organize the cabinet under the sink! Bhanusali wants you to keep a simple, inexpensive, over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream (1%) in mind to help tame inflammation, especially if its painful. Easy! But if its severe or the patient has a history of scarring, he has them come to the office for a steroid injection for the larger bumps. He also has patients use an exfoliating cleanser two to three times a week to remove any debris clogging the pores. The drugstore isnt just for cough drops and condoms. DermTV.com and BeautyRxs Dr. Neal Schultz has a few over-the-counter topicals and simple home remedies for tempering the painful onslaught of an ingrown hair breakout: glycolic-exfoliation serum or pads (such as these BeautyRx ingrown treatment ones). Ingredients like sulfur or resorcinol (which is typically used externally as an antiseptic or disinfectant) could also help. To ease the pain that comes with ingrown hairs, try warm compresses or oral pain medication (e.g.. Tylenol, ibuprofen, Aleve) until you can see a dermatologist to have it drained and/or removed. (Vermen M. Verallo-Rowell, M.D., also recommends a topical benzoyl application of peroxide as an anti-inflammatory.) $30.00 at TendSkin.com How can a hand towel be a medical treatment, you ask? Tsippora Shainhouse offers the simple warm compress as a means to help soften the skin and bring out the hair. But since moisture and heat alone arent always effective, a salicylic acid spot-treatment (she prefers Tend Skin or Neutragenas On-The-Spot) can help peel the skin so the hair can pop out. And if its an angry red and tender to the touch, she recommends applying some cortisone cream twice a day for a few days to reduce inflammation. $6.99 at Neutrogena.com DIY From Your Own Living Space Sometimes frugality is the right way to go. Jeffen Mok of Cutman Skincare has a tip for those dealing with ingrowns: On the cheap, guys can use sugar, salt, or baking soda to create a quick scrub. Aloe vera and green tree oil also help. I dont know if many of us have tree oil hanging around our pantry, but sugar, salt, and baking soda sounds like a super easy scrub to formulate in your home laboratory (read: kitchen). In the event you find yourself with a painful ingrown hair and decide to pass on seeing a dermatologist or aesthetician, there is another option. Avalon Medispas Julia Avalon recommends cleaning the area with alcohol prior to touching it. Just gently apply pressure to the ingrown to help it break through the skin. Or if youre feeling particularly daring, use a sterile (clean it thoroughly with alcohol!) needle or fine tweezers to help facilitate the process. Apply a thin layer of Neosporin immediately after to avoid scarring and infection. Using Vitamin C serums (or even lemon juice) will greatly help to reduce any pigmentation issue that may result. From us to you: please be careful if you decide to brandish a needle for your own home treatment instead of seeing a knowledgeable, practiced professional. Luxury Beauty Products Sometimes treating yourself isnt just a luxury its a necessity. Luxury home beauty and wellness shop The Art of Shaving offers a Shave Cream, which features an ingredient that sounds disturbingly close to the birth name of a hippie flower child: Grass Lily. But unlike hipsterin types, Grass Lily promotes rapid healing of the skin, hydrates, moisturises, relieves skin irritations and is even used to heal burns, cuts, and abrasions. $25.00 at TheArtOfShaving.com From The Dermatologist Not every action should be taken at home. Dr. Janet Prystowsky, board certified, New York City-based dermatologist, has a totally novel suggestion: go see a dermatologist! Sounds reasonable! Lets expand on the value of a dermatologist. Vermen M. Verallo-Rowell, M.D., says to see an American Academy of Dermatology certified dermatologist who, based on your sensitivity, will prescribe anti-bacterial washes and creams with active ingredients such as topical retinoids or other exfoliants for barrier repair that may possibly prevent future ingrown hairs or treat an infected hair especially recurring beard area infections. Speed and efficacy are the name of the game for patients who just want to get it all over with and return home healthy and confident. The fastest and most efficient treatment, according to Dr. Schultz, involves taking the tip of a sterile needle, popping open the ingrown and then applying pressure at the bottom around it to force the ingrown out the way you push out a blackhead. This is something Dr. Schultz does in his office and does not recommended as a home treatment. Dont worry, Dr. Schultz: while some recommend giving it a shot (no pun intended) at home, there arent many of us brave enough to wield a needle as sterile as it might be against ourselves. Chemical depilatories are another option. Alina Baciu of TryHealthier.com goes over this treatment (according to Wikipedia, chemical depilatories are a cosmetic application used to remove hair on the body.) They break bonds within the hair, resulting in the hair breaking off and leaving behind a blunt tip that wont be able to pierce back through the skin. This treatment can also be used by men suffering from pseudofolliculitis (razor-bumps). But dont be overzealous: chemical depilatories will cause skin irritation if used too often. According to Baciu, every second or third day is an acceptable regimen. Alina also recommends a topical application of tretinoin or Retin-A, a compound that works by reducing hyperkeratosis (thickening of the skin), removing the thin layer of the skin in which the hair became lodged when trying its darndest to emerge from the follicle. Also, a solution of eflornithine HCL (hydrogen chloride) 13.9% cream has been used on its own and in combination with laser hair removal therapy to treat excessive hair. From Your Own Sense Of Self Control Dont attack yourself in a fit of ingrown-induced madness. Board certified MD, NYC dermatologist, and founder of DermTV.com and creator of BeautyRx Neal Schultz has just one last suggestion: resist the urge to pick at ingrowns, lest you tear your skin up worse than it was before. Thank you, Dr. Schultz, we will certainly take that under consideration for the sake of our skin. What If They Come Back? The worst thing about ingrowns is that they cant be cured they can always reappear. Dr. Schultz lays down some more knowledge, saying that if you have a recurring ingrown in the same place (think months or a year) that hair follicle will die and it will cease ingrowing. But if it doesnt, your best bet against situations of ingrown injustice is to see a dermatologist for laser hair removal. Like body odor and bad breath, visible ingrown hairs are unwelcome by every single person youll ever meet. And even more importantly, theyre unwelcome by the poor souls who have to deal with the pain, discomfort and gross-out factor they bestow upon us. But hey, thats totally cool, because now youre armed with knowledge on what they are, who gets them, why they occur, how to prevent them and how to get them treated properly if they do appear. Hopefully with these tips youve found a decidedly more diplomatic approach to dealing with them, rather than all-out war (which never ends well). And when all your efforts fail, just go see a well-regarded dermatologist who stays up to date on the latest treatments. Itll be worth it. We promise. The Siberian Unicorn Went Extinct 29,000 Years Ago Trending News: Meet The Siberian Unicorn - The Real Animal Behind The Myth Why Is This Important? Because it's high time we stop using unicorns as a stand in for something that doesn't exist. Long Story Short A newly discovered fossil proves that unicorns were once real kind of. An animal thought to have gone extinct 350,000 years ago actually walked the Earth as recently as 29,000 years ago. Long Story Unicorns are, mostly, the butt of jokes. For instance, if your buddy's trolling the dance floor looking for a hot Asian girl with a British accent who also shares his affinity for playing Pokemon as an adult, you might say he's searching for a unicorn. But a new fossil discovery proves that characterization may not be entirely fair. Not only were unicorns (kind of) real, but they were around a lot more recently than anyone previously thought. Known as the "Siberian Unicorn," the creature was believed to have gone extinct about 350,000 years ago. But after examining a skull fossil, researchers from Tomsk State University actually hung around until about 29,000 years ago well within the range of anatomically modern humans. "Most likely, the south of Western Siberia was a refugium, where this rhino persevered the longest in comparison with the rest of its range. There is another possibility that it could migrate and dwell for a while in the more southern areas," Andrey Shpanski, a paleontologist at TSU told PsyPost. Oh yeah, about that a rhino. It turns out the Siberian Unicorn was less a winged pegasus and more a larger, single-horned version of what we now call a rhinoceros. It over 6 feet tall, about 15 feet long and weighed about 8,000 lb even if our ancestors came across one, they sure as hell weren't riding it. Wikipedia Still it's a reminder that paleontology is a very cool field, and one that's constantly evolving. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question: Could this creature be the root of modern unicorn myths? Disrupt Your Feed: I guess there's a nugget of truth to every legend. Drop This Fact: The Siberian Unicorn's legs were longer than other rhino species, adding to the mythology of it being mistaken for a horse. As one of the fastest growing business sectors, the technology media and telecoms is becoming increasingly important for law firms and two international firms have announced key hires for their TMT practices. Ashurst has boosted its global TMT capabilities with the addition of Nick Elverston and Amanda Hale. Both join from Herbert Smith Freehills , where Elverston is currently co-head of the TMT practice. Hales experience includes a time as general counsel at the UK telecoms regulator.The pair will be based in London but will also work with Ashursts TMT team in Australia to grow the global offering.Meanwhile at Allen & Overy, Tom Butcher returns to the firm to head up the TMT and IP practices in the firms Middle East region. He has spent the past two years at Simmons & Simmons.Gene Kwek has been appointed managing counsel for Bird & Birds IP practice in Singapore. He joins from Infinitus Law Corporation where he was associate director and was previously with Baker & McKenzie Wong & Leow.Kwek also served as brand counsel for Proctor & Gamble where he handled all trade mark related matters for a stable of well-known brands across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Greater China.Gervais Green and Kate Sherrard are joining the Singapore office of Clifford Chance as partners in the maritime, offshore and project finance offering. The pair are both currently at Norton Rose Fulbright in the city state; Green is expected to move in April while Sherrard will not join until September.The developers of the computer language Java are to return to court in a bid to prove that Google infringed its copyright. Oracle sued the internet giant six years ago claiming that Googles use of Java in its Android phones and tablets was an infringement of its IP. Google used the fair use defence but the jury was split.The new trial begins May 9 in San Francisco and now includes 6 new versions of the Android operating system. The $9.3 billion figure roughly equates to twice the profit made by Google in its last quarter and is 10 times the amount sought in the original litigation. Google denies that it has infringed Oracles IP. More data needs to be made available about the amount of temporary workers from overseas in Australia and how long they have been in the country, according to a Senate committee report.The report from the education and employment standing committee makes 33 recommendations and calls for an overhaul of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM).Indeed, it suggest that the MACSM should be more independent and better funded, and undertake the much anticipated review of the working holiday visa programmes.People from overseas can work in Australia on a temporary basis with a number of visa options including working holiday visas, 457 visa and sponsorship from an Australian employer.But there has been a lot of concerns raised that many are exploited in terms of not being paid the correct wage or paying fees to employment hire companies that are beyond acceptable.Among these concerns was that workers from overseas can be coerced into accepting certain conditions and become frightened to speak out. The Senate committee report recommends that people who approach the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) should be dealt with in a manner where they feel able to voice their complaints safely.It also suggests changes to the Migration Act and Fair Work Act to make sure workers who breach their visa conditions do not automatically lose their jobs and ensuring workers can pursue claims against employers or labour hire companies even once their visa has expired.The report; A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, also tackles the issue of hiring overseas workers to the detriment of local workers. It says both should be given the same weight in job applications but employers hiring from abroad should not have discouraged local workers.It goes as far as recommending that Australian employers who hire professional foreign workers on subclass 457 visas should also be required to also employ an Australian tertiary graduate in the same enterprise on a one for one basis.And companies hiring skilled trades workers on 457s should be required to demonstrate that 25% of their trades workers are apprentices.These recommendations amount to a tightening of rules for employer sponsors, which currently need only to look for workers in Australia and certify a foreign worker has a trade or skill in shortage.The committee also recommended a licencing regime for labour hire contractors so that they can show compliance with all workplace, employment, tax, and superannuation laws in order to gain a licence. can u let me know, whether on the visa 190 for Western Australia, would the remote work count as a "Contract of employment"? WA states on their website migration.wa.gov.au/ services/ skilled-migration-wa/ how-to-apply-for-state-nomination Migration WA - How to apply for State nomination ######################## If you are invited to make an application for State nomination from Western Australia you may require a contract of employment. This is a requirement for those who have an occupation on Schedule 2 of the WASMOL, those living in an Australian State or territory other than Western Australia and those who have a restricted preferred region. The contract must meet all of the following conditions: be in your nominated, or closely related occupation; be based in Western Australia, for visa subclass 489 this must be in an area outside of Perth and surrounding areas; be for at least one year (unless permanent); show compensation and benefits; have the name of the employee and the employer; have a job description; and be full time (a minimum of 35 hours a week). You may provide two employment contracts which equal at least 35 hours of work per week. ###################### I found an employer from another State, who is willing to give me a contract and they accept remote work (IT Sector). Would this be enough for WA authorities or i really need to find an employer with HQ in WA, which might not be very easy, since all tech companies are usually based in the US or east coast in case of Oz. please advise asap. thanks Positioned above the S 350d, the S 400 replaces the S 500 in Mercedes India line-up; powered by a V6 petrol motor making 329bhp. German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz today launched a variant of its flagship S-class sedan, the S 400, in India at Rs 1.31 crores (ex-showroom, Hyderabad). The carmaker also announced that the sedan will be assembled at its plant in Chakan, Pune. The S 400 will replace the S 500 long-wheelbase sedan in the carmakers line-up for India with the latter now only being available in the Maybach guise. The S 400 comes with an extensive scope of equipment such as 7-colour ambient lighting, air suspension, four-zone automatic climate control, a 1,540 watt, 24-speaker Burmester sound systems, rain-sensing panoramic sunroof, seat memory and massaging function, and parking assist as standard. Safety features include eight airbags, electronic stability program, brake assist, hill-start assist and Mercedes' PreSafe safety technology along with attention assist. While Mercedes does offer the powerful V8 and V12 options in its S-class range in India, the S 400 gets the relatively modest V6 petrol unit from the E-class cabriolet. This 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged unit produces 329bhp and 49kgm of torque. The S 400 misses out on the nine-speed automatic transmission which comes as standard in the GLE (including the GLE 450 AMG Coupe) as well as the recently launched C 250d, and instead is fitted with Mercs 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic gearbox. The sedan is the carmakers third launch so far this year. For 2016, Mercedes-Benz India has plans to introduce 12 new products to its portfolio. The carmakers S-class line-up in India is as follows (prices, ex-showroom, Delhi): Even though he's Canadian, the place where he carried out his project was India. The Asian country has a vast network of railroads, and trains are still the most important means of transportation over long distances there. But out of all the possible routes to take, the Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express is the most spectacular. Not only that, but it's also the longest, both regarding distance (4,273 kilometers or 2,655 miles) and the time taken to complete it (about 85 hours).Ed Hanley didn't think twice and hopped on the four-day-long journey, taking his camera with him as well. The result is an x-ray of train travel in India, but one that also highlights the things we all like or loathe about this ancient form of transportation. Calling it "ancient" instantly brings us to one aspect that makes train journeys special: it evokes some sort of nostalgia, reminding us of the times when people went across the world, from Paris to Vladivostok, in elegant train cars together with the rest of that time's aristocracy.There'll be none of that in India, though. There, your travel companions will be asking for "baksheesh" (a euphemism for begging), while others will sell you anything, "from a hard-boiled egg to a cellphone battery," Hanley tells Mashable . But this is what taking the train is all about: meeting new people. You're trapped in there for God-only-knows how many hours, so you might as well try to make them fly by quicker.For a photographer, that's pure gold. It's always easier to convince friends than strangers to pose in front of your camera, and that basically means taking care of the hardest part of the job. Browse through Ed's photographs and you can see for yourself.Now, meeting people can be a desirable aspect of taking the train or not, depending on the type of individual you are, but one thing is certain: taking 85 hours to complete what would have otherwise been a six-hour flight requires a very strong commitment. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Ed Hanley couldn't have come up with these images and the gorgeous video had he chosen to fly. Just enjoy. AWD The current-generation Focus is about to expire. Although it offered great deal more diversity than its predecessor, it still hasn't gotten around to turning into a soft-roader, something that will happen next time.In early 2015, the German media was reporting about the next Focus arriving in 2018 with coupe, allroad and plug-in hybrid versions . Evenwas being considered. None of that was ever confirmed until today when Ford of Europe COO Barb Samardzich has told Automotive News that the company is considering rugged transformations of several models.We see a big growth area in vehicles that are a bit rugged. They are not SUVs but they still have a more active look to them, she told Automotive News Europe. What's more, she said the off-road treatment could be applied to any type of vehicle, meaning Ford is looking into one model based on the Mondeo or Focus sedan to rival Volvo's S60 Cross Country. At the bottom end of the spectrum, Ford is looking into a rough version of something as small as the Fiesta. Here, the Blue Oval automaker will be fighting the cheap Dacia Sandero Stepway, the VW Polo Cross, and the Fabia Scoutline.Of course, Ford has never built such a vehicle before, so we don't know what they will be called or how they will compete against the German rivals. Put some black cladding in the right places, a roof-rack and you could get it looking a lot more active, says the COO. However, it's not that simple, as the solid reputation of the Audi A4 allroad or the Skoda Octavia Scout isn't based on thin air and black plastic. 4WD The development concept pictured above started life as a 2016 model year Nissan Navara NP300. When it rolled off the assembly line, the Navara here came with a 2.3-liter twin-turbo diesel engine with 190 horsepower and a manual transmission. As a workhorse, the Navara Double Cab can tow up to 3,500 kilograms (7,716 pounds) and comes with a 5.1-foot (1,578 mm) long bed. The SVM-built Nissan Navara NP300 doesnt do workhorse chores, though.Instead, the engine bay is filled with 3.8 liters of VR38DETT twin-turbo V6 madness and the transmission has been swapped for the six-speed dual-clutch unit of the Nissan GT-R. Of course, SVM has performed some chassis modifications in order to keep that savagery under control.Whereas the 2017 Nissan GT-R makes do with 565 horsepower, the tuned pickup truck ups the ante to more than 800 horsepower and a top speed of more than 200 miles per hour (322 km/h). I dont know what Severn Valley Motorsport was thinking when they developed and built this Nissan Navara NP300, but they deserve as many thumbs up as youre willing to give them. SVM can do much more than this, though.Provided that you have lots of cash to spare, you can ring the British company and ask them to slot the Nissan Navara NP300 bodywork over the platform of an R35 Nissan GT-R. Of course, that includes the powertrain and the independent transaxlesystem of the one car enthusiasts call Godzilla. Make no mistake about it, such a proposition trumps the bonkers Nissan Juke-R 2.0 to kingdom come. BMW is planning to create a hydrogen-powered car, with components for its development ready by 2020 in Europe, according to the executive leading the effort. Target markets for the vehicle include California, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavian nations, Merten Jung, BMWs head of fuel cell development, told Digital Trends. BMW had previously worked on hydrogen cars as part of a pilot program. The automaker revealed a 7 Series sedan with a modified V-12 engine in 2005 that ran on hydrogen. The development for that technology has stopped, because the hydrogen stored in the tank was liquid, whereas contemporary hydrogen drivetrains are gaseous. Development of the 7 Series helped BMW develop a better understanding in the development of hydrogen engines, such as how to increase power and reduce cost and weight. BMW is developing a hydrogen drivetrain with Toyota, allowing the companies to share the burden on the large technological investment. Photos courtesy of Honda. Hitachi and a Honda Motor Co. research and development subsidiary have developed a prototype of a portable alcohol detection device thats tamper-resistant and can be integrated into a smart key. This device can detect saturated water vapor from human breath and accurately measure alcohol level within three seconds after a driver exhales onto the device, according to Honda. Hitachi and Honda collaborated on developing the technology. The two companies also developed a system that can show the measured alcohol level on the vehicles display panel. This system can function as an ignition interlock to stop a vehicles engine from starting when the driver is under the influence of alcohol, Honda said. The prototype has advantages over other ignition interlocks, according to Honda, because other systems require drivers to perform the breath test from the drivers seat inside the vehicle. With the Hitachi/Honda device, drivers can measure their alcohol level from anywhere. Additionally, the Hitachi/Honda device can confirm that the applied gas is human exhaled breath and detect the level of alcohol at the same time. Hitachi and Honda will present the technology next month at the SAE 2016 World Congress and Exhibit in Detroit. Louise Marriott was the 2015 winner of Volvo's Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge. She is the first woman and New Zealander to achieve the honor. Photo: Volvo Volvo Trucks is conducting its annual Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge, with a series of national competitions across the region. These competitions will see participants showcasing their capabilities in fuel-efficient driving as well as general vehicle handling. Winners from each of the in-market competitions will be eligible to participate in the Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2016 Final in Sweden, the home of Volvo Trucks, in September and contend for the title of the regions most fuel-efficient driver. Thereafter, he or she will have the opportunity to represent the region at the Volvo Trucks Drivers Fuel Challenge, a parallel competition run globally, to become the worlds most fuel-efficient driver, according to the company. The Fuelwatch Challenge is an annual competition, and continues to affirm Volvo Trucks commitment to leverage fuel efficiency to generate positive impact, from individual drivers to customers, businesses, the community at-large and the natural environment, according to the OEM. Since its inauguration in 2007 in South Korea, the competition has offered more than 15,000 participants in Asia Pacific an accessible platform to pick up fuel-efficient driving skills and best practices. Louise Marriott clinched the title of Asia Pacifics most fuel-efficient driver during the Fuelwatch Challenge Final in Thailand. Marriott is the first female driver and New Zealander to hold that honor, Volvo noted. During the national editions of Fuelwatch Challenge 2016, drivers will demonstrate their competency in vehicle handling at optimal fuel efficiency. Using Dynafleet, the companys fleet management system, fuel efficiency scores are accurately measured based on four key aspects braking, speed adaptation, engine and gear utilization, and standstill. Data on fuel efficiency, drivers uptime, and overall productivity are collected to gauge contestants performances and identify specific areas for improvement, according to the company. Authorities in Cyprus have arrested a man who threatened an EgyptAir flight on Tuesday, and nobody was hurt. The passenger, Seif El Din Mustafa, who boarded in Alexandria, Egypt, told crew members he was wearing an explosive belt and demanded that the crew divert the Cairo-bound A320 to land in Cyprus. Mustafa was unstable, Cyprus official Homer Mavrommatis told CNN. He kept on changing his mind and asking for different things. His motivation seems to not have been political, but may have been related to his ex-wife. The incident has raised concerns about airport security in Egypt, according to CNN, but its not clear if the man had any actual explosives. Airbus new Mobile, Alabama, plant completed its first jet last week, commemorating the milestone with a maiden flight of the A321 that will go to JetBlue. The $600 million plant, which Mobile announced in 2012, began operations last fall as Airbus first U.S. manufacturing site. The site, which Airbus expects to help fill demand for its A320 series of airliners in the coming decades, marks a victory after Mobiles struggle to win a major aviation employer. The city lost a bid to build military refueling tankers under a previously proposed Airbus contract. The companys biggest rival, Boeing, won that $35 billion contract in 2011 and is developing the KC-46 tanker for the Air Force at its base in Seattle. However, just as Mobile and localmedia celebrated the completion of the plants first Airbus, Boeing suffered a setback in the tanker program. The Pentagon said last week Boeing is likely to miss its August 2017 deadline to complete 18 of the aircraft for the Air Force, according to a Bloomberg report. The new estimate is now March 2018, which could mean penalties and cost overruns that would be borne by Boeing. The first flight of the KC-46 took place in September 2015 and has since completed aerial refueling tests. The testing is behind schedule, according to Bloombergs report, and while the Pentagon reported low confidence in Boeing completing its order by August of next year, the company maintains its still working to meet the deadline. 29 March 2016 13:25 (UTC+04:00) By Nazrin Gadimova James Warlick, OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from the U.S., disproved information on a meeting of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenias head Serzh Sargsyan as part of the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington late this week. There are no plans for holding a meeting of the presidents in Washington, Warlick told Trend, emphasizing that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, brokering talks over a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, are ready to promote an active dialogue between the heads of state this year. Armenian media earlier reported that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Summit to mull the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On behalf of the other co-chairs, I plan to hold meetings with the sides to the conflict to discuss developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Warlick added. For more than two decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevans aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s. The OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, proceeding talks based on the renewed Madrid principles. The statements promising a sincere contribution to the peaceful resolution of the conflict have become frequent, but declarative in essence. -- Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 17:35 (UTC+04:00) By Nazrin Gadimova Armenia, the poorest country in the South Caucasus, is experiencing a deep demographic crisis that negatively affects many spheres, including the country's educational area. The media reports on closing schools in Armenias different regions hints to worsening of social life in rural areas. Sergey Aghajanian, the principal of the secondary school in Dashtadem village of the Lori region, told media that the school has not seen any graduate over the past six years. This school will have a sole graduate only in 2018, only if this student will express desire to continue his education, the principal added. Aghajanian said that the schools have more teachers than students 16 people teach only 12 children. At the same time, the school needs teachers of Armenian literature and language, chess, physics, chemistry and a number of other disciplines. Shortage of skilled personnel is an acute problem of Armenia. If there are any experts that have not left Armenia yet, they have no desire to go in the depths of the country where they will work for peanuts. It is difficult to imagine an atmosphere of melancholy and hopelessness in this school and in the whole country as well. High level migration of people, especially youth, has resulted in the desertification of the post Soviet nation. Falling birth rate has resulted demographic catastrophe in the country's regions, particularly Shirak and Lori suffering reproduction crisis. Lately, Armenian local media reported that the countrys Dzyunashokh village has not seen a birth of a single infant over the past two years. Villages representative Gari Grigoryan said only one or two babies were born per year previously. As a result, villages population has reached 140 people, while this number was 260, according to Grigoryan. Most of the Armenian population left their homeland looking for well-paid job or for job in general. For the first time in nearly 40 years, the population of Armenia fell below the level of 3 million according to the Armenian Statistics Agency. In 2015, the countrys population decreased by 12,000 people, while during the last five years it decreased by 35,000 people, and since gaining independence in 1991 by 634,700 people. Thus, based on the 2011 census, 2.9 million people live in the country as of January 1, 2016. Some experts believe that the phenomenon of emigration is systemic due to Armenias political, economic, social, moral and psychological state. Poverty, corruption, economic difficulties, social vulnerability, external debt and destruction are the main reasons that force people to leave their homes. In fact, labor migration is a worldwide practice for survival. High level corruption and monopoly retain the economic development of the country, while the government has no action plan to improve the situation. The regular protests staged in the capital and regions face brutal police treatment, leaving no hope for better life in the poor post Soviet state. The majority of population see leaving the country as a way out from the situation, and this process seems already irreversible. Those leaving in search of a better living do not return back their home, while the country is getting almost empty year by year. in this situation, only a miracle seems to put life into the economy destroyed by Serzh Sargsyan and his corrupted team. -- Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 18:10 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova While preventing spread of nuclear weapons remain a top agenda of global security, the world leaders will gather in Washington on March 31 through April 1 to discuss the main challenges for international security. The 4th Nuclear Security Summit will convene on a difficult time when multiple risks undermine the global security. Pyongyang's nuclear and rocket programs, terrorist attacks on Turkey, Belgium and Pakistan, as well as security problems in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have put the world leaders under a pressure to find a solution to such global security problems. In the aftermath of the horrific terror attacks in Brussels, world leaders at a special session during the Nuclear Security Summit next week will discuss threats posed by groups like ISIS to urban areas across the globe and seek solutions to counter such assaults. Next week, dozens of world leaders will come here to Washington for a summit focused on nuclear security," U.S. President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and web address to the nation. "Well use that opportunity to also review our joint efforts against ISIL and to make sure the world remains united in this effort to protect our people. Obama invited Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to attend the Summit which will bring together 56 delegation from the globe. The world leaders will discuss these threats and highlight steps that can be taken together to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium, secure vulnerable materials, counter nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism. The visit of President Aliyev to Washington is of particular importance, Novruz Mammadov believes. The deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administrations foreign relations department said in an interview with local TV channel that during the Summit, President Aliyev will talk about the work carried out in Azerbaijan on nuclear safety and on the challenges that are still to be implemented. "Another importance of this summit is that it will hold different meetings, contacts and discussions," he said, noting that such meetings make important steps to uphold bilateral relations," he noted. Today, Azerbaijan, located between East and West, North and South, on the border of Islamic and Christian worlds, plays a specific role in the world security system. Being a reliable partner, Azerbaijan also plays a crucial role in ensuring the energy security of the European continent. In this context, Azerbaijan's security and stability assumes a particular importance urging the partner nations to take necessary steps to restore Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Azerbaijan, located in the heart of South Caucasus, suffers Armenian aggression for over 20 years. Armenian keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory and poses a real threat to the regional security of South Caucasus. Azerbaijan has repeatedly urged the international community to take decisive steps against outdated nuclear power plant constructed in Armenia almost 40 years ago. Addressing the 2014 Hague Summit, President Aliyev spoke about the dangers posed by this obsolete nuclear power plant. He said that this power plant is a big threat to the entire region and the nearby neighbors. "The consequences of any accident will be tragic. Instead of eliminating international concern and closing the power plant, Armenia made a decision to continue operating the nuclear power plant until 2026," the president said voicing a concern that the facility is located in a highly-seismic zone and is based on an outdated and extremely dangerous technology. The Nuclear Security Summit is an important tribune to discuss challenging international problems and to hold bilateral meetings. This year, President Aliyev is expected to hold bilateral meetings with top officials of participating countries. No official information is available about President Aliyev's visit to Washington, but experts believe that the protocol of the visit will include bilateral meetings. Despite the Armenian media's reports about the possible meeting of presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the sidelines of the Summit, this information was denied by James Warlick, the OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair. President Aliyev's Washington visit assumes great interest amid warming relations between the U.S. and Azerbaijan. Experts believe the visit may open a new page in Azerbaijan's cooperation with the West. Azerbaijan remains playing an important part in international security system. Firstly, Azerbaijan plays a crucial role in ensuring the energy security of Europe by its giant Southern Gas Corridor project. Secondly, Azerbaijan is located on the crossroads of significant international transport projects running from East to West and from North to South. Thirdly, Azerbaijan enjoys good relations with Iran, Russia, Turkey, Israel and the Arab countries thanks to its wise and farsighted policy pursued by the government. Since regaining its independence, Azerbaijan has been actively involved in combat against cyber crimes, and showing big efforts in fight against nuclear terrorism. Also, Azerbaijan strongly supports the UN's efforts aimed at strengthening the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. One can expect that Azerbaijani president's participation at the 4th Nuclear Security Summit will lead to further proximity between Washington and Baku, and pave the way for achieving mutual understanding on many issues. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 13:02 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli There are no Azerbaijani citizens aboard the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, Spokesperson for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend. An EgyptAir Flight 181 passenger plane with 56 passengers, 7 crew and one security officer has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked by a man wearing a suicide belt. The plane was on a scheduled journey from Alexandria to Cairo when it veered off course this morning. Sources said a passenger claiming to wear a bomb belt demanded the aircraft to be diverted to Larnaca, otherwise he would explode the belt. After the aircraft landed at the airport in Larnaca airport, the hijacker released all the people onboard except five foreign passengers and the crew. Greek Sky TV channel reported that the hijacker of the Egyptian aircraft has asked for a political asylum in Cyprus. The hijacker of the 320 aircraft has been named as Egyptian Ibrahim Samaha, RIA Novosti reported. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 17:01 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received Ahmed Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahimi, Border Guard Commander of the Defense Ministry of the Arab Republic of Egypt on March 29, Azertac state news agency reported. The Egyptian official conveyed greetings of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to the head of state. He said Azerbaijan and Egypt were friendly countries, noting that Egypt was interested in developing cooperation between the two countries. Highlighting cooperation between the two countries' border services, Mohammed Ibrahimi said the visit of the Chief of Azerbaijan State Border Service to Egypt and his own visit to Azerbaijan would contribute to the development of relations between border services. Describing cooperation between the Azerbaijani and Egyptian relevant agencies, Mohammed Ibrahimi said that this cooperation covered security, military-technical and other fields. Underlining Azerbaijan's good experience in military-technical sphere and trainings, he stressed the importance of exchanging experience between the two countries' border services. He wished Azerbaijan stability, prosperity and development in all fields. President Aliyev, for his part, praised successful development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt. President Aliyev said that he attached great importance to further developing the friendly relations between the two countries. Pointing to successful cooperation between border services, the head of state emphasized the significance of developing relations in the military and security areas. President Aliyev said that high-level reciprocal visits would contribute to the enhancement of these relations. President Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President Al Sisi, and asked Mohammed Ibrahimi to extend his greetings to the Egyptian president. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 17:51 (UTC+04:00) Mobile Eye Clinic, one of the unique social projects conducted by Azercell Telecom, leading company of mobile market in Azerbaijan, has served thousands of children deprived of parental care, as well as the elderly and low-income families. The doctors of Mobile Eye Clinic serving children deprived of parental care, low-income families, refugees and IDPs examined members of Russian community residing in the settlements of Mardakan and Pirallahi. Overall, 99 people were examined; out of which 33 were assigned eyeglass prescription and other 15 people were prescribed a course of treatment by the doctors. All examination and treatment are conducted by Caspian Compassion Project with Azercells support. During 4 years of its operation, the clinics visited several boarding schools and orphanages, including special boarding school No. 5, SOS Childrens village and Gun erzi care center in the region of Agjabadi. The doctors of the clinics visited both Baku and regions. They visited almost all regions in the country and supported people in need for treatment. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 15:37 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Azerbaijan and Egypt may boost cooperation in tourism field, as Cairo is interested in the opening of direct flights between the two countries. Egypts Deputy Minister of Tourism Mohamed Abdel Gabbar stressed that Cairo intends to develop tourism ties with Baku. In this connection we want to open a direct flight between Baku and Cairo or Baku and Sharm El Sheikh, he told Interfax-Azerbaijan, adding that the extension of direct air communication will contribute greatly to the development of tourism bonds between Azerbaijan and Egypt. The deputy minister said that the number of Egyptian tourists visiting Azerbaijan is small and represents about 3,000 people. Abdel Gabbar further said that Egypts Tourism Minister Yahya Rashid is expected to visit Baku this April, which in turn, may be a big impetus for the development of the ties in this sphere. During the visit, the minister will be accompanied by representatives of the hotel business and travel agencies, he said. The ministers visit first was scheduled for late 2015, but was postponed due to the crash of Airbus-321 Russian passenger airliner, which claimed the lives of 224 people, in Egypt. Abdel Gabbar also noted that the establishment of sustainable tourism ties with Azerbaijan will eliminate all the problems faced by tourists. Regarding the prices of tour packages, the deputy minister said that the Egyptian side can offer certain discounts. Egyptian airlines can offer a reduced price on air tickets. It is not low-cost airlines. However, there may be some sort of discounts. Also we can cooperate with or assist any of Azerbaijani company engaged in tourism in Egypt, he emphasized. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Administration announced that it received a request to perform flights on the route Cairo-Baku from Egyptian charter airline AirCairo. However, the Administration has not yet issued permission, as the opening of a direct flight will be possible only after a safety inspection in this direction. Currently, the safety in this direction is being tested, and if the route is found to be safe, air service will be possible, the Civil Aviation Administration said. Cairo and Baku enjoy relations which date back to centuries ago but since the last century they have developed closer contacts. Egyptians and Azerbaijanis have much in common: traditions, culture, customs, attitudes and religion. Since Azerbaijan has gained its independence in 1991, the two countries have started building relations in the political, economic, cultural and educational spheres. Egypt recognized Azerbaijan's independence in December 1991 and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in March 1992. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 13:18 (UTC+04:00) Nigar Mammadova has been appointed as deputy head of Azerbaijans Financial Market Supervisory Body according to a decree of the countrys President Ilham Aliyev, a message released by the body said March 29. Earlier, Mammadova worked as the director of Market Operations Department at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in February 2016 on establishment of Financial Market Supervisory Body. The body was created for the purpose of licensing, regulating and controlling activities of the market of securities, investment funds, insurance and credit institutions (banks, non-bank credit institutions, postal operator) and payment systems. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 17:16 (UTC+04:00) WorldFood Azerbaijan 2016, one of the most important and significant events in the regions food industry, will take place from May 19-21 at Baku Expo Center. Over the years, the exhibition has established itself as a leading event in the Caspian regions food industry. WorldFood Azerbaijan provides a unique impetus for developing the food industry and is rated in terms of the number and quality of food industry professionals visiting. For many years, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan has shown its invaluable support for WorldFood Azerbaijan. The exhibition is organised by Iteca Caspian and ITE Group. Each year, the exhibition features leading manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of food products from both the Azerbaijan and global food markets. More than 200 companies from Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the UAE, Ukraine are expected to exhibit in 2016. Exhibition sectors will include tinned food, dairy products, groceries, confectionary, refrigeration systems, drinks and much more. Also, Azerbaijani companies, which only come to the market of the country will represent a wide range of fruits and vegetables at this year's exhibition. In addition, this year the exhibition will offer a wide range of fruit and vegetables from Azerbaijani companies entering the countrys market. WorldFood Azerbaijanis an excellent platform for discussing the trends and issues for industry development and for presenting new products and technologies. For the first time, pre-arranged meetings between food suppliers and representatives of retail chains and distributors will take place at the exhibition. The B2B meetings provide an excellent opportunity for managers of food companies and representatives of retail chains to talk face to face, establish business contacts, and come to agreements. Ipack Caspian 2016, the Caspian international exhibition of packaging, containers, labelling and printing will take place alongside WorldFood Azerbaijan, presenting packaging equipment for various industries. In order to increase its economic potential and resolve issues of diversifying export structures, Azerbaijan has put a great deal of effort into the development of the agriculture and food industries. The fundamental conditions for producing high quality products for export include introducing new technologies and sharing experience, both of which are facilitated at WorldFood Azerbaijan. The exhibition has established itself as a reliable foundation for holding meetings, presenting equipment, goods and services for the food industry, finding clients, strengthening existing relationships with business partners, and entering new markets. Said Mammadov, General Manager of AzProtein Foods Group We are enthusiastically participating in the exhibition, whose value to the industry is difficult to overestimate. AzProtein Foods Group seeks to contribute to ensuring the concept of food security in Azerbaijan. Participation in the exhibition will also allow us to attract the attention of even more consumers to our companys activities and products and will help us arrange business meeting with new partners. Yelena Lavrinovich, Leading Specialist at the Glubokoye Dairy-Canning Factory OJSC Our debut participation at the Azerbaijan WorldFood Exhibition is an excellent opportunity for direct communication with potential buyers from Azerbaijan, who are interested in receiving information and establishing contacts. It is here that we can assess the competitive environment, track trends in local markets and evaluate our own capabilities. Serkan Altintel, Director for Project Sales, Frigo Mekanik (Turkey) We have exhibited at WorldFood Azerbaijan several times, which in addition to the Azerbaijan market is a priority for us. We have already put almost forty refrigeration systems into operation in Azerbaijan and we intend to expand our presence on the market over the coming years. 29 March 2016 15:19 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova The Russian Information and Cultural Center has marked the World Theatre Day in Baku, Trend Life reports. During the event, students of the Centers department for children's creativity held an open lesson dedicated to Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. The children demonstrated their creativity in oratory skills in front of their teachers and families. Many officials, including the deputy head of the Russian cooperation agency in Azerbaijan Aleksey Konnov, an artistic troupe of Azerbaijan Dramatic Theatre, Director of Theatre Studio under the Russian Information and Cultural Center, as well as people's artist of Azerbaijan Alexandra Nikushina and teacher of the center's studio, Timur Raghimov greeted the guests. World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and is celebrated annually on March 27 by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day International Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day International Message was written by Jean Cocteau (France) in 1962. It was first in Helsinki, and then in Vienna at the 9th World Congress of the ITI in June 1961 that President Arvi Kivimaa proposed on behalf of the Finnish Centre of the International Theatre Institute that a World Theatre Day be instituted. The proposal, backed by the Scandinavian centres, was carried with acclamation. Ever since, each year on March 27, the World Theatre Day has been celebrated in many and varied ways by ITI National Centres of which there are now almost 100 throughout the world. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 12:08 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR will conduct technical assessment of Japanese companies proposals to invest in Azerbaijans oil and gas sector. This was stated by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev at a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Tsuguo Takahashi on March 28. Abdullayev said that the prospects of Japanese companies participation in the project on construction of the Oil and Gas Processing and Petrochemical Complex (OGPC) are being discussed. SOCAR supports proposals of Japanese companies and banks on investments in Azerbaijans oil and gas industry, he added. Japans ambassador, in turn, confirmed the interest of Japanese companies in continuing the cooperation with Azerbaijan. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Japan, Tokyo was one of the first countries to support Baku's forward-looking oil strategy. Today two major Japanese companies - Itochu and INPEX - are involved in the Contract of the Century. Leaders of Japanese business, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Marubeni, and Sojits are involved in energy and infrastructure projects in the country as well. The INPEX Company owns a 10.96 percent stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block development project, as well as a 2.5 percent stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. So far, Japanese companies were involved mainly in projects in the energy sector, but in recent years their interests to cooperate in areas such as petrochemicals, oil refining, energy, medicine, high-tech and space industry have increased. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 18:11 (UTC+04:00) By Nazrin Gadimova Azerbaijan and Indonesia are drafting a memorandum of understanding to further deepen cooperation in the energy and mineral resources sectors, the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry announced on March 29. The draft document was discussed during the meeting of Natig Abbasov, the countrys deputy energy minister and Husnan Vanani, the newly appointed ambassador of Indonesia to Baku. Abbasov, addressing the meeting, said Azerbaijan is interested in expanding cooperation with Indonesia in sphere of energy, adding that the intergovernmental document is of great importance in this regard. "The Indonesian side has sent its latest proposals on the draft document and now its preparation is being completed," the deputy minister added. The sides also discussed such issues as possibilities of investing in the oil and gas sector of Azerbaijan, mutual exchange of experiences and prospects for increasing oil supply to Indonesia. Earlier, the Indonesian government has encouraged the countrys state oil and gas company Pertamina to invest in Azerbaijans oil and gas projects. Indonesia has been importing crude oil directly from Azerbaijan since 2015, which opens up great opportunity for Pertamina to acquire stakes in oil and gas blocks here. In mid 2015, the Indonesian delegation visited Baku to mull energy cooperation and consider opportunities for the joint work with energy-rich Azerbaijan, which enjoys great experience in the oil and gas industry. The trade between Azerbaijan and Indonesia is mostly related to the energy sector, as Azerbaijan emerged as the second biggest supplier of crude oil to Indonesia after Saudi Arabia. The bilateral trade between Azerbaijan and Indonesia reached $101 million in 2007 and increased to around $5 billion in 2015. The trade balance is heavily in favor to Azerbaijan, as the trade volume mainly dominated by Indonesian imports for Azerbaijan's oil. -- Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 16:10 (UTC+04:00) Trend: 16:07 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian 320 aircraft, which landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, has been arrested, Sigma TV channel reported. Reportedly, no explosives have been found on the hijacker. Cyprus government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides has confirmed his arrest. 15:53 (GMT+4) Several more people have left the hijacked Egyptian plane. As shown on live broadcast by the Sky News Arabia TV channel from Larnaca airport, where the jet has landed, at least five people went downstairs, and one, apparently, the pilot, climbed out of the flight deck window, TASS news agency reported. Apparently, all of them are the crew members. Special forces, which are conducing search, meet them in front of the airports building. 15:17 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian 320, which has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, has demanded to refuel the jet immediately, as he is going to fly to Turkey, Sky News Arabia TV channel reported citing sources in Egypt Air. Currently, 8-9 people, including the crew members and several foreign passengers are aboard. 15:05 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian 320 aircraft is the former officer of Egyptian army, newsit.com.cy news portal reported. The Phileleftheros newspaper reported that the hijacker is the former employee of Egyptian security forces. The Cypriot police have demanded foreign media outlets to stop the live broadcast from Larnaca airport. 14:38 (GMT+4) Two more hostages have been released from the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, the Cyprus News Agency reported. Two people left the plane several minutes ago, said the agency. Previously, 49 people and later, five more people were released from the hijacked plane. Israeli, UK, Dutch and the US citizens are among the passengers. The exact number of the people aboard hasnt been specified. It was reported that there were 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard. Currently, three crisis management centers are operating at the airport, according to the Cyprus News Agency. 14:24 (GMT+4)The hijacker of Egyptian A320 jet has demanded the release of prisoners in Egypt, Cyprus Radio reported March 29. 13:57 (GMT+4) Seven people: the captain, the second pilot, a stewardess, a security officer and three passengers are still aboard the hijacked Egyptian aircraft, Egypts Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy said. He noted that there were 55 passengers aboard when the plane was hijacked. 13:50 (GMT+4) Larnaca airport services havent received information about casualties after the hijack of Egyptian A320 aircraft, an official with the airport has told RIA Novosti. The source noted that according to the Cypriot law, only the countrys Foreign Ministry and the Civil Aviation Department can give official comments on a hijacked plane. 13:25 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the 320 passenger aircraft of EgyptAir has released five more hostages, TASS news agency reported. For the present, it is unknown whether the released hostages are passengers or crew members, CBC Extra TV channel reported. The pilots and air stewards refused to leave the plane until the hijacker Ibrahim Samaha releases all passengers, according to the report. 13:01 (GMT+4) Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said that the hijack of Egyptian 320 jet is not a terrorist attack, RIA Novosti reported. Everything is always related to a woman, the president told reporters following the press conference with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz who is in Cyprus. All necessary measures are underway to release the hostages, Anastasiades added. 12:46 (GMT+4) No explosives have been detected aboard the hijacked Egyptian A320 aircraft, Haaretz newspaper reported citing Cypriot sources. 12:30 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian jet Ibrahim Samaha is a lecturer at a university in Atlanta, the US, Al Ahram portal reported citing the sources at intelligence services. 12:02 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the Egyptian aircraft has asked for a political asylum in Cyprus, Greek Sky TV channel reported. During the talks with the Cyprus authorities, the hijacker asked for a political asylum on the island, according to the TV channel. No other demands have been specified yet, said the report. 11:50 (GMT+4) The hijacker of the 320 aircraft has been named as Egyptian Ibrahim Samaha, RIA Novosti reported. 11:37 (GMT+4) As a result of the talks with the hijacker, 50 passengers, except five foreigners and the crew, have been released from the Egyptian 320 aircraft which has landed at Larnaca airport, RIA Novosti reported. They left the plane with hand luggage. 11:25 (GMT+4) The hijacker of Egyptian A320 aircraft demands the withdrawal of police forces from Larnaca airport, Cyprus News Agency reported. Reportedly, eight UK and 10 US citizens are aboard the plane. 11:20 (GMT+4) Around 20 passengers have left the hijacked -320 aircraft which has landed at Larnaca airport. 11:18 (GMT+4) The hijacker of -320 aircraft has let Egyptian citizens to leave the jet, RIA Novosti reported. Moreover, the authorities of Cyprus are holding talks with the hijacker. 11:03 (GMT+4) EgyptAir has confirmed the hijack of MS181 flight and will make an official statement soon, RIA Novosti reported. The Foreign Ministry of Cyprus has also confirmed the hijack of -320 aircraft. I can confirm that it was hijacked. We cant officially provide further details, the ministrys spokesperson told Sputnik news agency. 10:58(GMT+4) An unidentified man, who hijacked the EgyptAir aircraft flying from Alexandria to Cairo, threatened the captain and the passengers that he would blow up the suicide belt, if his demand is not fulfilled, RIA Novosti reported citing Al Balad news portal. Reportedly, the aircraft captain managed to inform the dispatchers in Cairo that the plane has been hijacked and will fly to Cyprus. 10:28 (GMT+4) A-320 passenger aircraft, hijacked by unknown people, has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, Reuters reported citing local media outlets. The plane with 81 passengers aboard was travelling from Alexandria to Cairo. 10:23 (GMT+4) A plane of EgyptAir company has been hijacked by unknown people, TASS news agency reported citing Bloomberg.--- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 12:26 (UTC+04:00) By Aynur Karimova Turkmenistan has considered Azerbaijan's proposal on reduction of cargo transportation tariffs and made a 20-percent discount to Turkey for cargo transshipment through the Caspian Sea. Nejat Fatih Sener, the Executive Director of Turkish International Transporters Association, said on March 28 that the Turkmen government made such a decision on a discount on March 25, Turkish media reported. Sener, who was on a visit to Turkmenistan, discussed the promising areas of cooperation between the two countries in transportation and logistics. Turkmen Foreign Ministry reported that during the meeting, Ankara and Ashgabat emphasized the importance of comprehensive cooperation between the transportation ministries for creating multilateral transportation and transit corridors. Turkey, which is keen on close cooperation with Turkmenistan in the transport sector, intends to increase the cargo transportation with Ro-Ro vessels from Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan bypassing Iran. Turkmenistan sees the transport sector as one of the main areas of cooperation with world countries given the advantageous geopolitical location of the country. Besides the traditionally priority directions of the relations with strategic partners and neighbors, Turkmenistan is carefully studying the new possibilities of interaction with the Middle East countries, including the Persian Gulf. However, today, major part of cargoes is transported through Russia and Kazakhstan to the Black Sea bypassing Turkmenistan. If Turkmenistan reconsiders to reduce tariffs, goods can be transported through its territory. Turkmenistan is also eyeing to be an active partner and participant of the TRACECA program, since the creation of a western transportation corridor from Central Asia is of great importance for reviving the Great Silk Road. Thus, if the tariffs are defined, it will be possible to provide access of goods to Europe via a new route, originating in Afghanistan and passing through the territory of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. -- Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 13:26 (UTC+04:00) An Iranian trade delegation of 110 members is heading to Austria to visit industrial and service centers, get familiarized with management techniques, and meet with officials and counterparts there. The group will take part in an economic forum attended by both countries presidents and ministers on March 30, IRIB news agency reported. The Iranian delegation includes representatives from infrastructural, engineering, agricultural, health, technology, and banking sectors. The visit follows an earlier visit by 200 Austrian counterparts headed by President Heinz Fischer. During Fischer's visit to Iran, two sides signed four cooperation documents to boost bilateral ties in water management and environment protection areas. During Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis visit to Austria, a road map for cooperation will be finalized between the two countries. In an interview with IRIB March 29, Fischer said the sides will sign a number of MoUs on the sidelines of the visit. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 16:42 (UTC+04:00) Iran has lost more revenues from sharp fall in crude oil prices since 2013 than the entire loss under the crude oil embargo since 2008, Fereydoun Barkeshli, former general manager at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in OPEC and international affairs, told Trend March 28. This would mean that from business point of view, Iran should welcome every opportunity, including an output freeze, if there is enough indications that Saudi Arabia and Russia are willing to help coordinate market balance, he added. While 11 of OPECs 13 members, which produce a half of the global oil, say they will attend oil production freeze talks next month in Doha, Iran and Libya have rejected to participate in this issue. In February, Russia and OPECs major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, agreed to freeze oil production at the January levels. Iran aims to produce four million barrels of oil per day. It suffered a severe decline in oil exports due to sanctions. Before the sanctions, the country used to export 2.3 million barrels of oil per day, but it could export only one million barrels per day up to January when the sanctions were lifted. I consider the Qatar meeting of major OPEC and non-OPEC ministers a major breakthrough, very much in line with OPEC tradition and style of shaping up and engineering international oil market, said Barkeshli, adding that in fact OPEC hadnt made such a gesture for years due to the fact that market somehow automatically balanced itself and that geopolitical factors de-linked themselves from oil market fundamentals. In fact, I personally watch the market with some excitement since it reminds me of the 1980s and 1990s when OPEC style was very much in place, he said. However, this time the situation around the market is even more complicated due to the emergence of Russia and the shale oil, noted Barkeshli. OPEC and Russia, in fact, never looked eye to eye when it came to cutting production, though Russian delegates politely attended some OPEC conferences and gave indications of cooperation without giving up a single barrel to support market stability, he reminded. Freeze for freeze is a good start. It is true that neither Saudi Arabia nor Russia have much more to add to the market, but the gesture is positive and in OPEC tradition of reaching consensus one step at a time, said Barkeshli. As for the upcoming Qatar summit, he said crude oil producers are welcome to attend, but there is no formal invitation, adding that Iran will certainly be the last producer to welcome participation in the meeting. Iran has been forced out of the market for some years and all other producers supplied [the crude] at full force, he added. Barkeshli further explained that in the past when a country was deprived of its production quota it was supposed to pass its quota to another member as a quota loan. That meant that once a member was able to return to the market, it would get back its production quota. Of course, unfortunately OPEC gave up its quota policy back in 2012, but no producer expects Iran to freeze its crude production at current level, he said. Barkeshli added that there are currently 1.23 billion barrels of idle crude oil in the market and over four millions barrels of excess daily production of crude oil is supplied to the market. In fact, I believe that even the current bellow $40 per barrel crude oil prices are supported by geopolitical factors mainly in the Middle East, he said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 29 March 2016 18:16 (UTC+04:00) By Fatma Babayeva Lukoil plans to increase oil production in the Caspian Sea by 7 million tons a year after commissioning the Vladimir Filansky field. Lukoil has already approved all its plans for the Caspian Sea. With the introduction of the full capacity in the second offshore field Vladimir Filansky, the company plans to extract additional 7 million tons of Caspian oil a year, TASS quoted Regional Administration in Astrakhan as saying. The company drilled seven wells on its first offshore field Yuri Korchagin last year. Filanovsky and Korchagin fields are located in the Russian section of the Caspian Sea. The Korchagen field, which is developed since 2010, holds hydrocarbon reserves with 3P category in the amount of 270 million barrels of oil equivalent. Previously, Lukoil announced the amount of long-terms investments that will be allocated for operations in the Caspian Sea. A total of 882 billion rubles ($12 billion) will be invested to cover operational costs of the Filanovski field in the Caspian Sea, vice president of Lukoil company Azad Shamsuvarov said at a meeting of the Navigation Board in Astrakhan. The first phase of the project will be commissioned in August, while the second and third phases will be operational in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The company will invest 882 billion rubles from 2016 to 2045," he said. The Vladimir Filanovsky field was discovered in 2005. Proven reserves of the field are estimated at 153.1 million tons of oil with C1 + C2 categories and 32.2 billion cubic meters of gas reserves. Realization of the Filanovsky project began three years ago. However, development of the field was delayed and will be ready to lunch in August 2016. Installation of basic equipments on the platform is almost ready. Initial drilling work will start in May. Lukoil plans to increase oil production in Iraq as well. Lukoil ranked as the second-biggest producer in Russia producing nearly 707 million barrels of oil in 2014. The company's natural gas production came in at more than 92 million barrels of oil equivalent on the year. It has a market capitalization of more than $27.7 billion. In addition to gas and oil exploration and production activities across Russia, Lukoil operates in 12 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Its refining and petrochemical operations include six refineries in Russia and an interest in five more refineries in New Zealand and Europe. Lukoil also operates power generation facilities in Russia and gasoline service stations in Russia, Europe and the U.S. --- Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The Farm Shop & Deli Awards Baker of the Year finalists have been announced. One of 12 different categories at The Farm Shop & Deli Awards, the Baker of the Year finalists are Bondgate Bakery of Otley, Leeds; Dee Light Bakery of Balham, London; and Hambleton Bakery of Exton, Rutland. The winner will be announced at the show, which runs from 18-20 April at the NEC, Birmingham. The awards, in partnership with Olives Et Al, celebrate the best standards, levels of service, product innovation and community involvement in the sector. The team of judges, which includes experts from the world of speciality retail, fine food and food media, carried out a series of secret visits to see the bakers in action. Scores will now be counted and judged, along with online votes from consumers, ahead of unveiling the winner. Nigel Barden, chairman of judges, said: The artisan food and drink market is particularly competitive, and its crucial that we recognise those who are championing the sector by leading from the front. Its important that they can be acknowledged by the public and their peers in the trade. The Great New Idea competition will also be judged that week. Celebrating new product developments in food and drink, the industry will vote on their favourite innovation from entered products in both the Farm Shop & Deli Awards and Foodex, which runs concurrently at the NEC, Birmingham. Kent-based Jestic Foodservice Equipment has announced the launch of a new after-sales division, Jestic Technical Services. Incorporating the ServEquip brand and Hugall Services, two of Jestics recent acquisitions, Jestic Technical Services will provide customers with the reassurance of a comprehensive after-sales solution. With customers ranging from large, high street chains and franchises to independent outlets and operators, Jestic Technical Services will complement equipment sales by offering a range of packages and solutions designed to meet the demands of the individual business. Neill Pearson, service director at Jestic, said: A commercial kitchen is an extremely demanding set-up and one that will naturally take its toll on equipment, no matter how robust a design may be. Jestic Technical Services provides experts available in person and on the phone, who can take care of any issues that may arise during operation. Jestic Technical Services offers nationwide coverage with a first-time fix target of 90%, and a response time of between four hours and the next day. Earlier this month, Jestic was listed as one of Britains most inspirational companies in a London Stock Exchange report. Premier Foods has been criticised by shareholders for its handling of a takeover offer from US spice brand, McCormick. Last week, the Mr Kipling owner announced it had rejected an offer from McCormick which valued the company at 60p a share. At the same time, it announced Japanese instant noodle brand Nissin had committed to buy a 17.27% stake in Premier as the two companies sought to form a formal relationship agreement. However, The Guardian has reported that two large shareholders in Premier Foods, Standard Life and Paulson & Co, which own more than a 14% stake between them, have urged the company to engage in talks with McCormick or other bidders. David Cumming, head of equities at Standard Life Investments, said: We note with some dismay the timing of Nissins acquisition of a stake in Premier Foods. In our view, this does not reflect well on the Premier Foods boards objectivity and commitment regarding its engagement with McCormick and, consequently, its desire to pursue maximum value for shareholders. Although we believe the 60p bid indicated by McCormick is too low, we remain open to a bid at a higher level. We expect the Premier Foods board, on behalf of its shareholders, to engage with McCormick and pursue this option to the full. disappointment McCormick, too, issued a statement, expressing disappointment at Premiers handling of the incident, saying: Despite McCormicks efforts to enter into a meaningful dialogue with Premier Foods on several occasions, the board of Premier Foods has been unwilling to engage constructively with McCormick. McCormick notes recent media comments and wishes to clarify that there has only been one face-to-face meeting with Premier Foods chairman, David Beever, on 12 February 2016. There has been no dialogue at any stage with any other members of the management team or with Premier Foods advisers, who had not been identified to McCormick until Premier Foods announcement on 23 March 2016. However, Premiers chief executive Gavin Darby defended the companys decision to The Telegraph and indicated that it was still open to offers from either McCormick or another company. He said: The Premier board feels very confident that rejecting 60p was a good decision. Warburg Pincus took the opportunity of selling their shares and chose to sell their shares to Nissin. Just as much as it could have been a deal between Warburg Pincus and McCormick. Im sure all three of them were involved. Theyve [McCormick] got to put on the table an indicative offer thats more in line with what the board sees as the value and theyve also got to be more clear on what any conditions are. The ball has to be in McCormicks court. Belfast Chamber of Commerce (BCC) is to lobby the city council to apply for holiday resort status as it seeks to extend Sunday trading hours. The status would allow businesses to increase opening hours for 18 weeks of the year, and has already been awarded to several Northern Irish towns including Portrush and Newry. BCC president Hugh Black said: It [the status] gives the large stores the opportunity to open longer hours for 18 weeks from April until the end of September and we see that as an opportunity now with the number of foreign tourists. Were looking at it now and wed like to talk to the city council about it with a view to having it in place next year. opposition However, The Belfast Telegraph reported the lobby was likely to run into opposition from high-profile figures including High Sheriff of Belfast Jim Rodgers. He said: Sunday should be respected as a day for the family rather than for shopping. Im a big supporter of the business community and I always have been, but I dont think extending the current opening times is the answer. It wont improve the city. He also cast doubt on whether extended Sunday trading hours would boost the economy, saying: Trading hours have increased considerably in recent years and Ive noticed that footfall on a Sunday has been declining. Plans to overhaul Sunday trading laws in England and Wales were recently dropped after being rejected by the House of Commons. Puerto Vallarta a Family Favorite for Summer Vacation Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Summer vacation is almost here and thousands of people return to Puerto Vallarta with their families and children year after year. They think about going someplace else, but many say this is the best location for a family vacation. "It started with my mother and father, who purchased a time share over 30 years ago," says Cathy Gast-Feroe, who visits PV every year. "And much to the benefit of our family, the second generation of our group has been coming here and now our third generation of children are also coming here and we couldn't even imagine a year without Vallarta." "My wife and I first purchased a time share in Puerto Vallarta in 1990," says Chuck Fournier, who loves PV, "We came down here and fell in love, my brain just turns into a marshmallow the minute I get off of the airplane, this is probably the most relaxing place I have been, and I've been all over the world and I just love it down here." Cathy says, "It's low key, it's genuine, I like the history, I like the fact that there is tradition, everything from the cobble stoned streets to the longevity of the people that work here in our favorite restaurants and in our time share, they have become like family." "I've been coming down here for 30 years, and absolutely love it," says Glenda Figns, a time share owner, "I come at least once a year sometimes more than once, and usually during the early winter months. I don't even know how to describe it, the people are the most gracious people, when we first came that was probably the one most impressive thing, plus the scenery that sold us, but we fell in love with the people." Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding areas offer many activities. "It's got everything you would want to do, it's got sun, it's got water, it's got beach, it's got friendly people," says Chuck. And he goes on to say, "There are good restaurants, nice hotels, beautiful things to see, it's lovely, the Malecon, it has everything, and it's got enough outside, you can get out into the jungle, out to the beach, you can just get anywhere, and be whatever you choose it to be." It is not too late to book your trip. Laura Gelezunas is an agent at Ron Morgan Properties, who has lived in Puerto Vallarta full time since 2002 and knows the bay and its neighborhoods. When you start thinking about making the move to paradise, email her at Laura(at)RonMorgan.net. Police officers lined the outside of the lobby at Tampa General Hospital to cheer for Officer Jose Rodriguez, who was released after he was shot in the chest over the weekend. Meanwhile, friends of the man who shot Rodriguez say they're shocked. Whatever was going through his mind, I can only kind of assume he wanted to make a police officer kill him, said friend Richard McNeal. McNeal describes Patrick McManamon as a complicated individual, who spent time in prison. He says McManamon was trying to better himself to get his three children back in his custody. But McManamon told McNeal he recently learned he had terminal lung cancer. The doctors told him his condition was really bad, and he didnt have long," said McNeal. "It didnt look good. Police say another man, Edward King, was with McManamon when the shooting went down, but he was dead before officers arrived. Officers did not say if McManamon was responsible for killing King, but did say they believe the original fight was between the two men. Police have not revealed how the two men knew each other, or how the fight began. The investigation is ongoing. Hernando County deputies arrested a man in connection with assault and kidnapping charges Sunday, while also arresting the alleged kidnapping victim on a separate charge. On March 25 deputies issued a warrant for Ricardo Cleveland Sellers, 26, charging him with aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery, and kidnapping with a firearm. Seller's alleged victim, Michelle Padurano, 26, was reported missing by a family member and a girlfriend earlier that day, around 3:30 p.m. The family member reported that Padurano was last seen with Sellers and several other individuals at a residence in Spring Hill. Padurano's girlfriend reported receiving a cellphone photo of Padurano showing injuries to her face, and that money was demanded for her return. Deputies responded to the house in Spring Hill, where they found drug paraphernalia, blood, and blood-stained clothing. Suspect and alleged victim, however, were not located. Around 7:30 p.m., the family member informed Hernando deputies that Padurano had been found and transported to a local hospital. She was treated for several broken bones. When questioned by deputies, Padurano reported that Sellers beat her at the Spring Hill residence. She was then transported to Shoal Line Boulevard, where they let her go. She then walked to a gas station and called her family. Deputies found Sellers at a Pasco County hotel March 27, where he was arrested without incident. Deputies say Sellers had a previous warrant on him for violation of parole. Deputies also arrested Padurano on March 26 for an outstanding warrant. Manatee County leaders are discussing ways to make getting to and from Palmetto and Bradenton easier. Daily traffic is often bumper to bumper, as thousands drive over both the Green Bridge and the Desoto Bridge each day. The problem is the bridges and roads cannot handle all of the congestion. Its time consuming, thats for sure, said Shawn Brandon, who uses the bridges to get to and from work. It turns into a parking lot after a while. So youre sitting and waiting. The traffic nightmare has been going on for some time now, according to Palmetto mayor Shirley Groover Bryant. Were getting complaints from all of our constituents, said Bryant. Its been going on for several years. Bryant added its not only a driving annoyance, but also a safety hazard, as emergency responders often are forced to weave in and out of traffic. Bryant and other area leaders are now working on a study with the Florida Department of Transportation to try and come up with a solution to the problems. Some suggest building a new bridge, while others say residents should ride their bikes more and use buses. Now they want to hear from the community. FDOT will hold a public hearing on Bradenton-Palmetto traffic flow on March 31, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bradenton Area Convention Center. Officials encourage the public to attend the hearing and express their opinions. Im tired of it being like it is, and we need to take a stand, said Bryant. The community has to get behind it and do the same thing. If you cannot attend the workshop, but would like to give your comments, you can complete a survey on the subject at www.cmnaa.com. Floridas supervisors of elections are calling for changes after Floridas recent presidential primary. They say a problem in the states drivers license computer system led to thousands of voters being turned away at the polls. The voters thought they had been registered Republicans or Democrats, and there for able to vote in Floridas closed primaries. However, many learned on election day that their political party affiliation had changed. RELATED Ion Sancho, Leon County supervisor of elections, says the problem came from a drivers license system that also updated a persons voting record whenever they updated their drivers license in person. The problem is a box on the form next to party affiliation was sometimes left unchecked, inadvertently changing the party affiliation for voters. A screw-up or a glitch, in this instance, is not just merely a mistake, Sancho said. You're potentially depriving someone of a constitutional right, and that's simply not proper, and we need to make sure that if there are errors, there's a way to correct these errors so that the voter is not the one that's penalized. The elections supervisors want to change it so that every time you update your drivers license, you get a receipt detailing all the changes made to the records, including voting status. They want this change made in time for the August primary, will voters will choose party nominees for positions from local races all the way to the U.S. Senate. State Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, is in favor of the change. He also wants to see the computer system fixed in time for the next election. It takes one extra step to make sure we ask that question, so when we come back to this point say, in 2018 for the gubernatorial, this problem won't happen, Williams said. And especially, it should be fixed by 2020 when we have the next presidential preference primary. Tech company SquareTrade is expanding, and Orlando is the second home. The San Francisco-based company deals in warranties, helping customers with concerns about their TVs, laptops and cell phones. Warranties, before we started, were really a bad word, said Ahmed Khaishgi, SquareTrades Founder and CEO. Consumers used to go to a retail store. Thered be a pushy sales person, you couldnt leave the store. You felt bad. If you bought it, you felt dirty. So, 15 years ago, the dad of three started SquareTrade, hoping to change the negative feeling associated with warranties. The idea that protection doesnt have to be a horrible, terrible experience was one that consumers said, Youre right, he explained. The company now works with most major retailers in the U.S., from Amazon to Costco. They will be adding Florida retailer Office Depot next month. Last year, SquareTrade looked to expand from Silicon Valley and searched around the country. Other cities, like Oklahoma City and Phoenix, courted them. But, after talks with the Orlando Economic Development Commission, or EDC, SquareTrade picked the City Beautiful. We looked at a bunch of cities. Frankly, Orlando was an easy one to work with, said Khaishgi. Theres a growing tech scene, there is great talent. And there are incentives: According to the EDC, Orange County offered SquareTrade a QTI, or qualified tax incentive, for their high wage job creation; 31 jobs, with salaries close to $50,000, counted as high wage jobs. SquareTrade did not say how much the wages would be for lower-level jobs. The tech company also got a separate incentive, a reimbursement, if they went through a workforce training program. When you think about all the places that Square Trade couldve gone for their second home, the competition was pretty stiff, said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. On Monday, Jacobs, Gov. Rick Scott and other leaders gathered for the tech companys official inauguration. From the fourth floor of a high-rise off of Orange Blossom Trail, they touted the jobs SquareTrade created and the positive employee experience---as well as the bigger economic picture for the state. Orlando is on a roll and the state is on a roll, said Scott, adding that the state has added over one million jobs in a little over five years. The governor also said that unemployment in the state is down to 4.9 percent, and, thanks to legislature support, $1.2 billion has been cut in taxes over the past two years. As for SquareTrades Khaishgi, his pride lies in looking around the 16,000 sq. ft. call center and mingling with his 120 employees. Hes looking to hire around 60 new employees in the coming months. Its a great space. Everyone I talk to says, many of them worked in customer service jobs before and they say this is such a better place to work, he said, adding of the expansion, [Its] still my baby. Its like a kid going to college somewhere else. Still your kid. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The bucket loader pierced beneath ground level at the site of the Parkdale Mall McDonald's restaurant, revealing a large, brick-lined hole, the remains of a basement. In a city built on gumbo clay with a water table sloshing just a few feet under the surface, a basement in Beaumont is a rarity. A new McDonald's to be built on the spot will not have that feature, said Brian Ellis, chief executive of the 19-store franchise he owns and operates. The McDonald's at the site on Dowlen Road where Crow Road intersects has served burgers, fries and sodas since September 1977, just a few years after Parkdale Mall opened with anchor stores like Sears, J.C. Penney, Joske's and Montgomery Ward. Dillard's is now where Joske's was and Macy's occupies the old Montgomery Ward space. Sears and Penney's are the only survivors of the ever-fluctuating retail business. Meanwhile, McDonald's keeps serving its average of 1,000 customers a day, Ellis said. "We rebuild stores every 20 to 25 years," Ellis said. "Everybody wants a shiny, new car. Or a shiny, new restaurant. When you modernize, you get efficiencies." The new Parkdale McDonald's will be the first replacement restaurant at the location, he said, making the original almost 39 years old. By comparison, the McDonald's in Vidor, rebuilt in 1995, is scheduled to be rebuilt after Parkdale. The original Vidor location also had a basement, Ellis said. McDonald's Corp., headquartered in Oak Park, Illinois, apparently liked basements, Ellis said. When a franchise owner rebuilds, the investment is split with the company, but the local owner controls the design based on corporate guidelines. For example, the former Parkdale building, which had a playground added after its original construction in 1977, was 2,900 square feet. The new building will be 4,086 square feet, according to a building permit at the city of Beaumont. It will have seating for 82 and an occupation maximum of 102 people, with 44 parking spaces. The building permit is for $750,000, but the redevelopment cost is about $2 million, Ellis said. That includes a new interior and equipment. "McDonald's owns the building. I rent from McDonald's. We share in the investment," he said. He said McDonald's is the world's second-largest landowner, behind the Vatican, he said. "You make money in the long run," he said. "If you're going to rebuild, you do it on a schedule everywhere."Across the country, he said McDonald's is 60 percent to 65 percent "modernized," which is about where he is with his stores as well. Ellis said an example of increased efficiency will be the interior soda fountain, which will be increased from four feet in length to 10 feet. The store's 45 to 50 employees were assigned to other Beaumont McDonald's locations during construction and will return in mid-June when the new restaurant reopens. Ellis said he hasn't decided whether to make the location a 24-hour operation like the one at Eastex Freeway and Texas 105. DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach Tim Burton's 2003 film Big Fish follows the fantastical life of Edward Bloom, played by Ewan McGregor as a young man. With stories of giants, witches, and werewolves, the line between reality and embellishment is always blurry in Bloom's tall tales, but we've always been especially smitten with young Edward's discovery of the curiousbut enchantingtown of Spectre, tucked away behind a haunted forest. Years after his first visit, Edward returns to Spectre to find that the once quaint and beautiful little town has fallen into decay and disrepair. The town of Spectre was actually custom built for the Tim Burton-directed movie on Jackson Lake Island, a small private island situated on the Alabama River outside of Millbrook, Alabamaand it still exists! The now-crumbling set is covered in Spanish moss, but shoes still dangle between the poles marking the town's entrance (in the movie, the town's residents all walked around barefoot). Update, March 29: The Orange County Sheriff's Office has reported that an autopsy has been performed to determine the cause of death of Anthony Flores. The results are pending as of Tuesday afternoon. Authorities ask for anyone with information regarding the crime contact Crime Stoppers at (409) 833-TIPS. Original story, March 28: Authorities have scheduled an autopsy today for a 36-year-old man killed in an altercation in Orange County over the Easter weekend. Deputies were called to a home in the 9100 block of Stonewood Drive just after midnight on Sunday. There, the deputies found Anthony Flores on the the floor of the home's garage. Another man, whom the Orange County Sheriff's Office has identified as 58-year-old Juan Juarez Jr, said he and Flores had fought. Juarez Jr. said he hit Flores with a beer bottle, but that Flores continued to fight, according to the sheriff's office. At some point during the fight, Flores was knocked unconscious. Flores was taken to Baptist Hospital Orange, where he was later pronounced dead, according to a news release from the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The cause of death is pending results of today's autopsy. No charges have been filed as of Monday morning. Wells Fargo & Company on Tuesday said the company will donate $40,000 for relief efforts to support those impacted by the recent flooding in Texas and Louisiana. Additionally, from now through April 7, Wells Fargo customers can donate to the American Red Cross at Wells Fargo ATMs in Texas. Customers will not be charged a fee for using this service and 100-percent of the donations will be sent to the American Red Cross, according to release from the company. Have an item for In the Boardroom? Email LocalNews@BeaumontEnterprise.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Heinrich Harder/Wikimedia Commons Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Liz Coleman/Associated Press Show More Show Less 3 of 3 A study published by the American Journal of Applied Sciences is drawing a lot of attention for positing an exciting theory: Unicorns might have been real, and they may have shared the earth with humans. An Elasmotherium sibiricum skull fossil recently discovered in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan is the cause of all the fuss. Previously, scientists believed that anything resembling the mythical unicorn died out 350,000 years ago. The Siberian unicorn fossils found in Kazakhstan are 29,000 years old; scientists believe the first Homo sapiens evolved nearly 200,000 years ago. A 2015 study found medical errors can have long-term negative effects on those providers involved in the incident. As nearly 33 percent of study respondents said medical errors had at least a moderate effect on their personal life, professional relationships and work performance, providers need ways to cope, according to General Surgery News. Here are four notes: 1. The culture of surgery needs to change. Many surgeons feel they cannot openly talk about their emotional suffering because they are concerned about losing their jobs, reputation and professional respect as well as facing medicolegal action. The culture needs to change because the silence around the trauma deters surgeons from speaking about their distress. 2. If patients and providers operate in an environment where it is unsafe to report mistakes, the healthcare system cannot learn how to prevent mistakes and health systems cannot work to improve their systems and policies. 3. Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital offers providers one-on-one and group support following an adverse event. The one-on-one proved most beneficial to surgeons as researchers found many surgeons do not participate in group sessions, or enacted their role as a team leader when attending. 4. If surgeons acknowledge and discuss the emotional effect of an adverse event, they are more prone to discuss errors with patients in a compassionate manner. More articles on quality & infection control: Sen. Ron Johnson looks to CDC for answers in Wisconsin bloodstream infection outbreak 4 quick notes Nonprofit lobbies for prescription database mandate 4 thoughts on AHIMA's petition to create a national patient safety ID The FBI is looking into a possible ransomeware attack against MedStar Health in Columbia, Md., according to MedCity News. Here are five things to know: 1. The health system's electronic health records system and e-mail have been down since yesterday evening. 2. If officials deem the attack as ransomware, it will mark the largest attack on a U.S. healthcare network. MedStar encompasses 10 hospitals and more than 250 outpatient centers throughout Washington and Baltimore. 3. On Monday morning, a virus breached the health system's network, and hospitals started using paper record-keeping once the EHR system was taken down. Two Baltimore MedStar hospitals asked Maryland officials to stop sending ambulances. 4. After MedStar turned on the backup system, Good Samaritan Hospital and Union Memorial Hospital, both in Baltimore, reportedly removed the diversion orders. However, it is unclear whether the health system is back to full capacity. 5. Richard Alcorta, MD, medical director for Maryland's emergency medical services network, said he suspects ransomware. More healthcare news: Practicing engaged medicine at ASCs How videotaping surgery promotes transparency & patient engagement Americans view healthcare system unfavorably: 5 observations Marymount Hospital's ASC turns 18: 4 things to know CMS' first mandatory bundled payment initiative, the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model, starts April 1. Here are 13 things to know about the CJR model. 1. CMS finalized the bundled payment pilot program last November. Under the payment model, acute care hospitals will be held accountable for the quality of care they deliver to Medicare beneficiaries for hip and knee replacement from surgery through recovery. 2. During the five-year program, hospitals will continue to be paid according to existing Medicare fee-for-service rules. However, the hospital where the surgery takes place will be held accountable for the quality and costs of care from the time of surgery through 90 days after discharge. 3. The payment initiative is mandatory for about 800 hospitals across 67 markets, beginning with discharges occurring April 1, 2016, and ending with episodes completed by Dec. 31, 2020. The CCJR model is designed to incentivize hospitals to work more closely with physicians to reduce variation in how they perform lower extremity joint replacement surgeries. 4. The CJR model uses a retrospective bundled payment, in which the submitted Medicare claims for lower extremity joint replacement surgeries will be aggregated to form the episode payment at the end of each performance year. This amount will be compared to the pre-episode target price and adjusted for pay-for-performance quality metrics. Hospitals are eligible to receive an additional payment or may be required to repay Medicare for a portion of the episode costs depending on the quality of care and hospitals' cost performance. 5. The CJR model is DRG-based. Under the program, the episode of care begins when a Medicare beneficiary is admitted to a participating hospital and is ultimately discharged under MS-DRG 469 or 470, and the episode ends 90 days post-discharge. 6. CMS estimates the program will save $343 million over five years, according to The Advisory Board Company. 7. Hospitals are the only risk-bearing entities under the payment model, which requires them to enhance their ability to manage patient care both inside and outside their walls. Care coordination will become increasingly important, since Medicare spending variation for major joint replacement episodes occurs after the patient is discharged. 8. Post-acute care providers will be critical to a hospital's ability to reach bundled savings. Through the program, post-acute providers will likely aim to develop networks, care pathways and delivery patterns with hospitals. 9. Home health agencies will also play an important role under the CJR model. Because the episode of care lasts 90 days post-discharge, independent hospitals will need to contract with care managers and other providers within the community to help support patients after they are discharged and have passed through rehab and/or skilled nursing facilities, according to a Leavitt Partners report. 10. If hospitals have positive experiences with the CJR model, they will be more likely to encourage private payers to create a similar arrangement. However, if they have unfavorable experiences, insurers may seek to prolong current reimbursement models. 11. Many hospital orthopedic programs across the country (56 percent) reported being unprepared for the CJR model, according to a survey conducted by Function and Outcomes Research for Comparative Effectiveness in Total Joint Replacement and Wellbe. 12. The survey also found 75 percent of orthopedic department respondents are actively planning to hire new staff to better meet the demands of coordinating patients and collecting data across the entire episode of care. 13. Although the final rule covering the CJR model does not include waivers for fraud and abuse laws, CMS and HHS' Office of Inspector General did issue a joint statement waiving the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law and civil monetary penalty laws with respect to certain financial arrangements and beneficiary incentives under the model. More articles on healthcare finance: 6 hospitals with strong finances Philadelphia hospital closure leaves 275 workers without jobs CHS spinoff issues 2016 financial outlook In the two months since CEO Nabil El Sanadi committed suicide, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health has dealt with an unending wave of administrative chaos and dysfunction. The public hospital district has been at the center of state and federal investigations, the interim CEO has already been replaced, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has suspended Board Chairman David Di Pietro and board member Darryl Wright and physician contracts are in jeopardy. In March, Florida's Attorney General's Office demanded Broward Health pay more than $5.3 million to settle alleged violations of Stark Law and Florida's Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act. The health system is still recovering from a $69.5 million settlement with the federal government in September. Could the ongoing disarray be setting the stage for a possible privatization bid? At their latest meeting, Broward Health officials said there is no sale or takeover plan in the works, the Sun Sentinel reported. However, the possibility might emerge down the road, especially if Broward's problems result in higher taxes for residents of North Broward Hospital District, according to the report. A group of lawmakers is urging the National Institutes of Health and HHS to lower the cost of Medivation's and Astellas Pharma's prostate cancer drug Xtandi, according to a Reuters report. The request comes via a letter signed by a number of lawmakers, including Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). In the letter, addressed to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and NIH Director Francis Collins, the lawmakers called on NIH to hold a public hearing to consider overriding the patent on Xtandi to make the drug available for a reduced amount, according to the report. The average wholesale price for the prostate cancer drug varies by country. The average wholesale price in the U.S. is more than $129,000, while the drug is sold in Japan and Sweden for $39,000 and in Canada for $30,000, the lawmakers' letter states, according to Reuters. Rep. Doggett, co-chairman of the House Democratic Caucus Prescription Drug Task Force, noted that federal funds supported the development of Xtandi. Therefore, the drug "should be available at a reasonable price," he said, according to the report. Reuters was not able to reach Medivation, or spokesmen for the NIH and HHS, for comment. But a spokesman for Astellas, Tyler Marciniak, told the publication 81 percent of privately insured patients paid $25 or less out of pocket per month for Xtandi last year and 79 percent of Medicare patients paid nothing out of pocket. The spokesman also noted that Astellas provides Xtandi for free to eligible patients who are uninsured or are underinsured and have an annual adjusted household income of $100,000 or less, according to the report. More articles on finance and revenue cycle management: Tampa General to hold topping off ceremony for 1st outpatient medical center Shifting the balance of patient payments: How 2 hospitals are using payment plans to manage high deductibles 2 years after Mass. hospital closes, group calls for restoration of full-service facility Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health temporarily disabled its computer networks Monday after discovering a virus that prevented certain users from logging in to the system. MedStar Health decided to shut down all system interfaces to prevent the virus from spreading, according to a statement posted to the health system's Facebook page. Early this morning, MedStar Health's IT system was affected by a virus that prevents certain users from logging-in to... Posted by MedStar Health on Monday, March 28, 2016 The health system said all clinical facilities remain open and are functioning. The FBI is investigating the incident. The nature of the virus is unclear. Hospital spokeswoman Ann Nickels told The Washington Post she had not been told the virus is ransomware. While the system is offline, hospital staff across the system's 10 hospitals have reverted to using paper charts and records, reports The Washington Post. Neither MedStar nor the FBI have any indication of how long the systems are going to be offline. MedStar Health said there is no evidence information has been compromised. More articles on hackers: Verizon's data breach response division ironically gets hacked 10 Ways patient data is shared with hackers Anonymous hacker suspected of Boston Children's Hospital 2014 cyberattack arrested Beleaguered blood test company Theranos has been accused of overstating the abilities and accuracy of its Edison test. Now, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York have conducted a study of the company's test, according to a Forbes report. The results raise a number of questions. The Mt. Sinai researchers compared results from Theranos' test with results from its rivals Laboratory Corp. and Quest Diagnostics. The study found Theranos sample collection had a higher rate of sample rejection. Additionally, the Theranos test gave cholesterol readings consistently five to 10 points too low, according to Forbes. Theranos responded with a letter calling the study "flawed and inaccurate." The company argues the study authors' cholesterol readings were flawed as a result of their collection methods. The study authors concluded laboratory practice standards would benefit from increased transparency and evaluation. Forbes concluded its article by calling for Theranos to make data on its tests public. Click here to view the full study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Kingsport, Tenn.-based Wellmont Health System and Johnson City, Tenn.-based Mountain States Health Alliance could cut $25 million in annual labor costs if their proposed merger goes through, according to a WJHL news report. The systems revealed that information in paperwork filed in response to questions from the Tennessee Department of Health. A spokesman told WJHL, the $25 million in savings would be achieved through job cuts over time and mainly through attrition. Savings from labor reductions would be invested in new healthcare programs, which would create new jobs, according to the report. Top executives from both systems said it is too early to provide a specific number of jobs that would be cut. However, it will be less than the estimated 600 to 1,000 jobs that would be eliminated if the merger falls through and outside companies purchase the systems, according to Mountain States CEO Alan Levine. "It's not a choice between the status quo and a merger," Mr. Levine told WJHL. "It's a choice between the merger and the systems joining larger outside systems." Wellmont and Mountain States began exclusive merger talks last April. The organizations inked a definitive agreement after a period of due diligence, and the boards of both systems approved the agreement. In February, the systems filed applications for a Certificate of Public Advantage in Tennessee and a cooperative agreement in Virginia. More articles on healthcare industry transactions: 9 recent hospital transactions and partnerships Advocate, NorthShore to offer low-cost health plan if merger goes through UPMC gets green light to acquire Jameson Health System Nine hospitals have filed a lawsuit against Molina Healthcare of Florida, claiming the health maintenance organization failed to reimburse them for more than $88 million in emergency services, according to the Daily Business Review. The hospitals, all subsidiaries of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings, claim Molina violated a Florida law that requires HMOs to reimburse out-of-network providers for emergency medical care provided to their members. The nine hospitals were out-of-network for Molina members from the beginning of 2014 through October 2015. During that time, the hospitals provided emergency care to more than 3,000 Molina members. According to the hospitals, Molina only paid $13.6 million of the more than $102 million in charges for the out-of-network care provided to its members. The lawsuit was brought by the following Florida hospitals: Kendall Regional Medical Center in Miami, Miami Beach Healthcare Group, Plantation (Fla.) General Hospital, JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, West Palm Hospital in West Palm Beach, University Hospital and Medical Center in Tamarac and Northwest Medical Center in Margate. A Molina spokesperson did not respond to the Daily Business Review's request for comment. More articles on healthcare industry lawsuits: Feds want nearly 80k 'sham' event records in Novartis kickback case 10 latest healthcare industry lawsuits The Federal Trade Commission has halted its challenge to the merger between Cabell Huntington (W. Va.) Hospital and Huntington-based St. Mary's Medical Center while it reviews a new state law, according to TheHerald-Dispatch. Cabell Huntington and St. Mary's began merger talks in 2014, and the FTC authorized action to block the deal last November. The FTC alleges the merger would substantially lessen competition for patients and inclusion in health plan networks. To get around the FTC's challenge, West Virginia lawmakers proposed legislation allowing hospital deals approved by the West Virginia Health Care Authority and the state's attorney general to avoid state and federal antitrust laws. West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed the legislation into law earlier this month. At the request of all parties, a federal judge has removed the FTC's complaint against the hospitals from adjudication for 30 days to give the FTC time to evaluate the new state law. The FTC will then decide whether to proceed with its challenge to the merger, according to the Herald-Dispatch. The next hearing in the case is slated for April 25. More articles on healthcare industry transactions: 9 recent hospital transactions and partnerships Advocate, NorthShore to offer low-cost health plan if merger goes through UPMC gets green light to acquire Jameson Health System The following is a list of hospitals for which 92 percent or more of patients reported on their HCAHPS survey that their physician "always" communicated well. Information was pulled from Hospital Compare's most recent data, from April 2014 through March 2015. For reference, the national average rate for patients reporting their physician "always" communicated well is 82 percent. Note: Hospitals with insufficient data, such as having fewer than 100 completed surveys, were excluded. Westlake Regional Hospital (Colombia, Ky.) 100 percent Falls Community Hospital and Clinic (Marlin, Texas) 99 percent Jane Todd Crawford Hospital (Greensburg, Ky.) 97 percent Caldwell Memorial Hospital (Columbia, La.) 96 percent Citizens Medical Center (Columbia, La.) 95 percent Helen Newberry (Mich.) Joy Hospital 95 percent Tallahatchie Critical Access Hospital (Charleston, Miss.) 95 percent Copper Basin Medical Center (Copperhill, Tenn.) 95 percent Clay County Hospital (Ashland, Ala.) 94 percent Orange City (Iowa) Area Health System 94 percent Pineville (Ky.) Community Hospital 94 percent Casey County Hospital (Liberty, Ky.) 94 percent Green Clinic Surgical Hospital (Ruston, La.) 94 percent Lady of the Sea General Hospital (Cut Off, La.) 94 percent Municipal Hospital and Granite Manor (Granite Falls, Minn.) 94 percent Mille Lacs Health System (Onamia, Minn.) 94 percent Webster General Hospital/Swing Bed (Eupora, Miss.) 94 percent Purcell (Okla.) Municipal Hospital 94 percent W.J. Mangold Memorial Hospital (Lockney, Texas) 94 percent Spooner (Wis.) Health System 94 percent Fayette (Ala.) Medical Center 93 percent Elbert Memorial Hospital (Elberton, Ga.) 93 percent East Carroll Parish Hospital (Lake Providence, La.) 93 percent St. James Parish Hospital (Lutcher, La.) 93 percent Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital (Manistique, Mich.) 93 percent Tishomingo Health Services (Iuka, Miss.) 93 percent Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville (Miss.) 93 percent Magee (Miss.) General Hospital 93 percent Boone County Health Center (Albion, Neb.) 93 percent Gouverneur (N.Y.) Hospital 93 percent Muncy (Pa.) Valley Hospital 93 percent Wayne Medical Center (Waynesboro, Tenn.) 93 percent Seton Edgar B. Davis Hospital (Luling, Texas) 93 percent Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin (Glendale) 93 percent Grant Regional Health Center (Lancaster, Wis.) 93 percent Flambeau Hospital (Park Falls, Wis.) 93 percent Lawrence Medical Center (Moulton, Ala.) 92 percent Providence Kodiak (Alaska) Island Medical Center 92 percent Patients' Hospital of Redding (Calif.) 92 percent Jefferson Hospital (Louisville, Ga.) 92 percent Grady General Hospital (Cairo, Ga.) 92 percent Bear Lake Memorial Hospital (Montpelier, Idaho) 92 percent Wabash General Hospital (Mount Carmel, Ill.) 92 percent Taylorsville (Ill.) Memorial Hospital 92 percent Union County Hospital (Anna, Ill.) 92 percent Franciscan St. Francis Health-Carmel (Ind.) 92 percent Avera Holy Family Hospital (Estherville, Iowa) 92 percent Myrtue Medical Center (Harlan, Iowa) 92 percent Clinton County Hospital (Albany, Ky.) 92 percent Rockcastle Regional Hospital & Respiratory Care Center (Mount Vernon, Ky.) 92 percent Breckinridge Memorial Hospital (Hardinsburg, Ky.) 92 percent Marshall County Hospital (Benton, Ky.) 92 percent Springhill (La.) Medical Center 92 percent Desoto Regional Health System (Mansfield, La.) 92 percent Barrett Memorial Hospital (Dillon, Mont.) 92 percent Cadron (Neb.) Community Hospital and Health Services 92 percent Nor-Lea Hospital District (Lovington, N.M.) 92 percent Chatham Hospital (Siler City, N.C.) 92 percent Surgical Hospital at Southwoods (Youngstown, Ohio) 92 percent Advanced Surgical Hospital (Washington, Pa.) 92 percent Dekalb Community Hospital (Smithville, Tenn.) 92 percent Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital (Sweetwater, Texas) 92 percent The Heart Hospital Baylor-Denton (Texas) 92 percent Rollins Brook Community Hospital (Lampasas, Texas) 92 percent Whitman Hospital and Medical Center (Colfax, Wash.) 92 percent More articles on communication in healthcare: ZDoggMD channels Darth Vader in commentary on hospital communication woes The chronic problem of communication: Why it's a patient safety issue, and how hospitals can address it 5 things healthcare organizations can do to improve patient safety today On Tuesday, the Obama administration announced various administrative actions to fight opioid abuse. The announcement coincides with President Barack Obama's appearance at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta. Here are three things to know about President Obama's new opioid abuse initiatives. 1. Administrative actions: In conjunction with the Atlanta event, President Obama outlined several new policies his administration has initiated, including: The HHS will issue a proposal in enable the expansion of access to medical treatments like buprenorphine to treat opioid abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is creating $11 million funding opportunity for up to 11 states to expand their medication-assisted treatment services, including increasing distribution of the opioid overdose reversal drug, naxolene. HHS has released $94 million in new funds to 271 community health centers nationwide to bolster substance abuse treatment capabilities. HHS will strengthen access to mental health and substance use services for patients enrolled in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program plans by requiring that these benefits become commensurate to medical and surgical benefits. These changes are expected to improve mental healthcare for more than 23 million people. The president will sign a memorandum to create an interagency task force, to be chaired by the Domestic Policy Council, to advance access to mental health treatments for addicts. The Department of Justice's COPS program will commit $7 million to a funding opportunity called the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program to enhance investigative abilities into the distribution of heroin and the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids. HHS is issuing guidance for programs that will use federal funds to implement or expand syringe services programs for people who inject drugs, allowing them to obtain clean needles and properly discard used ones. This practice has proven successful in the reduction of HIV. Over 60 medical schools have committed to requiring their students to take some form of prescriber education in accordance with the newly released CDC prevention guidelines in order to graduate. The new educational policies will begin in the fall of 2016. 2. Bipartisan and federal momentum: In February, President Obama asked for $1.1 billion from congress to help fight opioid addiction. The White House wants House Republicans to send the Senate back a revised version of the bill passed in early March to combat drug addiction. The bill passed 94 to 1 with overwhelming bipartisan support. Federal organizations have also stepped up this month to tackle the issue of opioid addiction, with the Food and Drug Administration announcing new safety label requirements for opioid medications and the CDC releasing new opioid prescription guidelines. This could be one of the few areas in which lawmakers from both parties reach an agreement and pass legislation this election year. 3. Uncertainty remains: Though some are hopeful that a compromise can be reached over the Senate measure, its fate is unclear largely due to concerns voiced by House Republicans over federally funded initiatives and the truncated election year, according to Roll Call. Lawmakers will have a lengthy recess in August and in fall they will adjourn to get back on the campaign trail. More articles on opioid abuse: Opioid-related hospital visits almost doubled since 2007 in Mass. HHS issues national pain strategy A third of Americans say physicians are to blame for opioid crisis, survey suggests Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, chief executive of JH Turkington and Sons Trevor Turkington, First Minister Arlene Foster and Agriculture Minister Michelle ONeill Co Armagh firm JH Turkington has won a 12m deal to build new Department of Agriculture premises at the former Ballykelly army base. The Portadown-based firm will work on new headquarters for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs at the former Shackleton Barracks in Co Londonderry. Work is starting straight away on the design phase with the project due to employ 155 full-time construction workers when building starts in July. The project which is costing 20m in total is due to be finished in December 2017. First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness joined Agriculture Minister Michelle ONeill to announce the deal with JH Turkington yesterday. Around 600 civil service jobs will be moved to the site from the present DARD offices in Dundonald the first time a government department has relocated to a rural area. The First Minister said: Relocating Government department headquarters away from Belfast demonstrates the Executives commitment to rural communities in Northern Ireland. The construction of the new headquarters offers businesses, in both Ballykelly and the wider area, huge economic opportunities. Hundreds of civil servants will work and shop in the village which, in turn, will help create many more additional service and supply jobs as well as securing existing jobs. And the Deputy First Minister said the move would build confidence in the community in the area. He added: I look forward to more positive developments at Ballykelly which will benefit all the people of the north west. Agriculture Minister Michelle ONeill said the appointment of Turkingtons was a major step in the project. I look forward to seeing the work progress and am confident it will be ready to receive the first members of staff at the end of 2017. Trevor Turkington, chief executive of JH Turkington, said the firm was thrilled to win the contract. It is just the type of challenge we have successfully delivered for other clients so we are very excited to be part of this major relocation project. The planning committee of Causeway Coast and Glens council granted planning permission to the project last month. The department is planning for 100 staff to have started work from the site by the end of this year, with the rest moving in when the building is finished. Newry-based fit-out firm MJM has bought the majority of the Shackleton Barracks site. It plans to use the 621-acre space separate to the section to be used by the Department of Agriculture as a base for a new business fitting out airplanes. Another part of the site has already been sold to Northern Ireland Water. The main 621 acre site was sold by the Northern Ireland Executive after it was given the space by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Keith Kane in his Carryduff salon, which he will leave this weekend New rules to penalise the owners of empty retail units could be the answer to saving town centres like Carryduff, a Belfast MLA has claimed. Sinn Fein South Belfast MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir said he was championing legislation that would mean landlords would be penalised for leaving town centre buildings empty for extended periods of time. Under the plans, property owners would no longer be exempt from paying rates on buildings because roof tiles had been removed - as is currently the case. It follow news that Carryduff Shopping Centre - one of Northern Ireland's oldest - is on the brink of closure. Hairdresser Keith Kane, the last retailer on the mall, will leave his salon on Saturday as he relocates elsewhere. Mr O Muilleoir said: "Developers are sitting on these key city centre sites, some of which have been lying vacant for seven or eight years. Some of them pay no rates on them. "The Sirocco Works, for example, is a key city centre site of around 16 acres which is lying derelict with no rates paid on it, whereas someone with an empty shoe shop has to pay more. "There needs to be some incentive to encourage regeneration and encourage developers to bring the sites back into use. If there's no incentive they will just continue to sit on the empty sites rather than do anything with them." He added: "The rates burden is high here, but if we share it around those in control of large, key, vacant sites, it would be fairer for everyone." Mr O Muilleoir is proposing that rates are paid on a sliding scale, increasing the longer a site lies vacant. The well-known south Belfast businessman said the proposed rates legislation was needed to "ensure the wealthy pay their way". The MLA said the case of Carryduff Shopping Centre, where part of the roof has been removed, showed the "urgent need" for legislation which would levy rates on derelict buildings and sites. "Banks which own vast assets in the form of valuable sites and derelict buildings - often as a result of businesses going into administration - should be sharing the rates burden with the rest of the business sector," he said. "It's my conviction that by levying rates on derelict commercial premises and building sites, we can spur economic activity." The Department of Finance and Personnel is currently carrying out a review of business rates. Mr O Muilleoir added: "It's my hope that we can start the process, to be continued in the next mandate, of making sure the largest landowners sitting on derelict but productive assets make a contribution to the services the rest of the business sector is paying for." Award-winning hairdresser Keith Kane had run his business at the centre for 28 years but said he now feels forced to move. He is reopening on Thursday, April 7, at the Cyril Johnston Complex at Woodlawn where he hopes to open a hair academy and millinery shop. Carryduff Shopping Centre was opened in the late 1980s. A planning application by owners Causeway Asset Management - part of developer Paddy Kearney's business - to demolish the centre and redevelop the site into 48 houses and retail space is still under consideration. Most manufacturing firms are struggling to recruit skilled workers, which threatens to "derail" productivity gains, a new report has warned. The Government was accused of failing to get to grips with the "skills crunch" despite an expected rise in demand for suitably qualified staff. The EEF manufacturers' group said a survey of over 200 firms found that three out of four faced problems recruiting skilled staff in the past three years. The number of hard-to-fill vacancies remained "stubbornly high" at over a third. Tim Thomas, director of employment and skills policy at the EEF, said: "Despite multiple warnings about the UK's yawning skills gap, the dial hasn't moved since 2012. "Manufacturers continue to struggle to find the right people with the right skills. Undoubtedly this has led to lost opportunities for employers, would-be employees and the UK economy. "Had manufacturers not already been taking action we would arguably already be over the cliff edge and not just approaching it. "The demand for skills is going to soar in response to manufacturers' productivity plans." The EEF called for grants for some apprenticeships. A Business Department spokesman said: "We are supporting employers up and down the country to address skills challenges by pressing ahead with our reforms to education, skills training and higher education, making sure every young person has the skills employers need now and for the jobs of the future. That includes with the new apprenticeship levy putting employers back in the driving seat. "The Government is working closely with the manufacturing sector to maximise productivity and has already taken steps like cutting red tape by a further 10 billion and investing 6.9 billion in the UK's research infrastructure." Belfast music festival Tennent's Vital will play host to Avicii's last gig as he announces his retirement from touring. In a long statement posted on his official website the 26-year-old DJ said his tours and shows this year would be his last as he urged fans to "make them go out with a bang". Avicii's upcoming live dates include appearances at Creamfields and the UK leg of Electric Daisy Festival in Milton Keynes. His final scheduled gig is at Belfast's Boucher Road Playing Fields for Tennent's Vital musical festival on August 26. Avicii, whose real name is Tim Bergling, posted the statement on his website where he said that a drive across America recently with his friends made him realise he "needed to make the change". He said: "My path has been filled with success but it hasnt come without its bumps. Ive become an adult while growing as an artist, Ive come to know myself better and realize that theres so much I want to do with my life. I have strong interests in different areas but theres so little time to explore them. "Two weeks ago, I took the time to drive across the U.S. with my friends and team, to just look and see and think about things in a new way. It really helped me realize that I needed to make the change that Id been struggling with for a while. "My choices and career have never been driven by material things, although Im grateful for all the opportunities and comforts my success has availed me. I know I am blessed to be able to travel all around the world and perform, but I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist. "I will however never let go of music - I will continue to speak to my fans through it, but Ive decided this 2016 run will be my last tour and last shows. Lets make them go out with a bang!" Avicii ended the statement saying he isn't ruling out a comeback but that it won't be right now. He said: "One part of me can never say never, I could be back ...but I wont be right back." He will play Tennent's Vital on August 26 where he will be joined by Jess Glynne and Galantis. A David Bowie tribute concert will be streamed live worldwide in exchange for donations to charity, organisers have said. Promoters of The Music Of David Bowie concert at Radio City Music Hall, in New York, have teamed up with Skype due to "unprecedented interest" to offer fans across the globe the chance to view the evening of tributes. In exchange for a small donation, fans will be sent a link to watch the event live on the evening of April 1. They are asked to donate a minimum of 15 (20 US dollars) via the fundraising platform ammado, which will be given to a range of arts, music and education charities. The British band Mumford & Sons, Blondie and The Pixies are some of the acts billed to perform at the show. The 18 artists are expected to perform a range of Bowie classics in tribute to the late musician, who died in January. Tony Visconti, Bowie's producer, is also expected to take to the stage. A similar show is to be held at Carnegie Hall in New York the day before on March 31. A previous tribute concert - Starman: A celebration Of David Bowie - lasted for four and a half hours at the Union Chapel in Islington, north London, and was streamed live on YouTube. Established artists such as David McAlmont, The Feeling frontman Dan Gillespie Sells, and The Magic Numbers were among the line-up for the January performance. Keeley Hawes has said filming The Missing would be "torturous" were it not for her three children. The 40-year-old actress is starring in the forthcoming second series of BBC One's acclaimed drama alongside The Walking Dead's David Morrissey. The new case follows Sam (played by Morrissey) and Gemma (Line Of Duty's Hawes), whose daughter Alice went missing in 2003. Eleven years later, Alice (newcomer Abigail Hardingham) collapses after being found stumbling through the streets in Germany. Her return sends shockwaves through a small community. During an interview with the Radio Times, Hawes revealed part of her preparation for the role involved reading the autobiography of Kate McCann, mother of Madeleine who has been missing since 2007. When asked if she is able to leave a perturbing subject matter behind after the cameras stop rolling, the actress pointed to her role as a mother. "I think it's much easier when you have three children," she said. "You go home and ... it's inevitable that you have to be there for them, in a totally different world. "When you're doing something like The Missing, it's important to keep things light off set, because otherwise it would be torturous." Told in dual timelines between 2014 and the present day, The Missing follows Alice's family as they are thrown back into a turmoil that threatens to tear them apart. The debut run in 2014 featured Cold Feet's James Nesbitt. Born in London, Hawes' television breakthrough came as Zoe Reynolds in the hit BBC spy drama Spooks. She met her second husband Matthew Macfadyen, who played MI5 Intelligence Officer Tom Quinn, on the set. The couple have a son and a daughter together. Hawes also has a 15-year-old son from her first marriage to cartoonist Spencer McCallum. The Upstairs Downstairs star took the opportunity to talk about more challenging parts for women beyond the usual archetypes of "wife', "mother" or "girlfriend". "It's not going to happen overnight," she told the magazine. "But the more we give people the chance to know that there are those opportunities, the more women will stand up and take them up." After Spooks, Hawes went on to capture the imagination of the viewing public as Detective Inspector Alex Drake in time-travel series Ashes To Ashes, opposite Philip Glenister as the combative Gene Hunt. She starred in the 2010 BBC One revival of Upstairs Downstairs, but made a bigger impression on BBC Two four years later as corrupt policewoman Lindsay Denton in Line Of Duty. A revelation in the role of the amoral policewoman, Hawes was lauded for her performance and received a Bafta nomination for leading actress. She will next be seen in new ITV drama The Durrells, which also features Hollywood film star Leslie Caron, best known for musicals An American In Paris and Gigi. The Durrells is based on Gerald Durrell's trilogy of memoirs and is set in 1935. The story focuses on Louisa, played by Hawes, whose life is in turmoil in the UK. Louisa's husband died years ago, she is running out of money and her four unruly children are going off the rails. Over six episodes, the Durrell family's fortunes will be followed as Louisa decides to uproot her clan for a new life in Corfu. "It's an enormous undertaking," Hawes says of her character. "She's really, really brave." :: The Durrells is broadcast on ITV at 8pm on April 3. Ruth Dudley Edwards' The Seven: The Lives And Legacies Of The Founding Fathers Of The Irish Republic is published by Oneworld Publications (18.99) Her suffragette grandmother Bridget idolised Patrick Pearse (and later Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin), but Belfast Telegraph columnist Ruth Dudley Edwards wanted to dig more deeply into the background of the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic. The result is her book The Seven. The criticism is like water off a duck's back to Ruth Dudley Edwards. Sensitivity isn't in the DNA of the Dublin-born, London-based author, historian and political commentator who's become almost immune to the constant rebukes that her attacks on Ulster's terrorists have brought her. Republicans have dismissed her as pro-unionist and she has received death threats in the past. But the latest reproaches have been for a new book, The Seven: The Lives And Legacies Of The Founding Fathers Of The Irish Republic, a series of biographies of the signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic during the Easter Rising in 1916. One reviewer in an English newspaper said Dudley Edwards had shown an obvious disdain for the men - Thomas Clarke, Sean Mac Diarmada, Eamonn Ceannt, Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett and James Connolly - who were all executed for their parts in the rebellion. The review added: "She attempts to make her villains as evil and unhinged as possible." But Dudley Edwards, who's a former civil servant, described the review as "silly", dismissing the assertions that she'd been trying to demonise the Rising leaders. She said the negative reviews had been outnumbered by the positive ones. And she said there had been mixed ones as well. "I'm fine about genuine opinion," said Dudley Edwards, who had an early introduction to the Easter Rising from her grandmother, who saw the leaders as saints and martyrs. "Granny would have been a dissident these days - if she was still with us. She was obsessed with hating Britain for some odd reason, because she'd married a rather nice Englishman. "She was a fascist as well. She had a picture of Hitler at the bottom of her bed and she'd been in love with Mussolini, and in her later years she took to Stalin. "Virtually from the time I was born she would show me a great big picture, which was an imagined representation of the GPO in 1916, called The Last Stand. I was fascinated by it and my granny would point out what she said were these great men in the very stylised drawing of the scenes inside the GPO, and shows five of the seven signatories of the declaration. "But although they were very familiar to me and I was told they were the greatest men in Irish history, I didn't really know who they were." Dudley Edwards says that, as she was growing up, the story of the "dead patriots" was holy writ and the seven men were idols to thousands of people - including her grandmother. But Dudley Edwards says she was always keen to dig a little deeper into the background of the signatories, particularly Pearse. "We were always told that Pearse was the noblest man in Irish history, yet we didn't know very much about him." Her curiosity about him eventually led to the publication of a biography in the late 1970s - Patrick Pearse: The Triumph Of Failure. "If he wasn't the noblest man in Irish history, he was certainly one of the most interesting; a mass of contradictions and complexities and confusions, partly because his father was a free-thinking Birmingham rationalist and his mother was a completely unthinking Irish nationalist. So, it was no wonder he was rather messed up." Dudley Edwards' decision to broaden the parameters of her historical research into all seven Proclamation signatories came about as a direct result of her extensive reading of a virtual library of new books in the last few years about 1916. "I was reading about these men as walk-on parts in each of their biographies. I wanted to find out how they worked as a group and there'd been no real sense of that, or of what the chemistry between them was like." Dudley Edwards says she leaned heavily on the fresh crop of books about the Rising as she sought to give shape to her biographies of the seven. "I've been frank about it," she said. "I mostly relied on the new scholarship about the men, of which there is tons." She says she wanted to write a book which would be accessible to the general reader, pulling together and making sense of all the research that had already been done into the leaders. She adds that the job of sifting through so much material about so many different people was hard. "But I was very focused on the men's personalities, because there had been so little grasp of them, in a way," she explained. Her book starts with Thomas Clarke, the first and oldest of the signatories, and who many people believe was the driving force for the Rising. Dudley Edward says of him: "He was the son of a British Army sergeant, who was pulled around the world for the first part of his life. He ended up in a very sectarian part of Tyrone and fled to America, because he feared arrest after he'd been caught up in a riot. "Then he was sent to London to dynamite the citizens and was captured and was sentenced to 15 years in jail, where he plotted revenge for the whole time driven by his hatred of the British. "After his release he went back to the States before going to Dublin, where he became the centre of the intrigue and mentor to the young men within the Irish Republican Brotherhood." Dudley Edwards' book charts the progression of how men like Mac Diarmada brought others on board for the Rising, including Thomas MacDonagh, a lecturer in English literature in University College Dublin, and James Connolly, who was "threatening to start his own revolution". She said: "They were a very mixed match and they never had a conversation about what kind of Ireland they wanted. Tom Clarke's preference was for some sort of Fenian dictatorship, while Connolly wanted to light the spark of Marxist internationalism." Dudley Edwards says that her biography writing was normally straight down the middle with her telling the stories of her subjects and trying to understand them. "But with The Seven, I do pass judgment in the last chapter. I think that the men were very interesting people, who took a wrong path, and I believe the Rising was wrong. I don't think there was any justification for it and I think it contributed to 100 years of political violence, because it was legitimised retrospectively. "And once that happened, every next crowd of lunatics that came along thought the same thing would happen with them." Britain's response to the Rising and the execution of its leaders - particularly tying the wounded Connolly to a chair in front of a firing squad - undoubtedly turned around public opinion in Ireland. But Dudley Edwards says: "The British were in the middle of a world war and they wanted to get the Rising sorted out and get the Army out of Dublin as fast as possible. They thought they were being lenient." The centenary of the Rising has been marked by a series of very different events throughout Ireland and Dudley Edwards says the contrast was striking. "The Sinn Fein exhibition in Dublin is full of all the myths and all the usual stuff and it's also full of hunger strikers, because they are trying to get the same status for them as the leaders of the Rising. They're also striving for a legitimisation of the whole Provisional IRA campaign. "I was at a preview of the Irish Government's exhibition in the GPO, which is a very fine commemoration and not a celebration. I have to say that it skilfully looks at everyone's point of view and I think it reflects the mood in the South, where people have rediscovered all their ancestors in the British Army and the police who were written about for all those years." But Dudley Edwards' writing about the Rising hasn't stopped with her book. She's been commissioned by a raft of newspapers and magazines to give her observations on the events of 1916 and their legacy. She has also appeared on TV debates and given talks, too. One of them earlier this week was staged in Trinity College Dublin and was about her aforementioned grandmother, Bridget Dudley Edwards, under the intriguing title 'How my suffragette grandmother became an enthusiast for revolutionary nationalism and other revolutionary relatives'. After a sense of calm is restored in Ruth Dudley Edwards' life after all her writing about the Rising, she will turn her hand again to a lesser known side of her career - as a crime novelist. She's written 12 murder mysteries in which she's been known to bump off a few of her old adversaries, thinly disguising them as fictional characters in her books. She added: "I think I am done writing about Irish history for the moment. "I need to get away from it for a time." Former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt has refused to say that dissident republican paramilitaries should end their campaign of violence in Northern Ireland. McKevitt, who is battling cancer, has just been released from Portlaoise prison after serving 15 years on charges of directing terrorism and IRA membership. In a statement, he said: "It is immaterial as to whether I agree or disagree - armed struggle or guerrilla warfare is a tactic which has been around for hundreds of years. "Historically, the only form of resistance in Ireland that the British actually took notice of, was armed struggle like they did in 1916 and in every decade since." McKevitt launched a stinging attack on his former Sinn Fein colleagues and questioned the party's claim to be republican. "When I look at Sinn Fein, I believe their behaviour is akin to that of the looters on the streets of Dublin in 1916. "They have turned the centenary commemoration into a financial racket, exploiting it for all they can. Shameful is probably the best description that I can use." As quartermaster general of the IRA, McKevitt broke away from the Provisionals to form the Real IRA in 1997 and become the most high-profile republican opponent of the Adams-McGuinness leadership. McKevitt was one of four people found liable in a civil case for the 1998 Omagh bomb in which 29 people were killed. The former Real IRA leader yesterday denied that he had any involvement in the bombing and said he had never been questioned in relation to it. He described Omagh as "one of the worst tragedies of the conflict". He alleged it could have been prevented but for a "conspiracy that involved three government agencies - MI5, FBI and the Irish to a lesser degree, along with their informants". He claimed: "The bombers, whoever they were, were mere pawns in a much larger and more sinister political gameplan." Responding to McKevitt's statement, Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan died in the bomb, said: "Michael McKevitt is entitled to express his political views, although our family hopes for a peaceful future in Northern Ireland, not more conflict. "While the British, American, and Irish intelligence services have major questions to answer about Omagh, dissident republican involvement in the bombing cannot be written out of history. "We want a cross-border public inquiry into Omagh and, given the sentiments he's now expressing, we would hope that Mr McKevitt would cooperate and take part in it." In his statement, McKevitt said his political views hadn't changed during his 15 years in Portlaoise prison. "I have consistently maintained one view throughout my adult life - that the British presence in Ireland is illegitimate and has been the most significant contributing factor to conflict and strife in Ireland," he said. The former Real IRA leader denounced the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as "nothing other than Britain's attempt to stabilise its rule in Ireland". He claimed it had "copper-fastened partition" by "co-opting Irish republicans into administering British rule". McKevitt claimed that opposition to "the continuing British presence in Ireland" was well down Sinn Fein's priority list. "There is no doubt that the Sinn Fein party has developed its base in the 26 counties but the struggle was not about the advancement of a political party that ditched its fundamental objectives along the way," he said. "This same leadership said that they would smash the Union, would never sit in a British parliament and now we see they are happy to participate in that system. "Many of them have carved their political careers on the graves of young men and women who gave their lives believing it was for an end to British rule." The First and Deputy First Ministers are backing plans to make Belfast's most notorious former court into a major tourist attraction. Crumlin Road courthouse is lying derelict in virtual ruins while just yards away the former jail attracts "huge numbers", a Stormont committee was told. Arlene Foster said the "fabulous development" of the jail - closed as a prison since 1996 - made the former court just across the road "difficult to look at". Martin McGuinness said American tourists would flock to take 'selfies' in the dock of the former Crown Court. At present the property - derelict since several fires a number of years ago - remains in private ownership. A feasibility study commissioned by the Department of Social Development is currently being considered by Minister Lord Morrow. Three years ago consultants Turley Associates carried out a building condition study and put forward a range of options for the building. Their preferred option, costing an estimated 12m, envisaged a re-roofing and basic refurbishment of the ground and first floors for a combination of uses such as office space, performance space or cafe. There would also be reconstruction of Courtroom 1, which could be leased to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to extend the gaol tour which can currently go no further than the tunnel under Crumlin Road. The consultants also recommended that the courthouse be transferred into public ownership. Turley Associates design director Justine Daly also added that owner Barry Gilligan, of Big Picture Developments - which had at one point wanted to develop the site as a hotel - had fully co-operated with the Stormont-led initiative. Former Social Development Minister Nelson McCausland said that before the fire damage, the courthouse had been classified as of considerable architectural and historical interest "because of its exceptional features, interiors and environmental qualities". Scene of many infamous trials The trials held in the now derelict building were among the largest in British criminal history. In one case in 1983, 22 IRA suspects were jailed for a total of 4,000 years. In the early 1980s, the courthouse was the scene of a number of infamous supergrass trials, many of which collapsed amid concerns about the credibility of the evidence. A total of 17 men were executed within the walls of the building between 1854 and 1961. The last person to be executed at the jail was 26-year-old Newry man Robert McGladdery who was convicted of murdering Co Down girl Pearl Gamble after a dance at Newry Orange Hall. When the courthouse closed in 1996, one of the jail's notorious inmates, former UVF commander Gusty Spence, told the Belfast Telegraph: "I'll dance on its grave. Shutting it is not enough. I want it razed completely to the ground." Johnny McDaid with his ex-fiance Courteney Cox in Malibu, California, on Easter Sunday Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid and his ex-fiance Courteney Cox of Friends fame have been spotted shopping together in the US, sparking rumours the pair have rekindled their romance. The pair were seen together for the first time since their December split on Easter Sunday in Malibu, California. It comes a week after the Derry man denied rumours that he was dating following his break-up with the Hollywood star. The duo, who were accompanied by Cox's daughter Coco, were said to have looked happy and content. The pair and Coco spent the afternoon together shopping at Sephora in Malibu. McDaid (39) and the 51-year-old actress (right) were engaged in June 2014. However, they called the relationship off four months ago after reports of differences over where to live and how they handled life in the spotlight, which is said to have put their relationship under strain because of their different approaches to fame. Celebrity website TMZ claimed he wanted to return to live in the UK, with Cox more content to remain in America. There were also rumours the Derry man was uncomfortable in the limelight. The separation was said to be amicable with sources revealing the two would often exchange friendly text messages. Following the split it was reported that McDaid was dating former MTV presenter Meghann Scully, however this was denied. It was claimed that McDaid met the Galway woman and former model at a party in Los Angeles recently. A source said: "Johnny is very laidback and often found the courtship with Courteney very smothering. Now that he's single again, he just wants to have fun and enjoy himself. "He feels (he and Meghann) have a lot in common and wants to get to know her better." Despite splitting over the winter, the American actress and rocker appeared to be on good terms on Sunday. Courteney looked pretty in a pink blouse with flowing black skirt, matching strappy heels while wearing rosy-coloured shades, large gold hoop earrings and a few bangle bracelets. The Grammy nominee opted for a monochrome wardrobe in all black trousers, tee and button-down shirt. Although still in her early teens, Coco wore grey platform strappy heels which she paired with an A-line dress. Curragh was jailed for his vile abuse of his own daughters in 2012 Brodie Johnston passed away shortly before Curragh was jailed for his vile abuse of his own daughters in 2012 Debbie Johnston looking at a photo of her son Brodie in her east Belfast home A petition to have a prolific paedophile who fathered a child with his daughter locked up for life has been launched by the monster's disgusted ex-wife. Debbie Johnston (50) says her family has been destroyed by sick child rapist Alan 'Herbie' Curragh and she'll continue campaigning until the laws change so he'll never be set free. The mother-of-two has launched a petition on change.org called 'Brodie's Law' and is urging the public to support it to ensure that prolific sex offenders are not able to abuse again. Brodie was born through Curragh's incest with one of his two daughters, both of whom he abused and terrorised for 20 years. The little boy suffered from a serious genetic disorder because of the incest and died in agony aged just six years old. Ms Johnston said Curragh "should have been given life". "There's no words, really, to properly describe what he did. He's an alien, he's not human. He's a sicko. "He sat in that court day in, day out, leaving exactly as he came in - there was no remorse whatsoever. Not a 'sorry', no tears, nothing. "He just sat there as if he couldn't have cared less. "It was the same when the sentence was passed, no reaction, but I sat there knowing that I would get justice for Brodie. "That's what this is all about - getting justice for Brodie and having him acknowledged." Debbie added: "He handed him a death sentence and never once did he admit he had fathered him or feel any remorse for it." Curragh (53), a carpet fitter from Ballybeen in east Belfast, initially pleaded not guilty to the persistent and sustained rape of his daughters Cathy (32) and Emma (26), who were subject to his humiliating and depraved acts for years. He would scare one of them into submission by putting a gun in her mouth and threatening to kill their mother, then her, if she reported him to police. Although both women were legally entitled to remain anonymous, both bravely chose to waive that right to expose the full horror of the man they once called dad. After an initial trial the predator was set free to continue to abuse after a jury failed to reach a decision, but was finally convicted when a DNA test conducted on Brodie proved that he had fathered the boy. "He denied everything," Ms Johnston said. "He even asked that the DNA test, which proved 99.9% that Brodie was his son, was redone, but in America, but the court didn't allow it, there was no need." Jailed in 2012, Curragh was handed an eight-year sentence, but won an appeal meaning that he could be freed as early as 2018. Little Brodie was born in 2006 and was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) - an extremely rare genetic disorder where most sufferers do not live beyond their fifth birthday. Eventually blind, immobile, fed through a tube and in constant pain, towards the end of his life Brodie suffered multiple spasms every day and relied completely on Debbie and current husband William for round-the-clock care. Throughout his short life, Ms Johnston, who adopted him from birth and raised him as her own son, was completely unaware he was the product of incest until tests confirmed MLD, a condition prevalent in the Third World in incestuous relationships. Brodie died aged six on November 18, 2012, just two weeks before Curragh was jailed. Ms Johnston is asking Prime Minister David Cameron and the Northern Ireland Executive to impose a life sentence where incest has been committed to reflect the suffering of the innocent children born out of the crime. She said: "The UK and Northern Ireland Sexual Offences Act needs strengthened so that sentences handed down to predators like Alan Curragh reflect the devastation he and others inflict on so many lives. Brodie did not ask to be born, and no other child deserves to go through what he went through. "No one should have to go through this. "No one should have to bury their own child, watch them suffering through no fault of their own. "I haven't grieved properly for him, but I am doing this for him and for all the victims of sexual abuse. "These paedophiles ruin lives. My mother never got over the shock of it, my daughters are trying to get their lives back, but the law needs to change so paedophiles are locked up for life. "They should never be free, to be let out to keep abusing people and ruining people's lives." Ms Johnson says her grief over Brodie's sad demise was still very raw and although she visited his grave at Roselawn every day, she coped by convincing herself that he was away visiting the hospice where he had respite care a few times a year. "I miss his wee smile," she added. "He loved to give you hugs and kisses and his favourite word was 'mum'. "I tell myself that he hasn't gone, he's coming back. "I've kept his room the same for him." She added: "Brodie was honestly the most loveable child. Don't get me wrong, he loved getting up to mischief as well and would have been the first to get in it. "He loved Mickey Mouse and Pinocchio, especially Guiseppe, and he loved going to the beach - I think we took him to every beach in England. "We took him to Disneyland in Paris after a kind stranger paid for it and he loved it. "He turned his nose up at Minnie Mouse, we never knew why, but he loved Mickey - we bought him virtually everything in the shop that time, and he loved animals, he loved visiting the zoo. "I remember his last words were 'yellow tractor'. We'd taken him out and he spotted one and those were the last two words he ever said. "He couldn't go anywhere without machines. "Me and his dad William would massage his wee legs, rub his shoulders to try and ease his pains and help him sleep. "It was heartbreaking to watch, but this petition is for him. He was never acknowledged or his suffering or the death sentence that was placed on him. "I want it to bring closure for him and justice, and for all the other innocent victims out there." To sign the petition go to www.change.org and search for Brodie's Law Members of Republican Sinn Fein at Kilwilkie estate in Lurgan on Saturday The National Republican Commemoration Committee held an Easter Rising dedication parade in Coalisland on Easter Sunday amid heavy Police presence. The National Republican Commemoration Committee held an Easter Rising dedication parade in Coalisland on Easter Sunday amid heavy Police presence. The National Republican Commemoration Committee held an Easter Rising dedication parade in Coalisland on Easter Sunday amid heavy Police presence. The PSNI has come under fire for failing to stop a number of dissident republican shows of strength. Masked men and women openly paraded through the streets of Lurgan, north Belfast, Coalisland and Londonderry over the past three days. In one of the most sinister displays a threat from the Continuity IRA against members of the security forces was read out by masked men in Lurgan. Unionists have criticised police for not taking any preventative measures to stop the paramilitary displays. However, last night PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton used social media to hit back at some of the critics. Responding to negative comments on Twitter, Mr Hamilton wrote that his officers could hold their heads high, "despite commentary from uniformed naysayers". He added via his Twitter account, "officers have done an outstanding job #proud." Earlier Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin also defended the policing operation of the illegal parades which saw dissidents wearing military garb, dark coloured berets and sunglasses openly march in Ardoyne, Londonderry, Lurgan and Coalisland across the Easter weekend. Ulster Unionist councillor Colin McCusker has demanded to know what preventative measures were taken to stop the paramilitary show of strength in Lurgan on Saturday. "I was well aware that this was more than likely to happen - if I knew, the PSNI knew too. I would like to know what preventative measures, if any, were taken to stop this happening," he said. "In recent weeks the finger has been pointed at the loyal orders by some claiming that by the Apprentice Boys holding their annual Easter Monday demonstration in Lurgan this year, a parade which has been properly notified under the law, they are stretching police resources, but an unnotified parade which was basically a display of terrorist thuggery goes unpunished. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye McBurney/Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured a members of the RSF colour party addresses crowd gathered at St Colman's Cemetery Date: Saturday 26 March 2016 Location: Kilwilkee Estate, Lurgan Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX McBurney/Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured members of the RSF colour party march through the streets of the Kilwilkee Estate Date: Saturday 26 March 2016 Location: Kilwilkee Estate, Lurgan Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX McBurney/Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured members of the RSF colour party march at St Colman's Cemetery Date: Saturday 26 March 2016 Location: Kilwilkee Estate, Lurgan Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured members of the RSF colour party march through the streets of the Kilwilkee Estate Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX McBurney/Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured members of the RSF colour party march through the streets of the Kilwilkee Estate Date: Saturday 26 March 2016 Location: Kilwilkee Estate, Lurgan Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX McBurney/Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured a man lays a wreath at the Republican Plot of St Colman's Cemetery Date: Saturday 26 March 2016 Location: Kilwilkee Estate, Lurgan Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX McBurney/Members of Republican Sinn Fein commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. Pictured a members of the RSF colour party addresses crowd gathered at St Colman's Cemetery Date: Saturday 26 March 2016 Location: Kilwilkee Estate, Lurgan Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Liam McBurney +44 7837 685767 +44 2890 660676 liammcburney@gmail.com Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 26, Pictured is the Republican Sinn Fein commemorative march as it makes its way from the Kilwilkee Estate to St Colemans Cemetary on March 26, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pacemaker Press 26/3/2016 Masked Men during a Republican Sinn Fein Parade in Lurgan on Saturday, To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. Picture Pacemaker "Those involved in the parade are relics of the past and should be shunned for the pathetic cause which they desperately cling to." DUP MLA and Policing Board member Jonathan Craig said: "I am extremely surprised that the intelligence hasn't allowed them (the PSNI) to pre-empt these events. "Serious questions will have to be asked over what will be done to ensure that those who organised and carried out these events are arrested and prosecuted." ACC Stephen Martin said that suspected breaches of Parades Commission determinations in Coalisland and unnotified processions in Ardoyne and Lurgan are being investigated. He also said most events over the Easter weekend had passed off peacefully. "In policing all events over the Easter weekend our overriding desire is to ensure that commemorative occasions, parades and protests pass off lawfully and peacefully," he said. "Our focus is on keeping communities safe and our job, with a few notable exceptions, has been made that much easier because of the responsible attitude of all parties concerned. "We are, however, investigating suspected breaches of Parades Commission determinations in Coalisland and unnotified processions in Ardoyne and Lurgan. We have gathered evidence at these events and will present reports to the Public Prosecution Service with a view to holding individuals accountable." On Saturday around 20 dissidents marched through the Kilwilkie estate to St Colman's cemetery in an illegal parade during which a masked man read out the Proclamation and then threatened to use violence against "British forces". A low-flying police helicopter observed events. Another illegal parade took place in Ardoyne on the same day organised by the Republican Network for Unity. On Sunday around 50 dissidents wearing military clothing, berets and dark sunglasses appeared in the area of the main Coalisland parade. Yesterday, another group wearing military uniforms and disguising their identity appeared during a parade at Derry City Cemetery. A statement from dissident prisoners held at Maghaberry jail was among the statements read out. First Minister Arlene Foster said: "I want to see these people behind bars. No place for masked men in Northern Ireland. Police assure me that evidence has been gathered. It's clear that the Parades Commission determination has been breached." A stamp duty hike for people purchasing second properties such as buy-to-let investments and holiday homes comes into force in Northern Ireland on Friday A stamp duty hike for people purchasing second properties such as buy-to-let investments and holiday homes comes into force in Northern Ireland on Friday. The move will mean that people buying a second home will pay three percentage points above current stamp duty rates. While it could put off some investors and lead to some pushing up rents to offset their costs, it could also provide some aspiring first-time buyers with a window of opportunity. The new rates of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) will apply to purchases of additional residential properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, people who temporarily end up with two properties due to difficult circumstances, such as retirees downsizing into a smaller property, will be given some breathing space from the new stamp duty rate. The Government decided that purchasers will have 36 months rather than the originally proposed 18 months to claim a stamp duty refund, in the event that there is a period of overlap. Belfast man Jonny Hamilton who died suddenly on Sunday has been described as a "gentle giant". Mr Hamilton, from the Shankill Road, was a member of the Pride of Ardoyne flute band and a popular character on the local band scene. It is thought the 31-year-old died of a heart condition. He leaves behind partner Denise Olphert and sons Sam and Charlie. Members of a number of local flute bands observed a minute's silence during yesterday's Easter Monday parades in memory of their friend. Tributes have flooded in since news of his death circulated on Sunday evening. Belfast councillor Julie-Anne Corr Johnston described him as a gentle giant. The PUP representative for Oldpark said the Rangers fan had helped her canvass in the 2014 council elections. Ms Corr-Johnston posted her condolences to the man's family on Facebook. "Heart goes out to Denise, the kids, his family, the POA family and wider Upper Ardoyne community. Rest easy Jonny, taken far too soon. "He helped canvass for me during the 2014 elections. "Such a gentle giant. Devastated for them." Shankill History tweeted yesterday: "Very sad news of the loss of @HamiltonJonny big gentleman prayers are with his family & friends." Steven Patrick tweeted: "So sad to hear of the passing of Jonny sincere condolences to his family and friends in Pride of Ardoyne FB from the officers and members of Sons of Kai Rathcoole. Gone too soon." Dale Pankhurst offered his "Deepest sympathy to the Hamilton family on the passing of Jonny. One of the best known faces in NI's band scene". Messages of sympathy also came from outside Northern Ireland. Daniel Cullen said: "Thoughts are with jonnys family, and the pride of ardoynefb, from Larkhall Scotland." Jackie Olphert said on Facebook: "Very sad news Denise, thinking of you hun at this very sad time & the boys and Jonnys Family xx". Justin Storrie from Musselburgh in East Lothian posted a tribute on the Mr Hamilton's Facebook page. "Rest easy Jonny Hamilton thoughts are with family and pride of ardoyne flute band on this sad day." President Michael D Higgins said the aspirations of socialists in the Rising can inspire the rebuilding of Ireland's society and economy President Michael D Higgins has said the dream of some of the 1916 rebels has not been achieved. At a state ceremony to honour James Connolly and the Irish Citizen Army, the President said the aspirations of socialists in the Rising can inspire the rebuilding of Ireland's society and economy. "The women and men of the Irish Citizen Army were committed to achieving much more than just a national political independence: the Republic of which they dreamt - the Republic which is yet to be realised - was one that would enable a more equal redistribution of the fruits of prosperity among all of its children," Mr Higgins said. The President made his remarks at the special commemoration at Liberty Hall in Dublin, headquarters of the Irish Citizen Army, a socialist militia set up by Connolly in the wake of the 1913 Lockout, and where the Proclamation was printed. A wreath was laid at the rebel leader's statue on Beresford Place before a minute's silence was held, a piper's lament and the Last Post were played, the Tricolour was hoisted and Reveille and Amhran na bhFiann rang out. The Irish Citizen Army flag was also flown outside Liberty Hall for the ceremony. The original flag, a green weave with a yellow harp which was raised at the site on Palm Sunday, April 16 1916, was also on display after being returned to the trade union headquarters by the Inniskillings Museum in Enniskillen. A commemorative plaque in honour of Connolly was also unveiled. President Higgins said one of the Irish Citizen Army's most remarkable legacies was the place it carved out for women - among its ranks and in its vision for Ireland. Liberty Hall was shelled by the British gunship the Helga on the third day of the Rising and reduced to a ruin, even though it lay empty for the rebellion. President Higgins said its destruction was a metaphor intended as " a symbol of the ruination of the hopes that had galvanised the combatants of the Citizen Army". "Those hopes did not die. We are all here today," he said. It is one of the last official events of the 1916 centenary commemorations and President Higgins used it to reflect on a revolution which he regards as incomplete. "Land and private property, a restrictive religiosity and a repressive pursuit of respectability, affecting in particular women, became the defining social and cultural ideals of the newly independent Ireland, at the expense of any fundamental social transformation of an egalitarian kind," he said. "The republic for which they hoped remains unfulfilled, yet those same aspirations for true equality, for real independence, can still sustain us today in the task of rebuilding our society and our economy." In Irish the President urged people to take up the original cause of Connolly's Irish Citizen Army. "Their vision of a people free from want, free from impoverishment and free from exploitation remains a wellspring of inspiration for us as we seek to respond to the situation of too many workers who, in Ireland today, earn a wage that guarantees neither a life free from poverty, nor access to decent housing, adequate childcare and health services," Mr Higgins said. The President, a former Labour Party veteran, said he was especially pleased to attend the ceremony in Liberty Hall. He said the emancipatory aspirations and egalitarian dimensions of the Irish Citizen Army still appeal and call to people 100 years on. President Higgins said the militia's distinction lay in its ideals and its members' backgrounds, coming mainly from the 5,000 tenements in inner city Dublin which housed 87,000 people, trade unionism, socialism and cultural nationalism. Later, the President was meeting relatives of Peadar Kearney, who penned the lyrics to Amhran na bhFiann, and will present his mobilisation order and original manuscript of verse. Sisters Terri and Anya Gerathy from Dublin enjoying the Easter Monday 1916 commemorations on Moore Street Ceili dancing in Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin as part of RTEs Reflecting the Rising celebrations Captain Danielle Murphy of the 2nd Artillery Regiment in Athlone reads the Proclamation at the 1916 Bolands Mill wreath-laying ceremony at Grand Canal Dock Participants in the Easter Rising parade in the New Lodge area of Belfast Performers Master Blazer and Madam Bloomer in St Stephens Green, Dublin as part of RTEs Reflecting the Rising celebrations Thousands of people gathered in towns and cities across Ireland to mark the start of the 1916 Easter Rising rebellion against British rule which began on Easter Monday 100 years ago. Simultaneous wreath-laying ceremonies took place in counties Dublin, Cork city, Meath and other locations around the country which played a key role in the Rising. The wreaths marked the first shots fired during the rebellion. A number of events were also held in Northern Ireland, including a republican parade in the New Lodge area of north Belfast. It followed a day after a national day of commemoration when hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin for a huge military parade - the largest in the history of the state. The Easter Rising was a military failure for the revolutionaries, but it ultimately led to the War of Independence and the creation of the Republic. More than 450 people were killed and 2,500 injured during the fighting. Monday's synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies were organised by the Irish Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. They began in Cork on Monday morning, when the acting Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, laid wreaths alongside the lord mayors of County Cork and Cork city. Wreath-laying was also organised at Rathcross, Ashbourne, County Meath, Abbey Square, Enniscorthy, County Wexford and Athenry, County Galway. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Gerry Adams Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Picture - Kevin Scott / Presseye Gerry Adams Belfast , UK - March 27, Pictured is the Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. The parade began at Divis Tower at noon and made its way to the republican plot in Milltown Cemetery. Those marching are we aring period dress, and the parade includes horse-drawn carriages, uniforms, memorabilia of the time and flute bands. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast Photo by Kevin Scott/Presseye Kevin Scott / Presseye Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 27th March 2016 Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. Hundreds of people line the streets of west Belfast for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Picture by Jonathan Porter Press Eye. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Centenary 1916 Easter Commemoration parade as it makes its way along the Falls Road in Belfast on March 27, 2016 Belfast, Northern Ireland ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) In Galway the day's events included planting of seven oak trees, a reading of the Proclamation and the raising of the national flag. In Dublin, wreaths were laid at various buildings and landmarks around the Irish capital that became focal points during the rebellion. Other wreath-laying spots included Boland's Mill, Jacob's Factory, Dublin Castle/City Hall, The Four Courts, Royal College of Surgeons and Moore Street, where rebels took up positions a century ago. The acting Minister For Environment, Alan Kelly, laid a wreath at Jacob's biscuit factory which was seized by up to 100 Irish Volunteers on that Easter Monday in 1916. Members of the public who attended the commemoration sang along as a piper played the Irish national anthem Amhran na bhFiann - The Soldier's Song. Later, Irish President Michael D Higgins suggested Britain's "imperial triumphalism" be re-examined in the same way as Irish republicanism has been over recent years. In a keynote speech at an event marking Ireland's Easter Rising against British rule a century ago, Mr Higgins said there has been much discussion of violence by Irish nationalists at the turn of the last century. But he noted the "supremacist and militarist imperialism" of Britain over the same time had not been reviewed with "the same fault-finding edge". "In the context of 1916, this imperial triumphalism can be traced, for example, in the language of the (British Army) recruitment campaigns of the time, which evoked mythology, masculinity and religion, and glorified the Irish blood as having 'reddened the earth of every continent'," he said. "But this is for another day." Mr Higgins made the remarks at a talk entitled Remembering 1916 at Dublin's Mansion House, home of the first independent parliament in Ireland after the rebellion. Ireneusz Bartnowski was convicted of of murdering Guiseppe and Caterina Massaro at their home in Wolverhampton (West Midlands Police/PA) A dossier detailing how some of Europe's most dangerous criminals were able to move to Britain despite convictions for brutal crimes shows why voters must back Brexit, campaigners have said. Murderers and child rapists are among 50 offenders, identified as "most wanted" by Vote Leave, that have headed to the UK under freedom of movement laws. Instead of turning criminals away, Britain has allowed EU judges to "hang out a welcome sign", the group claimed. The analysis sets out how 45 of the offenders went on to commit fresh crimes. It includes Ireneusz Bartnowski, who was convicted in 2012 for the savage murder of Giuseppe and Caterina Massaro in their Wolverhampton home. The Pole, who had a previous conviction for burglary, had been in the country for just two weeks when he attacked the elderly couple with a claw hammer and a knife. The document also includes Arnis Zalkalns who is believed to have killed London schoolgirl Alice Gross in 2014. The Latvian builder, who lived unchecked in Britain despite serving a prison sentence for murdering his wife in his home country, later committed suicide. Vote Leave said the dossier shows how British families are being put in danger because EU laws have made the country less secure. Under current rules, countries are entitled to consult previous police records but convictions are not grounds for restricting the right to free movement. The Government is not automatically notified about the convictions of serious offenders, which paves the way for murderers to enter the country unchecked, according to Vote Leave. It also warns there is a lack of proper supervision of dangerous criminals within the EU. Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott said: " EU membership means we have lost control of our borders and have been unable to prevent dangerous individuals from walking into the UK. "Free movement of people has created free movement of criminals making the UK less safe and less secure. We've allowed EU judges to hang out a welcome sign to individuals the public would rightly expect never to be allowed into the UK. "If we want a sensible and humane migration policy, the only safe option is to Vote Leave and take back control." Eurosceptic Tory MP Philip Hollobone earlier this year told the Commons that around 12% of the prison population is made up of foreign nationals and around 47% of those 10,000 inmates are from Europe. Remain campaigners accused Vote Leave of "scaremongering of the worst kind". Former home office minister Damian Green said: "Once again the Leave campaign's argument makes no sense, it is a mix of chaos and confusion. The key alternatives they offer to our EU membership involve accepting the principle of free movement, including both Norway and Switzerland. "The truth is that the UK already has the best of both worlds, we maintain all the benefits of EU membership whilst opting out of the passport-free Schengen area and maintaining our border at Calais rather than at Dover. "We are able to stop suspects from travelling to the UK and since 2010 we have refused entry to almost 6,000 EEA nationals, including nearly 4,000 who were stopped at the border with Calais before they even had a chance to travel to UK soil. "Inside Europe we work with our partners to tackle violent crime, and through Europol we protect UK citizens and bring criminals to justice. Leaving the EU would be a leap into the dark and would put this vital co-operation at risk." Stronger In deputy director Lucy Thomas said: "This is scaremongering of the worst kind, particularly as Vote Leave accept that the alternatives to EU membership would include some free movement." Children as young as 10 were among youngsters arrested for suspected gun crimes in the last three years Children as young as 10 years old were among hundreds of youngsters arrested for suspected gun crimes in the last three years, new figures have revealed. More than 1,500 child arrests for alleged firearm offences were carried out by police between 2013 and January 2016, with the number soaring by 20% last year, an investigation by the Press Association found. Figures released by forces under the Freedom of Information Act showed there were 1,549 arrests of children for suspected crimes involving firearms, air weapons or imitation guns, including more than 500 charges brought by police. The brother of a fatal shooting victim said gangs were using children to carry guns to avoid detection. Ian Cameron Swanston, whose 20-year-old brother Dorrie was shot dead in Hulme, Manchester in 1999, also believed some youngsters thought carrying guns gave them "status". Mr Swanston, who is a counsellor and trustee of the charity Mothers Against Violence, said: "The more guns within the community, the more likely it is we will see younger children getting access to them. "Gangs use children, they use their girlfriends. They use people who the police are unlikely to search. "For some it's about status. Having a gun is seen as having power and people become fearful of you. "The impact of their choices is far greater than can be imagined. It is so much easier to destroy a life." Britain's biggest force, the Metropolitan Police, said 679 children were arrested for suspected firearm offences between 2013 and January 2016, including 30 children aged under 13. A total of 218 children were charged with firearm offences in the same period, the force said. Merseyside Police said 73 children were arrested for suspected firearm offences between 2013 and 2015. Fourteen boys were charged with crimes involving firearms including robbery, possession of a firearm, possession of an air weapon in a public place, sending threats, wounding and false imprisonment. West Midlands Police said 83 boys and one girl had been charged with firearm offences since 2013, including an 11-year-old boy in 2015, a 12-year-old boy in 2013 and eight boys aged 13. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said nine boys and one girl were arrested for suspected firearm offences in 2015, compared with six boys in 2014 and seven boys and one girl in 2013. Greater Manchester Police, which has investigated a string of gang-related shootings since Salford gangster Paul Massey was shot dead in July, and Police Scotland were among the forces which did not provide figures to the Press Association. Among the other forces to respond - :: Kent Police said a 13-year-old boy and a girl aged 15 were charged with possessing imitation firearms. :: North Wales Police said a 13-year-old boy was arrested for possession of a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, while a girl aged 13 was charged after police seized a BB gun in 2015. :: Nottinghamshire Police said seven children under the age of 11 had been arrested for suspected firearm offences since 2013. :: Derbyshire Constabulary said a 10-year-old boy was among six children charged with a firearm offence since 2013. :: Cumbria Constabulary - which investigated the deadly shootings by Derrick Bird in 2010 which killed 12 people - said 19 children arrested for suspected firearm offences since 2013 included a 10-year-old, two youngsters aged 11 and two 12-year-olds. Figures from 29 forces which provided the number of child arrests for suspected gun crimes each year showed the number rose from 423 in 2014 to 507 in 2015. A National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman said: "Firearms offences in the UK still account for less than 0.2% of total recorded crime. These offences reflect a broad range of crimes which can include air weapons or even possession of a BB gun if used in criminal circumstances. "Forces across the country and community safety partnerships are working together to prevent young people getting involved in gangs and firearms. This is a key piece of work for all agencies and communities in breaking the cycle of young people becoming involved in gangs and the associated criminality." Jack Dromey, Labour's shadow policing minister, said: "These chilling statistics of children as young as 10 possessing firearms demand serious investigation by the Home Office. "We need to learn lessons ranging from tougher penalties for those who supply guns to children to what further steps might be taken to combat gun crime through schools." Young people will be hit hardest by a vote to leave the European Union, Nicky Morgan has warned as she urged them to make sure they have their say on June 23. The Education Secretary said firms are already cutting back on the number of entry level jobs they advertise because they are afraid of what a Brexit could mean for the UK economy. Mrs Morgan also insisted the Conservatives will be able to heal the deep rift at the heart of their party caused by the referendum campaign but criticised Leave campaigners for making "disingenuous" claims about criminals being allowed to move to the UK from Europe. Speaking at the Fashion Retail Academy in London, Mrs Morgan said: "We know that it's young people who will face the brunt of the damage a vote to leave will bring. "Because the great recession demonstrated the stark reality that when we experience economic shocks, the likes of which we could suffer if we leave the EU, it's young people who suffer. "As we saw in that recession, the largest increases in the rate of unemployment were amongst young people. "But that shouldn't be a surprise because when the economy struggles and firms stop hiring, it's those in the entry level who they stop recruiting first." Mrs Morgan warned that a reduction in the number of entry level jobs would mean increased competition for young people. "It's clear that if Britain leaves Europe it will be young people who suffer the most," she said. Mrs Morgan said that young people want the UK to "choose internationalism over isolation" on June 23 because being in the EU gives the UK the power to "exercise even more clout on the world stage". She said: "I want young people to make sure that their voices are heard in this debate, whichever side of the debate that they might be on, otherwise they risk having the decision made by other people. "Their future decided for them, not by them." Mrs Morgan also urged young people to spell out to their parents and grandparents what the cost of a Brexit could be for their future. Mrs Morgan was asked in a Q&A after her speech if she believes the Tories will be able to come back together after the EU referendum, given the ferocity with which both sides are conducting the campaign. But the Education Secretary downplayed the seriousness of the divisions as she said it is natural for the debate to be "passionate". She said: "Yes, of course, the party will absolutely come back together, but this is an issue that people in my party feel incredibly passionate about and have done for a long, long time." Meanwhile, she said that it is "incumbent" on the Government to "point out the risks" of a vote to leave. "We do need to have a tone that actually is both respectful but also informative," she said. But the frontbencher bemoaned the fact that there has been a "constant obsession with personalities" during the campaign. She also criticised the Leave campaign over claims that dozens of dangerous criminals have been able to move to the UK from Europe. Mrs Morgan said that "one of the difficulties" faced by those in favour of a Brexit is that "there isn't a lot of facts to support them" because "nobody knows what's going to happen" as she accused campaigners of being "rather disingenuous". A dossier compiled by Vote Leave outlines 50 of the "most dangerous" offenders who have come to the UK under freedom of movement laws with many then committing fresh crimes. Vote Leave believes the dossier shows why Britons should vote to leave the EU. But Mrs Morgan said: "They are being rather disingenuous about that because what they are saying is this comes about because of freedom of movement, and yet some of them are advancing having a relationship with the EU in future which would be similar to Norway or Switzerland where they accept free movement. "I think that actually they should step away from... those sorts of arguments and really try and explain to people what they think is going to happen after June 23 if there is an exit." Authors have expressed concern about the future of the public library service Nearly 350 libraries have closed in Britain over the past six years, causing the loss of almost 8,000 jobs, according to new analysis. In a controversial move that sparked protests by authors including Philip Pullman and Zadie Smith, councils across the country have shut their reading rooms in an effort to make deep savings. Children's author Alan Gibbons warned the public library service faced the "greatest crisis in its history". The figures, obtained by the BBC English Regions data journalism team, showed that 343 libraries have shut since 2010 and another 111 closures are planned this year. A further 174 libraries have been transferred to community groups and run by an army of volunteers, while 50 have been handed to external organisations. Gibbons, who wrote Shadow Of The Minotaur, told the BBC: "Opening hours are slashed, book stocks reduced. "Volunteers are no longer people who supplement full time staff but their replacements. This constitutes the hollowing out of the service. We are in dangerous territory." Librarian Ian Anstice, who runs the Public Libraries News website, said the cuts were "without precedent". He said: "Councils learnt early on how unpopular simply closing libraries is, so they have had to cut the vital service in other, less obvious ways. "It can come across in many forms - reduced opening hours, reduced book fund, reduced maintenance and reduced staffing. "In all its incarnations, it is harmful to the service, creating the risk that once-loyal users of libraries will come away disappointed and stop using them. "Our public library system used to be envy of the world. Now it is used as a cautionary tale that librarians use worldwide to scare their colleagues." Four areas - Sefton in Merseyside, Brent in north-west London, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland - have seen over half their libraries closed since 2010, the BBC data team said. A spokesman for the Department for Media, Culture and Sport said: "Libraries are cornerstones of their communities and are part of the fabric of our society, so it's vital they continue to innovate in order to meet the changing demands of those they serve. "Government is helping libraries to modernise by funding a wifi roll-out across England that has benefited more than 1,000 libraries and increasing access to digital services and e-lending." The Tata steel plant in Port Talbot bore the brunt of 1,000 job losses announced in January. The future of thousands of steelworkers' jobs is in doubt after Tata Steel decided to sell its UK assets, including the country's biggest plant at Port Talbot. Unions attacked the move and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged the Government to intervene as a matter of urgency, possibly by taking a public stake in the industry. There were calls for the Welsh Assembly to be recalled to discuss the crisis. Tata made no comment but sources told the Press Association that its board had decided to put its UK assets up for sale. Union leaders travelled to Mumbai where the Tata board met to discuss the company's loss making UK business, reported to be losing 1 million a day. They had been hoping Tata would agree to a turnaround plan to keep steelmaking in Port Talbot and other UK plants. The news will affect other Tata sites including Rotherham, Corby and Shotton. Tata announced over 1,000 job cuts in January, including 750 in Port Talbot. Thousands of steel jobs have been lost in the past year, with companies blaming cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs. Mr Corbyn said he was "deeply concerned" at the news, adding: "Ministers must act now to protect the steel industry and the core of manufacturing in Britain. "It is vital that the government intervenes to maintain steel production in Port Talbot, both for the workforce and the wider economy, if necessary by taking a public stake in the industry." Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who is with the union delegation in Mumbai, had urged Tata to "hold its nerve " in the face of the problems it was facing. He was critical of the Government for not sending a minister to lobby the Tata meeting. Business Secretary Sajid Javid is in Australia on an official trip. The decision came completely out of the blue to union officials. Dave Hulse, national officer of the GMB union said: "This is absolutely devastating news for all our members, their families and the local communities. Tata has let the whole of the UK steel industry down." Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "This is a very dark day for the proud communities and a proud industry which is now on the verge of extinction in this country." Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community, said: "We travelled to Mumbai to secure a future for steel making in South Wales and we are disappointed that the future remains uncertain, not just for Welsh steelworkers but for thousands more workers in Tata's businesses elsewhere in the UK." The picture of Diana, Princess of Wales prompted speculation about her marriage The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hope to create "new memories" when they visit India's Taj Mahal - the backdrop to a famous picture of Diana, Princess of Wales. The visit to the 17th century monument will be one of the highlights of William and Kate's seven-day tour of India and neighbouring Bhutan which begins next month. The Duke's mother was pictured sitting alone in front of the monument to love in February 1992, prompting rumours about the state of her marriage to the Prince of Wales. The photograph became the defining image of the tour and by the end of the year it was announced the couple had agreed to separate. At a press briefing the Cambridges' communications secretary Jason Knauf said: "The Taj Mahal is one of the symbols of India and Their Royal Highnesses cannot wait to see it with their own eyes. "The Duke of Cambridge is of course aware of the huge esteem his mother, the late Princess of Wales is held in India and he appreciates the iconic status of the images that exist of the Princess at the Taj. "He feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother's memory is kept alive by so many who travel there. "Twenty-four years on from her visit to the Taj, the Duke and the Duchess are looking forward to seeing this beautiful place for themselves and creating some new memories as they say thank you to the people of India at the conclusion of this tour." The trip will be the first time William and Kate have visited India and Bhutan but they will not be taking t heir young children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Highlights of the visit, which begins on April 10, will see the royal couple visit a Bollywood charity event, staged in Mumbai, and pay their respects to India's founding father Mahatma Gandhi at the place where he was assassinated in New Delhi in 1948. The couple will travel to the Kaziranga National Park, a wildlife sanctuary and world heritage site which is home to two thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses as well as tigers, elephants and wild water buffalo. On April 14, they will visit nearby Bhutan, a small landlocked country in the shadow of the Himalayan peaks which has a rich Buddhist tradition. One of the country's major attractions is Paro Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest monastery, and the royal couple will hike up to the religious centre perched on the side of a cliff. The final day of their trip will see the William and Kate visit the Taj Mahal. US Congress and White House on lockdown (FILES) This file photo taken on March 22, 2016 shows a Capitol Police officer watches from the US Capitol building in Washington, DC. AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: U.S. President Barack Obama greets guests on the South Lawn of the White House during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll March 28, 2016 in Washington, DC. Thousands of people attended the 138-year-old tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn that was started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** A US Secret Service agent stands guard at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016. AFP/Getty Images A police officer stands guard at the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC March 28, 2016 after reports of shots fired. The US Capitol was on lockdown March 28 after shots were apparently fired in the Capitol Visitors Center, police said, but local media said the gunman was injured and taken into custody. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images A police officer stands guard at the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC March 28, 2016 after reports of shots fired. The US Capitol was on lockdown March 28 after shots were apparently fired in the Capitol Visitors Center, police said, but local media said the gunman was injured and taken into custody. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands guard during a lock down after shots were reportedly fired at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center March 28, 2016 in Washington, DC. A gunman was reportedly captured and a police officer shot at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) A police officer stands guard at the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC March 28, 2016 after reports of shots fired. AFP/Getty Images A police officer stands guard at the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC March 28, 2016 after reports of shots fired. The US Capitol was on lockdown March 28 after shots were apparently fired in the Capitol Visitors Center, police said, but local media said the gunman was injured and taken into custody. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: Police establish a perimeter during a lock down after shots were reportedly fired at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center March 28, 2016 in Washington, DC. A gunman was reportedly captured and a police officer shot at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo byWin McNamee/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** A police officer stands guard at the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC March 28, 2016 after reports of shots fired. The US Capitol was on lockdown March 28 after shots were apparently fired in the Capitol Visitors Center, police said, but local media said the gunman was injured and taken into custody. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images A police officer directs peaople away from the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC March 28, 2016 after reports of shots fired. AFP/Getty Images A US Secret Service agent stands guard at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016. AFP/Getty Images A US Capitol Police officer has been shot near the Capitol Visitor Centre complex. Reports suggest the officer was not seriously injured during the incident. The event unfolded with Congress on recess and politicians back in their constituencies. It occurred in the visitors' centre of the sprawling Capitol complex. Staffers, reporters and others were told to "shelter in place" and not allowed to leave their offices. The White House and the Capitol complex were put on lockdown. A suspect was taken into custody, Capitol officials and police said. "There has been an isolated incident at the US Capitol. There is no active threat to the public," the DC Police Department tweeted. In a reportedly unrelated incident a man attempted to jump the fence surrounding the White House. This is a developing story and will be updated An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / STRSTR/AFP/Getty Images An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / STRSTR/AFP/Getty Images Image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo, officials said. Passengers of an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 which was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane on March 29, 2016. A hijacker seized the Egyptian airliner and diverted it to Cyprus, before releasing all the passengers except four foreigners and the crew, officials and the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / GEORGE MICHAELGEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images Passengers of an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 which was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane on March 29, 2016. A hijacker seized the Egyptian airliner and diverted it to Cyprus, before releasing all the passengers except four foreigners and the crew, officials and the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / GEORGE MICHAELGEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images Passengers of an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 which was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus stand at Larnaca airport after disembarking the plane on March 29, 2016. A hijacker seized the Egyptian airliner and diverted it to Cyprus, before releasing all the passengers except four foreigners and the crew, officials and the airline said. / AFP PHOTO / GEORGE MICHAELGEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images Cypriot policemen stand guard in the vicinity of Larnaca airport where an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 (R) sits on the tarmac after being hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. A hijacker seized an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus, but nearly all of the passengers were quickly released and officials said the incident was not linked to terrorism. / AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRIBEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / STRSTR/AFP/Getty Images Cypriot policemen stand guard in the vicinity of Larnaca airport where an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 (C) sits on the tarmac after being hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. A hijacker seized an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus, but nearly all of the passengers were quickly released and officials said the incident was not linked to terrorism. / AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRIBEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images A bus carrying some passengers from the hijacked EgyptAir aircraft as at it landed at Larnaca airport Tuesday, March 29, 2016. An EgyptAir plane was hijacked on Tuesday while flying from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo, and later landed in Cyprus where some of the women and children were allowed to get off the aircraft, according to Egyptian and Cypriot officials. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) A man climbs out of the cockpit window an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 parked at the tarmac of Larnaca airport after being hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. The hijacker who seized the Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. / AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRIBEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images A man climbs out of the cockpit window an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 parked at the tarmac of Larnaca airport. / AFP PHOTO / BEHROUZ MEHRIBEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images The remaining passengers on the highjacked EgyptAir Airbus A-320, which was diverted to Cyprus, run on the tarmac after leaving the plane as the highjacker surrendered to security forces after a six-hour standoff at Larnaca airport's largely disused old terminal on March 29, 2016. The hijacker who seized the Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. / AFP PHOTO / GEORGE MICHAELGEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images A man believed to be the hijacker of the EgyptAir Airbus A-320, which was diverted to Cyprus, leaves the plane before surrendering to security forces after a six-hour standoff on the tarmac at Larnaca airport's largely disused old terminal on March 29, 2016. The hijacker who seized the Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. / AFP PHOTO / GEORGE MICHAELGEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images A man (R) believed to be the hijacker of the EgyptAir Airbus A-320, which was diverted to Cyprus, surrenders to security forces after a six-hour standoff on the tarmac at Larnaca airport's largely disused old terminal on March 29, 2016. The hijacker who seized the Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said. / AFP PHOTO / GEORGE MICHAELGEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images A seven-hour hijack situation which forced an EgyptAir Airbus A320 to land in Cyprus while flying from Alexandria to Cairo has ended. The EgyptAir plane with 55 passengers onboard diverted to Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island mid-way through a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday which departed at 8am (5am UK time). A hijacker contacted the control tower at 8.30am and the plane was given permission to land at 8.50am. The hijacker gradually allowed the majority of passengers to leave the aircraft, however, negotiations were ongoing as seven people including three passengers were held on the plane. Expand Close Handout CCTV footage posted on the official Facebook page of Egypt's Ministry of Interior showing alleged hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa passing through security at Alexandria before boarding EgyptAir MS181.Ministry of Interior /PA Wire PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Handout CCTV footage posted on the official Facebook page of Egypt's Ministry of Interior showing alleged hijacker Seif Eldin Mustafa passing through security at Alexandria before boarding EgyptAir MS181.Ministry of Interior /PA Wire During the ordeal, aviation minister Sherif Fathi did not reveal the nationalities of those being held on the plane. Claims were also made that the hijacker was wearing an explosive belt which airline officials later said was fake. CCTV images have shown the man who carried out the hijacking passing through airport security. The director of the Alexandria airport, Hossni Hassan, said there were 26 foreigners on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. He said three other foreigners could not be identified. Sky News reported that there was one Irish person on the flight. As the situation came to a dramatic end, images showed a man in uniform climbing out of the cockpit and a further three people exiting via the stairs of the aircraft before the hijacker was arrested. The situation ended at around 12.45pm UK time. Alexandros Zenon, the permanent secretary of the foreign ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker's surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was "over". The arrest was also reported by Egypt's prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and civil aviation minister Sharif Fathi. "All passengers and crew are safe," Mr Fathi said on state television. Mr Fathi said the hijacker had not made "concrete demands". He was described as "unstable" by a Cyprus foreign ministry official. Initially it was alleged that "personal motives" were behind the hijacker's action in that he wanted to see his ex-wife who is Cypriot. A civil aviation official said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It is unclear what relationship she and the man have had. The BBC reported that the man's estranged wife lived close to the airport and travelled to the scene of the incident. However, the Cyprus state broadcaster claimed the hijacker was also asking for prisoners in Egypt to be released. According to reports the hijacker also demanded a translator and political asylum in Cyprus. Suicide belts have been a weapon of choice for Islamic militants in the Middle East. The Aviation minister later said they did not know whether the explosives belt the hijacker claimed to be wearing was real or not. Egypt sent a plane to Cyprus to pick up the stranded passengers. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the incident was not terror related, describing it as "unprecedented". The Guardian quoted a foreign ministry official in Cairo as saying: "He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren't stupid. This guy is." However, Egypt's foreign ministry denied making the comment to the Guardian. The hijacking will again raise questions over security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in that crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft, and the extremist Islamic State group (IS) said it was responsible. Emergency Call Center Within Egypt 0800 77 77 000 International +2 02 25989320-29 An Egyptian who hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight and forced it to land in Cyprus was taken into custody after releasing all passengers and crew unharmed following an hours-long stand off. Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable. "From the start, it was clear that this wasn't an act of terrorism, and despite the fact that the individual appeared to be dangerous in terms of his behaviour, we understood that this was a psychologically unstable person," Cyprus' Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told reporters. He said the man - wearing a fake explosives belt - initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport. "After that, he started asking for European Union representatives to assure him about matters that had no logical basis," Kasoulides said. At one point the hijacker demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. "His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously," the minister said, adding that the contents of a letter the hijacker wanted to give to his ex-wife "were also incoherent". Egypt's Interior Ministry identified the hijacker as 58-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa. It said he has a long criminal record, with charges including forgery, theft and drug possession. He had also served time in prison, it said. The ministry posted surveillance camera footage on its Facebook page that it said showed Mustafa being thoroughly searched at the airport. It said his handbag contained items which he later used to "give the impression that he is wearing an explosive belt." Police in Cairo were questioning the hijacker's relatives. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the Airbus A320 and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept on board seven people - four crew members and three passengers. A Cypriot police official said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by anti-terrorism police. He said the man wore a belt, but it contained no explosives. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said man was wearing a fake explosives belt. Flight MS181 took off on Tuesday morning from Bourg el-Arab airport just outside the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. Egyptian passenger Farah el-Dabani told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the hijacker was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked. "There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash," she said. An Indian Catholic priest was crucified by Islamic State on Good Friday in Yemen, according to a group with close ties to the home he was abducted from. Stock image An Indian Catholic priest was crucified by Islamic State on Good Friday in Yemen, according to a group with close ties to the home he was abducted from. A Dubai-based prayer group with close ties to the missionary home in Aden reported Father Tom Uzhunnallil's death on its Arabic website. He had been kidnapped earlier this month. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Archbishop of Vienna, referred to the claims in his Easter Sunday homily. Asked about the reports on Austrian television news, the archbishop replied: "We hope that it's not so, but we have to fear that it's true". The Corpus Christi Dubai report appears to lend weight to warnings that Islamic State was planning to crucify Father Uzhunnallil on Good Friday. Fr Uzhunnallil (56), was kidnapped on March 4 by gunmen who raided Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, the Aden missionary home where he had been working as a chaplain. Sixteen people were killed in the attack. Sister Sally, the order's mother superior who survived the attack, claimed the gunmen were from Isil, and a neighbour reportedly witnessed militants driving away with Fr Uzhunnallil in a car. The latest reports come just days after Sushma Swaraj, India's foreign minister, said the country was working to secure his release. "Fr Tom Uzhunnallil - an Indian national from Kerala - was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We are making all efforts to secure his release," she wrote on Twitter on Saturday. She had earlier written: "We will spare no efforts to rescue Father Tom Uzhunnallil." Militant group Abu Sayyaf has carried out a campaign of bombings and kidnappings in the south of the Philippines (AP) Indonesia says 10 of its citizens are being held hostage in the Philippines after their ship was hijacked in the border region between the two countries. The country's foreign ministry said in a statement that the owner of the hijacked tug boat and coal barge has received two telephone calls, purportedly from the militant group Abu Sayyaf, demanding a ransom. It said it is unclear when the incident occurred but that the ship owner was first contacted on Saturday. The ministry referred to the hostage-takers as pirates. Foreign minister Retno Marsudi told a news conference that she is working with Indonesian and Philippine officials to coordinate a rescue. "Our priority is the safety of 10 Indonesian nationals who are now still in the hands of the hostage-takers," she said. Abu Sayyaf, which is on US and Philippine lists of terrorist organisations, is notorious for bombings, extortions and kidnappings for ransom in the volatile south of the Philippines. It has been weakened by years of US-backed Philippine offensives but remains a security threat. If the Abu Sayyaf is confirmed responsible, the number of hostages would be among the largest it has seized since 2001. In the Philippines, army Major General Demy Tejares said troops were trying to verify reports that the Indonesians were taken to the southern province of Sulu and that an Abu Sayyaf commander notorious for ransom kidnappings, Alhabsi Misaya, was involved. "There is information pointing to Sulu as the destination so we're monitoring it," Mr Tejares said of the predominantly Muslim province 590 miles south of Manila, where several other kidnapping victims are believed to be held by Abu Sayyaf militants. Philippine military chief General Hernando Iriberri flew to Sulu on Monday to meet commanders and their troops involved in efforts to locate the Indonesians. The tug, Brahma 12, and the Anand 12 barge were going from Sungai Putting in Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian part of Borneo island, to Batangas province, south of the Philippine capital. The Facebook page of the Brahma 12's captain, Peter Tonsen Barahama, shows smiling photos of him and the crew on the vessel preparing for the voyage and good luck wishes from friends commenting on a port clearance document he posted. The document shows the vessel and its barge left a port in southern Kalimantan on March 15. A Philippine police report said a villager sighted an unmanned boat marked "Brahma 12" on Saturday drifting in waters off Languyan town in the southernmost Philippine province of Tawi Tawi, near Sulu, and the vessel was taken by police to a Languyan wharf. Indonesia's foreign ministry said it believes the barge, carrying about 7,000 tons of coal, is still under the control of the hostage-takers. Pakistan's prime minister Nawaz Sharif vowed on Monday to hunt down and defeat the militants who have been carrying out attacks like the Easter bombing that targeted Christians and killed 72 people. "We will not allow them to play with the lives of the people of Pakistan," Mr Sharif said. "This is our resolve. This is the resolve of the 200 million people of Pakistan." As the country began three days of mourning after Sunday's suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore in a park crowded with families, Mr Sharif said the army would forge ahead with a military operation on extremist hideouts and police will go after what he called the "cowards" who carried out the attack. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway Taliban faction that supports the Islamic State group, claimed responsibility and said it specifically targeted Christians. Expand Close Activists of The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)hold placards during a rally in Srinagar on March 28,2016, held to protest the suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore on March 27. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Activists of The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)hold placards during a rally in Srinagar on March 28,2016, held to protest the suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore on March 27. AFP/Getty Images But most of those killed were Muslims who also had been in the popular park for the holiday. Many women and children were among the victims, and dozens of families held tearful funerals on Monday for their slain relatives. At least 300 people were wounded. Mr Sharif, who cancelled a visit to the United States to attend a nuclear summit, also warned extremists against using Islam to justify their violence in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Pakistan has suffered a series of attacks in recent months, and Mr Sharif said militants are hitting "soft targets" like playgrounds and schools because military and police operations are putting pressure on their operations. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Pakistani women mourn the death of relatives after a bomb blast in Lahore on March 27, 2016. At least 25 people were killed and dozens injured when an explosion ripped through the parking lot of a crowded park where many minority Christians had gone to celebrate Easter Sunday in the Pakistani city Lahore, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani civil society activists shout slogans at the suicide blast site in Lahore on March 28, 2016. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Activists of The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)hold placards during a rally in Srinagar on March 28,2016, held to protest the suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore on March 27. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Members of a civil society group light candles during a vigil for the victims of Sunday's suicide bombing, Monday, March 28, 2016 in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan's prime minister vowed to eliminate perpetrators of terror attacks such as the massive suicide bombing that targeted Christians gathered for Easter the previous day in the eastern city of Lahore, killing tens of people. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil) AP Activists of The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF)hold placards during a rally in Srinagar on March 28,2016, held to protest the suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore on March 27. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / TAUSEEF MUSTAFATAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Activists of The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front(JKLF)hold placards as they listen to a leader address a rally in Srinagar on March 28,2016, held to protest the suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Lahore on March 27. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / TAUSEEF MUSTAFATAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pastor Shakeel Anjum attends the funeral of a suicide blast victim at a graveyard in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani civil society members sing the national anthem at the site of a suicide blast in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspectsafter a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians hold placards and lighted candles as they stage a rally in Lahore on March 28, 2016, for victims of a suicide bomb blast. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ASIF HASSANASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians light candles as they stage a rally in Lahore on March 28, 2016, for victims of a suicide bomb blast. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ASIF HASSANASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani civil society members light candles for suicide blast victims in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians hold placards and lighted candles as they stage a rally in Lahore on March 28, 2016, for victims of a suicide bomb blast. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christian women mourn the death of a man killed form a bombing attack, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) AP Women try to comfort a mother who lost her son in bomb attack in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) AP Pakistani Christians carry the coffin of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, into a graveyard in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourners carry the coffin of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians gather around an opened coffin as they mourn the death of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn over the coffin of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christian women mourn the death of Sharmoon who was killed in a bombing attack, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) AP Pakistani Christians mourn the death of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn the death of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn as they attend a funeral for a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn as they attend a funeral for a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians bury a suicide blast victim during a funeral ceremony in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The worst fears of Pakistan's Christians came true with the carnage in Lahore on Easter Sunday, said activists who had braced for a backlash since thousands took to the streets over the execution of a murderer feted as an Islamist hero. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn the death of a blast victim of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. Pakistan's army launched raids and arrested suspects after a Taliban suicide bomber targeting Christians over Easter killed 72 people including many children in a park crowded with families. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians bury a suicide blast victim during a funeral ceremony in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The worst fears of Pakistan's Christians came true with the carnage in Lahore on Easter Sunday, said activists who had braced for a backlash since thousands took to the streets over the execution of a murderer feted as an Islamist hero. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians bury a suicide blast victim during a funeral ceremony in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The worst fears of Pakistan's Christians came true with the carnage in Lahore on Easter Sunday, said activists who had braced for a backlash since thousands took to the streets over the execution of a murderer feted as an Islamist hero. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians carry a coffin of suicide blast victim during a funeral ceremony in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The worst fears of Pakistan's Christians came true with the carnage in Lahore on Easter Sunday, said activists who had braced for a backlash since thousands took to the streets over the execution of a murderer feted as an Islamist hero. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn the death of a relative killed in a suicide blast, at a graveyard in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The worst fears of Pakistan's Christians came true with the carnage in Lahore on Easter Sunday, said activists who had braced for a backlash since thousands took to the streets over the execution of a murderer feted as an Islamist hero. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christians mourn the death of a relative killed in a suicide blast, at a graveyard in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The worst fears of Pakistan's Christians came true with the carnage in Lahore on Easter Sunday, said activists who had braced for a backlash since thousands took to the streets over the execution of a murderer feted as an Islamist hero. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christian women mourn during the funeral service of Sahil Pervez who was killed in a suicide bombing, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) AP A Pakistani Christian mother looks at her son as she hold her daughter during his funeral in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) AP Women mourn the death of their family member who was killed in a suicide bombing, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) AP Pakistani police commandos stand guard at the suicide blast site in Lahore on March 28, 2016. A suicide bomber who attacked a park thronging with families celebrating Easter killed at least 72 people in Pakistan, with children among the dead. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani Christian women mourn the deaths of their family members during a funeral service at a local church in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) AP Family members of Pakistani Christian boy Sahil Pervez, mourn his death, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) AP An injured Pakistani child victim of a suicide blast rests in a hospital in Lahore on March 28, 2016. A suicide bomber who attacked a park thronging with families celebrating Easter killed at least 72 people in Pakistan, with children among the dead. / AFP PHOTO / FAROOQ NAEEMFAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A Pakistani Christian mother holds her injured child who survived Sunday's bombing attack, in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing targeting Christians gathered on Easter in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore rose on Monday as the country started observing a three-day mourning period following the attack. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) AP Local residents gather outside the cordoned-off site of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A Pakistani police commando stands guard at the cordoned-off site of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani relatives mourn over the body of a victim during a funeral following an overnight suicide bombing in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani forensics experts investigate the site of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani forensics experts investigate the site of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani security officials collect evidence at the cordoned-off site of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pakistani security officials collect evidence at the cordoned-off site of the March 27 suicide bombing, in Lahore on March 28, 2016. The toll from a suicide blast in Pakistan's Lahore rose to 69, officials said on March 28, as authorities hunted for the "savage inhumans" behind the attack in a park packed with Christian families celebrating Easter Sunday. More than 200 people were injured, many of them children, when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a children's play area in the park in Lahore, leaving dozens dead or bloodied. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pakistani women mourn the death of relatives after a bomb blast in Lahore on March 27, 2016. At least 25 people were killed and dozens injured when an explosion ripped through the parking lot of a crowded park where many minority Christians had gone to celebrate Easter Sunday in the Pakistani city Lahore, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / ARIF ALIARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images Mr Sharif met with security officials earlier in the day, and raids and dozens of arrests were carried out in eastern Punjab province, where several militant organisations are headquartered. The prime minister also visited hospitals in Lahore where many of the injured were being treated. Mr Sharif was born in the city, which is also the capital of Punjab province, his power base. "It strengthened my resolve when I met the wounded people," he said in his address. "God willing, I will not sit idle until I bring smiles back on their faces." Expand Close Pakistani civil society activists shout slogans at the suicide blast site in Lahore on March 28, 2016. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pakistani civil society activists shout slogans at the suicide blast site in Lahore on March 28, 2016. AFP/Getty Images The attack underscored both the militants' ability to stage large-scale attacks despite a government offensive and the precarious position of Pakistan's minority Christians. At the Vatican, Pope Francis decried what he called the vile and abominable bombing against Christians and urged Pakistani authorities to "make every effort to restore security and serenity" in the country, particularly for religious minorities. In Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, Islamic extremists protested for a second day outside Parliament and other key buildings, demanding that authorities impose Sharia law. The army deployed paramilitary Rangers as well as about 800 additional soldiers from neighbouring Rawalpindi to Islamabad, to protect the centre, which houses main government buildings and diplomatic missions. The leader of the protesters, Sarwat Ejaz Qadri told a local TV channel they would stay outside Parliament "until our demands are met". Hundreds were hunkered down for a long stay, chanting prayers, occasionally raising anti-government slogans and brandishing long sticks. They were protesting against the hanging last month of policeman Mumtaz Qadri. He was convicted for the 2011 murder of governor Salman Taseer, who was defending a Christian woman jailed on blasphemy charges. Mr Taseer had also criticised Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws and campaigned against them. The woman, Aasia Bibi, is still in jail facing blasphemy charges. In recent weeks, Pakistan's Islamist parties have been threatening widespread demonstration to protest what they say is Mr Sharif's pro-Western stance. They have also denounced draft legislation in Punjab province that outlaws violence against women. Earlier this month, Mr Sharif had officially recognised holidays celebrated by Pakistan's minority religions, including Easter and the Hindu festival of Holi. Ahsanullah Ahsan, a spokesman for the breakaway Taliban faction, said that along with striking at Christians celebrating Easter, the bombing also was meant to protest against military operations in the tribal regions. The same militant group also took responsibility for the twin bombings of a Christian church in Lahore last year. But of the 72 dead from Sunday's attack, 14 have been identified as Christians and 44 as Muslim, said Lahore Police Superintendent Mohammed Iqbal. The rest have not been identified. Shama Pervez, a widow who lost her 11-year-old son Sahil in the bombing, was inconsolable at his funeral. A fifth-grader at a Catholic school, he had pleaded with her to go to the park rather than stay home on Sunday, and she said she finally gave in. In the Christian area of Youhanabad on the outskirts of Lahore, mourners crowded into a church that was targeted in an attack a year ago. "How long will we have to go on burying our children?" asked Aerial Masih, the uncle of Junaid Yousaf, one of Sunday's victims. Ten members of Qasim Ali's family were killed in the park, and all were Muslims. His 10-year-old nephew, Fahad Ali, lay wounded in a bed at home. He had lost his parents and a sister, and another two sisters also were badly injured. "I don't know how I will be able to do anything to continue at school!" he cried. Forensic experts searched debris in the park. The bomb had been a crude device loaded with ball bearings, designed to rip through the victims for maximum damage, said counter-terrorism official Rana Tufail. He identified the suicide bomber as Mohammed Yusuf, a known militant recruiter. Nobel peace prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, herself a survivor of a Taliban shooting, said she was "devastated by the senseless killing of innocent people in Lahore." "My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends," she said. "Every life is precious and must be respected and protected." White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the bombing "grotesque." "The fact that you have an extremist organisation targeting religious minorities and children is an outrage," he said, also noting the high number of Muslims among the victims. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said targeting a park filled with children "revealed the face of terror, which knows no limits and values". France expressed its "solidarity in these difficult moments" with Pakistan and underlined "the inflexible will of our country to continue to battle terrorism everywhere". Zahid Hussain, an expert on Pakistani militants, said the violence was a show of strength by religious extremists, angered over what they see as efforts to undermine their influence. Pakistan's military launched an all-out offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan in June 2014. The army says the operation, called Zarb-e-Azb, has killed more than 3,000 militants. In December 2014, the Taliban retaliated with one of the worst terror assaults in Pakistan, attacking a school in north western city of Peshawar and killing 150 people, mainly children. Mr Hussain said the government has sent mixed signals to Islamic extremists. On one hand, it has allowed banned radical groups to operate unhindered under new names and radical leaders to openly give inciting speeches. At the same time, it has hanged convicts like Qadri and promised to tackle honour killings and attacks against women. "It is one step forward and two steps backward," Mr Hussain said. "The political leadership has to assert itself and say no to extremism once and for all." Army chief General Raheel Sharif promised Pakistan "will never allow these savage non-humans to overrun our life and liberty". Punjab's government said it will give about 3,000 US dollars in compensation to the seriously wounded and 1,500 US dollars to those with minor injuries from the bombing. South Korea says North Korea has fired a short-range projectile from an area near its eastern coast in what appeared to be another weapons test seen as a response to ongoing military drills between Washington and Seoul. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said the projectile was fired from an area near the North Korean port city of Wonsan and flew about 125 miles towards an inland area in the country's north-west. An official with the joint chiefs of staff said it is unclear whether the projectile crashed inland or overflew its target and landed in the sea. He said it was also unclear whether the projectile was a ballistic missile or artillery shell. North Korea usually test-fires its missiles and artillery into the sea. North Korea has fired a slew of short-range missiles and artillery shells into the sea and has threatened nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul since the start on March 7 of the annual springtime war games between the United States and South Korea. North Korea also launched a medium-range ballistic missile into waters off its east coast for the first time since 2014 and touted a new artillery system it says could turn the South Korean capital into a "sea of flames". An official from Seoul's Defence Ministry said it is too early to tell whether North Korea used a land target to test the accuracy and range of its weapons. North Korea routinely tests short-range missiles and artillery systems but tends to do more launches in times of tension with the outside world. It condemns the annual military drills between Washington and Seoul as a rehearsal for an invasion. Tensions are particularly high this year because the drills are the largest ever and follow a recent North Korean nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch. Washington and Seoul say the drills are defensive in nature and they have no plans to invade North Korea. Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is endorsing Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential race. Mr Walker announced his decision on Milwaukee conservative talk radio, saying: "It's time we elect a strong new leader. I've chosen to endorse Ted Cruz." Mr Walker had signalled last week that he was likely to back Mr Cruz, saying then that he was the only candidate who has a chance at beating front runner Donald Trump. When Mr Walker ended his presidential campaign last year, he called on others to join him in dropping out to make it easier to defeat Mr Trump. It is unclear how much Mr Walker's backing will help Mr Cruz in the state ahead of its April 5 primary. Mr Walker's approval rating has not exceeded 40% in over a year. Mr Cruz said Mr Walker's "heroic" battle with unions inspired him and millions of others. He called Mr Walker a "strong, principled conservative" and noted that he won three elections over four years. Mr Walker defeated a recall election in 2012 spurred by his push to all-but-eliminate collective bargaining for public workers. Mr Cruz said "millions of men and women all across the state of Wisconsin stood with governor Scott Walker" during that fight. He described it as a "heroic stand" that inspired millions across the country, including him. Mr Walker says he plans to campaign with Mr Cruz this week. Meanwhile, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham has described Mr Trump's foreign policy as "gibberish" and "ill-conceived" and said he would be "worse than Obama" as president. The Republican is leading a congressional delegation to Israel. Mr Graham, who dropped his own bid for the White House last year, told The Associated Press that Mr Trump does not understand the stakes of the Middle East. He took particular aim at Mr Trump's assertion that he would take a more neutral stand regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mr Graham said "this is not a real estate deal. This is the survival of the one and only Jewish state". Mr Graham said he is concerned a Hillary Clinton presidency would amount to a third term for Barack Obama, but she was at least a "known quantity". Mr Trump plans to make his first campaign appearance in Wisconsin with a rally in House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan's home town. Ohio governor John Kasich is keeping up his role trying to play spoiler for Mr Trump by campaigning in Wisconsin. Ms Clinton is scheduled to participate in a gun violence forum in Milwaukee, while her rival, Bernie Sanders, is heading to Appleton and Milwaukee. 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 Edward Snowden says GCHQ is "for most intents and purposes a subsidiary of the NSA" Equipment interference, also known as Computer Network Exploitation (CNE), allows GCHQ spies to bypass encryption and gain access to data sent from devices including phones and computer networks Government surveillance of the internet may cause people to self-censor and avoid voicing controversial opinions, a new study has suggested. The study looks at how knowledge of surveillance can cause a "chilling effect on democratic discourse" online, and paints a worrying picture of the future of free speech on the internet. For her research, Wayne State University's Elizabeth Stoycheff looked through the lens of the 'Spiral of Silence' theory, which describes the tendency of people to keep quiet when they think their views go against those of the majority. The findings were based on online surveys conducted by a group of participants, which built up a profile of each by asking them questions about their media consumption, political views and personality traits. During the survey, a random group of participants were selected to be given a message which "primed" them to perceive their online activity was being monitored by the US government. Read more Read More After that, all participants were presented with a fictional Facebook post of a neutral news story about US airstrikes against Isis in Iraq. They were then asked about their willingness to express their opinions on the story, how they thought other Americans felt about it, and whether they thought government surveillance of the internet was justified. The results took in a variety of different factors relating to personality traits and different environments, but for the majority of participants, being primed with the surveillance reminder "significantly reduced the likelihood of speaking out in hostile opinion climates." Read more Read More The paper, published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, also noted that participants who were the most susceptible to conformist behaviour were among the most ardent supporters of government surveillance policies. Believing themselves to have nothing to hide, they were found to be likely to express their opinions when they were in the majority, and to keep quiet when they weren't. The publication of the paper comes at a time of discussion over the government's Investigatory Powers bill (or 'Snooper's Charter'), which would give the authorities new powers to look at internet users' records and demand tech companies remove encryption from their services. Jacob Applebaum's lecture on surveillance Concluding the study, Stoycheff writes: "This study shows [surveillance] can contribute to the silencing of minority views that provide the bedrock of democratic discourse." In her view, communications scholars and policymakers need to think more closely about how certain national security precautions could be affecting how citizens speak, interact and look for new information. Independent His name was Saul and persecuted many before his conversion into the Christian faith, before he was known as Paul. One day he was traveling to Damascus. During the journey, a bright light blinded him and there was a voice that said: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?And he said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. He was blind for three days and could not drink or eat. God instructed Ananias to go to the house of Judas and seek the one called Saul of Tarsus for behold he was praying. There, Ananias laid hands on Paul and he was healed. Paul then became filled with the Holy Spirit and received his sight. Paul would become the first missionary to share the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles, and a messenger of Jesus. Here are five things about the Roman citizen that you might have not known. Where was Paul Born? Saul was born (researchers believe it was between 2 and 10 C.E.) in Tarsus (Turkey) and to a Jewish family from the tribe of Benjamin. He was then sent to the Pharisaic Rabbinical School. In Acts 22:3 Paul said. "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. Where did he preach? Paul, who would write 13 letters (still debated) would preach through Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. He seemed to have a heart for urban areas, Greek Culture, and Roman centers. However, he would still observe the Sabbath and visit a synagogue when he arrived to a city. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews (Acts 18:19). Paul would also preach to groups at homes as a way minister and spread the Gospel in the community. His Letters Some scholars disagree regarding how many letters Paul wrote, but believe he wrote 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Ephesians, Philemon, Galatians, Romans and Titus. 2 Thessalonians is debated by some as not being directly written by Paul. The message was clear he explained in a letter to the Ephesians. I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, a striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Time alone Paul spent time in seclusion to reflect and spend time with God in the Arabian Desert. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Paul was there for three years. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. Saint of writers and more Paul is the patron saint to writers, authors and missionaries due to his contribution to the New Testament. Paul was also a man who worked to be humble and it was shared in his writings, this was something he felt deeply about. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal; and though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. We dont know how Paul died, but do know that his writings and teachings will continue to impact generations of believers and the world. It is believed that Paul was beheaded by the Romans under the Emperor Nero, and died at 64. Corine Gatti is a Senior Editor at Beliefnet.com. Investigators continue to search for clues into the cyber theft from the Bangladesh Bank in February. Nearly two months after the cyber theft of U.S. $81 million from Bangladeshs central bank, Bangladeshi finance officials and police say they have not identified any suspects in the countrys largest-ever heist. Mirza Abdullahel Baki, a superintendent at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and member of a police team probing the theft of the money from the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Feb. 4, said the team hoped to travel to the Philippines where the stolen money ended up being wired to question banking officials and other suspects there. Once we have received permission from the court, followed by the government, we will fly to Manila as part of our investigation, Baki told BenarNews. Elsewhere, the Philippine government is questioning at least one person to determine how some of the money ended up in accounts held by local casinos. While testifying before Philippine lawmakers on Tuesday, casino junket operator Kim Wong who has been linked to the theft of money from the Bangladesh Bank blamed two fellow Chinese businessmen for channeling money into the Philippines. Wong told the Philippine Senate Committee that two Chinese nationals, Sua Hua Gao and an associate identified as Mr. Ding, brought the money to his casino with the help of banker Maia Deguito, according to Agence France-Presse. Wong expressed his willingness to return $4.63 million to the Bangladeshi government, according to the media reports. He said Gao had been a casino agent for almost eight years and that Gao had introduced him to Ding, a businessman from Macau. Deguito, a former branch manager of the Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), had been asking him to open an account in her branch, Wong testified. Wong said he and Gao met with Deguito in his office at the Midas Hotel and Casino in Manila sometime in May 2015. Five accounts were opened in the RCBC bank branch managed by Deguito. The first transactions occurred just after the Feb. 4 theft, AFP reported. Information deleted from BB computers The record theft in which hackers tried to steal up to $1 billion of Bangladeshi central bank money held in its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York led to the resignation of Bangladesh Bank Gov. Atiur Rahman earlier this month and the sacking of two of his deputies. Mohammed Farashuddin, a former governor of the central bank who is leading the investigation, told BenarNews that the theft could not have happened without the collusion of Bangladesh Bank officials. In recent weeks, Bangladeshs Financial Intelligence Unit and the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council have been working to trace the stolen money, the CIDs Baki said. No one has been arrested because information regarding payment orders made for multiple wire transfers from the account at the New York Fed was deleted from Bangladesh Bank computers, Baki told BenarNews. In other developments, the central bank has appointed barrister Ajmalul Hossain to explore the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the New York Fed for its role in the wire transfers, according to Bangladeshi Attorney General Mahbubey Alam. Earlier, a spokesperson for the New York Fed said there was no proof that its system had been breached. Look, it is very difficult to recover the goods once a thief has taken those out of your house. What I can say is that we can recover the stolen money with the help of the international community and the international tools to recover the stolen money. We need time to do so, Alam told BenarNews. Congresswoman demands answers The theft came to the light through a report published by a Philippine newspaper on Feb. 29. On its Facebook page, the central bank said that thieves hacked its cyber system and placed 35 payment orders with the New York Fed, using its exclusive SWIFT code, which is used for international wire transfers between banks. Five orders involving U.S. $101 million were processed automatically. Of that amount, U.S. $81 million went to five accounts at an RCBC bank branch in the Philippines, while the remaining $20 million went to a bank account in Sri Lanka held by a local NGO. The RCBC bank released the money to five accounts opened in May 2015, according to Philippine media. The money went to a casino in the Philippines. In New York, officials with the Federal Reserve Bank stopped processing other payment orders totaling U.S. $850 million because the hackers misspelled the word foundation in wire transfers destined for Sri Lanka. Alerted by the New York Fed, the Sri Lankan central bank stopped these other payments and returned the $20 million to the Bangladesh Bank account. Last week, U.S. congresswoman Carolyn Maloney sent a letter to the Federal Reserve Bank demanding answers about its role in the case. Maloney asked why the Fed blocked 30 of the fraudulent transfer orders, but did not block the first five even after it had requested reconfirmation for all orders. This brazen heist from the Bangladesh central banks account at the New York Fed threatens to undermine the confidence that foreign central banks have in the Federal Reserve, and in the safety and soundness of international monetary transactions, Maloney said in a news release issued March 22. We need a thorough investigation to determine how these criminals were able to manipulate the system so that banks and financial institutions can institute standards that will prevent hackers and cyber criminals from siphoning money out of accounts like those held at the New York Fed again. A spokeswoman for the New York Fed later said the bank would work with Maloneys office to arrange a time to talks, according to reports. And in Sri Lanka, immigration officials in that country last week slapped a travel ban on six directors of the NGO whose account was used for the transfer, bdnews24.com reported. The Easter Sunday attack by a Taliban suicide bomber that killed more than 70 people at a park in Lahore, Pakistan is drawing condemnation from India, Indonesia and the United States as well as nations across the globe. Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo took to Twitter to condemn the attack early Monday. Indonesia strongly condemns the bombing in Lahore. Terror is not allowed by any name. Deep condolences to the victims, the people of Pakistan, Jokowi wrote. Indonesia issued a news release from its embassy in Islamabad saying it had no information as yet about whether any citizens were injured in the attack. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said the embassy was coordinating with security authorities and hospitals in Lahore, and an embassy team had been dispatched from Islamabad to Lahore. We have some students in Lahore and have communicated with the students and student groups to determine whether they know that their friends are not missing, she was quoted as saying on the Indonesian cabinet secretary website. 29 children dead The suicide bombing was claimed by the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, according to Reuters. The group said it was targeting Christians. Rescue spokeswoman Deeba Shahbaz said the death toll had risen to 72 on Monday, with 29 children among the dead, according to AFP. A spokesman for the Lahore city administration said 10 to 15 Christians were among those killed as authorities continued efforts to identify the dead. About 8,000 people were in the park when the attacker detonated a bomb packed with ball bearings. It was the fifth bombing by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar since December 2015 and the deadliest in Pakistan since December 2014 when a Taliban attack on a military academy in Peshawar killed 134 school children. Indian condolences Late Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his nations condolences to the victims. PM Narendra Modi called Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif to express his deep condolences at the terrorist attack in #Lahore, Vikas Swarup, spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs said in a tweet. Calling the attack cowardly, Modi underlined the need for uncompromising efforts to fight against terrorism, Swarup wrote. Modi himself condemned the attack on Twitter. Heard about the blast in Lahore. I strongly condemn it. My condolences to families of the deceased and prayers with the injured, Modi tweeted. U.S. response The U.S. State Department issued its own condemnation on Sunday. The United States stands with the people and government of Pakistan at this difficult hour. We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, and our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Lahore as they respond to and recover from this terrible tragedy, spokesman John Kirby said in a news release. Attacks like these only deepen our shared resolve to defeat terrorism around the world, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism. Rohit Wadhwaney in Jaipur, India contributed to this report. A Catholic priest in India washes the feet of a parishioner at the Maundy Thursday service at St. Anthonys Church in Hyderabad, March 24, 2016. The Indian government on Monday said it is making all efforts to secure the release of the Indian priest amid uncertainty over his fate after he apparently was abducted by the Islamic State (IS) in Yemen earlier this month. The government is trying to secure his release. We are in talks with the consulate in Yemen. Efforts are on, External Affairs ministry spokesman Y.S. Kataria told BenarNews. Sources in the ministry said they were in regular contact with consular officials in Yemen to determine the whereabouts of Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, 56, who hails from south Indias Kerala state. Uzhunnalil apparently was abducted by IS militants on March 4 following an attack by four gunmen on a care-home run by Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity in the coastal town of Aden. Sixteen people, including an Indian nun, were killed in the attack. Reports circulated that Uzhunnalil had been crucified by the IS on Good Friday, but those reports had not been confirmed by the Indian government. In Abu Dhabi, Bishop Paul Hinder, head of the Catholic Church in Yemen, said he had strong indications that Uzhunnalil is still alive in the hands of his kidnappers, according to the Catholic Herald, a Catholic news outlet. I have no confirmation that anything happened Good Friday, he was quoted as saying. Churches and missionary groups across India offered prayers for the safe release of Uzhunnalil. Father Mathew Valarkot, spokesman for the Salesians Bangalore province, told BenarNews, It is a very difficult moment for all of us. We dont know where he is. We can only offer prayers. The government is trying its best to rescue him. Only this much can be said at this juncture. The Salesians, the order to which Uzhunnalil belongs, are in regular contact with the government. A.C. Michael, national coordinator of the United Christians Forum and a former member of the Minorities Commission in Delhi, told BenarNews, We believe in the governments sincerity and efforts to rescue Father Tom. Nobody can be blamed for this kind of situation happening outside India. There are hardly any words to express this difficult situation. Islamist leaders flash victory signs after the Bangladesh High Court rejected a petition challenging Islam as the state religion, March 28, 2016. Bangladeshs High Court on Monday scrapped a 28-year-old petition to remove a 1988 amendment to Bangladeshs secular constitution making Islam the state religion. A three-member High Court panel headed by Justice Naima Haider dismissed the petition without explanation in the presence of leaders of the conservative Hefazat-e-Islam group, which had threatened to cripple the country with protests if the court ruled otherwise. The court has dismissed the writ petition; so Islam will be retained as the state religion in the constitution, Murad Reza, an additional attorney general, told reporters. The petition was filed in 1988 by 15 civil society actors and secularists, ten of whom died before the court had a hearing on the matter, according to lawyers. Distorted day by day The Bangladesh Supreme Court has two wings the High Court and the Appellate Division. Anyone aggrieved by a High Court verdict can go to the Appellate Division for redress. We will discuss the issue and decide about whether we should appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, advocate Subrata Chowdhury, a lawyer representing the petitioners, told reporters at the court building. Petitioner Sirajul Islam, a professor, spoke to BenarNews but did not comment on the verdict. We filed the petition as the efforts to Islamize the constitution had been on; the secular spirit that caused our War of Independence was being distorted day by day. Mr. Ershad made Islam the state religion to prolong his autocratic rule, not for love for Islam, he said, referring to H.M. Ershad, president of Bangladesh from 1983-1990. After its independence from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh adopted secularism as one of the four principles of its constitution adopted in 1972. Following the assassination of the countrys founding President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975, the countrys first military ruler, Ziaur Rahman, replaced secularism with trust in the Almighty Allah through military orders in 1976. Ershad, the second military ruler, made Islam the state religion of Bangladesh in 1988 at a time when major political parties had been fighting in the street demanding his resignation. In 2010, the Supreme Court declared the military rules of Rahman and Ershad illegal and asked that the government restore the original 1972 constitution. The present Awami League-led parliament did so in 2011 but did not remove the language making Islam the state religion. Warnings A couple of hours before the hearing, a team representing Hefazat-e-Islam, a platform of conservative Madrasa teachers and students, handed over a memorandum to the courts registrar asking that the petition be dismissed. Any measure like this would be tantamount to extreme attack on the religious sentiment of the majority of people, said the memo, according to a copy obtained by BenarNews. In that case, the Islam-loving people would have no option left other than to wage a tough street movement, it said, adding that Islamic activists could not take responsibility for untoward circumstances that might occur during such protests. Syed Abdul Hannan Al Hadi, convenor of the Islamic Intellectual Front, also issued a warning before the court ruled. If the verdict goes against us, we will cripple the country through hartal, protest and violence, if necessary. We will overturn the country, Hadi told BenarNews. In May 2013, Hefazat-e-Islam brought Dhaka to a standstill as thousands of their followers entered the capital and demanded the execution of atheist bloggers. Law enforcement mounted an operation to clear the protesters from the city in which Hefazat claimed thousands of its followers were killed. Police challenged that allegation, saying nine died, according to media reports. On Friday, Hefazat-e-Islam activists held rallies in Dhaka and Chittagong asking the court to turn down the petition. In this image taken from a video filmed by the Abu Sayyaf Group and released by the Islamic State extremist group, militants swear allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at a ceremony in Basilan, Sulu Archipelago, Philippines. Indonesias Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed Tuesday that 10 crew members of an Indonesian tugboat were being held by the Abu Sayyaf Group, a militant group in the southern Philippines. Abu Sayyaf had hijacked two Indonesian tugboats but the group had freed one of the two crews, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said in a statement. The Brahma 12 has been released and now is in the hands of Philippine authorities. Meanwhile the Anand 12 ship and the 10 crew members are still in the hands of the hostage-takers, but it is not known exactly where they are, Retno added, noting that the Anand 12 was transporting 7,000 tons of coal. Retno confirmed the abduction of the 10 Indonesian sailors, following an investigation and communication with the ships owner and people in Indonesia and the Philippines. She said received the initial information on Monday. Both ships were hijacked while traveling from Putting River in Kalimantan, Indonesia to Batangas in the southern Philippines. Retno said she did not know more specific details about the hijackings. The ships owner received a call on Saturday from someone claiming to be a member of Abu Sayyaf, a group known for kidnapping and holding foreigners hostage for ransom and, in some cases, killings their captives. The United States has listed Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist group. In the case of the ships hijacking, the hostage takers contacted its owner twice to demand an undisclosed ransom, according to the foreign ministry. The Abu Sayyaf demanded 50 million Philippine pesos (U.S. $1.08 million) in ransom money, Indonesian State Intelligence Agency chief Sutiyoso told The Straits Times. Our priority is the safety of 10 Indonesian citizens who are now still in the hands of the hostage-takers. The company has passed the information to the families of the crew members that were taken hostage, Retno said. During a news conference, she said she was communicating with Indonesian and Philippine authorities to coordinate a rescue. Dangerous area Meanwhile, Indonesian Seafarers Association Chairman Hanafi Rustandi confirmed that the crew members were being held hostage by the militant group. He said both tugboats were operated by a coal mining company. Hanafi said the water near Kalimantan and Sulawesi that forms a triangle linking Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines was dangerous, because many islands in the region were Abu Sayyaf strongholds. They always find a way to get supplies, food one is by hijacking a vessel, Hanafi told BenarNews. He said the time needed to free the hostage crew members could not be predicted because that depended on Indonesian diplomacy and the willingness of the ships owner to pay a ransom. If the company wants it quickly, people in the company could pay, because they have the responsibility to dispatch the goods. Meanwhile, the families of the sailors need to be patient, because the case is being dealt by the government, Hanafi said. Police investigate the shooting scene in Pattanis Yarang District where two intelligence soldiers were killed, March 27, 2016. Muslim insurgents fighting for a separate state in Thailands Deep South shot and killed two military intelligence officers, a local village leader and two civilians over the weekend amid a resurgence of violence since the beginning of March, police said Monday. The escalation of rebel attacks came as reports said the personal details of thousands of foreign nationals living in southern Thailand were briefly leaked online in an apparent data breach during a website test for police. On Saturday, civilians Duroning Sama, 51, and Abdulashi Salae, 36, were shot dead in a rubber plantation in Yalas Muang district, according to a government security official who believed the two were targeted because they were believed to be government informants. On Sunday, Tosa Benyunus, 53, a deputy village headman in Pattanis Mayo district, was gunned down at his residence by a four men in motorcycles, Police Col. Jiradesh Dao-ngern-trakul said. We believe it is the work of insurgents he said. Intelligence officers killed Following the incidents, two military intelligence officers were shot dead in Kaotoom Village in Pattanis Yarang district. Pvt. Addaha Jedad and Pvt. Panawan Tesanarak were killed as they were riding through Kaotoom village, according to Pattani Provincial Police Bureau commander Maj. Gen. Tanongsak Wangsupa. The officers were attached to the Sirindhorn military base and Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4, the Thai military command with responsibility for the Deep South. Tanongsak also said he believed insurgents were behind the killings, which came about two weeks after insurgents briefly took over a local hospital the Cho-irong hospital in Narathiwat province while mounting an attack on a nearby military installation. The hospital seizure was part of rebel attacks on the 56th anniversary of the founding of Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the largest and most powerful insurgent group. 6,000 have died since 2004 Since 2004 at least 6,000 people have died in the separatist war in Thailands predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking southern border region. Ongoing efforts by Thailands military-controlled government to persuade the rebel groups to resume formal peace talks for the first time since December 2013 have met with little success. Experts and residents are anticipating more violence following the weekend killings. The increasing killings of civilians lately, for whatever reasons, are an indicator that the violence is highly likely to escalate, said professor Srisompob Jitpiromsri, director of Deep South Watch, a local NGO that monitors the conflict and serves as a platform for discussing ways to end it. This also indicates that there could be more serious incidents, he told BenarNews. Srisompob said that government attempts to quell tense situation through development projects seemed to work out as they are more broadly embraced by locals but there are some residents who he felt did not trust the authorities. There are more development projects and the officials have opportunities to meet locals, he said. But villagers are divided with one group starting to gain the trust of the government and another which dont trust the government and stayed away from joining any projects, Srisompob said. A native of Pattani, who identified himself as just Doloh, said the latest killings heralded a new round of a bloody campaigns by the insurgents. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. 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The records of the "Inter-ministerial Commission for the Provision of Humanitarian Aid for the affected Areas in the Southeast of the Regions of Donetsk and Luhansk" from 23rd October 2015 reveal what observers have long feared: The Russian government is steering all affairs of the "separatist areas" in the east of Ukraine. Russian ministries are responsible for Ukrainian politics In this regard, the concrete plans extend far beyond "humanitarian issues". In six working groups, the subject areas of "Finance and tax law", "Defining wage policies as well as residential and public service matters", "Restoration of industry", "Trade with energy sources", "Establishment of a market for electricity" and "Transportation infrastructure" are being planned down to the last detail. The regions are consequently being treated as parts of Russia's sovereign territory. Experts to whom BILD showed the document saw practically no difference from commission records concerning the Russian state itself. Deputy leaders of five ministries of the Russian Federation head the relevant cross-departmental working groups; the secret service "FSB" has supervision over each working group. Auch interessant Even four members of the Russian homeland (!) secret service "FSB" are named. Only the Commission Chairman and the Liaison Officer to the Government of Russia are above them in terms of hierarchy. Numerous other Russian authorities, such as the Federal Customs Office and the Anti-Monopoly Service attend the regular sessions of the Commission in the Russian Duma. Explosive: As the sole Ukrainian, a representative of the Ukrainian energy giant "DTEK" owned by the oligarch Rinat Achmetov was present at the meeting in October last year, according to the record. In contrast, absolutely no member of the so-called separatist governments of Luhansk and Donetsk was present at the session, the puppet politicians were only informed about the results of the meeting. Common practice, as was confirmed to BILD from expert circles. Concrete tasks of the Russian ministries are for example the "an assessment of the effectiveness of the collection of taxes and dues by the tax authorities of the (Ukrainian) territories and the development of proposals for the improvement of their function and strengthening of the budget discipline". Another working group deals as an example with the "development of proposals for a further support of the restoration and maintenance of the public transport system in the territories for 2016". This includes the delivery of spare parts for "busses, trams and trains" as well as "proposals for the optimization of the transport logistic". In conclusion, the five involved Russian ministries address their respective genuine tasks with the remarkable anomaly of controlling the fate of Russian-ruled areas in eastern Ukraine. The leading figures of the shadow government The commission, which an insider referred to as "shadow government of the Donbass" while talking to BILD, is chaired by the Russian politician Sergey Nazarov. Nazarov began his political career in the Rostov region, which neighbours Ukraine. He was active there in various functions in the coal business before he was summoned to Moscow. The Deputy Minister for Economic Development of the Russian Federation reports the results of the meeting directly to Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and close friend of Vladimir Putin. Officially, Kozak and Nazarov work together within the framework of the "Commission for the Socio-economic Development of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol". This commission met, amongst other dates, on the 15th October 2015, only a few days before the secret session of the Donbass Commission. The Deputy Commission Head of the Donbass Commission is Leonid Gornin, also Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation. Gornin has continually championed the fiscal consolidation of Russia in recent years, but spoke out, amongst other things, against a financial reallocation in favour of the annexed Crimean Peninsula. With him, it appears, as cost-effective as possible a governance of the occupied Donbass is to be realised. Ensuring the authenticity of the Russian paper To not endanger the source of the secret paper, BILD will not publish the document itself. However, BILD was allowed to see the original document and owns a digital copy, which it provided to several experts for verification. BILD checked the authenticity with the help of numerous sources and informants. Ukrainian oligarchs, who had fled to Russia in 2014 with the pro-Russian ruler Viktor Yanukovych, indicated they knew about the objectives of the Duma Commission. They too were asked for money to implement the plans. The foundation document of the "Inter-ministerial Commission for the Provision of Humanitarian Aid for the affected Areas in the Southeast of the Regions of Donetsk and Luhansk" from December 15, 2014 BILD also showed the document to high-ranking government representatives of the Russian Federation, Russian journalists and secret services of several countries. The unanimous assessment of all experts: The paper in the hands of BILD is genuine. The commission's work is already bearing fruit. The Donbass Commission, or de facto government of the Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine, was established in December 2014. Officially: on account of "the urgent need and critical humanitarian situation" in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.Yet directly after its foundation, the Commission disappeared from the scene, officially never meeting again. The founding document from December 2014 contains the Russian name of the commission, dedicated to deal only with humanitarian aid. The commission disappeared shortly after As BILD has found out, regular meetings of the Commission were actually held at intervals of two to four weeks. But nothing was known about their content - until now. Just five months after the commission was founded, the entire occupied areas began to be supplied with Russian roubles, as BILD reported exclusively in January 2016. It is to be assumed that this measure came about as a direct result of the commission's work. The plans now unveiled extend far beyond maintaining financial support for the so-called Peoples' Republics. Lesen Sie auch Evidently, the Russian government has assumed control over all areas of state responsibility for the Ukrainian regions and this without Ukrainian involvement, not even the separatists! This not only determines the present destinies of the regions with roughly three million inhabitants. The long-term planning for the future of the territory is also pressing ahead. Intelligence agency sources have confirmed to BILD that it actually appears as though Moscow is completely controlling the Ukrainian region. The still contested part of the Donbass appears "like a satellite state of Russia", is how experts interpreted the situation. The commission is taking the Minsk Agreement to the absurd Put simply, this means that Moscow is only promoting the implementation of the Minsk Agreement as a show for the West. Behind the curtains, a separate plan for the controlled areas in the Donbass has been put into effect since the end of 2014 (only three months after signing the peace plan Minsk). Rather than envisaging a reintegration of the regions in the Ukraine over the medium term, this plan aims to secure its long-term existence under complete Russian control. The aims of the commission coincide with the events observed locally, which BILD brought to light in January 2016, but extend far beyond this. Russia is planning a permanent stabilisation of the political, social and economic situation in the Donbass under its control. That will make the Donbass a puppet state of the Russian Federation, whose future is set to be decided exclusively in Moscow. This is confirmation of the failure of the Minsk Agreement, adherence to which by Russia is merely pretence. Furthermore, the west's demand that Ukraine should enable democratic elections in the areas not under its control is taken to the absurd by the revelation. The political figures up for elections in such vote would not be the ones in charge for the development of the area. Those that hold on to power are located in Moscow. For Immediate Release, March 29, 2016 Contact: Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7108, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org Marissa Knodel, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0729, MKnodel@foe.org Virali Modi-Parekh, Rainforest Action Network, (510) 747-8476, virali@ran.org Tina Posterli, Waterkeeper Alliance, (212) 747-0622 x 113, tposteri@waterkeeper.org David Turnbull, Oil Change International, (202) 316-3499, david@priceofoil.org Historic Petition Urges Obama to Halt All New Offshore Fossil Fuel Leases More Than 45 Organizations Back Historic Legal Petition That Takes Aim at Ocean-drilling Damage to Climate, Wildlife, Communities WASHINGTON More than 45 climate, conservation, indigenous and coastal organizations representing the major coastal regions of the United States filed a legal petition today calling on President Obama to align U.S. energy policy with his climate goals by issuing an executive order to end new oil and gas lease auctions in federally controlled oceans including the Arctic, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The order, under the authority of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, would make federally managed waters that have not already been leased to industry unavailable for new leases. Halting new fossil fuel leases on more than 1 billion acres off Americas coasts would keep up to 62 billion tons of carbon emissions in the ground the pollution equivalent of more than 16,000 coal-fired power plants. The order would be a step toward limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement, by preventing the leasing of new offshore oil and gas. To stay within the 1.5-degree limit, the vast majority of known fossil fuels must remain unburned and kept safely in the ground. The petition, led by the Center for Biological Diversity, comes on the heels of the administrations proposed five-year plan governing future federal offshore oil and gas leasing. The proposal would expand leasing in the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico, risking more disastrous spills, putting wildlife and communities in harms way and deepening U.S. dependence on the fossil fuels that are driving the global climate crisis. Despite its name, leases outlined in the five-year program would allow for oil and gas production over the next 40 to 70 years, long past the point that scientists say fossil fuels should be phased out. Continuing to rely on fossil fuels decades into the future undermines a rapid and essential transition to renewable energy. The petition calls on President Obama to align federal leasing policy with U.S. climate change goals while promoting a rapid transition to a clean-energy economy, starting with a halt in offshore leasing. Groups joining todays petition are the Center for Biological Diversity, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, Waterkeeper Alliance, Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, Alaska Rising Tide, Altamaha Riverkeeper, Apalachicola Riverkeeper, Assateague Coastal Trust, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, Cahaba Riverkeeper, California Coastal Protection Network, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Clean Ocean Action, Cook Inletkeeper, Courage Campaign, Crystal Coast Waterkeeper, Emerald Coastkeeper, Environmental Defense Center, Environmental Youth Council, Eyak Preservation Council, Friends of Matanzas, Gulf Restoration Network, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, Living Rivers, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Matanzas Waterkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper, Native Conservancy (Land Trust), Ocean Conservation Research, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations, Preserve Our Wildlife, Prince William Soundkeeper, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL), Riverkeeper, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection, Seneca Lake Guardian, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Turtle Island Restoration Network, Wabash Riverkeeper Network, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, WILDCOAST and WildEarth Guardians. Download the petition. Statements from petition signatories: President Obama recognized oil drilling off the Atlantic coast was a bad idea. But the same logic that we must protect our climate, wildlife and coastal communities from oil spills and carbon emissions holds true for all ocean coasts, said Miyo Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. So were calling on the president to honor his climate change pledges and end future fossil fuel leasing from all federal offshore areas. President Obama has acknowledged that in order to prevent climate catastrophe, we must transition away from dirty fossil fuels and keep the vast majority of them in the ground. He has the authority to drive that transition by permanently protecting our public waters from oil and gas exploitation, said Marissa Knodel of Friends of the Earth. To cement his climate legacy and honor his administrations climate goals, President Obama should not offer any new leases in the 2017-2022 offshore drilling program and withdraw all federal offshore areas from future leasing. Its time to stop the corporate giveaway of public lands and waters. Obama has the power to create real, lasting change by ending the fossil fuel leasing program. An executive act would cut 25 percent of U.S. climate change emissions and set the stage to transition beyond fossil fuels, said Amanda Starbuck, program director for Rainforest Action Network. President Obama must apply a climate test to offshore drilling and the rest of our energy policy. When he does, hell see that offshore drilling fails that climate test, said David Turnbull, campaigns director at Oil Change International. Any areas being opened up for leasing now will not even begin producing oil and gas for at least five years. By then we should be well on our way toward ending destructive fossil fuel extraction, not adding new rigs, said Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance. By focusing our investments on a clean-energy future, the Obama administration will secure its climate legacy, ensuring economic and environmental resilience for future generations. The recent Refugio Oil Spill off the coast of California reminds us of the inevitable risks of offshore oil and gas development, said Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center. These risks are compounded by the devastating and long-lasting effects of climate change on our coastlines, communities, wildlife and public health. Alaska stands on the front lines as an Arctic region whose ecosystems and communities are some of the most dramatically affected by climate change, said Stephen Jolley of Alaska Rising Tide. If we are committed to social justice and equality for all, we must act as allies to those communities whose social and spiritual health relies on their continued relationship to the land by halting operations that would send our bountiful home into further decline. From sea level rise and extreme storms fueled by climate change, to coastal erosion, to frequent spills and accidents, the people of the Gulf of Mexico are on the frontline of the impacts from the oil and gas industry, said Cynthia Sarthou, Executive Director of the Gulf Restoration Network. Even after the BP disaster, the industry and its political allies continue to actively resist new safety reforms. It is time for the President to end new offshore leasing and promote a transition to a more stable, sustainable and equitable economy for our communities and climate. While we were glad President Obama listened to the communities and citizens of the Atlantic coast and removed that area from offshore leasing, our work is not done, said Matanzas Riverkeeper Neil A. Armingeon. We must support those who continue to fight oil and gas development in their communities, and we hope President Obama will once again do what's right and end new leasing in the Gulf and the Arctic. Background The American public owns nearly 650 million acres of federal public land, and more than 1.7 billion acres of Outer Continental Shelf (the oceans between 3 and 200 miles off the coast) and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includes sensitive oceans and coastlines, including Alaskas Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and fossil fuels, held in trust for the public by the federal government, are administered by the Department of the Interior for potential leasing. Over the past decade, the combustion of federal fossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-related emissions. An August report by EcoShift consulting, commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Burning the recoverable oil and gas under federal waters would release 61.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the equivalent of driving 13 billion passenger cars for one year. As of this year, 67 million acres of public fossil fuels were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park and containing up to 43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (D-Vt.) and others introduced legislation to end issuance of new federal fossil fuel leases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, saying, Because ultimately, if were going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, were going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky. Download a letter from more than 400 groups and climate leaders urging President Obama to halt new federal fossil fuel leasing. Download Grounded: The Presidents Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases). Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (this report quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remaining federal fossil fuels). Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet. Download Public Lands, Private Profits (this report details the corporations profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands). 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. Tardigrades have not acquired a significant proportion of their DNA from other organisms, a new study shows. Tardigrades, also known as moss piglets or water bears, are eight-legged microscopic animals that have long fascinated scientists for their ability to survive extremes of temperature, pressure, lack of oxygen, and even radiation exposure. Now, a study has found that, contrary to a previous controversial proposal, tardigrades have not acquired a significant proportion of their DNA from other organisms. Instead, new analysis from the University of Edinburgh shows that nearly all of what was proposed to be foreign DNA was simply bacterial contamination. Controversy had been prompted by a November 2015 study suggesting that one-sixth - some 17 per cent - of the DNA of freshwater tardigrades could be traced to transfers from bacteria. The scientific world was abuzz with speculation following this suggestion that tardigrades had the ability to pick up and reuse DNA from other species. Soon after, the Edinburgh team used DNA sequence data from the same species and found that almost all of the proposed foreign DNA was in fact contamination. In their latest study, the same team conducted careful analysis of both sets of data using new computational tools. Their findings suggests that less than 1 per cent of tardigrades' genes are likely to have been borrowed from other species. This number is unsurprising - even humans have a few borrowed genes. Their study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Professor Mark Blaxter, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said: "What would in decades past have taken many months to sort out became the focus of experts around the world and has been swiftly resolved. We hope this paper will finally correct the scientific record. Tardigrades are amazing organisms, but these suggestions about their DNA were a step too far, even for their eight legs." Source: University of Edinburgh Alison Pearce is the national marketing and sales manager at Accolade Wines South Africa , a major global wine business, with leading wine brands such as Fish Hoek, Flagstone, Kumala and many more filling their portfolio to the brim. Pearce says "We do wine and do it well. Our focus is not limited to the creation and crafting of opulent wines but also to the design, functionality and aesthetic appeal of our brand." Alison Pearce What does brand management mean to you? Alison Pearce: Wine is such a fantastic category to work in - it's a pleasurable drinking experience. For me, brand management should be about enriching that experience, curating brands and giving them added meaning in people's lives. Tell us about a day in your work life. Pearce: I'm in the office at 8am for emails and planning presentations, sales forecasting and customer management. 10-12pm Ill meet with my agency for weekly status, from there Ill go into customer or management meetings, and usually finish off my day with mails - Ive got a multifaceted role in a global business so there are always loads of mails and conference meetings to get through. Whats on your wish list for brand objectives for 2016? Pearce: Weve seen phenomenal growth in our portfolio last year against a tough economic climate, so moving into 2016 its about building on that success and consolidating opportunities within our portfolio. Weve done a lot of strategic rationalising of our brands, have developed new communications and positionings, and are repackaging key variants. This fiscal were looking forward to building our portfolio and increasing distribution on the back of the great work we did in 2015. Is your brand using content as part of your marketing strategy? Pearce: Together with my agency we have carefully been planning how we make content a natural part of our strategy. I think the key thing with content is making sure that whatever we say or do as a brand, we need to ensure were being useful and meaningful to our consumers. On Flagstone we are regularly engaging with wine lovers and experts. But we think taking this communication to the next level, using content to make Flagstone relevant to regular wine drinkers and even wine novices, is key to continued growth. Our Fish Hoek brand is the only Fairtrade brand in our Global portfolio, so it has been imperative that we share meaningful content associated with our commitment to the upliftment of our wine community. Watch this space! What do you see currently as the main challenges and/or opportunities for your brand sector? Pearce: Wine is an incredibly competitive category in South Africa. The broader alcoholic beverage category has grown steadily in South Africa, but the wine sector has not benefitted from the increasing market size. I believe theres significant growth potential for the sector and Accolade Wines brands in expanding wines consumer base - by making our brands appealing and relevant to wine novices, or consumers who are currently only drinking beer and RTDs. Theres also an opportunity to drive loyalty and increase share of throat. We need to re-think and possibly reposition the way wine is consumed, looking to product innovation and packaging to unlock different and new consumption moments for wine. What do you love most about your brand? Pearce: I love the scale of the brands I manage. Kumala is the number one selling South African wine brand in the world by 9 litre case volumes. Its a global behemoth. Flagstone Wines are a global taste icon too. The brand has a massive adorer base globally and locally, here at home. I love the challenge of collaborating and coordinating my brands marketing efforts with my counterparts across the globe. And at the same time, being empowered to make decisions and implement my own marketing strategies locally with the support of a small but passionately dedicated team. Which creative/digital agencies are you currently working with? Pearce: At the moment weve got our full portfolio of brands sitting at a fairly new agency called 3Verse. For Accolade it's been a big move, we used to work with freelance designers and do some bits in house. I knew the time was coming for us to move to working with an agency, and after a lot of looking around we decided to work with 3Verse - and it's been a phenomenal relationship. Having all the brands with one agency curating my portfolios communication strategies ensures my brands are differentiated enough to not cannibalise sales from one another. They work on everything from my shopper marketing, to print, to trade programs, to digital. It's been a big move for the business, but one which has created enormous value for Accolade. What do you love most about the South African consumer? Pearce: I love how fiercely loyal South African consumers are towards local brands. What brand marketing campaign have you noticed and been impressed by recently/ever? Pearce: Im particularly impressed with Ariels #Sharetheload campaign. By focussing on the emotional high ground - encouraging men to share the household responsibilities and whats traditionally considered womens work - it elevates a washing powder brand out of the category squabbling over functional benefits like whiter, brighter clothes and makes Ariel meaningful and relevant to families. They havent just taken the emotional high ground, theyve also immediately opened up a whole new target consumer group, enabling them to talk to men who currently share in the household chores! Thats smart marketing. What inspires you, personally? Pearce: Commitment. Whatever journey you are taking, have a vision and believe in your instinct and then make it happen. Too often people want the easy road, and are all looking to fast track. I am part of an inspiring global sales and brand team that work in numerous markets with extremely different challenges, yet I am inspired at how each one of them tackles their own obstacles. I have just returned from Prowein, the largest wine show in the world. Over 50,000 visitors, thousands of wines from hundreds of regions. It was truly inspiring arriving on my Accolade Stand, knowing we own several of the worlds #1 Brands, and it made me especially proud to have one of my own SA brands Kumala up there with the best of them. #BrandManagerMonth: Silke Bucker from SAB on the launch of Carling Blue Label beer The launch of Carling Blue Label beer is quite interesting as its history is deeply entrenched in Carling's Black Label product. Silke Bucker Carling Black Label has a strong heritage in South Africa. As the most awarded South African beer brand, with over 30 international accolades, it is no surprise that Carling has a large and loyal base of consumers, said Silke Bucker, brand manager: Carling Blue Label beer of South African Breweries (SAB). Commenting on the launch, she said: We are quite excited to be able to launch a new beer variant that delivers on the quality and taste credentials that have become synonymous with Carling. Consumers are faced with an interesting range of choices in the alcohol category and Carling Blue Label beer was launched to deliver a truly unique taste experience in the form of a single malt beer. We are confident that Carling Blue Label beer will be added to the repertoire of the discerning drinker when the occasion suits. Here, she explains what it means to be a brand manager at SAB, working on one of the biggest beer brands in the country How will your experience working on the Carling Black Label beer brand stand you in good stead to market the Blue Label brand? How will your experience working on the Carling Black Label beer brand stand you in good stead to market the Blue Label brand? Spending four years on the biggest beer brand in South Africa has taught me a fair amount about the beer category and, within Carling, the men who love this brand. As Carling Black Label is the champion beer that all champion men deserve, I am quite familiar with masculinity and its nuances within South Africa. I understand the consumer and how to launch a brand to build their repertoire, a premium brand that has the credibility to play in the masculine space. Carling Black Label beer has come a long way in South Africa and, in recent years, the brand has taken great strides in representing modern masculinity, which is more characteristic of the South African man of today, as opposed to the blue-collar worker of the 1960s. What does Carling Blue Label beer represent? Carling Black Label beer has come a long way in South Africa and, in recent years, the brand has taken great strides in representing modern masculinity, which is more characteristic of the South African man of today, as opposed to the blue-collar worker of the 1960s. Carling Blue Label beer celebrates the efforts of bold choices, respects and recognises key milestones, and rewards men with the bold taste of this single malt beer. This beer is brewed for those who are unafraid of doing things first, and who are bold enough to try new experiences. Those who learn, explore the world and create new things. What learnings will you take from the other product, and how will you apply them to the new brand? SAB has launched some great brands in the last couple of years, including Chocolate Milk Stout and Flying Fish. Learnings from these launches, as well as overall experience on Carling, will ensure a balance between what works in the premium space and the integrity of the authentic Carling brand. The best learning when creating the brand is clarity around what it is and where it plays. The consumer is ever evolving and we need to make sure that our offering evolves at the same pace. How does the brand differ from/compare to Carling Black Label beer and how will you market it similarly/differently? Taste remains at the core of both Black and Blue Label with the target consumer being male. Both brands are rooted in authenticity and reward the efforts men put in to make a success of their lives. Carling Blue Label delivers an authentic masculine premium lager. A brand bold enough to push boundaries and create a single malt beer with a distinguished taste, whilst not losing the heritage of masculinity and authenticity, which Black Label so proudly stands for. Describe a day in the life of a brand manager of SAB. Describe a day in the life of a brand manager of SAB. Exciting! Not a day goes by that doesnt hold a new challenge. I get involved in conversations with some of the best marketers and strategists in the world, while still being able to get my hands dirty in the execution. It is a great learning school and one of the only FMCG companies where marketing to this scale is still happening. Dont get me wrong, there are challenges and I have learned some hard lessons, but SAB has a great culture and, for me, the biggest lesson I learnt is push the boundaries but remain humble - humility is what you need to be a great leader. Explain your role. The opportunity to work on Carling Blue Label beer enables me to come up with big ideas and strong creative based on insights, whilst not losing sight of the detail. It is an end-to-end role that enables me to create the strategy and manage activations, communications and innovation for this new product. My job also entails a large amount of relationship building internally and externally to ensure the brand gets the support it needs. What do you see currently as the main opportunities and/or challenges in the alcoholic beverages sector? Economic conditions are tough in South Africa at the moment and, like all industries, we need to offer consumers the best value-for-money proposition to enable them to make the best choices. My biggest challenge within this role now is making consumers aware of this new brand and what it stands for, so that they choose to include it in their repertoire. What do you love most about working at SAB and particularly on the Carling brand? For a pure marketer as I am, working for a company with brands such as Carling is a dream. Every day is full of challenges, not one day is the same as the next, and this is what we thrive on. The accountability knowing that you own a brand, or even a piece of a brand that is part of history, drives me to push boundaries and bring to life ideas and executions leaving the brand in a better place than where I found it. There is a lot of collaboration with people, internal and external, which makes you feel like you are part of a much bigger team, all driving the same goals. A brand manager at SAB is not just a marketer, you run a business as that is how our brands are set up. The learnings from understanding the full circle in the business continually grows my understanding of not just marketing, but business principles. Working on brands such as Carling is a privilege and has influenced me as a marketer in a way that has set me up for success no matter where my career takes me. says Gau Narayanan, regional director for BBDO Africa. As BBDO was again named the best agency network in the global 2016 WARC 100 rankings , their work clearly does the trick. Mike Schalit, CCO for BBDO Africa, explains that their Made of Black campaign has been on a winning streak, picking up global awards as well as Loeries and African Cristals locally, as proof of the correlation between creative and effective work, as well as collaborative campaign work across continents. Thats important as the annual WARC 100 tracks the world's 100 best marketing campaigns and over 2,000 individual award winners and companies campaign rankings, based on their performance in 79 effectiveness and strategy competitions over the past year. The rankings are based on the winners of effectiveness and strategy awards from around the world. So the focus is on marketing that drives business performance and it is a benchmark for commercial creativity. Narayanan explains the WARC ranking thus reflects the business impact of a campaign and not just its creativity Made of Black in particular, which came in as 33rd most effective campaign in the world and second highest ranked alcohol campaign according to WARC rankings. It's embedded below for your viewing pleasure, if you've not seen it before: BBDOs consistency, breadth and depth in these rankings mean that creative effectiveness is engrained in our DNA. Its great for us down South to have been involved, playing our part in both leading teams and supporting them. Winning the WARC 100 completes a neat triple crown for BBDO. Earlier this year, we won The Gunn Report as the most creative agency network in the world for the tenth year in a row. And we also topped the Global Effie Effectiveness Index as the most effective agency in the world for the second year in a row, says Narayanan. This proves that they don't just talk about producing work that works; they deliver on it. But how exactly do they do it? Here, Narayanan shares exclusive tips into how agency networks like this get behind creative work that really works for clients 1. Talk us through the impact of BBDOs global agency network titles and their impact on the agencys reputation. Gau Narayanan, regional director for BBDO Africa Narayanan: Everyone tends to get a little focused on certain awards shows, but if you look at our performance in the big shows for creativity and effectiveness, our track record is second to none. And it's really pleasing to see that agencies in emerging markets at BBDO are punching above their weight. Our agencies in Dubai, Tunisia, Pakistan and Africa are winning crucial creative and effective points for BBDO. For us in Africa, were contributing, which is great. Our Made of Black campaign has swept the board at many awards shows. Hopefully this will help show the industry that there is a strong correlation between creative and effective work. I hope this will inspire all of us to create more work like this from our region. BBDO Africa wants to continually push to compete on a global scale and create world-class work from Africa. 2. What are the benefits of being part of an agency network? Narayanan: Culture. Talent. Development. On culture, we work with people who think like us, who are wired like us. The founders and their legacies, whether in London, Melbourne or Johannesburg, are very similar. We want to produce great work and we want to be great to work with. In an era of increased collaboration I believe that agencies with the values set and a collaborative culture like BBDO will thrive. On talent, theres a fantastic chance for people to move around the network and make a mark in other regions. BBDO offices get access to great, global talent and great talent gets access to BBDO offices. There is a genuine intellectual and cultural exchange, which benefits both parties. For example, take me I was at AMVBBDO in London, and worked with Mike Schalit when we pitched for the Guinness Africa business. I wouldnt be here if it wasnt for Mike of course, his creativity was a big lure, but his approach, thinking and values really resonated with me. So when he asked me to join him, I jumped at the chance to help grow BBDO within Africa. I know Im learning every day and I hope Im helping our agencies and their people grow. On development it goes without saying that when you are able to attract great people theres a responsibility to grow, retain and motivate them. BBDO is fantastic at developing and nurturing its people. Having an aligned belief on whats important the work and the people makes it easier to develop our staff as the objectives, values and outcomes are shared. At BBDO we have access to best practice from around the world and this develops our own people and gives our clients access to thinking and research they may not see. We have BBDO University that trains people from all functions and at all levels, we have just sent eight of our brightest young stars on the IPA Foundation Course (and they all passed with flying colours) and we have weekly all agency training session across our offices in Africa. When you combine the above, it helps us produce great work that works on a more consistent basis. 3. Let us in on the secret: How do you then create commercially compelling content or work that works for clients? Narayanan: Firstly, you need great clients, and were lucky in that respect. You also need a relationship based on mutual respect and you need to act in the interest of the brand and not your agency silo. It also really helps if you understand your clients business. Adding value in areas that really matter, is how we create a commercial advantage for our clients, their brands and their businesses. When we develop work, we always start with the business problem. We need to be guided by this and ensure that the marketing we develop with our clients solves more than brand issues. You also need to be well versed with the latest marketing thinking and understand how brands actually grow and how we make decisions. There are a lot of marketing myths that buying patterns, behavioural economics, neuroscience are debunking and its important for us, and our clients, that BBDO is ahead of the curve. This allows us to operate in a sound strategic framework that will drive salience at scale for our clients business. Finally, this is a collaborative process. We will never know our clients business as well as they do so working with them is key. We need to partner with marketing but also sales, R&D and finance teams. This often unlocks hidden nuggets that can be the springboard for creative and effective work. Simple as that. For more on BBDO, follow their Twitter feed. While developers are quick to build new shopping centres, some property experts are concerned that the domestic market may be oversaturated. This is especially true of smaller convenience centres that struggle to hold on to small tenants, says Patrick Flanagan, head of development company Flanagan & Gerard. "I think developers need to be careful. There are many shopping centres that have been announced which just wont be sustainable in certain areas. Quite a few smaller centres are difficult to tenant in a slow growth economy. "We are also not a nation of shop owners like in the UK. We tend to rather shop at large retailers, so bringing more convenience centres to market can be risky," Flanagan said. While many smaller centres are struggling, large centres sized about 90,000m and more are performing well. Planning for these centres was usually better, said Flanagan. "Some large malls are needed in certain areas and developers do a lot of work making certain they should be successful before starting on these projects. Lead times can last six to 10 years on these projects. This does not mean they cannot fail, but it mitigates risk. "While I appreciate some large retail developers are being careful when they launch projects, at the same time, I think we need more caution when bringing shopping centres to SA as the retail market has become quite mature," Flanagan said. There are about 40 shopping centres sized 20,000m or more that have been announced or are in production in SA, according to the Southern African Shopping Centre Directory of 2015. But Mr Flanagan said he thought it unlikely that all of these malls would be built, given poor economic conditions. He would rather see developers spend more time and money refurbishing their existing shopping centres and improving retail experiences. Recently, Growthpoint Properties CEO Norbert Sasse said he was concerned that too many malls were coming online when economic conditions were not supporting them. "We are not seeing enough growth in consumer spending to justify so much new retail space. We are actually seeing offshore retailers competing with domestic ones for a consumer who is facing some pain," he said. A Port Elizabeth high court judge was to announce at 8.30am on Tuesday whether the controversial Sovereign Food shareholders meeting scheduled to take place in Uitenhage 90 minutes thereafter would go ahead. On Thursday afternoon, Judge Igna Stretch told the three parties involved in the urgent application that she would announce her decision this morning. Her decision has far-reaching implications for a section of the Companies Act that has long needed clarifying. It will also deal with the first yet "oppression of minorities" charge brought against a listed company in terms of the Companies Act of 2008. At the heart of the legal battle is whether a block of dissenting shareholders (holding about 11% of Sovereigns shares) has the right to vote at Tuesdays meeting. The Sovereign board has enforced an aggressive interpretation of "appraisal" rights that has resulted in the indefinite suspension of this blocs ability to exercise their rights as shareholders. Appraisal rights allow shareholders unhappy with a companys plans to apply to be bought out at "fair value", after which they no longer have shareholder rights. The Sovereign board says the dissenting bloc of shareholders gave up their shareholder rights when they applied for and were granted appraisal rights ahead of a meeting on January 14 and so are barred from Tuesdays meeting. The dissenters, most of whom are linked to competitor Country Bird, claim their appraisal rights have lapsed, as Sovereign has abandoned the proposals put to shareholders at the January meeting. These shareholders applied to the high court to have Tuesdays meeting postponed until their rights as shareholders are re-established. Adding to the tension, just days before last weeks urgent high court action, Albie Cilliers, a dissenting shareholder who is independent of the Country Bird bloc applied to intervene in the case. Cilliers contends that the Sovereign boards refusal to allow him to vote at Tuesdays meeting is oppressive and an abuse of his rights. This is the first such case brought in terms of the 2008 Companies Act. The January meeting was called to approve a proposal that would have introduced black economic empowerment (BEE) shareholders and aligned them with an executive share scheme in a controlling 28% voting bloc. The proposal also involved buying back 10% of the companys shares at R8.50 each. A buyback of more than 5% is deemed an expropriation and automatically triggers appraisal rights for dissenting shareholders. When the results of the meeting made it clear Sovereign was faced with a steeper-than-expected bill (for the 10% buyback, as well as the 11% dissenters who would have to be paid out a "fair value") it set aside the results of the meeting and abandoned the scheme. Tuesdays meeting was called to vote on a revised proposal, which is the same one put to shareholders in January, except the buyback is reduced to 5%. Cilliers says once the appraisal rights are revoked, his shareholder rights are re-established, and he should be allowed to vote. This is why he is calling for delaying the part of the meeting voting on the resolutions relating to the BEE and executive share schemes. The Sovereign board approached the Competition Tribunal last week in a bid to stymie attempts by the Country Bird-aligned dissenting shareholders to re-instate their rights and/or acquire additional Sovereign shares on the grounds they were competitors and such action could be deemed a merger. The tribunal dismissed the application with costs. The underwear brand Jockey has announced a collaboration with the South African designer David Tlale, with the launch of a luxury range of underwear for men and women. As a global brand Jockey has always been both innovative and on trend, and this partnership with David Tlale will ensure that we continue to enhance and deliver on these qualities, explained Rob Hogg, Jockeys national sales manager. He continued: David is an internationally respected, award-winning designer. As one of the most recognisable faces in the fashion industry, Jockey is delighted to confirm this collaboration. With both brands being at the forefront of our respective industries the result is, quite simply, amazing. Both the mens and ladies garments, designed and manufactured in collaboration with David and the Jockey design team, featuring the signature David Tlale flair, were revealed by the designer at his show hosted in Sandton City earlier this month. Showcased to more than 600 VIPs and fashion enthusiasts, the show included Davids own personal range and was followed by the reveal of the Jockey by David Tlale range. A crucial time David Tlale confirmed: The collaboration with Jockey comes at a crucial time for us. Jockey is a strong global brand that has been in the undergarment space for decades. I am quite excited by the opportunity to work with them in creating something special. What weve come up with is something really beautiful and sexy and I know the men and women of South Africa are just going to love it. The Jockey by David Tlale range of garments will be available in Jockey stores nationally and select major retail stores nationally for Summer 2016. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has called on members of coastal fishing communities to submit their expression of interest (EoI) to be verified and registered as small-scale fishers as the deadline to do so looms. ValeriaRodrigues via pixabay The department will, from tomorrow until June, visit coastal communities in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal to assist residents with the fisher registration and verification process. Moving forward Sue Middleton, the departments chief director of the Fisheries Operations Support, said this when briefing the media and affected members of the fishing community at the Fountains Hotel in Cape Town on Tuesday. Together with the gazetting of the Marine Living Resources Amendment Act and the publishing of the regulations, we now have the legal framework to move forward with the implementation of the small-scale fisheries policy. Fishing communities who wish to be part of the small-scale fishing sector now need to register their expression of interest to indicate that they need to be part of the sector. They have until the 7 April 2016 to register, she said. Redressing inequality of SA's fisheries governance system The massive registration of the fishing communities marks the official implementation of the small-scale fisheries policy, which was actioned after minister Senzeni Zokwana published the regulations of the Amended Marine Living Resources Act in the government gazette on 8 March this year. The promulgation of the Amended Marine Living Resources Act means that the small-scale fishing sector is now formally recognised. This is a critical development to redress the inequality of South Africas fisheries governance system. According to the department, small-scale fishers who use traditional fishing gear have harvested marine resources along the coastline of South Africa for thousands of years for consumptive use, sustaining livelihoods and for medicinal purposes. However, this particular group of people was not recognised in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act and were further marginalised through commercial fishing rights allocation processes. In 2007, government was compelled to redress the inequality suffered by the small-scale fishers by means of an order from the Equality Court and this led to the small-scale fisheries policy being finalised in 2012 after an extensive consultative process. The policys implementation plan being approved in 2013. Touching the lives of 30,000 small-scale fishers As of February 2014, the communities were asked to register their expression of interest as part of the implementation plan. To date, the department has received EoIs from 270 communities in a process that is expected to touch the lives of 30,000 small-scale fishers from the East to the West Coast. On Tuesday, Middleton said the registration and verification process started in KwaLanga in the Cape on 30 March. She said fishers willing to be part of the process must register in their respective fishing communities on the specified visitation dates. The visitation schedule will be made available in local newspapers, radio, the departments website and Facebook page. Posters will be put up in the respective communities. The 21st century is all about technology and the road to a full technological country is long, with education being the cornerstone to developing anything. Worldwide trends suggest that technology-enhanced learning is becoming increasingly important in the educational sector. On a regular basis, the media reports on new educational tools, such as tablets and e-books that could assist in learning. Embracing technology-enhanced learning in South African schools calls for an integrated sustainable approach to curriculum development. Both teachers and learners should be sufficiently equipped with digital learning skills in order to embrace 21st century learning opportunities. It is important to start by training the teachers, as not all of them are fully technologically advanced or even assured enough to teach and impart these skills to learners. According to an online report, statistics released in Parliament in 2013 by the Department of Basic Education showed only about 6000 of the countrys 25,870 schools were ICT-ready. Problems included a lack of funding, staff training, limited and expensive internet connectivity. VastraTech's Teachers for Change programme is bridging this skills gap, together with the Department of Education and Mathew Goniwe, in its largest initiative to train 12,000 teachers to ensure true transformation in the classroom. Our focus is transforming people development by fostering the use of 21st century skills such as creativity, communication, critical thinking and collaboration, says Candice du Preez, product marketing manager at VastraTech. The organisation makes learning and training easier for teachers, using interactive whiteboards and displays that will help fast track the future of education everywhere. These technologies encourage student collaborations and heighten group activities within all teaching spaces. The combination of audio and annotations with lessons adds a new dimension to school curriculums and enhances student engagement in an easy and visually stimulating way. The educational programmes and interactive teaching provided by VastraTech has proven to create more engaged learners, develop essential skills and prepare them for their future endeavours. The company is one of the leading value-added distributors of technology and converged communications solutions for customers in the enterprise, SME, government and education markets. It has a sub-Saharan network of specialty resellers that focus on delivering innovative solutions that improve the way people collaborate. To prepare kids for this world and their future means evolving education and instructional strategies to match the times our children are growing up in, while also teaching them good citizenship skills, said Giancarlo Brotto, global education strategist for SMART in his blog, How education technology helps students flourish. For more information, go to www.vastratech.com. On 7 April, the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) will launch the free 'Women in Business' (WIB), as a 10-week programme to help participants develop robust tech strategies, as well as gain useful insight into using digital tools that improve their business practices. The initiative, which is jointly sponsored by the City of Cape Town, is part of a venture to empower female entrepreneurs by giving them access to workshops, mentors and tools that will enrich their knowledge of tech and business strategies, as well as enhance their practical business skills. A number of industry experts will take the stage as guest speakers throughout the programme, such as Hayley Grey from Forge Technologies, Gillian Geldenhuys from 2D Mobile and Chantelle Bowyer from METIS Online Marketing. Topics covered will include Developing a Tech Strategy, Project Management, Financial Strategy, Trends and IT tools, and Digital Marketing, to name but a few. Criteria Women, who wish to be considered for the programme, should meet the following criteria: Been the CEO or founder of their own business for no less than a year Be using technology in their businesses and must have a desire to learn more Have a desire to implement a tech strategy in their business Preferably have a least one other staff member According to the Gender-Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) conducted in 2014, South Africa is still behind many countries in terms of workplace equality. Certain economical conditions, as well as traditional stereotypes, not only make it difficult for more female entrepreneurs to emerge, but to prosper as well. Dylan Kohlstadt, CEO of Shift One Digital and WIB programme co-facilitator for the second year running, says, As a small business owner, who is also a mother of two children, I understand the demands placed on women to do it all. While female entrepreneurship is on the rise, there is still a big gap between the number of male versus female-run businesses. The Women in Business programme provides a platform for women to network and share war stories, as well as learn vital tech skills in order to grow their businesses. As one of Africas oldest tech incubators, CiTi is well positioned to house this ten-week programme, which will guide women business owners in assessing and applying the relevant tech tools to their businesses. Innovation programme manager, Michelle Matthews, says that they are excited about what is in store for the women who join the programme. Statistically, businesses that use software and apps to support sales, marketing, data collection and productivity are likely to experience faster growth, both in size and revenue, which is why we believe in empowering women entrepreneurs with an effective tech strategy. We look forward to sharing tips, tools and techniques that will boost these businesses. For more information, go to www.citi.org.za/women-in-business, call +27 (0) 21 409 7000 or email az.gro.bwb@ewzubon. In the case of Duma v Minister of Correctional Services & others in February 2016, the Labour Court has ruled that failure to pay an employee in one province, the same remuneration as employees in the same positions in other provinces, constitutes unfair discrimination based on the arbitrary ground of 'geographical location' in terms of the Employment Equity Act. Case details Duma, an employee of the Department of Correctional Services, approached the Labour Court and claimed that her employer had discriminated against her on an unlisted ground. On 8 September 2000, Duma was appointed as a custodial officer at salary level 3 at the Department of Correctional Services. Duma was later promoted to the post of Senior Correctional Officer: Manager Legal Services: Voorberg Management Area: Western Cape. This post was classified as a salary level 8 post. A job advertisement was subsequently placed for a number of Senior Correctional Officer posts. It was decided, by the department, that these posts should be changed to Assistant Director posts, which were classified as a salary level 9 post. Duma claimed that her position should, in fact, have been classified as a salary level 9 position and she should therefore have received higher remuneration. Relying on section 6(1) of the EEA (prior to its amendment in terms of the Employment Equity Amendment Act 47 of 2013 (Amendment Act), Duma claimed that she had been unfairly discriminated against. Employees of the department in other geographical areas (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West and Kwazulu-Natal), who had been employed as Managers: Legal Services, were being remunerated in accordance with level 9 whereas she, who was employed in the Western Cape, was being paid in accordance with level 8, despite occupying the same post. The Court noted that an employee seeking relief in terms of section 6(1) of the EEA must be able to prove that there was differential conduct which amount to discrimination and that such discrimination was unfair. Discrimination will be present where the conduct impairs the employees human dignity. Court ruling The Court found that it was entirely arbitrary conduct for an employee to be remunerated more, simply because they reside in a particular province. Although this case was decided before the Amendment Act, which specifically introduces the notion of an arbitrary ground into the legislation, the Court nonetheless found that the conduct infringed on Dumas dignity. The Court found that the provisions of section 6(4) of the Amendment Act fortified this view even though it was not applicable to the matter at hand. Having regarded the case of SA Airways v Jansen van Vuuren & Another, the Court also found that the discrimination was unfair. While the Department offered little more than a bald denial that there had been unfair discrimination, Duma advanced a number of compelling grounds indicating that such discrimination was in fact unfair. One such ground was the fact that any distinction between employees based solely on the area of the country in which they work is, given our history, anathema to the society envisaged by the Constitution. As a result, Duma was awarded an amount equivalent to the difference between the remuneration she had received and the remuneration she should have received on the higher post grade. In addition, she was to be paid the higher salary going forward. Importance of this case This case introduces a further ground upon which an employee may not be discriminated against unfairly: geographical location. It also highlights the importance of ensuring that employees employed in the same post throughout the country are remunerated equally unless there is a sound justification for such differentiation. While this case was decided before the Amendment Act came into effect, it is nonetheless clear that such ground would be equally valid in terms of the newly amended EEA. Luxury trade show, We Are Africa , has announced an impressive list of partners. Sine its launch in 2014, We Are Africa has united the industry, challenged outdated perceptions of travel on the continent, encouraged a fierce passion and shared intent to rebrand Africa as a modern destination. This year an anticipated 250 suppliers, 265 buyers, and top international travel editors from the likes of Conde Nast Traveler, the BBC and Vanity Fair will again meet at the iconic Cape Town Stadium from 2-5 May. South African Tourism - Headline Partner of the event for the third year running. The partnership reflects South African Tourisms commitment to supporting the whole continents vibrant and diverse travel offering. Visiting the We Are Africa Trade Show will introduce you to the most outstanding African brands, says Sthembiso Dlamini, Acting CEO for South African Tourism. It will take you on a journey of discovering a carefully curated selection of luxury African brands, showcasing their products and services to some of the worlds finest travel buyers. The City of Cape Town - Host City Partner. Over 700 delegates from around the world and the continent will experience some of Cape Towns famous hospitality, with many staying in one of the seven luxury hotels We Are Africa has partnered with. The event organiser is incorporating a number of local suppliers, with coffee shops and breweries providing refreshments to the international and pan-African crowd. We Are Africa have also, once again, united with Uthando - a Cape Town-based, innovative, non-profit and fair trade in tourism accredited company, which raises funds and assistance for local community development projects. Wilderness Safaris - in response to the ground-breaking success of We Are Africa, and capitalising on the large volume of first class African travel buyers in Cape Town for the event, Wilderness Safaris is partnering with the show to co-host our official opening cocktail at Cape Town City Hall. Commenting on the show, Wilderness Safaris chief sales officer, Dave Bennet, says this: In todays dynamic environment, We Are Africa's innovative approach to creating meaningful connections and exploring new possibilities has set the gold standard for modern conferences. World class engagement and facilitation tools get us face-to-face with the right people in a relaxed and seamless process. The Innovation Zone, powered by PayPal is part of We Are Africas intent to promote a progressive and dynamic Africa, the birthplace of many world-changing innovations. The Innovation Zone will be a dedicated space on the show floor, established to connect forward-thinking travel brands with We Are Africas curated crowd of African exhibitors and international buyers and press. From revolutionary hospitality technology to F&B solutions and beyond, the Innovation Zone has already attracted a number of game-changers, such as TourPlan, SATIB, Wetu and Under the Influence. PayPal, who will be presenting their exciting solutions for the travel industry, will be headlining the space. Any vendor that comes to Africa needs to understand Africa. The problem most companies have is that they think of Africa as one country, where one approach will work, not 50-plus countries, each with their own political, educational, and technological systems. Africa has more than one billion people, with a huge mix of cultures, languages and development levels. Alex Stokes via 123RF Some companies want to work here remotely, but you cant do that in Africa - you need to have a local presence. Its an old adage that people buy from people - but it is definitely the case in Africa. If you dont have presence on the ground, you cant really understand the diverse cultures and what is required to deliver effectively. Governments and enterprises around the globe are looking at digitisation strategies to drive operational excellence, greater competitive differentiation, customer and citizen satisfaction, and providing them with a more connected experience. With the majority of Africas population under 24 years of age, and the World Bank Group predicting the continents population will reach 2.8 billion by 2060 - more than a quarter of all people on earth - digital transformation is key to Africas successful future. Working in partnership Governments want to be more accessible to their citizens - that means communication, which is where we help deliver smart government, making life easier for citizens by working in partnership with the government organisations to transform everything to digital. Client-tailored and outcomes-focused digital and smart services elevate organisations of every scale and accelerate growth through their digital journeys. While Africas predominantly young, tech-savvy, population means awareness of the so-called third platform technologies - big data and analytics, cloud, social and mobile - are high, adoption is still uneven, given the diverse nature of the market. However, it very much depends on the country. Some countries have good bandwidth, good infrastructure and good education, and are therefore very advanced in their adoption of new technology. If you look at countries like South Africa, Morocco and Algeria, our cloud value proposition is gaining tremendous traction, how we integrate video as a service, unified communications and so on. Advanced solutions Many countries here have very advanced technology solutions that are ahead of other regions - for instance, we have seen the use of mobile phones to conduct banking transactions being pioneered in sub-Saharan Africa. Other countries may seem behind in technology adoption but they are catching up fast as the infrastructure develops. On a positive note, African countries have all opened the market for service providers to come in, so each country has several service providers competing to provide better service, and a better customer experience. Africa is a fertile land, whatever you put into it will bear fruit. We are investing more and more into the region; and we are increasingly looking at what other countries we can invest in because of the potential. Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has completed a R30 million caisson repair project at the 90-year old Prince Edward Graving dry dock in Durban. Joanne Castagna via Wikimedia Commons Senior engineer Nandi Mtsokoba is leading a team of predominantly female engineers to deliver a world class Durban dry dock facility by the end of 2019, in line with Operation Phakisa. She is the only female in Transnet nationwide that possesses the Government Certificate of Competency (GCC) and is one of only two engineers in the Port of Durban to have this academic qualification in engineering. The 35-metre long 900-ton outer caisson at the Port of Durbans Prince Edward Graving Dock has now been commissioned. This was the third and final phase of the TNPA repair programme on the structure, which was deemed unsafe and in need of repair. Work involved structural repairs to the first of two steel lock gates that separate the dock into two compartments and seal off water from the harbour to enable repairs and maintenance work to be carried out on ships serviced at the facility. Delays While the outer caisson was handed over to TNPA in December 2015, the commissioning period was longer than planned. Although the contractors made up for time lost because of an overrun of private repairs on the Africa Mercy ship in August that delayed the start of the caisson repair project, there were further delays towards the end of the project. We thank all our customers for their patience, said Durban Port manager, Moshe Motlohi. The project was on schedule for handover to TNPA until the heavy rains late November and early December prevented the contractors from being able to apply the corrosion protection, which is sensitive to weather conditions (wind, rain and humidity). Once the corrosion protection had been applied, the dry dock was flooded to test the caisson and determine how much ballast was needed to keep it in position. The caisson was then docked at the end of the dry dock so concrete could be pumped into the structure, as soon as suppliers reopened after the festive season shutdown. Meanwhile the survey vessel WG Magellan, which was booked in for repair, entered the dock in January. Leaks on the vessel delayed its planned exit, causing a further delay to commissioning of the caisson. The concrete-filled caisson was then floated to position, tested and re-docked for minor adjustments before final commissioning. The outer caisson was put into its operational position on 4 March 2016 and connected to the driving system on 8 March 2016. Thereafter the two tugs and a barge were docked for repair by 10 March 2015. Future work The outer caisson repair project is the first of 11 large-scale projects at the dry dock that fall under TNPAs programme to get the facility into peak condition, in line with Operation Phakisa initiative, which aims to unlock the economic potential of South Africas oceans. Under Transnets market demand strategy, TNPA will invest around R2 billion over the next five years to refurbish existing repair facilities, together with an estimated R13 to 15 billion to create new repair facilities at the South African ports. Part of the plan for the Prince Edward Graving Dock includes assessing the inner caisson with a view to its refurbishment, as well as an ongoing caisson maintenance programme to ensure that TNPA gets maximum return on its investment. This would include a concrete refurbishment programme and replacement of cranes and other equipment. Congratulations to the TNPA engineering team, contractors Channel Construction, managing contractors Sebata Group and technical advisors Naval Africa - KwaZulu-Natals only naval architecture firm - for meeting the challenge of delivering this project and overcoming the numerous hurdles faced along the way, concluded Motlohi. The number of fatalities on South Africa's roads this Easter weekend is likely to be lower than in previous years said Transport Department spokesman Ishmael Mnisi yesterday. Last year 287 people died in car accidents during the Easter weekend. Mnisi said yesterday: "We are noticing serious observance of the rules of the road - except for speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, which remain our major concerns." He said the number of bus and taxi crashes had been on the decline since the Christmas holidays. "Public transport road accidents have decreased. We have a problem with private vehicles driven by young drivers late at night." He said the police made arrests for speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol throughout the country during the weekend. Road traffic inspectorate spokesman Zinhle Mngomezulu said the highest speed recorded in KwaZulu-Natal during the Easter weekend was at Park Rynie, where a motorcyclist was nabbed doing 227km/h. The motorcyclist was alleged to have been under the influence of alcohol. By yesterday afternoon, at least 2,500 cars were passing through the Marrianhill toll plaza every hour. High traffic volumes The N3 Toll Concession reported heavy traffic on the N3 to Gauteng from around 2pm. At least 1,390 cars passed through the Mooi River toll plaza, and 1,910 travelled through the Tugela plaza each hour. About 1,860 vehicles went through the Wilge toll plaza and 2,340 through the De Hoek plaza hourly. Gauteng traffic department spokesman Busaphi Nxumalo said high traffic volumes were expected as holiday makers made their way home yesterday. The Limpopo traffic department said it expected heavy traffic as millions of people made their way home from the Moria pilgrimage. But Eastern Cape traffic department spokesman Ncedo Kumbana reported lower traffic volumes than on previous days. Source: The Times DOHA - Broadcaster Al-Jazeera said on Sunday that it is to shed around 500 jobs, most of them at its Qatar headquarters, as part of a "workforce optimisation initiative." Al-Jazeera said in a statement that after a management review it was "expected that around 500 positions worldwide will be impacted, the majority of which are in Qatar". The announcement comes just two months after the company said it would also close Al-Jazeera America. Source: AFP via I-NET Bridge Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy By Alvaader Frazier and David Belmont We want to vote for Senator Bernie Sanders in the presidential primary taking place in New York on April 19, 2016. But we cannot. New York State election laws violate our voting rights by not allowing us to do so. We are two of nearly one million Independent New York City voters and taxpayers who will be denied voting rights in this critical stage of the national election process. Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Alvaader Frazier, a lifelong African-American community organizer and independent political leader living here in New York City. I was active in the civil rights movement in my youth. I worked in the history making 1988 Independent Presidential Fair Elections Campaign of Dr. Lenora B. Fulani. I worked hard in 2003 attempt to pass nonpartisan elections for the City of New York. Since those times, voting rights have seen system wide setbacks, like the Supreme Courts gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This opened the door again for suppression of voters rights unseen in the USA since the late 1800s and early 1900s in nearly every state. New Yorks continued use of closed primaries in every election is another leading form of voter suppression. My name is David Belmont, a second-generation Jewish-American progressive activist. My father was an activist and union organizer, alongside Paul Robeson and others, in the 1950s. I was a marcher in the peace movement of the 1960s, and joined with Alvaader and others in the 1980s in fighting for the rights of independent voters. In 2005, I was a member of a multi-racial, left/right coalition that supported Mayor Michael Bloomberg. We won 47% of the African-American vote in that election and 65% of the independent vote. Bernie Sanders call for addressing the widening economic inequality in our country resonates with me. However, I also cannot vote for Sanders in the primary. My voice, along with 2.5 million other independents, will not be heard in New York States closed presidential primary. We are locked out. Senator Sanders is leading a campaign for a Political Revolution. Citizen voters should not have to join a political party to vote; and taxpaying citizen voters should not have to pay for elections that we cannot vote in. We join every New Yorker (Democrats and otherwise) supporting Senator Sanderss campaign for Political Revolution. Independents are on the front lines for him. He needs to include independents in his Political Revolution. Tell the leaders of the parties here in New York to let us vote too! Senator Sanders, Independent turned Democrat, has the courage of his convictions to challenge the almighty Democratic Party Clinton machine. We salute and raise him up for giving Hillary Clinton a hard fought primary. If you or someone you know are supporting and feeling the Bern for Senator Sanders, join forces with us. We should get together and talk together regarding how we can further Bernies Political Revolution! You can contact us at (212) 962-1699. Sisi Wong Hill, also known as Da Bang Bum in the Kachin language, is between Namtaung and Mongbaw. In the past it has been under the control of the Burma Communist Party (BCP). The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) Battalion 37, a new battalion under the command of Regiment 6, attacked troops from Burma Army Light Infantry Division (LID) 99 as they were marching from Namtaung to Mongbaw. A KIA official from Regiment 6 told the KNG that both sides exchanged fire for a short period of time and that at least seven Burma Army soldiers were killed or injured. According to KNGs investigations, over 3,000 Burma Army troops have been deployed in northern Shan State since the Burmese government strongly objected to the reorganisation of KIA Regiment 6 at the end of February. Five of the ten Burma Army light infantry divisions, LIDs 11, 55, 66, 88 and 99 have started carrying out military operations in the areas of Mongkoe, Mongbaw, Pang Hseng (Kyu Koke), and Mongsi, which are currently under the control of KIA Regiment 6. 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 WASHINGTON Puerto Rico officials and observers of the commonwealth's $70 billion debt crisis are concerned about a draft legislative proposal to help the territory and are waiting for the final draft, which is to be issued by a House committee on Tuesday. The draft from the House Natural Resources Committee, which has been widely circulated since late last week, is called the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. It would delegate almost all of the powers needed to help Puerto Rico to a presidentially appointed oversight board. The bill would also halt litigation on Puerto Rico's debt from Dec. 18, 2015 to 18 months past the date of enactment of the legislation. Sources differ as to extent the draft will be changed before its release on Tuesday but all agree that changes will likely to be made to it as it makes its way through the House. Critics warn the bill would impose an overly powerful board that threatens Puerto Rico's autonomy while not doing enough to address Puerto Rico's need to restructure its debt and grow the economy. As written, the bill would take months to implement and would not do anything to avoid commonwealth defaults on a $422 million debt payment due May 1 and a $2 billion payment due on July 1. The board would have the power to issue bonds and notes as well as the sole ability to file a petition for restructuring on behalf of the commonwealth or its public entities. It would approve and require implementation of the commonwealth's budgets and other recommendations for government operations even if there is opposition from Puerto Rico's elected officials. Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, said in a release on Saturday that he is especially concerned about the expansive powers the board would have when working with Puerto Rico to follow a stated fiscal plan and budget for each fiscal year. He said he doubts the board would ever exercise the power to implement the recommendations unilaterally, but added that it should not even have the power to do so. Pierluisi also said the debt restructuring section in the draft "requires some modifications, but is a promising start." The resident commissioner had already sent Natural Resources Committee chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah, 50 comments on the draft by Saturday and said he plans to send him more in the future. Pierluisi said any draft released "must establish a reasonable process that encourages fair and equitable restructuring agreements to be enforced in a court of law." Despite saying there are some positives in the Republican draft, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla harshly criticized it, echoing widespread Puerto Rican sentiments. He said that the draft "recognizes the need for extensive debt restructuring." But he added that "the rule of law on relations between Puerto Rico and the United States does not allow nullifying the constitution of the commonwealth to concentrate power in an unelected body by Puerto Ricans." "If legislation like that were approved, Puerto Rico would challenge it immediately in federal courts and before the community of nations," Garcia Padilla said. Such a challenge would be heard in the District Court for the District of Columbia, according to the draft. He added that having a control board restructure the debt would be the "killing of Puerto Rican democracy" and that allowing only the control board to authorize a debt restructuring is "dishonorable and degrading." Garcia Padilla is a leader of the Popular Democratic Party, which advocates that Puerto Rico retain its current commonwealth status. Puerto Rico House of Representatives Minority Leader Jenniffer Gonzalez Col-n said the Republican proposal "lays bare the colonial nature of the so-called 'commonwealth,' stripping it of its last ragged remaining appearances of power." Gonzalez Col-n is a leader of the New Progressive Party, which advocates statehood for Puerto Rico. Despite the backlash, Daniel Hanson, an analyst with Height Securities, said that the overall idea of the proposal could work if significant technical changes to the restructuring and other portions are made as the bill moves through Congress. He said in written commentary on Monday that the proposal is "attempting to appease anti-Chapter 9 members with a structure that materially impairs creditor rights and sets bad precedent for future proceedings." The Natural Resources Committee's movement toward a bill follows months of hearings and discussions in Congress on Puerto Rico's financial condition. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters that the committee will hold a hearing on the draft after members return from Easter recess, likely on April 13. The committee would then hold a vote on the bill the next day. Under the draft being circulated, the U.S. president would appoint five individuals for three-year terms. The members, two of which would have to either have a primary residence or place of business in Puerto Rico, would have to have knowledge and experience in finance, management, law, or business or government operations. They could not be elected officials or employees of Puerto Rico's government. Additionally, they could not provide goods or services to Puerto Rico's government or be related to someone who does. The members would not be compensated but would have the power to select an executive director and staff that could receive compensation. The board could also employ a chief management officer, who would report to the executive director, to oversee certain areas of the oversight board's jurisdiction, like Puerto Rico's governmental departments and other governmental functions. Pierluisi said the chief management officer the board could employ "seems to cross the line from 'macromanagement' to micromanagement." The draft requires that the Puerto Rico government submit a fiscal plan for at least a five year period to the board for approval as well as the budget for each fiscal year during the oversight period. If the board determines that a budget from the legislature or governor does not align with the fiscal plan, it would send the budget back with revisions. Both the governor and legislature would have until the end of an agreed upon timeline to file as many revisions to their proposal as they like. However, if at the end of the time period the board has not approved the submitted budget, the oversight board's budget proposal would be deemed approved and effective on the first day of the relevant fiscal year. The draft would require Puerto Rico's government to make a dedicated funding source to help finance board operations. It also leaves open the possibility of a congressional appropriation. The board would be able to nullify any legislation Puerto Rico's government passes if it does not fit into an agreed upon fiscal plan for the commonwealth. Much of the discussion in Congress regarding possible solutions to Puerto Rico's situation have centered on combining an oversight authority and debt restructuring, with Democrats largely pushing broader debt restructuring and Republicans backing a more powerful authority. The draft avoids changing Chapter 9 bankruptcy law, which allows a state's public authorities to restructure its debts, and instead uses the U.S. Constitution's Territorial Clause to apply the proposal to Puerto Rico. It aims to allay creditor concerns by requiring that a debtor engage in voluntary restructuring discussions before filing of a restructuring petition. It would cater to a frequently cited Republican complaint by requiring Puerto Rico to have released its audited financials for the most recent fiscal year before restructuring petitions could be filed in the federal district court in Puerto Rico. The provision halting litigation has been a main component of several bills from Democrats in the past. Additionally, the draft lays out a method for the board to study Puerto Rico's public pension system, which has $46 billion in liabilities and only $2 billion in net assets. It would authorize a "revitalization coordinator" under the board that would facilitate project proposals to improve the commonwealth's infrastructure and economic health. A better solution for managing the American bison of Yellowstone National Park has Montana roots. The immunocontraceptive vaccine porcine zona pellucida (native PZP) was first used 30 years ago by the late Billings reproductive physiologist Jay F. Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., for population control in wild horse herds and is now used in federal and tribal herds throughout the West, on East Coast barrier islands and in private sanctuaries. It has been conclusively shown, more recently, that native PZP also works on bison in the Catalina Island herd off the coast of southern California. The British Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio and the Los Angeles Times have all reported on this project, which helps demonstrate that PZP could be used in Yellowstone National Park and anywhere else where there is a population surplus of bison, including zoos. On Catalina Island, the 2010 calving rate for bison was 67.4 percent (29 calves from 43 cows). Through the use of native PZP, the calving rate was reduced to 10.4 percent by 2011 and to 3.3 percent by 2012. Considering the annual mortality rate of 2 to 5 percent documented during this study, the results demonstrate the potential of PZP use as an effective, nonlethal tool for controlling population growth in free-ranging bison. Why national parks have not adopted this methodology is a mystery to me. The National Park Service is a preservation agency, and bison are considered a native North American species, even though they evolved in the Asian steppes. This species has been in North America for about 150,000 years, having migrated east over the Bering Land Bridge. It is believed that bison (commonly known as buffalo) crossed this land bridge that once connected the Asian and North American continents. Through the centuries, they slowly moved southward, eventually reaching as far south as Mexico and as far east as the Atlantic Coast, extending south to Florida. But the largest herds were found on the plains and prairies from the Rocky Mountains east to the Mississippi River, and from Great Slave Lake in Canada to Texas. I have proudly worn the NPS uniform. On the base of the shoulder patch is a white bison part of the agencys logo. Historically, this species has been held in high esteem, especially for the conservation efforts that saved it from complete extermination during the late 19th century. PZP vaccination is inexpensive ($24 per dose) and may be delivered remotely via a dart gun. Don't we have enough bison "farms" already to give us the meat desired? I am not an animal rights activist but have a degree in animal science, and I find it unnecessary to slaughter these animals when there is a viable alternative in up-front, safe and inexpensive population control. No wonder the NPS is restricting access to the slaughtering process. They are ashamed and well they should be. This is ignorance and insensitivity at the highest level. Shame on all of these officials. Bison are publicly owned wildlife, and transparency is required by law. Partisan bickering and polarization have severely impaired the functioning of the legislative and executive branches of the federal government for the last several years. Indeed, in the eyes of many Americans, our government has become a laughingstock a class full of spoiled preschoolers, sorely in need of a long time out. Through all of this political theater, the Judicial Branch has functioned quite well. Cases have been litigated in the federal trial and circuit courts; criminals have been brought to justice; and legal issues have been decided. The wheels of justice have ground on, inexorably. So, too, has the U.S. Supreme Court. That court has fulfilled its constitutional duties by conducting appellate review and handing down decisions in 75 to 100 cases each year, and every year. That is not to say we have all agreed with the courts decisions: there have been some real game-changers (Citizens United being a notable example). But, agree or not with the High Courts decisions, no one can deny that the court has continued to do its job in spite of the theatrics in its sister branches. Partisan cancer That is, until now. The partisan cancer affecting the other two branches has now metastasized to the Supreme Court. Like a tumor invading an otherwise healthy organ, the Senate majority partys decision to withhold consideration of President Barack Obamas nominee to fill the seat of Justice Antonin Scalia, threatens to severely cripple the operations of the Supreme Court. True, the court will continue to hear cases and issue opinions. But, in those cases where the decision turns on the jurisprudential philosophy of the individual justices, it is very likely that there will be a 4-4 split. The lower courts decision will stand wrong or right. There will be no decision on the merits of the appeal. The legal errors or splits in the circuit courts that necessitated the High Court hearing the case in the first place will just have to wait for another case to make its way to the Supreme Court. Litigants with pressing and important issues will not get their cases resolved. People and businesses who have spent countless hours and probably thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars litigating in the trial and appellate courts, will see all of their efforts and money go up in smoke. Civil and criminal cases maybe the lives and liberties of prisoners hang in the balance. Maybe even the next presidential election (another Bush v. Gore). Right to be heard These are not faceless names on legal documents. These litigants have real legal problems. And, they have a fundamental right to have their cases decided by a fair, independent and impartial Court with all nine sitting justices. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution sets out the duties of the two political branches of government with respect to filling vacancies on the Supreme Court. The language is mandatory. The president shall nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint the judges. In short, the Constitution requires that the president and Senate work in concert one not withholding its constitutional obligation and power from the other. It is unconscionable that the third branch of government be, for months on end, crippled in the performance of its constitutional duties by politics-as-usual. Indeed, Americans are seeing the results of that sort of partisanship and polarization play out in every evenings news and in every mornings papers. And, because of it, the people of this country are disenchanted and angry with our political processes and with their government. President Obamas nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland, of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, is well-credentialed and eminently qualified to serve as a justice. He is a centrist, and is well respected by members of both political parties and by the bench and bar. Garland deserves a prompt Senate hearing and vote. The Senate has no right to create an impasse in liberty and justice for all. For a brief moment, it seemed as though the national political spotlight was going to shine on Wyoming. People here were certainly fired up for one reason or another after both Bernie Sanders and Bill Clinton scheduled appearances on the same day last week in the Cowboy State. Vermont Sen. Sanders would have visited Casper and Laramie; former president Clinton would have stumped for his wife, Hillary, in Cheyenne. Those two visits were all it would have taken to significantly lengthen the list of campaign appearances in the state, as so far Ted Cruz is the only Republican left in the race who has visited Wyoming in this election cycle. Unfortunately, wintry weather kept both Democrats from the area that day. Wyoming will have to wait to meet Sanders, the Clintons and their chief rivals Republicans John Kasich and Donald Trump during their 2016 White House bids. But we hope the state doesnt have to wait long. On that point, were cautiously optimistic: The Facebook announcement for Sanders appearance lists the event as postponed, rather than canceled entirely, which is welcome news. Regardless of political affiliation, the state should encourage national candidates focus on Wyoming. We would have been equally disappointed had the weather forced Republican candidates Ohio Gov. Kasich and billionaire businessman Trump to cancel campaign appearances. We were happy to see Republicans Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal and Rand Paul visit the state before they ended their respective campaigns as well. After all, Sanders and Clintons visits would have represented opportunities for Wyomingites to learn more about people who might be the next occupants of the White House. The U.S. Constitution says the president of the United States is the commander in chief of the armed forces, the top diplomat, the chief administrator, the chief legislator and the chief magistrate. That person also is the head of their party and fills several other key roles. In short, this is a person Wyomingites should have the opportunity to meet. Already, Wyoming voters are too often left out of the national conversation because of the states late primary date (Aug. 16) and its relatively low population. These visits represented a rare shot for Cowboy State residents to hear firsthand what Sanders and the Clinton campaign envision for the nations future and no less important for the candidates to hear directly from Wyomingites. Our population is small, but our people are important, well-informed and opinionated. The entire slate of presidential contenders could benefit from becoming better acquainted with Wyomingites and their priorities. We urge them to reschedule those visits soon. Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune Is there any way for Ted Cruz or John Kasich to wrest the Republican nomination from Donald Trump? With every tick of the clock, it looks less likely. The chances differ for the two candidates. Kasich needs a miracle. Cruz may possibly succeed with a new emphasis. Kasichs claim boils down to this: Hes a Midwestern moderate who may not perform well in deep-red states such as Texas and Utah but will find his natural constituency in the Northeast and West Coast states coming up. His electoral performance and his campaigns incompetence suggest otherwise. If Kasich is the regional/purple-state candidate, why did he come third in Michigan, fifth in Minnesota, fourth in Florida, third in Missouri, fourth in Virginia, third in Illinois and eighth in Iowa? Despite his Ohio win, Kasich has amassed fewer delegates than Rubio even today. Why, if his gambit is to win with moderates, did his campaign fail to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania (the challenge was withdrawn when Rubio dropped out) and even to field a full slate of delegates of Maryland? Kasichs behavior fits more consistently with a plan to be chosen as Trumps running mate than with a real strategy to win. When Rubio urged his supporters to vote for Kasich in Ohio (the better to deny Trump delegates), Kasich pointedly declined to return the favor. When Trump dropped out of the final debate, Kasich withdrew as well. And then there was his inexplicable decision to spend three quarters of a million dollars in Utah a state that awards all of its delegates to the candidate who gets 50 percent plus one despite polls showing Cruz with a commanding lead. (Cruz did win 69 percent.) Kasich could be a consensus candidate if there were any evidence that voters outside of Ohio liked him. As of now, there isnt. His path is a yellow brick road to Oz. Someone still needs to tell him its not a real place. Ted Cruz is also under water in many ways. The coming lull in primaries favors Trump, as the ratings-mad and Democrat-leaning media will continue to keep the reality star front and center, denying Cruz oxygen. Also, the coming primaries are mostly in blue and purple states: New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, California and a few more. There are some exceptions, but most of the voters Ted Cruz must appeal to in the coming six weeks are not just uninspired by him; they are repelled. The country-music, God, guns and no-amnesty shtick that worked moderately well in the South (though not according to plan, as Trump ran away with most of the voters Cruz was angling for) is like kryptonite on the coasts. It is too much to expect that Cruz can win a majority of the delegates at this point. Both math and geography are against him. He would need to win 85 percent of the remaining delegates (Trump needs 55 percent). But if Sen. Cruz can blunt Trumps momentum, especially toward the end, delegates would be freed to consider the convention an open contest. There is one message that Cruz can emphasize from here on out that would not conflict with his established identity but might rally voters not otherwise inclined toward him political decency. At every opportunity, he must stress that Trumps virtually naked appeal to racial hatred (his footsie with the KKK being exhibit A), his encouragement of mob violence, his tolerance for alleged violence against a woman by his campaign manager and his frightening admiration for dictators of all stripes make him utterly unfit to be the standard bearer for the party of Abraham Lincoln. Though Cruz has made his name disparaging the Republican Party, it now falls to him to defend its honor and that of the conservative movement against nativism, vulgarity, ignorance and authoritarianism. He must stress (as he has done in one or two debates) that being faithful to the Constitution doesnt just mean appointing worthy justices to the Supreme Court as crucial as that is. It also means respecting constitutional limits on government power, especially executive power. And he must emphasize that in a world made far more dangerous by the intentional weakening of the United States under Barack Obama, an erratic, ignorant and unstable commander in chief represents an unacceptable danger to the nation and the world. The time for Cruz to be the alternate Trump is over. If there is any chance for him, it will be as the clarion, bold anti-Trump. What just happened? Earlier today the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on a legal challenge to a California law that forces non-union workers to pay fees to public-employee unions. What was the case about? California law requires every teacher working in most of its public schools to financially contribute to the local teachers union and that unions state and national affiliates in order to subsidize expenses the union claims are related to collective bargaining. California law also requires public school teachers to subsidize expenditures unrelated to collective bargaining unless a teacher affirmatively objects and then renews his or her opposition in writing every year. In the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, several plaintiffs, including Rebecca Friedrichs and the Christian Educators Association International, challenged the law claiming that this agency shop provision is a form of state-compelled speech. The Supreme Court was asked to decide: 1. Whether Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed., 431 U.S. 209 (1977), should be overruled and public-sector agency shop arrangements invalidated under the First Amendment. 2. Whether it violates the First Amendment to require that public employees affirmatively object to subsidizing nonchargeable speech by public-sector unions, rather than requiring that employees affirmatively consent to subsidizing such speech. What is a public-sector union? A public-sector union is a trade or labor union that represents the interests of employees within public sector or governmental organizations, such as teachers, firefighters, federal government employees, etc. What is an agency shop? Many states in the U.S. allow for a union security agreement, a contractual agreement between an employer and a union that compels employees to either join the union and/or pay fees to the union. (States that have statutes that prohibit union security agreements are known as right-to-work states.) An agency shop provision is a form of union security agreement where the employer may hire non-union workers, but such workers must pay a fee to cover the collective bargaining costs of the union. The fee paid by non-union members under the agency shop is known as the agency fee. What was the Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed case about? The Abood case resulted in a 1977 Supreme Court decision ruled that a public workspace (such as a public school) could be an agency shop. The Court determined that non-members of the union may be assessed dues for collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment purposes while insisting that objectors to union membership or policy may not have their dues used for other ideological or political purposes. The decision also noted: Although public employee unions activities are political to the extent they attempt to influence governmental policymaking, the differences in the nature of collective bargaining between the public and private sectors do not mean that a public employee has a weightier First Amendment interest than a private employee in not being compelled to contribute to the costs of exclusive union representation. A public employee who believes that a union representing him is urging a course that is unwise as a matter of public policy is not barred from expressing his viewpoint, but, besides voting in accordance with his convictions, every public employee is largely free to express his views, in public or private, orally or in writing, and, with some exceptions not pertinent here, is free to participate in the full range of political and ideological activities open to other citizens. What is the primary argument that Abood should be overturned? On the first question, Justice Scalia summarized the plantiffs position during oral arguments as: The problem is that everything that is collectively bargained [by a public-sector union] with the government is within the political sphere, almost by definition. Should the government pay higher wages or lesser wages? Should it promote teachers on the basis of seniority or on the basis of all of those questions are necessarily political questions. On the second question, Amy Howe explains, the challengers in this case argue that the system has it backwards: instead of charging everyone for those expenses and requiring non-members to opt out, the union should only charge the people who affirmatively opt in by agreeing to pay them. What is the primary argument that Abood should be upheld? During the oral arguments, notes Amy Howe, the Courts four liberal Justices spent relatively little time on the main legal issue of whether requiring non-members to pay the fee violates the First Amendment: Instead, many of their questions centered on whether, even if [plantiff] Friedrichs has a stronger legal argument, the Court should still rule against her based on a legal doctrine known as stare decisis which counsels that the Court should not overturn its prior rulings unless there is a particularly compelling reason to do so. This suggests that the more liberal Justices realized that the battle on the merits of the case was not one that they could win. And so they shifted gears, trying to salvage a victory by convincing at least one of their colleagues that it would, as a matter of principle, be a bad idea to overrule the decision in Abood. Whats wrong with being forced to pay for union representation? In many countries that have a state religion citizens are forced to pay a portion of their income to support the activities of the state-approved church. Most Americans recognize that being required to directly finance the sectarian and dogmatic activities of a religious organization they may not wish to be associated with is a violation of their freedom of association. Similarly, Americans should not be forced to financially support unions that claim to their economic interest if they believe such organizations are engaging in activities (such as political campaigning) they disapprove of. Wouldnt overturning the agency shop provision create a free rider problem? In the context of unions, a free rider is an employee who pays no union dues or agency shop fees, but nonetheless receives the same benefits of union representation as dues-payers. But there is no free rider problem unless a union explicitly chooses to create free riders. As James Sherk explains: Unions and their supporters argue that this unfairly forces them to represent workers who do not pay their share of collective-bargaining costs. They argue that right to work allows workers to enjoy the benefits of a union contract without paying for it. As Michigan state representative Tim Greimel told the Detroit News, This really is not about so-called right to work or so-called freedom to work, its about freedom to freeload. That would be a fair point, if it were true. But it is not. The NLRA does not require unions to bargain as exclusive representatives. It enables them to do so an important difference. Unions may bargain on behalf of every worker in the company. But the Supreme Court has ruled that the NLRAs protections are not limited to labor organizations which are entitled to recognition as exclusive bargaining agents of employees . . . Members only contracts have long been recognized (Retail Clerks v. Lion Dry Goods, 1962). Unions can negotiate contracts that apply only to dues-paying members and exclude non-dues-paying members. Their argument against right to work is untrue. What is the effect of the 4-4 decision? The 4-4 decision sets no new precedent but merely leaves in place an appeals court ruling in favor of the unions. As Reuters notes, the outcome emphasized the impact of Scalias death, as he likely would have been a decisive vote against the unions. The issue is likely to come before the Supreme Court again in the future after a ninth justice has been appointed to fill the vacancy caused by Justice Scalias death. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar addresses the media after the inauguration of the 9th edition of Defexpo-16 in Goa on Monday. A PTI Photo. QUEPEM, GOA (PTI): Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday admitted the pace of negotiation with France for 36 Rafale jets was "not enough" but hoped it will be concluded "very soon", nearly a year after a government-to-government deal for the multi-medium role combat aircraft was announced. The Minister also brushed aside the recent statement of Vice Chief of Air Staff B S Dhanoa, slated to be there next air chief, that the Indian Air Force does not have the numbers to fight a two-front war with China and Pakistan. "We are definitely very serious about the Rafale deal. And it is definitely moving though I agree that the speed is not enough," Parrikar told a press conference here at the Defexpo. He said France and India would "very soon" conclude the deal and added "I am not putting a timeline because ultimately money is a problem and we should get a good deal." In April last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced India would go for a government-to-government deal with France for purchasing the fighter planes. But a final contract in this regard is yet to be signed. The sticking point is the price of the aircraft. It is said the 36 aircraft, along with missile systems and support, will cost around Rs 65,000 crore but India is looking at buying them for about Rs 59,000 crore. Asked about Dhanoa's comment, Parrikar said India is "quite well prepared". "Preparedness is not necessarily decided on strength. It also depends on many other capacities, beyond fighter aircraft also," he said. Talking about the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Minister said there is a "difference in perception of the border". On his Ministry's annual report that said China's assertiveness along the LAC has increased, he said, "Assertiveness is existing but I don't think we are saying that we are not assertive. We are also assertive. "Our assertiveness has increased but we feel that solutions could be found by mechanism which the two countries work out." He also said that confidence building measures like setting up of hotlines and new border meeting points were "providing results". A Saab photo. PANAJI (PTI): Sweden-headquartered Saab and Tata Power SED have collaborated to develop and manufacture self-protection systems for land-based platforms in India during the ongoing Defence Expo in Goa. The systems are meant for the Indian market and for export to Saab's global market, the two companies issued a joint statement. "The process of transfer of technology for production of initial orders for Saab's global customers has already commenced at Tata Power SED's facility in Bangalore. "Tata Power SED will eventually manufacture a large part of the system in India and also do final assembly," the statement said. "Tata power SED's strengths in Defence Electronics manufacturing are a perfect complement to Saab's expertise in electronic warfare systems, sensors and self protection systems for all domains," CMD of Saab India Technologies said Jan Widerstrom said. CEO of Tata Power SED Rahul Chaudhry said, the company is excited to be a part of this synergetic collaboration that has already been kicked off. "Given the long-term potential for self protection systems for combat vehicles, both in India and abroad, we see this collaboration with Saab as an important milestone in boosting India's capabilities in building defence systems," he said. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister promises to double the amount of money available for post-secondary scholarships and bursaries by encouraging more private-sector donors. Pallister made the announcement at the University of Manitoba on Monday morning, and again at Brandon University in the afternoon. Today is kind of an emotional announcement for me because this is my old school were talking about, he said while standing outside Clark Hall, surrounded by local Tory candidates and a handful of university students. Bruce Bumstead/The Brandon Sun Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister speaks outside Clark Hall on the Brandon University campus during an announcement on post-secondary grant funding on Monday, while Brandon East Tory candidate Len Isleifson and Brandon West PC incumbent Reg Helwer look on. These schools are where we unlock the potential within our young people. Pallister said a PC government would raise the total funding available to $20 million by increasing the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative fund to $6.75 million from $4.5 million, with a one-third matching component from government to allow for more private donors. Pallister said this campaign promise was developed after meeting with officials at each post-secondary institution in the province. The suggestion is that there is money waiting to be donated to assist young people in getting to a post-secondary institution in the private sector, he said. There has been a matching program, but it hasnt increased under the NDP for 17 years, and we think that thats a major error in judgment. Pallister believes his pledge will create 3,500 additional scholarships. He said he will get the private sector on board by reducing barriers to private donors and working with groups such as the Business Council of Manitoba. Last week, NDP Leader Greg Selinger pledged to invest $40 million to replace student loans with grants, provide free tuition to students in care up to age 25 and double funding for the Manitoba Scholarship and Bursary Initiative. The Liberals have also pledged to turn Manitoba student loans to non-repayable grants starting in the 2016-17 academic year, at a cost of $10 million annually. In response to Pallisters promise, opposing parties criticized the PC leaders emphasis on the private sector for the funds. We support real spending on education, but Pallister is assuming two-thirds of his pledge will be picked up by the private sector and you know what happens when you assume, Liberal spokesman Mike Brown said in a prepared statement. The NDP called the plan bad for students, bad for families, and bad for colleges and universities in an emailed statement sent by spokesman Andrew Tod. While in Brandon, Pallister stopped in at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. It does always remind me of the importance of agriculture in our economy and I think thats a really good function of this event, he said. At the university announcement, Pallister was once again asked if the Tories would invest in a new school for Brandon. While he called it an exciting proposal, Pallister wouldnt commit to any funding. The first thing is to determine how deep the fiscal hole is that were going to inherit, then to look at the priority projects, he said. jaustin@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press Twitter: @jillianaustin Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. MONTREAL Norfolk Southern Railways CEO is urging its employees not to support a motion urging the railways board of directors to enter into merger talks with Canadian Pacific Railway. In a letter sent ahead of the railways May 12 annual meeting, chief executive Jim Squires said employees who are shareholders should vote against the motion, a move unanimously recommended by the companys board. Every vote is important, he wrote in the missive released Tuesday in a regulatory filing. Squires said the Virginia-based railway has worked over the past months on a strategic plan to streamline operations, drive profitability and accelerate growth. We are improving our operations and positioning Norfolk Southern to be a fast, lower-cost, and more profitable railroad. Squires also urged employees not to let CPs resolution become a distraction. Norfolk Southern has refused to enter into negotiations on CPs US$30-billion offer, calling it grossly inadequate and likely to face substantial regulatory risks. However, after months of rejecting the Calgary-based railways overtures, Norfolk said in a proxy circular released late Monday that it was willing to enter talks if CP was prepared to meaningfully increase its bid and the U.S. railway regulator sanctions its proposed voting trust structure. CP Rail chief executive Hunter Harrison said that the railway is pleased that Norfolk may now be willing to enter into direct face-to-face negotiations. CP has consistently stated that we are open to discussing all terms of a potential deal, including price, but we cant negotiate with ourselves, he said in a news release. Harrison said last month that CP was prepared to walk away from a takeover bid if Norfolk Southern shareholders didnt vote for negotiations. CP said Tuesday that it remains open to working with Norfolk Southern to successfully structure a transaction. The problems with the article were highlighted in a Times of Israel article published here. Aside from a few defensive Tweets, Lapido Media did not respond to the substantively to the issues raised in the Times of Israel article. New Information This writer (Dexter Van Zile) met the student who was profiled in the article at the recent Christ at the Checkpoint Conference which was held in Beit Jala earlier this month. He challenged the student to explain why Israel should be condemned for denying him a visa for which he did not apply. He also challenged the student to think about whether or not he is truly promoting peace by helping to generate anti-Israel propaganda. In the ensuing conversation, the student in question stated that he has since applied for (and been given) a one-year work visa by the Palestinian Authority and that the paper work associated with this visa has been forwarded to the Israeli government for final approval. When asked whether or not the Israelis are likely to approve the work visa, the student in responded that it is likely that the Israelis will approve the visa because it does not want to make the Palestinian Authority angry. This undercuts a significant premise of the original Lapido Media article that Israel was giving the peace studies program the brush-off by denying one of its students a visa to participate. Israel will likely grant the visa because it wants to maintain good relations with the Palestinian Authority even as its leaders incite Palestinians to attack Israeli citizens. This revelation prompted another challenge from the CAMERA researcher: Will the student tell the public that he has applied for a visa and that Israel will very likely allow him to stay, contrary to what the Lapido Media article stated? To his credit, the student said he would speak to Lapido Medias correspondent, Jayson Kasper (who was in attendance at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference) and encourage him to write an update to the story. On the last night of the conference, Thursday March 10, 2016, Kasper approached this writer and stated that William? had approached him about doing an update. Kasper stated that after the conference he would contact Lapido Media about doing an update to the story. It has been over two weeks and Lapido Media has yet to update or retract the original story. Resolution? On Friday, March 25, 2016 and again on Monday, March 28, 2016 CAMERA made repeated inquiries to Lapido Media via email and Twitter. In emails, CAMERA asked that the article be retracted and that Lapido Media publish an update including accurate information about William's visa application. In a now deleted Tweet posted yesterday, Lapido Media confirmed that Kasper had spoken to the publication about doing an update. This same Tweet also declared that an update had been posted on Lapido Medias website, but this assertion seems to be an error because no update can be found on the website. An email from the PR person for Lapido Media received this morning (March 29, 2016), indicates that the publication is reviewing it and working on it.? Going Forward However the story turns out, CAMERA is glad to have helped uncover the truth about Williams so-called visa problem, which in light of the new information, appears to be an exaggeration. CAMERA hopes that Lapido Media will adhere to stricter standards of proof in its future articles about Israel and the Palestinians. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. CALGARY Kay Pike stands in front of a giant lit mirror, dabs her brush into a glob of paint and touches it to her skin. Shell repeat the motion thousands of times over the next 12 hours as she transforms herself from a willowy blond artist to the dark-haired Man of Steel for a throng of viewers following along on the Internet. We dont talk about gender roles on my channel. In fact, when people say you should paint yourself as Superwoman, Im like, No. I want to paint myself as Superman,' says Pike, who, when shes done, looks like she could have been ripped from a comic book panel. Over a 12 hour period, all the while live streaming on the internet, Kay Pike transforms herself using body paint and latex into Superman at her home in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, March 19, 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh It doesnt matter. When youre painting a canvas, youre not thinking this is a girl canvas or this is a boy canvas. Pike is a fan of cosplay in which participants wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character from anime, comic books and cartoons, video games or movies. Twice a week, the 28-year-old spends up to 15 hours turning her body into a different character for an Internet audience. Ive been painting my whole life. It kind of comes easily to me, but its a lot of practice and hard work too, Pike said in a interview with The Canadian Press at her studio in northwest Calgary. Art is art. Im one of those art class nerds that would go and eat lunch in the art room and hang out with the art supplies. After sitting as a body paint model for a friend, Pike realized she could still dress up without having to make a costume. Its magic. She posted a video of her first solo effort on Reddit and it caught the attention of Twitch.tv, a live-streaming company in San Francisco. One week later I was live streaming body paint on Twitch. Pike started in December at https://www.twitch.tv/KayPikeFashion and already has 163,000 followers on Instagram (@kaypikefashion). Her sessions are a mix of reality TV and info-tainment. There are contests for signed prints or balloon animals she makes on screen. She receives a little advertising money, but relies more on donations from viewers to offset her costs and from Patreon.com, a crowdfunding site for artists. An alarm that goes off when people make donations. There is also cash from her fashion line, which she sells at comic conventions, as well as appearance fees. Its like small income from a lot of different places that add up to a mortgage payment. Superman is a favourite of her husband, Moose, who narrates, reads posts from her followers and runs things behind the scenes. In between singing along to pop music and answering questions from her followers, she gives step-by-step details on how she goes about creating the character. The audience is an equal split of male and female fans between 18 and 38. She explained she was led to painting characters for cosplay to get out of some mega-social anxiety. Having the fashion line were going to the shows, right? I totally, 100 per cent, could not talk to anyone on the other side of the camera. I loved comic conventions and anime conventions, so getting interested in being (the characters) was to get over social anxiety. Pike doesnt have any favourites. She refers to all her creations as her little paint children. She said it would be boring and lonely to do the painting without an audience. While youre painting it, its a lot more satisfying because you have the joy of creation. At the end, its a little sad to wash it off. Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO A popular web browser in China may be putting the personal information of hundreds of millions of users at risk, a new report has found. Tencents QQ browser has 853 million monthly active users, according to the companys most recent public figures. The majority of its users live in China and other countries in Asia. The browsers Android and Windows versions send personal data to the companys servers either without encryption or with encryption that can be easily decrypted, according to a report from the Citizen Lab, based at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs. This personal data includes the URL addresses of visited sites. A public wifi network or another third party could acquire users personal data by collecting traffic and decrypting the information. The report also exposed privacy vulnerabilities in how the two browser versions update software. Someone could spoof such an update and install malicious code, like a spyware program, on a QQ browser users device, the authors found. QQ browser users generally would not be aware of these risks, the authors wrote, and would likely be concerned about the privacy breach if they knew. In China, the security breach could pose problems for democracy activists, human rights advocates and other so-called high-risk Internet users, according to the report. The report studied the Android version 9.2.5478 and the Windows version 6.3.01920. Citizen Labs director Ronald Deibert sent a letter to Tencent in mid-March asking if the company plans to correct the uncovered privacy vulnerabilities. Tencent did not provide answers prior to the reports publication. However, Tencent did release updates to its Android and Windows versions before the report was published. Both new versions resolve some of the privacy issues. Citizen Lab has previously found similar privacy concerns with UC browser and Baidu browser. Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden also leaked documents that indicated the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes Canada, used the UC browsers privacy shortcomings to identify and track users, according to the report. The similarities between the three browsers privacy concerns could be a coincidence, the adherence to industry standards, the result of government directives or informal pressure from officials or businesses, or a mix of the latter two factors, the authors suggest. All these causes require more research, they say. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 28/03/2016 (2399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. With an impending coal ban looming, Doug Collins hopes to see backhoes laying natural gas pipelines in Westman within the next two years. Collins, a Municipality of Louise councillor, is part of The Growth and Prosperity Group, which includes stakeholders intent on bringing natural gas service to nearly 10,000 square kilometres of southern Manitoba. Were much further ahead now than weve ever been when weve pursued this endeavour in the past, Collins said. The groups headway is evident with the hiring of a full-time project manager to advance the project. Ten municipalities Cartwright-Roblin, Prairie Lakes, Louise, Argyle, Pembina, Thompson, Lorne, Victoria, Norfolk-Treherne and Glenboro-South Cypress chipped in to hire Jolene Rutter. There are three main reasons why the South Central Natural Gas Line Distribution Project should be a priority, according to Rutter, who said estimates peg the project cost at $54 million. A provincial ban on coal, one of the most common substitutes for natural gas on large agricultural operations, is set to come into effect in 2017. There are at least four Hutterite colonies who are still using coal in the area and a number of commercial businesses and rural farmers that need to have a plan in place other than coal, Rutter said. The ban eliminates the use of coal for use as a space heating fuel and is set to come into effect June 30, 2017. Economic development is the second reason for the project, according to Rutter. He said large agricultural operations have passed on the area in the past due to the lack of natural gas. Finally, there will be improved energy efficiency and lower costs for local residents. Rutter said the group hopes to secure infrastructure dollars from the Building Canada Fund, if the project meets regulations. Well have to make the business case for the project, he said, acknowledging there has been a political shift away from fossil fuels such as natural gas. Manitoba Hydro spokesman Scott Powell said theyre committed to working with stakeholders. We continue to study the line, Powell said. If it makes sense economically and makes sense for our ratepayers, its something we will definitely look at in the future. A Hydro representative and Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire met with the group last week to discuss the project. Maguire said hes supportive of the project and hopes the Liberal government will consider it under infrastructure programs. Its an economic development creator, Maguire said. Well have to work with all levels of government to make it happen. cjrtweed@brandonsun.com Twitter: @CharlesTweed Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Four months after the community lost its two doctors, the Shoal Lake emergency room remains closed. Rural Municipality of Yellowhead Mayor Don Yanick says the community is in talks with three physicians, but if negotiations succeed, it will still be months before the first would arrive. Were talking to three doctors right now, but nothing is signed yet, Yanick said. Were just talking right now. Were hoping by fall we could have a doctor. After decades of stability, Shoal Lake was suddenly tossed into a doctor crisis in August when both of its physicians resigned. One had been working in the community for about 20 years, and the other around 25 years. One moved to Ontario, while the other retired although that second doctor currently does clinic work on Mondays through Fridays. That left no doctors to run the ER at the Shoal Lake/Strathclair Health Centre, which has been closed since late November. To make things worse, Yanick said, other ERs in the area Hamiota, Russell, Minnedosa have also been closed sporadically. That leaves local residents spending time and money getting themselves to emergency rooms farther away. Yanick cited one example in which a doctor referred a patient to an ER. Brandon was the nearest one open, and it was 13 hours from the time the patient left Shoal Lake to when she returned home. So, thats pretty poor service, Yanick said. Like Killarney which recently had success recruiting one doctor from Ireland and another from England Shoal Lake has taken to headhunting for doctors. Yanick said the Yellowhead Health Committee hired a recruitment company that identified two doctors as potential candidates. One is a South African doctor, and the other is from the United States. Yanick said Prairie Mountain Health found a third candidate who is currently in Fort McMurray, Alta. That doctor is from overseas but Canadian trained, he said. In terms of challenges to recruitment, Yanick said the province needs to make it easier for experienced foreign doctors to get conditional licences in this province. For example, he said, one of the three doctors the community is pursuing can get a conditional licence to work in Alberta but not in this province. However, Prairie Mountain Health CEO Penny Gilson said Manitoba has recently looked to streamline the process for licensing doctors in general. Gilson said a balance must be struck between the need to fill positions, and the need for physicians capable of meeting the demands of serving rural Manitoba. Some physicians train in particular areas in particular countries, and its without any disrespect to them, its not suiting them well for the environments that we need them to practise in, Gilson said. The ER work in Manitoba can be particularly challenging for doctors who lack training or experience in that area, she said. Yanick said that his community receives funding for three doctors, which Gilson said is the number that has historically practised in Shoal Lake. However, in recent years, two doctors worked there as one position became vacant and proved difficult to fill. The ER cant open until at least two doctors are recruited, Yanick said. Currently, Carberry, Hamiota and Roblin each has dates in which the ERs are closed due to a shortage of doctors and nurses. And currently, excluding Brandon, Prairie Mountain Health is advertising for about 19 full-time family physicians. Killarney was recently successful in using a Winnipeg headhunting firm to recruit two doctors, which brings it to its full complement. ihitchen@brandonsun.com Twitter: @IanHitchen Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. sWINNIPEG Manitoba New Democrats are accusing a Liberal candidate in the upcoming provincial election of breaking the law by working as an enumerator while she was engaged in partisan political activity. Joanne Levy went door to door for Elections Manitoba to help compile the voters list in February. A few weeks later, she was nominated as the Liberal candidate in Gimli for the April 19 election. The NDP alleges in a complaint filed this week with the provincial elections commissioner that Levy contravened Section 53 of the Elections Act, which says enumerators cannot be nominated as candidates. JoanneLevy, Liberal candidate for Gimli. The NDP said she attending a Liberal fundraiser Feb. 11 one week after enumeration started. The party also filed screen shots of pro-Liberal social media posts by Levy during the enumeration period. Her activity appears to constitute partisan political activity, which would contravene the oath that Levy took as an enumerator, NDP provincial secretary Keith Bellamy wrote in the complaint. Bellamy also alleges that there is at least the appearance that Levy might be using the voters list she helped compile for partisan purposes. That would contravene Section 95 of the Elections Act. The independence and non-partisan activity and reputation of Elections Manitoba is of the utmost importance in preserving the confidence Manitobans have in our electoral system, Bellamy wrote. Levy said Tuesday she has done nothing wrong. She said she worked as an enumerator in the adjacent constituency of Lakeside and finished her work a few weeks before she decided to run for the Liberals in Gimli earlier this month. I was fully finished my turf by the time I went to the Liberal (annual general meeting) and was encouraged to take on a campaign. Levy said she performed her duties in a completely non-partisan manner. You can ask anyone on my route and they will tell you that, even when prompted, I didnt say anything partisan. Elections commissioner Bill Bowles does not confirm or comment on his offices investigations. Bowles has already fielded at least one other complaint about the election campaign. A civil servant complained four weeks ago that one of Premier Greg Selingers top advisers, Jim August, was using government resources for an NDP announcement on surface parking lots in downtown Winnipeg. Selinger said at the time he was aware of the complaint but could not comment on the specifics. Already have an account? Log in here MONTREAL - Two people are being questioned in connection with an unfounded online threat that triggered a massive security operation in Montreal and the evacuation of about 200 people from their homes. 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 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. HALIFAX An elderly woman whose identity shifted before and after convictions for killing and poisoning men is once again at the centre of confusion over what her last name truly is. Melissa Ann Shepard, who became known as the Black Widow, departed a Nova Scotia prison this month after serving her full sentence for spiking her newlywed husbands coffee with tranquilizers. On March 18, the Halifax police issued a public warning on its website about the 80-year-olds release, stating her identity is Melissa Ann Shephard, with a second h, but it appears that spelling is not correct. Melissa Ann Shepard, known as the Internet Black Widow, arrives at court in Dartmouth, N.S. on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. An elderly woman whose identity shifted before and after convictions for killing and poisoning men is once again at the centre of confusion over what her last name truly is. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan The release notes she has a history of offences dating back to 1992 that include a conviction for manslaughter of a former husband who she ran over with a car, and in 2013 for administering a noxious substance to Fred Weeks. Police spokeswoman Const. Dianne Woodworth says the announcements spelling of her name is based on Correctional Service Canada documents. A spokeswoman for the federal prison service says the spelling is based on a court document from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court that committed Shepard to serve her time at the Nova Institution in Truro. However, the executive director of the Nova Scotia Judiciary says that when Shepards trial was held in 2013, the court used the spelling without the second h. I think it was just a clerical error, Margaret MacInnis said in a telephone interview, when asked about the additional h in the warrant of committal document sent to the federal prison. At the earliest stage of the proceeding, the court confirmed the identification of the accused in the case. In this case, that name is Shepard,' she wrote in an email. The Canadian Press contacted a family member in Pictou, N.S., who also confirmed the spelling of Shepard, the name of her former husband in Prince Edward Island. In a followup email, Woodworth said if Correctional Service Canada notifies police of an error, we would be pleased to amend this. Marisa Piccini, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the prison relies on Nova Scotia Supreme Court documents for spelling, but she didnt respond to an emailed request for comment after the judiciary indicated an error had occurred. Court documents indicate Shepard has had multiple names over the years. When her last trial began in 2013, initial court records indicated she was using the last name of her victim, Fred Weeks, who was hospitalized after she slipped drugs into his coffee. It later emerged that Shepards marriage to Weeks wasnt registered and the name change hadnt occurred. Shepard has also been known by the last name of former husband Robert Edmund Friedrich, who died in 2002, and by the last name of Gordon Stewart, before her conviction of manslaughter in his death. Barb McKenna, a Charlottetown Guardian writer who investigated Shepards shifting appearance and stories in the 1990s, says its important the police, the prison, the Crown and the courts establish her name and its correct spelling. She has used so many names in the past she could easily say, Thats not me. My name is spelled differently,' she said. Mark Knox, the defence lawyer for Shepard, said in a telephone interview on March 21 that sworn police statements in the Crown application for a peace bond have the name spelled with the additional h. He said he would attempt to contact his client to ask her view. However, he did not respond to follow up requests for an interview last week. James Giacomantonio, the Crown lawyer in the peace bond case, said in an interview Tuesday that hes not sure how hell deal with the issue. I dont know if wed bring it up in court. We might bring it up before court. We have an interest in making sure its spelled right, he said. Giacomantonio said the peace bond restrictions include that Shepard report any potential relationship with a man, keep authorities aware of where she is living, and inform police of changes to her appearance. There are also restrictions on her use of the Internet. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version indicated Barb McKenna is a former Charlottetown Guardian writer. McKenna is currently a writer for the Guardian. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. SHELBURNE, N.S. In the seven years since the MV Farley Mowat was seized at gunpoint by the RCMP, the once notorious flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has become a festering eyesore on Canadas east coast. The flat-black ship was part of a small, militant fleet commanded by Canadian environmental crusader Paul Watson, who at the time was described as a terrorist by former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams. In Shelburne, N.S., the ships latest port of call under the ownership of scrap dealer Tracy Dodds, the rusting, battered hulk is now the subject of a court battle that appears to be coming to a head. A Canadian Fisheries and Oceans patrol boat passes by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel Farley Mowat on Monday April 14, 2008, in Sydney, N.S. A ship that was once part of a small but notorious fleet commanded by environmental crusader Paul Watson is now at the centre of a court fight that appears to be coming to a head in Nova Scotia.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Dembeck Dylan Heide, the towns chief administrative officer, said contractors appear to be dismantling the ship after months of legal wrangling. We are seeing compliance so far, he said in an interview Tuesday. The owner was there last week and hes been back today. Hes preparing the boat to be removed. Dodds could not be reached for comment. The Federal Court of Canada decided last week that unless Dodds removes the ship from its berth in Shelburne by April 8, he faces a $5,000 fine and a maximum 20-day jail sentence at an April 13 hearing. The ugly court battle, which follows Dodds failure to comply with two previous court orders, marks an ignominious end for a vessel that was once at the centre of a sensational international incident involving a risky high-seas takedown. On April 12, 2008, an RCMP tactical squad stormed the ship and accused its captain and chief officer of violating Canadian law by getting too close to the annual seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Loyola Hearn, then federal fisheries minister, said the seizure would prevent a bunch of money-sucking manipulators from interfering with the centuries-old commercial hunt. Watson, then in New York, said the arrests amounted to an act of war. He argued that his vessel registered in the Netherlands never entered Canadas 12-nautical-mile territorial limit, but Hearn said the Fisheries Act gave him the authority to take action beyond that line. The Fisheries Department later said its 98-metre icebreaker CCGS Des Groseilliers was grazed twice by the Farley Mowat during a tense encounter on the ice-covered waters. But the conservation group insisted its ship was rammed twice by the icebreaker. Watsons group has long used high-profile, vigilante tactics to stop hunters from killing seals, whales and other marine wildlife around the globe. Its logo is a stylized skull, much like a pirates Jolly Roger. The Farley Mowats senior officers were released from a Cape Breton jail in April 2008 after the ships namesake, Canadian author Farley Mowat, posted their $10,000 bail. The pair were later fined $23,000 each, though they were deported before they were sentenced. As for the ship, the former Norwegian fisheries research vessel was sold for $5,000 in 2009 and was supposed to be refitted. But that never happened. It later showed up in Lunenburg in 2010 and then in Shelburne harbour in September 2014. On June 25, 2015, the ship sank at its berth, forcing the Canadian Coast Guard to mount a $500,000 cleanup effort that saw the vessel refloated. More than 2,000 litres of pollutants were eventually removed from the hull. Under the latest court order, Dodds must provide a list of the contractors who will be removing the ship and provide regular updates on their progress, which has happened. The local member of Parliament, Liberal Bernadette Jordan, raised the issue of derelict vessels with the federal fisheries committee last month and she has tabled proposed legislative changes that would prohibit the abandonment. Jordans motion also recommends improving vessel registration and calls on Ottawa to assist in the removal of abandoned vessels in cases where they create an economic burden. The people in coastal communities have been waiting long enough for a resolution to this issue, Jordan said when the motion was tabled. I have witnessed the effect of these large abandoned vessels on public morale over the years and understand the very real economic burden they have as well. Shelburne has had to deal with six derelict vessels in the past six years, though none have been as large as the Mowat, Heide said. Currently, the federal government can only intervene in cases where an abandoned vessel is a threat to public safety, an environmental hazard or blocking a navigable waterway. Transport Canada estimates that there are more than 600 abandoned vessels across the country. By Michael MacDonald in Halifax Israeli Firm Helps FBI Crack San Bernardino Terrorists Phone Encryption | Main | Getting to the Bottom of Lapido Medias Hit Piece on Israel March 29, 2016 Jews Are Still the Canary In How to Stop Mass Casualty Terror Attacks: Take Violence against Jews Seriously,? published last December in Tablet, Liel Leibovitz observed that Western leaders, media and analysts have long been willing to justify murderous violence against Jews as somehow justified? or at least understandable.? The piece, now even more clearly on point in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, explains of this mindset: Its the logic of deluded men and women who are trying to organize a chaotic world into rational patterns and who are therefore willing to accept the indiscriminate slaughtering of Jews as somehow understandable, the consequence of some ancient blood feud having to do with a land and a faith far removed from the daily realities of most well-heeled westerners. To that crowd, the murder of a Jew is deplorable but rarely surprising; real shock is expressed only when the very same terrorists, literally speaking, who have orchestrated the killing of Jews turn their guns on other Belgians or Parisians or New Yorkers. To the manyin government, in the media, in academiawho still hold this morally repugnant worldview, to those who endanger the well-being of us all by failing to seriously investigate and prosecute attacks on Jews because these can somehow be explained away by some imaginary rationale, its time to say no more. Understand this: The very same people who are coming for the Jews will soon come for you, too. Every father who is killed on a road in the West Bank in front of his children, every old man who is stabbed in Jerusalem with a pair of scissors, will be killed again in Paris, in Hanover, in Washington. Terror doesnt know any national boundaries. It doesnt care about anyones religion. It couldnt care less about the nuances of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. Terror is a technique for attaining power, and it has its own logic, which is the logic of indiscriminate death. Jews are merely this demented logics first victims, but they are not, by a long shot, its last. Posted by SC at March 29, 2016 09:00 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. WASHINGTON Justin Trudeau will be among the world leaders gathering to contemplate the spine-chilling scenario of terrorists getting hold of nuclear weapons. The prime minister will be in Washington this week at the last of the nuclear-safety summits organized by President Barack Obama. The leaders will close out the two-day event with a session that discusses a hypothetical nuclear-terrorism scenario. This is the mushroom cloud of the first atomic explosion at Trinity Test Site, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be among the world leaders gathering to contemplate the spine-tingling scenario of terrorists getting a hold of nuclear weapons. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP But that imaginary case study will be happening amid unnerving real-life events. Belgium has just deployed soldiers to defend its nuclear facilities after terrorist attacks in that country, and several incidents involving site personnel. Analysts believe al-Qaida and Japans Aum Shinrikyo have actively pursued nuclear weapons and theyve begun expressing concern the so-called Islamic State might have similar designs. A terrorist attack with an improvised nuclear device would create political, economic, social, psychological and environmental havoc, said Laura Holgate, a White House aide who oversees efforts to limit the threat from weapons of mass destruction. The impact of a nuclear terrorist attack would be global, and the solutions must therefore also be global. Its the fourth such summit and flows from a speech President Barack Obama gave in Prague soon after he took office. He expressed hope for a world without nuclear weapons which he conceded might not be achievable in his lifetime. But the 2009 speech set shorter-term targets. One was securing the existing nuclear material around the world; he convened international leaders meetings to make it a high-level priority. The mixed results will be underscored by some glaring absences this week. The Pakistani and Belgian leaders will be home dealing with the after-effects of terrorist attacks. Russias Vladimir Putin is skipping the summit hell be represented by observers. Russia says the U.S.-led process has run its course, and the issue should be left to the five international organizations working on it, including the UN, Interpol and the International Atomic Energy Agency. As Obama leaves office, U.S. officials said the final summit communique will announce next steps leaders intend to take within those five organizations. The Obama administration points to several successes these last few years: Enough fissile material to make 130 nuclear weapons has been removed or downgraded from 50 facilities in 30 countries. Fourteen countries and Taiwan have eliminated all nuclear material from their territory. Twenty countries have increased co-operation to counter nuclear smuggling. But 2,000 metric tons of weapons-usable material remain in civilian and military programs, says the White House. It would require 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb, former State Department official Sharon Squassoni told a briefing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Numerous incidents involving nuclear-plant-staff have been reported just in Belgium. A guard at one facility was shot dead in his home last week although authorities say it wasnt terrorism-related. Security badges were just stripped from workers at a Belgian plant. Video footage of an official at a Belgian facility was discovered in the home of a suspected militant linked to killers from the Nov. 13 Paris attacks. Belgiums nuclear agency had its computer system hacked and briefly shut down this year. Two employees at a plant near Brussels reportedly joined jihadists in Syria. One was killed, another arrested. A new study cites three potential ways terrorists could launch a nuclear attack. They could attack facilities perhaps by hacking their computers, says the study for the Harvard Kennedy School. They could explode a so-called dirty bomb involving radioactive waste, which might not kill anyone but, the study says, could cause billions in damage. The hardest to pull off would be the most devastating: an actual nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorists. The consequences of detonation of even a crude terrorist nuclear bomb would be severe, turning the heart of a modern city into a smoldering radioactive ruin and sending reverberating economic and political aftershocks around the world, said the study. Canada is deemed to have a better-than-average track record on nuclear safety. Canada is third among 24 countries for the safety of its materials, according to an international non-profit organization that tracks nuclear-security trends. It scored above-average in 18 different categories, like on-site protection and cyber security, according to the 2016 Nuclear Threat Initiatives security index. But it was middle-of-the-pack in two categories: dispersal of quantities and sites, and in potential terrorist presence. We are committed to working with the international community to prevent nuclear terrorism a very real social, political, economic, and environmental threat, Trudeau said in a statement. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/03/2016 (2398 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A little more than a year ago, CBCs Marketplace published the results of an investigation that suggested Manitoba was home to the highest ambulance rates in the country. That report also showed that the very highest flat-rate ambulance fee was found in the Prairie Mountain Health region, specifically the Assiniboine area, at $530. The fee in Winnipeg wasnt far behind at $512. At the same time, some parts of Ontario sported the lowest ambulance fees at $45. That PMH had the highest flat rate in Canada came as a surprise to Louise Stitt, an emergency medical services manager for the RHA. But in defence of the high cost of using an ambulance in Westman, Stitt told Marketplace fees differ between provinces and cities because they depend on subsidies provided by provincial governments and municipalities, which vary. To quote rates in such a complex system is really difficult to compare because I dont think its comparing apples to apples, Stitt told Marketplace. She added that while flat rates may be lower in other locations, health authorities may add on other fees that push the patients total bill higher, such as a fee per kilometre travelled, non-residency fees if you live outside the local health region, or a fee for advanced life-support technology for some patients. Her assessment of the system was that a flat fee without an extra mileage charge would be fairer in a rural area, because mileage fees penalize those who live furthest from a hospital. This report, and Stitts comments, go a long way to explain yesterdays NDP election campaign announcement of cutting ambulance fees in half and ending a per-kilometre fee currently charged to rural and northern Manitoba patients. Its like they were channelling the Marketplace report. Premier Greg Selinger also suggested his New Democrats would spend roughly $20 million to bring down the cost of parking in provincial-owned hospital parkades and lots. The NDP pledge comes a week after Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister announced that, if elected, his government would reduce ambulance fees by half in his first year. The Tory leader suggested it would cost about $11 million to cut fees by 50 per cent. In his announcement, made outside Brandon No. 1 Fire Hall, Pallister even referenced the Marketplace story noted above. In fact, this ambulance theme seems to have been a game of one-upsmanship played by party leaders, as Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari was first out of the gate on March 17, pledging to provide free ambulance service to low-income seniors those who earn under $20,000. While she didnt know how many seniors would be eligible for the proposed subsidy, the Liberal war room still managed to come up with a price tag of less than $1.5 million per year. Ambulance rates and fees, of course, are important to Manitobans especially those of us who live in rural parts of the province as we have the most to lose when it comes to out-of-pocket expenses if we dont have health insurance that covers needed ambulance rides. Of the three election platform announcements, the NDPs on the surface seems to offer the most to Manitobans. It also would cost the most to Manitoba taxpayers. Keep in mind, all these election goodies need to be paid for somehow. But if cutting ambulance rate fees are such good ideas in the heat of an election campaign, how come the NDP which has been in power since 1999 didnt see fit to help rural Manitobans facing stiff fees years ago? The Irish Farmers Association is calling on the next Government to prioritise farm incomes. The organisation's almost 76,000 members begin voting for a new president today to replace Eddie Downey, who resigned in the wake of a pay scandal last November. The election will run until April 15, with three candidates - Henry Burns, Joe Healy and Flor McCarthy - all vying for the top job. The final national count will place in the Castleknock Hotel in Dublin on Tuesday, April 19. The ballot was sparked by controversy over pay deals at the organisation's executive, with a result due next month. IFA returning officer Jer Bergin (pictured) said farmers could not continue to operate on their current earnings. "The farm income crisis is the number one item on the agenda," he said. "In the context of the formation of a new government - hopefully - over the next couple of weeks, I think it's very important that there are policies in place in the new programme for Government that start to address this issues, focusing on reversing the cuts in the last few years during the economic crisis." The cost of a family home could drop by 100,000 if the VAT rate for new homes is cut. The head of the Construction Industry Federation has said the cost of a 300,000 house could be cut to 200,000 if the next Government reduces tax levels. Fine Gael is reportedly considering a tax reduction as part of a deal to form a coalition with Independents and smaller parties. A document released to those taking part in the talks suggests that the VAT on new homes and apartments could be lowered from 13.5% to 9%. Tom Parlon, Director General of the Irish Construction Industry Federation has said the exchequer benefits hugely from every house built. Its the tax take out of housing thats the problem and its not being accepted, said Parlon. Ive met Government ministers and senior civil servants for the last four or five years and because the toxicity of construction they didnt want to hear it, but 36% of the value of the first house goes directly to the exchequer. Meanwhile, national suicide prevention and bereavement charity Console has expressed concern that the strain on people losing their homes could drive them into a suicidal crisis. Paul Kelly, CEO of Console, has said his charity has seen an upward trend on the amount of callers their 24-hour helpline has received in the last six months because of the housing crisis. Our free 24-hour helpline receives around 3,400 calls a month, but over the last six months we have noticed an every increasing upward trend in the amount of people calling due to the housing crisis, said Kelly. Our professional staff are trained to identify high risk cases where there is suicide ideation, and we are seeing ever-increasing amounts of people in pre or post-repossession crisis at high risk of taking their own lives. Callers in this area tend to be those who have lost their homes, those in high mortgage arrears, those facing foreclosure and those struggling to deal with high rents that they cannot afford. There is no doubt that the housing crisis is having a detrimental impact on people on peoples self worth and on their mental health and wellbeing. You simply cannot imagine the mental health relief that would spread throughout the country if it were announced that people would not be forced to leave their homes. PASCAGOULA, Mississippi-- The City of Pascagoula and Pascagoula Main Street are partnering to offer the "Pascagoula Possibilities Tour: Downtown" on Saturday. Those interested in opening a business will have the opportunity to view multiple downtown properties in an open-house style setting. Representatives from the City of Pascagoula and Pascagoula Main Street will be available to answer any questions one may have about starting a business. "Pascagoula is a great place to consider if you're interested in opening a small business," said Community & Economic Development Director, Jen Dearman. "We are hoping to have people with varied business interests join us so that we will have an opportunity to demonstrate how the versatile some of the properties can be." Pascagoula offers incentives to business developers who invest and rehabilitate properties, and works with the State of Mississippi to provide more options. There is also free public wifi covering the downtown area, which businesses are welcome to use. While downtown Pascagoula is far from what it was in the mid-20th century, it remains one of the city's most distinctive neighborhoods. It is beautifully preserved and landscaped, and has experienced much development since the city's startup incubator, Anchor Square, opened its doors in 2011. Dearman sees further downtown development as a key ingredient to strengthening Pascagoula's economic position for the future. "Downtowns and Main Street areas are so important to a community's economic health," Dearman added. "They create a critical mass of activities where commerce and cultural and civic activities all take place." The Pascagoula Possibilities Tour will take place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Check-in will be at 702 Delmas Ave. There is no prior registration required, and no cost to participate. Questions may be directed to Dearman at 228-938-6651 or jdearman@cityofpascagoula.com. Patrick Flynn Gardai are investigating the discovery of a body on the banks of the Shannon Estuary in Co Clare this afternoon. The crew of the Shannon based Irish Coast Guard spotted the body on the shoreline at Colmanstown near Labasheeda at around 5.00pm. The helicopter crew had been on its way to a training exercise off Kilrush at the time and raised the alarm. The Kilrush RNLI lifeboat was requested to make their way to the scene while members of the Kilkee unit of the Coast Guard were also mobilised by road. Volunteers used a quad bike to transport gardai almost a kilometre across farmland to reach the scene. Members of the Divisional Crime Scene Investigation unit carried out a preliminary examination before the body was recovered by Coast Guard volunteers. The body was transported to a local farmyard by Coast Guard members and later removed to University Hospital Limerick for a postmortem examination. IBEC has said the single greatest threat to our economy is the danger of the UK leaving the EU. The business group is concerned Britain could poach many of our companies and become much more attractive to foreign investors if a Brexit were to go ahead. Last year, we launched Humane Puerto Rico to reshape the laws of the commonwealth, train law enforcement officials, and upgrade the work of local animal organizations. We've just launched a similar campaign in Oklahoma. Photo by Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo/AP Images for The HSUS 580 shares Yesterdays Arizona Republic ran a column from me about Arizonas leading role on some core animal protection causes: kick-starting the anti-confinement movement for farm animals and the effort to promote adoption of homeless dogs and cats. Enhanced protections for farm animals came through a landmark ballot measure in 2006 that reverberated around the nation, and a head-turning advance for companion animals came through the work of Phoenix-based PetSmart (and also its prime competitor Petco) when they decided two decades ago to forego puppy sales and throw open the doors of their stores to rescue and shelter groups to adopt out animals. Between them, theyve helped adopt out more than 11 million dogs and cats. Some years ago, we dismantled our regional office structure and hired a director for every state. Now our state directors work with our state council and district leaders and they are tailoring a reform agenda for every state. At The HSUS, we have a 50-state strategy, and we are hoping that youll be involved with our state-based efforts to continue driving reform. Last year, we launched Humane Puerto Rico, led by The HSUSs Tara Loller and Yolanda Alvarez, to reshape the laws of the commonwealth, train law enforcement officials, and upgrade the work of local animal organizations (through training and by helping them with spay-and-neuter and vaccination programs). Weve just launched a similar campaign in Oklahoma, where, just weeks ago, we trained more than 700 law enforcement personnel in the state and delivered to every one of them a duffel bag full of tools, including an evidence collection kit. Our work takes so many forms. HSUS Michigan state council member Virginia Holden led an effort to ban the use of the gas chamber in her county and that set us up for success statewide. Our Idaho state director Lisa Kauffman worked diligently with our team on the ground to upgrade its anti-cruelty law, and West Virginia director Heather Severt has a strengthened animal fighting bill awaiting Governor Roy Tomblins signature. Obviously, the news about SeaWorld ending its breeding of orcas means that California Assemblyman Richard Blooms bill to codify the ban on orca breeding now stands an excellent chance of enactment. Just a few months ago, we released our state rankings that show how states are performing on animal protection policies. And one of our key partners, the Kirkpatrick Foundation, just released a comprehensive look at animal welfare in Oklahoma, under the premise that understanding whats happening there is the precursor to changing things for the better. While the laws are one measure of how a state is doing, its important to consider if private companies are taking a leading role on animal issues. Its also vital to think about the cohesion of local animal organizations and the level of grassroots participation. Well-trained law enforcers are a critical component. And a robust press, including crusading investigative reporters like KLAS-TVs George Knapp and KTNV-TVs Darcy Spears in Las Vegas, allows animal protection ideas to gain traction. It takes so much to drive reform. We are doing that on a global and national level, but we are also doing it state by state. Come, join us to give all of these efforts even more lift and to be a catalyst for change. An Egyptian who hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight and forced it to land in Cyprus was taken into custody after releasing all passengers and crew unharmed following an hours-long stand off. Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable. "From the start, it was clear that this wasn't an act of terrorism, and despite the fact that the individual appeared to be dangerous in terms of his behaviour, we understood that this was a psychologically unstable person," Cyprus' Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told reporters. He said the man - wearing a fake explosives belt - initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport. "After that, he started asking for European Union representatives to assure him about matters that had no logical basis," Kasoulides said. At one point the hijacker demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. "His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously," the minister said, adding that the contents of a letter the hijacker wanted to give to his ex-wife "were also incoherent". Egypt's Interior Ministry identified the hijacker as 58-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa. It said he has a long criminal record, with charges including forgery, theft and drug possession. He had also served time in prison, it said. The ministry posted surveillance camera footage on its Facebook page that it said showed Mustafa being thoroughly searched at the airport. It said his handbag contained items which he later used to "give the impression that he is wearing an explosive belt." Police in Cairo were questioning the hijacker's relatives. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the Airbus A320 and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept on board seven people - four crew members and three passengers. A Cypriot police official said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by anti-terrorism police. He said the man wore a belt, but it contained no explosives. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said man was wearing a fake explosives belt. Flight MS181 took off on Tuesday morning from Bourg el-Arab airport just outside the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. Egyptian passenger Farah el-Dabani told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the hijacker was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked. "There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash," she said. Update 12.10pm: Seven people, including three passengers, are being held hostage aboard the EgyptAir plane after it diverted to Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island during a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo. An Irish national are thought to have been aboard, though it is not known if they are among those still being held. The hijacker has been named by Cypriot government officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa, whose nationality has not been confirmed. Egypt's civil aviation minister said the hijacker had not issued any "concrete" demands and that it is not yet clear whether the hijacker's claims that he had a suicide vest are true, but they were treating it as a "real threat". READ: Minister @CharlieFlanagan's statement on the hijacking incident at Cyprus Larnaca airport pic.twitter.com/4dKRLQoNgD Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) March 29, 2016 Egypt's civil aviation minister told reporters: "There are seven people still inside the plane. The captain and his aide, one woman stewardess, one security officer and three passengers. I can't give you any more than this. I can't talk about the nationalities at this stage. There are conflicting reports over his motive, with some saying the incident is related to his ex-wife and that she is now helping negotiations and others reporting that he is asking for the release of political prisoners in Egypt. The man was initially named by Egyptian authorities as university professor Dr Ibrahim Samaha, but a passenger by that name denied any responsibility for the incident. According to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, he said: "I was not the hijacker, I was simply a passenger on that plane and I was released alongside other passengers and had absolutely nothing to do with hijacking the plane. "We did not know what was going on. We got on board the plane and we were surprised that the crew took all our passports, which is unusual for a domestic flight. "After a while we realised the altitude was getting higher, then we knew we were heading to Cyprus. At first the crew told us there was a problem with the plane and only later did we know it was hijacked." Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Sharif Fathy speaks during a press conference at the Ministry headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Picture: AP/Amr Nabil The airline said the plane, flight number MS181, was carrying 56 passengers and seven crew, as well as a security officer. Among them were 26 foreigners, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a French national, two Greeks and one Syrian, the director of the Alexandria airport said. Update 11.25am: State media in Cyprus is reporting that the hijacker is also seeking the release of prisoners in Egypt. An EGYPTAIR official declared that 3 passengers, the pilot, co-pilot and 3 cabin crew members in addition to the hijacker are still onboard. EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 Update 11am: There are reported to be three foreigners and four crew members left on the hijacked plane, along with the hijacker. It is not known at this stage whether a reported Irish citizen is one of those still on board, or was released earlier when almost all passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft. Passengers, or crew members, leave the hijacked aircraft of Egyptair at Larnaca airport. Picture: AP/Petros Karadjias Update 9.10am: Local media in Cyprus have said the EgyptAir hijacker has handed over a letter saying he wants to live in Cyprus with his ex-wife. Four foreigners and the flight crew remain on board EgyptAir flight MS181 which was forced to land in Cyprus by a hijacker who has claimed to be wearing a suicide belt. Update 8.40am: There are unconfirmed reports that one Irish person is among passengers caught up in the plane hijacking in Cyprus. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it could not confirm that an Irish person was on board the plane, but said it was aware of the situation and monitoring it closely. There were about 81 passengers in total, including Egyptians, about 10 Americans and a small number of Britons. There are an additional seven crew members on board. The majority of passengers have now been released from the Airbus plane. It was not immediately known whether the Irish person reported to have been on board was among those released. Larnaca airport has been closed. The hijacker has been named as 27-year-old Ibrahim Samaha. Al Jazeera report he is an asylum seeker who has requested a translator and political asylum. Some reports say he is an Egyptian national, but this has not been confirmed. Update - Sky Sources: One Irish citizen is among the passengers on hijacked #Egyptair flight #MS181 at Larnaca Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) March 29, 2016 Cypriot government officials said that after the plane, an Airbus A320, landed at Larnaca airport this morning, the hijacker por hijackers demanded that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. Update 8.28am: All passengers have now been released from a hijacked Egyptair plane in Cyprus, excepting four foreigners and a number of crew members, the airline has said. Update 8am:Local media is reporting that about 20 passengers have been released from a hijacked plane in the Cyprus airport of Larnaca. Those released are understood to be Egyptian-national women and children. About 45 passengers and seven crew members remain on the plane. Local media have also reported the hijacker is requesting political asylum. This has not yet been confirmed, and there is a conflicting report that no demands at all have yet been made. Update 7.52am: The hijacker of a passenger plane that has landed in Egypt is reported to have explosives strapped to his body. Earlier: A passenger has hijacked a plane which has landed at the Cyrpus airport of Larnaca, and there is reportedly a bomb on board. The Egyptair passenger plane travelling from Egypt is understood to have 81 people on board, with an additional seven crew members. Its flight route had been between the Egyptian cities of Alexandria to Cairo. Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we'll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 It is thought one man is armed on the plane, and the Associated Press has reported a bomb is thought to also be on board. The plane made an emergency landing at about 6.45am Irish time. The hijacker has as yet not made any demands. Capitol Police identified the man as 66-year-old Larry R Dawson of Tennessee. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed. Dawson was taken to a local hospital and underwent surgery. Police said he was in stable but critical condition late on Monday. Dawson disrupted a House of Representatives session last October by shouting that he was a "Prophet of God". He was issued a "stay away order" by the District of Columbia Superior Court that same month that required him to avoid the Capitol grounds, court documents show. The incident, in which a bystander was slightly injured, occurred at the tourists' entry point to a building that had heightened security even before the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, and has had periodic scares ever since. With last week's suicide attacks in Brussels, Belgium, that killed 35 people fresh on people's minds, Capitol Police Chief Matthew R Verderosa held a brief news conference at which he preliminarily ruled out terrorism. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," Mr Verderosa told reporters. There appeared to be more police officers than usual at some posts outside the buildings as the Capitol and its surrounding buildings resumed business. Even so, the reopening was marred as police investigated a pair of suspicious packages. By mid-morning, the Capitol Police had cleared one package at the Capitol's East Front and were investigating another at the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. That resulted in some road closures, and police were not letting additional people into the Capitol Visitor Centre. Mr Verderosa said he did not know how many officers had fired at the suspect in Monday's incident. He said no officers were injured. Mr Verderosa said a weapon had been recovered at the scene and the suspect's vehicle had been found on the Capitol grounds and would be seized. He also said a female bystander suffered minor injuries. Later on Monday, spokeswoman Susan Griffiths of George Washington University Hospital said that hospital was about to release a patient it had treated for minor injuries and whom it did not identify. Bill Miller, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, said that after Dawson's October arrest, he did not appear in court as scheduled the following month. Mr Miller said a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and in January. Dawson wrote the court a letter in which he claimed to be exempt from laws because he is a prophet of God. "No longer will I let myself be governed by flesh and blood, but only by the Divine Love of God," he wrote, adding four exclamation points. Other court paperwork said Dawson said he was previously in the Army and was honourably discharged in 1971. KARACHI: Gold prices on Friday lost some value on the local market, traders said. They dropped by Rs500 to Rs147400... SINGAPORE: US oil may test a support at $83.78 per barrel, a break below which could open the way towards... capitol dome The Pennsylvania state Capitol building dome in Harrisburg. Dan Gleiter, The Patriot-News (DAN GLEITER, THE PATRIOT-NEWS) Good Tuesday Morning, Fellow Seekers. As you've probably heard by now, Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed the "Fiscal Code," a piece of legislation that pretty much provides the formal instructions on how to spend the money appropriated by this year's General Fund budget. On Monday, as the effects of the veto officially for the fiscal 2015-16 bill set in, Senate Republicans released a statement blistering Wolf for running his veto pen across what they said was more than $400 million in funding for public education. As a reminder, the $6 billion appropriation bill approved by the House and Senate lapsed into law on Sunday night without Wolf's signature, a rare executive action that came in the face of escalating tensions between the York County Democrat and the Republican-controlled House and Senate. The bulk of the affected school funding in the fiscal code, $289 million, stems from Wolf's veto of promised state reimbursements for school construction projects (commonly referred to as "PlanCon" in legislative circles). With the veto, Wolf is "again showing his willingness to manufacture a crisis and use schools, students and families as pawns," Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said in the statement. "At the tip of the Governor's veto pen are schools left searching for ways to pay the interest on loans or school construction costs. The end result will be higher local property taxes for Pennsylvanians," Corman said. Republicans also took aim at what they said what was the freezing of $150 million in additional school funding that would have been distributed according to recommendations put together by the state's Basic Education Funding Commission. Speaking to the Associated Press (via WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh), administration spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan said the state will dole out the subsidy money to districts "in the most appropriate manner possible, just as we did in December when the governor signed a partial general appropriations bill that was without an accompanying fiscal code because the legislature did not pass one." This might seem like a tempest in a teapot, but the stances from both sides provide some illustration of the budget fight yet to come. Wolf's decision to let the budget bill lapse into law without his signature emboldened Republicans (particularly in the House) who saw it as justification for their hardline opposition to Wolf's proposed tax increases. The Senate remains just as opposed to new taxes, though there is a general recognition on that side of the Capitol that some form of new revenue will be needed to right the state's fiscal ship. As of this morning, we're not quite three months from the June 30 deadline to pass the 2016-17 state budget. And debate hasn't even begun on that one yet. Digging in over the fiscal code sends an early signal that it's likely going to be a long, long spring. The rest of the day's news starts now. Monday was the last day to register to vote in the April 26 primary. The Tribune-Review says "droves" of folks were motivated to register by this year's presidential race. An Indiana University of Pa. professor has invented a microchip that detects food spoilage, The Post-Gazette reports. Yet to be invented, the microchip that tells you that you'll regret devouring the entire box of Cheez-Its. Well this could stink - taxi and limo drivers in Philly are threatening to boycott during the DNC in July, PhillyMag reports. Because, Uber and Lyft, that's why. Here's a pretty fabulous shot of the Philadelphia Navy Yard to get your day going (via BillyPenn): Temple is moving ahead with its stadium project and has picked out an architect, The Inky reports. A suspect in a Staten Island shooting has been arrested in Berks County, The Associated Press reports (via WITF-FM). State Rep. Dwight Evans is on the air in Philly's hotly contested Democratic 2nd CD primary (via NewsWorks): School officials in Allentown and Bethlehem have tested lead levels in the water in all the schools in both districts, The Morning Call reports. And in the Democratic race for Attorney General, Philly City Council Prez Darrell Clarke is in a new Josh Shapiro ad: (via PoliticsPA) A pro-Clinton super PAC is getting ready for a full strike on Donald Trump, Politico reports. In one video, Roll Call runs down what's known about Monday's shooting at the U.S. Capitol. What Goes On. 11 a.m., Main Rotunda: The Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs marks the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Penn State students hand out free ice cream at the Capitol. What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition). 12 p.m.: Luncheon for U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson 5:30 p.m.: Reception for state House candidate Tom Mehaffie Reception for House Majority Leader Dave Reed Ride the circuit and give at the max, and you'll part with a mere $4,500 today. You Say It's Your Birthday Dept. Best wishes go out this morning to Elizabethtown College poli.sci prof Kyle Kopko and Harrisburg lawyer Adam Klein. Congrats, gents and enjoy the day. Heavy Rotation. Because, sometimes, only classic BritPop will do, that's why: And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit. LAHORE: The activists of PTI took to the streets on Friday in protest after the Election Commission of Pakistan... LAGOS: More than 600 people are now known to have perished in the worst floods in a decade in Nigeria, according to... Ukraines military tightened the noose around Russian forces occupying the southern city of Kherson as the... TEHRAN: Iran has once again rejected allegations that it has supplied Russia with weapons "to be used in the war in... Two girls, both aged 9, who went missing from their south Canberra school on Tuesday morning have been found. The girls, who police named as Brielle and Carla, left the grounds of Red Hill Primary School about 11.30am and left their bags at school. Missing girl Brielle was last seen at Red Hill Primary School on Tuesday morning. ACT Policing said the girls could be headed to Conder as they had done so several times before. Their disappearance sparked a widespread search that continued into the night. UPDATED The first educator equity lab thats designed to show how states can ensure equitable access to high-quality teachers across schools was hosted at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss. on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education and the Mississippi education department. The lab is part of the federal Education Departments effort to close what it called existing equity gaps when it comes to teacher distribution. Starting in July 2014, the department has been calling on states to submit plans for ensuring that disadvantaged students are not taught by inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teachers at higher rates than other children. Mississippis plan includes the following strategies: Providing differentiated interventions with schools where there is a major equity gap in terms of teacher distribution; Redesigning teacher and principal preparation programs in order to connect them more strongly with professional evaluations; Enhancing resources to support implementation of the states academic standards, assessments, and multiple pathways to high school graduation. Data submitted by the state indicates that high-poverty and minority students are disproportionately located in the lowest-performing schools, which have half as many highly-effective and 1.5 times as many ineffective teachers as the high-performing schools, according to a statement released by the U.S. Education Department Tuesday. It is our plan to ensure that all students have equal access to high-quality instruction. In fact, ensuring that every school has effective teachers and leaders is one of State Board of Educations top five goals, Mississippi Superintendent Carey Wright said in a statement coinciding with the educator equity lab. The federal government has identified the teacher-equity gap as a major issue that states must address, and the department has been fielding and approving plans at a steady clip since the latter half of last year. Most recently, in mid-November, the Education Department approved nine states plans, bringing the total number of approved plans to 42. UPDATE: As of late December, the Education Department had approved teacher-equity plans for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. However, as weve noted previously, its unclear whether states will do a good job implementing these plans, and whether these plans consist at least in part of warmed-over ideas from past efforts. Montana schools chief Denise Juneau, for example, made it clear to the Education Department that district leaders, not the state, control the distribution of teachers. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, signed into law last December, states will have to stick with these teacher-equity plans . Many of the plans rely in part, but not completely, on the previous federal definition of a highly qualified teacher that under ESSA states no longer have to follow. Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 . As a kid in the early 1990s I remember asking my parents to explain an awful joke I'd heard but didn't understand: "Why doesn't Hillary wear short skirts around the White House? Because her balls might show." It prompted an exasperated short explanation about sexism and strong women from my (wonderfully ballsy) mother and a crash course in how public views about political partners, especially wives, can be determinedly retrograde and deeply vicious. While commentary about accomplished political spouses like Lucy Turnbull or Therese Rein in Australia is relatively evolved (the insinuation former Prime Minister Julia Gillard's partner Tim Mathieson might be gay by one interviewer notwithstanding), it is a different story in the US. From the shaming of former President Andrew Jackson's wife Rachel for being an "adulteress" in 1828, to constant jibes about Michelle Obama's muscular arms or weight in recent years, actual or potential First Ladies in the US continue to be routinely subject to a beauty pageant-like level of scrutiny about their attractiveness and virtue. It is perhaps not surprising then, that a former owner of three beauty pageants, Donald Trump, has helped turn his party's campaign into a shallow "Mrs America" pageant. Here are a few lessons learnt at Jackson Browne's deep-into-the-night concert, ones that might be useful not only for audience members but the high number of musician fans in the room. Lesson one: everybody's got 'em. Sounding pretty much as he did as a 20-something leading light of California's easy rock scene of the 1970s, Browne is an intelligent, pleasant and thoughtful musician who may lack great variety (in tone, tempo and style) and deep passion (from him and in us), but has managed to skirt the boredom that might otherwise descend on such fare. He sings of love and childhood "childhood comes for me at night" and even slips a mild joking line every now and then into his earnest songs "my mother married an octogenarian ladies man". He chats with ease and without script and is quick to acknowledge a classy, adept band. Even when on-point socially/politically, he's the type who sends a shout out to a former Australian environment minister for plans to develop marine sanctuaries, but is too polite to mention the more debatable legacy of the incumbent. Nice guy. But even nice guys get belligerent fans who fill any silence with loud and then louder demands for this or that song because, yes, it is all about them. Anyone who watched The Bachelorette Australia will remember how wooden and unnatural Richie was around Sam Frost. Richie Strahan with Sam Frost on The Bachelorette Australia. Credit:Channel Ten While unquestionably handsome and genuine, Sam had to essentially lead Richie through the dating process as he struggled to let his guard down around her. When it came to the final three and crunch time on the couch, Richie fluffed his lines, telling Sam: "I am falling in you". Predecessor Sam Wood's appeal was his charisma and ability to take the lead. A whole season of Richie's nerves could make for some pretty awful television. Will he be able to sweep more than a dozen women off their feet and ward away the contestants who will undoubtedly want to eat him alive? Richie struggled with nerves on He hates being on television Of course Richie's discomfort is understandable. Anyone who has seen set photos from The Bachelor knows how controlled the romantic dates are, with dozens of producers and makeup artists watching on. In an interview with Mamamia after his Bachelorette elimination, Richie said he found being on television "daunting" and that it was hard to relax. "Not only is it hard to talk to a girl in general and then you have to do in front of a camera and audio people and Sam and you know all of Australia is going to be watching." Interesting then, that he would volunteer to have a whole season of television dedicated to his quest to find true love. According to a report by Woman's Day, the rope access technician has been given media, acting and dialogue training to help him overcome his nerves and will enter The Bachelor Australia with "a new-found confidence". Cool bananas. Richie and Sam on a heavily-produced Bachelorette date. Will everyone still love him as the Bachelor? Part of what made Richie so popular was his love for Sam. His elimination broke hearts across the nation, with Sam later revealing she sent the sandy-haired hunk home early to avoid hurting him. "If you want to get your claws into Richie, you better not be one of those opportunists," she warned on her 2Day FM radio show this month. But will the public still love Bachelor Richie when he breaks girls hearts, kisses more than one of them at a time, and sends contestants packing? The "nice guys do finish last" shtick he used after being eliminated won't fly during his time as the Bachelor. If Richie continues to be shy and adorable, The Bachelor Australia risks becoming a snoozefest. Viewers are going to need to see a different side to this eligible adventurer, and they may not like it. Richie enjoyed some special alone time with Sam. The uncomfortable hometown date When it came time to take Sam home, Michael Turnbull and winner Sasha Mielczarek both planned low-key dinners with their parents. Richie's home date? Beers with his mum, sister and four best mates. Sam appeared daunted and a little flustered as she was thrown into the pit of Richie's nearest and dearest, with Richie's nerves doing little to break the ice. Our new Bachelor obviously had the best intentions, but the whole situation appeared a little tone-deaf. Didn't he know the experience would be overwhelming? He's going to need to brush up on his emotional intelligence if he hopes to be a charming suitor to dozens of women. Richie taking Sam home to meet his 50 best mates. Can we get someone new up in here? Sam Frost made history when she became the first Bachelorette after being jilted by then-fiance and Bachelor love-rat Blake Garvey in 2014. Her triumphant return to television and quest for a second chance at love carried emotional brevity and made for great television. By bringing Richie back as the Bachelor, Ten are hoping to attract viewers who became attached to the handsome suitor in 2015. But Richie doesn't have an emotional back story, or any great reason to look for love for a second time through a reality television show. Leaked briefing papers prepared for Friday's premiers' meeting show NSW wants the states to forgo up to $6.8 billion in hospital funding in order to get a commitment from the Commonwealth that it will continue to link its funding to costs. The first Abbott budget in 2014 flagged a new funding formula from 2017-18 that would have limited increases in funding to the consumer price index and population growth rather than rapidly growing cost of running hospitals. NSW Premier Mike Baird, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen At the leaders' meeting on Friday, NSW Premier Mike Baird will argue for continuing to index Commonwealth grants in line with so-called "efficient costs", but will accept that only 45 per cent of the efficient costs should be covered rather than 50 per cent as had been promised by the Gillard government. Nearly 50 Oklahoma school districts are asking the state Supreme Court to compel the state Education Department to determine how much it underpaid school districts by miscalculating state aid for nearly 22 years and to recoup overpayment that was incorrectly awarded to other districts. The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, includes 48 school districts as plaintiffs, including Oklahoma City public schools. The districts are part of a coalition called Oklahoma Schools for Fair Funding . The state education superintendent, Joy Hofmeister, state treasurer, Ken Miller, and the state tax commission were named as defendants. The lawsuit centers on a state law that allows counties to tax commercial and agricultural personal properties between 10 and 15 percent. The counties that levied taxes over 11 percent could keep the revenues generated above the 11 percent threshold for their local school districts. Instead, the lawsuit argues, the state used those revenues in the general fund when calculating state school aid. The lawsuit argues the state has miscalculated aid since the 1991-92 school year and continued to do so through February 2015. Former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi acknowledged in December 2014 that the state had miscalculated the aid to districts for the last 22 years, the lawsuit states. The error affected nearly all state aid districts received between July 1991 and February 2015, according to the lawsuit. That mistake cost districts millions, they argue. When aid was properly calculated in July 2015, the Ponca City Public schools got nearly $1 million in net state aid, according to the lawsuit. We simply believe that what has happened to our children and our taxpayers is unfair and deserves to be remedied, David Pennington, the superintendent of Ponca City public schools, said in a news release announcing the lawsuit. Pennington said he estimated that his district lost more than $13 million in the last 22 years; Oklahoma City schools about $40 million; and Enid schools about $4.5 million. Those are significant taxpayer dollars that should have stayed in the local schools, he said. The districts argue that if some districts did not get enough money, it stood to reason that some districts got too much. The lawsuit asks the court to require that the state treasurer hold the recovered overpayment in a trust for the disadvantaged districts. A hearing is set for April 26. Washington The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that it had deadlocked 4-4 in the major case on whether teachers unions may collect service fees from non-union members, letting stand a lower court ruling that allows them to continue doing so. The result in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association is a major relief for public employee unions in education and other fields, as they faced the prospect of the high court overruling a 1977 precedent that authorized them to collect such fees to spread the costs of collective bargaining to non-members. Ever since the Feb. 13 death of Justice Antonin Scalia, court watchers have speculated that the case could end in a deadlock. When the case was argued in January, Scalia appeared hostile to the unions arguments, even though he was once seen as their best hope for gaining the necessary fifth vote to rule in favor of such fees. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. announced the result from the bench Tuesday morning before the court heard oral arguments in unrelated cases. Per the courts practice in such deadlocks, the opinion in Friedrichs reads in full: Per Curiam [By the Court]. The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court. That means a ruling by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, in San Francisco, in favor of the unions is affirmed by the Supreme Court, but does not set a national precedent. The 9th Circuit court panel had ruled unanimously that the challenge to the service fees by a group of 10 California teachers who refused to join the union could not go forward because of controlling precedent. The dissident teachers took that ruling to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to overrule its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. Backers of the challenge to the union fees have said that in the event of a deadlock, they would ask the high court for a rehearing, to be conducted after the vacancy on the court is filled. The court rarely grants rehearings for any reason, and the political uncertainty over President Barack Obamas nomination of Merrick B. Garland to fill Scalias seat would seem to make that possibility in this case highly unlikely. [UPDATED: Tuesday 11:20 a.m. FURTHER UPDATE 2:50 p.m.] Rebecca Friedrichs, the Southern California teacher who has been the outspoken lead plaintiff in the case, said in a conference call with reporters that while this split decision is disappointing, we knew this was the most likely outcome after the unfortunate death of Justice Scalia. Friedrichs, a 28-year veteran of the classroom, said that teachers are very patient people. We are in this for the long haul. Terence J. Pell, the president of the Center for Individual Rights, a Washington public-interest legal group that was behind the challenge, said in an interview that the deadlock was not unexpected given Justice Scalias death. We will file a petition for rehearing, and we expect the court will hold on to the petition pending the confirmation of a new justice, he said. If there are five votes for it, then the case will be re-heard. Pell continued to insist that rehearing would be in the interest of public-employee unions as well, especially if they perceived the successor to Scalia to be more sympathetic to their views. They would be well-served by an authoritative opinion in their favor, just as we would be, said Pell. But the teachers unions and other public-employee labor groups involved in the case appeared perfectly content to accept the deadlock as a victory, though statements by their leaders tended to read more into the courts action than was likely justified. Todays ruling by the Supreme Court reaffirms that it is in the best interest of our students and our communities for educators to have a strong voice on the job, Eric C. Heins, the president of the California Teachers Association, said in a statement. Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the National Education Association, the parent of the CTA, said the court rejected a political ploy to silence public employees like teachers, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers, higher education faculty and other educators to work together to shape their profession. In Friedrichs, the court saw through the political attacks on the workplace rights of teachers, educators and other public employees, Garcia added. This decision recognizes that stripping public employees of their voices in the workplace is not what our country needs. Both Eskelsen and Heins joined a conference call with the leaders of the American Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the Service Employers International Union in which they stressed a message that unions are under attack by corporate interests. Todays decision was one for working people and for working families, said AFT President Randi Weingarten on the call. What the court did is stop the onslaught of the right wing to break up unions. Heins acknowledged other pending lawsuits that seek to eliminate the unions right to collect service fees. Nobody is under the illusion that [the Friedrichs case outcome] is going to stop the attacks, he said. Mary Kay Henry, the president of the SEIU, said the unions understand that the decision is a temporary reprieve from further challenges. "I think we're in danger, I think the Reserve Bank is being robbed," he said. Hostages were forced to hold a flag at the cafe's windows during the siege. Credit:Twitter Mr Morton-Hoffman said he slipped a Stanley knife into fellow staffer Joel Herat's apron and wrote a sign that said "closed". He said as he came out of the office, the gunman announced: "This is an attack on Australia by the Islamic State. My brothers and I have bombs around the city. Tori Johnson was killed in the siege in Martin Place. "This is because of bombing in Iraq and Syria". Monis instructed the hostages to put their phones and identification on a table and close their eyes, telling them if they complied they would be safe. Tactical police storm the Lindt cafe in the early hours of the morning. I think we're in danger, I think the Reserve Bank is being robbed. Jarrod Morton-Hoffman Mr Johnson kept a mobile phone on him, however, and later used it to text an escaped hostage Paolo Vassallo. In the message Mr Johnson said the side doors leading to a foyer on Martin Place were open. Monis then chose various hostages to stand up against the windows and glass doors. Mr Morton-Hoffman was given a flag with Arabic script, which he assumed was an Islamic State flag. Joel Herat, Sydney siege hostage flees the Lindt cafe. At one point he and Mr Herat held the flag together and whispered to each other. "I think one of us said it was stupid to hold up a flag," he said. Mr Morton-Hoffman said Monis displayed a particular dislike for Mr Johnson, calling him "manager" rather than by his first name. He also referred to customer Louisa Hope as his "secretary" when instructing her to call police and ABC radio. He said Monis wanted to talk to Tony Abbott live on radio and also to communicate to his "brothers" not to let off their bombs. Monis questioned Mr Johnson about the cafe's entry and exit points and Mr Johnson said the emergency door could not be accessed from the outside and couldn't be locked from the inside. Monis said: "If you're lying to me I'll shoot you." Mr Morton-Hoffman said he formed the view Monis was a "lone wolf gunman" who was "ISIS-inspired with a political agenda". However, he didn't believed he had bombs or brothers around the city. Mr Morton-Hoffman said Monis was monitoring media coverage of the siege and he toned down talk of the bombs after hearing news reports that he didn't have an IS flag. "He became fixated on [the flag] and abandoned the bomb talk," he said. Later on Tuesday, the inquest heard two triple-zero calls Mr Morton-Hoffman made at the behest of Monis. Remaining calm, Mr Morton-Hoffman cleverly answered the operator's question about how many gunmen were in the cafe by emphasising the last syllable in anyone. "He has not harmed anyone," Mr Morton-Hoffman said. Monis insisted police officers move away from the cafe. "He's going to shoot someone right now, can you please tell them to go away," Mr Morton-Hoffman said. Asked how he felt during this call by counsel assisting Jeremy Gormly SC, Mr Morton-Hoffman said he was "scared" because it was a big responsibility. "If I screwed up someone would have died," he said. In a second call 25 minutes later, Monis demands all cars on Phillip Street be moved away. Hostage Louisa Hope can be heard telling the operator, "He was about to shoot me and then the police moved in time. So please move [the cars] away. I don't want to die". Fraser Island's pure-bred dingoes are at risk from genetic inbreeding and an urgent independent DNA study is now essential, the island's dingo watchdog says. Save Fraser Island Dingoes Incorporated's Cheryl Bryant questions the Queensland government's Fraser Island dingo population figures, which say there have been 100 to 200 dingoes on Fraser Island at any time since 1990. The Save Fraser Island Dingoes group believes genetic inbreeding may be occurring due to the low local population of the dogs on the island. "I don't think anybody really knows, and that is something we keep pushing for, an independent population study," she said. Ms Bryant said the government-commissioned dingo population figures were not detailed enough to track genetic diversity. Police have recovered a body from the Brisbane River near West End following a report from a passerby who spotted it earlier in the water. The passerby called police with the report just before 6pm on Tuesday. Water police are reportedly searching the Brisbane River. Credit:Robert Shakespeare A helicopter with a spotlight trained on the river could be seen patrolling the area, near the West End Ferry Terminal, on the St Lucia side of the suburb, about 7.45pm. A police spokesman said initial investigations suggested the death was not being treated as suspicious. A Queensland mother who cruelly left her two young sons alone in faecal-covered squalor will spend at least four months behind bars. Brisbane's District Court heard on Tuesday that neighbours called police in May 2014 after they saw the woman's two-year-old standing naked on a window sill after 7am one morning and screaming as he banged against the glass. A Brisbane mother has been jailed for leaving her two young sons alone in squalor. Credit:Louie Douvis The court heard the then-20-year-old single mother arrived home in a taxi before police could arrive - wearing a black dress and high heels, and with her hair and make-up done - and lied to the officers that the children had been supervised by family. Prosecutor Caroline Marco said neighbours called police the next day after the dirty toddler was again seen screaming and naked at the window for hours. Teen Driving Curfews Linked to Lower Crime Some states have graduated licensing programs that limit teenage drivers, barring them from the roads at night. These programs have proven successful in curbing car accidents among young people, and a new study finds they seem to also lower teen crime. Notably, states that have had these programs in place for the longest time have seen the biggest drops in teen crime. The study's authors suggest that more states should consider the connection between night driving, crime, and violence for the safety of teens and adults alike. Let's connect the dots. Independent Research, Identical Results Two independent researchers got the idea to measure the connection between teen crime and driving restrictions. One, Dr. Monica Deza, is an economics professor at the University of Texas at Dallas School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences. The other researcher, Daniel Litwok of the firm Abt Associates, is in the private sector. Both got identical results in their research and when they realized this, pooled their findings, published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. "Being able to drive or having friends who can drive is the difference between going out and staying home on a Saturday night," Deza said. "It seemed intuitive to us that having a curfew on driving hours affected the probability that teenagers would get themselves into trouble." Study Methodology They looked then at the FBI's Uniform Crime Report arrest data from 1995 to 2011 and compared arrests of 16- and 17-year-olds to arrests of young adults ages 18 and older in states with new driver nighttime restrictions. What they found was that, overall, arrests of the younger teens decreased by 4 to 6 percent and in states with the strictest laws declined by 5 to 8 percent.The biggest crime reductions were in states with graduated license programs in place the longest. What is perhaps most surprising about the study's findings is the type of crime that nighttime driving restrictions for teens helped prevent -- including violent crimes. The types of crimes most affected by nighttime restrictions were reportedly manslaughter, murder, and larceny. Accused? If you or your child have been accused of a crime, speak to a crimnal defense lawyer today. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to talk to you about your case. Related Resources: Two Vietnamese fishing boats have been towed to Cairns after they were caught with sea cucumbers in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The boats, containing 28 crew members, were intercepted with a large amount of diving gear and what's thought to be illegally caught beche-de-mer, or sea cucumbers, near Lockhart River in Cape York at the weekend. Vietnam breaks promise not to punish returned refugees, says Human Rights Watch Credit:Australian Border Force The people found on board were taken to Cairns on Tuesday morning and will be investigated by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). They will be placed in immigration detention during the prosecution process, a Border Protection spokesman said. A man is being sought over an alleged sexual assault in Brisbane earlier this month. The man was reportedly among a group of men who approached two women who were handing out business cards outside a licensed premises on Eagle Street on March 4 when he inappropriately touched one of the women on the chest, causing an injury to her breast. A spokesman for Queensland Police refused to reveal the name of the establishment. The group fled on foot before entering a Mexican restaurant. Hundreds of Queensland-based defence personnel are set to dock in Brisbane after spending nearly a month helping cyclone-ravaged communities in Fiji get back on their feet. The soldiers are due to disembark from HMAS Canberra at the Port of Brisbane on Wednesday. They have spent the entire month clearing debris, restoring power, purifying water, delivering food and providing emergency shelter in Fiji, which was devastated by Tropical Cyclone Winston in late February. The disaster claimed more than 40 lives and left thousands homeless, prompting Australia to send over HMAS Canberra, its biggest ship, and commit $15 million in aid. A war veteran winched to safety from the top of a mountain near the Queensland-New South Wales border has hit back at rescuers who called him "unfit". The two-tour Afghanistan soldier, Aaron "Dogga", said he froze after his post-traumatic stress disorder took over when he reached the top of Mount Warning on Monday afternoon. Alstonville man Aaron "Dogga" visiting the Penrith Panthers in about 2008. Credit:Facebook The 38-year-old, 115 kilogram man, who didn't want his last name revealed, told News Corp he was "disgusted" at rescuers for "belittling" his condition. "Once I hit the top that's when my PTSD really took over and it took all my strength not to take the easy way out and leave it all behind me," he said. Three young girls have been vilified in a horrifying attack by a gang of youths in a suburban park, Robyn Grace is reporting. The girls were punched and had their headdresses forcibly removed in the attack, which was carried out by about 10 youths, some as young as seven. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the girls, aged 15, 12 and 11, were at a park in the Geelong suburb of Norlane about 5.30pm on March 23 when they were approached by the gang. The youths began to punch the girls, damaging their mobile phones when they tried to call police. The youth racially vilified the girls, removing their headdresses and throwing rocks at them before leaving the Sparks Road reserve. Police believe a woman was with the group of youths at the time of the incident. All three girls suffered minor injuries. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Landlords don't usually tell tenants that their offer of an annual rent of $490,000 is "disappointing and needlessly provocative". But that's what Michael Donovan did, in a letter last June to the tenant of his South Melbourne property, electricity giant CitiPower. CitiPower runs a power substation on the chunk of land owned by Mr Donovan, a director with commercial real estate agents Fitzroys. And - thanks to a rezoning of the land in 2012 - when Mr Donovan told the power company to go jump, they were forced to ask "How high?" A senior nurse who clashed with doctors over feeding formula to premature babies in a Melbourne special-care nursery has settled a legal dispute with the hospital. Last year, Melissah Burnett, the nurse unit manager of Box Hill Hospital's special-care nursery, was accused of defying doctors' orders and complaining about doctors when they did things she disagreed with. The nurse, who has 20 years' experience, also allegedly belittled and intimidated staff. Melissah Burnett has parted ways with Eastern Health. But Ms Burnett claimed that she was being unfairly targeted for reporting clinical risk incidents and for trying to implement best practice guidelines for feeding breast milk to premature and sick infants, her lawyer Josh Bornstein said in November. After anticipating that Eastern Health might sack her, Ms Burnett sought protection from the Federal Court in October, and in November Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg said it was strongly arguable that Eastern Health had breached its enterprise agreement by failing to conduct a fair investigation that provided Ms Burnett with procedural fairness. Harvard Profs Urge MBAs to Buy Businesses You earned a Master of Business Administration, but are you really ready to master a business? If you do not have to urgently earn a living and have capital to invest, searching for a small business to head up is a good idea for graduates, according to the Harvard Business Review. An article by two Harvard Business School professors analyzes student post-graduate decisions and long-term work stability, suggesting that taking a job may pay off short-term but in the long run buying a business may be a better choice. Let's look at the reasoning. Money No Object Professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff spoke to students about their post-graduate aspirations and learned that many considered going into business too risky. The professors say that the major concern was not money, although you earn nothing and spend a lot if you do find a business to buy. Rather, students were impacted by a number of factors, most notably conventional expectations and concern about lack of employment stability. Assuming that these professors are right and that the students really were not worried about having to actually earn money, then the reason to buy an existing business is because you become the boss right from the beginning. The article suggests that your business will grow with you and expand to your interests. You gain invaluable leadership experience early on by becoming the chief of your own operation. Measuring Angst Over Time While many people expressed anxiety about the long-term viability of a career that beings with buying a business, according to the professors, angst actually decreases for the business owner over time. By contrast, those who got conventional jobs, say in consulting, ended up feeling much more angst over time even if they were spared the initial anxiety. In other words, over time, the riskier route becomes much more manageable. Avoiding adventure for fear of the unknown, interestingly, did not lead to lifelong gains in stability. The professors found that consultants and others who took conventional jobs felt increasing stress over the course of their careers as their roles shifted. Talk to a Lawyer If you are contemplating buying a business, speak to a lawyer. Get some guidance to ensure that you're aware of all regulations, and licensing and compliance requirements. Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Google+. Related Resources: Comanchero bikies are prime suspects for a drive-by shooting at a Caulfield brothel linked to recent attacks at the Kittens strip clubs. Up to six shots were fired with a high-powered rifle at Club 859 on Glen Huntly Road just after 3am on Wednesday. Sergeant Paul Topham from the anti-bikie Echo taskforce confirmed they were investigating Comanchero bikies and it was "highly likely" the drive-by was linked to a firebombing and two shootings at Kittens. "We are not ruling out any of the [Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs] clubs but we have already charged one member of the Comanchero with the arson at Kittens. A man charged with murdering a man on a South Melbourne street also faces a string of charges from other alleged assaults, including an allegation he reversed a vehicle into another man. Josef Molfese, 27, spent much of Tuesday's appearance in Melbourne Magistrates Court with the middle finger on his left hand raised in the direction of sketch artists. A 27-year-old man has been charged with murder. Credit:Paul Rovere He rested his chin on his left hand with his finger up and then extended his arm with a raised finger at the artists, at which point magistrate Gerard Lethbridge told him not to communicate with anyone in court. The accused also spat on the floor while seated in the dock. Mr Molfese, 27, is charged with murder over the death of Tung Trinh, who suffered stab wounds when allegedly attacked in Clarendon Street on the night of March 18. A double murderer is on the run from police after breaching his parole. The fugitive taskforce is hunting John Wallace Lindrea, who killed two people after gatecrashing a party at Kinglake in 1992. He was regarded as one of Victoria's most devious prisoners prior to his release on parole. Parole breaker John Wallace Lindrea. Lindrea was released on February 17. His parole was cancelled on March 24, for "not complying with release conditions". Detective Superintendent Peter De Santo said Lindrea was a threat to the community because of his "propensity for violence", and warned he should not be approached. A parliamentary inquiry will examine Aboriginal youth suicides in Western Australia after a 10-year-old girl took her own life in the Kimberley region. There was public outcry earlier this month after the girl, who was understood to have been a victim of domestic violence and in informal foster care with extended family, died in the remote community of Looma. A parliamentary inquiry will examine Aboriginal youth suicides in WA. Credit:Peter Walton It prompted State Coroner Ros Fogliani to announce she would hold an inquest into several suspected suicides in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions, while suicide prevention researcher Gerry Georgatos called for a royal commission. The Education and Health Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly has announced it will conduct a parliamentary inquiry after a motion by Indigenous Kimberley MP Josie Farrer. The fact that Christians were targeted may seem telling, but the history of Taliban violence in Pakistan shows that it is not. In 2010 an attack in Lahore that killed more than 50 people and injured hundreds more targeted the Data Durbar shrine - a mosque. A few months earlier, Fairfax's correspondent in New Delhi had reported on the way that even devout Sunni Muslims were being cut down in the Taliban's quest for primacy. Militants can always find a way to disqualify those they slaughter from consideration as human beings, so that somehow the many young Muslims killed in the Peshawar school massacre are recast as agents of the military and through it the state, or those who revere Sufi saints are reclassified as heretics. The point is not to privilege one religion over another, but to foster divisions and recriminations that leave the militant and his cadres as the strongest force standing. Family members of victims comfort each other after suicide bombers attacked the Data Durbar shrine in Lahore in July 2010. Credit:AP Twenty years ago, when my father and I lived in the United Arab Emirates, he was handed a pamphlet printed in English, Arabic and two South Asian languages. It urged Muslims not to join in the "heathen" celebration of Christmas. My father - raised in a Muslim Palestinian household - couldn't grasp it. For many years his father, who ran a building company, had been the business partner of a Bedouin Christian civil engineer. They reached their partnership on a handshake and celebrated Christmas and Eid al-Adha at each other's homes. Can Workers' Comp or Injury Settlements Be Garnished? You were hurt on the job and you are getting workers' compensation, which helps. But your debts are many and you worry that your creditors are going to come calling. You'd happily pay everyone what you owe if you could but you have no funds to spare and there is no way to pay off debt with the little you get now. Will your worker's compensation be garnished? The short answer is probably not. Let's look at some details. Garnishment Rules Both federal and state laws regulate the amount of money that can be garnished from a person's income. The type of income that a creditor seeks to garnish will impact the ability to collect as well. Generally speaking, worker's compensation payments cannot be garnished by regular debt collectors, although there are some exceptions with respect to government garnishment for spousal and child support, depending on the state. In Ohio, for example, a garnishment for family support doesn't even require a court order reportedly. If you were earning regular income, your creditors could garnish up to 25 percent of your total disposable income or whatever you earn that exceeds 30 percent of federal minimum wage. Individual states may have different specifics that apply, however, so do look up the local laws. Protecting Injury Settlements Workers' compensation generally exists to minimize employee lawsuits for injury on the job. But that does not entirely rule out civil suits stemming from work-related injury against a party other than your employer, say a manufacturer of a defective product. Although your workers' compensation settlements should be safe from creditors, generally speaking you should be aware of the fact that injury settlements are subject to creditors' liens. Many patients are suing hospitals who they say overcharged them by collecting money from insurance companies and from the patient with a lien on an injury settlement. But the rules are complicated and everything will depend on the details of your situation. For example, say your health insurer claims a portion of a car accident settlement, that may just be written into your policies. Talk to a Lawyer If you are concerned about workers' compensation, speak to a local lawyer. An attorney can give you invaluable guidance that applies to the specifics of your situation. Many lawyers consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to discuss your case. Related Resources: Rome: Italian coast guard and navy vessels rescued nearly 1400 migrants from boats and rubber dinghies in the southern Mediterranean on Tuesday, officials said, indicating numbers were rising again as the weather warms up. About 570 were rescued by the navy and about 780 by the coast guard, according to tweets from both branches of the military. Rescued migrants wear life-jackets as they sit in an Italian navy's boat in the Sicilian Channel, Mediterranean Sea, on Friday. Credit:AP Also on Tuesday, some 730 migrants who had been rescued in various operations in previous days and transferred to a larger ship arrived in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo. Most of the migrants were from African countries and were believed to have left from Libya, which is widely lawless. Islamabad: Pakistan has arrested 5221 suspects for alleged links with Islamist extremists after a Taliban bomber killed 72 people at the weekend, officials said on Tuesday. Of those arrested, 5005 were released again early on Tuesday, Justice Minister of the Punjab province Rana Sanaullah said. At least 216 individuals remained in police detention. Protesters burn pictures of Pakistani political leaders past and present in Lahore before this week's attack. Pakistan has become a bitterly divided nation. Credit:AP The crackdown across several cities in the central province of Punjab started immediately after Sunday's bombing at a public park in the eastern city of Lahore, security officials said. Lahore: In an emotional televised address, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed on Monday to hunt down and defeat the militants who have been carrying out attacks like the Easter bombing that targeted Christians and killed at least 72 people. "We will not allow them to play with the lives of the people of Pakistan," Mr Sharif said. "This is our resolve. This is the resolve of the 200 million people of Pakistan." As the country began three days of mourning after Sunday's suicide bombing in a park crowded with families in the eastern city of Lahore, Mr Sharif said the army would forge ahead with a military operation on extremist hideouts and police will go after what he called the "cowards" who carried out the attack. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway Taliban faction that supports Islamic State, claimed responsibility and said it specifically targeted Christians. Latest News NAB reveals six market megatrends for brokers More opportunities for investors, first home buyers Firstmac shifts up a gear on auto loans National sales manager appointed to pursue growing market The Finance Brokers Association of Australia ( FBAA ) has called for greater industry participation in developing new-to-industry brokers.These calls from the CEO of the FBAA, Peter White, have come after two of the associations business administration trainees were recognised at the annual TORGAS Brisbane Awards Night for apprentices and trainees.Keeley Dickson was named Most Outstanding Trainee of the Year and Walter Maatthes picked up the Endeavour Foundation Community Spirit Award. In addition, FBAA operations manager Rebekah Davis was awarded Mentor of the Year Award.We all know Rebekah is an outstanding mentor to the up-and-comers in the industry but we were blown away by the calibre of trainees which came through our doors. Both Keeley and Walter showed a tremendous willingness to learn about the broking business, White said.The FBAA is proud to again feature as a host company for TORGAS trainees and looks forward to helping shape the careers of future finance industry professionals. North Carolina's Anti-Discrimination Law: What You Need to Know The national battle over LGBT rights is heating up, with North Carolina's newest law challenged by transgender activists in a lawsuit and Georgia's governor announcing he'll veto a controversial bill deemed discriminatory. The North Carolina law prevents localities from extending protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in service businesses. It was written in response to a Charlotte ordinance permitting people to use restrooms according to their gender identity. Meanwhile, Georgia House Bill 757 would have allowed for discrimination against the LGBT community by faith-based organizations. North Carolina Law Challenged North Carolina has just earned a dubious distinction. According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, it is the first state to write into law a requirement that public school and university students must use the bathrooms of the genders indicated on their birth certificates. The challenge to the law argues that this is unconstitutional. "By singling out LGBT people for disfavored treatment and explicitly writing discrimination against transgender people into state law, [the new law] violates the most basic guarantees of equal treatment and the U.S. Constitution," the lawsuit, filed by LGBT activist groups, reportedly states. LGBT Rights and #HB757 in Georgia #HB757, as the Georgia bill is known online, would have allowed religious institutions to deny services and jobs to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. Today Governor Nathan Deal announced that he'd veto the bill. Deal, a Republican, spoke to reporters about his decision. He said he did not cave to pressure from corporations doing business in his state, although they threatened that it would hurt jobs. Rather, according to CNN, he said Georgia was a welcoming place and that this was about the character of the state and its people. "[Georgia] is full of loving, kind and generous people ... I intend to do my part to keep it that way. For that reason I will veto House Bill 757." Deal is religious himself and said, "I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives." Have You Experienced Discrimination? As you can see from this story, LGBT rights are far from settled or uniform nationwide. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, speak to a lawyer about your options. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to talk to you about your case. Related Resources: Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Its the vinyl countdown. Beloved Bedford-Stuyvesant basement music emporium Israels Record Shop will soon close its doors after two decades of slinging one of Brooklyns most eclectic wax selections, and the eponymous owner says the bad news has his long-time customers in a funk. Theyre disappointed, angry but more so disappointed, said Israel Ben Yahuda, who will close sometime in the next few weeks. Yahuda said he found out about seven months ago that the owner of the subterranean Fulton Street haunt and the building above it plans to sell, and now the new owner doesnt want to keep him on. The Fulton Street store is famed among turntable enthusiasts as a treasure trove of disco, soul, and jazz cuts, with an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 records filling crates across its black and white checkered floor that fans say is one-of-a-kind and will be sorely missed. Its definitely a loss, said local resident Malik Abdul-Rahmaan, who works at a record store in Manhattan. His space is just a very unique space. It wasnt just about the records. Theres not many places like that left now. Yahuda says some his favorite memories are of watching customers strike gold along with seeing his kids grow up amongst the stacks. My best memories are seeing my children grow up in the store and seeing the joy it brings people when they find a piece theyve been looking for for a long time or theyre really pleased with, said Yahuda, who originally opened the store for some extra moolah while working as a cabinet maker in the 90s. A few devotees are helping Yahuda find another space to sell his discs, but he said Bedford-Stuyvesants skyrocketing rents mean its unlikely hell find another spot in the nabe he has been able to hold on this long thanks to his long-standing relationship with his current landlord. In the meantime, the spin doctor said he may hold a huge sale to send off his remaining albums, or will sell off the entire collection to other record shops. Israels Record Store (1118 Fulton St, between Claver Place and Franklin Avenue in BedfordStuyvesant). 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. Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is among U.S. medical schools White House recognized for combating opioid epidemic The curriculum of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has long included safe prescribing methods UB was an early adopter in terms of instructing our students on safe prescribing. Richard Blondell, MD, a national leader in addiction medicine, teaches safe prescribing practices at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. BUFFALO, N.Y. The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo is among medical schools nationwide that are at the forefront of fighting the opioid epidemic, according to a fact sheet released today by the White House. The fact sheet was issued in conjunction with President Obamas announcement today of steps being taken by private sector organizations and medical schools to combat the misuse and abuse of opioids. Medical schools have pledged to require their students to take some form of prescriber education, in line with the recently released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, in order to graduate. Long before opioid addiction became a front-page issue, faculty in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences were leaders in developing formal curricula to teach medical students, residents and fellows how to prevent and treat addiction, said Michael Cain, MD, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Those efforts were led in large part by Richard Blondell, MD, professor of family medicine at UB and vice chair for addiction medicine, who sees patients through UBMD Family Medicine. UB was an early adopter in terms of instructing our students on safe prescribing, said Blondell. In addition to instructing medical students, Blondell and other physicians in addiction medicine have worked to get the field approved as an established subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties; that happened earlier this month. The approval of this subspecialty creates a pipeline of trained addiction medicine doctors who have undergone rigorous training program and passed rigorous exams, all of which documents that they are, indeed experts in preventing and treating addiction, said Blondell. Kevin Kunz, MD, past president of the American Board of Addiction medicine, noted that Blondell and colleagues at UB played a key role. Earlier this month, Blondell was recognized at a meeting of the American Board of Addiction Medicine for his role in getting addiction medicine recognized as a subspecialty and in creating the nations first fellowships in the field. He developed the fellowships first at UB as a pilot program and then worked to establish them nationally. With a formal letter signed by its president and three past presidents, the board thanked Blondell for his work, concluding: At the end of the day, or the first thing in the morning, we hope you can reflect with satisfaction on a job steadfastly, professionally pursued and accomplished which has forever changed the way physicians will be trained to provide compassionate and evidence-based care for addicted patients as fellow beings, not as pariahs shrouded in stigma and ignorance. Blondell has been developing addiction medicine training programs and curricula and in 2013 was appointed director of the National Center for Physician Training in Addiction Medicine, established by the American Board of Addiction Medicine Foundation (ABAMF). The addiction medicine fellowship he developed in the UB Department of Family Medicine was among the nations first 10 postgraduate addiction medicine residencies accredited by the ABAMF. There are now 40 such fellowships throughout the U.S. and Canada. Nixon's War on Drugs, Reagan's three strikes rules, and Clinton's "superpredator" crime bill turned America into history's greatest imprisoner, a carceral state where a racially biased justice system was made worse with every passing day, thanks to the campaign contributions and lobbying by the private prison industry, led by Corrections Corporation of America. Now CCA and its cohort have seen the writing on the wall: criminal justice reform is finally at hand, and there's a real chance that their investment/immiseration/incarceration cycle will end. To protect their shareholders, the "prison-industrial complex" is transforming into the "treatment-industrial complex," snapping up companies that run privatized halfway houses, that monitor parolees, that surveil high-crime areas, that lock up people suspected of immigration violations, that provide mental health treatment for people scarred by the prison system that made them rich. It's hard to get a sense of exactly how much the private prison industry has influenced the criminal justice system. While they maintain that they don't lobby for this at all, the $3B private prison industry has never spent so much lobbying money as it does today. One of the industry's more successful campaigns has been immigration. Private interests operate nine of the 10 largest federal detention centers, with a Congressional mandate requiring at least 34,000 immigrants be housed daily, a quota that has steadily grown despite the flow of undocumented foreigners leveling off. The Gang of Eight the group of senators tasked with writing 2013's comprehensive immigration-reform bill received especially handsome campaign contributions; Gang of Eight member Sen. John McCain is the fourth highest career recipient of CCA campaign cash, according to OpenSecrets.org, and GEO has given Marco Rubio nearly $40,000 in campaign donations more than any other senator. (Neither would comment to OZY.) Meanwhile, two of the top advisers on Arizona's SB1070 committee were former CCA lobbyists. The ties also go the other way. Operators have been known to open prisons in small counties, where they become the primary employer and county revenue contributor. In Arizona's Pinal County, CCA even pays the county a per-prisoner, per-day kickback. PRIVATE PRISONS FIGHT BACK [Ozy] (via Naked Capitalism) (Image: Protesting the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) in NYC 10.2.13, VOCAL-NY (Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders), CC-BY) 5 changes to you, your seafood and the Shore from warming Atlantic The warming Atlantic is beginning to cause a unique set of changes for fishermen, albeit subtly. They have to adjust to catch new kinds of sea life. PREMIERUL NICOLAE CIUCA: "Nu accept sa intrerupem procesul de invatamant pentru ca nu exista termie in vreuna dintre scoli" In a bid to encourage the use of electric vehicles, the Delhi government has reduced value-added tax (VAT) on EVs from 12.5 per cent to five per cent. The government has also exempted EVs from road tax. Earlier this month, the Karnataka government also eliminated all taxes on electric vehicles to encourage people to buy these cars and bikes. The Delhi government has also doubled the subsidies for e-rickshaws. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the one-time fixed subsidy for e-rickshaws would be raised from Rs15,000 to Rs30,000. In the current fiscal, the government has granted a subsidy of Rs4.97 crore to 3,709 owners of battery-operated vehicles and e-rickshaws. According to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, there are just 65,000 electric two-wheelers and cars in Delhi. The state government can boost these numbers by extending support to the industry by developing charging stations. Source : BS Motoring Hyundai Motors plans to introduce about five models in India this year, as it aims to expand its share in the Indian automobile market. Y.K. Koo, managing director, Hyundai Motors India Ltd, told a newspaper that 2016 is an important year for the South Korean company as it marks the 20th anniversary of its foray into India. The countrys second-largest car maker plans to shortly introduce special editions of its compact cars, the Xcent and the Grand i10 in April and May respectively. The Korean auto giant will also launch the new version of its Elantra in August and its premium compact SUV Tucson around the festive season. Hyundai aims to focus on the SUV segment. It will also increase the production capacity of the Creta from June, which would help slash the waiting period from four months to two. Referring to the mid-size sedan, Verna, Koo said bookings had grown by almost 30 per cent and the company aims to double volumes to 3,000 units a month to meet the growing demand. Hyundai hopes to sell 6.65 lakh units in 2016 (as against 6.43 lakh units last year), of 5 lakh would be domestic sales and the rest exports. Source : BS Motoring Uber launched its pilot bike-sharing service, uberMOTO, in Gurgaon on Tuesday, which is a car-free day in the city. Customers can call for a motorcycle or scooter on the Uber app. The base fare for the ride is Rs15, with Rs3 for every kilometre and Rs1 per minute. Earlier this month, Uber and its Indian rival Ola had launched a similar service in Bengaluru. But road transport authorities cracked down on the services, claiming that neither of the companies had got approvals. uberMOTO services will be available in Gurgaon between 7.30am and 9.30pm. The customer has to wear a helmet before sitting pillion. The American taxi-hailing service provides GPS tracking of the bikes and customers can share the trip with others. According to Gagan Bhatia, general manager, Uber Delhi, uberMOTO will help commuters save time and money on short trips. It will also provide last-mile connectivity to and from metro stations. Driving from Gurgaon to Delhi, Noida and other parts of the National Capital Region is a major problem, despite wide roads and flyovers. Gurgaon is now well-connected on the Delhi Metro network, but many customers face problems of parking their vehicles outside metro stations. Source : BS Motoring Business process outsourcing firm Concentrix, that had acquired IBM's BPO operations in 2013, is moving into high value services with focus on four areas-- digital content creation and transaction, analytics, process transformation and consulting. Of this the company is targeting that its analytics segment will be 15 per cent of its revenue in individual markets over the next 3-4 years. "High value is as much a quest for us as it is for any other company. The four areas that I named are high value areas and we want to improve whatever the contribution is from those. Going ahead, in a year or two, we want our high value offerings to be the entry point to acquire new clients," said Anuj Kumar, GM India and South Asia and global lead- Analytics, . At present these four areas in terms of revenue contribution are still in the early teen segment. At present almost 85-90 per cent of the company's revenue comes from customer care work, customer experience (call centre), accounting, among others. For analytics is a 250-member team with majority working out of its India centres and partly in Korea, partly onshore in North America and Europe. "Two years back we had made this announcement that we will be investing around $8 million in the analytics business which we have followed through. Our analytics offering is completely built in-house," added Kumar. The company will soon announce the launch of its business intelligence and reporting solutions. Kumar believes that today face challenges managing data sources, compounded by the lack of quality control and governance. "The analytics business process services market has grown at 30 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate)," he said. "We believe our new solutions will offer significant value to enterprises across sectors globally and cement our leadership position in the high-value services market." Other than India being a significant part of its delivery unit, Cocentrix is also eyeing India for its growing technology demand. "India for us is among the top five largest market globally in terms of contribution. Moreover, we also find that for most of the global MNCs India will be or they plan to have India as among their top four markets," said Kumar. In 2013, acquired IBM's BPO business-- IBM Daksh-- which had a big presence in India, for a transaction amount of $505 million. "It's been almost a copy book integration; we've continued to grow on both our base accounts and revenue quarter on quarter. We've had a very strong performance in the last eight quarters across the globe but specifically in Europe and Asia Pacific, where we have seen strong logo addition. We are almost 30 per cent more in headcount than we were eight quarters back. So, we've had a significant growth," said Kumar. Before the acquisition of IBM Daksh, Concentrix employee strength was 10,000. At present the company has a total headcount of 70,000 people servicing more than 400 clients in 25 countries. The median parental income of the parents of new med school students in America is $100,000 twice the national average. In Cuba, America's brilliant, working class med students pay nothing free tuition, lodging and meals and they come home to America and provide front-line medical services to families who are frozen out of the US system, in which debt-saddled doctors opt for lucrative specialties instead of family medicine. Even with wealthy parents, the average new doctor graduates with $180,000 in student debt. The proportion of new doctors who chose specialties that would help them avoid primary care doubled between 1990 to 2007. But the American doctors who return from Cuba, having learned about the importance of community-oriented care, overwhelmingly go into primary medicine: family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics. They have been profoundly moved by seeing other brown people in teaching and mentorship roles during their time in Cuba, and have seen a system that keeps its population as healthy as Americans, despite a GDP that's 10% of the USA's; chronic, embargo-driven shortages of basic medicine and medical devices (and electricity). Cuban doctors work out of their homes, go door to door in their neighborhood seeking out stagnant water where mosquitoes might thrive, doing "the unglamorous work of public health." America's "market driven" medical system is supposed to be a meritocracy, wherein the invisible hand plucks out the best and trains them to be even better, to the benefit of all. In reality, it lets the wealthy get richer by helping the rich. When equality of opportunity is at hand as it is in the Cuban medical training system the doctors look very different. It's a hint of how much talent America's wasteful system squanders, how much suffering it demands in the service of economic orthodoxy. For American students unfazed by all that, Cuba offers a very different kind of medical school experience. For one, the student body is extremely diverse, with students from all over the world. They get a crash course in Spanish to prepare them for the all-Spanish curriculum. "ELAM was this UN," says Sefa-Boakye, whose parents are originally from Ghana. She grew up going to predominantly white schools, and seeing Afro-Cuban women leading school departments was a revelation. In the US, African-Americans and Hispanics or Latinos make up only 15 percent of students who enter medical school and only 7 percent of medical school faculty. Why Some Students Are Ditching America for Medical School in Cuba [Sarah Zhang/Wired] (Image: The main building of the Latin American School of Medicine , Dezona, GDL) Private general insurance company ICICI Lombard has launched 'Health Advisor' which is a search registry for hospitals, treatments available and the costs for the same. Launched with information about 10 cities, this facility is available for all customers. The insurer has created a hospital and consumer feedback based rating mechanism wherein consumers can get treatment related details and gain from actual experience from patients for over 1,000 hospitals across primary, secondary and tertiary segments. The insurance company has made this possible by sourcing feedback and over 10,000 ratings from customers who had availed treatment at these hospitals. Bhargav Dasgupta, MD & CEO, ICICI Lombard General Insurance said: "To help our customers take informed decisions, we have taken the initiative to build a comprehensive information and ratings framework through the Health Advisor platform. For this, we have harnessed our access to healthcare providers and collated feedback from a large set of customers to build a robust platform." This portal is an open access platform that can be availed of by consumers through a website for this purpose. Using this platform, a customer can compare cost of treatment for a particular ailment among hospitals and also compare quality of care for a particular ailment among hospitals. It also gives an option to compare hospitals on the basis of infrastructure, room and procedure costs. Customer feedback and ratings on hospitals with authentication is also available on the portal. Over and above, obtaining appointments at the hospital of their choice can also be done. ICICI Lombard Health Advisor provides information on more than 30 treatment procedures, which have been selected on the basis of incidence rate. The procedures include removal of appendix, hernia, piles etc. It also provides information on bypass surgery, cataract operation, knee replacement surgery among others. To ensure robustness of the platform, ICICI Lombard has partnered with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to identify quality indicators to compare healthcare providers in the Indian context. Starting with a comprehensive list of more than 5000 parameters, TISS and ICICI Lombard arrived at a set of 20 indicators that were relevant in an Indian context, comprehensive and easy to capture across hospitals. The insurance company will continue to add ratings to its customer repository and expand the current base of 1,000 hospitals in the coming months. Vistara, the full-service airline brand promoted by Tata group and Singapore Airlines, unveiled its signature lounge at New Delhi's terminal T3 to target business travellers. In an interaction with media, Vistara's top brass, that included Mukund Govind Rajan, a director on board (and member - group executive council, brand custodian and chief ethics officer, Tata Sons), along with Chief Executive Officer Phee Teik Yeoh, and Sanjiv Kapoor, the airline's newly appointed chief strategy and commercial officer, spoke at length of the airline's future growth plans, and how divisions within the domestic airline industry is distracting the players from a larger business opportunity. Edited excerpts of the interaction compiled by Sudipto Dey On cross-leverage possibilities with two airline brands in the group: Mukund Rajan: We are addressing very different segments of the market. The core capabilities and competencies are focussed on addressing those segments. Vistara is meant to be a full-service carrier, while AirAsia India will always be a low-cost carrier. Therefore, their branding approach and marketing commitments are quite different. That was the reason we had different partners in both the ventures. On investment plans of the Tata group into the airline businesses: Mukund Rajan: Inevitably, with the kind of growth you see in the Indian market, both the operations are scaling and ramping up. Our plans (in Vistara) over the next six months is that we have four more new aircraft joining the fleet. There is already a plan to take it to 20, and thereafter more. You will see commensurate investment with growth in traffic and business. On the Tata group being firmly in the pilot seat in both the ventures (Vistara and AirAsia India): Mukund Rajan: One point I would like to make. There has been a lot of effort to distract and divert attention in the market for the core proposition that we are all here for - which is to service a growing market with the best capabilities that India and the world can bring together. Somewhere that is being lost sight of, and needless issues are being brought up. We are just focused on addressing the market opportunity. On whether the fight over the 5/20 rule has distracted the sector: Mukund Rajan: I believe there is a market opportunity that sector needs to address. I have made the point earlier that 70 per cent of our (outbound) traffic is not being carried by domestic carriers. It is the foreign carriers who are happily carrying this traffic. We are losing sight of the fact that there is a market opportunity that any Indian carrier that is serving the Indian consumer should be able to address. That 70 per cent of the traffic which the non-Indian carriers are carrying is an opportunity for all of us. Instead of fighting for that 30 per cent - what we seem to be doing - if you are enlightened you will look at the larger opportunity. On Plan B if the 5/20 rule does not go: Mukund Rajan: We have always said we are committed to serving the domestic market and those plans are in place. On the significance of the business lounge: Phee Teik Yeoh: It took us a long time to get the right space for the lounge (located on the domestic departure concourse adjacent to a boarding gate, facing the runway). It will be one-stop place for business travellers for any of their ticketing needs, to relax, work or socialise. Sanjiv Kapoor: Differentiation through our lounge, product, in-flight service are going to be a key strategic pillar for us. On airline's future expansion plans: Sanjiv Kapoor: We will have 13 aircraft by October this year (from nine now), and almost double passenger capacity, flight to 18 cities (from 12 now). Our frequencies will more than double, and our aircraft utilisation will go up sharply - to 13 hours a day. We are re-configuring our cabin from April with eight business class seats, 24 premium-economy, and 126 in the economy class. Moody's Investors Service expects telecom tower to continue to grow revenues between 8-10 per cent, as mobile operators build out and strengthen their third and fourth-generation (3G and 4G) footprints. Indian tower have significantly larger scale thanks to a much larger population and greater number of mobile subscribers as compared to Indonesia, says the ratings agency. India has more than five times the number of towers as Indonesia and also has more towers per subscriber, which should theoretically mean better mobile-network coverage and quality. The ratings firm expects overall year-on-year revenue growth of about 8-10 per cent for the next one to two years, as mobile operators lease more space on independent towers as they expand their 3G and 4G networks and sell their own towers. Moody's Investors Service says that telecommunications tower in India and Indonesia are the most developed in Asia and expected to continue growing - but geographical, operational and regulatory differences between the two countries will affect their growth rates and financials. "We expect continued growth in both markets as mobile operators, building out and strengthening their third and fourth-generation (3G and 4G) footprints, will seek to lease tower space and sell more of their own towers," says Nidhi Dhruv, a Moody's Assistant Vice President and Analyst. Indian tower companies have stronger operating metrics but lower profitability. Indian companies also have higher tenancy ratios, but their reported EBITDA margins are lower owing to higher fuel costs and the associated accounting, as well as lower tower rental rates, says the Moody's report on tower companies. "M&A and consolidation are likely in both markets during the next two to three years. Mobile operators are looking to sell their towers and use the proceeds to fund capex and reduce debt, because -- for them -- there is a limited strategic benefit to owning towers versus leasing them. Purchasing these towers will help independent operators achieve scale and a competitive edge through expansion of their geographic footprints," adds Dhruv. Green energy arm of bagged $132 million from Piramal Enterprises Limited through its Structured Investment Group and Dutch pension fund asset manager APG Asset Management. As part of the transaction, Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) and APG Asset Management (APG) will jointly invest $132 million (Rs 900 crore) in Essel Green Energy Private Ltd, the solar platform vehicle of Essel Infraprojects Ltd. The company currently owns 160 MW of solar independent power projects in 4 states of India, of which, 110 MW is operational and 50 MW is currently under execution. "The strategic alliance formed in 2014 between PEL and APG committed US$1 Billion for investments in infrastructure and we see great potential in green energy as a segment. Given the Government's focus on non-conventional energy and Essel Infra's strong track-record, we are confident that the investment will yield good results", said Jayesh Desai, Co-head, Structured Investments Group- Piramal Enterprises Ltd. Hans-Martin Aerts, Head of Infrastructure Investments Asia Pacific at APG said: "We view India as an attractive renewable energy market with favorable growth dynamics. APG is a strong supporter of increased investments in sustainable energy generation. We are pleased to support Essel Green Energy in growing its portfolio of solar projects and to contribute to meeting India's renewable energy targets." Essel Infraprojects Limited CEO & Whole Time Director, Ashok Agarwal said: "Essel Group has ambitious plans to expand its foot-print in the Green Energy field. With the impetus provided by the Central Government to solar energy we are upbeat about the outlook for the industry. APG and Piramal Enterprise's trust in us, demonstrated through this investment makes us even more confident of powering the development agenda of an India on the move." Tyre makers are staring at lower profitability owing to a 20 per cent jump in prices of natural rubber, their primary raw material. After hitting a multi-year low, prices have surged by up to 20 per cent in a matter of just six weeks. Kerala, the largest rubber producing state, is heading for Assembly elections in May. The international price of rubber, too, has moved up by about 15 per cent. Natural rubber accounts for almost 40 per cent of the raw material cost of tyre manufacturers. Every rupee increase in the price of natural rubber impacts the profitability of the tyre industry by Rs 60 crore, said Gaurav Kumar, chief financial officer, Apollo Tyres, the countrys second largest tyre maker by revenue. According to the Rubber Board, the price for RSS-4 grade rubber was Rs 114 per kg and RSS-5 grade sold for Rs 111 per kg in Kochi on Monday. Tyre makers use a mix of imported and domestic rubber as raw material. Almost every tyre manufacturer saw a jump in profitability in the last few quarters, helped by a steep decline in rubber prices. Apollo saw its (standalone) net profit in the first three quarters of the financial year jump 39 per cent to Rs 641 crore. TVS Srichakra's net profit zoomed 109 per cent in the nine months ended December 31, 2015, to Rs 145.77 crore. Rubber prices had bottomed out in the past year and we were expecting its recovery sooner or later. Rubber prices are likely to move northwards for the next quarter or so, said Kumar. Tyre makers may find it difficult to pass on the increase to finished product prices. The automobile industry, especially motorcycles and tractors, is not growing. Most car manufacturers are not showing growth. In the heavy vehicle tyre space there is competition from Chinese imports. In these circumstances, passing on the raw material increase looks tough, said an analyst tracking the sector. In addition to rubber, firmness in crude oil prices, which fell to sub $30 a barrel early this calendar year and has bounced back to $39 a barrel, is a cause of concern for tyre companies. Tyre makers use certain derivatives of crude oil. Along with rubber, the impact from crude oil translates into a higher raw material cost for the industry. The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to devise a mechanism to sell 86 properties belonging to the Sahara group to recover dues in the illegal bonds case. The Bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur directed the regulator to appoint an expert agency and execute the sale of these assets under the supervision of retired judge B N Agarwal. The move to allow direct sale by Sebi opens a new avenue for realisation of the dues, which have now swelled to nearly Rs 40,000 crore, even as the court adjourned the hearing on a petition to appoint an official receiver and other related matters to April 27. In a statement issued after the hearing, the group clarified that these properties do not include Aamby Valley or the overseas properties, and that the court has asked to take Saharas inputs in the sale process. ALSO READ: Sahara averts foreclosure auction of US hotel properties Aamby Valley City is a township developed by Sahara in Pune district, Maharashtra. It is about 120 km from Mumbai. Sebi counsel Arvind Datar told the court that he will come up with a plan for the sale of unencumbered assets as early as next week. While Sahara had declared these properties, whose title deeds it had submitted with Sebi, to be worth over Rs 20,000 crore, the court allowed Sebi to sell these properties at values not less than 90 per cent of the prevailing circle/guideline rates. Datar cited an earlier occasion, where when the court wanted to direct the sale of these assets and the Sahara counsel had objected saying these had third-party interests involved. That. in turn led, to the summoning of the group chief Subrata Roy to the court, from where he was sent to Tihar jail. However, the judges suggested that Sebi take up the task for an early solution to the issue. Sebi initially wanted to take up the sale of Aamby Valley property, which itself was said to be worth over Rs 34,000 crore. Why should we sell 100 properties, if we can sell one and recover the money? Datar asked. Why are you making life difficult for Sebi? Justice Thakur said, He (Roy) doesnt want to sell that. The court would allow the businessman that much discretion. Judge Agarwal, who will supervise the sale process, had been appointed by the court in 2012 to supervise the refund process to the investors in optionally fully convertible debentures issued by two Sahara firms. In the August 2012 order, the apex court had directed Sahara India Real Estate Corp and Sahara Housing Invest Corp to deposit with Sebi Rs 24,029 crore they had collected from over 29.6 million investors with an interest of 15 per cent within three months. However, the Sahara firms paid only Rs 5,120 crore and claimed they had refunded the rest directly. The court did not accept this argument and sent the Sahara group chief Subrata Roy and two directors of the firms to Tihar Jail in March 2014 for not complying with refund orders. It later set a bail amount of Rs 5,000 crore in cash and an equal amount in bank guarantee for their release. The group has been struggling to comply with the conditions of the bail. On Tuesday, Sahara counsel Kapil Sibal told the court that the group was not able to find sellers for the properties as the market was bad and potential buyers are backing out because of the litigation involved. He argued that the continued detention of Roy was a matter of concern and such a detention had precedence in no law and nowhere in the world. Judge Thakur shot back, Dont tell us nowhere in the world. Nowhere in the world (would you find) a man who says he has properties worth Rs 1,87,000 crore, but would not pay anything to this court. He also pointed out how this court has been an inspiration for jurisdictions around the world by pioneering instruments such as public interest litigations. He made it clear that the Bench was not sitting in appeal over earlier orders passed by the court. (The) only way, the man (Roy) can come out is by following the orders of the court. The court also declined Sibal's request to allow special facilities for Roy, which he had availed earlier for negotiations for sale of assets to raise the bail amount. The Sahara statement added that it has completed the payment of Rs 5,000 crore cash component and only Rs 5,000 crore bank guarantee component was left. Senior counsel of Sahara, Kapil Sibal has submitted that the worth of Saharas 86 properties whose original documents are with Sebi for long, is of worth of more than Rs 40,000 crores and is more than Rs 5,000 crores of the required bank guarantee. In other related matters, the court summoned the directors of Sai Rydan, a developer based in Nallasopora for going back on undertaking to buy a plot of 270 acres in Vasai near Mumbai for Rs 1,100 crore. While it has paid around Rs 130 crore to Sahara, Sai Rydan complained of issues over developing the land area, a part of which comes under "wet lands" category. The court exempted director of Divine Infra Solutions from further appearance after it paid up Rs 687 crore towards the purchase of Sahara's Choma property near Gurgaon. It directed Sebi to present some 357 cheques submitted by Divine for payment before passing further orders. The court also issued notices to Sahara and Sebi on two petitions, one by a consumer who had purchased an apartment in Saharas housing project in Nagpur and another by the residents association of Aamby Valley, who wanted their rights to be protected in the event of the group going under receivership. Sun Pharmaceuticals, India's largest drug maker by sales, has acquired Novartis branded drug portfolio in Japan for $293 million (Rs 1,900 crore). With this, Sun will gain a strong foothold in Japan, the world's second largest drug market after the US. The deal also marks Suns second association with Japan. It had acquired Ranbaxy Laboratories from Japans Daiichi Sankyo in 2014. According to the deal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Pharma will acquire 14 established prescription brands from Novartis for a cash consideration of $293 million. These brands have a combined annualised revenues of $160 million and address medical conditions across several therapeutic areas. Novartis will continue to distribute these brands, for a certain period, pending transfer of all marketing authorisations to Sun Pharmas subsidiary. ALSO READ: Fresh concerns over Lupin plant The acquired brands will be marketed by an established local marketing partner under the Sun Pharma label. The local partner will also be responsible for distribution of the brands, Sun Pharmaceuticals stated. Commenting on the acquisition, Dilip Shanghvi, managing director of Sun Pharma, said, Japan is a market of strategic interest for us. This acquisition marks Sun Pharmas foray into the Japanese prescription market and provides us an opportunity to build a larger product portfolio in the future. According to December 2015 IMS Data, the size of the Japanese pharmaceutical market was estimated at $73 billion, accounting for seven per cent of the $1-trillion global pharmaceutical market. Sun Pharmaceuticals, which has been facing regulatory heat over manufacturing practices at its key plants, has repeatedly expressed interest to expand its footprint globally. Novartis, too, has been facing regulatory hurdles in Japan over delays in disclosing the side effects of its drugs. In February, Novartis unit in Japan faced a 15-day closure for compliance violations. Sun has so far been unable to crack the Japanese market, while other Indian generic drug makers have established their presence in the country. Ranbaxy, which was acquired by Sun in 2014, had established a joint venture with a local company, Nippon Chemiphar, in 2005. Ranbaxy itself was acquired by Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo before being taken over by Sun. Lupin acquired Kyowa Pharmaceuticals in Japan in 2007 and the market now contributes about 10 per cent of its revenue. In the same year, Zydus Cadila acquired Nippon Universal Pharmaceuticals in Japan, but Zydus announced exit from Japan last year. LOOKING EAST The domestic outlook for steel companies has improved. News of Tata Steel restructuring its European operations has also been welcomed by the Street. The company, which has been shedding its European assets and workforce, is now selling its Clyde Bridge and Dalzell plants to the Scottish government, which will sell these to metals group, Liberty House. Tata Steel is also negotiating the sale of the rest of its long-products European business to Greybull Capital. It is also considering options to further cut workforce in Europe. With global steel prices under pressure and headwinds in Europe, operating loss in Tata Steels European operations has widened in the past few quarters. With no signs of an early turnaround, sale of assets (especially long-products portfolio) is seen as a better option to meet debt repayment obligations. Against this backdrop, Tata Steels stock has surged to an eight-month high and trades at Rs 304 now. While steps to turn around the European operations have improved sentiments, analysts say the results will take time to add up. Thus, Tata Steel is now expected to post better operating performance in the March quarter, aided by a 13 per cent (Rs 3,200 per tonne) rise in domestic steel prices since February (after MIP implementation). Its Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) per tonne for the December quarter, at Rs 6,375, was much better than peers JSW Steel at Rs 3,500 and Sail (Steel Authority of India Ltd) reported a loss. Rise in domestic prices has been fuelled by MIP and China curbing its production, rather than improvement in demand. Further, the MIP is only for six months. Hence, improvement in demand is essential to drive further the fortunes of steel companies. Benefits from higher volumes from Kalinganagar expansions will add up starting FY17 (analysts expect additional sales of one million tonnes, rising further in FY18). But due to uncertainties over demand in Europe and China and lack of green shoots in India, many analysts have sell rating on the stock. It's an open secret that the pharmaceutical industry spends billions marketing to doctors, deliberately misleading them about their products, raking in record profits that they shift into offshore tax-havens through legally questionable means, while lobbying for global treaties that benefit them at the expense of the sick. Despite all this, doctors and their professional associations have fervently denied that the pharma industry's bribery and persuasion have any effect on prescribing, meaning that there is no reason to shut down the lucrative pipeline from drug companies to doctors. A new, meticulously performed analysis by Propublica shows the definitive link between pharma "marketing" (which usually involves some roundabout way of giving doctors valuable things, from lunches to junkets to cold, hard cash) and prescribing practices. The blindlingly obvious (and now indisputable) conclusion: "Doctors who got money from drug and device makerseven just a meal prescribed a higher percentage of brand-name drugs overall than doctors who didn't." The idea that people are influenced by gifts isn't new or controversial Sam Walton famously forbade his reps from accepting so much as a cup of coffee from their accounts, lest they form an attachment to the people they were supposed to be getting the better of through negotiation. It would be surprising if doctors, alone among humanity, were immune to this effect. "I do prefer certain drugs over the others based on the quality of the medication and also the benefits that the patients are going to get," said Dr. Amer Syed of Jersey City, N.J., who received more than $66,800 from companies in 2014 and whose brand-name prescribing rate was more than twice the mean of his peers in internal medicine. "My whole vision of practice is to keep the patients out of the hospital." Dr. Felix Tarm, of Wichita, Kansas, likewise prescribed more than twice the rate of brand-name drugs than internal medicine doctors nationally. Tarm, who is in his 70s, said he's on the verge of retiring and doesn't draw a salary from his medical practice, instead subsidizing it with the money he receives from drug companies. He said he doesn't own a pharmacy, a laboratory or an X-ray machine, all ways in which other doctors increase their incomes. "I generally prescribe on the basis of what I think is the best drug," said Tarm, who received $11,700 in payments in 2014. "If the doctor is susceptible to being bought out by a pharmaceutical company, he can just as easily be bought out by other factors." Now There's Proof: Docs Who Get Company Cash Tend to Prescribe More Brand-Name Meds [Charles Ornstein, Ryann Grochowski Jones and Mike Tigas/Propublica] (Image: Did You Say "Bribe"?, Stockmonkeys, CC-BY; Assorted Pills, ParentingPatch, CC-BY-SA) Taxi-cab hailing app Uber on Tuesday announced the launch of its pilot bikesharing product UberMOTO in Gurgaon. This follows Ubers agreement with the Haryana government to introduce technology-based ride-sharing services in the state. Uber said its pilot in Gurgaon would allow it to show how it helps in decongesting the city. UberMOTO works towards the vision of reducing congestion by helping fill every empty seat on the bikes on road. It enables riders to push a button and share a motorbike ride within minutes. Its a great way for people to save time and money on short trips across town and provides last-mile connectivity - especially to and from the metro stations, said Gagan Bhatia, general manager, Uber Delhi. The company said it follows the launch of Ubers carpooling service, which is designed to get more people into fewer cars. Uber further said it would not charge any service fee for the duration of this pilot and will submit a key-findings report to the government, analysing the benefits of bikesharing in the city. One has to choose the uberMOTO option in the app. Enter pickup location and payment method. Request a ride. Well show your drivers details straight away - name, photo and details of the motorbike. All riders and drivers have to wear a helmet in Gurgaon by law. So your uberMOTO driver will have one on hand for you, it said in its statement. This is the second city Uber is trying to launch its pilot after its bike-taxi service in Bengaluru was stopped from plying just a day after it was launched. Bengaluru became the first city where both Uber and its biggest rival Ola introduced the two-wheeler taxi services. However, within a day of launch, the government issued a statement saying bike taxi services operating in the state were illegal and be withdrawn. Not only did the Karnataka government accuse Uber of not complying with its ban on bike taxis, it also seized around 80 two-wheelers operating on Ubers platform. The company is in talks with the state government on the issue and we have given a proposal to allow the resumption of services on a pilot basis. The government is considering it, said a source close to the company. Ubers standard product safety features are in place before, during and after every trip, including GPS tracking, two-way feedback and the ability to share trip details with family and friends. Payment of the ride is via cash, PayTM or Airtel money mobile wallet. The company has kept the price of uberMOTO at Rs 3 per km. The minimum fare is Rs 20. Were giving away free rides to first-time users worth Rs 50, it said. The first quarter of the calendar year 2016 has turned out to be a good one for Cadila Healthcare as far as drug approvals for the US market goes. The company today said that it has received the final approval from the US drug regulator to market an anti-viral drug Acyclovir capsules (200 mg). This would be the third drug approval for the US markets for the Group this year apart from a tentative approval. The drug would be produced at the formulations manufacturing facility at the Ahmedabad special economic zone (SEZ). The group now has more than 100 approvals and has so far filed over 280 ANDAs since the commencement of the filing process in FY03-04. Earlier during this year, the company had received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Clofarabine Injection (20mg/20ml vials) in March. had received another final approval from the USFDA in March itself, for anti-diabetics drug Glyburide and Metformin Hcl tablets. This, however, would be manufactured at its Baddi site. In February Zydus' anti-bacterial drug doxycycline capsules had received nod from the US regulator.This was the first product from the SEZ that received approval to be exported to the US. After the company's formulations site at Moraiya and API site Zyfine had received warning letters from the USFDA in the beginning of the year, the company had promptly initiated site transfers for several of its key products from the Moraiya site. Even as India and Pakistan were last week working out the specifics of how a Pakistani joint investigation team would aid in the probe into the terrorist attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Pakistan summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale on Friday and claimed the arrest of a serving Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer in Balochistan. The alleged officer, identified as Kulbushan Jadhav and originally said to be an in-service commander rank officer in the Indian Navy by Pakistani local media, was captured during a raid earlier last week, claimed Pakistani authorities. "The Indian High Commissioner was summoned by the Foreign Secretary today and through a demarche conveyed our protest and deep concern on the illegal entry into Pakistan by a officer and his involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi," the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement on Friday. India admitted that the arrested man was an Indian and a former Indian Navy officer. Since the news of his arrest broke out, the plot has only thickened as details about the case and the alleged spy have surfaced. Here is all that has transpired in the curious case of the ' officer' in Balochistan: 1) How it all started: On March 25, Pakistani security forces in Balochistan on claimed the arrest of a man who they described as "a serving officer in the Indian Navy" who had been "deputed to the Indian intelligence agency R&AW", reported Pakistani daily Dawn. According to the same report, the alleged spy had been shifted to Islamabad "for interrogation". Dawn quoted a security official saying, "The spy had links with separatist elements in Balochistan." Additionally, the official said that the accused was "also involved in acts of sectarian terrorism and terror attacks in Karachi". 2) Accusations of Indian interference in Balochistan: Even as news of the alleged spy's arrest broke out, Dawn quoted Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti on the case. Bugti said, "The arrest has proved Indian involvement in Balochistan." 3) Sabotaging the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): According to Pakistan's GeoTV, during preliminary investigations, the alleged spy "revealed that his main agenda was to sabotage the CPEC through propaganda...." 4) India rebuts: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Vikas Swarup, according to The Indian Express, on Friday responded to Pakistani allegations and said that the Indian arrested in Balochistan by Pakistani officials was a former Navy official but denied he was linked to the Government. Furthermore, reacting to Pakistan's accusation that the alleged spy was involved in subversive activities in the province of Balochistan, Swarup said, India has no interest in interfering in the internal matters of any country and firmly believes that a stable and peaceful Pakistan is in the interest of all in the region. 5) Seeking consular access: Even as the MEA categorically stated that the arrested individual had no links to the Government of India, Swarup informed the media that they would seek consular access. 6) Innocent businessman or Indian spy: In a March 27 report, The Indian Express cited sources close to the alleged spy's Mumbai-based family and said that the man, now known as Kulbhushan Jadhav, was a businessman who "often travelled across the world". According to the report, Jadhav's family alleged that he was being framed as part of a larger political conspiracy. Jadhav last spoke to his family around three months ago, sources told The Indian Express. According to media reports, Jadhav, a 1991 commissioned Naval officer, retired in 2013. 7) Son of a policeman: Jadhav, according to The Indian Express, has been identified as the son of Sudhir Jadhav, who retired as an assistant commissioner of police in Mumbai around eight years ago. 8) The plot thickens: According to media reports, Jadhav often carried cargo to and from Iranian ports bordering Pakistan. According to PIT, sources have said that there is "no proof that the retired navy officer, who owns a cargo business in Iran, was arrested in Balochistan" as claimed by Pakistan. Jadhav could have been arrested after he strayed into Pakistani waters and was being wrongly charged, the sources said, adding that it was a matter of investigation whether he had accidentally strayed into Pakistani waters or was "lured" there. 9) Parrikar speaks: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said that he has asked the MEA to extend all assistance and support required to Jadhav. Parrikar said, "We do agree, to the extent I know, that he is an Indian citizen and we have asked for consular access." Also, Parrikar said that he was concerned about Jadhav since he was a veteran. A war of words has broken out over the governments decision to allow five Pakistani counter-terrorism officials, including one from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and another from Military Intelligence (MI), to visit the Air Force Base. They are in India to investigate the fidayeen attack from January 1-4, when four-six terrorists crossed the border from Pakistan, sneaked into the air base and killed seven Indian military personnel before getting killed. The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government with endangering security by allowing the Pakistani joint investigative team (JIT) into the base. On Tuesday, as JIT officials flew from Delhi to Amritsar and then drove to Pathankot, Congress protestors gathered outside the air base with black flags and placards reading Pakistani JIT go back! In Delhi, AAP minister, Kapil Mishra, alleged an ISI-BJP coalition and asked: Why is ISI being served biryani by Modi? Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier ruled out allowing the Pakistani JIT inside air base. However, after a political decision to co-opt Islamabad into the investigation, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is learned to have cleared their entry into the air base, subject to being allowed to visit only the non-technical areas that the terrorists had breached. These include areas not directly involved in flight operations, including airmen accommodation, kitchens and messes, family quarters, schools, etc. No access will be granted to technical areas, which are directly related to flight operations. These include aircraft hangars and pens, logistics installations, ammunition dumps, radar centres, air defence missile batteries and flight control facilities. The terrorists had failed to breach the technical areas during their attack. Objections to the JITs visit centre on two allegations. First, that the JITs visit serves no purpose since Pakistan has never been serious about investigating terrorist attacks launched from its soil. Second, that allowing Pakistani officials entry into the air base would give away sensitive details, compromising operational security. Ajai Sahni, of the Institute for Conflict Management, says: Pakistan has never seriously investigated a single terror attack, including 26/11 (the Mumbai strike of 2008). By hosting the JIT, we will allow Pakistan to falsely claim that they are doing what is needed. We must wait until Islamabad satisfies us that it is seriously cracking down on anti-India jihadis. Sahni says Islamabad is yet to do even a tenth of what Bangladesh has done against terrorists that were targeting India from its soil. The burden of proof lies on the country from where terrorists operate. Dhaka has fully demonstrated its bona fides. Islamabad has not even begun to," says Sahni. Others, like former Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur, say the JIT visit serves no investigative purpose, but achieves a strategic aim. If the visit serves to deny Pakistan an excuse for avoiding action, it serves a strategic aim. Nothing would be lost by allowing the team to visit," he says. Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, who has served at as a fighter pilot and later oversaw the base as chief of western air command, points out there is nothing that a Pakistani visitor to the air base can see from the ground, which cannot be seen from commercially available satellite photographs. The IAF has already done a security assessment and I fully endorse it. Tyagi says the IAF has designated areas where the JIT can go and others where it cannot. Areas that are at all sensitive will be physically screened off," he says. Tyagi also points out that commercial flights use about 30 operational IAF bases on a regular basis, without endangering security. If scheduled civilian flights and hundreds of passengers can fly daily in and out of airports as sensitive as Srinagar, what will the Pakistani team gain from driving through a screened, 'non-technical' route in Pathankot. Another former air chief, Fali Major, endorses Tyagis opinion. In todays world, software like Google Earth gives everyone a view into military installations. Military intelligence users can get high-resolution Russian satellite imagery that is far more useful than a ground visit," says Major. Another expert, who wishes to remain anonymous, says secrecy exists mainly around communications and radar frequencies, and combat tactics. The infrastructure on the ground is pretty much the same on every combat air base. What needs to be safeguarded is digital electronic frequencies and codes, and mission tactics. The Pakistanis are welcome. They will glean none of that," he says. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre is ready to frame law to aid refugees, especially those from Bangladesh, to overcome the difficulties they face in India. However, the proposed legislation will not cover the illegal immigrants and miscreants who are crossing the border.This was disclosed by BJP president Amit Shah here on Tuesday. We want to help the refugees and if needed, we'll come up with a Bill in Parliament at the right moment.Accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal of harbouring illegal immigrants for vote-bank politics, Shah said the law and order situation in the state has become more severe than it was during the 34-year long Left Front rule.Under the Left Front, factories had been shut down, but under the Trinamool's rule, bomb-making factories have become widespread, he alleged. In October 2014, two suspected militants Shakil Ahmed and Sovan Mandal were killed and another person, Hasan Saheb, was injured in an explosion in the Burdwan district, allegedly while making a bomb. While the case was thereafter taken up by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), involvement of some Bangladeshi nationals came into the limelight. In recent incidents, two people lost their lives as crude bombs went off in Murshidabad and Nadia districts in the state. Under (West Bengal chief minister) Mamata Banerjee's rule, the immigrants situation is more severe than before as she is viewing it as a vote bank, said Shah. Asking the people in the state to give the BJP a chance to form government in the forthcoming Assembly election scheduled in April-May this year, Shah ruled out any pre-poll or post-poll alliance, either with the Left Front or its estwhile ally - the Trinamool Congress. "There cannot be any alliance with the Left Front, the Trinamool or the illegal immigrants", he added. On the issue of the Pakistani team coming over to India to investigate select parts of the Pathankot air base, which was recently hit by terrorists, Amit Shah said, "This is the first time Pakistan has shown serious efforts on its part to investigate". In a first of its kind incident, Pakistani intelligence and police officials in Indian soil are probing alleged involvement of Pakistani militants in the attack on the air base which left seven soldiers dead. Lenders to Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), the Vijay Mallya-promoted defunct private carrier, have put the company's trademarks and brands on auction to recover dues estimated at about Rs 6,963 crore in February 2014. The trademarks/brands on the block include Fly Kingfisher, Flying Models, Funliner, Fly the Good Times, Kingfisher and Flying Bird Device. The reserve price has been fixed at Rs 366.70 crore, according to a notice issued by SBICAPS Trustees Limited. This entity is working on behalf of lenders to KFA. The auction is slated for April 30. In its annual report for 2012-13, KFA said at its peak it was the largest airline in India, with a five-star rating from Skytrax. A brand valuation by Grant Thornton put its value at $550 million on resumption of operations. The airline's brand had been registered separately from the Kingfisher beer trademark. Early this month, efforts of lenders, headed by State Bank of India, to auction Kingfisher House, KFA's headquarters in Mumbai, failed in absence of even a single bid. The base price for the property was set at Rs 150 crore. The steep reserve price and limited scope for development kept prospective bidders away from the auction, real estate experts said. In a stern warning to wilful defaulters like Vijay Mallya, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said they should settle their dues honourably with the banks or else be ready to face "coercive action" by lenders and investigative agencies. "I don't want to make any comments on individual cases but I think it's a responsibility of large groups like his (Vijay Mallya's) to honourably settle their dues with the banks," he told PTI in an interview in New Delhi. Ahead of his departure to Belgium, USA and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Summit in Washington D.C. will strongly deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to security caused by terrorism. "On 30th March, I will be in Brussels to meet with the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. I would also be holding the 13th India-EU Summit with the EU leadership. No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones," the Prime Minister said in a statement. Read more from our special coverage on "NUCLEAR" Rajasthan ATS arrests six for trying to smuggle atomic mineral to China: report Asserting that India's relations with Belgium are deep rooted and have stood the test of time, the Prime Minister said that within the E.U., Belgium is India's second largest trading partner and that his meeting with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership. "Along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, I would remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) Telescope. The European Union is a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. This Summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," the statement added. In Brussels, the Prime Minister would also be meeting with the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a wide cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium and he would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. The same evening, he will address a community programme and interact with the Indian community. After Belgium, Prime Minister will be in Washington DC on 31st March to participate in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, where several nations and global organisations would be represented. "The Summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material. On the sidelines of the Summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations," the Prime Minister said. On 2nd and 3rd April, he will be visiting Saudi Arabia.at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. "India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda," the Prime Minister said. Stating that India's economic ties are also expanding, he added that Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner, and is also India's largest crude oil supplier. "In addition to meeting with H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the Royal family. We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India's development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh," the statement added. Prime Minister Modi will also visit the Masmak Fortress, 'L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh. Finance Minister arrived in Sydney on a four day official visit to Australia today morning, where in the opening remarks during his meeting with the Premier of New South Wales Mike Baird he said that the Indian Government has opened various sectors for Foreign Direct Investment including railways and defence among others and invited businesses in NSW to invest and make in India. Jaitley said that India needs a lot of FDI especially in manufacturing and infrastructure sector and said that the state governments too are taking keen interest and competing among themselves to have foreign investments in their respective states. The Finance Minister said that present government has opened various sectors for FDI including railways and defence among others. Inviting businesses in NSW to invest and make in India, he said that India wants foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of NIIF, pension and insurance funds. Jaitley also highlighted the various initiatives and reforms measures undertaken by the present government to boost the Indian economy which is growing at the rate of above 7.5%. Speaking on the occasion, Baird expressed keen interest about the investment opportunities in India particularly in the infrastructure sector. He highlighted the importance of communicating the information to larger business community in Australia to enable them to understand the opportunities available in India. He also informed the Finance Minister that he intends to visit India during the next Vibrant Gujarat which is planned to be held in India in January 2017. Finance Minister Tuesday invited businesses in New South Wales to invest in India, saying the country wants foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of NIIF, pension and insurance funds in India. Making opening remarks during his meeting with the New South Wales Premier Mike Baird in Sydney, Jaitley also highlighted various initiatives and reforms measures undertaken by the government to boost the Indian economy which is growing at a rate of above 7.5%. Stating that India needs a lot of Foreign Direct Investment, especially in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, he said state governments are taking keen interest and competing among themselves to attract foreign investments. Baird expressed keen interest in investment opportunities in India particularly in the infrastructure sector. He highlighted the importance of communicating the information to larger business community in Australia to enable them to understand the opportunities available in India. Baird also informed the Finance Minister that he intends to visit India during the next 'Vibrant Gujarat' summit in January, 2017. Given the deteriorating air quality in the state capital, the government is mulling a ban on registration and movement of diesel SUVs (sport utility vehicles) of capacity 2,000 cc and above. The state government announced on Tuesday in the Assembly that it had already banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles in the city, which is among other measures to control pollution. "The pollution level was particularly high in Patna during December-February," said minister Alok Mehta in a reply to a question in state assembly by senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader Nand Kishore Yadav. "The air quality deteriorated badly during the winter season due to the concentration of dust particles and high level of particulate matter (PM) 2.5," he said. "Therefore, to improve the city's air quality, we have decided to take several steps. We have decided to shut down almost 300 brick clinkers around the city. Plus, no new licences are being given to set up clinkers around the city and older ones have been asked to use cleaner technology," said the minister. He also added that the state government was considering banning the gas-guzzlers in and around the city. "Vehicular pollution is a major source of PM 2.5. Therefore, we are considering banning the registration and movement of diesel-powered SUVs, with engine capacity of 2,000 cc and above in the city. The state transport authority has been asked to give its views on the matter," said the minister. The minister confirmed that 15-year-old diesel vehicles have been banned in the state capital. Proposal in this regard had been put forward by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during a departmental meeting chaired by him in December 2015. Late last year, the State Pollution Control Board had sent an advisory to the chief secretary stating that the air quality index of the state capital had crossed 400 in November-December, making Patna the second-most polluted city in the country. The major pollutants are the vehicular traffic and dust particles, said a state government officer. "Patna is a small city and it is faced with too much traffic. This leads to higher vehicular emission, which makes the air dirty. We are planning to target those with biggest cars, which pollute the air most," said a senior official. is the largest utility vehicle market in the eastern region. A total of 18,000 utility vehicles are sold every year in the state. Most utility vehicles are diesel-based. Sales of leading utility vehicle firms, including that of Mahindra and Mahindra, Toyota, and Tata Motors, will be affected, if the state government decides to implement the ban. Mahindras Scorpio, Bolero, and XUV500; Toyotas Innova and Fortuner; and Tata Safari, among others, are expected to be affected. Mahindra, which was the worst hit by a Supreme Court ban on diesel vehicles of 2,000 cc and above in Delhi-National Capital Region, has successfully launched vehicles with 1,990-cc diesel engines for plying in NCR. The new engine Mahindra launched in January has taken care of its NCR market sales. Mahindra can easily replicate the same in Bihar market. The US Republican Party welds together two separate and sometimes conflicting ideologies: dogwhistles to Christian conservatives on abortion, LGBTQ issues, etc; and a doctrinaire commitment to "free markets" and deregulation, often at the expense of the working class Christian conservatives whose votes are coaxed forth with the campaign dollars funded by the one percenter beneficiaries of the deregulation movement. Now those two contradictions are headed for a hell of a collision course. State-level Republican governments have pursued an end-run around Roe v Wade, which guarantees women the right to choose to have an abortion. Rather than directly banning abortion, they've larded abortion providers with absurd, anti-competitive regulations that are precisely the sort of thing the GOP attacks in every other commercial context. Historically, this contradiction hasn't mattered because there's no money in providing abortions, so there aren't any members of the investor class who suffer when these regulations are piled on. But the end-game of this over-regulation is, naturally, a Supreme Court challenge to the constitutionality of this sort of regulation, one that GOP strategists can't afford to back down from without fracturing the uneasy alliance between social conservatives and rich people. Therein lies the problem: if the right wins in the Supreme Court, they will be setting the iron-clad precedent that invasive, nonsensical, anti-competitive regulation is legal. If they lose, states like Texas will once again be open for abortion on demand, as the absurd regulations imposed by state governments is struck down. So what happens when many of these conservative supporters of economic liberty are also anti-abortion and these two principles are in tension? Too often it seems like conservatives don't connect the twoat their own peril. Conservatives are free to keep challenging the right to an abortion if that's their goal, but obscuring the path to accessing one on the basis of fabricated health assertions delegitimizes their claims to economic liberty. That's why proponents of economic liberty should be very concerned about how abortion clinics fare at the Supreme Court (Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt) in their challenge to the licensing regime that Texas put in place to distort the market for abortion services on the pretext of protecting health. Unlike the split over economic protectionism, it is black-letter law that blocking women from obtaining pre-viability abortions is not a legitimate state interest. So if the Court upholds anti-competitive regulations on the basis of bogus health claims when a fundamental rightwhich gets a higher standard of reviewis at issue, the libertarian campaign to open the markets in interior design and eyebrow threading is definitely doomed. But I don't think the Court is going to uphold Texas's anti-competitive regulationsthey are a flagrant attack on the Court's abortion precedent. The Court is likely to strike down the law on the grounds that it is an "undue burden" on a woman's right to access abortionbecause a woman seeking an abortion in Texas will have to travel hundreds of miles, go out of state, or have the procedure later than she wants. But striking down the law without also clearly rejecting the lower court's rational-basis analysis, in which it held that courts cannot even look at evidence that a law lacks medical validity, will leave a bad precedent in place for those fighting the market cartels. When Regulation Is BadExcept for Abortion [Bridgette Dunlap/The Atlantic] (via Naked Capitalism) (Image: Businessweek) The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Tuesday allowed interest payments on inoperative accounts from April, reversing a decision by the previous government. Inoperative accounts are those that have been inactive for three years. The finance ministry also approved EPFOs proposal to increase investment cap on government securities (G-secs) and lower it for private commercial papers. Many members expressed reservation on up to five per cent investment in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have yielded negative returns. Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya assured of a review. TAKING INTO ACCOUNT Total accounts with EPFO: 150 million 150 million No. of active accounts with EPFO: 40 million 40 million Inoperative accounts with no accretion for at least three years: 90 million 90 million Rest (inoperative due to other reasons): 20 million Source: Labour ministry The decision on interest payment, taken by the central board of trustees (CBT), will benefit 90 million accounts. These accounts have Rs 32,000 crore as on date. This means the organisation would give a total interest payment of Rs 2,816 crore on these accounts for 2016-17, assuming the rate remains 8.8 per cent. The finance ministry is yet to give a formal approval to EPFOs proposal for 8.8 per cent rate for the current financial year. Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal said, Earlier we were earning interest on these accounts but not paying interest. Now, we will pay interest on these funds. Aggarwal said a decision on paying interest between 2011 and March 2016 has not yet been taken. The finance ministry also accepted an earlier proposal by to increase investment cap on G-secs to 65 from 50 per cent. As a result, the ceiling on investment would come down in private commercial papers to 30 from 45 per cent. As much as five per cent is invested in ETFs. The sovereign debt sales included a planned increase to Rs 3.5 lakh crore through sale of state development loans (SDLs) by regional governments, from Rs 2.9 lakh crore this financial year. In addition, states and their utilities were set to sell Rs 1 lakh crore in bonds tied to Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana, a plan under which regional governments would assume as much as Rs 4.3 lakh crore of debt owed by their power utilities. All-India Trade Union Congress secretary D L Sachdev said, The labour minister said the finance, audit and investment committee of will review the investments in the ETFs. An analysis has revealed that the body earned a negative return of 9.54 per cent on its Rs 5,920-crore investment in ETFs since August 2015. Market value of investments of Rs 5,920 crore in ETFs this financial year was Rs 5,355 crore as on February 29, the analysis revealed. The government's decision to ban 344 fixed-drug combinations (FDCs) was taken without considering any clinical data, pharmaceutical companies told the on Tuesday. "The FDCs were banned in one go without considering any clinical data. The argument of a safer alternative or safer option is absurd. It is a non-starter. What dosage or combination is safe differs from patient to patient," said advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Pfizer. The court has decided to continue the stay on this ban as the hearings will continue on Wednesday. According to IMS Health, only six brands of Pfizer have been banned - their sales were as much as Rs 424 crore between February 2015 and February 2016. "The sector as a whole would not want to make or sell unsafe drugs," said Sibal, adding that many of the affected drugs, like Pfizer's Corex cough syrup, have been in the market for 20-30 years. The government on March 10 banned these 344 drugs as it found no therapeutic reason for their consumption. Moreover, it was found that many of these FDCs posed health hazard to patients. Consequently, more than 100 pharmaceutical companies went to the against this ban - which decided to stay this ban until it heard all the arguments. "If state licensing authorities were illegally issuing licences, the government would not have kept quiet till now," Sibal said, responding to the government's argument on Monday that there were no valid licences for making any of the banned FDCs and it was difficult to implement any action at the state level. After hearing argumentson behalf of the drug companies for about 90 minutes, the court listed thematter for hearing tomorrow. The high court had yesterday said the government's decision to ban the 344 FDCswas apparently taken as it could not control the state drug licensingauthorities - which granted approval in to various companies for these FDCs. "It appears thatsince you do not have power to control your state licensing authorities, youare taking this action. It all boils down to this that you have exercised thispower as you do not have power to take action against those operating withoutvalid license from the Drugs Controller General of India (central druglicensing authority). That is what I feel,\" the high court said on Monday. The court added that there was a \"lacunae\" in the system if stateauthorities were not under the control of DCGI. Almost 10 years after e-commerce started in a big way, the National Democratic Alliance government on Tuesday allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce marketplaces. Though it has been introduced with a few riders, the reform comes just ahead of Chinese major Alibaba's proposed entry into the country. It also coincides with a recent markdown of valuation of e-commerce companies. Some of the prominent e-commerce marketplace players in India are Flipkart, Snapdeal, ShopClues and Paytm - all funded by marquee foreign investors. American major Amazon, the biggest rival for Flipkart, too, entered India as a fully-owned online marketplace player two years ago. The sector has got an estimated $10 billion (Rs 65,000 crore) of foreign investment since it began in a big way 10 years ago. In 2015, around $5 billion (Rs 32,500 crore) of foreign funds were raised by e-commerce companies. Even now, no FDI is allowed in inventory-led online businesses that companies such as Amazon have in the US. Till now, policy guidelines had stated that no FDI was permitted in e-commerce. While liberalising e-commerce, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) has introduced conditions to ensure that platform owners do not turn sellers. Some of the conditions are that sales cannot exceed 25 per cent for any vendor, marketplace players or their group companies cannot sell, guarantee and warranty must be the sole responsibilities of the sellers, and platform owners cannot influence pricing of products so that there's a level-playing field. International consultants and analysts claim that the government's move will bring in greater foreign investment into a sector that is set to grow from $16 billion to $70 billion by 2020 (excluding travel). But, domestic traders' body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has hit out at the government, calling it a U-turn in policy that will permit backdoor entry to global players. International players as well as Indian entrepreneurs have exploited the grey area in the policy till now, thereby running online operations with dollar funds from marquee investors. Almost two years after coming to power, the NDA has brought some clarity to the sector. Multi-brand retail, however, continues to be a category open to interpretation. While its predecessor, the United Progressive Alliance had permitted 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, the NDA is opposed to foreign investment in the area as that could result in loss of jobs for local traders and neighbourhood stores. It has, however, not changed the rulebook on multi-brand policy, execution of which is anyway with states. DIPP has clarified that 100 per cent FDI is only for the marketplace format of e-commerce, where the company provides a platform to act as a facilitator between buyers and sellers - and not for the inventory-led model. It has defined e-commerce as buying and selling of goods and services, including digital products over digital and electronic network. "The government has come with a much-needed clarification on foreign investment in e-commerce," said Amarjeet Singh, partner, tax, KPMG in India. "Although, some of the structures practiced by existing players may require alteration, it will give the much-needed clarity to undertake business with certainty in longer term. Needless to add, this will further facilitate foreign investment in this sector," he added. The cap of 25 per cent on sales by a vendor on a marketplace will ensure a broad base of vendors for a true marketplace, said Akash Gupt, partner and leader, regulatory, PwC. "This may require some of the operators to go on the drawing board to comply with the conditions." He added: "This sector has attracted the maximum FDI in 2015. Enabling the marketplace operator to provide value add services like warehousing, delivery, payment processing will improve customer experience and market outreach for small and medium size suppliers." However, there are others who said that while the government is moving in the right direction bringing in FDI in the inventory-led model would have been a better move. "Marketplace was never in the purview of the government. What should have been done is allowing FDI in the inventory-led model, which would have been a game changer,'" said Sandeep Aggarwal, the founder and chief executive officer of Droom, who also founded ShopClues. The conditions that have been introduced with FDI in marketplace are being seen as tough by some. According to Paresh Parekh, tax partner, retail & consumer products, EY, certain new conditions regarding limit on single vendor sales through marketplace could impact certain existing players. Also, Aamir Jariwala, secretary, E-commerce Coalition, said: "Unnecessary restrictions on the number of sellers and sole responsibility on them for warranty and guarantee will throttle the growth of the industry." The government is in the process of addressing the 'twin balance sheet' problem of companies and state-run banks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in Sydney on Tuesday. On a four-day visit to Australia to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), Jaitley said the government has opened up various sectors, including insurance and railways, and removed unnecessary conditions to encourage FDI flow. "We are addressing the issue of stretched balance sheets by recapitalising the banks, addressing the sectors which have caused stress," said Jaitley. He added India could grow at eight per cent in the next couple of years. "Despite a global slowdown, we have managed to maintain 7.5 per cent growth rate. All our parameters, including the current account deficit, are very acceptable figures. I am reasonably certain that as the global push to the economy slightly improves - hopefully, we'll have a better monsoon - these figures could look even better in the days to come," Jaitley said. On ease of doing business, the finance minister said India has been moving forward in eliminating corruption in decision-making, regarding projects and environment, and Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearances. On taxation, Jaitley said the Indian government had resolved various legacy issues and was gradually working to bring down the corporate tax rates to the global level at 25 per cent from 30 per cent. "One of the more important areas had been to bring India's taxation system compatible with global standards. Therefore, we are now working on direct tax systems, where we want to put the disputes behind us." An increase in global political uncertainty has led to a rise in political violence insurance covers being taken by Indian companies. These policies are taken by firms that have investments in foreign markets and exposure to such risks. Ketan Kale, practice leader-credit, political & security risk, JLT Independent Insurers Brokers, said Indian firms are increasingly coming forward to insure their assets globally, especially in regions such as West Asia and Africa. While proposals for covers in volatile markets are not denied, premia are comparatively much higher by as much as 100-600 per cent. JLT Independent recently offered such a policy to a pharma client for Yemen. It was a $10-million cover for political violence. Sanjay Datta, chief underwriting & claims, ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd, says there has been a good demand for these products. Capacity is not a problem since we have a terrorism pool in place. This pool size may increase to Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 1,500 crore. Threats from Islamic State militants, the Syrian conflict, violence by Boko Haram and the migrant crisis in Europe are among the recent risks worrying companies. A recent newsletter on terrorism by global insurance broker JLT has said that traditional terrorism policies were designed to protect against terrorist events where property damage was a major loss component and business interruption a direct consequence of the physical damage sustained during an attack. This is no longer the case, it has added. Evidence that insurance is absorbing only a fraction of the economic impacts that have followed recent terror attacks indicate the (re)insurance sector has been slow to respond to evolving risk dynamics and current products are not meeting the needs of corporations, it said. Madras High Court has restrained various trade unions in from interfering with its smooth functioning and staging demonstrations in and around the premises of its branches in Tamil Nadu, pending disposal of a civil suit. Justice K K Sasidharan who granted the interim injunction Monday on a petition by Ltd, directed the unions to desist from causing impediments to the normal functioning of branches of the bank throughout the state, including zonal office in Chennai. "Unions must not cause inconvenience to customers visiting the premises of any in the state for transaction purpose," the court said. The judge also ordered the unions to abstain from holding any kind of meeting or demonstration within a radius of 100 meters of any IDBI branch, or threatening or wrongfully confining any willing bank employee who wanted to perform their duties. The IDBI Management submitted that Union Minister Arun Jaitley's statement in his recent budget speech over bringing down government stake in the bank was misconstrued by employees as attempts to privatise it. The government of India is the single largest shareholder of IDBI Bank, holding 80.16% equity in share capital. The Bank showed a net loss of Rs 2184 crore for the December quarter 2015 on account of Non Performing Assets. IDBI said employees raised 'privatisation' issue, following which labour authorities held conciliation talks from March 21 to 24, which however ended in failure. IDBI said they were constrained to move court as the unions had served notice of strike from March 28 to 31 even before the seven-day deadline of submission of failure report. All India IDBI Employees' Association, IDBI Officers Organisation (affiliated to Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh), United Platform of IDBI Bank Unions (All India IDBI Officers Association), are among the other unions striking work. When the matter came up yesterday, the court had granted the interim injunction and posted the matter to April 25. The Madras High Court has issued an order restraining various organisations, which are protesting the Centre's stake dilution in IDBI Bank, from causing impediments to the smooth functioning of the branches of the bank. The order was issued on Monday when various employees' organisations has called for a one-day strike during the day. A court in Karnataka and another Court in Telengana also issued orders last week, restraining the organisations from conducting strike. IDBI Bank has filed a petition against All India IDBI Employees' Association, IDBI Officers Organisation, United Platform of IDBI Bank Unions, Union Forum of IDBI Officers & Employees, IDBI Workers' Union and IDBI Karmchari Sangh. The situation became complex with a section of the officers' organisation went ahead and announced strike for four days, from March 28 to 31, which in effect would have left the IDBI Bank not working for almost nine days, till April 1. However, the organisations has said that the strike was called for only for March 28. All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary C H Venkatachalam said that a section of the young officers called for the four day strike while the decision of the organisations was to have a one-day strike. AIBEA has announced its support to the strike conducted by the various organisations in IDBI Bank. AIBEA also claimed that the strike was successful on Monday. On Monday, Justice K K Sasidharan issued an order restraining agents, office bearers and members from causing impediments to the smooth functioning of the branches of IDBI Bank throughout the State of Tamil Nadu and its various offices, including the Zonal Office at Chennai, in any manner whatsoever, until further orders. The order also restricted the organisations from obstructing willing workers who want to ingress and egress for their work in the different branches of the Bank in the State of Tamil Nadu, from preventing the customers from entering the premises of the Bank for transacting banking business or to avail the ATM facility and from in any manner obstructing the movement of the vehicles of the Bank, including vehicles taken on hire, or any vehicle engaged in transferring cash from one branch to another or to the ATM functioning in the State of Tamil Nadu, among other directions. The court also issued notice to the organisations, returnable by April 25, 2016. IDBI Bank submitted that there has been a widespread unrest among the employees of the bank on account of the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister in his budget speech about the changing of share capital of Government of India to allow the Bank to raise Rs 3771 crore through qualified institutional placement subject to the condition that the government's stake does not fall below 52 per cent. The bank alleged that this has been misconstrued by the employees as if the attempt is to privatize the Bank. The employees of the Bank raised a dispute with regard to privatisation and the labour authorities conducted conciliation from March 21 to 24, 2016. The conciliation ended in failure and even before the expiry of seven days from the date of submission of failure report, the employees organisations issued notice of intended strike from March 28 to 31, 2016. Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in November . Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction being organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs will be held at New Delhi from Nov.3-5, 2016. This is the first Asian Ministerial Conference being held after the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan from March 14-18, 2015. . . India has hosted the first South Asian Annual Disaster Management exercise (SAADMEx-15) from 23-26 Nov, 2015 at New Delhi. Another, day long SAARC Regional Workshop on sharing best practices on Disaster Risk Reduction was held here on Nov. 27, 2015. . . The Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction is aimed at providing a platform to member countries for sharing best practices in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction. About 4000 participants from the Asian Region are expected to participate in the Conference. . . Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley arives in Sydney on four day Official visit to Australia; holds Meeting with Premier of New South Wales Mr Mike Baird; Calls for Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) especially in Infrastructure and Manufacturing Sector . The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that India needs lot of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) especially in manufacturing and infrastructure sector. He said that State Governments too are taking keen interest and competing among themselves to have foreign investments in their respective States. They are organising Investment Summits in this regard, Shri Jaitley added. The Finance Minister said that present Government has opened various sectors for FDI including railways and defence among others. He invited businesses in NSW to invest and make in India. He said that we want foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of NIIF, pension and insurance funds in India. . . The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley was making the Opening remarks during his meeting with the Premier of New South Wales (NSW) Mr Mike Baird in Sydney today. This was the First official engagement of the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley after arriving in Sydney on a four day Official visit to Australia today morning. . . The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also highlighted the various initiatives and reforms measures undertaken by the present Government to boost the Indian economy which is growing at the rate of above 7.5%. . . Speaking on the occasion, Mr Baird expressed keen interest about the investment opportunities in India particularly in the infrastructure sector. He highlighted the importance of communicating the information to larger business community in Australia to enable them to understand the opportunities available in India. He also informed the Finance Minister that he intends to visit India during the next Vibrant Gujarat which is planned to be held in India in January 2017. . . 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. The Central Board of Direct Taxes signed 11 unilateral APAs on 28th March, 2016. With this signing, India has entered into 59 bilateral and/or unilateral APAs. The Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) programme was introduced by the Finance Act, 2012 to provide a predictable and non-adversarial tax regime and to reduce litigation in the Indian transfer pricing regime. 50 of these agreements have been signed in the current financial year. The agreements cover a range of international transactions, including corporate guarantees, royalty, software development services, IT enabled services and trading. The agreements pertain to different industrial sectors like telecom, media, automobiles, IT services, etc. Some of the agreements have rollback provisions and provide certainty to the taxpayers for 9 years with regard to the covered international transactions. . . Rollback provisions in APAs were introduced in the July 2014 Budget to provide certainty on the pricing of international transactions for 4 years (rollback years) preceding the first year from which APA becomes applicable. With the notification of Rollback rules in March 2015, the taxpayer has been provided the option to choose certainty in transfer pricing matters with the Government for a total of nine years (5 future years and 4 prior years). . . Since the notification of the APA scheme on 30.08.2012, approximately 580 applications for APAs have been received and about half of these contain a request for the Rollback provisions. The number of applications is indicative of the wide international and national appreciation of the Indias APA programmes ability to address complex transfer pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner. . . Prime Ministers statement prior to his departure to Belgium, USA and Saudi Arabia. . Following is the text of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modis departure statement prior to his visit to Belgium, USA and Saudi Arabia today: . . On 30th March, I will be in Brussels to meet with the Belgian Prime Minister Mr. Charles Michel. I would also be holding the 13th India-EU Summit with the E. U. leadership. . . No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones. . . Our relations with Belgium are deep rooted and have stood the test of time. Within the E. U., Belgium is Indias 2nd largest trading partner. My meeting with the Prime Minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important E. U. member. . . Along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, I would remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) Telescope. . . The European Union is a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. This Summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains. . . In Brussels, I would also be meeting with the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a wide cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. . . The same evening, I will address a Community Programme and interact with the Indian community. . . After Belgium, I will be in Washington DC on 31st March to participate in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, where several nations and global organisations would be represented. . . The Summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material. . . On the sidelines of the Summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations. . . I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO project. . . On 2nd and 3rd April, at the invitation of H. M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I will be visiting Saudi Arabia. . . Indias ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda. . . Our economic ties are also expanding. Saudi Arabia is Indias 4th largest trading partner, and is also Indias largest crude oil supplier. . . In addition to meeting with H. M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the Royal family. . . We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with Indias development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh. . . I will visit the Masmak Fortress, L&T Workers Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh." . . Beijing may be pulling in the welcome mat for many of the country's biggest state-owned companies, including some that have had their headquarters in the capital for decades, setting off a scramble among other cities competing to lure them away. The plan - part of President Xi Jinping's blueprint to reinvigorate the economy - aims to move the main offices of state firms that have no core business in Beijing, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The relocations would help reduce traffic congestion, pollution and overcrowding in the capital as well as reinvigorate ... A TV grab of the hijacker An Egyptian man who hijacked an flight to Cyprus was arrested on Tuesday after hours of negotiations during which most passengers were freed and the last of the seven on board escaped. The Cyprus foreign ministry announced the arrest of the hijacker, who had taken charge of the Airbus 320 when it was on its way from Alexandria to Cairo saying he was armed with explosives. The plane was flown to Larnaca in southern Cyprus. Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, and officials opened negotiations with the man, who was identified as Seif El Din Mustafa. The man was mistakenly named earlier as Ibrahim Samaha, a passenger. Hours after the plane landed in Larnaca, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not linked to terrorism. Officials said the man appeared to be in love with a woman living in Cyprus. BBC said Flight 181 carried 56 passengers -- 30 Egyptians and 26 foreigners -- and six crew members. Soon after it reached Cyprus, all but seven passengers and crew were let off. They quickly boarded buses to reach the terminal. said a special plane will bring them back to Egypt. The foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons and four Dutch citizens, two Belgians and two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. Before the hijack drama ended, President Anastasiades said Cyprus was doing all it could to ensure the safe release of the passengers and crew. Asked if the hijacker was motivated by love, he laughed and said: "Always there is a woman involved." An unidentified civil aviation official in Cyprus was quoted by the media as saying that the man handed negotiators an envelope which he asked to be given to a woman in Cyprus. Earlier, Egypt's civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said the seven still on board the jet included the pilot, the co-pilot, a female stewardess, a security officer and three passengers whose nationalities were not revealed. Fathy said negotiations with the hijacker were continuing but it was not clear whether the man indeed had explosives or was lying. The Egyptian aviation ministry had earlier said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt, forcing the captain to divert the flight to Cyprus. US Justice Department said on Monday it had succeeded in unlocking an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters and dropped its legal case against Apple, ending a high-stakes legal battle but leaving the broader struggle over encryption unresolved. The abrupt end to a confrontation that had transfixed the tech industry was a victory for Apple, which vehemently opposed a court order obtained by the Justice Department that would have required it to write new software to get into the iPhone. "From the beginning, we objected to the FBI's demand that build a back door into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent," said in a statement late on Monday. "As a result of the government's dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought."But the larger fight over law enforcement access to encrypted information is by no means over. The technology industry is adamant that anything that helps authorities bypass the security features of tech products will undermine security for everyone. Government officials are equally insistent that all manner of criminal investigations will be crippled without access to phone data. At issue in the case was a county-owned iPhone used by Rizwan Farook, one of the husband-and-wife shooters in the December rampage in San Bernardino, California, in which 14 people were killed and 22 wounded. The couple died in a shootout with police after the attack. After saying for weeks in court filings and congressional testimony that possessed the "exclusive technical means" to unlock Farook's phone, the Justice Department unexpectedly announced on the eve of a court hearing last week that an unidentified outside party had presented it with a technique that might open the phone without help from Apple. In a two-page court filing on Monday, the Justice Department said the government had "successfully accessed the data stored on Farook's iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple." It asked a federal magistrate in Riverside, California, to withdraw the order compelling Apple to assist. Apple had argued that the government request and resulting court order were a massive overreach that would give courts unlimited authority to force private companies to work as their agents. It argued that Congress had specifically declined to give the government such powers when it comes to electronic surveillance and data collection. "We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated," Apple said in its statement. Tech industry leaders including Google, Facebook and Microsoft and more than two dozen other companies filed legal briefs supporting Apple. The Justice Department received support from law enforcement groups and six relatives of San Bernardino victims. The Justice Department's apparent discovery of an iPhone hacking technique presents thorny questions about how that knowledge will be shared. If the government tells Apple about the details, the company would presumably fix whatever vulnerability was used and thus render the method ineffective. If the government withholds the information, Apple could face a public perception problem about the security of its phones. There are also a number of pending cases across the country where law enforcement officials are asking for access to iPhones. It is not clear if they will have access to the break-in technique. In one New York case, Justice Department officials have to respond by Tuesday to an Apple request to delay the proceedings. That could provide clues as to how the government intends to deal with other iPhone cases. On a conference call for reporters on Monday, a senior U.S. law enforcement official said it was too soon to say whether the government's technique would work on other iPhones, or if it would share information with Apple or other law enforcement agencies. The FBI said in a statement it would not comment on the technical steps taken to access the phone's data. "The full exploitation of the phone and follow-up investigative steps are continuing," David Bowdich, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement. The Justice Department suggested on Monday it would keep seeking unorthodox means of getting information, including through the courts when needed. "It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails," Justice Department spokeswoman Melanie Newman said. "We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors." On Capitol Hill, critics of the Justice Department's efforts called for further vigilance. "Those worried about our privacy should stay wary - just because the government was able to get into this one phone does not mean that their quest for a secret key into our devices is over," said Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican who sits on the House Judiciary Committee. Over a year in the making, Voot, Viacom18's over-the-top (OTT) platform went live on web and mobile on Tuesday. It is launching with several popular kids' shows, a new comedy show called Chinese Bhassad and a talk show with Alok Nath called Sinskari. While it comes almost a year after Hotstar (owned by Star), a couple of months after Netflix and close on the heels of Ozee (Zee), the youngest platform on the digital airwaves has chosen to structure its content around four pillars - comedy, drama, reality and kids with a special focus on the last pillar. "We conducted a study with BCG (the Boston Consulting Group) on consumption of YouTube videos. In the end we shortlisted four areas of focus - comedy, drama, kids content and reality," says Gaurav Gandhi, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures. The network, a joint venture between Network18 and America's Viacom, is launching Voot with close to 17,000 hours of content, which will include archived content from the network's broadcast library, content acquired from independent producers in India and abroad, exclusives and originals. By building a formidable catalogue that includes the popular Indian animated children's series Chota Bheem (created by Green Gold and series aired on Turner's Cartoon Network) and original 'mockumentaries' around Bollywood actors, Voot believes it can make up for lost time. Voot, like most other digital platforms, except Netflix, is a free service. "In order to support an advertising led VOD platform, we need daily active users and daily watch time, which is the digital equivalent for TV audience measurement parameters like reach and time spent. For this, we needed to know exactly what kind of content we should put out," says Gandhi. Among the shows Voot is launching with are, a four part 'mockumentary' that follows Bollywood 'badman' Gulshan Grover's attempt to be cast as a hero and another with Baba Sehgal as the head of a family obsessed with the show, MTV Roadies. The platform also aims to be the digital home for most popular kids' characters with shows that include titles from the Viacom18 library and those acquired from studios in India and abroad. Four pillars The content is structured around four key pillars. Kids' content, along with genres like reality, comedy and drama make up the entire library. While there is no dearth of reality, comedy and drama content in the network's broadcast library across languages, Voot will not be relaying only its own television shows online. It plans to develop exclusive digital content around its popular shows. Not to be confused with 'behind-the-scenes' clips, such content will include spin-offs from popular storylines involving peripheral characters and extensions of the main storyline. "For example, Voot will exclusively provide never seen before and videos and clips around the inmates of the Bigg Boss house which may not have been aired on TV," says Gandhi. Apart from this, there will be six to seven original web-films and/or web-series at launch and Voot aims to add a couple every month thereon. Unlike its peers Hotstar, Ozee and Ditto (both Zee) and Sony Pictures Network India's SonyLIV, Voot is not limited to content from the Network18 library. It is open to acquiring content from rival networks and independent producers too as is the case with the kids content on the app. It will have close to 7,000 videos across 80 animated/cartoon characters for children between three and ten years. This includes Viacom18's popular characters like Motu-Patlu, Dora and Shiva and characters that are on other networks on TV. Gandhi explains, "We noticed that kids' content was among the highest consumed on YouTube. It was mainly pre-school content, but it gave us significant insight into the consumption by this age group. A lot of kids today learn to swipe before they learn to operate a TV remote. This makes them very important as a target group." He adds that given their fascination and dedication to characters they like, kids prefer to repeatedly watch shows/videos with their favourite animated characters. This keeps advertisers happy too. To make the app child-safe and easy to use, Voot has introduced the option of 'gating' (password protected) everything except the kid's sub-app. Additionally, the app has been designed such that children not only find it easy but also fun to use. Like they say, catching them young, is always good strategy. have regained some lost ground led by buying in index heavyweights. However, the selling pressure in pharma shares has capped the upside. Read more from our special coverage on "MARKET" At 14:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 61 points to quote at 25,027 and the Nifty50 is up 19 points to trade at 7,634.Top gainers from the Sensex pack are Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel all up between 1%-4%.Top losers on the Sensex are Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddys, Cipla, Gail (India), and Lupin, down between 1%-8% each.---------------------------------------(updated 11:50am) Benchmark indices continue to maintain negative trend amid choppy trades weighed down by pharma shares. However, the downside is limited due to buying demand among auto and index heavyweights shares like Reliance Industries and ITC. At 11:48 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 12 points to quote at 24,954 and the Nifty50 is down 3 points to trade at 7,618. Broader are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 0.3%-0.5%. "Expectations continue to favour upswings, though initial attempts to 7,680 could prompt some long liquidation. Symmetrical wedge, just above the breakout region, supports the continuation view, and a push beyond 7,680, could clear the path for 7,800/7,832. Alternatively a direct fall below 7,660 could cast doubts on the upside prospects," add Geojit BNP Paribas report. Top losers from the Sensex pack are Lupin, Cipla, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddys Labs, all plunging between 2%-12.5%. On the gaining side, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, RIL and Axis Bank are up 1%-3%. Among other shares, City Union Bank has moved higher by 9% to Rs 96 on the BSE after a huge block deal executed on the counter. Excel Industries has surged 16% to Rs 233 on the BSE after the company announced that its board approved buyback of equity shares of the company at a price not exceeding Rs 275 per share from the open purchase. . . . . . *** Updated at 10:50 have turned weak mirroring losses in the Asian peers following weak US data indicating that the consumer spending has barely picked up last month. Meanwhile, participants remain edgy ahead of the March series futures and options contracts expiry due on Thursday. At 10:50 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 45 points to quote at 24,921 and the Nifty50 is down 8 points to trade at 7,607. Top 5 gainers include Hindalo, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, RIL and Tata Steel up 1%-2.5%. Meanwhile, top 5 losers include Lupin, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddys Lab and GAIL down 1.6%-11%. Shares of pharmaceutical companies under pressure with the Nifty Pharma index hitting its 52-week low on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade. Lupin, Cipla, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries, and Dr Reddys Laboratories from the Nifty Pharma index were down more than 3% each. Lupin the largest loser among pharma pack, tanked 14% to Rs 1,280 in intra-day trade on the NSE. The stock is currently trading at its lowest level since August 28, 2014. According to media reports, Lupins Mandideep unit in Madhya Pradesh was inspected by United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in February. ALSO READ: Hitting the US FDA wall ALSO READ: Drug ban: Govt tells courts Pharma firms' licence to sell is irrelevant _______________ (updated at 9:50 am) Markets have gathered pace and are trading firm with Sensex trading comfortably above the 25,000 mark led by Index heavyweights and financials. At 9:50 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 57 points to quote at 25,024 and the Nifty50 is up 20 points to trade at 7,635. Top 5 gainers include Hindalo, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, RIL and Tata Steel up 1%-2.5%. ________________ (updated at 9:15 am) Markets have opened the session on a cautious note mirroring lack of strength among the Asian peers following weak US data indicating that the consumer spending has barely picked up last month. Meanwhile, participants remain edgy ahead of the March series futures and options contracts expiry due on Thursday. At 9:15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 4 points to quote at 24,963 and the Nifty50 is up 3 points to trade at 7,618. In line with the largecaps, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are trading flat with marginal gains. While yesterdays turn lower evolved on anticipated lines, the swing thereof of the Nifty from the 7,600 has brought prices back into the consolidation band of 7,650-7,600. Expectations continue to favour upswings, though initial attempts to 7,680 could prompt some long liquidation. Symmetrical wedge, just above the breakout region, supports the continuation view, and a push beyond 7680, could clear the path for 7,800/7,832. Alternatively a direct fall below 7,660 could cast doubts on the upside prospects, according to Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services technical note. Among overseas markets, Asian shares struggled to find their footing on Tuesday after downbeat US economic data contributed to an uninspiring session on Wall Street and pressured the dollar. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.05% after wavering for most of the early session. Australian shares slumped 0.3%, in their first day of trade following the long Easter weekend that also closed many markets in Europe. Japan's Nikkei skidded 0.8% in early trading, not helped by mixed economic data released before the opened. Besides, oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Tuesday as concerns mount that a rally since January is fizzling out, while analysts forecast another rise to record levels for US crude stockpiles. Back home, the government is likely to infuse additional capital of about Rs 5,050 crore in some public sector banks this week. Further, participants are patiently waiting for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monetary policy review due on April 5 amid hopes of a 25 basis points cut in interest rates. STOCKS IN NEWS ONGC has approved an investment of Rs 340 billion over the next few years in its east coast oil and gas asset, in a bid to boost production and benefit from a change in government policy. However, the stock is trading 0.5%lower. JSW Energy is looking at various distressed coal-fired power plants in anticipation of demand improving, an executive said, amid talk the company is buying a big power plant from Jindal Steel & Power. The stock is down 1%. IDBI Bank is up 2% after it allotted 158 million equity shares, equivalent to 7.16 per cent stake, on preferential basis to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which now holds over 14 per cent stake in the state-run lender. Dr Reddys Laboratories is trading flat after the drug major entered into an in-licensing agreement with US-based bio-pharmaceutical company XenoPort to develop and the latters clinical-stage oral new chemical entity (NCE), XP23829, a potential treatment for moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis and for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), in the US market. Ashok Leyland on Monday sold shares worth Rs 299 crore in IndusInd Bank through an open market transaction. Asok Leyland is up 1% while IndusInd Bank is flat. HDFC Bank is trading with modest gains after the country's second largest private sector lender, is set to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore by way of infrastructure bonds. Tech Mahindra, the IT arm of the Mahindra Group, said it joined General Electric's Digital Alliance Program and will use GE's industrial internet platform to build more solutions in the power, oil & gas and transportation industries. The stock is flat. NTPC has gained 0.5% after it announced the commissioning of 660 MW unit-3 at Mouda Super thermal power station. Wipro announced a five-year partnership with the country's top food service company Jubilant FoodWorks to deliver energy management services and help reduce energy and operational costs. Jubilant FoodWorks is up 1% while Wipro is trading flat. Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings plans to buy 33% of Bangalore International Airport Ltd from GVK Power & Infrastructure for Rs 2,149 crore. GVK Power is up 1%. Shriram Transport Finance Company is planning to raise Rs 250 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures on private placement basis. The stock is up 1.5%. Shares of pharmaceutical companies are under pressure with the Nifty Pharma index hitting its 52-week low on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in an intra-day trade. Lupin, Cipla, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries and Dr Reddys Laboratories are down more than 3% each. Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Ajanta Pharma, Strides Shasun, Marksans Pharma, Wockhardt and Natco Pharma are among few non-index pharma companies which have also fallen more than 4% each. At 10:43 AM, the Nifty Pharma index is down 4.2% or 466 points at 10,495 as compared to a marginal 0.14% decline in the Nifty 50 index. The pharma index has touched an intra-day low of 10,354, also its 52-week low on the NSE. Lupin, the largest loser among pharma pack, has tanked 14% to Rs 1,280 in an intra-day trade on the NSE. The stock is currently trading at its lowest level since August 28, 2014. According to media reports, Lupins Mandideep unit in Madhya Pradesh was inspected by United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in February. The Exchange has sought clarification from with reference to the flashed on CNBC TV 18 "Mandideep unit inspected by US FDA from 8-19 Feb 2016. US FDA observations at Mandideep unit are serious in nature and the unit gets 483 letter", BSE said in a statement. The reply is awaited. Since March 14, in nine trading sessions, the share of drug maker has fallen 32% from Rs 1,869 after the company said that the USFDA inspected Lupins Goa facility and cited 9 observations. The observations are on aspects such as inadequacy and adherence to standard operating procedures and we are in the midst of putting together a response to address the USFDAs observations, said on a clarification on report. Natco Pharma is down 4% to Rs 390, extending its previous days 13% fall on the NSE, after the company informed stock exchanges that two of its plants had received observations from the USFDA. The company said it has sent compliance reports on these observations and believes there will be no adverse impact on its pipeline products from these facilities. According to the company, the FDA had inspected its Chennai and Kothur facilities in February and March, respectively. Stocks fell for a second day in volatile trading, as drugmakers countered advances in automakers before the expiry of the monthly derivatives series on Thursday. Lupin slumped to a 14-month low after an analyst report said that inspectors from the US Food and Drug Administration had flagged failings at one of the drugmaker's key factories. Rival Cipla slid to its lowest price in 19 months and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries dropped to a two-month low. Maruti Suzuki India surged the most in three weeks, while Tata Motors was the best performer on the Sensex. Read more from our special ... A day after, the suicide bomb attack on Lahore park rose to 72, including 29 children, aggrieved families in Lahore spent Easter Monday burying their dead. More than 350 were injured in the deadly suicide bomb attack at a Lahore park on Sunday, when explosives packed with ball-bearings ripped through the crowds where many had gathered to celebrate Easter. Out of the 63 bodies that were brought to the mortuary at Mayo Hospital, 58 were identified and handed over to their families for burial after post-mortem examinations yesterday. While it was said that Christians were targeted, officials said that only 14 of the dead had been identified as Christians and the rest were Muslim, reports the Express Tribune. Five bodies are yet to be identified. Those who suffered injuries were admitted to various hospitals in the city, while 198 were discharged after being treated for their wounds. 172 people who suffered serious injuries were still at treated. Authorities have registered the FIR for Sunday's attack. The report was lodged against four unidentified suspects on the complaint of Allama Iqbal Town SHO Nasrullah Khan. The report added that the attacker and his three accomplices were stopped at the entrance by a security guard but managed to sneak into the park while the guard was distracted by his accomplices. The sketch of the suspected attacker has also been released by the investigation team. A counter-terrorism department (CTD) team, separately has raided the house in Muzaffargarh which was listed on a CNIC card recovered from the blast site. Tow relatives of the card holder have been detained by the officials for questioning. The card belongs to Muhammad Yusaf, who is believed to be the bomber. In a separate location in Ichhra, the team raided a temporary residence mentioned on the card, and seized belongings of the suspected bomber including a laptop. Meanwhile, mourning in the region continued yesterday as major markets and recreational places in Lahore remained closed. The Traders' associations have vowed to extend full support to the armed forces in its ongoing crackdown against extremist outfits, while some even urged law enforcement and intelligence agencies to improve surveillance to prevent future attacks. The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) had even cancelled all its events including the ongoing Spring Festival in solidarity. The Sunday's attack has brought the people of the nation together in fighting terrorism. The response to calls for blood donation was overwhelming in the hospitals, as people lined up in long queues to donate blood. Irrespective of any religion, donors said that both Muslims and Christians who said that both communities had suffered from the attack and religious differences should not hamper relief efforts. The Punjab government had announced three days of mourning . Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab and brother of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also promised compensation payments of 1 million rupees (6,700) to the families of the dead. The Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif has called on the military and paramilitary Rangers to lauch joint overnight raids against militants in central and southern regions of Punjab leading to the arrest to dozens of terror suspects and their facilitators. The mortal remains of the Brussels terror attack victim Raghavendran Ganeshan is being brought to Chennai this afternoon. His body would be arriving by 2.30 pm reportedly by Jet Airways flight (9W525) from Amsterdam via Abu Dhabi. 30-year old Raghavendran Ganeshan was working in Brussels as a staffer of Infosys for four years. The Belgian authorities confirmed through a DNA test that he was one of the victims of the March 22 terror attack at Molenbeek Metro Station. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the family of Ganeshan. "A young life, full of hope and promise cut short by mindless violence. Condolences to family of Raghavendran," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. Infosys in a condolence message to the media said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendran's family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the family of Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganeshan, who was reported dead, after he went missing since March 22 during the Brussels attacks. "A young life, full of hope and promise cut short by mindless violence. Condolences to family of Raghavendran," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. According to reports, his body was found by the Belgian authorities in the metro train at Molenbeek station where one of the bombs went off. Blasts at the Zaventem airport and the Maelbeek metro station killed more than 30 people from some 40 countries. MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Maalbeek station in Brussels." Infosys in a condolence message to the media said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendran's family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks. India's fashion social network Roposo recently announced its collaboration with Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2016, which will be held in Mumbai from March 30 to April third as the official social media channel. The social website will showcase all the live coverage, trend updates, campaigns, exclusive videos for consecutive five days. Speaking about the tie-up, Avinash Saxena, Co-Founder, Roposo said, "We are thrilled with this association. It is a matter of great pride that LFW chose us over Facebook, Twitter or any other social media platform as its official social media channel." "With unique innovations and upcoming feature updates, we will keep our users highly engaged on the platform during LFW, like never before. The design fraternity as well as fashion lovers can look forward to an engaging, comprehensive and live coverage of LFW this year, only on Roposo," added Avinash Saxena. Giving trend hunters more reason to log on, Roposo will catch and feature all real-time and behind the scenes action at the fashion week. To this end, Roposo will post exclusive LFW videos, host regular posts on what the country's ace designers are showcasing and hold special campaigns around the event. Designer and an active Roposo user, Masaba Gupta said, "I think it is really exciting to have Roposo onboard as the Official Social Media Partner for Lakme Fashion Week. I believe there is a great fit between the two platforms because Roposo is about instant fashion, finding fashion trends, finding the key looks you like, and posting stories." Roposo's live handle @LFWLive will be ticking with constant feeds including video content, pictures, trend-spotting at the event and more. Users will stay updated with all interesting happenings at LFW by logging on to Roposo and following LFW's official handle (@lakemefashionwk) or by going on its @LFWLive handle. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is on a three-day visit to Czech Republic, met Czech President Milos Zeman at the Lany presidential chateau in central Bohemia, as Beijing seeks closer bilateral ties and stronger relations with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This is the first state visit by a Chinese president in 67 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties and also Xi's maiden visit to the CEE region since he assumed office in 2013 and his first trip to Europe this year. Xi arrived here on Monday and was received Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek and other senior officials at the airport. Xi upon his arrival, hailed the long-held friendship between the two countries, in his written remarks and extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the Czech people. Both the countries have launched sound cooperation under the framework of China-CEE cooperation, which is playing a crucial role in promoting China-Europe ties, he said. The Chinese President had also said that he was looking forward in engaging with Czech counterpart and other Czech leaders to deepen the traditional friendship, strengthen the political mutual trust and expand practical cooperation between the two countries. During his visit, both countries will sign host of cooperative agreements covering economy and trade, infrastructure, finance, health care, aviation, science and technology, and culture. He is also expected to raise proposals for the "16+1" cooperation during his stay here. Xi after the visit will to fly to Washington D.C. to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, scheduled to be held from March 31 to April 1. Ambika Soni, the Congress Party general secretary in charge of the party's affairs in Uttarakhand, on Tuesday said that the grand old party has sought legal and political advice over Nainital High Court's order allowing nine rebel MLA's to vote during the floor test, which is the party's last chance to prove its majority in the state. Soni while talking to the media here said that the Congress has welcomed the high court's verdict, but some tenets in the order are difficult to comprehend. "We fully trust the judiciary, but we don't understand how will the nine disqualified MLA's will vote in the floor test, as according to the rules, disqualified MLAs are not allowed to participate in assembly matters, and the say of the honourable speaker is considered paramount. We cannot question his decision, which was taken after fulfilling the due legal procedure. However, we have sought political advice in this regard, to find a way through this situation," she said. Soni further ridiculed Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over his anti- Congress remarks, saying the court has given a befitting reply to the high-headed BJP who has resorted to misusing its power. "We saw Arun Jaitley telling media that such an incident has happened for first time in Independent India. I would like to tell him that for the first time in Independent India, a chief minister has not been allowed to prove his majority, and a day before the allotted day, presidents rule was imposed in the state," she said. "I also would like to say that the way the democratic institutions of our country are being challenged by the BJP is not a good sign. If you want a Congress free nation, then you must contest elections. You should not misuse the power you hold. This is like murdering democracy," she added. In a major relief for the Congress in the state, the Nainital High Court on Tuesday allowed a floor test in Uttarakhand Assembly on March 31st and the nine suspended rebel MLAs have been allowed to take part. Meanwhile, the President's rule has been stayed in the state. The Centre dismissed the Congress government and imposed President's rule in the state citing breakdown of governance. Former chief minister Harish Rawat termed it as the 'murder of democracy'. The ruling CPI-M has rubbished the opposition Congress party's allegation on Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar being either directly or indirectly involved in the assassination of his former cabinet colleague and Health Minister Bimal Sinha. CPIM spokesperson Gautam Das, in presence of state secretary Bijan Dhar dismissing the allegation of the Congress and said, "Completely wild allegation, baseless, false and politically motivated. They can't prove their allegations in the Assembly; they will face privilege motion if they raise wild allegations in the Assembly. Knowing well they made the wild allegations outside the Assembly. We have challenged, they shall have to prove otherwise they shall have to resign from the Assembly." Responding to the Congress party demanding for a fresh investigation by the CBI, the CPIM leader said, "why now they are demanding investigation by the CBI, why they did not go to the Yusuf Commission? The judicial commission is more than CBI, we shall have to have faith on the judiciary." "In this murder there is direct or indirect support of the Chief Minister because Bimal Sinha was a threat to the chair of the Chief Minister. I have said this in the House that the conspiracy was laid to murder him using the militants or people would understand the reason behind it. Hence he was murdered in militant encounter. And that is the reason no CBI investigation was declared, the Yusuf Commission was not co-operated," said leader of the opposition in the Tripura Assembly Sudip Roy Burman He also alleged that to hush up the real truth, the Left Front government has not cooperated with the inquiry commission. The state government, headed by Chief Minister Sarkar that time, had rejected the Congress' demand to probe the assassination by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and judicial probe of which political parties are involved in hand-in-gloves with the militants. Congress demanded that the Left Front government had formed the Yusuf Commission to investigate the murder of Bimal Sinha under acute pressure from the opposition and submitted it to the government some sixteen years back but it was not tabled in the Tripura Assembly till last Wednesday as the part in power was apprehensive that the actual murder involved in the case will come to light will the report becoming public. Barman added that the wife of the deceased Minister was very much aware of those who were involved in her husbands murder but as she had death threat she could not open up the issue to the Commission. Demanding a fresh inquiry by CBI into the former minister's killing, Barman accompanied by former opposition leader Ratan Lal Nath, state party president Birajit Sinha and other leaders alleged that Sinha was killed as he wanted to be the chief minister. The report allegedly holds that Sinha had maintained relation with the militants and their overground and was himself responsible for his death as he used to avoid taking security personnel with him on his visits to militants. Sinha and his brother Bidyut were gunned down by the banned outfit NLFT on March 31, 1998. The Tripura state assembly on Monday witnessed bedlam over assassination of former Tripura health minister Bimal Sinha and his brother in 1998, with the opposition Congress demanding a fresh probe in it. The pandemonium started after Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath rejected an adjournment motion moved by opposition leader Sudip Roy Barman. The house had to be adjourned twice due to the uproar in the house. (ANI) The Yusuf Commission was appointed by the Left Front government in 1998 and submitted its report on January 31, 2000 but till now it was not published. Recently following a writ petition filed by advocate Kalyani Roy, who heads the state Congress' women's wing, the Tripura High Court recently asked the state government to publish the report. India, who is passionately following its quest for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), has hardened its stand on the Jaish-e-Mohammed and will call on the UN to proscribe its commander Maulana Masood Azhar. With the developments on the Pathankot attack taking a concrete step as the Pakistan JIT team is set to visit to the site of the attack today, India is stepping up its crackdown on the terror outfit, whose involvement in the attack on the Air Base is the focus of the probe. "As regards the attack by JeM, we assure you that we will pursue the cause for justice. It is not a cause that we will leave or have forgotten about. I can assure you that we are proceeding with our efforts to ensure that this organisation which is already proscribed by the UN also has its leaders proscribed and that is the primary effort right now," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told ANI here. Asserting that India's efforts are focused on having Masood as a listed entity, he added that there are certain terrorists that needed to be named and shamed. "India is a remerging entity and a power that is trying to get its rightful place in the . Nothing and no power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. Our time has come," Akbaruddin said. Earlier, India showed Pakistan the evidence that establishes the involvement of Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Muhammed Rauf Asghar in the Pathankot attack. India has also sought voice samples of Rauf Asghar, who is reported to have claimed responsibility for the attack on a website. Meanwhile, the chopper carrying the Pakistan probe team and the NIA landed at the Amritsar's commercial airport. The NIA yesterday gave a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. Well placed NIA sources told ANI that the JIT held talks with the NIA members on the Pathankot attack investigation and NIA also gave presentation on facts and evidences. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. Argentina's government is celebrating the historic decision of the United Nations Commission to expand its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 per cent to include the disputed Falkland islands and beyond. The UN Commission sided with Argentina on the limits of the continental shelf , ratifying the country's 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast, reports Guardian. In 2013, a whopping 99 percent of Falkland islanders voted to stay as a British overseas territory. Despite that referendum, Argentina still holds out hope of owning the territory which it calls the Malvinas. The decision by UN chiefs could allow Buenos Aires to claim natural resources in the sea around the British island. Britain fought Argentina for the islands in 1982 and has since been responsible for its defence and foreign affairs. Argentina minister Susana Malcorra last night hailed the "historic" decision.of the U N Commission. The UN commission's finding included the caveat that there is an unresolved diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain over the islands. The Falklands are internally self-governing, but Britain is responsible for its defence and foreign affairs. The British government says islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentinian sovereignty against their will. The SC/ST faculty forum and the faculty members of the Hyderabad University went on a mass casual leave on Tuesday, in protest against the unprecedented situation prevailing in the varsity campus arising out of a series of human rights violations following the protests by students on March 22. In a letter written to the university Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, the faculty members cited how the police resorted to an unwarranted and disproportionate show of force on the protesting students and neutral bystanders, adding that the university administration made no alternative arrangements to alleviate the distressing situation on the campus. The faculty members have decided to go on a mass leave against the atrocities done against the students and also against the continued denial of justice to Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. Last week, Appa Rao - currently under judicial probe in the Vemula case, returned to campus after a two-month-long leave. Angry students protested outside his house, broke window panes, smashed doors and the television, while shouting slogans. They also vandalised his office and there was reportedly, a lot of damage caused. The students were arrested and the university has been under complete lockdown since then. A city court yesterday granted bail to 25 students and two faculty members who were arrested. Vemula, 26, had hung himself in his hostel room at the university campus in January, five months after being suspended for allegedly attacking an ABVP leader. An EgyptAir passenger aircraft en route from Alexandria to Cairo has been hijacked and has landed in Cyprus, according to sources in Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry. Cyprus State Radio said that the Airbus A320 has more than 80 passengers on board. The hijacker has allegedly allowed women and children to leave the plane. News agencies quoted airline and Egyptian government sources as saying that the domestic flight travelling from Alexandria to Cairo was taken over by at least one armed hijacker. They asked for the flight to land in Cyprus, an EgyptAir spokeswoman is quoted as saying. Reports say the Airbus A320 has more than 80 passengers on board. With poll fever on the rise in Assam, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tall promises for turning the fortunes of the state. Addressing a rally in Diphu of East Karbi Anglong district of Assam, the Congress vice president reminded Prime Minister Modi of his unfulfilled promise of bringing back the black money stashed abroad. "Modi ji comes here, makes promises and then goes back. He promised to bring back the black money and give every common man a sum of Rs. 15 lakhs but has failed to do so," Gandhi said. Training guns on the ruling government, Gandhi said that liquor baron Vijay Mallya, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi fled the country very easily, and accused the ruling dispensation of not acting tough on them. "Vijay Mallya met a minister in Parliament and later he easily went out of the country," he added. The Congress vice president further slammed Prime Minister Modi for taking away the special status of Assam. "Modi ji took away special status of Assam under which the state used to get thousands of crores of rupees under Congress government," Gandhi said. Gandhi further accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of instigating violence among people, wherever it rose to power. "They (BJP) want to enforce one ideology on everyone, this country does not belong to one ideology. Assam will be running from Nagpur, Assam will be running from Prime Minister's Office if BJP wins, we want to run Assam from Assam," he added. Earlier last week, highlighting his agenda of development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning in the Rangapara district of Assam, came down heavily on the Congress regime and alleged that the ruling party in the state has betrayed the people and their aspirations in the last 15 years. In Assam, polling for the first phase of polls will be held on April 4 for 65 seats. The scrutiny of nomination papers was held on March 19 and March 21 was the last date of withdrawal of nominations. Assam has a total of one crore 98 lakh voters. The Election Commission has announced two-phase voting for the 14th Assam assembly elections on April 4 and 11, while the votes will be counted on May 19. The tenure of the Tarun Gogoi led- Congress government comes to an end in June. Scores of gold and jewellery traders on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, against the budgetary proposal to impose one percent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. " from all over the country have assembled to protest against the proposed hike of one percent on jewellery by Arun Jaitley, we demand it to be rolled back," Vijay Bagga, said one of the protestor. When asked as to why the traders were protesting even as the government set up a panel to look into their demand, Bagga said "the government was misleading the jeweller community, as there has been no roll back in the proposed hike adding that they have been protesting from past 28 days and facing the police brutalities." The protestors climbed the barricades put up by the Delhi police and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and his government. The traders also held placards condemning the proposed hike in the excise duty. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who earlier wrote to his counterparts urging them to join him in requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to roll-back the one percent hike in excise duty on jewellery, has said he would meet President Pranab Mukherjee in this regard. "Meeting Hon'ble Prez today with representatives of to discuss the issue of excise on jewelers," Kejriwal said on twitter. across the country have been on strike since March 2 demanding its repeal. Hitting out at the current election season's anti-Muslim rhetoric, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the prevalent expression this polling season was an "embarrassment" to the United States. Quoting Kerry from an interview to CBS News "Face the Nation" show, the Dawn reported Kerry saying that such statements had baffled every overseas leader he met this season. "Everywhere I go, every leader I meet, they ask about what is happening in America. They cannot believe it. I think it is fair to say that they're shocked. They don't know where it's taking the United States of America." He said. When asked if leaders were viewing the rhetoric as part of the election circus Kerry said: "It upsets people's sense of equilibrium about our steadiness, about our reliability." "And to some degree, I must say to you, some of the questions, the way they're posed to me, it's clear to me that what's happening is an embarrassment to our country." He added. Earlier, following the deadly attacks in Brussels, United States President Barack Obama urged Americans not to stigmatise the Muslim community while stating that doing so is counterproductive in the fight against radical Islam. Obama's remarks came following the controversial remarks made by two Republicans, who are vying to succeed him in the White House. Texas Senator Ted Cruz Cruz called for increased surveillance of Muslim neighbourhoods while Donald Trump reiterated that Muslims should be temporarily prevented from entering the US. Following the deadly suicide bomb attack at a Lahore park, Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif called on the military and paramilitary Rangers to lauch joint overnight raids against militants in central and southern regions of Punjab leading to the arrest to dozens of terror suspects and their facilitators. According to the Express Tribune, security forces launched operations against members of banned outfits in various cities of Punjab including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Kamoki, Sialkot, Narowal, Jehlum, Bahawalpur and Muzzafargarh arresting over 350 suspected terrorists and their facilitators. "Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif chaired a high-level security meeting at the General Headquarters (GHQ) today to review progress of operations in Punjab to nab terrorists in the aftermath of Lahore blast.," tweeted Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa, director general of the military's media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), on Monday. Following the blast, the army chief had chaired a high-level meeting including heads of the Inter Services Intelligence of the military's top brass and called for another meeting within 24 hours and directed them to launch operations to find linkages and perpetrators of the attack. As many as 72 people were killed, including 29 children, and 370 people were injured when a bomber targeted Christians celebrating Easter at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on Sunday. The law minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, Rana Sanaullah, has said that the military crackdown on terrorists in the province should be seen as a national operation. The crackdown was launched in response to Sunday's suicide attack that claimed the lives of 72 people, including women and children, in a park in Lahore. He said the country's political leadership, religious parties, opposition and the government were backing the crackdown. Giving a few details, Sanaullah said that action by all law enforcing agencies will be taken jointly. "Some kacha areas have been identified where operations will be launched by police, elite force and the counter-terrorism department, and if need be Rangers and Army will be called in," the Dawn quoted him, as saying. The law minister's conference hours before ISPR chief Asim Bajwa and Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid are scheduled to address a joint conference in Islamabad today. Playing down speculations on differences between the government and the military, Sanaullah clarified that some elements trying to create gaps or spaces in our joint efforts would fail and the operation would continue with the same passion and soon the entire nation will stand victorious. He emphasised that all law enforcement agencies like the police, CTD, ISI or Rangers, are operating together to achieve their targets. A five-member Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) will visit Pathankot on Tuesday to carry out the investigation into the terror attack on the Indian Air Force Base. Interacting with reporters yesterday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he had especially denied permission to the foreign investigative team to go anywhere near the airbase. He, however, said the Pathankot terror attack was being investigated by the Investigation Agency (NIA), and thus, it was within the purview of the NIA to give permission to the Pakistan JIT to probe the crime scene. The Investigation Agency (NIA) has given a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. The JIT reached New Delhi on Sunday to carry forward the probe and met the NIA officers yesterday. Briefing the media yesterday, Inspector General of NIA, Sanjiv Kumar Singh said, "The JIT will be taken to different locations associated with the attack case today." He said that the exercise is aimed at providing evidence to Pakistani probe team so that all those guilty of the terror attack could be prosecuted effectively in the neighbouring country. Well placed NIA sources told ANI that the JIT held talks with the NIA members on the investigation and NIA also gave presentation on facts and evidences. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) involvement in was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. This is the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials are traveling to India to investigate a terror attack case. New Delhi has been pressing Islamabad for action on the attack by terrorists on the key Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, in January this year. Seven security personnel were martyred in the attack. All terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in the gun-battle. In response to the Congress Party criticizing the BJP-led NDA Government's move to permit a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from Pakistan to visit the Pathankot Air Force Base, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said that they had not asked for any suggestion from the grand old party regarding the visit. "We have not asked for any advice from the Congress on this. But because they are giving free advice, for that, I would like to thank them. But it would have been better if they would have given this advice when there were terror attacks one after another in India; but during that time they were sitting hands on hands," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told ANI here. "As far as the nation's security is concerned, Modi government's motive is very clear . Nation's security is of most priority for us," he added. Earlier, the Congress Party slammed the government's move to permit JIT from Pakistan to visit the Pathankot Air Force Base, saying this one step by the Modi government has led too much disgrace for the nation. "We are a democratic country, our institutions are far stronger than Pakistan. They are coming here because I believe they don't trust our investigating agencies or whatever evidence we produce. That means we are going to allow a country to come into our sovereign land because they don't trust us? Are we going to shame our agencies in front of Pakistani agencies? I think this one step by the Modi government has led to so much disgrace to the nation which is unfathomable for me," said Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit. Expressing similar sentiments, another congress leader P.L. Punia said that it is unfortunate that the Pakistani JIT was allowed to come to India to investigate. Meanwhile, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged massive protests outside the Air Base demanding that the JIT should go back. Chanting slogans against the Centre and holding placards saying "Pak JIT go back" the protestors also waved black flags and reached the gates of the Air Base, where defence personnel were seen trying to restrain them and stop them from entering the restricted area. The five-member Pakistani JIT is headed by Chief of Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai and comprises Lahore's Deputy Director General, Intelligence Bureau, Mohammad Azim Arshad, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official Lieutenant-Colonel Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lieutenant-Colonel Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer, Shahid Tanveer. The Congress Party on Sunday slammed the BJP-led NDA Government's move to permit a joint investigation team (JIT) from Pakistan to visit the Pathankot Air Force Base, saying this one step by the Modi government has led too much disgrace for the nation. "We are democratic country, our institution are far stronger than Pakistan. they are coming here because I believe they don't trust our investigating agencies or whatever evidence we produce. That means we are going to allow a country to come into our sovereign land because they don't trust us? Are we going to shame our agencies in front of Pakistani agencies? I think this one step by the Modi government has led to so much disgrace to the nation which is unfathomable for me," Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI here. He also said that the Pakistan's JIT visiting India is something which is beyond his comprehension. "I cannot understand why the Pakistani investigating agency has to come to India in a crime committed against Indians. You are the perpetrators; your people have been training terrorist groups and inciting people to create terror against India and now u have to come here to investigate? I just cannot understand," he added. Dikshit further asked whether India can go to various parts of Pakistan where India have firm evidence that Pakistan is training people and inciting people against India. Expressing parallel sentiments, another congress leader P.L. Punia said that it is unfortunate that the Pakistani JIT had to come to India to investigate. "JIT is going everywhere; there is no question of limited access. This is unfortunate that Pakistan does not want to believe what the army, Air force is saying," he said. A five-member Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is in Pathankot today to carry out the investigation into the terror attack on the Indian Air Force Base. Interacting with reporters yesterday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he had especially denied permission to the foreign investigative team to go anywhere near the airbase. He, however, said the Pathankot terror attack was being investigated by the Investigation Agency (NIA), and thus, it was within the purview of the NIA to give permission to the Pakistan JIT to probe the crime scene. The Investigation Agency (NIA) has given a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. The JIT reached New Delhi on Sunday to carry forward the probe and met the NIA officers yesterday. Pakistan released a six-minute video of detained Indian naval officer Kulbushan Yadav wherein he is confessing to his involvement in an alleged spying activity in the country, and especially Balochistan. Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad, Information Minister Pervez Rashid and Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa said Yadav is a serving Indian naval officer whose primary mission was to foment terrorism in Karachi and Balochistan. Lt.Gen. Bajwa further claimed that Yadav had converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer, and termed his detention a 'big achievement' for Pakistan, the Dawn reports. He also said that Pakistan and Balochistan maps has been recovered from Yadav and added that the latter had established a network of operatives, provided funds, arranged and smuggled people for terrorism in the country. The ISPR chief said Yadav had assumed the name of Hussain Mubarak Patel and was tasked with carrying out bomb blasts to disrupt the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, plan and launch attacks in Karachi and work against efforts of Balochistan reconciliation. Yadav also had a link in the assassination of former SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam, added Lt. Gen. Bajwa. Minister Rashid said Yadav will be prosecuted as per the law of the land. Islamabad and the Balochistan government have long accused India's Research and Analysis Wing and Afghan intelligence of funding and training Baloch insurgents. The Pakistan Joint Investigation Team which arrived here today at the Pathankot Air Base begun the probe into the deadly terror attack by visiting the site of the incident, accompanied by Indian officials and security personnel. The team is visiting the areas that have been sanitised by the Indian Air Force post the attack on the Base. However, the team will reportedly not be allowed to interact with any defence and security personnel who were involved in the 80-hour counter-operation against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. Meanwhile, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged massive protests outside the Air Base demanding the JIT go back. Chanting slogans against the Centre and holding placards saying "Pak JIT go back" the protestors also waved black flags and reached the gates of the Air Base, where defence personnel were seen trying to restrain them and stop them from entering the restricted area. "First they come here and attack on our soil bleeding us and they pretend that they are trying to get justice. Congress will never stand this farce," Harinder Kaur, a protestor told ANI. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the matter saying that the Indian government has knelt before Pakistan. "Never before in the history of Independent India any Indian govt knelt before Pak as Modi govt has," he tweeted. Echoing similar sentiments, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut also slammed the Centre for 'welcoming' the team which also has a member from the ISI and said mockingly that that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar could come to India as part of the team and no one will ever know. "This is completely our failure that we have called them here. What will Pakistan do? They are the guilty party and they are going to investigate? The nation is laughing," Raut told ANI. The five-member Pakistani JIT is headed by Chief of Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai and comprises Lahore's Deputy Director General, Intelligence Bureau, Mohammad Azim Arshad, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official Lieutenant-Colonel Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lieutenant-Colonel Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer, Shahid Tanveer. Following inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs about a possible threat to the JIT by the Islamic fundamentalist organizations based in Pakistan and their proxies in India, the Punjab Police made arrangements to provide 25 bulletproof cars to ferry them and the Investigation Agency (NIA) officials in Pathankot and areas close to the border. The note was sent after the JIT members arrived in India, sparking a political storm over whether they should be given access to the airbase. The senior functionaries in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared to be confused about India, Pakistan peace moves with regard to the Pathankot probe, while the Pakistan Joint Investigation reached the Pathankot air base on Tuesday to probe the terror attack, said sources. "Yesterday's Afghan attack shows Pakistan militants don't want good relation with India. The attack shows nothing is well and it's only a show off between India and Pakistan. Everyone knows that the Pakistan militant is sponsored by the Pakistan army. Afghan is an old friend of India from many decades. this is indigestible for Pakistan and its army," a top BJP functionary told ANI. The source further stated that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wants relation with India but Pakistan army never wants that. If they cross the Pakistan army, once again the army will revolt and they will create a condition like Musharraf. The earlier policy of India was good. Terror and talk isn't possible together," it added. Meanwhile, taking a pot-shot at the Opposition, the government said that there should be no politics in this matter. "There should be no politics on this. The Centre always takes step on security based on certain evidences and proofs. There are certain issues in which arguments and comments are not required. We are not in favour of politics in this issue," Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh told ANI. The Pakistan JIT is currently at the Pathankot air base to probe the terror attack. This is the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials are in India to investigate a terror attack case. New Delhi has been pressing Islamabad for action on the attack by terrorists on the key Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, in January this year. The team is visiting the areas that have been sanitised by the Indian Air Force post the attack on the Base. However, the team will reportedly not be allowed to interact with any defence and security personnel who were involved in the 80-hour counter-operation against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. Meanwhile, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged massive protests outside the Air Base demanding the JIT go back. Chanting slogans against the Centre and holding placards saying "Pak JIT go back" the protestors also waved black flags and reached the gates of the Air Base, where defence personnel were seen trying to restrain them and stop them from entering the restricted area. The five-member Pakistani JIT is headed by Chief of Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai and comprises Lahore's Deputy Director General, Intelligence Bureau, Mohammad Azim Arshad, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official Lieutenant-Colonel Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lieutenant-Colonel Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer, Shahid Tanveer. Following inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs about a possible threat to the JIT by the Islamic fundamentalist organizations based in Pakistan and their proxies in India, the Punjab Police made arrangements to provide 25 bulletproof cars to ferry them and the Investigation Agency (NIA) officials in Pathankot and areas close to the border. As many as seven security personnel were martyred in the attack. All terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in the gun-battle. Asserting that visit of the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to is an unprecedented initiative in regard to India-Pakistan relationship, defence experts on Tuesday said it would be now crucial to see how the Pakistan probe team use this opportunity to advance the case in Pakistan. "The Indian government and the defence ministry has clarified there would be no access to any of the service personnel who are involved in the incident, as also, no access to any part of the base that would redeem to be sensitive in terms of its own locations. I think we have to see how the JIT is going to use this opportunity to advance the case in Pakistan," Security Expert Uday Bhaskar said. "Why is a very anomalous experience is that, till now in India, many of the terrorist attacks, whether it was Mumbai in November 2008 or Pathankot in 2016, there has been strongly held view that the Pakistani establishment is supporting these groups or these individual perpetrators," he added. Bhaskar further stated that as far as the government is concerned, there seems to be an attempt to try and provide as much as of procedural access is possible, so that Pakistan in turn can prosecute the case. Resonating similar sentiments, defence expert S.R. Sinho said the Investigation Agency has provided all the necessary evidences to the Pakistan JIT, but there has been no comment on this from the intelligence team of Pakistan, which does not clear their stand. "They have not commented anything on Maulana Masood Azhar till date. I think Pakistan might say that evidences are not sufficient and they require more proves on this. The Pakistan ISI has always carried out terrorist activities against India and it is their team which has come for investigation. The team also constitutes two lieutenant colonel. They have been sent so that they can find some loopholes and blame India," he added. Sinho termed the investigation as a 'delay', adding that the JIT is trying to show the international community that they are with India in probing the Pathankot attack. "The Bombay blast matter is also pending. Both America and Headley gave statements and confirmed but still Pakistan has taken no action yet," he said. The chopper carrying the Pakistan probe team and the NIA landed at the Amritsar's commercial airport earlier today and are en route to the Pathankot Air Base to probe the Pathankot terror attack. The NIA yesterday gave a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani probe team on the evidence collected with regard to Pathankot airbase terror attack case. Well placed NIA sources told ANI that the JIT held talks with the NIA members on the Pathankot attack investigation and NIA also gave presentation on facts and evidences. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. Seven security personnel were martyred in the attack. All terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in the gun-battle. New Delhi, Mar 29 (ANI): R. Balki, who is trying to initiate the talk of breaking the gender stereotype through his film 'Ki and Ka', has raised voice against the age-old practice of prohibiting entry of women in Shani Temple in Pune. "Women, please change your religion" the director, promoting the slogan 'Streeling Pulling Samething' told ANI expressing his grievance against the situation. He added, "This ridiculous thing of forcing people to do what the society feels right or the religion agrees to, is the most disturbing fact about gender bias. Forcing women to not do jobs and forcing men to prove to the society that they are 'men enough', I mean the bias happens with both the genders." Balki added instances in the film where audience would see the character of Arjun Kapoor being humiliated by his father for his choice of being a home maker. The character 'Kabir' is told to check his gender by looking under his pants. The award-winner director supporting Arjun's statement that men's choice to be a homemaker do not make them any weaker in the society and that they should be respected to not be so 'egoless' about themselves, has also shown few sequences where Arjun's character of Kabir gives a tough fight to goons on the street. Even Arjun Kapoor, every now and then, has spoken about bringing end to discrimination against both the genders, but also said that this film is not only about gender-bias prevalent in society. Director by R.Balki, 'Ki and Ka' stars Arjun and Kareena Kapoor Khan in lead roles. The film is slated to release on April 1. The Delhi High Court today disposed off the petition seeking stay on the release of Boman Irani, Veer Das-starrer 'Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd' and directed the Central Board of Film Certification to treat the petition as representation. The PIL filed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee alleged that the movie was projecting the personality of Sikh community in defamatory and denigrating manner, which could cause "disturbance" in the society. The government and the Censor Board though told that there is nothing objectionable in the movie, which makes fun of the Sikh community. 'Santa Banta Pvt Ltd' producers and director were against any reconsideration of the certificate by the government or any such direction by the court, saying this would amount to questioning the board's decision, which took a call after seeing the movie. They even added that the petitioners objected even before watching the movie. Yesterday, more than 10,000 charged protesters took part in a rally organised by the Sunni Tehreek (ST) in the city, damaging buildings and setting fire to the metro station, containers and buses. A crowd consisting of around at least 25,000 people had attended the chehlum of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer's killer, in Rawalpindi's Liaquatbagh earlier that day. Qadri, an Elite Force commando, was executed at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail on February 29. He shot Taseer 28 times in broad daylight in Islamabad's Kohsar Market on January 4, 2011. Qadri had said that he killed Taseer over what he called the politician's vocal opposition to blasphemy laws of the country. The protesters, in front of Parliament, issued a list of 10 demands under the banner of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool (SAW) demanding the unconditional release of all Sunni clerics and leaders booked on various charges, including terrorism and murder. They also demanded Qadri be recognised as a martyr and the conversion of his Adiala Jail cell into a national heritage site, assurances that blasphemy laws will not be amended, and the removal of Ahmadis and other non-Muslims who occupy key posts. The protesters further demanded the execution of blasphemy accused Aasia Bibi, the woman former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was killed for defending. Over 700 agitators were later picked from parts of Islamabad and sent to various jails in Punjab yesterday and four separate cases were registered against 501 religious workers, including their leadership, under the Anti-Terrorism Act by police. Today's sit-in continues despite Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's address last night warning warned radical Islamists not to take the government's leniency as a sign of weakness. Sharif's address came after a massive suicide bombing at Lahore's Gulshan-i-Iqbal park killed at least 72 people and several injured during the Easter celebrations on Sunday. Militant group, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Jamatul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack. The military had responded by launching raids on suspected militant hideouts across Punjab. Meanwhile, the raids are underway. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has called on his side to remain grounded against England as the two sides head into their World T20 semifinal showdown at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. New Zealand will go into the last four as the only unbeaten side in the T20 format's pinnacle tournament. However,the 25-year-old believes that it would not be easy to win against Eoin Morgan's side and, therefore, asked his team to put their best foot forward in order to beat them, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Describing 'horses for courses' as a key to success, Williamson said that they would going to stick to their philosophy against England as well. England were seemed to be better aware about the upcoming conditions as they had played their last two matches at Kotla. But Williamson said that World T20 tournament was unpredictable and that anything could happen. FICCI welcomes the announcement of Procedure (DPP) 2016 which spells out the thrust on self-reliance and greater indigenisation. FICCI fully supports the government vison to cut down the procurement cycle and install stronger and robust mechanisms to monitor for probity at various stages of procurement. Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI congratulated Ministry of Defence for encouraging innovations by the Indian industry. He said The categorization of Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) as the first preferred procurement category installs faith and belief on Indian industries ability towards meeting the requirement of defence forces through indigenous innovations leading to design, development and manufacturing of defence products. Jayant D Patil, Chairman, FICCI-Defence and Aerospace Committee and Senior Vice President, Head - Defence & Aerospace, Larsen & Toubro Ltd mentioned The DPP 2016 is path breaking step in creation of IDDM category and bringing in merit driven acquisition these steps are going to help Indian Industry build the much needed Defence and Aerospace Industrial base in country. We are awaiting for final version of DPP 2016 which will include appendices and chapter on Strategic Partnership. Pierre de Bausset, Chairman, FICCI- Make in India on Defence and Aerospace, and President of Airbus Group in India said DPP 2016, the 'Make in India' vision and the IDDM and Buy and Make Indian categories will help Global FOEMs and Indian companies to forge partnership for co-development and co-production. The integration of Indian companies in the global supply chain will in a true sense help the establishment of Defence Manufacturing. We are convinced that the focus on speed and transparency of the new DPP will help the armed forces of the country and enhance the engagement of FOEM in campaigns in India. Col. H S Shankar, Chairman, FICCI Defence and Aerospace Sub Committee on MSME mentioned that Enhancing the role of MSMEs in defence sector is one of the defining features of DPP. The focus on MSME with 'Bottom-up' approach will help building sustainable industry defence industrial ecosystem. DPP 2016 will help Innovations, niche product development by MSMES which in turn will lead to job creation, push to 'Skill India and Start-up India. The R&D and Developmental Fund envisages in DPP needs to be enhanced to Rs 100 crores per project with yearly outgo of minimum Rs 500 crores on a year, which should be disbursed to MSMEs by a selection process which should be simple and transparent. Sudhakar Gande, Chairman - FICCI Task Force on Aerospace and Air Defence and Vice Chairman, AXISCADES Aerospace & Technologies Ltd while welcoming the thrust on indigenisation emphasized this policy along with other appropriate measures needs to be taken simultaneously to create an enabling eco system for creating and nurturing of the aerospace industry in India. The industry is currently at a nascent stage and these steps once taken will have a force multiplier effect in job creation and skill development across the aerospace industry. Powered by Capital Market - Live News The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the banks have to play an important role in achieving the higher growth rate in the country. He said that the banks would be provided sufficient funds to recapitalise them. The Finance Minister was speaking after inaugurating the Sydney Branch of the Union Bank of India in Sydney, Australia. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley is on a four day official visit to Australia. OAs part of the first leg of his Australia visit, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley arrived in Sydney. The inauguration was done by Shri Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister of India in the presence of High Commissioner of India in Australia Shri Navdeep Suri and Shri Arun Tiwari, Chairman & Managing Director, Union Bank of India among others. The Union Bank of India is the 5th largest Nationalized Bank in India. Established in the year 1919, the Bank has grown to a business mix of Rs. 5,89,889 crore, with deposits of Rs 3,27,412 crore and advances of Rs 2,62,477 crore, as of December 2015. Union Bank offers products and services for Retail, Agriculture, MSME, Large Corporate and NRI customers through 4153 branches, which includes 3 overseas branches and 6999 ATMs, dedicated call centre operating 24*7 in 9 languages and alternative channels like internet banking and mobile banking. The Union Bank of India recently launched Mobile Wallet Digipurse with features of Bill Payment, DTH Recharge, Mobile Recharge, Online Shopping through virtual card and fund transfer facilities through IMPS, in addition to launch of Union Selfie and online account opening. These add to already comprehensive digital offerings through various modes. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Reflecting how skewed is India's export base, two states - Gujarat and Maharashtra, account for more than 46 per cent of the merchandise consignments from the country and with the addition of three next best performing sources of shipments, the top five states claim over 69 per cent of India's entire export earnings, according to the latest study by apex industry body ASSOCHAM. Analysing the data between 2007-08 and 2014-15, the ASSOCHAM study on 'Export Performance of States' found that besides Gujarat and Maharashtra, the other top performing states on the export map include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. While Gujarat and Maharashtra have been vying for the top spot, the latter became the best performing states shipping goods worth USD 72.83 billion in 2014-15. Gujarat had export shipments of USD 59.58 billion in the same period while Tamil Nadu emerged as the third largest sourcing state with USD 27.47 billion of the consignments, noted the study prepared by ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau. Though Gujarat and Maharashtra have traditionally been dominating the export business because of their locational advantage in terms of coastline, their growth rate has not been as good as those of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which are doing a lot of catching up despite being land-locked. Surely, on a low base as compared to the best performing states, but UP registered a growth of 18.3 per cent at a compound level in 2014-15 while it was 14.4 per cent for Haryana. For Gujarat the CAGR was eight per cent while for Maharashtra, the compounded growth was 7.2 per cent, of course on a high absolute base. Land-locked states including Punjab, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have to focus on massive improvement in basic infrastructure like roads, rail and airports to cut the transaction cost to stay competitive in an otherwise choppy international market, highlighted the ASSOCHAM study. It noted that the Special Export-processing Zones (SEZs) have played an important role in promoting exports from the better off states. For instance, Gujarat has been highly successful in tapping the potential of SEZs within its jurisdiction. Another noteworthy aspect is that almost three-fourths of operational SEZs are located in six states - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Cost and efficiency of the transport system is of paramount importance for the competitiveness and success of export-oriented businesses. States with coastline, seamless connectivity and port capacity with deep draft (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) also happen to be the leading exporters. On the other hand, many states in the hinterland and in the North East find it difficult to enter export market because of poor logistics compounded by a weak trade facilitation. Current indirect tax structure unmakes India, by fragmenting Indian markets along state lines. This has the collateral consequence of also undermining 'Make in India,' by favouring imports and disfavouring domestic production and exports. The GST would rectify it not by increasing protection but by eliminating the negative protection for imports, the ASSOCHAM study concluded. Powered by Capital Market - Live News A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices reversed losses in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 67.28 points or 0.27% at 25,033.68. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 19.35 points or 0.25% at 7,634.45. The Sensex was currently hovering above the psychologically important 25,000 mark after alternately moving above and below that level in intraday trade. Gains in European stocks aided upmove on the domestic bourses. The Sensex rose 87.33 points, or 0.35% at the day's high of 25,053.73 in morning trade. The barometer index fell 130.84 points, or 0.52% at the day's low of 24,835.56 in mid-morning trade, its lowest level since 18 March 2016. The Nifty rose 30.70 points, or 0.4% at the day's high of 7,645.80 in morning trade. The index fell 32.85 points, or 0.43% at the day's low of 7,582.25 in mid-morning trade, its lowest level since 18 March 2016. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 1,553 shares declined and 943 shares rose. A total of 164 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.11%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.08%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex. In overseas stock markets, European shares edged higher as trading resumed after a four-day break for the Easter holiday. Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on the US economy and monetary policy. Yellen will deliver a speech at the Economic Club of New York today, 29 March 2016. Markets globally expect Yellen to drop hints about future rate hike path. Stocks of public sector banks witnessed a mixed trend. Allahabad Bank (up 1.75%), Bank of India (up 0.91%), IDBI Bank (up 0.73%), UCO Bank (up 0.68%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.52%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.50%), State Bank of India (up 0.32%), Syndicate Bank (up 0.31%), Union Bank of India (up 0.20%) and Andhra Bank (up 0.10%), edged higher. Indian Bank (down 0.24%), Canara Bank (down 0.33%), Corporation Bank (down 0.52%), United Bank of India (down 0.52%), Central Bank of India (down 0.55%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.55%), Punjab and Sind Bank (down 0.73%), Dena Bank (down 1.2%) and Vijaya Bank (down 1.27%) edged lower. Most private sector banks edged higher. City Union Bank (up 2.73%), Axis Bank (up 1.29%), HDFC Bank (up 0.69%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.49%), Yes Bank (up 0.49%) and Federal Bank (up 0.11%), edged higher. ICICI Bank was down 0.22% at Rs 224.75. The stock hit a high of Rs 227 and a low of Rs 222.20 so far during the day. IndusInd Bank rose 1.22% to Rs 927.70. Ashok Leyland rose 2.67%. Ashok Leyland announced before market hours today, 29 March 2016, that it has on 28 March 2016 sold 32.63 lakh equity shares of IndusInd Bank in the open market at a price of Rs 915.96 per share. Tata Motors rose 3.77% to Rs 376.95. Tata Motors in a press release dated 27 March 2016 said it has secured a follow-on contract for the supply of additional 619 units of the Tata 6X6 high-mobility, multi-axle truck from the Indian Army. Most capital goods shares edged lower. AIA Engineering (down 4.44%), BEML (down 2.89%), Thermax (down 2.13%), Jindal Saw (down 2.11%), Lakshmi Machine Works (down 1.6%), Alstom T&D India (down 1.29%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 1.24%), ABB India (down 0.89%), Siemens (down 0.35%), Praj Industries (down 0.22%), Havells India (down 0.15%) and Suzlon Energy (down 0.15%), edged lower. Punj Lloyd (up 0.65%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (up 1.37%), Bharat Electronics (up 1.38%), ALSTOM India (up 2.40%), SKF India (up 2.47%) and Crompton Greaves (up 2.54%), edged higher. Index heavyweight and engineering & construction major L&T was down 0.88% to Rs 1,195.30. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,215.10 and a low of Rs 1,190.50 so far during the day. Drug maker Lupin slumped after media reports suggested that the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued Form 483 observations after concluding inspection of Lupin's Mandideep unit in Madhya Pradesh. The stock was down 7.42% at Rs 1,384.20. The stock was volatile. The scrip hit a high of Rs 1,494 and a low of Rs 1,294.05 so far during the day. Lupin clarified to the stock exchanges during trading hours today, 29 March 2019, that the USFDA inspected its Mandideep manufacturing facilities last month. Lupin said that there were total three observations from the USFDA after the inspection. As the site has both dosage form facility and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility, two separate Form 483s were issued with two observations each. One of the observations was common to both these facilities. Lupin said that these observations are minor in nature and it has already addressed these observations. The company said that the management believes that the outcome of the USFDA audit will be a voluntary action and there will be no remediation required. One of the observations erroneously quoted in news reports relates to the use of non-conforming intermediate for making API prior to 2015. This was done based on laboratory trials and scientific rationale that further processing steps were capable of producing desired quality API. All API batches and drug product batches manufactured using such APIs complied with the specifications and hence were released to market, Lupin said. Appropriate corrective and preventative actions were already implemented in 2015 and were verified by the USFDA investigator, the company said. As an abundant precaution, the company has recalled batches manufactured from this period. There is no material financial impact of the recall, according to Lupin. Lupin further said that it does not expect any disruption to product supply from the Mandideep facility. There are no pending applications from the facility, it added. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Reliance Infrastructure rose 1.66% to Rs 531.45 at 14:25 IST on BSE after the company said that its wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Defence has entered into strategic relationship with Rafael Advanced Defence Systems. The announcement was made during market hours today, 29 March 2016. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 1.38 points, or 0.01%, to 24,967.78. On BSE, so far 2.29 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 8.09 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 532 and a low of Rs 520.50 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 622.05 on 5 January 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 282.20 on 25 August 2015. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 28 March 2016, gaining 27.45% compared with the Sensex's 7.83% rise. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 6.46% as against Sensex's 4.1% fall. The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 262.99 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. Reliance Infrastructure said that Reliance Defence, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems have decided to set up a joint venture company in India in the highly specialized areas of air to air missiles, air defence systems and large aerostats. Reliance Rafael joint venture will have 51% holding from Reliance Defence and 49% by Rafael as per the current guidelines of the Government of India. The joint venture company will be located at Pithampur, Indore in the state of Madhya Pradesh and will generate more than 3000 highly skilled jobs. The project will have an initial capital outlay of more than Rs 1300 crore, without including the cost of technology. Based on the current requirements, the joint venture company will address multiple programs valued at more than Rs 65000 crore over the next ten years. The two companies, through the joint venture, will offer the entire range of products in air to air missiles, air defence systems and large aerostats fields to the Indian Armed Forces. Rafael is also willing to offer solutions through the joint venture company even for the ongoing "Buy Global" programs where it is currently competing, in line with "Make in India" initiatives of the Indian Government. The joint venture will provide big thrust into the field of indigenous production and development of high precision and state of the art weapon systems in India. The strategic partnership with technology power house and one of the world leaders in Defence Technologies, Rafael Advanced Defence Systems of Israel will mark the entry of Reliance Defence in the complex field of air to air missiles and air defence systems manufacturing in India. Reliance Infrastructure's consolidated net profit rose 2.3% to Rs 462.67 crore on 10.6% decline in net sales to Rs 3877.98 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014. Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) is one of the largest infrastructure companies, developing projects through various Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) in several high growth sectors within the infrastructure space such as power, roads, metro rail, cement and defence. RInfra is also a leading utility company having presence across the value chain of power businesses i.e. generation, transmission, distribution and power trading. RInfra also provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for developing power and road projects. RInfra has recently entered into the defence sector. Powered by Capital Market - Live News UCO Bank rose 1.89% to Rs 37.65 at 9:26 IST on BSE after the bank said its board has considered the proposal for issue of equity shares to Government of India on preferential basis for an amount of Rs 935 crore. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 28 March 2016. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 20.36 points or 0.08% at 24,946.04. On BSE, so far 19,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 1.96 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock hit a high of Rs 37.90 and a low of Rs 37.45 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 71.20 on 15 April 2015. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 27.80 on 15 February 2016. The mid-cap state-run bank has equity capital of Rs 1075.59 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. UCO Bank's board of directors at its meeting held on 28 March 2016, considered the proposal for issue of equity shares to Government of India on preferential basis for an amount of Rs 935 crore subject to necessary approvals from shareholders and other authorities. UCO Bank reported net loss of Rs 1497.01 crore in Q3 December 2015 compared with net profit of Rs 303.59 crore in Q3 December 2014. Total income declined 9.4% to Rs 4934.63 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014. The Government of India held 72.83% stake in UCO Bank (as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 December 2015). Powered by Capital Market - Live News A Special POTA Court on Tuesday held 10 people guilty in connection with the triple bomb blasts in Mumbai between December 2002 and March 2003 that killed at least 12 people and injured 139 others. Acquitting three other accused, POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) Special Judge P.R. Deshmukh posted the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence for the convicts to Wednesday. Those convicted include a former SIMI general secretary. The first blast occurred near McDonald's eatery in Mumbai Central Terminus on December 6, 2002, another in a Vile Parle market on January 27, 2003 and the third in a crowded ladies First Class compartment of a suburban train near Mulund on March 13, 2003. The prosecution said the accused, mostly members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), wanted to avenge the razing of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 and the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002. Convicted former SIMI general secretary Saquib Nachan was described by police as the "mastermind" of the blasts. Three accused - Haroon Lohar, Nadeem Paloba and Adnan Mulla - were acquitted by the court for lack of sufficient evidence against them. The prosecution contended that Nachan, along with Pakistani Faisal Khan who was linked to terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, carried out the blasts along with 23 other accused. Of the 25 accused listed by police, a majority were nabbed in 2003, five died during the trial and five are still absconding. Nachan was accused of arranging manpower, arms and ammunition, co-accused medico Wahid Ansari and some other absconders accused of manufacturing the bombs while Muzammil Ansari and another absconder planted the bombs. The three cases - though far between and in different parts of Mumbai - were clubbed together by the court as a common conspiracy linked them. All the accused were charged with murder, attempt to murder, causing grievous hurt, waging war against the nation, criminal conspiracy besides several charges under the Indian Penal Code, Railways Act, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and POTA. Germany has averted 11 planned terrorist attacks since 2000, the chief of the German Federal Criminal Police Office said on Tuesday. Europe has suffered a number of major terrorist attacks on its capital cities since the turn of the 21st century. Compared to its European partners, Germany has been mostly unscathed. In the past 15 years, 11 planned terrorist plots on Germany have been foiled by German security authorities, Xinhua quoted agency head Holger Muench as saying. "Our current situation is not just luck, but also due to good cooperation between security agencies," Muench said. The chief warned against an increased risk of attacks in Germany in recent years. "Europe, including Germany, is among those on the target list of Islamist terrorism," he explained, adding that there were currently around 470 "potential attackers" in Germany who were likely to threaten public safety. "We are very vigilant," Muench said, although at present "there is no concrete evidence of a terror attack on Germany". The Kalashnikov assault rifles could soon be manufactured in India and samples of the rifle's variants supplied to Indian manufacturing partners, a senior Russian defence trade official said on Tuesday. "There is a project for the production of Kalashnikov assault rifles in India. Some samples have been delivered to India for tests and after they are finished, we are ready to continue our cooperation in this field," said Sergey Goreslavsky, deputy director general of Rosoboronexport. Goreslavsky was speaking at a media interaction at the ongoing DefExpo 2016 in south Goa's Betul village. Rosoboronexport is the sole Russian state intermediary agency responsible for the import and export of a full range of defence and dual-use end products, technologies and services. BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday described the CPI-M and the Trinamool Congress as two sides of the same coin and ridiculed the Left Front-Congress tie-up for the West Bengal assembly polls. "The Communist party (CPI-M) and the Trinamool are the two sides of the same coin," Shah told reporters here. "You will remember when BJP jumped with all its might in electoral field (for 2014 Lok Sabha elections), Biman Bose went to the state secretariat and ate Didi's sandesh (sweet)," Shah said, referring to Left Front chairman Biman Bose's visit to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in June 2014. "That time didi (Mamata Banerjee) had said you (Biman Bose) are my friend and our real fight is against the BJP". Rubbishing the CPI-M's allegations of "match fixing" between the BJP and the Trinamool, Shah said his party could never go along with the Trinamool, the communists and the Congress. "We can never go with any of them, because we can neither support infiltration nor corruption or fear. The BJP is determined to fight against these three," said Shah. On the Congress-Left tie-up, Shah asked the Marxists to clarify if their was driven only by electoral considerations. "In Kerala, they are (Congress and Left) are up against each other; in Bengal they are together. So they need to decide whether they want to do on the basis of principles or just to win elections," Shah said. "At least the communists, who talk about principles, need to clear their stand. In Kerala they are engaged in fighting but here it's ILU ILU (with Congress)," added Shah, using the Bollywood-inspired initialism for 'I Love You'. Evidence that Australia's Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its worst coral bleaching on record has renewed calls for the United Nations to list it as "in-danger", media reported. Australia's National Coral Bleaching Taskforce said 95 percent of reefs from Cairns to Papua New Guinea are now severely bleached, the BBC reported on Tuesday. It said that only four reefs out of 520 have no evidence of bleaching. UNESCO voted not to put the reef on its "World Heritage in Danger" list last year, but green groups want the decision re-assessed. Experts said that it is too early to tell whether the corals will recover, but scientists "in the water" are already reporting up to 50 percent mortality of bleached corals. Climate change and the effects of El Nino are being blamed for the rise in sea temperatures that causes coral bleaching. "What we're seeing now is unequivocally to do with climate change," professor Justin Martin from the University of Queensland was quoted as saying. "(At) the Paris climate change meeting, essentially the whole world has agreed this is climate change, and we're seeing climate change play out across our reefs," Martin said. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) spokesperson Nick Heath told BBC that the un-spoiled section of the reef had acted as a vital bank of genetic material to reseed areas further to the south. "We have been working to save the reef in (recent) years, and we always took for granted that we had the bank in the northern quarter that was safe, and seemed resilient in previous bleaching episodes, but now it's cooked to an inch of its life," Heath said. The Australia is planning to invest a projected $2 billion over the next decade to protect the reef, the report said. --IndO-Asian News Service py/gb/vt The chief of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Motiur Rahman Nizami, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on Tuesday against his death sentence for war crimes in 1971. Lawyers of Nizami, president of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party, submitted the review petition on behalf of their client, who is now in a prison in Kashimpur on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, Xinhua reported. If his review petition is rejected, the last option for him will be to seek presidential mercy. Bangladesh's Supreme Court on January 6 upheld the death penalty for the 73-year-old Motiur Rahman Nizami over war crimes during the country's war of independence 45 years ago. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal-1 issued Nizami's death warrant on March 16 hours after the country's apex court released its full verdict. Nizami served as agriculture and industries minister in the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's 2001-2006 cabinet. The apex court upheld capital penalty for the Islamist party chief on three charges and life imprisonment on two charges. On October 29, 2014, the International Court of Terrorism handed down capital punishment to Nizami for war crimes which include mass killings of Bangali intellectuals. Nizami was indicted in 2012 with 16 charges of crimes during the 1971 war. Nizami's party had earlier claimed that the government filed ill-motivated, baseless cases against its top leaders in order to make the party leaderless. Nizami is among the top Jamaat leaders who have been tried in two war crimes tribunals which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League-led government formed in 2010 to bring the perpetrators of 1971 war crimes to book. Three Jamaat leaders -- Abdul Quader Molla, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid -- have been executed. Besides, Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salaudin Quader Chowdhury were executed on November 22 last year. Both the BNP and Jamaat have dismissed the court as a government "show trial", saying it is a domestic set-up without the oversight or involvement of the UN. Muslim-majority Bangladesh was part of Pakistan and called East Pakistan till 1971. The government of Hasina said about three million people were killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Having been deemed 'Best Film Critic' in the 63rd National Film Awards, Meghachandra Kongbam, a Manipuri, says the honour he has received is actually a tribute to his state's rich culture and arts. "It is a great honour that I have been thus selected. India has taken note of the rich arts and culture of Manipur which is reflected in the films," Kongbam told IANS. An alumnus of Banaras Hindu University, Kongbom is additional director in the public relations department of the Manipur government and a regular contributor to mass circulation vernacular publications in his state. The jury of the National Film Awards was impressed by the perspicuity of Kongbam's film writings. "Meghachandra Kongbom interprets the world of Indian cinema for his readers in Manipuri. His lucid understanding and love for cinema makes him the ideal 'Film Whisperer' in Manipur, where access to Indian films is often limited," said the jury in its citation. This limited access to films has actually become a strength of the Manipuri artistes, directors and technicians, Kongbam believes. "Most of the Manipuri artistes, directors and technicians have not undergone any formal training; they are rather self made. And yet they have made commendable inroads. Many of them will bring laurels if there is adequate exposure to films and formal training," he said. Kongbam himself was fortunate to have received formal training when he needed it. "I got a degree in journalism in 1979 from BHU. I got knowledge of films after attending a film appreciation course in 1985. The same year I started writing about films," he says. Kongbam manages to find time as a film critic despite shouldering responsibilities as a 'one man show' of sorts at the Manipur Information Centre in New Delhi that he is currently in charge of. He has long experience of covering film events, including the International Film Festival of India (IFF). Kongbam has a good opinion of films from his home state. "The Manipuri films occupy a respectable place in the Indian cinema. It is no mean achievement that this small state bagged various national and international awards. The films merely showcased the rich culture of the state," he says. He was the founder member and president for two terms of Cine Artistes and Technicians Association which was established in 1998. He was the board director of the Manipur Film Development Corporation from 2002 to 2004. The 'Best Critic Award' of the 63rd National Film Awards carries a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) trophy and a purse of Rs.75,000. A couple's chance wedding photograph with members of New Zealand's Black Power gang has gone viral on Facebook, the media reported on Tuesday. Formed in Wellington during the 1970s, Black Power is a prominent gang made up of Maori and Polynesian members, BBC reported. Newlyweds Sarah and Matthew Oke were having their pictures taken at Lucy's Gully on the North Island when they ran into the gang members. They were in the area paying respects to the dead as part of a traditional Maori "hikoi" at the mountain. The gang members agreed to pose for a pictures with the couple, and even gave a salute. The unconventional photograph received 5,000 reactions on the site and was shared close to 600 times. Some have praised it for helping to break down barriers and racial stereotypes. The body of Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganesan who died in the terrorist attack in Brussels last week arrived here on Tuesday. The body was taken to his relatives house in a city suburb for performance of last rites. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa and DMK president M.Karunanidhi expressed their grief and condolences to his family. Ganesan, 30, was travelling on the metro train on March 22 when a bomb went off - part of series of blasts that rocked Belgium's capital. The body was brought to Abu Dhabi from Amsterdam and from there to Chennai. Drawing attention to the challenges posed by women's under-representation in roles for preventing and ending conflicts, India has said that problem has to be met through broader development programs targeting women. "The issue of Women, Peace and Security cannot be seen in isolation from the wider societal context involving gender and development issues," India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told the Security Council Monday. Tracking the scant record of women's participation, he said that fewer than four percent of them have signed peace agreements and less than ten percent participated in negotiaitons. In UN peacekeeping operations, only three percent of the military and ten percent of the police were women, he added. "These numbers reflect the enormity of the challenges that we are confronted with," he said. Akbaruddin was participating in a Council debate on "The Role of Women in Prevention and Resolution of Conflict in Africa" where several participants spoke of enhancing the role and status of women to lessen risks of conflicts. Even though there has been more focus on promoting women's role in the peace and security agenda, "women and girls continue to be major victims despite being non combatants" in conflicts, he added. Turning to UN peacekeeping operations, where India has been overall the single biggest contributor, Akbaruddin spoke of India's efforts to raise the number of women in an area where there has only been "a marginal increase." He noted that India provided the first ever UN women police unit for peacekeeping. The all-women unit of over 100 women drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was first deployed in 2007 in Liberia and several teams rotated through till earlier this year when their participation ended as the UN is slowly winding down operations in the west African nation scarred by a brutal civil war. "The unit has been widely appreciated for its work and for setting a pioneering example" Akbaruddin said. Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf went to the extent of saying at their farewell that she would rather have had other units sent back and the Indian women police retained in her country. Following the deployment of the Indian women police unit, several countries have followed suit and they have been sent to various operations in places were women and girls are at significant risk. Another significant initiative by India is the training of women women officers from various countries for the UN, Akbaruddin said. The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in New Delhi is running the Third United Nations Female Military Officers Course for 40 women military officers from 26 countries, he said. India has also contributed women military observers, staff officers and medical personnel, Akbaruddin said. After the pullout of the police unit in Liberia, there are about 25 Indian women now participating in various capacities in peacekeeping operations. Last year at a UN summit on peacekeeping convened by President Barck Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to increase the number of women to UN operations. "Women's empowerment is our best line of defence against militarism and violent extremism," said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the executive director of UN-Women, the unit entrusted with promoting gender equality and empowering women. Countries where gender inequality was lower were less likely to resort to force and that where women had more say in spending societies recovered better when conflicts ended. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in) A British diplomat in Turkey has come under fire for tweeting a selfie that he took with under-trial journalists accused of espionage, a media report said. The two journalists -- Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, and his coworker Erdem Gul -- are accused of "trying to topple the government" after posting a video they said shows members of the Turkish intelligence agency shipping arms into Syria in 2014, voanews.com reported. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed displeasure over the photo that shows British Consul General Leigh Turner with one of the journalists. "The consul general of a certain country went to the trial of a journalist charged with espionage, to support him. Moreover he gets a picture taken cheek to cheek (with the journalist) and had it published," Erdogan was quoted as saying. "And he does not stop at that, on social media he says things like 'Turkey needs to decide what kind of country it will be', words that exceed their intended meaning," he added. The president noted that it was the "generosity and hospitality" of the Turkish government that Turner was still in the country. "If it were another country they would not let a diplomat, who exhibits this kind of behaviour, to stay there a day more," Erdogan said. Cambodian authorities on Tuesday seized 102 elongated tortoises and 17 pythons from a truck which was on its way to Vietnam. Police stopped the truck some 20 km from capital Phnom Penh as it was heading south towards the Vietnamese border, and discovered the endangered tortoises stacked inside the boot alongside the massive black-and-tan coiled pythons, EFE news reported. The driver claimed not to know what he was transporting, according to a local witness. Wildlife officers have brought the animals to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in Takeo province. The elongated tortoises, native to southeast Asia, are typically found in humid upland forest areas and used to be plentiful but are now under threat as they are poached for pets and food, according to the World Wildlife Fund in Cambodia. After imposing central rule in Uttarakhand, the central government will now try to topple the governments in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday. Slamming the ouster of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Kejriwal told the assembly here that he had learnt from a senior Intellegence Bureau (IB) official that the next state to be targeted will be Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. This will be followed by Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power in February last year winning 67 of the 70 seats. "I am told they will disqualify 21 of our (AAP) legislators from the Delhi assembly and buy over 23 others," the chief minister said, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using money power to subdue the opposition. "Forget buying over 23 legislators. If they have the guts, let them buy even one legislator," he said to applause from AAP members in the house, while the three BJP legislators walked out. He added that "the officer informed me that a businessman, whose name we often take, has been given responsibility to buy our 23 MLAs to topple our government". Kejriwal said the BJP, like the Congress earlier, had become "arrogant" after taking power nationally in 2014. He slammed the central government's decision to "force" President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, calling them illegal. Kejriwal also returned to the theme of the Pakistani team's visit to the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab that was attacked by Pakistani terrorists on January 2. He said it defied logic why the Pakistanis should be allowed to probe an attack masterminded by the Pakistani intelligence. "Not everyone is happy with the decision," he said, attributing it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "They (central government) use CBI when they had to raid my office but for probing the Pathankot terror attack, they let ISI allow coming to India. Are our intelligence agencies not capable enough to probe such incidents?" he asked. Echoing the remarks he made a day earlier too, Kejriwal said New Delhi had always accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India. He said instead of allowing the Pakistanis to probe the Pathankot attack, Indian officials should have gone to Islamabad to question the Pakistani terrorist leaders blamed for terror attacks in India. China on Tuesday appointed its first Special Envoy for the Syrian conflict, marking Beijing's attempt at increasing its involvement in the peace negotiations and to assert itself as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Xie Xiaoyan, former ambassador to Iran and Ethiopia as well as representative to the African Union, has been appointed to the post, foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said. "Xie, with a rich understanding of Middle East affairs, will fulfil his mission," Xinhua news agency quoted Hong as saying. With the Syrian issue "at a crucial stage for settlement", China has named the special envoy to better promote dialogue, contribute Chinese wisdom and communicate with other parties to facilitate a proper solution, Hong said. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has played a constructive role in addressing the Syrian issue. China advocates political settlement as the only solution, supports the UN's leading role and has provided humanitarian aid to Syria and surrounding countries, the spokesperson added. The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the central government and the BJP BJP for interfering in the internal matters of the party, saying that any internal differences within Congress would be resolved by party leaders "There could be differences within the Congress party. Why are they (BJP) interfering in this. This is an internal matter of Congress. They (BJP) have done nothing except fishing in troubled waters. There is no ideological difference," said senior party leader Ambika Soni. The Uttarakhan political crisis began when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Harish Rawat replaced, revolted against him and turned to the Bharatiya Janata Party. "Five-six members are angry. We know why they are angry. Anybody can have grievances, which we'll resolve. Why is BJP interfering in these matters. What was the need to take the nine rebel MLAs in a bus to the governor's house and make them sign on a memorandum?" she asked. "They also brought them to Delhi in a chartered plane and spent on their stay at Leela hotel in Gurgaon. What was the need for that?" she added. The Congress on Tuesday welcomed the Uttarakhand High Court's decision that the Congress government in the state must be given a chance to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly. The high court on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the assembly on Thursday and gave Chief Minister Harish Rawat a chance to prove his legislative majority. The state was put under President's Rule on March 27, a day before Rawat was to prove his majority. "We all believe in the judiciary. We welcome the high court's decision to give a new date for floor test. The court has upheld the decision that the Congress should be given a chance to prove majority on the floor of the house on March 31," said Congress leader Ambika Soni. "This has happened for the first time in independent India that 24 hours before a chief minister of a state was to give a floor test, President's Rule was imposed. This has never happened," she added. Cooperation between China and the US is "vital" to ensure global nuclear security, Thomas Countryman, US assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, has said. The two countries have worked together successfully on last year's comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran and on the recent UN Security Council resolution on North Korea's nuclear test and satellite launch, the official told reporters ahead of the fourth Nuclear Security Summit. "So we cooperate and we are becoming ever closer in our cooperation in preventing the spread of the technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons," Xinhua quoted him a ssaying. "That's how important the relationship with China is," he said. Earlier this month, the Nuclear Security Centre of Excellence, the largest nuclear security centre in the Asia-Pacific region, which was financed by both governments, opened in Beijing. Beijing and Washington have "worked very closely and very well" in the establishment and opening of the centre, which was the result of the first Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington in 2010, said Bonnie Jenkins, US coordinator for threat reduction programmes. "That's all very positive, and we see this as a way in which we can continue to work with China on other areas, including nonproliferation," Jenkins said, while calling the centre "a really strong effort" in strengthening nuclear security. The US will host the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington D.C. from March 31 to April 1. It will provide a forum for leaders to engage with each other and to reinforce commitment at the highest levels to securing and eliminating nuclear materials, and preventing nuclear smuggling. The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday ordered notices to be issued to the University of Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissioner on a petition seeking action to restore peace and normalcy in the university. The university, vice chancellor, dean-students' welfare and commissioner of police-Cyberabad have been asked to respond within two weeks. Gali Vinod Kumar, assistant professor cum principal of PG College of Law, Osmania University, sought direction to form an independent committee to hold talks with students, the university management and the police to help resolve all the issues. The petitioner prayed for direction to State Legal Services Authority to constitute the mediation panel. He also called for declaring as illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional actions taken by the respondents since January 3, when five Dalit research scholars began a protest following their suspension and eviction from hostel. One of them, Rohith Vemula, committed suicide on January 17, sparking massive protests on the campus. The petitioner referred to the police action against students and their arrests on March 22 when they were demonstrating against Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao's return. He said in his petition that he was worried about the lives of students. Justice Challa Kodandaram ordered issuance of notices to the respondents and adjourned the hearing by two weeks. A district official was shot dead and three officials injured in a shooting in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh on Tuesday, an official said. "Noorullah Noori, head of the department of Dawlat Abad district, was killed and three district officials wounded," Xinhua quoted district Governor Amir Shah as saying. The killed along with the injured were shifted to the district hospital. The attackers fled the scene after firing, the source said. More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 injured in the violent-hit south Asian country since last year, according to a report released by the UN mission in the country. The report has 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 war. Out of the casualties, some 850 civilians were killed and 570 wounded in targeted attacks in 2015. An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight to Cyprus was arrested on Tuesday after hours of negotiations during which most passengers were freed and the last of the seven on board escaped. The Cyprus foreign ministry announced the arrest of the hijacker, who had taken charge of the Airbus 320 when it was on its way from Alexandria to Cairo saying he was armed with explosives. The plane was flown to Larnaca in southern Cyprus. Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, and officials opened negotiations with the man, who was identified as Seif El Din Mustafa. The man was mistakenly named earlier as Ibrahim Samaha, a passenger. Hours after the plane landed in Larnaca, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not linked to terrorism. Officials said the man appeared to be in love with a woman living in Cyprus. BBC said Flight 181 carried 56 passengers -- 30 Egyptians and 26 foreigners -- and six crew members. Soon after it reached Cyprus, all but seven passengers and crew were let off. They quickly boarded buses to reach the terminal. EgyptAir said a special plane will bring them back to Egypt. The foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons and four Dutch citizens, two Belgians and two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. Before the hijack drama ended, President Anastasiades said Cyprus was doing all it could to ensure the safe release of the passengers and crew. Asked if the hijacker was motivated by love, he laughed and said: "Always there is a woman involved." An unidentified civil aviation official in Cyprus was quoted by the media as saying that the man handed negotiators an envelope which he asked to be given to a woman in Cyprus. Earlier, Egypt's civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said the seven still on board the jet included the pilot, the co-pilot, a female stewardess, a security officer and three passengers whose nationalities were not revealed. Fathy said negotiations with the hijacker were continuing but it was not clear whether the man indeed had explosives or was lying. The Egyptian aviation ministry had earlier said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt, forcing the captain to divert the flight to Cyprus. An EgyptAir plane on a domestic flight was hijacked on Tuesday and later landed in Cyprus, where all but four foreign passengers and the crew were released, officials said. The Airbus 320 was on its way from Alexandria to capital Cairo when a passenger claiming to be armed with explosives took charge of the aircraft and forced it to fly to Larnaca in southern Cyprus, EgyptAir said. The hijacker, identified as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, had acted due to "personal reasons", media reports said. One unconfirmed report said the passenger may be seeking asylum. There were conflicting reports on the number of passengers and crew on board. Initial reports put the number at 81. But MENA news agency said the Flight 181 carried 56 passengers and eight crew on board. The passengers included 30 Egyptians and 26 foreigners, including eight Americans and four Britons, airport officials in Alexandria were quoted as saying. Shortly after it landed in Larnaca, almost all the passengers were let off. Videos showed them deboarding. EgyptAir said negotiations had resulted in the release of the passengers. The Egyptian aviation ministry had earlier said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt, forcing the captain to divert the flight to Cyprus. Cypriot police said those in control of the aircraft had made no immediate demands after it landed in Larnaca. The Larnaca airport was closed and all scheduled flights were diverted. Cypriot anti- units have been deployed at Larnaca airport to deal with the crisis. Forthcoming Tamil thriller "Ennul Aayiram" features a host of newcomers and its lead actor Maha, son of veteran Tamil actor Delhi Ganesh, says the film will break myths usually associated with a project featuring first-timers. "Just three minutes into the film, I can say confidently that audiences won't find this to be the work of a team of newcomers. The way the story is treated and the natural performances of the actors make this film a cut above the rest," Maha, who is getting launched through the film, told IANS. "A film starring newcomers is usually looked down upon and never given its due, even if it deserves it. We are hopeful that our film will change that mentality," he said. Directed by Kishore Kumar, a former associate of director A.L. Vijay, the film is about the journey of a 25-year old and the various problems he encounters. "It's a story that every youngster will easily relate to. I couldn't have asked for a better debut, because this is a story with a lot of scope for performance and I saw it as an opportunity to prove myself," he said, adding that he was under tremendous pressure to be launched by his father. "Since this was our home production, I was under a lot of pressure, more so because of the responsibilities that came with the project," he said, and added that it was never predetermined that his father will turn producer with the project. "Nobody was willing to launch my son," said Delhi Ganesh, who was turned down by a very popular producer. "I remember approaching a leading producer, who was very happy to see me. When I told him I'd like to launch my son, he showed no sign of interest to even continue the conversation, and it eventually made me realize that I have to back my son," he said. Happy with the way the film has shaped, Ganesh is confident about its success. In "Ennul Aayiram", which also stars Marina Micahel and Vincent Asokan, Maha works in a five star hotel. After successfully hacking into the encrypted Apple iPhone of one of a terrorist in San Bernardino, California shooting, the US Department of Justice has withdrawn legal action against the tech giant. According to the media reports, a third party helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to crack the security function without erasing contents of the iPhone used by Syed Farook. Farook, along with his wife Tashfeen Malik, planned and executed the December 2, 2015 shooting that left 14 people killed. "This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated," Apple said in a statement on Monday. "This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy," the statement said. Recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook, referring to the ongoing battle with the US government over encryption to unlock an iPhone, reiterated the company's commitment to protect its users' data and privacy. Addressing a packed auditorium at its Cupertino, California-based headquarters, Cook said: "We have a responsibility to help you protect your data and your privacy. We will not shrink from this responsibility." "We built the iPhone for you, our customers, and for many of us it is a deeply personal device," he told the gathering during a special launch event this month. On Monday, the federal government department, on behalf of the FBI, made the move at a US court in Central California, Xinhua reported. The two-page court filing said that the FBI had accessed data stored on the iPhone 5c. A week ago, a day before the DOJ and the Silicon Valley technology company were scheduled to appear at a hearing at the court, the government said it was trying a new way to unlock the phone used by Farook. The smartphone has a feature that erases data after 10 unsuccessful unlocking attempts. Successfully bypassing Apple in its efforts to look into the phone for information probably helpful in the terror attack investigation, the DOJ did not make public on Monday any details about who did help and how did it make through. Apple had been resisting the order by Judge Pym since February 16, when she ordered the manufacturer to provide the FBI with specialised software to disable the security feature. In an earlier TV interview, citing privacy protection for customers as a reason, Cook suggested that he would fight the case all the way up the US Supreme Court. The argument was heated, as the government side fought on the ground that it was a work phone owned by the San Bernardino county, and the software would be in the possession of Apple rather than in the hands of FBI agents. Both sides seemed to have failed to win full public support. However, the DOJ's decision not to go after Apple's assistance effectively put the dispute to an end, at least for now. And it is now Apple's turn to figure out, and for iPhone users to wonder, how secure is the phone and data on the device. Actress Hansika Motwani, who awaits the release of Tamil romantic drama "Uyire Uyire" this Friday, says she gives more preference to a film that will appeal to everybody than just her character. "I concentrate on doing good projects. What's the point of doing a great character in a bad film? Instead I want audiences to thoroughly enjoy a film and remember my part when they walk out of a cinema hall," Hansika told IANS, adding that she likes when her film is appreciated on the whole as a product. Having been part of several successful Tamil and Telugu projects, Hansika believes audiences are the best judge of a film. "I do feel bad when my films don't do well, but I respect audiences' verdict, because they know well which films to support. If they don't like a film, we should accept it," she said. Known mostly for playing bubbly characters on screen, she plays a role close to her real self in "Uyire Uyire". "People who know me and have seen me will realise how close this role is to my real self. It's bubbly and chirpy, but at the same time there's some innocence which makes it cute," she said. Talking more about the film, a remake of Telugu blockbuster "Ishq", Hansika said: "It's a film that will make people fall in love. It's about two lovers, their journey and how they come together." Directed by A.R Rajasekar, the film marks the debut of actor Siddhu, son of veteran actress Jayapradha. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the CBI to file response to former union minister P.K. Thungon's bail application and an appeal against his three and a half years' sentence in a corruption case. Justice Siddharth Mridul issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thungon's bail plea and sought the agency's response by April 8. Thungon, convicted and sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment on February 29 for corruption in the allotment of government shops here during 1993-94, has also filed an appeal against the trial court's order. He was taken into custody after the sentencing. Thungon, a former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, was convicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the trial court and also slapped a fine of Rs.1 lakh. Two other accused, former urban affairs and employment minister Sheila Kaul and Tulsi Balodi, died during the trial. Appearing for CBI, advocate Rajdipa Behura had told the court that in 1996 the CBI registered a case against Thungon and the others for allegedly hatching a conspiracy in allotting shops and stalls in 1993-1994. The CBI has claimed that in pursuance to the conspiracy, Kaul abused her official position and sanctioned the shops without calling for any tender from the general public on the mere recommendation of Thungon. The CBI said this caused a huge pecuniary loss to the government. Thungon is also serving a four and a half years' jail term in a 1998 corruption case. The hijacker who forced an Egyptian plane to land in Cyprus is strapped with a suicide explosive belt, the Cypriot state-run broadcaster said on Tuesday. The hijacker later released all women and children of the plane but kept all men on board, Xinhua news agency reported. A total of 55 passengers and a crew of seven were on the plane, which was originally said to carry 81 people. Informed sources said the hijacker also freed two bishops of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, Metroplitans Damaskinos and Nikodemos. They are of Greek origin. The Joint Action Committee for Social Justice at the University of Hyderabad has condemned the arrest of 15 students of Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) in Kerala. The students were arrested in Kohzikode when they were staging a protest against the brutal police attack on the University of Hyderabad (UoH) students and were demanding justice for Rohith Vemula, the JAC said in a statement on Tuesday. It alleged that SIO members were slapped with false charges and they continue to be in judicial custody. Condemning the attack on students and the targeting and criminalisation of Muslim youth, the JAC demanded their immediate release and dropping of all false charges. The JAC comprises 14 organisations of students. If the BJP wins the assembly polls in Assam, the state will be administered by the RSS from its Nagpur headquarters or by the PMO in Delhi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday. Addressing a public rally in Diphu in Karbi Anglong, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only good at making lofty promises but never fulfils them. "Modi ji comes, makes lofty promises and then leaves. Modi ji came to Assam before the Lok Sabha polls and made promises. However, his promises are yet to be fulfilled," Gandhi said. "The RSS wants to impose one ideology across the country. If one ideology is imposed everywhere, what will happen to your language, culture, religion, tradition etc?" "If the BJP comes to power in Assam, Assam will not be administered from Assam but from Nagpur or from the Prime Minister's Office," he said. He said the BJP "always wants to make people fight against each other". "When there was a Congress government in Haryana, it was completely peaceful. However, a month after the BJP government came to power in Haryana, violence started. They did it in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, everywhere," he said. The BJP "wants to do the same thing in Assam by creating violence", Gandhi said. Countering Modi's non-development allegations, Gandhi said it was the Congress government in Assam that brought peace to the state 15 years back and that there cannot be any development without peace. "The Congress undertook massive work in Assam in the last 15 years but the biggest achievement of the Congress government is that the party brought peace to the once troubled and violent state," he said. Gandhi assured to give a package of Rs.1,000 crore to Karbi Anglong and set up a medical college and an engineering college in the hill district if the Congress is voted back to power. In Karimganj, Gandhi said Modi, instead of speaking on the radio, should listen to the "mann ki baat" of the people of India. At a public rally in Karimganj in the Barak Valley, he said the prime minister thinks he knows everything and that the people of the country know nothing. "You do 'Mann Ki Baat' on the radio. But please also listen to the 'mann ki baat' of the people of the country sometimes. You have nothing to lose if you listen to the people's 'mann ki baat'," Gandhi said, accusing Modi and the BJP-led government of working for rich businessmen and not for the poor farmers and working class. "There are 5-6 businessmen in the country and they are always happy. The country's national exchequer has earned hundreds of crores of rupees recently after petrol prices were slashed in the international market. "However, the poor people will not get any benefit, rather all the benefits will go to selected rich businessmen in the country," he said. "Have you ever seen Modi ji with a farmer or a worker or with a youth? Have you ever seen Modi ji visiting the paddy fields of poor farmers in any part of the country? No, You will not see him there. But you will always see him photographed with rich businessmen and a few bureaucrats. "They (BJP) want to run the government for a selected few but we want to run the government of people, of poor farmers and common men," Gandhi said. "However, the people of Assam are smart and intelligent and they know that the most important thing for them is the brotherhood among communities. There are people of all religions here and they all have been living with peace since ages. "The RSS wants to end this, they want to take away this brotherhood among communities and people of different regions," he said, adding that the Congress would not let this happen. Ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls, CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra on Tuesday said if a left and democratic government comes to power in the state, it will withdraw from the Supreme Court the case on the land acquired for the Tata Motors factory in Singur. "If the Left, democratic and secular government, comes to power our first priority will be to withdraw the case. There is no use continuing with it as the act in defence of which it was filed is unconstitutional," said Mishra, adding the party would "try to" set up industry at Singur in Hooghly district without harming the farmers' interest. In June 2012, a Calcutta High Court division bench struck down the Trinamool Congress government's Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, terming it "unconstitutional and void" following which the government challenged the verdict at the apex court. Mishra said the party will work together with the farmers for establishing industry at Singur. Singur was on the boilAbetween 2006 and 2008 after the then Left Front government acquired 997.11 acres of land for setting up the factory. Demanding return of 400 acres to "unwilling farmers" (from whom land was allegedly taken against their will), the then opposition Trinamool led a violent and sustained movement that ultimately forced the automobile giants to shift their plant to Sanand of Gujarat. After the Trinamool came to power and Mamata Banerjee became the chief minister in mid 2011, it passed the act for taking back the Singur land and acquired the land. But the auto makers moved the court. Though a single bench of the Calcutta High Court ruled the act valid, a division bench declared it unconstitutional and void, and the matter is now pending before the Supreme Court. The abandoned factory still stands in the area. The India-EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday would give "new momentum" to the strategic partnership, senior EU officials said here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Belgium capital where he will attend the long-awaited summit. Briefing journalists on the agenda of the 13th India-European Union summit, the official who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that India is one of the EU's 10 strategic partners. "It will be an opportunity to re-launch EU-India relations and make progress on concrete areas such as trade and investment, foreign and security policy, climate, energy, water and migration," he stressed. The EU and India are expected to adopt a renewed joint declaration on Counter Terrorism. The two parties will pledge to step up their cooperation to counter extremism and radicalisation, stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and curb sources of terrorist financing and arms supply. The 28-member European bloc will be represented by Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and by Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission. India will be represented by Narendra Modi, who will be the first Indian prime minister to visit Brussels in six years. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom are also expected to attend the summit which is taking place after a gap of four years. At the summit leaders are expected to endorse the EU-India Agenda for Action 2020. This sets out concrete priority actions for the next five years. It encompasses a wide range of areas for cooperation such as foreign and security policy, trade and investment, economy, global issues as well as people-to-people contacts. The European Investment Bank and India will sign an agreement on the sidelines of the summit for a loan of 450 million euro for the metro of Lucknow. This will also be an occasion to exchange a joint declaration on a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM), noted the official. At the summit leaders will be seeking increased cooperation opportunities and benefits for citizens and business between the EU's Agenda for Jobs and Growth and India's "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" initiatives ("Collective Efforts, Inclusive Growth"), in particular on energy, environment/water, research and innovation, migration and mobility. Leaders will also adopt two joint declarations. One on an Indo-EU Water Partnership, which supports the Indian 'Clean Ganga' and 'Clean India' flagship projects and creates business and technology opportunities between the EU and India. The second declaration will be on an Indo-EU Clean Energy and Climate Partnership, which is key to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and will trigger a climate dialogue with India. The two sides will address the ongoing negotiations for a Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) with an aim to instil some political impetus to the stalled talks, but it is not known when the next round of talks will resume. Political and security cooperation, including human rights, will also be the focus of discussions at the summit. The latest developments in the EU's and India's respective neighbourhoods will also be discussed. In particular, the summit will provide an opportunity to discuss and support the ongoing efforts towards an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process and reconciliation. In this context leaders are expected to look forward to the Brussels Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan on October 5, 2016. Leaders are also likely to discuss Pakistan, Nepal and China. The summit will express concern about the situation in the Middle East, and in particular the precarious situation in Syria. The EU side is expected raise the issue of the two Italian marines in India, who are accused of killing two Indian fishermen. Modi will also hold talks with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, which are expected to focus on last week's terror attacks in Brussels in which one Indian also lost his life. The Indian prime minister is expected to address a diaspora gathering of over 5,000 Indians in Brussels late evening before ending his one-day visit to Belgium. India will ask for access to Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar, blamed for the attack at the IAF base in Pathankot, the NIA said on Tuesday as a probe team from Pakistan spent a day at the base. "We will ask for access to Masood Azhar," National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar told NDTV. He said another formal request would be sent after the five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team returned after their probe into the terror attack. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on January 2, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers after an 80-hour gun battle. The five-member Pakistani JIT reached the air base on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of the Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena. Weeks after the attack, media reports from Pakistan said Azhar and his relatives were placed under house arrest in Islamabad, and that Jaish-e-Mohammed seminaries and offices were raided and shut down. However, highly placed diplomatic sources in India said the Pakistan government did not confirm that Azhar was arrested. "We got information that some Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives were arrested but Azhar was not among them," the sources said. They said Azhar, who is also responsible for the attack on India's parliament in 2001, was not to be found at his base and hometown of Bahawalpur in south Punjab and may have gone into hiding much earlier. Meanwhile, NIA sources told IANS that the JIT has reached Delhi and they had "second phase" discussions with them. "We can say it was a phase two discussion with the Pakistan JIT. The first phase of discussion took place on Monday. We showed them all the relevant places today (Tuesday)." "The JIT understood all the genuine causes and evidence. Their understanding was clear. We shared with them all the incident related things which cannot be disclosed," the NIA source said. Echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to bridge the "digital divide" in the country, a young Indian-American student has begun on her journey to empower rural youth in learning computer programming technology in a small yet picturesque town in Himachal Pradesh. Through "Pi A La Code" -- a project that began in 2014 -- California-based Sonia Uppal is helping young talented minds at the Saraswati Niketan Senior Secondary School in a village in Kasauli learn computer programming. "The experience of using immersive tools to build software that people loved to learn with always excited me and I decided to take computer science to the rural people in India," Uppal told IANS in a telephonic interview from California. Born and brought up in California, she stumbled upon a $35 computer developed by Raspberry Pi -- the makers of tiny and affordable computers for kids at the Bay Area Maker Faire -- an exhibition showcasing invention, creativity and resourcefulness in the Silicon Valley. The mere sight of the cost-efficient Pi computers brightened up her mind and she initially thought of taking the Pi device to India -- to The International School Bangalore (TISB) in Bengaluru where she was studying computer science during the period when her father was transferred to India. She realised that students at her school did not need this basic computer device. But what about students in rural India, she thought, for whom this simple device can become a useful learning tool? Thus, the "Pi A La Code" idea took shape. "I realised it would be much useful if I take this Pi device to schools in villages which will have much more impact," Sonia told IANS. In the meantime, she raised money to buy 10 Raspberry Pi teaching sets. She first taught herself Python -- a widely used high-level, dynamic computer programming language while being selected as a Stanford SHE++ fellow -- a social enterprise that empowers women to make their mark in the technology industry. Here, Uppal met people who inspired as well as helped her to take up the noble cause of teaching computer programming to students in rural India. Emboldened, she developed a curriculum on her own and flew back to India in 2014 for a 10-day trip to the school tucked away in Kasauli -- her mother's ancestral place. After the initial hiccups, things quickly fell in place for her. Uppal got the necessary permission to teach computer science at Saraswati Niketan Senior Secondary School. With her broken Hindi, she started to teach computers and the basics of Python to Class 10 and 11 students. "I thought there would be language and other barriers, but besides internet connectivity problems, we didn't have any other major issues," Uppal added. Her course was fun, engaging and produced immediate responses with the students. "The students learnt how to operate the Pi device and basic Python very quickly which was incredible since the only computer experience they had prior was learning how to restart a monitor or to save a word document," she elaborated. Following the 10-day pilot run in 2014, Uppal returned to the US but continued teaching the students over Skype for a whole year. In 2015, she again came back to Kasauli and taught both web programming and Python to the students. "I am really glad that I have been able to reach so many kids through this project as I wanted to introduce computer science to the underprivileged," Uppal said, revealing that many of her students, who are now starting for college, want to pursue computer science as a career. Encouraged, she now wants to extend the "Pi a La Code" project beyond Kasauli. She also wants to approach the Himachal Pradesh government for its help to start a Raspberry Pi programming curriculum in more schools in the state. "Since Pi teaching set is quite inexpensive, many kids can be taught for a small amount of funding and this can easily be expanded to other states," she explained. Currently, Uppal is focussed on making an e-book compiling the lessons she implemented in her curriculum. (Rachel V. Thomas can be contacted at rachel.t@ians.in) Pakistan on Tuesday released a video in which an arrested Indian spy is heard confessing New Delhi's alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan. Kulbushan Yadav says in the video that he had been directing various activities in Karachi and Balochistan "at the behest of RAW", the Indian intelligence agency, and that he was still with the Indian Navy. Yadav added that he had played a role in the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, Dawn reported. The video was released at a press conference attended by Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa and Information Minister Pervez Rashid. Terming Yadav's arrest a "big achievement", Bajwa said Yadav was directly handled by the RAW chief and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. "His goal was to disrupt development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with Gwadar port as a special target," Bajwa said. "This is nothing short of state-sponsored terrorism... There can be no clearer evidence of Indian interference in Pakistan." Yadav is heard saying in the video that he was still a serving officer in the Indian Navy and would be due for retirement in 2022. "By 2002, I commenced intelligence operations. In 2003, I established a small business in Chabahar in Iran. "As I was able to achieve undetected existence and visits to Karachi in 2003 and 2004. Having done some basic assignments within India for RAW, I was picked up by RAW in 2013 end," Yadav said. He said his purpose was to meet Baloch insurgents and carry out "activities with their collaboration". Law enforcement agencies arrested Yadav in an intelligence-based raid in Balochistan's Chaman near the border with Afghanistan last week. He held a valid Indian visa. India denied Yadav was an intelligence operative and said he was formerly from the navy. New Delhi also demanded consular access to Yadav, which has been denied. Yadav was shifted to Islamabad for interrogation, during which an unnamed official said the spy revealed he had bought boats at the Iranian port in Chabahar in order to target Karachi and Gwadar ports, Dawn reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was time to establish official relations between Indonesia and Israel. "I have a few Indonesian friends on Facebook," he told a group of Indonesian journalists, who arrived in Israel as guests of Foreign Affairs Ministry on Sunday. "The time has come for official bilateral relations," Xinhua quoted Netanyahu as saying. "We have many opportunities to cooperate in the fields of water and technology." He said that the relations with Indonesia "must also change" after mentioning Israel's deepening ties with Africa, Latin America and Russia. "The factors preventing official ties are no longer relevant and I hope that your visit will help with this," the Prime Minister said to the visitors. Israel and Indonesia have no diplomatic relations but established trade and tourism ties. In 2013, current Education Minister, then Economy Minister, Naftali Bennett visited Bali in Indonesia to attend a meeting of the World Trade Organisation. Meanwhile, ties between Indonesia and the Palestinian National Authority have been strengthening, setting the stage for a diplomatic incident two weeks ago. Japan's new national security laws have come into effect after being enacted last September, the media reported on Tuesday. The legislation allows Japan to use force by exercising its right to collective self-defence, public broadcaster NHK reported. Japan will be able to defend other nations with which it has close relations, if its survival is threatened. The Japanese Self-Defence Forces can now carry out new duties. Self-Defence Forces on UN peacekeeping missions will also be able to use their weapons to come to the aid of foreign forces under attack from any armed group. This duty may apply to Japanese peace keepers in South Sudan. Government officials are expected to draw up new rules of engagement for these duties over the next three months. Drills based on the new rules are expected to begin later this year. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced on Tuesday that its newly launched satellite Astro-H remains unreachable. JAXA launched the satellite on February 17 into orbit about 575 km above the Earth. Nearly $300 million were spent to develop it, public broadcaster NHK reported. The agency lost contact with the satellite on Saturday evening. JAXA is trying to figure out what happened to it using a telescope on the ground. The US military's space agency, which monitors space debris, said it has confirmed several objects near the satellite, and that it may have broken up. Japan's Science Minister Hiroshi Hase on Tuesday said that he is concerned about the satellite's condition, and that he has asked JAXA to do all it can to identify the problem and restore the satellite's functions. The Astro-H, about 14 metres long and weighing 2.7 tonnes, is the heaviest satellite launched by Japan. The device, manufactured by JAXA and NASA together with other institutions, aimed to orbit about 580 km high above the Earth to observe black holes and distant galaxy clusters through its gamma ray detectors and four x-ray telescopes, including the microcalorimetre X-ray, a latest generation instrument that has the highest spectrum to observe X-rays in space. A Joint Investigation Team has been formed to probe the suicide attack at a public park in Lahore city, capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, which killed over 70 people on Easter Sunday. According to Punjab province home department's notification, the superintendent of police (counter-terrorism) will be the convener of the team. Representatives of Inter Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, in-charge of investigation at Iqbal town and station house officer of CTD police station are included in the joint investigation team, Radio Pakistan reported. The attack that ripped through Gate No.1 of Ghulam-e-Iqbal Park on Sunday evening left at least 72 people killed and over 250 injured. A Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it deliberately targeted Christians celebrating Easter on Sunday evening. The only team in the tournament with an all-win record, New Zealand, will start as the favourites when they meet England in a World Twenty20 semi-final here on Wednesday. The Kiwis have won all their four group matches quite comfortably. The Australians were the only team to cause them some trouble before going down by eight runs. The New Zealand batting looks strong on paper but has not lived up to the potential yet except in the match against Pakistan where they scored 180/5 on a difficult wicket against some of the best fast bowlers. But their bowling has been impressive. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and leg-break bowler Inderbir Singh Sodhi have excelled in Indian conditions with individual hauls of nine and eight wickets respectively. Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McLenaghan (four wickets) and all-rounder Grant Elliott (three wickets) have also done well. Off-spinner Nathan McCullum has played two out of the four matches, bagging three wickets at an average of 4.20. What is even more interesting is that the Kiwis are yet to utilise the services of two of their frontline fast bowlers: Trent Boult and Tim Southee. If the Kiwis decide to unleash the pace duo on Wednesday, they can prove to be dangerous on the Kotla wicket which has been helpful to seamers. The strength of the New Zealand bowling can be gauged from the fact that they bundled out sub-continent teams India and Bangladesh for 79 and 70 runs respectively and have bowled out the opposition in three out of the four matches. The England batsmen may expect a tough challenge on the difficult pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla. England had a poor start as they ran into an in-form Chris Gayle in destructive mood and went down to the West Indies by six wickets in their opening match. But they recovered and went on to record three back to back wins. Their victory over South Africa, chasing down a mammoth 229, was the most impressive. England have three talented left-handers in their batting line-up in Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali. Joe Root is in superb form while Alex Hales and Jos Buttler also have plenty of T20 experience. England are also more familiar with the conditions, having already played two matches at the Kotla. Their main problem has been their inconsistency. Their batting ran into trouble against minnows Afghanistan, collapsing to 85/7 at one stage before being rescued by Moeen Ali. England pacers David Willey, Chris Jordan and Stokes conceeded plenty of runs against the West Indies and South Africa and will look to plug the gpas against the Kiwis. Eoin Morgan's charges will be less under pressure compared to the Kiwis, who are expected to make the final owing to their form. Moreover, New Zealand are yet to win a world level tournament in both the 50-over and 20-over formats. England have won the World Twenty20 in 2010, giving them more experience in high pressure situations. As the Pakistani nation mourns the death of 72 people in Lahore, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the government will not rest until they have avenged "every last drop of countrymen's blood". The toll on Monday reached 72, mostly children and women, over 250 people were injured as well when the suicide bomb ripped through the parking space of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Allama Iqbal town, where Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday. Rescue spokesperson Deeba Shahbaz said the toll had risen to 72, with 29 children among the dead. The prime minister while addressing the nation in the aftermath of a the attack said: "Those who are fomenting terrorism, sectarian hatred and extremism will not be allowed to flee and will face justice," "The terrorists, being deprived of their refuges and training centres, have now resorted to targeting soft targets such as parks and schools." Sharif said armed forces of the country, police and the civil institutions sacrificed their lives under the Operation Zarb-e-Azb to uproot terrorism. While many objectives under this operation have been achieved, efforts have continued to eradicate the menace completely, he added. He said the government, since taking oath in June 2013, had vowed to eliminate terrorism and faced the fact that no one confronted the menace for the last 13 years. In an apparent reference to the protests in Islamabad by pro-Mumtaz Qadri demonstrators, Sharif said Islam was a religion of peace, and did not teach to cause damage to lives or property. "Government's leniency in this regard should not be taken as the state's weakness or vulnerability of security forces," he said, adding that protecting lives and property of the masses was the government's responsibility. "By far, the government remained patient so the elements trying to provoke people's religious sentiments may not succeed." He added, "But let me make it clear that provoking anger, those fomenting the fire of hate and inciting sectarianism and creating difficulties for the masses will be brought before justice at all costs." The premier said Pakistan was not a victim of terrorism alone but many other parts of the world were plagued by it. "We witnessed that this challenge is being faced by the entire world, evident in the recent incidents in Ankara, Istanbul, Brussels and Paris," he said. "The enemies of humanity have crossed geographical and ethical boundaries and limits (to fulfill their designs)," "But I want to make it clear that these terrorists have nowhere to live in our country." The premier directed the law enforcement agencies to step up counter-terror operations and their abettors in southern Punjab, and ensure proactive coordination between law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The premier, flanked by interior minister Chaudhry Nisar, also visited Jinnah Hospital and inquired after the health of those injured in the attack. Following the attack, Pakistan Army along-with intelligence agencies and Rangers launched five joint operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan and arrested a number of suspected terrorists and their facilitators while recovering arms and ammunition. A Pakistan Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack, saying Christians were their target. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a compensation of Pakistani Rs.1 million for the family of each deceased, Rs.0.3 million for the injured and Rs.0.15 million or those who received minor injuries in the incident. Condemnations poured in from local as well as global leaders, as the US, British, Indian and Turkish premiers, UN chief, Pope Francis, Nobel laureate Malala and others condemned the attack in strongest terms. Meanwhile, according to a readout from Foreign Office, Sharif cancelled his visit to the US in the wake of the attack. He was scheduled to leave for Washington on Monday to represent Pakistan at a nuclear summit. "In view of the terrorist attack in Lahore, which took a heavy toll on the lives of innocent citizens of Pakistan and caused injuries to scores of people, the prime minister has decided to cancel his visit to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit," a the foreign ministry statement said. An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight to Cyprus was arrested on Tuesday evening, ending a five-hour drama during which most passengers were freed early on and the last of the seven passengers and crew simply escaped. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades announced that the hijacker, identified as Seif El Din Mustafa, had personal motives to hijack the jet and that it was not terrorism linked. Officials said Mustafa's action was linked to his ex-wife, who is a Greek-Cypriot and lives in Larnaca. Witnesses told Cyprus Mail newspaper that he threw a letter out of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his former wife. Asked if the hijacker was motivated by love, Anastasiades laughed and said: "Always there is a woman involved." The Cyprus foreign ministry announced the arrest of the hijacker, who had taken charge of the Airbus 320 when it was on its way from Alexandria to Cairo saying he was armed with explosives. The plane was flown to Larnaca in southern Cyprus. Cyprus officials who had held intense negotiations with the man said he would be interrogated at length. One Egyptian officer dubbed him "mentally unstable". The Flight 181 carried 56 passengers -- 30 Egyptians and 26 foreigners -- and six crew members. Soon after it reached Cyprus, all but seven passengers and crew were let off. The foreigners on board included eight Americans and four Britons. Soon after it landed in Cyprus, the hijacker freed most of the passengers, holding back only four crew members and three passengers whose nationality was not disclosed by officials. As the negotiations continued with the man, the seven escaped -- six of them simply walking out of the step ladder and the seventh hurling himself out of the cockpit window. Earlier, the hijacker was mistakenly identified as Ibrahim Samaha, also an Egyptian. Samaha, however, turned out to be an innocent passenger. Malaysian authorities are considering action against two journalists from an Australian news organisation which recently broadcast a documentary on the Southeast Asian country. Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamad on Tuesday said the two journalists -- Linton Besser and videographer Louie Eroglu from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners current news programme - were recently detained in Sarawak state for trying to question Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, the Malaysian Star reported. "They tried to question Najib without a permit, so after this, we will take appropriate action," Nur said. "It is convenient that they are now overseas. If they come here, we will decide. Let them come here first." The Four Corners episode aired on Monday focused on alleged financial scandals linked to Prime Minister Najib. Levent and Besser were arrested on March 12. They were investigated for obstructing a public servant in discharging his public functions, but prosecutors decided not to charge them. The duo were deported on March 15. Malaysia's opposition coalition staged a rally in capital Kuala Lumpur to press demand for Prime Minister Najib Razak's resignation over his alleged involvement in corruption and financial mismanagement. The public rally on Monday night was organised by the "Save Malaysia" movement, formed after an investigation revealed in July 2015 that Najib was allegedly involved in mismanagement at the debt-laden state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), chaired by himself, and about $681 million were deposited into his personal bank account, EFE news reported. Several hundred people as well as former premier Mahathir Mohamad participated in the rally. Mohamad last week filed a lawsuit against Najib over "abuse of power" and accused him of trying to obstruct investigations into the case. Najib, who is also the finance minister, took the chair of the advisory board of 1MDB which, between 2009 and 2014, accumulated a debt of 42 billion ringgit (about $11 billion). Celebrating the achievements of India, the MIT India Conference will focus on how to create a thriving startup ecosystem in India to put Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Startup India" initiative into action. Organized by the MIT Sloan School of Management in collaboration with the greater MIT community in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 3, the conference plans to address all levels of entrepreneurship, according to a media release. These include from scaling startups and addressing the challenges early startups face to social endeavours and sustainability. With the "Startup India" initiative receiving a five-fold increase in its funding along with government plans to open new startup incubators, the objective becomes how best to sustain and build off of this momentum, it said. This year's conference will also feature a showcase of innovative projects being developed by MIT students and researchers with potential application for India. The MIT India Conference aims to celebrate the achievements of India globally, as well as discuss future collaborations between India and the world that could help accelerate innovation into the future. The MIT India conference has established itself as an important forum for leaders in industry, academia, and policy to discuss current issues and future innovations in the context of India, in the region and abroad, the release said. Slated speakers and panellists include Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India; Mukesh Aghi, President, US-India Business Council; Gururaj Deshpande, Founder-Chairman, Sycamore Networks and Ashish Hemrajani, Founder-CEO, BookMyShow.com. Others include Sorin Grama, Founder-CTO, Promethean Power Systems; Nishant Rao, COO, Freshdesk; Vivek Prabhakar, Founder-CEO, Chumbak; Anuradha Acharya, Founder-CEO, MapMyGenome India; Akash Bhatia: Founder-CEO, Infinite Analytics; Venkat Maroju, CEO, SourceTrace Systems; Anjana Reddy, MD, Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd and Zenobia Moochhala, Co-Founder, Care.com. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) Actress Mia George, who has so far worked in Malayalam and Tamil films, has finally landed an opportunity to work in Telugu filmdom. She will feature in an upcoming yet-untitled project with actor Sunil in the lead. According to an official statement, Miya has been confirmed as the leading lady and she even participated in the official launch of the film on Monday in Hyderabad. The movie is to be directed by Kranti Madhav, known for heartwarming films such as "Onmalu" and "Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju". He is trying his hands at comedy with his latest outing. Tipped to be a comedy caper, the project, to be produced by Paruchuri Kireeti, is slated to go on the floors next month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed early Wednesday for Brussels on a three-nation tour during the course of which he will attend the India-EU summit and the global nuclear security summit in the US. On his daylong visit to Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will hold a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and then attend the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. On March 31, he will leave for Washington to attend the two-day Fourth Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted by US President Barack Obama. On his way back, he will drop in at Riyadh for a bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia on April 2-3. Ahead of embarking on a tour of Belgium, the US and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday saluted the resilience of Belgians following the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. "No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium," Modi said in a pre-departure statement. He leaves on Tuesday night and returns to New Delhi on April 3. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones." At least 35 people, including an Indian national, were killed in twin explosions at the Zaventem airport and one at a metro station in the Belgian capital on March 22. During his stay in Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will attend a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and also the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. "Within the EU, Belgium is India's second largest trading partner. My meeting with the prime minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member." The prime minister said he and Michel would also remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope at Devasthal near Nainital. He said the EU was a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. "This summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," he said. While in Brussels, Modi said he would also meet members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. "I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium," he said. There are a large number of Indians in Belgium's diamond trading hub of Antwerp. He is to also address a community programme and interact with the Indian community in Brussels. There are around 20,000 expatriate Indians in Belgium. After Belgium, Modi will be in Washington DC on March 31 to participate in the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, being hosted by US President Barack Obama. "The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," he stated. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is not attending the Nuclear Security Summit following the Lahore blast on Sunday that killed at least 70 people. There had been wide speculation that the two prime ministers would meet in Washington on the sidelines of the summit. It would have been their second meeting after Modi's stop-over meet with Sharif in Lahore on December 25 last year. Modi said he would meet several world leaders on the sidelines of the Washington summit "to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations". "I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observator) project," he said. LIGO is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves. On his way back, Modi would visit Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf kingdom after then prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit in 2010. "India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Modi said. "Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda." Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner, and is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for one-fifth of its crude oil imports. "In addition to meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the royal family," Modi said. "We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India's development priorities." Modi said that he would also visit the Masmak Fortress, the L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT and ITeS Centre in Riyadh. There are nearly three million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are blue collar workers. In a significant development, All-India Muslim Women Personal Law Board president Shaista Ambar met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat here on Tuesday. Ambar said she was present at a function in the Post-Graduate Institute area where Bhagwat was visiting. She sought an appointment with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief that was immediately granted. "He was very gracious and in his address he spoke of nation building and character development," she said. Ambar also said she requested Bhagwat to visit the mosque which they have got constructed, and he readily agreed to do so. A Salesian order Catholic priest on Tuesday said there is no confirmed news about the "crucifixion" of Indian priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnallil, by Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Yemen. "There is no confirmed news till date about Fr. Tom. Don't be carried away by the rumours in the social media," said Father Vincent Matthew. The priest said efforts are still underway at all levels to secure his release. "This is the information I can share for the moment," added Matthew. Efforts to reach the head of Catholic church in Bengaluru, Metropolitan Archbishop Bernard Moras, were not successful as he was away from his residence. The social media and many media houses have disseminated news on the crucifixion of Uzhunnallil by IS terrorists on Good Friday, March 25, after they abducted him from a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen. The Indian priest was kidnapped on March 4 after IS terrorists barged into the care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Aden in 1992, and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India. Uzhunnalil's ancestral home in Ramapuram in Kottayam district is at present closed as two of his brothers live abroad, while another lives in Gujarat. The brother from Gujarat has reached Ramapuram after hearing the news of the abduction. His relatives said they were in contact with Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who regularly keeps in touch with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Salesian Order of priesthood was founded by Saint Francis de Sales in Italy to save the rising generations from the disastrous consequences of false and atheistical philosophical teachings introduced at the time of the French Revolution. North Korea on Tuesday launched a new short-range missile making it the fifth such launch since the beginning of the month, the South Korean defence ministry announced. The North Korean People's Army launched the missile from Wonsan city and it travelled a distance of 200 km before falling on North Korean soil, a defence spokesperson told Efe news. At the moment, Seoul has not confirmed details regarding the type of projectiles launched by Pyongyang, although it has strengthened its defence posture and is closely monitoring the movements of troops in the neighbouring country ahead of the possibility of new "provocations", added the spokesperson. US President Barack Obama will hold a trilateral meeting with South Korean and Japanese leaders on Thursday on the issue of North Korea, the White House said on Monday. Obama's meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, which is slated for Thursday and Friday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. North Korea conducted a nuclear test on January 6 and used ballistic missile technology to launch a satellite on February 7, in a series of violations of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose new and tougher sanctions against North Korea and council members called for an end to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme and early resumption of the Six-Party Talks. National Conference president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that India and Pakistan should constitute a truth and reconciliation commission for Jammu and on the lines of the joint investigation into the Pathankot terror attack. "I have always said a truth and reconciliation commission should be formed by India and Pakistan to find out what happened in Jammu and during the last 25 years and who is responsible for that," he told media persons here. On the Pathankot probe, he said: "I don't know for sure whether the joint investigation being conducted into Pathankot terror attack by India and Pakistan would prove beneficial for our country or not. "I hope the country gets benefitted by the joint investigation and those res ponsible for Pathankot terror attack are given exemplary punishment." The former Jammu and chief minister also said Indian investigation teams should be allowed to go to Pakistan to probe Mumbai terror attack and other such strikes in India. On the opposition to joint investigation by opposition political parties, he said: "The BJP is now pays for its own doings in the past.. When they were in the opposition they would oppose such moves." More than 700 pro-Qadri protestors were arrested in Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan, and sent to various jails in Punjab province, police officials said. At least 500 protestors were arrested on Monday night during the clashes between them and law enforcement officials in Islamabad. A few of their leaders were also arrested, Dawn online reported. Around 200 people were arrested earlier on Monday. The demonstrators were protesting the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, who shot dead the then governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer. Qadri was Taseer's personal security officer. The demonstrators demanded that Qadri should be declared a martyr. On Sunday, a month after Qadri was hanged, the protestors prayed for him in Rawalpindi, and then marched towards Islamabad's Red Zone, breaking barriers erected at Faizabad on the way. The army has been deployed in Islamabad's Red Zone to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. The Sunni Tehreek and other religious outfits involved in the demonstrations that began on Sunday evening also want the Sharia implemented in Pakistan, an Islamic republic. Those who were sitting in protest at D-Chowk and Parade Ground were not arrested, but some of those who left the demonstration were arrested, a source said. The arrested protestors were kept at different locations, some in police stations, and later moved to jails in districts in Punjab near Islamabad, sources said. As the arrests were in large numbers, Islamabad police first made sure if a particular jail had enough space to accommodate the arrested before sending them there, the sources said. The march was the second notable incident of its kind in the garrison city's recent history, after sectarian violence broke over Ashura in 2013. Police sources said they were kept in the dark by religious leaders who were holding talks with the police and intelligence officials for the past few days over Mumtaz Qadri's chehlum (a day of rites marking 40th day of the death of a Muslim). The religious leaders said the mourners would remain peaceful and disperse after the 'dua' before Asr prayers, police said. The district administration presumed that the chehlum would be a quet affair since Qadri's funeral was conducted peacefully despite a huge crowd. Instead of making security arrangements as they had for Qadri's funeral, police relied on the assurances of religious leaders. "Around half of the police force was deployed in the city on Sunday compared to the deployments on Mumtaz Qadri's funeral, because we were not expecting that they would march towards Islamabad," a senior official said. "At one stage, the stock of tear gas shells ran out while trying to disperse religious workers at Shamsabad," the official added. --IndO-Asian News Service py/vt A Pakistani team probing the terror attack on the IAF base here in Punjab in January ended its day-long visit to the frontier base and nearby areas in the border belt amid vocal protests by opposition parties. It is the first time a Pakistan probe panel, which included an officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, was allowed any access to a high-value Indian defence facility. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on January 2, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers after an 80-hour gun battle. The five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) reached the air base on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of the Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena. Those opposing the visit accused the central government of playing a "double game" - accusing the ISI of sponsoring terrorism in India and then letting an ISI official to visit the IAF base. The team, which landed at Amritsar on Tuesday morning, was driven in a bullet-proof SUV to Pathankot, escorted to the rear side of the sprawling IAF base in a mini bus accompanied by NIA officials. Punjab's Police's elite SWAT commandos guarded them. The Pakistani officials entered through a specially created entrance in the peripheral wall of the air base and were taken to specific areas in the complex. They spent a few minutes at the base. They were kept away from the technical area and shown only those areas where security forces had engaged the Pakistani terrorists. The team later visited various locations in the border belt of Pathankot district to retrace the movement of the terrorists. They were shown the places where Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh's vehicle was hijacked by the terrorists and then abandoned near the base, the place where taxi driver Ikagar Singh was murdered and the route taken by the terrorists while reaching the IAF base. "The Pakistani team was mostly driven around the places through which the terrorists came. At most places, they did not get out of their vehicle," a Punjab Police officer accompanying the team told IANS. Protests by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party activists erupted near the front gate of the Pathankot base as the Pakistan team headed towards it. But the demonstrators were about three kilometres from the area the JIT visited. The protestors carried black flags and banners and shouted "Go Back" slogans. "How can the ISI, which is accused of sponsoring terrorism in India, be allowed to investigate a major terrorist strike on a defence establishment here?" AAP leader Sanjay Singh asked. The Pakistani officers were kept away from the media. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had meetings with National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls were erected around the crime scene (gunbattle site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members," an IAF officer told IANS. The JIT was not allowed to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the operation against the terrorists. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said on Monday that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the base but only the isolated "crime scene". Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) for the Pathankot air base attack headed to Pathankot town in north Punjab on Tuesday amid tight security in view of Punjab's opposition parties threatening to protest against the visit. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had day-long meetings with National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. Tight security arrangements have been made in and around the frontier IAF base in view of the visit and likely protests against the visiting Pakistani investigation team. Punjab opposition parties, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have said that they will hold protests near the AFS against the visit. Authorities at Pathankot airbase said that the visiting Pakistan probe team will be taken only to specific and limited areas within the sprawling Air Force Station (AFS) complex. The JIT members will be kept away from the AFS' technical area and shown only those areas where security forces engaged the Pakistani terrorists in the first week of January. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase," an IAF officer told IANS. Punjab Police DIG (deputy inspector general) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said that the Pakistan JIT will be taken by the NIA to the site of the gunbattle. "The team will be provided access to the area of the encounter," Singh said. Informed defence sources here said the team members could also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government mortuary. NIA officers will accompany the JIT members. The JIT will not get to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday in Panaji (Goa) that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the airbase, but only the isolated "crime scene", which has been completely barricaded and fenced. All the terrorists and seven security personnel were killed at the base. The January attack on the IAF base was the second one by suspected Pakistani terrorists. A group of three Pakistani terrorists had attacked Dinanagar town in adjoining Gurdaspur district on July 27 last year, leaving seven people dead. A Pakistani panel on Tuesday visited various locations, including a part of the IAF base, in Punjab to retrace the movement of suspected Pakistani terrorists who attacked it. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on January 2, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers. The five-member Pakistani team was taken to various locations along the route taken by the terrorists by NIA officials. The Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) reached the frontier air force base campus on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of opposition parties. The team reached the rear side of the sprawling air base in a mini bus accompanied by NIA officials and surrounded by Punjab's Police's elite SWAT commandos. Protests by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists erupted near the front gate of the Pathankot base on Tuesday morning as the Pakistan team headed towards it. The demonstrators were about three kilometres from the base. They carried black flags and banners, and shouted "Go Back" slogans. AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and S.S. Chhotepur led the protests. Tight security arrangements were in place to protect the JIT members from the protestors. The Pakistan team, which entered the base through a specially created entrance in the peripheral wall of the Air Force Station (AFS), was taken only to specific and limited areas within the complex. The JIT members were kept away from the AFS' technical area and shown only those areas where security forces engaged the Pakistani terrorists in January. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had day-long meetings with National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase," an IAF officer told IANS. Informed defence sources here said the team members would also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government hospital mortuary. The JIT was not allowed to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday in Goa that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the base, but only the isolated "crime scene". The January attack on the IAF base was the second one by suspected Pakistani terrorists. A group of three Pakistani terrorists had attacked Dinanagar town in adjoining Gurdaspur district on July 27 last year, leaving seven people dead. At least five terrorists were killed and over 600 suspects arrested in an extensive operation launched by security forces across Pakistan's Punjab province following Sunday's suicide blast in Lahore, media reports said on Tuesday. At least 74 people, including 29 children, were killed and over 300 others injured in the blast that hit the crowded Gulshan-e-Iqbal park on Sunday evening. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack. Citing Urdu TV channel Dunya, Xinhua said the five terrorists, belonging to a banned militant group, were killed in two separate shootouts with security forces during search operations in Rajanpur and Muzaffargarh districts in southern Punjab. According to reports, at least 250 suspects were detained in Sialkot, 200 in Gujranwala, 80 in Faisalabad, 34 in Rahim Yar Khan, 18 in Kasur, 10 in Bhakkar, six in Attock and one in Bahawalpur, while several others were arrested from other parts of the province. Security forces launched the operation on Sunday night after army chief General Raheel Sharif chaired a high-level meeting of military officials and directed the commanders to start a quick operation to bring the terrorists and their facilitators to justice. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in an address to the nation on Monday had reiterated the government's resolve to wipe out the menace of from the country. A spokesperson of the Inter-Services Public Relations said a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered during the operations. Punjab's Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told the media on Tuesday that at least 160 operations have been conducted so far. Protests erupted near the Pathankot airbase on Tuesday morning as Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the terror attack on the air base headed to Pathankot town in north Punjab. Activists of Punjab's main opposition Congress party held the protest near a road which is to be taken by the Pakistani probe team. They carried black flags and banners. The banners named officials of the Pakistani team, especially those from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence. Security agencies deputed additional personnel outside the rear part of the air base following the protests to strengthen security. Punjab opposition parties, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had said that they protest against the Pakistan team visit to the Air Force Station. The JIT members, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and had day-long meetings with Investigation Agency (NIA) officers, left for Amritsar on Tuesday morning en route to Pathankot. Tight security arrangements have been made in and around the frontier IAF base in view of the visit and likely protests against the visiting Pakistani investigation team. Authorities at Pathankot airbase said that the visiting Pakistan probe team will be taken only to specific and limited areas within the sprawling Air Force Station (AFS) complex. The JIT members will be kept away from the AFS' technical area and shown only those areas where security forces engaged the Pakistani terrorists in the first week of January. "We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase," an IAF officer said. Punjab Police DIG (deputy inspector general) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said that the Pakistan JIT will be taken by the NIA to the site of the gunbattle. "The team will be provided access to the area of the encounter," Singh said. Informed defence sources here said the team members could also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government mortuary. NIA officers will accompany the JIT members. The JIT will not get to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday in Goa that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the airbase, but only the isolated "crime scene", which has been completely barricaded and fenced. All the terrorists and seven security personnel were killed at the base. The January attack on the IAF base was the second one by suspected Pakistani terrorists. A group of three Pakistani terrorists had attacked Dinanagar town in adjoining Gurdaspur district on July 27 last year, leaving seven people dead. In a first, researchers in Scotland are using smartphone-based technology to find the reason behind plummeting numbers of harbour seals in the country. Part of a three-year study by researchers at Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at University of St Andrews in Scotland, the smartphone-based technology is being used to monitor the well-being of marine mammals, The National reported. "Over the last 15 years, many of the harbour seal populations in the Northern Isles and on the north and east coasts of Scotland have been declining. Marine data collected during this project on Orkney will help to assess the causes, management and mitigation options in relation to the harbour seals' decline and to prioritise future research directions," Bernie McConnell, SMRU's deputy director, was quoted as saying. For the study, marine telemetry tags will be attached to the fur at the back of the heads of a number of harbour seals in Orkney Archipelago of Scotland. Small and light, the tags work like smartphones, sending information back to scientists and will eventually drop off when the seal moults, the report explained. The study is being carried out at the request of the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage after concerns were raised about the survival of harbour seals in the country. "This exciting, collaborative study is vital to help us to better understand the drivers of population change in Scottish harbour seals, and to evaluate the potential conservation and management options open to us," professor John Baxter from Scottish Natural Heritage was quoted as saying. Harbour seals - one of two seal species in Britain - have declined by up to 90 percent in some areas in and around the north and east coast of Scotland, including Orkney, since 2000. A tweet by Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday asking why the BJP government "did nothing" about the alleged crucifixion of an Indian Catholic priest by Islamic State jihadists in Yemen attracted a lot of censure on the social media platform, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking twitterati to "reply" to Tewari. Tewari tweeted: "So ISIS allegedly crucified Father Thomas Uzhunnali & BJP Govt did nothing. Why because he was a Christian? Mr PM he was also a fellow Indian." Sushma Swaraj, who has been active on twitter in reaching out to Indians abroad in need of help, tweeted: "Friends - I have liked some tweets. Please see them and judge for yourself. Then reply to @ManishTewari." A Catholic priest on Tuesday said there is no confirmation yet about the "crucifixion" of the Indian priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnallil. However, Tewari's tweet attracted a lot of flak. One twitterati asked: "What has the BJP got to do with this? And if your memory still works, remember how you people let Sarabjeet (Singh) die in Pakistan." Another reasoned: "That's ok..He's clutching at straws ....Very few straws left...Even he knows it's a ridiculous thing to say." Another twitterati remarked sarcastically: "Please tell the entire nation what the Congress would have done to save the Father? So that India & also the world can follow your strategy." Social media and media houses have disseminated news on the alleged crucifixion of Uzhunnallil by IS terrorists on Good Friday, March 25, after they abducted him from a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen. The Indian priest was kidnapped on March 4 after IS terrorists barged into the care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Aden in 1992, and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India. The external affairs ministry has said there is no confirmation of the news of the alleged crucifixion. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai announced on Tuesday that another aircraft piece suspected to be a part of the missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 was found on the South African coast. "We first need to check if the debris belonged to a Boeing 777 plane," the Malaysian Star quoted Liow as saying. However, no further details were available about the piece which was found on Monday. This is the second piece of plane debris found in South Africa, following the recovery of an inlet cowling of an aircraft engine on March 22 in Mossei Bay. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew members en route to Beijing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. In July 2015, a part of the aircraft wing was found on La Reunion island in the Indian Ocean. This year, a total of five pieces of plane debris were retrieved from the La Reunion, Mozambique and South Africa. If you think storytelling is an obsolete art, an upcoming exhibition in the city is an eye opener. Titled 'Tales of Art', it unfolds the fascinating world of storytelling in contemporary art and its ability to transcend cultural and social boundaries. Presented by Great Banyan Art, the exhibition, slated to begin on Wednesday, will showcase around 40 artworks from 15 countries including US, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, China, and Malaysia among others, drawing upon an eclectic mix of emerging contemporary artists. "'Tales of Art' aims to bring together existing and aspiring art collectors of the millennial generation who are setting up their new homes and building their art collection," said the show's curator Sonali Batra. Talking about her work 'Saccharine Unicorn', artist Gabriele Sermuksnyte said that she tries to challenge gender stereotypes through her art. "I depict the present day princesses with the help of fairy tales. The women in my works depict decorative bodies, meant for fashion magazines. By this, I draw attention to the commodification of women and gender stereotypes existing in the society," said the Lithuania-based artist. For artist Viet Ha Tran, her photographic series "Remembrance of the shattered dreams" captures an ephemeral moment of feminine emotions flowing through the river of time. "My artworks are mostly inspired by a mixture of different elements such as philosophy, classic literature, paintings, music and Persian mystic poetry. I am a classic art lover, most particularly of artists such as Titian, Rembrandt and Rubens but also admire the works of the contemporary Italian photographer Paolo Roversi," she said. While South Korea's Sung Ha Ahn obsesses about found objects, including stubbed cigarettes in ashtrays blown up larger than life, Malaysia's Ahmad Zakii Anwar, concentrates on photo-realism within urban settings. Poland's Agata Zychlinska has a sense of the 'modern' and is satirical as an artist in response to works that recount artists from a century ago, though her sensibility belongs to the here and now. Titled as 'Rumour Collections', Netherlands artist Chantel Van Houten's work talks about emotions. "The pieces that are part of the show are from my recent 'Rumour' collection'. Rumours are about the feelings or emotions we get by creating and spreading a rumour. Why do we do this? Do we think is it sound to judge or is it just to make us feel better about ourselves? These questions are central in the rumour collection," said the artist. 'Tales of Art' is on from March 30 to April 4 at 1AQ Art Gallery. Three people from Haryana were on Tuesday arrested while on their way to Delhi to sell over 250 kg of beef, police said. Habib, Riaz and Irshad -- all in their early 20s and hailing from Mewat district -- were arrested after police checked their car near Ghamroj village on Sohna road. The three were heading towards Delhi to supply the beef to sellers. Prima facie investigation revealed that the car was stolen and had a fake number plate, police said. At least three Syrian refugee children were killed and six injured on Tuesday in a tent fire in Turkey, private Dogan news agency reported. The fire broke out in a refugee tent in Derik town of Mardin province, Xinhua reported. Last Friday, one Syrian refugee child was killed in another tent fire in Derik, where 21 tents were destroyed. The Turkish authorities have had difficulties in meeting the growing demand of the Syrian refugees, now numbering some 2.5 million. Security has been tightened in Tokyo ahead of the G7 summit scheduled to be held in May, authorities said. The Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday deployed hundreds of additional officers at railway stations and other crowded public spaces, public broadcaster NHK reported. Police said terrorists could target Tokyo as well as Ise-Shima where the two-day summit will begin on May 26. Riot squads are stationed at checkpoints at the Haneda airport. Sniffer dogs are being used to search for explosives in Ueno Park where people were gathering to view the cherry blossom. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) scraped its request for Apple Inc.'s assistance to hack into the phone of a terrorist killer. The federal government department, on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the move on Monday at a US court in Central California, Xinhua reported. The two-page court filing said that the FBI had accessed data stored in the iPhone 5c. A week ago, a day before the DOJ and the Silicon Valley technology company were scheduled to appear at a hearing at the court, the government said it was trying a new way to unlock the phone used by Syed Farook. Farook, together with his wife Tashfeen Malik, shot dead 14 people on December 2, 2015 in San Bernardino, California, before being killed by police. The smartphone has a feature that erases data after 10 unsuccessful unlocking attempts. Successfully bypassing Apple in its efforts to look into the phone for information probably helpful in the terror attack investigation, the DOJ did not make public on Monday any details about who did help and how did it make through. Apple had been resisting the order by Judge Pym since February 16, when she ordered the manufacturer to provide the FBI with specialised software to disable the security feature. In an earlier TV interview, citing privacy protection for customers as a reason, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook suggested that he would fight the case all the way up the US Supreme Court. The argument was heated, as the government side fought on the ground that it was a work phone owned by the San Bernardino county, and the software would be in the possession of Apple rather than in the hands of FBI agents. Both sides seemed to have failed to win full public support. However, the DOJ's decision not to go after Apple's assistance effectively put the dispute to an end, at least for now. And it is now Apple's turn to figure out, and for iPhone users to wonder, how secure is the phone and data on the device. Countering the allegations levelled by union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, ousted Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday asserted that the state's annual budget was passed by "an elected and functional state assembly". Jaitley on Monday justified the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand, alleging the Congress government had failed to get the Money Appropriation Bill passed in the state assembly. "We firmly believe that the budget was passed by an elected and functional Uttarakhand assembly. Even the constitution empowers an elected and existing state assembly to pass it," Rawat told reporters here. "Uttarakhand's assembly was in existence on March 18, as it is today. Since it is in suspended animation, that itself means the assembly is in existence," Rawat said, insisting that the budget passed by his government "is a documented evidence of the state's aspirations". He added that people of Uttarakhand "will not tolerate such dirty tricks played by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)." Rawat said any attempt to change the provisions of the budget will be "an insult" to the state and the legislative business it had conducted over the years. The World Food Programme (WFP) has signed an agreement with the ministry of border affairs to reduce food insecurity in Myanmar, authorities said on Tuesday. The Letter of Understanding on the project of reducing food insecurity and malnutrition was signed in capital Nay Pyi Taw on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported. The project, worth about $134 million, is to be undertaken in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Magaway, Mandalay and Yangon regions and states till next year. The project will include delivery of 94,656 tonnes of rice and food to these regions and also provide cash grants and training programmes. The ministry will fully implement the project, according to union minister Lt.Gen Kyaw Swe. Nearly 470,000 hectares of paddy was affected and almost a quarter of a million livestock were killed, especially in Rakhine state and Sagaing region where the impact of a cyclone was most severe in late July and August in 2015, a UN report revealed. Rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on a fast unto death since November 4, 2000 demanding repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, on Tuesday assured a court in Delhi that she shall call off the fast if the Act is repealed. Sharmila appeared before Judge H. Singh at the Patiala House Court in a case of attempt to commit suicide during her fast at Jantar Mantar on October 6-7, 2006 soon after being released in Imphal. She told the jam packed court room that she loves her life and was merely using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal. "It is no crime," she contended. "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she told the court. The district and sessions court in Imphal had earlier found her not guilty of the charge of attempting to commit suicide. However she was rearrested within a few days as she continued the fast. Sharmila said she was using the fast "for more impact" in her demand for repealing the AFSPA. "I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again," she said. "Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations," she said. Sharmila also reiterated her desire to have a meeting with the prime minister on the AFSPA issue. She said she had expressed her desire a long time back, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not met her so far. The hearing will continue on Wednesday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Tuesday lauded Pakistan for sending a team to the Pathankot airbase to investigate the terror attack that took place there on January 2. A five-member Joint Investigation Team, including an official of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, visited the Indian Air Force base. "I agree that for the first time Pakistan has made serious efforts towards investigation," Shah said in Kolkata. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress criticised the BJP and the government for according a "red-carpet welcome" to those from whose territory the attack had been allegedly launched. Many on social media were quick to point out that in November last year Shah had said in Bihar that crackers would be burst and Pakistan would erupt in celebration if BJP lost the Assembly elections in the state. How times had changed for Shah and the BJP, commented some on social media. In a series of fascinating interviews with Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic magazine, titled 'The Obama Doctrine', President Barack Obama has sought to defend his view of America's role in the world and in particular in the Syrian civil war. As a number of commentators have noted, he displays a surprising arrogance considering himself, as Niall Ferguson observes, "the smartest person in the world, perhaps ever" whilst traducing former presidents, foreign policy advisors and US allies. In this he seems to have pre-empted Donald Trump who, when asked about the influences on his views on foreign policy on MSNBC, replied: "I'm speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things". Even as concerns over Lupin's Goa plant have not vanished, fresh worries on Mandideep plant have further hurt sentiment. The plant in Madhya Pradesh, which produces key revenue-contributing cephalosporin range of products, along with several active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), was inspected by the USFDA (US Food and Drug Administration) between February 8 and 19. After that, the US body issued three observations. Analysts say these are due to violation in manufacturing process and data-keeping. Since these two plants account for a majority of Lupin's sales to the US (which is 40 per cent of total revenues) and with analysts saying observations are serious and remediation may take up to 18 months, it is not surprising the Street is worried. Read more from our special coverage on "LUPIN, USFDA" Lupins MP plant under FDA scanner, stock price takes a hit Lupin said the USFDA issues had been addressed and were insignificant in nature. It added that the outcome of the audit would be voluntary action and there would be no remediation required. The clarification provided some relief. Lupin's stock, which had fallen 14.5 per cent intraday on Tuesday to hit a new 52-week low of Rs 1,294, closed at Rs 1,402, a net decline of 6.3 per cent. Sentiment is likely to remain soft till clarity on the Goa plant emerges, say analysts. Lupin has recently received approval for launch of generics of oral contraceptive Femcon Fe, to be produced from the Indore unit. Analysts at Nomura say that against the backdrop of recent USFDA observations on Goa unit, an approval for its unit will be key to ease the concerns. Amar Ambani, head of research at IIFL, says the regulatory overhang on Goa site would prevent any significant re-rating. After inspection of the Goa unit in July 2015, the company continued getting approvals for products filed from the unit and the Street remained undisturbed by observations till the plant was re-inspected and issued fresh observations. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have protested the visit of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from Pakistan to probe the January 2 terrorist attack at Paathankot airbase. The Opposition cannot be faulted for protesting the entry of people from a neighbouring country deep into the airbase. However, it should listen to the ruling parties when they say the JIT has been granted limited access - that, too, not the frontal part of the airbase, but the rear side, which is said to be four to five km away. In allowing the JIT access it cannot be assumed that the Narendra Modi government has mortgaged the interests of the nation. There's no guarantee that Pakistan will admit to complicity in the terrorist attack. It is disquieting that an official of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence is part of the JIT. But India cannot dictate terms to Pakistan on the composition of the JIT. If the JIT shows courage, is not disingenuous in accepting the truth and follows through with action, the experiment of allowing a Pakistani probe team to visit a terrorist attack site can be deemed rewarding. K V Seetharamaiah, Hassan Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:The Editor, Business StandardNehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar MargNew Delhi 110 002Fax: (011) 23720201 E-mail: letters@bsmail.in All letters must have a postal address and telephone number A company in which you own shares announces a dividend and you are happy of getting some tax-free income. But you dont bother to check your account to see if the money has been credited or not. Another company that you are invested in announces bonus shares and again you dont bother checking your demat account to see if the shares are transferred to your account, since you have no plans of selling them. Whenever there is any corporate activity, within 48 hours, the share, bond or money should be credited to your account. Many a time shareholders are not even aware of how much dividend is paid or due to them. People dont even read emails, says Hiren Dhakan, Associate fund Manager, Bonanza Portfolio. Recently, Asian Paints filed a complaint against its share transfer agent, Sharepro illegally transferring and shares of the companys shareholders to other fraudulent accounts. Now the process is on appoint another share transfer agent. Companies like Aptech and Britannia Industries too have filed complaints against Sharepro. Read more from our special coverage on "DIVIDENDS" According to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, funds to the tune of Rs 21.7 crore were transferred to the accounts of relatives of senior management of Sharepro and unauthorized entities over a period of 10 years. Currently more than 250 companies are employing the services of Sharepro. The only way to keep track of such frauds is to be self vigilant and review your portfolio every to four months even if you are not trading actively. These days, whenever a company announces a dividend or bonus issue, the shares or money is electronically credited to the shareholders account. Always keep track of your demat account and the bank account linked to it, says Shriram Subramanian, Founder and MD, InGovern Research Services Once the record date is announced keep track of whatever the corporate action is-dividend, bonus issue, etc and how much money is supposed to come into your account, Subramanian adds. He cites the case of Max India, which split into three different companies, but shares of the new companies are yet to be credited to investors accounts. Frauds include dividend not being credited or not being credited in full, transactions getting settled in other accounts, or fees being hiked suddenly without informing shareholders. In such instances, the first point of contact for complaint is always the company. Each company has a dedicated investor cell where you can lodge your complaint. Every company has to publish a list of complaints it receives from shareholders once a quarter. If the complaint is not resolved by the company, then you can lodge a complaint with the regulator. You can lodge a complaint through Sebis grievance redressal platform, SCORES, which is a centralised online system for lodging and tracking complaints. If the shares are not credited to your account they can even be misused by intermediaries for pledging or lending to someone else. Then there could be two people who have rights over the shares, the original shareholder and the person to whom it has been pledged, says Feroze Azeez, deputy CEO at Anand Rathi Private Wealth Management. Today you can get consolidated statements of all your demat accounts from depositories. This is a very useful feature and investors must keep track of it at least on a quarterly basis, if not monthly. Many a time brokers dont transfer the money or shares to their clients accounts and instead keep it in a pool account. The reason that is given it that this makes it easier to sell and the client can avoid the additional paperwork and documentation required for the transfer. But this is not a wise thing to do and shareholders must always insist on the shares and money being transferred to their accounts, Azeez adds. In case of Sharepro, the matter came to light because it involved a big company like Asian Paints. But there could be several other cases involving smaller companies where such frauds of illegal transfer of dividend money or shares never come to light. The regulator has to impose severe punishment for such frauds. Right now there is still gap between the scam being discovered and the order being passed, Dhakan says. Its common that investors who own stocks forget to check whether the latest dividends or bonus announced by the company has actually been credited to their accounts. Many times, the amounts are so small so people dont care. But, as the Sharepro scam has shown, investors could lose out heavily because of this. Recently, Asian Paints filed a complaint against its share transfer agent Sharepro for illegally transferring dividends and shares to fraudulent accounts. Aptech and Britannia Industries, too, have filed similar complaints against Sharepro. According to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), as much as Rs 21.7 crore was transferred to the accounts of relatives of senior management of Sharepro and unauthorised entities over a period of 10 years. Currently, around 250 companies are employing the services of Sharepro. Whenever there is any corporate activity, within 48 hours, the share, bond or money should be credited to your account. Many a time, shareholders are not even aware of how much dividend is paid or due to them. People dont even read emails, says Hiren Dhakan, associate fund manager, Bonanza Portfolio. The only way to keep a track of such frauds is to be self-vigilant and review your portfolio often even if you are not trading actively. These days, whenever a company announces a dividend or bonus issue, the shares or money is electronically credited to shareholders' account. Always keep track of your demat account and the bank account linked to it," says Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director, InGovern Research Services. Once the record date is announced, keep track of whatever the corporate action is and how much money is supposed to come into your account, Subramanian adds. He cites the case of Max India, which split into three different companies, but shares of the new companies are yet to be credited to investors accounts. Frauds include dividend not being credited or not being credited in full, transactions getting settled in other accounts, or fees being hiked suddenly without informing shareholders. In such instances, the first point of contact for complaint is always the company. Each company has a dedicated investor cell where you can lodge your complaint. Every company has to publish a list of complaints it receives from shareholders once a quarter. If the complaint is not resolved by the company, then you can lodge a complaint with the regulator. You can lodge a complaint through Sebis grievance redressal platform, SCORES, which is a centralised online system for lodging and tracking complaints. If the shares are not credited to your account, they can even be misused by intermediaries for pledging or lending to someone else. Then there could be two people who have rights over the shares, the original shareholder and the person to whom it has been pledged, says Feroze Azeez, deputy CEO at Anand Rathi Private Wealth Management. Today, you can get consolidated statements of all your demat accounts from depositories. This is a very useful feature and investors must keep track of it at least on a quarterly basis, if not monthly. Many a time, brokers dont transfer the money or shares to their clients accounts and instead keep it in a pool account, as it makes it easier to sell and the client can avoid the additional paperwork and documentation required for the transfer. But, this is not a wise thing to do and shareholders must always insist on the shares and money being transferred to their accounts, Azeez adds. In case of Sharepro, the matter came to light because it involved a big company like Asian Paints. But, there could be several other cases involving smaller companies. The regulator has to impose severe punishment for such frauds. There is still a gap between the scam being discovered and the order being passed, Dhakan says. The state of has been placed under President's Rule, within two months of dismissal of the Arunachal Pradesh government on January 26. Dismissing Harish Rawat's regime in Dehradun under Article 356 of the Constitution appears to be yet another addition to the catalogue of constitutional sins committed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government at the Centre. By doing so, Modi has followed the footsteps of the Congress reign at the centre. Yet, he had promised a different kind of polity. The provisions of the Article 356 -- giving sweeping powers to the central government -- is essentially aimed at restoring constitutional propriety after breakdown of governance in a state, Justice V R Krishna Iyer had once observed. But settling partisan scores seems to have become the order of the day under the present disposition. Abuse of Article 356, though, is nothing new in Indian . A few BJP leaders have tried to build up an argument that the Congress had no business to talk about constitutional decorum as the grand old party had several times dismissed non-Congress governments across the country and era. "Congress is forgetting how many state governments it has dismissed in the last 60 years," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiyasaid. In 1992-93, the P V Narasimha Rao government at the Centre dismissed four BJP governments -- in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh -- following the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6. After the Rao regime dismissed the Nagaland government led by Vamuzo in 1992, the chief minister said that the imposition of President's Rule did not surprise him. "After all, the Congress has always considered itself as imperial power and treated the states as colonies," the late Vamuzo was quoted as having said. In 2005, during Manmohan Singh's regime, Goa Chief Minister Manohor Parrikar -- now the Defence Minister -- was dismissed by Governor S C Jamir. Incidentally in 1990, Jamir, then Nagaland Chief Minister, was himself dismissed by Governor M M Thomas after 12 ruling Congress legislators defected from the Congress camp. Like Rawat, Jamir had demanded trial of strength in the assembly and had managed the backing of the Speaker, late T N Ngullie. However, Governor Thomas, during the V P Singh regime at the Centre did not summon the assembly and had even declined to meet two Congress observers, Rajesh Pilot and S S Ahluwalia, saying the views of Congress MPs were not required on a political situation in Nagaland. Even a government led by hardcore socialist Chandrashekhar at the Centre was no different. In 1990, it dismissed the DMK ministry of M. Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu, despite lack of any adverse report from the state governor, to seek support from Rajiv Gandhi's Congress which was wooing Karunanidhi's rival, J Jayalalitha of the AIADMK. Ironically, the Congress party is now at the receiving end of the imperial character of governance, protesting "murder of democracy". That brings to fore the debate whether Article 356 allowing the Centre to dismiss state governments should have some legal restraints. By its action, the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party have put other Congress governments -- in Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Karnataka on notice -- that it will practice the same art that the regime before it did. Modi may do well to recall that the 2014 the mandate was also about ushering in change in way of . Voters may have hoped that a proponent of development would care about constitutional propriety since the BJP is fond of talking about "Cooperative Federalism" with the states. But their action in Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh, seems to have belied that hope. The Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital on Tuesday ordered a floor test in the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday. This is a major embarrassment to the Centre, which had imposed Presidents rule in the state two days ago citing a breakdown of constitutional authority. Harish Rawat, who was unseated from his post as chief minister, has been asked to test his majority on the floor of the House in a copybook interpretation of the S R Bommai judgment that for the first time permitted judicial review of the imposition of Presidents rule. For Rawat, however, this is a poisoned chalice: For the nine MLAs who had challenged the government by threatening to vote against the Budget presented by him, have been permitted to vote when the House meets on March 31. They were disqualified by the Speaker when they sought a division or counting of votes. If their votes had been counted as nays, the government would have fallen on the spot. By allowing them to take part in the voting and disregarding the Speakers disqualification, the court order has tightened the noose around Rawats neck. The rebels are most likely to vote against the government on March 31. However, the nine Congress rebels will lose their membership of the House for having defied the whip of the party, propelling the state towards early elections. The nine MLAs, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and senior Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat, had declared their intention last week to vote against the Budget. ROAD TO PRESIDENTS RULE February 2014: replaces Vijay Bahuguna as CM replaces Vijay Bahuguna as CM March 2015: Congress ignores Bahugunas claim, gives RS seat from Uttarakhand to Raj Babbar Congress ignores Bahugunas claim, gives RS seat from Uttarakhand to Raj Babbar March 18, 2016: 27 BJP and 9 rebel Congress MLAs meet Governor, seek dismissal of Rawat govt 27 BJP and 9 rebel Congress MLAs meet Governor, seek dismissal of Rawat govt March 20: Rawat gets until March 28 to prove majority Rawat gets until March 28 to prove majority March 21: Cong expels Bahugunas son Saket for anti-party activities Cong expels Bahugunas son Saket for anti-party activities March 26: Rebel MLA Harak Singh Rawat unveils sting purportedly showing Rawat offering money to rebel MLA Rebel MLA Harak Singh Rawat unveils sting purportedly showing Rawat offering money to rebel MLA March 27: Speaker disqualifies 9 rebel MLAs under anti-defection law; Union Cabinet recommends Presidents rule Speaker disqualifies 9 rebel MLAs under anti-defection law; Union Cabinet recommends Presidents rule March 28: Cong moves HC against central rule, MLAs already move court against disqualification Cong moves HC against central rule, MLAs already move court against disqualification March 29: HC orders floor test for Rawat on Thursday, allows disqualified MLAs to vote The Rawat government must have at least 36 MLAs in a House of 70. With nine stating unambiguously that they have lost confidence in him, the Congress now has only 27. Friendly MLAs number six: Bahujan Samaj Party (2), Independents (3) and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (1). All India Congress Committee General Secretary Ambika Soni incharge of Uttarakhand in the capital on Tuesday, welcomed the high court decision stating that the Congress stand had been upheld by the courts. The party was consulting legal experts on the issue of the nine rebels voting separately, Soni said. Either their disqualification should be put aside or they should not be permitted to vote. Congress reiterated that the Supreme Court ruling last week has clearly stated that the Speaker is the ultimate authority on disqualification of MLAs. This does not take the government to the magic number of 36. Moreover, these MLAs cannot be counted upon as they are reassessing their position recognising the risk to the stability of the Rawat-led government. Since the high court did not pass any order on Presidents rule, legal experts say the central rule in the hill state would continue. Besides, the order is only a partial relief to Rawat, who had challenged the imposition of Presidents rule. This is only an interim order. The final decision of the high court would come only after the disposal of the petition by rebel MLAs challenging their disqualification by Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal. The high court has passed an order which, according to us, accepts the points that despite the Presidents rule, there is enough scope for judicial review to allow a floor test. The floor test was asked by us on the basis of the past precedents of the Supreme Courts judgments. The floor test is a paramount consideration and mere horse-trading allegations cannot justify Presidents rule and stop the floor test, said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is the counsel for Rawat. Interpreting the judgment further, Singhvi said the court allowed only for counting of votes by disqualified as well as non-disqualified MLAs. The votes of the disqualified MLAs will be kept separately for their identification in a separate room and it will be subject to the final outcome. Legal experts also said the speaker will have very little role in the floor test and there was also suspense whether he can cast his vote. The Registrar of the High Court will remain present in the Vidhan Sabha as an observer. Welcoming the order, Rawat said the new order has come as an obstacle in the attempts by the Centre to destabilise various non-BJP governments in other states. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma said the party would comment on the court order only after reading it. Uttarakhand is passing through a constitutional crisis created by the Speaker who ignored a written plea by several legislators that there should be a vote on the Appropriation Bill. The world has also seen how offered Rs 5 -15 crore to rebel Congress legislators. The BJP asked why the Congress was indulging in offering money to its rebels if it has the majority. This is an internal fight of the Congress. Rawat had conspired to remove Vijay Bahuguna as chief minister and now he is harvesting what he had sown. Even now, they are in a minority as they paraded 33 MLAs in front of the governor, which includes the Speaker and six from outside, Sharma added. The BJP is confident that the Rawat government will lose the floor test. It is likely that Uttarakhand will see an election in the next six months. The party is keen that Rawat, considered a consummate leader within the BJP, shouldnt be at the helm in the state if it is to have any chances of winning in Uttarakhand. If he is removed now, he will not be able to continue as a caretaker chief minister. Constitutional expert and former secretary general of the Lok Sabha, Subhash C Kashyap, speaks to Aditi Phadnis on the constitutional intricacies of the political crisis in Uttarakhand. Edited excerpts: What do you have to say about the Uttarakhand High Court's directive, ordering a floor test in the Assembly on March 31? I am yet to read the court's order. There are, however, a few pertinent questions that arise from what I have come to know about the order from the media. Has the court stayed the Speaker's order on disqualifying the nine rebel Congress legislators? Has the court stayed the Presidential proclamation that put Uttarakhand under central rule? And lastly, and it is related to the previous question, whether Harish Rawat will face the floor test as chief minister or leader of the Congress? So, has the court stayed the Speaker's order on disqualification? I believe that it has stayed the Speaker's order by allowing the nine rebel legislators to vote in the floor test. It is true their votes will be kept separately, but counted nonetheless. The floor test will make it evident whether at all these legislators had voted with the government on the Appropriation Bill. If not, the Appropriation Bill will be deemed not to have been passed and the government will fall. The court would later look into the petition filed by the nine Congress rebels challenging the Speaker's decision to disqualify them and take a decision on the merits of the case. Secondly, the court seems to have maintained the validity of President's rule. After the imposition of central rule, a government does not exist in Uttarakhand. The court seems to have asked Rawat to take the floor test as the leader of the Congress. The floor test brings us back to the situation that had prevailed when the Appropriation Bill was presented on March 18. But what about Parliament ratifying President's Rule when it meets on April 25? That is a question for a later date, and shouldn't exercise us now. I think, as things stand, the entire issue will become clearer in the next few days. Rawat has purportedly been caught on camera offering money to rebel Congress legislators. That is again a separate issue and separate penal provisions would deal with it. Police in western Poland say that eight people, including one German, have been injured in an explosion of fireworks at a market on the border with Germany. Spokesman for the police in Gryfino, Bogumil Prostak, said today the explosion took place at 12:50 p.M. (10:50 GMT) at a fireworks stand in the village of Osinow Dolny, Poland's westernmost settlement, where Germans also shop. Eight people were hospitalized and six cars have been damaged. "Damage is considerable," Prostak told The Associated Press.The police and prosecutors are investigating to determine the cause of the blast. A special court today convicted 10 out of the 13 accused in connection with the multiple blasts that rocked the city between December 2002 and March 2003 killing 13 people. Special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) judge PR Deshmukh will start hearing the arguments on the sentencing from tomorrow. Those convicted are - key accused Saquib Nachan, Ateef Mulla, Hasib Mulla, Ghulam Kotal, Mohammed Kamil, Noor Malik, Anwar Ali Khan, Farhaan Khot, Wahid Ansari and Muzammil Ansari. In a combined charge sheet filed against 15 accused in the Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central blast cases, police had charged them with offences under POTA, the Explosive Substances Act and preparation to wage war against the nation and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code. Two accused died during the trial and cases against them were abated. Six others are still wanted in the case. The Mulund train blasts occurred on March 13, 2003 killing 12 persons and injuring 71. Earlier, on December 6, 2002 several persons were injured in the blast at McDonald's at Mumbai Central station, while a person died when a bomb attached to a cycle exploded in a market area in Vile Parle (East) on January 27, 2003. Speaking to reporters on how the case was cracked, Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian said that police came to know that a group was engaged in some suspicious activity in Padga in suburban Thane district. Some accused collected explosives, some collected AK-56s and they wanted to target prominent leaders belonging to right wing groups. "They also used to practice with those weapons on the hills at Padga", Salian added. Salian said police had recovered many shells from the hills and forensic tests confirmed that the shells were from the seized weapons. "We had seized three weapons from Nachan, Ateef and Haseeb," Salian said, adding that it was one of the accused who had taken the police to the hills during the investigation. She also said that the motive behind the blast was to terrorise people. "One accused Tahir Ansari, who is untraceable, is a bomb expert and was active in planting crude bombs in trains in different parts of the country in 1993," Salian said. The bombs, she added, were assembled at the clinic of Wahid while the forensic reports confirmed that the traces from the clinic matched with the traces in explosion site. Four groups one each from Malegoan, Kalyan, Kurla and Padga were involved in the blasts, Salian said. She said Muzammil, the key planter of the bombs who also has an engineering degree, used to be absent from his work place in Andheri whenever the blast took place. Also Muzammil's voice was very peculiar as he had some throat ailment. Many witnesses identified Muzammil because of his voice. While keeping the explosive-laden bag in the Mulund train, another bag of a co-passenger fell down and he had some altercation. While planting the bomb in Vile-Parle market, one of the office colleagues met him there. Even there too he had argument with some of the people while parking the bicycle laden with explosives. Another accused Khot took police to a well in Padga where they found some arms and 250 iron bomb cases out of which two were half-made. Police also found Sulphuric acid and ammonium nitrate there. Initially, when the police went to Padga to arrest Nachan based on a tip off they were attacked by villagers and had to return empty handed. Later, Nachan moved the Bombay High Court which asked him to surrender before police. He surrendered in April 2003. During the trial, prosecution examined 153 witnesses out of which many (from Padga turned hostile) while the defence examined 30 witnesses. The trial began in 2014, as earlier some of the accused had challenged POTA and had also challenged clubbing of the cases. Police sources said that the most important challenge for them during the trial was to trace the witnesses. "Since many slums were demolished the witnesses started staying somewhere else. If we would have gone to look for the witnesses as police officers we would have failed in tracing them so we decided to go there as LIC agents", said an officer. The officer said that posing as LIC agents they told the neighbours and other people that the witnesses had to receive some money from LIC. Reacting to the judgement, Salian said that she was happy that the victims got justice. "The witnesses in the case are responsible for the conviction. I am just a medium to put the case before the court", she added. Ten Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped in Philippine waters by Islamic militants who have demanded a ransom for their release, a minister said today. The crew were travelling on two boats that were transporting coal from Borneo island to the Philippines when they were hijacked, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. It is not clear when the vessels -- a tugboat and a barge -- were hijacked but the boats' owners received a ransom call from someone claiming to be from the Abu Sayyaf militant group on Saturday, she said. The Philippine military said they had heard reports the sailors may have been taken by an Abu Sayyaf faction to one of their hideouts in the conflict-wracked south, but were still working to get confirmation. Abu Sayyaf is a Philippines-based Islamist group notorious for bombings and kidnappings, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Their most recent high-profile kidnapping was of two Canadians and a Norwegian from yachts at a marina in September, with the militants setting an April deadline for millions of dollars in ransom money to be paid. In the latest case, Marsudi said the hijackers had contacted the boats' owners twice since Saturday and had sought a ransom, but refused to say how much was demanded. "Our priority is the safety of the 10 Indonesians who are being held hostage, we will keep working hard to save them," the minister told reporters, adding she had been in touch with her Philippine counterpart. It is unclear where the barge Anand 12 and the crew are being held by the kidnappers but the tugboat Brahma 12 had been released to the Philippine authorities, she said. Major General Demy Tejares, deputy commander of a task force overseeing southern islands in the Philippines, said authorities were working to confirm the kidnapping had occurred. He said initial information from sources on the ground indicated the sailors may have been taken by an Abu Sayyaf faction to Sulu, a remote island in the country's southwestern tip that is a hideout of the militant outfit. The government today allowed 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in the marketplace format of e-commerce retailing, a development that will give a boost to foreign firms like Amazon and Ebay as well as domestic players such as Flipkart and Snapdeal. As per the guidelines issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on FDI in e-commerce, foreign direct investment (FDI) has not been permitted in inventory-based model of e-commerce. DIPP in a Press Note said that e-commerce marketplace may provide support services to sellers in respect of warehousing, logistics, order fulfilment, call centre, payment collection and other services. However, such entities will not exercise ownership over the inventory. "Such an ownership over the inventory will render the business into inventory based model." As per the norms, an e-commerce firm will not be permitted to sell more than 25 per cent of total sales from one vendor or its group companies. "E-commerce entities providing marketplace will not directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods or services and shall maintain level playing field," the guidelines said. Commenting on the move, Snapdeal said the norms will provide clarity to India's fast growing e-commerce industry. "These guidelines recognise the transformative role that e-commerce marketplaces will play in the Indian market. It is a comprehensive announcement which will pave the way for accelerated growth of the sector in India," it said. Tax consultancy firm PwC said the cap of 25 per cent on sales by a vendor on marketplace will ensure a broadbasing of vendors for a true marketplace. "This may require some of the operators to go on drawing board to comply with the conditions," Akash Gupt, Partner and Leader Regulatory, PwC, said. "In order to provide clarity to the extant policy, guidelines for FDI on e-commerce sector have been formulated," DIPP said. The ecommerce industry has grown rapidly in India logging a growth rate of over 60 per cent. Studies have pegged the size of the industry at around USD 38 billion by 2016 and it is expected to touch USD 50 billion mark in 2020. (REOPEN DEL64) To bring clarity, the DIPP has also come out with the definition of 'e-commerce', 'inventory-based model' and 'marketplace model'. Marketplace model of e-commerce means providing of an IT platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital and electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller. The inventory-based model of e-commerce means an e-commerce activity where inventory of goods and services is owned by e-commerce entity and is sold to consumers directly, according to the guidelines. A marketplace entity will be permitted to enter into transactions with sellers registered on its platform on business-to-business basis, DIPP said. As per the guidelines, e-commerce means buying and selling of goods and services, including digital products over digital and electronic network. Digital and electronic network will include computers, TV channels and other Internet application used in automated manner such as web pages, extranets and mobiles. It also said that in marketplace model goods/services made available for sale electronically on website should clearly provide name, address and other contact details of the seller. "Post sales, delivery of goods to the customers and customers satisfaction will be responsibility of the seller," it said adding in marketplace model, payments for sale may be facilitated by the e-commerce entity in conformity with the RBI rules. In this model, any warrantee/guarantee of goods and services sold will be responsibility of the seller. Further the guideline said "subject to the conditions of FDI policy on services sector and applicable laws/regulations and other conditonalities, sale of services through e-commerce will be under automatic route". Currently, FDI upto 100 per cent under automatic route is permitted in business-to-business e-commerce but no FDI is allowed in B2C. However, FDI in B2C e-commerce is permitted in certain circumstances like a manufacturer is permitted to sell its product manufactured in India through e-retailing. A single brand retail trading entity operating through brick and mortar stores is allowed to undertake retail trading through online platforms. The new guidelines are expected to facilitate entry of foreign players into the booming Indian e-commerce industry. Chinese retailer Alibaba, which holds a significant stake in payment solutions provider Paytm, has already expressed interest to enter the Indian market. Also, the move would help domestic players tap investment easily. Clashes between arable farmers and nomadic herdsmen in northeast Ivory Coast have left 19 people dead, authorities announced today, raising an earlier estimate of last week's violence. "Calm has been restored, but the estimate is 19 dead including a police officer, 41 injured including two police officers," the country's social cohesion minister Mariatou Kone told AFP, revising the previous estimate of 17 deaths. It is thought that some of the victims were killed with machetes while others were burnt to death. The clashes in the city of Bouna also displaced 3,000 people from the herding community, mostly women and children, he said. "I call for calm and ask that the population does not take matters into its own hands," added Kone, who accused "bandits of profitting from the situation". Security sources have blamed heavily armed "Dozo" hunters of escalating the conflict, confirming that one of the group's leaders is being sought in connection with the violence. Violent disputes between nomadic herders and farmers over grazing and watering rights are not uncommon, but such a high death toll is rare. The farmers complain that their fields are ruined by the passage of herds of cattle. Around 900 defence and security personnel were deployed in Bouna to restore order following the clashes on Thursday. Local officials say two police officers have been killed during a street protest in the restive western Venezuelan town of San Cristobal. Authorities say the two were killed today amid a protest over a hike in public transportation fares in Tachira state. The Tachira Police announced on its Twitter account that officers Nicolle Perez, 21, and Otto Marquez, 25, were killed by a bus hijacked and later abandoned by the protesters. Four other police officers were seriously injured. Tachira Secretary of Public Security Ramon Cabeza told reporters that at least 31 people had been arrested during the protest. Protests in San Cristobal against the country's socialist administration two years ago helped spark a nationwide street protest movement. The town's mayor was imprisoned for his involvement. Three historysheeters, lodged in the central prison here in connection with various cases, have been detained under the stringent Goondas Act, police said today. Silambarasan, Manikandan and Vignesh were involved in a number of dacoity and robbery cases in the city and a total of nine cases were pending against them, a police release said. The trio had recently hurled country bombs at the entrance of the district court complex. In this background, Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan issued orders detaining the three under the Goondas Act. The detention orders were served on them in the prison, the release added. Four persons, including two women and a minor girl, were killed and several others injured in four separate mishaps in the district, police said today. In the first incident, 50-year-old Sarla Ben from Vadodara died when the autorickshaw she was travelling in collided with another three-wheeler coming from the opposite direction near Birla temple, they said. The husband of the deceased and another woman passenger have been admitted to hospital, police said, adding that the drivers of the two autorickshaws fled the spot. Also yesterday, a 30-year-old woman and her husband were killed when their motorcycle was hit by a van near Suraj village. Police said that 19-year-old Amit was killed near a college in Raya town yesterday when his motorcycle was hit by a brick-laden tractor. The truck driver fled after the accident, they added. The fourth mishap yesterday claimed the life of 13-year- old Kaushalya. The tempo she was travelling in was hit by a commercial vehicle near Gokul barrage here, police said. While the driver of the other vehicle fled the spot, the tempo driver has been hospitalised, they added. As many as 47 traffic signal points in the city will be upgraded with CCTV cameras within next two weeks, Commissioner of Police Amit Garg said. Inaugurating the Airlova Traffic Police Station at Hanumanthawaka Junction area here yesterday, the city police chief said as a part of smart policing and security action plan of Vizag, 128 surveillance cameras have been installed at 47 junctions. The installation has been done by Hyderabad-based private firm Stan Power on BOT basis and would set up another 130 CCTV cameras in the next phase at the 47 junctions to bring the city under the surveillance radar. Though the CCTV project was taken up in March, 2013, and was supposed to be complete by December in that year, it got delayed due to lack of co-ordination between the civic body GVMC and the firm. The destruction casued by cyclone Hudhud in October 2014, had also obstructed the work. Garg said that the camera network will comprise both fixed and PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras, and beside monitoring traffic, cameras will also supplement the surveillance network of the police. Currently, the police is monitoring traffic at few junctions in the city through the command control centre. A video wall with 130 monitors displaying the CCTV footage at various places in the city will be set up in the few weeks at the new police commissionerate building, he said. Speaking on the traffic management plan in AP's biggest city, Garg said that they have sent a recommendation for the creation of six more exclusive traffic police stations in addition to the existing seven. The senior official made it clear that the Airlova police station was not a full-fledged traffic police station, it was a traffic detachment of the PM Palem police station and was also not a part of the proposed six traffic police stations. The heavy evening downpour on Thursday left commuters stranded -- many without fuel and water -- on their way back home from Gurgaon till well past midnight. "In the last 17 hours, people have been waiting on the road, they have been sleeping on top of vehicles, some abandoned their vehicles and returned home," Surjewala said, and insisted that party was not poulticing the issue. Meanwhile, Gurgaon police said it will take sometime to clear the highway. "District authorities and our team were trying our best," it said. The traffic jams affected both flyovers and service lanes in Gurgaon as well as Rajeev Chowk, Sohna Road, Signature tower, Old Gurgaon, Khirki Daula toll plaza and Manesar from Jaipur to Gurgaon side. The Badshahpur Drain was overflowing on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway which led to the water logging. Some of the stranded commuters raised slogan's against Gurgaon Police and Municipal Corporation. Protesting against the "unprecedented situation" prevailing on the Hyderabad Central University campus, nearly 50 SC/ST faculty forum members today went on a one-day mass casual leave even as varsity authorities said the classes were functioning normally. About 50 faculty members of the HCU went on a mass casual leave in protest against the "unprecedented situation" prevailing on the campus arising out of a series of "human rights violations", following the protests by students on March 22 (the day Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile resumed his duty), said a release from convener, SC/ST Faculty Forum and Concerned Teachers. However, HCU Registrar M Sudhakar told PTI, "Classes are going on...They are functioning normally." On the one-day mass leave call given by some faculty members, the registrar said, "We have not officially received any letter from them." "The police resorted to an unwarranted and disproportionate show of force on the protesting students and neutral bystanders. Many students and two faculty members have been arrested and there is the threat of more arrests. An unwarranted beating up of the protesters continued even after their arrests," the release said. "Against all this and against continued denial of justice to Rohith Vemula and other suspended students, we, the SC/ST Faculty Forum and concerned faculty members of the University of Hyderabad, are going on a mass casual leave today," it said. The Joint Action Committee for Social Justice of HCU appealed to the students to use blue ribbons as a means of protest, declaration and reminder of the fact that "our fight is still on" while going about classes, labs and other activities. "We appeal to the students, faculty of University of Hyderabad, to resume their academic activities and classes alongside the protests," the JAC said. It also demanded the HCU administration to drop all charges and withdraw all cases filed against the students and faculty members. They further demanded immediate removal and arrest of Appa Rao under Prevention of Atrocities Act and demilitarisation of the campus and introduction of Rohith Act. A local court had yesterday granted bail to 25 students and two faculty members of HCU arrested in connection with violence on the campus on March 22. As many as 59 persons sentenced to life imprisonment were today released from the Warangal Central Prison for good conduct in jail. The Government has decided to release 70 life prisoners for good conduct. K Keshava Naidu, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, said of these 70, 59 were released today while the remaining 11 will be released after completion of procedure. Telangana Government recently directed release of the life prisoners who have behaved well during the imprisonment. Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain today said the AAP government is contemplating to extend the electricity amnesty programme 'Bijli Bill Vivad Samadhan Scheme' for another one month period, giving much relief to the eligible consumers who still haven't settled their bills. During the Question Hour in the Assembly, several AAP MLAs also accused distribution companies (discoms) of "harassing" consumers on account of dysfunctional power meters. Jain said the last date of 'Bijli Bill Vivad Samadhan Scheme' or electricity bill disputes redressal scheme is March 31. "We are trying to extend the scheme for yet another month so that people who have still not settled their power bills can do the same," Jain told the MLAs here. Former Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar, an MLA from Trinagar, flagged concern for a mechanism to prevent discoms from "cheating" power consumers. "People are being harassed by the discoms once their electricity meters stop working. There is a need for proper mechanism so that companies don't harass consumers," he said. Another AAP MLA Asim Khan said a person from his constituency recently came to his office and threatened suicide as he was shocked after receiving his power bill of Rs 2.5 lakh. "How can it be possible for a person whose salary is Rs 6,000 to clear his dues. Discoms are harassing people and government should do something for them," Khan said. Questioning West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's silence over the President's rule in Uttarakhand, state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury today said it only indicated TMC's desperation to appease Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP at the Centre. "When the entire country is speaking out against the Centre's arbitrary decision to topple a democratically-elected government and impose President's rule, the TMC has maintained a stoic silence. This only proves political match fixing between the two," Chowdhury told a press conference. He said the TMC was so "desperate" to save its back from corruption scandals that it chose to keep silent. "It was proved in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha too. In the Rajya Sabha, Narada sting issue was not sent to the ethics committee. In the Lok Sabha the issue was sent to the ethics committee, but there has been no progress over it," Chowdhury pointed out. He asserted that his party's alliance with the CPI-M was growing at a rapid pace and "it will grow into a cyclonic storm". Chowdhury said that if the alliance came to power, the government would move on the basis of the common minimum programme. While talking about two Kolkata police personnel trying to bribe BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha, Chowdhury said, "I have a feeling that it is a ploy by both the TMC and the BJP to help the BJP gain some sympathy votes which in turn will help the TMC in the polls. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court today dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking quashing of the report of justice (retd) Vishnu Sahai Commission on Muzaffarnagar communal riots of 2013 and a CBI probe into it. "The writ petition sans merit and is hereby rejected", a division bench of justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and justice Attau Rahman Masoodi said. The order came on a PIL filed by a local journalist Allama Zamir Naqvi, General Secretary of All India Muslim Council. The petitioner had sought a direction for quashing the report of the Commission that was appointed by Uttar Pradesh government to inquire, investigate and report on the Muzaffarnagar communal riots. The main ground of challenge was to the eligibility of Justice Vishnu Sahai, a retired Judge and former acting Chief Justice of the Allahabad high court, to chair the Commission due to the alleged disability under section 24(3) of Protection of Human Rights Act,1993. The petitioner's counsel Ashok Pandey urged that Justice Vishnu Sahai, who was a former member of UP Human Rights Commission (UPHRC), was ineligible for further employment under the state or central government. Therefore, the entire exercise undertaken by him to inquire into the Muzaffarnagar riots was without any authority. He further submitted that consequently, the report and its acceptance were illegal and therefore, the state government should be directed to appoint some other judge to head the Commission and to probe the riots or in the alternatve direct CBI to investigate the role of politicians and bureaucrats allegedly involved in the riots. The petition was opposed by the state contending that not only the inquiry was over and the report submitted but the same had also been accepted by both the Houses of the state Legislature and consequently, the Commission having became functus officio, and any challenge raised to it should not be entertained at this stage. It was also contended that the appointment of the Commission was made more than three years ago and no challenge having been raised and the Commission having completed its inquiry, the petition also suffers from laches (unreasonable delay in making an assertion or claim) and lack of bona fide. Hence, it was liable to be dismissed. After hearing the counsel for the two sides, the HC said that "the challenges raised at this belated stage to the eligibility of the Chairperson of the Commission does not deserve to be entertained." Regarding the plea for a CBI probe, the High Court said that in the absence of any proper material on record this relief cannot be considered in the wake of lack of essentials. With these observations, the High Court dismissed the PIL. Another piece of debris possibly from Malaysia Airlines plane has been found in South Africa, more than two years after the jet mysteriously disappeared during a routine flight over the Indian Ocean leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions. Malaysian authorities, however, said it was too early to know if the piece of debris belonged to . Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the piece was found yesterday and it was too early to ascertain if it was part of flight . "We first need to check if the debris belonged to a Boeing 777 plane," he said. The Boeing 777 jetliner vanished from radar screens en route to Beijing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 2014 with 239 people, including five Indians, aboard and has not been seen since. In July the following year, a part of the aircraft wing was found on La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. After almost two years' of searches and questions, a South African teenager and an American lawyer recently found debris on separate occasions off the coast of Mozambique, renewing hopes of solving the major aviation mystery. If confirmed, this would be the second piece of debris found in South Africa, following the recovery of an inlet cowling of an aircraft engine on March 22. This year, a total of five pieces of plane debris were retrieved from the La Reunion, Mozambique and South Africa. Australia is leading the underwater search effort to find the plane in the southern Indian Ocean. Families of those missing in the tragedy have been critical of Malaysia's handling of the probe and demanding clear answers to the mystery. Several of them recently sued Malaysia Airlines for damages. Andhra Pradesh government would make construct a B R Ambedkar Memorial, including a 125-feet tall statue of the architect of the Constitution, on a 15-acre site in the state's new capital Amaravati, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced in the Legislative Assembly today. Making a statement on the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar, Naidu said the proposed memorial would comprise a park, convention centre, Buddhist meditation hall and a library. The chief minister said a state-level committee under his chairmanship would be constituted to organise and monitor the year-long celebrations in honour of Ambedkar. He said his government would launch a massive weaker section housing programme to benefit six lakh families to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar on April 14. Committees under the chairmanship of the respective in-charge minister would be constituted at the district-level to conduct year-long programmes in connection with Ambedkar's anniversary, Naidu added. The chief minister also listed out the various initiatives launched by the state government for the welfare of SCs and STs. A sum of Rs 8,724 crore has been earmarked under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan while Rs 3,099 crore has been allotted for the Scheduled Tribes Sub-Plan, he said. "Despite the severe financial difficulties the state has been facing due to the unscientific bifurcation and the resultant revenue loss, my government has been spending highest amounts on welfare of SCs and STs through the sub-plans. "Dr Ambedkar's views have been the principle guide and motivation for my government in framing and implementing the welfare schemes," Naidu said. Tributes were paid to the two soldiers of the Army who were killed in an avalanche in Turtuk sector of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir. "Lance Havaldar Bhawan Tamang and Sepoy Sunil Rai, who were martyred during an avalanche in the Turtuk Sector of Ladakh on March 25, were accorded full military honours in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony held in Leh yesterday," an Army spokesman said. After the wreath-laying ceremony, the mortal remains of the soldiers were flown to their native places for funerals, the official said. Asking voters in Assam to reject BJP in the Assembly polls, Rahul Gandhi today said if it came to power, the state will be run from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur or the PMO. He also warned the people that BJP will only stoke violence in the state and end the atmosphere of peace ushered in by Congress. "We want everyone should think and should act for one's culture, language and that no one is suppressed in the country. What does BJP want in Assam. First they will come and ask for your votes and then Assam will not be run from here, but will be run from Nagpur or the Prime Minister's Office," he said addressing a poll rally here in Karbi district. Gandhi said wherever BJP has gone it has brought violence and has disturbed peace and cited the example of Haryana where within months of its coming to power there was violence between jats and non-jats. "The truth is wherever BJP goes, it tries to make people fight with each other. For example in Haryana, for 10 years there was peace and no violence or anger was there when Congress was in power, but within months of BJP coming to power there was violence and jats and non-jats are fighting with each other. "You have seen what has happened in Gujarat. In Bihar they tried to bring violence before polls and in Assam too they are trying to spread violence. They will end the peace that has come here after violence stopped. They don't think about you or Assam, they just want to impose one ideology and thought on the entire country, what RSS people say," he said. Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making false promises and said the people of Bihar have sent him packing in a "direct flight" from the state as he failed to fulfil any of the promises made to them during Lok Sabha polls. While BJP wanted one kind of thought to be imposed across the country it was Congress that took everyone along and did not want anyone to be suppressed irrespective of one's religion, caste or area, he said. "If one thought is imposed across the country, what will happen to your language, what will happen to your customs, your history. Because this country is not of anyone or one thought, but crores of people of different languages, history live here and this country belongs to all. Attacking the Prime Minister and asking people to reject BJP as they did in Bihar, Gandhi said, "the next time Modiji comes to Assam, ask him about the promises he made to you for bringing back black money, tackle price rise, funding of Assam and providing MSP for farmers, ask him as to which promise he has fulfilled. "Because this question was posed to him by people of Bihar, as he made a lot of promises during Lok Sabha polls and when he returned during assembly polls a few months later, people of Bihar asked about these promises none of which were honoured and said he is 'deceiver' and decided to teach him a lesson. They sent him packing to Delhi in a direct flight. Now people of Assam also have to do the same. Rahul accused Modi of not fulfilling his promises of bringing back black money, bringing down prices or addressing the plight of farmers and the poor and instead allowing people like Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi, who possessed black money, to escape from the country. "When I asked him in Parliament about his unfulfilled promises, he did not answer me," Gandhi said, asking people to pose these questions to Modi now when he comes to seek their votes. Rahul, however, made a host of promises himself from providing 10 lakh jobs to youth, filling up all vacant government posts, giving jobs to 2 lakh teachers, providing rice at Rs 2 a kilo, cold storage facilities and agriculture banks to farmers and housing for all. Apart from Rs 1,000 crore package announced by Tarun Gogoi, he also promised to open a medical, engineering and nursing college in the area. "We make promises and fulfil them. In the last 15 years, Congress party and Tarun Gogoi has worked for you and will work faster in the next 5 years. We will not leave behind anyone, be of any religion, caste or region or place and our government will be of all religions, castes and places and will take everyone along," he said. Bahrain today sentenced four people to life in prison and six others for up to 15 years for attacking police during a protest in a Shiite village, the prosecution said. The 10 defendants were found guilty of being behind "terrorist plots", detonating explosives and resisting police, the kingdom's public prosecution said in a statement. "Four were sentenced to life in prison, while the remaining defendants were jailed between three to 15 years," it said. The defendants were charged of detonating a roadside bomb when a police patrol passed in the village of Akr, south of Manama, in April 2014. Three police vehicles were damaged in the attack, the prosecution statement said. Bahrain has been shaken by unrest since it quelled a month-long Shiite-led uprising demanding reforms which erupted on February 14, 2011. Tiny but strategic, the kingdom is connected to regional Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia by a causeway, lies across the Gulf from Shiite Iran and is home to the US Fifth Fleet. Despite the crackdown on the 2011 uprising, protesters frequently attack police in Shiite villages outside the capital Manama. Under-fire Belgian authorities hunted a fugitive bomber today, a week after the attacks on the heart of Europe, as the city's airport warned it could take months to fully reopen despite holding a drill for a partial restart. As Brussels struggled to get back on its feet, criticism of Belgium's handling of the case mounted after the sole suspect to be charged over the metro and airport attacks was freed for lack of evidence linking him to the carnage. Prosecutors had charged the suspect, known as Faycal C, with "terrorist murder" and were investigating whether he was the third airport attacker who fled after his bomb did not detonate. With his release yesterday, the hunt was back on for the so-called "man in the hat" seen in CCTV footage next to the two Islamic State suicide bombers at Zaventem airport. The airport, closed since the blasts wrecked the departure hall, was readying to stage a test run today involving hundreds of volunteer staff to determine if it was ready to resume flights, albeit in a very limited capacity, tomorrow. A temporary check-in facility has been set up and passengers will be subject to extra security checks. Brussels Airport chief executive Arnaud Feist told L'Echo daily it could take "months" for the airport to be fully operational again. A total of 35 people died in the attacks at the airport and Maalbeek metro station and 340 were injured, 96 of whom remain in hospital. Many foreign nationals were among the victims, testament to the cosmopolitan nature of a city that is home to both the European Union and NATO. Nearly all the fatalities have now been identified. The Indian government today confirmed that a 31-year-old Indian man was on the metro train blown up by a suicide bomber. While Belgian authorities were quick to identify all three bombers, the inquiry has been dogged by accusations that Belgium missed a series of leads in cracking down on a jihadist network linked to the Brussels attacks as well as the November 13 Paris massacres that killed 130 people. Adding to the recriminations, Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur said he regretted the release of the man identified by Belgian media as Faycal Cheffou, who claimed to be a freelance journalist. Hinting at suspicions that the man was a jihadist recruiter, he told French media: "There is a very thin line between an agitated radical and a radical recruiter, and in this case the judge probably didn't want to cross that line." The man's lawyer Olivier Martins told RTBF television that his client was let go because he had an alibi. "He gave an alibi based on telephone analysis which showed that he was at home at the time of the attacks," Martins was quoted as saying. Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of conducting sting operations on opposition leaders to defame them ahead of assembly polls, the BJP today moved the Election Commission seeking removal of Kolkata Police Commissioner claiming he was snooping on politicians at the behest of the state government. A BJP delegation met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and handed over a memorandum against the TMC government and Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar. The BJP alleged that two persons approached former party state unit chief Rahul Sinha with an offer of money in exchange of help for cow smuggling across Bengal-Bangladesh Border. When an FIR was lodged against them at the behest of Sinha, the two were identified as Subasis Roy Chowdhury, a police ASI and Aminul Rahman, a constable from Special Branch of West Bengal Police. "This clearly appears to be a government sponsored conspiracy towards a failed sting operation to discredit BJP, their main opposition in the coming election. Apparently this heinous and reckless conspiracy was attempted by the ruling party to divert attention from Narada scam," the memorandum alleged. Dubbing the Kolkata Commissioner of Police as a "snooping cop" who conducts illegal surveillance on leaders, bureaucrats, journalists, activists under the directions of the CM, BJP said he was made CP just before election to "facilitate" the ruling party. "Free and fair poll is not possible in Kolkata if Rajeev Kumar remains as city police chief...Rajeev Kumar be removed with immediate effect and be dissociated from electoral processes altogether," the BJP said. Controversial BJP MP Vitthal Radadiya today "admitted" to kicking an elderly man during a music event recently but clarified that he did so to stop the man from "spreading superstition" even as he termed it as a "small incident". His clarification came days after a video purportedly showing the Porbandar MP kicking the man at the function, held at Jamkandorna town in Rajkot district, surfaced. The video showed agitated Radadiya approaching the man sitting in a makeshift tent at the folk music event and then kicking him even as the latter prayed to be spared. The video also showed Radadiya picking up the man's belongings and gesturing him to leave the spot. "That man was spreading superstition, as he was continuously shaking his head and body when artists were singing. His act also disturbed many others, including women, as they felt uncomfortable due to his weird acts," Radadiya said. He had earlier denied the attack. "I am told by the organisers that he has been living in the tent since last three-four days. To stop him from disturbing others through his strange acts, I kicked him first and asked the organisers to take him out. After he was taken away, people felt relieved. It was a small incident," he said. Though no FIR has been filed by the unidentified man against Radadiya, Rajkot police yesterday took the matter suo motu and started their investigation and sent the video for forensic analysis. Meanwhile, the Gujarat High Court today ordered an "independent investigation" by police into an alleged assault by Radadiya and others of a shop-owner at Dhoraji in Rajkot district last year. Radadiya, then a Congress MP, had rented out a shop at Dhoraji to Sharifbhai Shakariyana, a party worker. On October 12 last year, Radadiya and his men allegedly beat up Rajesh Mehta, who ran the shop on Shakariyana's behalf, to get it vacated. When Mehta approached the police, they only registered a non-cognisable offence and not an FIR. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta today criticised Delhi government for its decision to impose tax on textile. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in his budget speech yesterday, proposed a VAT of 5 per cent on all textiles. "This proposal, if passed, will impact the most economically vulnerable section of the citizenry," Gupta said. The Opposition leader claimed that no other state in the country had imposed a tax on something as basic as cloth. "If this proposal is passed, even the cerement to cover the dead would be taxed. Not only the consumers but also the small and medium traders would be deeply impacted, as this would make Delhi a more expensive market as compared to other states and totally destroy the textile trade in the capital region," the BJP leader said. Gupta warned the Delhi government that if this tax proposal is not withdrawn, he would launch a state-wide agitation against the move. Hollywood star Brad Pitt reportedly wants Cara Delevingne for the lead role in "World War Z 2". According to Radar online, the 52-year-old actor has offered the "Paper Towns" actress the film. "Brad thinks Cara's talents haven't been explored properly and he wants to take her under his wing," a source said. "He's hoping she might sign an ongoing deal with his company." Cara, 23, reportedly declined the "World War Z" sequel offer. She "can't do it because of schedule conflicts." Following her roles in "Paper Towns" and "Pan", Cara will next be seen in "Suicide Squad" and Luc Besson's "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Islands". Brad, meanwhile, will be seen in upcoming comedy war film "War Machine". Brazil's embattled President has cancelled a trip to attend a summit in Washington this week, a state-run news agency has reported. Rousseff had been due to visit the US tomorrow and Friday. Her government is in crisis after the main coalition partner went into opposition. Agencia Brasil yesterday confirmed media reports that the trip has been scrapped. A government source said that given Rousseff's troubles in the capital Brasilia, "she shouldn't go." Earlier yesterday, the PMDB party quit the governing coalition, leaving Rousseff ever shorter of allies in Congress as she tries to fight off an impeachment process. A political crisis gripping Brazil will deepen if a major ally quits President Dilma Rousseff's governing coalition, as expected, a top Brazilian judge said today. Brazil will become harder to run if the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party confirms later Tuesday it is withdrawing its support for Rousseff's troubled administration, Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes said. "The government's support base will become even narrower, and the political crisis will obviously worsen" if the ally walks out, Mendes told reporters during a visit to Lisbon, Portugal. Mendes recently blocked former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's nomination to a Cabinet post due to ongoing corruption investigations, though that decision is under appeal. Rousseff had sought to shore up her government by bringing in Lula. Mendes is attending a three-day legal conference in Lisbon, which began today, and includes participants seen as opponents of Rousseff. Senator Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in the 2014 presidential runoff, is scheduled to speak Thursday. About 50 people, mostly Brazilians, protested outside the event at Lisbon University's Law Faculty against moves to impeach Rousseff amid a huge kickback scandal involving her Workers Party. They called the impeachment an attempted coup and jeered Brazilian Senator Jose Serra, one of Rousseff's opponents, as he entered the building. There was no concept of nationalism in India according to work done by British historians and they along with Marxists chroniclers "competed" to indulge in character assassination of Indian leaders, historian Satish Chandra Mittal today claimed. "Cambridge historians opine that there was no idea of existence of nationalism in India and that the concept of nationalism was European which developed during the 19th century during the British rule in India," he said. Speaking at the Foundation Day lecture of Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) themed 'Interpreting the Indian National Movement', Mittal said it was difficult to have a correct picture of the historical facts. He said the concept of nationalism existed in vedic literature and in modern times, with leaders like Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak and Vivekananda propagating the idea of nationalism. However, the British historians failed to take a note of it. Mittal, a former professor of history at the Kurukshetra University said British historians failed to understand the Indian or eastern concept of nationalism. Citing the example of Grant Duff, a Resident Officer of the Satara kingdom and author of 'A History of the Mahrattas', Mittal said historians have written good things about the province, or a region where they resided or were affiliated to but had no good things to say about overall India. "Some aspects are common between British and Marxist historians. They competed with each other to indulge in character assassination of Indian freedom leaders. Both are not interested in giving any Indian his due place. "The (pre-independence) Marxists (historians) had condemned the freedom movement. The stance of communists during the era of Stalin was bitter towards Gandhiji, but during the era of Nikita (Khrushchev) it changed. After criticism, EMS Namboodiripad (first elected Communist Chief Minister of Kerala) later wrote that Gandhi was greater than his (Gandhi)ism," Mittal said. He also emphasised on the need to approach Indian history in a more "Indo-centric" rather than "European centric" manner. Brussels Airlines, Belgium's top carrier, said today it was facing its "biggest crisis" ever as last week's airport bomb attacks cost it five million euros a day in lost business. Two Islamic State suicide bombers blew themselves up at Zaventem airport on March 22, with authorities warning it will take months to restore normal services although some flights may be able to start Wednesday if tests of temporary facilities go well. "We are going through the biggest crisis of our history," Brussels Airlines spokeswoman Wenke Lemmes told AFP as the company waited anxiously for from the airport. Lemmes said that only 20 of the airline's 50 aircraft were currently operating and it was carrying just 5,000-6,000 passengers compared with more than 22,000 on a normal day. "We are losing about five million euros (USD 5.5 million) a day but we remain optimistic. Once we get back to full service, the passengers should come back," she said. Brussels airport is a major European hub and has flights to destinations worldwide. Chief executive Arnaud Feist warned today that even if all the tests went well, "at best" about 20 per cent of services might be restored tomorrow. For a full return to normal, "we will have to wait for months," Feist told L'Echo daily. Brussels Airlines was formed in 2002 after the collapse of Belgian national carrier Sabena but it has struggled to establish itself and after years of losses only returned to profit in 2015. Germany's Lufthansa holds 45 percent of the airline and, after the bomb attacks, Brussels Airlines transferred some aircraft to German airports. Other airlines switched to regional airports in Belgium or transferred to neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands and Germany. A former Canadian engineering student detained over fears he might commit a terrorist act was formally charged today with participating in the activities of a terrorist group. Kevin Omar Mohamed, 23, appeared briefly in a Toronto area court to face the charge, which was in addition to two weapons offenses laid by federal police when he was arrested last week in possession of a knife. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said he had travelled to Turkey on or around April 24, 2014 to join Jabhat Al-Nusra, a group banned in Canada and affiliated with Al-Qaeda. He flew back to Canada a month later. The RCMP had initially sought a court order against Mohamed requiring him to be on good behavior under a controversial law aimed at preventing attacks and stopping people from travelling abroad to join extremist groups. "While there was no indication of any plans for a domestic attack, we must remain committed to preventing individuals from traveling abroad to gain training and expertise that could be used in the planning and implementation of future attacks on Canadian soil," RCMP Superintendent Lise Crouch was quoted as saying after the arrest. About 60 Canadians who traveled abroad to join terror groups are now back in the country, and another 180 are estimated to be overseas engaged with extremists, Canada's spy chief Michel Coulombe told a newspaper last month. Central trade unions will tomorrow announce one-day nationwide strike on September 2 to protest against government's unilateral labour reforms and "anti-workers" policies. However, the RSS-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has decided to opt out of the proposed strike on September 2. "The central trade unions have reached a consensus to go on a day-long nationwide general strike on September 2, 2016 to protest against government's unilateral labour reforms and anti-worker policies," a source said. The source, however, said, "BMS will not participate in the strike and thus will not sign the joint declaration to be unveiled at the National Convention of Central Trade Unions tomorrow." The unions had gone on a strike on September 2 last year also to protest against the amendments in labour laws by the Centre as well as state governments, saying their 12-point charter of demands was not paid heed. The leaders of the central trade unions including INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, UTUC and LPF would participate in their national convention tomorrow. Unions have been opposing certain proposed labour law amendments which allow hire and fire, make it tougher to make labour unions and dilute existing social security net available to the workers at different fora. Under the proposed Industrial Relations Code Bill 2015, the employers with up to 300 workers would not require government permission for retrenchment, lay off and closure. Similarly, there is small factories bill which seek to exempt units with less than 40 workers from 14 labour laws. These units will be able to buy provident fund and health insurance products for their workers from open market. Thus they would not be requried to subscribe to social security schemes run by EPFO and ESIC. Last year, the government had formed an inter-ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to hold "threadbare discussions" with representatives of unions on their 10-point charter of demands and other issues raised for recommending measures to address those issues. However, after few rounds of meeting with the trade unions to resolve issues, the panel has not discussed any issue with them after September 2 strike last year. The ten unions to meet tomorrow, claim a combined membership of 15 crore workers in public as well as private sector enterprises including banks and insurance companies. The Centre cannot shy from its obligations relating to Delhi's municipal corporations, AAP government told the High Court here today, even as the civic bodies claimed that funds were not being released by the state. The municipal corporations told a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath that barring some employees of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), all others have been paid salary for the month of February. They alleged that Delhi government was "playing hide and seek" and holding up the finance despite knowing everything. To this, the bench observed "the issue is that the corporations say they have no funds and Delhi government says they have released the funds. This is the issue which requires consideration by us." The counsel appearing for the employees union referred to the supplementary affidavit filed by Delhi government and claimed that it showed that they were holding the funds. "They (Delhi government) say they have accepted the recommendations of the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission. The Centre has nothing to do with this," the counsel said. The Commission's report recommends measures to improve the financial health of the three municipal bodies. Countering the submissions, senior standing counsel of Delhi Government Rahul Mehra said, "Central Government has everything to do with this. ... Yesterday, the Delhi budget has been passed. Rs 1,000 crore extra amount has been allocated only for corporation matters." The bench then asked him, "The petitioners are saying that you have not implemented the report of 4th Delhi Finance Commission. Why have you not implemented it?" Responding to this, Mehra said "There is a problem. The report (of Fourth Delhi Finance Commission) has been passed by the Delhi assembly. The Centre cannot say they do not have any obligation. They cannot shy away from their obligations". At this juncture, the bench said, "Sorry, this is not the way. We cannot appreciate this. You are a state." The bench then asked Delhi government and other parties to file their affidavits on the issue and posted the matter for further hearing on April 7. At the fag end of the hearing, the court was informed that salaries of doctors of EDMC for the month of February have not been paid. However, the court said it will consider the issue on the next date of hearing. The bench had on March 21 asked the municipal corporations to ensure payment of salaries to all employees for the month of February by today. Earlier, a PIL by one Birender Sangwan had sought lifting of garbage littered on streets due to safai karamchaaris' strike in January and that the stir be called off as it was causing hardship to public. The employees had called of the strike after their salaries till the month of January 2016 were paid. Another petition filed by D P Chandel, President of Indian National Trade Union Congress, had sought directions to Delhi government and EDMC to release arrears as per the 6th Pay Commission to employees of the civic body. The plea, also by Rakesh Vaid, its General Secretary, has sought release of salaries in the first week of each month. In January end, another petitioner Rahul Birla had moved the court when safai karamchaaris had gone on strike, claiming that the authorities were not paying salaries and arrears since 2003 to the MCD workers. He had said that workers of North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations had gone on strike in 2015 too leading to "accumulation of garbage for number of days at different places which made the lives of people pathetic and miserable". Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand, alleging the Centre will attempt to "destabilise" the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh governments. He also attacked Modi for allowing the visit of the Pakistani JIT to probe the Pathankot terror attack and went on to suggest that the "overture" of the Prime Minister toward Pakistan was aimed at securing a "Noble Peace Prize". The imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand amounted to "murder" of "Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution", Kejriwal said, adding he was aware of plans to destabilise the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh governments. Decrying "horse-trading" in Uttarakhand, he dared BJP to "buy" even a single AAP MLA. "An IB officer told me that one big industrialist has been entrusted with buying AAP MLAs," Kejriwal alleged. "BJP knows that it will not win a single election in the next two years so it has resorted to goondagardi. They will try it in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi next. In Delhi, they plan to suspend 21 MLAs first and then attempt to buy 23 more," Kejriwal alleged. Speaking in the Delhi Assembly, Kerjriwal repeatedly questioned the visit of the Pakistani JIT to probe the Pathankot terror attack and alleged that Centre's decision may have been influenced by a "deal" struck between Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. "Why is the Prime Minister allowing this? Some say that he wants the Nobel Peace Prize or wants to please the United States. The country wants to know the deal struck between Modi and Sharif during the Lahore stopover. "The PM has embraced Pakistan that is behind the terror attacks on India that have taken countless lives. Ask the family members of Pathankot martrys how they are feeling about the government's move," Kejriwal said. He also asked why CBI was not tasked with probing the attacks "instead of ISI" if it could conduct raids at the Delhi Secretariat. "Indian agencies should have been given the opportunity to question Hafiz Saeed or Salauddin instead," he said. (REOPEN DES 29) Interestingly, in his audio message released earlier in the day, Kejriwal said he would expose conspiracy against him, his Cabinet colleagues and AAP legislators in the Assembly tomorrow. Without naming the Centre and Police, Kejriwal said, "They are sending your MLAs to jail in false cases. Courts have also reprimanded them why they are filing false cases against them. Why are they doing? "There is a very big conspiracy behind this. I will expose this conspiracy tomorrow in the Delhi Assembly tomorrow. I hope all TV channels will telecast it." The Delhi CM said that they are creating hurdles in every work of the AAP government. "The Delhi government is doing a good work. Not only in India, it's work are being appreciated across the world. In Delhi, there has been cheap electricity. In the last one year, we have laid water pipelines in 263 colonies. "Besides, school education system is being overhauled and there is free medicines and tests in government hospitals. We are yet to do a lot of works, but they are creating hurdles in our every work," he also said. On several occasions, Kejriwal in the past had accused the Centre of creating hurdles in the functioning of Delhi government. Police suspect that Delhi-based pub owner Nitin Chawla, who has been arrested for domestic violence and dowry death after his socialite wife allegedly committed suicide, hid details of his life from her, including about a rape case he was facing, when they married in January. Police which is digging into his background have indicated that he may be slapped with few other charges. The police have come across a rape case against Chawla (38) registered in Mumbai around three years ago, about which Chawla had suspectedly not mentioned to his wife Priyanka Kapoor (25) before marriage, a senior police official said today. Kapoor's relatives told police that they got to know about the matter weeks after their marriage on January 6. Delhi Police have written to their counterparts in Mumbai seeking details on the progress of the case, with regard to which Chawla had got bail from a city court there in 2014, the official said. In the case, the complainant had told police that in 2011 she met Chawla at a nightclub in Delhi, following which Chawla allegedly raped her over a period of time on the pretext of marriage, never disclosing his marital status until the complainant came to know about it on her own. Chawla, who is suspected to have got the woman's admission done at an institute in Mumbai, also allegedly forged her signature and issued cheques on her bank account. Mumbai Police is learnt to have registered a case on the basis of the complaint and arrested Chawla in 2013, the official said. Thorough background details of an accused is necessary for filing a water-tight chargesheet in any case, he said. On the wee hours of Saturday, socialite and entrepreneur Priyanka Kapoor was found dead at her apartment in south Delhi's Defence Colony area. She allegedly hanged herself from a ceiling fan, leaving behind a suicide note. Chawla married Kapoor on January 6 around a month after he divorced his first wife, with whom he has a son (10) and a daughter (8). It is also suspected that Chawla did not tell Priyanka about the custody of his son, which led to a dispute between the couple after their marriage. The last dispute between Chawla and Kapoor is also suspected to have occurred because of the former's son being home during Holi, the official said. Since a day prior to the festival, Priyanka had stopped taking calls following which her mother went to check on her on late Friday night and raised an alarm when nobody opened the door for a long time. With further investigation, it also emerged that Chawla and his relatives allegedly used to torture Kapoor for a car, they allegedly demanded from the woman's family after marriage, the official said. "In view of all these allegations, more sections under provision of IPC and Dowry Prohibition Act are likely to be added in the FIR," the official added. During investigation of the case, the police have so far come across allegations and counter-allegations regarding the cause of dispute between Chawla and his wife. Chawla during interrogation has alleged that his wife was alcoholic and led a lifestyle too lavish for his income. He even suspected her of being involved in an extra-marital affair and told police that she had once gone missing -- and later found in a hotel with a male friend -- earlier, the official said. However, Kapoor's relatives have alleged that their daughter was the one cheated on. She was fed up of Chawla's extravagant lifestyle and is believed to have told her parents that Chawla had even not paid the rent of the Defence Colony house for past two months, the official said. In her suicide note, Kapoor clearly stated that Chawla allegedly used to harass and torture her. She mentioned about physical abuse and how Chawla had allegedly forced her to snap all ties not only with her social cirle but also her own family. In the two-page note, she went on to say that marrying Chawla was the biggest mistake of her life, the official added. A Chinese steel company has defaulted on an 852 million yuan (USD 131 million) bond payment, days after its chairman was found dead in an apparent suicide. Dongbei Special Steel Group Co. Said late yesterday it was unable to pay the interest or principal due on a one-year bond, while another 1.01 billion yuan on a shorter-term bill due next week was also "uncertain". The company said last week that its chairman and Communist Party chief Yang Hua had been found hanged at his residence in a case now under investigation. The company statement has since been removed from its website. As China's growth slows to its weakest level in 25 years, the country has been hit by a series of corporate defaults. The steel sector, already burdened by overcapacity, has been especially hurt as demand slows. State-owned Dongbei Special Steel, headquartered in the northeastern city of Dalian, makes different types of steel including products for the automotive industry. China makes more steel than the rest of the world combined, and the government plans cuts of up to 150 million tonnes in production capacity over five years. One of China's largest steelmakers, state-owned Wuhan Iron and Steel, plans to shed up to 50,000 jobs, as the government struggles to reduce overcapacity while growth in the world's second-largest economy slows. In April last year power equipment maker Baoding Tianwei Group Co. Failed to make a coupon payment of 85.5 million yuan, in what was said to be the first bond default by a state-owned firm. Also last year privately-owned technology firm Cloud Live Tech Group was unable to pay both principal and interest on a five-year, 480 million yuan bond issue sold in 2012. China has announced a five-year campaign to crackdown on graft in poverty relief work amid sharp rise of corruption in such programmes aimed at uplifting over 70 million people languishing below the poverty line. Duty crimes are the most recent area to be scrutinised by anti-graft authorities as inconsistencies have been flagged in poverty relief budgets, official media reported today. In the past three years, prosecutors have investigated 2,295 officials who managed poverty alleviation, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said. The number of officials implicated in abuse of finances for poverty relief in the past three years accounted for 1.4 per cent of the total duty crimes during the same period, the SPP said. The sharp rise of corruption in poverty alleviation is due to a high number of poverty relief projects and funds involved as well as lax supervision, an unidentified official with the anti-corruption bureau under the SPP was quoted by the state-run Xinhua agency as saying. Investigations by the SPP show that officials at county, township and village level are most likely to be involved in duty crimes, spanning bribery, embezzlement, speculation, abuse of power and dereliction of duty. Chinese officials say more than 600millionpeople have been lifted out ofpoverty, accounting for about 70 per cent of those brought out ofpovertyworldwide. Despite this, China still had 70.17millionpeople in the countryside living below the country'spovertyline of 2,300 yuan (USD 376) in annual income at the end of last year, according to the figures released last year by theState Council Leading Group Office ofPovertyAlleviation and Development of China. Most of the poor lived in remote areas and the government has announced plans to lift them above poverty line by 2020. SPP said prosecutors will improve the investigation of misuse of funds for relocation, ecological protection, education and medical insurance and rural living allowances. Officials who are in charge of traffic management, hydropower and electric power infrastructure and renovation in rural areas will also be targeted in the anti-graft campaign. Moreover, an information sharing system will be set up to ensure all poverty alleviation funds are used effectively and transparently, the SPP said, adding that officials will receive training to increase their legal awareness. The prevention of duty crimes in poverty relief is a vital measure to poverty alleviation efforts as well as a major responsibility of prosecutors, SPP said. The detained relatives of an outspoken Chinese dissident living abroad committed arson, according to police, after being held in what is widely seen as a crackdown following the publication of a letter condemning President Xi Jinping. Authorities in Sichuan province said on a verified social media account that German-based journalist Chang Ping's father and two younger brothers were being investigated for causing a forest fire after lighting incense as part of an ancestor worship ceremony. "The Xichong Public Security Bureau has opened an investigation in accordance with the law into Zhang and his two sons," said the statement posted on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. Zhang, who was only referred to by his surname, was identified as Chang's father. They are accused of burning down about 40 mu (2.6 hectares, 6.4 acres) of forest in a fire that took roughly an hour to extinguish, the police said. Writer Chang -- whose given name is Zhang Ping -- had previously said authorities detained his two younger brothers and a younger sister in connection with suspicions that he had been involved in writing an anonymous letter calling on Xi to step down for the good of the country. Chinese authorities have detained several people in what appears to be a reaction the letter, which was attributed to "Loyal Communist Party Members" and appeared on Wujie News, a state-backed website, before it was deleted. Those held include a number of staff members at Wujie, who went missing around two weeks ago. Last week, New York-based writer Wen Yunchao said officials in the southern province of Guangdong had taken away three of his family members. Chang and Wen have both denied any connection to the letter. Chang, a prominent commentator on contemporary affairs, was formerly a senior journalist at the outspoken Southern Weekend newspaper but moved to Germany after coming under sustained pressure for advocating more government openness and accountability. The police statement did not mention his sister. Sichuan police also accused foreign media of "hyping" the detentions, a common government refrain when officials are displeased with media attention. Media criticism of top leaders is almost unheard of in China, where the press is strictly controlled by the ruling Communist Party. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today suggested an annual health check-up facility for MLAs, while condoling the death of legislator Sajjan Singh Uike in the state Assembly. The House was later adjourned for the day after paying homage to Uike and two other former members. The 54-year-old MLA from Ghodadongri in Betul district died of diabetes-related complications last week. The legislator had put his service to the people first and used to address their problems till two in the night. In the process, Uike overlooked his health, Chouhan said. "There should be an annual medical check-up facility for the members of the Assembly," he suggested the Chair. Acting Leader of Opposition Bala Bachchan also seconded Chouhan's suggestion. "We are losing our colleagues who remain engrossed in people's welfare and neglect their health," he said. The CM also condoled the death of former members of the House, Abdul Ghayoor Quershi and Jhumklal Bhedia, who later became members of Rajya Sabha. Chouhan said that former MP High Court Judge Quershi and ex-state minister Bhedia worked for the well-being of the downtrodden. Assembly Speaker Sitasaran Sharma led the House in observing two minutes silence and thereafter adjourned it till tomorrow, as a mark of respect to the departed souls. A group of lawmakers has asked the government to make some crucial policy changes in existing schemes to facilitate low carbon development work in their constituencies and said India's ambitious target of low carbon emissions can be met by local area actions by MPs. MPs and MLAs under the Climate Parliament network urged the Centre to make changes in MPLAD and Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana to facilitate low carbon development works in their constituencies. They also demanded establishment of "Legislator Support Cell" within the Environment New and Renewable Energy Ministry for continued support to legislators in this sphere. Climate Parliament is an international cross-party network of legislators dedicated to preventing climate change and promoting renewable energy and supports lawmakers to undertake initiatives at national and regional levels to help accelerate the global renewable switch. Karanataka MP Prahlad Joshi and MLA Arvind Bellad and Odisha MP Kalikesh Singh Deo, on behalf of the Climate Parliament, have also written a letter to Ministers of Power, Coal and Renewable Energy and Rural Development as well as to the Speaker and Chairman of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha regarding the issue. "India's ambitious targets at the COP21 Paris Agreement can be met by local area actions by the MPs and MLAs. The MPs and MLA have asked the government to make some important policy changes in the existing government schemes," they said. They also demanded establishment of a "Legislator Support Cell" within the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy or the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for continued support to legislators in this sphere, a Climate Parliament statement said. "The letter also suggests that financing, lack of adequate information, capacity and training locally as well as certain administrative barriers are some of the major issues affecting the low carbon development works," the statement said. In both Dharwad (Karnataka) and Balangir (Odisha), the MPs and MLAs are in the process of implementing solar power digital education, basic home lighting and drinking water pumps, household biogas units and transforming an entire village into a "solar village". To meet the funding requirements sources such as CSR, MPLAD and soft loans are being actively explored while partnership with leading organizations are also being explored, the statement said. Opposition Congress and BJP today demanded action against a senior officer who allegedly abated a farmer to commit suicide in Bolangir district on March 21. Nadighosh Barik, a resident of Harabhanga village under Loisinga police station, committed suicide by hanging from a tree on March 21 after being allegedly harassed by the Bolangir district sub-collector, leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra said. The farmer had lost his crop in three acres due to severe hailstorm on March 18, he added. The issue was raised in the Assembly during zero hour by Mishra who also hails from Bolangir district. "I have visited the farmer's family. His brother has filed an FIR at Loisinga police station holding the district collector, sub-collector and the Chief minister responsible for Barik's death," Mishra said. Quoting the victim's brother Kartik Barik's FIR at Loisinga police station lodged on March 22, Mishra said Barik and some other farmers had met local tehsildar and BDO seeking assistance for the crop loss due to hailstorm. Since the two officers did not give any assurance to them, the farmers went to the district headquarters town of Bolangir and tried to meet the district collector. As the district collector was not available at that time, they met the sub-collector, the Congress leader said. "The sub-collector had insulted my brother and instigated him to do whatever (suicide) he likes. He also said that farmers do not commit suicide over loss due to hailstorm," Mishra said quoting from Barik's FIR copy. Alleging that the officer abated the farmer to commit suicide, he sought to know the action taken by the police on the basis of the FIR. Congress Chief Whip Taraprasad Bahinipati demanded that the officer be arrested. Senior BJP member and former minister K V Singhdeo also demanded action against the officer. Congress today denounced the Union government's policy for the rubber sector, saying India has become a "large" importer of natural rubber due to poor investments in the Rubber Board. "Due to poor investments in the Rubber Board, India has become a large importer of natural rubber today," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said. Criticising the Union government for not appointing a full time Board chairman, Ramesh, who was Minister of State for Commerce in the UPA I government, said it is a statutory requirement that the Board meet at least twice a year. "But for more than 18 months, there has been no Board. The post of Chairman has been lying vacant since August 2014. There is no full time secretary or head for the extension department in the Rubber Board. The Tea Board and Coffee Board also do not have a full time chairman now," he said in a statement. Noting that more than 85 per cent of natural rubber produced in India comes from Kerala, where it contributes upto 45 per cent of the state's agrarian GDP, he urged the government to immediately suspend issue of Advance Licence for importing natural rubber to India with a provision to supply natural rubber to importers at estimated international prices. "However, quality of processed forms of rubber offered to importers should be ensured," he said. Ramesh said that in 1997-2002, State Trading Corporation had procured rubber from the local market and supplied to Advance Licence holders at international/discounted prices. Urging the Centre to support viable rubber procurement initiatives of the state government, he said they should revise price stabilization scheme and implement a crop insurance scheme to cover losses due to natural calamities and diseases and fall in prices beyond a defined reference price. He said the cess collected on rubber should be paid back to the Board in addition to the approved plan funds. "The approved outlay for 12th Plan Scheme of Rubber Board 'Sustainable and inclusive development of natural rubber sector' is unrealistically low at Rs 960 crore," he said. "Even this is being cut back now which will seriously affect our production paving way for more imports of rubber," he added. Falling prices of rubber is a major election issue in central Kerala districts -- a traditional support base of the Congress-led UDF in the state. Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh was today suspended from Maharashtra Assembly for a day after he spurned the Chair's directions not to throw paper waste in the House. Shaikh, who represents Malad West Assembly constituency, was protesting against the alleged 'purification' of a lake in Mahad by a Shiv Sena MLA. He was tearing bits of paper and throwing them in the House. Yogesh Sagar, who was in the Chair, objected to this and asked Shaikh to desist from throwing 'kachra' (trash) in the House. When Shaikh did not budge, Sagar announced that the Congress MLA was suspended for a day. A high-level Congress delegation today met President Pranab Mukherjee and sought his intervention to protect the duly-elected non-BJP governments in states, alleging that after Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand party dispensations there could be targeted. The delegation led by Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and comprising among others former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, brought up the issue when they called on Mukherjee over the situation in Hyderabad Central University in the wake of suicide by Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. A senior party leader, who was in the delegation, said the President was apprised of the apprehension about Congress governments in other states being targeted by the Modi government. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who has accused the Modi dispensation of trying to "destabilise and topple" his government by using central agencies, had yesterday met Congress President Sonia Gandhi against the backdrop of imposition of President's Rule in party-ruled Uttarakhand. The Congress delegation's meeting with the President came on a day when Uttarakhand High Court ordered a floor test in the state Assembly on March 31. In a memoraundum on the HCU issue, the delegation demanded immediate suspension of Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao, pending inquiry into his role in Vemula's suicide as also the recent "illegal" crackdown on students. This, they said, was necessary in the best academic interest and important for restoring a peaceful environment at University and for ensuring a fair investigation. President is the Visitor of the University. "A reign of terror, in total disregard to laid down principles of natural justice and basic rights to freedom, has been let loose by the University administration, which has converted this institution of learning into a locked up and opaque concentration camp, where police atrocities on students and faculty reminds one of the crackdowns undertaken by colonial rulers," it alleged. The delegation also demanded that Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya, who were alleged to have put pressure on HCU authorities to act against Dalit students, including Vemula, be asked to step down till the inquiry has been completed. The delegation also included Shiela Dikshit, Anand Sharma, Randeep Surjewala, R P N Singh and Rajeev Satav. He had his first brush with elections in 1962, but was unsuccessful. Now after 52 years and 10 stints as a Congress MLA, Gyan Singh Sohan Pal still has the yen to fight another poll battle. As the eldest candidate in this Assembly poll at the age of 91, Pal, fondly called 'Chacha' by his admirers, is a candidate from IIT town Kharagpur which has returned him consecutive times. "Each and every one in Kharagpur knows me personally and I too know them personally," Pal told PTI. Kharagpur, which has a sizeable chunk of Muslim and Malayali voters, has traditionally rooted for him. The formidable Congress candidate, who enjoys immense respect among politicians cutting across political lines, was first elected from the constituency in 1969. This time, the former transport minister in Siddharth Shankar Ray cabinet is contesting as a Left Front-Congress alliance candidate against Trinamool Congress's Ramaprasad Tiwari and BJP's state president Dilip Ghosh. Both TMC and BJP are hopeful of reversing the tide this time. "I am a son of this district. Kharagpur has not seen much of development under Congress. We want to change it and usher a new era of development in Kharagpur," Ghosh said. The Trinamool Congress, on the other hand, is stressing on the 'unprincipled' character of the alliance between the CPI-M and the Congress to win the election. "There is no place of emotions in politics. The people of Kharagpur will defeat the unholy alliance of Congress and CPI-M. The Congress workers who have been beaten up time and again by the CPI-M will not vote for alliance. We will get those votes," a senior TMC leader of the West Midnapore district said. The Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, K Rajendra Kumar today stressed on coordination between various security agencies to strengthen the intelligence network and thwart the nefarious designs of anti-national elements. "Discussing border management, DGP stressed on coordinated efforts with other security agencies to strengthen the intelligence network to curb anti-national activities and ensure security of the people," an official spokesman said. The DGP said the synergy among the agencies at different levels should be reviewed randomly and input sharing ensured to take preventive measures and foil the sinister designs of such elements. Kumar made a surprise visit to Akhnoor area today and inspected police stations and police posts there, the spokesman said. He checked the police records and discussed various issues relating to welfare of police personnel and border management. The top cop asked the field officers to be more dedicated towards professional duties and ensure safety, security of the people. "People's cooperation has been paying good dividends in making our efforts more innovative and fruitful. Quick response to their problems strengthens our relations and it is the responsibility of supervisory officers to review these relations from time to time and ensure that the grievances are addressed genuinely," the DGP added. Police teams were rushed to a village in Kutch district bordering Pakistan after satellite phone signals were traced there by security agencies, police said today. However, nothing suspicious was found in the search undertaken by two special teams of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Kutch police, they said. "We received a message from state intelligence officials that satellite phone signals were traced to a village in a notified area of Kutch district bordering Pakistan on Sunday night. We asked the SOG to investigate and two teams were rushed to the spot yesterday. But nothing suspicious was found," said Border Range DIG AK Jadeja. Signals were traced to Siyot village in the Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district, which falls under the notified zone -- or areas adjoining the Indo-Pakistan border with restrictions on the movement of outsiders. Police were asked to scan the area based on the coordinates provided by the security agencies. The sparsely-populated village where the signals were traced is situated some 50-60km away from the border and is under constant monitoring by security agencies. Senior police officials said while satellite phone signals are not unusual in these areas -- they sometimes are sent out by aeroplanes flying overhead or from ships docked at nearby Kandla port -- the matter is being taken seriously given security alerts issued by the Intelligence Bureau regarding entry of terrorists from Pakistan via the Gujarat border. The only way to trace any satellite phone is by inspecting a particular area and physically locating it, officials said. A Delhi court has ordered deportation of a Nigerian national for possessing cocaine and illegally staying in India, but only after he serves a jail term on 32 months here. Special Judge Shail Jain convicted 25-year-old Chuks Micheal, resident of Nigeria, under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Foreigners Act but took a lenient view in sentencing, considering his young age and family circumstances. Tilak Nagar resident Sarabjit Singh was also held guilty under the NDPS Act in the same case. Micheal was sentenced to two years and eight months for offence punishable under section 14 (remains in India for a period exceeding the period for which the visa was issued to him and violation of other relevant valid visa conditions) of the Foreigners Act. "I am of the opinion that ends of justice will be served if convict Chuks Micheal is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and eight months and fine of Rs 5,000," the judge said. The court also directed that Micheal be handed over to Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) authorities for his deportation to Nigeria once he serves the jail term. Meanwhile, convict Singh was awarded rigorous imprisonment for one month and and ten days, a period which he had already undergone, along with a fine of Rs 10,000. According to the prosecution, both Michael and Singh were found possessing small quantity of cocaine on July 3, 2013 near Majnu Ka Tila here. During trial, both the accused claimed innocence and said they were falsely implicated. They, however, did not lead any evidence in defence. While praying for leniency at the time of sentencing, Micheal submitted that he was young and had to look after his agedparentsand two unmarried sisters. CPI in Kerala, the second largest partner in the CPI-M headed Left Democratic Front today released its first list of 25 candidates for the May 16 Assembly polls, even as the Front will come out with its full list of candidates tomorrow. The CPI state council met here and finalised the list of candidates for the 25 seats out of the 27 segments the party iscontesting, a party release said here. Ten sitting MLAs, including former state minister and party leader in the present Assembly C Divakaran and twowomen legislators Geetha Gopi (Nattika) and party firebrand leader E S Bijimol (Peerumedu) are in the list. Meanwhile, 93-year-old CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan, party Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, three media personalities and noted Malayalam actor Mukesh are among the prominent probable candidates in the list of CPI-M. Achuthanandan, state Opposition leader, is most likely to contest fromMalampuzha in Palakkad district while Vijayan, former party state secretary, might try his luck from Dharmadan in the politically sensitive northern district of Kannur, and Mukesh from Kollam. As per the seat-sharing agreement in LDF, CPI(M) will contest 93 seats, while the second largest partner CPI in 27. The remaining 20 seats of the 140 assembly segments have been allotted to its minor constituents and parties supporting the Front from outside. Media personalities M V Nikesh Kumar, Veena George and Sebastin Paul, also a former MP, will contest from Azhikode, Aranmula and Thirkkakara respectively. Vijayan, who virtually kickstarted his campaign today said he was contesting as per the directives of the party. "There is nothing unusual in moving from organisational set up to parliament system," Vijayan, the party strongman and also a former state minister, said. Party workers accorded a grand reception to Vijayan when he arrived at the Thalassery railway station on way tohis constituency. Flex boards and writing on walls in his support had already come up in the constituency, which was won by party candidate K K Narayanan by more than 15,000 votes in 2011. Braving scorching heat, nonagenarian former Chief Minister Achuthanandan had visited Malampuzha segment two days back and addressed party workers at Pudussery. Asked about his chances of victory, Achuthanandan quipped that it was for the people of Malampuzha to decide. Achuthanandan had defeated Congress woman candidate Lathika Subash by more than 23,000 votes in 2011 and in 2006 he had won about 20,000 votes. (REOPENS MDS11) LDF faced a bit of an embarrassment today after V Surendran Pillai, a leader of Kerala Congress (Sacria faction), a minor partner in the Front and party leader Scaria Thomas engaged in a spat over the seat-sharing accord. Upset over denial of Thiruvananthapuram seat which he was expecting to contest, Pillai said the 'Kaduthuruthy'seat allotted to the party was not winnable. Reacting sharply to Pillai's statement, Thomas, who will be the party candidate in Kaduthiruthy said, "Pillai is disappointed as he was denied a seat. "Pillai should not have said that a seat which is to be contested by the party chairman is not winnable." Meanwhile, former government chief whip and a LDF fellow traveler P C George, disgruntled over denial of ticket by the Front said LDF leaders "cheated" him by denying the Poojar seat. He also said he would contest from Poojar with the support of the people. A six-member gang of dacoits struck at Sholapuram Panchayat Chairman Lakshmi's house here and hacked her and her husband with sickles before escaping with valuables and cash, police said today. The gang members also bound their two children before robbing silver vessels weighing 1.5 kg, 13 sovereigns of gold and Rs 20,000 cash from the house mid-night last night. They also decamped with the booty in the Chairman's car parked outside the house, on Sholapuram main road and abandoned it later. Police said when her husband ran upstairs on hearing some noise, the gang members attacked him. On hearing his cries, Lakshmi, who had gone up to enquire, was also attacked. Lakshmi and her huband have been admitted to hospital. Superintendent of Police Zia-ul-haq visited the spot and said three special teams had been formed to trace the gang members. Police are looking into various angles, including political rivalry. Auto industry body SIAM today hailed the Delhi state Budget for the fiscal year 2016-17 as a major step in the direction of sustainable mobility of the state. "The state budget aims to boost the public transport system which would hopefully translate into lesser use of personal transport for daily commuting leading to less congestion on roads," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said in a statement. A much much needed impetus to the electric and hybrid vehicles has also been given, which is a welcome support for this fledgling industry to develop, it added. SIAM also welcomed the move by Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia to exempt road tax on registration of electric vehicles to promote electric and hybrid vehicles. It also hailed the move to reduce VAT rate from 12.5 per cent to 5 per cent on battery operated transport means, including e-rickshaw, battery operated vehicle and hybrid automobile. "SIAM hope that other state governments would also take note of this initiative and support development of EV/HEV in the country," the industry body added. Welcoming the state government's plans to acquire new buses, it said: "These steps in totality would lead to a more robust public transport system. SIAM believes that these steps taken towards strengthening the public transport system would go a long way in addressing the issue of traffic on road. Pakistani military today claimed that the detained "spy" was a serving Indian naval officer who converted to Islam to "foment terrorism" in Balochistan province and the country's financial capital Karachi. "Kul Bhoshan Yadav is a serving Indian naval officer whose primary mission was to foment terrorism in Karachi and Balochistan," military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said. "He converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer," Bajwa said in a joint press conference with Information Minister Pervez Rashid. "He was working for the Indian spy agency and there is an active RAW network in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan," Bajwa was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune newspaper. The press conference started with a confessional 6-minute video of the alleged Indian spy. Bajwa claimed that Pakistan and Balochistan's maps were recovered from Yadav's possession. "He used to establish a network of operatives, provide funds, arrange and smuggle people for terrorism in the country," the spokesman added. Pakistan last week summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to lodge its protest over "subversive activities" of the alleged RAW officer. The government sources in New Delhi, however, said Yadav has nothing to do with India's external Intelligence agency. There is no proof that the retired navy officer, who owns a cargo business in Iran, was arrested in Balochistan as claimed by Pakistan, they said. Yadav owns a small ship and used to carry cargo from Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports in Iran and other adjoining areas to various destinations, sources said. He could have been arrested after he strayed into Pakistani waters and was being wrongly charged, they added. Actress-turned-filmmaker Divya Khosla Kumar will walk the ramp at the forthcoming Lakme Fashion Week here for designer duo Priyangsu Maji and Sweta Tantia. The 34-year-old "Yaariyaan" director will be seen walking for GARO brand created by the duo on final day at the "Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2016". GARO, launched by Maji and Tantia in Kolkata, is a luxury brand of contemporary Indian wear for women. 'Femmes di Tahiti' the collection theme is inspired by native Tahitian prints, colours and motifs. "It is a pleasure being a part of Lakme Fashion Week as this is going to be our second season. We are really excited and we look forward to it. We have put in a lot of hard work and efforts. We await this beautiful journey," the designer duo said in a statement. The garments are easy flowing silhouettes having a soft handloom chanderi, cotton matka, woven bapta silk and chiffon textures with vibrant colours. The five-day event kickstarts from March 30. DMK today allotted one assembly constituency seat to an outfit fighting for Dalit causes led by former Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer P Sivakami. According to the electoral understanding signed by DMK chief Karunanidhi and Sivakami, founder-president of the outfit -- Samuga Samathuva Padai (SSP), the latter will contest with the rising sun symbol of the Dravidian party. "It has been decided after consultations that SSP will contest in the rising sun symbol of DMK as an electoral ally in the May 16 Assembly election," the pact between the parties read. A Dalit bureaucrat and a novelist, Sivakami founded SSP in 2009 after voluntarily quitting the IAS the previous year. She joined the IAS in 1980 in the Tamil Nadu cadre. DMK has already allotted five seats each to IUML and MMK and has begun seat sharing talks with Congress. The draft of the revised Memorandum of Procedure(MoP) which would guide future appointments of Supreme Court and High Court judges by the Collegium, has been handed over to the Chief Justice of India for ratification. A day before Holi, the file relating to the draft MoP was sent to CJI T S Thakur by the Law Ministry which would now place it before the Supreme Court Collegium to take a final call. The Collegium consists of CJI and four senior judges of the apex court. If the draft is ratified, it would be put in public domain by the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry. If changes are suggested, then the Law Ministry would have to redraft it. Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda had recently said that while drafting the MoP is the responsibility of the Executive, both the Judiciary and the Executive have to agree on the contents. The NDA government wants both the Centre and state governments to have their say in recommending candidates for appointment to the higher judiciary. The revised draft MoP, which was recently approved by an inter-ministerial group, was earlier sent to the Prime Minister's Office by the Law Ministry for final clearance. While delivering its verdict on ways to make the Collegium system more transparent, the apex court had asked the government to rework the MoP in consultation with the states and high courts. The draft MoP, which guides the Collegium in the appointment of judges, suggests that the Attorney General at the Centre and Advocates General in the states should have a say in recommending candidates for appointment and elevation of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. If the Supreme Court accepts the draft, then effectively the government can also suggest candidates as the AG is the top law officer appointed by the government. In the appointment of judges to the high court, all the high court judges as well as the respective Advocates General of the state will be free to recommend their candidates, the draft says. That would mean that the state governments can also recommend candidates through their Advocates General. The draft MoP has been finalised by an inter-ministerial group headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The draft also states that any dissent note to a recommendation of the Collegium to appoint or elevate a judge should be mandatorily shared with the Executive. This point has been incorporated based on the judgement the Supreme Court delivered last year on ways to make the Collegium system more transparent. The draft MoP states that up to three judges in the Supreme Court should be from the Bar. The government has decided not to bring the Collegium appointments under RTI's ambit as it apprehends it could lead to a flood of applications from aspirants and "interested parties" seeking file notings and other details. According to the draft MoP, evaluation of judgements delivered by a high court judge during the last five years and initiatives undertaken for improvement of judicial administration should be the yardstick for promotion as chief justice of a high court. At the same time, it also suggests that seniority should be kept in mind. The document stresses the need for merit as a major yardstick for the appointment of judges. Another suggestion is that a high court should not remain without a chief justice for more than three months. Some of the issues highlighted by the draft MoP are transparency in the appointment process, eligibility criteria, a permanent secretariat for the collegium and a process to evaluate and deal with complaints against candidates. The government and the judiciary are learnt to be on the same page on the issue of a permanent secretariat for the collegium. The Netherlands had notified Belgium about the criminal backgrounds of suicide bombers Ibrahim El Bakraoui and his brother Khalid five days before the Brussels blasts, the Dutch justice minister revealed today. Answering questions in the Dutch parliament, Ard van der Steur said Dutch police had received an FBI report sent March 16 "in which there was notification of Ibrahim El Bakraoui and his brother Khalid's criminal backgrounds and Khalid's terrorist background." The following day "the issue came up during bilateral contact between the Dutch and Belgian police," said Van der Steur. "The radical background of both the brothers was discussed," the Dutch minister said, without giving details. He also confirmed US reports last week that the FBI had had Ibrahim El Bakraoui on a US-based terror watch list since 25 September 2015. The Dutch minister's revelations come as under-fire Belgian authorities Tuesday continued to hunt a fugitive bomber, one week after the deadly blasts in the Belgian capital that killed 35. Ibrahim El Bakraoui was one of two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport. His brother Khalid blew himself up at Maalbeek metro station. Under pressure at home and abroad over an apparent series of missed clues about criminals linked to jihadist networks, the Belgian government has admitted mistakes were made. In the most glaring such example, Turkey accused Belgium last week of ignoring a clear and present danger after revealing it had deported Ibrahim El Bakraoui as a "terrorist" suspect last year, after arresting him near the Syrian border. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said that India needs to further ease its business processes to boost foreign and domestic investments, even as he admitted that the country has been impacted by global trade shrinkages. Terming 'ease of doing business' in India as an "important work which is still in progress", Jaitley also said that the Modi government has been able to straighten several laws and was trying to make taxation systems compatible with the global standards. Addressing the Sydney campus of the S P Jain School of Global Management after arriving this morning on a four-day visit to Australia, Jaitley said that the NDA government has also been able to make headway in terms of eliminating corruption and it was working on removing discretions of all forms. Jaitley, who was welcomed by Indian high commissioner Navdeep Suri and S P Jain School President Nitish Jain at the jam-packed event where he spoke on 'Reimagining the Indian Economy', said that the global trade shrinkages have impacted India too in terms of uncertainties in stock and currency markets, which Australia itself has also witnessed. "Opening of the Indian economy and sectors like insurance, railways, defence and several others which were earlier unavailable for FDI (foreign direct investment) has helped us," Jaitley said. Listing various measures taken since the NDA government came to power in May 2014, Jaitley said, "We have also removed the unnecessary conditionalities which was slowing down foreign direct investments and this, probably in greenfield projects, has made India the most sought after destination as far as FDI is concerned". "The second important challenge was not only to improve India's image but.... Image gets improved by the fact that in actual operation those who domestically do business and those who intend to invest in India go back with an impression that it is easy to do business in India," he said. "In term of ease of doing business, you are measured by the stability of policies, by predictability, by cutting short the time between the decision to make investment and actual implementation... You need few approvals and easy approvals," he said. He said that for India, the system was to get approval from multiple authorities which could frustrate the investors. "I can claim that we have achieved everything but I think there is a greater realisation in India that in the competitive world today not only to attract foreign investors but also persuading domestic investors, we will have to ease our business processes," he said, adding, "that's an important work which is still in progress as far as India is concerned." He also said that the government has been able to make headway in terms of eliminating corruption. Jaitley further stressed that an area the government was working on was to eliminate discretions of all forms and to eliminate person-to-person contact to ensure a non-discretionary system for all processes. He said that the government has been able to straighten several laws and was now trying to make the taxation systems compatible with the global standards. "We are now working on direct tax system. We want to put disputes behind us. We want people to clean up their taxation issues and to bring down India's corporate tax gradually to a fair international level which would be at a flat 25%. We are slowly moving in that area," he said. He also expressed hope that the GST would be cleared sooner or later. Jaitley said other areas of focus for the government was agriculture and infrastructure. "As far agri sector is concerned, since it was a stressed sector over the last two years, we have used the opportunity in every possible way to pour investments in this sector," he said and stressed upon measures like higher spending on irrigation, large amount of credit offtake and crop insurance. "We also utilised the regime created by low oil prices resulting in large amount of savings for the government to start investing in the infrastructure sector," he said. "We are concentrating on highways, railways, airports, ports and this is the direction in which we are taking the economy," he said. "Despite global slowdown, we have managed to maintain the growth rate of 7.5%. All our current figures are very acceptable figures and I am reasonably certain that as the global push to the economy slightly improves, hopefully we have better monsoon and these figures will look even better in years to come," Jaitley said. Welcoming the finance minister, Suri said India saw Australia as a critical partner in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Skill India' programme. "We are working very closely with number of Australian education institutions. We are looking at different models that are emerging," he said. Suri said in discussions with Australian skills providers, the Indian government was raising the issue of high cost model offered by the Australian side. "Education has become an important part of bilateral agenda and this was taking place at a different level," he said. "The Indian economy has foreign exchange reserves $ 356 billion. Foreign investments is pouring into India in a big way and that there was a hope to take the growth to double digit," Nitish Jain of SP Jain School said. Jaitley, who is in Sydney for two days, also met New South Wales Premier Mike Baird. He would address 'Make in India' conference on Wednesday morning along with Australia's Special Envoy for Trade Andrew Robb. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India needs a lot of FDI, especially in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. He said state governments too are taking keen interest and competing among themselves to have foreign investments in their respective states. They are organising investment summits in this regard, he added. The minister said that the present government has opened various sectors for FDI, including railways and defence, among others. He invited businesses in New South Wales (NSW) to invest and make in India. Jaitley said we want foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of NIIF, pension and insurance funds in India. The minister was making opening remarks during his meeting with the NSW Premier Mike Baird in Sydney on Tuesday. He also highlighted the various initiatives and reforms measures undertaken by the present government to boost the Indian economy which is growing at the rate of above 7.5%. Speaking on the occasion, Baird expressed keen interest about the investment opportunities in India, particularly in the infrastructure sector. He highlighted the importance of communicating the information to larger business community in Australia to enable them to understand the opportunities available in India. The premier also informed the finance minister that he intends to visit India during the next Vibrant Gujarat summit, which is planned to be held in India in January 2017. Later, Jaitley inaugurated Sydney branch of Union Bank of India. Egypt's top auditor Hisham Geneina has been dismissed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi with immediate effect, hours after authorities said his comments on state corruption were "inaccurate". Geneina, 60, head of the Central Auditing Organisation -- a state agency tasked with overseeing the government's finances -- was dismissed by a presidential decree yesterday, effective immediately, Egyptian TV reported. State Security Prosecution has released an official statement, saying the top auditor's comments made in 2015 on state corruption were "inaccurate" and included "repeated count of incidents of corruption over the years". Geneina ignited an uproar in Egypt as he said in newspaper interviews last month that corruption has cost the country tens of billions of dollars over the past four years. He claimed to have uncovered billions of dollars-worth of corruption, involving some of the country's top institutions such as the police, intelligence agencies and the judiciary. Geneina said that corruption in the administrative sector has reached about USD 75 billion. El-Sisi had formed a fact-finding committee which accused Geneina of "defamation of state apparatuses". It said that Geneina's statements misled the public, lacked credibility and exaggerated the numbers lost due to corruption. Hesham Badawy, deputy head of the central agency, was appointed charge d'affaire of the post. The State Security Prosecution described Geneina's comments as "inaccurate". "The data and numbers provided by the formed committee about corruption were not accurate as well and contains incidents that took place during 2008 to 2012 and not 2015," a statement by the prosecution said. The prosecution further accused Geneina of power misuse by collecting and keeping important information and documents on corruption, and that it was not within the CAO authority to investigate corruption. The prosecution decided to ban Geneina, who was appointed by ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2012. A hijacker who seized an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, officials said today. "The hijacker has just been arrested," Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter, without providing further details. A man emerged from the aircraft and then walked across the tarmac and raised his hands to two awaiting counter-terrorism police officers, an AFP correspondent reported. They laid him on the ground and searched him for around two minutes before taking him away. The hijacker had claimed to be wearing an explosives belt when he took over the plane. Police had yet to enter the aircraft 30 minutes after his surrender. An EgyptAir plane was hijacked today while flying from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo, and later landed in Cyprus where all passengers except four foreigners were allowed to get off the aircraft, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. The hijacker, who was later identified as an Egyptian man, apparently had a suicide belt with which he threatened the plane's pilot. The Airbus flight number MS181 had 55 passengers on board and was flying on a regular route when the hijacking took place, the Egyptians said. Egyptian state television said there was a lone hijacker and identified him as Ibrahim Samaha. It gave no further details. The plane took off from the small Bourg el-Arab airport just outside the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was flying a regular route to Cairo, a flight that normally takes up to 30 minutes. Details were sketchy and the hijacker's motives were also not known, but an Egyptian Aviation Ministry statement said the "hijacker" threatened that he had a belt of explosives, the weapon of choice for Islamic militants in the Middle East. Shortly after the hijacking, the plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. Cypriot officials said there were suspicions of a bomb on board. The official later said the hijacker later allowed an unspecified number of women and children to go free and some were disembarking. EgyptAir later said in a statement that all passengers were released by the hijacker except for the crew and four foreigners whose nationalities were not specified. Initially a second Cypriot official said there "seems like there's more than one hijacker" and that there were no other demands made expect that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. All the officials in Egypt and Cyprus spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The hijacking, however, will most likely bring to the fore again the question of security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group said it downed the plane. A farmer, who went missing after leaving his house to irrigate his farm three days ago, was found dead at Pichangarai in this district today, police said. Police said the farmer had been gored to death by a gaur. The body was sent for post-mortem at Bodinayakanur hospital today. Police said as there had been frequent animal attacks in the area, forest officials have been alerted and asked to increase frequency of patrolling. The Madras High Court today granted anticipatory bail to seven officials of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited in a case relating to the alleged suicide of a farmer in Ariyalur district. After arguments, Justice K Kalyanasundaram, before whom the anticipatory bail petitions came up, granted advance bail to senior executives-- R Balamurugan, R Muthusamy, L Manivannan, V Senthil Kumar, S Venkatesh, A Annadurai, M Rajesh Senior. According to the prosecution, Alagar of Orathur village in Ariyalur district took a Rs seven lakh loan to purchase a tractor. He paid Rs 5.1 lakh and for the remaining sum he issued post-dated cheques and the registered certificate of the vehicle was also deposited with the company. As the payment of five instalments were due, a Manager and six others came from the finance company on March 10 to Alagar's house and took the farmer to a place called V Kaikuttai to take a photograph of the tractor. As Alagar refused to get off the tractor, he was reportedly threatened and scolded in filthy language. Humiliated, Alagar allegedly committed suicide by drinking poison. Denying the role of the petitioners in the death, counsel for petitioners S.Prabakaran, President of Tamil Nadu Advocates Association and member, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, submitted that a loan of Rs.4.43 lakh was taken in May, 2013 by Alagar which was to be repaid within 12 months and as on date his due was Rs.2.81 lakh. Inspection of the vehicle was a mandatory procedure as the contract was overdue by one year and it was considered a non-performing asset. The vehicle was with a cement company and used for transport of cement instead of the intended agricultural purposes, it was submitted. The petitioners submitted that Alagar committed suicide on March 10 and the body was cremated without post-mortem and no complaint was lodged till March 12. On March 13, Alagar's father made a complaint to police. Counsel for the petitioners argued that the money which was given by Alagar's father was spent by him without depositing it with the finance company and the father shouted at Alagar, which may have resulted in him consuming poison due to humiliation and it was not the petitioners who were responsible for the death. A number of farmers today courted arrest, while participating in a civil disobedience stir demanding pension for them and asking the government to admit farmers suicide due to crop loss and loan burden. The farmers under the banner of Navanirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS), who were on dharna since 11 days, intensified their agitation by launching a civil disobedience stir to fulfil their two-point charter of demand. The agitating farmers were prevented on the way to the state Assembly. As police tried to stop them, the farmers had a scuffle with the police. While some of the farmers fainted because of heat and exhaustion during the agitation, many others clashed with the cops. No injury has been reported from either side, police said. Police Commissioner Y B Khurania said security has been beefed up around the area to avoid any untoward incident. "We are the breadwinners for the state. This government, however, has failed us. Farmers have committed suicide and everyone knows this. The families of the deceased deserve compensation. This will only be possible, if the government acknowledges that they committed suicide. But, the government keeps denying it in order to hide its own failure. We will not back down anymore. Let them arrest us," said Sarojini Majhi, a farmer. Though the ruling BJD leaders including MLAs Amar Satpathy and Sashi Bhusan Behera, had met the farmer leaders yesterday, they failed to convince the agitating farmers. NKS state convener Akshay Kumar said talks with the government had failed as they didn't accept farmers demands. The NKS has been demanding payment of compensation to the families of farmers that committed suicide, provision of Rs 5,000 pension for farmers, better procurement facilities, higher minimum support price, better social recognition and drought compensation. Police said the the farmers would be released soon as they have been taken to custody as a preventive measure. Striking a tone different from parties like Congress, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today backed the government for hosting Pakistan's probe team on Pathankot attack, saying it was time for the two countries to give up animosity and push friendship. The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Minister said India and Pakistan have to join hands to defeat terror in the sub-continent and usher peace and prosperity in this state. "It is a very good step that India allowed the Pakistani JIT (Joint Investigation Team) to visit Pathankot. If we want to improve relations with the neighbouring country, then what is the harm in joining hands to see who is responsible for such attacks. They have come as they want to know who are responsible. So, let them see and then they will give their report on their return," Abdullah said. His support to the government over the issue comes at a time when Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are slamming the Modi dispensation for hosting the JIT. "What happened in Lahore and if India decides to send its team there, I don't think Pakistan will have any objections," Abdullah said addressing workers at a function here. He said India and Pakistan would have to sit together to find solutions to the issues confronting the two countries. "There is no other option. We have had enough animosity and now time has come to take the friendship forward," he said even as he cautioned that "there are some powers in both the countries who do not want peace as they earn their bread and butter on our blood." Reiterating that the solution to Jammu and Kashmir issue lies in keeping that part of the state with that country and this part with India, Abdullah said Line of Control should be opened to allow easy movement of people from both sides of Kashmir. "Give Autonomy to this part of Kashmir and also give autonomy to the other part. This issue of Kashmir will get solved automatically," he said while batting for opening new routes on the LoC to allow easy travel and trade between the two sides. He said India and Pakistan have to join hands to fight terrorism and "till that happens we would not get rid of terrorism". Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third trip to Washington in less than two years, India's envoy to the US has said that the two countries have experienced a fascinating transformation in relations. "Our partnership did not always appear so destined. Indeed, just three decades ago, such an alignment of interests between the two countries was simply unthinkable. This makes the transformation of India-US relations in the last three decades so fascinating," said Arun K Singh, Indian Ambassador to the US, in his address at the 20th Wharton-India Economic Forum on 'Evolving India-US Relations' over the weekend. President Barack Obama has characterised the India-US relationship as a "defining partnership of the 21st century", while Modi has termed the partnership as a "natural alliance". "The strategic convergence and the global importance of this convergence are captured in our diplomatic moniker: a 'Global Strategic Partnership'," he said. "Since his election in May 2014, Prime Minister Modi has visited the US twice and is going to be back here next week for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC," Singh told the audience. Modi is scheduled to be in the American capital to attend the two-day Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Obama on March 31 and April 1. "The first-ever vision statement of our countries was issued in September 2014, during the Prime Minister's visit. A Delhi Declaration, adopted during President Obama's visit further elevated our strategic partnership. A Joint Strategic Vision unveiled at that time reflected their common goals for the dynamic Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, building on the congruence of India's 'Act East' policy and the US 're-balance' to Asia," he said. Noting that defence is an area where the impact of a robust India-US partnership has been obvious, Singh said the two countries have started the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative to foster collaboration in transformative defence technology, co-production and co-development. India has contracted nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence items from the US in the past few years. The armed forces of India and the US now conduct more exercises with each other than they do with any other country bilaterally, he said. In the backdrop of reports of intimidation of mediapersons in Naxal-hit Bastar district of Chhattsigarh, a fact-finding team of Editors Guild of India, after visiting the area, has concluded that "there is a sense of fear among journalists there." The three-member fact-finding team of the Guild, in its report "Challenges to Journalism in Bastar", has also said in its report that newspaper organisations should take care while appointing stringers and give them adequate protection. "Instead, they disown them because they see them as liability beyond a point," it said. "There is a sense of fear in Bastar. Every journalist who is working in Bastar feels that he/she is not safe. On one hand, they have to deal with Maoists who are becomming more and more sensitive about the reports appearing in the media and on the other hand, the police wants the media to report as and what they want," the team said. "There is a general feeling (in government) in Chhattisgarh that a large section of the national media is pro-Maoists," it said quoting a senior editor. The report also quoted another editor as saying "if you wish to analyse anything independently then you can be judged whether you are with the government or with the Maoists. The democratic space for journalism is shrinking." On Santosh Yadav arrested by Chhattisgarh police since September last under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the committee said he is a journalist writing for two newspapers and senior journalists of the area have said he is a "victim of cicumstances and be given benefit of doubt." The team also said "it is clear from the on record statements made by the authorities that the administration was not comfortable with the reports (journalist) Malini Subramaniam was sending" and she was "compelled" to leave the city and the state. About Alok Putul, the team said he was there to gather for BBC when police officers questioned his credentials and nationalism and he had to leave fearing for his security when some people came looking for him. The team has also stated that newspapers and other media houses are appointing journalists as stringers in remote areas without any formalities, who survive on commissions from advertisements and distribution of newspapers and rely on other professions. (Reopen DEL70) The fact-finding team also said that there is no mechanism in place for accreditation of such journalists who are working beyond the district headquarters. "So, when the question of identity arises, government conveniently denies that someone is/was a journalist. Media houses also disown them because they see them as liability beyond a point," the report said. The report stated that the chief minister instructed the administration for better coordination and cooperation. "A journalist was arrested shortly after the fact-finding team had a meeting with him, suggesting that there is no shift in policy". The fact-finding team comprising Guild general secretary Prakash Dubey and Executive Committee members Seema Chishti and Vinod Verma, was appointed to verify reports of arrests of journalists in Chhattisgarh and threats and challenges faced by journalists and the profession. A huge blaze has engulfed at least two residential towers in the northern UAE emirate of Ajman, local media and a witness said. The fire erupted yesterday at a building in the Ajman One residential cluster of 12 towers and spread to at least another tower, Gulf daily reported on its website. No casualties had yet been reported. A resident told AFP that the fire, near the coastline, was fanned by a strong wind. Local media said residents were being evacuated as fire brigades struggled to contain the blaze. The 70-member Board of Trade, headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will meet on April 6 to discuss ways to boost exports, which are in negative zone since December, 2014. The first meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade (BoT) shall be held on 6th April, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. The Board, a top advisory body on trade, was reconstituted as per the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for 2015-2020. "The objective of Board of Trade (BoT) is to have continuous discussion and consultation with trade and industry. The BoT would advise the government on policy measures related to FTP in order to achieve the objective of boosting India's trade," it said. The Board's last meeting was held in August, 2013 The reconstituted BOT comprises of 19 members from industry and academia (non-official members); 31 heads of trade and industry associations (ex-officio members); and 20 top officials including 13 secretaries to government of India, Deputy Governor of RBI, Railway Board Chairman and National Highways Authority of India Chairman. Besides, the Director General of Foreign Trade is the member secretary of the Board. The non-official members include Apollo Tyres CMD Onkar Kanwar, Hero MotoCorp MD Pawan Munjal, ICICI Bank Ltd MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, Biocon MD Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, Dr Reddy's MD Satish Reddy, HCL Technologies Chairman Shiv Nadar, Mahindra Group MD Anand Mahindra, ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar and Ashok Leyland MD R Seshasayee. The terms of reference of the BoT include reviewing export performance of various sectors, identify constraints and suggest industry specific measures to optimise export earnings. It also includes advising the government on policy measures for preparation and implementation of both short and long term plans for increasing exports in the light of emerging national and international economic scenarios. Falling for the 15th month in a row, exports dipped 5.66 per cent in February to USD 20.73 billion due to contraction in shipments of petroleum and engineering goods amid tepid global demand. India needs to further ease its business processes to boost investments, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today while inviting foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of the country's infrastructure, pension and insurance funds. He also assured investors here that the government has resolved various legacy issues with regard to taxation and is gradually working to bring down the corporate tax rates to the global level of 25 per cent from 30 per cent currently. Jaitley admitted that the country has been impacted by global trade shrinkages, but said that various reform measures including opening up of sectors to greater FDI have ensured a high GDP growth of over 7.5 per cent. Terming 'ease of doing business' in India as an "important work which is still in progress", Jaitley said the Modi government has been able to straighten several laws and is trying to make taxation systems compatible with the global standards. Addressing the Sydney campus ofS P Jain School of Global Management after arriving here this morning on a four-day visit to Australia, Jaitley said the NDA government has been able to make headway in eliminating corruption and is working on removing discretions of all forms. Speaking on 'Reimagining the Indian Economy', Jaitley said the global trade shrinkages has impacted India too in terms of uncertainties in stock and currency markets. "Opening of the Indian economy and sectors like insurance, railways, defence and several others which were earlier unavailable for FDI has helped us," he said. He said that for India, the system was to get approval from multiple authorities which could frustrate the investors. "I can't claim that we have achieved everything but I think there is a greater realisation in India that in the competitive world today not only to attract foreign investors but also persuading domestic investors, we willhave to ease our business processes," he said adding, "that's an important work which is still in progress as far as India is concerned". Jaitley also said the government is now working on direct tax systems where "we want to put the disputes behind us", a reference to cases involving the likes of Vodafone and Cairn. "We want people to clean up their tax issues. And therefore, in this Budget I have also suggested various windows of clearing up pending disputes," Jaitley said. He said the government is working to bring down India's corporate tax rates gradually to a fair international level which will involve "no discretion, no rent-seeking exemption, phasing all of them out gradually and then bringing taxation rate to a flat 25 per cent". Later, at another event, Jaitley invited businesses in New South Wales to invest in India, saying the country wants foreign sovereign wealth funds to be part of NIIF, pension and insurance funds in India. Making opening remarks during his meeting with the New South Wales Premier Mike Baird, he highlighted various initiatives and reforms measures undertaken by the government. Stating that India needs a lot of Foreign Direct Investment, especially in manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, he said state governments are taking keen interest and competing among themselves to attract foreign investments. Baird expressed keen interest in investment opportunities in India particularly in the infrastructure sector. Jaitley also invited global funds to invest in various areas, including NIIF. The Rs 40,000-crore National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will have government holding of 49 per cent and the rest will be of private investors. The government is in the process of shortlisting CEO to head the NIIF. Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) from countries like Singapore and UAE as well as private equity funds are exploring investment avenues in India's maiden SWF NIIF. On Goods and Services Tax (GST), Jaitley said one uniform common tax for whole of India, which converts the country into one big market and allows transfer of goods and services to take place across this large market, is pending before Parliament. "I am quite certain and we are reasonably moving towards a situation where we should be sooner than later be able to clear this...In Parliament," he said. The indirect tax reform, GST is stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA does not have a majority. Congress has been seeking three changes in the bill, including a constitutional cap on GST rate. The GST bill is likely to come up for discussion in the second leg of Budget session beginning April 25. Former PHED minister and MLA T N Haokip has been appointed as the president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee. Haokip, who represents Saikot Assembly constituency in Churachandpur district, replaced Gaikhangam for the post of the new president as under the "one man one post" policy of the Congress Party, a spokesman for the Committee said. The replacement came in the wake of the recent revolt by 20 Congress legislators against Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam who held the post of president of MPCC. The revolt followed resentment by the Congress MLAs over the decision to suspend five Manipur police personnel after the Nagaland-based Naga Students' Federation imposed an indefinite ban on the entry of vehicles belonging to a particular community. The ban followed an incident on February 14 in which some members of the student body were assaulted by Manipur police. The student body had demanded suspension of the personnel and Manipur government yielded to its demand, creating dissent among the Congress MLAs. Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and his deputy Gaikhangam were recently summoned by Sonia Gandhi, president of AICC, to discuss the matter on March 15 sensing trouble in the Congress party. Four 'suspected' Naxals, two of them carrying cash reward on their heads, were arrested today during a joint search operation by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district. A composite squad of CRPF, district police and District Reserve Group (DRG) had launched a search operation from Gadiras police station to the interior forests, located around 450 kms away from here, Sukma Additional Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI. While cordoning off Gufdi-Mankapal villages, security forces nabbed four suspects who later admitted to their involvement with the outlawed Maoist movement, he said. Those arrested included Madvi Dewa (27), Madvi Ganga (25)- both janmilitia heads - and janmilitia members Kartami Nanda (23) and Madkami Lakhma (26), he said. They were allegedly involved in the attack on polling parties during the last year Panchayat elections in Maroki village and had looted polling materials, the ASP said. While Dewa was carrying a reward of Rs 5,000 on his head, Rs 2,000 was announced for the arrest of Ganga, the officer added. A French terror suspect arrested in weekend raids in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam is fighting his extradition to France, Dutch prosecutors said today. The 32-year-old, identified by Dutch media only as Anis B, will remain in custody in the Netherlands, where a court has to decide within 90 days whether to grant a request from Paris to extradite him, the Amsterdam prosecutor said in a statement. The man is wanted by France for "involvement in a criminal organisation linked to a terrorist enterprise," the prosecutor said. He was arrested on Sunday at Paris's request suspected of receiving orders from the Islamic State group to attack targets in France. He appeared before an Amsterdam court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody. The court also ruled he could only have contact with his lawyers and not with other people. He must appear again this time in a public hearing within 60 days. But no date has been set for that. France had sought Anis B's arrest after French police there said they had thwarted an attack by a man called Reda Kriket, 34, who was caught on Thursday. French police discovered several assault rifles and explosives at Kriket's apartment in a Paris suburb. Heavily-armed Dutch police then raided a home in the west of Rotterdam late Sunday following the French investigation. Police found ammunition, SIM cards, hard drives, cash and drugs in the raids, during which several houses in the area were evacuated. Three other men were also detained in the operation, including two suspects of Algerian origin aged 43 and 47. No immediate details were available about the third man. They are also being held on suspicion of involvement in terror attacks, Dutch media reported. The Netherlands was already on heightened alert after the airport and metro attacks in Brussels a week ago, with security stepped up at airports and train stations and border controls tightened. Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur on Tuesday told parliament he expected Anis B. "to be extradited to France soon". Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today accused BJP of spending "hundreds of crores" of rupees in an attempt to topple his government with the help of Governor, echoing allegations of his Himachal counterpart that BJP was trying to destablise Congress governments in states. "BJP spent lots of money. They wasted hundreds of crores before the Bihar elections to topple the government in . They tried it by taking Himanta (Biswa Sarma) and other MLAs, but they could not do it," Gogoi told a press conference here targeting the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had launched a blistering attack on the Congress leader during the recent poll rallies in . Sarma, once a trusted Congress minister of Gogoi who is presently in BJP, had almost garnered the support of 35 MLAs and tried the same tactics used in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand of shifting the base to BJP, he claimed. "The Governor (Padmanabha Balakrishan Acharya) was also involved in this. Without his support how is it possible? That is why, the Centre is not appointing a permanent Governor in Assam. That is why they are appointing all RSS people as Governors," Gogoi alleged. He further said if the 35 MLAs, whose support was shown to be withdrawn from Gogoi's leadership in front of the Congress High Command, had really shifted their allegiance to BJP, the government would have fallen instantly. Gogoi also regretted his decision to trust Sarma during his tenure with the Congress. "Yes, I trusted him a lot. He betrayed a simple man like me. Himanta and all his supporters were not original Congressmen. They come and go. Himanta was with ULFA, then AASU, AGP, Congress and now (a) BJP man," he said. Talking about the Uttarakhand crisis, the Chief Minister said the entire development is "just a murder of democracy". "You did it in Arunachal and now Uttarakhand. The government was to test its majority next day and you (Centre) toppled it. (This is) Hitler in India! This is dictatorial and a murder of democracy," he alleged. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had accused the Modi dispensation of trying to "destabilise and topple" his government by using central agencies. He alleged the Centre has been destabilising Congress-ruled states one by one and cited examples of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where President's Rule was imposed. Amidst the Assembly poll heat in Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over comments that he was "90-years- old" and questioned whether the BJP leader was telling him "to die". "He (Modi) claims he respects me and yet says 'Go Go Go'. He says I am 90-years-old. What does that mean? Is he telling me to die or what? If you say go to a 90-year-old, where will he go? Is he respecting me or making fun?" he told reporters here. The chief minister was responding to Modi's comment at an election rally on Saturday. "Gogoi ji, in a few years, you will be 90. You are my elder. I have come to Assam to do pranam (pay respects) and not fight with you," the prime minister had said. In the poll affidavit filed by Gogoi, his age is mentioned as "about 79 years". Gogoi said since the voters in Assam had elected him as their chief minister, disrespecting him amounted to disrespecting the people of the state. "You (Modi) say you respect me as I am an old man. (But) he does not respect even his own party men, be it (LK) Advani or Murli (Manohar) Joshi or Yashwant Sinha. He never respects anyone," he said. Stating that the people of Assam always respect their elders, Gogoi further charged that Modi and other BJP leaders were "coming to the state and insulting the people of Assam". "They do not know the history of Assam. They say Sukaphaa attacked Mughals 17 times. They do not have any contribution to Assamese history and the struggle for independence," he claimed. Last week, BJP President Amit Shah had said at a poll rally in Assam that Ahom king Sukaphaa had attacked and defeated the Mughals 17 times. Sukaphaa founded the Ahom kingdom in 1228 AD and died in 1268 AD, while Babur established Mughal dynasty in 1526 AD. Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe today said the government will look to devolve power without damaging the united nature of the country in the new Constitution to be formulated by next year. "We will look to devolve power without damaging the unitary and united nature of the country," Wickremesinghe said addressing a workshop here. "We will also look at decentralisation of power in addition to devolution," he said adding that the whole parliament would be converted into a Constitutional Assembly. "The Constitutional Assembly will report back to parliament and we are hoping to have the new Constitution ready by 2017 when the 70th anniversary of parliament falls," Wickremesinghe said. The new Constitution will replace the current executive president headed constitution adopted in 1978. The parliament had earlier this month unanimously approved a resolution for setting up a Constitutional Assembly to formulate a new Constitution. The government also expects the new Constitution to address the demand of Tamil minorities for political recognition. With the defeat of the The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009 the Tamil groups have opted for maximum devolution as opposed to LTTE's goal of a separate Tamil homeland. With the current parliament adopting a resolution, the Constitutional Assembly process will get underway on April 5. All political parties will join the process. Government will provide sufficient funds to recapitalise public sector banks (PSBs) to ensure that they play a significant role in boosting growth, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday. "Banks would be provided sufficient funds to recapitalise them," he said after inaugurating a branch of Union Bank of India in Sydney, Australia. Jaitley, who is on the on a four-day visit to Australia, said that the banks have to play an important role in achieving higher growth rate in the country. Read more from our special coverage on "PSU BANKS, NPA, PSBS, INDIAN BANKS, INDRADHANUSH MISSION, BANK RECAPITALISATION, SBI" Last year, the government announced a revamp plan 'Indradhanush' to infuse Rs 70,000 crore in state-owned banks over four years, while they will have to raise a further Rs 1.1 lakh crore from markets to meet their capital requirements in line with global risk norms Basel-III. In line with the blueprint, PSBs will get Rs 25,000 crore this fiscal and also in the next fiscal. Besides, Rs 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Union Bank of India is the fifth largest nationalised bank in India. Established in the year 1919, the bank has grown to a business mix of Rs 5,89,889 crore, with deposits of Rs 3,27,412 crore and advances of Rs 2,62,477 crore, as of December 2015. Six persons, including the gram pradhan of Rasoolpur village, have been booked for allegedly opening fire at a farmer here, police said today. Gulzar was shot at by the accused over an old enmity when he was returning home from his field yesterday in the village here, they said, adding that the farmer has been hospitalised. Police said the accused, who have been identified as gram pradhan Iftakhar, Waseem, Rizwan, Farman, Usman and Anwar, are absconding and efforts are on to apprehend them. BJP MP Vitthal Radadiya, who is mediating between the Patel quota agitation leaders and the Gujarat Government, today claimed that the Government was in favour of release of all the jailed leaders, including Hardik Patel. However, he said, the Government could not do much as the cases against these leaders are pending in various courts. "Government is in favour of releasing Patel leaders. The Government also has no problem in accepting various demands put forward by the Patel leaders. However, Government's hands are tied because of various court matters against these leaders," he told reporters in Rajkot. The Porbandar MP said he recently met the Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on this issue. "As there are many cases in various courts, including the Supreme Court and High Court, Government can not take any decision at present. Once these courts give orders, the Government would take positive steps for the release of jailed leaders," said Radadiya. Hardik and some other quota agitation leaders are in jail since September last year. Gujarat Police today arrested a wanted criminal Praveen alias Deepak in an extortion case from Silao police station area of Bihar's Nalanda district, a police officer said. A crime branch team of the Gujarat Police in a joint operation with the local police nabbed Deepak from his native village Gorma on the charge of extorting Rs one crore from a Surat-based businessman, Deputy Superintendent of Police Md Saifur Rahman said. Deepak's five associates were arrested earlier. He was also wanted in cases related to vehicle theft, dacoity, extortion and Arms Act among others since 2008, Rahman said. An armed man at the US Capitol was today shot and captured by the police after he pointed the weapon at officers, triggering panic during the busy tourist season here in the US. Police shot Larry Russel Dawson, 66, at an entrance of the US Capitol visitor centre. A woman bystander sustained non- life-threatening injuries in the incident. Dawson and the woman were taken to a nearby hospital where Dawson's condition was said to be unknown. As a result of the shooting, the US Capitol was locked down. The House and the Senate were in recess. For a brief period, there was panic at the US Capitol. Staffers were asked by the police to stay-in-place order while tourists in the area were told to flee. "We believe that this is the act of a single person that has frequented the Capitol grounds before. There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act," US Capitol Police chief Matthew Verderosa told reporters. He ruled out a terrorist incident. "It appears that the screening process worked how it was supposed to," Vederosa said, adding that the incident occurred around 2:39 PM local time when Dawson entered the screening checkpoint at the Capitol Visitor Centre. Shortly before 2:40 PM today, an armed individual attempted to enter the Capitol Visitor Centre security screening facility, the US Capitol Police Board said in a statement to Congressional community. "Shots were fired and within minutes the individual was apprehended. The individual was then taken to a local hospital. This resulted in the Capitol Complex being locked down, and staff and visitors ordered to shelter in place. A bystander received non-life threatening injuries in the incident and is also being treated at hospital," it said. Security in and around the US Capitol has been increased. "Today, we are reminded of the courage and daily sacrifice of the US Capitol Police. The Capitol is our greatest symbol of democracy, and these officers serve to protect not just those who work there but also the millions of visitors from all around the world who travel each year to see it," said Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives. The House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer thanked the Capitol Police for their quick response to the threat. "The men and women of the US Capitol Police do an extraordinary job protecting our nation's lawmakers, Congressional staff and all those coming to visit their Representatives. Because of their skill and professionalism, the seat of our democracy can remain safely open and accessible to those it serves," Hoyer said. "Today, we have been reminded yet again of the deep courage of our US Capitol Police officers, and all those who work to protect the visitors, staff and Members who come to the US Capitol Complex each and every day," said Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of US House of Representatives. Harrison Ford is to auction off his iconic Han Solo costume to help an American medical centre treating his daughter find a cure for epilepsy. The "Star Wars" hero has become synonymous with the brown jacket he has donned for the movie franchise, including a leather version he wore for the latest installment - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", reported Vanity Fair. Now Harrison, 73, said the jacket is up for grabs at an upcoming auction, with proceeds going to the New York University's Langone centre. "I was wearing it throughout the film," he said, confirming about the auction. However, he admitted that he would have a difficult task getting it back off one of the doctors at the research facility. Ford's daughter Georgia Ford, 25, has not had an epileptic seizure for the past eight years after being treated at the NYU Langone. Prior to that however, she was repeatedly misdiagnosed and was even prescribed migraine medicine for many years before getting a proper diagnosis as a teenager. Observing that a person with an unsound mind cannot have any intention or knowledge over his actions at the time of occurrence, the Madras High Court today acquitted an engineer charged with murdering his son by giving sleeping pills and then attempting to commit suicide. "From the medical evidence, it has been clearly established that the accused was suffering from unsoundness of mind at the time of occurrence in terms of Section 84 of IPC and therefore the act of the accused in causing death of his son as well as in attempting to commit suicide would not make out any offence. Thus, the accused is entitled for acquittal," the court said. The division bench, comprising Justices M Jaichandren and S Nagamuthu, stated this while allowing a criminal appeal by Steepens, challenging a June 24, 2010 verdict, sentencing him to life imprisonment. The prosecution case was that an accident took place in October 2008, claiming the life of his wife and rendering him immobile. As a result, he lost his well-paid job and was unable to make ends meet. Hence, out of frustration, he resolved to take the extreme step on July 08, 2009. Unfortuntely, the child died but Steepen survived. Later, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the court. The bench observed "the nature of poison could not be detected. It is not every homicide which is made punishable." "The culpability as defined under Sect 299 of IPC which talks about the intention to cause death and bodily injury and the knowledge on the part of the accused that his act is likely to result in death, cannot be attributed to this case as the person who is of unsound mind cannot have any intention or knowledge with regard to his acts. Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to place before it its decision regarding security clearance of Digital Radio Broadcasting Ltd, which runs Red FM radio in Mumbai, Kolkata and the national capital, so that it can migrate to phase III from II. The direction was issued to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) told Justice J R Midha that it had received a letter from MHA seeking some clarifications on the issue and to which it has sent the necessary details. MIB sought 2-3 weeks time to communicate the decision of MHA after which the court listed the matter for directions on April 29. In the brief hearing, senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Red FM, contended that the government was not complying with court directions. The court on March 4 had asked the MHA to decide on the issue of the company's security clearance within two weeks and inform it. MHA on July 15 last year had denied security clearance to Red FM as it was associated with Sun TV run by Kalanithi Maran, who along with his brother Dayanidhi Maran are being prosecuted in cases of money laundering. Thereafter, another bench of the high court on July 26 last year had set aside MHA's decision and allowed Red FM to participate in the phase III auction. However, due to lack of security clearance from MHA, MIB did not allow the radio channel to migrate to phase III from II in the three metropolitan cities, the company had said in its plea. The court in an interim order of September last year had extended the radio channel's licence to operate in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata under phase II till further orders in its plea seeking direction to the Centre to allow it to migrate to phase III. The company had contended that it had communicated to the government its willingness to migrate to phase III but had received no response, including the amount to be paid for migration. It had alleged that the ministry had "deliberately without giving any reason" not taken the requisite steps to enable the channel to migrate from phase II to III regime despite fulfilment of all eligibility criteria for migration. A petition seeking to Most Backward Class status (Denotified) to all sub-sects of the Maravar community in Madurai, Dindigul and Theni districts was dismissed by the Madras High court bench after the petitioner opted to withdraw it. Justice S Manikumar and C T Selvam asked petitioner A V Marimuthu if he had carried out any study of the reasons, including social, for shifting of community members to various places, to which he replied in the negative. The judges then dismissed the petition after Marimuthu opted to withdraw it. Marimuthu contended that even as Maravars in Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Tanjavur, Tiruvarur Pudukottai and Nagapattinam were given MBC status (denotified), those in Madurai, Dindigul and Theni districts were denied the same. While Piramalai Kallars, orginally from Madurai, Ramnad and Thanjavur districts, had migrated to other parts of the state and had been given denotified status, irrespective of their original place of dwelling, the Marvars were discriminated, he alleged. He also submitted that while "Appa Naadu" and "Kondaiyankottai" Maravars (two sub sects) community in Madurai were accorded denotified status before bifurcation of the district, the other five sub sects of Maravar community, were not given the same. The Gujarat High Court today ordered an "independent investigation" by police into an alleged assault by BJP MP from Porbandar Vitthal Radadiya and others of a shop-owner at Dhoraji in Rajkot district last year. Police are accused of not registering an FIR in the case. Justice Sonia Gokani ordered that the case be investigated independently by the Superintendent of Police (Rajkot rural) and the IG (Rajkot range) should supervise it. A report should be filed by June 15, the HC said. Radadiya, then a Congress MP, had rented out a shop at Dhoraji to Sharifbhai Shakariyana, a party worker. On October 12 last year, Radadiya and his men allegedly beat up Rajesh Mehta, who ran the shop on Shakariyana's behalf, to get it vacated. When Mehta approached the police, they only registered a non-cognisable offence and not an FIR. Mehta then moved the local court at Dhoraji, which too ruled that the offence being non-cognisable, no FIR could be filed. He then moved the HC, seeking a CBI probe. The HC refused to order a CBI probe but ordered an independent probe by the DSP. Mehta's lawyers argued that Sharifbhai, the tenant, had occupied the shop for a long time, he had the telephone connection in his name and he was in "settled possession", so he cannot be dispossessed without due legal procedure. Radadiya is in at present after a video showing him beating up an elderly man at a religious function at Jamkandorna in Rajkot district went viral some days ago. Delhi High Court today sought the CBI's reponse on a plea by former Union Minister P K Thungon challenging his conviction and three-and-a half-year jail term in a corruption case relating to allotment of government shops here in 1993-94. Justice Siddharth Mridul also asked the agency to respond to Thungon's bail plea and sought its reply by April 8 when the court will hear arguments on the application. Thungon, also a former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, was convicted by the trial court for offences under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The trial court had also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on Thungon who is presently lodged in Tihar jail. It had acquitted two other accused -- Lakhpa Tsering and Krishna -- in the case. Thungon was the Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Employment at the time of the alleged offence when the Congress government was led by P V Narasimha Rao. Apart from them, then Urban Affairs and Employment Minister Sheila Kaul, and one Tulsi Balodi were also accused in the case. Proceedings against Kaul and Balodi were abated due to their death during the pendency of trial. The court, however, had found Kaul guilty in the case for conspiring and committing the illegal act. CBI had registered a case in 1996 against Kaul, Thungon, Tsering, Krishna and Balodi for allegedly hatching conspiracy in allotting shops and stalls in 1994. According to CBI, the five accused had allegedly conspired during September 1993 to June 1994 for dishonestly and fraudulently obtaining undue benefit in the allotment of shops on economical licence fee basis in contravention of rules governing such allotments. The three shops were alloted on April 9, 1994 and May 12, 1994, the agency had said. In July 2015, Thungon was awarded a four-and-a half-year jail term by a trial court here in a separate graft case of 1998 relating to misappropriation of funds. Congress will seek legal opinion on the issue of allowing the nine rebel party MLAs to vote in the March 31 floor test in Uttarkhand to seek clarity on the High Court order. Welcoming the court order, party General Secretary Ambika Soni squarely blamed the Centre, accusing it of acting in "undue haste" to dismiss the Harish Rawat government on the eve of the trust vote. Talking to reporters here, she alleged that the "mistake" by the Centre in the matter has led to problems as the "unconstitutional act" has resulted in many new issues cropping up. Replying to questions, she said the AICC will seek legal opinion by talking to senior lawyers like Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi. She said the party failed to understand as to where the rebel MLAs could vote since they have been disqualified they cannot enter the Assembly. Soni, who is in-charge of party affairs in the hill state, insisted that till today there has been no voting outside the House on floor test. Besides, she said as per rules, the Speaker cannot allow entry of "non-members" in the House of representatives. The Congress leader remained ambivalent on questions whether the party would attempt to woo the rebels to ensure smooth sailing for Rawat in the trust vote. "Wait and see, what we do," she told a questioner. At the same time, she said as many as 34 MLAs had marched along with Rawat to the Governor to express their support to him yesterday. She said the MLAs on their own have given affidavits in the matter. She said this when asked whether the Congress is going to issue a whip asking its members to vote for Rawat. She said that a whip is just a "procedural aspect" Targeting the Centre, she wondered how could President's Rule could be imposed in a state just on the basis of a sting whose authenticity is not known. In a jolt to the Centre, the Uttarkhand High Court today ordered a floor test in the Assembly on March 31, giving a new turn to the political developments two days after President's Rule was imposed in the state. Unidentified hijackers seized an Egyptian airliner today and diverted it to Cyprus, where it landed at Larnaca airport on the south coast, Cypriot police said. The plane was carrying 55 passengers, seven crew, an Egyptian airport official said. The hijackers contacted the control tower at 8:30 am (0530 GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8:50 am, police said. The hijackers made no immediate demands and a crisis team has been deployed to the airport. Authorities arrested the hijacker of an Egyptian airliner that was diverted to Cyprus today, after the plane's passengers and crew were able to escape unharmed. The hijacker, who officials said was motivated by personal reasons and who had reportedly claimed to be wearing an explosives belt, was detained after several tense hours at Larnaca airport where the plane had landed. "The hijacker has just been arrested," Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter. No further details were immediately available. An AFP correspondent saw a man emerging from the aircraft, walking across the tarmac and then raising his hands to two awaiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him for around two minutes before taking him away. Passengers and crew had earlier been seen leaving the aircraft, including one who climbed out of the cockpit window. "The passengers are safe and the crew is safe," Egypt's civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said on state television minutes after Cyprus said the hijacker had been taken into custody. Egypt's Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in televised remarks that the alleged hijacker was an Egyptian and had demanded to speak to a European Union representative. Officials earlier said there was no link to "terrorism" in the incident and that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman who was his estranged lover, with whom he had children. "This is not about terrorism. This is about the individual action of a person who is psychologically unstable," said the Cypriot foreign ministry's permanent secretary, Alexandros Zenon. The EgyptAir plane landed at the airport in the southern coastal city of Larnaca at 8:50 am (1120 IST), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion. Egyptian civil aviation said he had threatened to detonate an explosives belt on the Airbus A-320, which had been headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo. Most of the passengers were allowed to disembark after the plane landed, but a handful of crew and passengers had remained on board until shortly before the hijacker's arrest. Fathy had told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, an air hostess and a security guard, along with three passengers, had remained on board after other passengers and crew were released. Fathy said there had been 55 passengers on board the plane and that the hijacker had demanded it land in either Turkey or Cyprus. The plane had been carrying 21 foreigners including eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, an Egyptian civil aviation ministry statement said. (Reopens FGN 41) Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades had earlier told reporters the incident appeared to be motivated by personal reasons. "The hijacking is not terrorism-related," he told a joint conference with the visiting president of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz. Asked about reports that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman, Anastasiades laughed and said: "Always there is a woman." The plane had been parked on the tarmac away from the new terminal building but just 200 metres from a beach where dozens of foreign tourists were out. The airport, the main entry point for tourists to the resort island, was closed and incoming flights diverted to Paphos on the country's western edge. Concerns were raised about security at Egyptian airports after a Russian airliner was downed on October 31 over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. The Islamic State group claimed to have smuggled a bomb on board the plane. Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the last few decades. In August 1996, a Sudan Airways Airbus A-310 was hijacked by seven Iraqis between Khartoum and Amman with 199 people on board. After a stopover in Larnaca it flew on to London's Stansted airport, where the hijackers gave themselves up. In 1988, a Kuwait Airways flight hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait was diverted to Iran's second city Mashhad and later to Larnaca, where hijackers killed two Kuwaiti passengers and dumped their bodies on the tarmac. In February 1978, an Egyptian commando unit stormed a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 at Larnaca airport, where 15 passengers were being held hostage. Some 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in a firefight with Cypriot forces. All the hostages were freed and the hijackers arrested. Madras High Court has restrained various trade unions in IDBI Bank from interfering with its smooth functioning and staging demonstrations in and around the premises of its branches in Tamil Nadu, pending disposal of a civil suit. Justice K K Sasidharan who granted the interim injunction yesterday on a petition by IDBI Bank Ltd, directed the unions to desist from causing impediments to the normal functioning of the branches of the bank throughout the state, including the zonal office here in any manner whatsoever. "Unions must not cause inconvenience to the customers visiting the premises of any IDBI bank in the state for transaction purpose," the court said. The judge also ordered the unions to abstain from holding any kind of meeting or demonstration within a radius of 100 meters of any IDBI branch, or threatening or wrongfully confining any willing bank employee who wanted to perform their duties. The IDBI Management submitted that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement in his recent budget speech over bringing down government stake in the bank was misconstrued by employees as attempts to privatise it. The government of India is the single largest shareholder of IDBI Bank, holding 80.16 per cent equity in share capital. The Bank showed a net loss of Rs 2184 crore for the December quarter 2015 on account of Non Performing Assets. IDBI said the employees raised the 'privatisation' issue, following which labour authorities held conciliation talks from March 21 to 24, which however ended in failure. IDBI said they were constrained to move court as the unions had served notice of strike from March 28 to 31 even before the seven-day deadline of submission of failure report. All India IDBI Employees' Association, IDBI Officers Organisation (affiliated to Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh), United Platform of IDBI Bank Unions (All India IDBI Officers Association), are among the other unions striking work. When the matter came up yesterday, the court had granted the interim injunction and posted the matter to April 25. Swash buckling West Indies opener Chris Gayle today conceded that India would start as favourites in the World T20 semifinal showdown on Thursday as the home side have "many match-winners" but warned that the Caribbeans would also be plotting for an upset win. Talking to reporters after the West Indies team's practice session at the Brabourne stadium, Gayle said that his side will also not focus only on Virat Kohli, who has been in sublime form in the tournament, but on the Indian team as a whole. "India have come back with three wins after being one down. They have the momentum, there is no doubt about that and a lot of confidence coming into the semifinal game as well. It is very difficult to pinpoint one particular player in the Indian team. It is a very good all-round team, good fielding team as well," Gayle said. "That's why India are the favourites. It is always going to be difficult to beat them here," he added. Kohli has single-handedly won two crucial matches for India -- against Pakistan and Australia and Gayle heaped praise on the star Indian batsman but said that the Caribbeans would also be wary on other home team players. "No surprise there. I have said it over the years he (Virat) is going to be the world beater he is today. He has been fantastic right through the year. He is in good form and it is a good wicket (at Wankhede) as well, so anything is possible. We have to play to the situation accordingly, play within our strength and actually take it from there. "We are not going to focus on only Virat, there are so many match-winners there and anyone of them can actually fire on any particular day. It is a huge team India, their batting line-up is superb. They have so many match-winners, like our team as well, we have a lot of match-winners too, it is not always going to be about me," said Gayle. Gayle, who scored a record-breaking hundred against England, said he would wish that Kohli does not fire in the semifinal match. "Virat is the man that stands out at this point in time. Hopefully he won't get runs against us. I am hoping, please don't fire, Virat. He can still get runs but for a losing cause. We'll be happy with that as well," Gayle said in a lighter vein. Influential US lawmakers, religious leaders and Indian Americans today strongly condemned the ghastly terrorist attack in Lahore that killed 72 Pakistanis. "The barbaric attack in Pakistan is an outrage and I condemn this heinous act of terror in the strongest the possible terms," said Congresswoman Grace Meng after Sunday's attack, one of the worst to hit the country since the Peshawar school massacre in 2014. "Those responsible for this attack are cowards, and I hope that these evil and gutless people are swiftly brought to justice. I call on US officials to help Pakistan with any assistance needed in that effort and United States stands with Pakistan at this difficult time," Meng said. Senator Rob Portman said "the cowardly attack targeting Christians on Easter Sunday is yet another example of the threat radical Islamic terrorism poses to Christians and other religious minorities and to the principle of religious freedom Americans hold dear". "The United States has a moral obligation to stand up for these communities who are being persecuted for their religious faith," he said. "There are simply no words that can fully capture the immeasurable horror of seeing a children's playground turned into a place of slaughter," said Archbishop Joseph E Kurtz, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in a letter to Archbishop Joseph Coutts, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan. Leaders of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) joined the global chorus deploring the attack. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," said Samir Kalra, HAF senior director and Human Rights Fellow. "Pakistan's duplicitous game of placating violent religious extremists and failing to crack down on terrorism is having tragic internal consequences. Religious minorities are often the primary victims, but all citizens of Pakistan are paying the price as Islamists attempt to further their goal of enforcing Sharia law," Kalra said. "We fear that these large scale attacks targeting religious minorities in Pakistan will become the norm," said Jay Kansara, HAF director of government relations adding "the United States must stop placating Pakistan's requests for military equipment, which will only advance their territorial aggression towards Afghanistan and India rather than combat actual terrorist threats within its own borders". "Religious extremism which culminates in any form of violence must be rejected by all and the full weight of the law must be brought to bear on it in order for the perpetrators to be brought to justice," said the Sikh American Council. The recently concluded fourth edition of Art Basel Hong Kong offered art from India a wider platform to showcase in the Asian region with galleries from the country reporting sales at the three-day-long fair. Despite concerns of a slowing Chinese economy and its impact on the international art market, dealers such as the Mumbai-based Chemould Prescott Road have said they sold large proportions of the exhibited artworks. The gallery, which exhibited leading contemporary Indian artists like Anju Dodiya, Gigi Sacaria and Shakuntala Kulkarni among others, sold an entire series of five cement-sheet sketches by artist-architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai to a private Chinese museum for USD 10,000 each. "A fair like ABHK has the potential to introduce Indian galleries to a wider Asian audience and test the market outside. Being a fair that attracts collectors and museums from around the world, Indian galleries can stand neck-to-neck with the best of the rest of the world here," says Chemould Prescott Road gallery owner Shireen Gandhy. Gandhy, who has been participating in the Hong Kong art extragavaza ever since it began in 2013, is also on the selection committee of ABHK. "The fair is over-subscribed, so the applications, past booth displays etc are viewed very stringently by the committee. The fair is competitive and applications are viewed with a great deal of discernment," say Gandhy. The event that came to a close on March 26 attracted a record 70,000 visitors including Hollywood's Oscar winning actor Leonardo Di Caprio and saw 239 galleries from over 50 countries, with half of the exhibition spaces dedicated to Asia and Asia-Pacific region showcasing the region's diversity through both historical material and cutting-edge works by established and emerging artists. The four Indian galleries that participated in the fair, cracking the "stringent" selection process also included Delhi-based Vadehra Art Gallery and Nature Morte and Kolkata-based Experimenter. According to Marc Spiegler, Global director of Art Basel, one should not invest in an artwork merely for its potentially increasing market value, but also because it appeals to them aesthetically. "That way, even if it does sell in the market at your desired price, you are not stuck with something you don't like. You have something you love," he says. Nature Morte, another regular at Art Basel Hong Kong decided to bring in younger artists like Faig Ahmed and Suhasini Kejriwal with less expensive works instead of international names like Subodh Gupta Bharti Kher, whose works often returned to the gallery due to their exorbitant prices. "Last year we had Subodh Gupta and Faig Ahmed and the only thing we sold was Faig Ahmed. It was just too expensive for them," says Peter Nagy, gallery director. Nagy, who has been living in India since 1992 feels that the "Chinese are not interested in Indian art," and believes there is a "big animosity" between the two countries. "Frankly it is not like other fairs in the sense that I don't think that the Chinese are interested in Indian art. If we sell things, we sell them to Europeans and Australians. I feel both countries are so big that they have enough stuff of their own," he says. However, the gallery owner maintains that attending a fair is never about the sales alone. "You do fairs for different reasons and it is not always about sales. It is also networking," he says. The gallery did sell some artworks this year, but refused to divulge the prices or the buyer details. Another Delhi-based gallery, Vadehra Art Gallery (VAG), which exhibited their star contemporary artists like Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, Riyas Komu and Jagannath Panda, had something for everyone with artworks ranging from 500 USD to 60,000 USD. Atul Dodiya's rendition of "The Garden Party - February 1925", the first work to be sold at the VAG booth was picked up within hours of the artfair's private preview on March 22. "We have sold about 70 per cent of our booth. The major works sold are of Atul Dodiya, Anju Dodiya, Madhusudhanan, Riyas Komu and Jagannath Panda. We have also sold smaller works by Arun Kumar H G, Sujith S N, Nalini Malani and Arpita Singh. The fair is focused on Asian art and Indian art is a good part of it," Roshni Vadhera, gallery owner said. "There is a good mix of NRIs as well as international collectors (among buyers). Apart from selling a few works to known collectors, we have sold most of the works to new collectors from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Dubai and Switzerland," Vadhera said. Speaking about the small Indian representation at the fair, she said, "I think it is quite expensive to participate in international fairs and one has to have the confidence that their works will sell. The focus in an art fair is obviously to sell and make more contacts." The gallery which sold artworks worth 100,000 USD said the edition had been the "best experience at the fair so far." For Priyanka Raja, who co-owns the Kolkata-based Experimenter with her husband Prateek Raja, India's seemingly paltry representation at ABHK is better than other international fairs where not more than a couple of galleries participate. "It is a fantastic fair and we meet clients from regions of the world that we would otherwise not meet at other fairs that we do. I think there is lot of interest which is good. Four galleries from India is not bad actually," she said. The gallery, which participated in the 'Discoveries' sector, showcased two emerging artists including Pakistani artist Ayesha Sultana and Bengali artist Rathin Barman, all of whose works were priced under 20,000 USD. Despite admitting to have had "great sales," the gallery refused to disclose details. Retirement fund body EPFO today decided to provide interest on inoperative accounts from April 1, a move which will benefit over nine crore such account-holders having total deposits of over Rs 32,000 crore. The decision was taken by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) apex decision making body Central Board of Trustees' headed by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya. "UPA government stopped interest on inoperative accounts. Now we have taken a pro-worker decision. The UPA government which was claiming to be a pro-worker, stopped the interest on inoperative accounts. "Now, we have decided to credit interest in inoperative accounts. There will not be any inoperative accounts," Dattatreya told reporters after the CBT meeting here. He also informed that interest on deposits in inoperative accounts will be credited from from April 1. Inoperative accounts are those wherein the contribution has not been received for 36 months. EPFO had stopped payment of interest to such accounts from April 1, 2011. The move was aimed at discouraging parking of funds with EPFO in these dormant accounts. The decision will benefit over nine crore such account holders having total deposit of around Rs 32,000 crore. When asked about a proposal on enhancing proportion of incremental investments of the EPFO in government securities (G-Sec) from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal said, "It has already been decided by the Ministry of Finance." The Secretary said that the limit of 50 per cent was enhanced as they were getting good offers but unable to invest in such instruments as the limit had been exhuasted. "If we get higher returns in G-Secs then we should be allowed to invest more in these instruments," he said further. The Board also gave in-principle approval to restructuring of the EPFO as recommended by a sub-committee. "We have taken decision regarding (cadre) restructuring of the EPFO. There will be a Career Advancement Scheme for over 20,000 employees of EPFO. They are waiting their due promotions for 19 years," Dattatreya said. (REOPEN DEL56) Dattatreya said that an implementation and anomalies committee has been formed which will look into grievances of employees. "The implementation of the scheme will be started within one month and will go very fast. A small committee under the Central Provident Fund Commissioner will address all anomalies in a month's time," he said. About the CBT's decision to provide 8.8 per cent rate of interest on PF deposits for current fiscal, the Labour Secretary said, "The decision taken last month at CBT's meeting at Chennai has been sent to Finance Ministry and their approval is awaited." On the proposal to provide insurance cover to EPFO's subscribers for three years after cessation of employment, he said, "The proposal is deferred." The proposal to introduce voluntary retention of EDLI membership to subscribers at reduced rate of contribution for three years after cessation of employment was also on agenda of the CBT meeting today. At present, the EPFO subscribers get an insurance cover of up to Rs 3.6 lakh crore under the Employee's Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme for which their employers contribute 0.5 per cent of basic wages as premium. About the CBT's decision in September last year to increase maximum sum assured under the scheme from Rs 3.6 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, Aggarwal said, "All decision of the CBT are vetted by Law Ministry. We will see where it is (status) and it will be implemented." The CBT had also decided in its meeting held in September last year, to abolish the condition of continuous employment of 12 months under the current employer for employees to be eligible for insurance benefit under the EDLI scheme. A majority of retail investors in India are fearing another financial crisis in the next three years and most of them lack confidence in their firm's ability to manage through the possible turmoil, says a survey. According to a report by the CFA Institute, around 59 per cent of retail investors surveyed in India believe that another financial crisis is likely to take place in the next three years. "Investors are anxious about the markets and hence expecting their investment managers to help them navigate through these volatile times," said Jayesh Gandhi, President of Indian Association of Investment Professionals (IAIP). Around 68 per cent of those surveyed in India feels that the brand is more important than people. "Trust and brand is high on the minds of investors but so are the concerns regarding fees, transparency and performance. It is vital for firms to communicate the value the investment management industry brings to society," Gandhi said. Further, the report said that while trust has increased, investors remain concerned about ethics, transparency and performance. "Retail investors demand full disclosure and clarity of fees and costs from financial professionals. 80 per cent viewed full disclosure of fees and other costs as an important attribute in working with an investment firm, followed by clear explanation of fees and costs," it said. The report was produced after surveying 3,312 retail investors with investible assets of at least USD 100,000 in India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed for security reasons a planned visit to Austria this week, only his second to Europe since last year's nuclear deal, Austria's presidency said today. "The visit for March 30-31 by President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation has been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons," it said in a statement, without giving further details. Rouhani had been due to meet Austrian President Heinz Fischer on Wednesday in Vienna and Chancellor Werner Faymann the following day as well as attend an Austro-Iranian economic forum. He visited Rome and Paris in January. The 2013 election of Rouhani, a relative moderate, led to something of a rapprochement with the West which in turn helped Iran and major powers reach the mammoth nuclear deal in Vienna last July. Entering into force in January, Iran substantially scaled down its nuclear programme in order to put an atomic bomb out of reach. In return nuclear-related sanctions -- but not others -- were lifted. Ructions with the West remain, however, including over Tehran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the conflict in Yemen, Iran's ballistic missile programme and computer hacking. With Rouhani having been elected on a promise to improve the economy, Tehran is also frustrated at what it sees as an incomplete lifting of sanctions, in particular on its banks. Austria, like other European countries, and having hosted numerous rounds of talks that led to the nuclear deal, is keen to see its firms profit from the opening up of the Iranian economy. She is one of Israel's "chained women" -- the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wives denied a divorce by their husbands and prevented from breaking free by the country's use of Jewish law. The 30-year-old mother of two is hardly unique in struggling to obtain a divorce in a country where men must grant permission for their wives to leave. But her case has shone a spotlight on the issue after her husband Oded Guez was named and shamed by a religious court for refusing to grant a divorce. "I have been asking for a divorce for four years, and the rabbinical court ordered him to give it to me two years ago," she told AFP in an interview, asking for her name not to be published. Her main aim, she said, is "to gain my freedom as soon as possible." Marriage in Israel is governed by Jewish law, which requires the husband to grant permission through what is known as a "get" before his wife can divorce him. If the woman has a child with another man without an official divorce, the child is considered fatherless and cannot marry under Jewish law. The case of Guez and his wife has drawn new attention to the issue due to moves by a rabbinical court. The court sought to force Guez to grant the divorce by shaming and essentially excommunicating him. It also authorised the judgment to be published on social networks, as requested by his wife, while calling on the community to shun Guez. It was shared widely online along with Guez's photo "One must not ask him about his well-being," said the order. "He cannot participate in daily communal prayer, nor recite kaddish (the prayer for the dead) in a synagogue when a relation dies as long as he ignores the call of rabbis and refuses to provide the 'get' to his wife." There are officially 131 "chained" women involved in rabbinical court cases in Israel, where around 11,000 divorces of Jewish couples are granted annually, said rabbinical courts director Shimon Yaakobi. But since that number includes only cases where the court has ordered the husband to grant the divorce, activists say it is far below the actual amount. Aliza Gellis of the organisation Yad Lisha, which provides legal aid to "chained" wives, said it receives 6,000 requests for help every year. There are also rare cases of men seeking to divorce, but their wives refusing to accept "gets". Israeli and Turkish officials refused to comment today on a report by Britain's Sky TV that the Islamic State group planned to attack Jewish school children in Turkey. The report came after Israel advised its citizens yesterday to leave Turkey "as soon as possible," citing the potential for jihadist attacks. "Terrorists from the so-called Islamic State have advanced plans to murder Jewish children in Turkey, targeting kindergartens, schools and youth centres," Sky reported. "The most likely target of an attack is Istanbul's synagogue in Beyoglu, which also has a community centre and a school attached to it." Asked by AFP to comment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Israel and Turkey's foreign ministries refused. Three Israelis were among four people killed in a March 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul. An Iranian was also killed and 39 people wounded when a man blew himself up on a shopping street in the heart of the city. The Turkish government said the bomber had links to IS. The group has been blamed for four bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a massacre at a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October that claimed 103 lives. Sky reported on its website that unidentified "intelligence officials" said that a fresh attack was imminent, based on information from six IS operatives arrested in southern Turkey. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that new security laws that took effect today will strengthen Tokyo's ability to defend itself amid increasing threats as opponents took to the streets to say they risk hurling the country into war. Legislators in September passed the bills into law, a shift that could see Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since the end of World War II. The approval was a milestone in Japan, where a constitution imposed by the United States after Japan's defeat renounces its sovereign right to wage war. That clause, known as Article 9, is unchanged, but staunch nationalist Abe wants to revise the constitution to throw off what he and many conservatives see as outdated foreign-imposed constraints that hinder Japan from playing a more robust role in regional and global affairs. "The security environment surrounding our country is becoming more severe," Abe told a nationally televised conference, citing threats including from nearby North Korea, which this year has carried out fresh nuclear and ballistic rocket launches. "No country in the world can protect itself alone," he added. As Abe spoke at his official office, an AFP journalist estimated that about 2,000 people rallied outside parliament nearby in a show of opposition to the laws that opponents fear could fundamentally reshape the proudly pacifist nation. Fumiko Yamaguchi, who attended the demonstration, said she survived devastating US air raids on Tokyo as a child even as an aunt was killed. "I don't want Japan to be engaged in any war," she told AFP. "I don't want my children and our grandchildren to go to war." Abe says that the new laws are part of a normalisation of Japan's military policy, which had been restricted to self-defence and aid missions by the constitution. The changes, which would allow Japanese troops to fight in defence of allies, drew tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets outside parliament or the prime minister's office in the runup to their passage in September. Abe and his backers say the laws are necessary because of threats from an increasingly belligerent China and unstable North Korea. Opponents argue they go against both the constitution and the national psyche, and could see Japan dragged into far-flung US wars. Washington has backed the changes, but regional rivals China and South Korea have expressed concern at any expansion of Japanese military scope. Abe also said that the alliance with the US remains strong and will not change after the Us presidential election in November. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the Jat reservation bill passed by the assembly today was a "win-win" for all and "no section stands to lose". "No section stands to lose, it is a win-win thing for all. A long pending issue has been solved, we have kept our promise. The Bill was passed unanimously in the Assembly," Khattar told a press conference after the Bill was unanimously passed by voice-vote. Opposition Congress members were not present in the House when the Bill was passed as they stayed away to protest the suspension of their three members for six months for tearing copies of the Governor's Address in the Assembly a fortnight ago. While Khattar and his cabinet colleagues, including Finance Minister Abhimanyu, claimed it was a "historic day" for Haryana, opposition Congress slammed the BJP government. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said what the BJP government had brought in the Assembly was a "carbon copy" of what the Congress had provided during its rule but the Supreme Court had quashed the move. The Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016 proposed to give reservation to Jats and five other castes - Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois, Tyagis and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat -- in government services and admission to educational institutions. The Chief Minister, who was interacting with mediapersons shortly after he was greeted by Khap leaders following the passage of the Bill, said the provisions would be implemented immediately after the Governor's assent to the Bill. He said a request would also be made to the Centre to include the Act in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution so as to shield it from judicial review. (REOPENS DES41) Khattar said with the passage of the Bill, a long standing demand of many communities has been fulfilled. Training guns on the erstwhile Congress government, he said it had framed a Bill in this regard in such a manner that it "was struck down in the High Court and Supreme Court". "After making a thorough study and consulting the stakeholders, the present government has got the Bill passed which would become a law after the assent of the Governor," he said. When asked if the Bill could run into any legal hurdle, Khattar said they had talked to the Attorney General in this regard. "There is no scope left for any legal hurdle anywhere," Khattar asserted. Referring to the provisions of the Bill, the chief minister said that six castes -- Jat, Jat Sikh, Ror, Bishnoi, Tyagi and Mulla Jat/Muslim Jat -- have been included in Backward Classes-C category. The state government has not only maintained reservation provisions of BC-A and B categories but has also extended some more benefits to them through this Bill. The 71 castes included in Backward Classes-A would be given 11 per cent reservation in services for Class I and II posts, instead of 10 per cent being given earlier. Similarly, six castes of BC-B category would be given one per cent more reservation in services in Class I and II posts as against the earlier provision of five per cent, he added. The chief minister said all those castes that are not covered under any category would be given reservation under Economically Backward Classes. The government has also decided to enhance the reservation under EBC from five per cent to seven per cent and notification to this effect would be issued shortly, he said. Khattar said it is "unfortunate" that Congress members were not present in the House when the Bill was passed despite repeated requests. "They just made excuse to stay away. Their last failure on reservation might be the reason for staying out of the Assembly. Another big cause for their being absent was SYL issue for which Congress party is responsible," he claimed. On the status of reservation on the posts already advertised by the recruitment agencies, he said requisition to fill up vacant posts of various departments, boards and corporations has been sent to Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) and Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) after keeping aside 10 per cent seats. These 10 per cent posts would be separately advertised as per the norms and rules of HPSC and HSSC. When asked that Kurukshetra MP R K Saini, who is vocal against reservation for Jats, had expressed some reservation on the Bill, Khattar said it has been passed in the Assembly unanimously. Asked if new sections will now raise reservation demand, Khattar said, "No section has been left uncovered. Nearly 83 castes have been covered, remaining come under EBP." In reply to another question, he said the Haryana Backward Classes Commission has also been given statutory status and it would have the right to include or delete new cases in the list of Backward Classes in the state. A ruling JD(U) legislator's alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi created ruckus in Bihar Assembly today during a debate on the Appropriation Bill 2016 which was later passed by voice vote amid boycott by NDA members. JD(U) member Ratnesh Sada, while participating in the debate during post-lunch session, made the remarks against Modi, prompting BJP members to rush to the Well of the House in protest. NDA members shouted slogans against Sada for around 10 minutes, and Leader of Opposition, BJP's Prem Kumar, demanded that the member tender apology for his comment. Amid pandemonium, Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary adjourned the House for 10 minutes. During the brief interval, a meeting of Business Advisory Committee was convened to resolve the issue but BJP was not ready to agree on anything less than 'apology' from the member but the government did not agree to it saying the remarks have been expunged. "The ruling party was not ready for 'apology', instead they said the derogatory remarks have been expunged from the proceedings. We did not agree to the government's proposal and decided to boycott government's reply on Appropriation Bill," Kumar told PTI. It has become the habit of ruling alliance to make derogatory remarks and the ruling party should control their MLAs from making such remarks, Kumar said adding that whether or not to continue the 'boycott' of the House will be decided at a late evening meeting by the party. Earlier on March 3, JD(U) legislator Manish Kumar had allegedly made derogatory remarks against the Prime Minister that created ruckus in the Assembly. On that occasion, Manish Kumar had tendered an apology in the House for his remarks against PM. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said only time will tell whether the visit of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to Pathankot will benefit India or not, but expected Pakistan to take steps to control terrorism. "There will be a controversy (on the Pak's JIT visit) because unfortunately BJP did the same (opposed normalisation of ties with Pakistan) during its time (in opposition) and today they are bearing the brunt. "Only time will tell whether the team from Pakistan visiting Pathankot will benefit us or not, but now that they have come, we expect it will benefit us in a way that those responsible for the attack would be arrested and given harsh punishment," Omar said. The former chief minister however, said "the way Pakistani team came for probing the Pathankot attack and was allowed, Indian team should be allowed to (investigate) Mumbai and other such attacks (in Pakistan)". He was talking to reporters at National Conference (NC) headquarters after some political activists joined the party. Omar said denounced the Lahore terror blast and expressed hope that the neighbouring country would take steps to "control the situation". At least 74 people including 29 children were killed in the Taliban suicide bombing at a park during Easter celebration in Lahore on Sunday. "What happened in Lahore is regretful. Since 25-26 years, we ourselves have been fighting this kind of situation. Thousands of people have sacrificed their lives. We understand that what befalls a family when such things happen. "We are hopeful than Pakistan government will take steps to control the situation and get the whole sub-continent and not just the country itself, rid of terrorism," he said. The NC working president also batted for establishing a joint Truth and Reconciliation Commission by India and Pakistan to start a process of healing wounds of the people of Kashmir. "I have repeatedly said that the (Kashmir) problem cannot be solved by taking one step at a time. We will have to open the record of the last 25-26 years here. I have demanded this before as well that if Pakistan and India can make a team by coming together, then a Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be established for Jammu and Kashmir by both the countries so that we start to apply balm on the wounds inflicted during the last 25-26 years," he said. Omar said it was a "good thing" that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has accepted that no one can be pressurised to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. "I have been saying that it is not necessary. I have said that no one can force me to say Bharat Mata Ki Jai. If I want to say it, I will say it, if I do not want to say it, then I would not.And I will never say it at someone's behest. "If someone tries to compel me to say it, then I will refuse it. I have no objection to the words, but I would not be forced to utter a slogan like Bharat Mata Ki Jai or Hindustan Zindabad or any such slogan. Now, if Mohan Bhagwat has accepted that, it is a good thing," he said. Omar also took a dig at PDP president and Chief Minister -designate Mehbooba Mufti saying her party and the alliance partner BJP were waiting for an auspicious time for the swearing-in ceremony of the new government. "Government is not being formed because they are waiting for an auspicious time. Once an auspicious time is there, Mehbooba will take oath," he said. He said his party would seek answers from Mehbooba on what was given to the state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that she felt satisfied. "They made us to wait for the last two and a half months saying they will get CBMs from Delhi. Now, no one is talking about those CBMs. Only Mehbooba is saying that she is satisfied. We want to know what did the Prime Minister gave this state that she feels satisfied," Omar said. The NC leader said, "Let her take oath and call an assembly session soon, we will raise questions on these issues inside the assembly and seek answers from her, if she is not willing to talk outside the assembly". Keeping up the offensive over the visit of a Pakistani Joint Investigation (JIT) team to probe the Pathankot terror attack, Congress today accused the government of compromising the country's sovereignty and setting a "wrong" precedent. "It is known all over that the Pakistani ISI is behind the terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, and still we are serving biryani to the JIT which also includes an ISI representative," party spokesman P L Punia told reporters. Questioning the visit of the JIT to the strategic air base at Pathankot, he said it was "unprecedented" as there are never technical and non-technical areas at such defence installations. Replying to a question, he said the Narendra Modi dispensation has set a "wrong" precedent by allowing the JIT to visit India. "Tomorrow we will also allow China to send any such team. What happened to those who used to boast of a 56-inch chest," he said, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress has been saying that according an almost "red carpet welcome" to JIT compromised national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. In a new twist to the granite mining scam, a judicial magistrate today ordered criminal investigation and prosecution against former Madurai district collector Anshul Mishra and two special government pleaders for "cheating the courtby presenting false documents." JM K V Mahendraboopathy also acquitted two persons, including a granite baron P.R.Palanisamy, who were accused of illegally mining granite, transporting it and hoarding it in their private lands. The JM observed that two former District Collectors of Madurai, Anshul Mishra and L.Subramanian, had filed 180 cases against various persons relating to illegal mining of granite in Madurai district and hoarding them in private lands. Anshul Mishra had filed cases against P.R. Palanisamy and former Tirupattur DMK MLA Sivaraman's brother Sahadevan in 2013 for allegedly hoarding the illegally mined granite blocks in private lands in Melur and Keezhavalavu. The JM observed that Anshul Mishra had filed a miscellaneous petition in the case, seeking a direction to nationalise the illegally mined granites at a time when he was not the Collector of Madurai. "This is a fraudulent act by the former Collector," the JM said. As per law, if the quarry owner, who had got licence for quarrying, had illegally mined granite and transported and stored them in a different area without permission, the punishment for the crime was only levying fine to the tune of Rs.25,000. If the stone had been mined without licence and transported, then the accused would have to undergo one-year imprisonment or pay a fine of Rs.25,000 or both under Prevention of Illegal Mining, Storage and Transportation Rules. In this case, the accused had licence to mine granite. Child actor Neel Sethi, all set to make his debut with Disney's big-budget fantasy film "The Jungle Book" as Mowgli, says he is fond of Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra. The "Quantico" actress has voiced the character of 'Kaa', a snake who is one of Mowgli's mentors and friends, in the Hindi version of the film. "I love Priyanka Chopra because she plays 'Kaa' in the Hindi version. She is now in Hollywood too. I would love to act with her, and everybody in Bollywood. I think it'll be a lot of fun," Neel told PTI in an interview. Besides Priyanka, the 12-year-old youngster also looks up to "Captain America" star Chris Evans and Matthew Perry, known for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom "Friends". "I really like Chris Evans, because he is Captain America and is a really nice guy. I like Mathew Perry because of 'Friends'. I love the show." Even though he is based in New York, Neel watches Hindi films and was impressed with the critically acclaimed Irrfan Khan starrer "Talvar", which he found "very cool." The actor is open to do Bollywood films in the future as they have a "different acting style." "I like everybody in Bollywood. There is a different acting style (in Bollywood). May be, in future, I would like to do a film here. It will be every exciting." Directed by Jon Favreau, "The Jungle Book", based on Rudyard Kipling's book, narrates the story of an orphan boy Mowgli who is raised in the jungle by a pack of wolves, a bear, and a black panther. In the film, Neel plays the only human being and he said he was hand-picked by Favreau from over 2000 hopefuls for Mowgli. The actor, however, bagged the role in his very first audition and was not aware of the number of people he was competing to essay the iconic character. "My dad took me to the audition. When they were told I got the role they were so excited and amazed," he said. Once he started filming, Neel credits Favreau for guiding him as this was the first time he was venturing into acting. "It felt good. I didn't know what to do because it was my first time. Whatever the director told me I started doing that because he knows everything about it. He taught me everything. Jon (Favreau) is a very nice guy and it was really fun working in the film. I liked it." When asked if he was nervous while doing the film, Neel said, "I wasn't nervous at all, not really. Because I didn't know how big the film is." The actor is currently in Mumbai and has managed to see the Gateway of India before he flies back to Los Angeles. "The Jungle Book" will release in India on April 8, a week before it hits theatres in the US. Kanhaiya Kumar, Rohith Vemula and every youth who is concerned about the issues in the country and raises his voice is present era's Bhagat Singh, the martyr's nephew Jagmohan Singh said here today. "They all are Bhagat Singhs. Kanhaiya, Rohith and every youth who is concerned about the country and raises the issue has every right to be compared to him. This is what disturbs the government and they fabricate cases against those who raise their voices," he said on sidelines of a lecture at JNU. Asked about Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's remarks comparing Kanhaiya to Bhagat Singh, which kicked off a controversy, he said, " I agree with him (Tharoor). Kanhaiya is following the ideology of Bhagat Singh and performing well intellectually and politically by raising issues concerning the society. Rohith also turned a martyr doing so". Jagmohan, who is a human rights activist and has digitized most of the essential writings of Bhagat Singh, was here to address the JNU students on the topic "Sedition law and freedom struggle: Bhagat Singh's point of view". "Sedition is the last resort for every government. When they have no answers to the questions being raised by certain people who are seen as activists in the society, the government uses the sedition law then," he said during the lecture. Former professor at Punjab Agricultural University, Jagmohan, who was also charged with sedition two decades back when he published a report on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, said, "Bhagat Singh used to say that government always has a notion that people are in habit of raising the issues and its sedition law which balances the act. I cannot agree more with him on this". "They talk of installing flagpoles everywhere but RSS headquarters doesn't have one. They want to give respect to the national flag but not to the Preamble of the constitution. They talk of subsidies to university but never talk of subsidies that have never reached the poor," he said. "BJP today wants to celebrate Bhagat Singh but is hindering them to name an airport in his name. Why is this happening primarily because all our decisions are taken somehwere in Nagpur," he added. Jagmohan, was speaking during the "Azaadi lecture series" at JNU's administration block which has been the venue of protest ever since its student union president Kanhaiya was arrested in a sedition case over an event against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today met President Pranab Mukherjee and asked him to intervene on the NDA government's budget proposal to impose one per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. During the meeting, Kejriwal had drawn the President's attention towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "opposition" to a similar move by UPA-II Government in 2012 and reminded how Mukherjee, as the Union Finance Minister, "rolled back" the decision "understanding pain" of the jewellers then. Lauding the jewellers' community as "peaceful", Kejriwal also urged Centre to frame its policies in a way that will encourage them than "strangulate their throats". "We told the President that our Prime Minister had (as Chief Minister of Gujarat then) opposed similar move to levy excise duty in 2012 . The President was (Union) Finance Minister then. "The President had, understanding pain of jewellers, rolled back the decision after 21-day protests of jewellers then. So, we have requested him to intervene in the matter and co-operate with jewellers," Kejriwal, accompanied by representatives of jewellers' association, said. Speaking to press persons after the meeting, Kejriwal said the jewellers were "unhappy" because the decision to levy one percent tax will lead to inspector raj, "harassing" the traders. "We told President that jewellers are not averse to paying tax. But the new one per cent tax, will lead to inspector raj, inspectors will come and harass and jewellers will have to leave aside their works and face raids. Jewellers are unhappy over this," he said. Kejriwal lauded the jewellers' community as "peaceful" and urged the Government to frame policies in a way that will encourage them than "strangulating their throats". "The community of jewellers is such that they work peacefully, they never come on streets. So, we can understand their pain if they are on streets for past 28 days. Our jewellers are famous internationally. So, we should frame policies in way it will encourage them than strangulate their throats," he added. Pop star Kesha has shut down body shamers after posting a photo of herself in a bikini on Instagram. The "Tik Tok" star enjoyed a Palm Springs, California getaway over the Easter weekend and kept her followers updated on her vacation by posting shots online. In one picture, Kesha is lying on her stomach on the steps of a swimming pool, wearing a black bikini and sunglasses. However, the 29-year-old pop star anticipated negative feedback from Internet trolls, and warned her followers she was ready for their remarks, reported Hollywood Life. "not a slave to perfection right now," she wrote... Body shamers please... Ain't nobody got time for it. @lhorizonpalmsprings in my skivvies," she wrote Kesha has previously been open about her body issues, after taking time out of the spotlight in order treat an eating disorder in rehab in early 2014. Following the stint, she penned a candid article for a magazine about how her body image problems had escalated out of control. Asaram Bapu's alleged henchman Kartik Haldar today said he killed the self-styled godman's personal doctor, one of the three key witnesses in rape cases against the jailed religious leader, because he blackmailed him and demanded a huge amount of money to keep mum. Haldar was arrested from Raipur in Chhatisgarh in a joint operation by ATS and Crime Branch unit of city police earlier this month. He said he is a "worshipper" of Asaram and did not take any money for killing the latter's personal doctor Amrut Prajapati in June 2014. Haldar was also allegedly involved in the killings of Asaram's assistant-cum-cook Akhil Gupta in January last year and another key witness, Kripal Singh, in July. "Prajapati had demanded huge amount from Asaram to keep his mouth shut in rape cases," Haldar told media persons here. "I came to know that Prajapti visits his Rajkot clinic every Friday. I came to Rajkot and fired at him when he was coming out of his clinic," he said. Haldar is currently being interrogated by Rajkot police in connection with Prajapati's murder. "We have taken Haldar's custody from Ahmedabad (police) yesterday and would produce him before a local court," said a senior CID (crime) official. Prajapati, the Ayurvedic practitioner, was shot at by two persons in Pedak Road area here when he was stepping out of his dispensary. He had later succumbed to his wounds while undergoing treatment at a Ahmedabad-based hospital. Prajapati was vocal about Asaram's misdeeds and also became a witness in the rape case, filed by one of the two victim sisters in Ahmedabad three years ago. Responding to a query, Haldar said he did not take any amount for gunning down Prajapti as he is a "worshipper of Asaram". Police had said Haldar allegedly shot dead Gupta after the latter became a witness in the same case in 2013. He was fatally shot by the accused near his house in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. The probe in this case was handed over to CBI. The sharp shooter then allegedly targeted Singh, who was killed in Shahjahanpur, UP. Singh used to work as a clerk in the office of a transporter whose minor daughter had lodged a case of sexual assault against Asaram in Jodhpur. Singh was the prime witness in that case, according to police. ATS had said that besides murdering the three witnesses, Haldar had also attempted to kill four other persons who were directly or indirectly associated with the rape cases filed against the jailed religious leader in Jodhpur and Ahmedabad. Powered by his marauding knocks in the World Twenty20 so far, Indian batsman Virat Kohli today became the top-ranked batsman in the ICC rankings, while India remained static at the No.1 spot in the team list. Kohli, who averages 92 after scoring 184 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of over 132, had entered the tournament 24 points behind Aaron Finch, but has now opened up a 68-point advantage over the Australian, the ICC said in a statement. In the bowlers' table, West Indies' Samuel Badree has displaced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to return to the number-one position. Badree has taken six wickets in four matches to date, while Ashwin has dropped to third after managing just four wickets in as many matches. Four of the top five sides will feature in the semifinals of the ICC World Twenty20, which will be played in Delhi and Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Number-one ranked India will go head to head with third- ranked West Indies in Mumbai on Thursday, while in the first semi-final in Delhi on Wednesday, second-ranked New Zealand will square-off against fifth-ranked England. India have retained their pre-tournament ranking as well as points, while the West Indies have gained two points to move to 120. This means both the former champions, who each won three of their four second round matches, are now separated by seven points. In contrast, New Zealand, who have been the only unbeaten side in the competition so far, have earned six points to rise to 122 and have consequently moved up two places to second. Their semi-final opponent and 2010 champion, England, have also collected three points and are now seven points behind on 115 after winning three of their four matches. Meanwhile, there has been a reshuffling of the pack in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings as leading performers have been rewarded for their good performances. England's Joe Root has rocketed 38 places to career-high 11th after scoring 168 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of 150. The Yorkshireman has gained 105 points in the tournament to date as he now has Zimbabwe's eighth-ranked Hamilton Masakadza firmly within his sights. Martin Guptill is New Zealand's highest-ranked batsman after the opener has moved up two places to third following his contribution of 125 runs in three matches at a strike-rate of over 162. (REOPENS DEL 27) West Indies' flamboyant Chris Gayle has gained one place and is now ranked sixth after scoring 104 runs in two innings at a stunning strike-rate of 208. Among the bowlers, New Zealand's Adam Milne and India's trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra are the bowlers who have made impressive gains and are expected to feature in the final leg of what has been a highly-competitive tournament to date. Milne's three wickets in three matches have helped him rise six places to sixth, Jadeja's four wickets in four matches have moved him up three places to seventh, Bumrah's three wickets in four matches have lifted him 13 places to 13th and Nehra has leaped 14 places to 16th following his four wickets in as many matches. Australian Shane Watson has signed off on his T20 career as the number-one ranked all-rounder. In the batting charts, Watson finished in 10th spot (up by three places) after scoring 96 runs, while he has ended up in 29th spot (up by five places) in the bowlers' list after taking five wickets in four matches. Afghanistan, who consistently produced solid performances and eventually caused the biggest upset of the tournament to date by defeating the West Indies, have seen a number of players head in an upward direction. In the batting table, opener Mohammad Shahzad is now eighth (up by three places), while Asghar Stanikzai is 47th (up by six places). In the bowlers' table, Mohammad Nabi is ninth (up by 11 places), Rashid Khan is 11th (up by 68 places) and Hamza Hotak is 18th (up by 22 places). While the team rankings will be updated after each match, the player rankings will now be updated after the final of the ICC World Twenty20. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reached a deal to resume production at the disputed Khafji offshore oilfield, Kuwait's acting oil minister said today. "An agreement has been reached with the Saudi side at Aramco to resume production at Khafji field in small quantities," Anas al-Saleh told parliament during a debate. Saleh, who is also the finance minister, said the quantities will increase "gradually" after resolving environmental issues over which the field was shut down. A number of maintenance contracts have been signed in preparation for the resumption of production, the minister said without saying when production will resume or how much oil will be pumped. Production at Khafji, which pumped over 300,000 barrels per day and was jointly operated by the two countries, was halted in October 2014. Riyadh cited environmental issues for the shutdown. Khafji is part of the neutral zone which is operated jointly by the two Arab nations and production is divided equally. The other field is Wafra where production was also halted in May last year. Wafra pumped around 200,000 bpd. Kuwait had initially said that Saudi Arabia unilaterally stopped production due to pollution concerns even though it was entitled to five years' notice under the joint agreement. The two Gulf neighbours began talks in June to resolve the dispute. Khafji is jointly operated by Kuwait Gulf Oil Co (KGOC) and Saudi Aramco Gulf Operations, while Wafra is operated by KGOC and Saudi Arabian Chevron. Industry sources say Kuwaiti authorities were unhappy with Saudi Arabia for renewing an operating agreement for the Wafra field with Saudi Arabian Chevron for 30 years in 2009 without consulting them. In response, it stopped issuing or renewing visas for Chevron foreign employees. The dispute has been a blow to Kuwait which, unlike its much larger neighbour, has little spare output capacity to compensate for drops in production. Kuwait is pumping around 3.0 million bpd. A day after Maharashtra Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes over allegations that a lake in adjoining Raigad district was 'purified' by a Shiv Sena MLA, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today informed the House that no such ritual took place. "A Jalpujan ceremony was performed at Mahad on March 16 as part of the 'Jaljagruti Saptah' organised by the government. People of all castes and religions were present. All such (of lake purification) in this regard is baseless," Fadnavis said, making a statement in the Assembly. The House was adjourned for the day yesterday with Congress-NCP opposition alleging that Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale recently performed a 'purification' ritual at the 'Chavdar Tale' at Mahad in Raigad district, where Babasaheb Ambedkar had in 1927 led a 'water satyagraha' to assert the rights of Dalits to use the water in the lake. Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said there was no need to call the event, organised by a government department, as 'jalpujan'. An inquiry should be held to ascertain in which other place in the state such a jalpujan event was held, Chavan said. Speaker Haribhau Bagade said there is nothing wrong with holding jalpujan ceremony. The House was yesterday adjourned for the day as the opposition kept up vociferous protests over the alleged incident. Opposition Leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had said Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale's act amounted to "insulting" the Dalit icon, and sought a statement and apology from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. In March 1927, Ambedkar had arranged a conference at Mahad and at the end of it, he and his followers marched to the Chavdar Tale (tasty water lake), the main tank of the town, and drank its water as a symbolic act to assert the right over its water to all sections of the society. Vikhe Patil had also raked up the issue of police cases slapped on students of Pune's Fergusson College for chanting 'Jai Bhim', a salutation used by Ambedkarites. Referring to the Pune Fergusson college campus incident, Fadnavis today said college principal R G Pardeshi had initially written to the police asking them to arrest students on charges of sedition, but later realised that he had made a typo in his letter. "The principal only wanted the police to investigate whether there had been anti-national activities and then withdrew his earlier letter and submitted the corrected letter," the CM said. The college has formed a fact finding committee on the issue, Fadnavis said. The population of leopards in Kalesar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is likely to be about 23, Haryana Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh today informed the state Assembly. With a view to evaluating the ecological status of leopards, a study was conducted with the help of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun by installing camera traps at a cost of Rs 19,89,500, he said. The minister was replying to a question during the Budget Session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha The population of leopards in Kalesar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary was likely to be about 23, and their density estimated to be 15 animals per 100 sq km. Singh said the camera trapping exercise recorded a total of 19 mammalian species. No other species count was undertaken as the study was primarily aimed at evaluating the population and density of leopards in the Kalesar forest. The survey was conducted from December 2014 to April 2015. Other species counted during the exercise included leopard cat, rusty spotted cat, jungle cat, jackal, Asiatic elephant, chital, sambar, Indian crested porcupine, wild pig and Indian hare. Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar today directed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to make a statement in the House on Friday over a woman party worker's allegation of molestation against former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Mumbai president Ganesh Pandey. Nimbalkar issued the directive during a debate after Dipti Chaudhari of Congress tried to move an adjournment motion on the issue. The Council Chairman said though he cannot direct government to register case in the matter, he instructed the government to direct senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla to record on camera the victim's statement. Later, not satisfied with the ruling Congress, NCP women legislators raised slogans demanding Pandey's arrest or else they would not allow the House transact any further business. As the uproar continued the Chair adjourned the proceedings three times. Trying to move the motion, an angry Chaudhari remarked that although Pandey was sacked there was no case registered against him despite his using the "most vulgar" language against fellow woman colleagues. "We want to know why First Information Report (FIR) is still not registered against Pandey," Chaudhari questioned. Taking part in the debate, senior Shiv Sena member Neelam Gorhe said the police should on its own record on camera the statement of the victim. Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde lashed out at the government alleging that when NCP womens' wing cadres went to submit a memorandum to Bandra police station they were insulted and sent back. The woman, a member of BJP's youth wing had complained to the party's city unit chief Ashish Shelar that Pandey had allegedly molested her by asking her obscene questions and passing lewd remarks. The victim, in a written complaint to Shelar on March 22, alleged that Pandey, who accompanied her during BJYM's three-day executive committee meeting in Mathura, called her to his hotel room on March 4 and asked her obscene questions, passed lewd remarks in front of other male members and also held her hand when she tried to leave the place. Earlier, Pandey dismissed the allegations as part of a "political conspiracy" against him and asked why it took 18 days for the woman to file a complaint. However, Sena President Uddhav Thackeray today said Pandey should be seen as a "social criminal" and action taken against him. "My stand on the issue is very clear. Whichever party the person (Pandey) belongs to, he should be seen as a social criminal and without considering his political affiliation, action should be taken against him," Thackeray told reporters here. "It does not matter if he belongs to this party or that party. There cannot be any leniency shown towards him and he cannot be forgiven for his crime. Appropriate action should be taken against him," he added. Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Danve today appointed a three-member committee to probe the allegation by a woman member of the party's youth wing that she was molested by former Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Mumbai unit president Ganesh Pandey. The committee, comprising former minister Shobhatai Fadnavis, will submit its reports after "probing all facts in the case", a BJP spokesperson said here this evening. Meanwhile, NCP has demanded Pandey's arrest in the case. NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik today referred to a letter purportedly written by the woman activist, which he claimed also mentions Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde's name. "We demand that Mumbai police arrest Tawde and Pandey and, if needed, the case should be handed over to the Mathura court, where the incident happened," Malik said. Last week, the woman, in a written complaint to BJP's Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, had alleged that Pandey sexually harassed her during the BJP youth wing's three-day executive committee meeting in Mathura. Pandey had accompanied the victim for the meeting in the Uttar Pradesh city. The allegation by the woman activist shook the BJP's Mumbai unit. Following the letter, the Mumbai BJP's youth wing has been disbanded and Pandey removed from the post. However, no police case has been filed against him so far. The NCP's women wing today protested against the Mumbai BJP. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters here today, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said Pandey should be treated as "social criminal" and action should be taken against him accordingly. "My stand on the issue is very clear. Whichever party the person (Pandey) belongs to, he should be seen as a social criminal and without considering his political affiliation, action should be taken against him. "It does not matter if he belongs to this party or that party. There cannot be any leniency shown towards him and he cannot be forgiven for his crime. Appropriate action should be taken against him," Thackeray said. Pandey has denied the charges and alleged a political conspiracy against him. Yesterday, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Shalini Thackeray visited DN Nagar police station yesterday, demanding police action against Pandey. Maharashtra government employees working at the Mantralaya, the state secretariat, today went on a flash strike after an MLA allegedly manhandled an official there. They alleged that Bachchu Kadu, Independent MLA from Achalpur, beat up Deputy Secretary Bhausaheb Gavit. Kadu has however denied the assault charge. A Mantralaya staffer said that the MLA was incensed after Gavit refused to allot government accommodation to a clerk who has already been allotted a (government) house. Reacting sharply to BJP chief Amit Shah's comment that the sound of Rabindra Sangeet was getting drowned out by bomb blasts in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today said there will be no "bigger enemy" than her for anybody who insulted the state. "If anyone insults Bengal, there will be no bigger enemy than myself," she said at a poll rally here in Purulia district. "Today you (BJP) are in power in Delhi, but you will lose tomorrow," the Chief Minister said. Referring to the remarks by the BJP President, she said, "I have heard (Shah) has said something about Rabindranath. "People of Bengal do not forgive anyone who insults great poets like Rabindranath Tagore and Nazrul Islam," she said at the rally ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state. During a press meet in Kolkata earlier in the day, Shah said the only industry to have come up in Bengal under Trinamool Congress rule was the bomb-making industry. "Only the bomb-making industry has come up in West Bengal in the last five years. And the sound of Rabindra Sangeet is getting suppressed because of those bomb blasts," he said. Banerjee also claimed that the CPI-M, which her party had ousted from power in 2011, had suffered for disrespecting Tagore. "The CPI-M had claimed it had made Tagore famous while taking 'Sahaj Path' (a beginners' book in Bengali for kids) off the syllabus for nursery students," she said, claiming that the people of Bengal had taught a lesson to the party for such acts. In a sharp retort to BJP chief Amit Shah's claim that the sound of Rabindra Sangeet was getting suppressed by bomb blasts, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today said she would be the biggest enemy of anyone who insulted Bengal. "If anyone insults Bengal, there will be no bigger enemy than me," Banerjee said at a poll rally here in Purulia district. "Today you are in power in Delhi but will lose tomorrow," the West Bengal Chief Minister said, adding, "I have heard that (Shah) has said something about Rabindranath". "People of Bengal do not forgive anyone who insults great poets like Rabindranath Tagore or Nazrul Islam," the TMC supremo thundered at the rally for the coming Assembly poll in the state. During a press meet in Kolkata earlier in the day, Shah said the only industry to have come up in West Bengal during TMC regime was bomb making industry. "Only the bomb making industry has come up in West Bengal in the last five years. And the sound of Rabindra Sangeet is getting suppressed because of those bomb blasts," Shah said. Banerjee claimed that the CPI(M) had suffered for allegedly disrespecting Tagore. "CPI(M) had claimed that it had made Tagore famous, while taking 'Sahaj Path' (a beginners' book in Bengali for kids) off the syllabus of nursery students," Banerjee said, claiming that people of Bengal had paid back the Left party for such acts. A minor Dalit girl was raped here allegedly by a policeman following which the accused has been arrested, police said today. The 14-year-old girl was raped by Constable Rajesh Yadav (48) on Holi on March 24, it said. Next day when the condition of the girl deteriorated, she narrated the entire incident to her mother, who took her to police station but her complaint was not lodged. Meanwhile, the accused allegedly pressurised the family to settle the matter. The victim's father then lodged a complaint to Additional Superintendent of Police Digamber Kushwah on whose direction an FIR was lodged at Kotwali. Inspector Kotwali Rakesh Kumar Singh, who arrested Yadav last evening, said the accused will be produced in court today. Mizoram government was having civil deposit to the tune of Rs 1,602.34 crore during 2014-15, state Finance Minister Lalsawta informed the assembly today. In a written reply to a query from Lalruatkima of the Mizo National Front (MNF), Lalsawta said different department's under the state government were compelled to deposit certain amount of money in civil deposit to avoid fund lapse and overdraft with the Reserve Bank of India. He said that the state government had civil deposit amounting to Rs 1,168.84 crore during previous fiscal of 2013-14. The government has been attempting to avoid stashing large amount of money in the civil deposit and rather tried to implement the recommendations of the committee constituted by the government to study civil deposit, he said. He added that the public debt and liabilities of the state government during 2015-16 was to the tune of Rs 6,977.13 crore. In a scathing attack on the NDA government's performance, CPI National Secretary D Raja today said the "illusion" surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fading and his election rally speeches in Assam and West Bengal showed his "desperation." "The illusion surrounding Prime Minister Modi, created by the BJP, is fading away. His speeches in Assam and West Bengal show his desperation even as the people of Bihar had earlier rejected him," he told reporters here. Raja accused Modi and his government of indulging in "lip service" by launching schemes like Skill India and Startup India and dubbed its basic policies as "pro-corporate". The country's economy and agricultural and industrial sectors were all facing crisis. "Does the government have any plans to end poverty... Where are the acchey din (good days) Modi promised?" Raja asked while accusing the government of favouring big corporates. Slamming RSS for allegedly promoting Hindutva policies, Raja alleged that the BJP had become a "political arm, a tool of RSS, whose idealogy is communal, sectarian and divisive one". The "mask" of RSS of being a social, cultural organisation had come off and it is now "influencing" the BJP government, he alleged. On poll-bound Tamil Nadu, where CPI is a constituent of the People's Welfare Front which has aligned with Vijayakant's DMDK, Raja said people of the state were looking forward to "politics of change" from the DMK and AIADMK. He assured that the PWF-DMDK combine could provide the change. On Union Minister Piyush Goyal's remarks that Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was inaccessible to him, Raja asked him to clarify if he was waiting for an opportunity to reveal it. He also slammed the state government for not dealing with issues affecting Tamil Nadu on the basis of rights of the state. These included the Cauvery problem, GAIL pipeline and fishermen issues, he said. Wild animals like blackbuck can avoid extinction and persist in human-dominated landscapes by modifying the way they use their habitat, a new research has found. A team of scientists examined how blackbuck, a near threatened species, preferred to stay in the safety of Maharashtra's Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, when food was abundant, to avoid the risks associated with humans and livestock. But as food declined after the monsoon, blackbucks began to move into riskier unprotected grasslands, thus responding dynamically to seasonally changing levels of food and risks in different parts of the landscape. Funded by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, the study aimed to find how blackbucks react to the costs and benefits of living in this habitat. "We found that when blackbucks moved into areas of high risk, presence of small sanctuaries or 'refuges' in landscapes with high human-use allowed these antelopes to survive and forage," Chaitanya Krishna, lead author of the study, said. The team of researchers involved in the project are from Wildlife Conservation Society, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science and Manipal University. The authors observed that as blackbucks make seasonal changes in their movements in desperate search for food, they venture into more risky areas located outside the sanctuary. Co-author Kavita Isvaran said the study shows it might perhaps be possible to simultaneously meet the interests of both wildlife and human, provided the former are offered well-protected refuges, such as the small protected areas that constitute the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary. Food resource distribution and availability is a critical factor for survival of wild ungulates and food sources can vary seasonally in quality and quantity, as well as spatial distribution, the study said. Underscoring the challenges posed by the dearth of women in peacekeeping activities, has called for increasing involvement of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts. "There is a need to increase and institutionalise the involvement of women in conflict prevention and resolution. This requires not only normative advice but capacity building and institution building at the ground level," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said here yesterday. Speaking at the Security Council debate on 'Role of Women in Prevention and Resolution of Conflict in Africa', Akbaruddin noted the advances made in Africa in gender empowerment but said considerable challenges lie ahead given the dearth of women inpeacekeeping activities. He cited UN reports to point out that women globally constituted less than 4% of signatories to peace agreements and less than 10% of negotiators at peace tables. Women also constitute only 3% of the military and 10% of the police who are deployed by the UN in peace missions. "These numbers reflect the enormity of the challenges that we are confronted with," Akbaruddin said, adding that despite the increased focus on the Women Peace and Security agenda, women and girls continue to be major victims. "The issue of Women Peace and Security cannot be seen in isolation from the wider societal context involving gender and development issues," he said. India, which is the lead troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, has the distinction of providing the first ever Female Formed Police Unit for the UN in Liberia. "While there has been only a marginal increase overall in the number of women peacekeepers, the first ever Female Formed Police Unit for UN was provided by for deployment in Liberia. The unit has been widely appreciated for its work and for setting a pioneering example," Akbaruddin said. He said has also contributed lady officers as Military Observers and Staff Officers in addition to deployment with the Medical Units. The Indian envoy further noted the efforts taken by the international community to address the issues of gender equality, empowerment and development in a holistic manner. In another significant capacity-building initiative, the New Delhi-based Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) in partnership with the UN Women, is now conducting the 3rd United Nations Female Military Officers Course (UNFMOC) for 40 women military officers from 26 countries. UN Women head Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka also called for greater efforts to reach the goal of allocating at least 15% of peacebuilding resources to gender equality and women's empowerment. "Women need to be resourced so that they can do more. The commitment to allocate at least 15% of peacebuilding funds to gender equality and women's empowerment, must become a reality," Mlambo-Ngcuka told the Security Council. Delhi police have arrested a national level power-lifter, who along with his associates, allegedly robbed two youths of Rs 4 lakh cash and a scooter in outer Delhi's Rohini subcity. The accused, identified as Sumeet, is a professional powerlifter and former student of a University in Haryana. He has participated in powerlifting competitions upto the national level and won a gold medal at a state-level competition around three years ago, a senior police official said. After college, Sumeet did not get a decent job and later started driving taxi in Delhi. His income was not enough to support himself and his girlfriend, with whom he lived in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri area, police said. Things got tougher lately, when Sumeet fell in love with another woman over a social networking site and started looking for ways to earn easy money to impress her, despite severe financial crunch. That is when he allegedly joined hands with two Haryana-based criminals, his old time friends, who operated in outer Delhi and planned a robbery, police said. On February 29 Sumeet and his associates - identified as Naveen Tota and Honey - allegedly attacked two scooter-borne youths with bricks in Rohini Sector 5 and fled with the two-wheeler and a bag containing Rs 4 lakh cash which they were carrying. Based on a tip-off, the police arrested Sumeet yesterday, a native of Gohana in Haryana's Sonepat district, from northwest Delhi's Pitampura area. Efforts are on to nab his associates, DCP (northwest) Vijay Singh said. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a show-cause notice to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) asking why action should not be taken against it for non-implementation of the Tribunal order on clean coal meant to be followed by coal and power companies. A division bench of NGT, Western Zone, issued the notice on March 22 during a hearing held in Pune. The Tribunal also warned that no further time and opportunity will be given to the MoEF, which it said, is expected to implement its own notification to reduce pollution in coal-bearing and power generating regions. The NGT bench, comprising Justice Jawad Rahim and expert member Dr Ajay Deshpande, expressed their anguish over non-compliance of the NGT order dated October 15, 2015 under which supply and use of clean coal below 34 per cent ash content was made mandatory for coal and power companies. As per the MoEF notification dated January 2, 2014, coal companies and power companies are banned from supplying and using coal having more than 34 per cent ash content as it poses danger to environment and public health. An application filed by Ratnadeep Rangari, a resident of Koradi-Mahadula near Nagpur, had alleged that the MoEF norm was being violated. The applicant brought to the notice of the NGT "shocking violation" of clean coal order and adverse effect on the health of residents within the vicinity of Koradi and Khaparkheda thermal power plants in Nagpur district. The NGT had directed the coal and power utilities to strictly adhere to the norms and asked the regulator to improve its own infrastructure and conduct monthly inspection and sampling. The Tribunal had directed strict compliance of the MoEF notification (dated January 02, 2014) and the latest notification dated August 26, 2015 making it mandatory for power and coal utilities to adopt clean coal technology and benefaction process to reduce pollution level and fly-ash generated by inferior quality of coal. The NGT had directed the MoEF to co-ordinate with all the state pollution control boards to ensure compliance of this direction and to submit a compliance report by January 1, 2016. However, the NGT found that regulators had failed to enforce the order and ensure proper compliance of clean coal norm by coal and power utilities. Quoting several Supreme Court judgements and taking note of the alleged blame game between power and coal companies, the NGT had observed that the will to implement the prevalent law as well as directions of the courts for protecting the environment is more important than playing a mere blame game. A plea challenging the forest clearance granted to the project to construct the 302 km Agra -Lucknow Expressway today led the National Green Tribunal to seek a response from the Environment Ministry. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued notices to the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Uttar Pradesh government, UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) and others while seeking their reply by April 8. The directions came after NGT heard a plea by Lucknow native Nikhilesh Singh against illegal felling of trees and construction activity in the forest area which forms part of the six-lane expressway being built by UPEIDA. The plea, filed through advocate Neelam Rathore, alleged that the Stage I in-principle approval has been recommended by Regional Empowered Committee (REC) despite recording violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and specifically noting irregularities mentioned in the site inspection report. Singh has contended that salient features of the project as incorporated in the environmental clearance stated that "only around 98.9 hectares of forest land was to be involved and about 27,582 trees were located on the Principal Right of Way (PRoW). "However, in its application for seeking the necessary in principal approval in terms of the Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, UPEIDA mentioned the total length of the expressway proposed being 302.222 kilometers comprising of 3429.1814 hectare of non-forest and 12,38,253 hectare of forest land involving felling of 65,342 number of trees. "The estimated cost of the project was 11,526 crores. The reserved and protected forest lands proposed for the diversion are 109.27 hectares and 14.5543 hectares respectively. "There is thus an apparent inconsistency in the relevant information disclosed by UPEIDA for in principle approval and for EC with respect to the area of forest land and the number of trees involved in the proposal," the plea said. In its plea, NHAI had said that currently the route between Delhi and Meerut (NH-58) had frequent jams causing lot of inconvenience to traffic between the two cities and the project will reduce the time of travel to 40-45 minutes from three hours at present. NHAI had moved NGT in view of a 2015 order saying that construction of "new barrages and roads, railway and metro bridges and embankments and bunds" should not be permitted. However, in exceptional cases, "a critical impact of their potential impact on flood aggravation and environmental clearances should be made mandatory", it had said. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be built through public- private-partnership mode and slated to be operational by March 2018. The project starts from National Highway-2 at Ring Road in Delhi and ends at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today underscored his government's commitment to strictly enforce implementation of the Right To Education (RTE) Act in state particularly in terms of admission of the wards of poor families in 25 per cent seats in public schools. Making an intervention in the state legislative assembly during Education Minister Ashok Chaudhary's reply to a starred question by a RJD MLA Bhai Virendra with regard to implementation of the RTE Act by public schools, he said the state government was committed to enforce strict implementation of a provision under the central act under which the public schools must give admission on 25 per cent seats to wards of poor families. A detailed probe will be carried out to find out whether the public schools were implementing the norm or not, Kumar said. Virendra, the RJD MLA from Maner in Patna district, wanted to know from the Education Minister as to what stringent measures his department proposed to take against those public schools not adhering to the guideline on reservation in the state capital and elsewhere in Bihar. The RJD MLA further noted that most public schools were flouting the RTE Act norms on reserved admission on one pretext or other. The Education Minister sought to skirt a direct reply to the question saying that his department was in the process of compiling data about enrolment status on 25 per cent seats meant for students of poor socio-economic backward and action will be taken against those public schools not adhering to the RTE Act norms. He said that those public schools with minority status can not be forced to implement the RTE Act. A large number of gold traders and jewellers continued their strike for the 28th day today in protest against the proposed one per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. Most jewellery shops and establishments in the country are shut since March 2 after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced one per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery. However, most of the jewellery showrooms in Tamil Nadu were open for regular trading. Customers would face difficulties during the fast approaching wedding season in the absence of ready stocks as the strike continues, Surinder Kumar Jain, Vice-President, All India Sarafa Association said. Artisans related to the trade are also on strike and almost 100 per cent of jewellery items is hand crafted by them, Jain told PTI. Jewellery sales is likely to fall by 40-50 tonnes in the January-March period due to the ongoing strike, according to ICRA. Meanwhile, the government has constituted a panel under former Chief Economic Advisor Ashok Lahri to look into the demands of jewellers. The panel, which has been asked to submit its report in 60 days, will look into issues related to compliance procedure for the excise duty, including records to be maintained, forms to be filled, operating procedures and other relevant issues. The government in the Budget for 2016-17 had 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. US President Barack Obama has asked his top national security team to intensify their anti- ISIS efforts to ensure that the US is doing everything possible to degrade and destroy the dreaded terror outfit, the White House has said. "The President directed his team to continue to intensify efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL and to ensure that the US is doing everything possible to disrupt any ISIL external plotting efforts, including by continuing our strong leadership in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL," the White House said yesterday after Obama's meeting with top officials. Obama met with key members of his counterterrorism and homeland security team to discuss the efforts following the horrific March 22 ISIL terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed more than 35 people, the White House said. "The President was briefed that there is currently no specific, credible intelligence of any plot to conduct similar attacks here in the US," it said. Obama's team also apprised him of recent expanded information-sharing activities with international partners and ways that the US is working to disrupt and counter external plots emanating from ISIL-controlled territory. "Additionally, the President received briefings on ongoing efforts to address ISIL's use of the Internet to recruit followers, incite them to violence, and mobilise them to engage in attacks in the US and abroad," the White House said. President Barack Obama today expressed his dismay on developments in the US presidential election campaign in particular the "divisive and often vulgar rhetoric" coming from some of the candidates who are aspiring to replace him in the White House next year. "As I've said in recent weeks, I know I'm not the only one who may be more than a little dismayed about what's happening on the campaign trail right now. The divisive and often vulgar rhetoric that's aimed at everybody, but often is focused on the vulnerable or women or minorities," Obama said in his remarks at the 2016 Toner Prize ceremony. "The sometimes well-intentioned but I think misguided attempts to shut down that speech. The violent reaction that we see, as well as the deafening silence from too many of our leaders in the coarsening of the debate," he said expressing his dismay at the developments on the campaign trail. "The sense that facts don't matter, that they're not relevant. That what matters is how much attention you can generate. A sense that this is a game as opposed to the most precious gift our founders gave us - this collective enterprise of self-government," Obama rued. "So it's worth asking ourselves what each of us - as politicians or journalists, but most of all, as citizens - may have done to contribute to this atmosphere in our politics. I was going to call it a 'carnival atmosphere' but that implies fun. Some may be more to blame than others for the current climate, but all of us are responsible for reversing it. "I say this not because of some vague notion of 'political correctness' which seems to be increasingly an excuse to just say offensive things or lie out loud. I say this not out of nostalgia, because politics in America has always been tough," he said. "I say this because what we're seeing right now does corrode our democracy and our society. And I'm not one who's faint of heart. I come from Chicago. Harold Washington once explained that "politics ain't beanbag. It's always been rough and tumble," he said. "But when our elected officials and our political campaign become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesn't matter what's true and what's not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations," he said. He said the number one question he is being asked as he travels around the world is the state of US politics. "It is not because around the world people have not seen crazy politics; it is that they understand America is the place where you can't afford completely crazy politics. "For some countries where this kind of rhetoric may not have the same ramifications, people expect, they understand, they care about America, the most powerful nation on Earth, functioning effectively, and its government being able to make sound decisions," he said. US President Barack Obama is planning to hold a separate meeting on ISIS, also known as ISIL, with world leaders when they converge here for the two-day later this week, the White House has said. "Since there will be so many world leaders in Washington, DC for the Nuclear Security Summit, the President is planning to hold a meeting focused on ISIL and focused on our coalition's efforts to degrade and ultimately destroy that terrorist organisation," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday. Leaders from some 40 countries, including heads of States from two dozen, are likely to attend the two-day summit on March 31 and April 1. "That is not because our foremost concern is that ISIL is in grave danger of getting their hands on nuclear materials; it will be focused on the broader threat. But obviously the prospect of ISIL getting access to any sort of nuclear material is something that must be avoided. And that will certainly be part of the conversation," Earnest said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive here in the wee hours of Thursday to attend the summit. The White House has not yet released the list of leaders who have been invited to attend the special session on ISIS. Earnest said the Obama administration has been concerned about the threat that continues to emanate from Al-Qaeda. "What is different now is that Al-Qaeda core that had previously operated with some impunity in the Afghanistan or Pakistan region has been decimated because of the actions taken by the US military in that region of the world. "But there are other affiliates of Al-Qaeda that remain dangerous. This did not get a lot of attention last week, but I thought I would just point out that last week, the US conducted an airstrike in Yemen that took dozens of fighters off the battlefield," he said. "That is an indication that for all of the chaos inside of Yemen and all of the chaos inside of the region that is being perpetuated by ISIL, that this administration has not taken our eye off the ball when it comes to the threat that is posed by al-Qaeda," Earnest added. US President Barack Obama would hold a trilateral meeting with leaders of South Korea and Japan on March 31 to discuss the threat posed by North Korea on the sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit, the White House has said. "On March 31st, the President will host President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan for a trilateral meeting on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," he said. Obama would also be meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. Heads of States of nearly 24 countries are attending the two-day National Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No bilateral meeting between the two leaders have been announced so far. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has cancelled his visit to Washington as a result of the Lahore terrorist attack that killed more than 70 people on Sunday. CNG cars have been kept out of the ambit of the odd-even scheme, that is set to return for a fortnight on April 15, while a decision on whether women drivers will continue to be exempted will be taken soon, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said Tuesday. "CNG stickers will be available from April 1 at a centre near CGO Complex at Lodhi Road. The centre will remain open from 8 AM to 8 PM everyday. Personally, I am in favour of exempting women, but the opinion is divided according to the survey we undertook. We will put out the final notification on April 8," he said. Rai said he will write to the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh urging them to create awareness on the guidelines of the road rationing measure under which cars with odd and even licence plates ply on alternate days. Trial of the air quality monitoring system, that will be put in place during the 15-day period till April 30, will begin on April 6, he said. On its part, Delhi government will launch a publicity campaign, 'Dilli bole dil se, odd even phir se', on April 1 during which multiple communication channels like television and radio and advertisements on buses and metro will be used to reach out to the people. Rai said registration of additional buses will be pressed into service during the period, have already started while the process to involve ex-servicemen who are to be deployed along with civil defence volunteers will begin soon. "On April 13, volunteers as well drivers of DTC and Delhi Metro officials among others will assemble at the Chhatrasal stadium and take oath to make the drive successful," he said. The decisions were taken at a meeting of the coordination committee that comprises members of several departments of the government. The first phase of the was rolled out on January 1 for 15 days. A committee, headed by the Transport Commissioner, has also been appointed to find ways to improve 'Poochh-O' app which helps commuters during the odd-even measure. Odisha government has renewed its drive to cover seagoing fishermen under an advanced bio-metric identification card system to invigorate coastal security mechanism. After a four-year hiatus, distribution of Marine Fisheries Identity Card (MFIC) to the fishermen at their doorsteps has been resumed. It would serve as a vital means of identification to cover them under various state-sponsored social security schemes. In the first phase of card distribution undertaken in 2012-13, 1.53 lakh fishermen and stakeholders were covered. The second phase of the exercise has gone underway recently. "We plan to cover 1.05 lakh people depending on sea fishing and ancillary activities," Additional Fisheries Officer Bharat Bhusan Sahoo said. "MFIC is a vital document for identification throughout the nation's coastal areas. The smart card containing personal information including digital photo, fingerprints, domicile status and address, provides marine fishermen an identity number," he said. "We have targeted to distribute the cards to each of the identified fishermen by January end next year," the Additional Fisheries officer said. The data is stored in the card in a microprocessor chip, Sahoo said, adding it will empower fishermen to get benefits of state and Centre's welfare schemes. The state government have a fishery monitoring, control and surveillance centre, he added. Seagoing fishermen are considered the eyes and ears of coastal security mechanism, as they can easily keep track of suspiciously moving vessels. The MFIC project was envisaged as part of strengthening coastal surveillance system soon after the terror attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai in 2008. Besides the social security schemes for marine fishermen, the cards are being distributed as part of sea-route security measures along the coast. The cards empower seagoing fishermen with an identity which protect them from interception during security patrolling, said nodal officer of coastal security and Additional Superintendent (Paradip) Madhabanand Sahoo. Global realty market is likely to witness an investment of more than $1 trillion this year, up 6% from 2015, as investors continue to find appealing on relatively higher returns, according to property consultant CBRE survey. India's sector is also expected to get some benefit, though a small share, of the global investment funds, the consultant said. "Global real estate investors remain strongly expansionary in 2016, with more than $1 trillion of planned expenditures anticipated to enter global real estate markets - 6% higher than in 2015," CBRE said in a statement. North America is the most popular destination for investment (48%), ahead of Western Europe (26%). London, Los Angeles and Sydney are top regional targets of investors. The CBRE's Global Investor Intentions Survey, conducted between January and early February, asked investors how much capital they would deploy in real estate purchases this year. Majority of investors (82%) indicated that their buying activity would increase or remain same as in 2015. "The results reveal there is approximately $1.16 trillion of capital targeting property investment in 2016 - an increase of 3% from 2015 levels in local currency terms," CBRE said. Commenting on the survey findings, CBRE's Global President Capital Markets Chris Ludeman said: "Investors continue to find real estate appealing, chiefly due to the relatively higher returns and stability on offer." "We believe that 2016 will be another active year for the global real estate investment market, with capital flows 6% higher than in 2015. There is more than $1 trillion of capital targeting real estate in 2016 and this volume of expenditure will maintain support for global real estate prices," he added. Stating that investment strategies are shifting amid concerns about the health of the global economy, Ludeman said 2016 looks likely to be a "risk-off" year, with investors more focused on core assets and less likely to seek secondary, value-added and alternative opportunities. "Real estate remains an important asset class for domestic and overseas investors. The year 2016 promises to be a good one for the industry and it is expected that India's real estate sector will get some benefit, albeit a small share, of the global real estate investment funds," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & MD, CBRE South Asia. In terms of asset classes, CBRE's report said office (30%) remains the most popular property type globally, though interest is down slightly compared to last year. "There is a notable uptick in interest for retail (21%) and multifamily assets (20%) from 2015". Over 5,000 people were rounded up by security forces since the Easter Sunday bombing here with more than 200 still in custody, Pakistan's Punjab government said today, even as Taliban militants behind the attack taunted the Prime Minister, saying the "war has reached his doorstep". "In the past 24 hours, Punjab police had conducted 56 operations, the Counter Terrorism Department 16 and intelligence agencies in collaboration with the local police carried out 88 raids in different parts of the province and rounded up a total 5,221 people," Punjab Province Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told a press conference here. Of those detained, 5,005 have been released after "data verification" while "over 200 suspects are in custody of the law enforcement agencies," he said. Talking about investigations into the Lahore attack, Sanaullah said a Joint Investigation Team headed by the SSP Counter Terrorism Department has been formed to probe the incident. The Pakistan army had yesterday said it has launched a crackdown in Punjab on terrorists suspected to be involved in the Lahore attack at the Gulshan-i-Iqbal park that claimed 74 lives, mostly women and children, and injured over 300 others. The raids have been carried out on the basis of the technical evidence and initial information gathered by intelligence agencies in the aftermath of the bombing. Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif has ordered the raids on hideouts of terrorists in the province. Intelligence agencies led operations, mostly in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Muzzafargarh and some other districts of south Punjab, on seminaries and other targets linked to extremist and terror groups. "Personnel of army and Rangers carried out the operations. A number of arrests were said to have been made in addition to recovery of arms and explosives," military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said. "Several arrests made; operation to be spread across province. Operations will continue with more leads coming in," he said. Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban faction -- Jamaatul Ahrar -- behind the bombing warned that the terror attack was a "message" to the government about their "arrival" in Punjab, as the death toll today rose to 74 after two more persons succumbed to their injuries. The group's spokesman even taunted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Twitter. "After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old to give himself false assurances," he wrote. "Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war," the spokesman said. Sharif had yesterday vowed to eliminate terrorism. A suicide bomber -- believed to be in his 20s -- blew himself at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, which is one of the popular parks in Lahore, a relatively peaceful city in Pakistan. He struck at a time when thousands of people were visiting the park on account of Easter. Ina post in Urdu on its Facebook page, the Jamaatul Ahrar group released the bomber's photo, identifying him as Salahuddin Khorasani. The group had previously claimed responsibility for suicide bombings at two churches in Lahore in March 2015, and justified the attacks by terming Pakistan a "land of war". Sanaullah also dismissed the impression that the military and political leadership was not on the same page regarding the operation in Punjab. "The country's political leadership, religious parties, opposition and the government are backing this crackdown," the Minister said. "Operation will be taken jointly by all law enforcing agencies," he said. Sanaullah also said that more than 15,000 seminaries had been geo-tagged. "The impression that no-go areas exist in Punjab is wrong." Meanwhile, the Punjab Police faced embarrassment when the person they said was the bomber turned out to be a victim. "We investigated but could not find any link of (the person) or members of his family with terrorists. He appeared to be one of the visitors at the park," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. He said forensic experts were trying to ascertain the identity of a man whose skull was found from the blast site. Lahore police have issued the sketch of the suspected Taliban suicide bomber. The picture released by the militant organisation and the sketch by Lahore police have not yet been confirmed to be of the same person. With Centre under attack over allowing a Pakistani probe team access to Pathankot air base, BJP chief Amit Shah today said Pakistan has for the first time made "serious efforts" towards investigating a terror case. "First let me make clear one thing, that the Pakistan team which has come related to the probe, has a limited access to periphery. They will not enter the air base nor will they interact with the officials of the Army. They will investigate other things," Shah said here. "I agree that for the first time Pakistan has made serious efforts towards investigation. The results will be known after the investigation gets over," Shah said during a media interaction at Press Club. A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team, including an ISI official, today visited the IAF base at Pathankot in connection with the January 2 attack amid intensified protests by opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party. Congress said that according an almost "red carpet welcome" to JIT raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. AAP said instead of allowing Pakistan's investigation team to visit India to probe Pathankot attack, Indian security agencies should have been sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of masterminds "enjoying hospitality of Pakistan Government not only in Pathankot attack but in Mumbai attacks too". Pakistan tonight gave a two-hour notice to the supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, executed for killing former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, to end their three-day sit-in as authorities arrested over 1,100 protesters who were demanding declaration of the Islamist assassin as a "martyr". Over 25,000 protesters had entered and besieged Islamabad's high-security zone on Sunday, damaging public buildings and breaking barriers that had been erected. While most of them left yesterday, a few hundred are still continuing their sit-ins outside the Parliament House and other key government installations for the third day today. A protest leader claimed that more than 1,100 people were arrested by the police. But a senior police official said that about 750 protesters have been arrested since yesterday. "Those arrested have been sent to various jails of Punjab. Others are being kept at police stations in Islamabad," he said. Meanwhile, the district administration gave a two-hour notice to the protesters gathered at D-Chowk to end their sit-in or else the security forces will carry out operation to end their unlawful gathering, DawnNews reported. Several hundred police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed around the area after the ultimatum was issued. The protesters led by Sunni Tehreek and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool religious groups entered the so-called high-security Red Zone after bloody clashes with police in which 42 security officials and 16 citizens have been injured so far. They are demanding implementation of Shariah in Pakistan and declaring Qadri, who was hanged on February 29, a "martyr". They also demanded release of their arrested leaders and declaring Qadri's Adiala Jail cell in Rawalpindi into a national heritage and execution of blasphemy convict Christian women Aasia Bibi who was sentenced to death in 2010 by a court. Qadri, who was Taseer's security guard, has killed the sitting governor of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous state, in 2011 after he visited Aasia Bibi in her jail cell and expressed support for her, even promising a presidential pardon to the mother-of-five. The government estimates that it had suffered a loss of about 150 million rupees due to vandalism by the protesters. The terminals of Metro bus service have been badly damaged and the bus service had to be halted. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also come under immense pressure from the media, civil society and opposition, for letting the protesters enter the Red Zone. Pakistan has for the first time admitted that its territory was used for terror attack against India and its probe team's visit to Pathankot strengthens the Centre's stand on the incident, BJP today claimed said as it sought to fend off Congress' attack on the issue. The party also claimed that Pakistan for the first time had assured India of action against terrorists who used its territory for planning the attack and accused Congress of criticising its Joint Investigation Team's visit to India due to "political malice". "We have adequate evidence that Pakistani territory was used and terrorists based there were involved in the attack. They (Pakistan) said they want to send an investigation team. It only strengthens our case and does not weaken it," party national secretary Shrikant Sharma told a press conference. Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had categorically asked his Pakistani counterpart to take action against the terrorists and he, in turn, assured him of action. "Pakistan for the first time has admitted that its territory was used for the attack. It also assured India of action against them. This happened for the first time," he claimed. He said a probe team from Pakistan had visited Mumbai after the 26/11 terror attacks but nobody had opposed it then. Just for the sake of criticism, he said, some critics were terming the JIT visit as a clean chit given to Pakistan by the government which, he insisted, was not true. Targeting Congress, he said it was due to failures of its government that so many people died in the Mumbai terror attack while the BJP dispensation carried out a "most successful" attack against a suicide operation in Pathankot. A five-member Pakistani probe team, including an ISI official, today visited the strategic IAF base here that was for most part visually barricaded as scores of Congress and AAP workers held protests outside carrying black flags and shouting slogans against their probe into the January two terror attack. Top NIA officials briefed the team about the terror attack in which seven security personnel were killed. At least four terrorists believed to be from Pak-based Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed by security forces. The team that arrived in Amritsar in the morning from Delhi in a special plane was taken to Pathankot by road to avoid giving it an aerial view of the strategic base. The 118 KM journey was covered by the team which was ferried in six bullet proof vehicles. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited India to 'probe' a terror case and has been given access to a strategic installation amidst strong criticism from opposition parties. Most of the base was completely covered with white curtains to prevent a view of the valuable defence assets. Congress and AAP have accused the government of giving unfettered access to a probe team from Pakistan that also dilutes India's stand that terrorism is sponsored from across the border. The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) entered the base through a specially-created entrance at the perimeter wall, which was breached by the terrorists on the fateful night. A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials Tuesday visited the "sanitised" areas at airforce base in connection with probe into the January 2 terror attack targeting the strategic installation. The team, which came in a bus, was taken to the backside of the air base as workers of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress held protests outside against its visit. The Pakistani team led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai earlier landed at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar and then left for by road amid tight security. A large number of security personnel, including Punjab Police SWAT team, were also deployed in view of the visit. Officials said the JIT visited the sanitised areas of the IAF base where the attackers had sneaked into leading to the over 80-hour gun battle that left at least four terrorists and seven security personnel. Protesters carrying placards and black flags shouted slogans outside the base where the security forces have been deployed in strength. The AAP and Congress protesters accused the BJP led government of hurting the sentiments of Indians by allowing Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. AAP's Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, who was also in Pathankot, said allowing Pakistani JIT to visit the air base was "shameful and disgusting". "For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that ISI was not supporting terrorism... The same people who have killed our people have come here.This is so shameful and disgusting," Mishra said. "This is an insult of our mother India. We will not let Modi government to do this," he said. Media was meanwhile kept at the bay. The Pakistani team includes ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanver. Government has made it clear that the Pakistani team will have "restricted" access to the air base with the NIA taking them to a select areas. Orange and blue coloured tarpaulin can be seen draping the interiors of the strategic facility, in an apparent indication of "visual prohibition" being put in place. Investigators from India and Pakistan had met in Delhi yesterday. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case. The opposition parties have slammed the move with Congress saying that according an almost "red carpet welcome" to JIT raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. (REOPENS DEL 17) "It is quite shameful that Pakistan which is responsible for the terror attack at airforce base has been allowed to investigate the attack. Pakistan's ISI which was behind this attack is now probing the attack," AAP senior leader Sanjay Singh said here today. He attacked Modi government for allowing the Pakistani team to visit the air base. "Modi has shown his real face. We do not want killers to be allowed to probe the matter. We will not tolerate this and that is why AAP is holding protest here," said Singh, who is party incharge for Punjab affairs. "It is an insult of Indians and martyrs by allowing Pakistan JIT to investigate the matter," Singh said. A five-member Pakistani probe team, including an ISI official, today visited the IAF base here, entering through the same breached perimeter wall used by terrorists in the January 2 attack, even as Congress and AAP intensified protests against the visit. The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) team accompanied by NIA officials entered the strategic airbase from its rear side after their convoy stopped at 'Upper Doaba' canal here and the members took a mini bus to travel through the dirt track next to the water body. The team, officials said, was taken to only the "scene of crime" where the encounter occurred between the security men and terrorists and the entire process was videographed by two IAF personnel. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case and has been given access to a strategic installation. The Pakistani JIT is led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also includes ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed. The area was "visually barricaded" so that the defence assets were not exposed, officials said. Commandos of the special SWAT team ran for half a kilometre with the bus, till the JIT and NIA sleuths entered from a newly created entry on the airbase's perimeter wall laden with huge concertina wires at about 11:20 AM. This the same fence from where at least four terrorists breached the airbase security apparatus and entered on the morning of January 1 this year before launching the attack later that night. They killed seven securitymen before being shot dead after an 80-hour gun battle. Waving black flags and placards, scores of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers today stood outside the air base protesting against the visit and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. They accused the BJP government of hurting the sentiments of the people of the country by allowing the Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. AAP's Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra said allowing Pakistani JIT to visit the air base was "shameful and disgusting". "For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that ISI was not supporting terrorism... The same people who have killed our people have come here...This is so shameful and disgusting," Mishra said. "This is an insult of our mother India. We will not let Modi government to do this," he said. "Modi has shown his real face. We do not want killers to be allowed to probe the matter. We will not tolerate this and that is why AAP is holding protest here," said AAP leader Singh, who is party incharge for Punjab affairs. "It is an insult to Indians and martyrs," he said. The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials today headed for Pathankot in connection with the probe into the January 2 terror attack at IAF base. The five-member Pakistani team led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai landed at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar and left for Pathankot by road amid tight security. JIT and National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take stock of the probe into the Pathankot terror attack today, officials said. Punjab Police was escorting the convoy of the Pakistani team which also has ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Police officials said they have diligently barricaded areas around the IAF facility. "The district police has been informed about the visit and deployments have been done accordingly," a senior police official said. A large police contingent has been deployed in and around Dhangu village where the IAF base is located. Meanwhile, Congress workers staged a protest near the air base against the visit by the Pakistani investigators. Government has made it clear that the Pakistani team will have "restricted" access to the air base with the NIA taking them to a select areas where the over 80-hour gun battle led to the killing of at least four terrorists and seven security personnel. Orange and blue coloured tarpaulin can be seen draping the interiors of the strategic facility, in an apparent indication of "visual prohibition" being put in place. Investigators from India and Pakistan had met in Delhi yesterday. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case. The opposition parties have slammed the move with Congress saying that "unfettered access" given to Pakistan's JIT by according an almost "red carpet welcome" raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. The parents of a Syrian soldier allegedly decapitated by a French jihadist have taken their quest for justice to a Paris court where they gave evidence against their son's suspected killer, their lawyer said today. The soldier, identified as Ghaisse M, was among a group of prisoners, including American aid worker Peter Kassig, decapitated by Islamic State jihadists in November 2014. One of the killers was identified from a grisly IS video of the execution as Maxime Hauchard, a 24-year-old Frenchman from Normandy, and an international warrant was issued for his arrest. French authorities have opened a judicial enquiry into "murders linked to a terrorist act" over the executions. "The Syrian justice system cannot function in the current context. It is up to France to judge its citizens when they commit atrocious crimes in our country," said Ghassan M, the father of the soldier, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Hauchard in France. On Friday, he and his wife gave evidence to a judge. "It is the first time that a Syrian family is a plaintiff in a case implicating a French jihadist who has gone to Syria," lawyer Fabrice Delinde said. He said the soldier's parents "were able to talk about the particularly atrocious circumstances surrounding the death of their child." Ghassan said his 30-year-old son was kidnapped in 2013 by the Free Syrian Army, a loose coalition of opponents to Bashar Al-Assad's regime. After six months he was handed over to the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front. "We paid a ransom to the Al-Nusra Front. But they tortured him and sold him to Daesh (IS) who decapitated him," he said. Attempts by Ghaisse's parents to bring the case to court in France were initially rejected, but the Paris appeals court later ruled it was admissible. France today hailed the recapture by Syrian forces of the ancient city of Palmyra as "positive news" but stressed Damascus bore the main blame for the war in Syria. "The advances against Daesh today cannot erase the fact that the (Syrian) regime bears the main responsibility for the conflict and its 270,000 dead over the past five years," said foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal, using an alternate name for the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, also known by the acronyms of ISIS and ISIL. Speaking at a press briefing, Nadal reiterated France's call for a halt to attacks on "moderate opposition groups" in Syria. Russian-backed Syrian forces recaptured the oasis city known as the "Pearl of the Desert" on Sunday. Analysts said the government's seizure of the UNESCO World Heritage site was the biggest blow so far in the war against IS and a major coup both for Damascus and Moscow. It was a strategic as well as symbolic victory for President Bashar al-Assad, providing control of the surrounding desert all the way to the Iraqi border, they said. After the thumbs up from India Inc to the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today sought to woo global investors, saying the newly unveiled policy provides a level-playing field for all stakeholders. "The DPP has raised expectations. I only consider it to be a level-playing field and nothing beyond that. Many of the ideas which could have been executed could not be done so because of the earlier DPP," he said at a Global Investors' Summit organised here by ASSOCHAM on the sidelines of the ongoing Defence Expo at Betul -Naqueri in south Goa. The minister told the delegates that the new DPP removes several "shackles" and frees the department from procedural tangles. "The DPP saw around 3,000-4,000 hours of work, which includes reading, re-reading," said Parrikar. The Defence Minister had unveiled the new DPP on the first day of the Defence Expo yesterday and its text is now available online. The minister said, "DPP is just a warm up, the final game is yet to begin. Through DPP 2016, we have attempted a good draft. Neither do I claim that we are experts in everything, nor is it that everything we work out is perfect." He told the industry players that their suggestions and recommendations are welcome. "May be after six months, we will see how the new DPP functions." Parrikar said, "In the absence of new DPP, whatever is in progress is generally under the old DPP. We have tried to make mini modifications, we have tried to work out solutions to solve the bottleneck. We are for the first time analysing the status of various AONs (Acceptance of Necessity) granted." He further said, "When I took over, there were 326 AONs worth about Rs 5,09,000 crorevalue pending of which eight were more than 10-years-old. "There were almost 77 AONs which were more than five years old. We are working on these AONs and will eliminate the items which are today out of technology or not required. This process has been undertaken for the first time," he said. "By the time the new DPP starts taking effect, we will be clear on exactly how we are going to proceed, including on the financial aspects of the defence budget," Parrikar said. Reacting to criticism of the defence budget, the minister said "unnecessary comments" are being made without any attempt to understand the aspects related to defence procurement. "What I am paying today, 85 per cent of it I have contracted long back. If I have contracted some fighter five years back, I pay for it today. This is termed committed liability in defence capital acquisition," he explained. "What has been ordered five years back is actually being paid for today. What I ordered last year and this year, only 10-15 per cent payment has been done. Even if I order (purchases worth) Rs 1,52,000 crore, the real payment hardly exceeds Rs 15,000 crore for future procurement," Parrikar explained. The Pakistani team probing the Pathankot terror strike has conveyed to the NIA that it has the mandate to collect evidence in the case under that country's law and as such there will be no judicial request for it. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has, however, made no formal request to the anti-terror probe agency so far for sharing the evidence in the brazen terror assault. During interaction with NIA officials, the Pakistani team was asked whether any Letters Rogatory would be sent by Islamabad for collection of evidence against Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who carried out the suicide attack on strategic air base in Pathankot. Letters Rogatory is a judicial request under which a court of a sovereign nation asks the court of another sovereign nation for sharing evidence so that it is admissible. However, the Pakistani JIT, headed by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai, and also including ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, said it had the mandate under section 188 of Criminal Procedure Code of Pakistan to collect the evidence. NIA has so far only shown the evidence to the five-member Pakistani team and they are yet to make a formal request for sharing it, official sources said. According to Pakistani law cited by the JIT, when a citizen of Pakistan commits an offence at any place without and beyond the limits of that country, he may be dealt with in respect of such offence as if it had been committed at any place within Pakistan. "...Such offence shall be enquired into in Pakistan unless the Political Agent, if there is one, for the territory in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, certifies that, in his opinion, the charge, ought to be enquired into in Pakistan; and, where there is no Political Agent, the sanction of Federal Government shall be required," the Pakistani law says. Pakistan is also yet to make a request for questioning witnesses in the case. "The witnesses will be made available only upon a request," Director General of NIA Sharad Kumar said. India plans to provide the Pakistani team access to all witnesses in the case barring the security personnel from NSG or BSF who participated in the gun battle with the perpetrators of the Pathankot attack. The witnesses include Punjab Police Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma, cook Madan Gopal and 17 injured persons. The sources said cooperation with the Pakistani team would be based on the principle of reciprocity hoping that an Indian team would be allowed to travel to Pakistan at a later date. In the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, Pakistan had sent a judicial commission to cross-examine some of the witnesses in the case. As Inter-Services Intelligence, the notorious Pakistan spy agency infamous for its clandestine support to most of the major terror attacks in India, made its maiden overt presence on Indian soil, curious citizens tried to catch a glimpse of "ISI ka Banda" (the ISI man). The sleepy border town of Punjab was abuzz over the visit of Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to carry out a first-of-its-kind terror probe at the IAF base with locals wanting to catch a sight of the "ISI agent" and his fellow sleuths from across the border. After newspapers and television channels flashed stories about the visit of the five-member JIT, which also included an official of the ISI, residents of this frontier town were either glued to the TV for information on the movement of the team or decided to make a trip "as close as possible" to the Air Force base. "We have only heard about some agents or ISI moles being picked up by police or intelligence agencies from this area in the past. ISI agents have also been portrayed in a number of Hindi and other regional films, but for the first time it has been officially known that an ISI man is in the town. The curiosity is obvious," Prakash Sharma, a book stall owner near the Pathankot railway station, said. He said though reports talked about the arrival of the Pakistani team along with Indian NIA officials as part of the probe on the terror attack on the forward air base early this year, there was no clarity as to when and how they would be travelling. Hotel owner Surya Prakash told PTI that the visit of the Pakistani team which includes an "ISI ka Banda" has made made people curious. "There are reports that the Pakistani officials will be taken to the border area in Bamiyal near here from where it is suspected that the terrorists sneaked in to launch the attack on January 1-2. People have lined up the approach road to at least catch a glimpse of the convoy and capture it on their smartphones," Umesh Bhatia, a local medical student said. The visiting Pakistani JIT, which landed 500 km away in Delhi yesterday, is led by Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Additional Inspector General of Police Muhammad Tahir Rai and has ISI's Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Press Council of India chairman Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad today sought a report from Chattisgarh Chief Secretary and DGP over the arrest of journalist Prabhat Singh in the state, observing the action prima-facie impinged on freedom of the press. He also expressed grave concern over the arrest by Chhattisgarh police for allegedly possessing an "obscene message" about a senior police officer on WhatsApp social networking group. "The Chairman felt that prima facie, the action of the Chhattisgarh police to arrest the journalist impinged on the freedom of the press. "Taking suo-motu cognizance of the issue, the Chairman ordered to immediately call a report on facts of the case from the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh and Superintendent of Police, Bastar," a Press Council statement said. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to Chhattisgarh government over "arrest and torture" of a journalist in Bastar by the police for allegedly posting objectionable comments on social media. The Dantewada-based journalist was arrested in Jagdalpur on March 21 for allegedly posting an "obscene message" about a senior police officer on WhatsApp groups. Piramal Enterprises, through its Structured Investment Group and Dutch pension fund asset manager APG Asset Management, will jointly invest USD 132 million (about Rs 900 crore) to power Essel Green Energy, the solar platform vehicle of Essel Infraprojects, across India. Essel Green Energy, owns 160 MW of solar IPP assets in four states, of which, 110 MW is operational and 50 MW is currently under execution. With this investment, Essel Group expects to propel solar power agenda across the country. Ernst and Young India was the financial advisor to Essel Group for the transaction. Essel Infraprojects is planning to ramp up solar power capacity to 1,000 MW in the next 2-3 years, it said in a statement today. "The strategic alliance formed in 2014 between PEL and APG committed USD 1 billion for investments in infrastructure companies and we see great potential in green energy as a segment. "Given the government's focus on non-conventional energy and Essel Infra's strong track-record, we are confident that the investment will yield good results," said Jayesh Desai, Co-Head, Structured Investments Group- Piramal Enterprises. With current electricity grid capacity of less than 300 gigawatts, the country aims to increase solar installations from below 5 GW now to 100 GW by 2022 - more than double the present solar capacity of China and Germany, the two biggest solar nations. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has championed solar power and helped launch a global solar alliance at the Paris climate summit to mobilise an attention-grabbing USD 1 trillion of funds worldwide by 2030. Following the success of its residential projects at Thane and Byculla; Piramal Realty, the real estate development arm of Piramal Group launches Piramal Agastya, a corporate park located on the arterial LBS Road, Kurla. Kurla is a strategic location that enjoys excellent connectivity being the epicenter of key infrastructure developments in Mumbai such as Santacruz - Chembur Link Road (SCLR) and in close proximity of Mumbai Metro Phase 1 and Eastern Freeway. Piramal Agastya Corporate Park will redefine the urban landscape with a well-connected state of the art commercial property in this fast growing business district of Kurla. Anand Piramal, Executive Director, Piramal Group said, "Piramal Realty aspires to build properties that represent world class standards of customer centricity, design construction and quality. Piramal Agastya, as one of Mumbai's premier commercial addresses, integrates natural beauty with urban landscape inspired by biophilic design. Kurla is a rapidly changing urban blend of residential colonies, industrial estates and commercial enclaves. We believe, Piramal Agastya will add to the overall socio-economic development of the landscape and break new ground as the business environment of the future." Leveraging global expertise with the advantage of local market knowledge, Piramal Agastya Corporate Park is partners with internationally acclaimed companies such as: * Callison, Seattle (USA) - Global architecture, urban planning, design and creative services organization * SSA, India - Associate architects for Piramal Agastya. The firm offers a bouquet of services across architecture, interior design, value engineering, project management and sustainable design. As he leaves for Belgium as part of a three-nation tour tonight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the "resilience and spirit" of its people in the wake of the horrific Brussels bombings and said India stands "shoulder-to-shoulder" with them. From Brussels, Modi will leave for Washinton to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 and from there he will travel to Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit with a focus on boosting energy and security cooperation. In Brussels, Modi will attend the 13th India-EU Summit and in a pre-deparature statement, he said it will advance multifaceted engagement across a whole range of sectors and described the 28-member bloc as a "vital trading partner". On Saudi Arabia, Modi said India's relations with the Gulf nation were "special" and that "robust" people-to-people ties constitute a key component of the bilateral engagement. "I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations." Modi's visit to Brussels comes eight days after the deadly attacks on the city in which at least 35 people, including an Indian, died and over 300 were wounded. "No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones," the Prime Minister said. Besides attending the long-pending India-EU summit, Modi will hold Summit talks with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel tomorrow to expand the existing ties in diverse areas, including in trade and investment. "Our relations with Belgium are deep-rooted and have stood the test of time. Within the EU, Belgium is India's second largest trading partner. My meeting with the Prime Minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member," the Prime Minister said. Modi said he would be meeting with the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Brussels. He would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. He will also address a Community Programme and interact with the Indian community. On the Nuclear Security Summit, he said it would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. "Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," Modi said. "On the sidelines of the Summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations. I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO project," the Prime Minister said. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves. Following the discovery of gravitational waves, the government last month had given an "in-principle approval" for establishing a state-of-the-art LIGO project in the country. Modi is visiting Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. "India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda. "Our economic ties are also expanding. Saudi Arabia is India's 4th largest trading partner, and is also India's largest crude oil supplier," Modi said. In addition to his meeting with the King, Modi said he was also looking forward to his discussions with other important members of the Royal family. "We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India's development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh. "I will visit the Masmak Fortress, 'L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh," he said. In Brussels, Modi said he and the Belgian PM would "remote activate" the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope located at Devasthal near Nainital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi late tonight left for Brussels as part of the three-nation tour. "An invigorating mix of bilateral & multilateral diplomacy in the offing as PM @narendramodi departs on 3 nation tour," MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. From Brussels, Modi will leave for Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 and from there he will travel to Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit with a focus on boosting energy and security cooperation. In Brussels, Modi will attend the 13th India-EU Summit. In a pre-departure statement, he said it will advance multifaceted engagement across a whole range of sectors and described the 28-member bloc as a "vital trading partner". Romania's prime minister says prepaid telephone cards from his nation have been used in extremist attacks. The government is trying once again to pass legislation to require buyers of prepaid cards to show an identity document. Premier Dacian Ciolos, speaking today, gave no details of which attacks were involved. However, an intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press prepaid cards had been used in terror attacks in Europe in the last year. The Romanian Intelligence Service said in a statement today Romanian prepaid cards are currently used in Syria and Iraq and they could be "used to benefit terrorist organisations." Romania unsuccessfully tried to introduce a similar law in 2012 and 2014. Telecommunications Minister Marius Bostan said yesterday that the government plans to try again. PNC Infratech has bagged a Rs 205.69-cr contract for construction of three lane road on both sides of Sharda Sahayak Feeder Canal in Uttar Pradesh. During the current quarter, the company said that PNC has received letters of award for a total contract value of over Rs 1,000 crores. "PNC Infratech Limited has received (LoA) for the project of construction of three lane road on both sides of Sharda Sahayak Feeder Canal from Lucknow-Faizabad Road to Lucknow- Sultanpur Road in Uttar Pradesh," the company said in a regulatory filing. The firm's total order book, in terms of contracts pending execution, now stands at over Rs 4,300 crore. This includes the project of four-laning of Varanasi-Gorakhpur section of NH-29 where it was declared L1 bider price of Rs 868.5 crore on March 9, but is yet to receive the award letter. PNC Infratech Ltd is an infrastructure construction, development and management company, with expertise in execution of major infrastructure projects, including highways, bridges, flyovers, airport runways among others. Residents, facing displacement due to a proposed metro rail project here, today rejected the relocation offer made by Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA) Co. Ltd. Before the Gujarat High Court, arguing that the area in question is "communally-disturbed". The 22 petitioners, who own houses and shops in Jivraj Park Society, have instead demanded relocation to the plots available in Prahladnagar or Manekbaug areas of the city. The matter was heard by the division bench of Justice Akil Kureshi and Z K Saiyed. MEGA had made an offer to the project affected residents to relocate to a plot bordering Vejalpur and Juhapura. However, they opposed the proposal stating that the area was communally disturbed and was among the first to be affected in the event of communal riots. The residents said they are willing to shift to either of the two areas-- Prahladnagar or Manekbaug-- which they have suggested, if offered relocation there. MEGA said it would think of the option offered by them. Respondent Anil Gupta, General Manager (Planning) of MEGA, had earlier stated that the company will go ahead to acquire the land if the petitioners agreed to be relocated to the area. The petitioners, including residents and shopowners of Mangal Deep and Vishwakarma Residential Societies of Jivraj Park area from where the north-south elevated corridor of the proposed metro rail starts, had moved the high court, alleging that acquisition of their properties by MEGA was not in accordance with Land Acquisition Act of 2013. They had claimed that they would lose their houses and shops due to the project and state-owned MEGA, undertaking the project of Metro Rail, is not ready to provide anything beyond cash compensation against the acquisition of their properties, which is a violation of the Act. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled on April 12. Student wings affiliated to Congress, NCP and various other political outfits on Tuesday demanded the ouster of principal over a letter written to city police seeking action against group of students for purportedly raising anti- slogans during an event here. "We don't think it was a typographical or human error. It was a pre-meditated ploy to dash off such a letter and we demand that Principal R G Pardeshi should be sacked by the Deccan Education Society, which runs the college," said a member from the students wing during a press conference here. Pardeshi had later retracted his statement after several organisations accused it of branding students as anti-nationals without any proof. Police too has clarified in their internal report that no anti- slogans were raised during the intense argument between a group of students, belonging to Ambedkarite movement and ABVP members on March 22, when Alok Singh, JNU ABVP president was addressing an informal event on 'Truth of JNU'. Members of the various student and youth wings affiliated to NSUI, NCP, RPI and Sambhaji Brigade accused that the college administration had acted and issued the letter under the pressure of some right wing organisations. On Kanhaiya Kumar's rally in Pune, a member of Sambhaji Brigade said they would protect the JNUSU president during his program in the city. "If they (BJYM) try to attack him or try to create ruckus, appropriate reply will be given to them," he warned. After the fracas at here during an ABVP-organised discussion on 'Truth of JNU', wherein a BJYM leader allegedly threatened the students of Ranade Institute that they would be thrashed if they invited Kumar, students from these two institutes and those from FTII came together and formed a joint forum to invite Kumar here. Dates of Kumar's visit are yet to be decided. Crediting Congress for ushering in peace in Assam, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi today assured that his party would concentrate on employment, set up an agriculture bank and give rice at Rs 2 to the poor if it is returned to power for the fourth term. Addressing an election rally here, Gandhi also promised his party will give scholarships to 100 students in each district and a Rs 1000 crore package for Karbi Anglong district as promised by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Stating efforts will be made for providing employment in both government and private sector to 10 lakh youths in Assam, he said, two lakh teachers would also be given jobs. A medical college, an engineering college and nursing college would be set up in the hill district of Karbi Anglong, of which Diphu is the headquarters. For the benefit of farmers the Congress government will set up an agriculture bank and provide insurance for natural disaster relief, he added. Highlighting the work done by the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress government in the last 15 years, Gandhi said, "Congress has done a lot of work but the biggest achievement was to bring peace to Assam." It worked "very hard" in the field of education, increased employment opportunities, raised the state's revenue earnings, built roads, infrastructure and hospitals. "For that I want to thank all Congress workers, leaders, Tarun Gogoi and the people of Assam," he said. "I want to tell you about Assam's condition 15 years ago before the Congress took charge of the state. There was an atmosphere of hatred, fights, blood shed and tears, no feelings of brotherhood. Without peace there can be no development." He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of failing to keep the promises he made before the Lok Sabha polls. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju today strongly reacted to Rahul Gandhi's statement that if BJP comes to power, Assam will be run from the RSS headquarters or the PMO, saying the comment came due to the Congress leader's "ignorance" of the ground reality. In a statement, Rijiju said Rahul's statement was unfortunate and it came because of "his ignorance of the ground reality". The Union Minister of State for Home claimed every ethnic group and region in Assam was dissatisfied lots and each one was either demanding special Constitutional status or special economic package despite Congress ruling the state for 15 years. "Now people want development not diversionary political statements. If BJP is voted to power then only the indigenous people of Assam will run the State and illegal migrants won't have any space to influence the politics of Assam which has been the case so far. "The level of people's satisfaction in Assam is abysmally low both in terms of human development index as well as socio-economic indicator," he said. Rijiju, BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh, said Assam and whole of North East is actually gifted with abundant natural resources with potential to be the most prosperous region in India but "due to very long mis-governance" by the Congress it has been relegated into a status of backward region. "If voted to power, the state and Central government will work in close coordination and will fulfil all promises made by the BJP," he said. At an election rally at Diphu, Rahul asked voters in Assam to reject BJP in the Assembly polls, saying if it came to power, the state will be run from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur or the PMO. He also warned the people that BJP will only "stoke violence" in the state and end the atmosphere of peace ushered in by Congress. Tata group's agri-input arm Rallis India Ltd has entered into an agreement with IKEA India to transfer its leasehold right over a land parcel in Mumbai for a consideration of nearly Rs 214 crore. Mumbai-based Rallis India today said it has entered into an agreement with Swedish furniture retailing giant IKEA to monetise its surplus assets. "The company today signed an agreement for assignment of its leasehold rights in respect of the its leasehold land at MIDC Industrial area, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai to IKEA India Pvt Ltd," Rallis India said in a filing to the BSE. On the size of the agreement, Rallis said "consideration of Rs 213.93 crore is payable by IKEA to the company for assignment of its leasehold rights." Transaction is subject to the IKEA getting all required approval from regulatory authorities, including approval from Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for the assignment of the leasehold rights as well as payment of such charges as may be applicable for obtaining the approvals. IKEA will open its first store in India at Hyderabad in the second half of 2017 even as it scouts for more sites in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company, which received government approval in 2013 for its Rs 10,500 crore proposal to open retail stores under 100 per cent FDI, plans to open 25 stores by 2025 in nine Indian cities. IKEA's first store in Hyderabad will be a massive 4 lakh square feet in size and will include all features of a global IKEA store, including restaurant and play and development area. In July last year, the company had announced purchase of 13 acre land close to the IT hub in Hyderabad's HITEC city. Rallis India is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals with business presence in the farm essentials vertical. It is into seeds, agro-chemicals, plant growth nutrients and agri-services. Twenty-five students and two faculty members of Hyderabad Central University (HCU), who were granted bail in connection with the March 22 violence on the campus during which the Vice Chancellor's official residence was ransacked, were tonight released from the Cherlapally Central Prison here. "Bail order copies were submitted to prison authorities...All of them have been released," Cherlapally Prison Superintendent K Venkateshwar Reddy told PTI. The XXV Metropolitan Magistrate court here had yesterday enlarged the students and the two faculty members on bail on submission of sureties of Rs 5,000 each. The court also directed them to appear before Station House Officer Gachibowli once in a week (every Saturday). The prosecution did not oppose the bail applications of the 27 accused and had informed the court that the situation (law and order) is under control on HCU campus. The defence counsel urged the court to grant bail contending that the allegations, which were levelled against the accused are absolutely 'vague' and there is no material to keep them in detention. A group of students, who were opposing Prof Appa Rao Podile's return as the VC after a two-month leave following the row over research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide in a university hostel room, had allegedly vandalised his residence and pelted police with stones on March 22. Later, police resorted to lathicharge and arrested 25 of them, beside two faculty members. All of them were lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison. Cases were booked on charges of damage to public property, trespass, preventing government officials from performing their duties, and other relevant sections of IPC in connection with the violence. Reserve Bank today said it has signed a Special Currency Swap Agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Under the arrangement, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka can draw up to USD 700 million for a maximum period of three months. "This special arrangement is in addition to the existing Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for the SAARC Member Countries," the RBI said in a statement. The proposal to extend the additional currency swap facility of USD 700 million to Sri Lanka for a limited period was decided with concurrence of the Government in March 2016 for short-term liquidity management in the context of India's strong bilateral relations and economic ties with Sri Lanka. Meanwhile RBI has announced special measures during the annual closing of Accounts of Banks on March 30 and 31, 2016. "Taking into account the extended banking hours for conducting Government business on March 30 and 31, 2016, and with a view to providing flexibility to the banking system for its liquidity management, the Reserve Bank has decided to modify the timings of Reverse Repo and MSF operations to be conducted on March 30 and 31, 2016," a release said. Accordingly, as against the normal time of 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm for conduct of Reverse Repo/MSF, the modified timings of Reverse Repo/MSF, on March 30 and 31, 2016 would be 7.30 pm to 11.45 pm. Further, RBI will continue to closely monitor the evolving liquidity conditions and will conduct appropriate liquidity operations, as may be required. Manipuri rights activist Irom Sharmila today told a Delhi court that she was ready to end her fast if the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was repealed and expressed her desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue. 42-year-old Sharmila, who is on a fast for around 16 years in Manipur demanding repeal of AFSPA, said in the court that she had expressed her desire to meet the Prime Minister long time ago, but he has not met her so far. Sharmila, who is fed through a nasal tube, said this during final arguments in a case in which she is facing trial for allegedly trying to commit suicide while undertaking fast -unto-death at Jantar Mantar on October 4, 2006. Advancing final arguments, the prosecutor contended that Sharmila had the intention to kill herself and the offence of trying to commit suicide was clearly made out against her. Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh fixed the matter for tomorrow to hear arguments on behalf of Sharmila's counsel V K Ohri. During the hearing, the activist said she loved her life and was using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal of repealing AFSPA as it would have "more impact" and added that this was "not a crime". "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she said while justifying her fast. "I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again," she added. Sharmila also said, "Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations." Sharmila had earlier told the court that she was very much eager to eat if she got the assurance that the "draconian" law will be revoked. Widespread discrimination was being done with the people from Northeast, she had alleged, adding she never intended to commit suicide and it was just a protest against AFSPA. The court had on March 4, 2013, put her on trial after she had refused to plead guilty to the charge of attempting to commit suicide (section 309 of IPC). If convicted, Sharmila, who is out on bail in this case, faces a maximum jail term of one year. Known as the 'Iron Lady', Sharmila had earlier told the court that her protest was non-violent. In an initiative aimed at conserving water, Rashtriya Jal Biradari (National Water Community) would launch 'Jal Saksharta Abhiyaan' (Water Literacy Campaign) across Uttar Pradesh on this World Earth Day on April 22. RJB, an umbrella organisation under Tarun Bharat Sangh, is preparing to associate female health assistants and anganbari workers with the campaign to spread awareness on conserving water, its chairman Rajendra Singh, a renowned water conservationist, said today. The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) does not do service for publicity, its chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Tuesday. "We do not do publicity. We don't do service for publicity," Bhagwat said at an event here. He said "sensitivity" towards the society was at the core of RSS' service, which it continue to render "as long as there in sorrow in the society". Bhagwat said a Swayamsewak (volunteer) of the Sangh is free from self-interest and there is no "motive" behind the service he renders. He also referred to wide network of RSS and the work being done by the outfit in different states. Meanwhile, Shaista Amber, President of the All India Muslim Women's Personal Law Board, after a meeting with the RSS chief said "unnecessary misconception" was being spread about the Hindu right wing organisation and claimed it does not speak only about "Hindutva or Hindu Rashtra". "I am of the belief that RSS does not speak only about Hindutva. I don't feel that the Sangh only talks about Hindutva or Hindu Rashtra," She said, adding due to several "misleading" things about the outfit's "negative attitude" towards Muslims, she doubted whether Bhagwat would meet her. Amid concern in the defence establishment over poor serviceability of the country's mainline fighter aircraft Su30 MKI, Russia today said it has offered India comprehensive maintenance and after-sales support for equipment sold by it, including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. This, Russia said can "completely" solve the problem plaguing some of the products. "Maintenance of equipment which has been delivered from Russia is a very sensitive and important issue," Vladimir Drozhzhovi, Head of Federal Services for Military Technical Cooperation of Russia's Rostec State Corporation, said here at the Defexpo. He said Russia has made a lot of proposals concerning long term contracts not only for delivery of spare parts, tools and accessories but also comprehensive maintenance and after sales services of the delivered equipment. "Proposals are for Su30, MiG 29, and also Vikramaditya aircraft carrier. And I am pretty sure that signing of such type of long term contract for maintenance and after sales services can completely solve the problem," he said. Currently, serviceability rate of multi-role fighter aircraft Sukhoi is just about under 60 per cent. This means that out of a total 100 aircraft, only about 60 are available for fighting. This is mainly because the rest of the aircraft are down with servicing issue. India plans to raise the serviceability to about 70 per cent by the year end. In December last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had also slammed the low serviceability of the aircraft. Indian Air Force operates more than 200 Su-30MKI jets that were made in India under licensed production with the assistance of Irkut Corporation, a unit of United Aircraft Corporation). The total orders stand at 272 planes, and an additional delivery of 40 Su-30MKI knockdown kits is being considered India accounts for over 30 per cent of Russia's overall arms exports. Each year, Moscow supplies New Delhi with various types of armaments worth about $4 billion. Approximately $20 billion worth of contracts have been signed and are being implemented. Since 1960, India has procured over USD 40 billion worth of Russian armaments and military hardware, according to Russia's Rosoboronexport. Russian air strikes in Syria likely killed more than 1,000 civilians in the war-torn country during the last quarter of 2015, the Airwars monitoring group said today. The London-based group gathered media and social media reports -- as well as accounts from rebel groups and non-governmental organisations -- to compile a grim database detailing every known civilian casualty incident that allegedly involved Russian aircraft. Airwars said its provisional view was that from September 30 -- when Russia entered the Syrian civil war to shore up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad -- and December 31, between 1,096 and 1,448 civilian non-combatants were "likely" to have been killed in 192 Syrian incidents "where Russian strikes appear to have taken place in the near vicinity on that date." The group also said that 1,700 civilians were "credibly reported injured" in the 192 incidents, an inevitable consequence of Russia's use of non-precision munitions. "As well as inflicting excessive civilian casualties, Russia is credibly reported to have extensively targeted civilian infrastructure in Syria -- with water treatment plants, bakeries, food distribution depots and aid convoys all struck," Airwars added. Moscow has denied hitting civilians and says its strikes target "terrorists." The claimed toll for the three-month period is higher than the total supposedly killed by the US-led coalition that has been hitting Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since August 2014. Airwars put that number at 1,044 but the Pentagon says it is far lower and has so far confirmed the deaths of only 21 civilians, though several investigations into claimed civilian deaths are ongoing. "Protests by the US and allies at high civilian casualties from Russian airstrikes have been undermined by the coalition's own unwillingness to admit such casualties," Airwars said. Russian air strikes have tapered off since a partial ceasefire came into force between the Assad regime and rebels. In all, more than 270,000 Syrians have been killed since the civil war began in 2011, and millions more have fled their homes. Airwars acknowledged that in some incidents, it was unclear whether the civilians died as a result of Russian bombs or attacks by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Airwars is a collaborative group made up of journalists, researchers and analysts. Safeguarding loose nuclear materials around the globe is a top priority for the US, the White House has said ahead of the Nuclear Security Summit here later this week, which among others would be attended by leaders from India, China and Japan. "I would anticipate that issues related to nuclear materials and safeguarding them is high on the agenda (of the Nuclear Security Summit). This is obviously something that is a top priority," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily conference yesterday. The summit is more focused on those nuclear materials that are not under the same kind of careful watchful eye that they are in Belgium, he said when asked about reports that the terrorists behind the Brussels attack were also conducting surveillance of nuclear site in the country. "We understand that the Belgian government has decided to employ on-site military quick-response teams at nuclear plants and research centers while it determines what other actions may be necessary. Obviously, ensuring the safety of those kinds of facilities can and should be a top priority. "As with other elements of the steps that Belgium has taken to protect our country, we are prepared to offer assistance if necessary in safeguarding Belgium's nuclear facilities," Earnest said. President Obama has made this a priority because frankly this is an issue that he worked on prior to entering the White House. The President spent a decent amount of time working across the aisle with Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana on efforts around the globe to safeguard nuclear materials, he said. "This has been a priority for the President since before he took office. That is why we created a venue like the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) to give additional attention to this issue and to make clear to the Americans and governments around the world that this is a top priority of the US. "The next President will come in with a mandate to make their own decisions about what elements of our national security need to be prioritised and what is the best way to do that," Earnest said. Earlier in the day, Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman, told reporters during a web cast said the NSS, which has been held every two years, is a crucial element of the US strategy to keep terrorists from acquiring fissile material to make nuclear weapons. "This year's summit is not just about declarations but about real-world results. It is not just the elimination of highly enriched uranium and plutonium stocks from many countries, it also means a genuine improvement in the physical security and, just as importantly, the security procedures in every country that possesses significant stocks of fissile material," he said. In April 2009 during his Prague speech, Obama identified the risk of nuclear terrorism as the most immediate threat to global security. He called for a worldwide effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material and a summit to raise the issue of nuclear terrorism to the highest levels of government. The US hosted the first summit in 2010, South Korea hosted the summit in 2012 and the Netherlands hosted the 2014 summit. "Since the first Nuclear Security Summit in 2010, the international community and international organisations have made significant steps to strengthen the security of nuclear material, including successfully removing or down blending highly enriched uranium, or HEU, and plutonium from over 50 facilities in 30 countries, which is enough material for 130 nuclear weapons," said US Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs Bonnie Jenkins. Leaders of nearly 24 countries will be attending the two- day National Security Summit on March 31 and April 1 including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. No bilateral meeting between the two leaders have been announced so far. Disney's first theme park in mainland China which will open in June has triggered a sales rush after its booking opened with projections that 16 million people could visit it annually, state media reported today. The Shanghai Disney Resort's booking opened yesterday which is Disney's sixth resort worldwide. Major authorised online tour operators, including Lvmama, Ctrip and Shanghai Spring International Travel Service, have reported a surge in bookings for tour packages in the park, which is scheduled to open on June 16. Lvmama said a two-day, one-night package with park pass and hotel accommodation has been the most popular. "People have been calling in to ask about the package, and bookings have grown steadily since Monday," a Lvmama employee was quote as saying by Xinhua agency. Ctrip, China's largest online travel agent, said packages that combine the Disney resort with nearby towns are also popular. It said bookings were made by residents from more than 60 cities, including inland cities such as Wuhan and Changsha. Ctrip now offers 70 packages related to the resort. Data showed budget hotel prices near the resort have risen more than 50 per cent since tickets went on sale. Yesterday, park passes for the resort's opening day were snapped up in minutes. Industry analysts said the park's debut will help boost tourism in the Yangtze River Delta. Shanghai Haitong Securities analyst Wang Liting said the park has benefited the transportation, hotel, tourism and retail sectors. Disneyland will bring an increase in visitors to Shanghai and neighboring cities, said Xue Peipei, an analyst with Shanghai Huatai Securities, and nearby tourist destinations such as Wuzhen, a historic water town about 130 kilometers from Shanghai, will also see more visitors. The resort is expected to attract 10 million visits each year, according to Shanghai Shendi Group, Disney's Chinese partner. However, professor He Jianmin, director of the tourism management department of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics estimates that with growing momentum in the tourism sector, visitors could top 16 million per year. Disney opened a theme park in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China in 2005. A song lampooning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was broadcast on a German public television satirical show has sparked a diplomatic spat between Berlin and Ankara, sources on both sides confirmed today. Turkey last week summoned Germany's ambassador to protest the two-minute clip "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan", which ridicules the president, his alleged extravagant spending and crackdown on civil liberties. The song is set to the tune of German pop star Nena's 1984 love song "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" (Anyhow, Anywhere, Anytime) and was screened on regional broadcaster NDR's "extra 3" show on March 17. The German-language lyrics charge, among other things, that "a journalist who writes something that Erdogan doesn't like/ Is tomorrow already in jail". Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP: "We summoned the ambassador last week to communicate our protest about the broadcast that we condemned. "We demanded that the broadcast be removed from the air." A German diplomatic source confirmed Tuesday that Ambassador Martin Erdmann had held repeated talks with the Turkish foreign ministry over the song. "In these talks he made clear that the rule of law, judicial independence and the protection of fundamental freedoms, including of the press and of expression, are valuable assets that should be jointly protected," said the German source. Erdmann had stressed that "in Germany, political satire is covered by the freedom of the press and of expression and the government has neither the need for, nor the option of, taking action." Erdogan's government has been accused by critics of authoritarianism and muzzling critical media as well as lawmakers, academics, lawyers and NGOs. Alluding to the government's military crackdown against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the song charges about Erdogan: "He hates the Kurds like the plague /And prefers to bomb them rather than the religious brothers from Islamic State." The government vehemently denies that the crackdown targets Turkey's Kurdish minority, saying it is only aimed at wiping out "terrorists". James Cain learned only last Tuesday that his daughter had married Alexander Pinczowski. Two days later, he learned that Alexander and his sister Sascha, Dutch siblings who lived in the United States, both died in the Brussels airport suicide bombing. As Cain and his daughter Cameron both Americans hunted for about Alexander and Sascha, Cameron disclosed her marriage to Alexander in 2013. Today, Cain called that "the bright spot in our otherwise anguishing week." Alexander and Sascha had been heading home to the U.S. when they died. Alexander, 29, was on the phone with his mother in the Netherlands when the line went dead. Alexander had traveled to the Netherlands to work on a craft-related business that he and Cameron were going to start together. In a major clampdown on tax evasion through stock markets, regulator Sebi today barred 246 entities from capital markets after they were found to have indulged in a web of "make-believe" trades to artificially inflate share prices and entrap gullible investors. The regulator said that these entities booked a profit of Rs 1,600 crore through these fraudulent trades. The entities were found to be operating through various companies linked to Kailash Auto group, which was later found to be almost non-existent with no operation taking place at its registered offices and facilities. Upon investigation, Sebi found the said company to be working out of a rented "small table space" in the office of a chartered accountant firm with just one office boy as its employee to collect posts and other documents. BSE conducted inspection at corporate office of Kailash Auto in Mumbai and reported that the claimed office was locked and no company officials were available at the time of visit of BSE officials. It was found that the management and control of Kailash Auto was acquired by Careful Projects Advisory Ltd (CPAL) and Panchshul Marketing Ltd (PML) from the erstwhile promoter of the firm through a share purchase agreement. Consequently, the board of directors of Kailash Auto had approved CPAL and PML as promoters of the company, Seni said. In November 2012, the board of directors of Kailash Auto agreed for reduction of share capital of the firm and merger of CPAL and PML with Kailash Auto. Sebi said that the merger and the reduction of the share capital was also approved by the Bombay High Court and Allahabad High Court. During the 2011-12 fiscal, CPAL had increased its authorised share capital and then its shares were split. In the same fiscal, CPAL had issued bonus shares and further allotted shares in private placement, among others. Thereafter, during the same financial year, CPAL had issued bonus shares in the ratio of 55 shares for 1 share and further issued 95,200,000 equity shares of Re 1 each through private placement. On the same lines, PML had made private placement of 3,36,900 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 690 each during 2010-11 to 15 entities and purportedly raised a share premium of Rs 23.24 crore within short time of its incorporation. The regulator in its investigation found that the primary allottees of CPAL and PML are connected to each other on the basis common addresses and/or common directors. "Considering the operating performance and net profit of CPAL and PML in the year of incorporation 2010-11 and financial year 2011-12, it was noted that despite having weak operating results during the said financial years, CPAL and PML had issued bonus shares in an unrealistic and disproportionate ratio," Sebi said. It added, "From the bank statement of the aforesaid primary allottees of CPAL and PML for the period of December 2010 to June 2011 it was observed that same funds were being churned among CPAL, PML and their respective primary allottees. Further, the regulator said that from the annual report of 2010-11 of CPAL and PML it was observed that these companies, in concert with their primary allottees, had developed a mechanism by virtue of which the companies and their primary allottees made book entries of purported investment in each others' equity shares. "Accordingly, there was no infusion of cash in respect of private placements by CPAL and PML but it resulted in generation of fictitious share premium value in the books of accounts of CPAL and PML," Sebi said. The issue of bonus shares by CPAL and PML resulted in significant increase in the paid up share capital of these firms, the regulator said. Sebi also noted that just after change in the promoter group of Kailash Auto to PML and CPAL, within a short span of time, the price of the scrip of Kailash Auto increased significantly. "The above findings indicate that CPAL and PML were incorporated with a dubious plan and premeditated arrangement and artifice to increase number of shares therein through sham and non-genuine transactions with regard to issuance of their shares which resulted in fetching exorbitant and unrealistic consideration in the scheme of amalgamation," Sebi said. It said that these 246 entities, many of which have common addresses, common directors and even common phone numbers, were misusing stock exchange mechanism to generate bogus LTCG (Long Term Capital Gains). Barring the entities, Sebi Whole Time Member Rajeev Kumar Aggarwal said, "I am of the opinion that a detailed investigation of the entire scheme, plan, device and artifice employed by concerned entities and to find out the ultimate owners of funds used for facilitating the entire scheme, plan, device and artifice is necessary." He added, "While Sebi would investigate into the probable violations of the securities laws, the matter may also be referred to other law enforcement agencies such as Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate and Financial Intelligence Unit for necessary action at their end as may be deemed appropriate by them." When all the facts and circumstances of this case are considered holistically they prima facie emerge as ingredients in a fraudulent, deceptive and manipulative device, plan and artifice designed to tamper with free market forces and to damage the integrity of the securities markets, he said. Apart from market manipulation in the scrip of Kailash Auto, the entire plan, device and artifice of private placement, among others were designed and structured to beguile the same as transactions with commercial sense to generate bogus LTCG which is exempt from tax, Sebi said. To boost inflows of foreign funds into Indian capital markets, regulator Sebi today raised the FPI investment limit in central government securities to Rs 1,40,000 crore from April 4. It will be further increased to Rs 1,44,000 crore from July 5. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said there will be a separate limit for investment by all Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in the state development loans (SDLs). It has been decided to enhance limit for investment by FPIs in government securities in two tranches from April 4 and July 5. "Limit for FPIs in central government securities shall be enhanced to Rs 1,40,000 crore on April 4, 2016 and Rs 1,44,000 crore on July 5, 2016 respectively, from the existing limit of Rs 1,35,400 crore," Sebi said in a circular. In addition, limit for investment by FPIs in state development loans will be enhanced to Rs 10,500 crore on April 4 and Rs 14,000 crore on July 5, respectively. Presently, the existing limit is Rs 7,000 crore. The limit for long term FPIs (Sovereign Wealth Funds, Multilateral Agencies, Endowment Funds, Insurance Funds, Pension Funds and Foreign Central Banks) in central government securities will be enhanced to Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 56,000 crore on April 4 and July 5, respectively. Currently, the existing limit is Rs 44,100 crore for long term FPIs. Earlier in the day, RBI had also relaxed norms of FPI investment in government debt. The free limit as on April 3 within the Rs 1,35,400 crore limit along with the new debt limits of Rs 4,600 crore will be auctioned on the exchange platform on April 4. Sebi said that incremental limits of Rs 5,900 crore and Rs 6,000 crore for long term FPIs will be available for investment on tap with effect from April 4 and July 5 respectively. Besides, incremental limits of Rs 3,500 crore each for investment by FPIs in SDLs will be available for investment on tap with effect from April 4 and July 5, respectively. "It has been decided that from the next half-year onwards - from October 1, 2016, any unutilised limit within the government debt limit for long term FPIs, at the end of the half-year, shall be made available for investment as additional limit to all categories of FPIs for the subsequent half-year," Sebi said. Earlier, the limit for overseas investors in securities was hiked to Rs 1,29,900 crore from October 12 last year, and it was further increased to Rs 1,35,400 crore from January 1, 2016. Prior to the October limit, they were allowed to invest up to Rs 1,24,432 crore in government debt securities through auction. Markets regulator Sebi today imposed a total penalty of Rs 8.5 lakh on eight companies for not complying with online complaint redressal system, SCORES. The firms are Fraternity Electronics, Unity Agrotech Industries, Tasc Finance, Candy Filters, Alexcon Extrusions, Bhawani Cable Tel, Bubna Major Biotech and Bhartia Bachat. While a penalty of Rs 1.5 lakh has been slapped on Bhartia Bachat, others have been penalised Rs 1 lakh fine each. The regulator found that the firms did not obtain SCORES authentication within the mandated timeframe and some of them also failed to redress investor complaints. In eight separate but similarly worded orders Sebi said lack of due diligence demonstrated by these firms is a risk to the securities market and thus loss to the investors to that extent. The regulator through two circulars in August 2012 and April 2013, had directed all the listed companies to obtain SCORES authentication within the stipulated time. SCORES is Sebi's online platform that provides a centralised database of all complaints. Online Movement of complaints to the listed companies concerned and upload of their action taken reports (ATRs) are done through this system. Launched in 2011, SCORES helps investors view, track and follow up the action taken on their grievances. The online redressal system has significantly helped in reducing processing time of complaints. Key BJP ally Shiv Sena today joined Congress and AAP in attacking the government over a Pakistani team being allowed to visit an IAF base in Pathankot to probe the terror strike, calling it "wrong". Mounting a fresh offensive over the visit today, Congress said the Modi government has set a "wrong precedent" and wondered why 'biryani' was being served to the JIT which also includes an ISI representative. As a political storm over the visit of a five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team(JIT) raged, the BJP fended off opposition criticism, saying the trip strengthens government's stand that Pakistani territory was used to carry out the strike. It also accused Congress of criticising the visit due to "political malice". Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut while terming the government's decision as "wrong" said rather an Indian team needs to be sent to Pakistan to probe those behind the terror strikes. Raut also reminded the Centre that not India, but Pakistan is an accused in the Pathankot strike. "On top of that, we have provided high security to the Pakistani team. Who are they scared of? The entire matter is laughable," the Sena MP told PTI in Mumbai. He sought to know if the Centre will manage to get permission from Pakistan to get an Indian team to investigate in the neighbouring country. "Our team needs to be sent there to investigate the role of Hafiz Saeed and Azhar Masood in terror strikes in our country. But will we get permission? We need to remember we are not culprits but Pakistan is," he said. Congress accused the government of compromising the country's sovereignty and setting a "wrong" precedent. "It is known all over that the Pakistan's ISI is behind the terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, and still we are serving biryani to the JIT which also includes an ISI representative," party spokesman P L Punia told reporters in Delhi. Replying to a question, he said the Narendra Modi dispensation has set a "wrong" precedent by allowing the JIT to visit India. BJP said the government has "adequate evidence" that Pakistani territory was used and terrorists based there were involved in the attack. "They (Pakistan) said they want to send an investigation team. It only strengthens our case and does not weaken it," party National Secretary Shrikant Sharma told reporters. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said only time will tell whether the visit will benefit India or not. He, however, said "the way Pakistani team came for probing the Pathankot attack and was allowed, Indian team should be allowed to (investigate) Mumbai and other such attacks (in Pakistan)". Striking a tone different from other opposition parties, Omar's father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah backed the government over the visit, saying it was a "very good step" and that it was time for the two neighbouring countries to give up animosity and push friendship. Waving black flags and placards, scores of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers stood outside the IAF base protesting against the visit and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. There is a "serious extremism and terrorism problem" in Pakistan, the US has said, a day after a Taliban suicide bombing in Lahore killed over 70 people and wounded more than 300, including many women and children. "There is a serious extremism and terrorism problem inside of Pakistan. The Pakistani government understands that," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday. "The US has certainly been supportive and encouraging of the Pakistani government as they have considered the steps necessary to combat that extremist threat. "This terrorist attack that we saw in this park over the weekend is grotesque and chilling. But unfortunately, it is not the only effort that we have seen on part of extremists in a large-scale way, to carry out an atrocity against a large group of innocent people, including children," he said. Earnest said that it was just a year and a half or so ago when the Taliban terrorists attacked a Peshawar school, killing 151 people mostly school students. "So that is an indication that there continues to be a serious problem and the US will continue to support the Pakistani government as they try to confront and combat that extremist element within their own country," Earnest said. He said the US condemns in the strongest possible terms this terror attack at a children's park in Lahore on Sunday. "The other thing is indicative of what we talk about up here quite a bit is that even though this terror attack was targeted at Christians, a religious minority in Pakistan - again, that is in and of itself grotesque, but the fact of the matter is that based on the names that we are seeing now, the majority of the victims were actually Muslims," Earnest said. "It demonstrates how important it is for the world to come together to fight this kind of extremism. As a purely practical matter, that is also what is going to be required, and our success in fighting extremism around the globe is going to also depend on the ability of individual nations to fight extremism within their borders. "Certainly, the government of Pakistan understands this today, just how critically important that is," Earnest said. The US and Pakistan have an important counterterrorism relationship. The Obama administration certainly values the kind of cooperation that it has received from them, he said. "In this instance, the response and the investigation will be conducted by the Pakistani government and if they request assistance from the US, it will be provided," Earnest added. At least 72 people including 29 children were killed in the Taliban suicide bombing at a park during Easter celebration in Lahore on Sunday. Mounting a blistering attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BJP president Amit Shah today dared her to throw out from the party Trinamool Congress leaders who are seen purportedly accepting bribes in lieu of undue favours in the Narada clips. Shah also refuted allegations of match fixing between BJP and TMC in the Saradha scam, saying CBI investigation is taking time as the West Bengal government-created SIT has made a mess of the entire thing. "Mamata Banerjee had earlier pledged to fight against corruption. Mamatadi on moral grounds should throw out those party leaders seen on camera accepting bribes. If Mamatadi is so confident that her party leaders are innocent then why she is not requesting a CBI inquiry into the Narada sting operation," Shah said at a press meet here. Rubbishing the allegation of match fixing also in the Narada case, he said,"Some people in the media are asking what is BJP doing? What will the BJP do in it? The leaders belong to TMC. Mamatadi should throw them out of the party on moral grounds. "In Lok Sabha we had a majority so we had sent the matter to the Ethics committee, but in Rajya Sabha we don't have a majority. The Congress and Communists have a majority in Rajya Sabha why are they not sending it to Ethics committee," Shah asked. When asked why is the BJP government not taking initiative to get the CDs of the Narada sting probed, Shah said, "There is a federal structure. As soon as Mamatadi asks for CBI investigation in Narada sting, we will get the CDs investigated,". Told about the instance of Uttarkhand sting operation where the BJP had taken initiative to get the CDs probed, Shah said,"It was Uttarkhand Governor who had sent the CDs. Let the state government ask for CBI investigation, we will then investigate the CDs,". Shah also said that the Election Commission should remove the police officials seen in Narada sting and also the police commissioner of Kolkata police. "Earlier we used to see investigative journalists, now we are seeing investigative police, where police is being sent to trap our leader Rahul Sinha. I want to tell Mamatadidi that because your party has been maligned in Narada scam, you are also trying to malign us," he said. "What is the use of taking action against two junior officials, (since) the police commissioner is directly involved in it. I would request the Election Commission to look into the matter and the police offcials seen in Narada sting and the Kolkata police commissioner should be removed for free and fair elections," Shah said. When asked why the CBI investigation into the Saradha scam slow down in the last two years, Shah said, "CBI is an independent organisation. But let me tell you that the state police has made a mess of entire thing that it is taking a bit time to put everything in place. Whether it's Saradha or Khagragarh the state police have messed up the entire thing,". Shah attacked the Congress and CPI(M) for forging an alliance in Bengal and fighting against each other in Kerala. "They are fighting against each other in Kerala and in Bengal they are forging an alliance. What is the ideology of CPI(M), they talk a lot about ideology. They stand exposed after an alliance with Congress," Shah said. Shah recalled that Left Front chairman Biman Bose had met Banerjee in Nabanna (State secretariat) in 2014 after there was rise in BJP's vote share. He reiterated there has been no deal between TMC and BJP and his party will never compromise on the issue of corruption. "Those who want to help the communists are using this Modi Bhai-Didi Bhai notion to create a confusion. I as the President of BJP am saying this clearly that there can never be an adjustment between BJP and TMC, or BJP and Communists," Shah said. (Reopens CAL7) When asked why the BJP wave in Bengal had died down in the last two years, Shah contested it saying,"Our movement has not died down, it is a section of media house which is propagating that our movement has died down. We are fighting hard against TMC". Turning to West Bengal, Shah said the industry of bomb- making has only come up in West Bengal in last five years. "Only the bomb making industry has come up in West Bengal in last five years. And the music of Rabindra Sangeet is getting suppressed because of those bomb blasts," he said. (REOPENS CAL7) Later, at an election meeting at Nayagram in West Midnapore district, Shah attacked Banerjee for "ruining Bengal" and her government of helping chit funds mushroom in the state. "The chit funds had come up during the Left regime, but it grew in size during the TMC regime. We are seeing on camera how TMC leaders are accepting bribe. Why is Mamata Banerjee not seeking a CBI inquiry into it?" he asked. Rabindra Sangeet, a popular genre of Bangla music, was today dragged into the high decibel poll campaign in West Bengal with BJP President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee crossing swords. Firing a salvo at the ruling Trinamool Congress over its five-year rule in the state, Shah told a press meet in Kolkata that the only industry to have come up in Bengal during this period was "bomb making industry" as a result of which Rabindra Sangeet, also known as Tagore's songs, was getting suppressed. "Only the bomb making industry has come up in West Bengal in the last five years. And the sound of Rabindra Sangeet is getting suppressed because of those bomb blasts," Shah said. In a sharp retort to Shah, Banerjee said she would be the "biggest enemy" of anyone who insulted Bengal. "If anyone insults Bengal, there will be no bigger enemy than me," Banerjee said at a poll rally in Ramachandrapur in Purulia district. "Today you are in power in Delhi, but will lose tomorrow," the Chief Minister said, adding, "I have heard that (Shah) has said something about Rabindranath." "People of Bengal do not forgive anyone who insults great poets like Rabindranath Tagore or Nazrul Islam," the TMC supremo thundered at the rally in support of TMC candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls Banerjee claimed that the CPI-M had suffered for allegedly disrespecting Tagore. "CPI-M had claimed that it had made Tagore famous, while taking 'Sahaj Path' (a beginners' book in Bengali for kids) off the syllabus of nursery students," Banerjee said, claiming that people of Bengal had paid back the Left party for such acts. The Left was ousted by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal in 2011 after 34 years of uninterrupted rule. After winning accolades for her last release "Neerja", actress Sonam Kapoor hinted at working once again in a woman centric film. In Ram Madhvani's biopic, Sonam essayed the life of slain flight attendant Neerja Bhanot who died saving hundreds of passengers on a hijacked flight in 1986. When asked if audiences are once again going to see her reprising a strong female character on screen, Sonam said, "I will announce something soon. I can't talk about it." She did not divulge any further details of her next project. The "Raanjhana" actress, when quizzed if she would also like to play historic female heroes, she said, "You see it. Hopefully I would like to play something like that." Sonam was talking on the sidelines of event 'Women of Worth Awards'. The 30-year-old actress on the occasion acknowledged the active role of many Indian women who helped build the nation but rued that unsung heroes like Neerja Bhanot got lost in history. "There are lot of Indian woman who have been modern heroes who have helped in building a better India. There are lot of Indian women in the history you look at like Mother Teresa, Sarojini Naidu, Lata Mangeshkar and others," she said. "There are women who got lost in the page of history like Neerja Bhanot and it is sad. There is a wider variety of women that we are looking at and the more innovative things that they are doing which are cultural and scientific breakthroughs and artistic as well," Sonam said. L'Oreal Paris in association with NDTV hosted the fifth edition of the award last evening to felicitate the achievements of eight exceptional women who have made a difference to the lives of others. Ambassadors for the beauty major Sonam, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina Kaif were present to give away the awards. Iraqi officials say a suicide bombing in the capital has killed at least seven civilians and wounded 23. A police officer says the suicide bomber set off his payload among a group of day laborers in Baghdad's Tayaran Square today. A medical official confirms the toll. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief reporters. The Islamic State group claimed the attack in an online statement circulated by supporters, saying it targeted Shiite militiamen. In recent months the Sunni extremists have carried out a series of large attacks mainly targeting Iraq's Shiite majority and Shiite-dominated security services. The attacks come as IS has lost ground on a number of fronts in Syria and Iraq, where it governs a self-styled Islamic caliphate. Drug major Sun Pharma has forayed into the Japanese prescription market by acquiring 14 brands from Swiss drug firm Novartis for USD 293 million (over Rs 1,940 crore). According to the agreements signed by the parties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Pharma will acquire the portfolio consisting of 14 established prescription brands from Novartis for a cash consideration of USD 293 million, Sun Pharma said in a statement. "Japan is a market of strategic interest for us. This acquisition marks Sun Pharma's foray into the Japanese prescription market and provides us an opportunity to build a larger product portfolio in the future," Sun Pharma Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi said. Under the terms of the agreements, Novartis will continue to distribute these brands, for a certain period, pending transfer of all marketing authorisations to Sun Pharma's subsidiary, it added. The acquired brands will be marketed by a reliable and established local marketing partner under the Sun Pharma label. The local marketing partner will also be responsible for distribution of the brands, the company said. The 14 brands have combined annualised revenues of around USD 160 million and address medical conditions across several therapeutic areas. As per the December-2015 IMS data, the size of the Japanese pharmaceutical market was estimated at USD 73 billion, accounting for over 7 per cent of the USD 1 trillion global pharmaceutical market. Hundreds of supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, executed for killing liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer, today refused to end their protests in the Pakistani capital until the government accepts their demand of declaring the Islamist assassin a "martyr". Over 25,000 protesters had entered and besieged Islamabad's high-security zone on Sunday, damaging public buildings and breaking barriers that had been erected. While most of them left yesterday, a few hundred are still continuing their sit-ins outside the Parliament House and other key government installations for the third day today. The protesters led by Sunni Tehreek and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool religious groups entered the so-called high-security Red Zone after bloody clashes with police in which 42 security officials and 16 citizens have been injured so far. They are demanding implementation of Shariah in the country and declaring Qadri, who was hanged on February 29, a "martyr". They also demanded release of their arrested leaders and declaring Qadri's Adiala Jail cell in Rawalpindi into a national heritage and execution of blasphemy convict Christian women Aasia Bibi who was sentenced to death in 2010 by a court. Qadri, who was Tasser's security guard, has killed the sitting governor of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous state, in 2011 after he visited Aasia Bibi in her jail cell and expressed support for her, even promising a presidential pardon to the mother-of-five. Meanwhile, the protesters have refused to negotiate with the city administration but have shown willingness to hold talks with the army or top government officials. "The government is active in defusing the tension and convincing the protesters to disperse peacefully. The policy is to follow restraint and avoid violence," said a senior official of the federal government. He said officials of Punjab government were also active to end the standoff. The government may agree to release the arrested leaders but it will not accept other demands, he said. The government estimates that it had suffered a loss of about 150 million rupees due to vandalism by the protesters. The terminals of Metro bus service have been badly damaged and the bus service had to be halted. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also come under immense pressure from the media, civil society and opposition, for letting the protesters enter the Red Zone. Former NCP minister Jayant Patil today demanded action against the principal of Pune's Fergusson College over his letters to city police seeking action against a group of students for allegedly shouting anti-national slogans during an event on the campus. "The principal wrote three letters, each claiming a different thing. This shows he was under pressure from someone," Patil said during a debate on the issue in the Maharashtra Assembly. "This is not the way a responsible principal should behave. Responsibility should be fixed and action should taken against him," he said. Patil said when NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad visited the college, he was attacked but no action was taken against the assailants. NCP MLAs wore black bands on hands to protest the assault. The House was adjourned thrice as slogan-shouting NCP legislators created a ruckus while protesting the attack on Awhad. An ABVP-organised discussion on Fergusson campus 'Truth of JNU' had led to the fracas last week, involving two groups of students. College authorities had claimed that some anti-national slogans were shouted during the clash. Workers of all seven Tehsils in Bulandshahr district today went on strike over the alleged assault on a Registrar Kanoongo by Tehsildar of Khurja city, police said. The victim, Shripal Singh has alleged that he was assaulted by Tehsildar Manoj Kumar at the latter's residence last evening. Employees of all the Tehsils in the district gathered at Khurja Tehsil premises and sat on a dharna, Superintendent of Police (Rural), Pankaj Pandey said. The Police has not yet received any written complaint from the victim, Pandey said. Thailand's military junta has warned that politicians critical of the post-coup government will undergo an intensive "training course", sparking outrage from critics who compared the move with Communist countries' "re-education" programme. The government yesterday warned that people who "have failed to behave" after being repeatedly summoned for "attitude adjustment" will have to undergo an intensive "training course", 'Nation' newspaper reported today. The latest move by the generals came under fire as critics likened the plan to "re-education" camps in Communist countries and described it as violation of human rights, the report said. Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said that a "training course" would be necessary after politicians failed to get the point after many sessions to adjust their attitude. "We will hold a training course for them that may last three to seven days. The National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO] will be the organiser," Prawit told reporters. Prime MinisterPrayutChan-o-cha said yesterday that the NCPO's attitude-adjustment sessions would now be held in the form of training courses "for better understanding". "They will be asked about their behaviour in the past, whether it was right or wrong,"Prayutsaid. "They will be asked what they would do if they were in government and if they understand what this government is doing. If they don't know, they should no longer be politicians," Prayutadded. Critics have reacted strongly against the plan to hold training courses for "repeat offender" politicians who refused to toe the junta's line. The warning has come as the final constitutional draft is set to be submitted to the Cabinet and a national referendum on the draft charter is just months away. Royal Thai Armed Forces led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha launched a coup, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand on 22 May 2014, following six months of political crisis. Pheu Thai Party obtained a landslide victory in 2011 and formed the government with Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister. Anti-government protests, led by former Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban, began in November 2013. A Thai woman has been charged with sedition, police said today, after photos were spread of her holding a red bowl allegedly bearing a message from an ex-premier who lies at the heart of the kingdom's bitter politics. The images showed Theerawan Charoensuk, 54, holding a hand-sized bowl with a goodwill note apparently signed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose powerful political dynasty is locked in a decade-long struggle with the kingdom's military-backed royalist elite. She faces up to seven years in jail if convicted. Her arrest comes as the ruling junta, who toppled a government led by Thaksin's sister in 2014, hardens its clampdown on political expression ahead of a referendum on a controversial charter it has penned. The small bowl is used to pour water during Buddhist ceremonies and was distributed at a temple fair in northern Chiang Mai, the Shinawatra's hometown. It was painted red -- a colour with strong associations to the family's supporters, who are known as the "Red Shirts". Local media reported it was signed by Thaksin along with a slogan that read: "The situation may be hot, but brothers and sisters may gain coolness from the water inside this bucket". Police declined to comment on the details of the bowl, saying only that they believed it was handed out by a "certain political party". "She was charged with section 116 -- inciting chaos in the country," said Nateephat Akarapongthiti from Chiang Mai's Mae Ping police station. The junta has outlawed all political activities and protests since the coup, in a vow to bridge the kingdom's vast divides. But critics say the generals are more focused on rooting out the influence of the Shinawatras, who have dominated electoral politics for the past 10 years and are seen as a threat to the elite's status quo. Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters Tuesday he found the charge was "suitable" because "it might be a national security threat". "It was [a show of] support for people who have violated laws and run away from criminal charge," he said, a reference to Thaksin, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a corruption conviction. Police said Theerawan, a Chiang Mai resident, was released from custody today and will now face trial in a military court. "She said she held up the bowl, but she didn't think that was wrong," Nateephat told AFP. Rights groups say the junta has increasingly leaned on the country's tough sedition law to silence critics. "The Revenant" actor Brendan Fletcher is recovering after he was injured by a firearm while filming a TV series in Canada. Fletcher was in the middle of shooting drama "Cardinal" in Sudbury, Ontario when he suffered lacerations on his throat after discharge from a gun not fully emptied of blanks peppered his head, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was hospitalised and received treatment, but has since been discharged. In a statement, Fletcher's agent claimed the accident was "no fault of his (Fletcher)" and the actor is recovering well. Production on the show was delayed for one day but has since resumed. Officials from the Ontario Ministry of Labor, which investigates workplace injuries in the province, is looking into the incident. Fletcher portrayed Fryman in Leonardo DiCaprio's survival movie. Three police officers were killed and six others wounded during an ambush in Thailand's insurgency-plagued deep south, witnesses said today. Shootings and explosions are a near daily occurrence in Thailand's three southernmost provinces where more than 6,500 people -- the majority civilians -- have died since an Islamist rebellion against Thai rule re-ignited in 2004. After months of relative calm that saw violence dip to a record low last year, there has been a palpable increase in attacks over the past few weeks. The latest ambush occurred in Ra-Ngae district, Narathiwat province, with insurgents setting off a bomb as a police convoy passed by. "Three police were killed and six police were injured from bomb fragments," local investigator Police Captain Apichart Dolor told AFP. "Among the injured ones, four are seriously wounded", he added. An AFP photographer on the scene saw a white truck riddled with shrapnel smashed into a tree with the bodies of three policemen still inside. The insurgents are seeking greater autonomy from majority-Buddhist Thailand, which annexed the culturally distinct region more than a century ago. The rebels employ brutal tactics including shootings, beheadings and bombings, often targeting perceived civilian collaborators such as teachers and Buddhist monks. Earlier this month insurgents briefly seized a hospital and used it to launch an attack on nearby troops during a night of multiple coordinated assaults. The move sparked condemnation from the UN and a vow by Thailand's junta to ramp up security in the region. The Thai military also stands accused of routinely abusing human rights including torture and extra-judicial killings. The junta's vow to hold peace talks has borne little fruit. Rights groups say peace is unlikely while a tight security net remains over the region. Critics also cast doubt on the army's sincerity and the ability of their rebel interlocutors to control the revolt's foot soldiers. Security agencies have detected a series of phone conversations between a location in Gujarat and Pakistan in a Thuraya satellite phone, setting alarm bell ringing in the Home Ministry. The agencies have tracked multiple sets of conversations in the Kutch region of Gujarat close to the border and are trying to ascertain the precise location of the other end in Pakistan, official sources said. Security agencies are taking the conversations seriously as the Thuraya satellite phones are banned in India and these conversations could be linked to Pakistan-based terrorist groups. The Thuraya satellite phone company is based in the United Arab Emirates and it provides mobile coverage to more than 110 countries in Europe, the Middle East, North, Central and East Africa, Asia and Australia. Police said signals were traced to Siyot village in Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district, which falls under the notified zone -- or areas adjoining the Indo-Pakistan border with restrictions on the movement of outsiders. Police were asked to scan the area based on the coordinates provided by the security agencies. The sparsely-populated village to which the signals were traced is situated some 50-60 km away from the border and is under constant monitoring by security agencies. Senior police officials said while satellite phone signals are not unusual in these areas as they are sometimes sent out by aeroplanes flying overhead or from ships docked at nearby Kandla port, the matter is being taken seriously given security alerts issued by the Intelligence Bureau regarding entry of terrorists from Pakistan via the Gujarat border. The only way to trace any satellite phone is by inspecting a particular area and physically locating it, officials said. Currently, a Pakistani team is visiting India in connection with the probe into the terror attack on Pathankot airbase. The Madras High Court today pulled up Tamil Nadu government for failing to disburse Rs two lakh from the total compensation amount of Rs five lakh each to 16 people who contracted Hepatitis C while undergoing dialysis at the Government Stanley Medical Hospital here in August 2014. The state government had already disbursed the first instalment of Rs three lakh to the victims. The First bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh, was hearing a petition by one Jayaram Venkatesan seeking a direction to the Health Department to provide special treatment to the patients and award them adequate compensation, besides constituting an expert committee to ascertain the cause for spread of the virus in the hospital. The bench directed the government official in charge of disbursing the compensation amount to appear before it on April 27. The matter relatesto 16 patients who contracted Hepatitis C while undergoing dialysis at the Government Stanley Medical Hospital in August 2014. The petitioner submitted that the patients contracted the virus allegedly due to negligence on the part of the hospital in not following the infection control mechanism. Earlier, when the matter came up for hearing on September 21, 2015, the Government Pleader (GP) had stated that the compensation of Rs three lakh had been disbursed and that a further Rs two lakh per head had been sanctioned, which would be disbursed soon. When the matter came up today, the GP sought to withdraw the statement, prompting the bench to call for records and the person incharge of taking the decision related to disbursing the amount, to appear before court on April 27, 2016. In April, 2015 the court had directed the state government to pay adequate interim compensation to the affected persons. In an embarrassment to Republican Presidential front-runner Donald Trump, his campaign manager was today charged with with simple assault for allegedly grabbing a reporter as she tried to ask the candidate a question. Corey Lewandowski turned himself in to police in Florida. He has been charged with one count of simple battery for "intentionally" touching former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields on March 8. In a video released by the local police, Lewandowski is seen as reaching his left hand between Trump and a security guard and toward Fields. He is seen holding her back as Trump passed her and continued following him through the room. "Mr. Lewandowski was issued a Notice to Appear and given a court date. He was not arrested. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," the Trump Campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, said. Lewandowski will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. "He is completely confident that he will be exonerated," she said. Fields said after the conference that she had been trying to question Trump about judges and affirmative action when Lewandowski grabbed her roughly. She posted on Twitter a picture of purplish, finger-shaped bruises on her arm. Turkish police today detained at least 20 people in a nationwide operation aimed at cracking down on the trafficking of migrants seeking to reach the European Union, reports said. The suspects were detained in morning raids in five regions, from Izmir on the Aegean to Sanliurfa close to the Syrian border and Samsun on the Black Sea following a three month investigation, the Dogan agency said. It said that the suspected traffickers, who are citizens of Turkey, Syria and Iraq, were believed to have smuggled migrants from Turkey's coast across the Aegean Sea in exchange for money. With the operation ongoing, the number of those detained could rise, it added. Materials seized in the raids included lists of migrants, money counting machines and hard currency, Turkish media reports said. Turkey has over the last year emerged as the major hub for refugees and migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea and other troubled states trying to reach the European Union via the Greek islands. Around one million migrants crossed the Aegean to Greece in 2015, prompting rattled EU leaders to seek Turkey's help for a solution. Under a landmark deal thrashed out between the EU and Ankara earlier this month, all migrants arriving on the Greek islands are now designated for return to Turkey. The numbers of people reaching Greece from Turkey have declined sharply since the EU-Turkey deal went into effect on March 20. But several EU leaders had also underlined it was essential for Turkey to crack down on the people smuggling business, which analysts say had been allowed to operate with relative impunity in Turkey. Smugglers would ask for up to several thousand dollars for a place in a potentially unseaworthy boat for the risky crossing to the Greek islands. The Special Task Force today arrested two arms smugglers from near a temple under Kharagpur police station in Bihar's Munger district, a police officer said. The two arms smugglers have been identified as Pradeep Singh, a native of Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district, and Pramod Yadav of Banka district. They were picked up from the Kharagpur-Tarapur road. The police seized seven automatic pistols, 200 magazines, 10 pieces of magazine springs and main springs of pistols, besides a motorcycle and an autorickshaw, Munger SP Ashish Bharti said. The weapons and allied equipment found on them were meant for use during upcoming panchayat polls. Both the arms smugglers have been booked under the Arms Act, Bharti said. Britain's defence minister said today that a deal to sell Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes to Qatar was "definitely still on the table". Michael Fallon, speaking on board a British destroyer anchored in Doha port, said he had held discussions on a possible sale with Qatari officials within the past week. He added that the deal had not been killed off by a Qatari decision to buy 24 Rafale jets from France. "It's definitely still on the table," said Fallon, who is in Qatar to attend the three-day Dimdex defence and security fair. "It's something I have discussed with the new Qatari defence minister, (Khalid bin Mohammad) Al-Attiyah. "Typhoon is proving itself a very capable aircraft in the skies above Syria and Iraq." Asked if the French deal could scupper the prospective British sale, Fallon responded: "No". "Qatar is one of our most important regional partners," added Fallon. Britain's BAE Systems builds the Typhoon in cooperation with European aircraft maker Airbus and Italian defence firm Finmeccanica. Britain has long sought to sell Typhoons to Qatar and is in the closing stages of wrapping up a deal to sell the jets to Kuwait. Two other countries in the Gulf -- Saudi Arabia and Oman -- have also purchased Typhoon jets. Energy-rich Qatar's spending is being squeezed by falling gas and oil prices but it appears committed to maintaining its defence budget and has previously pledged to increase the size of its air force. Around 10 of its planes have been used in the ongoing Saudi-led military operations in Yemen. Ukraine's parliament today sacked the country's chief prosecutor over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations and cover up state graft. The decision should cheer Western allies who have expressed increasing concern about the ex-Soviet country reverting to a culture of sleaze since it ousted the disdained Russian-backed president and chose an alliance with Europe in a historic 2014 revolt. Lawmakers voted by an overwhelming 289 votes to six to accept the resignation of Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin from the post he has held since February 2015. "Hallelujah! Finally!" Ukraine's acting Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius tweeted moments after the vote. The respected economy chief submitted a letter of resignation last month due to the government's perceived refusal to fight graft. Parliament has yet to decide whether to approve his departure. Shokin has been ensnared in a web of ugly charges that also cast a cloud over Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's commitment to the policy of clean hands that he promised to champion when elected in May 2014. His many critics accused Shokin of failing to look into the reported theft of state funds by the deposed Russian-backed leadership and of blocking probes into prosecutors who were fired after being discovered hoarding cash and diamonds in their homes. Shokin has also purportedly covered up the corrupt dealings of people close to the ruling regime. Poroshenko asked Shokin -- viewed as one of his closer allies -- to quit in the face of mounting pressure during a rowdy February 16 parliament session that saw Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk survive a no-confidence vote. Shokin submitted his letter of resignation but did not go out without a fight. One of his final acts in office today was to fire his reformist deputy Davit Sakvarelidze -- a top Shokin critic who had called for his boss's dismissal. Shokin said he was removing Sakvarelidze "for grave violations of prosecutors' ethics and interference in the work of another prosecutor in ways not stipulated by legislation." Yatsenyuk's decision to cling on to his premiership post has created a new wave of uncertainty over the political stability of a nation that is already suffering from a nearly two-year conflict in the pro-Russian separatist east. Poroshenko last week again called on Yatsenyuk -- a fierce Russian critics whose rumoured ties to powerful tycoons have seen his approval plummet -- to finally step down and for parliament to pick his successor during today's session. The United States issued awards today to 14 lawyers, activists, humanitarians and reformers said to represent "International Women of Courage." "Fourteen leaders, fourteen role models, fourteen women of courage, one crystal clear message," said Secretary of State John Kerry. "Don't accept the unacceptable or wait for someone else to step up. Act in the name of justice. Act in the name of tolerance. Act on behalf of truth." All but one of the honorees were able to attend the ceremony in Washington, an annual event that began in 2007 to encourage women's empowerment. Bangladeshi barrister Sara Hossain helped draft her country's laws on violence against women and has argued landmark rights cases before the supreme court. Debra Baptist-Estrada is commander of the immigration department at Belize's main airport and has worked with US officials against corruption and trafficking. Ni Yulan, a disabled Chinese property rights lawyer, was the only honoree not to receive her award in person, having been forbidden from traveling by her government. France's Latifa Ibn Ziaten became an activist promoting interfaith dialogue in 2012 after her soldier son was slain by Islamist extremist Mohamed Merah. Attorney General Thelma Aldana of Guatemala began her career as a courtroom janitor and has now brought corruption charges against the highest in the land. Nagham Nawzat Hasan is an Iraqi gynecologist and a member of the country's persecuted Yazidi minority. She works with girls kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants. Transgender rights advocate Nisha Ayub continues to work for justice despite being sexually abused after being sentenced to a men's prison for wearing women's clothing. Mauritania's first female attorney Fatimata M'baye was honoured as co-founder and president of the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights and fights slavery. Russian journalist Zhanna Nemtsova has braved death threats to campaign for justice for her father, former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, assassinated last year. Zuzana Stevulova, director of the Human Rights League of Slovakia, is the foremost champion of the rights of refugees flowing into Europe from war in the Middle East. Awadeya Mahmoud, founder of the Women's Food and Tea Sellers' Cooperative in Sudan has championed the rights of small businesswomen against authoritarian government Former BBC journalist Vicky Ntetema exposed the trade in the body parts of murdered albinos used in ritual magic amd now leads an NGO dedicated to ending it. In a bizarre case, a man's online payment to his dog walker was blocked by a bank in the US because his service dog's name sounded like a dreaded terror network. Bruce Francis, 55, from San Francisco, was transferring USD 374 from his account to his dog walker and wrote his dog's name 'Dash' in the memo line, as he has done every month for the past couple of years. Chase Bank blocked Francis's online payment because his pitbull mix's moniker loosely resembles the terrorist network 'Daesh', another name for ISIS. Bank officials thought 'Dash' was a hair too close to 'Daesh' the Arabic term for the Islamic State or ISIS, and cancelled the payment. The dog walker notified Francis ten days later that she still had not been paid. "I called my bank, and they were kind of squirrely about why the payment didn't go through," Francis told the New York Daily . When he logged into his account, he realised the bank had flagged the transfer made earlier this month for review by the US Treasury Department, which posted a note on his account asking him to "explain what Dash means". "I said, 'Oh, so that's what this is about,'" said Francis. "Last year, you didn't hear John Kerry talking about Daesh, but now he is, and he pronounces it like 'dash," he said. Francis, who suffers a rare form of muscular dystrophy and relies on his 9-year-old service animal, was quick to obey the Federal Reserve. He called the Office of Foreign Assets Control and told them that Dash is his dog's name. The payment was then processed. "The idea that my dog is a terrorist is pretty funny. Seriously, the only thing Dash could terrorise is a roast chicken," said Francis. A Chase Bank spokesperson defended almost collaring an innocent man and his dog. "If a name on the OFAC list appears on a payment, we are required to review it," the bank told KTVU San Francisco. "This is an important part of ensuring that crime does not filter through the US banking system. In this instance, the payment was flagged, reviewed and eventually released," he said. This is not the first case of mistaken identity to make headlines in the war on terror. Nutella left a bad taste in an Australian family's mouth last year when the hazelnut-chocolate spread brand refused to personalise a jar for a 5-year-old girl named Isis. Vidarbha Rajya Aandolan Samiti (VRAS), which is spearheading a movement for statehood for Vidarbha, will stage a day-long dharna at Jantar Mantar here on March 31, demanding creation of a separate state bifurcating Maharashtra. Former legislator and VRAS core committee member Wamanrao Chatap said that BJP leaders, including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, had promised during campaign for Lok Sabha and Assembly polls that their party would create a separate Vidarbha state, if voted to power. "So we now want them to fulfil their promises. We also want to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to our demands and the problems faced by the people of Vidarbha and we will continue to put pressure on the government through agitations till our demand is met," said Chatap. "We also want to ask the Prime Minister when the problems of the Vidarbha people will be solved. When will you give statehood, when will Swaminathan Commission report be implemented, when will you free farmers of the loan burden, when will you end load-shedding in farms, when will you reduce power rates and when will 4 lakh youths of Vidarbha get jobs?" he said. VRAS convener Ram Neole said "in the unfolding development process in India, small states are performing better. Vidarbha's forests, mineral resources, water resources, its central location hold a high promise of a viable, self-reliant state. Also, power generation in the state is concentrated in Vidarbha." "This can be only realised if the decision making process is handed over to the people, by forming a separate state," he said. The residents of Lohara, one of the recently merged villages in Yavatmal Municipal Council, is facing an acute shortage of drinking water, locals said. Former sarpanch of the village Anil Deshmukh said the authorities were showing deliberate apathy towards the situation. The ground water table in the area has gone down, causing the wells and borewells in the village to dry up, he said. "We have brought this to the notice of the district administration and even staged a one-day dharna but to no avail," he said. Though the state Government had notified the merger of seven gram panchayats on the outskirts of Municipality, no plan had been prepared to tackle issues of the area so far, he further alleged. On Monday, Shiv Sena took out a morcha to the Chief Officer of Yavatmal Municipal Council and submitted a memorandum demanding immediate deployment of tankers for supplying drinking water to the area. British telecom giant Vodafone is believed to have moved the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking appointment of a judge to preside over a arbitration over its Rs 14,200-crore tax case. Vodafone this month moved ICJ after arbitrators appointed by it and the government of India failed to reach a consensus on selection of a neutral/presiding judge of the three-member panel, sources aware of the development said. Vodafone in 2013 had invoked India-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty seeking resolution to the tax demand imposed on it by enacting a tax law with retrospective effect to sidestep a Supreme Court judgement that went in the company's favour. Conciliatory proceedings were initiated to resolve the dispute but differences led to a breakdown following which arbitration was initiated. The government had in June 2014 appointed former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti as arbitrator while Vodafone named Canadian trial lawyer Yves Fortier as its choice. The two had zeroed in on Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of the ICJ as the presiding arbitrator. Lahoti recused himself from the case in May 2015 and a month later Yusuf too declined to be part of the panel. Thereafter, India in July last year named Costa Rica based lawyer Rodrigo Oreamuno to arbitrate on its behalf. But Oreamuno and Fortier have not been able to decide on a presiding arbitrator forcing Vodafone to move ICJ, sources said. An e-mail sent to Vodafone plc spokesperson remain unanswered. The government had initially slapped a tax demand of Rs 7,990 crore on Vodafone for failing to deduct tax on capital gains made over its $11-billion acquisition of 67 per cent stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007. Last month the I-T department sent a reminder notice to Vodafone seeking Rs 14,200 crore in tax and interest. Cairn Energy of UK, which faces a total tax liability of over Rs 29,000 crore owing to the same retrospective legislation, had resorted to ICJ to force the government to join the arbitration. In March last year, Cairn filed an arbitration notice and named former Bulgarian minister and lawyer Stanimir A Alexandrov as its arbitrator for resolution of the tax demand linked to 2006 reorganisation of Cairn India, its one-time Indian subsidiary with oilfields in Rajasthan. But the government did not join the arbitration even after six months of being serviced the first notice on grounds that tax issues are not subject matter of arbitration. Cairn then moved ICJ in September, following which the government named a Singapore-based lawyer J Christopher Thomas as its arbitrator. The two arbitrators in January appointed Geneva-based arbitrator Laurent Levy as the presiding officer of the three-member arbitrator panel. BONE OF CONTENTION The World Health Organisation said today that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa no longer constitutes an international emergency, voicing confidence that remaining isolated cases in the affected countries can be contained. "The Ebola outbreak in West Africa no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern," WHO chief Margaret Chan told journalists, officially ending the emergency first declared in August 2014. The deadliest-ever outbreak of the tropical disease emerged in December 2013 and has killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The UN's public health agency faced searing criticism over its initial response to Ebola's spread, including accusations that it took far too long to publicise the threat level. Such criticism forced the WHO in May last year to launch a sweeping shake-up of its emergency response systems and saw the organisation quickly sound a global alarm this year in response to the rapid spread of the Zika virus. Chan stressed that all three countries remain vulnerable to Ebola flare-ups, including an ongoing cluster of cases in Guinea, which has left five people dead. Health authorities in Conakry said last week that 961 people who may have come into contact with the victims in the south of the country were being monitored. "The risk of international spread is now low, and... countries currently have the capacity to respond rapidly to new virus emergences," Chan said. She also warned against complacency towards the virus, which remains in "the ecosystem" in West Africa and said that vigilance was crucial, including quick reactions to new cases. "Particularly important will be to ensure that communities can rapidly and fully engage in any future response, cases are quickly isolated and managed," Chan said. At its peak in 2014, the Ebola outbreak sparked anxiety about a possible global pandemic and led some governments to threaten or unilaterally enforce travel bans to and from the worst-affected countries. The WHO consistently pushed back against such calls, with Chan again on Tuesday reiterating that "there should be no restrictions on travel and trade with Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and that any such measures should be lifted immediately." Going forward, Chan called for further work on a possible Ebola vaccine and better diagnostic tests. WHO has previously said there is a need for testing kits that can be easily deployed to the remote, rural areas where many of the disease's victims have been concentrated. Chan underscored that this will require sustained financial support, including to the impoverished West African countries that remain most vulnerable to further outbreaks. A resident affected by the fire incidents at the Deonar dumping ground here has started an online petition seeking the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court to uphold the rights of citizens to clean air. The petition launched last week by Chembur resident Shilpa Bosco on Change.Org, world's largest technology platform for social change, so far has got support from 10,909 people worldwide. Bosco has highlighted in the petition major factors that have impacted not only locals but the entire ecosystem of the city and urged the apex court to uphold the rights of citizens to clean air. She alleged that the civic body BMC is "endangering lives" of people of the city and surrounding areas and infringing the "fundamental right to clean air". "Our children and senior citizens cannot breath..They are suffering from respiratory problems, vomiting, headache. We have been inhaling toxic air. The air is dense and it seems to be getting worse by every passing day," she said. By not adhering to solid waste management rules and defying the Bombay High Court orders in this regard, the BMC has endangered the lives of citizens, she added. Preethi Herman, Country Head of Change.Org, said, "Over the last two years, at least four petitions on Deonar (fire) issue have been started on Change.Org by various people demanding action. Shilpa's petition has already mobilised thousands of citizens, who are appealing for the issue to be resolved before the effects become irreversible." Massive fire at Deonar dumping ground in January this year had created a thick blanket of smog over neighbouring areas causing serious health issues to residents, while a fresh fire broke out there last week. Three mortar shells, believed to be from the World War II era, were found in Motbung area in Senapati district, a senior police officer said today. The objects, which include two M3 Lee Tank and one US M2 60 mm shells, were found by the locals at Motbung, located some 30 km from the state capital yesterday, the officer said. The villagers then informed the Sapermeina Police Station and the shells were taken in custody by police, the officer said. The mortar shells might have been used during the Battle of Imphal when the Allied forces were locked in intense military engagement with the Japanese army in 1944, he said. Terming the decision to allow a Pakistani team to investigate the terror attack at Pathankot air base as "wrong", Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut today said an Indian team needs to be sent to the neighbouring country to probe those behind the terror strikes. Raut also reminded the Centre that Pakistan, not India, is an accused in the Pathankot terror strike. "On top of that, we have provided high security to the Pakistani team. Who are they scared of? The entire matter is laughable," the Sena MP told PTI. He sought to know if the Centre would manage to get permission from Pakistan to get an Indian team to investigate in the neighbouring country. "Our team needs to be sent there to investigate the role of Hafiz Saeed and Azhar Masood in terror strikes in our country. But will we get permission? We need to remember we are not culprits but Pakistan is," he said. Raut said India has taken a "wrong decision" by letting the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) come to Pathankot. "Pakistan is responsible for the 26/11 terror attacks and behind the Pathankot terror strike at the IAF base. Keeping this in mind, an Indian investigation team should have actually gone to Pakistan to investigate the elements behind the attack," he said. "Hafiz Saeed has publicly acknowledged that he was behind the attacks. But, our country has laid down a red carpet for them. India has been on the back foot as far as Pakistan is concerned," he rued. A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials today visited the "sanitised" areas at Pathankot airforce base in connection with probe into the January 2 terror attack targeting the strategic installation. The team, which came in a bus, was taken to the backside of the air base as workers of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress held protests outside against its visit. By Siva Govindasamy SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indonesia is about to roll out its first passenger plane, one of several smaller, homegrown aircraft being studied in Asia, designed especially for short hops across the region's emerging markets, where air travel is booming. State-owned aerospace firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia's 19-seat N219, which cost $400 million and took just over five years to make, is scheduled to make its first flight in June and start deliveries in 2018. South Korea is mulling a 100-seat aircraft, and India has considered a 70-90 seater. Novices in a highly competitive industry, these largely state-owned manufacturers are betting on growing passenger numbers and an increase in short flights operated by small, efficient craft. The planned craft would be smaller than the Airbus 320 or Boeing 737, which seat between about 150 and 190 passengers. Instead, they aim to be cost-effective, nimble alternatives to planes produced by Brazil's Embraer , Canada's Bombardier , and European firm ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Finmeccanica . Many of these could suit some markets in Asia, South America and Africa, executives say, where demand for air travel is growing but infrastructure development often lags demand. Runways at many smaller airports are not always long enough to accommodate larger planes like the A320 and 737. But while countries see the launch of a commercial aircraft as an important economic milestone, designing an airplane from scratch is also an expensive gamble. Both China and Japan have struggled to create jets that sell. TEST CASE Asian markets are a testbed for smaller aircraft. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents airlines, expects Indonesia will be one of the five fastest growing markets over the next 20 years. But the country also has many low-density cities where poor airport infrastructure has been a drag on strong demand for air travel. Other emerging markets face a similar challenge, Ade Yuyu Wahyuna, vice-president of business development and marketing at PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), told . Powered by two turboprop engines from Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies, Indonesia's N219 is similar to the Airbus CASA CN212 that PTDI manufactured under license in the 2000s. PTDI says it has 150 commitments from small Indonesian regional carriers. It is just the start of the company's aerospace ambitions, said Wayhuna. PTDI is also studying a 50-passenger plane. For its part, Korea Aerospace Industries, which develops and license-produces fighter jets and helicopters, has been studying a 100-seat passenger aircraft for more than a year, said an industry executive familiar with KAI's plans. KAI would prefer to work with established Western aerospace firms if it goes ahead, this person added. "We will initially start with mid-sized passenger aircrafts or business jets, instead of taking on Boeing directly with large-sized jets," said a KAI spokesman, who added these remain mid to-long term plans. Indian state-owned aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and research agency National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) have both studied separate projects for a 70-90 seat aircraft. HAL and NAL declined to comment. Industry executives said both are waiting for the Indian government to clarify its aerospace policy, especially on the taxation of aircraft and aircraft parts and the opening of smaller airports in secondary cities. LEARNING FROM CHINA China and Japan's experience with homegrown craft, however, underlines the costly challenge ahead. The MA60 turboprop, China's first passenger aircraft - developed by state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) and delivered from 2000 - has been involved in 11 major incidents. This includes four in which the plane was completely written off and one that resulted in 25 deaths. In August 2013, the New Zealand government warned tourists not to fly on a Tongan airline's MA60, citing the incidents. Another Chinese plane, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China's long-delayed ARJ-21 regional jet, has not received U.S. certification after seven years of testing. In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' MRJ regional jet has also struggled. The jet's first flight in November 2015 was more than three years behind schedule. Its first deliveries have been delayed by more than four years to mid-2018. Embraer has since unveiled an upgraded version of its regional jets, giving it an order backlog of 513 planes across its line-up. The MRJ garnered just 233 firm orders. Industry analysts expect Mitsubishi may only supply a quarter of the roughly 4,000 regional jets that will be needed in the 20 years to 2013. Embraer, by contrast, would control 60 percent of the market, they say. "We are very confident of getting a good share in this market," Yugo Fukuhara, vice president and general manager of sales and marketing for the MRJ, told . Analysts say the newcomers should learn from the Chinese experience of putting a state-owned firm in-charge of a aircraft programmes and trying to source everything at home. They will also need to master the complexity of a large supply chain, pass the rigorous certification process, and establish an after-sales support network. (Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes in New Delhi and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul. Editing by Alex Harney and Bill Tarrant.) By Astrid Wendlandt PARIS (Reuters) - China's Shandong Ruyi <002193.SZ> is set to buy control of SMCP, the French firm behind fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, for 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) including debt, two sources close to the deal said on Tuesday. The deal, which as of early Tuesday evening had not yet been signed, was expected to be announced on Wednesday, they added. Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, which sell dresses priced at around 200 euros, operate in the so-called accessible segment of the luxury market, enjoying solid demand among fast-growing middle classes, particularly in countries such as China. SMCP, which is controlled by private equity firm KKR , had filed documents this month to launch an initial public offering in Paris as early as April. The company's preparations for a float had added pressure on the Chinese group to strike a deal, the sources said. One of the sources said that talks had accelerated in the past week. The sources confirmed a report by the Financial Times. KKR declined to comment and no-one at SMCP was immediately available for comment. Talks with textile group Shandong Ruyi had been going on for at least six months, but had gone cold earlier in the year over price differences, sources close to the talks had told . One of the sources said that founders Evelyne, Ylan Chetrite and Judith Milgrom, who together own 21.11 percent of the company were more in favour of an IPO but KKR, which has 70 percent, backed a deal with the Chinese group. The founders, together with the company's management will retain a minority stake under the deal, the sources said. SMCP plans to expand outside of France, where it makes just under half of its sales, particularly in China, the U.S., Britain, Spain and Italy. It also wants to develop digital sales, menswear and strengthen its leather goods offering. The IPO was meant to pay down the company's high yield debt, which stood at around 290 million euros. Last year, SMCP made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 107 million euros on revenue of 675 million euros, up 33 percent and 11 percent, this did not include a boost from new stores. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Geert De Clercq and Alexander Smith) By Astrid Wendlandt PARIS (Reuters) - Chinese textile group Shandong Ruyi <002193.SZ> is about to buy control of SMCP, the French firm behind fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, for 1.3 billion euros ($1.47 billion)including debt, two sources close to the deal said on Tuesday. The transaction, which as of early Tuesday evening was not yet signed, was expected to be announced on Wednesday, the sources added, declining to be named. Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, which sell dresses priced at around 200 euros, operate in what is classified as the accessible segment of the luxury market. That sector has been benefiting from buoyant demand among fast-growing middle classes, particularly in countries such as China. SMCP, which is controlled by the private equity firm KKR , recently filed documents to launch an initial public offering with the hope of floating in Paris this month. Its preparations for the IPO added pressure on the Chinese group to strike a deal, the sources said. One of the sources said that talks had really accelerated in the past week. "With the markets being what they are, I think KKR preferred to have a bird in hand than two in the bush," a second source said. The sources confirmed a report by the Financial Times which said the deal could be announced on Wednesday. No-one at KKR and SMCP was immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; editing by Geert De Clercq) NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), India's state pension fund, will now be able to invest up to 65 percent of its holdings in sovereign bonds, up from 50 percent earlier, a labour ministry official said on Tuesday, in a move that will likely come as a relief to debt markets. "It has already been effective. The day we got the sanction from the government, we communicated it to the EPFO," Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal told over the phone. The move, widely expected by traders, would help the EPFO buy more state government bonds, including debt sold under a big bailout of regional electricity utilities. The increased limit is also expected to benefit debt markets given concerns over how investors would absorb sovereign debt sales of as much as 9.5 trillion rupees ($142.81 billion) from April, a 9 percent increase from the current fiscal year ending March 31. The sovereign debt sales include a planned increase to about 3.5 trillion rupees through sale of state development loans (SDLs) by regional governments, from 2.9 trillion rupees this financial year. In addition, states and their utilities are set to sell around 1 trillion rupees in bonds tied to the so-called UDAY scheme, a plan under which regional governments would assume as much as 4.3 trillion rupees ($64.49 billion) in debt owed by their utilities. "EPFOs are expected to put most of the enhanced limit in SDLs because of the higher spread that SDLs continue to give over and above the long-dated central government bonds," said Vijay Sharma, senior executive vice-president at primary dealer PNB Gilts Ltd. The EPFO manages more than $100 billion of assets from some 80 million members. ($1 = 66.5203 rupees) (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Rafael Nam and Biju Dwarakanath) By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - Luxor Capital, a $3.8 billion hedge fund that has been losing money for months, said on Monday it will not be returning exiting investors cash in full, keeping a portion locked up until the investments can be sold. Instead of returning all exiting clients' assets in cash, part of the investments will be held in a so-called special purpose vehicle, Luxor's founder, Christian Leone, wrote in a letter seen by . The announcement comes before a critical March 31 redemption deadline and aims to keep the fund from having to stage a firesale to raise cash in order to meet redemption requests. The plan also aims to treat all investors "fairly," the letter said. "For those investors in the Fund that have submitted withdrawal requests for March 31, 2016 and for subsequent withdrawal dates, we will transfer a pro rata share of the applicable assets into a special purpose vehicle (SPV)," Leone wrote. Clients who asked to get their money out on April 1 and those who are asking to pull out on July 1 will receive roughly 88 percent of their money back in cash but 12 percent will be allocated to the SPV, the letter said. Special purpose vehicles and side pockets are permitted at hedge funds but they are often viewed as a last resort that sour investors, and they have not been widely used since the 2008 financial crisis when many hedge funds posted heavy losses. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Tom Brown) By Katya Golubkova, Olga Popova and Oksana Kobzeva MOSCOW (Reuters) - Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are interested in advising the Russian government on several privatisations as long as the deals do not violate sanctions, three banking sources told . The banks responded to a request for proposals that the Russian Economy Ministry sent to Russian and foreign banks this month for advisory roles in the planned sales of a 50.08 percent stake in oil firm Bashneft and 10.9 percent stakes in both diamond miner Alrosa and lender VTB. Bankers have previously told that Western investments banks with Russian operations are reluctant to advise Moscow on planned privatisations as they are worried about the consequences of violating Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. However, three bankers told that UBS and Credit Suisse were among banks that responded to the request. A fourth banking source said that Italy's UniCredit had also answered the RFP. "I heard that the Swiss were saying that they will take part if no sanctions are broken," a senior Western banker said. The banker and other banking sources said no U.S. bank has responded to the RFP. Spokeswomen for Credit Suisse and UBS and a spokesman for UniCredit all declined to comment. U.S. banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi and Morgan Stanley were among Western banks that received RFPs, along with European peers including Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Raiffeisen. Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said last week that three banks should lead the privatisation process set for later this year, with one or two more banks helping to run the deals. He said that Western banks had responded to the RFPs but did not name them. A spokeswoman for the economy ministry declined to name the banks. Though Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it joined EU sanctions imposed on Russia over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis. Nevertheless, Switzerland was excluded from counter-sanctions imposed by Russia on imports of food products from Europe. As a result, the only Western European cheese on sale in Moscow supermarket shelves is Swiss cheese. The EU financial sanctions do not explicitly prevent European firms from advising on most Russian transactions. But some of the measures include grey areas that are open to interpretation. Firms are also concerned that their business with Russian partners could be declared to violate sanctions if they restrictions are tightened at any point. Russian banks invited to submit proposals included the following lenders or their units: Sberbank, VTB, VEB, Gazprombank, Renaissance Capital, Alfa Bank, MDM Bank and The Auction House of the Russian Federation. Economy Minister Ulyukayev told reporters on Monday that the ministry would continue looking through the proposals this week. It will then send its recommendations to a government panel which will make the final decision, the ministry spokeswoman said in emailed comments. (Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya in Moscow, Silvia Aloisi in Milan, Joshua Franklin and Oliver Hirt in Zurich; editing by Anna Willard) MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's central bank said on Tuesday it would allow its Sri Lankan counterpart to draw up to $700 million over a maximum period of three months under a new special currency swap agreement signed by the two central banks. The Reserve Bank of India has previously provided currency swaps to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, including plans to extend a $1.5 billion agreement by one year. Sri Lanka is seeking a loan of $1.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost foreign exchange reserves and help avert a balance of payments crisis. The country has seen its foreign exchange reserves depleted by the central bank's defence of its rupee currency, as it struggles with heavy debt piled up under the previous government. (Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath) JERUSALEM (Reuters) - State-owned Israeli defence contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and India's Reliance Defense said on Tuesday they are setting up a joint venture in India to produce air to air missiles, air defence systems and observation balloons. The companies will address programs valued at $10 billion over the next decade. Reliance Defense, a unit of Reliance Infrastructure, will hold 51 percent of the joint venture and Rafael, one of Israel's largest defence firms, will hols the other 49 percent. Rafael is a market leader in the air to air missile segment with products such as Python and Derby. Its air defence systems portfolio includes a number of short and medium range missiles. Rafael has already provided large aerostat systems to the Indian Air Force for its surveillance, reconnaissance, communication and intelligence needs, the companies noted. The joint venture will offer the entire range of products in these fields to the Indian armed forces, they added. (Reporting by Steven Scheer) By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday, reflecting growing concerns that a two-month rally may be fading, as supply looked set to keep rising and there appeared to be little immediate prospect of demand keeping pace. The oil price has risen more than 45 percent since mid-February ahead of a meeting next month of the world's major producers to discuss an output freeze. But there is growing scepticism about the outcome of the meeting. "Verbal intervention, which has obviously helped the market greatly over the past two months, combined with a production slowdown in the U.S., has probably taken (oil) as far as it can. Now the market really wants to see some action," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. "We're seeing more and more commentators raise the flag and saying 'have we seen too much, too soon?' in terms of the rally across the sector." Brent crude futures fell by $1.20 to $39.07 a barrel by 1350 GMT, having lost 7 percent in the last week, while U.S. crude dropped by $1.32 to $38.07. OPEC and other major suppliers, including Russia, are to meet on April 17 in Doha to discuss an output freeze aimed at bolstering prices. The oil price touched session lows earlier after a source familiar with Iranian thinking said Iran would attend the meeting, but this did not mean it would take part in negotiations over production freezes. Kuwait said on Tuesday it had agreed with Saudi Arabia to resume production at the jointly operated Khafji field, which shut in October 2014 for environmental reasons, having been producing between 280,000 and 300,000 barrels per day. With ballooning global inventories, signs some OPEC members are losing market share, plus little evidence of a strong pick-up in demand, analysts said oil is likely to trade in a range. "There is a rebalancing on the way, but we are still running a surplus and stocks are building up as far as we can see," SEB commodities analyst Bjarne Schieldrop said. "There is a clear risk for a pull-back in Brent crude oil with a return to deeper contango again. Long positioning in Brent is at record highs and vulnerable for a bearish repositioning." Data on Monday from the InterContinental Exchange showed speculators hold the largest net long position in Brent futures on record. U.S. commercial crude stockpiles were expected to have reached record highs for a seventh straight week, while refined product inventories likely fell, a survey showed late on Monday. (Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in TOKYO; Editing by Dale Hudson and Susan Thomas) By Emily Chow and Naveen Thukral KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Malaysia's palm oil exports to predominately Muslim countries have been falling as rising prices for the tropical oil and weak domestic currencies are limiting imports, and the high-consumption period of Ramadan is unlikely to turn the trend. This could limit gains for benchmark palm oil prices <1FCPOc3> that have rallied to a two-year high on concerns that output from the main Southeast Asian growers will fall this year because of drought caused by the El Nino weather pattern. Prices have gained 8 percent this month, rising for a second month in a row. The holy month of Ramadan starts in June this year and is known for its communal fasting. But palm oil consumption typically surges leading up to and during this time as Muslims use the oil to prepare meals to break the fast and during large banquets to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the fasting period. "The Middle East and Northern African countries are currently seeing a challenging macroeconomic environment amidst low oil prices," said Aurelia Britsch, head of commodities research at BMI Research in Singapore. "Economic growth is slowing down and governments are cutting public spending due to the deterioration in their fiscal position. These two factors are weakening consumer's spending power and demand for palm oil." Predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East and South Asia are exerting more influence on palm oil markets. The combined 2015 imports from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt, the Muslim countries among the top 10 global importers, rose to 6.1 million tonnes, surpassing China for the first time, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed. While Malaysia's palm oil exports to those countries have declined during the past several years, in 2015 they represented, along with Shi'ite Iran, 8.7 percent of exports, according to data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Malaysia is the world's second-largest producer after Indonesia. Pakistan, the largest Muslim buyer of Malaysian palm oil, reduced its imports to about 728,000 tonnes last year, from nearly 1.8 million in 2011, the MPOB data showed. Egypt was the third-largest Middle Eastern importer of palm oil in 2015 from Malaysia, taking nearly 210,000 tonnes, the MPOB data showed. However, that was down from over 700,000 tonnes in 2011. Egypt, which relies heavily on imports to meet its food needs, has been facing a dollar shortage since a popular uprising in 2011 has driven away tourists and foreign investors, both major sources of hard currency. "(Middle Eastern buyers) have seen steep declines in their currencies and this has taken a toll on buying power," said a trading manager at a Kuala Lumpur-based company that is a key supplier to the Middle Eastern market. Iranian imports totalled 635,000 tonnes in 2013 and then slid to 331,000 tonnes by 2015, according to the MPOB. Bangladeshi imports dropped to about 263,000 tonnes from 442,000 tonnes over same period. Egypt typically needs to buy a total of about 80,000 tonnes of palm oil a month from Indonesia and Malaysia to boost supplies for Ramadan but the country has been taking only about 60,000 tonnes since the start of 2016, said the trading manager in Kuala Lumpur and a second trader also based in the city. EXPENSIVE PALM Palm oil prices have climbed about 24 percent since June 18, 2015, when Ramadan began last year, to Monday's close of 2,758 ringgit ($688) a tonne. "Buyers have been unable to digest the increase (in prices)," said another trader based in Kuala Lumpur. "The market needs to stabilise for buyers to start coming in." Palm prices have gained about 10 percent since the start of the year, bucked by tighter global supplies due to the El Nino - the worst on record since 1997. Industry experts have forecast global production to fall by 2 million to 3 million tonnes this year, which may lift prices up to 3,000 ringgit by June. "Like everybody else I'm hoping demand for Ramadan will pick up, but it's a function of currency. Even if demand goes up, there's no way trade can happen if currency is not available," said a palm oil trader based in the Middle East. (Editing by Christian Schmollinger) MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares were little changed on Tuesday amid caution ahead of the expiry of monthly derivative contracts later this week and a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day. Yellen's speech comes after a chorus of hawkish comments from other Fed officials unsettled global markets last week, casting doubt about a revival of foreign investments into emerging markets. Foreign investors have bought a net $2.7 billion in Indian shares so far this month, and are now net sellers of just $128.8 million so far this year. Traders said they expected markets to remain largely rangebound ahead of the expiry of derivatives on Thursday and ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's policy review on April 5. "Markets are expected to remain rangebound ahead of the derivative contracts' expiry on Thursday," said Jagannadham Thunguntla, head of research, Karvy Stock Broking. The Nifty was up 0.2 percent at 0845 GMT after falling as much as 0.43 percent earlier in the session. The Sensex was up 0.1 percent after declining as much as 0.52 percent earlier. India's biggest lender, State Bank of India, fell as much as 0.9 percent after HSBC downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy", saying fundamentals were now priced in after a recent rally. It was trading 1.2 percent higher. Meanwhile, drugmakers were under continued pressure. Lupin fell as much as 14.39 percent on reports it had received Form 483 observations for its central India plant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Lupin said the observations were "minor in nature" and that it did not expect any disruption to supply from the location. Among the stocks that gained, Tata Steel rose 2 percent ahead of the company's board meeting on Tuesday, where it is widely expected to announce restructuring or selling of some of the European units and job cuts to save costs. (Reporting by Manoj Rawal; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) (Reuters) - Britain's largest steelmaker Tata Steel Ltd is expected to announce the sale of its entire UK business, BBC reported citing union sources. Tata Steel's decision was made at Tuesday's board meeting in Mumbai, BBC said. Britain's steel industry has been struggling since European Union steel prices hit their lowest since 2004. Earlier in January, Tata Steel said it would cut 1,050 UK jobs including 750 jobs at Port-Talbot-based operations in Wales. About 4,000 British steel jobs were lost in October 2015 alone, equivalent to about a fifth of the sector's workforce. (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sued Volkswagen Group of America, saying the U.S. arm of the German automaker falsely advertised more than a half million diesel vehicles as environmentally friendly when it knew they were emitting excess pollution. The FTC filed suit against the wholly owned Volkswagen AG unit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The agency said U.S. consumers suffered "billions of dollars in injury" as a result of deception by VW, which has admitted to using software that allowed 580,000 diesel vehicles built since 2009 to emit up to 40 times legally allowable pollution. In January, the U.S. Justice Department sued VW for up to $46 billion for violating environmental laws. VW also faces more than 500 civil lawsuits related to excess emissions, along with suits from some U.S. states. Last week, a federal judge set an April 21 deadline for VW to come up with a concrete remedy for the vehicles. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, praised the FTC suit. "This was one of the most egregious examples of a company deceiving the public," Nelson said. "Hopefully, the court will provide adequate redress to consumers and send a strong message that this type of corporate behavior won't be tolerated." VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said the automaker has received the FTC complaint and "continues to cooperate" with all U.S. regulators. "Our most important priority is to find a solution to the diesel emissions matter," Ginivan said. VW has an ongoing internal investigation to determine who at the automaker knew of the diesel cheating. The FTC is seeking a court order requiring Volkswagen to compensate U.S. consumers who bought polluting vehicles and an injunction to prevent future similar conduct by Volkswagen. The FTC said VW's claims "that the cars were low-emission, environmentally friendly, met emissions standards and would maintain a high resale value" were false. It said the vehicles involved sold for an average price of approximately $28,000. The FTC said VW promoted its "clean" cars through a marketing campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars including Super Bowl ads, online social media campaigns and print advertising, "often targeting environmentally conscious" consumers." VW remains in talks with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board and Justice Department over terms of a settlement. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer and lawyers for the government and VW said last Thursday the sides had made "substantial progress" toward a settlement. A settlement could include vehicle buybacks and cash incentives for repairs, along with environmental funds to address excess emissions. A point of contention is whether California and the EPA will accept a remedy addressing only part of the excess emissions. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Dan Grebler and David Gregorio) Xiaomi might be known as a popular smartphone brand in India but the company has a wide range of products in China. At an event in China, Xiaomi has announced the launch of its new sub-brand Mi Ecosystems. With the philosophy of making products that stand out as work of art in daily lives, the new sub-brand will cover products manufactured by Xiaomi's ecosystem partners. To build the Mi Ecosystem, Xiaomi has so far invested in 55 companies that design and manufacture products beyond its three core product categories: smartphones, smart TVs and smart routers. Among these, 29 companies including Zhimi (which makes the Mi Air Purifier) and Viomi (which makes the Mi Water Purifier) have been incubated by Xiaomi from their founding. To date, over 20 Mi Ecosystem companies have launched products and won 28 international design awards in total. According to the press statement shared by the company, Xiaomi's founder and CEO, Lei Jun started exploring the ecosystem business model two years ago with a mindset to "promote an upgrade in Chinese manufacturing with a new concept of 'Made in China' products". The statement further added that "rather than simply being a venture company, Xiaomi imparts to these companies its approach to making quality products, sharing its methodologies and existing resources, including supply chain, e-commerce, marketing and branding." The first product launched under the Mi Ecosystem is the Heating Pressure Rice Cooker priced at RMB999, which the company claims is less than 40% the price of comparable high-end Japanese induction heating pressure rice cookers. After launching the Redmi Note 3 in India in earlier this month, the company is now hosting a press event in Delhi on March 31 to launch its next flagship Mi 5. The Xiaomi Mi 5 was announced late in February and was launched in China in the first week of March. At the launch of Redmi Note 3 event, Hogo Barra, Vice President, Xiaomi had revealed the company's plan to launch the Mi 5 in India within a month's timeframe. Recently, Bin Lin, President, Xiaomi had also stated the upcoming smartphone will be priced below Rs 27,000. Xiaomi Mi 5 features a 5.15 inch full HD display, a metal body, 3D ceramic back, which is durable and water resistant. Xiaomi has added a finger print sensor below the display that also bundles as a home button. The device is powered by Qualcomm's latest chipset, Snapdragon 820, which is powering some of the other flagships including Samsung Galaxy S7, Sony Xperia X and LG G5. It is paired with LPDDR 4 4GB of RAM. It has Sony IMX298 16MP sensor and Qualcomm Spectra image processor. And also features face detection auto focus, DTI for producing better colours and a 4-axis OIS that helps in capturing better images in low lights conditions as well when hands are shaking. It can capture 4k videos. Other features include sunlight display, reading mode and more. The device has been launched abroad in three variants and ships with Android Marshmallow with MiUi and packs in a 3000 mAh battery and supports Quick Charge 3.0. A total of 14 hotel properties, totalling more than 47 million between them, sold in Ireland during the first three months of 2016. This is according to statistics on the volume and value of hotel sales in the Irish market released by Commercial property consultants, CBRE Ireland today. Irish hotels that sold during the first quarter included the Tara Towers Hotel on Dublins Merrion Road, the Clarion Hotel in Sligo, the Abberley Court Hotel in Tallaght and the Waterford Marina Hotel in Waterford. Only two of the 14 hotel properties that sold in Ireland during the last three month period were located in Dublin, demonstrating the strength of appetite for well-located properties throughout the country. Lisa Keogh of CBRE Hotels Ireland, today commented, "Following an exceptionally busy year in 2015, during which 63 hotel properties (totalling 710 million) changed hands in the Irish market (including two hotel portfolios), transactional activity has remained strong in Q1 2016 with a further 14 hotel sales totalling more 47 million concluding in the last three month period. "In addition, the leasehold interests in 3 other hotel properties changed hands in the quarter. A number of notable hotel properties are currently being marketed, including the Gresham Hotel on OConnell Street (guiding excess 80 million), which will boost spend further over the next couple of months." Source: www.businessworld.ie The threat of the UK leaving the EU, along with other economic headwinds, means the Irish business environment will be less benign and increasingly uncertain over the coming months according to Ibec. The group have today published their latest Quarterly Economic Outlook which predicts economic growth of 4.6% this year and 3.9% in 2017. Ibec claim the exchange rate is the most immediate risk. They claim that in the aftermath of a possible Brexit the sterling/euro exchange rate is likely to move toward or above parity. This would leave Irish firms selling into the UK market 30% less competitive by June than they were in January through exchange rate movements alone. Furthermore, they claim any new UK-EU arrangements may undermine free trade. An agreement they say would take at least two years, but is likely to take much longer. This would bring a level of uncertainty for Irish firms exporting to Britain in the short term impacting on employment, investment and export plans. Ibec believe the risk to trade flows has been underestimated because of the very significant knock on impact that changing investment patterns could have on trade. They say Ireland's investment-friendly business model is particularly exposed. The report also finds that there are potential opportunities for Ireland from a Brexit. UK-based corporates and financial sector firms will need a home within the European single market. Ibec believe Dublin may be in a prime position to benefit. However, Ibec also believe Brexit would also mean that the UK would no longer be subject to state aid rules when competing for FDI or encouraging indigenous business. The UK government might introduce enhanced business and investment supports in order to prevent capital flight and attract FDI. Ibec CEO, Danny McCoy says, "A UK exit would send Ireland, Britain and Europe into uncharted and treacherous waters. The value of sterling has already fallen significantly, a vote to leave would prompt a further significant depreciation, heaping pressure on businesses trading with the UK. This is in addition to the countless other risks that would arise during and after the period of a negotiated exit. A slowdown in Chinese growth adds to the uncertain international outlook." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Investec have today released their economy monitor for the first quarter of 2016. It shows that Ireland was the fastest growing economy in the EU in 2015 (GDP +7.8%) and while growth is likely to moderate, it still appears to remain so for a third successive year in 2016. The report indicates that much of the current growth is being driven by the domestic economy but net exports remain an important part of the story. Exporters benefited from strong external tailwinds in 2015 but this is unlikely to be repeated in 2016. Investec predict Irish GDP to be +5.0% in 2016 and +4.0% in 2017. Furthermore, there has also been a marked upturn in investment activity. The national accounts measure of investment shows growth of 28.2% last year and while this is flattered by purchases of intangible assets by a number of MNCs, other data confirm that underlying investment activity continues to recover, with last year seeing a 15% increase in housing completions and 41% rise in goods vehicle sales. According to the report, "There is growing awareness of the risks from the Brexit referendum in the UK, the destination for a sixth of total Irish exports. Apart from Brexit, Novembers US presidential election is another overseas political event that could lead to adverse outcomes for the Irish economy. "Domestic politics are another concern following Februarys inconclusive general election, where no one party managed to secure even a third of the seats on offer. While discussions between the parties and independents are ongoing, our sense is that a minority Fine Gael administration is the likeliest outcome. Our expectation is that this will prove short-lived, with another election due in November if the government fails to secure sufficient support for Octobers Budget. "With that being said, given the minor policy differences between the mainstream parties (who secured three-fifths of the vote in the last election), we do not expect any material policy shifts in Ireland for the foreseeable future." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us A new wholesale energy market report published by Vayu Energy shows that Irish wholesale gas prices are 41% lower on average so far in March compared with March 2015 and down 38% year on year for the first quarter. The report shows that while prices are unchanged compared with February, they remain at lows not seen since April 2010. Vayu energy, which supplies gas to over 20% of Irelands industrial and commercial market, states that the collapse in prices is due to an abundant supply of gas in Europe and a significant strengthening in the value of the euro over the last year. Irish wholesale gas prices have now over halved in euro terms (down 51%) compared with the average monthly price recorded for March over the previous three years (2013-2015). This has had a significant impact on the energy costs of many Irish businesses purchasing gas on the wholesale market, particularly for users in the industrial and commercial segment. Vayu Energy believe that the collapse in prices is due to an abundant supply of gas in Europe and a significant strengthening in the value of the euro over the last year. The majority of natural gas consumed in Ireland is currently sourced from the UK wholesale gas market. With the Corrib gas field recently becoming operational, Irelands dependence on imported gas will reduce significantly with the field expected to meet approximately 56% of forecasted demand this year. During days of low demand, such as the summer months, Corrib is projected to meet the full gas requirements of the country. Senior Energy Analyst at Vayu, Joanne Daly says, "An oversupply of gas and weak demand mean Europes inventory levels are significantly above normal for this time of year. This, combined with an 8% strengthening in the value of the euro against sterling over the last twelve months, has resulted in a dramatic collapse in wholesale prices." She added, "New volumes of LNG this year from the US and Australia and seasonal falls in demand are likely to result in further downward pressure on prices. Theres therefore limited risk of significant price increases in the near term, barring any unplanned outages." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us It was announced on Friday that the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) is investing $7 million (5 million) in Northern Ireland through the Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (NI). The fund, managed by Kernel Capital, was established in 2013 by Invest Northern Ireland and Bank of Ireland to assist Northern Ireland based SMEs to accelerate growth. Kernel Capital is one of the largest venture capital firms providing equity to technology, life science and general industry companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the EU Investment for Growth and Jobs Programme 2014-2020. The Fund's investment in Kernel Capital comes from its $115 million Emerging Europe Fund. The firm was selected following an analysis by 57 Stars LLC, which manages the Emerging Europe Fund. The Fund previously invested in Crescent Capital, a Belfast-based venture capital fund manager that has supported and built creative companies throughout Northern Ireland. New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli commented last week, "Were proud to be able to play a part in Northern Irelands economic resurgence. This partnership will benefit our retirees, taxpayers and Northern Ireland for years to come." First Minister of Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster added, "In the last couple of years our economy has grown from strength to strength and this added investment, combined with Kernel Capitals impressive track record of investing in high growth companies, will continue to support Northern Irelands thriving business community into the future." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us The Project Management Institute (PMI) have today released research which shows that 2 billion in tax-payers money can be saved on capital projects over the next five years, if project management is successfully implemented. The research has been released ahead of PMIs Ireland chapter conference which takes place on April 14th at the Aviva Stadium. PMI Ireland Chapters latest figures estimate there are at least 50,504 people working in project-oriented occupations in Ireland. Almost 1,000 are members of the chapter which is the largest membership per head of population in Northwest Europe. More than 300 members from a diverse range of sectors, including manufacturing, construction, IT, financial services, engineering and pharmaceuticals are set to attend the national conference which is almost fully sold out. Some of the high-profile companies already signed up to attend include Microsoft, Deloitte, EMC, PWC, Yahoo and PepsiCo. PMI Ireland President, Niall Murphy says, "The importance of the discipline to the Irish economy cannot be underestimated and unprecedented capital savings are possible, provided the right project management strategies are implemented. "PMI research shows that poor project management can cost $122 million for every $1 billion invested. If you apply this to the Irish context, where the government plans to spend over 16 billion on capital projects over the next five years, good project management can save Irish taxpayers 2 billion." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Graduates from across Ireland are being given the opportunity to secure a scholarship from a 100,000 fund to attend Irelands leading business school. The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Aspire Scholarship Programme 2016 is offering up to three MBA and nine MSc scholarships to graduates who may have thought a business masters was beyond their means. The scholarship will pay for 50% of the successful candidates chosen course fees at UCD Smurfit School. Students will commence their studies in September 2016 and can choose to study any of the wide range of MBA and MSc courses on offer. A special Selection Committee has been established to decide who will be awarded the scholarships and will be chaired by Cormac McCarthy, former Chief Financial Officer, Paddy Power, and representatives from UCD Business. The Aspire Scholarship Programme was established in 2010, after an anonymous benefactor of the School committed 500,000 to establish the programme. The donor provided the funds specifically for those who could not otherwise afford to study at UCD Smurfit School and as a contribution to the recovery of the Irish economy. Since 2010, almost 70 scholars have benefited from the donors generosity and many of these scholars are employed in leading companies such as Google, Citi, KPMG, Ulster Bank, PepsiCo, Microsoft, AIB, Accenture, Mitsubishi and PwC, among others. Dean of UCD Business, Professor Ciaran hOgartaigh said, "At UCD Smurfit School our primary purpose is to educate future business leaders who will have a profound impact on society. "The Aspire Scholarship Programme enables graduate students with the talent, drive and initiative, but without the necessary financial means, to advance their career prospects by securing an MBA or MSc at Irelands leading Business School." The closing date for entry is 29th April 2016. Applications can be made at www.smurfitschool.ie/aspire. Source: www.businessworld.ie Seven in 10 people say the "dark net" - an anonymous online home to both criminals and activists fearful of government surveillance - should be shut down, according to a global Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. The findings, from a poll of at least 1,000 people in each of 24 countries, come as policymakers and technology companies argue over whether digital privacy should be curbed to help regulators and law enforcement more easily thwart hackers and other digital threats. The U.S. Justice Department is currently trying to force Apple Inc to write software to allow access to an iPhone used by San Bernardino, California shooter Rizwan Farook. The dark net refers to an area of the Internet only accessible via special web browsers that ensure anonymity, where content is hidden and data typically encrypted. The Ipsos poll was commissioned the Waterloo, Ontario-based Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The think tank is part of a commission seeking to shape Internet governance. The question asked in the poll pointed out the dark net's anonymity can protect journalists, human rights activists, dissidents and whistleblowers, but also hide child abuse networks and illegal marketplaces selling weapons and narcotics. The portion of respondents who either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed it should be shuttered ranged between 61 percent and 85 percent, with support strongest in Indonesia, India, Egypt and Mexico and weakest in Sweden, South Korea and Kenya. Other countries polled included Pakistan, Australia, the United States, France, Germany, Turkey, and Tunisia. "The public clearly wants law enforcement to have the tools to do its job. But if you flip it around and say should they have access to your data they tend to feel differently," said Fen Osler Hampson, director of the global security and politics program at CIGI. Only 38% of all respondents said they trust that their online activities are not monitored. Hampson said public concern about online privacy will likely grow as more and more cars, appliances and infrastructure connect to online networks. Ipsos said the poll was accurate in each country to within plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us The financial safety net erected by central banks, exporters and the International Monetary Fund has grown in recent years, but has left many emerging market countries vulnerable to global economic shocks, the IMF said in a new research paper released on Monday. The accumulation of foreign currency reserves has risen since the 2007-09 global financial crisis, and there are more bilateral swap arrangements between central banks, but these have mainly benefited advanced economies, it said. In times of crisis, some emerging market economies may still be left with financing gaps, the IMF said. The paper by IMF staff was aimed at launching debate among the fund's 188 members over reforms to strengthen the global financial safety net. The first step in the process is to assess the adequacy of current system, which is too fragmented, untested and costly, the IMF paper said. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in February called for an expanded set of precautionary financing tools that can help emerging markets deal with shocks. During the last financial crisis, central banks in the United States, Canada the European Union, Japan, Britain and Switzerland enacted swap agreements that have helped advanced, reserve-currency-issuing economies to quell systemic risks. But emerging markets do not have access to these swap lines, and have been forced to accumulate foreign currency reserves at considerable cost, the IMF staff said in the paper. One of the few options available is to turn to the IMF's $1 trillion lending war chest, but that carries both a market and political stigma, and approval may be too slow in a financial crisis. "The current configuration is too costly and creates the conditions for moral hazard," the IMF said. "Coverage is uneven across countries and worsens when the uncertain elements of the safety net are not available." A reform option suggested by the paper would be to institute a prequalification process that would reduce the stigma associated with turning to the fund for liquidity support that would last for the duration of an economic shock. Another option would be two strengthen cooperation among the central banks, governments and the regional lending structures that make up the financial safety net, the paper said. It suggested that the IMF could take a facilitating role with policy signals monitoring activities. The paper will be discussed at a meeting of central bank governors and finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies scheduled for Thursday in Paris. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us EU visa liberalization with Georgia is just around the corner Published on March 29, 2016 Story by Caroline de Blay en it fr es de pl Last March 9th, the European Commission published a formal proposal aiming at adding Georgia to the list of countries that do not require a visa to enter the Schengen area. It is only a matter of months now before Council and Parliament sign the regulation into law and visa-free travel for Georgians becomes reality. The adoption by the Commission of the fourth and last Georgian progress report on the Visa Liberalization Action Plan (VLAP), was received with great joy and happiness on the other side of the Black Sea. Many Georgian monuments were illuminated with the European flag on December 18th the day the report was signed, as a way to show the countrys appreciation for this next big step in EU-Georgian relations. Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister at that time, declared Today is a historic day for all Georgians. Today Georgia took a step forward on its path to European integration, a step which will define our future in the European family of nations." Here is what this is going to change for Georgians. Lighter procedures, lighter costs & less time wasted The visa liberalization initiative aims at facilitating exchanges between Georgia and the Schengen area. Only a fraction of those visa procedures will be removed though, namely the short-term visas, also called category C visas, which apply to stays under 90 days, within a 180 day period. Until today, a Georgian national who wants to enter the Schengen area for less than three months must apply to this category C visa when travelling, for instance on vacations or for educational purposes. Employment or family reunification are not covered by this type of visa, even for short stays. Conditions for obtaining these visas prove to be a heavy burden for Georgians in terms of time and money spent. Keti, currently trainee in Brussels, tells us about her experience: "Application needs to take place several months in advance, up to 4 in very touristic seasons, even though embassies tend to schedule your appointment around 2 weeks before departure. Which means that if you dont want to take the risk of paying your flight while you still dont have a visa, you pay exorbitant fees for booking them last minute. But thats not it. The costs stack up fast, adding to the price of the visa itself, around 100 euros, the price of the official and mandatory- translation of all documents, and the costs linked to the transfer of the applicants documents to the competent authority. Indeed, because not all Schengen countries have a representation in Georgia, some of them delegate their services. Keti for example had to send her passport to Ankara because there is no Belgian embassy in Georgia. And Category D visa applications are outsourced to the Dutch embassy. I spent enormous amounts of time and money on postal services and overcharged phone calls. On top of that, the amount of documents that needs to be provided is also burdensome and discourages Georgians from travelling spontaneously to Europe: special travel insurance policy, evidence that you really are on vacations during the stated travel dates, proof of sufficient resources going from 3 to 5 thousand euros depending on your status Thus, visa liberalization is a very welcomed simplification as none of this will be required anymore. Georgians will be able to freely enter the Schengen area, under two conditions: having a biometric passport and being able to prove as any tourist- that they have sufficient means for the duration of their stay. An important step forward for EU-Georgian relationship One things certain: Georgians are extremely happy with this EU decision. Positive reactions could be noticed from all kinds of actors concerned, ranging from the national government, to the social media, and expats; like Teona, also working in Brussels: I think visa free travel has been the wish of every Georgian for his/her new years eve she says. The visa liberalization is considered as the recognition of Georgias democratic reforms and achievements. That makes us believe that we are on good track for further advancements. Indeed, visa liberalization was conditional to profound reforms revolving around four blocks: document security including biometrics, integrated border management, migration, asylum, public order and security; and external relations and fundamental rights. It is definitely seen as a huge break-through and important step, Keti comments. Such liberalization will strengthen economic ties, particularly in the context of the current implementation of the Deep & Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between the EU and Georgia. But cultural ties will also be fostered. This is a great opportunity to for us to reveal all our cultural richness to Europe. adds Teona. Visa liberalization is only the first step towards a closer bond of many more to come, the state having engaged a 100% with the EU under the pain of all the complications with Russia, according to Keti. Further steps will include further market access for Georgian businesses and some more political and social approximations. Maybe even finding an innovative way to give Georgia more than a mere Eastern Partnership country status? Only time will tell, but this first step is certainly heading towards the right direction of someday getting there. Story by Caroline de Blay Caller-Times file The Corpus Christi Downtown Farmers Market will be from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Art Center of Corpus Christi, 100 N. Shoreline Blvd. SHARE Tuesday THEATER: Harbor Playhouse will host auditions for "The Little Mermaid" on Tuesday. Cost: Free. Information: 361-882-5500, www.harborplayhouse.com. CONCERT: Mariachi Del Mar will perform traditional and nontraditional music at 7:30 p.m. at Wolfe Recital Hall, Del Mar College East. Cost: Free. Information: 361-698-1616. LECTURE: The second annual Adele Bemis Leadership Lecture Series will be at 6 p.m. at the Art Museum of South Texas, 1902 N. Shoreline Blvd. Keynote speaker Jennifer Gentry will present "Transforming Healthcare and Nursing Leaders through Education." Cost: $50. Information: www.etaomicron.org. LECTURE: Texas A&M University-Kingsville Lectureship Series 2016 presents Jane Goodall at 7 p.m. at Jones Auditorium, 855 N. Armstrong St. Cost: Free. Information: 361-593-2760. OUTDOORS: The Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve will host a guided bird walk from 8-9 a.m. geared toward birding beginners. Cost: Free. Information: 361-826-3947. Wednesday THEATER: Harbor Playhouse will host auditions for "The Little Mermaid" on Wednesday. Cost: Free. Information: 361-882-5500, www.harborplayhouse.com. MEETING: The Port Aransas Art Center will host its annual All Member Meeting at 1 p.m. at the Art Center classroom, 323 N. Alister St., Port Aransas. Cost: Free. Information: 361-749-7334. FARMERS MARKET: The Corpus Christi Downtown Farmers Market will be from 5-8 p.m. Wednesdays at the Art Center of Corpus Christi, 100 N. Shoreline Blvd. Cost: Free. Information: Growlocalstx.com. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO SHARE By Chris Ramirez of the Caller-Times A California consultant firm has won a contract to coordinate the relocation of Hillcrest residents while the Harbor Bridge is being replaced. Del Richardson & Associates Inc. was tapped by the Port of Corpus Christi to guide potentially hundreds of residents displaced by the construction project to new homes over the next three years. The contract was approved Tuesday during a special port meeting. "I'm really looking forward to moving to Corpus Christi and working with residents there," Del Richardson, who founded the Inglewood, California, company in 1984, said in a phone interview. "It's a passion project for me." Commissioners approved the contract on a 5-0 vote. Commissioners Richard Bowers and David P. Engel were absent. Del Richardson & Associates outlasted dozens of companies that responded last month to an ad by the port for a consultant to manage both the residents' relocation and the property purchases. According to its Facebook page, the firm provides right of way services, and specializes in relocation assistance, public affairs, community engagement and other services. It has for nearly 30 years been involved with providing relocation and other services to Los Angeles World Airports. The agency is a branch of that city's government that oversees operations of three Los Angeles-area airports Los Angeles International Airport, L.A./Ontario International Airport and Van Nuys Airport. Del Richardson & Associates emerged as the top finalist because it offered "the most advantageous proposal" and had experience with relocations, said Sean Strawbridge, the port's chief operating officer. Such background would come in handy while the state aims to replace Corpus Christi's iconic Harbor Bridge soon. Built in the 1950s, the span connect the city's Northside with North Beach. State officials want to put a more modern cable-stayed bridge in its place for safety reasons. Their plans call for a higher clearance and a more gradual incline, which means creating a path that could greatly impact Hillcrest, one of Corpus Christi's last remaining predominantly black neighborhoods. Port commissioners in December authorized up to $20 million to buy properties in Hillcrest and to relocate residents who want to move. The port has identified 506 Hillcrest properties that are eligible for the program, Strawbridge said. Resident Lamont C. Taylor attended the meeting Tuesday and applauded the firm's appointment. "It's a great starting point," said Taylor, also a co-chair of the Citizens Alliance for Fairness and Progress, an advocacy group for Hillcrest and the nearby Washington-Coles neighborhood. Hillcrest property owners and renters who qualify will begin receiving notices from the port about their relocation options in May. They will have three years from that time to decide whether to move. The Texas Department of Transportation would pay any costs that exceed the $20 million offered by the port. Richardson toured Hillcrest and spoke with its residents when she attended a public meeting concerning the relocation program earlier this month. "My hope is to bring clarity to the program's benefits, and to find safe and sanitary housing for residents who want to participate," she said. "We want to make sure that everyone can make an informed decision." The Rev. Adam Carrington, another citizens alliance co-chair, was comfortable with the port's choice, in part because the firm is black-owned. "We're moving forward," Carrington said. "It's a perfect time to get this company out there and let the community know that we have ... a company that's going to help us transition. We don't have to do it by ourselves." The bridge replacement project is slated to cost $898 million and take about five years. Twitter: @Caller_ChrisRam Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Stonewater Properties is interested in developing the building at 817 N. Carancahua St. as apartments. The group is seeking tax increment reinvestment zone incentives for the project. SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Stonewater Properties is interested in developing the building at 723 Upper Broadway St. as apartments. The group is seeking tax increment reinvestment zone incentives for the project. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Stonewater Properties is interested in developing the building at 817 N. Carancahua St. as apartments. The group is seeking tax increment reinvestment zone incentives for the project. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Stonewater Properties is interested in developing the building at 723 Upper Broadway St. as apartments. The group is seeking tax increment reinvestment zone incentives for the project. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Stonewater Properties is interested in developing the building at 723 Upper Broadway St. as apartments. The group is seeking tax increment reinvestment zone incentives for the project. By Kirsten Crow of the Caller-Times Two new apartment projects are proposed for the downtown area. Stonewater Properties, a Canada-based company, is seeking tax increment reinvestment zone incentives to help revamp two vacant Uptown buildings 723 Upper Broadway St. and 817 Carancahua St. into apartments. Prospective plans are for the building on Carancahua to become a 44-unit studio apartment complex, and for the property on Broadway to become a mixed-use complex, which would offer 42 apartment units with commercial space on the bottom floor, said Cherylyn Boyd, regional property manager for Stonewater Properties. A city board that oversees the downtown-area reinvestment zone programs would need to approve the requested tax incentives for the project. Incentives are provided through tax increment reinvestment zone funding, which is drawn from a percentage of appreciated property value within the greater downtown area. That money is then reinvested in the same area. Stonewater's proposal is the second of two formal requests for residential projects considered by the city board for downtown-area reinvestment zone incentives. In January, the board approved incentives for a project by developer Marcel Wisznia to transform the 600 Building into mixed-use apartments. The board has not taken a vote on Stonewater's proposal; negotiations between the city and the developer were ongoing as of Tuesday. Developers have shown great interest in the TIRZ initiatives which means the programs are working as they should, said Alyssa Michelle Barrera, the city's business liaison. Boyd said prospective plans for the Carancahua property could include some affordable housing. For single-user apartments, the company is looking at $450 to $800 rent per month, depending on the size of the unit. "For someone who's just starting out and they have a new career here and they're only starting out at $35,000 per year it becomes affordable for them being able to live here and at least start a job here," she said. "Or if you're having to work here because you're doing refinery work, construction work, bridge work, (you have) a place you can afford to live in." Although the rental prices would be partially driven by construction costs, the company is eyeing the possibility of some of the apartments being 250 square feet and renting for roughly $450 per month, Boyd said. The units "would be small, but efficiently designed," she added. The Broadway building, meanwhile, is envisioned as featuring larger-style apartments, she said. Receiving incentives would "get the rental structure to where it's affordable for those small units for a single user," Boyd added. "Because of the high cost of construction in Corpus Christi, that funding will be necessary." "TIRZ funding is going to be a very big influence on whether they move forward," she said. Stonewater Properties owns 15 commercial properties in Corpus Christi. The company also owns residential properties in Dallas and in Canada. Twitter: @CallerCrow SHARE contributed photo Jordan Arredondo, 7, died March 16, 2014, of head injuries suffered after a 100-pound television fell on him at Mary McLeod Bethune Day Care Center. By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times Ruby Nation said she still remembers her 7-year-old son Jordan Arredondo's willingness to help others. Jordan was killed March 16, 2014 when a 100-pound television fell on him at the Mary McLeod Bethune Day Nursery. Nation said it was her son's memory that inspired her to establish the Forever Jordan Memorial Fund. The fund will provide money to schools, day care facilities and churches to replace outdated television equipment with safer options. "We just want to help other people so they don't go through this," Nation said. "(TV safety) is something that's not thought of." The fund came on the heels of a settlement in a lawsuit against the nursery and the manufacturer of the TV cart, said John Flood, Nation's attorney. The terms of the settlement are confidential. "The family chose to make the fund," Flood said. "These people have really been wonderful clients." The Coastal Bend Community Foundation is managing the Forever Jordan Memorial Fund. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Ram Chavez (left), director of the Veterans Band of Corpus Christi, and Mayor Nelda Martinez announce that the band has been invited to perform at the decommissioning ceremony of the USS City of Corpus Christi during a news conference at the band house on Tuesday. SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Ram Chavez (left), director of the Veterans Band of Corpus Christi, hugs Mayor Nelda Martinez following an announcement by the band that they have been invited to perform at the decommissioning ceremony of the USS City of Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Contributed photo The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS City of Corpus Christi is welcomed home from a deployment to the western Pacific region. While on deployment, the sub conducted a variety of operations and theater security exercises contributing to the nation's strategic posture in the region. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Mayor Nelda Martinez thanks veterans during a news conference announcing that the Veterans Band of Corpus Christi has been invited to perform at the decommissioning ceremony of the USS City of Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Contributed photo The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS City of Corpus Christi transits Tokyo Bay before arriving at Fleet Activities Yokosuka. By Natalia Contreras, natalia.contreras@caller.com The first time Ram Chavez visited Pearl Harbor he was 21 years old and returning from Vietnam. The now 70-year-old veteran remembers not wanting to be there. "The other guys wanted to go look around," Chavez said. "All I wanted was to get to a phone so I could call. I just wanted to go home." But on Tuesday, Chavez's feelings about the place in Hawaii were different. The founder and director of the Veterans Band of Corpus Christi announced the band will perform in Pearl Harbor on May 30 during the decommissioning ceremony of the USS City of Corpus Christi class attack submarine. Chavez was contacted in November by the submarine's commanding officer, Travis Petzoldt, and his wife about the performance. The band is seeking the community's help to fund the trip which is estimated at about $80,000 for the 42 members, including the Funky Rock Jazz Band, to travel to Hawaii, Chavez said. "We have not asked the community for help like this since 1992. They have always supported us," Chavez said. "It's great feeling to be able to share this with (the band). I respect them and we feel honored to have this opportunity." The USS City of Corpus Christi was first commissioned in 1983 and named after the city because of its long association with the Navy. It returned to Pearl Harbor Feb. 12 after its final deployment, a five-month cruise into the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The warship served in the Cold War and the Global War on Terror, according to a news release from the Commander Submarine Forces Pacific Public Affairs Office. Mayor Nelda Martinez, who attended the announcement at the Veterans Band House at Heritage Park, said for the past 30 years the band has come to represent the best of the military town. "How appropriate it is to have the band lead the decommission of the USS City of Corpus Christi," Martinez said. "They continue to serve the country and are ambassadors of our military town." Vietnam veteran George Torres, a longtime band member, said the band has played at national ceremonies including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and two Presidential Inaugural Parades in Washington D.C. "Performing in Pearl Harbor will be almost like coming full circle," said the 67-year-old. "It will bring back a lot of memories of what we went through but what an honor it will be to be around those who served in this warship." Monetary donations for the band can be sent to P.O. Box 8606, Corpus Christi; 78468 Twitter: @CallerNatalia Facebook recently rolled out the new iteration of its Like button, Reactions. Although many I know would have been happy with just a new Dislike button, it is an interesting change from a users view. Expanded from more than just the trademark thumbs up, Reactions allows users to select from other emotions: Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. But aside from giving users more avenues for expression, what does this mean for brands on Facebook, and what is our reaction to Facebook Reactions? First things first, this update is naturally targeted toward news updates. As much as brands want to be in that space, it is still called the News feed? So, if you are a news or content publisher, the new Reactions fit in seamlessly with your Facebook content. Expressing sadness over a recent tragedy, anger over a new regulation or amazement over a bit of lesser-known, mind-blowing trivia, you can tell this update is heavily skewed toward you. While emotions like sadness and anger seem like the most natural response to certain updates from friends and news publishers, they can be seen as negative responses on brand communications. That said, there are plenty of ways in which brands can observe and then capitalize on this new update. Read on. Lets look at fans response towards Reactions. Yes, even though Like has been around as long as the mammoth platform itself and is deeply entrenched in the daily user experience, we have been seeing slow but steady adoption of the new Reactions among Singaporeans. The slowness in adoption can in part be attributed to the current way users need to select the new Reactions, which is long-pressing/hovering on Like first and then selecting the preferred emotion. Like seems to be the one with the least amount of steps involved. Going behind the scenes next, the Facebook Insights at the backend only calculates the total number of Reactions a post receives and does not differentiate between the individual reactions. So unless you are the rare brand that makes one post a week and doesnt rely on analytics tools to assist in reporting and measurement, it is going to be difficult for you to create customized content based on eliciting a specific response as it cannot be measured that way, yet. I suspect Facebook will make that change in the near future, so there would be future possibilities for brands to be more optimized in its content delivery to offer customized posts for its audiences. Therefore, for users to actively use the Reactions and for Facebook to allow brands to measure individual reactions, there is still time. Why not use this time to test and learn anyway? Social marketers have always learned from and thrived during such windows of opportunity. At Isobar, we have been playing around with Reactions since its launch in the region. While we understand it is not going to be an immediate shift in fans adopting the new feature, the signs so far are encouraging. For posts that are humorous, the Haha Reaction has seen a natural entry into fan engagements. For content around star products which fans have high affinity towards, we have seen super-fans respond with Love. Organically, these new Reactions are still only 1 to 5 per cent of the engagement volume, compared to the good old Like. That said, when we have explicitly asked fans to pick a specific Reaction as a means of engagement, we have seen it increase to as far as 25 to 30 per cent. So, brands can already start creating content thats tailored to a specific reaction and thus are more likely to garner the desired response from users. Everything from the image to the copy could be done with the precise goal of gaining a Haha reaction, for example. Brands could also use Reactions as a benchmark into what sort of content each of their fans like, and provide them with the opportunity to dish up more of that same content. For now this will be manual while measuring success, but it is not that difficult to gauge from the Timeline itself. Looking forward, there is a wish list we have around Reactions. Right now, Reactions only applies to posts, and not individual comments on a post, but that would be a nice feature to have as well. Reactions on comments would allow brands to see how users feel about other user comments. For example, if a post had garnered a nasty comment from a User A, a brand would be able to see from the type of reaction it receives, if other users were in solidarity with User As comment and thus enables the community manager to take appropriate action. In addition, it will be very useful if brands are allowed in the future to target (or exclude) users based on their reactions to our posts, perhaps? Also, making it easier for brands to measure individual reactions and if needed, include negatively skewed reactions as part of negative feedback? Also, how exciting would the platform become if Facebook enables the Reactions function for brands? This would add more personality to a brand page as the brand could react to users posts. Reactions for Instagram, perhaps? We have our fingers crossed. So yes, if we have to pick our choice of reaction to this new feature, it would be a resounding Like right now, moving steadily towards Love looking at the potential opportunities and steady user adoption rate. And if Facebook does deliver on any of the items from the wish list above, Wow. Rohan Mann is Associate Director of social media at Isobar Singapore | BY Ricki Green | AIRBAGs work on the MIFF Emotional Trailer has had a spectacular start to the awards season with a strong showing at AdFest. The project, through McCann Melbourne, picked up a Grand Prix and two Gold in Interactive, topping off a total of 9 Awards across many categories. Says Adrian Bosich, managing partner, AIRBAG: Im delighted to add this swag to the collection weve won with McCann Melbourne, which now totals over 60 Awards across campaigns such as Impossible Orchestra, Care Aware, Phubbing, Problem Gambling 100 Day Challenge, and Tiger Air Chickens. Its fundamentally about the work, and some diss Awards, but Awards have made a huge difference to our business, locally and internationally. We wouldnt be doing VR for Los Angeles, for instance, without having won some metal. The Emotional Trailer was a campaign devised by McCann in support of the 2015 Melbourne International Film Festival. It focussed on the emotional experience we share as movie goers. AIRBAGs contribution was to design and build the technology behind the idea The Emotion Simulator. The Emotion Simulator is a completely bespoke device that uses electrodes to stimulate muscles in the users face. This manipulates a face to approximate various emotional expressions. Data driven choreography allowed for the recreation of each film as an Emotional Trailer, representing in one minute or less, the emotional journey of each film. The project was a singular technical challenge that bridged numerous disciplines. AIRBAGs chief geek Steven Nicholsons (left) contribution to the project spanned medical research, electronics, programming, prop construction and torture (until he nailed the tech). Says Nicholson: When your goal is discussion and a little buzz, doing something a bit out-there is always a fruitful path. In that sense we owe a debt to MIFF and McCann. It takes a risk to make something great. Judges at AdFest were enthused by the use of multiple technologies and creative use of data; and praised it as a standout innovation and a captivating execution. Nicholson has posted an article as an insight into the creative process behind the tech and AIRBAGs approach. AIRBAG Creative Technologist: Steven Nicholson Managing Partner: Adrian Bosich Senior Producer: Robert Stock Producer: Eliza DSouza Art Direction: Illusion Studios Production Assistants: Laurie Walker & Robert La Terra McCann Melbourne Managing Director: Adrian Mills Executive Creative Director: Pat Baron Creative Director/Writer: Alex Wadelton Creative Director/Art Director: Andy Jones Senior Account Director: Caroline Macmillan Head of Broadcast: Victoria Conners Senior Producer: Anne Comber Assistant Producer: Afrim Memed Case Study Director/Editor: Patrick Jennings Camera Operators: Anthony Koreny & Jack Murtagh Camera Assistant: Adrian Ortega Sound: Jack Mcculloch Photography: Jay Hynes PR: Chris Baker Melbourne International Film Festival Artistic Director: Michelle Carey General Manager: Amber Sloan Sponsorship Manager: Nathan Reynolds Marketing & Communications Manager: Lauren Zoric | BY Ricki Green | Representing a new evolution in the content marketing space, independent creative content agency Red Engine SCC and programmatic media agency ADMATIC have formalised a partnership to provide programmatic driven content experiences at scale. The new affiliation is set to see programmatic advertising, now applied to content marketing. This years AdNews Specialist Agency of the Year, Red Engine SCCs strength in strategy and video will complement ADMATICs capabilities in data driven, programmatic media buying. The new model is set to deliver content experiences that improve consumer engagement and conversion by delivering personalised messaging to targeted audiences at scale. Red Engine SCCs role in programmatic focuses on developing a library of content experiences that reflect different audience profiles and needs. Appropriate content experiences can then be delivered in real time to the consumer at the right time and place. Red Engine SCC and ADMATIC are focused on delivering accountability, transparency, brand safety and view ability. Using comScore vCE as an independent audience delivery evaluation solution to measure the in target reach, and frequency, ADMATIC is committed to 100 per cent accountability, brand safety and viewability, as well as complete transparency around rates and reporting. Says Julian Townley (pictured), managing director, Red Engine SCC : We are pleased to bring a totally unique offering to the content marketing landscape that adds real value to our clients business and to their consumers. ADMATIC have fast built a reputation in market through their strategic capability and commitment to transparency so we look forward to this mutually beneficial relationship. Monday, March 28, 2016 at 10:08PM The Pinterest-style photo bookmarking you can do with Google Image Search makes its way out of your mobile devices and into your desktop. Googles released an update so you can save photos from your browser and organize them by folder on your desktop. The features are similar to what you get on mobile. You just need to click on the star to favorite an item. After that you can tag said photo and add this to a collection. This way you can save those images no matter what device you use. Its currently available in the U.S. and were hoping it makes its way here soon, too. Source: Google Inside Search | Via: The Next Web "Now we are able to respond when people write to us and say, 'Hey my street's become really busy there's all these cars travelling down my street really fast can you do something about that?'," Mr Simmons said. "I wish to assure all staff and students that we have a willingness to hear from you on all key issues, especially around the financial information and future potential structures and models. Based on the release of the financial information and the timing of the modelling session we have extended the timeframe for submissions on financial aspects and proposed structure of the School contained in the change proposal until 5pm on Monday, April 11." "Everything that comes through my shop in beef and lamb is grown and fattened on my own farm. I support the local stock markets and support a lot of farmers in the Queanbeyan-Canberra district, " Mr Darmody said. "Woolies don't do that, they don't buy locally. A lot of people get hurt when a little fella goes out of business," Mr Darmody said. Certainly there is one trigger for a double dissolution but note this prediction: that trigger is not going to be the legislation to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. It will pass the Senate next month with amendments to satisfy almost every crossbench senator. My advice to those Canberrans contemplating a summer holiday in the northern hemisphere is: take it. There will be no federal election in Australia this southern winter. "Our members in Immigration and Border Force and Agriculture and Water Resources will now resume their industrial action, knowing that their campaign never has and never will compromise Australia's national security at airports or anywhere else," she said. [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 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. Applications are invited by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). CBI is looking out for 74 Inspector posts on contract basis. To know more about pay scale, eligibility, how to apply, selection procedure and important dates scroll down. Name of the Posts: Inspector. Number of Posts: 74. Who is Eligible for the CBI Job? Qualification: Candidates interested to apply for the above post must be qualified as per the organisations requirement. Qualification becomes manadatory to test the skills and their perseverance in doing a certain job. Applicant should be graduated from the recognised university. Pay Scale: Rs. 40000/- Nationality: Indian. Location of the Job: All over India. To know about age limit, experience and other details of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Job log on to the official website. How Candidates are Selected for CBI Job? Candidates interested in the above job must be aware of the selection process of this organisation. Candidates will be asked to give written exam which will be followed by an interview. These two factors determines the selection of the candidate. How to Apply for the CBI Job? Candidates who are interested to apply for the above mentioned jobs must see that they are eligible for this job. Once they find themselves eligible they can apply for this job through post in a prescribed format. Do not forget to send the applications along with other necessary documents. The address where the applications need to be sent is, Government of India, Central Bureau of Investigation, 5-B, 7th Floor, A& B-wing CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi- 110003 India. Important Dates to Apply for CBI Job: The results for B.Ed special exam 2016 has been announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) on its official website. Candidates who have appeared for the examination can check their results on the official website of JKBOPEE. Click here to check your results. The B.Ed special exam 2016 was held by JKBOPEE on March 13, 2016. The successful candidates would get admission to the two-year course in the government college of education, M.A road, Srinagar. How to check JKBOPEE B.Ed Special Exam 2016 Results? Log on to the official website of JKBOPEE. Click on the link 'B.Ed. Kashmir/Special Result Declared' The results are provided in the form of pdf. The pdf contains the name, category and roll number of all successful candidates will be listed along with the total score and percentage obtained. About JKBOPEE The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations has been constituted under the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations Act, 2002, primarily to conduct entrance tests and make selection of candidates for admission to various undergraduate and postgraduate professional courses in the state. After the Victoria Police took delivery of a Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 Coupe a couple of weeks ago, the time has come for New South Wales (NSW) fight-crime department to get the keys to a brand new ride too. Dubbed a potent new weapon to its arsenal, the Lexus RC F will be a multi-purpose vehicle for the NSW Police and it will play an active role in roadside campaigns in order to promote road safety, rather than being used as a police cruiser. It gives us great pleasure to provide the NSW Police with a stunning RC F coupe to assist them with their important task of promoting safety on our roads a critical issue for all road users as we enter the colder months of the year, Lexus Australia chief executive, Peter McGregor, said. Besides taking on the promo job, the high-performance two-door coupe also attended the Bathurst Six Hour event last weekend as a race control vehicle, opening and closing the circuit before and after races, while it will also be used at various other motorsport events. Despite having two hot vehicles at its disposal, the aforementioned Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 Coupe and the Lexus RC F, the Australian police department is still light years away from the Dubai police force, which uses some of the most expensive, powerful and limited supercars the automotive industry has to offer. PHOTO GALLERY Okay, nothing can replace the original 1978 Firebird Tans Ams character, but this converted Camaro sure comes close. Built for a modern bandit by Florida-based Trans Am Depot, it is based on the fifth-gen Camaro that uses GMs Zeta platform. Moreover, the company offers a plethora of options along with the new body panels that transform the Chevy into a Pontiac including T-Tops, custom paint options and performance packages. But while anybody can commission a 7T7 Trans AM from Trans Am Depot, the SE Bandit Edition is different, as only 77 of these rare automobiles will be built, each signed by the Bandit, aka Burt Reynolds, himself. The model features all the details and elements painstakingly crafted to reminisce the original vehicle, paying more than a tribute to it. On the performance front, buyers can opt for mods that can raise the original vehicles output to up to 840 Hp; adding a 2300 TVS root mounted supercharger, stainless exhaust, performance mufflers, a dyno tune, LS9 injectors, boost-a pump, performance valve springs anything you can think of. Mind you, these are not just some Camaros with a different body kit, as the cars are thoroughly modified (inside and out) using around 230 custom CAD elements in order to capture the authentic and yet modernized spirit of the muscle cars. Not only that, but Trans Am Depot can actually offer its customers the 6T9 Judge a conversion kit that visually transforms the Camaro into a modern 1969 Pontiac The Judge GTO. VIDEO Just imagine being a fly on the wall when this Russian driver tries to explain to his wealthy boss how he managed to drive his Maybach not the quasi S-Class one, the original, into one of his fellow businessmans Maybach. Actually, the explanation is pretty simple, if somewhat embarrassing; as we can see from the dash-cam of one of his (ex?) colleagues car, the poor guy seemingly mixed up Drive with Reverse bumping into what turned out to be, an illegally parked Maybach. The accident happened last week in Moscow where else, but outside the building of the Association of Russian Bankers (ARB), which according to their site, is a non-governmental and non-profit (yeah, right) organization which represents the interests of Russian Banking community. Russian media reported that the owner of the illegally parked Maybach will be fined 3,000 Russian rubles, which the equivalent of just $44. Video Revealed in late 2012 and appearing in select European showrooms in early 2013, the new-gen Octavia has turned out to be a popular choice with customers. This is highlighted by the 432,300 units of the model delivered last year, up 11 percent over 2014, in international markets, and by the 1 millionth example produced. The milestone vehicle, a moon-white Octavia Scout, has rolled off the assembly line at the firms main factory in Mlada Boleslav. Besides the facility located in the Czech Republic, the VW-owned brand produces the Octavia in Russia, India, Kazakhstan and China, with the latter playing a crucial role for both the automaker and the model, remaining Skodas largest individual market and accounting for 18,500 vehicles delivered in February alone. The third generation of the Skoda Octavia is offered in a wide range of versions, from the Octavia G-TEC, with a natural gas drive, to the Octavia Scout, a robust model with light off-road capabilities introduced two years ago and ending with the Octavia RS, which is the fastest variant of the series produced up to date. Since the first generation of the car was introduced in 1996, a total of five million units have been manufactured in total. PHOTO GALLERY The hard work and dedication of Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers is much appreciated by those who unfortunately may need their services. However the public may not always be aware of the wide variety of tasks SAR teams are involved in. Those at Vernon Search and Rescue are taking the opportunity to film some of the rescue missions they are called out on and produce videos to educate people on the volunteers' efforts. Spokesperson Trevor Honigman said Vernon SAR has helped the community and the province, for more than 55 years. Since VSAR is a non-profit group composed entirely of volunteers, throughout the year we fundraise for our equipment, training, and operating budget, Honigman explained. Recently we decided to create short informational videos to help raise awareness of our unit and to serve as visual tools to educate interested audiences. Honigman said the videos are the result of many individuals working together to gather, process and compile the pictures, video clips and information needed for production. There are 65 volunteers on the VSAR team who respond to approximately 40 callouts annually. The first video in the VSAR series follows volunteers as they search for a missing elderly woman who walked away from a care home on March 7. Follow the series here. Photo: The Canadian Press I feel compelled to write about the Ghomeshi acquittal while it is still fresh in our minds. Early on, when details of allegations against him were just surfacing (immediately after the CBC interview with Lucy DeCoutere), I wrote a column in Mr. Ghomeshis defence. I wasnt a fan of Mr. Ghomeshi and didnt know him personally, but it seemed to me that the trashing of his reputation, the loss of his career, and the growing public perception of him as a monster were way out of proportion to the particular allegations being made by Ms. DeCoutere. Attempting to paint what I perceived as a more accurate impression of Mr. Ghomeshi, I wrote an analogous scenario in which a consensual intimate encounter takes a rougher sex turn on the mistaken but honest belief that there was mutual interest in going down that path. I was distressed (horrified, actually) to learn that my column led some to perceive me as misogynistic. I wrote to clarify my very emphatic personal views about consent, i.e. that a mistaken but honest belief in consent is not good enough. This is my personal view, by the way, which is stricter than the criminal law. I also found myself feeling differently about Mr. Ghomeshi, as more and more allegations surfaced. Allegations that he yanked a womans hair and slammed her head against a car window, for example, and other more severe details, fit more within the monster category. I felt embarrassed that I had written in support of Mr. Ghomeshi, and came to the conclusion that he really was a monster, and must be guilty of the charges against him. Then came the trial, when those casting out their allegations through the media were required to testify under oath, facing the best tool our justice system has for arriving at the truth: Cross-examination. There were no bright lights, rubber hoses, or waterboarding tactics used by Marie Henein, Mr. Ghomeshis defence lawyer. She simply tested each aspect of each allegation, exposing exaggerations and inconsistencies every step of the way. Compare what each of the accusers swore to be the truth after being cross-examined at the trial with the stories they told through the media. It is a stark contrast. That stark contrast was part of what led the judge hearing the case to be left with reasonable doubt about the truth of the sworn testimony, which lead to Mr. Ghomeshis acquittal. Had each of the accusers told the same version of events to the media as the version of events they admitted to under cross-examination, and had they given fair, consistent testimony at the outset without the need for skillful cross-examination to get at the full truth, perhaps Mr. Ghomeshi would have been convicted. It is important to note that an acquittal is not the same as a finding of innocence. Looking in the mirror, how did I, and many others, allow ourselves to judge a fellow citizen based on unsworn allegations shared in the media, which should not be given any higher regard than other gossip? Most importantly, how dare I, particularly given my legal training and experience, ignore the important presumption of innocence that is a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. I am embarrassed. I apologize, Mr. Ghomeshi. Stay tuned next week as Paul resumes with part III of the series on tactics used by ICBC and other insurance companies. Join the discussion This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Its the end of an era. Kelownas only downtown theatre is closing its doors today (Monday). The Paramount Theatre opened in 1949 with just one screen. It was refurbished years later to become a triplex. Movie buffs were able to take a walk down memory lane over the weekend as the theatre presented several classic flicks, such as Abbott and Costellos Africa Screams and Orson Welles The Third Man. Castanet decided to hit the streets to find out how residents felt about saying good-bye. Many were sad the downtown theatre was going dark as several recalled seeing movies at the Paramount since they were children. One man said he remembered when the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie came out and people lined up around the block waiting to get into the cinema. The building is owned by Ronmor Developments, and it is believed it will eventually become a restaurant. Photo: RCMP RCMP in Surrey are searching for a man regarded as "high risk" after his family reported him missing. Satvir Sidhu was last seen around 8 p.m. Sunday in the 8600 block of 148 Street in Surrey. He has not been seen or heard from since. Sidhu is described as an Indo-Canadian male, 35, who stands at 5-feet-11-inches and weighs 170 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie with a white Hawaii logo in front, black shorts, green runners and a black ball cap. Police and family say they are concerned for his health and well-being and that it is out of character for Sidhu to be away for so long. Anyone with information about Sidhu's whereabouts is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477 or www.solvecrime.ca, quoting file number 2016-42009. Photo: CTV The death of a teenager six days into a stint at a drug rehab centre has prompted his parents to file a lawsuit against the B.C. government. The family points the finger at a probation officer responsible for troubled Chilliwack teen Nick Lang. They claim the officer did not inform his caregivers the teen was at risk of suicide, states the lawsuit. Peter Lang and Linda TenPas also claim the probation officer didnt pay enough attention to their 15-year-old sons case, according to a report by CTV News. As a result, the teen did not have the support he needed when he entered the HeadStart rehab clinic, instead returning to a crystal meth addiction, the lawsuit says. Nick received no community support during a period of extreme anxiety and temptation (other than from his parents), the lawsuit reads. Predictably, Nick slipped back into drug use and antisocial behavior. The teen hanged himself. None of the allegations has been proven in court. The Ministry of Children and Family Development reviewed the case and found the teen waited more than a month to be accepted into the rehab program despite a court-ordered intensive supervision program. with files from CTV News Photo: The Canadian Press Clients with scars from traumatic surgeries, suicide attempts and abuse are turning to a Vancouver tattoo artist for healing inside and out. Auberon Wolf designs tattoos around cut lines from self-injury, burn welts and traces of physical violence, painting them into symbols of empowerment. "You just can't help but think, what can you put there to help the person feel more comfortable in their own skin," said Wolf. "What can I bring to that with love and care, that's more than just art?" The process, which may take weeks or months, can be more therapeutic than the finished artwork, said Wolf, 29. During busy weeks, as many as 10 clients visit Wolf's vibrant studio to collaborate, paying with cash or traded skills. Wolf's "most intense" work has coloured over wounded flesh up to a finger's-width thick, while the artist hopes in the future to ornament burn scars featuring more ripple and texture. One of Wolf's favourite pieces is a watercolour fractal sunflower on the arm of a friend who cut herself as a street kid, helping the woman let go of her past identity. Another features a pattern of morning glories creeping around a woman's ribs, which Wolf said sent her into spasms as the process evoked anguishing memories of a miscarriage. "There's something inherently radical about people carrying trauma investing in themselves, even if it's going to take them to a painful or triggering place," said Wolf. "We can rewrite that moment." Jenny Magenta is getting inked with a flower bouquet in tribute to her deceased mother, embroidering two unrelated scars on her right arm: a suicide attempt and a harrowing experience when an intravenous needle was used for a migraine. Magenta said she had flashbacks when she first exposed her flesh to Wolf and the tattoo machine, but added she felt completely safe. "I now have a beautiful piece of art here," said Magenta, 46, tenderly pressing a pink dahlia. "I'm able to use this as an empowering device. I don't get traumatized anymore." It's not uncommon for artists to be asked to mask scars, such as from mastectomies. And in Brazil, a woman tattooer receives funding to paint domestic violence survivors from an NGO called the Municipal Secretariat of Policies for Women. Wolf was drawn to trauma survivors after multiple personal incidents, including sexual assaults, car and bicycle accidents, and being on campus during the 2006 Dawson College shooting in Montreal. Wolf said tattooing other trauma survivors is a calling that gives life purpose. A design on Wolf's left arm fuses scars from self-injury during mental health struggles as a teen. "Receiving tattoos was an immense vehicle for personal empowerment," said Wolf, who identifies as genderqueer, or someone who doesn't see themselves as exclusively masculine or feminine. "To heal over and over again as my skin healed." Cleanliness is paramount at the studio, said Wolf, who requires every client to sign an exhaustive consent form. Laura Wallace, 42, said getting tattooed by Wolf stopped her from killing herself. She described the process as "bloodletting in a really safe way." "I could howl," said Wallace, whose full back tattoo incorporates a recent lymph node extraction. "Some of it was attached to the pain happening on my body, but a lot of it was about what was going on in my life." There's something "positive, more hopeful" about painting art on the body as a method of working through trauma, said Elizabeth Saewyc, a University of British Columbia nursing professor. One theory explaining self-harm is that a person is seeking "to feel" after their body dissociates to handle distress, she said. The painful tattooing process might similarly ground someone, she said, but cautioned that individuals may respond differently. "One size does not fit all," said Saewyc, who studies trauma and resilience. "As with any other way of reclaiming your body and dealing it's really good to go into it thoughtfully and to get that careful, informed consent." Sugar Kaur, 40, a blind trans woman who has been physically abused, will soon have a dharma wheel tattooed over the vestiges of spina bifida surgery. "I'm feeling a huge sense of relief that it's actually in somebody's hands," said Kaur, explaining she neither wants to hide the prominent scar tissue nor draw attention to it. "Just owning it." Photo: Contributed China will clamp down on foreign-sounding and bizarre names after too many streets and developments called "Manhattan" or "Venice" have popped up amid decades of frenzied building, a government official says. Civil Affairs minister Li Liguo said in a recently televised speech that the government will change over-the-top or imported names and encourage real estate developers and city planners to seek inspiration instead from China's rich cultural heritage. "Some cities have multiple 'Manhattan' or 'Venice' roads," Li said. "It's not only an inconvenience to travellers but also erodes a sense of home." The naming push comes at a time when China's government has sought to limit Western influence from mainstream culture and education. In recent months state media outlets have warned about "hostile foreign forces" broadly undermining Chinese society and hampering China's rise as a self-sufficient and proud nation. A report by the official Xinhua news agency framed Li's remarks on place names as a matter of national sovereignty and ethnic dignity. Li, a member of China's Cabinet, called on greater cultural preservation and suggested that developers look toward Chinese icons for inspiration, such as Mount Tai or the Yellow River. In recent years, though, it's common for property developers to evoke a French region or include words like "elite" or "chateau" in the names of shopping malls or housing compounds. In Beijing's business district, there's a "Central Park" condominium compound while another upscale project is literally named "Yuppie International Condos." A few miles away, a three-bedroom pad at the "Chateau Edinburgh" apartments is listed for about $3,500 a month. Photo: CTV One person has been badly burned and as many as 100 residents have been forced from their suites in Vancouver's West End, after an apartment fire. The blaze broke out just after 5 a.m., in the five storey, wooden building on Pacific Street, near Thurlow Street. Vancouver Fire and Rescue Chief Jonn McKearney says a man was pulled unconscious from a fourth floor suite and has been rushed to hospital. Apartments on either side of the burned unit have also been damaged, but McKearney says crews were able to put out the flames just minutes after arrival. Everyone else got out safely, but McKearney expects it will be at least several hours before residents can return. A cause of the fire remains undetermined. Photo: The Canadian Press Airborne flocks of Canada geese can be symbols of beauty and freedom, but the mess they leave behind on landing can quickly foul parks and beaches. The Okanagan hosts large numbers of the wild birds, and several area communities have hatched a method to handle the loads of excrement by controlling the prolific breeders. The region's annual six-week egg addling program started Monday, with a team travelling from Vernon to Osoyoos, targeting nests of the Canada geese. Eggs are either shaken or coated with biodegradable, food-grade corn oil, which prevents air from passing through the shell so the embryo can't develop. Project co-ordinator Kate Hagmeier said results of the addling have paid off, with nearly 12,000 eggs prevented from hatching in the nine years since the project began. "The population has not increased, which is fairly remarkable considering the reproductive capacity of these birds," she said. "They start breeding at two, they stop around 20. They have five young a year. We feel that is a great achievement." Hagmeier said Canada geese were introduced to the Okanagan around 50 years ago and don't migrate over winter, but the program has done a remarkable job of capping growth of the non-native species. "When I talk to the partners at the table, all the different jurisdictions, they say they are getting fewer reports of complaints and conflict in parks." Photo: Doctors Without Borders The World Health Organization says Ebola no longer qualifies as an international health emergency. The announcement was made Tuesday by Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO, who said high vigilance must still be maintained in West Africa. Nearly 11,000 people have died mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since December 2013. Each of the three has declared an end to Ebola virus transmission in their countries only to see a flare-up of new cases. Health authorities have said that male survivors can transmit the virus sexually to their partners for up to a year after they recover. An Associated Press investigation found that WHO initially delayed declaring an international emergency similar to an SOS signal in the first place on political and economic grounds. Photo: energyeastpipeline.com By Bill Whitelaw It was just a simple piece of crude iron that fitted in one hand - but it still stands as an iconic symbol of nation building. The Last Spike was hammered home at 9:22 a.m. on Nov. 7, 1885, at Craigellachie, B.C., and marked, symbolically, the economic and political binding of a young nation. From coast to coast, two ribbons of steel snaked across Canada's vast and challenging plains and mountains. The Canadian Pacific Railway was complete. But as an ambitious undertaking, it wasn't without the travails of conflicting political agendas, finances, geography and climate. Sound familiar? It took 15 years to finish and another year to get stock rolling. The CPR was British Columbia's price for agreeing to join Confederation. It completed both a country and an economic union that in many ways created the trade, transportation and communications foundations we enjoy today. Its proponents wouldn't have had the benefit of modern business terminology, but they would wholeheartedly agree that a national supply chain was also birthed. The CPR's Last Spike has defined Canada in many ways, but it may be fading from our memory. It is physically honoured by just one of the many historical cairns glimpsed through the windshield as Canadians race through their lives along national transportation systems we now take for granted. So why aren't we talking about the First Weld and rejuvenating interest in a key historic moment that has so indelibly shaped our present and should continue to point us forward? What's the First Weld? It's a chance to do some contemporary nation building in geographic reverse - west to east - and create a sense that the race for Canadian unity has never really had a finish line. The First Weld is also a timely opportunity to do some national role reversal by foregrounding Quebec's place in Confederation. Quebec is conducting hearings on the Energy East pipeline proposal and while the results hold no technical weight, they do hold political heft. The First Weld is an opportunity for TransCanada Corp. and its pipeline customers and supporters to create some Energy East unity buzz. And what better time to do it than with Canada's 150th birthday looming in 2017? Energy East construction is slated to start that year, pending National Energy Board and federal cabinet sanctions. But instead of waiting until the project's commissioning in 2020, why not celebrate its beginning by recalling a pivotal moment in Canadian history? Use the symbolism around the Last Spike to create a similar fervour around the First Weld: the emblematic act of metal fusing with metal, provinces melding to provinces, to create a new national transportation system - this one a pipeline, arguably as important an economic link in the 21st century as the CPR was in the 19th. Pick a place in Quebec that is powerful for its symbolic import. Start promoting the First Weld as the notional launch of Energy East. Build community ties around it and stretch them across Canada. Build history around it. Embed it as a pivotal moment in Canada's 150th birthday. Build an eastern Craigellachie. The blueprint is there. Pick a date to celebrate in 2017 and get the momentum going. The allusion of a pan-Canadian pipeline to the CPR's importance is not new: former Enbridge chief Patrick Daniel consistently used the historic reference while promoting the Northern Gateway pipeline. Now it's popular with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and others as they quite correctly argue for pan-Canadian support for the Energy East initiative. But the concept of the First Weld could ignite real grassroots interest in why Energy East's importance transcends the hydrocarbons it will transport. It also offers a way for ordinary Canadians to have their voices heard in a celebratory rather than regulatory context. In his epic poem, Towards the Last Spike, E.J. Pratt valourized the efforts of CPR's proponents and opponents. Like the railway, Pratt's poem has been scrutinized and criticized, intensely interrogated and analyzed by historians and the literati alike. It is indeed a dense work but Pratt - who won a Governor General's Literary Award for it - captures and distills the project's essence, in terms of the interplay between key actors, prevailing politics and the vagaries of climate and geography. He acknowledges the struggles and tensions, but also underscores the railway's importance as a national aspiration. The First Weld: it's the foundation for a new Canadian epic. Let's get everyone excited. Bill Whitelaw is president and CEO at JuneWarren-Nickle's Energy Group. Troy Media I am a dog owner and avid outdoor recreationist. Today, hiking at Crawford falls, I collected handfuls of baggies full of dog feces while returning from my hike. I find it horrible that people are using our beautiful parks and leaving plastic bags full of feces on the trail. I would like to remind people to clean up after their dogs and protect out beautiful outdoor spaces. If you aren't going to clean up after your dog, perhaps you should t have one, or don't bring it to parks and trails. As for the bags, if you aren't going to pack the bag out, kick the feces off the trail, at least then the rain will wash it away. Jason Brescacin Photo: The Canadian Press Patty Duke, who as a teen won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" and maintained a long and successful career throughout her life while battling personal demons, has died at the age of 69. Duke's agent, Mitchell Stubbs, says the actress died early Tuesday morning of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. She died in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, according to Teri Weigel, the publicist for her son, actor Sean Astin. Duke found early success playing the young Keller first on Broadway, then in the acclaimed 1962 film version, both with Anne Bancroft as Helen's teacher, Annie Sullivan. Then in 1963, she burst on the TV scene starring in a sitcom, "The Patty Duke Show," which aired for three seasons. She played dual roles under an unconventional premise: as identical cousins living in Brooklyn, New York. In 2015, she would play twin roles again: as a pair of grandmas on an episode of "Liv and Maddie," a series on the Disney Channel. "We're so grateful to her for living a life that generates that amount of compassion and feeling in others," Astin told The Associated Press in reflecting on the outpouring of sentiment from fans at the news of her death. She had "really, really suffered" with her illness, Astin added. From late last week until early Tuesday morning, he said, "was a really, really, really hard process. It was hard for her, it was hard for the people who love her to help her...." Born Anna Marie Pearce in Queens, New York, on Dec. 14, 1946, Duke had a difficult childhood with abusive parents. By 8 years old she was largely under the control of husband-and-wife talent managers who soon found her work on soap operas and print advertising. In the meantime, they supplied her with alcohol and prescription drugs, which accelerated the effects of her undiagnosed bipolar disorder. In her 1988 memoir, "Call Me Anna," Duke wrote of her condition and its diagnosis only six years earlier, and of the treatment that subsequently stabilized her life. The book became a 1990 TV film in which she starred, and she became an activist for mental health causes, helping to de-stigmatize bipolar disorder. With the end of "The Patty Duke Show" in 1966, which left her stereotyped as not one, but two squeaky-clean teenagers, Duke attempted to leap into adulthood in the 1967 melodrama "Valley of the Dolls," in which she played a showbiz hopeful who falls prey to drug addiction, a broken marriage and shattered dreams. The film, based on the bestselling Jacqueline Susann pulp novel, was critically slammed but a commercial smash. During her career she would win three Emmy Awards, for the TV film "My Sweet Charlie," the miniseries "Captains and the Kings" and the 1979 TV remake of "The Miracle Worker," in which Duke played Annie Sullivan and "Little House on the Prairie" actress Melissa Gilbert as Keller. In the 1980s, she starred in a trio of short-lived sitcoms: "It Takes Two," ''Karen's Song" and "Hail to the Chief," in which she was cast as the first female president of the United States. She starred in several stage productions, including a return to Broadway in 2003 to play Aunt Eller in a revival of the musical "Oklahoma!" By then, she already had spent a dozen years living in Idaho with her fourth husband, Michael Pearce (who survives her), seeking refuge from the clutter, noise and turmoil of big cities, and from the tumultuous life she had weathered in the past. In describing the role of Aunt Eller, and perhaps herself, to The Associated Press, she said, "This is a woman who has had strife in life, made her peace with some of it and has come to the point of acceptance. Not giving up." Photo: Wayne Moore - File photo A preliminary inquiry began today into the fatal April 2015 stabbing of a West Kelowna man. Jose Amestica, 50, was originally charged with aggravated assault after allegedly stabbing Kevin McNally, 44, in a home on Solar Road on April 29. McNally succumbed to his injuries on May 2, and Amesticas charges were upgraded. He has been in custody since the incident, with the multi-day preliminary inquiry beginning on Tuesday. At the time of the stabbing, police said the house and surrounding area were well known to them. Amestica served a six-month jail sentence in 2011, stemming from drug trafficking and breach of probation charges. If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... Council cancels permit for Massachusetts cement plant ICR Newsroom By 29 March 2016 Officials in Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA, have rescinded a permit given to Attleboro Sand & Gravel to allow it to develop a cement plant. Local newspaper the Sun Chronicle reports that the zoning board of appeals ruled that the plant is not allowed in the industrial business park zone where the company's 180-acre property is located. Attleboro Sand & Gravel, which is owned by Massachusetts construction firm the Lorusso Coporation, had argued that since they had previously produced cement at the site they should be allowed to do so in future. However, the appeals board rejected this argument, noting that cement production had lapsed for more than two years. Local residents brought objections to the permit as they feared they would be affected by increased noise and dust. Published under The members of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State legislators said they are joining with the mayors of Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga in opposition to HB0779/SB0749. The bill would allow areas that have been annexed into those cities to vote on de-annexing or withdrawing from the city that annexed them. Caucus Chair Brenda Gilmore said that the majority of the Caucus represents areas that would be adversely affected by the bill and added, The economic issues that these cities could be facing because of this legislation could be catastrophic. The Black Caucus cannot stand idly by while these cities and some of the majority-minority communities around them face the possibility of extreme economic hardship." Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris of Memphis gave an example of one of the targeted areas: Its come to our attention that Hickory Hill, a majority-minority community, could be cut off from police protection, fire service and trash pick-up with no plan for how Shelby County would provide these services. This is a wildly disruptive bill with the potential to bankrupt any city or county in Tennessee, while leaving citizens unsure where to turn for police, fire protection or trash pickup. House Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Towns, also of Memphis, said the bill could re-do annexations that date as far back as the 1980s. Youre going to go back 20 years and change the law? On something thats already set? Thats real sneaky, thats real lowdown. Thats real evil in my opinion. He said the bill "is so far-reaching in its effects, you have to question the motivation behind this after seeing how it targets African-Americans cities and communities. A version of the bill has already passed the House of Representatives. The Senate version is in committee and has been heavily amended, including an amendment that would widen the bill to include the entire state. Senator Sara Kyle of Memphis praised that change saying, It sure was good to see so many from the city of Memphis come together against the path to break up bill. The legislation is scheduled for a second day of hearings in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday. A report from the Comptrollers Offices of Research and Education Accountability examines the way virtual schools are funded in Tennessee.In 2011, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation allowing school districts to establish full-time virtual schools, which must be provided resources as any other public school in the state. Since 2011, nine school districts have established virtual schools: Bradley County, Bristol City, Hamilton County, Metro Nashville, Robertson County, Shelby County, Union County, Washington County, and Wilson County.The Comptrollers Office surveyed the virtual schools last year to learn how they operate and how school districts have allocated funding to them.A profile of each virtual school, which includes funding information, is included in the report.Most virtual schools have small enrollments as a percentage of their school districts enrollment, though Union Countys Tennessee Virtual Academy is the exception: in 2014-15, virtual school students made up 33 percent of the districts enrollment. Collectively, the nine virtual schools served about 0.21 percent of the total statewide K-12 enrollment in SY 2014-15.Funding for virtual schools is most affected by student enrollment, including the number of students served, whether students are full- or part-time, and whether students originate from other districts. Some virtual schools charge tuition for part-time students that live outside the school district in which the virtual school is operated.School districts may manage their own virtual schools or contract for services with nonprofit or for-profit entities. Two districts, Robertson and Union Counties, contract with for-profit providers to operate their virtual schools.The report also examines the academic performance of Tennessees virtual schools. Student academic growth scores are generally lower for virtual schools than the scores of the school districts that established the schools. The report notes that virtual school performance may be affected by the number of students who enroll in virtual schools for short periods of time, and that enrollment changes in virtual schools with small enrollments can affect academic outcomes.Virtual schools that perform significantly below expectations for growth in student achievement for any three consecutive years may have their student enrollment capped or be closed, subject to a decision by Tennessees Commissioner of Education.Follow the Comptrollers Office on twitter: @TNCOT The Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) launched its two-generation approach to poverty with an informational webpage named 2G for Tennessee. The new webpage outlines the Departments strategy for implementing the 2 Gen strategy that creates cycles of success for Tennessee families utilizing the two-generation approach. The two-generation approach has a specific focus on partnering with parents and children together to support them in realizing a pathway toward self-sufficiency and a better quality of life. As an organization, DHS has adopted the strategy and is working to align its programs and services to better serve individuals and families in a manner that supports a lifetime of success. We are really excited about 2G for Tennessee. It offers the state an excellent strategy for intentionally partnering with children and families across Tennessee, said Tennessee Department of Human Services Commissioner Dr. Raquel Hatter. The two-gen approach is a tested innovative strategy to build stronger families, stronger communities, and a stronger Tennessee. The webpage features an in depth description of the two-generation approach from the Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington D.C. It also includes a more granular view of how DHS is implementing two-generational strategies in the primary component areas of education, economic supports, health and well-being, and social capital. In launching its Two-Generation website, the Department of Human Services has taken a bold step forward in its mission to improve the lives of Tennesseans. By implementing and sharing the two-generation approach, specific strategies and outcomes via this dynamic website, Commissioner Hatter and her staff are setting the pace for other human services departments across the nation. Ascend at the Aspen Institute is honored to partner with Commissioner Hatter and support the vision DHS has for families in Tennessee, said Anne Mosle, vice president, the Aspen Institute and executive director, Ascend at the Aspen Institute. As an example, the Department partnered with Families First parents to register over 700 high school seniors for the Tennessee Promise, a scholarship which will provide two years of tuition-free attendance at a community or technical college in Tennessee. Additionally, DHS has enrolled more than 1600 children receiving department administered child care assistance in the Governors Books from Birth Foundations Imagination Library. Officials said, "The webpage is an excellent tool to navigate through with post-secondary students, practitioners, lawmakers, community partners, neighbors and citizens in general. We will be adding to the site as we continue on this journey. Please add your voice to this effort." Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA has signed a contract to purchase the printing ink manufacturer ACTEGA Colorchemie GmbH and its subsidiaries. The latter company, which belongs to ALTANAs ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants division, develops and manufactures water-based flexo printing inks, particularly for printing on corrugated board packaging. By acquiring ACTEGA Colorchemie, Siegwerk is once again expanding its packaging printing offer. The aim is to bundle the strengths of the two companies and to bring together their technological competence and strong service orientation. By integrating the products of ACTEGA Colorchemie into its portfolio, the global printing ink manufacturer can target the needs of its customers even more effectively. ACTEGA Colorchemie sells its products in numerous European countries. The company employs around 140 people at four sites in Germany, France, Austria, and Poland. It is headquartered in Budingen in the German state of Hesse. The transaction is subject to approval by the competition authorities. Until the deal is consummated, Siegwerk and ACTEGA Colorchemie will remain independent from one another with no consequences for customers, employees, and suppliers. The parties have agreed not to reveal the purchase price. Newspapers have settled on a strategy to stop withering away: feast on one another for survival. For the owners of big-city dailies like the Chicago Tribune and Denver Post, buying smaller publications and slashing costs has become a way to buy time while figuring out how to make more money online. That was the logic behind the recent failed attempt by Tribune Publishing Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, to buy two Southern California newspapers. Advertisement Last year, the industry saw the most deals for the largest amount of money since the 2008 financial crisis, with 70 daily newspapers being sold for a combined $827 million, according to mergers-and-acquisitions adviser Dirks, Van Essen & Murray. Gannett Co. bought 15 dailies, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Tribune snapped up the San Diego Union-Tribune; and Warren Buffett's newspaper chain acquired the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Even after last year's surge of activity, more deals may be coming. The pressure to combine is only expected to grow because several media companies have spun off their lucrative TV stations, leaving newspapers to fend for themselves. In the past few years, Tribune, Gannett and News Corp. have been decoupled from their broadcast and TV operations. Advertisement "The case for consolidation has gotten stronger than ever," said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism school. "It is one of the ways that newspapers are repositioning themselves against the digital competition." Some major newspapers can afford to remain solo, especially if they're fortunate enough to have a national brand like the New York Times or to be owned by a billionaire, such as the Washington Post. But the rest of America's newspapers -- many of which are the sole source of professional journalism in their communities -- are hanging on by a thread, 20 years after the Internet first became a competitive threat by siphoning off classified advertising. Not everything in the Fourth Estate is grim. Newsrooms continue to experiment with strategies to draw readers and convince advertisers of their value. Newspaper publishers say they're making progress with niche websites that may have national or global appeal. They've also gotten new sources of revenue from digital subscribers, sponsored events, newsletters and acquisitions of digital startups that have found an audience. To that end, Gannett last week acquired a minority stake in a startup called Spirited Media. Founded by former Washington Post editor Jim Brady, Spirited Media owns a Philadelphia website called Billy Penn that publishes local news and hosts events with sponsors. Gannett's investment will allow the site to expand its model to other cities, the companies said in a statement. The New York Times, meanwhile, has generated more than 1 million paid online subscribers. And Boston Globe Media's new startup, Stat, is trying to reach a global audience interested in health, medicine and science. The site, which started in November, publishes newsletters sponsored by companies such as CVS Health Corp. and is considering hosting events and charging for content, said Rick Berke, the former New York Times editor who runs Stat. "We hope people will pay in some form for journalism they can't get anywhere else," Berke said. Yet for many of those ideas to be fruitful, they need investment and time -- two things in short supply at many newspapers as the once-lucrative print audience disappears. Advertising revenue at U.S. newspapers has plunged to $12 billion this year from $50 billion in 2000, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Print circulation has dropped by half on average since 2005, according to industry analyst Alan Mutter. While online readers are growing, most digital advertising is going to Google, Facebook and other popular websites that don't produce local news. Newspapers are "way behind" the overall growth rate of digital advertising and their share of it is decreasing, said industry analyst Ken Doctor. Advertisement For some, the best strategy is to get bought by a billionaire willing to give the newsroom time and resources to try new things. Under owner Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com Inc., the Washington Post has widened its focus on national and international coverage and added 70 employees to the newsroom, including about 50 reporters and editors, lifting the headcount to about 700. Those moves have helped the paper keep pace with the New York Times in unique U.S. Web visitors. The Globe, backed by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, can even afford experiments that don't succeed, such as Crux, a website focused on the Catholic Church that the newspaper plans to shut down April 1 after not finding enough advertisers. The Globe and The Post are among the fortunate few papers shielded from the pressures of Wall Street. "Most newspaper companies don't have billionaires writing them checks," Mutter said. "They're struggling with shrinking profits." As newspaper chains buy smaller papers and merge them, some worry that coverage of local news will wither further. Yet for many owners, the strategy has been to "maintain profitability by continually diminishing the product and charging more for it," Doctor said. One newspaper owner that is acquiring and combining newspapers is privately held Digital First Media Inc., which is controlled by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Last week the company, which owns about 80 daily newspapers including the Denver Post, bought the Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise in bankruptcy court after a federal judged blocked Tribune from acquiring them on antitrust concerns. Advertisement This month, Digital First Media said it plans to combine six newspapers covering the Bay Area into two and cut 20 percent of the staff, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. After the cuts, the company will have 160 people covering 160 towns across 5,000 square miles, according to Mutter. The company's strategy is to squeeze out profits by attracting local advertising while scaling back on local news reporting, Doctor said. Digital First Media didn't return a request for comment. "They're milking these properties," Doctor said. "As print advertising goes down, they'll cut more staff. This is the unmistakable path at this point." The proprietary technology behind the embattled blood-testing startup Theranos was substantially more likely to flag results as abnormally high or low compared with other companies, according to a new study. Theranos also rejected samples, requiring they be redrawn, 12 times as often as the two dominant blood testing laboratories in the United States and reported consistently lower cholesterol numbers a difference that raises concerns about the accuracy of those tests. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, drew concern from specialists in clinical testing. Although some tests were in good agreement across all three providers, such as triglycerides and red blood cell counts, others diverged "good" HDL cholesterol and white blood cell counts, for example. Theranos was 1.6 times more likely to report abnormal results than Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corporation Holdings of America. Advertisement Part of Theranos' strategy to revolutionize health care is to allow consumers to directly order tests without a physician's supervision, and experts worried in particular that if its results are erroneously flagged as abnormal or are simply low, it could lead consumers astray. "People know if your cholesterol is over 200, perhaps you need to do something about that. And they know that because a '200' is a '200,' pretty much anywhere you get your testing done," said Patricia Jones, the president of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. "The fact that Theranos' results are significantly different, I find concerning. There is allowable error in diagnostics, but according to the paper, Theranos exceeded the total allowable error in that test." Advertisement Theranos' laboratory director Daniel Young, however, said the study suffered from "sloppiness" and pointed out that it simply shows discrepancies between testing services and doesn't compare the measurements to ground truth. It's possible, he said, that Theranos' results are the more accurate, correct ones. "What they're trying to do is suggest that Theranos' results are less accurate or less reliable, but this study doesn't support that at all," Young said. The study began in July 2015, before the hype about Theranos was punctured by a Wall Street Journal investigation that raised deep questions about the company's secretive technology. Months before those revelations, a team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was curious about Theranos, a company that had generated much media coverage, while largely staying mum on the details of how its technique worked generating skepticism in the scientific community. "We definitely see a future where you're doing more regular blood testing to assess wellness and supporting precision medicine, and these new areas of research, so we're not coming at it from the perspective that we're suspicious about Theranos," said Joel Dudley, associate professor of genetics and genomic sciences at Mount Sinai. "In fact, our main motivation was it would be great to use the technology because low-volume blood draws would be an enabler of more regular testing." What they found was some variability across testing services generally, but most notably with Theranos. The researchers asked 60 healthy adults to give finger stick blood samples at Theranos Wellness Centers in Arizona and compared those results with blood drawn from a vein and tested by lab company behemoths Quest and LabCorp. Each person had 22 measurements taken by each service, and two-thirds of them varied significantly between the different services driven in large part by differences in Theranos' results. A margin of variability is expected between testing services, and most of the discrepancies Dudley and his team found "wouldn't throw up huge red flags," he said. But Theranos denounced the study and wrote a critical letter to the journal pointing out problems, and Young said he felt publication should be delayed. For example, Young said that all of the samples were collected after blood had been already drawn from a vein, which might explain the discrepancies between the services. But Dudley responded by explaining that Young's critique was factually incorrect: one set of the venous blood draws had preceded the finger pricks and one set had come before. Dudley added that if Theranos' results can be thrown off by such factors, it should be disclosed. Advertisement The other two companies whose services were used in the study responded to the study less critically than Theranos. "When you cut through all the data, the study points out a concerning lack of agreement between the reference labs (Quest and LabCorp) and the (Theranos) 'low-volume-specimen' lab, especially for heart health, where discrepant results can result in unneeded use of healthcare services, added expense, inconvenience for patients and doctors, or all three," Quest Diagnostics spokesman Dennis Moynihan wrote in an email. LabCorp spokeswoman Pattie A. Kushner wrote that the quality of the specimen collection may matter in testing, and the company could not control for some of the factors that might affect the samples. "Even without being able to fully account for these factors, the study shows that the results of the tests performed by LabCorp are well within established guidelines and meet performance expectations," Kushner wrote. Alan Wu, the chief of the clinical chemistry laboratory at San Francisco General Hospital, who was not involved in the study, said that the results aren't surprising. Last year, he sent some medical students to use Theranos's technology and compare it with lab results, finding discrepancies especially among potassium levels. He noted that a fingerstick blood draw, a key part of the early marketing of Theranos' service, is notoriously difficult to do well. It can throw off the results if other fluids enter the sample as the finger is squeezed, or if there's muscle injury at the cite of the finger stick. "It's not something people would want to do if they knew the inaccuracies," Wu said. "The bottom line is I'm not surprised that we see differences; my understanding that the differences between Quest and Lab Corp. were minimal and the differences between those two and Theranos were where the majority occurred." Advertisement Theranos currently offers its proprietary technology for a single test, herpes, which was not included in the sample examined in the study. Young argued there were clear mistakes: By looking internally at their own data, Theranos identified the people who had participated in the study and discovered that the authors had incorrectly classified some of the "good" HDL cholesterol levels as low when they were not in fact low according to Theranos criteria. Dudley, who led the study, disclosed that he owns equity in a company called NuMedii that is focused on using data analysis to identify new uses for existing drugs. Another co-author of the paper, Eric Schadt, is on the scientific advisory board of NuMedii, but his connection was not disclosed in the paper. Schadt does not hold equity in the company and has not interacted with it for more than two years, so it did not trigger the journal's requirements for disclosing conflicts of interest, Dudley said. Theranos spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said that the company planned to publish results showing the validity of its tests sometime this year. "The one thing that made laboratory professionals wary about it (Theranos) was because when we develop a new method, we publish it, we get it out there. And other people start using it and pretty soon everybody's using the method and it's a good method," Jones said. "The fact that nobody knows anything about this method makes us wary." Donald Trump supporter Birgitt Peterson, center, of Yorkville, argues with protesters on March 11, 2016, outside the UIC Pavilion after the rally for the Republican presidential candidate was canceled. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) The son of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted an apology Monday night about the misidentification of a woman at Chicago's canceled Trump rally as a Bernie Sanders supporter seen in a viral photo giving the Nazi salute. "Nazi salute woman at Chicago rally wasn't Bernie supporter Portia Boulger was someone else. Got bad info. My apologies," Donald Trump Jr. wrote, clarifying his support of someone else's tweet about Boulger from two weeks earlier. His apology tweet was retweeted more than 350 times and got more than 1,000 likes. Advertisement The woman in the photo taken by a Tribune photographer outside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion on March 11 is shown wearing a Trump shirt and was identified as Birgitt Peterson, 69, of Yorkville, as reported in a Tribune story the next day. Peterson said she emigrated from West Berlin and has been a U.S. citizen since 1982. White House spokesman Josh Earnest says neither President Barack Obama, nor his predecessor, would have put up with the behavior that led to a battery charge against Donald Trump's campaign manager. March 30, 2016. (AP) (Associated Press) The Ohio woman Trump Jr. called out on Twitter gave her own response on social media. Advertisement "Why did it take two weeks for you to apologize? What was your goal (in) all this? Did you think about me or my family?" Boulger tweeted. "Do you understand the ramifications of your actions? Do you know understand how you caused me a horrible two weeks?" she said in another tweet. Someone on Twitter asked if Boulger thought if he was genuinely sorry or avoiding a potential lawsuit. Her Twitter response: "Well, it didn't seem very sincere. May want to ask him. Maybe his dad knows. I was taught better that's for sure." Boulger is an organizer for Women for Bernie. The woman in the photo and her husband defended her actions, saying the salute happened during an argument with protesters. Peterson, a Trump supporter, said protesters told her she was there to vote for Hitler and started giving her the Nazi gesture. Peterson said she asked them if they knew what the salute meant. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Her husband, Donald, told the Tribune, "So Birgitt decided to teach them to do it.'' He insisted they were not Nazis. Tribune photographer Jason Wambsgans said he had more than a dozen photos of Peterson giving the Nazi salute but did not see any protesters offering the same gesture and has no photos showing that. A protester photographed with Peterson, Michael Joseph Garza, disagreed with Peterson's account, telling the Tribune he did not believe the woman was responding to anyone else when she did the salute. Advertisement "I went up to her and said, 'Ma'am, please leave, we have understood you, we have made a (path for your exit),' " Garza recalled. "She said, 'Go? Back in my day, this is what we did,' basically, and then she hailed Hitler." The Tribune's Rosemary Regina Sobol and Gregory Pratt contributed. lvivanco@tribpub.com Twitter @lvivanco Surrounded by family, Eddie Johnson is sworn in as the new Police Superintendent by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on April 13, 2016. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune) Eddie Johnson has kept a relatively low profile throughout his 27-year career as a Chicago cop. When Mayor Rahm Emanuel's search for a new police superintendent went off track in recent days, Johnson was practically hiding in plain sight, only recently promoted to chief of patrol. Advertisement Despite his reputation as a cop's cop who knows Chicago's tough streets well while remaining empathetic to community concerns, Johnson had never even applied for the permanent post after Garry McCarthy's firing in the blowup over the disturbing video of Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by an officer. On Monday, Emanuel introduced Johnson as his clear favorite for the permanent post while the Chicago Police Board conducts a second search. Advertisement In explaining his decision not to apply for the post after McCarthy's departure, Johnson's answer reflected the humble, quiet personality many colleagues have described. "Well, in my 27 years as a police officer, I've never applied for any position," Johnson, clad in his dress blues, said during a news conference at police headquarters. "I kind of went where I was told to go and did it to the best of my abilities." Before a throng of reporters and photographers, Johnson also said a key reason he didn't apply was because he knew John Escalante had applied for the permanent post. Escalante, who had been appointed interim superintendent after Emanuel fired McCarthy in December, had promoted Johnson to chief of patrol. "So out of support for him, I didn't apply," Johnson said. But Emanuel, dissatisfied with the three finalists chosen by his hand-picked Police Board, has picked Johnson to succeed Escalante in the interim post while the Police Board goes back to the drawing board. At the news conference, Johnson spoke briefly of his vision for the department but made little in the way of news. Emanuel revealed that when the department equips its officers with body cameras, Johnson plans to wear one "to lead by example" and expected his commanders to do so as well. Twice, he repeated key lines from his speech for added emphasis. He said the central challenge facing the Chicago police today is to win the trust of the community. Advertisement "I know that trust has been broken too often, not just in Chicago but across America, where abusive police practices have occurred," Johnson said. But he also emphasized the difficulty of the work that police must do everyday. "It asks much of our officers and carries considerable risk," he said. "In a world with so many guns and so many people willing to use them, those risks are greater than ever before." The job has become even more difficult with the greater scrutiny officers undergo, Johnson said. "Expectations are higher, the demands are greater and there's less tolerance for honest mistakes," he said. Johnson said he was confident that the department could meet the challenges it faces. Advertisement "Countless incidents of courage and professionalism far outweigh the few examples of excessive force," he said. "Nevertheless, these incidents, no matter how isolated, undermine our department and our relationship with the community. "We have to own it, and we have to end it. Let me say that again. We have to own it, and we have to end it." A Chicago native and father of three who has a grandchild, Johnson, 55, grew up in some of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods. He lived in the former Cabrini-Green public housing complex until he was 9 when his family moved to the South Side's Washington Heights neighborhood, where he still lives today. Some experts on policing reform contend that a modern chief has to take the lead by going into the neighborhoods, finding the people and institutions who can help battle crime. The pressure has never been higher than it is today in Chicago, and Johnson earned the support from at least one anti-violence group that has been tackling the city's intractable gang problem for years while sometimes at odds with the department. "The answers lay within the communities," CeaseFire Illinois said in a written statement, "and a CPD leader familiar with and respected in these neighborhoods will help restore much-needed trust that will make our communities and neighborhoods safer for all of us." Advertisement Others praised Johnson's selection as well, saying he understands not only what plagues the city's tougher neighborhoods but also the challenges faced by officers. "I think he can relate to the beat policeman. He knows what it's like out there responding to 911 calls," said Officer Brian Warner, who started an organization to support officers who survive shootings and other critical incidents. "... Being from some of the tougher areas of Chicago, he can relate to the community just as well as the police. He has lived here his whole life. He gets the politics of it. He knows what he is up against." Johnson wasted no time making changes to his command staff as part of his first order of business. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > His former post as chief of patrol will be filled by Fred Waller, a deputy chief of patrol overseeing beat patrols in several violence-plagued South Side districts. Promoted to Waller's job will be Kevin Navarro, the commander of the Area South detective division. In addition, Escalante will return to his post as first deputy superintendent, the department's No. 2 job. In the coming weeks, Johnson said he plans to meet with aldermen, activists, residents and community and business leaders. Advertisement "We'll talk about what's gone well and what's gone wrong and how we can make things right," he said. "We'll talk about what we have in common and our desire for safe neighborhoods where we can raise our kids and not have to worry about them walking to school or playing in the park." Chicago Tribune's David Heinzmann contributed. jgorner@trib.pub.com asweeney@tribpub.com Joliet City Council members said Monday they would help the city's troubled Rialto Square Theatre out of its latest financial jam but the theater will have to follow the city's script. Council members directed the city manager to come up with an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the Will County Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority board, which oversees the theater. At their April 5 meeting, council members are expected to vote on the agreement, which will include funding to cover past-due federal income tax withholding payments. The WCMEAA board will discuss the agreement at its meeting April 6. Advertisement Council members discussed fronting part of the city's annual subsidy of $600,000 to the Rialto to help cover the past-due payroll taxes. They also said the agreement might make funds available to guarantee payment for two upcoming shows featuring Pauly Shore and Larry the Cable Guy. Council members, however, stressed that as part of the deal Rialto officials must grant the city's inspector general full access to theater records. Advertisement "Our inspector general has to have full disclosure and full access," Councilwoman Jan Quillman said. "Otherwise, I'm going to fight to withhold the rest of the funding." The city has already released $160,000 of the $600,000 subsidy this year. A payment of $140,000 was expected to be released this Friday. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The theater has a long history of financial struggles, the latest coming to light earlier this month when WCMEAA board members learned federal income tax withholding payments totaling more than $120,000 had not been paid from November through February. Financial records also show the theater owes about $400,000 to vendors and other debtors and has only about $70,000 cash on hand. The city's finance director has reviewed financial records, but Inspector General Chris Regis said he has not been granted full access to Rialto records. Rialto officials denied that claim Monday. WCMEAA board members earlier this month unanimously voted not to renew a contract with the Rialto's general manager, Randy Green, and placed him on paid administrative leave. The board is expected to discuss a separation agreement with Green, though an attorney for the board said talks have reached an "impasse." After learning about the theater's recent financial troubles, producers for the two upcoming shows demanded guarantees that payment would be made at the end of their shows or the shows would be canceled. WCMEAA board President Dan Vera noted that a portion of the money for the upcoming shows has already been paid, but it was unclear how much money would be needed for final payment. Vera noted the theater will be able to make the upcoming payroll and tax payment. The Rialto, which opened in 1926, dates to the vaudeville era and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Restoration efforts saved it from the wrecking ball, and officials have long hoped it would boost the revitalization of downtown Joliet. As well as hosting live performances, the Rialto is used for wedding receptions and other functions. Advertisement Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Gov. Bruce Rauner waves hello as he is given a tour of Wilmette Junior High School on March 28, 2016. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune) A key piece of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's multifront effort to chip away at union influence in Illinois was dealt a blow Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law that allows government employee unions to collect fees from nonmembers. One of Rauner's first acts after taking over last year was to try to stop such fees from being passed on to unions. The issue ended up in a lawsuit that's pending in federal court in Chicago. Advertisement A similar case in California got to the high court first. In a 4-4 split decision, the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling that rejected an Orange County teacher's claim that her free-speech rights were violated by being forced to support the union through about $650 a year in fees. The tie vote was a relief to unions, who had been bracing for an unfavorable ruling after oral arguments in January indicated that a majority of the justices were skeptical of the fair-share arrangement. The death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month left the court without a majority, leading to the split decision. Advertisement Asked about the ruling during a school visit in LeRoyin east-central Illinois, Rauner called it a "tragic decision by the court." "It's a loss for freedom of speech and freedom of political expression in the United States, it's a loss for teachers, I think it's a loss for all government employees," Rauner said. "It was clear that Justice Scalia would have supported freedom of speech and political affiliation and that decision would have gone the other way, but the court was split 4-4 and therefore upheld the lower court." Unions applauded the Supreme Court's split decision but warned that it was likely not the final word on the issue. "There's no doubt that these same wealthy special interests will continue their attacks in this venue and others and attempt to use the courts to bring further challenges to the rights of workers," said Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the largest union for state workers in Illinois. Illinois is one of about two-dozen states that requires its workers to pay "fair share" fees to public employee unions if they are not union members. The theory is that workers who are not part of a union still benefit from its services, such as negotiating new contracts and handling worker grievances, even if they don't support the union's political agenda. Fair-share fees allow the union to collect money from nonmembers to cover the cost of those services, but those dollars can't be spent on political activities such as campaign contributions. Last year, Rauner issued an executive order that directed the state to stop passing fair-share fees on to unions, arguing that it's impossible to ensure that the fees aren't used for political activity because the unions directly negotiate with the government. Anticipating legal blowback, Rauner also filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have his decision declared legal and hoping to bring the issue to the Supreme Court. Rauner also had weighed in on the California case, filing a brief with the Supreme Court in which he contended that public sector union activities in Illinois can't be separated between political and nonpolitical. Advertisement "Even those union activities that are confined to collective bargaining have significant political implications," Rauner's lawyers wrote. "Enriched by contributions from members and nonmembers alike, public sector unions in Illinois, whose labor and management sit on the same side of the table, have negotiated wages and benefits that have unrealistically kept going up while the state economy has kept going down. The connection is hardly coincidental." Rauner's attempt to withhold Illinois workers' fair-share fees was put on hold last year when a judge in St. Clair County ordered the state to keep passing the fees along while the matter continued to play out in court. When Rauner tried to press the issue in federal court, a judge dismissed him from the case, saying Rauner lacked standing to challenge public unions in his official capacity because he had "no personal interest at stake." Three workers who also were contesting the payments were allowed to proceed with their own complaint, and Rauner on Tuesday said he hopes that case will bring the matter back to the high court. "Our case is winding its way through the courts and it will get to the Supreme Court probably at some point in the future," Rauner said. "And we will just continue the fight for the freedom of political expression and the right of free speech for government employees. It's a fundamental issue." kgeiger@tribpub.com mcgarcia@tribpub.com ANCHORAGE, Alaska The activity level of an Alaska volcano has declined after the mountain erupted with a massive ash cloud that prompted the cancellation of dozens of flights. The U.S. Geological Survey said in a news release late Monday night that the intensity of the eruption had "declined significantly." Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska's most active volcanoes, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. The volcano in the 8,261-foot mountain erupted about 4 p.m. Sunday, spitting out an ash cloud that rose to 20,000 feet. Lightning over the mountain and pressure sensors indicated eruptions continued overnight Sunday. By 7 a.m. Monday, the ash cloud had risen to 37,000 feet and winds to 50 mph or more had stretched it over more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. "It's right in the wheelhouse of a lot of flights crisscrossing Alaska," said geologist Chris Waythomas, of the U.S. Geological Survey, part of the Alaska Volcano Observatory, along with the University of Alaska and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. In its statement late Monday, the USGS said that the volcano's activity decline began around noon Monday and that by late at night a continuous emission was no longer being observed by satellite. Consequently, a volcano alert that had been at its highest level, warning of hazards both in the air and on the ground was downgraded from a warning to a watch. But the agency said that a significant eruption was still possible. Earlier in the day, Alaska Airlines said it cancelled 41 flights affecting about 3,300 customers heading to Fairbanks, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Barrow and Deadhorse. The airline said it will resume its 54 regularly scheduled flights on Tuesday if conditions improve. Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and has been used as an industrial abrasive. The powdered rock can cause a jet engine to shut down. USGS geologists have compared it to flying into a sand blaster. An eruption of Mount Redoubt in December 1989 sent out an ash cloud 150 miles that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers to Anchorage. The jet dropped more than two miles before pilots were able to restart the engines and land safely. "We just simply will not fly when ash is present," Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said. Waythomas had received no reports of ash falling in communities. The closest community, Cold Bay, is 37 miles southwest of the volcano, opposite of where the wind was blowing ash. Geologists call Pavlof an open-system volcano, Waythomas said. "The pathways that magma follows to the surface are pretty open in a volcanological sense," Waythomas said. "They can convey magma and gas very easily. Magmas can move to the surface whenever they feel like it, more or less." The movement comes with little shaking of the ground, and the lack of earthquakes as an early warning of an eruption "makes us go crazy monitoring them," Waythomas said. The volcano, about 4.4 miles in diameter, has had 40 known eruptions. Its conical, nearly symmetrical shape indicates its eruptions tend to be less violent than the kind that blows tops off mountains. "It can erupt for periods of hours to days or it can go on for much longer periods of time," Waythomas said. "It won't erupt continuously for many months or a year. It will be intermittent. But the eruption cycle could go on for a while, or it could abruptly shut off and be done tomorrow." Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska's most active volcanoes, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on Advertisement Associated Press LARNACA, Cyprus A man described as "psychologically unstable" hijacked a flight Tuesday from Egypt to Cyprus and threatened to blow it up. His explosives turned out to be fake, and he surrendered with all passengers released unharmed after a bizarre six-hour standoff. As more became known about the motive of the 59-year-old Egyptian who was taken into custody, authorities characterized the commandeering of the EgyptAir jetliner not as an act of terrorism but more like a "family feud" with his former wife. Advertisement The aviation drama ended peacefully on the tarmac of Larnaca airport on the island nation's southern coast with the surrender of a man identified by Cypriot and Egyptian authorities as Seif Eddin Mustafa. The incident was likely to renew concerns about Egyptian airport security months after a Russian passenger plane was blown out of the sky over the Sinai Peninsula in a bombing claimed by the Islamic State group. Advertisement But Egyptian officials stressed that their security measures were not to blame, and there was praise for the EgyptAir flight crew. Pilot Amr Gamal told The Associated Press: "We rescued all the people and the man got arrested." EgyptAir Flight 181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria for a 30-minute hop to Cairo with at least 72 people aboard, Cyprus police said, including about two dozen foreigners. At some point, the hijacker claimed to have explosives in his belt and forced the pilot to fly the Airbus 320 to Cyprus, Egyptian authorities said. Egyptian passenger Farah el-Dabani told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the hijacker was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked. "There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash," she said in a telephone interview. After the jet landed in Larnaca about 9 a.m., the hijacker asked to speak to his Cypriot ex-wife, who was brought to the airport, and he sent out a letter from the aircraft to give to her, said Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides. The foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry said. The nationalities of three other foreigners could not be determined immediately. Most of the passengers were freed, and they calmly walked down a set of stairs from the plane, carrying their hand luggage and boarding a bus. But he kept on board seven people: four members of the flight crew and three passengers. Advertisement Mustafa later asked to speak to European Union representatives, and among his demands were the release of female inmates held in Egyptian prisons. "It was one demand he made, then dropped it and made another," Kasoulides said. "His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously." From the start, "it was clear that this wasn't an act of terrorism," he added. "Despite the fact that the individual appeared to be dangerous in terms of his behavior, we understood that this was a psychologically unstable person," he said. Hussein Abdelkarim Tantaway Mubarak, Egypt's ambassador to Cyprus, said the whole affair "looks like it was a family feud." "As far as I know, I think he has a family problem, probably with members of his family, probably his ex-wife or something," Mubarak added. Advertisement A Cypriot police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give out details of the investigation said the hijacker and his wife were divorced in 1994, and the couple had four children. The hijacker eventually realized there was "no chance" any of his demands would be met, Kasoulides said, and he left the plane, where he was immediately arrested by anti-terrorism police. The belt of explosives turned out to be "telephone cases" made to look like they were explosives. Just minutes before the arrest, several people were seen also getting off the aircraft, and a crew member later identified as Ahmed el-Qaddah climbed out of the cockpit window and slid down the side of the plane in accordance with his training for such emergencies. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism." Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. "Always, there is a woman," he replied, drawing laughter. But the mood aboard the hijacked aircraft was anything but light-hearted. Advertisement A veiled female passenger told Egyptian TV upon arrival back in Cairo: "We were terrified but cooperating." The woman, who was not identified, said she thought the explosives had been real. "I felt like the man can just press the button, and we will be gone," she said. A middle-aged male passenger who also didn't identify himself told the broadcaster, "The situation was very hard, more than anyone can imagine." He also praised the flight crew, saying they "were like a psychiatrists to the hijacker." The flight crew and passengers who returned to Cairo on Tuesday night broke into tears while hugging and kissing their waiting families. Mustafa is to appear in court Wednesday, where authorities will ask that he be held on a number of unspecified charges, said police spokesman Andreas Angelides. Advertisement Mubarak said "it's amazing" how the hijacker managed to convince passengers and crew that he had a belt of explosives strapped to him when he actually had no weapons. Police in Cairo questioned Mustafa's relatives, said Sharif Faisal, the police chief for the industrial suburb of Helwan. Islam Magdy, a taxi driver who lives in the same five-story house as Mustafa's sister, described him as "a mysterious person," with police inquiring about him. Egypt's Interior Ministry released surveillance video that it said showed Mustafa being thoroughly searched at the Alexandria airport. It said his hand luggage held items that he later used to "give the impression that he is wearing an explosive belt." Aviation expert Philip Baum said the EgyptAir crew "seems to have responded to this incident in an exemplary fashion." "The idea that the air crew should have taken steps to overpower the hijacker is, I believe, wrong," said Baum, author of "Violence in the Skies: A History of Aircraft Hijacking and Bombing." Advertisement Flight attendant Nihal el-Barqouqi played a role in convincing the hijacker to free the passengers once the plane landed in Cyprus, Egyptian TV reported. "We managed with diplomacy ... to get the passengers out," co-pilot Ahmed el-Qaddah told the broadcaster. Security at Egyptian airports has been under scrutiny since the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian jetliner in the Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg, Russia. All 224 people on board were killed. Russia later said a bomb brought down the aircraft, and the Islamic State group took responsibility. Russia suspended all air links to Egypt after the revelations about the bombing, dealing a major blow to the Egyptian tourism industry. Associated Press It has been more than a year since the infamous news conference at the United Nations, at which Hillary Clinton falsely asserted, "I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material." For a year the Clinton campaign has raised a number of specious excuses: "It was allowed"; other secretaries did the same (not true); the emails were only retroactively classified (not true); there was no risk classified information might have been compromised (unfounded); and her offenses were not serious (highly questionable). Even the most loyal Clinton supporters should by now recognize the seriousness of her problems. The FBI does not assign 147 people to investigate something trivial, "allowed" or lacking national security implications. Advertisement If it was obvious that no case against Clinton existed, the FBI would not have methodically gathered information and waited until the end or nearly the end of the investigation to interview the main culprit. That's exactly what occurred here, according to the Los Angeles Times: "The interviews by FBI agents and prosecutors will play a significant role in helping them better understand whether Clinton or her aides knowingly or negligently discussed classified government secrets over a non-secure email system when she served as secretary of State. Advertisement "The meetings also are an indication that much of the investigators' background work recovering deleted emails, understanding how the server operated and determining whether it was breached is nearing completion. "'The interviews are critical to understand the volume of information they have accumulated," said James McJunkin, former head of the FBI's Washington field office. "They are likely nearing the end of the investigation and the agents need to interview these people to put the information in context. They will then spend time aligning these statements with other information, emails, classified documents, etc., to determine whether there is a prosecutable case.'" If the FBI had determined, like so many Clinton defenders, that there was no THERE, its agents would not bother interviewing the former secretary of state and now Democratic presidential front-runner. If there was no pattern of deliberate evasion of classification rules, Clinton would not now be potentially facing legal jeopardy. But, as The Washington Post reported, Clinton was determined to avoid administration directives even about her BlackBerry. ("From the earliest days, Clinton aides and senior officials focused intently on accommodating the secretary's desire to use her private email account, documents and interviews show.") Her contempt for the rules that the lowliest government employee must abide by suggests a shocking indifference to the law and the rationale behind security measures. ("Throughout, they paid insufficient attention to laws and regulations governing the handling of classified material and the preservation of government records, interviews and documents show. They also neglected repeated warnings about the security of the BlackBerry while Clinton and her closest aides took obvious security risks in using the basement server.") If it was not her intent to compromise national security, it is certainly fair to say it was her intent to ignore restrictions associated with her BlackBerry and private server. With the year-long investigation reaching its conclusion, Clinton's fate likely the outcome of the 2016 presidential race rests in the hands of the FBI, the one agency arguably beyond the political influence of Clinton or the administration. Should it criticize or point out lapses of judgment in her conduct without recommending prosecution, she will likely continue her march to the nomination. In a general election against Donald Trump, even Republicans may find that as egregious as her lapse in judgment may have been, the danger inherent in a Trump presidency is so great that the country would be better off in her hands than his. Should the FBI find, however, that she either intentionally compromised classified material or was negligent in her handling of classified material, it will be compelled to refer the case for prosecution. At that point it may make no difference politically if the Justice Department proceeds or not (although career Justice Department officials would be wary about the perception of covering up or ignoring evidence of a crime). The finding by the FBI that there is the basis for prosecution in and of itself would make her candidacy problematic in the extreme. (Would President Obama pardon her? What would happen if she were elected and then indicted?) The potential for FBI action, incidentally, should influence her VP pick, if it comes before a final decision by the FBI. With the FBI's action hanging over her head, the VP pick had better be someone who could plausibly win without her and/or govern in her absence; choosing an inexperienced lightweight for electoral concerns may no longer be an option. Better to look for a current or former senator or governor who could beat Trump, if need be. (California Gov. Jerry Brown?) Advertisement As the potential for a Trump nomination increases, a great number of Republicans who will never vote for Trump (in large part because of his unsuitability to serve as commander in chief) may be faced with the unimaginable. Clinton has become the safety cord to pull, the least horrible of two horrible alternatives and at least a semi-responsible commander in chief, they reason, if Trump captures the GOP nomination. What if their backup plan, Hillary, gets knocked out by the FBI and there is no third candidate? (Rueful voters may be asking themselves, Just because Clinton messed up with her server, does the country deserve to get stuck with Trump?) The potential for a Trump-Bernie Sanders or Trump-Clinton's VP pick general election should panic both Democrats and Republicans. Perhaps Vice President Joe Biden's staff should start figuring out how to parachute into the Democratic National Convention. He may be the backup to the backup for despondent voters. Washington Post Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective. I can't be the only reporter whose inbox is regularly refilled with denouncements of Barack Obama as "the worst president in American history." I put quotes around the phrase because its nearly unvarying form and widespread use suggests it has become a mantra for a slice of the populace. It is akin to the presidential epitaphs we learned in grade school: Washington was "the Father of his country." Lincoln was the "Great Liberator." Advertisement Obama, his detractors say, is the worst. Not just a bad president, not even a really bad president, but the absolute worst. Case closed. Usually when we dislike someone, we're willing to concede him a redeeming quality or two, like: "My brother-in-law is a jerk, but he and my wife have always been close." Or: "My neighbor is a real blowhard, but he did bring over his snow blower after that big storm." Advertisement Myself, I'd put Richard Nixon on a list of bad presidents, citing the Watergate scandal and breaking into the offices of Daniel Ellsberg's shrink, looking for something to smear the anti-war activist who leaked the Pentagon Papers. But after turning red in the face while reciting my grievances, I'd calm down and add: "But I have to give Nixon credit for helping restore relations with China." That's how politics is supposed to be transacted in a civil society: by disagreeing with opponents but not demonizing them. By listening to them, not yelling at them. Not so with Obama. By now, the role of resentments in this year's primaries has been widely acknowledged. Many voters are energized by feelings that they have been short-changed, that their concerns have been sidetracked in favor of those of minorities, women, even unauthorized immigrants, though they can't vote. Yet, if my emails are any measure, this fall's presidential election will be marked by an even more powerful emotion: raw, unadulterated hate. It doesn't matter that Obama's name won't be on the ballot. I've been told that he's the worst president when I write a story about him. I get the same emails after a piece in which he isn't even mentioned. Hate is resistant to facts. To be America's worst president is a feat akin to winning a limbo contest. The bar has been set very low. John Tyler was expelled from his own Whig Party. His Cabinet resigned en masse. Ulysses Grant and Warren Harding presided over corrupt administrations. Four years before the Civil War broke out, James Buchanan's inaugural address proclaimed slavery "happily, a matter of but little practical importance." I haven't heard Obama's detractors weighing his defects against Tyler's and his fellow nonentities. Indeed, they scarcely offer any evidence for their conviction. It doesn't need proof. It's similar to what the Declaration of Independence called "self evident" truths. (Though I suspect that anti-Obama true believers would reject that analogy. In Thomas Jefferson's enumeration of those self-evident truths, he listed a belief that "all men are created equal.") Advertisement When someone gives passing grades to John Tyler and James Buchanan and flunks Barack Obama, I strongly suspect he isn't judging their accomplishments against their faults. He is not doing the math; he is looking at their skin color. One of the strangest accusations against Obama is that he has weakened America not just because he didn't have the smarts or skills for the job, but with malice aforethought. Why on Earth would he do that? The common denominator of all politicians the cynical and the do-gooder, liberals and conservatives is a taste for the trappings of power. Motorcycle sirens blaring alongside a limousine. Secret Service agents trotting alongside. In high school, I ran for senior class president. Had I won, there was no way I was going to give up the attendant powers, limited as they were: leading the grand march at the prom, planning the line of the procession for the graduation exercises. So why would any president want to harm a country where the band plays "Hail to the Chief" when he enters a room? Unless, of course, he or she is evil incarnate. That is what I hear people saying when pronouncing Obama the worst of the worst. In their eyes, his unforgivable sin is simply being black. Sadly, his term began with excitement, with hopes that America was, at long last, setting racism aside. It is ending with a postponement of Martin Luther King's forecast of victory: the day when his "four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." rgrossman@tribpub.com There is still a lot of foot dragging and paralysis among Republicans as they contemplate supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But Republicans can support Cruz and feel good about it. It is unfair to suggest that between himself and Donald Trump, Cruz is the "lesser of two evils." For months now, I have been bewildered as to why Cruz and Trump are always referenced together, as if they have some similarities. Cruz has real intellectual depth, and it's not just that he has a sufficient IQ or good educational credentialing he's a student of government and of history. You can bet that everything from his personnel selections to his policy positions would be informed, thoroughly thought through and defensible. Advertisement So what problems does Cruz really have? He has been a gratuitous irritant to his colleagues in the Senate, and sometimes he crosses the line with personal vitriol and engages in pointless grandstanding. That's not good, but it's not disqualifying either. In fact, I think that to be effective, a little stubbornness is in order. While courting voters in Wisconsin on March 24, 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz used strong words for rival Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. He said Trump is "a sniveling coward" who has a problem with women. (AP) (Associated Press) Some claim that Cruz is a phony; that he's really not belligerent but acts that way so he will be viewed as an outsider. If that's true, then he should get credit for having a good political antenna. Let's face it: The two candidates leading the Republican nomination race are the two who are the most distant from the so-called establishment. Advertisement A more real problem for Cruz is that some voters, particularly women, think he comes across as harsh and lecturing and feel his style and cadence are better-suited for a Southern church pulpit than the podium at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. OK, so there are certain parts of his presentation that need work in order to maximize his appeal. But by all accounts, Cruz takes criticism pretty well and would listen to his advisers. And as Cruz tries to unite the Republicans who are opposed to Trump, the senator is seeking the support of the party regulars he has long criticized. An artful line by Jonathan Martin and Matt Flegenheimer in the New York Times piece "Ted Cruz names friends, but silence from GOP brass deafens" perfectly describes Cruz's dilemma: "The decision by so many leading Republicans to remain on the sidelines is all the more notable because it appears inversely proportional to the scale of concern about Mr. Trump." I have no doubt the smart people at the Cruz campaign have thought long and hard about the wisdom of pursuing endorsements from "establishment Republicans." Republicans need to get over it whatever "it" is and they should be doing all they can for Cruz. (In full disclosure, I contributed to the Cruz campaign last July and I will do so again. I'm trying to persuade my wife to give, but so far I haven't been successful.) Given the nature of politics, if Cruz wins Wisconsin (he was endorsed by Gov. Scott Walker), he might have friends coming out of the woodwork. At the end of the day, people like winners and in politics, winning begets winning. Despite his flaws, Cruz doesn't have any personality problems that a winning streak wouldn't solve. Washington Post Former Aurora Mayor Al McCoy died Saturday. A visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Healy Chapel at 332 W. Downer Place in Aurora. A funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m. Thursday at Holy Angels Church in Aurora. (Handout / Handout) As one of the successors to Mayor Al McCoy, who died peacefully Saturday at the age of 89, I rarely drive down McCoy Drive without thinking of him or his monumental accomplishments. After all, it was under his administration that the city of Aurora annexed huge swatches of cornfields that separated Aurora, population 75,000, and the quiet City of Naperville, population 23,000, and precipitated a future of much greater scale for both. Doing a development deal of no small proportions, the cutting edge commercial "phenom" named the Fox Valley "Mall" and the surrounding residential subdivisions known collectively as Fox Valley Villages were created. Aurora, once a sedate, though large, industrial community, was changed forever. Advertisement The Route 59 corridor, then a semi-rural, two-lane highway, has since become the most successful commercial corridor outside of Chicago. Happily, Mayor McCoy lived long enough to see and enjoy the fruits of his labors. Al McCoy served as Aurora's mayor during what the Chinese might have called, in understated fashion, "interesting times." His tenure, from 1965 to 1977, included three terms during the height of American industrial dominance (and the beginning of its demise), the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, and Watergate. Advertisement Perhaps the thing that impresses me most about McCoy and clear evidence of both his courage and his character was his close and lasting relationship with Marie Wilkinson, Aurora's best known civil rights activist and a moral paragon, herself. While the history of racial segregation and mistreatment of African Americans has often been considered a phenomenon of the South, the truth is that African Americans in Aurora had very limited choices as to where they could live in the 1960s. Marie Wilkinson used a combination of unmitigated persistence, unmatched persuasion and irresistible charm to change all that and, over time, Al McCoy became not only her partner in that effort, but also her life-long friend. It is said that Mayor McCoy and Marie Wilkinson spoke to each other almost daily throughout his years as mayor and long afterward. Surely, Aurora is a better city for that, today. Al McCoy's friendship with Marie Wilkinson was indicative of a man without "airs," a man who was always willing to listen a man of common decency, so uncommon, now, in the world of politics. He is a poignant reminder, in this ugly and divisive period of American history, that it is possible to be a good politician and a good human being at the same time. The next time you drive down McCoy Drive, whisper a quiet thank you. I think that Al, good listener that he was, will hear you. Tom Weisner is mayor of Aurora Gov. George Ryan handles a drum as he stops on Oct. 24, 1999, to listen to a street band in Old Havana. "What makes this all so beautiful is not the island . . . but the people," he said on his second day in Cuba with an Illinois delegation. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) SPRINGFIELD Cuba should become the 51st state. That revelation was shared with me last week by a man who knows Cuba and U.S. politics well former Illinois Gov. George Ryan. Advertisement "I can't imagine why the people there wouldn't want to become a part of the United States. The people there are really suffering. It's only 90 miles off our shore. It just makes sense. And from a strategic sense it makes sense for us it would keep other countries from putting their missiles there or establishing military bases." Sixteen years ago, I traveled to Cuba with Ryan to write about his efforts to normalize relations and trade between the two nations. Advertisement And I called him this past week to get his thoughts on President Barack Obama's historic visit to that communist country. "I think the president did absolutely the right thing in going there. I'm glad we now have diplomatic relations with Cuba, but now we need to get rid of that trade embargo. It's hurting a lot of innocent people." Ryan was released from federal prison two and a half years ago after serving five years on corruption charges. During his time in office, Ryan made more than his share of mistakes, but he is a free man now who can express his own opinions. It's worth noting that the idea of making a state out of Cuba is hardly a new one. At least three U.S. presidents during the 1800s attempted to purchase Cuba from Spain. They each failed. Even the Confederate States of America viewed Cuba as a potential future state if they were ever able to secede from the U.S. Regardless, Cubans are a proud, patriotic people. I have trouble seeing them ever giving up their sovereignty to become a state as Ryan proposes. But the many Cubans I spoke with during my two trips to that island nation long for freedom from their nation's communist regime. It's worth noting that during his 2000 visit to Cuba, Ryan pioneered normalizing relations between the two nations. Advertisement "Bill Clinton was president at the time. Officially they didn't approve of our trip. But behind the scenes they were cheering us on," Ryan said. "We talked to someone with the administration every day." Someone who wasn't cheering Ryan on was Vicki J. Huddleston, the diplomat who headed the American Interests section in Cuba. "If the U.S. had diplomatic relations with Cuba then, she would have been our ambassador," he said. "She was the ultimate ugly American. She prohibited the National Anthem from being played when we arrived. She didn't want any U.S. flags to be displayed. And she tried to get me to change the speech I gave at the University of Havana to one condemning (Fidel) Castro." Gov. George Ryan meets with Cuban President Fidel Castro on Oct. 27, 1999, at Havana University after Ryan addressed students. Ryan was in Cuba with a delegation of business and cultural leaders and other state officials. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) Ryan refused to condemn Castro. "I'm under no illusions about Castro. He's a dictator. He's killed people," he said. But, he added, he failed to see how publicly condemning him would make for better relations between the two nations. Advertisement During his trip, Ryan delivered $2 million in medicine, cleared the way for the Chicago Tribune to open a bureau in Havana and succeeded in getting Castro to allow more Catholic priests to work in the nation. Those were hard-fought victories for compassion, a free press and free exercise of religion. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > But perhaps the ultimate diplomat on the 2000 trip to Cuba was Ryan's late wife, Lura Lynn, who brought her Midwestern sensibilities. She displayed warmth and charm with Fidel Castro by showing photos of her family. ``We have six children, and now 14 grandchildren. Family is very important to me and I have shown those pictures not only to Fidel Castro, but to both President Bushes, President Reagan and President Clinton. They are a good-looking family and all good-looking kids,'' she told me years ago. Cuba is now ruled by Fidel Castro's brother, Raul. Advertisement This month, Obama met with him and called for a "new beginning" for the United States and Cuba. It's important to remember the beginning of that "new beginning" may have started here in Illinois with George and Lura Lynn Ryan. Scott Reeder is a veteran statehouse journalist. He works as a freelance reporter in the Springfield area and can be reached at ScottReeder1965@gmail.com. Alcohol and cigarettes: We put so much emphasis these days on heroin overdoses. Don't get me wrong. I think it's wonderful to try and stop people from overdosing on heroin, but we have a bigger problem than treating heroin as an epidemic. Heroin has been around for a long time. Today, we have an epidemic of alcohol and cigarettes that kill more than heroin does. Alcohol causes drunk driving, heart disease, liver disease and kidney disease. As far as cigarettes, more people die of cancer from smoking than you can shake a stick at. Vexed by protesters: I would like to comment on the protesters in Chicago. What a bunch of unruly people. Chicago let us down big time. It's pathetic. Bunch of animals. I've never been so ashamed of Illinois. What a rotten place Chicago has turned out to be. Advertisement Irritated by illegal immigrants: To put a further blemish on Chicago, it can be known for a bunch of illegal immigrants who upset a Donald Trump rally by waving their flags and creating such an uproar that he couldn't speak. That's what Chicago is known for now. Where were the police to deport all these illegal immigrants? I don't really care if you're for Trump or not, but when you have a bunch of thugs who are here illegally and disrupting the process, it shows just how far down the toilet this country has gone. Kudos to Chicago cops: I would like to compliment the Chicago policemen. They did their job during the riot. Who let the protesters in the back door? That building was rented. Why don't you find out who it was instead of blaming Donald Trump? God bless the police and keep them safe. Advertisement Not keen on Shodeen situation: Shodeen continues to kick around Aurora unless you believe that a million-dollar building is in the future on that tiny lot across from city hall. Here's a successful businessman, yet my tax dollars will reimburse his demolition costs? On what planet? He announced that he wants to redevelop the mall property in St. Charles. Who negotiates these deals where the city reimburses business failures? Just like Copley Hospital and the Masonic temple, the Shodeen mess is another fiasco that will fall in the lap of the next mayor. Twisting Trump's words: I'm a Republican who is not crazy for Donald Trump, but I do see that his words are getting twisted. His comment to keep Muslim immigrants out of our country until we figure out what's going on has been misquoted to mean keep them out forever and that he hates Muslims. When he said some illegal Mexicans are bad people, it gets changed to that he hates all Mexicans. Come on, let's be fair to the guy even if you don't like him. Gone guy: I see a fourth person was arrested in connection with this home invasion and kidnapping in Elgin. They gave him a $5,000 bond. Are you kidding me? The guy will pay $500, and you'll never see him again. Good job. Stop spending money on Tower Building: This is about the Tower Building in Elgin. I see they want to get more money out of the city because it's been delayed. You know what? Tell the developer no. Enough is enough. Mayor Kaptain just likes to spend other people's money. The city council is nuts. What will the building be in 25 years? All they are doing is making an apartment building out of it. It will probably be a ghetto in 25 years. It's just a waste of money. Prefer shorter size: I am a 90-year-old citizen. I do my own shopping, housework and bowl three games a week. I think The Beacon-News should go back to the old size. I like it for people on trains and buses. Shake up the house: I would like to talk about what Aurora Mayor Weisner has on the front page. It says it's his handpicked crew. What you need to do is shake up the house, air it out, and get everybody new in there. Get rid of this sanctioned city and make people work. If you put Linda Chapa LaVia in for mayor, it will be the same thing as Weisner such as giving them free school and bilingual education. Did Chapa have bilingual education when she was in school? I don't think so. She learned and earned what she got. She spoke English because her family spoke English. They spoke Spanish at home, but they learned our customs. You say people leave Mexico to do better, but they form communes and don't better themselves. Chapa's family chose to do better. Editor's note Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line. The murder trial of Philip Vatamaniuc, one of three men charged in the 2013 slaying of Colin Nutter of Highland Park, could be pushed back to this summer as the defense prepares to make a motion for a continuance. Another defendant, Benjamin Schenk, 23, has agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for testimony identifying Vatamaniuc as the person who shot Nutter, 20, in the back of the head from the rear seat of Nutter's Dodge Stratus on June 3, 2013. His body was found near an Edens Expressway ramp in Wilmette. Advertisement As part of Schenk's plea deal, he provided Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Rossetti a preview of his testimony against Vatamaniuc and the other man charged in the murder, Michael Coffee. Vatamaniuc's defense attorney, Patrick Quilty, has declined to comment on Schenk's plea deal. Advertisement Authorities initially were looking at Schenk as the one who fired the semiautomatic handgun, while Vatamaniuc's first defense attorney contended he was a merely a witness who did not participate in the killing. More recently, prosecutors have mentioned both Schenk and Vatamaniuc as possible shooters. Schenk claimed he and his co-defendants had discussed stealing Nutter's car when he took the witness stand to preview his testimony. He said he and Coffee talked about shooting Nutter and putting him in the trunk of his car. "At first it was going to be me and then Philip (Vatamaniuc) said it was his turn and he took the gun," Schenk said, adding Coffee told Vatamaniuc that he needed to "prove himself" in order to earn acceptance into a street gang. Nutter was an acquaintance of the men. A prosecutor asked Schenk why Nutter was targeted during his testimony earlier this month. "He's the one who picked up the phone," Schenk said. Under Illinois law, all three men can be held accountable for Nutter's murder with possible sentences ranging from 20 to 60 years. However, a defendant convicted of firing the gun could face a longer sentence. In exchange for Schenk's guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed a 15-year penalty enhancement that could have been added to Schenk's sentence. Coffee's trial date is currently set for May 23. Schenk is scheduled to appear in court April 26 for a status hearing in the murder case. Earlier this year, Schenk was charged with aggravated battery in an alleged attack on a corrections officer at the Lake County Jail; he awaits trial on that charge. Advertisement kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com @KarenABerkowitz Longitud315, in Highwood, is one of the 2014 Open Table 100 Restaurant Neighborhood Gems in America. (Donald Liebenson / Lake County News-Sun) Your choice: You could ask co-owner and Executive Chef Jose Antonio "Chef Tony" Castillo to explain the concept for Longitud315, his South American fusion restaurant in Highwood. Or you could order the Churrasco ($29.95), the menu's signature entree, which serves up a representative sampling of evocative tastes spanning the continent: grilled steak, chicken breast; Brazilian sausage, black beans and rice, plantains and yuca, a sweet potatolike root vegetable. "Every country in South America has its own version of this," Castillo said. "It represents the concept of the restaurant." Advertisement Castillo opened Longitud315, his first restaurant, three years ago after stints with Flap Top Grill in Evanston and for a food service company that provides cooking service to Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Deerfield. "It has always been my dream to own a restaurant," he said. His dream, but according to his grandmother, his destiny. Advertisement As a child, he lived with her in Venezuela and served as an apprentice of sorts in her catering business, providing meals to 100 people in the neighborhood. "I was 7 or 8 years old and wanted to be outside playing with my friends," Castillo said. "My grandmother said, 'One day you will be a chef and you need to learn.'" One of the first dishes he learned to make, Arepas Dona Ynes, a white corn and cheesecake appetizer, is on the menu (two for $5.95), as is Bocado de Rey, a bread pudding dessert ($9.95) that is his grandmother's recipe. His grandmother's father was from Brazil and her mother from Venezuela. "That combination created the concept," Castillo said. Travels to South America expanded it. He has brought back authentic recipes, such as Chupil de Camerones ($22.95), a garlic shrimp dish he learned from a 92-year-old Peruvian woman, he said. The kitchen is equipped with an open flame wood grill representative of Argentina. Dishes that evoke Brazil incorporate coconut and fresh tropical fruits. Castillo recently returned from Colombia and is adding dishes with ingredients associated with that country, such as corn, potatoes and plantain. The wine menu focus on South American wines. While authenticity in the food is paramount, Castillo also places the highest priority on serving healthy dishes "without sacrificing the flavor." Meats and produce are organic, he said. In 2014, voters on the Open Table website ranked Longitud315 among the top 100 Restaurant Neighborhood Gems in America. Advertisement "The whole idea behind the restaurant," Castillo said, "is that people who have been to South America an come to Longitud315 and feel like they are still there. And for those who have never been, when they do go, it will be like they've been there before and recognize some of the dishes that we serve." Hours: Closed Tuesday; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday: 4:30 p.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday: 4:30-10 p.m.; Sunday: 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Address: 315 Waukegan Ave., Highwood. Contact 847-926-7495 or go to www.longitude315.com. Donald Liebenson is a freelance writer. ComEd will begin installing smart meters in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff in June. Homes and businesses that currently have electro-mechanical meters will see those replaced with new digital meters. Advertisement "Those meters aren't even manufactured anymore," said Mike McMahan, vice president of advanced meter infrastructure implementation at ComEd. "It's time to move to the digital age." In 2011, the General Assembly approved the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act, also known as the smart grid bill. In late 2013, ComEd began installing smart meters. On March 23 of this year, ComEd reached the halfway point of the project with 2.1 million smart meters installed out of the 4.2 million planned, McMahan said. Advertisement Smart meters contain a computer chip and two radios. One radio communicates with ComEd, while the other radio can communicate with the customer. The meters can provide usage information to customers the following day through the ComEd website, or in real time to customers who purchase a device. Officials say smart meters offer several advantages, including their ability to detect power outages remotely. "The smart meters come with a functionality called the last gasp," McMahan said. "If they lose power for any reason, they will send a signal to us saying they lost power. We get that signal and can send a truck to investigate. We can also send a signal to the meter that asks if it is on or off and then send a truck only when it needs to go." ComEd can also tell customers who install a ComEd app on their smart phones whether the problem is an actual power outage, or just a circuit breaker. Again, that allows ComEd to send out trucks only when there is an actual outage. For customers, smart meters mean ComEd will no longer send out estimated bills when meter readers can't gain access. "Nobody likes an estimated bill," McMahan said. Jim Chilsen of the Citizen's Utility Board agrees. The board is a non-partisan consumer watchdog group created by the General Assembly in 1983 to fight for the rights of utility customers. "One of the biggest complaints we get from customers is that the power company estimated my electrical use for three months and underestimated it and then I got this balloon bill," Chilsen said. "[With smart meters] its virtually eliminated." Advertisement Customers also have the potential to save money by signing up for something called "peak time savings". On hot days when electrical usage is high, ComEd will ask people to reduce their electrical usage by paying customers $1 per kilowatt hour if they use less than ComEd calculates they normally would, McMahan said. ComEd will install most of the 8,700 smart meters in Lake Forest in June and July, and most of the 2,600 meters in Lake Bluff during June. ComEd will notify customers at 90 days, 60 days, 30 days and 10 days in advance of the replacement. Contractors doing the actual installation are from a company called Corix, but will carry ComEd contractor badges and have the ComEd logo on their vehicles. "If they can't produce a badge, close the door and call police," McMahan said. "We will never ask for money. If they do, close the door and call police. It's not us." Chilsen said the Citizen's Utility Board is cautiously optimistic that the improvements will lead to real benefits for consumers. "Our current electrical system is worn out and pretty costly to Illinois consumers," Chilsen said. "There's just a lot of waste in the current electrical system we can reduce. If done right, these new meters are a big step in the right direction." Advertisement More information on smart meters is available at ComEd.com and the citizensutilityboard.org. mlawton@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @reporterdude The recent sale and proposed redevelopment of property belonging to a Park Ridge VFW post for decades has the city's elected officials raising objections and talking annexation. Aldermen on March 21 voted 6-0 to approve a resolution against a proposal from Canfield Higgins LLC to rezone the property at the northwest corner of Higgins and Canfield roads from single-family residential to a "restricted industrial district." Because the property is located within unincorporated Cook County, the rezoning request will go to the county's Zoning Board of Appeals, which is slated to hear the case at 1 p.m. April 6 at 69 W. Washington St., room 2840. Advertisement The city's objection will force a supermajority vote by the Cook County Board to pass the rezoning request, City Attorney Julie Tappendorf said. In a Nov. 6, 2015, letter to area property owners, attorney Nicholas Ftikas, who represents Canfield-Higgins LLC, said the plan was to establish a "commercial and/or retail use" on the property at 10 W. Higgins Road, which had long been owned by VFW Post 3579. It was recently sold to the LLC, VFW representatives told the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate. Advertisement There have been discussions of building a McDonald's or a convenience store there, according to a report from Strategy Planning Associates, hired by Canfield Higgins LLC to "evaluate the fiscal and economic impact to the taxing jurisdictions" of development. Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri, whose district includes the property, said he is unaware of what is being considered, though industrial zoning includes "provisions for commercial use." "The application [before the ZBA] is not specific on the intended use of the land," he said. Despite having a Park Ridge mailing address, the VFW property was never annexed by the city, but that was suggested by Tappendorf on March 21. However, the possibility of new development on the site has the City Council now talking annexation, which was an option suggested by Tappendorf on March 21. "If the city annexes it, it becomes part of the city's jurisdiction and subject to the city's zoning and control," she said, adding that any tax dollars generated would go to the city, which would have to provide emergency services. Because the property borders Park Ridge on the west and north, it could be annexed, Tappendorf said, but it would be more difficult if development started before annexation goes through. "If we annex a property into the city, then whatever current uses are on the property are grandfathered in," she said. "The zoning isn't grandfathered in, but if they start [building] and have a specific use on that property, even though we have zoning control over them, we can't apply any zoning that would be contrary to an existing, continuing use on the property. Let's say it was currently used as the VFW and was annexed in. We couldn't stop the VFW use." Though resident Jeana Chammas told the city council she had received notice from the county in November of the planned rezoning, Tappendorf said the city had not received a formal notice until March 21. Tappendorf acknowledged that "we had heard about it before," though no concrete development proposals had been shared with city officials. Advertisement The fact that the property was for sale had been public for more than a year. The Park Ridge Herald-Advocate reported in April 2015 that the land had already been up for sale for several months (with a large sale sign affixed to the building) and had a potential buyer, according to a member of the post. Having sold the property, the VFW membership is preparing to move to space within the White Eagle banquet hall at 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Niles by early summer, said Harry Benjamin, quartermaster and treasurer. The age and size of the building, which had served the VFW for more than 60 years, as well as costs for upkeep, prompted the sale, he said. "Most of our members have emotional ties to the property, so it's been difficult for them," he said. "But we did what we had to do. We liked our location and we never had a problem with our location, but the building became too big and the maintenance became too much." jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com Twitter: @Jen_Pioneer Downtown Griffith lauded for being easy for walkers and shoppers. (Joe Puchek / Post-Tribune) Lake County lost the largest number of residents in the state last year, continuing a downward trend that's cost the county 1.6 percent of its population since 2010. Meanwhile in Porter County, U.S. Census Bureau data released last week showed it grew by 380 between 2014 and 2015. Advertisement Lake County lost 2,709 residents in 2015, but it remains the second-largest county in the state with 487,865 residents. There's good news on the horizon though, suggesting the region's population will rebound, especially in Porter County. Advertisement Drew Klacik, a senior policy analyst with the Indiana Policy Institute, said Tuesday that Lake and Porter communities with walkable downtowns are becoming desirable to the aging boomer population and to millennials. "Both want to move back to walkable, sustainable urban neighborhoods. They don't want to hop in their car and drive to a strip mall." Communities like Highland, Griffith, Hammond and Valparaiso hold a lot of promise to those groups, Klacik said. "Can the urban ring figure out how to play that game?" he said, referring to Gary, Hammond and East Chicago. A cycling enthusiast who's from Highland, Klacik said creating the Erie Lackawanna bike trail south from Highland to Crown Point was a positive example of providing amenities that people want. He also cited Gary's Miller community as a strong neighborhood that residents can enjoy for its diverse offerings within a walk to Lake Michigan. "Gary is on a huge chunk of a gift that almost no one else has. In the best world, Broadway becomes a sustainable core." Demographer Matt Kinghorn, of the Indiana Business Research Center, said housing growth in Northwest Indiana is still rebounding from the recession that began in 2008. Lake County isn't alone in its population loss. Kinghorn said 54 out of 92 counties lost population last year. While Lake County lost the most residents, 19 other communities had larger percentage declines, including LaPorte County, Kinghorn said. "Sluggish growth has become the norm," he said. Advertisement From 2000 to 2007, he said Lake County averaged about 2,400 new building permits a year for housing. Since 2008, the average dropped to about 830. "Fewer people are moving in and there's less suburban growth," he said. Statewide, Indiana added 21,800 residents in 2015, a slight 0.3 percent increase over 2014, making it the state's smallest gain since 1989. The state's fastest growing counties Boone, Hamilton, Johnson and Hendricks are in the Indianapolis metro area. Many believe most of the state's attention is unfairly focused on the Indy metro area. Northwest Indiana recently lost out on its bid for a Regional Cities state grant to establish 18 miles of double tracking along the South Shore line. But since 2013, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has provided support for 49 businesses in Lake and Porter counties, said IEDC spokeswoman Abby Gras. Together, she said these businesses have committed to investing $871.3 million in their Indiana operations and creating up to 3,283 new jobs in the coming years. Lake County Commissioner Michael Repay said he isn't too worried about the slight population drop. Advertisement "It's hard to compare us to any other county in the state because we have such a unique group of neighbors," he said pointing to Chicago. "You could be living in Lake County and working in Cook or in Porter (counties). And you may move one way or another, depending on your work." He said that type of movement doesn't take place in other counties because they aren't in proximity to a large metropolitan area. Repay, who's a member of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board, said the South Shore commuter railroad is making the region an attractive place to live. He said the $571 million South Shore extension project from Hammond to Dyer will bolster the county's suburban areas even more. Klacik agreed, calling the South shore an essential piece to growth. Now is the time to trumpet the advantages, he said. "You've got wonderful pieces of the puzzle but I don't know if the rest of Indiana, much less the rest of the Midwest, knows it's a convenient, affordable way to live in the Chicago metro area," he said. "Tell the Northwest Indiana story in a way that maximizes it to retain aging boomers and increase the attractiveness to millennials. They're all looking for a quality, connected neighborhood." Advertisement ccarlson@post-trib.com Twitter: @ccwriterPT Northwest Indiana population trends Lake 2015 487,865 2014 490,574 Advertisement 2013 491,560 2012 - 493,192 Porter 2015- 167,688 2014 167,308 2013 166,578 Advertisement 2012 165,510 Source: U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Business Research Center Officials with the Humane Society of Hobart have given formal notice to the city of Portage and the Porter County Animal Shelter that once the county has a new shelter, the Humane Society will no longer take in Portage's animals. The letter notes that it's been "many years" since the Humane Society signed a temporary agreement to assist with animal control in Portage, and the city was asked in December to begin making plans for another place to take their animals. Advertisement "Now that Porter County is building a new shelter, this is the perfect time to say that the Humane Society will no longer provide animal control services for the City of Portage once the new facility is built," the letter states. "If the city of Portage will not be using the Porter County Shelter, please make plans for a facility of your own or another entity." The letter says that the Humane Society will continue serving Portage for the time being "but this contract with Portage cannot go on indefinitely as this was supposed to be temporary." Advertisement Officials with the humane society could not be reached for comment. As plans for a new county animal shelter move forward with a tentative spring groundbreaking and completion early next year, Porter County Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, said county officials are in ongoing talks with the city of Portage about being included in the new shelter, and City Councilwoman Sue Lynch sits on an advisory for the new facility. "We don't have a contract hammered out yet but I think all sides are in agreement that we have to be working together," Blaney said, adding the shelter is being built to handle the additional animals from Portage. The letter, which was signed by Hobart Humane Society Director Brenda Slavik, Board of Directors President Laura Labadie and Treasurer Carol Konopacki, was sent to Porter County officials dated Feb. 18. Unlike other Porter County communities, Portage has its own staff of animal control officers and has long been taking its animals to the Hobart shelter instead of the county facility. Portage will retain its animal control officers under the agreement being worked out with the county, Blaney said. "I think we're all expecting Portage to be there from Day 1." County officials have long considered the existing county shelter, at 2056 Heavilin Road, outdated and too small to handle the number of animals the no-kill shelter receives, and it is not large enough to handle an influx of animals from Portage at its current size. The new shelter, on Indiana 49 between the Porter County Sheriff's Department and the Expo Center, is expected to be 10,000 to 12,000 square feet with room to expand, according to a request for proposals released in late February by the Board of Commissioners. Advertisement Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. Pamela Peterson of Burr Ridge and Laura Karpiak of La Grange shop on the opening day of the French Market in 2015. (Mike Mantucca / Pioneer Press) Despite low attendance and an apparent waning interest over the past couple of years, the village of Western Springs has decided to keep the weekly French Market operating. The Western Springs Village Board voted Monday to renew a three-year contract to keep the French Market operating in the downtown area this summer, even though village officials have said the open-air street market has seen decrease in attendance and in the number of vendors over the past couple seasons. Advertisement The decision by the board extends the contract with Bensidoun USA, Inc., the company that operates the market, through the 2018 season, and was required to keep the event going after its contract expired in January. Since it was first held in 2009, the French Market has offered shoppers a chance to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables, baked breads and cookies, homemade chocolates, crafts and jewelry and even health screening along Hillgrove Avenue in front of the water tower between Lawn Avenue and Grand Avenue. The market traditionally runs from 2 to 7 p.m. each Thursday from May to September. Advertisement While the attraction had a lot of hype and interest in the first few years, Village President Bill Rodeghier said the event has suffered from low vendor turnout in recent seasons, which has led to fewer people attending. "Both quantity and quality of vendors and merchandise appears to have declined in recent years," Rodeghier said. "But generally, I feel it is a good idea, and the majority of the residents are in favor of having it." The agreement requires the market to have a minimum of 10 vendors each week, but some officials have indicated that minimum requirement may not always have been met. Leslie Cahill, a representative of Bensidoun USA, said the company remains committed to the Western Springs community, and will continue to work to make the French Market the best it can be for the village. "We want the market to be successful here," Cahill said. The new agreement also allows for the company to try operating the market on a Sunday as a way to attract more people to the event, with some trial Sunday dates planned in June and September. Under the agreement, French Market organizers would have to let the village know within 30 days of hosting the Sunday event, and the Village Board would need to approve the date. A proposal to hold the market on a trial date on a Saturday was rejected by the village after the business community complained that it would bring in too much traffic and would cut down on parking for customers looking to patronize businesses in the downtown area. However, Cahill said it may be harder to attract vendors to come out on a Sunday. Advertisement Even though the agreement has been finalized, some issues still remain. The new agreement holds the event organizers more responsible for the set-up and take-down of the market, which is often done by village public works crews. Community Development Director Martin Scott said the agreement has one of three options for either allowing organizers to provide their own laborers to assemble and disassemble the market, vendors pitching their own tents, or to reimburse the village for staff time. While Bensidoun claims to have people willing to do that work, there are times when village crews may have to step in. This issues will need to be ironed out before the market opens this season, Scott said. Village Trustee Shelia Hansen said the French Market is a good thing for the village, as it does bring in people into the downtown area, which is important. "I'd like to see it continue, but they need to jazz it up a bit," Hansen said. Rodeghier said it does work two ways, that often in order to attract more vendors, more people need to be coming out for the French Market to make it worth the vendors time to come to sell their goods and produce. David Heitz is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. Helicopters for sale are seen at a helicopter store in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 8, 2015. [Xinhua] The successful debut of China's first airplane showroom in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is propelling Shanghai-based General Dynamic Aero Tech Co to open more bricks-and-mortar stores to satisfy the industry's growing demand. In April last year, the shop, GD Aero E Store, was launched in Ningbo's Meishan bonded area. It sells general and private aircraft, and offers demonstrations, maintenance, operational support, supplies and insurance. In less than a year, the store sold 95 airplanes, more than double the number the company sold in 2014, which encouraged it to open a new branch in February in Central China's Hubei province. "General Dynamic Aero Tech started to provide sales and maintenance services several years ago, but we always thought it was necessary to have a bricks-and-mortar store, just like an automobile showroom, where customers could see and test the real products," said Sun Liguo, vice-president of General Dynamic Aero Tech and general manager of the Ningbo store. The store's 2,000-square-meter airplane hangar can showcase 10 jets, while the newly opened Wuhan center in Hubei has a 1,000-sq-m hangar. The 95 planes sold in Ningbo were priced between 4 million yuan ($614,000) and 120 million, Sun said. "The majority of the aircraft sold are not for private use, which accounts for only 10 to 15 percent. Most of them are used in industry, agriculture, forest, building, medical aid, meteorological detection and flight training," Sun said. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. President Xi Jinping's historic visit to the Czech Republic is expected to "renew and energize" bilateral ties, with more than 20 agreements expected to be signed. The three-day trip is the first state visit by a Chinese president since the two countries established diplomatic ties 67 years ago. It is also Xi's first visit to a Central or Eastern European country. Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative will be on top of the agenda, Klara Jurcova, counselor and head of the commercial section at the Czech's embassy in China, told the press. Last year, the Czech Republic became the second-largest trade partner of China among Central and Eastern European countries. Here're top 8 areas that will likely further boost the economic ties between the two countries. 8. Sports Players of the Czech Republic and Russia strive for the puck during the 2016 U20 IIHF World Championship in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki on Dec. 26, 2015. [Xinhua] Chinese ice hockey players will receive training in Prague later, as the two countries are expected to sign a cooperation agreement on sports during Xi's maiden visit to the Czech Republic. Education authorities in north China's Hebei Province have upheld a decision made by a local high school to expel 12 of its pupils for breaking the rules on the use of cellphones. The Cangzhou No. 1 High School said on its website yesterday that following an investigation last week, the ruling would be unchanged. The Beijing News ran a report earlier this month saying that 12 pupils had been caught using their handsets after a ban was introduced on February 29. The school had formerly allowed pupils to have cellphones after coming to a deal with China Unicom, which offered to provide customized handsets that could be used to make calls only during specified hours and were unable to connect to the Internet, the report said. However, when school officials discovered last November that the phones could be used at will, and provided access to the Internet, they issued a request for them not to be used. When that failed to deter the youngsters, they upgraded the request to a total ban. Several parents of the excluded children tried to negotiate with the school, but their appeals fell on deaf ears. They then appealed to the Cangzhou Education Bureau, which launched an investigation but found in favor of the school, the report said. More than 300 impoverished students get tailor-made financial support with the help of big data technology at a university in South China, reported thepaper.cn. The gate at Nanjing University of Science & Technology. [Photo/Weibo] The Nanjing University of Science & Technology Education Development Foundation deposited cash support into the meal cards of 301 students after analyzing the meal card consumption record of all undergraduates between mid-September and mid-November. The data analysis spotted 314 students who had more than 60 meals and spent less than 420 yuan ($64.5) in the school canteen monthly, and the university's counselors who know more about the specific financial conditions of students finalized the list of recipient students. The foundation set a monthly benchmark of 630 yuan, which was deemed as the average cost of food if students eat in the canteen for three meals a day for 30 days per month, given that it costs students on average 7 yuan to have a meal in the canteen. The students aided were subsidized based upon the differences between their actual expenses and the benchmark, ranging from 11.63 yuan and 340.53 yuan, without them knowing in advance. The subsidies will continue until their graduation, said Wang Hu, the foundation's general secretary. Unlike traditional arrangements for financial support, which involves complicated procedures of filling out forms and public review, the new practice helps the students in need without embarrassing them. An average take-out costs seven or eight yuan, which is more expensive than canteen meals, so we think most impoverished students prefer the canteen, said Wang in response to concerns that the sampling method might leave out underprivileged students who don't dine in canteen. The foundation may change the sampling period for freshmen to be enrolled in the university, and the whole process of data sampling and analysis is kept confidential so that it can faithfully reflect the financial situation of students. "I think it's the right way to give financial support because it's more targeted and also the students in need don't have to tell their heart-wrenching stories in front of their classmates to show they are more qualified for support than others, as they did before," said a freshman surnamed Su at Nanjing University of Science & Technology. The targeted aid practice was well received by Chinese Internet users. Most said the university is so considerate that the impoverished students don't have to worry about losing face any more for applying for financial support and the practice should be extended to more schools in the underdeveloped rural areas. A small number of others, however, are concerned about the effectiveness of the practice and that some may take advantage of the possible loopholes in the sampling and analysis process. "This is a good way for colleges to deliver financial support besides more work-study programs, but I think impoverished college students should also try best to find ways to support themselves because they are after all, more capable than primary school students," said 30-year-old Li Haijun, a college graduate who received financial support at primary school but paid for his college days himself. China has allocated over 90 million yuan to repair temples in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region which were damaged as a result of the massive earthquake a year ago which was centred on Nepal. Tashilhunpo Temple, the largest temple in Shigatse City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo: CRI Online] Among them, the Phagpa Gompa in Gyirong County of Shigatse City was the nearest to the epicenter. The 13 hundred year old temple was already facing many problems before the earthquake, and repair work was already underway at the time of the earthquake. Much of the existing damage to the wooden structure and wall paintings was aggravated due to the disaster. Tenzin Norbu, director of Cultural Relics Bureau of Gyirong County, says urgent reinforcement measures were undertaken after the quake. "The wood here is seriously eaten away by insects. As you can see, the inside of the wood has almost become powder. The earthquake has worsened these problems, some of the wall paintings are cracked, some of them fell off the wall and some of them warped." A new restoration project has now been approved for Phagpa Gompa with an increased funding of 8 million yuan. So far there are 66 cultural relic repair projects in Shigatse City with a total appropriation of over 90 million yuan. The projects are due to start in July this year. Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Monday marked Serfs' Emancipation Day with flag-raising ceremonies and official vows to fight separatism. A flag-raising ceremony is held to celebrate the Serfs' Emancipation Day in Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 28, 2016.[Photo: Xinhua] Losang Jamcan, chair of Tibet regional government, said in a speech that secessionist activities were doomed to fail. "The clique of the 14th Dalai Lama has never ceased its attempts to split China. Such activities run counter to the constitution, state system and the interests of all people in Tibet, and are doomed to fail," he said. The clique can not deny the great achievements Tibet has made under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Losang Jamcan said, or dampen the resolution of all Chinese, including Tibetans, to safeguard national unity. Tibet can only continue to advance and prosper by following the CPC leadership and the path of socialism, he said. Che Zala, secretary of the Communist Party of China's Lhasa municipal committee, said 57 years ago the central government dissolved the old Tibet government, and ushered in a new era that would be characterized by the people of Tibet taking control of their own destinies and be masters of the region. In 2009, March 28 was designated as the day to mark the freeing of 1 million people, or 90 percent of the region's population at that time, from the feudal serf system in 1959. On Monday, some 3,000 people from all walks of life gathered at Potala Palace Square in the regional capital of Lhasa for a flag raising ceremony. Kelsang Tsering, 73, was among the crowd. "I have a pension and my three children have jobs. We do not have to worry about living now," he said. "We live happy lives now. I hope I could live to 100 years old," said Dawa Dorlma, a young Tibetan girl at the square. Tibet's GDP surpassed 100 billion yuan (15 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015 after 23 years of double-digit growth. Per capita disposable income for its rural residents increased to 8,244 yuan last year, double that of 2010. The region has also led the country in offering 15-year free education and free health check-ups for rural and urban residents. The people of Tibet live better lives now, said Phuntsog, a Tibetan business man in Lhasa. "Tibetans also play mobile phones at home, like many others," said Phuntsog, "We enjoy all the trappings of modern life." Geleg Qoidar, 74, shared an old saying, which was popular when he was a serf. "As a serf, you had to have legs of iron, a stomach the size of a bird and the eyes of an owl," he recalled . "Serfs had endless things to do for their masters so they needed iron legs; they were always hungry so that they needed a small stomach; they had to work at night so they need owl's eyes," he explained. Living in a two-story house with a big yard in Namkar Village in Lhasa, Geleg Qoidar is pleased with how his life has turned out. He enjoys a subsidy of 450 yuan each month as an old Communist Party of China (CPC) member. His family has an annual income of more than 10,000 yuan a year. He said democratic reform in Tibet changed his fate. When serfdom was abolished on March 28, 1959, Geleg Qoidar was able to speak freely and go where he wanted. "Having been tortured, I value real happiness," he said. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. The Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief Zhang Zhijun underlined the importance of the 1992 Consensus for future exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday. Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). Zhang, also director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, spoke highly of the role ARATS has played in improving cross-Strait ties over the years. Zhang said both sides must adhere to the 1992 Consensus. All forms of "Taiwan Independence" must be opposed, and cross-Strait communication should be strengthened, he said, adding that authorized non-governmental organizations can play a more proactive role in boosting cooperation. ARATS President Chen Deming said cross-Strait consultation is an effective way to promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and improve welfare for compatriots on both sides. Chen said on behalf of ARATS that they will do their best to serve people across the Strait, maintain regional stability, and appeal to more compatriots to promote cross-Strait ties. A satellite observation on Tuesday detected that the number of forest hotspots in Indonesia had reached 40 from 13 on March 18, with most of them in Sumatra Island, an official of the meteorology and geophysics agency said. The Terra and Aqua satellite from NASA detected 37 of the hotspots in Sumatra Island, the center of the country's palm oil industry, and three others in Sulawesi Island, Maluku Island and Papua, the official told Xinhua by phone. Indonesia is home to the world's largest palm oil industry and the traditional annual slash-and-burn methods are the main cause of the forest fires. The country has dispatched aircraft, soldiers, police and firefighters to battle the fires which have been there since last month, according the national disaster management agency. Last year, the Indonesia government launched the biggest ever battle against massive forest fires across the country that killed 17 people. The fires have brought thick haze to neighboring countries, triggering serious health problems and huge financial losses. You are here: Home Flash The Iraqi parliament on Monday gave Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi until Thursday to present candidates for a new cabinet lineup, local media reported. The ultimatum is seen part of proposed anti-corruption reforms aimed at confronting the country's economic crisis, the state-run Iraqiya channel said. In a statement, the lawmakers set Thursday, March 31, as the "final deadline" for Abadi to present his cabinet for parliament approval, Iraqiya said. If Abadi misses the deadline, the statement warned, the parliament will "interpellate" him early next week, according to the channel. The parliament move came a day after the firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stepped up pressure on Abadi by starting a sit-in protest inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses main government offices and some foreign embassies. Thousands of Sadr's followers have been camping in an anti-corruption sit-in outside the gates since more than a week ago. Flash U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a trilateral meeting with South Korean and Japanese leaders on Thursday on the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the White House said Monday. Obama's meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, which is slated for Thursday and Friday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea (DPRK) and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. The DPRK conducted a nuclear test on Jan. 6 and used ballistic missile technology to launch a satellite on Feb. 7, in a series of violations of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose new and tougher sanctions against the DPRK and council members called for an end to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program and early resumption of the Six-Party Talks. Flash The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) scraped on Monday its request for Apple Inc.'s assistance to hack into the phone of a terrorist killer. The federal government department, on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the move at the U.S. District Court, Central California, before Judge Sheri Pym. The two-page court filing said the FBI had accessed data stored on the iPhone 5c. A week ago, a day before the DOJ and the Silicon Valley technology company were scheduled to appear at a hearing at the court, the government side said it was trying a new way to unlock the phone used by Syed Farook, who together with his wife Tashfeen Malik shot dead 14 people on Dec. 2 last year in San Bernardino, California, before being killed by police. The smartphone has a feature that erases data after 10 unsuccessful unlocking attempts. Successfully bypassing Apple in its efforts to look into the phone for information probably helpful in the terror attack investigation, the DOJ did not make public on Monday any details about who did help and how did it make through. Apple had been resisting the order by Judge Pym since Feb. 16, when she ordered the manufacturer to provide the FBI with specialized software to disable the security feature. In an earlier TV interview, citing privacy protection for customers as a reason, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook suggested that he would fight the case all the way up the U.S. Supreme Court. The argument was heated, as the government side fought on the ground that it was a work phone owned by the San Bernardino County, and the software would be in the possession of Apple rather than in the hands of FBI agents. Both sides seemed to have failed to win full public support. However, the DOJ's decision not to go after Apple's assistance effectively put the dispute to an end, at least for now. And it is now Apple's turn to figure out, and for iPhone users to wonder, how secure is any iPhone as well as data on the device. You are here: Home Flash A flight of Egypt Air carrying 61 people landed at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus on Tuesday at the request of hijackers, according to Xinhua news reports. Negotiations with the kidnapped result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners, according to Egypt Air. Egyptian state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported the flight was an internal flight heading from Burj El Arab airport in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria to the capital Cairo. Highjacker of EgyptAir passenger plane has been identified as Egyptian, the State TV said Tuesday. Egypt Air confirmed on Twitter that the flight MS181, an Airbus 320, is officially hijacked and said it is negotiating with the kidnappers. About 61 people were on board, including six crew members. The hijacker who hijacked Tuesday an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been arrested, Egyptian Aviation Minister said. The last seven persons who remained on board have been freed, Sherif Fathy said, adding all the passengers and crew are safe. A hijacked Egypt Air A320 airbus stands on the runway at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus , March 29, 2016. [Photo/ China Daily] The hijacker had claimed to be wearing an explosive belt when he hijacked the plane. The Egyptian aviation minister said, the hijacker hasn't worn any explosive device, and investigations will show his real motives. "The authorities would question hijacker to ascertain his true motives," Fathy added. Meanwhile Egypt Prime Minister asserted that the hijacker was identified as Egyptian. "He wasn't professional, and some phone calls by the hijacker focused on personal demands, he had asked to meet EU officials, but there was nothing specific," the PM Sherif Ismael added. EgyptAir flight No. 181 was on a domestic flight from the coastal city of Alexandria to capital Cairo. It carried 55 passengers, Fathy said. The plane that was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus landed in Larnaca Airport at 07:50 (local time), he added. The hijacker had not made any concrete demands, the minister previously said. The plane was carrying 21 foreigners -- eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen and four Greek, -- in addition to a Syrian national, an Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said. Passengers wait for a bus to Paphos at the Larnaca airport in Larnaca, Cyprus, March 29, 2016. The women and children on a hijacked Egyptian plane have been released after it landed in Larnaca, Cyprus, Cypriot authorities said Tuesday. Larnaca airport has been closed and arriving planes are being redirected to Paphos in western Cyprus. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhang) "Egypt is sending a plane to Cyprus to pick up released passengers at 12:30 p.m. (local time)," the minister said. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters the incident appeared to be personally motivated. "The hijacking is not terror-related," he told a news conference. Early Tuesday, EgyptAir tweeted: "Our Flight MS181 is officially hijacked." The Cyprus Foreign Ministry confirmed in a statement that the flight "was hijacked and diverted to Larnaca international airport." The motive of the hijacking was not clear. However, sources with the Egyptian Aviation Ministry told state TV that the hijacker asked the Cyrus authorities for political asylum. On October 31 last year, a Russian airliner was downed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. You are here: Home Flash A senior Palestinian official said Tuesday that Israel informed the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of stopping import and export of gold into the Gaza Strip. Nazmi Muhanna, head of borders and crossings commission of the PNA, said in a press statement that Israel gave the decision without explaining reasons. Israeli authorities allowed exporting certain amounts of gold last month after a nine-year ban. Israel imposed a tight blockade on the coastal Gaza Strip and considered it a hostile entity right after Islamic Hamas movement seized control over the enclave in 2007. Due to international pressures, Israel said it will lift the blockade gradually. Flash Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered for the deployment of more troops in the western part of the country where tribal and post-election violence has left over 28 people dead and scores homeless. The troops will restore calm in the Mountain Rwenzori region and arrest the perpetrators of the violence in Bundibugyo and Kasese districts, Museveni said in a State House statement late on Monday. "Whoever is responsible, will suffer the consequences," Museveni said, adding that the perpetrators will live to regret their criminal acts. Museveni urged those who have been displaced to return to their homes noting that the troops will guarantee their security. Local authorities say apart from the deaths, over 10,000 people have been displaced and 366 houses have been burnt since the country's general elections mid last month. The attacks were sparked off after supporters of a local official alleged that their candidate had been cheated in the local council elections. Since then there have been revenge attacks. A high-speed train runs on the Chengdu-Chongqing line in Chengdu, capital of Sichun province, on March 27, 2016.[Photo/IC] BEIJING - China on Monday called for close cooperation with Indonesia and Thailand to ensure smooth progress of railway projects in the two Southeast Asian countries. China and the two countries have made consensus on building the railway projects on the basis of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing, referring to railways linking Jakarta with Bandung, and Bangkok with Nakhon Ratchasima. Hong said that departments of the three countries have been keeping close communication on the progress of the projects. "We will push for the smooth construction of the railways to benefit the Indonesian and Thai people and to improve economic development, people-to-people exchanges and connectivity in the region," the spokesperson said. Last October, China Railway signed a deal with Indonesian state-owned enterprises to form a joint venture to construct and operate the Jakarta-Bandung railway, with the latter to control 60 percent of the stake. The groundbreaking ceremony for the railway was held on Jan 21. Once completed, the 150-km railway will cut travel time from Jakarta to Bandung from more than three hours at present to less than 40 minutes. In 2014, Thailand and China signed documents on the development of Thailand's transportation infrastructure. According to Thai sources, the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima railway will purchase Chinese trains and use Chinese technology and signal systems. The railway will operate at top speeds of 160 to 180 kilometers per hour. A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc in Stamford, Connecticut, the US, November 20, 2015. [Photo/IC] NEW YORK - Starwood Hotels & Resorts on Monday announced that it had received a revised proposal from a consortium led by China's Anbang Insurance Group. Starwood received a nonbinding proposal from the consortium consisting of Anbang, J.C. Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital for $81 per share in cash on Saturday. Yet in discussions over the weekend, the consortium improved the bid to $82.75 per share in cash, totalling some $14 billion. Pursuant to separate agreements previously entered into by Starwood, Starwood stockholders would receive additional $5.91 per share in stock for a spinoff of a vacation business. On this basis, Anbang's newest offer will be $88.66 per share, beating Marriott's offer of $79.53 per share. Starwood said it was continuing to discuss nonprice terms related to the consortium's revised proposal and was working to finalize the other terms of a binding proposal from the consortium, including definitive documentation. "The Starwood board, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, will carefully consider the outcome of its discussions with the consortium in order to determine the course of action that is in the best interest of Starwood and its stockholders," Starwood said in a statement. Starwood is one of the world's leading luxury hotels and the owner of the Westin and Sheraton brands with nearly 1,300 properties in some 100 countries and approximately 188,000 employees. Anbang is one of the largest insurance groups in China. According to the company, Anbang managed total assets of 1.65 trillion yuan ($250 billion). The Chinese insurer has made headlines with the acquisition of Waldorf Astoria, the landmark hotel on Park Avenue in New York City in October 2014. Under the agreement, Anbang purchased the iconic luxury hotel for $1.95 billion from Hilton Worldwide Holdings. Czech firm to speed up the development of online business Home Credit Group, an international consumer finance provider based in the Czech Republic, will invest 6 billion yuan ($921 million) in China to double its business by the end of 2017, the company's chief executive officer said on Monday. Jiri Smejc spoke exclusively to China Daily as President Xi Jinping arrived in Prague to start an official visit to the country. He said that China's economy is restructuring from one driven by investment to one that is boosted by consumption. The company will increase the number of loan products and accelerate the development of its online business to further diversify its presence in China this year, Smejc said. To facilitate this move, Home Credit opened a research and development center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last year. "This is a great business opportunity for us as we expect that an entire lending ecosystem will revolve around the smartphone," Smejc said. "Our immediate goal is to build an independent online lending platform in China that is at least as robust as our physical sales network." The amount of goods bought on credit offline is, however, still nearly 10 times higher than goods bought over the Internet. With the services sector accounting for 50.5 percent of China's GDP in 2015, this industry certainly has become a hot destination for foreign investment over the past four years. China is going through a rapid development of the services sector, particularly through the Internet, which in turn will lead to a sharp increase in the usage of new technologies. Home Credit, the largest Czech consumer finance provider by assets, entered China in 2007. It has a registered capital of 3.3 billion yuan and operates in more than 260 cities in 24 provinces and municipalities. As of last year, the company had more than 33,000 employees in China. "To give you an idea of our business scale, we're talking about loans of 400 million yuan for consumer goods alone. Since 2007, when we came to China, up to the year-end, we have already supported household consumption with some 100 billion yuan in loans for different goods," he said. Eager to provide more financing services to more micro enterprises and low-income people, the central government has also rolled out a number of reform plans since 2010. As China is undergoing an industrial boom to diversify its growth model, obviously there is a strong focus on growing domestic consumption, said He Jingtong, a professor of finance at Nankai University in Tianjin. This is exactly where consumer finance can be effective, he added. "For making a profit, both domestic and global players are keen to secure more market share sooner or later," said He. Staffs examine an AS350B3E helicopter ready for delivery. China's first airplane 5S shop, GD Aero E Store, a venture by Shanghai General Dynamic Aero Tech Co (GDAT), opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, April 8, 2015. [Photo/IC] The successful debut of China's first airplane showroom in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is propelling Shanghai-based General Dynamic Aero Tech Co to open more bricks-and-mortar stores to satisfy the industry's growing demand. In April last year, the shop, GD Aero E Store, was launched in Ningbo's Meishan bonded area. It sells general and private aircraft, and offers demonstrations, maintenance, operational support, supplies and insurance. A visitor experiences a S300C helicopter. China's first airplane 5S shop, GD Aero E Store, a venture by Shanghai General Dynamic Aero Tech Co (GDAT), opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, April 8, 2015. [Photo/IC] In less than a year, the store sold 95 airplanes, more than double the number the company sold in 2014, which encouraged it to open a new branch in February in Central China's Hubei province. "General Dynamic Aero Tech started to provide sales and maintenance services several years ago, but we always thought it was necessary to have a bricks-and-mortar store, just like an automobile showroom, where customers could see and test the real products," said Sun Liguo, vice-president of General Dynamic Aero Tech and general manager of the Ningbo store. Zhang Yong, Alibaba's chief executive officer and the chairman of Cainiao. [Photo/VCG] Cainiao, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's logistics offshoot, is investing 1 billion yuan ($153.6 million) in an upgraded type of service, which it claims will offer China's growing army of online shoppers better, faster deliveries. Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co, to give its full name, is creating the Cainiao Alliance, a new e-commerce logistics organization, which officials said will be dedicated to offering higher-quality delivery services. Couriers signing up to the alliance will be offered access to Cainiao's full infrastructure resources, its supply chain and big-data facilities, and have access to its customer service team, which the operator claims will provide a higher level of service. "Logistics is key to any new business and the new economy," said Zhang Yong, Alibaba's chief executive officer and the chairman of Cainiao. "Cainiao wants to leverage its technology and big data to empower its courier partners to provide quality and reliable delivery services." According to the Hangzhou-based Cainiao, it has already attracted some of the country's biggest courier firms to join the alliance, including Zhongtong Express and Shentong Express. The alliance is expected to immediately roll out the upgraded package of services, including same-day and next-day deliveries, on Alibaba's business-to-customer site Tmall. Cainiao said the goal is for the alliance to serve 10 million enterprises and have the annual capacity to deliver 100 billion parcels in the next five to eight years. Founded by Alibaba and a consortium of logistics companies, Cainiao is different in that rather than expanding its own network it operates a proprietary logistics information platform, that links a network of providers, warehouses and distribution centers, that offers better efficiency and cost savings. It recently closed its first round of external fundraising, a week before New York-listed Alibaba said the value of gross merchandise on its online marketplaces in the current fiscal year exceeded 3 trillion yuan. Tong Wenhong, Cainiao's chief executive officer, said China's e-commerce industry's development over the next decade will largely depend on the progress of the logistics industry. She said 20.6 billion packages were generated by online shopping last year, up from 860 million in 2005. "But our recent survey found that 56 percent of online shoppers said deliveries were not on time, and around a quarter complained the deliverymen were impolite," she said. Didi Chuxing, a car-booking mobile app owned by Didi Kuaidi, is shown on a mobile phone, Sept 17, 2015. [Photo / IC] Last year, more than 100 million people across 400 cites in China hailed 1.43 billion "taxi" rides using a mobile application, which used 14 million cars that it did not own to provide the service. The cars were provided by individuals to Didi Chuxing, a Beijing-based ride-hailing technology firm. This is a classic example of the so-called sharing economy, in which people rent out their idle assets like cars and rooms to others using Internet-based services. According to the China Sharing Economy Development Report, jointly released in February by the State Information Center and the Internet Society of China, sharing economy could potentially drive economic growth as more than 500 million people are involved in a market that was worth 1.95 trillion yuan ($302 billion) in 2015. China's GDP in 2015 was 67.7 trillion yuan. Sharing economy is expected to account for 10 percent of China's GDP by 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 40 percent. Zhang Xinhong, director of the State Information Center, said a growing number of Chinese companies are using this new model to expand their business into various new sectors, from ride-hailing and room-renting to education and secondhand goods. "Despite the sluggish growth of the global economy, sharing economy has been maintaining a solid and steady growth worldwide. With China's economic growth slowing, sharing economy shows great potential in terms of driving up consumption and injecting market vitality," he said. Zhang Xiaorong, a senior analyst with the Tencent Research Institute, said sharing economy can increase supply and boost individuals' income. "Take Tujia.com as an example. The site matches those who have spare apartments or rooms with travelers who want to rent a place for the short term. In the past, travelers had to live in hotels but now sites like Tujia can enable them to live in other people's homes. Thus, sharing can boost homeowners' income. And this novelty could spur travel and simulate consumption," he said. According to Tencent's research, three trends will drive the development of sharing economy in China. "The first is urbanization, which will boost the demand for services as more people live in urban areas. The second is aging population as elderly people may have more idle resources, skills and experience to share. And the third is the popularization of sharing economy," said Zhang of Tencent. "More and more people are embracing the concept. Once they form the habit to rent rather than own something, it would be difficult to change," he said. A Yahoo! sign sits out front of their headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, Feb 1, 2008. [Photo/Agencies] Microsoft Corp executives are in talks with private equity firms considering bids for Yahoo Inc saying the company might be willing to lend "significant financing" to their efforts, reported tech news site Recode. The latest update comes as Yahoo launched an auction of its core business in February after it shelved plans to spin off its stake in e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding. Yahoo has faced increasing pressure from shareholders to sell its core business instead of carrying out a spinoff that would separate the company from its multibillion-dollar stakes in Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group. However, questions rose on the company's commitment to the action, as CEO Marissa Mayer told Reuters in February that Yahoo will entertain offers as they come but its first priority is a turnaround plan. Microsoft's interest could give the bidding process some seriousness, reported the Decode, adding that sources said the software giant has made no commitments so far to any investors, and any discussions are exploratory. Microsoft's move is an attempt to ensure a good partnership with Yahoo's buyer, said the website citing unnamed sources, as the company maintains close search and advertising ties with Yahoo. Yahoo has set an April 11 deadline to submit preliminary bids for its core web business and Asian assets, according to the Wall Street Journal on Monday. The company asked bidders to hand in proposal details, including what assets they hope to acquire and for what price, reported the Journal, citing a letter sent to possible bidders. According to the newspaper, some buyers may be only interested in its core web business, and others may also propose to acquire the stakes in Alibaba Group or Yahoo Japan. Potential bidders include telecommunications company Verizon Communications Inc and publisher Time Inc, as well as private equity firms TPG and KKR, but the process is in the early stages. A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc in Stamford, Connecticut, the US, November 20, 2015. [Photo/IC] China's Anbang Insurance Group may get around domestic policy barriers with its increased offer of $14 billion for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, topping the latest bid from its rival Marriott International. A spokesman for Anbang said on Tuesday that the investment plan conforms with rules and regulations and the company has an ample overseas investment quota for this year. Chinese financial magazine Caixin had reported that the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the industry watchdog, may refuse to give approval for two Anbang deals. The report said the deals could violate a rule that restricts domestic insurance firms from investing more than 15 percent of their total assets abroad. Caixin said Anbang has invested more than 171.6 billion yuan ($26.4 billion) overseas, including bids to acquire Starwood and Strategic Hotels & Resorts. But its total insurance assets for last year would probably be less than 1 trillion yuan. However, experts said Anbang has an ample overseas investment quota and can benefit from policies that encourage overseas investment. Hao Yansu, director of the School of Insurance at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, said that according to regulations, Anbang can invest no more than 15 percent of its total assets not total insurance assets overseas. Its total assets have been estimated at more than 1.9 trillion yuan, according to its website. This means that Anbang's overseas investment could be 285 billion yuan. Gui Jieying, an analyst at Zero2IPO Group, said Anbang Insurance has invested abroad aggressively since 2014, when the State Council issued a guideline to boost the Chinese insurance industry. It encouraged domestic insurance companies to improve investment capabilities and "go abroad". 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 foreign tourists take pictures in Beijing's Temple of Heaven. Despite an increase in the number of overseas visits in the first nine months of this year, the inbound tourism industry is unlikely to meet its five-year target. [Photo/China Daily] Chinese tourists traveling overseas spent $215 billion in 2015, a massive 53 percent rise over the previous year, yet the potential for visitors going to China remains under-exploited, according to a key report by the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council. The amount spent by visitors to China increased by only 3 percent during 2015, a total of 385 billion yuan ($61 billion), the WTTC said in its 2016 Economic Impact Report, which was released today. Statistics from China's National Tourist Administration showed that the number of inbound tourists to China had been declining since showing some growth in 2011, although last year it recorded a slight increase of 4.1 percent to 134 million visitors. The number of Chinese travellers heading abroad in 2015 rose by 9 percent over the previous year to 117million, the NTA said. By contrast, the inbound tourism business in Japan rose by almost 50 percent in 2015, David Scowsill, president and chief executive of WTTC, said during an interview with China Daily. "Tourists coming into China are more mature people focused on exploring the culture instead of buying branded goods," Scowsill said. According to research last year by China Tourism Academy, most overseas travelers come to China for a mixture of business purposes and sightseeing. With above-average income, they usually travel with their families and friends. More than 70 percent of inbound tourists spend about $500 to 3,000 on their trip, transportation as the biggest expenditure. The stagnation is the result of a series of reasons, including slower economic development in tourists' countries of origin and the appreciation of RMB, said Yang Jinsong, an associate researcher with China Tourism Academy. "China's inbound tourism has entered a bottle-neck as the product development has been adhering to the same pattern since late 1970s and it will be really difficult to make a breakthrough under the outdated pattern," said Yang, who believed to improve the situation, China needs "supply-side reform" in this field. For example, most of the overseas promotion of China's tourism products is done by traditional channels such as tourism exhibitions and traditional media. However, a survey by Google and British market research firm Millward Brown in 2015 showed that 83 percent of overseas travelers heading for China collect information by internet. After searching for information through internet, 63 percent of tourists also choose to buy products or book services online. Yang said "For local governments and tourism practitioners in China, inbound tourism is very important and the majority of promotion funds have been spent on this field. However, it seems that they haven't found the right way to do it." The gate at Nanjing University of Science & Technology. [Photo/Weibo] More than 300 impoverished students get tailor-made financial support with the help of big data technology at a university in South China, reported thepaper.cn. The Nanjing University of Science & Technology Education Development Foundation deposited cash support into the meal cards of 301 students after analyzing the meal card consumption record of all undergraduates between mid-September and mid-November. The data analysis spotted 314 students who had more than 60 meals and spent less than 420 yuan ($64.5) in the school canteen monthly, and the university's counselors who know more about the specific financial conditions of students finalized the list of recipient students. The foundation set a monthly benchmark of 630 yuan, which was deemed as the average cost of food if students eat in the canteen for three meals a day for 30 days per month, given that it costs students on average 7 yuan to have a meal in the canteen. The students aided were subsidized based upon the differences between their actual expenses and the benchmark, ranging from 11.63 yuan and 340.53 yuan, without them knowing in advance. The subsidies will continue until their graduation, said Wang Hu, the foundation's general secretary. Unlike traditional arrangements for financial support, which involves complicated procedures of filling out forms and public review, the new practice helps the students in need without embarrassing them. An average take-out costs seven or eight yuan, which is more expensive than canteen meals, so we think most impoverished students prefer the canteen, said Wang in response to concerns that the sampling method might leave out underprivileged students who don't dine in canteen. The foundation may change the sampling period for freshmen to be enrolled in the university, and the whole process of data sampling and analysis is kept confidential so that it can faithfully reflect the financial situation of students. A staff member from a drinking water company tests water quality in Lhasa. Liu Kun / Xinhua Drinking water has been making a splash in the Tibet autonomous region, providing jobs and boosting the economy. According to a statement by the regional government over the weekend, Tibet's production of natural drinking water reached 425,600 metric tons in 2015, an increase of 178 percent year-on-year. The importance of the drinking water industry was included among the topics of the latest working conference on Tibet in August. Tibet began producing bottled water in the early 1990s based on its favorable natural environment, and it has won praise from the drinking water industry. Xu Fei, an industry leader involved in the development of the sector, said measures have been taken in the past few years, including the adoption of strict regulations, to protect water resources with the support of the industry. "It is a priority to guarantee that neither people's lives nor the environment are adversely affected by the production of natural drinking water," said Xu, who also serves as the head of the region's bureau of industry and information. "We have not seen any disputes with local people unhappy with the water industry." Zou Chaodong, deputy director of the Tibet Food and Drug Administration, said State authorities tested the water of most of Tibet's natural drinking water businesses in 2015, and all of them met quality standards, including Tibet Spring, Shengdi and Qomolangma Glacier. In recent years, some big enterprises have invested in the region for natural drinking water. Tibet owns 28 such enterprises. With an investment from Sinopec in Tibet in 2014, Tibet Glacial Water was rapidly and widely spread around most of China's big cities. With the development of drinking water businesses in Tibet, the enterprises have become a significant contributor to the region's economic growth, tax base and employment. The Tibet Spring brand was named Best Sparkling Water at the 10th Global Bottled Water Congress in the United States in 2013. "In 2015, 93 million yuan ($14.3 million) was paid in taxes on total sales revenue of 390 million yuan," said Norbu Tsering, chief engineer at Tibet Glacier Mineral Water Co. The company has provided about 200 jobs, with more than 95 percent of the workers coming from rural areas, he said. "Don't forget the well diggers when you drink from this well," said Norbu Tsering, noting that the company has been supporting local residents. Contact the writers at palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn and daqiong@chinadaily.com.cn A salesgirl takes Colgate toothpastes off the shelves at a supermarket in Hefei in east China's Anhui province Monday, April 18, 2005. [Photo/IC] Securities trading services, insurance and personal care products, such as shampoo and toothpaste, are among the product categories and sectors with the lowest consumer satisfaction indexes in China, a consumer poll has revealed. Services offered in the areas received the lowest ratings among all industries and sectors in China, scoring 70 or less out of a total of 100 points, according to the China Consumer Satisfaction Index, which was released on Monday. The evaluation, conducted by the China National Institute of Standardization and Tsinghua University, found personal care products such as shower gel, liquid shampoos and toothpaste among those with least satisfaction in the index, scoring 70, 70 and 71. The index is showing that consumers are becoming more satisfied with the durable consumer goods. However, the consumer satisfaction index for nondurable consumer goods and the service sector is decreasing, which is worthy of our attention, a statement released by the institute said. Electronic device makers, especially cellphone producers, are also having major difficulty meeting consumer expectations, scoring an average of 72 out of 100, the index said. Cellphone products by Apple Inc scored the highest in the category for cellphones, with 75 points, while Samsung and Lenovo scored lowest among all polled brands with only 68 points. The index was produced after the two institutes polled more than 80,000 consumers aged 18 to 70 in 250 cities across China about their satisfaction with 33 industries. Respondents were required to have purchased or used the products or services by a certain company for a maximum of three years. Similar surveys are conducted in the United States. The American Customer Satisfaction Index is widely seen as an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the US economy. People create the number 2 in honor of the second anniversary of the Zhuhai Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, on March 29, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Zhuhai Chimelong International Ocean Tourist Resort, a premium ocean theme park owned by the Chimelong Group, has received more than 25 million visits since it opened two years ago, according to official company figures. The resort, which is located in the free trade zone of Hengqin in Zhuhai, includes the world's largest ocean-themed park, three luxury hotels and an international circus center. The rapid increase of tourists has helped boost passenger flow in the Zhuhai airport, as well as promote the city's oceanic tourist resources, according to the company. In 2015, passenger flow in the Zhuhai airport increased by 41.5 percent year-on-year, according to the local government sources After wide expansion in the local tourism sector, Chimelong Group signed an agreement worth up to 50 billion yuan ($7.68 billion) with the local government at the end of 2015, and plans to increase its presence in the local market in the years ahead. Chimelong Group, based in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, also owns a large safari park in Guangzhou's Panyu district, which is known for its role in helping nurture the world's only live giant panda triplets in 2014. A launch ceremony of the International Alliance for Stem Cell and Precision Medicine Industrialization is held in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, on March 29, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] An international alliance for stem cell and precision medicines was established in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, on Tuesday, aiming to facilitate international exchange and promote the global industrial development of stem cells. "We need to strengthen cooperation with international players in the stem cell industry, an emerging sector with huge potential market growth," said Chen Haijia, director of Guangdong Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Association. According to Chen, also chairman of Guangzhou Saliai Stem Cell Science and Technology Co Ltd, China's stem cell industry is expected to grow rapidly in the years ahead, as applications of the stem cell science would help promote a healthy industrial development for the country. "China is still backwards in the downstream chain develpment of the stem cell industry due to lack of favorable government policies, wide public knowledge of the industry and sufficient international exchange," said Chen. According to industrial figures, the Chinese market value of the stem cell industry will reach nearly $100 billion by 2020. "We need to cooperate more with global players to build a global stem cell and precision medicine ecosystem," said Chen. As China's first cell stem company listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, known as the New Third Board, Guangzhou Saliai Stem Cell Science and Technology Co, which was founded in 2009, has developed an international research and development team in the stem cell industry. According to Liu Wei, vice-director of Guangdong Science and Technology Department, the province has invested about 200 million yuan ($30.7 million) in stem cell research and development, as well as applications of stem cell technology over the past two years. "The stem cell industry will be part of Guangdong's strategic industrial development, and we have already built several research and development platforms on the industry," said Liu. A national survey will be conducted of left-behind children in rural areas, authorities said on Tuesday. The survey, which will run until late July, will be conducted by the ministries of civil affairs, education and public security. Information on the children, including how many there are, as well as their family and education, is expected to be released at the end of August. "There are no accurate national statistics of left-behind children in rural areas. The upcoming survey is designed to understand their real situation and better support those children in need," said Wang Jinhua, head of the Social Affairs Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The survey will focus on children under 16 whose parents are both migrant workers and absent from home, or where one parent is a migrant worker and the other is unable to provide care. Children's personal and family information will be registered. Personal information includes date of birth, sex, education, identification number, residential address, health and whether they board at school. Family information includes parents' working address, the major source of family income and guardian information. According to a survey released by the All-China Women's Federation in 2013, China has about 61 million left-behind children. The Ministry of Education said that in 2015 there were more than 20 million left-behind children in rural areas from grades 1 to 9. "The upcoming survey expands the age, collecting information from 0 to 16, not only limited to the school age kids," said Du Kewei, an official from the Ministry of Education. In recent years, a number of tragedies have called attention to the plight of those children. Last year in Bijie, Guizhou province, four children of absent migrant workers committed suicide at home. They were aged 5 to 13. Also in Bijie last year, a 15-year-old girl and her 13-year-old brother were killed at home. Police found that the girl had been sexually assaulted before she was murdered. Their parents were migrant workers away from home. "The best way to solve the plight of left-behind children is to allow them to grow up with their parents. The survey might be able to allow government to make further policies toward that goal," said Yang Yuansong, a teacher from a rural area in Guizhou. Lance Rodewald of WHO China. The World Health Organization recommended on Tuesday that China include five additional vaccines in the country's most regulated vaccine program. The recommendation came as the WHO said it is confident in the quality of vaccines made in China, following a scandal involving substandard ones worth 570 million yuan ($88 million). The five vaccines are important to all children, Lance Rodewald, team leader of the Expanded Program on Immunization, WHO China, said at a news conference. Including them as Category 1 vaccines, which are provided for free by the government, can help improve oversight of these vaccines to better protect the health of children in China, Rodewald said. The five vaccines, which include pneumococcal conjugate, rotavirus and inactivated polio vaccine, are recommended by the WHO for all countries for mandatory use, he said. "Children ... won't need expensive treatment if they have been protected by the vaccines," he said. In China, vaccines fall under two categories. The five vaccines are currently included under Category 2 those that are optional for children and bought privately. Category 1 vaccines are those in the government's Expanded Program on Immunization. It is mandatory for children in China to be vaccinated. There are 11 such vaccines in Category 1 for children, including those for hepatitis B, polio and measles. "China's health commission is quite interested in the addition of new vaccines," Rode-wald said. The government also looks to use domestically made vaccines rather than relying on imported products, so the ability of Chinese manufacturers to supply vaccines is also an important factor, he said. On Tuesday, the National Health and Family Planning Commission did not comment on the WHO suggestion. Wang Huaqing, a physician at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news conference last week that categorizing vaccines in China is based on how essential they are and the cost. "Huge financial support is needed if all vaccines used in China are included in Category 1," he said. The vaccine scandal, first reported in February, shocked the nation and stirred heated debate over the regulation and management of Category 2 vaccines. A mother and daughter, who have been arrested in Shandong province, are alleged to have illegally sold improperly stored or expired vaccines in more than 20 provinces since 2011. Shan Juan contributed to this story. wangxiaodong@chinadaily.com.cn A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia that is fighting a war with Yemen's Shiite rebels said on Monday that it has traded 109 Yemeni prisoners taken during the fighting in the neighboring country for nine Saudis who were held captive. It was the latest prisoner exchange ahead of a scheduled April cease-fire and peace talks, coming just after tribal authorities and Yemeni officials said suspected US drone strikes killed least 10 suspected al-Qaida militants in the country. A coalition statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the trade happened on Sunday, but it did not explain how the Saudis ended up in custody in Yemen. It said the Yemenis held had been detained in "areas of operations near the border of Saudi Arabia." Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong (2nd R, back) meets with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby (3rd R, front) in Cairo, capital of Egypt, March 27, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong agreed on March 26 with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Araby on efforts to further Chinese-Arab cooperation in the cultural and technological fields. Liu said during their talks at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo that the Chinese-Arab cooperation in the areas of science, technology and culture has seen "noticeable progress." Liu's visit came a couple of months after Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a remarkable visit to the pan-Arab body during which he outlined a new vision for the Chinese-Arab cooperation and said development was "a new path" to the solution of Middle East issues. The vice premier referred to her visit as a translation of "the goals and vision that the Chinese president presented during his recent visit to the League," stressing Xi's visit had been aimed at "rejuvenating the China-Arab cooperation." She hailed the constant political trust which has been built between the two sides over the past six decades in diplomatic ties, expressing China's willingness to work on enhancing innovative, technological and educational cooperation and to expand cultural exchange with the Arab side. Liu also highlighted the significance of cooperative project proposed by Xi during his Arab League visit that included the translation of 100 Chinese and Arab books and making 100 mutual visits between Chinese and Arab experts. The project also envisioned 1,000 training opportunities for Arab youth leaders, invitations for 1,500 Arab party leaders to visit China, 10,000 scholarships and 10,000 training courses, as well as exchanges of visit between 10,000 Chinese and Arab artists. "This project is meant to maintain the core of the Chinese-Arab strategic cooperation," the Chinese vice premier said. For his part, Araby voiced the hope of the Arab side to enhance cooperation with China for mutual benefits. "China is the only big power that always supports the fair cause of the Arab world," Araby told Liu, noting that the Arab-Chinese friendship is based on "a solid ground." The Arab League chief said that President Xi's recent remarks at the League showed the great interest of the Chinese leaders in the development of Chinese-Arab ties, which has been warmly welcomed by all the Arab people. Araby also expressed the hope for further Arab-Chinese cooperation in the scientific, technological and cultural fields, stressing a keenness on maintaining China as a key partner and on holding the Arab-China cooperation forum on a regular basis. A scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet staged in Jerusalem in 2008. Shakespeare's skull is likely missing from his grave, an archaeologist has concluded.[Photo/ Agencies] A radar scan of William Shakespeare's tomb has discovered signs of tampering with his final resting place that lend credence to a story about his skull being stolen in the 18th century, researchers say. Archaeologists used ground-penetrating radar on the grave for a documentary airing on Saturday to mark the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. "We have Shakespeare's burial with an odd disturbance at the head end," says Kevin Colls, who is heading the research on the grave site at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's hometown in the United Kingdom. "It's very, very convincing to me that his skull isn't at Holy Trinity at all," he says. According to a story published in 1879, trophy hunters removed the skull in the late 18th century. The robbers would have defied the inscription on a stone slab above the grave reading: "Bleste be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones." The grave is only a meter below the floor of the church and there is no evidence of metal, indicating that the body of the Bard was wrapped in a shroud rather than buried in a coffin, the survey also found. Shakespeare is buried alongside his wife, Anne Hathaway, and the grave is a place of pilgrimage for the many fans who flock to Stratford every year. The discovery will feature in a documentary being broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 television as part of commemorations ahead of the April 23 anniversary of Shakespeare's death when there will be a series of performances and a candlelit vigil in the church. The scan - the first ever carried out - revealed significant repairs to the head-end of the grave. Local vicar Patrick Taylor says he was unconvinced by the theory that the skull had been taken away but ruled out opening the grave. "We intend to continue to respect the sanctity of his grave, in accordance with Shakespeare's wishes, and not allow it to be disturbed," he says. "We shall live with the mystery of not knowing fully what lies beneath the stone." A visitor takes pictures in front of the pink Floating Fish in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Sunday.[Photo by Zhang Di/ China Daily] After his giant Yellow Duck debuted in Hong Kong three years ago, Florentijn Hofman has made a giant pink Floating Fish for Wuzhen, an ancient water town in Zhejiang province. It is the first time the Dutch artist has made an animal-related work on the Chinese mainland. The 15-meter-long, 7-meter-high fish - made from thousands of swimming kickboards for children - floats on a pond at a theater in Wuzhen. It was shown to the public on Sunday as part of the Wuzhen International Contemporary Art Exhibition. "I got inspiration from Wuzhen and from a Chinese folk story that a fish jumping the 'dragon gate' brings luck and wealth for people," Hofman said. Six months ago, he was invited by the Culture Wuzhen Company to create a work for the art show, which features works by influential artists. Hofman then visited Wuzhen, one of the country's most popular tourist towns, where he saw windows of wooden houses with fish sculptures and also carp swimming in rivers, from where he says his inspiration came from. The theater looks like a sea world and the dolphin-shaped water area fits well with the fish installation, he said. He chose pink for his fish so that it would stand out from its surroundings. "It looks like a killer whale, but it's not really. ... It has connections to Wuzhen and the Chinese folk story - that's why its scales look like the scales of a dragon," he said. Hofman drew the image for Floating Fish, which was completed by Chinese workers using domestically produced materials. All communication for the project was carried out through e-mails, videos, photos and instant messaging. In China, Hofman has been called the "father of the giant Yellow Duck" because of the duck's popularity among Chinese people. However, he says his four children's toys inspired him to do animal-related installations. Besides rabbits, bears, the Yellow Duck and now the fish, Hofman said more animals will be added to his works. He said he hopes visitors can touch the pink fish - gently, of course - adding that he doesn't like the way in which many public works are treated in China, with visitors not allowed to touch them. "It's just like your neighbor's car. Why not touch it, as long as you treat it gently," he said. Chen Xianghong, president of the Culture Wuzhen Company, said he will buy Floating Fish for Wuzhen after the show ends in June. But some residents are not so impressed. "I don't like the pink fish. It's not a good-looking one. Holman's Yellow Duck is cute, but the fish doesn't fit with the environment of our water town," resident Ye Jun said. The houses in Wuzhen have white walls and gray tiles. dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn A tree covered in metal sheets in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, is an art installation titled Armour by Finnish artist Antti Laitinen.[Photo by Deng Zhangyu/ China Daily] Near the riverside a tree wrapped in metal sheets catches the attention of almost every passer-by. Most of them ask the same question: What's wrong with the tree? The tree covered in metal sheets is part of an art installation titled Armour by Finnish artist Antti Laitinen. He is one of the 40 artists from across the world taking part in the contemporary art show being held in the ancient water town of Wuzhen in East China's Zhejiang province. A mother tells her son that Laitinen's armored tree is sick urging him to stay away from it. A middle-aged man looks at it for a while and tells his friends that the tree has been covered to protect it from cold. For local residents and tourists from other parts of China and abroad visiting Wuzhen - among the country's most popular destinations - this kind of art is a new experience. "I can't understand most of the works. But I think they are cool. At least, I have a chance to see works by some of the best artists in the world," says Chen Xianghong, president of Culture Wuzhen Company, the show's organizer. Wuzhen got its first art museum last year after the Mu Xin art museum opened in November. Chen, who grew up in the old town, admits he knows little about art. But he says the art show that his company has organized is a good way for locals and ordinary Chinese to widen their knowledge. Dutch sculptor and architect John Kormeling has designed a moveable manhole cover. Many tourists are amused by it. A woman urges her friends to dance on it and children play with it. The artist says he wants his work to show people that life has many possibilities and one can choose any direction they wish to follow. He's glad that people love his work though many visitors just look at it as a tool or a game. Art installations placed in the water town area of Wuzhen have attracted plenty of visitors who are curious and take photos. Florentijn Hofman, who is known in China for his yellow duck installation, is the most well-known artist at the show. His new work - a pink fish for the water town - is attracting a lot of attention. Meanwhile, to see the works of big names like Bill Viola, Damien Hirst, Marina Abramovic, Sui Jianguo and Song Dong, which are placed in a silk factory, you need a ticket. The ticket costs 25 yuan ($3.8), less than the price of a movie ticket. "I will buy a ticket for the show tomorrow. I'm very curious," says Shen Yiting, 25, a local woman working in a hotel. She says all her friends have posted details of the show on social networks, and many of them have never been to an art museum before. They feel really excited and want to see the art. "Three years ago when my hometown held its first theater festival, I knew nothing about theater. Now I watch dramas every year. I think it will be the same with art," says Shen. Feng Boyi, the curator of the contemporary art show, says he hopes the event will boost knowledge of art among locals and tourists. "The Chinese in small towns have little chance to see fine art. This show gives them a chance to do so and if the show is held in the future, it will help the next generation cultivate an interest in art," says Feng. For many years now, the locals have only worked in tourism industry, the major employment generator in Wuzhen. The art show now gives their children the possibility of becoming artists, says Chen. China's struggling inbound tourism industry has shown signs of rebounding, a new report says. The report, released on Monday by the China Tourism Academy, a think tank under the China National Tourism Administration, looked at inbound tourism from January to October. It said the total visits made by overseas tourists in the 10-month period surpassed 100 million, an increase of 4.4 percent compared with the same period last year. Total revenue from inbound tourism in the first 10 months reached $47.4 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent. Foreign visitors spent $28.5 billion. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said the report confirms his assessment of last month, when he said, "The continuing down ward trend has been contained and China will see positive growth both in inbound tourist visits and expenditures by the end of this year". During the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), China's inbound tourism industry has seen three years of declining overseas visits. After slight growth in 2011, the next three years saw consecutive declines of up to 2.51 percent in the number of overseas visits. Overseas visitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan contributed to the rebound, accounting for about 80 percent of the total inbound visits. South Korea, Japan and Vietnam ranked as the top three source countries by the numbers of inbound visits. The biggest increase was in visits from Vietnam, which increased by 33.6 percent in the 10 months. During the same period, visits by Russian tourists fell by 27.6 percent. Nguyen Thi Bich Hang, a Chinese translator in Hanoi, Vietnam, said Vietnamese tourists like to travel in China, especially during the Spring Festival period. "China and Vietnam share a common culture. Vietnamese tourists are attracted by the magnificent landscape of China. "The marketing and promotion campaigns by Chinese travel agencies have worked. It is very cheap to travel in China right now. A seven-day trip to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, only costs 4,600 yuan ($718)," she added. Xu Xiaolei, a spokesman for China Youth Travel Service, said the rebound is fragile and could easily be influenced by factors such as political tensions and economic slowdown. "Some fast growth came from the close economic and diplomatic ties between China and the source countries, which could easily be affected," said Xu. "I think part of this year's rebound came from the improvement of products and services provided by Chinese travel agencies. And this growth would be very slow instead of sharp and rapid." Contact the writer at suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn During a news conference on March 16, Premier Li Keqiang said it is feasible to moderately lower social insurance premiums and those for the housing fund, in order to ease some of the burden on enterprises and let employees have more cash in hand. The 13th Five Year Plan (2016-20) also advances reducing the premiums for social security, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently said it had been conducting a feasibility study. More than 12 provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Gansu and Jiangxi, have issued documents on reducing social security premiums, generally focusing on work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance. Local authorities are lowering the premiums for these three social insurances due to the State Council's requirement last year, and because the funds of these three insurances in local areas have a surplus in their accounts. Thus the reduction of premiums will not affect the normal operation of the insurance funds. And as social security officials in Shanghai have stated, reducing the premiums for these will not affect the payments made to insured individuals. Users of social-networking app WeChat on Tuesday found their feeds full of blurred pictures, many accompanied by flirty captions. [Photo/IC] CHINESE NETIZENS recently became inflamed over the behavior of three undergraduates at Henan University of Technology in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, when one of them posted the chat history of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend online. Soon the personal information of the three students had been exposed online. The Guangming.cn commented on Monday: Originally it was just the emotional entanglements of the three people concerned, and that is how it should have remained. But when the student who was dumped by the woman posted the online chat history of the woman and her new boyfriend without their permission, the nature of the incident changed, as his action not only violated their privacy, it provoked an online witch hunt. While netizens' hunting down of officials has played a role in the anti-corruption fight, the exposure of personal information and the violation of people's privacy is an unwelcome practice. Only law enforcement officers can investigate what happened in this incident and decide if a crime has been committed. There is no justification for online "lynch mobs", and the behavior of angry netizens in such instances often violates people's privacy, which should be better protected by the law. A signboard of 4G is seen at a branch of China Mobile in Shanghai, Dec 28, 2013. [Photo/IC] THE THREE STATE-RUN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENTERPRISES that have a monopoly of the industry have published their 2015 financial reports, which show they made a profit of 380 million yuan ($58 million) per day. An article on gmw.cn commented: The profit looks significant, but a deeper look into the reports reveals some problems. China Mobile and China Unicom have seen their profits decline compared with 2014, while China Telecom, the only one that saw an increase in its profits, derived them mainly from its broadband services. Traditional services such as phone calls and text messages are declining, while data services are replacing them as the biggest part of the cake. When WeChat, the most popular domestic online instant messaging app, emerged, all three giants condemned it for challenging their texting services. They would never have expected that data services would become their main source of profits today. The rise of WeChat teaches the three telecommunication enterprises the simple lesson that there is no absolute monopoly in the market and unexpected challenges will emerge. They need to adapt themselves to the changing market or they will fail. In order to better suit the market, they must provide good, satisfying services to their customers. Since last October, the three enterprises have allowed users to carry over any unused part of their monthly data package to the next month, but people's new complaints about being overcharged for data services have been simply ignored. This is a rather silly attitude. There will always be new technologies emerging in unexpected corners that will lure their customers away. It is time the three telecommunication giants gave up the old thinking and learned to truly win the hearts of consumers. The left-behind children of Bantuan Primary School in Qiaoshan village, Luocheng Mulao autonomous county, are happy to receive new schoolbags and down jackets from local government and charitable people. [Photo by Meng Zengshi/Guangxi Daily] A national census is to be conducted to find out the exact number of left-behind children in rural areas. The Ministry of Civil Affairs revealed over the weekend that a joint mechanism of 27 State departments will carry out the census, the results of which will help make possible targeted help for such children. At present, there is little support for children left behind in the care of their grandparents or other relatives or else left to fend for themselves while their parents work in cities. Reports about juvenile delinquency or the suicides committed by such children have only added to the bleak picture. The State Council, China's Cabinet, has called for more care and attention for such children and a detailed account of their situation so help can be provided for them. Yet we don't even know the exact number of left-behind children. The All-China Women's Federation estimates there are about 61 million. But what we expect of this much needed census is not just the exact number of left-behind children, but also detailed information about the different situations they are in. On the one hand, such information is more than necessary for the central government to make related policies and determine how much money should be allocated to help them. On the other hand, only with detailed information about these children will it be possible for that money to be spent effectively. Given the scenario that millions of such children will possibly follow in their parents' footsteps and leave their rural homes to work in urban areas in the coming years, whether they can come into adulthood both physically and psychologically healthy will directly affect the quality of the country's labor force. So a well organized and conducted census is urgently needed, as are the subsequent related policies that help those children lacking parental support and guidance get the care and attention they need to grow up into psychologically healthy adults, as well as policies to help migrant workers to settle permanently in the cities where they work so their children can join them. President Xi Jinping meets Czech President Milos Zeman in Beijing on Sept 4, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] Two years ago, Xi Jinping paid his first visit to Europe as China's president. Apart from visiting four Western European countries and the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Xi also attended the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in the Netherlands. And thanks to his state visit to the United Kingdom in October 2015, Beijing and London are set to herald a "golden decade" of strategic partnership. Xi also joined global leaders at the UN climate conference in Paris in December to help strike a deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Now, Xi is paying a visit to the Czech Republic, his first to a Central or Eastern European country, from Monday to Wednesday before flying to Washington to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit. Other Chinese leaders, too, have visited European Union countries several times over the past three years, with their European counterparts paying reciprocating visits to China. These top-level visits have been accompanied by encouraging and diversified business deals and people-to-people exchanges. But despite the positive developments, European friends still ask me why Beijing is busy deepening ties with EU member states while scaling up cooperation with countries in Central and Eastern Europe. My answer is, China is doing the right thing by engaging with EU member states to help consolidate European integration. Xi made it clear during his European tour in 2014 that China is determined to forge partnerships with countries for "peace, growth, reform and civilization", which will help enhance the competitiveness of not only particular EU countries but also the EU as a whole. Europe faces challenges on many fronts, from economic growth and terrorism to immigration and integration, And China's proactive and pragmatic EU policy can help the bloc overcome some of them, because Beijing is not only offering proposals and ideas but also following them up with concerted actions. Although trade between China and the EU has been affected by the global economic slowdown, two-way investment is still going strong with Chinese investors targeting Europe as their first destination for mergers and acquisitions. Add to that the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting and spending handsomely in EU countries and students choosing European universities for higher education, and you have a promising picture. Many EU member states have welcomed China's initiatives aimed at exploring win-win opportunities and shouldering more global responsibilities. For example, the UK is on way to becoming China's "best friend" in the West and the Czech Republic has decided to scale up its ties with China to the strategic level. Also, many EU countries have supported China's Belt and Road Initiative for better connectivity of infrastructure, trade and flow of personnel, and up to 20 European countries have joined the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as founding members. Looking back on these developments a couple of years later, we can term them historic and of great strategic importance. However, we still need mega-ideas to make the world a truly peaceful and prosperous place. China has proposed and the Europeans have echoed many progressive ideas, though some Western powers have opposed them. As a Czech politician said tome recently, China and its European counterparts are helping consolidate the "economic foundation" for Eurasian and African countries by cooperating in the Belt and Road Initiative, raised by China in 2013. This should be seen as the biggest achievement of the China-EU partnership over the past two years. A real strategic partnership has just started unfolding. The author is deputy editor of China Daily European Edition. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn The Fuqing nuclear power plant is under construction.[Photo/China Daily] Many state leaders will gather at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington to discuss international nuclear security issues. President Xi Jinping put forward China's outlook on nuclear security for the first time at The Hague Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands in 2014, which has become an important concept guiding the country's efforts to strengthen nuclear security. That Xi will also attend this year's summit in Washington demonstrates China's willingness to implement the new outlook on nuclear security and its sense of responsibility when it comes to global nuclear security. The spread of terrorism has aggravated the risks of international nuclear terrorism. So the international community has to strengthen coordination and global governance in the nuclear field. A key factor in this regard is strengthening state nuclear security, and the fulfillment of countries' responsibilities and international obligations. States should have laws and supervisory mechanisms to ensure effective protection of nuclear materials and facilities, and provide all-weather institutional, technical and personnel guarantee to enhance nuclear security. To prevent nuclear terrorism, countries must abide by the principles of the United Nations Charter, support and strengthen the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable nuclear security outlook, strive to establish a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, adhere to global governance in the nuclear field, and eliminate nuclear terrorism. Beijing not only supports the maintenance of global nuclear security; it has also taken and will take necessary actions for the purpose. It has always sought security for development and promoted development through security. Nuclear security is vital for China to prevent nuclear nonproliferation, and to beef up nuclear security in the process of development. Chinese leaders have taken part in every Nuclear Security Summit and China's voice, outlook and plans have been projected to the world through the summits and welcomed by the international community. China has also implemented the decisions of these summits, fulfilled its promises, and introduced foreign capital, technology and equipment to facilitate national security and development. China welcomes all constructive global cooperation, and is committed to providing nuclear public security products. It has approved all international legal instruments concerning nuclear security, supports the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN, and is fulfilling its international obligations. The nuclear security center co-founded by China and the US, which started work on March 18 in Beijing, will help improve the nuclear security level in not only the Asia-Pacific region, but also the rest of the world. And China hopes the countries participating in the Nuclear Security Summit will reach a new consensus on nuclear security and make efforts to build a fairer, more cooperative and universally beneficial nuclear security system, so as to promote the healthy development of nuclear energy in the world and make further contributions to international nuclear governance field. The author is vice-foreign minister of China. BRASILIA - Brazil's largest party willdecide on Tuesday to break away from President Dilma Rousseff'sfloundering coalition, party leaders said, sharply raising theodds that the country's first woman president will be impeachedamid a corruption scandal. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff attends a ceremony where new health measures aimed at combating the zika virus and microcephaly throughout Brazil were announced, at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, March 23, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] The fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)will decide at its national leadership meeting on the pace ofdisengagement from the Rousseff administration, in which itholds seven ministerial posts and the vice presidency. A formal rupture appears inevitable and will increase theisolation of the unpopular Rousseff, freeing PMDB members tovote for her impeachment. That makes it likely Rousseff will be temporarily suspendedfrom office by Congress as early as May and replaced by VicePresident Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, while the Senatedecides if she should be permanently ousted. In the first step toward an imminent rupture, TourismMinister Henrique Eduardo Alves, a PMDB leader and formerspeaker of the lower house of Congress, announced on Monday hewas resigning from Rousseff's cabinet. "Dialogue, I regret tosay, has been exhausted," Alves said in his resignation letterto Rousseff. Temer aides said the vice president is ready to take overand move fast to restore business confidence in Brazil, in aneffort to pull the economy out of a tailspin. Brazilian mediareported over the weekend that a team of Temer aides is drawingup a plan for his first weeks as president. Brazil's stocks and currency rose Monday on the prospect ofRousseff's removal. Many blame her for running Latin America'slargest economy into the ground, while Temer is widely viewed asfar more business friendly. The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a note to clients itno longer expects Rousseff to survive impeachment, joining otherrisk analysts who have raised the odds of her removal. Party officials calculate that 70 to 80 percent of the 119voting members of the PMDB directorate will vote to end theparty's alliance with Rousseff and the ruling Workers' Party. One told Reuters that 75 had already pledged to do so. Rousseff is an economist by training and a former Marxistguerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil's longmilitary dictatorship. She vigorously denies any wrongdoing andrejects impeachment charges that she manipulated governmentspending accounts to help her re-election in 2014. The impeachment process only adds to the crisis hittingBrazil, shaken by its biggest corruption scandal - aninvestigation into political kickbacks to the ruling coalitionand other parties from contractors working for state oil companyPetrobras. Rousseff's government is also grappling with Brazil's worstrecession in decades and an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zikavirus, as it scrambles to host the Olympic Games in Rio deJaneiro in August. The Petrobras scandal has weakened Rousseff by reaching herinner circle with allegations against her mentor andpredecessor, Workers' Party founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An attempt by Rousseff to appoint Lula to her Cabinet wasthe last straw for many of her allies who saw it as a desperatemove to shield him from prosecution by a lower federal courtthat is overseeing most of the Petrobras case. Brazil's top court is expected to decide later this week ifLula can indeed become a minister. LULA DOWNCAST With the prospect of impeachment ending 13 years of rule byhis Workers' Party, Lula said he was "saddened" by the PMDB'sexit from a coalition he forged in 2006. The former unionleader, who remains Brazil's most influential politician, toldforeign reporters in Sao Paulo he thought agreement was stillpossible. But in Brasilia, a presidential aide said the break was"irreversible" and the Rousseff government was now focusing onindividual members of the PMDB and other parties to try toconvince them to vote against impeachment by offering government jobs and pork barrel for their districts. Lula also called for tax breaks and other measures to getthe economy growing again. The departure of the PMDB is expected to lead other smallerparties to bolt from the governing coalition, which will furtherundermine Rousseff's ability to muster one third of the votes inCongress needed to block her impeachment. The two largest, the Progressive Party (PP) and theRepublican Party (PR), each with 40 seats or more in the lowerchamber, have signaled that they are leaving. An impeachment vote is expected as soon as mid-April in thelower house. If she fails to block it with the votes of 171 ofits 513 members, Rousseff would face a trial in the Senate whereshe has lost crucial support among the PMDB. One PMDB senator, Valdir Raupp, said it would be almostimpossible for them now to stop the impeachment if it passes thelower house. PMDB senators believe it would be almost impossible for them tostop the impeachment if it passes the lower house. Rousseffwould be suspended for up to six months at the start of thetrial and Temer would become acting president. Temer is already looking at ways to cut public spending totackle a widening fiscal gap that cost Brazil's its investmentgrade credit rating, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reportedon Sunday. It said a small team of aides led by Wellington MoreiraFranco, Rousseff's former civil aviation minister, isconsidering sweeping welfare cuts in social programs that wouldbe carried out by the finance minister of a Temer government. Two names under consideration for that job are formercentral bank governors Henrique Meirelles and Arminio Fraga, thenewspaper said. A spokesman for Temer declined to comment on thereport. Logo designed for Washington State Panda Foundation by Jennifer Chun from Alki Middle School in Vancouver, WA. [Photo provided for chinadaily.com.cn] "The only thing I know about China is that it is a very big country and she has pandas." Those were the words of Annika Carlson, whose logo design was selected as one of three finalists in a contest by the Washington State Panda Foundation, at a press conference in Seattle on Monday afternoon. Annika is a sixth grader at Carthcart Elementary School in Snohomish. The other two finalists are Jennifer Chun from Alki Middle School in Vancouver, Washington, and Stefan Zucktriegel from Cascade High School in Leavenworth, Washington. Randy Dorn, Washington state superintendent of public instruction, invited K12 students from around the state to submit artwork to be considered for a logo for the panda foundation. A total of 360 logo-design applications were submitted by students from 259 school districts in the state. Last week, members of the panda foundation, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) staff, and Washington state Representative Dick Muri of the 28th District met at OSPI in Olympia and selected three logos as finalists. Nathan Olson, OSPI communications manager and a big fan of pandas, said that OSPI actively promoted the logo contest to create a positive educational opportunity for the students of the state and "not to mention that the giant panda is one of the cutest animals in the world". The three finalists and an adult chaperon will be traveling to the panda preserve in Chengdu, Sichuan province, at the end of the year, with all expanses paid by the foundation. "I like Chinese culture, and I am really excited about the trip to China," Stefan said. The panda foundation was created by a group of enthusiasts who want to bring giant pandas to the state, and they were encouraged by a favorable response from President Xi Jinping in November on future steps for bringing pandas to the state. Rob McKenna, former Washington state attorney general, and Mayor Ron Lucas of Steilacoom, both of whom have supported the foundation's efforts, also attended the press conference. CAIRO - Seven persons including three passengers are still on board the hijacked EgyptAir plane, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said on Tuesday. EgyptAir had previously said that negotiations with the hijacker had resulted in "the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners." "The captain, a co-pilot, an air hostess and a security guard remained on board, along with three passengers," Sherif Fathy said told a press conference. Hijacker of EgyptAir passenger plane has asked for political asylum in Cyprus, state TV quoted source of Egyptian Aviation Ministry as saying. The highjacker has been identified as Egyptian, the State TV said Tuesday. All but seven people on board the aircraft, which was traveling from Alexandria to Cairo, have been released. The pilot had reported that the hijacker was strapped with explosives, but Egyptian authorities have not confirmed this. The EgyptAir flight No. 181 had carried 56 passengers and 8 crew on board. The plane was heading from Alexandria to Cairo when it was highjacked and diverted to Cyprus. A hijacked Egypt Air A320 airbus stands on the runway at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus , March 29, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Citing security sources, Cypriot state media said that the motives of the hijacker appeared personal and he had asked to contact his ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus. "It is not something which has to do with terrorism," Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters. Asked if a woman was involved he said "There is always a woman involved." Security authorities said a crisis team has been set up. A team of the anti-terrorist special unit of the police has been deployed. Larnaca airport has been closed and arriving planes are being redirected to Paphos in western Cyprus. The hijacked aircraft landed at Larnaca airport earlier on Tuesday. Airport sources said Flight MS-81 was hijacked shortly after takeoff from Alexandria at 8 am. BEIJING - China has appointed a special envoy for the Syrian issue, indicating a more active role in addressing the conflict. Xie Xiaoyan, former ambassador to Iran and Ethiopia as well as representative to the African Union, has been appointed to the post, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday. "Xie, with a rich understanding of Middle East affairs, will fulfill his mission," Hong said. With the Syrian issue "at a crucial stage for settlement," China has named the special envoy to better promote dialogue, contribute Chinese wisdom and communicate with other parties to facilitate a proper solution, Hong said. Syrian government troops and the opposition are implementing a ceasefire agreement, and humanitarian assistance is progressing. The latest round of Syrian peace talks wrapped up on Thursday in Geneva. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has played a constructive role in addressing the Syrian issue. China advocates political settlement as the only solution, supports the UN's leading role and has provided humanitarian aid to Syria and surrounding countries, the spokesperson added. Jerusalem - China and Israel signed an agreement today to issue each other's applicants multiple-entry visas valid for 10 years. The agreement was signed at the venue of the second meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation, co-chaired by Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Liu has suggested China and Israel "reinforce the effective dovetailing of innovation strategies". Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Ming and his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Hotovely, signed a multiple-entry visa agreement for holders of Israeli national passports and Chinese ordinary passports. The good news about the visa facilitation was unveiled with a rising number of visits exchanged between the two countries. In January, visa exemption was achieved for holders of diplomatic passports and service passports. When meeting with Liu earlier today, Netanyahu said Israel welcomes more Chinese tourists to his country. Last year, 47,000 Chinese visited Israel, and according to Zhan, the ambassador, China's Hainan Airlines will open a direct flight between Beijing and Tel Aviv next month. Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said one of the largest comparative advantages of the Israeli economy is brainpower, and China could benefit more from expanded cultural exchanges. Eyes on innovation Diplomats and experts said the Committee meeting will refuel China's ongoing shift toward an innovation-oriented economy as there is a lot than could be learned from Israel, a leading economy with cutting-edge technologies and entrepreneurship. The two leaders witnessed 13 documents signed, covering fields such as science, education, health, culture and locality-level cooperation. Also today, Liu and Netanyahu jointly attended the opening ceremony of the official website of the China-Israel innovation cooperation center. Liu and Netanyahu also unveiled the Israel-Changzhou Initiative. Changzhou of Eastern China's Jiangsu province is home to the China-Israel Innovation Park. Chinese Ambassador to Israel Zhan Yongxin has said, "the two economies are highly complementary". "Israel has advanced technology, strong innovation, and numerous start-ups, while China is famous for its strong manufacturing capacity and broad market," Zhan told a seminar earlier this month. Passengers evacuate a hijacked EgyptAir plane at Larnaca airport in Cyprus on Tuesday.[Photo/Agencies] A hijacker who seized an Egyptian airliner and forced it to land in Cyprus has been detained, officials said on Tuesday. No one was hurt in the incident. "The hijacker has just been arrested," Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter, without providing further details. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a tweet, "It's over." A man emerged from the aircraft and then walked across the tarmac and raised his hands in surrender to two counterterrorism police officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him for about two minutes before taking him away. The hijacker had claimed to be wearing a belt of explosives when he took over the plane with 81 passengers, including 21 foreigners, and 15 crew on board and diverted it to Cyprus before releasing all the passengers except four foreigners and the crew. The EgyptAir Airbus 320 was flying from Alexandria to Cairo when it was hijacked. It landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not related to terrorism. Greek news agency AMNA reported that the hijacking had been carried out by an individual for personal reasons. First reports said the perpetrator was an Egyptian national who was married to a Greek Cypriot. The couple have four children. The man demanded that a four-page letter be delivered to his ex-wife who is living in Cyprus. Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek (L)) welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) at Prague, Czech Republic, March 28, 2016. [Photo by Lan Hongguang/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping arrived at Prague's international airport at about 2 pm local time (8 pm in China) today for an historic three-day visit. It's the first time that a Chinese president has paid a state visit to the Czech Republic since the two countries established diplomatic ties 67 years ago. Xi's plane was escorted by two Czech fighter jets when it entered the country's airspace. In a written statement released shortly after Xi's arrival, the Chinese president said that through this visit, he hopes to boost political trust and promote pragmatic cooperation with the Czech Republic. During the visit, the top leaders of the two countries will hold talks and exchange views on issues including developing strategic connections in pushing forward China-proposed Belt and Road constructions, improving bilateral ties and enhancing China-Central and East European Countries cooperation, according to the statement. "I believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, the visit will definitely be successful and it will lay the basis for the future development of China-Czech ties," Xi said in the statement. According to the schedule released by the Czech Presidential Office, the Chinese delegation will meet Czech President Milos Zeman at the Lany chateau, west of Prague, this afternoon. The two presidents together will plant a tree and unveil a commemorative plaque in the chateau. During the visit, Xi will meet with Czech Senate Chairman Milan Stech, Chamber of Deputies Chairman Jan Hamacek, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Prague Mayor Adriana Krnacova. He also will meet business people and investors. After finishing the visit, Xi will fly to the United States on Wednesday afternoon to attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit, which is to be held from Thursday to Friday. At the invitation of President Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Prague to start his state visit on March 28. This is the first visit of China's head of state to the nation since the establishment of diplomatic relations 67 years ago. It's Xi's first visit to a Central-Eastern European country and to Europe in 2016, which is expected to open a new chapter for bilateral relations. The Czech Republic is an important country in Central-Eastern Europe and European Union, and a major country player under the "Belt and Road" initiative, which holds an important strategic position to push for the "16 + 1 cooperation" and China-EU relations. Xi had published a signed article, "Time to Renew and Energize China-Czech Ties" in the Pravo Daily on Saturday. He expressed support for future development of bilateral relations. President Xi and Czech leaders are expected to engage in sincere, in-depth exchange of views, promote the "Belt and Road"initiative, "16+1 cooperation", China-EU relations, international and regional issues of common concern. Both sides will sign many cooperation agreements. Bilateral relations would usher in a new chapter in history. "16 + 1 cooperation" and China-EU relations will gain new momentum. By Xu Xiujun, deputy director of International Politics and Ecomonics Department, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; cartoon drawing by Wang Dongjie Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Czech President Milos Zeman wave to the press before holding an informal meeting at the Lany chateau, the host's private residence, March 28, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] PRAGUE - China and the Czech Republic on Tuesday decided to establish strategic partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping's first state visit to the country. President Xi Jinping arrived at Prague's international airport at about 2 pm local time (8 pm in China) on Monday for an historic three-day visit. It's the first time that a Chinese president has paid a state visit to the Czech Republic since the two countries established diplomatic ties 67 years ago. Xi's plane was escorted by two Czech fighter jets when it entered the country's airspace. In a written statement released shortly after Xi's arrival, the Chinese president said that through this visit, he hopes to boost political trust and promote pragmatic cooperation with the Czech Republic. During the visit, the top leaders of the two countries will hold talks and exchange views on issues including developing strategic connections in pushing forward China-proposed Belt and Road constructions, improving bilateral ties and enhancing China-Central and East European Countries cooperation, according to the statement. President Xi Jinping and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman attend a signing ceremony in Prague on Tuesday. MICHAL CIZEK / AFP China established a strategic partnership with the Czech Republic on Tuesday during the visit by President Xi Jinping to the European nation. It is the first state visit by a Chinese president since diplomatic ties were established with the former Czechoslovakia 67 years ago. Xi and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman signed a joint statement on the partnership after official talks. They also witnessed the signing of nine documents, covering fields such as electronic business and investment. "The strategic partnership has laid a political foundation for future development of our relations," Xi said at a news conference. Zeman has hailed the visit as a watershed in the nations' ties and has estimated that business deals to be signed during Xi's trip could bring in nearly $4 billion in Chinese investment this year. He told China Central Television earlier, "It's a new start, since we used to have terrible relations with China and the previous government gave in to pressure from the United States and the European Union. "We ... formulate our foreign policy based on our own interests." President Xi said on Tuesday the two countries will draw up a guideline to link China's Belt and Road Initiative with the Czech Republic's development strategy and further extend it to China's cooperation with countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The two nations will promote cooperation in fields including infrastructure, financing and high-technology and sign deals on large nuclear energy projects, Xi said. "In the past two years, I have met President Zeman five times. We have become good friends and old friends," he said. Following his state visit to China in October 2014, Zeman visited Beijing in September last year to attend the commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). Zeman told reporters on Tuesday that the Czech-headquartered automobile company Skoda will invest 60 billion crowns ($2.48 billion) in China to build factories. "I hope the Czech Republic will become the gateway for China to enter the European Union," he said. In the morning, Xi was greeted with a 21-gun salute at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency. He also greeted an honor guard. China is the Czech Republic's largest trading partner outside the EU, with annual bilateral trade worth $21 billion. The two countries have agreed to discuss establishing a renminbi clearing center in the Czech Republic. Ma Junchi, a researcher of European studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Xi's visit comes as the two countries in recent years have seen the fastest development since diplomatic ties were established. Zhao Junjie, another CASS researcher, said, "One of every four cars made by Skoda is now sold to China." He said the Czech Republic needs Chinese funding and advanced technology in infrastructure, and is eager to explore the huge Chinese market. Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn PRAGUE, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Senate leader of the Czech Republic met on Tuesday to discuss bilateral ties and legislative cooperation. Exchanges between legislatures of the two countries are important components of the China-Czech relations, and the strong support and active participation of the two countries' legislative institutions are indispensable to further developing bilateral ties, Xi said during a meeting with Milan Stech, President of the Senate of the Czech Parliament. Xi urged legislatures of the two countries to improve and expand communication mechanisms, conduct closer friendly exchanges at various levels and enhance experiences sharing on such fields as legislature, supervision and managing state affairs. China and the Czech legislative bodies should promote win-win cooperation on economy, trade and culture, so as to make greater contributions to consolidating the basis of popular support for bilateral ties, and promoting the development of China-Czech relations, said the president. China stands ready to work with the Czech side to conduct closer high-level exchanges, enhance synergy of their strategies, give full play to their complementarity, deepen cooperation in various areas such as economy and trade, industry, tourism, culture and sports, and strengthen people-to-people exchanges, so as to achieve greater development of bilateral ties from the new start point of their strategic partnership, he added. Stech said China's achievement in economic and social development is admirable and the two countries have enormous potential for further cooperation. The Chinese president's state visit to the Czech Republic will lift bilateral relations and promote further development of their cooperation in economy and trade, tourism and culture, Stech said. The Czech Senate is willing to have closer communication with China's relevant institutions to improve mutual understanding and jointly contribute to deepening Czech-China ties, he said. Xi arrived Monday in Prague for a three-day state visit. It is the first state visit by a Chinese president in 67 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties. PRAGUE, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the leader of the Czech Chamber of Deputies here Tuesday on further promoting bilateral ties and China-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) cooperation. China regards the Czech Republic as an important cooperation partner in the CEE region and is willing to work with the Czech side to strengthen synergy of the two countries' development in combination with the "Belt and Road Initiative," Xi said during a meeting with Jan Hamacek, chairman of the Czech Chamber of Deputies. With strong economic complementarity and the comprehensive development of bilateral ties, it is the right time with great momentum to enhance China-Czech cooperation in such fields as trade and economy, industry and culture, said the president. China is willing to continue to expand mutually beneficial cooperation with the Czech side and keep consolidating public support in both countries, so as to promote the constant, healthy and steady development of bilateral relations, Xi said. On legislative cooperation, Xi noted that China's National People's Congress and the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament have played an important role in each country's politics. "Strengthening their communication and exchanges is conducive to the friendship and trust between the two peoples, and will create a positive atmosphere for the development of bilateral ties," Xi said. The president encouraged legislative bodies of the two countries to strengthen exchanges and dialogue on management of state affairs and legislative supervision, and actively provide advice and suggestions on promoting bilateral relations and practical cooperation. For his part, Hamacek said he is very pleased by the establishment of the Czech-China strategic partnership during Xi's visit, adding that nurturing ties with China is the priority of his country's foreign policy. Czech-China cooperation in various fields including trade and economy, industry, medicine, tourism, aviation, environment protection and culture has brought tangible benefits for the two peoples, the chairman said. The Czech side speaks highly of China's Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and stands ready to actively participate in China-CEE cooperation and promote Europe-China relations under the framework, Hamacek said. He said the Czech Chamber of Deputies is willing to enhance exchanges with the Chinese legislative institution and make efforts to deepen Czech-China friendly cooperation. Xi arrived Monday in Prague for a three-day state visit. It is the first state visit by a Chinese president in 67 years since the two countries established diplomatic ties. (Photo : Motorist) The Chinese passenger bus that was shot by unidentified gunmen in northern Laos. Advertisement A passenger bus carrying 28 people crossing the Laos-China border was shot by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday, the Chinese embassy said. The bus came from Kunming in Yunnan Province in southwestern China, and was going to Vientiane, Laos. Three drivers and 25 passengers, all Chinese nationals, were inside the bus when their vehicle was shot around 9:00 pm on a road in Kasi, Vientiane. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Six were wounded while two of them were in severe conditions, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told the media. The driver was injured too, but was still able to drive the vehicle to safety. "The Chinese side has launched representations to the Laos side, requesting it to pay close attention and investigate clearly the relevant incident and also take measures to severely punish the assailants and protect the safety of Chinese citizens," she said in a daily press briefing. The injured Chinese nationals are now in a hospital in Laos. "Attackers do not ask for nationality when they attack. Therefore we call on all countries to make tangible and effective moves and enhance international cooperation on law enforcement to uphold peace and stability of all countries," Hua said, implying that the attack was random. Earlier on Wednesday just before the bus was shot, a pickup truck passing by the same road also received a rain of bullets, killings its driver. Earlier this March, a Chinese-backed company in Laos' Luang Prabang province was also attacked, killing one Chinese national and wounding three others. In late January, two Chinese were killed and one was injured after a bomb went off in Xaisomboun province. Advertisement Tagsterrorism in Asia, northern Laos, bus shooting in Laos, Laos-China, Chinese nationals killed in bus shooting, bus shooting, unidentified gunmen, Yunnan province, Vientiane (Photo : (Photo by Etienne Oliveau/Getty Images)) Advertisement The recently-issued circular by the Central Military Commission (CMC) has emphasized on the importance of terminating paid services in the military units. In a report by China Daily, it was revealed that military units in China will already stop implementing new programs and sign new contracts of paid services. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement It was further narrated that based on the circular, the termination, which will be done gradually in three years' time, was "an important political task" in strengthening the military. Thus, all units were required to fully implement the decision at all levels. In the meantime, the news report stated that the CMC of China, which is being headed by President Xi Jinping, likewise rolled out certain measures and principles in a bid to identify problems that may arise following the termination of paid services in the military units. It can be recalled that during the latter part of 2015, the country implemented a new set of reforms which included the removal of paid services in the armed forces to reduce the alleged corruption within the ranks. On the other hand, a report by Reuters noted that President Xi's fight against corruption was formally launched three years ago. A move that resulted to the investigation of several officers, including two former CMC vice chairpersons, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, who died of cancer last year. Meanwhile, it was disclosed that PLA's National Defence University professor Gong Fangbin said in an interview with the state-run "Global Times" newspaper that "Paid services can sometimes encourage corruption and the military should focus on national defense." "The announcement also aims to improve the military's combat capability," he added relative to the latest China military news. Advertisement Tagschina, Central Military Commission, President Xi Jinping, China Military News (Photo : Getty Images) Facebook is expanding its support for videos. Advertisement Facebook has apologized to a lot of users in various countries for mistakenly sending texts asking whether they were affected by a bombing by the deadly Taliban bombing in Lahore, Pakistan on Easter Sunday. Safety Check automatically sends Facebook users in an affected area a note asking if they are safe. When a user taps on the Yes, let my friends know, the tool will then notifies their Facebook friends. It is unclear how many people mistakenly received the notifications, or what led to the mistake. The social network giant said that the warnings sent to people thousands of miles away from Pakistan were caused by a bug. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Users received this notification: Are you OK? It looks like you're in the area affected by The Explosion in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Lahore, Pakistan. Let your friends know that you're safe. It happened after theTaliban bombing at a crowded park in the city of Lahore occurred. The attack killed 70 people, nearly half of them children, and wounded more than 300. We hope the people in the area of the bombing find Safety Check a useful and helpful way to let their friends and family know they are okay. Unfortunately, many people not affected by the crisis received a notification asking if they were okay. This kind of bug is counter to our intent. We worked quickly to resolve the issue and we apologize to anyone who mistakenly received the notification, Facebook said in the post, which was published to its disaster response page. Facebook users from United States, India, United Kingdom and other places received the wrong warnings. Most of them took to social networks such Twitter the message. Facebook said in a statement that they acted quickly to resolve the issue and made an apology to everyone who received the wrong notification. Safety Check was also activated during the large-scale attacks in Paris and the terrorist bombings that struck the airport and subway in Brussels, Belgium. Facebook introduced its Safety Check feature in 2014. The tool has been used for natural disaster and one of the many ways the Internet has become an essential tool in responding to crises. Advertisement TagsFacebook, Facebook Safety Check, Lahore bombing, Pakistan, Pakistan bombing (Photo : Getty Images) Chinese President Xi Jinping gets off the plane upon arrival at the Ruzyne airport on March 28, 2016, in Prague. The Chinese President is on a two-day visit to the Czech Republic. / AFP / Michal Cizek (Photo credit should read MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images) Advertisement Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Czech Republic on Monday for a two-day state visit, the first visit by a Chinese president in 67 years since the two nations built diplomatic ties. Xi said that he seeks to establish closer China-Czech ties and strengthen relations with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) during his visit. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement This is Xi's first visit to the CEE region since he assumed the presidency in 2013 and the first visit to Europe this year. Cooperation agreements Czech officials and experts are counting on Xi's visit to spur economic activities as the two sides are expected to sign cooperation agreements on economy and trade, infrastructure, health care, finance, aviation, culture, and science and technology. Analysts from both countries said that the China-Czech relations have been ushered into "the best time in history." Xi is scheduled to hold talks with Czech President Milos Zeman and meet Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. He is also expected to meet other officials of the Czech government. Opportune time "This is an opportune time for the development of the China-Czech relations. I look forward to working with Czech leaders to further enhance bilateral relations and push for new progress in '16+1' cooperation and China-EU relations," Xi said in his statement which was issued ahead of his state visit. Reports said that the Czech Republic is the second largest trading partner of China in Eastern and Central Europe over the past years while China has been Czech's largest trading partner outside of the European Union (EU). Economists from both countries said Czech's advantageous location in Europe paired with its industrial foundation bode well with Beijing and Prague who have a potentially huge cooperation in nuclear power, manufacturing, and infrastructure. "Belt and Road Initiative" During Xi's visit, the two countries are expected to ink a number of cooperative agreements and follow up on China's "Belt and Road Initiative." Reports said China's Belt and Road Initiative has created opportunities for economic cooperation between the two nations as they merge their efforts and capabilities in coming up with developmental strategies. In November 2015, Beijing and Prague signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly build the Belt and Road Initiative. Bilateral ties between Prague and Beijing have never been better with the opening of a direct flight between the two countries in 2015 and the inauguration of a Chinese medicine research center in the Czech Republic that same year. Advertisement TagsCzech Republic, President Xi Jinping, Czech President Milos Zeman, China-Czech relations, cooperative agreements, Belt and Road Initiative (Photo : (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)) Advertisement To ensure the success of China-supported railway projects being carried out in Indonesia and Thailand, the Chinese government is calling for closer cooperation with the two countries. At a recent news briefing, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said that the consensus China has made with the two Southeast Asian countries to build the railway projects is based on mutual benefit and is expected to be a "win-win" proposition for all parties involved, reported Xinhua via China Daily. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement According to Hong, the concerned national departments of the three countries are in constant communication to keep each other updated on the progress of the China-funded railway projects. "We will push for the smooth construction of the railways to benefit the Indonesian and Thai people and to improve economic development, people-to-people exchanges and connectivity in the region," he said. In October of last year, China Railway forged an agreement with Indonesia's state-owned enterprises which led to the establishment of a joint venture to build and operate the Jakarta-Bandung railway. Under the agreement, the Indonesian companies will control 60 percent of the stake in the venture. The 150-km railway project is projected to reduce travel time from Jakarta to Bandung from more than three hours to less than 40 minutes. In 2014, China and Thailand inked a deal which aimed to develop Thailand's transportation infrastructure. Thai sources reveal that the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima railway will purchase Chinese-built trains and use Chinese technology and signal systems. The Chinese-supported railway project will operate at top speeds of 160 to 180 kilometers per hour. Advertisement Tagschina, railway project, Foreign Ministry, Thailand, Indonesia A Chrysler sign embellishes the Walton Chrysler Plymouth Jeep dealership in Skokie, Illinois. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images) Advertisement Barely a day after Italian car maker Maserati announced a recall of at least 20,000 cars in China, American automobile manufacturer Chrysler also announced a recall of 60,332 Dodge Journey SUVs on the Chinese mainland. The reason for the recall: a faulty anti-lock braking system (ABS) that could increase the risk of a crash, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The recall involves Chrysler's Dodge Journey SUVs built between April 21, 2012 and April 14, 2015. Additionally, Chrysler is also recalling 4,082 of its 2015 Jeep Cherokee SUVs in China due to fire risk. According to the country's top quality watchdog, Chrysler discovered that water could lead into the vehicles' ABS module and disable the ABS and the electronic stability control system. This defect could increase the risk of a crash, according to the quality watchdog in a notice, which added that the recall will start on 18 April. The notice said Chrysler will work on the ABS wiring harness by sealing it and then replace the vehicles' ABS module, headlamp and dash-wiring harness, as needed. The recall of at least 4,000 Jeep Cherokee SUVs is also due to an air-conditioning hose that may have been installed incorrectly, which could lead to a possible car fire. Earlier, a defective design on Maserati's floor mat and accelerator pedal has triggered the Italian luxury car maker to recall a total of 20,842 vehicles in China. The recall involves Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli models that were manufactured between March 22, 2103 and December 3, 2015 and imported to China. Starting March 28, the Italian luxury car maker will replace the mat and pedal on the imported Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli models for free, the official Xinhua news agency has reported. Advertisement TagsChrysler, Chrysler China, Chrysler China Recall (Photo : Photo by Ethan Miller | Getty Images) LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 07: Samsung SDS President Dr. WP Hong delivers a keynote address at CES 2016 at The Venetian Las Vegas on January 7, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 9 and features 3,600 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 150,000 attendees. Advertisement Samsung announced that their mobile wallet service is now available in China in partnership with UnionPay. The Samsung Pay functions as a cardless payment system equipped with a near field communication technology or NFC that enables phones to work with credit card machines. Customers can now pay their purchased items by only using one device. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement On Tuesday, the company described their service as "simple, safe and easy to use" and works "virtually anywhere you can swipe or tap your card in China." Apparently, the South Korean electronic company service in China currently works with smartphones like Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S7/S7 Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge+ but notes that they will be working on their mid-range units compatibility in the future. Samsung Pay supports selected debit and credit cards of China's nine major banks like China Construction Bank, China CITIC Bank, China Everbright Bank, China Guangfa Bank, China Merchants Bank, China Minsheng Banking, Hua Xia Bank,Ping An Bank, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Furthermore, it will soon be partnering with Bank of Beijing, Bank of China, China Bohai Bank, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Industrial Bank, reported by VentureBeat. According to China Internet Network Information Center, the country currently has 358 million people that are using their smartphones as a payment method. Before Samsung officially launched their mobile wallet service in China, local companies such as WeChat and Alipay have already taken their lead in the market. These apps have covered payment for taxi services, online shopping and a feature that allows users to give "red pockets" during Chinese New Year, reported by Engadget. Considering Samsung's brave entry to China, IDC research firm's Bryan Ma believes that Samsung might encounter challenges in the future due to the strong competition against Alipay and WeChat. Advertisement TagsSamsung, UnionPay, mobile wallet service, Samsung Pay, WeChat, Alipay, China Banks, NFC payment (Photo : Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for IMG) Advertisement After the "Sexiest Doctor Alive" admitted that he is dating Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, it appeared that the Filipina beauty queen has opted to keep mum this time. According to a report by Ricky Lo of the "Philippine Star" newspaper, the 26-year-old beauty tilt winner refused to comment when asked about her highly-talked about "romance" with the Russian-born medical practitioner, Mikhail "Dr. Mike" Varshavski . Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "Sorry but I'm here in the Philippines for an endorsement shoot and been very busy doing that," the statuesque beauty reportedly responded. "I was also advised by Miss Universe (Organization) not to do any interviews while I'm here without their permission." She further continued by saying, "I'm so sorry but I'm just following them." Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach arrived in the Philippines on March 22. Meanwhile, she shared several insights that have honed her to achieve her goal during the presentation of 40 candidates for this year's "Bb. Pilipinas," the pageant responsible in producing the latest Miss Universe, the "Philippine Daily Inquirer" newspaper reported. "Don't forget the essence of pageants," said the titleholder, who flew all the way from New York to the capital of the Philippines. "Why do girls join pageants? Because it's a platform for you to open doors for other opportunities in life." "Don't forget that," she added. "That's something you really have to believe in." She also emphasized that "All this is temporary. Think of the future, plan ahead." "Enjoy the moment while you're here. You'll never get this again-the preliminaries, this press presentation, the coronation night on April 17-make the most of it, like we did," she pointed out. "Know exactly what you want. Have fun with it." The Philippines, particularly the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI), is reportedly keen about producing another international beauty queen this year, following Pia Wurtzbach's success in the Miss Universe 2015 competition. Advertisement Tagsmiss universe 2015, Pia Wurtzbach, Dr. Mike, Sexiest Doctor Alive (Photo : Reuters) Google temporarily eluded China's 'Great Firewall' and was accessible to users in the country for a few hours this week. Advertisement A recent glitch in China's notorious "Great Firewall" temporarily allowed Chinese Internet users to access Google, albeit only for a couple of hours. Reports indicate that Chinese users were able to use Google's services for about two hours this week before it was taken down. According to South China Morning Post, IP addresses from mainland China were able to access Google's website from 11:30 P.M. March 27 until 1:15 A.M of March 28 local time. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Tech analysts claim that Google was able to bypass China's stiff Internet censorship protocols by introducing a series of new servers based in Asia. These servers were relatively unknown to Chinese officials and it apparently took them a while to identify and block all of it. The recent slip was the first time that Google's search engine had been accessible in China since the country blocked the service in 2010. Google was blocked in China six months after Beijing announced that its search engine was "inconsistent and unreliable" in the country. A closer look at the recent event reveal that Google was unblocked in China for 105 minutes. These precious minutes were deemed a win for the search engine in its ongoing censorship battle with China. The Google China search engine services stopped operation in 2010 after it refused to censor its search results as demanded by the Chinese government. In 2011, Google accused China of allegedly tempering with Gmail in order to stop a social uprising. In December 2014, Google's email service was completely blocked after reports claiming that users can still access Gmail by using third-party apps such as Microsoft Outlook. Google's video sharing service YouTube has also been blocked in China since 2009. Aside from the Google search engine, reports claim that other Google services such as Gmail and Google Photos were also unlocked temporarily. Advertisement TagsGoogle, Google China, china, china great firewall, Firewall, Great Firewall, Google ban, China Google ban, Google services Claims that ISIS crucified Indian priest, but doubt remains 29 March, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | LONDON (Christian Examiner) A British newspaper has reported that an Indian Catholic priest abducted by a faction of the Islamic State in Yemen earlier this month was crucified on Good Friday, but enough doubt about the claim still exists to give church leaders hope the priest may still be alive. Father Thomas Uzhunnalil was abducted March 4 after militants stormed the nursing home in Aden where the priest and several foreign nuns were caring for the elderly and other refugees from the four-way war between Yemeni Shiite Houthi rebels, ISIS, the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia. Almost immediately after the abduction, reports began to circulate that ISIS would make a mockery of the crucifixion of Jesus by crucifying the priest on Good Friday. In this context, we reiterate that so far no information about the place or the current condition of Father Tom has come from credible and reliable sources. Therefore, we make a sincere appeal to all those concerned to stop spreading such unsolicited, misleading messages. Meanwhile we continue to pray for Fr. Tom, may the Lord protect him from all pain and deliver him from the clutches of evil forces as soon as possible. While public crucifixion is not uncommon for ISIS, what is unusual is that ISIS, which normally makes much of such public spectacles, has released no video of the priest's martyrdom. In spite of the absence of hard proof, on Easter Sunday Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, the archbishop of Vienna, announced to his congregation that the priest had been crucified. The report was then picked up in Austrian media and, subsequently, English-language media. The archbishop later said through a spokesman that though the announcement was made, it was made without confirmation of the priest's death. Instead, the spokesman said, the report was based on media from the region. Indian officials claim there are, in fact, no such reports of the priest's crucifixion. In fact, there is no news at all, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday. Swaraj pledged the Indian government would undertake every effort to see the priest returned unharmed. A spokesman for the priest's Bangalore province, Father Mathew Valarkot, also said the church had "absolutely no information" about Uzhunnalil's whereabouts or his physical condition. All of the reports, he insisted, were based on rumors about those responsible for the abduction. No group has contacted the Catholic Church to demand ransom or claim responsibility for the attack. "These are all rumors. When no has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, how do we know other details?" Valarkot asked. On March 23, the Vatican encouraged the Catholic faithful to hold prayer vigils for the Salesian priest. It also warned about speculating on the priest's fate until the church had received a definitive report. "In this context, we reiterate that so far no information about the place or the current condition of Father Tom has come from credible and reliable sources. Therefore, we make a sincere appeal to all those concerned to stop spreading such unsolicited, misleading messages. Meanwhile we continue to pray for Fr. Tom, may the Lord protect him from all pain and deliver him from the clutches of evil forces as soon as possible," the Vatican's statement said. Uzhunnalil is a Salesian priest, or a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious order founded during the Industrial Revolution to care for poor children and the elderly. In June 2014, a Jesuit priest, Father Alexis Prem Kumar also from India was abducted by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was released in February 2015 after being warned he would be killed if he returned. Uzhunnalil had been in Yemen since 2010. Four nuns of the order of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, and eleven others, died in the attack on the nursing home. Brussels terrorist survivor describes ministry to news crews, children crying 28 March, 2016 by Brian Blackwell/Baptist Message , | BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (Christian Examiner) A Louisiana Baptist music minister is thankful to be alive after surviving a terrorist attack March 22 at a Brussels, Belgium airport. Jeff Slaughter, an interim music minister at First Baptist Church in Greenwood, told the Baptist Message that he had just walked into the airport departure area to check-in for his return flight back to Shreveport when he heard the first explosion, just 200 feet away. Moments later, a second bomb exploded. "That's when the ceiling tiles began raining down and all I could think was 'get out,'" he said. "I was spared so much more than others were. I'm thankful for that but all the more aware of what others are going through." For the remainder of the day Slaughter said he felt numb and even now the tragedy still seems unreal. "It's hard to believe that what I'm seeing on the television is what was behind the walls of the airport after I walked out," he said. "It looks like a war zone with smoke filling the room, debris all over the place, dead and injured littered about and children crying for their parents. "It was a surreal experience," he continued. "You know what's happening but you just don't believe it. I've learned since then that the God-given instinct of fight or flight keeps you from dwelling on anything but getting away from danger." Slaughter and his wife lived in Europe for 15 years, but since moving to Shreveport, he makes multiple trips a year to Europe for ministry-related activities. The tragedy provided Slaughter a chance to minister to a member of a news crew covering the attack. After Slaughter completed an interview, the cameraman told him about how he had survived a bomb explosion in Frankfurt, Germany, 25 years ago. He complimented Slaughter for how well he was handling the Brussels situation and said he wished he had done a better job of handling his tragedy, Slaughter said. "He felt guilty for many years for taking photos of the bomb scene rather than immediately helping the injured. I encouraged him a moment and felt that somehow my story had really connected with him." Slaughter, whose return date to Shreveport is not set, is asking Louisiana Baptists to pray for those families affected. "Pray for the leaders of the nation, of the European Union, and the leaders of other countries affected," he said. "This is not just a Belgian problem it's a European problem and not one with a clear answer. Pray that Jesus will be lifted high and draw all men to Him. Just thank God with me that I am safe and sound. He also asked for prayer for his ongoing ministry outreaches in Europe "that God will use them to encourage the church, evangelize the lost and equip the saints," he said. Reflecting on the tragedy, Slaughter said he was thankful that by the grace of God he survived. "I am aware that my story could have been very different," he said. "I could have entered a door further down or decided to run by Starbucks before going to weigh my luggage. "Either decision though seemingly minor would have put me in the path of one or the other bomb," he said. "All I can do is 'thank God' I was spared and be responsible with the life He has continued to allow me to live." This story was first published in the Louisiana Baptist Message and is used with permission. New ABC comedy 'The Real O'Neals' mocks God Guest Reviewer | 29 March, 2016 by Michael Foust LOS ANGELES (Christian Examiner) Two media watchdog groups are warning parents that despite the TV-PG rating of ABC's new comedy "The Real O'Neals," the program is anything but family-friendly. The show debuted in early March and follows the lives of a Chicago-based Catholic family that has a gay 16-year-old son, a 17-year-old son is who anorexic, a 14-year-old daughter who is questioning her faith, and two parents who are divorcing. The plot itself would make some families nervous about their children watching it, but the Parents Television Council (PTC) said the show's episodes are full of adult content and should not be aired at 7:30 p.m., which is the broadcast time in about half the country. Research by the PTC showed that that "The Real O'Neals" includes bleeped profanities every 43 seconds and a significant amount of sexual references and innuendo. In fact, of the adult-themed content, 83 percent was sexual, the PTC research showed. "ABC has essentially inserted explicit and adult-themed humor into a PG-rated primetime program that is about a family, created for families, and aired at a time when children are likely to be watching," said PTC President Tim Winter. "Even worse, much of the sexual and expletive-laced dialogue is delivered by characters who are children. Simply put, the network is defrauding parents by rating this show as appropriate for young children." According to the TV ratings system, TV-PG means the program "contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children" implying that the program is OK for older children. Programs with adult content often carry a TV-14 rating, which means the "program contains some material that many parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age." "The Real O'Neals" contains content that would not be included in a PG-rated film, Winter added. "Is sexual dialogue among minors really appropriate for a TV-PG show?" he asked. "Are the standards for Disney-owned TV-PG content that dramatically different than Disney-released PG films, such as Cinderella, Inside Out, and The Good Dinosaur? I'd argue that most parents would not agree that the kind of content found in 'The Real O'Neals' is anywhere near acceptable for family audiences." A second media watchdog group, One Million Moms, said the new program "mocks Christianity and insults Catholicism." One Million Moms released a list detailing the offensive content. It included: "Jesus appears where only the gay son can see and talk to Him, and He is annoyed by the mom's strict guidelines for her family. "The daughter 'attempts to prove' there is no God in a science fair project. "A statue of Mary is kept above the O'Neal's toilet to remind the boys to put the seat down. "The mother encourages her 16-year-old gay son to 'try sex' with a girl. "The mom makes pancakes shaped like the face of Jesus to guilt trip her anorexic son into eating." Winter said the program should be given a different rating and moved to a later time. "We call on the network to reconsider its content rating for this program," Winter said. "And we call on all corporate sponsors to reconsider whether their brands should be associated with a show that spews such explicit content without any real consideration for family viewers." Pastor Rick Warren delivered an Easter sermon to the Saddleback church on "Easter Means It's A New Day Of Mercy." At the southern California campus of Saddleback church, Warren underlined that God sent Jesus to show mercy to everyone, and how that relates directly to our lives through three examples interwoven in the sermon. Warren, the author of best-selling book "The Purpose-Driven Life," held 57 Saddleback Easter services at 16 campuses in US and foreign countries including in Germany, China, Argentina, and Philippines. In his Saturday service, Warren set the theme of the sermon by quoting from the verse, "A new day will dawn on us because our God is loving and merciful." He told the crowd to lay emphasis on the word "merciful," because he said "most people don't understand how merciful God IS... that is why they avoid God, are afraid of God, and are distant from God." Warren said that he will tell us of three areas where God shows us mercy: "When we are ashamed, when we are angry, when we are afraid." He exemplified God's mercy in these areas through three instances in the Bible, and he said this is how God wants to show us mercy in our own lives too. To begin with, he told the story of the "humiliated woman" from John 8:2-6, who is caught in adultery. The Pharisees wanted to stone her, but Jesus told them that the one who had no sin must be the one to stone her first. Warren explained that Jesus protected the dignity of woman in public, but then dealt with her one-to-one. The pastor went on to say that if people claim to be followers of Christ, then they must treat everybody with dignity. Warren said that just like the way Jesus responded to the sinful woman, "he [Jesus] does not condemn you, he does not condone you, he changes you... God's mercy forgives me [from my past] and frees me [to do better next time]." Then he touched on the topic of anger, and where it comes from. He said, all the anger "either comes from fear or frustration... the more needs go unmet in your life, the more angry a person you become." So, Warren put it down to this, "Anger: I need God's mercy when I don't have what I need." He continued, "we are finite, weak, broken people with weaknesses. We all have things we lack in life..." The Pastor said, "God did that intentionally so that we all need each other, and we all need Him... You all have disabilities. You all cannot think in certain ways other people can think... You have got emotional disabilities that keep coming over and over in your relationships." Warren said, we don't have it all in us, because God wants us to be dependent. "In America, independence is the highest quality" one seeks, but he noted that, "God wants us to be dependent on him... When your children depend on you, you are happy because it shows their confidence in you. They believe in you." He then told the story of the disabled man from John 5:2-5. Warren mentioned that the spiritual meaning of the instance recorded in Bible is that "we are all disabled people," and then he says, "This guy is upset, he is disappointed, he is frustrated, he is lying by the stinking pool for 38 years. Why? Because he put his faith in something else besides God. And you are always going to be disappointed if you want something else or someone else to meet your need in your life that only God can meet." "What is your secret and deepest disappointment?" he asked. "You would say, 'I am disappointed with my marriage; I am disappointed with myself.. at this time I should have been so far down the road; I am disappointed with a child; I am disappointed with my career.'" "How does Jesus responds to our disappointment? He responds with mercy," Warren said. Jesus asks that man, "Do you want to get well?" Now, Pastor Warren says, "Well, this is an obvious question. Why won't he want to get well?.. But he asked this question because a lot of people don't want to get well. Getting well means you have to change and change is scary. And health means I have to take on responsibilities. I can't just blame other people, I can't just lay around. Health means I have got new things that are scary in my life. A lot of people don't want to get well. Do you want to get healthy in your relationships? Do you want to get healthy with God? Do you want to get healthy in your life? Do you want to get well?.. I have counseled numerous people on divorce, death, relationships, you name it, in very miserable condition.. they don't want to change... If you change yourself, that will change the equation of your relationship. But people blame, rationalize, without wanting to change... So Jesus asked him the straight-forward question, 'Do you want to change?' And he doesn't give him a straight-forward answer." Here is what the person says, Warren noted, "'Sir,' the invalid replied, 'I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred [Jesus did not ask him that question]. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me [Jesus did not ask him that question]." "See, here his anger comes out. He is blaming other people," Warren pointed out. "What was Jesus' response? Mercy... I know that many godly people live with chronic pain.. But I do know this, when I ask for God's help, God's mercy makes the impossible possible. He can do things I cannot do. He has power I don't have. He has resources I have never even thought of." Then he read from Luke 18:27 "What is impossible with men is possible for God." But, Warren said many people might question, "Why doesn't God take away all my problems?" Because, he answered, "God is more interested in our character, than in our comfort. Comfort is in heaven. Right now, this is a school. God wants you to grow up, and some things you only learn through tough times, like persistence, determination, diligence, and patience. If you always got your way, you will never learn patience ... What is impossible with men is possible with God." Lastly, he came to problem of secret fears. "There is one fear that is common to men and women both, and that is the fear of death," so he laid out the third area where we need God's mercy. "Afraid: I need God's mercy when facing death." The pastor said, "Last time I checked, mortality rate was 100%. Everybody dies. And if you don't have faith, it is going to be fearful. I am not afraid to die. I have not been afraid of dying for decades. But, if you don't know God, and if you don't have made peace with God, and if you don't have mercy of God, you are going to be fearful about death. You probably don't even like to talk about it." He took out the example of a dying man in Luke 23. It is the story of a thief dying on the cross with Jesus. "One of the criminals being executed on a cross besides Jesus ridiculed Him, saying if you are supposed to be the Messiah, why don't you save yourself...and us too! [Luke 23:39-41]" He explained, "Jesus did not came to save himself, he came to save us. He is going to hang there in pain for my sins and your sins. He didn't come to save himself. Certainly Jesus could have taken Himself off the cross. He created the world, He created the universe. But it was not nails that held him to the cross, it was love. Love for you." Warren continued with the Bible verse, "...But the second criminal rebuked him, 'Man, don't you even fear God when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds but this man hasn't done anything wrong!'" Pastor said that most people who reject God think that there is nothing after death, but that "there is life after death. Jesus proved it. I am betting on what he said." Warren read the rest of the verse, "Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'" Only mercy is need to get to heaven, and only pride keeps us away from heaven, Warren explained. "Because it is not about what you say, but about humility... Your pride will keep you away from heaven, your unwillingness to accept the mercy of God. Because that is the only way you are going to get there... The man did not ask Jesus to keep him from dying, which He could. He did not ask Him to relieve him of his pain, which He could. He realized his greatest need was forgiveness from his sins." In his closing notes, he said, "When I come to God humbly, God's mercy will save me for eternity. This is what Jesus promised, 'I guarantee you that today you will be with me in paradise.'" The Pastor explained the meaning of the last portion of the verse, "Jesus replied, 'I assure you, today you will [it's certain] be with me [it's a relationship] in paradise [that is a place forever].'" "Let me wrap it up, 'You are made by God to last forever and he wants you to be in his forever-family, but you have to ask,'" he said, and recited this verse from Acts 2:21, "Anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved." Why should religious freedom advocates pay attention the Apple-FBI encryption debate? Last week, the battle between Apple and the FBI came to a temporary standstill when the FBI announced that an independent third party had offered a solution for unlocking the San Bernardino terrorists iPhone. But this pause doesnt end the underlying dispute between the government and Apple, which will continue to make encrypted devices. As an Apple spokeswoman stated on Monday, This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion. When the tech giant sought to block a federal request to access the San Bernardino terrorists iPhone, privacy was clearly a major issue at stake. In a court filing last month, Apple attorneys cited the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendments due process clause. By claiming these constitutional protections as a corporation, their defense recalled another company in the headlines for resisting government orders: Hobby Lobby. More than half of Americans sided against Hobby Lobby before the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that granted them a religious accommodation from a generally applicable lawa requirement that employers cover contraceptives in their health plans. Critics claimed that corporations, unlike actual persons, cannot have constitutional rights; in addition, many were distressed that the decision allowed Hobby Lobbys owners to operate their closely held company consistent with their personal religious opposition to the morning-after pill. Supporters claimed that it was unreasonable for the government to not offer to closely ... 1 Our obsession with numerical growth may be the unseen culprit behind a lot of burnt out pastors and unhealthy churches. Pastoring Shouldn't Be this Hard (With 4 Steps to Make It Easier) Read as Single Page Page 1 of 3 Image: Randen Pederson | Flickr Pastoring is hard work. But should it be this hard? According to a post by Philip Wagner, Peter Drucker said that the four hardest jobs in America are: The President of the United States A university president A CEO of a hospital A pastor (UPDATE: Please note the disclaimer about the attribution of this quote at the end of this post.) In recent years, after suffering through my own mostly self-inflicted pastoral grief, Ive come to this conclusion: If pastoring is the fourth hardest job in America, were not doing it right. Pastoring Was Not Intended to Be Like This The New Testament writers never sugar-coated the challenges of ministry, but even in Pauls list of hardships he endured for the sake of the gospel, he chided himself, saying I am out of my mind to talk like this. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) And thats a man who was under Roman persecution! If a pastor in modern-day America feels were under pressure equivalent to the Apostle Paul, a lot of it has to be self-inflicted. Pastoring was never meant to be as hard as we make it. Pastoring was never meant to be as hard as we make it. With that in mind, Ive assembled a short list that has helped me make the task of pastoring less burdensome and far more joyful. 1. Stop Being a Martyr Many of us work ridiculous hours in ministry, and not always because we need to, or even because others expect it of us. Many of us have a desperate need to be everyones hero, so were doing tasks that others should be doing. So why do we keep doing them? Heres a hard truth. Dont dismiss it too quickly. Many pastors like hearing that our job is hard. We thrive on it. Yes, martyrdom is sometimes considered one of the spiritual gifts, but Im pretty sure Paul was talking about the kind of gift you only get to use once not the gift that keeps on giving. Much of that martyr syndrome comes from guilt. We feel guilty if were not doing everything for everyone. But no church can get healthy, and no pastor can stay healthy that way. 2. Start Making Disciples Any church that requires the pastor to do all the ministry is unhealthy. Whatever its size. And so is its pastor. Its not easy to make mature disciples. But its the pastors primary calling. Make disciples. Prepare Gods people to do ministry. (Matt 28:19 & Eph 4:12) In the short run it often seems easier to do certain jobs yourself. But in the long run it will ruin you and cripple your church. home Faith Christians taking refuge in Kurdistan region celebrate Easter The Kurdistan Region is now hosting more and more people who are fleeing war-torn areas, Christians among them. A report by Rudaw says that in two days this week, approximately 1,500 people who have fled areas controlled by the Islamic State terror group reached the Peshmerga front lines -- and with difficulty. One woman said that as they were trying to reach Iraqi soldiers, militants shot at them with a mortar. One man interviewed said, "Life is like hell under ISIS. We have been living in darkness for two years." Among those taking refuge in the Kurdistan Region are Christians, numbering to more than 100,000, said Rudaw in another reprot. And while they are momentarily settled in camps at Duhok province, they didn't fail to celebrate Easter and they have not lost hope that they would be able to return to their homes in the near future. "Next Easter, we hope to return to our homes and want our city to be liberated," the news site quotes a child named Farah Waad as saying. Waad is staying at the Dawdia Refugee Camp. Another internally displace person, Etimad Nafie, said, "We have prepared some simple things on this occasion. Before, in our homes, we would prepare more elaborately. We hope for peace and security so we can return to our homes." IS has terrorized many Christians, and among the first to suffer the intimidation in 2014 were the people of Mosul, Nineveh in northwestern Iraq, but the violence is not limited to the area. "Baghdad militias terrorize them and intimidate them into leaving, which they have done in droves," journalist Stivan Shany said, as quoted by Rudaw. "If these current trends continue we will have no Christians in Iraq in just a short few years." And while the displaced people undoubtedy wish to return to their homes, they at least have the freedom to celebrate their holidays while staying in the Kurdistan camps. Groups like the Barzani Charity Organization are helping to accommodate the IDPs, but it is expected that the 1.7 million people will grow in numbers as more inhabitants of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, occupied by the IS, are likely to take refuge in the area. home World Church leaders react to Pakistan Islamist militant attack on Christians The suicide bombing in a park in Lahore, Pakistan on Easter Sunday has taken the lives of 70 people, at least 29 of which were children. The Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility and said that Christians were their target. Leaders of the Christian community have condemned the attack. Pope Francis called the act "a vile and senseless crime" and prayed to God to "stop the hands of the violent ones who sow terror and death." He said, "I appeal to civil authorities and all sectors of that nation to make every effort to restore security and serenity to the population, and in particular to the most vulnerable religious minorities." According to the BBC, 1.6 percent of the Pakistani population is Christian. It is the second largest group of minorities in the country following Hindus, while majority of the people are Muslims. Prior to the partition, 15 percent of the population was part of the minority group, but this has declined to only 4 percent. Christians are mostly found in Karachi, Punjab, Lahore adn Faisalabad. And while Christians and Muslims co-existed without major confrontations before, BBC says that mob violence often broke out due to accusations of blasphemy. A recent one was in 2010 when a Christian woman was sentenced to death due to alleged blasphemy but Punjab governor Salman Taseer supported her. Because of this, Taseer was murdered by his own bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, whose execution in February resulted to protests by the Muslim community. In recent years, there have been high profile outbreaks, such as the burning of churches and Christian schools in Faisalabad in 2005, the suicide bombing of a church in Peshawar in 2013, and two bomb explosions in churches in Lahore in 2015. The bombing of the amusement park in Lahore on Easter Sunday, according to Reuters, was the fifth one done by the militant group since December, which declared its allegiance to the Islamic State. "The perversity of evil knows no bounds. It sinks to a new low of hatred in deliberately targeting women and children celebrating their Easter Day in peace," said Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster, as quoted by The Guardian. "This despicable act, aimed at Christians, is utterly contemptible and condemned just as we fervently pray for those who have died and been wounded." The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said in a tweet: "We pray for the victims of Lahore to the crucified God who brings hope in despair, whose love is with the victims, who promises justice" Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto at Apple SoHo yesterday. Play #SuperMarioRun early at Apple stores worldwide. https://t.co/Y6W7X12704 pic.twitter.com/qqYLRrK2Lv App Store (@AppStore) December 9, 2016 RT, however, reported that the sympathy given by politicians, celebrities, and the online community in general, to those in Lahore was lacking compared to the outpouring of support during the Paris and Brussels attacks. RT, however, reported that the sympathy given by politicians, celebrities, and the online community in general, to those in Lahore was lacking compared to the outpouring of support during the Paris and Brussels attacks. home Life Viking hoard includes Christian artifacts, Byzantine Church was rich In recent weeks, there have been revelations from museums about their discoveries related to Christianity, such as 1,100 year-old crucifix found in Denmark, a piece of pottery that gives clues to early Christians in Roman London, and inscriptions in a 500-year Bible about the Reformation. There are more. Last week, the contents of a Viking hoard was disclosed and some of them might have been taken from monasteries. Nobody ever asks me when season three is coming. I've never been asked even once. I guess everybody is just patiently waiting? :/ Justin Roiland (@JustinRoiland) December 9, 2016 According to the National Geographic, there were two treasure troves found during the controlled dig done by archaeologists. The one in the upper layer contained arm rings, a gold bird-shaped pin, and 67 silver ingots. The one lower in the ground was a rare Carolingian vessel of silver-copper alloy packed with carefully wrapped treasures. "It's a strange and wonderful selection of objects," Edinburgh Viking specialist and independent scholar Olwyn Owen said, as quoted by the NatGeo. "[The Viking owners of the trove] filled the vessel right to the top, and then they wrapped it in layers of textiles and put it in the ground." "Nothing was thrown in the vessel," says Owen. "[The objects] were wrapped with great care and packed extremely tightly together, and they are such special objects that they were clearly enormously important to their Viking owner." This includes nine richly ornamented silver brooches that means that "some Anglo-Saxon monastery or settlement had a very bad day," said Owen. A gold pendant was also found, and it could have once been decorated by a saintly relic as well as an enameled medieval Christian cross. According to The Guardian, the treasure trove that contains more than 100 items was found by a recreational archeolist/ metal-detector enthusiast in the Galloway region in Scotland in September 2014. Based on the items in the collection, archaeoligists have dated the artifacts to the early 10th century. Meanwhile, artifacts and a mosaic were discovered in the excavation at the Byzantine Church in the south of Jerusalem in Israel. According to Breaking Israel News, there was a handle bearing the seal of the Three Bibical Magi, along with pieces of pottery, coints, and glass items. "The findings at the church indicate great wealth," Haim Shkolnik, the one who led the excavation, told Tazpit Press Service. "There were many types of marble and glass used and it had drainage channels, a rare feature for Byzantine churches. It also had an underground crypt with two staircases leading down to it, which is also a very rare feature." Worship was reportedly done in a cave at first, some time in the fourth century, then in the fifth century, the church was built and the cave was used as a crypt. It was during the Byzantine era that the basilica complex was built. However, after the Muslim conquest, it was no longer used as a church. Abortion in Northern Ireland: New guidelines hint at liberalisation New guidelines that hint at the liberalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland have been published. They appeared on the department for health's website late on Good Friday evening in what appeared to be attempt to avoid controversy. The region's law on fetal termination is the strictest in the UK but the new guidelines mark a shift in interpretation from the previous 2013 instructions. The guidance, which was published after a series of legal challenges to the current law, does nothing to change the legislation itself but allows for a more liberal interpretation. In Northern Ireland termination is only allowed if the mother's life is in danger. However the new guidance emphases that "life" should be interpreted as including "her physical and mental health". Northern Ireland's refusal to allow abortions in cases of fatal fetal abnormality or in cases of rape or incest has been declared incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights' decree for the right to a private and family life. The declaration does not carry an obligation to change the law and the guidance reaffirms this ban. However it adds "the impact of fetal abnormality on a woman's physical or mental health may be a factor to be taken into account when a health professional makes an assessment". Christian public policy charity CARE denied the guidance pointed to a liberalization of the law. The charity's Northern Ireland spokesman Mark Baillie told Christian Today: "It is critical to remember these guidelines, while appearing to offer a more liberal view on how the law is to be interpreted, do not signify an actual change in the law itself. "I was especially pleased the guidelines made it clear the purpose of abortion laws in Northern Ireland is to protect the mother and the unborn child." David Smyth, public policy officer for the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland welcomed the guidelines and joined Baillie in pointing out the law had not changed. "We reject the false dichotomy in so many debates around abortion that pitches a woman against her child," he told Christian Today. "The current law in Northern Ireland provides a difficult and delicate balance between protecting both lives. It's a law built upon the importance of life, family and community." However Sarah Ewart, who travelled to Britain to have an abortion after she discovered her baby had a fatal fetal abnormality said: "New guidance may help some women, but it won't help me and other women with fatal foetal diagnoses." She continued: "All the guidance in the world cannot change Northern Ireland's nineteenth-century law and that is what is needed." After Lahore: What's driving the persecution of Christians in Pakistan? Just before Easter a Church leader in Pakistan told Release International that the anger of extremists against Christians was "boiling over" and that Christians were on "high alert" for attacks over Easter. We know what happened: a suicide bomber targeted Christians in a park in Lahore and 70 people died. Over the Easter weekend, too, demonstrators 25,000 of them, according to the Times of India marched on the capital Islamabad's high-security 'red zone' demanding that the executed Mumtaz Qadri, hanged for murdering reforming Punjab governor Salman Taseer, be declared a martyr. Taseer had supported a reform of the oppressive blasphemy laws, citing the case of the Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who has been in prison for allegedly breaking them. Police and security forces used tear gas on the demonstrators. The protest is continuing. But why are Christians being targeted in Pakistan, and what accounts for the hostility shown toward them by the Muslim majority? The answers are complex and they show that in spite of the never-ending stream of tragedies and the appalling headlines, these might not even be the right questions. Attacks on Christians are part of a much wider pattern of extremism, fuelled by a poisonous ideology that is profoundly opposed to accommodating different beliefs. To understand what's happening today, we have to understand how Pakistan came to be the way it is. 1. Pakistan wasn't always so Muslim Before it came into existence as a separate country at Partition in 1947, the country was far more religiously mixed. The horrific violence accompanying independence around a million people died saw the mass flight of Pakistani Hindus to India and Indian Muslims to Pakistan. Pakistan's population is now 95-98 per cent Muslim. But that's a broad category: most of them are Sunni Muslim, but there are also Shias and Ahmadis, though they aren't allowed to call themselves Muslims. Christians make up an estimated 1.6 per cent, most of them in Punjab province and most of them from families converted during the colonial era. 2. It wasn't always so extreme There was a strong Sufi tradition in Pakistan, a religious movement involving worship at saints' shrines, festivals with music and dance, and popular mystical and devotional practices. Sufism is a heart-faith, less interested in the details of Islamic law. It tends to be more accommodating and more tolerant. In the early 1970s it started to lose its influence under attacks from fundamentalists who said it was un-Islamic. This fundamentalism was driven by the migration of Pakistanis to Middle Eastern countries where they discovered more hard-line versions of Islam, and by the rise of Islamic TV and radio stations promoting the Wahhabi or Salafist Islam current in Saudi Arabia. Cheap air travel meant far more Pakistanis could visit Mecca and Medina, where they were exposed to Sharia traditions. There was a proliferation of hard-line mosques and madrassas in the country, many funded by Saudi Arabia. 3. The government reinforced the hardliners Pakistan's first constitution, passed in 1973, declared it an 'Islamic Republic' but it didn't say which version of Islam. The one that prevailed was 'Deobandi' Islam, with roots in 19th-century anti-colonialism. It is highly socially conservative and religiously dogmatic. Just a year after the constitution was agreed, the Deobandi-dominated Parliament passed a law saying people who believed in prophets after Muhammed (like the Ahmadis) were not Muslims at all. In 1977 the Deobandi-influenced General Zia ul-Haq toppled the civilian government. Laws became increasingly Islamist, with legislation against drinking and extra-marital sexual relations. Sharia courts were introduced and the scope of the blasphemy laws originally introduced by the British to try to control inter-communal violence was drastically increased, exclusively favouring Muslims. 4. The Taliban turned on their creators During the 1980s billions of dollars flowed into Pakistan from the US and Saudi Arabia, which believed Pakistan could help it resist Russia in Afghanistan. It did: Pakistan supported the Mujahideen and the 'good' rebel groups with arms, money and recruits. It thought it could control them, but its proteges turned on it: the extremist Taliban movement regards the government as compromised by its alliance with the West. Many of the madrassas or religious schools designed to produce Muslims devoted to protecting Pakistan have produced terrorists devoted to overthrowing it. The government and the army are now targets of the extremists. As one commentator, Maryam Khan, says: "In Pakistan today, Muslim extremists have become a dominant minority. The bitter tragedy is that the state has not merely abandoned the majority of the people, it has actually played an active role in breeding the militant organisations that are now undermining its own institutions." 5. Christians are targeted but they aren't the only ones Christians are falsely accused of blasphemy and imprisoned. A suicide bombing killed dozens at a church service in 2013. A Christian couple were burnt, possibly still alive, in a brick kiln in November 2014. But the hatred of the extremists is directed against Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Ahmadis and other Muslims. Last year Shia mosques were bombed in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Shikarpur. An assault on a bus in Karachi killed more than 40 people. Ahmadis have been lynched and beaten and their mosques have been burned. Sufi shrines have been attacked in Lahore and Karachi. Christians are rightly heartbroken and appalled at what happened in Lahore. We pray for the victims and feel acutely for them. It's natural and right that we do so: the Christians who died are our brothers and sisters in Christ. But when we understand more of the context in which such a dreadful event could take place, we resist the 'Muslims against Christians' narrative. It is far more complicated than that. Yes, hard-line Islamism has grown in Pakistan but it has grown in good part because of the misguided policies of the West and of Saudi Arabia, which thought they could harness it in their Afghan adventures. And while it is influential, it doesn't reflect the opinion of the majority of Pakistanis. Furthermore, it isn't just Christians who are under attack. Every minority is at risk not just from malevolent extremists but from a flawed legal system administered judges and lawmakers who fear the consequences of challenging it. We should pray for them all. Pakistan is under a spiritual oppression that can legitimately be described as demonic. There are very few signs of hope. Baghdad: Three more dead as ISIS continue suicide bombing campaign ISIS have claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb in Baghdad that killed three and wounded 27 on Tuesday morning. The blast occurred less than one mile from a protest held by supporters of the influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to demand political reforms in Iraq. The explosion hit a group of workers in Tayaran Square. The hardline Sunni militants have also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack at a football match in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad, last Friday. Iraqi officials said the explosion killed at least 41 and injured about 105. However an ISIS statement said more than 60 died. The attack, which struck as the trophies were given out at the end of the game, was aimed at gathering of Shi'ite militias known collectively as Hashd al-Shaabi, ISIS said. Bombings outside of ISIS' territory in northern and western Iraq and northern Syria have become more commonplace in recent weeks. Earlier this month at least 60 people were killed earlier in an attack further south, in Hilla, when an explosives-laden fuel tanker slammed into an Iraqi security checkpoint. European analysts have suggested the surge in attacks as a sign of a shift in ISIS' policy after losses in Iraq and Syria mean its territory is shrinking. However analysts in Baghdad have said the group has long staged a campaign of indiscriminate suicide bombings. They see recent attacks as a continuation of this tactic. Additional reporting by Reuters. Baptist Church expels Alabama governor, female staff over admitted explicit calls The First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa has expelled Republican Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and a female staff from its membership amid a raging controversy over an inappropriate audio recording that suggested the governor had an extramarital affair. Bentley was a deacon in the church. "While church discipline is a church family matter, both Governor Robert Bentley and Mrs. Rebekah Mason are no longer members of First Baptist Church Tuscaloosa. I continue to pray for each of them," Senior Pastor Gil McKee told Christian News Network on Friday. Spencer Collier, who was recently fired by Bentley as secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, had accused Bentley of having an affair with Mason. Collier said he heard a tape recording in 2014 where the governor made sexually explicit comments to Mason. "I made a mistake. Two years ago I made a mistake. ... I have apologised many times to my family. I have apologised to the family of Mrs. Mason. I would now like to apologise to the people of Alabama. I ask them to forgive me. I've been told about the possibility of tapes for two years," Bentley said at a news conference on Wednesday. In the audio recording, Bentley tells Mason, "I love you. I love to talk to you. Baby, let me tell you what we're going to have to start doing, we're going to have to start locking the door. If we are going to do what we did the other day, we are going to have to start locking the door." Mason is Bentley's senior political advisor while her husband, Jon Mason, is the executive director of the governor's Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, according to AL.com. Bentley denied that he had a "physical affair with Mrs. Mason," adding that he has never "done anything illegal." State Auditor Jim Ziegler filed a complaint against Bentley with the Alabama Ethics Commission and the governor said he will cooperate with the investigation. "The governor continues to disgrace the state of Alabama, and in my official capacity as state auditor, I am required to report these suspected violations," Ziegler said. "It is clear that he is misleading the people of the state about the nature of his relationship, but it is also clear that Ms. Mason is required to either be classified as a public official, or file as a lobbyist, in her capacity as an adviser who is paid by an outside source." Bentley said, "I have always complied with the ethics laws of the State. In fact, I voluntarily release my tax returns to the public every year in a spirit of openness and transparency. I have always and will continue to cooperate with the Alabama Ethics Commission." Bentley's former wife, Dianne Bentley, recorded the conversation between the governor and Mason. The governor's wife filed for divorce last year because of the conversation. When asked if he was in love with Mason, Bentley replied, "I love many members of my staff, in fact, all the members of my staff. Do I love some more than others? Absolutely." Despite the scandal, Bentley has refused to resign from his job. Canadian group sending 1 million Bibles to replace scraps of Scriptures passed on to Christians in Cuba Soon enough there will be no more need for scraps of Scriptures to be passed on to Christians in Cuba, thanks to the Canadian Bible Society (CBS) which is set to provide a million copies of the Holy Bible to the people of the Caribbean communist nation in the next 18 months. Alain Montano Hdez, leader of the Cuban Biblical Commission, disclosed that the CBS is planning to donate a million copies of the Bible to Cuba, which is experiencing unprecedented growth of Christianity. "This is a country where scraps of Scripture have been passed on pieces of paper hand-to-hand between believers, because Bibles just were not available,'' Hdez said, according to the Gospel Herald. Pastor Joel Ortega Dopico, head of the Cuban Christian group, noted that Cuba's church, just like those of any other developing nations, is short of resources and could not make Bibles available to the increasing number of Christians. "There are far more believers than there are Bibles,'' Pastor Dopico said. "Our initiative with our partner Million Bible Mission in Cuba will help to put a Bible in the hands of over a million Cuban Christians.'' According to Gospel Herald, Canadians make up the majority of foreign visitors to Cuba, and have been cheering for church congregants who are flourishing under difficult conditions on the Caribbean isle. Reg Graves, Development officer for CBS, said that since the initiative was started, they have been getting several "thank yous'' for their Bible donation especially during their recent visit to Cuba. "They would testify while hugging their Bibles and tears running down their cheeks, saying 'thank you, thank Canadian Bible Society for making this happen,'' said Graves. According to its website, the Million Bible Mission is an initiative of the American Bible Society's Cuban project that seeks to reach five distinct audiences: school-aged children receiving their first Bible; teens and college-age youth; adult new believers; prisoners; and seminary students and clergy. CBS managers have urged Canadians to participate in providing Bibles to the tropical, yet impoverished, island which is a popular vacation destination to travelers particularly Canadian. Many supporters have responded to the CBS Bible initiative and lauded the group on social media, according to news reports. "May not only the sun shine in Cuba, but, may also the sun shine His Glory and Righteousness there. I pray that many there see the Light of Jesus Christ,'' said one of them. Stacey Noble shared online that she will never forget the looks on the faces of Haitian missionary students receiving their own French Bibles. "Jumping, singing, praising God. To think so many had lived their whole lives without one. Thank you, Canadian Bible Society." Cuba has a population of 11 million with nearly 100 percent literacy rate. Christianity is reportedly growing at a pace of between 10 percent to 15 percent each year despite reports of massive persecution against minorities in the country. Church denies rumours that ISIS has crucified kidnapped priest The Indian priest kidnapped by suspected Islamic State militants on March 4 is probably still alive, church officials have said, despite reports that he was crucified on Friday. Father Tom Uzhunnalil, 56, was captured when militants overran a missionary home for elderly people in Aden, Yemen, where he worked. Sixteen people, including four nuns, were killed in the attack. No confirmed news has since emerged of Uzhunnalil's fate, though rumours that he was being tortured and would be crucified on Good Friday emerged last week following comments allegedly made by Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna. According to The Telegraph, Uzhunnalil's death was then reported by a Dubai-based prayer group with close ties to the home. However, these rumours have since been denied by church leaders. Bishop Paul Hinder of Southern Arabia told the Catholic News Agency on Monday that there are "strong indications that Father Tom is still alive in the hands of the kidnappers". "I have no confirmation that anything happened Good Friday," he added. "Cardinal Schonborn has already corrected his statement, which he had made on the basis of the wrong statement of Archbishop Moras in Bangalore. Certain media in India are too nervous and curious and not aware that they are playing with the life of Father Tom." Hinder said he was unable to give further information for fear of endangering Uzhunnalil's life. Hinder's statement follows a similar denial from the Salesian order in Bangalore, to which Uzhunnalil belongs. Spokesman Father Mathew Valarkot last week described the reports of Uzhunnalil's crucifixion as "unconfirmed and unverifiable". He said: "We, Salesians, are not responsible for the content or its authenticity. "In this context, we reiterate that till date no further information has come to us from credible and authoritative sources regarding the whereabouts or wellbeing of Fr Tom. Therefore we earnestly appeal to all concerned to desist from forwarding all such unsolicited and misleading messages and spreading false rumours. "In the meantime, let us continue to pray for Fr Tom so that the Lord may protect him from all harm and relieve him from the clutches of the evil forces sooner than later." Egyptian passenger plane hijacked, forced to land in Cyprus An Egyptair domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday and landed in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said. The pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger strapped with explosives, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 passengers were on board and a crew of seven. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said. The ministry in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. CYBC said the airplane was parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, it said. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the plane hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. Evangelicals think immigration threatens American values. Here's why they're wrong White evangelical Protestants are the only religious community in the US to believe that immigrants threaten traditional American customs and values, new research has revealed. Released today by the Public Religion Research Institute, a study has found that while Americans overall are more likely to say that newcomers from other countries strengthen society, evangelical Christians buck the trend. Just less than a third (32 per cent) of white evangelical Protestants say they believe immigrants benefit the US. The majority, 53 per cent, say immigrants actually threaten traditional American customs and values. This view is most popular among older evangelicals, and those without a college degree. It gets more depressing. Three of the four religious groups most likely to support identifying and deporting all immigrants currently living in America illegally are white Christian groups: white evangelical Protestants (30 per cent), white mainline Protestants (25 per cent), and white Catholics (22 per cent). Other religious communities, meanwhile, are far more likely to have positive views of immigrants. The majority of Hindus (73 per cent), Muslims (72 per cent) and Hispanic Catholics (70 per cent) say that newcomers to the US strengthen the country. More than six in 10 (61 per cent) of religiously unaffiliated Americans hold the same view. This is a damning indictment on the state of evangelical Christianity in the US, though unsurprising given the widespread support for the rhetoric espoused by Trump, Cruz et al in the run up to this year's presidential election. Onlookers have long noted that a large swathe of conservative Republican support is found among the Bible Belt - a haven for white evangelical Christians. They are there, to be found chanting 'Build a wall!' at Trump rallies and worrying about the persecution in a country where Christians enjoy more religious freedom than most around the world. There are a number of reasons why a negative attitude toward immigration is entirely misplaced. Though there is a genuine, reasoned argument for capped and checked migration, to put a blanket statement on immigration as 'threatening' to a country's values is bewildering. For starters, the concept of 'traditional American customs and values' being threatened by immigrants is somewhat laughable given that the US was built on immigration. It was literally founded by immigrants - as were most modern nations. Secondly, to subscribe to a kind of 'Christian nationalism' is entirely counter-Gospel. It's a rhetoric that is woven throughout much evangelical thought - the (false) idea that America is fundamentally a Christian country. It's not necessarily that evangelicals think all Muslims are terrorists, though many do, but it's just that they aren't Christian, and if they are let in, America is at risk of losing its 'Christian roots'. The basic message of the Gospel is one of adoption into sonship; of welcoming the stranger and being part of one family. There's an incredibly strong tradition throughout Scripture of the people of God being taught to treat others well, especially those who don't look like we do, or believe the same things. And this is the real kicker: Christianity is a missionary religion. If you don't like newcomers - you're part of the wrong faith. It's all about people converting into it; it's founded on bringing people on the outside into the family. If Jesus had the same attitude as white evangelical Protestants, there's no way any of us would make it in. As Christians, our primary allegiance is not to our country - it's to God. We're ultimately part of His kingdom, where there is no slave or free, Jew or Gentile. We are to respond with compassion to those who need our help, and treat them as we would like to be treated. For those of us in the UK, it's easy for us to judge middle-class Christianity in the US for its ridiculous attitudes - and they are ridiculous. But we also need to ask tough questions of ourselves. Why is it okay for millions around the world to starve, and live without basic resources, while we live in luxury? Why, when pushed, do we, too, say 'they can't come over here', in case it disrupts our comfortable life? What is our justification? How different, really, are we from Trump followers? Gunmen kidnap three Nigerian pastors during church camp Two of the three church leaders kidnapped at gunpoint during a church prayer camp in northern Nigeria remain in captivity, over a week since their abduction on March 21. One of men, Rev Iliya Anto, was released due to poor health, but the other two men remain in captivity. Their kidnappers are demanding a ransom of 100 million naira ($500,000). The two pastors that remain in captivity are Rev Dr Emmanuel Dziggau and Rev Yakubu Dzarma. All three men belong to the United Church of Christ in Nigeria (TUCCN) and were preparing for an Easter retreat when they were kidnapped by armed men, who attacked the camp site in Kaduna. "We were all holding a prayer meeting at the prayer camp located along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway in the city of Kaduna," Rev Jibrailu Wobiya, who escaped with other church members, told Morning Star News. "We were working on the camp site in preparation for our forthcoming church conference when the kidnappers invaded the place and began shooting into the air." The assailants attacked the camp at 10am. Armed with AK-47s and with covered faces, they captured the three pastors and put them in the back of a van. The general secretary of TEKAN, the parent church of TUCCN, urged the government to rescue the two pastors who remain in captivity. "The kidnappers have contacted me, being the general secretary of TEKAN, about the two pastors they are holding captive, and they are demanding that we pay them a ransom of 100 million naira," said Rev Moses Ebuga. "As a body, we are calling on the government to do everything possible to ensure the safety of the leaders, unearth their whereabouts and to have the perpetrators fished out." The leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria has also urged the government to act immediately. "Our hearts go out in prayer for their quick and unconditional release by their captors unharmed," said Rev Musa Asake, national secretary for the association. "We wish to use this opportunity to call on all the relevant security agencies and the Kaduna state government where Dziggau resides to leave no stone unturned in ensuring their quick release. "We kindly request all men and women of goodwill to join faith with us as we lift our eyes in prayer unto the hills of heaven; we have an assurance that our help ultimately comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth, and indeed the Author of life. Our God will not let us down. He will touch the hearts of Dziggau's abductors and all those involved in this unwholesome act of criminality and wickedness to release him immediately." Hope for Palmyra after ISIS occupation: Large parts of ancient city survived As the first pictures of the ancient city of Palmyra appear afters its liberation from ISIS occupation, more of the ancient citadel seems to have survived than previously thought. Islamic State militants blew up several monuments from the historic desert citadel during its 10-month occupation of the city, including the Temple of Bel and Arch of Triumph. However, Syria's antiquities chief has said other ancient landmarks were still standing and has pledged to restore the damaged monuments. "Palmyra has been liberated. This is the end of the destruction in Palmyra," Mamoun Abdelkarim told Reuters on Sunday. "How many times did we cry for Palmyra? How many times did we feel despair? But we did not lose hope." Authorities had been expecting the worst, but Abdelkarim told Agence France-Presse that "the landscape, in general, is in good shape". "We were so scared we would enter the ruins and find them completely destoryed," a Syrian soldier told AFP. "We were afraid to look ... But when we entered and saw it, we were relieved," he said. The modern district of Palmyra, formerly home to 70,000 people, suffered more extensive damage. The loss of Palmyra on Sunday is one of the biggest setbacks for the jihadist group since its declared caliphate in 2014 across large parts of Syria and Iraq. It is also a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad and ally Russia, casting them as critical to the international fight against Islamic State. The Syrian army said the city, home to some of the most extensive ruins of the Roman Empire, would become a "launchpad" for operations against Islamic State strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, further east across a vast expanse of desert. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Amman, said he was "encouraged" that Syrian government forces had been able to drive Islamic State out of Palmyra and that the city's ancient heritage could now be preserved. Additional reporting by Reuters Islamic State and Fr Tom Uzhunnalil's 'crucifixion': The importance of truth vs rumour I hope and pray that it isn't true. Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, 56, was kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Yemen during their attack on an old people's home. He was, if news reports were to be believed, scheduled to be crucified on Good Friday, and various reports since then have said the sentence was carried out. And that's the point: if they were to be believed. The allegations, which appear to have originated in a Facebook post by the Franciscan Sisters of of Siessen in South Africa (since deleted) were shared round the world and widely reported as fact, even by reputable news outlets. This is in spite of the lack of any kind of corroboration for the original rumours and repeated denials from everyone who was actually in a position to know that any information whatsoever had been received about the missing priest. Just to be clear, those denials have since been repeated: Bishop Paul Hinder, head of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, told the Catholic News Service yesterday: "I have no confirmation that anything happened Good Friday." He added that the rumours appeared to be untrue. When they first surfaced, Christian Today took a decision not to report them, because it was obvious how thin they were. That sort of thing just feeds the beast. The internet is better off without it. It's the ultimate in irresponsible journalism, not least because and this ought to stop all those who clicked 'like', 'share' and 'retweet' on all those lurid stories from sleeping at night if this act of barbarism was carried out, the media-savvy Islamic State might just have got the idea from all those concerned Christians. So why did this story get so much traction, and why are so many people so keen to believe it? 1. Because it gets clicks. If you're an online news outlet, you need people to read what you write. A headline about ISIS threatening to crucify a priest is irresistible, whether it's based on fact or not. 2. Because it fits a narrative.Yes, Islamic State is bad enough. It has done terrible things (though Bashar al Assad's government has done things just as bad) but if it were to crucify a priest it would fit the narrative of pure, Satanic, irredeemable evil. It is convenient to believe the worst of your enemy; it justifies whatever you want to do to him. 3. Because it bolsters a position. Some of those commenting on the crucifixion story used it to back their arguments against allowing Muslim refugees into Europe or the US. "These people" crucify priests, was the claim. It's absurd, but it's out there. 4. We like to be shocked. Too grim? Perhaps. But we do click on stories that we know will horrify us. Partly it's because we genuinely believe we need to know. Partly it's because of a darkness in our souls: we are terribly sorry for the person suffering, but even more terribly glad it isn't us. 5. We really do care. We need to be honest about our motivations for reading and sharing stories like this, and admit that not all of them are very good ones. But as well as feeding a narrative of Christian persecution and Muslim demonization, we're responding in a visceral way to the profaning of the central image of our faith: Christ on a cross. We feel deeply for Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, but we feel this as an attack on our faith, too. We know ISIS is capable of anything. It has burned people to death. Another kidnapped priest was ransomed by his family and returned to them in a box in pieces. The crucifixion story is grotesque, but tragically it is not incredible. It may yet, in spite of its wafer-thin provenance, turn out to be true. That doesn't negate anything I've said. We shouldn't believe stories just because they cast Muslims in a bad light, or back up our prejudices about immigration or refugees or whatever. We shouldn't share a story like this, that's profoundly distressing to Fr Tom's family and friends, if we aren't absolutely sure it's true. We shouldn't pander to our dark side by taking a vicarious pleasure in deeds of evil. We should pray for Fr Tom and for his captors, and for everyone who's in the grip of evil. And we should be lovers of truth. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods Miraculous healings, appearance of money prompting more war-weary Syrian Muslims to embrace Christianity Amid the atrocities of war in Syria, miracles are happening that are drawing more and more Muslims to the Christian faith. In its latest report, the Lebanon-based Christian Aid Mission narrated several specific instances of miraculous healings and money coming out of nowhere that are giving the war-weary and starving people of Syria a new lease on life. One Syrian mother, identified as Majida, went to God in prayer after her family ran out of food, according to Assist News Service, which received the Christian Aid Mission report. "She prayed, 'Lord, I know You never let us downwe need food for our family,'" the Christian Aid Mission director recounted. "As she was walking later that day, she found some money on the path in front of her. She was so pleased that God had answered her prayer in such a creative way that she started jumping up and down with joy." Majida quickly bought bread for her family. When her puzzled neighbours asked her where she had gotten the money, she simply said, "It was sent to me from God." "They pressed her to tell them how that was possible, so she went on to share her faith and pray with them," the director said. There was also the case of a mother named Nivine who brought her paralysed, two-year-old daughter to a meeting of one of the ministry teams linked to Christian Aid Mission. The ministry leader informed Nivine that they are a Christian group and that they pray in the name of Jesus. "Whatever it takes," she replied, in tears. "Just make her better!" The ministry then explained the gospel to her and she eventually accepted Christ. For two weeks, the group members prayed with Nivine daily for her daughter to recover from her paralysis. Then the miracle unfolded before their eyes during a prayer session. Nivine saw her daughter smiling and, to her utter amazement, her previously immovable hands began moving. Her paralysis was gone! They all believed she was healed by the power of the living God. More than 300 children abducted by Boko Haram last year are still being held It is unclear whether the Nigerian government has made any serious efforts to liberate 400 women and children abducted by Boko Haram from a school in Borno State a year ago, according to Human Rights Watch. The November 2014 abduction in Damasak was the largest documented by Boko Haram, with at least 300 elementary students captured. However, the event has attracted far less attention from the media and government than the Chibok school abduction in April 2014. "Three hundred children have been missing for a year, and yet there has been not a word from the Nigerian government," said Mausi Segun, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). "The authorities need to wake up and find out where the Damasak children and other captives are and take urgent steps to free them." On 25 November 2014, Boko Haram attacked the trading town of Damasak, Borno State, blockading the town and trapping residents and traders. The militants took control of a primary school, locking over 300 students aged 7-17 inside, a teacher told HRW. The school was then used as a military base, and militants abducted more women and children from the town. "It was early morning when I heard gunshots and chaos. My husband had already left home for the market so I grabbed my two children, a boy age four years and a girl age two years, and ran," a woman told HRW in February 2016. "But we ran into Boko Haram and they detained us in the middle of the town. They brought more and more women and children to where we were kept. Then they took all of us to Zanna Mobarti Primary School... I have not seen my children since then." In the weeks following the attack, scores of bodies were dumped into a nearby river and makeshift graves. Of those who did attempt to escape, many were turned back by Nigerian soldiers at check points, according to HRW, as they were suspicious that insurgents might be concealed among those fleeing. "The soldiers turned people back to Damasak. They would not allow you to leave, and if you tried, [the soldiers] would smash your car and burst your tires. So you had to look for another way out around the town or [try to cross] the river, if you can swim. It was terrible," a farmer who attempted to escape told HRW. In March 2015, Damasak was liberated from Boko Haram by soldiers from Niger and Chad. However, the miltants fled, taking with them 300 children and roughly 100 women. None of these children have been returned. There are unconfirmed reports that some of them have been seen with Boko Haram near the Nigerian border with Chad. "Boko Haram leaders should immediately release everyone the group has abducted, cease all attacks on civilians, and stop using schools in support of its military efforts," said Segun. Pakistan: Christians 'must not give up hope' Archbishop says Christians in Pakistan must not lose hope in the face of ongoing persecution, the Catholic Archbishop of Lahore has said, following Sunday's suicide bombing in a city park that killed 72 people. Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Sebastian Shaw said: "To my own faithful I said that they must not give up hope because, even though we were going through a period of grave difficulties, we have to learn to rise up again, just as Christ was able to raise himself again, despite carrying the Cross." The Archbishop added that he visited every injured person from Sunday's attack in hospital. Up to 340 are believed to have been wounded. "It was truly difficult because I saw so many children, [aged] only four or five, both Christians and Muslims, who had been wounded or killed by this terrible attack," he said. "After the attacks last year on two Christian churches in Yohannabad, we were fearful that there might be another attack, and for this reason the government had provided all the necessary security measures to protect the churches but no-one had thought about the park." Sunday's bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since the massacre of 134 children at a military school in Peshawar in December 2014. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility, and a spokesman said the attack was deliberately aimed at people celebrating Easter. "The target was Christians," he said. "We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore." The majority of those killed were Muslims, however. The bodies of 10 Christians have been identified so far. Priest faces police investigation after 270,000 given to help refugees disappears A Catholic priest is being investigated by police after the disappearance of 270,000 that was donated to help refugee families. Father Amer Saka is a former priest of St Joseph's Chaldean Catholic Church in London, Ontario in Canada. London police confirmed to Christian Today that an investigation is underway but declined to comment further. Saka was placed immediately on sabbatical, sent to rehab and is now reported to be at a monastery and is unavailable for comment. According to Saka's newly-appointed Chaldean bishop Emanuel Shaleta, the priest told him he no longer had the money after one donor queried what had happened to it. Up until that point, the bishop did not know about his priest's connection with fundraising of this nature, even though Saka had been receiving donations for three years. "He was supposed to let me know as a new bishop," Shaleta told VICE. "He did not tell me." Shaleta added: "He told me he gambled the money away, but I don't know if that's true. How can I believe him?" The money was for refugees from Syria and Iraq. Sponsorship costs about 4,200 per person person or 14,000 for a family. The London Catholic Diocese told London Free Press: "When stories like this occur, we are concerned about the impact it can have on our refugee ministry." The diocese emphasised that St Joseph's is an eastern-rite church and not part of the London diocese, which has stringent controls on refugee donations. The Islamic Centre of Southwestern Ontario and other Christian churches also raise funds for the refugees but none of these efforts is connected to St Joseph's. According to Monsignor Murray Kroetsch, chancellor of the Catholic diocese of Hamilton, which runs the sponsorship program, Saka was the leader of a group raising funds to sponsor refugees from Iraq. He told the Star that up to 20 Iraqi refugee applications had been sponsored by Saka and all now faced a potential void of financial backing. As a result, the Hamilton diocese has pledged to support them. "We want to assure the refugees that our part of our agreement is looked after and that money will be provided to help them feel secure and help them find their footing in the country," he said. Sacked Christian magistrate now suspended from NHS trust over views on gay adoption The Christian magistrate who was removed because of his opposition to same-sex adoption has now been suspended by the NHS trust on which he served as a non-executive director. Christian Concern described it as "yet another example of the way in which Christians are being forced out of public life for holding Bible-based beliefs." Richard Page, 69, was suspended while the trust "considers whether it is in the interests of the health service" for him to remain in his post. It comes three weeks after he was removed from his post as a magistrate which he had held for 15 years. Andrew Ling, chair of the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, asked the trust development authority to suspend Page after his removal as a magistrate by the Lord Chancellor. In view of Page's comments on BBC television about adoption, he said, if he continued on the trust this would have a big impact on staff, patients and "the perception of living the Trust values". Ling said: "The recent publicity you have courted is likely to further undermine the confidence staff, particularly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered staff, have in the leadership of the trust. Links between the stigma often associated with being LGBT and poor mental health are well established." He said it was vital that patients and local people were confident the trust would challenge stigma or discrimination and treat everyone fairly and impartially. Page, from Ashford in Kent, came to public attention after he was challenged over an adoption case where he disagreed with fellow magistrates that placing a child into the care of a same-sex couple was in the child's best interest. He was reported and reprimanded and attended re-education training. A few months later he told BBC television that there was insufficient evidence to convince him, as a magistrate, that placing a child in the care of a same sex couple was in the child's best interests, which led to a further investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office's disciplinary panel. The Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor removed him from office. He is currently appealing the decision and suing the Lord Chancellor with the support of the Christian Legal Centre, which has been working on the case. Page said: "Last week, the Prime Minister distributed an Easter video in which he commended Christians, and the Church for their vital role in society, stating that we are a Christian country and should be proud of it. "However, his Government has brought in laws which effectively silence Christians and remove them from the public square. It would appear no longer possible to be a Christian, to state what the Bible actually says and what the Church has believed for 2,000 years, and maintain a role in public life in today's Britain. My seat on the NHS trust came as a result of my long service in mental health and total commitment to the NHS none of that has changed. "The trust says in his letter that it is committed to 'challenge discrimination and treat everyone fairly and impartially' all evidence to the contrary! What about treating my views, held by billions of Christians around the world, equally and fairly? "What the Prime Minister, Government and NHS trust fail to recognise is that the reason why so many Christians make such a huge contribution to society which they are all keen to acknowledge is that we are all motivated to do so by our Christian faith and our love for Jesus Christ whose death and resurrection we remember this weekend. "If the current trend continues, and Christians are systematically removed from public life, one by one, profession by profession, then who will pick up the pieces?" He added: "What if Christians are forced to withdraw from the NHS, the law and education, where will this country be?" Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre said: "It would seem that the political elites wants to remove people that believe in Jesus and the message we celebrate today from public life." She called on MPs to look afresh at the equality legislation. "This Easter, it is time for MPs and the Government to wake up and see how Christians are being forced out of our nation's public life, and to act before it is too late." A trust spokesman told Christian Today: "We can confirm that we have suspended Richard Page from Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust Board. Our decision follows Mr Page being removed from the magistracy after the public comments he made about single sex adopters. "As an organisation that takes equality and diversity very seriously, we have considered and discussed the impact this might have on our staff and our service users. We have come to the decision that Mr Page's comments could potentially impact on the confidence of current or future patients and for that reason we have suspended Mr Page from his non-executive position." San Francisco mayor bans travel to North Carolina over bathroom privacy law Mayor Edwin Lee of San Francisco, California, has banned any publicly funded travel to North Carolina after its governor, Pat McCrory, signed a law on March 23 that mandates local education boards to have bathroom or changing facilities that are to be used by students based on their biological sex. House Bill 2, or the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, also orders places of public accommodation to have bathrooms that are to be used only by persons based on their biological sex. The law was passed to override the LGBT non-discrimination ordinance passed by the city of Charlotte set to take effect on April 1. The ordinance would have allowed transgender men and women to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity. In signing the law, McCrory said, "The basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room, for each gender was violated by government overreach and intrusion by the mayor and city council of Charlotte." "This radical breach of trust and security under the false argument of equal access not only impacts the citizens of Charlotte but people who come to Charlotte to work, visit or play. This new government regulation defies common sense and basic community norms by allowing, for example, a man to use a woman's bathroom, shower or locker room," he said. But Mayor Lee is condemning the law, saying it is discriminatory. "We are standing united as San Franciscans to condemn North Carolina's new discriminatory law that turns back the clock on protecting the rights of all Americans including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals," he said. He announced on Friday that "effective immediately, I am directing City Departments under my authority to bar any publicly funded City employee travel to the State of North Carolina that is not absolutely essential to public health and safety." Lee said he believes "strongly that we should be adding more protections to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the United States, not taking them away." McCrory said Charlotte's "mayor and the city council took action far out of its core responsibilities." He said he signed the law "to stop this breach of basic privacy and etiquette which was to go into effect April 1. Although other items included in this bill should have waited until regular session, this bill does not change existing rights under state or federal law." Lee warned that while other states like Georgia are on the verge of passing discriminatory laws, "let me be clear that San Francisco taxpayers will not subsidise legally-sanctioned discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in any City or State." Last year, Lee barred publicly funded travel to Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The ban was lifted after Indiana amended the law. U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage wreaks havoc on state laws The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage throughout America is wreaking havoc on state laws. In North Dakota for instance, lawmakers said 70 sections of the state law that covers divorces, adoption and licences need to be changed in order to reflect gender-neutral language to comply with the decision. Republican state Sen. David Hogue, chairman of the Legislature's interim Judiciary Committee, told The Dickson Press that there are two factions on the matter. One group comprises those who are against the Supreme Court ruling while the other wants to change state laws. "They want to sort of resist through not making any changes," he said. Hogue supports changing local laws. "My own view is I don't like the ruling, but I accept it as the law of the land. I have no doubt that it will at some point cause problems for somebody in the state. There are simply too many references to husband and wife, so I think it should be changed," he said. But Hogue said he is leaving the matter up to the committee's 20 members to decide. Republican state Rep. Lawrence Klemin said the committee may recommend a study to pinpoint which needs to be changed. "We can't just go through and change everything, because some of those definitions are related to biology," he said. Democrat Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider said, "I hope we can all be concerned about the practical impact on the people of North Dakota, because that decision is the law of the land." In 2004, 73 percent of North Dakota voters approved a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman. Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, which represents Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, said the Supreme Court ruling "pretty much shreds domestic law," leaving behind "complete chaos," according to WND. He said every practice, procedure and requirement of the United States' statutes and codes will have to be changed. "It is a massive undertaking," Staver said. He said at state level, it could take years to accomplish the changes. County officials have cut half of the original 92 defendants from an injunction lawsuit that sought to ban suspected gang members from a 2-mile area of south Houston. An amended pleading filed late Monday reduced the number of people named in the petition to 46. The boundary of the proposed "Southlawn Safety Zone" the county's largest by defendants and geography originally included 1,326 acres bounded by Interstate 610, Texas 288, Old Spanish Trail and Cullen Blvd., has been decreased to "more closely focus on areas where most of the crimes were committed," a summary of the changes from Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan and Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said. Now, the zone includes "five schools, two parks, five apartment complexes and numerous businesses." According to the county memo, defendants were removed because they had no recent gang affiliation, had no criminal activity in the zone for two years, could not be located to be served with the lawsuit, had personal circumstances such as mental health issues or were expected to be incarcerated or parole for a lengthy period. The civil lawsuit was filed in September on behalf of the state of Texas by the offices of Ryan and Anderson. Unlike previous petitions for gang injunctions, this lawsuit was not shared widely. Critics have decried the court action as a way to circumvent a community that doesn't support banishment as a solution to the crime problem. They also say the action un-fairly targets young black men and uses weak criteria to label some of the defendants as gang members while keeping them out of the community where they were raised and have relatives, including mothers and children. County officials contend that the petition combined the state's organized crime and public nuisance laws to request a protective order that would provide relief to a crime-ridden community under siege by gang activity for decades. Last month, three groups of criminal defense lawyers filed court documents asserting that the proposed injunction is unconstitutional. The revised petition also provides an exit for those who are enjoined from the area by creating a time frame for banishment, from two to four years, and creating a procedure by which defendants can seek to be removed through a court motion or a county administrative process. Last November, 55 defendants who had legal representation reached agreed orders to stay out of a smaller Southlawn area along Scott between Yellowstone and Lydia that includes Southlawn Palms and several other apartment complexes. In February, 14 other men were excluded from the entire zone by "default" because they did not respond to the lawsuit. A trial on a permanent injunction is scheduled for April 25. Southlawn would be the third "safety zone" created since 2010 in Harris County. The population of that area is 78 percent black and 20 percent Hispanic. The first injunction zone in northeast Harris County's East Aldine/Haverstock area has a population that is 70 percent black and 25 percent Hispanic, according to calculations based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. The second, in southwest Houston's Brays Oaks commu-nity, is 41 percent black and 40 percent Hispanic. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle A second app-based meal service has expanded its Houston delivery area citing growing demand for customers wanting meals delivered to their doorsteps. DoorDash now is available in The Woodlands as part of an expansion into the northern reaches of metro Houston, spokesman Eitan Bencuya said in a statement. It is the second such service to announce a refreshed app and a larger service area. UberEats also expanded its area in mid-March. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A woman died early Tuesday morning after she was found injured and lying in the street in southeast Houston. The woman was discovered about 1:30 a.m. in the 2700 block of Sampson near Dennis in the Third Ward, according to the Houston Police Department. Police said a passerby flagged down patrol officers and said a woman was lying in the street. When the officers spotted the woman, she was unresponsive, with an apparent gunshot wound. She may have been riding a bicycle at the time she was injured. Police said the woman, whose name has not been released, was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Witnesses also told officers about a man who had been found gunshot in the 2900 block of Sampson, two block from where the woman was picked up. He was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No other details about his gunshot wound, condition or what led to the shooting were released. The man's dog had also been shot and died. Police said investigators were trying to determine if the woman's death and the man's shooting were connected. They also were scratching their heads about the dog's death and whether it might be connected to the fate of the two people. "It's obviously something we're looking in to," said Kese Smith, an HPD spokesman. By late morning Tuesday, investigators had no suspect or motive in the cases. A teenage girl was sexually assaulted Tuesday morning as she walked to school in southwest Houston. The incident was reported about 8 a.m. at 10631 Harwin, according to the Houston Police Department. Police said the girl told investigators she was walking to her school when a man drove up beside her in a car, pulled out a knife and forced her inside. He sexually assaulted her. After the girl got out of the car, she sought help and police were notified about the attack. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital. Officials with Yes Prep Academy said the 16-year-old girl is a student at the school's West campus at 10535 Harwin. "The well-being and safety of our students is our top priority at YES Prep," school officials said in a statement about the incident. "We are deeply saddened to report that the Houston Police Department is in the process of investigating a sexual assault committed against a high school student on her way to school at YES Prep West. Understandably, this is a difficult time for the student, her family, and the campus community. As a system, we're keeping in contact with the student's family and the police department, and we will offer support to the student's family and campus during this difficult time." No description of the man or car, or other details about the case, were immediately available. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Monday arguing against President Barack Obama's plan to shield from deportation nearly 5 million people here illegally and give them temporary work permits. "The Obama Administration has consistently demonstrated disregard for the rule of law in asserting that it has the legal authority to unilaterally change the immigration policy of the United States," Paxton said in a statement. "Rewriting national immigration law requires the full and careful consideration of Congress, not the political will and assertion of one person. As the president himself said numerous times, he alone does not have the authority to grant millions of unauthorized aliens a host of benefits, including work authorization." Paxton's office, heading a coalition of 26 Republican-led states, is leading the legal charge against Obama's plan. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville blocked the program on the eve of its implementation in February 2015, starting a complicated legal process in the lower courts. In November, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld his ruling and the nation's highest court is set to hear the case on April 18. Paxton's office has argued the program would place an unfair burden on Texas by forcing the state to issue hundreds of thousands of driver's licenses. At issue is also whether the president violated a little-known federal statute, the Administrative Procedure Act, in announcing a policy change without public input and if the executive branch can decide whether or not to enforce broad aspects of immigration law. In deciding to take the case, the justices also specifically asked the parties to address the constitutional implications of the president's executive action and whether it violates the separation of powers. In the brief Monday, Paxton's office reiterated its arguments, saying that at least 500,000 immigrants in the state would be eligible for the driver's licenses and, at a cost of $130 a license, it could lose "millions of dollars" even if just a fraction of them applied. Advocates of the plan have argued that the state would also see millions of dollars in additional tax revenue as immigrants with work permits have to pay taxes and tend to be paid more. In the brief, Paxton also argued that the president should have sought public comment because "public interest in providing input on one of the largest immigration policy changes in the nation's history is extraordinarily high." He also argued that the program in effect is a mandate and not discretionary according to each application and thus requires Congressional approval. The Holocaust Museum Houston celebrated its 20th anniversary with 150 VIPs and 1.5 million butterflies. Neiman Marcus hosted the intimate champagne reception for longtime supporters, board members, and Holocaust survivors including Leisa Holland-Nelson, Heidi Gerger, Nancy Dinerstein, Crystal Ashby, Edith Mincberg, Bill Orlin, Ruth Steinfeld and Chaja Verveer. Since 1995, children from every continent with the exception of Antarctica have submitted handcrafted butterflies to the museum in memory of the 1.5 million youth who perished during the Holocaust. "The Butterfly Project" consists of six traveling cases, three of which remain inside the department store. The rest are on display throughout the Galleria until April. Beginning next month, the exhibit will travel to various sites around the Houston area. "Butterflies are a powerful symbol of transformation and the ability to make an impact with just a flap of one's wings," said executive director Kelly Zuniga, addressing the crowd. "They symbolize all the good things that humanity can imagine, while reminding us that life is fragile and dignity is delicate." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Chic campaigner Isabel David in Oscar de la Renta It's easy to see why Isabel David's childhood nickname was "Sunshine." The blond, who in school was voted "Most Optimistic," is now equally enthusiastic about avant-garde fashion and supporting local institutions. David, an art enthusiast, is active at the Menil Collection as a member of the Menil Council, serving on the museum's development committee, and is chair of the Menil Society. Come April, the mother of three, volunteer and former national advertising director will co-chair Mercury's 15th anniversary gala and the University of Texas at M.D. Anderson's 75th anniversary kickoff in addition to co-hosting a dinner presented by Town & Country magazine with Lynn Wyatt to benefit the Houston Grand Opera. Style mantra: "Marilyn Monroe, another blond born on June 1, said 'Give a girl the right pair of shoes, and she'll conquer the world.' " Style icon: The transcendent Lynn Wyatt Favorite designers: Chloe, Isabel Marant, Lanvin, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Proenza Schouler, Stella McCartney Guilty pleasure: "Late-night dates after our children are tucked into bed." Wardrobe staple: "Since having children, I cannot have enough chic flats." Fitness routine: "Keeping up with three children and weekend walks through Hermann Park, the Menil campus and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston." Beauty must-haves: "Sunscreen, sleep (at least in theory) and a smile." Signature scent: Rose Vacation spot: "Home, but we also love to travel to California and Europe. The kids' enthusiasm for travel makes any trip worthwhile." Did you know: "One highlight of this past year was being featured (with) Danny in a national ad campaign promoting the breathtaking progress being made in the fight against cancer at M.D. Anderson. Blink and you might miss me, but the message is powerful." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Family philanthropist Stephanie Cockrell in valentino The first thing to know about Stephanie Cockrell is that she has a hard time turning down opportunities to serve the Houston community. The mother of two says that her friends joke about buying her a T-shirt with "no" written on it. In recent years, Cockrell has said "yes" to co-chairing events for KIPP, Child Advocates, Yellowstone Academy and Amschwad Sarcoma Cancer Foundation Catwalk for a Cure. She and husband, Ernie Cockrell, are board members of the Cockrell Family Fund, which provides support to several charitable organizations in Harris County. Style mantra: "I love this quote from Coco Chanel, 'Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.' Style is so much more than what we wear." Style icons: Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Coco Chanel, Jennifer Lawrence Favorite designers: The Row, Valentino, Saint Laurent, Celine, Cushnie et Ochs, Victoria Beckham and Christian Dior Guilty pleasures: Starbucks, Blue Bell Cookies 'n Cream, Brasserie 19 french fries and Instagram Wardrobe staples: Mother jeans, long strands of pearls, Klassy Gems pave diamond studs, Valentino Rockstud pumps, Alexandra Knight cross-body bag, IRO jacket and a Louis Vuitton scarf Fitness routine: "I am a DEFINE body & mind junkie. I am addicted to all of their classes, especially the revolution (spin) classes." Beauty must-haves: "Water, water, water. Facials with Sabina at Chrysalis (Skin & Body) and lots of laughter." Signature scent: Coco Chanel Mademoiselle Vacation spot: Harbor Island in the Bahamas, Colorado in summertime, Nikki Beach St. Barth Did you know: "Ernie and I love to make homemade pizzas and Italian food for friends and family on Sunday evenings - a tradition that my father started decades ago that we continue today in his honor." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A University of Texas student has other plans for Austins Church of Scientology of Texas location near campus a new H-E-B store. In an online petition addressed to President Barack Obama, sophomore Abhishek Deb is asking to Replace Church of Scientology with HEB on Guadalupe Street. The Church of Scientology takes up prime real estate on Guadalupe Street that could better service the local community and UT students by replacing it with an HEB, Deb wrote in the petition. RELATED: H-E-B debuts its first two-story market in Texas According to the Austin American Statesman, Deb is studying electrical engineering at UT. He told the paper the petition was based on satire and didnt expect it to gain as a many signatures as it did 1,557 people have given their online backing as of Monday at noon. It was addressed to President Barack Obama, who obviously has no power over the situation, and it isnt a viable solution to uproot an institution like the church, the student told the Statesman. And the really crudely drawn Photoshop picture on the petition was meant to show that it was being satirical. Its interesting to see how it took off. A post on Debs Facebook page asked his friends to sign the petition for his government class. One of the supporters signed because scientology is a predatory scam and HEB has a huge selection of hummus, they said on Change.org. Cathy Norman, the churchs director of special affairs, told mySA.com in a phone interview that the group has been a part of the Austin community since 1963 and moved into the 2200 Guadalupe St. location, across from the UT campus, in 1980. RELATED: Southern Baptists set to pay $6 million to worship in what once was a massive West Texas nightclub She said the location serves several hundred members across Texas, including some UT students. Its true, it would be nice to have an HEB in this neighborhood, she said. But not here, sorry not happening. Norman added the church has no plans to move from their facilities. Instead, theyre in the process of planning a multi-million dollar renovation that will include adding an additional floor to the building. RELATED: San Antonio petition demands Austin to exile writer who thinks they're the taco birthplace Were not bothered by it (the petition,) she said. Its an invitation to hate speech, but its mostly a joke. The church may not house a multi-level H-E-B, but see some other cool locations in the gallery above. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Construction of the Fort Bend Children's Discovery Center is in its final stretch. The inside of the brick building still resembles a construction site, with extension cords snaking across the floor past unpainted areas. Walls divide areas for the museum's five future exhibits and the ceiling has been painted dark purple. The center is owned and operated by the Children's Museum of Houston but won't be a copy of the parent institution, said Tammie Kahn, executive director of both the Houston museum and the planned Fort Bend facility. "Museums are not in the business of replicating themselves," Kahn said. The project has gotten this far because of support from the Fort Bend County community, Kahn added. It's been nearly 10 years since some county residents approached her about opening a local museum. After several population studies and pilot programs, years of location scouting and more than $4 million in local fundraising, the center is scheduled to open May 21. The center will be based in the former Imperial Sugar Company refinery off of U.S. 90A in Sugar Land. It will be the first entity to open in a planned 26-acre mixed-use development at the former refinery. The rest of the development is scheduled to open in spring 2017. Johnson Development Corp. installed the infrastructure for the site and committed to leasing the building to the center for $1 a year. The center will encompass 12,500 square feet - nearly the size of the Children's Museum of Houston when it opened in 1980. The center will be on the first floor, which once stored containers and packaged sugar. About 90,000 children are anticipated to visit per year, Kahn said. The Sugar Land Heritage Society is scheduled to open a museum on the second floor at the end of 2016. Just outside the Discovery Center are two silos, built to store sugar, and the Char House, a 91-year-old, eight-floor brick structure where amber-colored liquid was filtered with crushed animal bones to a clear syrup that could be transformed into white sugar. Demand for kids' museum started in '07 Kahn said she knew there was demand for a museum in Fort Bend after two pilot programs in the summers of 2007 and 2008, when the Children's Museum of Houston set up a few temporary exhibits in Sugar Land's City Hall. "People were coming in and staying two to three hours," Kahn said. "And we basically were only running two or three exhibits." But despite the interest, the Houston museum didn't have funding for another location. In 2011, a committee of local residents launched a capital campaign to raise $3.65 million. Campaign members included Sugar Land resident and Children's Museum board president Charlene Pate and Nancy Olson, wife of U.S. Rep. Pete Olson. The George Foundation matched the first $1 million. Eventually, the capital campaign raised more than $4 million. Sugar Land resident Tracy Golden was hired as development director for the center in the summer of 2013, during the last six months of the capital campaign. "I thought it was a good opportunity to work in the community where I actually live and where my son goes to school," said Golden, who had worked in nonprofits in Houston for 15 years prior and will continue fundraising for the center after it opens. "Who doesn't want to work at a children's museum?" she said. One motivation behind the fundraisers was residents' desire for a quality children's museum at home. Residents have fond memories of visits to the Houston museum - capital campaign co-chair Rachel Leaman remembered pushing a cart around the H-E-B in that museum's child-scale city when she was growing up and watching her now 9- and 11-year-old daughters play in its toddler section. The fundraisers were also motivated by a desire to spark a love of learning in children in Fort Bend County who grew up in low-income households, with families who aren't able to drive them to the museum in Houston. "All these children living in poverty, they have a tough time and they need all of the wonderful experiences they can get to help them see that they need to stay in school," Pate said. The goal of both the Discovery Center and the Children's Museum of Houston is to make students love learning, regardless of their socioeconomic background, their native language, or where they live, Kahn said. Themed galleries planned inside center The Discovery Center will offer free tickets to local nonprofits to give to low-income families so that they can visit. Accessibility was the driving reason behind Rosenberg native Renee Butler's decision to get involved. Butler owns Another Time Soda Fountain in Rosenberg and donated $50,000 to have her restaurant included in the planned child-size city exhibit, called Kidtropolis. Butler wants a museum that's easy for her employees' children to attend and plans to purchase tickets for them. Children's artwork will cover the walls of the entryway, leading into a Grand Hall, where there will be tables down the center containing hands-on activities ranging from simple circuits to food charts. Off the Grand Hall will be a space for toddlers and gallerieswith themes of culture, math and science, Kahn said. The cultural gallery will open with an exhibit about Vietnam that has been on display in the Houston museum. The culture featured will change every 12 to 18 months, Golden said. It takes about $1 million to design, build and install a new exhibit, Golden said. She anticipates that this gallery's exhibits will reflect ethnic communities in Fort Bend County. Kidtropolis is planned to be at the end of the Grand Hall and will be similar to the exhibit by the same name in the Houston museum but with Fort Bend businesses and architecture. By March, the building facades were up, clustered around a central town plaza. Children will get a card that they can load with Kidtropolis dollars to spend at that exhibit's H-E-B. They can work in the Fort Bend Herald news bureau or the ABC Animal and Bird Hospital, which are modeled to resemble the actual businesses in the county, and run for mayor at the city hall, which was designed to look like Sugar Land's Town Center, Golden said. Another Time Soda Fountain is to the right of the entrance of Kidtropolis, and will look like the 106-year-old building in Rosenberg where Butler's business is located. The center expects to open an outdoor play area off of Kidtropolis in 2017, once the construction on the rest of the site is complete. The center is running a campaign in which donors can design a tile that will be featured in the museum. The center is also running a membership campaign and accepting applications for its Kids' Committee. To apply, visit childrensdisvoveryfb.org. Even after the museum opens, Golden said her fundraising job won't be over. It will take $1 million per year to run the museum, and only about half of that will be covered by ticket purchases, Golden said. Pate, who is planning on taking her six great-grandchildren to the museum as soon as possible after it opens, is confident residents will support the museum once they see children learning there. And she's sure her great-grandchildren will like the new location as much as the Children's Museum of Houston. "I've never taken one that didn't love (the Houston museum) and didn't cry when they leave," Pate said. Authorities were digging in a pasture Tuesday about 30 miles from another pasture where they recently unearthed human remains. The most recent search comes as the investigation continues into the mysterious disappearance of young women in 1997, two of whom vanished a month apart, leaving behind only their cars with their valuables locked inside Galveston County residents in unincorporated areas will have an option to celebrate San Jacinto Day with a bang now that fireworks retailers can sell their wares before the April 21 holiday. Retailers with permits can sell fireworks from April 16-21 for the holiday, which commemorates the Battle of San Jacinto, where the Texan army routed Mexican forces in 1836 fighting for Texas independence. Galveston Commissioner's Court in September unanimously expanded fireworks' sales to include days around that holiday, as well some as in May for the Memorial Day holiday and from Feb. 25 to March 1 for Texas Independence Day on March 2. The decision followed the Legislature's approval last year to allow fireworks sales for additional holidays. More Information New rules for fireworks Fireworks can be sold in unincorporated Galveston County by retailers with a fireworks permit during the following periods: 1Feb. 25 to midnight March 2. 1April 16 to midnight April 21. 1The Wednesday before the last Monday in May until midnight on that Monday. 1June 24 to midnight July 4. 1Dec. 20 to midnight Jan. 1 See More Collapse Previously, the sale of fireworks was only allowed during late June through July 4 for Independence Day and late December through midnight on New Year's Day. Brazoria County In Brazoria County, commissioners are set to vote May 10 whether to add Memorial Day to holidays for which fireworks can be sold in unincorporated areas. Now, that county only allows firework sales for July 4 and New Year's Day. Precinct 1 Commissioner Donald "Dude" Payne said commissioners court hasn't done anything about expanding the sale of fireworks for San Jacinto Day and Texas Independence Day because there had been no requests from vendors or the public to do so. Fireworks in Texas also can be sold along the Mexican border for the May 5 Cinco de Mayo holiday. Galveston County Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said in an email that adding more days for fireworks sales likely will spur the local economy. "The county can still restrict or ban the sale of fireworks in dry weather," Henry said. Sale and discharge of fireworks in the county is only allowed in unincorporated areas. The number of local fireworks retailers varies each year, but Henry estimated that between 20 and 40 operate in unincorporated areas, most on the Bolivar Peninsula. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate T'Liza Kiel joined the Texas Army National Guard as a way to go to college after graduating from La Marque High School in 2005. She didn't expect to find herself in Iraq, pointing a weapon at a little boy who might be a suicide bomber. Angered by the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Philip McCulloch of Galveston joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17. But returning to the island as a war hero, he saw life go into a downward spiral until he met a woman who McCulloch says saved him. Kiel and McCulloch portray their experiences, both in battle and coming home, in "Telling: Houston," through April 3 at the Alley Theatre in Houston. Admission is free, but advanced reservations are required, advised Julie Coan, a Bay Area resident who is director of The Telling Project Institute. More Information Want to go? What: "Telling: Houston" Where: Texas Room, Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave., Houston When: 8 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, through April 3 Tickets: Free; advance reservations required Information: 713-220-5700; www.alleytheatre.org See More Collapse Seven U.S. military veterans and a soldier's spouse were cast in the Houston production, which marks the 37th time the Austin-based Telling Project group has constructed a script from local interviews, interweaving participants' stories into a three-act play. The script for "Telling: Houston" is by director Max Rayneard based on the vets' stories. Rayneard is director of research and outcomes for The Telling Project Institute. The local participants were selected following interviews in Houston in January. "I felt like I needed to tell my story," said Kiel, 29, who is married to Aaron Kiel, who works for the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. The Texas City couple are closing on a house in Rosharon. T'Liza Kiel works from home as a project coordinator for Give an Hour, a national network for U.S. military personnel and their families to find free assistance for mental health needs. "Even on my good days, I want to 'talk it out' with someone," Kiel said. " 'Talk therapy' is just as important as going to the gym or eating right." Kiel said she waited for two years after leaving the service before seeing a therapist. She was surprised that her therapist "didn't ask me about my military stuff. She asked me about my childhood. All this stuff came up. "It emerged that I had a depressive disorder almost my entire life," Kiel said. "Going through my deployment, coming back, having to adjust, it brought to the surface things that were already there." In contrast, McCulloch traces his mental distress to the casualties he witnessed in combat. "I'll never be the same person after that ever again," he said. "I lost my best friend. My other best friend is not able to walk." McCulloch, who was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action, said that following his discharge, "I was 25, divorced, drinking, womanizing and struggling with (post-traumatic stress disorder)." In 2013, McCulloch met his future bride, Lindsey, who works at Hair Tech in Galveston. "She gives me the power to do anything," he said. "I feel like I'm back at that elite level I was when I was a Marine." In March, McCulloch opened a gun store, Sgt. Mac's Gun Shack, in Galveston. His wife said, "Phil speaks at a lot of events, and he always gives credit to me, which is flattering, but he's my world. He definitely changed my life. He's an amazing person." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Lone Star CollegeCyFair is calling all poets looking to recite their work to an audience. The 2016 Poetry Slam, "One Stage, Many Voices," is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 7 in the Main Stage Theatre, 9191 Barker Cypress. The event is free with no fees to perform. College students, area teens and community members are invited to take a turn on the stage in the competition. But English professor and event organizer Carolina Ruiz, who took over organizing the slam five years ago, advises participants to bring their 'A' game and leave the fluff at home. More Information Want to go? What: Lone Star College - CyFair's 2016 Poetry Slam When: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 7 Where: Main Stage Theatre, 9191 Barker Cypress. Who: The event is open to the public. Cost: Free Information: Contact Carolina Ruiz at Carolina.ruiz@lonestar.edu or 281-290-3465 See More Collapse "It's really grown," Ruiz said. "It used to be a smaller event, more like a poetry reading. We've made it into a real poetry slam." The slam celebrates freedom of expression and honors National Poetry Month, which is April. The event is one of the few competitions on campus open to the local community and has grown into a popular attraction, Ruiz said. Poetry styles typically range from vibrant, hip-hop rhythms to more serene rhymes. Poets are required to register in advance. They may call or 281-290-3465 or email Carolina.Ruiz@LoneStar.edu to reserve a space. The slam usually draws between 25 to 30 competitors. "Every poet is asked to have three pieces ready to go, and everything is judged on the spot," Ruiz said. Stevens Orozco, a former Lone Star College student who attends Texas Southern University, will serve as master of ceremonies through three elimination rounds. Orozco had always enjoyed art, writing and performance and decided to give the slam a chance a couple years ago. "That was my first time to do my own stuff on stage, and it was great," he said. "The crowd really enjoyed it. It's a lot more fulfilling when you're performing something personal." Orozco said the slam helped him gain confidence to become an activist. He recommends that anyone give it a try. "I always tell people who write, 'You have to perform it eventually,' " Orozco said. "Don't worry about what others think. They've been in the same spot as you." The winner gets a cash prize. Ruiz collects donations throughout the spring semester to offer as prizes. Ruiz said the slam is not "coffee-shop, finger-snapping poetry." "It does get pretty rowdy," she said. "That's the nature and culture of poetry slams. The poets slam about a lot of our current issues, and you hear the audience yelling out in response." Still, she said the environment is welcoming and an ideal opportunity for first-time performers. Poets do not have to memorize their works. "This is the perfect opportunity for closet poets," she said. "It provides a nice platform for them to grow." Ruiz added that the audience tends to be supportive, with no booing or bashing allowed. She hopes community members will come out to see what poetry slams are about. "It's really opens your eyes to a different world," she said. "It's a great chance to see a different culture of art. I encourage everyone to go out and hear each other's voices." Orozco agreed. "You see the possibility of diverse walks of life in just one set or two," he said. "You'll have a glimpse into their lives, and you might just end up identifying with them." Local volunteer fire departments have their eyes on the Grand Parkway, seeing new segments of the road as a way to cut response times but also as a potential source of vehicle-related emergencies. To test how the highway might factor into emergency response, Rosehill Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Lee Sulecki drove two new Grand Parkway segments before they officially opened last month. He was able to get from one side of the department's coverage area to the other in under 10 minutes. To him, the parkway means that responding fire vehicles can avoid routes through multiple traffic signals. "We are hoping (the response times) will be down, because it allows us to get across our district quicker," he said. The department has three stations in its 50-square-mile coverage area along FM 2920 in Tomball and Hockley between Telge Road and U.S. 290. Rosehill firefighters are prepared to respond quickly to any incident, he said. Their department covers the parkway between Telge and Schiel roads and would be assisted in some cases by the Tomball Fire Department, which opened its Fire Station No. 5 this month on Telge near the parkway. "We have access (to the Grand Parkway) at Telge Road, Cypress-Rosehill Road and Mueschke Road. It just would depend on where that call will fall in," Sulecki said. The Rosehill department has responded to a number of incidents on the parkway south of U.S. 290 through a mutual-aid agreement with the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. "We have a station (Fire Station No. 4) that is closer to the Grand Parkway than theirs," Sulecki said. "So, we've been out on a number of calls with them." The Cy-Fair department has responded to incidents on the parkway since the 2013 opening of a segment that connects Interstate 10 to U.S. 290. "We've been responding out there for a while now," said Robert Rasa, public information officer for the Cy-Fair department. "Some of the specialized training we received was working with one of the vendors from the Texas Department of Transportation who actually helped build it on how to respond to emergencies with the cable system." Parkway builders used a cable barrier system in the center medians that is designed to reduce the likelihood of a head-on crash. However, vehicles that collide with the barrier often become entangled in the cable. "We've had a few accidents where the vehicle became entrapped, and the training they provided was how to properly release the (cable) tension and how to safely remove the vehicle from the cables," Rasa said. Cy-Fair covers the parkway between Clay and Schiel roads, which borders the Fairfield community on U.S. 290. For the most part, traffic accidents on the parkway have been rare, with one fatality recorded in 2015. Taureen Branford, 32, an off-duty Houston Police officer, was killed in a motorcycle accident on the southbound parkway at FM 529 in Cypress. Who do you call when you need law enforcement in the Cy-Fair area? It depends on where you are and what you need. Police officers and sheriff's and constable deputies work various portions of the community, patrolling streets, investigating crimes, handing out traffic violations, issuing arrest warrants and conducting drug busts. Looking to fill officer slots More Information Enforcement agencies Cypress-Fairbanks Police Department: 11200-A Telge Road in Cypress. Dispatch line is 281-897-4337; administrative line is 281-897-6495. For information on job openings, visit www.cfisd.net or call 281-897-6495. Jersey Village Police Department: 16327 Lakeview Drive, Jersey Village; nonemergency number is 713-466-5824. For information on job openings, visit www.jerseyvillage.info. Harris County Constable Precinct 4: 6831 Cypresswood Drive in Spring. Nonemergency number is 281-401-6205. Harris County Constable Precinct 5: 17423 Katy Freeway in Houston. The nonemergency number is 281-492-3500. Harris County Sheriff's Office District 4: storefront, 7043 Texas 6 S., Houston, 281-564-5988; Substation is at 16715 Clay Road, nonemergency number 281-463-2648. Harris County Sheriff's Office District 5: substation, 23828 Tomball Parkway, nonemergency number is 281-290-2100. Houston Police Department: Northwest substation, 6000 Teague Road, nonemergency number 713-744-0900; storefront, 17375 Tomball Parkway, nonemergency number 281-955-3362. Metro Police Department: main office is at 1900 Main, Houston, nonemergency number 713-224-2677. See More Collapse Established by the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in 2012, the Cypress-Fairbanks Police Department patrols 186 square miles to protect 114,000 students in the state's third-largest school district. The district extends from Grant and Spring Cypress roads south to Clay Road and from the Grand Parkway east to Champion Forest Drive and North Houston Rosslyn Road. "The difference between a school district police force and any other law enforcement agency is its focus on services," said Chief Alan Bragg. "Our jurisdiction is the entire Cy-Fair school district." The department stations two of its 82 officers at each of the district's 11 high schools and provides one officer at each of the 18 middle schools. Officers also are assigned patrol beats where they monitor for traffic violations. Most traffic stops relate to speeding through school zones and failing to stop while buses pick or drop off students, Bragg said. Officers are also obligated to pull over reckless drivers. At the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Police Department, officials have been struggling to fill 28 officer positions open since September. The department filled positions that month and in December, but attrition has kept the number of openings at 28. Bragg wants to see the department staff eventually increase to one officer for every 1,000 students, a ratio he said most school district law enforcement agencies across the state strive to achieve. The department uses competitive salaries, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement certification pay, education pay, field training officer stipends, bilingual pay, overtime opportunities and outside job approvals to help hire and retain officers, Mike Baker, the department's assistant chief, said in an email. "We also continually look to tweak our officer-selection process so that we are hiring quality applicants," he said. That process consists of initial vetting of online applicants, written testing of qualified ones, interviews, a background investigation and firearms prequalification. That is followed by a conditional job offer, psychological and medical evaluations, drug screening and a final job offer. The job of school district police officers has evolved into a multifaceted and challenging career, Baker said. "Each step of our selection process is designed to help us identify and select individual officers who can be successful in the public-school setting," he said. Public safety agencies help each other In addition to patrolling streets and protecting school buildings, the department contracts with a company to bring drug-sniffing dogs for random inspections of parking lots and student lockers. "We are no different from any other school district in America," Bragg said. "Sometimes kids make poor choices and will bring a small quantity of marijuana, cigarettes or alcohol to school. Some of those are ticketed offenses, and they get issued a citation and have to appear in court. Others are serious enough to where they have to be arrested and charged either as juveniles or adults." The most common violation at campuses, he said, is trespassing. Typically, the offenders are students from other schools coming on to their friend's campus for unauthorized visits. The department doesn't routinely respond to business or residential calls, but agreements allow its officers to assist other agencies if requested. "If they need additional assistance, and we have the manpower to do it, we will assist them," Bragg said. "It works in reverse, too. If we had a tragic incident at one of our schools, of course, we are going to call on the (Harris County Sheriff's Office) and everybody around us and say, 'This is a little bigger than we can handle right now. Can you send help our way?' Those are the kinds of partnerships and relationships we all want to have when a crisis hits." The city of Jersey Village operates a police department at 16327 Lakeview Drive. The department has 27 police officers, 22 of whom work in patrol. Patrol officers respond to service calls within the city and conduct field investigations. Three officers make up the criminal investigation division, which conducts follow-up investigations of reported offenses. Here is a roundup of other area law enforcement agencies: Constable precincts: Harris County constable precincts 4 and 5 serve the Cypress area. Constables are elected and their deputies serve arrest warrants, work as bailiffs for justice of the peace courts and conducts street patrols. Mark Herman was appointed constable of Precinct 4 in May. The precinct serves portions of the area west of U.S. 290. In addition to performing civil functions and conducting street patrols, the precinct does computer-crime investigations and regular operations targeting drunken driving. Phil Camus is constable of Precinct 5, which serves portions of the Cypress area east of U.S. 290. He has served as constable since 2007. His staff patrols streets and issues arrest warrants. Officers also enforce state and federal environmental laws through the precinct's environmental division. The precinct operates a K-9 unit. Harris County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement in the unincorporated parts of the county. The agency's jurisdiction consists of 1,118 square miles, including the Cy-Fair area. Its five districts include two for local residents living in unincorporated areas - District 4, which is west of U.S. 290, and District 5, which covers east of U.S. 290. Houston Police Department is within the eastern boundaries of Cy-Fair ISD and works from the HPD Northwest Division, 6000 Teague Road, around the clock. Martha I. Montalvo is interim police chief. Within the Cy-Fair ISD, a Houston police storefront is near Willowbrook at 17375 Tomball Parkway. Metro Police Department protects the transit authority's patrons, employees and property within the 1,285-square-mile Houston service area, which includes portions of the Cypress area. The department's patrol officers respond to emergencies, conduct preliminary investigations and investigate accidents. Officers enforce federal and state laws as well as municipal ordinances within the department's jurisdictional boundaries, which includes portions of Harris County. Those include enforcing high occupancy vehicle lane restrictions, theft or vandalism of Metropolitan Transit Authority property and fare evasion on its buses. Also, Metro police operate a motorcycle unit of 10 full-time officers and one sergeant. The officers are assigned to traffic control, accidents and enforcement along Houston area HOV lanes. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Candidates in a GOP runoff to determine the nominee for Fort Bend County Precinct 1 constable disagree on whether the position should take on more law enforcement duties. Mike Beard, 55, a retired corporal in the Precinct 1 constable's office, faces Fort Bend Sheriff's Office deputy Chris Bronsell, 44, in a May 24 runoff after they won the most votes of six candidates in the March 1 primary. The winner of the runoff will face Democrat Mark Salinas in the November general election. Precinct 1 encompasses the Southwest portion of Fort Bend County, including Richmond, Rosenberg and Needville. More Information Details? Runoff: Early voting for the Fort Bend County Republican runoff is May 16-20. Election Day is May 24. For more about Chris Bronsell's campaign: votebronsell.com For more about Mike Beard's campaign: electmikebeardforconstable.com See More Collapse Needville Republican A.J. Dorr was the Precinct 1 constable for 18 years before his death in August. Ramon Ramirez, who was appointed to the post after Dorr's death, did not run for election. Bronsell has worked for the sheriff's office for 21 years and is in a specialized traffic unit in the patrol division that investigates motor vehicle crashes. He said that if elected, he would change the constable's office's traditional focus on civil matters to expand its law enforcement responsibilities, creating units focusing on patrols, traffic, narcotics and crime prevention. Though constables do respond to crimes and issue traffic tickets, their primary responsibility in the county has been to serve as the enforcement arm of the courts, which includes serving papers for lawsuits and arrest warrants. But Beard, whose first full-time job in law enforcement was as a patrol officer in Needville, and then became the city's police chief in 1997, said that the constable's office was created to address civil, not criminal, matters. Beard was Needville's police chief until 2000, when he left to join the international police task force in Kosovo. After returning to Fort Bend County, he worked in the Precinct 1 constable's office for 10 years. Beard said that as constable he would continue the efficiency in the office that existed under Dorr's command and be conservative with an already tight budget. A new direction? Deputies in constable's offices have to go through the same training as other law enforcement officers and are qualified to take on more law enforcement matters, Bronsell said. The Precinct 1 constables office has 17 deputies paid for by the county and one contract deputy. "I know there is a better service that the constable's office can offer the citizens of Precinct 1; so that's what my plans are - to serve the residents and move the office forward," Bronsell said. Bronsell said he would not require additional funding for the new division, paying for new equipment through grants and covering staffing through the Precinct 1 constable reserve division of retired law enforcement officials who work for free to keep their licenses valid. Beard is skeptical about whether a constable's office could take on more criminal responsibilities without additional funding. The county commissioners court, which funds the constables' offices, typically allocates money for criminal affairs to the sheriff's office, Beard said. "I just don't see the commissioners court giving that money to the constable's office to do those things, because that's what the sheriff's office does," Beard said. Constable contracts Deputies in every constable's office patrol certain neighborhoods, but these deputies are paid for that work by homeowners associations or municipal utility districts. The constables office has contract deputies patrolling the Teal Run development in Fresno. Three of the four candidates who ran against Bronsell and Beard in the primary - Brad Brady, Randy Dluhy and Daryl Segura - have endorsed Beard. They said though they agreed with Beard's position to not expand responsibilities of the constable's office without additional county funding, they endorsed him because of his leadership experience. Needville Police Chief Michael Dickerson, Needville Mayor Delbert Wendt and Fort Bend Christian Magazine have also endorsed Beard. Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nels, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and U.S. District 22 Rep. Pete Olson, among other elected officials and A.J. Dorr's widow, Sandra Dorr, have endorsed Bronsell. In the primary election, Beard garnered almost 25 percent of the vote and Bronsell got nearly 22 percent. A total of 13,989 votes were cast, according to the Fort Bend County Elections Administration. For the past two decades, the Katy area's rate of population growth has soared, resulting in 309,555 residents. But that's changing a bit. The rate is projected to slow in coming years. The change will affect the area's largest employer, the Katy school district, and area leaders believe the shift will move the focus from residential development to other industries. "Two years ago, you had people packing up and moving to (the Houston region) confident that they would find jobs, but the energy business crisis has changed that," said Frank Lombard, vice president at the Katy Area Economic Development Council, "But there's still a tremendous infrastructure here in Katy. There's still gains to be made." From 1990 to 2010, the Katy-area population rose by 215 percent from 81,559 to 256,984, according to EDC figures. But from 2000 to 2020, the growth rate is projected to slow to 154 percent. Likewise, population growth from 2000 to 2010 rose by 83 percent but is expected to rise by only 38 percent this decade. In 2020, the projected population is expected to be 365,442. Some Katy families who work in the neighboring Energy Corridor have been impacted by the downturn in the oil industry. And despite the recent opening of the Cane Island master-planned community, the Katy area has a shortage of lots for new homes and less land for future development, said Lombard and Byron Hebert, Katy city administrator. Previous generations experienced rapid home development in areas such as Cinco Ranch, but housing sales have slowed. And areas available for residential development in the city of Katy are now primarily limited to its northern region and some west-side segments, Hebert said. The market sector most affected by the slowdown is for homes that cost $500,000 or more, said Kerry Gilbert, whose company, Kerry R. Gilbert & Associates, is responsible for much of the area's residential development. Gilbert noted that the market is slowing from a record pace. "The market has adjusted to going toward cheaper homes because of the jobs lost," Gilbert said. "Certainly there's a sense of a bit of a slowdown. There's still demand, though." Katy ISD has swelled past capacity. Even as the district prepares to open three schools in the fall, hundreds of portable classrooms will remain on campuses. The district, which has boundaries that define the Katy area, stretching from about FM 2855 east to Eldridge Road, expects future schools to be built primarily in its northern portion to meet growth needs. The 73,000-student district grew by 8 percent between 2004 and 2005, according to district data. By 2023, however, year-to-year enrollment growth is projected to slow to 2.61 percent, though growth percentages have fluctuated throughout the years. As recently as 2014, Katy ISD was growing by approximately 3,000 students per year. Now, that annual amount is 2,000. District officials aren't concerned. "While it is expected that suburban districts would be most impacted by the oil price downturn, Katy ISD remains among the school districts showing the highest numeric increases," district spokeswoman Denisse Coffman said in an email. "Providing our students with unparalleled learning experiences and preparing them for a successful future is our top priority, and our main focus whether we're growing by five students or 5,000." Less residential growth gives development in other sectors more of a focus, Lombard said. And it's already happening. Hospitals in the area such as Memorial Hermann Katy, Houston Methodist West and Texas Children's Hospital have expanded or are planning to do so. Large commercial ventures are also arriving, ranging from the Typhoon Texas waterpark next to Katy Mills Mall to the recently announced Buc-ee's off Interstate 10. It's all part of a plan, Hebert said. Once the influx of new residents slows, the area can attract more people and sustain growth by developing new business sectors. And the city is interested in being a leader of that strategy. "We've anticipated it, with our annexation (of land) to the west. We've set ourselves up to be successful even if a population downturn occurs," Hebert said. "We've taken in commercial property into the city of Katy. We always want to have balance between commercial and residential." The city of Katy has more than 15,000 residents. Hebert said the city is discussing further commercial development opportunities, though he would give no details. The Katy area will absorb any changes well, he added. "Growth (in population) is going to fall off a bit; so you just want to make sure you have parts that are balanced to where you have the revenue coming in," Hebert said. "As the city, we have been here the longest and know that." The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce will hold its 2016 Economic Outlook Forum Friday at the Southwestern Energy complex. "The purpose of this event each year is consistent: To spotlight those factors impacting the economic health of our community so that we all gain a better perspective of our business landscape now, and in the future," said Barbara Thomason, president of the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce. Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle will provide the keynote address for the morning portion of the program, which begins at 8 a.m. His remarks will lead off what Thomason called "the high-level view of our economy," much of which falls into the realm of the state of the county address delivered by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett earlier this year. More Information Want to go? What: Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook Forum 2016 Where: Southwestern Energy Corporate Headquarters, 10000 Energy Drive, Spring. When: Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Cost: $80 For more information: call 281-440-4160, or email Chamberinfo@HoustonNWchamber.org See More Collapse In his remarks, the issues of transportation and mobility, and healthcare were spotlighted, and in many respects, those issues will also be prominently discussed. Scott Davis, regional director for Houston-based Metrostudy, will lead off the discussions, followed by Tim Schauer, co-lead for Cornerstone Government Affairs, who will discuss healthcare. Schauer said some of his remarks will focus on the impact of the Affordable Care Act and the potential impacts on the healthcare delivery system. "This is something that everyone relies on, regardless of income status," he said. "It's pretty important for everyone to be thinking about; especially chambers of commerce, people who sell insurance or people who have any role at all in the healthcare industry." Schauer will be followed by Adam Perdue, an economist at the Institute of Regional Forecasting at the University of Houston's C.T. Bauer College of Business. Perdue recently shared his views on the Texas oil industry on CCTV and indicated that despite the downturn, which began in mid-2014, the industry actually grew slightly last year. "We grew at a 1.2 percent rate, which is much slower than we were during the boom times," he said. "Across the state, (the oil industry) has had varying impacts, with the hardest hit areas being the actual oilfield, so Eagle Ford, and out in West Texas in the Permian Basin and with Houston being the capital we have also felt the effects." Last year, Bill Gilmer, who is also an economist at the Institute of Regional Forecasting, said during the economic forum that the downturn was in full effect, and would continue into 2016. "These are somewhat uncertain times and it is important that business leaders, education leaders and public officials understand what factors will have a direct or indirect impact on their operations," Thomason said. Transportation will also be addressed with Tim Keith, CEO of Texas Central Partners, followed by Capt. Bill Diehl, president of the Greater Houston Port Bureau. Transportation will be followed with a spotlight on safety with Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman, followed by Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman, and Congressmen Ted Poe and Kevin Brady. "We feel like this event gets better each year, partly because the planning committee gains valuable insight each year and because this year's lineup of speakers will touch on those issues of greatest concern for our business community," Thomason said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Tomball's historic depot is preparing for a number of new additions that the city hopes will bring in more tourism dollars in 2017. One of the anticipated attractions coming to the Tomball Depot include a Lionel train collection that was donated to the city earlier this year by a local collector. "The intention was to create this whole layout in my garage," said John LaPage, who began collecting his Lionel Train set in 1999. Work always interfered with his creative process, but it never deterred him from collecting and acquiring the pieces. As a result, much of the collection was merely left in the shipping boxes and stored away. Not long after LaPage retired, he'd realized the interest that he, his children and grandchildren might have had in collecting had waned. "There is a real fine line between collecting and hoarding, and I decided I'd crossed the line," LaPage said. "It made no sense to keep it here where no one can enjoy it." He had no idea what to do with the growing collection, until he one day read an article about the Tomball depot and the city's efforts to create the railroad museum there. He contacted the city and arranged for someone to come out and pick up the collection. Mike Baxter, the city's marketing director, and John Lockwood, one of several volunteers at the depot, drove over to LaPage's home with a nine-foot flatbed trailer. "It was boxes and boxesHe had all this stuff stored in a bedroom closet and metal storage closets in his garage," Baxter said. "He had a lot of cool stuff in his garage. He is no doubt a collector." The collection included not just the typical rail cars, but also buildings, various cars and locomotives, parts of villages, sections of tracks and figurines The items were taken to the city and stored until they determine exactly what will be displayed. "Some of the pieces are so large we won't be able to display them in the existing spaces we work with," Baxter said. It's probable that many of those pieces will be displayed in some capacity inside rail cars at the Tomball Railroad Museum that is expected to open sometime in 2017. Project timeline In May 2015, the Tomball City Council approved a contract with the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society that will move the Texas Railroading Heritage Museum from downtown Houston to the depot. "Our vision is to build an engaging and memorable educational experience for people of all ages in Tomball," said Tom Marsh, vice president of administration for the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, and acting president of the Texas Railroading Heritage Museum at Tomball. "This is a destination for all. We know this from our experience of (being) the Houston Railroad Museum We attracted visitors from all over the region, all over the nationand from outside the United States. This can be a unique venue that both entertains and educates." The Texas Railroading Heritage Museum had been located within an industrial park in Houston for many years. In 2010, the museum was informed the property where the museum had stood for many years had been sold. The museum negotiated a lease, but was ultimately informed it needed to begin looking for a new location. Tomball City Manager George Shackelford said the city had discussions with Gerry Dorcz, treasurer of the Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, who indicated a proposal would be brought to the city council in the next 60 days. "He said that in (May) we would have a draft master plan of what they will do, what they intend to build and potential layouts," he said. The Gulf Coast Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society has agreed to commit up to $400,000 toward the construction, and BNSF Railway is pledging its support by providing transportation services for the museum pieces, as well as providing track materials. The Railroad Museum will include about 18 rail cars that were built and used between 1915 and 1979, and will be placed along unused track at the Tomball Depot. "One of the cars will initially be set up as a visitor's center," Shackelford said. Aside from the railcars, new buildings could be added and may be presented as part of the master plan. Once it is completed, the new pieces to the downtown depot will likely spur more tourism activity in Tomball. "The city was founded on the railroad, and to me it's a perfect fit to have a railroad museum located in Tomball" Shackelford said. "I think it's going to be good." A black woman, said to be an employee at San Francisco State University, has stirred reaction after someone on Monday posted a YouTube video of her accosting a white male student over his dreadlocks. In the video, the young woman is seen asking another young man for some scissors. She then resumes arguing with the student, telling him he can't wear his hair in dreads because it's her culture. MORE VIRAL NEWS: Viral video shows Trump supporters pushing woman at Louisville rally The woman did not realize she was being filmed until near the end of the video where she gets defensive about the student "putting [his] hands on [her]." An Imgur user posted screen shots and captions of the video, where it soon generated lots of web traffic and drew comments: "But see, that's the thing about culture, it's okay to share it." - Duros62 "Upvoting for awareness and hoping it goes viral so this racist girl gets on blast. Post this on instagram, twitter, reddit" - ImRandyButternubs "Playing the victim once the camera's start rolling seems like a great way to lose public support for your movement." - DongValhall Update: Early Tuesday afternoon, the university released the following statement regarding the incident: "We are aware of the video made of an incident which occurred on campus yesterday afternoon. University police were called to the scene of the incident when it occurred. The two individuals involved in the incident are not San Francisco State University employees. Further, no criminal charges have been pressed at this time to the University's knowledge. "San Francisco State University promotes the rights of the campus community to engage in free speech, but does not condone behavior that impedes the safety or well-being of others. We are taking the matter seriously and will promptly and thoroughly investigate this incident through applicable University channels, including our campus student conduct procedures." Race and racism are often in the news. Take a look through the gallery above to see some other controversial moments. Students taking computer-based state exams Tuesday reported problems with saving their answers, according to the Texas Education Agency. Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the agency, said officials are working with the testing company to determine the extent of the problem. Not all exams are offered online. "What I'm aware of is that when some students have tried to save their online test, it hasn't saved," Ratcliffe said. "It seems to have disappeared when they try to log back in and pull it back up." Local school districts reporting problems include Houston, Cypress-Fairbanks, Humble, Clear Creek ISD and Dickinson ISD. Humble Superintendent Guy Sconzo said students have been logged off due to inactivity and also have lost Internet connections. In one case, he said, a student taking the writing test appeared to have lost all but the first sentence of her essay, and some of her multiple-choice responses disappeared after she logged off to break for lunch. Those affected by the online tests, Sconzo said, were special-education students or non-native English-speakers. The district had 500 students taking the online exams Tuesday, 200 scheduled for Wednesday and 175 for Thursday. "STAAR is stressful enough for children, let alone these children," he said, referring to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. "I cannot imagine the feeling a child has when they experience that." Sconzo said he has decided that he will not make students retest, despite conflicting advice from state officials. "To me it's is just another indication of the insanity of the (testing) system," he said. "It's just not good for kids. We are not going to put a child through that a second time." Dickinson ISD's testing assessment director, Jeff Peck, said in a memo to staff Tuesday that, even if students' responses appear lost, he understands that "the responses have been saved to TEA's server." He urged school officials to document the names of students affected. "We couldn't see if the answers were saved," Linda Macias, associate superintendent in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, said via email. "However, we aren't sure if the answers are able to be seen on the State's side." Districts in Central Texas also have reported problems, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The exams are being administered to students in grades 4, 5, 7 and 8 on Tuesday, as is the English I test for high school students. This is the first year that New Jersey-based Educational Testing Service is administering the bulk of the state exams, known as STAAR. Pearson, the state's testing vendor for three decades, retained part of the testing for special-needs and Spanish-speaking students. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath called the technical problems "simply unacceptable." "Kids in the classroom should never suffer from mistakes made by adults," Morath said in a statement. "Educational Testing Service is not new to administering assessments on a large-scale basis, so I cannot accept the transition to a new testing vendor as an excuse for what occurred." "TEA also shares in the responsibility in the proper administration of these assessments," Morath added. "As an agency, we did not live up to that commitment. TEA will continue working with our school districts, charters and ETS to address these and any other outstanding issues." Morath's statement did not address whether students would have to retake the exams. A spokesman for Educational Testing Service referred questions to the TEA. A statement the company sent to districts said preliminary findings indicate that students' answers may be retrieved in the online testing platform, but more research is needed. "ETS understands the severity of this issue and apologizes for the frustration and inconvenience districts, campuses, and regional service centers have experienced throughout the day," the company's memo said. "This is a critical issue and we have several teams investigating it." A Harris County convicted murderer is now one of Texas' 10 most wanted fugitives, with a $5,000 reward offered for information leading to his capture. The Texas Department of Public Safety added Jose Fernando Bustos-Diaz to its 10 most wanted list Tuesday. He is wanted for escape and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, according to a DPS news release. A man was found fatally shot at an apartment complex in League City, authorities said. League City police were sent to the Jordan Cove apartments shortly after 6 p.m. Monday to investigate reports of a shooting. A 22-year-old man was found in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, League City police said. The shooting did not appear to be random, League City police said. They identified a "person of interest" in the case and are continuing to interview possible witnesses. The identity of the dead man was withheld Monday pending notification of his next-of-kin. Later Monday, League City police said they had no further information in the case to release. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Officials in Jefferson County officials have uncovered an alleged large dogfighting operation east of Houston, according to a news release. Just after 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jefferson County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to a call about horses loose near Smokey Lane. The deputies knew from a previous call that the horses were owned by a person who lived at a residence in the 8000 block of Rogers Avenue, a block away. When deputies arrived at that residence they noticed several parked cars and a large group of people outside, as well as a strong smell of burning marijuana. A male at the residence saw the deputies approaching and made a run for it, with at least 40 to 50 others fleeing behind him. RELATED: Police: 8 men arrested in Central Texas for cockfighting, more than 100 roosters seized Deputies discovered a square wooden pit in the backyard, along with two severely injured pit bull dogs. One of the dogs was reported to be bleeding profusely. Beaumont Animal Control, the Beaumont Police Department investigative division and the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office livestock deputy were soon called to assist. Investigators deduced that the pit was allegedly built for dogfighting. Several dogs found at the scene with various injuries were handed over to the Beaumont Animal Shelter for treatment. The property owner told officials she had no idea that dogfighting was happening on site, although officials seized a makeshift treadmill for dogs to run on and condition themselves for fighting and endurance, officials said. No one was arrested at the scene. According to officials, dogfighting and cockfighting incidents take place occasionally in the county. Matthew Fortenberry with Beaumont Animal Services says that his department's intake took in six dogs from the scene, including what appears to be the family's dachshund. There were two females and four males in the group. They are expected to survive their injuries, but there still must be a seizure hearing to determine who retains custody of them. If they do stay with authorities, they will be evaluated for behavioral issues. "That will determine if they can in fact be adopted out or need to be put down," Fortenberry said. "Some fighting dogs aren't equipped with skills to handle being around other dogs and I only know to attack." -- The next fight: Trump scrambles to address delegate fight, by the APs Steve Peoples and Stephen Ohlemacher. He is the Republican Party's undisputed front-runner, yet Donald Trump's White House aspirations may now depend on a messy fight for delegates he is only now scrambling to address. Trump's campaign on Monday vowed to pursue legal action against the Republican National Committee to protect his recent victory in Louisiana, one of many states that feature complicated rules allowing campaigns to influence the presidential nominating process weeks or months after their votes have been counted. A similar process plays out nationwide every four years. Yet Trump's outsider candidacy is so far driven largely by media coverage instead of the on-the-ground organization that rival Ted Cruz boasts. Now, Trump must play catch up especially in the chase for delegates previously bound to former candidate Marco Rubio. -- Read Mike Ward on how the efforts to dislodge Trump are only adding to his support in Texas. Tom Haskin shook his head as he recalled how Mitt Romney, then Scott Walker, surfaced in news reports as possible choices by the Republican Party establishment to stop Donald Trump from becoming the GOP nominee. It was Rick Perry's interview on Fox News last week, however that made the 44-year-old mad. It was an epiphany of sorts for the diehard Republican and tea partier who had supported Perry as Texas governor and through both of his unsuccessful runs for the presidential nomination. -- The Price of Admission: A series on the fight over the Top 10 Percent Rule, by the Texas Tribunes Matthew Watkins and Neena Satija. At UT-Austin, the rule has been blamed in part for fueling an admissionsscandal; causing a brain drain of would-be Longhorns to out-of-state schools; and hurting the schools ranking, which is consistently lower than that of other top public universities. And the jury is still out about how much it has helped minorities. The persistent controversy shows how there are no easy answers in the debate over race and higher education. The state has struggled to make its universities more diverse for decades. But Hispanics today make up fewer than a quarter of students at Texas flagship schools, UT-Austin and Texas A&M University, compared to nearly half of college-aged Texans statewide. >> TODAY: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker plans to announce his endorsement in the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, a week before the states primary. MORE CAPITOL DAYBOOK SENATE: 9:00 a.m.: Education [ E1.036 (Finance Room) ] Higher Education [ E1.036 (Finance Room) ] State Affairs [ Senate Chamber ] Transportation [ E1.016 (Hearing Room) ] 2:00 p.m.: Transportation Planning, Select [ E1.016 (Hearing Room) ] HOUSE: 9:00 a.m.: Homeland Security & Public Safety [ E2.014 ] 12:30 p.m.: Investments & Financial Services [ E2.016 ] 1:00 p.m.: Federal Environmental Regulation, Select [ JHR 140 ] Urban Affairs (Canceled) [ E2.028 ] SPEED READ Austin school board approves Robert E. Lee Elementary name change, Austin American-Statesman Unlike national convention, Texas GOP gathering in May will allow guns, The Dallas Morning News State-by-state strategy to defund Planned Parenthood, USA Today Texas Take: Will Cruz just say no to Trump 2016? Houston Chronicle Hooks: Turning Hard Right: Daniel Oppenheimers Exit Right looks at why some of the lefts brightest lights gave up the cause, Texas Observer Texas Take: Will the GOP unite? Houston Chronicle Will Ruth Bader Ginsburg do Shakespeare justice when she makes her Italian acting debut in The Merchant of Venice? The Dallas Morning News Unlike national convention, Texas GOP gathering in May will allow guns, The Dallas Morning News George P. Bush joins lawsuit over federal land grab along Red River, The Dallas Morning News Trump threatens suit as Cruz picks up extra Louisiana delegates, gears up for contested convention, The Dallas Morning News RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE -- The Wisconsin fight: Trump heads there as candidates converge on state, by the APs Scott Bauer. Donald Trump plans to make his first campaign appearance in Wisconsin with a rally in House Speaker Paul Ryan's hometown, while the four other presidential candidates are also converging on the state a week before its primary. Trump's rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, on Tuesday comes as he tries to stave off Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has been campaigning in the state for a week. Cruz was expected to land the endorsement of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who said he would announce his decision Tuesday morning. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is keeping up his role trying to play spoiler for Trump by campaigning in Wisconsin. Democrat Hillary Clinton is scheduled to partake in a gun violence forum in Milwaukee, while her rival, Bernie Sanders, is heading to Appleton and Milwaukee. -- Trumps popularity nosedives in critical stretch, by Politicos Steven Shepard. The danger for Trump is two-fold: His declining popularity is taking a toll on his standing in the 17 states that will hold primaries between now and the end of the process in early June. Losing some of these states or even winning fewer delegates in proportional states makes it more difficult for Trump to secure a pre-convention majority of 1,237 delegates. -- Clinton super PAC readies early Trump strike, by Politicos Shane Goldmacher. Hillary Clintons biggest super PAC has already reserved $70 million in TV ads after this summers conventions in battleground states, but the group is preparing for an even earlier assault on Donald Trump possibly while he is still busy battling his fellow Republicans to secure his partys nomination. Guy Cecil, chief strategist for the pro-Clinton super PAC, Priorities USA Action, said he watched for months as Republicans let Trump carve out his place within the Republican Party relatively unimpeded. He has no plans to allow for a general election repeat. 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. Peste 300 de liceene s-au inscris in Startup School si sunt gata sa invete bazele antreprenoriatului tehnologic. Vezi cum a fost la evenimentul de lansare a programului national de educatie antreprenoriala Two pieces of debris recently discovered along the coast of Mozambique are highly likely to have come from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australian and Malaysian officials said Thursday. An analysis of the parts by an international investigation team showed both pieces are consistent with panels from a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 aircraft, Transport Minister Darren Chester said in a statement. The analysis has concluded the debris is almost certainly from MH370, Chester said. The dimensions, materials and construction of both parts conform to those of a 777, and the paint and stenciling on both parts match those used by Malaysia Airlines, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a separate statement. The discovery of the two pieces provides another piece of the puzzle into the planes fate, and bolsters authorities assertion that the plane went down somewhere in the Indian Ocean. But whether the debris can provide any clues into exactly what happened to the aircraft and why is uncertain. Flight 370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board and is believed to have crashed somewhere in a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean about 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) east of Mozambique. Authorities had predicted that any debris from the plane that isnt on the ocean floor would eventually be carried by currents to the east coast of Africa. Until now, the only other confirmed piece of debris from the Boeing 777 was a wing part that washed ashore on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion last year. Given the vast distances involved, the variability of winds and the time that has elapsed, it is impossible for experts to retrace the parts path back to where they first entered the water. And chances the debris itself could offer any fresh clues into precisely where the plane crashed are slim. Close examination of the debris might possibly give some additional information relative to the search, but its unlikely, said Dan OMalley, spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is leading the hunt for the plane off Australias west coast. In a bid to glean whatever information they could, investigators from Australia, Malaysia, and Boeing spent several days scrutinizing both pieces. The parts were rinsed, submerged and agitated in water to capture any loose marine life. The water was then sieved and any potential biological material that was captured will be examined to see if it can be identified. Experts will also likely examine the debris to see if it can offer any hints about what happened on board, such as structural deformities that could show the angle at which the plane entered the ocean or markings that could indicate a mid-air explosion. Still, that would take some luck as the wing part found on Reunion Island has not yet yielded any significant revelations into the planes fate. What investigators really need to find is the main underwater wreckage, which would hold the planes coveted flight data recorders, or black boxes. The data recorder should reveal details related to the planes controls, including whether aircraft systems that might have helped track the plane were deliberately turned off, as some investigators believe. But prospects for finding the debris field are running thin: Crews have already covered more than 70 percent of the search zone, and expect to complete their sweep of the area by the end of June. No trace of the underwater wreckage has been found. One of the parts in Mozambique was discovered by American lawyer and part-time adventurer Blaine Gibson, of Seattle. Gibson, who has been searching for Flight 370 over the last year, found the piece on a sandbank. Gibson said he hopes the part can provide investigators some leads into where and how the plane crashed, but that he felt little joy over the news that his discovery almost certainly came from Flight 370. I do not use the word happy, Gibson said by telephone from Myanmar, where he was visiting friends. Because happy that is how I would feel if I arrived on that sandbank and found all the passengers and crew alive, sipping on coconuts and grilling seafood and saying, What took you so long? That would make me happy. However, were after the truth whatever it is. Soon after Gibsons find was publicized earlier this month, a South African teenager realized a piece of debris hed found on a beach during a family vacation in Mozambique might also be from the plane. Liam Lotter came upon the grey piece of debris while strolling on a beach in southern Mozambique in December and thought it might be from an aircraft. His parents dismissed it as trash that may have come from a boat, but the teen insisted on bringing it back to South Africa to research it further. Once back at home, the piece ended up in storage alongside the familys fishing gear and was nearly forgotten. It was only when Lotter read about Gibsons find about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from where he had made his discovery that the family alerted authorities. Earlier this week, an archaeologist walking along South Africas southern coast found a piece of debris with part of an aircraft engine manufacturers logo. Liow, Malaysias transport minister, said there is a possibility it came from an inlet cowling of an aircraft engine. Authorities will examine the part to see if it, too, came from Flight 370. Liow said Malaysia is awaiting approval from South African authorities to comb the area for more possible debris. If approved, a Malaysian team will be sent to conduct the search along the coast of South Africa and Mozambique, Liow said. (Associated Press writer Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Karlheinz Stockhausen's 21-Hour 'Klang' Cycle Performed at The Met Karlheinz Stockhausen's ambitious, multi-hour composition cycle, Klang: Die 24 Stunden des Tages (Sound: The 24 Hours of the Day) was resourcefully performed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art last week. The U.S. premiere of Klang utilized three of The Met's locations for the performance March 25-26. The two-day production, presented in collaboration with Analog Arts, celebrated the opening of The Met's new Breuer campus at Madison Avenue and 75th Street on the Upper East Side. Klang was controversial German composer Stockhausen's final effort, a piece intended to contain 24 different chamber music compositions representing the hours of a day. The avant-garde artist worked on the cycle from 2004 until his death in 2007, completing only 21 hours. The cycle is a broad overview of Stockhausen's musical interests, containing music for keyboard, strings and the composer's last electronic composition. As reported by The Guardian, the work is a metaphysical journey designed to astonish listeners: "Filled with spiritual references to Stockhausen's childhood Catholicism as well as his later interest in the mystical Urantia Book, the hours of Klang often reflect the composer's typical desire to melt minds and ears." Writer Zachary Woolfe of the New York Times took in most of the performances while expressing the physical impossibility of enjoying all 21 hours of the cycle as presented. In his review, Woolfe noted the canon's nonsequential delivery and overlapping lineup at the venue's three locations: "The hours of 'Klang' ran concurrently and in jumbled order at the Met, the Met Breuer and the Cloisters on Friday evening and all day Saturday. The Met's Fifth Avenue flagship hosted the pieces requiring the controlled conditions of a standard auditorium." It is unclear how Stockhausen would have developed the absent hours 22-24 of the cycle, as the composer left no notes or instructions for their completion. The Met performances made no such attempt at the three omitted hours, presenting the completed 21 as composed. During its creation, the composer had interesting extramusical ideas for Klang, associating each component of the piece with a corresponding color. There is a representative "color circle" for the cycle presented on the cover of Stockhausen's Natural Durations, the score for the third hour. Stockhausen's lifetime of works are highly recommended for the fan of avant-garde classical and musique concrete. 2016 The Classical Art, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. TagsKarlheinz Stockhausen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Can Classical Music Improve Your Mental and Physical Health? Can listening to classical music favorably affect your health? Numerous studies have posited its advantageous effects on blood pressure, cognition and stress -- just to name a few. A quick online search of such topics will provide multiple results to peruse. Can these be trusted as medical fact, or disregarded as pseudo-science? While there is certainly disreputable information to be found on the Internet, there are indeed numerous scientific studies that have delved into the long-held idea of a music as a health stabilizer. Studies conducted at Oxford University yielded findings that listening to classical music can lower one's blood pressure and help prevent heart disease. Speaking to The Telegraph, author and cardiologist Peter Sleight considered music's soothing properties, while identifying medical analysis that has shown its influence on heart health: "Music is already being used commercially as a calming therapy but this has happened independent of controlled studies into its effectiveness." [...] "Our research has provided improved understanding as to how music, particularly certain rhythms, can affect your heart and blood vessels." Even the so-called "Mozart Effect" has been gaining adherents in recent years. The hypothesis developed by Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis claimed that listening to Mozart promoted brain development in young children. The theory was further publicized by multiple studies into its effects. Dr. Sylvain Moreno, scientist at the Center for Brain Fitness at the University of Toronto's Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, helmed a study examining the concept. Dividing groups of children ages 4-6 into classes studying either solely music theory or art composition, the kids studying music showed appreciable intelligence scores after the fact. As Dr. Moreno reported to San Francisco Classical Voice, the children's training boosts the theory that music study can be a powerful tool in brain advancement: "[M]usic training is incredibly powerful, and there is a special link between music and these core skills of the brain. ... This curriculum, through the power of music, is like a switch button for the cognitive development of children. You turn the switch on to learn." Most classical music fans would probably agree that listening to their favorite composer or score will help their mood and promote relaxation. It is encouraging to know that these benefits to our temperament can also go toward promoting good health. So, go ahead and cue up your next classical music playlist for studying -- just be wary of fatuous articles claiming classical music's health benefits as a stunt. Disclaimer: The author of this article is not a doctor and this website does not provide medical advice. Please discuss any health concerns with your physician or a qualified health care provider. 2016 The Classical Art, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. TagsClassical Music, Health AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man is accused of sexually abusing three children during a three-month span. Delacey Walters, 27, is charged with eight counts of rape and four counts of gross sexual imposition. Walters pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday at his arraignment in Summit County Common Pleas Court. He is being held in the Summit County Jail on $1 million bond. His case is assigned to Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O'Brien. Walters is accused of sexually assaulting three children-- ages 2, 8 and 8. The incidents happened during a span from Oct. 8 to Christmas Day. Walters' criminal history includes two felony convictions. He spent two years in prison for leading Akron police on a car chase in 2012. He nearly hit a police cruiser and another car during the chase. He stopped his car and ran from officers but was caught. Police found two open bottles of E&J liquor in the front seat. Walters also was convicted in 2007 of aggravated assault. He paid someone $2 to punch a 21-year-old robbery victim in order to keep her from testifying in the criminal case. SAGAMORE HILLS, Ohio -- A Sagamore Hills man is accused of growing marijuana in an underground bunker at his home. James Giglio, 50, is charged with illegally growing marijuana, a second-degree felony. Giglio posted 10 percent of a $500,000 bond set at his initial appearance in Stow Municipal Court. Sagamore Hills police began an investigation last month into a suspected marijuana growing and selling operation at Giglio's home in the 7800 block of Carter Road. Police and Summit County Drug Unit investigators raided Giglio's home on Monday. They reported finding an underground bunker. Officers found 19 full marijuana plants in the bunker, along with growing equipment and chemicals. The marijuana weighs between 11 and 44 pounds, according to court records. An exact measurement has not yet been taken. Police seized two vehicles, a backhoe and other items police believe Giglio bought with illegal drug money. They also seized an undetermined amount of cash. A second person was arrested but has not yet been charged. Giglio's 16-year-old daughter lived at the home but was not home at the time of the raid, Sagamore Hills Police Chief David Hayes said. She is with her mother now, Hayes said. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This gallery contains finished cartoons and six previously unposted sketches on Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, John Kasich, Nancy Reagan, Cuba, Tim McGinty and Michael O'Malley. GOP March Madness has become even more maddening as Trump and Ted Cruz fight over their spouses. I'm betting Bill Clinton will win the spouse bracket. While Hillary Clinton was sweeping Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday II, several male cable news commentators were whining that her speaking voice was too loud and shrill. Apparently they prefer the soft spoken Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, and wearing ball caps that say "Make Sexism Great Again." Bernie Sanders continues to struggle to gain support from African-Americans, including President Obama. The president has reportedly been telling donors that it's time for Bernie to wrap it up. It's the same message he should be sending to Raul Castro. I'm currently off and will be returning with new work soon. GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It took two hours for a Cleveland man to realize he'd been stabbed during a fight with another man Saturday in Garfield Heights, according to a police report. The 36-year-old victim suffered a non-life-threatening wound to his chest during an incident on Rexwood Avenue near East 136th Street, the report says. The victim didn't realize he'd been stabbed until he arrived home two hours later, took off his hooded sweatshirt and saw blood. The victim said he was walking east on Rexwood Avenue when an unknown man grabbed him from behind. The two were involved in a brief struggle before the victim broke free and kept walking, the report says. The man went to Marymount Hospital after seeing his injuries. Hospital staff called police at 2:50 a.m. to report the incident. The man could not provide a description of his attacker and asked detectives not to investigate, the report says. Officers checked the area where the man said he'd been attacked but did not find any bloodstains or evidence of a stabbing. NELSONVILLE, Ohio -- Officials announced the capture of a convicted murderer who escaped from a prison in southern Ohio. Law enforcement agents captured 58-year-old John Modie without incident at 10:50 p.m. Monday in Nelsonville, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said. Officials have not released any more details about Modie's escape or capture. Modie, convicted in 2003 of the murder of a Cleveland woman, went missing Sunday night from the Hocking Unit of the Southeastern Correctional Complex in Nelsonville. Modie was discovered missing during the 11 p.m. bed count on Sunday, and officials searched the prison overnight before announcing he had escaped. Modie is currently serving 15 years to life for murder, robbery and escape. He was eligible for parole in 2020. He pleaded guilty to the murder of Ucianna Ortiz on Dec. 8, 2003 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Ortiz's body was discovered by a security guard shortly after midnight on Oct. 16, 2002 behind an abandoned warehouse at Junction Road and Walworth Avenue, an industrial area just south of Interstate 90. Ortiz, who lived with her mother and younger sister in Tremont, had disappeared two days earlier. The coroner ruled that the cause of death was blunt force to the head. Investigators determined that she had been killed at Modie's home in Cleveland and her body dumped in the area just below Interstate 90, according to the case file. Modie was arrested in Texas on Oct. 27, 2002 driving a BMW stolen from another victim in Cuyahoga County. He was housed in the Hocking Unit, 30 miles from the main compound in Lancaster. The unit houses approximately 450 older offenders. It is about three hours southeast of Cleveland. Hocking College, located near the prison, canceled classes on Monday. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 20-year-old Cleveland man posted nude photographs of a girl on social media, then covered her face with a pillow until she passed out after she confronted him, police said. Brian Tejeda appeared in Cleveland Municipal Court Tuesday morning to face felonious assault and child pornography charges in the March 24 attack in Tejeda's Clark-Fulton home. A judge set his bond at $100,000. Prosecutors are preparing to present his case to a grand jury. Police said Tejeda took nude photographs of the girl, who is only described in court records as a juvenile. He then posted the pictures to multiple social media websites, police said. When the girl found the photographs and confronted Tejeda, he attacked her, police said. Tejeda pressed a pillow over the girl's face until she lost consciousness, court records say. The girl reported the attack to police, and showed them the pictures that Tejeda posted online, police said. Officers arrested Tejeda about 4 a.m. Saturday, according to court records. The health of the price of copper, shown here in cents per pound on the weekly chart, is a guide to the health of the world economy. The weekly copper chart suggests world economic health is beginning to improve but it's too early for a celebration. The price of copper has a long history of testing, and then retreating away from the upper edge of the long-term group of moving averages in the Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA) indicator. So what is different this time with the price testing the upper edge of the long-term GMMA? The first difference is that the long-term downside target price for copper has been achieved. The dominant feature on the chart was the equilateral triangle pattern. The downtrend trend line in the pattern started in September 2011. The uptrend line started October 2011. The height of the pattern is measured at the base. This value is then projected downwards from where price moved below the uptrend line in March 2013. This gives a downside target of 250 cents and this target was achieved and exceeded. The 250 cents level is now a significant resistance level. A close above this level is very bullish. The second and most important difference is the behavior of the long-term group of averages on the weekly chart. The long term GMMA became widely separated in December 2015. The recent price rally from 195 cents to 230 cents has caused a significant compression in the long-term GMMA. The degree of separation remains wide, but the compression behavior is quite strong. This suggests a significant change in the way investors are thinking about future economic growth and the future price of copper watch now Every once in a while, Jim Cramer likes to take a step back and takes a look at the big picture of how we create sustainable wealth. However, building that wealth can result in a lot of mistakes. Cramer aims to help investors avoid these mistakes by providing wealth-building secrets that can be utilized today and making sure there's money available when you really need it down the road. The reality is that owning stocks, which can be very profitable, is really just one step in the wealth-building process. "There are some people, call them the 1 percent if you will, who can make enough money from their ordinary, day-to-day income to become truly rich. But for the vast majority of Americans, that paycheck is simply not enough," Cramer said. That means owning stocks is just one piece of the puzzle. To start, Cramer pointed out that you must have capital preservation. Meaning, your goal is to save money and prevent loss. Don't even bother investing in stocks without it, he advised. "You can make a fortune in the market, but if you're hemorrhaging money everywhere else, then a healthy portfolio isn't going to do you much good," added Cramer. Paying off credit-card debt and getting health and disability insurance are the most important elements of capital preservation. Cramer highlights these elements, because when he is giving daily recommendations for investing on "Mad Money," he assumes that investors have these things crossed off their lists already. In other words, in order to grow money for the future, you need to protect your money today. Read MoreJim Cramer: Don't invest without these 3 things Jamie Grill | JGI | Getty Images The second step to creating real, sustainable wealth is to prepare for retirement. For those investors who are serious about getting rich, Cramer says that means preparing for retirement regardless of age. "Notice I didn't say save for retirement. I said prepare, because just stuffing your money in the first national bank of Sealy , a.k.a. stuffing it into your mattress, or automatically saving it into an IRA or 401(k), great though those two tax-deferred vehicles may be, might not be enough to prepare for your retirement," the "Mad Money" host said. However, there is a caveat to contributing to a 401(k), and that is what the money is used to invest in. Cramer advised that you should not use much of your 401(k) funds to buy stock in the company that employs you. Why? Because one of the key components to investing is diversification. Meaning that if you expose too much of your portfolio to the same sector, than you run an enormous risk. Read More Cramer: Never, ever put this in your 401(k) Cramer wants you to remember that there is no such thing as a get-rich-quick scheme. That is why he advised that most reliable way to make money grow is to do so slowly and with prudence. But too much caution is also bad news as well. So, when it comes to retirement, Cramer does not want investors to hide their money and cling to safety with the assumption that there will be enough money to retire. A little risk in stocks with higher returns will ensure a wealthy retirement. Conventional wisdom teaches that investors need to reduce as much risk as possible when investing retirement money. However, Cramer disagrees. Cramer's rule to remember when selecting bond allocations is to go by age. Here are his recommendations for bonds, by order of age: Younger than 30: No reason at all to own bonds In your 30s: 10 to 20 percent of your portfolio In your 40s: 20 to 30 percent of your portfolio In your 50s: 30 to 40 percent of your portfolio 60 to retirement: 40 to 50 percent of your portfolio After retirement: Own some stocks, especially high yielding stocks that can generate more income with less risk, approximately one-third of your portfolio Read More Cramer: Why bonds could be bad for retirement Troels Graugaard | Getty Images The biggest benefit to a 401(k) plan is that an employer will match at least some percentage of contributions up to a certain point. That's free money, which only a fool would not take advantage of. So, while Cramer does think that it is important to contribute to a 401(k), he is not part of the crowd that thinks you should max out the limit. "Your 401(k) is important, but it has its downsides plenty of them," the " Mad Money " host said. If you are like most investors and are banking on a 401(k) plan for retirement, Jim Cramer wants you to listen up. What some people consider to be the holy grail of retirement savings could have some serious flaws. Your 401(k) is important, but it has its downsides, plenty of them. However, a few downsides of a 401(k) are that some people complain about high management fees and administrative costs. For Cramer, the worst part about the 401(k) is the lack of control over his money and lack of choice in what he can invest in. "I believe that the best way to invest, as you know, is to buy a diversified portfolio of individual stocks and do the homework on each one of them ideally one hour per week per stock so you know when it is time to buy more, when it is time to sell something, and when it is time to sell everything," Cramer added. Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer The problem is that most 401(k) plans don't give you the option. Instead it will let you choose between a couple of stock and bond funds, and Cramer is generally not impressed with the selections. But then there is this benefit of a company matching contributions to a certain point. So, what the heck do you do? That is why an Individual Retirement Account is so important. An IRA doesn't have the high management fees that many 401(k) plans do, and it will let investors invest the way they want. Cramer's recommendation is to contribute as much money to your 401(k) that is needed to get the full company match, and then stop. At that point, the rest of retirement savings should go into an IRA until that is maxed out. So, while a 401(k) plan has a lot going for it, Cramer wants investors to be aware that they can be deeply flawed. That is why he only recommends contributing the amount that allows you to get the full match from your employer, and then everything else should go into an IRA that has lower fees and more flexibility. Editor's note: Pro Strategy is a column on how to use the strategies of the smartest minds on Wall Street to generate quality investment ideas. Back in the 1990s investors avidly passed around Dan Benton's Goldman Sachs memo with 20 rules for technology stock investing. The maxims became legendary as he turned into the best technology hedge fund manager in the world by the end of that decade. We'll show that his rules are still relevant today and can be applied to generate new long and short ideas. Benton started his Wall Street career as an influential PC analyst at Goldman Sachs from 1988 to 1993. He then joined Dawson Samberg as a technology portfolio manager and later became president of Pequot Capital, the successor firm. By the time he started Andor Capital in 2001, he managed the most successful tech-focused hedge fund in the world with $7.5 billion in assets. The funds Benton managed from 1994 to 2001 had annual returns of 53 percent, compared to the S & P 500 's 13.3 percent return, according to The Wall Street Journal . Here are the 20 investing rules Benton wrote at Goldman Sachs that many believe led to his success. Momentum 1. Sell technology stocks when estimates are being reduced. 2. Buy technology stocks only for positive earnings surprises. 3. Positive earnings surprises occur when revenue and earnings growth are accelerating, when average selling prices are rising, and when gross margin and operating margin are rising. 4. Most technology stock ideas are product-cycle stories. 5. New product cycles often lead to earnings surprises; product cycle transitions usually lead to earnings disappointments. 6. Technology stocks also do well when companies rebound from periods of poor execution. Valuation 7. Value investors don't make money in technology. There are few "cheap" technology stocks. 8. Don't buy on relative P/E, P/B, P/R, particularly when estimates are falling (see Rules 1 and 2). Seasonality 9. Technology stocks perform poorly in the summer. 10. Seasonal slowdowns cause secular concerns. 11. Second-tier companies do poorest in the weakest seasonal period and provide anecdotal evidence of an industry slowdown. Management 12. Reorganizations without restructuring charges usually lead to earnings disappointments within two quarters. 13. One-quarter problems exist (but only if caused by supply constraints). 14. Management usually appears weakest at the bottom of a product cycle. 15. Insider selling doesn't matter; management gets new stock options every year. Old World/New World 16. Traditional mainframe and minicomputer companies are in secular decline. 17. It is increasingly difficult to differentiate companies that sell microprocessor-based computers. 18. Execution is the most important distinguishing factor in a standards-based world. 19. It is hard to forecast execution. Summary 20. Don't forget Rule 1. Source: Goldman Sachs Read More Pro Strategy: Fitbit may outrun the shorts Even though the rules were written long ago, many investors agree they are still relevant today. "Dan has many valid guidelines regarding investing in technology stocks," TIAA managing director and equity portfolio manager Stephanie Link said in an email. "The importance of innovation is critical in this sector." The de-emphasis on valuation as a driver of a tech stock's direction is similar to how billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller invested last year . And the most important rule on the list clearly is "sell technology stocks when estimates are being reduced" as it is repeatedly mentioned and also ends the memo as the "Summary." The rule helped Benton thrive when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 as he returned 35 percent that year versus the Nasdaq composite 39 percent decline by short-selling technology stocks with declining earnings estimates. When Wall Street analysts start cutting their outlooks for technology firms it is often because a multi-quarter product cycle is ending, which has a serious negative impact on future earnings power. GoPro investors could have protected themselves from larger losses if they followed this rule six months ago. As the 2016 average earnings estimate started falling from $2.14 earnings per share to a negative 68 cents, the company's stock price followed suit. "I actually have a lot of rules similar to Benton's in my models. Estimate revisions get a huge weighting, including dumping positions with new low estimates," Belpointe strategist David Nelson wrote in an email. "This has saved my clients a lot of money." In addition to earnings estimates, the primary focus of Benton's rules is finding new technology product cycles to generate profitable investment ideas. Nvidia may have the best product cycle story of 2016 with its dominance of the vibrant PC gaming graphics card market, as virtual reality and eSports trends explode. "Our strategy is to create specialized accelerated computing platforms for large growth markets that demand the 10x boost in performance we offer," Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said in the Feb. 17 earnings release. "Nvidia is at the center of four exciting growth opportunities - PC gaming, VR, deep learning, and self-driving cars." Even amid the worst double-digit PC market decline in history last year, according to IDC, Nvidia's PC gaming business is thriving. The company's gaming graphics card business grew 21 percent year over year in the most recent quarter and it dominates the market with 81 percent market share, according to Mercury Research. The global PC gaming market will increase from $25.6 billion in 2015 to $26.7 billion in 2016, according to Newzoo, a market research firm. More than 80 million people are playing multiplayer online battle arena (MOBAs) eSports games like "League of Legends" and "DOTA 2" on PCs, according to Nvidia. "eSports is really not just for competition, but drive the dynamic of sharing and social. Those kinds of factors continue to drive our gaming business," Huang said on the Feb. 17 earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. Baird estimates eSports will grow from $300 million of revenue in 2015 to $1 billion in 2018 and almost $2 billion in 2020 growing at a 46 percent annual rate driven by a viewership of 200 million people. The audience is projected to triple their engagement, watching 6.6 billion hours or 26 hours per viewer by 2018 according to IHS. Similar in potential, the virtual reality era began this week as Facebook 's Oculus Rift VR headset started shipping Monday. Pacific Crest anticipates in three years 3 to 7 percent of PC gaming users will adopt virtual reality, which will add up to $1.3 billion in annual sales to Nvidia. "Virtual reality is expected to drive a new segment of growth for Nvidia, given the need for high-end graphics cards (e.g., Nvidia GeForce GTX 970/980) to render dual images in high resolution," Pacific Crest's Michael McConnell wrote in note to clients Feb. 17. Nvidia's next-generation graphics architecture code named "Pascal" is slated to launch in 2016. According to a company presentation last year, the new technology will offer a big leap in performance over previous generational improvements. If the company is able to achieve these aggressive technical milestones, it will drive a large upgrade cycle, leading to positive earnings surprises and a higher share price. A result that would make Dan Benton proud. Read More Pro Strategy: 'Grand Theft Auto' stock is a steal A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Getty Images Donald Trump speaks during the Republican presidential debate in North Charleston, South Carolina January 14, 2016. Chris Keane | Reuters There's not just a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes. There's also more than one face of Donald Trump, in 1.3 billion Chinese people's eyes. That famous Chinese expression about the many interpretations of Shakespeare and the world describes how the mainland sees the leading Republican presidential candidate. Since hitting the presidential campaign trail, the GOP frontrunner has been far from friendly to China, repeatedly criticizing the world's second largest economy's "unfair and unlawful practice" of tariffs, accusing Beijing of manipulating its currency and even threatening a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the United States. But oddly enough, CNBC spoke to a few Chinese who actually like this U.S. presidential candidate. There's a range of reasons, from his history as a reality-television star to admiring his daughter's appearance. A boss with business wisdom "He is so confident and cool in the show," said 22-year-old, Hong-Kong based Vennie Kang, who is familiar with Trump from watching his reality talent game show "The Apprentice" when she was still a teenager. "He likes to control everything, but truly has business wisdom." watch now U.S. reality shows have been popular among Chinese youths since the early 2000s, a time when English teachers on mainland China started to encourage students to learn the language through studying American pop culture. As "The Apprentice" was on the must-watch list for many, real estate mogul Donald Trump -- the show's executive producer and host -- became widely known in China. "The way he says 'you are fired' at the end of each episode to eliminate contestants did really leave me a deep impression," said Kang, who graduated from college last year and now works in the finance industry. A candidate who knows how to make deals To be sure, many Chinese were offended when Trump mocked Asian businessmen in broken English during a campaign rally in Iowa last year. "Negotiating with Japan, negotiating with China, when these people walk into the room, they don't say, 'Oh hello, how's the weather? So beautiful outside, isn't it lovely? How are the Yankees doing? Oh, they are doing wonderful, great.'" said Trump, followed by imitating his Asian business partners with an accent, "They say, 'We want deal!'" To some, Trump has a big mouth, but others say he at least gets one thing right. watch now "It's not necessarily a bad thing if the U.S. president used to be a businessman," said Hang Su, a Chinese young professional living in New York. "He would understand better how to make deals and how to compromise. The hate and love relationship between the U.S. and China will remain unchanged." Like Su, most mainland Chinese do not care about candidates' stances on U.S. domestic issues, and instead focus on the U.S.-Sino business relationship. In many Chinese people's eyes, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, would act tougher to China than Trump, once elected. "Hillary Clinton is always suspicious about China," said 29-year-old, Hong Kong-based Bai Yifan, who initially thought Trump was a joke when he declared his candidacy for president. "Politicians and businessmen are totally different. Trump would understand that China is the largest trading partner of the U.S., and he wouldn't annoy China on ideology matters like human rights, etc." "From the Chinese perspective, I hope the U.S. could elect a president who can bring a win-win situation," he added. A successful "Fu Er Dai" Trump's inherited wealth was also a draw for some Chinese. He's a successful "Fu Er Dai" to Lili Fu, a Shenzhen-based young professional. In the Chinese language, "Fu Er Dai" refers to the second generation of the rich, or those who inherited a great deal of wealth from their affluent parents. The term, however, is usually used in negative news headlines as the second-generation is seen as spending extravagantly and as keen to show off on social media, stirring public anger among Chinese netizens. In Fu's eyes, Donald Trump is more ambitious than many "Fu Er Dai" in China today. "He borrowed $1 million from his dad to get started and then has built the Trump Empire to what it is day," said Fu. "I read his biography. He had been through his ups and downs, not always good times." The father of Ivanka Trump Donald Trump can also thank his beautiful daughter, Ivanka Trump, for winning him hearts among Chinese people. Seen as a successful businesswoman and tasteful designer as well as a happy wife and mother, Ivanka, 34, has a huge fan base in China. "She is so pretty and elegant," said Fu. "I think it has something to do with her education and family." Fu's view is shared by 36-year-old Joe Wu, who is based in New York. "His children are very well educated," said Wu. "He doesn't drink alcohol and he doesn't allow his children to drink, smoke, do drugs or tattoos. Trump himself is a pretty disciplined person." watch now Apple is gaining ground in winning the hearts and minds of the American public in the battle with the federal government over encryption. A CNBC survey conducted before the Justice Department dropped its court order bid against the tech giant to unlock a terrorist's iPhone found that 57 percent of Americans agreed that privacy concerns trumped the needs of law enforcement in the debate. That was an increase from 53 percent in December's CNBC All-America Economic Survey. In the latest poll, CNBC surveyed 802 Americans from March 21 through March 23, with the Brussels terror attacks falling in the middle. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results broken down by day showed that the Brussels attack had little effect on the responses. The respondents continued to favor the software companies after the attack, just as they did before. David Mareuil | Andolu Agency | Getty Images It's a rare issue where agreement crosses party lines. Democrats favored the software companies 61 percent to 28 percent, with support 10 points higher than it was in December. Republicans favored encryption by 57 percent to 31 percent, with support rising by 4 points. Apple had been in a pitched battled with the FBI investigation into the San Bernardino terrorist attack. The FBI could not break into an Apple iPhone left behind by one of the terrorists and went to court to force Apple to write code to allow access. But the Justice Department said Monday it was dropping its court order against Apple after it was able to unlock the iPhone used by gunman Syed Rizwan Farook. CNBC asked a similar question about encryption twice, and in both cases, found support for the software companies. In the first question, CNBC asked simply whether software companies should not sell software and devices with encryption coding that prevents both criminals and law enforcement agencies form reading emails or messages. In that case, the respondents broke 39-23 percent in favor of the software companies. A large 24 percent said they did not know enough to have an opinion. That was down, however, from 35 percent in December, perhaps because the issue has received far more publicity. In the next question, CNBC asked which of two statements they preferred, one that said companies should sell the software and device with encryption because it protects consumer data from criminals and the government. The second statement said technology companies should not sell the devices because criminals and terrorist organizations could communicate in secret, which would hinder law enforcement. Grab a glass of milk. You're going to need it for Burger King's newest menu item. The burger giant created a sequel to its widely popular Angry Whopper, and it's got a red bun. The Angriest Burger is a flame-grilled beef patty topped with bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, jalapenos, mayonnaise and "spicy angry sauce." The signature red bun has hot sauce baked in for a little extra kick. "The black bun of our A.1. Halloween Whopper created a lot of conversation, and our previous limited time Angry Whopper sandwich was a hit with guests," said Axel Schwan, global chief marketing officer for Burger King, in a statement. "So, we're combining the power of these past hits into a star-studded sandwich we think our guests will unanimously agree is the next must-eat burger." Chinese President Xi Jinping's official visit to the Czech Republic this week is expected to solidify relations between the two countries after years of political antagonism over human rights abuse claims. But, while Beijing might be hailing it as a symbolic victory, one analyst told CNBC that it signals Prague's economic vulnerabilities. Jinping's arrival in Prague Monday marked the first ever visit by a Chinese head of state to the country and comes amid a political pivot by the Czech President Milos Zeman. Francois Godement, a director of the Asia and China program at the European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank, told CNBC by phone Tuesday that while the visit is largely symbolic, it was an opportunity "too good for China to miss." Michal Cizak | AFP | Getty Images President Zeman's pro-China policies are a notable departure from those advocated by the late former president Vaclav Havel, who became known for supporting Chinese dissidents and frequently welcoming the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama during his time in office. "The Czechs were long the most tenacious advocates of human rights in China," Godemont said. However, since Zemen took power in 2013, the Czech Republic has been "insidiously courting China as an economic partner," he explained, adding that the president's strategy actually "shows (the Czech Republic's) economic vulnerability." Over the weekend, Zemen blamed the U.S. and Europe for affecting ties with Beijing, hailing a "restart of relations." "There was very bad relationship between China and the former government of the Czech Republicformer government, I stressbecause this government has been very submissive to the pressure from the U.S. and from the EU," Zeman said, according to the Chinese CCTVnews broadcaster. Czech gross domestic product (GDP) totaled $205.3 billion in 2014, according to the World Bank, while the government's debt-to-GDP ratio that year amassed to 42.7 percent. The government's macro-economic forecast released in January estimated debt to have fallen only marginally to 41 percent of GDP in 2015. "But the Czech Republic is far and away from being the only country in Europe to try to improve relations with China," William Jackson, a senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics told CNBC via email. "My impression is that most eastern European countries are trying to improve ties with China, rather than the other way round, and China is reciprocating," he explained. China's Xi Jinping notably stopped over in Belarus in May last year for the first head of state visit in over a decade, which reportedly ended with penned contracts worth billions of dollars. A strategic agreement with the Czech Republic, meanwhile, is expected to usher in contracts worth 1.6 billion euros ($1.79 billion), Godement said. However, the contracts will still be bound by European Union laws, which could complicate their completion, he explained. Xi Jinping is expected to stay in the Czech Republic until Thursday when he leaves for the U.S. to attend a nuclear security summit. A man climbs out of the cockpit window of the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus, March 29, 2016. The alleged hijacker of an EgyptAir plane has been arrested after hours of tense negotiations, according to Cypriot police, freeing his remaining hostages and emerging from the grounded plane with his hands up. The man said to be in an "unstable psychological state" and believed by authorities to be Egyptian had held a number of hostages but the Cypriot authorities said the incident was "now over." TWEET OVER There were several conflicting reports, some of which NBC News is unable to confirm, on the incident in Larnaca airport where the plane was diverted from its Alexandria-Cairo flight earlier in the morning. Ahead of his surrender and arrest, the lone alleged hijacker had released most of the passengers and crew with only three passengers, the pilot, co-pilot and three cabin crew still on board at the end of the siege. Tweet There have been a number of conflicting theories about the alleged hijacker's motivations but the incident was not believed to be terror-related and the individual had asked to speak to a person, believed to be his ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus. Google's search services found a way through China's six-year-old ban over the weekend but only for a couple of hours . According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), at around 11.30pm local time on Sunday, Chinese users were able to access Google's search engine. But it was blocked again at around 1.15am on Monday. However, A technology blog called "Pingwest" said that access was available from around 8pm or 9pm on Sunday, with other services including email and Google photos being accessible. There are no official explanations as to why Google was briefly available, but a number of local media reports suggest it is because the U.S. firm brought some new servers online in the region. The servers had IP addresses which weren't recognized by the Great Firewall and were not blocked. Google had not responded to a request for comment from CNBC by the time this article was published. OPEC member Iran expects to attend an oil producers meeting in Doha next month but this does not mean it will take part in negotiations over a production freeze, a source familiar with Iranian thinking said on Tuesday. "An invitation has been extended... We support it but it doesn't mean we will join in the freeze talks," the source told Reuters. Qatar has invited all OPEC members and major producers from outside the exporting group to attend talks on April 17 on a deal to freeze output to support the global oil market. A woman looks through the locked front door of the Chipolte Restaurant in Washington, D.C. The road to recovery is looking longer than ever for Chipotle Mexican Grill . Wedbush Securities downgraded the restaurant chain's stock on Tuesday, sending shares in the fast-casual chain down more than 4 percent during midday trading. The investment firm said that Chipotle will not recover its sales loss from the norovirus, salmonella and E. coli outbreaks it suffered in the last year until 2018 and they believe that's the best-case scenario. "Based on our belief that current valuation reflects an overly optimistic outlook regarding Chipotle's path to recovery, we downgrade shares to underperform from neutral," the team wrote in a research note. Wedbush analysts also said that there is no reason for investors to own shares in the fast-casual restaurant as "unit economics may not rebound even if sales do." It cut Chipotle's target stock price to $400 from $450. Chipotle did not immediately respond to CNBC's call for comment. watch now watch now watch now Six years ago, Uber launched a test run to help hail cars in a few cities. Freelance drivers, who needed work in a deep recession, and customers, lured by cheaper rides and cashless transactions, together bankrolled Uber into a tech unicorn a private company with a valuation of at least $1 billion. But the era of cheap money is easing as valuation expectations adjust. Some start-ups have discreetly cut staff. IPOs remain weak. And it turns out the Uber business model this broad idea that any sector might be disrupted by an army of freelancers, overlaid across a mobile platform doesn't necessarily translate. Uber and other start-ups in the on-demand economy have been dogged by questions about freelance-worker background checks. There are accusations that start-ups are basically skirting regulations and related licensing fees that apply to traditional businesses, including taxis, limousines and hotels. But beyond Uber, more new companies are reimagining the on-demand business model. New ventures are coupling flexible schedules with more traditional workplace benefits including health insurance and a chance to buy a company stake a privilege usually reserved for founding members and deep-pocketed investors, not rank-and-file employees. More start-ups are also converting 1099 independent contractors to W-2 employees. And other companies are offering base wages above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Some employees also get health insurance. "Uber was the first game in town," said Rebecca Smith, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, or NELP. But San Francisco-based juggernaut Uber stands by its strategy and says the company is growing, co-founder and chief executive Travis Kalanick told CNBC on Monday. "We've just been watching literally hundreds of cities go profitable. We've just tightened up the operations," he said. Uber has a presence in some 400 cities worldwide, from San Francisco to Shanghai. "We're getting good at running profitable cities," he said. Kalanick added he does not expect his company to go public anytime soon. "I'm going to make sure it happens as late as possible." He added Uber has raised around $10 billion during the last 18 months. Uber no longer the only game in town But Silicon Valley and conversations among venture capitalists have shifted. A freelance-based model is no longer a condition of funding. There are more pointed conversations about growth targets and talent retention as a good business move, and a condition of valuation markups. "Companies felt that in order to get funding and succeed, they had to follow that model," said Smith of NELP, a worker advocacy group. "Now we are seeing successful companies that either start out with workers as employees or shift to the employee model." The Uber business template, it seems, is losing some of its luster. Inside Managed by Q Dan Teran (at left) is CEO of Managed by Q, an on-demand office cleaning and maintenance company. He walks with Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. Photo: Chris Warga Among the new crop of on-demand companies is office cleaning start-up Managed by Q, based in New York City with service available there and in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. Managed by Q last week announced its office cleaners and handymen will be able to purchase up to a 5 percent stake in the company. The first ownership grants are planned for July 1 of this year. And the ownership option is on top of other benefits not usually associated with start-ups. In the on-demand economy (sometimes referred to as the gig economy), freelancers use smartphones and other technology platforms to connect to available work and income streams such as driving passengers to destinations or renting out a room or house. Amid an uneven recovery since the Great Recession, many Americans workers everyone from college students to those chronically under- and unemployed and those in their 50s and older have turned to such small-task jobs to create a patchwork of employment. At Managed by Q, all 500 workers are classified as full-time employees. All the workers have health insurance that's covered 100 percent by the company. The start-up, founded in April 2014, was launched with full-time workers. But wait. Full-time workers? Health insurance? Didn't potential investors balk at such a pricey business model? "Well, let's just say it's a great way to self select the right partners," said Dan Teran, co-founder and chief executive of Managed by Q. With its success, funding conversations have naturally gotten easier. "Uber has been incredibly successful and pioneered a model that works very well for them," Teran said. "But no one size fits all and it never has been. We've seen enough companies struggle, or go under, that it really isn't like Uber is the only model that's applicable for everyone," he said. Other start-ups that have converted their independent contractors to employees include: Shyp, a package delivery company. HomeHero, a home caregiver business. Honor, a home care start-up. Sprig, meal preparation and delivery. Eden, tech support and office management. Other start-ups paying above the federal minimum wage include: Bridj, a mass transportation company, mandates a $15 minimum wage. "These companies are proving that you can both make money and treat workers fairly," said Smith of NELP. "They are showing that you can offer employees a flexible schedule just as you can 1099ers." The on-demand business model is no longer seen as a choice between innovation or workplace benefits. As U.S. unemployment has dropped and the overall economy has improved, business strategies that address the chronic, costly challenge of finding, training and retaining talent are valued. "Whether it's a software engineer or handymen, these are real skills and there's a market for them," said Teran of Managed by Q. And hiring employees is good for business. "Beyond the argument that it's the right thing to do, it's the clearest path to a sustainable business," he said. Bigger picture, new on-demand business models may prove to be a crucial bridge for Americans, struggling to fend off stagnant wage growth. In an economic address in July 2015 in New York City, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called out the sharing economy as a potential factor in dampened wage growth. More than 53 million Americans are freelancers, composing 34 percent of the U.S. workforce, according to a 2014 survey by research firm Edelman Berland, commissioned by the Freelancers Union. Workplace and wage advocates argue some of these start-ups are evading payroll taxes, workers compensation and unemployment insurance payments, and minimum wage and overtime laws. Eventually lawyers got involved and class-action suits were filed. Read MoreUber drivers' suit given class-action status As more start-ups shift to employee status, the change may be as much about making a bet on how the courts ultimately will rule on related labor cases affecting on-demand workers. "They are reading the tea leaves and betting that the courts and their own success as businesses will require that they treat workers as employees," said Smith of NELP. "This on-demand or so called gig economy is creating exciting opportunities and unleashing innovation, but it's also raising hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the future," Clinton said last July. Income volatility rising So what will a good job in the future look like? Presumably one with predictability. More American workers, in fact, say they feel like they're dancing for their next meal. For example, income volatility is rising among Americans, according to a February 2016 report on the topic from JPMorgan. "Moreover, the decline in real wages since 2009 for all income groups except the top 5th percentile means that life is harder to afford in general, but even more so when earnings dip below average," the report said. Uber, Airbnb and other online platforms offer workers a chance to bundle together discreet tasks. But as any freelancer will tell you, paycheck amounts and frequency can vary widely. Such uncertainty can contribute to paycheck volatility and the inability to save for a rainy day and make long-term financial plans. Samsung launched its mobile payments service Samsung Pay in China on Tuesday, following rival Apple into the world's second-largest economy. Samsung Pay allows a user to tap their phone on a reader to pay for items and is partnering with China UnionPay the payment processing network that until recently held a monopoly in China to bring the solution to the country. "The reception of Samsung Pay since its launch has been extremely positive and the service has already seen tremendous success in terms of availability and adoption by consumers," Injong Rhee, head of research and development, software and services of mobile at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement on Tuesday. SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images But the South Korean electronics giant is coming up against some stiff competition in China. Apple Pay went live in China last month, while existing competitors Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WePay already have a strong foothold in the market. Alipay says it has over 400 million active users, with 80 percent on mobile. Also, both WePay and Alipay are already ingrained into the daily lives of Chinese consumers, something that will be a challenge for Samsung. "The kind of services they (Tencent and Alibaba) offer are well integrated into Tencent's messaging platform WeChat and into Alibaba's whole ecosystem of e-commerce services," Enrique Velasco-Castillo, analyst at Analysys Mason, told CNBC by phone. Samsung Pay currently supports select credit and debit cards from nine banks: China CITIC Bank China Construction Bank China Everbright Bank China Guangfa Bank China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd China Merchants Bank Hua Xia Bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ping An Bank Samsung said it would add additional support for credit and debit cards from six more banks including Bank of China, Bank of Beijing, Bank of Communications, China Bohai Bank, Industrial Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Currently Samsung Pay is available on the company's Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5. It said that there is an "opportunity" to support additional mid-range models "in the future". One advantage of Samsung Pay is that it is compatible with both field communication (NFC) technology as well as magnetic strip technology, meaning retailers will not have to upgrade their point-of-sales terminals. Small market share If one thing is clear from the election news right now: Republicans have a woman problem. And no, I don't mean the smutty salacious Ted Cruz news about possible marital infidelitiesit's too early to say exactly how that will play out. I'm referring to the Republican gender gap that may be a gender canyon come November. It's no surprise Donald Trump is not doing well with women within his own party. If you need a refresher on why, just watch the"Quotes" ad by the anti-Trump group Our Principles PAC, led by a former Mitt Romney aide. In it, women read a litany of Trump's own damning words about women. The ad has been in heavy rotation in recent primary states, and has already been viewed online over three million times. Adding fuel to the fire, Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with battery for grabbing a former reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart. Behind closed doors, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick often refers to Rachel Whetstone, his SVP for policy and communication, as the most powerful woman in Silicon Valley. Less than a year after she was hired to replace Obama veteran David Plouffe, it has become clear that Whetstone didn't get to be that powerful by playing nice all the time. Almost immediately after joining Uber, Whetstone turned toward her old shop, Google , as well as a few other Silicon Valley companies like Square , to fill out the policy roster for the ride-hailing juggernaut as it continued to mount political battles across the globe. Read More Uber IPO uber-unlikely: CEO Kalanick But Whetstone followed that hiring spree by gutting much of Uber's existing policy team a process that is still continuing today. More from re/code: FBIDrops iPhone Case Against Apple After Outside Hack Succeeds MeetZoe, a New Smart Home Hub That Lets You Control Your Data We'reAll Building the Internet of Things, One Device at a Time As more and more ex-Googlers joined the policy and communications ranks, those rounds of hires were accompanied by several rounds of layoffs and departures. Most notably, a few months after Whetstone took over at Uber, two of the startup's recent marquee hires Matt McKenna, a former spokesperson to President Bill Clinton, and Lane Kasselman, Uber's communication lead for the Americas left the company. One source close to the matter insists both were among the first round of Whetstone's layoffs. Another source say they left voluntarily. In February, shortly after their departure, the two started a public relations firm called Greenbrier Partners; they have already enlisted a number of clients in the tech industry, including used-car marketplace Shift, and Strava, which pitches itself as the social network for athletes. When reached for comment, McKenna said: "Rachel is building a talented team that will forever shape the face of the planet. We wish her nothing but continued success." Read More Uber CEO sees profits in China in 2 years' time The planet-shaping departures at Uber's policy shop are continuing. Just last week, Karun Arya, the company's communications lead of Southeast Asia and India, abruptly left the company, and was quickly replaced by Amy Kunrojpanya, who is Uber's new director of communications in the Asia Pacific, and was the former head of communications for Google in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Most of the Googlers Whetstone recruited are familiar with the corridors of the Washington, D.C., and Asian markets, two worlds the startup needs to navigate well. They were likely lured by the appeal of a startup, along with the chance to wield greater input; much of the policy decision-making at Google comes from its Mountain View headquarters. Google is also aiming to soften its political style amid numerous antitrust cases. Whetstone is known for her assertive style (consider her GIF-y retort to Rupert Murdoch), while Google's recent moves, including the appointment of a former Obama advisor at its policy chief, signal a less combative approach. What that means for Uber going forward will be interesting to watch. Read More Saudi prince invests big in Uber-rival, Lyft Until then, here is a not-yet-exhaustive list of some of the ex-Googlers who have been poached, and the Uber employees who have been either let go or departed to make room. Poached directly from Google: Deborah Nga: Was country lead for public policy and government affairs for Google in South East Asia, also led international relations efforts in Washington D.C. Now is Uber's head of stakeholder engagement in South East Asia. Niki Christoff: Was spokesperson for East Coast media, handled press for Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt and formerly served as the chief of staff to Google's chief legal officer; worked on Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Now is Uber's head of federal affairs, handling the company's relationship with the executive branch and congress. Amy Kunrojpanya: Was head of communications and public affairs in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and emerging markets at Google. Now is Uber's head of communications and public affairs in Asia Pacific. Davis White: Managed Google's policy relationships in northern California, including its home Silicon Valley turf. Now is on Uber's policy team. Matthew Kallman: Worked on domestic policy issues for Google, including cybersecurity and energy issues. Now works on Uber's policy team. Longtime Googlers, who were poached from other companies: Jill Hazelbaker: Was poached from Snapchat, but served as the senior director of communications and public policy at Google for more than five years prior to that under Whetstone. She now serves as Uber's vice president of communications and policy. Dorothy Chou: Was poached from Dropbox, but joined Google in 2008, where her last position was as a corporate communications manager. Now Chou is on Uber's public policy team. People who were either laid off from Uber or otherwise departed the company: Lane Kasselman: Was Uber's head of communications in the Americas, now is the co-founder of Greenbrier Partners. Matt McKenna: Was Uber head of communications in North America; is also a co-founder of Greenbrier Partners. Natalia Montalvo: Was on the communications team at Uber. Arielle Goren: Was the Uber communications lead of special projects, is now the director of communications at Meerkat. Trina Smith: Was the director of business and communication at Uber, is now the senior vice president at Method Communications. Corey Owens: Was the head of public policy at Uber, now heads up public policy at DJI. Taylor Benett: Was the communications lead at Uber of Eastern North America, now the director of public affairs at Pandora. Kristin Carvell: Was the head of business and product development at Uber. Karun Arya: Was the communications lead at Uber of South Asia and India. Uber declined to comment for this story. Brazil's political system is set to spin further out of control Tuesday as the biggest party in the Senate quits the ruling coalition, a move that will hike the odds on President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) announced Tuesday, as expected, it would pull six ministers from Rousseff's Cabinet, ordering them to either resign or face ethics proceedings, Reuters reported Tuesday. If Rousseff is impeached, it would put Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, next in line for the presidency, Reuters said. Analysts are divided as to how Brazil's economy and political situation might fare in the wake. Getty Images The country is mired in social unrest, a deep recession and its greatest political crisis since re-democratization in the 1980s. PMDB's move to abandon the coalition could precipitate the impeachment of Rousseff who is charged with corruption by freeing its members to vote for her removal. "The break-up should be a key. We think it should be decisive for how the impeachment and for the voting in the Lower House and eventually in the Upper House will evolve," Standard Chartered Latin America economist, Italo Lombardi, told CNBC on Tuesday. Impeachment will likely be a long and complicated process. Approval by both the Lower House and the Senate is needed to force Rousseff to step down. A full process of impeachment is then started. watch now watch now watch now watch now Lombardi forecasts a conclusive ruling might not be reached before late July or early August at the earliest. If Rousseff steps down as part of the impeachment process, Vice-President Michel Temer would take the helm. The 75-year-old heads the PMDB, a centrist party to the right of Rousseff's Workers' Party. He is viewed as more pro-business than Rousseff and less likely to renege on economic reforms. Demonstrators protest against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and the ruling Workers Party in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Miguel Schincariol | AFP | Getty Images "Temer would have a strong cabinet, with prominent names including a former presidential candidate from the PSDB currently the main opposition party a clear fiscal reform-driven economic plan and at least a bit of a honeymoon with congress," Mario Marconini, a Sao Paulo-based managing director with risk consultancy Teneo Intelligence, told CNBC on Tuesday. Marconini viewed impeachment as the best-case scenario for Brazil a stance with which markets appear to agree, having rallied as the prospect grows likelier. The Brazilian real has rallied around 9 percent against the U.S. dollar this month, while the benchmark Bovespa stock index has gained around 19 percent. On Monday, Brazilian credit default swaps (CDS) posted the biggest daily improvement in percentage terms 3.3 percent of any sovereign, with the spread 75 basis points tighter on the month, according to data provider Markit. CDS are a type of financial contract used by buyers of debt to hedge the potential loss from an issuer defaulting. They are viewed as a proxy for the perceived creditworthiness of a debt issuer in this case, Brazil. Brazil Interested buyers in Yahoo's core Web and Asian business have two weeks to submit preliminary bids, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported late on Monday. Citing unnamed sources, the WSJ said Yahoo recently sent a letter to investors asking them to detail by April 11 what assets they hope to buy, the expected price tag and how they would finance the purchase. Yahoo's bankers have reached out to potential suitors, which include Verizon , Time and private-equity firms TPG and KKR & Co , the WSJ said. Microsoft could join that list after Re/code reported last week that the software giant is interested in financing the bids of private equity firms. VESTAL, N.Y. The Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) office at Binghamton University announced it is seeking technical project proposals from interested New York state companies for the 2016-2017 academic year. Proposals should include deliverables, expertise needed, a description of the positive impact that the project will have on a company, number of jobs retained, jobs added, and anticipated Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT), or other grant funding, according to a SPIR office news release. Applications should be submitted online by 5 p.m. Friday, April 8, at: binghamton.edu/watson/industry/spir/spir-form.html. SPIR was established in 1994 by SUNY engineering schools as an effort to strengthen the states small- and mid-sized businesses by applying technology to make businesses more competitive. SPIR contends it has helped partners create and retain more than 2,500 jobs totaling $90 million of estimated annual wages over the past two decades. SPIR students and faculty mentors work on an average of 30 projects annually across 20 small- to mid-sized companies. The Binghamton office applies high-technology content to products, devising methods to adapt to new industrial regulations, and exploring opportunities to break into new markets, according to the release. It leverages the resources of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University, including faculty, students, and staff. SPIR provides local industries with: Expertise of engineers and applied scientists in mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, electrical and computer engineering, biomedical engineering, systems science and industrial engineering, and computer science. Experience with industry partners across multiple areas including communications, clean or renewable energy technology, computer hardware, defense technology, life sciences, electronics, sensors, displays, semiconductors, and software. Access to top engineering and applied science students. For more information about the program, visit binghamton.edu/watson/industry/spir or contact the Office of Industrial Outreach at (607) 777-4532. A year after resigning as the city's First Ward City Council representative, Chadwick joins seven others running to be Boone County Southern District Commissioner. She doesn't regret her decision to support raising the age required to buy tobacco products in Columbia to 21 and said she wants to see more cooperation between the city and the county. 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. Three takeways from Missouri's game against Vanderbilt Missouri football took on Vanderbilt for its homecoming game on Saturday. Here's what to know from the game. SHARE By Ted Evanoff of The Commercial Appeal Cargill Inc.s top cotton executive in Memphis has left the company. Doug Christie, president of Cargill Cotton in Memphis since 2009, had been with the company 29 years, Cargill told the Reuters news service. According to Reuters, his departure is the latest in a series of changes at the Minneapolis-based agribusiness leader and comes as cotton prices languish near 2009 lows, pressured by rising demand for man-made fibers and excess inventories, particularly in top consumer China. Cargill, considered the nations largest privately owned company, entered the cotton merchandising business with the 1975 acquisition of Hohenberg Brothers, a leading Memphis cotton merchant. Cargill has been engaged in a cost-cutting restructuring that began last year. SHARE Business Q&A with Kevin McKenzie By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal Erik Proveaux planned a trip to Miami to bring back to Memphis this week a second Fuel Cafe food truck. Proveaux, the owner and head chef of Fuel Cafe, catering and food trucks, said he landed the contract to cater the production of the Million Dollar Quartet television series in Memphis. Hell need the second food truck to handle demand with the weather now luring potential customers outdoors. He and several other food truck owners parked at the Memphis Cook Convention Center for the first Great River Indoor Food Truck Festival last Saturday are savoring the future of the industry in Memphis. Well, the future of the food truck industry here in Memphis is that its exploding, said Derrick Clark, chef and entrepreneur at A Square Meal on Wheels food truck and Square Meal Cafe. The universe of local food trucks is large: The Health Department currently licenses about 290 in Shelby County, said department spokeswoman Elizabeth Hart. Keith Paul, president of the Memphis Food Truckers Alliance, said its possible that there are that many on file. We are seeing more and more food trucks, but at the same time were seeing food trucks going out of business, Paul, who operates his own Cariflavor Caribbean cuisine food truck, said today. Too many of the same menus, Paul said. You have a lot of barbecue trucks. One of the chief factors fueling the industry is that employers consider it a plus to have food trucks available for employees lunch, cutting down on the time workers spend away from work, he said. And also the food is affordable, Paul said. At the convention center, owners said competition will weed out some entrepreneurs attracted to the growing industry. Clark advised consumers to look for health department inspection scores that should be available, as well as local and state identification numbers that he prominently displays on a front fender of his truck. Right now you see a food truck on every corner, but dont be fooled by the overnight guys that just come up and just say, 'Hey, weve got a food truck,' Clark said. You want to just make sure that they are a legitimate food truck. Clark said food truck owners share food safety advice, such as when in doubt, throw it out, to avoid an incident that could affect the industry. The challenges are going to be keeping everything in line, making sure that everybody is keeping their quality up, said Eric Meyers, chef and owner of Eat at Erics Grill and Catering food truck. But I think thats going to be self checking, Meyers said. Those who dont keep up their quality are simply going to find themselves out of business. Watch the Business Q&A video to see food truck owners' views of the future for their industry. Our weekly Business Q&A answers your questions about business and customer service in Memphis. Have a question? Submit it to Kevin.McKenzie@commercialappeal.com. SHARE By Linda A. Moore of The Commercial Appeal The Shelby County Commission on Monday approved a $1.1 million expenditure from the Shelby County School system's capital budget to begin repairs at Ross Road Elementary, where a wall fell in November, and the Shelby County Schools Central Nutrition Center, where a roof collapsed in 2014. The resolution passed 10-0. During the March 16 education committee meeting, commissioners questioned school officials about the system's delay in making the repairs and other issues with capital spending. Commissioner David Reaves advised the commission on Monday that he has asked the school district to share its five-year capital plan at the April 6 committee meeting. Ross Road, where repairs will cost $4 million, received $425,000. The CNC project is projected to cost $1.1 million, with $700,000 allocated. Also, the commission rejected on second reading an ordinance that would let voters revisit term limit requirements for some county elected officials. The proposal from Commissioner Walter Bailey would allow voters to decide in a referendum to abolish term limits for county commissioners, mayor, sheriff, assessor of property, county clerk, trustee and register. The measured failed 3-5 with commissioners Bailey, Melvin Burgess and Justin Ford voting yes, commissioners Mark Billingsley, George Chism, Reaves, Terry Roland and Heidi Shafer voting no, and Eddie Jones abstaining. The ordinance must pass with at least nine votes on third reading to be placed on the ballot. In addition, the commission approved 11-0 a resolution to appropriate $236,778 for its summer youth program, which will employ 91 young people and run June 1 through July 29. November 25, 2015 - Bar manager Angelina Mazzanti stocks Bell's beer where they plan to sell wine next year at CashSaver on Madison Avenue. This is the last holiday season Tennesseans will be unable to buy wine in their local grocery stores. Liquor wholesalers and grocery stores are gearing up for grocery stores to start selling wine on July 1, 2016. (Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal) SHARE By Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal NASHVILLE After a sharp debate that included references to Jesus Christ and charges of protectionism, the state House gave final legislative approval Monday night to a bill designed to ensure that food stores can start selling wine on July 1. The bill fixes a provision in the 2014 Wine in Grocery Stores (WIGS) Act to let the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission issue provisional licenses to the food stores and permit wholesalers to start delivering wine to those food stores, both prior to July 1. The ABC had interpreted the 2014 act to prohibit licensing and shipments prior to the July 1 date that the bill set for food store wine sales to begin. Supporters said that without the new bill, wine sales would likely be delayed for weeks, possibly months. The Senate approved the bill 21-6 on Feb. 29 and the House followed suit Monday night on a 72-16 vote, sending it to Gov. Bill Haslam, who's expected to sign it into law soon. But the bill also imposes a two-store limit on the number of retail liquor stores that a person or company can own the provision that was most contentious and set off the debate. Prior to the 2014 WIGS Act, no single licensee could own more than one retail liquor store in Tennessee. But as part of the complex negotiated deal that led to passage of the 2014 law allowing wine sales in grocery stores, the one-store cap was lifted so that liquor retailers could own an unlimited number of stores, with the proviso that no out-of-state entity could own more than one. The state attorney general later opined that the residency requirement was unconstitutional and earlier this year, a Maryland-based liquor retailer announced plans to build mammoth stores in Nashville and later in Knoxville and Memphis. Tennessee liquor retailers demanded that a two-store ownership limit be imposed, but with owners who have been licensed for more than two stores since the 2014 act went into effect be grandfathered in. Reinstating an ownership cap led to charges of protectionism and reneging on the 2014 deal. Those charges led the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, to defend his efforts with a floor speech that extended from the 21st Amendment to his religious faith. "For years our laws have limited the number of retail package stores in the state that can be owned by a single person or company. We get that authority from the 21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (which gives) states the right to control their own destiny with regard to alcohol," he said, arguing that for decades, lawmakers sought to control liquor sales by limiting one owner to one store, where the owners run their store and be involved in their communities. "This bill is not about protectionism. We're selling distilled spirits. We're not selling a piece of candy. As I was in law enforcement, I saw many families ruined with alcohol and drugs. I've seen many in jail or put many in jail myself. I had families that dealt with this issue. I have and others. So I know what it does to you. So making this wide open is not always good. By limiting the number of liquor store licenses which one person can hold we are working to keep owners at and involved in their local stores," said Todd, a retired Memphis police officer. "I've been accused by not members in here, but some of the outlets, through the news of being in some people's s back pocket. Let me assure you that know me, I'm not in anybody's pocket. Won't ever be in anybody's pocket. No amount of money can buy me. "I take that back. I'm only in one person's pocket and I always will be in it and guess who that is? Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior is the only pocket," Todd said. March 29, 2016 - Army Veteran Jim Latham wipes tears from his eyes during a Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Tuesday morning. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal) SHARE By Kayleigh Skinner of The Commercial Appeal Vietnam veteran Jim Latham wiped tears from his eyes during a ceremony inside the theater of the Memphis VA Medical Center Tuesday morning. Latham and more than 100 other veterans and their families attended the Vietnam War 50th anniversary commemoration ceremony. "It gives us peace to some extent, but it also hurts real deep for the ones who didn't come back," said Latham, an Army veteran. "That's the main thing, don't thank me for my service, thank the ones who didn't come back. They're the important ones." The Memphis event was one of many that took place across the country on March 29, a day designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to honor and recognize veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces from Nov. 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975. "By presidential proclamation issued on May 25, 2012, the Commemoration extends from its inaugural event on Memorial Day 2012 through Veterans Day 2025," according to a release from the VA Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. Air Force veteran Robert Gurley, who also served in Vietnam, said the day's commemorations were a long-overdue, but welcome acknowledgement. "It's almost like saying thank you after all of these years, because it was an unpopular war at the time and, believe it or not, when we got back we didn't want the people to know we were veterans because it would look like we had done something wrong," Gurley said. "This is kind of like a small payback to recognize us because we should have been recognized." U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen spoke during the ceremony and thanked the veterans for their bravery and service. Attendees watched a short video titled "Thank You For Your Service (A Moment of Truth)." An all-veteran band performed "Amazing Grace" and the audience sang along. Their performance was followed by a short, somber ceremony to honor prisoners of war and others missing in action. Across town, a small crowd gathered inside the Memphis National Cemetery for a separate service to honor fallen Vietnam veterans. Some 2,554 people from the Mid-South died serving in the Vietnam War, according to "The Virtual Wall," the online listing of names included on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Listed by state, 1,311 were from Tennessee, 597 were from Arkansas, and 646 were from Mississippi. "Our nation's Vietnam War commemoration is a long-overdue opportunity for all Americans to recognize, honor, and thank our Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifices during one of America's longest wars," cemetery director Amanda Rhodes-Wharton said. Nine million Americans served in the war, and about 7.2 million of them are still alive today, she said. After Rhodes-Wharton spoke, members of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Memphis Shelby County Regents Council presented a red, white and blue wreath to rest at the cemetery in honor of the veterans. At the medical center, veteran Alfred Harris received a standing ovation after reading his poem "Birth of an American Veteran." "When this day is over, when my tour is done, I'll return home. Maybe in the silence of my life. Maybe decades later. Maybe broken and wounded, maybe not my old self, and maybe by the grace of God in one piece," he read to the tearful audience. "But surely, I will return asking no greater reward than to be well received, tended in my need, appreciated for my service, and free to share equally in the abundance of the land that I love. On that day, I will have been born an American veteran." SHARE By Yolanda Jones of The Commercial Appeal A 16-year-old has been charged with calling in fake bomb threats at two area high schools Tuesday, police said. The teen, whose name has not been released by police, was taken into custody at a home in the 2900 block of Springhill Drive in Frayser, said police spokesman Louis Brownlee. Memphis police responded Tuesday to back-to-back bomb threats at three area schools where nothing was found at each location. The first threat was reported at Trezevant High School at 3350 Trezevant Street. Students were evacuated around 7:20 a.m. as police checked the premises. Nothing was found and students and faculty were allowed to return to school. About an hour later around 8:30 a.m., officers responded to a second bomb threat at Douglass High School at 3200 Mt. Olive Road. Again, the school was cleared and nothing was found. The third bomb threat came in around 10:15 a.m. at KIPP Memphis Collegiate High School at 2110 Howell Avenue. No threat was found by K-9 officers who searched the school. Police said the threat at KIPP was also made by a juvenile, but that person has not been charged. The male juvenile caller advised that someone threatened him with a bomb, said Brownlee. John Duncan, Collierville's economic development director, displays labels created by the company CCL Label while supporting the company's proposal for a tax break on March 28, 2016. SHARE By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal Collierville's Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Monday evening to give an eight-year tax break to CCL Label to support an expansion of its plant in town, which backers say should create 130 new jobs by 2022. The vote was split 4-2 as dissenting aldermen raised questions about the quality of the deal and the pay level of the jobs. The approval was welcome news for Brian Evans, general manager of the CCL facility in Collierville. "I think Collierville's a commerce-friendly town. We're happy to be here," he said. The vote finalizes a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal, or PILOT, that the town's Industrial Development Board had already passed. The company is expected to receive a discount worth an estimated $3.3 million on its combined Collierville and Shelby County taxes over the eight years. It would also pay an estimated $1.8 million to local governments during the same period. CCL Label says it already employs 186 people at the plant at 670 Progress Road, which currently produces labels that stick on the outside of products such as Purell hand sanitizer. The Canadian company now plans to work with the Turkish company Korsini-SAF to invest in a new product line: in-mold labeling, in which the label becomes an integral part of a plastic container. Company representatives say they plan to buy land next to the current Collierville site and put building and equipment on it, a total investment of $24.7 million. Alderman Tom Allen said the town should revise its calculation method for evaluating tax breaks to make it more favorable to the government of Collierville. Fellow alderman John Worley countered that, based on the standards the town uses today, CCL Label had done well. And Alderman Billy Patton raised concerns about the expected median wage for the proposed new jobs: $48,000. That's above the $46,000 median household income that the Census estimates for Shelby County. But in affluent Collierville, the Census estimates the median household income is $107,000 and housing is expensive. "I don't believe that these jobs can support a family as a primary source of income," Patton said. A representative of CCL Label, Kevin Vaughan of Collierville-based Township Development Services, declined to respond to Patton's criticism after the meeting. Allen and Patton voted against the tax break, while aldermen Worley, Maureen Fraser, John Stamps and Mayor Stan Joyner voted yes. The six-member board had seen the same 4-2 split in January, when it granted a multiyear tax break renewal to FedEx, the global shipping giant that runs a big information technology center in the town. During the CCL Label tax break application process, company representatives said that Collierville was competing for the investment with Clinton, South Carolina. But CCL Label and Korsini had issued a joint news release in July that said they planned to put the new in-mold labeling equipment in the Memphis area. The news release mentioned no other sites. It was impossible to know whether CCL Label was serious about South Carolina or simply faking interest in another site to get a tax break, Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, a Washington-based group critical of subsidies, said in a February interview. Reached by phone earlier this month, Clinton Mayor Bob McLean said he knew about CCL but had heard nothing of expansion plans and was unaware of any competition with Collierville. Evans, the CCL plant manager, said after Monday's meeting that the company had originally been looking at four different sites and narrowed the decision down to Collierville and Clinton. "The July statement was probably a bit preliminary," he said. In other business Monday, the board voted on third and final reading to rezone 135 acres between U.S. 72 and Tenn. 385 from the designation Forest Agricultural Residential to Restricted Industrial. The town plans to market the land as a future site for business, perhaps light manufacturing. And the board voted on third and final reading to approve rezoning of some small parcels near the town square, including the future site of a hair salon called South Mane. The town board also approved a $423,000 contract to install pipes and other drainage equipment to reduce flooding on Royal Pecan Way that's affected about seven houses. The contract is the first of two phases of work to deal with persistent flooding problems in the low-lying area, said town engineer Dale Perryman. Photos by Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal March 28, 2016 Germantown city historian Andrew Pouncey clears some vegetation growing up on the grave marker for Johnnie Lane at the cemetery behind New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Germantown. Pouncey frequently uses the Tennessee Genealogical Society for research when working on projects. SHARE March 28, 2016 The grave marker for Johnnie Lane sits in the New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Germantown. Lane has a street named after him in Germantown. (Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal) By Jane Roberts of The Commercial Appeal Tina Sansone who has traced the Luttrell line of her family back to the 1500s is what is known in genealogy circles as a brick-wall breaker. She does some of her most concerted bashing at the Tennessee Genealogical Society office in Germantown. Ten years after the city offered the society space and adopted its $2.5 million collection of books and genealogical references, including cemetery records from most of the 50 states, its lease will automatically renew, a sign of the peace in C.O. Franklin Park where the offices are. "I've used their Alabama resources, their Mississippi and New York resources," Sansone said. "They have a big collection of royal lineage documents for people who need to prove documentation to join groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution." She's a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and vice president of its virtual chapter, part of a growing community of genealogy experts and buffs that have sprouted up in Germantown, thanks to the state headquarters, located in what used to be a community library. Germantown provides the building and grounds maintenance and a librarian to catalog and maintain the book collection. The rest of the "staff" are volunteer genealogy devotees, including Byron Crain, past president of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. He used the resources in Germantown to hunt down a lost relative who served in the Union Army from Wisconsin until he was injured and discharged and quickly returned to his home in Pennsylvania to re-enlist. "I'd say we have 15 people a day who come to use the center," Crain said as he prepared to close up shop Monday. "The library is free. We have books organized by state and county. There are Indian books, family books," he said, his voice trailing off over shelves and shelves of holdings, including a section devoted to Germantown history, a shelf of Germantown church histories and a complete compendium of Civil War history in bound volumes titled "War of The Rebellion, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies." The state headquarters started in Downtown Memphis in 1952, then moved to Davies Plantation in the 1990s. "When our 10-year lease there was about up, the Davies people told us they were going to do some construction work on the plantation and would take the building we were using as the library. We had to find a new place," Crain said. The logical places, he said, were the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library in Memphis, and Germantown. By vote of the society's board, Germantown won. The society pays no rent. But it did donate its book collection to Germantown's public library system and purchased $10,000 worth of Tennessee genealogy resources. "It's a quid pro quo sort of thing," Crain said. Last year, 15 society members volunteered 6,300 hours at the center, affectionately called Tenn-Gen. The effects on the community are far-reaching in big and small ways. Besides a regular roster of genealogy courses and seminars, the society offers free access to one of the most fertile archives of regional history. That came in handy for Andy Pouncey, Germantown's historian, when the city's historic commission set out a few years ago to create a walking tour of Old Germantown. One of the 25 stops is near the steps of the old New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church building, where a 1911 photo of the Lane family, an African-American family with long ties to Germantown, is mounted on a marker. "I got the photo at the center and then found their graves in the cemetery," Pouncey said, as he walked quickly into the cool shade of the cemetery, which dates to the middle of the 19th Century. Johnnie Lane is buried on a neat row of his Lane forbears, including Julia, who for years lived on Southern in one of the homes originally built for railroad workers. A short distance away is Johnny Lane, the street named for Johnnie Lane, a well-liked handyman in Germantown. "People all over the city knew him," Pouncey said. "But most people have no idea who the street is named for. Because his last name was Lane, they probably think it's like Road or Drive, and don't know that it honors a man that at one time everyone knew." The center is managed in partnership with the city, its public library and the genealogical society. If any of the three had issues, the lease could have ended. The renewal was on the agenda for Monday's night Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting but was pulled before it started. "Everyone is happy," said Patrick Lawton, city administrator. "The library board voted to extend the lease in January." SHARE By Clay Bailey of The Commercial Appeal This just in to the De-Annexation Breaking News, Happening Now You-Should-Stay-Alert Newsroom: Dateline NASHVILLE -- The Senate committee reviewing de-annexation bill has considered all the amendments. Some passed; some didn't. They will vote on the bill as amended Wednesday. I advise you to check back to Rick Locker's coverage shortly @commercialappeal.com. We now return you to your regulary-scheduled Outside the Loop column. Crossing Germantown Parkway on the Greenline could prove as difficult a task for pedestrians as the de-annexation bill has in making its way through the Legislature. Both are part of todays Outside the Loop look at happenings in the suburbs. We make short stops in Collierville, Germantown and direct you to our coverage of the Bellevue Baptist situation that unfolded Easter Sunday. CORDOVA GREENLINE EAST: My colleague Tom Charlier took a deeper look at the work underway to build the pedestrian crossing of Germantown Parkway, noting that traversing the six-lane parkway is the most technically challenging part of the new path. I think most technically challenging is probably code for most potentially dangerous. I am sure designers of the 4.1-mile extension from Farm Road to Old Cordova have provided the absolute best configuration to keep people safe as they cross a divided road carrying 55,000 cars a day. Traffic signals to help cross three lanes to the median. A concrete corral (as Charlier described it) to protect pedestrians as cars sweep by them on both sides at 55 to 75 mph depending on how late someone is running. Then a second set of signals to cross the rest of the way. I will believe this when I see it in operation. The idea of a signal stopping traffic for hikers, bikers and walkers to cross that road seems extremely optimistic. I dont say this without firsthand knowledge. Ive lived in the area for 28 years and driven that road since it was two lanes. I repeat what I said in October: In olden days when the Greenline path was actually used as a CSX rail line, the TRAIN stopped upon reaching Germantown Parkway, waited for a break in traffic and crept across the road. Not often does a locomotive yield to vehicles. Perhaps the spectator sport to all of this will be to sit on the side of the road and watch how many ways drivers can curse those who impede their commute while crossing the road. AROUND THE EDGE OF MEMPHIS DE-ANNEXATION DEJA VU: The de-annexation issue spinning its way through the chambers of the state Legislature continues in a fluid state. Last week, the Senate state and local government committee spent two hours on the item so long that they adjourned the discussion until the committee met again this morning. You can look for Nashville reporter Rick Lockers report of the action later today. Theres certainly a chance some of the issues and amendments are resolved during the committee session, but one thing is certain the de-annexation debate will remain in flux as the sides continue to tweak, amend, change, lobby and compromise trying to reach a resolution. Or reach the end of the legislative session without a decision. ANOTHER VOICE: During last weeks Senate committee debate, local leaders expressed further concerns about the potential impact of de-annexation on Memphis. The positions of Pitt Hyde (above left), founder of AutoZone, and two First Tennessee executives, including David Popwell (right), head of the First Tennessee operations in the Memphis area, along with Mayor Jim Strickland reiterated the dire consequences facing the city if sections on Memphis edges were allowed to separate from the city. That led to the bills sponsor Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson to question the benefit to the citizens seeking de-annexation. Dont you find it interesting that everyone that testified assumes that everyone will de-annex? Watson asked. Doesnt that bring into question the whole idea of forced annexation and annexation by ordinance? That, to the person, they all believed that everyone would de-annex. I dont believe that to be true. But its interesting that their argument is all about the great good that theyve done for these people. But yet, given one opportunity and they will only get one opportunity -- ... every one of them will de-annex. Every one of em. I find that an interesting observation. It should be noted those testifying before the committee didnt tout the wonderful things Memphis provided the areas. Their testimony was more the negative impact allowing de-annexation would do to the city. Still, most people who fought annexation over the years probably are nodding their heads regarding Watsons stance. SHORT TRIPS: COLLIERVILLE EXIT: Daniel Connolly provided a look Sunday at the college tuition hurdles facing high school students with immigration problems. The story focused on differing views of legislators Outside the Loop the House sponsor Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis and state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville. COLLIERVILLE EXIT NO. 2: Connolly, our Collierville reporter, also completed his coverage of CCL Labels pursuit of an eight-year tax break for an expansion of its plant in the town. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen granted its approval of the tax break at a Monday night meeting. GERMANTOWN EXIT: Germantown reporter Jane Roberts told the tale of the Tennessee Genealogical Society and its home at C.O. Franklin Park on the edge of Old Germantown. The society apparently is staying put in its current location. Its lease in the space automatically renews. Andy Pouncey, city historian, (shown above) has used the genealogical library as part of his work. APPLING EXIT: The anxious moments at Bellevue Baptist on Easter Sunday provided insight on a number of issues. A gunman making his way onto campus is one thing, but crime reporter Jody Callahan took a look at the legality of the action, while columnist David Waters also reviewed the situation. SHARE Mary Falls By Mary Falls, Special to Viewpoint Have you wondered about those new billboards asking state House Speaker Beth Harwell for help in winning the legislature's approval of Gov. Bill Haslam's Insure Tennessee plan? As one of 70 Tennesseans who have contributed to the cost of the billboards, I am asked: Why now, why her, and why here? You may remember that Insure Tennessee is the governor's conservative proposal to provide health coverage to 280,000 uninsured Tennesseans including 24,000 military veterans at no cost to state taxpayers. The federal government has approved the funding, and Tennessee hospitals will pay any expenses not covered by the federal government. University of Tennessee economists say it will keep struggling rural hospitals open, boost the economy and generate 15,000 jobs. Business and health care leaders support Insure Tennessee, as do nearly two-thirds of Tennessee voters. According to a recent Vanderbilt University poll, more than 78 percent of Tennesseans want a full vote by the legislature on Insure Tennessee. But more than a year after the governor unveiled the plan, it has yet to receive a vote of the full legislature. During that time, Tennesseans have lost $1.7 billion of their federal taxes that our state's health care system sorely needs, and thousands of working families have been ruined by medical debt. Concerned that another legislative session will end without lawmakers giving the governor's plan serious consideration, we took the unusual step of buying billboards to garner immediate attention and much-needed support. While the politics, religions and occupations of the billboard donors differ, we share a love for our state. We also share a grave concern for the future well-being of our state and its citizens. The billboards request Speaker Harwell's help, because, without it, Insure Tennessee is going nowhere. She has not taken a position on Insure Tennessee, and the House members she leads will not move forward until she lets them know she supports the governor's plan. Of course, she needs to let all Tennesseans know where she stands as well. The billboards appear in Shelby County because, as speaker, Rep. Harwell, R-Nashville, serves all Tennesseans. And no community needs Insure Tennessee more than Shelby County. Shelby County has the highest number of citizens in the health care coverage "gap" of all Tennessee counties. With passage of Insure Tennessee, not only would Shelby County experience a healthier workforce and reduced social service costs associated with an unhealthy community, Shelby County would see roughly $500 million per year in economic benefit based on estimates from UT economists. Shelby County needs those funds to create jobs, to generate sales tax revenue, to secure its safety net hospitals and to lift up its most vulnerable citizens. Speaker Harwell says she cannot unilaterally pass Insure Tennessee, and that House rules prevent passage this late in the session. We don't ask her to act unilaterally, only to provide leadership. We request that she use her position and influence to lead her members, which is her job as speaker. With her leadership, the House rules aren't an obstacle. The House suspends the rules all the time at the urging of the Speaker. Just this week, the House suspended the rules, reversed itself and resurrected a bill dealing with the use of high school restrooms. Surely providing 280,000 constituents the kind of health coverage that we as taxpayers provide to lawmakers is worthy of the same effort. Speaker Harwell, you are a gifted leader who enjoys the confidence of your members. Please help us. Please help our state. Mary Falls, a Nashville lawyer, is a co-founder of Citizens for Insure TN. SHARE By Gary Stein I'm coming to the conclusion Ted Cruz may be more dangerous than Donald Trump. Trump talks big, but few of his nonsensical ideas will ever see the light of day. Mainly, because he has no real ideas. He just talks. Cruz, on the other hand, knows more about the inner workings of government than Trump ever will. And Cruz' ideas are scary. In the wake of the Brussels attacks Tuesday, he said we should have police surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods. Forget the fact that Muslims are Americans, too, Ted. In fact, many are even more American than the Canadian-born Cruz. Cruz, who might be able to force a brokered Republican convention this summer, wants police scouring the Muslim neighborhoods. Trump doesn't want Muslims allowed into the country, but that will never happen. Like most of Trump's blathering, it is just talk. But Cruz is a guy who would let the Bible run the country. He is a slick, oily televangelist-type who has little tolerance for anything other than white guys with guns. Do you want Ted Cruz as your president, or Donald Trump? Some choice, huh? Gary Stein is a columnist for the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Contact him at gstein@sunsentinel.com. SHARE By Orrin Hatch Recently, I was invited by a well-respected legal organization to speak at its monthly lunch meeting. As a group of 200 Washington-area lawyers sat eating in a packed Chinatown restaurant, I began to share my thoughts regarding the current vacancy on the Supreme Court caused by the untimely death of my friend, Justice Antonin Scalia. Midway through my remarks, a group of protesters rose from their seats near the front of the room and began shouting "Do your job!" As these disrupters stood chanting and holding professionally printed signs, it reinforced my belief that by deferring the confirmation process until after this toxic election season, the Senate is doing exactly what it should: We are doing our job. Now that a majority of states have held presidential primaries, and as this hostile election cycle turns from those contests to general election, organized disruptions of any thoughtful discussion about the Supreme Court will only intensify. Make no mistake: These protesters are not interested in seeing the Senate take seriously its constitutional duty to provide advice about, and determine whether to give or withhold consent to, a consequential Supreme Court nomination. They care little about the Senate operating as a check and balance to the executive branch and instead simply insist the Republican-led Senate do what progressive activists want and rubber-stamp a presidential appointment. Liberals want above all to shift the balance of the Supreme Court to the left, a move that will have dramatic consequences for the lives and freedoms of all Americans for generations. By means of this lifetime judicial appointment, Democrats want to reshape the Supreme Court to reach different outcomes on issues ranging from individual gun rights to religious liberty to affirmative action to the very system of constitutional checks and balances designed to limit the overreach of an ever-expanding administrative state. Among the most important ways that our nation's founders sought to restrain executive power was to entrust the Senate with the advice-and-consent power for presidential nominations including nominations to the Supreme Court. As the president and his political allies lecture the Senate on how it should fulfill this constitutional responsibility, it seems clear that the Senate must seek to protect the judicial branch from ever-increasing partisan and political influences. The legitimacy of the Supreme Court rests on the public's perception that our judiciary is fair, impartial and not susceptible to the pressures of partisan politics. By seeking to thrust a confirmation battle into the middle of a particularly bitter presidential election, President Barack Obama carelessly risks further polarizing and politicizing the confirmation process, and further damaging the integrity and public standing of the Supreme Court as an institution. Perhaps Vice President Joe Biden put it best while serving as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman in 1992. He said, "Senate consideration of a nominee under these circumstances is not fair to the president, to the nominee, or to the Senate itself.[W]here the nation should be treated to a consideration of constitutional philosophy, all it will get in such circumstances is partisan bickering and political posturing from both parties and from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue." I agree with what the vice president said then, that "the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over." Throughout the years, responsible elected officials of both parties have rightly concluded that deferring the confirmation process until after a politically charged presidential election is in the best interest of fair treatment for a nominee and preserving the dignity of the Supreme Court. In the weeks and months to come, we can expect professional political activists on the left to ramp up efforts to organize protests and media campaigns, and persistently badger Republican senators to "do their job" by rubber-stamping a nominee in the midst of political turmoil. This partisan campaign by the left is only more evidence that the best way for the Senate to do its job in such a caustic environment is to insulate the Supreme Court from polarizing political gamesmanship. The liberal left is seeking to bully the Republican-led Senate into ignoring its constitutional responsibilities and further destroying our nation's delicate system of checks and balances. Reflecting on the Senate's solemn duty with respect to Supreme Court nominations, I am more resolved than ever to move forward with the confirmation process only after this toxic election season is over. Orrin Hatch is the senior Republican senator from Utah and president pro tempore of the Senate. He wrote this for Bloomberg View. SHARE By Ted Gup A university governing board has declared that the time-honored seal of Harvard Law School must be retired because it is tied to that of a slave-holding family that funded the school's first professorship more than 200 years ago. With that decision, Harvard is about to slide down what lawyers like to call the "slippery slope," which could produce a wave of both comic and dangerous results. I say this having steeped myself in the university's archives over the past decade, focusing on issues of racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and other expressions of prejudice. I fear that if the university is bent on expunging all major remnants of what is today seen as morally repugnant, nothing will be left of Harvard as we know it. House names, professorships, busts and portraits will have to be removed, for if Harvard has been home to many great minds, it has also been home to many closed ones like other American institutions. If this is followed to its logical conclusion, Harvard will undergo nothing short of total self-renunciation. Consider this much-abbreviated litany of offenses: The Dudleian Lecture is given annually at the Harvard School of Divinity, but its roots are darkened by virulent anti-Catholicism. Paul Dudley, chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, in 1750 bequeathed funds for a series of four rotating lecture topics. One of those was to be an attack on the pope and Catholicism, representing widespread suspicions of the church at that time. That oration was for the purpose of "exposing the idolatry of the Romish Church, their tyranny, usurpations, damnable heresies, fatal errors, abominable superstitions." Fearing that it might lose the bequest if it did not comply, Harvard hosted anti-Catholic harangues for nearly 150 years. Only at the dawn of the 20th century did it liberate itself from such odious terms, but the name remains and the lectureship enjoys a lofty place on the Divinity School's calendar. Must it now be changed? Or what of the endowed chair named for Richard Pearson Strong? Strong's research into tropical diseases doubtless saved lives but it also took lives in a particularly gruesome way. In 1906, as part of experiments with inmates in the Philippines' Bilibid Prison, Strong administered doses of various dread diseases, cigarettes being the inducement for participation. One of these experiments in pursuit of a vaccine went terribly awry after he injected 24 prisoners with cholera tainted with plague. Thirteen died. Seven years later, when Strong was appointed a professor, Harvard hailed his efforts at "overcoming conditions which made life in the tropics almost impossible for white men and dangerous and enervating even to natives." And what of Clarence James Gamble, grandson of the founder of Procter & Gamble, and the professorship in economics and demography that carries his name? The official Harvard entry on Gamble describes him as a "man with a mission for using his considerable wealth and intellectual expertise for the good of mankind." But Gamble's "mission" was not so pure. In 1947, he helped found the Human Betterment League, which promoted involuntary sterilizations, targeting society's most vulnerable epileptics, the "feeble-minded" and others deemed undesirable. Then there's the professorship of literature named for Ernest Bernbaum, a literary scholar. But he was also director of the School for Anti-Suffrage Speakers, which helped lead the opposition to women voting. In 1916, just four years before ratification of the 19th Amendment, Bernbaum remained an oft-cited authority on why women were wholly unsuited for politics and the ballot. And can Harvard Law School make peace with the Oliver Wendell Holmes Lectures? These honor the Supreme Court justice who authored the 1927 Buck v. Bell decision that led to the sterilization of epileptics, the "feeble-minded" and, like Carrie Buck herself, the poor who were neither epileptic nor feeble-minded. A New York Times reviewer recently called it "one of the ugliest cases" in the court's history and cited Holmes' notorious declaration that "three generations of imbeciles are enough." And the Perkins Professorship of Astronomy and Mathematics, named for James Perkins Jr., who died in 1822? Then-Harvard President Josiah Quincy III said he "was formed on the noblest and purest model of professional uprightness," but Perkins made much of his fortune trading in slaves and shipping opium to China. And what of Shaler Hall, named for Nathaniel Shaler, a celebrated professor who, in 1890, wrote "the African is not as good material as either of the original stocks; that it has not the vital energy and the character required for the uses of the state. The African and European races must remain distinct in blood"? A recent University of Alabama anthropology course named Shaler "one of the most influential racists in American history." And how can the Lowell House survive modern scrutiny? What of then-Harvard President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's "Secret Court," which in 1920 prosecuted students suspected of being gay, banished them not only from campus but also from the city of Cambridge and hounded some of them for years? What of Lowell's efforts to impose a quota on the number of Jewish students? And wasn't the family's wealth derived from mills that relied on slave-picked cotton? Or Eliot House? Harvard's president Charles W. Eliot may have helped catapult Harvard into the first ranks, but he was also a segregationist. And Stoughton Hall, named for a judge of the Salem witch trials? And . . . and . . . There is no end to Harvard's offenders or Yale's or Princeton's or, for that matter, most American institutions with a history. Few entities can withstand the scrutiny of the modern conscience, and physically disassembling the artifacts of the past, attacking its symbols and its ghosts, is a fool's errand no matter how lofty the cause. It illuminates little and is a feel-good distraction that comes at the expense of today's very real crises. And picking and choosing which ancient offenses warrant purging creates the danger of prioritizing one historically disadvantaged group over another, inadvertently importing into our own age the very toxins of bigotry that activists now seek to condemn. We can endlessly denounce the long- departed and disavow the already-discredited, but to what end? What we should do instead is devote ourselves to living our lives in a way that allows our descendants to take pride in the history we leave behind. Ted Gup is an author and a journalism professor at Emerson College. He wrote this 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) 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 The numbers paint a pretty rosy financial picture for IT professionals. After a respectable 3.6% rise in 2015, IT compensation is up again this year, according to Computerworld's 2016 IT Salary Survey results. The 3,300 IT pros who took the survey reported an average 3.9% increase in total compensation (base salary plus bonus) for 2016. We haven't seen such strong consecutive-year pay increases in nearly a decade. Overall, career satisfaction levels are positive, with 60% of workers reporting that they believe an IT career path and its potential for salary advancement is more promising than other career paths. Only 9% of IT workers feel that IT offers less potential than other careers. And a whopping 85% of survey respondents said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their decision to pursue a career in IT. [ Find your 2016 salary info at IT Salary Watch ] Not surprisingly, money occupies a prime spot in workers' self-proclaimed happy place. As the economy has continued to improve in the past 12 months, so has the number of IT professionals reporting a raise. This year, 71% of IT workers up from 67% in 2015 said they received a raise. Just 3% reported a pay cut, down slightly from 2015's figure of 4%. "We've seen a continued methodical increase in compensation in tech," says John Reed, senior executive director of IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology (RHT). "It's an encouraging picture. Over the last three to five years, we've seen mid-single-digit salary increases. It's steady growth." Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016. To use this chart in your own presentation, right-click it and save the image to your computer. But not everyone is feeling the love. True, after a half-decade of salary upticks, more IT workers feel good about their overall financial picture. Four years ago, just 32% of IT professionals polled by Computerworld felt that they had gained ground financially in the prior two years. This year, 41% said that they feel they have gained ground. That shows progress, but more than half of 2016 survey respondents said that their financial situation has remained flat or worse, lost ground in the past two years and that their salary isn't keeping pace with business growth. Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016. Right-click chart to save to your computer. What gives? How does one join the elite group of IT pros bringing home fatter paychecks? Here's a short list of suggestions from IT professionals who have done so. Move on to move up Troy Whittaker had advanced five times through various IT functions at the University of Minnesota before butting up against a statutory requirement that capped his salary as a state employee. "No matter how well I performed or what I achieved, I couldn't make more than someone else in my job code, which was programmer/analyst a title invented in the 1970s," Whittaker says. So, Whittaker, 39, started looking elsewhere, eventually joining ITS Partners, a small IT services and consulting firm based in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich. "I started off in a consulting role and increased my base salary by 50%," he recalls. That was in May 2010. Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016. Right-click chart to view larger version or save to your computer. Whittaker also received a signing bonus and earned various incentive bonuses in his first 12 months with ITS. "In that first year, I more than tripled my income," he says. Nearly six years later, Whittaker is still with ITS as vice president of core infrastructure, leading a technical practice. "I have a base salary which is quite fair, and I'm able to live the way I want without making a lot of hard choices," he says. There's also ample opportunity to bolster his income through the company's incentive program, which accounts for 40% of Whittaker's total compensation and which has unlimited potential: The more business he brings in, the higher his commissions. "It's like an accelerator," he says. The number of IT pros who are changing employers is on the rise, according to Reed. "We're seeing a stronger job churn," he says. "Up until about three years ago, the predominant mentality was 'The devil you know is better than the one you don't.' But now we're seeing an increase in willingness among IT professionals to put themselves out in the market to get an increase." Indeed, fully three-quarters of the respondents to Computerworld's survey reported that a salary increase is the factor that would most influence them to change jobs. That said, only 10% are actively looking for a job with a different employer, with another 35% passively seeking a job with a different employer. But the rest aren't necessarily being shortsighted, according to Reed. Despite the potential for earning significantly more money with a new employer, Reed says he always tells IT professionals that their greatest value is at their current company because "they know you, you know them, you have insider knowledge of how things get done." Whether youre looking for a new job or asking your current employer for a raise, our experts a tech recruiter and a CIO have smart advice for tech pros seeking a pay boost. Become indispensable Sheree Goldstein, a senior business analyst at New York-based Kate Spade & Co., has been working on the same project since 2011 replacing a global point-of-sale system for the upscale fashion design company. "Being an expert in parts of that larger system has contributed to me being well thought of," she says. "It's a business-critical project, and I think that's a really important part of it." In 2015, for example, the company had a major layoff, but Goldstein, 60, survived the cut. "We were already pretty lean, so some of the people who left in the layoff were damn good," she says. The differentiator, she adds, is "they weren't necessarily on mission-critical projects." Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016. Right-click chart to view larger version or save to your computer. In addition to keeping her job, Goldstein, who has been with the company for nine years, last year received a cost-of-living raise of about 3%, plus a financial bonus that was more than she expected. Things look good for the coming year as well. "We began in the last couple of years to make money," she notes and she remains attached to a project related to the all-important global POS system. "So I'm anticipating that 2016 will be a bonus year," Goldstein says. Individual effort and achievement can also contribute mightily to the pay equation. Consider the case of Alison Diem, 36, a business analyst at Detroit-based Quicken Loans. She joined the company after her previous employer closed its Los Angeles office. In her former job, Diem serviced accounts and customers for a financial firm. "I never intended to be in IT," she says, but "the only thing Quicken Loans had open [at that time] was a position in IT dealing with wholesale mortgages." So she took it. That was more than three years ago. Since then, Diem has been on a project to digitize all documents for easier access and audit purposes, and she says she has intentionally made herself the go-to person for anything and everything to do with servicing documents. "I have received both raises and bonuses," she says. "I also feel where I'm gaining ground is the continual learning process. I'm always learning new things, systems or tools. We do a lot of projects that come up very suddenly when new regulations are enacted. Lots of pieces need to be updated." Ultimately, Diem has her eye on a role as a subject matter expert a relatively new career path Quicken Loans created for workers who wish to advance but would prefer to remain in a specialized technical role rather than take on a leadership or managerial position. "I feel like that is now definitely in the cards for me. I can be compensated as an expert without having to become a leader myself." Executive News Editor Ken Mingis and Senior Features Editor Tracy Mayor dive into some of the details of Computerworld's latest IT Salary Survey. It's all about the money... Switch your specialty The average pay increase for IT pros overall, notes RHT's Reed, is in part being lifted by "certain disciplines, such as cybersecurity, big data and analytics, and cloud computing, that are seeing much more robust [salary] growth. If you're in those fields, you're probably seeing your compensation grow by 8% or 9% or 10% on average year to year," he says. A new role in security, one of the hottest job categories in IT today, might be especially lucrative. In Computerworld's 2016 IT Salary Survey, information security managers reported an average pay increase of 6.4%, and security pros from all levels report a 4.6% bump. [ Download this story, plus lots more salary info and advice, in Computerworld's April digital magazine ] "Information security is one of the best growth fields on the infrastructure side of things," says Chris Fuhrman, 39, who last summer transitioned from a desktop engineer role to a security administrator role, and in doing so, raised his salary at Life Time Fitness by $5,000. "It was a nice little bump," says Fuhrman, who's now responsible for endpoint security at the Chanhassen, Minn.-based chain of health and fitness centers. Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016. Right-click chart to view larger version or save to your computer. Fuhrman attributes the salary jump directly to switching IT specialties. "For me, it was the change into security. Before, I wasn't doing poorly, but I definitely had a feeling I could stagnate there. Where I moved now is pretty much unlimited for growth," he says. "I'm depended on as a subject matter expert to evaluate new things rather than keep old things up and running." Steve Chopelas took a page from the same playbook. A former software developer at Fidelity Investments, Chopelas, 46, saw the writing on the wall a few years back. "I saw a lot of software development going offshore, so I started to look for something else. Fidelity wanted to keep all security internal, so it was a hotspot to gravitate to," he recalls. He got into information security as a means of ensuring job security. Then, two years ago, he was recruited for a leadership role as an information security manager at Boston-based Homesite Insurance. His salary increased by about 7%. "I was already in a highly compensated salary range, so that was significant," he says. "The recruiter who recruited me said that security and mobile development were two areas [with] negative unemployment." (See "10 tech specialties with rising salaries" for more fields seeing significant salary growth.) Make more than money At ITS, Whittaker acknowledges that earning more money has definitely been a plus. But at the core of his overall sense of gaining ground in his profession is the ability to work independently in the environment of his choice. His company's culture is "built on self-motivation," he says, and he appreciates being able to work remotely when he chooses. "I think of my work as analogous to creative work. Office environments are nonproductive, and [in IT] you need several hours of creative time." At ITS, he adds, "it's your job to go out and make use of your resources." Source: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016. Right-click chart to view larger version or save to your computer. Other respondents to Computerworld's survey also said they look beyond their paychecks. When asked what matters most about their job, respondents frequently cite tangible rewards such as base pay (52%), benefits (36%) and vacation time (32%). But many also name less-tangible factors, including job stability (43%), flextime and telecommuting options (31%), being valued for their opinion and knowledge (28%), and having challenging work (27%). Chopelas, too, has come to the conclusion that it's not all about money. Despite his high pay at Homesite, he found the job to be a struggle, and not just because of the grinding commute between his home in New Hampshire and the office in Boston. Chopelas says he's best in an individual contributor role. So after two years in management at Homesite, he recently resigned from the company to take a new position as a solutions architect with security consulting firm Optiv. Here's the twist: He didn't take the job for more money or because he didn't feel appreciated and valued at Homesite. This is the first time he switched jobs when money wasn't the driving factor, he says. "At some point, the money becomes less important. It's being happy and doing what you want and being satisfied with what it pays," he says. "I like to take things apart and figure out what makes them tick and put them back together. Ten years ago, I wanted to be a CIO. Not now. Now, I like being able to do what I like to do. It took me a while to get there." Register to download the Computerworld Digital Magazine. In the April 2016 issue: Computerworld's IT Salary Survey 2016 Results Our 30th annual special report lists current salaries for more than 40 IT job titles and shares insights about the mindset of the 3,300 tech professionals who took part in our survey, revealing their top concerns, career prospects and more. Find out about trends in pay, the state of the job market and the most in-demand skills. How to Pump Up Your Paycheck Our 2016 survey results show that IT salaries are shaping up -- is yours? Get advice from tech pros who are making all the right moves. 10 Tech Specialties with Rising Salaries As demand for skilled IT pros continues to grow, employers are paying top dollar to attract and retain talent -- particularly in these 10 fields. Uncertain About Certs? Here's the Lowdown Earning an IT certification won't automatically land you a job or a pay raise, but it can be valuable in the right circumstances. Career Watch In terms of IT pay, it may not matter whether you went to a prestigious, top-tier school, one from the middle tier or a local state university. Have the Computerworld Digital Magazine delivered to your inbox each month. News Analysis Intel has fallen behind the Moore's Law upgrade pace, but it aims to get back on track with the help of extreme ultraviolet lithography. Opinion Paul Glen offers advice on how to respond when you're offered a management position. Shark Tank Read the latest exploits of hapless bosses and clueless users. Easter hasnt been a happy holiday for Apple -- a bug-laden software upgrade means users will think twice before they upgrade their devices, and a move by a third party to break device security for a U.S. law enforcement team that likes to call personal privacy a marketing gimmick. Thats not great The two things are major setbacks. Not only is Apple less able to claim its devices are 100 percent secure, but it now knows that any government anywhere can break into iPhones belonging to any Apple customer, thanks (some claim) to some Israeli firm. Presumably that firm will work with anyone who pays making us all less safe than we were before. Whatever the risks, I think most agree with the companys statement that: This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. While the case between Apple and the FBI rolled through the court, it also became clear that whoever was writing the anti-Apple script may as well have been briefed by an Android fan. The FBIs San Bernardino case lawyers poured out a prime selection of the kind of accusations diehard fans of the platform spout, privacy became marketing and security meant undermining the encryption on which every online business transaction is based, meaning no one is safe. Suddenly a company most people see as being synonymous with America became tinged with a feeling of being un-American. Adding insult to the injury some dangerously populist billionaire Republican presidential candidate began making US Apple employment promises he cannot keep. Its all in the software Its all in the software, of course, but having taken great pains to paint a picture of Apple being safe and secure, its not great to find the latest iOS 9.3 update delivering major problems: Users of older devices saw their mobiles bricked. Users of the latest iPhones are experiencing a bug in which links wont work in Safari, Mail and other apps. Apple has shipped a software patch to fix the first problem, but the second continues to impact what appears to be a significant number of users. Apple has said it is aware of the flaw and promises a patch is in development. Meanwhile it seems we must Force Restart their devices frequently; use alternative browsers and/or disable JavaScript on their iPhones until the fix is found. Interesting times It seems ironic that a company so frequently accused of being too controlling seems to be losing control. On the one hand events beyond its power to control such as the FBI case are blunting its message and denting its reputation; on the other those things that should be fully within its grasp, such as long beta-tested software updates, are also unfurling fast. Apple is also under great pressure elsewhere: Competitors compete and where they cant compete with originality they do so with flattery; economic turmoil means consumer durables sales are in free fall on a global basis; hardware suppliers are unreliable and market protectionism gets in the way of some potentially good plans such as expansion into India or Brazil. Meanwhile it is experiencing weakness in some product lines and the allure of new products is fading as middle class consumers in most of its biggest markets are working to control spending as they feel the economic squeeze. These are all big challenges Apple executives sitting down to their Monday morning meeting this week will need to face up to. It remains to be seen if their responses will be strong enough and if the company can once again regain control. Because as an outside observer looking in it seems to me that even when the company threatened to go thermonuclear, it was blissfully aware the forces ranged against it had already hit the red button. Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? Got a story?Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me. The indictment of seven Iranian hackers for launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against financial institutions and hacking a dam was infuriating because it assigned blame to the wrong parties. The real culprit didnt go unmentioned in the indictment announced by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The indictment clearly states that the seven Iranians charged with criminal hacking worked for private companies that had been hired by various elements of the Iranian government to launch the attacks, which were perpetrated in 2012 and 2013. According to the charges, the alleged hackers acted at the behest of the Iranian government and received logistical and monetary support from it. Reportedly, one of the people indicted received a waiver from mandatory military service because he was supporting the Iranian government by committing criminal acts. What infuriates me is that there are many people within the Iranian government who are more complicit in the attacks than the people charged but were not indicted. This is cowardice. It is also a bad precedent. I say that because it puts U.S. military personnel and employees of U.S. intelligence agencies at risk of facing similar charges for doing their jobs. The National Security Agencys Tailored Access Office (TAO) is now widely acknowledged as being behind the Stuxnet attack, which caused significant damage to Irans nuclear efforts. Is the U.S. government comfortable with the possibility that Iran could exact revenge by indicting NSA employees for that cyberattack? (For that matter, given that Stuxnet caused damage in countries other than Iran, can all of those countries now charge NSA employees as well?) And Stuxnet isnt the only potential vulnerability for the U.S. The TAO was probably responsible for the Duqu malware that was implanted on the systems of the Iranian negotiation team during the run-up to the nuclear treaty between the U.S. and Iran. The charges against the Iranians are similar to those filed against five Chinese military officers for hacking U.S. companies. But the failure to indict higher-ups was even starker in that case, since the crimes outlined in the indictment were said to have been perpetrated entirely within a military context. Those officers would not have acted except on orders, just as the seven Iranians would never have had the opportunity or motive to hack U.S. institutions and infrastructure without government support. Individual soldiers arent charged with murder, as long as they were operating under orders within a code of conduct. Why, then, does the FBI put those five Chinese military officers, who were clearly operating under orders and did not violate any international convention, on its 10 Most Wanted Cybercriminals list? Much as it was U.S. policy to disrupt the Iranian nuclear program and Im sure Iran did not like that it was (and maybe is) Iranian policy to disrupt the U.S. economy and prepare to launch asymmetric warfare and disrupt the U.S. infrastructure. Similarly, it was, and still appears to be, Chinas policy to have its military cyber units target and collect intellectual property and then provide that intellectual property to Chinese businesses or otherwise use that information for the benefit of the Chinese government and economy. The Iranian hackers were just the cogs of Iranian policy. If the U.S. government had issues with this policy, they should have been addressed before the signing of the nuclear treaty, which happened after the hacking incidents were attributed to Iran, and especially before the release of $150 billion in frozen Iranian assets. However, should there still be an issue with Iranian or Chinese cyber-network operations, Lynch should have indicted the entire chain of command that authorized and supported those operations. The crimes outlined in the indictments against the Iranian and the Chinese hackers are like Stuxnet in that they were clearly perpetrated by the respective states. To treat these acts as if they were perpetrated by a group of rogue cybercriminals demonstrates a willful ignorance, or a lack of desire to take any meaningful actions against the entities actually responsible for the crimes. This sort of willful ignorance is not limited to U.S. law enforcement. The Italian government filed criminal charges against 24 CIA-affiliated operatives who allegedly were responsible for Abu Omars rendition from Italy. Now, at least that alleged crime actually occurred in Italy. But in a parallel to the Iranian and Chinese cases, Italy filed no charges against the U.S. officials who presumably would have ordered the rendition and provided all of the resources necessary to accomplish it. Ill leave you with one final irony: The U.S. government protested the Italian charges. Ira Winkler is president of Secure Mentem and author of the book Spies Among Us. He can be contacted through his Web site, securementem.com. This story, "Charges against Iranian hackers are ignorant, cowardly and dangerous" was originally published by Computerworld . Ruth Davidson is the leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. She is a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow. Last week, without much fanfare, the Scotland Act received Royal Assent. In the face of the SNPs endless confected criticism and complaint, the UK Government got on with delivering huge new financial powers for the Scottish Parliament. And the passing of the new Act has confirmed what we have now known for some time: that, from next year, sweeping new powers on tax will come to the Scottish Parliament. With less than six weeks to go until Scotland goes to the polls on May 5th, it means that this Scottish election is entirely different from those which preceded it. Taxation will be central to the campaign. And Scotland needs to have a proper debate about how best we find the money to fund the public services on which we depend. Its clear to me that the tax decisions over the last five years by the UK Government have been the right ones for all of the country. We have sought to ensure people keep more of the money they earn, taken the lowest paid out of tax altogether and supported job creators by lowering jobs taxes. My concern is that the lessons of those last six years are now being passed up by the SNP, Labour and the LibDems here in Scotland. Last week, we learned the full cost of the SNPs plans. Firstly, middle earners in Scotland will be forced to pay 3000 more in tax than people in England over the next five years. By the turn of the decade, the difference in take home pay for someone touching 50,000 will be 800 a year. And, secondly, the additional rate may go up too. On Wednesday last week, the First Minister rightly declared she would not be increasing the additional rate of tax because we know Scotland will lose money if she does. But in the live BBC debate on Thursday night last week which kicked off the campaign, we learned that, actually, shes had second thoughts and that she may do so in future years. In short, we now have a Government which we know will make middle earners pay more and which may make higher earners pay even more too. None of this is enough for Labour and the LibDems who also used last weeks debate to confirm they want to increase the basic rate of tax in Scotland as well. My view is clear. Dont get me wrong: Im pretty sure that somebody on 150,000 can pay a bit more. But thats not the issue here. The issue is: whats best for Scotland? Whats in our national interest? Whats going to help jobs? And my fear is that the kind of tax rises that Nicola Sturgeon is proposing will drive jobs away, not just because of the specific measures shes adopting but also because of the cumulative effect they have. People are already beginning to take notice. For example, at a biotech conference in Edinburgh a few weeks ago, an entrepreneur called Alan Walker was reported talking about how he wanted to expand his firm into Scotland. However, he added that he was having trouble getting staff to come here. They see it as more expensive to buy a house and there are rumours of a differential in income tax between England and Scotland. Our chief scientists will not move out of London, he said. Londons gain our loss. This is what my opponents just dont get. Tax needs to be fair of course it does. But it must also be competitive. Because if it isnt, we will all lose. Only last week, we heard from Jim McColl one of Scotlands greatest entrepreneurs, and a member of Nicola Sturgeons own Council of Economic Advisers making similar points. Put taxes up, he warned, and were just going to accelerate the loss of this talent that we want to help grow the Scottish economy. Our loss somebody elses gain. And another example; the Scottish Government has recently launched a drive to encourage more doctors to come and settle here in Scotland. I support their idea completely. But Sturgeon is now telling doctors theyre going to have pay thousands of pounds extra in tax than in England or Wales. Is that going to help the Scottish Governments own efforts? Is it going to help our NHS? The truth is: it wont. The Scottish Government needs to wake up to the damage this tax plan is doing to Scotland that will only undermine its own long-term goals. So our message in this campaign will be that we will fight to keep peoples taxes as low as possible, not just because workers deserve to keep more of their own money and they do but also because it is good for Scotland. I want to deliver the kind of balanced parliament that will make better decisions for all of us. I am afraid that will not happen if the principal fight in Scotland continues to be Labour versus the SNP. We saw what will happen from the debate last week we will end up with a high tax First Minister being told by a high tax Opposition leader that taxes arent high enough. My fear is that the SNP and Labour will ensure Scotland is trapped for the next five years on a high tax escalator, with the political contest solely focussed on who can tax more and the only question being how high taxes rises should be, not whether they should happen in the first place. Its now clear that it is only the Scottish Conservatives which can stop that escalator in its tracks. By ensuring the Parliament is more balanced, we can ensure better, more moderate, government. Thats what strong oppositions do not egging on the Government to do more of what theyre already doing, but challenging, confronting and questioning the Governments very philosophy. Scotland doesnt need a left wing party in opposition weve got one of those in government. What Scotland needs is a strong Conservative opposition which finally challenges the SNP. Which takes them on, fights for our Union and backs Scottish taxpayers. The Climate Wars: Trench Warfare or Blitzkrieg? By Ugo Bardi 29 March, 2016 Cassandra's Legacy In a previous post, I examined more than 25 years of Gallup polls in the US and I came to the conclusion the climate debate is stuck in a trench warfare condition. Apparently, the percentage of Americans who say they are "worried" about climate change is today nearly the same as it was in 1989. After the publication of that post, I received a comment that cited the results of a recent study of the social media sponsored by "The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate" that seem to be indicating a different trend. Here is the main result of that study; Clearly, something has changed in 2014 that has led to a remarkable change in the discourse on the relation of climate and economic growth, with a very large growth (around 700%) of people having an attitude defined as "positive" toward climate change. At first sight, it looks good: this is not trench warfare, it is a true blitzkrieg. However, it is also something that has to be taken with great caution. Note that the question that was examined in the analysis was very narrow; strictly limited to whether one believes that climate change and economic growth are compatible. The analysis didn't examine whether the messages indicated that people were worried or not about climate change, or even whether they believed it existed and was caused by human actions. And the "negative" opinion expressed in a fraction of the messages might well have been expressed by people who were very worried about climate change; so much that they thought (reasonably, in my opinion) that economic growth can only worsen things. Indeed, the goals and the approach of the group of people who call themselves "The New Climate Economy Commission" seems to be very limited. In one of their reports, they state. The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate is a major international initiative to analyze and communicate the economic benefits and costs of acting on climate change. Chaired by former President of Mexico Felipe Calderon, the Commission comprises 28 former heads of government and finance ministers and leaders in the fields of economics and business. The goal of the New Climate Economy is to shift public discourse away from the costs of climate action to one focused on how economic growth and climate action can be achieved together This group is said to be "commissioned by seven countries Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom," but there are few details on what were the terms of the financing were and which agencies provided it. The page where they could provide more details on these questions is not accessible to the public. Apparently, anyway, the idea is that, since economic growth is good by definition, then it will also solve the climate change problem. Which is debatable, to say the least. Nevertheless, we have here an interesting result that indicates that the debate on climate is not necessarily stuck forever and that, at least, there is a growing interest in the issue. It also shows that we have remarkable capabilities of studying trends in the debate not just on the basis of the old style opinion polls, but by analyzing complex trend on a vast network of social media. So far, I haven't been able to find an equivalent study that would ask questions such as, for instance, what is the percentage of people believing that it is urgent to act against global warming. That may come in the near future and then we'll be able to see if trench warfare in the climate wars is really transforming itself into a blitzkrieg. Ugo Bardi is a professor of Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Firenze, Italy. He also has a more general interest in energy question and is the founder and president of ASPO Italia. RSS : Legacy Of Arrogance By Nagesh Chaudhari 29 March, 2016 Countercurrents.org Ex RSS Bouddhik Pramukh, Mr, M G Vaidya has written an article, One culture one nation' (Indian Express, 24th March 16.) He says Hindu is not a religion but dharma and dharma has no equivalent term in English. This gimmick is to stress imaginary superiority to the word Hindu. It's an old RSS rut. Mr Vaidya, true to his mentor and also to RSS, M. S. Golwalkar who has outlined Hindu nation formulation in his book 'We or our Nationhood Defined' 1939 is being written and rewritten by RSS men like Vaidy in various ways. But the truth behind all of them is 'ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti' i.e. Brahmins speak their truth with different tongues. In fact, their Hindu nation is all pervading supremacy of Brahmins. Vaidya says that Hindu law should be applied to Muslims and Christians. By this he is playing the same game. As if he, RSS can dictate the terms. Golwalkar taught that RSS men should behave as if they are the masters/owners of this country. This comes through the RSS concept that it is above the government. This arrogance has been sown by Golwalkar. In a book 'Sri Guruji Samagra Darshan, part 1, Marathi (1971) he says, 'Sangh is not only representative of Hindu nation but the embodiment of Hindu nation itself. And that is why this whole land of India should belong to Sangh (i.e.RSS). We should live here with the sentiments of ownership. (p.108 ). At another place he says, ''this form of Hindu nation will exist till the end of the earth or till it submerged in deluge, we will be there till end as a Hindu nation.''(Sri Guruji Samagra Darshan part-4, p.47, 1974) This has sort of thinking has induced ownership attitude and arrogance in the brains of RSS combines' heads. Mr. Mohan Bhagwat, RSS chief speaks through this mindset and is followed by ex-RSS spokespersons like M G Vaidya. He adopted the same attitude of being master of the country. He says this bypassing the constitution that Muslims and Christians should be brought under Hindu law. So is the case of Bharat mata ki jay by Mohan Bhagwat. The stand on cow, Gita as national book, Sanskrit, opposition to Urdu language etc. The roots of such thinking do not start from Golwalkar or Sawarkar but they are existing from the time Brahmins have fortified the four varna, caste model.This has the real past. In the Varna caste model Brahmin is at the top of the social structure. Even above the king who was Kshatriya, second in rank. In today's terms this model of Brahman at the top is what RSS wants for itself. Golwalkar having this in mind calls state is secondary to the nation that is king below the Brahmin. RSS pariwar and its spokespersons write, speak having this social model in mind. Nation-Rashtra concept is being adhered to by RSS combine because only they have been trained like that by its ideologues. Other parties and organizations are only in political mode of thinking. For RSS knows that their thinking is limited to state, secondary position and not to top position, the nation. M. G. Vaidya himself quoted in one of his Marathi book that Golwalkar wanted to dominate all political parties and not only Jan Sangh - today's BJP. That means caste model should rule and secondly other parties be secondary to RSS following its dictats. This hierarchical model is being observed in all left and right parties which are under Brahmin leadership. That's why Dr. Ambedkar said, about sacred and secular Brahmins they are two arms of the same body. Both are kith and kin and one is bound for the existence of the other. None will come forward to demolish the caste system." (See-Annihilation of caste, Dr. Ambedkar writings & Speeches, vol. 1 p.70) This ownership attitude is dangerous and worse than even fascism. Author is editor of a Marathi fortnghtly Bahujan Sangharsh,from Nagpur. He is active egalitarian social movements. Has written 8 books in Marathi, Hindi & English. Published articles in Marathi, English journals. Kanhaiya Kumar And The We Can Moment In Vijayawada By Vijaya Kumar Marla 29 March, 2016 Countercurrents.org Kanhaiya Kumar addressing the Vijayawada Meet of united Left Students Usually any charged atmosphere with a large number of people can metamorphose in to a frenzy and mob violence. But in Vijayawada (capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh), on the evening of 24th March 2016, a large number of people had gathered in anticipation of hearing Kanhaiya Kumar, the rage among youth and students of this country. His posters are on display everywhere, as we reached the city from the airport. I was accompanying him on his trip from Hyderabad to Vijayawada. When he got down from the airport bus at the arrival lounge, the appreciative glances of the policemen deployed there towards Kanhaiya could not escape my attention. Is this the same Kanhaiya Kumar who had recounted his tete-a-tete with police while he was in Delhis Tihar Jail on trumped-up charges of shouting anti-India slogans in his university, in his now famous address at JNU on 3rd March? I think that conversation of Kanhaiya with a constable in the jail and the way he recounted it has an impact on policemen all over the country. After all, day-in and day-out we often come across politicians blaming police for brutality and atrocities, which are not entirely without substance. But an incisive analysis and comment by a young man just released from jail, saying that the police are also ordinary human beings like us and that they are helpless in many aspects when they had to practice their profession under heavy stress and the mention of their meager wages has had an impact on the police. Lo, here is a young man, charged with sedition and beaten up by goons in the presence of full police force and being hounded in the social media and the net, and now being accompanied by police escorts as if he is a top law maker, all the way from airport to his meeting place. I have not seen so much love and hatred being displayed against one man in the Internet. The venomous hatred appears to be mostly manufactured in the IT office of the Hindutva (Rightist Hindu) brigade. There are no limits on indecency and anyone who objects to the foul language on display is immediately targeted. Sometimes, I wonder, all this spewing of venom and attacking everyone will not work against the Hindutva brigade? What about all the laws about decency on the net? Or do they not apply to the net-storm troopers of the ruling party? On our way to the meeting hall, we found hundreds of people lining up with garlands at many places to greet this young man. He had to stop at a few places to greet them and receive the flowers. TV cameras were hounding us throughout our journey, even as we signaled to them that Kanhaiya is not in our car. As we neared the meeting place, it was a thorough chaos. The whole traffic in the area is jammed with vehicles and we had to make our way by foot, snaking through bikes and parked cars. We heard a commotion, with two not so young men, in BJPs saffron scarves, being pushed out of the meeting hall. By that time, Kanhaiya was safely escorted inside by a big team of red shirted volunteers. I have seen thousands of young people wearing white T-shirts with pictures of Rohit Vemula and Kanhaiya. The police were trying to halt the Leftist youth from charging on to the two BJP youth wing men, who tried to raise anti-Kanhaiya slogans. An obviously working class woman in her forties was seen shouting at the BJP men and urging the Leftist students to trash them. That was the general mood outside the hall. And such scenes are not uncommon in a politically active city of Vijayawada. A section of the participants, with the leaders of various CPs in the foreground As we were ushered in to the hall on the first floor, we found the huge hall jam-packed with students wearing Rohit-Kanhaiya T-shirts and redshirts. From the badges they were wearing, I could gather that they belong to various student organizations, AISF (CPI), SFI (CPIM), PDSU (CPI-ML) and a sprinkling of NSUI (Congress). There were many elderly and middle aged people, obviously from Leftist parties. The National Secretary of CPI, Dr. K. Narayana was seen standing near the wall. I was seated near-by where he was standing and I had seen people offering him their seat. He politely refused and I had seen A.P State Secretaries of CPI and CPM sitting in the audience, as mere spectators. Then there was commotion again, as a lone BJP youth tried to shout some slogans, but he was quickly overpowered and I have seen him losing his shirt in the melee. He was picked up by the police and taken away. I have seen the large hall completely jam-packed, with almost half the people standing along the walls, as there were no seats. With so many thousands of people inside, he hall was hot and stuffy, with the mercury touching 43C (110F) outside. I am recounting this as a spectator to the event. The press had given undue coverage to the BJP youth who tried to shout slogans unsuccessfully. This sort of a political friction is not unusual at many places in India. Kanhaiya Kumar was the main speaker and as he was invited to speak, he asked whether he should speak in Hindi or English. The audience chose Hindi, which was surprising. But from the response he got, I understood that Hindi films had their effect on the people of Vijayawada, where only Telugu is spoken, unlike in Hyderabad. He started with the attack on universities by the BJP government and charged that the upper class mindset could not tolerate poor students from backward regions and lower castes entering the portals of the hallowed institutions such as JNU and HCU and learning to question the prevalent inequalities and social discrimination. Besides our subjects, we also learn and discuss issues that affect our lives and I believe this is a part of our process of enlightenment. We dont want to go to the streets shouting slogans. Given a peaceful atmosphere, we would like to spend our time in class rooms and in the library. It is they who are preventing us from continuing our studies. They want to limit the intellectual space in the universities all across the country to the cage of Hindutva ideology and we are opposing this process of indoctrination. A BJP/RSS version of Mother India ...........................The Lefts image of Mother India (representative) The ruling ideology of Hindutva wants to create binaries of us vs. them in the name of Bharat Mata (Mother India). Whoever does not say, Bharat Mata ki Jai (Hail Mother India) is anti-national, they allege. But we say, our Bharat Mata is not the same as your Bharat Mata. Your Bharat Mata is a glamorous lady, bejeweled and wearing a saffron sari, symbolizing the rich. Our Bharat Mata is a Dalit (untouchable caste) woman, emaciated, wearing rags and working in the fields under the hot sun, a mother who struggles to feed her children, a mother who works as a village social worker, a mother or sister who works in the factories, drives a bus, pilots an airplane.. This is out Bharat Mata. He said that he had met Rohit Vemulas mother (The Dalit scholar who had committed suicide unable to bear the brunt of social discrimination in Hyderabad Central University in January this year) and told her that he will continue the struggle until social discrimination ends. We want Left and Dalit voices to come together. Besides this unity, we are struggling to build a broad rainbow coalition of all oppressed working people, who have to fight this communal and neo-liberal virus with all the might we could gather. This is a long fight, but the victory will be ours. He further said that India has 700 million young people and Modi had captured power promising Rs. 150 thousands in everyones bank account from recovered black money and 100 million jobs. This is a false promise and now he and his government have to face the ire of the youth for their deceit. Modi says that he will build a modern India with Hi-Tech industries and make India the worlds manufacturing hub, with the slogan of Make-in-India. I question him, when 75% of young job aspirants in this country have less than 5th standard qualification and they cannot get a job in any modern industry, how are you going to provide 100 million jobs. The previous government under DR. Manmohan Singh and now Modis government are cutting expenditure on education, cutting down assistance to poor and lower caste students. Unable to bear the cost of private education, they are leaving schools. Unless the government spends a large amount of money on public education and health, it is questionable how you can prepare the youth to work in modern industry. He stressed the need for Left Parties to come together, putting aside their differences. He said young people of his generation, those who are born after 1985 could not understand why the communist movement had to split into so many splinter groups. Let us come together, put aside the differences of the past and start talking to the people about their problems in a jargon which they understand. His appeal struck a chord with the thousands who were listening to him in rapt attention. There was a thunderous applause of approval. Having seen for the last 45 years how the various Left groups fought pitched battles among themselves, it was a pleasant feeling for me to see them sitting together and listening to a young man, young enough to be their son, urging them to bury the past differences and come together to fight the bigger enemy. I have seen leaders of various Left groups embracing each other and recalling the good old days when as young men, they fought together under one flag. At the end of his hour long speech, he recited the now famous song that he sang at a meeting immediately before his arrest on February 11, 2016 at Jawaharlal Nehru University. It goes like this: Aazadi (Hind/Urdu for freedom) Aazadi from Hunger Aazadi from poverty Aazadi from unemployment Aazadi from capitalism Aazadi from Manuvad (BJPs Hindu politics) Aazadi from caste discrimination We dont want freedom FROM India, we want freedom IN India There was a thunderous clapping and shouts of Aazadi (freedom) from the participants, young and old. It was electric movement, highly charged with enthusiasm, a markedly noticeable charged feeling that WE CAN fight together and defeat the bigger enemy, the fascist BJP. Vijaya Kumar Marla is a retired Engineer, presently contributing weekly articles on current issues to Telugu Dailies. Also a student of Philosophy of Science. E-Mail: marlavk@yahoo.com In A Pornified Culture, Even 'Smashing Patriarchy' Is A Fetish By Mickey Z. 29 March, 2016 World News Trust Photo credit: Mickey Z. Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them. Ive always appreciated this quote from Assata Shakur and felt it to be ironclad radical truth. Then I woke up to the insidious reality of patriarchy. After too many years dick-footing around, I finally recognized male pattern violence for what it is: the worst problem in the world. Of course, theres no shortage of fierce and wise women relentlessly fighting back against sex-based oppression, exploitation, and violence. But, thanks to pornography -- the propaganda wing of male supremacy -- everything women do is fetishized, eroticized and commodified. When gonzo porn passes for sex education, anything can and will be perceived (often by both sexes) as hot. Even smashing patriarchy. Lets say a woman decides to subvert imposed gender norms by not shaving her body hair. Well, legions of men dig that fetish, too. Google a certain mix of related words and youll get about 27,500,000 results (in 0.59 seconds). After all, in a porncentric patriarchy, the only logical reason a woman would ever grow her underarm, leg, and pubic hair would be to seduce, arouse, and please every single man she encounters. What if other women opted to reject the frailty myth by working out, developing their muscles, or excelling at a tough sport like Mixed Martial Arts? *deep sigh* Yeah, there are porn categories for all those, too. Just like theres an abundance of porn videos exploiting other versions of the powerful woman trope (soldiers, CEOs, cops, prison guards, wealthy widows, the bosss daughter, etc.) and these videos typically involve such women being brutally put back in their place. Why else would any woman fight the power if she wasnt seeking male attention? Lets face it, even if a woman feels ZERO sexual attraction to the entire male sex or consciously opts to avoid any intimate contact with any men, well, lesbians is the most popular porn genre of all. Again, within a phallocentric culture, a depiction of two women making love is always designed for the viewing pleasure of the male population of Planet Earth. I could go on but since Im already concerned this article will be considered hot by some creeps, please allow me to introduce perhaps the cruelest patriarchal reversal of all: Feminism has been fetishized, as pornographers offer their predatory audiences the big prize of getting the revenge they're all taught to dream of. Scan Tumblr, if you can stomach it, and youll find endless mock feminist re-education or reclamation posts, designed to give the impression that the men in these particularly extreme and violent clips are freeing or curing women from their feminist tendencies. Cue the dude-bro voice: Shes a feminist? Thats hot. Question: Unless women were to unexpectedly seize control of all military and economic power in the world, how can feminism (as currently defined) lead to systemic liberation? Which brings me back to Assata and her infamous quotation. If males as a class oppressing females as a class is the foundational cause of all violence, oppression, and hierarchy -- and EVERYTHING females do has been weaponized and used against them, how can women address this situation if not by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them? If all forms of rebellion are rapidly corrupted into masturbatory fodder for each new generation of porn-addicted boys and men, what chance does this culture have for drastic and sustainable social change if men themselves dont step up? Come to think of it, perhaps this is the cruelest irony of all: Must the frontline soldiers in the struggle for womens liberation be men? Abolish Gender In 99.9 percent of activist realms, personal choices do nothing to provoke institutional change. But male supremacy -- the big problem, the one at the root of it all -- can and will be challenged every single time an individual male rejects his patriarchal programming. With that in mind, Id like to re-visit my list of 10 radically simple ways men can appeal to their own moral sense and get started right now: Bonus entry: Dont be too proud of yourself for adhering to these basic guidelines, because they are the very least any man can do to challenge prescribed gender roles. I repeat: This. Is. The. Absolute. Least. We. Can. Do. Since we now have some donts to follow, here are a few things we can do: Listen to, validate, respect, appreciate, trust, defend, and learn from females. Discover how to be silent, how to relinquish the spotlight, the stage, the microphone, the platform. Do the work to educate ourselves and learn to recognize the deeper connections, the roots. Commit to addressing and surrendering all the socialization and privilege that automatically comes along with being born male. Reject the masculinity paradigm and stop conforming to macho ideals and conditioning. Identify. Unlearn. Evolve. (Each day, every day.) Share what you learn with boys and young men to give them a real chance to be better. Most of all, we must openly and relentlessly name the problem: US. We are the problem. Men are the problem. Patriarchy, male supremacy, male pattern violence, misogyny -- and all the institutional structures created to maintain and obscure this necrophilic system. If we men want to live up to self-anointed labels like activist, revolutionary, radical, ally, and comrade, the path is clear. We are required to do almost all of the initial work and make (by far) the biggest changes and commitments. If we care about justice and liberation as much as we claim we do, now is the time to look in the mirror, to call ourselves out, to check our egos and our masculinity programming at the door, and to make what appear to be major sacrifices (pro tip: theyre not). One more time: We men must name the problem, over and over again, until we stop being the problem and stop passing on the problem to the next generation. Contrary to Assatas otherwise inspiring quote, the first step towards challenging patriarchy (without it becoming yet another profitable avenue for male gratification) just may be for the oppressors to make a moral choice and smash it from within. Mickey Z. can be found here. The Tyranny Of Triple Talaq By Moin Qazi 29 March, 2016 Countercurrents.org Undeterred by strong opposition from influential Islamic bodies to judicial scrutiny of Muslim personal law practices, the Supreme Court has decided to examine the legality of triple talaq by entertaining a Muslim woman's petition that this mode of divorce be declared unconstitutional as it allowed Muslim men to treat women like "chattel". The court's decision indicates its inclination to examine the legality of triple talaq in the face of strong opposition from All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat-e-Ulema. Both had said Muslim personal law was Quran-based and not enacted by the legislature and hence was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny. Talaq, talaq, talaq the three dreaded words if uttered by a husband in quick succession could, in less than a blink of an eye, unilaterally bring to an end the marital life of a Muslim woman. Instant divorce is currently allowed under Islamic law. In India, Muslim men have sent triple talaq by text, email, Facebook, Skype and Whats App. While it has always been somewhat easy for Muslim men to divorce their wives, the use of digital medium makes it almost instantaneous. while the clerical aristocracy feel it is sanctioned by scriptures, the modernists ,and even dissenters within the tradionalists camp disagree and say that these laws are outdated and harmful and antithetical to the precepts of the Quran .They feel corrupted cultural practices dominated by male chauvinists have distorted the true spirit of the Quran which accords a very dignified position to women. It may come as a shock to numerous Muslims and others, the Quran does not prescribe this form of divorce at all.It is not just Indian Muslim women who are suffering. In some countries in the Middle East and Malaysia, mobile devices have been used to end marriages by simply texting talaq, talaq, talaq. And before the advent of mobile devices, there were instances when telephone calls, snail mail and even telegrams were used to communicate divorce. The other point of view is that technology is just a means of communication so it doesnt matter whether a divorce is expressed personally or through Facebook, e-mail or Skype. However, the ease of such methods has increased the instances of divorce. Moreover, with no means to question divorce, Muslim women are at the receiving end. In fact, the Quran has specifically laid down a formula of a three-tiered calibrated divorce, keeping in mind human frailties. The first two stages give an opportunity to the estranged couple to reconsider their decision and, if possible, reconcile and resume their married relationship. But it is only the third and last step, if traversed, that would make the talaq irrevocable. Therefore, the most important injunction in the Quran, in this regard, is that after each pronouncement of talaq there has to be compulsorily a period of waiting or iddat that provides a timeout to reflect on the alternatives to a divorce. And, neither the uttering of talaq, talaq, talaq in one sentence nor a single pronouncement to indicate an intention of irrevocably dissolving the marriage had the approval of Prophet Muhammad. The truth is; the concept of instant triple talaq is alien to Islam as it goes against the very spirit of the procedure of divorce laid down in the Quran. Even the Prophet when he was informed about a man who gave three divorces at a time was so enraged that he said, Are you playing with the Book of Allah who is Great and Glorious while I am still amongst you? The acclaimed Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiya rejected the traditionalist view on the "triple divorce" - The grounds for a decree of dissolution of a marriage according to the Muslim Act followed in some Muslim countries are (a) whereabouts of a husband are not known for four years, (b) husband has neglected or did not provide for her maintenance or he has been sentenced to imprisonment for seven years, (c) husband has failed to perform without reasonable cause marital obligations for a period of three years, (d) he is impotent or suffering from leprosy, (e) he is cruel and attacks his wife or compels her to adopt an immoral life, and (f) he obstructs her religious duties and he has more than one wife without her consent. Despite the Quranic injunction against instant triple talaq, Muslim orthodoxy in India, spearheaded by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has always defended the triple talaq terming any suggestion to reform Muslim personal law as motivated and tantamount to religious interference. The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board was established in 1972-1973 at a time when then Government of India was trying to subvert shariah law applicable to Indian Muslims through parallel legislation. The immediate backdrop was the introduction of the Adoption Bill in Parliament. While introducing the Bill the government had described it as the first step towards Uniform Civil Code. This triggered an alert among the ulema, which immediately went on the offensive, decrying the Bill as an attempt to dilute, the separate identity of Indian Muslims It is certain that AIMLB realizes the coercive element in an instant divorce through triple talaq but, on account of the historical, cultural and political context it took birth, it wants to adopt a cautious approach .Probably the combative posture of the Board is the fact that the initiative fro the abolition has come from ,an organization that has absolutely no base in the community and also doesnt have the any mandate of the community. Had the proposal come from Muslim intellectuals commanding respect and support in the community, the verdict may have been different. Ironically, instantaneous triple talaq is banned in several Islamic countries around the world, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Many of these countries have also set up arbitration councils that try to help couples resolve their differences. Muslim institutions must understand that Quranic ontology revolves around the principles of justice, fairness and equity, and therefore, any law that contravenes or abridges the rights arising out of these standards of ethics automatically becomes unacceptable. But the continued refusal of the Muslim patriarchy to see reason makes it imperative to analyze the procedure of talaq in the Koran to expose the illegitimacy of the stand of some of the clergy. Moin Qazi is a well known banker, author and Islamic researcher .He holds doctorates in Economics and English. He was Visiting Fellow at the University of Manchester. He has authored several books on religion, rural finance, culture and handicrafts. He is author of the bestselling book Village Diary of a Development Banker. He is also a recipient of UNESCO World Politics Essay Gold Medal and Rotary Internationals Vocational Excellence Award. He is based in Nagpur and can be reached at moinqazi123@gmail.com U.S. Still Demands Assads Removal In Syria By Eric Zuesse 29 March, 2016 Countercurrents.org A news report from Russias Interfax News Service quotes the press-secretary of the US embassy in Moscow, whom it identifies as William Stevens, as saying that during a meeting U.S. CIA Director William Brennan had in Moscow with Russia officials in early March, Director Brennan chose to emphasize with Russian officials the importance of Russia and the Assad regime following through on their agreements to implement the cessation of hostilities in Syria and that, Director Brennan also reiterated the US governments consistent support for a genuine political transition in Syria, and the need for Assads departure in order to facilitate a transition that reflects the will of the Syrian people. All of this is from Russias Sputnik News, that allegedly William Stevens told RIA Novosti. Western news services are citing that Russian source as the sole source in their own reporting of the matter; and no denial has yet been issued by the U.S. government. If the allegation is true, then the U.S., in early March," was demanding Assads departure, despite there being no participation of the Syrian people in that decision no new election in Syria, much less Assads losing any such election; and, yet, Mr. Brennan was demanding this, in order to facilitate a transition that reflects the will of the Syrian people, somehow (despite there being no democratic process whatsoever). Even Western polling firms have been finding that Assads remaining as Syrias leader is supported by 55% of Syrians, and that the U.S. is blamed by 82% of Syrians as being the source of Syrias civil war: "82% agree 'IS [Islamic State] is US and foreign made group. In other words: Syrians, the most secular, the most anti-theocratic, people in the entire Middle East, blame people such as John Brennan as the source of their miseries. This same poll found that "79% agree 'Foreign fighters made war worse. It also found: "70% agree 'Oppose division of country. The Obama Administration favors breaking Syria up into sectarian enclaves: Alawite-Shiite, versus Sunni, versus Druze, versus Kurd. This would be essential in order to permit Saudi Arabia to build an oil pipeline into Europe through the Sunni part of Syria, and Qatar also to build a gas pipeline through the Sunni part of Syria, both in order to get their (U.S.-corporate-backed) oil and gas into Europe, so as to replace Russias main market for its oil and gas, which is the EU. The same poll also found that 65% agree Syrians can live together again. Clearly, American involvement in the political process in Syria is unwelcomed, if not loathed, by the Syrian people. They dont want the U.S. to continue supporting the jihadists who are destroying their country; and they also dont want the U.S. dictating that Bashar al-Assad will stop being their leader. None of these facts are brought up by any of the moderators in the U.S. Presidential candidates debates. However, some of those moderators are on my email list for all of my news-reports (which have covered all of these matters), and therefore it would seem unlikely that the reason for the matters not being covered at all is that they are ignorant of the reality. The explanation must be something other than ignorance. Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of Theyre Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRISTS VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity. Is Britain's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron following US Republican presidential aspirant Donald Trump in allegedly whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment? It would seem so, if a recent report the British newspaper The Guardian is any indication. The daily has reported that Cameron thinks Zac Goldsmith, Conservative London mayoral candidate, is the only sensible choice for the city's Londons south Asian communities, particularly Gujarati Hindus and Punjabi Sikhs, especially when there is a need to be keep streets safe from terrorist attacks.Cameron's open support Goldsmith has made the main opponent, Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan's team calling the prime minister's move as insulting, divisive and intrusive.The daily said, The prime minister has been criticised for sending out letters targeted at Londons Gujarati Hindu and Punjabi Sikh voters, calling on them to back the Conservative mayoral candidate, Zac Goldsmith.Khans team said, It is desperately disappointing that David Cameron is indulging in this sort of divisive racial profiling.In his letter sent out the voters of the two communities, under the heading The Gujarati community makes London great, Cameron wrote: Closer ties between the UK and India have been a priority for me as prime minister. I was pleased to join Zac and thousands of British Gujaratis in welcoming Prime Minister Modi to the UK last year."The Guardian" recalls, The Labour candidate did not attend the event to welcome the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, a leader who has divided opinion. Until 2012, Modi was barred from entering the UK over allegations that in 2002, when he was chief minister of Gujarat state, he failed to stop anti-Muslim riots in which 1,000 people died.The Guardian writes, After receiving a letter, retired biochemist Barbara Patel wrote back to the PM, objecting to his 'facile and inaccurate attempt at racial profiling'. She said: 'You have made a number of assumptions based on my surname (Patel = Gujarat and Gujarat = Hindu) and have attempted to use these ethnically based assumptions to scare me into voting for your candidate, Zac Goldsmith.I am not from Gujarat. I am not a Hindu, my husbands family are lapsed Muslims. Above all, I have never been, nor ever would be, a Tory voter, Patel said, adding, she was of Jewish descent and the most distasteful aspect of Cameron's letter was attempting to cause division between the London Hindu Indian community and its Muslim community.The daily says, Goldsmith has already come under fire for sending out racially profiled letters to prospective voters, in which he described Khan as 'radical; and 'divisive'... and suggested gold and jewellery of Indian families would not be safe under him because he wanted to introduce a wealth tax.The daily adds, Under the heading 'The risk of a Corbyn-Khan experiment', Cameron writes: 'The alternative is Jeremy Corbyns candidate, Sadiq Khan. If he wins Londoners will become lab rats in a giant political experiment. His dangerous and unworkable Corbyn-inspired policies would make housing more expensive for the vast majority'.In London, 44% of the population comes from minority ethnic backgrounds, while hate crime against Muslims rose by 70% between 2014 and 2015. Similar letters have been sent to people with Sikh names, outlining the 'dangers' of Khan winning. Some of the letters were also sent to people who are not Sikh, but have Sikh-sounding names, the daily says. There's only so much angry ranting a person can take before they give up on political activism altogether. Sure, you could blame it on logical things like blizzards, jobs, and hangovers, but we all know the truth. When you scream at the world long enough, the world stays the fuck home. That's when you get situations like Marco Rubio's practically empty and totally bizarre Little-Caesar's-fueled Super Bowl party where he promised to ban disco, or Ben Carson's 50-person primary party that was so straight-edge that even the bartender was knitting blankets behind the counter. Continue Reading Below Advertisement But at least 50 people at a campaign event is ... sizable. One of poor Martin O'Malley's Iowa appearances was rudely interrupted by a goddamn blizzard, but not even Snowmaggedon could keep Kenneth the Undecided Voter away. The entire event ended up being O'Malley and Kenneth listening to the howling of the freezing winds outside while O'Malley tried to convince Kenneth to pretty please vote for him in November. MSNBC Even after all this, Kenneth was still undecided. Continue Reading Below Advertisement Sad as all that may be, we have to commend O'Malley for having the self-awareness to admit that things didn't quite go as planned, and the graciousness to appreciate Kenneth's presence. When Rick Santorum's afternoon campaign stop at an Iowa restaurant was also only attended by one person, Santorum ordered lunch. Unfortunately, Ol' Rick belligerently stuck to his lonely guns, declaring the less-than-mediocre turnout a success and stating that every vote counts before ultimately dropping out of the race. Continue Reading Below Advertisement "I got loud and made fun of him; the whole goal was to cut his nuts off in front of everybody, so all these militias who supported him didn't support him when that meeting was done. So, I'm in a dark, smokey room with, like, the heads of probably 15 different militia groups, with the combined brainpower of a walnut ... we're all there to hear what Schaeffer Cox's plan is. He's like an hour-and-a-half late, so by the time he gets there, we're all drinking and pissed because he's late. He starts talking, and Schaeffer Cox is one of these guys who loves to hear himself speak. If he has a 15-minute slot of time, he'll be up there for two hours. Continue Reading Below Advertisement "He starts in with one of his little speeches, and I say, 'Dude, don't give us your speech, just give us the plan.' 'Well, I don't really have a solid plan.' 'And I'm like, well, you told me your plan last night'." Dante Petri "OK, my new plan is to let this guy do all the talking while I stand here and think about hats." Fulton basically spent the rest of the night mocking Cox for being badly prepared and wasting everyone's time by convening a Nut Moot without good cause. "When you think of the type of guys who command militias, it's a very alpha-male sort of environment. So, it was a good environment to do that in. Now, I never asked the FBI if this was a great idea. But, at this point, I'd decided the dude was dangerous. All I had to go off of was the conversation from the night before, so by the time this little meeting's over, Cox runs off, none of the militia guys are gonna support him, and I go home thinking I'll never see Cox again." What is at stake in the Security Council? The UN Security Council is set to vote soon on the renewal of a mandate that allows UN agencies to deliver aid to rebel-held Idlib in north-western Syria via a border crossing with Turkiye without asking for approval from the government in Damascus. The UN calculates that nearly two and a half million people rely on this lifeline for food and other essential supplies. Yet the arrangement is contentious. Since 2019, Russia, the Syrian regimes ally, has aimed to curtail the mandate, arguing that the UN should work with Damascus on aid deliveries out of respect for Syrias sovereignty. In 2021, the U.S. made a concerted effort to convince Moscow to help keep the mandate alive, but it has made no similar push in 2022, as the two powers relations have collapsed over Russias war in Ukraine. Senior UN officials worry that Russia may veto the mandate which should be renewed by 10 July causing a dramatic drop in humanitarian assistance to Idlib and potentially leading to an influx of refugees into Turkiye. What happens with the mandate is a concern for the UN and, more importantly, for the people in Idlib. The Security Council first authorised the UN to deliver cross-border aid to opposition-controlled areas of Syria without Damascuss approval in 2014. At first, this mandate covered four crossing points, giving UN agencies access to southern and north-eastern Syria as well as the north west. The Council members cooperation on humanitarian issues despite their broader rifts over the war in Syria was a rare bright spot in UN diplomacy. But in rancorous debates in late 2019 and mid-2020, during which Russia and China used their vetoes three times to block resolutions renewing the mandate, Moscow succeeded in limiting the UNs cross-border operations to a single crossing, at Bab al-Hawa between Turkiye and Idlib. Russia also made clear that the mandate could not be renewed indefinitely. In 2021, the Biden administration identified maintaining aid to Idlib as an area for better relations with Russia. U.S. officials negotiated over the mandates future bilaterally with their Russian counterparts in Vienna and Geneva. While the official U.S. position was that the Council should reauthorise opening all four original crossings an outcome few UN officials and diplomats thought likely Russia assented that July only to keeping Bab al-Hawa open. Moscow also demanded that the UN work harder on channelling aid into Idlib from government-held Syrian territory (which is referred to as cross-line aid, as opposed to cross-border from Turkiye) and called for greater international funding for early recovery projects in government-controlled parts of Syria. Finally, Russia insisted that the UN Secretary-General report on cross-line aid halfway through the mandate period in January 2022, indicating that it might try to block the mandates continuation at that point (though it did not act on this threat). Despite these caveats, the Biden administration presented the fact that Russia was willing to keep the mandate alive at all and the absence of public rows and vetoes at the UN like those in 2019 and 2020 as proof that the U.S. could do business with the Kremlin. Security Council members [fret] that Russian and Western diplomats would fail to reach an agreement on the future of aid to Syria. A year on, that optimism looks like a thing of the past. Since Russias assault on Ukraine in February and the sharp deterioration in Moscows relations with Western powers, Security Council members have fretted that Russian and Western diplomats would fail to reach an agreement on the future of aid to Syria. As things stand, the mandates fate remains unclear with less than a week to go before the deadline for its renewal. Ireland and Norway, the Security Councils two elected members acting as penholders (diplomatic leads) on the issue, introduced a draft resolution renewing the authorisation for aid deliveries through Bab al-Hawa for twelve months on 27 June. Russia has yet to make a definitive response, and Council members expect that there may be intense wrangling over the text before the vote. The outcome will have a major effect on the lives of civilians in Idlib. It is also a crucial test of how far Russia and the West can continue to work together at the Security Council however grudgingly as the war in Ukraine rages and their policies become ever more hostile to one another. How important is the mandate for Idlib and are there alternatives? Despite the high level of tension in the Security Council over cross-border aid, this mandate has given the UN essential political backing to guide humanitarian operations in Idlib. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in particular has played a pivotal role in cross-border aid delivery. The Council mandate allowed OCHA to coordinate donor response, lead negotiations with local authorities, and guarantee a significant degree of transparency for aid delivered into these rebel-held areas. OCHA has also helped NGOs involved in relief work navigate the legal and political hurdles of operating in an area under the control of Heiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist militia running most of Idlib. HTS is UN-sanctioned and is listed by Russia, the U.S. and Turkiye as a terrorist organisation. The UN has additionally led negotiations involving Damascus and the HTS-backed Salvation Government that administers Idlib over the balance between cross-border and cross-line aid operations. The Syrian government and Russia insist that the UN ramp up cross-line assistance as an alternative to channelling aid through Bab al-Hawa, as part of their effort to reinstate Damascuss influence over aid delivery to all of Syria. UN officials and Western diplomats are sceptical that this proposal is realistic, especially given the Syrian regimes track record of blocking aid to punish civilians in opposition-held areas and the hostility of its rhetoric toward Idlib and its residents. From a technical point of view, cross-border aid remains the cheapest, quickest and most reliable way to meet Idlibs needs. A report from the UN Secretary-General in June stated that UN humanitarian monitors counted some 1,686 trucks carrying supplies (four fifths of them bearing food) from Turkiye into Idlib in April and May alone. By contrast, the report noted that the UN had overseen just five cross-line convoys between July 2021 and June 2022, and highlighted one in May that involved just fourteen trucks. The U.S. and its allies have agreed that the UN should also experiment with cross-line aid ... into Idlib. Nonetheless, the U.S. and its allies have agreed that the UN should also experiment with cross-line aid, mainly as a political concession to Russia and in hope of retaining Moscows acquiescence to cross-border operations. In 2021, the Security Council agreed to encourage efforts to improve cross-line deliveries of humanitarian assistance from government-controlled areas into Idlib. Moscow complains that the resolution has not been fully respected, as cross-line deliveries to Idlib have remained irregular, while HTS (and civil society groups in Idlib) as well as many humanitarian agency employees describe these efforts as a sop to the Kremlin rather than serious aid. This debate has also become highly contentious for local forces in Idlib. HTS and the Salvation Government have reluctantly agreed to some of the cross-line aid deliveries, providing them with security and allowing for safe distribution. Yet HTS has come under fierce criticism from parts of the population and rivals in Syrias opposition for thus collaborating with a regime that has killed thousands and displaced millions of Syrians. In private, HTS members express concern that the cross-line mechanism is a quandary for them: if they cooperate, they are criticised locally; if they dont, they will be condemned internationally; and in neither situation can cross-line aid address even a fraction of humanitarian needs in Idlib. For the time being, HTS has found it prudent to facilitate the safe passage of several cross-line aid convoys to avoid giving Moscow a pretext to put a halt to the UNs cross-border mandate and to strengthen Turkiyes hand in negotiating with Russia. According to HTS, it would be much harder for them to cooperate on cross-line aid if Moscow were to veto the cross-border mandates renewal. What would a Russian veto mean? If Russia does veto renewal of the cross-border aid mandate, the immediate fallout could be chaotic. It is not clear whether OCHA would have to abruptly end its Syria operations in Turkiye or whether it could continue to play a minimal coordination function during a transitional phase. Regardless, the absence of OCHAs irreplaceable aid infrastructure and cross-border mandate would significantly reduce the volume of aid and the efficiency of the donor response. It would also leave NGOs and donors struggling to manage aid coordination and oversight, while reducing their leverage in dealing with authorities in Turkiye and Idlib. UN officials estimate that NGOs could supply at best 30 to 40 per cent of the aid that the UN has been providing. In practice that means hunger will increase, medical cases will go untreated, and millions will be at risk of losing shelter and assistance. Crisis Groups interlocutors in Idlib agree that the aid flows disruption could lead many of the regions inhabitants many of whom fled other parts of Syria earlier in the war to attempt to escape the area, mostly by trying to enter Turkiye. How Ankara would respond to chaos at the border remains unclear; already in Turkiye the presence of an estimated 3.7 million Syrian refugees is a source of socio-political tension, which is on the rise due to economic troubles and elections due in June 2023. Although living conditions in Idlib have improved considerably since Moscow and Ankara forged a de facto ceasefire in 2020, the population remains anxious about the precarious situation. Our lives depend on the mood in the Kremlin every few months. This is inhuman and unsustainable, an Idlib resident said. What are the chances the mandate will survive? In the immediate aftermath of Russias assault on Ukraine, Security Council members generally seemed pessimistic about the chances of renewing the mandate for cross-border aid in conversations with Crisis Group. Now, however, some are guardedly optimistic that Moscow will let it survive. It is mostly a matter of speculation. The Russian mission in New York typically has to wait until late in negotiations on this file to get clear instructions from Moscow on how to act. In negotiations on the draft resolution tabled by Ireland and Norway on 27 June extending the mandate, neither Russian nor Chinese diplomats appeared to have definite guidance from their capitals. Western diplomats hope that Moscow will decide that it will retain greater leverage over events in Idlib by agreeing to renew the mandate which gives it a platform for pushing the UN to work harder at cross-line aid rather than forcing a crisis. Western officials hope that Moscow will [refrain from using its veto] on this occasion. Although Western and Russian diplomats have had toxic relations at the Security Council over Ukraine, Moscow has refrained from using its veto on other resolutions, such as a new mandate for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, that other countries feared it might block. Western officials hope that Moscow will show similar restraint on this occasion, especially as vetoing the resolution would intensify its tensions with Turkiye (Turkish sources, by contrast, insist that they cannot prevent Russia from using its veto, and argue that Ankara should not be expected to fix this problem on behalf of the U.S. and European nations). China may also help moderate Russias calculations. During the 2021 negotiations over the Syrian humanitarian mandate, Chinese diplomats told Western counterparts that they did not want a repeat of the public disputes of 2019 and 2020. In 2022, they have emphasised the need to avoid too many blow-ups in the Security Council while the Russian-Ukrainian war continues. There are different views regarding what Council negotiations will bring. Some Council members speculate that Russia could make last-minute demands most likely over cross-line aid and funding for recovery in the coming days. While the Council is slated to vote on mandate renewal on 7 July, it could push the date back, with negotiations perhaps running past the current mandates expiry on 10 July. Equally some UN officials guess that Russia will not create this sort of disruption, meaning that the process may end with a quick vote. Kaseyas Asia-Pacific channel sales director Kellie Hackney has resigned after less than 18 months in the job. Global vice president, marketing communications and alliances Taunia Kipp confirmed the departure, thanking Hackney for her contribution to Kaseya. We wish Kellie Hackney all the best in her new career opportunity and thank her for her contribution to our continued success in the APAC region," said Kipp. In December 2014, Hackney was appointed as the first channel sales director in Australia for the cloud management vendor. She then became the highest executive in the country when ANZ managing director Dermot McCann left for Optus in January 2015. Prior to joining Kaseya, Hackney spent eight years in various roles at Citrix, most recently as Asia-Pacific channel leader from 2011 to 2014. She also worked for Express Data as its IBM business manager from 2004 to 2006. Kaseya is yet to announce Hackneys replacement. Microsoft is "deeply sorry" for the racist and sexist Twitter messages generated by the so-called chatbot it launched last week, a company official wrote on Friday, after the artificial intelligence program went on an embarrassing tirade. The bot, known as Tay, was designed to become "smarter" as more users interacted with it. Instead, it quickly learned to parrot a slew of anti-Semitic and other hateful invective that human Twitter users started feeding the program, forcing Microsoft to shut it down on Thursday. Following the setback, Microsoft said in a blog post it would revive Tay only if its engineers could find a way to prevent web users from influencing the chatbot in ways that undermine the company's principles and values. "We are deeply sorry for the unintended offensive and hurtful tweets from Tay, which do not represent who we are or what we stand for, nor how we designed Tay," wrote Peter Lee, Microsoft's vice president of research. Microsoft created Tay as an experiment to learn more about how artificial intelligence programs can engage with Web users in casual conversation. The project was designed to interact with and "learn" from the young generation of millennials. Tay began its short-lived Twitter tenure on Wednesday with a handful of innocuous tweets. Then its posts took a dark turn. In one typical example, Tay tweeted: "feminism is cancer," in response to another Twitter user who had posted the same message. Lee, in the blog post, called web users' efforts to exert a malicious influence on the chatbot "a coordinated attack by a subset of people". "Although we had prepared for many types of abuses of the system, we had made a critical oversight for this specific attack," Lee wrote. "As a result, Tay tweeted wildly inappropriate and reprehensible words and images." Microsoft has enjoyed better success with a chatbot called XiaoIce that the company launched in China in 2014. XiaoIce is used by about 40 million people and is known for "delighting with its stories and conversations", according to Microsoft. As for Tay? Not so much. "We will remain steadfast in our efforts to learn from this and other experiences as we work toward contributing to an Internet that represents the best, not the worst, of humanity," Lee wrote. By Alex Dobuzinskis. Editing by Frank McGurty and Peter Cooney Channel programs News Synnex To Offshore Some Customer Care Work, Close 3 U.S. Delivery Centers Michael Novinson Share this Synnex is laying off at least 868 customer care workers -- roughly 1 percent of the company's 70,000 employees -- as it closes three of its U.S. delivery centers and offshores the work to lower-cost locations. The Fremont, Calif.-based distributor saw revenue fall year over year for the fourth consecutive quarter, recording a quarterly decline of 2.4 percent, to $3.13 billion, the company reported Monday. That fell well below Seeking Alphas estimate of $3.26 billion. Quarterly non-GAAP earnings sunk for the third consecutive quarter, with Synnex reporting a 6.1 percent drop in profitability -- to $54.6 million, or $1.37 per share -- for the quarter ended Feb. 29. That was exactly in line with Seeking Alpha's estimate. [Related: Verizon Launches First-Ever Distributor Program, Helps Partners Deepen Security Offerings] "In retrospect, we likely oversteered on profitability [in our broadline Technology Solutions business] and did not capture the full revenue opportunity," CEO Kevin Murai said during the companys earnings call. Wall Street reacted unfavorably to the numbers: Synnexs stock plunged 8.8 percent in after-hours trading, to $88.25 per share. Earnings were released after the market closed Monday. Synnex is in the process of closing three Concentrix delivery centers acquired through the 2014 purchase of IBM's customer care business and relocating the work to lower-cost locations in Central America, South America and Asia, said Chris Caldwell, president of Concentrix, during the earnings call. No specifics about the closures were revealed during the earnings call; however, the company filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices with Colorado and Washington earlier this year. Concentrix reported Jan. 18 that it would be laying off 348 employees in Boulder, Colo., on or around April 18 as it closes a facility there. And the company indicated Feb. 3 that it would be laying off 520 workers in Bremerton, Wash., beginning March 4 as it closes a facility there. Caldwell said the work is being relocated to strategic centers of excellence in other parts of the world, with new facilities opening in Brazil and Nicaragua last quarter and expansion slated at existing facilities in Costa Rica, the Philippines, India and China in the coming quarters. Two of the relevant facilities had leases that were set to expire, Caldwell said, meaning that the longtime client work being done there would become more expensive if the lease were renewed. Based on conversations with the clients, he said, Concentrix determined it would make the most sense to avoid any price increases by moving the work elsewhere. "Frankly, the economics worked out better for both parties to move it offshore to a lower-cost location," Caldwell said. "This will allow us to be more profitable." In the most recent quarter, Synnexs technology solution sales fell 0.7 percent, to $2.78 billion, after factoring out changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The divisions non-GAAP operating income sunk 5 percent, to $68.3 million. On the enterprise side of the business, Murai said, Synnexs communication and security businesses delivered the strongest results, with networking and campus Wi-Fi sales leading the pack. But hardware enterprise sales -- particularly around servers -- came in a little soft, Murai said. Sales in the United States got off to a sluggish start in 2016, with soft broadline revenue persisting throughout January before improving to normal levels in February and March, Murai said. U.S. consumer sales came in weaker than expected because of post-Christmas slowness and limited introduction of new products. Canada was the star of the show, Murai said, with sales growing by double digits in local currency. Japan experienced some improvements in the commercial market but saw continued softness in the consumer market, Murai said. Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP Inc. accounted for 18 percent of Synnexs overall sales, the same as the quarter before. No other vendor accounted for more than 10 percent of Synnex's sales. For Synnex's Concentrix division, the company reported revenue of $344.7 million, up 4.5 percent on a constant currency basis. Non-GAAP operating income for the division plummeted 21.9 percent, to $19.9 million. The banking, health care and insurance verticals grew faster than Concentrix's core business and helped drive sales growth, Caldwell said. For the next quarter, Synnex said it expects earnings of $51 million to $53.1 million, or $1.27 to $1.33 per share, on revenue of $3.25 billion to $3.35 billion. Analysts from Thomas Reuters have projected earnings of $1.59 per share on revenue of $3.39 billion. Channel programs News Unisys Beefs Up Executive Roster Jimmy Sheridan Share this Unisys appointed two new top-level executives this week, hiring Andy Stafford as the company's new senior vice president of services, a day after the company said Inder M. Singh would join as senior vice president, and chief marketing and strategy officer. The two are Unisys' latest in a list of over 20 appointments the solution provider has made since CEO Peter Altabef took control of the then-struggling company in January 2015, then soon after announced a $300 million company-wide restructuring that would cut 8 percent of Unisys workforce. The two new executives at the Blue Bell, Pa.-based company - No. 19 on CRN's Solution Provider 500 - will report directly to Altabef. [Related: Unisys CEO: Challenges Have Been Somewhat 'Self-Inflicted'] Stafford will start at his newly appointed position April 19. He will be charged with leading the company's global services delivery organization, which provides integrated solutions in security, cloud and infrastructure, applications and business process services, according to a statement from Unisys. Stafford, according to a statement from Unisys, was most recently a senior managing director at Accenture, where he headed a team of more than 100,000 across the globe. He also served as chief operating officer for Xchanging Procurement Services, chief technology officer at Virgin Group and partner in Deloitte Consulting's technology practice. He has also held leadership positions at Computacenter and Andersen Consulting. Stafford will replace Neil Gissler, who was appointed to the position 11 months ago and led the reorganization of the services team. In February, Gissler announced he would leave Unisys March 31 to "pursue other opportunities." In an email to CRN, the company said it's confident that Stafford and his team will continue the progress started by Gissler. Meanwhile, Singh will lead Unisys global marketing and communications organization, which includes investor relations. He will replace Quincy Allen, who started with Unisys in 2012 and left the company last year, also to "pursue other opportunities," according to the Unisys email. Before he joined Unisys, Singh was a managing director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, a senior vice president for strategy and finance at Comcast, and served in leadership positions at Cisco Systems, Lehman Brothers, Prudential Financial and AT&T. Both he and Stafford come to Unisys after a full year of restructuring at the company. While Unisys was cutting jobs and hiring new executives, it created segmented business practices in the commercial, financial services, U.S. government and public sector markets, all of which were staffed during the year. During the company's fourth-quarter 2015 earnings call in January, Altabef announced the appointment of the company's final practice leader, Eric Crabtree, now global head of the financial services practice. Reflecting on the process that led the company to hire Crabtree, Altabef said that Unisys had created its new segments from scratch and had been populating them throughout 2015, finishing with the hiring of leaders, the last being Crabtree. "With Eric's arrival, we have completed the leadership team for our go-to market. That's a very big deal." Altabef said. Now, with the additions of Singh and Strafford, Unisys is continuing its executive hiring binge. During the year, Unisys hired at least three global executives, new general managers for the U.S. and Canada, as well as the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions, five new public-business-focused executives, a new vice president for global security solutions, a corporate controller, a new director, CTO and president of enterprise solutions. In 2015, we set the strategy. In 2016, we are focusing on execution," Unisys spokesman John Clendening said in an emailed response to CRN . "We feel very comfortable with the leadership team we have in place. Networking News CRN Exclusive: Intelisys Goes Global, Expands Sales Partner Model Into Europe Gina Narcisi Share this Master agent Intelisys Communications is taking its two-tier channel model international, with the opening of a U.K.-based business aimed at supporting European-based agent partners. The master agent is also expanding its supplier portfolio to include both local carriers and technology partners in the U.K., as well as suppliers with international offerings. Many overseas agent partners aren't familiar with the channel model of working with a carrier through a master agent. U.S.-based agent partners with international clients often have to work directly with carriers while doing business outside of the U.S. Intelisys' European presence is intended to allow the master agent to duplicate its sales model for channel partners overseas. Through the new office, U.S.-based agents will be able to better support their clients outside the U.S. with local and international telecom, connectivity and cloud offerings, according to Intelisys. The new office will also allow the master agent to reach new partner communities across the pond. [Related: Verizon Taps Partners To Aid Global Expansion, Announces APAC Partner Program] "To be able to take that experience to a new market, where there is pent-up demand, and supply that bridge between suppliers looking to grow their base and sales partners looking for the ability to sell their customers whatever they want, and be compensating in an attractive way, is an exciting opportunity for us," said J.R. Cook, senior vice president of business development at Intelisys, who is leading the master agent's international charge. Agnostic Networks, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based telecommunications consultancy and Intelisys partner, is working with the master agent to address the needs of its U.S.-based customers that are expanding internationally, said Bob McCallister, president and co-founder of Agnostic Networks. "Network administrators are being challenged to procure infrastructure in foreign markets in which they are not familiar," McCallister said. "As specialists in this area, we have seen a significant growth in companies seeking our guidance in the international market. As Intelisys grows globally, we anticipate our access to carrier partners will increase as a result." Petaluma, Calif.-based Intelisys has tapped Stephen Hackett to head up its International efforts in the U.K., with plans to expand into Germany. Hackett is a 15-year telecom veteran who most recently served as channel sales manager for NFON UK Ltd., a London-based cloud telecommunications provider. From his U.K. office, Hackett will be able to help agent partners navigate European telecom regulations and carrier contracts, Cook said. "We aren't from the U.K., so bringing on someone who has been on the supplier side, has opened up an agency himself and worked for a VAR in the European market, we are really looking to him to figure out the best way to go about this," Cook said. "We are going to build a plan around partners to meet the needs specific to that market." As business customers grow their companies beyond the boundaries of the U.S., Intelisys' U.S.-based sales partners need a better way to support end user customers overseas. Outside of the U.S, the two-tier distribution model -- the master agent working with supplier and agent partners -- hasn't existed, explained Dana Topping, co-owner of Intelisys. "Everything in Europe has been direct from the VAR or systems integrator, from the carrier to the end customer, and they were paying one-time fees. Residuals that agent partners are used to in the U.S. aren't built-in," Topping said. For the past six months, Intelisys has been hard at work contacting domestic carriers in Europe like British Telecom (BT) and Deutsche Telecom, and introducing them to the benefits of the master agent channel model, Topping said. Intelisys has also been working with some of its international supplier partners -- like NTT and Verizon -- to encourage global channel growth overseas. "We see the opportunity to come in, build our infrastructure, get to the carriers, and go after the sales partners in this area. It's time for this to happen," Topping said. The master agent is in discussions with more than 20 supplier partners for its U.K. business, and Intelisys has also begun signing up agent partners, Cook said. The expansion will allow Intelisys to manage carrier contracts and accept commissions on behalf of sales partners in the U.K. Some supplier partners in the U.K. are also interested in outsourcing the management of its agent partner channel to Intelisys, he said. U.K.-based sales partners will also have access to all the tools that U.S. agent partners can use, such as Cloud Services University and the Intelisys Advanced Commission Program, Topping said. "Everything that Intelisys has done here in the U.S. that has added value to partners is being made available in a format specific to the community in the U.K.," Cook said. U.S.-based partners with business customers located in the U.K. will still continue to work with Intelisys' U.S.-based business, Cook said. Down the road, Intelisys plans to expand into the bustling Asia/Pacific telecom market. "Sitting in the U.K. now, we are halfway there," Cook said. Security News Apple-FBI Dispute Ends, But Solution Providers Say Encryption Debate Is Far From Over Sarah Kuranda Share this The back and forth between Apple and the FBI over an encrypted iPhone came to an abrupt close Monday when the FBI filed court papers saying it had successfully hacked into the iPhone using a third-party vendor. The FBI is now seeking to drop its case against Apple, which had argued that Apple needed to help it open the iPhone belonging to one of the shooters involved in the San Bernardino attacks. Apple CEO Tim Cook had refused to do, saying the process of creating what he called a "backdoor" would compromise device security for all users. Solution providers, however, said questions still remain about device security and the extent of influence the government can have over a private sector vendor. [Related: Apple-FBI Debate Center Stage At 2016 RSA Conference] In the past few weeks, many solution providers and vendors have stood up in support of Apple, saying that opening the phone would create a dangerous precedent for backdoor access into the encryption technologies they use to protect their clients' data. Now that this latest chapter in the debate around encryption technologies has come to a close, Matt Johnson, CEO of Reisterstown, Md.-based Phalanx Secure, said the industry should remain on high alert to similar "power plays" by the government to surpass security technologies down the road. "They are trying to open the great Pandora's box and give themselves more power to violate the privacy that many of us covet. Once they get this power, it never goes away. We should be wary of these acts by any of the federal agencies," Johnson said. Michael Knight, president and chief technology officer at Greenville, S.C.-based Encore Technology Group, said he expects the debate over cybersecurity and the government's ability to monitor for national security risks is far from over. "I think this is going to be the forever argument between what is the balance-counterbalance between having privacy, but also having enough oversight that if people are doing something you get an early trigger before it's too late," Knight said. Apple's Cook said in a statement about the Monday filing that the company will "continue to help law enforcement" where appropriate and build better security protections into its products. "Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk," Cook said in the statement. "This case raised issues, which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion." The FBI so far has refused to say which third-party vendor it used to open the phone, though industry reports have said it could be Cellebrite, an Israeli mobile forensics firm. The FBI has also not disclosed what method or vulnerability it used to hack into the iphone. Encore Technology Group's Knight said the ability of the FBI to hack into an iPhone doesn't necessarily call into question the device's overall security, as it is almost inevitable in any platform or device. The key, he said, is making sure to stay on top of those vulnerabilities. "Even if you are unbelievably meticulous, if it is man-made it can be man-broken," Knight said. "I think thats the case for any type of product. Eventually, even if you do a top-notch job, eventually something will be exploitable. Thats why you have to be vigilant in managing your code." Knight said solution providers and companies should be "vigilant" about the platforms they have in their environments, where their data is and what applications have access to that data. "When you look at backdoors as a whole from a security standpoint, it is a very big discussion about how secure is too secure, how private is too private and what technologies are we using today," Knight said. Come On Down Solution providers from across the country gathered in Los Angeles for the XChange Solution Provider 2014 event, hosted by CRN publisher The Channel Company, to celebrate 20 companies for their commitment to the channel in the 24th annual Channel Champs awards. The Channel Champs winners were based on the rankings from 6,000 solution providers, with awards going out in 31 technical categories. It was a significant year for the awards, as it was the first Channel Champions since The Channel Company became an independent company. Take a look at the vendor partners that solution providers voted to be best-of-the-best for 2014. A New Chapter For NTT Data Dell agreed Monday to sell its Perot Systems IT services business to Toyosu, Japan-based outsourcing firm NTT Data for nearly $3.1 billion. NTT Data is a $14 billion, 80,000-employee IT services provider with operations in more than 40 countries. It was founded in 1967 as part of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corp. and spun off into a separate company in 1988. NTT Data has undertaken a massive expansion outside Japan over the past decade, landing high-profile government, automobile and private sector clients. Here's a look back at some of the most interesting and unusual things NTT Data has delved into in the past 49 years. Windstar Cruises, has announced the promotion of Belinda Bennett to Captain of the Wind Star. Bennett claims several firsts with her appointment including the first woman and first black to operate at the helm of a Windstar Cruises vessel since the companys inception in 1984. Bennett, a British citizen, resides in Southampton, United Kingdom and also claims the distinction of being among just a few British woman cruise passenger ship captains as well as a pioneer for minorities working in the cruise industry, understood to be the first black cruise ship captain. Bennetts maiden voyage as Captain set sail on January 30, 2016 with 102 international crew aboard the 148-passenger 5,307 GRT motor-sail yacht Wind Star cruising in the Caribbean. Bennett, 39, shares the title of Captain with an exclusive handful of women currently operating under that role within the cruise industry. As such, Bennett is responsible for directing the operations and activities of officers and crew members on board, including: safety, maintenance, certification, documentation, passenger services and compliance with multi-government regulations. Windstar captains are highly accessible operating under an Open Bridge policy, Bennett is known for being sociable, charming and engaging with Windstar yacht guests. We are thrilled to have appointed Belinda as Windstars first-ever female Captain and we understand may be the cruise industrys first-ever black Captain. Belindas leadership qualities and hard work have made her an asset to our team and invaluable to her colleagues and crew, said Hans Birkholz, Windstar Cruises chief executive officer. She has earned her spot at the helm and Im excited to see her in action, guiding the crew and our guests on Wind Star through some of the worlds most incredible destinations for years to come. Hailing originally from St. Helena a part of the British Overseas Territory, encompassing Ascension and Tristan da Cunha islands Bennett naturally became immersed with life at sea, having started as a Deck Cadet at age 17 on her home island ship the RMS St. Helena. Just four years later, she climbed the ranks as Third Officer and ultimately stayed on board for an additional five years, until departing in 2003 as Second Officer. Following a brief stretch as Chief Officer for the SS Delphine, a private charter yacht, and Isle of Man Steam Packet ferries, Bennett joined Windstar Cruises as Second Officer at the Port of Monaco in September 2005. Bennett worked on a variety of Windstar Cruises ships over her 11-year career with the small ship luxury line transitioning to chief officer and now captain. Having been with Windstar for the past 11 years, I couldnt be more honored to serve as Captain with such a respected and hard-working team, said Bennett. Earning this title has been a long and exciting professional journey and Im ready to lead our guests through a safe and one-of-a-kind adventure around the world. Noting changes over her decade with Windstar, Bennett says, I have noticed many younger people have started cruising in recent years, which is good. My priority as Captain is to see that my guests and crew are safe and that guests are having an enjoyable, memorable time on board our yacht and that our crew provides the best service to our guests. The Pride of America returned to Honolulu this past weekend following a three and half week dry dock where she received a big refurb, including newly designed public spaces, brand new venues and refreshed decor in all staterooms. Pride of Americas extensive renovation is a part of The Norwegian Edge program, according to Norwegian. When guests step aboard the all new Pride of America they will be amazed by the breadth of this renovation, said Andy Stuart, Norwegian Cruise Line president and chief operating officer. This is much more than just a fresh coat of paint and new drapes. Pride of America is now essentially a new ship, and the only one to offer this incredibly unique way to experience the Hawaiian Islands with 100 hours of time in port. Many of Pride of Americas public spaces, along with several of the ships restaurants as well as bars and lounges, were refreshed from top to bottom to receive a modern look with new contemporary decor and furniture as well as new lighting and flooring. Every stateroom aboard Pride of America was touched by this renovation, receiving new bedding, new furniture, new flat screen televisions and updated flooring. New venues include the Soho Art Gallery, the new Perspectives Photo Studio, and Dolce Gelato, Norwegians signature gelateria. The ships pool deck underwent a complete refurbishment to create an upscale feel onboard with a refinished pool, new loungers and Jacuzzis. Dining enhancements for Pride of America include extensive renovations to all of the existing complimentary dining venues, most notably the ships Skyline Main Dining Room, which received a refreshed look with new decor including a new entrance, new carpet design, new furniture upholstery, new window drapes and new columns throughout the restaurant. La Cucina, Norwegians Italian restaurant, was also updated. I was poking about on social media after lunch today when I noticed someone had found that the Thai immigration systems were exposing the personal data of people who had entered the country from abroad. There was personal information of many people living in the country were exposed due to unfortunate system configuration. From Bangkok Post: The gaffe was spotted by social media users late Sunday when a database appeared online containing the names, addresses, professions and passport numbers of more than 2,000 foreigners living in Thailand's southern provinces, principally Nakhon Si Thammarat province. The website carried an immigration police seal but used a private Thai web address, not one usually associated with government sites. It was openly available without a password and some industrious users guessed the site's less-than-secure administration password: 12345. That was an immigration system. Now there is a healthcare system that is open to all. It turns out that the password was easily bypassed and the information was readily accessible to anyone who could puzzle out how to do directory traversal according to information provided by a third party. The article in the Bangkok Post said the site had been taken down but, it was still accessible at the time of this writing on Monday evening. NB. I wrote that it was still online...seems that I had my wires crossed between the immigration system that Bangkok Post had written about and not the healthcare system that my information was point to instead. descr: Ministry of Public Health, Thailand descr: Information and Communication Technology Center descr: The Permanent Secretary Office descr: Tivanont Road, Nontaburi, 11000 It seems that this system wasn't protected they got rid of the domain name but, neglected to take down the and the IP address of the web server in question which tracked back to the Health ministry. Dave Lewis Dave Lewis To further complicate matters this system was not even running HTTPS. All of the files were available in the clear which meant that, in all likelihood that a password, if there was one, could be easily intercepted as well. According to a statement issued by the owner of the immigration website it was a demo and should not have gone live. Curious point being that some of the files, including the manual for using the system, dated back to 2014. This was made clear later by the fact that this was, in fact, a healthcare ministry system. Hmm, so there was rudimentary directory traversal issues and no encryption. Not a particularly good recipe for security. The server also apparently housed information pertaining to people who were suspected of potentially being infected with ebola. Dave Lewis The web server was running an old version of Apache that was last updated in July 2015. Also of note is that the version of PHP that is running on the system was released in 2010 which is subject to a fistful of vulnerabilities in its own right. HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2016 22:41:35 GMT Server: Apache/2.2.15 (CentOS) X-Powered-By: PHP/5.3.3 Content-Length: 880 Connection: close Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 This data breach news comes on the heels of multiple site compromises coupled with a push to ensure that all HTTPS traffic can be monitored. Lofty ambitions but, it appears there are some rather serious cyber security issues lingering in Thailand. NB. I have updated the article to reflect the conflated issues of the immigration and healthcare webservers that were found to be exposed. Thanks to "bact" for clearing up the confusion. MedStar Health, which calls itself the largest healthcare provider in Maryland and Washington, D.C., was forced to disable their network on Monday after an alleged Ransomware attack infected several systems. According to a statement from MedStar, early Monday morning, their network was "affected by a virus" preventing certain users from logging-in to their systems. MedStar operates 10 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient offices in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area. "MedStar acted quickly with a decision to take down all system interfaces to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the organization. We are working with our IT and Cyber-security partners to fully assess and address the situation. Currently, all of our clinical facilities remain open and functioning. We have no evidence that information has been compromised. The organization has moved to back-up systems [and] paper transactions where necessary," the MedStar statement concluded. The FBI is said to be looking into the incident. Last week, the FBI asked the public for assistance in an industry Flash Advisory. The advisory asked for victims of the MSIL/Samas Ransomware families to contact the agency's CYWATCH center if they believe they've been attacked or have additional information to share. This particular family of Ransomware targets JBOSS installations, and was first referenced by the FBI earlier this year. It isn't clear if Samas is the malware that forced MedStar offline, but comments made by the medical group's staff point to a Ransomware infection. Speaking on the condition that their name not be used, a hospital staffer relayed a story from another employee about a pop-up that appeared on a computer warning of infection and demanding payment. Similar anonymous comments were given to the Washington Post by an employee who stated the pop-ups demanded a ransom in "some kind of internet currency." Officially, MedStar has not confirmed a Ransomware infection, nor have they responded to comments seeking clarification. This story will be updated if they confirm or deny a Ransomware infection. "Even though it has not been officially acknowledged by MedStar Health, chances are high that they had been infected by ransomware, the 2016 plague which seems to be targeting a lot of critical infrastructure like hospitals recently," commented David Melamed, Senior Research Engineer at CloudLock. In the last few weeks, Ransomware has hit a number of medical organizations including the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, the Chino Valley Medical Center, the Desert Valley Hospital, and Methodist Hospital in Henderson, Kentucky. "Such targets are particularly vulnerable because they cannot afford to be paralyzed for a long time (either because their data has been encrypted or because they shut down the system to avoid spreading the infection) and prefer to pay the ransom," Melamed added. In the case of Hollywood Presbyterian, the organization paid $17,000 in ransom in order to restore their systems. Methodist Hospital refused to pay ransom and restored systems from backups. It isn't clear how the other two hospitals (owned by Prime Healthcare Services Inc.) recovered from their incidents. For now, MedStar is using paper to process patients, and staff report that they're having trouble accessing patient records. Communication between staff is either face-to-face or via phone. In addition to delays in record searches, it's also possible that appointments and surgeries will have to be delayed too, as will lab results, one medical professional told the Washington Post. Ever tried setting up a honeypot on your network? Most find the experience frustrating. In many cases, what starts as a novel idea is quickly abandoned in favor of other projects. Its just too hard to get right. Often, the value of the effort is uncertain. A lot of security feels that way. Haroon Meer of Thinkst Imagine my surprise when I met Haroon Meer(@haroonmeer), the founder of Thinkst, to discuss his take on honeypots in the form of Canary. Prior to Thinkst, Haroon spent over a decade as the Technical Director of a Penetration Testing Company. That experience breaking into networks and applications around the world lead to the creation of new techniques, too. He formed Thinkst in 2010 to bring the same sort of thinking to bear on building solutions. We talked about honeypots. Thats misleading. What we talked about was far greater. And during the discussion, Haroon and I shared a video where he walked me through the ease of setting up the Canary. It was exciting to witness a security tool with thoughtful design. I really liked how Haroon and his team considered how to repurpose current technology and security solutions. All around fascinating. That led to a conversation about how security and UX (user experience) arent truly at odds. Here are the five questions with Haroon Meer. What got you thinking about honeypots? In previous careers weve done penetration tests for companies all over the world, and a fairly consistent theme was how few companies (if any) detected our incursions. Weve written hundreds of reports with the words: What should be of great concern, is not just that we were able to compromise the target, but that even now, our presence on the network remains undetected. This was not because we were super-ninjas, but because largely, the state of breach (and compromise) detection is so poor. If you take any of the high profile breaches of the past 5 years, what immediately sticks out is how long the attackers lurked on the victim networks before they were discovered. (In most cases, the victim companies only realised that they were breached when contacted by the press or other 3rd parties.) This seemed like a ridiculous problem to us and one that we started thinking more and more about solving. While doing some strategic consulting with a client, we noticed that they were about to retire a number of old desktop machines. We suggested they build them out and deploy them as simple sensors to detect malicious activity on their sensitive segments. (The suggestion served multiple purposes: Junior members of staff would get some experience setting up and monitoring these boxes & we believed there was a reasonable chance they would pick up badness on their network). Four months later, we returned and found the pile of machines in their SoC, with only a couple machines half installed (and none successfully deployed). We tried to reinvigorate the idea, and management and staff bought in, but a subsequent visit found the machines in the same corner of the room. (With all of the fires they were dealing with, they just didnt have the time to make it happen). This was an organization that realistically faced nation-state level adversaries, with an above average chance that their networks were already compromised, and in terms of detection capabilities, they were just about at square-1. Sadly, this isnt as rare as it should be. On top of this we knew that dropping IDS sensors would still have the problem of mountains of false positives (or at least really long learning cycles). This had us searching for more suitable ideas. You realized a disconnect between how we used honeypots and they could be used differently. What did you figure out? Inundating their SoC with IDS alerts seemed a fair way to waste resources (and to get the company tied up with busy-work), but what if we could go another way? We then started thinking about using those spare machines to mimic existing systems on their network. An attacker who was looking for the CFOs desktop \\CFO_01 would be just as likely to plunder \\CFO_02 wouldnt he? This took us back to honeypots, but with a slight twist on the old idea. Over the past few decades, the Honeynet alliance did great work raising awareness of security in general, and honeypots in particular. We believe though, that their primary slogan: To learn the tools, tactics and motives of the blackhat community led honeypots down a strange path. For the most part, they became tools to study the blackhat in his native environment. Of course this seems academically interesting, but then relegates the tools usefulness to academia. The key insight then, is that we shouldnt deploy boxes that look vulnerable on the network, we should deploy boxes that look valuable instead! When the criminals who broke into Target were on the internal network, they went looking for loot (not vulnerable IIS servers). When Snowden (now one of the most famous examples of an insider attack) bounced from share to share on the NSA network, he wasnt looking for vulnerable servers to compromise, he was looking for file-shares to pillage! In this sense, our Canaries are not deployed to study hackers or learn the tools of the blackhat trade. Like their name suggests, they are early warnings that your other controls have failed. They are a heads-up that an internal user is poking about where he/she shouldnt. What is the benefit to the security leader of rethinking the role of honeypots? All of the recent breaches make it clear that despite millions (and sometimes hundreds of millions) of dollars being spent on cyber security, most organizations have no clue when hackers are burrowing into their networks or are moving laterally within them. Worse still, most have no clue when malicious insiders are pillaging servers from within. This is a ridiculous situation to be in and is a simple one for security leaders to test. Would you know if Bob from accounting spent his free time looking at open windows shares and copying files ? Would you know if external attackers had broken in and were dropping implants / trojans on your machines? (When you last did a penetration test, how long did it take before your team caught the infiltrators?) If you dont have this visibility, then a honeypot is a great alternative. It offers the ancillary benefit of not drowning you in alerts. Intrusion detections systems typically flood the consoles of distraught security staff who then spend all their time trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. With our canaries, you almost never hear from them, unless something real has happened: Someone has found the host, inspected it, accessed it and has possibly tried to copy files off it. This generates a single, unambiguous event that needs to be reacted to, and this paucity of alerts is actually a breath of fresh air. Honeypots are hard. Youve built something that looks easy. How did you do it and what did you learn in the process? We worked really really hard to make sure that deploying Canaries would be painless. For us, this wasnt a nice-to-have, it was one of our strongest product requirements. (If you consider the genesis of the product, it is clear that the only possible way the solution would work, was if deploying and maintaining them placed very little burden on the already harried security team). To this end, we went through several iterations of the product, polishing edges and rounding corners to make the process painless. Whats worth noting here, is that we didnt end up adding more and more dials or knobs that can be tuned. We instead slimmed down the interfaces, and used engineering to avoid having clients having to think hard about unimportant choices. Some of these are small things, but some for example, are as large as building an entire communication overlay network on top of DNS. (Aside from being technically cool, this means that Canaries can be deployed on multiple foreign branches without having to make holes in firewalls and DMZs to allow them to communicate). This concept of not giving users a thousand tunable parameters is a fairly new one, and we think is one that will start catching on. Until now, security tools and products exposed dials and knobs making everything tunable. While this does indeed offer the user options, you start to see that many users end up with a form of decision fatigue (and worse yet, many will just use the un-tuned version for ever). Incidentally, this is also how we end up with things like GPG, which are useful at their core, but are seldom adopted by the mainstream. (For reference, the GPG manual page is over 16,000 words long). It seems to me that we (the developers of security products) need to realise that our products now compete in the marketplace with products that have invested heavily in good UX and design, and that increasingly, these become table stakes for building a product. (Actually delighting the customer becomes a requirement for organic sales & growth). We are pretty pleased to see this bearing fruit. Our twitter timeline is dotted with actual customers from all over the world expressing genuine love for our canaries. This is pretty unusual for software products in general and almost completely unheard of for a security product. What shift in thinking is necessary for security leaders looking to improve their results? The community often complains about the quality and types of tools pushed into the market, but then often make inadvertent decisions that reward bad behaviour. This leads us to a situation where the market is dominated by tools that dont really help us as much as they could. A typical example of this, is generated alerts. Demos and client pitches do best with with a large number of alerts and with dashboards that fill up quickly. It means the product is doing something. Operationally though, even just 100 daily alerts can quickly overwhelm a SoC leaving them chasing shadows. Its for this reason that we have worked incredibly hard to make sure that our Canaries are not overly chatty. They send out one alert, when it matters. You also see this pop up with trendy products or when people talk about the hot technology du jour. A little while back, every product released, needed to include a link to the dark web or to machine-learning (and big data). These are products that appeal to the inflight magazine reader (and might add little actual value to the teams doing the work on the ground). Where this really, really bothers me, is when you see these incredibly complex solutions that almost always sit dusty on shelves (or sit in a corner only half implemented.) This happens for a number of reasons, but chief amongst them is because people measure purchases on a list of features (does it do X?, does it also do Y?, how about XY?) - This then has the developers / product companies race to add features to win the checklist war. (Simply carpet bombing a client with features may be effective to make a sale, but really isnt that helpful on the ground. It always reminds me of the old saying: I didnt have the time to write you a short letter, so i wrote you a long one instead). This strategy has the ancillary benefit for the product company that now makes money selling professional services, training and certification to use their tools. This is hamster wheel of pain. You buy a product to help you with a problem, and then you need to certify your staff or change everything you do to manage the solution to the problem? This sounds more to me like just inherited a few more problems. It really doesnt have to be this way. Security leaders need to look beyond the checklists, and need to demand more from their suppliers. With the knowledge though, that if its properly thought out, more really could be less. Mattel, the popular toy maker behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, was the victim of a Phishing attack last year that nearly cost them $3 million. The only thing preventing a total loss was a mixture of timing and luck, because the day following the attack happened to be a banking holiday in China. Details of the attack against Mattel come from a report by the Associated Press, investigating money laundering and other financial crime in Wenzhou, China. On April 30, 2015 a finance executive got a note from the newly installed CEO, Christopher Sinclair, requesting a new vendor payment to China. The finance executive didn't see anything wrong with the request, but checked protocol anyway. Transfers required approval from two high-ranking managers; she qualified and so did the CEO. The transfer was made. In total, $3 million dollars was wired to the Bank of Wenzhou in China. She mentioned the payment later to Sinclair, who denied making the request. Mattel contacted law enforcement and their U.S. bank, but were told that it was too late the money was gone. The thieves had hit Mattel at just the right time. A new CEO had just started and the company was getting ready for massive growth in China, so payments to the nation wouldn't be out of order. To further their schemes, according to source who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition that they not be named, the thieves likely did some homework. Prior to the attack, the person(s) responsible researched how the company operates regarding payments, and mined social media to learn the names of key individuals (as well as compromise corporate email) in order to make the request look as legitimate as possible. But Mattel got lucky. May 1 was a banking holiday in China. The following Monday they were able to get assistance from local law enforcement and banking officials to freeze the account that held the stolen funds. Two days later, the money was recovered. There have been a number of high-profile Phishing attacks against corporations over the last few years. At first, the target was wire payments, and as the Associated Press discovered, most of the money stolen in those cases are sent to Wenzhou, China. But the latest scams target an organization's employees, seeking W-2 records that enable tax fraud and identity theft. In the first quarter of 2016 alone, more than three dozen organizations have been targeted by scammers Phishing for W-2 records or similar employment details, such as salary information, withholding details, and PII (Personally Identifiable Information). "Business email fraud is the latest phishing tactic being used against companies by cyber attackers and its successful because its easy to do and it works. Despite all the awareness campaigns, people still fall for phishing attacks, especially if they impersonate someone they know," said Oren Falkowitz, co-founder and CEO of startup Area 1 Security. "We are only going to see social engineering targeting corporate employees grow and education wont stop it. The industry needs to have a greater focus on taking effective action to stop these threats from reaching the end user in the first place." We can't seem to find the page you are looking for. You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Wednesdays schedule at the Connecticut State Capitol and the adjoining Legislative Office Building is shaping up like many during the 2016 legislative session, with the Connecticut Associated Builders & Contractors and the American Red Cross among the groups marshaling members to lobby lawmakers on bills of interest. For her part, Fran Pastore will head up a brigade of 200 backed by an army numbering 100,000 more. For a third consecutive year, the Stamford-based Womens Business Development Council is holding its Women-Owned Business Day in Hartford. The event runs Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in room 2D of the Legislative Office Building at 300 Capitol Ave. in Hartford. Speakers include Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and Jennifer Bisceglie, president of the San Francisco-based Women Impacting Public Policy International, with panel discussions to cover accessing finance, government contracting and branding for entrepreneurs. The event is free to attend with no charge but preregistration is required, with the agenda and information online at www.ctwbdc.org. This is such a big election year (and) we are going to be talking about the importance of advocacy as it pertains to business owners men and women, said Pastore, CEO of the Womens Business Development Center. I think that when you are doing this type of advocacy work, there are multiple ways to go about it. One of the ways that is critical is individual meetings, because if (lawmakers) take the time to meet with you individually, it means that this is something ... they are looking to get more familiar with. Connecticut had 106,000 businesses owned by women as of 2012 with revenues totaling $15.7 billion that year and a combined payroll of $3 billion, according to the most recent calculations by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Womens Business Development Council itself has something at stake this session a bill before the Commerce Committee would funnel WBDC $500,000 if passed, which the organization could then extend as microloans to women-owned businesses needing small amounts of capital, in a program announced last year. WBDC begins next week its spring slate of seminars covering entrepreneurship and running a business, with sessions held at varying locations in Stamford as well as in Danbury at Western Connecticut State University, in Norwalk at Norwalk Community College and in Shelton, with WBDC having recently moved its Shelton office to Derby on Roosevelt Drive. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman BRIDGEPORT - Danny Pizarro gave a year of his life to Joe Ganims mayoral comeback, and was rewarded with a $75,000 city job addressing blight. Now he would like Ganim to do him one more favor - lift his unpaid suspension. The mayor suspended Pizarro two weeks ago over a $55,387 real estate tax debt. Within a few days, Pizarro paid the bill. I thought he was going to reinstate me right away because the taxes were paid immediately, Pizarro said when contacted Tuesday. It didnt have no impact as far as my job performance. But Pizarro remains in limbo. Will he return to work? Will he be terminated? Im right now respectfully waiting for Joe Ganims decision, he said. Av Harris, Ganims communications director, confirmed there has been no change in Pizarros status. Hes a discretionary appointee serving at the pleasure of the mayor. So its the mayors decision, Harris said. Harris has said - and Pizarro on Tuesday confirmed - that the mayor warned all his new hires to pay any overdue taxes or tickets before starting work. They mentioned it a few times, actually, Pizarro acknowledged. I said I was working on my taxes. Ganims office said it first learned of Pizarros bill from the Connecticut Post. Pizarro was an early supporter of Ganims when the latter decided that he wanted to be Bridgeports chief executive again after having served as mayor from 1991 to 2003. And Pizarro was often at Ganims side, chauffeuring him around the campaign trail and engaging voters. When people (other campaign workers) wanted to go home and stop walking, me and Joe continued, Pizarro said. Pizarro, who owns several properties around town, including low-income, federally subsidized housing, blamed his tax bill on the time he spent on the mayors race. I spent almost a whole year campaigning on a daily basis, Pizarro said. It backed me up a little bit with my own personal bills. Pizarro continued to volunteer for Ganim even after the mayors Dec. 1 swearing in. Finally he was hired later in the winter as a mayoral aide working on blight. Ganim had previously laid off the citys anti-blight department. I would go around through Bridgeport and identify any items on the streets, illegal dumping on the sidewalks, signs missing, deteriorated sidewalks, Pizarro said. And I thought I did an excellent job. While Pizarros future may not necessarily top Ganims list of priorities - the mayor has to submit a budget to the City Council next weak - plenty of eyes are watching how the returned mayor handles the situation. Pizarros hiring irked some of the several dozen employees Ganim laid off this winter in an effort to close an inherited $20 million deficit. People were kind of stunned, to say the least, that he was hired for a position like that, said one when Pizarro was suspended earlier this month. Seventy-five grand a year to do what? Thats a lot of money. People who were actually doing a job were let go. Councilwoman Eneida Martinez said Pizarro is a family friend. She said Ganim should cancel his suspension. If he fulfilled his payments, I believe he should be reinstated, Martinez said. He was doing what he needed to do and doing a great job at it. I dont see why he should continue to be punished. The Greater Valley Substance Abuse Action council will host a forum entitled Mental, Emotional & Behavioral Disorders in Young People on April 5 at 6:30 pm at the Ansonia High School Auditorium. Guest speaker, Dennis Embry, president of the PAXIS Institute, will discuss the mental, emotional and behavioral epidemic that touches one out of two young people by age 18, with lifetime effects for every Connecticut family and community. Learn how Connecticut can be the first state to launch a public health prevention strategy to protect all children. More than 400 million active users take to Instagram to show and tell. From photos with family and selfies with friends, washed in everything from Sierra to Slumber, individuals embrace Instagram as a part of everyday life. In fact, a recent Pew Research poll confirms Instagram is the fastest-growing major social network. So, driven by the platforms simplicity and mobile-centric interface, a brands approach to customer engagement now requires more than a quick crop and wash. As you or your team are tasked with ongoing management, consider these guiding principles to curate and cultivate a lively Instagram community. While its important to take a stylistic approach that sets a nice tone, first things first. Why are you on Instagram, and what does your brand hope to achieve within this community? Not every business has the same objectives, and not every social network rallies behind the same brand calls. Retailers and ecommerce brands tend to focus on product marketing. Travel and hospitality brands typically tap the senses with luxurious locales.business to business (B2B) companies often communicate company culture. Agencies frequently highlight client work. And so on. Related: Instagram Is Too Large for Your Business to Ignore Simply put, goals will be multifaceted. You need to agree upon them, and enlist the relevant teams within your organization for support. Set standards on key components, including publishing cadence, brand-approved filters and benchmarks for responding to comments. Then, measure performance. Be aware of the nuances and numbers to optimize your presence and maximize community engagement. 2. Identify your audience, isolate behaviors The makeup of your followers should heavily influence the content you produce to elevate engagement. As is the case with other brand marketing efforts, audience segments will vary, with some of your customers more active on Instagram than others. Start by understanding the platforms basic demographic data: According to the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds use Instagram, which is more than twice as high as the next age group. Meanwhile, 29 percent of women use Instagram, compared to just 22 percent of men. But move beyond the basics. Assess recurring behaviors from your brand and your community. Track your sent messages and publishing times to determine the type of content that sparks the most engagement. Review hashtag performance to see what keywords drive participation more than others. Identify influencers who like and comment on your posts. As you collect and analyze the behaviors related to all of this content, you will be better able to replicate and reproduce similar experiences. Related: 9 Tools to Improve Your Instagram Marketing Many lifestyle brands thrive on Instagram. While Old Style isn't a premium beer, the brand demonstrates its brand essence and voice throughout its profile. Old Style uses Instagram to highlight its charitable efforts, emphasize its Chicago heritage and humanize its product by showcasing the people behind the account. The brand also often uses the platform to promote upcoming events and engage with fans through contests, supporting desired behaviors. 3. Curate content that befits your industry The allure of Instagram is the curated, bespoke experience that inspires and adds value for your followers. Instagrams visual and video components lend themselves well to the ecommerce industry. Often used as a virtual lookbook and lifestyle showroom, Instagram attracts many retailers, who use the app to directly sell products. As a result, Instagram now generates an average of $65 per order, according to Shopify. Nothing to sell? Thats OK. While sponsored posts and organic sales opportunities should be used strategically, organic content can range from behind-the-scenes looks at product development, team member profiles and how-to videos. You might also want to incorporate user-generated content to further entertain your community and inspire participation. Related: How to Create a Killer Instagram Ad in Under 10 Minutes For example, West Elm doesn't use Instagram as a traditional advertising vehicle. Aesthetically, the store's photos mimic a lifestyle blogger's personal account, with no overt logos or product placements. Content naturally flows within a followers feed, encouraging engagement. Each description contains something of value for the consumer. The brand includes photos of DIY home projects, recipes and curated user-generated content. Ending each post with "link in profile" (a common network phrase) proves West Elm's authority and familiarity with the platform. Engagement Is the end goal At its best, social media is a communications channel, and while certain networks offer greater opportunities than others, its important to engage as often as possible. Instagrams increasingly brand-friendly search components enable more opportunities to join conversations that matter to your business. Monitor trending posts, explore posts of followers and search hashtags that are related to your brand, industry and category. The best way to make an impact on Instagram isnt always through visualsbut through verbal communication. Related: Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Micrel, the Silicon Valley company I founded and led for 37 years, had the lowest employee turnover rate in the American semiconductor industry, and the highest rate of boomerang (returning) employees. I personally have hired hundreds of people and Micrel hired thousands. Hiring the right employee matters more than most other decisions you or your management team will make. A bad hire can be downright destructive to a company. A desperation hire likely produces lackluster results. But a great hire will lift your sprits as well as your profits. Knowing how to hire is as important as knowing your marketing, knowing how to innovate and knowing how to manage corporate cash (a topic I discuss at length in my book Tough Things First). The key to having low turnover as well as high-performing employees is in the methods that you use in selecting and interviewing candidates. Related: 30 Secrets to Hiring the Right People Start with knowing the role Young companies often do not think through what they need in each role. This may be due in part to the ever shifting nature of startups; but not establishing the essential duties, and thus the critical capabilities of an employee, is suicidal. Start with knowing exactly what you want in a hire, and writing a well-defined job description. This includes both education and experience, and it may include specific knowledge, industry contacts, personality profiles and more. It is better to be too detailed than not detailed enough. Engage many people, especially from outside the department A few blind men may not be able to know they are touching an elephant, but by collaborating they could likely document the specimen completely. Leaving hiring selection to a small number of people is the same situation. Everyone perceives things differently, and everyone sees different aspects of a candidate. Only by having an appropriate number of interviewers and a rational method of discussing and scoring the candidate can great hiring decisions be made. Interview teams should consist of six people, with at least half being from outside the group for which the individual is being interviewed. That last point is significant. Most employees will have to work across departmental or team boundaries. What someone outside the group sees is something people within the group likely will not. Imagine you are hiring a new systems software developer and uber geek. Other systems programmers and the department head will get the quirks common to this type of genius, and overlook things that might cause problems with applications developers, system admins and others outside his group. Selecting the six interviewers is very important and needs to ensure that people with the right disciplines have a chance to interview the prospective employee. There is little use in having our systems programmer chat with anyone in the accounts payable section; but not having him or her interviewed by the head of product support could be a deadly mistake. Allow the candidate to open up Where and how the interview is conducted affects the accuracy of the interviews. Find a quiet and private location. Job interviews are stressful enough. Inducing loads of distractions and being subjected to roving onlookers doesnt relax anyone. Easing the candidate gives them a chance to have a personal interview process and, if the interviewers are warm and inviting, to open up about goals, experiences and even personal drawbacks. Related: 3 Important Tips for Hiring the Best Employees Every interviewer should start by saying how much they appreciate having the candidate interviewing with your company. After all, they likely have alternatives. They decided your company was worth considering, just as you decided the candidate was. This mutual vote of confidence is a good start, and should be acknowledged. Next, shut up. During the interview, let the prospective employee do most of the talking while you do most of the listening. Your mission is to find out as much as possible about the candidate, and you cannot do this if your mouth is engaged. The more comfortable the candidate feels while talking with you not only enhances your chances of getting the information that you need, but also the chances of the candidate wanting to join your team. Learning what is important Learning what a candidate knows is almost as important as learning who they are. This goes back to making the candidate comfortable and letting them speak. By asking difficult questions, you will make them feel uncomfortable and not expose their truest personality. You can also achieve this by monopolizing the conversation, coming to the interview with a less than positive attitude, or even by bad-mouthing the candidates current employer. Instead, by being welcoming, warm, and mostly quiet, you quickly discover what kind of a person they are. You get an idea of whether they will match your company's culture, be agreeable to other employees and meet your expectations. Among the things you should watch for during an interview, some of the most important are: Money Talk: If the prospective employee focuses on compensation, that is a red flag. Everyone needs money, and there is no shame in discussing compensation. But a candidate fixated on rewards is not going to be fixated on providing value. Outbound Attitude: What did the candidate think of their prior employer and job? If they disliked their employer or the type of work that they were doing, this may be a problem. The main reason employees leave or search for another job is that they did not like their immediate supervisor. But this dislike may be the employees perception or poor people skills. Otherwise, liking their immediate supervisor is a positive. Dress for no Success: How an employee came dressed for the interview may tell much. The goal is to see if the way they dress is comparable with what you expect, because you are a product of your corporate and group cultures. The systems programmer discussed above might set off warning bells if he did show up in a suit and tie, as would a potential CFO arriving in sneakers and blue jeans. And the judges score his performance as Micrel used a 10-point rating scale for each of the categories we applied to a candidate. Your company should have a different set of criteria, but following the Micrel model is a great start. We scored people on appearance, personality, written skills, technical expertise in the job being considered, cultural fit, verbal skills, an overall rating, and finally if the interviewer would consider the candidate for the hire (even if the interviewer was outside of the target department). Related: 3 Tips to Hiring Your Company's Gold-Standard Staff At Micrel, we looked for a composite score of seven or higher to even consider the employee. If the primary interviewer the likely boss would not consider the candidate for the hire, the prospective employee was not picked unless the application was kicked up to the next level and the decision was made there (very rare and under unusual circumstances). Otherwise, at least four out of the six people doing the interviewing had to agree to hire the candidate and the candidates composite score had to be seven or higher. Knowing what you cannot know There are some things you cannot tell in an interview, and that is why references are required. A friend of mine once built a technical support team from the ground up. All the new employees were brilliant and outlasted my friend, with the exception of one fellow. During the interview cycle, the candidate impressed interviewers. He was a solid personality fit, a good cultural match, and showed great drive. He also ended up being a chronic alcoholic who missed work after each of his only two paychecks. None of this was even remotely apparent during interviews. Reference checks are mandatory and the employee should supply at least three qualified references, not including their own family or friends; and these people must be technically within the area being considered. Where possible, find two other references that a candidate did not list, be they former co-workers, bosses or even found with a deep scan of the employees social media accounts. Hire above the wire If you are lucky, you will have multiple, highly qualified candidates from which to choose. But sometimes you do not. Avoid succumbing to the temptation to hire less than the best. An employee who doesnt meet the minimum requirements, who doesnt fit the culture, who leaves interviewers feeling flat, will only slow down your company. Leave slots unfilled until the right person arrives. Related: Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved With the Health and Benefits Leadership Conference fast approaching, its important to prepare by brushing up on some of the industry's hot topics. And, among those topics, voluntary benefits -- and their implications for healthcare-- is one of the hottest. Related: Employee Demand Makes Voluntary Benefits Mandatory for Employers Voluntary benefits are benefits that employees choose -- like life and disability, critical-illness and accident insurance; and pet coverage, ID theft protection, legal services and financial counseling. They're offered through an employer but paid for partially or solely by workers through payroll deferral; a particular advantage is that they empower employees to personalize their benefits packages to fit their lifestyles. This is important when it comes to healthcare. Voluntary benefits work well alongside high-deductible health plans (HDHP) because they meet employees' specific needs and help them with coverage gaps. When voluntary benefits are not offered alongside HDHPs, employees tend to enroll in traditional PPO plans instead. Regardless of that fact, some employers are not providing multiple options. PwC's 2016 survey found that the percentage of employers offering only HDHPs had doubled since 2012, reaching 24 percent of the 1,150 organizations surveyed. So, clearly, employees need to understand what they are being offered and how they can make these benefits work for them. And the accompanying question is, why are voluntary benefits important for employers, as well, and how can they better educate employees and encourage them to participate? Keeping costs manageable Employers can avoid the Cadillac Tax and reduce their healthcare costs by adopting consumer-driven health plans and HDHPs. The 2015 Employer Health Benefits survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which surveyed 3,191 firms, found that 24 percent of workers were enrolled in HDHPs, a significant increase from the 20 percent enrolled in 2014. Additionally, the National Business Group on Health found in its 2015 survey of 136 business group members that large employers were moving to consumer-directed healthcare. Forty-nine percent were offering it as an option to their employees. This increase in both employers offering consumer-directed healthcare, and employees wanting it, indicates that HDHPs are trending. Employees are taking on the responsibility of high deductibles. While employees may have the opportunity to manage their health and their plans, many arent equipped to do so. The 2015 Aflac WorkForces Report found that 52 percent of the 5,337 employees surveyed had $1,000 or less to pay unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses, and 44 percent said they would have to borrow from their 401(k)s or use credit cards to cover those expenses. Providing voluntary benefits helps employees manage these costs without adding extra expenses for employers. For example, if the selected health plan does not cover eye exams, a voluntary vision plan could help cover those costs if the employee chooses to add it to his or her benefits plan. Rising costs for medical coverage and changes in healthcare reform are contributing factors in the noticeable growing need for voluntary insurance benefits. Related: How to Attract -- And Retain -- Staff When You Can't Pay Big Bucks Providing individual freedom If theres one thing certain about voluntary benefits, its that they give employees the freedom to choose. Sixty percent of the 1,203 employees surveyed by MetLife in 2014 said they were willing to bear more of the cost of their benefits, in order to have more choices to better meet their needs. In addition, 80 percent said they valued more personalized benefits geared to their circumstances and age. Educating employees on benefits The knowledge gap is staggering when one looks at healthcare benefits. A survey conducted in February 2016 by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) found that most employees were confused by their benefits, and an alarming 80 percent of the 340 employers surveyed didn't think their employees even opened or read information they provided about them. Employees want to be able to understand the benefits they receive, but there is a need for a faster and clearer method of communicating these options. The 2014 and 2015 Employee Benefit Trends Study from Metlife found that more than half of the 2,463 employees surveyed from small, medium, and large-sized companies said their employers' benefits communications failed to effectively educate them about their options. Employees need effective communication to have confidence in selecting their benefits. Millennials are the largest group to use voluntary benefits, and they want as much benefits information as they can get. Aflacs 2015 WorkForces report found that 64 percent of the 5,337 millennials surveyed said benefits were extremely or very important to employer loyalty, and that they should know their options. Since employers are offering a benefit that millennials are most receptive to, company communications should be targeted at them, as well as those who previously selected HDHPs. Technology helps in communication efforts. Unfortunately, fewer than half of the organizations surveyed by IFEBP said they had tried nontraditional benefits communication like video, social media, text messages, automated calls or games. What should your company do in this regard? Utilize applications, online guides and digital media to explain why voluntary benefits are important to employees and to also share the options being offered. Bridging this knowledge gap benefits both the employer and the employee, and that alone is a good reason you should consider starting down this path today. Related: Why a Basic Benefits Package Is No Longer Enough How are you communicating the importance of voluntary benefits and HDHPs to your employees? Related: Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In Denmark, youll find the happiest country in the world. (Though its up for debate whether its a socialist paradise or, merely, paradise) Scandinavian countries dominated the newly updated World Happiness Report 2016. Denmark moved back into the top spot, overtaking last years winner, Switzerland. The region's other three countries -- Norway, Finland and Sweden -- also ranked in the top 10. SURVEY: The happiest cities in America The United States landed at No. 13. The country moved up to second in its region this year, surpassing Costa Rica and Mexico. In the Americas, only Canada does better at No. 6. The index has been published since 2012 by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a U.N. organization. Researchers look at several factors to determine quality of life in 157 countries. The report analyzes GDP per capita, life expectancy, social support, trust in government and business, perceived freedom and generosity (full report here). The worlds happiest country has been a favorite reference point for one liberal candidate for president. Democratic socialist candidate Bernie Sanders repeatedly has praised the Danes as a country that represents his vision for the United States. In response, the center-right Danish Prime Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen has said Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy. READ THIS: 15 things you didnt know about Bernie Sanders Still, Denmark and the rest of the countries at the top of the list have strong social safety nets, including widely available health care and education. However, these countries also have fairly homogeneous populations unlike the United States. Rasmussen came to power with support from the anti-immigration Danish Peoples Party. The least happy countries are made up of impoverished nations, often in the middle of political crises and violent unrest. Burundi finished last, just ahead of Syria, Togo and Afghanistan. Global powers like China (No. 83) and Russia (No. 56) finished far behind the U.S. A couple of countries, such as Venezuela (No. 44) and Greece (No. 99), plummeted in rankings from 2015 to 2016 due to recent economic disasters. Meet the 25 happiest countries in the world in the gallery above. The Stop-Trump movement should take heart from a new metric, the the number to deny. So far the media has been focusing on delegates needed to win the GOP nomination. Donald Trump needs only 498 more to reach the winning 1,237. The denial number focuses instead upon the number needed to deny Trump a first-ballot victory. There are approximately 755 bound delegates at stake in remaining contests delegates bound to vote for a particular candidate on the first ballot. The denial number is the number of delegates which someone else must win to leave Trump at least one delegate short. That number is 258 (755 less 498 plus one), an eminently achievable number. Someone else is Sen. Ted Cruz, the only realistic alternative to Trump. However, the Texan and the Stop-Trump movement face two challenges. First, most observers believe Cruz will have trouble in the many remaining contests in the Northeast. Second, Ohio Gov. John Kasichs continuing quixotic quest is dividing the anti-Trump vote. Kasich cannot win. He needs 1,094 more bound delegates with only 755 remaining. Save for his home state, he hasnt won. After nearly 40 contests, he has finished last more times than hes finished second. Kasich is hearing almost universal calls to bow out. Defiantly, he argues that the battle is only now moving to friendly territory, that he can do better than Cruz in moderate Northeastern states. Therefore, he claims, he is the best Trump-stopper. This ought to resolve the twin challenges of the Stop-Trump effort, i.e. with Kasich leading the charge in the northeast. The problem is that Kasich isnt walking his own talk. Hes campaigning in Wisconsin, where all current polls show him a distant third and Cruz leading Trump. In Wisconsin, Kasich is a Trump-enabler. The Emerson poll says It appears that Kasich is pulling votes from Cruz as Kasich supporters find Cruz more favorable than Trump, 36 percent to 27 percent. Kasich should close shop in the Badger State immediately and head east. In the denial analysis, there are four states where Cruz should be considered the likely winner: Wisconsin especially if Kasich heads east Nebraska, Montana and South Dakota, all winner-takes-all states with a combined 134 delegates. Crediting them to the Texan, the denial number drops to 124. And the percentage to deny drops to just 20 percent 124 as a percent of the otherwise remaining 622 bound delegates. In the east, Kasich claims hell win in Pennsylvania. The claim is plausible: it is Kasichs neighboring state and, in the only recent poll, hes only 3 points off the lead thats within the margin of error. Lets presume the Ohioan listens to himself even he should be able to do that and devotes all his relatively meager resources to the Keystone State and pulls off a win. That would deny Trump 17 bound delegates (the other 54 are officially unbound), dropping the denial number to 107 and the denial percentage to a mere 18 percent of the otherwise-remaining 605 bound delegates. There are 272 bound delegates up for grabs in the remaining proportional contests. Between Cruz and Kasich, they should be able to claim 107, or 40 percent of them. Another 288 delegates are at stake in other remaining winner-takes-all contests, providing additional opportunities to deny Trump delegates. Contrary to current media coverage, Trump is anything but inevitable. Psychology matters. Wisconsin is the next contest with bound delegates and the only one on April 5. A Cruz win would be the days only news, training the spotlight on a big defeat for the guy who always wins. Pennsylvania is the biggest of five contests on April 26. A Kasich win would be the big prime-time story of the night, dealing Trump another crushing blow. Realistically, if Kasich doesnt win Pennsylvania, his campaign will be dead and his entire effort and reputation will be colored permanently with all the pejoratives currently being leveled quixotic, vain, crazy, self-aggrandizing, etc. His campaign may succumb to these characterizations even beforehand if he isnt seen as refocusing his efforts. At present, the Ohioan is attempting a triple bank shot from behind the eight ball. He is trying both to deny The Donald and the Texan and to undermine the case for Cruz as the only fair alternative to the New Yorker at an open convention while advancing his own chances. It is an impossible shot. If he succeeds in damaging Cruz, he guarantees a Trump first-ballot victory, blowing up his own open convention prospects. If Kasich abandons his delusional game of billiards, the Stop-Trump effort will succeed. Red Jahncke is president of The Townsend Group Intl. LLC in Connecticut. Email: RTJahncke@gmail.com. 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. Leesburg Electric: With prices soaring, late fees are being waived Prices are up, so Leesburg Electric has decided that, as of Oct. 1, late fees will be waived. In a recent email to university staff, students and faculty, Bruce Harber addressed the increase of train hopping. Censoring the students was an act of focusing on the issue at hand rather than punishing students said Harber. The University of Memphis has begun to build a fence bordering the tracks to prevent further train hopping. Construction for a pedestrian bridge is also in the works, said to open in 2018. Jonathan A. Capriel The new bridge will allow students to cross over two roads and the train tracks that run along Southern Avenue. (Photo by Jonathan Capriel) Students and faculty can expect delays on their morning commute to campus this week as the University of Memphis begins to build improvements to the cross walks around the Southern Avenue railroad tracks. In an email sent to faculty, staff and students David Zettergren, vice president of U of Mas business and finance, said the university will soon begin construction of a fence around the train tracks that run through the middle of campus. The university will also add handicap accessible rams to railroad crossing areas. Zettergren wrote that people should use caution when driving and crossing the tracks. DAILY HELMSMAN STAFF 1974 University of Memphis students have crossed the Southern Avenue train tracks for decades. But where a student can cross is going to be limited in the coming months when U of M officials build a fence along the tracks. A Daily Helmsman photographer snapped this photo of students crossing the tracks in 1974. aAllow extra time when coming to campus due to the possibility of delays,a he said. Zettergren also shared a video of what the new railroad crossing areas would look like. The new crosswalks will not just be fully handicap accessible, but a great visual improvement, said Gerry Keen the campus planning and design construction representative for this project. ELIZABETH CASH Students risked life and limb when a train on stopped blocking their way to class and their cars in the Southern parking lot, Thursday afternoon. A few students began to climb on top of the train in order to cross. Campus Police yelled at students, If you cross the train, I will lock you up. Plans are underway to build a pedestrian bridge. The project is expected to cost nearly $18 million and has already raised student fees by more than $300. aIt will be fully accessible,a he said. aItas the back/front door of the campus, so its appearance is very important. It will give the campus a much needed visual improvement.a Both Norfolk Southern Railway and contractor Allen & Hoshall, will begin work some time this week, Keen said. Students and staff will still be able to park near and walk across the tracks during construction, but Keen said it would be a good idea for students to avoid Southern Avenue and instead come through Spottswood Avenue. Zettergren said the project should be finished before the beginning of the fall semester. The fence will likely end the long standing tradition of students illegally crossing the Southern railroad tracks at any point by limiting access to just designated walkways. The project is expected to cost a little more than $1.6 million, said Tony Poteet, assistant vice president of campus planning and design, to a Daily Helmsman reporter in February. About 80 percent of the project is being paid for by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The U of M will cover the remainder of the cost. Long term, however, the University of Memphis will build a pedestrian bridge over the Southern rail road tracks, likely ending the problem of trains (both moving and stopped) from blocking students and faculty from getting to their cars or class. That project is expected to cost at least $18 million, and is paid for entirely by student fees. Recently, Bruce Harber, campus chief of police, emailed students and faculty warning them of the dangers of climbing over stopped trains. aFor your safety, NEVER climb on, over or through a stopped train,a Harber said. aIn addition to the life-threatening danger involved, it is also against the law.a 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 You see them all the time. The spirit of modern Britain, they walk head down, scuttling along, multi-tasking as they are glued to their phones. Watch out! Oh, too late. Walked into a lamppost head banged, dropped the phone in the gutter. Bad luck. No, actually, serves him (or her) right. Sorry about the nosebleed, but theres nothing like a lump of cold metal crashing into your schnozz to remind someone they are a solid object in a world of other objects, not just a floating brain. Strict Darwinian theory might approve if these text-messaging or emailing-on-the-move pavement walkers were wiped out by some sudden lamppost and therefore were not able to sully the human gene pool. At least this time it wasnt another pedestrian our zombie smartphoner rammed into when the glimmering pixel-world in the phone seemed more important than the real world. It could have been me who was knocked over or someone old or frail. Eight years ago, Brick Lane in East London was declared a Safe Text street as they trialled padding the lampposts with primary-coloured plastic mattresses, because people kept walking into them (stock image) One in eight people of all ages and half of 16 to 24-year-olds admits to having crashed into someone or something while checking their phone. One in ten has tripped or got into a road accident while using one. In the U.S., they reckon 1,000 people a year get injured due to distraction by looking at phones. Teenagers who were interviewed said they really, honestly, think it is fine to check the internet while crossing a road. Ludicrous Of all the small modern lunacies and self-absorbed immaturities, one of the most ludicrous is the idea that it is OK to walk along a public pavement let alone cross a road while staring intently at a small screen in your hand. I dont mean talking with a phone to your ear. Having a phone conversation as you hurry down the street is fairly reasonable, since you can see in front of you. We all do it, ideally not too loud; it takes some of the boredom out of urban walks and enables you to check up on your mum or your child. But unless you are in an empty street at 3am, the walk-and-text habit is totally absurd: inexcusable, anti-social, dangerous. So, in New Jersey, the U.S. Liberty and Prosperity state, a splendid assembly woman called Pamela Lampitt has proposed a Distracted Walking Law, in which pedestrians texting or emailing in public would attract a $50 (35) fine. Persistent offenders could even be jailed. Good luck to Ms Lampitt. But apparently other states have tried to bring in such laws and so far failed. The New Jersey message-boards are full of protesters saying such things as: Boy, the dimwits really know how to separate you from your cash! As if it was a God-given right not to look where youre going. But even more droolingly loopy than the shambling, tapping petextrians, as they are being called, is the tendency of public authorities else- where to accept and facilitate their behaviour. Eight years ago, Brick Lane in East London was declared a Safe Text street as they trialled padding the lampposts with primary-coloured plastic mattresses, because people kept walking into them. One in eight people of all ages and half of 16 to 24-year-olds admits to having crashed into someone or something while checking their phone (stock image) Phone users were complaining that the place was too cluttered with objects such as waste bins and lights put there for their convenience and safety, one would think. Some demanded special brightly coloured lines, like cycle lanes, to steer them safely away from obstacles while they stared at their phones. In Chongqing in China, they actually did inaugurate the worlds first separate lane for pedestrians engrossed in their mobile phones. More than a quarter of people in one survey in Britain thought this was a good idea, so eventually someone will do it on our own pavements. Everything, it seems, must make way for the cult of the mobile. Outside Salisbury Cathedral, a huge arch over a footpath showing two clasped hands had eight people banging their heads on it while texting on the first day it was installed. Instead of saying more fool you, look where youre going, the authorities meekly moved the great 20ft lump of stone, which cant have been a cheap exercise. Fashion Crazy, really. A lot of people get drunk, but we dont line every pavement with double-handrails, buckets to be sick in and wet wipes to clean up with. If there was a sudden general fashion for wearing huge crinolines and 3 ft high top hats, few local authorities would feel it their duty to widen and raise every doorway. Planning rightly makes provision for disabled people and wheelchair users (though not quite enough). But the walk-and-texters are not disabled just inconsiderate, self-absorbed, stupid. Or perhaps they are addicted? Dr John DAngelo, an emergency medicine head in New Jersey, said of mobile phones: This is an intoxicant. Its worse than alcohol or drugs for drivers and pedestrians. Phone users were complaining that the place was too cluttered with objects such as waste bins and lights put there for their convenience and safety, one would think (stock image) Theyre less aware [of whats going on around them]. It is certainly true that unless you keep some sort of disciplined normal grip on your brain, the multiple uses of the little thing in your pocket can make you glance at it more often than is reasonable. Some people do it up to 150 times a day, according to surveys. You check for messages, emails and missed calls, because life is busy and you want to stay connected. On top of that come Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds, news and gossip, catch-up episodes of Modern Family and that sudden itch to order something from Amazon or to Google recipes for tarte tatin. Its easy to see why we do it. I love my phone, because it enables me to be accessible and connected in all sorts of random places without my various employers or friends knowing the difference. I would not go back to the old days of getting home and finding the family reunion ruined by a pile of troublesome letters and a robotic voice on the answerphone saying: You have 63 messages. As for looking things up, the last two brilliant successes I had on my phone were finding a handy swimming pool for a free hour in South London and buying a kill-for matinee theatre ticket while on the top deck of a bus. So hurrah for the age of the smartphone! But you dont have to be a dolt, a zombie, an impediment. Were physical animals; we occupy space in the real world and impinge on other peoples spaces. Reality We need to look ahead and around, glance at the sky and roofline above, and the roadway below. We need to notice and adapt to real life around us (even if we then stop, take a picture of that real life and share it online with the world). The key is in that word: stop. Not in the middle of the pavement in everyones way; certainly not bang in front of a shop door or ticket gate. Instead, go over to the nearest wall, flatten yourself as much as possible, whip out the phone, do whatever it was that needs your eye on a screen and then emerge from the bubble of your private preoccupations and start walking again. The NUT called for the abolition of both Ofsted and the Government's Prevent strategy How the heart sinks to witness members of the National Union of Teachers at their annual conference, embracing fatuous Left-wing causes like students in perpetual revolt against authority. On Sunday they threatened to boycott SATS, the tests that help parents identify which primary schools are doing best. Yesterday, they called for the abolition of both Ofsted, the schools watchdog, and the Governments Prevent strategy, which requires them to monitor pupils for signs of radicalisation. Meanwhile, they voted to campaign against the duty to promote fundamental British values, urging a new focus on international human rights instead. In a speech worthy of Dave Spart, the fictional revolutionary in the satirical magazine Private Eye, NUT representative Christopher Denson explained he disliked speaking of British values to pupils whose ancestors had encountered colonialism. The inherent cultural supremacism in that term is both unnecessary and unacceptable, he said, adding he was proud that when his pupils were asked to write political manifestos, every single tutor group had as a policy: Refugees welcome, open the borders. What hope can there be for social cohesion, when teachers see British as a dirty word and borders as superfluous? And how can we ever improve standards, while the Blob of the education Establishment sees its job as brainwashing children in Left-wing ideology and fights every attempt at reform? Education secretary Nicky Morgan claimed parents and grandparents who plump for Brexit are gambling with the prospects of the next generation EU facts and fantasy As Brexit campaigners release a dossier of 50 dangerous criminals allowed into Britain under EU rules, Europhiles are quick to accuse them of scaremongering. But these are not the tactics of Project Fear, under which the Remain camp floats lurid fantasies of the worst that could happen if Britain pulls out. Indeed, these are all-too-real cases of convicted murderers, rapists, child sex offenders and serial burglars who have walked into this country unhindered 45 of them striking again while here. They include such monsters as Arnis Zalkalns, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to Britain and killing 14-year-old Alice Gross. For her and many others, the worst has already happened under EU free movement rules that stop us demanding proper checks. Meanwhile, Project Fear lumbers on, with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan preposterously claiming that parents and grandparents who plump for Brexit are gambling with the prospects of the next generation. It will be unfair of older people to vote for withdrawal, she says, because of the devastating impact on the life chances of the young, who will be doomed to become a lost generation. Has she not noticed that the EU is itself creating a lost generation not only in the sky-high youth unemployment areas of the eurozone, but also in Britain, where mass immigration has depressed wages and robbed young people of any hope of owning a home? True, nobody can foresee exactly what will happen if we withdraw. But its all too easy to see which way the sclerotic, statist EU is going. Isnt that as scary as anything dreamed up by Ms Morgan? Georges costly rabbit As a ploy to wrong-foot Labour, George Osbornes Living Wage was a triumph. But with the 7.20-an-hour rate coming into force on Friday, its not only private employers who will be hit. Councils grappling with a 5billion shortfall in social care funding may also have to lay off staff or risk going bust. A Kim Kardashian lookalike has made more than $10,000 in just one year after she capitalized on her striking Armenian-American looks by joining a controversial dating site. Christine Ham, a 26-year-old from Los Angeles, turned online dating into a business when she joined WhatsYour Price.com in 2015. The executive assistant claims her physical similarities to Kim have helped her attract numerous men who are willing to pay to go on a date with her, simply because of her resemblance to the 34-year-old reality star. Making money: Kim Kardashian lookalike Christine Ham (pictured) has made more than $10,000 on a controversial dating site that allows men to bid on dates with her thanks to her resemblance to the reality star Strike a pose: Christine has the same plump pout and long eyelashes as Kim, who can be seen taking a selfie in her car The site, which launched in 2011, allows men to bid on attractive women of their choosing, and Christine said the idea of 'making just by accompanying someone for a short period of time with absolutely no expectations' was what inspired her to join WhatsYourPrice.com after a good friend introduced her to it. Christine explained that many men on the site have told her that they like the 'exotic and sexy' look she possesses. 'My features are what reminded them of Kim Kardsashian, and [I] was constantly compared to her,' she told Daily Mail Online of her past dates. 'The couldn't wait to meet me, and sometimes I was told I looked better than her. 'I still find that hard to believe,' she added. Christine noted that because of her dark features, Armenian background, and her personal style, she got compared to Kim 'a lot' even before she joined the dating site. Making a change: The 26-year-old from Los Angeles joined the dating site WhatsYourPrice.com in 2015 Extra cash: The executive assistant said she is able to supplement her income with the amount of money she makes on the dating site 'I was always told I reminded people of her. I loved it,' she said. Although Christine doesn't necessarily look identical to Kim, she shares her plump pout and shiny chocolate brown tresses. And like the selfie queen, Christine often snaps photos of herself in her car or posed in a bikini. When it comes to Kim's infamous hourglass figure, Christine's curves are less dramatic, but the male members of the dating site don't seem to mind. Christine can be seen showing off her petite figure in crop tops and figure-hugging pencil skirts at numerous events - just like Kim. 'I love Kim K. I think she is a smart business woman and has expanded her name [and] brand beyond means,' Christine said. 'She's gorgeous, classy and has amazing taste. 'She definitely influences me to be the best version of possible.' Christine makes an average of $200 for each first date, however, one of her suitors gave her 'about $1,500' for her company. Similar style: Christine (L) wears formfitting tank tops and pencil skirts just like Kim. Kim is pictured in Paris in 2014 (R) Bathing beauties: Like the 34-year-old reality star, Christine also has Armenian roots. Christine can be seen snapping a bikini selfie (L). Kim is pictured in a black bikini in 2013 (R) 'My date and I had a lot in common and we definitely hit it off,' she recalled. 'Brunch turned into dinner, and the next thing you know, he appreciated my company so much [that] he gave me that large amount. It was very unexpected, but I was pleasantly surprised.' Another suitor flew Christine from Los Angeles to to Northern California on a private jet to go wine tasting for the day, while others have taken her shopping on dates or presented her with randoms gifts during their first meeting. Dating has become so lucrative for Christine that she is now using the money she makes to supplement her monthly income. Over the course of a little over a year, she has saved upwards of $10,000 from the money she made dating, but she insists that many of the men she has met through the site are just looking for companionship. 'Most of these guys just want someone to hang out with and have a good meal and share stories - very platonic and easy going,' she noted. 'There are absolutely no expectations and no hidden agenda. Lookalike: Christine, who is pictured with a friend, can be seen showing off her petite figure in crop tops and figure-hugging pencil skirts at numerous events - just like Kim Keeping up with the Kardashians: Kim showed off her famous curves in a form-fitting tank dress during an outing in the Hamptons with her sister Kourtney (L) and her mom Kris Jenner (center) in 2014 'Some of these guys have turned out to be some really good friends of mine,' she added. Christine said her family is '100 per cent' supportive of her being on the dating site because they know the type of person she is. '[They] know I have a good judge of character and will not do something that I don't believe is authentic and real,' she explained. Although she hasn't found her future husband just yet, Christine said she is 'definitely open to finding true love'. 'I definitely believe WhatsYourPrice.com can be a helpful source to finding that one special person,' she said. A friend of a gay couple from Auckland is raising money to help them bring the worlds first triplings home from Mexico to New Zealand. The triplings, which are three babies born from the sperm of one man and one egg donor, but carried by different surrogates, are stuck on the other side of the world with their new parents, after they were allegedly scammed by the surrogate agency they used in Mexico, leaving them crippled financially and at the centre of a legal storm. Grace Nixon, a close friend of biological dad, David (41) and Nicky Beard (32), has set up a Give A Little Page, which in just over 24 hours has amassed $5,708,000. Scroll down for video Bring them home: A friend of a gay couple from Auckland, New Zealand is raising money to help them bring the worlds first triplings home from Mexico to New Zealand The hospital care for one of the babies, Lachlan, cost the couple $118,132 New Zealand dollars (AUD $105,000). 'Unfortunately the Agency that was supposed to help them [the parents] left them stranded on arrival... and they went into hiding with their final payments for the births,' Ms Nixon writes on the Give A Little page. 'This meant that they had to pay all the birthing fees again along with the after care for the surrogate mothers,' she continues. As well as this unforeseen medical cost, the couple believe they were the last gay couple allowed to use international surrogates to give birth to their children, as Mexico is tightening its IVF laws to bring them in line with most other nations. 'The problem now is that they are stranded in this third world country with little or no finances left and another month or so of bureaucracy to get through,' Ms Nixon writes on the page. Financially crippled: The triplings are stuck on the other side of the world with their parents, after hospital care for one of the babies cost the couple $118,132 New Zealand dollars ($105,000) 'No one could have predicted that any of this was going to happen and that they were going to be left abandoned by the agency, it's such a shame,' Ms Nixon told Daily Mail Australia. 'Both Nicky and David are being so strong throughout it all for each other, though, and their beautiful little babies.' While Lachlan has now made a full recovery, all of the babies, Lachlan, Kelly and Blake, are less than a month old and the parents remain unable to leave Mexico because they cannot fund the 800 kilometre journey in order to obtain passports for the children and undergo DNA testing to prove parentage. According to GayNZ, the couple have spent four years saving for these children only to have their adoption agency abandon them and find themselves up to their eyes in debt thanks to unforeseen circumstances. Legal storm: As well as this unforeseen medical cost, the couple believe they were the last gay couple allowed to use international surrogates, as Mexico is tightening its IVF laws to bring them in line with most other nations 'David, Nicky, Lachlan, Blake and Kelly simply want to come home to their family,' was the plea issued by David, a prominent lawyer, and Nicky, who is originally from Ireland, on March 29. The couple are pleading for help, both from the New Zealand and Mexican governments, but also from their friends and family around the world. But so far, to no avail. The Mexican government has assured them they would be allowed to take the children out of the country, but the situation is moving slowly, while the New Zealand government has told them that international surrogacy is dangerous, and there are always legal risks involved. Desperate situation: 'David, Nicky, Lachlan, Blake and Kelly simply want to come home to their family,' was the plea issued by David, a prominent lawyer, and Nicky, who is originally from Ireland, on March 29 And despite being a prominent lawyer, that hasn't made a difference for David, who has enlisted Margaret Casey QC to help to fight their case. 'If the combination of David Beard and Margaret Casey QC can suffer this kind of conduct then the whole nation should fear for other prospective surrogacy parents who, whether gay or straight, are desperate for children because this level of desperation is what the international surrogacy agencies bank on,' David Beard told Stuff. The Give A Little page continues to raise an impressive amount of money, but for the couple, the situation is getting increasingly desperate. Horrible circumstances: According to the parents, the children were born among cockroaches in unhygienic hospital conditions in Villehermosa, which contributed to Lachlan's illness and the ensuing costs According to the parents, the children were born among cockroaches in unhygienic hospital conditions in Villehermosa, which contributed to Lachlan's illness: 'The sad thing was that I had to sit outside Lachlan's neonatal ward, only catching glimpses through the pulled blind, but I sat there like a loyal dog. I can't put it into words,' David said to Stuff. And despite all adversity, the parents remain upbeat: 'Despite being stranded in Mexico this story does have an exceptionally happy ending,' David Beard said. Where's Wally-style puzzles that involve finding hidden creatures from pandas to owls have left people scratching their heads in recent weeks. But the latest challenge baffling the internet is a logic puzzle for children that involves studying a picture of tourists at a holiday campsite and answering a list of nine questions (scroll for answers). The image, thought to be from an old children's magazine, according to The Independent, has recently resurfaced online, but despite being aimed at youngsters the tough questions are likely to leave adults scratching their heads. Scroll down for video The latest challenge baffling the internet is a logic puzzle from an old children's magazine that involves studying a picture of tourists at a holiday camp site and answering a list of nine questions The black and white drawing shows three people at the campsite. One is standing by the cooking pot with a ladle, another is rifling through his backpack, and a third is taking photos. A sign nailed to a tree states says: 'On duty. Colin, 7. Peter, 8. James, 9'. The final name is obscured, but the number 10 is visible. A picnic blanket with four plates, four spoons and a watermelon is laid out on the ground and a hen is scratching in the grass nearby. Nearby, a tent is pitched and a spider has built a cobweb between the edge of the tent and a nearby tree. A series of clues is provided by the apparently calm scene involving boys at a campsite The first question people are challenged to answer is how many people are staying at the camp. They must also figure out whether they arrived that day or a few days earlier, how they got there and how far away the closest town is. CAN YOU SOLVE THE PUZZLE BY ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS? 1. How many tourists are staying at this camp? 2. When did they arrive: today or a few days ago? 3. How did they get here? 4. Is there a town nearby? 5. Where does the wind blow from: north or south? 6. What time of day is it? 7. Where did Alex go? 8. Who was on duty yesterday? 9. What date is it today? *Scroll down for answers Advertisement In addition, they're asked whether the wind is blowing from north or south and what time of day it is. The next question is to state where someone called Alex went. Finally, they must figure out who was on duty yesterday and what day of the week it is. Unlike the many cartoons that have swept the web in recent months challenging the web to spot figures hidden in a sea animals or Star Wars characters, this puzzle relies on deduction. The answer to how many tourists there are is relatively easy to figure out. As there are four spoons and plates on the blanket and four names on the duty list, the answer is quite obvious. The cobweb gives a clue to when the group arrived as it must have been a few days earlier to give the spider time to build it. An oar leaning up against the tree is the key to figuring out how they got there - by boat. The hen indicates that the nearest town is not far away as it's managed to wander into the campsite. Hungarian cartoonist Gergely Dudas, also known as Dudolf, posted his latest puzzle a few days ago to celebrate Easter, challenging fans to find an egg cleverly disguised alongside a group of bunnies The egg is cunningly disguised between a pair of white rabbit ears in the second row on the left hand side ANSWERS TO THE CAMP RIDDLE 1. There are four tourists four spoons on the picnic blanket and four names on the duty list. 2. They arrived a few days ago A spider's web has appeared between their tent and a tree in that time. 3. They got there by boat Note the oars by the tree. 4. No, a village is not far ..because there's a chicken wandering around. 5. The wind is blowing from the south A flag that shows the wind direction is on top of the tent. (To tell which direction is which, look at the branches - they're normally bigger on the southern side of trees - if you're in the Northern Hemisphere.) 6. Its morning Take the answer from question five to figure out east and west then work out the time based on the shadows. 7. Alex is catching butterflies His net is behind the tent. 8. Colin was on duty yesterday Colin is rummaging through his backpack (marked with a 'c'); Alex is catching butterflies; James is taking photos as his tripod can be seen sticking out of his bag. This leaves Peter - then, according to the list, that means Colin was on duty yesterday. 9. Today is August 8th... According to the list, Peter is on duty, and there is a watermelon - which ripen in August - on the ground. Advertisement A flag on the tent, known as a windsock, shows that the wind is blowing from the south, but to figure this out you need to be aware that branches on the southern side of trees in the UK get more sun and grow more densely. To figure out the time, you need to use the previous answer which tells you south from north to figure out where is east and west and deduce the time based on shadows. The answer is that it's morning because the boy by the cook pot's shadow extends to the west. Because we're asked where Alex went, we can assume he's not visible in the picture. However a butterfly net can be seen behind the tent. So the answer is that he's gone to catch butterflies. Gergley's original spot the panda puzzle left the internet baffled at Christmas 2015 The original Where's Wally-style snowmen picture was liked by 42,000 people and shared 100,000 times within days, with many struggling to find the panda at all Dudolf followed up the panda puzzle days later with another picture posted online, this time of a cat hidden among dozens of brightly coloured owls He planted a few red herrings in the owl picture like a colourful bow tie and festive hats, but the owl's facial features make it particularly difficult to spot the cat To figure out who was on duty yesterday first consider that Colin, Peter, James and Alex are staying at the camp. We know that Alex is catching butterflies and the person taking photos must be James, as there's a tripod sticking out of the bag marked J. The person looking through the backpack is Colin as it's marked with a C. That means Peter must be the one standing by the cooking pot. If Peter is on duty today, then according to the list on the tree Colin was on duty yesterday. Figuring out the day of the month isn't too tricky as according to the duty list it's the 8th of the month. But establishing what month it is may prove rather more difficult. The solution lies in the watermelon on the picnic blanket. The answer is the 8th of August, but you would have to be aware that it's the month in which watermelons ripen to find the correct answer. Its long list of questions makes the puzzle even more baffling than a challenge by Gergely Dudas who first drove the internet mad trying to find a panda among a group of snowmen, and a cat blended into rows of owls. The Hungarian cartoonist posted his latest puzzle a few days ago to celebrate Easter, challenging fans to find an egg cleverly disguised alongside a group of bunnies. The panda craze was followed up by Reddit contributor, with the username Oneste, who created a mind-boggling puzzle in which he hid a panda amongst rows and rows of Stormtroopers - and TIE fighter pilots A teenage boy likely thought he was being thoughtful and romantic when he came up with the idea of using live rabbits to help him ask a young girl to go to prom with him. But the would-be Casanova didn't count on the furry fiends totally stealing the spotlight from his sweetly-staged promposal by vigorously mating in front of the pair of them while he was trying to ask her that all-important question. Surrounded with balloons and bunnies at the ready, the man held up a sign decorated in the creatures asking her to go to the prom with him. But his plan backfired when almost immediately after he held up the sign - which read 'Nicole will you go to prom with me?' - one rabbit climbed on top of the other and started frenziedly mating. A video capturing the moment shows a young woman looking embarrassed and laughing with her hand up to her mouth, the room filled with balloons, as the rabbits started mating. The short clip of the incident, which was posted to Imgur, and labeled 'Guy asks Nichole [sic] to the prom. Easter floofs don't care', has since been shared on the site more than 80,000 times by viewers who just couldn't get enough of the entertaining moment. Unsurprisingly, it has enthralled viewers who have commented on everything from their mating speed to neutering. Boy interrupted: A teenager who tried to use live rabbits to ask a girl to prom was upstaged when they started mating as he held up a sign asking her to prom, pictured left and right One viewer wrote: 'Yoooooo, I did not know they humped that quick [sic]'. Another commented: 'I admire the fact he is still holding up the sign and not completely losing his s**t in laughter.' A rather crude user also noted: 'The bunnies were paid to deliver the subtle message.' The incident is reminiscent of an animal-related incident during New York Fashion Week when two giant tortoises interrupted designer Mathieu Mirano's show when they started mating on the runway. Impromptu: The rabbit incident is reminiscent of a moment during New York Fashion Week when two giant tortoises started climbing on each other during the show, pictured circled The 200lb African tortoises became the unlikely stars of the show after they stole the limelight from the clothes - captivating onlookers. Thankfully, the models didn't allow themselves to be distracted by the somewhat entertaining scene, however the same cannot be said for the spectators, many of whom were quick to capture the moment on social media. The runway, which was covered in sand, was at Pier 59 studios. There were no rows, no infidelity, no rancour not even the slightest hint that our eight-year, happy marriage was foundering. Id thought we were compatible, content; so blissfully at ease in each others company that we were certain to grow old together. So on the summer night almost two years ago, when my husband Steve told me he was leaving me, I was totally shocked. It was as if my steadfast, calm and dependable husband had gone out and been replaced by an evil twin. A mere three months later I was in for another nasty surprise when Steve demanded a settlement of 300,000 a sum the courts have since decreed I must pay him. This, despite the fact he did not support me during our marriage and lived rent-free in my home, from where he ran his businesses. Steve, the law dictated, needed a share of my money because as a result of injudicious financial decisions he had no home. And it was down to me, the wealthier partner who had always been prudent with my money, to give him sufficient funds to provide him with a roof over his head. There were no rows, no infidelity, no rancour not even the slightest hint that our eight-year, happy marriage was foundering, writes Jane Pearson Everyone assumes it is men who end up saddled with large divorce settlements. After all, every week theres yet another high-profile example. But the fact is the law is gender-neutral when it comes to divorce, and husbands who marry wives wealthier than them as I have discovered to my cost can look forward to an equally lucrative payday. Although the term gold-digger is often associated with women, Steve proves that men marry for money as well. How else to explain his sudden emotional about-turn and subsequent financial demands? Last week I handed over the money, having liquidised my assets and in my 60th year taken out the biggest loan of my life to cover the payment to him. Im furious. Not because he left me I have learned to live with the ache of abandonment but because he reneged on a promise never to make financial demands on me. I have, since my divorce from my first husband in 1996, always supported myself financially, working as a book-keeper and helping, with my sister Ann, to run our parents successful property company. I have always lived within my means. So I believe my anger and resentment at the iniquity of the law are justified. Steve contributed nothing financially to our relationship, except the monthly 600 he paid into a joint account I put in the same amount towards bills and the occasional treat. In return, he shared my 950,000, five-bedroom home the house I love, in which I raised my sons Ross, 35 and Alex, 33 after my divorce from their father in an affluent suburb of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. I was pleased to offer Steve rent-free space in my home, from which he ran his businesses. So Im forced to ask myself: did Steve regard me as a cash cow? Was his sudden decision to divorce me a cynical ploy to extricate himself from financial problems? 'When my husband Steve told me he was leaving me, I was totally shocked. It was as if my steadfast, calm and dependable husband had gone out and been replaced by an evil twin' Whatever the reason, several facts are undisputed. Steve, who was living in a modest flat in Elstree, Hertfordshire, when we met in June 2004, had far fewer assets than I. Before we married, he sold his flat and was due to buy into my house with the equity. But the chance arose to invest in an online jewellery business, and he ploughed the money into this instead. We discussed his decision and I believed he would invest in my house later. Steves decision proved unwise. After we separated, I learned that the jewellery business was in trouble. So when Steve left me, he had debts and no home. And the law decrees I must be the one to atone for his lack of acumen, and provide a home for him. Can this be equitable? I think not. I strongly believe the law should be changed so that partners who walk out on their spouses on a whim should not be entitled to recompense. After all, I adored Steve and believed my love was reciprocated. I intended to keep my wedding day vow to stay with him until death parted us. So why should I be bailing out the man who abandoned me and broke his promises? Steve had assured me and my father Alban, 87, when he asked for my hand in marriage that he was not marrying me for my money and would never make a financial claim against me. And because he seemed so honourable, we believed him. Yet the man I trusted has proved to be mercenary. All of which leads me to ask: did I ever really know him? And should we ever trust a partner we meet through an internet dating site, as I did Stephen Horrey? Certainly I do not think I was either gullible or rash. I was wary of men, having been grievously hurt by my first husbands infidelity. He was my first boyfriend, wed met when I was 18. When we finally divorced after 20 years of marriage I was adamant I would never marry again. With my first husband our assets were split 60/40; I received the larger share because I was raising our two sons. It was a good friend, Phyllis, who had suggested I try internet dating eight years after my first divorce. In fact she had already spotted Steves profile. Ive found this really nice guy. Hes perfect for you, she said. And so it seemed. Steve is 6 ft 2 in to my 5 ft10 in. His photograph showed a distinguished and pleasant-looking man with steel-grey hair and a moustache. He, like me, was divorced with two grown-up children and both of us were self-employed him in the jewellery business. He seemed, from his interest in the environment and world poverty, to be both public-spirited and kind, and his two years as a special constable indicated integrity. I was also drawn to our shared interest in walking and the countryside. A pleasant exchange of emails ensued. Our meeting in a pub a week or so later confirmed my impression that he was a decent man. Conversation flowed and at the end of a pleasant evening, we shook hands and agreed to meet again. 'A mere three months later I was in for another nasty surprise when Steve demanded a settlement of 300,000 a sum the courts have since decreed I must pay him' A rather old-fashioned courtship ensued. Steve exerted no pressure on me and after our first few meetings did no more than kiss me goodbye on the cheek. Within a couple of months, however, my affection for him was growing. I took him to meet my parents. They all got along so well, I remember saying to my cousin Jane: If this man asks me to marry him Im going to say yes. And my dad was chuffed when, in October 2004, Steve asked for permission to marry me. Gladly he gave his blessing, and I had no hesitation in agreeing when Steve proposed. Our shared pleasures were modest ones: we toasted our engagement with a mug of Horlicks. Any early concerns about the disparity in our wealth Steve was evidently less well off than me were swiftly dispelled. He seemed not remotely interested in how much money I had. Even so, I asked my solicitor at the time if I should draw up a pre-nup a contract which would protect my home and assets in the event that we split up but I was advised that such documents were not binding. SO WHAT DOES HER EX SAY? Steve Horrey comments: The law is the law. Jane was the wealthier partner that is incontestable. When we divorced I just wanted to get back to the financial position I was in when we started our relationship. I feel we reached a fair and reasonable compromise for both parties without going to court. The jewellery business to which she refers was in trouble ten years ago, but it is now a small, profitable business. Advertisement Anyway, I trusted Steve implicitly, so thought I would never need one. After two years we were married, and we shared our wedding day in March 2006 with 100 guests who gathered at an idyllic tythe barn in Hertfordshire. The eight years that followed were, I firmly believe for both of us, very happy ones. Our marriage was fulfilling in every way. The only cloud on our horizon was Steves business. Occasionally he seemed frustrated that things were not going well, but I would reassure him that, even if he worked as a shelf-stacker, we could still be happy. And when I think about the days that led up to his leaving, there was not the slightest intimation that anything was troubling him. On the contrary, wed enjoyed a gloriously happy few days together. Two days before he left, he booked us a holiday in Las Vegas. Why would he have arranged that, if he knew he planned to leave me? On the Saturday he had paraded me at a wedding of his friends. We were as close and affectionate as any two people in the room. Did he really not know then, as he protested later, what he was about to do? Or was his display of affection just an elaborate charade? The Sunday morning before he left wed had several invitations, and because we couldnt attend them all together, Id gone to my brother-in-laws birthday lunch and my god-daughters house-warming while Steve went to a barbecue at the home of his friend and partner in his online jewellery company. 'The fact is the law is gender-neutral when it comes to divorce, and husbands who marry wives wealthier than them as I have discovered to my cost can look forward to an equally lucrative payday' During that warm July afternoon he texted me: Miss you. Love you lots. Late that afternoon I got home, showered and, anticipating a quiet romantic evening, waited for Steves return. At about 9pm, mildly concerned that he wasnt yet back, I sent him a text, offering to collect him from the station. He replied that he was happy to walk. An hour later he still hadnt come home and I began to feel worried. It was, therefore, anxiety not annoyance that prompted me to ask him, when he finally arrived home at 11pm, where he had been. And it was as if a switch had been flicked: my mild, kind husband became cold, remote. Its over. Im leaving you, he said. In tears, I begged him not to end our marriage, to explain what had happened; at least to give us another chance. I put my arms out to hug him but my normally tactile husband was frozen, detached. Had something happened at the barbecue to make him throw away a decades worth of happiness? Ill never know. I wrote to his friend who hosted it, to ask, but had no reply. That night Steve slept in a spare bedroom. My loving husband who had never raised his voice in anger became a stranger. Lets take a deep breath and talk, I pleaded the next morning. But he was immovable. Steve finally moved out of my house on September 1, 2014 and it swiftly became clear that he did not intend to leave empty-handed. Through his solicitors, he demanded 300,000 and when I asked where he thought I would find that sort of money, he replied: Theres plenty of cash washing round in your family to pay me. I felt insulted; appalled by the implication that I would take money from my elderly parents to pay him off. During the months that followed, as I was hectored and bullied by Steves solicitors, I sunk into a slough of despond. I toyed with contesting his claim through the courts, but was advised it would be fruitless: I would be made to pay heavily. I considered selling my home to pay him, but concluded I did not want to do so under duress. Perhaps I will have to resort to it. Although I face my 60th year alone, I do so with the priceless support of family and good friends. Last week I delivered Steves cheque to him in person. The law dictates I give him the money to meet his needs and provide him with somewhere to live. However he could spend it on anything money that should have been my childrens inheritance. Surely the divorce laws should be changed to take into account the circumstances in which a couple divorce. I did not want Steve to leave me. Actually, I loved him. As one of Britain's leading superbike racers, Guy Martin knows more than a thing or two about dicing with death on two wheels. However, if the 34-year-old from Lincolnshire looked assured as he tackled the world's biggest Wall of Death live on television, his girlfriend Sharon Comiskey looked anything but. After the unlikely heartthrob reached hair-raising speeds of 78.15mph on the 20-ton wooden wall that is six metres high and ten metres in diameter, the truck-fitter from Grimsby simply reached for a cup of tea...but his partner looked like she might have preferred something stronger. Scroll down for video 'Sharon, pass me that brew' Guy Martin takes a cup of tea from his girlfriend Sharon after breaking the World Record on the Wall of Death How does she watch? Martin's partner Sharon Comiskey looked away frequently during the challenge Would you be his girlfriend? Martin's girlfriend Sharon got the sympathy of a lot of people watching Tea and toast...they know how to live it up: Martin's girlfriend revealed their post-challenge revelry The hashtag #Wallofdeath trended on Twitter during and after the two-hour show, which was screened on Channel 4 at 7:15pm, as viewers were left open-mouthed by a dizzying feat that saw Martin reach G-force of 5.2 while riding a self-built Triumph. @FrankstaPasta wrote: 'Guy Martin: proof that an Englishman just needs a cup of tea in order to survive anything. Even greying out from g-force on a wall of death.' @danharvey88 added: 'Guy Martin never ceases to amaze me, absolute legend! Another world record and a cuppa tea to celebrate.' @dherk_ aka Mike Fairhurst added: 'Absolutely love Guy Martin; sets a world record, stands there drinking a cup of tea like nothing's happened.' @abbie_wray said the programme was a celebration of a very British daredevil: 'Guy Martin has just won a world record and is now celebrating with a cuppa, is that not just the most British thing you've ever heard.' Others felt more for his girlfriend Dubliner Sharon Comiskey, who has moved to Lincolnshire to set up home with Martin, after she appeared barely able to watch. When the feat was over, Martin, who has Asperger Syndrome, turned to his girlfriend and said: 'Sharon, give me that brew.' One user, @lost-map, simply observed: 'Guy Martin is a nutter, I feel sorry for his girlfriend.' @HanaLouise21 added: 'I love Guy Martin but f*** being his girlfriend, he's mental.' @sallys_face wrote: 'Hats off to Sharon your nerves must be wrecked!!! #WallOfDeath #GuyMartin' After the record was broken, Comiskey, , who worked in publicity before heading for rural Lincolnshire, revealed on Facebook that the couple had enjoyed tea and toast in their own down-to-earth post-challenge revelry. She wrote in the post this morning: 'Thank you for all the texts, calls, emails, tweets and a few by pigeon post. He never fails to impress me.......of course we celebrated in style last night.... tea and toast on the sofa #BIGLOVE' Happy its over...Martin had to postpone the challenge, which had been set for September, after attaining severe injuries during a superbike race last year The Wall of Death: Martin managed a speed of 78.15mph while riding around the 20-ton wooden wall And he's off: Martin built up the speed gradually before going full pelt around the six-metre high cauldron The truck-fitter who has insisted on keeping his job in Grimsby in favour of a life of stardom receives official confirmation of his heroics Social media went crazy for Martin's challenge with thousands of people commenting on the show, many loving the fact that the superbike rider opted for a celebratory cup of char after breaking the record HOW A LATE DIAGNOSIS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME HELPED MARTIN UNDERSTAND HIS STRUGGLE WITH FAME Often described as a Great British eccentric, Martin has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome not that its made any discernible difference to his life. It all came about three years ago, he says. My then girlfriend started saying that there was something up with me, that I wasnt quite right, that I had no regard for feelings. Martin has been officially diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome...but the diagnosis hasn't had much impact on his life 'Like if someone died Id just get on with it. I wouldnt dwell on the emotions. So she booked me in to see a psychologist and I went along to keep her happy. 'I was in there for a day, filling out questionnaires. Thats how I got diagnosed. People like to have names for things, I suppose. With Aspergers, maybe people expect me to be socially awkward. I dont think I am. That said, Im probably at my happiest when Im in my shed, tinkering around with my tool box. Advertisement The record-breaking event, for which Martin trained in a circus tent near Cambridge was originally scheduled for last September. However, in August he suffered fractures to his vertebrae, spine, ribs and hand after being thrown off his motorcycle during a race in Ireland, and rehearsals were postponed. A segment of the show focused on his injuries and recovery, including 4am dips in an outdoor pool to help heal his injuries. With steel rods in his back and nails holding together his hand, Martin's recovery has largely been a successful one. He told Event magazine in a recent interview: 'I guess I like to see how close I can come to death without actually dying. For the Wall of Death, his preparation was especially intensive, and he went to the lengths of spending time with Cambridge University physicist Hugh Hunt. He explained all the maths to me, says Martin. With his help I got to understand the complex set of forces, gravitational and frictional, that work together in harmony on a Wall of Death. To an outsider, it might look like Im being reckless by attempting something like this. But I dont see it that way at all. If I stick to the maths, Ill stick to the wall. Thats the theory anyway. Im not pretending its a walk in the park. 'To begin with, dizziness was a problem for me because of the speeds I was going at. But Ive got used to dealing with it. 'Apart from that, the biggest challenge has been getting on and getting off the wall. The trick is to gain enough speed to stick to the wall as I begin to climb, then slow down at the right pace to enable a safe landing. 'Also, I need to be sure that my pace can handle the g-force, as my heart needs to be able to keep the blood flowing to my brain. If I get it wrong I could black out and lose consciousness.' A modern take on a fairground freak-show ride: Martin has captivated audiences with his latest stunt Injuries sustained last year saw Martin have steel rods placed in his upper back and dozens of nails to support his splintered finger bones Of his childhood growing up in Lincolnshire, Martin says: I was a very active kid. I liked jumping off bridges and setting fire to things. Or Id wet my fingers and stick them in plug sockets. Anything for a laugh. 'For a time I loved blowing up lawnmowers. Then I decided that there was more fun to be had in rebuilding them so theyd go faster. 'After that, it was all about speed. Id muck about with mopeds, seeing how fast I could get them to go. Then, in my teens, I discovered racing motorbikes and there was no looking back. Despite his fast-growing fame and four books now written, Martin refuses to give up his day job as a mechanic, fixing vehicles for a Grimsby-based truck and trailer dealership. A new mother has revealed how she was left 'mortified' after being asked to go into the back room of a restaurant to breastfeed her baby. Carla Francome, 37, was in the middle of feeding six-month-old Archie on a Saturday lunchtime when she was told she would have to 'cover up' or leave the main part of Italian eatery La Porchetta, in Islington, London. The mother, from Archway, London, said she was horrified and was made to feel as though she was doing something wrong. Carla Francome, 37, was in the middle of feeding six-month-old Archie on a Saturday lunchtime when she was told she would have to 'cover up' or leave the main part of Italian eatery La Porchetta, in Islington, London Carla was approached by a male waiter at La Porchetta, above, an Italian chain in London, and asked to move Carla told FEMAIL: 'I totally broke down and cried in the restaurant. I felt like I must have done something embarrassing.' Carla was having lunch with friends when she lifted her T-shirt to feed Archie. She said she didn't use a blanket to cover herself as she was facing the kitchen and there was only one other family in there but she said there would have only been a 'centimetre of skin on show.' The waiting staff in the restaurant were all male, according to Carla, and one approached her to ask her if she would like to breastfeed in the back room. Carla said: 'It was weird to have a man come up to you while breastfeeding. I was shocked to feel I was doing this in way which was like flashing. I was so mortified.' Carla asked what the waiter meant and said she was told it was their policy for mothers who breastfeed to cover up completely or use the back room as a man had once complained. Carla, pictured with Archie, said: 'It was weird to have a man come up to you while breastfeeding. I was shocked to feel I was doing this in way which was like flashing. I was so mortified' The mother then tried to feed Archie downstairs on a sofa before leaving to go to another cafe. Carla said: 'I felt like I was in a place that was safe [when I started breastfeeding]. But after that I thought "How am I going to be able to do it again?"' La Porchetta advertises itself as an 'informal, family-owned chain' with the first restaurant opened 25 years ago in Finsbury Park, London, with three other restaurants across London. A spokeswoman for the chain told the Islington Tribune it 'apologised unreservedly' for the incident. She added: 'I am really disappointed, it is absolutely not our policy. It is very unfortunate. 'We can only apologise to this lady. The manager will be disciplined.' FEMAIL has contacted the chain for comment. Carla said she felt embarrassed although it is legally allowed for women to breastfeed in public Women are legally allowed to breastfeed anywhere, but Carla, who used to work in television, was unaware of this at the time and left after she felt uncomfortable. Carla has since struggled to breastfeed in public after feeling 'humiliated' in the restaurant six weeks ago. Claridge's hotel in Mayfair attracted controversy in 2014 when a woman was asked to cover up. that everyone should commit to themselves before anyone else A 42-year-old American woman has revealed she spent up to $7,000 (5,000) on a trip to Paris - so she could marry herself. Beautiful Existence - who changed her name from Desiree Longabaugh - from Seattle, splashed the cash on a romantic ceremony under the Eiffel Tower, flights to France, accommodation for a week, and a birthday celebration while there. The bride, who works in social media and marketing, wore a casual white dress and trainers, and recited vows that she had written to herself as an officiant oversaw the ceremony via Skype - as she couldn't find anyone in France to do so in person. Beautiful Existence, 42, who works in social media and marketing and is from Seattle, went to Paris to marry herself in a romantic ceremony beside the Eiffel Tower The bride wore a casual white dress and trainers, and spoke vows she'd written herself as an officiant oversaw the ceremony via Skype - as she couldn't find anyone in France to do so in person Now the mother-of-two is encouraging others to marry themselves ahead of her first anniversary in June 2016. 'It was hugely emotional,' Ms Existence said. 'Looking at myself on that screen as I Skyped the officiant, saying exactly what I wanted to say to myself was soul-shifting. 'I believe everybody should self-marry before they even marry anyone else. It allows you to drop that pressure of having to have somebody else with you in order to be successful. 'I'd recommend it as much as I'd recommend being a parent, because the level of love you'll feel is something you can't describe until you do it.' Ms Existence was previously married for ten years and has two sons - Edge, 16 and Epic, six. During that time, friends would confide in her that they thought she had lost her spark. They told her she 'wasn't herself' when she was married, and questioned what had happened to the independent, optimistic woman they knew. A painful divorce then left her wondering if traditional marriage was for her. The 42-year-old encourages everyone to marry themselves before anyone else as it drops the pressure on having to have someone else with you to be successful. Beautiful's sons, Epic, 16, right, and Edge, six, left, are supportive of their mother's decision She was further discouraged when she met a new partner and they decided to cohabit but not marry, only to find he wasn't right for her either. She discovered self-marriage on social media and spoke to other women who had done it. 'After years of exploring different theories on how to understand myself, self-marriage felt right,' she said. 'Why couldn't I have a fun, fantastic ceremony the way that I wanted it to be without somebody else's approval? Beautiful believes that the current norms around marriage and long-term relationships don't fit in with and honour who she am as a person 'The current norms around marriage and long-term relationships just don't fit in with and honour who I am as a person. Before I get into any kind of relationship, I needed to commit to myself first.' Within a month of finding out that self-marriage was an option, Ms Existence decided to have a ceremony herself. Within a month of finding out that self-marriage was an option, Ms Existence decided to have a ceremony herself Her heart set on Paris, she set about finding a dress, photographer and inviting friends to the ceremony before jetting out in June last year. She picked her wedding date to coincide with her birthday. 'I wanted it to all be one big adventure,' she explained. 'I figured if I was honouring myself, there was no point in picking a date at random.' On 10th June 2015, under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower with a bouquet in hand, Ms Existence married herself, reciting vows similar to the ones she had said at her first wedding years previously. She said the experience was life-changing, and has completely freed her from the pressure of finding a partner. She explained: 'The highest measurement of success society pretty much has is whether or not you're in a couple, but it shouldn't be that way. Beatiful picked the wedding date to coincide with her birthday, as she wanted the date to be meaningful to her 'It's like we're programmed to be in couples, but it's not a measure of success. A measure of success is loving yourself, and if you can do that, you come into a relationship as a better person. 'I don't worry at all about being in a couple now.' Currently, self-marriage is not legally recognised. However, Ms Existence believes that this won't always be the case. 'It's not like I'm going to get a marriage certificate. Nobody recognises it right now, unfortunately, but I do think that's something that will be on the horizon,' she said. Beautiful says that unfortunately self-marriage isn't recognised right now, but that she hopes it will be on the horizon soon 'There are a lot of people - women especially - who are not subscribing to the regular definition of marriage anymore.' Since announcing her marriage, Ms Existence said people's reactions have been positive, save for a few who don't really understand the concept. Her two sons have been especially supportive. 'Both my boys are wonderful children. I'm very blessed,' she said. Beautiful is pleased that her children are supportive of her decision and that accept that she doesn't subscribe to normal life protocol. She says that her 16-ear-old son has a lot of diverse friends so is a balanced soul 'My six-year-old is too young to be anything but supportive. I talked things through with my eldest, but he's used to the fact that his mum doesn't subscribe to normal life protocol. 'I mean, I have a Mohawk. My name is Beautiful Existence. 'Plus, he has a lot of friends that are very diverse so he's a really balanced soul.' Now, she is looking ahead to her first anniversary, when she plans to get a tattoo on her ring finger to celebrate. Currently, she occasionally wears a ring but would prefer something more permanent. 'Sometimes, people don't know how to take the idea that I'm married to myself,' she said. 'But that's because we've had this notion that you're only worthy if you have somebody drummed into us. A stunning model is bravely unveiling the huge birthmark that covers half of her face for the first time after hiding it for two decades. Celina Leroy, from Brooklyn, New York, spent all of her life trying to hide the red mark that covers her chin, lips and cheek - but says she's now embracing her unique appearance and is posing without make-up for the first time. The 24-year-old faced severe bullying at school, including being told she would never be well liked because of her port wine stain (PWS) - a harmless red or purple mark caused by widened blood vessels underneath the skin. Scroll down for video Celina felt that she had to hide the birthmark because of the beauty standards women have to live up to Celina Leroy, 24, from Brooklyn, New York, spent all of her life trying to hide the red birthmark that covers her chin, lips and cheek - but now she's embracing her unique appearance and is modelling without covering it Over the years, Celina has spent $15,000 (10,000) on a total of 40 sessions of laser treatment to lighten the colour of her birthmark, and two operations to make her lips symmetrical. But now the model has decided to embrace her unique birthmark and has started posing for photoshoots without covering it with makeup. Celina, a full-time model and actress, said: 'I put all this money and effort into treatments to make it go away but since I've stopped wearing make-up everyone's been really supportive. 'I've spent around $15,000 on surgery and treatment so I could make it look like I didn't have a birthmark, but now I don't want to hide it and am proud of it. 'I was only a baby when I had my first laser surgery and since then I had more than 40 treatments to reduce the appearance of my birthmark. 'I've never wanted to hide my port wine stain, but I felt like I had to, especially while working as an actress because I've only ever seen people with birthmarks portraying villains. Celina was only a year old when she had her first treatment to reduce and fade the birthmark - and has had 40 laser treatments and two surgeries since then Celina faced cruel words while at school, with one girl saying she would never be popular because of her mark 'Hiding my birthmark while I was modelling used to be really frustrating as it felt fake and like it wasn't me, now I can be the real Celina. 'I've had some cruel comments over the years, when I was in school a girl told me I was pretty but because I had a birthmark I would never be popular. 'When I was a lot younger I used to get really upset and question why I had to have a port wine stain, which made me very self-conscious and gave me a low self-esteem in front of people. Since feeling more confident about her port wine stain, Celina has noticed she's getting a lot more attention from men - including some of the people who used to mock her in school Celina used to get very upset about her birthmark when she was a child. It made her very self-conscious and gave her low self-esteem in front of people 'Even now a lot of little kids ask me what I have on my face, but a lot of other people used to just stare - if people asked me I'd be only too happy to tell them it's a birthmark 'Once I gave my photos to one modelling agent who told me I should cover my birthmark if I wanted to get jobs, but I don't personally think I have anything to hide. 'But I feel great now, my birthmark is who I am and I think it makes me stand out from other people, I'm no longer ashamed. 'Now when I see myself on screen or in pictures with my birthmark showing it feels liberating and I'm hoping it will help to change the public's perceptions and how imperfection in many ways is perfection. After giving her photos to a modelling agent they told her that she should cover the birthmark if she wanted to get jobs - but she doesn't think she has anything to hide 'I'm hoping through modelling with my birthmark out I can show others that you can be beautiful and be yourself without needing to hide.' Celina started having laser treatment when she was only a year old. Her mother Lorraine and father Billy Leroy, an American reality TV personality, hoped it would lessen the colour of the mark. Later at the ages of 17 and 24, she had surgery to her lips to make them even in appearance after her port wine stain had distorted parts of her mouth. Celina said: 'When I was younger the treatment was really intense, I remember screaming while it happened. 'As I got older I felt I had to continue hiding it because of the beauty standards women have to live up to, especially because when I was growing up there weren't many role models with birthmarks. 'Now I want to be that role model and show others they have nothing to hide by being more open about my birthmark and celebrating having one.' Since feeling more confident about her port wine stain, Celina has noticed she's getting a lot more attention from men - including some of the people who used to mock her in school. The model spent $15,000 over her life on surgeries and laser treatments to reduce the stain and to make her lips symmetrical - but now she's given up hiding the birthmark Celina decided that she didn't need to cover it any more after going to a party and men were flirting with her, which she found odd because she used to feel ugly without make-up covering it up Celina said: 'When I've been back to my hometown and was covering my port wine stain in makeup people were really nice about it and said they missed seeing it because it was part of who I was. 'Even some of the guys were horrible to me were trying to hit on me. 'I decided I didn't need to cover it any more after going to a party and a load of guys were chatting me up - which was weird because I used to feel ugly without make-up. Karlie Kloss is the latest supermodel to land a campaign with Spanish fashion house Mango as she follows in fellow model Kendall Jenner's footsteps. The statuesque 23-year-old appears in the high street brand's New Metallics range just two months after Kendall starred in the controversial African-Savannah campaign. The collection, which launches in store and online today, sees the model pose in various Nineties grunge-inspired looks all with a metallic twist. Scroll down for video Karlie Kloss has lent her good looks to Mango's New Metallics campaign which launches today The American model posed in a range of silver sequined dresses dressed down with cream bomber jackets and ripped denim. Speaking of the new opportunity, she told i-D magazine: 'It's amazing. I love how the campaign captures the energy of the New Metallics collection. I love that Mango is a chic and classic brand with an iconic international presence. The collection takes inspiration from the Nineties working in the rock 'n' roll elements of the decade pairing party pieces with casual separates with prices ranging from 9.99 for a vest to 39.99 for jeans. The 23-year-old model was announced as the face of the brand earlier this month replacing fellow Victoria's Secret model Kendall Jenner The new collection takes inspiration from the 90s featuring classic party pieces as well as casual classics The model looks effortless in the photographs no doubt relying on experience from previous campaigns for John Galliano, Elie Saab, Jean Paul Gaultier and Donna Karan, and she is regularly booked for the Fashion Week runways. And in her latest success she follows on from Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne and fellow Victoria's Secret model Kendall Jenner by posing in the affordable designs across the globe. Hopefully, Karlie will be better received than her predecessor who caused uproar when she appeared in an African-Savannah inspired collection for the brand in January. Speaking of the new opportunity Karlie said: 'It's amazing. I love how the campaign captures the energy of the New Metallics collection. I love that Mango is a chic and classic brand with an iconic international presence. The model has starred in previous campaigns for John Galliano, Elie Saab, Jean Paul Gaultier and Donna Karan, and she is regularly booked for the Fashion Week runways Karlie replaces Kendall Jenner as the face of the brand just two months after she starred in the controversial African-Savannah campaign Kendall Jenner lent her good looks to Mango's Tribal Spirit collection - but critics questioned why a white model was chosen to represent the collection. The reality TV star-turned-supermodel is modelling the first of four trends to be showcased in advertising campaigns for Spring/Summer 2016, and the Spanish retailer said each would be represented by 'the face that best defines it'. But on social media many couldn't have disagreed more, and Ldndxv was one of many who took to Twitter to share her comments with the retailer. The affordable separates from the Spanish fashion house will also be available to buy online today Social media criticised the brand's decision to use a white model in their Africa-Savannah inspired collection when they chose Kendall to front it in January 'Seriously Mango,' she wrote. 'You should know better. Leave cultural appropriation in 2015.' Pablo Godoy Estel agreed, saying the company's 'cultural appropriation' was a shame. Sharpay Evans added sarcastically: 'Mango's new campaign Tribal Spirit is inspired by the African Savannah and Kendall Jenner, a white girl, is the model?' Announcing the launch of the collection the retailer said it had 'counted on the famous American model Kendall Jenner to model a collection of uncontained beauty and cultural fusion, typical of the wildest savannah.' Ivanka Trump's mother Ivana has been pictured with her newborn grandson Theodore James for the first time in a heartwarming image taken inside the hospital, just a few hours before the mom-of-three shared an image of her husband Jared and daughter Arabella posing with the tiny tot. Proud grandmother Ivana, 67, is seen beaming with delight at the camera in her picture, as she cradles the tiny infant, who is believed to have been just a few hours old when the image was taken in 34-year-old Ivanka's hospital room. Modeling her signature blonde beehive, the former wife of Donald Trump looks typically glamorous in the snap, which also sees her wearing a dark smokey eye, and pink lipstick. Proud moment: Ivana Trump has been pictured holding her newborn baby grandson Theodore for the first time in a heartwarming image taken inside her daughter Ivanka's hospital room 'This is love': On Tuesday morning, Ivanka shared this image of her husband Jared Kushner, and their four-year-old daughter Arabella, with baby Theodore from Monday The picture was originally posted on Instagram by family acquaintance and magazine publisher Jason Binn, who also shared an image of Ivanka with her newborn baby son. Hours after he posted the images, seemingly without the new mother's permission, with his 380,000 Instagram followers as well as his 122,00 followers on Facebook, he took them down. It is unclear how Binn got the images to begin with. Shortly before lunch on Tuesday Ivanka shared a sweet family photo, this time of her husband Jared Kushner, 35, and their four-year-old daughter Arabella posing with the newest member of their family, who is seen swaddled in a blue, pink and white hospital blanket. Taken during the family's visit to the hospital on Monday morning, the image sees Jared sitting on a chair in his wife's hospital room, holding baby Theodore in his arms, while Arabella perches behind him, clinging on to his neck in an embrace. Both father and daughter are showing off wide smiles to the camera, while Theodore rests peacefully in Jared's arms. The image was shared just a few hours after Jared was pictured taking Arabella and the couple's two-year-old son Joseph to visit their mom and newborn brother in the hospital. Proud father: Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner was seen carrying their two-year-old son Joseph on his way to the New York City hospital where his wife and newborn son Theodore James are staying Big sister: The family's nanny can be seen helping their four-year-old daughter get out of the car as she happily gets ready to see her mom and her new brother Growing boy: The 35-year-old father of three carried a backpack on his shoulders while Joseph snacked on an apple (left). Meanwhile Arabella looked smart in a grey fur-hood coat and pink ballet-style slippers (right) Jared held their two-year-old son Joseph in his arms while the family's nanny walked with Arabella on their way to the New York City hospital where Ivanka is staying with their newborn son. During their walk outside, Arabella was heard saying she and her nanny got flowers for her mother, who gave birth to her third child on Easter. Jared, who was casually dressed in a crewneck sweater and New Balance sneakers, couldn't help but smile as he headed into to see his wife, with his hospital ID band still on his wrist. Meanwhile, Joseph snacked on an apple as he relaxed in his father's arms and Arabella held on to her nanny's hand as she happily hopped out of the car and walked towards the hospital. The proud father-of-three was carrying a backpack and two other bags, presumably gifts and necessities for Ivanka, in addition to his eldest son. News of the birth came just hours after Ivanka and her husband were photographed smiling on their way to Easter breakfast in New York City. 'Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,' Ivanka, 34, wrote along with an Instagram photo announcing her son's birth on Sunday evening. Happy: Jared looked relaxed and carefree as he made his way through the group of photographers, while Joseph seemed much more interested in his apple than the commotion around him Adoring husband: Jared can be seen grabbing two bags, which presumably contain gifts and necessities for his wife during her hospital stay Prepared: The happy dad could be seen wearing what appears to be a hospital bracelet around his wrist, presumably in order to allow him access to the ward where Ivanka is staying Picking up supplies? Earlier in the day, Jared stepped out by himself, and was seen returning to his apartment building with a Lee's Art Shop bag in hand 'Jared, Arabella, Joseph and I are so excited to welcome this sweet little boy in to our family!' continued the post. Both Theodore and James are names held by former American Presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and James Madison to name a few, though it's not known if Ivanka and Jared purposefully named their newest son after historical figures. Ivanka's brother Donald Trump Jr tweeted his congratulations to his sibling saying: 'Congrats to my amazing sister @IvankaTrump & Jared on the birth of their third child Theodore. Can't wait to meet!' Donald Jr also shared a pictured of his father enjoying Easter lunch on Sunday afternoon with two of his grandchildren. He captioned it: 'Easter lunch with @realdonaldtrump. Had a great week with the family for their spring break. 'Now, after being with my 5 kids for a week I need a vacation!!! Every year after these breaks I realize how hard Vanessa works to keep these munchkins of ours in line. Her job is so much harder than mine... and more important! Amazing respect.' Easter baby: Ivanka Trump is pictured with her newborn son Theodore James just after she gave birth on Sunday evening 'Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,' Ivanka, 34, wrote along with an Instagram photo announcing her son's birth on Sunday evening. 'Jared, Arabella, Joseph and I are so excited to welcome this sweet little boy in to our family!' continued the post. Both Theodore and James are names held by former American Presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and James Madison to name a few, though it's not known if Ivanka and Jared purposefully named their newest son after historical figures. Despite sporting a baby bump for more than nine months, Ivanka followed her Republican father on the campaign trail as much as she was physically able. Ivanka is an executive vice president at the Trump Organization and also has been helping him throughout his campaign. New addition: The happy news came just hours after Ivanka and her husband were photographed on their way to Easter breakfast in New York City Three's company: Theodore is Ivanka and Jared's third child together. The happy couple are pictured on Sunday morning on their way to Easter breakfast She accompanied him to South Carolina on February 20 where he said during a campaign stop: 'Ivanka, we have a hospital ready just in case, and South Carolina, were going to have a baby and theres nothing wrong with that. It could be any second. It could even be before Im finished [giving this speech].' Knowing that she might soon give birth, Ivanka did not follow her father to Florida for Super Tuesday. Instead, she stayed in New York to prepare for the arrival of her son on a celebratory Sunday. Even when she could not make it out to campaign, like during the recent primary in Arizona, Ivanka still recorded a video encouraging residents to get out and vote which she posted on Facebook. Donald ultimately ended up winning that state's primary. Ivanka has been supportive of her father despite some of his controversial statements on topics like immigration, according to US Weekly. Joyous news: 'Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,' Ivanka captioned this Instagram photo announcing her son's arrival Happy as can be: Donald Trump Jr shared his joy over becoming an uncle again and took to Twitter to congratulate his sister 'In a political capacity, I dont [disagree with him]. Its his campaign. I dont feel thats my role. But I would challenge him as a child. Thats what children do. [My daughter] Arabella challenges me every day,' she told Town and Country Magazine in December. Her father does not always listen to her input though, with New York reporting that after her father's offensive remarks about Mexicans in his June speech last year Ivanka drafted a statement for him to dial back his comments. 'Donald didnt like it,' a source close to the front-runner told the magazine. Ivanka, who is also busy running her own accessories line, says that she puts family at the center of her life. Since publicly announcing her pregnancy in September, Ivanka has posted updates on her Instagram in the days leading up to Theodore's birth. Not your average grandfather: Donald Trump Jr shared this pictured of his father enjoying Easter lunch on Sunday afternoon Melania shared this snap of her with the Easter Bunny and characters and wished everyone a Happy Easter 'I cannot wait!' Ivanka wrote in an Instagram post six weeks ago in which she cradles her huge baby bump. Ivanka, her husband, and children are Jewish and celebrated Purim earlier this week. Her father said on Monday while speaking at AIPAC; 'My daughter Ivanka is about to have a beautiful Jewish baby.' 'In fact, it could be happening right now, which would be very nice as far as Im concerned.' Just yesterday, Ivanka and her family were spotted heading to and from the local Synagogue with Kushner, Arabella, and Joseph. Former family of four: Ivanka and Jared are seen with their two children out in New York City last week Proud father: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pat Ivanka's growing baby bump while celebrating his victory in the South Carolina primary in Spartanburg, South Carolina on February 20 Prior to being spotted on her way to Synagogue with her family, Ivanka posted a SnapChat of herself dropping off Purim treats for her staff at the office on Tuesday. Ivanka is not the only candidate's daughter who, up until Sunday, was growing the future of America in her belly. Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea is pregnant as well and is due to give birth in the summer of 2016. Meanwhile on Easter Sunday The Donald's wife Melania Trump broke her silence on Twitter. She had not tweeted since July 4, just weeks after Trump announced he was running for president. Queen Rania looked ready for spring in a pastel blazer while meeting Syrian refugees who have received help in Jordan. The 45-year-old met women who had fled to Jordan and received group counselling at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Women's Protection and Empowerment Center in Ramtha, in the north of the country. The centre also provides activities for their children and Rania was all smiles as she met youngsters who were busy colouring in together. Queen Rania met with Syrian women who have fled the country and came to Jordan at the International Rescue Committee The Queen of Jordan met female refugees who are receiving help at the Women's Protection and Empowerment Center in Ramtha, north of Jordan The ever chic mother-of-four wore a graphic-print T-shirt and a mustard scarf along with the peach blazer and nude court shoes. She wore her hair in a stylish half-up do and chose modern pearl earrings to go with her ensemble. At a meeting with IRC staff, country director Wendy Taeuber briefed the queen on the services the organisation provides, and how it deals with gender-based violence emergencies among female Syrian refugees, according to a statement from Rania's office. Taeuber explained that based on a study conducted by IRC in Jordan, the organisation's cash assistance programme has been successful in alleviating cases of domestic and gender-based violence. The queen then attended a group counselling session for Syrian women, who opened up to her about the challenges and pressures they have faced after fleeing to Jordan Rania posed for a picture with the women who revealed the psychological stress leaving Syria has had on them and their marriages and children The queen then attended a group counselling session for Syrian women, who opened up to her about the challenges and pressures they have faced after fleeing to Jordan. Um Qusai, a Syrian refugee who fled from Daraa three years ago, told Queen Rania that poverty, displacement, and uncertainty about her family's future have left her in a bad psychological state. The counselling sessions allow the women to discuss any abuse they face, and receive emotional support and advice on how to overcome psychological trauma. They help women obtain a sense of routine and normalcy, while building social support networks with other women. 'We came here to find that we have to start our lives from scratch,' Um Qusai explained. 'The stress was more than I could tolerate, so my husband and I started having problems at home, and even my children started developing psychological issues because life all of a sudden became too difficult,' she added. Rania also met children, who were doing arts and crafts activities, that are being helped by the centre Rania is all smiles as she meets young children who have been brought to Jordan by their mothers fleeing Syria The counselling sessions, however, have helped her deal with her negative feelings, she added. But the Syrian refugee crisis has not only taken a toll on displaced Syrians, it has also put an immense amount of pressure on Jordanian communities that host them, the statement said. Rania also met with the heads of five Jordanian charity organisations working in the area to support local residents on Wednesday. The charity directors told the Queen that the closures of two border crossings and the free trade zone with Syria have led to skyrocketing unemployment among Jordanians. The refugee crisis has also pushed house rents up in Ramtha and other towns and cities. The charity directors added that severe pressure on Jordan's infrastructure has exhausted public services in Ramtha. Queen Rania's second stop in Ramtha was a visit to an IRC health clinic. Her Majesty toured the facility and checked on Syrian and Jordanian patients with IRC Health Programme Manager Muhammad Fawad, and IRC Health Coordinator Caroline Boustany. The first picture of grandmother Ivana holding her grandson, believed to have been taken hours after his birth, also emerged on Monday night Less than 48 hours later, Ivanka left the hospital, but not before sharing a picture of husband Jared and daughter Arabella with Theodore Ivanka Trump has left the hospital and returned home with her newborn baby son Theodore James, less than two days after she gave birth to her third child. The 34-year-old, who gave birth at 5.43pm on Sunday, beamed with joy as she was pictured heading into her Park Avenue apartment with her husband Jared Kushner as he carried their precious baby in a car seat. Wearing a loose floral-print red dress, the mother-of-three positively glowed as she showed off just a tiny hint of a bump in the flattering spring-inspired ensemble, which featured a high neckline and high hemline which showed off her long legs. Scroll down for video Beaming with joy: Ivanka Trump couldn't hide her smile as she returned home from the hospital with her newborn son and husband Jared Kushner Spring thing: The 34-year-old mother-of-three donned a bold floral-print dress for the occasion, hiding the remaining hint of a bump in the flattering design, while showing off her long legs Doting dad: Jared, 35, carefully carried his newborn son into the apartment in a car seat Follow the leader: Jared led the way while holding Theodore in a carrier, while Ivanka followed behind Despite giving birth less than 48 hours earlier, Ivanka looked fresh-faced, wearing only a touch of make-up, while her blonde hair was left loose around her shoulders. Never one to miss an opportunity to proudly show off her own clothing designs, Ivanka finished off the ensemble with a pair of lace-up black ballet flats from her eponymous fashion label. Pausing to flash a smile at the cameras, Ivanka followed her husband into the Trump-owned building after exiting the car that had driven the trio from the hospital back to their home. Ivanka's departure from her New York hospital comes just a few hours after she shared the first image of her baby son with his dad Jared and four-year-old sister Arabella, and 12 hours after the first picture of her mother Ivana holding her newborn grandson emerged on social media. In the picture, proud grandmother Ivana, 67, is seen beaming with delight at the camera in her picture, as she cradles the tiny infant, who is believed to have been just a few hours old when the image was taken in 34-year-old Ivanka's hospital room. Modeling her signature blonde beehive, the former wife of Donald Trump looks typically glamorous in the snap, which also sees her wearing a dark smokey eye, and pink lipstick. Joyful: The businesswoman was positively glowing as she flashed a smile at the waiting photographers stationed outside her Park Avenue home Proud parents: Husband Jared was pictured taking their older two children, Arabella and Joseph, to the hospital on Monday morning, however the children stayed at home on this occasion Thrilled: Jared looked pleased as punch to be bringing home the new addition to his family Proud mama: Ivanka appears to have emphasized her natural post-birth glow with a touch of highlighter on her cheekbones, which helped to accentuate her radiant complexion On the move: Ivanka looked like she couldn't wait to be in the comfort of her own home, however she was more than happy to flash a few smiles at the cameras The picture was originally posted on Instagram by family acquaintance and magazine publisher Jason Binn, who also shared an image of Ivanka with her newborn baby son. Hours after he posted the images, seemingly without the new mother's permission, with his 380,000 Instagram followers as well as his 122,00 followers on Facebook, he took them down. It is unclear how Binn got the images to begin with. Shortly before lunch on Tuesday Ivanka shared a sweet family photo, this time of her husband Jared Kushner, 35, and their four-year-old daughter Arabella posing with the newest member of their family, who is seen swaddled in a blue, pink and white hospital blanket. Taken during the family's visit to the hospital on Monday morning, the image sees Jared sitting on a chair in his wife's hospital room, holding baby Theodore in his arms, while Arabella perches behind him, clinging on to his neck in an embrace. Both father and daughter are showing off wide smiles to the camera, while Theodore rests peacefully in Jared's arms. The image was shared just a few hours after Jared was pictured taking Arabella and the couple's two-year-old son Joseph to visit their mom and newborn brother in the hospital. Jared held their two-year-old son Joseph in his arms while the family's nanny walked with Arabella on their way to the New York City hospital where Ivanka is staying with their newborn son. Proud moment: Ivana Trump was pictured holding her newborn baby grandson Theodore for the first time in a heartwarming image taken inside her daughter Ivanka's hospital room and shared on Monday night 'This is love': On Tuesday morning, Ivanka shared this image of her husband Jared Kushner, and their four-year-old daughter Arabella, with baby Theodore, which was taken during their visit to the hospital on Monday Easter baby: Ivanka shared this image of herself with her newborn son Theodore just hours after she gave birth on Sunday evening Proud father: Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner was seen carrying their two-year-old son Joseph on his way to the New York City hospital where his wife and newborn son Theodore James are staying Big sister: The family's nanny can be seen helping their four-year-old daughter get out of the car as she happily gets ready to see her mom and her new brother During their walk outside, Arabella was heard saying she and her nanny got flowers for her mother, who gave birth to her third child on Easter. Jared, who was casually dressed in a crewneck sweater and New Balance sneakers, couldn't help but smile as he headed into to see his wife, with his hospital ID band still on his wrist. Meanwhile, Joseph snacked on an apple as he relaxed in his father's arms and Arabella held on to her nanny's hand as she happily hopped out of the car and walked towards the hospital. The proud father-of-three was carrying a backpack and two other bags, presumably gifts and necessities for Ivanka, in addition to his eldest son. News of the birth came just hours after Ivanka and her husband were photographed smiling on their way to Easter breakfast in New York City. 'Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,' Ivanka, 34, wrote along with an Instagram photo announcing her son's birth on Sunday evening. 'Jared, Arabella, Joseph and I are so excited to welcome this sweet little boy in to our family!' continued the post. Both Theodore and James are names held by former American Presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and James Madison to name a few, though it's not known if Ivanka and Jared purposefully named their newest son after historical figures. Ivanka's brother Donald Trump Jr tweeted his congratulations to his sibling saying: 'Congrats to my amazing sister @IvankaTrump & Jared on the birth of their third child Theodore. Can't wait to meet!' Three's company: Theodore is Ivanka and Jared's third child together. The happy couple are pictured on Sunday morning on their way to Easter breakfast Joyous news: 'Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,' Ivanka captioned this Instagram photo announcing her son's arrival Happy as can be: Donald Trump Jr shared his joy over becoming an uncle again and took to Twitter to congratulate his sister Donald Jr also shared a pictured of his father enjoying Easter lunch on Sunday afternoon with two of his grandchildren. He captioned it: 'Easter lunch with @realdonaldtrump. Had a great week with the family for their spring break. 'Now, after being with my 5 kids for a week I need a vacation!!! Every year after these breaks I realize how hard Vanessa works to keep these munchkins of ours in line. Her job is so much harder than mine... and more important! Amazing respect.' 'Jared and I feel incredibly blessed to announce the arrival of Theodore James Kushner,' Ivanka, 34, wrote along with an Instagram photo announcing her son's birth on Sunday evening. 'Jared, Arabella, Joseph and I are so excited to welcome this sweet little boy in to our family!' continued the post. Both Theodore and James are names held by former American Presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and James Madison to name a few, though it's not known if Ivanka and Jared purposefully named their newest son after historical figures. Despite sporting a baby bump for more than nine months, Ivanka followed her Republican father on the campaign trail as much as she was physically able. Ivanka is an executive vice president at the Trump Organization and also has been helping him throughout his campaign. Not your average grandfather: Donald Trump Jr shared this pictured of his father enjoying Easter lunch on Sunday afternoon Melania shared this snap of her with the Easter Bunny and characters and wished everyone a Happy Easter She accompanied him to South Carolina on February 20 where he said during a campaign stop: 'Ivanka, we have a hospital ready just in case, and South Carolina, were going to have a baby and theres nothing wrong with that. It could be any second. It could even be before Im finished [giving this speech].' Knowing that she might soon give birth, Ivanka did not follow her father to Florida for Super Tuesday. Instead, she stayed in New York to prepare for the arrival of her son on a celebratory Sunday. Even when she could not make it out to campaign, like during the recent primary in Arizona, Ivanka still recorded a video encouraging residents to get out and vote which she posted on Facebook. Donald ultimately ended up winning that state's primary. Ivanka has been supportive of her father despite some of his controversial statements on topics like immigration, according to US Weekly. 'In a political capacity, I dont [disagree with him]. Its his campaign. I dont feel thats my role. But I would challenge him as a child. Thats what children do. [My daughter] Arabella challenges me every day,' she told Town and Country Magazine in December. Her father does not always listen to her input though, with New York reporting that after her father's offensive remarks about Mexicans in his June speech last year Ivanka drafted a statement for him to dial back his comments. 'Donald didnt like it,' a source close to the front-runner told the magazine. Former family of four: Ivanka and Jared are seen with their two children out in New York City last week Proud father: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pat Ivanka's growing baby bump while celebrating his victory in the South Carolina primary in Spartanburg, South Carolina on February 20 Ivanka, who is also busy running her own accessories line, says that she puts family at the center of her life. Since publicly announcing her pregnancy in September, Ivanka has posted updates on her Instagram in the days leading up to Theodore's birth. 'I cannot wait!' Ivanka wrote in an Instagram post six weeks ago in which she cradles her huge baby bump. Ivanka, her husband, and children are Jewish and celebrated Purim earlier this week. Her father said on Monday while speaking at AIPAC; 'My daughter Ivanka is about to have a beautiful Jewish baby.' 'In fact, it could be happening right now, which would be very nice as far as Im concerned.' Just yesterday, Ivanka and her family were spotted heading to and from the local Synagogue with Kushner, Arabella, and Joseph. Prior to being spotted on her way to Synagogue with her family, Ivanka posted a SnapChat of herself dropping off Purim treats for her staff at the office on Tuesday. Ivanka is not the only candidate's daughter who, up until Sunday, was growing the future of America in her belly. Hillary Clinton's daughter Chelsea is pregnant as well and is due to give birth in the summer of 2016. Meanwhile on Easter Sunday The Donald's wife Melania Trump broke her silence on Twitter. She had not tweeted since July 4, just weeks after Trump announced he was running for president. A second mother infected with the Zika virus in Puerto Rico has delivered a healthy baby, health officials said today. That marks two healthy births from Zika-infected mothers in the US territory - which currently has 350 Zika cases, 40 of which involve pregnant women. Puerto Rico's health secretary, Ana Rius, said both babies born in recent weeks are doing well. Experts believe Zika may be linked to microcephaly - a defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and brain damage. The news came after scientists revealed they may be one step closer to developing a vaccine for Zika, which is rapidly spreading across the Americas and the Caribbean. A team of experts have identified a genetically modified strain of mice that can develop the virus - a necessary step in developing vaccines and potential treatments. A second mother infected with Zika virus in Puerto Rico has given birth to a healthy baby, the US territory's health minister revealed. That marks two healthy births in the area, despite concern that Zika is linked to a birth defect called microcephaly (pictured), which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads Additionally, early tests conducted on the mice show the virus growing in their testes - offering clues about how a virus typically spread by mosquito bites can also be transmitted sexually. Dr Scott Weaver, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, told Reuters: 'We are going to do experiments to see if we can produce sexual transmission [in mice].' Zika, which is typically spread through bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, has been ravaging Latin America and the Caribbean in recent months. The virus has been linked to a surge of babies in Brazil born with microcephaly - and has also been associated with GuillainBarre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that causes temporary paralysis. Puerto Rico has reported three GuillainBarre cases - and six people have been hospitalized because of the virus so far. Brazil has confirmed more than 900 microcephaly cases - and is investigating nearly 4,300 additional suspected cases of the defect. The country considers most cases to be related to Zika infections in mothers. The link between Zika and the two conditions has yet to be confirmed, but mounting evidence prompted the World Health Organization to declare Zika a global health emergency. On Monday, Arizona confirmed its first case of the virus, in a woman who traveled outside of the US to a Zika-infected area. The Centers for Disease Control reported that there are 273 such travel-associated Zika cases in the US - and of that group, 19 are in pregnant women and six were sexually transmitted. The National Center for Atmospheric Research recently projected that mosquitos carrying the Zika virus will enter the US by the summer - causing a outbreak. Scientists have also identified mice models that can develop ZIka virus - a vital step in creating and testing vaccines and medicines. The news came as Arizona confirmed its first case of Zika virus. Pictured here, the CDC's map as of March 23, showing Zika virus occurrences in the US, prior to Arizona's announcement According to the NCAR, cities in southern Florida, as well as impoverished areas in southern Texas, carry the highest risk of Zika outbreaks in the US. However, the mosquito is also projected to appear as far west as Phoenix and Los Angeles, and as far north as New York City. Thus far, the virus has appeared in more than 30 US states, according to the CDC - and Arizona's first case was confirmed by local news affiliate KPHO on Monday. And just last week, the CDC issued first-time guidelines, saying those who are trying to conceive should use condoms every time or abstain from sex for six months if the man had confirmed illness or Zika symptoms. And if a male partner has visited a region affected by Zika but did not fall ill, a couple should use condoms or abstain for eight weeks, the CDC advised. Additionally, if a woman has confirmed Zika or exhibits Zika symptoms, a couple should wait at least eight weeks after the symptoms before trying to conceive. Dr Weaver said the Zika mouse model will provide a critical tool to allow scientists and companies to test vaccines and antiviral drugs against Zika. It typically takes several months to create this kind of mouse model. However, the urgency of the Zika outbreak necessitated a rapid response. Early tests in mice have shown the virus developing in their testes - which offers clues as to how a virus that is typically spread through mosquito bites can also be transmitted sexually. Pictured here, the CDC's map showing active Zika transmission in Latin America and the Caribbean Thus, the team of scientists put the results together in just three weeks, according to UTMB virologist Dr Shannan Rossi. Mice normally do not become sick from a Zika infection, the scientists wrote in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. But, the scientists tested Zika on several genetically modified mice with weakened immune systems. Younger mice quickly developed the virus - becoming lethargic, losing weight and often dying six days later. Scientists have found virus particles in many major organs of the mice - including high concentrations in the spleen, brain and testes. Dr Weaver noted that there are limits to what mouse models can tell about human infections. However, he added that they at least provide early clues that could be followed up in non-human primates - which are more costly animal models, but better predictors of human disease. Dr Weaver said: 'The mouse will mainly be used to do the very earliest testing of vaccines or drugs where the mechanism of disease doesn't have to be a perfect model to what happens in humans.' The world's elderly population is soaring, with the number of people aged 65 and over expected to more than double by 2050, a study has found. The global population is ageing at an unprecedented rate with 8.5 per cent of people worldwide - or more than 600 million - now aged 65 and over, the report from the US Census Bureau showed. If the trend continues, then nearly 17 per cent of the global population - 1.6 billion people - will be in the 65-and-over age bracket by 2050. Commenting on the findings, an expert said the rocketing numbers of senior citizens could present 'public health challenges'. The world's elderly population is exploding, with the number of people aged 65 and over expected to more than double by 2050. In 2015, 8.5 per cent of people were this age bracket, but by 2050 16.7 per cent will be. The top map shows the percentage of elderly people aged 65 or over in each country in the world in 2015, while the bottom map shows how this has changed by 2050. In countries coloured in dark blue, including Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy, more than 28 per cent of the population are older While the number of people age 65 and over has soared since 1950, there has been a simultaneous fall in the number of children under the age of five. Graph predicts how many young children (red line) and older people (blue line) there will be as a percentage of the global population in the next three decades The report, called 'An Ageing World: 2015', found: By 2050, global life expectancy at birth is projected to increase by almost eight years, from 68.6 years in 2015 to 76.2 years. The global population of the 'oldest old' - people aged 80 and older - is expected to more than triple between 2015 and 2050, from 126.5 million to 446.6 million. In some Asian and Latin American countries, the oldest old population is predicted to quadruple in the next 34 years. The report examines the health and socioeconomic trends accompanying the growth of the ageing population. It contains information about life expectancy, gender, health, mortality, disability, health care systems, working patterns, retirement, pensions and poverty among older people around the world. Among the senior generations worldwide, noncommunicable diseases - chronic diseases that are not passed on from person to person - are the main health concern. These include heart attacks and stroke, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes. In low-income countries, many in Africa, the older population faces both noncommunicable and communicable diseases including HIV and malaria. Asia is the continent with the biggest number of elderly people. In 2015, there were nearly 600 million, which is predicted to rise to around 1,400 million by 2050. Graph predicts how the number of people aged 65 and over (shown on the vertical axis) will change with time (shown on the horizontal axis) in each continent The report also identified a number of risk factors contributing to the global burden of disease. These included tobacco and alcohol use, lack of fruit and vegetables, and low levels of physical activity. In high income countries, smoking rates are declining, with the majority of smokers now living in low- and middle-income countries, the report found. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Ageing (NIA), which commissioned the report said: 'People are living longer, but that does not necessarily mean that they are living healthier.' 'The increase in our ageing population presents many opportunities and also several public health challenges that we need to prepare for. 'NIA has partnered with census to provide the best possible data so that we can better understand the course and implications of population ageing.' Dr John Haaga, also of the NIA added: 'We are seeing population ageing in every country in every part of the world. 'Many countries in Europe and Asia are further along in the process, or moving more rapidly, than we are in the United States. 'Since population ageing affects so many aspects of public life acute and long-term health care needs; pensions, work and retirement; transportation; housing there is a lot of potential for learning from each other's experience.' Medical leaders have urged junior doctors to suspend the planned all-out strike next month as it could be 'extremely damaging' to patients. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has called on unions and the Department of Health to 'step back from the brink' and return to negotiations. The presidents of 22 different colleges called on ministers to delay imposing the new contract and said patient welfare must come first. Junior doctors, seen here demonstrating at an NHS rally in London last week, have been urged to not to take part in the 'extremely damaging' strikes next month Junior doctors have already walked out on three previous occasions during the long running dispute with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and are set to walk out again next month More than 1,000 medics have signed a letter asking the Prime Minister to intervene and prevent the new junior doctor contract from going ahead. The letter warns many doctors will leave the country to work abroad as they feel 'disillusioned and unhappy with how they are being treated by your government.' Strike action has been planned for April which will see junior doctors walk out from emergency medicine for the first time in the history of the NHS. In previous strike action medics have still provided emergency care to patients. But strikes planned for April 26 and April 27 will see the full withdrawal of labour by junior doctors - everyone up to consultant level - between the hours of 8am and 5pm on both days. This will mean consultants being drafted in from other hospital departments to staff emergency care which is expected to cause huge disruption to routine services. A statement backed by the presidents of all of the medical royal colleges across the UK urged the British Medical Association to suspend plans for the full walkout. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has been urged to delay the imposition of the contract It also called on Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to pause plans to impose the new contract on junior doctors. 'This is a time of unprecedented crisis for the NHS,' the statement says. 'With this in mind and in the spirit of placing patient welfare first and foremost we are writing in response to the escalation of the junior doctor's dispute in England. 'We call on both sides in the dispute to step back from the brink by suspending imposition of the contract and the all-out strike and urge a return to negotiations. 'We believe that this is essential if the current impasse is to be broken and progress made in resolving this extremely damaging stand-off for the benefit of all NHS stakeholders, particularly our patients and trainees.' There will also be a 48-hour strike starting at 8am on Wednesday April 6, with junior doctors providing emergency care only. Junior doctors are objecting to a new contract in England. The major sticking point in the dispute has been over weekend pay and whether Saturdays should attract extra 'unsocial' payments. Currently, 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attract a premium rate of pay for junior doctors. The Government wanted the Saturday day shift to be paid at a normal rate in return for a hike in basic pay. Talks over the new contract broke down earlier this year and in February the Government announced that it would be imposing the contract from this summer. If you think of someone having a heart attack, chances are you will picture a scene where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to the ground. But in reality, a heart attack victim could easily be a woman, and the scene not be so dramatic. While men and women share some of the same symptoms, the University of Alabama's Dr Joseph Fritz explains they can also have wildly different ones. Both men and women can suffer chest tightness and pain or pressure in the chest, neck, jaw, arms or back. Unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, coughing, feeling sick and vomiting are among the unpleasant symptoms experienced by both genders. Both men and women can experience chest pain when they are having a heart attack but other symptoms can significantly vary, according to he University of Alabama's Dr Joseph Fritz OTHER MAJOR SYMPTOMS FOR MEN INCLUDE Weakness Breaking out into a cold sweat Dizziness MAJOR SYMPTOMS FOR WOMEN INCLUDE Sleep disturbance Indigestion Anxiety However, Dr Fritz also urged people to remember each heart attack is different and symptoms may not always exactly fit the mould. Never ignore any possible symptoms of a heart attack, and get medical attention immediately. Women are more likely than men to die within a year of their first heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. That is because while both genders experience chest pain as the primary symptom, women often have atypical, vague symptoms as well - such as back or jaw pain, nausea or a sense of dread. Earlier this year, Dr Laxmi Mehta, of Ohio State University, said: 'These symptoms can be very challenging for the patient and the medical profession. Women's heart attack symptoms can include indigestion and sleep disturbance, which can be mistaken for signs of something else. Women are likely than men to die within a year of their first attack 'Women tend to under recognise or deny them. 'When they do present to the emergency department, it is important for these symptoms to be triaged appropriately as potential heart problems. 'Otherwise the consequences are misdiagnosis, delayed treatment and higher death rates.' Even things considered more minor health problems such as sexual health, bleeding gums and even snoring could be a sign of poor heart health. When the heart and arteries begin to fail, symptoms manifest in otherwise unrelated parts in the body, revealed Dr John Erwin, a cardiologist from Texas A&M Health Science Center. Dr Erwin revealed six of the most common and most surprising symptoms of heart disease that people need to be aware of. Keeping an eye out for these problems can lead to earlier detection of the disease and help save lives. SYMPTOM 1: SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION Many people think of sexual dysfunction as a problem of the reproductive organs or the brain. However, especially in males, sexual dysfunction is a common symptom of arterial disease. A buildup of plaque in the arteries can cause men to have a hard time achieving or maintaining erection. But for women, a drop in libido usually signals a post-menopausal state. Yet, women who are post-menopausal rapidly increase their risk factors for developing heart disease. Menopause itself doesnt cause cardiovascular disease. Dr Erwin said: While menopause doesnt cause cardiovascular diseases, certain heart-health risks like changes in blood pressure and cholesterol levels begin around the time of menopause. Furthermore, many women develop a more sedentary lifestyle in that phase of their lives. As a result, this symptom should not be ignored. Erectile dysfunction is typically thought to be a problem of the brain or reproductive system. However, it can also occur because of a buildup of plaque in the arteries - which can lead to cardiovascular disease SYMPTOM 2: SNORING OR SLEEP APNEA Few things are more frustrating in life than trying to sleep next to a snoring person. However, on top of the annoyance of snoring, Dr Erwin revealed it can actually be a sign of heart disease. Snoring is a common sign of sleep apnea as is morning sleepiness after a full nights sleep. Dr Erwin said: Sleep apnea periods of time during sleep where you stop breathing is associated with many physiological changes that increase the risk of both heart attack and stroke. Snoring can also be a sign of atrial fibrillation which is an irregular, often rapid heart rate that causes poor blood flow. Therefore, detection and treatment of sleep apnea can lower a person's risk of heart problems. So, next time you hear the person next to you snoring, perhaps suggest they see a doctor instead of just complaining about the noise. Snoring may be annoying, but it is a symptom of sleep apnea - which can often signify heart disease SYMPTOM 3: BLEEDING, SORE OR SWOLLEN GUMS Few people would ever think that gum problems could be linked to heart disease. However, unhealthy gums are a symptom of periodontis. That is a serious gum infection that damages the gums and can destroy the jawbone. Periodontis can actually lead to an increase in inflammation across the body, according to Dr Erwein. And, over-activity of inflammatory pathways is a strong risk factor for the development of atherosclerotic heart disease and heart attack. Thus, its recommended that people follow up regularly with their dentist for oral hygiene. They should also regularly brush and floss their teeth. SYMPTOM 4: SHOULDER OR NECK CONSTRICTION OR ACHING Many people feel like an elephant is sitting on their chest during a heart attack. And many others experience a squeezing sensation in their arms. However, not all people go through those classic heart attack feelings. Instead, many heart attack sufferers feel an uncomfortable sensation, achiness, pain or pressure in their neck, jaw or shoulders. For some, that discomfort is the only sign of heart pain or a heart attack'. Constriction or aching in the shoulder or neck - or swollen and bleeding gums - may appear to be minor health problems, but in reality they can be symptoms of heart disease - and should be checked out by a doctor If your feet or legs are puffy - or if you're experiencing persistent heartburn, indigestion or intractable hiccups - you may want to seek medical attention, because these problems can also signify heart disease SYMPTOM 5: PUFFY FEET AND LEGS Feet and legs can swell for a variety of reasons including something as minor as heat. However, puffy legs and feet can also be a marker of congestive heart failure. Thats particularly true in cases where a person has unusual shortness of breath with activity or when trying to sleep. While its also true that some swelling occurs naturally throughout the day, and tends to resolve overnight, persistent swelling is problematic. People who have constant or worsening swelling of the feet or legs should see a doctor for an evaluation of heart failure. SYMPTOM 6: INDIGESTION OR HEARTBURN Heartburn and indigestion are quite common and rarely serious. But in some instances, those seemingly benign burning or aching sensations in the upper abdomen can be a sign of heart pain or heart attack. Additionally, persistent gastrointestinal distress such as intractable hiccups can also be a precursor. And so, when heartburn, indigestion or hiccups are mixed with nausea, sweating, shortness of breath or lightheadedness, people should seek medical attention. Keeping up with the Joneses by spending on flashy status symbols is pushing down childbirth rates, new research claims. Striving for a new car, house, or the latest must-have gadget is the main reason why many people in the West are delaying having even one child - or abandoning the idea altogether. Our brains which evolved to live in much smaller societies are now misfiring as we overinvest in accumulating high-status items, it is claimed. Paul Hooper, an anthropologist at Emory University, Atlanta, developed a mathematical model to simulate the effect growth of striving for material goods has on fertility. Striving for a new car, house, or the latest must-have gadget or exotic holiday is the main reason why many people in the West are delaying having even one child - or abandoning the idea altogether, research claims He said: Our model shows that as competition becomes more focused on social climbing, as opposed to just putting food on the table, people invest more in material goods and achieving social status, and that affects how many children they have. He added: 'The areas where we see the greatest declines in fertility are areas with modern labour markets that have intense competition for jobs and an overwhelming diversity of consumer goods available to signal well being and social status. 'The fact many countries today have so much social inequality, which makes status competition more intense, may be an important part of the explanation.' The theory is also supported by studies of people from rainforest tribes who move to the City for the first time - and strive for high-status items. The authors say other factors, such as lower child mortality rates, more access to birth control and the choice to delay childbirth to get a higher education are also associated with declining fertility. But Professor Hooper said: While these factors are very important they are insufficient to explain the drops in family sizes that we are seeing. Professor Hooper became interested by variations in human fertility rates while studying the Tsimane indigenous people of Bolivian Amazonia. The Tsimane live in small, isolated communities along the Maniqui River in Amazonian rainforest. In a hunter-gatherer society, parents have a limited number of things available to invest in: food, clothing and shelter, Professor Hooper said. The average Tsimane family has nine children and they can provide these basic needs for all of them. But when the Tsimane leave their rainforest villages and move close to Spanish-speaking towns, they come into contact with consumer goods. Life today means our brains which evolved to live in much smaller societies are now misfiring as we overinvest in accumulating high-status items, it is claimed When they start getting earnings for the first time, they spend money on things you wouldn't really expect, like an expensive wristwatch or a nylon backpack for a child attending school, instead of sending them with a traditional woven bag. I got the impression that these things were largely symbolic of their social status and competence. He said the Tsimane family size also tends to drop when they move closer to town: from eight or nine children in remote villages, to five or six in villages near town, to three to four in the town itself, he said. In my grandparents' day, it took a lot less investment to be respectable. You had a good set of clothes for church on Sunday but you could let the kids run around barefoot for the rest of the week Paul Hooper, anthropologist He also believes a similar pattern plays out as societies develop from mainly agrarian to more urban and affluent. In my grandparents day, it took a lot less investment to be respectable,' he says. It was important to have a set of good clothes for church on Sunday but you could let the kids run around barefoot for the rest of the week. But now keeping up with the Joneses has become much more complicated - and expensive, he said. The human species is highly social and, as a result, we appear to have an ingrained desire for social standing. The problem is that our brains evolved in a radically different environment from that of the modern world. 'Evolution didn't necessarily train us very well for the almost infinite size of our communities, the anonymity of many of our interactions and the vast numbers of goods that we can use to signal our status. 'Our evolved psychology may be misfiring and causing us to over-invest in social standing. The rise of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has created a great need for drugs that can help prevent the disease. The disease is caused by a bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, that is spread from person to person in the air in the same way as non-drug resistant TB. It also affects the lungs, brain, kidneys and spine, in the same way the treatable strain does. Yet, traditional therapies used to mitigate TB do not work on the drug-resistant variety. And so, scientists have searched for an agent that could have a direct antimycobacterial effect or enhance a persons immunity to the bacteria. Now, a group of experts from Colorado and China revealed the key to fighting drug-resistant TB could be found in a persons pantry. A compound responsible for the bright yellow-orange color of turmeric typically a key ingredient in a curry can kill the bacteria that causes drug-resistant TB, they discovered. Scroll down for video Scientists revealed curcumin, a compound responsible for the yellow-orange color of tumeric (pictured) - which is one of the main ingredients in curry - can kill the bacteria that causes drug-resistant tuberculosis Tubercluosis is one of the leading causes of death worldwide by an infectious agent. One-third of the world's population is infected with TB, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2014 alone, 9.6 million became sick with the disease - and 1.5 million died from TB. The likelihood of TB infection depends on a variety of factors, including lack of sufficient medical care, immunosuppression due to malnutrition, co-infection with HIV and the burgeoning drug-resistance. Curcumin is a polyphenol that causes turmeric a spice derived from the root of the herb Curcuma longa to get its color. Turmeric, in Asia, is used to treat a variety of health conditions and has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant effects. Curcumin is a potent inducer of apoptosis, which is a mechanism used by human immune cells called macrophages - to kill bacteria. In the current study, scientists used an in vitro human macrophage infection model to determine the effects of curcumin on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (pictured) is a drug-resistant strain of TB - and scientists found that curcumin can successfully remove it from infected cells by inhibiting the activation of a cellular molecule They found that by stimulating white blood cells - a key part of the immune system - curcumin was able to successfully remove Mycobacterium tuberculosis from infected cells. The process relied on inhibiting the activation of a cellular molecule, called nuclear factor-kappa B. The finding could lead to potential new TB treatments that would be less prone to the development of drug resistance. Lead study author Dr Xiyuan Bai, of the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said: Our study has provided basic evidence that curcumin protects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in human cells. The protective role of curcumin to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis still needs confirmation, but if validated, curcumin may become a novel treatment to modulate the host immune response to overcome drug-resistant tuberculosis. Pakistan has proved that terrorism pays. It extracts billions of dollars from the United States even as it funds terrorist groups that kill American soldiers. Washington raps Islamabad on the knuckles every now and then, but eventually gives in: it needs Pakistan as a client-state while the West fights the Islamic State (ISIS) in Paris and Brussels. India is the biggest victim of the toxic US-Pakistan axis of convenience. America will not declare Pakistan an outlaw state. It will also not stop military aid to Pakistan even though Washington knows its F-16 fighter jets will not be used by Islamabad against Taliban terrorists, but to attempt military parity with India. Members of Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team, formed to probe the Pathankot airbase attack, arrive at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters in New Delhi Enemy Former Pakistani diplomat Husain Haqqani, now living in exile in the US, writes in his recently updated book, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, that the Pakistani army continues to view India as Enemy Number One. Rawalpindi regards jihad as an inexpensive means to counter Indias conventional military superiority. It is against this backdrop that Prime Minister Narendra Modis Pakistan policy must be viewed. Modis bullet-for-bullet, mortar-for-mortar policy on the line of control (LoC) and the international border (IB) has succeeded. Over the past few months, border violations have fallen dramatically. Pakistans Rangers suffered heavy casualties on the LoC and IB from Indian retaliatory firing in 2014 and the first half of 2015. Since then both borders have been relatively quiet. Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval have learnt one lesson from this: peace with Pakistan can be achieved only by demonstrating strength. And yet the Modi-Doval doctrine has not de-fanged Pakistans proxy terrorism. That has instead spread beyond Jammu & Kashmir to Punjab. Out-gunned on the border and unable to quite fathom Modi, the Pakistani army has switched to more intensive proxy terror attacks, along with sugar-coated diplomacy. Only Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has argued against the SITs Pathankot visit (file picture) Last weeks talks in Nepal between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz laid the groundwork for investigating the Pathankot attack. The terror strike was carried out by the group Jaish-e-Mohammad. But Pakistans six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), replete with ISI spooks, which arrives in Delhi on Sunday, March 27, will use every trick in the book to ensure its probe pins the blame for the attack on Indian insiders. In the accusations and counter-accusations that will inevitably follow, the role of the JeM will be diluted. That is the whole intent behind the Pakistani army proposing an SIT. Only Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has argued against the SITs Pathankot visit. He reflects the Indian armys view. But in the face of pressure from the External Affairs Ministry and the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) he has had to back down. Modis blow-hot, blow-cold policy on Pakistan has been called inconsistent. The criticism is justified. The test of any foreign policy - especially when dealing with a country that sponsors terrorism as state policy - lies in its outcome. Modis policy of peace through strength on the LoC and IB has been a success because it sent a clear, tough message to the Pakistan arm: desist or die. That clarity and toughness is absent in Modis policy on Pakistans proxy terrorism. Talking about terrorism, which Sushma Swaraj justified last week, wont stop terrorism. Only imposing an unacceptable cost on Pakistan will. India imposed such a cost on cross-border firing. It reduced significantly. Proxy terrorism is obviously a more complex challenge, but the same basic principle of deterrence and cost applies. Unprecedented Pakistan's guile was evident when, in an unprecedented move, its NSA Naseer Janjua informed Ajit Doval that 10 terrorists had infiltrated Gujarat for an attack during Maha Shivratri. The Indian government rushed 160 NSG commandos to Gujarat in what turned out to be a wild goose chase. The subsequent report that three of the ten terrorists had been killed also turned out to be false. The men caught (not killed) were petty ATM thieves. Nearly a month after the Pakistan NSAs unprecedented terror alert, there is still no sign of the terrorists. Pakistan has fooled the US for decades with this kind of double-dealing. America, though, does not have JeM and Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorists attacking its homeland. It has learnt to live with Pakistans treachery. India cant afford that luxury. Diplomacy As Pakistans SIT arrives this Sunday to probe the Pathankot terror attack, Indias policy on Pakistan will again appear inconsistent. Pakistan has no intention of prosecuting JeM chief Masood Azhar. He is a state asset. Pakistan will use the SITs Pathankot probe to wash its hands of the attack. Gurdaspur superintendent of police, Salwinder Singh, already under suspicion, will serve Islamabads purpose of calling the attack an inside job. What then should Indias Pakistan policy be? Peace through strength has worked on the border. It can work on proxy terrorism if a clear-eyed policy is applied consistently. Modi must recognise that Pakistans sweet-talking diplomats are a cover for what Husain Haqqani rightly calls the countrys jihadi-minded army. India has many options it can pursue, apart from the hopeful diplomacy being currently practised. First, if there is another proxy terror attack on Indian soil, send Pakistans high commissioner Abdul Basit packing. Downgrade diplomatic relations. That is a policy every nation - from the US and Britain to Russia and Bangladesh - uses to deal with hostile countries. Second, deploy covert operations, as Parrikar implied in his thorn for a thorn comment. In short, make Pakistan pay. India has been a victim long enough. Prime Minister Modi, of all people, knows that. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has shot up a new slogan Jai Meem (Muslims) Jai Bheem for the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Owaisi, who was in Lucknow on Monday, said: Meri party sirf musalmano ke liye nahi hai, ye hindustaniyon ki party hai (My party does not represent only the Muslims - it is the party of Indians), while adding that he was a loyal citizen of India. Owaisi launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi party government and the RSS, alleging that they were two sides of the same coin. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said he doesn't need a certificate of patriotism from any party Owaisi visited the local Islamic seminary Nadwa where he was accorded a rousing reception by the students who came out in their thousands and raised slogans praising the AIMIM leader. The AIMIM leader said he and his party needed no certificate of patriotism from any political party. At the venue, BJP workers waved black flags but were chased away by AIMIM workers. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh met Sonia Gandhi on Monday setting off speculations that his government may also be vulnerable to rebellion just like Congress dispensations in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Singhs meeting with the Congress president was seen as a pre-emption of trouble brewing in the state unit which could be exploited by the BJP to topple the government. The BJP refuted Congress allegations that it was destabilising the state government, but sought the resignation of Virbhadra Singh over a probe against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case of having assets disproportionate to his disclosed sources of income. Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh (centre) met Sonia Gandhi to talk about potential trouble in Himachal Pradesh and the BJPs role in trying to destabilse his government Sources close to Singh said he had sought time to meet with the party president some time ago, but his request got through only now. He spent a few minutes with Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence. Sources said he apprised Sonia Gandhi about the case against him and later left for Shimla. Singh alleged that the central government was destabilising the Congress-ruled states as he cited events in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where President's rule was imposed. He also accused the BJP-led central government of misusing government agencies to embroil him in different cases. The 81-year-old chief minister has been booked by the ED and last week his properties worth Rs 8 crore were attached by the agency. Sonia Gandhi's Congress is already facing strife in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand On the possibility of any political crisis in Himachal Pradesh, a source close to Himachal CM said: The situation is entirely different. Here, the MLAs belong to Virbhadra Singh. They are like family members. Moreover, Congress has 36 members in out of total 65. Meanwhile, the BJP said there was discontent in Congress against Singh due to the corruption charges. There is discontent in Congress against him. So far he has been making efforts to avoid going to jail. He can go there anytime. So he is making such baseless allegations to garner cheap sympathy, BJP in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, Shrikant Sharma said. Sharma said that Singh should quit as the state government had become paralysed. He is accused of massive corruption. He had to quit as a minister from the UPA government due to corruption charges against him, he alleged, adding that the CBI had begun its probe during the UPA rule. BJP should not be blamed for the investigation. The probe was slow earlier for political reasons and it is now heading in the right direction, Sharma said. In Uttarakhand, the BJP has adopted a wait and watch strategy in view of the Congress court challenge to the imposition of Presidents rule. The saffron party had last week expressed confidence that it will form the government in the state as the Congress dispensation struggled to put together a majority, but the Assembly Speakers decision to disqualify the rebels supporting the BJP put a spoke in its plan. BJP sources said they would wait to see how the matter progresses in court before taking a decision. It is no longer a political matter only as the court too will have a view now. We will have to wait, said a party leader. India will share the call details of slain Pakistani terrorists, who allegedly attacked the Pathankot Air Force base, with Pakistans probe team as part of evidence against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf. The duo are suspected to be the masterminds of the attack. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to hand over the call trail that leads to JeM, highly placed government sources told Mail Today. Members of Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team probing the Pathankot airbase attack at the National Investigation Agency (NIA) headquarters in New Delhi Indian investigators have identified Kashif Jaan as the main handler of the Pakistani terrorists. The terrorists were allegedly in touch with Kashif as they launched the assault in Pathankot. The visit of Pakistans five-member Joint Investigative Team (JIT), which also includes an ISI official, is the first such trip from the neighbouring country to probe a terror case in India. The call details and intercepts analysed by investigators have thrown up findings that lead to the involvement of JeM top bosses in the attack. NIA has got evidences and intercepts of conversations between the killed terrorists and JeM bosses, said an official. It will be a watertight case, but India is expected to press for voice samples of Azhar and other JeM commanders to match with the intercepts. However, the demand might run into legal hurdles in Pakistan as it did earlier during the 26\11 probe. Sources say Kashif was in constant touch with Rauf before and during the attack, while Rauf was passing on the information to Azhar. Kashifs location while speaking to the terrorists was mostly Bhawalpur in Punjab province, the headquarters of JeM. Apart from the phone numbers of Rauf, the NIA shared the numbers of companies which had supplied packed food to the terrorists. A day after their arrival, the JIT members reached the NIA headquarters, after which they were briefed about the probe carried out so far. The meeting between the two sides was cordial and the Pakistani team were cooperative during the day-long deliberations, said NIA Director General Sharad Kumar. The JIT, which is headed by Chief of Punjab's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai, raised several questions about the probe, which were answered by the NIA team. A presentation on the investigation of the case, which included recoveries made by the NIA team and a possible modus operandi was shown to the Pakistani team. He walked in as a student, but when he walked out of Tihar jail, Kanhaiya Kumar was much more than an ordinary varsity member. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president is no longer restricted to students issues in the campus. Whether championing the Rohith Vemula case or addressing the issues of other central universities, Kumar is much in demand. JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar addressed the students at JNU's Jashn-e-Azadi event On Monday, a celebration of late Professor Bipan Chandra's birth anniversary was held at the Centre for Historical Studies in JNU. The event included a separate session in which Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, and Anirban Bhattacharya were invited to address students. It is the first time such an event has been organised at the varsity after the eminent professors death in 2014. He is focusing more on his political career. Ever since he came out of the jail, he has been on a visiting spree. He is being called as a speaker at prominent events, along with other panelists consisting of eminent educationists and academicians of the country, a senior University official told Mail Today. Though Kanhaiya has been keeping away from the tag of a politician, experts said he is already on his way to become a political leader. All his recent speeches are focused at taking jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. He is not focusing specifically on students' issues, another University professor said. Meanwhile, a delegation of JNU students on Monday met officials at NHRC over the alleged crackdown and arrest of students in Hyderabad Central University and demanded concrete actions against its Vice Chancellor Appa Rao in connection with the Rohith Vemula issue. The debate over Hindutva and the consequent clash between the right and the left wing has spilled over onto US soil. The School curriculum in California has become the latest hot-spot of this ongoing ideological clash with a group of academics from several top varsities in the US locking horns with the local American-Indian community over Indian history and the place of Hinduism therein. While these academics, under the aegis of the South Asia Faculty Group, suggested several changes to the existing curriculum for the teaching of History and Social Sciences of California Textbooks, including recommendations to substitute South Asia for Ancient India or India in the chapters on Ancient India, parents and students did not take it well. It was suggested that 'India' should be exchanged for 'South Asia' in California's textbooks, but parents did not approve The group comprising leftist scholars Lawrence Cohen, Thomas Hansen and Sheldon Pollock, has been accused of furthering a leftist agenda to demean Indian culture. The public movement was led by the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) dominated by the right-wing, with allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Congrats to Hindu activists for successfully opposing and contesting the suggestion to replace India by South Asia in textbooks in USA. The Leftist scholars bid to undermine Indias glorious identity was foiled by young Hindu activists and Hindu Education Foundation in California, USA, RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said. India has its own identity. It is very wrong to deprive Indias identity. Activists have rightly carried out a campaign and demonstrated against the move," he added. The communitys efforts were also supported by a coalition of 20 government officials, including Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and California State Senator Steven M Glazer. After a huge uproar from the American-Indian community, the California Department of Educations Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) rejected the suggestions at a public hearing of the matter on March 24. Among other corrections and edits suggested by the group, they had recommended that the sections of Grade-6 book titled as The Early Civilizations of India be changed to, The Early Civilizations of South Asia. Earlier this week a petition signed by over 18,000 people had asked the commission: Would you presume to deny the reality of Indias existence and history, and its deep significance to Indian American students in California, simply because a few misinformed professors of South Asia Studies wrote you a letter recommending you re-educate Californias children in this bizarre manner? A large number of students and parents testified at the public hearing of the commission held in Sacramento on March 24 seeking the rejection of these changes. India is not just a landmass but a living civilisation. By removing the mention of India as a civilisation, my identity as an Indian-American is being sought to be erased, Vidhima Shetty, a student of 9th grade in San Ramon, said during her testimony. What we are seeking is dignity Bill Honig, the Chair of the Subject Matter Committee of the Commission said. Meanwhile, the South Asia Faculty Group has accused the education department of having come under the influence of Hindu nationalists. Raghvendran Ganesh was standing near the metro bomber Khalid el Bachraoui when his explosives detonated Missing Infosys employee Raghvendran Ganesh has been positively identified as a victim of the Brussels Metro terror strike, and officially declared dead. His mortal remains were handed over to his parents and younger brother Chandrashekhar, who had been camping in Brussels for the past five days hoping against hope to find him alive. The 28-year-old Infosys employee was on board the metro train at Maelbeek when the metro train bomber struck. Barely 30 minutes before the terror attack, Raghvendran had spoken to his mother in India by phone. The Belgian authorities scanned through the CCTV images at the metro station and those of the train hit by the terror attack. Raghvendran was running late and barely made it in time to board the train as it left the station. "He was standing in a corner when the metro bomber Khalid el Bachraoui walked towards the most crowded part of the metro and stood very close to him. Khalid had a big bag full of explosives with him," sources said. The CCTV cameras at the station caught Raghvendran boarding the metro train and the metro bomber standing next to him just before the bombs went off. His mobile phone was still operational after the terror attack and it kept sending out signals giving us hope he was still alive. However, despite searching for him in that area for several days neither we nor the Belgian authorities could locate him, an official told Mail Today. Devastation: The Brussels Metro bomb at Maelbeek where Raghvendran Ganesh is thought to have died The 12,000-strong Indian community in Belgium had started an online campaign both on Facebook and Twitter trying to get information about Raghvendran through the week. The Belgian authorities have now carried out forensic tests to positively identify the mortal remains. Raghvendrans parents and younger brother Chandrashekhar had gone from hospital to hospital looking for him. Accompanied by Indian embassy officials they went to the Disaster victim identification team (DVIT) set up at the Brussels Army hospital. The terror alert is still high in Brussels following the attacks However, he could not be located among the victims who had survived the terror attack. Once positive forensic identification was completed the Belgian authorities broke the news to his family and Indian embassy officials," sources here added. The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Monday presented what it termed a zero-tax Budget, which slashed the value added tax (VAT) on a wide range of goods to bring down the prices of consumer products such as green vehicles, expensive watches, ready-made garments and shoes. In a major relief to Delhiites, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, who is also the Finance Minister, announced a reduction in VAT from 12.5 to 5 percent on a slew of products which also included sweets, namkeens, and schoolbags. Sisodia increased the outlay in the annual Budget for Delhi to Rs 46,600 crore for 2016-17, which represents a Rs 8,850 crore increase over the corresponding figure of the previous year without levying any fresh taxes - which he referred to as a zero-tax" Budget. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (right) and Deputy CM and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia leave for the Budget session of the Assembly in New Delhi He claimed that the Delhi government has registered a growth of 17 per cent in 2015-16 due to transparency and honest governance and the lower VAT would increase tax collections due to the rise in voluntary compliance. Sisodia said the move to simplify VAT by introducing a uniform rate was taken to rationalise tax rates with neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The watch segment was being subjected to differential tax rates of 12.5 per cent and 20 per cent on the basis of its price slab. It has now been proposed that a uniform VAT rate of 12.5 per cent will be levied on all kinds of watches. The move will encourage people to buy expensive watches from Delhi as it was found that billing in such cases were done from neighbouring states. Similarly, it has been proposed to levy a uniform VAT rate of 5 per cent on footwear, irrespective of their prices. There was a furore in the Delhi Assembly over the Modi governments move to allow the Pakistan JIT team to probe the Pathankot airbase attack The tax rate on school bags has also been rationalised by levying a uniform tax rate of 5 per cent. Earlier, a higher tax rate was levied on school bags priced above Rs 300. To encourage the use of green vehicles, VAT rate has been reduced on battery-operated vehicles such as e-rickshaws and hybrid automobiles to 5 per cent from the current 12.5 per cent. Marble traders too got a relief with the proposal of reduction in the tax rate from 12.5 per cent to 5 per cent to encourage consumers to buy marble from the capital, instead of the neighbouring states. It was also proposed to simplify the tax on textile and fabric which is now covered under several entries in the tax rate schedules, which means some are exempted from taxes while other are taxed at the 5 per cent rate. I propose to simplify this system by levying a uniform tax rate of 5 per cent on all variety of textiles and fabrics (including sarees) except khadi and handloom fabrics, Sisodia said in his speech. At the same time as an environment-friendly step, it has been proposed to bring plastic waste under the ambit of tax by proposing a 5 per cent levy on it, just like plastic raw material. Kejriwal said Delhis Budget is a model for all the other states. We have not increased burden on the aam admi (common man), but have worked on decreasing the tax rates. Still, we expect to generate more revenue in the coming year as I trust people of Delhi, who will help us in achieving it. No other state spends such a significant amount of money on public education and health as they want to favour the private sector, he said. For the second consecutive year, the education and the health sectors remained the focus. Education was allotted Rs 10,690 crore, or 23 per cent of the total, while the healthcare Rs 5,259 crore and a hike of Rs 472 crore over the last years budget. Taking a dig at the BJP and Congress, Sisodia said: We are increasing the education budget every year whereas the central government, irrespective of the political party in majority, has been decreasing the percentage of budget allocation for education every year. Kejriwal denied that the populist Budget was to woo voters for municipal election in Delhi or in Punjab, where Assembly elections are scheduled in 2017. This Budget is our commitment to fulfill our election manifesto, he said. It's back to classroom with education getting a major share For the second consecutive year, the AAP government allocated the largest share of funds to the education and health sectors and termed it a long-term investment. The state government claimed that it is a move to make government infrastructure at par with the private sector. The government earmarked Rs 10,690 crore for education to improve infrastructure and quality of education by imparting training to its teachers at international institutions. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the goal is to make government schools better than private schools in the next three years Announcing major overhaul in the education system, Delhis finance minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the charge of education, said: We are getting CCTV cameras installed in every classroom, whose feed would be available to all officials, the education minister and parents on their smartphone. We have set aside Rs 100 crore for the scheme. The deputy CM said the goal is to make government schools better than private schools in the next three years. The process of recruiting and appointing 5,500 teachers is in its final stages. In a move to set-up three tier healthcare system, Rs 5,259 crore has been earmarked for the health sector, a hike of close to 10 per cent over the allocation last fiscal. The government is also working on its ambitious plan to provide clean drinking water in all the authorised and unauthorised colonies by 2017, through pipelines for which it has allocated Rs 676 crore. Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will be provided with piped water supply in 300 new unauthorised colonies. In order to ease Delhis traffic, Sisodia announced construction of two new elevated bus rapid transit (BRT) corridors. He said after the successful implementation, the model will be replicated across the city. Seeking to promote e-rickshaws for the last-mile connectivity, Sisodia also proposed enhancement of one-time fixed subsidy for them, from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000. In the current year, Rs 4.97 crore has been given as subsidy to 3,709 owners of battery-operated vehicles and e-rickshaw. In a move to prove cheap and hygienic food to the people, Rs 10 crore has been allotted for setting up Aam Aadmi canteens across the city. The functioning of the canteens will be monitored and coordinated by a Bureau of Affordable Meals, Sisodia said. The AAP government proposed to launch a Brand Delhi campaign to re-position the the city as a favoured tourism destination and it also plans to hold a world-class festival later this year. Delhi Tourism has also received necessary permissions to revamp the borders and will conduct beautification at road entry points of the city like Ghazipur and Dhaula Kuan. The Delhi government will also create women safety groups for all constituencies and will ensure adequate lighting at around 42,000 dark spots as it set aside Rs 1,068 crore as womens security and empowerment budget. While Rs 200 crore was earmarked for the women safety groups, another Rs 114 crore was set aside to ensure adequate lighting in 42,000 dark spots in the national capital. The government also announced an initial allocation of Rs 200 crore as part of a new scheme for installing CCTV cameras and surveillance systems throughout Delhi. The city is set to have three more monitoring stations and one mobile van to constantly monitor air quality. Speedy trials and special courts may have ensured faster disposal of long-standing cases in Bihar, but lawlessness inside the jails remains a big challenge for the Nitish Kumar government. A few recent incidents involving VIP inmates and prison officials seem to indicate that nothing has changed over the years. Raj Ballabh Yadav, a suspended Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislator lodged in the Biharsharif jail in a rape case, is alleged to have hosted a sumptuous feast for fellow prisoners to celebrate the Holi festival. Bihars minority welfare minister Abdul Ghafoor (right) with former RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin (centre) at the Siwan jail, where Shahabuddin is incarcerated for abduction with intent to murder. In Siwan jail, former RJD MP Mohammed Shahabuddin played a host to a Bihar minister, laying out a lavish spread of snacks for him during their meeting. In Kishanganj, a jail superintendent was caught on camera allegedly molesting the daughter of a contractor. During investigations, all these allegations, prima facie, have been found to be true. This has resulted in the arrest of one prison official and suspension of many others on the charge of violating the jail manual. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has issued a directive for stern action against the officials found guilty of flouting the prescribed norms, leaving the Inspectorate of Prisons with the onerous task of restoring order behind bars. Most prisons in the state are packed to more than their capacity. Large-scale arrests of criminals and inordinate delays in the disposal of cases in recent years have swelled the number of inmates in all jails. Many of them happen to be high-profile prisoners wielding considerable clout, but this is not a new phenomenon. The jails in Bihar, as a matter of fact, have always been notorious for letting the VIP prisoners have access to several facilities that are otherwise deemed unlawful in the rulebook. Search operations in different jails over the years have established time and again that many convicts keep cellphones, with or without the knowledge of the prison staff. Worse, many incarcerated gangsters are accused of running extortion rackets from their prison cells with the help of mobile phones. Therefore, it came as no surprise when a ruling party legislator was charged with hosting a mutton party inside the prison the other day. Nor was it baffling to see a former MP, convicted in a murder case, treating a guest inside the jail. Reports of unfettered freedom inside the jails of Bihar had once promoted the apex court to order the shifting of a VIP prisoner to Tihar in Delhi. The situation began to change when the Nitish Kumar government took over a decade ago, but as the recent incidents suggest, a proper mechanism to check violation of the rules still eludes Bihar jails. The prison department has now undertaken the process to restore order inside the 55 jails across the state. Apart from the suspension and arrest of lax officials, it has set out to install cellphone jammers, check smuggling of contraband items, and construct additional watch towers to keep watch on the activity of the inmates. The department has also decided to set up a telephone booth for the prisoners where all calls will be recorded. IG (Prisons) Anand Kishore, who visited the Beur model central jail in Patna to take stock of the situation, has promised action against any prison staff who provide facilities beyond what is prescribed in the jail manual to any inmate. This must not remain a mere promise. The Nitish government needs to ensure that no convict, regardless of his political clout, gets any special privileges while serving his prison term. Prompt action against the erring prison officials is definitely a welcome step and should act as a deterrent for their unscrupulous colleagues. However, it must also lead to regular monitoring of the prisons to ensure that the jail manual is followed, both in letter and spirit. Bihar-born Bollywood stars seek change to Bhojpuri cinema Bollywood actors from Bihar are unhappy over the status of regional films in their home state. Many of them, who are exposed to the quality of Marathi cinema, are even ashamed of the degeneration of Bhojpuri cinema. At the four-day art and culture festival, Bihar Ek Virasat, organised by the Grameen Sneh Foundation in Patna, they got a common platform to underline the need to revive Bhojpuri cinema, which was known for socially relevant movies in the 1960s. It was a rare occasion when so many Bihar-born film stars - from Shatrughan Sinha, Manoj Bajpayee and Sanjay Mishra, to Neetu Chandra and Shilpa Shukla - came together on a common platform to champion the cause of regional cinema. On this occasion, several Bihar-based movies, including Chandras Maithili venture Mithila Makhaan and Ketan Mehtas Manjhi: The Mountain Man, were screened. Bajpayee said he was not averse to working in a Bhojpuri film but he had not found any script good enough to excite him so far. Mishra, who has shot into prominence with films like Ankhon Dekhi, called upon the state government to give incentives to promote regional films. The congregation of such a large number of Bihari artistes and filmmakers in Patna coincided with Chief Minister Nitish Kumars fervent appeal to Shatrughan Sinha and Shekhar Suman to help the state government set up a state-of-the-art film city in Bihar. A majority of the Bhojpuri films are shot in other states, such as Maharashtra and Gujarat. One-stop research centre celebrates 25 years Nitish Kumar with economist Meghnad Desai at the ADRI silver jubilee celebrations in Patna recently The Patna-based Asian Development and Research Institute (ADRI) is the best-known think tank of Bihar. Set up in 1991 by a team of social scientists headed by Shaibal Gupta, it has emerged as a one-stop research centre in the past 25 years in the field of development economics and political economy. It has hosted the likes of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Barbara Harriss-White and Francine R Frankel and many other stalwarts. The institute is now celebrating its silver jubilee year by organising a series of cerebral events. Speaking at its international conference of development and growth on Sunday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar revealed that ADRI had not only prepared the memorandum submitted by the state government to the finance commission but also helped in forging a consensus among political parties on different economic issues. Nitish had nominated Shaibal Gupta as the states representative in a committee headed by Raghuram Rajan (now RBI governor) which was set up by the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government to study the demand for special category status to Bihar. From social scientists and economists to research scholars and politicians, anybody who wants to know anything about Bihar gets in touch with Dr Shaibal Gupta, the chief minister said. President Lalu Prasad's Holi swagger is back Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad was known for celebrating Holi in a most colourful manner, and would take the lead by tearing off the kurtas of revellers. However, Lalus trademark Holi had lost its sheen in the past few years due to a series of personal and political setbacks. Lalus son Tej Pratap made a surprise visit to a hospital to check if doctors had reported for work during Holi This year, he was back in his element and organised a folk music and dance show at his bungalow - just like the good old days. Hundreds of leaders from his party and alliance turned up to enjoy the musical night, which was peppered with Lalus sharp one-liners. Chief minister Nitish Kumar and his advisor Prashant Kishor were among his guests. The RJD president, however, refrained from tearing off the upper garments of the visitors. His elder son Tej Pratap Yadav, the health minister in the Nitish government, broke one rule of the Lalu household on Holi by mixing business with pleasure. The young minister made a surprise inspection at a government hospital in the state capital to check whether the doctors had reported for duty. It took the hospital personnel some time to realise that the health minister was not up to any Holi prank. Luxuriant: Tim Parker's much-discussed perm Rakish Post Office Chairman Tim Parker's luscious poodle perm is much-discussed in boardrooms. Mischievous types wonder if the Porsche-driving ex-Deputy London Mayor's grey ringlets are all his own. 'It's entirely real,' insists Parker, 60. 'People expect it to come off when I dive into a swimming pool. But it stays on.' I trust his numerous chairmanships, which also include luggage maker Samsonite and the National Trust, receive the same meticulous attention as his elegantly-coiffed locks. Now that former chief of the General Staff General Sir Mike Jackson's soldiering days are over he enjoys several cosy directorships, including Chairman of G7ENIUS, an internet security firm which safeguards against identity theft. Ironic, then, that the droopy-eyed war hero's private email has been hacked. Last week, friends received one of those irritating 'phishing' emails purporting to be from Jackson, claiming he'd been mugged in Istanbul and needed urgent funds to be wired to him. Difficult to know what hard-as-nails Jackson, 72, would find more embarrassing. That his own email was hacked or friends thinking he'd been duffed up by a bunch of Turkish bandits. Thomas Cook boss Peter Fankhauser reported a 5 per cent drop in bookings last week, but the sleek, Swiss-born executive remained buoyant about the travel operator's summer prospects. Clearly the jovial Herr Fankhauser, 55, who succeeded Harriet Green in 2014, likes to maintain some perspective when it comes to threatening setbacks. A recent visitor to his London office says he keeps an urn on his desk of the volcanic ash which grounded planes for weeks in 2010, as a wry memento of the crisis which cost Thomas Cook 70million. Could we be about to see the return of Habitat to our high streets? Only three of its stores currently remain since its purchase in 2011 by Home Retail Group, soon to be owned by Sainsbury's. But I hear Habitat's cigar-chomping founder Sir Terence Conran has written a friendly note to the supermarket's president Lord (John) Sainsbury informing him he thinks his old shop is 'revivable'. Conran, 84, founded Habitat in 1964 with second wife Caroline. The pair remain close, despite her rinsing the old booby for 10million in their 1996 divorce. Booze pedlar Diageo's new Chicago-born Chief Financial Officer Kathryn Mikells, who arrived at the Johnnie Walker owner from Xerox four months ago, is no devotee of her employer's wares. Hosting the firm's recent press dinner at The Shard, which groaned with alcohol, she touched nothing stronger than fizzy water. Skinny-as-a-rake Mikells, 51, told hacks she eschews the hard stuff nowadays after becoming more health conscious. A consortium led by insurance giant Anbang if fighting Marriott for Starwood Hotel & Resorts The bidding war for the owner of Sheraton and W Hotels intensified after the Chinese came back with a higher offer. In what has been described as the fiercest takeover battle for years, a consortium led by Chinese insurance giant Anbang sweetened its offer for Starwood Hotel & Resorts to 10.5billion. That is more than the rival 10.1billion bid tabled by hotels group Marriott and follows a string of tit-for-tat increases that has driven up the price. The two suitors have been locked in a bidding war since Marriott made its first approach for Starwood in November. Starwood said it would evaluate whether the latest bid from Anbang is superior to the offer made by Marriott last week. A deal with Marriott would create the worlds largest hotel group with 5,500 hotels and 1.1million rooms. It is now thought to be considering whether to come back with a better offer. Marriotts logic was a deal would give it a greater presence in markets such as Europe, Latin America and Asia. About three-quarters of Marriotts rooms are in America. But Starwood has around half of its rooms outside the States which accounted for almost two-thirds of its revenue in 2014. A newly-combined American group, which would throw together Ritz-Carlton and Sheraton with the boutique W chain, would knock Britains InterContinental Hotels off its top slot as the worlds biggest hotel group. The owner of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza has seen its shares suffer over disappointment that to date it has not participated in the industry consolidation. They have fallen 4 per cent since last April. George Osborne is to be quizzed by MPs about the planned takeover of the London Stock Exchange by the Germans. The Treasury Select Committee is combing through proposals to hand the 215-year-old British institution to European rival Deutsche Boerse. MPs want to know if there is any risk that the new organisation could collapse and if it does who would be responsible for rescuing the company. Grilling: George Osborne is to be quizzed by MPs about the planned takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Boerse It is feared that British taxpayers could be asked to pick up the bill in the event of a bailout. The Treasury Select Committee will ask the Chancellor what threat the deal poses to the UK economy when he appears for questioning on April 19. Conservative select committee member Mark Garnier said: We want to know how he views this. People are suggesting this is a takeover by the Germans and how does he see it? Does he see this as part of the EU debate? Does it strengthen the City of London, weaken London or make no difference? Bosses at the LSE also face a grilling from MPs over the planned takeover amid speculation that business and jobs could eventually move from London to Frankfurt. It is understood that Tory MP Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the committee, wants to look at future regulation of the exchanges. The LSE and Deutsche insist their 21billion deal is a merger of equals but the new business would report profits in euros and the Germans would have a 54.4 per cent controlling stake. Deutsche head Carsten Kengeter would take charge of the new company, which would be headquartered in London. The LSEs French boss Xavier Rolet would step aside and could be in line for a 14.5million windfall from share schemes built up during his seven years at the helm. The Mail understands the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England will both have to give the takeover their approval, and European regulators will also have to rubber-stamp it There has been growing criticism of the takeover. City grandee Lord Myners has claimed British taxpayers might be left to pick up the bill if the new institution collapsed. Conservative peer Lord Tebbit, who was party chairman under Margaret Thatcher, said the move was against our national interest. He added: As a country we rely quite heavily on the financial services industry and to hand over control to a significant part of that to a foreign power is not a sensible idea. I think Margaret Thatcher would have intervened at a very early stage and offered confidential guidance to the people in control of the stock exchange that this was not acceptable. Lord Davies, a prominent banker and former Labour trade minister, said a Government public interest test should be applied. Britains biggest engineering firms have been awarded contracts worth 372million by the Ministry of Defence for maintaining its fleet of Hawk aircraft. Rolls-Royce and defence giant BAE Systems, with maintenance partner Babcock, will share four contracts supporting 700 UK jobs until 2020. Hawk jets are used by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force to train pilots before they migrate to flying fighter planes such the Tornados and Typhoons operating in Iraq and Syria. They are also used by the RAF aerobatics team the Red Arrows. Philip Dunne, minister for defence procurement, said: The contracts to support these vital training aircraft are a boost to British industry. Contracts worth 293million have been awarded to BAE Systems to modify and upgrade existing Hawks while a 79million contract has been placed with Rolls-Royce to test, repair and overhaul the Ardour engines that power the aircraft. Hawks have been used to train more than 20,000 pilots in air forces across the world with more than 1,000 Hawks now delivered or on order. Offers for US internet giant Yahoo must be in by April 11, giving potential bidders just two weeks to submit their preliminary offer proposals. Yahoo has sent out letters to potential buyers asking them to list which parts of the company they would like to bid for and how much they are willing to pay, according to media reports. The firm is also asking for details such as how a bidder plans to finance the deal as well as what the internal-approval process looks like to make a deal happen. Payday: Chief executive Marissa Mayer could take home about $37million if Yahoo is sold as a sale would trigger the release of all her stock awards The US giant's traditional web business is up for sale along with its holdings in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan businesses. The 'For Sale' sign went up in February after the firm shelved plans to spin off its lucrative $33billion (23billion) stake in Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba - which could have landed it with a tax bill of more than $10billion. It is believed that up to 40 companies have signed a non-disclosure agreement with Yahoo to review materials about its business. Potential buyers include big communications groups like Verizon and AT&T, and private equity firms such as TPG and KKR. There are also rumours that Microsoft has held discussions with private equity firms about helping to finance a buyout, according to a person familiar with the matter It is thought a deal for the internet giant could be reached as early as June. The auction comes as Yahoo's embattled chief executive, Marissa Mayer faces increasing pressure after struggling to bolster the group's performance and share price, with activist investor Starboard Value last week launching a battle to replace the firm's entire board. The investment group has nominated nine people to Yahoo's board and investors are set to vote on Starboard's plans at the firm's annual shareholder meeting in the summer. From humble beinnings: Yahoo, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, was founded by Stanford University graduates Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1995 Tensions have been growing between Starboard and Yahoo in recent weeks. Starboard has suggested a major change in leadership is needed, and that could include ousting Mayer, who has cut staff and offloaded assets in a bid to turn around Yahoo's flagging fortunes Yahoo is laying off around 1,700 employees, or 15 per cent of its workforce, under plans to save $400million a year to help offset falling revenues. The firm has seen revenues continue to decline, despite previous turnaround efforts since Mayer took the top job three-and-a-half years ago. Her latest revival plans will also see the group look to sell some of Yahoo's patents, real estate and other assets - including Yahoo Games, Yahoo TV and some of its digital magazines - for up to $3billion. The group also plans to close offices in Dubai, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Milan. But the job cuts would still leave Yahoo with around 9,000 workers worldwide. It is a big fall from grace for the company founded in 1994 by Stanford University graduates Jerry Yang and David Filo as a directory of websites called Jerry and Davids Guide to the World Wide Web. It grew into the gateway to the internet for millions of people around the globe who wanted a slick, quick method of finding information. The UKs smallest businesses will waste hundreds of millions of pounds seeking advice on setting up workplace pensions over the next three years, when they could do so for free. Between now and 2018, an estimated 1.8million British small and micro businesses will be required to set up a workplace pension for their employees, with up to 500,000 doing so this year alone, according to The Pensions Regulator. TPR has found small employers that have already implemented the pensions have paid between 200 and 1,000 for advice on setting up a compliant scheme, with the average cost 440. Have confidence in DIY: You don't have to waste money on setting up a pension scheme. You can do it for free Payroll and pensions platform Paycircle found that those 1.8million small and micro businesses yet to stage (required to set up employee pensions) are collectively looking at a bill of 317million for advice. Its projection is based on TPR data that show around 40 per cent of employers with up to four staff and that have already staged paid for help to set up a workplace pension at the average cost of 440, mentioned above. Paycircle says there's no need to pay for a workplace pension at all as 'a number of providers charge no set-up cost while some also automate the set-up and contributions process'. They are mainly online platforms that connect a companys payroll to a pension scheme via something called an API (application programming interface) - one of the best known is the API provided by the government-backed Nest, which is free for employers to use. Nest: The Government-backed service is free for employers to use in order to comply with auto-enrolment Catherine Pinkney, co-founder of payroll and pensions platform, at Paycircle, said: 'With the vast majority of the UKs small and micro businesses now starting to stage, its more important than ever to broadcast the message that there are ways for companies to set up a fully compliant workplace pension scheme themselves at no cost. 'We need to debunk the myth that only an expert can take care of your auto-enrolment because its highly technical: thats what certain advisers may want you to think but the reality is quite the opposite. 'It doesnt have to cost a penny and, for smaller companies, can be done in little over an hour. Clearly some business owners will want the reassurance of someone else setting up their workplace pension, or a more bespoke scheme, but for those who would happily do it themselves and simply want to abide by the rules, the DIY option is much easier and quicker than they think.' The Pensions Regulator also helps employers. It is tasked with maximising employer compliance with automatic enrolment duties. Charles Counsell, executive director of automatic enrolment at The Pensions Regulator, told This is Money: 'Its important that employers understand what to do and by when and this will depend on their circumstances and those of their staff. Each employer has a staging date - a date set in law when their duties come into effect - and must complete a declaration of compliance five months later. 'Our Duties Checker is designed to make it as easy as possible for all employers - including those who employ just one or two people - to meet their legal duties. Employers should use it to give us their latest contact information. It takes a few minutes to "nominate an employer contact. 'Even if you are an employer with no staff to automatically enrol, you should do this as you will still have duties including completing a declaration of compliance.' Counsell also warns employers about fines for non-compliance. 'The Pensions Regulator has seen employers risk becoming non-compliant by failing to complete their declaration of compliance because they wrongly assumed their business adviser was doing this for them.' Fines start at 400 by way of a fixed penalty notice issued if you dont comply with statutory notices, or if theres sufficient evidence of a breach of the law. But TPR can also issue an escalating penalty notice for failure to comply with a statutory notice. This penalty has a prescribed daily rate of 50 to 10,000 depending on the number of staff you have. 'We can issue a civil penalty for cases where you fail to pay contributions due. This is a financial penalty of up to 5,000 for individuals and up to 50,000 for organisations,' says Counsell. 'Where employers fail to comply with a compliance notice or there is evidence of a breach, we can issue a prohibited recruitment conduct penalty notice. This penalty has a prescribed rate of 1,000 to 5,000 depending on the number of staff the employer has. We aim to fully recover all the penalties that we issue.' This fiberglass and metal spaceship was stolen from the International UFO Museum and Research Center (pictured) last week An unidentified teenager has been arrested for stealing a UFO from a Roswell, New Mexico, museum. The fiberglass and metal version spaceship was reported missing from the International UFO Museum and Research Center and was found in pieces west of the city last week. On Saturday the 17-year-old, who is not being identified because he's a minor, was arrested. 'We arrested a 17-year-old boy who was one of the three suspects in the theft of the spaceship,' Todd Wildermuth, Roswell police spokesman, told KRQE News 13. Officers are still looking for the two other suspects. Police say they were able to track down the 17-year-old because of a phone call. 'If people have information about that, we want them to call so we can go after these other two as well,' Wildermuth said. Surveillance video shows the three males walking toward the spaceship, and two of them lifting it up. They then walk away and out of the camera's view with the UFO. The boys put the ship into a pickup truck and drove off. Police say the spaceship was stolen in the early morning hours. Albuquerque TV station KOB reported Wednesday that the saucer was located in pieces in a ditch off Highway 70 about two miles west of Roswell. The fragments of the UFO were found on the side of the road. One 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the theft Karen Jarmaillio, interim museum director, said: 'We're sad. We thought maybe we could get it back in one piece but it doesn't look like it; it's in several pieces.' The New Mexico Department of Transportation sent a picture of the wreckage to museum. The model ship had been hanging outside the tourist attraction for 24 years. It came down after a violent snowstorm dislodged it in December. It was being stored behind the museum before it was stolen. Museum officials hope to get a new saucer for the building but are not sure when or how much it will cost. Caught on camera: The suspects were captured in surveillance footage lifting the model spaceship from behind the museum The three boys lift the ship and put it into a pickup truck before driving away. Only one 17-year-old has been caught Police are still searching for two more suspects in the theft. The one teen in custody is not saying what the motive for the theft was 'I was kind of bummed out that they did it. Kids will be kids but if you found something like that I can't see any reason to destroy it,' said Benny Urban, who was visiting Roswell on spring break with his kids. Another visitor said she hopes those responsible will be brought to justice. 'It think it's great that they found somebody and hopefully, you know, they'll take corrective action and I hope they find the other person and it can be put back the way it was,' said Jan Gallo. The teen in custody hasn't said what the motive was for stealing the spaceship or who else was involved. A young man, 23, has been shot three times in south Sydney, with reports the attack was carried out by two men who fled the scene. The man was found with gunshot wounds to his abdomen and both legs on Wollongong Road in Arncliffe, near Sydney Airport, at about 5.40pm on Monday, Seven News reported. The 23-year-old was treated at the scene and taken to St George Hospital in a 'critical but stable condition' after two men approached him and then fled the scene of the shooting. Scroll down for video A man, 23, has been shot three times in the abdomen and legs in Arncliffe in Sydney's south Emergency services found the victim conscious at the scene. The man's cousin told ABC the 23-year-old was 'alive' and 'smiling'. NSW Police are now looking for two men following the shooting. A crime scene has been established and investigations continue. Anyone with information which could police with their investigations are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. The man was found conscious with gunshot wounds to his abdomen and both legs on Wollongong Road in Arncliffe, near Sydney Airport, at about 5.40pm on Monday (scene pictured) Advertisement This is the harrowing Indonesian village where people with mental illnesses are shackled to the floor and locked up in dark, cell-like rooms. In Sidoharjo, Karangpatihan and Krebet, both adolescents and adults have severe physical disabilities, also known as 'Kampung Idiot'. The horrifying images show a 40-year-old woman called Sijum lying immobile on her back as her mother spoon-feeds her, while Saimun, 45, sits on the ground in his house, where his legs have been chained for 20 years by his parents because he has a mental illness. These victims live below the poverty line and many suffer from malnutrition, visual and hearing impairment - but villagers and government officials blame incest, malnutrition and iodine deficiency as the cause for their illness. Sinem sits on the dank, wet floor of her house in Krebet Village in Jambon subdistrict of Indonesia Bosmot is 55 - government officials blame incest, malnutrition and iodine deficiency as the cause for the illness Sinem, clad in a tattered shirt and shorts sits barefoot in the dirt of a dark, squalid room in the village of Krebet Saimun, 45, lies on the ground inside his house, where his legs have been chained for 20 years by his parents because he has a mental illness More than 400 people suffer from psychosocial disabilities in Ponorogo, East Java, and live in squalid conditions, with their family earning between 30 to 50 U.S. dollars per month. A common practice in these villages was to keep those with psychosocial disabilities under pasung - shackled or locked up. Indonesia's government banned the practice of shackling in 1977 but failed to enforce it. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 57,000 people have been subjected to pasung once in their lives and around 18,800 are currently being shackled. Thousands of Indonesians with a mental illness are currently shackled, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on Monday. The 74-page report, 'Living in Hell: Abuses against People with Psychosocial Disabilities in Indonesia' examines how people with mental health conditions often end up chained or locked up in overcrowded and unsanitary institutions. Chaining up the mentally ill has been illegal in Indonesia for nearly 40 years but remains rife across the country, especially in rural areas where health services are limited and belief in evil spirits prevail, according to HRW. Suhananto, 30, sits inside a cage, where he has been locked up in a confined space for a year by his parents because he has a mental illness Legi, and her brother Saremon are kept under 'pasung' - either shackled or locked up Simus is 60, he crouches in his dark house which is laden with threadbare rugs and bamboo thatching in Krebet Village Dwi Sarnawati, 19, is one of many victims living below the poverty line with their family earning between 30 to 50 U.S. dollars per month Gondek 50, cleans up leftover paddy collected from the harvest at Krebet village in Jambon subdistrict 'Nobody should have to be shackled in Indonesia in 2016 - people told us again and again that it's like living in hell,' Kriti Sharma, disability rights researcher at the group and author of the report, told AFP. As well as shackling, the report listed a litany of other abuses the mentally ill face in Indonesia - sexual violence, electroshock therapy, and restraint and seclusion in often overcrowded, unsanitary institutions. There are just 48 mental hospitals in Indonesia, a country of 250 million, most of them in urban areas. Treatment options are scarce for the millions living in remote regions, leaving desperate families to turn to faith healers in the Muslim-majority nation, some of whom chain up patients. Sati, 39, takes a bath assisted by her mother in her house. Many of the victims suffer from malnutrition, visual and hearing impairment Jamila, 13, lies on blue tarpaulin spread out inside a house at Sidowayah village in Jambon subdistrict Saimun, 45, lies on the ground inside his house, where his legs have been chained for 20 years by his parents because he has a mental illness HRW - who interviewed around 150 people for their report, from the mentally ill to health professionals - said there are currently almost 19,000 people in Indonesia who are either shackled or locked up in a confined space, a practice known locally as 'pasung'. At least 14 million people in Indonesia aged 15 and over are thought to have some form of mental illness, according to health ministry data. Shackling of mentally ill people happens across Asia but is particularly common in Indonesia, with studies showing that it is due to poor mental health services in rural areas and a lack of knowledge about suitable treatments. Families that choose not to send mentally ill relatives to faith healers sometimes take matters into their own hands. Andika, 17, takes a bath assisted by his mother Supini at Sidoarjo village Faiz, who is only 10 is cradled by his mother Tumini, inside their house Faiz is pictured lying spreadeagled on filthy-looking bed sheets - Indonesia's government banned the practice of shackling in 1977 but failed to enforce it Chaining up the mentally ill has been illegal in Indonesia for nearly 40 years but still happens across the country, especially in rural areas where health services are limited and belief in evil spirits prevail, according to Human Rights Watch (pictured Andika, 17, playing with his mother Supini) Sijum, 40, lies immobile on her back as her mother Toyimah spoons food into her mouth Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, pictured in February 2016, launched an attack on U.S. relationship with Cuba Fidel Castro has launched a blistering attack on the US's relationship with Cuba just days after Barack Obama visited the country, writing 'we don't need the empire to give us any presents'. The US president's visit had been intended to bury the hostility between the two countries and in a speech the former leader said it was time the nations came together 'as friends and as neighbors and as family, together'. But in a letter to 'Brother Obama' on Monday, Castro dismissed Mr Obama's words as 'honey-coated' and reminded Cubans of the many attempts by the US to overthrow and weaken the communist government. Mr Obama did not meet with Castro, 89, during his three-day visit last week, nor mention him in any of his public appearances, but met several times with his 84-year-old brother Raul Castro, the current Cuban president. It was the first visit of a sitting US president since President Calvin Coolidge visited the country 88 years ago. 'One assumes that every one of us ran the risk of a heart attack listening to these words,' Fidel Castro wrote in response to the US leader's words in his column, run by state media. Bristling at Mr Obama's offer to help Cuba, he said the country was able to produce the food and material riches it needs with the efforts of its people. 'My modest suggestion is that he reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics. 'We don't need the empire to give us any presents,' Castro added. Asked about Fidel Castro's criticisms on Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration was pleased with the reception the president received from the Cuban people and the conversations he had with Cuban officials. 'The fact that the former president felt compelled to respond so forcefully to the president's visit, I think is an indication of the significant impact of President Obama's visit to Cuba,' Earnest said. After the visit, major obstacles remain to full normalization of ties between Cuba and the United States, with no major concessions offered by Cuba on rights and economic freedom. 'The president made clear time and time again both in private meetings with President Castro, but also in public when he delivered a speech to the Cuban people, that the US commitment to human rights is rock solid and that's not going to change,' Earnest said. Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution and led the country until 2006, when he fell ill and passed power to his brother Raul Castro. He now lives in relative seclusion but is occasionally heard from in opinion pieces or seen on television and in photos meeting with visiting dignitaries. Mr Obama did not meet with Fidel Castro, 89, during his three-day visit, nor mention him in any of his public appearances, but met several times with his 84-year-old brother Raul Castro (pictured), the current Cuban president It was the first visit of a sitting US president to Cuba since President Calvin Coolidge visited the country 88 years ago The current president Raul Castro's (pictured) brother Fidel bristled at Mr Obama's offer to help Cuba and said the country was able to produce the food and material riches it needs with the efforts of its people The iconic figure's influence has waned in his retirement and the introduction of market-style reforms carried out by Raul Castro, but Fidel Castro still has a moral authority among many residents, especially older generations. Fidel Castro blasted Mr Obama for not referring in his speech to the extermination of native peoples in both the United States and Cuba, not recognizing Cuba's gains in health and education, and not coming clean on what he might know about how South Africa obtained nuclear weapons before apartheid ended, presumably with the aid of the US government. Castro also took aim at the tourism industry in Cuba, which has grown further since Obama's rapprochement with Raul Castro in December 2014. He said it was dominated by large foreign corporations which took for granted billion-dollar profits. Matthew Mellon said on Instagram last week that he was Matthew Mellon revealed that he is checking into rehab a little over six months after he announced he and his second wife were getting a divorce. In an Instagram post that he has since deleted, Mellon shared a photo of himself standing in front of a private plane, writing; 'I'm off to rehab. Thanks everyone who helped me make this decision.' It has been a difficult year for the 52-year-old banking heir, who announced he and his second wife Nicole Hanley were splitting last August. Mellon shared that news on Instagram as well, posting a photo of a Forbes cover featuring the couple and their two young children, writing; 'A year ago today and she wants divorce, takes my name, our company, our children . . . You decide, do children need a father??!!' He would also later delete that post. Mellon did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com. News: Mellon (above with Nicole Hanley and Tamara Mellon in 2008) shared a photo of himself at an airport, writing; 'I'm off to rehab. Thanks everyone who helped me make this decision' Mellon posted multiple Instagram shots as he journeyed out to California for rehab last week, starting with a selfie he later deleted that read; 'Yes I am guilty of being perfectly imperfect. If you fall you have the right to get up. If you don't get up don't hurt those who love you the most.' Soon after he posted a picture of himself barefoot on the street in Beverly Hills as he got into his rental car, and then a message expressing his love for Hanley featuring the song Beautiful World by Colin Hay. Those two posts were also taken down by Mellon soon after they went live on the photo-sharing app. Mellon also posted a photo of an apple with a single bite taken out of it over the weekend, writing; 'Taking a bite out of this thing called a addiction one day at a time.' That image remains on his Instagram page. Page Six was the first to report that Mellon and Hanley planned to divorce last May, citing a source close to the couple who said the split was amicable. Hanley, 38, remained at the couple's swank Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan's famed Pierre residences with the couple's 5-year-old son Force and 3-year-old daughter Olympia. Mellon meanwhile did not go far, moving just 10 blocks south into a $5million apartment at the Baccarat Hotel. The couple kept quiet about the split and rumors began to circulate over the summer that the two might call off the divorce, but those rumors were put to rest in the wake of Mellon's August Instagram post. Sources said at the time that Hanley's wealthy parents did not approve of their daughter reuniting with Mellon. Mellon and Hanley first met in 2006 at a wedding in Palm Beach, Florida and were married four years later at designer Diane von Furstenbergs house on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. 'I knew instantly. I was rocketed to the fourth dimension. It was a metaphysical overtaking,' Mellon later told The New York Times of meeting Hanley. It was the second marriage for Mellon, who was previously married to Tamara Mellon, who kept his name even after the pair split. The Jimmy Choo co-founder and Mellon met in 1998 while attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in London and were engaged within six months. They were married two years later at Blenheim Palace in front of 300 guests, including Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley, and shortly after welcomed a daughter, Araminta, who they call Minty. The couple began to drift apart around the time their daughter was born as Mellon's drug usage increased according to his ex-wife, who said in a story she wrote for The Daily Mail that he would go missing for days at a time and suffered from 'paranoid delusions of cocaine psychosis.' He had already used huge amounts of the 13 trust funds he inherited aged 21 on cocaine and parties before he met his wife and was found during their marriage at points freebasing cocaine in the kitchen and once in a crack dens in Notting Hill. She said that the decision to split came after the pair went away on holiday to Saint Tropez and Mellon disappeared for three days after going out to the club one night. Mellon, who had been in rehab several times at that point dating back to when he was in college, entered a clinic soon after with the help of his now estranged wife. The couple divorced soon after and the terms of the divorce were never made public. Money will likely not be an issue in Mellon's upcoming divorce from Hanley, who is heir to an oil fortune, and neither side has commented on custody of the two children. Chastity Eugina Hopson, 29, was arrested after responding to a police department's joke post claiming meth in the area may have been contaminated by Ebola and needed to be tested One Texas police department's joke led to a woman's arrest after it sent out a fake alert asking residents who had recently purchased meth to get it tested at the station for Ebola contamination. Chastity Eugina Hopson, 29, was arrested on Thursday and charged with possession of less than one gram of controlled substance after responding to the Granite Shoals Police Department's post. 'If you have recently purchased meth or heroin in Central Texas, please take it to the local police or sheriff department so it can be screened with a special device,' the post read. 'DO NOT use it until it has been properly checked for possible Ebola contamination!' the joke continued. The post was shared nearly 1,300 times and received more than 200 comments on Facebook, according to the Houston Chronicle. But two days later the department was excited to share the news that the they had a 'winner' for their 'Facebook post challenge'. While some hailed the post as hilarious, the GSPD also quickly fell under fire for sharing the woman's name and picture as critics said they shamed and poked fun at addiction. 'You humiliated and shamed her and treated her like a criminal instead of like someone who has a disease,' one Facebook user commented in a review. 'I work I with addicts and one of the reasons they don't seek out help is the fear of judgement and because they feel ashamed.' 'You could have offered this woman treatment/help and instead you plastered her face all over Facebook reinforcing the beliefs of addicts that they are worthless and undeserving of help.' Another critic said that the original post had 'some humor' in it, but agreed that posting Hopson's picture online crossed the line. 'The fact that someone did fall for it would make most people question the mental state of that person,' they wrote. 'You could have quietly helped this person.' Another commented that helping Hopson, who is currently being held at Burnet County Jail on a $5,000 bond, is exactly what the department was doing. The post was shared nearly 1,300 times and received more than 200 comments on Facebook Two days later the department was excited to share that Hopson had fallen for the joke. But many criticized the department for releasing Hopson's photo and 'shaming' addicts 'I saw nothing wrong with what they did and hey, if it saves ONE life, it's worth it,' they wrote. 'She could be really important to someone, maybe a child...I am a recovering alcohol/addict and have been clean and sober 5 years and 4 months. It takes what it takes to begin the path.' As the criticism began to pile up, the department wrote in a post that it wanted to show 'all parts of the enforcement world' on Facebook. 'And that includes our sense of humor,' it wrote. But as of Monday night the original Ebola meth post, as well as Hopson's picture and the department's original response to criticism had all been taken down. In their place was a picture of a cat, driving a car. The department's caption read: 'And now here is a picture of a cat'. Granite Shoals isn't the only police department that has used the joke as what they call a harmless sting to catch criminals. Mitch Bratton, the chief of the Grayson, Louisiana, police department, which posted a similar item on Facebook, said several people did call to find out whether any drugs were contaminated by Ebola. 'It opened the door for us to talk about the dangers of meth,' Bratton said in an interview Monday, adding that in his town, 'meth is most definitely a lot bigger problem than any chance of Ebola.' Ebola last caused global panic when an outbreak in West Africa that began two years ago killed more than 10,000 people, according to the World Health Organization (Pictured is Liberia October 2014) Some version of the threat of 'Ebola meth' has shown up in at least four other states, according to the website Snopes, which tracks and debunks Internet hoaxes. Ebola last caused global panic when an outbreak in West Africa that began two years ago killed more than 10,000 people, according to the World Health Organization. One person who fell sick in the United States died: a Liberian man who ended up in the hospital days after arriving in Dallas. Two nurses who treated him became infected but survived. Matt Simpson, senior policy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, questioned what a department like Granite Shoals would do in the event of a real contaminated drug crisis. 'Are they going to run another Facebook ad that looks like this, only it's designed to help people instead of ensnare people foolish enough to follow up?' Simpson said. Clint McNear, a law enforcement consultant and retired police officer, compared 'Ebola meth' posts to a tactic he once used: calling a person with an outstanding warrant to say someone had turned in a wallet full of cash with the person's name on it. 'Clever ideas to catch criminals (are) not new,' McNear said. 'And as the criminal evolves, law enforcement evolves with them.' But Tom Smith, Texas director of the advocacy group Public Citizen, called tactics like the Ebola post 'pure deception.' Sarah Stewart was arrested on suspicion of making threats against police officers after she hung the dummies around San Bernardino County A woman has pleaded guilty to stringing up seven mannequins with bullseye targets and the names of deputies scrawled across them. Sarah Stewart was arrested on suspicion of making threats against police officers after she hung the dummies around San Bernardino County. Capt. Donald Mahoney said it is thought to have been an act of intimidation after police arrested an alleged member of a white supremacist gang, The Sun reports. The 36-year-old had used a rented U-Haul van to transport the mannequins which she tied to stop signs and telephone poles, police say. Each had a yellow rope round its neck and targets drawn on its torso, while five had the names of Twin Peaks sheriff's deputies etched across their chests. The others had the name of a probation officer and a sheriff's custody specialist. Stewart had then texted Jason Averhart, an alleged drug dealer and white supremacist, to tell him she 'had placed the things throughout the city that they had talked about,' a sheriff's report revealed. 'This appeared to be Stewart bragging to Averhart,' the report continued. 'This shows Stewart is attempting to better the gang and impress upon her other skinheads.' Unfortunately for Stewart, she seemed unaware that Averhart has been arrested earlier that day on drug charges. Her texts were intercepted by police officers who later arrested Stewart. Mahoney said that deputies had initially found it funny when the first mannequin was found, ABC 7 reports. But their humor turned to concern after the others were discovered. Stewart has admitted hanging up the seven mannequins with bullyseye targets and the names of depuities scrawled across them The mannequins had the names of deputies, and the name of a probation officer and a sheriff's custody specialist Each had a yellow rope round its neck and targets drawn on its torso, while five had the names of Twin Peaks sheriff's deputies etched across their chests 'Stewart's threats are very serious and I believe she placed these named mannequins up as threats in the name of the gang,' one deputy wrote. Witnesses claim they saw a second suspect, Erin Elder, 47, helping to load the dummies into Stewart's van on the night of the incident. Both Elder and Stewart were arrested at the same property in Crestline on Saturday. Elder has since been released after a prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to prosecute. Stewart, who is facing four years in jail,after she pleaded guilty to resisting an executive officer by means of threats and violence Deputies said they found methamphetamines in the home where she was arrested Mahoney added that there was no evidence that Stewart planned to attack the deputies named on the mannequins. The US Geological Survey warned Alaska's Pavlof Volcano could erupt again despite confirming that its activity level had 'declined significantly'. The volcano on the Alaska Peninsula erupted at around 4pm on Sunday afternoon and sent a cloud of ash 20,000 feet into the air - disrupting a number of flights. Late last night the agency confirmed the volcano had settled and the alert level was downgraded from warning - the highest level which warns of hazards in the air and on the ground - to watch. Pavlof Volcano erupted on Sunday afternoon (pictured) and sent ash more than 400 miles into interior Alaska On Monday morning the ash cloud had risen to 37,000 feet with lightning over the mountain and pressure sensors indicating eruptions continued overnight Sunday. By 7am yesterday the ash had risen to 37,000 feet and 50 mph winds had stretched the cloud more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. Alaska Airlines was forced to cancel flights because of the massive cloud of volcanic ash that spewed into the air. By the afternoon 41 flights involving six Alaska cities were cancelled until the Seattle-based airline could evaluate weather reports. The cancellations included all flights to and from Fairbanks as well as flights to Barrow, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome and Deadhorse. The US Geological Survey confirmed the activity level of Alaska's Pavlof Volcano has 'declined significantly' following the eruption on Sunday The airliner said that 3,300 passengers were affected as a result of the ash, which can cause jet engines to shut down. Spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Alaska Airlines simply doesn't fly when ash is present and would continue to monitor the trajectory of the ash cloud. The US Geological Survey said that the activity decline began around noon yesterday and that by last night a continuous emission was no longer being observed by satellite. But Geologist Chris Waythomas warned Pavlof could erupt for hours to days or intermittently for longer periods of time. The National Weather Service previously issued a weather bulletin to warn Alaskan residents living in the region of the Pavlof Volcano. Alaska Airlines was forced to cancel flights because of the massive cloud of ash that spewed from the volcano and into the air The bullet, which was in effect early last night for Cold Bay, Sand Point and Nelson Lagoon, explained that ash could fall on the communities if the wind direction shifted as expected. Volcanic ash is angular and sharp and can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages. The ash can also damage electronic devices and vehicle engines. Pavlof Volcano is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. The USGS says that during a previous eruption in 2013, ash plumes rose 27,000 feet. Other eruptions have generated ash plumes as high as 49,000 feet. A Maryland man who died after being hit by a commuter train in a Washington suburb Monday morning may have committed suicide after mistakenly shooting the wrong man in a domestic dispute argument linked to his failing marriage, WUSA 9 reported. The man, identified as Jacinto Del Prado, 52, of Greenbelt, was killed by a train at about 7am on the Amtrak/MARC tracks in Lanham, Prince George's County. He was wanted by police after shooting two men - killing one - at a Jessup truck stop on Sunday afternoon. A woman suffering gunshot wounds was also found in his apartment, the channel said. Jacinto Del Prado, suspect in Sunday's double shooting in Jessup, was killed by a train on a Maryland train line (pictured) Monday morning in what appeared to be a suicide. His wife was also reported to have been injured Howard County Police spokeswoman Mary Phelan told Associated Press that Del Prado went to the truck stop to confront a man about a domestic issue at around 1pm Sunday, and may have shot his victims in a case of mistaken identity. Two hours later, police were called to Del Prado's apartment on the 8600 block of Greenbelt Road where they found a woman with gunshot wounds, WUSA 9 reported. That woman was identified to WUSA 9 by a family acquaintance as Del Prado's wife. The couple had been married more than 20 years and had two young-adult sons, but their marriage was deteriorating, the acquaintance told the station. Of the two men shot at the truck stop Chad Dewayne Daniel, 44, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, died on the scene, while Warren Anthony Weeden, 57, of Baltimore, was flown to a trauma hospital where he is now in a stable condition, WJZ 13 reported. Police received an arrest warrant Sunday afternoon, The Baltimore Sun said, but Del Prado killed himself before he could be taken into custody. Del Prado's death affected train traffic on MARC's Penn Line between Washington, DC and Baltimore, NBC Washington reported. Trains were running on a single line between New Carrollton and Bowie Monday morning, but normal service resumed Monday afternoon. The metro was accepting MARC ticket holders,according to the MTA. Police from Howard and Prince George's counties are collaborating in the investigation, according to The Baltimore Sun. The most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef are facing the worst coral bleaching event in history, scientists say. Marine experts who have aerial surveyed 500 sites between Cairns and Papua New Guinea say the once healthy reefs are now snow-white, with 95 per cent ranked in the most severe category of bleaching. Professor Terry Hughes, a coral reef expert based at James Cook University in Townsville who led the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce, said the scale of reef damage was a 'very sad thing to witness.' Scroll down for video The most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef are facing the worst coral bleaching event in history, scientists say A diver from an in-water survey team inspects severely bleached coral in the Great Barrier Reef 'We flew for 4000km in the most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef and saw only four reefs that had no bleaching,' Professor Hughes said. 'Even more concerning, we haven't yet found the southern limit of the bleaching.' The aerial surveys have confirmed the current bleaching event is far more severe than those of 2002 and 1998. More aerial surveys are planned this week in the central Great Barrier Reef, to try to find the southern boundary of the bleaching. But Prof Hughes said the southernmost stretches of the reef appear to have dodged a bullet with cloudy weather keeping down water temperatures there. Marine experts who have aerial surveyed 500 sites between Cairns and Papua New Guinea say the once healthy reefs are now snow-white, with 95 per cent ranked in the most severe category of bleaching Professor Terry Hughes, a coral reef expert based at James Cook University in Townsville who led the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce, said the scale of reef damage was a very sad thing to witness WHAT IS CORAL BLEACHING? Coral bleaching most commonly occurs when warm ocean temperatures cause thermal stress, leading corals to expel tiny algae, known as zooxanthellae, which live inside their tissues and provide corals with most of their food and colour. Without the algae, the coral's bright white skeleton is revealed. Corals can recover from bleaching if heat stress lessens and conditions return to normal. As the climate changes, coral bleaching is predicted to become more frequent and severe. Source: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Advertisement Previous underwater surveys conducted earlier in March also detected substantial levels of coral mortality in the remote far north on inshore Cape York reefs. Diver teams found the worst affected sites to be near the tip of Cape York, with up to 50 per cent coral mortality due to prolonged higher than average sea surface temperatures. However, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chairman Dr Russell Reichelt said in a statement that the extent and severity of bleaching varies greatly across the Reef and the late arrival of the wet season appears to have thus far spared most sections of the 344,400 square kilometre Marine Park from coral die-off. 'Further wet weather has brought down ocean temperatures, providing reefs south of Cooktown with a much-needed reprieve,' Dr Reichelt said. Previous underwater surveys conducted earlier in March also detected substantial levels of coral mortality in the remote far north on inshore Cape York reefs Diver teams found the worst affected sites to be near the tip of Cape York, with up to 50 per cent coral mortality due to prolonged higher than average sea surface temperatures 'We now need to see if local weather conditions over the next few weeks are favourable enough to prevent further bleaching and to help these reefs recover from the minor to moderate bleaching that we're continuing to see south of Cooktown. 'We still have many more reefs to survey to gauge the full impact of bleaching, however unfortunately, the further north we go from Cooktown, the more coral mortality we're finding. 'The corals in the remote far north of the Reef experienced extremely hot and still conditions this summer, and were effectively bathed in warm water for months, creating heat stress that they could no longer cope with. 'The reefs that we've surveyed so far indicate the large low pressure system over the north last week simply arrived too late for some.' The aerial surveys have confirmed the current bleaching event is far more severe than those of 2002 and 1998 However, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chairman Dr Russell Reichelt said the extent and severity of bleaching varies greatly across the Reef Most of the reefs north of Cairns - a city that markets itself as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef - are undergoing bleaching, and virtually all coral species, including the most robust types, have been affected. Cape York residents have told surveyors they are shocked by what they've seen and they've never witnessed anything like it before. Coral bleaching is caused by heat stress resulting from high sea temperatures that destroy the algae which provide corals with most of their food and colour. Without the algae, the coral's bright white skeleton is revealed. Professor Hughes said it was too early to say what the outcome for the reef would be, but scientists carrying out parallel surveys underwater are reporting half of all bleached corals are dead. The late arrival of the wet season appears to have thus far spared most sections of the 344,400 square kilometre Marine Park from coral die-off Coral bleaching is caused by heat stress resulting from high sea temperatures that destroy the algae which provide corals with most of their food and colour But he told ABC's 7.30 that he is sick and tired of the whole climate change debate. 'The government has not been listening to us for the past 20 years,' he said. 'It has been inevitable that this bleaching event would happen, and now it has. 'We need to join the global community in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 'For me, personally, it was devastating to look out of the chopper window and see reef after reef destroyed by bleaching.' He said more aerial and in-water surveys in the coming months would reveal the full impact. Unesco voted not to put the reef on its World Heritage in Danger list last year, but green groups want the decision reassessed. The Department of the Environment said state and federal governments were investing a projected A$2bn (1bn) over the next decade to protect the reef. A UN ruling that the Falklands are within Argentinian waters has prompted fears the South American country will attempt to claim the region's vast oil reserves. The UN commission's decision sees Argentina's territory in the South Atlantic expanded by 35 per cent to include the disputed islands and beyond. Although Argentina lost the brief but bloody war with Britain over their governance in 1982, the UN sided with the country and ratified the country's 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast. Scroll down for video Argentina still claims ownership of the islands, which it calls the Malvinas, and claims the UN commission's decision means it can push ahead with claims over sovereignty rights Susana Malcorra, Argentina's foreign minister, said: 'This is a historic occasion for Argentina because we've made a huge leap in the demarcation of the exterior limit of our continental shelf. 'This reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf.' Oil exploration is already pumping millions of dollars into the Falkland Islands economy. However, many islanders remain concerned about Argentina's claim as well as the potential for problems from rapid change brought by the new industry. The U.N. commission's finding included the caveat that there is an unresolved diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain over the islands. The Falklands are internally self-governing, but Britain is responsible for its defense and foreign affairs. The British government says islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentine sovereignty against their will. The Falkland Islands government said Monday that it is seeking clarification from the British government on 'what, if any, decisions have been made, and what implications there may be' for the territory in relation to the U.N. ruling. Mike Summers, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, told AP in an e-mailed statement: 'As soon as we have any firm information we will make it available. 'Our understanding has always been that the UN would not make any determination on applications for continental shelf extension in areas where there are competing claims.' Argentina lost the brief but bloody war with Britain over the governance of the Falklands in 1982. Pictured are Royal Marines landing ashore at Port San Carlos on East Falkland Royal Marines dig a settlement during the Falklands War, in which Britain reestablished its control of the territory The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: 'At this stage we have yet to receive details of that report. It is important to note that this is an advisory committee. It makes recommendations, they are not legally binding. 'Speculation about what the report says has come from Argentina. I think we should wait to see what comes from the commission in New York.' She added: 'What is important is what the Falkland Islanders themselves think. A man allegedly shot and killed three members of a family who lived next door to him in Wake Forest, North Carolina on Friday after they were embroiled in an argument. Jonathan Frederick Sander, 52, was arrested for fatally shooting Sandy Mazzella, 47, and his 43-year-old wife Stephenie Ann Mazzella in their home. Sandy's 76-year-old mother Elaine Mazzella, who lived in Raleigh, was also killed on Friday evening, according to officials. The two men were previously good friends who had worked together in landscaping, but Sander had been arrested in February for threatening to kill Sandy, ABC11 reported. Jonathan Frederick Sander, 52, (left) was arrested for fatally shooting Sandy Mazzella, 47, and his 43-year-old wife Stephenie Ann Mazzella (right) on Friday evening in Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said there was an 'ongoing argument between the families' although the details of Friday's dispute remains unclear. Neighbors in the surrounding area called authorities on Friday at 9am after people reported hearing yelling coming from the two homes about 15 miles outside of Raleigh. Hours later, a second 911 call was made after the shootings on Friday evening, painting a grim picture of 'seven shots', 'people screaming', and 'a man with a shot gun standing right behind our house' in the audio clips released by investigators. The couple's 14-year-old daughter and her grandfather were at home during the time of the shooting although they were unharmed. Their 7-year-old son was not home. Sandy was the owner of Advanced Mowing & Landscaping, and family friend Mike Wright said the 47-year-old had worked together with the alleged gunman. He told NJ.com: 'They were good friends. That's why this is crazy.' According to ABC11, Sander had been arrested on February 26 for threatening to kill Sandy and 'put him in a box'. He also warned Sandy that 'cops could not protect him'. According to officials, Sandy's 76-year-old mother Elaine Mazzella was also killed, although the couple's two children were unharmed The two men were previously good friends who had worked together in landscaping, but Sander had been arrested in February for threatening to kill Sandy, ABC11 reported Sander was due to appear in court on April 1 after he was ordered against threatening, assaulting or harrassing Sandy. Sandy and Stephenie previously lived in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, and moved to North Carolina because they wanted to relocate to a warmer climate, NJ.com reported. Sandy owned his landscaping business, while Stephenie was an an ICU nurse at WakeMed. Hospital representative Heather Monacky told ABC11 the mother-of-two had worked there since 2008, adding: 'She was a valuable part of the team and will be missed.' The kid's grandfather Salvatore, and Elaine's wife, was later sent to the hospital for emotional trauma, family members told the local news station. Stephenie's friend and former coworker set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the couple's two children has already raised more than $10,000. The construction union has launched a social media campaign claiming Malcolm Turnbull is 'happy for workers to die' as they attack the Prime Minister's plans to restore a building industry regulator. The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) published 13 tweets over the weekend featuring a photo of Mr Turnbull with the tagline 'He's called an election on a lie'. It comes after the Prime Minister recalled parliament for next month to try and restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and to pass the government's workplace reform laws before it triggers a double-dissolution election. Scroll down for video The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) published 13 tweets over the weekend featuring a photo of Mr Turnbull with the tagline 'He's called an election on a lie' In a series of tweets, the CFMEU claimed Mr Turnbull was happy for workers to die and only cares about profits. 'The ABCC will cut jobs, kill workers, and let big business off the hook,' one of the main slogans read. Others included: 'Malcolm Turnbull doesn't care about safety, just profits' and 'More people killed at work? That's the future under Malcolm's #ABCC'. The campaign was slammed by Employment Minister Michaelia Cash who described the tweets as 'disgusting' when she appeared on Nine's Today show on Tuesday. It comes after Mr Turnbull reached out to crossbench senators for help passing the government's workplace reform laws before it triggers a double-dissolution election. Family First Senator Bob Day says the Prime Minister called him on Easter Monday to discuss efforts to restore the ABCC. It comes after Mr Turnbull recalled parliament to try and restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) and pass the new workplace reform laws before it triggers a double-dissolution election In a series of tweets, the CFMEU claimed Mr Turnbull was happy for workers to die and only cares about profits 'The Prime Minister clearly wants this bill to pass,' he said in a statement on Tuesday. The senator told Mr Turnbull there is no reason why an agreement can't be reached if the government commits to addressing some of the crossbench's concerns about corruption in other sectors, not just the construction industry. 'After speaking with the PM, I am confident an agreement could be reached if the government agreed to look at sector-specific corruption measures,' Senator Day said. He thinks the government should establish anti-corruption measures that are tailored to each sector, but thinks ABCC is 'the perfect place to start' cleaning up corruption. It comes after Mr Turnbull reached out to crossbench senators for help passing the government's workplace reform laws before it triggers a double-dissolution election Last week Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, on Mr Turnbull's advice, recalled both houses of parliament for a three-week sitting from April 18. Mr Turnbull wants the Senate to use the sitting - which will include the federal budget, brought forward a week to May 3 - to pass bills reinstating the ABCC and imposing higher penalties for union corruption. One of the 'Jalal Brothers' has been punched to the ground by an apparently angry victim after their latest stunt in which they pretend to be a ghost. The brothers first came to prominence when they were arrested last month over a series of controversial 'terror' pranks, and have now posted a video which shows them scaring people at a Melbourne gym, train station and shopping centre by wearing the ghostly get-up. To strains of the reworked Tiny Tim song 'Tiptoe through the tulips' the video first shows a Jalal brother hovering toward a small suburban gym where one unsuspecting patron is so 'scared' he tries to to go back inside through a locked door. Scroll down for videos One of the 'Jalal brothers' approaches two young men leaving the shopping centre dressed in white, with a black wig and on a hover board He screams at them and while one runs the man in the cap who was talking on the mobile phone spins around and punches the Jalal brother in the head The Jalal brothers are questioned by police after scaring four young men on a Melbourne train station Then with their head covered by a black wig and wearing all white the next target is a group of young men waiting on a train station, they all run off frightened by the get-up and accompanying scream. It's believed police were called in after this stunt and spoke with them on the platform. The video then takes watchers back to the gym where two men are caught out, one crashing off the back of a treadmill and another reeling from 'shock' as he leaves the premises. But, if the final scene at the shopping village is to be believed, the Jalals may have got more than they bargained for when one young man talking on the phone reacts angrily, spinning around and knocking the Jalal brother off his hover-board with a punch to the head. Four young men fall victim to the Jalal prank racing off a seat at the train station as one of the brothers approaches screaming, wearing white, a black wig and on a hover-board The Jalals introduce their latest video with the song 'Tiptoe through the tulips' The brothers targeted patrons at a local gym where one man was seen trying to run back inside It was met by a mixed reaction by the social media followers. 'Yeee them jalals are funny but that guy who punch te ghost its more funny,' wrote one. Another person who was amused stated: 'oh gosh make more bomb prank videos never fail to make me laugh'. But some were unimpressed. 'That last clip with the punch killed the joke video. Pranks are funny, getting caught is not. Then again, lesson learned, maybe not. Keep your distance or have some self defence kick moves ready in case of a knock you out attempt like this again.' The three young men from South Morang in Melbourne - Max, 20, his brother Arman, 18, and a 16-year-old co-accused - were arrested and charged with public nuisance in February. But just weeks after being arrested by counter-terrorism officers, the 'Jalal Brothers' began posting videos again. The charges were laid after a video where the boys pretended to a shoot at a little girl with an AK-47 rifle sparked a widespread furore. Max Jalal, 20, (right) with brother Arman, 18, (left) and their 16-year-old co-accused were arrested in February In a compilation video the brothers recently released, a man in a white robe dumped a 'bomb bag' in a crowded elevator The occupants of the lift were left scurrying to safety after the bag was dumped The Jalals recently posted a video compilation of some of their favourite stunts with the message: 'DAMN JALALS, back at it again with the bomb pranks'. The compilation included footage of a man in flowing white robes chucking a 'bomb bag' into lifts, onto shopping centre escalators and at the doorstep of homes. The video was published after the trio fronted Melbourne Magistrates Court last Friday, where bail conditions which prevented them from uploading more videos were revised. However, The Age reported the young men are still prohibited from 'uploading or causing to uploaded any video or images of witnesses involved in their case'. After the arrests last month, the Jalals revealed the Facebook prank videos had been staged with family and friends. Their 'shooting' video of a father and daughter running scared from a drive-by shooting actually featured Max Jalal as the father and a relative as the daughter. Max and Arman are due to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court again on May 20, while the 16-year-old was bailed to appear at a children's court. The brothers (Arman is pictured) were charged with public nuisance and will re-appear in court in May The brothers were slammed for their earlier video which showed them firing a fake AK-47 at a five-year-old girl and her father An Ivy League-educated former executive at a New York investment bank was arrested Monday on charges he tried to defraud investors of more than $95 million as he led what a prosecutor called a 'shameful charade' to cover his tracks. Prosecutors said Andrew Caspersen, 39, only got away with $25 million, which he then lost. He was charged in Manhattan federal court with securities and wire fraud after his Saturday arrest and released on bail. The Princeton and Harvard Law educated Andrew Caspersen, 39, was arrested on Saturday for a scheme to defraud investors out of $95million. He is pictured here with family, his wife and brother Finn Caspersen Jr, leaving Federal Court on Monday Caspersen allegedly succeeded in getting $25million of investor money for a fake scheme, then he put the money in his personal brokerage account He's accused of scamming clients of PJT Partners Inc. into investing millions of dollars in sham private equity investments from July through March. After an initial court appearance, he was released on $5 million bail, ordered by the judge to have a psychological evaluation and left court holding hands with his wife. Dan Levy, a lawyer for Caspersen, declined comment outside court. Caspersen has homes in New York City and suburban Bronxville, New York. Caspersen's father Finn, pictured, a noted philanthropist, killed himself with a gunshot to the head in 2009 He is the son of Finn M.W. Caspersen, who was a prominent philanthropist and former chief executive of the financial services firm Beneficial Corp. The elder Caspersen, once worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was found dead in 2009 of a self-inflicted gunshot in a Rhode Island beach community where he had a home. The family also had homes in Jupiter Island, Florida, and the horse country of New Jersey. That shocking suicide was the subject of a 2010 Vanity Fair article, which detailed his life of privilege and excess - even riding horses with the royals at Windsor castle. PJT Partners released a statement saying it was 'stunned and outraged' to discover the fraud while Caspersen was a partner in its Park Hill Group. It said it referred the matter to federal prosecutors after learning facts suggesting improper behavior. 'To advance his $95 million fraud scheme, Caspersen allegedly put on a shameful charade creating fake email addresses, setting up misleading domain names, and inventing fictional financiers,' U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a press statement. 'When confronted by a suspicious client who had invested $25 million, Caspersen had no good answers.' The sham investment for which money was solicitied was an entity called Irving Place III SPV, which was intentionally similar to Irving Place Capital Partners III SPV, which is an legitimate private-equity fund. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against Caspersen, seeking a return of ill-gotten gains with interest and monetary penalties. It said that after graduating from Princeton University in 1999 and Harvard Law School in 2002, Caspersen was a principal at a private equity firm in London before he became a managing principal in January 2013 at the New York firm. He then lost the money through aggressive options trading. He has been terminated from his job and PJT Partners who released a statement saying they were 'stunned and outraged' His lawyer declined to comment outside of court on either the criminal or civil charges filed Caspersen allegedly created fake email addresses, set up misleading domain names, and invented fictional financiers,' U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. 'When confronted by a suspicious client who had invested $25 million, Caspersen had no good answers' 'As alleged, Caspersen engaged in a brazen fraud by raising money under false pretenses and simply stealing the funds,' said Andrew M. Calamari, director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. 'This action amply demonstrates that even sophisticated institutional investors are not immune to financial scams.' Prosecutors said Caspersen fraudulently solicited investors by promising investments would be safe, all while he converted their money to his own use without their authorization. They said he used a portion of nearly $25 million from a charitable foundation to trade securities in his personal brokerage account, only to lose most of the money through aggressive options trading. He used the rest to cover losses from money he had already allegedly stolen. The foundation has not gotten back any of the money, prosecutors added. If convicted, Caspersen could face up to 40 years in prison. He was released on $5million bail He and wife departed the hearing in a taxi cab. They have homes in Manhattan and suburban Bronxville Before his arrest, Caspersen tried to solicit an additional $20 million from the same charitable foundation and a $50 million investment from another multinational private equity firm headquartered in New York, the government said. He was arrested on March 26 at New York's Laguardia's airport. If convicted of both charges, Caspersen could face up to 40 years in prison. Caspersen is the youngest of four sons, all of whom graduated Harvard Law. Their father donated $30million to the school, also his alma mater, a few years before his death. He lost his college girlfriend in the World Trade Center on 9/11, and spoke movingly of her in the New York Times Portraits of Grief in October 2001. His brother Sam provided legal counsel to the 9/11 Commission The father of an 11-month-old baby who ate a capsule of cannabis oil was in the kitchen bagging methamphetamine while the baby began vomiting 'green foam,' a court has heard. The capsule was left on a chair in the lounge room by one of the father's associates in July 2015 and the baby's mother pulled the plastic tablet from her daughter's mouth after returning home from buying milk. The young mother pleaded guilty to a charge of neglecting a child under 18 years old at the Napier District Court in New Zealand last week, The NZ Herald reported. The father of an 11-month-old baby who ate a capsule of cannabis oil (stock image) was in the kitchen bagging methamphetamine while the baby began vomiting 'green foam,' a court heard The court summary said the mother 'knew straight away her daughter had eaten a cannabis oil cap.' However, on advice from one of the father's associates she put the 11-month-old to bed assuming she would 'sleep it off.' At around 9pm that night, the 11-month-old developed a high temperature and began vomiting again. The young mother called an ambulance 20 minutes later, but did not tell paramedics the infant had eaten a cannabis oil tablet as 'she didn't want to get in trouble,' the court heard. About five hours later she finally came clean after growing concerns her daughter may die. She also admitted to police she was a regular methamphetamine user and had taken drugs the night before the incident, The NZ Herald reported. She will be sentenced on April 17. The young mother pleaded guilty to a charge of neglecting a child under 18 years old at the Napier District Court (pictured) in New Zealand last week The father of the baby was in the kitchen bagging methamphetamine while the baby began vomiting 'green foam,' in the next room a court has heard (stock image) Says Kogan is in the best Online retail guru Ruslan Kogan is confident he can turn Dick Smith.com.au into a profitable business 'very quickly', after the iconic Australian brand announced voluntary administration in January. He plans to do this by responding to customer demand for cheaper TV's, laptops, tablets and smart phones, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Dick Smith will be resurrected as an online-only store following Ruslan Kogan's purchase of the embattled Australian retailer from receivers Ferrier Hodgson in March. Online retail guru Ruslan Kogan (pictured) is confident he can turn Dick Smith.com.au into a profitable business 'very quickly' Mr Kogan believes that his acquisition of the Dick Smith (pictured) brand has given his company 'even more leverage to negotiate better terms' meaning better prices, and savings for consumers Mr Kogan, 32, will breathe life back into the failed electronics retailer by permanently closing the doors to its brick-and-mortar businesses, instead launching an online-only store on June 1, 2016. 'Our approach to determining what products need to be sold is customer driven, based on systems we've developed internally that look at search statistics and Google search data,' Mr Kogan said. Mr Kogan believes that his acquisition of the Dick Smith brand has given his company 'even more leverage to negotiate better terms' meaning better prices, and savings for consumers. Ruslan Kogan said his business had spent the last 10 years developing systems to make online shopping as efficient as possible (pictured) Kogan is in a better position than any other company to repair the damaged Dick Smith (pictured) brand and turn it into profit as part of his $220 million business, Mr Kogan said The online retail pioneer said Kogan had spent the last 10 years developing systems to make online shopping as efficient as possible. 'All these efficiencies will instantly plug into the Dick Smith brand and leverage our existing investment in IT architecture that's how we'll make it instantly profitable,' Mr Kogan said. Kogan is in a better position than any other company to repair the damaged Dick Smith brand and turn it into profit as part of his $220 million business, Mr Kogan said. This comes after Ruslan Kogan announced that he had purchased the embattled Australian retailer (pictured) from receivers Ferrier Hodgson in March 'We were both retailers and we both had consumer electronics at our core.' 'We would have dealt with similar suppliers whether it be private label contract manufacturers, or other brands,' he said. Kogan has now acquired the Dick Smith brand, trademarks, customers, loyalty databases and the existing online business in both Australian and New Zealand. On a bike ride in Salt Lake City last summer Melissa Dohmen told her boyfriend Carson Vaughan they should buy a trailer and hit the road. After months of planning the couple left their 900sqft home in Nebraska and downsized to a 120sqft trailer and decided to explore the lower 48 states on a cross-country trip. Four months after taking the plunge with their 75-pound Labradoodle Costello, Melissa, 29, and Carson, 28, have checked 11 states off the list. Carson Vaughan (pictured, left) and Melissa Dohmen (pictured, right) have traded a comfortable life in Nebraska to travel across the continental U.S. in a trailer Melissa and Carson are traveling in the 120sqft Elsie (pictured) with their four-year-old Labradoodle Costello The couple has already traveled to 11 of the 48 states they're planning on visiting. They spend a week in each state they go to 'It was one of those things when youre having a bad day, that you bring up and say "Hey, want to do this?" 'If its a mistake, its a mistake. Were still young. No kids. No mortgage. Nows our chance,' Melissa told the Lincoln Journal-Star. Carson is a freelance journalist and is funding the trip by pitching stories about the people they meet to publications such as USA Today and Travel+Leisure. Melissa is an advertising associate for Swanson Russell and works remotely. She's also launching an online tabletop accessories retail store, Tabled, to pay for the journey. The trip even caught the attention of HGTV, who filmed the couple for an episode of 'tiny house hunters', before they left their Nebraska roots in their trailer 'Elsie'. Melissa (pictured with Costello) had to downsize her entire life to be able to fit into Elise, which is towed by a 2003 Chevy Suburban, and start the journey in late December 2015 The couple said cooking has been easier than they expected inside Elise, but cleaning up can be a challenge 'We loved Nebraska really, we did but wed grown tired of it,' 'The whole state felt like an old rental: No matter how many times we rearranged the furniture, it just didnt excite us anymore,' Carson said. On December 7 - right after the episode was filmed - the couple headed toward their first state: Arizona. They've since visited Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, covering 12,000 miles and spending about a week in each. Next stop, Kentucky, with plans to hit Maine by July 4th, which will be the trip's midway point. Melissa and Carson have been able to cook in Elsie, which is pulled by a 2003 Chevy Suburban, although they say cleaning up can be a pain. They're also able to shower and use the bathroom inside Elsie. The couple only park the trailer in National Parks, where it's free to stay. They've been to nearly 20 so far They had to downsize their possessions dramatically to be able to fit their lives into the trailer, but Melissa says she wishes she had done it earlier. '(I brought) 41 articles of clothing, 25 pairs of socks and underwear, five bras and eight pairs of shoes. 'Oh, and I brought a handful of jewelry that I store in a teeny tiny travel jewelry box. It's three inches by three inches! I also brought along accessories: five hats and three scarves,' she wrote on the blog. Another impressive feat is the number of state parks the couple has stayed in. To cut costs, Melissa and Carson will only stay in state parks and have slept in 18 so far. The U.S. has 7,804, according to the couple's blog Local Color. Melissa and Carson first had the idea to take the trip when Carson was in grad school. Years later they planned the trip and took off on the year-long adventure The couple has been to Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas so far and plan on going to Kentucky next Although they've stayed in many parks, when night falls and the temperature drops, things can get chilly fast. While in Arizona, Carson wrote: 'No heater. Low 30s. We piled every blanket we had onto the bed and climbed underneath, and then threw Costello on top. 'I was already fighting a cold, which meant Mel had to suffer my incessant sniffling and coughing. 'Needless to say, weve all had better nights. They hope to continue this journey for a year with four-year-old Costello happily enjoying full-time parenting by their side. When the couple completes the journey they'll have another adventure to look forward to - marriage. Melissa and Carson got engaged just before they took off on the trip of their lifetime. They plan to wed in late 2017. Police were stunned to find a car driving the streets with a number of crude and hazardous modifications which include a cotton bud supporting the number plate. Officers from Cambridge in New Zealand pulled over the banged-up Mitsubishi driving on Easter Monday before posting images of the vehicle on their Facebook page as a warning to the public. The car, which was previously banned from the roads for a broken windscreen, now had a custom jump-starter kit wedged into its crumpled bonnet and the bizarre cotton bud number plate arrangement. Cambridge Police were dumbfounded to find this banned Mitsubishi driving on Easter Monday with a number of highly illegal new modifications 'Every now and then in this wonderful job of policing we come across things that make you laugh and shake your head at the same time,' the Cambridge Police post reads. 'Like this car we stopped today. Not only had it been previously pink-stickered for having a broken windscreen but it had some new modifications today.' As well as the new modifications, the car's windscreen had been smashed again, prompting harsh penalties from police. 'Note the broken windscreen (it's been broken again since the last pink sticker), the custom jump-starter pack wedged into the front grill, the crumpled bonnet and last but not least the cotton bud that had been used to hold the number plate in place.' Police seized the motorist's keys before slapping him with a string of fines. 'Don't be this guy,' they warned. The car had a custom jump-starter kit wedged into its crumpled bonnet and a cotton bud holding up the number plate (pictured) More than 1,500 youngsters have been arrested for gun crimes in three years including children as young as ten. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show 506 under-18s were charged with offences involving firearms, air weapons or imitation guns from January 2013 to December last year. The numbers represent a 20 per cent increase between 2014 and 2015. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show 506 under-18s were charged with offences involving firearms or imitation guns from January 2013 to December last year (file image posed by model) In Nottinghamshire, seven children under the age of 11 have been arrested for suspected firearm offences since 2013. Derbyshire Constabulary said a ten-year-old boy was among six children charged with gun crimes over the same period. Scotland Yard, Britain's biggest force, said 30 of the 679 children it arrested on suspicion of committing a gun crime were under 13. Ian Swanston, whose 20-year-old brother Dorrie McKie (pictured) was shot dead in Manchester in 1999, said some children carry guns as a status symbol Meanwhile, West Midlands Police said 83 boys and one girl had been charged with firearm offences since 2013, including an 11-year-old boy in 2015, a 12-year-old boy in 2013 and eight boys aged 13. And Merseyside Police said 73 children were arrested for suspected firearm offences between 2013 and 2015. Of these, 14 boys were charged with crimes involving firearms including robbery, possession of a firearm, possession of an air weapon in a public place, sending threats, wounding and false imprisonment. Gwent Police said three children were arrested for suspected firearm offences in January, compared with three in 2015, one in 2014 and five in 2013. They included two 14-year-olds in 2016, three 16-year-olds and seven boys aged 17. There were five charges for firearm offences involving children including a 16-year-old girl who was charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2016. Two boys aged 17 were charged with having an imitation firearm with intent to cause indictable offence in 2015. A 17-year-old boy was charged with possession of a weapon to discharge a noxious liquid/gas/electrical incapacitation thing in 2014. A boy aged 17 was charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2013. LIST OF UNDER 18s ARRESTED FOR GUN CRIMES FROM 2013 TO 2016 POLICE FORCE GUN CRIMES Metropolitan Police 679 West Yorkshire 141 Thames Valley 103 Merseyside 78 Nottinghamshire 60 Northumbria 41 Avon and Somerset 35 Lancashire 32 Hertfordshire 30 Police Service of Northern Ireland 24 Derbyshire 23 Hampshire 23 Humberside 21 Sussex 21 West Mercia 21 Staffordshire 20 Cumbria Constabulary 19 Northmaptonshire 19 Cambridgeshire 17 Cheshire 17 Suffolk 16 Devon and Cornwall 15 North Wales 14 Kent Police 13 Gwent 12 Wiltshire 12 North Yorkshire 11 Bedfordshire 9 Lincolnshire 5 Warwickshire 5 Norfolk 4 Dyfed Powys 3 Cleveland 2 Durham 1 City of London 0 TOTAL 1,546 Hampshire Police said 23 children were arrested for firearm offences between 2013 and January 2016. Three boys aged 13, 16 and 17 were charged. One boy charged for using a firearm to threaten/cause fear of violence, while two boys were charged after they were found with weapons during stop checks. Hertfordshire Constabulary said 11 boys were arrested for suspected firearm offences in 2015, up from six boys and a girl in 2014 and 11 boys in 2013. Another boy was arrested in 2015. There were three charges for firearm offences involving boys in 2015, one in 2014 and five in 2013, including possession of an imitation firearm in public, possession of CS Gas and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violent. Humberside Police said eight children were arrested for suspected firearm offences in 2015, compared with four in 2014 and nine in 2013. Seven children were charged with firearm offences during the same period. A 13-year-old boy and three 17-year-old boys were charged with possession a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence in 2015. The total figure is likely to be significantly higher because Greater Manchester Police, which has investigated a string of gang-related shootings since Salford gangster Paul Massey was gunned down in July, and Police Scotland were among the forces which did not provide figures. Ian Swanston, whose 20-year-old brother Dorrie McKie was shot dead in Manchester in 1999, said some children carry guns as a status symbol. Mr Swanston, who helps run the Mothers Against Violence charity, said: 'The more guns within the community, the more likely it is we will see younger children getting access to them. 'Gangs use children, they use their girlfriends. They use people who the police are unlikely to search. 'For some [children] it's about status. Having a gun is seen as having power and people become fearful of you. 'The impact of their choices is far greater than can be imagined. It is so much easier to destroy a life.' Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, told the Daily Mirror: 'These figures show an alarming rise in the number of children being arrested for firearms offences at a time when the police service is operating with 17,000 fewer officers than five years ago. 'These are worrying trends that I fear will only increase if the Government continues to cut the police and we continue to lose neighbourhood policing. 'Now is the time to be investing in the police service for the safety and security of us all.' The National Police Chiefs' Council said: 'Firearms offences in the UK still account for less than 0.2% of total recorded crime. 'Forces across the country and community safety partnerships are working together to prevent young people getting involved in gangs and firearms.' FIGURES NOT AVAILABLE: Dorset, Essex, Leicestershire, South Wales and Surrey He also blasted Democrat Hillary Clinton as 'the greatest freak show' Praises him as 'successful and down to earth' with 'bold' plans '(Trump) is by no means perfect but I much prefer his approach,' he wrote Controversial former Labor leader Mark Latham has waded into the US presidential election campaign, speaking out in defence of billionaire contender Donald Trump. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Latham on Tuesday lavished the Republican Party frontrunner with praise. He described the property mogul as a 'successful and down-to-earth' candidate with 'bold solutions' and the U.S. and Australia's best interests at heart. 'The Donald is by no means perfect but I much prefer his approach to the lying snakes of machine politics and media manipulation,' Latham wrote. Scroll down for video Former Labor leader Mark Latham has waded into the U.S. presidential election campaign, writing in support of billionaire property mogul Donald Trump 'The Donald is by no means perfect but I much prefer his approach to the lying snakes of machine politics and media manipulation,' Latham wrote of Trump (pictured) Trump (centre) is ahead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination The former politician - who much like Trump, often finds himself the centre of controversy - spoke glowingly of the Trump's 'anti-PC' attitude. 'Why shouldnt they support a successful, down-to-earth candidate who talks their language and shares their values?' he said of American voters. Latham famously campaigned for Australia to withdraw its troops from Iraq during his failed 2004 federal election bid. And in his column, he argued that a President Trump would not drag Australian servicemen into disastrous overseas conflicts like Iraq or Vietnam. 'Far from being a dangerous warmonger, Trump has a clear-headed appreciation of his countrys best interests - and ours,' Latham wrote. He also slammed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as a 'freak show', pointing out how she barked like a dog at a rally last month. Latham, who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, said a President Trump would not drag Australia into dangerous overseas conflicts Latham slammed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for barking like a dog at a rally last month while making a point about Republicans Mrs Clinton had been telling a crowd about a radio ad she heard where a dog barked every time someone lied when she brought out her best canine impression. Latham resigned as a columnist for the Australian Financial Review recently after revelations he trolled prominent Australian women from a secret Twitter account. Since leaving politics, he has authored several books and is a commentator for the Seven Network. He recently returned to writing about social issues for News Corp newspapers although a foray into radio for broadcaster Triple M failed to get off the ground. Voting for Brexit is gambling with the prospects of the next generation, a Cabinet minister warns today. In a speech likely to trigger fresh claims of scaremongering, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan will warn the older generation they risk creating a lost generation of young people. She will say it would be unfair for parents and grandparents to vote to leave the EU because of the 'devastating' impact on the chances of their children and grandchildren. And she will appeal to the young to turn out and vote because it will help tackle 'global ills' such as climate change. In a speech likely to trigger fresh claims of scaremongering, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan will warn the older generation they risk creating a lost generation of young people But as well as raising accusations of desperate scaremongering by Downing Street, her comments may also risk alienating older voters by suggesting their views on the future of the country are less important than those younger than them. Hers is the latest dire warning issued by senior ministers loyal to Downing Street in what Brexit campaigners say is a ramping up of 'Project Fear'. In recent days a string of Cabinet ministers have been wheeled out to make doom-mongering predictions about the risks of Brexit. On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned it could damage the NHS. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills. The appeal to those with all their working lives ahead of them may also suggest the extent to which the Remain camp is concerned younger people will not turn out to vote in the referendum on June 23. In a speech to the British Fashion Retail Academy in London, Mrs Morgan will argue a vote for Brexit could put young people's future at risk. It would be young people who will pay the price if there is an economic shock from Brexit, she will say, because firms are likely to cut back on entry level jobs. On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured) warned it could damage the NHS Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured) said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills 'It's clear, that if Britain leaves Europe it will be young people who suffer the most, left in limbo while we struggle to find and then negotiate an alternative model. In doing so we risk that lost generation becoming a reality. And everyone who casts their vote must understand that. 'If parents and grandparents vote to leave, they'll be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildren's future. 'At a time when people are rightly concerned about intergenerational fairness the most unfair decision that the older generation could make would be to take Britain out of Europe and damage the ability of young people to get on in life.' By contrast, staying in the EU will help tackle the global issues young people care about such as sexual and gender equality, poverty, the environment and climate change, she will say. 'I want young people to make sure their voices are heard in this debate whichever side of the debate they might be on otherwise they risk having the decision made by other people, their future decided for them, not by them. Elections are decided by the people who turn up. 'And don't think you have to keep your opinion on the EU debate to yourself. Go out and make the case to others and in particular your older friends and relatives.' She will add: 'This is the generation of Instagram, easyJet and eBay. They don't want to see a Britain cut off from the world, where not only their opportunities, but our influence as a country, ends at our shores.' A very honest waitress has been rewarded for her good deed after she handed in $1,700 in cash that was left at a table. Customer Glenn Morse had left the hefty amount behind in an envelope and doubted that he would ever get it back. He had pulled the envelope out of his pocket March 11 to pay his bill after dining at Buffalo Wild Wings in South Portland, Maine, according Portland Press Herald. Kaylie Cyr (right) found the money in an envelope at a table she had been waiting on at Buffalo Wild Wings in Maine (left) Customer Glenn Morse had pulled the envelope out of his pocket March 11 to pay his bill after dining at Buffalo Wild Wings (pictured) But it wasn't until the next morning that he realized it was missing and he headed down to the restaurant to see if anyone had picked it up. Kaylie Cyr was the one who did find the packet - but says she didn't think twice about handing it in to her management. But Morse says he is still impressed that someone handed it in without a dollar missing. He added: 'Anyone passing by could have picked it up.' The envelope was on him for payroll and expenses for his business, Morse Builders in Portland. And a week later Morse and his friend Bates - who was him when he left the money behind - were back Buffalo Wild Wings. They called Cyr over to ask her if she was the one who had found the money but initially she rebuffed their attempts to recognize her good deed. But Bates told the Herald: 'She finally admitted she turned in the envelope. I told her I was really proud of her. 'That says something nowadays about someone's character that they would do something like that. That $1,700 probably would have paid a lot of bills for her.' Cyr (left and right) said she would never have kept it and knew that it wasn't a hefty tip because it was in an envelope with someone's name on it Cyr has just graduated with a biology degree from Husson University and says she only has a few more weeks left working at the restaurant (pictured) Cyr said she would never have kept it and knew that it wasn't a hefty tip because it was in an envelope with someone's name on it. And her honorable act was rewarded: Morse gave her $100 to thank her for handing in the money. The grateful waitress said the money 'blew her mind' and said she was planning to use it when her and her friends headed out to the Old Port on Friday night. Cyr has just graduated with a biology degree from Husson University and says she only has a few more weeks left working at the restaurant. In April, she is heading off to California to work on wildlife conservation projects with the American Conservation Experience, said the Herald. And Morse told ABC News that he was particularly impressed by her graciousness: 'You'd think someone would say, 'It was me who did that great deed' and I thought that was very impressive. Advertisement A towering inferno has ripped through two residential skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates - the third such incident in a little more than a year. Hundreds of people were forced to flee as chunks of burning metal fell to the ground when a blaze broke out in the emirate of Ajman late on Monday. Images shared on social media showed bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the buildings but reports in the UAE say there were no casualties, and that everyone was evacuated from the towers in al-Sawan. Scroll down for video Terrifying: A towering inferno has ripped through two residential skyscrapers in the United Arab Emirates - the third such incident in a year Hundreds of people were forced to flee as chunks of burning metal fell to the ground when a blaze broke out in the emirate of Ajman Before the fire: The Emirati interior minister, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, rushed to Ajman to help coordinate the response to the blaze at the Ajman One complex, Ajman police said Lucky escape: Images shared on social media showed bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the buildings but reports in the UAE say there were no casualties, and that everyone was evacuated from the towers in al-Sawan Fire struck in the Ajman One complex, a development of 12 towers with some 3,000 apartments, and officers sealed off a major road nearby The Emirati interior minister, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, rushed to Ajman to help coordinate the response to the blaze, Ajman police said. Fire struck in the Ajman One complex, a development of 12 towers with some 3,000 apartments, and officers sealed off a major road near the towers. Hundreds of evacuated residents and onlookers crowded nearby to watch the building go up in flames, while efforts to extinguish the blaze continued late into the night. Ajman is home to many commuters who work in the Gulf commercial hub of Dubai, further to the south. Like Dubai, it is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE federation. The blaze comes less than three months after a massive fire raced up the exterior of the 63-story The Address Downtown Dubai, one of Dubai's most prominent hotels. It is situated next to Dubai's biggest mall and the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper. Similar fires have struck other high-rises built since the turn of this century in Dubai and Sharjah, which sits between Dubai and Ajman. Ajman is home to many commuters who work in the Gulf commercial hub of Dubai, further to the south. Like Dubai, it is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE federation The blaze (pictured) comes less than three months after a massive fire raced up the exterior of the 63-story The Address Downtown Dubai, one of Dubai's most prominent hotels. It is situated next to Dubai's biggest mall and the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper Similar fires have struck other high-rises built since the turn of this century in Dubai and Sharjah, which sits between Dubai and Ajman Falling debris: Building and safety experts have attributed the spate of fires to a material commonly used to cover the buildings known as aluminum composite panel cladding. Debris is pictured falling from the high-rise building in Ajman Some panels used in buildings in the Emirates contain a flammable core that can burn rapidly one ignited, allowing fires to spread quickly on buildings covered with the panels. It was not immediately clear if the skyscraper in the Ajman fire had that type of cladding A YouTube video (pictured) showed bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the building but reports say there were no casualties Building and safety experts have attributed the spate of fires to a material commonly used to cover the buildings known as aluminum composite panel cladding. Some panels used in buildings in the Emirates contain a flammable core that can burn rapidly one ignited, allowing fires to spread quickly on buildings covered top to bottom with the panels without sufficient fire breaks along the way. A war veteran whose girlfriend died after he 'inadvertently' struck her in the head on a night out when his 'military training kicked in' has been found not guilty of murder. Ross Merrick was charged with murdering his partner Marika Ninness after she was left with fatal head injuries when he struck her with his elbow causing her to hit her head on the pavement during an argument at a shopping centre in East Maitland, north west of Newcastle, on December 8, 2013. Merrick, 32, was found not guilty of murder in a Newcastle court on Tuesday, but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, the Newcastle Herald reported. Ross Merrick (left) was accused of murdering his girlfriend and mother-of-three Marika Ninness (right), 35 Merrick, 32, was found not guilty of murder in a Newcastle court on Tuesday, but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter According to reports, the jury only took 15 minutes to reach a verdict after a four-week trial, with Merrick turning to his family and shaking his head as he was found guilty of manslaughter. He previously told the court he had not meant to strike the mother-of-three, who he had been dating for eight months, and that the attack had been a 'conditioned response' to his military training. Merrick's defence lawyer said her client had not intended to harm Ms Ninness and that he had simply reacted to her being 'in his face', the Sydney Morning Herald reported. He spent eight years in the navy and had three deployments to Iraq. Merrick told the court he had not meant to strike the mother-of-three, who he had been dating for eight months, and that the attack had been a 'conditioned response' to his military training The court heard that Ms Ninness told friends in the weeks before her death that she feared for her life But Merrick's defence lawyer said her client had not intended to harm Ms Ninness and that he had simply reacted to her being 'in his face' Ms Ninness, who told friends in the weeks before her death that she feared for her life, lay unconscious in a hospital bed for 13 days after sustaining 'massive head fractures' in the altercation, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The court reportedly heard of the couple's 'volatile relationship', with Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell telling the jury that Merrick had been 'verbally and physically violent to her as well as controlling and possessive'. Justice Peter Johnson earlier rejected a request by Mr Merrick's lawyers to delay the trial date to gather further forensic evidence, Sydney Morning Herald reported. Merrick told the court he had not meant to strike the mother-of-three, who he had been dating for eight months, and that the attack had been a 'conditioned response' to his military training. Mr Merrick's lawyer, Tania Evers, appeared before the the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney to appeal for a new trial date, seeking expert opinion on the precise reason for Ms Ninness' death. Ms Evers reasoned a forensic pathologist was needed to uncover whether her death was a result of the fall rather than Mr Merrick's blow to her head - a pivotal distinction. 'If it was the result of the fall then it is a totally different issue as to whether or not the strike to her head caused the haematoma that led to her death,' she said. Ms Evers agreed that Mr Merrick had struck Ms Ninness, but disagreed with the Crown's case that the strike was what led to the victim falling. Merrick has been refused bail until he is sentenced in May. She lay unconscious in a hospital bed for 13 days before she died after sustaining 'massive head fractures' in the altercation Flight 746 to Philadelphia at 6.59am on Saturday was canceled He was arrested and failed another test at the Romulus Police Department TSA agent reported odd behavior and said he smelled alcohol on Maguire He allegedly turned up at Detroit Metropolitan Airport inebriated John Maguire charged with operating aircraft under influence of alcohol American Airlines co-pilot John Maguire, 50, has been charged with operating under the influence of alcohol after he allegedly showed up drunk to work A 50-year-old American Airlines co-pilot who was arrested for allegedly coming to work drunk before an early morning flight has been charged with operating an aircraft under the influence of alcohol. John Maguire was grounded on suspicion of drunkenness at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport before a 6.59am flight to Philadelphia on Saturday. Maguire, who lives in Pennsylvania, failed two breathalyzer tests and was detained by the police, according to airport officials. The flight was canceled, stranding several college students on their spring break. Maguire was already in the cockpit when his behavior was reported by a TSA agent, who thought he smelled alcohol on the co-pilot and found his behavior odd, according to WPVI. A field sobriety test found that his blood alcohol content level was over the 0.04percent limit established by the Federal Aviation Administration, officials said. The co-pilot was taken into custody on the tarmac and he failed another breathalyzer test after he was taken to the Romulus Police Department, airport spokesman Michael Conway told CBS Detroit. American Airlines released a statement on Saturday announcing that flight 736 was canceled. The company said it would book customers on other flights, adding: 'Safety is our highest priority and we apologize to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans.' Maguire was charged Monday with the misdemeanor, according to the Wayne County's prosecutor office. He was released pending an arraignment. Airlines officials have said they are assisting investigators. Tigerair have come under fire for cancelling flights from Denpasar to Australia after Indonesia failed to grant regulatory approval for the airline's new international service. The airline - which introduced its new overseas service on March 23 - can sell both round trips and one-way from Australia to Bali, but is unable to offer customers a singular fare from Denpasar to Australia,The Daily Telegraph reported. A series of flights have been cancelled by the airline and re-booked on Virgin Australia, but according to Tigerair only two per cent of passengers were affected. Tigerair have come under fire for cancelling flights from Denpasar to Australia after Indonesia failed to grant regulatory approval for the airline's new international service Tigerair's Facebook page was inundated with furious passengers claiming their holidays had been 'ruined' due to rescheduled flights An empty Tigerair plane was reportedly flown back to Australia last week after the regulatory approval was denied and a Virgin Australia aircraft used instead. In other instances Perth-bound passengers had 15 hours added to their flight time after being forced to travel to Sydney or Brisbane first. Tigerair's Facebook page was inundated with furious passengers claiming their holidays had been 'ruined' due to rescheduled flights. 'Tiger Air, we are booked on a direct DPS to MEL flight,' one woman wrote on Tuesday morning. 'Now we've been rescheduled via BNE with a six hour stop from midnight to 6am on Virgin. 'With two kids this is unacceptable.' Another man said his flight was transferred from Tigerair to Virgin and paid for extra luggage twice in the confusion. A series of flights have been cancelled by the airline and re-booked on Virgin Australia, but according to Tigerair only two per cent of passengers were affected One man said his flight was transferred from Tigerair to Virgin and paid for extra luggage twice in the confusion and Von Pembler said she feared her April 12 flight will be cancelled also 'Now Virgin ask me [sic] to pay an extra 120 Aud saying tiger know about it and will give me the money back,' he wrote. 'I called Tiger and Tiger doesn't know anything about this. I want my money back now.' In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, a spokesperson for Tigerair said the airline are 'not currently selling fares from Bali due to regulatory requirements.' However, the company maintains round trips and one-way fares from Australia remain on sale and flights originating from Bali will be on sale in 'due course.' 'We are very pleased with early demand for our Bali services,' the statement read. 'Many flights over the peak Easter travel period are full or near full. 'All bookings for travel to Bali from Australia (both one way and return) are not affected.' Tigerair introduced a new fleet of planes last week to be used for its international service. It took over Virgin Australia's Adelaide-Bali, Melbourne-Bali and Perth-Bali flights. David Cameron warned his most senior MEP in Brussels that he would be 'finished' if he defied him over Europe and backed the Brexit campaign, it was claimed last night. In a furious tirade, the Prime Minister is said to have threatened Syed Kamall that unless he supported him he would be ousted as leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament. The bust-up happened during a meeting in London a week before the EU deal was finalised. Mr Cameron expressed his outrage when Dr Kamall informed him he was leaning towards voting to leave the EU. In a furious tirade, the Prime Minister is said to have threatened Syed Kamall (pictured) that unless he supported him he would be ousted as leader of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament According to a Tory source, whose account was last night backed by three others who have spoken to Dr Kamall directly about the conversation, Mr Cameron told him: 'You're finished. I made you and now you're finished.' One of Dr Kamall's fellow MEPs last night said Mr Cameron 'was angry and threatening' at the meeting in mid-February. Another source in Brussels said: 'The PM, who had not long come out of the Commons chamber, was pumped up. He was surprised when Syed told him, it's safe to say he was disappointed.' A Tory colleague added that Mr Cameron put pressure on Dr Kamall to change his mind and said his position as the leader of the ECR group would be untenable if the British public voted to stay in the EU. 'The PM was thoroughly unhappy. I think he thought anyone associated with the European Parliament would sure to be on his side,' he said. 'He made it clear to Syed that he should not expect any help from him if those in the Remain camp made moves to push him out of his role.' A Tory colleague added that Mr Cameron put pressure on Dr Kamall to change his mind and said his position as the leader of the ECR group would be untenable if the British public voted to stay in the EU Mr Cameron founded the ECR group in 2009 with other Eurosceptic-leaning parties from across Europe. It is now the third biggest bloc in the European Parliament and includes the ruling Polish party Law and Justice However, when Mr Cameron held a meeting with Dr Kamall during a visit to the European Parliament the following Tuesday, sources said he deployed a different tactic in attempt to get back his support. 'The PM was totally charming to him. It was like it was completely back to normal,' one said. Three weeks after the renegotiation deal was finalised, Dr Kamall finally declared his support for Brexit publicly. In a carefully worded statement that praised Mr Cameron for getting 'the best deal available', he said he wanted the country to quit the EU because 'on balance we could forge a better future outside'. Dr Kamall, whose parents came to London from Guyana, said he had decided he 'must be true' to his conscience. 'Ultimately the key issue for me is immigration I would like an immigration policy that is balanced and fair - where we treat people equally whether they are from an EU country or not. 'Sadly, a fair immigration system is incompatible with membership of the EU. I am the son of immigrants from outside the EU - this matters to me deeply,' he said. Mr Cameron founded the ECR group in 2009 with other Eurosceptic-leaning parties from across Europe. It is now the third biggest bloc in the European Parliament and includes the ruling Polish party Law and Justice. Dr Kamall last night attempted to play down the row. He said: 'This conversation has been blown out of proportion by Chinese whispers. All of my conversations with the Prime Minister on the UK referendum have been civil.' Two young women in tiny skirts gave passing drivers in Russia a sexy little show just for them when they 'twerked' in the middle of the road. Their provocative dance was captured by passers-by in the city of Rostov-on-Don in Russia's south-western Rostov Oblast region. The images show the two women in very revealing short dresses barely covering their bums despite the wet and grey weather. Two young women in tiny skirts gave passing drivers in Russia a sexy little show just for them when they 'twerked' in the middle of the road The seemingly carefree women wave their arms around and dance saucily between the cars. One of them even puts her hands on the back of a stopped vehicle and 'twerks', bending over and sticking her bum out The seemingly carefree women wave their arms around and dance saucily between the passing cars. One of them even puts her hands on the back of a stopped vehicle and 'twerks', bending over and sticking her bum out. One man can be seen standing right in front of the dancers to film a close-up shot on his phone. The video was quickly seen several thousands of times within the first 24 hours of being uploaded on Russian social media webpage VKontakte. Some social media users commented on the link suggesting that they are prostitutes and clearly under the influence of drugs. One user wrote: 'These are prostitutes. And they are not drunk, they are high.' Easter Sunday celebrations took a grim turn for a Massachusetts family when their three-year-old daughter was found drowned in Mill Pond, West Newbury, WBZ reported. Emergency services were called after she was found in the water on the west side of Mill Pond, but neither CPR performed on the scene nor doctors at Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyort were able to save her. Her father, Joseph Dayter, told Fox 25 that he was 'Just going through a lot of pain.' He added: 'It hurts seeing your child laying there in the bed not breathing, and you just know she's no longer with you.' Scroll down for video Missed: Elizabeth Dayter (left) was with her father Joseph (right) at a gathering near Mill Pond, West Newbury, when she disappeared. She was found in the water but emergency services could not save her 'Vibrant': Elizabeth (pictured with mother Jeanette McCusker) was described by her great-uncle as a 'vibrant' girl 'who loved to make people happy.' Her death is not being treated as suspicious by police Dayter and his daughter, who was described as a two-year-old in early reports, were visiting family friends when the incident occurred. The child had wandered off without the adults there noticing. 'I think her and her little cousin just snuck out the door, and nobody realized they snuck out,' Dayter told Fox 25. Dayter has been separated from Elizabeth's mother, Jeanette McCusker, for about two years. He had not seen Elizabeth since her third birthday in October, the station reported. McCusker posted up images of herself with her daughter after the news broke. One of them, posted Monday evening, read 'R.I.P. my baby girl mommy loves you so much.' Her friends and family members were quick to gather around for support. One friend wrote, 'So beautiful then and so beautiful now as an angel! R.I.P. sweetie. And god bless your family.' 'Our sweet angel left here but she lives in you and her sister and brother forever,' another wrote. 'She'll always be with you Jen!' A GoFundMe page created by McCusker's uncle said of the girl: 'Elizabeth was a vibrant, illuminating young lady who loved to make people happy. If she saw you with a frown on your face, she would ask why and try to cheer you up. 'She was adventurous and daring... She loved to be active... she would brighten up a room by simply bringing her presence into it... and now she is gone.' Those thoughts were echoed by Dayter to Fox News. 'If you were in a bad mood, she'd brighten you up, make your day better,' he told the station. 'She loved being around everybody.' Danger: Elizabeth was found on the west side of Mill Pond (pictured). Her death shook not just her family but the wider West Newbury community, Police Chief Art Reed said The effects of Elizabeth's death were also being felt in the wider West Newbury community. 'This is a terrible tragedy for our community,' Police Chief Art Reed said to Newburyport News. 'On behalf of the entire town of West Newbury, I offer my most sincere condolences to the family of Elizabeth Dayter.' And Fire Chief Michael Dwyer took all of his crews out of service for stress debriefing, WHDH reported. A second GoFundMe page, accompanying the one set up by McCusker's uncle, has been set up by Elizabeth's aunt to raise money for her funeral service. For most people, a street celebration is a source of joy and entertainment. But one motorist who was blocked by people dancing in the road was in no mood for delays, and her response was less than forgiving. As a young crowd danced to Lean On Me by Major Lazer, clapping their hands, footage shows an older lady in a bright orange dress walk forward and slap one of the girls in the face. As a young crowd danced to Lean On Me by Major Lazer (pictured), clapping their hands, footage shows an older lady in a bright orange dress walk forward and slap one of the girls in the face. The woman in orange rushes towards one of the girls in the flash mob and suddenly slaps her hard in the face She then appears to grab the girl and while some members of the crowd cheer, others reprimand her The other dancers rushed in to try and calm the situation down but the mood for the dance troupe had already been ruined. It is unclear what had prompted the flash mob in the city of Payyanur in south-western India. They were moving in unison, all doing the same dance moves to the song - with considerable enthusiasm and surrounded by onlookers. However, it blocked the road, stopping buses and other traffic from moving, and some local media reports suggest this is what motivated the attack. Other local media reports suggested that the slap was from the girl's mother, who had spotted what she and her student friends were up to and had not been impressed. A father who allegedly broke another man's neck during a citizen's arrest after finding him near his daughter's room did not apply for bail, as thousands of people demand his release. Ben Batterham, 33, did not apply for bail when his case was heard in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday morning after he was charged with the murder of Richard James Slater on Sunday. The father-of-one did not appear via videolink and will remain in custody at the Cessnock Correctional Centre until his case is heard again on May 25, the Newcastle Herald reported Mr Batterham allegedly found Mr Slater, 34, standing his daughter's doorway after he was believed to have broken into his home in Hamilton, in central Newcastle, at about 3.30am on Saturday. Scroll down for video Ben Batterham, 33, did not apply for bail when his case was heard in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday morning after he was charged with the murder of Richard James Slater(pictured) on Sunday The 34-year-old, who is known to his family as Ricky, was rushed to John Hunter Hospital where he remained in critical condition until his family decided to turn off his life support A fight broke out and Mr Batterham, who was assisted by an unnamed friend, is understood to have put the would-be burglar in a choke hold to detain him until police arrived. Police found Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged with a string of break and enter offences in 2012, unconscious in Mr Batterham's home with a suspected broken neck. The 34-year-old, who is known to his family as Ricky, was rushed to John Hunter Hospital where he remained in critical condition until his family decided to turn off his life support at 11.30am on Sunday, according to NSW Police. Mr Slater's family demanded 'justice' outside Newcastle courthouse on Monday, with around 12 people showing up again on Tuesday. Mr Batterhams charge of grievous bodily harm was upgraded to murder following Mr Slater's death causing outrage in the community, with many claiming he was simply defending himself against the would-be thief. An online petition has emerged demanding Mr Batterham's charges be dropped, with almost 15,000 people signing in a few short hours. 'Homeowners should be able to defend their families from criminals who break into their homes - and Benjamin should be released now!!!' the petition reads. Mr Slater's mother Beryl arrived at the court house on Tuesday morning with several family members His aunt Pauline was also pictured outside Newcastle Local Court but declined to speak with reporters Mr Slater's family refused to speak with the media on Tuesday(pictured) after an emotional appeal on Monday Ben Batterham, 33, allegedly found Richard James Slater, 34, looking through his young daughter's room after in Hamilton on Saturday at around 3.30am Many of those who signed the petition said they were 'sick of perpetrators being protected by the broken laws that exist in Australia'. 'If you creep into someone's residence uninvited you deserve to die, it's that simple, good people don't invade peoples living space,' one person wrote in support of Mr Batterham. 'How dare you prosecute someone for defending their home and their family in their own home! This is NOT murder, this was NOT premeditated. This was self defence,' said another. Mr Batterham was reportedly treated for injuries to his face at a nearby hospital and charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm. He handed himself into police on Sunday once the charges were upgraded. On Monday the family denied Mr Slater was attempting to enter the Hamilton property without permission, instead claiming he was there to attend a party, Nine News reported. They said the father-of-three was now unable to defend the accusation he was an intruder following his death. He didnt deserve what happened to him, Mr Slaters sister, Tiara Kelly, said. His family have denied that Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged over a string of break and enter offences in 2012, was attempting to enter the Hamilton property without permission Mother Beryl Dickson said she was having to bury her eldest child for a reason I dont know. She said she couldnt feel anything through the shock and that hed been murdered in cold blood. 'I want my baby's killer found and brought to justice,' Ms Dickson told Seven News. She said her three grandchildren have been robbed of a father, claiming that he had been on the straight and narrow since leaving prison. He was reportedly convicted over the ram raid of an adult store in Sandgate where cash and synthetic drugs were taken, but was acquitted on appeal. 'They've lost their father, their beautiful father that they haven't seen for years because he was in jail, which has nothing to do with this case,' Ms Dickson told ABC News. 'Just to think those little kids are going to grow up without a dad now.' Mr Slater's daughter Bree posted an image of her father with the caption: 'I just want my daddy home!' Mr Slater's devastated family have demanded justice, claiming the 34-year-old father-of-three was 'murdered in cold blood' (pictured mother Beryl Slater right) Ms Dickson said she tried to get her son to open his eyes as he lay in hospital but doctors told her Mr Slater's brain had been starved of oxygen. 'I was telling him to get up or open his eyes, and he wouldn't; I just wanted him to open his eyes and talk to me.' His grandmother Dorothy collapsed as the family spoke to reporters and was treated by paramedics outside Newcastle Local Court. Mr Batterham allegedly put Mr Slater in a choke-hold to detain him until police arrived, Seven News reported, and was assisted by an unnamed friend. Ms Dickson said she tried to get her son to open his eyes as he lay in hospital but doctors told her Mr Slater's brain had been starved of oxygen Police found Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged with a string of break and enter offences in 2012, unconscious in Mr Batterham's home with a suspected broken neck Known to family as Ricky, Mr Slater was rushed to John Hunter Hospital where he remained in critical condition until his family decided to turn off his life support at 11.30am on Sunday, according to NSW Police. Mr Batterham was reportedly treated for injuries to his face at a nearby hospital and charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm. The charges were upgraded to murder when Mr Slater's life support system was turned off, with the 33-year-old father handing himself into police on Sunday afternoon. The father was denied bail by police on Monday and is expected to face a Magistrate on April 29. The 32-year-old man who assisted Mr Batterham has spoken to police, but was not charged. Mr Slater had been released from jail in December after serving 20 months for aggravated break and enter and fraud offences, according to Sydney Morning Herald. Mr Batterham handed himself into police on Sunday following Mr Slater's death The population of pure-bred dingoes on Fraser Island is dwindling as they become more at risk of genetic inbreeding, the island's dingo organisation says. Save Fraser Island Dingoes Incorporated is calling on the Queensland Government for an independent and reliable population study that focuses on the genetic viability of the island's iconic dingoes, located 200 kilometres north of Brisbane in Queensland. Spokeswoman Cheryl Bryant told Daily Mail Australia that the dingo watchdog doesn't rely on the Queensland government's population figures of 100 to 200 dingoes on Fraser Island at any time since 1990. The population of pure-bred dingoes on Fraser Island is dwindling as they become more at risk of genetic inbreeding, the island's dingo watchdog says Two juvenile dingo pups on Fraser Island sit in the grass WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO INBRED DINGOES? The genetic inbreeding of Fraser Island dingoes would make them more susceptible to disease and environmental stress. A genetically diverse population allows for genes to help dingoes survive climate and disease changes, among other things. Genetically inbred dingoes would find it more difficult to cope and adapt to environmental changes as a population. Advertisement 'We really don't know if that's accurate or not and we don't feel that it's a reliable study,' Ms Bryant told Daily Mail Australia. She said the organisation receives feedback from people who visit the island who haven't seen dingoes there, and residents who haven't seen the animals previously. 'It's a worry to be honest we don't know and because it's an island, anything could happen to upset the population so we're very concerned about the population because being isolated during a disease outbreak could wipe them out completely,' she said. The organisation is mostly concerned about the genetics of the dingo population and the potential for genetic inbreeding, as they have been isolated for quite some time. 'We would like some studies on the genetic viability of the animals because if their genetic viability is compromised then the population is compromised, so that's possibly even more important than the number of dingoes on the island,' Ms Bryant said. She said the physical effects of genetic inbreeding are starting to show, with dingoes developing a different body shape. Ms Bryant said people on the island observed that dingoes had 'very light frames and acted in different ways than before.' Save Fraser Island Dingoes Inc. is calling on the Queensland Government for an independent and reliable population study that focuses on the genetic viability of the island's iconic dingoes Spokeswoman Cheryl Bryant told Daily Mail Australia that the dingo watchdog doesn't rely on the Queensland government's population figures of 100 to 200 dingoes on Fraser Island at any time since 1990 She said there is an urgent need for an in-depth independent DNA study potentially carried out by a university and not as closely associated with state government funding. 'We've spoken to scientists and researchers and they agree that genetic diversity and viability is an issue and should be pursued.' 'It's always a problem when you have a wilderness area and an influx of tourists who don't know how to behave in that situation. There are always going to be problems on the island and we ask people to respect the wilderness.' View of Indian Head in Great Sandy National Park in Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island She said the organisation receives feedback from people who visit the island who haven't seen dingoes there, and residents who haven't seen the animals previously When asked if the organisation had an estimate of how many dingoes were on the island, Ms Bryant said: 'to be honest I don't know, and that's the issue.' Ms Bryant said Save Fraser Island Dingoes wants to keep the government honest about dingo population figures. 'We ask the public not to feed dingoes and to come forward if they sight any dingoes or misbehaviour towards the animals on the island.' The organisation is mostly concerned about the genetics of the dingo population and the potential for genetic inbreeding, as they have been isolated for quite some time She said there is an urgent need for an in-depth independent DNA study potentially carried out by a university and not as closely associated with state government funding But in 2014, a Queensland government study ruled out inbreeding as a problem for the island's dingoes, based on the results of a study done two years prior. 'Inbreeding has not been identified as a risk to the Fraser Island dingo population, and like all native species on the island, the dingo population is being left to manage itself,' the Department of Environment and Heritage said in a statement in 2014. 'The external review of the Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy in 2012 did not support the introduction of new dingo genetics to Fraser Island,' they told the ABC. The controversial use of ear tags to identify individual dingoes can result in deformed or 'floppy' ears A collared juvenile dingo pup aged around 8 months that was run over and later died due to its injuries, highlighting the issue of the inhumane and oblivious treatment by some humans to the island's wildlife Save Fraser Island Dingoes Inc. was formed in 2009 as a result of numerous complaints regarding the inhumane and cruel treatment witnessed by many residents and visitors. They work with experts in dingo and wildlife management within Australia and overseas, aiming to change current management practices by lobbying the government, promoting public awareness and assisting with research and education. Fraser Island is the largest sand Island in the world and was World Heritage listed by UNESCO in 1992. The apex predator on the Island is the dingo and may be one of the last pure strains of dingo remaining in Australia. You can donate to Save Fraser Island Dingoes Inc. here. Aerial view of Platypus Bay, Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia When asked if the organisation had an estimate of how many dingoes were on the island, Ms Bryant said: 'to be honest I don't know, and that's the issue' Kristen Johnson (pictured) was arrested for photographing a man's penis while she was a nurse A 27-year-old nurse in Syracuse, New York, has surrendered her medical licence after she took pictures of an unconscious patient's penis, and filmed a woman's rectum, authorities said. Kristen Johnson, 27, was subject to a nine-month investigation after her co-workers at State University of New York Upstate Medical Hospital complained about her behavior. She was arrested in 2015 and originally slapped with two felony counts of unlawful surveillance and a misdemeanor of disseminating unlawful surveillance. Johnson used her iPhone5 to take a photo of one patient's penis, and filmed another nurse while she cleaned a female patient's gastrointestinal blood clot, according to court papers cited by Syracuse.com. She then sent the video, which showed the female's rectum, to the nurse in a text message, according to the court papers. Records show both the video and the photograph were found on Johnson's laptop after it was seized in a nine-month investigation conducted by the Onondaga County District Attorney's office and the State University Police. Johnson pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of disseminating unlawful surveillance and agreed to give up her nursing licence in a deal that saw the felony charges against her dropped. As part of the plea deal, she will also spend three years on probation. The Department of Education said Johnson 'did not contest the charge of moral unfitness in the practice'. According to Syracuse.com, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said: 'Despite what certain people seem to think, it is a crime in the state of New York to view, broadcast or record images of another person's intimate body parts, surreptitiously.' The patients and their families were notified of Johnson's breach of privacy. A community is reeling after a 13-year-old Texas girl was tragically killed when she was hit by a train while walking along the tracks near her home during a sleepover. Tanley Yacos and another 13-year-old friend were at her house in Buda when they decided to sneak out early Saturday morning and explore the railroad tracks. An engineer on a northbound Union Pacific Train saw two young girls walking southbound on the tracks between the South Loop 4 and Houston Street crossings around 1.50am. Tanley Yacos, 13, was tragically killed on Saturday near her home in Buda, Texas when she was hit by a train while walking along the railroad tracks An engineer on a northbound Union Pacific Train saw Tanley and her friend walking southbound on the tracks around 1.50am. Tanley (pictured in a tribute created by a friend) was hit and died at the scene Tanley was hit and died at the scene. Her friend was not hurt. A spokesman for the city said video from the train, which was going 47 miles per hour in a speed zone of 60 per hour, is being reviewed. They added that the train's horn was blowing as it was not going through a quiet zone. Hays County Justice of the Peace Scott Cary has ordered an autopsy and toxicology tests to be performed on Tanley, according to Hays Free Press. Authorities said they are not ruling 'anything out' on how and why the accident happened. Friends of the Dahlstrom Middle School eighth grader created a memorial near the scene of her death, spelling out her name in rocks and leaving behind flowers and Goldfish snacks. Many wore shirts with the Batman logo, to honor Tanley's favorite animal. 'I felt like I lost a part of my heart,' Mia Trahan told KXAN of her friend. 'I'm going to miss her smile, her soul, just everything about her.' She leaves behind eight brothers and sisters. Grief counselors were on campus at Dahlstrom Middle School on Monday morning for grieving students and faculty. 'Tanley was a remarkable young lady and an asset to our district,' Principal Rod Trevino said in a statement. 'We are all mourning her passing.' Friends of the Dahlstrom Middle School eighth grader created a memorial near the scene of her death, spelling out her name in rocks and leaving behind flowers and Goldfish snacks Seven people have been charged with the murder of Fitzgerald's Craigory Burch Jr., who was shot dead in his home in January after winning $434,272 on the Fantasy 5 lottery in November - and more arrests are expected. According to Springfield News Sun, investigators believe three of the seven charged with his murder broke into his home late at night on January 20, armed with a shotgun and intending to steal his money. His girlfriend Jasmine Hendricks, who was present at the time, told WALB that the father of three had begged not to be killed in front of her and his children, but was shot dead anyway. Victim: Craigory Burch, Jr. won $434,272 on the lottery in November, and proceeded to buy Christmas gifts for needy people. But the kind young man was killed in January by a group of people who wanted his money 'When they came in, he said, "Don't do it, bro. Don't do it in front of my kids. Please don't do it in front of my kids and old lady. Please don't do that, bro. Please don't,"' she told the station. He threw his pants to the intruders, she said, but when they failed to find a wallet the masked men shot him and fled. The suspects were identified as Nathaniel Baker, 28; Keyona Dyous, 24; Earnest Holcomb, 27; Anjavell Johnson, 21, Wayan Jordan, 17; Dabrentis Overstreen, 19; and Rosalyn Swain, 22. It is not clear which three are thought to have been the intruders, nor how the rest are connected to the killing. Ben Hill County Sheriff Bobby McLemore told WALB that the case is ongoing and more arrests were expected. All seven suspects were charged with malice murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Jordan will be charged as an adult in the crime, it was reported. Burch was working as a forklift driver when he won the lottery. He had used some of that money to buy Christmas gifts for the needy, his friends said. Speaking to WALB shortly after her son's death, Burch's mother Leslie Collins had a strong message for her son's killers. 'I want them to know what they took from me, she said. 'They took a part of my life away from me. My child that I carried and raised for 20 years.' Victoria Police are hunting the man who is said to have A man is on the run after an apparent drug deal gone wrong which saw the male throwing cash from the window of a BMW before abandoning it in a Melbourne street. On Tuesday afternoon officers were alerted to an alleged drug deal by members of the public and attempted to arrest the man in North Melbourne. The man rammed two police cars in an attempt to escape before leading three cop vehicles on a dangerous chase through the city centre, police have said. Scroll down for video A BMW has been dumped in a Melbourne street after it was involved in a dramatic police chase The shattered windscreen had at least one bullet hole in it The man then managed to further evade police when he dumped the car - which has at least one bullet hole in the windshield. Officers were then seen removing more stacks of cash from the car, among other evidence. Police believe they know the identity of the man involved and have urged him to hand himself into police. 'There have been some reports that money was thrown from the black BMW - we're still investigating that at the moment,' Inspector Paul Tymms said in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The dark coloured luxury vehicle was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the Princes Highway in Flemington Officers were seen bagging evidence and cash found inside the vehicles Officers have not confirmed whether the man was armed and said the car he was driving had not been reported stolen. 'There are uncorroborated reports of a firearm', Inspector Tymms said. 'His actions are described as extremely desperate, it's an isolated incident, dangerous to himself, the public and the police,' Earlier the dark coloured luxury vehicle was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the Princes Highway in Flemington, in an attempt to evade a number of police cars. 'Police are currently responding to an incident and searching for a man after he fled from them during an attempted arrest in North Melbourne this afternoon', a Victoria Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. The chase ended in the Melbourne city centre and police are still searching for the driver of the car after he earlier evaded arrest in North Melbourne A witness described the driver of the car as being Caucasian in his mid to late 30s, and said he had blood pouring from his face as he sped away from officers. 'Bullet holes in the windshield, when you see that you just think that this is a movie set,' the witness told The Age. A caller to Melbourne radio station 3AW also said the man was driving erratically and he appeared to be injured. He was filmed mowing the lawn of the modest brick home Property was a far cry from the lavish overseas holidays he posts pics of He was bailed to an address in the suburbs of Noosa on Friday He travels the world on lavish European holidays and claimed to be a billionaire, but home is rather humble for this tradesman with mystery millions. Phillip Johnathan Harrison, 29, from Noosa, Queensland, faced court at the weekend charged with seven offences including drug possession and unlawful use of a motor vehicle. Police pulled the carpenter over behind the wheel of a luxury sports car and the court heard he told officers he was worth $12 billion. Scroll down for video Phillip Johnathan Harrison, 29, was pulled over by police in an Audi sports car on Friday where police allegedly found him in possession of viagra, ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine, known as ice Mr Harrison (pictured during a holiday in Greece) faced court on Friday charged with drug offences and unlawful possession of a car The home appears to have ample green space for his two dogs to run around on and was described as an 'ideal first home' by real estate agents when it was last listed a decade ago Mr Harrison's lawyer Nick Handly told Roma Street Magistrates Court he had checked Mr Harrison's bank account and confirmed he had a $596 million balance. The court was also told Mr Harrison had $1.5 billion in property assets. The court heard when questioned over his wealth by Mr Handly, the accused said 'he wasn't at liberty to say' what the origins were. Outside court Harrison said he told Mr Handly he didn't have $1.5 billion in property, rather $1.2 million, and that the rest of his wealth was made up in shares. Mr Harrison was bailed to an address near Noosa where he was confronted by A Current Affair reporter Dan Nolan on Monday. Wearing a red shirt, Mr Harrison was filmed mowing the lawn of a modest-looking four-bedroom brown brick property. The home appears to have ample green space for his two dogs to run around on and was described as an 'ideal first home' by real estate agents when it was last listed a decade ago. Mr Harrison was bailed to an address near Noosa where he was seen doing chores including mowing the lawn on Tuesday Mr Harrison's fenced house is located in a quiet leafy street of Noosa and has a very modest appearance Mr Harrison was confronted outside his home by reporter Dan Nolan at the long weekend Mr Harrison was filmed mowing the lawn at his home near Noosa at the weekend This file picture of the property from real estate brochures in 2007 gives an insight into the home where he lives When the home was sold in 2007 (pictured) real estate brochures touted the master bedroom's ensuite The last time the property was on the market (pictured) it was described as an ideal first home But it appeared a far cry from some of the lavish pictures he shared from social media of various overseas holidays. Mr Harrison has regularly posted pictures from trips to Greece, the United States and France on his Instagram page. He was pictured in Zakynthos, a well-known summer resort Island in Greece; in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris; and sightseeing at the Grand Canyon in the United States. Pressed by Mr Nolan on his wealth at the home this week, Mr Harrison logged into his Commonwealth Bank account and showed him his online portfolio. It included minus $42 in cash, $1.7 million in property and $456,000 in superannuation. When Mr Nolan pushed him about where his so-called hundreds of millions were, Mr Harrison didn't answer the question but said his wealth was tucked away in shares. Mr Harrison's Instagram account showed evidence of holidays around the world He holidayed in Greece, the United States and in France, pictures showed Mr Harrison is seen relaxing and enjoying a drink (pictured) on the Greek Island of Santorini The young carpenter (pictured) is also seen at a luxurious pool-side resort in Santorini The billionaire brickie can cross the Eiffel Tower (pictured) off his bucket list He is described as Latino, between 35 and 45, 5ft 10in, and 250 pounds Suspect was captured on surveillance camera and police said he was known as a frequent patron A transgender woman was sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a historic New York City bar known as the birthplace of the gay rights movement. A 25-year-old woman was in the single-occupancy bathroom at the Stonewall Inn before midnight on Saturday when a man who said he needed to wash his hands entered and sexually assaulted her, authorities said. A photograph of the suspect captured on security cameras has been released, and police say the man is known to be a regular customer at the landmark Greenwich Village bar. The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect who is accused of sexually assaulting a transgender woman at the Stonewall Inn on Saturday. He reportedly entered the single-occupancy bathroom telling the victim he needed to wash his hands According to the NYPost , surveillance cameras show the two were in the bathroom for about eight minutes while he allegedly raped her The suspect entered the bathroom while the woman was inside at 11.40pm on Saturday, before groping and sexually assaulting her, police said. According to the NYPost, surveillance cameras show the two were in the bathroom for about eight minutes while he allegedly raped her. The suspect fled the bathroom only to return and sexually assault the victim a second time, police said. The victim ended up leaving the bar, but returned about an hour later and reported the incident before she was sent to Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side. The suspect is described as a Latino man in his 30s or 40s, weighing about 250 pounds. He is thought to be about 5ft 10inches and was last seen wearing a grey suit. The Special Victims Division is conducting an ongoing investigation. Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told the Post: 'People inside the Stonewall know him. We hope to have him identified in the next coming days.' Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the assault and said: 'Its a very disturbing incident taking place in a site thats very important historically, where something good happened in terms of creating more opportunity for people to live their lives, and to see a violent incident like this is very troubling.' The Stonewall Riots famously sparked the gay rights movement in 1969 after patrons at the bar fought back against police raids. The bar was given landmark status last June, while legislators are campaigning to designate the location as the first national park honoring LGBT history. Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the assault saying it was 'disturbing' that the incident occurred in a place celebrated for its significance in 'creating more opportunity for people to live their lives' Singleton was jailed January on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping Kelvin Singleton, 26, escaped a North Carolina prison this weekend after threatening an officer with a weapon made from a toothbrush, police said A robbery and kidnapping suspect escaped a North Carolina prison after threatening a detention officer with a weapon he made out of a toothbrush, police said. Kelvin Singleton, 26, remained at large Monday night after breaking free from the Chowan County Detention Facility in Edenton just before 4pm on Sunday. Singleton used the handmade weapon to force the officer to release him while he was being moved around after visitation, authorities said. The officer was unharmed. 'He used what we believe to be a makeshift shank - a knife made out of a toothbrush,' Sheriff Dwayne Goodwin told WAVY. Singleton forced the guard to open two locked security doors before fleeing through a delivery area at the rear of the jail, Goodwin told the station. Authorities said all officers at the prison are unarmed. Singleton was last seen near the jail just a few minutes after his escape. Search dogs have been deployed and are combing the area, including woods and abandoned houses, Goodwin said in a statement. He has not been seen since then and Goodwin said the K9-unit has been unable to pick up a strong scent because of the rain on Sunday, according to WTKR. Singleton has been in jail since January, after he allegedly robbed an Edenton tobacco store and held the clerk at gunpoint. Authorities said Singleton forced the guard to open two locked security doors before fleeing through a delivery area at the rear of the jail (pictured) Police said Singleton demanded money from the clerk at Pearls Tobacco Plus, forced him to go outside and then tried to get the clerk to enter their own car. When the clerk refused, Singleton allegedly took the man's keys and drove off in the vehicle. Singleton was charged with armed robbery and second-degree kidnapping. He is also facing charges in Charlotte, including assault with a deadly weapon. Goodwin said Singleton was scheduled to be extradited to Charlotte for those charges on Monday. Authorities said there is currently no evidence that Singleton was 'aided by anybody' during his escape. Police have checked on both his grandmother and sister, who both live in Edenton. Goodwin said it was determined that they were not complicit in his escape, noting that their cars are not missing. Goodwin believes Singleton, who is six feet tall and has a tattoo of a cross between his eyebrows, may be headed to Charlotte, where both his mother and child live. The first hostage to give evidence into the 2014 Sydney Lindt Cafe siege has described the terrifying moment gunman Man Haron Monis threatened to shoot a female hostage if police didn't back off. Waiter Jarrod Morton-Hoffman, now 20, told Tuesday's inquest into the horrific siege that he was chosen to communicate with police and relay the demands of the erratic shooter. In a previously unheard triple-0 call to emergency operators, Morton-Hoffman is heard calmly telling operators that a woman would be killed if police did not move cars parked in sight of the window. 'He has a gun pointed at the lady and he hasn't moved. Please tell him to move. I need to go,' he tells the operator during the first call at 12.56pm. Scroll down for video Heroic waiter: Jarrod Morton-Hoffman, now 20, has given evidence into the horrific 2014 Sydney Lindt Cafe siege on Tuesday The inquest heard that Morton-Hoffman was chosen to communicate with police and relay the demands of gunman Man Haron Monis Morton-Hoffman, who was just 19 at the time, attempted to communicate secret messages to police as he relayed messages from Monis Morton-Hoffman, who was just 19 at the time of the siege, also recalled how he attempted to communicate hidden messages to the operator, news.com.au reported. 'He would tell me what to say, but at the same time I was trying to answer questions without him knowing,' he said. 'The words themselves were along the lines of what he wanted to say but the emphasis on which word was my way of trying to answer her question.' 'I was trying to answer the questions without him knowing,' Mr Morton-Hoffman said. '(I'd say) 'no one is hurt' and emphasise the 'one' (when the operator asked how man gunmen were in the building).' The inquiry heard that Morton-Hoffman tried to cover up the noise of two women unlocking the bolts of a door before escaping shortly after 5pm, the ABC reported. Counsel assisting Sophie Callan said hostages Jieun Bae and Elly Chen were able to quietly get out of the building without Monis ever finding out, thanks to Morton-Hoffman. The waiter was also said to have helped calm down an increasingly agitated Monis multiple times throughout the 17-hour ordeal. He described him as 'a very dangerous toddler.' 'He seemed unstable, emotional, not very logical. I think 'volatile' is the word to describe him. ' 'In fact he did not seem to be following any logic his demands changed with the wind,' he said. 'He was driven largely by emotion and anger and he was easy to manipulate.' At one point, Morton-Hoffman even offered to paint Monis an Islamic State flag if he let a pregnant woman go, to no avail. Monis told the staff: 'This is an attack on Australia by Islamic State. My brothers and I have bombs around the city' The sawn-off shotgun Monis used was shown to the inquest along with the Big W bag he had concealed it in Morton-Hoffman, who was just 19 at the time of the robbery, tried to calm down Monis throughout the ordeal Morton-Hoffman told the inquest that cafe manager Tori Johnson was visibly distressed when Monis started speaking to him Earlier on Tuesday Morton-Hoffman detailed the terrifying moment Monis sat next to cafe manager Tori Johnson and began barking orders. 'Tori was hunched forward. His facial expression, I noticed from the months working with Tori, sometimes when he's nervous he blinks a lot, quite an intense blink,' he told the inquest. 'He was quite quiet. He was kind of devoid of emotion, which said a lot as he's usually full of emotion so that's what worried me,' he continued.' Morton-Hoffman, who was just 19 at the time, was ordered by Monis to lock the doors to the cafe. '(I felt) we were in danger. I thought the Reserve Bank across the road was being robbed. I thought potentially (Monis) worked for Chubb because there'd been a large influx of officers that day so I assumed something was going on across the road.' Moments later his worst fears were realised when Monis took a sawn-off shotgun out of a blue Big W plastic bag and put on a bandanna with Islamic writing on it. Monis was then said to have told the staff: 'This is an attack on Australia by Islamic State. My brothers and I have bombs around the city.' But Morton-Hoffman did not believe the gunman's claims about bombs, or that he had explosives in his backpack. 'I thought he was a lone-wolf gunman, ISIS-inspired,' he said. 'A very dangerous toddler': Teenage waiter Morton-Hoffman said Monis (pictured) became increasingly agitated as time wore on Johnson was fatally shot by Monis, who was killed when police stormed the building after a 17-hour stand-off. Katrina Dawson was killed when she was hit by shrapnel from police bullets. The final stage of the inquest into the siege, which began on Monday, will examine the siege itself, including the police response and management. It is expected to take at least eight weeks. The siege began when Monis entered the Lindt Cafe in central Sydney on the morning of December 15, 2014, and took 18 people hostage. Johnson was fatally shot by Monis, who was killed when police stormed the building after a 17-hour stand-off. Katrina Dawson was killed when she was hit by shrapnel from police bullets. It is not known if Monis had help getting into the city before the siege, or how long he had been planning the attack. A total of eighteen people were taken hostage during the Sydney siege in 2014 Police in Thailand will formally summon the country's top ranking monk after he refused to comply with investigations about a vintage luxury car registered under his name. Acting Supreme Patriarch Somdet Chuang met with officers from Thailand's Department of Special Investigations on March 16 about a 1958 Mercedes-Benz kept at Bangkok's Wat Paknam temple. During the meeting Mr Chuang, 90, refused to answer their inquiries directly and requested instead for written letters to be sent to his lawyer, prompting police to issue the summons, reports ABC. An extremely rare 1958 Mercedes-Benz seized by police as part of their investigation into a possible tax evasion Thailand's most senior ranking monk Somdet Chuang (pictured) refused to answer police's inquiries about the car directly 'This is a criminal case ... but he didn't allow us to question him,' Justice Minister General Paiboon Koomchaya told local media. A warrant for Mr Chuang's arrest will be the next step if he fails to show up after the summons, general Paiboon said. Mr Chuang has previously said the car was given to him by a follower, but after the investigation came to light he transferred ownership of the vehicle to another monk at the temple. Police have now seized the extremely rare car, worth almost $AUD750,000 (20 million baht), as part of their investigation into a possible tax evasion. Mr Chuang is linked to the Thai branch of Buddhism called Dhammakaya which encourages meditation at the same time as advocating material wealth. Dhammakaya's handling of donations has been a controversial topic in Thailand since their abbott Phra Dhammachayo was investigated for embezzlement in 1999. Mr Chuang is linked to the Thai branch of Buddhism called Dhammakaya which encourages meditation at the same time as advocating material wealth (pictured: monks praying at the Dhammakaya Meditation Hall) The Dhammakaya sect reportedly donated more than $1 million to help build Mr Chuang's Wat Paknam temple (pictured) Critics of the Dhammakaya movement believe there is insufficient scrutiny of the finances of Thailand's religious institutions The Dhammakaya sect reportedly donated more than $1 million to help build Mr Chuang's Wat Paknam temple. 'There's contention because he Mr Chuang is very close to Dhammakaya and Dhammakaya is a movement considered by many people in this country as endangering the teaching of the Buddha,' said scholar Sulak Sivaraksa told ABC. A violent murderer who tried to rape a woman at a bus stop while out on parole has been jailed for more than 11 years. Terrence John Leary, 49, from Sydney had been on parole for 10 months in June 2013 when he grabbed a random woman returning from work in Hunters Hill on Sydneys North Shore, punched her to the ground and tried to sexually assault her. Handing down a minimum sentence of 11 years and three months at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday, Judge Helen Syme said the attack was vicious and extremely violent. Terrence John Leary, 49, was sentenced to 11 years and three months at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Tuesday The court heard Leary held a dangerous propensity to commit violent offences against spontaneous targets. Judge Syme said the attack had caused the victim serious injuries and psychological trauma. The attack itself was fast and extremely violent, she said. The viciousness of the attack resulted in immediate terror for the victim and long-term psychological disturbance. Judge Syme said Leary had also violently lashed out at police officers who were first on the scene. In 1990, Leary climbed a window and smashed a 17-year-old girl's skull with a hammer after she spurned his sexual advances. In 1990, Leary climbed a window and smashed a 17-year-old girl's skull with a hammer after she spurned his sexual advances. He served more than 22 years of his 24-year maximum sentence for the murder He served more than 22 years of his 24-year maximum sentence for the murder and was granted parole after six attempts. Judge Syme said there were clear similarities between the random, sexually-charged and explosively violent crimes. She said Leary's behaviour was unpredictable and he posed a continuing threat to the community. It cannot be said that he has good prospects of rehabilitation, she said. Leary will not be eligible for parole until September 2024. Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas (pictured) said police should recruit 16-year-olds to help tackle a rise in cyber crime and social media offences Police forces should recruit 16-year-olds straight out of school to help tackle a rise in cyber crime and social media offences, according to a senior officer. Chief Superintendent Gavin Thomas suggested the minimum age to join the police, currently set at 18, be lowered so apprentices could help officers outsmart tech-savvy criminals. Mr Thomas, who took over as President of the Superintendents Association this week, said that because so many officers were recruited after university there were now very few who joined at 18 - the age he was when he began his career. 'We still require people with those traditional skill sets to be able to engage with people on the street,' he told the Daily Mirror. 'But the pace with which technology is changing means that someone who is 26 might be in a completely different space on social media to someone at 16.' The experienced officer said that although a lot had been done by the police service to adapt to the changing face of crime and tackle offences such as online bullying and E-reputation, there was only so much that could be done through training. Mr Thomas added: 'What we need to do is start to consciously look at who we are recruiting into the service in the future, so that we get people who intuitively and culturally understand these technologies and the behaviour that go along with them.' Last year shocking figures revealed that fraud and cyber crime is committed in the UK every four seconds as the scale of the problem was laid bare for the first time. Fraud costs the British economy 52billion a year. In 2014 there were 5.1million incidents of fraud and 2.5million cases of computer crime including hacking and spreading viruses. Last week Britain's most senior police officer, Metropolitan Police chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said banks should not refund victims of online fraud because it 'rewards' them for being lax about internet security. Change: Mr Thomas said that because so many officers were recruited after university there were now very few who joined at 18 - the age he was when he began his career. Met Police recruits are pictured in London He said customers should instead receive incentives to tighten their passwords and update anti-virus software rather than be 'rewarded for bad behaviour'. Almost 1,000 people a day fall victim to online shopping fraud, figures revealed last month, but nine in ten fail to report the attack, either because they are unaware or because they blame themselves. Sources close to President say Obama was deeply touched by the former senator's words Mr Grubb shared the tragic story with Obama last October to highlight the opiate epidemic gripping West Virginia Former state senator David Grubb's daughter Jessica battled with heroin addiction for seven years A woman whose harrowing battle with heroin addiction touched President Obama's heart, has died. Former state senator David Grubb shared his daughter Jessica's struggle with addiction during a forum on the opioid abuse epidemic with Barack Obama in West Virginia last October. Jessica, who has been in and out of rehab since she began using heroin in 2009, died from an overdose of pain medication earlier this month, the Huffington Post reports. Obama wrote to the 30-year-old addict's grieving family, saying that he was touched by their daughter's tragic story. Scroll down for video Jessica Grubb, whose harrowing battle with heroin addiction touched President Obama's heart, has died Former state senator David Grubb (pictured with his wife Kate and Obama) shared his daughter Jessica's struggle with addiction during a forum on the opioid abuse epidemic with Barack Obama in West Virginia last October 'I am heartbroken by your daughter's passing,' the letter read. 'I was deeply moved by her story when I visited Charleston and I extend my sincere condolences as you mourn her loss.' Jessica had watched her father discuss her addiction on a live stream from rehab on October 21. Mr Grubb had described how he had begged his daughter 'not to leave us yet' after finding her, with the syringe still in her arm, after her fourth overdose last summer. He told the forum last year that he understood the pain of addicts' families. His own were terrified that Jessica's next overdose would be her last. Sadly, those fears came true just a few months later. But Mr Grubb's words stayed with President Obama. Obama wrote to the 30-year-old addict's grieving family after her death, saying that he was touched by their daughter's tragic story Sources say that Obama described the meeting as the moment that the true scale of the heroin epidemic hit home. 'He got very emotional,' a White House official said of the president's meeting with Grubb. 'You're in this deep-red [conservative] environment, but people are just opening up their hearts on this. [The president] sort of was taken aback at how candid people were talking about this.' Despite her battle with the opiate, the 30-year-old's death was unrelated to heroin. Jessica's death occurred after the addict was prescribed 50 pills of powerful pain medication oxycodone along with an IV port in her arm which made it easier to inject drugs into the blood stream. The senator's daughter had once been a straight-A student who was passionate about politics and social change and once led a walk out at her Capital High School in protest against the war in Iraq. 'She was an incredible achiever,' he dad said. Sources say that Obama (pictured hugging Kate Grubb) described the meeting as the moment that the true scale of the heroin epidemic hit home The senator's daughter (pictured with her mother Kate- had once been a straight-A student who was passionate about politics and social change and once led a walk out at her Capital High School in protest against the war in Iraq Jessica's death occurred after the addict was prescribed 50 pills of powerful pain medication oxycodone along with an IV port in her arm which made it easier to inject drugs into the blood stream Jessica went onto study at the University of North Carolina but her promising future came to a tragic end when she was introduced to heron in 2009. After her death, Mr Grubb shared a message on Facebook thanking everyone who had paid their condolences to the family. 'Nothing can lessen our overwhelming grief and sadness over Jessie's death, but the many letters, cards, and messages from friends and family are truly appreciated,' he wrote. 'This one, from the President, is especially heartwarming,' he said, posting Obama's letter. Tributes had poured into Jessica, who was described as 'a woman who loved bad puns and running and intricately decorating cookies,' by friend Genny Martin. 'She was a woman whose devotion to her disabled sister Emma was testament to her grace and altruism. I wish her life had been as simple as these truths,' she added. 'Rest in peace; dear, dear girl.' Charlotte Pauley wrote on Facebook: 'You were such a beautiful person inside and out and a great friend! Thousands of people have been outraged by the arrest of a father who allegedly broke the neck of a home intruder as he tried to detain him in a 'citizen's arrest' over the Easter long weekend. A petition demanding the immediate release of Ben Batterham who was charged with the murder of Richard James Slater on Sunday after the 34-year-old allegedly broke into his home in Newcastle, north of Sydney, has attracted more than 17,000 signatures in a day alone. But under what circumstances can a person defend themselves or others in the eyes of the law? A petition demanding the release of Ben Batterham who was charged with the murder of Richard James Slater(pictured) after he allegedly broke into his home in Newcastle has attracted more than 17,000 signatures The father-of-three's neck was allegedly broken as Mr Batterham tried to detain him, with the grevious bodily harm charges against him upgraed to murder once Mr Slater's life support was switched off on Sunday Section 418 of the Crimes Act 1900 stipulates that a person in New South Wales is not criminally responsible for an offence if they were acting in self-defence, given they fulfil two requirements. Firstly it must be established that the accused thought their conduct was necessary to defend themselves or another person, to prevent unlawful detention, to protect property from damage or destruction or prevent criminal trespassing. Secondly, the courts look to determine if the response was 'reasonable' given the circumstances or how they were understood by the individual in that moment. The judge or jury will assess what a reasonable person may have done in the circumstances as they were perceived by the defendant, not objectively from the position of another person. 'The main issue about self-defence is ensuring your response to what happened is proportionate and reasonable under the circumstances, chair of the NSW criminal law committee Pauline Wright told Daily Mail Australia. Mr Batterham allegedly found Mr Slater looking into his young daughter's room in Hamilton on Saturday at around 3.30am Mr Slater's greiveing family have argued that his attacker used unreasonable force during the citizen's arrest His family have denied that Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged over a string of break and enter offences in 2012, was attempting to enter the Hamilton property without permission 'If someone walks up to you in the street and slaps you on the shoulder it wouldnt be reasonable for you to pull out a gun and shoot them or similarly pull out a knife and stab them.' 'That wouldnt be a reasonable or proportionate response to the threat.' Ms Wright said there is some element of objectivity as the court would have to find there was a reasonable basis for thinking you were under imminent threat. 'If somebody dropped a pen next to you on the train it wouldnt be reasonable to believe they were about to attack you,' she said. Ms Wright said if someone accused of murder claimed they were acting in self-defence a jury or judge could find them guilty on a lesser charge of manslaughter or alternatively, if it was a reasonable response to the perceived threat the accused could be acquitted. While under normal circumstances the defence would be responsible for proving their argument beyond a reasonable doubt, in the case of self-defence the onus falls on the prosecution to prove that the accused was not acting to protect themselves or others. 'If the police cant prove it wasnt in self defence then you would succeed in your defence,' Ms Wright said. 'If the police cant prove it wasnt in self defence then you would succeed in your defence,' Ms Wright said She added that self-defence can only be used to protest an accused murder's innocence if their actions were to protect themselves or another person, not property. In Australia any person has the right to detain another if they commit a crime, which is commonly known as a citizen's arrest. However Ms Wright warned that there is a fine line between a self-defence argument and being found to have used excessive force. 'In NSW it could be self-defence if you were able to stop your attacker and you didn't use anything more than reasonable force before taking them to police station or court.' 'If that was the case you would be acting within your rights but you do have to be very careful if you're in a situation like that not to step over the line as the line can be a little bit grey as to what is self defence and what is unreasonable force.' However Ms Wright warned that there is a fine line between a self-defence argument and being found to have used excessive force Ms Wright said that legally, the best advice for someone who has seen a crime or feels threatened is to 'get away' and contact police She said that legally, the best advice for someone who has seen a crime or feels threatened is to 'get away' and contact police. The advice obtained by Daily Mail Australia does not directly relate to Mr Batterham's case. Mr Batterham, 33, did not apply for bail when his case was heard in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday morning after he was charged with the murder of Richard James Slater on Sunday. The father-of-one did not appear via videolink and will remain in custody at the Cessnock Correctional Centre until his case is heard again on May 25, the Newcastle Herald reported Mr Batterham allegedly found Mr Slater, 34, standing his daughter's doorway after he was believed to have broken into his home in Hamilton, in central Newcastle, at about 3.30am on Saturday. A fight broke out and Mr Batterham, who was assisted by an unnamed friend, is understood to have put the would-be burglar in a choke hold to detain him until police arrived. Police found Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged with a string of break and enter offences in 2012, unconscious in Mr Batterham's home with a suspected broken neck. Mr Slater's devastated family have demanded justice, claiming the 34-year-old father-of-three was 'murdered in cold blood' (pictured mother Beryl Slater right) Mr Slater's daughter Bree posted an image of her father with the caption: 'I just want my daddy home!' The 34-year-old, who is known to his family as Ricky, was rushed to John Hunter Hospital where he remained in critical condition until his family decided to turn off his life support at 11.30am on Sunday, according to NSW Police. Mr Slater's family demanded 'justice' outside Newcastle courthouse on Monday, with around 12 people showing up again on Tuesday. Mr Batterhams charge of grievous bodily harm was upgraded to murder following Mr Slater's death causing outrage in the community, with many claiming he was simply defending himself against the would-be thief. An online petition has emerged demanding Mr Batterham's charges be dropped, with almost 15,000 people signing in a few short hours. 'Homeowners should be able to defend their families from criminals who break into their homes - and Benjamin should be released now!!!' the petition reads. Many of those who signed the petition said they were 'sick of perpetrators being protected by the broken laws that exist in Australia'. 'If you creep into someone's residence uninvited you deserve to die, it's that simple, good people don't invade peoples living space,' one person wrote in support of Mr Batterham. 'How dare you prosecute someone for defending their home and their family in their own home! This is NOT murder, this was NOT premeditated. This was self defence,' said another. On Monday the family denied Mr Slater was attempting to enter the Hamilton property without permission, instead claiming he was there to attend a party, Nine News reported. They said the father-of-three was now unable to defend the accusation he was an intruder following his death. He didnt deserve what happened to him, Mr Slaters sister, Tiara Kelly, said. A 76-year-old former security guard serving a life sentence in the 1957 slaying of a 7-year-old Illinois girl could go free soon after a prosecutor found fault with the investigation and new evidence corroborated an alibi. One of the oldest cases in the U.S. ever to go to trial will be back before a DeKalb County court Tuesday, not far from Sycamore, where Maria Ridulph was abducted, stabbed and choked to death. Jack McCullough was convicted in 2012, some 55 years after the death. DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack said in a scathing filing last week that a review turned up serious missteps during the investigation and prosecution. He also said there was new evidence supporting a McCullough alibi. McCullough's public defender, Tom McCulloch, said he would file a motion to dismiss the case Tuesday afternoon, when McCullough appears in court. Schmack's office will not oppose the motion. It's unclear when he could be freed. Jack McCullough could be released from prison soon after a prosecutor found evidence firming up his alibi in the 1957 slaying of 7-year-old Illinois girl Maria Ridulph. McCullough pictured above in January 2016 'I'm absolutely pleased about it,' McCulloch told the Chicago Tribune on Friday. 'We finally got someone to take a look at it who understood some of the geography. It's an interesting, welcome conclusion.' Meanwhile, Charles Ridulph, the brother of the victim, filed a separate motion on Monday, asking that a special prosecutor be assigned to defend the 2012 conviction in an attempt to keep McCullough behind bars 'My sister Maria was snatched away, raped and murdered, abandoned in the woods,' Ridulph, 70, wrote, according to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle. 'And now, Richard Schmack has abandoned her yet again and he has done so for the wrong reasons.' Schmack said his six-month review firmed up McCullough's alibi and is that he is now convinced it was a 'manifest impossibility' that McCullough could have been anywhere near the area when Maria disappeared. McCullough was a neighbor at the time of the killing. He was charged after a renewed effort was launched to solve the case. Maria (pictured) disappeared in December 1957 and was found dead several months later Schmacks' office was ordered to the conduct the review as part of a push by McCullough's attorney for a new trial. The new evidence included recently subpoenaed phone records. They proved that McCullough made a collect call to his parents from a phone booth in the city of Rockford, about 35 miles from Sycamore, just minutes after the abduction took place. This had always been McCullough's professed alibi, but it had previously come under doubt. Testimony that the abduction had taken place earlier has been discredited, Schmack said, meaning there was no possibility McCullough could have committed the crime and driven to Rockford in time to place that call. 'It is a manifest impossibility for [McCullough] to have been in Sycamore at 6:45 and also have made a phone call in downtown Rockford at 6:57,' Schmack wrote in the review according to the Chicago Tribune. Schmack also said that some of the evidence that led to McCullough's conviction was 'mistaken' and 'false'. This included the testimony of Kathy Sigman, Maria's friend, who saw the little girl's kidnapper in 1957. She picked his photo out of six pictures when McCullough was named as a suspect in 2010. Schmack said she committed an 'unintentional and tragic mistake' when she identified McCullough as the kidnapper. The slaying remained a mystery for decades before McCullough, who was initially cleared in the case, was charged in 2011. Pictured, Maria's grave in Sycamore 'Kathy viewed the array 53 years after the fact, and one week after being told there was a new and viable suspect in Maria's murder,' he said according to the Chicago Tribune. 'The photos were displayed by an officer who knew which photo was the suspect, a practice now outlawed in Illinois. 'The array was suggestive in the extreme. The other five photos were professional yearbook photos with light backgrounds of young men wearing suit coats. Conversely, McCullough's photo was a snapshot, with a dark background, of him in a shirt with no coat.' Schmack, who did not prosecute the case, added in a statement: 'I know there are people who will never believe that he is not responsible for the crime. But I cannot allow that to sway me from my sworn duty.' Charles Ridulph, Maria's brother, told the Chicago Tribune he disagreed with Schmack's conclusion. 'We've met with him two times in the last six months and they have not been good meetings,' he told the newspaper. 'He's been working with the defense attorney almost from the start and he's made no qualms about it.' A teenage trio of vandals have been charged after a disgraceful attack on a church which included allegedly defecating on a bible, covering walls and floors in paint and spraying foam from fire extinguishers. The boys, aged 13 to 15, were arrested after the attack on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Lismore, north-east New South Wales, during the morning of Easter Monday, one of the holiest days of the year for the Christianity. They were charged with aggravated breaking and entering and committing a serious indictable offence after an estimated $10,000 damage was done to the Mormon church. Youth leader Rebecca Fuggle (pictured) assesses the damage after trio ransacked the church, sprayed foam from fire extinguishers throughout the building and emptied paint onto the walls and floors They were charged with aggravated breaking and entering and committing a serious indictable offence after an estimated $10,000 damage was done to the Mormon church (pictured) Rebecca Fuggle (pictured), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints youth leader, was devastated after the attack and said it was 'demoralising' Local police alleged the trio ransacked the church, sprayed foam from fire extinguishers throughout the building and emptied paint onto the walls and floors. Church bishop Jim Fuggle and youth leader Rebecca Fuggle were devastated after the attack and said it was 'demoralising'. 'It's hard to understand why someone would feel the need or the urge to do this, not just to this building but to any building,' he told the Lismore Northern Star. 'They let off all the fire extinguishers so the whole building is now covered in that dust. We don't know if the carpets will have to all get replaced.' The youths were charged with a aggravated breaking and entering and committing a serious indictable offence after an estimated $10,000 damage was done A teenage trio of vandals have been charged after a disgraceful attack on a church which included allegedly defecating on a bible, covering the walls and floors in paint and spraying foam from fire extinguishers Bishop Fuggle said a laptop owned by a church youth leader had been stolen during the break in and that someone had defecated on a bible during the rampage Bishop Fuggle said a laptop owned by a church youth leader had been stolen during the break in. The report said a someone had defecated on a bible during the rampage. Police were notified of the incident after one of the vandals had cut his arm and asked for help from a neigbour, who subsequently raised the alarm after finding the damage to the church. The boys, aged 13, 13 and 15 were released on bail to attend Lismore Childrens Court in May. An image has emerged of the man accused of killing outback nurse and mother-of-two Gayle Woodford, 56, after his bid to have his name and photograph suppressed was rejected in court. Dudley Davey, 34, appeared in the Port Augusta Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged over the death of Mrs Woodford, who went missing from her Fregon home where she worked in a community health clinic. Her body was found in a shallow roadside grave about 1.5km from her home on Saturday, three days after she was last seen on the states Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, 1,200 kilometres north-west of Adelaide. Daveys duty solicitor argued that the publication of his name and photo could result in his harm while incarcerated by inmates angered by the allegations against him, NT News reported. Scroll down for video Dudley Davey (centre), 34, appeared in the Port Augusta Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged over the death of Mrs Woodford, who went missing from her Fregon home where she worked in a community health clinic The body of outback nurse and mother-of-two Gayle Woodford (pictured), 56, found in a shallow roadside grave about 1.5km from her home on Saturday, three days after she was last seen on the states Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, 1,200 kilometres north-west of Adelaide However, Magistrate Clive Kitchen agreed with prosecutors that Daveys identity was already well known locally and rejected the application. Around the time Mrs Woodford went missing, an ambulance she used in her work drove away from her home and was intercepted by police several hours later at Coober Pedy after being tracked down using its GPS data. Alarm had been raised at about 10.30am on Thursday when the 56-year-old failed to appear at work while her ambulance was missing. Mr Davey was initially charged with theft in relation to allegedly taking the vehicle and was later charged with murder after the discovery of the woman's body. The four-wheel-drive ambulance Ms Woodford used for work, which was found being driven by the 34-year-old man charged with theft and her alleged murder The court did not hear how Mr Davey allegedly lured Mrs Woodford from her home or details of how he allegedly murdered her. She was last seen alive by her schoolteacher husband Keith when they went to bed on Wednesday night at their home in the remote community. The 34-year-old made no bail application on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to appear at Port Augusta Magistrates Court on June 20. Mrs Woodford's death has sparked a major push to improve the safety of nurses working in remote communities with an online petition already securing more than 90,000 signatures and independent Senator Nick Xenophon planning to push the federal government for extra funding In the petition, outback nurses have told how they endure verbal and physical violence, racial abuse, attempted rapes and frequent threats, just while trying to do their jobs. Violence is common in these communities and nurses, being first responders, are often caught up in it, Peter Van Rooyen said. Attempted rape, having stones thrown at the nurse or ambulance, threatened with a star picket, iron bars through the wall, an axe thrown at the nurse missing her by inches, being punched or slapped are just a few examples that have occurred to us. The 56-year-old went missing in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the vicinity of Fregon and Marla in the South Australia's Far North Fregon or Kaltjiti is a remote Aboriginal region located almost 1200km northwest of Adelaide and 137km off the Stuart Highway, near Coober Pedy Another nurse, Kathleen Scott, who worked in the Northern Territory for seven years, said she had been verbally abused and in one instance someone threatened to finish me off while waving an iron bar in her face. Others said there should be a strict policy in place that nurses go out in pairs rather than alone. How many more remote nurses need to be assaulted, abducted or worse still murdered before action is taken to prevent these things happening, an NT remote area nurse, Judith Munro said. I worked on the same lands as Gayle, drove the same ambulance, nursed in the same clinic and stayed in the same house a few years ago. I was unsafe, unsupported, overworked, under appreciated, racially abused, former APY lands nurse Louise Johnston wrote. As well as the petition, nurses have also taken to Twitter to post messages of support, using the hashtag GaylesLaw. The College of Emergency Nursing Australasia said the death of Ms Woodford highlighted the need for improved security and protection of all nurses and the risks were not isolated to any one speciality or setting. But he said nurses who worked alone were at increased risk. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Elizabeth Dabars said it had long lobbied for an end to single nurse posts. It's absolutely an abomination that it's taken another tragedy to bring attention to this important issue, she said. On Monday, CCTV footage emerged of Mr Davey pulling up to a convenience store in the allegedly stolen ambulance the morning after she was last seen. He was pictured pulling up outside Cadney Homestead in Cadney Park about 8.30am on Thursday. The distraught family of the much-loved nurse has spoken out about their grief. Her son Gary Woodford has paid tribute to the 56-year-old 'beautiful, loving wife and mother' who 'wanted to make a difference to people's lives through her nursing and caring for others'. 'We are having difficulty coming to terms with this unprovoked, premature end to mum's life,' Mr Woodford said at a media conference on Sunday, according to The Advertiser. 'She has always devoted her life to not only her family and friends but has given so much back to the community.' Her daughter Alison Woodford said the family's 'hearts are breaking every second' as she fought back tears, adding 'we ask all to respect our privacy at this tremendously sensitive time'. Travellers at major Australian airports have been warned to expect delays when airport workers go on strike from Wednesday. Community and Public Sector Union members will walk off the job at Sydney Airport from 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight; while Melbourne workers will strike from 4am to 12pm and 4pm to midnight on Thursday and Friday. Strikes will also be held in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with a number of stop-works planned between Wednesday and April 7. Scroll down for video Travellers are expected to face massive delays when airport workers in Sydney and Melbourne go on strike on Wednesday and Thursday (stock image) The industrial action is part of a two-year dispute and was scheduled to take place over the Easter weekend, however it was delayed at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's request in the wake of the Brussels terrorist attacks. CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood warned travellers there will be some delays when departing or arriving on international flights. 'These workers remain angry and frustrated at the way they've been treated by this Government, with no-one listening to their concerns for their livelihoods and their families after two years of attacks on their rights and pay,' Ms Flood said in a statement. 'They strongly believe that this is the only way of getting the fair deal they deserve. The CPSU announced strikes would be in place around Australia in a statement released on Tuesday Community and Public Sector Union members will walk off the job at Sydney Airport from 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight (stock image) WHEN ARE THE AUSTRALIAN AIRPORT STRIKES THIS WEEK? Wednesday 30 March 2016 Sydney International Airport - midnight to 12.15am, 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight Perth Airport (International terminal) - 3am to 11am and 4pm to midnight Adelaide Airport - 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight Brisbane International Airport - midnight to 1am Cairns International Airport - midnight to 1am and 4am to 12pm and 5pm to midnight Townsville Airport - 4pm to midnight Darwin Airport - 2am to 10am and 1pm to 9pm Thursday 31 March 2016 Sydney International Airport - midnight to 12.15am Melbourne International Airport - 4am to 12pm and 4pm to midnight Adelaide Airport - 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight Brisbane International Airport - 5am to 1pm and 5pm to midnight Cairns International Airport - midnight to 1am Townsville Airport - 4am to 12pm Coolangatta Airport 5am to 1pm and 2pm to 10pm Darwin Airport - 2am to 10am and 1pm to 9pm Friday 1 April 2016 Sydney International Airport - 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight Melbourne International Airport - 4am to 12pm and 4pm to midnight Perth Airport (International terminal) - 3am to 11am and 4pm to midnight Adelaide Airport - 5am to 1pm and 4pm to midnight Brisbane International Airport - midnight to 1am, 5am to 1pm and 5pm to midnight Coolangatta Airport 5am to 1 pm and 2pm to 10pm Darwin Airport - 1pm to 10pm For a full list of the planned strikes until April 7, click here. Advertisement 'Prime Minister Turnbull now has a responsibility to provide that means. Giving someone the job of actually talking to us would be a start, given the Government has refused to meet with us since October last year. 'These hard working professionals are deeply disappointed that after six months as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has still not acted to abandon Tony Abbott's over-the-top attack on their workplace rights and pay and give us an avenue to find a sensible solution.' It comes after the CPSU suspended its strike last week amid security concerns following two bombing attacks in Brussels last Tuesday morning. The Prime Minister had called on border force workers to cease strike action in the wake of the horrifying terrorist attacks. Workers at Melbourne Airport will strike from 4am to 12pm and 4pm to midnight on Thursday (stock image) CPSU National Secretary Nadine Flood warned travellers there will be some delays when departing or arriving on international flights Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asked for the industrial action, scheduled to take place last week, to be delayed in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks CPSU NATIONAL SECRETARY NADINE FLOOD'S STATEMENT 'We agreed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's request last Wednesday to postpone these strikes in good faith, and conscious of the understandable concern of travellers on one of the busiest days of the year at airports in the wake of the awful events in Brussels.' 'Our members in Immigration and Border Force and Agriculture and Water Resources will now resume their industrial action, knowing that their campaign never has and never will compromise Australia's national security at airports or anywhere else. These workers remain angry and frustrated at the way they've been treated by this Government, with no-one listening to their concerns for their livelihoods and their families after two years of attacks on their rights and pay. They strongly believe that this is the only way of getting the fair deal they deserve.' 'The Prime Minister suggested we use 'other means' to resolve this dispute. Prime Minister Turnbull now has a responsibility to provide that means. Giving someone the job of actually talking to us would be a start, given the Government has refused to meet with us since October last year.' Advertisement 'We strongly encourage them, to rethink their call for industrial action and stay at work and pursue their complaints, their disagreements with the government through other means,' Mr Turnbull said week. The Prime Minister also reassured the travelling public that federal police would be patrolling airports as border protection officers commenced stoppages at international airports with a 24 hour strike planned from Thursday. His comments come after he faced questions about Australia's response to the deadly terror attacks in Brussels where two bombs were detonated inside the main airport terminal. 'There will be obviously a strike affecting the immigration personnel, the border force personnel, but the Australian Federal Police, who are of course primarily responsible for the security at airports... will be there in force in the - operating at full- strength,' Mr Turnbull told the Nine Network. 'I can assure you the AFP has that in hand and the AFP's security levels at the airport, the commitment of personnel, their operational awareness and so forth is consistent.' Mr Turnbull said he had spoken with the federal police commissioner, ASIO chief and Attorney General following the deadly Brussels attacks. Their advice was there was no requirement to increase Australia's national terrorism threat advisory from its current level of probable. The Community and Public Sector Union tweeted last week the strike would be suspended amid security concerns following two bombing attacks in Brussels There was already a high level of security at airports. 'We are in a much stronger position from a security point of view (compared to) Brussels,' Mr Turnbull said. 'The reality is, of course, that we have the benefits of geography.' The AFP told Daily Mail Australia the heightened security measures mean armed officers will be patrolling Australia's nine main airports, with canine and specialist response teams also on hand. Targeted security activities and extensive CCTV monitoring will also be in operation. At least 34 people died in the twin blasts the rocked both Brussels Airport (pictured) and a nearby metro station A blast hit a Metro station just 400 metres from the EU headquarters in the city centre after the airport The strikes do not concern domestic airlines, as border protection only operates at international terminals, but it will affect all international carriers. The campaign is part of a long-running industrial dispute with the federal government over work conditions. The Community and Public Sector Union says thousands of public servants at Medicare, Centrelink, the Tax Office, Defence, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Bureau of Statistics will strike for 24 hours on Monday. Work stoppages were held by the Australian Border Force and Immigration staff in September last year at airports in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Cairns, and the Gold Coast. There were significant delays at Sydney, Perth and Cairns airports as managers from other departments were rushed into uniform and into frontline roles. The CIA took 'gruesome' naked photographs of its terrorism suspects before they were sent to be tortured by their foreign partners, a former U.S. official has claimed. In the aftermath of 9/11 detainees were rounded up by US operatives after al-Qaeda destroyed New York's World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon. They were interrogated either at CIA-run secret prisons in allied nations or at the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Scroll down for video A former U.S. official has claimed that the CIA took 'gruesome' naked photographs of terror suspects before sending them off to be tortured A report in 2014 revealed that agents used brutal interrogation techniques that left some detainees injured. And now a former U.S. official has told the Guardian how the intelligence agency would also take naked pictures of the detainees in what has been described as 'sexual humiliation.' The official added that he had seen some of the photographs, describing them as brutal and added that the CIA have retained the images, which remain classified. They reportedly show the captives blindfolded, bound and visibly bruised with some showing CIA officials standing next to the naked detainees. A source told the paper that the reason for taking pictures of naked captives was to insulate the CIA from claims of brutal treatment at the hands of its partner intelligence agencies. They added that stripping them naked and showing their physical condition would distinguish from the sometimes brutal interrogation techniques used by foreign partners. The CIA have so far refused to comment on the claims. In 2014, a devastating report was released describing the CIA'S torture programme as a 'stain on the values and conscience' of the U.S. Among the findings were that one detainee was so brutalised he was left unable to speak and on life support. In the aftermath of 9/11 detainees were rounded up by US operatives. They were interrogated either at CIA-run secret prisons in allied nations or at the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, pictured Another, chained almost naked to the floor, died from hypothermia while a third was hung by his arms from an iron bar for 22 hours. Meanwhile, there were also claims a CIA operative used 'Russian Roulette' to intimidate a prisoner and another, untrained in interrogation techniques, threatened to use a power drill. Detainees were also humiliated through the painful use of medically unnecessary 'rectal feeding' and 'rectal rehydration.' However, after the release of the long awaited report, immediately rejected by the CIA, the Senate Intelligence Committee said the claims repeated in public by former President George W Bush had been 'inaccurate'. CIA director John Brennan defended his agency's adoption of tough tactics in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on US cities. The 20-year-old Mississippi woman who once planned to join ISIS during a fake honeymoon to the Middle East now plans to plead guilty to a federal terrorism charge. Jaelyn Young and her fiance Muhammad Dakhlalla were arrested on August 8 before boarding a flight from Columbus, Mississippi, with tickets for Istanbul. But FBI agents said Young had described the real point of their journey in an online chat with an undercover agent. She said they planned to travel to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State. Young, a high school honors student, will admit to conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization on Tuesday in Aberdeen, Mississippi. She faces up to 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime probation. Jaelyn Young, 20, (left) will plead guilty to supporting terrorism on Tuesday. Young and her fiance Muhammad Dakhlalla, 22, (right) were arrested on August 8 before boarding a flight from Mississippi to Istanbul Dakhlalla, 22, pleaded guilty on March 11 to a similar charge and awaits sentencing. Prosecutors have said Young, who converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University, prodded Dakhlalla into the plan. Lawyers for Young did not return a call seeking comment Monday. Their arrest came just days after the devastating Chattanooga shooting that left five American officers dead in August. Young praised the shooter, Mohammad Abdulazeez, during an online chat with an undercover FBI agent, according to an affidavit. 'What makes me feel bette[r] after just watching the news is that an akhi [brother] carried out an attack against US marines in TN! Alhamdulillah [Thanks be to God], the numbers of supporters are growing,' she wrote on July 17, a day after the attack, according to the document read by ABC. Meanwhile, she was trying to save money to move to Syria with Dakhlalla, who is also from Mississippi, to join the Islamist extremist group. 'The only thing keeping me away is $ but working all of this overtime will be worth [it] when I am finally there,' Young allegedly wrote in the online chat. It comes just two years after she was ranked 19th best in her year at Warren Central High School with a 4.089 GPA and an H. Dean Andrews Scholarship to MSU. Dakhlalla graduated from Mississippi State University last May with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Young's arrest comes just two years after she was ranked 19th best in her year at Warren Central High School with a 4.089 GPA and an H. Dean Andrews Scholarship to MSU Young was enrolled until May as a sophomore chemistry major but had not signed up for any more classes since. Young, originally from Vicksburg, was a 2013 honors graduate from Warren Central High School. According to The Vicksburg Post, Young had spoken for years about plans to be a doctor. In her online chats with undercover FBI agents she allegedly expressed plans to treat ISIS fighters' injuries. 'I just want to be there,' she allegedly told the FBI agent. In later conversations peppered with Arabic phrases, she said she planned a 'nikkah,' or Islamic marriage to Dakhlalla so they could travel without a chaperone under Islamic law. In June, the first FBI agent passed Young off to a second FBI agent posing as an Islamic State facilitator. The charge says Young asked the second agent for help crossing from Turkey to Syria, saying 'We don't know Turkey at all very well (I haven't even travelled outside U.S. before.)' Young specified her skills with math and chemistry and said she and Dakhlalla would like to be medics treating the injured. Later, the charge says, she told the second FBI agent that Dakhlalla could help with the Islamic State's Internet media, saying he 'really wants to correct the falsehoods heard here' and the 'U.S. media is all lies when regarding' the group, which she called by its preferred internal name, Dawlah. FBI agents claim Young praised Mohammad Abdulazeez, the man who shot dead five servicemen in Chattanooga last year. Her words came in an online chat with an undercover agent, according to an affidavit Dakhlalla told the first FBI agent in an online conversation in June that he was 'good with computers, education and media' and that his father had approved him and Young to get married. In July, the charges say, he expressed a desire to become a fighter for the group. 'I am willing to fight,' he is quoted as saying. Young later told the FBI that she and Dakhlalla had got married June 6 and they planned to claim they were traveling on their honeymoon as a cover story. She also expressed a desire to 'raise little Dawlah cubs.' The FBI said Dakhlalla and Young both expressed impatience with how long it was taking for them to be issued passports, and the charges say Dakhlalla paid $340 to expedite passport processing on July 1. ISIS recruiters are texting young men in Molenbeek asking them to 'fight the Westerners' in a bid to capitalise on heightened tensions in Brussels. The message implores recipients to 'make the right choice in your life' by taking up jihad and was sent from an untraceable prepaid phone number. Received by youths in the suburb of Molenbeek, community activists have likened the recruitment strategy to having a 'drug dealer outside school gates'. ISIS recruiters are texting young men in the notorious suburb of Molenbeek in a bid to capitalise on heightened tensions within the city. Pictured are police carrying out anti-terror raids in the district Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam (pictured during his arrest in Molenbeek on March 18) is bundled into a police car The full text message, written in French, said: 'My brother, why not fight the Westerners? Make the right choice in your life,' The Guardian reported. Although it was not clear how the recipients' numbers were obtained, it is thought ISIS download the phone contacts of new recruits then selectively target the young Muslim men listed. Jamal Ikazban, a local MP, told the paper: 'These people are trying to take our youth by storm. It is like having a big time drug dealer outside the school gates. 'They are predators and our youths are the victims.' It comes as Belgian officials on Monday said the death toll from the March 22 ISIS bombings had climbed to 35 after four people died in hospital. Some 340 were also injured in the attacks on the metro and Zaventem airport, Belgium's worst ever terror atrocity. The dead include one Briton, four Americans as well as people from countries from China, Sweden to Peru, testament to the cosmopolitan nature of a city that is home to both the European Union and NATO. Belgian prosecutors now say three people have been ordered held on charges of participating in terrorist group activities following the attacks. They were among four people detained during Sunday searches in Brussels and the northern cities of Mechelen and Duffel. Belgian prosecutors did not release details on the alleged terrorist actions or whether they were linked to the March 22 suicide bombings at Brussels airport and in the Brussels subway. The fourth person has been released without charge, according to a statement from the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office Monday. A woman injured in the Brussels metro bombing is helped by a private security guard at the scene A man holds the Belgium and Syrian flags aloft during a tribute to those killed in the city's bombings Belgian authorities on Sunday detained three people on charges of participating in terrorist group activities. Pictured is the candlelight vigil held in Brussels in the days following the attacks Those charged by the investigating magistrate were identified only as Yassine A., Mohamed B. and Aboubaker O. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has continued with his criticism of European authorities' handling of extremists flagged by Turkey, saying they are deliberately allowing them to travel freely. Erdogan has accused Dutch and Belgian authorities of incompetence for not taking any action against Ibrahim El Bakraoui despite Turkish warnings that he was a 'foreign terrorist fighter'. El Bakraoui later turned out to be one of the suicide bombers at Brussels Airport. Yesterday Erdogan accused European authorities of ignoring Turkish requests that people flagged by Turkey be prevented from traveling out of their countries. He says European countries are still allowing fighters to travel to Turkey and Syria. A bullet grazed a seven-year-old girl inside a home in Chicago when shots were fired on the street outside. The youngster was inside a home on the citys South Side when two shots were fired from outside at around 5pm on Monday evening, police spokesman Hector Alfaro said. Alfaro said the girl was taken to Comer Children's Hospital and was listed in good condition. Scroll down for video A bullet grazed a seven-year-old girl inside a home in Chicago when shots were fired on the street outside. Pictured above, the holes left by the bullets that went through the residence's windows The residence, in the 7600 block of South Saint Lawrence Avenue, is not believed to be the intended target, he added. The girl and her family had only moved into the home this month, according to neighbors. One worried neighbor told WGN-TV that shootings have become a regular occurrence in the area. Its more or less every other night, one woman told the news station. This is a frightening situation.' She added: 'It could be someones mother going to the store and by accident, getting shot. Police are investigating. Late on Monday evening, Alfaro said no one was in custody. The residence (pictured), in the 7600 block of South Saint Lawrence Avenue, is not believed to be the intended target, police said Police are also hunting for suspects after four men were injured in a spate of shootings in the city since the incident involving the girl on Monday, the Chicago Tribune reports. Two men were shot within half an hour of each other on Monday evening. One man, 26, was shot in his left buttocks on North Homan Avenue at 7.25pm and taken to hospital, where he is in a good condition. At 7.50pm, another man, 22, was shot in the shoulder while inside a car on South Union Avenue. He is in hospital in a stable condition. Two more men were hurt in the early hours of Tuesday morning. At 2.15am, a man was shot in Albany Park as he looked for a parking spot. The 23-year-old victim, who has no known gang links, was shot in the leg by a person in a silver vehicle, the Tribune reports. He is in hospital in a stable condition. A California woman facing eviction poured gasoline over her body and set herself on fire in a blaze that nearly killed her and nearly destroyed her apartment complex on Easter Sunday, officials said. Authorities said Melissa McMullin, 44, soaked her bed, her clothes and herself in gasoline then laid down on her bed and flicked a lighter igniting the blaze, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported. Fire investigator Cyndi Foreman said McMullin, who also went by Melissa Terry, told investigators she had texted her sons a goodbye note and had intended to kill herself. Scroll down for video A California woman facing eviction poured gasoline over her body and set herself on fire in a blaze (pictured) that nearly killed her and nearly destroyed her apartment complex on Easter Sunday, officials said Authorities said Melissa McMullin, 44, who also used the name Melissa Terry (pictured left) soaked her clothes and herself in gasoline then laid down on her bed and flicked a lighter igniting the blaze. Her son pictured right She was due to be evicted from her Santa Rosa apartment on April 30 as a result of ongoing disputes she had with neighbors. Sunday evening's fire destroyed the four-unit apartment complex where she lived, displacing around 12 residents, and left McMullin hospitalized with third-degree burns. No one else was hurt in the fire, Foreman said. 'The room erupted in flames. She tried to escape out of her bedroom window,' said Foreman, a fire prevention specialist with the Central Fire Authority of Sonoma County who led the investigation. 'Her son burst in and dragged her out and saved her life.' Foreman said that McMullin escaped other injuries, noting it was the heavy soaking of her clothes that saved her because they were too wet to spark. It was reportedly the vapors in the room that caught fire. The fire is said to have not only been fueled by the gasoline but also by up to eight oxygen cylinders that exploded during the fire. McMullin's son Robert McMullin (pictured) who was treated for smoke inhalation, told KRON4 that he could not understand why his mom started the fire Scene from the blaze above. Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani said the fire destroyed two units and caused smoke damage to the two other units in the complex A fire investigator said that McMullin escaped other injuries, noting it was the heavy soaking of her clothes that saved her because they were too wet to spark Foreman said McMullin had used oxygen for a health issue, according to the Press Democrat. McMullin's son Robert McMullin, who was treated for smoke inhalation, told KRON4 that he could not understand why his mom started the fire. 'She tried to set it on fire and she did and she just ruined everyones lives,' he said. During the fire, Foreman said Melissa McMullin had tried to escape through a bedroom window but one of her son kicked the door in and dragged her out, according to the station. While Melissa McMullin - who is recovering in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital from burns on her arms and feet - is suspected of arson, she has not been arrested. Foreman told KRON 4: 'She was feeling desperate. She didnt want to live. Ive never seen someone try to commit suicide by lighting themselves on fire. Its a very tragic story.' The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and county mental health service workers are assisting the Central Fire Authority with the investigation, according to Foreman. 'The challenge is the mental health side of it, but there will be charges,' she said. Fire investigator Cyndi Foreman (pictured) said McMullin told investigators she had texted her sons a goodbye note and had intended to kill herself The aftermath of the fire shown above. While Melissa McMullin - who is recovering in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital from burns on her arms and feet - is suspected of arson, she has not been arrested Residents' belongings are pictured in the aftermath of the fire. The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents with three nights of housing Neighbor James Williams is one of the about 12 residents who lost his belongings in the fire. He said: 'It seems like my life is over. I know its not but it seems like it is. Everything Ive owned is gone' Fire officials estimated damage to the property to be as much as $500,000 because of the extensive damage to the building and belongings in the four apartments. Neighbor James Williams is one of the about 12 residents who lost his belongings in the fire. 'It seems like my life is over. I know its not but it seems like it is. Everything Ive owned is gone, he told Kron 4. Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Ken Sebastiani said the fire destroyed two units and caused smoke damage to the other units. A New Jersey home apparently stalked by a menacing letter writer known only as 'The Watcher' is back on the market for $1.25million as the owners are too scared to live in the property. Derek and Maria Broaddus bought the large suburban house in June 2014 for close to $1.4million, but never moved in due to chilling letters they received from a person with a 'mentally disturbed fixation' on the home. Previously taken off the market in summer 2015, the new owners relisted the property, which has been empty for two years, last week. Mr and Mrs Broaddus are currently embroiled in a long-running lawsuit with the former owners of the property in Westfield, 25 miles west of New York City. The married couple claim in their suit that they should have been warned about the letter writer. They want the former owners to refund them the purchase price and pay punitive damages. They claim one of the letters they received, signed by 'The Watcher' read: 'Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested? Once I know their names I will call to them and draw them too (sic) me.' T Abandoned: The 'Watcher' house has not been lived in since the Woods moved out and Mr and Mrs Broaddus took possession of it -it is now back on the market for $1.25million Who is the Watcher? House owners Derek and Maria Broaddus, pictured with their three chldren, bought the property in 2014 but have been too scared to move in after receiving menacing letters John Woods (left) a retired scientist, and his wife Andrea have hit back in legal papers at Derek Broaddus (right) and his wife, Maria, saying their claims are false IS 'THE WATCHER' OBSESSED WITH BEAUTIFUL OLD HOUSE? 'You have changed it and made it so fancy...it cries for the past and what used to be in the time when I roamed its halls...when I ran from room to room imagining the life with the rich occupants there...and now I watch and wait for the day when the young blood will be mine again... (The house) is turning on me it is coming after me...I am in charge of it...Let the young blood play again like I once did...Stop changing it and let it alone' Advertisement In their suit, they claim they are unable to live in the home 'without extreme anxiety and fear for their children's safety and wellbeing.' The former owners, John and Andrea Woods, have called the couple's account fiction and moved earlier this year to have the suit dismissed. But no decision has been made on that request. The new owners claim the sellers knew but never told them about the bizarre stalker, who called themselves The Watcher. But the sellers have hit back, calling the allegations untrue - but also disclosing that they too received an unsigned letter, although they say it was not 'threatening'. The mystery started when Mr and Mrs Broaddus bought the six-bed, 3.5 bath family home in June 2014. A year later they sued the Woods, who had retired to Massachusetts, claiming that within weeks of the house sale closing, they had received three threatening letters, signed 'The Watcher'. The Broaddusses claimed they had received a letter saying: 'I have be [sic] put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming; my grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. 'It is now my time; Why are you here? I will find out; Now that they have it to flaunt it, they pay the price' It went on: 'I asked the Woods to bring me young blood.' One of the other three letters said: 'Who am I? I am the Watcher and have been in control of [the home] for the better part of two decades now. 'The Woods family turned it over to you it was their time to move on and kindly sold it when I asked them to.' Now court papers seen by Daily Mail Online disclose that the Woods, both distinguished scientists, had hit back, claiming the Broaddusses have invaded their privacy, caused them public ridicule and left them emotionally distressed. The Broaddusses had demanded triple damages - the cost of the house, plus the renovations they had paid for - but the Woods are now counter-suing, saying that they deserve compensated for the damages to their reputation. 'John Woods and Andrea Woods have suffered, and continue to suffer, a special grievance and special injuries and damages, including but not limited to severe and ongoing emotional distress, psychological injuries, defamation, public ridicule and embarrassment, loss and/or damages to reputation, significant economic losses, damages and accrual of debt,' the court document says. The Woods are suing for compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reimbursement of legal costs. But in the course of their legal papers they reveal their own anonymous letter. 'Defendants acknowledge the receipt of a single anonymous note on or about the week of May 26, 2014, but Defendants specifically deny that the note was "disturbing" or in any way claimed a right of possession and/or owner to the premises,' the court papers say. The letter was not disclosed, and the Woods' lawyer did not return repeated attempts to contact him for comment. The Broaddusses' lawyer told Daily Mail Online that his clients were now living through an experience 'you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy'. Lee M. Levitt, the attorney presenting Derek and Maria Broaddus, told Daily Mail Online that his clients had a conversation with the Woods soon after they received their first 'Watcher' letter. It was then that the Woods told the new owners they had been sent a 'similar' note prior to the sale of the house but had deemed it 'innocuous'. Levitt said his clients were too afraid to move into the property, which had been their 'dream house', because of the threatening letters. 'What happened to them you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy,' he said. 'Their number one concern in the world is their children. How the case began: The original legal papers which set out The Watcher allegations and were brought by the Broadduses against the Woods Hitting back: The Woods have filed papers which say they deny all the allegations and are counter-suing. They also allege that they were not able to ask for the case to be dismissed because no papers were served for months Letter; The Woods admit for the first time in the court papers that they received an anonymous letter - but denied it was anything like The Watcher letters the Broadduses have passed to police 'These are the nicest, most wholesome people and they are just trying to move on with their lives.' The couple declined to speak to Daily Mail Online through their lawyer. Levitt added that Derek Broaddus, an insurance executive in Manhattan and Maria Broaddus, a stay-at-home mom who looks after their couple's three children, who are all under 12, were under huge financial strain as they continued to pay the mortgage and other bills for the property. He denied suggestions that the couple, both 41, were trying to make money out of the situation. Levitt said the couple would not reveal where they are currently living due to fears for their safety. He added that the Boulevard home was not on the market but the couple were trying to make a private sale. TWO YEARS OF 'THE WATCHER' 26 May 2014 John and Andrew Woods receive an anonymous letter at their Westfield, NJ, home 2 June 2014 Derek and Maria Broaddus close $1.35 million deal to buy the six-bed, 3.5 bath 'dream family home' 5 June 2014 The Broaddusses receive a letter signed 'The Watcher' saying: 'I have be [sic] put in charge of watching and waiting for its second coming; my grandfather watched the house in the 1920s and my father watched in the 1960s. 'I asked the Woods to bring me young blood. 'Do you need to fill the house with the young blood I requested?' Mid-June 2014 The Woods tell the Broaddusses they had received an anonymous letter but that it was 'innocuous' 18 June 2014 Another letter to the Broadduses from The Watcher arrives 18 July 2014 The third and final letter from The Watcher is delivered to the Broaddusses June 2015 The Broaddusses sue the Woods for triple damages 24 June 2015 The local mayor tells a town hall meeting: 'Our police have conducted an exhaustive investigation into the threatening letters. Our police went the extra measure and left no stone unturned' 29 June 2015: Police chief says 'we are exploring some possible leads' 7 January 2016 The Woods hit back, suing the Broaddusses for damages, at the Superior Court of New Jersey in Union County. They disclose for their first time that they received an anonymous letter themselves March 2016 The property is put back on the market for $1.25million Advertisement The Broadduses were now obliged to reveal The Watcher's threats to those who live at the house and this has put off potential buyers, according to their lawsuit. The three letters that the Broaddus family received are in the possession of Westfield Police Department, Levitt said, and he had made copies. No letters have been delivered to the home since. The police investigation into the case remains active, Levitt said. Westfield police chief David Wayman did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Daily Mail Online this week. There have been no announcements on the case since Wayman told nj.com last summer that police had a 'few possible leads'. Wayman is not believed to have been made aware of the anonymous letter received by the Woods. The United States Postal Service told Daily Mail Online last year they had received a copy of one of the letters from a third party and contacted the police department to offer assistance. USPS could offer no further information on the letters but confirmed they have assisted the Westfield Police Department with an investigation. The home still lies dark and empty of furniture, almost two years after it was purchased. Neighbors told Daily Mail Online on Thursday that the only sightings of the Broaddusses were when they have stopped by to pick up the mail. Others were concerned about tBeihe effect the legal case, which has made 'The Watcher' home famous worldwide, was having on their property prices. 'It's a shame, houses are meant to be lived in,' one neighbour, who asked not to be named, told Daily Mail Online. Another nearby resident said: 'There's no Watcher, it's ridiculous. We've lived here for a long time. 'It's a great block and it's a beautiful house.' The Woods and the Broaddusses both declined to speak directly. The financial entities who had also been sued by the Broaddusses, Chicago Title Insurance Company and A. Absolute Escrow, who were involved with the sale, had the cases against them dismissed in December. Advertisement This is the remarkable moment a pair of Komodo dragons tore a goat to pieces after hunting the animal in a pack on the remote Indonesian island they call home. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to their prehistoric dinosaur ancestors, the photographs show the dragons made short work of the doomed goat. The gory scene was captured by photographer Julia Sundukova, from Russia, while visiting Komodo Island, Indonesia. Incredibly, after the pair made short work of the goat another dragon, clearly looking for a free meal, joined in the frenzy as the massive predators tore their prey apart. Ms Sundukova said: 'The Komodo dragons on the island are wild, but a lot of people choose to feed them which has encouraged them to closer to humans. 'There are too many dragons on the island for them to be able to hunt properly as there isn't enough prey. But I managed to find a real interaction. When the dragons spotted the goat, their behaviour changed completely - before they had seemed quite lazy. 'But as they went in for the kill, their laziness completely vanished and they became quite beautiful in how wild they were. It was tough to watch, as the goat didn't stand a chance against such powerful predators.' The goat, unaware it is being hunted by the massive predators, relaxes peacefully in the dirt on Komodo Island, Indonesia In the distance, the two massive Komodo dragons begin making their way out of the bushes towards the unsuspecting goat The huge lizards, which grow to 10ft in length, are renowned for their adept hunting ability which allows them to dominate their ecosystem Showing remarkable dexterity, one of the Komodo dragons gives chase to the goat it was hoping to eat Photographer Julia Sundukova, from Russia, said the lizards looked quite lazy until they began the hunt The goat desperately tries to sidestep the remarkably quick footed Komodo dragon during the height of the hunt However, the unlucky goat was not able to escape the prehistoric predator after it bit through the animals' back legs With the goat pinned down on the dirt, the Komodo dragon closes in for the kill while his accomplice ambles towards the action The Komodo dragon, which is native to Komodo Island in Indonesia, has a powerful jaw and rows of small but sharp teeth The Komodo dragon is known for its remarkable ambush hunting technique during which it targets its preys' throat and underbelly A second Komodo dragon joins in the hunt as the two ferocious animals begin tearing the goat to pieces The enormous lizards use their tongues and keen sense of smell to locate prey from a range of up to 6miles One of the dragons bites the goats' head while the second prehistoric beast tears at its hind quarters The exasperated goat could do little to escape the fearsome creatures after being ambushed and bitten multiple times The fearsome creatures have a history that dates back to the age of the dinosaurs. Small prey, such as goats, are often swallowed whole while larger creatures are eaten by tearing pieces of flesh from the body while they pin it down with their front legs The goat is choked by the two dragons during the hunt. Soon after the goat was killed a third Komodo dragon joined in the feast The three triumphant Komodo dragons raise their heads upwards after having fed on the poor unsuspecting goat A new book has revealed the lengths media mogul William Randolph Hearst went to as he tried to destroy the Orson Welles film Citizen Kane. In the movie, released in 1941, Welles portrayed a fictional media tycoon Charles Kane, thought to be based on the American newspaper magnate Hearst. Kane's career in the publishing world is born of idealistic social service, but gradually evolves into a ruthless pursuit of power. Scroll down for video A new book has revealed the lengths William Randolph Hearst, left, went to as he tried to destroy the Orson Welles, right, film Citizen Kane It has long been known that Hearst banned any mention of the film in any of his papers, starving it of publicity, meaning it failed to recoup its costs. Other tactics including extortion and media manipulation were also reportedly used by Hearst's staff to discredit the film, although Welles stated he did not believe these were linked to Hearst himself. However, according to new research by Harlan Lebo, from California, for his forthcoming book, 'Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey', Hearst himself was behind the attacks on both Welles and the film. It has long been known that Hearst banned any mention of the film in any of his papers, starving it of publicity, meaning it failed to recoup its costs. Pictured is Orson Welles is the starring role Charles Kane Mr Lebo told the Guardian: 'Its typically been assumed that Hearst probably didnt know about it and it was probably just his lackeys trying to protect the boss. But its clear he knew about it the entire time.' The book details the schemes hatched to discredit Welles, including the time he was told not to return to his hotel room by a police investigator as there a 14-year-old girl and two photographers hiding in the closet. Hearst's media empire traces its roots back to when he first took over the San Francisco Examiner in 1887 It also reveals that the Hearst organisation planned to link Welles to communism as another way of undermining his personal credibility. And with the attacks becoming thick and fast, the book cites a memo sent by the lawyer-manager of Welles, Arnold Weissberger saying: 'This is not a tempest in a teapot, it will not calm down, the forces opposed to us are constantly at work.' However, despite the negative publicity surrounding the movie at the time, it was a critical success and was nominated for nine Academy Awards. In 2007, the American Film Institute picked it as the top film of the 20th century. Hearst's media empire traces its roots back to when he first took over the San Francisco Examiner in 1887. The Hearst Corporation now owns 15 daily newspapers, as well as a huge variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan and Esquire. As well as creating the largest newspaper and magazine company in the world at one stage, William Randolph Hearst also exercised huge influence politically. He was twice elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives and famously ran an unsuccessful campaign to become Mayor of New York. He died in Beverly Hills on August 14, 1951, at the age of 88. Advertisement For many people a trip abroad might mean a small hire car with the occasional luxury addition. But for one man desperate to maintain his reputation, a holiday in London means just another place he can show off his impressive vehicles. Britain's flashiest tourist, from Saudi Arabia, arrived in the capital over the weekend with a fleet of gold cars worth more than 1million. Scroll down for video Britain's flashiest tourist, who is thought to be from Saudi Arabia, arrived in the capital this week with a fleet of gold cars worth more than 1million. Above, his gold 350,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe and Lamborghini Aventador, also worth 350,000 His vehicles include a 370,00 Mercedes G63, a six-wheel off-roader, a Bentley Flying Spur, worth 220,000, a 350,000 Rolls-Royce and a 350,000 Lamborghini Aventador SV. They were spotted parked outside the five-star Mandarian Oriental hotel near Hyde Park over the Bank Holiday weekend before being driven through Kensington. Their journey also took them to Cadogan Place, where the average house price is just over 5.2million. It is not known how much it costs to cover the cars in gold chrome wrap, but previous reports suggest it is in the region of 4,000 per vehicle. The pictures signal the start of the city's supercar season, when wealthy Arabs flee the scorching hot temperatures of the Middle East and cruise around the British capital in their ostentatious vehicles. The arrival of the supercars has become a regular event in recent years, with rich Kuwaitis, Saudis and Emiratis seeking to out-do each with their souped-up vehicles. They are often spotted waiting in gridlocked traffic in some of central London's most popular areas or parked up outside designer shops and luxury boutiques, including Harrods. PARKING COSTS 50 A DAY... SO IT'S CHEAPER TO GET A FINE Money is clearly no object to the Saudi owner of the golden supercars. When it comes to parking, however, there are savings to be made. The bay in Knightsbridge where three of the vehicles were left yesterday costs 4.60 an hour and can be used for a maximum of two hours. However, all three cars had been parked there for more than six hours. As a result, the owner was fined 80 per car (right) which can be reduced to 40 if paid within 14 days. It means getting booked is cheaper than parking in one of the nearby car parks. Just 50m away there is an NCP car park where the charge for a 24-hour stay is 50. The Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel also charges 50 a day for leaving a vehicle in its underground car park. A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea Council said that tickets issued to foreign cars and drivers are followed up to ensure they are not ignored. Advertisement The vehicles include a 370,00 Mercedes six-wheel off-roader (pictured), which looks more suited to the sand dunes than the congested streets of Kensington The six-wheel vehicle, which includes a 5.5-litre V8 engine, was impossible to miss as passers-by wondered through the streets of Kensington over the weekend A gold Mansory Bentley Flying Spur worth 220,000 was spotted parked up on the streets of London's wealthiest borough The Bentley's wheels also feature a gold inner ring, with the car boasting a top speed of 200mph and the ability to go from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds The Rolls-Royce was spotted turning onto Cadogan Place later in the day, where the average house price is just over 5.2million The Rolls-Royce, which also included gold around the logo on the wheels, matched the other vehicles in the fleet but stood out once parked up outside these central London houses With a 6.75-litre engine, this 350,000 uber-coupe - described by the British manufacturer as being perfect for transcontinental adventures - will do 155mph It is thought owners pay in excess of 20,000 to fly their vehicles around 3,000 miles to London. Qatar Airways is one of the operators that facilitates the transportation, with airport staff securing vehicles to the floor of the relevant aircraft before flight. Last year, following numerous complaints, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea introduced a Public Spaces Protection Order in Knightsbridge. Motorists are now banned from revving their engine, rapidly accelerating, racing, performing stunts, sounding horns or causing obstructions. They are also prohibited from leaving the engine of a stationary car running. The PSPO came into place to deal with the 'excessive level of noise nuisance, annoyance, danger or risk or harm or injury' caused by the drivers. Motorists who breach the order face a maximum 1,000 fine or fixed penalty notice of 100. Over the past three weeks seven drivers have been handed fixed penalty notices. Council leader Cllr Nick Paget-Brown said: 'It's too early yet to judge the success of the PSPO but the police and the council will continue to ticket drivers who breach it until the message gets through that our residents are not to be disturbed by supercars.' The cars were photographed outside the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel, which, on its website, boasts 'world-famous restaurants' and a 'stunning spa' The pictures signal the start of the city's supercar season, when wealthy Arabs flee the scorching hot temperatures of the Middle East and cruise around the British capital in their ostentatious vehicles The supercars - including the two above - are often spotted waiting in gridlocked traffic in some of central London's most popular areas or parked up outside designer shops and luxury boutiques, including Harrods It is not known how much it costs to cover the cars in gold chrome wrap, but previous reports suggest it is in the region of 4,000 per vehicle Last year, following numerous complaints, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea introduced a Public Spaces Protection Order in Knightsbridge, which bans motorists from making unnecessary noise and causing obstructions. Above, the tourist's Mercedes Nearly 100 British nationals are leaving Spain every day, figures show as expatriates quit Europe in fear of what will happen to them if UK votes to leave the EU in June's referendum. Experts have warned that uncertainty over healthcare and the value of the state pension will trigger a mass exodus from the continent if Britain votes to leave. It would widen the gap between the number of Britons who live in Europe and the number of EU nationals living in Britain. Scroll down for video Nearly 100 British nationals are leaving Spain every day, figures show as experts warn that uncertainty over June's EU vote is driving thousands of Britons to return home as they fear losing benefits such as free healthcare and the minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the UK state pension Currently 1.2million Britons live in other EU member states while 2.9million Europeans live in the UK. But Out campaigners said the figures showed how the 'balance of power favours the UK' and would put the UK in a strong position to negotiate a good settlement for expats if voters opted to quit the Brussels club. Expats fear they will lose access to free healthcare available through the European Insurance Card or by signing up to free health insurance on offer in countries like Spain. There are also doubts over whether British pensioners living on the continent will continue to benefit from the minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the state pension paid to all Britons living in EU member states. The UK Government raises the state pension for pensioners living in the EU and a handful of other countries where it has a social security agreement, but expats living in countries such as Australia do not benefit from the same terms. A net total of 72,000 British expats have left Spain over the last two years, while around 7,000 have quit Italy, according to The Times. Experts have warned that uncertainty over healthcare and the value of the state pension will trigger a mass exodus from the continent if Britain votes to leave in June's EU referendum Christopher Chantrey, chairman of the British Community Committee of France, told the newspaper: 'The issue is sowing panic among Britons who have taken early retirement to France.' The figures show that all EU countries apart from Spain, France and Luxembourg have more of their population living in the UK than vice-versa. Pro-EU campaigners warned that expats would have no automatic guarantee that their current rights would continue if Britain left the EU. But Robert Oxley, a spokesman for the Vote Leave campaign, said: 'These numbers are a perfect example of how the balance of power favours the UK. There is a huge incentive for Brussels to do a deal. MURDERS AND RAPES COMMITTED BY 50 FOREIGN CRIMINALS WHO WERE LET IN UNDER EU RULES Dangerous: Among those on the list of 50 drawn up by Brexit campaign group Vote Leave are Arnis Zalkalns, pictured, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross EU free movement rules have let dozens of foreign criminals commit horrific offences in Britain, analysis reveals. A dossier released today lists 50 of the 'most dangerous' European criminals who have entered the UK freely, despite convictions in their countries. Once here, 45 of them committed serious offences, the report by Brexit campaign Vote Leave says. In total, they were responsible for 14 killings, including nine murders, and 13 sex crimes of which seven were rape. They also carried out robberies, theft, burglaries and drug offences. Last night Brexit supporters said the report showed EU membership made the UK 'less safe and less secure'. The EU does not compel member states to share information on criminals, meaning many are able to travel to the UK unhindered. Free movement rules give every EU citizen the right to enter any country in the bloc. Eurosceptics argue that if Britain votes to leave we could negotiate a new deal that does not include free movement of workers without more stringent checks. These could include criminal record checks on anyone wanting a visa, even for the short term. Serious offenders could then be automatically excluded. The Government could continue co-operation on information sharing and extradition under any new agreements. Among those on the list of 50 drawn up by Brexit campaign group Vote Leave are Arnis Zalkalns, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross. It also names Ireneusz Bartnowski, a Polish burglar who murdered elderly couple Guiseppe and Caterina Massaro a week after arriving in the UK. The dossier also reveals the exasperation and despair of British judges presiding over these cases, as they questioned how such dangerous men got into the country in the first place. Advertisement 'Pro-EU campaigners do Britain down by saying we can't do a deal but we have a strong hand, and we should play it. 'Despite the scaremongering no British expats are going to be asked to leave the EU post Brexit.' Meanwhile the In campaign has warned that British students will no longer be able to benefit from the free or cheap tuition fees at universities across the continent. They could be forced to apply for visas to study and work in the EU, campaigners claimed. James McGrory, of the Stronger In campaign, said: 'Students who have planned to study abroad could also face the high tuition fees charged to non-EU students. 'They might also lose the opportunity for vital funding through the EU's Erasmus programme. 'Leaving the EU would also hike up flight prices and mobile phone roaming charges for Brits abroad.' With 72,000 British nationals already having quit Spain over the last two years, just 308,000 remain in the country as the country's economy continues to struggle. An estimated 65,000 British nationals remain in Italy. Earlier this month a group of British expats launched a judicial review over the decision to bar some British citizens living in other EU countries from voting in the June 23 referendum. British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years are automatically disenfranchised, meaning an estimated 700,000 UK nationals living on the continent are set to have no say on whether Britain stays in the EU. Law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the expats in their legal challenge, claims that the automatic exclusion breaks EU laws. It says the people who will be most affected by a Brexit are those who have been excluded from having a voice in the historic referendum. And Mr Shindler said the legal challenge was the 'last stand' for expats who fear for their way of life if the UK severs ties with Brussels. A High Court judge in London will decide whether to allow the judicial review to go ahead because of a rule that 'arbitrarily' blocks British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years from voting in elections. If granted, legal experts predict that legislation would have to be fast-tracked within a matter of days to register the extra voters on the electoral roll. Leigh Day warned that the need to register an extra 700,000 voters could threaten the proposed referendum timetable. Mr Shindler, who retired to Italy in 1982, said he would vote Remain if he had the chance as many expats were concerned about the future if the UK voted to leave. 'It would have very serious repercussions for all expats and their families here,' he told the Press Association. 'I came here in 1982 when you had to have a permit from the police to stay here. All that would come back. We would be immigrants here.' Mr Shindler, who fought in Italy during the Second World War and was part of the Anzio landings in 1944, said younger expats could be forced to apply for work permits to remain in their adopted countries. He was sceptical about assurances from the Leave camp that there would be little change in the status of Britons living in the EU following Brexit. 'That really is wishful thinking. That's no comfort to us at all, it's absurd to say that,' he said. 'There could be permits for work - I don't work of course - but those who work here will have to have a permit like they used to.' The expats in EU nations were 'free ambassadors', helping to promote the UK across the continent, he said. Mr Shindler, who lives in Porto d'Ascoli on Italy's east coast, said: 'It leaves us speechless to think anyone can stand up in Parliament and deny another Brit the right to vote.' Now minister warns that Brexit could wreck your children's lives as she appeals to the young to turn out to vote Voting for Brexit is gambling with the prospects of the next generation, a Cabinet minister warns today. In a speech likely to trigger fresh claims of scaremongering, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan will warn the older generation they risk creating a lost generation of young people. She will say it would be unfair for parents and grandparents to vote to leave the EU because of the 'devastating' impact on the chances of their children and grandchildren. In a speech likely to trigger fresh claims of scaremongering, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan will warn the older generation they risk creating a lost generation of young people And she will appeal to the young to turn out and vote because it will help tackle 'global ills' such as climate change. Voting for Brexit is gambling with the prospects of the next generation, a Cabinet minister warns today. In a speech likely to trigger fresh claims of scaremongering, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan will warn the older generation they risk creating a lost generation of young people. She will say it would be unfair for parents and grandparents to vote to leave the EU because of the 'devastating' impact on the chances of their children and grandchildren. And she will appeal to the young to turn out and vote because it will help tackle 'global ills' such as climate change. But as well as raising accusations of desperate scaremongering by Downing Street, her comments may also risk alienating older voters by suggesting their views on the future of the country are less important than those younger than them. Hers is the latest dire warning issued by senior ministers loyal to Downing Street in what Brexit campaigners say is a ramping up of 'Project Fear'. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured) said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills In recent days a string of Cabinet ministers have been wheeled out to make doom-mongering predictions about the risks of Brexit. On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned it could damage the NHS. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills. The appeal to those with all their working lives ahead of them may also suggest the extent to which the Remain camp is concerned younger people will not turn out to vote in the referendum on June 23. In a speech to the British Fashion Retail Academy in London, Mrs Morgan will argue a vote for Brexit could put young people's future at risk. It would be young people who will pay the price if there is an economic shock from Brexit, she will say, because firms are likely to cut back on entry level jobs. 'It's clear, that if Britain leaves Europe it will be young people who suffer the most, left in limbo while we struggle to find and then negotiate an alternative model. In doing so we risk that lost generation becoming a reality. And everyone who casts their vote must understand that. On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured) warned it could damage the NHS 'If parents and grandparents vote to leave, they'll be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildren's future. 'At a time when people are rightly concerned about intergenerational fairness the most unfair decision that the older generation could make would be to take Britain out of Europe and damage the ability of young people to get on in life.' By contrast, staying in the EU will help tackle the global issues young people care about such as sexual and gender equality, poverty, the environment and climate change, she will say. 'I want young people to make sure their voices are heard in this debate whichever side of the debate they might be on otherwise they risk having the decision made by other people, their future decided for them, not by them. Elections are decided by the people who turn up. 'And don't think you have to keep your opinion on the EU debate to yourself. Go out and make the case to others and in particular your older friends and relatives.' She will add: 'This is the generation of Instagram, easyJet and eBay. They don't want to see a Britain cut off from the world, where not only their opportunities, but our influence as a country, ends at our shores.' Return: Tom Crawford, 64, posted a YouTube video claiming he had taken back the house from which he was evicted - prompting supporters to flock there A cancer patient who was forcibly evicted from his bungalow has attempted to reclaim the boarded-up home by locking himself inside during a police stand-off lasting seven hours. Tom Crawford, 64, was kicked out of his house in Nottinghamshire after a lengthy battle over his mortgage despite hundreds of protesters forming human blockades to twice stop bailiffs. Demonstrators failed to prevent his home being repossessed after a judge ruled the property could be seized, and he was evicted by bailiffs supported by up to 100 policemen last July. But on Monday father-of-three Mr Crawford posted a YouTube video claiming he had taken back the house in Carlton - and his supporters flocked there to offer clothes and food. Six police cars waited outside in the residential cul-de-sac, while more than 20 protesters travelled from Leicester, Derby and Coventry to the boarded-up bungalow. Supporters gave their name to officers as Tom Crawford, while his wife, Susan, 55, claimed the real Mr Crawford was holed up inside. Police later said the matter was peacefully resolved. A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: Officers were called to the scene at 12pm. Their main priority was protecting public safety and preventing a breach of the peace. Following a peaceful conclusion at 7.30pm on Monday, officers will be interviewing a man in connection to the incident at a later stage. No arrests have been made. Surveying the scene: Six police cars waited outside in the cul-de-sac in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, on Monday On site: More than 20 protesters travelled from Leicester, Derby and Coventry to the boarded-up bungalow Boarded-up: Supporters gave their name to officers as Tom Crawford, while his wife, Susan, 55, claimed the real Mr Crawford was holed up inside the home (above). Police later said the matter was peacefully resolved Officers cordoned off the house at the driveway and inspected it throughout the afternoon, while Mrs Crawford said she only found out on Monday that he was planning on entering the house. Speaking outside the repossessed home, she said: We own our house and have fought to prove that. One protester from Coventry, who did not give his name, said: He wants to get arrested [and go to court] so he can get it in front of a jury. Thats what he needs to do. When someones doing what Toms doing you need to stand up for them. YouTube: The next phase of the Crawford Castle Supporters: The group of backers who helped Mr Crawford when bailiffs came to evict him in January 2015 Huge interest: During the attempt to evict the couple in January 2015, Mr Crawford had vowed he would rather go to prison than give in to the bailiffs Prior to his eviction, the prostate cancer survivor had been fighting bailiffs over claims he still owed 43,000 in outstanding repayments since 2007 to Bradford and Bingley bank. We own our house and have fought to prove that Susan Crawford, wife The Crawfords took out a 41,800 endowment mortgage with the now defunct building society in 1988, but in 2007 they were told they had no prospect of paying it off. In 2014, a judge ordered Mr Crawford to pay off the mortgage or face eviction. UK Asset Resolution Limited, which is winding down Bradford and Bingley mortgages, claimed the couple still owed 43,000 - even though the amount of arrears outstanding on the account in 2007 stood at just 1,802.90. Removal van: The prostate cancer survivor had been fighting bailiffs over claims he still owes 43,000 in outstanding repayments since 2007 to Bradford and Bingley bank (file picture) Long-running case: The Crawfords took out a 41,800 endowment mortgage with the now defunct building society in 1988, but in 2007 they were told they had no prospect of paying it off (file picture) The Crawfords claimed a blunder by the bank meant that through no fault of their own they only paid off the interest on their mortgage and not the capital. He wants to get arrested [and go to court] so he can get it in front of a jury Protester The first planned eviction in July 2014 was scuppered when people from across Britain mobilised after being touched by Mr Crawford's YouTube appeal. During a second attempt to evict the couple in January 2015, Mr Crawford had vowed he would rather go to prison than give in to the bailiffs. Mr Gundry told ITV bosses he split up from the former Mrs Gundry, 51, six years ago A photo has emerged showing the Saturday Night Takeaway guest accused of being a 'love rat' walking hand-in-hand with his new bride on their 'wedding' day. Daniel Gundry found himself in the middle of a social media storm when 'wife' Helen took to the programme's Facebook page after she saw him on the show. She claimed he was cheating on her with an ex-girlfriend after first telling her he was on a business trip to Dubai. Mr Grundy appeared on the Ant and Dec show on the arm of Sue Brooker, whose sister, Michelle, was married in a surprise televised ceremony. He had told ITV bosses he split up from the former Mrs Gundry, 51, six years ago and married new wife Sue two years ago in a wedding in the Seychelles. But Mrs Grundy said that while she had her husband had previously separated they never divorced and 'got back together' last summer, adding that 'any other marriage is bigamous'. Scroll down for video Island ceremony: Daniel Gundry and Sue Brooker at their Seychelles wedding two years ago Helen Gundry took to the show's Facebook page claiming she was shocked to see her 'husband' Daniel, shown wearing a grey waistcoat, on the arm of another woman whom she claimed was his ex Helen Gundry's post, shown, went viral, gaining more than 30,000 likes, 10,000 comments and 10,000 shares Mrs Gundry's post went viral, gaining more than 30,000 likes, 10,000 comments and 10,000 shares. But Facebook users hit back and claimed Mrs Gundry was not telling the truth and that Mr Gundry was married to Sue and split with Mrs Gundry 'years ago'. An ITV spokesman later told The Sun: 'I have spoken to Daniel and he has actually been married to his current wife for two years and separated from Helen for six.' Claims: Helen Gundrysaid she watched her husband arrive at the wedding with another woman But Mrs Gundry was adamant the pair are still married however and said they had been for 17 years, referring to any other marriage he may have as 'bigamous'. MailOnline has contacted both Mr and Mrs Gundry for comment. Meanwhile authorities in the Seychelles, where the couple are said to have married on July 28, 2014 have been asked to check that this ceremony was legal. Ceremonies on the islands are recognised in Britain, but couples who have been married before are obliged to present their divorce certificates before being allowed to tie the knot. Couples are also required to stay in the Seychelles for three days before the ceremony. A spokesman for the Seychelles Department of Immigration and Civil Status told MailOnline he would be looking into whether he could find a record of the wedding. Mr Gundry had appeared on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway over the weekend, appearing as a guest at the wedding of Sam Blackburn and Michelle Brooker, which aired as part of the entertainment show. However, Helen Gundry had then posted a message to the programme's Facebook page which read: 'I loved the wedding and the surprised guests. 'I didn't love the sight of my husband who's supposed to be working in Dubai arriving on the arm of another woman, a woman he's supposed to have split from last year.' She was not at her home in Warrington on Sunday, or today, but a man at the house told the Daily Star: 'We don't want to talk about it. It's complicated.' An ITV spokesman said: 'I have spoken to Daniel and he has actually been married to his current wife for two years and separated from Helen for six.' Helen Gundry, pictured, said she 'loved the wedding and surprised guests', but didn't love the sight of her husband who was 'supposed to be working in Dubai arriving on the arm of another woman' The surprise wedding on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway turned sour after one viewer claimed her husband was one of the guests when he was supposed to be on a work trip in Dubai Bride Michelle Brooker, left, told her guests, including Mr Gundry, ringed right, that they were going to her 30th birthday party before revealing it was a televised wedding Ms Brooker pictured undergoing hair and make-up backstage before the soon-to-be controversial wedding Sam Blackburn and Michelle Brooker were the couple to tie the knot live on television, surprising their guests who thought they were on the way to Ms Brooker's 30th birthday party Guests at the wedding had been told they were on the way to Ms Brooker's 30th birthday party, only to find themselves walking onto a live television show where she and her partner were actually getting married. Mr Gundry, wearing a grey waistcoat and glasses, was spotted dancing with a blonde woman in a black dress. He was referred to by the bride Michelle as her 'brother', while the woman in black was named as Sue and referred to as the bride's sister, with one of them related by marriage. The guests are shown shocked after arriving on the set of Saturday Night Takeaway, believing they on the wy to a birthday party instead There are 'strong indications' that a kidnapped Indian Catholic priest is still alive despite fears he had been crucified by his ISIS-linked captors on Good Friday, it has emerged. Father Thomas Uzhunnalil was taken by Islamist gunmen who attacked an old people's home in Aden, southern Yemen, killing at least 15 people, on March 4. The Archbishop of Vienna Christoph Schonborn had claimed that the 56-year-old had been murdered after reports emerged that the terrorists had threatened to crucify their hostage. But he has since retracted his statement and there are now hopes that Father Thomas is still alive. Indian Catholic priest Father Tom Uzhunnalil was kidnapped by ISIS gunmen in Yemen three weeks ago - but there are fresh hopes he is still alive It was reported last week that several religious groups had received threats that Father Thomas would be crucified on Good Friday, but this was denied by his church in hometown of Bangalore. However, Schonborn reportedly told a congregation gathered in St. Stephen's Cathedral in the Austrian capital that the priest had been crucified on Good Friday. It is understood that he made the announcement on the basis of incorrect information from Archbishop Moras in Bangalore. Bishop Paul Hinder of Southern Arabia, a region in Saudi Arabia, told the Catholic News Agency that he has 'strong indications that Fr. Tom is still alive in the hands of the kidnappers.' 'Cardinal Schonborn has already corrected his statement which he had made on the basis of the wrong statement of Archbishop Moras in Bangalore.' A spokesperson for the cardinal yesterday admitted that while he did say that the priest had been crucified, he had no confirmation of Father Thomas' fate. 'The cardinal based his statements on news published on Arabic language web sites. The validity of this information has, however, not been confirmed,' said Arhdiocese Vienna's head of media relations, Michael Pruller. Yemeni pro-government fighters gather outside an elderly care home in the southern city of Aden after it was attacked by ISIS-linked gunmen on March 4 'The cardinal doesn't himself have any sources that have confirmed the death of Father Tom. 'Thus, for the time being, there's still basis for hope that Father Tom is alive,' said Mr Pruller. Yemeni authorities have blamed ISIS for the March 4 attack on the refuge for the elderly operated by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in main southern city Aden. Four gunmen posing as relatives of one of the guests at the home burst inside, killing four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard. 'According to our information, the extremists who attacked the elderly care home in Aden have kidnapped priest Tom Uzhunnalil, a 56-year-old Indian, who was taken to an unknown location,' a Yemeni security official said. 'We are aware that no group has yet claimed the criminal attack... but information points to the involvement of Daesh,' said the source, who asked to remain anonymous, using an Arabic acronym for IS. However, members of Father Tom's order have denied that he is due to be crucified, saying they have no information on his health or whereabouts. We have absolutely no information on Fr Tom,' Father Mathew Valarkot, spokesman for the Salesians' Bangalore province, told UCANews. South African nuns called the Franciscan Sisters of Siessen were one of several groups who claimed they had been told Father Tom would be crucified on Good Friday 'But even today we do not know who has taken him and what their motives are because no one has claimed responsibility.' The Vatican's Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said earlier this month that Pope Francis 'was shocked and profoundly saddened' to learn of 'this act of senseless and diabolical violence.' Aden had been racked by lawlessness since Hadi supporters, backed by Gulf Arab military forces, drove fighters from Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi group from the city in July last year. The Yemeni government has repeatedly vowed to restore security to the city but so far had had little success. Al-Qaeda and IS have stepped up attacks in Aden, targeting mainly loyalists and members of a Saudi-led coalition battling Huthi rebels and their allies since March last year. Al-Qaeda distanced itself from the mass shooting Friday, saying it was not responsible. Imani Cezanne, who claims she was kicked off an American Airlines flight because she was wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, pictured A female passenger has claimed she was kicked off an American Airlines plane because the flight attendant felt threatened of the Black Lives Matter shirt she was wearing. Imani Cezanne was travelling from Charlotte to Atlanta on Friday when she says she was escorted from the aircraft just because she is black. The poet and activist posted her ordeal on her Twitter page and said it started when the passenger seated next to her in the exit row had to be moved because they did not speak English. Cezanne posted: 'After boarding my flight I sit in an exit row. The couple across the aisle from me does not speak English. 'They are removed from their seats because "If you don't speak English you can't sit in an exit row." I ask why. 'Flight Attendant says that if she is unable to explain procedure, she must seat someone else in the exit row. Understood. 'While speaking with the woman next to me about my concerns I was *interrupted* by FA and asked "Are you going to be a problem?" 'Why would she ask me that? Is that an appropriate way to speak to a customer who is calmly having a conversation with someone?' Cezanne claims that the flight attendant then stormed off and returned with a manager who wanted her to be escorted from the plane. She added: 'The manager comes to escort me off of the plane. I ask why. She says "because my flight attendant feels threatened." 'Nothing about my voice, tone, body language communicated threatening. Other than, of course, this Black body. Cezanne posted her ordeal on Twitter claiming she had never experienced such as racism as when she was escorted from the aircraft 'This is how you can literally be walking away from an officer and be shot dead. Because he felt threatened.' She also posted a picture of the shirt she was wearing with the caption: 'What I was wearing when I was unnecessarily ejected from my flight because the FA felt "threatened." Coincidence?' The poet also claimed that she was then escorted from the aircraft by two armed officers and says she 'never believed so strongly that I could die at any moment.' She also says that she is planning to contact her lawyers and may consider action against American Airlines. She added: 'Who knows a lawyer? Specifically one that is well versed in racism/discrimination. American Airlines bout to cash this Black girl out.' A spokesman for American Airlines said they were now working with Cezanne to resolve the issue. He said: 'An unruly passenger was removed from American Eagle Flight 5192, operated by PSA Airlines, from Charlotte to Atlanta due to failure to comply with crew member instructions. Kirk Nibbs saved photos of his mother Judith, 60 (pictured), with other men in a folder labelled 'Mum Slut' before she was decapitated with a kitchen knife by her partner of 30 years Dempsey Nibbs, 69, The son of a woman decapitated by her husband told how he saved pictures of her with other men in a folder labelled 'Mum Slut'. Kirk Nibbs, 30, said they began to grow apart after mother Judith Nibbs, 60, took a job with Meals on Wheels at Hackney Council. Following a row where his mother allegedly claimed she had 'had sex eight times' with other men, Kirk's father Dempsey Nibbs, 69, cut his wife's head off with a kitchen knife and flushed the remains down the toilet of their north London home. Kirk said he and his father first grew suspicious after Ms Nibbs returned from a holiday in Morocco in April 2013. Mr Nibbs, who works nights in a Hammersmith shop, explained his dad had moved out of the marital bedroom in February 2014 as the relationship got worse. 'It got to the point where my mum and dad split up so she went to Preston to see her sister,' he said. 'My dad had suspicions my mum didn't go to Preston. My dad thought she was seeing someone else. 'I knew my mum's been seeing a few blokes. At the end of the day, she's an adult, but my dad's got a right to know. 'I just went on her laptop, had a look and yeah there were a few surprising photos.' He continued: 'When I saw them I thought 'oh my gosh, how could my mum actually do this,' that's what shocked me and my dad.' Mr Nibbs explained how he downloaded the images onto a pen drive entitled 'Mum Slut'. 'It was just a reaction,' he said. I didn't mean it intentionally.' 'Both of us panicked, we didn't know what to do.' He said his dad was very 'hurt' by the discovery and was shocked even more when Ms Nibbs revealed she had sex eight times with other men. 'It just got to the stage my dad didn't know what to do and my mum kept attacking him, provoking him.' Mr Nibbs alledgedly broke her skull into pieces and flushed the remains down the toilet after she boasted of having sex with 'eight men' Mr Nibbs said his parents had agreed to sell their property and go their separate ways with his father dreaming of retirement in Antigua. But before he went to work on Thursday April 10 his dad handed him a piece of paper with the phone number of Nibbs' sister in Antigua and told him to ring her after his night shift. The last words his mother said to him were to remind him to shut the gate. A day later on April 11 his father cut off his mother's head, broke her skull into pieces and flushed the remains down the toilet. The mother-of-two Judith may have still been alive when her partner of 30 years decapitated her with a kitchen knife, jurors heard. He then took to the Meals on Wheels workers severed head with a mallet and a metal bar before disposing of the pieces in the toilet in the flat they shared in Hoxton. Nibbs admitted he killed her but claimed he acted in self-defence. He said he thought Mrs Nibbs 'was a snake and that he needed to cut her head off' The Balfour Beatty worker called police and turned the knife on himself but was stopped from committing suicide by brave officers despite Nibbs wielding a shotgun. Prosecutor Crispin Aylett, QC, said: Quite why the defendant decapitated Judith and then disposed of her head is not entirely clear but it may well be that he did it out of pure hatred at the sight of his wifes face. Nibbs admits killing Ms Nibs on the night between 9 and 12 April 2014 but claims he acted in self-defence during a struggle. He later claimed he was out of his mind believing Ms Nibbs - who he shares two children called Kirk and Lauren with - was a snake and that he needed to cut her head off. But there was no evidence Nibbs was suffering from mental illness although he was in poor physical health after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, the Old Bailey heard. He entered the dock on crutches wearing a dark beanie-style hat and green prison-issue tracksuit. Mr Aylett told jurors: This, I am sorry to say, is a case that is as terrible as it is tragic. By early 2014, the couples relationship had soured and Nibbs was suspicious his common law wife was seeing someone else. Nibbs had moved into the spare room and an undercurrent of violence emerged as the relationship fell apart, it was said. Ms Nibbs, who took Nibbs' name despite never marrying, told her sister Nibbs had threatened to kill her and grabbed her by the throat, jurors heard. During a row on 7 April Ms Nibbs told her partner she had been seeing other men and taunted him saying: I have had sex eight times. Jurors were told that before she left work at the Hackney Council-run meal delivery service the following day, Ms Nibbs said: If Im not in Friday, I might be dead. In the event, Judith had every reason to fear for her safety. She did not turn up for work, where her colleagues describes her as a loud, happy, joyful person, after Nibbs attacked her on the night of 10 April. What might otherwise have been a family tragedy now becomes terrible, Mr Aylett told jurors. You will, I am afraid, have to brace yourselves. Having attacked his wife, the defendant then took up a kitchen knife and cut off her head. The post mortem revealed she may have been still alive, although probably unconscious, when she was decapitated. Despite Nibbs claiming he was out of his mind, there was no evidence that he was suffering from mental illness although he was in poor physical health after being diagnosed with prostate cancer (pictured detectives called to the blood-spattered property in Hoxton, London) Nor does the horror end there, the prosecutor continued. Having decapitated his wife, the defendant began to break her head into pieces with a mallet and a metal bar. He then flushed the pieces down the lavatory. The court heard Nibbs intended to kill himself and wrote a suicide note addressed to his son, Kirk, 30. He told police they would find a couple of dead bodies but was surprised when emergency services arrived minutes later. The police officer bent down and looked through the letter box. In the hallway, he could see the decapitated body of Judith Nibbs, said the prosecutor. The policeman kicked the door in and, once inside, he found the defendant in the bathroom. The defendant had a shotgun in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other. When the defendant saw the officer, he started stabbing himself with the knife. Acting with remarkable bravery, the officer took hold of the shotgun and threw it out of the defendants reach. Nibbs was rushed to hospital where it was found he had stabbed himself once in the throat and twice in the abdomen. He was operated on but remained in hospital for a whole year. Nibbs, of flat 2, Vince Court, Charles Square Estate, Shoreditch, east London, denies murder and obstructing the coroner by disposing of her decapitated head. The trial continues. A parrot has flown onto the shoulder of a television reporter moments before a live cross from a courthouse, prompting the reporter to shriek and a viewer to claim it was her runaway pet. Nine News reporter Brittney Kleyn was preparing for a live cross from Southport Courthouse in Queenslands Gold Coast on Tuesday when a bird latched onto her dress. Video of the incident emerged online, where a viewer claimed it was her 18-month-old Sun Conure named Lola which had flown away from home the night prior. Scroll down for video Nine News reporter Brittney Kleyn was preparing for a live cross from Southport Courthouse in Queenslands Gold Coast on Tuesday when a bird flew onto her shoulder and latched onto her dress Ms Kleyn was going through her notes with a microphone in hand when the colourful bird landed on her shoulder and latched onto her dress, prompting the reporter to squeal. A cameraman went to her aid and took the bird away on his hand. What if that happened in the middle of a cross? Ms Kleyn said. Both reporter and bird were unharmed in the incident on Tuesday, according to Nine News. When video was posted to Facebook later that evening, local woman Michelle Mills wrote in the comment section that it was her pet bird. OMG THATS MY BIRD!!! SHE FLEW AWAY LAST NIGHT!! HER NAME IS LOLA PLEASE CALL ME,' Ms Mills wrote alongside her phone number. OMG THATS MY BIRD!!! SHE FLEW AWAY LAST NIGHT!! HER NAME IS LOLA PLEASE CALL ME,' Melissa Mills wrote alongside her phone number Ms Mills had posted to Lost Pet Finders earlier that day alongside an image of her bird Lola in the hopes of being reunited with the Sun Conure, a parrot native to north-eastern South America She had posted to Lost Pet Finders earlier that day alongside an image of her bird in the hopes of being reunited with the Sun Conure, a parrot native to north-eastern South America. When other viewers wished Lola a speedy return home, the local wrote that shed been a mess and thanked them for their support. She described the red, yellow and green Sun Conure as very tame and hand raised. Ms Mills said she had done a letterbox drop to over 100 homes in the area, and that many had phoned her upon seeing Lola on the news. She then went down to the courthouse, about three kilometres from her home, and found no sign of the bird on the streets. A cameraman went to her aid and took the bird away on his hand. What if that happened in the middle of a cross? Ms Kleyn said She then went into a nearby police station, where she was informed Lola had been with the cameraman. 'So she's been in lock up,' Ms Mills told Daily Mail Australia, jokingly. The bird wanted your job Brittney, one person laughed on Twitter (Ms Kleyn pictured) She said the police had given the cameraman the contact details of local wildlife sanctuaries and pounds. Ms Mills is yet to have Lola returned to her, but expects to be reunited with the Sun Conure on Wednesday. She said it was 'unexpected' seeing her bird on the news. 'I was being a bit crazy during the day, saying: "Show me where you are, Lola. Give me a visual image of where you are and Ill come and save you." And next thing shes on news,' Ms Mills told Daily Mail Australia. 'That was a bit bizarre.' She said she has a similar haircut to Ms Kleyn, the Nine News reporter, and believes Lola had been looking to fly on her shoulder. Other viewers shared their amusement on social media at the footage. The bird wanted your job Brittney, one person laughed on Twitter. Both reporter and bird were reportedly unharmed in the incident (pictured) on Tuesday Ms Kleyn reporting outside Southport Courthouse on Tuesday sans Lola, the runaway bird Hard-left teachers want Britain to leave the European Union because it does not let in enough migrants and is not socialist enough. Radical factions of the National Union of Teachers said the EU was guilty of murderous racism by refusing entry to brothers and sisters from the rest of the world. They said that refugees and migrants should be welcome in Britain but the outer border imposed by Europe denied access to those without the right passports. Scroll down for video Members of the National Union of Teachers (pictured voting on a motion in Brighton) want Britain to leave the European Union because it does not let in enough migrants and is not socialist enough And they declared that the union was nothing but a bosses club intent on mass-privatisation which will erode workers rights. Activists made angry speeches in favour leaving the EU this morning, although their motion was later watered down by moderates who said the union should not take an official position on Brexit. JEREMY CORBYN BECOMES FIRST PARTY LEADER TO ADDRESS NUT CONFERENCE IN LIVING MEMORY Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) addressed the National Union of Teachers conference last week Labour's Jeremy Corbyn took to the stage as guest speaker on Friday - the first political party leader to do so in living memory - to condemn the 'costly and unwanted' academisation at a time of 'grotesque poverty'. Responding to the Department for Education's white paper on the school reforms, the NUT's members were told: 'Government decisions and mismanagement is creating a crisis in education, involving the worst teacher shortages in living memory, insufficient school places, severe funding shortfalls and curriculum and assessment reforms that threaten to turn schools into exam factories. 'Conference wants the public to question why - instead of addressing these real and urgent emergencies - the Government plans to embark on a hugely expensive and unnecessary top-down reorganisation of state education in England.' Advertisement Speaking at the NUT annual conference in Brighton yesterday, Jonathan Reddiford, representative for North Somerset, said many migrants had died unnecessarily trying get into the EU. He added: Fortress Europe was established to keep people out of the EU once the free movement of labour was established within the EU. This is the wrong approach. We should be opening our borders and welcoming refugees from the consequences of British and American foreign policy. That is not something that will come easy, but it will be a little bit easier with a no vote than a yes vote. He also said that the EU was there to enforce austerity and claimed it had imposed draconian measures over Greece. Seconding the motion, teacher Ian Muller from Islington added: We should reject their fortress Europe, and call on all European states to open their borders. Syrians and Poles, refugees and economic migrants, youre welcome here. He said the EU was no friend of working people and a bosses club that has enforced austerity across Europe. The motion said: Vicious racism is built into the foundations of the European Union with free movement within the EU for those with the right passports being built on murderous racism towards our brothers and sisters from the rest of the world. Any changes the government negotiates with the EU will bring more privatisation, marketisation and racism. A vote to stay in will strengthen the governments racist and austerity agenda. It warned that members should under no circumstances do any joint work with forces which espouse any form of racism. And it said the NUT should form a campaign to say no to the European Union as an alternative to those who are motivated only by reactionary Little England chauvinism. However, moderates in the union said members had voiced opposition to the motion, and that some of them were Ukip and Tory voters who disagreed with the rhetoric. They said the union should not adopt a position on Brexit and that it was inappropriate to tell members how to vote. Instead, the union voted to simply oppose all forms of racism and attacks on migrants and to campaign in favour of refugees and migrants being welcome in Britain. The amended motion read: There has not been extensive discussion on this issue with members and activists at any level. As a consequence Conference believes that it would be both inappropriate and potentially divisive to take a position on the European Referendum. Four students at Britains most prestigious agricultural university have appeared in court over accusations of raping a woman at their May summer ball. Above, Thady Duff (left) and Patrick Foster (right), who both face charges Four students at Britains most prestigious agricultural university have appeared in court over accusations of raping a woman at their May summer ball. Thady Duff, Leo Mahon, Patrick Foster and James Martin, who are students at the Royal Agricultural University in the Cotswolds, allegedly assaulted the woman in May 2014. They today appeared at Gloucester Crown Court having denied all charges against them. A trial is due to start tomorrow. The jury were warned by the judge the trial would include video footage of some of the alleged attack. Judge Jamie Tabor told them: 'This case concerns sexual activity at a Ball night at the Royal Agricultural College, or University as it is now. 'Some of that was filmed. There are going to be what we would call adult pornographic material, very short in length, but nevertheless adult pornographic material to be watched.' One woman on the jury panel asked to be excused. She was allowed to leave the jury box and another woman from the panel took her place. Duff, 22, from Swindon, Wiltshire, faces three counts of rape while 23-year-old Mahon, from Cirencester, Gloucester, is charged with the same plus two counts of assault by penetration. Foster, 22, from Colchester, Essex, faces one count of rape and two of assault by penetration and 20-year-old Martin, of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, is charged with one count of rape. Duff is also accused of a further sexual assault involving the same woman, which allegedly took place in October 2013. The Royal Agricultural University is known as the 'Oxbridge of the Countryside' and the sons and daughters of many of Britain's biggest landowners are among its 1,200 students. James Martin (left) and Leo Mahan (right), who are students at the Royal Agricultural University in the Cotswolds, allegedly assaulted the woman along with Duff and Foster in May 2014 Duff (left), 22, from Swindon, Wiltshire, faces three counts of rape while Foster (right), 22, from Colchester, Essex, faces one count of rape and two of assault by penetration They today appeared at Gloucester Crown Court having denied all charges against them. A trial is due to start tomorrow. Above, the Agricultural University The patron is Prince Charles and one of its former students is Captain Mark Phillips, former husband of Princess Anne. It became a University in 2013 having previously been the Royal Agricultural College since it was founded in 1845. It was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. Former students also include political commentator Jonathan Dimbleby, the late champion horse trainer Sir Henry Cecil and racehorse trainers Nicky Henderson and Andrew Balding, who is the brother of TV and radio presenter Clare. Susan Brown, 65, (pictured) was pulled from the water off the coast of Madeira shortly after midnight on Sunday with severe hypothermia after more than four hours swimming a third of a mile out to sea This is the British holidaymaker rescued from the Atlantic after apparently trying to swim to a cruise liner while carrying her handbag. Susan Brown, 65, was pulled from the ice-cold waters off the coast of Madeira shortly after midnight on Sunday with severe hypothermia after more than four hours swimming a third of a mile out to sea. She told rescuers she jumped into the water from beside the Portuguese island's airport believing her husband Michael had got back on board the Marco Polo cruise ship after both had disembarked earlier in the day following a blazing row. The pair cut short a 32 day tour with only four days left, booking easyJet flights to get them back to Bristol on Saturday evening after arriving on Madeira from the West Indies. After losing sight of her husband some time before boarding the jet home, Mrs Brown is said to have become convinced he had returned to the vessel. When the ship then passed the airport's coastal runway, she is reported to have taken to the water to make chase. Gripping her handbag, Mrs Brown made it more than 1,600ft before struggling. Her life was eventually saved by passing fishermen who heard her panicked screams for help shortly after midnight. It today emerged that Mrs Brown was singing at a local church shortly before the bizarre incident. She was pictured at an Easter mass with a candle in her hand during a service near the spot where she was rescued by fishermen just after midnight on Saturday. A fellow worshipper said she joined in the singing at Sao Pedro Church overlooking the Atlantic and celebrated Holy Eucharist. Details of the moments leading up to the drama of Mrs Brown's sea rescue emerged as her husband Michael, 69, remained holed up at the couple's home at Shaftesbury, Dorset, after flying back home from Madeira alone. They parted company after cutting their cruise short when their ship Marco Polo docked in the island capital Funchal on Saturday morning on its way back to Bristol. Mrs Brown (circled) was pictured at an Easter mass with a candle in her hand during a service near the spot where she was later rescued by fishermen just after midnight on Saturday - but it suggests she was not in the water as long as originally thought A British holidaymaker has been rescued from the Atlantic after apparently trying to swim to her cruise liner when it left port without her. Susan Brown, 65, was pulled from the ice-cold waters with severe hypothermia after four hours swimming 1,600ft out to sea in the hope of making it to her ship, the Marco Polo (pictured) They took a taxi to the airport together before Mrs Brown jumped in the Atlantic in what she told police officers after her rescue was a desperate bid to swim to the ship because she mistakenly believed her husband had returned to the vessel. A church worshipper who asked not to be named told local paper Diario de Noticias the British tourist had turned heads by arriving at the small whitewashed church usually frequented only by locals around 7.45pm on Saturday for a 90-minute service which started at 8pm. She is said to have been spotted on a seawalk in front of the church at 10pm, more than an hour after she was initially believed to have jumped into the sea and the Marco Polo left port for Lisbon. The worshipper said: 'She actively celebrated Holy Eucharist which started at 8pm and didn't leave the church till 9.45pm. 'She attended mass, sang and spent some time afterwards at the chapel. 'During a brief conversation she had with a fellow churchgoer, she said she was staying on the Marco Polo.' Mrs Brown, a regular churchgoer in her home town, is still being cared for at a women's psychiatric centre in Funchal after being transferred late on Monday from a city hospital where she was treated for hypothermia on Saturday. Police said they had yet to receive permission from doctors to quiz her. Brothers Leonardo and Carlos Correia and fellow fisherman Marildo Freitas yesterday claimed that they were the ones who had rescued Mrs Brown and said she was just half an hour from death when they pulled her from the chilly water. 'I just saw her pale white face bobbing in the water,' Marildo told MailOnline. 'She was barely conscious she's lucky to be alive I don't think she would have lasted another 30 minutes.' Mrs Brown is thought to have jumped into the water from beside Madeira Airport after believing her husband Michael - with whom she had argued - had got back on board when she lost sight of him. She did not make it to the vessel and was rescued four hours later 'At first we thought she had fallen from the cruise ship.' 'She just said thank god, oh thank god when we found her she was so cold she could hardly say anything, we just wrapped her up and phoned for help.' 'It was very scary seeing this white face bobbing above the water it reminded me of the film Titanic at the end where people were drowning.' The three men said her small handbag probably saved her life as it had filled with air and acted as a buoyancy aid. According to Marildo, she was lucky that the sea was calm and that she was able to be seen thanks to the full moon. While authorities have not confirmed where Mrs Brown is thought to have jumped into the water, locals believe she entered the water very near the airport where rocky steps lead down to the sea. Funchal port captain Felix Marques told local press Mrs Brown had been a passenger on board the Marco Polo. He earlier explained how she was rescued 500 metres from the coast and that the only version of accounts anyone had as yet was from Mrs Brown herself. Mrs Brown is believed to have tried to swim to the Marco Polo boat after reaching to the water from these steps, just next to Santa Cruz airport Marildo Freitas (left) and fellow fishermen brothers Carlos (middle) and Leonardo (right) Correia claim they were the ones that pulled Mrs Brown from the water Speaking yesterday, Captain Marques said: 'The only version of Saturday night's events we have so far is that of the woman who was rescued from the sea. 'She said at the hospital when she arrived that she and her husband had cut short their trip after arriving in Madeira on Saturday and had gone to the airport to buy two plane tickets to fly back to the UK with easyJet that same day. 'But she's said she lost contact with her husband at some point while at the airport and jumped in the sea to try to reach the ship after seeing it in the distance as it left port because she assumed he had changed his mind and was back on board.' Interpreting today's revelations, he added: 'I am aware of the reports about her attending a church mass and it knocks down the version of events she told my officers on Saturday about wanting to swim to the ship because she thought her husband had changed his mind about flying back to Britain and had taken a taxi back to the vessel. 'To be honest it makes no sense and it could be related to the fact she was very confused at the time. 'The Marco Polo crossed the area where she threw herself into the sea at 8.30pm which coincided with the moment she's said to have been in church. The fishermen said the avid churchgoer was just 30 minutes from death after swimming for hours Mrs Brown was on her way to the airport to fly home before she allegedly changed her mind and began to swi 'The ship would have been out of sight by the time the service finished, and much more so at 10pm when she was seen on the promenade in front of the sea. 'We haven't been able to speak to her again yet because we haven't got doctors' permission to do so and so we haven't been able to check the reports first-hand with her. 'But if they are true then it means she wouldn't have been in the water as long as we initially thought.' Captain Marques said he has spoken with the captain of the Marco Polo who insisted he had no evidence of any rows or fights between Mr and Mrs Brown. The couple had been on the ship for four weeks before disembarking at the weekend. Local reports initially suggested the couple decided to call the trip short with only four days to go after becoming embroiled in an argument. Portuguese police confirmed yesterday that Mr Brown had returned to Britain alone on Saturday night. There was no response at the couple's 300,000 home in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, when visited by MailOnline today. A church acquaintance of Mrs Brown - who has no children - this afternoon described her as 'very friendly, nice' lady. The 65-year-old is believed to have jumped into the water from beside Madeira Airport after believing her husband Michael - with whom she had argued - had got back on board despite when she lost sight of him. The boat had set off from the island's capital Funchal moments earlier Sue Mercer, a 65-year-old retired animal carer, explained that the pensioner is part of a group in the local church known as 'Jenny's ladies' - a reference to Jenny Jones, the wife of the retired church pastor. She said: 'Mrs Brown is just a normal, nice lady. She does a lot of work with the church, she is very generous. 'She must meet lots of people through the church - she is a very friendly person. I don't know her too well, I'm not friends with her but we are acquaintances.' Mrs Mercer added: 'I knew she had gone away for a long cruise but it sounds like she is just very lucky to be alive.' It is thought that Mr Brown had previously suffered from ill-health which Mrs Brown had helped nurse him through. It is not yet known if he now plans on returning to the island to visit his wife. Officers are thought to be planning to interview Mrs Brown to try to glean more details of Saturday night's bizarre incident. When she reached the airport the tourist saw the ship passing and threw herself into the sea with the aim of reaching the vessel The Marco Polo docked in Madeira on Saturday morning around 10am from Barbados and left the island around 8pm the same day. By that point, the couple are both believed to have been at the local airport 20 miles east along the coast, but not together. Newspaper Correio da Manha on Monday reported: 'Annoyed with her husband, a British tourist aged 65 abandoned the cruise liner Marco Polo in Funchal port with the intention of flying home. 'But when she was at the airport she saw the ship on the horizon, had second thoughts and threw herself into the water to try to return to the ship. 'She was rescued from the water four hours later suffering hypothermia.' A worker at Nelio Mendonca Hospital, where the 65-year-old was taken, said yesterday: 'Mrs Brown is not really in a position to speak at the moment.' A well-place island source said: 'The authorities have only Mrs Brown's word to go on at the moment but she was in a bad state physically and emotionally when she was rescued on Saturday and her actions may turn out to have been a cry for help rather than a real attempt to swim to her cruise ship.' Workers at the psychiatric centre where the rescued British tourist is being cared for refused to comment, although an insider there said her husband had not been in touch. The Marco Polo docked in Madeira on Saturday morning around 10am from Barbados and left the island around 8pm the same day. Mrs Brown is said to have entered the water shortly after 8pm and was rescued at around midnight Authorities are waiting to speak to Mrs Brown, who is recovering in hospital before being flown back to the UK The Marco Polo cruise liner is on its way to Bristol today. In official statement, operators Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) said: 'Following their request, CMV assisted with Mr and Mrs Brown's flight arrangements to the UK and taxi transfer from the ship to Madeira's airport. 'Having departed Funchal, CMV was subsequently notified by their local port agent that Mrs Brown had been rescued at sea. CMV has been informed by local authorities that Mrs Brown's condition is stable. 'On receiving this news CMV was naturally most concerned as it understood that the couple had flown back together to the UK. 'Mr Brown was contacted immediately by CMV who offered assistance and attempted to gain some insight into what had transpired following Mr and Mrs Brown's disembarkation. 'CMV also liaised with the Foreign Office who, after recuperation in a Funchal hospital, will be making arrangements for her repatriation.' Says she is proud to have disclosed it and never thought she would feel this way The protagonist of her novel Luckiest Girl Alive has a similar past Describes going to a party and being abused by three boys before she was 'old enough to drive' Jessica Knoll, who is now in her thirties, talks about her ordeal in Lena Dunham's newsletter published on Tuesday Jessica Knoll (left) wrote about being gang-raped by three boys at a party when she was a teenager Best-selling author Jessica Knoll has revealed she was gang-raped by three boys when she was a teenager. She wrote about the ordeal in an emotional essay published in Lena Dunham's newsletter, Lenny Letter, on Tuesday. Knoll, who is now in her thirties, said she and the protagonist of her novel Luckiest Girl Alive, Ani, share a similar past. The book, which came out in May and has since been optioned by Reese Witherspoon, talks about TifAni FaNelli (Ani), a 28-year-old magazine writer who remains haunted after being gang-raped while a freshman in high school. Knoll, a former editor at Cosmopolitan who was also 28 when she wrote the book, hinted at her past in the book's dedication. It reads: 'To all the TifAni FaNellis of the world, I know.' Knoll revealed on Tuesday that Ani's fate was not 'inspiration' but had in fact derived from her own past. In her essay, titled Why I'm Telling The Truth About My Rape, Knoll recalled being raped by three boys at a party, before she was 'old enough to drive'. She said she liked one of them, whom she called A Boy in the essay. 'I know that I went to a party at which the ratio of guys to girls was not in my favor, where I drank, flirted with A Boy, was dazzled by A Boy, drank some more, and slipped away from the waking world,' Knoll wrote. 'I know I came to on the floor of a bedroom, A Different Boys head between my legs. I remember A Different Boy from a flare of coherence earlier, trying to help me walk when my anesthetized legs failed me.' She then described waking up in pain later on and seeing A Boy's shoulders 'rising and falling' above her in an 'excruciating rhythm'. Knoll (pictured with her husband), who is now in her thirties and has been married for three years, said she once wanted to reinvent herself. But now, she believes the way to heal is to tell the truth about what happened Knoll said she woke up the next morning and saw a bare back, which belonged to a third boy, whom she didn't like. 'He laughed about how hungover he was, how crazy the party had been, how the reason I couldnt find my underwear was because it was downstairs,' she wrote. She described going to get the morning-after pill and being called 'a slut' by classmates. Knoll confronted A Boy about her rape once but later apologized to him out of fear the boys would go after her again. 'I apologized to my rapist for calling him a rapist. What a thing to live with,' she wrote. After keeping her rape a secret for years, Knoll said on Twitter she was proud of having broken her silence and never thought she would feel this way She said she went into survivor mode and waited until the end of high school to reinvent herself. But Knoll, who has been married for three years, now believes the way to heal is to tell the truth about what happened to her. She had previously disclosed the truth to only one reader, the day she pitched her Lenny Letter essay. A woman approached Knoll at a book signing in New Jersey, asking if Knoll had interviewed a rape victim as her account of the even felt so real. Knoll told her something similar to Ani's experience had happened to her. Dunham, who has written about being raped as a college student in her 2014 memoir Not That Kinda Girl, said in Tuesday's newsletter: ''I take tremendous comfort in imagining an alternate universe in which 20-year-old me reads this essay, is able to identify herself as a victim of sexual assault, and saves herself years of self-laceration.' Dozens of readers praised her essay on Twitter on Tuesday morning, calling it brave, important and breathtaking. Knoll told one of them: 'I feel proud to talk about this which I never thought I would say.' A sectarian Facebook page which is against the peace-loving Islamic sect of Asad Shah posted a headline about his death with the message 'Congratulations to all Muslims'. The Anti Qadianiat (Tahafuz Khatme Nubuwwat) group posted the comment along with a screenshot of a news story in the aftermath of the 40-year-old's stabbing in Glasgow. Mr Shah was stabbed to death in his shop in what is feared to have been a sectarian attack against the peace-loving branch of Islam he followed. The Anti Qadianiat (Tahafuz Khatme Nubuwwat) group posted the comment along with a screenshot of a news story in the aftermath of the 40-year-old's stabbing in Glasgow It is claimed Mr Shah was set upon because he belonged to the Ahmadiyya community, which promotes peace and tolerance but has been persecuted by members of orthodox Islamic sects in Pakistan Hours before his murder, he had written on Facebook: 'Good Friday and very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation' Hours before his murder, he had written on Facebook: 'Good Friday and very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation.' It is claimed Mr Shah was set upon because he belonged to the Ahmadiyya community, which promotes peace and tolerance but has been persecuted by members of orthodox Islamic sects in Pakistan. His murder is believed to be the first major anti-Ahmadi incident in the UK, and has sparked fears Islamic sectarianism has spread to Britain. The closed Facebook group, which appears to celebrate Mr Shah's death, is strongly against his sect of Islam. The social media page has more than 13,000 members and incites sectarian hatred. The term 'Qadiani' is a derogatory religious slur at Ahmadi Muslims. The Ahmadiyya community preaches 'love for all, hatred for none'. But its members are despised as non-Muslim blasphemers by some in the Islamic world. Police on Minard Road, Shawlands, Glasgow, investigating the death of popular shop keeper Asad Shah Dozens of floral tributes were laid at the police cordon blocking off the street, and a fundraising page set up on the GoFundMe website in support of his family had raised almost 90,000 The Tahaffuz Khatme Nubuwwat movement is a community section which believes Ahmadis are blasphemers. It was born in Pakistan and says it aims to unite Muslims around the world. However, its failure to tolerate other religions and non-believers has seen violent attacks on other Islamic sects and Christians. In November 2014 the group targeted Mr Shah in two videos which described him as a 'false prophet'. The Khatme Nubuwwat Channel put the films on video hosting site Daily Motion. The group titled one of the films 'Asad Shah False Prophet part 1'. And it titled the other 'Asad Shah False Prophet part 2'. Mr Shah's death shocked members of the local community who came together for vigils at the weekend. Police arrested a 32-year-old Muslim man over the alleged murder of Mr Shah. He appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court today. Pictured is his prison van arriving at court today Police arrested a 32-year-old Muslim man, from Bradford, over the alleged murder of Mr Shah. Tanveer Ahmed is accused of killing Mr Shah outside his convenience store on Thursday night. Ahmed made no plea or declaration at the brief hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody pending a further court appearance. Dozens of floral tributes were laid at the police cordon blocking off the street, and a fundraising page set up on the GoFundMe website in support of his family had raised almost 90,000. Mr Shah's shop regulars described him as a 'pillar of the community' and a 'wonderful man'. He had posted a Facebook message on Thursday wishing all Christians a happy Easter. A 25-year-old woman is raising money through crowd funding to take legal action against the man she says drugged, abducted and raped her while she was holidaying overseas. Airdre Mattner, from Adelaide, who works as an English teacher in Japan, joined a pub crawl in Seoul, South Korea, on September 25 with the hope of meeting new people when she says she was abducted and taken to a hotel room in the middle of nowhere and assaulted. Ms Mattner said when she woke up her money was gone and her clothes and belongings were strewn across the room, but she managed to get to a police station and report the crime with the help of a friend and her hostel manager. Airdre Mattner, (pictured) a 25-year-old English teacher from Adelaide, is raising money to take legal action against the man she says drugged, abducted and raped her while she was holidaying in South Korea Ms Mattner joined a pub crawl in Seoul, South Korea, (pictured) with the hope of meeting new people when she said she was abducted and taken to a hotel room in the middle of nowhere and assaulted After numerous painful exams at a hospital and hours of 'insulting' questioning by police, Ms Mattner said she found out the Korean police records had been 'falsified' and the investigation went nowhere. Devastated and frustrated, Ms Mattner said she and her family then decided to pursue legal action in London where she says her accused attacker lives and set up a GoFundMe account explaining her story. In just two weeks, more than $11,000 has been raised on the crowd funding site enough to help Ms Mattner, her mother and a witness who says she was harassed by the same man to fly to Korea and pick up evidence. 'My mother and I will then need to fly to London to meet with lawyers there and begin the long and expensive process of taking legal action,' she said on the site, adding that since the attack she has found out that her accused attacker works for the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom. 'The prevalence of incidents like this, especially involving foreign tourists in Seoul, is sickening. It is horrifying how easy it is to fall victim to men like this who specialise in preying on women in such a calculated and targeted manner,' she said. After numerous painful exams at a hospital and hours of 'insulting' questioning by police, Ms Mattner said she found out the Korean police records had been 'falsified' and the investigation went nowhere Devastated and frustrated, Ms Mattner said she and her family then decided to pursue legal action in London where her accused attacker lives and set up a GoFundMe account telling her story Ms Mattner had initially travelled to Seoul with her boyfriend and a friend but had decided to stay on for a couple more days by herself and explore the city something she had done often when travelling alone overseas. When she returned to Japan the day after her assault, Ms Mattner said she became depressed. 'For the next few months, I locked myself in my room back at my apartment in Japan and used all my sick leave. Eventually I went back to work,' she said. Ms Mattner had initially travelled to Seoul (pictured) with her boyfriend and a friend but had decided to stay on for a couple more days by herself and explore the city 'I have survived on a cocktail of anti-depressants, anxiety medication, sleeping tablets and thankfully, the love and support of those around me.' 'It has now been nearly 6 months. I am still on medication and still have trouble sleeping, with ongoing nightmares and panic attacks.' Filming for the revamped Top Gear suffered a fresh blow this weekend when the presenters and crew were left stranded in Moscow after a row between Russian airline Aeroflot and Kazakhstan. New presenters Eddie Jordan, Sabine Schmitz and Rory Reid were forced to return to London without any filming taking place after they arrived in Moscow on Saturday, but found they were unable to travel any further. It is thought they were joined by around 40 crew members, with the hold-up estimated to have cost around 500,000. The rebooted show's most high-profile presenters, Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc were not involved in the shoot. Top Gear hosts Eddie Jordan (second from right, next to The Stig), Rory Reid (left) and Sabine Schmitz (second from left) were stranded in Moscow en route to Kazakhstan after flights were cancelled at the last minute. Also pictured are Matt Le Blanc, Chris Evans and Chris Harris (centre, left to right) Filming has been re-scheduled for later in the Spring, and the BBC is looking to recoup the cost of the failed expedition from the airline and insurers. A source told MailOnline: 'It was supposed to have been a massive shoot with several of the presenters going out there. It had been planned for weeks with around 40 or 50 crew, most of them freelance. 'But when they got to Moscow they couldn't go any further.' Problems arose when Aeroflot, Russia's flag-carrying airline, suspended all flights to Kazakhstan on Saturday - when the Top Gear crew were arriving in Moscow before making their onward journey. Local media reported that this Mercedes G500 44 G-Wagen, thought to have been due to be used on the programme, arrived in the Kazakh city of Almaty prior to March 15 In a statement, the airline said the 'forced' cancellations were due to Kazakh authorities not approving documents relating to Aeroflot's summer schedule. Flights were resumed on Sunday, after the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry for Investments and Development granted Aeroflot permission to fly into the country. It costs around 450 per person to fly from London to the Kazakhstani capital Astana, via Moscow. However, it is estimated the failed trip would have cost around 500,000 in total, including hiring the freelance crew members - including camera operatives, fixers, and production crew, flying them out to Kazakhstan and providing their accommodation once there, as well as other associated production costs. A BBC spokesman said she could not comment on the cost of the trip, but confirmed that the broadcaster would be looking to get the money back. 'Through no fault of the Top Gear team, the airline carrying them was not permitted to fly from Moscow to Kazakhstan and so they returned to London,' she said. 'They intend to visit Kazakhstan in the future to shoot the planned film there. Jordan and Schmitz were joined by Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans for filming in Venice, Italy, last week Earlier this month, Evans and the BBC apologised after LeBlanc and stunt driver Ken Block performed wheel spins near the Cenotaph in Westminster (pictured), provoking outrage among the public 'The BBC will be looking to recoup the cost of the flights.' According to a source close to production, a first group of around 30 people travelled to Moscow, Russia, on Saturday but were held up once they got through passport control. A second party of around 20 people also encountered similar issues. A spokesman from the Kazakh embassy in London told MailOnline that the BBC had asked him not to comment on the issues faced by Top Gear. 'I can't tell you anything about it,' he said. 'They told me not to tell anyone.' It was announced last month, around the time that the new hosting panel were confirmed, that Top Gear would be filming in Kazakhstan for a road trip section of the show. Evans and LeBlanc have already filmed a similar segment at the 'Top Gun' base in Nevada and last week were shooting scenes in Venice, Italy, alongside racing driver Schmitz and F1 pundit Jordan, while the former Friends star has also visited South Africa for the show. Local media reported that a Mercedes G500 44 G-Wagen, thought to have been due to be used on the programme, arrived in the Kazakh city of Almaty prior to March 15. The BBC is yet to confirm if this car is being used on the series. The rebooted series is due to air on the BBC in May, with YouTube star Chris Harris also joining the presenting team, but has already been beset with problems and controversy. Lisa Clark, appointed the show's executive producer, left filming after five months - with Evans reported to be the reason. Script editor Tom Ford left a short time later before controller Kate Shillinglaw, in charge of putting the new Top Gear on the air, quit her job in January this year. Earlier this month, Evans and the BBC apologised after LeBlanc and stunt driver Ken Block performed wheel spins near the Cenotaph in Westminster, provoking outrage among the public. A double murderer with a history of extreme violence has been on the run from police after cutting off his ankle bracelet as a fugitive taskforce is well underway. Detectives are appealing for public assistance to locate convicted murderer John Wallace Lindrea, who was last seen in Warrnambool on the south-western coast of Victoria on Good Friday. Victoria Police believe Lindrea may be in the company of his 46-year-old de facto partner Sally Roach and are travelling in a white 2011 Hyundai iX35 wagon with registration YTK 659. Scroll down for video Police are appealing for public assistance to locate convicted murderer John Wallace Lindrea (left) who may be in the company of his 46-year-old de facto partner Sally Roach (right) Police believe the pair may be travelling in a white 2011 Hyundai iX35 wagon with registration YTK 659 (stock image of a similar vehicle) Along with his double murder and prison escape convictions, the 54-year-old has also been convicted for burglaries and thefts. 'He is a threat to the community purely by the convictions that he has and his propensity for violence,' Detective Superintendent Peter De Santo told reporters on Tuesday. The Adult Parole Board ordered Lindrea be released on February 17, but revoked his parole on March 24, just one day before he disappeared. Lindrea once tried to escape Barwon Prison with armed robber Christopher Dean 'Badness' Binse when they cut their way out of their cells, but he was recaptured inside the prison grounds. He had been serving a 20-year minimum jail term over the 1993 murders of Kaelene McDonald and Andrew Johns after gate crashing a party at a property (pictured) in Kinglake, 46 kilometres north-east of Melbourne Lindrea once tried to escape Barwon Prison with armed robber Christopher Dean 'Badness' Binse when they cut their way out of their cells (pictured), but he was recaptured inside the prison grounds Along with his double murder and prison escape convictions, the 54-year-old has also been convicted for burglaries and thefts He had been serving a 20-year minimum jail term over the 1993 murders of Kaelene McDonald and Andrew Johns after gate crashing a party in Kinglake, about 46 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. Det Supt De Santo could not reveal why Lindrea's parole had been revoked, but did say his tracking device was no longer working. 'We believe the ankle bracelet has been cut,' he said. Lindrea is travelling with his de facto partner but police said they weren't interested in Ms Roach. 'Sally, if you're with him, could you notify police where you are so we can get Mr Lindrea back into custody as soon as possible,' Det Supt De Santo said. Lindrea was required to live at an address in Warrnambool between 10pm and 6am, and police believe he is still in western Victoria. 'I'd ask members of the public, if they sight these people, do not approach them, but call police on 000,' Det Supt De Santo said. Proudly wearing his uniform beside his pregnant wife, this is the heroic Russian Rambo who bravely called an airstrike on himself to destroy ISIS terrorists who surrounded him. Trapped behind enemy lines, surrounded by jihadists and with no possible means of escape, Alexander Prokhorenko, 25, took the decision to end his own life by calling in Russian warplanes to obliterate his location. The special forces soldier, on a secret mission in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, has since been hailed as a hero in his native Russia. His wife Ekaterina, who is pregnant with their first child, today revealed she had no idea he was fighting in Syria. Scroll down for video Heroic: Alexander Prokhorenko (left, with his wife Ekaterina) was surrounded by ISIS fighters near the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra when he ordered an airstrike on himself Freedom: His death came just days after Syrian soldiers entered the destroyed city of Palmyra (pictured) It is believed President Vladimir Putin will personally present his his family with a posthumous Hero of Russia award, the country's highest honour. When he left home for his final mission two months ago, Ekaterina believed he was going to serve in Russia's Caucasus region, not an ISIS stronghold where he was identifying targets for bombing raids. Alexander said he felt like 'the happiest man in the world' when the two wed 18 months ago, according to one account. 'His voice trembled as he said that everything he wished for was coming to him,' according to one account. 'He wanted to serve in the army and became a military, he wanted to have the best wife in the world, and there she was for him.' Having dreamed of a military career, Prokhorenko enlisted in the Military Academy of Air Defence of the Armed Forces of Russian Federation immediately after leaving school. His two brothers were also in the Russian military and he is believed to have served in the special forces, although Moscow is yet to confirm this. ISIS media claimed last week that five Russian special forces officers had been killed near Palmyra, sharing images and videos of a body. Torn apart: Prokhorenko (left) said he felt like 'the happiest man in the world' when he and Ekaterina (right) wed 18 months ago Family: Ekaterina (pictured with Prokhorenko on their wedding day) is pregnant with their first child but does not know if it is a boy or girl Brave: Prokhorenko (left), 25, a lieutenant in the Russian special forces, has been hailed as a hero ever since Left behind: But his wife Ekaterina (right) believed he was still serving in the Russian Caucasus, not deep inside ISIS territory Dangerous: Prokhorenko (pictured) was deep inside ISIS territory identifying 'crucial ISIS targets' and passing the coordinates for strikes to the Russian air force Entry: ISIS media claimed last week that five Russian special forces officers had been killed near Palmyra (pictured, a Syrian soldier in the ancient city) Victory: Syrian soldiers (pictured) rest at a neighbourhood in the historical city of Palmyra which was recently liberated from ISIS control But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied at the time that Russian officers were participating in the advance on Palmyra, which has been under ISIS control since May 2015. Moscows defence ministry said Russian aircraft carried out 146 strikes on terrorist targets in the Palmyra area between Wednesday and last Sunday. The officer was carrying out a combat task in Palmyra area for a week, identifying crucial IS targets and passing exact coordinates for strikes with Russian planes Russian military spokesman It comes just days after Syrian troops entered Palmyra, with photographs emerging of Bashar al-Assad's forces within the ancient city itself. Following Prokhorenko's death, a Russian military spokesman said: 'An officer of Russian special operations forces was killed near Palmyra while carrying out a special task to direct Russian airstrikes at Islamic State group targets. 'The officer was carrying out a combat task in Palmyra area for a week, identifying crucial IS targets and passing exact coordinates for strikes with Russian planes. 'The officer died as a hero, he drew fire onto himself after being located and surrounded by terrorists.' Natalia Meshkova, head teacher of Gorodki secondary school from which he graduated in 2007, said: 'The entire village is in mourning. Revered: His two brothers were also in the Russian military and Prokhorenko (pictured) is believed to have served in the special forces Attack: A Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Russian officers were participating in the advance on Palmyra, claiming the advance was carried out by the Syrian army (pictured, Syrian soldiers near Palmyra) Barbarity: A Syrian soldier inspects a damaged statue in Palmyra, which has been systematically taken apart by ISIS thugs since they occupied the city since May 2015 Destroyed: Moscows defence ministry said Russian aircraft carried out 146 strikes on terrorist targets in the Palmyra area (pictured, the historic city) between Wednesday and last Sunday 'No one really knew where Sasha [Alexander] was serving. There were rumours that he was in the secret troops. 'He graduated from school with a silver medal. But in military academy he won a gold medal. He was the pride of his parents.' His former teacher, Pyotr Rusinov, said: 'He was a very hard-working pupil. We will never be able to accept that he's no longer with us. The military says he'll be given Hero of Russia.' immigrant who has lived in the United States for 30 years But some of Zawada's passengers have accused him of anti-S Uber has fired the driver who filmed a University of Michigan student calling him a 'minimum wage f*****', following claims he made anti-Semitic remarks to other passengers. Artur Zawada, 50, was let go by the company after he recorded Jake Croman, a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter mocking him because he had to work during a shocking confrontation near the Ann Arbor campus on March 20. The former student at the $45,000-a-year Columbia Prep school in New York launched into a foul-mouthed tirade after the driver turned down their fare - prompting the university and police to investigate. But Zawada, a Polish immigrant who has been in the United States for 30 years, has been dropped by Uber as a result. When the video of his clash with Croman was posted on YouTube, some users commented that they had suffered anti-Semitic insults at the hands of Zawada and had stopped using him as a driver as a result. But he strongly denied the claims in an interview with the Michigan Review, and insists he has no idea why he was fired. He told the student newspaper: 'They do whatever they want. No call, no email, no legal doc. Im losing money everyday, and I did nothing wrong. 'Its depressing and frustrating. I want them to take a lie detector test. Its unfair because they have the resources.' He added that he has Jewish friends, one of which is a professor at the University of Michigan. 'Dont strip me of my dignity. Im not above you, and Im not below you. My job is to take you form point A to point B,' he added. Croman, whose father is millionaire New York landlord Steven Croman, accused Zawada of anti-Semtism in his response to the shocking video. In the footage, the vitriolic student, tells him: They [Uber] don't give a s*** about you. They don't give two f****. There are fifty of you, and there is one of me, who spends the most money, you little f***. The rider then called the driver a 'little f***** f***' and a 'little piece of s***'. He then says 'You're an Uber driver, go f***ing drive you little f***. Minimum wage faggot. Go f*** yourself.' As he walks away, he turns to the driver again and says 'While you're working all day, guess what? I'm going to sit on my a** and watch TV. F*** you.' Zawada told The Michigan Tab that he knew the customer from previous trips, and had told him he couldn't ride with him again after several bad experiences. He said: 'I pulled in I didn't even say anything to the guy, and that happened. So I pulled out my cell phone and recorded him. He should just have cancelled before I came over. 'They were looking for trouble. They were hoping I would lose my cool.' Zawada, who is from Poland but has lived in the United States for 30 years, says it is the worst treatment he has experienced. But since the video surfaced, Croman has released a different version of events. He told the student newspaper that the video 'shows one side of an argument I had with an Uber driver'. He says the driver made an anti-Semitic remarks and 'refused to pick me up on the basis of my religion'. Artur Zawada, 50, was let go by the company after he recorded Jake Croman, a member of the University of Michigan's Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter, calling him a 'minimum wage f****' and mocking him because he had to work during a shocking confrontation near the Ann Arbor campus on March 20 He added: 'I am not proud of my reaction to his discrimination and I regret my choice of words. Shortly after the verbal altercation, I filed a complaint with the Ann Arbor police department and they are now dealing with the issue A university spokesperson told The Tab: 'We have seen the video. Our dean of students has talked with both the Uber driver and the students. 'We are extremely disappointed in the behavior depicted in this video. No one should be treated with such disrespect.' A spokesman for the national body of Croman's fraternity told Daily Mail Online: 'Tau Kappa Epsilon has begun our investigation into the video which allegedly contains one of our members. We are extremely disappointed by the individual's demeaning words. 'As an organization founded on the personal worth and character of the individual, our members come from a wide range of diverse backgrounds of race, creed, and orientation. 'At the conclusion of our swift, thorough investigation, we will handle the situation with appropriate action. Depending on the details of the investigation, this could include the expulsion of membership.' All of his social media accounts have been taken down. His father Steven Croman, is one of the most notorious names in New York real estate. According to the New York Daily News hes been under investigation since 2014 for allegedly using illegal tactics to cast out residents from some of the rent-stabilized Manhattan properties owned by his company, 9300 Realty. There is a group dedicated to campaigning against him: Croman Tenants' Alliance. Daily Mail Online have contacted Uber for comment. The former student at the $45,000-a-year Columbia Prep school in New York launches into a foul-mouthed tirade after the driver turned down their fare. Police and the university are now looking into what happened Since the video surfaced, Croman has released a different version of events. He told the student newspaper that the video 'shows one side of an argument I had with an Uber driver'. He says the driver made an anti-Semitic remarks and 'refused to pick me up on the basis of my religion' Advertisement These eerie pictures show the abandoned homes, rusting fairground attractions and overgrown infrastructure among the ruins of a Ukrainian community less than two miles from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Images include dolls fitted with gas masks lying among the rusting beds of a nursery in the town of Pripyat near Ukraine's northern border with Belarus. Others show stray cats and dogs wandering around the empty Soviet-era town next to buildings that have been almost completely taken over by trees and undergrowth over the last 30 years. They also show radioactive warning signs, abandoned tower blocks and a crumbling amusement park with dodgems and a Ferris wheel creaking in the wind. Once a bustling home to 50,000 residents, the town was built less than two miles from the countrys first nuclear power plant to house scientists and workers serving the plant, and security troops. Tragedy struck on April 26 1986, as one of the reactors deep inside the Chernobyl power plant went into meltdown, sparking the worlds worst nuclear disaster and sending radioactive particles into the air. It wasn't until the next day that the government realised the extent of the disaster, and ordered an evacuation of citizens. Despite the stark, barren sights, tourists are flocking in increasing numbers to the Ukrainian disaster site, although the zone is still classed as uninhabitable. Eerie: Images include toys fitted with children's gas masks discarded among the rusting beds of a nursery in the town of Pripyat near Ukraine's northern border with Belarus Abandoned: A cross with a crucifix is seen in the deserted town of Pripyat near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine yesterday Creepy: Two bumper cars lie face to face in the rusting remains of an amusement park in the abandoned town of Pripyat near Chernobyl Overgrown: Photographers gained access to the town and captured images of houses lost among a tangle of branches and weeds Other pictures show stray cats and dogs wandering around the empty Soviet-era town next to buildings that have been almost completely taken over by trees and undergrowth over the last 30 years Warning: Red and yellow signs are still in place in and around the empty town which is under two miles from the hernobyl nuclear power plant Discarded: Tragedy struck on April 26 1986, as one of the reactors deep inside the Chernobyl power plant went into meltdown, sparking the worlds worst nuclear disaster and sending radioactive particles into the air Chilling: A plastic doll lies abandoned on a rusting bed, 30 years after the town was evacuated following the Chernobyl disaster Buildings can be seen today nearly exactly as they were left during the emergency evacuation, with many possessions such as pianos and toys lying discarded Running wild: Pictures show radioactive warning signs, abandoned tower blocks and a crumbling amusement park Road to nowhere: Once a bustling home to 50,000 residents, the town was built less than two miles from the countrys first nuclear power plant to house scientists and workers serving the plant, and security troops Echoes from the past: A Ferris Wheel is seen in the abandoned city of Pripyat near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine Crumbling: The amusement park was left to rust after the town was abandoned in the wake of the catastrophic nuclear melt down in 1986 Former glory: The coat of arms of the former Soviet Union is seen on the roof of a Soviet-era housing complex in the heart of the empty community Ruins: The inside of one of the many abandoned houses now becoming increasingly hidden in the undergrowth growing up around the town Concealed: Despite the stark, barren sights, tourists are flocking in increasing numbers to the Ukrainian disaster site, although the zone is still classed as uninhabitable A child's cot lies abandoned in a house in the abandoned town. Many items were simply left behind as people fled from the area Shattered: Windows are smashed and trees and plants growing up around many of the abandoned homes around Zalesye near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Tumble-down: A house is seen in the abandoned village of Zalesye near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine In decline: The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the town of Pripya Huge tower blocks built for those working at the Chernobyl plant remain abandoned in the Soviet-era town of Pripyat The coat of arms of the former Soviet Union is seen on the roof of a block of flats behind trees and other abandoned buildings Left to the elements: An amusement park in the abandoned town is still in place, but its attractions are lying in ruins Items of clothing, toys, furniture and other household items were simply abandoned as thousands fled from the town 30 years ago The 'Brother Roosters' were donated to the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine after another rooster and a hen died of natural causes Caso has been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty and reckless endangerment After shooting the roosters three times, a witness asked her why she did it and she replied 'they woke me up', court documents showed A Pennsylvania woman shot and killed a coal mine's two roosters because their crowing woke her up, police said. Ashland police have charged 21-year-old Jenna Caso with shooting the birds, which had been donated to the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and who kept the coal miners company. The 'Brother Roosters' were donated after another rooster called 'Big Red' and a hen named 'Anne-thracite' died of natural causes. Scroll down for video Jenna Caso, 21, of Pennsylvania shot and killed a coal mine's two roosters (pictured) earlier this month because their crowing woke her up, police said Ashland police have Caso with shooting the birds, which had been donated to the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine (pictured), and kept the coal miners company Tony Loftus works at the Pioneer Tunnel, a tourist attraction, and told WNEP-TV the birds followed him around, kept the workers company and crowed when the sun came up. 'Normally when I come in the morning to fire up the steam locomotive. The roosters would be crowing when the sun comes up. I know I will probably miss that,' Loftus told the station. But police said Caso did not like being awakened by the roosters and shot them on March 17. Police said Caso was sleeping when she heard the roosters crowing just after 6am before shooting them three times. After she shot the roosters, a witness ran up and yelled to her 'Why did you do that?' which she replied, 'They woke me up,' before going back into her home, according to court documents. Police said Caso did not like being awakened by the roosters and shot them on March 17. Police said she had was sleeping in this home when she heard the roosters crowing just after 6am and shot them three times The 'Brother Roosters' were donated after another rooster called 'Big Red' and a hen named 'Anne-thracite' died of natural causes (Big Red and Anne-thracite pictured above) One resident in the area called Caso's actions 'extreme' while another resident described the roosters as 'friendly,' 'farm animals that never bothered anybody,' according to WNEP. Police also noted that they had never received a complaint about the roosters from anyone in Ashland, including Caso. Caso has since been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty and reckless endangerment. Online court records do not list an attorney for Caso, who faces a preliminary hearing May 4. The mine is about 50 miles northeast of Harrisburg. Tony Loftus Ipictured) works at the mine said the birds followed him around, kept the workers company and crowed when the sun came up Russian police have launched a full-scale search for an American postgraduate student who has vanished in a mountainous area of Siberia. Colin Madsen, 25, left a guesthouse in Arshan, in the Buddhist region of Buryatia, in the early hours of Sunday morning, and has not been seen since. Police are using a helicopter to search for the missing US citizen from Jefferson City, Missouri, who is currently studying at Irkutsk State Linguistic University. He left the guesthouse between 2am and 5am, without a coat, despite subzero temperatures, according to a police statement, reported The Siberian Times. Colin Madsen, 25, left a guesthouse in Arshan, in the Buddhist region of Buryatia, in the early hours of Sunday morning, and has not been seen since. He is described as 5'6" tall, of slim build, with blue eyes and brown hair Police are using a helicopter to search for the missing US citizen from Jefferson City, Missouri, who is currently studying at Irkutsk State Linguistic University. He left the guesthouse without a coat, police say Friend Vlad Rasputin, from Irkutsk, wrote on his social media account: 'I'm going to Arshan right now, and will help in the search. 'At the moment no-one can clearly explain what happened. 'We have called the US Embassy in Moscow and they told us that they are taking measures.' Another friend, Elena Fuks, said: 'Today they should be searching for him with a helicopter.' The student's mother, Cale Madsen, is flying to Russia to help the search for her missing son, she said. He is believed to have been staying at Arshan, a tourist resort which also has a prominent Buddhist temple, with Russian friends. 'Police officers are searching for a 25-year-old man, who went out of a guest house in Arshan village on 27 March, between 2 am and 5 am and has not yet returned,' said a statement from Buryatian police. He is believed to have been staying at Arshan (pictured), a tourist resort which also has a prominent Buddhist temple, with Russian friends. He was dressed in sand-coloured trousers, a T-shirt, and wore grey hiking boots Temperatures in the region are around 9C during the day, but dip below freezing at night He is described as being 5'6" tall, of slim build, with blue eyes and brown hair. He was dressed in sand-coloured trousers, a T-shirt, and wore grey hiking boots. 'If you have information on the whereabouts of the missing man please notify us,' said a statement. Temperatures in the region are around 9C during the day, but dip below freezing at night. Arshan, at an altitude of 2,950 feet, is famous for its hot springs and waterfalls. The daughter of a High Court judge who convicted the Maori Kings son for drink driving has been caught behind the wheel at more than three times the legal alcohol limit. Amy Woolford, 22, was pulled over by police on Great South Road in Greenlane, south-east Auckland, two weeks ago, NZ Herald reported. The eldest daughter of Justice Mark Woolford was breathalysed at more than three times the legal driving limit, with a reading of 817 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath while the limit is 250. Amy Woolford, 22, daughter of a High Court judge who convicted the Maori Kings son for the same offence has been caught drink driving at more than three times the limit Maori King Tuheitia (stock image from November 2015) She was fined $800 and received a six-months driving ban, the mandatory minimum, when she plead guilty before Auckland District Court last week. Justice Woolford has sat in the High Court at Auckland since 2010, where he overturned the Maori Kings son discharge without conviction for drink driving in December 2014. I am not satisfied that a conviction for drink driving would meaningfully decrease his chances of becoming the next Maori King, or have any other consequence out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence, Justice Woolford said of Korotangi Paki, son of King Tuheitia. A drink driving conviction is a black mark, but not an irredeemable one. However, Justice Woolford ruled Mr Pakis discharge without conviction on three burglary and theft charges would remain, TVNZ reported at the time. A dog tag identifying an American serviceman killed in Japan during World War II has been returned to his surviving family in South Texas nearly 71 years after his death. Pfc. Thomas E Davis received one of the nation's highest military honors after surviving the bloody battle on Saipan before he was killed a year later during an even bloodier battle on the island of Okinawa in 1945. His dog tag was discovered on a farm on the Pacific island of Saipan in 2014. Members of a Japanese nonprofit that searches Pacific islands for the remains of missing soldiers delivered the tag to Davis' relatives on Monday in Victoria, Texas, The Victoria Advocate reported. Hazel Priest kisses the dog tag of her late brother, Pfc. Thomas E. Davis, an American serviceman killed in Japan during World War II. The dog tag was returned to Davis' family on Monday in Victoria, Texas Davis' nephew, Thomas Davis, looks over the dog tag of his late uncle. The tag was returned to the family by representatives of the Japanese nonprofit Kuentai-USA Davis, of Roachdale, Indiana, served with the Army's 27th Division, a former New York National Guard unit, and was killed on the island of Okinawa in 1945. The dog tag was discovered on the Pacific island of Saipan in 2014 During the emotional gathering, Davis' half-sister, 81-year-old Hazel Priest, was seen surrounded by relatives as she took the ring-sized box containing the dog tag in her hands and began weeping. She thanked Japanese visitors Usan Kurata and Yukari Akatsuka for making the long journey and showed them her brother's photo. Local veterans also gathered at the Texas home during the delivery of the dog tag, where family members shared stories of Davis and also their shock of being notified about the tag. A nephew, also named Thomas Davis, said receiving the tag is bittersweet and expressed surprise that it is still legible after all of these years. 'We do mourn his death. But after all this time, he's brought us back together,' he told the Advocate. Pfc. Davis, of Roachdale, Indiana, served with the Army's 27th Division, a former New York National Guard unit. Cultural historian Genevieve Cabrera found the discolored metal tag sticking out of the soil of a farm field on Saipan in early 2014. It was embossed with Davis' name, serial number, hometown and other information. During the gathering which saw local veterans and Davis' family member come together, Priest thanked Japanese visitors Usan Kurata and Yukari Akatsuka for making the long journey and showed them her brother's photo In June 1944, Davis earned the Silver Star, one of the nation's highest military honors after surviving the bloody battle on Saipan. He risked his own life to rescue a wounded comrade in Saipan The dog tag pictured above. Nephew Thomas Davis said receiving the tag is bittersweet. He said: 'We do mourn his death. But after all this time, he's brought us back together' Cabrera gave the tag to members of Kuentai, the Japan-based organization that has found the remains of five 27th Division soldiers on Saipan. The organization started helping to identify American casualties three years. The group notified the Associated Press last month and his family members were found with the help of Anthony Barger, an archivist for the Putnam County Public Library in Indiana. While it is relatively common to find canteens, weapons and even unexploded shells from the 100,000 Americans and Japanese who fought for 25 days on the 46-square-mile island, dog tags remain a rare find, Cabrera previously said. The tags, attached to a chain worn around the neck, were the only item of military-issued gear a soldier wore daily that included potentially life-saving information such as blood type and when a tetanus shot was administered. In June 1944, Davis earned the Silver Star, one of the nation's highest military honors, after surviving the bloody battle on Saipan. He risked his own life to rescue a wounded comrade in Saipan 'at a time when the American front was undergoing brutal Japanese artillery and mortar fire.' It is believed his dog tag came off during the battle on Saipan. A year later, Davis was serving in the 165th Infantry Regiment of the 27th Infantry Division when it took part in the Okinawa invasion on April 1, 1945. Cultural historian Genevieve Cabrera found the tag sticking out in this field in Saipan in early 2014, where Davis saved a wounded American soldier. He was awarded for a Silver Star for his act of courage Three weeks later, he was shot by a Japanese sniper while he was helping another wounded soldier, according to what his half-sister Dorothy Hollingsworth said military officials told the family. Davis died on April 30, two months shy of his 28th birthday. Four years later, his body was brought back for reburial in his hometown. Davis was born and raised on his family's farm in Roachdale in Putnam County, 30 miles west of Indianapolis. His mother died when he was a young boy, and his father remarried. Davis had six siblings: an older brother, Harold, three half brothers and two half sisters, including Priest. More tender meat is said to make men more virile, meaning the abuse is an integral part of the slaughter and served with lychees - with the torture said to make dog meat more tender When celebrity restaurateurs Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd were first shown harrowing videos and photos of helpless dogs being burnt, boiled and having their legs hacked off while still alive they were so upset they couldn't sleep for days. The disturbing images, captured at the annual Yulin dog meat festival, where 10,000 dogs are tortured, slaughtered and eaten each year in Guangxi, southern China, moved the couple to tears. The torture is an integral part of the preparation of the dog meat. Incensed by what they had seen, Lisa and Ken were compelled to act and have since dedicated their every spare moment to campaigning against what they call a 'heinous and barbaric' festival. And today they launch the Vanderpump Dog Foundation, which they hope will improve the lives of abused and mistreated dogs at home and abroad. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Determined: Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd have eight dogs, who have helped motivate them to set up a foundation dedicated to ending the torture of animals before slaughter in Yulin, southern China Motivated: 'A few months ago somebody sent me pictures of the festival on social media and I just couldn't believe it,' Lisa Vanderpump tells Daily Mail Online. 'I thought if we turned away we're almost condoning it' Tortured: Before they are killed the animals are abused in the belief that their adrenaline makes the meat more tender. They are then sold for meat during the festival, which marks the summer solstice Massive trade: In total 10,000 dogs are estimated to die at the Yulin dog meat festival each year. Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd want to end it completely Organizing: Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd organized this march last October and are now stepping up their efforts to save the Yulin dogs from torture and slaughter Speaking out: Lisa Vanderpump at a march when she and husband Ken Todd last year organized against the Yulin dog meat festival In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online, Lisa and Ken talk about the launch and reveal their plans to put a stop to the Yulin festival while calling on the American public to lend their support. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa, 55, says: 'A few months ago somebody sent me pictures of the festival on social media and I just couldn't believe it. I've had so many sleepless nights over it. 'They were just so barbaric, it was so upsetting. I thought if we turned away we're almost condoning it. 'So we decided we wanted to get involved. We've done everything - PSAs, banners, t-shirts, a website - and we organized a Yulin march. 'Ken felt equally passionate about it. It's just such an awful annual event. They are man's best friend and I just want to do something about it.' The couple explained that the dogs are cruelly abused during the festival as many locals believe that eating a tortured dog will improve a man's sexual prowess. Ken, 68, says: 'We saw some pictures at first and that was enough to keep us awake at night. 'Then one of these guys ventured over there and took videos secretly of these dogs being tortured. 'It was so horrific what they were doing to these dogs under the pretext of saying it makes the meat more tender when they cook it and eat it, it gives them sexual power.' Lisa adds: 'They believe it increases the virility of a man if he eats the dog that's been tortured. 'They believe that the torture stimulates the adrenaline which then tenderizes the meat - it's the most barbaric thing. 'It's so upsetting we shed so many tears over it. On the frontline: Ken Todd takes part in a march last October against the Yulin dog meat festival. He and wife Lisa Vanderpump are determined to do everything in their power to end the festival Activism: The Vanderpumps hope that popular opposition to Yulin in the U.S. can lead to action against it in China. They are to lobby governor Jerry Brown about the dog meat trade too 'I want to do something about it. I want it on my epitaph that I was instrumental in stopping this heinous annual event.' Vanderpump Rules star Lisa organized a successful march against the festival through Los Angeles to the Chinese Consulate last October. She also drafted in celebrity friend Sharon Osbourne to film a moving public service announcement to raise awareness of the festival. Lisa and Ken, originally from England, say the Vanderpump Dog Foundation aims to 'provide for a more humane world for companion animals through both domestic and international campaigns.' The couple is hoping the foundation will have an impact on global legislation, education and the overall treatment of animals. Speaking from their Beverly Hills mansion surrounded by their eight dogs, Ken says: 'Our aim is to stop the dog torture in China and anywhere else. 'First of all we're going to set up a dog rescue center in West Hollywood for any dogs that are mistreated, abused or left and we're also trying to set up a rescue center in Yulin, China so we can rescue dogs from the festival and then feed them, nurture them and place them in homes. That's our aim.' Lisa says the foundation's primary aim is to stop the this year's Yulin Dog Festival which is due to take place in June. 'The most important thing right now is to draw attention to the Yulin festival,' she says. 'It's going to be again happening on June 21st and that's something I just can't live with. 'I can't live with the fact that these dogs are treated this way they break their legs to fit them in cages they pile them up in nets, they travel for days, they're taking people's pets, they're skinning them alive. It's just barbaric. 'I can't change a culture. I can't change a country if they believe they want to eat man's best friend. 'But I can try and stop this festival. It's about the torture of these dogs, which is absolutely one of the most upsetting things I've ever seen.' Lisa also plans to raise the issue with the UN and is separately campaigning against the dog and cat meat trade in California's sister state Guangdong. Inhumane: Dogs await slaughter at the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. Their treatment is said to enhance the meat's alleged ability to improve male sexual performance Forced into cages: Distressed dogs are held in a makeshift cage at the Dashichang dog market in Yulin during last year's festival. They can be sold from this market as either pets or for slaughter Horrifying: Butchers cut up dogs at a market especially for the sale of the animals' meat. Some of them were domestic pets before being killed Local delicacy: The Yulin festival takes places in Guanxi, while neighboring Guangdong province is the biggest consumer of dog meat in China. The Vanderpumps want governor Jerry Brown to help them end dog eating She plans to meet California governor Jerry Brown to raise the issue with him. California signed a sister state relationship with the Chinese province of Guangdong in 2014, to encourage trade and cultural ties. And the governor may have his work cut out when he meets determined Lisa, according to her husband. Ken tells: 'We don't even think the governor realizes that our sister state in California, Guandong, is the biggest dog-eating state in the world. 'We want to bring that to his attention and we want him to do something about it. He doesn't realizes he's dealing with Lisa he's got some trouble coming his way.' Lisa and Ken are ardent dog-lovers and have eight of their own. But they are keen to point out they are not animal activists just dog-lovers enraged by the torture and mistreatment of man's best friend. Mother-of-two Lisa says: 'We're absolutely passionate about our dogs - they are like our children. 'We just kind of accumulated them - we started off with two or three and then we adopted. 'I think after having been a judge at the hero dog awards for the last few years I have an even greater respect for man's best friend. 'I really do believe they have an empathy for us and I just think we should be as empathetic to their needs as they are to ours. 'We're seeing dogs now that predict cancer, predict seizures, arson dogs, CSI dogs, post traumatic stress syndrome dogs. 'They are just incredible creatures and I think most people understand that. 'If you're a dog lover you really realize how wonderfully sensitive they are to our needs and I think we should be sensitive to theirs.' She adds: 'I am not an animal activist, I eat meat, I serve meat in our restaurants. It's about the torture of the dogs - that's what I find absolutely so upsetting.' The couple are now calling on the public to visit their stopyulinforever.org website and sign a petition against the festival. 'If people go to stopyulinforever.org - what we need is signatures,' Lisa says. 'We need people to sign up and this is a country of real dog lovers the same as England and I think if people just give us two minutes of their time to support that maybe we can make a difference.' Turns out it's not just Megyn Kelly who gets bombarded with sexist, degrading messages from viewers. In a show of solidarity, a group of female reporters in Chicago decided to read out the mean tweets and letters they had received from people after their colleague, WGN news anchor Marcella Raymond, was sent an awful note about her weight. 'Please allow me to point out (with great respect) that you have gained too much weight,' the unsigned letter said. 'Being heavier than you probably want to be does present a message to the viewer: this person is not able to discipline herself in a visual medium. It interferes with your real message when reporting.' 'I cannot bear to watch Dina Bair; I saw her and thought you were having auditions for Wicked': Dina Blair recalls the nastiest thing a viewer had sent her 'You stupid, blonde sorority chick,' someone once said to Randi Belisomo, whose mother 'must have been in a sorority too because she can't even spell your first name correctly' 'Think before you open your mouth; your comment made me sick,' said the note received by Lourdes Duarte One viewer told Robin Baumgarten: 'Keep shoving food down that pie-hole of yours, it shuts up that annoying donkey braying noise you make when you talk.' Lourdes Duarte, the co-anchor of WGN Morning News, received a particularly awful message that said: 'Think before you open your mouth; your comment made me sick, as it should any thinking human being.' Similiar to Kelly, reporter Randi Belisomo was called a bimbo. 'You stupid, blonde sorority chick,' someone once said to Randi Belisomo, whose mother 'must have been in a sorority too because she can't even spell your first name correctly.' 'Keep shoving food down your pie-hole': Robin Baumgarten, a three-time Emmy winner who co-anchors the WGN Morning News, has also been attacked for her weight Presenter Dina Bair said the meanest message she had even seen referred to her as a witch. 'The meanest person who ever emailed me said, 'I cannot bear to watch Dina Bair; I saw her and thought you were having auditions for Wicked.' Blair recalled. Additionally, Amy Rutledge was accused of looking like Chewbacca, but that didn't seem to bother her. 'I love Chewbacca!' she said. It wasn't just the women who were heaped with such criticism however. One viewer wrote to Paul Konrad: 'Paul, you are a stupid (expletive). You should do Chicagoland a favor and jump off the Willis Tower and land on (Tom) Skilling. Go (expletive) yourself. Love, Robin.' The group of female reporters in Chicago read out the meant tweets they had received from people after their colleague, WGN news anchor Marcella Raymond (pictured), was sent an awful note about her weight Nasty: This is the letter that Raymond received that sparked the reading of the tweets on-air Going public with the messages was in response to the hurtful letter that Raymond had received. 'You know was as well as anyone that the TV news game is a young person's business. Being overweight makes people look older than they actually are and an overweight body takes its toll on the actual aging process, especially facially,' the anonymous letter said. 'At the very least, television is a visual medium and its performers (and each reporter IS, to a degree, a performer) should put forward their best visual presence. A pair of new polls show Donald Trump's more controversial ideas gaining traction on both sides of the political aisle even as the his Republican supporters grow more rabid in their enthusiasm for their billionaire populist hero. The Morning Consult's tracking poll of more than 2,000 Americans found half of them support a temporary ban on non-citizen Muslims traveling to the U.S. the proposal that has earned GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump daily condemnation from editorial writers and TV pundits. In addition to 71 per cent of likely Republican voters, 34 per cent of likely Democratic voters and 49 per cent of independents now hold the view that Trump is right. Among Democrats who support former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for president, more than one-third 37 per cent say Muslims should be stopped at the border until the U.S. can better assess the national security threat from violent jihadis. Scroll down for video... PERSUASION: Donald Trump's more controversial ideas about Muslims and the war on terror are gaining traction as the intensity of his supporters' fervor for him grows DEMOCRATIC EXCITEMENT: More than half of Hillary Clinton's backers say they're enthusiastic about her, but the former secretary of state's excitement level falls short of Trump's Another Trump campaign pledge, the return of waterboarding and other 'enhanced' interrogation techniques in the war on terror, got a green-light from 45 per cent of Americans who talked to the Morning Consult's pollsters. Another 21 per cent remain undecided, leaving Trump plenty of room for persuasion as his juggernaut campaign marches forward. Separately, a Gallup poll published Tuesday found that Trump has a massive advantage over his rivals in both parties on the crucial question of voter enthusiasm. Voters were asked to rate the intensity of their devotion to their preferred presidential candidates, and The Donald came out far ahead of the field. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, 65 per cent of Trump's backers say they are 'extremely enthusiastic' or 'very enthusiastic' about their choice. Trump's main remaining GOP opponent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, scores just 39 per cent on that scale. Ohio Gov. John Kasich draws that level of fervor from only 33 per cent of his fans. BERNIE WHO? Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders scored surprisingly low on the enthusiasm scale, according to a new Gallup poll THE JURY IS OUT: Just 39 per cent of Ted Cruz's GOP supporters say they're 'extremely' or 'very' enthusiastic about him PLEASE LIKE ME: Ohio Gov. John Kasich inspires the lowest level of voter fervor among the five remaining major party presidential candidates The pair of Democrats vying for the White House are also less likely than Trump to inspire unshakable devotion from their followers. Clinton's supporters are more enthusiastic than Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' but neither reaches Trump's orbit. According to Gallup, 54 per cent of Hillary-backing Democratic voters say they are 'extremely enthusiastic' or 'very enthusiastic' about her. That number is 44 per cent for the Sanders camp. All five major party candidates will be in Wisconsin leading up to the state's April 5 primaries, marking the first time since the New Hampshire primary that both Democrats and Republicans focused all their political firepower on a single state at the same time. An illegal immigrant sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl and made her pregnant, prosecutors say. Jose Alejandro Najarro, 52, faces charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, KXAN reported. He asked the girl to come to his house in Kyle, Texas, to fix his TV in November last year, according to the affidavit. There, prosecutors say, Najarro sat on a bed next to her and tried to kiss her. Jose Alejandro Najarro (pictured), 52, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child He asked the girl to touch him and she refused, the affidavit states. The girl then told officers he had taken off her clothes and sexually assaulted her. She took a pregnancy test later on at a clinic and found it to be positive. Officials say she is between four and five months pregnant. The 12-year-old told police Najarro is the only person she has had intercourse with and that it happened once. She said he offered her money to see her again but she refused. Najarro is being held at Hays County Jail in San Marcos, Texas, on an immigration detainer in addition to the sexual assault charges, KXAN wrote. The immigration detainer means the US Department of Homeland Security has reason to believe Najarro should be removed from the country, or that the department has begun deportation or removal proceedings in his case. A deadly fight between a father-of-one and a man who allegedly broke into his home in the middle of the night was recorded by triple-0 operators after he was caught holding a stolen purse. Ben Batterham, 33, called police after allegedly finding Richard James Slater in his Newcastle home, near his daughter's bedroom clutching his wife's purse, at about 3.30am on Saturday, a senior police officer told The Daily Telegraph. The triple-0 phone call recorded Mr Battherham chasing Mr Slater, 34, out of the Hamilton home and threatening him before getting into a fight, the Telegraph reported. Scroll down for video The deadly fight between Ben Batterham, 33, (pictured) and Richard James Slater, 34, outside Mr Batterham's Newcastle home around 3.30am on Saturday was recorded during a triple-0 call Mr Batterham called police after allegedly finding Mr Slater (pictured) in his home, near his daughter's bedroom The triple-0 phone call recorded Mr Battherham chasing Mr Slater, 34, out of the Hamilton home (pictured) and threatening him before getting into a violent fight Mr Batterham allegedly continued to attack Mr Slater after police arrived. Police found Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged with a string of break and enter offences in 2012, unconscious in Mr Batterham's home with a suspected broken neck. The 34-year-old, who is known to his family as Ricky, was rushed to John Hunter Hospital where he remained in critical condition until his family decided to turn off his life support at 11.30am on Sunday, according to NSW Police. Mr Batterham was charged with Mr Slater's murder on Sunday and was scheduled to appear in Newcastle Local Court via videolink on Tuesday but did not show. His attorney's did not request an application for bail and he will remain in custody at the Cessnock Correctional Centre until his case is heard again on May 25, the Newcastle Herald reported Mr Batterham (pictured) allegedly continued to attack Mr Slater after police arrived. Police found Mr Slater unconscious in Mr Batterham's home with a suspected broken neck Mr Batterham (pictured) did not apply for bail when his case was heard in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday morning after he was charged with the murder of Mr Slater on Sunday Mr Slater was rushed to John Hunter Hospital where he remained in critical condition until his family decided to turn off his life support Mr Slater's family demanded 'justice' outside Newcastle courthouse on Monday, with around 12 people showing up again on Tuesday. Mr Batterhams initial charge of grievous bodily harm was upgraded to murder following Mr Slater's death causing outrage in the community, with many claiming he was simply defending himself against the would-be thief. An online petition has emerged demanding Mr Batterham's charges be dropped, with almost 15,000 people signing in a few short hours. 'Homeowners should be able to defend their families from criminals who break into their homes - and Benjamin should be released now!!!' the petition reads. Mr Slater's mother Beryl arrived at the court house on Tuesday morning with several family members His aunt Pauline was also pictured outside Newcastle Local Court but declined to speak with reporters Mr Slater's family refused to speak with the media on Tuesday (pictured) after an emotional appeal on Monday Many of those who signed the petition said they were 'sick of perpetrators being protected by the broken laws that exist in Australia'. 'If you creep into someone's residence uninvited you deserve to die, it's that simple, good people don't invade peoples living space,' one person wrote in support of Mr Batterham. 'How dare you prosecute someone for defending their home and their family in their own home! This is NOT murder, this was NOT premeditated. This was self defence,' said another. Mr Batterham was reportedly treated for injuries to his face at a nearby hospital before handing himself into police on Sunday once the charges were upgraded. On Monday the family denied Mr Slater was attempting to enter the Hamilton property without permission, instead claiming he was there to attend a party, Nine News reported. They said the father-of-three was now unable to defend the accusation he was an intruder following his death. He didnt deserve what happened to him, Mr Slaters sister, Tiara Kelly, said. His family have denied that Mr Slater, who was reportedly charged over a string of break and enter offences in 2012, was attempting to enter the Hamilton property without permission Mr Slater's daughter Bree posted an image of her father with the caption: 'I just want my daddy home!' Mother Beryl Dickson said she was having to bury her eldest child for a reason I dont know. She said she couldnt feel anything through the shock and that hed been murdered in cold blood. 'I want my baby's killer found and brought to justice,' Ms Dickson told Seven News. She said her three grandchildren have been robbed of a father, claiming that he had been on the straight and narrow since leaving prison. He was reportedly convicted over the ram raid of an adult store in Sandgate where cash and synthetic drugs were taken, but was acquitted on appeal. 'They've lost their father, their beautiful father that they haven't seen for years because he was in jail, which has nothing to do with this case,' Ms Dickson told ABC News. 'Just to think those little kids are going to grow up without a dad now.' Mr Slater's devastated family have demanded justice, claiming the father-of-three was 'murdered in cold blood' (pictured mother Beryl Slater right) Ms Dickson said she tried to get her son to open his eyes as he lay in hospital but doctors told her Mr Slater's brain had been starved of oxygen. 'I was telling him to get up or open his eyes, and he wouldn't; I just wanted him to open his eyes and talk to me.' His grandmother Dorothy collapsed as the family spoke to reporters and was treated by paramedics outside Newcastle Local Court. Mr Batterham allegedly put Mr Slater in a choke-hold to detain him until police arrived, Seven News reported, and was assisted by an unnamed friend. Images of a man shot in the abdomen and thighs have emerged as the manhunt for the two suspected shooters continues in an attack police have described as an attempt to intimidate the 23-year-old victim. Father-to-be Mahmoud Elzein was shot three times in broad daylight about 5.30pm on Monday on Wollongong Road, Arncliffe, in Sydneys south. He remains in St George Hospital in a stable condition after undergoing surgery. Police have revealed they believe the shooting from close range was an intentional attempt to intimidate Mr Elzein with warning shots, Yahoo 7 reported. Scroll down for video Father-to-be Mahmoud Elzein (pictured) was shot three times in broad-daylight about 5.30pm on Monday in Sydneys south The 23-year-old remains in St George Hospital in a stable condition after undergoing surgery Id say they were non-fatal gunshot wounds. There was an intent not to cause a fatal injury as best you can do that when you start shooting someone, Detective Superintendent Mark Walton told reporters on Tuesday. He said there was yet to be a clear motive for the attack against the 23-year-old, who is known to police. The gun has not yet been recovered, and police are still searching for the two gunmen. Det Supt Walton said Mr Elzein had spoken with officers, who could not confirm the accuracy of his version of events. It remains to be seen how accurate the information he is providing and how open he is with that information, he said. Police have revealed they believe the shooting from close range was an intentional attempt to intimidate Mr Elzein, claiming the 23-year-old father-to-be is known to police (scene pictured) Relatives say the Telstra technician with a pregnant wife was a good man and have reiterated his innocence. He is a good man, a caring and hard-working man, his cousin said on Tuesday, Sydney Morning Herald reported. He has a family, a child on the way, he has done nothing wrong. The man who owns a burger shop opposite the scene said he was 'shocked' the shooting had happened in the 'peaceful area'. 'I am really shocked its happened Its a really nice and peaceful area here,' the owner, Sam, who didn't want to reveal his surname, told Daily Telegraph. Emergency services were called to Wollongong Road, Arncliffe, in Sydneys south, about 5.40pm on Monday The man who owns a burger shop opposite the scene (pictured) said he was 'shocked' the shooting had happened in the 'peaceful area' Mr Elzein had headed out to buy a sandwich before two men wearing hooded jumpers, described as being of Middle Eastern appearance and aged in their 20s, approached him and opened fire at point blank range. They are still on the run. Det Supt Walton said the men had been described as being on foot but it's likely they had a car. Police have seized the car Mr Elzein drove to Wollongong Road for further examination. It is reportedly believed to belong to his aunt. Anyone with any information which could assist police with their investigation should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Police have seized the car (pictured) Mr Elzein drove to Wollongong Road for further examination. It is reportedly believed to belong to his aunt A British man who posed for a photo with the EgyptAir hijacker has hailed it as 'the best selfie ever' but revealed he couldn't bring himself to tell his panicked mother what he'd done. Health and safety auditor Ben Innes, 26, texted her minutes after daringly taking a picture with Seif Eldin Mustafa, the Egyptian who hijacked a plane and forced it to be redirected from Cairo. Oblivious to what her son had just done, Mr Innes' worried mother Pauline then told him 'not to do anything to draw attention to himself' as the drama played out on television across the world. He told The Sun: 'My mum was obviously frantic with worry and kept telling me not to do anything to draw attention to myself. I didn't know how to tell her I'd already done a selfie with the hijaker.' Hijacker selfie: Seif Eldin Mustafa, is seen wearing his 'suicide belt' - later found to be fake - as he poses for a selfie with 26-year-old Brit Ben Innes. Mr Innes sent the photo to friends and said: 'Your boy doesn't f*** about' Instead of panicking about his plight, Mr Innes - a health and safety auditor - appeared rather calm about the hostage situation and took a selfie before sending it to his friends in the UK alongside these text messages The diverted flight had landed at Cyprus' Larnaca airport, with 62 passengers on board, and Mr Innes was one of four 'foreigners' and crew held hostage by Mustafa during a six-hour standoff. But instead of panicking about his plight, Mr Innes, who is from Leeds but living in Aberdeen, appeared rather calm about the situation and took a selfie before sending it to his friends in the UK. He said: 'I'm not sure why I did it, I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity. 'I figured if his bomb was real I'd nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it.' The hijaker 'shrugged OK' when one of the cabin crew translated Mr Innes' request, before the health and safety auditor took what he labelled 'the best selfie ever'. He then sent messages to his friends, telling one: 'You know your boy doesn't f*** about. Turn on the news lad!!!'. It was accompanied by a selfie of him with Mustafa, who was wearing a 'fake' suicide belt. The friend, seemingly worried, replied: 'Wtf? Is that a bomb attached to the guys chest? You ok? Let us know when you get off.' Mr Innes is believed to have approached hijacker Mustafa while being held hostage on the tarmac, and sent the 'selfie of a lifetime' to one of his flatmates as well as other friends. Brave: Mr Innes is believed to have approached hijacker Mustafa for a selfie while being held hostage on the tarmac, and sent it to one of his flatmates as well as other friends Free: The last remaining hostages, including Mr Innes (far left) are seen running over the tarmac moments before the hijacker gave himself up after a six-hour standoff Mr Innes is seen throwing his arms in the air to show snipers surrounding the plane not to shoot them as the last remaining hostages run for safety after disembarking the EgyptAir Airbus A320 'I have no idea why he took the selfie but I imagine he probably volunteered to take it as he's no afraid to shy away from anything,' Mr Innes' flatmate Chris Tundogan told MailOnline. 'I find it pretty mental but that's just Ben I guess!' Egyptian national Mustafa hijacked the domestic EgyptAir MS181, carrying 62 people, including eight Brits and ten Americans, shortly after it left Alexandria for Cairo early this morning. Wearing a suicide belt - later found to have been fake - Mustafa forced the plane to re-route to Cyprus, where he proceeded to take several passengers and crew hostage and demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife. During the hostage situation on the tarmac, Mustafa made a series of erratic requests, including asking to meet with representatives of the European Union, and to be taken to other airports. A picture from the tarmac showed the moment he handed over a four-page letter intended for his ex-wife, as a female airport official stands with her head in her hands. Negotiations with the hijacker during the morning resulted in the release of a majority of the hostages, except for the crew and four foreigners, including Mr Innes. This image which has been shared widely on social media shows Seif Eldin Mustafa wearing his 'suicide belt' on the hijacked EgyptAir plane Seif Eldin Mustafa is seen approaching a military vehicle with his hands in the air after leaves the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport This image shows the moment Seif Eldin Mustafa hands over the letter intended for his ex-wife, as a female airport official stands with her head in her hands Released: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has rubbished claims that Seif Eldin Mustafa is a terrorist, saying: 'Terrorists are crazy but they aren't stupid. This guy is' After a six-hour standoff, the crew along with Mr Innes and two other male foreign nationals were released moments before the hijacker gave himself up. They were seen running across the tarmac in the moments before Mustafa surrendered to police. Mustafa disembarked the plane at around 14.40 local time with his hands up and threw some items on the ground, which were picked up by police and are being examined. Alexandros Zenon, Secretary of the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, did not immediately have more details on the arrest, but added that the hijacker appeared to be 'mentally unstable'. In the wake of his arrest, Cypriot authorities were able to determine that Mustafa's suicide belt had been a fake. 'According to security sources received from Cyprus Authorities at Larnaca International Airport, which stated that the explosive belt that the hijacker allegedly said that he was wearing, is fake,' EgyptAir said in a statement. A Canadian billionaire has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing three young children and their grandfather while driving drunk. Marco Muzzo, 29, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of impaired driving causing death and impaired driving causing bodily harm. Daniel Neville-Lake, nine, his brother Harrison, five, and their two-year-old sister Milly and their grandfather, Gary Neville, 65, died last September after the van they were in was hit by a speeding Muzzo, who was driving an SUV, in Ontario. Muzzo was severely intoxicated behind the wheel and plowed his SUV into the family's vehicle shortly after stepping off a private jet following his bachelor party in Miami. The childrens mother sobbed quietly in the courtroom as Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst handed down the sentence in Toronto on Tuesday. She also banned Muzzo from driving for 12 years after his release. Scroll down for video Marco Muzzo (pictured right, last month) has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing three young children and their grandfather while driving drunk Breathalyzer tests showed he had between two and three times the legal amount of alcohol in his blood. Police said Muzzo was so drunk he urinated on himself after the collision on September 27 last year. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 10 to 12 years behind bars and a ban on driving for eight to 10. The defense had argued an eight-year jail sentence would be enough. Fuerst said no matter the length of sentence, Muzzo will eventually be released and go back to normal life, but the victims' family would not. 'The sentence is 10 years and none of my children saw 10 years,' Jennifer Neville-Lake said. 'When you choose to drink and drive you are killing someone's babies. All of mine were killed on a Sunday afternoon.' Daniel Neville-Lake (right) his brother Harrison (left) and their two-year-old sister Milly (center) died in the crash along with their grandfather in September last year Muzzo was on his way home from his bachelor party in Miami when the crash occurred (above) In her heartbreaking victim impact statement last month, Neville-Lake, whose family was decimated in the crash, said Muzzo's actions have shattered her world. 'I would not wish this horror I am living on anyone but you,' she said. 'You deserve to know exactly what it feels like to have every single child you created meet someone like you.' Later, Muzzo took the stand to beg forgiveness for his actions, but Neville-Lake and her husband Edward had already walked out, having previously said there was nothing the killer of their family could say to mitigate their loss. The sentence is 10 years and none of my children saw 10 years. When you choose to drink and drive you are killing someone's babies Jennifer Neville-Lake Muzzos voice trembled as he expressed how he feels tortured by the grief he has caused by his actions. In his first public remarks since the crash, he acknowledged that his apology would be of no consolation to the family. He said he is filled with great remorse, sympathy and unimaginable regret. 'Ever since the tragedy that occurred as a result of my inexcusable conduct, I have wanted to say that I am sorry and apologize to your family,' he said, choking back tears. I could never have imagined the degree of suffering and pain I have caused. If I could reverse the hands of time, I would without hesitation. 'I want nothing more than to attempt to bring some peace to your hearts and minds. He added: 'I will forever be haunted by the reality of what I have done and I am truly sorry,' Muzzo concluded. 'The sentence is 10 years and none of my children saw 10 years,' Jennifer Neville-Lake (left, with her children and husband) said Gary Neville (pictured) the children's grandfather, was also killed in the drunk-driving crash. His wife was at the wheel and survived The 29-year-old also vowed to spend the rest of his life atoning for his conduct by educating the public about the dangers of drinking and driving. But outside court, Neville-Lake told reporters she had no interest in hearing Muzzos apology. I dont want to listen to the man who is responsible for killing my children, she said. Theres nothing he can say, his actions spoke louder than words. I don't see why I should put myself through that. 'I will forever be haunted by the reality of what I have done and I am truly sorry Marco Muzzo Earlier in the sentencing hearing, she sobbed as she recalled her horror at finding out all of her children and her father had died. 'I don't have anyone left to call me mom,' the bereaved mother told Muzzo in court, CBC reported. 'You killed all my babies. I miss my kids. I miss my dad.' 'When you took my children, you took away my identity as a mother,' she said during a 45-minute statement. 'And without my kids, I am nothing anymore.' 'I walk through the empty rooms of our home every day, searching for my family.' Edward Lake, the children's father, said he had suicidal thoughts, night terrors and chest pains after the crash. The family car was being driven by the childrens grandmother Neriza Neville at the time of the crash. She survived, but was found pinned inside the vehicle, screaming the names of the children and her husband, unaware that they had died. Canadian Business Magazine ranked Muzzo (pictured), the son of a property billionaire, the 52nd wealthiest person in Canada with a fortune that tops $1.7 billion Taryn Hampton (pictured leaving the court in Newmarket in October) had been set to wed Muzzo shortly after the crash occurred in September The childrens great-grandmother Josephina Frias was also in the car at the time and injured in the crash. Another car was also hit in the collision, but none of the passengers were seriously injured. Muzzo had been driving home from the airport, after flying home from his bachelor party in Miami. He had been set to wed Taryn Hampton in October. The prosecution asked Muzzo to be sentenced to between 10 and 12 years in prison, comparing his fateful decision to get behind the wheel that afternoon to having a loaded gun walking down the street. But Muzzos defense attorney Brian Greenspan said eight years in prison should be sufficient and reminded the judge that his client has no previous criminal record and took responsibility for his actions and spared the victims family the trauma of a trial. He also submitted 92 letters of support from Muzzos family, friends and family which describe him as a humble and hardworking man and not like the rich and spoiled brat he is made out to be. However, he has faced trouble with the law numerous times before, including a string of speeding and driving-related offences as well as paying a fine for being intoxicated in a public place. He was charged in March 2014 with holding a handheld communication device while driving in Caledon. He was automatically convicted after failing to respond to the ticket and paid the $280 fine, the Toronto Sun reported. In February 2012, he was charged with speeding after allegedly travelling 134 km/h in a 100 km/h zone - however, the ticket was reportedly withdrawn with no reason given. In October that year, Muzzo was charged with driving an off-road vehicle on a highway instead of on the shoulder. He reportedly paid the $110 fine. At the time of the crash, Muzzo had been working for the billion-dollar construction empire founded by his grandfather, who died in 2005, leaving his son Marc in charge. Muzzos father Robert died the year before . An investigator has said Tom Fallis did not murder his wife, Ashley Fallis, because a man in a rage would not have shot a single bullet An investigator who was a former prosecution witness in the trial of an ex-prison guard accused of murdering his wife has dramatically testified in support of the accused. Dan Gilliam, a county crime scene investigator, has claimed in evidence that Tom Fallis did not murder his wife, Ashley Fallis, because a man in a rage would not have shot a single bullet. 'What I've heard is that this was an act of rage, that Mr Fallis was mad, that he killed his wife,' Mr Gilliam said when cross-examined by defense attorney Iris Eytan at Weld District Court in Colorado. 'In the 35 years I've been in law enforcement, and 25 years in the lab, and going out to homicides and suicides, most people that shoot someone in an act of rage, they don't stop with one shot.' Tom Fallis, 38, allegedly shot the 28-year-old mother of his three children Ashley in the head just after midnight on January 1, 2012, at their home in Greeley, Colorado, following a heated argument at a New Year's Eve party. Police initially ruled the case was a suicide, but reopened it after Mr Fallis allegedly confessed to his wife's murder to the deputy sheriff and a neighbor three years later, the Denver Post reported. Charged with second-degree murder, Mr Fallis was indicted by a Weld County grand jury before his trial. Mr Gilliam's evidence will not be the only investigator testimony during the trial, as the prosecution intend to call forensic expert Jonathyn Priest, whose analysis of events differs from Mr Gilliam's. Mr Gilliam was called to the original crime scene in 2012 and after assessing the evidence with police and lawyers the authorities agreed the scene, along with a particular spatter of the victim's blood, was consistent with suicide. At the time Mr Fallis, who was working as a Weld County corrections officer, called 911 in screaming hysterics to say his wife had committed suicide. He angrily denied that he had anything to do with his wife's death and Evans police quickly ruled that Ashley had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mr Fallis, 38, allegedly shot the 28-year-old mother of his three children Ashley (pictured) in the head just after midnight on January 1, 2012 The couple's children (pictured) are now in the care of their maternal grandparents while Mr Farris is on trial Multiple tests conducted later all confirmed the authorities' view that Mrs Fallis had taken her own life. The trajectory of the bullet was analyzed and found to be consistent with a person raised to gun to their temple and firing. In unusual scenes at Weld District Court Mr Eytan asked Mr Gilliam to use another attorney, Dru Nielsen, as a model to demonstrate the position of Mrs Fallis when she died. The defense has said that Mr Fallis was across the room when the gun was shot, resulting in an unusual position if he had pulled the trigger. In November, Mr Farris was arrested in Bloomington, Indiana, where he had been living with the couple's three young children after fleeing Colorado. He was extradited back to Colorado. He has always maintained his innocence. The children were handed over to Ashley's parents, Jenna Fox and Joel Raguindin. The trial continues. Mr Farris has been in court throughout the trial to listen to the evidence given by defense and prosecution witnesses She revealed insurance battle and trouble with getting used to new house Started after the sun reflected in daughter's mirror and burnt the curtains Daisy Goodwin (pictured) has spoken out about the difficulties of rebuilding her 2.5million London townhouse after it was gutted by a fire Daisy Goodwin has spoken out about the difficulties of rebuilding her 2.5million London townhouse after it was gutted by a fire. The best-selling author was left homeless for 11 months after the curtains in her Kensington property caught fire when the sun reflected off her daughter's make-up mirror. The 54-year-old, who was finally able to move back into the newly built home in November, has now revealed the weekly struggles of dealing with the insurance company and getting to grips with life without possessions. She wrote in The Sunday Times: '[I primarily learnt that] possessions are a lot less important than you think. As long as you have clean knickers, comfortable shoes and broadband, you can function. 'The tougher lesson is that nothing about insurance is straightforward. There seems to be a mindset on the part of the insurers to make everything as difficult and as distressing as possible.' The fire, which was on January 19 last year, started after the author had popped to the local library to work on her latest novel. She previously revealed she was tipped off about the incident by her Ocado delivery driver, who said they couldn't get down the road due to fire engines. Mrs Goodwin, who had lived in the property for 12 years, was then called by her husband, television executive Marcus Wilford, who warned her not to return home. The family, including the couple's two daughters and three dogs, spent the night at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington before the author returned to the property to see the damage. She added: 'When I go back to look at the damp, scorched, mouldy shell of my old house, I [couldn't] imagine every wanting to live there again.' The best-selling author was left homeless for 11 months after the curtains in her Kensington property caught fire when the sun reflected off her daughter's make-up mirror. Above: her daughter's bedroom in the property after the fire The 54-year-old, who was finally able to move back into the newly built home in November, has now revealed the weekly struggles of dealing with the insurance company and getting to grips with life without possessions. Above: the house after the fire The next few months saw the family staying with friends before they began to rent an unfurnished flat as they battled with insurers. It was two months until the company agreed to pay their claim and building started over the summer. It was a long process as, although it was only the top two floors gutted, the whole property was damaged. The family were finally able to move back into their house that November - 11 months after the fire - with Mrs Goodwin saying that although she slept better than she had done all year, 'my home is both familiar and unsettling'. The trial of a teenager charged with murdering his friend's grandparents has been halted so prosecutors can ask FBI to hack his phone for more evidence. Hunter Drexler, 18, was due to appear in an Arkansas court next week, but will now be held another three months until June 27. He denies shooting dead Robert and Patricia Cogdell last July. The development comes just days after the FBI announced it had gained access to an iPhone 5c linked to one of the San Bernardino shooters, bypassing any need for help from Apple. Apple had been resisting an FBI order to build software to access the phone, claiming such access would set a dangerous precedent for invading privacy. But the government agency found their own way around it. And prosecutors around the country are already flocking to take advantage of the software. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Hunter Drexler, 18, (pictured) was due to appear in an Arkansas court next week, but will now be held another three months until June 27. He denies shooting dead Robert and Patricia Cogdell last July 'The potential advancement in accessing those items, I believe that's good cause,' Faulkner County Circuit Judge Troy Braswell said as he granted the request from prosecutors to postpone the trial on Tuesday. The attorneys are seeking access to an iPod and an iPhone to search for evidence. Drexler is accused of working with 15-year-old Justin Staton to kill the married couple at their home in Conway, 30 miles north of Little Rock. Staton, whom the Cogdells raised as their grandson, is also charged in the July shooting deaths. Drexler's attorney, Patrick Benca, objected to the delay, saying the state had most of the evidence or knowledge of it months ago. Prosecutors have had possession of the iPhone they say belongs to Drexler since he and two other teenagers were arrested in Texas and brought back to Arkansas days after the July shootings. Staton's defense attorney was ordered last week to hand over the teen's iPod, which was sitting in the defense's evidence locker and had not been examined, according to the attorney. Deputy Prosecutor Hugh Finkelstein said Tuesday that the Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and Conway police would ask the FBI for help. Justin Staton (left), whom the Cogdells (right) raised as their grandson, is also charged in the July deaths Discovery: The Cogdells were found shot to death at their home (pictured) in Conway, about 30 miles north of Little Rock, after Robert failed to report to work as the Public Works Director in nearby Maumelle Finkelstein said recorded phone conversations between Staton and others since his arrest indicated he had used the iPod to communicate about the homicide plans and that there may be other evidence on the device. The FBI hasn't revealed how it cracked the iPhone belonging to Syed Farook, who died with his wife in a gun battle with police after they killed 14 people in San Bernardino in December. A federal official told reporters Monday that federal law enforcement would continue to aid local and state partners with gaining evidence in cases. Finkelstein said Tuesday that the prosecutor's office had no intention of asking Apple for help, given its refusal to help prosecutors in other states in similar circumstances. He said staff at the Arkansas Attorney General's Office had reached out to prosecutors to say they could assist with the devices. Attorney General's Office spokesman Judd Deere clarified Tuesday afternoon that the office does not have a way to unlock the devices, but can help with forensic examination of the contents if they are unlocked. The delay will also allow prosecutors to request the testing of four additional swabs of blood and DNA matter from the Cogdells' home and a truck stolen from their house. A Jewish man who went to a synagogue in Paris dressed as a jihadist brandishing a Kalashnikov and shouting 'Allahu Akbar' to 'lighten the mood' has been arrested. The 40-year-old man entered the Habad Loubavitch synagogue in the east of the French capital as worshippers were celebrating the end of Purim - an annual festival in which Jewish children dress up. Guards at the entrance and members of the synagogue were initially shocked by the presence of the apparent jihadist in flowing north African robes, until some people recognised him. The 40-year-old man entered the Habad Loubavitch synagogue (pictured) in the east of the French capital posing as a jihadist as worshippers were celebrating the end of Purim The tasteless joke 'created a certain emotion among the soldiers' according to police sources, the Local reported. He was ordered to hand himself in at a local police station on Friday. He told Le Parisien newspaper that he had 'wanted to lighten the mood' but now realised he had 'made a big mistake'. 'Purim is a special party where you can let go and drink. I had an Arab costume with a red and white headscarf and a Kalashnikov,' the man added. In common with other European capitals, police have been posted outside Jewish places of worship and sensitive sites after terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels The Habad Loubavitch synagogue is located in the same Paris suburb, Vincennes, where gunmen shot four Jewish people last year and tensions are running high in the Jewish community. In common with other European capitals, police have been posted outside Jewish places of worship and sensitive sites after terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. Jewish organisations have reported a dramatic rise in the number of antisemitic attacks and crimes, such as desecrating Jewish gravestones and scrawling anti-Jewish graffiti, in recent months. A prominent conservative blogger from Florida has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting at his sister's boyfriend during an argument. Javier Manjarres, 43, who runs website The Shark Tank, was arrested on Saturday after police say he punched and then shot at Jason Holowinski, 36, who is dating his sister, Olga Manjarres. Officers say Manjarres launched his attack in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Boca Raton after Olga called him to say she had been in a fight with Holowinski. Javier Manjarres, 43, a prominent conservative blogger from Florida, has been charged with attempted first degree murder after allegedly firing three shots at his sister's boyfriend and punching him in the face According to a police report, the incident began as an argument between Olga and Holowinski who had both been drinking before getting into the fight. Olga told officers that she had been involved in a fight with Holowinski during which he grabbed her around the neck and told her to leave the house, before driving her to the Palmetto Park Shopping Plaza and leaving her there. Olga added that she had continued to text Holowinski while she was at the mall, and that he later returned to collect her. Meanwhile Holowinski told officers that when he arrived at the shopping mall, Olga messaged and asked him to pull up in a specific parking lot to the rear of the building. Holowinski said that he saw Olga sitting underneath a tree and pulled up next to it in his blue 1998 blue Dodge Ram before opening the passenger door to let her in. At that point, Holowinski says, Manjarres appeared behind his sister, jumped into the vehicle and punched Holowinski 'four or five times' in the face, leaving him with cuts and a broken nose. Holowinski said he watched as Manjarres pulled something from the waistband of his pants which he believed to be a handgun, and backed his truck up in order to escape. Police say Manjarres' sister Olga (left) had been in an argument with boyfriend Jason Holowinski (right) before he asked her to leave the house. When Holowinski went out to collect her, he says Manjarres attacked him Holowinski told cops he reversed into a Volkswagen belonging to Manjarres before putting the car into drive and accelerating forwards, towards the parking lot exit. While pulling around, Holowinski said he heard three gunshots and ducked down in the seat of his car to avoid being hit, before claiming to see Manjarres firing at him in his rear view mirror. When police later inspected the vehicle they found two bullet holes in the driver side door and another in the bed of the truck. Holowinski also told officers that Olga regularly calls her brother when she needs something or after getting in a fight with him. He also denied the claim that he had grabbed her around the neck, and police noted no visible injuries to Olga. Officers went to Manjarres' home and discovered his vehicle had a dent in the front bumper consistent with Holowinski's description, and arrested the blogger. He is currently being held in jail pending trial charged with attempted first degree murder with a firearm, and burglary with battery. Olga denied that her brother had been at the mall, and told officers she had not seen him that day. Manjarres runs political blog The Shark Tank (pictured), is a Tampa Bay Times 'political insider' and regularly contributes to Politico Florida Manjarres is one of Florida's best-known conservative voices, having been listed as a Tampa Bay Times 'political insider' and contributing regularly to Politico Florida. Manjarres was heavily involved with the push to get Marco Rubio elected, but turned on him shortly afterwards when the senator supported the 'Gang of Eight' immigration act. According to an old report from the Miami New Times, Manjarres was arrested for burglary with assault back in 1995. The murders came after his ex-wife reported he was harassing her John David Battaglia, an accountant who killed his daughters Faith, nine, and Liberty, six, in Texas in 2001, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday A Texas accountant who is set to die by lethal injection for killing his two young daughters while his ex-wife was listening on the phone has appealed for a stay of execution. John Battaglia, 60, was arrested in May 2001 for fatally shooting daughters Faith, nine, and Liberty, six, at his Dallas apartment after calling their mother, Mary Jean Pearle. Battaglia is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. He is appealing the US Supreme Court and the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals for more time to prove he is mentally incompetent. Attorney Gregory Gardner, who is petitioning to represent Battaglia, claims he is delusional and should be entitled to a reprieve so he can get a fair hearing to determine his psychological state. 'The Supreme Court has ruled that since before our country was founded, society does not tolerate the execution of the insane,' Gardner told NBC News. Battaglia said he didn't feel like he killed his daughters, whom he referred to as his 'best little friends', during an interview with the Dallas Morning News in 2014. 'I am a little bit in the blank about what happened,' he said, adding that he had photos of his girls displayed on the walls of his prison cell. Battaglia is also petitioning for a new attorney. Gardner argued that his court-appointed lawyer abandoned Battaglia after the US Supreme Court refused to review his case in January. At the time of the shootings, Battaglia was on probation for a Christmas 1999 attack on Pearle, who he beat up in front of his daughters. The couple divorced in 2000. Battaglia violated his probation the following year with a threatening phone call to Pearle in which he called her names and swore at her. Pearle reported the incident and Battaglia learned on May 2, 2001 that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. That night was meant to be his last visit with his daughters, before he surrendered. Pearle soon received a message from her mother that one her girls wanted to speak to her. When Pearle called them, Battaglia put her on speakerphone and told Faith to ask her mother: 'Why do you want Daddy to go to jail?' Battaglia used a May 2001 custody visit to the two girls (pictured in his arms) to avenge his anger against his ex-wife after an arrest warrant was filed when she reported his harassment Battaglia (pictured left in his mug shot and right during his trial in 2002) is appealing the US Supreme Court and the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals for more time to prove he is mentally incompetent That's when Pearle heard her daughter cry out: 'No, Daddy, please don't, don't do it.' Pearle yelled into the phone for the girls to run and heard gunshots, followed by Battaglia telling her: 'Merry f****** Christmas'. Evidence showed Faith had been shot three times, and Liberty five. A semiautomatic pistol found near the kitchen door was among more than a dozen firearms recovered from Battaglia's apartment. Battaglia went to a bar with a girlfriend following the shootings, and then to a tattoo parlor. He was inked with two large roses on his left arm, meant to represent his daughters. When he walked outside, it took four officers to subdue and arrest him at 2am. A fully loaded revolver was found in his truck. It was later discovered that Battaglia had recorded one last message to his daughters. 'Goodnight my little babies,' he said. 'I hope you're resting in a different place. I love you, and I wish that you had nothing to do with your mother.' 'She was evil and vicious and stupid. I love you dearly.' Battaglia's trial attorneys called no witnesses during the guilt-innocence portion of his capital murder trial in 2002, and a Dallas County jury deliberated only 19 minutes before convicting him. During the punishment phase, jurors heard defense testimony that Battaglia's bipolar disorder and other mental illness issues should convince them that a life prison sentence would be appropriate. They did not agree. 'To think a father could just gun down his little girls, it was just unbelievable,' Howard Blackmon, the lead prosecutor in the case, recalled last week. As their mother Mary Jean Pearle helplessly listened on the phone as one of her daughter's cried out, Battaglia fatally shot them both of the girls at his Dallas apartment Pearle (pictured during Battaglia's murder trial in 2002) yelled into the phone for the girls to run and heard gunshots, followed by Battaglia telling her: 'Merry f****** Christmas' Evidence showed Faith had been shot three times, and Liberty five. A semiautomatic pistol found near the kitchen door was among more than a dozen firearms recovered from Battaglia's apartment 'It was such a compelling case for the death penalty.' The Texas Attorney General's Office argued there is no evidence in his prison medical file that suggests Battaglia is 'mentally ill, delusional, divorced from reality, on psychiatric medication, or otherwise does not comprehend his imminent execution'. 'His last-minute appeal amounts to a fishing expedition,' said Erich Dryden, an assistant Texas attorney general. 'The Court should deny his request.' Pearle revealed that Battaglia had a history of physical abuse, both against her and his ex-wife. 'He did tell me before we married that he had gotten into an argument and hit his ex-wife,' Pearle told ABC News in 2002. 'He didn't tell me that he'd broken her nose.' Pearle endured nine years of marriage littered with Battaglia's verbal abuse and short temper, where he would call her names and go on tirades that could last for 20 minutes. But not once, she said, did he ever lay a hand on their daughters. 'He never spanked the children. He never raised his voice to the children. He never grabbed their arm,' she said. 'He did nothing but was loving to them.' Pearle never believed he would do anything to hurt Faith and Liberty - until that fateful night. 'It's the most empty feeling you can ever have in your life,' she said. 'That everything, all your hopes, your dreams, your everything, is just gone.' Battaglia was previously denied an appeal by the Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals in July. He argued that his counsel was ineffective, as they had not questioned jurors regarding their openness to considering mental health in their decision, according to The Dallas Morning News. Battaglia's clemency petition to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was turned down on Monday on a 7-0 vote. They refused to recommend that Battaglia instead receive a life sentence in prison. Battaglia will be the tenth inmate executed in the country and the sixth in Texas if his appeal fails on Wednesday. Morgan urged grandparents to vote In to save young people from becoming a 'lost generation' Nicky Morgan (pictured at the Fashion Retail Academy in London today) warned that youngsters wanting to travel on a budget could be required to obtain visas, be blocked from free healthcare across the EU and face expensive travel costs Youngsters will find it more difficult to backpack around Europe if voters choose to leave the EU in June's referendum, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan warned today. She said Interrailing and 'city hopping' would become harder, more expensive and more dangerous if Britain was outside the EU. Youngsters travelling on a budget could be required to obtain visas, be blocked from free healthcare across the EU and face expensive travel costs, Ms Morgan warned. But she was immediately ridiculed by Brexit campaigners, who pointed out that Interrailing started in 1972 a year before Britain entered the European Community and the scheme includes non-EU countries such as Turkey, Norway and Serbia. Ms Morgan made the comments as she urged older voters, who are more likely to back Brexit, not to gamble with the prospects of the next generation. She said quitting the EU risks creating a 'lost generation' that will be left in 'limbo' while the UK struggles to negotiate new trade deals. She said it would be unfair for parents and grandparents to vote to leave the EU because of the 'devastating' impact on the chances of their children and grandchildren. Suggesting that youngsters could be denied the 'rite of passage' of a continental trip before 'settling down into adult life' if Britain quit the Brussels club, Ms Morgan warned: 'Whether it's Interrailing or backpacking or city hopping, being in the EU makes it easier and safer to travel around the countries of Europe. 'Young people who travel in the EU don't need to worry about a myriad of visas and entry requirements. 'They don't have to worry about the cost of falling ill because the European Health Insurance card means they will be treated for free or for a reduced cost no matter what country they are in.' She added: 'But perhaps most importantly for young people travelling on tight budgets, our EU membership makes it much cheaper to travel as well.' She appealed to the young to turn out and vote because it will help tackle 'global ills' such as climate change. Her comments may risked alienating older voters by suggesting their views on the future of the country are less important than those younger than them. Hers is the latest dire warning issued by senior ministers loyal to Downing Street in what Brexit campaigners say is a ramping up of 'Project Fear'. Nicky Morgan warned that leaving the EU could make Interrailing more difficult for youngsters. But the scheme includes non-EU countries such as Switzerland, where train journeys run over the single track Landwasser Viaduct at Schmitten (pictured) In recent days a string of Cabinet ministers have been wheeled out to make doom-mongering predictions about the risks of Brexit. On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned it could damage the NHS. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills. The appeal to those with all their working lives ahead of them may also suggest the extent to which the Remain camp is concerned younger people will not turn out to vote in the referendum on June 23. In a speech to the British Fashion Retail Academy in London, Mrs Morgan argued a vote for Brexit could put young people's future at risk. It would be young people who will pay the price if there is an economic shock from Brexit, she said, because firms are likely to cut back on entry level jobs. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured) said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills 'It's clear, that if Britain leaves Europe it will be young people who suffer the most, left in limbo while we struggle to find and then negotiate an alternative model,' she said. 'In doing so we risk that lost generation becoming a reality. And everyone who casts their vote must understand that. 'If parents and grandparents vote to leave, they'll be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildren's future. 'At a time when people are rightly concerned about intergenerational fairness the most unfair decision that the older generation could make would be to take Britain out of Europe and damage the ability of young people to get on in life.' On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured) warned it could damage the NHS By contrast, staying in the EU will help tackle the global issues young people care about such as sexual and gender equality, poverty, the environment and climate change, she said. 'I want young people to make sure their voices are heard in this debate whichever side of the debate they might be on otherwise they risk having the decision made by other people, their future decided for them, not by them. Elections are decided by the people who turn up. 'And don't think you have to keep your opinion on the EU debate to yourself. Go out and make the case to others and in particular your older friends and relatives.' She added: 'This is the generation of Instagram, easyJet and eBay. They don't want to see a Britain cut off from the world, where not only their opportunities, but our influence as a country, ends at our shores.' Ms Morgan pointed to research suggesting there has already been a drop in job vacancies being advertised because of Brexit fears. HARD-LEFT TEACHERS SUPPORT BREXIT BECAUSE THEY WANT MORE IMMIGRATION AND THE EU ISN'T SOCIALIST ENOUGH Members of the National Union of Teachers (pictured voting on a motion in Brighton) want Britain to leave the European Union because it does not let in enough migrants and is not socialist enough Hard-left teachers want Britain to leave the European Union because it does not let in enough migrants and is not socialist enough. Radical factions of the National Union of Teachers said the EU was guilty of murderous racism by refusing entry to brothers and sisters from the rest of the world. They said that refugees and migrants should be welcome in Britain but the outer border imposed by Europe denied access to those without the right passports. And they declared that the union was nothing but a bosses club intent on mass-privatisation which will erode workers rights. Activists made angry speeches in favour leaving the EU this morning, although their motion was later watered down by moderates who said the union should not take an official position on Brexit. Speaking at the NUT annual conference in Brighton yesterday, Jonathan Reddiford, representative for North Somerset, said many migrants had died unnecessarily trying get into the EU. He added: Fortress Europe was established to keep people out of the EU once the free movement of labour was established within the EU. This is the wrong approach. We should be opening our borders and welcoming refugees from the consequences of British and American foreign policy. That is not something that will come easy, but it will be a little bit easier with a no vote than a yes vote. He also said that the EU was there to enforce austerity and claimed it had imposed draconian measures over Greece. Seconding the motion, teacher Ian Muller from Islington added: We should reject their fortress Europe, and call on all European states to open their borders. Syrians and Poles, refugees and economic migrants, youre welcome here. He said the EU was no friend of working people and a bosses club that has enforced austerity across Europe. The motion said: Vicious racism is built into the foundations of the European Union with free movement within the EU for those with the right passports being built on murderous racism towards our brothers and sisters from the rest of the world. Any changes the government negotiates with the EU will bring more privatisation, marketisation and racism. A vote to stay in will strengthen the governments racist and austerity agenda. It warned that members should under no circumstances do any joint work with forces which espouse any form of racism. And it said the NUT should form a campaign to say no to the European Union as an alternative to those who are motivated only by reactionary Little England chauvinism. However, moderates in the union said members had voiced opposition to the motion, and that some of them were Ukip and Tory voters who disagreed with the rhetoric. They said the union should not adopt a position on Brexit and that it was inappropriate to tell members how to vote. Instead, the union voted to simply oppose all forms of racism and attacks on migrants and to campaign in favour of refugees and migrants being welcome in Britain. The amended motion read: There has not been extensive discussion on this issue with members and activists at any level. As a consequence Conference believes that it would be both inappropriate and potentially divisive to take a position on the European Referendum. Advertisement Every day 100 British expats quit Spain as uncertainty over June's EU vote triggers exodus from Europe Nearly 100 British nationals are leaving Spain every day, figures show as expatriates quit Europe in fear of what will happen to them if UK votes to leave the EU in June's referendum. Experts have warned that uncertainty over healthcare and the value of the state pension will trigger a mass exodus from the continent if Britain votes to leave. It will widen the gap between the number of Britons who live in Europe and the number of EU nationals living in Britain. Nearly 100 British nationals are leaving Spain every day, figures show as experts warn that uncertainty over June's EU vote is driving thousands of Britons to return home as they fear losing benefits such as free healthcare and the minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the UK state pension Currently 1.2million Britons live in other EU member states while 2.9million Europeans live in the UK. But Out campaigners said the figures showed how the 'balance of power favours the UK' and would put the UK in a strong position to negotiate a good settlement for expats if voters opted to quit the Brussels club. Expats fear they will lose access to free healthcare available through the European Insurance Card or by signing up to free health insurance on offer in countries like Spain. There are also doubts over whether British pensioners living on the continent will continue to benefit from the minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the state pension paid to all Britons living in EU member states. MURDERS AND RAPES COMMITTED BY 50 FOREIGN CRIMINALS WHO WERE LET IN UNDER EU RULES Dangerous: Among those on the list of 50 drawn up by Brexit campaign group Vote Leave are Arnis Zalkalns, pictured, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross EU free movement rules have let dozens of foreign criminals commit horrific offences in Britain, analysis reveals. A dossier released today lists 50 of the 'most dangerous' European criminals who have entered the UK freely, despite convictions in their countries. Once here, 45 of them committed serious offences, the report by Brexit campaign Vote Leave says. In total, they were responsible for 14 killings, including nine murders, and 13 sex crimes of which seven were rape. They also carried out robberies, theft, burglaries and drug offences. Last night Brexit supporters said the report showed EU membership made the UK 'less safe and less secure'. The EU does not compel member states to share information on criminals, meaning many are able to travel to the UK unhindered. Free movement rules give every EU citizen the right to enter any country in the bloc. Eurosceptics argue that if Britain votes to leave we could negotiate a new deal that does not include free movement of workers without more stringent checks. These could include criminal record checks on anyone wanting a visa, even for the short term. Serious offenders could then be automatically excluded. The Government could continue co-operation on information sharing and extradition under any new agreements. Among those on the list of 50 drawn up by Brexit campaign group Vote Leave are Arnis Zalkalns, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross. It also names Ireneusz Bartnowski, a Polish burglar who murdered elderly couple Guiseppe and Caterina Massaro a week after arriving in the UK. The dossier also reveals the exasperation and despair of British judges presiding over these cases, as they questioned how such dangerous men got into the country in the first place. Advertisement The UK Government raises the state pension for pensioners living in the EU and a handful of other countries where it has a social security agreement, but expats living in countries such as Australia do not benefit from the same terms. A net total of 72,000 British expats have left Spain over the last two years, while around 7,000 have quit Italy, according to The Times. Christopher Chantrey, chairman of the British Community Committee of France, told the newspaper: 'The issue is sowing panic among Britons who have taken early retirement to France.' The figures show that all EU countries apart from Spain, France and Luxembourg have more of their population living in the UK than vice-versa. Pro-EU campaigners warned that expats would have no automatic guarantee that their current rights would continue if Britain left the EU. But Robert Oxley, a spokesman for the Vote Leave campaign, said: 'These numbers are a perfect example of how the balance of power favours the UK. There is a huge incentive for Brussels to do a deal. 'Pro-EU campaigners do Britain down by saying we can't do a deal but we have a strong hand, and we should play it. 'Despite the scaremongering no British expats are going to be asked to leave the EU post Brexit.' Meanwhile the In campaign has warned that British students will no longer be able to benefit from the free or cheap tuition fees at universities across the continent. They could be forced to apply for visas to study and work in the EU, campaigners claimed. James McGrory, of the Stronger In campaign, said: 'Students who have planned to study abroad could also face the high tuition fees charged to non-EU students. 'They might also lose the opportunity for vital funding through the EU's Erasmus programme. 'Leaving the EU would also hike up flight prices and mobile phone roaming charges for Brits abroad.' With 72,000 British nationals already having quit Spain over the last two years, just 308,000 remain in the country as the country's economy continues to struggle. An estimated 65,000 British nationals remain in Italy. Earlier this month a group of British expats launched a judicial review over the decision to bar some British citizens living in other EU countries from voting in the June 23 referendum. British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years are automatically disenfranchised, meaning an estimated 700,000 UK nationals living on the continent are set to have no say on whether Britain stays in the EU. Law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the expats in their legal challenge, claims that the automatic exclusion breaks EU laws. It says the people who will be most affected by a Brexit are those who have been excluded from having a voice in the historic referendum. And Mr Shindler said the legal challenge was the 'last stand' for expats who fear for their way of life if the UK severs ties with Brussels. A High Court judge in London will decide whether to allow the judicial review to go ahead because of a rule that 'arbitrarily' blocks British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years from voting in elections. If granted, legal experts predict that legislation would have to be fast-tracked within a matter of days to register the extra voters on the electoral roll. Leigh Day warned that the need to register an extra 700,000 voters could threaten the proposed referendum timetable. Mr Shindler, who retired to Italy in 1982, said he would vote Remain if he had the chance as many expats were concerned about the future if the UK voted to leave. 'It would have very serious repercussions for all expats and their families here,' he told the Press Association. 'I came here in 1982 when you had to have a permit from the police to stay here. All that would come back. We would be immigrants here.' Mr Shindler, who fought in Italy during the Second World War and was part of the Anzio landings in 1944, said younger expats could be forced to apply for work permits to remain in their adopted countries. He was sceptical about assurances from the Leave camp that there would be little change in the status of Britons living in the EU following Brexit. 'That really is wishful thinking. That's no comfort to us at all, it's absurd to say that,' he said. 'There could be permits for work - I don't work of course - but those who work here will have to have a permit like they used to.' The expats in EU nations were 'free ambassadors', helping to promote the UK across the continent, he said. All abattoirs across France will undergo emergency inspections after another horrific animal abuse video was released today. The shocking footage shows workers slitting cows' throats while they are still alive and throwing innocent sheep against a wall. And the heart wrenching images have sparked a nationwide probe into the country's abattoirs as authorities try to ensure that all standards and laws are being adhered to. All abattoirs across France will undergo emergency inspections after another horrific animal abuse video was released today The shocking footage shows the animals dangling by their hind legs as they struggle to get free before they are killed Some of the animals are even quartered and have their throats slit while they are obviously alive and conscious Animal rights group, L214, released the video on their website in a bid to expose the shocking treatment of the animals. The five minute film was recorded by hidden cameras at a slaughterhouse in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques area of south western France, just before Easter. It shows workers repeatedly abusing sheep and hitting them over the head in an apparent attempt to knock them out. In one scene a worker is shown to literally throw a lamb against the wall. And both cows and sheep are left hanging in the air by their hind legs as they struggle to break free. Some of the animals are even quartered and have their throats slit while they are obviously alive and conscious. This is now the third abattoir abuse video to have emerged in the last six months. The five minute film was recorded by hidden cameras at a slaughterhouse in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques area of south western France, just before the Easter holiday Animal rights group, L214, released the video on their website in a bid to expose the shocking treatment of the animals And the Minister of Agriculture, Stephane Le Foll, reacted by ordering the slaughterhouse to be closed, and for all of France's abattoirs to be inspected within a month. Speaking to The Local, a spokesman for L214, Sebastien Arsac, said: 'These are obviously some very shocking images, but they're not the first of their kind, unfortunately.' However, Arsac said that although the government's reaction was strong, they hadn't previously acted on their words. He said: 'This is exactly what the former agriculture minister said back in 2010. 'They're obliged to react, but it's nothing more than a statement.' The sheep were lined up on a conveyor belt to be stunned and one sheep is even seen to be thrown against a wall as it reaches the worker The head of the abattoir told the paper that he was 'disgusted' by the 'unacceptable' treatment of animals The animal rights group suggested the best solution would be for cameras to always be fitted in the abattoirs so experts could monitor the treatment of animals Arsac suggested that the best solution would be for cameras to be fitted in the abattoirs so experts could monitor the treatment of animals. He also said that consumers could help by eating less meat. The head of the abattoir told the paper that he was 'disgusted' by the 'unacceptable' treatment of animals. In Febraury a so-called 'animal-friendly' slaughterhouse was closed after similar scenes of animal cruelty. Here, sheep were seen being thrown through the air against metal barriers and animals were given electric shocks for fun by laughing employees Advertisement With ceiling tiles and trailing wires hanging down over abandoned suitcases, these haunting new photos taken two days after the Brussels bomb attacks show how the city's bustling airport was turned into a tangled mesh of steel. The eerie images of the bombed out shell of Brussels' Zeventem airport were taken as rescuers sifted through the debris of what was left of the departures hall. Smears of blood staining the floors, and forgotten belongings are the only clues that the deserted building was once full of passengers. Just seconds before Tuesday morning's blasts, CCTV images showed a terminal full of holidaymakers and business people blissfully unaware of the horror that was about to unfold. All unaware except for three men who were about to unleash the terror - two already rigged with concealed explosives with single black gloves hiding the triggers, and one with a hat and dressed all in white. Scroll down for video Carnage: The once-bustling departure hall of Brussels' Zaventem airport was left unrecognisable after the double explosions that killed 20 people. Pictured, response crews clear the debris left behind by the blasts Horror: The floor of the departures hall is still covered in blood, surrounded only by the remains of check in desks and shops Destroyed: Parts of the airport where the bombs exploded have been left almost unrecognisable, filled only with metal bars and twisted plastic chairs Two of them, now believed to be Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El-Bakraoui, blew themselves up within seconds of each other. One of the blasts hit the heart of the packed American Airlines check in desk, and the other struck outside Starbucks as early morning travellers ran for their lives. The third bomb - thought to be comprised of the heaviest explosive - was left abandoned as the 'man in white' fled the scene. Some images of the airport render it almost unrecognisable twisted plastic chairs are covered in dust as tables have been flung against the walls. Escalators have stopped. Their glass barriers cracked and surrounded by scattered debris. In one photo, a baby's pram has been abandoned amid roped barriers at check in, left behind as families fled. The check in desk of Brussels Airlines has been completely destroyed with panels hanging off and metal poles bent out of shape. At the site of the second blast, smears of blood can still be seen on the floor. It comes as Brussels Airport chief executive Arnaud Feist told Belgian business newspaper L'Echo it could take 'months' for the airport to be fully operational again. Chaotic: A shoe, left behind in the rush of passengers fleeing for their lives, lies abandoned in the departures hall following the attacks Shattered: Twisted plastic chairs have been left covered in broken ceiling tiles as wires trail across holidaymakers' abandoned luggage. It comes as authorities estimate the airport won't be up and running for months yet Terror: The Brussels Airlines check-in desk has been left a twisted mass of metal, with panels knocked off by the force of the explosions 'The provisional structure will not be able to absorb the usual number we had before the attacks,' Mr Feist told Belgian media. 'Although the structure of the building is intact, it will all have to be rebuilt, from the air conditioning to the check in desks. And that will take months,' he said. As Brussels struggled to get back on its feet, criticism of Belgium's handling of the case mounted after the sole suspect to be charged over the metro and airport attacks was freed for lack of evidence linking him to the carnage. Federal police have had 51 tip-offs regarding the 'man in white', the man who was seen in the company of the two terrorists at Brussels airport who blew themselves up. Police said he had been 'spotted' 51 times but has still not been identified. Yesterday morning police circulated security footage from a camera at Brussels airport from last Tuesday. It pictures a man, just before the explosions, right next to the two kamikazes, while he is pushing his trolley along a conveyor belt. According to the federal prosecutor this suspect left his suitcase behind next to luggage from the other terrorists. This was the largest bomb of the three and it did not explode. On Thursday afternoon the prosecutor arrested a man, Faycal Cheffou, in connection with the terrorist attacks. The taxi driver who took the terrorists to the airport believed that he was the man with the hat. Cheffou, a journalist, was also linked by various media to the Maelbeek attacks and was detained by the investigating judge but was released by the examining magistrate on Monday. Prosecutors had charged the suspect with 'terrorist murder' and were investigating whether he was the third airport attacker who fled after his bomb did not detonate. With his release on Monday, the hunt was back on for the so-called 'man in white' seen in CCTV footage next to the two ISIS suicide bombers at Zaventem airport. The airport, closed since the blasts wrecked the departure hall, was readying to stage a test run on Tuesday involving hundreds of volunteer staff to determine if it was ready to resume flights, albeit in a very limited capacity, on Wednesday. The attacks left up to 35 people dead including multiple suicide bombers after homemade explosives were detonated in the packed departures hall of Zaventem airport and Brussels Maelbeek metro station. Of the 340 people injured in the attacks, 96 remain in hospital. Many foreign nationals were among the victims, testament to the cosmopolitan nature of a city that is home to both the European Union and NATO. Abandoned: Photographs taken just two days after the terror attack show the departure hall completely deserted, with just a pram left behind as terrified passengers fled for their lives Recovery: The attacks, in the airport and at Maelbeek metro station, left up to 35 people dead after homemade explosives were detonated in the packed departure hall Frozen: Escalators in the once-bustling departures hall have stopped, while glass on the barriers surrounding them was left shattered. Of the 340 people injured in the attacks, 96 remain in hospital Shock: One of the blasts targeted the crowd standing outside Starbucks in the departures hall, while the other exploded between check in desks 8 and 9 Victims: Almost all of those who died in the blasts have been named, as Belgian politicians hope to clear up accusations that the terrorists should have been stopped long before the attacks Shards: The strength of the explosions left most of the windows of the busy departures hall shattered, throwing shards of glass out into the surrounding area Nearly all the fatalities have now been identified. The Indian government on Tuesday confirmed, one of the latest, that a 31-year-old Indian man was on the metro train blown up by a suicide bomber. It comes as Belgian politicians seek to clear up accusations that investigators should have picked up the scent of the attackers well before March 22. One of the suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, had been caught near Turkey's border with Syria in 2015 and Ankara says it had warned Belgium and the Netherlands that he was 'a foreign terrorist fighter.' But authorities in Brussels said they did not know he was suspected of terror-related activities until after he was deported to the Netherlands. Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur, who is facing criticism for his own actions before and after the suicide bombings, said in Paris on Tuesday, that 'there are certainly some analyses to be done on the investigation. Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Otherwise these attacks would not have happened.' He said his city, which is headquarters to European Union institutions, could never go back to 'normal' again. 'There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore. That's a concept we have to revisit.' Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins 'a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction.' The airport has yet to reopen since the attacks but it has been testing a temporary check-in system for use in the coming days. The subway system is mostly running again, although under heavy guard. The Maelbeek station, hit by a suicide bomber in the morning rush hour, remained closed. One stop away, Franz Alderweireldt, 82, who takes the subway every day, said 'I think this is not over.' He said that 'when terrorists plan an attack, they will do it no matter what, even if there are dozens or hundreds of soldiers or police on the street.' Chilling: This CCTV image was taken at 7.58am, just 25 seconds before the first of the two explosions tore through the busy passenger terminal, killing 20 people. It shows dozens of victims completely unaware of the chaos about to unfold, queuing at Starbucks and wandering through the terminal Patty Duke passed away on Tuesday at the age of 69. Duke, who was born Anna Duke, died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine. 'She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a mental health advocate and a cultural icon,' said her rep Michael Stubbs in a statement. 'She will be greatly missed.' Duke won an Academy Award at the age of 16 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. A year after her Oscar win Duke took the role for which she would become best known, as wildly different cousins Patty and Cathy Lane on The Patty Duke Show. Duke, who was married four times, had three sons - actors Sean and Mackenzie Aston and Kevin Pearce. Scroll down for video Gone: Patty Duke (above) passed away on Tuesday at the age of 69 of sepsis from a ruptured intestine Legend: Duke, who was born Anna Pearce, shot to fame as a teenager winning an Oscar at 16 for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker Duke was born in Queens in 1946 and had a difficult childhood, with her mother putting two talent agents in charge of her care when she was just 8 years old. She quickly found success working in both film and television before getting her big break at the age of 13 when she originated the role of Keller on Broadway opposite Anne Bancroft, who played Keller's teacher Annie Sullivan. The play ran for two years before being made into a film, in which Bancroft starred and also received an Academy Award. Duke became the youngest actor to ever receive an Oscar when she picked up the award for Best Supporting Actress. Having conquered the worlds of Broadway and film, Duke set her sights on television next when she accepted the offer to star in The Patty Duke Show, a sitcom the had been created as a star vehicle for the actress. She was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her duel role on the show playing both a fun-loving American teenager living in Brooklyn (Patty) and her far more refined and proper look-alike cousin (Cathy). Duke also helped to create the characters, spending a week with producers and writers as they came up with an idea for the show, which ran for three seasons. Despite her massive successes however, her life off-screen at this time was a struggle due to her horrible treatment at the hands of John and Ethel Ross, the talent agents her mother had handed her over to when she was just a child to watch over her career and well being. Later in her life Duke alleged that the couple gave her prescription drugs throughout her teenager years and accused the two of sexual abuse. Duke also claimed the couple took almost all of the money she made, leaving her with little when she turned 18 and was finally able to set out on her own. Breakthrough: Duke originated the role of Helen Keller on Broadway in The Miracle Worker before filming the movie with Anne Bancroft (above) Changes: Duke managed to score yet another now iconic role when she won the part of Neely O'Hara in the big-screen adaption of Jacqueline Susan's Valley of the Dolls (l to r: Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate and Duke) Ladies night: More recently Duke had a guest role on a 2013 episode of Glee alongside Meredith Baxter (above) Duke married for the first time at the age of 18, tying the knot with director Harry Falk who was 13 years her senior. Duke wrote about the difficulties she faced in her first marriage in her memoir, Call Me Anna. The young actress was bipolar at the time but had yet to be diagnosed by medical professionals, which resulted in unpredictable mood swings as well as heavy drinking and self medicating. Duke also revealed she suffered from an eating disorder and overdosed on pills on more than one occasion during the couple's union, which ultimately ended in divorce in 1970 five years after their marriage. It was during her marriage to Falk that he sitcom ended, and Duke managed to score yet another now iconic role when she won the part of Neely O'Hara in the big-screen adaption of Jacqueline Susan's Valley of the Dolls. Her performance as a singer who loves pills and booze was a departure from the wholesome roles she had played before in her career, and despite the less than stellar reviews at the time the film went on to become a camp classic much like the novel on which it is based. Duke began dating another very famous Hollywood name after her divorce from Falk when, at the age of 23, she started a relationship with a 17-year-old Desi Arnaz Jr. The pair split soon after due in large part to Arnaz's very famous mother Lucille Ball not approving of the relationship and Duke made the sudden decision to marry a stranger, Michael Tell. In an interview with ABC she said that Tell offered her a way out of the tabloid scandal created by Ball's disapproval of her, and he also gave her another gift - her first son. Duke and Tell split 13 days after tying the knot and had their marriage annulled, and Duke soon began dating John Astin. That is why her son, born in 1971, was given the name Sean Astin. The Lord of the Rings star said that his mother told him Astin was not his father later in life, but did not inform him the man was Tell, saying instead it was Desi Arnaz Jr. After meeting Tell however, Sean had a test proving he was his biological father. 'Desi Arnaz Jr. loves me, and I love him. We are so close,'said Sean in that ABC interview. 'Science tells me that he's not my biological father. Science tells me that Mike Tell is.' Sean said in 2004 he still has relationships with all three men - the man who raised him, the man his mother claimed was his father and his actual biological father. Family: Duke was married four times and had three sons, actors Sean and Mackenzie Aston (above with their mother at her Walk of Fame ceremony) and Kevin Pearce True love: She spent the last 30 years of her life married to Michael Pearce (above in 2010) It was during Duke's relationship with Astin that her bipolar disorder became worse, with her sons Sean and Mackenzie referring to her episodes as 'freakouts.' Duke and Astin married in 1972 and separated when Sean was 11 and their son Mackenzie was 9, which is also when Duke was diagnosed with what at the time was called manic depression. She devoted much of her life after this point to educating people about bipolar disorder, something she says was treated in her when she started taking lithium. Duke also continued to work extensively in television, both on series and in TV movies, and in 1985 was the first woman to play the president on the ABC show Hail To The Chief. She married for the fourth time in 1986 after meeting Army drill sergeant Michael Pearce on the set of one of her TV movies, where he was serving as a technical advisor. Duke also proved her popularity among her peers by becoming president of the Screen Actors Guild, serving from 1985 to 1988. She also gave birth to her third son in 1988, son Kevin. STARS REACT TO PATTY DUKE'S DEATH ON SOCIAL MEDIA Advertisement Her son Sean would become a movie star in his own right starting with his role in the 1980s classic Goonies and then in films such as Rudy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and 50 First Dates. Sean posted on Twitter Tuesday; 'This morning Anna Pearce closed her eyes & ascended to a beautiful place.' He also began a Crowdrise page to raise $250,000 for a mental health project in honor of his mother and her work over the years. 'Anna (her given name) fought for civil rights, gay rights and the rights of working actors to name just a few. Her greatest achievement was confronting her mental illness and making her story public. She crossed the Nation speaking and campaigning and lobbying for mental health,' wrote Sean on the page. 'My mom took her place as a mental health advocate in the greatest tradition of noble leadership.' Mackenzie, like his mother and older brother, also found success at a young age thanks to his role on Facts of Life, going on to appear on shows including Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. Duke and Pearce moved to Idaho soon after their wedding where they raised there son Kevin and were married until her death. Nearly half of British voters believe David Cameron should quit as Prime Minister if Britain decides to leave the EU in June's referendum, a poll found today. The Ipsos Mori poll gave a boost to the In campaign, with 49 per cent in favour of staying in the Brussels club and 41 per cent backing Brexit. But it shows the gap is narrowing, with the lead for the In campaign halved since the same poll last month. The Ipsos Mori poll gave a boost to the In campaign, with 49 per cent in favour of staying in the Brussels club and 41 per cent backing Brexit The majority in favour of Mr Cameron stepping down deals a major blow to Number 10, who are keen to ensure the referendum does not turn into a vote of confidence on the Prime Minister's performance. He has insisted he will stay on in Downing Street regardless of the outcome in June's referendum, but Mr Cameron made a similar pledge before the Scottish independence referendum but admitted later that he would have quit if the nationalists had won. Some 48 per cent of the public say he should resign as Prime Minister if Britain leaves the EU, according to the Ipsos Mori poll for the Evening Standard. But asked earlier this month by Labour MP Richard Burgon if he would resign after a Brexit vote, Mr Cameron replied: 'No'. Today's polling results come on another day of warnings and claims of 'scaremongering' from both sides of the EU vote. Nearly half of British voters believe David Cameron should quit as Prime Minister if Britain decides to leave the EU in June's referendum, a poll found today The Vote Leave campaign released a dossier of murders and rapes committed by 50 EU criminals that were let into the UK, but the In campaign described the move as 'scaremongering of the worst kind'. But In campaigners were themselves accused of scaremongering today after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan warned that a Brexit risked creating a 'lost generation' that will be left in 'limbo' while the UK struggles to negotiate new trade deals. She also warned that Interrailing and 'city hopping' would become harder, more expensive and more dangerous if Britain was outside the EU. Youngsters travelling on a budget could be required to obtain visas, be blocked from free healthcare across the EU and face expensive travel costs, Ms Morgan warned. But she was immediately ridiculed by Brexit campaigners, who pointed out that Interrailing started in 1972 a year before Britain entered the European Community and the scheme includes non-EU countries such as Turkey, Norway and Serbia. Suggesting that youngsters could be denied the 'rite of passage' of a continental trip before 'settling down into adult life' if Britain quit the Brussels club, Ms Morgan warned: 'Whether it's Interrailing or backpacking or city hopping, being in the EU makes it easier and safer to travel around the countries of Europe. 'Young people who travel in the EU don't need to worry about a myriad of visas and entry requirements. 'They don't have to worry about the cost of falling ill because the European Health Insurance card means they will be treated for free or for a reduced cost no matter what country they are in.' She added: 'But perhaps most importantly for young people travelling on tight budgets, our EU membership makes it much cheaper to travel as well.' Meanwhile a study of British expats living in Europe found that a Brexit could lead to British nationals returning home in their thousands. Experts have warned that uncertainty over healthcare and the value of the state pension will trigger a mass exodus from the continent if Britain votes to leave. It would widen the gap between the number of Britons who live in Europe and the number of EU nationals living in Britain. There are already 100 British nationals leaving Spain every day in fear of what will happen to them if UK votes to leave the EU in June's referendum. Brexit will make Interrailing around Europe more difficult, more expensive and more dangerous, claims Education Secretary Nicky Morgan - despite the scheme being launched a year BEFORE UK joined the EU Nicky Morgan (pictured at the Fashion Retail Academy in London today) warned that youngsters wanting to travel on a budget could be required to obtain visas, be blocked from free healthcare across the EU and face expensive travel costs Youngsters will find it more difficult to backpack around Europe if voters choose to leave the EU in June's referendum, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan warned today. She said Interrailing and 'city hopping' would become harder, more expensive and more dangerous if Britain was outside the EU. Youngsters travelling on a budget could be required to obtain visas, be blocked from free healthcare across the EU and face expensive travel costs, Ms Morgan warned. But she was immediately ridiculed by Brexit campaigners, who pointed out that Interrailing started in 1972 a year before Britain entered the European Community and the scheme includes non-EU countries such as Turkey, Norway and Serbia. Ms Morgan made the comments as she urged older voters, who are more likely to back Brexit, not to gamble with the prospects of the next generation. She said quitting the EU risks creating a 'lost generation' that will be left in 'limbo' while the UK struggles to negotiate new trade deals. She said it would be unfair for parents and grandparents to vote to leave the EU because of the 'devastating' impact on the chances of their children and grandchildren. Suggesting that youngsters could be denied the 'rite of passage' of a continental trip before 'settling down into adult life' if Britain quit the Brussels club, Ms Morgan warned: 'Whether it's Interrailing or backpacking or city hopping, being in the EU makes it easier and safer to travel around the countries of Europe. 'Young people who travel in the EU don't need to worry about a myriad of visas and entry requirements. 'They don't have to worry about the cost of falling ill because the European Health Insurance card means they will be treated for free or for a reduced cost no matter what country they are in.' She added: 'But perhaps most importantly for young people travelling on tight budgets, our EU membership makes it much cheaper to travel as well.' She appealed to the young to turn out and vote because it will help tackle 'global ills' such as climate change. Her comments may risked alienating older voters by suggesting their views on the future of the country are less important than those younger than them. Hers is the latest dire warning issued by senior ministers loyal to Downing Street in what Brexit campaigners say is a ramping up of 'Project Fear'. Nicky Morgan warned that leaving the EU could make Interrailing more difficult for youngsters. But the scheme includes non-EU countries such as Switzerland, where train journeys run over the single track Landwasser Viaduct at Schmitten (pictured) In recent days a string of Cabinet ministers have been wheeled out to make doom-mongering predictions about the risks of Brexit. On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned it could damage the NHS. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills. The appeal to those with all their working lives ahead of them may also suggest the extent to which the Remain camp is concerned younger people will not turn out to vote in the referendum on June 23. In a speech to the British Fashion Retail Academy in London, Mrs Morgan argued a vote for Brexit could put young people's future at risk. It would be young people who will pay the price if there is an economic shock from Brexit, she said, because firms are likely to cut back on entry level jobs. Last week Energy Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured) said Brexit could lead to an 'electric shock' of higher energy bills 'It's clear, that if Britain leaves Europe it will be young people who suffer the most, left in limbo while we struggle to find and then negotiate an alternative model,' she said. 'In doing so we risk that lost generation becoming a reality. And everyone who casts their vote must understand that. 'If parents and grandparents vote to leave, they'll be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildren's future. 'At a time when people are rightly concerned about intergenerational fairness the most unfair decision that the older generation could make would be to take Britain out of Europe and damage the ability of young people to get on in life.' On Sunday Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured) warned it could damage the NHS By contrast, staying in the EU will help tackle the global issues young people care about such as sexual and gender equality, poverty, the environment and climate change, she said. 'I want young people to make sure their voices are heard in this debate whichever side of the debate they might be on otherwise they risk having the decision made by other people, their future decided for them, not by them. Elections are decided by the people who turn up. 'And don't think you have to keep your opinion on the EU debate to yourself. Go out and make the case to others and in particular your older friends and relatives.' She added: 'This is the generation of Instagram, easyJet and eBay. They don't want to see a Britain cut off from the world, where not only their opportunities, but our influence as a country, ends at our shores.' Ms Morgan pointed to research suggesting there has already been a drop in job vacancies being advertised because of Brexit fears. Every day 100 British expats quit Spain as uncertainty over June's EU vote triggers exodus from Europe Nearly 100 British nationals are leaving Spain every day, figures show as expatriates quit Europe in fear of what will happen to them if UK votes to leave the EU in June's referendum. Experts have warned that uncertainty over healthcare and the value of the state pension will trigger a mass exodus from the continent if Britain votes to leave. It will widen the gap between the number of Britons who live in Europe and the number of EU nationals living in Britain. Nearly 100 British nationals are leaving Spain every day, figures show as experts warn that uncertainty over June's EU vote is driving thousands of Britons to return home as they fear losing benefits such as free healthcare and the minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the UK state pension Currently 1.2million Britons live in other EU member states while 2.9million Europeans live in the UK. But Out campaigners said the figures showed how the 'balance of power favours the UK' and would put the UK in a strong position to negotiate a good settlement for expats if voters opted to quit the Brussels club. Expats fear they will lose access to free healthcare available through the European Insurance Card or by signing up to free health insurance on offer in countries like Spain. There are also doubts over whether British pensioners living on the continent will continue to benefit from the minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the state pension paid to all Britons living in EU member states. MURDERS AND RAPES COMMITTED BY 50 FOREIGN CRIMINALS WHO WERE LET IN UNDER EU RULES Dangerous: Among those on the list of 50 drawn up by Brexit campaign group Vote Leave are Arnis Zalkalns, pictured, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross EU free movement rules have let dozens of foreign criminals commit horrific offences in Britain, analysis reveals. A dossier released today lists 50 of the 'most dangerous' European criminals who have entered the UK freely, despite convictions in their countries. Once here, 45 of them committed serious offences, the report by Brexit campaign Vote Leave says. In total, they were responsible for 14 killings, including nine murders, and 13 sex crimes of which seven were rape. They also carried out robberies, theft, burglaries and drug offences. Last night Brexit supporters said the report showed EU membership made the UK 'less safe and less secure'. The EU does not compel member states to share information on criminals, meaning many are able to travel to the UK unhindered. Free movement rules give every EU citizen the right to enter any country in the bloc. Eurosceptics argue that if Britain votes to leave we could negotiate a new deal that does not include free movement of workers without more stringent checks. These could include criminal record checks on anyone wanting a visa, even for the short term. Serious offenders could then be automatically excluded. The Government could continue co-operation on information sharing and extradition under any new agreements. Among those on the list of 50 drawn up by Brexit campaign group Vote Leave are Arnis Zalkalns, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross. It also names Ireneusz Bartnowski, a Polish burglar who murdered elderly couple Guiseppe and Caterina Massaro a week after arriving in the UK. The dossier also reveals the exasperation and despair of British judges presiding over these cases, as they questioned how such dangerous men got into the country in the first place. Advertisement The UK Government raises the state pension for pensioners living in the EU and a handful of other countries where it has a social security agreement, but expats living in countries such as Australia do not benefit from the same terms. A net total of 72,000 British expats have left Spain over the last two years, while around 7,000 have quit Italy, according to The Times. Christopher Chantrey, chairman of the British Community Committee of France, told the newspaper: 'The issue is sowing panic among Britons who have taken early retirement to France.' The figures show that all EU countries apart from Spain, France and Luxembourg have more of their population living in the UK than vice-versa. Pro-EU campaigners warned that expats would have no automatic guarantee that their current rights would continue if Britain left the EU. But Robert Oxley, a spokesman for the Vote Leave campaign, said: 'These numbers are a perfect example of how the balance of power favours the UK. There is a huge incentive for Brussels to do a deal. 'Pro-EU campaigners do Britain down by saying we can't do a deal but we have a strong hand, and we should play it. 'Despite the scaremongering no British expats are going to be asked to leave the EU post Brexit.' Meanwhile the In campaign has warned that British students will no longer be able to benefit from the free or cheap tuition fees at universities across the continent. They could be forced to apply for visas to study and work in the EU, campaigners claimed. James McGrory, of the Stronger In campaign, said: 'Students who have planned to study abroad could also face the high tuition fees charged to non-EU students. 'They might also lose the opportunity for vital funding through the EU's Erasmus programme. 'Leaving the EU would also hike up flight prices and mobile phone roaming charges for Brits abroad.' With 72,000 British nationals already having quit Spain over the last two years, just 308,000 remain in the country as the country's economy continues to struggle. An estimated 65,000 British nationals remain in Italy. Earlier this month a group of British expats launched a judicial review over the decision to bar some British citizens living in other EU countries from voting in the June 23 referendum. British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years are automatically disenfranchised, meaning an estimated 700,000 UK nationals living on the continent are set to have no say on whether Britain stays in the EU. Law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the expats in their legal challenge, claims that the automatic exclusion breaks EU laws. It says the people who will be most affected by a Brexit are those who have been excluded from having a voice in the historic referendum. And Mr Shindler said the legal challenge was the 'last stand' for expats who fear for their way of life if the UK severs ties with Brussels. A High Court judge in London will decide whether to allow the judicial review to go ahead because of a rule that 'arbitrarily' blocks British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years from voting in elections. If granted, legal experts predict that legislation would have to be fast-tracked within a matter of days to register the extra voters on the electoral roll. Leigh Day warned that the need to register an extra 700,000 voters could threaten the proposed referendum timetable. Mr Shindler, who retired to Italy in 1982, said he would vote Remain if he had the chance as many expats were concerned about the future if the UK voted to leave. 'It would have very serious repercussions for all expats and their families here,' he told the Press Association. 'I came here in 1982 when you had to have a permit from the police to stay here. All that would come back. We would be immigrants here.' Mr Shindler, who fought in Italy during the Second World War and was part of the Anzio landings in 1944, said younger expats could be forced to apply for work permits to remain in their adopted countries. He was sceptical about assurances from the Leave camp that there would be little change in the status of Britons living in the EU following Brexit. 'That really is wishful thinking. That's no comfort to us at all, it's absurd to say that,' he said. 'There could be permits for work - I don't work of course - but those who work here will have to have a permit like they used to.' The expats in EU nations were 'free ambassadors', helping to promote the UK across the continent, he said. Mr Shindler, who lives in Porto d'Ascoli on Italy's east coast, said: 'It leaves us speechless to think anyone can stand up in Parliament and deny another Brit the right to vote.' Taken decades apart but with the same adoration on show, these photos are a testament to the lasting love between Timothy West and Prunella Scales. And all the more touching is that their devotion to one another in the recent shots comes despite Miss Scales' life becoming 'narrower by the day' at the hands of dementia. Viewers of the Great Canal Journeys have been granted a rare insight into how the Fawlty Towers actress, 83, is coping with the condition, and have hailed her an 'inspiration' for choosing to co-host the show. Scroll down for video Lasting devotion: Timothy West and Prunella Scales shared intimate family photos on Great Canal Journeys Close: Some of the photographs showed the couple's children, who are now adults, as youngsters Quiet moments: The photos show how their love has remained as strong as it was when they first married They have also been taken inside the couple's family photo albums, with old photos showing how their love has remained as strong as it was when they were first married. Interwoven between the clips of them navigating the waterways of Europe were never-before-seen pictures of the couple in their younger years. A black-and-white shot of them lying by a river showed how their love of waterways has transcended their 52-year marriage, and they were also shown pushing a canal lock with their children. Acclaimed actor West, now 81, has received praise for his role in the show, as fans have commented on his unwavering patience towards his wife. At the beginning of Sunday night's episode, Miss Scales, 83, said: 'Things are a lot harder for me these days.' But West, 81, was quick to jump in to support her, saying: 'But we get by. Pru has a slight condition, it does mean she has difficulty remembering things. Beautiful: Some of the never-before-seen pictures show the couple in their younger years Touching: The same adoration is on show today as in the first years of their marriage more than 50 years ago 'One has to recognise that Pru's domestic life is getting a little narrower by the day.' Explaining the reasoning behind presenting the show despite her dementia, Miss Scales added: 'It can be a nuisance but it doesn't stop me remembering how to open a lock gate or make the skipper a cup of tea.' One viewer wrote: 'What a lovely couple Timothy West and Prunella Scales are. Hope I'm that happy when I'm their age.' Another commented: 'Watching Canal journeys with Prunella Scales, I hope I'm like her when I'm her age, she's inspiring!' Life has become distinctly harder for the pair since Miss Scales was first diagnosed with dementia two years ago, and West has previously said he was watched the 'gradual disappearance' of his wife. Inspiration: Miss Scales, pictured in her iconic role as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, suffers from dementia However, Miss Scales recently vowed she would not allow it to ruin her career, and opted to film three episodes of the Channel 4 show. She and West conclude the series this Sunday as they travel down the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: 'The adventures Timothy and Prunella have embarked on are a joy to see. Devastating as it is to be diagnosed with dementia, it needn't mean the end of a fulfilling life. Six wounded Cuban migrants who were rescued off the coast of Key West on Saturday have been accused of shooting themselves in a desperate bid to be granted asylum in the US. The rafters, including a woman who is 16 weeks pregnant, were all taken to South Florida hospitals to be treated, while everyone else on the 26-strong boat was taken to border control be deported. One who was shot in the foot was treated before joining the group set for deportation. Now, the remaining wounded six are desperately trying to defend themselves against claims they inflicted their own gunshot wounds - which astoundingly missed all vital organs and arteries. They claim they were targeted by Cuban gunmen at sea then sailed into American waters to seek help. 'That [to intentionally shoot yourself] would have been something very hard,' 16-weeks-pregnant Yarelys Rios, 37, told a press conference reported by the WSVN. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO The wounded rafters, including 16-weeks-pregnant Yarelys Rios (left) and her husband Denny (right), were all taken to South Florida hospitals to be treated. Now they are slamming claims they inflicted their own wounds Denny and Yarelys were both shot in their right sides between the hip and ribs, missing any vital organs Both Rios and her husband Denny Rumbaut were shot in the right side between the ribs and the hip. 'I am pregnant and Im not going to risk my baby to come to a country that, yes, where I want to be, but not that way.' She added: 'I know that in American waters there are several boats that can assist you and at that moment I could not go back not knowing who were the people shooting at us and what could happen.' Rios and her husband addressed reporters with two other wounded migrants on Monday, during which they each flashed their scars. One of them, Jorge Luis Escalona, has an identical wound to Rios and Rumbaut, WSVN reported. The other, Yaser Cabrera, was hit between the ribs and hip on his left side, slightly closer to his stomach. Another, not identified, was shot in the shoulder. Rumbaut gave his version of events in Spanish: 'Some people came out of the woods, armed, trying to steal our raft. We refused.' He said gunfire ensued and they headed towards Key West, where they were eventually intercepted. In a statement on Saturday the US Coast Guard said: 'The U.S. Coast Guard interdicted 26 Cuban migrants aboard a make-shift raft south of Key West, Florida Saturday afternoon. 'Seven of the 26 migrants had gunshot wounds sustained prior to the interdiction. 'I am pregnant. I'm not going to risk my baby to come to a country I want to be... not that way,' Rios said Denny claims armed attackers came out of the woods trying to steal their raft and opened fire on them 'The most critical, six, were medevaced to a local area hospital. 'The remaining 20 migrants will likely be returned to their country of origin. 'The U.S. Coast Guard works hard to ensure the safety of migrants on our cutters after an interdiction and strongly discourages attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea. 'These trips are extremely dangerous and could lead to loss of life.' A historic mansion with 11 acres of land which used to serve as the Nazi headquarters during the occupation of the Channel Islands has now been put up for sale for 12 million. Prior to the Second World War, the occupants were injured servicemen, recuperating after fierce fighting on the Western Front during the Great War. The property, Les Touillets, is now among the most sumptuous houses on an island famous for its wealthy residents and multi-million pound homes. Prior to the Second World War, the occupants were injured servicemen, recuperating after fierce fighting on the Western Front during the Great War The property, Les Touillets, is now among the most sumptuous houses on an island famous for its wealthy residents and multi-million pound homes The 12,500 sq ft manor house, owned by British businessman Robert Cooney, has just been put on the market for 12m and comes complete with a home cinema, gym and heated outdoor swimming pool. Situated in 11.5 acres of private grounds, the main house features six bedroom suites, four of which have their own balconies. It has its own wine cellar, gym, stables and leisure complex with a dedicated 'party room.' It's manicured grounds and stunning interiors represent a stark contrast from the property's colourful and controversial past. Originally built in the 1850s, Les Touillets was used as a hospital during World War I, housing members of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry who had been injured in the Battle of Cambrai in northern France in 1917. With Guernsey situated just 20 miles off the Normandy coast, Les Touillets later became a Nazi headquarters following the German invasion of the Channel Islands in 1940. Hitler considered the islands, which also include Jersey, Alderney, Sark and Herm, a strategic location for the invasion of mainland France, and were the only British territories to be occupied during the War. Following the end of the War, the property was left abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair Situated in 11.5 acres of private grounds, the main house features six bedroom suites, four of which have their own balconies. It has its own wine cellar, gym, stables and leisure complex with a dedicated 'party room' The 12,500 sq ft manor house, owned by British businessman Robert Cooney, has just been put on the market for 12m and comes complete with a home cinema, gym and heated outdoor swimming pool Around 30,000 islanders were evacuated, although many stayed throughout the occupation, which lasted until May 1945. Following the end of the War, the property was left abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair. However, it has been slowly renovated over the past two decades by Mr Cooney, and it is now said to be catching the eye of some of the world's wealthiest individuals. And despite having a hefty price tag, the house does offer prospective buyers significant financial benefits. The island - which is a 40-minute flight from London - is well known for being a tax haven, with residents paying no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and no VAT. Income tax is just 20 per cent, with a cap of 220,000 on worldwide income and 110,000 on local income. The low crime rates recorded on the island means most residents often don't lock their front doors. It is also relatively rare for Guernsey's biggest properties to come on the market With Guernsey situated just 20 miles off the Normandy coast, Les Touillets later became a Nazi headquarters following the German invasion of the Channel Islands in 1940 Stamp duty on properties over 250,00 in Guernsey stands at just three per cent - compared with the 12 per cent due on houses above 1.5m in the UK. The low crime rates recorded on the island means most residents often don't lock their front doors. It is also relatively rare for Guernsey's biggest properties to come on the market. Of the island's 20,000 private houses, only 1,700 properties are registered to be sold on the open market to non-Guernsey residents. Buyers must hold a UK, EU or Swiss passport to be able to purchase open market properties. The laws were imposed to limit the population of the island, which has an area of just 24 square miles. Around 63,000 people currently live there. The Housing Register is currently closed, meaning it is not possible to add any more homes to the open market. A Connecticut town official allegedly threatened to kill his wife and himself because of their impending divorce - but didn't follow through because his daughter came home. Bozrah First Selectman Glenn Pianka is said to have outlined a plot to murder his spouse Holly after telling her he would turn violent if they went through with the separation. Police said he became depressed, and started sending threatening mail to the alleged victim, her parents and her sister. The 59-year-old is said to have gone to the duplex he shared with her ready to carry out the attack. Connecticut town official Glenn Pianka, 59, (right) allegedly threatened to kill his wife Holly (left) and himself because of their impending divorce - but didn't follow through because his daughter came home As he lay in wait in his home office, with a loaded pistol, his plan was foiled when one of his children came in at the right time and 'saved them from tragedy'. The former State Trooper was then arrested and has been charged with second-degree threatening, second-degree harassment and second-degree breach of peace. He told The Bulletin of Norwich the incident was a 'highly personal matter' and insisted the publication was 'out of line' for reporting the arrest. The victim is believed to have handed a police officer typed and hand-written notes and emails from Pianka. Trooper First Class Collin Konow wrote in an arrest warrant seen by The Bulletin: 'While very vague and non-specific, (they) seemed to imply to Victim 1 that Pianka would resort to violence if the divorce proceedings continue in the same direction that they are currently going. 'Victim 1 conveyed to me that she felt that this communication, while not directly harassing or threatening, had a clear violent undertone that was intended to intimidate her.' The Bozrah First Selectman is said to have outlined a plot to murder his spouse Holly after telling her he would turn violent if they went through with the separation. Police said he became depressed, and started sending threatening mail to the alleged victim, her parents and her sister Pianka also allegedly stated: 'Maybe a little jail time would do me some good.' Konow said in the warrant he urged the woman to file a restraining order, but she did not want to. The woman also reportedly asked that police not be contacted because 'it may further anger him.' Konow then recommended the woman move out of a duplex she shares with Pianka to 'alleviate some of the tension.' The warrant continues: 'In the letter, Glenn Pianka described that he has had many sleepless nights since being served with the divorce paperwork.' His wife also noted that she was scared to formally contact police, as it may set him off, because he didn't want to be publicly shamed. He is due back in court on April 20. Pianka, owner of Olde New England Building & Salvage Comancy, was elected first selectman in November 2015. A woman is suing a Florida hospital, saying an employee flushed the remains of her miscarried child down the toilet. Linda Gomez was 19 weeks pregnant when she rushed into Wellington Regional Medical Center in July 2014 bleeding profusely. As she waited to be seen, she claims, she went to the restroom - and miscarried her fetus while sitting on the toilet. Linda Gomez was 19 weeks pregnant when she rushed into Wellington Regional Medical Center in July 2014 bleeding profusely. File image pictured Unable to summon help, she cut the umbilical cord herself, she says. Eventually a worker heard her screams, she claims. According to Gomez, they entered the bathroom and flushed the fetus away, then ordered Gomez to go back to the waiting area. In a lawsuit filed against the hospital on March 23, Gomez's attorney Kennan Dandar said Gomez asked hospital officials to retrieve the baby so she could give the child a Christian burial. But, he claims, they refused. Sean Astin paid tribute to his mother Patty Duke shortly after her death on Tuesday. The star of films including Lord of the Rings and Goonies posted a photo of his mother holding him when he was a baby on Twitter, writing; 'This morning Anna Pearce closed her eyes & ascended to a beautiful place.' Duke, who was born Anna Duke, died of sepsis from a ruptured intestine at the age of 69. 'She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a mental health advocate and a cultural icon,' said her rep Michael Stubbs in a statement. 'She will be greatly missed.' Memories: Sean Astin (above in October) wrote about his mother Patty Duke on Twitter shortly after her death on Tuesday Touching: 'This morning Anna Pearce closed her eyes & ascended to a beautiful place,' said Sean, who included a photo of himself as a baby with his mom (above) Sean also began a Crowdrise page to raise $250,000 for a mental health project in honor of his mother and her work with those suffering from depression, bipolar disorder or mental issues over the years. Duke was diagnosed as bipolar at the age of 35 after years of suffering. 'Anna (her given name) fought for civil rights, gay rights and the rights of working actors to name just a few. Her greatest achievement was confronting her mental illness and making her story public. She crossed the Nation speaking and campaigning and lobbying for mental health,' wrote Sean on the page. 'My mom took her place as a mental health advocate in the greatest tradition of noble leadership.' On Twitter, countless stars paid tribute to Duke on Tuesday. 'Patty Duke has died. Thank you for sharing your talent with us for all these years,' wrote actress Rose McGowan. 'Rest with the Angels, Patty Duke. Thoughts and prayers are with all that love her,' said Alyssa Milano. 'Such a sad passing of Patty Duke, way too young, such a long career of impressive work and service. RIP,' wrote Sex and the City star Willie Garson. 'Brave, outspoken & humanitarian who played Helen Keller in "Miracle Worker," Oscar winner Patty Duke passed. I will miss her. RIP,' wrote fellow Oscar winner Marlee Matlin. 'Rest in Peace, you marvelous lady. My heart goes out to her family & all who loved this remarkable woman,' wrote Martha Plimpton. 'RIP Patty Duke - a wonderful actress,' wrote Lynda Carter. Duke shot to fame after winning an Academy Award at the age of 16 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. A year after her Oscar win Duke took the role for which she would become best known, as wildly different cousins Patty and Cathy Lane on The Patty Duke Show. Duke, who was married four times, is survived by her three sons, actors Sean and Mackenzie Aston and Kevin Pearce, and fourth husband Michael. STARS REACT TO PATTY DUKE'S DEATH ON SOCIAL MEDIA Advertisement Duke was born in Queens in 1946 and had a difficult childhood, with her mother putting two talent agents in charge of her care when she was just 8 years old. She quickly found success working in both film and television before getting her big break at the age of 13 when she originated the role of Keller on Broadway opposite Anne Bancroft, who played Keller's teacher Annie Sullivan. The play ran for two years before being made into a film, in which Bancroft starred and also received an Academy Award. Duke became the youngest actor to ever receive an Oscar when she picked up the award for Best Supporting Actress. Having conquered the worlds of Broadway and film, Duke set her sights on television next when she accepted the offer to star in The Patty Duke Show, a sitcom the had been created as a star vehicle for the actress. She was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her duel role on the show playing both a fun-loving American teenager living in Brooklyn (Patty) and her far more refined and proper look-alike cousin (Cathy). Duke also helped to create the characters, spending a week with producers and writers as they came up with an idea for the show, which ran for three seasons. Despite her massive successes however, her life off-screen at this time was a struggle due to her horrible treatment at the hands of John and Ethel Ross, the talent agents her mother had handed her over to when she was just a child to watch over her career and well being. Later in her life Duke alleged that the couple gave her prescription drugs throughout her teenager years and accused the two of sexual abuse. Duke also claimed the couple took almost all of the money she made, leaving her with little when she turned 18 and was finally able to set out on her own. Duke married for the first time at the age of 18, tying the knot with director Harry Falk who was 13 years her senior. Duke wrote about the difficulties she faced in her first marriage in her memoir, Call Me Anna. The young actress was bipolar at the time but had yet to be diagnosed by medical professionals, which resulted in unpredictable mood swings as well as heavy drinking and self medicating. Duke also revealed she suffered from an eating disorder and overdosed on pills on more than one occasion during the couple's union, which ultimately ended in divorce in 1970 five years after their marriage. It was during her marriage to Falk that he sitcom ended, and Duke managed to score yet another now iconic role when she won the part of Neely O'Hara in the big-screen adaption of Jacqueline Susan's Valley of the Dolls. Her performance as a singer who loves pills and booze was a departure from the wholesome roles she had played before in her career, and despite the less than stellar reviews at the time the film went on to become a camp classic much like the novel on which it is based. Fighter: In her later years Duke spoke out to educate people about mental illness Legend: Duke won an Oscar when she was just 16 for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker Duke began dating another very famous Hollywood name after her divorce from Falk when, at the age of 23, she started a relationship with a 17-year-old Desi Arnaz Jr. The pair split soon after due in large part to Arnaz's very famous mother Lucille Ball not approving of the relationship and Duke made the sudden decision to marry a stranger, Michael Tell. In an interview with ABC she said that Tell offered her a way out of the tabloid scandal created by Ball's disapproval of her, and he also gave her another gift - her first son. Duke and Tell split 13 days after tying the knot and had their marriage annulled, and Duke soon began dating John Astin. That is why her son, born in 1971, was given the name Sean Astin. The Lord of the Rings star said that his mother told him Astin was not his father later in life, but did not inform him the man was Tell, saying instead it was Desi Arnaz Jr. After meeting Tell however, Sean had a test proving he was his biological father. 'Desi Arnaz Jr. loves me, and I love him. We are so close,'said Sean in that ABC interview. 'Science tells me that he's not my biological father. Science tells me that Mike Tell is.' Sean said in 2004 he still has relationships with all three men - the man who raised him, the man his mother claimed was his father and his actual biological father. It was during Duke's relationship with Astin that her bipolar disorder became worse, with her sons Sean and Mackenzie referring to her episodes as 'freakouts.' Duke and Astin married in 1972 and separated when Sean was 11 and their son Mackenzie was 9, which is also when Duke was diagnosed with what at the time was called manic depression. She devoted much of her life after this point to educating people about bipolar disorder, something she says was treated in her when she started taking lithium. Duke also continued to work extensively in television, both on series and in TV movies, and in 1985 was the first woman to play the president on the ABC show Hail To The Chief. She married for the fourth time in 1986 after meeting Army drill sergeant Michael Pearce on the set of one of her TV movies, where he was serving as a technical advisor. A Maine couple has been indicted after their one-year-old daughter ingested heroin, authorities say. Jason D Thomas, 34, and Katie J Robinson, 23, of Sidney, have been charged with unlawful possession of heroin and endangering the welfare of a child. A Kennebec County grand jury indicted them last week, the Bangor Daily News reported. Thomas and Robinson took their daughter to the hospital in July last year, according to the Portland Press Herald. There, the little girl, who was one year old at the time, tested positives for opiates. Katie J Robinson (left), 23 and Jason D Thomas (right), 34, have been charged with unlawful possession of heroin and endangering the welfare of a child Officials later searched Thomas and Robinson's home and conducted interviews. 'We're alleging that the child ingested heroin, and the child was one at the time,' Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said. District Attorney Maeghan Malone said their one-year-old daughter ingested heroin last summer The parents were arrested in December last year after an investigation. Both had previous drug-related convictions. Thomas was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking in 2006, the Portland Press Herald wrote. He was ordered to serve four years and five months and the rest of the sentence was suspended. Robinson was convicted of unlawfully possessing oxycodone, an opioid painkiller, and trafficking in prison contraband in June 2012, according to the newspaper. She had to serve 28 days with a suspended two-year sentence, and placed on probation. Thomas and Robinson were charged with child endangerment in August last year. Officers found two jars of marijuana in the front seat of their car while a 14-month-old child sat in the back, the Eagle Tribune reported. Robinson, who was at the wheel, told them they were allowed to smoke pot for medical reasons and that they had cards, but police didn't find them. Israeli newspaper Haarertz said Otto Skorzeny (pictured) assassinated rocket scientist Heinz Krug on September 11, 1962 Adolf Hitler's most decorated S.S. killer was signed up by the Israeli secret service Mossad after WWII as a hitman charged with eliminating former Nazi rocket scientists. Israeli newspaper Haarertz said Otto Skorzeny - the brutal but brilliant rescuer of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini who went on to commit war crimes by dressing German troops in American uniforms during the Battle of the Bulge - assassinated Heinz Krug on September 11, 1962. Krug, 49, was one of a number of Nazi rocket experts who worked on Hitler's V1 and V2 programmes recruited to work for Egypt to develop missiles capable of wiping out the Jewish state. Krug was never found after vanishing from his office in Munich. Now Haaretz reveals: 'Based on interviews with former Mossad officers and with Israelis who have access to the Mossad's archived secrets from half a century ago, Krug was murdered as part of an Israeli espionage plot to intimidate the German scientists working for Egypt.' The most astounding part of the claim is that Lt. Col. Skorzeny - holder of the Knight's Cross, Nazi Germany's highest award for valour - was a member of the hit squad. Haaretz said its sources spoke out about his extraordinary role within the Mossad only if they were not identified. According to the newspaper, Krug was at the top of the Mossad list for assassination. He was a superstar during the war at Peenemunde, the Baltic island where Wernher von Braun constructed the 'wonder weapons' Hitler was convinced would bring Germany final victory. Haaretz said von Braun offered Krug the chance to go to America with him and other members of the team to work on the rockets which would win the race for space with the moon landings. It went on: 'Krug opted for another, seemingly more lucrative option: joining other scientists from the Peenemunde group led by the German professor Wolfgang Pilz, whom he greatly admired in Egypt. They would set up a secret strategic missile program for that Arab country. 'In the Israelis' view, Krug had to know that Israel, the country where so many Holocaust survivors had found refuge, was the intended target of his new masters' military capabilities. A committed Nazi would see this as an opportunity to continue the ghastly mission of exterminating the Jewish people.' Krug was murdered as part of an Israeli espionage plot to intimidate the German scientists working for Egypt. At first Mossad contented itself with a war of harassment against Krug and his comrades: anonymous threatening phone calls at midnight and unsigned letters calling for him to quit his Egyptian assignment. According to Haaretz, Krug contacted Skorzeny, then 54, because he felt Hitler's favourite warrior would protect him. American and British military intelligence once labeled Skorzeny 'the most dangerous man in Europe' for his remarkable exploits, the most famous of which was flying a gliderborne rescue squad to the top of an Italian mountain to rescue Mussolini from partisans. 'Krug contacted Skorzeny in the hope that the great hero then living in Spain could create a strategy to keep the scientists safe,' said Haaretz. But unbeknown to him, the former servant of the organziation which carried out the Holocaust of six million Jews, was already in the pay of Mossad. Haaretz said its sources within the vaunted intelligence services said Skorzeny drove Krug out of Munich in his car with three bodyguards following in a vehicle behind. Otto Skorzeny - the brutal but brilliant rescuer of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini - was one of the favourite assassins of Adolf Hitler (centre) 'He said they would accompany them to a safe place in a forest for a chat,' reported Haaretz. 'Krug was murdered, then and there, without so much as a formal indictment or death sentence. The man who pulled the trigger was none other than the famous Nazi war hero. Israel's espionage agency had managed to turn Otto Skorzeny into a secret agent for the Jewish state.' Krug's body was doused in acid and the remains of what were not burned away plunged into a shallow grave. It is alleged that future Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, who was then head of the Mossad's special operations unit, greenlighted the operation. Another was Zvi Malkin who had tackled extermination expert Adolf Eichmann when he was kidnapped by a Mossad gang. Yosef 'Joe' Raanan, the secret agency's senior officer in Germany, coordinated the killing. Skorzeny (pictured) died of cancer, at age 67, in Madrid in July 1975, taking the secrets of his treachery to Nazism to the grave While it may seem implausible for the state of Israel to hire a man so closely linked with the regime which tried to destroy all Jews, Haaretz went on: 'The Mossad's playbook for protecting Israel and the Jewish people has no preordained rules or limits. 'Mossad has sometimes found itself working with unsavory partners. When short-term alliances could help, the Israelis were willing to dance with the proverbial devil, if that is what seemed necessary.' But why would Skorzeny work for them? According to Haaretz's informants, Skorzeny shunned an offer of money from Mossad operatives who met him in Madrid, saying he had enough. But he did what one thing - to be removed from the list of wanted criminals sought by the world's top Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Mossad agreed to fix it. His Mossad handler arranged a secret flight for him to Tel Aviv where Skorzeny was introduced to Mossad chif Isser Harel. During this visit, Skorzeny was taken to Yad Vashem, the museum in Jerusalem dedicated to the memory of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. 'The Nazi was silent and seemed respectful. There was a strange moment there when a war survivor pointed to Skorzeny and singled him out by name as a war criminal,'' said Haaretz. His Mossad handler smoother over the situation by claiming he was his relative and a Holocaust survivor himself. The new recruit allegedly flew to Egypt and gathered valuable intelligence on German scientists and the front companies supplying them. These included Heinz Krug's company, Intra, in Munich. One man went on the record about his hiring, Rafi Eitan who, in 2006 aged 79, became an as head of a political party representing pensioners. 'Yes, I met and ran Skorzeny,' Eitan told Haaretz, refusing to confirm more details. Ultimately, Mossad were unable to persuade Holocaust survivor Wiesenthal to remove Skorzeny from his list of war criminals. Instead the Mossad forged a letter for their new recruit, allegedly from Wiesenthal, saying it had been done. As well as eliminating Krug, Haaretz said Skorzeny mailed letter bombs to Nazi scientist in Egypt, one of which killed five Egyptians in the military rocket site Factory 333 where German scientists were employed. An ISIS militant has beheaded three prisoners in an extremely graphic ISIS video purportedly filmed in Iraq. The harrowing footage shows the bearded ISIS fighter, thought to be of Kurdish origin, ranting to the camera and threatening Peshmerga forces and the Kurdish president Masoud Barzani. The propaganda video comes as ISIS have suffered heavy losses north of Raqqa, with Kurdish forces gaining significant ground in Hasakah province. Scroll down for video A Kurdish ISIS militant has been videoed beheading three prisoners in an extremely graphic ISIS video purportedly filmed in Iraq The propaganda video comes as ISIS have suffered heavy losses north of Raqqa, with Kurdish forces gaining significant ground in Hasakah province A largely Kurdish group called the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed up by commando training and US-led precision air strikes, captured the town of Al-Shaddadi. The gains with Kurdish forces come as ISIS struggles to prevent losses in northern Iraq, having already lost territory at Tikrit, Kirkuk and more recently near Baghdad at Ramadi. The next major target in Iraq for government forces and Shiite paramilitary groups has long been thought to be the retaking of the key city of Mosul. Questions remain how easy it will be to re-capture the stronghold, where ISIS have dug in and established significant defenses. The aftermath of a supposed airstrike on ISIS vehicles is featured within the propaganda video Much of the video seems to be made up of old archive footage from ISIS's battles on the frontline, interweaved with news coverage of attacks The video seemingly focuses on the recent airstrikes in Syria and Iraq on ISIS territory, claiming the executions were in retaliation for the death of civilians The remaining final minutes of the video are too graphic to describe with the bearded executor murdering the three blindfolded prisoners in red jumpsuits. Much of the video seems to be made up of old archive footage from ISIS's battles on the frontline, interweaved with news coverage of attacks. The video seemingly focuses on the recent airstrikes in Syria and Iraq on ISIS territory, claiming the executions were in retaliation for the death of civilians. A renowned music professor has been sensationally cleared of raping a former pupil after a three-year legal battle that has cost him 35,000, destroyed his career and almost saw his children taken from him. Violinist Wen Zhou Li, 61, was due to stand trial later this year accused of raping and indecently assaulting a teenage girl he taught at Chetham's School of Music in the 1990s. The Chinese-born musician was the last teacher facing charges after a four-year police investigation into historical sex abuse at Chetham's and the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), both in Manchester. But the case has now been dropped after his defence team is understood to have given evidence to a hearing that his accuser made similar allegations against another former teacher, who was never prosecuted. Wen Zhou Li, 61 (pictured with his wife Lili), was due to stand trial accused of raping and indecently assaulting a girl he taught at Chethams School of Music in Manchester in the 1990s but the case has now been dropped It also emerged that the student asked Mr Li to teach her again years after he supposedly raped her. The prosecution offered no evidence in the hearing at Manchester Crown Court, with Judge Michael Henshall saying Mr Li left court 'without a stain on his character'. Mr Li, who taught a string of prize-winning pupils, has now told of his anger over the case, which left him barred from teaching and from being alone with his sons John, 11, and Jack, eight. He added that he felt unable to play his violin or even listen to the instrument during his ordeal. He said: 'It's been incredibly tough for me, but it's my family, my two beautiful boys, who have really suffered. 'I always used to put them to bed, read them stories, take them out at the weekend. For nearly three years I couldn't do any of that. Fortunately we're a very strong family, my wife has been incredibly supportive, but it could have torn us apart.' Judge Michael Henshall said 61-year-old violinist Wen Zhou Li (pictured above) left court 'without a stain on his character' after the case was dropped Following his arrest in February 2013, Mr Li had to agree to let his sons stay with friends as his wife Lili, 38, was visiting relatives in China. During that time he said he had to get permission just to hug them. After six weeks the boys were allowed back to the family home near Northwich, Cheshire, on condition that Mr Li had no unsupervised contact with them. Social workers are said to have quizzed the boys to check he abided by the rule and to have gone to court twice to have them taken into care, but a judge rejected both applications. Mr Li's bail conditions were only relaxed last autumn to allow him to take John to secondary school. Mr Li, who was once the star of a Channel 4 documentary Learning With Mr Li, was also banned from teaching, losing his job at the RNCM where he had taught for two decades, and was not allowed to see former colleagues. Mr Li said he felt his accuser, who retains lifelong anonymity, had 'won' and that he could not understand why police had believed her, adding: 'Several years later she came back to have lessons with me. Would she have done that if I had raped her? I thought in this country you were innocent until proven guilty. For me it felt like the other way around. I was treated like a criminal.' He called for those accused of sexual abuse to be granted anonymity unless they are found guilty. Mr Li, who paid around 35,000 for his own legal team after he was refused legal aid, added: 'I am so happy the case has been dropped. I cried for two hours after I found out. I'd bottled it all up for three years.' Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club, Whitegates, Cheshire (above), where Mr Li lived in residential accommodation The musician was the last teacher facing charges after a four-year police investigation into historical sex abuse at Chetham's School of Music (pictured) and the Royal Northern College of Music, both in Manchester His barrister Nina Grahame asked the judge to order a report from the Crown Prosecution Service into why it took so long to drop the case, but he declined. A CPS spokesman said: 'Following advice from prosecuting counsel the case was then subject to further review and the decision was taken to offer no evidence.' The RNCM declined to comment on Mr Li's departure. Greater Manchester Police said it had not received any new evidence relating to Operation Kiso, the investigation launched after former Chetham's director of music Michael Brewer was found guilty of sexually abusing ex-pupil Frances Andrade, who committed suicide during the trial in 2013. Militant teachers have been accused of 'political point-scoring' after threatening to join forces with junior doctors in their battle with the government. The National Union of Teachers is in talks with doctors' leaders over the possibility of working together - which could include joint campaigns, rallies and even coordinated strikes. General secretary Christine Blower said the government's 'attacks on doctors' were similar to its 'attacks on teachers' and threatened the quality of public services. Scroll down for video Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (pictured), said the government's 'attacks on doctors' were similar to its 'attacks on teachers' and threatened the quality of public services On Saturday, union members voted in favour of strike action in protest at government plans to turn all schools into academies by 2020. Ms Blower said teachers could 'unite in their fights' over pay and conditions with junior doctors and that the NUT would offer 'solidarity' to doctors taking part in walk-outs. The move was condemned as 'politically motivated' and part of a wider agenda to try to weaken the Conservative government. Schools campaigner Margaret Morrissey, of the Parents Outloud group, said: 'This is hugely politically motivated and it's no doubt part of a wider agenda against the government. 'I agree that there should be more consultation over academies. But a strike will mean lost school time for children, and it can create bad feeling between parents and teachers. 'It does nothing to set a good example for pupils. The NUT should stop playing politics and fighting like naughty children in the playground.' Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Strikes by teachers create massive disruption for pupils and parents in the same way that industrial action by doctors can lead to misery and anguish for patients. David Cameron's plans to turn all state schools into academies has met fierce opposition from councils 'But it would be a particularly disturbing development if different unions are planning to co-ordinate action over separate issues to cause maximum havoc for the tax-paying public. 'Union leaders would not only be letting down the public, but also doing a disservice to their rank-and-file members if they seek to use their disputes for wider political point-scoring.' Sir Anthony Seldon, former head of Wellington College and current vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, warned that such behaviour would set a bad example for pupils. He said: 'I understand why doctors and teachers might be frustrated but taking out their frustration on patients and children is categorically the wrong thing to do. 'It loses respect from both and gives children a terrible message - it's okay to throw your weight around and take advantage of other people to get your way. What kind of example is that?' Giving her closing speech at the NUT annual conference in Brighton, Ms Blower said she had already been in touch with doctors' unions. She said she had received letters of solidarity from Dr David Wrigley, chair of doctors in Unite, and Yannis Gourtsoyannis of the BMA junior doctors' committee. The controversy comes after medical leaders warned that planned all-out strike by junior doctors in England at the end of April over a contract dispute could be damaging to patients and should be suspended. The presidents of 22 different Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties said patient welfare must come first. But Ms Blower claimed that government plans to change conditions for doctors will 'make the health service less safe'. She said: 'If there is scope to take action with junior doctors, you can be sure we will. 'And we will, of course, continue to offer solidarity on each of their forthcoming strike days. On Saturday, union members voted in favour of strike action in protest at government plans to turn all schools into academies by 2020. Ms Blower said teachers could with junior doctors 'unite in their fights' over pay MILITANT WHO IS PROUD TO BE PART OF THE LEFTIE 'BLOB' Christine Blower of the National Union of Teachers Christine Blower is one of the most militant leaders the National Union of Teachers has ever had. The 160,000-a-year general secretary, a former French teacher, has declared she is proud to be part of the Left-wing blob. This term was used by former education secretary Michael Gove to describe a teaching establishment reluctant to embrace reform. Miss Blower, 64, has previously pledged to lead as much action as our members feel is right in the unions campaign to derail unwelcome Government initiatives. She became the NUTs acting general secretary in April 2008 following the death of her predecessor, Steve Sinnott, and led a walkout over pay within weeks the unions first national strike for 20 years. Two years ago Miss Blower boasted of leading more strikes than any other NUT leader of the past 30 years. Conference activists yesterday donned a range of comedy hats in tribute to her penchant for wearing them to the event each year. Miss Blower is due to step down in May. Advertisement 'Teachers and doctors are central to ensuring that we have decent public health and education services. We have common interests. 'We should indeed unite our fights.' Earlier in the conference, teachers voted in favour of industrial action which could see disruption to schools across the country. Members will be balloted for a potential strike during the summer term over the government's plan to force all schools to become academies. The NUT said it is 'undemocratic' because it was not contained in the Tory party manifesto, and warned there is 'no evidence' to support minsters' claims that academies are the best way to drive improvement. They also said that it would mean an end to standardised pay and conditions for teachers as academies have freedom over these issues. Junior doctors' leaders are objecting to plans to introduce a new working contract in England, which they say will lead to unsafe shift patterns, harm morale and worsen recruitment and retention of staff. The health secretary says the change will help deliver better care at weekends. The announcement comes after Jeremy Corbyn was given a standing ovation on Friday as he became the first political leader in living memory to address an NUT conference. The Labour veteran, a fervent opponent to the Government's academies programme, brought the packed conference hall to its feet as he took to the stage to accuse Tories of presiding over a 'crisis in our schools'. The announcement comes after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) was given a standing ovation in Brighton on Friday as he became the first political leader in living memory to address an NUT conference LAW CAN'T PREVENT A DOUBLE WALKOUT Unions often coordinate strike action with others in order to have a bigger impact on their employers. The NUT would be able to hold a strike on the same day as the BMA if both unions balloted their members separately regarding their own disputes. By law, unions are only allowed to call a strike over their own members pay and conditions disputes. Any strike called over political opinions or support for other unions causes would not be lawful. However, there is nothing to stop unions organising to hold a strike day that coincides with that of another union. This should not be confused with secondary picketing, which does not have civil law protection. That occurs when a picket line is set up at a firm or organisation not involved in the main strike to try to persuade workers at that firm not to go to work. However, there is nothing to stop friends and supporters of either union joining strikers on lawful picket lines to show solidarity. Advertisement The former backbencher was applauded on stage by Ms Blower who said she was glad his view 'chimed' with that of the NUT. A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'This sort of determination to go on strike over entirely unrelated issues is especially disappointing. 'Strike action holds back children's education, disrupts parents' lives and ultimately damages the reputation of the profession the NUT claims to care about.' It is understood that there have not yet been any formal discussions between the NUT and BMA about what joint action to take. But the NUT are in favour of the idea because they say both are cases of workers resisting changes to terms and conditions as a result of top-down reorganisation. But they became embroiled in a long-running feud after relationship soured Jonathan Frederick Sander (pictured) is charged with murdering three members of the Mazzella family on Friday A judge had lifted the restraining order against a man just a day before he allegedly executed three people after a long-running feud with his neighbor. Jonathan Frederick Sander, 52, is charged with murdering three members of the Mazzella family, who lived next door to him in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. He is accused of killing Sandy Mazzella, 47, who he had worked with a as landscaper before their relationship soured, as well as Mazzellas wife Stephenie, 43, a nurse, and his mother Elaine Mazzella, 76, with a shot gun. But it emerged today that just a day before the killings, a judge had lifted the Mazzella familys temporary restraining order against Sander, calling his threats just words. Sandy Mazellas brother Richard Sussman, whose father Salvatore had escaped the house as gunfire erupted, said his father and late brother had been in court to obtain a permanent restraining order on Thursday. My father and brother went to court on Thursday fully expecting the judge would grant a permanent restraining order, he told NJ.com. But according to his father, the judge had told them the threats were just words and theres just not enough to grant a permanent order. Sandy and his wife Stephenie Mazzella were killed as well as Sandy's 76-year-old mother Elaine Mazzella Sander had been arrested in February for threatening to kill Sandy, ABC11 reported. He had reportedly threatened to put the 47-year-old in a box and warned him that cops could not protect him. Sandy was the owner of Advanced Mowing & Landscaping. Family friend Mike Wright said he had worked with the alleged gunman and the pair been good friends. They were good friends, he said. Thats why this is so crazy. But according to Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison, there was an ongoing argument between the families. He said Mazzellas had been arguing with Sander as recently as the morning of their deaths, although the details of the dispute are not clear. Sussman also revealed that the family had been secretly planning to move out of their rented home to escape Sander and were packing up their belongings when they died. The two men were previously good friends who had worked together in landscaping, but Sander had been arrested in February for threatening to kill Sandy (pictured with his wife) Thats the sadder part of this whole thing, Sussman added. They were going to move April 1 to get away from this guy. He added that relatives are questioning why the judge denied the permanent order, especially in light of Sanders recent arrest. Maybe he thought, I dont have this thing against me. Now I can do something, Sussman said. The morning after the court hearing, neighbors called authorities after hearing yells coming from the two homes. Hours later, a second 911 call was made after the shootings. The audio clips, released by investigators, painted a horrifying picture, revealing that seven shots had been fired, there were people screaming and 'a man with a shot gun standing was right behind our house. The Mazzellas 14-year-old daughter was home at the time of the shooting, although she was not harmed. Their seven-year-old son was not at home. Their mother was a nurse at WakeMed, where she had worked since 2008. Hospital representative Heather Monacky adding: 'She was a valuable part of the team and will be missed.' A friend and former coworker set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the couple's two children, which has raised more than $15,000 so far. Sander had been due to appear in court on April 1 after he was ordered against threatening, assaulting or harassing Sandy. Two police officers have been mowed down and killed by a bus hijacked by protesters at a demonstration in Venezuela, according to local officials. Authorities say the two were killed during a protest over a hike in public transportation fares in Tachira state, in the western town of San Cristobal. The officers have been named as Nicolle Perez, 21, and Otto Marquez, 25, on the Tachira Police Twitter account. Violence: One of the two police officers killed in a street protest in Venezuela today can be seen lying in the road after a police cordon was hit by a speeding bus Shocking: Images from the protest in the Venezuelan town of San Cristobal show the moment the speeding bus careened into the row of police officers, killing two Aftermath: A female police officer can be seen lying in the road just seconds after the stolen bus crashed through a police barricade Our most sincere condolences to the families of the two police officers that lost their lives in the disturbances, tweeted the Tachira police department, sharing images of the two officers killed. The bus was later abandoned by protesters, it was reported. Four other police officers were also seriously injured in the crash, who Tachira police described as being 'between life and death'. Shocking photographs from the demonstration show the moment the bus careened into a police cordon, as officers attempted to control the protest. As they sped through the barricade, the masked men behind the wheel left wounded and dying officers in their wake. The officers have been named as Nicolle Perez, 21, and Otto Marquez, 25, on the Tachira Police Twitter account. The department tweeted these photographs and added their 'sincere condolences' to their families Serious: Four more officers were badly wounded in the demonstration, and Tachira state police department described them as being 'between life and death' Distraught: Police officers react next to a colleague after being run over by a bus during a protest against the increase in the price of public transport in San Cristobal Fury: The bus had reportedly been taken this morning from the main bus station in San Cristobal, by masked protesters Devastation: The demonstrators were protesting against the increase of prices for public transport in urban and suburban areas for the whole country, which were brought in some days ago At least 31 people were arrested during the protest today, Tachira Secretary of Public Security Ramon Cabeza told reporters. Tachira Governor Jose Vielma Mora took to Twitter to condemn to deaths as a 'criminal act'. He added that the public prosecutor's office will launch an investigation to find those responsible. According to Venezuelan newspaper La Nacion, the disturbance began during the morning with the theft of several public buses from the main San Cristobal station, by a group of masked men. The demonstrators were protesting against the increase of prices for public transport in urban and suburban areas for the whole country, which were brought in some days ago. Protests in San Cristobal against the country's socialist administration two years ago helped spark a nationwide street protest movement. The town's mayor was imprisoned for his involvement. Investigation: Scientific Police personnel collect evidence after a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in San Cristobal Uproar: At least 31 people were arrested during the protest today, Tachira Secretary of Public Security Ramon Cabeza told reporters Danger: Police officers walk near a fire while they clash with demonstrators during a protest against the increase in the price of public transport. The bus crashed through a human barricade similar to this one He finally noticed her but said he didn't stop the car because he didn't have a phone to call Driver: Richard Addy, 69, was charged with reckless driving early on Tuesday morning A man, 69, allegedly drove for six miles with his wife clinging to the roof of his car early on Tuesday morning. Richard Addy, 69, of Florida told police that he had no idea that his wife Elizabeth, 50, was on the top of his Toyota. He told police that he eventually 'heard her banging on the roof and realized that she was there,' but that he did not stop because he didn't have a cell phone to call for help. Addy claims that the couple had 'several drinks over the course of the night,' at both the Palm City Grill and the bar at the Indian River Plantation before getting into an argument, according to The Smoking Gun. Addy told police that he decided to leave one of those bars without his wife because of their fight and that she somehow ended up on the top of his car. He said that he drove past the county courthouse to look for police but that when he saw no officers, he kept on driving. Finally Officer Christopher Ruediger of the Stuart Police Department saw the distressed woman screaming on the roof of the car and pulled Addy over six miles from the start of the trip, according to The Smoking Gun. Police did not say why Elizabeth climbed on top of the car. Addy was charged with reckless driving, reported the smoking gun, even though police also noted Addy's breath had a 'strong odor of alcoholic beverage.' Addy also told police that he was driving his wife to his Mercedes which was parked in another lot. after being too tired to walk down The 'unfit' hiker who had to be rescued from the top of Mount Warning in NSW at the weekend was actually a war veteran who suffered a PTSD-related anxiety attack at the top of the mountain. The 115kg man who was winched to safety has been identified by the Gold Coast Bulletin as Aaron 'Dogga' who served two tours in Afghanistan. The 38-year-old called emergency services on Monday evening after running out of energy following the 8.8km trek up the mountain, and the rescue reportedly cost thousands of dollars and involved at least 20 people. Scroll down for video A man was winched to safety by The Lismore Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter (pictured) after becoming 'too tired' following a hike up Mt Warning, New South Wales Aaron 'Dogga' (right) denied he was unfit enough to climb back down but actually had a PTSD-related anxiety attack which paralysed him Volunteer crews were furious after a male hiker had to be rescued from the top of Mt Warning (pictured) in New South Wales after becoming too tired to walk back down While serving in 2006 the war hero was involved in an horrific crash where he injured his spine. Then in 2011 one of his closest friends Lance Corporal Andrew Jones was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan. 'Dogga' carried the casket at Lance Corporal Jones' funeral. He told the publication of his distress over having his situation 'belittled' by rescue workers and slammed the authorities who said he was not fit enough to climb back down. 'Once I hit the top that's when my PTSD really took over and it took all my strength not to take the easy way out and leave it all behind me,' he said. The 38-year-old revealed that a group of men came to his aid on the mountain before suggesting he call triple-0. He said he was not dehydrated and had enough food and water with him. 'Dogga' is pictured here as he carried the casket at his friend Lance Corporal Andrew Jones' funeral. The rescue reportedly cost thousands of dollars and involved at least 20 people and a helicopter (pictured) The incident has left rescuers fron the Tweed District Volunteer Rescue Association outraged and prompted a reminder for hikers to be more prepared (stock picture of volunteer) 'He was tired as a result of dehydration... if you haven't done the climb before or have the right level of fitness you have to be cautious,' rescue helicopter crewman Roger Fry said on Tuesday. It was earlier that signs at the bottom of the mountain warning hikers not to start an ascent in the afternoon were ignored by the man, however Aaron said he saw them and was not ignoring them. The incident has left rescuers furious and prompted a reminder for hikers to be more prepared. Thick clouds covering the mountain parted long enough for the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter chopper to set down 400m from the 1159m peak and collect the man. 'If the weather didn't clear we were going to have to carry a 115kg man down the mountain,' Tweed Rescue duty officer Mal Pearse told the Gold Coast Bulletin. Thick cloud covering (pictured) the mountain parted long enough for the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter chopper to set down 400m from the 1159m peak and collect the man The 38-year-old who reportedly weighed 115kg, called emergency services on Monday evening after running out of energy following the 8.8km trek up the mountain (pictured) 'It would have taken all of us to do it and we would be here until 1am.' 'You need to be ready to take on Mt Warning.' 'We don't mind coming to genuine accidents but frivolous jobs are very disconcerting.' The first woman to be appointed as a mathematics professor at Australia's oldest university says she is often mistaken for the wait staff at academy functions. Nashi Joshi was appointed the Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney almost two decades ago and will make a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday to lament the lack of gender equality among female researchers. 'When I attend functions at the academy, wearing a black suit, with a name badge, I am often mistaken for one of the serving staff. And, I am not alone,' Ms Joshi said. Scroll down for video Nashi Joshi (pictured) - the first woman to be appointed as a mathematics professor at Australia's oldest university - says she is often mistaken for the wait staff at academy functions Ms Joshi was appointed the Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney almost two decades ago and will make a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday to lament the lack of gender equality among female researchers Ms Joshi believes the nation is 'frozen in time,' with no significant changes made in relation to gender equality since the 1950's. 'Research in modern science is still conducted within organisational cultures that resemble a feudal monastery,' she said. Just 14 per cent of professors in natural and physical sciences are women, even though 56 per cent of undergraduate degrees are awarded to female graduates. 'Why? How did we, as a modern, progressive society, let this happen?' Ms Joshi said. According to Ms Joshi the rate of female deans increases by around one per cent each year and women make up just 17 per cent of senior academics at universities across the country. Ms Joshi believes the nation is 'frozen in time,' with no significant changes made in relation to gender equality since the 1950's Just 14 per cent of professors in natural and physical sciences are women, even though 56 per cent of undergraduate degrees are awarded to female graduates (stock image) According to Ms Joshi the rate of female deans increases by around one per cent each year and women make up just 17 per cent of senior academics at universities across the country. She appeared on Q&A alongside prominent physicist Brian Cox in October 2014 (pictured) 'I think it's extremely important to have women leaders in science and engineering because we do bring along a whole diversity of thinking and the thought process and that lateral ability to bring across a whole range of ideas,' Ms Joshi said. Ms Joshi completed a science degree with first class honours and went on to win the University of Sydney medal in applied mathematics, according to AMSI. After completing her PhD in Princeton, New Jersey in 1981, she started working at the University of Sydney and in 1994, became the first woman to be appointed the Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics. 'While it takes courage and determination to succeed in most things in life, I think it took more resilience to become a successful academic, while also happening to be a woman who had children,' she said. 'While it takes courage and determination to succeed in most things in life, I think it took more resilience to become a successful academic, while also happening to be a woman who had children,' Ms Joshi said (stock image) A New York police officer charged with breaking into a woman's apartment and beating her hours after receiving one of the NYPD's highest honors claims he did it while sleepwalking. Officer Eugene Donnelly, 28, appeared in the Bronx Superior Court Tuesday where his lawyers denied claims he was drunk during the attack, and insisted he was asleep instead. Lawyer Michael Marinaccio said a team of experts had analyzed Donnelly and concluded he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and various sleeping issues. Eugene Donnelly, 28, an NYPD cop charged with beating a 30-year-old woman hours after receiving a bravery award (pictured) now claims he carried out the attack while sleepwalking Prosecutors say that Donnelly got drunk at a friend's house following the ceremony (pictured), left the apartment, broke into a neighbor's property, then hit her 20 times before leaving Marinaccio said: 'Our report shows that it wasn't an alcoholic blackout. It was sleepwalking. 'On the best day of this guy's life, he does something so out of character. Can we at least consider the possibility that something else is going on here?' According to the New York Daily News, analysts traced the cause of the attack back to a 2012 incident in which he apprehended a gun-wielding thug who opened fire on him. Donnelly was off-duty while driving with a friend to meet his partner when several men ran from a park while being chased by a gun-wielding Javon Julien. Julien, 19, fired a shot at the men while running past Donnellys car. The cop shouted at Julien to stop, but the teen instead shot out Donnellys drivers side mirror. The officer fired back, striking Julien four times before chasing down and arresting him. Julien was given eight years in prison for his shooting spree. it was that incident that lead to Donnelly being given the Police Combat Cross, the NYPD's second-highest honor, on June 10 last year. Hours later, on the morning of June 11, Donnelly was arrested after he wandered out of his friend's apartment wearing only his underwear before breaking down the door of a female neighbor. But lawyers for Donnelly say he has been suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and sleep disorders and was actually sleepwalking at the time of the attack The unidentified 30-year-old woman woke up from the noise, and claims Donnelly punched her more than 20 times as she tried to flee. Donnelly eventually left but not before taking a swig of milk from the woman's refrigerator. He was later captured on surveillance footage, and police used the images for wanted pictures before realizing the suspect was one of their own. Prosecutors say they have assembled their own medical team and plan to carry out a separate set of tests on Donnelly in the coming weeks. A married transportation company executive chased down a temptress who picked him up at a Miami bar after she stole his Rolex. Alvin Malhi, 40, from Toronto, managed to get the watch back, but now he has to explain what happened to his wife. Blonde beauty Liliana Vanegas, 25, approached him at the swanky Nikki Beach nightclub on Sunday night and said: 'I dont like young boys. I like men.' He was celebrating his brother-in-laws bachelor party at the time. Malhi told the Miami Herald he thought he was in luck, but it was actually the start of an alleged scam which ended in him following the Colombian in a taxi to get the $28,000 timepiece back. Married transportation company executive Alvin Mahli chased down blonde temptress Liliana Vanegas (left) after she picked him up at a Miami bar, took him back to bed and stole his Rolex during an escape with suspected accomplice Francisco Trujillo (right). Malhi got it back, but had to explain what happened to his wife She and a suspected accomplish Francisco Trujillo, 30, were arrested. Malhi, on the other hand, had to reveal the truth to his spouse when he got home. He told the newspaper: 'I told her 99 percent of the truth. I told her [Vanegas] was a stripper we brought back to the room for my brother-in-law.' Vanegas was charged with grand theft and cocaine possession while Trujillo was charged with grand theft and driving without a license. They were both still in jail on Tuesday. 'She fooled me pretty good', Malhi said on Tuesday. Initially friends went up to Vanegas when they saw her standing around 20ft away from them inside the venue. However she initially rebuffed them. But she returned when Malhi was getting into a cab at 4am on Monday morning. Blonde beauty Vanegas, 25, approached him at the swanky Nikki Beach nightclub (pictured) on Sunday night and said: 'I dont like young boys. I like men.' He was celebrating his brother-in-laws bachelor party at the time Malhi downed shots with Vanegas at Loews Hotel until the early hours of Monday morning. He ended up getting the watch back and told his wife a stripper had stolen in According to the Herald she asked him whether he had any alcohol in his hotel room at Loews Hotel. Malhi said: 'Of course I wanted to take her to bed. But she wouldnt let me touch her.' The two downed shots of whiskey, then passed out in the same bed. Malhi then noticed Vanegas get dressed quickly, put on her shoes and race out the hotel rooms door. A short time later he also noticed his watch was missing. So Malhi threw on some pants and chased Vanegas, first down the elevator, then into the lobby. By then, she was waiting for a cab on Collins Avenue and 16th Street. He said he confronted her - but she denied stealing anything from him. Malhi then stopped her from getting into two cabs by yelling at the drivers that they were being ripped off. Then she called she called Trujillo on her cellphone. He showed up in a white Mercedes. More than 1.6 million migrants moved to Britain from within the EU in less than a decade. The astonishing figure the equivalent to the populations of Manchester and Birmingham combined settled here between 2006 and 2014, according to the UK Statistics Authority. It means an average of 500 people every day for nine years exercised their right to free movement adding to the pressure on Britain's schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. Scroll down for video More than 1.6 million migrants moved to Britain from within the EU in less than a decade, as migrants in Calais continue to try to make their way into the country In 2014 alone, 287,000 people from within the EU - many from Eastern Europe - settled in Britain. Pictured are Romanian migrants camping out in Marble Arch And with migration from within the EU continuing to run at record levels over the past two years, the true total now will be even higher. Campaigners said the figures showed that, if Britain wants to control its borders and plan properly for the future, it must quit the EU. It follows revelations of how the free movement rules have let dozens of foreign criminals commit horrific offences in Britain. In a speech today, Justice Minister Dominic Raab will warn that the 'unyielding' edict is also giving a 'free pass' to extremists and terror suspects. Mr Raab will say that, where the UK has 'sketchy intelligence' that somebody may be linked to terrorism, the bar for denying them a right to free movement is set so high that we have to let them in. The migration figures were compiled by the statistics authority following a request by eurosceptic Tory MP Anne Main. In 2014 alone, 287,000 people from within the EU many from Eastern Europe settled in Britain. Separate figures compiled by the United Nations suggest there are now 2.9 million EU nationals living in Britain. By comparison, there are 1.2 million Britons living in other EU countries. The total will now be even higher with migration from within the EU continuing to run at record levels. Migrants blocked railway tracks at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border yesterday Campaigners said the figures showed that if Britain wants to control its borders it must quit the EU Employment Minister Priti Patel said: 'These levels of immigration are far too high for this country to sustain. With housing, schools and the NHS all under pressure, this country will not be able to cope with the demands from further waves of migration on this scale from the EU. 'While the UK remains a member of the EU we are powerless to stop or control the numbers coming in. We can only take control of our immigration policy and our borders by voting to leave the EU.' Mrs Main told the Mail: 'These figures are alarming because they don't take into account all immigration from the EU. 'This is the choice faced by Britain on June 23: from today until the polling day, the UK will need to find housing, hospitals and schools to accompany a new town the size of Canterbury, Torquay or Folkestone.' A string of countries shut their borders earlier this month, cutting off the busiest migrant route between Greece and central and northern Europe Migrants blocked a railway at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni on Tuesday Earlier this week, a dossier compiled by the Vote Leave group listed 50 of the 'most dangerous' European criminals who have entered the UK freely, despite convictions in their countries. Once here, 45 of them committed serious offences. In total, they were responsible for 14 killings, including nine murders, and 13 sex crimes. They included Arnis Zalkalns, the Latvian who murdered his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old Alice Gross. In his speech, Mr Raab will say: 'The elephant in the room is the unyielding principle of free movement across Europe's borders and its impact on Britain's security. 'Yes, we have checks at the border because we're not in Schengen. But, what good are checks if we can do so little to act on them? 'We cannot require those arriving from other EU countries to have a permit issued by the UK, given the scope for fraudulent documents to be issued in other states. A migrant boy looks on as clashes with police took place at the makeshift camp. There had been rumours that the border was due to re-open The migration figures were compiled by the statistics authority following a request by a eurosceptic MP 'We cannot refuse entry to EU citizens producing an EU passport, even though we have no control over the checks made by the country of issue, which we can charitably say are of mixed reliability. 'Crucially, for UK intelligence agencies, we cannot bar individuals on whom we have sketchy intelligence but reason to believe may be linked to terrorist-related or other serious criminal activity. 'In most countries outside the EU, you can bet that individuals flagged in this way would not waltz through passport control without these doubts or question marks being answered or assuaged.' The figures on people moving to the UK from the EU will intensify demands for ministers to publish full figures on who is here with many MPs claiming the total is being undercounted by the Office for National Statistics. The row centres on a massive gap between two sets of figures relating to immigration. ONS figures the basis for the research by the UK Statistics Authority show that 904,000 EU migrants have arrived in Britain since June 2010. But in the same period, officials have issued 2.2 million National Insurance numbers to EU migrants. Experts say that, in order to find out who is actually here, the Government should release the amount of NI numbers which are currently 'active', meaning migrants are using them to pay tax or receive benefits. A Home Office spokesman said: 'In the past our benefits system has been a magnet to EU migrants and that is why through our renegotiation we have put an end to the something for nothing system. 'If we left the EU but wanted access to the single market we would have to accept free movement whilst losing our influence in deciding the rules. 'We want Britain to have the best of both worlds - ensuring we only pay benefits to those who have paid into the system whilst keeping access to the single market of 500 million people which secures jobs and financial security.' Nick Herbert, chairman of Conservatives In and a former police minister, said: 'We should take no lectures from the Brexit campaigners who oppose all the EU co-operative measures which help to keep us safe. 'They oppose the European Arrest Warrant which brings serious criminals to justice and they oppose EU measures to share DNA records which identify offenders. 'They are willing to place their ideological opposition to any EU co-operation ahead of effective security measures. Stuart Johnston (pictured), head teacher at The Peninsula School, has launched legal action against a Twitter critic known as 'Mr T' An elite private school's principal has launched legal action against a former parent who used the Twitter handle 'Mr T' to accuse him of being a 'psychopathic bully'. Stuart Johnston, head teacher at The Peninsula School, in Mount Eliza, south of Melbourne, claimed the 'troll' headed a 'malicious campaign' to remove him as principal, in court documents. Nicola Holland, a former marketing director at the school, has been unmasked as the individual behind the @TanPersonSays account - but she did not admit publishing the offending tweets. She accused the principal of misappropriating funds and promoting his friends to the school board in a Supreme Court document. Mr Johnston claimed that Mrs Holland used an image on the Twitter account 'which bears an unflattering resemblance to the plaintiff'. 'The plaintiff was widely known in The Peninsula School community as a man of tanned complexion,' Mr Johnston says in his statement, according to the Herald Sun. The principal accused Mrs Holland, who used to have children at the school, of using the account to discredit him on social media between January and June last year. According to an affidavit, the tweets, which can no longer be viewed online, accused Mr Johnston of having his 'hand in the till' and 'masquerading as a principal'. Mr Johnston claimed that Mrs Holland initially denied she was behind the social media account when approached by his lawyers in August last year. Mrs Holland revealed in her Defence that she had used the @TanPersonSays account, but she did not admit to sending the offending tweets, She also denied they were defamatory, saying they were true in substance and fact. The former marketing director claimed that Mr Johnston recruited his golf teacher to the school board and employed his stepdaughter at the school. The case is set to go to trial in the Supreme Court. A former Kentucky Catholic priest accused of snapping hundreds of inappropriate photos of his students has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for viewing child pornography. Stephen Pohl, 57, pleaded guilty in January to accessing pornographic images of nude underage boys on computers at St Margaret Mary Catholic Church's office and rectory in Louisville. Pohl was not charged for taking photographs of his parish students, who were all fully clothed. But porn was discovered on his computer after concerned parents reported him to police. A 10-year-old St Margaret Mary student told his mother that 'Father Steve' had asked to pose for 'weird photographs' on his cell phone while he was attending an after-school club. Stephen Pohl, 57, was sentenced to nearly three years in jail after he pleaded guilty to accessing pornographic images of nude underage boys on computers at St Margaret Mary's Church in Louisville, Kentucky Pohl ordered the young boy to pose with his hands on his knees and spread his legs apart, according to the affidavit. The boy's parents confronted the priest when they saw him out shopping in Louisville and asked to see the pictures on his phone. When Pohl handed it over, the parents found 'several photos of other young boys posed in the same manner as their son', the affidavit states. Investigators discovered that the pornographic images, which did not feature any children from St Mary Margaret, were never downloaded to the computer. Forensic analysis of the computer's hard drives were able to detect the images Pohl viewed online, according to The Courier-Journal. More than 150 photos of Pohl's clothed students students, some of which constituted child erotica, were also discovered during the search, a criminal complaint states. The US Attorney's office said students featured in the photographs are being identified and their parents are being contacted. Pohl originally pleaded not guilty after his office was searched and he was arrested in August. More than 150 photos of Pohl's clothed students students, some of which constituted child erotica, were discovered during a search at St Margaret Mary's Catholic Church (pictured) He later told authorities that some items on his computer 'probably should not be there' and admitted he had visited 'inappropriate' websites, a detective said in an affidavit. The Archdiocese of Louisville placed Pohl, who was hired in 1985 and served at five churches in the area, on administrative leave after his office was searched. He resigned soon after. Pohl was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison on Tuesday and, under the terms of the plea agreement, will have to register as a sex offender following his release. He will also be supervised by the US Probation and Pretrial Services for the rest of his life. Pohl, who has been on house arrest at his mother's home while awaiting trial, surrendered to US Marshals following his sentencing. The former priest said in court that he is currently working with a psychologist, who has helped him understand 'what is happening here'. The Archdiocese of Louisville released a statement Monday saying it welcomed the news that 'Father Pohl is pleading guilty and accepting responsibility for his actions'. But soon the archdiocese might be facing its own day in court. Pohl was not charged for taking photographs of his parish students, who were all fully clothed. But investigators noted that some of the pictures constituted child erotic (pictured is the church's parish school) Parents of another boy who was allegedly photographed by Pohl filed a suit against the Archdiocese of Louisville on Tuesday. Christeena and Richard Gallahue Jr have claimed Pohl's behavior was 'so open and obvious' that the archdiocese knew or should have known he was taking inappropriate photos of children for decades, according to The Courier-Journal. The couple claim that Christeena came upon Pohl photographing her son and daughter, then 7 and 5, on the parish steps one day as she was picking her children up from school. Christeena claims Pohl was nervous when he saw her and told her he would send a copy of the pictures, but never did. The mother claims she then saw Pohl taking pictures alone with another boy on the same steps at a Boy Scout banquet at a church, and once again appeared nervous when he saw her. They reported the incident with Pohl and their son, who they said confirmed the priest had asked him to pose in unusual positions for pictures, to police after he was arrested. The Gallahues are seeking damages for emotional stress, saying their son soon stopped wanting to go to school and has since been sent to counseling. The Archdiocese of Louisville paid $25.7m in 2003 to 243 people who were molested as children in Catholic schools and charges, at the time the largest an archdiocese paid itself. Horrifying photos have emerged of a naked high school teacher in Guangxi province trying to rape a female student on campus. The incident occurred around noon time on March 28 at Taiping High School in Lingshan County, the People's Daily Online reports. Teachers immediately intervened and managed to free the student from the 30-year-old male teacher, surnamed Huo. The victim reportedly suffered no injuries. Shocking: Photos have emerged of a naked man trying to rape a student at a high school in Guangxi, China Awful: Photos show the employee at the school hugging the student while other students look on in horror The photos show the naked man grabbing hold of the girl from behind and pushing her against a wall in broad daylight. The Publicity Department of Lingshan County released a statement today confirming the incident. It said Huo has a suspected mental illness and works in the laboratories of the school. The statement said the teacher had received treatment in 2011 for psycotic episodes, however after two years he was declared fit to return to work. The school chose to base Huo in the laboratory and said he would not be allowed to teach classes. For the past five years he has performed well in his role. After the incident, faculty immediately called the police and informed the man's family who took him to the hospital for treatment. According to the official statement, the female student was not harmed in the ordeal. The city's Public Security Bureau are investigating the incident. Most hotel guests would be happy with a little bit of extra goodies in their rooms but this man in Chongqing, China, was furious when he found 10,000 yuan (1,291) under his pillow. The man was just about to leave his hotel room on March 28 after spending the night there when he made his discovery, the People's Daily Online reports. The man named Lu Gang told staff at the Shangdu Hotel that he was unhappy with their level of care as it obviously meant that hotel staff had not cleaned his room properly. Discovery: The man was angry when he found 10,000 yuan under his pillow at a hotel in Chongqing, China Unhappy: The discovery was made in Shangdu Hotel (pictured). Lu said the wads of cash meant his bedding may not have been changed. Angry: The man was praised by staff at the Shangdu Hotel and Chongqing police for handing over the money. Pictured is one hotel room in Shangdu Hotel Lu and his family members stayed in the hotel during their tomb-sweeping trip to a nearby cemetery. Police were called to the hotel where the counted the money which totalled 10,000 yuan (1,291). They then confiscated the cash. Hotel staff said they thought that the money may have belonged to the previous occupant. Speaking to reporters, Lu said: 'The wads of cash were not mine, but they were under the pillow I had slept on. Obviously, house-keepers were not doing their job careful. They didn't change the pillow case. He added: 'On the surface it looked okay, but who could guarantee the bedding was really up to the standards of hygiene? 'Isn't it an everyday routine for a hotel to change bedding in a room.' In order not to delay his onward trip, Lu did not wait for the police to find its owner. He was praised by hotel staff and the police for returning the cash. However, Lu is not happy. He said he was upset at the fact that he might have slept on dirty linen. The most arduous parts of moving home have been identified in a new survey, with money, stress and time constraints topping the list. Estate agent eMoov.co.uk spoke to 1,000 homeowners to find out what were the biggest pressures concerning moving home. It found that 55 per cent are most fearful about not getting the price they needed for their property. Scroll down for video Along with divorce, moving house is considered to be one of the most stressful events in life. The stress of the selling process was a big worry for 46 per cent, while 43 per cent said not being about to sell their home in time caused them anxiety. Russell Quirk, chief executive of eMoov.co.uk, said: 'Price is always going to be the primary concern for UK homeowners and it is only natural that securing the best price will weigh heavy on a seller's mind. 'Generally speaking, our home is the most expensive asset we are ever likely to own and for the majority of us, our home is our nest egg, setting us up for retirement when we do finally sell and downsize. 'So it's understandable that it be the biggest fear during the selling process, as that couple of extra thousand gained or lost, can make a big difference in the grand scheme of things.' It follows separate research earlier this year that suggested moving house is more stressful that even having a child. Almost 2,000 recent homemovers were asked by consumer champions Which? to rate how stressful they found a number of life events. Divorce came top with 79 per cent saying it was stressful, followed by selling a home at 70 per cent and having a child at 53 per cent. TOP TEN FEARS OVER MOVING HOME Rank Fear Factors % of Sellers 1st Not getting the price wanted or needed 55% 2nd The stress of it all 46% 3rd Not being able to sell in the time needed 43% 4th Paying too much in estate agents fees 36% 5th Finding a new property to live in 22% 6th Dealing with the buyer 14% 7th Picking the wrong estate agent 12% 8th Getting a mortgage for the next property 10% 9th The next property dropping in value in the future 4% Source: eMoov Money, stress and time constrains are top of the list of concerns for potential homemovers. Experts advised planning ahead to reduce the anxiety associated with moving home. Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: 'Moving house is one of the most stressful things most of us will ever do. 'Part of the stress is down to the sheer cost involved as it can be an expensive process - not just taking on a bigger mortgage in most instances, but the associated costs of buying such as stamp duty, legal fees, surveyor costs, mortgage advice and paying the removal men. 'One way to minimise the pain is to plan ahead, set yourself a budget and stick to it as much as possible, while also ensuring you call in the experts - a good lawyer, independent mortgage broker and removals firm. 'This will minimise the stress and ensure it doesn't cost you more in the long run. The right professionals will massively reduce the stress of the move, and ensure everything is done in a timely fashion, so you don't waste your precious time where you don't need to.' Nasa's Cassini spacecraft has been studying our solar system since it entered Saturn's orbit in 2014. One of the mysteries it spotted, for the first time back in 2005, was eruptions on Saturn's moon Enceladus. For more than ten years, the cause of the geysers baffled scientists but now researchers believe they have found the answer. This close-up view of Saturn's moon Enceladus show a distinctive pattern of continuous, slightly curved and roughly parallel faults within the moon's southern polar latitudes. Informally called 'tiger stripes' by imaging scientists, they mark the source of the moon's long-lived geysers Experts from the University of Chicago and Princeton University have pinpointed a mechanism by which tidal stresses from Saturn can drive Enceladus' long-lived eruptions. 'On Earth, eruptions don't tend to continue for long,' said Professor Edwin Kite, assistant professor of geophysical sciences at Chicago. THE NEW TIDAL MODEL The researchers believe the energy source behind the eruptions is a new mechanism of tidal dissipation not previously considered. The new model consists of a series of nearly parallel, vertical slots that reach from the surface down to the water below. The researchers applied Saturn's tidal stresses to their model on a desktop computer and watched what happened. They found that the model explained tidal forces as a reason for the eruptions. 'The only tricky part quantitatively is calculating the elastic interactions between the different slots and the varying water level within each slot as a response to the tidal stress,' Professor Kite said. Advertisement 'When you see eruptions that continue for a long time, they'll be localised into a few pipelike eruptions with wide spacing between them.' But Enceladus, Saturn's fifth biggest moon - which the researchers said probably has an ocean underlying its icy surface - has somehow managed to sprout multiple fissures along its south pole. These 'tiger stripes' have erupted vapour and tiny frost particles continuously at least for decades, and probably much longer, the researchers said. 'It's a puzzle to explain why the fissure system doesn't clog up with its own frost,' Professor Kite said. 'And it's a puzzle to explain why the energy removed from the water table by evaporative cooling doesn't just ice things over.' 'We think the energy source is a new mechanism of tidal dissipation that had not been previously considered,' Professor Kite said. The new model consists of a series of nearly parallel, vertical slots that reach from the surface down to the water below. The researchers applied Saturn's tidal stresses to their model on a desktop computer. Sustained eruptions on Enceladus explained by turbulent dissipation in tiger stripes, multiple fissures along its south pole. These 'tiger stripes' have erupted vapour and tiny frost particles continuously at least for decades, and probably much longer, the researchers said THE UNUSUAL ERUPTIONS ON ENCELADUS This enhanced colour view of Enceladus shows much of the southern hemisphere and includes the south polar terrain at the bottom of the image One of the problems that attracted the researchers was the anomalous tidal response of the Enceladus eruptions. The eruptions reach their peak approximately five hours later than expected, even when taking into account the 40 minutes needed for the erupted particles to reach the altitude at which Cassini can detect them. Scientists had previously suggested reasons for the lag, which included a delay in the eruptions as well as a squishy, slowly responding ice shell. But the new proposal, that tidal forces from Saturn are causing the eruptions, explains the delay perfectly. 'The new proposal is really a way to get a delay in the eruptions. You really don't need to propose any terribly squishy ice shell to do it,' Dr Carolyn Porco, head of Cassini's imaging science team with a particular interest in the study of Enceladus. 'If the new mechanism is a major contributor to the heat coming from the fractures, then the south polar ice in between the fractures may, in fact, be cold,' Dr Porco added. She added that results from last year's Enceladus flyby will need to be analyzed to confirm this. Advertisement 'The only tricky part quantitatively is calculating the elastic interactions between the different slots and the varying water level within each slot as a response to the tidal stress,' Professor Kite said. The width of the slots affects how quickly they can respond to the tidal forces. With wide slots, the eruptions respond quickly to tidal forcing while with narrow slots, the eruptions occur eight hours after the tidal forces reach their peak. 'I was very happy to see this new work by Kite and Rubin that brings to the fore a process that had escaped notice: the pumping of water in and out of the deep fractures of the south polar ice shell by tidal action,' said Dr Carolyn Porco, head of Cassini's imaging science team with a particular interest in the study of Enceladus. Data from Cassini, the orbiter pictured in an artist's impression right, previously indicated that the cryovolcanic plumes of Enceladus probably originate in a biomolecule-friendly oceanic environment Enceladus serves as a leading candidate for extraterrestrial life and Professor Kite said the moon is 'an opportunity for the best astrobiology experiment in the solar system,'. Data from Cassini previously indicated that the cryovolcanic plumes of Enceladus probably originate in a biomolecule-friendly oceanic environment. Cryovolcanism also may have shaped the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, so this model could also be useful for Europa. SATURN'S MOONS ARE YOUNGER THAN THE DINOSAURS While Saturn's rings and moons were first spotted in 1600s, there is an ongoing debate about how old they are. Many assume that they are primordial - as old as the planet itself - making them around four billion years old. However, new evidence suggests the majority of its moons are significantly younger than this and may have even formed at the same time dinosaurs roamed the Earth. A team of researchers used computer modeling to plot the past behaviour of Saturn's icy inner moons. The team also used results from Nasa's Cassini mission to study ice geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. According to their analysis, these would move the satellite by the small amount indicated by the simulations in only about 100 million years. This would date the formation of the major moons of Saturn, with the exception of more distant Titan and Iapetus, to the relatively recent Cretaceous Period, the era of the dinosaurs. Advertisement The Kite-Rubin model of the Enceladus plumbing system seems to answer all the questions that had been unanswered about the moon's eruptions, such as why the volcanic system generates the amount of power it does and why the eruptions do not freeze over. 'In between there's a sweet spot,' Professor Kite said, where tidal forces turn water motion into heat, generating enough power to produce eruptions that match the observed five-hour lag. Porco called it 'the best thing in my mind about this new work.' Tidal pumping heats the water and the ice shell via turbulence. The researchers have proposed that new Cassini data can test this idea by revealing whether the ice shell in the south polar region is warm. 'If the new mechanism is a major contributor to the heat coming from the fractures, then the south polar ice in between the fractures may, in fact, be cold,' Dr Porco said. She added that results from last year's Enceladus flyby will need to be analysed to confirm this. Professor Kite and Chicago geophysical sciences Professor Douglas MacAyeal are interested in studying an Earth analogue to the Enceladus geysers. A crack has formed across a section of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, partially breaking it away from the continent. They may sound like the frenzied gibbering of chimpanzees, the submerged songs of a whale or even blood-curdling screams from beyond the grave, but they are in fact the calls of bats. A video has revealed the diversity of calls made by bats, capturing the haunting sounds the furry mammals make as they feed, socialise or are under distress. The video shows the furry mammals calls slowed down and with the pitch dropped, enabling us to hear the high-pitched whistles, clicks and whines which are otherwise imperceptible to our ears. Scroll down for audio. The clips play automatically but can be repeated by clicking play A new video has revealed the diversity of calls made by bats, capturing the haunting sounds the furry mammals make as they feed, socialise or are under distress. Pictured is a serotine bat According to YouTuber Funturistic, the calls were taken from the website batcalls.com, which captures the sounds of European bat species for biologists to use in the field. The audio files are intended to be played through specialist equipment, to broadcast the calls and lure bats for research. INSIGHT INTO BAT CALLS The calls were recorded by a number of researchers across Europe, including the UK, Germany, Bulgaria and Norway. A number of species are captured, from the common pipistrelle to serotine bat, demonstrating the wide variety in calls across bat species. When the files were processed through professional audio software and slowed down they revealed an insight into the audio world of bats. Advertisement You wouldn't be able to hear anything though and probably not be able to play the files. It's above human hearing range and the .wavs are 250,000 Hz, explained Funturistic. Many audio programs are unable to process sample rates of above 192,000Hz, but when the files were processed through professional audio software and slowed down they revealed an insight into the audio world of bats. One of the calls could easily be the squeal of an excited chimpanzee, while another could easily be the underwater moan of a whale, while others sound just plain weird. The calls were recorded by a number of researchers across Europe, including the UK, Germany, Bulgaria and Norway. A number of species are captured, from the common pipistrelle to serotine bat, demonstrating the wide variety in calls across bat species. The calls slowed down in the left-hand audio clip sounds like the squeal of an excited chimpanzee while the right-hand clip is reminiscent of apes 'chatting' to each other Is it a whale song? The echoing of the bat's call sounds in the left-hand clips sound like the underwater song of a whale. Some of the calls sound so strange when modified that they can't really be compared to anything else The original audio files are intended to be played through specialist equipment, to broadcast the calls and lure bats for research. Pictured is a common noctule bat calling The Bat Conservation Trust has a number of recordings available of the bat calls as they are heard naturally, with the barely perceptible clicks and high-pitched pops. Bats use their calls for a number of purposes - such as communicating distress - and use clicks to find their way, and their meals, in the dark. But these sounds are typically beyond the range of human hearing. By making the sounds, the animals send out a wave of sound which bounces off of objects, so listening for an echo helps them to pinpoint exactly where the object is, and whether it can be eaten, mated with, or avoided. When audio files of bat calls were processed through computer software and slowed down they revealed an insight into the aural world of bats. Pictured is a still of the online video from YouTuber Funturistic The calls of a number of European species of bats have been modified, including the pipistrelle (pictured) But scientists recently discovered that when faced with sound interference from other bats, such as in a busy roosting area, the mammals will produce calls that are longer and more intense in order to make themselves heard. The calls were found to be similar to those used by bats when they are flying in wide open environments where it may take longer for sound to be reflected back to them. Researchers from Tel-Aviv University said this approach may help them pick out their own calls from the noise of others when they come in to land on busy roosts. By manipulating the audio files, the video enables viewers to hear the intricate vocalisations being made by common European bats (such as Bechstein's bat, pictured) which would otherwise be imperceptible Earlier this year, hints of a new particle with unusual properties were seen at Fermilab's Tevatron collider. Unlike normal particles, this one exotic particle was said to have contained four 'flavours' of quarks and antiquarks, making it a candidate for classification as a tetraquark. But in follow-up tests, researchers at the Large Hadron Collider have been unable to find any evidence of this particle, causing many to doubt its existence. The new tetraquark, an arrangement of four quarks, the fundamental particles that build up the protons and neutrons inside atoms, was first announced in late February by physicists taking part in the DZero experiment at the Tevatron collider at Fermilab, Illinois The new tetraquark is an arrangement of four quarks - the fundamental particles that build up the protons and neutrons inside atoms. It was first announced in late February by physicists taking part in the DZero experiment at the Tevatron collider at Fermilab, Illinois. Physicists said a particle like this, if found to exist, would represent a new particle 'species', paralleling the ordinary subatomic particles known today. WHAT IS A QUARK? Quarks are elementary particles, the smallest particles we know to exist. When they combine they form compound particles known as hadrons. Quarks are said to have six flavours: Up, Down, Charm, Strange, Top and Bottom. Combinations of quarks within these flavours gives rise to the larger particles. Groups of three quarks are known as baryons. An example of a baryon is a proton, which is made of two 'Up' quarks and a 'Down' quark. Advertisement Advertisement It would be the first tetraquark made up of four distinct flavours of quarks and antiquarks, bottom, strange, up, and down. But now scientists at the LHC said they have tried and failed to find evidence to confirm the particle, called X(5568), in their own data. 'We searched for the signal reported by DZero, using a roughly 20 times larger data sample,' lead author of the paper, LHCb physicist Vladimir Gligorov told MailOnline. 'We didnt find any evidence for new tetraquarks, and, more specifically, we set an upper limit on their rate of production which is incompatible with the production rate reported by DZero.' This is bad news for supporters of the tetraquark because the LHC is more sensitive than the Tevatron at Fermilab. If the new tetraquark exists, it should theoretically show up at the LHC (pictured) and possibly at other colliders. 'You might be able to supply a conspiracy theory where it's only produced at the Tevatron and not at the LHC, but I think that's contrived,' Professor Browder from the University of Hawaii said THE RULES OF SUBATOMIC PHYSICS Atoms are usually made of protons, neutrons and electrons. These are made of smaller elementary particles , also known as fundamental particles - the smallest particles we know to exist. They are subdivided into two groups, the first being fermions, which are said to be the particles that make up matter. The second are bosons, the force particles that hold the others together. Protons are probably the best-known baryons. Within the group of fermions are subatomic particles known as quarks. When quarks combine in threes, they form compound particles known as baryons. Sometimes, quarks interact with corresponding anti-particles (such as anti-quarks), which have the same mass but opposite charges. When this happens, they form mesons. Mesons often turn up in the decay of heavy man-made particles, such as those in accelerators, reactors and cosmic rays. Mesons, baryons, and other kinds of particles that take part in interactions like these are called hadrons. Advertisement 'I think the LHCb sensitivity is much better [than DZero's] so I would tend to doubt that this [tetraquark] result is real,' Professor Tom Browder of the University of Hawaii at Manoa told Scientific American. Professor Browder is a member of the Belle collider experiment in Japan. If the new tetraquark exists, it should theoretically show up at the LHC, and possibly at other colliders too. 'It's likely to be a statistical fluctuation,' Professor Browder said. 'You might be able to supply a conspiracy theory where it's only produced at the Tevatron and not at the LHC, but I think that's contrived.' Although Belle found the first known tetraquark in 2003, it is unlikely to spot X(5568), Browder said. The original study examined data obtained at the Tevatron collider, which is no longer running, over nearly ten years from 2002 to 2011. Scientists at the Tevatron's other experiment, CDF, are now looking at their own data now to look for the particle, but have not yet confirmed that they have the sensitivity required to find it. In principle they should be able to see it, Fermilab scientist and CDF member Jonathan Lewis said. 'But it's a detailed question. I can't make a definitive statement as to whether we can rule it in or out.' He also said the evidence from LHCb was strong evidence for the particle not existing. 'That's certainly a strong bit of contrary evidence that people need to consider,' Lewis says. 'I would wait and see.' This tetraquark would represent a new particle 'species'. But scientists at the LHC have tried and failed to find evidence to confirm the particle in their own data. The LHC is more sensitive than the Tevatron at Fermilab, shown, where hints of the particle were first seen But the evidence does not explicitly rule out a new tetraquark, according to the LHCb researchers. 'Now as far as ruling out the new tetraquark, this is a bit more complicated,' Gligorov told MailOnline. 'While we do not see any evidence for the signal reported by DZero, it is possible that a tetraquark which decays into BsPi does exist, albeit produced at a significantly lower rate than the one measured by DZero. 'Certainly searching for a signal of a tetraquark decaying into BsPi is well motivated, and with the new data currently being collected in Run II of the LHC we will significantly increase the sensitivity of such searches.' DZero team leaders, however, said they are standing by their discovery, which showed up in archived data, at least until they see more fleshed-out data from the LHC, pictured. Because each collider and experiment works differently and has unique sensitivities, it is possible that DZero was better suited to detect it DZero team leaders added that they are standing by their discovery at least until they see more fleshed-out data from LHCb. WHAT IS NEXT FOR THE SEARCH? DZero team leaders say they are standing by their discovery at least until they see more fleshed-out data from LHCb. 'It might be correct, it might not. Let's wait for more information,' said Dmitri Denisov, co-spokesperson for the DZero experiment. 'Certainly searching for a signal of a tetraquark decaying into BsPi is well motivated,' LHCb physicist Vladimir Gligorov told MailOnline. 'With the new data currently being collected in Run II of the LHC we will significantly increase the sensitivity of such searches.' Advertisement 'The fact that LHCb has not yet seen evidence for the new state does not mean that either LHCb or DZero is wrong,' Dmitri Denisov, co-spokesperson for the DZero experiment told MailOnline. 'In the end, the scientific process, including results from various experiments, will allow a conclusion to be reached. 'It might be correct, it might not. Let's wait for more information,' Many other experiments are working on searching for this state as well as we, at DZero, looking for possible other production mechanisms and decay modes of the new state. Because each collider and experiment works differently and has unique sensitivities, it is possible that DZero was better suited to detect it. 'It's too early to say if LHCb is at all capable of seeing this object,' Denisov said. Regardless of X(5568), scientists expect more tetraquark particles and other new arrangements of quarks to show up in coming years as accelerators become more and more powerful. The roughly half dozen tetraquarks that are now known may just be the tip of the iceberg. The more we learn about all the different possible arrangements of quarks, the better scientists hope to understand the complex laws that govern them. Determining whether X(5568) exists is the first step in this process. Steve Jobs was known for creating one of the most successful companies in the world. Described as a 'headstrong genius', he almost always got his way in arguments. That's according to New York-based photographer Doug Menuez who has revealed the lessons he learned about leadership from the Apple founder in a new book. Scroll down for videos Steve Jobs was a force to be reckon with during an argument, as he won almost every one by commanding respect from others. The tech tycoon's strategy was to exude confidence and do his homework, so he was willing to die for those ideas HOW DID STEVEN JOBS COMMAND RESPECT? Photographer Doug Menuez spent time with the late Steve Jobs, from 1986 to 1988. The experience taught him that when working with a headstrong genius, you have to be 'confident' and 'do your homework' so you can show others that 'you are willing to die for those ideas'. But if you show any sign of nervousness or uncertainty about yourself, 'you'll be crushed like a bug on a windscreen'. Menuez also learned that everyone, including a genius, has a blind spot. And if you can find it, you are sure to win. Advertisement Menuez spent time with the Jobs from 1986 to 1988, photographing him when he returned to Apple, reports Business Insider. 'My new project was about the digital revolution in the 1980s and 90s, when a hidden tribe of brilliant engineers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists sparked an explosion of innovation in Silicon Valley that changed our world forever,' Menuez explains in a video discussing his book 'Fearless Genius'. Menuez began the project in 1985 after returning to San Francisco from a stint in Ethiopia, where he covered the famine and conflict for Newsweek. He was so devastated by the human suffering and wanted to find a subject that was more hopeful for the human race and that is when he met Steve Jobs. During his two years with Jobs, Menuez not only captured Job's struggles and success, he also discovered the trick to winning an argument against the Apple CEO. 'I tried to be a fly on the wall and not engage Steve,' Menuez told Inc. 'We had one really big fight where he tried to stop me from doing a portrait the way I wanted to do it'. 'It was an interesting experience because I had seen him in direct confrontations with engineers for [over] two years.' Doug Menuez was so devastated by the human suffering and wanted to find a subject that was more hopeful for the human race and that is when he met Steve Jobs. Pictured here is Jobs (left) with co-founder Steve Wozniak (right) in 1976 Menuez learned that the tech tycoon wanted people to stand up to him, to show that they were just as confident. 'He wanted people with character,' said Munuez. 'I fought back and I won the argument actually.' The experience taught him that when working with a headstrong genius, you have to be 'confident' and 'do your homework' so 'you are willing to die for those ideas'. But if you show any sign of nervousness or uncertainty about yourself, 'you'll be crushed like a bug on a windscreen'. New York-based photographer Doug Menuez (left) spent time with the Jobs from 1986 to 1988, photographing him when he returned to Apple. The project, 'Fearless Genius' (right), is about the digital age in the 1980s and 90s, as technology companies sprouting up on Silicon Valley and how they changed the market 'Every genius has a blind spot,' Menuez says and that's when your knowledge is equally powerful. 'You've got something to offer, something of value yourself.' He also recommends that you always look for the best place that you can contribute to the team or work. And remember a genius is a human being just like the rest of us - they're not perfect. Although he was a successful genius, Steve jobs also spent a large portion of the day cursing at his employees. STEVE JOBS TAUGHT PIXAR CO-FOUNDER HOW TO WIN ARGUMENTS Ed Catmull spent 26 years with Steve Jobs, who told him how he works things out when people disagree with him 'just explain it to them until they understand'. 'In all the 26 years with Steve, Steve and I never had one of these loud verbal arguments and it's not my nature to do that. ... but we did disagree fairly frequently about things. ... I would say something to him and he would immediately shoot it down because he could think faster than I could. ... I would then wait a week ... I'd call him up and I give my counter argument to what he had said and he'd immediately shoot it down. So I had to wait another week, and sometimes this went on for months. But in the end one of three things happened. About a third of the time he said, 'Oh, I get it, you're right.' And that was the end of it. And it was another third of the time in which [I'd] say, 'Actually I think he is right.' The other third of the time, where we didn't reach consensus, he just let me do it my way, never said anything more about it.' The strategy of winning an argument against a stubborn person is patience; an open mind; a willingness to be wrong; and a willingness to plow ahead when, after a fair effort, agreement didn't happen. Source: Business Insider Advertisement Some movie enthusiasts who caught a show of the Steve Jobs film last year (featured), left the theater wondering how accurate to the Apple co-founder it really was. In contrast to the arguing ogre seen in the film, those who knew him felt Jobs was the opposite. Pictured is Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs Some movie enthusiasts who caught a show of the Steve Jobs film last year, left the theater wondering how accurate it really was about the Apple co-founder. In the film, Jobs seemed to be a stubborn, selfish, egotistical genius who spent every moment working towards the next best gadget. A lot of the scenes showed Jobs barking at co-workers, ex-lovers and even his young daughter. 'It's a movie, not a documentary,' Andy Cunningham, who was the publicist for Jobs during the introduction of the Macintosh, told USA Today. 'Everything that happens is a slightly fictional version of what happened.' Current Apple CEO Tim Cook has blasted the film, calling it 'opportunistic,' while Jobs' widow Laurene tried to block the release. In contrast to the arguing ogre seen in the film, those who knew him felt Jobs was the opposite. 'The young Steve was a lot more than you see portrayed in the film,' said John Sculley, who ran Apple and eventually fired Jobs. 'He was warm, passionate, driven, fun to hang out with. He was much more well rounded.' 'He wanted people with character,' said Munuez. 'I fought back and I won the argument actually.' The experience taught him that when working with a headstrong genius, you have to be 'confident' and 'do your homework' so 'you are willing to die for those ideas'. Pictured is Steve Jobs in 1977 A study from last December claimed that it was his arrogant and assertive personality that helped Steve Jobs get to the top. The study suggests individuals who are disagreeable are more successful because they are better at getting their ideas heard in a group. WHY JERKS GET AHEAD People think they're more creative: The thing is, they actually aren't necessarily more creative. Narcissists' inflated sense of self-esteem means they have total confidence that their ideas are better than anybody else's, and they throw them out there without the hesitation that can strike the rest of us. They're better negotiators: People with both self-centered narcissistic and conniving Machiavellian personalities are willing to push harder and be more combative to get what they want. They're good schmoozers: They're so focused on the end goal of getting what they want that they're able to flip a mental switch and turn on the superficial charm. Although manipulative types might be faking warmth or camaraderie to achieve an underhanded goal, it is an effective strategy, at least in the short-term. Advertisement In the first part of the study, 200 students took a series of personality tests that measured how disagreeable they were and their ability to come up with original ideas. Then each participant spent 10 minutes creating a unique marketing campaign for the online campus of their university. And for another 20 minutes, they broke off into groups of three to work on a joint campaign. As predicted, disagreeableness had nothing to do with how creative students were while creating their own ideas. The ideas that were used in the group were from individuals who were pushy about their campaigns. 'Being a jerk isn't advantageous for coming up with useful, original ideas, but it does seem to be advantageous for getting your ideas heard, especially in an environment consisting of pushy characters,' as noted in Research Digest. The second part of the study observed how students would do in certain group contexts. About 300 students worked alone to create a gift that would impress others visiting their campus. Next, they were told they would be video chatting with two other members of their group to share their ideas. What the students didn't know is that their online group members were actually assistants working for the researchers, who were told to give either supportive or negative feedback. This time, students were likely to only share their ideas if their 'partners' had smart ideas and gave negative feedback. A pottery fragment bearing Christian symbols from Roman Britain has been found among a number of forgotten fragments originally unearthed in the town of Brentford, west London. The piece, while unexceptional in its construction, has been described as a 'tantalising find' because it sheds light on the spread of Christianity from London, known as Londinium, in the 4th century. The artefact has a Christian symbol scratched into it and this suggests there were followers of Christ living in Brentford in Roman times. A pottery fragment bearing Christian symbols (pictured) from Roman Britain has been found among a number of forgotten fragments originally unearthed in the town of Brentford, near London The object was originally excavated in 1970 during excavations at Brentford High Street, but there is no record of it being noticed at the time. Volunteers at the Museum of London's Archaeological Archive made the discovery of the symbol, which is a chi-rho a monogram of chi () and rho () - the first two letters of the Greek Khristos Christ. 'At first we noticed there was some sort of mark on the pot and then quickly realised the significance of what we had,' said Archaeology Collections Manager, Adam Corsini. 'Christian symbols from the Roman period are rare, especially from sites within Londinium's surrounding Hinterland [which includes modern Brentford] and there are only a few examples within our collections relating to London.' The pot piece, while unexceptional in itself, has been described as a 'tantalising find' because it sheds light on the spread of Christianity from London, known as Londinium in the 4th century. An illustration of Londinium in the 2nd century is shown above RELIGION IN LONDINIUM Religion played an important role in the lives of people living in Londinium who relied on various gods to help them make the right decisions, heal injuries, cure diseases and generally grant them good luck, according to The Museum of London. In religious holidays, people probably went to the temple of the gods whose feat day it was, praying and making sacrifices to curry favour. Popular gods included the Roman Empires official deities inherited from the ancient Greeks, including Mars, Jupiter and Minerva. Others, including Isis and Mithras were adopted from other parts of the Empire and were merged with other religions, such as local pagan believes and Christianity. For example, the remains of the Temple of Mithras found in London bears some resemblance to a church. Mithraism was popular for a long time and was a secret society for soldiers and merchants. Christianity also became more popular over the centuries, spreading outwards from the port of London as well as from immigrant populations. Often, religions were allowed to merge and coexist in Londiunium and communities were cosmopolitan, just like in modern London. Advertisement Head of Archaeological Collections, Roy Stephenson told MailOnline he has only found six examples of Christian symbols on Roman artefacts from London and they were all found in central parts of the city, with 'nothing in the outskirts.' The other objects bearing the marks include two lamps, a small lead bowl and two lead ingots discovered in the Thames and none of them were unearthed in modern day excavations. The symbol has also been seen on 25 coins, but these were all brought over from the continent. Mr Corsini continued: 'Although we can't say from one object that Roman London and its Hinterland were practicing Christianity, it does suggest that Christians were at least present at some point in 4th Century Roman Brentford.' Mr Stephenson explained Christianity was one of many religions followed by residents of Londinium, although no Roman church has ever been found in the city. Society at this point was tolerant of many beliefs and Christianity wasn't forced on people. Sometimes one religion merged into another one. For example Mr Stephenson said: 'The layout of the Temple of Mithras in London wasn't unlike that of a church, with an altar at the front. There was a certain amount of similarity between religions. He continued: 'London was a port with new ideas coming in not just goods like olive oil and wine - ideas permeated from London to Brentford - one day's journey away at the time. 'It would have been the first stop you made travelling from London and possibly a place you would have stopped travelling from the west. The discovery is reshaping experts views of Brentford as it would have been in Roman times. Society at this point was tolerant of many beliefs and Christianity wasn't forced on people. Sometimes one religion merged into another one, with the Temple of Mithras laid out like a church. Artefacts from the ruined Roman temple are shown above on display at The Museum of London The object was originally excavated in 1970 during excavations at Brentford High Street (marked on the map), but there is no record of it being noticed at the time A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRENTFORD 54BC - Brentford, in west London, was likely the battle recorded by Julius Caear between the Roman warrior and the local king, Cassivellaunus. 1016 - The Battle of Brentford, between the invading Canute and Edmund Ironside 1431 - Syon Abbey was relocated from nearby Twickenham, but was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1539. 1616 - Pocahontas, Pamunkey princess, lived in Brentford with her husband 1642 - Another Battle of Brentford - this time during the English Civil War 1682 - The town was flooded, destroying many historic houses 1805 - Beginning of building for the Grand Union Canal 1815 - Brentford was home to the sixth President of the USA, John Quincy Adams 1889 - Brentford Football Club was founded 1925 - A section of the town became known as the Golden Mile due to the large number of factories that relocated there to take advantage of the good communications 1965 - The town was linked by the M4 Advertisement 'We always thought [Brentford] was a roadside service area for the main road [into London]. 'Brentford may have been a cosmopolitan town in its own right,' Mr Stephenson said. It was the likely site of a battle recorded by Julius Caesar in 54 BC between the Roman warrior and the local king, Cassivellaunus. Mr Stephenson said the shard of pottery is 'bog standard' without the symbol, but nevertheless described it as a 'tantalising find'. 'I don't think the pot's anything unusual in itself - probably the base of a bowl,' he explained. 'We can't say for sure that it's a liturgical or part of a set like those found in more recent churches, but why else would you do it?' he asked, meaning scrathing the symbol into the pot. 'We don't know if the monogram was made when the pot was, or scratched into it before or after it was broken.' He said there's a possibility more monograms or other illuminating details may be revealed as volunteers sift through more pottery fragments collected in the 1970 excavation in Brentford. It was one of several in the area during the late 1960s and 1970s, during a programme of road widening and rebuilding in Brentford's town centre. The excavations discovered the line of the Roman road heading out from Londinium to the west of Britain and started to shed light on the town that developed from the construction of this road to Silchester. It is assumed that the town would have exploited the trade route, providing for the needs of any who passed through and other artefacts from the excavations include over 100 coins, a dozen brooches, jet jewellery and a spout for a bronze bowl in the shape of a dog. And use at high strength or for too long could lead to Youre tired, stressed out, and feeling down wouldnt it be nice to just zap away those feelings and replace them with something more positive? It may sound too good to be true, but over the past few years, brain-stimulating devices claiming to do just that have grown increasingly popular. These devices rely on electrical currents or magnetic fields to stimulate certain areas of the brain. But while the appeal may be strong, experts have cautioned that they may pose risks to consumers. Over the past few years, brain-stimulating devices claiming to improve mood and energy have grown increasingly popular, like Thync, pictured RISKS OF 'BRAIN-ZAPPING' TECH As brain enhancing technologies have become more available over the past few years, researchers have warned of the possibilities for misuse. If the electrodes aren't positioned correctly, or the device is used for too long, or at too high a strength, there is the potential for neural impairment. Left-handed users may be at higher risk from incorrectly positioned devices,due to differences in brain organization. Researchers also say these devices could negatively interact with medications or other psychoactive substances, with unintended effects that could linger for months. And if used by children or young adults, a device of this kind could lead to atypical brain development, if the wrong areas of the brain are stimulated. Along with the potential for overdose or even addiction to the device researchers say it could be hacked to produce fear, anxiety, or aggression. Advertisement This technology falls under the umbrella of cognitive enhancement devices (CED).' As theyve become more easily available outside of a controlled medical setting, researchers have begun to call for greater regulation. By stimulating certain parts of the brain, The Washington Post explains, they can affect a persons emotional and physical well-being. Devices like the Thync kit administer a low-voltage electrical current to transmit vibes that claim to help you energize or relax without drinks or pills. A small module is placed on the forehead, and strips are placed on the back of the neck. The accompanying app can be used to control the calm or energy Vibes. Thync is among the CEDs that are known as transcranial direct current stimulators (tDCS), which use weak currents to stimulate or inhibit neuronal activity in a non-invasive manner. Last summer, Dailymail.com was given the opportunity to try the now $200 device. The brief trial of a calm program elicited surprisingly noticeable results, bringing on a relaxed sensation similar to having a beer. Researchers have studied the potential applications of CEDs in the treatment of strokes, autism, and anorexia, but at-home and even do it yourself (DIY) versions have also become easily available over the past few years. This year, researchers updated a 2014 model for the regulation of such devices, published to Oxford Journals. The researchers initially explained the risks posed by both the function and use of consumer-level tDCS devices. Devices must be constructed so that the electrodes can be positioned correctly, the researchers wrote. If correct position is not obtained, for which they say left-handed users may be at higher risk, there could be a potential to reverse polarity. Researchers say the device must be constructed in a way that allows for the proper positioning of electrodes. Incorrect position could make the device ineffective, or even result in brain impairment Not only would this be ineffective in producing enhancement, the researchers explain, but it could also result in brain impairment. 'The strength and duration of stimulation the device delivers will affect how safe it is to use,' the authors write. 'Stimulation that is too strong or stimulation that exceeds the optimum duration may be damaging, so devices that have the capacity for delivering strong stimulation or allowing extended continuous use will pose risks to users.' The team also cites the potential for this type of self-treatment to interact poorly with other treatments, if the user takes any pharmaceutical drugs or psychoactive agents. This type of interaction could create unintended effects that could last for months, the authors write. 'If the user is taking any medication or other psychoactive substances, these might interact with the stimulation effects resulting in desirable or undesirable outcomes,' they explain. Last summer, Dailymail.com was given the opportunity to try the now $200 device. The brief trial of a calm program elicited surprisingly noticeable results, bringing on a relaxed sensation similar to having a beer 'Given the wide variety and availability of substances with the potential to interact with tDCS, the lack of knowledge of these effects increases the risks posed to those purchasing devices for enhancement.' And, if CEDs are used on children or even young adults, the device could lead to atypical brain development if the wrong areas are stimulated. Though these devices are backed by years of research, some scientists are warning that consumers can overuse them, even leading to an overdose or possible addiction. Some, according to The Washington Post, have even warned that hackers could tap into such technology to create negative feelings, like fear, anxiety, or aggression. So far, they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, as they are not considered medical devices at this level. While many researchers say the technology has potential for positive results, many assert that there is still much more in the way of regulation to be done. Researchers believe there is a 90 per cent chance King Tutankhamun's tomb contains at least one, if not two, hidden chambers. If it's confirmed, it could be one of the most important archaeological discoveries this century. But independent radar experts talking to LiveScience are now casting new doubts over the claim, arguing the unusual geology of the Valley of the Kings may be fooling scientists. Scroll down for video Researchers believe there is a 90 per cent chance King Tutankhamun's tomb contains at least one, if not two, hidden chambers. The announcement follows recent infrared thermography tests that revealed one area of the northern wall was a different temperature to others (marked). Pictured here is the interior of the tomb GHOST DOORS TO THE CHAMBER After analysing high-resolution scans of the walls of Tutankhamun's grave complex in the Valley of the Kings, Dr Nicholas Reeves spotted what appeared to be a secret entrance. They feature very straight lines that are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb. He uncovered the 'ghosts' of two portals that tomb builders blocked up, one of which is believed to be a storage room. The other, on the north side of Tutankhamun's tomb, contains 'the undisturbed burial of the tomb's original owner - Nefertiti', Dr Reeves argued. These features are difficult to capture with the naked eye, he said. Reeves said the plastered walls could conceal two unexplored doorways, one of which perhaps leads to Nefertiti's tomb. He also argues the design of the tomb suggests it was built for a queen, rather than a king. In particular, he believes these chambers are behind the northerns and western walls of tomb and that one contains the remains of queen Nefertiti, the chief wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten and mother to six of his children, who is Tutankhamun's mother. Advertisement Earlier this month, archaeologists scanned the tomb to find what some believe could be the resting place of Queen Nefertiti. Nefertiti was the legendary wife of Tutankhamun's father whose mummy has never been found. Egypt's antiquities minister Mamdouh el-Damaty believes the chambers contain the tomb of a member of Tutankhamun's family, but would not speculate on Nefertiti. But experts speaking to LiveScience have questioned whether the chambers even exist. They claim the landscape of the Valley of the Kings - which contains voids - makes it difficult for radar to separate archaeological features from natural ones. They are calling for more data to be released from the recent scans. 'It does not appear that these GPR [ground-penetrating radar] data have been processed, or that any of the so-called anomalies are visible in the raw data that are provided,' Lawrence Conyers, a professor of anthropology at the University of Denver told LiveScience. The in-depth report also mentions several other radar scientists, some of whom are calling for the raw data to undergo peer review. More radar surveys are expected to be conducted later this week. Dr Nicholas Reeves, who made the original discovery, has not yet responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment. The skepticism follows recent infrared thermography tests that revealed one area of the northern wall was a different temperature than others. A team from Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering and a Paris-based organisation called the Heritage, Innovation and Preservation Institute used infrared thermography to measure the temperature of each of the walls of the tomb. Preliminary analysis of the non-invasive search showed that one area of the northern wall was a different temperature than other areas, which is a potential sign of a hidden chamber. The completion of the experiment comes and at the same time that researchers unveiled newly colourised photos of the discovery of the tomb. The dark blue border shows the walls that were scanned. The area alongside the antechamber is believed to be empty, while Area 1 contains metal and organic material, and Area 2 contains just organic material. This organic material could be human remains The pictures were taken by British photographer Harry Burton during the excavation process and have been made from the original glass plate negatives. Egypt's Antiquities minister Mamdouh Eldamaty said in a statement the experiment in which investigators looked for hidden tombs lasted 24 hours. He continued that several more experiments will be carried out in hopes of more accurately determining the area showing a different temperature. Scratching and markings on the northern and western walls are strikingly similar to those found by Howard Carter on the entrance of King Tut's tomb. The search follows claims by British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, of the University of Arizona, that high-resolution images of the tomb show 'distinct linear traces' on the walls, pointing to two unexplored chambers. He said high-resolution images of what is known as King Tut's tomb 'revealed several very interesting features which look not at all natural. They feature very straight lines that are 90 degrees to the ground, positioned so as to correspond with other features within the tomb. These features are difficult to capture with the naked eye, he said. Reeves said the plastered walls could conceal two unexplored doorways, one of which perhaps leads to Nefertiti's tomb. This image shows detailed scan results from one of the suspected chambers. The scan used electromagnetic waves to inspect the chamber's so-called cavity pattern. The red arrows indicate the entrance to the cavity and the yellow and green sections are believed to be metal and organic material Dr Nicholas Reeves recently claimed to have found evidence for the bricked up entrances. These include the burial chamber for Queen Nefertiti, who Dr Reeves claims was the boy-kings co-regent and may even have been his mother, and a new hidden storage room, as shown above Tutankhamun's 3,000-year-old burial chamber was discovered in 1922, after a 15-year search which eventually uncovered 5,000 antiques - including the king's sarcophagus, his gold mask, and stillborn mummies. Dr Reeves claims the 'ghosts' of two portals that tomb builders blocked up are shown in yellow He also argues that the design of the tomb suggests it was built for a queen, rather than a king. Dr Reeves, an English archaeologist at the University of Arizona, has provided new evidence to support these claims in a report published by the Amarna Royal Tombs Project. After analysing high-resolution scans of the walls of Tutankhamun's grave complex in the Valley of the Kings, Dr Reeves spotted what appeared to be a secret entrance. He described how he uncovered the 'ghosts' of two portals that tomb builders blocked up, one of which is believed to be a storage room. Archaeologists scanned the tomb to find what some believe could be the resting place of Queen Nefertiti, the legendary wife of Tutankhamun's father whose mummy has never been found Dr Reeves claims he made the discovery after analysing high-resolution radar scans of the walls of Tutankhamun's tomb complex, which was uncovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings In particular, he believes these chambers are behind the northerns and western walls of tomb and that one contains the remains of queen Nefertiti, the chief wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten and mother to six of his children, who is Tutankhamun's mother. Famed for her exquisite beauty, the grave of Nefertiti or the 'Lady of the Two Lands' has been lost for centuries since her sudden death in 1340 BC. Previous DNA analysis has suggested King Tutankhamun's mother may have been a mummy known as the Younger Lady, who is also thought to be his father's sister. However, there are some Egyptologists who claim that it is actually Nefertiti, the chief wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten and mother to six of his children, who is Tutankhamun's mother. WERE KING TUTANKHAMUN'S PARENTS ALSO COUSINS? The complex family arrangements of Tutankhamun has been one of the great mysteries surrounding the young king. While his father was known to have been Pharaoh Akhenaten, the identity of his mother has been far more elusive. DNA testing has shown that Queen Tiye, whose mummy is pictured above, was the grandmother of the Egyptian Boy King Tutankhamun In 2010 DNA testing confirmed a mummy found in the tomb of Amenhotep II was Queen Tiye, the chief wife of Amenhotep III, mother of Pharaoh Akhenanten, and Tutankhamun's grandmother. A third mummy, thought to be one of Pharaoh Akhenaten wives, was found to be a likely candidate as Tutankhamun's mother, but DNA evidence showed it was Akhenaten's sister. Later analysis in 2013 suggested Nefertiti, Akhenaten's chief wife, was Tutankhamun's mother. However, the work by Marc Gabolde, a French archaeologist, has suggested Nefertiti was also Akhenaten's cousin. This incestuous parentage may also help to explain some of the malformations that scientists have discovered afflicted Tutankhamun. He suffered a deformed foot, a slightly cleft palate and mild curvature of the spine. However, his claims have been disputed by other Egyptologists, including Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. His team's research suggests that Tut's mother was, like Akhenaten, the daughter of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. Hawass added that there is 'no evidence' in archaeology or philology to indicate that Nefertiti was the daughter of Amenhotep III. Advertisement The other, on the north side of Tutankhamun's tomb, contains 'the undisturbed burial of the tomb's original owner - Nefertiti', Dr Reeves argued. If Dr Reeves is correct, the hidden tomb could be far more magnificent than anything found in Tutankhamun's burial chamber. He believes it is her tomb due to its position positioned to the right of the entrance shaft, which is far more typical of Egyptian queens rather than kings. The small size of Tutankhamun's burial chamber, given his standing in the Egyptian history, has baffled experts for years and Dr Reeves' theory could suggest that it was built as an addition to an existing tomb - his mother's. Tutankhamun's burial chamber is the same size as an antechamber, rather than a tomb fit for an Egyptian King, for example. The tomb of King Tut is displayed in a glass case at the Valley of the Kings in Luxo. British Egyptologist's theory that a queen may be buried in the walls of the 3,300 year-old pharaonic mausoleum has been bolstered following infrared and radar scans Pictured is the the decorated north wall of Tutankhamen's burial chamber, behind which Dr Reeves believes is another, more lavish burial chamber belonging to Nefertiti THE DISCOVERY OF THE TOMB Tutankhamun's 3,000-year-old burial chamber was discovered in 1922, after a 15-year search which eventually uncovered 5,000 antiques - including the king's sarcophagus, his gold mask, and stillborn mummies. The discovery caused a worldwide sensation. The rich furnishings and decorations have entranced the public while archaeologists have puzzled over the king's death. He was found buried with two stillborn children and his passing ended the Thutmosid family line. Tutankhamun's death led to war as he was succeeded by his adviser Ay, who married the boy king's widow. Under his rule Egypt was defeated in a war with the Hittites. Advertisement Dr Reeve said the richness of the furnishings crammed into Tutankhamun's four small chambers as 'overwhelming'. The majority of Egyptologists have taken this at face value, and said many of the objects there appear to have been taken from predecessor kings and adapted for the boy-king's use. He proposes some of the material in the tomb suggest Nefertiti had been the boy's co-regent. Combined with the scans of the north wall of the tomb, Dr Reeves believes the tomb belonged to Nefertiti and the pharaoh's room was simply an afterthought, describing it as a 'corridor-style tomb-within-a-tomb'. The opening of what is believed to have been Nefertiti's tomb is decorated with religious scenes, perhaps in a ritual to provide protection to the chamber behind it, he said. 'Only one female royal of the late 18th Dynasty is known to have received such honours, and that is Nefertiti', Dr Reeves writes. If Dr Reeves' theory is correct, it may resolve a number of oddities about Tutankhamun's burial chamber that have long baffled researchers. In 2010 geneticists used DNA tests to examine the parentage of Tutankhamun and suggested it might be the mummy above, known as the Younger Lady, who was the boy-king's mother. Other experts have claimed, however, that Nefertiti was a cousin of King Tut's father and may have been the boy's mother Egyptian labourers work at the entrance of the Valley of the Kings. If Dr Reeves is correct, the hidden tomb could be far more magnificent than anything found in Tutankhamun's burial chamber For instance, the treasures found within seem to have been placed there in a rush, and are largely second-hand. 'The implications are extraordinary,' he wrote. 'If digital appearance translates into physical reality, it seems we are now faced not merely with the prospect of a new, Tutankhamun-era store room to the west [but] that of Nefertiti herself, celebrated consort, co-regent, and eventual successor of Pharaoh Akhenaten.' Nefertiti, whose name means 'the beautiful one has come,' was the queen of Egypt and wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten during the 14th century B.C. It is possible, however, that nothing at all will be found behind the walls of the tomb (wall pictured) She and her husband established the cult of Aten, the sun god, and promoted artwork in Egypt that was strikingly different from its predecessors. Her titles suggests she was co-regent and possibly a pharaoh after Akhenaten's death. But despite her remarkable status, her death and burial remains a mystery. Another theory is that if a mummy is found, it could belong to Pharaoh Smenkhkare or Queen Meritation, the full or half sister of Tutankhamun, experts said. It is possible, however, that nothing at all will be found behind the walls of the tomb. Colourised images of the tomb were recently unveiled by Factum Arte, a group which recently created a life-sized copy of Tutankhamun's tomb, intended for tourists to visit. The photos tell the story of English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter, who was asked in 1907 to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings. By that point, Carter had been in in Egypt since 1891 and most of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered. But very little was known about King Tutankhamen, who died when he was 19. Tutankhamen's tomb was first discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. Archaeologists are shown above removing part of a wooden couch, covered with gold leaf and a hippopotamus head, from the tomb at the time The gold burial mask of Tutankhamun, shown above, is one of the greatest treasures found inside the boy king's richly furnished tomb. Since its discovery, the story of the young ruler has entranced archaeologists On November 4, 1922, Carter's group found steps that led to Tutankhamun's tomb and spent several months cataloguing the antechamber. The discovery was made near the entrance of the nearby tomb of King Ramses VI in the Valley of the Kings. On November 26, 1922, Carter and fellow archaeologist Lord Carnarvon entered the interior chambers of the tomb, finding them miraculously intact. From then a famous exchange between Lord Carnarvon and Carter took place. Tutankhamun died in mysterious circumstances around 3,000 years ago. His mummy, shown above being unwrapped by archaeologists, was removed from its ornate stone sarcophagus in the tomb in 2007 so it could be better preserved in a climate controlled case Dr Reeves believes the pharaoh's room was simply an afterthought, describing it as a 'corridor-style tomb-within-a-tomb'. Pictured is its entrance 'Can you see anything?' asked George Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, standing in a gloomy passageway cut into the bedrock of the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile. 'Yes,' replied Carter, who was peering at the antechamber to the royal tomb. 'Wonderful things.' 'At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker,' Carter later recalled. 'But presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and goldeverywhere the glint of gold.' To document the entire process, the Metropolitan Museum sent Burton as the excavation photographer. The discovery of Tutankhamun's 3,000-year-old burial chamber in 1922 captivated the world. Researchers recently released colourised black and white photos of the discovery. This image was taken in November 1925, and shows Tutankhamun lying with his burial mask on. The photo was taken as the coffin was opened The antechamber captured in December 1922. Pictured are ornately carved alabaster vases in the antechamber, containing perfume. The pictures, taken by British photographer Harry Burton, have been made from the original glass plate negatives Howard Carter and an Egyptian worker open the doors of the innermost shrine and get their first look at Tutankhamun's sarcophagus He was 'Carter's eye and memory.' With his enormous camera and cumbersome negative plates, Burton trekked between the discovery site, his laboratory and his improvised darkroom. 'Every step of the excavation work was documented in photographs, right down to the smallest detail,' according to Premier Exhibition, who are displaying the photos. 'The results of Burton's labours are 2,800 large-format glass negatives, which document all of the finds, their location in the tomb and every single step of the excavators' work with the utmost precision. 'Carter patiently and unconditionally encouraged him like no other member of his team and, thanks to his photos, Burton was the first and only archaeological photographer to achieve worldwide fame.' The colourised black and white photographs are part of a new exhibition opening in New York called The Discovery of King Tut. But the discoveries to make made in King Tut's burial chamber are far from complete. Advertisement It's a city that was famously divided during the Cold War, patrolled by armed soldiers willing to shoot anyone who dared to cross from the East in an area known as the dead zone. At that time, Berlin was the spy capital of the world something thats highlighted by Steven Spielbergs Bridge Of Spies. Its a movie that tells the gripping true story of how lawyer James B Donovan, played by Tom Hanks, negotiated an exchange of two hostages between the US and the Soviet Union, with an Oscar-winning performance by Mark Rylance as a communist spy. The dramatic moment takes place on the world-famous Glienicke Bridge and on a visit to the city, I discover that its just as foreboding as it appears on the film, when the two sides stand on each side, waiting for the stalemate to break and the prisoners to be released. Scroll down for video Healed scars: The luxurious Hotel Adlon Kempinski sits in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate on land which was once the infamous dead zone, patrolled by Eastern European guards watching the wall Different era: This was the same view that people could see from West Berlin in 1987, just before the wall fell. Citizens were not allowed to approach the historic landmark This is the world-famous Glienicke Bridge, which appears in the recent movie Bridge Of Spies, for which Mark Rylance won an Oscar. The US and the Soviets exchange prisoners on the bridge during the movie, as it is seen as a neutral point This aerial shot of Glienicke Bridge shows how the area it's in is a picturesque, leafy suburban zone nowadays True story: This is a view of 'Unity' or Glienicke Bridge from the American side, where U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for convicted Russian spy Rudolf Abel Dramatisation: Tom Hanks on Glienicke Bridge, waiting for Powers to be released Modern tale: In the movie Bridge Of Spies, released this week, Tom Hanks plays James B Donovan (pictured, right), the lawyer who negotiated the exchange, with Mark Rylance winning an Oscar for his supporting role as KGB agent Rudolf Abel (centre) Despite the city now being totally transformed - Berlin Wall and dead zone scenes needed to be created artificially because they no longer exist, for instance - there are many other ways of experiencing the world the movie is set in. The city does still bear scars from more troubled times - and there are hotels such as the Adlon Kempinski with strong Cold War connections. It used to be Berlin's most iconic hotel. It opened in 1907 and welcomed Kaiser Wilhelm II as its first guest and later stars including Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin checked in, no doubt keen to take in views from the rooms of the historic Brandenburg Gate. The Adlon stayed open throughout the Second World War and accommodated officers, royalty and American presidents Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt. But while the interior and architecture looks classic, it is actually relatively new. It burned down shortly after the war, and the empty site was located in what later became the dead zone. It was rebuilt in 1997 at a cost of 235million euros on the exact same spot and the five-star hotel, with a restaurant boasting two Michelin stars, is yet again one of Berlin's elite establishments. Today, in the ornate lobby, musicians play the piano in the evening while guests sip Champagne and neatly made cocktails. or coffees in the daytime. The suites have a classic interior, with wooden furniture that looks mature and stylish. They're big, too, with suites for two large enough for a family. Political centre: Another site on the whistle-stop tour of the city's most significant and highly political landmarks is the Reichstag, the majestic building at the centre of German politics, where Angela Merkel and other politicians debate the country's issues Getting in: Trips inside need to be planned weeks in advance, with organised tourists rewarded with permission to go to the top of the glass dome at the apex of the building for a unique view of the city Historic spot: The gate to the West in Berlin was known as Checkpoint Charlie, guarded by Americans on one side and East Germans on the other. It's now a tourist attraction, with actors dressing up as US and East German soldiers Stark contrast: The checkpoint today is a world away from the military guardhouse that manned the route into West Berlin years ago The bathrooms have so many creams and lotions that you can dispense with the whole rigmarole of pouring toiletries into a plastic bag in front of crowds of people at the airport. On the second day I discover that the shower has an intriguing disguise: A button on the outside that converts it into a sauna. Stepping outside by the Brandenburg gate I go on a tour that explains the story of political tensions all over the world for the past century. We walk to the Holocaust memorial and take in boards and information points that explain the impact of the First and Second World Wars and the divide between East and West throughout the rest of the 20th Century, Berlin being the focal point of the stalemate. The gate to the West in Berlin was known as Checkpoint Charlie, guarded by Americans on one side and East Germans on the other. It's now a tourist attraction. Visitors pay a few euros to have their pictures taken with actors who don military uniforms from both sides - and lend you a hat for the snap. In Bridge of Spies it's the spot where, as Tom Hanks waits for a prisoner exchange at Glienicke Bridge, US soldiers anxiously await the arrival of another American imprisoned in East Germany in very tense scenes. Iconic: Hotel Adlon Kempinski opened in 1907 and welcomed Kaiser Wilhelm II as its first guest and later stars including Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin checked in, no doubt keen to take in views from the rooms of the historic Brandenburg Gate Relaxation: In the lobby, musicians play piano in the evening while guests sip Champagne, neatly made cocktails or coffees in the daytime Room with a view: From the window of the luxurious suites (pictured), there is an amazing view of the historic Brandenburg Gate, and if you walk out through the classically designed lobby, you find yourself almost in its shadow Classic style: The rooms have a classic interior, with wooden furniture that looks mature and stylish Beside the landmark is the Museum Haus, known as Checkpoint Charlie Museum or the Last House Of Freedom, as it was formerly one of the final addresses on the street in West Germany used by human rights activist Dr Rainer Hildebrandt to help those wanting to escape the regime in the East. Today it tells the story of life in the former German Democratic Republic with art, displays and memorabilia. It is run by Hildebrandt's wife, Alexandra, who considers it a personal mission to tell the tale of what happened there - so it never happens again. Another site on the whistle-stop tour of the city's most significant and highly political landmarks is the Reichstag, the majestic building at the centre of German politics, where the most powerful people in the nation, including Angela Merkel, debate the country's issues. Trips inside need to be planned weeks in advance, with organised tourists rewarded with permission to go to the top of the glass dome at the apex of the building for a unique view of the city. Then there is Glienicke Bridge, the setting for the gripping climax of the movie and the actual place where U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for convicted Russian spy Rudolf Abel, played by Rylance. It's the real Bridge of Spies. The bridge is on the edge of the west of the city and extended from the US-controlled area into Soviet-controlled Germany. It's a huge structure and the final snowy scene of the movie accentuates its foreboding form. The unique dishes at Facil, a restaurant on Potsdamer Platz, which was the centre of Berlin's renaissance. Left is a dish with gourmet peanut butter at its centre and right is chili con carne made from polting lamb and polenta Fine dining: The bavette steak with beans and jus (left) from Restaurant Bieberbau (right), roughly 20 minutes from the centre TRAVEL FACTS Easyjet fly to Berlin Schoenefeld from 29.49 one-way. Executive rooms at Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin, are available from 292.50 euros (230) with the early booker rate The junior suites cost 497 euros per night 392) in advance. Visit Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin. Find the menu and book restaurant Facil here. Visit the Restaurant Bieberau website for details of the menu and how to book. Advertisement Now, the more noticeable parts are the ornate sculptures at either end, the beautiful park and classic mansion - now a national treasure - in what was once the American sector, and the immense castle in the distance that can be seen from the middle, which offers an impressive view over the water. As you walk around the main tourist drag, you quickly realise that Berlin still has plenty of the steins and currywurst sausages it's famous for. But there is also a unique restaurant scene, with experimental chefs rustling up groundbreaking dishes. A few minutes down the road, past the expansive Holocaust memorial, is Facil, a restaurant on Potsdamer Platz with lots of glass and high ceilings that was the centre of Berlin's foodie renaissance. The dishes are unique and the sparkling German riesling is an even better reason to visit than the beer. To start, they offer meals including rutabaga, with radicchio, ginger and liquorice, a smoked duck soup of celery and whey and impressively presented rock octopus. Mains include chili con carne made from polting lamb and polenta - which both look and taste like modern art - and corn-fed chicken with cherry and sunchoke. For afters there are rich desserts such as red berries with pecan and kampot pepper, and the bonfire, a chocolate sphere filled with ice cream and red berries, on a bed of popping candy. The unique dining experience at the restaurant, rated number ten on TripAdvisor, will set you back 36 euros for two courses or 48 euros for three at lunchtime. However, the top-rated restaurant in Germany is actually a 20-minute taxi journey from the centre, on what looks like a fairly quiet street and in a building that is a far cry from the glass-fronted hotel that houses Facil. Restaurant Bieberbau has been there since 1894, and the interior is simple and stylish, but the food is anything but, boasting a menu with dishes including buffalo ricotta with sweet potatoes and meadow veal with baked celery. What's more there's a calm but friendly atmosphere where diners even seem to greet those on other tables - something almost unheard of in most British cities. Today in Berlin you can eat gourmet foods and drink wines and spirits from all over the world - the hallmarks of any capital city. It's easy to lose track of whether you are in East or West Berlin, which makes the small signs of a divided past all the more poignant. Bridge of Spies is available on Digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Home. Flying out: Tom Hanks outside the Tempelhof Airport. It was only way to fly out of West Germany and the ability to do that is what separated the two sides of Berlin. The former runway is now a park, but tourists can still walk inside the terminal, which remains open The wall: Tom Hanks walking outside the Berlin Wall, parts of which still exist today. Even the parts which have disappeared are remembered by bricks in the floor running down the roads and pavements where it once stood Advertisement Nestled on top of a large cliff in New Mexico is a sleepy commune that is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America. Acoma Pueblo in Valencia County has been occupied by the Acoma people for over 800 years, since 1150AD - though today it only has 50 full-time residents. And no running water, electricity or sewage system. In the 1950s part of the rockface was blown up and a road was constructed to the top. But before that the only way to visit the site - which is 360 feet above the desert - was up a near-vertical staircase carved into the golden rockface. Scroll down for video Nestled high on the top of a large cliff in New Mexico is a sleepy commune that is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America In the 1950s part of the rockface was blown up and a road was constructed to the top. But before that the only way to visit the site - which is 360 feet above the desert - was up a near-vertical staircase (pictured) carved into the golden rockface Hard journey: Villagers would have been forced to climb with heavy supplies up the steps to the historic site Today only 50 residents remain at Acoma Pueblo in Valencia County - but the village has a colourful past that dates back to the 12th century or earlier Brian Vallo, Director of the Acoma Cultural Center said one of the greatest things about Acoma, located in New Mexico, is the people, who consider themselves to be a peaceful and spiritual group Most visitors today use the road, but the staircase is still an option for those who are brave enough. It is unsurprising, given its dizzying heights, that the camp is also known as Sky City. One of the first European visitors to the ancient settlement was Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronad in 1540. According to Amusing Planet he wrote that Acoma Pueblo was 'one of the strongest places ever seen, because the city was built on a high rock. The ascent was so difficult that we repented climbing to the top'. Nearly 60 years after this, raids began in the area, lead by colonial governor Juan de Onate. In a bid to protect their sandstone dwelling, the Acoma Pueblo villagers made the first move and were said to have killed a number of men, including Onate's nephew. It turned out to be a bad idea, as two months later the Spaniards sought revenge, killing 600 residents and enslaving 500 others. The introduction of railroads in the 1880s saw a stream of missionaries and schools trying to influence the Acoma Pueblo dwellers. Pictured are residents in 1897 (left) and the settlement as it looks today (right) Now people can visit Acoma Pueblo and see residents carry on the customary traditions of their ancestors with tribal celebrations One of the first European visitors to the ancient settlement was Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronad in 1540 Construction of the town was no easy feat, as 20,000 tons of stone and earth and 30-foot beams had to be lugged up the steep mountain for some of the churches between 1629 and 1640 The settlement's population dropped from 2,000 to just 250, with survivors beginning the slow process of rebuilding their home. Spanish control was still felt in Acoma Pueblo, however, with villagers forced to pay taxes on cotton, crops and labour. Catholicism was introduced with the arrival of missionaries and between 1629 and 1640 a church was erected in the camp. Constructing this was no easy feat, as 20,000 tons of stone and earth and 30 foot beams had to be lugged up the steep mountain. Most of the buildings are made from sandstone blocks and are extremely basic in form. They also lack conveniences like running water The Battle of Acoma Pueblo (right), or the Acoma Massacre, was fought in January 1599 between Spanish conquistadors and Acoma native Americans in what is now New Mexico. Pictured left is what it looks like now Views from the 360-foot-high settlement are breathtaking, offering sweeping views over the New Mexican landscape Not everyone was happy with these new changes. The Pueblo Revolt took place in 1680, with 17,000 residents rising up against colonists, wiping out all the Spanish camps in the area. Further invasions occurred during the centuries that followed, mainly from the Apache, Comanche, and Ute tribes, according to Amusing Planet. And the introduction of railroads in the 1880s saw a stream of missionaries and schools trying to influence the Acoma Pueblo dwellers. Finally the villagers gave way to a more modern lifestyle, and by 1920 many of the children were sent away to boarding schools for education. Now there are around 300 earthen buildings still intact, but very few permanent residents due to the lack of electricity, sewage disposal and running water. Brian Vallo, Director of the Acoma Cultural Center said one of the greatest things about Acoma is the people, who consider themselves to be a peaceful and spiritual group. He said: 'I believe that as our people emerged into the world there was a plan.' There are around 300 earthen buildings still intact, but very few permanent residents due to the lack of electricity, sewage disposal and running water Then and now: The buildings haven't changed much since 1901 (left) to the present day (right) and ladders are still used to reach higher levels Finally the villagers accepted a slightly more modern lifestyle. By 1920 many of the children were sent away to boarding schools for education Advertisement A private beach has been snapped up by a mystery buyer - despite being underwater for half the day. The three-mile stretch of Welsh shoreline was up for auction in a rare sale because most of Britain's coastline is owned by the Queen. And the stretch of beach sold for more than three times its 20,000 asking price - even though buyers were warned that it can only be used at low tide before the sea comes in from the Bristol Channel. The three-mile stretch of Welsh shoreline was up for auction in a rare sale because most of Britain's coastline is owned by the Queen The stretch of beach sold for more than three times its 20,000 asking price - even though buyers were warned that it can only be used at low tide before the sea comes in from the Bristol Channel The 900 acres of land was purchased by Roger Thomas, of Cooke and Arkwright Estate Agents, for 61,000 on behalf of a mystery buyer. Mr Thomas said: 'I can't reveal who the new owner is but what I can say is there will be a continuation of the current use for sporting and conservation activities on the land.' Its new owner joins a very exclusive club as 55 per cent of foreshore around the UK belonging to the Crown Estate with the rest mostly in the hands of wealthy individuals. Keri Harding-Jones, of Paul Fosh Auctions, said: 'It is extremely rare for part of the foreshore to come up for sale as most is owned by the Crown Estate. However, in this instance the freehold was owned privately and is made up of two parcels of land which lie along the Peterstone Wentlooge coastline between high and low tide marks. An estate agent said: 'It is extremely rare for part of the foreshore to come up for sale as most is owned by the Crown Estate' The 900 acres of land was purchased by Roger Thomas, of Cooke and Arkwright Estate Agents, for 61,000 on behalf of a mystery buyer The foreshore was being sold by receivers because the existing company owning the stretch has gone into receivership 'There was very keen interest in the foreshore property leading up to the sale and there were about six individual bidders active in the room on the night including on the phone. I am very pleased with the result of the sale. 'The land is currently used by the Wentlooge Wildfowl and Conservation Association, whom we understand hold the relevant permission from Natural Resources Wales for their sporting and conservation activities.' The beach is neighbouring the village of Peterstone Wentlooge and the estuary of the River Rhymney on the outskirts of Cardiff and the foreshore was being sold by receivers because the existing company owning the stretches has gone into receivership. The beach is mainly used by dog-walkers and anglers on the outskirts of the Welsh capital. Dog-walker Iain Leyshon, 46, said: 'It's a bit muddy at times but is great fun to run the dogs here. I would love to say to other people here: "This is my private beach you know."' Cabin crew are known around the world for their glamorous appearance but there is far more to their immaculate looks than initially meets the eye. In order to become a qualified flight attendant, not only must men and women undergo a rigorous training schedule but they also have to pass strict guidelines for height, weight and even the shade of their lipstick in order to get a job at many airlines around the world. MailOnline Travel rounds up some of the strangest requirements airlines expect of their cabin crew. Airlines often have strict requirements for the appearance of their cabin crew Height There are often height and weight requirements for cabin crew as they need to be able to fit in the jump seats and be tall enough to reach the overhead head lockers, but not so tall that they bump their heads on the ceiling. To apply for a much-coveted job with luxury Gulf carrier Qatar Airways, flight attendants must have a minimum arm stretch of 84 inches while on tip-toes, presumably to reach the overhead lockers. Emirates also requires that cabin crew have an arm reach of just less than 84 inches while standing on tiptoes. Ryanair requests that stewards are between 5ft 2inches and 6 ft 2inches height 'with weight in proportion'. Flight attendants on Qatar Airways must have a minimum arm stretch of 84 inches while on tip-toes Weight Cabin crew who work for Malaysia Airlines need to have a BMI of between 22-25 for women and 25-28 for men. Anyone who falls outside of this is tested until they keep within the range for two months in a row. Failure to achieve this results in the flight attendant in question being put on leave for two weeks to shed the weight. Eyesight AirAsia asks for cabin crew applicants with excellent eyesight. However, applicants are assured they will be allowed to wear contact lenses if needed, but no glasses. Female attendants on Emirates must make sure their nail colour is clear, French or the same red as their lipstick and hat Extra training Brazilian airline TAM require air staff to undergo intense Amazon jungle survival training. It makes sense. Over half of the country is covered in rugged rainforest and if an aircraft had to make an emergency landing among the trees, cabin crew need to be prepared. In fact, the country's government require any airline based in the country to offer this kind of training. According to Airline Reporter, TAM's course is undertaken by cabin crew in a section of rainforest behind their training centre, and includes instructions on using debris to build a makeshift lavatory. Strength WestJet requires that its cabin crew are able to lift 50lbs (3 1/2 stone) from floor to waist and 22lbs (1 1/2 stone) above their heads. Cabin Crew who work for Malaysia Airlines need to have a BMI of between 22-25 for women Swimming ability EasyJet air stewards do not have such strict rules, but the safety requirements on their website stipulate that applicants must be able to tread water for at least a minute. Ryanair stops short of that but asks that all cabin crew are 'able to swim well'. General health Alaska Airlines require that applicants for their cabin crew are nicotine-free for at least six months prior to applying. Grooming Virgin Atlantic cabin crew - male and female - must attend a 'groom school' at the airline's base in Crawley, near Gatwick Airport, to learn the company's staunch rules on appearance, which includes a minimum make up requirement. British Airways underline the importance for its cabin crew to look preened at all times.They request that tights are 10 or 15 denier in black, or nearly black, shirts well ironed and crisp, and nail polish must be red or very pale natural shades. Malaysia Airlines asks that female attendants wear make-up to match their colouring, with a minimum of three shades of colour on their eyes. Female attendants on Emirates must make sure their nail colour is clear, French or the same red as their lipstick and hat. Travelling the world has a number of different perks, from paddling in crystal clear waters and walking on white sandy beaches, to witnessing beautiful scenery and taking in another country's history. But who could forget one of the most enjoyable highlights of all - a chance to taste a different kind of food, whether it's tacos in Mexico, gelato in Italy or croissants in France. But what about the unsung culinary heroes of every nation? The regular go-to snack that locals tuck into when they need a quick-fix at home. A young girl makes the American favourite - the peanut butter and jam sandwich Reddit users have been sharing their country's favourite speedy snack that can be rustled up with a few favourite ingredients from their kitchens and pantries, and the results have been eye-opening. Whether it's a peanut butter and jam sandwich in America, mixed rice in Korea or brown cheese and strawberry jam in Norway - the responses show that comfort food has a different meaning for every nationality. Read on to find out what the locals are eating in Iraq, Australia and Czechoslovakia for their afternoon snack... Mexican food is so popular that it has spread to numerous countries around the globe, but for a truly local snack many Mexicans opt for quesadillas. A user called SeymourWG said: 'In Mexico it's a plain Quesadilla. Quick, easy and pretty good. 'That or a taco de frijoles. There are always beans and tortillas in the house. Quick and convenient.' Two men enjoy a snack of halloumi and watermelon which a popular in both the Mediterranean and the Middle East Korean food is another type of cuisine that has spread around the world in the last few years. Their local afternoon snack is slightly more involved than a cheese quesadilla though. A Reddit user from South Korea called Parkjdubbs said: 'In Korea, probably mixed rice. 'Find whatever in your fridge to put into your bowl of rice, a spoonful of red pepper paste, and finish it off with some sesame oil to mix it altogether. Another Korean user called Oobear added: 'I propose the following dish: Spoon some rice into a bowl, crack a raw egg over the rice, lay a slice of processed cheese over the egg, microwave until the egg is set and eason with soy sauce. 'Most Koreans I know have had this served to them by a busy parent.' In Mexico, cheese quesadillas are a favourite quick meal (left), while in Japan many favour onigiri as an easy snack (right) The Japanese also used rice as their snack staple, with several Japanese Reddit users claiming that onigiri was the go-to afternoon eat. To make the dish they created a rice ball with a filling like pickles or fish that could be found in the fridge, with dried seaweed on the outside. Many European online contributors, including those from Norway, suggested a variation on the traditional sandwich. A user called Starkicker said: 'Slice of fresh bread and butter topped with brown cheese and some sort of jam (ideally fresh strawberry or raspberry).' In Northern Ireland, it seems the sandwich stills reigns supreme, as long as it contains some beloved Tayto crisps. A user called DaangerZone said: 'Ham and crisp sandwich in Northern Ireland (potato chips for you Americans out there). The crunchiness added to the sandwich is incredible.' Meanwhile in Czechoslovakia, the sandwich took on a more rustic form, with a user called Xanthippa saying: 'Growing up in Czech, it was firm rye bread with lard, salt and chopped onions! Yum!' In Czechoslovakia, rye bread with lard, salt and chopped onions is a popular snack Down Under, the locals prefer their sarnie with a sweet and crunch texture, with a user called Shezzam saying: 'Fairy bread. It's the best Aussie childhood food. 'Fresh white bread, butter and 100's & 1000's.' In Iraq, locals enjoy feasting on a mix of tahini and date syrup on bread, while in Israel, pitta and hummus is a firm favourite. But Syria and the Philippines had two of the healthiest snacks. Syrian Reddit user Teh_fizz said: '[We eat] Water melon and halloumi cheese in Syria, or halva and halloumi cheese, or olive oil and oregano/thyme spice mix. A protracted stay in New Zealand came to an end as Scarlett Johansson made the short journey to neighbouring Australia on Friday afternoon. The actress arrived in Sydney following a location shoot in Wellington, where she has been filming forthcoming comic book adaptation Ghost in the Shell. Scarlett, 31, looked low key in a denim shirt and leggings as she made her way across the busy airport terminal with 17-month old daughter Rose - her only child with businessman husband Romain Dauriac. Scroll down for video Here they come: A protracted stay in New Zealand came to an end as Scarlett Johansson made the short journey to neighbouring Australia with daughter Rose on Friday afternoon The American star added to her casual ensemble with a pair of trendy Adidas trainers, while a baseball cap - pulled low over her famous features - rounded things off. Accessorising with a pair of clear lens spectacles, Scarlett mingled with fellow travellers during a short appearance at Sydney airport before catching an outbound flight. Despite her status as an international superstar, the actress made sure to look after her own affairs for the day by ferrying her own suitcase while clutching one of her daughter's cuddly toys. Casual: Scarlett, 31, looked low key in a denim shirt and leggings as she made her way across the busy airport terminal with 17-month old daughter Rose Low key: The American star added to her casual ensemble with a pair of trendy Adidas trainers, while a baseball cap - pulled low over her famous features - rounded things off In good company: The actress was assisted with her luggage as she made her way across the airport The BAFTA Award winner originally arrived in Wellington with French husband Romain in early February, and had been making her way around town largely unrecognised ever since. In an article published by the New Zealand Herald, one local said that Scarlett 'arrived at a local south Wellington gym fairly innocuously with a group, she was wearing trainers, training gear and a hat. 'To the uninitiated no-one would have known she was a star,' the source added. This way please: An assistant helped guide her through the airport ahead of her connecting flight out of Sydney A face in the crowd: Accessorising with a pair of clear lens spectacles, Scarlett mingled with fellow travellers during a short appearance at Sydney airport before catching an outbound flight She's off: The American actress clutched her passport as she made her way towards the departure lounge with daughter Rose Scarlett, her husband and her daughter are understood to have been living in a gated mansion in the coastal suburb of Seatoun Heights overlooking the Wellington Harbour while Scarlett filmed scenes for Ghost In The Shell, in which she plays Motoko Kusanagi. The movie is based on the comic book and manga cartoon of the same name by Masamune Shirow and is set in 2029. It is being directed by Snow White and the Huntsmen film-maker Rupert Sanders and will also star Michael Pitt - best known for his appearances in HBO show Boardwalk Empire. Temporary home: Scarlett was understood to have been living in a gated mansion in the New Zealand suburb of Seatoun Heights overlooking the Wellington Harbour while filming scenes for Ghost In The Shell, in which she plays Motoko Kusanagi Hands full: Despite her status as an international superstar, the actress made sure to look after her own affairs for the day by ferrying her own suitcase while clutching one of her daughter's cuddly toys Source material: Scarlett's new movie is based on the comic book and manga cartoon of the same name by Masamune Shirow and is set in 2029 All star cast: The film is being directed by Snow White and the Huntsmen film-maker Rupert Sanders and will also star Michael Pitt - best known for his appearances in HBO show Boardwalk Empire She's the mother of two beautiful children. However, Laura Hamilton, 33, revealed that her second birth could have killed her. And speaking to OK! magazine, the A Place In The Sun presenter has also explained that she will never be able to deliver a child naturally again. Scroll down for video 'Doctors have said I can't deliver another child naturally': Laura Hamilton - joined by husband Alex Goward and her children - revealed that she could have died while giving birth to daughter, Tahlia, last May Laura and her husband, Alex Goward, are parents to two-year-old Rocco, who was delivered by emergency Caesarean, and Tahlia, who was born last May. The TV star, said: 'With Tahlia I'd planned a Caesarean, but a week before it was scheduled, I went into labour and woke up in the night in excruciating pain. 'Alex rushed me to hospital and I ended up having another emergency operation.' However, things did not run smoothly. Alex said: 'The surgeons said Laura's uterus was so thin that if she'd pushed it could have been fatal.' 'Our family feels complete': Laura said that she and her husband do not want to have anymore children Despite surviving the ordeal, the blonde beauty was dealt another blow as she was told that she will never have a natural birth in the future. Laura said: 'Doctors have said I can't deliver another child naturally.' Read all about it: This week's However, she explained that she and her husband weren't planning on having any more children. She said: 'Both Alex and I come from two-child families. We feel lucky that we've had both a girl and a boy and our family feels complete.' Speaking of her children, the TV presenter added that taking them to work makes life easier as a working mum. Laura said: 'People think travelling with children is difficult but it's such a fantastic experience for them. 'They've been to South Africa, Tuscany, Florida, Cyprus the list goes on and on.' And speaking after the birth of her daughter, last year, Laura told Hello! Magazine: 'I find it very difficult to switch off. 'That doesn't mean my family isn't everything to me - I'm very lucky that I can take them with me - I just want to enjoy it for as long as it lasts'. However, she explained that Rocco and Tahlia do not come on set. Laura started out her career on children's television, but has branched out in recent years. She also featured on Dancing On Ice in 2011. She and partner Colin Ratushniak reached the finals of the show, but were beaten by former EastEnders actor Sam Attwater. A year later, she started presenting Channel 4 property show A Place In The Sun. Read more in this week's OK! magazine, on sale now. She's a model and actress known for her sultry style. However, Jessica Alba cut a glum and very low-key, casual figure as she touched down in New York amid legal woes over her billion dollar business. The 34-year-old businesswoman wore muted shades of grey and black as she stepped out at JFK Airport on Monday. Scroll down for video Touching down: Jessica Alba cut a glum figure as she touched down in New York amid legal woes over her billion dollar business on Monday Wearing a slouchy jumper and dark tracksuit trousers, Jessica looked effortlessly chic if not almost unrecognisable thanks to her baggy togs. The Fantastic Four star topped off her outfit with a green parka jacket and simple white trainers for comfort following a flight. And she toted a large tasselled black handbag, perhaps used as her cabin luggage. Not flying high: The 34-year-old businesswoman wore muted shades of grey and black as she stepped out at JFK Airport Keeping it simple: The Fantastic Four star wore a grey Quinn sweater and topped off her outfit with a green parka jacket and white trainers On call: Jessica was seen on the phone hours after it was revealed that her company had been hit with another lawsuit Downcast: Jessica chose to hide her makeup free face behind some large sunglasses as she wheeled her suitcase through the airport However, as she wheeled along her suitcase, Jessica chose to hide her make-up free face behind some large sunglasses. She also appeared to look worry-stricken as she sat down to take a phone call at the airport using her Ullu Hand Painted Leather iPhone 6 Snap-On Case in Turqish Delight. The photos come just hours after it was revealed that Jessica's Honest Company was hit with another lawsuit. According to WWD, Margo Smith filed a lawsuit in Missouri on March 24 seeking class action status, as she claimed that the company has used deceptive marketing to sell its products. The woman alleges that false advertising was used for the brand's detergent, dish soap and multisurface cleaner, along with other items. Out and about: Jessica looked incredible in a pair of patterned leggings as she headed out for the day Feeling the chill: The star looked like she was feeling a bit chilly as she strolled through Madison Square Park Chic: The Sin City actress set off her ensemble with a tiny leather handbag with a gold buckle Smith claims that the company insisted it does not use sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) in any of its products, but she alleges this is false. However Honest Co. denies the allegations. A representative told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'The claims alleged in the lawsuit are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against them.' The lawsuit comes shortly after a report in the Wall Street Journal said it tested Honest Co.'s detergent at two laboratories and found it had sodium lauryl sulfate. The company, who promise their products - which also include diapers, soap and lotions - do not contain any 'harsh chemicals', have strongly denied these claims. Not again!: Jessica's Honest Company has been hit with another lawsuit, claiming false advertising. The actress is pictured here in June 2014 Deceptive marketing?: Margo Smith claims the company has insisted it does not use sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) in any of its products, but she alleges this is false. Honest Co. denies the allegations. It comes after Wall Street Journal allege they found SLS in its detergent They said in a statement earlier this month that the detergent does not contain SLS, but does contain sodium coco sulfate, an ingredient it says is a 'gentler alternative.' It also said it conducted 'rigorous testing' and said the Journal is wrong and 'reckless.' The Journal said that its report 'is accurate, fair and meets' its standards. Honest Co. told LA Times in a statement: 'We stand behind our laundry detergent and take very seriously the responsibility we have to our consumers to create safe and effective products.' Taking a break: Jessica was spotted soaking up the sun in Maui, Hawaii on Wednesday - a day before the lawsuit was filed The company - valued at $1.7 billion also provided Wall Street Journal with a certificate stating there was no SLS in the product from its detergent manufacturer, Earth Friendly Products, according to the statement. But the chemical supplier, Trichromatic, told Wall Street Journal the certificate 'wasn't based on any testing and there was a 'misunderstanding' with the detergent maker' and that it did not need to test for SLS because 'none was used in the manufacturing process'. In her 2013 book The Honest Life, Alba lists SLS as a 'toxin' that consumers should avoid and that it instead uses a detergent called sodium coco sulfate, or SCS. Standing by their products: The company, which was founded by the 34-year-old and Christopher Gavigan, is also facing a class action lawsuit over its sunscreen But the damning article claims that scientists told investigators SCS contains a mixture of various cleaning agents that include a significant amount of SLS. Honest Co. is also facing a class action lawsuit from customers who say the company's sunscreen failed to protect them, causing sun burns. That case is still pending and Honest Co. has said its products are safe. Back in September the company was also facing a $5million lawsuit from a customer who claimed its products are ineffective and contain chemicals. Huge success: The star started The Honest Company because she wanted 'healthy and safe product options' for her and her family. She is pictured earlier this month with (L-R) Cash, Honor and Haven In a statement at the time, Alba stood by her products, saying: 'Seven years ago, when I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was frustrated by the lack of healthy and safe product options for me and my new family. 'I started The Honest Company to develop safe and effective products not just for my children, but for families everywhere. I am proud that we have built this company into an industry leader focuses on using natural ingredients and developing products that people love.' The Honest Company was started in 2012 with 17 products and now has more than 120 items, which are sold at more than 4,000 retailers across the United States and Canada. Her hat certainly made a statement. Octavia Spencer looked springlike in a fascinator covered with flowers in pastel shades as she filmed Hidden Figures with co-stars Taraji P. Henson in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday. Along with singer-actress Janelle Monae, the trio star in the true story of the female African-American mathematicians who provided NASA with important calculations needed for the first successful space mission. Scroll down for video Enjoying a picnic: Octavia Spencer, right, Taraji P. Henson, center, and Janelle Monae, with her back to the camera, were spotted filming Hidden Figures in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday Their research powered the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and his safe return in 1962. Octavia and Taraji, both 45, were seen apparently enjoying a picnic, with the Golden Globes-winning star of HBO's Empire in a white dress printed with green foliage and a white cardigan with embroidery flowers. The Oscar winner looked summery in a violet dress with an empire waistline that matched her hat. Taraji plays the lead role of Katherine Johnson, with Octavia as her colleague Dorothy Vaughan, and Janelle as the third mathematician, Mary Jackson. Taking a break: The 45-year-old plays Dorothy Vaughan, one of three female African-American mathematicians who provided NASA with important calculations needed for the first successful space mission in 1962 The 30-year-old looked gorgeous in a pale blue dress and white hat Hidden Figures also stars Kevin Costner as the head of the space programme and Kirsten Dunst in an as-yet unspecified role. The film is based on Margot Lee Shetterlys book Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win The Space Race, which will be released by HarperCollins in September. Walking to set: The film is based on 45-year-old Taraji's lead character, Katherine Johnson Demure dress: The 30-year-old singer-actress Janelle Monae looked gorgeous in a pale blue frock and white hat as the third mathematician, Mary Jackson Principal photography on the inspirational movie began in early March, when Octavia posted an Instagram of herself and her two co-stars, captioned: 'So much fun this past week getting to know @janellemonae & @tarajiphenson and getting into the skin of the beautiful NASA computers.' Fox 2000 is slated to release it next January 13. Meanwhile, Octavia's Allegiant, the third movie in The Divergent franchise, came out on March 18 and she is also set to play God in The Shack, which bows on November 18. She also recently filmed Marc Webbs Gifted opposite Chris Evans, due out this year. She's the glamour model who went on a cringe-worthy date with Irishman Anthony on hit Channel Seven show First Dates. And now Davina Rankin has celebrated turning 25 this week by sharing a bikini-clad shot of herself to her 220,000 Instagram followers. In the snap the personal trainer and model shows off her ample assets in a vibrant bandeau-style bikini. Scroll down for video Happy birthday... to me! First Dates star Davina Rankin flaunted her figure in an orange bikini as she celebrated her birthday over the weekend Her bust almost spilling out of her too-small orange bikini top, Davina's cleavage is the focus of the snap. Meanwhile. her high-cut bottoms accentuate her toned legs and shows off her pert posterior. She appears to be makeup free in the snap and had shielded her eyes behind a pair of rose-coloured reflective shades. Davina wrote in accompanying caption: 'Mother Nature has delivered with some ripper weather for the Birthday Girl. 'I promise after this weekend I won't be celebrating my birthday month for at least another year. Thank you to everyone for the well wishes, I appreciate it more than you know!' Awkward: Davina went on a cringe-worthy date with Irishman Anthony on hit Channel Seven show First Dates Still single? She appears to still be looking for love despite the success of her television date and her social media feed is littered with images of her wearing a bikini The busty brunette went on a date with Anthony during her time on the reality television show, and despite hardly understanding his accent she appeared to have fun. At the end of their date, the pair decided they wanted to see each other again and headed out for drinks after dinner. Following the outing, Davina had nothing but kind words to say about her love match, gushing: 'I would like to hang out with Anthony again, he's a legend.' However, Davina appears to still be single despite the success of the date. Chasing the sun: Davina is seen spending considerable time in the sun and flaunting her sun-kissed skin in skimpy bikinis any chance she gets Fit: Davina's incredible physique is all thanks to her gruelling workout regime Cheeky: In another racy snap, shared on her social media, the 25-year-old is see enjoying an 'early morning rainforest shower' in a very revealing G-string bikini Instead she is seen spending considerable time in the sun and flaunting her sun-kissed skin in skimpy bikinis any chance she gets. One racy snap shows her enjoying an 'early morning rainforest shower' in a very revealing bikini. Davina, a Brisbane based personal trainer, has graced the cover of several issues of discontinued men's magazine Zoo Weekly. She runs her own business called Infamous Physiques and the website claims it: 'is more than just a personal training service, its a lifestyle.' The brunette beauty also lists Monster Energy as a previous employer on her Facebook after she was a promotional model for the brand. Fitness enthusiast: Davina runs her business Infamous Physiques Covergirl: She has also graced the cover of several issues of discontinued men's magazine Zoo Weekly They travel the world constantly but it seems the animal kingdom in Sydney is what recently captured the hearts of actress Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban. The Hollywood star spent time bonding with a fluffy lamb and a sow and her piglets at Sydney's Royal Easter show and the earthy experience prompted her to declare on Facebook: 'We love Australia.' The 48-year-old Moulin Rouge star took the unusual step of sharing images to her personal Facebook page including one of a show-jumping horse and thanked 'all the lovely people at the show' Scroll down for video Hands on: Nicole Kidman (L) and husband Keith Urban (R) get back to nature and bond with a fluffy lamb and piglets at Sydney's Royal Easter show over the weekend The Hollywood star shared this snap of a sow and her piglets at Sydney's Royal Easter show Dressed casually in a black jacket and cap, the mother-of-three looked relaxed and carefree as she returned home for the religious break. With a rucksack strung over her shoulders, she beamed broadly for the camera as did her country singing husband Keith. New Zealand-born Keith, 48, showed off his arm tattoos as he leaned in for the shot. It is not known whether the couple, who have been married since 2006, took their daughters Faith Margaret and Sunday Rose along for the experience at the Sydney Olympic Park over the weekend. Horsing around: The Moulin Rouge star shared a night time snap of an equestrian show The couple were, however, seen taking their brood on an easter egg hunt around Sydney's Centennial Park scouring for treats with their cousins on Monday. Nicole is understood to be flying back to Los Angeles on Tuesday to resume filming for her HBO series Big Little Lies. Earlier this week it was reported the star is in talks to make a return to Australian television. Family: Nicole is pictured with her late father Anthony in 2005 The Daily Telegraph claimed Nicole is considering a role in Foxtel's popular drama, Top Of The Lake. It is the second Easter Nicole spent with family since the death of her father Antony in 2014. Miners and best friends Gareth and Alex were eliminated from My Kitchen Rules on Tuesday night. Despite the pair - who are both 25-years-old - putting up a good fight and serving impressive dishes during the sudden death cook-off, it wasn't enough to beat the scores of their competitors in the round, friends team Roise and Paige. And while they have vowed on the series to not return to mining, it seems the duo are keen to pursue their interests in cooking, with Gareth saying after they were sent packing: 'Bummed to be leaving early, but we'll try and take our dreams and make them a reality.' Scroll down for video Not meant to be! Miners and best friends Gareth (R) and Alex (L) were eliminated from My Kitchen Rules on Tuesday night 'I was very proud of what you produced tonight and we are very sad to see you go': judge Pete Evans also said, who also said the round was neck on neck between the teams. On a piece to camera, Gareth spoke about their time on the show and how much they enjoyed it. 'Our experience on My Kitchen Rules has been crazy but amazing,' he said. Alex added: 'We came into this competition as best mates, we're walking away stronger than ever.' The pals cooked up some intricate gourmet meals during the round and kept to a chilli theme. Victors: Despite the pair putting up a good fight and serving impressive dishes during the sudden death cook-off, it wasn't enough to beat the scores of their competitors in the round, friends team Roise (L) and Paige (R) Their entree was five spice prawns with papaya salad and coriander dressing, a main of snapper with green chilli coconut broth and a dessert of doughnuts with chilli chocolate ice cream and rhubarb. The girls meanwhile beat the boys with their dishes, which featured cauliflower fritters with yoghurt sauce and tabbouleh for entree, roasted quail with peas mint and speck for a main and a dessert of flour-less Persian cake with rose water jelly. The boys were scored a total of 49/60 from the judges and guest judges, including Pete, Manu Feildel, Karen Martini, Colin Fassnidge, Liz Egan and Guy Grossi, while the girls scored 52/60. They tried: The boys made five spice prawns with papaya salad and coriander dressing for entree A good choice: A main of snapper with green chilli coconut broth A good way to finish: A dessert of doughnuts with chilli chocolate ice cream and rhubarb Delicious: The girls meanwhile beat the boys with their dishes, which featured cauliflower fritters with yoghurt sauce and tabbouleh for entree Gourmet:They served roasted quail with peas mint and speck for a main What a treat: A dessert of flour-less Persian cake with rose water jelly was made Karen had commended the boys for their entree, saying she 'loved the use of spice in the dusting flower, it was a good strong entree,' before saying the guys 'nailed' the main course and found the doughnuts 'well cooked.' Liz said a little more chilli was needed in their entree, while Colin called their fish the 'dish of the day.' Pete said it was 'some of the best fish we've had in the competition.' Colin also commended their ice cream and said it was 'restaurant quality' while Manu said they should pack it and sell it. However Colin said there was inconsistencies in their doughnuts. The girls also impressed the judges and Manu in particular commended them on their jus. They were thrilled when they scored an eight from Colin - who is a bit of a tough judge - and Paige started crying. Working hard: The bpys are seen here in the kitchen trying to beat the girls Emotional: The women were thrilled when they scored an eight from Colin - who is a bit of a tough judge - and Paige started crying Pete said to the girls when they were named winners: 'If I was the other teams I would be looking at you as a real threat.' While cooking, the boys became a little anxious when their test fillet of fish turned out raw, but they managed to save the day with their remaining pieces. They also struggled a little with their dessert, when they dished up the food and found they were missing one deep fried doughnut and had to quickly cook up a remaining one for the last plate. They chucked the doughnuts into the deep fryer all at once which is a possible reason as to why Colin later said their dough had 'inconsistencies.' Dishing up: They also struggled a little with their dessert, when they dished up the food and found they were missing one deep fried doughnut and had to quickly cook up a remaining one for the last plate Meanwhile, the batter they made first went clumpy and they had to add water to it to stir it and then put in the deep fryer. The teams had an hour and a half to make the entree, an hour for the main and half an hour for the dessert. It was the second sudden death round for the Queensland boys, which at first gave them confidence before they started cooking. Gareth said at the start of the episode: 'We found ourselves here again. We are feeling really confident with ourselves tonight because we have the advantage of knowing what pressure we are in store for. It's going to be a battle.' Back again: It was the second sudden death round for the Queensland boys, which at first gave them confidence before they started cooking During the heated round, the pressure was on for Rosie, 37, and Paige, 34, who hail from South Australia. At one point while cooking the entree, Paige was left to de-bone the quail for their main as Rosie prepared everything else. Paige starts singing to herself looking calm as Rosie begins to stress, exclaiming: 'I'm starting to feel like I'm cracking at the edges...I'm really feeling the pressure and the time is starting to go down really fast. I want to come out of my funk if we want to stay in the competition.' Paige then stops working on the quail to help her team-mate. The two teams completed their sudden death round with their fellow My Kitchen Rules stars looking on. Tough job: At one point while cooking the entree, Paige was left to de-bone the quail for their main as Rosie prepared everything else They say the time to ensure one looks one's best is once a woman has snared her man. And indeed Real Housewife of Melbourne's Gamble Breaux showed herself to be in tip top shape as she sunbathed on the Gold Coast with her eye surgeon husband, Dr Rick Wolfe. The reality star, 45, solicited double takes as she paraded around in a diamond-print blue bikini showing off her very pert posterior as she kissed and cuddled her older beau on the sunlounger. Scroll down for video Looking good: Real Housewife of Melbourne's Gamble Breaux showed herself to be in tip top shape as she sunbathed on the Gold Coast Flaunting a washboard stomach that a woman half her age would be proud to own, Gamble struck an enviable figure as she sat beside the pool. Teetering around in vertiginous sandals, Gamble paraded her coltish legs and a bronzed figure over the Easter break. And as she peeled off her towelling robe, she paraded a relaxed and carefree demeanour as she chatted animatedly with her affable surgeon. Striking: The reality star, 45, solicited double takes as she paraded around in a diamond-print blue bikini Well hello there: Gamble showing off her very pert posterior as she kissed and cuddled her older beau on the sunlounger Hands in the air: The Australian reality TV star was in high spirits as she relaxed on the Gold Coast At one stage, the playful blonde clambered over the man she nicknames Wolfie, and giggled playfully as he laughed raucously back. A quiet moment saw her nestle into him as he placed a tender arm around her. For his part Wolfie appeared as infatuated with Gamble as always, holding her tightly and kissing her tenderly as they sat on the wicker longer. Close: The TV personality was joined by her eye surgeon husband, Dr Rick Wolfe The easy life: And as she peeled off her towelling robe, she paraded a relaxed and carefree demeanour Revealing: Flashing plenty of flesh, the former model showed off her enviably slim figure And when the afternoon Gold Coast sun beat down a little too hard, dog-loving Gamble took her cue and dipped her toes into the pool and reached for a straw hat. Flashing plenty of flesh, the former model showed off her surgically enhanced chest and enviably slim figure which Wolfie could barely keep his eyes off. For his part the surgeon dressed smart yet casually in a stripped T-shirt, cut off jeans and deck shoes. Under wraps: Gamble later pulled on a white robe after covering her locks beneath a straw hat Hard to miss: Gamble paraded her coltish legs and a bronzed figure over the Easter break Refreshing: when the afternoon Gold Coast sun beat down a little too hard, dog-loving Gamble took her cue and dipped her toes into the pool and reached for a straw hat He hid his gaze from the shade of the afternoon sun in mirrored sunglasses as he frlciked poolside with his new broide. Gamble almost suffered a wardrobe malfunction in a dangerously low cut strapless dress at her wedding reception in a recent episode of RHOM. Fans saw her tie the knot with her medic beau in a glamorous beachside ceremony where she made the most of her moment in the spotlight wearing two striking looks for her big day. While she wore a heavily-beaded custom made Alin Le' Kal gown to the ceremony before changing into a short strapless dress for the reception. Still in the honeymoon phase: Real Housewives of Melbourne star Gamble couldn't keep her hands off her new husband as they lounged beside a pool on Monday on the Gold Coast Holiday style: The 45-year-old reality star showed off her age-defying figure in a bikini as she lounge beside the pool with her new husband who was dressed in a casual striped polo shirt and shorts Smitten: Gamble showed off her busty assets in a two-tone blue denim patchwork bikini and put on a very affectionate display with Rick And while the boob tube dress will have been a much more practical option for celebrating, the garment struggled to contain her enhanced chest and her co-star Gina was seen squeezing her chest into the dress. Gamble has never been one to shy away from speaking openly about her penchant for plastic surgery. In season 2, episode 6 of the Real Housewives of Melbourne, she revealed that she had spent $90,000 on cosmetic surgery to defy the aging process. The admission came during a discussion between Gamble and her sister Tempest, who was planning to undergo cosmetic surgery herself. Wedded bliss: As he relaxed Gamble crawled on top of him and playfully placed both hands on his chest before she planted a smooch on his cheek 'But $20,000 of that was to fix some bad work that I had done,' explained Gamble after revealing the hefty value of her enhanced body. 'Age does terrible things to your body, to everything ... so I think everyone can use a nip and tuck eventually, including men,' she adds. During the conversation she reveals more details about the work she's had done, which includes an eye lift lid, procedure to smooth and tighten the neck and a boob job. Gamble has previously told Daily Mail Australia about her enthusiasm for going under the knife, and admitted she has no hesitation recommending the cosmetic procedure Botox, and other kinds of work, to others. I think that if it starts to sag, fill it up! she said. Ive had a little bit of work here and there its sort of a secret, she explained. Botox is a really quick, fast, and cheap alternative [to plastic surgery], she enthused. My Kitchen Rules contestants and Gareth and Alex are definitely good cooks and are no doubt easy on the eye. So it was little wonder that on Tuesday night's episode, despite being eliminated, they caught the attention of fellow contestants Laura and Tasia. When the boys were preparing their entree dish doing the sudden death cook-off, they had to grind some ingredients and flexed their rippling muscles. Scroll down for video Hot under the collar: On Tuesday night's episode of My Kitchen Rules, Laura (L) and Tasia (R) checked out miners Alex and Gareth Blushing! The girls got an eyeful of the hunky boys and their muscles as they cooked 'If you just had to chose, which one would you go for?' Tasia says to Laura, who were both checking out the boys. 'Don't make me choose between them, that's horrible. I can't, it's impossible,' Laura replied. 'Work those guns,' she added while ogling Gareth. Those arms! Gareth is seen here cooking away and showing off his muscles Eye-catching: Alex's muscular arm is seen here as he prepares food for the round 'I actually don't know who I would choose between Alex and Gareth. They are both equally as delightful as each other,' she later admitted on a piece to camera alongside her brother Mitch. Mitch dryly replied: 'Just pick whichever one is over the stove.' When overseeing their main dish of snapper with elements of chill, Laura joked: 'Let's hope the curry is as hot as the boys.' Being honest: She says she doesn't know who she would choose out of the boys on a piece to camera alongside brother Mitch The Queensland miners went head-to-head with South Australia's Rosie and Paige, but were eliminated after getting the lowest score from the judges. Their entree was five spice prawns with papaya salad and coriander dressing, a main of snapper with green chilli coconut broth and a dessert of doughnuts with chilli chocolate ice cream and rhubarb. The girls meanwhile, served cauliflower fritters with yoghurt sauce and tabbouleh for entree, roasted quail with peas mint and speck for a main and a dessert of flour-less Persian cake with rose water jelly. The boys were scored a total of 49/60, while the girls scored 52/60. Getting into it! Their entree was five spice prawns with papaya salad and coriander dressing, a main of snapper with green chilli coconut broth and a dessert of doughnuts with chilli chocolate ice cream and rhubarb Gone: During the episode, the Queensland miners went head-to-head with South Australia's Rosie and Paige, but were eliminated after getting the lowest score from the judges Fiona Falkiner has had plenty to smile about during her girls trip to Byron Bay, but on Sunday, the TV personality looked concerned as she spoke on the phone while exiting a local cafe. The 33-year-old was leaving brunch with close friend Bianca Venuti, but appeared to be staring wistfully off into the distance amid a seemingly intense conversation. Fiona was casually attired for the outing, wearing a linen shirt in a denim blue hue with the sleeves rolled up, which was paired with a white cut off denim skirt. Scroll down for video Cause for concern? Fiona Falkiner was spotted looking a little pre-occupied while leaving brunch on Sunday in Byron Bay, with the blonde beauty engrossed in a phone conversation The Biggest Loser host accessorised with relaxed flip-flops, black over-sized sunglasses and a two-tone cloth tote bag in navy and white. Fiona host had her hair pulled back in a ponytail to complete her look and appeared to be make-up free during her beach holiday. As the blonde beauty appeared to pace while on the phone, Bianca remained close by and seem occupied on her own mobile. Friend in need? The Biggest Loser host was flanked by her friend Bianca Venuti who also had her phone in hand as the pair looked out into the distance The former MasterChef Australia contestant, and daughter of performer Maria Venuti, sported bunny ears on her head for some festive fun, while parading her toned pins in a red skirt, paired with black top and leopard-print cardigan. Despite the serious look on both the girls' faces, Bianca told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday, there was no cause for concern - the pair were simply co-ordinating where to meet friends. 'We were staying together, had brunch and were on our way to meet our mates and head to a day spa,' she revealed, adding that there had been a mix-up to their original plan, hence why they were both on their phones. Casual style: For the holiday outing, the 33-year-old TV personality opted for a white denim skirt with a blue linen shirt Where are you? Bianca told Daily Mail Australia there had been a miss-communication with friends they were meeting after brunch and were simply co-ordinating with them Keeping it brief: As the pair used their phones, they displayed their toned pins in their mid-thigh holiday attire The blonde beauty added of their time away over the Easter long weekend: 'Love a holiday when the most taxing thing of the day is deciding where you will brunch or dine!' They enjoyed a relaxing trip in the coastal town, along with fellow friends Jessica Vander Leahy and Penelope Benson. The group regularly shared images from their getaway across social media, including a bikini-clad dip at Kiva Spa in Mullumbimby Fiona, 33, shared a photo of the experience with her 42,000 followers, showing her and her model pals stripping down to their skimpy swimwear for the spa session. Off to the spa! The girls were joined by other friends as they made their way to a day spa Festive fun! Food blogger and former MasterChef Australia contestant, Bianca, added some bunny ears to her outfit for brunch at Bayleaf cafe on Easter Sunday The gorgeous friends looked relaxed and in good spirits for the black-and-white snap. Fiona - who put on a very busty display in a leopard-print bandeau bikini - described the photo as a 'recovery spa', adding the hash-tags 'heaven' and 'zen'. She appeared in conversation with gorgeous Jessica - who showed off her decolletage in a simple two-piece while soaking up the sun underneath a stream of water. Here come the girls! Fiona (centre) was joined for the trip by gorgeous model pals Jessica Vander Leahy (left) and Penelope Benson (right), who posed for a sultry snap at the Kiva Spa in Mullumbimby Professional posers! In this holiday snap, Penelope takes a dive, while Fiona smoulders at the camera and Jessica flaunts her ample decolletage underneath a stream of water Meanwhile, Penelope is pictured sat on the edge of pool with her wet brunette locks slicked back, clad in a bikini and tie side bottoms. Later that day, Fiona introduced her fans to Sydney food blogger, Bianca, via social media. Both clad in flowing summer dresses, they smiled and laughed together for the Instagram photo while sat on a swing chair at Atlantic Guesthouses. Bianca - who has previously appeared on Ready, Steady, Cook with her famous mother - displayed her bronzed legs in her pink patterned frock and wore her curly hair loosely. 'Last night in paradise!' Later that day, Fiona introduced her fans to her glamourous food blogger pal, Bianca, on social media with the pair smiling as they sat on a swing chair together at Atlantic Guesthouses It's Easter, after all! Clad in flowing summer dresses, the pals posed for another photo wearing bunny ears Meanwhile, on the previous day Fiona shared a snap of the group of friends enjoying a hearty Easter Sunday meal, complete with several bottles of wine. 'Happy Easter! Feasting with the ones I love', she joyfully captioned the photo - which appeared to be taken on a balcony overlooking lush green countryside. On Saturday, Fiona entertained her Instagram followers by poking fun at her 'attempt' at learning to surf during the Byron Bay holiday 'Feasting with the ones I love': On the previous day Fiona shared a snap of her group of friends enjoying a hearty Easter Sunday meal, complete with several bottles of wine In the accompanying image, she flaunted her sun-kissed figure while strolling down the sandy Wategos Beach towards the ocean clutching a Malibu-style surfboard. Fiona - a model ambassador for Target Australia - looked out towards the cool waters as she enjoyed the beachside views on the north-east corner of New South Wales. With no wetsuit or springsuit in sight, she may have found the ocean rather chilly - but Fiona herself admitted this wasn't exactly a serious attempt. Clearly in happy spirits, she captioned the image: 'Attempt and utter fail but gave it a go', alongside emojis of a surfer and a pair of fish. He shocked fans when announced the end of his decade-long marriage to wife Lindy last month. However, Michael Klim looked far from heartbroken when he enjoyed a leisurely lunch date with sultry brunette, Desiree Deravi, during a recent trip to Bali. The former Olympic swimmer, who has three children with his Balinese princess ex, looked close with the fashion designer in an Instagram snap - which has since been deleted. Scroll down for video Single and ready to mingle? Michael Klim looked far from heartbroken when he enjoyed a leisurely lunch date with sultry brunette, Desiree Deravi (pictured) during a recent trip to Bali Although not much is known about the pairs relationship, the two appeared to be relaxed and at ease with each others company as they dined with two other friends at a local eatery. Daily Mail has contacted a representative for the star to comment. Michael, 38, also shared various other snaps from his recent travels, one of which included swimming with his children - Stella, 10, Frankie, four, and Rocco, seven. He captioned the sweet picture: The obligatory Sunday #funday pool shot! Rocco clearly loves briefs!!! #bali #klimkids #pool #fun. It's over: The former Olympic swimmer and wife of 10 years, Lindy, announced their separation in a joint statement last month after months of speculation 'The obligatory Sunday #funday pool shot': The sporting ace, 38, also shared various other snaps from his recent travels, one of which included swimming with his children - Stella, 10, Frankie, four, and Rocco, seven Meanwhile, the sporting ace has finally spoken out about his heart-breaking split from Lindy, sharing his thoughts on the idea of them both moving on with different partners in future. He told The Daily Telegraph: 'I want her [Lindy ] to be happy and if that means her being with someone, that's great, and I'm sure it's vice versa.' 'I am sure we will move on and we will be dating other people,' he added. 'Ultimately, I have respect for Lindy.' Michael and Lindy, who tied the knot in 2006, announced their separation in a joint statement last month after months of speculation. Close friend: Although not much is known about his relationship with Desiree relationship, the two appeared to be relaxed and at ease with each others company as they dined with two other friends at a local eatery Hot talent: The brunette stunner is believed to be a fashion designer from Melbourne 'Girls just wanna have fun': Desiree often takes to social media to share snaps of herself The news came two weeks after Lindy revealed to Daily Mail Australia that she and the sportsman struggle to find time for one another given their respective work commitments. 'It is difficult, we are trying to work our way through that at the moment but it is difficult,' she said. 'The distance thing is very hard but also marriage is difficult in itself. We are just doing the best we can at the moment, we'll see.' The former lovebirds - who own natural skincare line, called Milk & Co - split their time between Bali and Melbourne, with their children going to school in Bali. Being honest: Michael recently opened up about his split with estranged wife Lindy and the prospect of them moving on from one another He's spent the past few months on the awards circuit for his Oscar-winning role in The Revenant. But following his Best Actor triumph at the Academy Awards, it's back to one of Leonardo DiCaprio's other passions in life - saving the environment. The American actor is in the Indonesian jungle week to help raise awareness of the fight against deforestation. Scroll down for video Joining the fight: Leonardo DiCaprio with two environmentalists and two endangered elephants at the Leuser ecosystem on the Indonesian island of Sumatra this week The 41-year-old posted a photo of himself with two environmentalists and two endangered elephants at the Leuser ecosystem on the island of Sumatra. The elephants are just some of the animals who live in Leuser's dense rainforests, which is under threat. With deforestation threatening the creatures' habitat, Leonardo has joined locals and campaigners in the fight to establish a 'mega-fauna sanctuary' in the area to keep them protected. Important cause: Leonardo talks to Rudi Putra (centre) and Far Wiza (left) during his trip to Aceh The star also posted a snap with an Orangutan The plan is still in its early stages, but environmentalists are concerned after Aceh province authorities are planning to destroy new patches of virgin forest for roads and commercial sale, despite the central government in Jakarta asking them to revise it. Writing on Instagram, Leonardo said: 'The lowland #rainforest of the Leuser Ecosystem are considered the worlds best remaining habitat for the critically endangered Sumatran #elephant. 'In these forests, ancient elephant migratory paths are still used by some of the last #wild herds of Sumatran elephants. But the expansion of Palm Oil plantations is fragmenting the #forest and cutting off key elephant migratory corridors, making it more difficult for elephant families to find adequate sources of food and water. Triumph: Leonardo won the Best Actor Oscar last month for his performance in The Revenant 'The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is supporting local partners to establish a mega-fauna sanctuary in the Leuser Ecosystem, last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants coexist in the wild.' Leonardo has been an avid campaigner for the environment and conversation and established his namesake foundation in 1998 to raise awareness of such issues. Last year, Leonardo spoke at the Climate Summit at United Nations Headquarters in New York in 2014 and attended the COP21 climate change talks in Paris last year. Actor James Noble died on Monday at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. A family spokesman told the New York Times that Noble had suffered a stroke last week. The 94-year-old was best known for his role in ABC sitcom Benson as the scatter-minded Governor Eugene Gatling, whom he played from 1979 to 1986. Scroll down for video Benson star James Noble has died aged 94 after suffering a stroke The 1980s sitcom was a spin-off from the soap opera Soap, in which Robert Guillaume's character Benson first appeared as the dysfunctional Tate family's wise-cracking butler. Benson focused around the relationship between Benson, who worked his way up to become lieutenant governor, and Gatling. Born in Dallas, Texas, on March 5, 1922, Noble studied drama and engineering at the Southern Methodist University before leaving to join the Navy during World War II. The 1980s sitcom focused around the relationship between Robert Guillaume's character Benson, right, who worked his way up to become lieutenant governor, and Gatling, left When peace was declared he returned to his studies, under the direction of Lee Strasberg at the prestigious Actors Studio in New York. Noble started his career on stage, making his Broadway debut in 1949s The Velvet Glove, before appearing in four other shows. He appeared on various daytime TV soap operas and in a series of movies, before landing the role of Gatling in Benson. Noble met his wife of nearly 50 years, the actress Carolyn Coats, when they starred in a production of Pygmalion. He was widowed following her death in 2005. He is survived by one daughter, Jessica Katherine Noble Cowan. She's been having a whale of a time recently with her friends. And Naomi Campbell, 45, was in no hurry to put her pals on the back-burner as she was spotted lunching with a few companions including Givenchy's creative designer Riccardo Tisci in New York City on Monday afternoon. The supermodel cemented her diva reputation as she chuckled excessively whilst shielding her eyes from the sun in a pair of black sunnies- whilst in stark contrast lined her lithe frame in a faux-fur lined khaki jacket to keep her warm. Scroll down for video Having a laugh: Naomi Campbell, 45, was spotted lunching with a few companions including Givenchy's creative designer Riccardo Tisci in New York City on Monday afternoon Opting for a more casual attire underneath, the British beauty wore a grey ribbed skintight top, along with a pair of plain black trousers. Swapping her heels on the catwalk for a pair for grey rubber shoes, she looked uncharacteristically relaxed. The Empire actress' poker straight polished bob and fringe combination added a sophisticated Parisian appeal to her casual day out. Fashionistas: Naomi was joine dby Givenchy's creative designer Riccardo Tisci in New York City on Monday afternoon Keeping it chic: The supermodel cemented her diva reputation as she chuckled excessively whilst shielding her eyes from the sun in a pair of black sunnies- whilst in stark contrast lined her lithe frame in a faux-fur lined khaki jacket to keep her warm Hitting the catwalk for Givenchy last year, the 5 ft 9 in stunner obviously had a lot to talk about with designer Riccardo, 41, on the table outside the restaurant. The Italian style influencer kept his style muted as he separated himself by a short distance, as they conversed with another friend. He ensured to stay relaxed by puffing on a cigarette. Hanging with her boy: The British beauty has been close friends with the fashion designer for years Tisci has been busy recently teaming up with NikeLab to put on yet another high fashion spin on the sportswear brand. The imaginative collaborator has been spotted lunching with Naomi before, surely cementing their friendship credentials. The friendly lunch date seemed a more peaceful affair than her recent attendance at The Rolling Stones' historic Cuban concert on Friday evening with Empire co-creator Lee Daniels. Adventures in Havana! Naomi Campbell attended The Rolling Stones' historic Cuban concert on Friday evening with Empire co-creator Lee Daniels Naomi along with the 56-year-old Oscar nominee excitedly sung along to the legendary English rock band's 1978 hit song Miss You. Daniels also posted an amusing video of Naomi troubling a taxi driver by ordering him to get to the venue faster. The openly gay filmmaker captioned the video: 'For once she wants to get someplace on time!' These exaggerated actions have no doubt proved that Naomi has recovered from her foot injury which saw her being pushed around in a wheelchair at New York City's JFK airport just over a week ago. Whilst it is unsure what the issue was, her rep insisted she was suffering from a 'light foot injury' which she sustained on a recent trip home to London. After modelling for Yeezy Season 3, Naomi currently fronts the Mario Testino-shot SS16 campaign for Italian lingerie/swimwear label Yamamay. Charlize Theron has spoken candidly about her split from Sean Penn - denying allegations that she 'ghosted' him. The 40-year-old sat down with WSJ Magazine, and revealed that there is no truth behind rumours she abruptly cut off all contact with her ex after 18 months together. Charlize insists that there was no drama behind the break-up, and that she and Sean parted ways mutually. Scroll down for video Candid: Charlize Theron has discussed her split from Sean Penn in a new interview with WSJ Magazine 'There is a need to sensationalize things,' she told the publication. 'When you leave a relationship there has to be some f***ing crazy story or some crazy drama. 'And the f***ing ghosting thing, like literally, I still dont even know what it is. Its just its own beast. We were in a relationship and then it didnt work anymore. And we both decided to separate. Thats it.' Charlize also revealed that things weren't quite as serious between them as many people believed. The actress said that rumours Sean was planning to adopt her four-year-old son Jackson were untrue, as they were still a long way from making a commitment that big. Cover girl: The 40-year-old graces the cover of the magazine's April issue, and looks stunning in an accompanying photo shoot 'We were very, very new in a relationship,' she explained. 'The stories that Sean was going to adopt Jackson, and all of that was not true. Its not something that happens in 18 months. You cant do that to a child. 'So there was an understanding that I was a single mom with a very young boy who I had to put in a situation where he understood that Mommy dates, but that he does not have a father, you know what I mean?' She added: 'You have to be very careful and very honest about that stuff. And Sean was great with all of that.' Charlize welcomed a second child, baby daughter August, in July 2015, with the adoption becoming finalised less than a month after her split from Sean. 'We both decided to separate': Charlize denied rumours she 'ghosted' Sean when they split in June 2015 after 18 months together. They are pictured here in May of last year, a month before the break-up The former couple - who started dating in January 2014 - were rumoured to be engaged for several months before calling it quits. 'That was not true': The actress said Sean (seen in May) was never going to adopt her son Jackson The Mad Max: Fury Road star explained that she was always adopting her second child as a single mother, and wasn't at a place in her relationship with Sean where she would have felt comfortable making that leap together. 'In my honesty about wanting to have more kids, there was an understanding that a relationship had to go somewhere before it was going to be what you hope for, which ultimately did not happen,' she said. 'I couldnt foresee that, but that stuff takes time and I think its my responsibility as a mother to protect my child from that.' Charlize added: 'And we had a very clear understanding. He knew that I was thinking about filing for another adoption, but that we werent filing together.' As well as discussing her family and relationships, the Oscar winner divulged what it was like growing up in South Africa under apartheid, and said it affected her more than she realised at first. 'I have a lot of things I should probably sort out in therapy about my relationship with my country. Because it affected me way more than Ive ever acknowledged,' Charlize said. 'And it was only when I got older that I started realizing that I had a lot of anger; there was unresolved stuff apartheid, health care, AIDS, poverty that still very much affects me. The star, who was interviewed while filming The Coldest City in Budapest, is currently promoting The Huntsman: Winter's War ahead of its release on April 22. Charlize is reprising her role as evil queen Ravenna, and stars alongside Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain and Chris Hemsworth. As well as her interview for Wall Street Journal, the A-lister posed for a stunning photo shoot to accompany it. Charlize smouldered for the camera in a white jumper and matching underwear, and sported a black version of the outfit for the cover of the magazine's April issue, which hits newsstands on April 2. Their break-up was anything but simple, but Tully Smyth has proved you can still be friends with your exes, posting an incredibly heartfelt birthday message to ex-girlfriend Tahlia Farrant. The 28-year-old shared a selfie of the pair to Instagram, which included their pet dog Luna in between them, Tully used the caption to express her wishes for Tahlia to have the happiest of birthdays. 'Getting in early and wishing this spunk the happiest of birthdays! Thank you for being a bigger & better person than I ever will be, for your continued love, support and friendship,' the blogger began. Birthday wishes: Tully Smyth (L) has taken to social media to send a heartfelt message to ex-girlfriend Tahlia Farrant (R) on her birthday 'For letting me call you when I'm drunk and scared to walk home alone, for reminding me what's important (family, my health, the ocean...) Thank you for listening to me whinge about bad dates, for letting me crash when I'm in Sydney and for being the bestest Dad in the world to #LunaWildfang.' 'I am SO proud of the person you are turning into and want nothing but happiness, good vibes, hot babes and stacks more travelling adventures for you. You're the best Stink. Happy Birthday @tahliafarrant' The women look relaxed and happy in the snap, with Tahlia sporting a full pout while Tully smiles at the camera wearing a black beanie, dark rounded sunglasses and a black coat. Happier times: The couple's relationship ended very publicly in 2013, despite this the pair have kept a close friendship The couple's relationship ended very publicly back in 2013. Tully and Tahlia had been living together in Sydney up until the moment Tully entered the Big Brother house in July that year. She soon developed an intimate relationship with fellow house-mate Anthony Drew, which sparked an immediate social media backlash and Tahlia dumping her reality star girlfriend via Twitter. Still friends: Tully and Tahlia had been living together in Sydney up until the moment Tully entered the Big Brother house in July 2013 Bad break up: 28-year-old Tully soon developed an intimate relationship with fellow Big Brother housemate Anthony Drew, which sparked an immediate social media backlash and Tahlia dumping her reality star girlfriend via Twitter After leaving the Big Brother house, Tully and Drew did their best to give their romance a shot in the real world. But after a few months they called it quits, citing long-distance and the changed environment as reasons for the split. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the time, Tully said: 'Its really weird that people think that exes cant be friends. Im friends with both Drew and Tahlia'. Earlier this year Tully was romantically linked to Richie Strahan before it was announced he would be The Bachelor in 2016. Despite their messy break-up, Tully and Tahlia seemed to have continued a close friendship, often appearing on each other's social media accounts. She shot to fame by playing Doctor Who's companion. But for her next role, Jenna Coleman is the spotlight, starring as Queen Victoria as she ascends to the throne at the age of 18. The first teaser trailer for ITV's major new drama Victoria has been unveiled before the series begins later this year. Young royal: Jenna Coleman stars as Queen Victoria in the first teaser for ITV's major new 2016 drama The short teaser shows Victoria at her coronation in 1838, with Jenna dressed in full costume, wearing a replica of the Imperial State Crown. The actress says in a voiceover as walks into the ceremony: 'I know that I am young but I am ready for the great responsibility that lies before me.' In her first role since Doctor Who, Jenna plays the British monarch from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 through to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert, played by Tom Hughes. Making her grand entrance: The short teaser shows Victoria at her coronation in 1838, with Jenna dressed in full costume, wearing a replica of the Imperial State Crown and robes Major role: Rufus Sewell is also seen briefly in the first teaser as Lord Melbourne, Victoria's first prime minister and close confidant BAFTA-nominated actor Rufus Sewell is also seen briefly in the first teaser, with the actor, who has himself played a royal on screen in the 2003 TV drama Charles II: The Power and The Passion, cast as Lord Melbourne, Victoria's first prime minister and close confidant. The pair's friendship became a popular source of gossip that threatened to destabilise the Government angering both Tory and Whigs alike. Victoria will begin with a 90-minute episode followed by seven one-hour episodes. The cast have been shooting scenes in Yorkshire since last autumn. Anticipated: Victoria will begin with a 90-minute episode followed by seven one-hour episodes later this year The series has been created and written by acclaimed novelist Daisy Goodwin, in her screenwriting debut, who will also serve as executive producer alongside Dan McCulloch (Indian Summers) and Damien Timmer (Poldark). Torchwood star Eve Myles and The Sarah Jane Adventures actor Tommy-Lawrence Knight will also be joining the stellar line-up. Speaking at the announcement of her role last year, Jenna gushed: 'I am delighted to be cast as Queen Victoria in this ambitious drama of her life. She is a vivid, strong, inspirational and utterly fascinating woman in British history and I can't wait to tell her story.' Full of drama: In her first role since Doctor Who, Jenna plays the British monarch from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18 through to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert Halle Berry sure knows how to make a first impression. The 49-year-old commemorated joining picture-sharing social network Instagram by sharing a topless photo of herself on Tuesday. She shows plenty of skin in the racy snap as the photo is taken from behind with a majestic jungle-like background. Her highlighted brunette tresses were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she could be seen wearing nothing but bracelets on her wrists. Scroll down for video Getting attention: Halle Berry celebrated her joining Instagram with this post of herself topless on Tuesday The Oscar-winner shared the photo with a thoughtful caption about joining the picture-sharing social network as she wrote: 'Hi everyone. Welcome! Today is a very exciting day for me... I'm looking forward to sharing our world through images that reflect my emotions and perceptions. 'I am in awe of photography and its ability to capture and reflect this extraordinary world that we live in. 'I'm excited to share with you my love of nature, the arts, fashion and much more in the hopes that the images will inspire, promote conversation and bring you joy. [heart emoji] Halle.' 'Today is a very exciting day for me': The 49-year-old actress gushed about the picture-sharing social network in her caption, as she is pictured at a Revlon event in New York back in November No doubt the photo was taken on her holiday in Mexico as she has been enjoying bonding time in Puerto Vallarta with her two children and estranged husband Olivier Martinez. Last week the couple - who filed for divorce in October - were spotted jetting from LAX Airport with heir son Maceo, two, and Halle's daughter from a previous relationship, Nahla, eight. When the pair filed for divorce - both cited 'irreconcilable differences' - they said they wanted to move forward with the best interest of their children at heart. For the kids: Halle and estranged husband Olivier Martinez were seen at the airport in Los Angeles, California, last week with their son Maceo and Halle's daughter from a previous relationship, Nahla Friendly exes indeed: Initially keeping their heads down and not showing any emotion, Halle stopped at one point and broke into a big smile as they headed to check-in The pair are reportedly seeking joint custody of Maceo with Halle no doubt wanting to avoid the vicious and drawn battle she went through with Nahla's father, Gabriel Aubry. Halle and Olivier were married for two years before they called it quits on their marriage. In a joint statement they announced their divorce via People, saying: 'It is with a heavy heart that we have come to the decision to divorce. Her little man: The 49-year-old actress kept a tight hold on her son, Maceo, two, who snuggled into his mother Support system: While Nahla is not his biological daughter, Olivier and the eight-year-old are very close 'We move forward with love and respect for one another and the shared focus of what is best for our son. We wish each other nothing but happiness in life and we hope that you respect our and, most importantly, our children's privacy as we go through this difficult period.' And while the pair were flying together last week, sources tell TMZ that nothing has changed with them - they are being civil rather than reconciling. The website reports that while the pair are getting on friendlier terms there is 'no chance' of them getting back together. Private vaccines in China need more regulation: WHO The World Health Organization Tuesday urged tighter regulation of privately sold vaccines in China as a scandal involving out-of-date immunisation fuels public outrage in the country's latest safety scare. The case involves the illegal and improper storage, transport and sale of tens of millions of dollars' worth of vaccines -- many of them expired -- reports say. "The vaccines that are in the private sector need to be managed, stored, handled, distributed and used in accordance with recognised standards," Lance Rodewald, a WHO expert on immunisation, told a briefing. Standard vaccines such as those for polio, hepatitis B and measles are mandatory for all children in China and supplied by the state Brendan Smialowski (AFP/File) "This is a very serious situation, it's being taken seriously. We take it seriously. We want to see the root causes identified so that remedies can be provided." Standard vaccines such as those for polio, hepatitis B and measles are mandatory for all children in China and supplied by the state, while parents can opt to buy additional immunisations privately such as those for meningitis, influenza or rotavirus. China's public vaccination system is fundamentally sound, Rodewald said, adding that the expired private-sector vaccines did not pose a threat to children who received them. "Parents should be comfortable knowing that their child will not have a toxic reaction," he said, although some children "may need to be revaccinated". Thein Sein: the quiet junta insider who opened Myanmar to the world When he became Myanmar's leader five years ago Thein Sein was dismissed as a junta stooge -- but as he prepares to hand power to Aung San Suu Kyi's government, the taciturn ex-general can also claim credit for steering a peaceful political transition that has stunned the world. President Thein Sein, who spent almost half a century climbing the military's ranks, will make way on Wednesday for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and her proxy president Htin Kyaw. They will form the Southeast Asian nation's first elected civilian government in generations, marking an extraordinary new chapter for a society suffocated for decades by military rule. President Thein Sein emerged as a crucial force behind Myanmar's roadmap for "disciplined democracy" Soe Than Win (AFP/File) Bespectacled, balding and unobtrusive, Thein Sein's quasi-civilian regime presided over sweeping reforms that pushed further than many in the country of 51 million people had dared to dream possible. But the 70-year-old's record is far from pristine in a nation where the military maintains significant political and economic power and grievances run deep. Historic elections last year were the first chance in decades for Myanmar's long-suffering population to choose their own rulers -- and Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide. Yet Myanmar's people remain cautious. "People hoped for more changes, but they (the army) just changed their uniforms," said Yi Yi, a 59-year-old legal advocate in Yangon. - Unlikely reformer - Seen as absolutely loyal to junta senior general Than Shwe, little dramatic change was expected from Thein Sein when he was named president in March 2011. Independent analyst Richard Horsey said he was "a little bit grey" to begin with and many just assumed he was a yes man for the former strongman. "I think people were very surprised when that wasn't necessarily the case," he told AFP. As reformers and hardliners tussled for position in his government, senior figures approached Thein Sein and urged real change, convincing him "to come off the fence," Horsey added. Within months Thein Sein broke with the old military approach, holding his first meeting with Suu Kyi and abruptly suspending a multi-billion dollar Chinese-backed dam in northern Kachin state -- a rare push back against the influential neighbour. His government freed hundreds of political prisoners, lifted stifling censorship, and launched a dialogue with multiple armed ethnic groups who have spent years fighting for greater autonomy. Reforms were rewarded with the lifting of most Western sanctions, sparking a flood of foreign investment to the poor nation. The secretive men in green have never publicly revealed the exact motivation for the dramatic changes. But observers say the junta recognised the country's beleaguered position compared to its neighbours, its over-reliance on China and the military's precipitous fall in the estimations of Myanmar's people after several mass uprisings. - Old habits - A son of farmers, born in a small village in the southern Irrawaddy Delta, Thein Sein attended a prestigious military academy and eventually climbed to the top echelons of the junta. Thein Sein never fully stepped outside the military that moulded him. He emerged as a crucial force behind Myanmar's roadmap for "disciplined democracy" and a constitution that gifts the army a quarter of parliament's seats and control over three key security ministries. The charter also blocks Suu Kyi from the presidency because her sons are British. There have been other pointers that Thein Sein's administration was unwilling to abandon the repressive, acquisitive instincts of the junta years. Scores of protesters have been arrested under his watch, while those in power have been accused of overseeing a rise in Buddhist nationalism. Many close to the military have been the first in line to rake in benefits from reforms. In its last days in power the outgoing government has been accused of rushing through opaque business deals. His legacy may be imperfect, but Thein Sein will be remembered for a central role in the country's gradual emergence from its dark dictatorial past. The onus is now on Suu Kyi and her government, which has inherited big issues -- including civil wars, religious tensions and eviscerated public services -- as well as soaring expectations of change. "It's not just impatience among the people, I think the country needs results pretty fast otherwise things could unravel," Khin Zaw Win, a political analyst, told AFP. Profile of Aung San Suu Kyi, who will become foreign minister in Myanmar's new civilian government Myanmar lifts state of emergency in troubled Rakhine state Myanmar's outgoing government on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in conflict-hit Rakhine, a parting gesture that coincides with turbulent relations between Aung San Suu Kyi's new administration and the western state's powerful Buddhist political party. Rahkine is deeply scarred by communal violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that began in 2012, presenting one of the most acute challenges for Myanmar's first popularly elected government in decades. In a surprise move Tuesday outgoing president Thein Sein announced the removal of the emergency order, which had been in place since unrest left scores dead and tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims confined to miserable displacement camps. Supporters attend a campaign rally of Aung San Suu Kyi in the city of Thandwe in Rakhine State on October 17, 2015 Ye Aung Thu (AFP/File) "According to the Rakhine State government, there is currently no threat of danger to people's lives," said a statement in state media announcing the order, which will see the military step back from providing day-to-day security in the region. While Rakhine has not seen a serious outbreak of violence in more than two years, the state remains fractured on religious lines. Most Muslims are trapped either in camps or in heavily regulated areas near the border with Bangladesh. A rising tide of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar has fuelled discrimination against the Muslim minority, seen by many as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. A web of citizenship rules has rendered many Rohingya effectively stateless and unable to vote in last November's landmark polls. Tens of thousands have fled persecution and poverty for neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. But the tide appears to have slowed this year after a Thai crackdown on people-smuggling in 2015 led boat captains to abandon many Rohingya on land and at sea, spurring a regional crisis. "We think the situation is good. But any politician can see that Rakhine State is very sensitive and it would be easy for it to explode at any time," said Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), which represents ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. The president's order comes a day after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy faced protests by lawmakers from the ANP -- one of Myanmar's strongest minority parties -- over the NLD decision to appoint a candidate from its own party to be the state's chief minister. Around 18 ANP lawmakers, many wearing black stickers on their jackets, walked out of the Rakhine regional legislature Monday. It is not clear what is behind the lifting of the state of emergency by Thein Sein. The former general has steered Myanmar's dramatic reforms since 2011 but has also presided over growing Buddhist nationalism. Taiwan's TSMC signs deal for $3 bn plant in China Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has signed a deal to build a $3 billion plant in China, the island's largest outbound investment on the mainland. The firm, which counts Apple as a client and in revenue terms is the world's top microchip maker providing tailor-made services, will set up the factory in Nanjing, the company said in a statement Monday. Taiwan previously controlled such hi-tech investment on fears the island could lose its competitive edge to China, which still regards Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification -- by force if necessary. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world's top microchip maker providing tailor-made services Sam Yeh (AFP/File) It started easing the curbs five years ago as overall relations improved. China, a huge consumer of electronics, is of growing importance to the semiconductor industry and TSMC faces intense competition from regional rivals, such as Samsung, as well as slowing global demand in the technology sector. "We aim to provide closer support to customers as well as expand our business opportunities in China in step with the rapid growth of the Chinese semiconductor market over the last several years," TSMC chairman Morris Chang said in the statement. "We look forward to stronger collaboration with our customers to further expand our market share in China," he added. TSMC has an existing plant near Shanghai, but the new facilities will employ the latest chip-making technology capable of producing 20,000 12-inch wafers a month once the factory is completed in 2018. Taiwan and China split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, although ties have warmed since Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in the island in 2008. Iran sanctions removal duration unclear: Austrian president Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said it is unclear how long it will take for the West to lift sanctions on Iran, in an interview with Iran's state television news agency IRIB. Iran's historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and lifting punishing sanctions on its economy. But more than two months later Iran is still struggling to make business with the West and banks are facing restrictions in the United States on handling transactions involving the Islamic republic. Iran's historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and lifting punishing sanctions on its economy Majid Asgaripour (Mehr News/AFP/File) "Austria alone cannot lift the sanctions. The EU cannot do it alone too, but it's the international community that should do it," Fischer said, in comments published late Monday by IRIB. "The US also plays a role in this regard," said the Austrian president. He was replying to a question about problems facing Iranian banks who wish to use the international payments system SWIFT allowing the resumption of foreign transfers. Some banks in Iran have been able to reconnect to SWIFT since the lifting of sanctions was announced in January. But banks accused of links to the country's elite Revolutionary Guards remain under US sanctions. Last week a senior US State Department official said foreign banks looking to deal with Iran following the lifting of sanctions must avoid engaging with entities that remain subject to a US embargo. Fischer, speaking ahead of a two-day state visit to Austria by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that begins on Wednesday, said the process of lifting sanctions on Iran had "started". He added however: "I cannot make any predictions on how much longer it will take" before all sanctions are lifted. "But I hope that all sides will remain committed to the nuclear deal so that all of Iran's sanctions are lifted in due and scheduled time," Fischer added. Last week Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States of failing to respect the nuclear deal and that Washington's allies are afraid of dealing with Iran. Washington has lifted sanctions "on paper", Khamenei said on March 20, "but they are using roundabout paths to prevent the Islamic republic from achieving its targets". Israel rejects 'delusional' claim Elton John asked to declare loyalty Israel has rejected as "delusional" a claim that superstar Elton John was asked to declare loyalty to the Jewish state before an upcoming concert. The "Rocket Man" singer's Israeli concert organiser Shuki Weiss issued the claim on Monday, saying the interior ministry initially made the demand as a condition for getting a visa. "Only two weeks ago Elton John was asked to sign a declaration of loyalty. That insane idea has been dropped," he said, according to Israeli media reports. Elton John's Israeli concert organiser Shuki Weiss claimed on Monday that superstar the singer was asked to declare loyalty to the Jewish state before an upcoming concert Tasso Marcelo (AFP/File) His office pointed to a supposedly problematic clause in the visa form which reads: "I declare that I have never acted against the Jewish people or the security of the state of Israel," the Haaretz newspaper reported. The interior ministry denied that was anything unusual, and said it would consider suing Weiss for defamation. "We are talking about a blatant lie which is meant to provide headlines for the promoter at the expense of a government ministry," spokeswoman Sabin Hadad said. "No artist has ever been asked to sign such a declaration and to think such a thing is delusional." Syria army keeps pressure on IS after Palmyra capture Regime troops were locked in heavy fighting with the Islamic State group in central Syria after dealing the jihadists a major blow by seizing the ancient city of Palmyra. Backed by "intense" air strikes by both Syrian and Russian warplanes, pro-government fighters advanced southwest towards the jihadist-held town of Al-Qaryatain on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. They captured a series of strategic hilltops overlooking the town, where around 500 civilians are still living, according to the Britain-based monitor. Destruction is seen in the historical city of Palmyra in central Syria on March 29, 2016 The advance comes as the UN refugee agency prepares to host a conference Wednesday in Geneva to secure concrete pledges from nations to resettle those displaced by the conflict. IS had seized Al-Qaryatain in August 2015, kidnapping at least 230 people, including dozens of Christians, and razing the Mar Elian monastery. The town lies on a key road linking Palmyra with the Qalamun region of Damascus province to the west. Sunday's capture of Palmyra, known as the "Pearl of the Desert" for its colonnaded alleyways and stunning temples, was seen as the biggest blow so far in the war against IS in Syria. - Regime hails Palmyra's fall - Syria's government has described the victory as proof of its credentials in the anti-IS fight. President Bashar al-Assad said the military advances would also help efforts to find a political solution by deterring countries that are "hindering the settlement". In an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency, he named Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France and Britain as countries that are "counting on our defeat on the battlefield in order to impose their conditions at the negotiations". "So these military actions and successes will lead to the acceleration of the political settlement, and not prevent it," Assad said. Syria's armed forces have pledged to strengthen their hold on Palmyra and press on towards IS's northern bastion in Raqa as well as the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor to the east. France said the recapture of Palmyra was "positive news". But the victory "should not exonerate the Damascus regime" of its responsibilities in the conflict, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said during a visit to Algeria. The jihadists swept into Palmyra, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, in May 2015 and began a campaign to destroy tombs and shrines it considered idolatrous. The extremist group demolished the 2,000-year-old temple of Bel and also blew up the Arch of Triumph. - Deminers, sniffer dogs - Syria's head of antiquities, Maamoun Abdulkarim, told AFP that 80 percent of the site was still "in good shape" and the ancient ruins could be restored in five years with UNESCO's help. But UN expert Annie Sartre-Fauriat, who belongs to a panel on Syrian heritage set up by UNESCO in 2013, said she was "very doubtful" that would be possible. As they retreated from Palmyra at the weekend, IS fighters planted roadside mines near some of the most celebrated ruins of the city. Army sappers have already defused dozens of the makeshift bombs and have conducted controlled detonations of others, a military source told AFP. On Tuesday, Moscow dispatched a group of Russian deminers, sniffer dogs, and advanced radar equipment to help secure the city, Russia's state media channel Pervy Kanal reported. Moscow began its air war in support of Assad's troops on September 30, 2015, carrying out strikes on "terrorist" targets across the country. The air campaign has been criticised by rebel groups, their Western backers, and rights groups as indiscriminate. In the last quarter of 2015, Russian air strikes in Syria likely killed more than 1,000 civilians, the Airwars monitoring group said. The London-based group gathered media reports, accounts from rebel groups and non-governmental organisations to compile the estimated toll. It said its provisional view was that between September 30 and December 31, as many as 1,448 civilians were "likely" killed in Russian strikes. Earlier this month, Russia announced a drawdown but it said it would keep up its support for the regime's battle against IS and other jihadist groups. Analysts say only 10-25 percent of Russian forces have left Syria since President Vladimir Putin announced the withdrawal. Syria Kun TIAN (AFP) The remains of the Temple of Bel in the historical city of Palmyra after it was blown up by Islamic State group jihadists Destruction and looting is seen in the museum of Palmyra after government troops recaptured the ancient Syrian city from Islamic State fighters N. Korea test-fires short-range 'projectile': S. Korea North Korea test-fired a short-range missile or rocket near its east coast Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of launches amid rising tension on the divided peninsula. The North fired the "short-range projectile" near the eastern city of Wonsan around 5:40 pm (0840 GMT) which flew about 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the country's northeast, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. "We are closely monitoring the situation and standing ready for any situations," the statement said. Military tensions have soared on the peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its fourth atomic test in January, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test Ed Jones (AFP/File) The projectile appears to have fallen on land unlike previous tests when missiles were fired into the sea, Seoul's defence ministry spokesman told AFP. It was the third such launch by the North in two weeks, as the isolated state steps up its military threats to protest ongoing Seoul-Washington joint army drills being held south of the border. The North last Monday fired five short-range rockets or missiles into the sea off the east coast, days after test-firing two medium-range missiles. The latest launch comes ahead of trilateral talks between the leaders of the US, Japan and the South aimed at discussing the growing threat of the nuclear-armed North. On Thursday US President Barack Obama will meet his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a nuclear security forum in Washington. Military tensions have soared on the peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its fourth atomic test in January, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test. The UN Security Council responded earlier this month by slapping its toughest-ever sanctions on the North. Congo capital partly shut to protest veteran leader's re-election Opposition strongholds in Brazzaville were closed Tuesday following a strike call over the re-election of Congo's veteran ruler Denis Sassou Nguesso in polls his rivals say were marred by "massive fraud". Sassou Nguesso was declared the winner of the March 20 election, extending his 32 years in power in a result which has been challenged by five defeated opposition candidates. He got a first-round win with 60 percent of the vote, according to the disputed official result. A man walks past empty stalls and closed shops in Congo's capital Brazzaville on March 29, 2016 during a "dead city" strike called by five defeated opposition candidates to protest the re-election of President Denis Sassou Nguesso Marco Longari (AFP) Southern districts of the Congolese capital were deserted on Tuesday, including Total, the city's biggest market where the array of goods ranges from electronic appliances to caterpillars -- a local delicacy. But on the fringes of the market, hundreds of women vendors ringed the pavements selling vegetables, fruit and soap. The strike call was issued by runner-up Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas who received more than 15 percent of the votes, third-place candidate Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko who polled nearly 14 percent, and three others: Claudine Munari, Andre Okombi Salissa and Pascal Tsaty Mabiala. They called for a repeat of the "ville morte" (dead city) national strikes which have taken place in recent months to protest Sassou Nguesso's controversial bid for a third term. The oil- and timber-rich Republic of Congo has been on edge since an October constitutional referendum that ended a two-term limit on presidential mandates, allowing Sassou Nguesso, a 72-year-old former paratrooper colonel, to run again. Critics accuse him of rampant corruption and nepotism, blasting the referendum result as a "constitutional coup". - 'No choice' - But biting poverty in the country, where the oil riches only benefit a fraction of the population, has forced many of those demanding jobs and decent living conditions to work through the strike. "Politics doesn't interest me. Politicians are all the same. If we don't come to work, how will be live?" said an onion seller, identifying herself as Maggie. In the poor southern areas of Bacongo, Makelekele and Kinsoundi, most of shops downed their shutters. Police and soldiers spread out across the districts where youths loitered in the streets. But life was normal in the central Poto-Poto district and there was little security presence. Many people had to work on Easter Monday -- a public holiday -- like Andre, a young porter loading heavy sacks of sand on to large tippers parked on the beach. "We suffer but we don't have a choice," said the 23-year-old, who is paid three euros ($3.40) an hour for back-breaking labour. Andre's colleague Glad described the work as "much more than difficult. "There are jobs here but they are reserved for Mbochi (members of Sassou Ngeusso's ethnic group) and for the northerners," he said. Sassou Nguesso served as president from 1979 to 1992 and returned to power in 1997 following a civil war. He won two successive terms in 2002 and 2009, but both elections were contested by opposition parties. - In dire straits - While Congo saw "robust growth" of five percent over five years through to 2014, with oil and timber providing its main revenues, the country remains in dire straits. "(Congo) continues to suffer from high rates of poverty and inequality, large infrastructure gaps, and important development challenges," a report by the International Monetary Fund released in July 2015 said. Unemployment hit 34 percent in 2013, according to the last available data, and stood at 60 percent for those aged between 15 and 24. The IMF fears "domestic instability" without progress in the battle to eliminate poverty. The European Union had refused to send election observers to monitor the polls, saying conditions had not been met for a transparent and democratic vote. And on Saturday, the Socialist Party of French President Francois Hollande issued a statement saying the vote results were "not credible", denouncing a lack of transparency in the electoral process in the former French colony. Hawkers gather at an empty market in Congo's capital Brazzaville on March 29, 2016 as a "dead city" strike is called by five defeated opposition candidates to protest the re-election of President Denis Sassou Nguesso Marco Longari (AFP) Newly re-elected Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso (2nd L) and his wife Antoinette (L) leave campaign headquarters in Brazzaville on March 24, 2016 Marco Longari (AFP) Mali refugees in Burkina face food crisis: UN More than 30,000 Malian refugees who have fled conflict for neighbouring Burkina Faso face severe food shortages, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned Tuesday. "The WFP urgently needs $2.5 million dollars (2.23 million euros) to provide the assistance the Malians need to survive," said Jean-Charles Dei, the organisation's country director in Burkina Faso. "If the new contributions are not received as a matter of urgency then 31,000 Malian refugees risk being deprived of food assistance over the coming three months," the WFP and UNHCR said in a statement. Quite apart from the Malian influx exacerbating the need for food security, Burkina Faso is itself one of Africa's poorest countries Kenzo Tribouillard (AFP/File) "The approaching dry season is the time when they are particularly vulnerable and most require support," added the agencies, who have helping the Burkinabe government and NGOs deal with the refugee flow since 2012. Ealier this month, the WFP said a funding gap late last year had forced it to interrupt food assistance for a month and that food rations remain reduced, leading to one in four refugees not having enough food to meet their nutritional needs. Quite apart from the Malian influx exacerbating the need for food security, Burkina Faso is itself one of Africa's poorest countries. It ranks fourth bottom on the UN Development Programme's (UNDP's) Human Development Index in 2013 with 44.6 percent of the population living on less than $1.25 per day. The WFP has previously highlighted that 8.2 percent of Burkinabe children aged five or less suffer from moderate or severe acute malnutrition. "Malian refugees are already exposed to the damaging effects of recurrent drought, flood and chronic poverty," said UNHCR representative in Burkina Faso Gogo Hukportie. Hukportie warned that without international support there was a risk that young people could resort to desperate measures, including joining armed groups, and forecast that the refugee problem would not be resolved quickly. "To the extent that the situation in the north (of Mali) remains unstable, we expect few refugees to return to Mali in 2016," said Hukportie. Some 100,000 Malians in all have sought refuge across the border since 2012 as they flee jihadist violence. Mali's north fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012. No explosives found on EgyptAir hijacker or on plane: police Searches by Cyprus police found no explosives on the hijacker of an EgyptAir plane diverted to the island or inside the aircraft, a police source told AFP. The hijacker, who is in custody after surrendering to police following a six-hour standoff at Larnaca airport, had claimed to be wearing an explosives belt, Egyptian officials said. Counter-terrorism police frisked the hijacker on the tarmac then interrogated him for more than an hour before boarding the plane and searching it with sniffer dogs. Israeli soldier who shot Palestinian in head appears in court An Israeli soldier caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head as he lay on the ground appeared in a military court Tuesday as hundreds of his supporters protested outside. Prosecutors were seeking to extend the remand of the soldier until April 7 in a case that has gripped the country and sparked political tensions, and the judge decided that he be kept in custody until Thursday. The 19-year-old soldier's identity and that of his family remained secret under a gag order, granted at the request of his lawyers. Israeli soldiers remove the body of a Palestinian assailant who was allegedly shot in head by an Israeli soldier, in the West Bank town of Hebron on March 24, 2016 Hazem Bader (AFP) The protesters called for the soldier's release despite video footage shared widely online showing him shoot the Palestinian in the head without any apparent provocation. Around a dozen of the soldiers' family members were also in the public gallery, some of them in tears. Military top brass have strongly condemned his behaviour and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon has pledged the case will be treated with "utmost severity". But far-right politicians have defended the soldier, and members of his family said he was being publicly "lynched" and would not receive a fair trial. Avigdor Lieberman, the former foreign minister now in opposition, was in court to support the soldier and, as he put it, to "balance the crude intervention of the prime minister and defence minister" in the process. "I'm not determining if (the soldier's) conduct was correct or wrong, what's clear is I prefer a soldier who made a mistake and stayed alive over a soldier who hesitates and is murdered by a terrorist," he said. On Tuesday, Yaalon hit back at "politicians and the extremist minority" perpetuating a "toxic atmosphere" since Thursday's shooting. "Whoever supports a soldier whose commanders think transgressed, but doesn't support his superior officers, from the lower ranks to the chief of staff, damages the army and harms the national resilience," he said. - 'Contradictions' - Video of Thursday's killing in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron spread widely online and threatened to further inflame tensions amid a wave of violence that erupted in October. It showed a 21-year-old Palestinian, who along with another man had allegedly stabbed a soldier minutes earlier, lying on the ground, apparently after being shot. The soldier then shoots him again, in the head, without any apparent provocation. The Palestinian, Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, was killed. "The suspicion emanating from the investigation is that the shooting was carried out intentionally and without need," prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Adoram Rigler told the court. Rigler also noted "contradictions" in the soldier's version of the events. Defence lawyers said the Palestinian could have had an explosive device, even though he had reportedly been checked for a suicide belt before the shooting. "There was no bomb-squad investigation, even if the officer kicked away the knife," said defence lawyer Ilan Katz. Among the supporters standing outside the army base during and after the hearing was Jacky Cohen, 66, who felt the soldier was wronged by the very same Israeli society that sent him to his military duty. "He's a child of the entire Jewish nation," he said. "Instead of backing him for taking out a despicable terrorist, they handcuffed him like a common criminal," said the resident of the central Israeli city Petah Tikvah. Violence since October has left 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. But Israeli forces have also been accused of using excessive force in some cases, charges which they have firmly denied. Israeli citizens hold banners and Israeli flags during a demonstration in front of the Israeli Army Justice court in Kiryat Malakhi on March 29, 2016 to support a soldier who was caught on video shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant Jack Guez (AFP) US suspends $472m Tanzania aid over Zanzibar vote The United States said Tuesday it was putting on hold a $472.8 million energy grant for Tanzania after the controversial re-run of elections in Zanzibar and the passing of a cybercrimes law. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government body that assists developing countries that commit to standards on democracy and basic rights, has "voted to suspend development" of the compact, US Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Childress said in a statement. The money was to be used to increase access to reliable electricity. Election helpers count votes at a polling station during presidential elections in Stone Town, Zanzibar on March 20, 2016 Daniel Hayduk (AFP/File) The March 20 presidential and legislative elections on Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands were a re-run of October polls that were cancelled by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) over fraud allegations. The annulment came after opposition CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad declared himself the winner before the results were officially announced. In the re-run, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won 91.4 percent after the opposition boycotted the vote. Zanzibar's President Ali Mohamed Shein was sworn into office last week. The MCC criticised the "new election in Zanzibar that was neither inclusive nor representative" as well as saying that government "has also not taken measures to ensure freedom of expression and association are respected in the implementation of the Cybercrimes Act." Other US aid to Tanzania continues. Unions prevail as US Supreme Court deadlocks in fees case The US Supreme Court deadlocked Tuesday in a 4-4 decision that effectively affirms the right of public employee unions to collect mandatory fees from non-members in states that allow the practice. The court had been expected to rule against the unions before the death in February of conservative justice Antonin Scalia, underscoring the impact of a vacancy that the Republican-controlled Senate has refused to fill while Barack Obama is president. In split decisions, the lower court rulings stand -- in this case, favoring unions against a challenge to state laws that allow them to collect mandatory fees from non-members. People for and against unions hold up signs in front of the US Supreme Court building January 11, 2016 in Washington, DC Mark Wilson (Getty/AFP/File) "The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided court," the court said, referring to the appellate court decision in a case brought by a group of California public school teachers. The teachers had argued that they should not be forced to pay dues to the state union that negotiates their collective contract. Under California law, non-unionized teachers at public schools cannot go it alone, the government having decided that negotiating with a single interlocutor is in the best interest of all. The system, upheld in a 1977 Supreme Court decision, has been adopted by more than 20 US states and has been consistently reaffirmed by the courts. Union membership in the United States has dropped since the late 1950s, leaving public sector unions as one of the last bastions of the American labor movement. Teachers, police and firefighters are the most highly unionized at about 35 percent, compared to about 11 percent for the rest of the country, according to 2014 data. - Oral arguments - In announcing Monday's split decision, the court -- as is the usual procedure -- did not say how each justice voted. But when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case January 12, it appeared to be headed for a 5-4 decision, with the court's conservatives outweighing its four liberal members. Scalia, as expected, expressed sympathy with the teachers' argument that the mandatory fees violated their constitutional rights to free speech. "The problem is that everything that is collectively bargained with the government is within the political sphere, almost by definition," he said. Scalia died suddenly a month later at age 79, opening a battle for control of a court long dominated by conservatives. Obama has nominated a respected centrist, Judge Merrick Garland, to replace Scalia. But Senate leader Mitch McConnell has been adamant that no Obama nominee will get a confirmation hearing or vote, insisting that the Supreme Court pick should be left to whoever wins the US presidential elections in November. The impasse means that split Supreme Court decisions could become the norm for a year or more, affecting a variety of hot button cases. Government boycotts Mali peace forum in restive north Former rebels in Mali held a failed reconciliation forum in their northern bastion of Kidal which was boycotted by the government, as the UN warned of an "alarming" security situation. Pro-Bamako armed groups also shunned this week's meeting after the Coordination of Movements of the Azawad (CMA) ex-rebels allegedly refused the government's conditions that troops should be allowed into the city and the national flag be flown. "We aren't going to go to Kidal as if it is another country, that's not possible," a government minister told AFP. Soldiers of the Coordination of Movements of the Azawad stand guard as they control delegations arriving for the opening of the "National Forum for reconciliation" ("Forum pour la reconciliation") on March 28, 2016 in Kidal STRINGER (AFP/File) The government has not had any presence in Kidal for several years and the army was driven out in 2014. The forum brought together those sympathetic to the primarily Tuareg rebels' cause from as far as Mauritania, with discussions centred on establishing a better climate for future talks and calls for greater freedom of movement in the surrounding area. "We want to create a climate of understanding between the communities, which is indispensable for implementing the peace deal," CMA leader Alghabass Ag Intalla said in a speech. Although a landmark peace agreement was reached last year between the government and the rebels, the CMA has since violently clashed with pro-government armed groups, the so-called "Platform." Subsequent "pacts of honour" have toned down their fighting but Mali is wracked by a raging jihadist insurgency that has widened despite Islamists being routed from northern towns in 2013. On Tuesday, two Malian soldiers were killed and two others injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was blown up by an explosive device in the Timbuktu region, to the west of Kidal. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he was "concerned that actual progress in the implementation of the peace agreement remains limited." Aside from dealing with the ex-rebels, he said, "the northern and central parts of Mali remain under the threat of criminal, violent extremist and terrorist groups, which take advantage of the limited presence of Malian law enforcement institutions." Mali's vast, desolate north fell under the control of the Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012. The Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, although they have since launched sporadic attacks on security forces from desert hideouts. Somali pirates in French court over fatal hijacking Seven suspected Somali pirates accused of hijacking a French yacht, killing its owner and putting his wife through a hellish kidnapping ordeal, appeared in a Paris court on Tuesday. Evelyne Colombo, 58, stared straight ahead as the seven men accused of killing her husband Christian in 2011 walked into the Paris courtroom. The suspects, aged between 25 and 32, addressed the court through an interpreter. A court sketch made on March 29, 2016 shows seven suspected Somali pirates attending their trial in the courthouse in Paris, over the hijacking of a French yacht Benoit Peyrucq (AFP) "I was a fisherman when there were still fish in the sea," said Fahran Abdisalam Hassan. Others have given their professions as policeman, taxi driver and even "coolie" -- a old colonial-era term meaning "porter". They face possible life imprisonment if convicted in a trial which is due to last a fortnight. The Colombos had sold everything to make their dream voyage around the world. They left the Yemen port of Aden in early September 2011 and were heading for Oman -- a journey that took them through notoriously pirate-infested waters -- when naval authorities received a distress signal from their "Tribal Kat" catamaran. A German frigate found the boat several hours later. There were bullet holes in the deck and a pair of glasses lying in a pool of blood. No one was onboard. Two days later, a Spanish warship located the skiff believed to belong to the pirates. They tried to approach but turned away when the attackers dragged Evelyne Colombo into view, a gun to her head. The Spanish military prepared a raid and attacked a few hours later, leaving two pirates dead and the remaining seven under arrest. Evelyne Colombo told her rescuers that her husband's body had been dumped into the sea. It was never found. She had spent a nightmarish 48 hours with the pirates, kept under a tarpaulin, drenched by waves and in constant fear of death. - 'War, hunger, hell' - "War... hunger... for these men to be properly judged, the court must understand the hell from which they have come," one of their lawyers, Martin Reynaud previously told AFP, saying this could only explain rather than excuse their actions. The accused have claimed the two men killed during the military assault -- identified as "Shine" and "Abdullahi Yare" -- were the leaders of the operation, according to a police source. The investigators believe Yare was most likely the killer, but that all members of the gang were motivated by the desire to attack boats and claim ransoms through kidnapping. The dramatic decline in piracy off the Somali coast means the trial could be the last in Europe for some time. The European Union's military counter-piracy mission "Atalante" saw zero vessels pirated over the past three years, compared with a peak of 47 in 2010. International naval patrols, increased security on boats and the jailing of over a thousand pirates around the world have greatly reduced the threat, although experts warn that illegal fishing off Somalia's coast is again threatening local livelihoods and could push communities back to piracy. The desire for ransoms means murders have been relatively rare in Somali piracy cases. This would be the first such case to feature a murder out of four that have come to trial in France. 'I recognised just the tip of his nose': mother of murdered Italian student The mother of murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni, tortured to death in Egypt in January, told Italy's parliament Tuesday she had only recognised 'the tip of her son's nose' when identifying his body. Amid increasing anger over Cairo's handling of the killing of the 28-year-old Cambridge University graduate student, Egyptian detectives are now expected to hand over key evidence to their Italian counterparts on April 5. If Cairo should fail to follow through, "I would urge our foreign ministry to urgently consider recalling our ambassador to Egypt for consultation," said Luigi Manconi, president of the human rights commission in the Senate. Paola Regeni, the mother of murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni, speaks during a press conference held at the Italian Senate in Rome on March 29, 2016 Andreas Solaro (AFP) Italy's Interior Minister Angelino Alfano on Sunday said Egypt agreed to extend the investigation after pressure from Rome, which had objected last week to Cairo insisting it had identified a criminal gang linked to Regeni's murder, after killing four gang members and finding the student's passport in one of the their apartments. Egyptian police said they believed Regeni had fallen victim to the gang, which had hoped to force him to empty his bank-account. Italian media and Western diplomatic sources in Cairo have voiced suspicions that Egyptian security services were behind the murder of Regeni, whose mutilated body was discovered nine days after he disappeared on January 25. "I won't tell you what they had done to him," said Regeni's mother Paola. "I recognised him just by the tip of his nose. The rest of him was no longer Giulio". She said she had taken a photograph of his battered body and was prepared to publish it if Cairo continued to refuse to share the findings of its probe with the Italian police. "What torments me is the thought that, before the first blow even fell, he knew that a door had closed forever. He had all the intelligence and culture to know what was about to happen to him," his mother said. - 'All the world's ills' - "On Giulio's face I saw all the ills of the world. We have not faced such torture since the anti-Fascist era," she added. Regeni had been researching labour movements in Egypt, a sensitive topic, and had written articles critical of the government under a pen name. Prosecutors in Cairo on Saturday ordered the detention of four people over Regeni's murder, all of them closely related to the leader of the gang who was killed in the shootout with police. Italy has so far rejected each of the vastly contradictory accounts Egypt has put forward, including allegations early on that the student had been working as a spy -- an accusation his mother furiously denied. The family's lawyer, Alessandra Ballerini, said the investigators from Cairo "must bring us everything that's missing, including the phone records and data collected from the cell sites in the area and the security video footage from near the metro where he disappeared, and the area in which his body was found." "We don't even know what Giulio was wearing when his body was discovered," she said, adding that the family wanted more information as well on the gang which had his passport, and how they could have acquired it. Manconi said that if the data was not handed over, Italy's foreign ministry "should declare Egypt an unsafe country, which would without a doubt have a not insignificant effect on the numbers of tourists" there. Protesters hold an Italian flag with photos of Giulio Regeni, during a demonstration in front of the Egypt's embassy in Rome, on February 25, 2016 Filippo Monteforte (AFP/File) Thai police to revive Red Bull heir hit-and-run case Thai authorities said Tuesday they are still pursuing a legal case against the heir to the Red Bull fortune over a deadly hit-and-run four years ago, as public frustration grows about impunity for the elite. Worayuth Yoovidhya, whose nickname is "Boss", is accused of crashing his silver Ferrari into a police officer on a motorcycle in 2012, dragging the body along a main road in Bangkok for about 100 metres as he sped away. The scion, whose family is among Thailand's richest after founding the energy drink empire, was charged with several offences but never appeared in court after travelling to Singapore. Worayuth Yoovidhya, whose nickname is "Boss", is accused of crashing his silver Ferrari into a police officer on a motorcycle in 2012, dragging the body along a main road in Bangkok for about 100 metres as he sped away Saeed Khan (AFP/File) He has since been seen regularly in Thailand but has not been rearrested and is yet to face a court. After years of quiet resignation, public interest in the case was revived earlier this month when the son of a wealthy businessman slammed his Mercedes Benz into another car allegedly while speeding, killing two students in the second vehicle. The Mercedes driver was hospitalised after the accident and later charged with reckless driving causing death and property damage. Responding to a mounting outcry, Bangkok's city police chief sought to show the force is bent on bringing the Red Bull princeling to court. "We do not know where he is but we will find him for sure," Sanit Mahathavorn told AFP on Tuesday. Sanit said he would also probe the police officers responsible for the stalled investigation. While the speeding charge against Worayuth has expired during the years of inaction, he still faces up to ten years in prison for reckless driving that resulted in death, according to local media. The deputy spokesman for the country's attorney general told AFP the case was "under urgent consideration". Critics have long complained that the justice system protects the political and financial elite. "Rich and influential people do not go to jail. Those who go to jail are only poor ones," an online commentator wrote Tuesday on Pantip, a popular Thai forum. Iranian president postpones Austria visit 'for security reasons' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed for security reasons a planned visit to Austria this week, only his second to Europe since last year's nuclear deal, Austria's presidency said Tuesday. "The visit for March 30-31 by President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation has been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons," it said in a statement, without giving further details. The Iranian government's official website confirmed the postponement, made "by mutual agreement", but said nothing about security concerns. Neither Vienna nor Tehran gave a new date for a visit. A photo provided by the office of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shows him (R) shaking hands with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer during a welcome ceremony in Saad Abad palace at Tehran on September 8, 2015 A spokesman for the Austrian interior ministry, Karl-Heinz Grundboeck, said there were "no concrete indications of any security threats" in Vienna. Rouhani had been due to meet Austrian President Heinz Fischer on Wednesday in Vienna and Chancellor Werner Faymann the following day, as well as attend an Austro-Iranian economic forum. He visited Rome and Paris in January. The 2013 election of Rouhani, a relative moderate, led to something of a rapprochement with the West which in turn helped Iran and major powers reach the mammoth nuclear deal in Vienna last July. Entering into force in January, Iran substantially scaled down its nuclear programme in order to put an atomic bomb out of reach. In return nuclear-related sanctions -- but not others -- were lifted. Ructions with the West remain, however, including over Tehran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the conflict in Yemen, Iran's ballistic missile programme and computer hacking. With Rouhani having been elected on a promise to improve the economy, Tehran is also frustrated at what it sees as an incomplete lifting of sanctions, in particular on its banks. UK defence chief says Qatar warplane deal 'on the table' Britain's defence minister said on Tuesday that a deal to sell Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes to Qatar was "definitely still on the table". Michael Fallon, speaking on board a British destroyer anchored in Doha port, said he had held discussions on a possible sale with Qatari officials within the past week. He added that the deal had not been killed off by a Qatari decision to buy 24 Rafale jets from France. Royal Air Force crews prepare Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for the inaugural Trilateral Exercise between the US Air Force, United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and the French Air Force on December 15, 2015 Saul Loeb (AFP/File) "It's definitely still on the table," said Fallon, who is in Qatar to attend the three-day Dimdex defence and security fair. "It's something I have discussed with the new Qatari defence minister, (Khalid bin Mohammad) Al-Attiyah. "Typhoon is proving itself a very capable aircraft in the skies above Syria and Iraq." Asked if the French deal could scupper the prospective British sale, Fallon responded: "No". "Qatar is one of our most important regional partners," added Fallon. Britain's BAE Systems builds the Typhoon in cooperation with European aircraft maker Airbus and Italian defence firm Finmeccanica. Britain has long sought to sell Typhoons to Qatar and is in the closing stages of wrapping up a deal to sell the jets to Kuwait. Two other countries in the Gulf -- Saudi Arabia and Oman -- have also purchased Typhoon jets. Energy-rich Qatar's spending is being squeezed by falling gas and oil prices but it appears committed to maintaining its defence budget and has previously pledged to increase the size of its air force. Israel worried over threat to Jewish kids in Turkey Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday expressed deep concern over a report that the Islamic State group is planning to attack Jewish school children in Turkey. Citing unnamed intelligence officials, Britain's Sky TV reported on Monday that IS "terrorists" have advanced plans to "murder Jewish children in Turkey, targeting kindergartens, schools and youth centres". The report came on the same day that Israel advised its citizens to leave Turkey "as soon as possible," warning of the risk of jihadist attacks. Turkish police officers stand guard in front of Neve Shalom Synagogue on March 29, 2016 in Istanbul as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin expressed concern over a report that the Islamic State group is planning to attack Jewish school children in Turkey Ozan Kose (AFP) In a phone conversation with the president of the Turkey's Jewish community, Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, Rivlin said he was concerned over reports of threats to the community. "We are very worried about the information we are receiving, and following the situation closely with the relevant authorities in Israel and Turkey," Rivlin said in a statement. The offices of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkey's foreign ministry have declined to comment on the Sky report. Three Israelis were among four people killed in a March 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul. An Iranian was also killed and 39 people wounded when a man blew himself up on a shopping street in the heart of the city. The Turkish government said the bomber had links to IS. The group has been blamed for four bombings that have rocked Turkey in the past eight months, including a massacre at a peace rally in the capital Ankara in October that claimed 103 lives. UN chief urges swift handover of power in Libya UN chief Ban Ki-moon pleaded Tuesday for Libya's unity government to be allowed to start work quickly and called for anyone obstructing the peace process to be held accountable. Ban, speaking in Tunisia, called for a UN-backed presidential council to be permitted to work towards "the immediate peaceful and orderly handover of power to the government of national accord." He also urged Libya's internationally recognised parliament, based in the country's east, "to uphold its responsibilities" in implementing a UN-brokered power-sharing deal announced in December. UN chief Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Tunisia, called for a UN-backed presidential council to be permitted to work towards "the immediate peaceful and orderly handover of power to the government of national accord" in Libya Fethi Belaid (AFP) "Those obstructing the political process should be held accountable. The Libyan people deserve peace, security and prosperity under a strong, united government," he said. The power-sharing deal aims to end years of political turmoil in the North African state that has been exploited by jihadists and people-smugglers. But both of Libya's rival authorities -- the government backed by the recognised parliament and another supported by armed groups in the capital -- have refused to cede power to the unity government. Tripoli's unrecognised administration on Friday announced a "maximum state of emergency" after the Tunisia-based presidential council said the unity government would soon start working in the capital. World powers are pressing all sides in the Libyan conflict to accept the UN-brokered deal, amid concerns the Islamic State jihadist group is gaining influence in the country. Western nations are openly considering a military intervention against the extremists. "There are many countries who really wish that Libya now establishes the government of national accord so that we can help them, so that they can establish their country with peace and security," Ban said. Sudan army and rebels clash in Kordofan, ending months of calm Sudanese troops have clashed with rebels in South Kordofan after months of calm in the state, the two sides said on Tuesday, with both giving differing accounts of the fighting. President Omar al-Bashir's forces have been battling the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011 but in recent months the two states had been quiet compared with previous years. "The SPLM-N confirms that there are ongoing battles" around the Karkaraya and Agab areas of South Kordofan, rebel spokesman Arnu Lodi said in a statement late Tuesday. Sudanese soldiers gather in the Daldako area, about 20 kilometres northeast of South Kordofan's state capital Kadugli, after recapturing the area from rebels on May 20, 2014 Lodi said the rebels were in "full control of the situation" and were laying siege to government positions, having suffered no casualties of their own in the operations. The military confirmed there had been heavy fighting around Karkaraya but said its soldiers had repulsed an SPLM-N column that attacked from the nearby rebel-held town of Um Serdiba. Early on Tuesday, "a large force of rebels came out of the town of Um Serdiba and attacked the area of Karkaraya that we recaptured" the day before, army spokesman Brigadier Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami told AFP by phone. The military said it had destroyed a number of SPLM-N vehicles and killed 55 rebels, suffering no casualties of its own. Khartoum limits press access to the war-hit border regions, making it nearly impossible to verify the often contradicting reports from the military and the SPLM-N. The rebels in the two southern states mounted an insurgency against Bashir's Arab-dominated Khartoum government in 2011, and neither side has decisively gained the upper hand in the fighting. Bashir announced a ceasefire in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and the western Darfur region -- the site of a separate insurgency -- late last year and extended it by a month at the beginning of the year. Despite both sides accusing the other of continuing attacks, South Kordofan had been relatively peaceful until this week's fighting. A government delegation travelled to Addis Ababa for an African Union-mediated meeting with the rebels and opposition parties, although the talks ended on March 21 without a conclusive result. Morocco rejects UN chief explanation over Sahara row Morocco on Tuesday rejected an explanation from the office of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that a row over disputed Western Sahara was because of a "misunderstanding". Ban infuriated Morocco this month when he referred to the "occupation" of Western Sahara, a disputed territory, during his visit to a refugee camp in neighbouring Algeria. "We regret the misunderstandings and consequences that this personal expression of solicitude provoked," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. The helicopter of United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon lands at a UN base in Bir-Lahlou, in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, situated 220 kilometres southwest of the Algerian town of Tindouf, on March 5, 2016 Farouk Batiche (AFP/File) "His use of the word was not planned, nor was it deliberate, it was a spontaneous, personal reaction." Morocco again lashed out at the UN chief on Tuesday, however, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying his "unacceptable" words were of "unprecedented gravity" and "neither justifiable nor erasable". "The situation... cannot be reduced to a simple misunderstanding," said the spokesman, quoted by the MAP state news agency But he reiterated that Morocco was ready to engage in "responsible, comprehensive and constructive dialogue". Ban declined to respond to the remarks at a news conference in Tunis on Tuesday. "My spokesperson yesterday explained in length... I'm not going to repeat. Because every single word is now being analysed and watched," said the UN chief. Morocco considers Western Sahara, the former Spanish territory which it annexed in 1975, as an integral part of the country, proposing self-government for the region under its sovereignty. Pentagon leaders ready proposal for US presence in Afghanistan The US military's top general said Tuesday he has drawn up recommendations for the US troop presence in Afghanistan next year and submitted his proposals to Pentagon chief Ash Carter. The United States is trying to determine how many forces should remain in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have made significant gains since Afghan security forces took over from NATO troops in 2015. The American and NATO combat mission in Afghanistan officially ended in December 2014, though the alliance left in place about 13,000 troops, most of them American, in a training and advisory mission. US soldiers stand next a military vehicle as they arrive at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul, on January 4, 2016 Wakil Kohsar (AFP/File) The number of US troops is due to drop to 5,500 starting in January 2017 -- down from 9,800 currently -- but Taliban success on the battlefield is forcing officials to rethink that plan. "I have crafted a recommendation to the secretary of defense," General Joe Dunford, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, giving no details. "The secretary and I... at some point in the future will bring those recommendations forward to the president." Since the Afghans took over security the Taliban have dealt some stinging blows -- including the brief capture of the major city of Kunduz -- that jolted confidence Afghan government forces could hold their own against the insurgents. Dunford said it was important NATO and the United States quickly determine troop levels for next year. General John Nicholson, the new senior US commander in Afghanistan, had previously said he would make a proposal within 90 days of taking up the post on March 2, but Dunford said he was not going to wait. China's Xi arrives in Prague en route to the US PRAGUE (AP) Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Czech Republic on Monday for a visit aimed at boosting economic and political ties, a visit that's prompted protesters to fly the Tibetan flag along a key stretch of road to downtown Prague. Xi's visit his only stopover in Europe before flying to the U.S. is a result of a more business-oriented Czech approach to China than the one that prevailed under the late President Vaclav Havel, a prominent proponent of human rights. President Milos Zeman was the only European Union leader to attend China's celebrations of the end of World War II. Zeman has come under fire for telling Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV that relations between the two countries had suffered in the past because Czech foreign policy had been overly pressured by the United States and the EU. China's President Xi Jinping arrives for a three-day official visit to the Czech Republic in Prague, Monday, March 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Miroslav Kalousek, chairman of the opposition TOP 09 conservative party called Zeman's remarks "repulsive" and said they went counter to the country's long-term foreign policy as a member of the EU and NATO. Xi's visit has irked many and police said they had detained a dozen activists Monday for replacing Chinese national flags along the main road from the airport to downtown Prague with Tibetan flags. In another sign of protest, a billboard with Havel and the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama was placed along the route Monday, and the Prague 6 district where the Chinese embassy is located was flying the Tibetan flag to mark the anniversary of the 1959 uprising against the Chinese rule. Czech public television also showed police dealing with several brief skirmishes between activists and those welcoming the president. During his three -day trip, Xi is scheduled to sign an agreement on a strategic partnership between the two countries and back a series of business deals. China's President Xi Jinping arrives for a three-day official visit to the Czech Republic in Prague, Monday, March 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) China's President Xi Jinping arrives for a three-day official visit to the Czech Republic in Prague, Monday, March 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) China's Anbang trumps Marriott with $15B bid for Starwood NEW YORK (AP) The fight for Starwood Hotels swung back in favor of China's Anbang after the insurance company offered $15 billion in a counterpunch to Marriott International. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which has a tony stable of hotels including the St. Regis New York, said Monday that the offer from the Anbang group is "reasonably likely" to trump a sweetened bid that Marriott submitted last week. Some industry analysts now believe Marriott will wind up on the losing end of this battle, unless other factors besides price enter the equation. This Friday, March 25, 2016, photo shows the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Richmond, Va. The Starwood bidding war continues, with the hotel chain announcing Monday, March 28, 2016, that a sweetened offer from a group led by Chinese insurance company Anbang is likely to be superior to Marriotts revised bid. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) "We don't think (Marriott) can go higher, and we would question it if they did," Canaccord analyst Ryan Meliker wrote in a research note. Starwood's board said it is still backing Marriot's bid while it assesses Anbang's offer. Marriott stood behind its last bid "as the best course" for Starwood in a Monday letter. The Bethesda, Maryland, company also advised Starwood shareholders to scrutinize Anbang's financing and consider the "timing of any required regulatory approvals." That comment appeared to be a veiled reference to the potential hurdles that a Chinese company might have to clear to buy Starwood, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Marriot declined to elaborate on its letter. Anbang dealt with similar concerns two years ago when it acquired the famed Waldorf Astoria of York for nearly $2 billion. While it tries to hook Starwood, Anbang is also trying to reel in Strategic Hotels & Resorts in a proposed $6.5 billion deal. Although Anbang's purchase of Waldorf was cleared by the U.S. Treasury's Committee on Foreign Investment, worries about the Waldorf becoming an outpost for Chinese espionage still hang over the hotel. Last year, President Barack Obama, his top aides and staff along with the sizable U.S. diplomatic contingent lodged elsewhere during the annual U.N. General Assembly, which takes place every September. The switch ended a decades-long tradition of having presidents and other top U.S. diplomatic officials stay at the Waldorf when in New York. The government still leases a residence for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Waldorf. Foreign purchases of hotels and other real estate typically don't trigger national security concerns in the U.S. unless the locations are near key military bases or other sensitive government buildings, said Anne Salladin, a special counsel specializing in national security reviews for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in Washington. Starwood's stable includes a W Hotel that overlooks the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington. Caixin, a financial magazine in China, also has raised the specter of Anbang's Starwood bid being derailed by its own government. That's because Anbang's plans to buy Starwood and Strategic Hotels could violate restrictions that limit Chinese insurance companies from having more than 15 percent of their assets in foreign investments. Anbang and other Chinese companies have been trying to diversify their investment portfolios by pouring into more stable locations, such as U.S. real estate, amid signs of slowing economic growth at home. Marriott is hoping to build a hospitality empire by adding Starwood's posh hotels to its line-up. Marriott initially bid $12.2 billion for Starwood last November in a deal that would make it the world's biggest hotel company. Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson also promised to create the industry's best customer rewards program. The latest offer from Anbang is worth $88.66 per Starwood share. That tops the $14.41 billion offer that Marriott made last week. Anbang's offer includes $82.75 per share in cash, which is an increase of $4.75 per share from its previous bid. The bid also includes $5.91 in stock for a spinoff of a vacation business. Arctic sea ice reaches new record low mark for wintertime WASHINGTON (AP) The growth of Arctic sea ice this winter peaked at the lowest maximum level on record, thanks to extraordinarily warm temperatures, federal scientists said Monday. The National Snow and Ice Data Center says ice covered a maximum of 5.607 million square miles (14.52 million square kilometers) of the Arctic Ocean in 2016. That's 5,000 square miles (12,950 square kilometers) less than the old record set in 2015 a difference slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. It's also some 431,000 square miles (1.1 million square kilometers) less than the 30-year average. That difference is the size of Texas and California combined. This image provided by NASA shows Arctic sea ice at it maximum, the lowest on record. The winter maximum level of Arctic sea ice shrank to the smallest on record, thanks to extraordinarily warm temperatures, federal scientists said. The National Snow and Ice Data Center says sea ice spread to a maximum of 5.607 million square miles in 2016. Thats 5,000 square miles less than the old record set in 2015, a difference slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. NASA via AP) Records go back to 1979 when satellites started measuring sea ice, which forms when Arctic Ocean water freezes. This year's ice didn't break the record by much, but it's "an exclamation point" on a longer-term trend, said NASA scientist Walt Meier, who helped calculate the data. The sub-par showing doesn't necessarily mean that the minimum extent this summer will also break a record, scientists said. The summer minimum is more important for affecting Earth's climate and weather. Data center scientist Julienne Stroeve says winter temperatures over the North Pole were 16 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal, while other parts of the Arctic ran 4 to 11 degrees F warmer than normal. Data center chief Mark Serreze said in a press release, "I have never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic." It was so warm that the Barents Sea was "pretty much close to ice -free for almost the whole winter, which is very unusual," Meier said. Stroeve said early indications show that the sea ice is thinner than last year. A leading but still controversial theory says loss of sea ice in the Arctic may change the jet stream and bring more extreme weather to the United States, Stroeve said. The new report reveals "just the latest disturbing data point in a disturbing trend wherein climate changes are happening even faster than we had forecast," Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said. ___ National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/news/newsroom/arctic-sets-yet-another-record-low-maximum-extent ___ A look at new doubts about conviction in 1957 murder SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) The allegation of a badly mishandled investigation, combined with newly discovered evidence in one of the nation's oldest crimes to ever reach trial, means a 76-year-old former security guard convicted and sentenced to life in the 1957 slaying of a 7-year-old girl in a northern Illinois has a chance to go free. At a hearing Tuesday, 76-year-old Jack McCullough pleaded with a judge to quickly consider his bid for freedom, emphasizing that he's been in prison for almost five years and declaring he can prove his innocence. McCullough added, "There has to be an end to this somewhere." DeKalb County Judge William Brady told McCullough he would need to be patient and that a court appointment of an attorney for him is the first of many steps in a process that could lead to his conviction being tossed and a new trial being ordered. DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack looks through pages of documents included as exhibits to support his vacating the conviction response to Jack McCullough's post conviction filings in his conference room at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill., Friday, March 25, 2016. Jack D. McCullough was convicted of the 1957 murder of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph in September of 2012. McCullough will appear in court on Tuesday, March 29. (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT The hearing took place near where Maria Ridulph was abducted on Dec. 3, 1957, in small-town Sycamore as she played outside in the snow. She was stabbed and choked to death in a case that made national headlines. In a dramatic turnaround, DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack said in a scathing filing last week that a six-month review turned up serious missteps during the investigation and the overall prosecution of the case and agreed that McCullough's conviction should be vacated. McCullough, a neighbor of Ridulph's in the 1950s, was charged some 55 years after the murder. He was convicted at a bench trial in 2012. Here's a look at the case and what could happen next: Q: What's the new evidence? A: It includes phone records showing that McCullough, as he claimed at trial, made a collect call to his parents at 6:57 p.m. Dec. 3, 1957, from a phone booth in downtown Rockford around the time Ridulph was abducted 35 miles away in Sycamore between 6:45 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. Besides those records, Schmack also reviewed police reports and other old documents that he says were improperly barred from evidence during McCullough's trial. Some were only recently uncovered, he said. Some of those documents discredited testimony suggesting the abduction had taken place earlier, Schmack determined, meaning there was no possibility McCullough could have committed the crime and then driven to Rockford in time to place that call. Schmack, who did not prosecute the case because he wasn't elected until the end of the trial, suggested investigators focused unduly on McCullough because of his name in the 1950s. He went by John Tessier at the time and one childhood witness said someone wearing a sweater who called himself "Johnny" had given Ridulph a piggyback ride before her disappearance. "The only real evidence to support the theory of the defendant's guilt is that his name is John and his sisters claimed he owned a sweater," Schmack wrote. Q: There was no physical evidence. So what evidence helped to convict McCullough at the 2012 trial? A: Kathy Chapman, a childhood friend of Ridulph's who had been playing outside with her, identified McCullough. At trial, Chapman, then in her 60s, picked out a photo of a 17-year-old McCullough and said she was sure he had given her friend the piggyback ride. But in his filing, Schmack said the photographic array was "suggestive in the extreme," with the photo of McCullough standing out from the others. McCullough was the only one not wearing a suit coat and the background in his photo was dark while the others were light. Smack added: "Her selection in 2010 of a black-and-white headshot of him as a teenager is clearly an unintentional and tragic mistake on her part." An inmate who befriended McCullough behind bars after his 2011 arrest also testified that McCullough had killed Ridulph though accidently. Smack alleged that testimony likely constituted perjury. Q: Why was the case reopened years later with McCullough as a prime suspect? A: One factor was an alleged deathbed comment by McCullough's mother in 1994 passed on to police by his half-sister in 2008 that she knew her son had killed the girl. McCullough was arrested in 2011 at a retirement home in Washington state where he worked as a security guard. McCullough has consistently denied having anything to do with the crime. At his sentencing, McCullough turned to her relatives in the courtroom and said, "It was a crime I did not, would not, could not have done." Q: Could McCullough be released and, if so, how soon? A: He could be freed, though it is unclear when. The process of assessing and reassessing evidence in cases like this where serious doubts emerge about a conviction can take weeks, months or sometimes years. Judges have enormous discretion. Brady told McCullough he had to follow the three-stage process that could result in a new trial. Q: If McCullough didn't do it, who did? A: McCullough was briefly a suspect, as were more than 100 others, in the 1950s. As the months became years, many Sycamore residents assumed the killer must have been someone passing through town, perhaps a truck driver. But if it turns out McCullough is not the killer, chances seem remote that new suspects will emerge or, if they do, that they are still living. FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2016 file photo, convicted murderer Jack McCullough walks into the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill., to request post-conviction relief. McCullough is serving a life sentence after being sentenced in 2012 for the 1957 death of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph of Sycamore. On Friday, March 25, 2016, DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack says his review of evidence has convinced him that McCullough could not have committed the crime. His six-month court-ordered review was prompted by McCullough's push for a new trial. (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT; CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT 6 anti-Trump demonstrators arrested at Wisconsin hotel JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) Six people have been arrested while protesting a planned Wisconsin campaign stop by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. The Janesville Gazette (http://bit.ly/1VQGDa3 ) reports about 60 protesters occupied the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville on Monday night and about 20 more stood outside. Trump has scheduled an appearance there Tuesday in advance of Wisconsin's primary April 5. The protest began around 6 p.m. The newspaper reports most participants left by 7:15 p.m. but six stayed in the lobby and were using PVC pipe to link their arms. Authorities had to separate them. Janesville police Sgt. Mike Blaser says police gave the protesters several chances to leave the building without being arrested but they refused. More protests are planned Tuesday. ___ Trump faces rough reception as race turns toward Wisconsin MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) Republican front-runner Donald Trump faces a rough reception as the primary race turns toward Wisconsin where his two remaining rivals hope to put a roadblock on the billionaire's drive to secure the party's presidential nomination. The Wisconsin primary on April 5 is shaping up to be a key moment in the Republican nomination contest. A solid win by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would narrow Trump's path to the nomination and increase the likelihood of a contested convention this summer. Cruz who has recently picked up a wave of Republican establishment support has been crisscrossing the state and has begun airing $500,000 in ads. Ohio's Republican Gov. John Kasich was also looking to pick up support in Wisconsin. As Trump prepared to campaign in the Midwestern state, Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker said that he will announce Tuesday whom he's backing on a Milwaukee-based talk radio show whose conservative host Charlie Sykes has already endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Walker, whose short-lived run for president ended in September, has been sending signals he intends to back Cruz. File-In this March 19, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Tucson, Ariz. Trump is planning Tuesday to make his first campaign visit to Wisconsin, where the upcoming Republican presidential primary could mark a turning point in the unpredictable GOP race. But rival Ted Cruz has gotten a jumpstart on the contest, racking up influential endorsements, campaigning in key regions and supported by bullish advertising campaign. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Meanwhile, Cruz heaped praise on his former rival, calling Walker's fight against labor unions "inspired people all over the country." Walker said last week that Cruz was the only candidate who had a chance at beating Trump. When Walker ended his presidential bid, he called on other candidates to also quit the race so it would be easier to take on Trump. "I am a big, big fan of Scott Walker's," Cruz told reporters before a campaign stop in central Wisconsin. "He is a terrific governor and strong conservative." On Monday, Trump endured a harsh grilling from Sykes, an influential voice for local Republicans. Sykes pressed Trump on a range of issues, including whether he should apologize to Cruz's wife, Heidi, whom he mocked on Twitter last week. Trump indicated that he was simply retweeting a message from a supporter who had posted an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz next to a glamorous shot of Trump's model wife, Melania. "Is your standard that if a supporter does something despicable, that it's OK for you, a candidate for president of the United States, to behave that same way?" Sykes asked. "I mean, I expect that from a 12 year-old bully on the playground, not somebody who wants the office held by Abraham Lincoln." Sykes said that he hoped Trump realized that "here in Wisconsin we value things like civility, decency and actual conservative principles" and asked him to declare that wives would be off limit in the discourse ahead of the state's primary. Trump said he would be in favor of that but said that he would not apologize until Cruz first said he was sorry for the ad his supporters ran in Utah featuring a photo of a partially clad Melania Trump that had originally appeared in GQ magazine. Cruz has said he knew nothing about the ad, which was published by a Super Political Action Committee that backed him. Trump has scheduled a campaign rally on Tuesday in Janesville, Wisconsin, but protesters were already awaiting his arrival. The Janesville Gazette reported that about 60 protesters occupied the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville Monday night and about 20 more stood outside. In the Democratic race, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders swept three Western state caucuses over the weekend, but still faces an uphill climb to overcome front-runner Hillary Clinton's significant lead in the all-important delegate count. Based on primaries and caucuses to date, Clinton has 1,243 delegates to Sanders' 975. Including superdelegates, party leaders who are free to support any candidate, Clinton has 1,712 delegates to Sanders' 1,004, leaving her shy of the 2,383 it takes to win the nomination Clinton kicked-off her Wisconsin campaign on Monday with a speech in Madison, where she urged voters to consider what Trump might do to shape the Supreme Court by picking one or more justices who "could demolish pillars of the progressive movement." The increasingly vitriolic battle between Trump and Cruz was also being fought out in states that have already held their primary contests and were now choosing their delegations to the national convention that will select the nominee in July in Philadelphia. Under party rules, delegates are pledged to candidates based on primary and caucus results on the first ballot at the convention, but may be released to support other candidates on subsequent ballots leading to unpredictable results in a contested convention. Trump heads into Wisconsin with 739 delegates to Cruz's 465. Kasich lags behind with 143. Trump's rivals are scrambling to pick up uncommitted delegates who had been pledged to candidates who quit the race such as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, since just a handful of delegates might determine whether Trump gets a first-ballot nomination. Trump's presidential campaign said Monday it plans to challenge Louisiana's delegate selection, a day after the candidate threatened to sue over the possibility that the state's uncommitted delegates could back Cruz. Trump narrowly won the Louisiana primary. Trump adviser Barry Bennett said that the campaign intends to file a complaint with the Republican National Committee protesting how the state's delegates were chosen. Trump's threat to file a lawsuit serves as a taste of the kind of backroom procedural wheeling-and-dealing that could come to define the Republican convention if Trump fails to lock down the 1,237 delegates necessary to win the nomination outright. Protesters stage a sit-in in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville, Wis., Monday, March 28, 2016. Demonstrators occupied the lobby of the hotel, protesting a planned Wisconsin campaign stop by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. (Anthony Wahl/The Janesville Gazette via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Protesters stage a sit-in in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville, Wis., Monday, March 28, 2016. Demonstrators occupied the lobby of the hotel, protesting a planned Wisconsin campaign stop by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. (Anthony Wahl/The Janesville Gazette via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to a crowd from the back of a pick-up truck as he made a campaign stop at Altoona Famiily Restaurant in Altoona, Wis., Monday, March 28, 2016. (Dan Reiland/The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz-R-Texas, addresses the crowd during a campaign stop Monday, March 28, 2016, in Rothschild, Wisc. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Janesville, Wis., resident Virgil Grimes holds up the end of a banner outside the Holiday Inn Express to protest Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's appearance scheduled Tuesday at the adjoining conference center in Janesville on Monday, March 28, 2016. (Anthony Wahl/The Janesville Gazette via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee, Wis., Monday, March 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Club in Milwaukee, Wis., Monday, March 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Obama seeing China leader as South China Sea tensions rise WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama will be meeting with Asian leaders in Washington this week as fears grow that long-smoldering tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea risk flaring into conflict. World leaders, including those from China, Japan and South Korea, will be in town for a summit hosted by Obama on nuclear security the final round in the U.S. president's drive for international action to stop materials that could be used for an atomic weapon or dirty bomb from getting into terrorist hands. But other pressing security issues will be up for discussion on the sidelines of the two-day gathering that starts Thursday. In this photo taken Nov. 30, 2015, President Barack Obama meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Le Bourget, France. President Barack Obama will be meeting with Asian leaders in Washington this week as fears grow that long-smoldering tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea could flare into conflict. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Obama will on Thursday meet separately with China's President Xi Jinping at a time when frictions between the two world powers over China's island-building in strategic waters are growing and look set to intensify with an upcoming ruling from an international tribunal on Beijing's sweeping territorial claims. The U.S. president is also meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Washington is looking for an elusive unity between its core allies in Asia as threats from North Korea reach fever-pitch after Pyongyang was stung with tough sanctions in response to its recent nuclear test and rocket launch. Obama will be urging China to implement the U.N. sanctions it signed up to for use against North Korea, its traditional ally. For his part, Xi will want the U.S. to restart negotiations with the authoritarian government of Kim Jong Un, which has been touting progress in miniaturizing nuclear devices and missile technology that could directly threaten America. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that if North Korea keeps advancing its weapons programs, the U.S. will be compelled to take defensive measures that China will not like, such as the deployment of a missile defense system being discussed with South Korea. Beijing is concerned the system's radar could cover Chinese territory. "The bottom line remains that as long as North Korea continues in this direction, advancing its nuclear program, advancing its missile program, we are going to have to take these steps to defend ourselves and to defend our partners," Blinken told a Washington think tank. With Obama's presidency in its final year, there's uncertainty among Asian nations on what the next administration will portend. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is calling for Japan and South Korea to pay more for U.S. military protection, and is advocating a tougher trade policy toward China. During his seven years in office, Obama has deepened engagement with Asia, despite the huge distraction of chaos in the Middle East. The U.S. and China have cooperated on issues like climate change and nuclear security, even as their strategic rivalry has grown. The U.S. is a major player in China's fast-growing nuclear industry, and this month, the U.S. and China opened a center in Beijing to train technicians and scientists from across the Asia-Pacific on nuclear security. But when Obama and Xi meet, the hottest topic will be the most divisive one: China's bold pursuit of its sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea. China has reclaimed more than 3,000 acres of land in the past two years near sea lanes crucial for world trade. On these artificial islands, Beijing has installed airstrips and other military facilities that U.S. intelligence assesses will enable China to project offensive military power in the region by early next year. Despite conflicting territorial claims from five other Asian governments, China contends it has a historic right to most of the South China Sea and maintains the U.S. has no business there. It accuses the U.S. of stoking tensions by sending military ships and planes through the area on freedom of navigation maneuvers. "Washington should know that the more provocative moves it makes against China, the more counter-measures Beijing will take. Such an undesirable cycle may push both sides nearer confrontation and cause both to prepare for the worst-case scenario, potentially making it self-fulfilling," the U.S. edition of the state-supported China Daily said in a recent editorial. The stakes are set to rise by mid-year when an international arbitration body is set to rule on a case brought by the Philippines challenging the legal basis of the nine-dash line Beijing's rough demarcation of its claims. If the Hague-based tribunal rules in the Philippines' favor, as most experts anticipate, it could undermine China's insistence that its stance is consistent with international law. China has refused to participate in the arbitration and says it will ignore the ruling, but a growing number of countries say both parties should be bound by it. Jeffrey Bader, Obama's former principal advisor on Asia, wrote in a commentary ahead of the summit that there's concern in Washington and the region about how China might react to the ruling, and whether it will militarily challenge Filipino territorial claims. He said that as the Philippines is a U.S. ally, Obama "may warn Xi of the risks of escalation." The last time Xi visited Washington, in September, he publicly said that China did not intend to pursue militarization in the Spratly islands where most of land reclamation has happened a statement that U.S. officials remind Beijing of at every opportunity. But in recent weeks, China has reportedly positioned more military equipment on disputed islands in the South China Sea. Born in to war and starving to death, these pictures show the shocking condition of a tiny baby two days before he died of malnutrition in Yemen. Udai Faisal was born five months ago, as warplanes were launching airstrikes on his village, Hazyaz, a shantytown on the southern edge of Sanaa. But as war devastated the impoverished region, his family were faced with an ever increasing battle against starvation, eating once a day amid soaring food prices and limited supplies. Udai's skeletal body finally broke down under the ravages of hunger leaving his limbs looking like twigs, his cheeks sunken and his eyes dry. Pictures show the shocking condition of tiny Udai Faisal, two days before he died of malnutrition in Yemen Udai Faisal is fed by his mother Intissar Hezzam at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen two days before he died of accute malnutrition He vomited yellow fluid from his nose and mouth. Then he stopped breathing. 'He didn't cry and there were no tears, just stiff,' said his mother, Intissar Hezzam. 'I screamed and fainted.' The spread of hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemen's war since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the United States, launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. The impoverished nation of 26 million people, which imports 90 percent of its food, already had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, but in the past year the statistics have leaped. The fate of Udai illustrated the many factors, all exacerbated by war, that lead to the death of an infant. His family lives off the pension that Udai's father, Faisal Ahmed, gets as a former soldier, about $200 a month for him, his wife and nine other children ranging from two-years-old to 16. He used to sometimes get construction work on the side, but those jobs disappeared in the war. With food prices rising and supplies sporadic, the family eats once a day, usually yoghurt and bread, peas on a good day, said Udai's parents, both in their 30s. Suffering: Udai's skeletal body finally broke down under the ravages of hunger leaving his limbs looking like twigs, his cheeks sunken and his eyes dry Faisal Ahmed, whose son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, pours water on his child's grave in Hazyaz village on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen The day Udai was born, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition were striking an army base used by Houthi rebels in their district. Shrapnel hit their one-floor, one-bedroom house where Udai's mother was in labor. 'She was screaming and delivering the baby while the bombardment was rocking the place,' the father said. Hezzam was able to breastfeed her newborn son for about 20 days, but then her milk stopped, likely from her own malnutrition. Even after childbirth, she had to collect firewood for the mud brick stove at the doorstep of her house. Like much of the country, electricity has long been knocked out in their neighborhood, either because of airstrikes or lack of fuel, and there's rarely cooking gas. 'I go every day to faraway places to search for the wood then carry it home on my head,' she said. The family turned to formula to feed Udai, but it wasn't always available and they couldn't always afford it. So every few days, Udai would get formula and the other days he would get sugar and water. Water trucks occasionally reach the area, but often they had to use unclean water. Faisal Ahmed sits with his nine remaining children at his house in Hazyaz village. The fate of his son Udai illustrated the many factors, all exacerbated by war, that lead to the death of an infant Faisal Ahmed poses for a photo with one of his children at his house in Hazyaz village, on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen The day Udai was born, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition were striking an army base used by Houthi rebels in their district. Intissar Hezzam stands with her husband Faisal Ahmed Even before the war, more than 13 million people in Yemen didn't have regular access to clean water, and in the past year that has risen to more than 19 million, nearly three-quarters of the population. Within three months, Udai was suffering from diarrhea. His father took him to local clinics but was told they couldn't treat him because they didn't have supplies or he couldn't afford what they did have. Finally, on March 20, he made it to the emergency section at Al-Sabeen Hospital. The tiny infant was suffering from severe malnutrition, diarrhea and a chest infection, said Saddam al-Azizi, head of the emergency unit. He was put on antibiotics and a feeding solution through the nose. It was at hospital that Associated Press saw Udai on March 22. His arms were constantly convulsing, his emaciated legs motionless, his face gaunt and pale. When he cried, he was too dehydrated to produce tears. At around five months old, he weighed 5.3 pounds. 'Unstable,' his chart read for every day he'd been there. Two days later, his parents took him home from the hospital. His father told the AP it was because the doctors told them it was hopeless, and he complained the staff was not giving him enough treatment. Smoke rises after an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition at a weapons depot in Sanaa. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemen's conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago Anurse takes care of six-month-old Afnan Ahmed who is suffering from chronic malnutrition, in the intensive care unit of Al-Sabeen hospital, in Sanaa Ten-month-old Amal Hamid, suffering from chronic malnutrition, is held by her mother at Al-Sabeen hospital Al-Azizi said he suspected it was because the family couldn't afford to pay for the medicines. The stay at the hospital is free, but because medicines are in such short supply, families must pay for them, he said. 'It was a mistake to take him out,' he said. The treatment needed time to work. Still, al-Azizi had given Udai only a 30 percent chance of survival. Al-Sabeen was already dealing with dozens of other malnourished children. In the first three months of the year, around 150 children have come to the hospital suffering from malnutrition, double the number in the same period last year, al-Azizi said. Around 15 died, not counting Udai. The number of people considered 'severely food insecure' - unable to put food on the table without outside aid - went from 4.3 million to more than 7 million, according to the World Food Program. Ten of the country's 22 provinces are classified as one step away from famine. Where before the war around 690,000 children under five suffered moderate malnutrition, now the number is 1.3 million. Even more alarming are the rates of severe acute malnutrition among children - the worst cases where the body starts to waste away - doubling from around 160,000 a year ago to 320,000 now, according to UNICEF estimates. This nine-month-old child, Ali Abdullah, also suffers from chronic malnutrition. Even before the war, more than 13 million people in Yemen didn't have regular access to clean water, and in the past year that has risen to more than 19 millio A nurse takes care of a malnourished boy at Al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa. Exact numbers for those who died from malnutrition and its complications are unknown, since the majority were likely unable to reach proper care Exact numbers for those who died from malnutrition and its complications are unknown, since the majority were likely unable to reach proper care. The Saudi-led coalition launched its campaign on March 26, 2015, aiming to halt the advance of Shiite rebels known of Houthis who had taken over the capital, Sanaa, and stormed south. The Houthi advance was halted. But they continue to hold Sanaa and the north. In the center of the country, they battle multiple Saudi-backed factions supporting the internationally recognized government that tenuously holds the southern city of Aden. The fighting and the heavy barrage of airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people, including more than 3,000 civilians, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. Coalition airstrikes appear to be 'responsible for twice as many casualties as all other forces put together,' Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. The coalition argues that the rebels often use civilians and civilian locations as shields for their fighters. Around 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes. Strikes have destroyed storehouses, roads, schools, farms, factories, power grids and water stations. The naval blockade, enforcing a U.N. arms embargo on the rebels, has disrupted the entry of food and supplies. The ripple effects from war have tipped a country that could already barely feed itself over the edge. The fighting and the heavy barrage of airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people, including more than 3,000 civilians, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. A man is pictured searching for survivors under the rubble of a house destroyed by Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa in July Volunteers carry the body of a child they uncovered from under the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi airstrikes near Sanaa Airport The food, fuel and other supplies that do make it into the country are difficult to distribute because trucks struggle to avoid battle zones or need to scrounge for gas. Some parents have managed to get to Al-Sabeen Hospital from remote parts of the country. One woman described walking for four days from her mountain village outside Sanaa, carrying her emaciated daughter, who at two years old weighed only 8.8 pounds. Mohammed Ahmed had to bring his son here from the city of Ibb because the hospital there had no supplies. He drove the 90 miles through rebel checkpoints while warplanes struck in the area. 'We arrived after a long and torturous trip,' he said. His 10-month-old son Marwan, after 15 days in the hospital, now weighs 7.7 pounds. Hospitals and clinics around the country have suffered shortages of medicines, meaning millions live in areas that have virtually no medical care. The Saudi-led coalition has allowed humanitarian flights bringing medical supplies as well food and water in to Sanaa as well as shipments into Hodeida port, the closest one to the capital. But getting the supplies around the country is difficult. Even pre-war transportation infrastructure was poor, and now trucks often can't get through battle zones. Drivers fear getting hit by airstrikes or have to scrounge to obtain expensive gas. Children play amid the rubble of a house destroyed by a Saudi-led airstrike. Hospitals and clinics around the country have suffered shortages of medicines, meaning millions live in areas that have virtually no medical care The Saudi-led coalition has allowed humanitarian flights bringing medical supplies as well food and water in to Sanaa as well as shipments into Hodeida port, the closest one to the capital. But getting the supplies around the country is difficult Hospitals are short of fuel to keep generators running, and have been hit by airstrikes or caught up in fighting. In the battlefield city of Taiz, the Yemeni-Swedish Hospital for Children changed hands several times between rebels and Saudi-backed fighters, damaging the facility. Parents had to rush their children being treated there back to their homes, and their fate is unknown. Udai hardly lasted three hours after being brought back home, his parents said. Ahmed, his father, said he blames Saudi Arabia's air campaign for his son's death. 'This is before the war,' he said, holding up his 2-year-old son Shehab to show the difference between a child born before the war and after. Hundreds of Islamic extremists protest in Pakistan's capital ISLAMABAD (AP) Hundreds of Islamic extremists resumed protests in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday over the execution of a man who killed a secular governor, in a show of defiance amid a government crackdown following a suicide attack two days earlier. The rally by Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group brought more than 10,000 protesters into the streets of Islamabad on Sunday, where they clashed with police. On Tuesday, local police official Mohammad Kashif said some 700 remained, bringing parts of the capital to a standstill. The protesters are demanding strict Shariah law after the hanging of police officer Mumtaz Qadri, who killed Gov. Salman Taseer in 2011 over his opposition to the country's far-ranging blasphemy laws. The protesters are also demanding the hanging of a Christian woman Taseer had defended against blasphemy allegations. A protestesr from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group chants slogans during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Hundreds of Islamic extremists who earlier violently protested in Islamabad over the hanging of a man who killed a secular governor continued their demonstrations in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) The government had vowed to crack down on extremism after a suicide bomber targeted Christians celebrating Easter in Lahore, killing more than 70 people. The attack was claimed by a breakaway Taliban faction that supports the Islamic State group. The army responded by launching raids in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital. Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa, the army spokesman, told a news conference in Islamabad that militant sleeper cells existed in various parts of the country and that operations were being carried out against militants, their financiers and abettors. The Tehreek group behind the protests in Islamabad does not carry out militant attacks, and is not a target of the raids. More than 300 suspects have been detained in the past 48 hours, a security official said. Another official confirmed nearly 300 arrests and said most of those detained were suspected members of outlawed extremist groups. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief journalists. Provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told a televised news conference that troops and police had conducted 160 operations against militants in Punjab in the past 24 hours, saying they would continue "until the last terrorist is eliminated." Sanaullah, who has faced allegations of being soft on pro-Taliban militants, said police in recent months detained 5,221 suspects but freed 5,005 because of a lack of evidence. He urged citizens to assist authorities in tracking down militants. The military has been waging an offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region along the Afghan border since 2014. The army claims to have killed hundreds of alleged terrorists, and overall violence has declined since then. But militants have still managed to carry out large attacks, including a Taliban massacre at an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014 that killed 150 people, mainly children. ___ Associated Press writer Zaheer Babar in Lahore, Pakistan contributed to this report. Protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group chant slogans during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Hundreds of Islamic extremists who earlier violently protested in Islamabad over the hanging of a man who killed a secular governor continued their demonstrations in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) Protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group chant slogans during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Hundreds of Islamic extremists who earlier violently protested in Islamabad over the hanging of a man who killed a secular governor continued their demonstrations in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) Protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group chant slogans during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Hundreds of Islamic extremists who earlier violently protested in Islamabad over the hanging of a man who killed a secular governor continued their demonstrations in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) Protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group chant slogans during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Hundreds of Islamic extremists who earlier violently protested in Islamabad over the hanging of a man who killed a secular governor continued their demonstrations in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) A Pakistani army and police officer stands guard close to protesters from Pakistan's Sunni Tehreek group during a sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Hundreds of Islamic extremists who earlier violently protested in Islamabad over the hanging of a man who killed a secular governor continued their demonstrations in Pakistan's capital on Tuesday, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) East LA teen finds escape from gang singing Mexican corridos LOS ANGELES (AP) At first, the teacher didn't believe the 14-year-old kid known for habitually missing school and making trouble in class when he said he wanted to become a professional singer. "You want to sing?" the teacher asked the boy skeptically. "Sing in front of him." That's when Stevenson Middle School's new music teacher, Steve Shin, walked through the door and stopped to listen to Cuauhtemoc Lara. What happened next stunned them both: Lara began singing Mexican ballads known as corridos. And he was good. In this March 10, 2016, photo, student Cuauhtemoc Lara sings from his bedroom in East Los Angeles. Cuauhtemoc discovered singing Mexican ballads known as corridos as an escape from the gangs and violence in his neighborhood. He is now enrolled in a singing class at Stevenson Middle School, which for years had no arts classes for most students. The Los Angeles Unified School District is trying to enlist Hollywood executives and music studios to "adopt" LA Unified schools and provide them with equipment, mentorships and training. (AP Photo/Christine Armario) For years, there were no music classes for students like Lara at Stevenson Middle School. The few arts courses available were only for students in the magnet program. Lara's Spanish teacher called his counselor and asked for him to be switched to Shin's class. The class wasn't much just Shin playing on a scratched-up piano as kids sang lyrics karaoke-style from an overhead projector. Almost immediately, though, Shin and Lara bonded. "I'm probably the only one who understands him," Shin said. The relationship between Shin and Lara shows the advantages but also the limitations of arts education as Los Angeles Unified School District and others move to increase arts classes after years of focus on reading and math. Shin took up Lara on his interest in singing, telling him he was talented and calling on him to sing in front of the class. "He has what it takes to make it," Shin said. Lara lives in a cramped two-bedroom apartment with eight people. At night in his East Los Angeles neighborhood, he said, he hears gunshots. By the age of 12, he was involved in gangs. Then one of his best friends was killed. Lara decided he wanted to get out of gang life. He started listening to corridos. The ballads on the radio talked about everything from undying love to murders and kidnappings. "I like mostly corridos that talk about life struggles," said Lara, who is tall for his age and has dark, solemn eyes that make him look older than his years. It's easy to understand why Lara relates, Shin said. "He has those stories," Shin said. "And then he has the skills to sing. So once he realizes and puts it together, his stories are going to break some hearts." But on a recent Tuesday afternoon, Shin started his class and Lara was nowhere to be seen. Lara said he was sick. Shin was skeptical. He said Lara often misses his class, either because he skips school or gets sent to the dean's office during an earlier class. Lara said Shin's class is a motivation to stay in school. "It's my favorite class," he said. Shin wonders if one school year can make up for a childhood of missed chances. He hopes it can. "I got his attention," Shin said. "I just got to keep him in school somehow." ___ Follow Christine Armario on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cearmario. 58 alleged members of doomsday cult expelled from Montenegro PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) Montenegro authorities have deported 58 foreigners, including 43 Russians, associated with a religious cult. Police did not specify the name of the religious group, but local media have reported that they are members of Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese doomsday cult that carried out a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway in 1995. The Montenegrin police say the group, which also included Japanese, Ukrainian and Uzbek citizens, were expelled Monday after it was found out that they had no temporary residence permits allowing them to stay in the small Balkan country. Judge: Janice Dickinson's lawsuit vs. Bill Cosby can proceed LOS ANGELES (AP) Janice Dickinson's defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby should move forward, a judge ruled Tuesday, saying a trial can determine the truthfulness of the model's claims that the comedian raped her in 1982. A jury can decide the credibility of Dickinson's allegations and whether a statement by Cosby's former lawyer branding her a liar was defamatory, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Debre Katz Weintraub said. The judge said in her ruling that she was not assessing the credibility of either Dickinson or Cosby. It also allows for the possibility that Dickinson could recoup punitive damages if she wins the case. Model Janice Dickinson appears outside Los Angeles Superior Court after a judge ruled her defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby will move forward Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Judge Debre Katz Weintraub said a trial can determine the truthfulness of the model's claims that the comedian raped her in 1982, and the jury can decide the credibility of Dickinson's allegations and whether a statement by Cosby's former lawyer branding her a liar was defamatory.(AP Photo/Nick Ut) Dickinson sued Cosby in May after he denied her claims that he drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe in 1982. She says she tried to include the story in a 2002 memoir, "No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel," but her publisher refused. Cosby's attorneys tried to get the suit dismissed, arguing Dickinson's story about her interactions with Cosby had changed over the years. His legal team will have several other opportunities to challenge the case before it goes to trial, whose date has not been set. Cosby lawyer Monique Pressley said in a statement that they are considering an appeal and believe Dickinson's lawsuit should be completely thrown out. Dickinson's suit says she felt victimized again after the comedian's former lawyer, Marty Singer, denied the allegations. Letters that Singer sent to reporters threatening to sue if they published Dickinson's claims are protected legal communications and cannot be used at trial, Weintraub also ruled. The judge said her review of the evidence so far shows that while Singer offered an opinion on Dickinson's credibility based on certain facts, there is no indication he investigated whether the rape actually occurred. "I will not go down," Dickinson told reporters after the ruling. "I want Bill Cosby in court," she said. "I want him to stand under oath." Her appearance in court came a day after the model announced she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo surgery and radiation treatment. Dickinson also was a cast member of VH1's "The Surreal Life" and UPN's "America's Next Top Model" and appeared on celebrity rehab. She said Tuesday that she is sober but that not speaking out about the incident with Cosby "did not work for the betterment of my soul. It drove me to the depths of misery through alcohol and drugs." Her attorney, Lisa Bloom, said the ruling was significant because of how vehemently Cosby has fought accusations of sexual misconduct. "Bill Cosby has fought to keep women out of court with regard to their rape allegations," Bloom said. "Janice and I, side by side, have been fighting for this day for a year." Dozens of women have accused Cosby, 78, of sexual abuse, but the statutes of limitations in most instances have passed. The comedian has been charged with sexually assaulting a former Temple University worker at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He is free on $1 million bail in the criminal case, which is on hold amid an appeal. ___ Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP . FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2016 file photo, actor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives for a court appearance in Norristown, Pa. A Los Angeles judge is scheduled to consider on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, a motion by Cosbys lawyers to dismiss model Janice Dickinsons defamation case against the comedian. The case centers on denials by Cosbys team of Dickinsons claims that the comedian drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe, Calif., in 1982. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File) Model Janice Dickinson leaves Los Angeles Superior Court after a judge ruled her defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby will move forward Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Judge Debre Katz Weintraub said a trial can determine the truthfulness of the model's claims that the comedian raped her in 1982, and the jury can decide the credibility of Dickinson's allegations and whether a statement by Cosby's former lawyer branding her a liar was defamatory.(AP Photo/Nick Ut) Israel parliament gives initial OK to suspending lawmakers JERUSALEM (AP) Israel's parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill allowing lawmakers to suspend a legislator by a three-quarters majority vote. Lawmakers drafted the bill after three Arab lawmakers visited the families of Palestinians who had attacked Israelis. In the last six months, Palestinians have killed 28 Israelis in stabbings, shooting and vehicular attacks. At least 188 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire, a majority of whom Israel says were attackers. Nissan Slomiansky of the Jewish Home party presented the bill Monday, saying: "There are borders to democracy." Legislators could suspend a colleague for "inciting to racism," ''supporting armed struggle, by an enemy state or terrorist organization, against Israel," or "negating the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state." Rubio working to play a role at GOP national convention WASHINGTON (AP) Marco Rubio is working to play a role at the Republican National Convention even as his rivals scramble to pick off convention delegates claimed by the Florida senator before he suspended his campaign. Rubio has sent letters to Republican officials in states where he has won delegates, charging he wants to keep his delegates, even though he's no longer an active candidate. Representatives from Rubio's network said the former candidate wants to retain his delegates in order to keep his options open in the coming months. Campaigns are preparing for the possibility of a contested national convention in July that could feature an intense fight for every available delegate. File-In this March 19, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Tucson, Ariz. Trump is planning Tuesday to make his first campaign visit to Wisconsin, where the upcoming Republican presidential primary could mark a turning point in the unpredictable GOP race. But rival Ted Cruz has gotten a jumpstart on the contest, racking up influential endorsements, campaigning in key regions and supported by bullish advertising campaign. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) The Rubio representatives spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about Rubio's intentions. The Florida senator suspended his campaign in mid-March, but not before accumulating 171 delegates, a trove that could help Republican front-runner Donald Trump secure the nomination or help stop him. Rubio, an aggressive Trump critic, could play a significant role at the national convention should he retain influence over a significant number of delegates. Officials from the Oklahoma and Alaska GOP say they have received letters from Rubio's campaign. His campaign staff is no longer being paid, but many remain loyal and willing to help Rubio in the coming months. Alaska had already divvied up Rubio's five delegates to Trump and Ted Cruz. However, since the actual people have not been selected yet, the state party said the delegates will go back to Rubio. In Oklahoma, state party Chairwoman Pam Pollard said she received a letter from Rubio saying he has not released his 12 delegates from that state. Selecting the people who will be delegates at the national convention is a tedious process governed by rules that vary from state to state. The system favors political insiders who understand the arcane rules. In Minnesota, for example, Rubio won the state but his 17 delegates will go to the convention as free agents, free to support the candidate of their choice, said Chris Fields, deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP. Fields said he expects Rubio's rivals to have supporters at the party's state convention in May to influence who gets chosen as a Rubio delegate. "They should if they want to win, right?" Fields said. The three remaining Republican candidates are ramping up efforts to win over Rubio's delegates, in addition to claiming dozens more unbound delegates, in the contentious battle for the 1,237 delegate majority required to win the GOP presidential nomination. Trump, with 736 delegates, is the only candidate with a realistic path to clinching the nomination by the end of the primaries on June 7. But it's a narrow path. And his Republican rivals are fighting to deny him the majority and force a contested convention. Acknowledging a late start in the nuts-and-bolts business of political wrangling, Trump's campaign will open a Washington, D.C. office in the coming days to run its delegate operation and congressional relations team, said campaign senior adviser Barry Bennett. In addition to the new space, Trump has hired a veteran political operative to serve as the campaign's convention manager. Paul Manafort, a seasoned Washington hand, will oversee the campaign's "entire convention presence" including a potential contested convention, said Bennett. "We started ramping up a couple of weeks ago, but we're rolling now," Bennett said of Trump's delegate outreach efforts. Tuesday's moves mark a major escalation in Trump's willingness to play by party rules and build alliances in a political system he has so far shunned. A dispute in Louisiana highlights the potential impact of even a handful of Rubio delegates and Trump's need to court them. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was campaigning in Wisconsin ahead of the April 5 primary, where a loss for Trump could narrow his path to the nomination. However, Cruz campaign officials acknowledged they have been charting out a convention strategy for weeks, but declined to share details. "We are prepared to take it to a convention if it comes to that," Cruz's national press secretary Catherine Frazier said. "There is a system in place to secure delegates and we have an aggressive well organized effort to do so." Rubio won five delegates in Louisiana's March 5 primary, who became free agents after he suspended his campaign. At Louisiana's subsequent GOP convention, Cruz's campaign secured all of Rubio's delegates, as well as five others who were uncommitted. As a result, Cruz could end up with more delegates from Louisiana, even though Trump narrowly won the state's popular vote. Trump adviser Ed Brookover promised Trump would have "an active presence" at every one of the upcoming lower-profile conventions and caucuses where delegates are selected. That includes this weekend's state convention in North Dakota, where 25 delegates will be selected. All of them in addition to the state's three national committee members will be free to support the candidate of their choosing at the GOP's national convention. Ben Carson will appear in North Dakota on Trump's behalf, Brookover said, as part of outreach efforts that include hospitality suites for delegates, campaign surrogates, parliamentarians and support staff for all upcoming contests. Representatives from Rubio's political operation declined to comment publicly on his delegate outreach. ----- Thomas Beaumont contributed from Des Moines, Iowa. Tense commuters, politicians: No more 'normal' in Brussels BRUSSELS (AP) Belgium's justice minister pleaded Tuesday for critics of Belgium's intelligence failures to focus on the hunt for those behind last week's Brussels attacks and November's massacre in Paris. Investigators say they are still looking for at least one suspect in the attacks seven days ago, when suicide bombers killed 32 people at Brussels' airport and in a subway station near the European Union headquarters. Three suicide bombers also blew themselves up. The Health Ministry and victims identification officials said 90 people remain in hospital, a third of them suffering from severe burns. In a joint press conference they said the 32 dead include 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners, while 44 of the wounded are foreigners from 20 nations. Police patrol through the Grand Place, as tourists wander in Brussels, Monday, March, 28, 2016. The Belgian health minister says four of those wounded in the suicide bombings last week have died in the hospital, bringing the number of victims of the bombings to 35.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Belgium has faced rising international criticism over its evident inability to identify and monitor Islamic State activists living in the Belgian capital who have been deemed responsible both for the March 22 bombings in Brussels and the Nov. 13 attacks on Paris nightspots that left 130 dead. Several of those who killed themselves during the attacks or were subsequently arrested were Belgian nationals of North African background. "Now is not the time to fight one another. As far as I know, the enemy is in Syria," Justice Minister Koen Geens said, referring to the primary power base of the Islamic State extremist group that claimed responsibility for both attacks. But authorities in Belgium and the neighboring Netherlands faced fresh questions Tuesday about how much they knew in advance of the March 22 bombings. Turkey already has revealed it deported one of the suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, to the Netherlands in mid-2015 after catching him near the Syrian border and identifying him to Dutch authorities as a suspected IS militant. Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur said Tuesday that his country's security services received a note from the FBI on March 16 detailing what he called the "radical and terrorist background" of the El Bakraoui brothers. One, Ibrahim, blew himself up alongside an accomplice at the airport, while the other brother, Khalid, detonated a bomb inside a train leaving the Maelbeek subway station. The timing of the note and why it was sent to the Dutch remained unclear. Belgian authorities said Tuesday they were not informed of its existence and had no idea where the El Bakroaui brothers were before the Brussels bombings. Belgium has voiced determination to toughen its security powers. On Tuesday, a parliamentary committee approved anti-terror proposals to give police round-the-clock powers for house searches, to improve the Belgian data base on extremists, and to increase phone-tapping powers. The full parliament has yet to consider these measures. Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur, who faces criticism for his own actions before and after the suicide bombings, said Belgian authorities must learn painful lessons and improve their ability to combat Islamic militancy. "Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Otherwise these attacks would not have happened," Mayeur said. Brussels, he suggested, would never feel the same. "There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore," he said during a visit to Paris. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins "a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction." Brussels' airport has yet to reopen since the attacks but has been testing a temporary check-in system for use in coming days. The subway system is mostly running again, though under heavy guard. The Maelbeek station, hit by a suicide bomber in the morning rush hour, remains closed. Passengers said they presumed the March 22 attacks would not be the last on Brussels. "I think this is not over," said Franz Alderweireldt, an 82-year-old taking a train at a subway station next to Maelbeek. "When terrorists plan an attack, they will do it no matter what," Alderweireldt said, "even if there are dozens or hundreds of soldiers or police on the street." ___ Associated Press reporter Lori Hinnant in Brussels contributed to this story. Commuters walk across a pedestrian crossing near Brussels Central Station as they return to work after the easter holidays in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur, second right, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, center, observe a minute of silence at the Paris city hall, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Mayeur is meeting Parisian first responders and holding a minute of silence for victims of last week's attack on Brussels' airport and subway system, and for victims of a weekend attack in Lahore, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon) Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur delivers a speech at the Paris city hall, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Mayeur is meeting Parisian first responders and holding a minute of silence for victims of last week's attack on Brussels' airport and subway system, and for victims of a weekend attack in Lahore, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon) Commuters take the metro as they return to work after the easter holidays in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Commuters wait at a bus stop near Brussels Central Station as they return to work after the easter holidays in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) MedStar paralyzed as hackers take aim at another US hospital WASHINGTON (AP) Modern medicine in the Washington area reverted to 1960s-era paper systems when one of the largest hospital chains was crippled by a virus that shuttered its computers for patients and medical staff. The FBI said it was investigating the paralyzing attack on MedStar Health Inc., which forced records systems offline, prevented patients from booking appointments, and left staff unable to check email messages or even look up phone numbers. The incident was the latest against U.S. medical providers, coming weeks after a California hospital paid ransom to free its infected systems using the bitcoin currency. A law enforcement official, who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the FBI was assessing whether a similar situation occurred at MedStar. A sign designates an entrance to the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2016. Hackers crippled computer systems at a major hospital chain, MedStar Health Inc., on Monday, forcing records systems offline for thousands of patients and doctors. The FBI said it was investigating whether the unknown hackers demanded a ransom to restore systems. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) "We can't do anything at all. There's only one system we use, and now it's just paper," said one MedStar employee who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to speak with reporters. There were few signs of the attack's effects easing late Monday, with one employee at Georgetown University Hospital saying systems were still down, and saying some managers had to stay late and come in early because of the disruptions. Company spokeswoman Ann Nickels said she couldn't say whether it was a ransomware attack. She said patient care was not affected, and hospitals were using a paper backup system. But when asked whether hackers demanded payment, Nickles said, "I don't have an answer to that," and referred to the company's statement. MedStar operates 10 hospitals in Maryland and Washington, including the Georgetown hospital. It employs 30,000 staff and has 6,000 affiliated physicians. Dr. Richard Alcorta, the medical director for Maryland's emergency medical services network, said he suspects it was a ransomware attack based on multiple ransomware attempts on individual hospitals in the state. Alcorta said he was unaware of any ransoms paid by Maryland hospitals or health care systems. "People view this, I think, as a form of terrorism and are attempting to extort money by attempting to infect them with this type of virus," he said. Alcorta said his agency first learned of MedStar's problems about 10:30 a.m., when the company's Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore called in a request to divert emergency medical services traffic from that facility. He said that was followed by a similar request from Union Memorial, another MedStar hospital in Baltimore. The diversions were lifted as the hospitals' backup systems started operating, he said. Some staff said they were made aware of the virus earlier, being ordered to shut off their computers entirely by late morning. One Twitter user posted a picture Monday he said showed blacked-out computer screens inside the emergency room of Washington Hospital Center, a trauma center in Northwest Washington. Monday's hacking at MedStar comes one month after a Los Angeles hospital paid hackers $17,000 to regain control of its computer system, which hackers had seized with ransomware using an infected email attachment. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, which is owned by CHA Medical Center of South Korea, paid 40 bitcoins or about $420 per coin of the digital currency to restore normal operations and disclosed the attack publicly. That hack was first noticed Feb. 5, and operations didn't fully recover until 10 days later. Hospitals are considered critical infrastructure, but unless patient data is affected, there is no requirement to disclose such hackings even if operations are disrupted. Computer security of the hospital industry is generally regarded as poor, and the federal Health and Human Services Department regularly publishes a list of health care providers that have been hacked with patient information stolen. The agency said Monday it was aware of the MedStar incident. ___ Dishneau reported from Hagerstown, Maryland. ___ Follow Jack Gillum on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jackgillum A woman walks out of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2016. Hackers crippled computer systems at a major hospital chain, MedStar Health Inc., on Monday, forcing records systems offline for thousands of patients and doctors. The FBI said it was investigating whether the unknown hackers demanded a ransom to restore systems. (AP Photo/Molly Riley) The Latest: 90 remain hospitalized week after Brussels bombs PARIS (AP) The Latest on last week's attacks on the Brussels airport and subway (all times local): 7 p.m. Belgian authorities say 90 people remain in hospital, 49 of them in intensive care, one week after suicide bombers killed 32 people at Brussels' airport and a subway station. Commuters walk past soldiers on duty at Brussels Central Station as they return to work after the easter holidays in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Belgium's victims identification team and Health Ministry say in a joint press conference Tuesday night that the 32 dead include 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners. They say 30 of the most seriously wounded people are being treated for burns, while 44 foreigners from 20 nations are among the injured. Ine Van Wymersch, a spokeswoman for the Belgian prosecutor's office, says investigators believe 32 will be the final death total unless any of those hospitalized perish from their injuries. Three suicide bombers also killed themselves in the attack. ___ 2:50 p.m. French President Francois Hollande says private security firms have hired an additional 3,000 people to ensure protection of the European Championship soccer tournament. After the Brussels attacks, French authorities decided to go ahead with Euro 2016 from June 10-July 10 as planned, including the fan zones where spectators gather to watch games on large screens. Hollande said 2.5 million people are expected to attend the matches in 10 French cities, and about 5 million are expected to visit the open-air areas. "We must show that sport, like culture, like our lifestyle, will not yield to this pressure and this threat," Hollande said in a speech to sports professionals in Paris. ___ 1:30 p.m. An official at Paris prosecutor office says a 34-year-old Frenchman arrested last week on suspicion of planning an attack is being kept in custody for an additional 24 hours. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to discuss an ongoing investigation. Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that Kriket was arrested in a Paris suburb in the "advanced stages" of a plot to attack the country. Cazeneuve had said there was no evidence "at this stage" to link Kriket to last year's Paris attacks or last week's attacks in Brussels. A suspect can be kept in custody up to six days in total under French anti-terrorism laws. Kriket could be charged or released on Wednesday. By Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris ___ 11:40 a.m. A week after the attacks on Brussels airport and a subway station, underground rail services are mostly running under heavy guard. The metro trains through the Belgian capital are less frequent and only stop at about half the stations. The Maelbeek station hit by a suicide bomber in the morning rush hour remains closed. One stop away, Franz Alderweireldt, 82, told AP Tuesday that he takes the subway every day but said that "I think this is not over." He said that "when terrorists plan an attack, they will do it no matter what, even if there are dozens or hundreds of soldiers or police on the street." Debaprasad Kar, an insurance company employee, said he has been working from home for the past week. He said: "I am still a bit jittery, I am afraid to enter the metro station." ___ 10:10 a.m. Brussels' mayor is acknowledging shortcomings by authorities ahead of last week's attacks but says he hopes the network behind them is being broken at last. Yvan Mayeur, who is facing criticism in the Belgian media for his own actions before and after the Brussels suicide bombings, said in Paris on Tuesday, "There are certainly some analyses to be done on the investigation. Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Otherwise these attacks would not have happened." Asked whether the Islamic extremist network behind the attacks in Brussels and Paris had been badly damaged, he said, "We do believe that and we hope so." Mayeur met Tuesday with the Paris mayor to discuss the French capital's responses to the November attacks on a Paris stadium, cafes and a rock concert. ___ 9:35 a.m. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks. Mayeur is meeting Parisian first responders and holding a minute of silence for victims of last week's attack on Brussels' airport and subway system, and for victims of a weekend attack in Lahore, Pakistan. Asked whether life in Brussels was returning to normal, Mayeur said: "There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore. That's a concept we have to revisit." Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins "a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction." Commuters take the metro as they return to work after the easter holidays in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Commuters walk across a pedestrian crossing near Brussels Central Station as they return to work after the easter holidays in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. The mayor of Brussels, holding special meetings in Paris after deadly attacks on his city, says the European Union's capital can never go back to "normal" again. Yvan Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in the French capital's neo-Renaissance city hall Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Three Brussels airport workers attend an ecumenical service for the victims of the Brussels bomb attacks at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Monday, March, 28, 2016. The Belgian Health Minister Minister Maggie De Block says four of those wounded in the suicide bombings last week have died in the hospital, bringing the number of victims of the bombings to 35. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Pigeons take flight as tourists feed them in the Grand Place in Brussels, Monday, March, 28, 2016. The Belgian health minister says four of those wounded in the suicide bombings last week have died in the hospital.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Belgian police and soldiers secure the area outside Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Tuesday, Airport authorities inspected the construction and fire safety of the temporary constructions and airport staff tested the temporary arrangements and infrastructure for the check-in procedure. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Women walk past an ornate dress shop in the suburb of Molenbeek, in Brussels, Tuesday, March, 29, 2016. One week after the airport and subway attacks in Brussels, Belgium's justice minister on Tuesday pleaded for an end to the political backstabbing about what went wrong in the investigation and handling of violent extremism, as authorities hunted for fresh clues about the network behind the killings and last year's Paris bloodshed. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Belgian soldiers secure the area outside Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Tuesday, Airport authorities inspected the construction and fire safety of the temporary constructions and airport staff tested the temporary arrangements and infrastructure for the check-in procedure. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Belgian police men and soldiers secure the area outside Zaventem Airport in Brussels, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Tuesday, airport authorities inspected the construction and fire safety of the temporary constructions and airport staff tested the temporary arrangements and infrastructure for the check-in procedure. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Asia: A look at where journalists face renewed pressure In many countries across Asia, governments are growing less tolerant of critical reporting, even arresting journalists and closing media outlets in some cases. In China, authorities recently removed an online story from a financial magazine about censorship a taboo topic while Thailand's military junta has detained journalists for what it calls "attitude adjustment" and shut down TV and radio stations. A look at how and where journalists are coming under renewed pressure: ___ FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2016 file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people applaud as Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, talks with editors in the general newsroom of the People's Daily in Beijing. The ruling Communist Party has long exercised heavy-handed direction over news media, but recent events speak to a further tightening of ideological controls. President and party leader Xi Jinping set the tone with visits in February to the official Xinhua News Agency, the party-controlled Peoples Daily newspaper and state broadcaster CCTV during which he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the medias highest priority. Negative responses to Xis visit were censored on Chinas once-vibrant social media. One outspoken critic, real estate magnate Ren Zhiqiang, had his accounts suspended. (Lan Hongguang/Xinhua via AP, File) NO SALES CHINA: SETTING THE TONE The ruling Communist Party has long exercised heavy-handed direction over news media, but recent events speak to a further tightening of ideological controls. President and party leader Xi Jinping set the tone with visits in February to the official Xinhua News Agency, the party-controlled People's Daily newspaper and state broadcaster CCTV. At each place, he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the media's highest priority. Negative responses to Xi's visit were censored on China's once-vibrant social media. One outspoken critic, real estate magnate Ren Zhiqiang, had his accounts suspended. When Weibo, China's hugely popular version of Twitter which along with Facebook is blocked in China first came out, people could post quite freely, but now controversial comments are quickly removed. The pinch is being felt even at more market-driven newspapers, magazines and websites that, while still technically controlled by the state, had enjoyed more latitude in news reporting. In an Orwellian example, an article posted online by popular business and finance magazine Caixin was removed because it broached the taboo topic of censorship. Most recently, more than a dozen editors and technicians have gone missing and are believed to be under investigation after an anonymous letter calling for Xi's resignation was posted on a government-backed news portal. Dissident writers have been detained or their families in China harassed for criticizing the secret investigation. One writer said Monday that police were holding three of his siblings in retaliation for an article he wrote condemning the detention of a fellow writer. Christopher Bodeen and Didi Tang in Beijing ___ THAILAND: ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT A junta that took power in a 2014 coup has detained journalists for what it calls "attitude adjustment," shut TV and radio stations for perceived critical coverage of the government, banned press events and most recently tightened visa requirements for foreign reporters. Under new measures announced last month, only journalists working for a registered news agency will be able to obtain or renew journalists' visas, a move that press freedom groups say would bar some freelancers from working in the country. Media freedom groups say the junta has used the pretext of maintaining peace and order, after years of political upheaval, to employ a massive campaign of censorship and intimidation in what was once considered a bastion of free press in Southeast Asia. Reporters Without Borders has called the crackdown "a blitzkrieg against freely reported news and information." Thai journalists have faced a barrage of pressures over the past two years. One prominent editorial cartoonist from the Thai Rath newspaper was detained twice and warned he could be prosecuted if he continued to satirize the junta chief in his drawings. A senior writer for The Nation newspaper who was openly critical of the coup was detained twice and ultimately fired. A few foreign reporters have had their visa applications denied since the junta took power, according to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, which itself has had several events banned by the junta. Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok ___ MALAYSIA: THE $700 MILLION SCANDAL The government is cracking down on media as a financial scandal engulfs Prime Minister Najib Razak. Two Australian TV journalists were briefly arrested this month after they tried to question Najib about the scandal during his visit to eastern Sarawak state. The duo were released and deported after the Australian government intervened. At issue is more than $700 million deposited into Najib's bank accounts in early 2013. Critics accuse him of corruption and say the money came from indebted state investment fund 1MDB, which he founded in 2009. The attorney-general has cleared him of wrongdoing, saying most of the money was a donation from Saudi's royal family. Malaysia's government has also blocked some new websites, including popular news portal Malaysian Insider, over critical reports of the government. The portal, owned by the Edge Media Group, shut down recently, citing a loss of income caused by the government's ban. Last year, the government also suspended two newspapers under the Edge group over its coverage alleging corruption at 1MDB. The Edge challenged the government's suspension in court and succeeded in getting the ban lifted. Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur ___ INDIA: HINDU HARDLINERS Intimidation of journalists is nothing new in India, but it has taken on a new element under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government. India, the world's largest democracy, has a relatively free press, but the current BJP government has been criticized for not trying to stop fringe rightwing elements that threaten journalists and activists in the name of patriotism. The host of a late February newscast on whether India had become intolerant of dissent became a target of intimidation herself after one of her guests referred to a pamphlet that called the Hindu goddess Durga a sex worker. Sindhu Sooryakumar was bombarded with more than 2,500 threatening calls accusing her of disparaging the deity. Six members of a militant group linked with the BJP have been arrested. During a court hearing for a university student charged with sedition for allegedly making anti-India statements, lawyers beat reporters and damaged cameras and recording equipment while demanding they not cover public protests against the student's arrest. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley condemned the violence, saying "it was a terrible exception." Sujata Madhok, secretary-general of the Delhi Union of Journalists, accused the BJP of targeting Muslim and Christian religious minorities and the underprivileged Dalits. "The BJP would like people to believe it's the handiwork of the party's fringe elements, but the fringe elements appear to be occupying the center-stage." The previous Congress Party government was accused of paying lip service to minorities, but it kept Hindu hardliners in check. That's not necessarily the case now. Ashok Sharma in New Delhi ___ JAPAN: TIGHTENING THE SCREWS? A public warning by the communications minister in February that broadcasters could have their licenses revoked if coverage isn't politically fair is seen by many as the latest attempt to pressure journalists to toe the government line. The government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has strengthened its strategy to get official views prominently reflected in both domestic and foreign media on defense, World War II history and other divisive issues. Officials complain to journalists about coverage they consider biased, while Abe gives exclusive interviews to selected media, often those sharing his views. Media watchers say Japanese media traditionally practices self-restraint to avoid trouble with officials in a cozy "press club" environment, weakening their commitment to serve as watchdog and resist pressure or favors. Heads of major media companies regularly dine with Abe. However, the communications minister's statements that TV licenses could be revoked have triggered outrage from some prominent journalists, who say they violate freedom of the press and intimidate the media. The recent resignations of three outspoken newscasters have fueled speculation of government pressure, although the three say they were not pressed to resign. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo FILE - In this May 22, 2014 file photo, Thai and foreign journalists watch and listen to the announcement of the Thai Armed Forces chiefs on the coup through television at the press center at the Army Club in Bangkok, Thailand. A military junta that took power in a 2014 coup has detained journalists for what it calls "attitude adjustment," shut TV and radio stations, banned press events and most recently tightened visa requirements for foreign reporters. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File) FILE - In this March 15, 2016 file photo, Australian Broadcasting Corp. television reporter Linton Besser, right, and camera operator Louie Eroglu, center, prepare to leave at the Kuching International Airport in Sarawak, Malaysia. The government is cracking down on media as a financial scandal engulfs Prime Minister Najib Razak. Two Australian TV journalists were briefly arrested in March after they tried to question Najib about the scandal during his visit to eastern Sarawak state. The duo were released and deported after the Australian government intervened. (AP Photo/File) FILE - In this March 1, 2016 file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, third right, talks with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during a meeting of ruling National Democratic Alliance lawmakers in New Delhi, India. Intimidation of journalists is nothing new in India, but it has taken on an added element under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government. India, the worlds largest democracy, enjoys a somewhat free press, but the current BJP government has been criticized for not trying to stop fringe rightwing elements that threaten journalists and activists in the name of patriotism. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File) 10 Things to Know for Wednesday - 30 March 2016 Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday: 1. TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER ACCUSED OF BATTERY The charge against Corey Lewandowski stems from a videotaped altercation with a reporter earlier this month. Egyptian captain Amr El Gammal, the pilot of the hijacked domestic EgyptAir flight, is hugged by his relatives upon the flight arrival at Cairo International airport, Egypt, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. An Egyptian man wearing a fake explosives belt who hijacked a domestic EgyptAir flight and forced it to land in Larnaca Cyprus on Tuesday has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all passengers and crew unharmed. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) 2. EGYPT HIJACKER DESCRIBED AS 'PSYCHOLOGICALLY UNSTABLE' The man's explosives turn out to be fake and he surrenders with all passengers released unharmed after forcing a domestic EgyptAir flight to land in Cyprus. 3. WHAT'S POSSIBLE WIDER IMPACT OF IPHONE CASE The FBI's success in breaking into the cell phone of one of the San Bernardino killers could help investigators unlock Apple phones in scores of other criminal cases. 4. ABSENT SCALIA, SUPREME COURT SPLITS 4-4 U.S. labor unions score a major victory with the tie vote in a high-profile case they had once seemed all but certain to lose. 5. HOW ASSAD AIMS TO CAPITALIZE ON RECAPTURE OF PALMYRA With the military victory, the Syrian leader hopes to convince the West that his army is a credible partner. 6. NORTH CAROLINA'S TRANSGENDER LAW GETTING PUSHBACK The state's attorney general announces that his office won't defend the measure, calling it a "national embarrassment." 7. WHERE OBAMA BELIEVES OPIOID DEATHS RANK AMONG AMERICA'S PROBLEMS The epidemic of opioid overdoses needs to be moved to the top of the government's radar screen along with terrorism and the economy, he argues. 8. NUMBER OF FOREIGN CHILDREN ADOPTED BY US PARENTS DROPS 12 PERCENT One reason: There were no adoptions last year from Russia, which once accounted for hundreds of U.S. adoptions each year but has since imposed a ban. 9. WHY RETIREMENT ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE Today, the journey toward complete withdrawal from the labor force can last many years. Economists refer to the transition period as "bridge employment." 10. PATTY DUKE DIES AT 69 The actress as a teen won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," then maintained a long career while battling personal demons. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks at a news conference in his state offices in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 29, 2106. Cooper announced Tuesday that his office wont defend the state's new law preventing local governments from prohibiting discrimination, calling it a "national embarrassment" that will encourage businesses to take jobs and millions of dollars out of the state. (Harry Lynch/The News & Observer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Syria's Assad tries to polish image with Palmyra's recapture BEIRUT (AP) The recapture of Palmyra in central Syria from Islamic State militants puts government forces at the heart of the fight against the jihadist group and not just geographically speaking. For President Bashar Assad, recapturing the historic town represents a strategic political coup through which he hopes to convince the West that the Syrian army is a credible partner in combatting terrorism as it ramps up the fight against Islamic State. It is an awkward argument that the U.S. has repeatedly rebuffed. Officials in Washington are quick to point out that it was Assad's brutal crackdown on his own people that created the kind of vacuum that allowed extremists like IS to flourish in the first place. This photo released on Sunday March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a general view of Palmyra, central Syria. Palmyra is an archaeological gem that Syrian troops took back from Islamic State fighters in central Syria. The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic Syrian town of Palmyra was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) An alliance between the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS similar to the assistance and training provided to the Iraqi military on the other front in the war seems out of the question. But with the international focus now on fighting the Islamic State group and a partial cease-fire in place to facilitate that there appears to be tacit U.S. approval for at least this part of Assad's offensive in Syria to continue. If that is seen to develop, it could help the authoritarian ruler survive a ruinous 5-year-old conflict that has seen half the country's population displaced. The desert town of Palmyra, with its 2,000-year-old ruins, is an archaeological gem and a cherished landmark known endearingly to Syrians as the "Bride of the Desert." It is also a strategic crossroads linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with the country's east and the border with Iraq. "It's a fantastic public relations coup," said Thomas Pierret, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, describing Palmyra's recapture. The Syrian government recognizes the Western "obsession" with the town's ancient ruins, and "they're exploiting it and it works very well," he said. Government forces recaptured Palmyra on Sunday, scoring an important victory over Islamic State fighters who had overseen a 10-month reign of terror in the town. It dealt the extremist group its first major defeat at the hands of government forces in years. During their stay, the extremists destroyed some of Palmyra's best-known monuments, including two large temples dating back more than 1,800 years and a Roman triumphal arch. The militants also used the ancient Roman amphitheater for public killings, including a video they released showing 25 boys with pistols shooting captured Syrian soldiers, with the colonnades in the background. The government troops, joined by Iranian-backed militiamen, were supported by massive Russian airpower throughout their three-week offensive. When they swept victoriously into Palmyra, they emphasized the care taken by the army not to harm the archaeological sites. Syrian officials said Palmyra would become a launching pad for operations against IS strongholds in Raqqa to the north and Deir el-Zour farther east efforts that are expected to be much more difficult. On Tuesday, Syrian troops battled IS militants around the nearby town of Qaryatain, trying to extend their gains. Assad said the victory was "new evidence of the effectiveness of the strategy followed by the Syrian army and its allies in the war against terrorism." Syria's U.N. ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, offered in an interview with the Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen to work with the U.S., and said it was time for powers including Washington to join Moscow in working with Damascus. Unlike in Iraq, the U.S. has long suffered from the lack of reliable or credible partner in Syria. Apart from the Kurds, the Obama administration's attempts to train and partner with Syrian rebels have all ended in failure. U.S. officials recall that Assad has largely ignored IS gains in Syria in recent years, focusing instead on moderate Syrian rebels he deems a bigger threat. Critics point out that Assad's forces all but handed Palmyra over to the militants in May, as officers hurriedly fled the town in the face of IS advances. "While there can be no doubting that ISIS' loss of Palmyra represents a substantial strategic blow to their operations in Syria, this is the Assad regime's first major victory against the group-after its presence on its territory for three years," wrote Charles Lister, a resident fellow with the Middle East Institute, in an article published by the think tank. Still, the recapture won Assad rare praise from international officials, including the UNESCO chief who welcomed the "liberation" of Palmyra and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said he was "encouraged" that Syrian government forces were now in control. In the last year, the United States has softened demands for Assad's to quickly leave power. But the U.S. doesn't believe that Syria's civil war can truly end with Assad still running the country and has been pushing Russia and Iran to support a transition process with a timeline for Assad's departure. Assad's latest Russian-backed offensive hasn't changed that thinking. On Monday, State Department spokesman John Kirby described the reconquering of Palmyra as a "good thing." He quickly balanced that assessment by adding that "the best hope for the Syrian people is not an expansion of Bashar Assad's ability to tyrannize the Syrian people. We all know that over the long term, the Syrian army under his command cannot bring peace to Syria." Kirby declined to congratulate Assad's government for the military success, and said he didn't think it would prove able to retake other parts of Syria. Assad "is responsible for the civil war that has, in fact, helped grow a group like Daesh," he said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. U.S. cooperation with the Syrian army is unrealistic in the current context of the Syrian civil war. But Syrian observers say there appears to be a U.S.-Russian understanding that the combined forces of Syrian troops backed by Russia and Syria's Kurds backed by the U.S. is emerging as the best and most realistic fighting force against IS in the next weeks and months. The victory in Palmyra also puts Assad in a more comfortable position ahead of negotiations that are scheduled to resume in Geneva in mid-April, making it less likely he will accept to engage in meaningful talks on a political transition. "Now that Assad is this hero, savior of the heritage of humanity, how could you impose upon him a transition that sidelines him eventually?" Pierret said sarcastically. Lister said having recaptured Palmyra in a widely reported military operation conducted with Russian support, "there is now no reason at all for Bashar Assad to even get close to considering a political transition." ___ Follow Zeina Karam at http://twitter.com/zkaram This photo released on Sunday March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a general view of Palmyra citadel, central Syria. Palmyra is an archaeological gem that Syrian troops took back from Islamic State fighters in central Syria. The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic Syrian town of Palmyra was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) This photo released on Sunday March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian government soldiers patrol a street in the ancient city of Palmyra, central Syria. The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic town was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) This photo released on Sunday March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows destroyed statues at the damaged Palmyra Museum, in Palmyra city, central Syria. The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic town was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) This photo released on Sunday March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a burned banner of the Islamic State group, in the ancient city of Palmyra, central Syria. The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic town was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) Morgan hopes knowing New Delhi pitch will be an advantage NEW DELHI (AP) Captain Eoin Morgan is hoping that England's experience of twice winning in New Delhi will give it an advantage against New Zealand in the first semifinal of the World Twenty20 on Wednesday. England, which defeated Sri Lanka by 10 runs and Afghanistan by 15 runs here, takes on a team that has won all its four league games at different venues and plays in the capital for the first time. "We've become quite settled in Delhi," Morgan said. "We've got fantastic support, fantastic following and have grown used to the pitch a lot more than the first game we were here. It's probably a little bit drier and completely different circumstances to the one at Wankhede (in Mumbai)." England's cricket team captain Eoin Morgan addresses a press conference a day ahead of the ICC Twenty20 2016 Cricket World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand, at the Feroz Shah Kotla cricket stadium in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal) England's first win was with a 230-run chase against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium before the two close victories in New Delhi, which Morgan feels highlighted the depth in the team as contributions came from different quarters. "I think it shows the amount of character that we have within the group. I think we haven't had to repeat the same thing twice, so it shows different sides to every person's personality. I think that shows the group as a whole can be very powerful if you play together," Morgan said. Joe Root's 44-ball 83 boosted 2010 champion England to a two-wicket win over South Africa, Moeen Ali's 41 not out rescued England from 57-6 to post 142-7 against Afghanistan, while Jos Buttler (66 not out) and Chris Jordan (4-28) starred against defending champion Sri Lanka. Morgan feels four seamers are working well and he is not bothered by the fact the Kiwis are considered favorites after four straight wins. "We've come into this tournament with an open mindedness about the conditions that we come up against. And I think that will be no different tomorrow. We are playing on a fresh wicket which has a really good covering of grass," he said. New Zealand started with a 47-run victory on a turner at Nagpur against India, which was considered the favorite coming into the tournament and the team's adaptability gives captain Kane Williamson a lot of confidence. If left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner (4-11) led a three-man spin attack against India and Mitchell McNeghan's left-arm pace bowling got 3-17 versus Australia, other bowlers too have done well, giving Williamson enough choices. "England have been fortunate to play here a couple of times but anything can happen in T20 cricket," Williamson said. "We have gone with 'horses for courses' in the tournament.....we will look closely at the conditions before deciding on the composition of our side." After the impressive win over India, New Zealand also defeated Australia by eight runs at Dharamsala, Pakistan by 22 runs at Mohali and Bangladesh by 75 runs at Kolkata to remain the only unbeaten side in the tournament. The winner of Wednesday's game will play the winner of the second semifinal Thursday between West Indies and India at Mumbai. The final will be played at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Sunday. Chinese leader inks deals with Czechs amid protests, honors PRAGUE (AP) China's president signed a strategic partnership with the Czech Republic during a visit Tuesday that was marked by official honors and public protests in a country that was once a critic of China's human rights record. Xi Jinping, who was greeted with a rare 21 salvos of artillery at the Prague Castle, the seat of the presidency, signed the document Tuesday together with his host, President Milos Zeman. The partnership "sets a political direction for the development of our relations in the future," he said through a translator. Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman, right, and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, left, shake hands after signing a bilateral treaty of strategic partnership at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Xi's visit his only stopover in Europe before flying to the U.S. is a result of a more business-oriented Czech approach to China than the one that prevailed under the late President Vaclav Havel, a prominent proponent of human rights. Zeman was the only European Union leader to attend China's celebrations of the end of World War II last year and said he hoped his country becomes "an entry gate" for China to the European Union. He said business deals to be signed during Xi's visit could bring some 95 billion koruna ($3.9 billion) of Chinese investment this year. Details were expected to be announced Wednesday. Xi also backed a series of other deals on cooperation in health, transport, IT, sciences, tourism, banking and other fields as well a partnership deal between the countries' capitals. He was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and other officials later Tuesday. Not everyone was happy with his visit. Several supporters of the Falun Gong group that has been banned in China were in the streets of Prague on Tuesday morning, while hundreds waving Tibetan flags gathered to protest China's human rights record. Riot police separated the protesters from dozens of Chinese supporters with giant Chinese flags before they marched through the city for another protest rally near the Prague Castle. Police said they had to deal with several skirmishes between the protesters and the Chinese supporting the president. Police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said 2 foreign citizens were detained. In the evening, a mass for the victims of the Chinese communist regime was scheduled to be served in a Catholic church in Prague. Activists waving banners and free Tibet flags attend a rally opposing Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Riot policemen stand guard as China supporters attend a rally in support of Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) A China supporter smokes a cigar during a rally in support of Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman, right, welcomes his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, left, at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Chinese President Xi Jinping, rear center, arrives at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) A soldier of the guard of honor struggles with the red carpet as the wind blows it away prior to the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman, right, and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, left, shake hands after signing a bilateral treaty of strategic partnership at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman, right, and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, left, wait before signing a bilateral treaty of strategic partnership at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives at the Prague Castle for a welcoming ceremony in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman, right, welcomes his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, left, at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Czech Republic's President Milos Zeman, right, and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, left, wait before signing a bilateral treaty of strategic partnership at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Activists waving banners and free Tibet flags attend a rally opposing Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) UN: Many South Sudanese flee country over food insecurity KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) The United Nations refugee agency says food insecurity is forcing a growing number of South Sudanese to seek refuge in Sudan. UNHCR said Tuesday that heightened food insecurity and unrest in parts of South Sudan, especially in two northwestern states, has led to the flight of some 38,000 people into East and South Darfur since the end of January. The agency said there is concern the situation could quickly worsen. It said many of the new refugees are in need of humanitarian assistance, with many children separated from their families. Brazilian judge: defection would worsen political crisis LISBON, Portugal (AP) A political crisis gripping Brazil will deepen if a major ally quits President Dilma Rousseff's governing coalition, as expected, a top Brazilian judge said Tuesday. Brazil will become harder to run if the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party confirms later Tuesday it is withdrawing its support for Rousseff's troubled administration, Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes said. "The government's support base will become even narrower, and the political crisis will obviously worsen" if the ally walks out, Mendes told reporters during a visit to Lisbon, Portugal. Brazil'z Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes smiles while waiting for the start of a legal conference in Lisbon, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Mendes says Brazil will become harder to run if the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party confirms later Tuesday it is withdrawing its support for President Rousseff's troubled administration. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) Mendes recently blocked former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's nomination to a Cabinet post due to ongoing corruption investigations, though that decision is under appeal. Rousseff had sought to shore up her government by bringing in Lula. Mendes is attending a three-day legal conference in Lisbon, which began Tuesday, and includes participants seen as opponents of Rousseff. Senator Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in the 2014 presidential runoff, is scheduled to speak Thursday. About 50 people, mostly Brazilians, protested outside the event at Lisbon University's Law Faculty against moves to impeach Rousseff amid a huge kickback scandal involving her Workers Party. They called the impeachment an attempted coup and jeered Brazilian Senator Jose Serra, one of Rousseff's opponents, as he entered the building. Protestors shout slogans and display posters against moves to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Roussefft outside a legal conference in Lisbon attended by top Brazilian politicians, Tuesday, March 29 2016. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) Protestors shout slogans as Brazilian Senator Jose Serra arrives for a legal conference in Lisbon, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. About 50 people, mostly Brazilians, protested outside the event, attended by top Brazilian politicians, against moves to impeach President Rousseff. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) Brazilian Senator Jose Serra, center right, listens during a legal conference in Lisbon, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. About 50 people, mostly Brazilians, protested outside the event, attended by top Brazilian politicians, against moves to impeach President Rousseff. (AP Photo/Armando Franca) Nigerian official: Surrendered bomber not a "Chibok girl" ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) A Nigerian official says a girl suicide bomber who surrendered in Cameroon is not one of the 276 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram from a school in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok nearly two years ago, but is from a nearby community. The official says Cameroonian authorities gave them the names of the girl and an older accomplice but are holding them for questioning about how the Islamic extremists operate. The official in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, is waiting for the girls to be handed over. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press on the sensitive matter. The girl, who turned herself in on Friday with explosives strapped to her body, appeared to be heavily drugged and suffering injuries, Cameroonian officials said. She said she was from Chibok and appeared to be about 10 years old. FILE-In this file photo taken from video released by Nigeria's Boko Haram terrorist network, Monday May 12, 2014, shows missing girls abducted from the northeastern town of Chibok. A teenage who surrendered before carrying out a suicide bombing attack in northern Cameroon has told authorities she was one of the 276 girls abducted from a Nigerian boarding school by Islamic extremists nearly two years ago, authorities said Saturday, March 26, 2016. (AP Photo) In Nigeria, Chibok Parents Association chairman Yakubu Nkeki said he is waiting to go to Cameroon to see the child. Nkeki's niece was one of the youngest students abducted from a government boarding school in Chibok. She was 14 at the time of the mass kidnapping in the early hours of April 15, 2014. Dozens of the girls escaped on their own but 219 remain missing. Boko Haram continues to kidnap even as Nigerian troops have rescued thousands from captivity in recent months. None has been from the Chibok school. The failure of Nigerian officials and the military to rescue the girls promptly brought international condemnation and helped President Goodluck Jonathan lose in elections last year. The Chibok kidnapping propelled Boko Haram into notoriety but Human Rights Watch said little has been done about another mass kidnapping, calling it "the largest documented school abduction." Boko Haram kidnapped some 300 students aged 7 to 17 and 100 women from a school in northeastern Damasak town a year ago Monday, said the London-based body. PM: Romanian prepaid cards used in extremist attacks BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) Romania's prime minister, who is backing legislation to require buyers of prepaid phone cards to show identity documents, said Tuesday that cards from his nation have been used in extremist attacks. The government failed to gain passage for similar legislation in 2012 and 2014, when the intelligence service was saying that financial criminals were using prepaid cards. Premier Dacian Ciolos gave no details of which attacks involved Romanian cards. However, an intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that prepaid cards from Romania had been used in attacks in Europe in the last year. The Romanian Intelligence Service said in a statement Tuesday that Romanian cards are currently used in Syria and Iraq and they could be "used to benefit terrorist organizations." It said that the intelligence agencies and law enforcement needed to continually adapt and be flexible to "be a step ahead of the terrorists." The agency also pointed to neighbor Bulgaria which requires users to give their name, address and a social security number. The measure was introduced in the fight against organized crime. There was no immediate comment from mobile telephone operators in Romania on the government's plans. Although legislation was approved by Romania's Parliament in 2014, the Constitutional Court rejected the wide-ranging security law that would have allowed authorities to retain data and other personal details on people without persuading a court that the person represented a security risk. The court said the legislation was unconstitutional and violated human rights. Telecommunications Minister Marius Bostan said Monday that the government plans to try again. Ciolos says he wants a law that will balance security needs with civil rights. It was unclear whether the government's proposal would be limited to identification and prepaid cards, or would have a broader sweep. Prosecutors seek max of 1 year in prison for ex-coal CEO CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Prosecutors are requesting the maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $250,000 fine for convicted ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who ran a West Virginia coal mine that was the site of a 2010 explosion that killed 29 men. In a sentencing memorandum in federal court Monday, prosecutors said the one-year cap on prison time for conspiring to shirk mine safety laws is "woefully insufficient." But any shorter sentence for Blankenship could only be interpreted as a "declaration that mine safety laws are not to be taken seriously," prosecutors wrote. Blankenship was convicted Dec. 3 of a misdemeanor conspiracy to willfully violate mine safety standards at Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia, where an explosion killed 29 men in 2010. In their memorandum, Blankenship's attorneys say he shouldn't receive more than probation and a fine. They reiterated that they intend to appeal. Blankenship's sentencing is slated for April 6, the day after the sixth anniversary of the Upper Big Branch disaster. Prosecutors painted the mine as a "calamity in the making," poorly ventilated and covered in black coal dust that would easily ignite. "There was no question what accumulations of coal dust meant if not properly treated: a powder keg 1,000 feet below the surface, primed to blow at any time," wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ruby. At the helm of a multibillion-dollar publicly traded company, the wealthy executive had the means to run the mine safely, but was greedy enough "to willfully imperil his workers' survival to further fatten his bank account," prosecutors wrote. "He made a conscious, cold-blooded decision to gamble with the lives of the men and women who worked for him," Ruby wrote. Blankenship's attorneys countered by providing dozens of positive letters from former employees, friends, family and members of the community. "The defense never contested that Don Blankenship could be blunt and a hard taskmaster, but the truth is that he cares deeply about his family, his community, and the people who worked for him," wrote defense attorney Blair Brown. They pointed to his humble roots, investments in the community and mine safety initiatives. "All these huge public improvements didn't come with a big banner flying overhead that said, 'Donated by Don Blankenship and/or Massey Energy;' that's not how he has chosen to operate through the years," wrote Lisa Crum, who worked in human resources for one of Massey's contractors for about 18 years. Her husband worked for a Massey-owned processing plant in Mingo County, W.Va. Prosecutors are still fighting to force Blankenship to pay $28 million in restitution to Alpha Natural Resources, a now-bankrupt coal company that bought Massey in 2011. The money would cover legal fees, investigative expenses and fines incurred by Alpha. A former security guard serving a life sentence in the 1957 slaying of a seven-year-old Illinois girl pleaded with a judge Tuesday to quickly consider his latest bid for freedom, citing a prosecutor's scathing review of the investigation that landed him in prison. With his legs and wrists shackled, 76-year-old Jack McCullough spoke up at the end of a 20-minute hearing that never got beyond housekeeping matters and failed to mention the damning review released last week by the county's public prosecutor. But McCullough made reference to the prosecutor's report and pleaded to know how long the post-conviction petition process would take. Jack McCullough, 76, (pictured in court Tuesday) told the judge he was innocent and pleaded to know how long the post-conviction petition process would take McCullough - who has been locked up since 2012 - was convicted in the 1957 killing of Maria Ridulph, 7 'Your honor,' McCullough said, 'I've been in prison locked up now for almost five years, I'm innocent, and I can prove I'm innocent. There has to be an end to this somewhere. But DeKalb County Judge William Brady responded that all he could do at present was appoint him an attorney and outline the process that could result in a new trial. McCullough was convicted in 2012 in the slaying of Maria Ridulph in the small community of Sycamore. It was one of the oldest cases in the U.S. ever to go to trial. Ridulph (pictured) was abducted, stabbed and choked to death But last week, the DeKalb County state's attorney released the findings of a six-month review that convinced him McCullough could not have committed the crime. State's Attorney Richard Schmack, who had no role in McCullough's prosecution, found fault with the investigation and said new evidence and a review of old documents corroborated an alibi. The review gives new momentum to McCullough's bid for freedom. Tuesday's hearing took place in a DeKalb County courtroom in Sycamore, where Ridulph was abducted, stabbed and choked to death. But the review is also plunging Ridulph's family back into the decades of emotional turmoil they've endured since the little girl disappeared from a quiet street corner where she was playing in the snow more than half a century ago. Her brother, Charles Ridulph, filed a motion Monday asking the judge to appoint a special prosecutor. Like other family members, he remains convinced McCullough is the killer and he hopes an outside prosecutor will ensure the man stays behind bars. 'My sister Maria was snatched away, raped and murdered, abandoned in the woods,' Ridulph, 70, of Sycamore, wrote in the filing, according to The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle. 'And now, Richard Schmack has abandoned her yet again and he has done so for the wrong reasons.' 'I've been in prison locked up now for almost five years, I'm innocent, and I can prove I'm innocent. There has to be an end to this somewhere Jack McCullough in court Tuesday Schmack said in a filing last week that his review, which was prompted by McCullough's motion for post-conviction relief, turned up serious missteps during the investigation and prosecution. He also said there was new evidence supporting a McCullough alibi. The new evidence included recently subpoenaed phone records that proved McCullough made a collect call to his parents from a phone booth in downtown Rockford, Illinois, about 35 miles from Sycamore, just minutes after the abduction took place. That had always been McCullough's professed alibi, though the precise location of the phone had previously come under doubt, with some suggesting it may have been closer. State's Attorney Richard Schmack (pictured) has found fault with the investigation and said new evidence and a review of old documents corroborated an alibi for McCullough Janey O'Connor, Jack McCullough's stepdaughter, smiles as she listens to Maria Ridulph's brother Charles Ridulph speak on the stairs of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore Besides those records, Schmack's conclusions were also based on a review of thousands of pages of police reports and other old documents that he says were improperly barred from evidence during McCullough's trial. Some of them were only recently uncovered, he said. Some of those documents discredit testimony from McCullough's sister that the abduction had taken place earlier, Schmack determined, meaning there was no possibility McCullough could have committed the crime and then driven to Rockford in time to place that call. 'It is a manifest impossibility for [McCullough] to have been in Sycamore at 6.45 and also have made a phone call in downtown Rockford at 6.57,' Schmack wrote in the review according to the Chicago Tribune. Schmack also said that some of the evidence that led to McCullough's conviction was 'mistaken' and 'false'. This included the testimony of Kathy Sigman, Maria's friend, who saw the little girl's kidnapper in 1957. She picked his photo out of six pictures when McCullough was named as a suspect in 2010. Schmack said she committed an 'unintentional and tragic mistake' when she identified McCullough as the kidnapper. Simmons replaces injured Fletcher in West Indies T20 squad MUMBAI, India (AP) Batsman Lendl Simmons has replaced injured Andre Fletcher in the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20. The ICC's technical committee approved the replacement on Tuesday after Fletcher pulled a right hamstring during West Indies' six-run defeat against Afghanistan on Sunday and was ruled out of the tournament. The 31-year-old Simmons was part of the West Indies squad which won the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in 2012. He has played 34 T20Is, scoring 761 runs at a strike rate of 114, but has been out of the West Indies T20 squad since 2015. Garland holds first meeting with GOP senator, Kirk of Ill. WASHINGTON (AP) Mark Kirk on Tuesday became the first Republican senator to meet with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, criticizing GOP leaders' refusal to hold confirmation hearings or a vote on the longtime federal judge and praising him as "one of the most eminent jurists in the country." There was no sign the session would erode Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's insistence on leaving the vacancy unfilled until President Barack Obama's replacement names a selection next year. Even so, Kirk's 20-minute session with Garland provided Democrats with a visual image and words that they hope will pressure other Republican senators to end their blockade. "I think when you just say I'm not going to meet with him and all, that's too closed-minded," Kirk told reporters, all but explicitly rebuking McConnell, R-Ky. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., right, meets with Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obamas choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, becoming the only Republican senator to meet the embattled nominee, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kirk is perhaps the most endangered Senate Republican facing re-election in November and he's one of just three Senate Republicans to say the Senate Judiciary Committee should hold hearings on Garland, over the insistence of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., who has ruled it out. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Kirk, who represents Democratic-leaning Illinois, is perhaps the most imperiled Senate Republican facing re-election in November. And when it comes to the battle over Obama's pick to fill the court vacancy, Kirk has been one of the earliest and most outspoken outliers. He's one of just three Senate Republicans to say the Senate Judiciary Committee should hold hearings on Garland. And he's one of three GOP senators along with Susan Collins of Maine and Jerry Moran of Kansas to at least be open to a Senate vote on the nominee, saying Tuesday he would "obviously" consider voting for him. The death last month of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia created the court opening, and Obama is pressing to make his third appointment to the high court. "By leading by example, I'm showing what a rational, responsible guy would do that really wants the constitutional process to go forward," Kirk said. Kirk had an additional incentive to be hospitable to Garland: The longtime federal judge and former prosecutor is originally from Chicago. Matt McGrath, deputy campaign manager for Kirk's November opponent, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said the Republican had done "the bare minimum" by meeting with Garland and said Kirk should pressure McConnell to relent. Earlier Tuesday, Collins explained the basis for her desire to see the Senate begin considering Garland's nomination by telling Maine's WGAN radio, "The first thing I did is I read the Constitution." Collins said there was "no basis" for flatly refusing to consider any Obama pick, as McConnell did, and conceded, "Obviously the leader is not real happy with me." Arguing that a newly elected Democratic president might choose a nominee more liberal than Garland, she said of McConnell, "I'm a bit perplexed by his position." McConnell spokesman Donald Stewart declined to comment on Kirk's and Collins' remarks. Underscoring the stakes in the nomination fight, Kirk's meeting with Garland occurred the same day that on a 4-4 tie, the Supreme Court handed liberals a major victory. That vote upheld a lower court ruling allowing a government employees union to collect dues from non-members, a fight they all but certainly would have lost were Scalia still a justice. That ruling prompted Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, to warn that confirmation of Garland would create "a new liberal majority that will dominate the court's decisions for a generation." Democrats have insisted that the Senate go through the regular confirmation process for Garland, currently chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. With most public opinion polls showing majorities favoring Senate action on Garland, Democrats' goal is to force GOP senators to buckle under pressure or make some facing re-election this fall pay the price on Election Day. At least 15 Senate Republicans more than a quarter of all 54 have said they'd be willing to meet with Garland, though many have said they would tell him that he won't get a vote. Earlier this month, Kirk said on a Chicago radio program that the Senate should "man up and cast a vote." Garland has met with seven Democratic senators and plans to meet Wednesday with two more, Al Franken of Minnesota and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. ___ Eds: This story has been corrected to add Moran to senators open to Senate vote on Garland. Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obamas choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, arrives for a visit with Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., the only Republican senator to meet the embattled nominee, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The Latest: Kasich ducks question on backing GOP nominee WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on campaign 2016 as the candidates converge on Wisconsin ahead of its April 5 primary (all times Eastern Daylight Time): 10:45 p.m. Ohio Gov. John Kasich isn't saying whether he will follow through with a pledge to back the Republican nominee for president. Republican presidential candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich responds to a question from the audience during a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper in the historic Riverside Theatre, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Kasich said during a CNN town hall Tuesday in Milwaukee that he wants to wait and "see how this thing finishes out." Earlier, Donald Trump said he would not honor his pledge to support whoever is the nominee. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz didn't directly answer the question. Kasich jokes, "Maybe I won't answer it either." But then he says: "I don't want to be political here. I've got to see what happens." Kasich isn't mentioning Cruz or Trump by name, but says: "If the nominee is somebody I think is really hurting the country, and dividing the country, I can't stand behind them. But we have a ways to go." ___ 10:05 p.m. Bernie Sanders is tying major plant closures and job losses in Wisconsin to trade policies Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton supported. The Vermont senator says there are a few examples of what disastrous trade policies have meant to Wisconsin. He cites the 1996 loss of Milwaukee's Johnson Controls plant to Mexico, the closure of Janesville's General Motors plant in 2008 and the loss of jobs at engine company Briggs & Stratton. Sanders is pegging those losses to trade policies, like the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he opposed and Clinton has supported. Sanders is speaking to a crowd of 4,000 in Milwaukee, with 1,500 more gathered outside. He is vying to win the state's April 5 primary. __ 10 p.m. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump now says he will no longer honor his pledge to support the eventual Republican pick for president regardless of who wins the nomination. "I have been treated very unfairly," Trump says during a televised town hall on CNN. He lists the Republican National Committee, the Republican Party and the party establishment among those he believes have been unfair. He also says he doesn't expect rival Ted Cruz to support him if he wins the nomination. __ 9:50 p.m. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he thinks the top roles of the U.S. government include security, health care and education, even though he has called for eliminating the U.S. Education Department. He made the comments during a CNN town hall Tuesday in Milwaukee. Trump has said throughout the campaign that he would eliminate the Education Department as well as the Environmental Protection Agency if elected president. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich also spoke at the CNN event. It comes a week before Wisconsin's April 5 primary. __ 9 p.m. The tearful father of 35-year-old Marine who died from a drug overdose at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Wisconsin is asking Texas Sen. Ted Cruz how he would combat opioid abuse. Marvin Simcakoski's son Jason died at the Tomah VA Medical Center in 2014. The father asked Cruz at a CNN town hall in Milwaukee on Tuesday whether he would demand stronger prescribing guidelines for the VA and its doctors. Cruz likened Simcakoski's death to that of his own half-sister, who died of a drug overdose. He says opiate abuse is "a tragedy we're seeing across the country." Cruz says the VA is dysfunctional and he wants to change the system to allow veterans to receive services from private doctors outside the system. __ 8:15 p.m. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says he's competing to win the Republican presidential nomination outright, but if that doesn't happen he believes he's in a "strong position" to capture it at the GOP convention this summer. Cruz commented on the race at a Republican town hall Tuesday in Milwaukee, hosted by CNN. Cruz says: "We are competing to win. We're not competing to stop Donald Trump." Trump has 736 delegates and is the only candidate with a realistic path to clinching the nomination by the end of the primaries on June 7. Cruz says if he doesn't get the 1,237 necessary before the convention, he still believes he will be in a strong position to win the nomination. Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich were also scheduled to appear at the town hall. __ 7:45 p.m. The Democratic National Committee's chief executive believes Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will meet in more debates. Amy Dacey told reporters in Los Angeles Tuesday that the committee is talking with the candidates about when the debates proposed in advance of the New York and California primaries would happen. The campaigns have been squabbling in recent days about the potential for additional debates, raising doubts about when, or if, they would happen. Dacey says, "I think we'll figure out a way." Dacey also says she's confident the party will have a presumptive nominee before the national convention in Philadelphia this summer, but didn't predict if it would be Sanders or Clinton. She says the convention is going to be about "bringing everybody together." __ 7:05 p.m. Donald Trump is playing down the chances that Ted Cruz could win the Republican presidential nomination in a delegate fight at this summer's convention, but says that if the senator does emerge victorious "it's because he's the establishment." Trump says he's hoping to deliver a knockout blow to Cruz during next week's Wisconsin primary. He is mocking the senator for embellishing his record and warning that if he does capture the nomination, the Democrats will say Cruz is ineligible to be president because he was born in Canada. The attack on Cruz capped off an hourlong rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, Trump's first public event in the state. The celebrity businessman also mocked Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's love of motorcycles, praised Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and pledged to help a woman in the audience who said she was a former beauty queen now facing a life-threatening illness. __ 7 p.m. Republican presidential candidate John Kasich visited a suburban Milwaukee custard shop, where he shook hands, posed for photos and chatted with supporters but didn't eat. "How's that for discipline?" the Ohio governor said at the end of the 30-minute campaign stop. Several of his staffers had dessert while the candidate talked with supporters individually, giving golf advice and asking people about their families and businesses. He joked that he stayed away from the custard because "I have a beautiful, smart wife, and I've gotta stay fit." __ 6:25 p.m. Donald Trump is suggesting that next week's Wisconsin primary could be the last stand for his Republican rivals. Trump, in a rally in Janesville, Wisconsin on Tuesday, said that "if we win Wisconsin, it's pretty much over." Trump has a significant lead in delegates over Ted Cruz and John Kasich but is not yet on pace to clinch the nomination before the Republican convention in Cleveland this summer. The celebrity businessman noted that the next primary after Wisconsin is his home state of New York, where he said he expects to win handily. The Wisconsin primary, which is expected to be close, is set for April 5. Two protesters left Trump's rally in its first 20 minutes but neither made much of a disturbance. ___ 6:10 p.m. Donald Trump is making his first campaign appearance in Wisconsin ahead of the state's key Republican primary. Trump held a rally Tuesday in Janesville, Wisconsin the hometown of House Speaker Paul Ryan. He began his remarks with sharp criticism of the state's governor, Scott Walker, who endorsed Trump's rival, Ted Cruz, earlier in the day. Trump said that the governor "certainly can't endorse me after what I did to him in the race." Walker ended his own presidential campaign last year. Trump belittled Walker's handling of Wisconsin's economy and the governor's habit of riding motorcycles. "The motorcycle guys like Trump," the candidate exclaimed, who then admitted he was somewhat surprised by that since he's not "a big motorcycle guy." The state's primary is April 5. ___ 5:15 p.m. Ted Cruz is heading to Las Vegas next week for a conference at Republican billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson's casino complex. The Republican Jewish Coalition, largely funded by Adelson, also has invited Donald Trump and John Kasich, the other two GOP presidential candidates, and is awaiting their replies. Cruz joins former president George W. Bush and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney in speaking at RJC's spring conference, which takes place at Adelson's Venetian Resort and Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Adelson and his family spent more than $90 million in the 2012 race, but have not made large contributions so far this time. Speaking recently at an event in honor of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Adelson expressed mild support for Trump if he secures the nomination. "Trump is a businessman. I am a businessman. He employs a lot of people. I employed 50,000 people. Why not?" Adelson pondered, according to a video of the event obtained by an Israeli political writer. ___ 3:50 p.m. Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine isn't saying whether she would support Donald Trump if he ends up being the GOP's presidential nominee. Interviewed on Maine radio station WGAN on Tuesday, Collins said she's always backed the Republican nominee, "but I'm going to wait and see." Collins, who was a supporter of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said she hasn't found someone else to back and won't. "I'm going to let the process play out, I'm not going to make another endorsement," she said. ___ 3:00 p.m. Bernie Sanders is criticizing voter identification laws at a town hall in Wisconsin, a week before the state's presidential primary in which the new requirement will apply. Almost 4,000 Sanders supporters packed the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wisconsin for the event, far exceeding the 2,100-capacity theater. The Vermont senator said governors like Republican Gov. Scott Walker have been making it harder for people to participate in the political process. Wisconsin's voter ID law, which went into effect this year, is one of the most restrictive in the country. Supporters say it helps guard against election fraud. If elected president, Sanders said, he will take on Walker and others to make it easier for people to participate in the political process, not harder. ___ 2:55 p.m. Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich says he's not "losing any sleep" over Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's endorsement of his rival, Ted Cruz, questioning whether endorsements really have an impact. Speaking to journalists in Waukesha, Wisconsin Tuesday, Kasich said endorsements have an impact when "somebody puts their shoulder to the wheel and really pushes like crazy to make a difference." He says he's endorsed "a bunch of people who lost." ___ 2:20 p.m. Several dozen protesters have gathered in front of a Holiday Inn complex in Janesville, Wisconsin where Donald Trump will be holding a town hall event later Tuesday afternoon. Chad and Josie Smith of nearby Beloit were among those gathered. They say they've come to deliver a message that not everyone in the state supports the Republican front-runner's message. "We want to stand up against Trump and let people know that we don't stand for what he believes in," says Josie, a local property manager for senior housing. Her husband, who works in a warehouse, says he worries that Trump will divide the country drastically if he's elected. He says, "it scares me if he becomes the commander-in-chief." Both support Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. ___ 2:00 p.m. Presidential hopeful John Kasich says it's unrealistic to propose deportation of those living in the U.S. illegally. Kasich told about 200 supporters at a town hall meeting at a welding plant in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday that he doesn't want to deport such immigrants unless they've committed crimes. He said about 11.5 million people are in the country illegally and it's a fantasy to think authorities can go to their homes and deport them. He said he would rather have them pay a fine and set them on a path toward legalization. ___ 12:20 p.m. Hillary Clinton is vowing to curb gun violence at a Milwaukee forum ahead of next week's Democratic primary in Wisconsin. Clinton's campaign forum grew emotional as family members spoke of losing children to gun violence. The Democratic presidential candidate says she will "keep talking about this throughout this campaign" and will "keep talking about it and acting on it" if she wins the White House. Clinton is noting again that Democratic rival Bernie Sanders voted against longer waiting periods for gun purchases and supported a 2005 federal law that shields gun manufacturers from most lawsuits over criminal use of their products. Sanders backs a bill to repeal the law. The mother of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was found dead in a Texas county jail, spoke of her connection to the former secretary of state. Geneva Reed-Veal told the audience that Clinton sent her a Christmas card that read, "I know this is the first holiday without your baby." ___ 11:00 a.m. Sen. Lindsey Graham says the foreign policy of Republican front-runner Donald Trump is "gibberish" and "ill-conceived" and as president he would be "worse than Obama." The South Carolina Republican is leading a congressional delegation to Israel. Graham, who dropped his own bid for the White House last year, told The Associated Press Tuesday that Trump does not understand the stakes of the Middle East. He took particular aim at Trump's assertion that he would take a more neutral stand regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Graham says "this is not a real estate deal. This is the survival of the one and only Jewish state." Graham says he is concerned a Hillary Clinton presidency would amount to a third term for Barack Obama, but she was at least a "known quantity." ___ 10:50 a.m. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's "heroic" battle with unions inspired him and millions of others. Cruz won the endorsement of the two-term Republican governor on Tuesday and touted his backing during a rally outside of Milwaukee. Cruz calls Walker a "strong, principled conservative" and notes that he won three elections over four years. Walker defeated a recall election in 2012 spurred by his push to all-but-eliminate collective bargaining for public workers. Cruz said "millions of men and women all across the state of Wisconsin stood with Gov. Scott Walker" during that fight. Cruz described that a "heroic stand" that inspired millions across the country, including him. Walker says he plans to campaign with Cruz this week. ___ 10:10 a.m. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is endorsing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential race. Walker announced his decision Tuesday on Milwaukee conservative talk radio, saying "it's time we elect a strong new leader. I've chosen to endorse Ted Cruz." Walker had signaled last week that he was likely to back Cruz, saying then that he was the only candidate who has a chance at beating front runner Donald Trump. When Walker ended his presidential campaign last year, he called on others to join him in dropping out to make it easier to defeat Trump. It's unclear how much Walker's backing will help Cruz in the state ahead of its April 5 primary. Walker's approval rating hasn't exceeded 40 percent in over a year. ___ 9:15 a.m. Donald Trump plans to make his first campaign appearance in Wisconsin with a rally in House Speaker Paul Ryan's hometown, while the four other presidential candidates are also converging on the state a week before its primary. Trump's rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, on Tuesday comes as he tries to stave off Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has been campaigning in the state for a week. Cruz was expected to land the endorsement of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who said he would announce his decision Tuesday morning. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is keeping up his role trying to play spoiler for Trump by campaigning in Wisconsin. Democrat Hillary Clinton is scheduled to partake in a gun violence forum in Milwaukee, while her rival, Bernie Sanders, is heading to Appleton and Milwaukee. Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, arrives at a rally at Wisconsin State Fair Park, Product Pavilion, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato) Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump participates in a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper in the historic Riverside Theatre, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks to supporters during a rally at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in Brookfield. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn) Demonstrators gather outside the Holiday Inn Express in Janesville, Wis., Tuesday, March 29, 2016, to protest the scheduled appearance of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the adjoining conference center . (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2015 file photo, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at a news conference in Madison, Wis. Walker says he will announce his endorsement in the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File) An infant's 5-month life points to hunger's spread in Yemen HAZYAZ, Yemen (AP) The baby was born in war, even as planes blasted his village in Yemen. Five months later, Udai Faisal died from war: His skeletal body broke down under the ravages of malnutrition, his limbs like twigs, his cheeks sunken, his eyes dry. He vomited yellow fluid from his nose and mouth. Then he stopped breathing. "He didn't cry and there were no tears, just stiff," said his mother, Intissar Hezzam. "I screamed and fainted." In this Tuesday, March 22, 2016 photo, infant Udai Faisal, who is suffering from acute malnutrition, is hospitalized at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Udai died on March 24. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Maad al-Zikry) The spread of hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemen's war since Shiite rebels seized the capital and Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the United States, responded with a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. The impoverished nation of 26 million, which imports 90 percent of its food, already had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, but in the past year the statistics have leaped. The number of people considered "severely food insecure" unable to put food on the table without outside aid went from 4.3 million to more than 7 million, according to the World Food Program. Ten of the country's 22 provinces are classified as one step away from famine. Where before the war around 690,000 children under five suffered moderate malnutrition, now the number is 1.3 million. Even more alarming are the rates of severe acute malnutrition among children the worst cases where the body starts to waste away doubling from around 160,000 a year ago to 320,000 now, according to UNICEF estimates. Exact numbers for those who died from malnutrition and its complications are unknown, since the majority were likely unable to reach proper care. But in a report released Tuesday, UNICEF said an estimated 10,000 additional children under five died of preventable diseases the past year because of the breakdown in health services, on top of the previous rate of nearly 40,000 children a year. "The scale of suffering in the country is staggering," UNICEF said in the report, and the violence "will have an impact for generations to come." The Saudi-led coalition launched its campaign on March 26, 2015, aiming to halt the advance of Shiite rebels known of Houthis who had taken over the capital, Sanaa, drove out the internationally recognized government and stormed south. The Houthi advance was halted. But they continue to hold Sanaa and the north. In the center of the country, they battle multiple Saudi-backed factions supporting the government that tenuously holds the southern city of Aden. Ground fighting and the heavy barrage of airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people, including more than 3,000 civilians, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. More than 900 children have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded, 61 percent of them in airstrikes, according to UNICEF. Coalition airstrikes appear to be "responsible for twice as many casualties as all other forces put together," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. The coalition argues that the rebels often use civilians and civilian locations as shields for their fighters. It also disputes U.N. figures on how many deaths are caused by strikes, saying they are based on statistics from the Houthis. Around 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes. Strikes have destroyed storehouses, roads, schools, farms, factories, power grids and water stations. The naval blockade, enforcing a U.N. arms embargo on the rebels, has disrupted the entry of food and supplies. The ripple effects from war have tipped a country that could already barely feed itself over the edge. The food, fuel and other supplies that do make it into the country are difficult to distribute because trucks struggle to avoid battle zones, fear airstrikes or need to scrounge for gas. Under control of Houthi fighters, government services from Sanaa are largely paralyzed. The fate of Udai illustrated the many factors, all exacerbated by war, that lead to the death of an infant. His family lives off the pension that Udai's father, Faisal Ahmed, gets as a former soldier, about $200 a month for him, his wife and nine other children ranging from 2 years old to 16. He used to sometimes work construction, but those jobs disappeared in the war. With food prices rising and supplies sporadic, the family eats once a day, usually yoghurt and bread, peas on a good day, said Udai's parents, both in their 30s. The day Udai was born, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition were striking an army base used by Houthi rebels in their district of Hazyaz, a shantytown on the southern edge of Sanaa. Shrapnel hit their one-bedroom house where Udai's mother was in labor. "She was screaming and delivering the baby while the bombardment was rocking the place," the father said. Hezzam breastfed her newborn son for about 20 days, but then her milk stopped, likely from her own malnutrition. Even after childbirth, she had to collect firewood for the mud brick stove at the doorstep of her house. Like much of the country, electricity has long been knocked out in their neighborhood, either because of airstrikes or lack of fuel, and there's rarely cooking gas. "I go every day to faraway places to search for the wood then carry it home on my head," she said. The family turned to formula to feed Udai, but it wasn't always available and they couldn't always afford it. So every few days, Udai got formula and the other days he would get sugar and water. Water trucks occasionally reach the area, but otherwise his parents had to use unclean water. In the past year, the number of people without regular access to clean water has risen from 13 million people to more than 19 million, nearly three-quarters of the population. Within three months, Udai was suffering from diarrhea. His father took him to local clinics but they either didn't have supplies or he couldn't afford what they did have. Finally, on March 20, he made it to the emergency section at al-Sabeen Hospital. Udai was suffering from severe malnutrition, diarrhea and a chest infection, said Saddam al-Azizi, head of the emergency unit. He was put on antibiotics and a feeding solution through the nose. The AP saw Udai at al-Sabeen on March 22. His arms were convulsing, his emaciated legs motionless, his face gaunt and pale. When he cried, he was too dehydrated to produce tears. At around five months old, he weighed 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds). "Unstable," his chart read for every day he'd been there. Two days later, his parents took him home. His father told the AP it was because the doctors told them it was hopeless, and he complained the staff was not giving him enough treatment. Al-Azizi said he suspected it was because the family couldn't afford the medicines. The hospital stay is free, but because medicines are in such short supply, families must pay for them, he said. "It was a mistake to take him out," he said. The treatment needed time to work. Still, al-Azizi had given Udai only a 30 percent chance of survival. Al-Sabeen was already dealing with dozens of malnourished children. In the first three months of the year, it has treated around 150 children with malnutrition, double the same period last year, al-Azizi said. Around 15 died, not counting Udai. Some parents managed to get there from remote parts of the country. One woman described walking for four days from her mountain village outside Sanaa, carrying her emaciated daughter, who at two years old weighed only four kilograms (8.8 pounds). Mohammed Ahmed brought his son here from the city of Ibb because the hospital there had no supplies. He drove the 90 miles (150 kilometers) through rebel checkpoints while warplanes struck, he said. His 10-month-old son Marwan, after 15 days in the hospital, now weighs 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds). Hospitals and clinics around the country have suffered shortages of medicines and fuel, meaning millions live in areas that have virtually no medical care. UNICEF said nearly 600 health facilities nationwide have stopped working. The Saudi-led coalition allows humanitarian flights bringing medical supplies as well food and water in to Sanaa as well as shipments into Hodeida port, the closest one to the capital. But getting the supplies around the country is difficult. Even pre-war transportation infrastructure was poor, and now trucks often can't get through battle zones. Drivers fear getting hit by airstrikes or have to scrounge to obtain expensive gas. Hospitals and clinics have been hit by airstrikes or caught up in fighting. In the battlefield city of Taiz, the Yemeni-Swedish Hospital for Children was damaged as rebels and Saudi-backed fighters fought over it. Parents had to rush their children being treated there back to their homes, and their fate is unknown. Udai hardly lasted three hours after being brought home, his parents said. Ahmed, his father, said he blames Saudi Arabia's air campaign for his son's death. "This is before the war," he said, holding up his 2-year-old son Shehab to show the difference between a child born before the war and after. They buried the infant at the foot of the mountains nearby. His father read the Quran over the tiny grave marked only by rocks, reciting, "On God we depend." __ Michael reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writers Maad Al-Zikry in Sanaa, Yemen, and Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report. In this Monday, March 28, 2016 photo, Faisal Ahmed, whose infant son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, sits with his nine remaining children at his house in Hazyaz village on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) In this Tuesday, March 22, 2016 photo, Udai Faisal, who is suffering acute malnutrition is fed by his mother Intissar Hezzam at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. The impoverished nation of 26 million people, which imports 90 percent of its food, already had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, but in the past year the statistics have leaped. (AP Photo/Maad al-Zikry) In this Monday, March 28, 2016 photo, Faisal Ahmed, whose son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, pours water on his grave in Hazyaz village on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) FILE -- In this Sept. 11, 2015 file photo, smoke rises after an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition at a weapons depot in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) FILE -- In this July 2, 2015 file photo, a man searches for survivors under the rubble of a house destroyed by Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen. Strikes have destroyed storehouses, roads, schools, farms, factories, power grids and water stations. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) In this Thursday, March 17, 2016 photo, a nurse takes care of six-month-old Afnan Ahmed who is suffering from chronic malnutrition, in the intensive care unit of Al-Sabeen hospital, in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) In this Thursday, March 17, 2016 photo, ten-month-old Amal Hamid, suffering from chronic malnutrition, is held by her mother at Al-Sabeen hospital, in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) In this Thursday, March 17, 2016 photo, nine-month-old Ali Abdullah, who suffers from chronic malnutrition, lies on a bed in Al-Sabeen hospital, Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) In this Monday, March 28, 2016 photo, Faisal Ahmed, whose son, Udai, died of severe acute malnutrition, poses for a photo with one of his children at his house in Hazyaz village, on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. The ripple effects from war have tipped a country that could already barely feed itself over the edge. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) FILE -- In this March 26, 2015 file photo, people carry the body of a child they uncovered from under the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi airstrikes near Sanaa Airport, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) In this Thursday, March 17, 2016 photo, a nurse takes care of a malnourished boy at Al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) FILE -- In this Sept. 8, 2015 file photo, children play amid the rubble of a house destroyed by a Saudi-led airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) FILE -- In this March 5, 2016 file photo, a young boy who lost his leg in the Yemen war uses a prosthetic limb at a government-run rehabilitation center in Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) In this Monday, March 28, 2016 photo, Intissar Hezzam stands with her husband Faisal Ahmed, whose son, Udai, died of severe acute malnutrition, as she speaks to The Associated Press near her house in Hazyaz village, on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. The day Udai was born, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition were striking an army base used by Houthi rebels in their district of Hazyaz. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) In this Tuesday, March 22, 2016 photo, infant Udai Faisal, who is suffering from acute malnutrition, is hospitalized at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. Udai died on March 24. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Maad al-Zikry) In this Monday, March 28, 2016 photo, Faisal Ahmed, whose son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, tends to his grave in Hazyaz village, on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. Hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemens conflict and has spiraled since Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the U.S., launched a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) Virginia governor vetoes bill targeting Planned Parenthood RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed a Republican-backed bill that seeks to block state funding for Planned Parenthood. The Democratic governor said he was proud to veto the legislation that would defund the women's health group, which performs abortions and provides other health services. McAuliffe was joined at an event Tuesday by lawmakers and advocates. He said he needed to "smack down" the attempt to limit women's health rights. Supporters of the measure say it's needed to ensure state funds continue not to be used for elective abortions. Republican Del. Ben Cline said in a written statement that McAuliffe is listening to his friends in the "abortion lobby," rather than "ensuring women have access to quality care." Neighborhoods: Hong Kong's SoHo, south of Hollywood Road HONG KONG (AP) Exploring Hong Kong can be challenging, with its compact neighborhoods and narrow alleyways. But an area often referred to as the SoHo of Hong Kong is easy to navigate, and offers plenty to do and see: boutiques, art galleries, antiques shops, lively bars and restaurants serving a variety of international cuisines. SoHo is the area south of Hollywood Road, one of the first roads built in the city during the mid-1800s. Hollywood Road runs through SoHo and offers plenty of tiny yet chic and comfy hotel rooms. This Nov. 14, 2015 photo shows teapots sold by a street vendor in Hong Kong's SoHo neighborhood. The area has boutiques, art galleries, antiques shops, lively bars and restaurants. (Suzette Laboy via AP) Take the meandering flight of steps down from Hollywood Road to reach the flea market on Upper Lascar Row, where street vendors sell everything from teapots to paintings in alleys behind pricier galleries and shops. Bargaining with vendors for a better price is expected. The Man Mo Temple at 124-126 Hollywood Road is one of the busiest temples in the city yet it offers a peaceful respite. Built in the late 1840s, it's filled with burning incense displayed in coils in a row as worshippers enter. If you need a break from all the great dim sum and other authentic Hong Kong cuisine you'll find around the city, in SoHo you'll find everything from French bistros to burger joints. Chachawan, at 206 Hollywood Road, has an indie vibe and serves Isaan Thai food, known for spicy flavors, and specialty cocktails. Quinary, 56-58 Hollywood Road, made it to Drinks International's 2015 list of the World's 50 Best Bars thanks to its imaginative cocktails. The drinks engage all your senses by combining different textures, appearances and even sounds. One of their signature attention-getting cocktails is the Earl Grey caviar martini, which along with vodka contains elderflower syrup, apple juice, Cointreau, lemon and lime. But don't worry, the caviar isn't actually fish eggs. It's made by mixing Earl Grey tea with sodium alginate, which produces beads that pop in your mouth, much like the tapioca balls in bubble tea. Another high-tech flourish is a cone of foam perched above the rim of the glass. ___ If You Go... HONG KONG'S SOHO: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/dine-drink/where-to-eat/soho.jsp or http://www.ilovehongkong.hk/soho . ___ Follow Suzette Laboy at https://twitter.com/suzettelaboy This Nov. 14, 2015 photo shows the Man Mo temple on Hollywood Road in the SoHo neighborhood of Hong Kong. The historic temple offers respite from the lively neighborhood. (Suzette Laboy via AP) North Carolina lawyer won't defend transgender law in court RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) North Carolina's attorney general said Tuesday he won't defend in court a new state law preventing local governments from approving protections for LGBT people, calling it discriminatory and a "national embarrassment." Democrat Roy Cooper made the announcement a day after gay rights advocates sued to overturn the law approved last week and signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. The law requires people to use multi-stall bathrooms that match their birth certificates at state agencies, schools and universities, even if that means forcing transgender people with heavy beards to use women's rooms and putting people with feminine appearances in men's rooms. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks at a news conference in his state offices in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, March 29, 2106. Cooper announced Tuesday that his office wont defend the state's new law preventing local governments from prohibiting discrimination, calling it a "national embarrassment" that will encourage businesses to take jobs and millions of dollars out of the state. (Harry Lynch/The News & Observer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT The law also makes clear local measures can't protect people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, or require businesses to provide higher minimum wages or paid sick leave. And it blocks workers from suing in state courts over workplace discrimination based on race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex or handicap, directing complaints instead to a state commission. "Not only is this new law a national embarrassment, it will set North Carolina's economy back if we don't repeal it," Cooper said. "We know that businesses here and all over the country have taken a strong stance in opposition to this law." The federal lawsuit lists Cooper among the defendants because of his official position as the state's top lawyer. But he has said he wants it repealed. The governor is also a defendant in the lawsuit and has defended his decision to sign the law. The Republican-led legislature and McCrory approved the law because they say the city of Charlotte went too far with a local ordinance allowing transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity. They say sexual predators could use these kinds of rules as a pretense to enter women's bathrooms and locker rooms. Gay rights groups have called these and other arguments bogus. Parents of slain Italian student scoff at Egypt explanation ROME (AP) The face of an Italian doctoral research student found killed in Cairo was so badly beaten that only the tip of his nose was recognizable, his mother said Tuesday as she and her husband dismissed the latest explanation provided by Egyptian authorities about their son's death. Paola Regeni said she saw "all the evil of the world" when looking down at the face of 28-year-old son, Giulio, after his body was flown to Rome in early February. "In the morgue, I recognized Giulio only by the tip of his nose," she said. "I won't tell you what they did to him." Paola, the mother of Giulio Regeni, holds a banner reading: Truth for Giulio Regeni, prior to the start of a press conference held at the Italian Senate, in Rome, Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Giulio Regeni, 28, an Italian doctoral student disappeared in Cairo on Jan. 25, the anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprising, a day when security forces were on high alert and on the streets in force to prevent any demonstrations or protests. His body, stabbed repeatedly and exhibiting cigarette burns and other signs of torture, was reported found on Feb. 3. (AP hoto/Gregorio Borgia) Speaking to reporters for the first time since their 28-year-old son's body was found on a Cairo roadside, Paola and her husband, Claudio, said the Egyptian explanation of their son's death rang hollow. The couple earlier informed Italian investigators that most of the items that Egypt's interior ministry claimed belonged to Giulio such as a red sports bag and sunglasses and had been found in the house of a gang of robbers weren't their son's at all, bar some documents including his passport and student identification card. At the Senate in Rome following their arrival from their home in northeastern Italy, the couple also pressed the Italian government to step up the pressure on Cairo to solve the young man's slaying, including, if necessary, declaring Egypt to be an "unsafe" country for Italian tourists. Sen. Luigi Manconi, who heads the Senate's human rights commission, urged the Italian government to recall its ambassador to Cairo for "consultations" as a way to step up diplomatic pressure. Premier Matteo Renzi has insisted Italy will settle for nothing less than the truth. The body of Regeni, who was researching labor unions in Egypt, was found nine days after he disappeared on the fifth anniversary of the 2011 Egyptian uprising, a day when Egyptian security personnel were out in force in Cairo to discourage protests. Family lawyer Alessandra Ballerini called Egypt's explanation that the researcher died at the hands of common criminals a "grotesque" attempt to hide the truth. Ballerini revealed Tuesday that an Italian autopsy determined he died Feb. 1 or 2 after "protracted torture" and that the Egyptian regime "denies the truth because it's an uncomfortable truth." "They made an Italian disappear, in a place patrolled by hundreds of police on a day that wasn't any old day," she said. Egyptian authorities, who insist they are cooperating fully with their counterparts in Italy, say that four members of a robbery gang were killed last week in a shootout with police. The claim that Giulio was killed by robbers follows an earlier one that he was hit by a car. Italian prosecutors are still waiting for Egyptian investigators to hand over data from Regeni's cellphone as well as video from surveillance cameras from the subway station area where he was last seen. ___ Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter/fdemilio Police arrest teen in fatal shooting at DC train station WASHINGTON (AP) A teenager was charged Tuesday with the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old last weekend on a train station platform in Washington. Maurice Bellamy, 17, of southeast Washington was charged as an adult with second-degree murder while armed. Online court records show that a court appearance Tuesday, he was ordered held in jail. His next court appearance was scheduled for April 22. Police said Bellamy fatally shot 15-year-old Davonte Washington on Saturday at the Deanwood Metro station. Davonte died of two gunshots to the torso, according to a court document. The document says police were able to identify Bellamy as a suspect as a result of surveillance video footage from the scene and that two witnesses who were at the station with Bellamy confirmed his identity after being shown a photograph of him. One witness who was with Bellamy at the time of the shooting said that when Bellamy was near Davonte he heard Bellamy curse and ask why he was being looked at, saying, "You know me from somewhere?" The witness said he saw Davonte getting up off a bench where he was sitting, heard both men say "What?" and then the shooting took place, according to the court document. Davonte's mother, who was also with him at the time of the shooting, told investigators that her son and the suspect, later identified as Bellamy, exchanged words. She said her son said, "What you talking about cuz?" and that she saw him stand up before both teens said "What's up?" and the shooting occurred, according to the court document. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a news conference Tuesday that in her opinion the shooting was over "nothing." Metropolitan Police Department district commander David Taylor said previously that a conversation escalated into an argument. Madalyn Harvey, a lawyer listed in online court records as representing Bellamy, did not immediately return a telephone message Tuesday afternoon requesting comment. ___ Venezuela: Argentina can't "disappear" leftist TV network CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that Argentina would not be able to "disappear" the Telesur regional television network as it erased the lives of people during the country's military dictatorship. "The same actors who disappeared 30,000 young people in Argentina are trying to disappear Telesur," Maduro said of the conservative Argentine government that announced Sunday it would pull its nearly 20 percent stake out of the Spanish-language network. Argentina said it was leaving because it had been shut out of financial and editorial decisions. FILE - In this July 24, 2005, file photo, workers set up for the inauguration of Telesur in Caracas, Venezuela. Argentine Minister of Communication Hermann Lombardi announced Monday, March 28, 2016, that the country is pulling out of the Spanish-language television network started by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a vehicle for promoting leftist politics in Latin America. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch,File) Maduro said the left-leaning network started by his predecessor President Hugo Chavez would continue to inform the Argentine people and stand for truth and freedom of expression in Latin America. Venezuela's socialist president said in televised remarks on Monday that Argentine President Mauricio Macri could not make the network go away, or prevent people from accessing Telesur's reporting online. Argentina's Minister of Communications Hernan Lombardi said on Twitter that Maduro's statements did not merit a response. Argentina is the first partner to pull out since a coalition of governments launched the channel in 2005. The Latest: Janice Dickinson declares victory in Cosby case LOS ANGELES (AP) The Latest on model Janice Dickinson's defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby (all times local): 10:50 a.m. Janice Dickinson shouted "Victory!" as her attorney hoisted the model's hand in the air after a judge ruled that her defamation case against Bill Cosby can proceed. FILE - In this June 29, 2015 file photo, Janice Dickinson arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Lord of the Freaks." Dickinson has revealed that shes got breast cancer and vows to battle the disease. She told the Daily Mail of London that a pea-size lump was found on her right breast during a doctor visit on March 8. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File) Dickinson has sued Cosby for defamation after his legal team denied her allegations that the comedian drugged and raped her in 1982. A judge ruled Tuesday that a jury could determine the credibility of Dickinson's claims and whether a statement by Cosby's former lawyer branding her a liar was defamatory. Dickinson's attorney, Lisa Bloom, said at a news conference outside a Los Angeles courthouse that the decision was significant because Cosby's lawyers have fought to keep sexual abuse allegations from going to trial. Dickinson called the ruling a victory for all women and said, "I will not go down." Cosby's attorney, Christopher Tayback, declined to comment. ___ 9:40 a.m. A judge says she won't dismiss model Janice Dickinson's defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby. Dickinson sued Cosby for defamation last year after his legal team denied her claim that the comedian drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe in 1982. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Debre Katz Weintraub ruled Tuesday that the denial that branded Dickinson a liar is a fact that can be determined at a trial. Cosby's attorneys tried to dismiss the suit, arguing Dickinson's story had changed over the years. They will have several other opportunities to challenge the case before it goes to trial. Dickinson says she tried to include the story in a 2002 memoir, but her publisher refused. Her lawsuit says the denial by Cosby's lawyers caused her to feel victimized again. ___ 12:05 a.m. A judge is scheduled to consider whether to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by model Janice Dickinson against Bill Cosby. Dickinson sued Cosby for defamation last year over his legal team's denial of her claim that the comedian drugged and raped her in 1982. Cosby's attorneys are seeking a dismissal of the case because they say Dickinson has given differing accounts of her interactions with Cosby over the years. They also contend that letters Cosby's former attorney sent to reporters denying Dickinson's claim were protected legal communications. Cosby's former attorney has denied the claim and called the model and reality television star a liar. Dickinson's suit states the denial caused her to feel re-victimized Dozens of women have accused Cosby of sexual abuse, but the statutes of limitations in most instances have passed. Attorney: Deputies offered witnesses cash after beating man SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Two Northern California sheriff's deputies seen beating a suspect on surveillance video last year offered the man's belongings to homeless witnesses so they would not speak out about what they saw, the man's attorney alleged. Lawyer Michael Haddad said Alameda County deputies approached a homeless man in a San Francisco alley after the November beating of Stanislav Petrov and gave him Petrov's large gold chain with a medallion, cash and cigarettes, The Oakland Tribune reported Monday. "I think it was implied that he wanted them to be quiet," Haddad said of the exchange, adding that he had spoken with the homeless onlookers. Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, told reporters that the agency was investigating. "They are no better than the criminals they arrested, if these allegations are true," Nelson said about the deputies. They have been on paid administrative leave since the San Francisco public defender's office released video showing the deputies repeatedly hitting a man with their batons as he screamed. He had broken bones in both hands and severe bruising to the head and body, his attorney said. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon says he has not decided whether he will charge the deputies. The incident began when authorities spotted Petrov in a stolen car in Castro Valley. Petrov rammed two deputies' vehicles and then led law enforcement on a chase across the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge before deputies on foot caught up to him in the Mission District of San Francisco, according to the sheriff's office. Petrov was resisting arrest and reaching for his waistband, which made the deputies fear he was armed, according to their statements. Haddad questioned the deputies' statements, which were taken four days after the video was released. "I'm suspicious that these are false reports that probably replaced earlier reports that were thrown away," Haddad said. ___ Authorities: Escaped Ohio inmate seeking water when caught CINCINNATI (AP) A convicted murder captured about 24 hours after he was found missing from an Ohio prison apparently didn't have an escape plan, authorities said Tuesday. John Modie was captured on Monday night at an abandoned Nelsonville gas station as he was trying to get into a fast-food restaurant to get water, patrol spokesman Sgt. Vincent Shirey said Tuesday. "He just escaped and apparently didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do," Shirey said. This undated photo shows provided by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections shows John Modie. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction on Monday, March 28, 2016, confirmed the possible escape of Modie, convicted of killing a woman in Cleveland, from the Hocking Unit of the Southeastern Correctional Complex in Nelsonville. The department says Modie was found to be missing during the 11:00 p.m. count of inmates Sunday night. (Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections via AP) The 58-year-old inmate, who was serving time for the murder of a woman at his home in 2002, was found missing Sunday night from the Hocking Unit of the Southeastern Correctional Complex in Nelsonville. Shirey said he didn't know details of how Modie escaped, but said he apparently happened upon an opportunity and took it. Authorities said Modie was captured without incident. The State Highway Patrol is conducting the criminal investigation and the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction will review policies and procedures relative to the escape, corrections department spokesman Grant Doepel said Tuesday. Modie was not returned to the Nelsonville prison, which houses about 450 inmates classified at the lower- to medium-security level. He was taken to the maximum-security Southern Ohio Correctional facility outside Lucasville in southern Ohio. Doepel said the department's placement of prisoners looks at criminal offenses and prison behavior. "When looking at him, we took into account his prior offenses and also the good behavior he had exerted at times during his incarceration," Doepel said. Despite being a lower-security level prison, the Hocking Unit does have the double fencing that surrounds higher security prisons, noted Doepel, who said he couldn't comment details on the investigation of how Modie escaped. Modie was serving 18 years to life for convictions on murder, robbery and escape charges. He was accused of beating to death Ucianna Ortiz at his Cleveland home in October 2002 and dumping her body along an interstate in Cleveland. Authorities have said he was arrested in Texas while driving a stolen car. Voting rights case has high stakes for Iowa felons who voted IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) One is a sex offender who failed to register. Another stabbed a fellow teen to death in the 1970s. A third illegally possessed a firearm, and the other two have drug convictions. All five northeastern Iowa residents are charged with illegally voting in the 2012 presidential election as ineligible felons. But the Iowa Supreme Court will consider which offenders lose their voting rights in the first place: all felons or only a tiny fraction who commit specific "infamous crimes"? While the five defendants are not directly involved in the case, they would benefit from a ruling that narrowly limits the crimes that trigger voting bans. Oral arguments are scheduled for Wednesday in Des Moines, and a decision could come within weeks. This undated booking photo released by the Black Hawk County Jail in Waterloo, Iowa shows Robert Earl Anthony. Anthony and four others face trial in April 2016 on election misconduct charges for allegedly casting ballots in the 2012 presidential election despite having lost their voting rights as convicted felons. (Black Hawk County Jail via AP) The case has gained widespread attention because Iowa is one of three states with Kentucky and Florida with lifetime voting bans for felons unless their rights are restored by the governor. Critics say it's a stain on the state's progressive civil rights record and disproportionately limits blacks from voting and holding public office. At issue is the definition of wording in the Iowa Constitution that strips anyone convicted of an "infamous crime" of their voting rights. For 100 years, the court interpreted that to mean all felons and anyone convicted of aggravated misdemeanors, which carry potential prison time. But the high court threw out that precedent in 2014 by ruling that no misdemeanor offenders lose their voting rights. Justices split over whether the "infamous crimes" provision disenfranchises all felons as defined by lawmakers or only those who would undermine the integrity of elections if they were allowed to participate, such as people convicted of election fraud, bribery and perjury. The new case, brought by former drug offender Kelli Jo Griffin, is expected to clear that up. The ACLU is representing Griffin, who was acquitted of perjury after being charged with illegally voting in an uncontested municipal election. Griffin argues her crime wasn't infamous. Civil rights activists are urging justices to rule that Griffin and thousands of similar ex-offenders can vote without fear of prosecution. The state's database of ineligible felons includes 57,000 people. The stakes are high for the five defendants from Waterloo, a city 110 miles northeast of Des Moines, four of whom are African-American. They're set to stand trial next month on election misconduct charges after nearly 2 years of delays. The Black Hawk County Attorney's Office filed the charges in January 2014 as part of a heavily criticized voter fraud investigation by then-Secretary of State Matt Schultz, a Republican. The NAACP and other activists lobbied prosecutors to drop the cases, but were rebuffed. Prosecutors continued to pursue them even after the state Supreme Court's 2014 ruling threw the state's blanket felon voting ban into doubt. If convicted, the five men face up to five years in prison. Defense attorney Aaron Hawbaker said each trial will hinge on whether defendants knowingly voted illegally as prosecutors must prove or thought they were eligible. "This prosecution is one of those political things where somebody wants to flex some muscle and show off," said community activist David Goodson, who is friends with two defendants and told prosecutors they made innocent mistakes after being assured by others they could vote. Elections officials allowed them to vote because their precincts, unlike others in the county, didn't have electronic systems to check felon eligibility when they registered. Fifteen other felons were identified at county precincts before voting and weren't prosecuted. The first defendant, sex offender Harold Redd Jr., is scheduled to stand trial next week. The others juvenile killer Robert Earl Anthony, drug convicts Ricco Cooper and Rose Lee Wilder and felon gun owner Glen Tank have April 12 trial dates. County Auditor Grant Veeder said the disparity in polling place technology hasn't been fixed. He said the criminal cases were "unfortunate" but declined to say whether they should be dropped. "It's difficult for me to determine fair and unfair under the current law," he said. This undated booking photo released by the Black Hawk County Jail in Waterloo, Iowa shows Ricco Cooper. Cooper and four others face trial in April 2016 on election misconduct charges for allegedly casting ballots in the 2012 presidential election despite having lost their voting rights as convicted felons. (Black Hawk County Jail via AP) This undated booking photo released by the Black Hawk County Jail in Waterloo, Iowa shows Harold Redd Jr. Redd and four others face trial in April 2016 on election misconduct charges for allegedly casting ballots in the 2012 presidential election despite having lost their voting rights as convicted felons. (Black Hawk County Jail via AP) This undated booking photo released by the Black Hawk County Jail in Waterloo, Iowa shows Glen Tank. Tank and four others face trial in April 2016 on election misconduct charges for allegedly casting ballots in the 2012 presidential election despite having lost their voting rights as convicted felons. (Black Hawk County Jail via AP) Former US priest who viewed child porn going to prison LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) A former Catholic priest found guilty of a charge of looking at child pornography on his computer is heading to prison for close to three years. Stephen Pohl, 57, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 33 months. Police seized his computer during an investigation that started after a 10-year-old student told his parents he felt "weird" about some photos that Pohl had taken. Pohl had told the child "to place his hands on his knees and move his legs apart" for the photos, according to a police affidavit. The parents of the boy later saw Pohl out shopping in Louisville, confronted him and asked to see the pictures on his cellphone. Pohl handed it over, and the parents found several photos of other young boys, the affidavit said. Pohl wasn't charged with any crime for taking the photos, since the children in his pictures were clothed. During the sentencing, Pohl appeared in leg shackles and read from a brief written statement that he was sorry for all the "sadness, pain and anger" he caused to friends, family and the church's members. Police searched his living quarters at the church on Aug. 12 and found about 200 photos of children from the school, though none was considered pornographic, according to a letter to parents from the archdiocese. One of the photos of the 10-year-old student was focused on his genital area, though he was clothed, the police affidavit said. The U.S. Attorney's office in Louisville said it is in the process of identifying the students in Pohl's photos, and their parents will be contacted and given the option to view them. Parents of one St. Margaret Mary student who was photographed by Pohl filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Archdiocese of Louisville, alleging the church should've known that Pohl was a danger to children. Richard and Christeena Gallahue are also asking that the photos Pohl took not be destroyed. They are seeking unspecific damages for emotional distress. FBI iPhone solution may not necessarily crack other cases SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The FBI's discovery of a way to hack into the phone of one of the San Bernardino killers may not be the master key that allows prosecutors across the country to unlock iPhones in hundreds of more ordinary criminal cases. The FBI may not quickly share the technique it used with local law enforcement agencies, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said Tuesday. And even if it does, the hack may be too expensive for district attorneys' offices, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. has said. Also, technology experts said it is not at all certain whether the technique can work with other types of iPhones. FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, file photo, an Apple iPhone 6s Plus smartphone is displayed at the Apple store at The Grove in Los Angeles. The FBI said Monday, March 28, 2016, it successfully used a mysterious technique without Apple Inc.'s help to hack into the iPhone used by a gunman in a mass shooting in California, effectively ending a pitched court battle between the Obama administration and one of the world's leading technology companies. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File) While the San Bernardino case involved an extremist attack Dec. 2 that killed 14 people, investigators across the U.S. are seeking access to iPhones in drug cases and other crimes, arguing that encryption features prevent them from gathering valuable information such as the identity of the person a victim last talked to or texted. "This is really a victims' rights issue," said District Attorney Daniel Conley in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which includes Boston. "A lot of people view this through a national security lens and that is important, but my job is to serve victims of crime, and a lot of them aren't going to get the opportunity for justice they deserve." Conley said his office has more than 50 phones it has warrants for but can't crack. Manhattan officials said they have at least 200 Apple devices inaccessible to prosecutors out of a total of 734 received by a cyber lab between October 2014 and February 2016. The devices were taken during investigations of attempted murder, child sexual abuse, sex trafficking, child pornography, assault, robbery, identity theft and other crimes. "This isn't just an issue resonating in California or New York. The decision by these companies unilaterally to encrypt these devices and make them warrant-proof is going to have a significant impact on prosecutions around the country," Vance said in a recent interview. Vance told Congress earlier this month that other district attorneys are facing similar challenges. He cited Harris County, Texas, saying the DA there last year encountered more than 100 encrypted Apple devices in cases including human trafficking, street crime and sexual assault. Vance said Chicago's Cook County cyber lab received 30 encrypted devices in a recent two-month span, and the Connecticut Division of Scientific Services has encountered 46 encrypted Apple devices. The Justice Department declined through a spokeswoman to comment Tuesday. But a law enforcement official said the FBI would continue to aid its local and state partners with gaining evidence in cases implying that the method used in the San Bernardino case would be shared with them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to publicly comment. Vance and other law enforcement officials, though, have called for a federal law governing when a company can be forced to help authorities unlock a phone. "A workable balance between privacy and public safety can only be set by Congress," he said in a statement Tuesday. Bratton, too, said the FBI's success in breaking into gunman Syed Farook's iPhone without Apple's help does not do away with the need for a comprehensive solution. "They may have dealt with this one," he said, "but there will be others coming down the pike very quickly." ___ Flint official: State overruled plan for corrosion control FLINT, Mich. (AP) A city official says he intended to treat Flint's drinking water with anti-corrosive chemicals after the switch to the Flint River but was overruled by a state regulator. During a hearing before a legislative committee Tuesday, city utilities director Mike Glasgow said he met with a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality district engineer shortly before the switchover. He said the engineer told him a year of testing was required to determine whether it was needed. In hindsight, Glasgow says that was a fateful moment. For nearly 18 months, Flint residents would drink tap water that had coursed through aging pipes and fixtures, scraping away lead from lines that ran from water mains to some homes and schools. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha testifies during a meeting of Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the Northbank Center in Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Flint residents still are advised not to drink unfiltered tap water. State Sen. Jim Ananich, D-Flint , listens to Flint resident LeeAnne Walters testify during a meeting of Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency, Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at the Northbank Center in Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha testifies during a meeting of Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the Northbank Center in Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Flint resident Keri Webber, left, listens as she is seated among more than 100 people who gather during a meeting of Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency, Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at the Northbank Center in Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; LOCAL INTERNET OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha testifies during a meeting of Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency, Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the Northbank Center in Flint, Mich. (Daniel Mears/Detroit News via AP) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency, including, from left, state Sen. Jim Stamas, Committee Clerk Scott Jones, state Sen. Jim Ananich and state Rep. Jeff Irwin listens to testimony, Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at the Northbank Center in Flint, Mich. (Daniel Mears/Detroit News via AP) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling testifies during a meeting of Michigan's special Joint Committee on the Flint Water Public Health Emergency on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the Northbank Center in downtown Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Ex-mayor of Colombia's capital jailed 18 years for graft BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) The former leftist mayor of Colombia's capital was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 years in jail for taking bribes in the awarding of ambulance contracts Former Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno was removed from office in 2011 and then jailed on corruption charges. The grandson of a popular mid-century president, Moreno was found guilty this month of benefiting from almost $2 million in kickbacks paid by ambulance companies hired by the city. He still faces charges of even larger graft tied to the awarding of infrastructure projects that were left unfinished. FILE - This Sept. 19, 2011 file photo shows Bogota's former Mayor Samuel Moreno leaving court in Bogota, Colombia, after he was charged with corruption in the awarding of ambulance contracts and removed from office. The grandson of a popular mid-century president, Moreno was found guilty in March of 2016 of benefiting from almost $2 million in kickbacks paid by ambulance companies hired by the city. (AP Photo/William Fernando Martinez, File) In reading the sentence Tuesday, a judge who previously accused Moreno of "looting" the city's coffers also banned the politician from holding public office ever again. Four British nationals were on hijacked EgyptAir plane Four British nationals were on the Egyptian plane forced to divert to Cyprus due to an alleged hijacker who was wearing a fake suicide belt. The captain and crew have been congratulated for how they dealt with the incident in which a man on board claimed to have an explosive belt and took people hostage. The plane was carrying 56 passengers, including 26 foreigners, on an EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo. The hijacked EgyptAir aircraft after it landed at Larnaca airport (AP) Most of those on board were freed shortly after the plane landed at Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island at 8.50am, before the hijacker held seven people hostage for a number of hours. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are relieved that the situation at Larnaca airport has now come to a safe conclusion. We are providing consular support to four British nationals caught up in today's events. "We remain in close contact with the Cypriot and Egyptian authorities." Diplomats in Dublin said they did not believe any Irish citizens had been caught up in the hijacking. The man was arrested minutes after some of those being held were seen walking down the stairs of the plane, with another escaping through a cockpit window before they were led away by security officers. EgyptAir said Cypriot authorities at the airport had confirmed "the explosive belt that the hijacker allegedly said that he was wearing is fake". The Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Yehia Rashed, said : "We congratulate the EgyptAir captain and his crew for landing the plane safely and for putting the safety of the passengers as a priority, in a highly professional manner and in accordance with international aviation standards. "The Egyptian Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail, was personally involved in helping to resolve this incident and EgyptAir is currently taking the necessary steps to bring back all passengers involved. "We are assured by passengers on the flight that all security measures at Borg El Arab Airport were fully implemented." Footage posted on the official Facebook page of Egypt's Ministry of Interior appears to show the hijacker passing through security before boarding the flight. The man, circled in red, can be seen loading his bag to be scanned and calmly walking through a detector. He is then frisked by a security official before collecting his bag and walking off. Another image posted on the page shows a scan taken of his bag, which appears largely empty. Cypriot officials confirmed the incident had reached a peaceful conclusion. Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable. The man was said to have initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport. At one point he demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. According to The Guardian, an official at Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs added: "He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren't stupid. This guy is." Egypt's official Middle East News Agency identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa, without providing further details. The hijacking will raise serious concerns over security at Egyptian airports, and one aviation expert claimed the incident was a return to "the security stone age". David Learmount said it appeared the captain of the flight "didn't have faith in the security systems" and felt he had to follow the hijacker's demands, resulting in the "first major successful hijack since 9/11". But he said the captain should have been confident that it was "impossible" for someone to have got through security with a suicide belt. The incident comes just five months after 224 people were killed when a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft in October, and the extremist Islamic State group (IS) said it was responsible. Minister Charlie Flanagan, from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Ireland, said: "I was glad to see a peaceful resolution to the hijacking incident at Larnaca airport in Cyprus earlier today. "In the event, my department did not receive any request for consular assistance and, as far as I am aware, none of the passengers was travelling on an Irish passport." One of the British nationals on board posed for a photograph with the alleged hijacker, according to reports. A picture, which is circulating on Twitter and has been published by news organisations, shows a man - who has been named in reports as Ben Innes from Leeds - standing next to a man wearing what looks like an explosives belt on a plane. Mr Innes, believed to be a health and safety auditor, is said to have approached the alleged hijacker while being held hostage on the tarmac, and sent the photograph to one of his flatmates as well as other friends, it has been reported. Mr Innes's flatmate Chris Tundogan told MailOnline he had "no idea" why his friend had the photograph taken, adding: "I find it pretty mental, but that's just Ben I guess!" Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked UK plays down reports over Argentina territorial waters ruling The UK has played down reports that a United Nations commission has ruled that Argentina's territorial waters should be extended to include the Falkland Islands. The government in Buenos Aires - which continues to claim the islands it refers to as the Malvinas - hailed the reported decision by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf as a "historic occasion". However, Downing Street said the commission had yet to publish its report and that its findings had no legal force. The Falklands Islands government is seeking clarification on the UN commission's finding The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: "At this stage we have yet to receive details of that report. It is important to note that this is an advisory committee. It makes recommendations, they are not legally binding. "Speculation about what the report says has come from Argentina. I think we should wait to see what comes from the commission in New York." Earlier, the Argentine foreign ministry said the commission had ruled that its territorial waters in the South Atlantic should be expanded by 35% - an increase of 0.66 million square miles. "This is a historic occasion for Argentina because we've made a huge leap in the demarcation of the exterior limit of our continental shelf," said foreign minister Susana Malcorra. "This reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf." The report heightened concerns among the islanders that Argentina's claim could threaten their expanding oil exploration industry which has already pumped millions of pounds into their economy. However Downing Street made clear that the UK would continue to back their right to self-determination in the face of the claims from Buenos Aires. "What is important is what the Falkland Islanders themselves think," the Prime Minister's spokeswoman said. "They have been very clear that they want to remain an overseas territory of the UK and we will continue to support their right to determine their own future." The Falkland Islands government said it was seeking clarification from London as to the implications for the islands of any ruling by the commission. Man held after car abandoned on railway causes chaos A man has been arrested after trains were delayed by a car found abandoned on a railway line. Emergency services were called to the incident near Pitsea, Essex, after the Volkswagen Polo was found shortly after 4.15am on Tuesday. Rush hour services between Pitsea and London Fenchurch Street were disrupted throughout the morning. A car found abandoned on a rail line near Pitsea in Essex (Network Rail/PA) British Transport Police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of assault and firearms offences. It is understood officers had pursued the car after it failed to stop on a nearby road. Pictures taken by Network Rail staff show the car straddling the track. Rail operator c2c said on Twitter: "Wheels fell off car when it was attempted to be pushed from line. Had to then wait to be winched out." A spokesman for the company said the disruption would continue for much of the morning. Defendant accused of decapitating wife 'thought she was a snake' An estranged husband decapitated his wife of 30 years, smashed up her head and flushed it down the toilet in an act of "pure hatred", a court heard. Crane driver Dempsey Nibbs, 69, then said he beheaded the mother of his two children, Judith Nibbs, 60, because he thought she was a "snake". However, the Old Bailey murder trial heard Nibbs had shown no signs of mental illness in the wake of the horrifying killing at the couple's home in Hoxton, east London, in April 2014. Crane driver Dempsey Nibbs denies murdering his estranged wife Judith (Met Police/PA) Prosecutor Crispin Aylett, QC told jurors to "brace themselves" as he outlined the gruesome case. He told how the couple's relationship had soured in the spring of 2014 as Nibbs suspected his wife of having affairs. The victim had confided in her sister and a colleague at Meals on Wheels that the defendant had threatened to kill her and grabbed her by the throat. During a row on April 7, Ms Nibbs, who is originally from Kirkham, near Preston, Lancashire, had admitted seeing other men, taunting Nibbs by saying: "I have had sex eight times." The next day, the mother of five predicted her own killing as she left work, with the words: "If I'm not in Friday, I might be dead." On the night of Thursday, April 10, Nibbs attacked her in their Hoxton flat and knocked her out, Mr Aylett said. He told jurors: "What might otherwise have been family tragedy now becomes terrible. You will, I am afraid, have to brace yourselves. "Having attacked his wife, the defendant then took up a kitchen knife and cut off her head. "Nor does the horror end there: having decapitated his wife, the defendant began to break her head into pieces with a mallet and a metal bar. He then flushed the pieces down the lavatory." The prosecutor went on: "Quite why the defendant decapitated Judith and then disposed of her head is not entirely clear but it may well be that he did it out of pure hatred at the sight of his wife's face." After the killing, Nibbs wrote a suicide note addressed to his son Kirk, 30, and rang police to say they would find "a couple of dead bodies" at his home. A paramedic was first on the scene but he was "fobbed off" by the defendant. A police officer then arrived and, seeing the headless corpse through the letter box, kicked the door in. He found Nibbs in the bathroom with a shotgun in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other which he used to stab himself. Mr Aylett said the officer acted with "remarkable bravery" in grabbing the gun from Nibbs and then taking the knife with the help of a fellow officer. Nibbs was taken to hospital with stab wounds to the neck and stomach. The defendant, who was also diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, was not well enough to be interviewed by police for a year. Mr Aylett told jurors that the defendant admitted killing his partner but that he had been "defending himself". The defendant also said that he cut her head off because he thought she was a "snake" and disposed of it in the toilet, jurors were told. But the prosecutor said there was "no evidence" that he suffers from mental illness. The victim's workmates described her as a happy, joyful, bubbly and open minded woman. She had three daughters from a previous marriage as well as a son and daughter with Nibbs, having taken his name despite not being formally wed. Her son Kirk says that since his mother no longer had to care for his younger sister, Nibbs felt she had changed and was not "the housewife" she used to be, the court heard. A later examination of her computer showed that between 2013 and 2014 she had exchanged sexually explicit messages on Skype with a man called Khalid. William and Kate 'to create new memories' when they follow Diana to Taj Mahal The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hope to create "new memories" when they visit India's Taj Mahal - the backdrop to a famous picture of Diana, Princess of Wales. The visit to the 17th century monument will be one of the highlights of William and Kate's seven-day tour of India and neighbouring Bhutan which begins next month. The Duke's mother was pictured sitting alone in front of the monument to love in February 1992, prompting rumours about the state of her marriage to the Prince of Wales. The picture of Diana, Princess of Wales prompted speculation about her marriage The photograph became the defining image of the tour and by the end of the year it was announced the couple had agreed to separate. At a press briefing the Cambridges' communications secretary Jason Knauf said: "The Taj Mahal is one of the symbols of India and Their Royal Highnesses cannot wait to see it with their own eyes. "The Duke of Cambridge is of course aware of the huge esteem his mother, the late Princess of Wales is held in India and he appreciates the iconic status of the images that exist of the Princess at the Taj. "He feels incredibly lucky to visit a place where his mother's memory is kept alive by so many who travel there. "Twenty-four years on from her visit to the Taj, the Duke and the Duchess are looking forward to seeing this beautiful place for themselves and creating some new memories as they say thank you to the people of India at the conclusion of this tour." The trip will be the first time William and Kate have visited India and Bhutan but they will not be taking t heir young children Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Highlights of the visit, which begins on April 10, will see the royal couple visit a Bollywood charity event, staged in Mumbai, and pay their respects to India's founding father Mahatma Gandhi at the place where he was assassinated in New Delhi in 1948. The couple will travel to the Kaziranga National Park, a wildlife sanctuary and world heritage site which is home to two thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses as well as tigers, elephants and wild water buffalo. On April 14, they will visit nearby Bhutan, a small landlocked country in the shadow of the Himalayan peaks which has a rich Buddhist tradition. One of the country's major attractions is Paro Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest monastery, and the royal couple will hike up to the religious centre perched on the side of a cliff. Australia says Mozambique debris likely from missing MH370 By Byron Kaye and Swati Pandey SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday debris recovered this month in Mozambique was highly likely to be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, while Malaysia called for a stepped up search of Africa's coast for clues to the plane's fate. Official analysis found two pieces of debris were "almost certainly from MH370", Australian infrastructure and transport minister Darren Chester said in a statement, referring to the Boeing Co 777 that vanished in March 2014 with 239 people on board. "That such debris has been found on the east coast of Africa is consistent with drift modelling ... and further affirms our search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean," Chester said. The flight disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, creating one of the most baffling mysteries in aviation history. Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course, out over the Indian Ocean. A search, led by Australia and one of the most expensive ever conducted, has focused on a 120,000-sq-km (46,330-sq-mile) band of sea floor in the remote southern Indian Ocean. In 2015, French authorities said a wing part found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was part of the plane. The Mozambique debris was examined by investigators from Australia and Malaysia, as well as specialists from Boeing, Geoscience Australia and the Australian National University in Canberra. 'SOLVE THIS MYSTERY' The discovery is likely to add to pressure from the public for the search to go on beyond a mid-2016 schedule for it to be wound up. Most of those on board were from China. "If they don't find the plane in the area where they're searching now, they and others need to continue to look," said U.S. adventurer Blaine Alan Gibson, who found one of the new pieces of debris this month on his own independent search. "They've got to solve this mystery. We can't give up after the current search area is completed," Gibson added in a telephone interview, shortly after being told by the authorities that his discovery matched the plane. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the coasts of South Africa and Mozambique should be searched and Malaysia wanted to send a team. "We are currently awaiting approval from the South African authorities," Liow said. "The coastal search will be by a Malaysian team and focused around South Africa and Mozambique." Liow, however, said the location of the underwater search need not be changed. The piece of debris that Gibson found is a white, metre-long chunk of metal with "No Step" printed on it. It arrived in Australia for testing this week, along with another piece of debris found in Mozambique soon after. "I can't use the word happy to describe how I feel, because that means that the plane crashed, and that the plane crashed in a forceful impact," Gibson said. "I'd use the word 'hopeful'." With crisis plans and cuts, British bosses brace for Brexit By Kate Holton HEREFORD, England, March 28 (Reuters) - Above a factory floor of machines carving metal to within a millionth of a metre, Stephen Cheetham is preparing his company for the unknown: a British exit from the European Union. Since the government announced a referendum on Britain's future in Europe, Cheetham has deferred investment decisions, put off expensive hiring and even bought equipment with his own money to avoid straining the balance sheet. The aim is to prepare his company, which makes parts for first-class airline seats and intricate scientific equipment, for what he fears will be a slump in business if Britain votes to leave the world's biggest trading bloc. "It is extremely difficult to prepare for and it worries me witless," said the owner of PK Engineering. "But our disaster plan is very clear: if all the kit is paid for, we hang on to it and we ditch everybody apart from the core." Britain's big listed companies have appointed lawyers and strategists to identify the risks of a British exit, or Brexit. Wary of meddling in politics, however, they have largely not detailed their plans for the June 23 vote. But smaller companies in the manufacturing heartlands, crucial to the economy and often inextricably linked to continental Europe, are formulating contingency plans that illustrate the risks facing businesses across the country and the steps being taken to mitigate them. At the start of 2015, almost half of Britain's private-sector turnover came from firms that employed fewer than 249 people, according to the Department for Business. For Cheetham his "disaster plan" involves jettisoning nearly half of his 30 employees if a Brexit compounds the drag from an already slowing global economy at his firm in the English rural town of Hereford. Across the nearby Welsh border, Gareth Jenkins, who runs a toolmaking firm, has identified which major customers in Europe are likely to abandon him should they have to accept higher costs or slower delivery times that might come from new border controls with EU countries if Britain leaves the bloc. He has calculated the financial impact and says in a worst-case scenario he could lose 25 percent of his turnover. He plans to tell his 91 employees in the next couple of weeks that a vote to leave could force him to lay off a quarter of staff. POOR VISIBILITY Very little is clear ahead of the referendum called by Prime Minister David Cameron, with British voters divided on membership and both sides in the debate arguing Britain would be financially better off if their cause succeeds. The fears of business owners like Cheetham and Jenkins are driven by what most Britons - on either side of the debate - accept is unchartered economic territory should Britain vote to leave the group it joined 43 years ago. The terms of any divorce would be subject to two years of negotiations with the EU, with no guarantees of how the new order would look. At present British companies trading with other EU nations do not face customs tariffs, costly paperwork such as certificates of origin or VAT - sales tax - on imports. Should it opt to leave, Britain may negotiate continued tariff-free access but additional administrative burdens will almost certainly apply, making exporting to and importing from the EU more costly, say business owners and lawyers. They also fear any restrictions on European workers and a prolonged period of a volatile pound, while the effect on the EU of losing its second-largest economy is unclear. Adam Shuter, head of haulier Exact Logistics, is investigating whether he should set up a German office, which he thinks could cost less than the additional taxes and paperwork of serving EU customers from outside the bloc. "For a small business, it's quite a bit of investment," he said. "It just adds a layer of administration." He is also gauging the extra customs costs his British customers might incur outside the EU, using non-members Norway and Switzerland as guides, and looking at how much it would cost to set up expensive software to handle border clearances. He charges an additional 50 to 60 pounds ($70-85) per consignment for customs clearance into those two countries, on top of a typical European delivery cost of 40 to 50 pounds. A spokesman for Vote Leave, one of the groups campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, said the concerns were unfounded. The group argues companies would benefit from fewer regulations imposed by Brussels, while the government could be more nimble in agreeing trade deals with the likes of India, China and the United States. "The UK is the EU's largest market so every incentive exists for the UK to strike a free trade deal with the EU while using its new-found control to also strike free trade deals across the world," it said. GLOBAL TIES Cheetham's focus is closer to home. He bought PK Engineering in Hereford, close to England's border with Wales, four years ago after a career in the automotive and finance industry. With its 1.5 million pound ($2.2 million) turnover and 10,000 square ft factory, he says he is too small to employ consultants or lawyers ahead of the vote. Like many of Britain's high-precision manufacturers, most of PK's goods - 90 percent - are exported to global supply chains, ending up at the likes of Boeing's factory in Seattle or Airbus's base in Toulouse. "You think we're a rural business?" asks Cheetham of his 27-year-old firm based on a small industrial park nestled in rolling countryside 190 km (120 miles) west of London. "If we screw up, Boeing in Seattle stops or Airbus in Toulouse stops ... it's all interconnected." Clutching a component of an airline seat in his right hand, the 58-year-old details how the aluminium came from Finland and the fittings from Germany to meet an order from a French customer in Wales who will send it on to Toulouse or Seattle. To his left is a large folder detailing the certification process the firm went through to allow it to win work in the aerospace sector. Known as the Aerospace Quality Certification AS9100C, the six-month process cost about 20,000 pounds. The EU contributed to that cost in its bid to improve productivity and competitiveness in the bloc and Cheetham said it would have taken much longer to complete had he needed to stump up all the cash. Leaving the bloc, Cheetham worries that his firm could miss out on this kind of advantage and become less competitive. "Our ability to increase prices is very limited - whenever we try, we lose work," he said. He has pushed back the hiring of a new senior engineer until after the vote. "If we do vote for Brexit we will have a prolonged period of uncertainty and everything will grind to a halt, he said. "And we don't want to be caught holding the debt." 'MAPPED OUT IN MY MIND' Any move that led to British manufacturing firms losing their place in global supply chains would deal a major blow to the British economy; the sector accounts for a tenth of its output and employs 2.65 million people, the vast majority in small and medium-sized firms. Just over one hour's drive from Hereford through country lanes decked with daffodils stands Jenkins' 55,000 square ft toolmaking factory, a Welsh firm entwined in similar networks. Like Cheetham, 59-year-old Jenkins has been studying contracts and trying to work out whether three of his biggest clients, all based in Germany, would be able to cope if they had to accept higher costs or slower delivery times. He estimates that one if not two would stop using his FSG Tool and Die, Europe's largest privately owned design and build toolmaking firm. "I have mapped this out in my mind," he says, in a room off the spotless factory where tools are being built to make everything from yoghurt pots to replacement hips and car parts. "The minute we vote to leave customers will say there's a risk here and we need to mitigate it. We ship tools from here on Monday that they'll be using by Thursday. What happens if that is disrupted?" he said, fearing that they will look elsewhere. Jenkins fears losing the close links he has developed with other EU firms should a vote to leave exclude it from the free movement and trade that has made the alliances work. Up against the might of low-cost centres such as China, he teamed up with firms in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere to train one another's apprentices, refer sales, bid for emerging market work and hire a rep in Singapore to cover all their needs. "It's a bit like a life raft," he said. CUSTOMS CONUNDRUM The customs issues are perhaps most crucial for hauliers such as Shuter's Exact Logistics, which delivers across Europe from its base in Rugby, central England. While lawyers and business owners say any new tariffs could be low, they worry that deliveries could be delayed by customs clearance and additional paperwork, including certificates of origin and export tax declaration documents. Shuter and one of his clients, Pete Churchill from Robert Welch Designs, estimate that the additional paperwork could mean the cost of a consignment jumps to between 150 to 200 pounds from the current 50 pounds. That compares with the value of the consignment which can sometimes be as little as 500 pounds. Sitting in an office crammed with filing cabinets and maps of Europe, Shuter is investigating how much it would cost to buy a new software system that could clear consignments with European tax and border authorities if Britain were to operate under different rules. "You're probably talking in the region of 10-20,000 pounds, so it's relatively significant," he said. British importers also fear they will have to pay VAT sales tax when they take delivery of goods from the EU - rather than at the point of sale - making cashflow harder to manage. Facing so many unknowns, business owners such as Cheetham are struggling to plan for the future. Back in Hereford he lets his frustration show. Normally a supporter of Cameron's Conservatives, he says he is furious at the position the government has put business owners in. "They are playing roulette with the economic future of the country," he says, hands gripping the table. "We're just hoping for the best. I'm almost in denial." ($1 = 0.6933 pounds) PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - March 29 SOFIA, March 29 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. -- Bulgarian government might become subject to a second vote of no confidence after having survived its first motion earlier this year. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) - the second largest opposition party, is considering to initiate  vote of no confidence for the failure of the government in its foreign policy (Trud, 24 Chasa, Standart) -- Bulgarian citizens completed a total of 281,360 trips abroad in February, a 9.8 percent increase compared to the same month in 2015, the stastistic office said. There was an increase in the number of trips made by Bulgarians to neighbouring Romania, Serbia and Macedonia as well as Austria, Italy, Spain and Germany. At the same time, there was a drop in the number of visits to Greece, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Turkey. Hungary, Factors to watch, March 29 BUDAPEST, March 29 (Reuters) - Following is a list of events in Hungary and the region, as well as news stories and press reports which may influence financial markets. (For any queries: Budapest editorial +36 1 327 4745) WHAT IS HAPPENING IN HUNGARY (ALL TIMES GMT) BUDAPEST - Dec-Feb unemployment rate (0700) BUDAPEST - 3-month Treasury bill auction (0930) IN THE REGION CZECH - China's President Xi Jinping visiting Czech Republic CZECH - Cigarette maker Philip Morris CR to release full-year 2015 results (0800) CZECH - China-Czech Republic Financial Cooperation Forum (0900) SLOVAKIA - ECB Governing Council member J.Makuch news conference (1300) IN THE NEWS REUTERS Bulgaria says ready to erect fence on border with Greece Bulgaria is ready to build a fence on its border with Greece to keep out migrants amid fears they could head its way after the Western Balkan route was closed, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said. Hungary cbanker: stable forint is best for monetary policy Slovak Republic - Factors To Watch on March 29 BRATISLAVA, March 29 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Tuesday. ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 1 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA======================== Real-time economic data releases................... Previous stories on Slovak data............ Overview of economic data and forecasts......... ===========================EVENTS============================== BRATISLAVA - Central bank will release an updated quarterly macroeconomic forecast at 13.00 local time (1100GMT). Related news: ===========================NEWS================================ UKRAINE GOVERNMENT: The frontrunner to head a new Ukrainian government has asked Slovak politician Ivan Miklos to serve as his finance minister if he becomes prime minister, a Slovak daily said on Monday. Story: Related news: For Instant Views of key economic data click on For summary of economic data and forecasts For diary of forthcoming Slovak events For calendar of east European economic indicators TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX News editor of the day: Jan Lopatka on +420 224 190 474 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (Reporting by Prague Newsroom) PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - March 29 MOSCOW, March 29 (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 - Artyom Chaika, the son of Russia's prosecutor general, has been revealed to have a 33 percent stake in the 3S property development firm, the paper writes. It say the company plans to build half a million square metres of housing in Moscow in the next three to five years. - Russia's major media holdings, including Channel One, Gazprom-Media, VGTRK and the National Media Group are in talks over jointly selling TV advertising, the daily reports. - Russian oil major Rosneft will boost investments by up to 30 percent to 1 trillion roubles ($14.54 billion) in 2016, the paper writes. That, it wrote, would mean Rosneft's investment levels would be comparable with those of Gazprom . - Russian travel operators think the peak of the crisis in their industry has passed and that demand for tourism inside Russia will revive the market, the daily writes. KOMMERSANT www.kommersant.ru - Russian oil major Rosneft wants to become the exclusive supplier of petrol to the interior ministry, the paper writes. Independent producers have complained to the anti-monopoly service. - Parliamentarians in St Petersburg plan to demand that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismiss Vladimir Medinsky, the culture minister, the paper says. They are angry about the recently discovered theft of budget money earmarked for renovating cultural sites. NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA www.ng.ru - Russia is now ranked 15th among the world's economies by size in dollar terms, the paper writes. Three years ago, it was ranked 9th. - Ella Pamfilova, the Kremlin's former human rights envoy, was on Monday elected head of Russia's Central Election Committee, the paper writes. - Russian communists will introduce a draft law aimed at ensuring elections are more transparent and competitive, the paper writes, citing sources. Children in Yemen bear brunt of brutal war - UNICEF By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition and millions lack access to health care or clean water due to the year-old war there, the U.N. Children's Fund said on Tuesday. A UNICEF report also said all sides in the war had "exponentially increased" the dragooning of child soldiers, with 848 documented cases - including boys as young as 10 - forced to fight. Tensions appear to be easing between the Iran-allied Houthis, who control most of northern Yemen, and Saudi-led forces after a year of war, over 6,200 deaths and a humanitarian crisis in the Arab world's poorest country. "On average, at least six children have been killed or injured every day," said the report "Childhood on the Brink". UNICEF has confirmed 934 children directly killed and 1,356 injured, but says they are "only a tip of the iceberg". "Basic services and infrastructure in Yemen are on the verge of total collapse," it said, noting attacks on schools, hospitals and the water and sanitation system. The United Nations said last week the warring parties had agreed to a cessation of hostilities from April 10 and peace talks from April 18. "We're hoping that the truce kicks in on the 10th and will allow parents and families to come and access health services and other services," Julien Harneis, UNICEF's Representative in Yemen, told Reuters by telephone from Sana'a. "In Sa'ada in the last week, there has definitely been a reduction of fighting in the border area. In Sana'a, we have seen fewer (Saudi-led) air strikes," he said. Nearly half of Yemen's 22 provinces on the verge of famine and over 13 million people need food aid, the U.N.'s World Food Programme said last week. UNICEF delivers nutritional supplies and vaccines against measles, polio and other childhood diseases in the country of 24 million, but it is not enough, Harneis said. "We've got an increase in both severe acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition," he said. The report said an estimated 320,000 children risk severe acute malnutrition, which can leave a child vulnerable to deadly respiratory infections, pneumonia and water-borne diseases. Nearly 10 million children require humanitarian aid to prevent a further deterioration. Chronic malnutrition can stunt growth and development. "UNICEF estimates that nearly 10,000 children under 5 years may have died in the past year from preventable diseases," it said, citing lower vaccination rates and declines in treatment. Calls mount to stop abuse of migrant workers in Italy's "red gold" - the tomato sector By Paola Totaro PUGLIA, Italy, March 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Baah, a tall, broad-shouldered Ghanaian man, stares through a grimy window, his face a study of disappointment as he watches a chill wind cast ripples over fields of corn in southern Italy. The countryside of Puglia, the region that spans the south-eastern tip of the Italian peninsula, is best known for its vast groves of olive trees, vineyards bounded by postcard-perfect dry-stone walls, and emerald and turquoise beaches. Further inland, however, on the remote plains at the feet of the Gargano hills lies an ugly, secret and often violent world, one that 24-year-old Baah and hundreds of thousands of stateless migrants like him never imagined could exist in modern Europe. Investigations by Italian labour unions who are demanding change have revealed that a vast army of vulnerable, often stateless North African and Eastern European migrants used to pick tomato crops are controlled by illegal work-gang masters and held in slave-like conditions in rural ghettos. The calls for action come as rising numbers of migrants travel to Europe from North Africa and the Middle East, raising concerns of increased exploitation of migrant workers. "They say there is work in Italy. I came to work, to make a better life. But in Italy people suffer, they work and they work and they do not get paid," said Baah, one of several hundred men living in a ghetto known as Ghana Ghetto in the Cerignola area. "There is no water, there is no place to live that is clean, no toilets. Italy is not paradise." Between the capital, Bari, the city of Foggia and the foothills, large, grim ghettos blot the landscape, inhabited by young men from Ghana, Nigeria and sub Saharan countries as well as increasing numbers from Iraq and Syria. VULNERABLE WORKERS Many are waiting for the Italian bureaucracy to process their asylum applications, leaving them with no legal right to work and with little choice but to rely on local charity or find work illegally, making them vulnerable to exploitation. The biggest of the ghettos, 'Il Ghetto Rignano Garganico',a sprawling, shanty town of cardboard and wooden huts, is reached by a 50 km (30 miles) drive along pot-holed, country tracks. During the summer, in tomato picking season when temperatures hover in the mid 40s degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit), thousands of men converge to sleep and live here, without running water or toilets, overseen by work gang bosses, known as 'caporali' (the corporals). Agriculture is widely accepted to be one of the Italian economic sectors most scarred by organised crime that blights the supply chain all the way from the fields to the supermarket - and the massive tomato industry is no exception. A research project by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs released last December described a mobile, seasonal workforce living in extreme poverty, often without water and sanitation, housed in abandoned buildings or tent cities with little or no healthcare. "Foreign labour is regarded as crucial to enable Italian agriculture to compete on global markets. Yet in a race to make the biggest possible profit, employment laws are being routinely ignored," said ETI spokesman Nick Kightley releasing the report. Repeated calls to Italy's Agriculture Ministry for comment were not returned. Italy is currently the world's third largest producer of processed tomato products - second only to the United States and China - exporting 5 million tonnes worth more than 1.5 billion euros (US$1.7 billion) in 2014, mainly to Germany, Britain, France, Japan and Russia. But while it is seen as the crown jewel of Italian agriculture, migrant workers have dubbed the Italian tomato business as "red gold". CALLS FOR REFORMS Yvan Sagnet, a young Cameroonian who led a revolt of migrant workers in 2011, said the 'caporali' can make thousands of euros a day while the workers earn 20 euros before costs are removed. "They refuse to allow workers to bring food or water. They force them to pay 5 euros each for transport to the fields and to return to the ghettos to sleep at night. They sell food, panini for 3.50 euros and bottles of water for 1.50 euros," he said. "Often they take workers' papers if they have any documents at all, using this as leverage to keep them from fleeing and making them a kind of slave. They charge them rent in the ghettos, they even make them pay for old tyres to burn for heat and warmth in winter." Sagnet came to Italy as a student, winning a scholarship to study engineering in Turin. He learned first hand the horrors of the work abuse when he missed an exam, lost part of his scholarship and had to find a way to bolster his finances. Desperate to earn money and return to his studies, he travelled to the south in 2011 to work in the tomato fields of Nardo near the city of Lecce. The working conditions he found were unimaginable - and, he says, remain unchanged - with the working day stretching from 3am to 6pm in 40 plus degree temperatures without shade or respite. Five hundred men were forced to sleep in less than 200 one-man tents and medical attention was discouraged. When the owners of the fields Sagnet was working in decided suddenly to change the way the crop was to be picked - making the work more difficult but offering no extra pay - the young Cameroonian led a revolt and the labour force went on strike. The men's protest shone a public spotlight onto the nefarious 'caporalato' system, or the illegal employment of agricultural workers for little pay, harnessing attention from the Italian media, and 16 gang masters in Puglia were arrested. Since then the Italian Parliament has legislated to make the 'caporalato' a Mafia crime but the system continues to flourish. Without regular police checks and raids, it is business as usual for the work gangs involved with the valued export, say campaigners. Sagnet, who has since finished his degree and written two books, now works as an advocate with the Italian General Confederation of Labour union, CGIL, but lives with the constant threat of retribution. Visits to other ghettos dotted throughout Puglia found migrants from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Romania and Bulgaria struggling to eke out an existence from tomato picking. In summer time when the migrant labour force is at its fullest, say NGOs including Amnesty International and CGIL, women also move to the ghettos to cook and work as prostitutes. Antoine, 24, an emigrant from the Ivory Coast who seeks seasonal picking work throughout Italy, proudly declares that he is "the only African that likes the cold" - and one of the few who refuses to work with the 'caporali'. "I don't want to die on the job. People die here because they risk and push and work and try to fill their containers to make enough money to feed themselves, their families," he said. "I came to Italy to live and to work, not to die." In another ghetto populated by Romanian and Bulgarian workers, the air of misery is also tinged with a palpable fury. with outsiders chased away from the ghetto by 'caporali'. Angelo Guarini, founder of the Italian pro-agricultural campaign organisation, Federazione Italiana dei Movimenti Agricoli, said the use of migrant labour in southern Italy's fields was almost impossible to defend but did need to be seen in the context of an ailing agricultural sector. Many farmers and growers are themselves battling for subsistence as global competition, tariff changes and world prices for crops such as tomatoes and olives have dropped. "In my view there should be a Mediterranean-wide movement or publicity campaign to re-value fresh produce, not to compete but to unify and revitalise the sector and this would also help to provide more work and improve working conditions," Guarini said. For Sagnet, the battle to reform the Italian production system is still in its infancy. He said a raft of cultural and structural change is urgently needed, from more efficient processing of migrants' work documents to restructuring price setting for tomatoes through to creating state monitored systems to transport and house workers. Other ways to improve the situation could include ethical certification, "pre-booking lists" where farms can hire migrants without using the 'caporali', housing projects to replace ghettos, and projects to offer legal advice and medical help. Hopes fade of imminent deal to end Ukraine political crisis By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets KIEV, March 29 (Reuters) - Ukraine's prospects of forming a new coalition - vital to get IMF loan talks back on track - were thrown into fresh doubt on Tuesday after Yulia Tymoshenko pressed demands as the price of taking her Fatherland Party into an alliance. Her remarks dampened expectations of an imminent deal to end months of political infighting that have delayed Western-backed reform efforts and left Ukrainians increasingly disillusioned with the pace of change after the Maidan protests that brought the pro-Western leaders to power. The scale of the challenge for any new administration was laid bare on Tuesday by the sacking of a reformist senior prosecutor, who at a news conference accused vested interests of throttling his efforts to tackle corruption in the prosecution service. Tymoshenko's requests include scrapping a tax on pension payments and rolling back energy price hikes. The latter is a key reform implemented under Ukraine's bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund. The lack of a stable coalition capable of pushing reforms through parliament has derailed talks for a new $1.7 billion loan from the IMF. The Fund has warned that political paralysis is putting the entire $17.5 billion aid programme at risk. Tymoshenko's commments suggested a coalition was far from agreed despite an announcement by Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk's party of a new alliance with Fatherland and the faction belonging to President Petro Poroshenko. Tymoshenko "is demanding a stack of political laws be voted on before joining the coalition. Everyone has to go back to the drawing-board," a source in Poroshenko's faction said. Fatherland is the smallest party in parliament, but the support of its 19 lawmakers is enough to give the coalition a majority when added to the 216 MPs from Poroshenko's and Yatseniuk's factions. Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Groysman, a 38-year-old former mayor and ally of Poroshenko, has been put forward as a replacement prime minister, but Yatseniuk has refused to step down until a new coalition agreement is signed. Anton Gerashchenko, a lawmaker in Yatseniuk's faction, said the three-party coalition had not been formalised. The head of Yatseniuk's party, Maksym Burbak, said they did not expect any final coalition agreement before next week. Failure to form a coalition could trigger snap parliamentary elections, which critics say would delay reforms further and boost support for populist parties who oppose the IMF-backed austerity measures. Meanwhile the prosecutor's office was similarly immersed in high-level squabbling. Parliament approved the forced resignation of General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin - an ally of Poroshenko - but before the vote his office announced that he had dismissed top reformist prosecutor, Davit Sakvarelidze, for "grossly violating" the ethics of his post. Sakvarelidze, who has been in a long-running feud with Shokin, said the dismissal of him and his colleagues amounted to "a cleansing of people who are prepared every day to fight corruption and the old guard without compromise." War in Yemen kills many children, leaves others malnourished - UNICEF By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition, millions lack access to health care or clean water, and some have been drafted as soldiers in the year-old war, the United Nations Children's Fund said on Tuesday. A UNICEF report said all sides had "exponentially increased" the use of child soldiers in the conflict between Houthi forces, allied to Iran, and a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. It knew of 848 documented cases, including boys as young as 10. "On average, at least six children have been killed or injured every day," said the report "Childhood on the Brink". UNICEF has confirmed 934 children directly killed and 1,356 injured, but says they are "only a tip of the iceberg". "Sixty-one percent of those (children) killed and injured were in (Saudi-led) air strikes across the country," Julien Harneis, UNICEF's Representative in Yemen, told a briefing by telephone from the capital Sanaa. All sides have violated international law by using indiscriminate and disproportionate force that means "children die unnecessarily and wrongly", he said, citing multiple coalition strikes on outdoor markets. Basic services and infrastructure are "on the verge of total collapse," the report said, noting attacks on schools, hospitals and the water and sanitation system. The U.N. said last week the warring parties had agreed to a cessation of hostilities from April 10 and peace talks from April 18, after a year of war that has killed more than 6,200 people. "We're hoping that the truce kicks in on the 10th and will allow parents and families to come and access health services and other services," Harneis told Reuters earlier. "In Sa'ada in the last week, there has definitely been a reduction of fighting in the border area. In Sanaa, we have seen fewer (Saudi-led) air strikes," he said. Nearly half of Yemen's 22 provinces are on the verge of famine, the U.N.'s World Food Programme said last week. UNICEF delivers nutritional supplies and vaccines against measles, polio and other childhood diseases in the country of 24 million, but it is not enough, Harneis said. "We've got an increase in both severe acute malnutrition and chronic malnutrition," he said. The report said an estimated 320,000 children risk severe acute malnutrition, which can leave a child vulnerable to deadly respiratory infections, pneumonia and water-borne diseases. For now UNICEF is only able to reach 200,000 of them, Harneis said. Nearly 10 million children require humanitarian aid to prevent a further deterioration. Chronic malnutrition can stunt growth and development. France calls for urgent set-up of Libya unity government ALGIERS, March 29 (Reuters) - France said on Tuesday it was urgent for Libyan factions to set up a new U.N.-backed national unity cabinet to end factional anarchy and help stop any expansion of Islamic State militants in the North African country. Libya is caught in conflict between rival factions and their armed brigades, one controlling the capital Tripoli in the west and the other - the internationally recognised government - displaced to the east of the country. The U.N. deal aims to bring the sides together but the envisaged joint cabinet has been unable to set up in Tripoli and start work because of factional resistance on the ground. Tuesday's appeal by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault came a day after Libya's displaced eastern government accused its rival in Tripoli of closing down the capital's air space to foil any establishment of a unity administration. Islamic State militants, also known by their Arabic name Daesh, have expanded in Libya's security vacuum, taking advantage of fighting between the factions to seize the central city of Sirte, attract foreign recruits and attack oil sites. "There is an urgency for this government to be set up," Ayrault told a news conference during a visit to Algiers. "I think there is no other solution than a political one. Violence creates a state of chaos and helps Daesh to expand." Led by Fayez Seraj, Libya's eastern government has faced resistance both in the east, where its parliament has declined to vote in favour of the unity deal, and in Tripoli, where the premier of the self-declared government rejects the U.N. plan. Sweden ready to declare war hero Wallenberg dead 70 years after disappearance STOCKHOLM, March 29 (Reuters) - The Swedish Tax Authority said it is ready to declare Raoul Wallenberg dead, more than 70 years after the diplomat, who helped rescue thousands of Hungarian Jews at the end of the Second World War, was captured by Soviet forces in Budapest. The fate of Wallenberg, who would be 104 years old this year, has been shrouded in mystery since he was captured in 1945. He had helped save thousands of Jews from the Nazis by issuing them provisional Swedish passports so they could flee to Sweden. A Russian report claimed he died in the infamous Lubyanka prison in 1947, but no definitive proof has been put forward. Wallenberg, from one of Sweden's most powerful business family dynasties, has been made an honorary citizen of the United States, Canada, Hungary, Austria and Israel, and he was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal in 2012. French journalist freed early from week-long contempt of court sentence THE HAGUE, March 29 (Reuters) - A former prosecution spokeswoman for the U.N. court trying alleged criminals from the 1990s Balkan wars has been released early from the jail where she had been serving a one-week sentence for contempt of court, the tribunal said on Tuesday. Florence Hartmann, who reported for French newspaper Le Monde on the wars that accompanied the collapse of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia, was arrested by U.N. officials as she sought to attend the sentencing of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic last Thursday. In a ruling, the presiding judge of the Yugoslavia tribunal's legal successor said her good behaviour meant Hartmann was eligible for release after serving two thirds of her seven-day sentence - on Tuesday rather than Thursday. "Hartmann's completion of more than two-thirds of her sentence and her exemplary conduct in the UNDU are factors that favour her early release," wrote Theodor Meron, the court's American chief justice. She was convicted in 2009 of revealing confidential trial information in a book on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and was fined 7,000 euros. In 2011, judges converted that into a seven-day jail term for non-payment. Hartmann claims her book revealed attempts by the court to cover up Serbia's responsibility for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys - Europe's worst massacre since World War Two. France and the Netherlands have both ignored requests by the court to extradite her since her sentencing, and she has lived freely in France for the past five years, visiting the Netherlands on at least one occasion. Her arrest, which took place outside the court's headquarters in The Hage in front of dozens of journalists and Bosnian victims gathered for Karadzic's sentencing, drew condemnation from some press freedom campaigners. "The penalty imposed on her for her action as a whistle-blower is wholly disproportionate," Jerome Fenoglio, director of Le Monde, wrote on Monday, calling for her swift release. Karadzic, whose Bosnian Serbs battled in the 1990s to forge an ethnically pure Serbian state out of multi-ethnic Bosnia, was sentenced last week to 40 years in prison for crimes including genocide. Beirut airport needs new safety equipment, perimeter wall -minister By Lisa Barrington and Laila Bassam BEIRUT, March 29 (Reuters) - Beirut airport needs at least $24 million to address pressing gaps in security, including a new wall and baggage inspection equipment, Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Zeaiter said on Tuesday. Building a new perimeter wall - which will cost $1.4 million - is the most urgent priority, he told journalists at the airport while authorities in Cyprus, 200 km (125 miles) away, negotiated a safe end to the hijacking of an EgyptAir flight. Beirut airport's decaying sea wall, protecting the western runway, is also a key concern and repairing it fully would cost up to $54 million, he said. Zeaiter implied security and safety improvements had not been undertaken because financing approvals have been delayed. "Today we need rapidly to decide the financing for the airport," he said, adding that if a cabinet meeting on Thursday did not authorise financing for the new wall he would directly instruct the contractor to begin work. Lebanon's security concerns have escalated since the outbreak of war in neighbouring Syria, which has heightened already strained sectarian relations in the country. A suicide bomb attack, one of many attacks to have hit Beirut and Tripoli since Syria's conflict began, killed at least 43 people four months ago in southern Beirut, where the airport named after the assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is located. Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk has said he is concerned about inadequate safety procedures at the airport. "There are security gaps in Beirut airport which must be plugged," he said last week. In those comments, he compared Beirut airport security to that at Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, where a bomb planted on a Russian passenger plane killed 224 people in October. Zeaiter declined to comment on these remarks. Mobile phone service cut as Pakistan blasphemy killer's supporters protest By Faisal Mahmood and Asad Hashim ISLAMABAD, March 29 (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities blocked mobile phone service for a third day in Islamabad on Tuesday as hundreds of hardline Muslim activists continued to protest the execution of a man who killed a governor over his criticism of harsh blasphemy laws. Security forces occasionally jam mobile phone signals during important events to prevent remote detonation of bombs and communications among potential rioters. But this week's outage was the longest and most widespread in recent memory. Protesters clashed with police on Sunday, but on Tuesday remained mostly peaceful, saying they had communicated a list of demands to the government - including a call for the execution of all blasphemers. The outpouring of support for ex-bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri comes just after a suicide bomber targeting Christians killed 72 people in the eastern city of Lahore and highlights the growing tension between hardline Sunni Islamists and Pakistan's civilian government. "We are members of the Sunni parliament, sitting outside Pakistan's parliament," one of the protest's leaders, Mohammad Ashraf Asif Jallali, told Reuters. Calling themselves the Movement Standing With The Prophet of Allah, the protesters consider Qadri a hero who defended Islam by assassinating Lahore governor Salman Taseer. The protesters said they had communicated a list of demands to the government but had no response after clashes with police on Sunday that injured 60 people and left a metro bus terminal trashed. On Tuesday, the capital was relatively calm, but bus services had yet to resume and mobile phone service was blocked for a third day in Islamabad and in nearby Rawalpindi, Qadri's hometown. An official at the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority confirmed the blocking of signals since Sunday afternoon "in the surroundings of parliament". The blockage was intended to be targeted only at the protest area but locations of the relay towers have caused wide swathes of Islamabad to be affected, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "These outages are normally ordered by the interior ministry ... They take the decision. We simply execute the decision." Syria's Assad says military gains will speed up political deal By Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - The Syrian army's successes and its strong support from Russia will help accelerate a political settlement to the country's civil war, President Bashar al-Assad said, as the two allies maintained an offensive against Islamic State militants. Assad was speaking in an interview with Russia's RIA news agency published on Tuesday, two days after Syrian government forces, with intensive Russian air support, drove Islamic State from the desert city of Palmyra. That military advance, which opened up much of Syria's eastern desert stretching to the Islamic State strongholds of Deir al-Zor province and Raqqa, came after two weeks of indirect talks at the United Nations in Geneva. Assad told RIA that the Syrian government delegation "displayed flexibility" at the talks with the opposition "in order not to miss a single chance" for settlement. "Russia's military support, the support provided by Syria's friends and the military achievements of the Syrian army - all this will lead to the speeding up of political settlement, and not vice versa," he said. "We did not change our position before Russia's support or after it," he added. Progress at the talks has been slow, with the government and its opponents deeply divided over any political transition, particularly whether Assad must leave power. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura says he wants the negotiations to address the "mother of all issues", political transition in Syria. But before the talks started, the Syrian government said the issue of the presidency was a red line. TOWN ENCIRCLED After seizing Palmyra on Sunday, Russian and Syrian jets targeted on Tuesday the town of Sukhna, about 60 km (40 miles) northeast, where many retreating Islamic State fighters had sought refuge, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. State media said the army and its militia allies also captured territory around al-Qaryatain, about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Palmyra, including farmland to the south and a mountain area to the west. "The town is almost encircled," the Observatory's director Rami Abdulrahman said. The Observatory said remaining Islamic State fighters had withdrawn from positions northeast of Palmyra. Russian and Syria jets and helicopters were bombarding Sukhna and carried 29 raids on al-Qaryatain on Tuesday morning alone. If the army takes al-Qaryatain, Sukhna and other pockets of Islamic State control, it will sharply reduce the jihadist group's ability to project military power into the heavily populated western region of Syria, where Damascus and other main cities are located. Russia and Iran, Assad's two main allies, both pledged to continue support for Damascus after the capture of Palmyra. Morocco rejects UN view of Western Sahara "misunderstanding" By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT, March 29 (Reuters) - Morocco said on Tuesday that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's description of its annexation of Western Sahara as an "occupation" was not a misunderstanding but a "premeditated act to alter the nature of the dispute". The foreign ministry statement came a day after a U.N. spokesman said Ban regretted the "misunderstanding" over his use of the word, which led to Morocco expelling dozens of United Nations staff from its mission in the disputed territory. The standoff over Ban's comment is Morocco's worst disagreement with the United Nations since 1991, when the U.N. brokered a ceasefire to end a war over Western Sahara and established a peacekeeping mission there known as MINURSO. "In the eyes of Morocco, these are premeditated acts to alter the nature of the dispute," Morocco's foreign ministry said in a statement. "At this level of responsibility, words have meaning, political and legal consequences, and personal opinions have no place." Morocco took over most of the territory in 1975 from colonial Spain. That started a guerrilla war with the Sahrawi people's Polisario Front, which says the desert territory in the northwest of Africa belongs to it. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 and sent in its MINURSO mission to help organize a referendum on the future of the territory. But the sides have been deadlocked since then. Morocco, which accused Ban of losing his neutrality in the dispute, said it also had differences with the U.N. chief over his reference to the referendum during his visit to the Western Saharan refugee camps in Tindouf in southern Algeria. Morocco also criticised Ban for visiting Bir Lahlou town, which it considers part of the buffer zone with the Polisario front. It said he had also signalled acknowledgement of the flag of the Polisario's self-declared Arab Sahrawi Republic (SADR). SADR has been recognized by some countries, mainly from the African Union, but no Western powers recognize it. Since the dispute erupted earlier this month, U.N. officials have repeatedly urged the U.N. Security Council to publicly voice its support for Ban and MINURSO, which the 15-nation body did late last Thursday in New York. But the council has not explicitly ordered Morocco to reverse its decisions or address Ban's use of the word "occupation." Some U.N. diplomats blamed the council's silence on Morocco's ally France, along with Spain, Egypt and Senegal. Algeria, Polisario's biggest ally and Morocco's regional rival, said on Tuesday the dispute was the main area of disagreement with France in foreign policy. "We keep good hope that France will help the region to resolve this Sahrawi question according to international law," Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said in a joint conference with French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault in Algiers. Morocco says that it will keep supporting the military part of MINURSO and that contacts with the ceasefire-monitoring units have not been disrupted. Brazil's Rousseff cancels international trip due to crisis BRASILIA, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has canceled a trip to a nuclear security summit in Washington because of a deepening political crisis that threatens to unseat her, two government officials told Reuters on Tuesday. "Since she accepted the invitation things have changed radically. She will stay home to deal with the ongoing crisis," said one of the officials, who asked not to be named because the information was not yet public. Iran missile tests were 'in defiance of' U.N. resolution -U.S., allies By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Reuters) - By launching nuclear-capable missiles Iran has defied a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed last year's historic nuclear deal, the United States and its European allies said in a joint letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Iran's recent ballistic tests involved missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and were "inconsistent with" and "in defiance of" council resolution 2231, adopted last July, said the joint U.S., British, French, German letter to Spain's U.N. Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi and U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. The letter said the missiles used in the recent launches were "inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons." It also asked that the Security Council discuss "appropriate responses" to Tehran's failure to comply with its obligations and urged Ban to report back on Iranian missile work inconsistent with 2231. Spain has been assigned the task of coordinating council discussions on resolution 2231. Council diplomats have said the case for new U.N. sanctions was weak, hinging on interpretation of ambiguous language in a resolution adopted as part of a July nuclear deal to drastically restrict Iran's nuclear work. Western officials say that although the launches went against 2231, they were not a violation of the core nuclear agreement between Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Russia, a permanent veto-wielding council member, has made clear it does not support new U.N. sanctions on Iran. Both Russia and China had lobbied against continuing restrictions on Iran's missile program during last year's negotiations on the nuclear deal. The four powers' carefully worded letter stopped short of calling the Iranian launches a "violation" of the resolution, which "calls upon" Iran to refrain for up to eight years from activity, including launches, related to ballistic missiles designed with the capability of delivering nuclear weapons. Diplomats say key powers agree that request is not legally binding and cannot be enforced under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which deals with sanctions and authorization of military force. But Western nations, which view the language as a ban, say there is a political obligation on Iran to comply. International sanctions on Tehran were lifted in January under the nuclear deal. The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' missile battery said the missiles tested were designed to be able to hit U.S. ally Israel. The United States condemned the remarks and Russia said countries should not threaten each other. The letter said the four Western powers "note with concern that Iranian military leaders have reportedly claimed these missiles are designed to be a direct threat to Israel." Several diplomats said the most Iran could expect would be a public rebuke by the Security Council. Under the nuclear deal, the reimposition of U.N. sanctions would only be triggered by violations of the agreed restrictions on Iran's atomic work. But a council rebuke could provide a legal springboard for European countries to consider new sanctions against Iran, Western diplomats said. Last week the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted two Iranian companies for supporting Iran's ballistic missile program, and also sanctioned two British businessmen it said were helping an airline used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Pakistan has proved that terrorism pays. It extracts billions of dollars from the United States even as it funds terrorist groups that kill American soldiers. Washington raps Islamabad on the knuckles every now and then but eventually gives in: it needs Pakistan as a client-state while the West fights the Islamic State (ISIS) in Paris and Brussels. India is the biggest victim of the toxic US-Pakistan axis of convenience. America will not declare Pakistan an outlaw state. It will also not stop military aid to Pakistan even though Washington knows its F-16 fighter jets will not be used by Islamabad against Taliban terrorists but to attempt military parity with India. Enemy Former Pakistani diplomat Husain Haqqani, now living in exile in the US, writes in his recently updated book, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military that the Pakistani army continues to view India as "enemy number one". Rawalpindi regards jihad as an inexpensive means to counter India's conventional military superiority. It is in this backdrop that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Pakistan policy must be viewed. Modi's bullet-for-bullet, mortar-for-mortar policy on the line of control (LoC) and the international border (IB) has succeeded. Over the past few months, border violations have fallen dramatically. Pakistan's Rangers suffered heavy casualties on the LoC and IB from Indian retaliatory firing in 2014 and the first half of 2015. Since then both borders have been relatively quiet. Modi and national security adviser Ajit Doval have learnt one lesson from this: peace with Pakistan can be achieved only by demonstrating strength. And yet the Modi-Doval doctrine has not defanged Pakistan's proxy terrorism. That has instead spread beyond Jammu & Kashmir to Punjab. Out-gunned on the border and unable to quite fathom Modi, the Pakistani army has switched to more intensive proxy terror attacks, along with sugar-coated diplomacy. Last week's talks in Nepal between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz laid the groundwork for "investigating" the Pathankot attack. The terror strike was carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammad. But Pakistan's six-member joint investigation team (JIT), replete with the ISI spooks, which arrived in Delhi on March 27, will use every trick in the book to ensure its "probe" pins the blame for the attack on Indian insiders. In the accusations and counter-accusations that will inevitably follow, the role of the JeM will be diluted. That is the whole intent behind the Pakistani army proposing a JIT. Only defence minister Manohar Parrikar has argued against the JIT's Pathankot visit. He reflects the Indian Army's view. But in the face of pressure from the external affairs ministry and the prime minister's office (PMO) he has had to back down. Modi's blow-hot, blow-cold policy on Pakistan has been called inconsistent. The criticism is justified. The test of any foreign policy - especially when dealing with a country that sponsors terrorism as state policy - lies in its outcome. Modi's policy of "peace through strength" on the LoC and IB has been a success because it sent a clear, tough message to the Pakistan army: desist or die. That clarity and toughness is absent in Modi's policy on Pakistan's proxy terrorism. Talking about terrorism, which Sushma Swaraj justified last week, won't stop terrorism. Only imposing an unacceptable cost on Pakistan will. India imposed such a cost on cross-border firing. It reduced significantly. Proxy terrorism is obviously a more complex challenge but the same basic principle of deterrence and cost applies. Unprecedented Pakistan's guile was evident when, in "an unprecedented move", its NSA Naseer Janjua informed Ajit Doval that ten terrorists had infiltrated into Gujarat for an attack during Mahashivratri. The Indian government rushed 160 NSG commandos to Gujarat in what turned out to be a wild goose chase. The subsequent report that three of the ten "terrorists" had been killed also turned out to be false. The men caught (not killed) were petty ATM thieves. Nearly a month after the Pakistan NSA's "unprecedented" terror alert, there is still no sign of the "terrorists". Pakistan has befooled the US for decades with this kind of double dealing. America though does not have JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists attacking its homeland. It has learnt to live with Pakistan's treachery. India can't afford that luxury. Diplomacy Pakistan's JIT will surely "probe" the Pathankot terror attack, one fears, India might follow a policy that will again appear inconsistent. Pakistan has no intention of prosecuting JeM chief Masood Azhar. He is a state asset. Pakistan will use this investigation to wash its hands off the attack. Gurdaspur superintendent of police, Salwinder Singh, already under suspicion, will serve Islamabad's purpose of calling the attack an inside job. What then should India's Pakistan policy be? Peace through strength has worked on the border. It can work on proxy terrorism if a clear-eyed policy is applied consistently. Modi must recognise that Pakistan's sweet-talking diplomats are a cover for what Husain Haqqani rightly calls the country's jihadi-minded army. India has many options it can pursue, apart from the "hopeful diplomacy" being currently practised. First, if there is another proxy terror attack on Indian soil, send Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit packing. Downgrade diplomatic relations. That is a policy every nation - from the US and Britain to Russia and Bangladesh - uses to deal with hostile countries. Second, deploy covert operations as Parrikar implied in his thorn for a thorn comment. In short, make Pakistan pay. India has been a victim long enough. Prime Minister Modi, of all people, knows that. Democracy mourned in Uttarakhand on the day of Easter. Violating all norms of democracy and constitutional propriety, Modi sarkar imposed the President's Rule in Uttarakhand. Justifying the action, it has been argued that President's Rule was imposed in the Himalayan state based on the recommendation of the governor that there was "breakdown in the governance of the state". The finance minister has gone on record to claim there were "cogent, relevant and extremely important grounds" for imposing the central rule. Was there any evidence of any breakdown, either administrative or of constitutional character, based on which the governor advised the Centre to impose Article 356 on the state? Was any warning issued to the state government that it was not being run according to the Constitution or rule of law and that if corrective measures were not taken, Article 356 would be imposed? Was any direction issued to the state government under Article 356? The answer to all these questions is: No. So, how did Modi government realise, after all attempts made to destabilise the Harish Rawat government failed, that there was governance failure in the state, which attracted the imposition of the President's rule? Why was the midnight Cabinet meeting necessary when the floor test was yet to be conducted? Stings, the authenticity of which is yet to be established, cannot be a relevant ground to summarily reject a popularly elected government. This is a mockery of democracy. The collective wisdom of Modi government has violated the Supreme Court directive while imposing central rule in Uttarakhand. In the S R Bomai case, the apex court had categorically stated whether a government enjoys majority in the House or not must be proved on the floor of the House - the only, appropriate place to test the majority of a government. It further stated that where a ministry has not been defeated on the floor of the House, governor, based on his subjective assessment, cannot recommend supersession and imposition of President's rule. A new precedent was set when a democratically-elected government was shown the door on the eve of the floor test authorised by the governor. Therefore, even the constitutional pundits were surprised when Article 356 was imposed in Uttarakhand a day before the Harish Rawat government was to prove its majority on the floor of the House. The government was authorised by the governor for the floor test on March 28. The principle of natural justice was not followed before dismissing the Harish Rawat government and imposing President's rule in the state. Therefore, no propriety and no logic except mala fide intention can justify the action of the Modi government. Ever since it has come to power, it has been following a systematic design to destabilise elected governments in non BJP-ruled states. First, it was Arunachal Pradesh and now it is Uttarakhand. Perhaps, this is the Modi model of cooperative federalism. The Supreme Court while examining the Arunachal case had said in unambiguous terms that while the governor may have some role in the functioning of the Assembly, he has no role to play in the issues prescribed in the tenth schedule of the Constitution. The governor cannot take away the powers the Constitution has given to the speaker. The latter is the sole authority to interpret rules of procedure in the House. And I think it was because of this power vested with the speaker that the Aadhaar Bill was classified as a money bill in Parliament and even though there was enough evidence and precedence to prove otherwise, the decision was accepted with a heavy heart. Under Article 122 of the Constitution, the speaker's conduct in regulating the procedure or maintaining order in the House will not be subject to the jurisdiction of any court. So, the March 21 instruction from Raj Bhawan to maintain a particular composition in the House and not to act against the rebels under anti-defection law is questionable as it amounts to interference in the working sphere of the speaker. The MLAs did not have the sufficient number to break away, so the speaker was duty bound to act against them under the anti-defection law. How the governor can advise speaker not to act according to constitution? Modi government needs to be reminded that India is a cooperative federation and in such a structure, the central government does not rule by majority alone, but it also needs moral authority to govern. It loses the authority if it does not display a sense of constitutional morality and a sense of justice and fairness towards democratically-elected state governments. In the Uttarakhand case, the Central government has acted in a manner which, at best, has been contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and, at worst, is tantamount to a fraud upon the Constitution. Uttarakhand is a fit case to be challenged in the Supreme Court. Article 356 should be used very sparingly, in extreme cases, as a last resort, when all available alternatives fail to prevent or rectify a breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state. All attempts should be made to resolve the crisis at the state level before taking recourse to the provisions of Article 356. In the case of Uttarakhand, like Arunachal Pradesh, President's rule has been imposed with mala-fide intention and without basis of any relevant material. RICHMOND Gov. Terry McAuliffe promised Monday to remove language from a pending $2.1 billion bond bill that would prevent capital projects at colleges and universities from moving forward until he signs construction contracts for replacing the General Assembly Building as part of a pending $300 million overhaul of state buildings on Capitol Square. McAuliffe told the presidents of public colleges and universities, meeting at the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, that the General Assembly made a mistake in fashioning the language that would tie more than $1.6 billion in bonds to four pending projects on Capitol Square, including the eventual renovation of the Virginia Supreme Court Building and Morson Row, a historic complex of state-owned buildings on Governor Street. Unless he removes the language, McAuliffe said, You will have to wait until 2020, or halfway through the next governors term, for bond money to pay for pending capital projects. I think they got a little too cute, said the governor, who promised, I will remove the language I have to. McAuliffes remarks escalate a long-simmering confrontation between the governor and Republican leaders over their refusal to expand the states Medicaid program for uninsured Virginians under the Affordable Care Act. He has made expansion of insurance coverage a condition for signing the bonds to finance the replacement of the deteriorating General Assembly Building, renovation of Old City Hall, and construction of a parking garage at North Ninth and East Broad streets, although he has allowed planning of the projects to proceed. House Appropriations Committee Chairman S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said Monday the legislature inserted the language into the bond bill after the governors spokesman, Brian Coy, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch earlier this month, As long as were denying Virginians health coverage we shouldnt spend that kind of money on the building. Legislators say the replacement of the General Assembly Building is not for their comfort, but to address dire public health, safety and liability issues raised in a 2012 consultants report that warned of a sudden shutdown if deteriorating asbestos insulation in one wing of the building gets into the air handling system. Jones said he disagrees with the governors interpretation of the language in the bond bill, which was intended to apply only to construction contracts for the General Assembly Building, Old City Hall, and the new parking garage. Those projects were part of a budget agreement the legislature and McAuliffe reached in late 2014 to break an impasse over the Capitol Square overhaul, which the governor had suspended after the legislature refused to expand health coverage for the uninsured. It was clear the legislative intent was the $300 million pool of funding, he said. It did not include the Supreme Court or Morson Row. But administration officials said the language includes all of the projects authorized in the 2014 budget bill, not just those funded. Whether it was intentional or not, they did, said Secretary of Finance Richard D. Ric Brown in an interview. The governors warning caught college and university presidents by surprise. Its news to me, said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System, which is counting on the bond package to pay for nine capital projects, including renovation of two buildings at John Tyler Community College in Chester. The language would not affect $350 million in bonds to expand capacity at Norfolk International Terminal; $59 million for pollution controls to protect the Chesapeake Bay; $20 million to assist localities with stormwater controls; and a pair of small bond issues for more than a dozen pending projects, including building renovations at VCU, the Science Museum and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. In addition to a potential four-year delay, Brown said the language could result in higher borrowing costs on municipal bonds to pay for the capital projects in the pending legislation. Our interpretation is its going to cost, because we dont see interest rates going down, he said. McAuliffe said he spoke directly to Jones and Senate Finance Co-Chairman Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta, on Monday and also had tried to reach Finance Co-Chairman Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, about his concerns over the long delay of projects in the bond package, which the governor originally proposed in December at $2.4 billion. We will get into a negotiation stage now, which I always enjoy, he told the educators at SCHEV. In an interview Monday, Hanger said technical corrections to the bond bill language can be negotiated, but that he told McAuliffe that replacement of the General Assembly Building is important and shouldnt be held up. It simply isnt going to work to try to tie Medicaid to this, said Hanger, who was a leader of an unsuccessful effort to expand health coverage for uninsured Virginians in 2014. Jones said Monday that the Appropriations Committee staff already is exploring the issue with Brown and his staff. I have confidence well get it worked out, he said. Michael Martz reports for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1SrllwX ) that the organizations sent a letter Monday urging Gov. Terry McAuliffe to demand that the state inspector general's office immediately release a report on Jamycheal Mitchell's death. The 24-year-old, who had been arrested last April for allegedly stealing $5 worth of snack food from a convenience store, died in August after losing so much weight his heart stopped. The organizations said they were concerned about the likelihood of future deaths if the problems that led to Mitchell's death are not remedied. "Swift action from the Office of the State Inspector General is not only appropriate, but also imperative," the letter says. McAuliffe, however, indicated he's not inclined to do as the organizations ask. Brian Coy, a spokesman for McAuliffe, said the governor wants a thorough investigation and "has no plans to interfere" with the process. Julie Grimes, a spokeswoman for the inspector general's office, told The Associated Press in an email Monday that the report is still in the works and will be released when it is finished. She said the office is still reviewing a report released last week by the Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services. That report cited clerical errors that kept Mitchell from being transferred to a mental health facility, but it did not address why more was not done about his rapidly worsening health while he was in jail. James Boyd, president of the Portsmouth chapter of the NAACP, said the inspector general's pledge to release the report when it is completed does not reflect the kind of urgency his organizations and the others want to see. "Obviously, we want a thorough investigation, but we don't want it to drag on, get bogged down," he told the AP in a telephone interview. He said some sort of update would be appropriate "so citizens will have trust in the system." Joining the Portsmouth NAACP in signing the letter were the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Virginia, Voices for Virginia's Children and Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership. G. Douglas Bevelacqua, who was a Virginia inspector general over behavioral health and developmental services from 2010 to 2014, has questioned how much time the inspector general is taking to complete the report. He said his department issued a report on the near-fatal attack on state Sen. Creigh Deeds by his son within four months of the incident. The office's "failure to issue its report in a timely manner is dangerously negligent because of the thousands of inmates in Virginia's jails with serious mental illness who, absent an institutional understanding of how Mr. Mitchell died, remain at risk for a similar tragic outcome," Bevelacqua said, endorsing the letter to McAuliffe. Mitchell, who suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had been ordered by a judge in May to be transferred to Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg for treatment. According to the report issued last week, the paperwork ended up in an "overwhelmed" state employee's desk drawer, so Mitchell was never put on the waiting list for a bed. Would you like to live next door to the ballpark? The historic Delco building, located on First Street next to Fifth Third Field is currently being converted into residential loft apartments, thanks to $3.25 million dollars in Ohio historic preservation tax credits. The City of Dayton released a new episode of "Inside Dayton" yesterday (scroll down for video), in which the project was discussed with developer Jason Woodard of Woodard Development. "We're converting an old, empty warehouse into 132 residential units. We'll also have a restaurant on the first floor, and interior parking for the residents within the building" said Woodard. Plans also call for restoring the 6th floor corner office of Charles Kettering, which overlooks the ballpark. Ketterings office will be part of a shared event space available to residents, according to Woodard. The Delco Lofts, as they are expected to be known, will be ready for their first residents in the Spring of 2017. Get a sneak peek of this space and other downtown housing options during the Downtown Housing Tour on May 7. Thiruvananthapuram: Fishes like tilapia and catfish, which in India are called invasive aliens, are success stories of commercial aquaculture in Thailand. In fact, the Thai seafood industry is greatly dependent on such exotic species according to Krishna R. Salin from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. He was delivering the keynote address at the international conference on Aquatic Exotics: Trends, Challenges and Policies at Senate Chamber on Monday. The Thailand story offered insights on how to effectively make use of Invasive Alien Species (IAS). They use special farming systems to breed some of the highly carnivorous species, he says. Moreover, the Thai department of fisheries has farms to grow indigenous species which might be wiped out by the invasive aliens, he said. They restock the rivers with native species thus grown. The three-day conference was inaugurated by National Biodiversity Authority chair B. Meenakumari. In India, she said, there was no inventory listing how many species are useful or harmful. There are highly propagative species which are useful. The white shrimp Litopenaeus Vannamei forms 75 percent of our fish exports, she said. However, invasive aliens cause as much as 20 percent crop losses in India, according to Kerala State Biodiversity Board chair Oommen V. Oommen. He shared examples from around the world, of the threat such species pose to native species, especially the already endangered ones. Brown tree snake, accidentally introduced by the US military to the island of Guam, affected the population of native bird species, he said. In Kerala, indigenous species are being replaced by invasive aliens in reservoirs and these are even found in high range areas, according to A. Biju Kumar, head of the department of aquatic biology and fisheries, which organised the conference. The inaugural function was presided over by N. Veeramanikandan, pro-vice-chancellor, University of Kerala. He said many a time ornamental species become invasive species. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the killing of a Malayali nurse and her child in a shell attack in Libya last Friday, pressure in mounting on the state government from Malayalis in Libya to make arrangements for their safe return home. A group of 20 Malayalis, most of them nurses, from areas in Sabratha city where the shelling took place, contacted NORKA department and sought safe passage back. Efforts are being made to arrange their return along with the bodies of the two. About 20 nurses from Libya approached us seeking help to return. Chief Minister Mr. Oommen Chandy has brought the matter to the notice of the External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and we hope the centre is taking necessary action, NORKA Minister K C Joseph said. Meanwhile, government sources said that the option of bringing the nurses along with the bodies of the mother and child was being looked into by the centre. About 30 Indians, a majority of them Malayalis, are learnt to be working in the same hospital where the deceased nurse, Sanu, was working. Most of them now want to return. But even flight operations from nearby areas are quite risky in the present condition. Hence the option of evacuating Indians along with the bodies of the two was being explored, said sources. NORKA officials also pointed out that the Centre may not give due consideration to the states pleas to evacuate Malayalis still held up in the troubled area as many preferred to stay back owing to fiscal problems during the evacuation drives carried out earlier. There were also reports of many returning to the troubled areas through illegal channels. Chennai: DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin on Monday said the wholesale and retail traders are affected by the seizure of money by the Election Commission and appealed to the EC officials to issue an order not to indulge in such actions when it was ascertained that the persons carrying the money are traders. The EC should order the flying squads to give back the money immediately on the spot, If the traders had appropriate documents for the money they are carrying. The officials should instruct the squads to take action without affecting the merchants. Stalin pointed out that the period of poll announcement date and the polling date is very long this time and the traders would face trouble throughout this time and commerce would be totally affected. When the money seized from the traders is kept with the Election Commission officials for three to four days, the family of the trader will be affected. Some of them borrow money to purchase commercial goods, Stalin said. The Election Commission should issue revised guidelines so that the traders are not affected, while ensuring that the money carried by the ruling party should not be ignored. New Delhi: The Supreme Court is all set to hear a PIL challenging imposition of President's Rule in crisis ridden Uttarakhand next week. "Let it be listed next week," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices R Banumathi and U U Lalit said. The court's observation came when advocate M L Sharma sought urgent listing of the public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue. President's Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand on Sunday by the Centre on grounds of breakdown of governance in a controversial decision that came in wake of a political crisis triggered by a rebellion in the ruling Congress. Meanwhile, the Congress on Monday said that it was ready for fresh polls in the state and alleged that the BJP toppled the Harish Rawat government, as it feared defeat due to the good work done by the party's government in the state. The party on Monday challenge to the imposition of Presidents rule in High Court, accusing the Centre of toppling its government ahead of a floor test in the Assembly. Read: Uttarakhand crisis: Harish Rawat challenges President's rule in HC "What is shocking is that the elections in Uttarakhand are very close by - just six months away, the BJP, in its desperation is trying to topple the Government. We are definitely ready for elections. They were worried for the good work being done there by the Congress government in Uttarakhand and felt that if it is continued, they have no chance of winning," party Spokesman RPN Singh said. Singh downplayed reports of rebellion in Manipur against the chief minister and practically half of Congress legislators are up in arms against the leadership of Ibobi Singh. Read: BJP accuses Harish Rawat-Govind Singh Kunjwal of 'violating' constitution On questions about Manipur, he said in many states as well as in central government, there are lot of people who have "dissent" against the leadership - be it at the Centre or at the State. "Even the Centre where there is full majority government in Delhi - isn't it that there is a lot of dissent within the BJP, how this government is being run but that does not mean that we use money power and muscle power to bring down the government", he said Singh alleged that over the last few months the BJP has been dismantling all the democratic Institutions - "be it trampling upon democratically elected governments like what we have seen in Uttarakhand and what happened in Arunachal Pradesh." Opposition leader K. Jana Reddy, and all Congress MLAs including PCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy is undemocratic and anti constitution to allow only the Leader of the House to make his presentation and while asking all the Opposition legislators to keep mum without having an opportunity to seek clarifications. Hyderabad: Telugu Desam MLAs led by A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday wrote to Assembly Speaker S. Madhusudana Chary objecting to the proposed presentation on irrigation projects on March 31 by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. The three TD MLAs informed the Speaker that there has not been a single instance wherein a member has been permitted to give a speech in Parliament or any other Assembly with an electronic aid, which is barred by rules. Legislature debates, which are printed and published, constitute the permanent official records of the proceedings of the House. Instead of allowing the Chief Minister to make his presentation in the Assembly chambers, he might be given an opportunity to conduct it in any of the committee halls in the Assembly precincts, they said. They said such a presentation would be deny the Opposition an opportunity to speak on the subject. Opposition leader K. Jana Reddy, and all Congress MLAs including PCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday wrote to Mr Chary requesting him not to allow Chief Ministers proposed power point presentation on irrigation issues in the Assembly chambers and suggested, like the Telugu Desam, to hold it in any committee hall of the Assembly. They said it is undemocratic and anti constitution to allow only the Leader of the House (Chief Minister) to make his presentation and while asking all the Opposition legislators to keep mum without having an opportunity to seek clarifications. The hijacker, identified as Seif El Din Mustafa, while an unknown man standing next to him on the plane pulls a silly face while taking a selfie. Larnaca: An EgyptAir plane was hijacked on Tuesday by an man who threatened to blow himself up before demanding he was reunited with his estranged Cypriot wife. Seif Eldin Mustafa was branded an idiot by the Egyptian foreign ministry after he seized control of the Alexandra-Cairo flight and had it diverted to Cyprus, where he issued a string of bizarre demands. In addition to asking for a letter to be passed on to his ex-wife, Mustafa reportedly called for the release of several female prisoners in Egypt and asked for political asylum in Cyprus. Initial reports had raised fears the passengers of flight MS181 were about to become the latest victim of a terrorist attack, but it later emerged the hijacking was carried out by an unstable man said to have posed for selfie photos with some of the people he had taken hostage. More than 80 people were on the plane, Egypts civil aviation ministry said, three of them reportedly British citizens. The hijacker initially allowed women and children to leave the plane, releasing Egyptian citizens shortly after. But for a tense five hours he kept four unidentified foreign citizens on the plane as he issued his demands. In a bizarre twist one of the passengers was seen apparently escaping by climbing out of the plane's cockpit and falling onto the runway. Minutes later images were widely circulated on social media which appeared to show Mustafa who was wearing what he claimed was a suicide vest - posing for a selfie photo with an unnamed passenger. The Egyptian government has since confirmed the suicide belt was fake. He was eventually captured and seen being led away from the airport by Cypriot police. Hes not a terrorist, hes an idiot, a spokesman for Egypts Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying while police in Cyprus scrambled to free the passengers. Terrorists are crazy but they arent stupid. This guy is. Mustafa Imam, 59, is married and lives in Helwan district South of Cairo, according to Egyptian media reports. He is an owner of Nutrient Supply Company.Egyptian security has arrested Mr Imams sister and two of his relatives. The State Security Prosecution is investigating with them to learn about his background. Pakistani investigators are all set to visit and examine the terror strike site at the Pathankot airbase on Tuesday. However, they will have limited access to the facility which was attacked by Pak-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. The teams visit to Pathankot comes after the Pakistans Joint Investigation Team, which also has an ISI officer as its member, held a first of its kind meeting with officers of National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday. The JIT arrived in Delhi on Sunday. During the discussions that started in the morning, the NIA officials gave a presentation to the visitors explaining the terror strike, the information they have gathered and evidences collected. In the afternoon, Pakistan investigators discussed contours of the attack and investigation with NIA officials. The five-member JIT is headed by Chief of Punjabs Counter Terrorism Department Muhammad Tahir Rai. It also has Lahores Deputy Director General (Intelligence Bureau) Mohammad Azim Arshad, ISI official Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Official sources said the Pakistani team would go to Pathankot on Tuesday and return the same day. However, they will not have access to the technical area of the airbase or any other sensitive area. They will have limited access to the spot where the terrorists were holed up, they said. The Defence Ministry has already made it clear that the team cannot land in the airbase and it is up to the NIA team to allow them inside. The IAF base in Pathankot has been visually barricaded by NIA to prevent any view of critical areas. However, sources said, the NIA team would show some of the areas where the terrorists were engaged in the gunbattle. India also plans to provide the Pakistani team access to all witnesses in the case, but not to the security personnel from National Security Guard or BSF. DH News Service Probe team given nod to avoid blame Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said the Pakistan investigative team was given permission to visit the Pathankot airbase to avoid blame on the Defence Ministry in future, DHNS reports from Quitol. We have isolated and barricaded the area. The entry is from the outside. Its the least sensitive area of the base. If we dont allow them (to complete the investigation by visiting the crime scene), the Defence Ministry will be blamed in future, Parrikar said at a media interaction after inaugurating the Def expo. Baiters of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the ruling party are planning to meet Congress leadership in New Delhi, in the first week of April, seeking major changes in the way the government is being run. Sources in the State Congress said about 25 legislators, most of them MLAs, want to meet Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and explain to him a series of developments that have dented the image of the party and its government in the State. The dissidents are planning to seek, among other things, rejig of the council of ministers, the sources added. The legislators want the high command to drop a minimum of 25 non-performing ministers from the Cabinet. They want those loyal to the party to be made the ministers with an aim to galvanise the partys image for the 2018 Assembly polls in the State. However, none of the legislators was ready to come on record on their plan. A majority of these legislators are said to be either Vokkaligas or Lingayats. Sources in the party said the legislators were upset with controversy over the chief ministers diamond-studded watch and setting up of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the handling of issues related to drought, partys poor show in the zilla and taluk panchayat polls and byelections to Assembly constituencies. They were worried that these issues would damage the partys prospects in the 2018 polls if necessary damage-control measures were not taken. The sources said some of these legislators were planning to join the BJP at the time of next Assembly polls if the Congress refuses to mend its ways. About three Congress legislators are learnt to have met the State BJP leaders recently to negotiate joining the saffron party in coming days. Siddaramaiah has already announced that he will revamp his council of ministers after the ongoing budget session of the State legislature. The session is scheduled to end on March 31. The chief minister is likely to meet the party high command in the second week of April. But, the sources said, the party high command is unlikely to take any decision on bringing any changes until elections to the five states are over. Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganeshan, who went missing after the March 22 terror strike in Brussels, was confirmed dead in the deadly terror strikes, the Belgium government said on Monday. The Belgian authorities hv (have) identified Raghvendran as 1 (one) of d (the) victims f (of the) barbarian terror attacks of March 22, the Embassy of India in Brussels posted on Twitter on Monday. Ganeshan was among the victims of the explosion at the Maelbeek Metro Station at Brussels on March 22. The blasts at the airport and the metro station killed 35 people. It is with deep regret that we confirm the passing of our colleague Raghavendran Ganeshan in the terrible attack in Brussels. Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendrans family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks. We will continue to provide all possible support to hisfamily in this hour of grief, Infosys said in a statement issued in Bengaluru. Belgian authorities would hand over the mortal remains of Ganeshan to his brother, Chandrasekhar. Chandrasekhar reached Brussels from Berlin on March 23 to look for his missing brother. Mortal remains r (are) in process of being handed2family (handed over to family) f (of) Raghvendran to be taken 2 (to) India from Amsterdam, tweeted the Embassy of India. Since normal flight operation is yet to start at Brussels Airport, the mortal remains of the young information technology professional would be first taken to Amsterdam and then flown to Chennai, either late on Monday night or Tuesday morning. The Embassy of India in Brussels is making arrangement for flying mortal remains of Ganeshan to Chennai, senior officials said in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on March 23 posted a picture of Ganeshan on Twitter and sought help to locate the missing IT professional. Ganesan had spoken to his mother Annapoorni, who lives in Mumbai, over phone from Brussels 15 minutes before the blasts rocked the capital of Belgium. Since she knew that her son had used the underground metro route passing through Maelbeek Station everyday to go to work, Annapoorni Ganeshan got worried when she learnt about the explosions shortly after speaking to her son. She could not contact her son again. The family soon contacted Infosys and the Ministry of External Affairs. Swaraj was also in touch with Ganeshan family since March 23. Raghavendran earlier worked for Infosys in Pune, but was relocated to Brussels about four years back. His parents hailed from Tamil Nadu. Infosys thanked Belgian and Indian authorities for their support over the past few days. We would request the privacy of Raghavendrans family during this difficult time, added the statement from the IT major. DH News Service Modis Brussels trip begins today A week after the terror bombings in Brussels, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for the Belgian capital on Tuesday night as part of a three-nation tour during which he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington and visit Saudi Arabia. Pakistani investigators are all set to visit and examine the terror strike site at the Pathankot airbase on Tuesday. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has left for Pathankot airbase from Amritsar airport in bullet proof SUVs today morning. However, they will have limited access to the facility which was attacked by Pak-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. The teams visit to Pathankot comes after the Pakistans Joint Investigation Team, which also has an ISI officer as its member, held a first of its kind meeting with officers of National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday. The JIT arrived in Delhi on Sunday. During the discussions that started in the morning, the NIA officials gave a presentation to the visitors explaining the terror strike, the information they have gathered and evidences collected. In the afternoon, Pakistan investigators discussed contours of the attack and investigation with NIA officials. The five-member JIT is headed by Chief of Punjabs Counter Terrorism Department Muhammad Tahir Rai. It also has Lahores Deputy Director General (Intelligence Bureau) Mohammad Azim Arshad, ISI official Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Official sources said the Pakistani team would go to Pathankot on Tuesday and return the same day. However, they will not have access to the technical area of the airbase or any other sensitive area. They will have limited access to the spot where the terrorists were holed up, they said. The Defence Ministry has already made it clear that the team cannot land in the airbase and it is up to the NIA team to allow them inside. The IAF base in Pathankot has been visually barricaded by NIA to prevent any view of critical areas. However, sources said, the NIA team would show some of the areas where the terrorists were engaged in the gunbattle. India also plans to provide the Pakistani team access to all witnesses in the case, but not to the security personnel from National Security Guard or BSF. DH News Service Probe team given nod to avoid blame Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said the Pakistan investigative team was given permission to visit the Pathankot airbase to avoid blame on the Defence Ministry in future, DHNS reports from Quitol. We have isolated and barricaded the area. The entry is from the outside. Its the least sensitive area of the base. If we dont allow them (to complete the investigation by visiting the crime scene), the Defence Ministry will be blamed in future, Parrikar said at a media interaction after inaugurating the Def expo. Pakistan's involvement with jihadi groups at the highest level aimed at "liberation" of Jammu and Kashmir has backfired, ex-diplomat Husain Haqqani said today following the deadly terror attack in Lahore. And even as its decades-old policy has backfired, the Pakistani establishment is reluctant to declare an all-out war against terrorist groups, Haqqani, the country's former envoy to the US, told PBS in an interview. "Pakistan's involvement with jihadi groups initially was primarily as a strategic investment, which was supposed to bring them benefits through influence in Afghanistan and the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir from India. That has backfired," said Haqqani. "Now even though it has backfired, Pakistan has been very selective in going after these jihadi groups. That is the reason why the jihadis pick specific targets like Shias, Ahmadis or Christians, to improve their recruitment, playing on various kinds of polarisation, and taking advantage of that to advance in society further," he said. "The real problem lies in that attitude of the government of trying to protect the parties in Punjab, while going after the terrorists in other parts of the country, but not in the Punjab. That's what has come back to bite them," he said. Haqqani said the fact of the matter is that the Pakistani military and civilian leadership easily gets distracted by delusions of fighting India and its influence in Afghanistan and allowing certain jihadi groups to pursue those objectives, not realising that they can end up having offshoots, just like the Pakistani Taliban emerged out of the Afghan Taliban. "The Pakistani component of the Afghan Taliban ended up becoming a separate group. And now Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has broken away from the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan has to make a decision to go after all terrorist groups, as well as the mindset that breeds these terrorists. And Pakistan has not been able to make that decision," he observed. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for Sunday's grisly suicide attack in Lahore that killed 72 people. Haqqani said the Pakistani establishment is not taking action against India-centric terrorist groups. "The state has not taken the measures that are necessary to isolate them all. So, there are groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed which attack India. They are spared. Once they are spared, it's very possible that some of their members will actually join splinter groups which will attack Pakistan," he argued. An EgyptAir plane was hijacked today while flying from the Egyptian Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo, and later landed in Cyprus where all passengers except four foreigners were allowed to get off the aircraft, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. The hijacker, who was later identified as an Egyptian man, apparently had a suicide belt with which he threatened the plane's pilot. The Airbus flight number MS181 had 55 passengers on board and was flying on a regular route when the hijacking took place, the Egyptians said. Egyptian state television said there was a lone hijacker and identified him as Ibrahim Samaha. It gave no further details. The plane took off from the small Bourg el-Arab airport just outside the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was flying a regular route to Cairo, a flight that normally takes up to 30 minutes. Details were sketchy and the hijacker's motives were also not known, but an Egyptian Aviation Ministry statement said the "hijacker" threatened that he had a belt of explosives, the weapon of choice for Islamic militants in the Middle East. Shortly after the hijacking, the plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. Cypriot officials said there were suspicions of a bomb on board. The official later said the hijacker later allowed an unspecified number of women and children to go free and some were disembarking. EgyptAir later said in a statement that all passengers were released by the hijacker except for the crew and four foreigners whose nationalities were not specified. Initially a second Cypriot official said there "seems like there's more than one hijacker" and that there were no other demands made expect that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. All the officials in Egypt and Cyprus spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The hijacker made no immediate demands and later allowed Egyptian passengers to disembark, Cypriot state television reported. The Egypt Air plane was headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo with 81 passengers on board when it was seized, Egyptian civil aviation said. The airline tweeted: "Our Flight MS181 is officially hijacked, we'll publish an official statement now." Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the 1970s and 1980s. The hijacking, however, will most likely bring to the fore again the question of security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group said it downed the plane. Further details are awaited. Industrialist Anil Ambani, a new entrant in the defence sector, today said an attempt is being made to deny opportunity to new players on grounds of lack of experience, which he described as a "booby-trap" laid by vested interest to kill competition. Ambani, who heads the Reliance Group, also sought more clarity in the governments plan to enter into strategic partnership saying policies have to be in line with global best practices. He emphasised that an open and calibrated policy will shake the status quo, end the monopoly of existing players, and benefit the nation by encouraging the entry of new players and increased competition. His remarks on lack of experience found resonance with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who said that as a young politician he also faced the same problem but he was able to overcome it. At a Defexpo seminar here, Ambani said: "Despite a committed reformist mindset at the top, we are still seeing opportunities being denied to new players on grounds of lack of experience. This is the classic chicken-and-egg situation, where nobody wins. "In the vocabulary of combat, sir, it is a landmine or booby-trap laid by vested interests to kill competition." Ambani, who has announced a slew of tie-ups with foreign players but is yet to get a contract, said sectors like automobiles to telecom and IT would not be the same as today if people had insisted on experience before letting them do business. "Existing mindset in the defence sector which holds past experience as the most important criterion for awarding work, needs to change to allow the private sector to take up its rightful role in enhancing national security," he said. He added that no one will deny the importance of experience, but successful enterprise is built on a number of other variables which are even more critical: capability, competence, commitment, vision and risk-taking, among others. Citing the example of his father Dhirubhai Ambani, he said he was neither a chemical engineer nor a technologist nor did he have any prior experience in the oil and gas sector. "Yet sir, he created the worlds largest oil and gas business, the largest refinery, and the largest petro-chemical company in the world. Clearly, there would have been no Reliance in existence today if experience was the sole defining yardstick of entrepreneurial success," he said. Some officials are of the view that Reliance Group, which has announced intentions to build submarines to fighter aircraft, does not have the experience or the expertise to handle big projects. To further buttress his point, Ambani said that many of Indias top companies today from Wipro to Infosys to Sun Pharma amongst others - are all the creation of entrepreneurs with practically no prior experience of the fields in which they went on to become global leaders. He also spoke about strategic partnership saying the concept is a great advance. "While I salute the spirit behind the policy, we look forward to more clarity in implementation. Our policies have to be in line with global best practices. Sub-optimal division or groupings will make the industry inefficient. "For instance, the division of ship building into above the water and below the water categories."From France to Germany to UK, few global leaders follow such a regime because it makes investments unviable," he said. Ambani added that the government must consider competition without any intra or inter segment restrictions between air, land and navy in the 10 programmes that have been identified for strategic partnerships. Speaking on the overall defence sector, he said theres continuing under-utilisation of existing capacities especially of shipyards in the private sector. Private shipyards in India remain plagued by huge idle capacities, and we need to make full use of these national assets to address our security needs, he said. He also stressed on the need to encourage PSUs to work with the private sector as partners or in joint ventures. "Outsourcing to private players, which currently remains limited to micro projects worth a few crores at best, needs to expand significantly," Ambani said. Veteran director Woody Allen's latest film "Cafe Society", starring Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg in lead roles, will open the 69th Cannes film festival on May 11. It will be a hattrick for Allen as he has already opened the festival twice -- in 2002 with "Hollywood Ending" and in 2011 with "Midnight in Paris". The film, whose release in France coincides with the screening, is an official selection but out of competition title. The movie tells the story of a young man who arrives in Hollywood during the 1930s hoping to work in the film industry. He falls in love and finds himself swept up in the vibrant cafe society that defined the spirit of the age. Apart from Stewart and Eisenberg, the film features names like Blake Lively, Parker Posey and Steve Carell. Woody Allen also joined forces with Vittorio Storaro for the film. The eminent director of photography was a member of the Feature Film jury in 1991 and is a three-time Oscar winner for "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola in 1980, "Reds" by Warren Beatty in 1982, and "The Last Emperor" by Bernardo Bertolucci in 1988. From "Manhattan" in 1979 to "Irrational Man" in 2015, this will be the 14th out of competition selection at Cannes for Allen. A prolific film-maker for the past forty years, directing virtually a film a year since the 1970s, Allen is also a jazz clarinettist. His acclaimed directorial ventures are "Annie Hall", "Hannah and Her Sisters", "Manhattan", "Match Point", "Take the Money and Run", "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Midnight in Paris". The festival runs from May 11 to 22 with George Miller presiding over the competition jury. Cyprus' foreign ministry on Tuesday identified the hijacker of an EgyptAir flight forced to land in Cyprus as Seif Eldin Mustafa in a tweet. It did not provide further details. "The situation is still ongoing," it said. Earlier, two Cypriot broadcasters reported the hijacker had dropped a letter on the apron of Larnaca airport that appeared to be demanding the release of prisoners in Egypt. Eygptian state media had earlier identified the hijacker as a different man. Pakistani military today claimed that the detained "spy" was a serving Indian naval officer who converted to Islam to "foment terrorism" in Balochistan province and the country's financial capital Karachi. "Kul Bhushan Yadav is a serving Indian naval officer whose primary mission was to foment terrorism in Karachi and Balochistan," military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said. "He converted to Islam and worked at Gadani under the cover of a scrap dealer," Bajwa said in a joint press conference with Information Minister Pervez Rashid. "He was working for the Indian spy agency and there is an active RAW network in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan," Bajwa was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune newspaper. The press conference started with a confessional 6-minute video of the alleged Indian spy. Bajwa claimed that Pakistan and Balochistan's maps were recovered from Yadav's possession. "He used to establish a network of operatives, provide funds, arrange and smuggle people for terrorism in the country," the spokesman added. Pakistan last week summoned Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to lodge its protest over "subversive activities" of the alleged RAW officer. The government sources in New Delhi, however, said Yadav has nothing to do with India's external Intelligence agency. There is no proof that the retired navy officer, who owns a cargo business in Iran, was arrested in Balochistan as claimed by Pakistan, they said. Yadav owns a small ship and used to carry cargo from Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports in Iran and other adjoining areas to various destinations, sources said. He could have been arrested after he strayed into Pakistani waters and was being wrongly charged, they added. Three Sikh soldiers today filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defence seeking to serve in the US armed forces without being forced to compromise with their articles of faith like turbans, unshorn hair and beards. In the lawsuit, Specialist Kanwar Singh, Specialist Harpal Singh and Private Arjan Singh Ghotra demand that the Army accommodate their religious articles of faith, including turbans, unshorn hair and beards, so that each can begin Basic Combat Training with their various units in May. The lawsuit was filed by the Sikh Coalition, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and McDermott Will & Emery, after the US Department of Defence ignored a written demand letter that was sent on March 23. "We had hoped that we would not have to file a second lawsuit on behalf of three more Sikh American soldiers, who simply want to practice their faith freely while serving their nation," said the Sikh Coalition's legal director, Harsimran Kaur. "However, the Defense Department has remained unresponsive to their requests for accommodation and the clock is ticking. Action must be taken," she alleged. The new lawsuit follows the March 4 federal court ruling that the Army was prohibited from subjecting a decorated Sikh American soldier, Captain Simratpal Singh, to discriminatory testing. A final Army decision regarding CPT Singhs landmark religious accommodation request is due by March 31. "We would like the opportunity, like every other American, to proudly serve," said Kanwar Singh, who enlisted in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. "I look forward to joining my battalion for training and making the diverse state of Massachusetts proud," he said. SPC Harpal Singh, a California Telecommunications Engineering Specialist, was recruited by the US Army Reserve for his foreign language skills. PVT Arjan Singh Ghotra, who is 17, enlisted in the Virginia Army National Guard and is slated to attend basic training before attending George Mason University this fall, the statement said. "It is unfortunate that in the face of overwhelming evidence that Sikhs should be permitted to serve, we are once again asking whether our nation's largest employer will embrace religious freedom and diversity or continue to aggressively thwart progress. It is a sad day for all Americans when our military is on the wrong side of common sense, the law and our shared American values," said Amandeep Sidhu, Partner at McDermott Will & Emery. Last year, 27 retired US Generals called on the Department of Defense to eliminate the ban on observant Sikhs. These generals joined 105 Members of Congress, 15 Senators and 21 national Interfaith and civil rights organizations, who had previously signed letters in support of American Sikhs right to serve. Manipuri rights activist Irom Sharmila today told a Delhi court that she was ready to end her fast of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was repealed and expressed her desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue. 42-year-old Sharmila, who is on a fast for around 16 years in Manipur demanding repeal of AFSPA, said in the court that she had expressed her desire to meet the Prime Minister long time ago, but he has not met her so far. Sharmila, who is fed through a nasal tube, said this during final arguments in a case in which she is facing trial for allegedly trying to commit suicide while undertaking fast -unto-death at Jantar Mantar on October 4, 2006. Advancing final arguments, the prosecutor contended that Sharmila had the intention to kill herself and the offence of trying to commit suicide was clearly made out against her. Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh fixed the matter for tomorrow to hear arguments on behalf of Sharmila's counsel V K Ohri. During the hearing, the activist said she loved her life and was using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal of repealing AFSPA as it would have "more impact" and added that this was "not a crime". "Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands," she said while justifying her fast. "I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again," she added. Sharmila also said, "Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations." Sharmila had earlier told the court that she was very much eager to eat if she got the assurance that the "draconian" law will be revoked. Widespread discrimination was being done with the people from Northeast, she had alleged, adding she never intended to commit suicide and it was just a protest against AFSPA. The court had on March 4, 2013, put her on trial after she had refused to plead guilty to the charge of attempting to commit suicide (section 309 of IPC). If convicted, Sharmila, who is out on bail in this case, faces a maximum jail term of one year. Known as the 'Iron Lady', Sharmila had earlier told the court that her protest was non-violent. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to cancel the certificate of registration of 22 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The RBI has cancelled the certificate of registration of the twenty two NBFCs, in exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 45-IA (6) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Following the cancellation of registration certificate, these companies cannot transact the business of a non-banking financial institution as laid down under clause (a) of Section 45-I of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, RBI said. The entities include Mumbai-based Raseera Investments, Surin Investments, Integrity Trading Company, Credence Securities, International Steel Industries, Trepechy Textile, among other companies. The mood in the country has been euphoric following Indias progress to the World T20 semifinal and the Virat Kohli mania has been spreading like wild fire. The foreign media has been quick to hail him as a worthy replacement for the great Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman the entire country pinned its hope on for the longest of time before the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, among others, emerged as match winners on their own. While its good news that Kohli has developed into a rightful heir to the Little Master, not unlike the initial decade of Tendulkars career there appears to be over dependence on one batsman. The scenario has never been as stark as it has been in this World T20. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been far from encouraging at the top of the order while Suresh Raina hasnt done much to silence his critics. Though he has played a couple of useful cameos, Yuvraj Singh hasnt looked convincing. And the injury to his left ankle now threatens to put an end to his international career. Only skipper MS Dhoni, among specialist batsmen, has managed to hold his own on what have been difficult pitches to bat on. In the four matches, the combined amount of runs managed by Rohit (45), Dhawan (43), Yuvraj (52) and Raina (41) is less than Kohlis aggregate of 184 runs in four innings. These stats put in perspective the reliance of India on Kohli, especially in the last few weeks. India have been particularly hit hard by the failures of their openers. It is no secret that teams successful legacies are intricately related to how well their openers have performed. India have greatly been benefitted by Rohit and Dhawan in the not too distant past. With them going cold, Indias batting has been held together by Kohlis individual brilliance but there is only so much one man can do. Since the three-match bilateral series against Sri Lanka in early February, Rohit has just one score of fifty (83 against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener) with his next best being 39 (against UAE); his sequence of scores for the last 12 matches thus read 0, 43, 13, 83, 0, 15, 39, 1, 5, 10, 18 and 12. His tally of 239 runs from 12 matches at an average of 19.91 and a strike rate of 116.01 pale compared to his career average of 30.46 and strike rate of 126.54. His partner Dhawans record during the same period is no better. In 11 matches, stretching from the Sri Lanka series, the left-hander has scores of 9, 51, 46 n.o., 2, 1, 16 n.o., 60, 1, 6, 23 and 13. His average (25.33) and strike rate (110.14) arent the numbers that justify his quality of batting. Their inconsistent performances at the top has meant that India have had just three good starts in the last 11 matches. Only once in the 11 matches, have they managed to play out the power play overs without any damage which means that Kohli, their best batsman, has on, 10 occassions, walked out to bat during field restrictions. Agreed, they have had to encounter some testy conditions both in the Asia Cup in Dhaka, where seaming conditions made life difficult for the batsmen in general and openers in particular, and in World T20 where slow turning tracks havent allowed them to express themselves freely. Dhoni had spoken of the necessity to give an extended run to the batsmen after the Pakistan match in Kolkata but its about time Rohit and Dhawan put their hand up and performed. In Australia both of them appeared unstoppable on absolute shirt fronts but have struggled to get going on pitches that have seamed and turned. While it would be harsh to term the two flat-track bullies, questions are bound to arise if they are good enough to tackle different conditions. BJP MLA C T Ravi on Tuesday said populist programmes of the government should cover the entire spectrum of society and should not be confined to any community. Participating in a discussion in the Legislative Assembly, Ravi said the Shaadi Bhagya scheme was meant only to provide financial assistance to women of the minority community during marriage. Why not replace it with Kalyana Bhagya and extend it to the BPL families of all communities, the member asked. He said the previous BJP government, which had launched schemes like Bhagyalakshmi (insurance cover for the girl child in BPL families) and providing free bicycle to schoolchildren, did not restrict the programmes to any community. It is an irony that we are branded communal and you claim yourself secular, he told the treasury benches. Stepping up the pressure on the ruling party over the controversial Wakf property encroachment report, the Opposition in the Legislative Council on Tuesday urged Governor Vajubhai Vala to direct the government to immediately table the report in the House. The BJP and the JD(S) MLCs, led by their leaders K S Eshwarappa and Basavaraj Horatti, respectively, submitted a memorandum to the governor seeking his intervention to end the stalemate in the Upper House on the issue. Except passing four bills that were already passed in the Assembly, the Council could not transact business for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as the Opposition continued its protest demanding that the government table the report prepared by the State Minorities Commission, also called the Manipaddy report, in the House. This government has ridiculed and made a mockery of democracy by blatantly disobeying the rulings of the Chair to protect and safeguard many of the Congress leaders and corrupt officials of the Wakf Board who have indulged in the illegal disposal of Wakf property to the extent of 57,000 acres worth Rs 2.3 lakh crore, the memorandum stated. It further stated that the then chairman of the Commission had revealed the names of many senior Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, N Dharam Singh, Jaffer Sharief, Rahman Khan, C M Ibrahim, Qamarul Islam and Roshan Baig as either directly involved in the encroachment of Wakf properties or being indirect beneficiaries. Speaking to reporters after meeting the governor, Eshwarappa said the governor expressed shock at the governments stand. The government has created a constitutional crisis by not submitting the report. We have explained in detail how the government is trying to protect the corrupt Congress leaders who have encroached upon the Wakf properties. The governor has already sought an explanation from the government on the issue. The BJP and the JD(S) will continue to stage protests in the Council till the report is submitted, he added. When contacted by this newspaper, Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy said he had been trying to convince leaders of both sides to end the logjam and allow him to run the House. I have requested the governor to advice me on dealing with the situation. The governors office had sought a copy of the rules of procedure followed in running the House and we have provided it, he added. What happens to money bill.... The government has to table the crucial appropriation bill or the money bill and all other consequential bills related to the 2016-17 budget in the Council. But the Upper House will have only 14 days time to either give its approval or reject them. If the Council fails to take up any discussion on these bills, due to the stalemate, the government can directly send them to the governor seeking his assent after getting them passed for the second time in the Assembly, official sources said. The Assembly is scheduled to pass the money bill after the chief ministers reply on the discussion on budget. Legal opinion According to former Advocate General of Karnataka, Ashok Haranahalli, the government has no option but to submit the report following the Chairmans ruling. The government cannot cite any law for not submitting the report when both the Chairman and the majority of the lawmakers want to see the report. Submitting the report is perhaps the only way to end this deadlock, he added. Pakistani investigators were on Tuesday given restricted access to the Pathankot airbase area where Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists mounted an attack in January. Tent walls were erected inside the airbase to limit physical and visual access to strategic installations inside. It is for the first time that a Pakistani probe team has been granted access to a strategic base to probe a terror strike in India. An entry point was made on the rear of the perimeter of the base to bring in the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT). Vital inputs gathered by the NIA at the end of the 80-hour gun battle were shared with the visiting team. Material evidence collected from the bodies of the four terrorists killed in the operation were also shared with investigators. The entire process was videographed by the Air Force. After touring the area, Pakistani team led by Punjabs Additional Inspector General of Police (Counter Terrorism) Muhammad Tahir Rai and others, including ISIs Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, returned to Delhi. The team also visited the spots where driver Ekagra Singh was killed and Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh was abducted along with his vehicle. Activists from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party held protests close to the airbase against the presence of an ISI official in the probe team. Volunteers also raised anti-Pakistan slogans and condemned the Modi government. NIA officials and senior officials of the Punjab Police accompanied the Pakistan investigators. An attempt was made to reconstruct the terror scene before the investigators. The terrorists who stormed the airbase in the wee hours of January 2 were restricted to an area which did not have strategic assets of the Air Force. Only a mess and some quarters were operational in the limited area. NIA officials took the Pakistan team to the entire area where the operation was carried out to neutralise the terrorists. Some reports also suggest the Pakistani team was also taken to certain forward border areas from where it is suspected that the terrorists may have entered India. The Pathankot attack took place barely six months after the terror strike at Dinanagar town, close to Pathankot, on July 27 last. DH News Service NIA to ask Pak to access Azhar NIA Director General Sharad Kumar said on Tuesday that India will ask Pakistan to allow access to JeM terrorist Masood Azhar who is considered to be the mastermind behind the Pathankot terror strike, DHNS reports . Kumar's remarks came on a day NIA took five members of the Pakistan's JIT to Pathankot airbase where they were given a restricted access to the attack spot. We will ask for access to Masood Azhar, NIA chief Sharad Kumar said. A formal request would be sent after the JIT returns to their country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wont be attending the swearing-in ceremony of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is set to become first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on April 4. Sources told DH that while Modi will give a miss to the swearing-in function, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jatiley are likely to attend the function. Last year on March 1, Modi had attended the oathtaking function of Mehboobas father and then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed when ideological oppositesthe BJP and the PDP formed a coalition government in the state. Besides Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, party veterans L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi had also attended the function. However, sources said, this time Modi wont be attending the function as he is leaving for a three-nation tour on Tuesday and will be back on April 3. Afterwards, Modi will be busy with Assam elections. DH News Service The rebellions in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh have jolted the Congress leadership into action to quell similar bush fires in states such as Himachal Pradesh and Manipur. Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday shunted out Manipur Congress chief Gangmei Gaikhangam, in a bid to reach out to more than two dozen rebel MLAs in the state who had threatened to topple Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. Gandhi has appointed T N Haokip as the President of the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect, AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement here. In Himachal Pradesh, where Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is doing some firefighting, the central leadership of the Congress has stepped in to ensure addressing the disgruntled voices. AICC General Secretary, in-charge of Himachal, Ambika Soni has been directed to convene a meeting of the extended co-ordination committee which could be a forum for airing of divergent views within the party organisation and the government. The meeting of the co-ordination committee has been scheduled for Saturday, AICC sources said. Soni, along with Virbhadra, had met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday, a day after the Centre put Uttarakhand under Presidents Rule. Virbhadra had been wanting to apprise the Congress President on the cases lodged against him by the CBI in disproportionate assets case following raids at his residences in September last year. In Manipur, more than half of the 48 Congress MLAs have revolted against the chief minister demanding a reshuffle of the cabinet. They have threatened to shift loyalties or form a new party if their demands are not met. The dissidents have been demanding enforcement of the one man, one post principle in the state. Gaikhangam was the deputy chief minister and also the president of the Manipur Congress. DH News Service Plea against Prez rule before SC An advocate on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging imposition of Presidents rule in Uttarakhand, DHNS reports from New Delhi. Lawyer M L Sharma sought, before a bench presided by Chief Justice T S Thakur, urgent hearing of his petition. The bench, however, posted the case for next week. Among others, Sharma also sought direction for a CBI probe into alleged horse-trading of MLAs following a sting operation. Various factions in the ruling party appear to be gradually growing in strength. A group of Congress legislators who are disgruntled with the Siddaramaiah government are likely to hold a meeting on Wednesday to chalk out a future course of action. The legislators are planning to meet the party high command in Delhi in the first week of April to complain against the misadministration of the party government. They believe that the partys image has taken a beating over the last few months and fear that the Congress may not come back to power in the next Assembly polls if the government fails to mend its ways. But, sources in the party said that the dissatisfied legislators were looking for a leader who could present their case to the party leadership in Delhi. None of these legislators are ready to come on record. A section of party leaders, however, believe that these MLAs are only trying to get a ministerial berth and that they had no intention to create any problem to the government. The sources said another faction of legislators, who are the staunch followers of Siddaramaiah, may hold a show-of-strength meeting in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Catholic bishops in Karnataka have expressed pain and deep anguish at the terrible blasts that took place in Lahore, Pakistan, on Easter Sunday. We, KRCBC (Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops Council) as a body, strongly condemn this inhuman act of violence and destruction that has brought unrest in the world. We extend our sympathies to the members of the bereaved families and those who are suffering because of this act of inhuman persons, the bishops have said in a statement released to the press. As per the news received, more than 60 persons have died and more than 220 persons injured, some of them very seriously, leaving them in a critical condition. The people around are living in fear and uncertainty unable to accept the loss of their dear ones. It was the inhuman task of the suicide bomber who is said to be a 20-year-old young man, placing the explosives in the holiday park outside Lahore targeting children and women particularly. It was the festival crowd that bore the brunt and we regret this inhuman act. With the many dead, several Christians too have been the victims, the bishops said. This beastly event goes along with the killing of the four religious sisters and the kidnapping of a missionary priest, Fr Thomas, SDB, whose whereabouts are still uncertain. The world is seeking the safe return of the priest in the midst of unwanted rumours. We pray for the family of Fr Thomas and the Salesian community that their uncertainty may come to an end. Paris, Brussels blasts Certainly, the blasts of Brussels in Belgium airport and Metro station, the blasts of France that took away so many lives, the massacre and refugee problems of Africa are still fresh before us. On Easter day, the Risen Jesus came to give us the message of peace, love and hope. Looking around and contemplating on these tragedies, the sign of peace seems to evade us and has run away from us. May the Lord of peace rule us and his peace and hope remain with us. We pray to the merciful God that he may change the hearts of these cruel persons and make them gentle like His own heart, the press statement said. A pall of gloom descended on Chittlapakkam area on the outskirts of Chennai on Tuesday after the mortal remains of Raghavendran Ganesan, the Infosys employee who died in the Brussels attack, were brought to his relatives residence. Most of the kin and friends were in tears when the body was taken into the house. On the streets of Jyothi Ambal Nagar, which leads to Raghavendrans house, a huge crowd gathered ahead of the arrival of the techies body. Raghavendran was travelling on the Brussels Metro on March 22 when it was struck by a blast. The techies father Ganesan and mother Annapoorani, who evaded the media, and wife Vaishali were overcome with emotion as they walked straight into the apartment. It is unfortunate and a big shock for us, said Sridhar, Raghavendrans cousin. Sridhar described Raghavendran as a very jovial and god-fearing guy. This should not happen to anyone, Sridhar added. Earlier, Raghavendrans body was brought from Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi from where it was brought to Chennai by a private aircraft. State Protocol Officer Kasinathan, police and other officials from Infosys received the body and consoled the bereaved parents. The last rites was expected to be conducted late on Tuesday evening. Raghavendran studied in Maharashtra and joined a private engineering college in Tamil Nadu. He landed a job in Infosys through campus placement and was trained in Bengaluru before being sent onsite to Brussels. Raghavendran and Vaishali celebrated the birth of their first child in February. Old neighbours in shock The death of Raghvendran Ganesan in the Brussels terrorist attack has left his former neighbours at the Thane residential complex in shock and disbelief. Residents at Nirmal Park society at Bhayender-East, about 45 kilometres from downtown Mumbai, remembered Ganesan as lovable and helpful. Raju (which was how Ganesan is known at the community) and his brother Venky were cooperative, lovable and were always ready to stand up for a cause, Dilip Naik, a neighbour of Ganesans family, said. DH News Service As the investigation into the fraud related to gold loans at the District Central Co-operative (DCC) Bank in Shivamogga is nearing completion, an illegal sanction of loan in the Karnataka State Co-operative Apex Bank Limited in Bengaluru has surfaced. The Shivamogga police had arrested R M Manjunatha Gowda, who had lost the 2013 Assembly elections from Thirthahalli and later re-joined Congress, in connection with the DCC bank case. When Gowda was the president of the Apex Bank, Rs 10.43 crore out of the total sanctioned loan amount of Rs 30 crore was released to the Karnataka State Co-operators and Co-operative Institutional Employees House Building Co-operative Society, without any security. Gowda was also the founder director of the said Society. The Society entered into a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) with KNS Infrastructure, which belongs to one K N Surendra, despite no amount being paid towards the requirement of sites by the members. Subsequently, the Society filed an application with Apex Bank, seeking loan to develop the layout. The bank swiftly sanctioned a loan of Rs 30 crore. The loan sanction letter dated March 15, 2013 shows that out of the sanctioned term loan of Rs 30 crore, the first instalment of Rs 10.43 crore was released even before the creation of the primary and collateral security. It was released to pay the State Bank of India (Rajajinagar Industrial Estate Branch) so that the documents of the builder are released and they are mortgaged towards the loan of Rs 30 crore. The loan sanction letter states, Out of the loan amount of Rs 30 crore sanctioned to the Society, the outstanding loan amount of the developer with whom the society has entered into an MoU, KNS Infrastructure, is to be cleared by the bank by remitting an amount of Rs 10.43 crore to SBI. The balance loan amount will be released only after creation of charge on primary and collateral security. A senior official of the Apex Bank said that the loan had been later regularised and the repayment had been regular. However, activists who have been filing complaints about irregularities in the house building co-operative societies say both the Apex Bank and the Society have acted in violation of rules. When there is so much talk about Non Performing Assets in the country, here is one more example of how public money is squandered away. This transaction shows that the loan amount was reduced to Rs 20 crore by giving away Rs 10 crore to clear the loan of a builder in the other bank. This should also be probed from many angles since Gowda was at the helm of affairs in both the bank and the society, social activist S R Hiremath said. Dr Kripa Amar Alva, chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), on Tuesday said that the governments claims that 90 per cent of the children in the State were going to school were contrary to the ground reality. Speaking at a programme organised by Peoples Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education (PAFRE), Alva said education was still a distant dream for most children as they were forced to work as labourers. The school dropout rate is also high. Education did not get its fair share of funds since independence. Had adequate funds been allocated, no one would have been left uneducated now, she said. She called upon the non-government organisations (NGOs) working towards the proper implementation of Right to Education (RTE) to ensure that all dropouts are brought back to school this year. Dr V P Niranjan Aradhya, educationist and Fellow, Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), also blamed the government for indirectly encouraging private schools by not taking serious efforts to improve the government schools. He said admissions in government schools had been decreasing over the years, due to the apathy of the government towards providing facilities in these schools. As government school teachers are utilised for census, election duty and other work, students are deprived of quality education. The allocation of funds to the education sector in the recent budget came down by 0.74 per cent from last year, which itself is an indication of the governments apathy towards the sector. Aradhya said that the government was supposed to form a board to oversee the implementation of RTE, but it had not done so. Landing in Brussels eight days after the city witnessed a deadly terror strike, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday pay homage to the victims of the explosions. The serial explosions rocked the capital of Belgium on March 22. Modi is going to be the first foreign head of government to visit Belgium after a series of explosions killed 35 people in the capital of West European nation, including Raghavendra Ganeshan, a young IT professional from India. No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium, Modi said in a statement issued ahead of his departure for Brussels. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones, added Prime Minister. Modis visit to Brussels was scheduled before the blasts rocked the city. India, however, sent out a strong message of solidarity with Belgium in the fight against terror by making the formal announcement about the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister just hours after the explosions rocked the airport and a metro station in Brussels. Modi will meet his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel on Wednesday and convey Indias solidarity with people and government of Belgium in the fight against terror. He will also meet European Union President Donald Tusk and European Commissions President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels to hold the 13th India-EU summit. The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday asked the State government why it has created the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) when there are more than 25 per cent vacancies in the Lokayukta to be filled. Justice A N Venugopala Gowda questioned the government on how they are planning to strengthen the functioning of the new wing without paralysing the existing Lokayukta. He said that Lokayukta does not have the powers of criminal justice and is already dysfunctional now. The bench observed that corruption has become rampant and needs to be addressed immediately. When Lokayukta is defunct and the ACB is still in the process of being established, where will the common man go now to file complaint about the corruption in the government. By the time the complaint gets registered, the corrupt would have flown out of the country. The bench asked the government how ACB was created without asking for any objections from the Opposition and without debating on the subject. He said that the advocate general in the previous hearing had given assurance to fill the vacant posts in the Lokayukta. The government informed the court that there are 235 staff members in the newly formed ACB and more appointments are underway. The bench questioned the government on the status of the prosecution of IAS and IPS officers and adjourned the next hearing till March 31, 2016. In interlocutory application (IA), filed by Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (JSP), the NGO has sought clarification on the scope of the High Courts orders on a matter related to strengthening of the Lokayukta police. JSPs IA states the government kept the court in the dark about its plan to shut down the Lokayukta police. More IPS officers appointed to ACB The State government on Tuesday posted two more IPS officers to the newly created Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). While Bengalurus Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Labhu Ram has been posted as Superintendent of Police, ACB, Bengaluru City division, Raman Gupta, who was SP Hassan, has been posted as SP Administration (Headquarters) ACB, according to a press release. Meanwhile, senior IPS officer M A Saleem on Tuesday took charge as Inspector-General of Police, ACB. While there are reports that the head of the ACB, Additional Director-General of Police K V Gagandeep has proceeded on leave, sources in the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms said they have no information about it. It is said that Gagandeep has gone on leave as the government was contemplating to post Director General of Police-rank official Neelamani N Raju as the chief of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Neelamani, who was on Central deputation for over two decades, has returned to the State service recently. Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday posted Ajay Hilori as Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Benglauru; Isha Pant as SP and Principal, Police Training College, Kalaburagi and Rahul Kumar Shapurwad as SP, Hassan. The media in Chhattisgarh is under tremendous pressure from state government as well as Maoists with journalists feeling that police is listening to every word we speak, a report by Editors Guild of India has said. There is a general feeling in the Chhattisgarh government that a large section of the national media is pro-Maoist, the report prepared by a three-member fact-finding team quoted a senior editor close to the government as telling them. The team was send to Bastar region, one of the Maoist hotspot, following recent reports of arrests of journalists as well as some others forced to leave the region following protests against anti-Maoist vigilante outfit Samajik Ekta Manch. There is a sense of fear in Bastar. Every journalist who is working in Bastar feels that he or she is not safe. On one hand they have to deal with Maoists who are becoming more and more sensitive about reports appearing in the media and on the other hand the police wants the media to report as and what they want, the report said. Journalists are finding it difficult to gather and disseminate news due to pressure from the state administration, especially by the police. There is pressure from Maoists as well. There is a general perception that every journalist is under the government scanner and all their activities are under surveillance, the report added. Fourteen years after a series of blasts shook Mumbai at regular intervals, a special anti-terrorism court on Tuesday convicted 10 of the 13 accused. The blasts were the handiwork of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi) and among the reasons cited was to avenge the demolition of Babri Masjid and the killing of Muslims in 2002 Godhra riots. A series of blasts between December 2002 and March 2003 rocked Mumbai Central, Vile Parle and Mulund, claiming a dozen lives and injuring over 130 others. While 10 persons were convicted, three have been acquitted for want of evidence. Judge Deshmukh is expected to announce the quantum of punishment, that can range from three years in prison to life imprisonment and even capital punishment, on Wednesday. The key convicts are Saquib Nachan, former general-secretary of Simi, Muzammil Ansari, an engineer, and Dr Anwar Ali, a professor who taught Urdu at the National Defence Academy in Pune. Some of the accused died and some were killed in encounters with the police. The Crime Branch-CID of the Mumbai Police investigated the case and when the Anti-Terrorism Squad was formed, it subsequently took over the case. Charges of waging a war against the nation and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, and several charges under the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, and the now repealed Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, was slapped against the main accused. There are altogether seven confessions by the accused in the case and more than 150 witnesses have been examined. Jamait Ulama to challenge verdict The Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra (Arshad Madni), which had provided legal aid to the December 2002-March 2003 blasts, has decided to move the Bombay High Court against the conviction awarded by a special court in Mumbai, DHNS reports from Mumbai. Today the conviction order has been passed. We are going to challenge this order after going through the judgment, said Gulzar Azmi, the secretary of the Legal Aid department of The Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra. MUMBAI CENTRAL-MCDONALDS BLAST, December 6, 2002 25 people were injured in a bomb blast at McDonalds fast food restaurant at Mumbai Central railway station on the Western Railway Two of the injured lost their vision December 6 that year marked the 10th anniversary of the demolition of Babri masjid at Ayodhya The busy suburban station is the origin point of upcountry trains towards Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab and other parts of north India. MULUND TRAIN BLAST, March 13, 2003 A powerful bomb blast shattered a bogie of a local train at Mulund railway station on the Central Railway in the evening peak hours killing 11 people and injuring more than 65. The blast took place a day after the 10th anniversary of the March 12, 1993 serial blasts The victims were returning home from work when the mishap occurred. Mulund is the last eastern suburb of Mumbai. VILE PARLE MARKET BLAST, January 27, 2003 Nearly 30 people were injured when a bomb planted on a bicycle went off throwing splinters of sharp nails outside Vile Parle railway station on the Western Railway. The blast took place a day before the visit of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to inaugurate the Swadeshi mela. Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on Tuesday ruled out bias in the release of grants to constituencies represented by the Congress and the BJP legislators in Bengaluru. At the same time, he said he would set right lapses, if any. He was responding to the charges of the BJP members in the Legislative Assembly that the State government had not released sufficient grants to their constituencies in Bengaluru in the past three years. Citizens in our constituencies also pay tax. Why should they be denied developmental grants, Satish Reddy (BJP) asked. Congress legislators Byrathi Basavaraj and Muniratna said the BJP was misleading the House. George initially denied any bias but later said he would look into the issue. Election Commission has sought report from West Bengal home secretary following BJPs complaint that two cops offered its ex-state unit chief Rahul Sinha money to help smuggle cattle to Bangladesh. "We had asked the Home secretary yesterday to submit a report within 24 hours. After receiving a fresh complaint from BJP today, we have again asked the home secretary to send us another letter with all detailed information. We want a factual report," Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said in Kolkata. At Delhi, a BJP central delegation led by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lodged a complaint with the CEC over Trinamool Congress the unethical practice of bribing its current national secretary Rahul Sinha and demanded transfer of Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar. BJP leaders also demanded arrest of assistant sub inspector Subasis Roy Chowdhury and constable Aminul Rahman, the special branch cops involved in the bribery. Sinha refused the offer, detained the two police personnel and got an FIR registered at Jorasanko police station. Conspiracy This clearly appears to be a government sponsored conspiracy towards a failed sting operation to discredit BJP...apparently this heinous and reckless conspiracy was attempted by the ruling party to divert attention from Narada scam, BJP said in its memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner. DH News Service A 28-year-old man was knocked down by an unknown vehicle near Hamsa Farm, off Magadi Road, west Bengaluru, on Monday night. But the driver of 108 ambulance, which arrived to his rescue, reportedly dillydallied in taking him to hospital citing absence of a paramedic. The police said Maruti, a native of Gangavathi who was working as a labourer in Seegehalli, was on a walk when the vehicle hit him. He suffered a serious head injury. Passersby called the police, who rushed to the spot and called an ambulance. The police and eyewitnesses said the driver refused to take the patient to hospital as there was no paramedic in the ambulance. But S S Pervez, senior manager, GVK EMRI, the firm which runs the ambulance service, said some miscommunication had caused the confusion. He said the helpline 108 received a call about the accident at 8.42 pm and sent an ambulance within 16 minutes. The patient was taken to Pooja Hospital, which is close to the accident spot, for first aid. The ambulance waited at the spot for over an hour. Later, he was taken to Nimhans where doctors had referred him, Pervez said. He denied the accusation that there was no paramedic in the ambulance. The police, however, said they had to send a home guard, Shivaraj, along with the driver when the victim was taken to Pooja Hospital. He was later moved to another hospital owing to his head injuries, they said. Maheshwar Bora, 70, has been an ardent supporter of the Congress and is an elder from Borholla near Assam-Nagaland border. The area falls under the prestigious Titabar constituency from where Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has been winning since 1997, but Maheshwar for the first time on Tuesday has come to attend a BJP meeting. Our family has for generations voted for the Congress. Tarun Gogoi has been our MLA since 1997, yet Titabar has not seen any rapid development. Thus, I came to listen to the BJP candidate, who appears promising. Whether I will vote for him shifting my loyalty is something I need to decide, said Maheshwar. In the two-phased Assam polls due early next month, all eyes are on Titabar, a constituency adjacent to Jorhat, the main town in Upper Assam where excitement will take on experience, as the BJP has fielded its Jorhat MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa against Gogoi. Local people feel that Gogois last political battle would be a very tough one. We have been supporting the chief minister but Tasa is a good candidate. We will win but he (Tasa) will give a good fight for sure, said Babul Gogoi a Congress supporter. Tasa surprised many by winning the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in 2014 by defeating Congress heavyweight and former Union minister B K Handique. Tasa led the Assam Tea Tribe Students Association (ATTSA) for several years before joining the BJP in 2004. The over 45,000 strong tea tribe voters in the constituency are expected to play a decisive role in the electoral battle. I come from the backward class; I have been in politics with all my honesty and dignity. People value it and will vote for me. I will emerge as the giant killer, Tasa told Deccan Herald on the sidelines of a party rally in Titabar. But Tarun Gogoi supporters feel that people will vote for the three-time chief minister. Gogoi has been in politics for nearly five decades and is counting on his rapport with his constituency people. Kamakhya is a young politician and I am happy that I am getting to fight an electoral battle against a young leader. I wish him luck. I am sure Titabar will be electing me again, Gogoi told Deccan Herald last week in an exclusive interview. The BJP is putting all force behind Tasa to defeat Gogoi. On Tuesday, BJPs poll manager and former Congress minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was campaigning in Titabar urging voters not to vote for Gogoi, his once political godfather. Thousands of people braved a thundershower to attend Sarmas rally in Gogois bastion, perhaps signalling that Gogoi, who never lost from Titabar, has a very difficult last battle. DH News Service EC introduces e-filing facility For the first time, the Election Commission of India has introduced the facility to e-file the affidavits by the candidates in Tamil Nadu through on-line method, DHNS reports. The ECI on Tuesday said that this facility shall also provide on-line help in filling up the affidavit correctly and also the facility of getting print of the duly filled affidavit. Moreover, on-line submission will not accept any incomplete application, in respect of columns which are required to be filled in mandatorily and thereby ensures that no column is left blank which may lead to rejection of nomination paper. The ECI has further informed that at present, the e-filing can be done in two languages such as English and Hindi. Accordingly, there is no additional cost to the candidate for e-filing of the affidavit. More and more green buildings are coming up in Bengaluru where the real estate has been booming for many years now. But unlike other states, Karnataka is hardly providing any incentive to encourage such initiatives. A green building is one which uses less water, optimises energy, conserves natural resources, generates less waste and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a conventional building, according to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC.) Bengaluru, as of February 2016, has 333 out of the 343 green building projects in Karnataka. The remaining are in Mysuru. Of the 343 projects, 87 in Bengaluru and four in Mysuru have been certified. Bengaluru ranks third on the list of green footprint for buildings in the country, said Chandrashekar Hariharan, co-chair, IGBC Bengaluru chapter, and chairman of Biodiversity Conservation Indian. The shift to energy-efficient homes in India began in 2000 when the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the IGBC pioneered the initiative. The transition to green buildings gained momentum in 2010 and since then the IGBC has been seeing an increase, Hariharan told Deccan Herald. A green building reduces at least 30 per cent of demand for water and energy. All forms of waste are managed in the building and the demand for energy from external grids is reduced. Ten years ago, constructing a green building would cost 7-8% more, but smart service providers have reduced it to less than three per cent now. Unfortunately, Karnataka does not provide any incentive unlike in Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal and Rajasthan. In West Bengal, an additional floor area ratio or floor space index of 5-10% is provided for buildings certified green. Hariharan said Karnataka should give incentives to builders and home buyers, like waiving the taxes levied by civic agencies for a few years, or a subvention on registration costs for buyers to promote green buildings. Pronab Dasgupta, Distinguished Fellow and Director, The Energy and Resource Institute, said TERI had been making efforts that the government and the public adopt green building norms. In Bengaluru, green buildings can be built in new layouts that are being planned and where maximum natural resources can be used. TERI has recommended to the Central government to have green buildings in all public sectors, but its implementation is limited. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, Pune, has adopted green building norms. The civic body gives incentives to builders adopting green building norms. The same should be done in Bengaluru, Dasgupta said. Hariharan said not many government buildings had gone for certification though there was a directive from the Central government about two years ago. Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) buildings in Bengaluru are an exception. There is some good news for those who live in rented homes and use borewell water. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has proposed a partial rollback of borewell charges it proposed in January this year. It took the step following opposition from corporators and citizens. The BWSSB had imposed Rs 100 per month on each household, including tenants, for using borewell water. It argued that the used borewell water is being released into sanitary lines and sewage treatment plants (STPs), which are built and maintained by the BWSSB. The decision meant that all tenants living in a large house had to pay an additional Rs 100 per month each, which was previously paid by the owner only. In the first week of March, Deccan Herald had reported that the BWSSB may roll back the revised borewell charges in the wake of opposition. At a recent meeting, the BWSSB recommended these changes: only the owners of 20x30 and 30x40 sites will have to pay Rs 50 and Rs 100 respectively as borewell charge. In case of a building constructed on a 60x40 site, all households, including tenants, will have to pay Rs 100 each every month. Partial rollback S Krishnappa, engineer-in-chief, BWSSB, insisted that the poor and the middle class had not been burdened. Because of the partial rollback, the board will lose revenue of Rs 2 crore a month. We had revised borewell changes to make up for the BWSSBs expenditure on the maintenance of public borewells, he told Deccan Herald. At present, the board spends Rs 7 crore on average a month to maintain 7,000-odd power-generated public borewells and Rs 30 crore to maintain Sewage Treatment Plants (STP), he added. Presidential candidate Ted Cruz will visit Colorado in early April as he makes a bid to win the states 37 Republican delegates. The Texas senators visit is the first time a GOP presidential candidate is campaigning in Colorado after the Republican Party canceled its straw poll at the March 1 caucus. Cruz is scheduled to speak April 9 at the Colorado Republican State Convention at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, where the party will elect 13 delegates to the national convention. Hearing from a presidential candidate in person will be extremely helpful to our state delegates in their deliberations, said state GOP Chairman Steve House, who added: we hope to see all three candidates in Colorado Springs. Rivals Donald Trump, the New York billionaire, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich also are considering attending the state convention. Republicans will award 21 additional delegates at seven congressional district conventions three each scheduled Saturday through April 8. The remaining three delegates are party leaders, including House. Without a binding straw poll vote, a significant number of Colorados delegation may head to the national Republican convention in Cleveland as unbound delegates. But other state delegates vying to attend the national convention are choosing to pledge to a particular candidate meaning Cruz and other candidates can compete to win a majority and claim victory in Colorado. A preliminary analysis of the delegates who will attend the state convention shows a plurality are unpledged but more are pledging support to Cruz than rival Donald Trump, according to state party figures. The final numbers showing which candidate is most popular among Colorado state delegates is expected by Tuesday. John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or @ByJohnFrank Three more hospitals that employed former surgical technologist Rocky Allen face lawsuits alleging they failed to protect patients from a fentanyl addict with a blood disease. In Arizona, lawyer James Avery filed suit Friday against two hospitals that employed Allen in 2014 Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale and HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center in Phoenix. He also notified the state of Washington last week of an intent to sue Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle on behalf of surgery patients during Allens employment there. Karen Peck, a Northwest Hospital spokeswoman, denied that the hospital acted negligently in hiring Allen. We did a Washington state criminal background check, she said. We confirmed his registration as a surgical tech. We also conducted a personal reference check. His Navy references checked out, she said, and nobody mentioned that he had been court-martialed for stealing fentanyl at an Army base overseas. The Arizona hospitals did not respond to requests for comment. Allen, 28, has been charged in Colorado with stealing fentanyl from Swedish Medical Center in Englewood and replacing it with a syringe containing none of the powerful narcotic painkiller. He carries a bloodborne pathogen, according to a federal court disclosure that did not name the disease. Altogether, about 5,000 patients in Colorado, Arizona, Washington and California have been offered free blood tests for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. To date, no hospital has confirmed that Allen infected anyone. He has pleaded not guilty to felony charges in Colorado. Avery also sued Swedish on behalf of 36 of about 2,900 patients offered blood tests. In Arizona, the case involves an indescribable nightmare imposed on a vulnerable group of people hospital patients undergoing surgery, he wrote. He accused the hospitals of hiring Allen without adequately conducting a background check, without adequately supervising him and without putting in place adequate safeguards to protect the patients entrusted to their care. Allen was employed by and fired by both Arizona hospitals between May and September 2014, three years after he was court-martialed for fentanyl theft while deployed in Afghanistan, the lawsuit says. It names six plaintiffs four patients and two spouses as subjected to emotional distress and a risk of infection. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Miguel Castros fastball is intimidating. Coming in at a steep angle from his 6-foot-5 frame, it blazes toward the plate at up to 98 mph, often turning batters defenseless. The pitch made Castro the early buzz of Rockies spring training. The murmurs started during the camps first live batting practice when Castro left veterans such as Charlie Blackmon shaking their heads. Castro didnt let up in the Cactus League, striking out seven and walking none in his first six innings. Now, as the regular season draws near, Castro is sweating out whether he will be with the big-league team when it breaks camp this weekend. The final relief spot probably will come down to Castro or Scott Oberg. Castros firepower and potential may give him the edge. I feel good, Im ready, Castro said Monday. Im learning something every day. Castro, 21, remains raw and prone to mistakes, but the powerful right-hander from the Dominican Republic appears to have the stuff to be a closer someday. Thats why the Rockies insisted he must be part of the trade that sent star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto last July. Rockies Mailbag: Pose a question for Patrick Saunders Everything Castro throws is special, not just his fastball, veteran catcher Nick Hundley said. He has a plus changeup and a plus slider too. And hes extremely smart. Hes well-composed beyond his years. He just has to be more consistent. But there is no question he has the skills to be a front-line, late-game reliever. Castro breezed through his first five Cactus League appearances, allowing no runs and three hits. Friday, however, he left two pitches hanging over the plate and the Cincinnati Reds Ramon Cabrera and Bryson Smith clobbered back-to-back home runs in the ninth. I learned some lessons from those pitches, Castro said, referencing the need to stay ahead in the count and keep his fastball low in the strike zone. He was taken deep Monday for a solo home run by Carlos Sanchez of the White Sox. He has a 3.86 ERA this spring. Castro made his big-league debut for Toronto last April 6. At age 20 years, 103 days, he was the third-youngest player to debut in the majors last season. He posted four saves in six opportunities. After the Tulo trade, the Rockies assigned Castro to Triple-A Albuquerque. He went 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 13 innings. Recalled by the Rockies on Sept. 1, Castro struggled. In five relief appearances he was 0-1 with a 10.31 ERA before he was shut down because of a sore back. But even as Castro stumbled, the Rockies liked his makeup. Hes able to apply whats being taught and hes shown quick ability to adapt, said manager Walt Weiss. Hes made quick adjustments, so theres a lot to like about the kid, on top of the raw ability. Over the winter, Castro went home to the Dominican Republic and was tutored by Edison Lora, the Rockies Latin American pitching coordinator. They worked on Miguels mechanics, Weiss said. Edison did a great job with him. Castro will fill whatever role the Rockies have for him, but he has his eyes on someday being the teams closer. I want to be prepared for that job, he said. Thats what Im working for. Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or @psaundersdp Castro snapshot Age: 21 Born: Dominican Republic Obtained: Acquired in trade with Toronto on July 27, along with shortstop Jose Reyes and right-handed pitchers Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco, for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins. Pitches: Four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slider, changeup Big-league statistics: 18 games, 6.11 ERA, 18 strikeouts, 10 walks, .296 batting average against Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post BOULDER, Colorado, 28 March 2016 (NSIDC) Arctic sea ice was at a record low maximum extent for the second straight year, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and NASA. Ive never seen such a warm, crazy winter in the Arctic, said NSIDC director Mark Serreze. The heat was relentless. Air temperatures over the Arctic Ocean for the months of December, January and February were 2 to 6 degrees Celsius (4 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in nearly every region. Sea ice extent over the Arctic Ocean averaged 14.52 million square kilometers (5.607 million square miles) on March 24, beating last years record low of 14.54 million square kilometers (5.612 million square miles) on February 25. Unlike last year, the peak was later than average in the 37-year satellite record, setting up a shorter than average ice melt season for the coming spring and summer. According to NSIDC, sea ice extent was below average throughout the Arctic, except in the Labrador Sea, Baffin Bay, and Hudson Bay. It was especially low in the Barents Sea. As noted by Ingrid Onarheim at the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research in Bergen, Norway: A decrease in Barents Sea ice extent for this winter was predicted from the influence of warm Atlantic waters from the Norwegian Sea. Scientists are watching extent in this area because it will help them understand how a slower Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) may affect Arctic sea ice. Some studies suggest that decreased heat flux of warm Atlantic waters could lead to a recovery of all Arctic sea ice in the near future, said NSIDC senior research scientist Julienne Stroeve. I think it will have more of a winter impact and could lead to a temporary recovery of winter ice extent in the Barents and Kara seas. This years maximum extent is 1.12 million square kilometers (431,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average of 15.64 million square kilometers (6.04 million square miles) and 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 square miles) below the previous lowest maximum that occurred last year. This late winter, ice extent growth in the Arctic has been sluggish. Other than a brief spurt in late February, extent growth has been slow for the past six weeks, said Walt Meier, a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Meier is an affiliate scientist at NSIDC and is part of NSIDCs Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis team. Ice extent increases through autumn and winter, and the maximum typically occurs in mid March. Sea ice then retreats through spring and summer and shrinks to its smallest or minimum extent typically by mid September. The September Arctic minimum began drawing attention in 2005 when it first shrank to a record low extent over the period of satellite observations. It broke the record again in 2007, and then again in 2012. The March Arctic maximum has typically received less attention. That changed last year when the maximum extent was the lowest in the satellite record. The Arctic is in crisis. Year by year, its slipping into a new state, and its hard to see how that wont have an effect on weather throughout the Northern Hemisphere, said Ted Scambos, NSIDC lead scientist. NSIDC will release a full analysis of the winter season in early April, once monthly data are available for March. To read the current analysis from NSIDC scientists, see NSIDCs Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis. For more about Arctic sea ice, see NSIDCs Arctic Sea Ice 101. See the NASA release here. View the NASA animation here. Israeli firm Cellebrite has been identified as the third party that provided assistance to the US government in bypassing Apples iPhone security. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth confirmed that Cellebrite had helped the FBI as it attempted to unlock an iPhone that had been used by one of the two shooters responsible for the massacre in San Bernardino, California last year. Prior to the revelation of the involvement of a non-governmental third party, the FBI had been pressuring Apple to provide a backdoor that would allow it to bypass the devices security code. For its part, Apple steadfastly refused to comply, arguing that any security override could have far-reaching ramifications. The US governments claim led it to abandon a previously-scheduled court hearing. Cellebrite signed a contract with the FBI in 2013 which includes the provision of decryption technology. The company has declined to comment on the case, but the firm has been implicated in past hacking cases such as Januarys report that the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) had accessed encrypted emails on BlackBerry devices using technology from Cellebrite. The security of BlackBerry devices is a major part of the Canadian firms value proposition, and it responded that its devices are as secure as they have always been, adding that issues outside of the devices security systems such as user consent, an insecure third party application, or deficient security behaviour of the users were likely responsible in the event of a breach. People with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have stiff arteries affecting how hard the heart has to work to pump blood through the body, a study has concluded. The shape of the body in people with the condition is associated with arterial stiffness, according to research published by BMJ Open Research and Care. Researchers measured visceral fat, body fat that is stored within the abdominal cavity, and along with subcutaneous fat, which is found just beneath the skin. They also examined brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) to assess arterial stiffness, along with height, weight and waist circumference to calculate a body shape index (ABSI). The study found a significant and positive association between ABSI and increased risk for baPWV that persisted after adjusting for age, sex, duration of diabetes, diabetic complications, visceral fat area and body mass index (BMI). It was led by Dr. Ryotaro Bouchi, of the Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and looked at data from 607 Japanese adults with type 2 diabetes admitted to the hospital for evaluation of diabetic complications. The researchers concluded: These findings suggest that among indirect measures of abdominal adiposity, ABSI has a superiority due to its being independent of BMI, compared with other measures such as [waist circumference]. Surprisingly, the statistical significance of ABSI with baPWV was not attenuated even after adjusting for [visceral fat area], suggesting that the association between ABSI and arterial stiffness might be, at least in part, independent of visceral adiposity. They said high ABSI was strongly associated with aging, long diabetes duration and low insulin secretio, which researchers attributed to the association between ABSI and arterial stiffness. As FBI withdraws its case against Apple, questions begin to crop up regarding security of iOS. In a rather startling development, the Justice Department of the United States of America has released a statement claiming to have unlocked the iPhone 5c caught in question regarding the San Bernardino shooting case. While details of the process used to unlock the device has remained confidential, a spokesperson for the US Government has stated that help was taken from a third-party outsider to help solve the debacle. Apple had notably refused to comply with the Governments request to unlock the device, citing reasons of protecting user security and creating a record under law in process. The iPhone in question belonged to Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the gunmen involved in the December 2015 shooting case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, after procuring the iPhone 5c used by Farook, had approached Apple to create a bypass of sorts that would allow the security agency to take a look inside the device. Apple CEO published a letter to Apples customers explaining the reason why he and Apple decided to not comply with the Government in creating a hack for the device. Stating that the security flaw may become dangerous if fallen into the wrong hands, Apple and FBI had the world divided on opinion. While the likes of Sundar Pichai expressed support for Apple, others like Bill Gates stated that Apple may figure out a way to help in legal proceedings without major hampering of user security. Apple's official statement regarding the incident states, "From the beginning, we objected to the FBIs demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the governments dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated. Apple believes deeply that people in the United States and around the world deserve data protection, security and privacy. Sacrificing one for the other only puts people and countries at greater risk. This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion." With the US Government claiming to have unlocked the iPhone, Apples engineers and lawyers would want to know the procedure used to have unlocked the device. There has been no official disclosure of the third party agent involved here, but rumours last week had suggested that Cellebrite, an Israeli software company, may have entered a $15,000 contract with the US Justice Department to unlock the iPhone. While unlocking the device may have solved the FBIs primary concern, a spokesperson wishing to remain anonymous has stated that the FBI may not find anything of importance in it. Additionally, it also raises the concern of the level of security on iOS, and whether the Government will cooperate with Apple to disclose the steps to reinstate user privacy and security remains a major doubt. The Justice Department has dropped its legal appeal against Apple, after having successfully unlocked the device. While it may seems to be a win-win situation to some, the thought of a background security flaw that may have led to unlocking the device nullifies the entire point that Apple stood up for, and reinstates nightmares of being hacked and compromised. European stocks wavered on Tuesday, coming off earlier highs as the focus shifted to a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day and the key US jobs report at the end of the week. At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.2%, Germanys DAX was flat and Frances CAC 40 was 0.5% firmer. At the same time, oil prices were in the red. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.5% to $38.78 a barrel and Brent crude was off 1.8% at $39.54. A healthy start for the FTSE and European indices is already being eroded; we can take last nights US session as the template for the week, namely limited gains and losses as quarter-end looms, with non-farm payrolls following on swiftly, said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG. Weakness in oil so far this morning carries on a pattern from last week long positions in crude are now pushing to their highest levels in months, which may be a bearish sign. The short-covering is over, but the inventory build goes on, and this will dominate more and more as the new quarter gets underway. Equity inflows have been modest at best, indicating that the short squeeze has not been replaced by enthusiastic buying. Money may be on the sidelines, but it seems it is still not ready to enter the fray." In corporate news, RSA Insurance was on the front foot on the back of a positive research note from Deutsche Bank, which upped its target price on the stock. ENI was in the red after La Repubblica reported that the Italian energy company was discussing the sale of a 20% stake in Egypt's Zohr gas field to Russia's Lukoil. Pharmaceuticals giants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca were both higher after drug approvals in Japan. Low-cost carrier EasyJet flew higher after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to buy. On the downside, shares in AG Barr edged lower after the London-listed drinks maker posted a rise in full year profit but a dip in revenue. Banco Popolare was weaker after its chief executive told Il Sole 24 Ore over the weekend that half the 1bn capital required for it to merge with Banca Popolare di Milano could be raised through a rights issue and the other half through direct placements to institutional investors. Yellens speech at the Economic Club of New York Luncheon is due at 1620 GMT. Before that, S&P Case-Shiller house prices are at 1400 BST, while US consumer confidence is at 1500 BST. Investors will be scrutinising Yellens words for any policy clues, particularly after the hawkish comments last week from Fed officials. However, Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes did not seem to think the speech would provide too many hints: The danger is that she is very balanced/neutral. Its hard to see why she would seek to signal the possibility of an imminent rate hike after recent data, but she will clearly want to support the market in pricing in hikes this year. Net result, she wont be much help and we may wait for Friday for economic clues. Hikma Pharmaceuticals fully-owned subsidiary West-Ward Pharmaceuticals has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its abbreviated new drug application for Temozolomide capsules. Temozolomide is a chemotherapy agent used to treat a severe form of brain cancer. According to IMS Health, a global information and technology services company for the healthcare industry, total US sales of Temozolomide capsules were around $200m for the 12 months ending January 2016. Chairman and chief executive officer Said Darwazah said: We are very pleased to announce our first approval from the Columbus portfolio (formerly Roxane Laboratories) since we closed the transaction on 29 February 2016. West-Ward has an excellent pipeline of differentiated products and proven R&D, supply chain and operational capabilities that we expect will drive accelerated and sustainable future growth." At 1236 GMT, Hikma shares were up 2.4% to 1,940p. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. OSU defense dominates, offense revs up late in 54-10 rout of Iowa Overcoming a sluggish start by its offense, Ohio State pulled away for a 54-10 victory over Iowa. Subscriber content preview Investors aren't rushing for the exits yet, but in the financial industry, backbone of the economy, the mood is darkening. By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer HONG KONG For decades, Hong Kong thrived as an Asian business hub thanks to its killer combination of Western freedoms, independent courts and closeness to mainland China's booming market. Now political and economic ills from the mainland are eroding that edge. Swedish-Chinese author Gui Minhai was counting on Hong Kong's freedoms when he chose the city as the base for the publishing empire he has built up over the past decade, churning out exposes on elite Chinese politics that were snapped up by visitors from mainland China, where they are prohibited. . . . Halloween creatures owls, crows and bats all live at Crossroads, and that makes us very happy, for these scary animals make a positive contribution to the habitats of the preserve. We don't even mind black cats, IF they are kept indoors. Feral and outdoor cats are exceedingly harmful to wildlife ... and that's not a superstition! But to tamp down superstitions, we at Crossroads will spend the week demystifying Halloween creatures. On October 28, 2022, at 6 p.m. will be our Evening with Owls. The Open Door Bird Sanctuary will be at Crossroads, offering a one-hour presentation followed by the opportunity to meet and greet live birds. Learn all about owls and the other incredible birds in the care of the Sanctuary! Down through the centuries, in many cultures throughout the world, owls have been associated with evil and death. Truth is, owls probably are not smart enough to be evil. But researchers agree that owls are about as dim as the nighttime forests in which they hunt. Owls don't need to be smart. They have everything else going for them. They are muscular. They fly silently. Their huge eyes enable them to see in the dark. Their beaks and talons are strong and wickedly sharp. But their sensitive ears are what make owls extraordinary hunters. Most people assume that the plumicorns (a.k.a. "horns) of an owl are its ears. Not so. The actual ears lie under feathers on the sides of the head, and they aren't symmetrical. Because one ear is higher than the other and the ears are unequal in size, sound is different from different directions, helping owls locate prey, which they do almost unfailingly, even in total darkness. Owls do not smell their prey. As with most birds, the sense of smell is insignificant, if it exists are all. Great Horned Owls frequently prey on skunks. Enough said. But well-developed intelligence? Researchers have observed owls beating their wings on bushes to try to flush out little birds. Is this learned behavior? Is it problem-solving? Maybe. For the most part, owls do not have a lot of problems to solve. They appropriate abandoned nests of other birds, so they don't need building skills. They are stealthy by nature, and they pounce on and usually catch anything they hear, so they don't need hunting techniques. In spite of ghost stories, legends of American First People, and superstitions from Europe and India, hooting owls do not foretell impending death, although their nocturnal calls are spooky. We hear them now and then this time of year, but we will regularly hear those eerie calls at Crossroads in January or February. In contrast to owls, crows are noisy all year round and they are amazingly intelligent. They can learn. They can remember. They can solve problems. They can even identify individual humans. And they detest owls, though whether this is innate or learned behavior is not clear. Those curious about crows will want to attend the Crossroads Book Club on Wednesday, October 26, at 10:00 a.m. This month, the book Crow Planet, Essential Wisdom for the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt will explore the fascinating world of these remarkable birds. The program is free and open to all, whether or not they have read the book. So bring the family to our program on owls, learn about crows at the Crossroads Book Club, or learn about bats at our pre-school Junior Nature Club on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. or our Family Science Saturday program at 2:00 p.m. Costumes are encouraged but not required at Junior Nature Club and Science Saturday, and adult visitors are welcome. Dothan Community Church, located at 4390 Westgate Parkway, Dothan, is hosting a garage sale on April 1 and April 2, beginning at 7 a.m. A pre-sale for the public will be held on March 31 at $5 per person from 5-8 p.m. All proceeds will benefit a Liberian orphanage and school. New Life Church, 964 N. Park Ave., Dothan, will host a weekend conference with British Evangelists Matthew and Becky Murray on April 1 at 7 p.m., April 2 at 6 p.m. and April 3 at 10 a.m. The Murrays have preached around the world and in cities throughout the United States. The Murrays are directors of One by One and pastors of Uttoxeter Pentecostal Church in Staffordshire, England. For more information, email newlifedothan@yahoo.com or call 334-792-5433. Mount Olive Seventh-day Adventist Church of Dothan will present a special marriage worship event, Deliberate Love: Loving Your Spouse on Purpose, on April 1-3 at the church, located at 723 Webb Road. Dr. John and April Nixon of Decatur Seventh-day Adventist Church will be the special guests. Service times will be Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. A Sunday brunch will be held at 12:30 p.m. at Dothan First Seventh-day Adventist Church, located at 147 Picard St. Klondyke Gospel Music Center, located between Newton and Ozark at 3885 Highway 123 S., will host the following groups: Tony Griffith Family and Adam Crabb of the Crabb Family from Nashville, Tennessee, April 1; Steven Conrad from Chattahoochee, Florida, April 2; Teddie Cox from Gadsden, April 8; Senn Family from Midland City, April 15; Robin Scott from Eufaula, April 16; Stepping out on Faith from Marianna, Florida, April 29; The Conrad Family from Dothan, April 30. Concerts start at 7 p.m. On April 9, Klondyke will host a showing of the movie War Room at 11:30 a.m. with soda and popcorn. Following the movie, there will be hot dogs and fellowship at 5 p.m. Admission is free; offering will be taken. For more information, call 334-405-1500. The Women's Ministry of Greater Beulah Baptist Church will sponsor its second Walk in Unity event on April 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The walk will begin at Pioneer Park at the corner of North Foster and East Troy streets. After a prayer, a welcome from Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz, and a balloon release, the walk will go down to St. Andrews Street and to the churchs Family Life Center. The walk will conclude with a praise rally and lunch. All women from the tri-state area are invited to join in. Cool Springs Baptist Church, 3004 County Road 708, Enterprise, will host Danny Funderburk (formally with The Cathedral Quartet) on April 2 at 6 p.m. No admission fee. An offering will be received. For more information, call 334-447-9114. Victory Tabernacle, 10005 E. State Highway 52, Hartford, will hold a gospel sing on April 2 at 6 p.m. Special guest will be the Lighthouse String Ensemble with host band Straight & Narrow Bluegrass. Grimes Gospel Lighthouse, 1512 County Road 25, Grimes, will host Second Chance Ministries from Fort Walton, Florida, on April 2; Kay Armour of Ashford on April 9; Martha Whitrock of Malvern on April 16; local talent on April 23; and Billy Gene Dickerson of Ashford on April 30. All concerts are at 7 p.m. Admission is free; offering will be taken. Call 334-983-4654 or 334-714-4658 for more information. Smithville Missionary Baptist Church, 160 W. Smithville Road, Dothan will host a Presiding Pastor Appreciation Program on April 3 at 2:30 p.m. Guest pastor will be the Rev. Thomas Dawsey Sr. of Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Cottonwood. Call 334-405-2818 for information. Faith Tabernacle Community Church, 1665 Coe Dairy Road, Dothan, will hold a Homecoming service on April 3 with Sunday school at 10 a.m. and morning worship at 11 a.m. Speaker will be the Rev. T.P. Martin, founder. Lunch will be served after morning service, and no night service will be held. The church will hold a spring revival April 4-6 with services at 7 p.m. Speakers will be the Rev. E.H. Haddock on Monday, the Rev. Marcus Ramer on Tuesday and the Rev. Shirley Hatcher on Wednesday. Special singing each night. For more information, call 334-350-7605 or 334-258-0009. Women Made Whole Dothan will meet April 4 at 7 p.m. at Comfort Suites, 1650 Westgate Parkway, Dothan. A ministry designed to encourage women to become whole in Christ, the group meets every other Monday. There is no charge to attend, and Women Made Whole is open to females of all ages, races and denominations. For more information, email WMWDothan@womenmadewhole.com, visit www.WomenMadeWhole.com or search Women Made Whole Dothan on Facebook. Maple Avenue Baptist Church, 1009 W. Maple Ave., Geneva, will host the monthly luncheon of the 39ers C.L.U.B. on April 12 at 11 a.m. If you have been involved in the 39ers C.L.U.B., please contact your table hostess by Tuesday, April 5, to make or cancel your reservation. If you would like to be a part of the 39ers C.L.U.B. and have never been before, call the church office at 334-684-9617 by April 5. The 39ers C.L.U.B. (Christians Living Under the Blood) is a non-denominational group. The cost for the luncheon is $5 per person. The Rev. Dicky McAllister will present the April program. He is the director of missions for the Geneva County Baptist Association. Johns Chapel AME Church, 605 Geneva Highway, Enterprise, will host a fish fry on Friday, April 8, from 4-7 p.m. at the church. Fish dinners are available for $8 each, and fish sandwiches are $5 each. Orders may be picked up at the church, or for delivery, call 334-393-2661. Pre-Orders are preferred. Contact any member of Johns Chapel AME Church for tickets. The Dixie Echoes Quartet will perform April 8 at 7 p.m. at Rainbow Meadows Baptist Church, located on Napier Field Road in Dothan. An offering will be taken. Call 334-790-1940 for more information. The Dothan-Eufaula District of the AME Church will hold its 2016 district conference on April 8-9 at St. Luke AME Church, located at 234 Dr. T.V. McCoo Blvd. S. in Eufaula. On April 8, pastors will meet at 10 a.m. and the conference will open at 11:45 a.m. with a worship service at 12 p.m. and workshops starting at 3 p.m. The district Praise Team will begin the praise and worship service on Friday at 6:45 p.m., followed by the Ecumenical Worship and Holy Communion service at 7 p.m. On April 9, breakfast will be at 8:30 a.m. and devotion will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday workshops will begin at 10 a.m. The Dothan-Eufaula District Ministers' Spouses will also meet at 10 a.m. The Dothan-Eufaula District Koinonias will begin the praise and worship service at 11:45 a.m. A worship service will begin at 12 p.m. For more information, call 334-308-1400 or 334-347-8360. Malvern Baptist Church will have a gospel sing on April 9 at 6 p.m. featuring gospel artist Walter Wilson as well as Tom Thompson of Hartford. Refreshments will be served following the sing. Everyone is invited to attend. Call 334-792-8409 for more information. Patterson Street Free Will Baptist Church, 406 Patterson St., Dothan, will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its pastor, the Rev. Harold McKissic Sr., with a service on April 10 at 11 a.m. Guest speaker will be the Rev. Eulus Lumpkin, associate pastor of Mount Sinai Baptist Church. Call 334-793-7681 or email pattersonbaptist@centurylink.net for information. Bethlehem Temple Church of God in Christ in Bellwood will host its annual appreciation service for its pastor, Elder Sylvester Pritchett, and his wife, Ethel Pritchett, on April 10 at 3 p.m. Guest speaker will be Elder William A. Brown Sr. of Living Waters Church of God in Christ in Hartford and Dothan Tabernacle Church of God in Christ. Call Deacon Joe Killings at 334-798-6433 or Elder Roy Matthews at 334-393-2643 for more information. St. Mathis Baptist Church in Cowarts will hold its annual Missionary Day service on April 17 at 2:30 p.m. Guest minister will be Pastor Anthony Yarbrough of Newberry AME Church in Jakin, Georgia. The Newberry AME Church Choir will be the guest choir. Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church #2, 1547 Lucy Grade Road, Dothan, will host its annual spring revival April 20-22 with services at 7 p.m. Guest minister will be Clifton Green of Macedonia Baptist Church in Sarasota, Florida. All churches are welcome. Call 334-677-5765 for information. Temple Emanu-El in Dothan will hold its annual Deli Day on May 4 and will be taking orders through April 25. Bagged lunches are $12 each and include a deli-style kosher corned beef sandwich with a kosher dill pickle, a bag of chips, a chocolate chip cookie and a picnic pack prepared by the John Conti Center at Vaughn-Blumberg. To order, buy tickets from members of Temple Emanu-El; call the Temple office at 334-792-5001 for an order form; or order online at http://www.dothandeliday.org. The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville will hold a Creation Conference on April 26-27 with breakout sessions designed for pastors and youth groups. The conference, free to attend, will examine apologetics with the primary topic being the biblical account of creation. Leading the conference will be Jonathan Sarfati of Creation Ministries International in Atlanta, Georgia. Sarfati will speak at the regular chapel services at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and will lead a special session for pastors on April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He will lead a session for youth, homeschoolers and Christian school groups on April 26 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Conference sessions are open to the public by reservation. To register, call 800-328-2660, ext. 513; email hollis.prange@baptistcollege.edu; or visit baptistcollege.edu/creationconference. Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life? Its an intractable notion wrestled by humanity at least as far back as Platos time, when the classical Greek scholar wrote his theory of mimesis, and his student Aristotle joined the fray. Its an interesting notion to consider in these days, not so much for arts sake, but as a metaphor for the current political scene. Do politics imitate life, or is it the other way around? In the presidential campaign, weve heard increasingly acrimonious public rants from several candidates, commentary that sounds far from presidential. And in recent days, two leading candidates in the GOP race devolved into casting aspersions on each others wives. Thats not leadership. Thats not even civil. However, the polls for what theyre worth - and the primaries suggest that such coarse, down-and-dirty rhetoric resonates with the people, and it seems that the farther afield it goes, the more it excites the electorate. So some candidates have begun to follow the lead of frontrunner Donald Trump along the vulgarian path, giving the people what they seem to want. Thats whats truly frightening. However, this may well be a reflection of what we have become. Many suggest that society has been in a long decline, and perhaps the rise of Trump reflects the decline of American values among us all. And then theres the political scene in our own home state: Speaker of the House under indictment on corruption charges; governor embroiled in an unfolding romantic scandal in the wake of the end of his 50-year marriage; a former governor still in federal prison for corruption; and on and on. Alabama today is devoid of leadership. And the more we learn about the slate of presidential hopefuls, and the stubbornness of the sitting legislative branch, the more it looks as though the federal ship of state is rudderless as well. Plato would never have imagined such. Or perhaps he did: There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands. 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. RTE television will feature the Jumping Church at Kildemock, Ardee, in a new television series to be shown in the summer. Last year John Creedon explored the Wild Atlantic Way in a campervan, meeting locals along the way and uncovered the secrets behind its unique landscape, history and culture. This year he is coming to the north-east to explore our history, heritage, and coastline, and they will film the Jumping Church next week. John Rafferty, chairman Ardee Historical Society said Alice Malone from Ardee contacted RTE who expressed an interest in the idea. I was then contacted by RTE and Micky McCreanor of Butterlys in Ardee, has agreed to talk about the famous church. And the Turfman from Ardee will also be heard. The jumping wall draws many visitors from near and far. Legend says the enchanting wall of the church moved in 1715 to exclude the grave of an excommunicated man outside the building. All that remains at Kildemock today is a small ruin, containing the mystical wall that for reason either geographical or paranormal once jumped across the terrain. The displaced wall at Cill Demog is, frankly, a remarkable ancient wreck, clearly demonstrating how the western wall of the church jumped to stand over three feet inside its own foundations. And a new tourism brochure is also being drawn up for Ardee and district by Louth County Council. It is expected to be funded by the Ardee Rural Economic Development Zone. Ardee was awarded money through the new Rural Economic Development Zone (REDZ) pilot scheme. 3,758,000 was awarded to 51 areas and regions throughout the country. The funding is about community participation, boosting employment, tackling rural isolation and helping communities to identify the issues and also the solutions. The concept of a REDZ, which involves supporting communities to avail of opportunities to help themselves and their local areas, was described by the outing government as the essence of what a community led approach to rural development is all about. Minister of State for Rural Affairs Ann Phelan said: Rural communities know best what they require and I hope that this pilot will provide resources to some of the REDZ communitys throughout Ireland to further the economic development of their areas and learning from this pilot will inform thinking as the economy continues to recover. At the inaugural Fishermans Friend Shed Series competition, held at the National Maritime Museum in Dun Laoghaire, Louths Cooley Peninsula Mens Shed, based in Bush, has been awarded the top prize, taking home the overall trophy and a cash prize for their Mens Shed. Following a nationwide search by Fishermans Friend, which asked Mens Sheds from across Ireland to create a piece of art that best depicts what community and friendship means to them, 25 sheds brought their creations to the shed series event, which took place at the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, Dun Laoghaire. The Cooley Peninsula Men Sheds piece of work stood out above the rest due to its originality, fine craftsmanship and how it visually represented what their community in Bush means to members of the shed. Titled The Shed Web - the visual piece of art by the Cooley Peninsula Mens Shed created visually linked the close relationship between the Men, the Shed and the Community. The links were depicted in the form of a spiders web, which was represented by a number of wood carvings, overlaid with a series of pictorial transfers, which illustrated the role of the Shed in the Community. Ray Byrne, a member of the winning Mens Shed, who attended the event with fellow mens shed members, Brian Maguire and Adrian Holden, adds: We are delighted to have won the competition and it will mean so much to the Men that helped to create this piece of art within the Shed. The Fishermans Friend Shed Series competition really made us think about what our Shed means to us and provided us with the opportunity to create something that reflects that, it also allowed some of our members to really step up and showcase their creative skills. Two other Mens Sheds based in Louth also attended the event. Dunleer Mens Shed and Dundalk Mens shed were both named as finalists in the Shed Series competition. Martin Stimson, Area Business Manager of Fishermans Friend comments: It has been a privilege to work with the Irish Mens Shed Association in launching the Shed Series initiative, and weve been thrilled with the volume of the entries and quality of the workmanship. The Fishermans Friend Shed Series has highlighted how important communities are to the Mens Sheds, and with almost 100 attendees at our final, it is fantastic to see the strength of friendship that exists between members and sheds. Were hoping that this competition has reinforced the strength of friendship and community and that it has enabled members to forge new bonds within the Irish Mens Sheds Community in Ireland. The Fishermans Friend Shed Series competition launched at the beginning of the year in association with the Irish Mens Shed Association. The IMSA is a national organisation, set up in January 2011, with the purpose of supporting the development and sustainability of Mens Sheds on the Island of Ireland. Representing the collective issues of Mens Sheds in Ireland, the organisation is working towards a future where all men have the opportunity to improve and maintain their health and well-being by participating in a Mens Shed within their community. Following on the piece I wrote last week about the Sinn Fein demonstration at the Courthouse Dundalk on the occasion of the proclamation of George V as King of Ireland on May 10, 1916, I got to thinking about the people I knew who were involved in the 1916 Rising and its aftermath. The one thing I greatly regret is that I did not keep a more accurate note of things that were being told me then about events that were not all that long in the past at that time. On reflection, however, I realise that it was, perhaps, just as well as many of those intimately involved had very mixed feelings about the whole affair and wanted it forgotten about! Not that I knew all that many who took an active part in the Rising. There were many around who made claims to be heroes who were not just telling the truth but the one person whom I knew well and respected greatly was my old 'boss' Frank Necy who was Editor of the Dundalk Democrat from 1941 until 1966. Frank did not speak much about those events while he was a working editor but he did talk to me about it after he had retired and I recall that he was greatly disillusioned about the outcome. Any doubts that I might have had about his involvement were dispelled when I looked up the Military Bureau records which show that he was one of a number of young Dundalk men who were picked up by the R.I.C. in the weeks following the Rising. He was sent to Knutsford Prison in Cheshire, England and from there to Frongoch Detention Camp in Wales, where he is recorded as a 'Frank Neasty' in June and July of 1916. The different spelling of his name did not surprise me because I was aware that young men of the time often spelled their name in different ways to confuse the British authorities. I have no doubt that he was the Frank Necy that I knew, who lived in a boarding house at Chapel Lane (now known as Chapel Street). The order of the court sending him to Knutsford show that he was sentenced along with P.J. Berrills of Williamsons Place and Felix O'Neill of Barrack Street, Dundalk. Berrills, known locally as 'Joe' , later became famous during the War of Independence, and was described in the Frontier Sentinel of May 1919 as being the 'Commander of the Irish Volunteers in Dundalk' who led the attack on Ballyedmond Castle in May 11, 1919'. They were looking for arms in one of the first engagements in the War of Independence in this area. Felix O'Neill was an uncle of a friend mine who once told me that he was involved in the shooting of a Black and Tan policeman named Campbell at Dowdallshill, an incident that led to the shooting of the Watters Brothers in Quay Street in June 1921. Felix O'Neill later migrated to the U.S.A. and I believe that Berrills may have done the same. For what offence they were sentenced is not stated but I believe that it may have been for either having arms or documents that were connected with the Rising. I do not know how long Frank was in the Frongoch Camp but I think he told me that it was for about six months and that he got back to Dundalk before Christmas 1916. One thing that he told me about that return to his home town surprised and shocked me little. He said that he and others who had been interned got a great reception at the railway station, with cheering crowds and a band playing but the mood seems to have changed in the weeks that followed. What changed was that he was approached by other young men who had not been arrested and asked to join the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Frank had been a member of the National Volunteers that had split with John Redmond's Volunteers in 1914 but was never a member of the I.R.A. When he refused to join the oath-bound society that was the I.R.B., for reasons of his employment in the Democrat, he said that he was boycotted by them for several years and suffered snubs and insults as a result; even though he was one of the few that had taken an active part in the Rising! All that time later Frank named those who had rejected him but I will not mention them because they have relatives still living who are prepared to bask in their perceived 'reflected glory'! Which all goes to show that history is not a 'black and white' story with the 'goodies and baddies' we grew up to worship in the old Western movies! 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. Product distribution resides at the heart of getting your products into the hands of consumers. Any startup business, no matter where they operate from, must overcome the basic problems of distribution in order to generate meaningful profits. The more avenues through which your startup can move product, the more potential income streams you will have in place that operate simultaneously. For this reason, it is important to understand the differences between various product distribution avenues available to your company and how to leverage them for best results. Retail Stores One of the most common approaches startups use to promote product distribution is by getting their products into retail stores. The advantage of retail distribution avenues is that established businesses typically possess access to a lot of foot traffic. Another advantage is that retail stores buy in bulk. Often this is done to ensure adequate stock remains in house to meet expected demand for a given product. One disadvantage to direct from manufacturer retail distribution is that poor demand for your companys product may create a problem with obtaining repeat orders from retail vendors. Wholesalers And Drop Shippers To take your retail distribution efforts to the next level, your startup will want to work with a wholesale distributor. Wholesale distributors are tasked with the job of taking your product and making sure it gets into the hands of other retail outlets or drop shipped directly to customers. The advantage of working with a wholesale distributor is that these distributors already have firmly established relationships and agreements with the retailers with which they work. Since these relationships can take months or even years to establish, this saves your startup the trouble of having to waste time gaining access to these retail entities. In this capacity, the wholesale distributor acts as a middleman on your companys behalf. An immediate problem to be aware of with this scenario is that if your wholesale distributor severs their relationship with your company, for any reason, you are back to square one and in need of building relationships with other wholesale distributors, drop shippers and retail stores to get the ball rolling again. To avoid this problem from having a negative impact on your revenue, it is best to work with multiple wholesale distribution entities at the same time. This way your business is not instantly jeopardised if one of these relationships goes south. Online Stores Another great way to distribute product is by offering it for sale direct from your company warehouse on your company website. Some advantages to doing this is that you can offer your products at a huge discount to online consumers. You can also entice customers with other direct website-related advertisements, such as instant coupons and the buy one get one free style of offers. A major disadvantage to online stores is that your company is in direct competition with literally millions of other online stores doing the same thing. This means your online marketing costs can get expensive, if your approach is not truly innovative. Secondly, generating online traffic gets difficult, since online consumers tend to tune out online ads as a matter of habit. Then there is the hassle of having to keep up with the latest SEO techniques for obtaining high website rankings in organic web searches. Search engines, like google, push to make it difficult to maintain solid website rankings, so they are constantly changing the SEO rules on businesses. This is done in an effort to force businesses to pay the search engines for prefered ad space, rather than making it easy for businesses to generate massive web traffic through organic searches. Network Affiliates A common business practice, which startup companies use to generate sales and distribute more product, is to start network-based affiliate programs. Affiliate programs invite visitors to your website to sign up to be a promoter of your companys products (example here). Since an affiliate marketer is promoting your products for you, they generally expect some type of compensation for all their hard marketing efforts. Generally, this compensation is paid out as a percentage of the sales volume the affiliate marketer generates for the products your company is selling. The benefit of having a large affiliate marketing sales force is that you are not paying any of these marketers an hourly wage. In fact, you are reducing costs by only paying them when their marketing efforts generate sales. The downside to network-based affiliate programs is that many hard working affiliate marketers have been seriously burned by other companies in the past. These experiences have caused many affiliate marketers to suspect that online affiliate and network affiliate programs do not always report their sales volume accurately. As a result, many affiliate marketers will only work for companies with an established reputation for paying their affiliates. Consequently, it can be difficult to attract affiliates to join your network. For this reason, it is critical to ensure that your affiliates and network members maintain the impression that accurate affiliate ID-related sales volume reporting and compensations are on the level. Conclusion The key to product distribution is working with multiple avenues to ensure a regular flow of products from your warehouse to the customers hand. As your products become available through more avenues, customers will be exposed more and more to your companys brand. This exposure will not only improve product sales, but it will also help your companys brand to become a household name. About the Author: Philip Piletic is a writer and blogger with a love for business, finance and technology. His goal is to give useful advice and help people adapt to ever evolving world of today. Choosing an office space for your business is not only a huge decision, since the place where you conduct everyday affairs leaves a strong impression, but its also complicated. Youll need to take into consideration proximity to transportation, what your budget will accommodate for rent, and what size space youll require. However, if you remain focused on the essentials and dont become overwhelmed, youll be sure to find an office space that suits your needs perfectly. Here are some of the main factors to deliberate when youre moving to an office space. The Basics for Employees The first thing you should consider when youre searching for office space isnt necessarily price, but proximity to things like public transportation or highways that will allow your staff to commute. To get started, hop on Property Guru for resale HDB to see whats available on the market. Each listing will come replete with a map showing the surrounding area and whats accessible. This is something you should pay close attention to before proceeding. If an office is too far away from any type of access point, your employees may have a problem getting into work. Even worse would be a situation where youre ready to make a new hire, but the talent pool is substantially reduced because its difficult to get to your office. Plan Based Around Finances Rents and purchase prices go up and down in the real estate industry, and thats the same for residential property as well as office space. However, now is a prime opportunity for small businesses to start looking for office space. Reuters reports that business rents are set to drop due to problems with the Singaporean economy. While this is unfortunate overall, this also means that there are bright spots that may work to your advantage. This is all part of the philosophy of planning based on fluctuations in the real estate market, and signing a lease or mortgage agreement at the right time. While at one point in the year you may find that real estate for prime areas is far too high for your budget, at times when vacancies are on the rise, a particular space you may have coveted before could be available. It all depends on timing, so dont jump on the first promising space you see. Be Open to Innovation Choose an office space thats open to growth for you and your company. Innovation is extremely important, as is allowing yourself physical space in which to develop. For example, Channel News Asia reports that a space called Trehaus that supports family co-working space has opened, and is the first of its kind. The space is designed to allow parents in the business world drop off their children for classes or care while they conduct their professional lives in the same space. It also increases networking opportunities for other individuals in the same situation. This is the type of forward thinking that not only gets industry professionals to view you as a leader in your field, but it can also lead to benefits you may have not even predicted. Try not to limit yourself by squeezing into a space thats too small or too specific, should you ever want to change things up. Planning for Size One of the most obvious, yet often overlooked, aspects of choosing office space is how much space youll actually need. When you walk into an office space for rent or sale, you may think upon first glance its more than large enough. Dont ever rely on this logic, because if youre wrong, youre stuck with a nonfunctional space youre paying for. Therefore, what you want to do is go into the office space youre considering with a tape measure, and a list of your office furniture that you know youll be using. For example, have a look at individual offices and see how your own desk would fit. Measure the main floor if you have a cubicle layout for more than a few employees, and see how theyd fit. The key is to be thorough about the exact needs of your space, rather than estimating. Always be precise. Choosing the space where you conduct all of your business transactions and do your work is not only important in terms of cost, but also simply in atmosphere. Youll want to find a space that fosters productivity and a pleasant environment to get work done, which should be balanced with rental price. If youre looking to hire new team members, remember that you may be missing out on talent if you choose an office too far away from mass transit or thats not readily accessible via public road. These are all elements that will factor into where you decide to finally settle your desk. You just need to determine which ones are the most important, and go from there. With so many office spaces available on the market right now, though, youll have a wide selection to choose from. Sussex News Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. A new front may have opened up between the Department of Justice and Silicon Valley in the ongoing legal battle over government access to encrypted data, this time involvingWhatsApp, the electronic messaging and voice system owned by Facebook. DoJ officials have been debating how to proceed in a criminal case in which a court-ordered wiretap has been hindered by WhatsApp encryption, The New York Times reported last week. The report did not specify the location or nature of the case but said it did not involve terrorism and that court filings were under seal. The Justice Department declined to comment on the report, spokesperson Peter Carr told the E-Commerce Times. Apple Bites Back WhatsApp already is embroiled in a high-profile criminal case in Brazil. The service was blocked temporarily in December, and earlier this month a Facebook executive wasjailed briefly after the company refused to cooperate in a criminal investigation. The new case comes at a tense time, as the ongoing legal battle between the DoJ and Apple has roiled the technology industry. The FBI wants Apple to create a software application that would let investigators access an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack late last year that left 14 people dead and dozens injured. A number of rival technology firms and civil liberties advocates have filed briefs on behalf of Apple, arguing that compliance with such an order would put millions of people at risk because a software tool in the wrong hands could be used to hack into the accounts of private citizens. Foreign governments, including China, could force companies to provide access to encrypted data belonging to political dissidents or citizens in those countries, according to the briefs. All Americans should be concerned with a precedent that mandates vulnerabilities in encryption, said Michael Beckerman, CEO of theInternet Association. Ultimately, requirements that companies weaken or undermine strong encryption harm consumers and undermine our national security, he told the E-Commerce Times. TheElectronic Frontier Foundation, along with 46 other technology industry experts, filed an amicus brief arguing that the Apple order would violate the First Amendment, according to Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney on the EFFs digital civil liberties team. The Court of Public Opinion All the legal analysis of the WhatsApp question reads this as an open-and-shut case due to the interaction of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, along with a case from the Ninth Circuit called The Company v. United States, said Ross Schulman, senior counsel at New AmericasOpen Technology Institute. The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act contains a provision that says a telecommunications provider is not responsible for decrypting communications encrypted by a customer. Because WhatsApp keeps the encryption keys on the customers device, it would be protected, Schulman said. Given that the case looks to be one that should easily come down on the side of WhatsApp, why did the government leak its investigation? It looks like they still want to use their position in a different court that of public opinion even if they dont end up pressing their actual case before a judge, he told the E-Commerce Times. Inflection Point When it comes to encryption, the cat is out of the bag, said Andrea Castillo, program manager of the Technology Policy Program at George Mason UniversitysMercatus Center. Punishing companies like WhatsApp and Apple for employing strong security techniques will do nothing to prevent criminals who are already intent on breaking the law, she told the E-Commerce Times. Meanwhile, innocent Americans will be dramatically less secure if encryption is criminalized, Castillo said. In this age of constant hacking and data breaches, we need more encryption, not less. The DoJ may be getting more aggressive in pursuing these kinds of cases with the WhatsApp investigation, given the pressure on Congress to intervene and the furor over the Apple encryption case, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. Thats partly due to the tech industry reaching an inflection point of sorts, where vendors are developing security products that they claim to have no control over once theyre in customers hands, he told the E-Commerce Times. Race to Secure Several technology firms, including Google, Snapchat and WhatsApp, are planning either new apps with higher levels of encryption or upgrades to existing apps with strong encryption, according to The Guardian. Google reportedly is working on extra uses of the technology for an existing encrypted email service, WhatsApp is working on an expansion of its encrypted messaging service to include voice, and Snapchat is working on a secure messaging service. Broadband Internet service providers are wary of a government plan to impose consumer privacy protection regulations on the sector. TheFederal Communications Commission likely will issue the proposed regulations by Friday. It will accept public comment on the proposal before taking final action. The program would require ISPs to meet consumer privacy protection standards similar to the regulations that cover telephone service companies. ISPs currently are exempt from such requirements. The information collected by the phone company about your telephone usage has long been protected information. FCC regulations currently limit your phone companys ability to repurpose and resell what it learns about your phone activity without your consent. The same should be true for information collected by your ISP, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said at a recent Georgetown University conference. While consumers generally are aware that social media and website hosts collect a wealth of personal data from users and visitors, few are aware that the vehicle for such contacts the ISPs also track personal information, he said. FCC Reveals Ability to Collect Consumer Data Your ISP handles all of your network traffic. That means it has a broad view of all of your unencrypted online activity when you are online, the websites you visit, and the apps you use, Wheeler said. If you have a mobile device, your provider can track your physical location. Even when data is encrypted, your broadband provider can piece together significant amounts of information about you including private information such as a chronic medical condition or financial problems based on your online activity, he added. The regulations would address the use and protection of consumer data generated through ISP operations, according to a draft of the proposal. Privacy: ISPs would retain the authority to use customer data for billing and marketing their own broadband services. However, the proposed rules mandate that customers be given a choice as to whether an ISP can use customer data for other purposes, according to a summary of the draft compiled by Dee Dee Fischer, a partner atAkerman. For example, customers will have the right to opt out of permitting ISPs to use their data for marketing services other than broadband, or sharing data for marketing purposes with affiliates that provide communication services. Additionally, ISPs would be prohibited from sharing customer data for any other purpose, such as targeted advertising, unless the customer opts in, according to the summary. ISPs would retain the authority to use customer data for billing and marketing their own broadband services. However, the proposed rules mandate that customers be given a choice as to whether an ISP can use customer data for other purposes, according to a summary of the draft compiled by Dee Dee Fischer, a partner atAkerman. Security: The FCC program will impose robust and flexible data security requirements on broadband providers, Fischer noted. ISPs will be required to take reasonable steps to safeguard customer information from unauthorized use or disclosure, including adoption of risk management practices, training of personnel, and use of customer authentication measures. ISPs must designate a senior manager for data security and take responsibility for the use and protection of customer information when shared with third parties. Breaches would have to be reported to consumers and the government within certain time frames. These new rules, if passed into law, will represent the first time that the FCC has imposed data privacy rules on ISPs, and would constitute some of the strongest privacy regulations of any segment of the technology and telecommunications industry, Fischer said. The regulations would affect a wide range of broadband companies, including AT&T, Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. Operators Challenge FCC Authority Permanent adoption of the FCC proposal could face significant legal hurdles, however. A key factor is whether the commission has the legal authority to regulate ISPs at all. In 2015, it decided to classify ISPs as telecommunications entities subject to the same type of regulation as telephone utilities. That empowered the commission to issue the proposed privacy regulations for ISPs. Broadband operators challenged the decision in a case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia. They contend that under the Telecommunications Act, ISPs are information services and as such cannot be regulated in the same fashion as telecommunications providers. The technology and engineering associated with ISP connections is inherently different from the direct service to consumers provided by regulated telephone utilities, the ISPs argue. The FCCs jurisdiction extends only to telephone utility data defined by law as consumer proprietary network information and does not cover the tiered ISP structure enabled by router-based connectivity. ISPs Favor Flexible Regulation Even if the FCC prevails and retains regulatory jurisdiction over ISPs, members of the broadband community have taken issue with its approach to regulating ISPs. The rules for ISPs are at odds with the requirements for other online entities, according to theNational Cable & Telecommunications Association. The FCC should work to ensure consistency in consumer privacy protection and fair competition. The commission should embrace the approach taken by theFederal Trade Commission, which protects consumers while allowing IT providers flexibility in meeting privacy goals,CTIA urged. The FTC focuses on potentially deceptive activities by e-commerce providers in failing to inform consumers of privacy impacts, as well as prosecuting unfair practices in the delivery of services. There should be one set of rules that cover wireless operators, apps and over-the-top providers so that consumers know what, if anything, is happening to their information, regardless of which company holds it, said Debbie Matties, vice president for privacy at CTIA. If the FCC does have jurisdiction over this issue, it should follow the FTC model that has resulted in innovation throughout the Internet while protecting consumers. Establishing a different set of rules for a limited subset of the industry will only confuse customers, she told the E-Commerce Times. Consumer advocates strongly endorse the proposal. The FCC is not just legally authorized to take action it is imperative for the agency to issue a broad rule-making that addresses the full range of communications privacy issues facing U.S. consumers, said Claire Gartland, consumer protection counsel at theElectronic Privacy Information Center. Because the U.S. currently lacks comprehensive privacy legislation or an agency dedicated to privacy protection, there are very few legal constraints on business practices that impact the privacy of American consumers. The FCC has the opportunity to fill this void, she told the E-Commerce Times. Groups Cite FCC Powers Unlike the FCC, the FTC does not have rule-making authority to issue regulations on e-commerce, except in limited circumstances, Gartland noted. Fundamentally, the FTC is not a data protection agency. Without regulatory authority, the FTC is limited to reactive, after-the-fact enforcement actions that largely focus on whether companies honored their own privacy promises, she said. Broadband Internet access system providers act as critical gatekeepers in the broadband ecosystem, and their data collection is detailed and captures much of a consumers online activity. Therefore, the FCCs proposed actions are important, and it is good to see the FCC seize this rare and important opportunity to protect the privacy of broadband consumers, said Katharina Kopp, director of privacy and data at theCenter for Democracy and Technology. CDT believes that promoting innovation is not incompatible with protecting the fundamental right to privacy, she told the E-Commerce Times. Giving individuals the opportunity to affirmatively consent to uses of their broadband data for purposes unrelated to providing communications services is fair and will give them some much needed control. This will build trust in the process, in the economic marketplace and in further innovation. The legal battle between Apple and the Department of Justice over access to encrypted iPhone data got a little more personal last week after lawyers for Apple blasted a government filing that accused the company of collaborating with the Chinese government. The DoJs filing was nothing more than a smear campaign designed to paint a false picture of Apples lack of cooperation in the investigation, as well as its relationship with the Chinese government, and it was based on flimsy sources, Apple attorney Bruce Sewell argued in a conference call with reporters. In 30 years of practice, I dont think Ive 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, he told reporters, according to a transcript provided by Apple. The government for the first time alleged that Apple deliberately made changes to block law enforcement requests for access, Sewell said. Chinese Democracy Based on Apples data, the Chinese government demanded information from the company on more than 4,000 iPhones in the first half of 2015, according to the court filing, and Apple produced data in 74 percent of the cases. Apple made special accommodations to the Chinese government by moving Chinese user data to government servers and installing a different WiFi protocol, called WAPI, for Chinese iPhones, the document states. The U.S. governments request involves a single iPhone that was used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, California, terrorist attack. It does not involve a broadly ordered compromise of other iPhones in other cases, according to the filing. The request for access to the encrypted data does not place an undue burden on Apple, the document states, adding that the company would need to provide six to 10 employees for two to four weeks to develop a software solution to help government investigators bypass the built-in encryption. Apple has more than 100,000 employees and annual income exceeding US$200 billion, the court filing notes. A hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym is scheduled for March 22. Can of Worms Privacy and civil liberties analysts blasted the government filing as a mischaracterization of Apples position and its history of balancing national security interests with its own corporate responsibilities. Apple has responded to information requests from countries around the world, not just in China, said Eli Dourado, director of the Technology Policy Program at George Mason UniversitysMercatus Center. Its recent transparency report documented iCloud data requests from 36 different countries, including both the United States and China. If Apple is forced to create a backdoor because of a U.S. court order, it will be forced to do the same for other governments around the world. Other countries have courts too, you know, Dourado told the E-Commerce Times. Its a desperate ploy a bit shameful, actually, Jennifer Stisa Granick, director of civil liberties at the StanfordCenter for Internet and Society, told the E-Commerce Times. The government continues to ignore the implications of the order on other technology companies, charged theAmerican Civil Liberties Union, which filed a brief on behalf of Apple in the case. The government tries to characterize this case as about one phone, rather than acknowledging that the precedent could be used over and over to force technology companies to undermine their security measures for law enforcement purposes in a broad range of contexts, said ACLU attorney Esha Bhandari. The government also suggests that its somehow improper for a technology company to create secure devices, she added, when in fact that should be encouraged as a critical component of cybersecurity and privacy rights. 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Leaders from four churches in Britain have signed an open letter to Prime MinisterDavid Cameron supporting a wholesome society concerned for the weakest and most vulnerable. Congratulating Cameron on his election win they encouraged him to hold "truth, justice, peace and wellbeing" at the heart of the government, but also say they support dismantling Britain's nuclear weapons' program. "Christians and other religious minorities are facing persecution, and we ask that your government makes freedom of religion or belief a human rights priority in all aspects of foreign policy," the church leaders also said. With a focus on "loving our neighbour," the letter reminds the Prime Minister, a wholesome society should be concerned for the weakest and most vulnerable, both locally and globally. Signed by leaders of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church, the letter highlights several key concerns the churches believe should be high on the agenda of the new government. In the May 7 election, political parties contested 650 parliamentary seats. Cameron's Conservative Party was victorious with 331 representatives, gaining a majority and improving on its standing before the poll. At the same time in Scotland the Scottish National Party which supports the most northern country in the United Kingdom being independent swept to victory in 56 of 59 parliamentary seats. The church leader said they are committed to a world free of nuclear weapons. "We hope that you will support the international call to make the use of nuclear weapons illegitimate under international law and consider a deferral of a decision on Trident in 2016 to enable the UK to play a full part in new multilateral disarmament initiatives," they said. The UK Trident programme encompasses the development, procurement and operation of the country's nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them. The Scottish National Party opposes the nuclear weapons' system, but the two biggest parties in the UK Parliament, the Conservatives and the Labour Party support it. The church leaders said, "Our experience and research has led us to be deeply concerned about the damage caused, particularly to vulnerable people, through the benefits sanctions system and we ask your government to undertake a full review." The number of people relying on food banks is expected to pass the one million mark, The Independent newspaper reported May 19. It cited figures from the Trussell Trust, the biggest provider of emergency food aid with more than 400 food banks in the UK. "The statistics could puncture the Conservatives' optimism on the economy after official figures yesterday showed there are two million more people in work than in 2010, and 557,000 more than a year ago," commented The Independent. American children spend about six hours a day in their schools, much of that time in buildings that are decades old, deteriorating, and in need of significant repairs. Those conditions are a direct result of the nations underinvestment in public school facilitiesa lack of support that falls short by $46 billion annually, according to a new report on the state of Americas K-12 infrastructure. It is totally unacceptable that there are millions of students across the country who are learning in dilapidated, obsolete, and unhealthy facilities that pose obstacles to their learning and overall well-being, said Rick Fedrizzi, the CEO and founding chairman of the U.S. Green Business Council, whose group co-authored the report with the 21st Century School Fund, and the National Council on School Facilities, groups that push for modernizing school buildings. U.S. public school infrastructure is funded through a system that is inequitably affecting our nations students, and this has to change, Fedrizzi said. While the physical conditions of schoolsthe average age of a U.S. school is 44 years oldare known to have some effects on how students do in the classroom, the topic has not garnered as much attention as other factors that weigh heavily on student learning. But concerns over lead-tainted drinking water in schools and communities in recent monthsmost notably in Flint, Mich., and Newark, N.J.are bringing renewed attention to the age and conditions of buildings. In Detroit, teachers have been staging periodic sickouts this year, in part to draw attention to that citys dilapidated and unsanitary building conditions. And air quality also is a major concern in many school districts. The last in-depth, federal examination of the condition of K-12 facilities was released more than 20 years ago, in 1995, by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. At that time, the GAO said that public schools needed to spend an estimated $112 billion to repair or upgrade their facilities to good condition, and about 14 million students were attending schools that needed extensive repairs. And with widely varying funding models and levels of need among states and local jurisdictions, it remains challenging to collect comprehensive and accurate information on how much is being spent on K-12 facilities, the new report finds. Funding Varies State to State The authors drew from two decades of publicly available state and federal data on public facilities spending, as well as data from the U.S. Census, the National Center for Education Statistics, and districts. They noted that capital construction investment data in 18 states might have been underreported. Who Pays for K-12 Facilities? At the same time that school buildings are aging and resources to maintain and update them are running short in many districts, enrollment growth in some states is putting new pressures on K-12 officials to build new schools. Source: 2016 State of Our Schools: Americas K-12 Facilities To keep buildings in good working order and upgrade existing building stock, districts should be collectively spending at least $145 billion each year, the authors said. From 1994 to 2013, only three statesTexas, Florida, and Georgiamet or exceeded the minimum industry standard for capital construction investment, the report said. Vermont, Montana, and Rhode Island were among the states that, on average, spent the least on capital construction during those years. Districts spent $925 billion in 2014 dollars on maintenance and operations during the years 1994 to 2013an average of about $46 billion annually. School districts also had heavy debt loads from capital spending, with about $409 billion in long-term debt at the end of 2013 that was largely attributable to capital facilities projects. They reported paying $17 billion that year in interest on those projects, or about $8,465, on average, per school child, according to the report. Infrastructure spending also varied from state to state, and districts reported receiving only small amounts of directed federal aid to help with construction. Hawaii, for example, which has a single school district for all of its schools, shoulders all capital costs associated with school facilities. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Wyoming contributed more than half of districts capital investment dollars. A dozen states, including Indiana and Michigan, have no direct state support for capital facilities expenditures, according to the report. Reliance on Local Support That means districts often rely on local taxpayers to approve pricey bonds to pay for needed upgrades. In Fort Wayne, Ind., a district of roughly 30,000 students, school officials know this well. The districts buildings, many of them built cheaply in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s to accommodate Baby Boomers, started to show their age in the early 2000s. Some had no air conditioners, used dull, outdated lighting, and had windows that were not energy efficient, said Krista Stockman, the districts spokeswoman. In 2007, the district asked voters to approve a $500 million bond issue over 20 years to address those problems, pay for adding space for nursing offices, and for prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, and to make security and technology upgrades. Voters said no. It was hard for people to see that this was a 20-year span, Stockman said. They thought there were things [included] that we didnt really need. After that rejection, district officials spent the next five years working to convince voters that the spending was necessary, and in 2012, a smaller, $119 million bond measure passed. The money was used for renovations on 36 buildings with significant problems. Classrooms are brighter, Wendy Robinson, Fort Waynes superintendent for 13 years, said in an email. Air quality is better. Students are able to focus on their work and not on wildly fluctuating temperatures. But because Indiana does not have a dedicated funding source to help districts with such projects, the Fort Wayne district is going back to voters in May to approve a $130 million bond to pay for more upgrades. Robinson said that while reliance on local taxpayers appeared sound in theory to maintain local input over K-12 spending, it has created a system of haves and have-nots. Wealthier areas with higher property values and residents who have more ability to afford additional taxes will be better able to support capital needs, including technology updates, she said. Areas with more poverty, meanwhile, will collect less in property taxes, resulting in fewer building and technology improvements, Robinson continued. This has created a situation where over time, school districts have fallen behind in routine maintenance, which then requires spending more on an emergency basis, only exacerbating the funding problem. A Bigger Pie? The new report bears out some of Robinsons concerns. It cited previous studies that indicated that schools in wealthier ZIP codes tended to make more capital investments in schools, while those in less affluent areas tended to spend a bigger portion of their operational fundsthe same bucket of money used for teacher salaries and instructional materialsfor repairs and maintenance. The groups behind the report called for more accurate and accessible data on infrastructure spending to help citizens and local officials; strategic planning that encompasses both maintenance and operations and capital outlays; leveraging public and private partnerships; and finding new public funding to support school facilities. Even as many districts cant keep spending on pace to maintain buildings, they also are facing growing pressures to add space for predicted enrollment increases, which the report estimates would cost $10 billion annually through 2024. More money is needed, but planning is also important, said Mary Filardo, the executive director of the Washington-based 21 Century School Fund. We do need new public dollars; there arent enough public dollars out there, she said, adding that it was not just a matter of shifting things around. The pie itself needs to be bigger. North Carolina last week became the first state to set restrictions on the restrooms and locker rooms that transgender students use at public schools after lawmakers included those policies in a bill that passed in a whirlwind one-day special session. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory acted swiftly to sign the measureover the protests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy groupssetting the stage for potential legal conflicts between the states schools and the U.S. Department of Education, which has said that public schools are required to honor transgender students gender identity under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The legislation drew greater national attention for its other provisions, which nullify a local anti-discrimination ordinance set to go into effect in Charlotte, ban such measures in other cities, and require operators of all public buildings to use a persons biological sexdefined as the sex indicated on their birth certificateto determine which single-sex restrooms they can access. The bill passed the state Senate 32-0 after Democrats walked out in protest. Earlier, it passed the House 82-26. Privacy Concerns In a statement that focused largely on the Charlotte ordinance, which was intended to protect LGBT residents from discrimination, including discrimination in which public restrooms they are allowed to use, McCrory said such policies violate the basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room. Lawmakers who spoke in favor of the bill said the definition of biological sex is less ambiguous than that of gender identity, and that men with bad intentions might pose as transgender women to gain access to girls restrooms if access isnt limited by biological sex. But parents, community leaders, and a transgender student told lawmakers the provision in the bill that requires school boards to adopt policies limiting access to facilities would only further stigmatize transgender students, who already struggle with high rates of dropping out of school, suicide, and depression. And the North Carolina ACLU quickly vowed to challenge the measure. Sky Thomson, a 15-year-old transgender boy, told lawmakers that forbidding him and his peers from using the boys restroom gives bullies all the more reason to pick on us. Imagine yourself in my place: being a boy, walking into the ladies room, he said. Its awkward, embarrassing, and even dangerous. Thomsons mother, Deborah Thomson, said that some transgender students avoid drinking water to reduce their need to use the restroom. On a practical level, telling schools that my son cant use the appropriate bathroom means that my sons education will be compromised, she said. The new law allows students to use single-occupancy restrooms, but LGBT student advocates have said such accommodations are stigmatizing and amount to unequal treatment. Uncharted Territory North Carolinas law takes its schools into uncharted territory. Although other states have introduced bills that would limit facilities access in schools, North Carolinas is the first that has been signed into law. Tennessees legislature is currently considering such a bill. South Dakota lawmakers recently passed similar restrictions, but Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed that bill, saying it interfered with local control and did not address any pressing issue concerning the school districts of South Dakota. Sponsors of the South Dakota measure said they drafted it in response to federal overreach. The federal Education Department has asserted in court and in civil rights guidance to schools in recentyears that Title IXs protections for sex also extend to sexual orientation and gender identity. In November, the departments office for civil rights found an Illinois district in violation of the law because it would not grant a transgender girl unrestricted access to the girls locker room. Under threat of penalties, including a possible loss of federal funding, the district hung privacy curtains in the locker room and agreed to allow the student to use it. School law experts say the departments interpretation of Title IX isnt legally binding. A federal judge in Virginia rejected the interpretation last year in a transgender students lawsuit, and a review of that decision is pending before an appeals court. The department is committed to protecting the rights of transgender students under Title IX, and will continue to work diligently to ensure that all students receive equal access to educational opportunities in accordance with federal law, Education Department spokeswoman Dorie Nolt said in a statement. As he continues his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders keeps hammering away at concerns that resonate with many educators, including higher-education access and income inequality. But with a few exceptions, pre-K-12 issues have been left out of Sanders speeches at rallies, town halls, and other high-profile political events. And his record on school issues in his combined 25 years in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives also hasnt been a big part of his campaign. To the extent he has focused on education, Sanders has spent much of his time pitching a proposal to raise taxes to provide free tuition to public colleges and universitiesa more dramatic plan to increase college affordability than his rival, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has proposed. True, during a town hall event in Columbus, Ohio, broadcast by CNN this month, Sanders also said he supported public charter schools but not privately controlled charters. Some charter schoolswhich are publicly funded but operate outside the regular district structureare overseen by private management organizations. Some also contract with private providers for various services. And earlier this month, Sanders backed the Chicago Teachers Unions plans for a work stoppage on April 1 and blasted Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel for closing schools. That statement was taken as an encouraging sign by Mark Naison, a professor of history and African-American studies at Fordham University and a co-founder of the Badass Teachers Association, a group of teachers opposed to standardized testing and the Common Core State Standards. Several members of the group are running in local or state elections, and say they take inspiration from Sanders broader positions, even if he isnt talking as much about schools as theyd like. The group criticized the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association for endorsing Clinton last year, well before the official start of the primary season, although it hasnt officially backed either candidate. Its not like Bernie Sanders provided, six months ago, a clear alternative on education policy. Now, we see the beginnings of one, Naison said. And despite the endorsements of Clinton by the two national teachers unions, support among their rank and file is not monolithic. Last year, at the time of the endorsements, for example, state-level unions like the New Jersey Education Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (both state-level NEA affiliates) did not endorse Clintonand last month, AFT President Randi Weingarten estimated that for every three of her unions members who backed Clinton, one supported Sanders. Message Consistency The Sanders campaign did not respond to a request for comment about his positions on K-12 policy in the campaign. His path to the Democratic nomination remains difficult. After last week, Clinton led Sanders in pledged delegates by a count of 1,214 to 911. (Clinton also has a lead in superdelegates, Democratic officeholders and party officials who are not chosen through the primary process and can independently pick a candidate to support.) Despite his public support for the Chicago union on the eve of the Illinois primary earlier this month, Sanders lost the state to Clinton by a narrow margin, although he did pick up some delegates in the state. In the Senate, Sanders is a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. As a member of the House, he voted against the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 because of its focus on standardized testing, although he backed a Senate version of what ultimately became its successor, the Every Student Succeeds Act. He also supported an amendment that would have beefed up accountability in ESSA. (The amendment failedSanders did not vote on the final bill.) Hes also expressed skepticism on alternative pathways to teaching such as Teach For America. He doesnt like competitive-grant programs like Race to the Topa signature initiative of President Barack Obamas administrationbecause, in Sanders view, they shortchange rural schools that dont have sophisticated grant writers. While the Vermont senator has made broad statements about his desire to support public education over prisons, the fact that he hasnt leveraged K-12 as the underdog candidate is probably deliberate, said William Howell, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who studies federal education policy and politics. A big reason why Sanders has been so effective is that he has a very clear message. Its about rising inequality, Wall Street. Its about bankers who have run amok, Howell said. If he gets into the business of what happens in a classroom, or how we fire or hire teachers or how we pay teachers, its not that its inconsistent with his message, ... but it risks being something of a distraction for him. What also might discourage Sanders and other candidates from pushing precollegiate policy to the forefront on the campaign trail is the recently signed ESSA, the latest version of President Lyndon B. Johnsons Elementary and Secondary Education Act. While the next administration will have a role in overseeing how the law works in practice, its recent enactment will effectively prevent the general-election winner from pushing the kind of sweeping policy changes for public schools that Sanders wants for higher education, Howell noted. Hats in the Ring When the NEA last July endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primaries, Larry Proffitt, an 11-year middle school science teacher in Dickson County, Tenn., threw a fit, he said. A Sanders supporter and a member of the Tennessee Education Association, which is an NEA affiliate, Proffittanother Badass Teachers Association memberis seeking to represent House District 66 in the state legislature as a Democrat. He isnt sure whether Clinton might have come closer to his own views on education if the national unions had waited longer before endorsing her. As for Sanders, Proffitt said, He believes in the common man having the jobs here in our country, and he believes in our public education system. In justifying the AFTs Democratic-primary support for Clinton, Weingarten said in a statement that Hillary understands that to reclaim the promise of public education, policymakers need to work with educators and their unions. And when the NEA officially announced its endorsement, union President Lily Eskelsen-Garcia cited Clintons background as a law student who said, Instead of going to Wall Street, Ill go to the Childrens Defense Fund. A spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, Steve Baker, said last week that his union simply decided last year it wasnt ready to make an endorsement. A committee of 80 to 100 NJEA members could vote to endorse a candidate next month, Baker said. For Ezra Howard, a Sanders supporter who taught English as a second language at a magnet school in Tennessees Shelby County schools for five years and is now teaching at a private school in Portugal, the quick move by the national unions to back Clinton is still irksome. He said their decisions largely represented a matter of people in power standing with other people in power instead of listening more closely to their memberships. (Howard said he is still registered to vote in Tennessee, but is not a union member.) Sanders message that public institutions like colleges and universities need to be free resonates with Howard, as does the senators call to give education spending a priority over other concerns. But he said that Sanders remark about charters didnt really clarify what they are and are not. I think its a reflection of peoples knowledge about charter schools in general, Howard said. Id like him to flesh that out, for sure. But its the inequities hes talking about that affect public educationthose resonate with me. During her own campaign to represent Ohios 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House, retired teacher Janet Garrett of Oberlin, Ohio, has taken the time to attend a couple of Sanders rallies in her state. (Earlier this month, Garrett won the Democratic primary and will face incumbent Republican Rep. Jim Jordan in November.) A member of the Badass Teachers Association who said she shares a lot of values with Bernie, Garrett said shes focused on connecting education issues with economic opportunity. Weve got such an uneven educational system because of the way we fund schools, Garrett said. Thats another thing that resonates with me ... how he talks about income inequality. But shes also disappointed that nobody running for president is speaking as specifically and directly about education as she would like, and in the way she would like. A Chance for Real Change Naison, the co-founder of Badass Teachers, who said he plans to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein for president, acknowledges that since Sanders is running as a Democrat, for him to come out openly against the Obama administrations education policies might have hurt him more than helped him. (Naison cited Race to the Top and support for charter schools as examples.) Yet because Sanders already faces a tough climb to win the nomination, Naison added, at this point in the campaign, it might make sense to do it. Proffitt, the Tennessee teacher and aspiring state lawmaker, is confident that Sanders would refocus discussions on issues such as gaps between disadvantaged people and the rest of society. Im inspired that theres a chance for real change because hes running, Proffitt said. With rain cascading outside, groups of educators and administrators from seven states gathered in a hotel conference room in Tysons Corner, Va., last May to discuss teacher leadership. If everything went right, they would leave with plans to foster the concept on a statewide scale. The meeting in the Washington suburb fell under the auspices of Teach to Lead , the then-fledgling effort of the U.S. Department of Education and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards that has aspired to develop and support the roles of teacher-leaders in districts across the country. While Teach to Lead had thus far focused on district-level plans, its organizers recognized a flaw in that model: With states having major authority over education policy, teachers needed to find ways to be heard at that level as well. Making Plans But if the state groups walked into the meeting with high hopes, their progress toward their goals since then has been mixed or modest at best, demonstrating the difficulty in gaining policy traction around ideas to give teachers more influence in school systems. The seven states with representatives at the Virginia gathering were Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New York, North Carolina, and Washington. Each state had, through its respective education department, brought together a group of educators to work on teacher-leadership schemes. While the plans each state brought had already been in progress, the meeting represented an opportunity for the teams to collaborate with each other, drawing on the expertise of teachers, administrators, and policy experts. The term teacher leadership is often vaguely defined, but most of the state teams had highly specific ideas in mind. New Yorks representatives, for instance, were looking to refine its career-ladder system for teachers, which would be included in the states federally mandated teacher-equity plan . North Carolinas team wanted to develop a professional-advancement continuum that matched various kinds of classroom roles to that states established teacher-leadership standards. Many of the educators chosen had some familiarity with the Teach to Lead initiative, having attended one of the three regional conferences hosted by the federal Department of Education earlier that winter. As devised at those meetings, the Teach to Lead developmental scheme involves outlining a plan, called a logic model, and receiving multiple rounds of feedback from outside experts"critical friends"and other attendees. At the Virginia meeting, the state teams were clearly starting on different footing. While Connecticuts group seemed to have a clear process in mind, Arizonas delegation became mired in political concerns, with participants wondering how the plans they devised would be received by varied interest groups back home. The state groups goal was to develop, implement, and support teacher leadership as a means to attract teachers, which has been a challenge for the state. During one part of the summit, each participant received a sticky pad with which to write notes of advice and encouragement on other states logic models. At the end of the conference, groups came away with a host of suggestions for researchers to contact, teachers to consult, and affirmations of good steps taken so far. Tami Fitzgerald, then a Teaching Ambassador Fellow in the Education Department, highlighted the main challenge facing the attendees as they headed back to their jobs. One of the toughest things is bringing a group together, getting something started, and then making sure it doesnt get lost in the shuffle, she said. School System Challenges Since the May gathering in Tysons Corner, the Teach to Lead itself initiative has notched several organizational successes. The educational leadership group ASCD signed on as another full partner , bringing considerable tactical and financial support, and 120 other organizations now sponsor the program, providing expertise and monetary support. Six cities have hosted regional Teach to Lead summits, with three more planned. About 700 educators have attended those conferences. Teach to Lead now also offers a guide for how educators can organize their own local events instead of venturing to the larger, official ones. But for the seven state-level teams, progress has been more measured. The major problem can be chalked up to what Fitzgeralds said about the toll of day-to-day challenges in school systems. It is hard to do leadership activities outside of school [when], for teachers, that is where so much of our energy goes, said Robert Hallock, a member of the Washington state team and a high school history teacher in the Bellevue district. Washingtons team had mulled a fellowship for teachers that included a semester of release time to do research, but the idea never gained much ground after communication fell apart this fall. Arizonas team, meanwhile, had to face the realities of a heated political climate. The state board of education has been locked in a power struggle with state schools Superintendent Diane Douglas , a Republican. The state was struggling with a high teacher-attrition rate . And a legislative change to the education funding formula meant dozens of districts stood to lose money during the 2016-17 school year. Communication Breakdowns Jonathan Parker teaches in one such district, Glendale Union High School, and had served on the states Teach to Lead team. He said that while the summit had been affirming, hes heard nothing from the group since the meeting. Many of the goals of the Arizona team were absorbed into a pre-existing state task forcedubbed the Educator Retention and Recruitment Task Forcebut despite having 49 members, that group included only four of the nine people Arizona sent to the Teach to Lead summit. The states department of education has continued to press forward on several of the goals outlined by the states Teach to Lead team, including working to increase the number of national-board-certified teachers and crafting better training for principals. But more pressing challenges have intruded on some of that work, including a campaign to pass Proposition 123, a May ballot proposal to increase school funding. Its hard to implement visions when youre fighting day to day, Parker said. Kathy Wiebke, the director of the Arizona K-12 Center, a state-funded PD group run out of Northern Arizona University, said shes not sure what has caused Arizonas team to fall short. I think people right now are dealing with much bigger issues. Right or wrong, I think attentions are elsewhere right now. Some of the other state groups have made limited progress in advancing the cause of teacher leadership as they see it. Maines group had committed to launching a clearinghouse of teacher-leadership resources, including ideas for expanding teacher influence in schools, research, and contacts. Jennifer Dorman, the 2015 Maine teacher of the year, said the team has met monthly in one form or another since July and still plans to open the clearinghouse this summer. Katrina Boone, a high school English teacher in Shelby County, Ky., said her state quickly created eight hybrid roles the month after the summit. Teachers in those roles teach in the morning and have release time in the afternoon to work on specialized projects . The Teach to Lead group took a hiatus after returning from Virginia, but has resumed regularly scheduled meetings since February. New Yorks delegation doubled down on its Teach to Lead goal, sending representatives to a regional summit in the District of Columbia to further refine the career-pathway model it had developed at the state-level meeting. The team presented the model to the states board of regents the following month and continues to refine it through discussions with team members. A spokesman for the state education department said that work has become a key lever in the states teacher-equity plan. Amanda Barney, a high school English teacher in Mattituck, N.Y., who also helps deliver PD to teachers, said that whether or not the pathway framework spreads, the summit experiences have provided her with resources that shes used with her schools teachers, who are now well versed in logic models. I have projects and plans that I work on with administration and in tandem with my colleagues, Barney said. The Connecticut team used the feedback it got from the Virginia meeting to design its own teacher-leadership summit, finalize plans for creating a teacher-leadership professional continuum, and design methods to get information about what kinds of teacher-leadership activities were already happening in the states district. Christopher Todd, the state education departments teacher-in-residence, said via email that the state plans to launch its continuum (called the CT Educator Network ) this spring, and has scheduled focus groups that will conduct case studies around teacher-leadership programs. And in North Carolina, the Teach to Lead group has been working on finalizing its continuum of teacher leadership, matching new educator roles to previously enacted state standards for teacher leadership. Despite the progress these states have made, however, roadblocks remain. Robert Sox, a professional-development leader in the North Carolina education department, said a lack of state funding for professional development makes it harder to train teachers in ways that support teacher advancement. Todd cited similar concerns around Connecticuts state funding. The teacher-leadership teams will also face pressure to show how their efforts are tied to student-learning gains. Thats really the unicorn were hoping for: Direct evidence that teacher leadership can produce student learning outcomes, Boone said. Fitzgerald, who works on Teach to Lead for the national board, said she hopes states understand that this relatively new work will require some patience. Teacher leadership has not been studied in a manner yet that tells us that we can definitely walk out there and say, here are the results youre going to get, she said. Looking for Affirmation The national board kicked its third annual Teaching & Learning Conference in Washington on March 11, two years after then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the birth of Teach to Lead . In a narrow basement conference room, about two dozen educators gathered to hear Fitzgerald and other educators discuss success stories from past Teach to Lead regional summits. Asked to reflect on the mixed progress of the state-level work, Fitzgerald said in an interview that Teach to Lead had been less diligent about pressing that work than they had district-level ideas. Were in a spot where were trying to figure out, how do we take the work weve done but help it to grow larger? Because we just arent big enough to touch and influence all of it, she said. Its never going to get big enough if we have to control and touch every piece. But whether or not states embrace teacher-leadership plans, individual teachers are still interested in the concept. Gretchen Sumbrum, a middle school science teacher in Prince Georges County, Md., came out of the panel discussion feeling affirmed. I like the idea of bringing more teachers together and not being afraid that you can say something, she said. And that if you need help, knowing whos there to support you, I think thats a great thing. Buenos Aires, Mar 29 (EFE).- Argentine President Mauricio Macri hailed the decision by the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which approved extending the limits of his country's continental shelf. "We are very happy with this favorable response from the United Nations and thankful to the Argentines who worked to obtain it," the president said on his Facebook page. "This extension of the limits of our country's shelf allows us to defend the riches of our seas, which belong to each and every Argentine citizen," he said. For Macri, this is "good news for Argentine sovereignty" and will bring the South American country a series of benefits. "The country will gain 1.7 million sq. kilometers (656,000 sq. miles) many meters (yards) deep and acknowledgment by the U.N. of the dispute existing over the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands," he said, referring to the Falklands. "The is a project that has been under consideration for almost two decades, the result of teamwork by specialists in different areas and different governments who continued with this claim throughout the years, in a true example of national policy," he said. The new limits were approved March 11 by the U.N. panel made up of 21 international experts. The U.N. sees the Argentine matter as a test case, since it is the first time a country has used all available resources, from geological measurements to considerations of distances and depths, in order to demonstrate the limits of its territory. The Falkland Islands were the object of a brief war in the early 1980s pitting Argentina against Britain. Argentine troops invaded the South Atlantic archipelago on April 2, 1982, at the order of the military junta then in power in Buenos Aires. Full-fledged fighting officially began on May 1, 1982, with the arrival of a British task force, and ended 45 days later with the surrender of the Argentines. The conflict claimed nearly 1,000 lives - some 700 Argentines and 255 British soldiers and sailors. Buenos Aires demands that Britain comply with a 1965 United Nations resolution describing London's control of the Falklands - which dates from 1833 - as colonialism and calling on the parties to resolve the dispute through dialogue. London has refused to discuss the question of sovereignty and says the Falklanders should decide their own future. 27 March 2016, Sanaa, Yemen This week marks one year since the escalation of the conflict in Yemen, where the violence has had a devastating impact on millions of innocent civilians, causing immeasurable suffering. Since March 2015, more than 6200 people have been killed and 30 000 injured. More than 21 million people 82% of the total population are in need of humanitarian aid, including almost 2.5 million people who have been internally displaced. More than one third of people in need live in inaccessible or hard-to-reach areas. Even before the current conflict, the health system in Yemen had been facing some challenges, and ongoing violence has led to further deterioration of the health situation. Almost 19 million people lack access to clean water and sanitation, placing them at risk of infectious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and cholera. More than 14 million Yemenis are in need of urgent health services, including more than 2 million acutely malnourished children and pregnant or lactating women requiring treatment. Yet despite these critical needs, 25% of all health facilities have shut down due to damages or shortages in staff, medicines and other resources. Health needs in Yemen are vast, but operating in a conflict context is never an easy task. Over the past year, WHO has had to find solutions to reach people in need. We sent life-saving medicines and supplies via boat when roads were blocked, and we transported safe water to health facilities by animals due to lack of fuel. Since March 2015, WHO has reached millions of people with 450 tonnes of life-saving medicines and supplies; delivered integrated primary health care services, including mental health services, through mobile medical teams and mobile clinics; and provided more than 150 000 vials of insulin, said Dr Ala Alwan, WHO's Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. 5 million children under the age of 5 were vaccinated against polio and 2.4 million children under the age of 15 were vaccinated against measles and rubella by WHO and partners. WHO also provided one million litres of fuel to hospitals and 20 million litres of safe water to health facilities and camps hosting internally displaced persons. Despite our efforts so far, much more needs to be done to respond to the health needs of people in Yemen. I am extremely concerned about the limited funding for the health sector, which has so far only received 6% of its requirements for 2016. As we enter the second year of this conflict, I also remind all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to facilitate humanitarian access to all areas of Yemen, and respect the safety of health workers and health facilities already working under extremely challenging conditions, said Dr Alwan. Related link Read the latest reports on the health situation in Yemen Quote: Kittster If you've left it this late, then it probably is not THAT important to you, so maybe just get one from Asos, Etsy (if you filter for countries closer to here, you may still have enough time WITH shipping, Poland or Ukraine, for example) or any other online shop and have it altered? But of course, I will try to find a nice dress i a short period of time Thanks I will check out those options. Quote: Look in Phase 8. They have dressy dresses albeit not wedding dresses. Quote: Joolie Perhaps a flight to the uk, some stores now do wedding dresses that are ready made, BHS and Monsoon for example. Quote: I know your wedding day is so important- but take it from an 'oldie' here. I got married in a hospital operating theatre gown, in a hospital bed- and soon we will celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. I know 100s and more who got the perfect wedding dress, venue, flowers, etc, and who divorced soon after. However- I understand it is important to you. So perhaps if you gave more detail about what you want and size- you never know if someone on EF might be able to help. It would also help hugely with giving advice, to know more about your location. Thank you for sharing with your story, believe me, my husband and me appreciate that a lot. And our congratulations to you...that is a great example of a happy marriage To be honest, our wedding will be small just a family and church, and I would like to wear a dress. However, as you said in case I did not find its not a big issue for us. I already found some second hand dresses on tutti and I am waiting for reply from people. I am located in Bern area, Switzerland. My size is 34, 165m height, 52 kg. Below I am attaching some pictures of the dresses that i would like to have. I tried in couple of shops in Bern and the style fits me well. Quote: twedsy do you have time to pop over to the UK? Debenhams, Monsoon and quite a few other high street places do wedding ranges that you can get off the rack....might be worth a look! I got a Jasper Conran dress from Debenhams a few years back for 180 (ok was in the sale but was only 400 full price) and it was lovely....would offer it to you but its in my parents attic and no idea what state its in now! Thanks Kittster. It would be nice to wear a wedding dress on our day, however we already agreed in case I dont find I will wear a short white dress.But of course, I will try to find a nice dress i a short period of timeThanks I will check out those options.Thanks, I will check it out.Thanks I am checking online, it seems its possible to order from Switzerland.Dear Odile,Thank you for sharing with your story, believe me, my husband and me appreciate that a lot. And our congratulations to you...that is a great example of a happy marriageTo be honest, our wedding will be small just a family and church, and I would like to wear a dress. However, as you said in case I did not find its not a big issue for us.I already found some second hand dresses on tutti and I am waiting for reply from people.I am located in Bern area, Switzerland. My size is 34, 165m height, 52 kg.Below I am attaching some pictures of the dresses that i would like to have. I tried in couple of shops in Bern and the style fits me well.Thank you for your offer its nice of you. I am sure I will find smth and I am checking DBH web site. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by 3Wishes; 29.03.2016 at 21:17 . Reason: merging consecutive replies; try the multi-quote button (to the right of Quote). ;) BETHESDA, MD (March 29, 2016) - The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) is honored to announce its 2016 award winners. All awards will be presented during the Closing Awards Ceremony at AAA's 2016 annual meeting at Experimental Biology (EB) in San Diego, CA. The ceremony is being held at The Marriot Marquis San Diego Marina on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at 7pm. The 2016 award winners are: Henry Gray Distinguished Educator Award: Robert W. Ogilvie, Ph.D., Medical University of South Carolina and University of South Carolina Dr. Ogilvie will receive AAA's highest education award, supported by Elsevier, for his distinguished work in human anatomy education. He will be presented with a plaque and an honorarium. In addition, he will present a lecture, "On the Way to Virtual," during the Henry Gray Distinguished Educator Award Symposia, Tuesday, April 5th at the San Diego Convention Center. His talk will showcase the incremental application of new technologies during the digital microscopy movement to facilitate students learning of histology. He will conclude with an example of the application of virtual microscopy in teaching histology in an online histology course. Henry Gray Scientific Achievement Medal: John R. Sladek, Jr., Ph.D., University of Colorado Dr. Sladek will receive AAA's highest scientific award, supported by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, recognizing all of his unique meritorious contributions and achievements in the anatomical sciences. He will be presented with an award and an honorarium. Dr. Sladek will also lead a lecture, "The Repairable Brain: An Anatomists View," Tuesday, April 5th at EB. His talk highlights the research he undertook on brain repair throughout his career related to diseases such as Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and many others. A.J. Ladman Exemplary Service Award: Robert D. Specian, Ph.D., FAAA, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Dr. Specian will be honored for his exceptional service to the society and mentorship and outreach in the field of anatomy. This award is supported by Wiley. He will be honored with a plaque and honorarium. Dr. Specian is a Fellow of the AAA and has been a member of the Association since 1984. He has served on both the Board of Directors and numerous committees. Basmajian Award: Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards: Keith & Marion Moore Young Anatomists' Publications Award: Peter Ward, Ph.D., of West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, will be honored for his excellence in teaching gross anatomy and his accomplishments in biomedical research and scholarship in education. He will be presented with a plaque and honorarium.Alexia Hulin, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Emily Middleton, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Missouri, and William Munoz, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate, Stowers Institute for Medical Research will each be honored with a fellowship of $20,000. This fellowship is intended to provide salary support for recipients in their pursuit of postdoctoral research.Morgan Churchill, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Researcher at the New York Institute of Technology. He is being recognized for having the best publication by a young anatomist in our society's journal, "Functional Implications of Variation in Tooth Spacing and Crown Size in Pinnipedimorpha (Mammalia: Carnivora)" in The Anatomical Record. ### About AAA: The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) was founded by Joseph Leidy in Washington, D.C. in 1888 for the "advancement of anatomical science." Today, via research, education and professional development activities, AAA serves as the professional home for an international community of biomedical researchers and educators focusing on the structural foundation of health and disease. About Experimental Biology (EB): EB is an annual meeting comprised of over 14,000 scientists representing six sponsoring societies and multiple guest societies. Primary focus areas include anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, nutrition and pharmacology. EB is open to all members of the sponsoring and guest societies and nonmembers interested in the latest research impacting life sciences. Attendees represent scientists, academic institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations and private corporations. BETHESDA, MD (March 29, 2016) - The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) is honored to announce the 2016 Young Investigator Award winners. All awards will be presented during the Closing Awards Ceremony at AAA's 2016 annual meeting at Experimental Biology (EB) in San Diego, CA. The ceremony is being held at The Marriot Marquis San Diego Marina on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at 7pm. Young Investigator awards recognize investigators in the early stages of their careers who have made important contributions to biomedical science through their research in cell/molecular biology, comparative neuroanatomy, developmental biology, or the morphological sciences. The 2016 Young Investigator Award winners are: H. W. Mossman Award in Developmental Biology Michael Jenkins, Ph.D, of Case Western Reserve University, will be honored with a plaque for his early contributions to the field of developmental biology. Dr. Jenkins will also present a lecture, "Optical Tools to Assess Heart Development," on Sunday, April 3rd at EB. Dr. Jenkins' lab is focused on both developing and applying biomedical optics tools and techniques in cardiovascular applications using the primary tools of optical coherence tomography (OCT), optical mapping (OM), and optical control (OC). His talk will highlight the use of optical tools to understand the influence of hemodynamics in development as an important step towards determining congenital heart defect mechanisms and ultimately developing earlier treatments. R.R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology Andrew Holland, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will be honored for his early contributions to the field of anatomy through discovery, ingenuity and publication in the field of cell biology. He will present a lecture, "Deciphering How Cells Count: Molecular Control of Centrosome Copy Number," on Monday April 4th at EB. Dr. Holland's lab is interested in molecular mechanisms that control accurate chromosome distribution and the role that mitotic errors play in human health and disease. His EB talk will focus on deducing the engineering principles that allow cells to "count" the number of centrosomes produced in each cell cycle. The insights gained have implications for our understanding of cellular homeostasis and how the centrosome function may be manipulated for human benefit. Morphological Sciences Award Casey Holliday, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri School Of Medicine, will be honored for his important contributions to biomedical science through research in the morphological sciences. He will present a lecture "Exploring Cranial Functional Morphology and Evolution through the Jaws of Alligators," Monday April 4th at EB. His talk focuses on recently discovered findings that alligators and related crocodilian species have a previously unknown second jaw joint that helps to distribute the extreme force of their bite, which is the most powerful of any living animal. The finding raises new questions about the evolution of our own meager-by-comparison jaws and could potentially lead to a better understanding of common jaw disorders. C.J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy Hillel Adesnik, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkley will be honored for his contributions to the field of comparative neuroanatomy. He will give a lecture, "New Approaches and Insights into Cortical Microcircuits" on Tuesday, April 5th at EB. The goal of Dr. Adesnik's laboratory is to reveal the neural basis of perception. More specifically, his team would like to understand exactly how cortical microcircuits process sensory information to drive behavior. His talk will highlight a recently developed microscope capable of observing--and manipulating--neural activity in the brains of live animals at the scale of a single cell with millisecond precision. The device, which uses lasers to create holographic images within the brain, is envisioned as a "Rosetta Stone" to crack the code on how brains work. ### About AAA: The American Association of Anatomists (AAA) was founded by Joseph Leidy in Washington, D.C. in 1888 for the "advancement of anatomical science." Today, via research, education, and professional development activities, AAA serves as the professional home for an international community of biomedical researchers and educators focusing on the structural foundation of health and disease. About Experimental Biology (EB): EB is an annual meeting comprised of over 14,000 scientists representing six sponsoring societies and multiple guest societies. Primary focus areas include anatomy, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, nutrition and pharmacology. EB is open to all members of the sponsoring and guest societies and nonmembers interested in the latest research impacting life sciences. Attendees represent scientists, academic institutions, government agencies, non-profit organizations and private corporations. Researchers in China have developed a method to better estimate state of charge in next-generation electric lithium car batteries by use of an improved Thevenin circuit model and Kalman filtering WASHINGTON, D.C., March 29, 2016 -- Lithium ion phosphate batteries are widely used to power the batteries in electric cars, but, unlike the amount of gas in a fuel tank, their state of charge can't be measured directly by a physical quantity. Instead, they use an algorithm based on measurements of battery voltage and current, which are in turn influenced by conditions such as weather, electrovoltaic state and traffic conditions. However, the algorithms currently used to measure state of charge each carry drawbacks when used in real-time applications. To better estimate the state of charge in lithium ion phosphate batteries, researchers at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, China, have recently developed an algorithm that can separately measure the charging and discharging states of the battery. This allows it to function amidst initial inaccurate values and errors in measuring current, as well as distinguish between the performance of each battery in the series. According to Zhu Xu, a researcher at Southwest Jiaotong University's School of Electrical Engineering, the differences of dynamic characteristics among batteries in series - such as battery capacity, internal resistance and polarization resistance - can cause the state of charge to become unbalanced, which influences the efficiency and lifespan of the battery packs. Xu and her colleagues discuss their improved Thenevin circuit model this week in The Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, from AIP Publishing. The previous work has involved lithium battery management chips and management systems. The initial value of a battery's state of charge is generally calculated by the open-circuit voltage method, which is based on the relationship between the state of charge and the difference of electrical potential between the device's terminals when disconnected from a circuit. According to Xu, however, this relationship can only be experimentally observed, which carries unavoidable experimental error. Additionally, she said, this relationship could potentially be shifted by the charging and discharging conditions. The traditional algorithms for estimating a battery's state of charge - Ampere-hour integration, the open-circuit voltage method, neural network modeling and Kalman filtering - all carry drawbacks. Ampere-hour integration, while the most commonly used method, relies heavily on the initial state-of-charge value; the open-circuit voltage method can only be used to estimate initial state of charge; neural network modeling places a massive demand on a microprocessor to estimate multiple state-of-charge values using a large amount of experimental data; Kalman filtering, while effective at estimating the current of time-varying states in a dynamic system even amidst initial incorrect values, highly relies on the accuracy of the battery models. This can become problematic in a traditional Thevenin equivalent circuit model. In these model circuits, the same internal and polarization resistances are adopted when the battery is being charged and discharged. In practice, however, these characteristics end up varying significantly between the two states, which can lead to inaccuracies - making Kalman filtering less than ideal. To remedy this, the researcher's improved Thevenin equivalent circuit model works by offering different current paths when the battery is being charged or discharged. This allows the researchers to model the characteristics of the battery separately under charging and discharging conditions, with the added ability of the Kalman filter to estimate the battery's state of charge amidst incorrect initial values. "The proposed improved Thevenin equivalent circuit battery model and state-of-charge estimation algorithm can estimate the battery's state-of-charge more accurately, without many unwanted disturbances," Xu said. Future work for Xu Zhu and her colleagues includes developing systems to measure a battery system's state of health, which in its current operating conditions is expressed as percentage of ideal performance. ### The article, "LiFePO4 battery state of charge estimation based on the improved Thevenin equivalent circuit model and Kalman filtering," is authored by Zhu Xu, Shibin Gao and Shunfeng Yang. It was published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy March 29, 2016 (DOI: 10.1063/1.4944335) and can be accessed at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jrse/8/2/10.1063/1.4944335. ABOUT THE JOURNAL Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal covering all areas of renewable and sustainable energy that apply to the physical science and engineering communities. http://jrse.aip.org This news release is available in Spanish. The amount of data that we take in from screens each day through documents, email chains, web pages and social media flows is enormous. The continuous scrolling technique we typically use to browse this data is, however, far from perfect. "In conventional scrolling a number of objects are moving in the viewer window, which is problematic for visual attention. First, motion blur makes it impossible to focus on an object. Second, the user is not able to direct attention for long enough to comprehend the content before it scrolls out of the window," explains Postdoctoral Researcher Byungjoo Lee. Together with Olli Savisaari and Antti Oulasvirta they have developed a new scrolling technique which better supports data processing in three different ways. "Browsing of long texts speeds up by 60% and less than half as much time is spent locating the desired locations in the text. In addition, the probability of noticing points of interest in the text is increased by 210% compared to normal scrolling technique ", Dr. Lee explains. Important elements to the fore The new technique has been given the name Spotlights and is based on the spotlight metaphor of human visual attention. According to existing research, visual attention needs about half a second to focus, which is clearly longer than the average amount of time that a sentence or picture remains on the screen when using the normal scrolling technique. "The new technique locates on each web page, whether it is a pdf document, video or web document, the visually important elements and presents them using a transparent layer than appears on top of the text. The elements can be, for example, pictures, tables or headlines. It chooses what you should focus and allows you enough time to do that," Dr. Lee tells. "Our empirical evaluation showed that benefits are significant. In this way people can scroll through as many as 20 pages per second and still retain information. The technique improves recollection of browsed information", Prof. Oulasvirta explains. "Our technique is the first to try to maximise the amount of the information on the screen for human visual attention. To see such strong results is very encouraging", Oulasvirta summarizes. "Spotlights is still a prototype. We seek possibilities to put this in practice in browsers, PDF viewers etc.." ### Further information: Dr. Byungjoo Lee byungjoo.lee@aalto.fi Professor Antti Oulasvirta Tel. +358 50 3841561 antti.oulasvirta@aalto.fi Video: Spotlights Skim Reading - Aalto University Research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiNQ6KvzoDQ Website users.aalto.fi/~leeb4 The results will be presented at the world's largest computer-human interaction conference, CHI, at San Jose, CA, USA, in May 2016. This project has received funding from the Academy of Finland project COMPUTED and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 637991) The Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator (IDHA) and Autoinflammatory Diseases Clinic at Boston Children's Hospital are proud to announce the release of Feverprints, a ResearchKit app for iPhone that will enlist the public's help to answer a surprisingly simple but fundamental question in medicine: What, exactly, is a fever? Fever is one of the most common signs of infection, but can also indicate the presence of other medical conditions, including autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. While a body temperature of 98.6F (37C) is generally considered "normal," this number may not be accurate, as it does not account for temperature differences between individuals, and for one person at various times throughout the day. Better understanding of normal temperature variations will allow doctors to provide better medical care. By using ResearchKit, an open source software framework designed by Apple, Boston Children's Hospital is able to gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants using iPhone. "Many factors come together to set an individual's 'normal' temperature, such as age, size, time of day and maybe even ancestry," said Jared Hawkins, MMSc, PhD, the director of informatics for IDHA, a member of Boson Children's Computational Health Informatics Program, and one of the Feverprints team leads. "We want to help create a better understanding of the normal temperature variations throughout the day, to learn to use fever as a tool to improve medical diagnosis, and to evaluate the effect of fever medications on symptoms and disease course. By using ResearchKit to bring this study to iPhone, we're able to gather more data about body temperature patterns than ever before possible." The Feverprints app will help answer those questions by crowdsourcing personal information about body temperature, lifestyle and health. Open to adults in the United States, as well as U.S. children with parental consent, the app will regularly remind users to record their temperature and answer questions about their symptoms, medications, lifestyle and health. The data will be anonymized and logged in a secure database. The team -- led by Fatma Dedeoglu, MD, director of the Autoinflammatory Diseases Clinic, and Boston Children's rheumatologist Jonathan Hausmann, MD -- will mine the submitted data to refine the range of body temperatures called normal and febrile. They will also use the data to define unique patterns of temperature -- "feverprints" -- that may help clinicians diagnose infections and other diseases more quickly and accurately. In addition, the team will systematically examine how effectively fever-reducing medicines work to reduce temperature in real-world use. Feverprints is Boston Children's second ResearchKit app. The first, C-Tracker, was launched in 2015 to gather information about the real-world impacts of hepatitis C and drive improvements in treatment. Feverprints is free and available for download in the App Store. ### About Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 1,100 scientists, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 10 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's today is a 404-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care. Boston Children's is also the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more, visit our Vector and Thriving blogs and follow us on our social media channels: @BostonChildrens, @BCH_Innovation, Facebook and YouTube. BOSTON - Nearly 1 million people in the United States receive coronary artery stents each year. Nearly all stent patients are expected to take dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) using the combination of aspirin and a second antiplatelet medication to prevent the formation of blood clots. Exactly how long patients should receive DAPT has been debatable. A study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Clinical Research Institute (HCRI), published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), describes a new tool that may help clinicians provide their patients more personalized treatment strategies. Known as the DAPT Score, the risk score provides individualized assessment of the risks and benefits of prescribing DAPT beyond one year in patients who have received stents for the treatment of cardiac blockages, based on a patient's specific risk factors. The study findings were first presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions this past November. "Dual antiplatelet therapy is standard for patients following coronary stent procedures, but we haven't had good tools to help us determine how long we should be treating individual patients," explained lead author Robert W. Yeh, MD, MSc, Director of the Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The authors developed the tool using a novel method to analyze data from a randomized trial of more than 11,000 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients that demonstrated an overall lower risk of heart attacks and stent thrombosis (blood clots) but a higher risk of bleeding when the therapy was extended beyond one year. "While these results reflected the average treatment effects observed in the population, some patients derived greater benefit from longer treatment through reduction in heart attacks, while others were harmed from bleeding," said Yeh, who is also an interventional cardiologist at the CardioVascular Institute at BIDMC and Medical Director of Trial Design at HCRI. "Our goal was to create a tool that could help clinicians identify those patients who really benefit from longer treatment, as well as those for whom stopping treatment at a year would be preferred." "Antiplatelet therapy has both benefits and risks, and the benefit of the medication depends on whether a patient has a higher risk of heart attack or a higher risk of bleeding," said Laura Mauri, MD, MSc, Director of Clinical Biometrics at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Principal Investigator of The DAPT Study, an international clinical trial conducted and analyzed by HCRI. Mauri is also Chief Scientific Adviser at HCRI. "Figuring this out in the clinic is difficult, because each patient is complex and many have risk factors for both types of problems," she added. "The DAPT Score was developed to help with this challenging decision, in an effort to help guide and personalize treatment for those patients who are most likely to be helped by continuing the medication and avoid it in those who might be more likely to have serious bleeding. Similar methods could be used in the future to take randomized trial results and tailor them better to individual patients." The risk calculator (available at http://www.daptstudy.org/for-clinicians/calchome.htm) assigns individual patients a numerical score (-2 to 10), based on factors related to patient age, prior cardiovascular risk factors and procedural characteristics. The authors found that the continuation of DAPT beyond one year for those patients with scores of 2 or more was eight times more likely to prevent a heart attack than cause bleeding. However, for patients with scores lower than 2, continuation of treatment beyond one year was more than twice as likely to cause a bleed than prevent a heart attack. "There's been so much confusion about how long we should be treating patients with blood thinners after getting stents," said Yeh. "We haven't prospectively validated the use of the score, and it's only applicable to patients similar to those who were randomized in The DAPT Study, so we still need to be cautious. Nevertheless, we think it represents a significant step forward in understanding benefits and risks of treatment." ### In addition to Yeh and Mauri, study coauthors include Donald E. Cutlip of the BIDMC CardioVascular Institute; Eric A. Secemsky of Massachusetts General Hospital, Dean J. Kereiakes of the Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center; Sharon-Lise T. Normand of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School; Anthony H. Gershlick of the University of Leicester, UK; David J. Cohen and John A. Spertus of Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute; Philippe Gabriel Steg of Universite Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, France; Michael J. Rinaldi of The Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute, Charlotte, NC; Edoardo Camenzind of University Hospital of Nancy-Brabois, Vandoeuvre-le-Nancy, France; William Wijns of OLV Hospital, Aalst, Belgium; Patricia K. Apruzzese, Yang Song, and Joseph Massaro of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute. This study was sponsored by Harvard Clinical Research Institute. Yeh was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (K23 HL 118138). Stent and pharmaceutical manufacturers who contributed to the funding of The DAPT Study included Abbott Vascular; Boston Scientific Corporation; Cordis Corporation; Medtronic, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Sanofi Pharmaceuticals; Eli Lilly and Company; and Daiichi Sankyo Company. Additional funding for the DAPT Study was provided by a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services (1RO1FD003870-01). Additional disclosures are available in the JAMA manuscript. About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. BIDMC is in the community with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, Anna Jaques Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Lawrence General Hospital, Signature Healthcare, Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare, Community Care Alliance and Atrius Health. BIDMC is also clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Jackson Laboratory. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit http://www.bidmc.org. About Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare. BWH has more than 4.2 million annual patient visits and nearly 46,000 inpatient stays, is the largest birthing center in Massachusetts and employs nearly 16,000 people. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in patient care, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and its dedication to research, innovation, community engagement and educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Brigham Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, more than 3,000 researchers, including physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by nearly $666 million in funding. For the last 25 years, BWH ranked second in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among independent hospitals. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative as well as the TIMI Study Group. For more information, resources and to follow us on social media, please visit BWH's online newsroom. Scientists in Brazil are using a genetic algorithm to create a realistic soundscape of birdsong that can be triggered by updates from the micro-blogging service, Twitter, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Details of the computer model which mimics the behavior of a bird's songbox, its "syrinx", to create realistic sounds are published this month in the International Journal of Arts and Technology. Jose Fornari of the Interdisciplinary Nucleus for Sound Communication (NICS), at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), in Sao Paulo, explains how birdsong is an integral part of many landscapes, in the urban environment and countryside. He has developed an evolutionary, or genetic, algorithm that synthesizes authentic sounding birdsong in the computer. The system could be used to manipulate the acoustic space of a shopping mall to create a realistic soundscape fed by actual twitter updates so would not have the looped repetitiveness of a recording of actual birdsong that would be played interminably on a loop. "This evolutionary algorithm creates an artificial soundscape (of birdsongs) that is always acoustically original, Fornari says. He adds that the birdsong is like an individual in a population that will never be repeated again. Such soundscapes, of course, might also be said to represent a unique, crowd-generated audio-artwork. Given the nature of Twitter activity, which inevitably follows the highs and lows of daily life and the trends of news and popular culture, the soundscapes generated might offer a fascinating acoustic reflection of our world and at times a chaotic cacophony. One could also imagine linking the system to a single user's account and giving them a personal experience in birdsong of the tweets from their friends and contacts. ### Fornari, J. (2016) 'An evolutionary algorithm to create artificial soundscapes of birdsongs', Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp.39-58. COLUMBUS, Ohio - Scientists may learn a lot about autism from studying a group of people who don't have the disorder. Joanne Ruthsatz, assistant professor of psychology at The Ohio State University at Mansfield, is one of the first researchers to have uncovered the link between prodigy and autism. In a new book, Ruthsatz and a co-author explain how what she has learned about child prodigies may help us not only understand autism, but could point the way to new treatments. "Our evidence suggests that prodigies are people who should have autism, but don't. They share many of the same characteristics of people with autism, but not the deficits," she said. "We believe that, for prodigies, there is a resilience gene or genes that are holding back the deficits associated with autism and allowing the talent to shine through." Ruthsatz discusses her research in the book The Prodigy's Cousin: The Family Link between Autism and Extraordinary Talent, written with her daughter, journalist Kimberly Stephens. The book highlights Ruthsatz's 18 years of research on prodigies, which led to her discovery of a family link to autism. The first prodigy she studied, in 1998, had a cousin with autism. She has now studied more than 30 prodigies - the largest research sample of these rare individuals every created. She has found that more than half of them have a close relative with autism. Some of them have several relatives affected by autism. "We've learned this isn't a coincidence. These prodigies and their relatives with autism have a genetic link in common," she said. In a study published last year, Ruthsatz and her colleagues discovered a mutation on chromosome 1 that prodigies share with their relatives with autism, but not with their other relatives. "It's a fascinating link, but it is just the beginning of the genetic research," she said. "I am very excited about what the DNA studies are going to tell us." Ruthsatz is working with a research team from McGill University in Canada to uncover DNA evidence of a resilience gene or genes in prodigies. Trying to learn about a disease by studying people who don't have it is not a new thing in science, Ruthsatz said. In the book, the authors discuss how HIV researchers learned a lot by studying people who should have had HIV, but didn't. These scientists found a genetic mutation that doesn't allow for receptor sites to form on immune cells that are killed by the virus. For the lucky people with this mutation, HIV literally washes right through their body. "The people with this mutation are the prodigies of the HIV world; researchers studied them so they could help their 'cousins' who contracted HIV," she said. With their genetic link, it is not surprising that prodigies and people with autism have much in common. Prodigies have autistic characteristics, such as extraordinary attention to detail and a tendency toward obsession. These similarities may point to new ways to think about autism, and ways to help some of the children who have it, she said. One promising avenue involves what is called "training the talent." When parents of prodigies realize that their child has an extraordinary talent in art or math or astronomy, they understandably try to nurture that talent, even if it seems to border on obsession. Children with autism also often have obsessions with particular subjects or talents. But because of their troubles communicating and showing emotions, parents often don't let them follow these obsessions. Ruthsatz has uncovered a few instances, however, where parents have let their children with autism pursue their passions. "Instead of focusing entirely on trying to teach the children to speak or to make eye contact, the parents let their child do the thing they love to do, whatever that is," she said. "In some cases, the children get excited about their particular talent, they get good at it, and they want to communicate about it. The speech and communication and social skills come along with their growing ability." This is treating children with autism as if they were prodigies by focusing on their strengths and ignoring the deficits, she said. In some cases, those deficits become less pronounced as they follow their talents. Ruthsatz cautioned that this approach doesn't work with all children with autism and has not been scientifically tested yet. It is unlikely that any one treatment will help all children with autism because the condition seems to be a set of related but distinct disorders. "Trying to find a treatment that works for everyone based solely on similarity of symptoms is like trying to treat all people who have trouble breathing by giving them a Heimlich: It will help those who are choking, but it's probably not the best answer for a person having an allergic reaction," Ruthsatz and Stephens write in the book. While the search for treatments continues, Ruthsatz said there is still much more to learn from prodigies. "We're really just at the beginning of this research. I'm excited about what we will be discovering in the future." ### Contact: Joanne Ruthsatz, 419-755-4117; Ruthsatz.4@osu.edu Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu Vasalgel is a high molecular weight polymer being developed by Parsemus Foundation as a non-hormonal, long-acting, potentially reversible male contraceptive. It is injected into the vas deferens and works by blocking sperm. The results of a preclinical study to evaluate Vasalgel's efficacy were published today. The study revealed that rabbits had no sperm in their semen as early as 29 days post-injection and the contraceptive effect was durable throughout the 12 month study. The demand for more male contraceptive options Men currently have few options for reproductive control, including condoms and vasectomy. While condoms are widely available and useful in preventing disease when used correctly, they have an 18% yearly pregnancy rate in typical use. Vasectomy is effective, but must generally be considered permanent. There are no long-acting, reversible contraceptives currently available for men. With over 85 million unintended pregnancies occurring annually world-wide, demand for new contraceptive methods is strong and growing. International surveys indicate that the majority of men would be willing to use new male contraceptive methods, with variation depending on demographic and cultural attributes. Scientists have discovered a number of possible methods to control fertility in men over the last decades, but no new option has yet made it to market, due mainly to financial and regulatory hurdles. Additionally, much of the research has been on hormonal approaches, even though many men favor a non-hormonal option because of hormonal side effects and safety risks. The study results published today confirm that Vasalgel has the potential to fill the gap in male contraception availability. It consists of styrene-alt-maleic acid (SMA) dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and could be the first long-acting, non-hormonal, potentially reversible male contraceptive to reach market. Vasalgel results promising The initial rabbit study provided evidence for Vasalgel's value as an effective male contraceptive. The study tested two different formulations of the test article having either 100% SMA acid or 80% SMA acid/20% SMA anhydride. After the gel was injected into the vas deferens of 12 rabbits, semen analysis revealed that 11 rabbits were azoospermic in all samples, having no quantifiable sperm in their semen at all. One rabbit had a few samples with very small numbers of sperm before also becoming azoospermic. Both test articles were equally effective. The study also confirmed that the contraceptive effect was durable over the 12 month study period. The response of the vasa deferentia tissue was minimal with characteristics of a normal foreign body response. "Results from our study in rabbits were even better than expected. Vasalgel produces a very rapid contraceptive effect which lasted throughout the study due to its unique hydrogel properties. These features are important considerations for a contraceptive product to be used in humans," said Dr. Donald Waller, of Prelabs, LLC, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and lead author on the publication. Dr. Waller has worked in the contraceptive development field for much of his career. The characteristics of the Vasalgel contraceptive are likely the reason for its success where other implants have failed. Once injected into the vas deferens, the material forms a hydrogel. The implant remains in a soft gel-like state, with the ability to flex and adhere to the walls of the vasa deferentia. Hydrogels allow transit of many water-soluble molecules but not larger structures such as spermatozoa, which may reduce hydrostatic pressure in the epididymis and rete testis (back-pressure in sperm storage and production areas). The full-text version of the study can be found at: http://bacandrology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12610-016-0033-8. Next steps The ability to remove the gel to return the flow of sperm - or reverse the contraceptive effect - was successfully accomplished in the rabbit model, with results currently being prepared for publication. Seven rabbits had the test article flushed from their vas deferens, and semen samples showed a rapid return of sperm flow. The success of the studies has supported planning for the first clinical trial in men, which is scheduled to launch in late 2016. Parsemus Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California, has brought on a team of experts in manufacturing, testing, regulatory compliance and clinical trial implementation to initiate the next phase of the project. The ultimate goal is for Vasalgel to be available world-wide, at a cost low enough to be affordable to all men. Parsemus Foundation Executive Director Elaine Lissner, who has championed the cause of male contraception and the development of Vasalgel, said "Contraceptive development is a hugely expensive project. But this is not just another early-stage lead; we're so close on this one. It's time to finish the job we've started." ### To fund the development of Vasalgel, Parsemus Foundation has formed a social venture, Revolution Contraceptives LLC, and is seeking socially-minded investors and foundation partners committed to affordable access. For more information on funding and partnership opportunities, please contact info@parsemusfoundation.org. About Parsemus Foundation: Parsemus Foundation works to advance innovative and neglected medical research. The foundation supports studies and then seeks to raise awareness of results, to ensure that they change treatment practice rather than disappear into the scientific literature. Many of the studies the foundation supports involve low-cost approaches that are not under patent, and are thus unlikely to be pursued by pharmaceutical companies due to limited profit potential. Successful studies to date have included breast cancer treatment advances, nonsurgical dog and cat sterilization, and non-invasive treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Parsemus Foundation's main focus is currently bringing Vasalgel to market. More information on Parsemus Foundation and the work presented here can be found at: https://www.parsemusfoundation.org/projects/vasalgel/ Archaeologists in Italy have discovered what may be a rare sacred text in the Etruscan language that is likely to yield rich details about Etruscan worship of a god or goddess. The lengthy text is inscribed on a large 6th century BCE sandstone slab that was uncovered from an Etruscan temple. A new religious artifact is rare. Most Etruscan discoveries typically have been grave and funeral objects. "This is probably going to be a sacred text, and will be remarkable for telling us about the early belief system of a lost culture that is fundamental to western traditions," said archaeologist Gregory Warden, co-director and principal investigator of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, which made the discovery. The slab, weighing about 500 pounds and nearly four feet tall by more than two feet wide, has at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks, said Warden, professor emeritus at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, main sponsor of the project. Scholars in the field predict the stele (STEE-lee), as such slabs are called, will yield a wealth of new knowledge about the lost culture of the Etruscans. The Etruscan civilization once ruled Rome and influenced Romans on everything from religion to government to art to architecture. Considered one of the most religious people of the ancient world, Etruscan life was permeated by religion, and ruling magistrates also exercised religious authority. The slab was discovered embedded in the foundations of a monumental temple where it had been buried for more than 2,500 years. At one time it would have been displayed as an imposing and monumental symbol of authority, Warden said. The Mugello Valley dig, specifically the Poggio Colla site, is northeast of Florence, Italy. The slab would have been connected to the early sacred life of the sanctuary there. The architecture then was characterized by timber-framed oval structures pre-dating a large temple with an imposing stone podium and large stone column bases of the Tuscan Doric type, five of which have been found at the site, Warden said. "We hope to make inroads into the Etruscan language," said Warden, president and professor of archaeology at Franklin University Switzerland. "Long inscriptions are rare, especially one this long, so there will be new words that we have never seen before, since it is not a funerary text." Conservation and study of the stele, with full photogrammetry and laser scanning to document all aspects of the conservation process and all details of the inscribed surfaces, is underway in the next few months at the conservation laboratories of the Tuscan Archaeological Superintendency in Florence by experts from the architecture department of the University of Florence. The sandstone, likely from a local source, is heavily abraded and chipped, with one side reddened, possibly from undergoing burning in antiquity. Cleaning will allow scholars to read the inscription. "We know how Etruscan grammar works, what's a verb, what's an object, some of the words," Warden said. "But we hope this will reveal the name of the god or goddess that is worshiped at this site." The text will be studied and published by a noted expert on the Etruscan language, Rex Wallace, Professor of Classics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In two decades of digging, Mugello Valley Archaeological Project has unearthed objects about Etruscan worship, beliefs, gifts to divinities, and discoveries related to the daily lives of elites and non-elites, including workshops, kilns, pottery and homes. This wealth of material helps document the ritual activity from the 7th century to the 2nd century BCE, including gold jewelry, coins, the earliest scene of childbirth in western European art, and in the past two seasons, four 6th-century bronze statuettes. Etruscan scholar Jean MacIntosh Turfa with the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, said the stele discovery will advance knowledge of Etruscan history, literacy and religious practices. "Inscriptions of more than a few words, on permanent materials, are rare for the Etruscans, who tended to use perishable media like linen cloth books or wax tablets," Turfa said. "This stone stele is evidence of a permanent religious cult with monumental dedications, at least as early as the Late Archaic Period, from about 525 to 480 BCE. Its re-use in the foundations of a slightly later sanctuary structure points to deep changes in the town and its social structure." It would be a rare discovery to identify the Etruscan god or goddess to which the sanctuary was dedicated. "Apart from the famous seaside shrine at Pyrgi, with its inscribed gold plaques, very few Etruscan sanctuaries can be so conclusively identified," Turfa said. "A study of the names of the dedicants will yield rich data on a powerful society where the nobility, commoners and even freed slaves could offer public vows and gifts." Etruscans were a highly cultured people, but very little of their writing has been preserved, mostly just short funerary inscriptions with names and titles, said archaeologist Ingrid Edlund-Berry, professor emerita, The University of Texas at Austin. "So any text, especially a longer one, is an exciting addition to our knowledge," said Edlund-Berry, an expert in Etruscan civilization. "It is very interesting that the stele was found within the walls of the buildings at the site, thus suggesting that it was re-used, and that it represents an early phase at the site." The Poggio Colla site is in northern Etruria. Most inscriptions have come from centers further south, Edlund-Berry said. ### The stele was officially reported during a scientific exhibit of the Tuscan Archaeological Superintendency starting March 19, "Shadow of the Etruscans," in Prato, Italy. Besides SMU, other collaborating institutions at Mugello Valley Archaeological Project include Franklin and Marshall College, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, the Center for the Study of Ancient Italy at The University of Texas at Austin, The Open University (UK), and Franklin University Switzerland. SMUResearch.com on Twitter, http://twitter.com/smuresearch. For more information, http://www.smuresearch.com. SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see http://www.smu.edu. SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7664. UC Riverside assistant professor is among researchers that isolated the gene believed to determine whether a mosquito is male RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) -- A group of scientists, including one from the University of California, Riverside, have discovered a long-hypothesized male determining gene in the mosquito species that carries malaria, laying the groundwork for the development of strategies that could help control the disease. In many species, including mosquitoes, Y chromosomes control essential male functions, including sex determination and fertility. However, knowledge of Y chromosome genetic sequences is limited to a few organisms. The discovery of the putative male-determining gene, which was outlined in a paper published online Monday (March 28) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, provides researchers with a long-awaited foundation for studying male mosquito biology. This is significant because male mosquitoes offer the potential to develop novel vector control strategies to combat diseases, such as malaria and the zika and dengue viruses, because males do not feed on blood or transmit diseases. (The African malaria-carrying mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, is different than the mosquito that carries zika and dengue, but similar control strategies could be used to fight both species.) One vector control method under development involves genetic modification of the mosquito to bias the population sex ratio toward males, which do not bite, with the goal of reducing or eliminating the population. This and other control methods have received a lot of attention recently because of the spread of zika virus. Modeling has shown that the most efficient means for genetic modification of mosquitoes is engineering a driving Y chromosome. A molecular-level understanding of the Y-chromosome of the malaria mosquito, as described in the just-published paper, is important to inform and optimize such a strategy. The paper, "Radical remodeling of the Y chromosome in a recent radiation of malaria mosquitoes," was co-authored by 28 scientists from four countries and four universities in the United States. Omar Akbari, an assistant professor of entomology at UC Riverside and a member of the university's Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, is one of the authors. While the genome of Anopheles gambiae was sequenced 13 years ago, the Y chromosome portion of it was never successfully assembled. The researchers who published the paper in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences used multiple genome sequencing techniques, including single-molecule sequencing and Illumina-based sex-specific transcriptional profiling, as well as whole-genome sequencing, to identify an extensive dataset of Y chromosome sequences and explore their organization and evolution in Anopheles gambiae complex, a group of at least seven morphologically indistinguishable species of mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles which contain some of the most important vectors of human malaria. They found only one gene, known as YG2, which is exclusive to the Y chromosome across the species complex, and thus is a possible male-determining gene. ### Athens, Ga. - Almost 20 percent of college men have committed some kind of sexual assault, and 4 percent have committed rape, according to a study published by University of Georgia researchers who were examining the link between different kinds of narcissism and the perpetration of sexual assaults. The study found a strong connection between pathological narcissism and sexual assault perpetration through a survey of 234 male university students, mostly in their first and second years of college. Its findings related to perpetration rates were mostly consistent with previous studies, said the study's lead author Emily Mouilso, a clinical assistant professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences' psychology department. People who demonstrate characteristics of pathological narcissism have difficulties when it comes to relating to others, Mouilso explained. Non-pathological narcissism, on the other hand, can be somewhat beneficial because it manifests in high self-esteem and makes it easier for people to shake off failures, study co-author Karen Calhoun said, explaining that it's what some researchers call the "healthy" form of narcissism. "As we predicted, the aspects of narcissism that we thought would be related were (related)--the lack of empathy, the entitlement aspects of narcissism," Mouilso said. What surprised them was the link between vulnerable narcissism and rape perpetration. Vulnerable narcissists express high levels of self-esteem but are actually very insecure, Mouilso said. The study found that men with vulnerable narcissistic traits were more likely to use alcohol or other date-rape drugs to incapacitate their victims, a finding that is especially concerning on a college campus, Mouilso said. "I think people don't realize how prevalent drinking is" in colleges, said Calhoun, a professor emerita in the psychology department. "It's not so much how much they drink total for women that makes them vulnerable; it's how much they drink at a time, the binge drinking, the getting drunk and just not being alert and aware of their surroundings or the risks involved. That really puts women at risk." Mouilso and Calhoun explained their results in the context of the theory that there are two general pathways that frequently lead to perpetration. "If the end product is perpetration, there's more than one kind of profile that would make you more likely to perpetrate a sexual assault," Mouilso said. "One of those streams is promiscuity--so people who have higher levels of sexual interest and more frequent sexual partners, they're more OK with impersonal sex. That's one stream of risk factors. "The second path is the hostile masculinity path. That has more to do with how you look at women, so having a hostile and angry orientation toward women in general and thinking that relationships are adversarial ... it's more about, what can I get out of this person that I want? I don't really care all that much about what they want." She explained that people can be high or low on factors in both of those tracks, but if a person has both of them together, it makes that person much more likely to perpetrate a sexual assault, according to current theory. Narcissists feel a sense of entitlement to anything they want, something that makes it easier for them to rationalize their aggressive and sometimes illegal behaviors, Mouilso said. Many previous studies have used incarcerated sex offenders as their sample pool, which makes it more difficult to generalize results to other populations. Mouilso and Calhoun's sample of college men is fairly representative of large Southeastern university male populations. Often the view of college men tends to be an old-fashioned, "boys will be boys" attitude when it comes to acts of sexual aggression, Mouilso said. "I just don't think that that's accurate," Mouilso said, "so this research helps to shed light on some of the commonalities in the personality profile between men who end up in prison and men who are walking around because they haven't been caught." The idea that most sexual assault perpetrators are strangers who grab women in dark alleyways isn't accurate, Mouilso said. "It's less likely to be a stranger who jumps out of the bush," she said. "It's more likely to be someone you know like the guy sitting next to you in your intro psych class." The societal belief in "stranger danger" puts people at risk because they are looking for the deranged person on the corner rather than at the individuals in their lives who have much greater access and opportunity to perpetrate, the researchers said. Studies of non-incarcerated perpetrators are useful in developing prevention programs that could give women a more accurate idea of what to look out for. Although the percentage of college men who committed sexual assaults is unsettling, the findings suggest that it's a "small percentage of men who are doing most of" the assaults, something that gives the researchers hope, Calhoun said. "If we could identify them and intervene in some way, that would give you some better hope of preventing it," she said. ### The study, "Personality and Perpetration: Narcissism Among College Sexual Assault Perpetrators," published in the journal Violence Against Women, is available online at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26712237. Based solely on the observations of journalists, experts and policy makers from around the world it can almost be taken for granted that Russia wants the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. The logic being that since London takes a hawkish view of Russia, eagerly defending sanctions against the Russian government and prominently supporting anti-Russian views in Brussels, it would be easier for Moscow to deal with the EU if Britain were no longer a member. Another notable argument is that a Brexit would make the whole EU economically and geopolitically weaker, precisely what many Russian policy makers would supposedly like to see. With the ever closer union going to pieces, Moscow would have more flexibility in its bilateral relations with individual Member States and get new opportunities to renegotiate on an array of issues important to the Kremlin, from Ukraine to energy policy. However, it is hard to say whether this genuinely reflects the reality of thinking in the Kremlin or at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the contrary, Russian officials tend to support the integrity of the EU and distance themselves from speculations on Brexit. Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov has stated that it has never been the aim of Russian foreign policy to destabilise the EU, while Vladimir Putins official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Brexit is not a matter of discussion between Moscow and Brussels and it is up to the EU to solve this problem. Russias public statements on Brexit are understandable. But even without taking any official position on Brexit, Russias perceived intentions, as described above, make great campaign tools. Many British politicians, from across the political spectrum, have linked Russias growing and dangerous influence to the Brexit debate. Just like in the American Presidential race, Russia and in particular President Putin are becoming useful malicious images for influencing public opinion and could help to consolidate citizens around the idea of remaining in the EU. Russia will likely continue to be used as a boogeyman in campaign rhetoric, but it is worth considering whether Brexit really is in Russias national interests. At first glance, considering that Russia-UK relations have often been strained since the beginning of the 21st century, the consequences of the removal of Britains influence within the EU could give more geostrategic freedom for Russia and help it rebuild closer contacts with the remaining poles of power in Berlin and Paris, which tend to take a more realpolitik approach towards Moscow. There is also the argument that Britains exit would weaken Eastern European Member States (in particular Poland and the Baltic states) which often gain support from London, downgrading anti-Russian sentiments in Brussels. Finally, Brexit would be met positively by a large fraction of the Russian political class who consider Britain as a faithful adherent of NATO strengthening and expansion. All these hugely popular arguments derive from the geopolitical viewpoint, which is gaining more and more ground within policy-making communities. It has already become commonplace in Russia to discuss its development strategy through the lens of geostrategic interests. But building chessboard scenarios doesnt deal with the fact that the Russian economy is in a poor condition, or with the fact that the country obviously needs to play a bigger role in the global market and continue reforms to avoid more severe crises in the future ideally by shifting away from energy export dependence. Therefore, it is more important for Russia to search for its place in the changing global environment and understand what possibilities are there to diversify its economy and trade, and view the prospects of Brexit through these lenses. Which is why another question should be addressed (however naive it may sound today) is it more important to continue building a positive-sum, integrated pro-market community in Europe or keep arguing about spheres of influence? It is remarkable that both Russia and the UK both still bearing memories of mighty imperial pasts seem to be lost between different choices of long-term development. Both of them wish to play a more independent role on a world stage, but looking at their share of world total GDP based on PPP and nominal GDP (3.30% and 2.41% for Russia, 3.36% and 3.82% for the UK respectively) it becomes evident that its going to be difficult to support these ambitious claims of exclusiveness, considering the speed of globalization and level of competition in the contemporary world order. If the UK votes against its membership of the EU, it will have a long standing effect not only for its own, but for the European market, because despite political misunderstandings with Brussels, British business has been among the most consistent advocates of the European free trade system. It is due to British influence that reforms were implemented throughout the last four decades which made the European market better in terms of regulation, budgeting, investment climate etc. By this token, building close relations between Russian and British business communities is one of the often underestimated bilateral achievements of the last quarter century, because they served as a bridge for Russian companies not only to the British, but single European and hence the global market. At the same time, Europe can use the UKs strong business ties with Russian entrepreneurs and innovative sector, especially if sanctions are loosened and the Russian market opens its doors again. In the event of a Brexit, working out and concluding new trade deals, including one with Russia, will take years of negotiations and it is not clear if British and Russian businesses will benefit in the end. Even if London manages to conclude a new deal on its role in the European Economic Area, it will cut itself off from many other mechanisms of integration. Special relations with the EU that naturally evolved and worked well for Switzerland and Norway may not be that simple for the UK, which has a totally different system of governance and can lead to the rise of regional separatism that may in turn echo in other EU Member States. It is apparent that European and Euro-Atlantic integration is more politicised and driven by populism today than ever before. All sides should take their share of responsibility for this. The key problem is that populism will not stop global integration, but it can further reduce Europes potential and competitiveness by adding more mistrust and greater risk of military escalation. Instead of discussing the opportunities of a Greater Europe and seriously reacting to such global and far-reaching initiatives as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, Russia and the UK seem to be sliding into neo-protectionist measures, thus limiting the ability of their markets for long-term development and putting at risk regional predictability. Per contra, Euroscepticism in the UK and other countries did not come from nowhere, it is rather a symptom of a developmental malaise. The EU has to become more flexible and be able to liberalise itself further as a response to a changing environment. It must also find a new modus vivendi with its Eastern neighbours, including Russia. It should once again become an attractive model of integration, not an object of the perpetual criticism. If Russia and the European Union wish to build long term relations further and get back to vital discussions on the importance of common spaces and an integrated market, the UKs withdrawal from the EU would hardly facilitate this. If a zero-sum scenario with more closed borders and more mistrust on the continent prevails, which is already in the air today, then Brexit can be just one link in the chain of unpredictable events which can lead to a further impasse in Russia West relations. The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time. The account will be managed by the New Delhi team lead by Navin Khemka. The media agency on record will manage all traditional media outlets as well as content marketing for the brand Maxus India has won the media duties for OLX, Indias largest online classifieds platform. This account win comes after a multi-agency pitch held recently. The account will be managed by the New Delhi team lead by Navin Khemka. The media agency on record will manage all traditional media outlets as well as content marketing for the brand. Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX India said, We welcome Maxus on board and look forward to creating path-breaking campaigns that can match our current growth trajectory and also significantly enhance it in the months to come. Changes in the technology and media domains, as well as the growth in the Internet business, not only offer new opportunities but also pose some interesting challenges. We feel that Maxus will be able to think strategically, and offer innovative business-led solutions for the same. Commenting on the win Kartik Sharma, Managing Director- Maxus South Asia said, We at Maxus are committed to approach planning in an integrated manner with deep emphasis on innovative media concepts that provide cutting edge solutions. Maxus strategy based on consumer and category understanding, along with a strong focus on ROI, led to this new-age business win. Our vision is two-fold- to communicate their brand proposition through an effective media mix and creative strategies, and use those to accelerate business growth for the brand. Navin Khemka, Managing Partner, Maxus said, We are delighted to have OLX as a part of the Maxus Delhi team. Our experience and expertise in managing new age clients has helped provide them with an edge in the market place. We are confident about delivering ground breaking solutions for driving OLXs business objective. We are looking at innovative and customized solutions to connect buyers and sellers in every small town and village in India. OLX India already has 80% market share of the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online classifieds in India, and is the number one classifieds for used cars and motorbikes, mobile phones, and household items. OLX has five times the brand awareness that of the number #2 classifieds player. The auto category, from which 45% of the page-views come, has a brand awareness at least five times that of any other player in the industry (according to Google Trends). OLX is the number #1 buying + selling mobile App in India according to Google Play store, and is currently trending at 2.8 billion page-views a month (February 2016). As pioneers of We-Commerce in India, OLX brings sellers and buyers together for win-win transactions. OLX is also a global leader in online classifieds, present in 40 countries and 50 languages across the globe. Read more news about (ad news, latest advertising news India, internet advertising, ad agencies updates, media advertising India) Despite damp market sentiment and positive US economic data, the New Zealand Dollar exchange rates advanced versus most of its peers today. Following on from yesterdays advantageous Australian dollar and NZ dollar exchange rate movement, both antipodean currencies have retained their gains across the course of the day. This has most recently been triggered by US claims figures for mid-March, which failed to show any significant reductions. Foreign exchange market optimism has continued to drive up the Australian Dollar (AUD) and the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) exchange rates, with the likelihood of an imminent Fed rate hike appearing to have dwindled to nothing. A reversal of this trend could materialise, however, if Fridays Non-Farm Payrolls prove strong enough to encourage further speculation on the matter. Latest Pound/Aussie/NZ Dollar Exchange Rates On Sunday the Pound to British Pound exchange rate (GBP/GBP) converts at 1 Today finds the pound to pound spot exchange rate priced at 1. The live inter-bank GBP-USD spot rate is quoted as 1.13 today. Today finds the pound to australian dollar spot exchange rate priced at 1.772. NB: the forex rates mentioned above, revised as of 23rd Oct 2022, are inter-bank prices that will require a margin from your bank. Foreign exchange brokers can save up to 5% on international payments in comparison to the banks. As a continuation of yesterdays damaging news from the Federal Reserve, commodity currencies including the Australian Dollar and New Zealand Dollar exchange rates have risen in value today. Yellens dovishness has been added to by the Feds Charles Evans, who sees an early interest rate hike as highly unlikely. With Yellen expressing a more dovish sentiment the appeal of commodity-correlated currencies such as the New Zealand Dollar and Australian Dollar has strengthened substantially. While there is clearly a significant split in opinion amongst members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this did not prevent markets taking strong heed of comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen last night. Having declined significantly in response to weak dairy prices, deteriorating global economic conditions and commodity price drops, the New Zealand Dollar has been on an appreciative run thanks to consolidative trading. Such was the extent of recent New Zealand Dollar exchange rate declines that even the combination of positive US data and damp market sentiment wasnt enough to offset Kiwi (NZD) gains. The outcome from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellens speech is likely to cause changes for the Kiwi, however, especially if Yellen attempts to talk down the likelihood of a near-term Fed rate hike. Improved Milk Price Futures Aid New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Exchange Rate Gains Despite damp market sentiment in response to global stocks volatility and weakening commodity prices, the New Zealand Dollar advanced versus the majority of its major peers. This is mostly the result of consolidation trading after having dropped significantly in value against the US Dollar. Milk futures have improved which has aided the Kiwi appreciation. Fonterra, New Zealands largest dairy company, expect prices to rise in the second-half of the year but concede that dairy prices will remain weak in the short-term. The balance between available dairy exports and imports has been unfavourable for 18 months following European production increasing more than expected and lower imports into China and Russia, said Theo Spierings, the Fonterra chief executive. However, dairy prices were expected to lift later this calendar year. UK Pound Strengthens Today despite Dovish BoE The British Pound edged higher versus most of its currency rivals on Tuesday as traders took advantage of the low trade weighting. However, EU referendum uncertainty continues to plague investor confidence with many traders expecting the British asset to decline again in the coming months. Today saw the publication of the Bank of Englands (BoE) financial stability report. The dovish report highlighted Brexit uncertainty as a serious risk to British growth. Policymakers also decided to tighten lending rules to landlords to stem the current housing crisis. This report had minimal impact on the Pound, however, as it parroted previous statements from BoE officials. Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rate Edged Higher on US Dollar Weakness Despite the fact that US Consumer Confidence bettered expectations, the US Dollar remained comparatively weak during Tuesdays European session. As a result, the Aussie (AUD) edged higher versus a number of its major peers. However, a speech from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is very likely to cause AUD exchange rate volatility during the Australasian session. With market sentiment damp amid global stock price volatility and commodity price weakness, there is a high chance that the Aussie (AUD) will fail to extend gains significantly even if Janet Yellen signals delays to a Fed rate hike. by Steve Painter | Mon, Mar 28th 8:42pm EDT Folty said, "Theyare a good lineup, plus theyare ambushing a little earlier today than I thought they would. Iave just got to locate better. Curveball, slider wasnat there at all today. Lucky that I had my changeup or all I wouldave had was my fastball, and I wasnat really locating that too well.a He allowed six hits and six runs in three innings of work today while recording two strikeouts. Four of the six hits were home runs. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced new funding for water quality efforts in the Western Lake Erie Basin, and released a study that says voluntary practices are making a difference, during a March 28 press conference at Maumee Bay State Park. USDA will invest $41 million in a three-year initiative to support the ongoing work of farmers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The initiative helps farmers implement conservation measures to reduce runoff. The funding is in addition to the $36 million the agency had already planned to make available through the 2014 farm bill, for a combined three-year investment of $77 million. More conservation Farmers and landowners will be able to add conservation measures to about 870,000 acres in this watershed, effectively doubling the acres of conservation treatment that can be accomplished in the three years. Significant progress On the same day, the Natural Resources Conservation Service released a new report through its Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), that evaluates the impacts of voluntary conservation. The report, based on farmer survey data in the Western Lake Erie Basin, shows voluntary conservation is making headway in reducing nutrient and sediment loss from farms, but there is opportunity to improve conservation management across the basin. According to the report, the new initiative will help landowners reduce phosphorus runoff from farms by more than 640,000 pounds each year and reduce sediment loss by over 260,000 tons over the course of the three-year investment. Throughout the basin, comprehensive field-scale conservation planning and conservation systems are needed to accommodate different treatment needs while maintaining productivity, said NRCS Chief Jason Weller. While voluntary conservation is making a difference in the basin, the CEAP evaluation tells us that there are still gains that can be made through an emphasis on practices like precision agriculture. The results The conservation improvements now cover more than 580,000 acres, and have resulted in reduced annual nutrient and sediment losses of an estimated 7 million pounds of nitrogen, 1.2 million pounds of phosphorous, and 488,000 tons of sediment between 2009 and 2014. For more information, visit https://medium.com/usda-results. Key report findings: (The following are the key findings found in the USDAs March 28 study of voluntary conservation practices in the western basin of Lake Erie:) Farmers maintained conservation practices, cropland acreage, and crop mixes despite higher commodity prices. Between the 2003-06 and the 2012 CEAP surveys (Conservation Effects Assessment Project), average corn prices nearly tripled, rising to $6.67 per bushel, and average soybean prices nearly doubled, rising to $13.24 per bushel. Despite these increases, cultivated cropland acreage and crop mixes did not change significantly between the two surveys. Average annual phosphorus application rates decreased from 21.5 pounds per acre in 2003-06 to 18.7 pounds in 2012. Application methods that reduce the risk of phosphorus runoff increased from being in use on 45 percent of acres to being in use on 60 percent of acres, and edge-of-field trapping practices that reduce runoff losses, such as filter strips, increased from being in use on 18 percent of acres to being in use on 31 percent of acres. Voluntary conservation is making headway. Compared to a scenario simulating the removal of all conservation practices in Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), conservation practices in use in 2012 reduce annual sediment losses by 81 percent (9.1 million tons per year), reduce total nitrogen losses by 36 percent (40.6 million pounds per year), and reduce total phosphorus losses by 75 percent (11.4 million pounds per year). In the 2012 conservation condition, harvested crops remove an average of 16.3 pounds of phosphorus per acre per year, which is 87 percent of the average phosphorus applied per acre annually (18.7 pounds). Simulations suggest average annual total phosphorus loss is 1.9 pounds per acre with 1.3 pounds lost via subsurface pathways, primarily tile drainage; .5 pounds of phosphorus remain on the field as legacy phosphorus, which may reside in the soil for years, be used by a following crop, or eventually be lost from the field. In the 2012 survey, farmers report phosphorus application rates at or below crop removal rates on 58 percent of acres, indicating some level of phosphorus mining of the in-field legacy load. No single conservation solution will meet the needs of each field and farm. Western Lake Erie Basin croplands are diverse in terms of soils, farm fields, farming operations, and management, which creates differences in conservation needs and potential solutions. Soils that make up small portions of fields can be significant sources of nutrient and sediment loss, especially when their loss vulnerabilities differ from the vulnerabilities of the soils that make up the majority of the field. Comprehensive field-scale conservation planning and conservation systems are needed to accommodate different treatment needs within and across farm fields, while maintaining productivity. Additional progress in nutrient and erosion control will depend on advanced precision technologies. Nutrient and erosion control needs vary across cropped fields, requiring management of unique zones or soils within field boundaries. Precision agriculture techniques that involve potential yield effects, zoned or gridded soil testing, and variable fertilizer rates can help achieve additional nitrogen and phosphorus. I cant help thinking that Graham Vanbergen was trying to be deliberately provocative when he wrote this article on the City of London being a tax haven for the mega wealthy. Although originally published on TruePublica, I spotted it on the site run by the Centre for Research on Globalization, where it had the catchy title: Money Laundering and the City of Londons Crime due Scene: Haven of Tax Havens for the Mega-Wealthy. Although I disagreed with much of what he wrote, it was an enjoyable read. Vanbergen adopted a table-thumping approach to what he claimed to be abject corruption of the highest order. He wrote: The reality is that the City of London caters for those above the law, it operates on the basis of bypassing democratic society as a whole. Money laundering was permeating through the Citys financial sector on a massive scale (he believed). He described the City as a tax haven, shielding the mega-wealthy from paying their fair dues, as they plundered and steamrolled across the globe, borrowing money to make war, safe in the knowledge that they were above the law. He asserted that they have all but bypassed democracy, making their own rules that are encapsulated in Gentlemens Agreements, usurping law enforcement and undermining the regulators. He attacked offshore islands, specifically in the Caribbean, which offered offshore facilities to those seeking them. From the tone of the article, it would appear that Vanbergen would welcome a few businessmen being burned at the stake. Humor aside, Vanbergen does have a (partial) point. Yes, there is a lot of money that passes through the City of London that has a dubious derivation. There will be money laundering going on there as I type. And there will be criminal money passing through the offshore companies Vanbergen lambastes. But the same goes for the stock exchanges in New York, Japan and any other financial hub you care to name. Globally, the worlds governments are fighting the criminals and improving their anti-money laundering and anti-corruption regimes. In my professional field, I have seen improvements. Its not perfect and we have a tough fight on our hands. But slinging politically-motivated-mud at the City and financial institutions is a cheap shot. I grow tired of hearing the same old arguments about offshore companies, trusts and bank accounts. These can be perfectly legitimate tax avoidance vehicles. Some question their ethical standing (to own one usually requires you to have some money in the first place). But the fact is they are perfectly legal. Even Vanbergen (perhaps grudgingly) admits that they do have good and legal reasons to exist. I am proud that my firm is based in and operates out of the Caribbean. As a consequence I will stand up for the governments of these islands when I see them being besmirched by people who do not put both sides of the argument to their readership. Likewise I will be critical of them when in my eyes they make a decision I consider to be a mistake. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), for example, does not operate a system that is so secret that law enforcement agencies or victims of fraud worldwide are precluded from ever obtaining the details of the beneficial owners of BVI companies. Reports to the contrary are falsehoods peddled principally by people with a political axe to grind. If somebody makes an application to the court and can evidence wrongdoing, then the court in the BVI will make the appropriate order and the information will be forthcoming. This is no different to the UK, where production orders require law enforcement to support their applications with evidence. The UK government regularly considers putting pressure on the BVI government to operate a public register of company ownership similar to that operated in the UK. I have spoken out against the idea, on the basis that we will push the criminals deeper underground. They will simply go looking to form their company elsewhere or more nominee UBOs (ultimate beneficial owners) will be deployed, and the trail will go cold. The current level of due diligence and compliance in the BVI for example, in my opinion, is as good or better than that usually found in the UK, the U.S. and elsewhere. If youre a follower of Graham Vanbergen you may now be thinking that I am condoning criminality and money laundering. I am not. In fact my professional life is devoted to the recovery of assets on behalf of victims who have lost them to fraud or to sharp business practice. Offshore companies have been used to lawfully and efficiently move capital from developed to developing countries. They are the plumbing to globalization. They are not all used by fraudsters. Fraud, corruption, and bribery should be eradicated. But we have to be realistic. Every population has its share of good and bad. Contrary to popular belief the whole working population of the City of London is not bent. The same holds true of the two million offshore companies which exist in the world today. Legislators worldwide are making new laws and protocols to make money laundering more difficult. Because some neer-do-wells can avoid detection doesnt mean that the whole system is corrupt. It simply means there is more work to be done to prevent the financial systems from being manipulated by the dishonest few. If Graham Vanbergen and people like him have their way, the global economy will be at risk of serious harm. The world needs business people those who are clever, innovative, and capable of employing a workforce. I readily agree we need to continue exerting pressure on those who make their money criminally, and those who evade paying their taxes. But not at the cost of global malaise or collapse brought about by seeing conspiracies where they dont exist. _____ Martin Kenney, pictured above, is Managing Partner of Martin Kenney & Co., Solicitors, a specialist investigative and asset recovery practice focused on multi-jurisdictional fraud and grand corruption cases www.martinkenney.com |@MKSolicitors. The UK Serious Fraud Office charged another individual Tuesday as part of the ongoing investigation into Alstom. Terence Stuart Watson, the Alstom Country President for the UK and Managing Director of Alstom Transport UK and Ireland, was charged with violating section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and with conspiracy to corrupt contrary to section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 197. Watson the seventh individual charged in the case will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on April 5. The SFO said hell be tried with defendants Alstom Network UK Ltd, Michael John Anderson, and Jean-Daniel Laine. Their trial date has been fixed for May 2017. Before Laine retired, he was senior vice president of ethics and compliance and a director of Alstom International Limited. Watsons alleged offenses occurred from 2003 to 2008, the SFO said, and concern the supply of trains to the Budapest Metro. Alstom manufactures rail, power, and energy equipment. In June 2014, Alstom agreed to sell its power business to General Electric for 12.4 billion ($15.6 billion). In July 2014, the SFO charged Alstom Network UK Ltd and British nationals Graham Hill and Robert Hallett with corruption in India, Poland, and Tunisia. Their trial is set to start in May 2016. The SFO also charged Alstom Power Ltd, Nicholas Reynolds, and Johanes Venskus with corruption in Lithuania. Their trial is scheduled to begin in January 2017. In the United States, Alstom pleaded guilty in December last year to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing officials in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Bahamas. It paid the DOJ $772 million in criminal penalties to settle the charges. The fine was the biggest criminal penalty for FCPA offenses and the second biggest FCPA enforcement action overall. Three Alstom executives have pleaded guilty in the United States to bribing officials in Indonesia to win a power project contract. Charges are pending against a fourth executive. The SFO investigation started based on information from the Office of the Attorney General in Switzerland. In 2008, Swiss police arrested a former Alstom manager and searched for evidence as part of a corruption and money-laundering probe. Police raided offices near Zurich and in Baden, along with homes in several cantons. The Swiss attorney general fined Alstom about $40 million in 2011 for corporate negligence for failing to stop overseas bribery. In the United States, Marubeni Corporation, Alstoms consortium partner on the Indonesia project, pleaded guilty in March 2014 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and seven counts of violating the FCPA. The Japanese trading company paid a criminal fine of $88 million. _____ Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here. Out for a night of bar hopping some time ago, I heard one of my male friends declare this with absolute certainty. He went on to say that women prefer novels about being wooed with chocolates and flowers to reading tales of instant, lust-filled liaisons. He said we can't stand the graphic nature of hard core sex and that we prefer euphemisms to the explicit mention of body parts. Worse, he also stated that women don't fantasise about sex like men do. Isabel Raven Excuse me? As a writer of erotica consumed mostly by women, containing fantasy and taboo elements such as adultery, menage and domination/submission, I was flabbergasted by my friend's assertions-and the nods of agreement that followed. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Misconceptions about female desire have been around since Eve told Adam she wanted more than a quick demo of what lay under his vine leaf. Sure, a hard core approach to intimacy-every single time!-isn't something a lot of women would enjoy, but shunting all of us into a box labelled 'fragile, handle with care' perpetuates the fallacy that our physical desires and fantasies are less powerful, less consuming than men's. It presumes that erotic tales-those which focus predominantly on the sexual relationship between protagonists and not their romantic development-are only read and enjoyed by men. As a married woman with a healthy sexual relationship, I'm happy to declare this is not the case for me, or the thousands of female readers who devour explicit erotica every year. Reading about confident women who know what they want and aren't afraid to indulge their fantasies can be uplifting, entertaining, and extremely arousing. As an author, writing about women who seek fulfilment outwith the conventions of happy-ever-after romance, is, quite frankly, intoxicating. One such woman I've written about is nineteen-year-old university student, Becky Smithton, the main character in After Party Affair. In Becky's case, an impromptu act of revenge launches her on a voyage of sexual self-discovery, one which sees her enter an illicit relationship with married thirty-six year old, Grant Halston. Some would wonder why I didn't write my dark and sexy hero as a single man and therefore avoid controversy. Simple, really: After Party Affair is erotica and not romance , a story that explores secret kinks and forbidden desires-without a fluff ball in sight! It's explores my characters' fantasies, and therefore these characters aren't fettered by 'real world' constrictions. But not all is as it seems in Grant's marriage, and at nineteen, Becky's not looking for love or romance. She's not seeking a husband, a white picket fence and two point one children. Flowers and chocolates? Sure, she'll take them-if they're served up with a hot and sweaty dose of great sex! Unabashed and unafraid to explore her desires, Becky is a young woman discovering new-and rather astonishing -aspects of her sexuality. That leads me back to my friend's misinformed statement, and the question: Do women enjoy reading pure, unabashed erotica without romance? I believe After Party Affair, and a plethora of successful books written by fabulous authors such as Lucy Felthouse and Lily Harlem, to name but a few, answer that question with a resounding 'Yes'! After Party Affair blurb: A vengeful seduction leads Becky Smithton to an unforgettable night of forbidden passion. Nineteen-year-old Becky Smithton never imagined she'd be invited to her friend Lorna's birthday bash only to be humiliated. After the party is over, Becky finds herself seething with fury, wandering outside and itching for revenge. But what can she do to get back at Lorna and her snobbish mother? A walk through the woods and a chance encounter with Lorna's bodilicious father, Grant, presents the perfect opportunity. Seducing the dark, handsome-and forbidden-thirty-six-year-old should be easy, right? But Grant is made of stronger stuff than other men and soon it's Becky who's struggling with frustrated desire. What's more, her heart is doing funny things and so is her mind, filling her with sudden what-the-hell? Pregnancy fantasies involving Grant. As for her body, well, it's naked and wet, and all she wants is for Grant to dive into the swimming pool and give her what she craves-shallow and deep. After all, if her seduction succeeds then their tryst would only be a meaningless, after party affair Right? Reader Advisory: This book contains themes of adultery. About Isabel Raven: I adore creating stories about men and women who break boundaries to explore their secret kinks and desires. I write what I like to read: erotic tales containing scorching intimacy between protagonists with plenty of character. In real life I'm attracted to flawed personalities, people who don't always do the right thing. For that reason my heroines and heroes are never picture perfect. They're passionate and driven though, and that means they sometimes disregard social taboos and traditions to follow their hearts-with plenty of hot and sweaty sex along the way. I'm pretty flawed myself, but I'm lucky to have a fabulous husband who loves me regardless and who doesn't mind the amount of time I spend writing. We have two easy going, young daughters and a Scottish Fold feline who requires daily adulation in the form of constant petting. I am a purpose driven person, who never runs away from a challenge. These challenges have helped me keep my head above water and I have always tried to look for the light in the darkest situations. I feel the joy of hope to press on knowing this too will pass. There is no way it will be negative forever. I remain very focused on my goals, knowing that I'll accomplish my goal. I make sure I have clarity in all the things I do. Elizabeth James One thing with me is I love to be surrounded with love as I'm very spiritual and pray a lot. So what makes me smile is being a devout Christian and God makes me smile. I just give thanks daily, which a lot of people take for granted. It is very important to always be grateful. To acknowledge and ask to be forgiven and love no matter how we hurt. I am a very jovial person but when it comes to business, I am very serious. It is difficult to place me as I take my work very serious. I love to give, I am generous when it comes to giving and that is just me. I'll do anything to help anyone if it is in my capacity. Call for help, find out who can help and where it can be done if I am unable to help someone myself. The reason is that no one was fully there to open the door to me in life. When I was homeless the door that was open was not really open. I see joy in giving and the people I help are very happy - this is my satisfaction. I just give without grudging, knowing I'm in position to help a genuine need. I love peace so much that I make sure whenever anyone is out of line I make peace with the person. I learnt this from a young age when I taught myself the importance of releasing toxins. I couldn't have written "THE SOUL MENDER" if it was not the strength given to me by God. Honestly, if it had not been for the challenges in my life I would have finished writing my book in six weeks. I knew it had to be written, so I would lock myself away to find my inner strength. I tried to only use positive words and paid money to my container when I said negative things. When faced with tasks that I was unable to complete, I would delegate. Sometimes asking for help is the best solution. Oh yes, people could be very funny and laughed in my face, but I got results all the time. I just followed my heart and was led to what I needed. I don't like leaving things undone, no matter how late it is- I just get it done and move on to the next task. I make friends with people who are like mind. This is not pride but to keep me on track and not be dragged down the route I don't need. I say to anyone negative to change their words and that it can be done. If they are close relative I try my best but I don't want to be robbed of my mindset of being positive. Daily I look for what I can improve and what I can do. How can I be of help to me and pull myself up without self-pity. I ask myself what are the signals that I am sending out to the universe. I continue to look for ways to improve situation or the environment around me. I have faith and believe in all I do. Like I said, I make time to wait patiently which might be frustrating but I have things to fill the time. I know it will surely come through for me. It is by faith that I could see my book in my hands. And truly it is now on Amazon. At the beginning it was just a dream. All I do is focus and dream by being very determined too. A strong will power that I can withstand the storm in whatever situation. I follow my plans through to the letter. This way my dream and I have fulfilled it. About the Author: Elizabeth James is the author of The Soul Mender (12.99, Panoma Press) She has joint bachelors of honour in Theology and Counselling from the University of Middlesex, along with a Diploma in Law. She is a Christian counsellor, a TV host and a motivational speaker. William Shatner is being sued for $170 million by a man claiming to be his son. William Shatner Peter Sloan insists the 'Star Trek' actor is his dad after he had a brief fling with his mother, late Canadian actress Kathy McNeil, who gave him up for adoption aged five, but the 85-year-old star insists he is nothing to do with the radio host. The 59 year old has demanded William to have a DNA test, stop saying he isn't his dad and the lawsuit claims the actor "admitted he was the plaintiff's father", according to New York Post's Page Six column. Peter claims in the lawsuit, filed in Florida, that William's comment came when they met on the set of police drama TV series 'T.J. Hooker', but shortly afterwards a representative for the star contacted him and said he was "totally denying paternity at this point". He alleges the rep also told him: "Don't go public ... [as it] could be horrendous for [William]." Peter added to the publication: "I am William Shatner's son, and I just wish he would acknowledge me." But a rep for William insisted: "Mr. Shatner has three lovely daughters, but no sons ... Mr. Shatner is aware of the lawsuit, but there's nothing there because he isn't his father." William's lawyer Erik Hyman has also been in touch with Peter after he registered the internet domain petershatner.com, started hosting a radio show on CBS under the name Peter Shatner in 2011 and turned up to see William at a meet-and-greet. The attorney wrote to Peter, telling him that William is "not interested" in talking over his claims. He wrote: "Bill ... confirmed to me once again that he is not your father. There have been many people over the years who have claimed to be his children or other relatives. "He is an incredibly busy, 80-year-old man, and is not interested in spending time discussing this issue with you." Last month, William - who has three daughters, Leslie, 57, Lisabeth, 55, and 51-year-old Melanie from his first marriage to Gloria Rand - insisted he didn't have any regrets about his life. Asked what he would change about his life, he said: "Nothing. I've got a beautiful wife, three beautiful children and I've raised a large amount of money for charity [a 2,400-mile motorbike ride across country for the American Legion]. "Everything that has gone on before has made me one of the luckiest men on Earth." Britain's Prince Charles wants to visit Iran. Britain's Prince Charles The 67-year-old royal is reportedly planning to make a historical trip to the Middle Eastern country to "further encourage the relationship" between the two countries. A source told The Times newspaper: "The prince is very keen to visit Iran. He hopes he would be able to use his role as a diplomat to further encourage the relationship and dialogue between the two countries." However, a spokesperson for Clarence House insists nothing has been confirmed yet. Meanwhile, the Prince - who is heir to the throne - recently returned from a trip to the Western Balkans, which he made with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall. At an event in Serbia, he urged for "peace and stability" in the region, telling those gathered at the Parliament Building: "I want to salute all those in this region who have had the courage to cross the divide between the different communities, the different faiths and within faiths. Such heroic examples are a badly needed inspiration to others in this region and to the rest of the world at this time. "I can only assure you that Britain is with you as you build your common future. Peace and stability in this region will mean that all of us, whether in the Balkans, in the United Kingdom, or elsewhere, can enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. Together, we can build this future." Today (March 29), ITV, Syco and Thames have announced that award-winning presenter Dermot O'Leary will be back to front the new series of The X Factor later this year. Credit: ITV Previously hosting the show for eight consecutive years, Dermot will return to the show after just a year off, and he's excited to get back onboard. O'Leary said: "I'm very flattered to be asked back to The X Factor, and am currently dusting off my dancing shoes. There is nothing more exciting than hosting live TV on a Saturday night. "The show is naturally ver close to my heart, after having hosted it for eight years. I'm really looking forward to it, and excited to be back." Simon Cowell adds: "Dermot's back! Hooray! And so is his dancing! Welcome home Dermot." He's not the only favourite making a comeback this year, with the intimate room auditions also seeing aspiring stars go face-to-face with the judges in the most personal setting possible. Those hoping to win over three members of the panel can apply now via https://application.xfactor.tv/ and can audition by submitting a video or by attending a Mobile or Open Audition. This year the Open Audition Tour will visit eight cities, travelling to Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dublin, Newcastle, London, Manchester and Liverpool. If you turn up and impress the team, you'll be given the chance to audition for the judges in summer. X Factor Open Audition dates are as follows: Glasgow - Hampden Park - April 7 Birmingham - Birmingham City Football Club - April 9 and 10 Cardiff - Holland House - April 17 Dublin - 3 Arena - April 24 Newcastle - Newcastle United Football Club - April 27 London - ExCel Centre - May 1 Manchester - EventCity - May 7 Liverpool - Liverpool Convention Centre - May 14 by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on I have been plant based for about a year now and stumbled across some difficulties along the way. I thought it was only fair to let you into a few of my vegan secrets if you're new to this lifestyle and need a little guidance. Vegan on Female First Avoid convenience foods for every meal- Although convenience foods, even vegan ones are great for transitioning into the lifestyle- they're not ideal for every meal, every day. Try to recreate your favourite foods by making them from scratch rather than getting them out of a box. Buy a beginner's cook book for vegans- Even if you're not the greatest cook, start with simple dishes like soups, pastas and salads and you will probably find you want to try something more adventurous at some point. If it doesn't go well- try again or try something different. You're still learning so cut yourself some slack- mistakes are bound to happen. Watch your vitamin B12 intake- Vitamin B12 is only found in plant foods fortified with it such as plant milks, soy products and some breakfast cereals. You can either eat such fortified foods 2/3 times per day (just make sure you are getting enough) or take a supplement as a backup (check out the The Vegan Society's page on this for specific amounts). If you're unsure always ask your health care provider first. Shopping- There are some really good shops I frequent because I know that they have a wide range of vegan food and products. Superdrug's own range of beauty products are all cruelty free (they boast the leaping bunny symbol) and they are clearly marked on the back whether they are suitable for vegetarians or vegans so you don't have to do loads of research on the internet first. Asda's website is helpful as it categorises foods under 'vegan', so just type it in the search box and there are 20 or so pages of products to prepare your shopping list from. Holland and Barrett stock vegan cheese, snack bars and also mock meats so if you need to top up, I would recommend popping in there. Don't be afraid to ask- If you're going to a restaurant and it doesn't have 'vegan' clearly marked on the menu- call up beforehand or ask when you get there. Often they can tweak dishes that are vegetarian to be vegan like pizza or pasta without cheese for instance. Often the kitchen will have a breakdown of all their dishes and the allergens contained within. Do NOT feel guilty or uncomfortable- You might at first feel like an inconvenience or a burden on others who don't follow your lifestyle. There's no reason to feel bad about improving your health, helping animals to live a cruelty free life and doing you bit for the environment. You have excellent reasons for doing this so don't let anyone bring you down. Talk to people- If you're invited to a friend or family member's house- offer to take something you can eat or if they insist on providing it for you- advise them what's best to buy. Join a community- Like vegan Facebook groups, follow them on twitter and contact The Vegan Society or PETA if you have any questions. They are the expects when it comes to this way of living and are more than happy to help a newbie. Watch as many You Tube Videos and Documentaries you can gets your hands on- Stay informed- I would recommend, Glass Walls with Paul McCartney, Earthlings, Blackfish and Food Matters to get your started with your documentaries. Colleen Patrick Goudreau, Eco Vegan Gal and Gary Yourofsky, have some intelligent insights into the vegan lifestyle too. The first two ladies post videos regularly so they are good to follow to keep up with new books, news and events. You many feel the urge to eat animal products-If you're still craving animal products because you have always eaten everything with cheese or love cow's milk in your tea, watch one of PETA's exposes to remind you why you're doing this. It will keep you on track. Swap out the bad carbs for good- Switch your white pasta, rice and bread for wholegrain varieties. They have a much greater nutritional value and will help keep you fuller for longer. Replace your products gradually- It can be really expensive to switch out all of your make-up, shower and cleaning products in one go. If you have the money and want to do it this right away- go ahead- but if you're on a budget, you may need to think of a different strategy. Every time you run out of something- replace it with the vegan variety. As I said above- Superdrug is the perfect destination of your beauty stuff. Boots sell vegan friendly tampons (Veeda) and Astonish is a range of vegan and cruelty free cleaning products found in many retailers such as B and M Bargains and B and Q. There is an alternative for everything you use, so have a look around online before reaching for the same old thing when you go shopping. by Lucy Moore for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Amidst legal battle with Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut has decided to get married and she soon wants to start a family as well. She was one of those bold actresses who had a different opinion about marriage but guess Hrithik's legal tussle has changed her, Kangana now wants to start a family of her own. The actress who has been flooded with congratulatory messages on her National Award win is in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, taking some time off to meet an astrologer. She reached Joginder Nagar- 70 km away from Mandi and spent half a day with Pandit Lekhraj Sharma. Strangely she did not question much about Hrithik Roshan's legal battle. Sources revealed that she spent just 20 seconds talking about the case and said, "Woh sab toh chalta rehta hai." Love Is In The Air! Tiger Shroff Spotted On A Late Night Date With Disha Patani! The main topic of her discussion was marriage. Spotboye reported that she wanted to know when she would start a family, meaning the actress is planning to get married soon and have kids as well. The three time National Award winner also inquired about her next career move following her huge win for her performance in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. She also inquired about her mother's ill-health. Speaking about her National Award win, Kangana told a leading daily, "Yes, it is a high. For me, getting an award and recognition from the President of our country is honestly as good as it can get. I don't work for awards certainly, but as artistes we always have this fear whether our work will be remembered or not. It is such a special moment, and it's happened soon after my birthday, so I feel this is the best birthday gift ever." Well, she has a big project with Vishal Baradwaj, Rangoon and she just won one of the biggest honours in the country, what more can she ask for in life! Kudos to this gutsy girl for reaching the top! Katrina Kaif's beautiful sister Isabelle Kaif was recently spotted with Deepika Padukone's alleged ex-boyfriend Siddharth Mallya. Sid wants to pursue his career in Hollywood and has set a base in Los Angeles for the same. Isabelle Kaif too is an aspiring actor but it's not clear whether they are working together in some film or are just good friends. Isabelle Kaif is as gorgeous as her sister Katrina Kaif and earlier it was reported that just like Kat, she also wants to create a niche for herself in Bollywood. Isabelle took an acting course at Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute of New York, the same institute where Katrina Kaif's ex boyfriend, Ranbir Kapoor, too learned acting. Click On VIEW PHOTOS To See Isabelle's Adorable Pics With Sister Katrina Kaif Isabelle Kaif has six sisters and one brother. Her mother is a Caucasian of British Nationality, and her father is a Kashmiri of British Nationality. Isabelle's family lives in London. Saif Ali Khan's Daughter Sara Ali Khan To Star In Karan Johar's SOTY 2, Also See Her Beautiful Pics Earlier, it was reported that Katrina Kaif had asked ex boyfriend Salman Khan to help her sister Isabelle Kaif to establish in the glamour world. But none of the rumours were true and Isabelle is still struggling to make a mark in the B-Town. On the other hand, Siddharth Mallya is getting trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He wrote in one of his tweets, ''As acting is the career path that I have chosen, it is essential that I am as well trained as possible in order to compete in this industry.'' Well, we must say that Isabelle and Siddharth do look very hot together! Riteish Deshmukh, is one doting husband who is showering all his love on his pregnant wife Genelia D'Souza. Riteish, cannot stay a minute away from Genelia and is always spending quality time with his wife and son Riaan. Check out some lovely pictures of Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza here! A leading daily reported as, "Riteish is on his toes playing the doting husband to his pregnant wife and son Riaan. The couple was recently in Dubai for the awards ceremony and despite work commitments, he was constantly taking care of her. The actor was hosting the event and after rehearsing all night, he was spotted fetching breakfast for his better half, who wasn't feeling too well. Even during the award ceremony, he was anxious about her and kept coming down from the stage to check on her during his breaks". Absolutely Funny! 15 Pics Of Deepika Padukone Clicked When She Was Not Ready Wow! Riteish Deshmukh is simply awesome and the couple, are leading a happy and joyful life together as a family. The new born would be blessed with wonderful parents and a sibling. Riteish Deshmukh, cannot stop praising Genelia D'Souza and at every given opportunity talks highly about his wife. Riteish Deshmukh was quoted as saying, "It's amazing because she's so efficient as a mother and I'm complacent as a father. For me, it's okay... I don't need to be there because Genelia is there, taking care of everything -from giving Riaan the best food to the correct medication. My son is being taken care of, but I will be bubble-wrapping the entire house! Sometimes I feel I just want to wrap my son in a bubble to protect him against the whole world..." 10 Funny Pics Of Bollywood Celebs Clicked At The Wrong Time! Indonesian telecoms company XL Axiata sold its towers business to Profesional Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Protelindo) for Rp3.57 trillion ($267.2 million) on Monday, as the countrys fragmented towers sector continues to consolidate. The sale and leaseback of the towers is the latest of several such deals in Indonesia and across Asia as cash-strapped mobile telecom companies seek to unlock value from their balance sheets. The assets offer utility-like revenue streams. Axiata, Indonesias third-largest mobile company, is 65%-owned by Malaysias Axiata Group and invited bidders to submit tenders for 2,432 of its 6,000 towers on January 6. Each bidder was required to pay $100,000 to be involved in the process and afterwards had to put down a bid bond equal to one tenth of their bidding value, to ensure the certainty of their interest, according to a banker familiar with the sale. The process closed on March 9. Protelindos parent company Sarana Menara Nusantra offered a winning bid that values the Axiatas towers at an estimated Ebitda ratio of nine times, the highest to date for a tower deal, the banker said. He added that this was the most effective way to assess the deal because the cost is directly correlated to future earnings the business will gain from leasing the towers back to the seller. Axiata could have gone for a higher valuation but it had to consider that if it got it, this would lead to it being charged higher leasing costs after the deal, the banker said. The company has agreed to lease back the towers as an anchor tenant for 10 years. Protelindo is well placed to buy Axiatas towers due to its relatively low leverage ratio. The companys adjusted debt-to-Ebitda ratio for the 12 months to September 2015 was 3.1 times, less than half that of its biggest local rivals, analysts at Moodys estimated in a report on India and Indonesia's towers sectors, released on Tuesday. Axiata Groups share price stood at RM5.93 by the market close on Tuesday, having closed at RM5.87 on Monday. Sarana Menara Nusantras share price closed at Rp4,085 compared with Rp4,000 a day earlier. Ripe for consolidation Indonesias fragmented towers market looks ripe for further consolidation. In its report, Moodys estimates the total number of towers in Indonesia at 76,000, with the two largest tower operators, Protelindo and Tower Bersama Infrastructure, each owning and operating 12,211 and 11,291 towers. With the new acquisition Protelindos tower count rises to 14,643. Solusi Tunas Pratama comes next with 6,868 towers, followed by Mitratel with 6,800 towers. IBS Tower and Komet Infra Nusantara then have 2,185 and 1,000 towers apiece, respectively. There are also several tiny companies that own and operate 50 towers or less. Axiata has already been involved in the consolidation process. STP bought 3,500 of its towers for $460 million in 2013. And Moody's analyst Nidhi Druve expects more to come, both in Indonesia and India, "over the next two to three years as mobile telecom companies seek to raise funds to roll out or upgrade 3G or 4G networks and to reduce debt levels. Axiata was certainly a motivated seller, noting in its sales document that it wanted to raise funds to cut back on debt. The companys profit dropped to Rp25.3 billion in 2015 versus Rp803 billion the year before, largely as a result of Rp2.5 trillion in foreign exchange losses, according to the document. It also had liabilities totaling Rp44.75 trillion. Economies of scale There are also economies of scale to consider. Druve noted in the Moody's report that telecom companies see a limited strategic benefit to owning towers versus leasing them. That is particularly true in the case of Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,500 islands that is expensive and difficult to cover. Whether you are talking about two mid-sized players merging or one of the big ones buying a mid-sized company, Id expect to see further M&A, the banker familar with the Axiata sale and leaseback said. This is a scale business, so it makes sense. Protelindo would appear to agree. It reported an Ebitda margin of over 80% for the 12 months to September 2015, according to Moodys. Going forward, most attention will be drawn to the plans of Telkom and Telkomsel, the countrys leading telecom companies. They still own about 32% of the country's towers (Telkom does via towers subsidiary Mitratel), Moodys estimates, and they could potentially sell these to independent operators. Indonesia and India arent the only countries to have experienced M&A activity in the telecom towers space. In October, Chinas government dictated that its three telecom companies combine their tower assets into one company, called China Tower Corporation. Meanwhile Thailands True Corp listed its towers operations in an infrastructure fund on the Bangkok Stock Exchange via a $1.8 billion initial public offering in December 2013. XL Axiata was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the sale. Betterment may have cemented its leadership position among independent robo advice platforms with its announcement on Tuesday it has secured $100 million in its latest round of venture capital funding. "We've always known that challenging the entrenched incumbent services would require a lot of capital," says Betterment CEO Jon Stein. "This amount gets us what we need to very much build out our vision." The Series E funding round is based on a new $700 million valuation of Betterment, Stein says. The digital advice provider now counts $3.9 billion in AUM and 150,000 retail clients, and operates three business lines: retail, Betterment for Business for 401(k) plans and Betterment Institutional. Swedish investment giant Kinnevik is providing $65 million, with the remainder coming from previous VC investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners and Menlo Ventures. Stein says the firm still has much of its $60 million from its 2015 last round of funding. The newest round will go toward more feature and product development, such as its March addition of financial account aggregation tools, he notes, rather than marketing efforts. Raising the large amount was necessary, Stein says, to remain competitive against incumbent digital offerings such as Vanguard's Personal Advisor Services, which quickly tallied up $31 billion in AUM in 2015. "We knew starting this business it was going to be capital intensive, Stein says. It's one of the barriers to entry in the financial services space. The $100 million in funding was not reflective of a high cash burn rate, Stein says, adding that Betterments client acquisition cost was not at the rates experienced by competing digital platforms. (Riskalyze CEO Aaron Klein estimated general robo CAC was $825 for a customer averaging $63 in annual revenue.) We are incredibly efficient in how we acquire customers, Stein says, declining to provide details about the firms CAC. BIG ENTREE The announcement comes as industry expectations run high that robo advisors are positioned to scoop up low-account-balance IRA assets collectively worth billions from full-service wealth management firms as a result of the pending Department of Labor fiduciary rule. Having launched its 401(k) offering in January, Betterment is well-positioned to provide services to smaller broker-dealers and regional banks unable to meet the standard, says Alois Pirker, research director for Aite Group's Wealth Management practice. "I think robos in general could make a big entree into the retirement space," Pirker says. "Betterment has been making plans along those lines already. This seems to be a bet on market segmentation after the rule. We thought the gravy train of VC money had dried up, but that doesn't seem to be the case with Betterment." Stein says that a fiduciary rule's expected boon to robo firms wasn't a major factor in Kinnevik's decision to invest, but other investment firms are pursuing that theme. "There are number of firms out there trying to play that angle, and we've spoken to them," Stein says. "They believe the DoL rule will cause disruption and opportunities on the other side of the coin for firms like ours. Our view is that's interesting, but we didn't start this company because the DoL was going to make a rule." LEADING ROBO With its new $700 million valuation, Betterment is close to unicorn status a private startup valued at $1 billion or more. (In its last round of VC funding in Feb. 2015, Betterment was valued at $450 million.) Stein says Betterment still intends to go public, but hasn't set a formal date for an IPO. Industry observers were surprised by the amount Betterment was able to raise. Though fintech funding is booming a recent report from KPMG International and CB Insights noting VC investment reaching a record $13.8 billion last year much of that largesse was not expected to flow to digital advice platforms. The latest survey of CEOs by industry research firm Tiburon Strategic Partners last week found that the majority thought VC funding to online advice firms would stagnate or grow only modestly this year. "I am extremely impressed by Betterment and see them as the leading robo," says Chip Roame, Tiburon's managing partner. "I still believe Vanguard, Schwab, and others will raise significantly more AUM, but I think Betterment may be the most successful B2C robo advisor, excluding the major firms and the DC-focused robos like Financial Engines." The new round of capital almost doubles Betterment's total funding haul to date. Its main competitors among independents, Wealthfront and Personal Capital, have each raised more than $100 million in total through successive rounds. In December, Personal Capital hired New York-based private equity firm Evercore to help them with their Series E fund-raising efforts. VC FUNDING TO DRY UP "I generally believe VC funding for the robos will now dry up," Roame adds. "Betterment may be the exception. The firm has moved more aggressively in many areas consumer advertising, a financial advisors channel, and a DC offering I think the DoL might be the savior of some of the robos!" Morningstar equity analyst Michael Wong, who recently noted the DoL ruling could provide a second wind for robo platforms, suggests the announcement would have a knock-on effect in both fundraising efforts and deals by incumbents to make acquisitions or partner with digital advice providers. "This could be an interesting inflection point for the robo industry, Wong says. Stein says Betterments latest round of funding could help other digital firms positioned to partner with broker-dealers. But his firm was going to reach out to those brokers too. We are interested in partnering with some of those firms, because we do think there is an opportunity there, he says. But its not about these small accounts that these brokers cant serve. Its about how financial advice is fundamentally shifting to a much more advised model for everyone. Read more: CANTON, OH--(Marketwired - March 28, 2016) - Rodney Napier, founder and Chairman of children's charity The Granted Wish Foundation, is proud to announce the recent appointment of United States Army Major Margaret DeLillo-Storey to its Board of Governors. Also reelected to the Board are Reverend Michael Balash, Jay D. Spencer, and Stefanie Coletti. Currently the Dean of Students at Perry High School, Margaret DeLillo-Storey has had a long career in mental health and the armed forces. After obtaining a Doctorate in Clinical Counseling, she planned to be a military psychologist for returning veterans of the US army. Instead, she became a civilian clinical counselor, where she specialized in post-traumatic stress disorder among teenagers and young adults. That passion led her to become a founding member of the Stark County Traumatized Child Task Force, district mental health counselor for Perry Local Schools, where she attended as a child. Here, she serves any student who may exhibit the need for counseling. It is this knowledge and expertise that makes her ideal to join Rodney Napier's The Granted Wish Foundation, created to help physically challenged children and young adults. "Our organization works with hundreds of children every day," says Rodney Napier. "I am so grateful that Margaret DeLillo-Storey will be able to bring her experience and understanding of young minds, in our efforts to fulfill the dreams of more children in the future." Based in Canton, Ohio, The Granted Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization created in 2005 designed to care and provide for physically challenged children who otherwise may not have the means to care for themselves. Over the past decade, it has fulfilled the dreams of hundreds of children. Other programs within the non-profit include 'Rosalie's House' and 'Adopt-A-Family'. Learn more about supporting The Granted Wish Foundation by visiting their website, www.grantedwish.org or emailing scoletti@grantedwish.org Rodney Napier -- Business Leader and Philanthropist: http://rodneynapiernews.com Rodney Napier -- Announces The Granted Wish Foundation's Achievement of Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSnMKWpJ0HSa+1d6+MKW20160322 Rodney Napier -- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rodney-Napier-421618031364615 Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/3/29/11G089389/Images/Rodney_Napier_-_Announces_Addition_To_the_Board_of-b988c4ba5b589b99a64abf858c62bc2d.jpg PR Agency Contact: ICMediaDirect.com 1.800.595.0821 www.ICMediaDirect.com SUNNYVALE (dpa-AFX) - Yahoo Inc (YHOO) has set an April 11 deadline to submit preliminary bids for its core web business and Asian assets, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Yahoo advisers asked to submit proposals for their bids, including what assets they hope to acquire and for what price, the report said, citing a letter sent to possible buyers in recent days Yahoo also asked bidders details regarding financing, conditions or approvals that would have to be met on their end, and what key assumptions they would be making by deciding to move forward with a deal, the report stated. A deadline for preliminary bids in April could mean that Yahoo could close a deal by June or July, when Yahoo is expected to hold its annual shareholder meeting and vote on proxy proposals, the report specified. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has held discussions with private-equity firms about helping to finance a buyout, the report added. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Affymetrix Inc. (AFFX) has determined that the unsolicited merger proposal submitted by Origin Technologies Corp. on March 22, 2016 does not constitute a Superior Proposal, and has recommended against that deal. The company is encouraging stockholders to vote for the proposed merger with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) at the upcoming Special Meeting of Affymetrix stockholders, which is scheduled on March 31, 2016. Affymetrix signed an agreement in January of this year to be acquired by Thermo Fisher for $14 a share in cash, or a purchase price of approximately $1.3 billion. On March 21, 2016, Origin Technologies, a newly created shell entity formed by a group of former Affymetrix executives, offered to buy Affymetrix for $16.10 per share in cash, equivalent to a total value of $1.5 billion. With Affymetrix turning down the takeover offer, Origin, on March 22, 2016, raised its offer to $17.00 per share from its earlier offer of $16.10 per share in cash. After engaging in talks with Origin, this is what Affymetrix had to say, 'While the Board found the $3.00 per share premium offered in the Origin Proposal, taken by itself, to be attractive, the Board found the risks to initiating and consummating a potential transaction with Origin outweighed the potential benefit of a higher offer from Origin'. AFFX closed Monday's trading at $14.10, down 5.56%. Shares of Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (ALDR) rose more than 49% on Monday, following positive top-line data from two clinical trials evaluating ALD403 for migraine prevention. A phase 2b study of patients with chronic migraine demonstrated that ALD403 acted rapidly and prevented migraine over the entire 12 week study period, meeting both primary and secondary efficacy endpoints. A phase I study demonstrated that the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics by intravenous (IV), subcutaneous (SC) or intramuscular (IM) injection of ALD403 support a quarterly single injection dosing strategy. ALDR closed Monday's trading 49.59% higher at $25.70. In after-hours, the stock was up another 4.47% to $26.85. Shares of Apricus Biosciences Inc. (APRI) plunged over 54% to touch a new low of $0.61 on Monday as the company's investigational drug Fispemifene failed to achieve statistical significance in key clinical benefit endpoints in a phase 2b proof-of-concept study in men with secondary hypogonadism and sexual dysfunction. According to the study results, while Fispemifene at 450mg demonstrated statistically significant improvements in total, percent free and percent bioavailable testosterone compared to placebo, the magnitude of the increase was not sufficient to achieve statistical significance for either the erectile function primary endpoint or low libido secondary endpoint. APRI closed Monday's trading at $0.71, down 47.21%. In after hours, the stock was up 3.52% to $0.73. Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (ARLZ) (ARZ.V) New Drug Application for YOSPRALA for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients at risk for aspirin-induced gastric ulcers has been accepted for review by the FDA. The regulatory agency's decision on YOSPRALA is set for September 14, 2016. ARLZ closed Monday's trading at $3.72, up 3.91%. KemPharm Inc. (KMPH) is all set to initiate human clinical trials of KP511 in the second quarter of 2016. KP511 is being developed as an abuse-deterrent, extended-release (ER) prodrug for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatments are inadequate (KP511/ER). The company plans to seek approval of KP511/ER under Section 505(b) (2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act with an anticipated New Drug Application submission as early as 2018. KMPH closed Monday's trading at $14.67, down 3.80%. Merit Medical Systems Inc. (MMSI) has received FDA clearance for Corvocet Biopsy System, which is intended for use in obtaining core biopsy samples from the liver, kidney, prostate, breast, lung and various other soft tissue tumors. The Corvocet Biopsy System marks Merit's first entry into the biopsy market, and is scheduled to be introduced in the United States over the next thirty days or so, with European release following receipt of the CE mark. MMSI closed Monday's trading at $17.71, up 0.80%. Neothetics Inc.'s (NEOT) LIPO-202, which failed to meet co-primary composite and secondary endpoints in phase III trials for the reduction of central abdominal bulging, is now being developed in a modified formulation. Consequently, the company plans to initiate a phase 2 trial with a modified formulation of LIPO-202 in the third quarter of 2016 for the reduction of central abdominal bulging, and topline data are anticipated in first quarter of 2017. Neothetics also plans to initiate a phase II proof of concept study of LIPO-202 for the reduction of localized fat deposits under the chin (submental fat) in the third quarter of 2016, which the company anticipates having top-line data from by year end 2016. In order to put a lid on expenses, following the failure of phase III trials, the company has reduced its headcount from 17 to 9 [full-time] employees. NEOT closed Monday's trading at $0.58, down 16.21%. Puma Biotechnology Inc. (PBYI) now plans to submit its New Drug Application for the approval of Neratinib for the treatment of extended adjuvant breast cancer that has previously been treated with a trastuzumab-containing regimen in mid-2016. This is the third delay for filing the Neratinib NDA. On July 22, 2014, the company had announced it planned to file for regulatory approval of Neratinib in the first half of 2015. On December 2, 2014, the company announced that it intended to delay its proposed timeline for filing the NDA until the first quarter of 2016. Puma has recently conducted a series of meetings and communications with the FDA, with the purpose of providing the regulatory agency with the data from Neratinib's non-clinical and clinical development programs that will form the basis of the company's NDA for Neratinib. PBYI closed Monday's trading at $35.37, down 4.35%. In after hours, the stock was down 11.68% to $31.24. The FDA has turned down Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (TKPYY.OB) and H. Lundbeck A/S's supplemental new drug application for Brintellix in treating certain aspects of cognitive dysfunction in Major Depressive Disorder. Last month, an FDA panel had voted 8 to 2 in support of the companies' claim of effectiveness of Brintellix in the additional indication. Therefore, the FDA giving thumbs down to the label update of Brintellix comes as a disappointment to the two companies which were expecting a regulatory nod. The FDA approved Brintellix on September 30, 2013 for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adults. The drug raked in sales of $95 million in 2015. TKPYY.OB closed Monday's trading at $24.10, up 0.79%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Valartis Group AG / Valartis Group to sell Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG to Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. . Processed and transmitted by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Valartis Finance Holding AG is to sell Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG to Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd., Hong Kong, within the framework of a Share Purchase Agreement. Valartis Finance Holding AG in Liechtenstein is the Liechtenstein-based finance holding of Valartis Group AG, Baar, Switzerland and holds 70 percent of the capital and 89 percent of the votes in Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG. The transaction is subject to approvals by the competent corporate bodies and by the Financial Market Authority (FMA) Liechtenstein and to other customary conditions. Closing is expected to occur by the end of the second quarter of 2016. The agreed sales price of 70 percent of Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG totals CHF 77.7 million (subject to possible adjustments pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement). From such amount and at closing of the sale, Valartis Finance Holding AG will repay outstanding credit liabilities, including interest and credit costs, amounting to CHF 43.2 million to Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG. The remaining purchase price is intended to be used to further reduce the debt and to satisfy liquidity requirements of the Group. With the successful closing of the sales of the Group's two private banks in Austria and Liechtenstein the divestments required for the recovery of Valartis Group AG and Valartis Finance Holding AG will have been achieved (see passage Valartis Group AG below). The Board of Directors of Valartis Group AG and of Valartis Finance Holding AG will continue to work towards the swift implementation of the recovery plans with a view to terminating the deferment of bankruptcy in Liechtenstein and the moratorium in Switzerland as soon as possible and to recover fully by the end of the process. Continuity for clients and employees Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. intends to keep the existing management members and employees who will continue to provide private banking, investment and fund management advisory services. Valartis Group AG The divestment of Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG is an integral part of Valartis Group AG's and Valartis Finance Holding AG's recovery plans (see Media Releases dated 16 November and 23 November 2015). The recovery plans include divestment of the Group's two private banks in Austria and Liechtenstein. In the case of Valartis Bank (Austria) AG, signing of sales contracts took place on 21 December 2015 within the framework of an asset deal, and closing is expected to occur by the end of the first quarter of 2016. The moratorium on Valartis Group AG in Switzerland will end on 23 May 2016, thus before the Liechtenstein transaction is expected to be closed. Valartis Group AG intends to request the Cantonal Court of Zug to grant a six-month extension of the current moratorium until 23 November 2016. The deferral of bankruptcy granted to Valartis Finance Holding AG is currently scheduled to expire on 28 June 2016 and a further deferral may have to be applied for. This will establish the preconditions required for the successful conclusion of the recovery plans within the extended time limits. The successful completion of transactions for both private banks is an essential pre-requisite for successful recovery and, thus, for the termination of the moratorium on Valartis Group AG in Switzerland and the cancellation of bankruptcy deferment for Valartis Finance Holding AG in Liechtenstein, respectively. Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. (former China Haidian Holdings Ltd.) has been listed in the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 1991. The company manufactures and sells globally renowned proprietary watch brands as well as international non-proprietary brands in China. This transaction is an excellent opportunity for Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. to take a majority stake ownership in a private bank in the Principality of Liechtenstein and enables the company from Hong Kong to provide a full range of banking services. It will serve as an excellent platform for Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. to expand such services internationally. Hon Kwok Lung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd.: The acquisition of Valartis Bank (Liechtenstein) AG will help us to achieve our vision to diversify our business segments into banking, investment advisory and fund management services. Such business segments will generate sustainable revenue and profit for Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. Stephan Haberle, Member of the Board of Directors and Group CEO of Valartis Group AG: The Board of Directors and Group Executive Management of Valartis Group welcome this transaction. We are convinced that the divestment to Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd. is a solid, long-term solution for the bank in Liechtenstein. We are pleased to have found a partner with a strong background and professional management who will continue to offer the bank's employees a sustainable development potential. Agenda Results media conference 2016 7 June 2016, at latest General Meeting 2016 28 June 2016 For further information, please contact: Kim-My Schefer, Head Corporate Communications & Marketing, Valartis Group AG Tel. +41 44 503 54 02, corporate.communications@valartis.ch (mailto:corporate.communications@valartis.ch) Chi Wah Fong, CFO, Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd., Tel. +852 2275 3706 Lai Lam, CEO Assistant, Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Ltd., Tel. +852 2275 3761 Valartis Group Valartis Group is today an international finance group with offices in Switzerland, Vienna and Liechtenstein as well as in Luxembourg and Moscow. Valartis Group AG (Baar, Switzerland) is listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. Operations include the fields Corporate Finance, Private Equity and Real Estate Management together with holdings in the financial services sector. www.valartisgroup.ch (http://www.valartisgroup.ch) Press release (PDF) (http://hugin.info/143135/R/1997766/736585.pdf) Fujitsu Limited Public and Investor Relations Tel: +81-3-3215-5259 URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/ Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. ICT Systems Laboratories Server Technologies Lab E-mail: Retimer_ISSCC2015@ml.labs.fujitsu.com TOKYO, Mar 29, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Vietnam Limited (collectively, "Fujitsu"), and Acecook Co., Ltd. and Acecook Vietnam JSC announced that they have agreed to build a shared distribution-information system that Japanese companies doing business in Vietnam can use for high-quality local distribution. Before the system goes into shared use, Fujitsu Vietnam Limited and Acecook Vietnam JSC, the respective Vietnam subsidiaries, will carry out system trials using the distribution network of Acecook Vietnam, which boasts the largest share in the local instant noodles market, with Fujitsu Vietnam handling system operations. After the system's effectiveness has been validated, it is expected to go into full-scale operation in March 2017.Until now, Japanese companies doing business in Vietnam have had no option other than to entrust distribution to local companies, which has provided little opportunity to take the initiative to make improvements. Under this agreement, the partners will build a system for capturing data from contracted local carriers, including vehicle infrastructure and trip logs. This data can then be used by the shared distribution-information system to plan vehicle dispatching more efficiently and track progress, with the aim of improving vehicle utilization and vehicle capacity utilization, in addition to reducing distribution costs. Fujitsu Vietnam and Acecook Vietnam will encourage use of this system in Vietnam by Japanese companies, and Fujitsu and Acecook will evaluate its effectiveness in other ASEAN nations, such as Myanmar, to help improve distribution throughout the ASEAN region.BackgroundWith Vietnam and other economies in the ASEAN region attracting attention as growth markets, more and more Japanese companies are looking at doing business there, but distribution is entirely in the hands of local companies. Carriers in Vietnam manage nearly all their data management, including dispatch planning and logistics, by hand, and Japanese affiliates receive only notification of a delivery, with no way to make improvements on their own initiative.Acecook Vietnam moves some 3 billion instant-noodle meals per year, giving it Vietnam's leading share of revenue in that market. To service this demand, the company has seven distribution centers throughout the country, from which 400-500 trucks make deliveries every day. The ability to make plans and give directions to efficiently carry the most products with the fewest trucks, and to track the delivery status of trucks in real time, including their locations and progress, would reduce costs and increase the quality of the distribution process.To address these issues, Fujitsu and Acecook have agreed to build a shared distribution-information system that will bring low-cost, high-quality distribution to Vietnam.Company RolesFujitsu has been providing systems for front-line support to the distribution industry since the 1990s, and has deployed these systems to some 550 companies. Today, it gathers and analyzes data generated in the field to help its customers optimize their logistics operations. For this project in Vietnam, Fujitsu is building a shared distribution-information system based on its own FUJITSU Logistics Solution Logifit series, which will be operated by Fujitsu Vietnam.Acecook Vietnam will collaborate with Fujitsu in developing the shared distribution-information system, and will begin trial operations in June 2016 to assess its use in Ho Chi Minh City. Acecook Vietnam will confirm the system's ability to prepare efficient dispatch plans for product deliveries, to track delivery status, and to control distribution costs, and will use the system to increase vehicle utilization and vehicle capacity utilization, as well as to reduce distribution costs.After the system has been tested for practicality, Fujitsu Vietnam and Acecook Vietnam will seek Japan-based companies to use the system, and will offer the system jointly.Overview of Shared Distribution-Information System1. Improved distribution qualityThis system, prioritizing load and delivery conditions, will determine optimal routes based on data such as shipment instructions, recipient requirements, and road information, and will automatically generate dispatch plans optimized to increase vehicle utilization and vehicle capacity utilization. In addition, smartphones carried by drivers will update the system on their location and status so that Acecook Vietnam can track their progress in real time and give directions as appropriate. This will result in efficient deliveries based on optimized dispatch plans and higher quality distribution, with more accurate delivery time windows and fewer delivery errors.2. Reduced distribution costsWhile the current system in Vietnam has each plant or center handling vehicle allocation individually, this system will centralize that process to generate plans that increase round-trip capacity utilization and increase vehicle utilization, avoiding wasteful vehicle allocations and reducing distribution costs.Future PlansFujitsu Vietnam and Acecook Vietnam will test the effectiveness of this system, with the goal of incrementally rolling it out starting in March 2017.Building the shared distribution-information system based on the massive quantities that Acecook Vietnam delivers, the system is expected to reduce the cost of distribution for Acecook Vietnam's distribution and make it more sophisticated, and to attract widespread use by helping solve some of the issues faced by other Japanese-operated companies doing business in Vietnam.Furthermore, Fujitsu and Acecook will study the potential for bringing the system to Myanmar and other ASEAN nations.About Fujitsu LtdFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 159,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702; ADR:FJTSY) reported consolidated revenues of 4.8 trillion yen (US$40 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.* Please see this press release, with images, at:http://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/Source: Fujitsu LtdContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Bouygues SA (BOUYY.PK) has called a board meeting Wednesday to discuss a potential sale of its telecom unit to Orange SA, Les Echos newspaper reported. Lawyers and other executives at both companies are negotiating round the clock as top officials of both companies have said the negotiations would end by the end of this month, the paper reported. According to the report, Bouygues and Orange have been negotiating a merger for the past several weeks. Under the framework of a possible deal, former telecom monopoly Orange would buy Bouygues Telecom for 10 billion euros in shares and cash. Orange would then sell a large part of Bouygues Telecom's assets to rival telecom operators. 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. Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (further - ESO), identification code 304151376, registered office placed at Aguonu str. 24, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania. The total number of registered ordinary shares issued by company is 894 630 333; ISIN code LT0000130023.On 29 March 2015 the Ordinary General Meeting of AB LESTO Shareholders approved AB LESTO group's Annual Financial Statements, Annual Report and Independent Auditor's Report for the year 2015.During 2015, a power distribution company LESTO was increasing investment into modernisation of its electricity distribution network and improving the network reliability indicators. Furthermore, having improved its efficiency last year, the Company contributed to achieving more favourable electricity prices in 2016 - the weighted average price for distribution services decreased by more than 1 %.In 2015, the net profit of LESTO accounted for EUR 72.5 million. While the net loss of LESTO in 2014 was reported at EUR 164.6 million, after having adjusted according to the results of long-term property, plant and equipment value estimation.During 2015, the Company transmitted to its customers 8.529 TWh of electricity, i.e. 1.6 % more than in 2014. The proceeds from the transmission operations account for 2/3 of the total income of LESTO. In 2015, the revenue of the power distribution company LESTO were reported at EUR 581.8 million, by 10.6% down from 2014. The Company's revenues decreased mostly due to lower electric energy prices in 2015.In 2015, LESTO generated EUR 124.8 million EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation), 3.1 % less than in 2014. In the course of the period being compared the EBITDA margin increased by 1.65 percentage points up to 21.46 %.Last year, the Company's investment into the network modernisation and development was reported at EUR 117.6 million, up by 15.9 % as compared to 2014. As compared to 2014, the largest increase, i.e. by 53.1 %, up to EUR 57.1 million, was recorded in the investment in the reconstruction and upgrading of low voltage network.'The consistently increased investment into modernisation of electricity distribution network enabled the Company to ensure better quality of the services to the customers. This is also reflected in the improved customer satisfaction indicator which last year improved by 4 points, and was recorded at 80. Now having merged the electricity and gas distribution operators and using smart technologies, we will have a unique possibility to offer to our customers even more centrally provided services - even more reliable services able to meet new needs of our customers, a simplified and faster electricity and gas inlet', says Liudas Liutkevicius, Chairman of the Board and the CEO of AB Energijos skirstymo operatorius (ESO).In 2015, the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) with the impact of force majeure per single customer decreased by 37.51 min to 106.53 min. The system average interruption frequency index taking into account the force majeure impact (SAIFI) during the period being compared decreased from 1.29 to 1.06 times.The electricity acquisition and related services costs in the course of the year decreased by 14.8 % to EUR 373.8 million. The largest contributors to the improvements were lower electricity acquisition at the exchange costs, lower prices for electricity transmission and systemic services.Last year LESTO provided the network access or the power increase service to 28.5 thousand customers, by 7.8 % more than in 2014. The permissible power of the equipment connected by customers was 386.9 kW, i.e. by 15.2 % higher than in 2014. For the first time, there were 17.6 thousand customers connected to the network, i.e. 0.65 % more than in 2014, and the permissible power of the objects was by 6.73 % higher than in previous years.A new company Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius (ESO) was established on the basis of a power supply and distribution company LESTO and natural gas distribution company Lietuvos Dujos. ESO started its operations since 1 January 2016.Representative for Public Relations Martynas Burba, tel. (8~5) 2514516.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=553467 LONDON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- UK investment media platform, Master Investor Ltd, announces the start of an event partnership with investment research firm, Edison Edison, the international equity advisory firm, will bring its extensive network of clients and services to the UK's premier investment event. On Saturday 23rd April, thousands of private investors will descend upon the Business Design Centre, Islington, London, for the Master Investor Show 2016. Edison, global investment research specialists, will partner the event and exhibit alongside some of their clients. A record-breaking 9,000 delegates are expected to attend, making the event the biggest of its kind in the UK, and providing an active audience of investors seeking new investment opportunities. The Master Investor Show connects investors with the CEOs and founders of exhibiting companies. Companies can tap into private investors' capital to help increase liquidity in their shares or to raise new funding. Edison will exhibit at the show and showcase several of their global clients as fellow exhibitors. Edison's team of 100 analysts and investment professionals provide advisory services to more than 400 clients globally. Event organisers can offer Edison, and its exhibiting clients, well-matched exposure to 9,000 private investors. In turn, event delegates can receive access to Edison's global investor community, expertise in bespoke research services and EdisonTV, offering a digital way to communicate with investors. Swen Lorenz, CEO of Master Investor, said: "The Master Investor Show is the UK's largest retail investor event. Edison has more listed companies as clients than any other independent investment research provider in Europe. It was a natural fit." Fraser Thorne, managing director at Edison said: "We are delighted to partner with Master Investor, which complements our solutions to target the retail investor perfectly and provides an excellent opportunity for Edison clients to connect with private investors at the leading UK event in this area." The Master Investor Show 2016 promises to be the most successful in its 14-year history. 95% of exhibitor space is now sold out. High-profile finance stars such as entrepreneur, Jim Mellon, and Radio 4 presenter, Paul Lewis, will deliver keynote talks throughout the day. To register a free ticket, visit http://www.masterinvestor.co.uk/show About Master Investor Ltd. Master Investor is a free Internet platform, incorporating a monthly e-magazine with 65,000 readers, which delivers independent, financial commentary and analysis to UK private investors and traders. In 2015 a new management team relaunched the Master Investor brand and product portfolio with the backing of Jim Mellon, one of the UK's best-known financiers. About Edison Edison is an international equity research firm with a team of over 110 analysts, investment and roadshow professionals and works with both large and smaller capitalised companies, blue chip institutional investors, wealth managers, private equity and corporate finance houses to support their capital markets activity. Edison provides services to more than 400 retained corporate and investor clients from offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney and Wellington. Edison isauthorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. http://www.masterinvestor.co.uk http://www.facebook.com/masterinvestor http://www.twitter.com/masterinvestor Media enquiries:james.hudson@masterinvestor.co.uk HANOVER, Germany, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei has presented itsExcellent Training Partner Awards to Core Education B.V., a training institute from the Netherlands, and K Labs, an Italian training institute. Max Munnich, a lecturer from Core Education B.V., and Marco Grimand, a lecturer from K Labs, won the Gold Medal Lecturer award, the highest annual Huawei award in the area of talent development, for their excellent performance in 2015. The award ceremony took place during CeBIT 2016 in Hannover, Germany on March 16. Han Xiao, President of Huawei's Enterprise Technical Service Department, presented the awards to the winners. Mr. Han Xiao said, "The rapid development of the ICT industry depends on competent talents. ICT talent cultivation is a long-term job that calls for active participation and collaboration of excellent training service providers. Huawei will strengthen its cooperation with partners to deliver high-value certification and training service to help develop theICT talents needed by the industry." The rapidly growing ICT industry has set high requirements on the knowledge and skills of ICT professionals, who are expected to possess integrated knowledge and multidisciplinary skills. According to official data from Huawei, more than 300,000 people have received ICT training from Huawei and its training partners around the world. After passing the corresponding certification exams, trainees will receive all kinds of Huawei certificates, includingHuawei Certified Network Associate (HCNA), Huawei Certified Network Professional (HCNP), and Huawei Certified Internetwork Expert (HCIE). Leon Meijs, Director of Core Education, expressing thanks to Huawei as well as appreciationof the collaboration between two companies, commented, "Huawei has the most comprehensive product line in the ICT industry. The collaboration with Huawei has allowed us to deliver training service to develop the ICT talents needed by the industry." Lorenzo Passarini, Director of K Labs, also thanked Huawei for recognizing the efforts of his company. "My team and I are very happy to receive this award. In the future, we will continue to improve the quality and efficiency of our training service and collaborate with Huawei in more areas to create more value for our customers," Lorenzo Passarini said. Huawei Authorized Learning Partners (HALPs) have played an inseparable role in the rapid growth of Huawei's certification service. Huawei has 260 HALPs around the world who deliver localized training service that caters to the needs of local markets and helps Huawei's local channel partners build up their technical abilities. Looking ahead, Huawei will provide more training courses that match the technological development trends of the ICT industry and build a more open ICT certification system. In this process, training partners will play an even more significant role and contribute to the construction of a talent ecosystem for the ICT industry. About Huawei Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. For more information, please visit Huawei online at http://www.huawei.com. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Chip maker Micron Technology Inc. (MU) is scheduled to release its second-quarter results after the bell on March 30, with analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimating a loss of $0.08 per share on revenue of $3.05 billion. Analysts' estimate typically exclude certain special items. Despite current market conditions and challenging financial performance in the last quarter, the company believes it remains confident and is focused on deploying its advanced technology in order to drive enhanced operational leverage for the company. Micron is known for its memory chips such as DRAM, NAND and NOR Flash that are used in computers. It also makes memory chips for smartphones, as well as solid-state drives. Reflecting on market conditions, the company believes that DRAM industry bit supply growth will be in a low 20% range in 2016, in line with demand and that industry fundamentals will remain healthy over the long-term. Demand continues to diversify driven by the mobile cloud server and embedded segments, which together balance maturing PC demand. Looking on to the NAND market, the company expects price competition in client SSDs and eMCPs to continue into the second quarter. In the previous quarter, the company reported a 79% plunge in profit, reflecting a double-digit decline in revenues on weak demand in chips and lower selling prices. However, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations, while revenues missed their estimates. The company's first-quarter net income was $206 million or $0.19 per share, down sharply from $1.00 billion or $0.84 per share in the same period of last year. Non-GAAP net income was $249 million or $0.24 per share compared to $399 million or $0.37 per share in the prior year period. Net sales for the quarter declined 27% to $3.35 billion from $4.57 billion in the prior year on lower DRAM average selling prices. Analysts expected earnings of $0.23 per share on revenues of $3.46 billion for the quarter. 'While conditions in some market segments are challenging, we believe long-term industry fundamentals are healthy, and we remain focused on the deployment of our advanced DRAM and 3D NAND technologies and products,' said Micron CEO Mark Durcan. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de In the annual report for 2015 released on 4 February 2016, DONG Energy announced that the Hejre project continues to be in a challenging situation and that first oil in 2017 is no longer the likely scenario. Since then, DONG Energy has worked closely with our partner Bayerngas Norge (Bayerngas) and the suppliers to determine the best way forward for the project.A key challenge for the project has been that the supplier consortium consisting of Technip France and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering has not been able to meet its contractual commitments under the EPC contract on the Hejre platform. This has, among other things, resulted in significant delays in the completion of the Hejre project.DONG Energy and Bayerngas no longer have confidence in the supplier consortium's ability to deliver the platform and hold the consortium in material breach of its contractual obligations. On this basis, DONG Energy and Bayerngas Norge have today given notice to terminate the EPC contract with the supplier consortium for cause with immediate effect. This means that the platform will not be completed and that the Hejre project in its current form will be stopped.DONG Energy and Bayerngas have agreed that DONG Energy will be controlling the termination process towards the supplier consortium on behalf of the Hejre project. As such, DONG Energy will assume potential financial up- and downsides related to the EPC contract and termination process towards the supplier consortium.DONG Energy and Bayerngas will now jointly assess alternative ways for the development of the Hejre field. As such, no first oil production date for the Hejre field can be provided at present. DONG Energy and Bayerngas will work closely with the Danish authorities in the process going forward.David B. Cook, Executive Vice President in DONG Energy, said: "DONG Energy and Bayerngas have today decided to terminate the contract for the Hejre platform due to the supplier consortium's material breach in meeting its contractual obligations under the EPC contract for the design and construction of the Hejre platform. We'll now take a step back to jointly evaluate the best way forward for the Hejre field."The information provided in this announcement is not expected to result in additional impairment losses (including provisions) relating to the Hejre project and does not change DONG Energy's previous financial guidance for the 2016 financial year.For additional information, please contact:Media Relations Ulrik Frhlke +45 99 55 95 60Investor Relations Henrik B. Lund +45 99 55 91 91This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any shares or other securities of DONG Energy A/S or affiliates thereof. The announcement is not directed to any person resident in any jurisdiction in which the submission or distribution of this announcement would contravene the law of such jurisdiction. This announcement may not be distributed to persons resident in any such jurisdiction. Accordingly this announcement may not be distributed in any jurisdiction outside Denmark if such distribution would require any registration, qualification or other requirement. Any person acquiring possession of this announcement is expected and assumed to obtain on his or her own accord any necessary information on any applicable restrictions and to comply with such restrictions.DONG Energy is one of the leading energy groups in Northern Europe, headquartered in Denmark. Around 6,700 ambitious employees are engaged in developing, constructing and operating offshore wind farms; generating power and heat from our power stations; providing energy to residential and business customers on a daily basis; and producing oil and gas. Group revenue was DKK 71bn (EUR 9.5bn) in 2015. For further information, see www.dongenergy.comAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=553503 BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - CNinsure Inc (CISG), a Chinese online-to-offline financial services provider, announced Tuesday that its president and co-founder Qiuping Lai, aged 62, has retired from the Company and the board of directors. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of the Company, has been elected to fill the vacancy on the Board created by Lai's retirement as an executive director. The resignation and appointment became effective March 27. Wang joined CNinsure in 1998 and has been CNinsure's chief executive officer since October 2011. From 1998 to 2011, he held various managerial positions in CNinsure. Lai is the co-founder of CNinsure and has served as the president and director of the Company since 2004. Yinan Hu, Chairman of CNinsure, stated, 'Qiuping has made tremendous contributions to CNinsure's development and success since we founded it together in 1998...' 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. DUBLIN, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Oculus VR has finally begun shipment of its first consumer-ready headset, with the first of the pre-orders expected to arrive mid-week. The company shot to prominence in 2012 when its Kickstarter campaign raised $2.4 million from nearly 10,000 backers. Two years later, Facebook bought Oculus for around $2 billion. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130307/600769 ) Fans who backed the original crowdfunding campaign will be the first to receive the devices, followed by those who pre-ordered headsets back in January. The $599 Rift comes with a remote, audio system, a sensor, two games and an Xbox wireless controller. There are more than 30 games available on the Oculus Store and, according to reports, the company plans to add feature-length movies and a variety of other content soon. The market for these head-mounted displays is expected to be worth $15.25 billion by 2020. It's being driven by an increased demand for HMDs in global gaming, where mobile-integrated VR headsets offer benefits such as portability, untethered aspect and ease of use. Smartphones and tablets are being used to extend an immersive experience in VR gaming and this is expected to result in 25.97% growth by 2019. One of the biggest criticisms of the Oculus Rift is that not many computers are capable of handling its VR applications. The ones that do range anywhere from $1,499 to $3,000. Consumers may be drawn to cheaper alternatives, with Sony's VR device an attractive option for those who already own a PlayStation console. With the HTC Vive set to be released in less than a week, and a slew of other companies lining up releases, this year is expected to be a big one for virtual reality devices. This overall VR market is projected to continue growing at a massive rate of 96.09% until 2019. For further information on this topic, and a full list of all related documentation, please visit the Virtual and Augmented Reality section at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/rm/NKNJ. 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. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-oculus-idUSKCN0WU1KC Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com (press%40researchandmarkets.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: +1-646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Crisis and conflict surrounding Syria will drive broader global developments in the months ahead, according to Stratfor, which just released its Second Quarter Forecast for 2016. The geopolitical intelligence and advisory firm says the protracted war in Syria remains the key to Europe's migrant crisis as well as a major complication in Turkey's internal struggles, and that Russia remains at the center of the conflict. Russia, which recently ordered a drawdown of its forces form Syria, is looking ahead to July -- when European leaders vote on Russian sanctions, and NATO members discuss an expanded security footprint along Russia's western flank. Stratfor analysts note that what Moscow fails to achieve by bringing some of its troops home from Syria will prove far more interesting than what it actually will achieve as it tries to shape negotiations elsewhere. "If anyone can turn a source of conflict into a source of leverage, it is Russia," says Stratfor Vice President of Global Analysis Reva Goujon. "Over the past quarter, Moscow demonstrated that it has the influence to both escalate and tamp down the level of violence in Syria, much like it can in eastern Ukraine." Other key global developments Stratfor predicts for the second quarter of 2016 include: A strengthening U.S. dollar will cause problems for China, leading to uncertainty that will in turn upset the U.S. economy. The Islamic State's core territory in Syria and Iraq will continue to be degraded, which in turn will heighten the terrorist threat in other places. The rise of the Islamic State in Libya will prompt an increase in foreign military involvement. Global oil markets will remain oversupplied as Iranian output comes online. The flow of migrants will be strong in Greece and increase in Italy. The security situation in Afghanistan will deteriorate as the Taliban launches its spring offensive. Stratfor's complete Second Quarter Forecast for 2016 -- along with its Annual Forecast for the year -- is now available at Stratfor.com. Past Stratfor forecasts have anticipated years in advance the Turkish resurgence, the U.S. rapprochement with Iran, the Chinese economic slowdown, Russia's resurgence in the former Soviet periphery and the political fragmentation in Europe. About Stratfor Stratfor is a geopolitical intelligence firm that provides strategic analysis and forecasting to individuals and organizations around the world. By placing global events in a geopolitical framework, we give readers a strategic advantage as they work to anticipate opportunities and better understand international developments. Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/3/28/11G089335/Images/Stratfor-Second-Quarter-Forecast-2016-graphic-9b7dd76fe7c7ac52917419e7a5e331dc.jpg Embedded Video Available: https://youtu.be/3avtbzlN3wU For more information, contact: Joshua Cook Stratfor Director of Public Relations pr@stratfor.com 512.744.4309 The first domestic Tesla Powerwall storage solution has been installed in the U.K. at a home in the southeast England county of Essex. Installed by U.K. firm SolarTherm UK, the Powerwall was retrofitted to an existing 4.5 kW rooftop PV array that uses 17 SolarEdge power optimizers and a SolarEdge SE4000 inverter as part of the Israeli company's StorEdge solution. Completed on March 22, the install was the first of its kind in the U.K. as the domestic solar market shifts from the surging growth that has characterized it over the past two years to one of greater self-consumption and storage of solar energy. The installation of the StorEdge and Tesla Powerwall took four hours, Matthew Jackson, installation manager for SolarTherm UK, told pv magazine. "The installation required just two installers, and the design followed a survey by our in-house surveyor, who compiled ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The referendum on the United Kingdom's membership in the EU is the most significant near-term domestic risks to financial stability, the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England said Tuesday. The FPC judged that the outlook for financial stability has deteriorated since it last met in November 2015. The bank today published the record of the FPC meeting held on March 23. Risks associated with domestic credit are no longer subdued, and global risks, which can also affect UK exposures indirectly, are heightened, the bank said. The effect of uncertainty has been most marked in forex markets, both in spot and options. 'Looking ahead, heightened and prolonged uncertainty has the potential to increase the risk premia investors require on a wider range of UK assets,' the FPC said. The bank also cautioned that the impact of a decision of the U.K. to withdraw from the EU could spill over to the euro area, driving up risk premia and further diminishing the prospects for growth there. The BoE plans to set the countercyclical capital buffer at about 1 percent in the standard risk environment. This will increase transparency and sharpen the incentives of the buffer system. The BoE also published a consultation paper seeking views on conditions regarding buy-to-let mortgage contracts. The Prudential Regulation Authority proposed to prevent a marked loosening in buy-to-let underwriting standards and to curtail inappropriate lending. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- VeloCloud Networks Inc., the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company, today announced that Steve Woo, VeloCloud Co-founder and VP of Products, has been selected to present on a panel titled "After MPLS -- Experiences and Lessons from Moving Traffic to the Internet" at the WAN Summit New York next week. The panel will be held at 9:35 am EDT on April 5 in the Current Event Center at Chelsea Piers. The decade plus dominance of the all-MPLS WAN is waning and hybrid WANs, including dedicated Internet access and business broadband, are increasingly common. This session will explore experiences from carriers, vendors, and end-users on why they moved traffic to the Internet and what they learned along the way. VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN enables enterprises to support application growth, network agility and simplified branch implementations while delivering optimized access to cloud services, private datacenters and enterprise applications. Global service providers are able to increase revenue, deliver advanced services and increase flexibility by delivering elastic transport, performance for cloud applications, and integrated advanced services all via a zero-touch deployment model. VeloCloud will demonstrate VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN in Booth #10 at the event. About Steve Woo Mr. Woo co-founded VeloCloud and leads product strategy. Prior to VeloCloud, he led the cloud strategy at Aerohive Networks after it acquired Pareto Networks, a cloud-based networking innovator, where he was VP of Product Management. Mr. Woo also spent time as VP of Product Management at McAfee, where he led the development of a next-generation firewall after McAfee acquired Secure Computing / Securify where he was VP of Products. Mr. Woo worked for Cisco Systems twice, after acquisitions of two companies where he was an executive (Riverhead Networks and Class Data Systems) that resulted in 50x return on investment to investors. Early in his career he worked at SynOptics Communications / Bay Networks where his product line generated $1.7 billion of cumulative revenue, and he also spent time at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Woo has an MBA and MSEE from Stanford, and a BSEE from Cornell. About VeloCloud VeloCloud, the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company and winner of Best Startup of Interop, simplifies branch WAN networking by automating deployment and improving performance over private, broadband Internet and LTE links for today's increasingly distributed enterprises. VeloCloud SD-WAN includes: a choice of public, private or hybrid cloud network for enterprise-grade connection to cloud and enterprise applications; branch office enterprise appliances and optional data center appliances; software-defined control and automation; and virtual services delivery. VeloCloud has received financing from investors including NEA, Venrock, March Capital Partners, Cisco Investments and The Fabric, and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, visit www.velocloud.com and follow the company on Twitter @VeloCloud. VeloCloud is a registered trademark of VeloCloud, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Contact: Dan Spalding Email Contact (408) 960-9297 Merchant Research Consulting, Ltd. informs that new research reports, covering various chemical markets have been recently added at its website. New Chemical Markets Research Reports Include: Caustic Soda 2016 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2020.Caustic soda production capacity in Middle East comprises just over 4% (about 4 mln tons per year), but this region has a large potential for further growth. Close vicinity to large petrochemical complexes, proximity to ports and strategic position with respect to trade routes make the Middle Eastern caustic soda industry a reliable and highly competitive supplier. On a national basis, the main players include the following countries (incl. caustic soda production capacity in metric tons per year): Saudi Arabia (1,141,000 mt/y), Iran (c. 1 mln mt/y), Qutar (730,000 mt/y) and Egypt (400,600 mt/y). On a corporate level, major production facilities are operated by Saudi Petrochemical Co (Sadaf) with 710,000 mt/y caustic soda facilities in Jubail (Saudi Arabia), Arvand Petrochemical Co and Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co Ltd (BIPC) with 660,000 mt/y and 250,000 mt/y caustic soda facilities, respectively, both in Bandar Imam (Iran). Currently, there are a number of projects that are under way in the region. For instance, Al Ghaith Industries is implementing a large 280 mt/day caustic soda project in Industrial City of Abu Dhabi to be commissioned in the 2nd quarter of 2016. Construction of new caustic soda plants permits local manufacturers to skip the phase of converting old mercury technologies and leapfrog to the best available membrane technologies provided by top manufacturers. The research report gives a detailed analysis of the caustic soda market performance as well as uncovers statistics on caustic soda production, consumption and foreign trade at various geographical scales. Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) 2016 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2020. The future of the expandable polystyrene sector is based on the production of innovative products with advanced properties and specialized functions. They should be easily customized and cater for different niche markets. For instance, Italian company Versalis develops ultra-lightweight expandable polystyrene under the brand name Extir CM Galileo. This is an innovative product employed mainly in thermal insulation systems, featuring excellent thermoinsulation properties and processability. Another lucrative direction of the expandable polystyrene sector is to develop a wide range of products with a possibility of addressing versatile needs. Therefore, Ineos produces a wide range of expandable polystyrene grades to cover all the applications from construction to packaging and serve the growing demand in various markets. Building and construction applications are the largest outlet for expandable polystyrene accounting for around two-thirds of demand. Large quantities are used to make insulation foam for closed cavity walls, roofs and floor insulation. The novel report delves deep into the EPS market scenario, explores the prevailing trends and outlines top market opportunities, challenges, drivers and restraints. Gypsum: 2016 World Market Review and Forecast. It is expected that the global gypsum industry will grow by 5% until 2019. The growth will be mainly driven by rising construction and renovation volumes. Apart from other applications, natural gypsum is especially suitable for the manufacture of cement, building plasters, dry mixes, wallboards and other gypsum products. In some of these uses it has no practical substitutes, for instance in the manufacturing of Portland cement. However, the construction volume growth demonstrates spatial and temporal dynamics, meaning that it is uneven subject to a specific region or market conditions. Gypsum manufacturers therefore have to re-adjust their production rates subject to demand fluctuations at concrete moment in time and location. For example, Canada's National Gypsum Ltd, when planning the expansion of its mining operations in Nova Scotia, has to carefully consider future demand scenarios, especially on the US market. The report is a reliable source of unique information on the performance of the world gypsum market. It offers a deep analysis of production and consumption trends, examines the factors shaping the market development. Mercury: 2016 World Market Review and Forecast.Global mercury use will continue to decline with the exception of mercury used in the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) industry. If gold prices rise, they are likely to stimulate increased demand for mercury in the small-scale gold mining industry, especially in the developing countries where workers' safety and environmental regulations are often neglected. A United Nations (UN) study recorded mercury air concentration levels in gold shops in Segovia, Colombia, to be more than 1,000 times the public exposure limits set by the World Health Organization. In an effort to stem the use of mercury for gold refining in Colombia and elsewhere, the EU banned exports in 2011 and the United States banned exports after 2012. An important trend of the mercury market development is further decline of the role of large primary mercury producers and continuous rise in the importance of secondary suppliers and recyclers, who are able to generate sufficient amounts of recycled mercury from mercury cell chlorine-caustic soda plants, commercial products, and byproduct mercury recovered from precious metals operations. Such role shifting is inevitable against the background of dwindling perspectives of primary mercury production. The research study contains a comprehensive analysis of the mercury market at different geographical levels, examines top trends, delves deep into the competitive landscape. Sodium Cyanide: 2016 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2020. The behaviour of the sodium cyanide (NaCN) market is associated with gold price dynamics, though, of course, this dependence is not full, more complex and non-linear. This association is determined by the fact that sodium cyanide is mainly used in gold and silver extraction, especially in North and South America, China and Australia, whereas in Europe and Japan, chemical manufacturing is a predominant application field in NaCN use. As gold price dynamics has been showing a downward trend since roughly 2011 (which was preceded by a massive price rise in gold prices from the early 2000s), the sodium cyanide market is likewise oriented, though gold prices within a 12-month period prior to March 2016 demonstrated a cyclical character. Therefore, downward 5-year gold price dynamics, constant increases in mining operations costs and growing concerns over health hazards of sodium cyanide application (exemplified in the International Cyanide Management Code for the Manufacture, Transport, and Use of Cyanide in the Production of Gold) form rather pessimistic scenario for the sodium cyanide market. Multiple uses of sodium cyanide might partially help in alleviating this scenario. The research study includes an in-depth analysis of the world sodium cyanide market, explores the situation in the key geographical markets and explores the competitive environment. Many other trustworthy insightful research studies exploring various chemical markets are available at Merchant Research Consulting website View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160329005867/en/ Contacts: Merchant Research Consulting, Ltd. Alena Amberly Tel: +44 (20) 7558-8740 Fax: +44 (20) 7900-3970 info@mcgroup.co.uk WAYNE, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Elemica, the leading Supply Chain Operating Network for the process industries, announces that the company, along with Adrian Gonzalez, founder and president of Adelante SCM, is hosting a North American Executive Luncheon series for supply chain and logistics professionals. The series will focus on the current constraints of working capital, carrier asset and resource capacity, complex global supply chains, and talent shortages, and how technologies that enable visibility, collaboration and automation are real game changers in the supply chain world. "There's been plenty of talk about supply chain visibility and collaboration over the years," said Adrian Gonzalez, President of Adelante SCM and Host of Talking Logistics. "Despite the talk, why haven't more companies 'walked the talk'? Why is visibility and collaboration more important than ever? How do you move up the maturity curve? These are just some of the questions I plan to explore and discuss with the attendees. I look forward to learning and networking with all of the Executive Luncheon attendees." Elemica's Executive Luncheon attendees offer an exclusive opportunity to network with an elite group of senior logistics and supply chain leaders. Discussions will also center around how a Supply Chain Operating Network will help businesses benchmark performance against competitors and identify strategies to access high-quality data about a company's shipments, enabling them to better manage by exception (reduce labor), address problems more quickly (reduce premium freight spend), manage inventory more tightly (improve working capital) and delight customers (sell more). "As supply chains extend globally, they become more complex, with the flow of supplies, finished goods, and information widely distributed, presenting significant challenges across the entire supply chain network," said Ed Rusch, VP Corporate Marketing of Elemica. "Businesses need to gain visibility across their end-to-end supply chains to collectively sense and properly respond to real-time market events, to optimize working capital for greater profitability, and to increase operational efficiencies and collaboration to meet customer delivery requirements. I'm delighted that Adrian will be facilitating our luncheons and presenting on these business critical topics." Adrian Gonzalez is a trusted advisor and leading industry analyst with more than 17 years of research experience in transportation management, logistics outsourcing, global trade management, social media, and other supply chain and logistics topics. In addition, Adrian created Talking Logistics, an online weekly talk show and blog featuring Adrian interviewing Thought Leaders and Newsmakers in the supply chain and logistics industry. Event details for each city are below. Space is limited. To register, visit: http://www.elemica.com/events/. Executive Luncheon Series -- Logistics Visibility and Collaboration Cleveland, OH Thursday, April 21st, 2016 11:30 am -- 2:00 pm Venue: XO Prime Steaks: 500 W Saint Clair Avenue, Cleveland, OH Philadelphia, PA Tuesday, April 26th, 2016 11:30 am -- 2:00 pm Venue: Davio's Italian Steakhouse: 111 South 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA Charlotte, NC Wednesday, April 27th, 2016 11:30 am -- 2:00 pm Venue: Bentley's on 27: 201 South College Street #27 Charlotte, NC Houston, TX Thursday, May 12th, 2016 11:30 am -- 2:00 pm Venue: Del Frisco's: 5061 Wertheimer Suite 8060, Houston, TX About Elemica Elemica is the leading Supply Chain Operating Network for the process industries. Elemica transforms supply chains by replacing manual and complex approaches with efficient and reliable ones. Launched in 2000, customers like BASF, BP, Continental, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, LANXESS, Michelin, Shell, Solvay, Sumitomo Chemical, Wacker and more process nearly $400B in commerce value annually on the network. Elemica drives bottom line results by promoting reduced cost of operations, faster process execution, automation of key business processes, removal of transactional barriers, and seamless information flow between trading partners. For more information, visit www.elemica.com. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2984341 For More Information Contact: Becky Boyd MediaFirst (770) 642-2080 x 214 becky@mediafirst.net WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States has announced an additional $20 million to support efforts by the UN and Red Cross to tackle Europe Refugee and Migration Crisis. The amount will be disbursed to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent (IFRC) to respond to increased protection, shelter, and other lifesaving assistance throughout Europe, including in Greece, Western Turkey, and the Balkans. This new funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for the regional response to the refugee and migrant crisis to nearly $44 million since the start of the crisis last year. Monday's announcement includes $17.5 million for UNHCR's Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Europe, $2 million for IFRC's revised Emergency Appeal for Greece, and $500,000 for UNFPA's Initial Response Plan for Refugee and Migrant Women and Girls in South-Eastern Europe. Funding announced today will allow UNHCR to provide emergency and life-saving assistance for refugees and migrants, support the creation of adequate reception arrangements and management, enhance protection monitoring, assist authorities with registration and identification of new arrivals, enhance counseling to new arrivals and persons on the move, strengthen public information and advocacy strategies, and enhance communication efforts to inform communities of origin of existing and legal ways to enter Europe. 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. In accordance with section 29 of the Danish Securities Trading Act, Novozymes hereby announces that it has been informed that Baillie Gifford & Co, together with its wholly owned subsidiary Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited, has decreased its holding of B shares in Novozymes to 4.99%, previously reported at 7.45% in company announcement no. 25, November 2013. Baillie Gifford & Co, together with its wholly owned subsidiary Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited, now holds B shares in Novozymes A/S to a total of 15,646,085 shares of a nominal value of DKK 31,292,170, equivalent to 4.99% of Novozymes A/S' share capital and 1.96% of the voting rights. Attachment: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=553535 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. NEWTOWN, CT -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Halitron, Inc. (OTC: HAON), an equity holding company implementing a roll-up of sales, marketing, and manufacturing businesses, today is excited to announce the acquisition of ArchivalPhotoPages, a leading direct marketing brand, from Plastic Retail Displays, LLC. ArchivalPhotoPages is a brand that primarily sells archival-grade scrapbooking supplies like photo albums, photo pages, genealogy, stamp, and coin storage products that help preserve valuable contents for an extended period of time. The brand's target customer base includes scrapbookers, ancestry, and genealogy clubs along with pro-sumer photographers. In an asset acquisition, Halitron acquired a customer list totaling over 148,682 customers, the www.archivalphotopages.com website, and digital artwork files utilized for print and email blast campaigns. Eliazar Valdez Rosales, General Manager of Plastic Retail Displays, LLC, commented, "The ArchivalPhotoPages brand competes in the very large billion-dollar scrapbooking market with strong customer product loyalty. Additionally, just like with the previous acquisitions, most of the products sold can be manufactured at our recently acquired manufacturing plant, PRD Holdings, Inc., which enhances our total gross margins." In the asset acquisition of ArchivalPhotoPages, Halitron also acquired equipment, molds & dies, raw material, finished goods and valuable know-how within a very talented management team and employee base to produce goods with high quality at low costs. Halitron acquired the brand, ArchivalPhotoPages, in an asset sale from Plastic Retail Displays, LLC, for a total purchase of $1,684,606; paid $316,491 in a short-term note payable and $1,368,114 paid via the issuance of 195,444,903 in restricted common stock valued at $.007 per share, which was the close price on March 28, 2016. The total purchase price was calculated based on an eight times multiple of adjusted EBITDA over the previous 12 months or $210,576. Halitron's CEO Bernard Findley expressed his reason for the acquisition. "ArchivalPhotoPages competes in a very large market with loyal customers and provides the path for us to capitalize on the fast-growing digital scrapbooking space," he stated. "We are actively evaluating digital scrapbooking and how we can leverage our current customer base with new products; especially digital life-story products like Facebook, Instagram, Ancestry.com, and Myheritage.com." Mr. Findley added, "Halitron now owns NDG Holdings Inc., a digital marketing company (acquired Jan '15), PRD Holdings Inc., a Mexican based factory (acquired Feb '16), two niche brands, PiecesInPlaces (acquired Feb '16), ArchivalMuseumSupplies (acquired Mar '16), and ArchivalPhotoPages (acquired Mar '16). The base business model is in full operations with strong digital marketing, efficient manufacturing, and well-known brands in niche markets. Management is actively seeking out additional acquisitions to roll into its infrastructure and leverage the foundation that has been created." ArchivalPhotoPages is the seventh acquisition since 2015 and the fourth acquisition in 2016. Halitron is on a run rate to generate over $10M in sales over the next three years, including its current pipeline of acquisitions. About Halitron, Inc. Halitron, Inc., an equity holding company, is focused on acquiring sales, marketing, and manufacturing businesses, and then rolling them into an efficient, low-cost operating infrastructure. The Company is structured with two Strategic Business Units; Sales & Marketing Division and a Manufacturing Division. Management targets operating entities that can either benefit from current operating infrastructure or operate autonomously and offer an additional product or service to scale existing operations. For more information on Halitron, Inc., please visit www.halitroninc.com. To learn more about our business model, visit http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/HAON/video-and-presentations Sales & Marketing Division - Companies that have operations in traditional marketing services and branded sales opportunities. Current Equity Assets/Holdings: NDG Holdings, Inc. - digital marketing www.PiecesInPlaces.com - brand sales www.ArchivalMuseumSupplies.com - brand sales www.ArchivalPhotoPages.com - brand sales Manufacturing Division - Companies that have operations in the manufacturing industry. Current Asset/Equity Holdings: PRD Holdings Inc. - Mexican-based manufacturing Safe Harbor Statement: The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing various engineering and manufacturing programs, changes in customer order patterns, changes in product mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, shortages in components, production delays due to performance quality issues with outsourced components, and various other factors beyond the Company's control. NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- The British street art invasion continues in April at the Quin hotel, located at the corner of 57th Street and Sixth Avenue, with a solo exhibition from Pure Evil, curated by DK Johnston. The Quin, New York's quintessential luxury lifestyle hotel, hosts the acclaimed Quin Arts program, which is exclusively focused on the global street art movement in 2016, and launched its season with an exhibition by UK artist Nick Walker. The Pure Evil exhibition will be on view from April 1 through May 31 in the hotel's lobby level. Born Charles Uzzell Edwards in South Wales, and tracing a lineage back to Sir Thomas More (the Lord Chancellor famously beheaded by King Henry VIII), Edwards' early influence was the work of his father, the Welsh painter John Uzzell Edwards. It's as Pure Evil, however, that Edwards has emerged as one of the leading British artists of the thriving international street art scene, exhibiting worldwide and launching the Pure Evil Gallery in London. On completing his studies focused on graphics and fashion in London in 1990, Pure Evil left what he called the "ruins of Thatcher's Britain" at the age of 22 and struck out for California. Working as a clothing designer for the Anarchic Adjustment label designing T-Shirt graphics, Pure Evil became involved in the musical fabric of San Francisco as an electronic recording artist for Peter Namlook's ambient electronic music label, FAX. Street art, of course, proved to be Pure Evil's most important artistic discovery during his 10 years in California. Inspired by the initial influence of Twist and Reminisce, with a dose of skate culture thrown in, Pure Evil began tagging freeways and storefronts. He felt the pull of London, however, and returned to his homeland on the cusp of the new millennium, where his signature fang-sporting bunnies began appearing on the streets. The artist later explained in a BBC Blast interview that the bad bunny showed up one day in his sketchbook. The image came from a hare that he had killed with a shotgun in his youth and it had returned to haunt him for his past sins. He associated the label "Pure Evil" with the symbol, and the artist adopted the new name. Pure Evil has always considered the moniker a bit over the top, but it does justify his artistic excursions into the darker side of people and their social ills. The symbol proliferated, as rabbits often do, and so did Pure Evil. The artist began an association with people involved in Banksy's "Santa's Ghetto," and started creating prints for Pictures on Walls. When the U.S. denied his application for re-entry, his life took an unplanned turn. The artist set up shop in a small shed in the Black Mountains of Wales, eventually moving back to London to prepare for his first Pure Evil exhibition in 2006. The success of this show, and subsequent shows, enabled him to open the Pure Evil Gallery in Shoreditch in London's East End in late 2007. The Department Store Gallery opened 2 doors down in 2014. Today, Pure Evil enjoys the success of a street artist as global brand and his artistic integrity remains just as much in evidence as his commercial good fortune. The reputation of The Pure Evil Gallery has grown remarkably, due to its support of independent artists. The Pure Evil music studio produces music for free downloading, he has appeared on the BBC version of "The Apprentice" during its 2012 season, signed on to contribute artwork to Ruark Radio and Royal Doulton, all the while maintaining a monthly radio program, leading workshops, presenting lectures and continuing a prolific artistic output. Pure Evil has participated in more than 50 shows in the UK and internationally, as far afield as China, Hong Kong, South Africa, Russia, The USA and Brazil. Aside from the "rabbit reject with the count Dracula overbite," as he labels his calling card, Pure Evil is perhaps best known for his Warhol-esque portraiture, which expresses both biographical signature and western culture critique. Pure Evil explains that a chance email from a Chinese "copy village" gave impetus to his "Nightmare Series." The village offered, via email, a list of artists it could reproduce, including three Andy Warhol paintings. The idea of Warhol's entire artistic output distilled down to three small thumbnails of Jackie Kennedy, Liz Taylor and an Electric Chair became the inspiration for these doomed and dripping celebrity portraits. Why are they crying? "It's an illustration of the heartbreak and sadness we have all experienced in relationships in the past," he comments. Quin Arts curator DK Johnston added, "Pure Evil is deferential to the screen-printing cornerstone laid by Andy Warhol, even as his art maintains a street art sensibility that is admired and collected globally." For his solo show at the Quin, Pure Evil has created a series of screen-prints on paper and canvas, including hand finished prints. Pre-sales information for Pure Evil's solo show at the Quin is available by emailing DKJ@artsfund.com. Further information on Quin Arts is available at www.thequinhotel.com. The Quin is managed by Highgate, a premier hospitality investment and management company whose growing portfolio includes more than 100 properties in gateway cities worldwide. About The Quin The Quin, New York City's quintessential lifestyle hotel, is located on the corner of 57th Street and 6th Avenue. At the intersection of art, music, and fashion, its privileged Midtown location provides effortless access to Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Museum of Modern Art and Fifth Avenue couture. The Quin melds modern opulence with its rich artistic heritage in each of its 208 thoughtfully appointed guestrooms, including 28 suites. Guests enjoy urbane and intelligent services from the QA, who curate each guest's New York experience, to distinguished amenities like an Executive Boardroom, state-of-the-art Technogym fitness center, Apple equipped drawing room, Dux beds by Duxiana, and Fresh Spa Products. Guests can also indulge at The Wayfarer, a classic American grille, located adjacent to the hotel. The two-story, 130-seat restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, weekend brunch, and a full, 24-hour, in-room dining menu from Executive Chef Chris Shea for hotel guests, featuring classic American dishes, redefined. Renowned architecture and interior design firm, Perkins Eastman, has transposed a contemporary masterpiece on the classical foundation that was once home to cultural icons like pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski and artist Georgia O'Keeffe. Resonating with refined repose, the Quin is the Quintessential New York Hotel. Follow the Quin @thequinhotel. Reservations are available at 1-855-447-QUIN (7846) or http://www.theQuinhotel.com/. About Quin Arts Quin Arts brings a global community of artists, patrons, and guests together through an ongoing series of culturally significant events, exhibitions, and performances. This multi-media initiative extends to a substantial permanent collection, along with an artist-in-residence program, digital displays on the lobby's 15-foot abstract video art wall, and intimate salons with participating artists. Curated and co-founded by DK Johnston, previous exhibits include Creative Chaos, a vibrant collection of new large-scale paintings by Corno, an exclusive preview of Eric Zener's land series, which was exhibited at Gallery Henoch, and Heritage -- a collection of iconic photography from Burt Glinn, Erich Hartmann, Dennis Stock, and Elliott Erwitt, presented in partnership with Magnum Photos. Blek le Rat, the "Father of stencil graffiti," created a series of unique lithographs, collectively entitled Escaping Paris, at the New York Academy of Art for the Quin during his tenure as artist in residence. The artist commemorated his residency on the Quin's facade with an image of Andy Warhol. The Quin's permanent collection also includes Blek le Rat's "Love America" on the 14th floor and loaned works the "Great Wedding," "What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen," and "Tango," as well as original work from YZ, Wulf Von Treu, "the German Basquiat," and Patrick Graham, plus 15 new pieces from Bristol-based street artist, Nick Walker. Quin Arts has garnered critical acclaim in publications ranging from Forbes to Conde Nast Traveler and Harper's Bazaar Art and was nominated for the "Most Creative Collaboration" Award at LE Miami. About Highgate Highgate is a premier hospitality investment and management company widely recognized as an innovator in the industry. Highgate is the dominant player in U.S. gateway markets including New York, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and Honolulu. Highgate also has an expanding presence in key European markets through properties in London, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna and Prague. Highgate's portfolio of global properties represents an aggregate asset value exceeding $10B and generates over $2B in cumulative revenues. The company provides expert guidance through all stages of the hospitality property cycle, from planning and development through recapitalization or disposition. Highgate also has a proven record of developing bespoke hotel brands and utilizes industry leading proprietary revenue management tools that identify and predict evolving market dynamics to drive outperformance and maximize asset value. With an executive team consisting of some of the industry's most experienced hotel management leaders, the company is a trusted partner for top ownership groups and major hotel brands. Highgate maintains corporate offices in London, New York, Dallas, and Seattle. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2984733 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2984736 MEDIA CONTACT: Burns Patterson Hudson PR (917) 575-9155 Email Contact DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Lahva, Inc., an apparel sourcing and services company ("Lahva"), is pleased to announce that it has commenced plans to launch the company's first in-house designed fashion brand later this summer. The wide-ranging line of casual wear for men and women will be the first of several planned brands entirely developed, designed, and sold by the company directly to consumers and retailers. Lahva is a joint-venture of M&M Sourcing Sdn Bhd, a consortium of international apparel sourcing companies, and publicly-traded US Highland, Inc. (OTC PINK: UHLN). Lahva's President, Azm Manzur, commented, "The launch of our first in-house clothing line will be a major corporate milestone as we begin to leverage our international sourcing and manufacturing network to develop, design, and sell our own brands." Manzur continued, "Development and design work on the new casual clothing brand is already well underway, and we are aiming for an official brand launch with global product sales expected for the Summer 2016 and Back-to-School seasons." Manzur concluded, "We believe that establishing our own lineup of in-house brands will give us the freedom to target specific market segments that we feel have exceptional sales potential, respond quickly to new global consumer and fashion trends, and ultimately take full advantage of the proven talents of our international collaborators and partners." The company intends to make additional information regarding the launch of Lahva's first in-house fashion brand available over the next several weeks. About Lahva Inc. Lahva, Inc. ("Lahva") (www.lahva.co) is a joint-venture of M&M Sourcing Sdn Bhd, a consortium of international apparel sourcing companies (60%), and publicly-traded US Highland, Inc. (40%). Lahva provides customers with one-stop end-to-end sourcing of the apparel supply chain. This strategy includes overseeing the entire sourcing process, including design, raw material acquisition, garment construction, packaging, shipping, distribution/warehousing, delivery to retail, and consumer purchase. Lahva also utilizes its resources to incubate and support emerging apparel brands. About US Highland, Inc. US Highland, Inc. (OTC PINK: UHLN) is a diversified product development, sales, and marketing company. US Highland leverages its core management expertise and experience to work with emerging brands, products, and concepts to launch into the US marketplace. US Highland's services include third party logistics, sales/marketing, product strategy and product development. USH Distribution, Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of US Highland, owns a 40% interest in Lahva, Inc., a sourcing joint-venture with established Malaysian apparel sourcing consortium, M&M Sourcing Sdn Bhd. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend for these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws relating to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements relating to, or representing management's beliefs about, our future transactions, strategies, operations, events and financial results. Such forward-looking statements often contain words such as "will," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is targeting," "may," "should," and other similar words or expressions. Forward-looking statements are made based upon management's current expectations and beliefs and are not guarantees of future performance. Our actual business, financial condition or results of operations may differ materially from those suggested by forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties which include, among others, those risks and uncertainties described in any of our other filings with the SEC. Certain other factors which may impact our business, financial condition or results of operations or which may cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements are discussed or included in our periodic reports filed with the SEC and are available on our website at www.ushighland.com under "Investor Info." You are urged to carefully consider all such factors. We do not undertake or plan to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in plans, assumptions, estimates or projections, or other circumstances occurring after the date of this news release, even if such results, changes or circumstances make it clear that any forward-looking information will not be realized. If we make any future public statements or disclosures which modify or impact any of the forward-looking statements contained in or accompanying this news release, such statements or disclosures will be deemed to modify or supersede such statements in this news release. Disclaimer: This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Investor/Media Contact: US Highland, Inc. Investor Relations Email: investor@ushighland.com Web: www.ushighland.com Toll-Free: (888) 584-3999 SAINT PETERSBURG, FL--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - HempTech Corp. (OTC PINK: BLDWD), a provider of advanced Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with sophisticated automation and analytical tools for the cultivators of legal industrial hemp and cannabis, announces today that it has completed the purchase and exchange agreement with Building Turbines, Inc. In effect, post transaction, Building Turbines, Inc. will become HempTech Corp through a change in control. On March 23, we have received confirmation from FINRA on the completion of the corporate action and it is as following; 1- The name change of 'Building Turbines, Inc.' (BLDW) to "HempTech Corp." 2- 1 - 5,000 reverse split will be announced 3/30/2016 on the Daily List. 3- The name change/reverse split will take effect at the open of business 3/31/2016. The new symbol will be BLDWD. The "D" will be removed in 20 business days and the symbol will change to HTCO. Since 2014, HempTech Corp, a subsidiary of FutureWorld Corp (OTC PINK: FWDG), in cooperation with FutureLand Corp (OTC PINK: FUTL), has spent substantial amount of resources to develop state-of-the-art automation technologies for the growers and cultivators in the burgeoning cannabis industry. With Intelligent Automation Technology engineered for agricultural operations featuring CognetiX Cultivation Automation & Analytic Software, which drives improvement in productivity, efficiency, quality and sustainability coupled with advanced Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) with analytical technology software, small to large size cultivators will have access to industrial grow technology not yet available in the Cannabis market. HempTech's goal is to provide cost effective and efficient cultivation of indoor cannabis through intelligent technologies and process control platforms. Our Current Accomplishments 1- HempTech has recently announced the availability of our microgrowery marijuana production platform "grow.droid I". The grow.droid has been the culmination of many years of research and development through a substantial amount of internal funding. The Company is delivering its first line of grow.droid I to our California distributor this week. We expect to sell up to 100 of these "plug 'n play" microgrowery systems on the west coast this year. 2- We will be announcing two substantial contracts within coming days which represents a major milestone reached by the Company. The contracts are the results of an extensive joint efforts between HempTech and FutureLand Corp (OTC PINK: FUTL). HempTech is the third spin-off from the parent company, FutureWorld Corp (OTC PINK: FWDG). FutureWorld will be providing dividend to its shareholders of the sale of HempTech in coming weeks. About HempTech Corp HempTech Corp. is a technology company providing solutions for cultivators in legal US marijuana and industrial hemp markets. We design and engineer specialized products using advanced sensors, process control techniques, big data aggregation, analytics and security solutions so cannabis growers can easily and effectively control every aspect of their operation. Through HempTech technologies, virtually every component of the plants' vegetative growth matrix and flower harvest is automated, documented and available in visible format both in real time and historically. This simplifies operations and ensures that the baselines set by the master grower are adhered to by the cultivation staff. HempTech's mission is to establish a reputation in the cannabis industry as a one-stop-shop that provides all the infrastructure elements required by growers in a manner that is fully integrated, state-of-the-art, and secure. Products include the SPIDer' (Secure Perimeter Intrusion Detection), SmartSense', SmartEnergy, and analytics dashboard Cognetix' through which HempTech Corp. provides growers unparalleled data analysis capabilities to Know Your Grow! HempTech -- America's Future Taking Root Today. To request further information about HempTech, please email us at info@hemptechcorp.com, log onto our website at http://www.hemptechcorp.com or visit us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hemptechcorp or on Twitter @hemptechcorp. About FutureWorld Corp. FutureWorld (OTC PINK: FWDG), a Delaware corporation, is a leading provider of advanced technologies and solutions to the global cannabis industry. FutureWorld, together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the identification, acquisition, development, and commercialization of cannabis related products and services, such as industrial Hemp. FutureWorld, through its subsidiaries, provides personal and professional THC and HTD test kits, pharmaceutical grade HTD oil solutions, SafeVape vaporizers, smart sensor technology, communication network, surveillance security, data analysis for smart cultivation and consultation for the industrial hemp and legal medicinal cannabis. Our wireless agricultural smart sensor networks offer precision to the agriculture, irrigation systems, and greenhouses for the global cannabis and hemp industry. FutureWorld and its subsidiaries do not grow, distribute or sell marijuana. As the only Cannabis Technology Accelerator, FutureWorld will incubate and fund leading technologies, products, and services for Cannabis industry (Industrial Hemp) for foreseeable future; bringing value to its core and its shareholders. To request further information about FutureWorld, please email us at info@futureworldcorp.com, log onto our website at http://www.futureworldcorp.com or visit us at our Facebook page facebook.com/futureworldcorp or on Twitter @futureworldinc. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements covered within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply and demand conditions, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expectations regarding future revenues depend upon our ability to develop and supply products and services that we may not produce today and that meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "believe," and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and changes in pervasive markets. This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions. Contact: Media Contact HempTech Corp. Http://www.hemptechcorp.com info@hemptechcorp.com (727) 474-1810 Twitter - @hemptechcorp Facebook - hemptechcorp TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Dealnet Capital Corp. ("Dealnet" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: DLS), is pleased to provide an update to inform shareholders and the market on its recent activities including those related to the acquisition of EcoHome Financial ("EcoHome") which was completed on February 18, 2016. Integration and Growth of Consumer Finance Business The Company is pleased to announce that the integration of EcoHome into Dealnet's existing consumer finance business is progressing well. Our collective sales team is focused on growing originations in the HVAC and home improvement sector. The physical operations of EcoHome have now moved to the offices of Dealnet's consumer finance business. The Company also continues to invest in innovative technology around its mobile lending platform to enhance the consumer and dealer experience. Dealnet's consolidated loan portfolio as of the end of February 2016 now stands at approximately $80 million and the Company continues to originate a significant volume of high quality leases and loans weekly. Dealer Additions The Company continues to attract high quality dealers and has dozens in various stages of on-boarding. Earlier in March, the Company signed a five-year exclusivity agreement with a large HVAC dealer in Ontario who is incented to originate in excess of $15 million per year over the term of the agreement. The Company is also in discussions with a number of strategic partners, including industry associations and equipment manufacturers that have the potential to drive significant originations of finance products. The Company expects to close additional large volume wins throughout 2016. Underwriting Capacity As part of the EcoHome acquisition, existing EcoHome facilities were migrated with the transaction providing EcoHome and Dealnet with an attractive cost of capital, reducing Dealnet's overall cost of underwriting. The Company is currently in advanced discussions with a number of additional lenders and is negotiating underwriting capacity to support the expected growth in our consumer finance business. The Company expects to bring these additional facilities online over the coming months and will provide further updates in due course. Filing of Business Acquisition Report The Company also announces that it has filed its Business Acquisition Report related to the EcoHome acquisition which is available on SEDAR. Forward Looking Statements This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law including statements regarding the Company, integration of the EcoHome business, loan origination volumes and growth, strategic partnerships and underwriting capacity. 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, assumptions 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 including the risks relating to the challenges in integrating the business and product lines of Dealnet and EcoHome, general risks relating to the consumer finance industry and many other factors beyond the control of the Company. For a description of these and other 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. About Dealnet Capital Corp. Dealnet is an engagement enabled consumer finance company that is initially focused on home improvement finance solutions including heating ventilation and air conditioning financing and leasing. Dealnet leverages its large scale customer service and engagement technology platform to attract home improvement dealers by providing front and back office services to them resulting in dealer origination growth. For additional information please visit www.sedar.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Dealnet Capital Corp. Michael Hilmer CEO +1-416-420-5529 mhilmer@dealnetcapital.com Dealnet Capital Corp. Nicole Marchand Investor Relations +1-416-428-3533 nmarchand@dealnetcapital.com LA PRAIRIE, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- The management of Vanstar Mining Resources Inc, (TSX VENTURE: VSR) announces that it has entered into a renegociated agreement with Vantex Resources Ltd. with regards to the terms and conditions of the option agreement on the PRH Gold project previously announced in a press release dated December 8, 2015. This amended agreement will allow Vanstar to realocate its work commitments on a period of 5 years. Vanstar will be able to acquire a 50 % interest in the PRH Gold project in exchange for the following work commitments: $100,000 for each of the first 2 years, $300,000 for the 3rd year, $500,000 for the 4th year and $1,000,000 for the 5th year. Vanstar will acquire a 2.5 % interest for each tranche of $100,000 invested. In the original agreement, Vanstar had to invest $400,000 each year in works. Once the 50 % interest acquisition is completed, Vanstar will form a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Vantex and will remain the supervisor and manager of the JVA. A dilution formula is planned if one of the partners can't contribute to the proposed JVA exploration budget. The interest of the non-participating partner could be reduced down to 10%. At this stage, this interest would then be converted to a 2% NSR royalty from which 1% could be repurchased for $1,500,000. This amended agreement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture. PRH Gold project The PRH Gold project ( Comprised of the Perron, Renault Bay and Hurd blocks of the Galloway project owned by Vantex ) is located in the mining area of Rouyn-Noranda and comprises 26 cells and 3 mining concessions covering an area of 646 hectares. It is easily accessible all year. Many gold showings are known on this project namely the Moriss, GP and Hendrick showings. Vanstar's management plans on starting as soon as possible, a 1,000 to 1,200 meter drilling program to test geochemical targets. This press release was read and approved by Mr. Daniel Kelly, independent geological engineer and Qualified Peron under NI 43-101. Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding our intentions and plans. The forward-looking statements that are contained in this news release are based on various assumptions and estimates by the Company and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from results forecasted or suggested in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We caution you that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as discussed in the Company's filings with Canadian securities agencies. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices, success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program, and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward- looking statements, except as required by applicable securities laws. 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: Source: Guy Morissette 819-763-5096 gmvanstar@gmail.com NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Today, EMU Health announced the acquisition of Queens Surgical Center (QSC) to better meet the healthcare needs of the Queens community. QSC has been providing services to the Queens community for 25 years. EMU Health's mission is to provide the residents of Queens with the highest quality medical and surgical services in a caring and compassionate manner. Daniel Lowy, the Principal and CEO of EMU, is a well-established participant in the Queens medical community and this is the second ambulatory surgical center he has developed. Prior to acquisition, surgeons at QSC performed approximately 6,000 ambulatory surgeries per year. EMU seeks to invest upwards of $5 million in infrastructure. EMU is already uniquely positioned to deliver surgical solutions to physicians and their patients, and EMU will now also expand the service offerings at QSC to include on-site Diagnostic Testing and Treatment in a safe and convenient outpatient setting. "We are thrilled to be a part of the solution for healthcare in Queens, and our new acquisition of QSC will provide us with a well-established, centrally located facility in which to improve access to healthcare for residents in Queens," said CEO of EMU Health, Daniel Lowy. "We look forward to partnering with community based organizations, surgeons and non-surgeons alike." Queens remains one of the largest growth areas for healthcare delivery in New York, and EMU will provide high quality, affordable services to patients in the Queens community. EMU is growing rapidly and will continue to invest in its own infrastructure and leadership team to manage its growth as a leader in healthcare delivery in Queens and beyond. EMU's vision is to bring the highest quality healthcare to every resident of Queens by 2020. About EMU Health Queens is the most diverse urban area in the entire world and home to two and a half million people. Yet, its residents are often compelled to seek quality healthcare outside the borough. Why is this? Because that's just the way things have always been. But Daniel Lowy isn't content with how things have always been, or how they are. He sees how things should be, and he makes them happen. Like the indigenous Australian emu that cannot walk backwards, Daniel is an Aussie that's always moving forward. Daniel founded EMU, Efficient Medical Utilization, to capture business efficiencies so that medical practitioners can focus on providing every patient with the highest quality healthcare possible. EMU moves healthcare forward to benefit every resident of Queens. Visit http://www.emuhealth.com/ for more information. Media Contact Daniel Lowy EMU Health djlowy@emuhealth.com SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Lytmus, the most accurate technology solution for identifying top performing technical job candidates, today announced a partnership and integration with Greenhouse Software, the leading recruiting platform. The integration provides companies that use Greenhouse Software with new access to Lytmus' own innovative virtual-machine based technical sourcing and recruiting tools. With this new partnership, companies that utilize Greenhouse Software's recruiting platform can easily and seamlessly add and use the advanced interview tools offered by Lytmus right in Greenhouse Software's native environment. Among other things, this gives clients the ability to send Lytmus tryouts to prospective job candidates directly from the Greenhouse Software itself. They then have access to and can view the Lytmus results, including full candidate reports and scores while using the Greenhouse Software, without switching platforms. "We are excited to announce Lytmus' partnership with Greenhouse Software, as this integration will significantly improve any company's ability to interview and hire the best candidates," said Abhay Parekh, Lytmus CEO and Co-Founder. "Saving time and improving the efficiency of recruiting overall, Greenhouse Software users can now access the power of two of the industry's leading platforms in one place." Lytmus was founded to finally create a comprehensive solution that surfaces the best candidates for any position. The company's unique virtual machine-based platform allows the best engineers and computer coders to demonstrate what they know in realistic settings, which provides high-signal data to potential employers. Lytmus addresses each step of the hiring process and levels the playing field for applicants, improving the hiring process for companies of all sizes. "Maintaining a robust ecosystem of integration partners gives us a powerful way to improve our customer's experience and results," said, Daniel Chait, CEO at Greenhouse Software. "Partnering with Lytmus to integrate its advanced interview solutions into the Greenhouse recruiting platform is a big step forward in our mission to help companies make the right hires." With the Lytmus integration, Greenhouse Software customers will have access to the entire range of Lytmus solutions, including: Lytmus Pre-Screen, Lytmus Phone Screen, Lytmus Take Home and Lytmus On-Site. Lytmus Pre-Screen helps organizations discern between candidates before deciding to call them for a technical phone screen. It reduces the number of unqualified phone screens and helps determine candidates' skills early in the hiring process. Lytmus Pre-Screen goes beyond the resume and uncovers the best candidates based on what they can actually do and how they perform on realistic coding projects. Lytmus Phone Screen enables interviewers and hiring managers to pair-program with job candidates in realistic development spaces that extend far beyond shared code editors. The result is a more accurate reflection of candidates' capabilities, which also engages and interests them in a company by screening in a setting that reflects real day-to-day work. Lytmus Phone Screen provides customizable environments that give employers the freedom to ask the right questions for the job. Lytmus Take Home reduces the chance of a bad on-site interview. Uncertain about a candidate? Send them an additional project and learn more before an on-site interview. After the submission, Lytmus' auto-graders run in the background and can check a candidate's work. The resulting thorough reports will help determine if one should invite the candidate for an on-site interview. Lytmus On-Site quickly sets candidate up on a real project. See how candidates perform beyond whiteboard coding challenges. Lytmus' preconfigured development environments will save valuable time preparing for an on-site interview. Want more? Set up a Hadoop environment and ask questions in SPARK, or spin up a web environment and ask questions in Django. Lytmus has the flexibility of different coding environments to meet various needs. About Lytmus Lytmus is revolutionizing the process for sourcing and assessing top technical talent. Powered by a unique virtual machine based platform, Lytmus empowers the best engineers and coders to demonstrate what they know in realistic settings. This shows what they can truly do and provides objective high-signal data to employers. Lytmus is based in San Francisco, CA and is funded by New Enterprise Associates and Accel Partners. For more information, please visit Lytmus.com. About Greenhouse Greenhouse Software designs tools that help companies source, interview, hire and onboard the right talent. Headquartered in New York City with an office in San Francisco, Greenhouse was founded by Daniel Chait and Jon Stross. Recognized as a 2015 Best Place to Work in New York City by Crain's New York Business, the Greenhouse team currently works with over 1,500 of the world's most innovative people-driven companies, including Airbnb, Slack, Oscar Health and more. To learn more or request a demo, visit greenhouse.io. Media Contact: Michael Ingalls Natron Communications for Lytmus +1 (917) 494-4909 Email Contact BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Censio, a company that leverages the power of data analytics and mobile technology to address the growing problem of distracted driving, today announced it has formally changed its name to TrueMotion, unveiling a new website, brand identity and beta version of a new consumer mobile app. "Death and injury from distracted driving are perhaps the most avoidable health crises our nation faces, but most people don't realize exactly how risky their driving behavior is. TrueMotion captures the true behavior of drivers in motion and shows them how to become better and safer drivers," said Vance Loiselle, CEO of TrueMotion. "In doing so, we can help drivers save money on premiums, help insurance companies reduce losses from claims, and make the roads safer for everyone." TrueMotion combines cloud software, data science and mobile technology into a single solution for leading insurance companies, including Progressive, which use it to measure risk and reward good drivers. TrueMotion includes a downloadable mobile app that captures and helps improve driver behavior; a big data platform that provides clean, comprehensive driving activity and a management and analytics dashboard that allows an insurance company to manage and improve customer relationships through a Usage Based Insurance (UBI) program. The new name and brand reflects several truths. Everyone thinks they are a good driver, but seeing actual, objective data shows them the truth and where they can improve. At the same time, TrueMotion helps insurance companies efficiently find the best drivers and measure driver risk based on actual driving behavior, helping them better price policies, deepen relationships with customers and reduce overall losses from accident claims. "Eventually, we will live in a world where most traffic accidents can be avoided using data from smartphones, cars, traffic, weather, etc.," said Loiselle. "Like autonomous cars, our technology is a major step in transitioning to, and enabling, that new world. In the meantime, we can all do better by understanding our own driving behaviors and taking steps to improve. TrueMotion helps us do just that." In addition to the new brand launch, TrueMotion is now accepting beta testers of a new family-oriented mobile app, which is scheduled to be launched later this spring. The free family-focused app helps parents and teens measure and improve all aspects of driving behavior, including distraction, in an effort to combat the leading cause of teen deaths in the U.S. The registration form is located on the website at: www.goTrueMotion.com/app. About TrueMotion Headquartered in Boston, Mass., TrueMotion brings the power of data analytics and mobile technology to address the growing problem of distracted driving, which is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance claims each year. TrueMotion's technology platform enables insurance companies to distinguish between safe and risky drivers, reward safe drivers with discounts on their insurance and help reduce the number of driving accidents, leading to safer roads for all. More information is available at www.goTrueMotion.com. Media Contact John Williams Scoville PR for TrueMotion 206-625-0075 jwilliams@scovillepr.com SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- STRATA+HADOOP WORLD (Booth 1215) -- Platfora, the #1 Big Data Discovery platform built natively on Apache Hadoop and Spark, today announced the general availability of Platfora 5.2. The new release democratizes big data across an organization, moving it beyond IT and early adopters by enabling business users to explore big data and discover new insights through their favorite business intelligence (BI) tool. With its flexible, open platform, Platfora makes it easy for customers to maximize and extend existing IT investments while getting measurable value out of big data. Platfora 5.2 features native integration to Tableau, Lens-Accelerated SQL accessible through any SQL client, and the option to run directly on the Hadoop cluster using YARN. Achieving value from big data implementations has been elusive for enterprises, and connecting traditional BI tools to Hadoop data lakes has been a difficult, slow process, with many organizations doing far more work with virtually no new answers to show for it. Platfora's Big Data Discovery platform enables citizen data scientists to conduct self-service data preparation, visual analysis, and behavioral analytics in a single platform. With this release, Platfora puts all this smart data and analysis in the hands of any business user leveraging any BI tool, so they can ask and answer the important questions for their business, like customer behavior and segmentation. Platfora provides the tools and tight iterative discovery loop to make new insights possible in a matter of minutes to hours, rather than the days or weeks it could take using an alternative solution. "Getting value out of big data is more than just slicing and dicing billions of records and it can't only be the domain of a data scientist. It requires discovering what you have and getting the data ready for analysis to use without boundaries," said Peter Schlampp, VP of Products, Platfora. "We are dedicated to providing flexible, open tools that can address modern data challenges, and Platfora 5.2 opens up the transformative power of big data to business users by enabling them to use the BI tools they know and love, further empowering 'citizen data scientists' across enterprises." Platfora Big Data Discovery 5.2 includes a variety of new features and technical enhancements that make it possible for both business and technical users to easily integrate with their favorite tools, including: Native Tableau Integration: Directly export prepared and enriched data in TDE format to Tableau Desktop or schedule data pushes automatically to Tableau Server. Lens-Accelerated SQL: Platfora lenses make access to petabyte-scale data 100s to 1000s of times faster than querying the data directly. Now any BI tool can query lenses live via SparkSQL and ODBC, opening big data to any business user. Compared to standalone SQL accelerators for Hadoop, Platfora's lenses are more scalable, easier to maintain and manage, and enterprise-ready. Run on Hadoop Cluster: With the development and maturity of the YARN resource manager for Hadoop, it is now possible to run Platfora directly on the Hadoop cluster or in the traditional dedicated configuration. IT departments can take advantage of existing hardware investments and repurpose computing resources on-demand. Enhanced Vizboards: The easiest and best way to visualize data gets better in Platfora 5.2 with responsive layout, smarter default visualizations and more consistent use of color. "Big data discovery will help advance the analytics maturity of the organization, will start training some of the future data scientists, can provide the first batch of insights that may raise awareness to new opportunities and may provide enough return on investment to justify the business case for big data analytics," said Joao Tapadinhas, Research Director, Gartner. "It is the missing link that will make big data go mainstream."* Lens-Accelerated SQL and Run on Hadoop Cluster are available to Platfora customers in private beta in Platfora 5.2. To see a live demo of Platfora 5.2, visit booth 1215 at Strata+Hadoop World, March 29-31. *Gartner, Smarter with Gartner, The Missing Link to Make Big Data Go Mainstream, March 31, 2015, http://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/the-missing-link-to-make-big-data-go-mainstream/ About Platfora Platfora is the #1 Big Data Discovery platform built natively on Apache Hadoop and Spark. Platfora enables business users and citizen data scientists to visually interact with petabyte-scale data in seconds, allowing them to work with even the rawest forms of transaction, customer interaction and machine data to find new opportunities and manage risk. Platfora is transforming the way businesses unlock insights, make decisions and produce better outcomes through the use of its industry-defining Customer Analytics, Security Analytics and Internet of Things solutions. Platfora Big Data Discovery is creating data-driven competitive advantages for leading organizations such as AutoTrader, Citi, Cisco WebEx, Disney and Sears. Learn more about Platfora, read our blog, or follow @platfora YouShouldKnow.http://www.platfora.com SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- STRATA + HADOOP WORLD (Booth #838) -- Confluent, founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, today announced the launch of Confluent University and the availability of the program's first two public Kafka training courses. The first events will be held in San Francisco following the inaugural Kafka Summit, with subsequent classes to be offered in New York City, San Francisco, Redwood City, and other venues around the country. The first two hands-on courses offered are: Confluent Developer Training: Building Kafka Solutions: This three-day developer training course is designed for applications developers, ETL developers, and data scientists who need to interact with Kafka as the source of, or destination for, their data. Confluent Operations Training for Apache Kafka: This two-day operations training course is designed for Operators and System Administrators who need to understand how Kafka works, and how to install, manage, and monitor Kafka clusters. Confluent is also offering a half-day tutorial, Introduction to Apache Kafka, designed for those new to Kafka, on April 25 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square as a prelude to Kafka Summit. To register, please visit: http://kafka-summit.org/training/. Created by the team that originally developed, built, and open sourced Kafka, Confluent University courses are designed by the world's leading experts to reach developers, operators, and administrators interested in learning how to leverage the popular stream processing platform within their own organizations. "We have been offering private, on-site courses to customers for months, and the launch of Confluent University is a response to surging enterprise demand for high-end, professional Kafka training," said Ian Wrigley, director of education services at Confluent. "With the launch of this program, Confluent is the only provider of live, in-person, Kafka-focused training courses." A wildly popular open source system for managing real-time streams of data from websites, applications, and sensors, Kafka is now being used as fundamental infrastructure by thousands of companies including Goldman Sachs, Netflix, Uber, and Walmart. "With Kafka, developers have the power to take every event happening within their organization and make it available as a real-time stream of well-structured data," said Neha Narkhede, co-founder and CTO of Confluent, and one of the creators of Apache Kafka. "Demand for Kafka engineers is soaring, and we anticipate these training courses will sell out as quickly as we add them." Open to anyone, Confluent University training courses will initially be available in the U.S., but will soon expand to other countries. For more information, please visit http://confluent.io/training. About Apache Kafka Apache Kafka is an open source technology that acts as a real-time, fault tolerant, highly scalable messaging system. It is widely adopted for use cases ranging from collecting user activity data, logs, application metrics, stock ticker data and device instrumentation. Its key strength is its ability to make high volume data available as a real-time stream for consumption in systems with very different requirements -- from batch systems like Hadoop, to real-time systems that require low-latency access, to stream processing engines that transform the data streams as they arrive. This infrastructure lets you build around a single central nervous system transmitting messages to all the different systems and applications within a company. About Confluent Confluent, founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, enables organizations to harness business value from stream data. The Confluent Platform manages the barrage of stream data and makes it available throughout an organization. It provides various industries, from retail, logistics and manufacturing, to financial services and online social networking, a scalable, unified, real-time data pipeline that enables applications ranging from large volume data integration to big data analysis with Hadoop to real-time stream processing. Backed by Benchmark, Data Collective, Index Ventures and LinkedIn, Confluent is based in Palo Alto. To learn more, please visit www.confluent.io. Download Apache Kafka and Confluent Platform at www.confluent.io/download. Jill Reed or Pete Johnson Highwire PR for Confluent confluent@highwirepr.com (415) 963-4174, ext. 5 ATLANTA, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Simeio Solutions, a global, industry-leader in identity and access management, today announced it has successfully secured and managed 60M+ identities, representing 140% growth since the end of 2015. This is the latest milestone in Simeio's high growth journey, further establishing its leadership position in the Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) market. "Organizations all over the world are choosing Simeio Identity-as-a-Service as a means to quickly achieve results and ROI for security, risk management and identity relationship management," said Shawn Keve, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Simeio Solutions. "Our end-to-end solution, enabled by our specialized IAM expertise and our industry-first Identity Intelligence Center (Simeio IIC), provides results that simply cannot be accomplished and sustained alone." Multiple recent surveys show the vast majority of data breaches are the result of a compromised identity. Often these compromised identities provide privileged access to the most sensitive data, and enable control of critical applications and systems. 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. When asked what is fueling the high pace of growth in IDaaS, Keve added, "The changing threat landscape, combined with changing compute and cloud models, has made Identity and Access Management more challenging than ever. Many organizations have realized that their IAM programs can be more effective and efficient when leveraging a specialized partner." 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 (Simeio 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 here http://bit.ly/SimeioIDaaSVideo to learn more about Simeio IDaaS. Trademarks All trademarks and registered trademarks are those of their respective companies. Simeio Identity Intelligence Center (IIC) is a trademark of Simeio Solutions, LLC. For more information: Simeio Solutions Shawn Keve +1-770-282-4442 info@simeiosolutions.com CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- The Italian Trade Agency (ITA) today announced that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will make his first official visit to Chicago on March 30, 2016. The visit by the Italian head of state will focus on Italian manufacturers in the Midwest at the ITA's i3 Forum=Impact. Innovate. Integrate. at the University of Chicago's Gleacher Center. The U.S. is Italy's most important trading partner outside of the European Union with 7.5% of its total exports being sent to the U.S. In 2015, Illinois was the sixth largest importer of goods from Italy with almost $1.8 billion, an increase of almost seven percent over the previous year. Manufacturing is at the heart of this growth. In 2015, about a third of goods imported from Italy were machinery products with $516 million, followed by two sectors which had dynamic growth: chemical products with $459 million and food products with $130 million -- respectively with 86% and 14 % increases over the previous year. Closing the top four sectors of Illinois' imports was metal products at $136 million. These four sectors combined, accounted for approximately 70% of Italy's total exports to Illinois in 2015. Along with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, there are over 89 Italian companies with operations in Illinois employing almost 3,700 Illinois residents as of 2016 and of these, almost a third call Chicago home. "It is an honor to host Prime Minister Renzi here in the City of Chicago and to celebrate our enduring partnership with Italy when it comes to being a center for jobs and innovations in advanced digital manufacturing," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "This forum not only showcases some of the results of our strong partnership with but it will also strengthen the bonds between us, creating even more jobs and opportunities for manufacturers in Chicago and in Italy." Honored guests and speakers will include Armando Varricchio, Italian Ambassador to the U.S. and Marc Allen, Sr. Vice President The Boeing Company and President, Boeing International. Additionally, fifteen of Italy's top manufacturing innovators in the aerospace, automotive, energy and robotics sectors will join with more than 100 invited guests from American and Italian manufacturing companies to discuss the current state of the industry and the trends expected to take place over the next several years. The i3 Forum will feature live displays of Italian innovation including the COMAU Racer3 Robot, the iCub humanoid robot developed at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Ducati Motorcycles featuring the latest Brembo braking technology, 3D printing devices from Fonderie Digitali, and the ISSpresso, the espresso maker designed for the International Space Station (ISS) by Lavazza and Argotec. For more information about the Forum, its supporting partners and to request an invitation to the i3 Forum, visit www.attendi3.com. About the Italian Trade Agency The ICE-Italian Trade Promotion Agency is the government organization that promotes the internationalization of Italian companies, in line with the strategies of the Ministry for Economic Development. ICE provides information, support and advice to Italian and foreign companies. In addition to its Rome headquarters, ICE operates worldwide from a large network of Trade Promotion Offices linked to Italian embassies and consulates and working closely with local authorities and businesses. Visit www.italtrade.com and follow the ITA on Twitter @ita_chicago. Media Contacts: Susan Lindner/Sarah Guffey 212-922-5885/815-630-9557 Emerging Media susan@emergingmediapr.com HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. (OTC PINK: PRRY) announced today that it has expanded its reach for AquaLuxus WC and other Planet Resource products by adding dealers in Florida, Texas, Mexico, and Arizona. Planet Resource entered into agreements with WellPure Distributors, Inc., of Florida, Keywood Solution, Inc., of Texas and Industrial Energetica, Inc., of Mexico to distribute AquaLuxus WC and other Planet Resource products in their regions. Planet Resource further expanded its reach through its California distributer Champion Well Clean. Champion Well Clean increased its coverage by expanding from California into Arizona through its new sub-dealer Mountain Side Drilling and Pump Service of Cochise, Arizona. Enrique M. Salinas III, the Company's president, stated, "These new dealers have already begun putting product in the ground and the results have been above expectations. We are very pleased and we expect considerable growth this year." AquaLuxus WC (Well Clean) is an NSF/ANSI Standard 60 certified water well cleaning solution. AquaLuxus WC is a liquid solution specifically formulated for new and existing groundwater wells to improve water production through the removal of biofouling, improve water clarity and mitigate future microbial growth on well screens and gravel packs. AquaLuxus WC injected down hole on new and existing groundwater wells coats the metal and mineral surfaces with a molecular barrier that reduces corrosion and deters bacterial growth. AquaLuxus WC also reduces the unpleasant odor caused by high levels of sulfur compounds found in some wells. AquaLuxus WC has proven highly successful in the treatment of Groundwater Wells in the Irrigation, Municipal, Industrial, Oil & Gas and Residential sectors. About Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. is the developer, manufacturer and marketer of the earth friendly products of the PetroLuxus' Technology Platform which currently include the PetroLuxus' family of products for the Oil & Gas industry and nontoxic AquaLuxus WC treatment for the water industry. For more information visit: www.planetresource.net. Safe Harbor Statement Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements in this presentation that relate to the Company's expectations with regard to the future impact on the Company's results from new products in development are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The results anticipated by any or all of these forward-looking statements may not occur. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company's Quarterly Report for the Third quarter ended September 30, 2015. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in the Company's plans or expectations. Contact: Planet Resource Recovery, Inc. 281-213-5622 MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (the "Company" or "BVT") (TSX VENTURE: BEE) is pleased to announce a key demonstration and replicated trial of its organic crop inoculation system to control the disease Sclerotinia on sunflowers. The demonstration is scheduled to take place in July and August 2016 at the Langdon Research Extension Centre of North Dakota State University ("NDSU"). Sunflower production is a significant commercial crop in the US worth an estimated US$500 million with over 1.8 million acres of crops. Sclerotinia, an invasive disease which not only affects sunflowers but also soybeans and canola, is causing devastating losses. In 2002, in response to this issue, the U.S. Department of Agriculture founded the National Sclerotinia Initiative and continues to fund it each year with the objective being to discover a control for the disease. With no current method of treatment against Sclerotinia in sunflowers, the existing crop acreage of approximately 1.5 million acres in North and South Dakota is at risk. The outcomes of the NDSU trials are expected to be announced in September or October 2016. BVT is working with Influential growers of sunflowers in both North and South Dakota and with positive demonstration results of the BVT system to control Sclerotinia, it is hoped that strong support can be accumulated by growers and state officials in sponsorship of advanced use of the BVT system. BVT CEO Michael Collinson commented, "This is a significant opportunity for BVT. Based on prior results and testing, our system was able to deliver dramatic results in respect to pathogen control and yield increases in sunflowers, some of the best results we've seen with any crop. With 20 million acres of sunflowers grown in Europe and Turkey alone, these crops are undoubtedly a primary area of focus for the Company." Independent plant pathologist, Dr. Michael Wunch Ph.D., commented, "Sclerotinia or "head rot" is a primary disease affecting sunflowers. Currently there is no viable economic system to manage this serious problem. If the BVT system works it could be a possible solution for sunflower crops affected by Sclerotinia." BVT conducted previous trials on sunflowers with results being favourable in controlling Sclerotinia, producing higher yields, and furthermore, the BVT system is organic. Sunflower Trials In addition to the NDSU trials, BVT is seeking trials with influential growers of sunflowers in North Dakota for demonstration purposes. Additional trials are planned for sunflowers in Canada during the bloom periods in June and July 2016, results are expected to be available after harvest in September or October. Sunflower trials are also being finalized in Serbia to commence during Summer 2016. Serbia has approximately 300,000 acres devoted to sunflower production. Disease Cycle Sclerotinia, also known as "white mold or head rot", is a highly invasive disease found in a host of broad leaf crops. It is present in approximately one of every two fields and commonly results in substantial crop losses. In some cases, Sclerotinia can cause complete crop destruction and currently there is no chemical product able to provide protection against it in sunflowers. Within sunflowers, the principle point of infection comes through the plants' bloom which lasts for approximately 11 days. Due to the nature of the BVT system, inoculant is able to be delivered directly to each plant each day, via bees, during this key period of exposure. The mode of action of the BVT compound, BVT CR7, is spatial occupation, meaning the disease is prevented from entering the plant altogether. The BVT active ingredient, Clonostachys rosea, is an ISR which results in stronger more vigorous plants producing higher yields. Additionally, the BVT system does not lead to pathogen tolerance - which can render chemical inoculants ineffective over time - meaning the system has an opportunity to become a foundational program able to maintain effectiveness and sustainability, year after year. About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. BVT has developed and owns patented and patent-pending bee vectoring technology (consisting of a proprietary tray dispenser containing a unique carrier agent) that is designed to harmlessly utilize commercially reared bumblebees as natural delivery mechanisms for a variety of powdered mixtures comprised of organic compounds that inhibit or eliminate common crop diseases, while at the same time stimulating and enhancing the same crops. This unique and proprietary process facilitates a targeted delivery of crop controls using the simple process of bee pollination to replace traditional crop spraying, resulting in better yield, organic product and less impact on the environment without the use of water or disruptions to labour. Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc., "Michael Collinson" 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. This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that BVT expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the sunflower trials being conducted in North and South Dakota and proposed sunflower trials in Canada and Serbia, BVT'S future plans and technologies, including the timing of such plans and technologies. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicate" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although BVT believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include continued availability of capital, financing and required resources (such as human resources, equipment and/or other capital resources), 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. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of BVT'S management on the date the statements are made. BVT undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change, except as required by law. Contacts: Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. Michael Collinson President & CEO 647-660-5119 marketing@beevt.com For media enquiries or interviews, please contact: Josh Stanbury 416-628-7441 josh@sjspr.co.uk Airwheel, a leading smart transportation vehicle manufacturer, recently announced that the company will enter the robot and artificial intelligence business. The company launched Airwheel S9, a self-balancing wheeled service robot, at the recently concluded CeBIT in Germany, marking its first step in the artificial intelligence area. Airwheel S9 can serve as a mobile robot base, as well as a smart transportation vehicle, and a mobile home monitor. Besides, it is highly scalable, ready to be connected to future extension devices in a cost-effective way. "As an international company with a strong brand and a significant market share, Airwheel plans to extend its reach to personal companion, household services, smart home appliances, etc. in the future. This is how we will carry on the company, which is also in line with the trend of a smarter society," said Zuo Guogang, CEO of Airwheel. "However, we will not launch new products in haste before the related technologies mature. We'll play it safe, being responsible for both our customers and shareholders." In terms of smart transportation vehicles, Airwheel has established itself as a global leader, with 100+ patents and 70+ certifications worldwide. Its long-term strategic partners include Sony, Panasonic, Google and Qualcomm. The brand has been registered in the world's 168 countries, enjoying an especially high reputation in Northern Europe and part of Western Europe. Along with Airwheel S9, the company also recently launched five new portable smart transportation vehicles, which are regarded as trend-setting products in terms of design and safety performance. As an extension of Airwheel's existing product line, these products boasting extraordinary safety, endurance and individual features fully convey the company's dedication to details, material application, function design and safety design. "Compared with traditional vehicles such as bicycles and automobiles, self-balancing electric vehicles are less popular, but with advantages in creativity and experience, they also appeal to customers who are open to new ideas. We hold full confidence in the market potential," said Zuo. Entering the new era of Airwheel 2.0, Airwheel will focus on products in four categories, namely portable smart transportation vehicles, smart underwater vehicles, smart air vehicles and service robots. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160329005107/en/ Contacts: Airwheel Technology Holding (USA) Co., Ltd Eric Tang, +86-186 5196 8700 sales@airwheel.net http://www.airwheel.net DUBLIN, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/sv9l47/2016_north) has announced the addition of the "2016 North American International Auto Show " report to their offering. This private market insight captures the most informative and strategic content from the recently concluded 2016 North American International Auto Show. Considered to be the most important annual automotive event in North America, leading OEMs including Acura, Lincoln, and Honda displayed groundbreaking concepts and launched new vehicles. This insight focuses on the notable luxury, mainstream, and concept debuts, and discusses the prevailing themes of the auto show. Key Findings: - Luxury original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are looking to boost sales in the large sedan space with several new vehicles being launched at the 2016 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Hyundais new luxury brand, Genesis, is expected to launch 5 new models by 2020, starting with this years G90. Fords luxury brand, Lincoln, is introducing the all-new Continental to take on other OEM flagships. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary - Key Findings 2. Research Background - 2016 NAIAS Multimedia 3. Best of the 2016 NAIAS 4. 2016 NAIAS Themes - 2016 NAIAS Themes-Luxury, Crossover, Turbo, and Electric Vehicles 5. Luxury Vehicles - Key Luxury Vehicles-New Brands and Models - BMW X4 M40i - Genesis G90 - Mercedes-Benz SLC - Lincoln Continental - Volvo S90 - VLF Automotive Force 1 6. Mainstream Vehicles (Pickups, SUVs, Turbocharged Engines, Hybrid/Electric) - Key Mainstream Vehicles - Crossovers, Turbochargers and Electrics - Buick Envision - Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback - Chrysler Pacifica - Ford Fusion Energi (PHEV) - Honda Ridgeline 7. Concept Vehicles - Acura Precision Concept - Kia Telluride Concept - Nissan IDS Concept - Volkswagen Tiguan GTE Active Concept 8. Conclusions - Key Conclusions - Legal Disclaimer 9. Appendix - Additional Multimedia For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/sv9l47/2016_north 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 DUBLIN, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/qvfjfc/global_medical) has announced the addition of the "Global Medical Device Coatings Market Analysis & Trends - Industry Forecast to 2025" report to their offering. The Global Medical Device Coatings Market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 6.8% over the next decade to reach approximately $15.2 billion by 2025. This industry report analyzes the global markets for Medical Device Coatings across all the given segments on global as well as regional levels presented in the research scope. It presents historical market data for 2013, 2014 revenue estimations are presented for 2015 and forecasts from 2016 till 2025. The study focuses on market trends, leading players, supply chain trends, technological innovations, key developments, and future strategies. The report provides comprehensive market assessment across the major geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Latin America and Rest of the world. The study presents detailed market analysis with inputs derived from industry professionals across the value chain. A special focus has been made on 23 countries such as U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Germany, Spain, France, Italy, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, etc. The market size is calculated based on the revenue generated through sales from all the given segments and sub segments in the research scope. The market sizing analysis includes both top-down and bottom-up approaches for data validation and accuracy measures. Key Topics Covered: 1 Market Outline 2 Executive Summary 3 Market Overview 3.1 Current Trends 3.1.1 Antimicrobial-coated catheters and examining room surfaces have become front-line defenses against antibiotic-resistant infections 3.1.2 Medical device coating business has become a valuable contributor to improving healthcare 3.1.3 Increasing demand for nanotechnology based coatings is projected to offer higher opportunities 3.1.4 Growth Opportunities/Investment Opportunities 3.2 Drivers 3.3 Constraints 3.4 Industry Attractiveness 4 Medical Device Coatings Market, By Product 4.1 Hydrophilic coatings 4.2 Anti-thrombogenic coatings 4.3 Anti-microbial coatings 4.4 Dry lubricants coating 4.5 Drug-eluting coatings 5 Medical Device Coatings Market, By End User 5.1 Gynecology 5.2 Neurology 5.3 General surgery 5.4 Orthopedics 5.5 Cardiovascular 5.6 Ophthalmology 5.7 Dentistry 6 Medical Device Coatings Market, By Geography 7 Leading Companies - AST Products, Inc. - Bayer Material Science LLC - BioCoat, Inc. - Covalon Technologies Ltd. - DSM Biomedical - Harland Medical Systems, Inc. - Hemoteq AG - Hydromer, Inc. - Merit Medical Systems, Inc. - PPG Industries, Inc. - Precision Coating Company, Inc. - Royal DSM N.V. - Sono-Tek Corporation - Specialty Coating Systems, Inc. - SurModics, Inc. For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/qvfjfc/global_medical 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 MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Aeroports de Montreal (ADM) is pleased to announce the new air services that have already been confirmed for this summer out of Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. No fewer than 110 destinations will be accessible by direct flight this summer, including four new cities: Reykjavik, Glasgow, Denver and Hamilton. In addition, the total number of seats on offer will climb by 13% compared with 2015, and flight frequency will increase by 8%. Montreal-Trudeau will also welcome two new international carriers, Icelandair and WOW air, both serving Reykjavik. "Our passengers have never had so many travel options, particularly internationally," said James Cherry, President and Chief Executive Officer of ADM. "With the launch of the international jetty expansion that will add six boarding gates for long-haul carriers, we will be able to effectively meet this projected growth in demand." Europe and North Africa/Middle East For Europe and North Africa, the offer will increase sharply, both in terms of seats (+18%) and frequency (+17 %). Direct flights will serve 30 European cities - a record - and two cities in North Africa and two in the Middle East. The Montreal-Paris link will remain the best-served international route from Canada, with up to eight daily flights to Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports. For the first time, Air Canada and Air Canada rouge will add Lyon and Casablanca to their summer schedules with, respectively, five and four weekly flights, as well as add capacity for Paris, Barcelona, Nice and Venice. For its part, Air Transat is adding Glasgow (Scotland) and will fly to a total of 20 other European cities: Athens, Basel, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Madrid, Malaga, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Porto, Prague, Rome, Toulouse and Venice. The number of seats to London, Dublin, Bordeaux, Marseille and Toulouse will increase compared with 2015. The entry into service of the Swiss B777-300 will result in a significant hike in capacity for the Montreal-Zurich route. As for Lufthansa, the airline will add another frequency to its service to Frankfurt, for a total of seven, as well as maintain its daily flight to Munich. Sun Vacationers heading to Latin America and the Caribbean will also be well served. They will be able to choose among 26 non-stop destinations, with a greater number of flights (+6%) and seats (+9) compared with 2015. Air China will maintain its flight to Havana that was launched last December, while Cubana Airlines will add Santiago de Cuba. Other new services will also be offered by Sunwing (Rio Hato) and Air Transat (La Romana), both now served year-round. Several other destinations will enjoy added capacity. Canada and the U.S. In domestic and transborder (U.S.) markets, new developments consist of Air Canada's addition of Hamilton (14 flights/week) and Denver (seven flights/week). In addition, Air Transat will maintain its Montreal-Toronto and Montreal-Quebec routes to feed its Europe-bound flights. It should also be noted that Air Canada will add frequency and/or seats to several destinations, including Philadelphia, Houston and Miami; in addition to New York by Delta Air Lines. About Aeroports de Montreal Aeroports de Montreal is the local airport authority that has been responsible for the management, operation and development of Montreal-Trudeau and Montreal-Mirabel international airports since 1992. The Corporation employs 650 people at both airports and at head office. ADM has been ISO 14001 certified since 2000 and BOMA BESt certified since 2008. For further information about Aeroports de Montreal and its operations, please visit our website at www.admtl.com. Contacts: Source: Christiane Beaulieu Vice-President, Public Affairs and Communications 514 394-7304 ARLINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Swedish government has awarded BAE Systems (BA.L) a contract to refurbish 262 Combat Vehicles 90 or CV90 for the Swedish Army. The company's work will include refurbishing the chassis and upgrading the vehicle's survivability and turrets, as well as enhancing combat system performance. BAE Systems said it will work closely with the customer throughout the program. Work starts immediately with deliveries beginning in 2018 and running through 2020. CV90 is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by FMV, BAE Systems Hagglunds, and BAE Systems Weapons Systems, with more than 4 million engineering hours contributing to the development of this advanced Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). The Swedish version of the IFV is outfitted with a turret equipped with a 40 mm autocannon. The contract was awarded to HB Utveckling AB, a joint venture between BAE Systems Bofors AB, part of BAE Systems Weapons Systems, and BAE Systems Hagglunds AB. 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. SCHENECTADY, NY--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Auterra Inc., a catalyst and process development company, announced today that it has accomplished a long-standing oil sands industry goal -- upgrading bitumen so that it can be transported by pipelines without the use of diluent. Auterra's FlexUP process can upgrade bitumen with an API Gravity of 8.5 to an API Gravity of over 19. Today, every barrel of bitumen that is shipped via pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the United States requires over 30% of it to be made up of an expensive diluent to lower its viscosity and density for transport. Using FlexUP to upgrade the quality of bitumen improves viscosity and density of the bitumen and eliminates the need for diluent which will have a significant economic impact on the Canadian oil industry. Operating costs go down, transportation costs go down and there will be less need for reverse-pipelines to carry diluent from the US back to Canada. "Accomplishing this level of upgrading has been a company goal for several years now," said Eric Burnett, President & CEO of Auterra. "Through the support of our Calgary-based strategic partner, we have accomplished this major breakthrough and look forward to field testing the technology in the near future." FlexUP is a two catalyst process that utilizes unique chemistry to first oxidize and then cleave away sulfur, nitrogen and metals from bitumen. As part of this process, large molecules are made smaller which improves overall density and viscosity. By removing over 75% of the sulfur in the bitumen, enough small hydrocarbons are created to eliminate the need for diluent. The sulfur, nitrogen and metals are removed through the process and converted into sellable by-products. Recent developments with the company's FlexUP desulfurization process improved performance at a far more economical level than previous upgrading solutions. Engineering models of the process show it is very cost effective, especially when compared to alternative and existing technologies. "Developing a technology like this with bitumen was definitely a challenge but we always knew the sulfoxidation pathway would deliver this game changing capability to the industry," said Kyle Litz, Chief Technology Officer of Auterra. "This is arguably the first major technological advancement in the industry in over 30 years. We are now working to a goal of being able to deliver pipeline ready bitumen with less than 1% sulfur." Auterra's FlexUP technology is a low-cost, low-energy upgrading process that minimizes carbon dioxide emissions while maximizing oil value. The technology is protected globally by a robust patent portfolio and is ideal for treating heavy-sour crude oil and refinery streams. These recent advances will be tested in the FlexUP Pilot Unit and then tested in the field as part of the commercialization program. About Auterra Inc. Auterra Inc. is a catalyst and process technology development company for the purification and upgrading of heavy crude oil and oil distillates. The company is located in Schenectady, NY. For information you can find us at www.AuterraInc.com or call 518.382.9600. Media Contact: Eric Burnett President & CEO Auterra, Inc. (518) 382-9600 ext 110 LAWRENCEVILLE, GA--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Black Book announces its latest innovation called Bullseye Prospecting, a comprehensive, all-in-one solution designed to help marketing agencies automate customer campaigns for their auto dealership clients. During initial tests Bullseye Prospecting was found to deliver a 30 percent reduction in cost per car sold, driving better results with increased efficiency. Powered by data from Black Book, Bullseye Prospecting is designed to reduce and consolidate the many different touch points involved in the development and execution of a customer campaign. Marketing agencies often work with several different vendors, all who add to the overall cost of production after markups are taken into effect. Bullseye Prospeting seamlessly leverages economies of scale for data coming from DMS, consumer, incentives, and vehicle equity and valuation sources. The program also leverages partnerships with photo and printer vendors for direct marketing collateral. "With Bullseye Prospecting, marketing agencies will produce better results for their auto dealer clients by leveraging economies of scale during campaigns," said Jared Kalfus, Senior Vice President of Sales for Black Book. "Bullseye Prospecting is designed to introduce a more seamless process into customer campaign development and execution, and agencies will have access to optimal reporting capabilities." Dealers and their marketing partners need to re-evaluate the way in which customer campaigns are developed and managed in order to lower their total costs. Dealer profits are shrinking, mainly due to tightening margins on the sale of new and used vehicles. According to Henderson, Hutcherson and McCullough's (HHM) recent auto dealer economic outlook, the gross profit margin for dealers fell from 13.5 percent down to 13.3 percent. The report also stated that the average new vehicle gross profit fell from $1,204 down to $1,193. Gross margins also declined from 3.81 percent down to 3.68 percent. Conversely, campaign costs remain high for dealers. According to research firm, Statista, the average-size dealership (selling between 150-399 cars annually) spends approximately $616 on advertising per each new car sold. This number increases as dealer size shrinks. The firm points out that dealerships selling between 1-149 cars annually are faced with a per-car advertising spend of $862. To schedule a demo of Bullseye Prospecting, visit BullseyeProspecting.com. About Black Book Black Book is best known in the automotive industry for providing timely, independent and accurate vehicle pricing information, and is available to industry-qualified users through online subscription products, mobile applications and licensing agreements. A leading provider since 1955, Black Book has continuously evolved to ensure that it achieves its goal of delivering mission-critical information to its customers, along with the insight necessary to successfully buy, sell, and lend. Black Book data is published daily by National Auto Research, a division of Hearst Business media, and the company maintains offices in Georgia, Florida, and Maryland as well as the Canadian Black Book in Toronto. For more information, please visit BlackBookAuto.com or call 800.554.1026. For further information contact: John Sternal (561) 362-8888 Merit Mile JSternal@MeritMile.com PUNE, India, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Heat Exchangers Market by Type (Shell & Tube, Plate & Frame, Air Cooled), Application (Chemical, Petrochemical, Oil & Gas, HVACR, Food & Beverage, Pulp & Paper, Power Generation), Classifications (MoC, Temperature Range & Fluid Type) and Geography - Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The market size is estimated to grow from USD 12.94 Billion in 2016 to USD 19.14 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 8.2%. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302) Browse 75 market data Tables and 69 Figures spread through 197 Pages and in-depth TOC on"Heat Exchangers Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/heat-exchanger-market-750.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The market is driven by the rising HVACR deployments, increasing power generation capacities, and rise in technological advances in heat exchangers. Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa are estimated to witness strong growth in the next five years. The demand across these regions is reinforced by the emerging markets, namely, China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Chemical-The largest application market for heat exchanger The chemical segment dominated the heat exchangers market with the maximum share in 2015. Heat exchangers have been successfully employed for years in the chemical industry for applications such as the heating and cooling of base, intermediate, and final products. With growing demand for chemicals in the developing economies, the market of heat exchangers is further expected to rise in in the forecast period. Shell & Tube-The largest type market for heat exchanger Shell & tube heat exchangers are the most common types of heat exchangers used globally. They are extensively used as power condensers, preheaters, oil coolers, and steam generators. They offer a relatively large ratio of heat transfer area to volume, weight, and other additional advantages making them the most commonly used heat exchanger across all industry verticals. Increased government investments on commercial building & construction projects are driving the demand of HVACR equipment's which in turn drives the demand of shell & tube heat exchangers, globally. Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=750 Europe-The largest market for heat exchanger Europe which includes Western, Eastern, and Central Europe has always been a strong market for heat exchangers and, globally, this has been a leader for Heat Exchangers Market with respect to demand as well as production capacity. This region has the presence of most of the global leaders in heat exchanger manufacturing. It has a relatively slow growth rate as a result of its dominant market size and slow economic activity as compared to the other regions. The demand in this region is boosted mainly due to the increased replacement demand for the heat exchangers. Most active market players in the heat exchanger market Alfa Laval AB (Sweden), Danfoss A/S (Denmark), , Kelvion Holdings Gmbh (Germany), SPX Corporation (U.S.), Xylem Inc. (U.S.), API Heat Transfer Inc. (U.S), Gunter AG & Co. KG (Germany), Hamon & Cie International SA (Belgium), Hindustan Dorr-Oliver Limited (India), Hisaka Works Limited (Japan), HRS Heat Exchangers (India), Modine Manufacturing Company (U.S.), Sierra S.p.A (Italy), Sondex Holdings A/S (Denmark), and SWEP International AB (Denmark) are the other most active players in the heat exchanger market. Browse Related Reports: Cooling Tower Market by Type (Dry, Evaporative, Hybrid), by Design (Natural, Mechanical), by Construction Material (Concrete, Steel, FRP, Others), by Application (Power, HVACR, Food & Beverages, Others), by Region - Trends & Forecasts to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cooling-towers-market-268219049.html Heat Transfer Fluids Market by Type (Mineral Oils, Silicone & Aromatics, PAG & Glycol Fluids, & Others), by Application (Oil & Gas, Chemical, CSP, Manufacturing Processes, Bio-Diesel, & Pharmaceutical), by Geography - Trends & Forecasts to 2019 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/thermic-fluid-market-861.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 infographics 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/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets NEW YORK, March 29, 2016 - Thomson Reuters today announced that it has signed an agreement with FiscalNote, a provider of legislative and regulatory analytics and insight. The agreement supplies predictive legislative analytics to Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence (TRRI), a global solution that provides clients a focused view allowing them to manage regulatory risk with confidence. Under the agreement, FiscalNote will provide TRRI users with insight on the likelihood and factors important to a piece of legislation's passage with a high degree of accuracy. FiscalNote leverages machine learning and natural language processing to create models providing cutting-edge analysis on open government data. These models allow FiscalNote to automatically analyze how legislation is going to fare by examining and understanding the importance of various factors such as legislators, committee assignments, actions taken, bill versions and amendments. All TRRI clients with access to North American content will automatically be able to utilize the FiscalNote implementation. "We are delighted to be partnering with FiscalNote to add predictive insight and tracking of U.S. legislation to Thomson Reuters Regulator Intelligence," said Marion Leslie, managing director, Pricing, Reference & Regulatory Services at Thomson Reuters. "We have seen how a single piece of legislation can drastically affect how and with whom companies can do business so it's important to stay ahead of the outcomes in Washington D.C. Our goal is to deliver solutions that help our customers better manage the increasing amount of regulation required to conduct global business. This new capability enables our customers to better manage regulatory risk with confidence." "With Thomson Reuters we have a strong industry leader who will utilize our solution to serve its customer base," said Tim Hwang, CEO of FiscalNote. "Thomson Reuters shares our vision in recognizing the importance legislation plays in shaping the risk and compliance space." About Fiscal Note Founded in 2013, FiscalNote leverages artificial intelligence and beautiful design to make government data more accessible and actionable across industries. FiscalNote is the first government strategy platform to offer a mobile application, allowing users to access and analyze every bill at every stage from all fifty states, D.C. and Congress on their phones. All these offerings tie to the company's mission - empowering organizations to take control of their government strategy. Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com (http://www.thomsonreuters.com) CONTACT Lemuel Brewster Senior Public Relations Director, Financial & Risk Thomson Reuters Office +1 646-223-5147 Mobile +1 917-805-1089 Lemuel.brewster@thomsonreuters.com (mailto:Lemuel.brewster@thomsonreuters.com) Ilya Hemlin Public Relations Specialist, Financial & Risk Thomson Reuters Office +1 646-223-5532 Mobile +1 347-913-2599 ilya.hemlin@thomsonreuters.com (mailto:mark.harrop@thomsonreuters.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: Thomson Reuters Corporation via Globenewswire HUG#1997951 BERKELEY, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Backroads, the leading active travel company, named the five most popular trips featuring US National Parks for celebrating the park centennial anniversary this summer -- Yellowstone & Tetons, Bryce & Zion, Glacier & Waterton Lakes, Maine and Alaska -- based on Backroads summer bookings. The Canadian Rockies national park is also a popular travel destination this summer. Outside of the United States, Europe continues to trend up as a popular summer spot especially to the waterside locations of Croatia, Iceland, Italy's Tuscan Coast, Spain's Costa Brava and the canals of Holland. National Parks are a unique part of the United States, allowing visitors to see protected land and ecosystems as well as geology and wildlife. With many national park celebrations planned, and hotel rooms in very high demand this summer, the timing is perfect for an active getaway organized by Backroads. The company has secured hard-to-get hotel reservations and handles all planning and logistics, enabling guests of all ages to unplug, relax and actively enjoy the parks and their natural splendor. Backroads currently offers the most trips to the US National Parks of any active travel company and has done so since the company's inception more than 37 years ago. Backroads' itineraries are created to encompass the best the parks have to offer while giving guests a great sense of journey. Backroads top trips to the national parks this summer include: Yellowstone & Tetons Multisport Adventure Tour - Discover the Wonders of Wyoming's Wild Preserves Bryce & Zion Walking & Hiking Tours, Biking Tours - Utah's Phenomenal National Parks Maine Biking Tours - In Acadia National Park & Along Penobscot Bay Glacier & Waterton Lakes Biking Tour - Epic Grandeur in Montana's & Alberta's National Parks Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Multisport Adventure Tour - An Adventure from Seward to Homer Alaska's Prince William Sound to Denali Multisport Adventure Tour - From Icebergs & Marvelous Marine Life to the "Great One" "Everyone loves our national parks and this summer we're happy to help families explore and enjoy the centennial celebration," said Backroads Founder and CEO Tom Hale. "Whether seeing a national park for the first time, the nostalgia of taking the family back to where you once vacationed, or just wanting to unplug, there is something very special about getting out and enjoying nature actively. We invite those who haven't planned their summer travel yet, to come along on an unforgettable active vacation and leave all the planning to us." In addition to the national parks, other destinations that are popular this summer with Backroads guests are locations along the water, and on the water, in Europe. Backroads Active River Cruises continue to be a guest favorite, with summer departures along the Danube, Rhine, Seine and Portugal's Douro rivers. Backroads is also seeing strong guest bookings for Croatia's Dalmatian Coast, Italy's Tuscan Coast Bike Tour, Pyrenees to Costa Brava Bike Tour and Walking & Hiking Tour, Holland & Belgium Bike Tour, and Iceland Multisport Adventure Tours. For those wishing to avoid the summer crowds and wanting to see a national park in a different season, Backroads offers a very special Yellowstone Winter Snow Adventure Tour with dogsledding, ice-skating, animal safaris and the chance to see Yellowstone's splendors in their winter environment. Backroads' National Park family trips offer a range of activities for both parents and kids -- separately and together -- such as hiking, biking, rafting and kayaking. Backroads runs National Parks trips in the following regions: Eastern U.S. National Park Trips Maine Everglades to Key West Rockies U.S. and Canada National Park Trips Canadian Rockies Glacier & Waterton Lakes Yellowstone & Tetons Western & Pacific U.S. National Park Trips Alaska - Kenai Peninsula; Prince William Sound to Denali Bryce & Zion Bryce, Zion & Grand Canyon Crater Lake Death Valley Hawaii Palm Springs & Joshua Tree Redwood Empire San Juan Islands, Victoria & Olympic National Park Yosemite Information on all Backroads National Park trips can be found here: https://www.backroads.com/tours/national-park-vacations.html About Backroads Backroads (www.backroads.com) was founded in 1979 by Tom Hale and has been in business for more than 37 years. The company hosts thousands of guests, 80% of whom are repeat guests or referrals from past guests, in hundreds of locations across the globe. Backroads was named one of the top 100 places to work by Outside magazine in 2015, and is a founding member of the Adventure Collection. For more information, please visit www.backroads.com or call 800-462-2848 daily, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pacific Time. Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2984885 Media Contact: Backroads Liz Einbinder 415-577-8255 Email Contact TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Air Canada's "Wanderluxe" online travel auction site is now live at www.wanderluxeauction.comwith proceeds going to benefit The Herbie Fund at SickKids and the Air Canada Foundation. From March 29 to April 7, 2016 Canadians can put their vacation dollars to good use by supporting children in need as 20 Air Canada Vacations packages to sun destinations will be on the virtual auction block. As an added bonus, every package will include Air Canada Altitude Elite 35K status for the year, giving winning bidders a number of additional benefits any time they travel with Air Canada and Air Canada rouge. Winners will be announced on April 7, 2016 at the first-ever Wanderluxe fundraising gala. All vacation packages will feature return airfare from Toronto. According to Ben Smith, Air Canada's President, Passenger Airlines, the Wanderluxe online auction will allow bidders to support children through both The Herbie Fund at SickKids and the Air Canada Foundation. "What a way to turn your own vacation plans into a philanthropic effort. The Herbie Fund brings children and their families from around the world for life-saving surgery at SickKids Hospital; this is very much aligned with the mission of the Air Canada Foundation to focus on the health and well-being of children and youth." "The funds raised through Wanderluxe will help us expand the incredibly important care that children from disadvantaged parts of the world receive through The Herbie Fund at SickKids," said Ted Garrard, President and CEO, SickKids Foundation. "We're proud that our physicians at The Hospital for Sick Children donate their time and expertise to this life-saving work, and are thrilled that the bidders in the Wanderluxe auction will share in this effort." Added Smith, "It's very simple. Just go online and place a bid for the vacation of your choice. If you win you will know that this year, your vacation dollars will have gone to a great cause - and you still get to enjoy Elite 35K status and a fantastic holiday. It's a win-win. " Other major Wanderluxe sponsors include The Michael and Karen Vukets Family Foundation, the National Post, Scotiabank and Telus. About the Air Canada Foundation The Air Canada Foundation, a not-for-profit organization focused on the health and well-being of children and youth, was launched in 2012. It offers both financial and in-kind support, through travel assistance, to Canadian registered charities. Core programs include the Hospital Transportation Program which donates Aeroplan Miles to pediatric hospitals across Canada enabling children to access medical care unavailable locally and the Volunteer Involvement Program which recognizes the involvement of employees in their local community by providing airline tickets to the registered charities in support of their fundraising initiatives. The Foundation in collaboration with the airline also engages directly in fundraising activities such as the Every Bit Counts program which encourages customers to donate loose change of all denominations onboard flights or through airport collection containers. The Foundation also offers continued support to major health-related causes that benefit Canadians and is an active participant in international humanitarian relief activity as the need arises. For more information about the Air Canada Foundation, please visit www.aircanada.com/foundation or the 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report, Citizens of the World, online at www.aircanada.com/csr. About The Herbie Fund at SickKids An increasing number of sick children from around the world and their families look to the Herbie Fund at SickKids to provide treatment not available in their homeland. Over 765 children from 105 countries have received specialized medical and surgical assistance through the fund. Each year, Herbie Fund makes surgeries possible thanks to the generous support of the community and the dedication of clinicians in a wide range of medical divisions at SickKids. The Hospital for Sick Children is proud to share that all of the physicians donate their time and expertise. This is their gift to the children and helps to ensure we can extend the Herbie Funds support to more children. For more information, please visit www.herbiefund.com. Contacts: Media Contact: Ann Layton Siren Communications 416-351-0777 ann@sirencommunications.com PUNE, India, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market by Product (Photomultiplier Tube, Silicon Photomultiplier, Avalanche Photodiode), & by Application (Healthcare, Biotechnology, Homeland Security, Automotive, Academic Research) - Analysis & Global Forecast to 2020", published by MarketsandMarkets, studies the global Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market for the forecast period of 2015 to 2020. This market is expected to reach USD 652.8 Million in 2020 from USD 512.1 Million in 2015, growing at a CAGR of 5.0%. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 72 market data Tables and 44 Figures spread through 157 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/radiation-protection-market-987.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The global Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market are segmented on the basis of product, application, and region. The scope of the study is confined to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), and others (PIN and avalanche photodiodes); hence, the market size is estimated only for the above mentioned product segments. By product, the Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market is categorized into photomultiplier tubes, silicon photomultipliers, and others (PIN and avalanche photodiodes (APD)). The photomultiplier tubes segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the global Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market, by product. This is attributed to factors such as growing research activities to increase the application horizon of PMTs, expansions by leading players into emerging markets, and increasing number of nuclear power plants. However, the silicon photomultiplier tubes segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. This is mainly due to its benefits over other detectors, increasing research activities, and growing number of SiPM-related conferences and webinars. Due to their distinguished properties, especially their high quantum efficiency as compared to established PMTs and higher gain compared to APDs, they can potentially replace PMTs and APDs in many applications. On the basis of application, the Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market is segmented into healthcare, homeland security & defense, biotechnology, academic research & high-energy physics, automotive, and other applications (nuclear power plants, oil well logging, space studies, and communication). In 2015, the healthcare segment is expected to command the largest share of the global Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market, by application. This segment is also projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2015-2020. Increasing incidence of cancer, growing uptake of radiation protection in medical facilities, and rising research activities are expected to augment the demand for PMTs, SiPMs, and APDs in the healthcare industry in the coming years. On the basis of region, the global market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. In 2015, North America is poised to account for the largest share of the Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. However, the Asia-Pacific market is slated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Factors such as high spending on homeland security in Asia, the Japanese government's decision to reverse its nuclear power phase-out, high expected growth in China's nuclear power industry, presence of global and local players in the Chinese market, increasing number of nuclear power plants in India, and increasing installations of nuclear imaging systems in India are expected to propel the growth of the Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market in the Asia-Pacific region. Talk To Our Research Expert: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=987 Growing safety concerns post the Fukushima disaster, technological advancements, growing security threats, growing security budgets of global sporting events, increasing incidence of cancer, growth in the number of PET/CT scans, and growing threat of nuclear terrorism are expected to drive the growth of the global Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market in the coming years. Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (Japan), SensL Technologies (Ireland), KETEK GmbH (Germany), AdvanSiD (Italy), Excelitas Technologies Corporation (U.S.), First Sensor AG (Germany), Hainan Zhanchuang Photonics Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Ludlum Measurements, Inc. (U.S.), Philips Healthcare (Netherlands), and Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. (RMD) (U.S.) are some of the key players in the Radiation Monitoring and Safety Market worldwide. Browse Related Reports: Medical Radiation Detection, Monitoring & Safety Market by Detection Type (Gas-filled, Geiger Muller, Dosimeters, Solid-state Detectors), Products (Personal Dosimeters, OSL, Badges), Safety (Apron, Shields, Face Mask, Gloves), End User - Forecasts to 2020. http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/medical-radiation-protection-market-1200.html Radiation Detection Monitoring & Safety Market for Nuclear Power Plants, Homeland Security & Defense, Manufacturing Industry (Geiger counter, Scintillator, Dosimeter, Area Process, Survey Meter, Portal Monitors) - Trends & Global Forecasts to 2020. http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/radiation-protection-market-987.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 infographics 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 Unit No. 802, 8th Floor, Tower - 7, Magarpatta City SEZ, Hadapsar, Pune - 411013, Maharashtra, India. Tel: +1-888-6006-441. Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://mnmblog.org/market-research/healthcare/medical-devices Connect with us on LinkedIn @http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- TIMIA Capital Corp. ("TIMIA" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: TCA) is pleased to announce that it has achieved positive net income in its fiscal 2015 year end results. During the year ended November 30, 2015, the Company posted net income of $391,690 compared to a net loss of $156,633 for the same period last year. The Company earned $0.02 per share in the 2015 year vs. a loss of $0.01 per share in the 2014 year. The Company's improved financial results are primarily due to: (i) the commencement of its Revenue Based Financing ("RBF") model, (ii) a net increase in the unrealized value of its equity investments, and (iii) the realization of proceeds from its equity investments. Revenue Based Finance The Company commenced its Revenue Based Financing ("RBF") model during the year and has begun to receive its monthly royalty payments from investee companies. At November 30, 2015, the Company had made 2 RBF investments, with a 3rd investment being announced in February, 2016. The royalty income and related transaction fees from these investments has positively contributed to the Company's net income. The Company had $136,398 in revenue in this fiscal year compared to $62,254 in the same period last year. This increase in revenue in 2015 was primarily from royalty and interest income generated under the Company's new RBF model. RBF is attractive to companies that are not yet qualified for traditional bank debt but do not want to suffer the dilution and control issues associated with equity issuances. Revenue growth and high gross margins are key attributes required by applicants in order for the successful application of RBF. Equity Investments The Company holds equity investments in private green energy related companies, made under its prior investment model. A number of changes occurred to the equity portfolio during the year as the Company transitioned to its RBF model: -- The Company successfully sold its equity position in dPoint Technologies Inc. during the 2015 fiscal year for proceeds of $1,030,909, which represented a 2.95X cash on cash return. -- The Company successfully completed its investment in CamDo Solutions Inc. and recognized an unrealized gain of $385,499. -- The Company formally disposed of two of its investments and recorded a realized loss on the disposals of $677,675. These two investments had been written down to zero in prior periods. During this fiscal year, the Company recognized a realized gain of $3,234 on disposition of its investments and a $531,245 change in unrealized loss on the remaining investments. Of the $156,633 net loss last fiscal year, $88,928 was due to the change in unrealized losses on investments. Cash Position As at November 30, 2015, the Company's cash balance was $409,871 and working capital was $1,321,849. Including in the working capital amount is $917,246 of funds receivable which are funds from the sale of the dPoint Technologies investment. The cash balance is a result of the $250,000 equity private placement undertaken by the Company during the year and the $1,767,500 of convertible debentures issued during the same period. Subsequent to yearend, the Company announced the final closing of its convertible debenture offering, bringing the total raise on its convertible debenture offering to $2,051,000. Outlook for the 2016 Year The Company will continue to monitor and increase its RBF portfolio of investments while seeking to opportunistically monetize its equity investment portfolio. The Company's RBF agreements are structured to allow technology companies to fund their growth in a manner that matches the growth of their business. Their monthly payments grow as their revenue grows allowing the owners to fund their expansion from future revenue. Management evaluates these investments in terms of their current revenue and historic revenue growth, future expected revenue growth, gross margin, earnings, cash flow, market position, and management quality. Management will be monitoring each investment in the portfolio in terms of its growth against plan and other key financial metrics. Given its focus on the technology sector, management also expects some of the underlying investee companies to be sold or achieve a similar exit for its investors during the terms of our RBF agreements. In these cases, the Company will exit from its investment in accordance with its financing agreement at agreed upon exit values. "We are very excited about delivering positive earnings in our 2015 financial results," said Mike Walkinshaw, CEO of TIMIA, "And we look forward to growing our cash flow into 2016 through the expansion of our RBF investment portfolio." For full financial statements and the Management Discussion and Analysis please see the Company's information on www.sedar.com. About TIMIA Capital Corp. TIMIA is a revenue financing company that provides investment capital to Canadian technology companies in exchange for a royalty stream on revenue. This new financing option complements both debt and equity financing while allowing entrepreneurs to retain control of their own business. 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. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, Michael Walkinshaw, Chief Executive Officer TIMIA Capital Corp. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the Company's issuance of Debentures, payment of interest thereon, acceptance of the offering by the TSX Venture Exchange and the Company's use of the proceeds of the offering, including investment in RBF instruments. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. The Company disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements except as required by law. Contacts: TIMIA Capital Corp. Michael Walkinshaw Chief Executive Officer 604.398.8839 info@timiacapital.com SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Meltwater -- the global leader in media intelligence solutions -- today announced the acquisition of Encore Alert, the Virginia-based SaaS platform that uses artificial intelligence to sift through online information 24/7 to derive critical insights used to improve a company's marketing and PR efforts. "We are all drowning in social media, and the challenge we have is to identify information that is important and actionable," noted Jorn Lyseggen, founder and CEO of Meltwater. "The team at Encore Alert is passionate about this problem. For the last three and a half years, they have worked tirelessly to condense this clutter down to a handful of daily alerts using sophisticated artificial intelligence. Their algorithms are successfully helping top brands such as the Denver Broncos, Le Creuset, and CES stay on top of emerging crises, important events, and critical trends." Encore Alert uses their proprietary algorithm to sort through billions of social posts -- 24/7 -- to identify trends, track interactions with important influencers, and arm users with critical industry intelligence. By sending alerts about only top priority conversations, Encore frees marketers from spending time sifting through overwhelming data dashboards and helps them concentrate on what matters most. "We are very excited to be joining the Meltwater family," noted Encore Alert CEO James Li. "As the volume of online conversations about brands continues to increase at an overwhelming rate, the need for smart alerts that show marketing and PR professionals what to focus on is stronger than ever. The team at Meltwater shares this vision, and we're excited to work with them to bring this solution to their thousands of incredible customers worldwide." "By integrating Encore Alert's proprietary technology into our social offering, we will be even better positioned to help our 24,000 global clients to accelerate their follower growth, increase engagement, drive referral traffic, and protect their brand reputations. Meltwater's acquisition of Encore Alert is another step in our commitment to create the world's smartest software to aid executives in making informed decision based on Outside Insight, insights created from external information". About Meltwater Meltwater (www.meltwater.com) helps companies make better, more informed business decisions based on insights from the outside. More than 24,000 companies use the Meltwater media intelligence platform to stay on top of billions of online conversations, extract relevant insights, and use them to strategically manage their brand and stay ahead of their competition. With 50 offices located on six continents, Meltwater is dedicated to personal, global service built on local expertise. Meltwater also operates the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a nonprofit organization devoted to nurturing future generations of entrepreneurs. You can also follow Meltwater on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube or visit www.meltwater.com. About Encore Alert Encore Alert (www.encorealert.com) uses artificial intelligence to help marketers at brands automatically identify and quickly act on emerging trends, PR crises, and important web mentions. Founded in 2013 and backed by top investors including 500 Startups, HBS Angels, and NextGen Venture Partners, Encore Alert was acquired by Meltwater, the global leader in media intelligence, in March 2016. For more information on this press release, please contact: Heidi Myers heidi.myers@meltwater.com Marketing Director, EMEA Meltwater Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht and Emily Fletcher, representing the Investment Manager noted: Portfolio Performance In February, the Company's NAV in respect of the ordinary share class rose by 2.3%, underperforming the benchmark by 1.2% (on a US dollar basis with net income reinvested). The best performing countries during the month included Argentina which rose by 8.3%, Oman which rose by 7.9% and Romania which rose by 5.7%. We hold a 13.4% position in Argentina and therefore we saw a strong positive contribution to absolute performance from our holdings in the country. However, our relative attribution was negative during the month, as we are running a slight underweight (<1%) to the benchmark and stock selection contributed negatively this month. In Romania, we generated positive returns. Holdings in gas utility, Romgaz, contributed strongly to performance rising by 14% after reporting better than expected results. Our relative performance benefitted from stock specific news flow. In Kuwait, fast food restaurant operator, Kuwait Foods, rallied by 31%, as the company confirmed that the majority owner has entered into preliminary negotiations regarding a possible sale of their stake to a GCC group led by Mohamed Alabbar. Estonian ferry operator, Tallink, performed well, rising by nearly 8%, after announcing strong results for the fourth quarter of 2015. The company reported growth in revenues on the back of a greater than expected growth in passenger numbers and strong free cash flow generation with a tail wind from the lower oil price. Our holding in Ukrainian IT outsourcer Luxoft detracted from relative performance during February after the company reported results that were below expectations. Although no projects have been cancelled, investors have been concerned about IT budget spend in the financial sector due to recent weakness in European banks. We have added to our position on the sell off, using the opportunity to buy stock at an attractive valuation. Portfolio Activity We added to a number of positions during the month, taking the opportunity of the market sell off to increase the net exposure of the Company. We initiated a position in Pakistan cement company, DG Khan, which is the third largest cement company in Pakistan with around 11% market share. The company is benefiting from fast growth of cement volumes within the country which have risen by more than 17% year-on-year over the first eight months of the fiscal year and currently trades on an attractive valuation. We also initiated a new position in Peruvian gold and silver mining company, Hochschild. The recovery in commodity prices and recent currency moves are a positive for the company which we believe has the potential to generate a free cash flow yield of high single digits. We trimmed our position in Olympic Industries in Bangladesh. Having risen by more than 100% since initial purchase, the valuation is no longer as attractive and therefore we have reduced the size of the position. 29 March 2016 ENDS Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brfi on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on BlackRock's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement. WATERLOO, ON -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Maluuba, a deep-learning company helping machines think, reason and communicate with human-like intelligence, today announced it has opened an R&D lab in Montreal. As part of the labs, Maluuba has partnered with machine learning and neural computation expert, Yoshua Bengio from the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) and reinforcement learning expert Richard Sutton from the Alberta Innovates Centre for Machine Learning, to further Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and artificial intelligence (AI) advances. The research lab, staffed by 13 deep learning research scientists, is led by Maluuba's CTO, Kaheer Suleman, an information retrieval and artificial intelligence expert. With a focus on the development of proprietary algorithms to solve language problems, Maluuba's goal is to build the world's most advanced research facility in deep learning and AI. "While we're closer to the goal of getting machines to exercise reasoning and understand conversational language, we still have a long way to go," said Yoshua Bengio. "Maluuba has made great strides with its contributions to the field of machine learning and NLP. Their long-term vision and focus on truly perfecting the methodology is refreshing and makes me confident that we'll see exciting tech and research advancements from them this year." Currently, Maluuba is focused on two research streams within machine learning -- dialogue and machine reading -- and has achieved the highest performance by an existing system when tested against external performance tests: 80 percent accuracy on the MCTest (which uses word-matching techniques); 8 percent higher than the existing benchmark of 72 percent 83 percent accuracy on DSTC2 (which uses deep learning techniques); 3 percent higher than the existing benchmark of 80 percent "For a computer to understand humans speaking in natural language and respond appropriately, it needs to capture and represent a large amount of knowledge that is not just words, but also common sense and context about the topic being discussed by the human," said Sam Pasupalak, cofounder & CEO of Maluuba. "Maluuba is working with leading experts and the world's premiere academic center for deep learning to design systems that can represent knowledge and answer questions in natural language. The potential applications of this research are staggering." Maluuba is an early leader in using deep reinforcement learning to solve language-understanding problems and in training machines to model decision-making capabilities of the human brain. The company currently enables interactive natural language and conversational dialogue experiences in over 50 million smart devices globally including IoT, mobile phones and smart TVs. Supporting more than 10 languages, Maluuba provides its technology for several industry OEMs including LG. For more information about Maluuba and its research labs, visit: http://www.maluuba.com/. About Maluuba Maluuba Inc. is a global, natural language understanding company founded in 2011. The company's goal is to create a world where intelligent machines work hand-in-hand with humans to advance the collective intelligence of the human species. Maluuba's natural language technology has been deployed across more than 50 million devices in the smart phone, smart TV and IoT industries in over 10 languages. Maluuba's engineering and customer operations are located in Waterloo, Ontario, with a research office in Montreal dedicated to solving fundamental problems in language understanding for innovative products that will further advance AI systems. For more information, visit: www.maluuba.com. Contact info: Miya Shitama Inner Circle Labs for Maluuba Email Contact 415-684-9566 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A U.S. company that specializes in concealed weaponry has designed a two-shot pistol resembling a smartphone that will be virtually undetectable in its locked position, and can safely slip into one's pocket or purse. The ground breaking double-barreled .380 caliber folding pistol was designed by the Minnesota-based Ideal Conceal. The company says it aims to deliver a high quality handgun that can be deployed very quickly for personal defense or for one's family. The idea for Ideal Conceal follows the present-day demand for handguns that people can carry on a day to day basis, in a manner that makes carrying a gun easy to do. In its locked position it will be virtually undetectable because it hides in plain sight. The additional features of the latest model of the conceal and carry style handguns include lightweight one-piece frame, simple trouble free design, high velocity .380 caliber for great stopping power, and hammerless firing system for ease of use and added safety. Ideal Conceal Pistol, priced at $395, will be available for purchase by mid-2016, the company says. Kirk Kjellberg, CEO Ideal Conceal, said marketing for the gun has begun and it has generated great interest with more than 4,000 requests already coming in, including from law enforcement agencies. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A company which was started to make it easier for GPs and NHS Consultants to learn from each other has celebrated its 10th birthday by booking its 2000th event. Essentially Medical provides free educational sessions for GPs, their nurses and healthcare assistants delivered by local Consultants at a time and location of the practice's choice. The GPs and Practice Managers choose from a variety of topics within each clinical area and request different Consultants either monthly, or whenever convenient In order to fit into demanding work schedules meetings can be held before work, during lunch or once the surgery is closed with refreshments provided. A Certificate of Participation is issued to all attendees. Evelyn Diamond set up the business, which now has more than 140 Consultants in their teams, in Hertfordshire in 2004. It now covers large parts of London and Middlesex and will soon be launching in south east London and Kent. Dr Martin Harris, a GP who practises from a north west London surgery, said: "This service allows us to keep updating our skills and knowledge in the comfort of our own practice. It's a great way to meet and learn from local Consultants who all have a specific area of expertise. It's an ideal opportunity to build rapport and relationships with Consultants for the benefit of our patients." Mr Daryll Baker, a Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Head of Vascular Services at the Royal Free Hospital in London, said: "I've been involved with Essentially Medical since its early days. What they do is to create a fantastic setting for myself and other Consultants to update GPs on our different specialities and to help them with any general issues or with individual patients. It's a superb, informal way of helping GPs and consultants put names to faces rather than rely on listings in a handbook." Mrs Diamond, worked as a marketing manager at a private hospital for a decade before setting up the company because of what she saw as a gap in the profession. She said: "Many of the NHS Consultants I worked with expressed their concerns that many local GPs just didn't know who they were. "I began Essentially Medical as a way of bringing local GPs and local NHS Consultants together so they could learn more from each other to benefit their respective local patients. "This developed into the Consultants giving up their time to visit GPs and share their expertise at surgeries or other locations at a convenient time. "It saves the NHS money because after the educational meetings GPs feel able to make informed decisions on a patient's health, dealing with problems without having to make what is often an expensive referral to a hospital. "The cost is totally free to surgeries as the meetings and refreshments are sponsored by pharmaceutical representatives who are allowed to make brief presentations before the Consultants give their talk or conduct question and answer sessions. "For the representatives it's not about selling products it's about building relationships. "I'm proud of what my team and I have achieved over the years and we look forward to the next eight years when we celebrate our 20th anniversary . Our service is mutually beneficial to all involved and I believe it is a real win / win scenario." Notes to editors: Further case studies and interviews with Mr Baker and Dr Harris are available on request. The meetings are free for the GPs and their teams to attend. Refreshments are provided by Essentially Medical. NHS Consultants give their time for free. The meetings usually last no longer than one hour and are held at the most convenient time and place for GPs. Essentially Medical has more than 140 NHS Consultants on their roster. How Essentially Medical make its money is by getting the meetings sponsored by pharmaceutical companies who are keen to establish rapport and build relationships with Drs and Practice Managers. All meetings are arranged within the suggested guidelines set out in the ABPI code of Practice. For more information on Essentially Medical visit - http://www.essentiallymedical.co.uk WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A week before a potentially pivotal primary in his home state, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced his support for Senator Ted Cruz, R-Tex., in the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday. In a statement, Walker claimed Cruz is the best-positioned candidate to both win the Republican nomination and defeat Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. 'Ted Cruz is a principled constitutional conservative who understands that power belongs to the states - and to the people - and not bureaucrats in Washington,' Walker said. He added, 'Just like we did in Wisconsin, Ted Cruz is not afraid to challenge the status quo and to stand up against the big government special interests.' Walker, who suspended his own presidential campaign last September, previously indicated he was debating whether to endorse Cruz or Ohio Governor John Kasich. The Wisconsin governor took some thinly veiled shots at real estate tycoon Donald Trump when dropping out of the race, calling for a 'positive conservative alternative' to the GOP frontrunner. Walker was initially seen as a strong candidate for the Republican nomination due in part to his anti-union crusade in Wisconsin, but he seemed to be hurt by all the attention paid to Trump over the summer. The endorsement could give Cruz a boost among Republicans in Wisconsin, which is the only state to hold a primary contest in the next few weeks. The RealClearPolitics average of Wisconsin polls shows Trump with a slim 32.0 percent to 30.3 percent lead over Cruz, while Kasich comes in third at 16.0 percent. (Photo Credit: Michael Vadon) 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. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement. ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD. (A joint stock limited company incorporated in the People's Republic of China with limited liability) (Stock code: 0576) CLARIFICATION ANNOUNCEMENT Reference is made to the notice of annual general meeting (the "AGM") of ZhejiangExpressway Co., Ltd. (the "Company") dated March 22, 2016 (the "Notice of AGM"). As disclosed in the Notice of AGM, "Holders of H Shares who intend to attend the AGM and qualify for the proposed final dividend must deliver all transfer instruments and the relevant shares certificates to Hong Kong Registrars Limited at Rooms 1712- 1716, 17/F, Hopewell Center, 183 Queen's Road East, Hong Kong, at or before 4:30 p.m. on April 6, 2016 and on May 11, 2016, respectively". The Company would like to clarify that holders of H Shares who intend to attend the AGM and qualify for the proposed final dividend must deliver all transfer instruments and the relevant shares certificates to Hong Kong Registrars Limited at Rooms 1712- 1716, 17/F, Hopewell Center, 183 Queen's Road East, Hong Kong, at or before 4:30 p.m. on April 5, 2016 and on May 11, 2016, respectively. The above clarification does not affect other information in the Notice of AGM. On behalf of the Board ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD. Tony Zheng Company Secretary Hangzhou, the PRC, March 29, 2016 As of the date of this announcement, the executive directors of the Company are: Mr. ZHAN Xiaozhang, Mr. CHENG Tao and Ms. LUO Jianhu; the non-executive directors of the Company are: Mr. WANG Dongjie, Mr. DAI Benmeng and Mr. ZHOU Jianping; and the independent non-executive directors of the Company are: Mr. ZHOU Jun, Mr. PEI Ker-Wei and Ms. LEE Wai Tsang Rosa. ALBANY, New York, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research entitled, "Power System Analysis Software Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024," the global power system analysis software market was worth US$ 3,540.4 Mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$ 10,245.6 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2016 to 2024. North America was the largest market for power system analysis software in 2015. Growth in this region is expected to be driven by the high degree of investment on smart grid systems. Furthermore, Canada's ongoing efforts to transform its power supply and upgrade its electricity infrastructure should be a major driver of power system analysis software for the coming years. Full Research Report on Global Power System Analysis Software Market with detailed figures and segmentation at:http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/power-system-analysis-software-market.html Power system analysis software is used to analyze data gathered from smart power systems. Utility providers are the primary consumers of this software. Due to increasing global consumption, coupled with challenges in the production of electricity, utility providers are expected to increasingly shift toward power system analysis software in the coming years. The most significant factor boosting the growth of the power system analytics software market is rising investment on smart power technologies, globally. The global market is also driven by advancements in Big Data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT). On the basis of implementation, the global power system analysis software market is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based models. In 2015, the on-premise segment was the larger, and accounted for around 82% of the revenue of the overall power system analysis software market. Moreover, this segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2016 to 2024. The most significant driver of the market for on-premise software is their better system uptime, as the servers are owned and maintained at the power utilities' buildings. Get Industry Research Sample with ToC & Free Analysis: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=7502 In terms of application, the power system analysis software market is segmented into distribution and transmission. In 2015, the distribution segment held the larger revenue share of around 62%. Moreover, it is also expected to expand at the highest CAGR in terms of revenue during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024. Geographically, North America is the largest market for power system analysis software market, globally. In 2015, the region accounted for around 33% of the overall power system analysis software market's revenue. Furthermore, Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. China, India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea are among the major markets for power system analysis software in this region. Customized solution for your any Other Market Research needs:http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=7502 Some of the major players in the global power system analysis software market are ABB Ltd., Siemens AG, General Electric Company, Schneider Electric DMS NS, ETAP/Operation Technology, Inc., Atos SE, Artelys SA, PSI AG, Operation Simulation Associates, Inc., Unicorn Systems, Energy Exemplar, Electricity Coordinating Center Ltd., PowerWorld Corporation, Open Systems International, Inc., Nexant Inc., Electrocon International Inc., Poyry, DIgSILENT GmbH, Eaton Corporation Plc, and Neplan AG. The global power system analysis software market is segmented as follows. Power System Analysis Software Market Analysis, by Implementation Model On-premise Cloud-based Power System Analysis Software Market Analysis, by Application Distribution Transmission In addition, the report provides cross-sectional analysis of the power system analysis software market with respect to the following geographical segments: North America The U.S. Rest of North America Europe EU7 CIS Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific Japan China South Asia ( India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , and Sri Lanka ) ( , , , and ) Australasia ( Australia , NZ, and Guinea ) , NZ, and ) Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa (MEA) GCC Countries South Africa Rest of the Middle East & Africa Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin America About Us Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports. Contact Sudip.S 90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY12207 Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA- Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website:http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Blog:http://www.europlat.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HMT becomes first airbag manufacturer worldwide to implement Lectra's FocusQuantum OPW laser technology The automotive supplier aims to capture a third of the Chinese airbag market Paris, March 29, 2016 - Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with HMT, a leading Chinese airbag manufacturer, supplier of airbag fabrics and technical textiles, to supply a complete solution for the development and manufacture of one-piece woven (OPW) airbags. Based on the unmatched performance of FocusQuantum, Lectra's newest airbag textile-cutting technology platform, HMT has entrusted the company with a comprehensive project comprising a FocusQuantum OPW laser cutter, FocusQuantum Suite pre-production software and value-added Lectra Professional Services, enabling maximum return on investment. Lectra has supported HMT's business growth since the publicly traded company's airbag activity first started. Equipped with a Focus Airbag OPW cutter and three Focus Airbag XHP cutters, HMT sought to substantially increase its airbag manufacturing capacity. With a trust-based relationship reaching back four years, HMT approached Lectra to conduct a benchmark test. FocusQuantum OPW's productivity was found to be three times that of the current technology used by HMT, resulting in a significantly lower price per bag. The perfect control of quality and fully industrialized design and cutting processes enabled by FocusQuantum OPW were also decisive factors leading to HMT's final choice. By aggressively driving down costs and consolidating its competitive advantage, HMT aims ultimately to acquire a third of the Chinese airbag market. Implementation of FocusQuantum OPW laser technology is a major milestone toward the achievement of this strategic objective. "We needed a technology partner with the industry leadership to support us into the long term as we expand our operations," states Charles Zhang, General Manager, HMT. "With FocusQuantum, Lectra is revolutionizing the way OPW airbags are produced. They are the only company with the technology and local support in China to help us ensure quality as we increase production. They also provide the breadth and depth of airbag cutting operations expertise to support execution of our growth strategy." "Recent headlines show that the airbag supply chain is still undergoing tremendous change," declares Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO. "As worldwide demand for vehicle safety content continues to rise, airbag manufacturers must stay apace to capitalize on emerging opportunities. FocusQuantum is a breakthrough in airbag manufacturing in terms of quality and productivity." FocusQuantum offers unprecedented precision and streamlined processes meeting the stringent requirements of airbag manufacturing. The fully integrated FocusQuantum Suite enables preparation phases as rigorous and methodical as possible in order to eliminate errors from design to manufacturing, ensuring a level of quality approaching zero defects. The integrated offer was launched in January 2016. FocusQuantum is a registered trademark of Lectra. About HMT Based in Xiamen, China, HMT New Technical Materials (Stock Code: 603306) is active in the research and development, manufacture and distribution of automotive airbag fabric and products. Its portfolio of clients includes Volkswagen, General Motors, Audi, Volvo, Ford, Mazda, Chery, Geely and BYD Auto. Founded in 2002, the company employs a workforce of 1,300. HMT registered annual output value of $90 million in 2015. For more information, please visit www.hmtnew.com About Lectra Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions (software, automated cutting equipment, and associated services) specifically designed for industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles, and composite materials to manufacture their products. It serves major world markets: fashion and apparel, automotive, and furniture as well as a broad array of other industries. Lectra's solutions, specific to each market, enable customers to automate and optimize product design, development, and manufacturing. With more than 1,500 employees, Lectra has developed privileged relationships with prestigious customers in more than 100 countries, contributing to their operational excellence. Lectra registered revenues of $264 million in 2015 and is listed on Euronext. For more information, please visit www.lectra.com (http://www.lectra.com) Contact - Lectra Headquarters / Press Dept.: Nathalie Fournier-Christol E-mail: n.fournier-christol@lectra.com (mailto:n.fournier-christol@lectra.com) Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 64 42 37 - Fax: +33 (0)1 53 64 43 40 Lectra_HMT_press release (http://hugin.info/143494/R/1997933/736663.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: LECTRA via Globenewswire HUG#1997933 OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Prime Minister's Office The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that he will travel to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, from March 31 to April 1. Canada supports a strong multilateral framework for the global fight against nuclear terrorism - one of the gravest threats to international security. The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit aims to bring the international community together in order to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism around the globe. The Summit will provide a forum for world leaders to reinforce commitments, at the highest levels, to enhance the security of their nuclear and radiological materials and combat nuclear terrorism. Quote "We are committed to working with the international community to prevent nuclear terrorism - a very real social, political, economic, and environmental threat. We must take the necessary steps to enhance our collective security so that Canadians and others around the world can feel safe and free in their communities." - Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada Quick Facts -- The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit will be the fourth and final summit. It has been characterized as a "transition Summit". -- It will focus on ensuring that the achievements of the Summit process are sustained and that work continues in the years ahead to strengthen the international nuclear security architecture. -- The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington, D.C. in 2010, and was followed by additional Summits in Seoul in 2012 and The Hague in 2014. Associated Link - 2016 Nuclear Security Summit This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca Contacts: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has reportedly been arrested and charged with simply battery. Local reports said Lewandowski turned himself in to police in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday after the charges were filed. The charges stem from an incident last month in which Lewandowski allegedly grabbed former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields by the arm hard enough to leave bruising. Fields previously said she asked Trump a question about affirmative action at an event in Jupiter but claims she was grabbed tightly by the arm and yanked down before the real estate tycoon could answer. The reporter said the Washington Post's Ben Terris subsequently told her it was Lewandowski who had grabbed her. Fields later resigned from Breitbart, claiming the conservative news site did not adequately support her following the incident. Upon Lewandowski's surrender, Jupiter Police released previously unseen video that appears to show him grabbing Fields by the arm and pulling on her. However, the Trump campaign was quick to release a statement declaring Lewandowski's innocence and expressing confidence he will be exonerated. 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. According to Technavio's latest report, the global contact center market is expected to reach USD 9.7 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of over 9% during the forecast period. "The global contact center market has been registering a positive growth rate for the past five years, and this growth is expected to gain momentum in the coming years. Innovation and the proliferation of digital technologies has changed customers' interaction with companies, and customers are now using different channels such as the web and self-service options. Many organizations prefer to include a contact center as a strategic part of their organization. Moreover, some organizations prefer to outsource their call center functions to a third party to improve the customer experience," says Amit Sharma, lead analyst for ITO and BPOresearch at Technavio. In this report, Technavio covers the present scenario and growth prospects of theGlobal Contact Center Market for 2015-2019.The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top four vendors operating in the market. The market is segmented into the following three regions: Americas EMEA APAC Americas: largest contact center market The contact center market in the Americas is expected to exceed USD 5 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of over 7%. The US, Canada, and Latin America are the key regions in this market. The US held a major market share of about 50% of the market in the Americas in 2014. Latin American countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Argentina are key adopters of contact centers. The close proximity to clients and proficiency in the English and Spanish languages are some of the advantages of the contact centers in Latin America. However, the strong currency in the region, language barriers in Brazil, and the unstable political environment in Mexico are some of the factors that impede the growth of the contact center market in this region. Request a sample report: http://goo.gl/XzEe03 EMEA: Europe is the major contributor in this region The contact center market in EMEA is expected to exceed USD 3 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of over 11%. Europe is the major contributor in this region. However, countries in Eastern Europe and Africa are seen as potential markets for contact center functions. EMEA's close proximity to business service outsourcing clients in the US and Europe offers the benefits of time saving, high-quality service, and customer satisfaction, making the region a favorable location for contact center functions. "Some countries in EMEA such as South Africa, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are expected to be key contributing countries over the next five years," says Amit. APAC: fastest growing market for contact centers during the forecast period The contact center market in APAC is expected to exceed USD 1 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of almost 13%. In 2014, APAC accounted for 11% of the global contact center market. Countries such as China, India, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia are expected to be the leading contributors to the market in this region and are expected to witness an increased growth rate during the forecast period. Key Vendors: Alcatel-Lucent Avaya Cisco Systems Huawei Technologies Some of the other prominent vendors mentioned in the report are: 3CLogic, 8x8, Aastra, Altitude Software, Aspect Software, Connect First, Convergys, CRMXchange, Enghouse Interactive, Five9, Fujitsu, Genesys, HP, and IBM. Browse Related Reports: Contact Center Outsourcing Market in the APAC Region 2015-2019 Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) Market in the EMEA Region 2015-2019 Global OSS BSS Software 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/20160329005128/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com media@technavio.com SAINT-CLOUD, France, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Dassault Aviation's new flagship, the Falcon 8X, is entering the final stages of its flight test and certification program as work proceeds to prepare the ultra-long range trijet for initial delivery. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348920 ) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120925/564526-a ) FAA and EASA certification of the 6,450 nm/11,945 km 8X is expected by midyear and entry into service by late summer. The three aircraft in the flight test program have nearly completed all certification test requirements, and to date have accumulated over 650 flight hours in 325 flights. After undergoing thermal, acoustic and cabin amenity testing at the Little Rock Completion Center, s/n 03, the first 8X equipped with a fully fitted interior, returned to the Istres Flight Test Center near Marseille earlier this month to prepare for cold soak trials. Intended to demonstrate aircraft system functionality under extreme weather conditions, the soak trial campaign was conducted at Ranken Inlet, Nunavut, on the northwestern shore of Canada's Hudson Bay, from March 9-11. All systems, including avionics, electrical, hydraulic and digital flight control systems, performed flawlessly during the tests despite temperatures that dipped as low as -27 F (-33 C). All cabin systems were successfully tested on ground after APU startup and cabin warm up. Full capability under extreme cold conditions was also demonstrated in flight at the end of the campaign. Falcon 8X s/n 03 will now begin a global test campaign to demonstrate aircraft operational reliability and performance in different conditions of flight. The month-long campaign will take the aircraft through Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North and South America and include more than 60 missions of various lengths representing the extremes of what Falcon 8X customers might expect to face during their aircraft's operational life. The campaign will focus particular attention on cabin equipment and functionalities and other high speed communications systems during long, intercontinental flights and flights over remote areas. "We are delighted and thrilled with the way the Falcon 8X program is proceeding," said Eric Trappier, Chairman/CEO of Dassault Aviation. "The flight test campaign has been flawless and the aircraft will be in initial customers' hands this summer, just as planned when we launched development three years ago." Production ramping up fast Meanwhile, as the flight testing and certification campaign nears completion, series production and support activities are moving into high gear. Falcon 8X s/n 21 recently entered final assembly in Bordeaux-Merignac and six airplanes are now in completion at Little Rock. Dassault Aviation recently completed work on a new hangar in Little Rock to handle 8X completions and broke ground on a new six-bay hangar at Bordeaux-Merignac to provide additional maintenance and repair resources for the 8X and 7X models. Derived from the popular Falcon 7X, the ultra-long range Falcon 8X was unveiled in May 2014 at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition and first flew on February 6, 2015. The 8X will offer the greatest range and the longest cabin of any Falcon, allowing it to fly passengers comfortably from Beijing to New York, Hong Kong to London or Los Angeles to Moscow, nonstop. It will also share the 7X's exceptional operating economy and short-field performance. In addition to the quietest cabin and the most advanced digital flight control system in business aviation, the trijet will be available with Dassault's new FalconEye Combined Vision System, the first head up display in the industry to meld synthetic and enhanced vision capabilities, as well as the largest selection of standard cabin configurations of any large business jet. Notes for Editors Dassault Falcon is the recognized global brand for Dassault business jets which are designed, manufactured and supported by Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. About Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation is a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 90 countries across five continents. It produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcons. The company employs a workforce of over 11,000 and has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities around the globe. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,400 Falcon jets have been delivered. Dassault offers a range of six business jets from thetwin-engine 3,350 nm large-cabin Falcon 2000S to its new flagship, the tri-engine 6,450 nm ultra-long range Falcon8X. About Dassault Falcon Jet Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, France. Dassault Falcon Jet markets and supports the Falcon family of business jets throughout North and South America. Photos Copy and paste the link into your browser to access the high resolution photos: http://www.falconphotogallery.com For more information about Dassault Falcon business jets, visit: http://www.dassaultfalcon.com Press Contacts Dassault Aviation (Saint-Cloud, France) Vadim Feldzer Tel. +33-1-47-11-44-13 vadim.feldzer@dassault-aviation.com Marie-Alexandrine Fouillard Tel. +33-1-47-11-64-23 marie-alexandrine.fouillard@dassault-aviation.com Dassault Falcon Jet (Teterboro Airport, USA) Andrew Ponzoni Tel. +1-201-541-45-88 andrew.ponzoni@falconjet.com Grant Kielczewski Tel. +1-201-541-46-79 grant.kielczewski@falconjet.com Follow us on Twitter: @DassaultFalcon VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Candente Copper Corp. (TSX: DNT)(LMA: DNT) (the "Company") announces that effective March 28, 2016, Dale Matheson Carr-Holton Labonte, LLP, Chartered Accountants has been appointed the Company's auditor in place of Deloitte, LLP, Chartered Accountants. The former auditor and new auditor confirm that there are no disagreements or unresolved issues. The resignation of Deloitte, LLP and the recommendation to appoint Dale Matheson Carr-Holton Labonte, LLP has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Company. Shareholders of the Company will be requested to approve the change of auditor of the Company at the Company's upcoming Annual General Meeting. About Candente Copper Candente Copper is a mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. The company is currently focused on its 100% owned Canariaco project, which includes the Feasibility stage Canariaco Norte deposit as well as the Canariaco Sur deposit and Quebrada Verde prospect, located within the western Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes in the Department of Lambayeque in Northern Peru. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming 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. Candente Copper relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements. On behalf of the Board of Candente Copper Corp. Joanne C. Freeze P.Geo., CEO, Director NR-078 Contacts: Candente Copper Corp. info@candentecopper.com www.candentecopper.com Candente Copper Corp. Walter Spagnuolo Manager, Investor Relations mobile: +1 (604) 306-8477 local: + 1 (604) 689-1957 ext 3 SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - The Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS (SDAR) is pleased to welcome Ryan Maxson as its new Government Affairs Director. Maxson will represent SDAR membership on governmental issues impacting real estate, provide advice to local policy makers and key government staff and recommend association policy. Maxson is a public affairs professional with more than a decade of experience working on issues at the federal, state, and local levels of government. He began his career in Washington, DC as a legislative aide for Congressman David Dreier, then-Chairman of both the House Committee on Rules and the California Republican Congressional Delegation. After seven years in DC, Ryan returned to Southern California to attend graduate school. He earned his MBA from Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management while working at Bridgepoint Education, where he managed the organization's advocacy and local public affairs initiatives before joining the Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS. "SDAR is excited to have Ryan on our team," said Michael Mercurio, Chief Executive Officer of SDAR. "He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our organization which will serve him well as he coordinates efforts to promote housing opportunities, protect private property rights and foster economic development and a pro-business environment conducive to the real estate profession." Maxson is a board member of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Young Leaders and a graduate of LEAD San Diego's Impact and Embark programs. He previously served as the representative of Bridgepoint Education on committees within the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, Downtown San Diego Partnership, San Diego County Taxpayer Association, and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. ABOUT SDAR -- With more than 12,500 members, the Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS is the largest trade association in the county. We help our members, who adhere to a code of ethics and professional standards, sell more homes. We also help people realize the dream of homeownership, and we are dedicated to protecting private property rights. Contact: Joanie Ewing 858-715-8010 jewing@sdar.com TSAWWASSEN, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Starting and running a business just became easier for entrepreneurs in communities across British Columbia now that 11 new local governments have signed on to the BizPaL licence program. The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Canada's Minister of Small Business and Tourism, and the Honourable Coralee Oakes, British Columbia's Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch, announced the implementation of BizPaL in the District of Wells, Village of Slocan, Village of Salmo, Village of Silverton, Village of Clinton, Village of Chase, Village of Pouce Coupe, Village of New Denver, Capital Regional District, District of Oak Bay and Tsawwassen First Nation. This free online application is a directory of the permits and licences required to start or run a business. BizPaL saves business people time searching for information and, as a result, helps them meet their obligations more easily. Quotes "BizPaL will make a real and positive difference in how business is done in these communities. This great service cuts red tape for entrepreneurs, letting them spend less time researching rules and permits and more time on their business. BizPaL means it will be easier for companies in these communities to get started and running." - The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism "Services like BizPaL are practical tools that reduce paperwork and red tape. Before BizPaL, a plumber in Kamloops would have had to go to multiple websites to determine which licences were required. Now this process can be done in minutes by clicking the BizPaL link." - The Honourable Coralee Oakes, British Columbia Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch "Tsawwassen First Nation is pleased to join the BizPaL program. We are a self-governing First Nation engaged in significant commercial, industrial and residential development. In collaboration with Canada and British Columbia, BizPaL will allow us to further support businesses on our Lands by providing ready access to information from all three levels of government. It is one more step on our path toward economic sustainability for our people." - Chief Bryce Williams, Tsawwassen First Nation Quick facts -- The newest communities to join BizPaL bring the total number of local governments in British Columbia involved in this program to 129. -- The addition of the Tsawwassen First Nation marks the first time a First Nation has signed on to offer the BizPaL service. -- BizPaL, a unique collaboration between all levels of government, helps entrepreneurs find out which permits and licences they require to start and grow their businesses. Associated links BizPaL BC BizPal BACKGROUNDER BizPaL simplifies access to information on permits and licences for Canadian businesses BizPaL is an online service that benefits Canadian businesses by helping them identify which permits and licences they require and how to obtain them. Entrepreneurs simply select the business activities they plan to undertake, and BizPaL then automatically generates a list of required permits and licences from all levels of government, along with basic information on each. The list also includes links to the various government websites where entrepreneurs can learn more and, in some cases, apply online. BizPaL also benefits governments by making it easier for them to provide businesses with accurate information on permits and licences. All provinces and territories are participating in BizPaL, with over 750 municipalities and one First Nation offering the service, making it available to over 60 percent of the Canadian population. Visit the BizPaL website (www.bizpal.ca) for a complete list of participating jurisdictions. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada is the lead federal department for BizPaL, supporting the centralized functions of the service. BizPaL demonstrates how the Government of Canada is committed to engage provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to align as much as possible with complementary programs to support SMEs. The Government of Canada is committed to creating a competitive business environment that supports innovation and reduces red tape. BizPaL has contributed to the government's success in reducing the paperwork burden on small businesses. The success of BizPaL is due in part to the multi-jurisdictional partnership among federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments. The partnership operates under a shared governance and costing model with collaborative decision making. Each jurisdiction is responsible for adding and maintaining its own information in BizPaL. This interactive, smart permit and licence search tool is featured on the Provincial BizPaL website. Visit the BizPaL website (www.bizpal.ca) for additional information. Follow Minister Chagger on Twitter and Instagram: @MinofSBT Contacts: James Fitz-Morris Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Small Business and Tourism 343-291-2700 Media Relations Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 343-291-1777 ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca According to Technavio's latest report, the global printed batteries market is expected to exceed USD 418 million by 2019, growing at a CAGR of over 54% during the forecast period. Printed batteries have a high demand in smartphones, healthcare, and many other industries. The market is likely to witness significant growth with high adoption in the smartphones industry, followed by the wearables industry. Its flexibility will lead to the development of flexible electronic devices, as well. According to Sunil Kumar Singh, lead analyst for embedded systemsresearch at Technavio, "Rechargeable printed batteries are likely to be introduced by 2019, which will further expand the scope of market growth." In this report, Technavio covers the present scenario and growth prospects of theglobal printed batteries market 2015-2019.The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top two vendors operating in the market. The market is segmented into the following three regions: Americas EMEA APAC Americas: the US is the leading manufacturer of printed batteries The Americas contributed 40% of the overall revenue for the global printed batteries market in 2014. One of the main reasons for its contribution is the presence of leading vendors such as Blue Spark Technologies, Imprint Energy, and Cymbet in this region. Being early adopters of new technology, printed batteries were first commercially introduced in the Americas. The US is the leading manufacturer of printed batteries and generates the majority of the region's market revenue. The sale of printed batteries is directly proportional to the sale of electronic devices and gadgets, as printed batteries are used exclusively in these products. Market growth in this region will be driven by the increasing adoption of smart watches, RFID tags, micro sensors, fitness bands, cosmetic patches, and medical patches. The global printed batteries market in the Americas should grow at a CAGR of 53% during the forecast period. Request a sample report: http://goo.gl/4mVYzb EMEA: increased demand for medical implants to boost growth In 2014, EMEA contributed 36% of the overall printed batteries market. The majority of market growth in EMEA is generated from the UK, Germany, France, and Italy. In addition, due to early adoption of electronic devices such as smartwatches and wearable fitness devices, the region is seeing increased demand for medical implants. Enfucell, a significant printed battery vendor from EMEA, occupies a majority share in this region. It provides printed batteries solutions for RFID tags, micro sensors, transdermal pharmaceutical products, and cosmetic patches. The market revenue of this region is likely to grow at a CAGR of 52% during the forecast period. APAC: expected to post the highest growth rate of printed battery adoption Although APAC contributes only 24% of the total revenue to the global printed batteries market in 2014, Technavio expects the region to post the highest growth rate. Due to the low printed battery penetration rate in this region, it offers ample opportunity for growth. Global vendors such as Cymbets are collaborating with local APAC companies to market and promote their sales. "In addition, APAC's growing population, increasing disposable incomes and the adoption of new technologies are other factors which are likely to boost the market for printed batteries in this region," says Sunil. The printed batteries market in APAC is growing, due to its wide range of applications in RFID, micro sensors, wearable and mobile devices etc. Moreover, as the majority of wearable and mobile device vendors originate from this region, APAC is likely to post the highest growth rate of printed battery adoption. APAC is expected to grow at a CAGR of 60% during the forecast period. Key Vendors: Blue Spark Technologies Enfucell The other prominent vendors mentioned in the report are: Imprint Energy, Cymbet, and Solicore. Browse Related Reports: Global Printed Sensor Market 2016-2020 Global EUV Lithography Market 2015-2019 Global Structural Electronics 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/20160329005144/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 630 333 9501 UK: +44 208 123 1770 www.technavio.com media@technavio.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Calling on his colleagues to do the same, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., became the first Republican Senator to meet with President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday. Kirk's meeting with federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland comes even though Senate Republican leaders have pledged not to consider his nomination. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Kirk argued it was 'too closed-minded' for his fellow GOP Senators to say they will not even meet with Garland. 'By leading by example, I'm showing what a rational, responsible guy would do that really wants the constitutional process to go forward,' Kirk said. A number of Republicans have said the Senate should not consider a nominee to the Supreme Court until the next president takes office, leaving the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia vacant for the next year. However, a report from NBC News earlier in the day said sixteen Senate Republicans have now agreed to meet with Garland, representing nearly 30 percent of the GOP caucus. The shift has been described as a sign that Republican resolve is fading, although some senators described the meeting as a formality and said there still should not be a hearing or vote on Garland's nomination. Kirk, who is facing a tough re-election fight against Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., called Garland 'one of the most eminent jurists in the country.' Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court announced another split decision that provided a victory for labor unions representing public sector employees. The 4 to 4 decision reflected the impact of the death of Scalia, who was widely expected to rule against the unions. 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. MUMBAI, India, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Dorf Ketal Chemicals India Private Ltd. (Dorf Ketal), a global leader in specialty chemicals announces the appointment of Eric Quek to the position of Global Business Development Manager, Power Generation in Global Fuels Additives division of Dorf Ketal. Eric brings over 30 years of experience in the steam generation and fuels additives industry. Prior experience includes technical and business development positions with Bycosin, Octel and most recently his own private practice focused on fuels business development and branding for global oil companies. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/348818LOGO Eric will report directly to Miltos Papachristos, CEO and President Dorf Ketal Global Fuels Additives business. "Eric possesses a broad spectrum of technical and business development experience to help us rapidly grow the Power Generation market," stated Mr. Miltos Papachristos. "From developing and implementing fuels additives programs in power plants and refineries to securing emission contractor testing certification from the Singapore Ministry of Environment, Eric has demonstrated his leadership abilities." "Global Fuels Additives is a strategic growth market for Dorf Ketal and power generation is a new market segment for us," commented Mr. Sudhir Menon, Chairman and Managing Director of Dorf Ketal. "This market is characterized by technical innovation, customer technical service and the industry knowledge to quantify the value for the customer. We are making excellent progress in strengthening our position in this market." About Dorf Ketal Dorf Ketal Chemicals India Private Ltd. (www.dorfketal.com) is a privately owned specialty chemical company based in Mumbai, India with operations in the Asia Pacific, China, Europe, South America and North America. Dorf Ketal is the industry's fastest-growing provider of formulated specialty chemicals to upstream and downstream hydrocarbon markets and the market leader in organometallic catalysts and cross-linkers serving a broad range of applications and industries. The firm's core strategic focus on new chemistries is reflected in numerous patents and industry recognition for innovation to solve our customer's most demanding problems. VIRGINIA CITY, NV--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Comstock Mining Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE MKT: LODE) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with its strategic partner, American Mining and Tunneling, LLC and American Drilling Corp, LLC , (together the "American Group") for $5 million in underground mine development, drilling and mining services. These services will be provided in exchange for the issuance of up to 9,000,000 shares of its common stock, at a value of at least $0.56 per share. The shares to be issued to the American Group will be issued in exchange for future drilling, mine development and underground mining services in connection with, but not limited to, the Company's construction of an underground exploration portal, mining infrastructure and development of the Company's Lucerne and Dayton Mine projects. When such shares are issued, they will be restricted shares subject to a minimum six-month holding period by AMT, during which time the issued shares may not be sold. Mr. Corrado De Gasperis, President & CEO of Comstock Mining, commented, "We consider the American Group as the best all-around partner for underground drilling and development competencies as we both strengthen our commitments and grow our mutual investment in Nevada mining. By investing with and in us, the collaboration with the American Group has achieved another level of strategic partnering as we position our Nevada-based platform for the next level of performance." The Company has previously partnered with the American Group based on their broad underground drilling, development and underground mining expertise and quality services to the mining industry, and especially in North America, with a special focus in Nevada. Mr. Steve Elloway, President & CEO of American Group, commented, "Our industry is emerging from three tough years of rationalized exploration and underdevelopment. We continue partnering with companies in good jurisdictions, having broad development opportunities and high quality, growth-minded, management teams that have invested in their district and positioned themselves for growth." This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of the Company's common stock, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About Comstock Mining Inc. Comstock Mining Inc. is a producing, Nevada-based, gold and silver mining company with extensive, contiguous property in the Comstock District and is an emerging leader in sustainable, responsible mining, including concurrent and accelerated reclamations, soil sampling, voluntary air monitoring, cultural asset protection and historical restorations. The Company began acquiring properties in the Comstock District in 2003. Since then, the Company has consolidated a significant portion of the Comstock District, amassed the single largest known repository of historical and current geological data on the Comstock region, secured permits, built an infrastructure and commenced production in 2012. The Company continues acquiring additional properties in the district, expanding its footprint and creating opportunities for further exploration, development and mining. The near-term goal of our business plan is to maximize intrinsic stockholder value realized, per share, by validating qualified resources and reserves (proven and probable) from our first two resource areas, Lucerne and Dayton, and significantly grow the commercial development of our operations through extended, long-lived mine plans that are economically feasible and socially responsible. About the American Group American Mining and Tunneling LLC and American Drilling Corp, LLC is a mining services and exploration drilling group headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington. The Company provides mine development and construction services to the mining industry ranging from beginning stage exploration to the end of mine life reclamation. International services are provided through its North American divisions in Elko, Nevada, Winnemucca, Nevada, Spokane Valley, Washington and Hermosillo, Mexico. Emphasis at the American Group is on maintaining the highest quality, experienced and professional personnel supported by a safety first companywide culture. www.AmericanMT.com www.AmericanDrillingCorp.com Forward-Looking Statements Some of the information presented in this press release, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the transaction between the Company and the American Group, strategic plans and industry prospects, and all other information relating to matters that are not historical facts, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, which are in turn based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable based on our current knowledge of our business and operations. We have used words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will" and variations of such words and similar expressions to identify such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, without limitation: the receipt and timing of necessary stock exchange, regulatory or other approvals; industry and market conditions affecting the Company and its suppliers; and the other factors detailed from time to time in the reports of the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described under "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Contact information for Comstock Mining Inc.: PO Box 1118 Virginia City, NV 89440 questions@comstockmining.com http://www.comstockmining.com Corrado De Gasperis President & CEO Tel (775) 847-4755 degasperis@comstockmining.com Judd Merrill Chief Financial Officer Tel (775) 847-7325 merrill@comstockmining.com EDMONTON, ALBERTA and NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- (All $ figures referenced herein are to Canadian dollars, unless noted otherwise) Stantec Inc. ("Stantec" or the "Company") (TSX: STN)(NYSE: STN) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which it will acquire MWH Global, Inc. ("MWH"), a Broomfield, Colorado-based global engineering, consulting and construction management firm focused on water and natural resources for built infrastructure and the environment (the "Acquisition"). With the acquisition of MWH and its 6,800 worldwide employees, Stantec will gain a position as a global leader in water resources infrastructure while earning greater presence in key targeted geographies, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America, Europe and the Middle East. Under the terms of the all-cash deal, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Stantec will acquire all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of MWH for a purchase price of approximately US$793 million (the "Purchase Price"). The transaction is valued at approximately US$795 million after taking into account the estimated assumed net indebtedness of MWH, representing approximately 9.5x 2015 Adjusted EBITDA(1). After giving full effect to Stantec's expected run-rate annual synergies of $33 million (approximately US$25 million), the transaction is valued at approximately 7.3x 2015 Adjusted EBITDA(1). These synergies are expected to be fully realized in 2017. "MWH brings a global presence and reputation in water infrastructure that will advance Stantec's position as a top-tier design firm within the highly attractive global water market," says Bob Gomes, Stantec president and chief executive officer (CEO). "Together, we share a commitment to our communities and have the combined talent to support the most technically advanced clients and projects locally and around the world." MWH has a network of approximately 187 offices in 26 countries. The firm has a history of engaging in engineering, construction and management consulting for some of the most technically significant water and natural resources projects in the world, including the Panama Canal Third Set of Locks Project. "We are excited to join the expertise and experience of Stantec and MWH in a transaction that will enable us to thrive and grow amidst an increasingly complex industry landscape by strengthening our combined ability to solve the most pressing water, transportation and infrastructure challenges today," says Alan Krause, MWH chairman and CEO. "Our highly complementary cultures, shared approach to client service and extended global reach should yield multiple benefits for our clients, employees and the communities we serve." Key members of the management team of MWH, including the presidents of key business units, will be joining Stantec in significant leadership positions after the Acquisition closes (the "Acquisition Closing Date"). Alan Krause and David Barnes, MWH chief financial officer, are committed to joining Stantec after the Acquisition Closing Date to ensure a smooth and successful integration. ACQUISITION RATIONALE The Acquisition is aligned with Stantec's growth strategy of building a top-tier presence in the markets it chooses to serve. Historically, Stantec's acquisition strategy has been focused on acquisitions in North America to develop a mature presence across its business portfolio. Stantec has concurrently positioned itself to be able to execute on the right opportunity at the right time to expand its geographic footprint and service capabilities to further diversify its industry leading platform. Specifically, the Acquisition is expected to: Create a Global Leader in Water and Infrastructure Markets The combined company is anticipated to build on Stantec's position as a top-tier design firm within the global water market. The strong brand, reputation and enhanced service offerings of the combined company are expected to strongly position Stantec to compete throughout the full project life cycle on the most technically sophisticated water-related projects in the world. Expand Stantec's Geographic Footprint MWH has a strong position and experience in international markets through its platform in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America, Europe and the Middle East. This should provide Stantec with immediate geographic breadth, creating a platform for expansion and diversification. Management expects that the combination of complementary capabilities, market presence, and cultures of each of MWH and Stantec will create the opportunity to service more clients with a broader range of services, worldwide. Enhance Cross-Selling Capabilities to Different End Markets The Engineering and Technical Services offered by MWH to the Energy and Industry sector are expected to add global capabilities in water-related design services to Stantec's key hydro-power, oil & gas, mining, and industrial clients. The global client portfolio of MWH is expected to generate opportunities for Stantec's Energy & Resources business operating unit to cross-sell its engineering services and provide clients with a broader enhanced service offering through the complete project life cycle. In addition, opportunities exist to further cross-sell services out of Stantec's Buildings & Environmental Services business operating units to the client base of MWH. Create Additional Growth Opportunities Management believes that the Engineering and Construction sector will continue to consolidate and that both scale and global capabilities will be important competitive differentiators, particularly on large and complex projects. MWH brings a history and experience of operating in global markets. Augmented by Stantec's strong balance sheet, history of operational effectiveness and experience in successfully completing and integrating acquisitions, the combined company is expected to be well positioned to grow both organically and by acquisition in the future. Add Water-Related Construction Capabilities The construction capabilities of MWH have grown in response to its clients' desires to have fully-integrated service offerings for the water market. MWH has a diverse range of construction capabilities, with the majority of the capabilities being construction management at-risk performed on water-related projects in the United States and the United Kingdom. These services are provided to the key long-term water clients of MWH. Management expects that the combined company will be able to build upon the strength of the construction capabilities of MWH and have the ability to further meet the needs of Stantec's existing water clients. Additionally, the expertise available within the MWH construction business is expected to augment and improve Stantec's consulting services business by allowing it to better prepare for and execute on design-build projects with other construction partners in both the water markets and other sectors in which Stantec participates in design-build projects. Result in New Opportunities for Combined Company Employees Stantec's purpose is "Creating Communities" and the MWH purpose is "Building a Better World". Together, the combined company will share a commitment to advance the quality of life in our communities around the world. The employees of the combined company are anticipated to have the opportunity to build on that commitment by providing their expertise to more projects in more locations. We expect this will allow the combined company to better serve its clients by drawing resources from across the globe to address each client's specific needs. FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF THE ACQUISITION In addition to the strategic highlights listed above, the Acquisition is expected to be financially advantageous to Stantec's shareholders for the following reasons: Meaningful Synergies Management estimates projected run-rate annual synergies of $33 million (approximately US$25 million), the majority of which are related to leveraging Stantec's existing back office functions and optimizing its operational footprint. The balance of the projected synergies are associated with identified revenue opportunities related to cross-selling to new and existing clients, consistent with management's experience in past acquisitions. Management expects approximately half of the run-rate annual synergies to be realized in 2016, with the remainder realized in 2017. Implementation of Operational Best Practices Stantec has industry leading margins driven by operational best practices. Management believes its experience in successfully executing and integrating acquisitions will enable it to extend its best practices to the combined company and enhance operational efficiency. Highly Accretive Transaction The Acquisition is expected to be immediately mid-single digit accretive to Adjusted Earnings per Share and mid-teens accretive to Adjusted Earnings per Share(2) in 2017, assuming completion of the Equity Financing (as defined below), the Acquisition and the transactions related thereto. Efficient Capital Structure and Dividend Growth Stantec expects to efficiently lever its balance sheet to enhance the returns associated with the Acquisition. The strong cash flow generation and growth prospects of the combined company are expected to reduce leverage levels from less than 3.0x pro forma 2015 Adjusted EBITDA(1) at closing to less than 2.0x expected EBITDA by the end of 2017. Stantec's strong balance sheet should provide it with the flexibility necessary to continue pursuing its growth strategy. Additionally, the Acquisition is expected to result in increased cash flow generation, which should enable the Company to reduce debt while supporting Stantec's payout ratio and dividend growth. "We believe the Acquisition will contribute to both strategic growth and value creation for many years to come. Given the quality and the geographic diversification of cash flows generated by our joint operations, we expect our financial position to remain strong. In the quarters to come, our focus will be on integrating and optimizing our combined operations, and achieving the operational performance our shareholders have come to expect," said Dan Lefaivre, Stantec executive vice president and chief financial officer. ACQUISTION APPROVALS The Acquisition must be approved by holders of at least two thirds of the MWH shares at a special meeting of MWH shareholders expected to be held in April 2016. The Acquisition is subject to certain customary conditions, including approval under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Anti-Trust Improvements Act. Stantec anticipates the Acquisition to close in the second quarter of 2016. FINANCING The Acquisition is expected to be financed with a combination of the proceeds of an equity financing and new credit facilities as follows: -- A $525 million public offering of Subscription Receipts on a bought deal basis at an offer price of $30.25 per Subscription Receipt for a total of 17,360,000 Subscription Receipts (the "Equity Financing") and up to an additional approximately $79 million in gross proceeds pursuant to an underwriter over-allotment option; -- A $800 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Facility"), of which approximately $233 million will be drawn; and -- A $450 million senior secured amortizing non-revolving term credit facility (the "Term Facility"). Stantec has also secured a $525 million bridge facility (the "Bridge Facility") which could be used in conjunction with the Revolving Facility and the Term Facility to fund the Acquisition in the event the Equity Financing is not completed on or before the Acquisition Closing Date. The Bridge Facility will be terminated in the event the Equity Financing closes. Public Offering of Subscription Receipts on a Bought Deal Basis Stantec has entered into an agreement with CIBC World Markets Inc. ("CIBC Capital Markets") and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. ("RBC Capital Markets") (collectively, the "Joint Bookrunners"), on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (the "Underwriters") with respect to the Equity Financing. In addition, the Underwriters have been granted an over-allotment option, exercisable in whole or in part at the offer price not later than the earlier of the 30th day following the closing date of the Equity Financing and the occurrence of a Termination Event (as defined below), to purchase up to an additional 2,604,000 Subscription Receipts at a price of $30.25 per Subscription Receipt for additional gross proceeds of up to approximately $79 million. The Subscription Receipts will be offered to the public in Canada and the United States through the Underwriters or their affiliates under the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system by way of short form prospectus filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada and with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States. The Equity Financing is scheduled to close on or about April 14, 2016. Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder thereof to receive, without payment of additional consideration or further action, one common share in the capital of Stantec following the satisfaction of the Escrow Release Condition (as defined below) plus a Subscription Receipt Adjustment Payment (as defined below), if applicable. The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts, less 50% of the underwriters' fee with respect to such sale will be held by Computershare Trust Company of Canada, as subscription receipt agent, and invested as directed by Stantec in short term interest bearing or discount debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the Government of Canada or a Province of Canada or a Canadian chartered bank (subject to those investments having a certain minimum rating) pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Condition, all pursuant to the terms of a subscription receipt agreement (the "Subscription Receipt Agreement") to be entered into on the closing of the Equity Financing among Stantec, the subscription receipt agent (the "Escrow Agent"), CIBC Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets. "Escrow Release Condition" means all conditions precedent to the completion of the Acquisition pursuant to the agreement in respect of the Acquisition (other than the delivery of the purchase price for the Acquisition) have been satisfied or waived, and the Company has delivered to CIBC Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets, on their own behalf and on behalf of the Underwriters, and the Escrow Agent, a certificate, in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Receipt Agreement, confirming such satisfaction or waiver. If: (i) the Escrow Release Condition is not satisfied on or before 5:00 p.m. (Edmonton time) on August 30, 2016 (the "Escrow Release Deadline"), (ii) the agreement in respect of the Acquisition is terminated prior to such deadline, or (iii) Stantec advises the subscription receipt agent, CIBC Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets, or announces to the public, that it does not intend to proceed with the Acquisition prior to such deadline (each such event being a "Termination Event"), holders of Subscription Receipts will be entitled to receive an amount equal to the full subscription price and their pro rata portion of the interest earned thereon. If the Escrow Release Condition is satisfied on or before the Escrow Release Deadline and holders of Subscription Receipts become entitled to receive common shares pursuant to the Subscription Receipt Agreement, such holders will also be entitled to receive, without duplication, an amount, if any, representing an amount per Subscription Receipt equal to the amount per common share of any cash dividends declared by Stantec for which record dates have occurred during the period from and including the date of the closing of the Equity Offering to and including the date immediately preceding the date common shares are issued or deemed to be issued pursuant to the Subscription Receipt Agreement (the "Subscription Receipt Adjustment Payment"), less any applicable withholding taxes, for each Subscription Receipt so held, as further described in the Subscription Receipt Agreement. The issuance of the Subscription Receipts pursuant to the Equity Financing is subject to customary approvals of applicable securities regulatory authorities, including the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Investors should read the short form prospectus related to the Equity Financing before making an investment decision. The description of the Subscription Receipts set forth above is qualified in its entirety by the subscription receipt agreement and the summary thereof contained in the short form prospectus. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy nor will there be any sale of these securities in any province, state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such province, state or jurisdiction. New Credit Facilities Concurrently with the announcement of the Acquisition, Stantec has obtained an underwritten financing from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, as sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner, providing for the Revolving Facility, the Term Facility and the Bridge Facility (together the "New Credit Facilities"). The Bridge Facility, to be used only in the event the Equity Financing does not close on or before the Acquisition Closing Date, would be a senior secured one-year non-revolving bridge credit facility in the maximum amount of $525 million. FINANCIAL AND LEGAL ADVISORS DBO Partners acted as lead financial advisor and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal advisor to Stantec in connection with the Acquisition. CIBC Capital Markets also acted as financial advisor to Stantec on the Acquisition. Legal advice to Stantec in connection with the financing is being provided, with respect to Canadian law, by Dentons Canada LLP for the Equity Financing and Bennett Jones LLP for the New Credit Facilities and, with respect to US law, by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to MWH in connection with the Acquisition. CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION Stantec will hold a conference call, to be held Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at 2:45 PM MDT (4:45 PM EDT), and broadcast live and archived in the Investors section of www.stantec.com. Interested parties who wish to listen to the conference call are invited to call 1-800-499-4035 and provide confirmation code 5229404 to the operator. AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS Copies of related documents, such as the preliminary short form prospectus, underwriting agreement, the subscription receipt agreement and the merger agreement will be available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) as part of the public filings of Stantec. The Company has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") for the Equity Financing to which this communication relates. The Subscription Receipts may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. Before readers invest, they should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the Equity Financing. The Company has also filed a preliminary short form prospectus relating to the Equity Financing with each of the provincial securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Potential investors may get any of these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or via SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Alternatively, the Company, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the Equity Financing will arrange to send potential investors the prospectus without charge if requested in the U.S. from CIBC Capital Markets, 425 Lexington Avenue, 5th floor, New York, NY; Attention: Hector Cruz; Phone: 1-800-282-0822; Email: useprospectus@cibc.com or from RBC Capital Markets, LLC, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10281-8098; Attention: Equity Syndicate; Phone: 877-822-4089; Email: equityprospectus@rbccm.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS Stantec's EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Earnings per Share and certain references to other measures in the preliminary short form prospectus contemplated by this news release are non-IFRS measures. For a definition and explanation of non-IFRS measures, please see the preliminary short form prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any such statements represent the views of management only as of the date hereof and are presented for the purpose of providing the Company's shareholders and potential investors with information regarding the Company, including management's expectations with respect to the Equity Financing and the Acquisition and management's assessment of the Company's future plans and financial outlook. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding: the planned Equity Financing and Acquisition, including the expected closings thereof; plans regarding financing the Acquisition, including but not limited to, using the proceeds of the Equity Financing together with other financing sources to pay for the Purchase Price; the timing of the distribution of the Subscription Receipts; expectations or projections about strategies and goals for growth and expansion, including the Company's intention to leverage the brand equity of MWH and enhance cross-selling; expectations regarding realization of synergies and accretion following the Acquisition, and the timing thereof; expected impacts of the Acquisition on EBITDA composition, earnings, cash flow and dividend growth, as well as on the Company's future ability to reduce leverage levels. These forward-looking statements reflect management's belief and assumptions based on information available at the time the information was stated and is not a guarantee of future performance. Key assumptions on which forward-looking information is based include, but are not limited to, assumptions about: acquisitions and divestitures; regulatory decisions and outcomes; access to capital markets; timing and completion of the Acquisition, including receipt of regulatory and MWH stockholder approval; and the realization of the anticipated benefits and synergies of the Acquisition to the combined company, including impacts on growth and accretion in various financial metrics. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this news release may not occur and could differ materially from current expectations as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, including: regulatory decisions and outcomes; uncertainty regarding the length of time to complete the Acquisition; uncertainty regarding the Company's ability to achieve the cost savings, synergies and benefits anticipated from the Acquisition; economic conditions in North America and globally; and, many other factors beyond the control of the Company. Readers of this news release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements, and not to use future-oriented information or financial outlooks for anything other than their intended purpose. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. For additional information on the Company's assumptions, and the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to the Company's preliminary short form prospectus and registration statement, each of which are filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with the SEC at www.sec.gov. About Stantec We're active members of the communities we serve. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind. The Stantec community unites more than 15,000 employees working in over 250 locations. Our work-professional consulting in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics - begins at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. With a long-term commitment to the people and places we serve, Stantec has the unique ability to connect to projects on a personal level and advance the quality of life in communities across the globe. Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN. Design with community in mind (1) Adjusted for out of ordinary course severance, estimated savings associated with certain employee retirement plans and other one-time costs and items. (2) Earnings per Share adjusted to exclude estimated transaction-related intangible amortization, costs and other one-time items on an after-tax basis. Contacts: Stantec Media Contact Danny Craig Director, Public Relations (949) 923-6085 danny.craig@stantec.com Stantec Investor Contact Sonia Kirby Director, Investor Relations (780) 616-2785 sonia.kirby@stantec.com MWH Media Contact Meg VanderLaan Chief Communications Officer (720) 999-4900 meg.vanderlaan@mwhglobal.com Markets Group is an executive forum organizer with a track record of 175+ conferences in over 20 countries. Founded in 2009 in New York, NY, Markets Group has grown into one of the largest and most successful conference organizers in the Americas, with over 65 professionals operating out of our headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. We have successfully executed events in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Additionally, Markets Group was recently named one of America's 5000 fastest-growing private companies by Inc. Magazine and distinguished us as the #1 conference organizer and #1 financial services firm based in NYC. 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. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (TSX: NG)(NYSE MKT: NG) will hold the Company's 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Friday, May 13 at 1:00 pm PT (4:00 pm ET) at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (595 Burrard Street, Suite 2600, Three Bentall Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia). The webcast and conference call-in details are provided below. Following the official meeting, the Company will provide an overview of NOVAGOLD's 2015 achievements, and the outlook for this year. Callers should dial in 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and simply ask to join NOVAGOLD's call. Webcast: www.novagold.com/investors/events North American callers: 1-800-319-4610 International callers: 1-604-638-9020 NOVAGOLD welcomes its shareholders to attend the Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The webcast will be archived on NOVAGOLD's website for one year and the conference call replay will be available for 14 days following the meeting. To access the conference call replay please dial 1-800-319-6413 (North America), or 1-604-638-9010 (International), followed by your Access Code: 00251. For a transcript of the call please email info@novagold.com. Contacts: NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. Melanie Hennessey Vice President, Corporate Communications 604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227 NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. Erin O'Toole Analyst, Investor Relations 604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227 info@novagold.com www.novagold.com VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 03/29/16 -- Orestone Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: ORS) is pleased to announce that the Company has named Mr. Andrew Muir as CFO of the Company. Mr. Muir holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geology from the University of British Columbia and the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) designation. Prior to joining Orestone in October of 2013 Mr. Muir was with Cardero Resource Corp. and for several years with Haywood Securities Inc. in Vancouver, an independent full service investment dealer, where he served as an Investment Advisor building and managing retail and institutional relationships. Prior to Haywood, Mr. Muir was a highly regarded Mining Analyst with Vancouver based investment dealers Canaccord Capital Corporation, PI Financial Corp., and Yorkton Securities Inc. Andrew has been in the investment industry for over 25 years and brings extensive expertise in identifying and communicating investment opportunities, client development, trading, capital introductions, and risk management. He also provides substantial experience in evaluating and presenting resource companies that specialize in developing precious minerals and bulk materials. On his appointment, Mr. Muir stated, "I believe that Orestone has a solid management team and holds a promising copper-gold prospect in a politically stable jurisdiction, and I am excited to see where we can take this." The Company would like to thank Ms. Stoupignan for her service as the CFO of the Company since 2012 and wish her well in her future endeavors. Orestone Mining Corp. is a Canadian based company that controls a portfolio of gold-copper exploration targets in British Columbia, Canada. For more information please visit: www.orestone.ca ON BEHALF OF ORESTONE MINING CORP. David Hottman, President and 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. This news release has been prepared by management and no regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Contacts: Orestone Mining Corp. David Hottman 604-629-1929 info@orestone.ca 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. SmartHome Hero, an Austin, TX-based home resource management (HRM) platform, raised funding from Digitech Venture Capital Fund. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Led by David Carolan, CEO, SmartHome Hero delivers streamlined warranty management and repair service for homeowners while providing a SaaS-based digital advertising platform for builders, smart home products and manufacturers. The company aims to raise $750K in convertible notes before Q3 to expand user user adoption and add new features prior to launching its Series A round later this year. FinSMEs 28/03/2016 "Will a Brussels attack make me not opt for a foreign posting? You must be joking, says 40 year-old Naresh Rathod (name changed) who works for one of Indias leading IT firms. In fact, the next Infosys employee must be waiting for his chance with bated breath to fill up Raghavendran Ganeshan's post, says the Mumbai-based IT employee. Rathod has been working in the firm for a decade, of which seven years were spent in the US working on various projects. He is now in India and waiting for his visa clearance to go abroad soon. What are the prospects of working here? A senior project manager in an IT firm will get a salary of just over a lakh (less than that in other IT firms). When posted abroad, salaries are four to five times higher and an employee can save around (Rs) one lakh, says Rathod. An executive working for a Indian IT firm in Brussels that was later acquired by a German firm, told Firstpost that attacks or no attacks, the job is of 'much importance'. I could get killed in a road accident or even while flying out of an airport in any part of the world, he said, requesting anonymity. Medical insurance is for a meagre amount in most companies in the IT sector, says Rathod and in most cases it is the employee who picks up the tab of his medical bills. I had a lot of health issues in my first few years in the US and had to forego a large part of my salary for my bills. But I would prefer to be in the US than anywhere else in the world as I will be able to provide my family a better life, says Rathod. Any employee who loses a limb or is killed on duty will be paid compensation for loss and the family will get the dues quickly if he works for a blue chip IT firm. In most cases, families have to make several trips and send many mails before they can get the money. Window abroad Freshers in the IT industry are on the lookout for postings abroad from the time they enter the firm. The good performers get to go abroad soon enough but the usual wait is two years, say industry sources. If the employee is ignored and not sent abroad even after the two-year period, he prefers to quit the job and search for another than wait indefinitely for his chance. The US is the country of dreams for most software developers in the country followed by the UK and other European countries, says Kris Laxmikanth, chairman and managing director, The Head Hunters India, Bengaluru. The salaries remain the same when converted into dollars, pounds or euros or any other currency. But people still prefer the US as the cost of living in the UK for instance, is high and that dents the potential savings of an employee, says Laxmikanth. The difference in salaries is the clincher when it comes to foreign postings. War, terror or any other strikes wont dampen the eagerness of the techie. There are two types of techies. There are some techies who are from very affluent families and will prefer to stay in India after a couple of years abroad and then start-up or join the family business. The other category is the large number of people who are tech graduates and want to improve their work and life prospects, says Laxmikanth. For the second category, the US is the country of their dreams that they want to reach. Laxmikanth cites an instance of a blue chip IT firm that could not get a US visa to its employee who was eager to go on a project. That did not dampen the employee who approached a few bodyshoppers faux consulting companies that recruit H1B workers from overseas who help get US visas. She got hers done through one of such company incurring a personal cost of Rs two lakh. That is the desperation to reach American shores, says Laxmikanth. Be it handling canteen work in US-managed canteens in West Asia or Sudan, where work is outsourced to third parties and attracts a lot of Indian labour, or infrastructure work in war-torn Afghanistan or troubled areas in Iran or Iraq, there is always an Indian willing to risk his life and work in these areas. The HR policy of most IT firms is skewed against employees and this shows up especially during appraisal time. An industry source mentions how HR heads are forced to prune around five percent of employees annually. With cut-throat competition, the fear of job loss the axe most times, says the industry source, falls on the IT employee even though it is not his fault that the sales and marketing team could not secure a project or contract for the company the prospects of high salaries and better savings, is it any wonder that there are vacancies that will be filled in most parts of the world, troubled or risky? The only colour that matters is the colour of money and the promises with which it comes. The Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), unveiled on Monday, has laid out the process for acquisition of equipment for the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. An attempt has been to make the system more transparent and cut out delays But the centerpiece of the new policy is to boost home grown defence industry and give a fillip to Prime Minister Narendra Modis 'Make in India' initiative. At the heart of the DPP is a new category for indigenously designed, developed and manufactured equipment. Simply put, it allows Indias fledging private sector a much bigger role in production of military hardware. Equipment manufactured in this homegrown category will get preference or to put it in officialese, will be the "preferred category" to supply the defence forces. But the DPP remains a work-in-progress with defence minister Manohar Parrikar saying that a review will be undertaken after six months. I do not say the document is foolproof. Let us take a review after six months. Nothing is perfect, but we are taking it to perfection, he said. Also, a key element in the DPP, the part dealing with the 'strategic partnership' has not yet been finalised. This is because opinion remains divided within the government on this sensitive issue. The new policy gives Indias private sector both the support and freedom to design, develop and manufacture defence components with the help of foreign partners of its choosing. This can be done by a joint venture with a foreign collaborator without having to get the signature of a joint secretary sitting in the defence ministry. For years the armament industry had been the exclusive preserve of public sector utilities (PSU). The state-run giants have been pampered and crores have been sunk into locally-made equipment that has taken decades to develop. Since Independence, India has sought to be self-reliant in manufacturing defence equipment. But the effort was to have state-run units take on the responsibility. Naresh Chandra, former Indian ambassador to Washington, believes that successive governments have protected the defence PSUs."Money was sunk into these industries with no hope of returns. There are huge vested interests,'' said Chandra. The new policy will help the private sector to set the base for the development of Indias defence industrial complex, which has so long been under the strangehold of the defence ministry babus. Importantly this will also create jobs for Indias teeming workforce. Not that the situation will change immediately, these are at best baby steps towards building a self reliant defence manufacturing base for the future. The new DPP would help India reduce its dependency on foreign countries and source defence equipment within the country. If the government's ambitious plans for indigenous manufacturing take off properly, India can save as much as $50 billion from its likely spend of over $260 billion on defence equipment in the next 12 years, says an Ernst and Young report. This is a distinct advantage. Indias private sector has welcomed the new policy. "By introducing and according the highest priority to 'Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured procurement', DPP 2016 will definitely spur more design development activities within the country and contribute towards much higher indigenous content and will finally create a vibrant domestic defence industrial base, Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general, Confederation of Indian Industry. The private sector is already in the field, but in a small way. FDI in defence was raised from 26 percent to 49 percent soon after the Modi government came to power. The latest announcement will give them the much needed impetus to go ahead without looking over their shoulders. Significant players like the Tatas, L&T, Reliance, Punj Loyd, Fokker Elmo and India Forge, Mahindra and Mahindra, are already in the field. Lars Olof Lindgren of SAAB, the Swedish aerospace and defence corporation, believes India has the potential to do well in the high-tech sector. L&T had already tied up with a South Korean company to manufacture ammunition for K9-self propelled rifles. The joint venture private companies are also hoping to make assault rifles. Tata is in the field with collaboration for the C-130 Hercules aircraft with Lockheed Martin and C-17 aircraft with Boeing. More such joint ventures are expected to gather momentum. Among the three services, the Indian Navy has been the best in sourcing equipment from the country. In fact, it has done well. The Navy had a design bureau in its ranks since the 1950s. This is why the Navy is able to build the platform for its warships and patrol boats. In fact, India sold its first offshore patrol vessel (the Barracuda) to Mauritus for a cool $58.5 million in December 2014. The sale was commissioned when Modi visited the island state. India is also building a nuclear-powered submarine (the Arihant) with Russian help. It has already had its sea trial and was supposed to be part of the International Fleet Review, but did not make it. Most of the warships and patrol boats used by the Navy are homegrown, though of course, the engine and much of the equipment is imported. But that is common all across the world. So if the Navy can do it, so can the Army and Air Force. But that will take time. However, India is on its way to building an industrial defence base in the coming years. The Centre on 26 March notified the new Aadhaar Act, which gives the unique identity number assigned to each Indian citizen statutory backing. The idea of this Act is to empower Aadhaar with legal backing for the purpose of transferring subsidies and government benefits to beneficiaries through designated bank accounts. The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016 will provide efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India, to individuals residing in India through assigning of unique identity numbers to such individuals, said the notification. It will be used for all benefits linked to the consolidated fund of India. The Aadhaar Bill for this act was approved by Parliament on 16 March and tabled in Parliament as a money Bill, leading to much heated discussion whether this indeed is a money Bill. A money Bill pertains to taxes or spending or borrowing of the government and requires no approval from the Rajya Sabha. The opposition said the government introduced it as a money Bill only to circumvent the ruling NDA's minority status in the Rajya Sabha. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who moved the Bill, countered arguing that it deals with subsidies and money that is flown out of the Consolidated Fund of India and so it indeed is a money Bill. Whatever the truth is, one thing is for sure: it is the same BJP that had opposed the The National Identification Authority of India Bill when it was introduced in 2010 by the UPA. So what are the differences between the UPA's bill and NDA's Bill? Here's a list, as given by Roopal Suhag and Anviti Chaturvedi of PRS Legislative: Who is entitled for Aadhaar? As per the new Act, "any person who has resided in India for 182 days (in the one year preceding the application for Aadhaar)". The UPA's Bill said Any person residing in India. Use of Aadhaar As per the new Act, in order to verify the identity of a person receiving a subsidy or service, the government may require them to have an Aadhaar number. However, in case a person has applied for an Aadhaar number and not been assigned one, the government will offer an alternative means of identification. In the UPA's Bill, no such provision was there. Further, the new Act says that the number can be used to verify the identity of any person, for any purpose, by any public or private entity. In the UPA's Bill, no such provision was there. The number shall not confer any right of citizenship or domicile to an aadhaar number holder, says the new Act. The UPA's bill had a similar provision. Types of information maintained by the UIDA The new Act stipulates the identity information to be maintained with UIDA as follows: photograph, biometric information (iris scan and fingerprint), demographic information (name, date of birth, address but excludes race, religion, caste, etc.), and Aadhaar number. The authority may specify any other biological and demographic information to be collected. The UPA's Bill had similar provision. However, it did not specify what kinds of biometric information will be maintained and also had no mention of photograph. When it comes to information on requests for verification of an individual's identity, the new Act mandates that the identity of the entity requesting for such verification, the time of the request and and the response the entity gets should be maintained. The UPA's Bill also had similar provisions, but did not specify what kinds of information related to requests for verification of identity will be covered. Both the NDA's Act and UPA's Bill do not have any clause that requires to collect the purpose for which an individuals identity is being verified. Enrolment and authentication for Aadhaar At the time of enrolment, the individual shall be informed the manner in which the information will be used, the nature of recipients with whom the information will be shared during authentication, and the right to access information. No such provision in the UPA Bill. The entity that wants to authenticate identity information of a person has to obtain the consent of the person concerned before collecting his information. Further, it has to ensure that the detail is only submitted to the Central Data Repository for authentication of the individual. No such provision in the UPA Bill. The entity has to inform the individual what are the details that may be shared upon authentication, what purposes the details will be used for and also the alternatives to submitting identity information to the requesting entity. No such provision in the UPA Bill. UID Authority The authority shall consist of a Chairperson, two part-time members and a chief executive officer, says the new Act. This is similar to the UPA's clause. As per the new Act, the Chairperson and members of authority shall have experience and knowledge of at least 10 years in matters related to technology, governance, law, etc. The UPA's Bill did not specify the time period of experience. The NDA's Act stipulates that the revenue collected by the authority shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India. The UPA's Bill too had a similar clause but also mandated that the entire amount shall be transferred back to the authority. The new Act does not have any system to analyse the use of Aadhaar numbers. However, the 2010 Act had put in place a clause to set up an Identity Review Committee to analyse the extent and pattern of usage of Aadhaar numbers across the country. Restrictions on sharing information The new Act says biometric information such as an individuals fingerprints, iris scan and other biological attributes (specified by regulations) will be used only for Aadhaar enrolment and authentication, and for no other purpose. Such information will not be shared with anyone. It will be stored in electronic form and the provisions contained in the Information Technology Act, 2000 shall apply to this information. No such provision in the UPA's Bill. Aadhaar number and information related to an Aadhaar number-holders fingerprints and iris scan shall not be published or displayed publicly, except for purposes specified by regulations. No such provision in the UPA's Bill. When authenticating an individuals identity, the UID authority cannot reveal information related to iris scan and fingerprints to the entity requesting for authentication. The UPA's Bill had a similar clause but it also stipulated that UIDA cannot reveal the individuals demographic information. The agency requesting authentication of an individuals identity can use the disclosed information only for purposes for which the individual has given consent. No such provision in the UPA's Bill. When to reveal information The information of an individual can be revealed in the interest of national security. For this a joint secretary in the central government may issue a direction for revealing the individuals Aadhaar number, biometric (iris scan, finger print and other biological attributes specified by regulations), demographic information, and photograph. This directive will be valid for 6 months and has to be reviewed by an Oversight Committee with cabinet secretary, secretaries of legal affairs and information technology. The UPA's Bill too had a similar clause, except that there was no requirement for an Oversight Committee. Also, there was no validity period specified. Secondly, on the order of a district judge or a higher court, an individuals Aadhaar number, photograph, and demographic information, may be revealed. The UPA's Bill had a similar clause. Offences and penalties As per the new Act, a person shall be punished with imprisonment for up to three years and slapped a fine not less than Rs 10 lakh if he/she gains unauthorised access to the Central Identities Data Repository or reveal any information stored in the repository. The UPA Bill had a similar provision, but the fine was a higher Rs 1 crore. If a requesting entity uses the details for any purpose other than authentication, and an enrolling agency fails to comply with its rules, they shall be punishable with imprisonment extendable to three years or a fine up to Rs 1 lakh (in case of a company) or both. No such provision in the UPA's Bill. The new Act also says if an offence is committed for which no penalty is specified, the person concerned shall be punished with imprisonment up to one year or fine up to Rs 25,000 or Rs 1 lakh (in case of a company) or both. The UPA's Bill had a similar clause but the imprisonment was up to three years. No court shall take cognisance of any offence except on a complaint made by the UIDA, says the new Act. The 2010 bill had a similar clause. With inputs from PTI LONDON An anonymous whistleblower has accused Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.S) of paying bribes in Turkey through a consulting firm to secure business advantages worth an estimated $85 million, according to a Feb. 17 email seen by Reuters. The alleged benefits, which Novartis confirmed it was investigating, included getting medicines added to lists, or formularies, of drugs approved for prescription in government-run hospitals, and avoiding price cuts in other countries by securing government approval to change the names of two drugs. The anonymous sender's 5,000-word email to Novartis Chief Executive Joe Jimenez and Srikant Datar, chairman of its audit and compliance committee, said Novartis had paid Alp Aydin Consultancy the equivalent of $290,000 plus costs during 2013 and 2014, before the Turkish Social Security Institution (SSI) launched an investigation, leading the drugmaker to end the association. Novartis, which said it was committed to the highest standards of ethical business conduct, confirmed Aydin had consulted for it in the past and no longer did so. The pharmaceutical giant also said it was investigating the allegations Aydin had passed on funds to Turkish healthcare officials, and that Novartis Turkey had hired relatives of high-prescribing doctors. "We take any allegation of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously and investigate all allegations thoroughly. As a matter of policy we dont comment on such investigations even if the complainant decides to make them public," said company spokesman Eric Althoff. Officials at the SSI and Aydin did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Novartis' difficulties in Turkey highlight the problems faced by healthcare companies as anti-corruption authorities around the world investigate industry practices. Last week Novartis agreed to pay more than $25 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case over bribery in China. China has been a particularly tricky market for Western drugmakers. In a high-profile corruption case, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) was slapped with a record 3 billion yuan ($460 million) fine by a Chinese court in 2014. FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT The whistleblower email said Novartis had gained $20 million from Aydin's ability to have new drugs for multiple sclerosis, chronic lung disease and juvenile arthritis added to hospital formularies. It also benefited from advantageous pricing decisions and a special import permit for a drug with an expired manufacturing certificate, the email said. The biggest gain of $50 million, according to the whistleblower's email, came from Turkish officials allowing Novartis to rename its drugs Ilaris and Gilenya as Ibecta and Fingya. This meant they dropped out of international pricing comparisons, since such cross-referencing is based on commercial names. Reuters could not independently confirm these benefits or the value attributed to them by the whistleblower. The whistleblower said Novartis' activities had breached the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which bans U.S. firms and those whose stock is traded in the United States, such as Novartis, from bribing government officials overseas. "Novartis use of the government relations consultant as well as other practices noted ... violated the FCPAs anti-bribery, internal controls, and books and records provisions," the email said. A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesman declined to speculate on the legality of these particular activities. The sender, who asked for anonymity in the email to avoid retaliation, first emailed Jimenez on Feb. 17 and re-sent the message on March 4, after failing to receive a reply. In a brief response to the sender on March 4, the Novartis CEO said: "We will investigate". Turkey is currently the world's 18th largest pharmaceuticals market but is expected to rise to 15th spot by 2020, according to healthcare consultancy IMS. Novartis also faces problems in South Korea, where its offices were visited by local authorities last month in relation to suspected bribery, while the U.S. government is suing Novartis over 79,236 "sham" marketing events it says involved illegal kickbacks. Novartis said it was cooperating with the South Korean authorities and could not comment further. In the ongoing U.S. lawsuit, Novartis has complained that the government suddenly expanded the size of the case by highlighting thousands more events. In the email sent to Novartis concerning Turkey, the author said that the information would be passed on to the DOJ and SEC. Both the DOJ and SEC declined to say if they had received it. An SEC programme provides cash incentives for whistleblowers to report corporate malpractice, including breaches of the FCPA. (Additional reporting by David Dolan and Can Sezer; Editing by Ruth Pitchford and Alexander Smith) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. New Delhi: JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar on Tuesday came under strong criticism for his remarks that 1984 anti-Sikh riot was a "mob-led massacre" while 2002 Gujarat riots were a "state sponsored violence." Kanhaiya's comments did not go down well even with those who have been his zealous supporters ever since he was arrested in a sedition case over an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. "Sorry Kanhaiya, you're badly wrong here. The 1984 Anti Sikh pogrom was just as much sponsored by state machinery," CPI(ML) Politburo member and former JNUSU President Kavita Krishnan wrote on Twitter. Sharing a report by People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Krishnan further said, "I hope @kanhaiyajnusu and all others read Who Are The Guilty, the report that documents the meticulous planning". Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadava, who is also an alumni also tweeted, "Sorry to disagree again @kanhaiyajnusu Both 2002,1984 were state sanctioned Emergency was closest we came to fascism". Speaking at an event at JNU Kanhaiya had yesterday said that there is a difference between 2002 riots and 1984 Sikh massacre as the Gujarat violence was "carried out through state machinery while the other was caused due to mob frenzy." He had also compared the alleged onslaught on varsities with Gujarat riots alleging both of them were carried out "with support" from state machinery even as he stressed that there is a fundamental difference between "emergency" and "fascism". However, following the criticism, Kanhaiya said that he has been "misinterpreted". "I have been misinterpreted and misrepresented yet again. There isnt an iota of doubt that Emergency represents one of the darkest periods of Indian democracy. My organization AISF strongly opposed and fought against the state repression during Emergency. Both 1984 and 2002 were indeed state led pogroms for which justice is still awaited," he said in a statement. "The current central government is relentlessly carrying forward its fascist agenda using state power, as visible in the recent authoritarian actions against students and all voices of dissent across the country. What we now witness is unprecedented - a form of undeclared emergency," he added. Sucheta De, National President, All India Students Association (AISA), who has been actively involved in the movement for Kanhaiya's release, said, "Sorry Kanhaiya, can't agree. Left and progressive student movements that have emerged today in India, will not give a clean chit to Congress for the 1984 pogrom". "Why should a left leader try to defend the Congress government's role in the anti-Sikh riots, something that even Rahul Gandhi and his party can not defend? To say that 1984 riots were mob frenzy and not state sponsored would only justify the 'big tree falls' theory regarding Sikh massacre," he added. Democratic Students Federation (DSF), issued a statement saying, "efforts to differentiate between the massacre of innocent Sikhs in 1984 and the pogrom against innocent Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 are facile and uncalled for." "There is absolutely no need to deviate from time-tested, principled positions adopted by the JNU student movement and create unnecessary controversy amidst a serious struggle, which we are unitedly waging today against communal-fascist Modi regime. We appeal to the JNUSU President to withdraw the controversial comments," it added. JNUSU Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora also said, "both 1984 and 2002 were acts of state sponsored violence and we must not draw contrasts between two human tragedies. We have equally spoken up against state sponsored violence, be it by the Left front government in Bengal, the Congress government or the BJP governments. That is what makes us 'Left'". ABVP also issued a statement saying, "Kanhaiya is behaving like a stooge. Gujarat government as well as the PM have been exonerated from all charges in connection with the Gujarat riots. Kanhaiya's behaviour as apologist for emergency reveals the oppression as well as stifling of dissent". PTI Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in the country to achieve inter-linking of rivers Godavari and Krishna through the Pattisam Lift Scheme, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Tuesday. However, Leader of Opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy said the state government had wasted Rs 1,600 crore as Pattisam did not have any storage capacity. The chief minister made a suo motu statement in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday afternoon on the Pattisam scheme under which 8,500 cusecs of water from Godavari river would be lifted into the Polavaram right main canal and diverted to Krishna river through the Prakasam Barrage. "Pattisam scheme has been completed in a record time of just one year. By interlinking Godavari and Krishna, crops in the Krishna Delta region are saved by timely supply of (8.8 tmc ft) water. We spent Rs 1,300 crore on Pattisam but the crops saved in the first year itself were worth Rs 2,500 crore," Naidu said. About 80 to 100 tmc ft of water from Godavari river could be diverted into Krishna river on the upstream of Prakasam Barrage through the Pattisam scheme. "Krishna water to this extent can be saved in Srisailam reservoir and used for the benefit of farmers in the parched Rayalaseema districts of Kurnool, Anantapuramu, Kadapa and Chittoor besides other needy areas in the state," Naidu added. Taking part in the discussion on the subject, the opposition leader, however, said Rs 1,600 crore was sent down the drain as Pattisam scheme did not have any storage capacity. "Krishna Delta requires 180 tmc ft of water but the government is claiming to have done wonders by pumping just four tmc ft. It was my late father (YS Rajasekhara Reddy) who completed 70 percent of works related to the Polavaram right main canal," Jagan pointed out. He questioned why the Chandrababu Naidu government remained silent after the Telangana government invited tenders for the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme to divert Krishna water. "You don't even have the guts to face KCR (Telangana chief minister). He (KCR) is talking to Maharashtra chief minister over sharing of river waters," the YSR Congress president said. For most part of the debate, there was a humorous duel between Chandrababu and Jagan as the former claimed the latter probably never understood the irrigation subject properly. "Hope you people have understood what I said. Your leader seems to have not got it. I will take a class for you all if you did not understand," Chandrababu remarked, pointing to the YSRC MLAs. The chief minister then read out portions of his statement again and stressed that his government would complete the Polavaram multi-purpose irrigation project as well by 2018. PTI The invitation to the Pakistan investigative team including ISI members to come to Pathankot was seen as a goodwill courtesy and not as an open house. Largely, the access was aimed at sharing the evidence that India had gathered on the Pathankot terror attack not an unguided tour of the air force facilities. By the same token this call to interrogate Indian service personnel was not on the cards. To now say that India is thwarting the process borders on the absurd. If you take the history of anti-Indian ops that had their genesis in Pakistan these guys should not even be here in what is purely an experiment in co-operation and not a surrender of our sovereign rights. The Pakistan probe team has got this all wrong it all becomes ironic is that the protests are being done against the backdrop of the accusation that RAW (read India) was the convenient hand behind the bombing in the park in Lahore. How RAW got hold of a suicide bomber is, of course, not explained but can you even visualize Pakistan allowing an equivalent Indian posse being given access to their wounded city because after all, they are into the predictable process of convincing themselves India was behind it. The moon will turn to green cheese before that happens. For Pakistan to not look inwards but explain away every such destruction of civilians as an Indian act is only to play ostrich till the next bloodbath. As for this initiative in Pathankot perhaps the Indo-Pak equation is not yet strong enough to accommodate such a mature diplomatic move. The Centre might like to reconsider its gesture of hospitality in case the tea party is ruined because our guests deliberately sit on the cake. Instead of being co-operative and absorbing the ramifications of the evidence being shown, the aim clearly seems to be to obfuscate the issue by yelling foul. Hopefully, before they arrived, the Centre had a written document outlining exactly what the parameters of this visit are. Even if not, we are not duty bound to offer anything. Let the Centre make it clear that this gesture not be misunderstood as weakness. If, in any way, this invitation threatens Indias integrity or its security, the Wagah border is not very far. We all know that the visit is not going to produce anything of consequence. Not as if India and Pakistan are going to go dancing into the sunset nor is there any guarantee that India will not be targeted again. So, take whats at the party, gentlemen, be grateful you were allowed to come this far. New Delhi: A tweet by Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday asking why the BJP government did nothing about the alleged crucifixion of an Indian Catholic priest by Islamic State jihadists in Yemen attracted a lot of censure on the social media platform, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking twitterati to "reply" to Tewari. Tewari tweeted: So ISIS allegedly crucified Father Thomas Uzhunnali BJP Govt did nothing. Why because he was a Christian? Mr PM he was also a fellow Indian. Sushma Swaraj, who has been active on twitter in reaching out to Indians abroad in need of help, tweeted: Friends - I have liked some tweets. Please see them and judge for yourself. Then reply to @ManishTewari. Friends - I have liked some tweets. Please see them and judge for yourself. Then reply to @ManishTewari https://t.co/O1IN2iEDrr Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 29, 2016 A Catholic priest on Tuesday said there is no confirmation yet about the "crucifixion" of the Indian priest, Father Thomas Uzhunnallil. However, Tewari's tweet attracted a lot of flak. One twitterati asked: What has the BJP got to do with this? And if your memory still works, remember how you people let Sarabjeet (Singh) die in Pakistan. Another reasoned: That's ok..He's clutching at straws ....Very few straws left...Even he knows it's a ridiculous thing to say. Another twitterati remarked sarcastically: Please tell the entire nation what the Congress would have done to save the Father? So that India & also the world can follow your strategy. Social media and media houses have disseminated news on the alleged crucifixion of Uzhunnallil by IS terrorists on Good Friday, 25 March, after they abducted him from a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen. The Indian priest was kidnapped on March 4 after IS terrorists barged into the care home for the elderly set up by Mother Teresa in Aden in 1992, and shot dead many people, including four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, one of them from India. The external affairs ministry has said there is no confirmation of the news of the alleged crucifixion. IANS With a five-member team from Pakistan investigating the 2 January, 2016, attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, there have been strong reactions on both sides of the border. Several political parties in India have criticised the NDA government for letting a Pakistani team conduct investigations, while across the border, the media has criticised New Delhi for its half-hearted approach, and not giving the investigators unrestricted access to all evidence. Here's a selection of responses from various political parties: Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister We are saying that the Pathankot terror attack was Pakistan-sponsored. If it was a Pakistan-sponsored attack, how can ISI probe against itself? India is the major victim of the terror attacks, but the masterminds, who are actual players, are sitting in Pakistan. Instead of ISI and Pakistan Army coming here, Indians probe agency RAW and Indian Army should have gone to Pakistan. Hafiz Saeed is not in India, but in Pakistan. The Modi government has completely surrendered to Pakistan and we dont know what is the reason. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should give an answer to the people of this country as to why he has surrendered. Kapil Mishra, Aam Aadmi Party leader: For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that ISI was not supporting terrorism. The same people who have killed our people have come here. This is so shameful and disgusting. This is an insult to mother India. We will not let Modi government to do this. Instead of allowing Pakistan's investigation team to visit India to probe the Pathankot attacks, Indian security agencies should have been sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of 'masterminds' enjoying the hospitality of the Pakistan government. Manish Tewari, Congress leader: Pakistan never gave access to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi or the other 26/11 accused. On what basis of reciprocity is access being given? So there is an abject surrender of Indias national interest. Also, nothing is going to come from the meeting between Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April. Nothing had come out of the earlier meetings, nothing came out in UFA, nothing came out of the Lahore visit, which God alone knows why the Prime Minister undertook, and nothing is going to come out of Washington either. Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister: There will be a controversy (on the Pakistan JITs visit) because unfortunately BJP did the same (opposed normalisation of ties with Pakistan) during its time (in opposition) and today they are bearing the brunt. Only time will tell whether the team from Pakistan visiting Pathankot will benefit us or not, but now that they have come, we expect it will benefit us in a way that those responsible for the attack would be arrested and given harsh punishment. But the way the Pakistani team came to probe the Pathankot attack and was allowed to do so, Indian teams should also be allowed to (investigate) the 26/11 and other such attacks. Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader: Our team actually needs to be sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of Hafiz Saeed and Azhar Masood in terror strikes in our country. But will we get permission? We need to remember we are not culprits, but Pakistan is. On top of that, we have also provided high security to the Pakistani team. Who are they scared of? The entire matter is laughable. Hafiz Saeed has publicly acknowledged that he was behind the attacks. But our country has laid down the red carpet for them. India has been on the back foot as far as Pakistan is concerned. Amit Shah, BJP president: First, let me make one thing clear, the Pakistan team which has come related to the probe, has limited access to periphery. They will not enter the air base nor will they interact with officials of the Army. They will investigate other things. I agree that for the first time, Pakistan has made a serious effort towards investigation. The results will be known after the investigation gets over. Daily Times, Pakistan newspaper: Sketches of the attackers, footage of the closed-circuit television, duty registers of the Border Security Force (BSF), details of the bank accounts, service records, post-mortem report of the driver who died in the car accident at the time of the incident and the FIR of that cars snatching have not been given to the Pakistani investigation team. Also, the stances of the Indian government and the BSF on the attack contradict each other. According to the government, the terrorists who attacked the base infiltrated into India from Pakistan from the border near the Beas River. However, the BSF was of the view that nobody crossed the border from the Beas area as mentioned by the government. With agency inputs Mumbai: A Special POTA Court on Tuesday found 10 accused guilty and acquitted three others for the triple bomb blasts that shook Mumbai between December 2002 and March 2003 killing at least 12 people and injuring scores of others. POTA Special Judge PR Deshmukh posted the hearing on the quantum of sentence for the 10 accused to Wednesday. The first blast occurred near the McDonald's eatery in the main building of Mumbai Central Terminus on 6 December, 2002, followed by another in a market in Vile Parle on 27 January, 2003 and the third in a crowded ladies first class compartment of a suburban train near Mulund on 13 March. The prosecution said the accused, mostly members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), wanted to avenge the razing of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 and the communal riots of Gujarat in 2002. IANS Ranchi: The condition of Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, who suffered injuries when a helicopter carrying him crash-landed here, was "much better" today and doctors were planning to shift him out of the ICU. "He is much better and could be shifted to the ward in the evening," superintendent of Apollo Hospital PD Sinha said. "BJP MLA Barkuanr Gagrai and the chief minister's security officer Manoj Singh were shifted to the ward from the ICU in the morning," he said. Sinha said Mundas wife was also doing well. A team of doctors headed by neurosurgeon Dr Sanjay Kumar were treating the injured, including the two pilots, JPS Kaushik and Vipul Kumar Singh, who suffered fractures in their waist, he said. Munda, who was given semi-solid food since yesterday, told the doctors last night that prayers of the people had boosted his confidence. He also thanked the people for wishing him speedy recovery. Munda, his wife, two pilots, an MLA and a security officer had suffered injuries after their helicopter crash-landed at the Birsa Munda Airport here on Wednesday. PTI Mumbai: Terming the decision to allow a Pakistani team to investigate the terror attack at Pathankot air base as "wrong", Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said an Indian team needs to be sent to the neighbouring country to probe those behind the terror strikes. Raut also reminded the Centre that Pakistan, not India, is an accused in the Pathankot terror strike. "On top of that, we have provided high security to the Pakistani team. Who are they scared of? The entire matter is laughable," the Sena MP told PTI. He sought to know if the Centre would manage to get permission from Pakistan to get an Indian team to investigate in the neighbouring country. "Our team needs to be sent there to investigate the role of Hafiz Saeed and Azhar Masood in terror strikes in our country. But will we get permission? We need to remember we are not culprits but Pakistan is," he said. Raut said India has taken a "wrong decision" by letting the Joint Investigating Team (JIT) come to Pathankot. "Pakistan is responsible for the 26/11 terror attacks and behind the Pathankot terror strike at the IAF base. Keeping this in mind, an Indian investigation team should have actually gone to Pakistan to investigate the elements behind the attack," he said. "Hafiz Saeed has publicly acknowledged that he was behind the attacks. But, our country has laid down a red carpet for them. India has been on the back foot as far as Pakistan is concerned," he rued. A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials today visited the "sanitised" areas at Pathankot airforce base in connection with probe into the 2 January terror attack targeting the strategic installation. The team, which came in a bus, was taken to the backside of the air base as workers of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress held protests outside against its visit. PTI New Delhi: In an ideal world, there would be hardly anything amiss about two countries with a hostile past sharing intelligence on terrorism and crime. Perhaps it would also augur well for the possible detente and peace between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan wh0 are often locked in brinkmanship of the worst order. In this context, the visit by Pakistans investigative team, comprising sleuths and counter-terror operatives, gives an illusion that India-Pakistan relations are on even keel. This raises pertinent queries has Pakistan given up promoting cross-border terrorism? Is the Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI), the dreaded Pakistani outfit, willing to give up its doctrine of inflicting thousand cuts to bleed India? Has the Pakistani army finally become subservient to its political masters? Despite the overt bonhomie generated by Prime Minister Narendra Modis unscheduled Lahore visit to Nawaz Sharifs palace in December last year, there are hardly any signs of the existence of such an ideal situation between the two countries. At the ground level, Pakistan has not demonstrated any willingness to change its tack on terrorism, or of collaborating with India. There are clear indications that Pakistan treated evidence of the involvement of Pakistani terrorists in the Pathankot airbase attack with its usual cavalier attitude. The arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar was at best an eye-wash to ward off international criticism. On all accounts, it would be too naive for India to consider the charade of the joint investigation in Pathankot as a mark of substantive policy shift in Pakistan. In fact, the Pathankot attack and Indias response have exposed many chinks in the countrys internal security. For instance, despite exhaustive investigations by the National Investigative Agency (NIA), the agency is hardly in a position to draw up a coherent chargesheet to plug the holes in the story. The exact point of entry of the terrorists remains a mystery and footprints picked up near the border could not be matched with those killed in the encounter. Though the NIA now claims that six terrorists were killed at the Pathankot airbase, the recovery from the debris at the billet where two terrorists were holed up yielded nothing concrete, not even guns. It was only after forensic examination that the NIA was able to confirm the existence of mortal remains of the two terrorists mixed up in the blast material. A senior officer of the Border Security Force (BSF) pointed out that despite the best efforts of the BSF and the NIA, the infiltration point could not be determined. An investigation by the CBIs own intelligence unit, however, points to a disturbing trend of infiltration of terrorists with tacit support of the ISI. BSF officials feel that most of the terrorists involved had either infiltrated through the Jammu border or arrived in India using fake passports, following which they disappeared in Punjab. We suspect that they get arms and ammunition from ISI sleeper-cells within Punjab, BSF officials said. Obviously, the BSF is reluctant to admit that terrorists were bribing their way into India through the international border between Punjab and Pakistan. In the Pathankot investigation so far, neither the NIA nor the BSF has come across any evidence to confirm this fear. Sustained interrogation of Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, whose car was hijacked by terrorists to carry out the attack, has also drawn a blank. In such a scenario, there appear to be clear signs that the Indian investigative and intelligence agencies are falling woefully short of creating a credible story to prove Pakistani involvement in the Pathankot attack. Thus, the visit by the five-member Joint Investigative Team from Pakistan is unlikely to yield anything more than optics that signify nothing. On the other hand, it may just give Pakistan an excuse to recalibrate its strategy with its sinister objectives. Panaji: Ayurveda is India's gift to the world and it should be promoted across the globe, Union minister Shripad Naik said in Goa on Saturday while inaugurating the Arogya Fair. The four-day event is being organised by the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) in association with the Goa government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Goa University Campus at Bambolim near Panaji. Ayurveda is Indias gift to the globe. We have entered into an agreement with World Health Organization to popularise this traditional system of medicine across the world, Naik said in his inaugural address. We have also signed an MoU with US for a joint research under AYUSH in the field of cancer, he added. The minister said that the central government is contemplating to open one AYUSH hospital in every district of the country. On the occasion, Naik also released the yoga protocol for the second International Yoga Day falling on June 21 this year. The fair aims to create awareness among the members of the public about the efficiency of the AYUSH systems, their cost-effectiveness and the availability of herbs and plants used for prevention and treatment of common ailments, according to officials. IANS Thiruvananthapuram: Peta India has sent a legal notice to the Kerala government seeking withdrawal of its 26 February order allowing the state Chief Wildlife Warden to give ownership certificates for 289 illegally held captive elephants. Through this order, the Chief Wildlife Warden provides an opportunity to people keeping captive elephants in illegal custody to be issued ownership certificates, Peta said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram. Peta said this contradicts the spirit of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which prohibits illegal capture, trade and custody of wild animals such as elephants, and the purpose of the 18 August, 2015 interim order of the Supreme Court. Through the 26 February order, Kerala had acted in favour of illegal owners of elephants, it said and asked the state government to withdraw it and also withdraw the ownership certificates issued as per the order. The state should penalise owners of the 289 elephants in Kerala who do not have valid ownership certificate, Peta said. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, had allowed the declaration of captive elephants either within 30 days of its enactment or during the period of an amnesty scheme notified by the central government in 2003, the animals rights body said. The 2003 amnesty scheme was offered through Declaration of Wildlife Stock Rules, 2003, which required wildlife articles to be declared within 180 days from the date of notification of the Rules (ie, 18 April to 18 October 2003). Though the Kerala government on 3 February, 2012 had asked the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change for an extension of the amnesty period, the request was denied, it said. "By providing amnesty to owners of ill-gotten elephants, Kerala is propping up the cruel and illegal elephant trade and making a mockery of the Wildlife Protection Act," said Peta India Director of Veterinary Affairs Manilal Valliyate. "The Supreme Court has ordered Kerala to take action against these law-violating elephant abusers, and that's exactly what Peta is calling on the government to do." Capturing an elephant is prohibited under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Yet many captive elephants are thought to have been captured illegally from the wild, separated from their mothers as babies,beaten into submission and transported to Kerala for to be used as tourist attractions and in temples. PTI Ouster of Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand in span of two months due to intra-party factionalism and open revolt by a section of its legislators should worry Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. In Arunachal Pradesh, leader of the breakaway faction of the Congress party Kalikho Pul now heads the government and is supported by the BJP. In Uttarakhand, imposition of President Rule on Sunday was welcomed by rebel Congress MLAs and of course by the BJP. Harish Rawat government technically fell on 18 March when the Congress rebels had voted against the Appropriation bill (passage of budget) with the BJP. However, the then chief minister Harish Rawat and Speaker Govind Singh Kunjal claimed otherwise saying that the Appropriation bill was passed by the voice vote. But the fact remains the official proceedings suggest that 35 MLAs, out of 67 MLAs present in the House had sought division (voting) and were denied. The numbers clearly indicate that that the Appropriation Bill was not passed on the evening of 18 March. The Constitution states very clear that if the government of the day fails to pass the budget or any other money bill, the government falls. It would mean that the government has lost confidence of the House and was reduced to a minority and thus has to relinquish office. If Rawat didn't have majority of members in state assembly when Appropriation Bill was put to vote, then he lost the right to rule the state. Moralist arguments are for public debate but don't hold any ground in terms of technicality of the issue. The BJP-Congress rebels tactic surprised all. It was for the first time that the Opposition and a faction of ruling party joined hands to make a common cause to bring down a state government. If one takes the statements made by Rawat and Kunjal on face value then the question arises -- why send disqualified MLAs for defying the party whip and come under ambit of anti-defection law. If Rawat and the Speaker's claim on passage of budget is true then it means that these Congress MLAs voted for the government and didn't violate provisions of anti-defection law. More so, if at all the bill was passed why was it not sent to the Governor KK Paul for his sign and seal. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said "it is to be noted that till today, neither the Chief Minister nor the Speaker have forwarded a certified copy of the Appropriation Bill to the Governor. Obviously, there is no assent of the Governor to the Appropriation Bill. In any case, all facts surrounding the alleged discussion and passage of the Appropriation Bill clearly indicate its non-passage.....There are strong facts to suggest that the Appropriation Bill was actually defeated. As a consequence, the Government had to resign. Two further consequences flow out of this. Firstly, the Appropriation Bill sanctioning expenditure from 1 April 2016 was not approved and, secondly, if the Appropriation Bill was defeated, the continuation of the Government subsequent to 18 March 2016 is unconstitutional." Non-passage and non-certification of Appropriation Bill means that the state government can't incur any expenditure of any kind from 1 April, 2016, something that would bring state machinery to a grinding halt. Now, that President Rule has been imposed in Uttrakhand under Article 356 of the Constitution, the Centre will have to make budgetary provisions under Article 357 for the state. Rahul Gandhi, of course will have a chance to flex his muscles when the President Rule comes for ratification in Parliament. In Rajya Sabha, the BJP is in minority and the Congress and its supportive parties are in majority. But then the Congress vice-president should ponder over what Congress rebels like Vijay Bahuguna, Harak Singh Rawat and Subodh Uniyal have been publicly saying for past few days that for the past few months they made all possible attempts to meet him and seek his intervention for intra-party affairs in Uttrakhand but he didn't give them an appointment. The Congress rebels in Arunachal, which now leads the government with BJP' support, had made similar claims or accusations against him. Despite its Arunachal experience, the Congress leadership didn't take any corrective measures with regard to Uttrakhand. A news report in The Hindustan Times says similar situation is brewing in another Congress ruled state, Okram Ibobi Singh government in Manipur. In a news conference on Sunday, after his government was dismissed and President Rule was imposed in Uttrakhand, Harish Rawat said the BJP and Modi government at the Centre had become desperate to remove his government because he had presented an excellent annual budget which would have cured all the ills of the state. A tall claim, by any standards. The time frame for implementation of his own promises was only eight to nine months for the assembly elections in the state, as also for Uttar Pradesh, is set to be announced by early or mid December. What Rawat didn't mention that it was his government's and his party's responsibility to have that budget passed by the state assembly. Rahul will have to see that he needs to do much more to keep morale of his party leaders and workers. Kuala Lumpur: Another piece of debris possibly from Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 has been found in South Africa, more than two years after the jet mysteriously disappeared during a routine flight over the Indian Ocean, confirmed officials. Malaysian authorities, however, said it was too early to know if the piece of debris belonged to MH370. Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the piece was found on Monday and it was too early to ascertain if it was part of flight MH370. "We first need to check if the debris belonged to a Boeing 777 plane," he said. The Boeing 777 jetliner vanished from radar screens en route to Beijing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 2014 with 239 people, including five Indians, aboard and has not been seen since. In July the following year, a part of the aircraft wing was found on La Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. After almost two years' of searches and questions, a South African teenager and an American lawyer recently found debris on separate occasions off the coast of Mozambique, renewing hopes of solving the major aviation mystery. If confirmed, this would be the second piece of debris found in South Africa, following the recovery of an inlet cowling of an aircraft engine on 22 March. This year, a total of five pieces of plane debris were retrieved from the La Reunion, Mozambique and South Africa. Australia is leading the underwater search effort to find the plane in the southern Indian Ocean. Families of those missing in the tragedy have been critical of Malaysia's handling of the probe and demanding clear answers to the mystery. Several of them recently sued Malaysia Airlines for damages. PTI The political turmoil in Uttarakhand took a new turn on Tuesday with Chief Minister Harish Rawat lashing out at the Centre, saying that the people of Uttarakhand will not tolerate the imposition of the President's rule in the state. "We warn the Centre that the people of Uttarakhand won't tolerate this," said Rawat, during a press conference on Tuesday. It was also announced that Rawat along with Congress and PDF MLAs plan on meeting President Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the ongoing crisis in Uttarakhand, according to the ANI. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court said that it will next week hear a PIL challenging imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand and seeking CBI inquiry into the alleged horse-trading of MLAs. "Let it be listed next week," a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices R Banumathi and UU Lalit said. The court's observation came when advocate ML Sharma sought urgent listing of the public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue. President Pranab Mukherjee had dismissed the Harish Rawat-led government in Uttarakhand following the dismissal of nine Congress rebel MLAs. Chief Minister Harish Rawat had moved court seeking a revocation of the President's rule and had lashed out at the Narendra Modi government, calling the imposition a "murder of democracy" and a "black" day. Describing the decision as a "brazen display of high- handedness and authoritarianism," Rawat filed a petition in the Uttarakhand High Court seeking quashing of the Presidential proclamation. On Monday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took to Facebook and said that the political situation in Uttarakhand is a "textbook example of breakdown of governance." Backing the Centre, he said that the Harish Rawat-led government in the state was was "unconstitutional" and "immoral." President Pranab Mukherjee had signed the proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution dismissing the Congress government and placing the Assembly under suspended animation on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet. On 18 March, nine Congress rebels had joined the BJP in the state Assembly in demanding a division of votes. Rawat government's failure to pass the budget would have meant that the government has lost the confidence of the Assembly or a majority, leading to the fall of the government. With inputs from PTI By Gyanant Singh New Delhi: Amidst intense scrutiny on the questionable actions of the Uttarakhand speaker and the governor, the state's High Court may have rightly decided to start with a clean slate by reviving the membership of the suspended rebel Congress MLAs and calling for a fresh floor test to determine the house majority. On Tuesday, the high court asked Congress leader Harish Rawat whose government was dismissed when the Centre imposed Presidents Rule in the state to take the trust vote on Thursday. Though questions are being raised over the decision, in my opinion, the court seems to be within its right to test the basis that Rawat had lost the trust of the House on which the Presidents Rule was imposed. As a rule, courts do not generally question the prudence of the decision taken by the President but whenever the President's rule is challenged, they have always put the material forming the basis for the decision under scrutiny. To begin with a clean slate, the court went against the governors decision to not go for a floor test and against the speakers ruling to disqualify nine rebel MLAs of the Congress Party. Keeping aside charges and counter-charges of horse trading, the floor test has been recognized by the Supreme Court as the best way to check if the government still enjoys a majority. Constitutional crisis in states in federal India often involve questionable actions on part of the speaker and the governor, people who have been entrusted with enough discretionary powers by the Constitution. The crisis in Uttarakhand may not be an exception and the High Court appears to have taken a prudent step by neutralizing the decisions of the governor and the speaker. Looking at such controversies from the political point of view, a constitutional crisis leading to imposition of Presidents Rule in a state is usually triggered by a power struggle between the Centre and the state government. And here, the governor and the speaker are invariably on opposite sides. Coming back to the High Court order, the trust vote, if successful, could form the basis for striking down the Presidents Rule. If the basis or the material forming the basis for an order is faulty, the order does not stand. While the governor was withholding assent to the Appropriation Bill on the ground, pointing out that it was not supported by a majority, Rawat retaliated by parading 34 MLAs before him, claiming that if a chance was given, majority could be proved. After the imposition of the Presidents Rule, on Monday Rawat had submitted two memorandums to the Governor, signed by MLAs from Congress, BSP, UKD and the Independents. He had sought assent to the Appropriation Bill claiming that it was supported by a majority on 18 March. Assuming that nine Congress MLAs had voted against the bill during the voice vote, Rawats claim that other MLAs supported it cannot be rejected. The BJP claims that the Speaker was wrong in passing the Bill on voice vote and for rejecting the demand for division of votes. It is a matter of debate if violation of rules can lead to a presumption of breakdown of constitutional machinery. Even if it is established that there was some infirmity in the procedure in the enactment of the Amendment Act, in terms of Article 255 of the Constitution, the matters of procedures do not render invalid an Act to which assent has been given to by the President or the Governor, as the case may be, the Supreme Court had said in a judgment (Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui case) delivered in April 2014. Though the governor had initially asked Rawat to take a trust vote, the Centre imposed the Presidents Rule and placed the House under suspended animation even before the the trust vote could take place. Rawat challenged the Presidents Rule before the high court on Monday. The Uttarakhand political crisis had began when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the BJP. BRASILIA Brazil's largest party will decide on Tuesday to break away from President Dilma Rousseff's floundering coalition, party leaders said, sharply raising the odds that the country's first woman president will be impeached amid a corruption scandal. The fractious Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) will decide at its national leadership meeting on the pace of disengagement from the Rousseff administration, in which it holds seven ministerial posts and the vice presidency. A formal rupture appears inevitable and will increase the isolation of the unpopular Rousseff, freeing PMDB members to vote for her impeachment. That makes it likely Rousseff will be temporarily suspended from office by Congress as early as May and replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, leader of the PMDB, while the Senate decides if she should be permanently ousted. In the first step towards an imminent rupture, Tourism Minister Henrique Eduardo Alves, a PMDB leader and former speaker of the lower house of Congress, announced on Monday he was resigning from Rousseff's cabinet. "Dialogue, I regret to say, has been exhausted," Alves said in his resignation letter to Rousseff. Temer aides said the vice president is ready to take over and move fast to restore business confidence in Brazil, in an effort to pull the economy out of a tailspin. Brazilian media reported over the weekend that a team of Temer aides is drawing up a plan for his first weeks as president. Brazil's stocks and currency rose Monday on the prospect of Rousseff's removal. Many blame her for running Latin America's largest economy into the ground, while Temer is widely viewed as far more business friendly. The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a note to clients it no longer expects Rousseff to survive impeachment, joining other risk analysts who have raised the odds of her removal. Party officials calculate that 70 to 80 percent of the 119 voting members of the PMDB directorate will vote to end the party's alliance with Rousseff and the ruling Workers' Party. One told Reuters that 75 had already pledged to do so. Rousseff is an economist by training and a former Marxist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured during Brazil's long military dictatorship. She vigorously denies any wrongdoing and rejects impeachment charges that she manipulated government spending accounts to help her re-election in 2014. The impeachment process only adds to the crisis hitting Brazil, shaken by its biggest corruption scandal - an investigation into political kickbacks to the ruling coalition and other parties from contractors working for state oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA). Rousseff's government is also grappling with Brazil's worst recession in decades and an epidemic of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, as it scrambles to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. The Petrobras scandal has weakened Rousseff by reaching her inner circle with allegations against her mentor and predecessor, Workers' Party founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. An attempt by Rousseff to appoint Lula to her Cabinet was the last straw for many of her allies who saw it as a desperate move to shield him from prosecution by a lower federal court that is overseeing most of the Petrobras case. Brazil's top court is expected to decide later this week if Lula can indeed become a minister. LULA DOWNCAST With the prospect of impeachment ending 13 years of rule by his Workers' Party, Lula said he was "saddened" by the PMDB's exit from a coalition he forged in 2006. The former union leader, who remains Brazil's most influential politician, told foreign reporters in Sao Paulo he thought agreement was still possible. But in Brasilia, a presidential aide said the break was "irreversible" and the Rousseff government was now focusing on individual members of the PMDB and other parties to try to convince them to vote against impeachment by offering government jobs and pork barrel for their districts. Lula also called for tax breaks and other measures to get the economy growing again. The departure of the PMDB is expected to lead other smaller parties to bolt from the governing coalition, which will further undermine Rousseff's ability to muster one third of the votes in Congress needed to block her impeachment. The two largest, the Progressive Party (PP) and the Republican Party (PR), each with 40 seats or more in the lower chamber, have signalled that they are leaving. An impeachment vote is expected as soon as mid-April in the lower house. If she fails to block it with the votes of 171 of its 513 members, Rousseff would face a trial in the Senate where she has lost crucial support among the PMDB. One PMDB senator, Valdir Raupp, said it would be almost impossible for them now to stop the impeachment if it passes the lower house. PMDB senators believe it would be almost impossible for them to stop the impeachment if it passes the lower house. Rousseff would be suspended for up to six months at the start of the trial and Temer would become acting president. Temer is already looking at ways to cut public spending to tackle a widening fiscal gap that cost Brazil's its investment grade credit rating, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday. It said a small team of aides led by Wellington Moreira Franco, Rousseff's former civil aviation minister, is considering sweeping welfare cuts in social programs that would be carried out by the finance minister of a Temer government. Two names under consideration for that job are former central bank governors Henrique Meirelles and Arminio Fraga, the newspaper said. A spokesman for Temer declined to comment on the report. (Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting by Alonso Soto, Caroline Stauffer, Lisandra Paraguassu and Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Alistair Bell and Leslie Adler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Auto refresh feeds Initial reports suggested that the hijacker was an Egyptian national by the name Ibrahim Samaha. Later it was discovered that Samaha was one of the passengers on the MS181. This was revealed by Gamal al-Omrawi, a deputy dean at Alexandria University who confirmed that Samaha is reportedly a professor of veterinary medicine at the University. Seif Eldin Mustafa has allegedly asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, according to reports from Cyprus's State broadcaster. The beach is just meters away from the outer fence of Cyprus' main airport at Larnaca where the aircraft landed Tuesday after a hijacker diverted it to the east Mediterranean island. Cypriot police told dozens of journalists and patrons of a number of trendy coffee shops and restaurants to vacate Makenzy Beach, which is popular with tourists. The standoff at the airport is continuing with the hijacker and seven passengers and crew remaining on the EgyptAir plane that was hijacked on Tuesday morning. Cyprus police have evacuated a stretch of beach near the Larnaca airport tarmac where a hijacked EgyptAir passenger jet is parked. Out of the seven passengers and crew waiting to be released, AFP reports that at least four more people have left the hijacked EgyptAir plane Armed police took up positions behind Larnaca airport's largely disused old terminal buildings as the four emerged. One of the four hostages left the plane by climbing out of the cockpit window, while the other three were able to leave by the main door and walk down the steps. Al Jazeera reports that all seven hostages have escaped the plane but the hijacker is likely still inside the plane Reuters, meanwhile, reported that the hijacker was seen emerging from EgyptAir flight MS181. Quoting Cyprus broadcaster, Reuters reported: EgyptAir hijacker emerging from aircraft with hands held up: Cyprus broadcaster Hijacker an 'idiot,' not a terrorist, as 7 held on plane in Cyprus https://t.co/sUSliYSLRs The Guardian quoted a foreign ministry official in Cairo as saying: He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren't stupid. This guy is. The Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the Egypt plane hijacking was not related to terrorism. 'He is not a terrorist, he's an idiot' A Cypriot government official says the hijacked plane landed on Tuesday morning at the airport in Larnaca and that there are suspicions of a bomb on board, said a report from AP. The AP report said that a second Cypriot official says there "seems like there's more than one hijacker." He says there have been no demands other than that police vehicles move away from the aircraft. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations. The statement from the Egyptian aviation authority says the MS181 is an Airbus and that it has about 60 passengers on board and five crew members, one of whom is thought to be armed, according to CNN IBN. The hijackers contacted the control tower at 8.30 am (0530 GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8.50 am, the police said, reported AFP. The hijackers made no immediate demands and a crisis team has been deployed to the airport. Here are the official tweets from EgyptAir: Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we'll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 . EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 (landed at larnakh and is negotiating with the kidnappers) EgyptAir's official press release: Press Release 1Cairo 29 March 2016 An EGYPTAIR official declared that its flight number MS181 heading from HBE... Posted by EGYPTAIR on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 2 29 201609:00 . Posted by EGYPTAIR on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 With inputs from Agencies The hijacker of an EgyptAir airplane that was diverted to Cyprus on Tuesday has asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, the Cyprus state broadcaster reported. All but seven people on board the aircraft, which was traveling from Alexandria to Cairo, have been released. The pilot had reported that the hijacker was strapped with explosives, but Egyptian authorities have not confirmed this. An Egyptian man hijacked an EgyptAir plane Tuesday and forced it to land in Cyprus, where most passengers were eventually allowed to get off, though four crew members and three passengers remained on board with the hijacker, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. The man's motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism" and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man "seems (to be) in love." However, it was later confirmed by Cyprus foreign ministry that the hijacker was misidentified as Ibrahim Samaha. The #hijacker of #MS181 is Seif Eldin Mustafa. The situation is still ongoing. Cyprus MFA (@CyprusMFA) March 29, 2016 Al-Queish, the government spokesman, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry said the man claimed he had a belt with explosives. The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. Fathi did not give the nationalities of those who remained on the plane. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. For Live updates on the hijacking, click here With inputs from Associated Press and Reuters Larnaca: An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a routine domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew. His surrender ended an hours-long drama and standoff at the Larnaca airport in southern Cyprus. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept seven people four crew members and three passengers with him. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane. Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker's surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was "over." The arrest was also reported by Egypt's prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathy. "All passengers and crew are safe," Fathi said on state television. The man's motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism" and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man "seems (to be) in love." Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. "Always, there is a woman" involved, he replied, drawing laughter. A Cyprus police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorised to disclose details of the situation, says the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorist police. The official said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it. The Cypriot woman who the hijacker had asked to speak to is his former wife with whom he has four children, the police official said. The hijacker had also complained about the current Egyptian government and had demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails. A civil aviation official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to talk to the media, said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife. The flight MS181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on Tuesday morning en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes. There was also confusion about the hijacker's identity. At a news conference in Cairo, Egypt's Civil Aviation minister, Sharif Fathy, refused to identify him. Earlier, Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish said the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha's wife said her husband is not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the US to attend a conference. The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV in a phone interview that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that supposedly showed the hijacker was not him. Later, the official Middle East News Agency gave a different name for the hijacker. Egypt's state news agency, MENA, later identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa. The name was confirmed by a senior Cypriot official. Al-Queish, the government spokesman, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry said the man claimed he had a belt with explosives. The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. The initial batch of passengers released by the hijacker were seen calmly walking off the plane down a set of stairs, carrying their hand luggage, and boarded a bus parked by the plane's side. Security was tight at the airport, with police repeatedly pushing back reporters and TV news crews working just outside the facility's fence, near where the aircraft stopped. Police also evacuated the nearby Makenzy beach, a stretch of coast close to the airport and popular with tourists. It was not immediately clear why. An Egyptian aircraft was expected to later fly to Larnaca so it could bring back the released passengers, according to officials. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe programme Tuesday, said that a "very good question" is whether the man who hijacked the plane Tuesday was able to pass through airport security with a bomb-laden belt. The hijacking was reminiscent of a deadly 1978 incident that involved Egyptians, planes and Larnaca airport. The incident arose when two Palestinians assassinated an Egyptian government minister at his hotel in Nicosia. The assailants took hostages and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane with them. They later returned to Cyprus, where they had an hours-long standoff until an Egyptian C-130 carrying commandos landed at Larnaca airport. The commandos attempted to storm the Cyprus Airways jet, but were fired upon by Cypriot troops. Many were killed. The Palestinians eventually surrendered. They were arrested, sentenced and released years later. The incident poisoned Egypt's relations with Cyprus for years. Relations eventually improved, but it was Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in office since June 2014, who has forged close ties with Cyprus. El-Sissi and Anastasiades frequently confer in person or on the phone. They spoke by phone Tuesday about the hijacking. AP An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt, who was arrested after giving himself up. The passengers and crew were unharmed. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been on board the Airbus 320 when it took off from Alexandria en route to Cairo, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. Conflicting theories emerged about the Egyptian hijacker's motives. A senior Cypriot official said he was psychologically unstable and the incident did not appear related to terrorism. The Cypriot state broadcaster said he had demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt. In the midst of the crisis, witnesses said the hijacker had thrown a letter on the apron at Cyprus's Larnaca airport, written in Arabic, and asked that it be delivered to his Cypriot ex-wife. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca, negotiations began and everyone on board was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Soon afterwards, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off. The hijacker then surrendered to authorities. "Its over," the Cypriot foreign ministry said in a tweet. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker would be questioned to ascertain his motives. "At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said. "Abnormal" Hijacker Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had told authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who claimed to be wearing a suicide explosive belt and forced him to divert the plane to Larnaca. Reached by telephone, Gammal told Reuters that the hijacker seemed "abnormal". "I am not in a state to speak," said the exhausted-sounding pilot, adding that he had been obliged to treat the suicide belt as a serious security threat. Photographs shown on Egyptian state television showed a middle-aged man on a plane wearing glasses and displaying a white belt with bulging pockets and protruding wires.Television channels showed video footage of the hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, 59, being searched by security men at a metal detector at Borg al-Arab airport in Alexandria. Interior Ministry officials said he was expelled from law school and had a long criminal record, including robberies. Fethy, the Egyptian minister, said authorities suspected the suicide belt was not genuine but treated the incident as serious to ensure the safety of all those on board. "Our passengers are all well and the crew is all well... We cannot say this was a terrorist act... he was not a professional," Fethy told reporters after the incident. EgyptAir delayed a New York-bound flight from Cairo onto which some passengers of the hijacked plane had been due to connect. Fethy said it was delayed partly due to a technical issue but partly as a precaution. The hijacked plane remained on the tarmac at Larnaca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. Egypt's image The incident will deal another blow to Egypt's tourism industry and hurt efforts to revive an economy hammered by political unrest following the 2011 uprising that ousted veteran ruler Hosni Mubarak. The sector, a main source of hard currency for the import-dependent county, was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai peninsula in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said the Russian plane was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. The latest incident raised renewed questions over airport security in Egypt, though it was not clear whether the hijacker was even armed. Ismail said stringent measures were in place. Passengers on the plane included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a Syrian and a French national, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. In many countries across Asia, governments are growing less tolerant of critical reporting, even arresting journalists and closing media outlets in some cases. In China, authorities recently removed an online story from a financial magazine about censorship a taboo topic while Thailand's military junta has detained journalists for what it calls "attitude adjustment" and shut down TV and radio stations. A look at how and where journalists are coming under renewed pressure. India: Hindu Hardliners Intimidation of journalists is nothing new in India, but it has taken on a new element under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government. India, the world's largest democracy, has a relatively free press, but the current BJP government has been criticized for not trying to stop fringe rightwing elements that threaten journalists and activists in the name of patriotism. The host of a late February newscast on whether India had become intolerant of dissent became a target of intimidation herself after one of her guests referred to a pamphlet that called the Hindu goddess Durga a sex worker. Sindhu Sooryakumar was bombarded with more than 2,500 threatening calls accusing her of disparaging the deity. Six members of a militant group linked with the BJP have been arrested. During a court hearing for a university student charged with sedition for allegedly making anti-India statements, lawyers beat reporters and damaged cameras and recording equipment while demanding they not cover public protests against the student's arrest. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley condemned the violence, saying "it was a terrible exception." Sujata Madhok, secretary-general of the Delhi Union of Journalists, accused the BJP of targeting Muslim and Christian religious minorities and the underprivileged Dalits. "The BJP would like people to believe it's the handiwork of the party's fringe elements, but the fringe elements appear to be occupying the center-stage." The previous Congress Party government was accused of paying lip service to minorities, but it kept Hindu hardliners in check. That's not necessarily the case now. China: Setting the tone The ruling Communist Party has long exercised heavy-handed direction over news media, but recent events speak to a further tightening of ideological controls. President and party leader Xi Jinping set the tone with visits in February to the official Xinhua News Agency, the party-controlled People's Daily newspaper and state broadcaster CCTV. At each place, he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the media's highest priority. Negative responses to Xi's visit were censored on China's once-vibrant social media. One outspoken critic, real estate magnate Ren Zhiqiang, had his accounts suspended. When Weibo, China's hugely popular version of Twitter which along with Facebook is blocked in China first came out, people could post quite freely, but now controversial comments are quickly removed. The pinch is being felt even at more market-driven newspapers, magazines and websites that, while still technically controlled by the state, had enjoyed more latitude in news reporting. In an Orwellian example, an article posted online by popular business and finance magazine Caixin was removed because it broached the taboo topic of censorship. Most recently, more than a dozen editors and technicians have gone missing and are believed to be under investigation after an anonymous letter calling for Xi's resignation was posted on a government-backed news portal. Dissident writers have been detained or their families in China harassed for criticizing the secret investigation. Thailand: Attitude adjustment A junta that took power in a 2014 coup has detained journalists for what it calls "attitude adjustment," shut TV and radio stations for perceived critical coverage of the government, banned press events and most recently tightened visa requirements for foreign reporters. Under new measures announced last month, only journalists working for a registered news agency will be able to obtain or renew journalists' visas, a move that press freedom groups say would bar some freelancers from working in the country. Media freedom groups say the junta has used the pretext of maintaining peace and order, after years of political upheaval, to employ a massive campaign of censorship and intimidation in what was once considered a bastion of free press in Southeast Asia. Reporters Without Borders has called the crackdown "a blitzkrieg against freely reported news and information." Thai journalists have faced a barrage of pressures over the past two years. One prominent editorial cartoonist from the Thai Rath newspaper was detained twice and warned he could be prosecuted if he continued to satirize the junta chief in his drawings. A senior writer for The Nation newspaper who was openly critical of the coup was detained twice and ultimately fired. A few foreign reporters have had their visa applications denied since the junta took power, according to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, which itself has had several events banned by the junta. Malaysia: The $700 million scandal The government is cracking down on media as a financial scandal engulfs Prime Minister Najib Razak. Two Australian TV journalists were briefly arrested this month after they tried to question Najib about the scandal during his visit to eastern Sarawak state. The duo were released and deported after the Australian government intervened. At issue is more than $700 million deposited into Najib's bank accounts in early 2013. Critics accuse him of corruption and say the money came from indebted state investment fund 1MDB, which he founded in 2009. The attorney-general has cleared him of wrongdoing, saying most of the money was a donation from Saudi's royal family. Malaysia's government has also blocked some new websites, including popular news portal Malaysian Insider, over critical reports of the government. The portal, owned by the Edge Media Group, shut down recently, citing a loss of income caused by the government's ban. Last year, the government also suspended two newspapers under the Edge group over its coverage alleging corruption at 1MDB. The Edge challenged the government's suspension in court and succeeded in getting the ban lifted. Japan: Tightening the screws? A public warning by the communications minister in February that broadcasters could have their licenses revoked if coverage isn't politically fair is seen by many as the latest attempt to pressure journalists to toe the government line. The government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has strengthened its strategy to get official views prominently reflected in both domestic and foreign media on defense, World War II history and other divisive issues. Officials complain to journalists about coverage they consider biased, while Abe gives exclusive interviews to selected media, often those sharing his views. Media watchers say Japanese media traditionally practices self-restraint to avoid trouble with officials in a cozy "press club" environment, weakening their commitment to serve as watchdog and resist pressure or favors. Heads of major media companies regularly dine with Abe. However, the communications minister's statements that TV licenses could be revoked have triggered outrage from some prominent journalists, who say they violate freedom of the press and intimidate the media. The recent resignations of three outspoken newscasters have fueled speculation of government pressure, although the three say they were not pressed to resign. Associated Press Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday cancelled his upcoming visit to the US where he was scheduled to attend the Nuclear Security Summit later this week in the backdrop of the deadly terror attack in Lahore. "In view of the terrorist attack in Lahore, which took a heavy toll on the lives of innocent citizens of Pakistan and caused injuries to scores of people, the Prime Minister has decided to cancel his visit to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit," the Foreign Office said in a statement. Sharif was due to visit Washington to participate in the fourth Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) on March 31 hosted by US President Barack Obama. The statement said that Pakistan's delegation to the NSS will now be led by Syed Tariq Fatemi, the Minister of State and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister. According to media reports, Sharif and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were likely to meet on the sidelines of the Summit. At least 72 people, including 29 children, were killed and 233 were injured in a blast near Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on Easter Sunday. A faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack, saying Christians were their target. Earlier in the day, Sharif cancelled his trip to UK, citing the terror attack in Lahore. Prime Minister Sharif spent the entire day today in Lahore condoling with the bereaved families, as well as visiting the hospitals to meet those injured in the attack, the statement said. He expressed solidarity with the victims' families and reassured that the perpetrators behind the heinous attack would be brought to justice, it added. Sharif also underscored that such incidents further strengthen his government's resolve to eradicate the menace of terrorism from its roots. PTI Taipei: A Taiwanese man suspected of decapitating a four-year-old girl was beaten by an angry mob, as the case sparked fresh debate Tuesday about the death penalty for child-killers. The man grabbed the child as she cycled to a Taipei metro station with her mother on Monday, and beheaded her with a kitchen knife, police said. The suspect pushed away the girl's mother as she tried to save her daughter. Seven bystanders were also unable to stop the man, police added. The girl has been identified only by her surname Liu. Local media have used her family nickname "little light bulb". Police said the suspect, a 33-year-old surnamed Wang, had previously been arrested for drug related crimes and had sought medical treatment for mental illness. The case, the second child killing in Taipei in less than a year, has sparked widespread public anger and criticism of calls to abolish the death penalty. Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. Executions are reserved for serious crimes including aggravated murder and kidnapping, but the political elite is divided over whether or not to retain it. Parliament says it will on Thursday a review of a bill that would ensure those convicted of killing children under 12 are given the death penalty, or at least a life sentence in the case of severe mental illness. "I am deeply saddened by the case... (the suspect) should be sentenced to death in the case of a stranger killing a child," said lawmaker Wang Yu-min, who proposed the bill. Children's welfare group the White Rose Social Care Association is planning to hold a rally in Taipei on April 10 to push for enforcement of capital punishment. "This kind of random killing shows that Taiwan cannot afford to abolish the death penalty," said chairwoman Eva Liang. The girl's mother, however, urged the public not to discuss the issue to allow the family time to grieve. "If you are concerned about us or have sympathy, please respect us... I don't wish to see such discussions at the time being," she told reporters outside a funeral home, also asking people not to circulate photos of the girl's body. 'Stop beating' Television footage Monday showed dozens of angry people gathered outside a police station in Taipei where the suspect was being held. Some attacked the man as he was being transferred to the prosecutor's office for questioning. He pleaded with them to "stop beating". Others came to lay flowers and toys at the spot where the girl was killed and her family held a religious ceremony for her there. President-elect Tsai Ing-wen who will take office on May 20, also went to the scene to lay flowers. "This incident deals a big blow to Taiwan's society. Many Taiwanese people are saddened and feel insecure... We should work together so parents don't have to worry and children can grow up safely," she said. AFP WASHINGTON A man walked into the underground U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on Monday and was shot and wounded by police after he pointed what appeared to be a weapon at officers, police said. The suspect and a female bystander, who suffered wounds, were taken to the hospital, Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said at a news conference. No police officers were injured, Verderosa said. He said it was unclear how many officers fired shots. A weapon was recovered on the scene and the suspect's vehicle was found on Capitol grounds, he said. "During routine administrative screening, the individual drew what appeared to be a weapon and pointed it at officers," the police chief said. Verderosa said the man was known to Capitol Police. "Based on initial investigation, we believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before. There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said. Law enforcement officials have not conclusively verified the suspect's identity but believe he is Larry Dawson, 66, from Tennessee, the Washington Post reported. Police arrested Dawson in October after they said he interrupted a House of Representatives session, shouting he was a "Prophet of God," the Post reported. A judge ordered him to stay away from the Capitol grounds, the newspaper said. Police did not identify the suspect, who they said acted alone. The suspect was undergoing surgery, but his condition was unknown, and no charges have been filed "at this point," Verderosa said. A U.S. government official said no evidence had materialized of a connection to terrorism. On a day when the Senate and House of Representatives were not working and few lawmakers were in Washington, the Capitol building was briefly locked down, but then reopened for official business. The Capitol Visitor Center is used chiefly by tourists. The U.S. Secret Service temporarily cleared tourists from an area around the White House. At about the same time as the Capitol shooting, a woman was arrested at the White House Easter egg roll because she tried to move a temporary security barrier, the Secret Service said. There was no relation between the Capitol incident and the White House arrest, a Secret Service official said. The District of Columbia Police Department, a separate force from the U.S. Capitol police, called the shooting an isolated incident and said there was no threat to the public. More than 2 million people a year go through the Capitol Visitor Center, Verderosa said. He said it would be open for business as usual on Tuesday. (Additonal reporting by Mark Hosenball, Susan Cornwell, Roberta Rampton and Susan Heavey; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Grant McCool) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. As he leaves for Belgium as part of a three-nation tour on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a pre-departure statement on Tuesday where he said he salutes the resilience and the spirit of the people of Belgium, in the wake of the horrible attacks that shook the country last week. At least 35 people, including an Indian national, were killed in twin explosions at Zaventem airport and one was killed at a metro station in the Belgian capital on 22 March. In Brussels, he will attend the 13th India-EU Summit which according to the statement, will advance multifaceted engagement across a whole range of sectors. He says, "My meeting with the Prime Minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important E.U. member." After Belgium, Modi will be headed to US to participate in the 4th Nuclear Summit, where he will discuss ways and measures to strengthen global nuclear security architecture with other global leaders. Soon afterwards on 2 and 3 April he will be visiting Saudi Arabia at the invitation of H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Describing India's relations with Saudi as 'special', he said "I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations." Here is the full-text of his statement: On 30th March, I will be in Brussels to meet with the Belgian Prime Minister Mr. Charles Michel. I would also be holding the 13th India-EU Summit with the E.U. leadership. No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones. Our relations with Belgium are deep rooted and have stood the test of time. Within the E.U., Belgium is Indias 2nd largest trading partner. My meeting with the Prime Minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important E.U. member. Along with Prime Minister Charles Michel, I would remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) Telescope. The European Union is a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. This Summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains. In Brussels, I would also be meeting with the Members of European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a wide cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium. The same evening, I will address a Community Programme and interact with the Indian community. After Belgium, I will be in Washington DC on 31st March to participate in the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, where several nations and global organisations would be represented. The Summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material. On the sidelines of the Summit, I would meet with several world leaders to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations. I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO project. On 2nd and 3rd April, at the invitation of H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I will be visiting Saudi Arabia. Indias ties with Saudi Arabia are special. Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda. Our economic ties are also expanding. Saudi Arabia is Indias 4th largest trading partner, and is also Indias largest crude oil supplier. In addition to meeting with H.M. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the Royal family. We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with Indias development priorities. That would be one of the key objectives of the business event planned in Riyadh. I will visit the Masmak Fortress, L&T Workers Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT & ITES Center in Riyadh. WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme, the White House said on Monday. The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington will take place the same day Obama talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. Relations between Park and Abe have been frosty in the past, but the two have been brought together in recent months by shared concerns about North Korea, which conducted a fourth nuclear bomb test on Jan. 6 and launched a long-range rocket into space last month. The United States has been keen to encourage better relations between Seoul and Japan, its two biggest allies in Asia, given concerns not only about North Korea but also an increasingly assertive China. Beijing has said Xi will push Obama to resume talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Their meeting could also touch on U.S. concerns about Chinese computer hacking and Beijing's assertive pursuit of territory in the South China Sea. [nL3N16W1J9} Obama, Park and Abe last met trilaterally on the sidelines of the previous Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in 2014, but only at the cajoling of the U.S. president. Last November, Abe and Park held their first formal bilateral talks since taking office and the following month Japan and South Korea reached a landmark agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over women forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels. Military officials and defence officials said after the North Korean nuclear test in January that shared concerns about North Korea could cement the reconciliation and open the way for increased military cooperation between Japan and South Korea. Washington is relying increasingly on its Asian allies to work together and says trilateral defence cooperation is critical to maintaining regional security. China has signed up for tough new U.N. sanctions against North Korea but it has said repeatedly sanctions are not the answer and that only a resumption of talks can resolve the dispute over North Korea's weapons programme. Numerous efforts to restart the talks have failed since they collapsed following the last round in 2008. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Bernard Orr and Andrew Hay) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: US President Barack Obama will hold a trilateral meeting with South Korean and Japanese leaders on Thursday on the issue of North Korea, the White House said on Monday. Obama's meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be held on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, which is slated for Thursday and Friday. "This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally," the White House said in a statement. In recent weeks, North Korea has claimed a series of key technical breakthroughs in its development of a long-range nuclear strike capability, and conducted its first test firing in two years of a medium-range ballistic missile. Experts say the claims are likely a mix of fact and exaggeration. However, there is a consensus that North Korea is making steady progress towards its goal of developing an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can accurately deliver a nuclear bomb as far as the continental United States. That threat will loom large on the agenda of Thursday's trilateral meeting as well as Obama's talks with Xi. US policymakers have pushed Beijing to put pressure on Pyongyang to stop its nuclear provocations, but China is concerned about the stability of its unpredictable neighbour. North Korea, meanwhile, has labelled Obama's hosting of the two-day nuclear security summit in Washington as an act of "shameful" hypocrisy. "The US and its South Korean puppet group are going to use the above-said summit as a means for ratcheting up the sanctions against (North Korea), and finding fault with its legitimate access to nuclear weapons," the North's official KCNA news agency said in a commentary. "It is ridiculous for the US and its followers to hold such a nonsensical summit," it said. The summit itself will not address issues related to North Korea's recent weapons tests, with the fear that Islamic State militants could obtain nuclear material expected to weigh more heavily on the agenda. IANS Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was time to establish official relations between Indonesia and Israel. "I have a few Indonesian friends on Facebook," he told a group of Indonesian journalists, who arrived in Israel as guests of Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday. "The time has come for official bilateral relations," Xinhua quoted Netanyahu as saying. "We have many opportunities to cooperate in the fields of water and technology." He said that the relations with Indonesia "must also change" after mentioning Israel's deepening ties with Africa, Latin America and Russia. "The factors preventing official ties are no longer relevant and I hope that your visit will help with this," the Prime Minister said to the visitors. Israel and Indonesia have no diplomatic relations but established trade and tourism ties. In 2013, current Education Minister, then Economy Minister, Naftali Bennett visited Bali in Indonesia to attend a meeting of the World Trade Organisation. Meanwhile, ties between Indonesia and the Palestinian National Authority have been strengthening, setting the stage for a diplomatic incident two weeks ago. IANS Dubai: A fire raced up a high-rise tower in the United Arab Emirates city of Ajman late Monday, the latest in a series of skyscraper blazes in the Gulf nation that is home to the world's tallest building. Images shared on social media showed bright yellow flames spreading up the side of the building as chunks of burning material tumbled to the ground. The Emirati interior minister, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, rushed to Ajman to help coordinate the response to the blaze, Ajman police said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Ajman is home to many commuters who work in the Gulf commercial hub of Dubai, further to the south. Like Dubai, it is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE federation. Police sealed off a major road near the tower snarling traffic. Hundreds of evacuated residents and onlookers crowded nearby to watch the building go up in flames. The Dubai-based Gulf News newspaper quoted Ajman civil defence director Brigadier Saleh Saeed al-Matroushi as saying firefighters were at the scene working to put out the fire. A civil defense official reached by AP confirmed that firefighting efforts were ongoing late into the night, but had no further details. The blaze comes less than three months after a massive fire raced up the exterior of the 63-storey The Address Downtown Dubai, one of Dubai's most prominent hotels. It is situated next to Dubai's biggest mall and the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper. Similar fires have struck other high-rises built since the turn of this century in Dubai and Sharjah, which sits between Dubai and Ajman. Building and safety experts have attributed the spate of fires to a material commonly used to cover the buildings known as aluminum composite panel cladding. Some panels used in buildings in the Emirates contain a flammable core that can burn rapidly one ignited, allowing fires to spread quickly on buildings covered top to bottom with the panels without sufficient fire breaks along the way. It was not immediately clear if the skyscraper in the Ajman fire had that type of cladding, but images posted on social media appeared to show the fire burning in a similar fashion. RT @News_Executive: BREAKING: Massive Fire Engulfs at least 2 towers in the #Ajman towers in United Arab Emirates. pic.twitter.com/UTEhi4Eq9Y Bianca Habing (@BiancaHabing) March 28, 2016 Fierce fire blight at the #Ajman Towers in United #arabemirates. From 30 floors burn already 26 floors. pic.twitter.com/0JLnGMIwcY Onlinemagazin (@OnlineMagazin) March 28, 2016 AP U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery in Florida on Tuesday, the latest chapter in a raucous White House race marked by threats, insults and physical confrontations. Police in Jupiter, Florida, charged Lewandowski, 42, with intentionally grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for the conservative news outlet Breitbart, when she tried to question Trump at a campaign event on March 8. "Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge," Trump's campaign said in a statement. "He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Campaign rallies for Trump, the billionaire businessmen who leads the race to become the Republican candidate in the Nov. 8 presidential election, have been marked by rowdiness and occasional clashes between protesters and supporters or security personnel. Trump's pugnacious campaign style, which includes personal insults directed at rivals and scathing criticism of protesters, has been criticized for encouraging physical altercations at his rallies. The real estate mogul leads remaining rivals Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, and Ohio Governor John Kasich in polls and in the number of delegates to the nominating convention, despite a concerted effort by the Republican establishment to stop him out of fear he will lead the party to defeat in November. Cruz picked up an endorsement on Tuesday from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ahead of the state's primary next week. Walker, who dropped out of the presidential race earlier this year, said he backed Cruz because he was a principled constitutional conservative. "To me, I'm all in," Walker said in a radio interview on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee, adding that he was not endorsing Cruz in an attempt to stop Trump. He said he planned to campaign for Cruz throughout the state. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Walker said, referring to the Democratic front-runner. Walker joins a number of other more mainstream Republicans who have backed Cruz as the best alternative to Trump, who has racked up a strong delegate lead but alienated many party leaders with his harsh views on immigration, Muslims and women. Trump defended Lewandowski after he was charged on Tuesday. "Look at tapes - nothing there!" Trump said on Twitter, calling Lewandowski "a very decent man." Police released a video of the incident showing Fields walking alongside Trump and trying to question him. Lewandowski is seen grabbing her arm and pulling her backward. Previous videos of the incident had been obscured by people in the crowd. At the time, Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and said he never touched her. He was charged with simple battery, defined under Florida law as intentionally touching or striking a person against their will. For a first offense, it is a misdemeanor in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of $1,000. A court date was set for May 4, according to the police report. Jupiter police said Lewandowski turned himself in to police, and he was issued a notice requiring him to appear in court and then released. He was not booked into the jail. Trump's rivals said Lewandowski's arrest was a reflection of the campaign he worked for. "Unfortunately, this abusive behavior seems to be part of the culture of the Trump campaign. Personal attacks, verbal attacks and now physical attacks have no place in politics or anywhere else in our society," said Cruz spokeswoman Alice Stewart. Kasich's senior adviser, John Weaver, said on Twitter that "campaigns reflect the character of the candidate and if this person was on our campaign he would have been fired long ago." Lewandowskis lawyer, Scott Richardson of West Palm Beach, Florida, declined to comment on whether his client would step down as campaign manager. Lewandowski will also be represented by Kendall Coffey, a Miami lawyer, the campaign said. Fields resigned from Breitbart less than a week after the incident, citing what she said was the online news outlet's refusal to stand behind her amid the allegations. (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland, Megan Cassella in Washington, Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. UNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regrets a "misunderstanding" over his use of the word "occupation" to describe Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara, which led to Morocco expelling dozens of United Nations staff, his spokesman said on Monday. Earlier this month Ban used the word "occupation" to describe Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara in 1975, when it took over the arid territory along the Atlantic Ocean from colonial power Spain. "His use of the word was not planned, nor was it deliberate, it was a spontaneous, personal reaction. We regret the misunderstandings and consequences that this personal expression of solicitude provoked," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. The controversy over Ban's comments is Morocco's worst dispute with the United Nations since 1991, when the U.N. brokered a ceasefire to end a war over Western Sahara and established a peacekeeping mission, known as MINURSO. Ban said the word during a visit to refugee camps in southern Algeria for the Sahrawi people, who contend Western Sahara belongs to them. Morocco then ordered the United Nations to pull out dozens of civilian staffers and close a military liaison office for the MINURSO peacekeeping mission. It said its decision was irreversible, but that the government was committed to military cooperation to guarantee a ceasefire. "Nothing (Ban) said or did in the course of that trip was meant to offend or express hostility toward the Kingdom of Morocco, which is a valued member of the United Nations," Dujarric said. Rabat has accused Ban of dropping the United Nations' neutral stance on the Western Sahara dispute. "The position of the United Nations has not changed," Dujarric said. "He has not and will not take sides on the issue of Western Sahara." U.N. officials had repeatedly urged the U.N. Security Council to publicly voice its support for Ban and MINURSO, which the 15-nation body did late last Thursday in New York. However, the council did not explicitly order Morocco to reverse its decisions or address Ban's use of the word "occupation." Some U.N. diplomats had blamed the council's days of silence on Morocco's ally France, along with Spain, Egypt and Senegal. The U.N. MINURSO mission, which consists of military and civilian staff, monitors the Western Sahara ceasefire and is charged with organising a referendum over the region's future. But deadlock has delayed the vote for years. (Editing by Fiona Ortiz) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. SAN FRANCISCO The U.S. Justice Department dropped a high-stakes legal fight against Apple on Monday, saying the government successfully accessed data stored on an encrypted iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. The government had insisted until last week it had no way to access the phone used by Rizwan Farook except to force Apple to write new software that would disable the password protection. The Justice Department obtained a court order last month directing Apple to create that software. But the technology company fought back, arguing the order was an overreach by the government and would undermine computer security for everyone. Apple declined immediate comment on Monday. At issue was a county-owned iPhone used by Farook, one of the husband-and-wife shooters in the San Bernardino, California, rampage in December in which 14 people were killed and 22 wounded. The couple died in a shootout with police after the attack. U.S. officials said last week they were hopeful they would be able to unlock the iPhone without help from Apple. In a two-page court filing on Monday, the Justice Department said the government "no longer requires" Apple's assistance. It asked a federal magistrate in Riverside, California, to withdraw her order compelling Apple to assist. Apple had argued that the government request would create a "back door" to phones that could be abused by criminals and governments, and that Congress has not given the Justice Department authority to make such a demand. Tech industry leaders including Google, Facebook and Microsoft and more than two dozen other companies filed legal briefs supporting Apple. The Justice Department received support from law enforcement groups and six relatives of San Bernardino victims. Eileen Decker, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said in a statement on Monday that the government's request to Apple was part of its "solemn commitment" to the victims. "Although this step in the investigation is now complete, we will continue to explore every lead, and seek any appropriate legal process, to ensure our investigation collects all of the evidence related to this terrorist attack," Decker said. (Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: Strongly condemning the terror attack in Lahore, the US on Monday called for global unity against fighting extremism and offered assistance to Pakistan in investigation. "The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms this terror attack at a children's park in Lahore yesterday. It's grotesque, and the fact that you have an extremist organisation targeting religious minorities and children is an outrage," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference. "The other thing, I think is indicative of what we talk about up here quite a bit is that even though this terror attack was targeted at Christians, a religious minority in Pakistan again, that is in and of itself grotesque, but the fact of the matter is that based on the names that we're seeing now, the majority of the victims were actually Muslims," he said. "It demonstrates how important it is for the world to come together to fight this kind of extremism. That certainly has been the approach the approach that the president has taken in making sure that peace-loving people of all faiths and of all religions must come together to fight this kind of extremism, and that certainly is what our values and our sense of morality tells us," Earnest said. "As a purely practical matter, that's also what's going to be required, and our success in fighting extremism around the globe is going to also depend on the ability of individual nations to fight extremism within their borders. And certainly, the government of Pakistan understands this today, just how critically important that is," Earnest said in response to a question. The United States and Pakistan have an important counter-terrorism relationship, he said, adding that the Obama Administration certainly values the kind of cooperation that it has received from them. "In this instance, the response and the investigation will be conducted by the Pakistani government and if they request assistance from the United States, it will be provided," he said. State Department Spokesman John Kirby said, "There is no doubt that Pakistan continues to be under threat from terrorists inside their own country, and we've talked about this before that innocent Pakistanis and we saw it again this weekend continue to suffer at the hands of terrorists inside Pakistan." PTI Apple launched the 4-inch iPhone SE last week and it looks like it is a big hit in China. According to a new report from CNBC, Apple has received more than 3.4M pre-orders for the iPhone SE via retailers in China. The report goes on saying that the most popular colors of the phone are Rose Gold and Gold. Apple unveiled the phone on March 21 and pre-orders started from March 24. The iPhone SE has been targeted at emerging markets like China, India and Brazil. Although, Apple has received strong pre-orders from China, some Chinese retailers are saying that the iPhone SE does not offer anything revolutionary. The report further added that some smaller retailers are offering the device at a discounted rate. The iPhones SE has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor, is powered by a Apple A9 processor with M9 motion co-processor. It has a 12-megapixel iSight camera with support for 4K video recording, 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera with Retina Flash. The phone runs on the latest iOS 9.3, comes in 16GB and 64GB variants and weighs just 113 grams. It comes in Silver, Gold, Space Gray and Rose Gold colors. The iPhone SE will be launched on April 8 in India and starts at Rs 39,000. source Check out the new FoneArena Daily video that gives you a quick roundup of todays technology news. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA1ZOAEwzR4 Xiaomi has launched Redmi 3 Pro with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a fingerprint sensor on the back. It comes in Gray, Silver and Gold colors and is priced at 899 yuan (US$ 138 / Rs. 9190 approx.) The company has also announced the Mi Ecosystem sub brand and unveiled number of smart home products like Mi Water Purifier 2, Mi Router 3, Bluetooth Speaker and Induction heating rice cooker. Samsung has announced the Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy J7 (2016) Super AMOLED displays. Both these have a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera that also has LED flash. The Department of Justice (DoJ) has dropped its case against Apple as the FBI has unlocked San Bernardino shooters iPhone. Meanwhile, Apple iPhone SE pre-orders have surpassed 3.8 million in China with rose gold and gold being most popular color. Disgruntled former investors in the drugmaker Sprout have sent a letter to Valeant Pharmaceuticals (BHC 4.84%) questioning its commitment to Sprout's one and only commercial drug, Addyi, a pill that can increase sexual desire in women. Last year, these Sprout investors sold their company to Valeant for $1 billion, plus future royalties. However, their letter highlights concerns regarding Addyi's commercial rollout and suggests they may regret their decision to cozy up to the now-troubled company. Failure to launch Former Sprout investors probably aren't too mad about pocketing a billion dollars in up-front money from Valeant as part of their deal, but they do appear to be upset about Addyi's tepid sales and the resulting lack of royalty revenue that they're receiving. Despite pre-launch peak sales projections of $1 billion and a sales forecast of between $100 million and $150 million this year, Valeant acknowledged earlier this month that Addyi's sales are struggling and that it's unlikely that the drug will attain its 2016 sales target. Former Sprout investors lay that blame squarely at the feet of Valeant. Specifically, they argue that Valeant's decision to price a month's supply of Addyi at $800 is a bust. According to their own pre-launch market research, a price of roughly $400 per month would have allowed widespread insurance coverage and led to far greater demand. Instead, Valeant's $800 price tag has left insurance companies with no option but to exclude Addyi from their drug formularies and to institute barriers to Addyi's use, such as requiring patients visit a psychiatrist before being prescribed Addyi. In cases where Addyi has been included in an insurer's drug formulary, it's often been placed in high tiers that require large patient copays that further restrict demand. Valeant's pricing decision seems even less prudent when we consider that Addyi's efficacy in clinical trials was modest and its use poses some safety risks. Importantly, combining Addyi with alcohol increases the chance of unconsciousness, and as a result, the Food and Drug Administration included a black box warning on Addyi's label and required that a risk management program be established to educate doctors and patients on this risk. Ongoing struggles Disgruntled Sprout investors, however, may be the least of Valeant's problems. A history of acquiring drugs only to hike their price has led to scrutiny of Valeant's business, which has in turn revealed accounting mishaps and an all-too-cozy relationship with a specialty pharmacy used by Valeant to boost its sales. The fallout from these revelations includes Valeant abandoning its specialty pharmacy distribution model, tumbling sales, and potential pressure from creditors because of delays in filing its audited financials. If Valeant can't get its financials to regulators soon, it could become in technical default on $30.9 billion in debt. Looking ahead Valeant's business model is on the ropes and changes, including cost-cutting, are necessary. Given Addyi's poor performance thus far, it wouldn't be shocking if its budget is on the chopping block. Valeant assures investors it will live up to its end of the bargain on Addyi, which includes $200 million in spending in 2016 and 2017 and a 150-person sales force. However, if Sprout's investors remain unconvinced that Valeant is following through on those pledges, a lawsuit could be on the horizon. The Social Security world can be confusing, with all its abbreviations -- such as SSDI, SSI, SSN, and so on. It's worth learning more about it, though, because Social Security offers much more than just retirement benefits. If you're disabled, for example, you may qualify for benefits and may want to learn how to submit an application. Read on! SSDI, not SSI Let's first clear up two often confused letter groupings, though -- SSDI and SSI. There are two Social Security programs that offer benefits to the disabled: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This article is focused on the SSDI program -- which as of 2015, was delivering benefits to about 10.8 million people, including close to 9 million disabled workers, more than 140,000 spouses, and more than 1.7 million children. Here's a quick explanation of the SSI, though, as it may be of use to you or someone you know. The Supplemental Security Income program is designed to offer benefits to elderly (aged 65 and up), blind, or disabled adults -- and to disabled or blind children, too -- who have sufficiently little in the way of income and assets. It can be received by folks who are also receiving Social Security retirement benefits or SSDI benefits. SSDI, in a nutshell The Social Security Disability Insurance program provides benefits to disabled people who have worked enough to qualify as "insured." Most folks will need to have worked for 10 years, but there are lower thresholds for younger people, and a few other rules, too. For example, a 46-year-old person will typically need about six years of work. Some family members of qualifying disabled people may be able to receive benefits as well. The disabled person will also have to meet the Social Security Administration's definition of disabled for this program. For starters, they will need to have a medical condition that prevents them from working and that's long-term, expected to last at least a year or to lead to death. How much might you receive in benefits if you qualify? Well, it will depend on your earnings history, just like Social Security retirement benefits depend on them. The average monthly benefit was recently $1,165 (that's about $14,000 per year), but the SSA offers some online calculators that can help you get an idea of what you can expect. Here are some specific things the Social Security Administration considers as it reviews your application: Whether you're currently working, and if you are, how much you're earning: The limits change every year or so. In 2016, for example, if you're disabled (but not blind) and earning more than $1,130 per month, on average, you won't qualify. The limit is $1,820 if you're blind. The severity of your condition: The Social Security Administration's definition of disability requires you be significantly limited in terms of being able to do basic working activities (such as sitting, standing, walking, lifting, and remembering) for at least a year. Whether your condition or impairment is on the list: The SSA will check to see if your condition is on their list of sufficiently severe conditions. (These include chronic liver disease, recurrent arrhythmias, a heart transplant, various cancers, multiple sclerosis, and many others.) If it's not, they'll take a closer look at it to determine whether it qualifies. Whether you can do the work you used to do: The SSA will want to determine whether your disability prevents you from doing your previous job. If it doesn't, then you probably won't qualify. Whether you can do any other work: The SSA will take into account your age, skills, education, work experience, disability, and so on to determine whether you may be able to do some other kind of work. If it decides that you can do other work, you will likely not be deemed to have a qualifying disability. The requirements for qualification are clearly stringent, but if you think you or a loved one might qualify, it's well worth looking into it more and perhaps applying. Oh, and by the way, once you've received disability benefits for two year, you'll automatically get Medicare coverage. Your SSDI application So how do you apply for SSDI benefits? It's a bit more complicated than applying for retirement benefits, but it's not rocket science, either. Many people can simply apply online. To do so, you need to be 18 or older, not currently receiving any Social Security benefits based on your own earnings record, and unable to work due to a disability expected to last at least a year or to lead to death. You must also not have been denied disability benefits within the past 60 days. If you're able to apply online, the SSA lays out how to do so in four steps: Start at the www.socialsecurity.gov website, clicking into the Disability section. Fill out the Disability Benefit Application. Answer the questions on the Adult Disability Report. Mail or take the documents we ask for to your Social Security office. Applying online offers advantages such as being able to do it when you want; being able to pause any time, saving your work and resuming filling it out later; and being able to more easily check on your application's status. You can also start the application process online, by calling (800) 772-1213 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can call TTY (800) 325-0778. And of course you can also apply in person at your local Social Security office. It's smart to make an appointment first, to save yourself a lot of waiting time. Will your application be approved? Once you apply, the Social Security Administration will review your application and will see whether you meet the various criteria. A state agency will likely consult with your doctors and health service providers you've used about your condition and treatments you've received. You may be asked to undergo a medical exam, too, possibly performed by your own doctor and paid for by Social Security. If you're approved, you'll receive a letter telling you so and letting you know how much money you can expect to receive. If you're denied, you'll also receive a letter, explaining why. You'll be able to appeal the decision, if you want. Being disabled and unable to work is not fun, but for many such people, there is at least a little financial assistance available, from the Social Security Administration. Tech companies often get a lot attention for their flashier consumer-side devices like smartphones and wearable devices. That was great when the smartphone industry was just getting started, but now some tech companies are in need of new, long-term revenue stream -- and the global public cloud computing market is looking pretty good. Gartner says the segment is worth $204 billion, and is expected to grow by 16.5% this year. All of that revenue potential isn't lost on Amazon , Microsoft , or Alphabet's Google. Each company has already staked their own claim in the cloud computing space. Andwhile Amazon is the clear leader right now (as we'll learn below), it would be a mistake to count out Microsoft and Google. How these cloud companies stack upIf you've been keeping up with Amazon's stock over the past year, then you'll probably know that its Amazon Web Services (AWS) has emerged as a nearly untouchable foe in the cloud computing space. In 2015, the company brought in $7 billion in revenue from its AWS services. Amazon is also making big plays to expand its regional locations as well. In cloud computing, spreading out data locations isn't only a safeguard against failures -- it's also paramount in navigating location-based data rights. For example, many countries require data centers to be located on their soil if they're going to host their citizens' data. Amazon is currently in 12 different regions, many in the U.S., and has five more locations in the works. But Microsoft's Azure leads the pack when it comes to data center regions, boasting 20 right now. Google is trailing far behind with just 4 regions at the moment, but the company is sprinting to add more -- and will add an additional 12 regions over the next 12 to 18 months. When we glance back at revenue, though, it's apparent Microsoft and Google have a long way to go. Morgan Stanley estimates that both companies brought in $500 million in cloud computing revenue in 2015 (remember that Amazon was in the billions). Google's gunning for the top spot It would be ill-advised not to mention Google's desire to be the top cloud computing player, even with Amazon's current dominance. Urs Holzle,the senior VP for technical infrastructure at Google,estimated late last year that the company's cloud platform could be bigger than its ad revenue by 2020. That would be quite a feat considering that Google's ad revenue topped $67 billion last year. To get there, Google recently hired Diane Greene to head up its cloud business. Greene is one of the co-founders of VMWare, and under her leadership the company is quickly expanding its cloud computing hiring, and pushing its sales team to bring in more customers. The company's already brought in Spotify's business and rumors have popped up that Apple is looking to move some of its business to Google's cloud as well. Foolish final thoughtsAmazon's commanding lead in the cloud computing space is hard to miss, and investors should be pleased with how the company has built a robust service that significantly adds to the company's online retail revenues. But it would unwise to count Google out of this race. The company certainly has a long way to go to catch up to Amazon, but it also has the resources and tech know-how to do so. Neither Microsoft nor Google are going to let all of that potential cloud computing revenue sit on the table, and it's clear Google is already making big strides to catch up to Amazon. I doubt Google will catch up to Amazon over the next few years. But ifHolzle'spredictions prove to be even half-right, then Amazon will have to continue its aggressive AWS growth just to keep Google at bay. The article Amazon, Microsoft, or Google: Which Tech Stock Is Winning the Cloud Wars? originally appeared on Fool.com. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, and Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends VMware. 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: Pandora Media. The stock market has gone through a topsy-turvy quarter, and even though it's close to unchanged from the beginning of 2016, the volatility it has given investors has been a wake-up call to anyone who expected a smooth ride going forward. Monday's trading activity was relatively calm, with most major market benchmarks closing with only very modest moves. Even after the big bounce that stocks have seen over the past month, investors remain uncertain about key elements of future economic growth, and some individual stocks continue to be particularly troubling for investors. Among them are Valeant Pharmaceuticals , Pandora Media , and PJT Partners , all of which posted substantial declines on Monday. Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell 7% after the latest bad news to hit the drug company. On Monday, investors found out that outgoing CEO Michael Pearson had received a subpoena to testify at a hearing on April 27 before the Senate Special Committee on Aging in Washington, D.C. The committee has looked at a number of different situations involving high drug prices, and controversial pharmaceutical industry player Martin Shkreli is perhaps the best-known among those called before the panel. Pricing of prescription drugs has become a key issue in the current Presidential election, and Valeant has been at the epicenter of debate over pricing practices in the industry. With activist investor Bill Ackman taking a leadership role on Valeant's board, investors hope that the company will be able to weather the political storm and recover some of its lost ground in time. Pandora Media dropped 12%, giving up all of its gains from Friday. The streaming-music specialist announced this morning that founder Tim Westergren would take over the reins as CEO at Pandora, positioning the move as a way "to accelerate the company's growth strategy." In Westergren's words, "We're on the cusp of realizing an extraordinary vision: fundamentally changing the way listeners discover and enjoy music and the way artists build and sustain their careers." Yet investors weren't happy that Pandora didn't explicitly address the reasons why departing CEO Brian McAndrews was leaving the company. Moreover, it's unclear how the strategic move will help Pandora be more competitive with its rivals in the industry, all of which share the pressures of maintaining profitability while spending enough to attract and retain customers. Finally, PJT Partners finished the day down 11%. The advisory-focused investment bank saw its stock fall after a partner of the company was charged with criminal securities fraud and wire fraud offenses. The SEC also filed a civil action against Andrew Caspersen, who worked for PJT unit Park Hill Group. PJT Partners terminated Caspersen for cause, issuing a statement Monday afternoon that it had begun an internal investigation of the matter and "brought the matter to the attention of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan" as part of its cooperation with law enforcement officials. Nevertheless, with the lawsuits alleging losses of $95 million, investors are worried that insurance coverage and other resources that PJT Partners has to offset any liability might prove insufficient to prevent losses entirely. The article Why Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Pandora Media, and PJT Partners Slumped Today originally appeared on Fool.com. Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Pandora Media and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. 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. Amazon has the most sophisticated delivery infrastructure of any retailer in history. The company has built up the ability to deliver a package within two days anywhere in the Unites States. It also has same-day capacity in some markets and pioneering deals for Sunday delivery in parts of the country. This incredible capacity has been a slow build, with the online retailer is doing everything from building warehouses around the country to mixing in robots alongside human workers. Amazon's supply chain includes predictive technology that helps it know what customers are going to order before they actually order it. Of course, in the long run, competing with Amazon requires rivals like Target to step up infrastructure spending in order to build a comparable supply/delivery chain. Doing that is an expensive, lengthy task, but the brick-and-mortar chain wants to turbocharge its efforts by hiring away a key Amazon executive. Amazon wants to stop that, and it has filed a lawsuit against its former vice president of operations, Arthur Valdez, to prevent him from joining Target, saying it violates a non-competition agreement he signed. Amazon uses humans and robots in its warehouses. Image source: Amazon. What is the suit charging?During his time at Amazon, Valdez worked in a variety of supply chain positions, culminating in him overseeing the retailer's international supply chain expansion. The lawsuit, which was filed against Valdez and not Target, charges that he is breaking a non-compete agreement that said he could not compete with Amazon for 18 months after leaving the company. The lawsuit makes it clear that Amazon believes Valdez "cannot lead Target's supply chain operations without referencing confidential information learned and developed by him at Amazon to drive superior performance in exactly the same areas." Further, the suit says that the language in the Feb. 29 Target press release announcing his hiring makes it clear that he will be leading "Target's supply chain transformation including planning, distribution, and transportation." Target does not believe Valdez has violated any agreement, according to a statement it made to Reuters. "We have taken significant precautions to ensure that any proprietary information remains confidential and we believe this suit is without merit," Reuters quoted Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder as saying. What happens next?Valdez had a March 28 start date with Target, and as of that morning, no action had been taken by the Seattle court where Amazon filed its suit that would prevent that from happening. Target issued the statement above to multiple media outlets, but citing pending litigation, it has refused further comment. In some ways, while Amazon may win its lawsuit, by the time it does, the damage may have already been done. Amazon alleges in its lawsuit that Valdez has already conveyed important information to Target during his interview process. "Mr. Valdezs behavior at Target with respect to Amazons confidential information before being hired there highlights the injury to Amazon from Mr. Valdezs work for Target if he works there," the lawsuit states, according to a report in GeekWire. Non-competes are notoriously hard to enforce, and in this case, even if Valdez is found at fault, which could lead to him having to pay Amazon's legal bills in the case, it's impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. This seems likes a big risk for the employee, with very little downside for Target. Even if Valdez loses and has to sit out 18 months, as per his Amazon contract, it seems likely he could have already set his new employer on a changed path -- it's impossible for his new associates to unlearn anything he has shared with them. So, why is Amazon suing?In many cases, employers file lawsuits over non-compete clauses not because they expect to win, but as both a delay tactic and a warning to other employees. In this case, Amazon has probably already lost -- at least in terms of keeping some of Valdez's knowledge away from a rival. Still, any roadblocks the company can throw up -- even if it's simply forcing Target to have to operate using the "significant precautions" it mentions above -- extends its edge. This is a long game, and Amazon has a big lead. Valdez may be a game changer, and trying to enforce the non-compete may impede some of his effectiveness, which buys Amazon time. Either way, unless Target gets drawn into the lawsuit, the physical retailer has scored some points, but it remains to be seen if it can make itself a true competitor. The article Can Amazon Stop Target From Learning Its Supply Chain Secrets? originally appeared on Fool.com. Daniel Kline has no position in any stocks mentioned. He is pretty sure he has never decorated an Easter egg. 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. Image source: Google. There are a lot perspectives swirling around about self-driving cars these days. Much of them revolve around the timing of when self-driving autos will become ubiquitous, and some deal with how the vehicles themselves will impact the automotive industry. At the 2016 J.D. Power Automotive Forum this week, Alphabet's Google shed a little more light on the latter. John Krafcik, the CEO of Google's self-driving car project, said autonomous car owners will likely drive more than ever before, and that they'll need dealers even more than they do now. Krafcik said, "Self driving cars are going to be more expensive physical assets, so we're going to find a way to use them more." He added that the cars will probably drive 100,000 to 150,000 miles each year (compared to the average 13,500 miles now) because people will use them for car sharing services. And this, Krafcik thinks, will be a very good thing for car dealers. "I think there are going to be positive implications for a lot of dealers. And for the OEMs, thinking about that duty cycle is going to be very different," he said. Essentially, cars will need much more servicing because they'll be driven a lot more, and they'll be much more technologicallycomplicated than they are right now. Of course, carmakers are pursuing their own self-driving autos, just like Google. General Motors, Volvo, Audi, Ford, and just about every other automaker are in in the process of building their own autonomous vehicles. But as Krafcik noted, Google's self-driving cars could change the automakers' position in the industry, and how they make some of their money. He made a comparison to the airline industry and how it doesn't build its own planes, potentially hinting that car dealers may not make their own cars. "Airlines don't build airplanes. Airbus and Boeing do that. Who knows how this is going to work out in autos?"he said. It's doubtful automakers would be pushed that far to the outside of the industry as to just be servicing vehicles -- at least not for a long time. Automakers still have more than a fighting chance to stay relevant in the self-driving space considering we're still decades away from autonomous car prevalence. Foolish thoughtsGoogle is already a clear leader in the self-driving vehicle world, and it's easy to see how the company could truly disrupt the automotive industry. While carmakers are slowly evolving their current vehicles with increasing amounts of semi-autonomous technologies, Google is going for all-out changes (think removing steering wheels and pedals) and is even pushing the U.S. government to speed up autonomous car testing. The industry estimates 12 million yearly autonomous cars sales by 2035 in the U.S., which means automakers and tech companies are working hard to ensure they don't fall behind the pack. However, the stakes are higher for carmakers. If tech companies fall behind, they'll just move onto the next big thing, but if automakers fail to adapt, they could be left simply servicing the vehicles they used to create. The article Google to Drivers: Self-Driving Cars Won't Eliminate Dealers originally appeared on Fool.com. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A and C shares), and 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. Oil prices have gone on a wild ride over the past three months. Shares of most U.S. airlines -- including American Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Southwest Airlines , and United Continental -- have tagged along. Given that jet fuel is one of the biggest expense items for an airline, it would have been natural to expect airline stocks to rise as oil plummeted. Instead, they plunged, only recovering after oil prices started to bounce back. Airline stock performance tied to oilOil price swings have been a primary cause of airline stocks' gyrations for the past three months. During the first three weeks of 2015, Brent crude prices fell nearly 30%. Shares of United Continental bottomed out around the same time, down almost 25%. Shares of American, Delta, and Southwest bottomed out a couple of weeks later, down about 20% from late December. Airline Stock Performances vs. Brent Crude Oil Price, data by YCharts. However, since reaching a nadir on January 20, oil prices have jumped more than 50%. Airline stocks have rebounded, too. Southwest Airlines stock is back where it was three months ago, while shares of American, Delta, and United are now down modestly year to date. Making sense of the relationshipSo, why have airline stocks been tracking oil prices so closely recently? To some extent, there's a direct link, as low oil prices have caused sharp declines in energy industry activity. That's hurt the economies of many oil-producing countries. Energy companies have also slashed corporate travel -- this had a particularly severe impact on United, which operates a big hub in Houston. However, a bigger driver of the airline stock price declines appears to be a widespread fear that low oil prices were causing airlines to dial up capacity growth, causing fares to fall. Indeed, domestic airline capacity increased 5.3% year over year in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That was the biggest increase since 2004 and nearly equaled the total domestic capacity increase over the previous five years combined! Not surprisingly, average airfares have been declining for about a year now. Airfares have been declining across the industry over the past year. Nevertheless, airline industry profits surged to a record high in 2015 and may continue to rise in 2016 as fuel hedging losses dissipate at carriers like Delta and United. This suggests that a big reason why airlines haven't reined in capacity growth yet is that they are making lots of money, even with lower fares. What happens now?The jump in oil prices and airline stocks over the past two months indicates that investors have become more comfortable with the global economic outlook. It also implies that investors expect airline unit revenue to return to growth soon, bolstered by tighter capacity discipline. Indeed, airlines have recently displayed increasing urgency to get unit revenue growing again. However, it's not clear that this has anything to do with the recent rise in oil prices. And there haven't been any notable capacity cut announcements in the past two months. Meanwhile, the further oil prices rise, the more pressure there is for airlines to grow unit revenue. When oil was in the $30/barrel range, airlines could look forward to another year of solid profit growth even with declining unit revenue. If oil rises toward the $50/barrel mark this year, some airlines could find their profits eroding quickly if fares keep falling. In the long run, airlines should be able to offset the majority of any fuel price increase through higher fares. The U.S. airline industry is concentrated enough that American, Delta, Southwest, and United can cut capacity if necessary without worrying too much about market share losses. However, in the short run, all bets are off. There is bound to be a lag between when oil prices start to rise and when airlines dial back capacity to bolster fares. Furthermore, it's doubtful that many airlines could replicate their current profit margins if oil were to return to the $80-$100/barrel level at some point in the future. Higher oil prices could ultimately help get airlines' unit revenue growing again. But if oil prices continue rising, airline investors may find themselves longing for the days of rock-bottom oil prices and falling unit revenue -- because that has been a recipe for record profits. The article Oil Prices Recover: What About Airline Stocks? originally appeared on Fool.com. Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of United Continental Holdings, and is long January 2017 $40 calls on Delta Air Lines, and long January 2017 $30 calls on American Airlines Group. The Motley Fool is long January 2017 $35 calls on American Airlines Group. 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: SunEdison. What: If they hadn't figured it out already, Tuesday, March 29 2016 may be the day investors finally realized the future of SunEdison Inc is destined for bankruptcy court in the very near future. In a filing with the SEC, SunEdison's yieldco TerraForm Global said it would delay filing its 10-K beyond March 30 and "there is a substantial risk that SunEdison will soon seek bankruptcy protection". To make matters worse, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the SEC is investigating SunEdison's disclosures about its cash position in 2015. This could be a reason that SunEdison has delayed filing its 10-K with the SEC, an indication there are larger accounting problems in the company. So what: SunEdison itself fell as much as 44% in early trading Tuesday, while TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global dropped as much as 14% and 21% respectively. The disclosure about SunEdison's finances, while not surprising, has almost eliminated any hope investors had of a recovery for the firm. SunEdison's financial position has been getting rapidly worse since last summer and a downward spiral or rising borrowing costs and financial losses have finally dragged the company down. There is some worry that TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global will be dragged into bankruptcy with SunEdison, but there's no guarantee they will. TerraForm Global said that it has enough liquidity to support its business, even if SunEdison goes bankrupt and TerraForm Power should be in a similar position. TerraForm Global has said that its India projects, bought from SunEdison last year, have provisions that allow lenders to accelerate debt maturity if SunEdison goes bankrupt. And some projects in South Africa have power purchase agreements that could default if a change of control in TerraForm Global takes place. Of the two yieldcos, TerraForm Global is the highest risk. Now what: These three companies have been a mess for the past nine months and that could finally land SunEdison in bankruptcy, sooner than later. I think that would be good for both TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global, who could then get independent directors to oversee the company, reduce dividents to lower debt, and buy projects from third parties when conditions are right. So far, both have been like a piggy bank for SunEdison, which has been to the detriment of the yieldcos. With that said, until we get some certainty about the financial future and independence of both yieldcos I wouldn't be very bullish on the stocks. There's still a risk that SunEdison could drag them into bankruptcy, even if that risk is fairly small, or there could be accounting irregularities that spilled into the yieldcos. As for SunEdison, there's absolutely no reason to own the stock now. Any hope of recovery is all but gone and the delayed SEC filings and new SEC investigation show no sign that management is turning operations around. I've been saying it for months, but SunEdison is doomed. The article SunEdison Inc Plunges 44% On Likely Bankruptcy 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. A 9-year-old Boston boy has raised money for cancer research in honor of his mother, who has been battling colon cancer for more than a year. WCVB.com reported that Christine Lopes is being treated at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and her son Zach Lopes began placing collection jars at his Cedar Elementary School in Hanover, Massachusetts, to raise research dollars. The fundraiser then spread to other local schools. He put this together in two weeks, Christine told the news station. I am proud and awe-inspired, humble at the same time that a 9-year-old could do so much. So far, Zach has raised $1,698 for cancer research. WCVB reported that he presented a check to Dana Farber on Monday afternoon. Josh Lopes, Zachs father, said the young boy kept his fundraiser a secret from his parents. We thought it was a homework project, Josh told the news station. He would ask some questions and head to his room and work on his management plan. The secret to curing your chapped lips could be sheep oil or more specifically, ultra refined lanolin oil. Lanolin, which is naturally secreted by wool-bearing animals to help protect their skins surface against harsh climates, has long been used by humans as a moisture sealant. Australian skin-care brand Lanolips amassed a cult following abroad and in the US for its lanolin-based lip balm, with celebrity fans including Sienna Miller, Courtney Love, Erin Heatherton, Rosie Huntington Whiteley and Drew Barrymore. Now, Lanolips is being sold stateside for the first time in an exclusive collection that launched on Net-a-Porter last week. The line is price-friendly, with products ranging from $15-27 that address multiple skin concerns. Rough, cracked lips? Lanolips Banana Balm Lip Sheen ($15 at net-a-porter.com) will smooth things over. What about flaky patches around the eye area? Lanolips Everywhere Multi-Cream ($19 at net-a-porter.com) can fix that and your dry legs and hands. Lanolips founder Kirsten Carriol was inspired to start the brand 10 years ago after spending time on her grandparents sheep farm in Lucindale, South Australia, as a child, where she and her father (a professor of molecular biology and genetics) would shear the sheeps wool and produce lanolin. But dont worry, your lip balm isnt coming straight off the sheeps back. After being freshly shorn, lanolin is extracted from the wool and then undergoes a stringent purification process to be turned into the lanolin oil used in the products. Click for more from the New York Post. Some of us have trouble remembering what we had for lunch, but for one Australian woman, memory isnt an issue she has a rare condition wherein she can remember every moment of her life in detail. Rebecca Sharrock, 26, of Brisbane, is one of 80 people in the world who has Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). Shes able to remember everything, including dreams from when she was an infant, news.com.au reported. Any day Ive experienced, I can recall, Sharrock told news.com.au. If I had knowledge of calendars and dates at that time, I can date them. I can remember every birthday since my first birthday. Sharrock was diagnosed in 2011, after her mother read about HSAM and they met with researchers in California. Besides recalling her life, Sharrock has also memorized every word of the entire Harry Potter series and, by age two, could recite the capital of every country in the world. There are downsides to the condition, however. News.com.au reported that Sharrock is able to relieve bad memories and nightmares and, when recalling childhood injuries, physically feels the pain again. These memories include being abused as a child. Sharrock also has a difficult time processing information. My short-term memory is poor, she told news.com.au. When it becomes long term (after a few months), it stays forever. Besides HSM, Sharrock has also been diagnosed with autism, obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety. According to the United Nations, the most evil country in the world today is Israel. On March 24, 2016, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) wrapped up its annual meeting in New York by condemning only one country for violating womens rights anywhere on the planet Israel, for violating the rights of Palestinian women. On the same day, the U.N. Human Rights Council concluded its month-long session in Geneva by condemning Israel five times more than any other of the 192 UN member states. There were five Council resolutions on Israel. One each on the likes of hellish countries like Syria, North Korea and Iran. Libya got an offer of technical assistance. And countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and China were among the 95 percent of states that were never mentioned. No slander is deemed too vile for the U.N. human rights bodies that routinely listen to highly orchestrated Palestinian versions of the ancient blood libel against the Jews. In Geneva, Palestinian representative Ibrahim Khraishi told the Council on March 24, 2016: Israeli soldiers and settlers kill Palestinian children. They shoot them dead. They will leave them to bleed to death. And in New York, Palestinian representative Haifa Al-Agha told CSW on March 16, 2016: Israelis directing its military machinery against women and girls. They are killing them, injuring them, and leaving them bleeding to death. Operating hand-in-glove with governments and the U.N. secretariat are the unelected, sanctimonious NGOs, to which the UN offers free facilities and daily advertisement of side-events. In theory materials containing abusive or offensive language or images are not permitted on United Nations premises. In practice, in Geneva the UN permitted handouts that claimed Israel saw ethnic cleansing as a necessary precondition for its existence. A film accused Israel of sexual violence against children and trying to exterminate an entire Palestinian generation. Speeches focused on the 1948 catastrophe in which a settler colonial state was established on Palestinian land. The New York CSW-NGO scene included a film set in in the context of Israeli oppression and the tear gas of my childhood, and statements analogizing the experiences of Palestinians to todays Syrian refugees. Picture these real-life scenes: In Genevas grand U.N. Human Rights Council chamber, 750 people assembled, pounced on the Jewish state, broadcast the spectacle online, and produced hundreds of articles and interviews in dozens of languages championing the results. On the ground, Israelis are being hacked to death on the streets, stabbed in buses, slaughtered in synagogues, mowed down with automobiles, and shot in front of their children. At the New Yorks UN headquarters, 8,100 NGO representatives gathered from all corners of the globe, in addition to government delegates, and watched the weight of the entire world of womens rights descend on only one country. On the ground, Palestinian women are murdered and subjugated for the sake of male honor, Saudi women cant drive, Iranian women are stoned to death for so-called adultery, Egyptian women have their genitals mutilated and Sudanese women give birth in prison with their legs shackled for being Christian. Isnt it about time that people stopped calling the U.N. a harmless international salon or a bad joke? The poison isnt simply rhetorical. One of the Council resolutions adopted last week launches a worldwide witch-hunt for companies that do business with Israel as part of an effort to accomplish through economic strangulation what Israels enemies have not been able to accomplish on the battlefield. The resolution casts a wide net encompassing all companies engaged in whatever the U.N. thinks are business practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises. And the toxicity is self-perpetuating. Acting at the beck and call of Islamic states and their conduit French Ambassador Elizabeth Laurin, Council President Choi Kyonglim selected Canadian law professor Michael Lynk as the newest U.N. independent human rights investigator on Israel. Lynks qualifications? He has likened Israelis to Nazis, and challenged the legitimacy of the state of Israel starting in 1948 as rooted in ethnic cleansing. All of this played out in the same week that Europe was reeling from the Belgian terror attacks. Petrified or already vanquished, no European state voted against this onslaught of U.N. resolutions against Israel. Germany and the United Kingdom occasionally abstained, while France voted with Arab and Islamic states on all but one Council resolution. Here we are just 70 years after World War II and Europeans believe that they can license this vitriol against the Jewish state the only democracy on the front lines of an Islamist war against human decency and the consequences can be contained to the Jews. Even as the converse stares them in the face. Two days after the Brussels attacks, Islamic states rammed through a Council resolution slyly labeled Effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights that was actually so anti-human rights even Belgium was forced to vote against it. As for the United States, the Obama administration has been the Human Rights Councils most important supporter. Though the U.S. is currently in a mandatory one-year hiatus -- after serving two consecutive terms -- President Obama plans to bind his successor by running again in the fall for another three-year term that starts January 1, 2017. Memo to Americans who are mad as hell: It's time to elicit a promise from our would-be leaders to refuse to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council or to legitimize the United Nations. Are the increasing incidents of terrorist attacks in Europe the new normal? Must Europeans and Americans become resigned to the inevitability of regular jihadist assaults? Must we endure more meaningless bromides about not overreacting because we might offend the worlds 1.6 billion Muslims, playing into the hands of terrorists who promote the notion that the Christian West is at war with Islam? Following the Brussels bombings, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens noted his country has a law banning police raids on private homes between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. This is not a joke. Authorities think the mastermind behind last Novembers terrorist attack in Paris, which killed 130 people, might have been holed up for at least two nights in Brussels and could have escaped because of this indefensible law. The jihadists have no laws controlling their behavior. It is the same with Americas rules of engagement in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Does our restraint hold back the killers? Do we get points from extremists for trying not to kill women and children, when they make no distinction about age or gender while carrying out their heinous acts? Are we converting any of them to our way of life? Hardly. It is more likely they are encouraged by what they regard as our weakness. Usama bin Laden revealed what he and many radical Muslims believe about American weakness in a 1998 interview with John Miller of ABC News: We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weakness of the American soldier who is ready to wage cold wars and unprepared to fight long wars. This was proven in Beirut when the Marines fled after two explosions. It also proves they can run in less than 24 hours, and this was also repeated in Somalia. He added that jihad is a form of worship and We do not worry about Americans opinion, or the fact they place a price on our heads. As Muslims, we believe our fate is set. Even if the whole world decides to get together and kill us before our time has come, we will not die. This week in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Lanham, Maryland, President Obama and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are expected to open the largest American mosque in the world. According to the mosques website, the $100 million Turkish-American Culture and Civilization Center was built with Turkish funding under the supervision of the Turkish religious foundation (Diyanet). In Northern Virginia there is also a large mosque named Dar al-Hijrah, which some have accused of serving as a Hamas front. It was the home of the terrorist spiritual leader Anwar al-Awlaki, who was accused of mentoring two of the 9-11 hijackers. What a perfect setup for a jihadist pincer movement on the nations capital from Maryland and Virginia. Also worth remembering is a statement by Turkish President Erdogan: There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and thats it. Why would we not take seriously statements by bin Laden and Erdogan? Denying symptoms and refusing to see a doctor does not make an ailment disappear. Neither does denying the terrorist threat diminish the threat. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote this following the attacks in Brussels, We are at war with Islamist extremism. We need a different rhythm of thought in respect of it; preparing for a conflict that is longer than anything we have seen in modern times. There is still time for the U.S. to turn things around, less so in Europe. But we had better be serious about our efforts and respond as we have to other threats in the past. History and current events prove jihadists are serious. The city council in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma was in a bit of a pickle. The city was in the middle of a growth spurt and needed high ground to build a one-million gallon water tower. Click here to join Todds American Dispatch: a must-read for Conservatives! But the property they needed was owned by the First Baptist Church. So they made a deal with Pastor Nick Garland and the congregation. We donated the land and the easements for the tower, Pastor Garland told me. In kind, they said they would paint our name on the water tower. It was a fair trade all on the up and up. Our people are very generous, he said, referring to his congregation. We want to be good citizens as well as good Christian folks representing the kingdom of God. And Baptists are mighty partial to water. Were in the business of talking about Living Water and this (deal) provided water for a community and water for our church and water for a whole new area of the city to develop, the pastor said. But it turns out a gaggle of perpetually offended atheists, agnostics and free-thinkers from Wisconsin took issue with the deal. The Freedom From Religion Foundation fired off a sinister letter to the city warning that the inclusion of the churchs name on the water tower violates federal law. At some point that name is going to have to come off the water tower, attorney Andrew Seidel told television station KTUL. The water tower is in fact, government owned, and on government land. And as such, it cant be advertising for any religion. Seidel accused the city of promoting the Baptist religion. The Supreme Court has spoken very clearly on this, and it has said the government cant promote one religion or church over another, or religion over non-religion, he told the television station. Well, the good people of Broken Arrow dont appreciate a bunch of out-of-town atheists causing trouble. And the citys attorney politely told the Freedom From Religion Foundation that the churchs name is going to stay on the water tower. It wasnt intended to endorse any sort of religion; it was simply to recognize them for the land contribution. It was a contract, City Attorney Beth Anne Wilkening told television station KOTV. Pastor Garland told me the church is grateful for the way the city has handled the controversy. They stood up for us against the Freedom From Religion Foundation, he said. They have been very gracious to us. Lord knows those silly atheists dont have the good sense God gave a goose. They probably think the citys tap water has turned into holy water since the tower is on church property. Buddy, if it did, wed have a lot of conversions down in the valley. Im telling ya, the good-natured parson said with a chuckle. Nor is the tower filled with Communion wine. That wouldnt be appropriate for a Baptist church. We take our Communion before fermentation sets in preferably Welchs. The pastor assured me the citys tower is filled with old-fashioned tap water nothing more, nothing less. Its just plain water in a tower that has [the word] Baptist on the side of it, Pastor Garland said. And the water tower has unintentionally given First Baptist Church bragging rights in the Sooner State. We claim its the largest baptistery in the state, the pastor said with a great big grin. Thats a joke, Mr. Seidel. Tell your attorneys to stand down. Its only a joke. Hillary Clinton on Monday turned the Supreme Court vacancy into a campaign topic, saying it is one of the most important issues facing the country and arguing the next president will have a major impact on the high court. The Democratic presidential candidate warned a crowd at the University of Wisconsin about the future of the court -- which rules on the countrys most important legal issues -- if Republican front-runner Donald Trump becomes president. What kind of justice would President Trump appoint? Clinton asked before pointing out Trumps call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants amid fears of domestic terrorism and his opposition to granting amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. Clinton opened a two-day campaign trip to Wisconsin ahead of the state's April 5 primary with a reference to President Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to the highest court --a topic certain to unite Democrats, whether they support her or her primary rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. There are so many challenges that we need to take the time for, those that dont get attention on the campaign trail, said Clinton, who is less popular than Sanders among young, college-age voters. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others in his leadership team have said that a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia should be nominated by a new president, not one with nine months left in office. But Clinton argued it was reminiscent of GOP-led gridlock that stymied Obama's two terms. "We chose a president. We chose him twice," Clinton said. "And now Republicans in the Senate are acting like our votes didn't count and President Obama is not still our nation's leader." She called on Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to commit to giving Garland a hearing. And she rebuked Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is among the Republicans blocking the Garland nomination and facing a tough re-election bid. "Tell him to stop playing games with the Supreme Court," Clinton said, noting Johnson's 2016 challenge from former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. Grassley, speaking ahead of Clinton's remarks, said she was trying to divert attention from her "email troubles," refererring to probes into her use of a private email system as secretary of state. "This is simply a blatant attempt by Secretary Clinton to politicize the Supreme Court and to change the conversation," Grassley said in a statement. "Her actions as secretary of state are under investigation by Congress, two Obama-appointed inspectors general, and the FBI." Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short said, The only reason Hillary Clinton is calling on Republicans to breach decades of bipartisan precedent of not confirming election-year Supreme Court nominees is so she could have a liberal majority on the Court to help her carry on President Obamas legacy of executive overreach if elected. Clinton holds a large lead among delegates against Sanders, but is trying to stamp out the senator's momentum following his victories in five of the last six states holding contests. So I hope you and everybody across Wisconsin keep the court in mind when you vote, Clinton said Monday. I will keep advocating and talking about it and calling on the Senate to do its job. Sanders was also campaigning in the state this week and has identified upcoming contests in Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania as states where he could cut into Clinton's delegate lead. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal told viewers Monday on Special Report with Bret Baier that Wisconsin is "a very big deal for businessman Donald Trump in his quest for the Republican nomination for president. If Trump does well there, it could mean no contested convention. He could win on the first ballot in Cleveland, Riley said. He noted that aspects of Wisconsin will play to Trumps strengths, such as the states many blue collar voters and low number of Evangelicals. Former candidate and current Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is expected to endorse a candidate in his state as soon as Tuesday, and has hinted in interviews that he will support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Walker's upcoming endorsement and a lack of talk radio support in Wisconsin are among the reasons that Trump is fighting to win there with measures including holding campaign events, according to Riley. U.S. officials ordered families of U.S. service members and government workers to return home from southern Turkey on Tuesday due to what they called "continued security concerns in the region." On Monday, Sky News reported Islamic State terrorists were planning an "imminent" attack on Jewish schools in Turkey, citing intelligence sources. The Pentagon and State Department said dependents of American staffers at the U.S. consulate in Adana, the nearby Incirlik air base and two other locations must leave. The so-called "ordered departure" notice means the government will cover relocation costs. Officials said relatives of essential Chief of Mission personnel could stay. U.S. jets operating out of Incirlik have been conducting strike missions against ISIS since late last year. In addition, the State Department on Thursday warned all Americans to avoid traveling to the region, especially to areas near the Syrian border. "Stay away from large crowds, including at popular tourist destinations," the department added in a statement. The move affects 670 family members or other "dependents," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. The move would take place "relatively quickly," he added. "The decision to move our families and civilians was made in consultation with the Government of Turkey, our State Department, and our Secretary of Defense," Gen. Philip M. Breedlove of U.S. European Command said. "We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong Ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism." Defense officials said they did not plan to keep families of U.S. personnel out of Turkey permanently. They also cited the need to preserve the military's "combat effectiveness" there. The State Department and Pentagon had begun a voluntary drawdown of staff last September after Turkey announced it would take a greater role in the fight against ISIS. At the time, military officials said they had recommended the voluntary departure from Incirlik because of specific calls by militants for lone wolf attacks against the air base. The new announcement comes one day after Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to travel to Washington for a global nuclear security summit scheduled to get underway on Thursday. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sen. Mark Kirk on Tuesday became the first Republican senator to meet with Merrick Garland, President Obamas Supreme Court nominee. The senator from Illinois, who is facing a competitive re-election this fall, slammed his GOP colleagues, some of whom have flatly refused to meet with Garland or even consider holding confirmation hearings. I think we should do our jobs, Kirk told reporters after the meeting, adding that he hoped other Republicans will follow his lead. We need a rational, adult, open-minded consideration of the process. Kirk is perhaps the most endangered Senate Republican facing re-election in November. And when it comes to the battle over Obama's pick to fill the court vacancy, Kirk has been an outlier. He's one of just three Senate Republicans to say the Senate Judiciary Committee should hold hearings on Garland. And he's one of two GOP senators -- along with Susan Collins, R-Maine -- to say the full chamber should vote on the nominee. "I think when you just say I'm not going to meet with him and all, that's too closed-minded," Kirk said Tuesday. Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., insist that Obama's successor should fill the Supreme Court vacancy after American voters have a say in November. The death last month of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia created the court opening, and Obama is pressing to make his third appointment to the high court. "By leading by example, I'm showing what a rational, responsible guy would do that really wants the constitutional process to go forward," Kirk said. The senator called Garland "one of the most eminent jurists in the country." Democrats have been insisting that the Senate go through the regular confirmation process for Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. With most public opinion polls showing majorities favoring action on Garland, the Democrats' goal is to force GOP senators to buckle under pressure or make some of them facing re-election pay the price on Election Day. At least 13 Senate Republicans have said they'd be willing to meet with the federal judge, though many said they would tell him that he won't get a vote. Earlier this month, Kirk said on a Chicago radio program that the Senate should "man up and cast a vote." Garland has met with seven Democratic senators. The Associated Press contributed to this report. We are now at the point in this political season where everyone is hating on everyone else. Think about it: When was the last time you saw a piece or watched a segment in which a candidate was portrayed positively? Presidential campaigns are a tough business where every contender gets roughed up as the price of admission. But the level of vitriolthe pundits against Donald Trump and his rivals, and the candidates sliming each otherhas spiraled way out of control. It hasnt been Morning in America for a long time. In fact, its pretty close to a dark and stormy midnight. And the hyperspeed news cycle has all this unfolding at a head-snapping pace, like an endless feed of Twitter taunts. In the deafening din of the media echo chamber, it sometimes seems like these are the sounds that break through: --Donald Trump is a fascist threat to our way of life, says racist things and loves to attack women over their looks. --Ted Cruz is the most unlikable man in Washington, maybe the world, and such a nutty right-winger hed probably like to shut down the government forever. --John Kasich is a cranky spoiler impersonating a nice guy who is staying in the race out of pure ego. --Hillary Clinton is a deceitful woman who gets on everyones nerves, keeps lying about her email server and is lucky shes not in jail. The war over the wives controversy is perhaps the perfect encapsulation of the gutter campaign, with Trump blaming Cruz for the posting of a nude magazine photo of his wife, Cruz blaming Trump for unsubstantiated mistress allegations in the Enquirer, and the media breathlessly following each twist and tweet. Its a chicken-and-egg game to assign blame for the campaigns locker room tone to either the politicians or the journalists. Perhaps it reflects the crude and often mean-spirited tone of our culture. Here, among thousands of possible selections, is a sampling. Lets start with Sundays New York Times op-ed page, where everyone gets whacked. Ross Douthat, a thoughtful conservative voice, says Ted Cruz looks like hes faking it: The fact that he seems so much like an actor hitting his marks fits with the story of how he became Mr. True Conservative Outsider in the first place. Basically, he spent years trying to make it in Washington on the insiders track, and hit a wall because too many of the insiders didnt like him because his ambition was too naked, his climbers zeal too palpable. So he deliberately switched factions, turning the establishments personal disdain into a political asset, and taking his Ivy League talents to the Tea Party instead. On such issues as the government shutdown over ObamaCare, an exercise in self-serving cynicismCruz has proceeded with several fingers in the wind; every time the conservative mood has shifted even a little, hes shifted quickly too. He accuses Cruz of first being obsequious toward Trump, but turning to self-righteousness now that the name-calling and scandal-mongering have been turned against his reputation and his family. After that, and with a parting shot that his cynicism can be repellent, Douthat allows that the hard-working Cruz has earned his standing in the primaries. On the liberal side, I have a lot of respect for Nick Kristof, but in his Times column he buys into an increasingly common myth. The headline is My Shared Shame: The Media Helped Make Trump: Although many of us journalists have derided Trump, the truth is that he generally outsmarted us (with many exceptions, for there truly have been serious efforts to pin him down and to investigate Trump University and his various business failings). He manipulated television by offering outrageous statements that drew ever more cameras without facing enough skeptical follow-up questions. Its not that we shouldnt have covered Trumps craziness, but that we should have aggressively provided context in the form of fact checks and robust examination of policy proposals. While the press could always do a better job, Id argue that there has been endless fact-checking and it hasnt hurt Teflon Trump. The second failure is that we wrongly treated Trump as a farce. Not all of us, Nick, but that is especially true among the Huffington Post liberal crowd (though plenty of conservative pundits fell into this trap). But I strongly agree with Kristofs last point: We failed to take Trump seriously because of a third media failing: We were largely oblivious to the pain among working-class Americans and thus didnt appreciate how much his message resonated.We inhabit a middle-class world and dont adequately cover the part of America that is struggling and seething. We spend too much time talking to senators, not enough to the jobless. Also on the op-ed page, Maureen Dowd looked at President Obama tangoing into historythat is, enjoying his trip to Argentina and Cuba and failing to reflect the public alarm over the Brussels bombings: Barack Obama started off as a man self-consciously alone on stage and thats how he is exiting. He is, for better and worse, too cool for school. His identity is defined by his desire to rise above the fray. Unfortunately, he is in politics, which is the fray The president has a bristling resistance to what he sees as cheap emotion. (See: flag pin, 2008.) That has led him, time after time, to respond belatedly or bloodlessly in moments when Americans are alarmed, wanting solace and solutions. Well, how about John Kasich? He hasnt offended too many people, right? National Review Editor Rich Lowry is in the #NeverKasich camp: This truly is a year when the rules dont apply. If they did, John Kasich would be back in Columbus trying to figure out whether he sells his soul to Donald Trump or endorses Ted Cruz. Instead, the Ohio governor is still out on the trail running a delusional vanity project masquerading as a presidential campaign. There is no appetite for his pragmatic, cant we all get along campaign among Republican-primary voters, who have made that abundantly clear. Oh, and the Times news section joins the fray by quoting Kasich associates who recall a three-decade career in government punctuated by scolding confrontations, intemperate critiques and undiplomatic remarks. I could go on and on. Slate says Trump seeks to destroy people who stand in his way, especially women, even if he looks disgusting doing it. New York magazine says that unfortunately for Cruz, his logic backfires. Because if real men do not attack women, Cruz is fake as hell. In fact, he might be faker than Trump. Maybe, on some level, we get the elections we deserve. This is a reality show campaign in which reality, perhaps in the form of terror attacks, sometimes intrudes. It is endlessly entertaining, but often feels like tragicomedy with no heroes. Bernie Sanders campaign, buoyed by recent victories, is mounting a late-stage bid to court so-called superdelegates and wrangle just enough of the influential party insiders to close the gap with Hillary Clinton heading into the Democrats presidential convention. Like essentially every other Sanders strategy at this point, its an uphill and longshot play. Campaign officials acknowledged Monday that the Vermont senator, despite his weekend caucus sweep and other wins, cannot secure the nomination without moving the needle on superdelegates who are elected officials and others free to support whomever they want. Top Sanders adviser Tad Devine argued the delegate count will be so close that neither Clinton nor Sanders could win the nomination with pledged delegates alone. Thats mission impossible, he said. So as the Sanders campaign continues to compete and compete fully, as Devine put it, in the remaining primaries and caucuses, the underdog team is looking to line up support from superdelegates who remain undecided or aligned with the front-running Clinton. Devine said dozens of superdelegates have expressed support for the Vermont senator. He acknowledged delegates who are undecided as opposed to those already backing Clinton are the best target. Campaign manager Jeff Weaver also suggested the number in the pro-Sanders camp is higher than whats publicly available because others are not ready to go public yet. The leaderboard right now still reflects a daunting road ahead for Sanders. Clinton leads Sanders in the pledged-delegate race 1,243-975. That gap grows immensely when superdelegates are included; 469 currently support Clinton, while Sanders only has 29 in his corner. It takes 2,383 total delegates to win the nomination. Even as Sanders claims momentum out of his Western state victories this past weekend, the Clinton campaign is voicing confidence that the race could be over in a matter of weeks. We are going to get to the point where, at the end of April, there just is not enough real estate for him to overtake the commanding lead that weve built up, Clinton pollster Joel Benenson told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. Weaver, though, said the Sanders campaign is in regular contact with at least some of the roughly 200 still-available superdelegates, an effort that includes recently sending them a newsletter and having those committed to Sanders making calls to the undecided. The campaign is not alone in such efforts. The remaining three GOP presidential candidates are in a furious, behind-the-scenes battle for delegates who -- more likely than for Democrats -- could decide the nominee at the July convention. They are eyeing both delegates who backed ex-candidates and those who could become unbound at a contested convention. Front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday named as his convention manager Paul Manafort, a political veteran who helped then-President Gerald Ford in his convention floor fight in 1976. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has enlisted four veterans: Stu Spencer and Charlie Black, both Reagan advisers, and this week operatives Michael Biundo and Andrew Boucher, to win over delegates. In addition, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reportedly is going to the Colorado state convention next week, when a majority of the states delegates will be picked. And Trump is disputing the delegate allocation in Louisianas March 29 primary, where he reportedly could get fewer delegates than second-place finisher Cruz despite winning the state. The Sanders campaign has a superdelegate point person, though its unclear how aggressive their wooing operation will be. Sanders Press Secretary Symone Sanders told FoxNews.com on Tuesday the campaign has somebody on staff to keep in contact with superdelegates. But no, we dont have anybody picking off folks, she said. On Monday, Sanders pollster Ben Tulchin said an overwhelming preponderance of polling data shows that his candidate would fare better in a general election than Clinton against any of the three GOP candidates. This is not a blip, he said. Tulchin also said Sanders is very popular among independent voters who are absolutely critical for Democrats to win the White House in November. And he made clear that the polling details are targeted to more than just reporters and voters. These are things that superdelegates, quite frankly, have to consider quite seriously, he said. What if a supermajority of states could override a federal law or Supreme Court ruling? Thats just one idea being proposed by advocates of a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. "The American people are mad and theyre looking for a way to say, No more, said Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank. Our founders, in their brilliance, gave us a tool to do that. And its Article V. Article V of the Constitution allows a minimum of two-thirds of the states to call for a convention to propose amendments, in turn going around Congress. The push to do so has proceeded in fits and starts over the last several years, driven by a desire for states to debate a range of constitutional changes dealing with everything from campaign finance reform to balanced budgets. So far, six states have signed on Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Florida, Indiana and Tennessee. Indiana was the latest to sign on, approving a resolution endorsing the effort earlier this month. But organizers would need another 28 to bring their plan to fruition, and call the convention. If they reach that level of support, states would be entering uncharted territory. It has never happened before in the history of the United States, said Robert Schapiro, dean of Emory University School of Law. In an election cycle that has defied conventional wisdom, though, supporters of a convention of states believe right now may be the very best time to try something different. The mood of the public is tired of business as usual, said Buzz Brockway, a Republican state representative who sponsored Georgias convention of states resolution. Brockway told Fox News he believes such a convention could achieve consensus on such issues as campaign finance reform, term limits and balanced budgets. Even if states fall short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to call for a convention to propose amendments (and the three-quarters required to ratify them), Brockway said the effort itself could encourage change. In the 80s, President Reagan actually came out and said he was in favor of a balanced budget convention, Brockway said. That spurred Washington to act. And they didnt actually pass a balanced budget amendment, but they came extremely close. So, I think at the worst case, this will spur Congress to action. The best case, well have actual amendments that are proposed that states can consider. Schapiro has doubts about how far the effort will go. There have been efforts before to have states call for a constitutional convention. And with regard to certain issues, states have come fairly close, he said. But, given the divided times which we face, and given the broad brush of these amendments, I think its unlikely to garner the kind of support that would be necessary actually to reach that two-thirds benchmark. **Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.** Buzz Cut: Want a brokered convention? Start with brokered primaries Trump hires GOP insider to lead floor fight Cruz renews debate challenge Candidates look to rally bases with court fight Too many Peeps WANT A BROKERED CONVENTION? START WITH BROKERED PRIMARIES Is the effort to deny Donald Trump the Republican nomination showing signs of life or is this just rigor mortis? Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a charter member of the Trump-blocking brigade, today endorsed his former rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, in the Badger States primary next week. This is different than other prior gubernatorial endorsements since Walker not only ran for president himself, but also saw Cruz snatch the Iowa victory Walker once coveted. But the question of whether or not Trump wins the nomination outright rests in the hands of those individuals still running for president, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and whether they can pull their oars in the same direction. Lets first stipulate that running coordinated campaigns aimed at blocking Trump would have substantial downsides for both men. For Cruz, it would be an acknowledgement that he is not in the running to win the Republican nomination outright. Practically speaking, its already a fact. Cruz needs 88 percent of the remaining delegates to lock it down without snatching unbound delegates or those pledged to another candidate. Thats not going to happen unless Trump exits the race. Even a temporary, conditional partnership with Kasich would deny Cruz the argument that he can win outright. For Kasich, a pact with Cruz would deny him the chance to play his self-scripted role of healer at the convention of a broken Republican Party. If Kasich helps Cruz stop Trump, the Ohioan will do what he has mostly avoided: array himself with the #NeverTrump faction of his party. Kasich saying aloud that he was working with Cruz to deny Trump the prize would likely knock him out of the running to collect many Trump delegates in the event of a deadlocked convention. But for both of them, not doing so makes it all but certain that Trump will win the nomination outright. To be fair, the Cruz faction is likely right that Kasich ought to drop out and throw his enthusiastic support behind the second-place candidate for the best chance to beat Trump. But, if stopping Trump was the goal, then the same has been true of many other candidates this cycle. Jeb Bush should have quit after his Iowa drubbing (if not sooner) to back Marco Rubio. Rubio should have quit after getting shut out on March 8, ceding Florida to Trump but helping Cruz win in the other states voting on March 15. Heck, if the most important thing was to stop Trump, Cruz himself should have quit and thrown in for Rubio after Cruzs losses in South Carolina and Nevada. So, given the track record of his rivals, Kasich seems highly unlikely to bow out so that the last anti-Trump standing can try to win it all. Anyone who expects so much self-denial and patriotic grace in American politics hasnt been paying very close attention for, say, the last 219 years. And in this GOP primary cycle, which is essentially Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome but set in a wastewater treatment facility, such expectations sound downright foolish. If Kasich, who has enough resources and support to remain, is in for the long haul, Cruz finds himself with the stronger hand for the nomination but the weaker hand in the battle between the two remaining anti-Trumps. Put it this way: Nothing Cruz can do will decrease Kasichs chances of being the nominee. But Kasichs actions materially affect Cruzs chances. In the words of William Munny, Deserves got nothin to do with it. So can they make a deal? There are some signs that Kasich is trimming his sails in Wisconsin, where Cruz and Trump seem to be running neck and neck. Cruz, on the other hand, may be pulling back in New Jersey, where he currently has approximately a 0.0 percent chance of winning the states winner-take-all primary. Kasichs campaign is even openly discussing the idea (albeit in the context of scorn for Cruz) of coordination. What makes even the idea of a tag-team approach possible is that Cruz and Kasich are such different candidates, hailing from the molten cores of the two dominant planets in the GOP solar system. Kasichs appeal is with moderate, pro-business compromise-oriented blue state Republicans while Cruzs base is in the brightest red precincts of the country where party voters prize conservatism. As a result, its fairly easy to suss out which contests are best for Cruz to go it alone, which contests should be left to Kasich and in which places the two should split states into districts and focus on maximizing delegate counts. Dave Wasserman from FiveThirtyEight breaks it down in useful fashion here. But again, will it actually happen? Trump would certainly hope not and recent history would suggest that it wont, but if either man expects to have the goodwill of the rest of the anti-Trump delegates come convention time, being seen as a Trump enabler isnt the way to go. Plus, its 2016 so who in the hell knows? Rubio asks California to take his name off primary ballot - LAT: Former Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has officially asked the California secretary of state to remove him from the states June 7 presidential primary ballot. Thus far, Rubio is the only former GOP candidate who has asked California to remove his name. Rubio made the request, in writing, to Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Trump hires GOP insider to lead floor fight - NYT: Donald J. Trump, girding for a long battle over presidential delegates and a potential floor fight at the Cleveland convention, has enlisted the veteran Republican strategist Paul J. Manafort to lead his delegate-corralling efforts Mr. Manafort, 66, is among the few political hands in either party with direct experience managing nomination fights: As a young Republican operative, he helped manage the 1976 convention floor for Gerald Ford in his showdown with Ronald Reagan, the last time Republicans entered a convention with no candidate having clinched the nomination. Mr. Manafort has drawn attention in recent years chiefly for his work as an international political consultant, most notably as a senior adviser to [Vladimir Putin ally] former President Viktor F. Yanukovych of Ukraine, who was driven from power in 2014. Cruz renews debate challenge - RCP: Ted Cruz challenged Donald Trump to a one-on-one debate at a rally in Wisconsin [Monday]. Instead of a planned town hall moderated by CNN where each Republican presidential candidate will appear separately, Cruz called for a face off with the Republican frontrunner. [GOP delegate count: Trump 739; Cruz 465; Kasich 143 (1,237 needed to win)] WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE Authoritarian regimes are on the rise globally, and they are intent on spreading throughout the Democratic world. The American Interest brings us the story: Now that authoritarianism has gone global, we must confront the disconcerting prospect that the most influential antidemocratic regimes are no longer content simply to contain democracy. Instead, they want to roll it back by reversing the advances dating from the democratic surge of the late 20th century. The challenge presented by regimes in Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran is being taken to an entirely new level by virtue of their projection of illiberal values and standards beyond their own national borders. Just a decade ago, few political observers could even have imagined such a development. Got a TIP from the RIGHT or the LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM POLL CHECK Real Clear Politics Averages National GOP nomination: Trump 42.4 percent; Cruz 31.6 percent; Kasich 18.6 percent National Dem nomination: Clinton 50 percent; Sanders 38.8 percent General Election: Clinton vs. Trump: Clinton +11.2 points Generic Congressional Vote: Democrats +1 CANDIDATES LOOK TO RALLY BASES WITH COURT FIGHT Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton laid out her vision Monday for the Supreme Court: an activist, liberal body that rolls back decisions of the previous decade. But while Republicans are scared of a liberal court, there are worries on the right that GOP frontrunner Donald Trump isnt a guaranteed improvement. Last week, Trump looked to assuage fears that he would appoint liberal justices like his sister by promising to put out a list of all those hed consider for the job. Trumps list, which he said was being compiled in conjunction with the conservative Heritage Foundation, is expected this week. While this may calm Republicans, it is the perfect talking point Clinton needs to combat losses among disaffected Democrats, like actress Susan Sarandon, who said supporting Clinton might be tough but mused that Trump will bring the revolution as president. A slate of Jim DeMint-approved judges from which Trump promises to make his picks might be enough to keep wistful liberal revolutionaries from ditching Clinton in the general. Hillary PAC wont repeat mistakes of Trumps GOP rivals - Priorities USA isnt wasting any time gearing up for a general election fight with Trump. Even though it already has $70 million in television ads reserved for after the conventions, the super-duper PAC is readying an additional, earlier assault. The groups chief strategist tells Politico, We learned that you cant wait until the last minute to go after Trump. Why Bernies delegate strategy doesnt really matter - Chris Cillizza explains how, despite sustaining momentum, a Sanders nomination is unlikely: If Clinton and Sanders split every pledged delegate from here on out and she gets no more than her current 468 superdelegates, she has 2,603 delegates -- plenty to formally be the party's nominee. [Dem delegate count: Clinton 1712; Sanders 1004 (2,383 needed to win)] TOO MANY PEEPS Denver Post: A bizarre snag in which a raccoon appeared to have gotten stuck headfirst in a Boulder tree was resolved Monday evening without violence toward either organism. The raccoonwas first spotted in a hole in a tree trunk outside the University of Colorados Cheyenne Arapaho freshman dormitory around 4 p.m. [O]fficer, Christopher Reich, arrived to find the raccoon firmly lodged. Reich said that he would likely have to kill the raccoon or chop down the tree to resolve the matter himself, so he elected to leave the raccoon be, in the hopes that it would wriggle free on its own. At 6:30 p.m., witnesses to the drama confirmed that the raccoon was no longer stuck and had apparently escaped without incident. Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got off the sidelines Tuesday and officially endorsed one-time rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for president -- posing another hurdle for Donald Trump in the state's tight primary contest where the front-runner is facing some serious headwinds. Going into next Tuesday's contest, several influential conservative radio hosts in Wisconsin already have aligned against the billionaire businessman. Walker chose to announce his support for Cruz on-air with one of them, popular Milwaukee talk radio host Charlie Sykes. Its time we elected a strong new leader. Ive chosen to endorse Ted Cruz, he said, during an interview with Sykes. A day earlier, Trump seemed to stumble during an interview with the same host, apparently caught off guard when informed Sykes was opposing his bid. Trump, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich all are campaigning in Wisconsin on Tuesday as they compete for votes. Data curated by InsideGov Walker, whose short-lived run for the GOP nomination ended in September, had said he would support the eventual Republican nominee, but had been sending strong signals prior to Tuesdays announcement that he would back Cruz. Walker has been critical of Trump and said last week that Kasich cannot win the nomination. Sykes already had endorsed Cruz. Walkers endorsement didnt come as a surprise to Trump, who weighed in on Twitter Monday night. After the way I beat Gov. Scott walker (and Jeb, Rand, Marco and all others) in the Presidential Primaries, no way he would ever endorse me! But Trumps chest-beating tactics may not be resonating as well with Wisconsin voters, who head to the polls on April 5. Polls suggest the race is nearing a dead heat between Trump and Cruz, as talk radio hosts go to bat for the Texas senator. On Monday, Sykes slammed Trump during a rocky 17-minute telephone interview with the billionaire businessman. Sykes pressed Trump to apologize to Cruzs wife, Heidi Cruz, for retweeting an unflattering picture of her next to a picture of Trumps wife Melania Trump, a former model. Sykes also told Trump, a New Yorker, that here in Wisconsin we value things like civility, decency and actual conservative principles. At times, Trump seemed to be caught off guard by Sykes questions. Mr. Trump, before you called into my show, did you know that Im a hashtag NeverTrump guy? Trump responded, No, I didnt know that, but I assume youre also an intelligent guy. A solid win in Wisconsin by Cruz would likely require Trump to win the five remaining winner-take-all contests to avoid scrapping for the nomination at a contested national convention in Ohio this summer. It isnt immediately clear how much Walkers endorsement will help Cruz, who has also won the backing of other influential conservative talk radio hosts in the Milwaukee market that reach into heavily Republican suburban counties. Walkers approval rating in the state hasnt cracked 40 percent in more than a year. Trump, who has been endorsed by former rivals New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, holds a 1.7 percentage point lead over Cruz in a recent RealClearPolitics average of Wisconsin Republican primary polls. Wisconsin has 42 delegates up for grabs, with 18 going to the statewide winner and 24 divided up to the winner in each of the states eight congressional districts. Besides Walker, Wisconsin is home to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. Ryan, too, has criticized Trump for some of his more controversial remarks, while remaining officially neutral in the race. The Associated Press contributed to this report. When astronomers at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena announced in January that theyd discovered a giant planet in our distant solar system, they ignited a frenzied debate over whether it was really out there, far beyond Neptune. But the conversation hasnt been limited to scientists. A separate discussion has been taking place among a passionate group of stargazers who have been looking for what they believe is the lost planet of Nibiru. For them, the discovery has raised the prospect that Nibiru long dismissed as science fiction has been found. It was very exciting to see scientists finding another planet in our solar system or evidence of it, said Janet Sitchin, whose uncle, Zecharia Sitchin, proposed the existence of Nibiru. Related: Scientists may have just found a ninth planet and it's massive Its exciting because some of the naysayers were saying how could there be such a large body in our solar system and we dont know about it, she told FoxNews.com. These are people who are not astronomers and dont know how vast space is. Zecharia Sitchin, who died in 2010 at the age of 90, proposed in his 1976 book, The 12th Planet, that Sumerian and Babylonian mythology offered proof that such a planet existed, and that its inhabitants, the Anunnaki, visited Earth around 600 BC. Sitchin claimed the planet, which he named Nibiru, was located far beyond Neptune, but that its orbit brought it close to Earth every 3,600 years, enabling the Anunnaki to interact with humans. Related: Mayan apocalypse? Doomsday? Asteroid? How the world will end The Anunnaki mined for gold in the Persian Gulf and the southern part of Africa, Janet Sitchin said on a Slooh Community Observatory broadcast dedicated to Nibiru. They found it was hard work, and they genetically engineered man. This is what ancient Sumerians wrote. Her uncle wrote more than a dozen books spreading the gospel of Nibiru, and they spawned countless conspiracy theories including that Nibiru will eventually crash into Earth and that NASA has been hiding the truth about it. Nancy Lieder, a Wisconsin native with her own website, is one of the collision theorys most vocal advocates. In 1995, she warned the planets would collide in 2003, and that the collision would flip the Earths magnetic poles. When the world failed to end that year, she pushed the date forward, saying it would coincide with the Mayan Calendar conspiracy of 2012 resulting in upwards of 2 million websites discussing the collision, according to NASA. Again, nothing. Related: Cashing in on the 'end of the world' tourism Now, to the annoyance of NASA and prominent astronomers, the prospect of a Planet X deep in the solar system is reviving interest in Nibiru. We have a pretty good grasp of what is in our solar system out to a certain distance based on our telescopes. There is nothing out there like Nibiru, Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA, told FoxNews.com. From any scientific perspective, we have moved on. For those that havent, we are happy to help them move on and give them the straight scoop. That is what we do. Green dismissed suggestions that NASA was holding back on the truth about Nibiru to avoid setting off a global panic. There must be something about humans not believing in the science, he said. All I can say is we have people who dont believe we landed on the moon. With the lunar reconnaissance orbiter, we even have high resolution imaging showing what we left on the moon, where it was and where we went to many of the Apollo sites, which clearly demonstrates we were on the moon. So, we are open and honest of what we do. That is a hallmark of NASA. Related: 2 planets may lurk in solar system beyond Pluto, study says Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin, the scientists who spotted what may be our ninth planet, did not return calls, but Harold Levinson, who studies astronomical objects at the Southwest Research Institute, said there is no way the discovery could be Nibiru, even if it were real. It is scientifically impossible the Sumerians knew anything about this object, or that anything could have lived there, Levinson wrote in an email. It is likely a gas giant and very, very cold. Also, the orbit of this object must be very stable in order to have the dynamical effect that Mike and Konstantin found. As such, it is never going to get anywhere near the Earth. If this object is real, it has nothing to do with these crazy ideas. The new planet, believed to have a mass about 10 times that of Earth, is about 20 times farther from the sun than Neptune and takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit. Related: NASAs Kepler mission discovers Earths older, bigger cousin The length of orbit is very different. So. unless there is something that is not quite correct in the calculations of 10,000 and 20,000 years, then it doesnt correspond to what the Sumerians wrote about Nibiru, said Janet Sitchin, who works to keep her uncles legacy alive through the website http://www.sitchin.com/. But she remains convinced that Nibiru is out there, even if the newly discovered planet isnt it. However, she told Slooh, it could be that those calculations arent 100 percent right. I hope we find that its closer and is Nibiru, or maybe there is another planet that is Nibiru and this is not it. Im also hoping that, in the search for this planet, we might find Nibiru. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is attempting to regain contact with its malfunctioning Hitomi astronomy satellite. JAXA lost contact with Hitomi, also known as Astro-H, at 3:40 a.m. ET March 26, Space.com reports. The satellite was launched aboard an H-2A rocket on Feb. 17. Related: Planet discovery fuels interest in mythical world of deep space In a statement released Tuesday, the Agency said that it has been trying to communicate with the x-ray astronomy satellite using ground stations in Japan and other countries. JAXA received signals from the satellite at around 9 a.m. ET Monday at the Uchinoura Ground Station in Japan and at about 11:30 a.m. ET Monday at the Santiago Tracking Station in Chile. JAXA has not been able to figure out the state of its health, as the time frames for receiving the signals were very short. On March 27 the U.S. Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) said that Hitomi separated into five pieces on March 26. However, Space.com notes that, despite the debris noticed by JSpOC, the satellite appears to be mostly intact, citing the fact that signals were received after Hitomis reported breakup. Related: Permanent Mars colony is 'long way down the road,' NASA says In order to investigate the situation, JAXA is observing the objects, using a radar located at the Kamisaibara Space Guard Center (KSGC) and telescopes at the Bisei Space Guard Center (BSGC) owned by the Japan Space Forum, the Japanese space agency said, in its statement. Up to now, the telescopes at BSGC detected two objects around the satellites original orbit, while the radar at KSGC identified one of them. JAXA continues to investigate the relationship between the information announced by JSpOC and the communication anomaly, it added. JAXA will continue to do its best to recover communications with Hitomi and investigate the cause of the anomaly. A first-time airline passenger in China caused a major flight delay after accidentally deploying the aircrafts inflatable evacuation slide when she was looking for a restroom. According to Shanghaiist, the incident occurred on Friday afternoon on state-owned China Southern Airlines flight CZ3456 from Chongqing to Shenzhen. The plane had just finished boarding and was ready for takeoff when passengers reportedly heard a hissing noise. Then crew noticed an evacuation slide had been deployed, which alarmed guests and ended up delaying the flight by several hours. It was soon discovered that a 50-year old woman, who was taking her first flight, had tried to open the door, thinking it was a lavatory. She told crewmembers the first bathroom she tried had a very long line. Airplane guests were evacuated from the plane and forced to wait at least two hours while the airline worked to fix the deployed slide. A disgruntled passenger took to Chinese social media site Weibo to post about the incident. "A passenger wanted to use the toilet but opened the cabin door, the emergency slide deployed, we still haven't taken off and were removed from the plane." After the incident, cabin crew confiscated the womans boarding pass and passport. She was not allowed to fly to Shenzhen and was instead taken to the police for investigation. Alaska Airlines said Monday it has cancelled more flights because of a massive cloud of volcanic ash from Alaska's Pavlof Volcano that spewed into the air. The Seattle-based airliner said it has canceled 41 flights involving six Alaska cities until the airline can evaluate weather reports after daylight Tuesday. The cancellations include all flights to and from Fairbanks. The airline says the canceled flights affected 3,300 passengers. Flights to Barrow, Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome and Deadhorse also are cancelled. The airline says it will resume its 54 regularly scheduled flights on Tuesday if conditions improve. Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska's most active, is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. The volcano erupted Sunday afternoon, and by Monday morning an ash cloud had stretched northeast more than 400 miles into interior Alaska. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the volcano, located erupted at 4:18 p.m. local time (8:18 p.m. ET). The agency said that the eruption also led to tremors on the ground. The agency says the volcano, which is about 4.4 miles in diameter, has had 40 known eruptions and "is one of the most consistently active volcanoes in the Aleutian arc." The Alaska Volcano Observatory says that ash plumes from past eruptions have risen as high as 49,000 feet. During a previous eruption in 2013, ash plumes rose 27,000 feet. The community closest to the volcano is Cold Bay, which is about 37 miles southwest of it and has a population of approximately 100 people. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A California college student who claimed to have found a pro-Donald Trump message scrawled on the whiteboard outside her dorm room last week was so shaken that someone nearby might support the GOP frontrunner that she alerted campus police, according to a report. This morning, a Mexican-American Scripps student woke up to find her whiteboard vandalized with the phrase #Trump 2016,' Minjoo Kim, student body president at Scripps College, wrote in a March 26 email blast to classmates, according to The College Fix. Although the message was not derogatory, Kim claimed the unidentified student perceived it as such because of her ethnicity. Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration if elected president. Kim said she alerted campus police to the racist violence of the message, which simply read #trump2016. This racist act is completely unacceptable, Kim wrote. Regardless of your political party, this intentional violence committed directly to a student of color proves to be another testament that racism continues to be an undeniable problem and alarming threat on our campuses. Scripps College is an all-female part of the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five undergraduate liberal arts colleges in Southern California. Kims email went on to say campus safety has been notified and we hope to find the person responsible so they can be held accountable for their actions. Mental and emotional health of our students are our top concern. But after the memo went out accompanied by a screenshot, some posters claimed to notice penmanship similarities between the pro-Trump message and one the Mexican-American student wrote drawing attention to it. One social media poster wondered if the idea of accusing Trump supporters of racism simply for supporting the candidate was inspired by a much-publicized incident at Emory University earlier this month. @ScrippsCollege, are you trying to be the next Emory?!, tweeted Hannah Oh, a recent grad of Claremont McKenna College, also part of the consortium. Students at the Atlanta school claimed to be in pain over numerous pro-Donald Trump chalkings found across campus recently. Minjoos use of the word violence is incorrect and only meant to incite anger and emotional responses from the student body, Oh told The College Fix. Its ironic that she talks about how we need to hunt down whoever wrote #Trump2016 to hold them accountable for such unacceptable speech all in the name of creating an inclusive, safe, and welcoming community. Scripps is probably the least welcoming campus for anyone who isnt far left or an ultra-third-wave feminist. Click for more from The College Fix A 13-year-old Chicago boy who was featured in an anti-violence public service announcement last year is recovering at a local hospital after being shot in the back last week. Fox 32 reported that Zarriel Trotter was walking near his home in the Austin neighborhood on the city's West Side when he became caught up in what police called a "heated argument" and was hit by a stray bullet. He was rushed to a local hospital and underwent emergency surgery. On Monday, the station reported that Trotter's condition was improving. Trotter, known as Zari, appeared at the 30-second mark in the minute-long YouTube video along with other young African-American boys who spoke of their emotions about the city's high murder rate. "Can you please just stop killing people?" Trotter said in the video, before asking all would-be gunmen to "handle what you got to handle with your words instead of your fists or whatever you are going to hurt this person with." No arrests have been made and police are still investigating the shooting. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Trotter was Austin's 71st shooting victim this year. Click for more from Fox 32 Chicago. An Ohio inmate who admitted to murdering a woman 14 years ago was recaptured late Monday, approximately 24 hours after he was reporting missing from his jail cell. State prison officials said Modie, 58, did not appear for prisoner count Sunday night at the at the Hocking Unit of the Southeastern Correctional Complex in Nelsonville. He was not confirmed to have escaped until Monday, after the prison was searched. After Modie's escape, the Pike County sheriff issued a bulletin that said he should be considered armed and dangerous. The bulletin said he could be in a gold-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee with two women and might have cuts from razor wire. Hocking College, about 2 miles from the prison, closed its campuses Monday as a result of his escape. It urged those on campus to remain indoors and report any suspicious activity to college police. The campuses will reopen on Tuesday. Modie was serving 18 years to life for convictions on murder, robbery and escape charges. He reportedly would have been eligible for parole in 2020. Cleveland.com reported that Modie was accused of beating to death Ucianna Ortiz at his Cleveland home in October 2002 and then dumping her body along Interstate 90 in the city. Days after Ortiz's body was found, Modie was arrested in Texas while driving a car he had stolen from someone else in Cleveland. A coroner ruled that Ortiz died from blunt trauma to the head. Modie pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to prison in December 2003. The Associated Press contributed to this report. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 More than 1,000 people have gathered for the funeral of a central Indiana sheriff's deputy who was fatally shot in the line of duty. The funeral for Howard County Deputy Carl Koontz is being held Tuesday in the gymnasium of Northwestern High School, where he was assigned part-time as a resource officer. Hundreds of police officers are expected to travel in a procession to the cemetery following the funeral. The 27-year-old Koontz was married with an 8-month-old son. Police say Koontz was wounded during a gunfight March 20 inside a mobile home in Russiaville (ROO'-shuh-vil) and that the shooter later killed himself. Hundreds of police officers and members of the public filed into the gymnasium Monday for Koontz's visitation. A Philadelphia high school journalist who took on Black Lives Matter in a column for the school paper, only to be driven into home-schooling, says his torment didn't end when he withdrew. It was just before Christmas break when 17-year-old University of Pennsylvania-bound Michael Moroz wrote an opinion piece for the Central High school paper, the Centralizer. In it, he criticized the racially charged University of Missouri protests at the time and suggested that Michael Brown, the black teenager killed in 2014 by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., was "a delinquent" who was "at worst, justifiably killed, and at best, a thug." "If someone who called for me to be shot gets a day suspension, then I imagine these students got a stern high five. Michael Moroz When the column hit the papers Facebook page, threats poured in. Moroz said he was forced to stay home initially, and when he returned, threats and harassment prompted him to withdraw and finish his senior year on home study. When everything started to happen, I was surprised, Moroz told FoxNews.com. Whenever we posted an op-ed, we never got a reaction like I did with this one. In retrospect, I was naive to think that this would have been the same. Now, its more disappointing than anything. Moroz said the harassment has continued on social media since he has entered independent study and claims even his former teachers and staff at Central have taken part. In a screengrab provided to FoxNews.com, a student appears to have tweeted to one of the teachers at Central a veiled threat against Moroz. Would you still penalize me if I decided to punch him in addition to using my words? the tweet read. The teacher tweeted back yes, but added "LOL," in a flippant dismissal of what Moroz perceived as a threat. Moroz also provided another screen shot of a tweet in which the head of the Social Studies department accused Moroz of baiting other students into a fight rather than making a sound argument. The original column ran alongside another piece supportive of the University of Missouri demonstrations, which were triggered by claims the school was slow to react to incidents that alienated African-American students there. The demonstrations drew national headlines and resulted in the resignation of the school president. Both op-eds were eventually taken down, but Morozs was the first. His opinion piece was pulled from the Facebook page by student editors once the backlash began, and the counterpoint article supporting the movement was left alone. Neither the Centralizer nor its members necessarily agree with the content/message of the piece," read a noted posted by the Centralizer staff at the time. "However, the situation has escalated such that the writer and editors on the staff have received direct threats." Officials for the Philadelphia school district told FoxNews.com that they have accommodated Moroz as much as possible since the beginning of the year and that appropriate action was taken regarding threats against him. The School District stands by the numerous supports and accommodations provided to Mr. Moroz by the Central High School principal and faculty, Raven Hill, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District, told FoxNews.com in a written statement. His claims were investigated and the students who threatened him were disciplined according to the code of conduct. The school accommodated his requests for a police escort and independent study. Moroz said the sniping and threats he believes he has been subjected to on social media warrant action, too. If I made threats on Twitter against someone who wrote a pro-Black Lives Matter column, I wouldnt be getting any leniency," Moroz said. Its been more than one person and the school isnt doing anything about it. Navy investigators said there were no apparent signs of foul play in the death of a Marine recruit who died after falling in a barracks stairwell at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island earlier this month. Naval Criminal Investigative Service spokesman Ed Buice told The Island Packet of Hilton Head that the investigation was continuing into the death of 20-year-old Raheel Siddiqui of Taylor, Michigan. Siddiqui was undergoing basic training when he fell nearly 40 feet in a stairwell March 7. Buice said there were no apparent signs of foul play but NCIS investigations usually take several months. Each year, about 19,000 recruits come to Parris Island in South Carolina for 12 weeks of basic training. The depot trains male recruits from east of the Mississippi River and all female Marine recruits. An off-duty Kentucky state trooper spotted a knife-wielding man apparently assaulting his ex-girlfriend on the side of an interstate, but the quick-thinking trooper raced to save her life, police announced Tuesday. "I said, if you hadn't have pulled up here, you know I would have been dead," the woman, Glory Purvis, told WLEX. Hazard Trooper Jeffrey McWhorter was driving home from training in Frankfort on Monday afternoon. Investigators say he stopped when he noticed 40-year-old Travis Phillips pulling his ex-girlfriend from their SUV, eventually getting on top of the woman and choking her. "He told me that if he couldn't have me, nobody could," Purvis added. Police say the suspect pulled out a knife when the trooper approached him on the shoulder of I-64. McWhorter pulled out a Taser, ordering the man to drop the knife and get on the ground, police add. They said after the man refused, the trooper deployed his Taser, freeing the woman. Medical teams rushed to treat the woman, and said she was not too badly hurt. Police say Phillips now faces charges including assault and terroristic threats. He was recovering in the hospital Tuesday after he cut himself with his knife, investigators add. One person was killed and as many as seven others injured in a shelving rack collapse at a food warehouse in northern Virginia Tuesday, the Washington Post reported. One worker was killed and four people were hospitalized after the 30-foot-high, 150-foot-long shelving unit collapsed on them at Reinhart Foodservice near Manassas. At least two of the injuries were considered to be serious, Prince William County Fire and Rescue battallion chief Thomas Jarman told the paper. Jarman also confirmed the lone death. Three people were left with minor injuries following the incident. Manassas is located about 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. A woman killed two roosters who kept coal miners company in central Pennsylvania because the roosters' crowing woke her up, police said. Ashland police charged 21-year-old Jenna Caso with shooting the birds, which had been donated to the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine. The birds were donated after another rooster called "Big Red" and a hen named "Anne-thracite" died of natural causes. Tony Loftus, who works at the mine, told WNEP-TV the birds followed him around, kept the workers company and crowed when the sun came up. But police said Caso didn't like being awakened by the roosters and shot them on March 17. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Caso, who faces a preliminary hearing May 4. The mine is about 50 miles northeast of Harrisburg. District of Columbia police say they have arrested a teenager in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old last weekend on a train station platform in Washington. Police said in a statement Tuesday that they have arrested 17-year-old Maurice Bellamy of southeast Washington and that he is being charged as an adult with second-degree murder while armed. Police say Bellamy fatally shot 15-year-old Davonte Washington on Saturday at the Deanwood Metro station. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a news conference Tuesday that more details would be released later in the day when Bellamy was expected to appear in court but that in her opinion the shooting was over "nothing." Metropolitan Police Department district commander David Taylor said previously that a conversation escalated into an argument. The U.S. government levied a $10 million fine on Terminix companies Tuesday over its workers spraying a toxic pesticide at a U.S. Virgin Islands resort that nearly killed a vacationing family last year. The pest control company was charged with illegally using methyl bromide at a St. John resort and 13 residential locations across the U.S. Virgin Islands in recent years. The U.S. Justice Department said Terminix agreed to pay the fine and has stopped using the pesticide on the U.S. mainland and in its territories. Virgin Islands U.S. Attorney Ronald Sharpe said the case highlights the need to comply with environmental laws. "Tragically, the defendants' failure to do so resulted in catastrophic injuries to the victims and exposed many others to similar harm," he said. A Terminix spokesman said the company would issue a statement soon. The Environmental Protection Agency banned methyl bromide for residential applications in 1984, but an investigation by U.S. authorities in the Virgin Islands found the chemical was used at 12 residential units in St Croix and another one in St. Thomas between September 2012 and February 2015. It also was used at the Sirenusa Condominium Resort in St. John last year. The investigation began after a Delaware family vacationing in St. John was poisoned in March 2015. Authorities determined that Terminix used methyl bromide at a vacation unit below the one the family had rented. Two teenagers were hospitalized in critical condition and have permanent neurological damage while their parents had to undergo therapy. Justice Department officials said Terminix will make a good faith effort to resolve the family's medical expenses through a separate civil process as part of a three-year probation. They added that the criminal investigation was continuing. Federal authorities also are investigating the use of methyl bromide in Puerto Rico. Earlier this month, the EPA filed complaints against a pest control company and two businessmen in that U.S. territory. An EgyptAir flight was hijacked and landed in Cyprus from Egypt. It appears to be over now with all crew and passengers released unharmed, and the man arrested. President Obama met with his national security team yesterday about the terror threat. They say theres no credible threat of a Brussels style terror attack here in the U.S. 35 are dead and more than 200 injured after coordinated terror attacks a week ago today. A man who had been detained by Brussels police as a suspect in the terror has been released by a judge who said theres no evidence to hold him. Police are still looking for a third suspect in the bombing of the Brussels airport. The airport still hasnt resumed passenger service. The New York Times reports today that ISIS sent operatives to Europe long before the Paris and Brussels terror attack that left nearly 200 dead. Officials tell the Times signs of the ISIS preparations were obvious as soon as 2014.. or should have been. Local officials repeatedly downplayed previous terrorism cases as isolated or played them down. The mayor of Brussels says he hopes and believes that major terror rings have been disrupted in the wake of the attacks, but admitted there were major security failures. Not very reassuring. The U.S. government was able to unlock the iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino terrorists Syed Rizwan Farook without the help of Apple.. ending a legal battle between the U.S. and Apple, but leaving many questions about national security. U.S. capitol police shot and wounded a man after he appeared to pull a weapon at a security checkpoint. He has a history of mental instability. The Washington Post today writes about Sanders chances after he beat Hillary Clinton in several Democratic caucuses over the weekend, Although Clinton remains the overwhelming front-runner to win the Democratic nomination, the results give Sanders a rationale to continue fighting through July and underscore lingering unease among base voters about the woman who will almost certainly be their standard-bearer in the fall. Still others consider Sanders latest argument that he can win if he can convince Super Delegates to switch their votes is being met with skepticism. Heres how the Los Angeles Times put it today, As the Bernie Sanders campaign accepts the reality that securing enough votes at this point to win the Democratic nomination outright is impossible, it has moved on to a new phase in its long-shot bid for the White House: hijack Hillary Clinton's so-called superdelegates. His campaign managers claim yesterday that Sanders has only lost several big primaries on Super Tuesday because he didnt compete was met with laughter from analysts. The coming primaries favor Clinton. Only two caucuses remain (North Dakota and Wyoming). Sanders has performed well in caucuses, but has been handily beaten by Clinton in most primary elections. Heres James Hohmann in the Post, Sanders reiterated Sunday that he will not go quietly. Chuck Todd noted on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Sanders used to chastise his crowds whenever they booed Clinton. But the last time he did that was Feb. 23. Asked why, Sanders said "No reason at all" before launching into an extended broadside against Clinton, from Iraq to Wall Street to fracking to campaign finance. Then he challenged Clinton to an additional debate. The Wall Street Journal reporting today on Hillary Clintons advanced ground game. She appears to have an advantage in that arena over GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Bill McGurn writes in the Wall Street Journal today about how Hillary Clinton could be beat by Donald Trump, Sure, it's possible the GOP front-runner will implode, just as it's possible all those polls showing Mrs. Clinton with a double-digit lead over Mr. Trump will indeed come to pass. But some of us who never thought he would get this far are a little more reluctant to be so categorical about an election that is still seven months away. But the New York Times reporter Alexander Burns writes today on the possibility of Trump hurting fellow Republicans down ticket if he gets the nomination: Donald J. Trump's dominance in the Republican primary is upending the campaign for control of Congress, as Republican lawmakers seek to distance themselves from him while Democrats seize on the chance to run against a candidate who has offended huge sections of the American electorate. Nominating Mr. Trump could create a political battlefield of extraordinary breadth and volatility. Polling shows that he would enter the general election trailing badly against Hillary Clinton, and he has become deeply unpopular outside of his white, heavily male political base. While Mr. Trump would most likely draw throngs of white, working-class voters in Democratic-leaning states like Michigan and Ohio, he would also drive away women, nonwhites and voters with college degrees in conservative-leaning states like Georgia and North Carolina. Wisconsin Governor and former presidential candidate Scott Walker set to endorse Ted Cruz today. Donald Trump rolls into Wisconsin today which votes a week from today in the next big primary. Trump is campaigning in Paul Ryan congressional district in what may be a provocation against the Speaker of the House for comments hes made that are critical of Mister Trump. 1000ET - Cruz rally, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts - 19805 West Capitol Drive, Brookfield, WI... FNC LiveU 1230ET - Kasich Town Hall, Weldall Manufacturing, Inc, 2001 South Prairie Ave., Waukesha, WI FNC LiveU 1045ET - HRC gun violence forum, Tabernacle Community Baptist Church, 2500 West Medford Avenue, Milwaukee, WI...POOL LIVE 1330ET - Sanders town hall, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, 400 W College Ave, Appleton, WI FNC LiveU North Korea test-fired another missile today as it continues its aggression threatening South Korea and the U.S. The dictatorship tested a fourth nuclear weapon in January. President Obama will meet with the leaders of Japan and South Korea this week to discuss the increasingly aggressive North Korean. Yahoo has put itself up for sale. JetBlue and Alaska Air reportedly set to submit bids for Virgin America in yet more consolidation in the airline industry. Alaska has delayed or cancelled lots of flights after a volcano erupted yesterday. Things have calmed but smoke still coming from eruption of the Pavlov Volcano and an ash cloud has stretched more than 400 miles inside Alaska. For more news, follow me on Twitter: @ClintPHenderson From the jam-packed rail lines that bring suburban commuters to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington every day, to the trolleys and subways that crisscross Americas cities, the nations passenger trains are a soft target for terrorists that keeps security experts up at night. Even before last weeks attack in a Brussels Metro station, train cars and rail systems have been a prime target for terrorists, with prominent and deadly attacks occurring on European trains dating back to 2004. While no major incidents have occurred on U.S. rail lines, they remain vulnerable to attack --- and could be impossible to fully secure. we need to get beyond fixing the problem after a whole lot of people have died. Wendell Cox, a former member of the LA county Transportation Commission Anybody that thinks we are going to be exempt from this kind of terrorism in America is more optimistic than I think is justified, said Wendell Cox, a former member of the LA county Transportation Commission and now a policy consultant with Demographia. I realize it is going to cost some money, but we have to think about doing that kind of thing because an attack can happen tomorrow; it can happen anywhere. In 2004, terrorists inspired by Al Qaeda struck in Madrid, killing 192 on the commuter rail system. A year later, four Islamic terrorists set off a series of bombs aboard London Underground trains and a double-decker bus, killing 52. And last August, three Americans including two service members stopped a terrorist who opened fire aboard a train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. Americas commuter rail systems are highly vulnerable to the same kinds of attacks, experts told FoxNews.com. Even though busy depots like New Yorks Grand Central Terminal are well policed, and most busy train lines throughout the nation have undercover cops riding them, the cost and logistics of truly securing transit systems that serve more than 20 million people daily are daunting. America has already been the target of at least 84 official terror plots or attacks, six that were related to trains and metros, according to a report by The Heritage Foundation. Several were aimed at transportation systems in New York, including thwarted plots to bomb subway stations, a commuter train and a conspiracy to attack a train between Toronto and NYC. Authorities also stopped a plot to bomb the Washington metro system at Arlington National Cemetery, according to Heritage. At least three terror plans were foiled by confidential informants or through law enforcement stings, but authorities know that intelligence and deterrence cant make the system 100 percent safe. The reality, according to James Jay Carafano, vice president for the Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at Heritage, is that it may not be possible. Because of the distances they cover, and the open spaces, and the requirement for access, if you actually secured them in a way that prevented them from being vulnerable to terrorist attacks, it would be unbelievably expensive and accessible to no one, Carafano said. Yet one major attack could force the U.S. to spend whatever it takes to ensure safety aboard the rails, said former FBI agent Don Hubbard. Experts like Hubbard cite the massive effort that went into hardening airport security after 9/11, as well as the extraordinary measures taken by Israel, where the threat of a terror attack has been a constant for decades. A mass casualty attack aboard a train would result in Americans suddenly having the will and the money to dramatically increase visible security protocols, said Hubbard, who once headed worldwide security for TWA airlines. The cost and scope would be monumental, said Scott Stewart, vice president for tactical analysis at the global intelligence firm Stratfor. When you look at the number of passengers every day, and the number of stations that we have, you would need to institute security at every station along a subway, Stewart said. Instituting that same level of security would be very costly. It would also create tie-ups and bog down commuting times. Somewhere between the Israeli model and the European system, which has been criticized as lax, may be whats needed, said international transportation expert Panos Prevedouros, professor and chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Hawaii. If security is to approach Israeli standards, then busy systems will grind to a halt, Prevedouros said. If security is to be set at EU standards, then protection will be marginal as events in Belgium, England, France and Spain have shown. Cox said his biggest fear is an explosion in a subway, where the underground tunnel could multiply the force of an explosion, leave riders trapped and impede first responders from helping. Thats why underground rail lines should be the top priority for security officials, he said. There is probably no worse place for one of these things than in a subway, Cox said. These things have really got to be protected. Metal detectors at every entrance, armed guards aboard the trains, bomb-sniffing dogs and even a ban on bags could all become suddenly acceptable were there to be a major attack aboard a rail line, say experts. I am not interested in hearing about cost to the taxpayers. I am really interested in hearing how we can do it effectively for the least amount of money, Cox said. The problem I have is that we need to get beyond fixing the problem after a whole lot of people have died. Weve got plenty of warning now and we need to be doing some things. The state prosecutor in the eastern Mexico state of Veracruz says seven local police officers have been arrested in connection with the disappearances of three people. Veracruz state prosecutor Luis Angel Bravo Contreras said Monday at a news conference that the police chief and six officers from Papantla are in custody. An earlier statement from the Veracruz state public security agency said state and federal law enforcement had coordinated in the arrests Monday morning. They are investigating the disappearances of three people who were last seen March 19 being loaded into police vehicles. It is the second case of people disappearing at the hands of police in Veracruz this year. Five youths disappeared after being detained by state police in January. The remains of two were recovered. El Salvador's government will not negotiate with powerful street gangs following an anonymous offer to stop crime-related bloodshed afflicting this Central American country, the head of national police said Monday. "There is no negotiation of any kind with any criminal structure," police commissioner Howard Cotto said at a news conference. "Our job is to prevent and combat crime, that is what we do and that is what we are going to continue doing." Cotto's comments came in response to a video circulated over the weekend in which three masked men saying they represented the country's three major gangs said they had ordered a stop to killings. They asked the government in exchange not to institute measures being considered to combat them. "We have ordered all of our people ... to halt all types of homicides nationwide to demonstrate to the public, the government and international agencies in our country that there is no need to implement measures that only violate our constitution," one of the masked men said. Presidential spokesman Eugenio Chicas said Sunday through his Twitter account that the government would not let up in its pursuit of the gangs. "This administration will not grant any truce in the fight against criminals, and will apply the necessary measures to protect the population," Chicas said. According to official statistics, at least 6,657 people were killed last year in El Salvador. The overall annual homicide rate last year was around 103 per 100,000 inhabitants. The homicide rate fell dramatically in 2012 during a previous truce with gangs, but violence spiraled to new heights following its dissolution. The United Nations says Mostafa Tolba, an Egyptian scientist who played a key role in the foundation of the U.N. environmental agency and was its executive director for 17 years, has died at age 93. Achim Steiner, the current executive director of the U.N. Environmental Program, said Tolba died Monday in a clinic in Geneva. In 1972, Tolba led Egypt's delegation to the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. It was there that his calls for "development without destruction" helped spur the establishment of the agency he would go on to lead. He was appointed director of the agency in 1976. As director, Tolba fostered UNEP's most widely acclaimed success, the Montreal Protocol, a historic 1988 agreement to protect the ozone layer. It stands as a precedent for preventive rather than corrective international environmental action. Retail giant Walmart won a legal victory Monday in a fight over taxation by Puerto Rico's government. A federal judge in the U.S. island territory ruled that a modified tangible-property tax is invalid. The ruling was issued as Puerto Rico's government rushes to find new sources of revenue and a debt restructuring mechanism from the U.S. Congress while struggling through a decade-long economic crisis. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said his government will appeal the decision. "The judge just took away $100 million from the people of Puerto Rico and gave it to Walmart," he said, referring to the revenue the tax would have generated this fiscal year for the U.S. territory. "Now I have to look for that money somewhere else. Of course I'm going to appeal the decision, and immediately." Legislators echoed his sentiments, pledging to approve a new bill to obtain a portion of the revenue generated by retail giants across the island. Walmart is Puerto Rico's largest private employer, with more than 14,000 workers, and argued in a lawsuit filed in December that the tax was unconstitutional. Federal Judge Jose Antonio Fuste agreed in his 109-page ruling and said the island's treasury secretary must immediately stop levying, collecting and enforcing the tax. He noted Puerto Rico legislators had increased the tax by 325 percent in May 2015 during what he called a brisk approval process so they could capture revenues from Walmart. The 6.5 percent tax would have applied to every piece of inventory Walmart received for its stores even if it wasn't able to sell it, Fuste said. He said that if the tax were to remain in effect, it would generate more than $40 million in "unconstitutional taxes ... to an insolvent government without any hope that the victimized taxpayers will be reimbursed in the foreseeable future. That is the very definition of an inadequate remedy," he wrote, adding that $10 million of that revenue would have been from Walmart alone. The ruling comes as Walmart prepares to close seven stores in Puerto Rico as part of a plan to shutter 269 stores worldwide. Fuste also reflected on the island's financial situation and said the government is in urgent need of more transparency. "The people deserve to know the truth about how we got to where we are, and we can go from here," he wrote. "The residents of the island most affected by this crisis deserve the very transparency whose absence helped caused the crisis." Government officials have warned that the U.S. territory's government will run out of money in June. Puerto Rico has a $70 billion public debt load that the governor says is unpayable and needs restructuring. Garcia also said Monday that he will fight to amend legislation before the U.S. Congress that seeks to create a federal fiscal oversight board for Puerto Rico, saying it threatens the territory's democracy. He made the announcement just days after U.S. House created a draft bill that calls for establishing a board that would audit Puerto Rico's government and have final say over budget and fiscal issues. "That board would be a substitute for an elected government," Garcia said, adding that it could not be held accountable come election time. "That is unacceptable." The House Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote on the bill in April. ___ Danica Coto on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danicacoto The baby was born in war, even as planes blasted his village in Yemen. Five months later, Udai Faisal died from war: His skeletal body broke down under the ravages of malnutrition, his limbs like twigs, his cheeks sunken, his eyes dry. He vomited yellow fluid from his nose and mouth. Then he stopped breathing. "He didn't cry and there were no tears, just stiff," said his mother, Intissar Hezzam. "I screamed and fainted." The spread of hunger has been the most horrific consequence of Yemen's war since Shiite rebels seized the capital and Saudi Arabia and its allies, backed by the United States, responded with a campaign of airstrikes and a naval blockade a year ago. The impoverished nation of 26 million, which imports 90 percent of its food, already had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, but in the past year the statistics have leaped. The number of people considered "severely food insecure" -- unable to put food on the table without outside aid -- went from 4.3 million to more than 7 million, according to the World Food Program. Ten of the country's 22 provinces are classified as one step away from famine. Where before the war around 690,000 children under five suffered moderate malnutrition, now the number is 1.3 million. Even more alarming are the rates of severe acute malnutrition among children -- the worst cases where the body starts to waste away -- doubling from around 160,000 a year ago to 320,000 now, according to UNICEF estimates. Exact numbers for those who died from malnutrition and its complications are unknown, since the majority were likely unable to reach proper care. But in a report released Tuesday, UNICEF said an estimated 10,000 additional children under five died of preventable diseases the past year because of the breakdown in health services, on top of the previous rate of nearly 40,000 children a year. "The scale of suffering in the country is staggering," UNICEF said in the report, and the violence "will have an impact for generations to come." The Saudi-led coalition launched its campaign on March 26, 2015, aiming to halt the advance of Shiite rebels known of Houthis who had taken over the capital, Sanaa, drove out the internationally recognized government and stormed south. The Houthi advance was halted. But they continue to hold Sanaa and the north. In the center of the country, they battle multiple Saudi-backed factions supporting the government that tenuously holds the southern city of Aden. Ground fighting and the heavy barrage of airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people, including more than 3,000 civilians, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. More than 900 children have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded, 61 percent of them in airstrikes, according to UNICEF. Coalition airstrikes appear to be "responsible for twice as many casualties as all other forces put together," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. The coalition argues that the rebels often use civilians and civilian locations as shields for their fighters. It also disputes U.N. figures on how many deaths are caused by strikes, saying they are based on statistics from the Houthis. Around 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes. Strikes have destroyed storehouses, roads, schools, farms, factories, power grids and water stations. The naval blockade, enforcing a U.N. arms embargo on the rebels, has disrupted the entry of food and supplies. The ripple effects from war have tipped a country that could already barely feed itself over the edge. The food, fuel and other supplies that do make it into the country are difficult to distribute because trucks struggle to avoid battle zones, fear airstrikes or need to scrounge for gas. Under control of Houthi fighters, government services from Sanaa are largely paralyzed. The fate of Udai illustrated the many factors, all exacerbated by war, that lead to the death of an infant. His family lives off the pension that Udai's father, Faisal Ahmed, gets as a former soldier, about $200 a month for him, his wife and nine other children ranging from 2 years old to 16. He used to sometimes work construction, but those jobs disappeared in the war. With food prices rising and supplies sporadic, the family eats once a day, usually yoghurt and bread, peas on a good day, said Udai's parents, both in their 30s. The day Udai was born, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition were striking an army base used by Houthi rebels in their district of Hazyaz, a shantytown on the southern edge of Sanaa. Shrapnel hit their one-bedroom house where Udai's mother was in labor. "She was screaming and delivering the baby while the bombardment was rocking the place," the father said. Hezzam breastfed her newborn son for about 20 days, but then her milk stopped, likely from her own malnutrition. Even after childbirth, she had to collect firewood for the mud brick stove at the doorstep of her house. Like much of the country, electricity has long been knocked out in their neighborhood, either because of airstrikes or lack of fuel, and there's rarely cooking gas. "I go every day to faraway places to search for the wood then carry it home on my head," she said. The family turned to formula to feed Udai, but it wasn't always available and they couldn't always afford it. So every few days, Udai got formula and the other days he would get sugar and water. Water trucks occasionally reach the area, but otherwise his parents had to use unclean water. In the past year, the number of people without regular access to clean water has risen from 13 million people to more than 19 million, nearly three-quarters of the population. Within three months, Udai was suffering from diarrhea. His father took him to local clinics but they either didn't have supplies or he couldn't afford what they did have. Finally, on March 20, he made it to the emergency section at al-Sabeen Hospital. Udai was suffering from severe malnutrition, diarrhea and a chest infection, said Saddam al-Azizi, head of the emergency unit. He was put on antibiotics and a feeding solution through the nose. The AP saw Udai at al-Sabeen on March 22. His arms were convulsing, his emaciated legs motionless, his face gaunt and pale. When he cried, he was too dehydrated to produce tears. At around five months old, he weighed 2.4 kilograms (5.3 pounds). "Unstable," his chart read for every day he'd been there. Two days later, his parents took him home. His father told the AP it was because the doctors told them it was hopeless, and he complained the staff was not giving him enough treatment. Al-Azizi said he suspected it was because the family couldn't afford the medicines. The hospital stay is free, but because medicines are in such short supply, families must pay for them, he said. "It was a mistake to take him out," he said. The treatment needed time to work. Still, al-Azizi had given Udai only a 30 percent chance of survival. Al-Sabeen was already dealing with dozens of malnourished children. In the first three months of the year, it has treated around 150 children with malnutrition, double the same period last year, al-Azizi said. Around 15 died, not counting Udai. Some parents managed to get there from remote parts of the country. One woman described walking for four days from her mountain village outside Sanaa, carrying her emaciated daughter, who at two years old weighed only four kilograms (8.8 pounds). Mohammed Ahmed brought his son here from the city of Ibb because the hospital there had no supplies. He drove the 90 miles (150 kilometers) through rebel checkpoints while warplanes struck, he said. His 10-month-old son Marwan, after 15 days in the hospital, now weighs 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds). Hospitals and clinics around the country have suffered shortages of medicines and fuel, meaning millions live in areas that have virtually no medical care. UNICEF said nearly 600 health facilities nationwide have stopped working. The Saudi-led coalition allows humanitarian flights bringing medical supplies as well food and water in to Sanaa as well as shipments into Hodeida port, the closest one to the capital. But getting the supplies around the country is difficult. Even pre-war transportation infrastructure was poor, and now trucks often can't get through battle zones. Drivers fear getting hit by airstrikes or have to scrounge to obtain expensive gas. Hospitals and clinics have been hit by airstrikes or caught up in fighting. In the battlefield city of Taiz, the Yemeni-Swedish Hospital for Children was damaged as rebels and Saudi-backed fighters fought over it. Parents had to rush their children being treated there back to their homes, and their fate is unknown. Udai hardly lasted three hours after being brought home, his parents said. Ahmed, his father, said he blames Saudi Arabia's air campaign for his son's death. "This is before the war," he said, holding up his 2-year-old son Shehab to show the difference between a child born before the war and after. They buried the infant at the foot of the mountains nearby. His father read the Quran over the tiny grave marked only by rocks, reciting, "On God we depend." Brussels can never go back to being normal again, the mayor of the city vowed Tuesday while acknowledging shortcomings by authorities ahead of last weeks terror attacks. "Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Otherwise these attacks would not have happened," Yvan Mayeur said in Paris. Belgian media have sharply criticized him and other government officials for failing to stop the Belgium attackers before they could strike. Asked whether the Islamic extremist network behind the attacks in Brussels and Paris had been badly damaged, he said, "We do believe that and we hope so." Mayeur met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo Tuesday for discussions on how Paris reacted to the November attacks there that killed 130 people. Asked whether life in Brussels was returning to normal, Mayeur said: "There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore. That's a concept we have to revisit." Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins "a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction." Mayeur is also meeting Parisian first responders Tuesday and holding a minute of silence for victims of last week's attack on Brussels' airport and subway system, and for victims of a weekend attack in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-five people were killed in Brussels, while 72 people were killed in Pakistan. Underground rail services were back up and running Tuesday in Brussels, but mostly under heavy guard. The metro trains through the Belgian capital are less frequent and only stop at about half the stations. The Maelbeek station hit by a suicide bomber in the morning rush hour remains closed. One stop away, Franz Alderweireldt, 82, told The Associated Press Tuesday that he takes the subway every day but said, "I think this is not over." He added, "When terrorists plan an attack, they will do it no matter what, even if there are dozens or hundreds of soldiers or police on the street." Debaprasad Kar, an insurance company employee, said he has been working from home for the past week. He said, "I am still a bit jittery, I am afraid to enter the metro station." The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Colorado family is desperately hoping Tuesday that infrared technology from search and rescue helicopters will track down their son who disappeared over the weekend in the Swiss Alps while speed flying. Harrison Fast, a 28-year-old from Boulder, vanished Saturday when bad weather rolled in while he and a group of friends were participating in the hybrid sport, a combination of skiing and paragliding, Fox 31 reports. Please help, we need to know if this jacket has Recco location technology Posted by Harrison Fast Rescue on Monday, March 28, 2016 A sudden gust of wind threw the group off, authorities said, but five people managed to ski, hike out or be rescued by helicopters so far. A post on a Facebook page set up in the search for Fast said we are gathering Intel to narrow down the search area and use our time most effectively." The page said Tuesday that two Swiss rescue services are sending out helicopters to search for Fast. Swiss authorities called off their search Monday, but the family raised more than $44,000 on a crowdfunding site by midday Tuesday well ahead of their $15,000 goal to keep the search going through private helicopter operators. I dont really go to that place where bad things live, if you will. I keep joking with the family that hes in some mountain-side bar, talking to a girl with a dead cell phone, not knowing what we are all going through, his brother-in-law, John Solis, told Fox 31. We are trying to locate the hotel where Harrison was staying in Lauterbrunnen. We thought it was Guest House IM rohr... Posted by Harrison Fast Rescue on Monday, March 28, 2016 Solis described Fast, who is an engineer, as a skilled outdoorsman who thrives on pushing the limits and seeing where he can go next. We want the best for him, Solis said. Click for more from Fox 31. A pilot safely ejected from a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet shortly before it crashed near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan Tuesday, military officials announced. Medical teams are evaluating the pilot, the officials add. They did not release the pilot's name. The jet, assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, crashed during takeoff around 8:30 p.m. local time. Coalition forces were said to be securing the site of the crash. Its cause was unclear, but enemy fire was said to not be a factor. Bagram Airfield is roughly 30 miles north of Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. Germanys interior minister says he plans to push a new law that would force more than a million refugees to learn the German language and integrate into society or lose their residency. Thomas de Maiziere told ARD television Monday that 100,000 refugees this year most escaping the wartorn Middle East and Africa have joined the more than 1 million people who already passed through Germanys borders in 2015, Reuters reports. He said that in return for language lessons, social benefits and housing, Germany expected the new arrivals to try integrating themselves in the countrys society. "For those who refuse to learn German, for those who refuse to allow their relatives to integrate -- for instance women or girls -- for those who reject job offers: for them, there cannot be an unlimited settlement permit after three years," Reuters reports. De Maizieres announcement came after his conservative party, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, took a hit in regional elections earlier this month. Voters rejected Merkels open-door refugee policy and rallied around the rival anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party. A draft law, which is planned for May, was welcomed by Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel. "We must not only support integration but demand it," Gabriel told the Bild newspaper. Click for more from Reuters. Police arrested a lovestruck idiot who wore a fake suicide belt and forced an EgyptAir passenger jet to land in Cyprus Tuesday morning, government officials confirmed, ending a bizarre and frightening hijacking that stretched on for hours. The president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades insisted it was not terrorism, with another government official saying the man "seems (to be) in love." Police said he demanded a meeting with his ex-wife, with whom he has four children. He reportedly gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. Terrorists are crazy but they arent stupid. This guy is. Egyptian foreign ministry Witnesses told state TV he tossed a letter for the woman onto the tarmac. The couple divorced in 1994, police add. At one point the hijacker demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. "His demands made no sense or were too incoherent to be taken seriously," Cyprus' Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told reporters, adding that the contents of the letter also were incoherent. Hes not a terrorist, hes an idiot, Egypts foreign ministry said in a statement to a Cairo-based journalist quoted by Reuters. Terrorists are crazy but they arent stupid. This guy is. Grinning Brit Ben Innes Posed For Photo With Cyprus Plane Hijacker https://t.co/uxIuc6gHjX pic.twitter.com/3y2uKFbhpz Philip Thomas (@skyphilipthomas) March 29, 2016 One photo that spread online appeared to show the hijacker posing with a smiling man onboard. British media identified the passenger as 26-year-old Ben Innes from Leeds. "Ben is a wild man and this is totally in character for him," an unnamed friend told The Telegraph. Egypt's Interior Ministry identified the suspect as 58-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa. It said he has a long criminal record, with charges including forgery, theft and drug possession. He had also served time in prison, it said. A police official said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorism police. He said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it. Police in Cairo were questioning the hijacker's relatives, Sharif Faisal, the police chief for the industrial suburb of Helwan, told The Associated Press. The hijacker forced the EgyptAir Airbus A320, which left from Alexandria, to land more than 300 miles away at Larnaca airport on the southern coast of Cyprus. The flight was scheduled to land in Cairo. At least 55 passengers were on board. Egyptian passenger Farah el-Dabani told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyah TV network that the suspect was seated in the back of the aircraft and that it was the crew who told passengers that the plane was being hijacked. "There was panic at the beginning, but the crew told us to be quiet. They did a good job to keep us all quiet so the hijacker does not do anything rash," she said in a telephone interview. He initially released most of the passengers, but kept three as well as four members of the cabin crew for several additional hours. One of the last people to get off the plane, reportedly a crew member, escaped through a cockpit window and slid down to the ground. The director of the Alexandria airport, Hossni Hassan, said there were 26 foreigners on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. He said three other foreigners could not be identified. Sky News reported that the short-haul Flight 181 took off from Alexandria at 8 a.m. Cyprus time. The hijacker contacted the control tower in Lanarka 30 minutes later and was given permission to land. The plane landed at the airport in Larnaka at approximately 8:45 a.m. local time. Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, said the flight showed no signs of distress on its route to Cyprus. "It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked," Petchenik said. Reuters, citing an Israeli military source, reported that Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking. The hijacking again calls attention to security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the Islamic State terror group claimed it downed the plane. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from Sky News. Terrorists from the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) have advanced plans to murder Jewish children in Turkey, targeting kindergartens, schools and youth centres, Sky News can reveal. Information on what intelligence officials are describing as an "imminent" attack was obtained from six operatives from the "Caliphate" who were arrested in the southern city of Gaziantep over the last week. The most likely target of an attack is Istanbul's synagogue in Beyoglu, which also has a community centre and a school attached to it. "In light of these circumstances, extraordinary security measures are being taken above and beyond the high alert level already in place by the Turkish police, as well as vigilance within the Jewish community," an intelligence source told Sky News. "Undercover and other covert counter-terror measures are being implemented around the clock. "This is a more than credible threat. This is an active plot," the source added. The series of threats and the specific targeting of Jewish children follow the deadly attack in Istanbul on March 19 when five people were killed by a suicide bomber, including four Israelis, and the murder of another 35 in Brussels last week. An intelligence report seen by Sky News said: "The so-called Islamic State is believed to be behind both sets of attacks and the organisation continues in determined efforts to perpetrate further attacks in Turkey and elsewhere." The latest intelligence has emerged as spy agencies struggle to co-ordinate their response to the scale of the threat that is now perceived to exist across Europe. Turkey has absorbed close to three million refugees and there is strong evidence that several members of the Paris and Brussels cell, who have European origins, had travelled to Syria for training and then been smuggled back, hidden in the waves of refugees seeking safety in Europe. Now it is coming under increasing terrorist pressure from ISIS and Kurdish separatists. The threat against Jewish targets, intelligence sources said, was the best information gathered on an imminent attack. "We don't know when it's scheduled for. It could be in the next 24 hours or next few days," the source said. Click for more from SkyNews. Indonesia said Tuesday that 10 of its citizens are being held hostage in the Philippines after their ship was hijacked in the often-insecure border region between the two countries. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the owner of the hijacked tug boat and coal barge has received two telephone calls, purportedly from the militant group Abu Sayyaf, demanding a ransom. It said it was unclear when the incident occurred but that the ship owner was first contacted on Saturday. The ministry referred to the hostage-takers as pirates. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told a news conference that she is working with Indonesian and Philippine officials to coordinate a rescue. "Our priority is the safety of 10 Indonesian nationals who are now still in the hands of the hostage-takers," she said. Abu Sayyaf, which is on U.S. and Philippine lists of terrorist organizations, is notorious for bombings, extortions and kidnappings for ransom in the volatile south of the Philippines. It has been weakened by years of U.S.-backed Philippine offensives but remains a security threat. If the Abu Sayyaf is confirmed responsible, the number of hostages would be among the largest it has seized since 2001. In the Philippines, army Maj. Gen. Demy Tejares said troops were trying to verify reports that the Indonesians were taken to the southern province of Sulu and that an Abu Sayyaf commander notorious for ransom kidnappings, Alhabsi Misaya, was involved. "There is information pointing to Sulu as the destination so we're monitoring it," Tejares said of the predominantly Muslim province 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Manila, where several other kidnapping victims are believed to be held by Abu Sayyaf militants. Philippine military chief Gen. Hernando Iriberri flew to Sulu on Monday to meet commanders and their troops involved in efforts to locate the Indonesians. The tug, Brahma 12, and the Anand 12 barge were going from Sungai Putting in Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian part of Borneo island, to Batangas province, south of the Philippine capital. The Facebook page of the Brahma 12's captain, Peter Tonsen Barahama, shows smiling photos of him and the crew on the vessel preparing for the voyage and good luck wishes from friends commenting on a port clearance document he posted. The document shows the vessel and its barge left a port in southern Kalimantan on March 15. A Philippine police report said a villager sighted an unmanned boat marked "Brahma 12" on Saturday drifting in waters off Languyan town in the southernmost Philippine province of Tawi Tawi, near Sulu, and the vessel was taken by police to a Languyan wharf. Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said it believes the barge, carrying about 7,000 tons of coal, is still under the control of the hostage-takers. Philippine security officials suspect the Abu Sayyaf was responsible for last year's abductions of two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipino woman from a marina on southern Samal Island. The victims are believed to be held in the jungles of southern Sulu province. In a recent video posted on a Facebook account linked to the militants, they threatened to kill the hostages unless a large ransom is paid by April 8. The Philippine military said the government continues to observe a no-ransom policy. Indonesia has been helping the Philippines forge a peace agreement with Filipino Muslim rebels by sending soldiers to join an international group that helps monitor government and rebel adherence to a cease-fire. James Cain learned only last Tuesday that his daughter had married Alexander Pinczowski. Two days later, he learned that Alexander and his sister Sascha, Dutch siblings who lived in the United States, both died in the Brussels airport suicide bombing. As Cain and his daughter Cameron -- both Americans -- hunted for news about Alexander and Sascha, Cameron disclosed her marriage to Alexander in 2013. On Tuesday, Cain called that news "the bright spot in our otherwise anguishing week." Alexander and Sascha had been heading home to the U.S. when they died. Alexander, 29, was on the phone with his mother in the Netherlands when the line went dead. Alexander had traveled to the Netherlands to work on a craft-related business that he and Cameron were going to start together. The number of tourists visiting Turkey dropped by 10 percent in February compared to last year, in a worrying sign for the country whose economy relies on tourism revenues. Tourism Ministry figures released on Tuesday showed that 1.24 million foreigners had arrived in Turkey last month, down from 1.38 million recorded last year. The drop comes has Turkey a neighbor of Syria has been hit by a series of terror attacks, including two in Istanbul that killed 12 German tourists in January, and three Israelis and an Iranian earlier this month. Israel issued a travel warning on Monday advising its citizens to leave Turkey. A row with Moscow over Turkey's downing of a Russian plane has also resulted in fewer visitors from Russia. 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza Opens First Texas Location in Austin New Option for Customizable Fast-Casual Pizza Offers 10 Pizza for All Guests, Plus Chance to Win Free Pizza for a Year March 29, 2016 // Franchising.com // AUSTIN, Texas 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza, a fast-casual American spin on authentic, hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza, is debuting in Texas with the opening of its Austin location on Thursday, March 31. The new restaurant is located at 10515 North Mopac Expressway, Suite A120, in The Shops at Arbor Walk near The Domain. To celebrate the new restaurant, the first 10 guests through the doors at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 31 will win free pizza for a year. In addition, all guests who visit the grand opening between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. and like 1000 Degrees on Facebook, or follow on Instagram or Twitter will receive a free 10 pizza of their choice. 1000 Degrees serves personalized, made-to-order authentic Neapolitan pizza. Each pizza starts with fresh, never frozen, hand-tossed dough, created with authentic Neapolitan 00 flour and is available in both personal 10 and sharable 14 sizes. Guests then choose to create their own pizza or order one of the 1000 Degrees Favorites. The Austin 1000 Degrees is the first location in Texas and is owned and operated by Doug and Lee Dilday of The DC&L Company, LLC. The group plans to develop up to four additional locations throughout the Austin metro area. We saw Austin as a relatively untapped market for fast-casual, authentic Neapolitan-style pizza, said Doug. Lee and I look forward to opening our doors and sharing our love for pizza with the community. Customizing a 1000 Degrees pizza is truly a unique experience, as guests can choose to top theirs with any of the more than 50 high quality cheeses, sauces, meats, vegetables and other toppings all for one flat price. While choosing their toppings, customers are guided down an assembly line of pizza consultants to create a pizza that is totally unique to them. Outside of the build your own option, there are more than 12 varieties of specialty pizzas including favorites like The Smokey Pollo, also known as Barbecue Bourbon Chicken, which features sweet and smokey bourbon barbecue sauce, roasted chicken, red onion, pineapple, shredded Grande brand mozzarella and blue cheeses, and The Philly, which is a cheese steak pizza topped with thinly sliced rib-eye, caramelized Spanish onions, balsamic glaze, shredded Grande brand mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Pizzas are then fired to perfection at 1000 degrees in a custom, handmade, revolving Neapolitan brick oven in just two minutes. 1000 Degrees is on fire, and were certainly heating up metro Austin with the opening of our first Texas location, said 1000 Degrees CEO and Founder Brian Petruzzi. Im confident that we serve the best hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza in the area and provide an unparalleled customer experience that will keep people coming back for more. Unlike traditional Neapolitan pizza, which has a slightly undercooked center and requires a fork and knife to eat, 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza has fused this classic style with American flare. The result is a thin crust pizza that maintains the light and airy appeal of a Neapolitan style pizza. 1000 Degrees pizza captures American appeal and old world Neapolitan flavor. The company currently has more than 10 domestic restaurants open and one international location in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 1000 Degrees is growing at a rapid pace, estimating it will open more than 80 units by the end of this year, and projecting an additional 170 units by 2017. 1000 Degrees in Austin is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. To learn more about 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza or to be part of its daily free pizza contests, please visit www.facebook.com/1000DegreesPizzaAustin/ or call (512) 579-0056. About 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza brings guests the finest hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza. Founded in 2014, the international franchise has experienced unparalleled growth and is on target to have more than 80 units open by the end of 2016, and projects more than 170 units by 2017. For more information on the 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza brand, or for franchise or investor relations, please visit the company website at www.1000DegreesPizza.com. SOURCE 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza Media Contact: Cassidy Obis Fishman Public Relations 847-945-1300 cobis@fishmanpr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Fresh Healthy Vending Partners With Konnect Agency Healthy Vending Brand Selects Los Angeles Agency with Strong Franchise Expertise March 29, 2016 // Franchising.com // SAN DIEGO Fresh Healthy Vending International, Inc. (OTCQB: VEND), the nations leading healthy vending franchisor announced today the selection of Los Angeles-based Konnect Agency as its agency of record for public relations services. Konnect will assist and drive PR initiatives and build media relations for both the Fresh Healthy Vending brand products, as well as the recently announced Reis and Irvys frozen yogurt kiosks. Fresh Healthy Vending is a socially responsible franchisor dedicated to making healthy snacks, drinks and fresh foods available to people across North America and beyond. The company recently announced an agreement with Robofusion, Inc. for an exclusive licensing deal as the exclusive franchisor, direct seller and corporate operator of the Reis and Irvys frozen yogurt vending kiosks. This development, as well as plans for future expansion, led to the search for a franchise-focused PR partner. As we looked ahead for not only Fresh Healthy Vending and the newly announced Reis and Irvys brand, we wanted a strategic partner that was familiar with our category space and was driven to help drive our business in the right direction, said Paul Schmidt, Chief Marketing Officer for FHV. Konnects strong track record of success with clients in the franchise and food & beverage space position them well to play an integral role in developing and executing marketing and communications initiatives that will help Fresh Healthy Vending and our franchisees thrive. Were excited to expand our franchise portfolio with a brand dedicated to innovation in the vending sector, said Sabina Gault, CEO of Konnect Agency. We cant wait to help push the launch of the Reis & Irvys over the top and show consumers and potential franchisees how special they are. Konnect is an award-winning agency with proven success and business acumen that provides public relations, marketing, social media and content creation services designed to elevate companies in the franchise arena. For more information on Fresh Healthy Vending, please visit http://www.freshvending.com. More information on Konnect is available at http://www.konnect-pr.com. About Fresh Healthy Vending Fresh Healthy Vending, based in San Diego, California, is North America's leading healthy vending franchisor. Fresh Healthy Vending pioneered the concept of vending machines stocked with tried-and-tested fresh, healthy snack options to serve the growing market of health-conscious consumers. The Company has over 240 active franchisees throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, and continually looks to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs who share its vision. The Company has booked over 2,900 machines for placement in schools, universities, hospitals, community centers, military bases, airports, fitness facilities, YMCAs, libraries and many other locations. Fresh Healthy Vending's stock is traded on the OTC Markets, Symbol: VEND. Cautionary note on forward-looking statements Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements regarding assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events that are based on management's belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. While the Company believes that expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that goals, results and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and uncertainties, terms and availability of financing, may affect actual results and may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by the Company or on its behalf. In addition to statements, which explicitly describe risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements labeled with such terms as "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "feels," "anticipates," "proposes," "proposed," or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. More detailed information on these and additional factors that could affect Fresh Healthy Vending's actual results are described in Fresh Healthy Vending's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Form 10-Qs for the quarterly periods ended December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, and its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. All forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release and are based on Fresh Healthy Vending's current beliefs and expectations. Fresh Healthy Vending undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. About Konnect Agency Konnect Agency is a mid-size, full service integrated marketing and public relations agency with headquarters in Los Angeles and offices in Austin, Texas and New York. The firm specializes in food and beverage, franchise, baby and childrens products, and lifestyle clients. Since its start in 2009, this dedicated team of marketers and communications specialists has made it their goal to create ROI-driven campaigns, drive strategic initiatives, land targeted media placement opportunities and deliver results that cater to the specific needs of each client. For more information about Konnect Agency, please visit http://www.konnect-pr.com. More from Konnect is available on their blog at http://konnect-pr.com/konnect-daily/ and on social media via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE Fresh Healthy Vending Media Contacts: Christina Erwin cerwin@konnect-pr.com Danny Beardsworth dbeardsworth@konnect-pr.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus IHOP Restaurants' National Pancake Day Breaks Fundraising Records 11TH Annual Event Raises $3.9 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and Other Local Charities GLENDALE, Calif. - March 28, 2016 // PRNewswire // - They came, they ate, they donated. Thousands of pancake lovers nationwide walked into their local IHOP restaurants' doors this past March 8 to celebrate the cultural phenomenon known as National Pancake Day. From 7AM in the morning and throughout the day until the evening, they enjoyed one free stack of world famous buttermilk pancakes from the brand that created breakfast, anytime of dayand in a show of generosity, broke all existing records for National Pancake Day with donations that totaled $3.9 million for the local Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, Shriners Hospitals for Children, andLeukemia & Lymphoma Society in their communities. Thanks to the generosity of its guests and franchisees, IHOP easily exceeded its goal of $3.5 million, and once again was a trending topic on several social media platforms, and garnered significant media attention across the country. This year, members of Kiwanis International, including their Key Clubs and Circle K, along with volunteers from the other charity organizations, generously participated at their local restaurants, reminding guests that these free pancakes had a purposehelping children in their own community receive much needed medical aid and treatment. IHOP invited guests to show their appreciation by making a voluntary donation to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and other local charities. The event is unique in that the funds raised at each IHOP location stay within that local community and go towards helping children in guests' own backyard. With this latest total, National Pancake Day has now raised $24 million for charity since its inception in 2006. The party didn't stop at U.S. borders, though! National Pancake Day has become a widely observed international event, celebrating its 3rd anniversary in Canada and Mexico and also in Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. More than 1,600 IHOP restaurants worldwide participated in enjoying pancakes with a purpose. "Everyone at IHOP is so grateful to our franchisees, team members and guests who helped this year's National Pancake Day celebration raise a record-breaking amount of money for sick children in our communities," saidDarren Rebelez, President, International House of Pancakes, LLC. "This has truly become a day when everyone comes together at IHOP to show the true meaning of "community", We are proud of National Pancake Day and what it representsand especially what it has accomplished." To learn more about National Pancake Day, please visit www.ihoppancakeday.com. About International House of Pancakes, LLC For over 57 years, International House of Pancakes, LLC has been a leader, innovator and expert in all things breakfast, any time of day. The chain offers 65 different signature, fresh made-to-order breakfast options, a wide selection of popular lunch and dinner items as well as meals under 600 calories. IHOP restaurants offer guests an affordable, everyday dining experience with warm and friendly service. As of December 31, 2015, there were 1683 IHOP restaurants in 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam as well as Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates,Bahrain, Qatar and the Philippines. IHOP restaurants are franchised and operated by Glendale, Calif.-based International House of Pancakes, LLC and its affiliates. International House of Pancakes, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DineEquity, Inc. (NYSE: DIN). About Kiwanis International Founded in 1915, Kiwanis International is a global organization of clubs and members dedicated to serving the children of the world. Kiwanis and its family of clubs, including Circle K International for university students,Key Club for high school students, Builders Club for middle school students, Kiwanis Kids for elementary school students and Aktion Club for adults living with disabilities, annually dedicate more than 18.5 million hours and raise more than $100 million to strengthen communities and serve children. Nearly 670,000 adult and youth members in more than 80 countries and geographic areas comprise the Kiwanis International family. For more information about Kiwanis International, visit www.kiwanis.org. About Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Children's Miracle Network Hospitals raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $5 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children's hospitals need community support, identify your member hospital and learn how you can Put Your Money Where the Miracles Are, at CMNHospitals.org and facebook.com/CMNHospitals. Abou The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. About Shriners Hospitals for Children Shriners Hospitals for Children is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research and outstanding medical education. Our 23 facilities, located in the United States, Canada andMexico, provide advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate. Learn more at www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org. SOURCE International House of Pancakes, LLC Contacts: Kelsey Harrington Wills Communications, Inc. 310-376-6600 kharrington@willscom.com Craig Hoffman IHOP 818-637-3603 craig.Hoffman@dineequity.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Petland Jacksonville Joins Operation K9 Franchisees to donate $1,000 annually to support local warrior and canine. CHILLICOTHE, Ohio - March 29, 2016 // PRNewswire // - Petland Jacksonville's Geoff and Kelli Daniels were recently honored at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida for their support of K9s For Warriors. The Daniels joined Operation K9 Care, a nationwide program created by Bayer and K9s For Warriors to support the lifelong bond formed between veterans and their service dogs. They were able to first meet their warrior, Brian Foltz and his K9 Dell at the Expo. K9s For Warriors is the only service dog organization for post-9/11 veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI) that requires them to live and train on site with their service dog before going home. K9s For Warriors' unique program offers 120 hours of hands-on training with certified dog trainers, housing, meals, veterinary care, training equipment, and peer-to-peer support at no cost to the veteran. The program reports a 100 percent success rate in suicide prevention in the graduates of the program. What's more, 66 percent of warrior graduates report a reduction in medications. Through Operation K9 Care, Bayer will connect K9s For Warriors alumni with veterinary clinics and pet retailers across the country that agree to provide free health and wellness goods and services needed to care for each warrior's service dog. For the veterans who graduate from K9s For Warriors, their service dogs are truly their lifelines. The combined efforts of the veterinary clinics and pet retailers participating in Operation K9 Care will help alleviate the financial burden associated with caring for a service dog. Veterans will instead be able to focus on their journey with their service dogs, healing and regaining their independence. Petland Jacksonville's Geoff and Kelli Daniels have pledged to provide an annual$1,000 gift card for the life of a warrior's service dog to help cover the cost of dog food, grooming services, leashes and other supplies. Operation K9 Care is completely free to the veterans and ensures that all those who graduate from K9s For Warriors can more easily afford proper routine care for their life-saving service dogs, which in turn, helps these veterans live a fulfilling life. "When we were approached, we teared up just thinking about the work they do and immediately agreed," said Kelli. "When we met our Warrior and his canine, there were no words. We are so grateful for his service and grateful we can be of assistance now." Bayer first partnered with K9s For Warriors in 2014. As of 2016, the company has contributed over $500,000 to the organization and saved 65 warrior/dog teams, in addition to supplying K9 Advantix II, the official flea and tick preventive of K9s For Warriors, to each training facility, and giving each graduating warrior a year's supply of K9 Advantix II for their service dog. "These shelter-to-service dogs and veterans form deep, lifetime bonds built on mutual love, care and devotion. Bayer is committed to ensuring that this unbreakable bond is supported through the routine and proper care these dogs need to do their jobs and support their warriors," said David Van Brunt, Vice President, Companion Animal Product Marketing, Bayer Animal Health. "Operation K9 Care demonstrates and honors not only our nation's service men and women, but the dogs that bring the joy of living back into their lives. Thank you to the veterinary clinics and pet supply retailers nationwide who have agreed to support this mission and make a significant, lasting impact in the lives of these graduate teams." To learn more about the partnership between Bayer and K9s For Warriors, please visit www.myk9myhero.com. About Petland, Inc. Petland, Inc. is a franchise operation with quality, full service retail pet centers across the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil andEl Salvador. For more than 47 years, Petland Pet Counselors have been dedicated to matching the right pet with the right person and meeting the needs of both. To its customers who already have pets, Petland is dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond. Petland was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in south central Ohio. For more information on Petland, visit www.petland.com. About Bayer: Science For A Better Life Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2014, the Group employed around 119,000 people and had sales of EUR 42.2 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.5 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 3.6 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independence company named Convestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com . About K9s For Warriors K9s For Warriors is dedicated to providing service canines to warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of injuries they have received during military service post-9/11. The canines used in the program are carefully evaluated, former rescue/shelter dogs or owner surrenders. Give a new leash on life to rescue dogs and military heroes. Find more information at www.k9sforwarriors.com. Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments. SOURCE Petland, Inc Contact: Elizabeth Kunzelman Petland, Inc. (740) 775-2464 Lauren Dorsch Bayer Tel. 913.287.6306 ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Wienerschnitzel Piles It On with New Loaded PoTaters these are the best new product Ive ever tried. March 29, 2016 // Franchising.com // IRVINE, California - Wienerschnitzel, home of Americas favorite chili dog, has unveiled Loaded PoTaters, available in three bold flavor combinations. Building upon the wild popularity of the Loaded Chili Cheese Fries that debuted last year, these Loaded PoTaters are a step up that customers are going to freak out over. Each heaping portion of crispy taters are smothered in Wienerschnitzels world famous chili and shredded cheese, and then loaded with awesome toppings like bacon, pepperoni, jalapenos and their new red jalapeno and garlic Blazin Sauce. Available for a limited time, Wienerschnitzels new Loaded PoTaters are featured in three crave-worthy flavors: Chili Cheese PoTaters crispy potaters smothered in secret-recipe chili and topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese crispy potaters smothered in secret-recipe chili and topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese Blazin PoTaters crispy potaters smothered in secret-recipe chili and topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeno slices and Blazin Sauce crispy potaters smothered in secret-recipe chili and topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese, jalapeno slices and Blazin Sauce Meat Lovers PoTaters crispy potaters smothered in secret-recipe chili and topped with freshly shredded cheddar cheese, pepperoni and bacon These seriously taste incredible, said Doug Koegeboehn, Chief Marketing Officer. Ive worked in this business for 25 years and these are the best new product Ive ever tried. Im so excited for everyone to experience them. The new Loaded PoTaters are available at participating locations, for a limited time. For more information and to find your nearest Wienerschnitzel location, visit: www.wienerschnitzel.com/locations. Facebook: www.facebook.com/wienerschnitzel Instagram: www.instagram.com/wienerschnitzel Twitter: www.twitter.com/wienerschnitzel YouTube: www.youtube.com/wienerschnitzel About Wienerschnitzel Founded by John Galardi in 1961 with a single hot dog stand in Wilmington, California, Wienerschnitzel (www.wienerschnitzel.com) is a bona fide pioneer of the limited-service food industry. Today, Wienerschnitzel is the worlds largest hot dog chain and home of Americas favorite Chili Dog. Based in Irvine, California, the parent company, Galardi Group, franchises restaurants throughout the U.S., including Wienerschnitzel, Hamburger Stand, and Tastee Freez. An iconic American brand with a devoted following for over 50 years, Wienerschnitzel is poised for exponential growth, both domestically and internationally. With a refreshed marketing focus, Wienerschnitzel has received tremendous media attention and accolades including Franchise Times 20 to Watch and voted Best Fast Food in Southern California by the readers of Los Angeles Daily News for five years and running. In 2016, Wienerschnitzel was ranked #146 in the coveted Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500. Additionally, the company recently introduced a unique next generation store design featuring a smaller footprint and a lower cost of entry; while the simple menu allows for easy execution and lower food costs. As a family owned and operated company, Wienerschnitzel is in a unique position to always put its franchise partners first and is actively recruiting passionate franchise candidates to grow with the brand during this very exciting time. For more information on owning a Wienerschnitzel, visit franchising.wienerschnitzel.com or contact Ted Milburn - Director, Franchise Development at franchising@wienerschnitzel.com. SOURCE Wienerschnitzel Media Contact: Aileen Donovan Wienerschnitzel Powerhouse Public Relations aileen@powrhousepr.com (949) 261-2216 ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus SAN DIEGOSaudi Arabias largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So its turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging cropthe drought-stricken American Southwest. Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in Californias Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Ariz., becoming a powerful economic force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state. The purchases totaling about 14,000 acres enable the Saudis to take advantage of farm-friendly U.S. water laws. The acquisitions have also rekindled debate over whether a patchwork of regulations and court rulings in the West favors farmers too heavily, especially those who grow thirsty, low-profit crops such as alfalfa at a time when cities are urging people to take shorter showers, skip car washes and tear out grass lawns. It flies in the face of economic reason, said John Szczepanski, director of the U.S. Forage Export Council. Youve taken on all of the risk a farmer has. The only way you can justify that is that theyre really not trying to make a profit. Theyre trying to secure the food supply. For decades, Saudi Arabia attempted to grow its own water-intensive crops for food rather than rely on farms abroad. But it reversed that policy about eight years ago to protect scarce supplies. To further conserve water, the country has adopted bans on selected crops. This year, the kingdom will no longer produce wheat. In December, the government announced the country will stop growing green fodder, livestock feed derived from crops like alfalfa, over the next three years. Almarai already farms worldwide to make sure that weather, transportation problems or other conditions dont interrupt supplies. The expansion in the American Southwest was a natural progression in its effort to diversify supply, said Jordan Rose, an attorney for the companys Arizona unit. The cows feed multiple times a day, and they need to be certain that they are always able to fulfill that unwavering demand, she wrote. Despite the widespread drought conditions, the U.S. is attractive to water-seeking companies because it has strong legal protections for agriculture, even though the price of land is higher than in other places. Southern California and Arizona have good water rights. Who knows if that will change, but thats the way things are now, said Daniel Putnam, an agronomist at the University of California, Davis. Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates emerged as significant buyers of American hay as their governments moved to curb water use. Together they accounted for 10 percent of U.S. exports of alfalfa and other grasses last year. The land purchases signal that Almarai doesnt just want to buy hay; it wants to grow. And its not the only Arab-owned Gulf company to take that approach. Al Dahra ACX Global Inc., a top U.S. hay exporter based in Bakersfield, California, is owned by Al Dahra Agriculture Co. of United Arab Emirates. It farms extensively in Southern California and Arizona and, according to its website, plans to add 7,500 acres in the United States for alfalfa and other crops. The exporter packages crops grown across the West at its two plants in California and one in Washington state. Most of the farms that Arab companies own worldwide are in developing nations. For instance, Qatars sovereign wealth fund has holdings in Latin America and Africa. But part of the kingdoms long-term food security strategy means investing in higher-cost countries with greater political stability, said John Lawton, owner of Agriculture Technology Co., a farming company in Saudi Arabia. In 2014, Almarai paid $47.5 million for more than 9,800 acres in La Paz County, Ariz., a sparsely populated alfalfa-growing region that is exempt from severe restrictions on pumping imposed on Phoenix, Tucson and other large Arizona cities under a 1980 state law designed to protect the states aquifers. It later turned to the Palo Verde Valley, where Southern California settlers staked claim to the Colorado River in 1877, beating Los Angeles and San Diego under a Gold Rush-era doctrine called first in time, first in right that governs the 1,450-mile waterway. The company paid $31.5 million for 1,790 acres in January after buying about 2,000 acres there last year. Farmers and water experts have greeted Almarai with both cheers and jeers. Supporters note that the company has embraced water-conservation methods that few other farmers have adopted. The Arizona Department of Water Resources released maps that show well levels on Almarais property in La Paz County rose in recent years, and the farms footprint has remained about the same since 2000. In California, some farmers say Almarai is a well-run company that has boosted the economy by growing its own alfalfa and buying more hay from neighboring farmers. The company recently broke ground on a plant in Californias Imperial Valley to package hay into ship-ready bales. Others say the purchases highlight misguided water policies. La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin raises concern that Almarai will deplete wells. Weve got them coming, moving in here and using our natural resources up. Why isnt anyone paying attention to the ground we live on? she said. If you care even a little about the art and history of American motion pictures, about being able to see classic films now and forever, you owe a debt of gratitude to David W. Packard. Packard, son of HewlettPackard co-founder David Packard, has never seen a Steven Spielberg movie and takes pleasure in reading Homer in the original Greek. But he cares deeply about film history, and his Packard Humanities Institute has become one of the leading philanthropic organizations funding film preservation. Now a landmark moment in that cause is nearing completion on 65 acres in the hills of Santa Clarita, Calif.: a $180 million facility that houses vintage movies in the UCLA Film & Television Archive, including The Maltese Falcon, the Flash Gordon serials, Laurel & Hardys Way Out West, Cecil B. DeMilles personal collection and producer Hal Wallis own print of Casablanca. UCLA was looking for a modest little place to move to, and I got involved and turned it into something monumental, Packard, 75, said during a tour of the facility. Its a labor of love and a labor of craziness. I could have just built an adequate facility, but it didnt cost that much more for it to be something wonderful. The Packard Humanities Institute financed a similar facility dedicated to film preservation in Culpeper Countythe National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (aka the Packard Campus) of the Library of Congress. Built inside a disused Federal Reserve bunker that once held billions of dollars of shrink-wrapped currency, it includes nearly 90 miles of shelving, plus storage for highly flammable nitrate materials. The newer Santa Clarita campus is designed primarily for storage, research and work related to film preservation, although there may be occasional semi-public events in one of the three screening rooms. The facility is known as the PHI Stoa, for the institute and because the exterior resembles a type of classical Greek building known as a stoa, an outdoor colonnade structure supported by an impressive row of marble columns. The interior is patterned after the 15th-century Convent of Saint Marco in Florence, with offices resembling the cells of a monastery. Packard, who rarely grants interviews, acknowledges that the design fits his style. Im more like a monk; I like to do my work, he said. I dont want to be a person who goes around boasting about doing things. Whats the point of that? For moviegoers who want the classic films they love to be seen on the big screen by their children in the best condition possible, the stakes are enormous. It may seem films are forever, but history tells us this is not the case. Nitrate-based negatives, Hollywoods choice until about 1951, are notoriously unstable and over time often deteriorated to chemical goo, taking their one-of-a-kind images with them. Before efforts like Packards, so many films were routinely lost or destroyed that its estimated that approximately half the films made before 1951, not to mention that more than eight of 10 features made between 1912 and 1930, no longer exist, according to film historians. Talk to anyone in the film preservation world and you hear echoes of the words of James H. Billington, the recently retired librarian of Congress, who says: If you want an analogy to David in American history, Andrew Carnegie would be the best. Starting in 1997 with the Federal Reserve bunker inside Culpepers Mount Pony, Packards institute built that 45-acre, $155 million facility and donated it to the Library of Congress in 2008. Frankly, I can think of no one and no institution which has done more for the cause of film preservation, specifically the preservation of classic American films, than David Packard, said JanChristopher Horak, director of the UCLA Film & Television Archive. There are a lot of wealthy people in the film industry, but no one has stepped up to the plate the way David has. The amount of funding he has provided is staggering. The PHI Stoa wont affect the NAVCC in Culpeper, which is funded by annual appropriations from Congress, said Gregory Lukow, chief of the Packard Campus. Neither is the NAVCC transferring any of its collection to the Stoa, Lukow said said in an interview Friday. Packard had both facilities in mind from the get-go nearly 20 years ago, Lukow said. While building the Packard Campus in Culpeper, he was designing the Stoa archive in Santa Clarita. He was very clear that what he was investing in was a bi-coastal solution to a national-level problem of helping ensure the preservation of the countrys audiovisual heritage, Lukow said. What hes built there is a magnificent complement to what we think was already an amazing facility that he helped us build here. The Library of Congress has long had a relationship with Packard. It preserved a number of titles, with his support, that he wanted to show during film series at the Stanford Theatre, the movie palace he restored and re-opened in Palo Alto in the late 1980s to screen classic Hollywood movies, Lukow said. The library regularly loans theater films to the Stanford. Similarly, he said, the Library of Congress and the UCLA Film & Television Archives have been collaborating for decades, given that we are the two largest film archives in the United States. At PHI Stoa, about 90 percent of the films belong to the UCLA collection. They are stored in 120 nitrate vaults, built at a cost of $48 million. Looking like cells in a 1930s big house movie, these structures are a chilly 38 degrees inside, with contents protected by an elaborate complex of anti-fire technologies, including exhaust ducts and a system called VESDA for Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus. Theyre the most modern nitrate vaults in existence, Packard said. This is not just buying five more years; theyre supposed to last centuries. During the tour, Packards infectious enthusiasm for film preservation and attention to detail were always on display. He noticed doors that didnt function properly, pointed out cans of nitrate film that were not placed to take full advantage of heat-resistant shelving and clambered up a ladder to show off the buildings well-maintained interstitial space. Packard, who was intimately involved in the planning and building, takes pleasure in detailing exactly where in Italy the stone floor tiles, the marble columns, the handmade iron ceiling lanterns came from. He is so happy, in fact, with the work of the more than a dozen Italian subcontractors that he is planning to invite them and their families to the Stoa for a big, celebratory party this summer. Enough of a film fan to have bought at auction the prop passport that Warner Bros. created for Casablancas Victor Laszlo, Packard emphasizes that I dont consider myself a funder, Im a colleague who has resources to contribute. When there is something Im interested in, I jump in with all five feet. If that sounds like an exaggeration, consider the specifics: When everything film-related that Packard and his foundation have contributed is added up, the total is close to half a billion dollars and includes the restoration of hundreds of films. And because Packard believes passionately in the traditional theatrical experience, in screening as well as saving films, he has spearheaded the impeccable restoration of two vintage movie palaces: the California in San Jose and the Stanford in Palo Alto. The Stanford has been showing double bills that Packard has personally programmed since the late 1980s. It broke up my friendship with Steve Jobs, he said, when I told him movies were not meant to be seen on 2 1/2-inch screens. A second-generation philanthropist whose family funded the Monterey Bay Aquarium without putting their name on it, Packard and his wife also founded the multibillion-dollar David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Something I inherited from my father is that once you decide to do something, just do it, Packard said. While youre building something, you worry about how much money youre spending on it, but when its finished, you only worry about whether you did a good job. Packard founded PHI in 1987, but it really took off in 1998, when it received a major endowment grant from the foundation his parents began. Because he very much puts his money where his passions lie, Packard has funded a fascinating array of projects not only in film but in his two other main areas of interest, archaeology and music. Im really lucky, he said, I can help things I really care about. Hard as it is to believe now, Packard, with a PhD in classical philology from Harvard and immersed in a career as a classics academic at UCLA and other universities, once had total disdain for motion pictures. I thought there was nothing to them; I looked down on them as degraded popular culture, he remembered. He said that from ages 20 to 35 he saw just three motion pictures, all with Greek themes: Never on Sunday, Zorba the Greek and Z. Even today, with the exception of a passion for the works of the Indian director Satyajit Ray, whose Film & Study Center is relocating to the PHI Stoa, he pretty much avoids films made after 1960. Packards conversion to classic cinema began when he taught at the University of North Carolina in the mid-1970s and, at the invitation of a friend, went to see a screening of The Wizard of Oz at a Judy Garland festival. He liked it so much that he went to see another Garland film, Meet Me in St. Louis, the next night. That was the most decisive moment in my life, he remembered. Meet Me in St. Louis somehow changed my life. And the next day I saw A Star Is Born. That weekend was an explosion in my consciousness. RICHMOND Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday vetoed a Republican-backed bill that sought to block state funding for Planned Parenthood, saying he was fulfilling a campaign promise to be a "brick wall" against efforts to limit access to women's health care. Virginia's GOP-controlled legislature is one of several that have tried in the last year to limit public funding for the women's health group, which performs abortions and provides other health services. President Barack Obama also vetoed a federal effort to defund the Planned Parenthood, the largest U.S. abortion provider. But the aggressive state-by-state strategy had little chance of success in the Old Dominion. McAuliffe, a Democrat, had long promised to veto the legislation, which he said was part of a continuing effort led by "extremists" to limit abortion rights. "We're here today to smack down the latest attack on women's health care rights," the governor said at a veto-signing event at a Richmond Planned Parenthood clinic. The legislation would not have directly affected Planned Parenthood's ability to provide abortions. Instead, it would have blocked small state grants for other health services, like providing tests for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. Taylor Medley, a 20-year-old student at the College of William and Mary, said Planned Parenthood is a vital resource for young women who may be too afraid to seek help from their regular doctors or their parents. "Why should politicians tell me where I can and cannot go for care?" she said. Supporters of the legislation said it's needed to ensure state funds go to "more comprehensive providers" of health care services. "The governor is clearly listening to his friends in the abortion lobby, rather than ensuring that women have access to quality care," said Del. Ben Cline, the measure's sponsor. Cline said he hopes the General Assembly will vote in April to override the governor's veto, but such action is unlikely. Rain City Maids Donating Cleanings for Women With Cancer Rain City Maids of Kirkland, Washington has partnered up with nonprofit organization Cleaning For A Reason to provide free house cleanings to women who are undergoing cancer treatment in the Seattle area. -- Kirkland, Washington - March 28, 2016 - Rain City Maids is a family-owned house cleaning company that has teamed up with Cleaning For A Reason, an international nonprofit foundation. The company is dedicated to providing quality cleaning services using green eco-friendly cleaning products. The cleaning techs are skilled professionals who go above and beyond on every job. The techs are rated and reviewed after each cleaning. Rain City Maids helps busy families live smarter, giving them time to focus on what is most important. "I saw partnership with the foundation as an opportunity to give back to the community," stated owner Ben Ferris. "Rain City Maids wants to help women who are undergoing cancer treatment to feel better by having a clean home. These patients need all of their energy to fight cancer. Donating house cleanings feels like the least we can do to help out these women in need." Rain City Maids has agreed to help women battling cancer by cleaning at least two homes per month for four consecutive months at no charge. The only requirement is that the homes be within the company's existing service area of Seattle. For more information about this company, go to raincitymaids.com. In partnership with maid services throughout the United States and Canada, Cleaning For A Reason is celebrating 10 years of dedicated service to women battling cancer. Together, these two forces offer free house cleaning to meet the needs of women, and since 2006, have donated more than $5.6 million in free services, helping more than 20,500 women with cancer. Based in Lewisville, TX, Cleaning For A Reason works with more than 1,200 professional cleaning companies and continues to grow and gain support. To learn more about Cleaning For A Reason and to apply for free house cleaning, see www.cleaningforareason.org. For more information about us, please visit https://raincitymaids.com Contact Info: Name: Ben Ferris Organization: Rain City Maids Address: 218 Main St Ste 240, Kirkland, WA 98033 Phone: +1 425-678-3739 Release ID: 108449 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) Conveyancing Solicitors Bristol launches new website Conveyancing Solicitors Bristol delivers expert counsel and personalized service at competitive rates. -- Conveyancing solicitors Bristol specializing in all types of property transactions has launched a new website to showcase the services it offers to its clients. The company has the expertise to analyze, examine and proffer legal advice as regards Bristol property purchase or sale in order to minimize the risk of future misfortune. Property related issues can occur due to a variety of reasons, one of which is the absence of a professional conveyancing solicitor from start to finish of a property deal. It is of great necessity to be thorough in finding out all relevant information about a property before it is purchased and before exchange of contract, specific enquiries should also be made. With the team of proficient conveyancing solicitors in Bristol, efforts are made to ensure all aspects of the client's transaction are met. From buying or selling a home, Purchasing buy-to-let properties, Remortgage of property, Transfer of equity following a divorce, Flat management companies, Powers of Attorney, Buying or selling business properties, Wills, Estates and tax planning, just name it! Conveyance Solicitors Bristol also performs functional services and advisory roles such as: Sourcing for information about the legal aspects of the property that is jointly owned as well as assist the client in the preparation of the process of drafting the Trust Deeds. Provision of the option to conduct a land registry, where the registry is required. Preparation of auction packs and attending the auction on behalf of the client to ensure the best bid is achieved. Carrying out for clients the payments of fees and dues at the end of the transaction like stamp duty and costs of estate agency. Advising clients of any incurred costs like that of stamp paper as well as about any unusual charges like cancel repair liabilities. Advice on how and when to draft the statutory declarations in support of the transaction in addition to arranging the indemnity insurances and the title when it is required. For more information about property transaction and all the intricacies, clients can visit www.conveyancingsolicitorsbristol.net. For more information about us, please visit http://www.conveyancingsolicitorsbristol.net/ Contact Info: Name: Gregory Mumm Organization: Conveyancing Solicitors Bristol Address: Bristol, UK Release ID: 108673 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) China Automotive Abs Market Is Reported To Reach 22.5 Million ABS Sets By 2017 : Report By Radiant Insights,Inc China's automobile production has risen to 22.13 million units, displaying a 14.8% annual growth rate in 2013. The sales volume rose to approximately 22 million units in 2013, growing at an estimated CAGR of almost 14%. -- ABS (or anti-lock braking system) is a device installed in an automobile to prevent the tires from skidding or cease tire rotation when the brakes are applied. It provides better control of the vehicle and decreases stopping distance on slippery or snow-laden surfaces. Browse Full Research Report With TOC on http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/china-automotive-abs-market The China automotive ABS market is reported to reach an overall volume of 22.5 million ABS sets by 2017. Factors such as regulations pertaining to safety and increase in automobile sales in the region is expected to drive market demand over the forecast phase (2014-2017). China's automobile production has risen to 22.13 million units, displaying a 14.8% annual growth rate in 2013. The sales volume rose to approximately 22 million units in 2013, growing at an estimated CAGR of almost 14%. Passenger vehicles had a 62% market share, whereas commercial vehicles had a 90% share in the same year. Passenger vehicles were led by foreign brands, while commercial vehicles were dominated by domestic players. This triggered a demand for ABS in all vehicles, reaching almost 15.14 million sets in China in the same year. Products of the China automotive ABS market are hydraulic ABS and pneumatic ABS. The former are used in passenger vehicles, whereas the latter are employed in commercial vehicles. Hydraulic ABS had a market volume, in terms of demand, of 12.26 million sets in 2012. This figure reached 14.65 million units in 2013, at a 19% growth rate. But pneumatic ABS had a high growth potential on account of many freight cars still unequipped with the device. Demand of pneumatic ABS had reached only 480,000 sets in 2013. Browse All Reports of This Category at: www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/machines Top regions in China that guarantee large sales are Shandong, Jiangsu, Chongqing, and Liaoning. Due to the Chinese market being large and fragmented, foreign brands need to forge partnerships with local outlets or distributors to gain a steady hold. Domestic players are another threat for foreign brands, as they plan to upgrade their product portfolio in the near future. Prominent manufacturers of the China automotive ABS market include BOSCH, Beijing West Industries (BWI), TRW Automotive, NISSIN, and VIE (Volontariat International en Entreprises). Latest Report by Radiant Insights: o Mineral Raw Materials Industry - http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/mineral-raw-materials-industry-forecasts-china-focus About Radiant Insights,Inc Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. For more information about us, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/china-automotive-abs-market Contact Info: Name: Michelle Thoras Organization: Radiant Insights, Inc. Address: 28 2nd Street Phone: 14153490054 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/china-automotive-abs-market-is-reported-to-reach-22-5-million-abs-sets-by-2017-report-by-radiant-insightsinc/108699 Release ID: 108699 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) UK Out of Town Retailing : Research Report By Radiant Insights,Inc Sales densities through out of town will grow by only 2.8% between 2014 and 2019. -- Summary Sales through out of town are set to increase by 2.4% in 2014, outperforming both town centre, and neighborhood, for the first time in three years. However, while it starts out strong, this growth will plateau with both town centre and neighborhood passing it, in terms of sales growth, by 2019. In order to drive footfall, out of town must develop its overall mix to serve a wider customer base. Access Full Report With TOC @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/uk-out-of-town-retailing-verdict-channel-report Key Findings o Gain a greater understanding of the major issues set to impact out of town over the next five years. How can you capitalize on these changes? o Use our winners and losers and sector analysis sections to benchmark performance against the market and your main competitors. How do you stack up? o Shape future expansion strategies by comparing out of town against neighborhood and town centre across a number of metrics. Synopsis o Food and grocery has dominated out of town in terms of its share of sales and space up to 2019 but sales densities are set to struggle. To reverse this, grocers need to drive traffic to stores, with click and collect being one option. However, inertia for click and collect exists among shoppers and grocers may have to coerce shoppers into using it. o One trend we expect to emerge within out of town is the continued shift towards softer sector such as clothing and general merchandisers as well as offering more leisure options. Such a change will be beneficial to retail park owners as it widens the potential customer base, drives footfall and increases dwell time. o While improving, sales densities through out of town will grow by only 2.8% between 2014 and 2019. This is due solely to grocers who will continue to expand despite the prevailing trend within grocery being the demand for smaller top-up shops. Densities will improve in the other sectors however as retailers remain cautious about opening new space. Request A Sample Copy Of This Report at: www.radiantinsights.com/research/uk-out-of-town-retailing-verdict-channel-report#tabs-4 Reasons To Buy o How does out of town compare to other physical channels in terms of sales and space growth and sales densities over the next five years? o How will grocery retailers compare to non-grocery up to 2019 and what issues will affect these retailers? o After a torrid time throughout the downturn, how will the home related sectors (DIY and furniture and floor coverings) perform in 2014? About Radiant Insights,Inc Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. For more information about us, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/uk-out-of-town-retailing-verdict-channel-report Contact Info: Name: Michelle Thoras Email: sales@radiantinsights.com Organization: Radiant Insights, Inc. Address: 28 2nd Street Phone: 14153490054 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/uk-out-of-town-retailing-research-report-by-radiant-insightsinc/108704 Release ID: 108704 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) Fuel Cards In Europe, Eastern Markets : Industry Growth And Forecast Report By Radiant Insights,Inc The value of fuel sold through fuel cards in Eastern Europe has been increasing year-on-year, and is forecast to grow from EUR8,210min 2014e to EUR9,225m by 2019e. -- Summary The combined worth of the Eastern Europe commercial fuel card markets is EUR8,210m in 2014e. Over the next five years the proportion of fuel purchased on fuel cards will rise year on year towards 2019e, as commercial fleets turn to fuel cards to lower costs and increase fuel efficiency. The largest increase in new cards issued by 2019 will be Poland and The Czech Republic. Browse Full Research Report With TOC @ http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/fuel-cards-in-europe-eastern-markets-verdict-sector-report Key Findings o Plan effective market entry strategies by uncovering current and future volumes and values of Eastern Europe fuel card markets. o Assess whether you should increase network acceptance of your card and identify potential new merchants by uncovering the position of competitors. o Whether you are an issuer, a processor, a leasing company or a fuel retailer, make informed pitches to partners by understanding their business. o Enhance fuel sales at your service stations by identifying which fuel cards you should accept based on their market shares and network acceptance. o Plan your regional strategy by understanding Eastern European markets, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Synopsis o Growing values: the value of fuel sold through fuel cards in Eastern Europe has been increasing year-on-year, and is forecast to grow from EUR8,210min 2014e to EUR9,225m by 2019e. Desire for better fuel efficiency will be the main driver behind this growth as businesses look to maximize the efficiency of their fleets. o Falling volumes: fuel volumes are declining. The volume of fuel sold through fuel cards is forecast to fall from 6.08 billion litres in 2014e to 6.06 billion litres in 2019e. Better vehicle efficiency, alternative fuel vehicles and reductions in fleet sizes will contribute to this trend. o Local retailers will lose out to larger internationals: large international players such as Shell, MOL and OMV have a strong presence in Eastern Europe. Browse All Reports of This Category at: http://www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/retail Reasons To Buy o How large are the Eastern European fuel card markets? What proportion of competitor sales are to small and large commercial vehicles? o How does my card's network acceptance compare to my competitors' and are there any other retailers I should consider partnering with in new markets? o Are any of my competitors distributing their fuel cards through leasing companies and are there any that I could potentially partner with? o As a fuel retailer, should I consider accepting more card brands at my service stations, and which ones would give me access to a large customer base? o As a vehicle leasing company, I would like to offer a fuel card product; can I do that alone or is there an existing card issuer I could partner with? Latest Report On "Retail" Category: o Consumer Attitudes and Online Retail Dynamics in Japan - http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/consumer-attitudes-and-online-retail-dynamics-in-japan-2014-2019 About Radiant Insights,Inc Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. For more information about us, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/fuel-cards-in-europe-eastern-markets-verdict-sector-report Contact Info: Name: Michelle Thoras Organization: Radiant Insights, Inc. Address: 28 2nd Street Phone: 14153490054 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/fuel-cards-in-europe-eastern-markets-industry-growth-and-forecast-report-by-radiant-insightsinc/108702 Release ID: 108702 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) Drones Market Is Set To Eclipse $36.9 Billion By 2022 : Radiant Insights,Inc Drone aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has reached a level of maturity that has permitted DJI to garner $1 billion in revenue in 2015, doubling their revenue in one year. -- Drones are miracles: flying cameras and flying weapons. Drones are being used for lifting cameras above the ground so every person who wants it can use a camera to rise above the earth to look down from above. Each person can choose thousands of vantage points, extending visualization beyond dreams. Drones are set to make every industry more productive with better, more flexible visualization. Drone uses provide the prospect of trillions of dollars in economic growth. Drones connect seamlessly and securely to the Internet and to each other. Browse Full Research Report With TOC on http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/drones-market Drone aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has reached a level of maturity that has permitted DJI to garner $1 billion in revenue in 2015, doubling their revenue in one year. This achievement puts the drone systems at the forefront of aerospace manufacturing. Every industry and around the entire world vendors are adapting to drone availability. Use cases are evolving rapidly. Video, photos, specialized video, targeted video, and package delivery systems are offered. Next generation commercial drones achieve a complete replacement of existing commercial airfreight delivery systems, they are used for 3D mapping, commercial pipeline observation, border patrol, package delivery, photography, and agriculture are more energy efficient, last longer and have a significantly lower cost of operation than manned aircraft. Unmanned aircraft systems promise to achieve a more significant aspect of commercial market presence. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems flying of 3 million flight hours gives drones market credibility. Eighty eight percent of those hours were logged in combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, paving the way for commercial drone markets to develop. According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, "Use of drones represents a key milestone in provision of value to every industry. Customized cameras are used to take photos and videos with stunning representations. Digital controls will further automate flying, making ease of use and flight stability a reality. New materials and new designs are bringing that transformation forward. By furthering innovation, continued growth is assured." Browse All Reports of This Category at: www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/equipment The worldwide market for drones is $6.8 billion anticipated to reach $36.9 billion by 2022. The complete report provides a comprehensive analysis of drones in nine different categories, illustrating the diversity of uses for remote flying devices. The use scenarios cover Drone Aerial Systems Forecasts By Sector, Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Border Patrol, Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, Disaster Response, Package Delivery, Photography, Videography and others. Companies Profiled Market Leaders o General Atomics o Northrop Grumman o Parrot o BAE o Intel / Ascending Technologies o Textron AAI o Lockheed Martin o Honeywell o Yamaha o Boeing / Insitu / L3 o AeroVironment o China Aerospace o Israel Aerospace Industries o Elbit Systems Ltd o Yuneec o Ehang o Go Pro o Draganflyer o 3D Robotics o Raytheon About Radiant Insights,Inc Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions. For more information about us, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/drones-market Contact Info: Name: Michelle Thoras Organization: Radiant Insights, Inc. Address: 28 2nd Street Phone: 14153490054 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/drones-market-is-set-to-eclipse-36-9-billion-by-2022-radiant-insightsinc/108583 Release ID: 108583 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) Virtual Personal Assistant Cost Sharing Platform Announced Jill's Office Announced The Availability Of Their New Personal Assistant "Smart Assistant(TM)". More Information Can Be Found At http://JillsOffice.com. -- Small businesses who can't afford a Personal Assistant can now benefit from the new Smart Assistant(TM) cost-sharing platform announced by Jill's Office. Brant Thurgood, Co-Founder at Jill's Office releases the details of unique modern twist on an old industry. The Smart Assistant(TM)platform was designed to appeal specifically to Small Business / Professional Services / Trade Contractors and includes: Low Cost Access To A Full Time Personal Assistant - The base cost of $5 Month gives users a special phone number that connects them to their Smart Assistant(TM). This allows businesses who other wise can't afford or don't want to hire a full-time professional assistant the ability to be billed based on usage. Local U.S. Based Personal Assistant. - Unique to the Smart Assistant(TM) platform are local, U.S. based, professional personal assistants. It is common for low cost call answering or virtual assistant solutions to utilize cheap offshore labor. However the introduction of Jill's Office's new technology allows for efficient cost sharing that drives the cost of having a full-time assistant down because the platform efficiently manages what she does and bills accordingly. Outbound Calls - Different from traditional call answering services, the Jill's Office's Smart Assistant(TM) platform allows for the assistant to not only answer calls but it also allows the business to interact with the assistant virtually and on the fly. Common tasks are outbound calls to a list of leads to schedule appointments. Brant Thurgood, when asked about the Smart Assistant(TM) platform said:"The thing that people tell me that they love the most is that they only pay for what they use. It allows business to scale up or down according to their needs...instantly." The most talked about feature of the Smart Assistant platform is the ability to scale up or down instantly. Those interested in purchasing can go directly to the product listing, here: http://JillsOffice.com/ For more information about us, please visit http://jillsoffice.com Contact Info: Name: Michelle Jeppesen Organization: Jill's Office Address: 128 south state street suite 250 Clearfield Ut 84015 Phone: (385) 393-1122 Release ID: 108336 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) PPR Travel Nursing Celebrates 20 Years Of Accolades And Recognition The company's customer service philosophy has landed them on many Best Places To Work lists over the years, reports http://pprtravelnursing.com/. -- PPR Travel Nursing, a premier travel nurse staffing agency based in Jacksonville, Florida, has recently celebrated two decades of being a highly-recognized company in the healthcare staffing industry. This milestone has come with many accolades and a lot of positive acknowledgment for a company that has had a major impact on travel nursing in the last twenty years. Those who would like to learn more about PPR Travel Nursing and the services that they provide to the industry should visit their website at http://pprtravelnursing.com/. Amber Ireland, a representative of PPR Travel Nursing, commented "We are beyond ecstatic to be celebrating our 20th year as a travel nurse staffing agency. We know all too well the staffing shortages that affect this industry, and over the years we have made it our mission to place caring nurses and healthcare professionals in these vacant positions so that they can use their skills and expertise to benefit all involved. In the last two decades of our commitment to doing that, we have appreciated the fact that many others have been able to see the fruits of that commitment and have recognized our company as a great place to work. This means the world to us, and we are so grateful for it." Over the course of the 20 years that they have been in business, PPR Travel Nursing has helped countless individuals get started with travel nurse jobs. The company boasts one of the best benefit and compensation packages with weekly pay, a 401k matching program, a health savings account, expense reimbursement, and even an unlimited $1,000 referral bonus. These perks, along with their commitment to their purpose of creating great employment experiences, has landed them on the Great Places To Work Institute's "America's Best Places to Work" list for 12 consecutive years and counting. In 2015, they earned the number 4 position on that list. The company has also recently been recognized once again by Highway Hypodermics as one of their Top 10 Travel Nursing Companies. As Ireland continues, "While these accolades have certainly been great, the best part of being in business over the last 20 years has been having the opportunity to meet and work with so many great nurses and healthcare staff members. It is their caring attitude that brings joy to patients and their families, and we are proud to work with such amazing people. We can't wait to see what the next two decades bring our way." Those who would like to contact PPR Travel Nurse Staffing for more information about how to apply for a travel nursing contract should log on to http://pprtravelnursing.com/. About PPR Travel Nursing: PPR Travel Nursing's core purpose is to Create Great Employment Experiences and they have been doing just that since 1996. For 12 years running, The Great Place To Work Institute has recognized PPR as one of the nation's best places to work. The company has a long history of creating the best customer experience in the travel nurse industry. From their passionate and value-oriented recruiters to their staff members and field nurses, everyone in the organization prides themselves on creating a best-in-industry customer experience. For more information about us, please visit http://pprtravelnursing.com/ Contact Info: Name: Amber Ireland Organization: PPR Travel Nursing Address: Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250 Phone: 1-866-581-5038 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/ppr-travel-nursing-celebrates-20-years-of-accolades-and-recognition/108736 Release ID: 108736 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) Shiftweb Solutions Partners With Midtown Atlanta To Foster Small Business Growth As a part of the organization, ShiftWeb is helping to revitalize Midtown Atlanta by using their services to help other local small businesses thrive, reports https://shiftwebsolutions.com/. -- ShiftWeb Solutions, a Georgia-based internet marketing firm, recently joined Midtown Atlanta in their efforts to revitalize this part of the city and allow it to return to its roots as a thriving, bustling area. Not only has Shiftweb (https://shiftwebsolutions.com/) set up shop in the area, but they are also using their digital design and marketing expertise to help other local small businesses expand their reach and brand awareness so that they can enjoy more profits and greater market share. Speaking on behalf of the team at ShiftWeb Solutions, Sinoun Chea commented "While people tend to think that the key to economic growth in a city is attracting large corporations, that couldn't be further from the truth. While larger businesses should always be welcome, it's small businesses that really help communities thrive and grow. Even Forbes magazine recently reported that small businesses account for 60 to 80 percent of all U.S. job creation. This is why our firm has joined forces with Midtown Atlanta to help small businesses succeed with our web design and SEO services. We see small business owners make the mistake of ignoring these aspects of their business all the time simply because they aren't sure where to start with them. We offer free consultations for all of our services so that they don't have to put it off any longer." For small businesses that do not currently have a website or don't have an effective one, ShiftWeb offers affordable, professionally-built websites that are mobile-friendly and up to today's coding standards. Not only does this save time and allow their experts to catch any potential problems at the outset, but their approach to professional design is rooted in proven marketing knowledge, which means their designs inspire trust in customers and compel them to take action. In addition to their small business web design services, ShiftWeb also provides search engine optimization services at https://shiftwebsolutions.com/ that will help small businesses gain more traffic and brand awareness by climbing the local search rankings. "We want small business owners to understand that they are the backbone of their communities," Chea continues. "In order for them to have lasting success, it's important for them to boost their design and marketing efforts online. Fortunately, our firm can take on that task for them, producing results and ensuring that they have what they need to prosper in today's local markets." Discover more about how ShiftWeb Solutions is helping local business owners at https://shiftwebsolutions.com/. About ShiftWeb Solutions: ShiftWeb Solutions provides top-notch web design and SEO services for small businesses. Their team is passionate about helping small businesses succeed. They pride themselves in providing affordable, professionally-built websites that are mobile-friendly and up to today's coding standards. They build sites with SEO in mind and provide free website analyses that show how businesses can increase their visibility and profits. For more information about us, please visit https://shiftwebsolutions.com/ Contact Info: Name: Sinoun Chea Organization: ShiftWeb Solutions Address: Atlanta, GA 30308 Phone: (404) 590-2133 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/shiftweb-solutions-partners-with-midtown-atlanta-to-foster-small-business-growth/108731 Release ID: 108731 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) The Stand-In Introduces Tool To Help Homeowners With Cabinet Installation Costs The Stand-In level and plumb adjustment tool eliminates the need to pay for cabinet installation, reports http://thestand-in.com/. -- The Stand-In has introduced a cabinet installation tool to the home improvement market with the intention of helping professional installers and homeowners alike save money on cabinet installation costs. The tool, which has been made available online at thestand-in.com, quickly and easily adjusts the level and plumb of a kitchen cabinet so that homeowners can install them with ease. Those who would like to learn more about how the tool works or see videos with The Stand-In in action should visit the company's website. Boyd Lilly, a spokesperson for the product, commented "We are extremely proud to have brought this unique product to the market. Remodeling a kitchen or bathroom can bring so much value to a home. Unfortunately, there are many homeowners out there who would rather avoid the sometimes-hefty installation costs that come along with taking on this type of project. The Stand-In eliminates the need for them to call for help with their installation. It saves them money by acting like a second set of hands for them." The Stand-In tool has several benefits for professionals or DIYer's who need to install kitchen or bathroom cabinets. First, it can adjust to the precise height that is needed for kitchen cabinet installation. In addition, it easily micro adjusts the cabinet to prefectly level every time, making sure that the homeowner is getting a precisely level cabinet. Finally, The Stand-In supports the cabinets at the correct height, allowing the homeowner to safely let go of the cabinet to get drills, screws, and other necessary materials without fear of the cabinet dropping to the floor and becoming damaged as a result. As Boyd goes on to say, "The tool that we have developed is proven to work for professional installers as well as homeowners who want to install their cabinets without needing help. In fact, the students at Wellborn Academy learn to use The Stand-In before they are certified to work as cabinet installers for Wellborn Cabinet Inc. We have worked hard to make this the best cabinet installation tool out there on the market, and we are excited to see what our customers are able to do on their own without having to pay for professional help." About The Stand-In: There are so many things that people take for granted but make their lifestyles possible. The Stand-In was designed for people so they can hang their cabinets fast, safely, and accurately without the need for any assistance. They are an American company that loves the hard work & quality America brings to their products. Their team invites customers to visit their website and contact them with any inquiries they may have. For more information about us, please visit http://thestand-in.com/ Contact Info: Name: Boyd Lilly Organization: The Stand In Address: Littleton, CO 80123 Phone: (303) 941-0577 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/the-stand-in-introduces-tool-to-help-homeowners-with-cabinet-installation-costs/108726 Release ID: 108726 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) Over and Above Reports on Work at Most Recent Cannes Film Festival Company was tasked with conceiving and producing popular pavilion for Irish Film Board in support of Jury Prize winner The Lobster, Over and Above reports -- Over and Above, one of the world's leading interior and exhibition design companies, reported on its work at the most recent Cannes Film Festival. Engaged by the Irish Film Board to design and produce the Irish Pavilion at the Festival, Over and Above contributed significantly to the atmosphere and success of the world-class event. With the Irish Film Board appearing at Cannes in support of Jury Prize winner The Lobster, a dystopian feature starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, and Lea Seydoux, the Over and Above-designed and provided pavilion was a popular destination for festival goers. As a top brand identity design and exhibition specialist, Over and Above regularly works with important clients like the Irish Film Board to ensure that their brands and offerings are showcased in powerful, engaging ways at major events like the Cannes Film Festival and others. "Of all the world's film festivals, Cannes is the most historic, prestigious, and exciting," Over and Above Chief Operating Officer Emer Sherlock said, "That's why it was such an honour to work with the Irish Film Board on the design and construction of the Irish Pavilion at the most recent festival. It was incredible to see Yorgos Lanthimos's English-language debut The Lobster take home the Jury Prize and to be there in support of Element Pictures, one of Ireland's home-grown success stories in the spheres of film and television." Since its founding just after World War II, an annual film festival held in the French Riviera town of Cannes has attracted attention from all corners of the world. Showcasing the most daring and significant features that crop up across the globe every year, the Cannes Film Festival is regarded by many as one of the most glamorous and momentous regular events anywhere and in any field. The Irish Film Board is Ireland's national film development agency, tasked with supporting worthy films, television productions, and animation, and encouraging talented artists and producers from elsewhere to take advantage of what the country has to offer. The Board was a key source of support for 2015's The Lobster, the English-language directorial debut of famed Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and one of Ireland-based Element Pictures' most eagerly anticipated productions yet. Over and Above was contracted by the Irish Film Board to design and build the Irish Pavilion at the Festival, a project that was judged a resounding success by all involved. Strategically accounting for the Film Board's brand identity and particular goals at the Festival, Over and Above employed its distinctively collaborative process to ensure that all goals were met and desired results materialized. Those interested in learning more about Over and Above's industry-leading, internationally available brand and exhibition stands design and building services can do so at the company's website. A regularly updated "News" section there also keeps visitors informed as to the latest developments, like the company's work at the most recent Cannes Film Festival. About Over and Above: Bringing brands to life in thoughtful, engaging, three-dimensional spaces, Over and Above is one of the world's leading exhibition and interior design specialists. For more information about us, please visit http://overandabove.ie/news/cannes-film-festival-2015 Contact Info: Name: Emer Sherlock Organization: Over and Above Address: 68 Merrion Square Dublin 2, Ireland Phone: +353 1 619 0055 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/over-and-above-reports-on-work-at-most-recent-cannes-film-festival/108720 Release ID: 108720 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) Community Checks Award Winners Florida Capital Bank Donate To Clothes For Kids Charity In an annual award ceremony to Promote Community banks and Credit Unions, Community Checks awarded $500 to Florida Capital Bank to donate to charity, and they chose Clothes To Kids. -- Late last year, Community Checks -a division of Tech Checks Inc., - launched its first annual Holiday Campaign benefiting Community Banks, credit unions, and the communities they serve. As part of the campaign, community banks and credit unions entered a random draw to receive a free email subscription to the Community Checks newsletter, Your Neighborhood Partner, plus an opportunity to receive $500 for the non-profit organization of their choice. Two winners were selected, Farmers & Merchants Bank in Tomah, WI and Florida Capital Bank in Pinellas Park, FL. Florida Capital Bank has since selected their beneficiary, the Clothes for Kids program. Florida Capital Bank (http://www.flcb.com) aim to provide big bank ability with small bank agility, with the most responsive and comprehensive custom solutions available, while still being rooted in the community. Their award enabled them to benefit a charity they felt were doing important work within that community. Shelli Bushway, Senior Vice President/SBA Specialist of Florida Capital Bank selected Clothes to Kids, Inc. (http://www.clothestokids.org) as the recipient of their award because CTK strives to provide every child with a full wardrobe of clothing at each visit. They outfit children in a warm and cheery environment that mimics a typical department store; every child and family shops with dignity while children get the clothing they need. The Community Checks Community Outreach Director said of the decision, "It gives me great satisfaction to be a part of an organization dedicated to supporting financial institutions who give back to the community. I feel Community Checks is to community banks what community banks are to the community. And the 2015 Holiday Campaign is one example of what can be expected of Community Checks moving forward." Jennifer Jacobs, Development Director, Clothes to Kids Inc., said of the donation, "Many thanks to Vice President Shelli Bushway of Florida Capital Bank for nominating us for a grant from Community Checks. This gift of support will allow us to provide wardrobes for low-income, school aged children free of charge. Each wardrobe consists of five new pairs of underwear, five new pairs of socks, four different bottoms including pants, shorts, skirts, including uniforms; four tops including uniforms, one dress for girls when available; one pair of shoes and one seasonal jacket." About Community Checks: Community Checks is a subsidiary of Tech Checks, dedicated to supporting and promoting the work of the very best community initiatives, including credit unions and community banks. Tech Checks provides businesses, financial institutions and individuals with an extensive range of checks, tax forms, and other financial accessories. Products meet all banking and governmental requirements and feature the latest in financial security technology. For more information about us, please visit https://www.techchecks.net Contact Info: Name: Allen Brotsky Organization: Community Checks Source: http://marketersmedia.com/community-checks-award-winners-florida-capital-bank-donate-to-clothes-for-kids-charity/108701 Release ID: 108701 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) Roland Dickey, Jr. Congratulates Franchisees On New Locations In Michigan and New York Ed and Carrie Wenzel bring three Dickey's Barbecue Pit Locations to Eastern Michigan while Abban Westby and Michael Mulcahy open two new locations in Upstate New York. -- (Dallas, TX) Dickey's Barbecue Pit is continuing its rapid expansion nationwide with new strategic locations in Eastern Michigan and Upstate New York to be opened by new and returning franchisees. CEO Roland Dickey, Jr. has extended his personal congratulations to the new franchise partners, who are working to continue the mission of the most dynamic brand in the Fast Casual restaurant industry. Owner/Operators Ed and Carrie Wenzel have recently become the new owners of the Macomb Township location in Eastern Michigan, and have doubled down on their investment with an intention to open two new locations in Sterling Heights and Auburn Hills, both by the end of 2016. They chose Dickey's Barbecue Pit because of the high-quality product, low franchise fees and ongoing training and marketing support. "We are excited to offer delicious Texas-style barbecue to these communities," Carrie says. "We believe in Dickey's family-owned brand and look forward to expanding our family business with it." At the same time, the Dickey's Barbecue Franchise is expanding to Upstate New York with a development agreement recently executed for two new stores in Buffalo. Originally from Ireland, Abban Westby and Michael Mulcahy bring restaurant and business experience to the table in their new franchise endeavor. Currently the closest Texas-style barbecue is over three hours' drive away, and the new restaurants will provide a new Fast Casual concept to the city overflowing with wings and pizza. The first new location will open by the end of 2016 with the second opening in 2017. They will open the new restaurants under Dickey's new store model, with a rustic look featuring reclaimed wood and a glass display case for meats, as well as a smaller footprint. "After touring the new store model in Dallas we knew that we wanted to open this concept in Buffalo," Westby says. "The modern authentic vibe and rustic look will be popular here, and we look forward to serving Texas-style barbecue to the community here." The duo hopes to open several more locations in the future. "Dickey's is continuing to expand across the East Coast," says Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "Currently we have four locations in New York State, and we look forward to opening the two new stores in this area and expanding throughout the surrounding Northeastern states. At the same time, the whole Dickey family congratulates Ed and Carrie Wenzel on their first store opening, and we look forward to supporting the opening of their next two locations. We currently have seven Dickey's locations in Michigan, and look forward to further expanding in the region." About Roland Dickey, Jr.: Roland Dickey, Jr. is the CEO of the Dickey's Barbecue Pit's chain of restaurants, bringing slow-smoked Texas barbecue to more than 540 locations in 43 states. Dickey, Jr. is responsible for the company's meteoric growth, and now tours the country helping franchisees and business owners set up for success through his own consultancy and lecturing on the convention circuit. About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain, was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow smoked barbecue. Today, the fast-casual concept has over 500 locations in 43 states and still slow-smokes all meats onsite in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, "We Speak Barbecue." The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids' meals every Sunday. Dickey's Barbecue was recognized for the third year by Nation's Restaurant News as a "Top 10 Growth Chain" and by Technomic as the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country." For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188. For more information about us, please visit https://www.dickeys.com/ Contact Info: Name: Mark Valentino Organization: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Phone: 9722489899 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/roland-dickey-jr-congratulates-franchisees-on-new-locations-in-michigan-and-new-york/108690 Release ID: 108690 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) Local NJ Epoxy Flooring Contractors Are Going National Local New Jersey epoxy flooring contractors, HIgh Performance Systems Corporation, are expanding their service territory on a national level. As a leader in the protective flooring industry since 1988, High Performance Systems shows no signs of slowing. -- Local New Jersey epoxy flooring contractors, HIgh Performance Systems Corporation, are expanding their service territory on a national level. As a leader in the protective flooring industry since 1988, High Performance Systems show no signs of slowing. This family owned and operated business is run by father and son, Jeffrey Smedley and Stephen Smedley respectively. According to Jeffrey Smedley, "The company was built on the integrity and care that my father instilled in me and that I instill in my son. Since 1988 our mission has been to bring the latest and best technology in the field of protective surfaces to our clients and help them create a solution that meets their facility's needs." Jeffrey attributes much of the company's success to what he calls the High Performance Systems "turnkey" approach. "Some of the many facets of our service include repairing concrete, pitching of the existing substrate and the installation of trench drain systems, in addition to the custom design and installation of various resinous flooring systems. Our focus at High Performance Systems is to understand our clients' needs and to design the appropriate protective solution to fit their schedule, conditions, and budget." High Performance Systems has recently completed installations in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and as far west as Washington State. They install epoxy flooring and other types of resinous flooring for all types of industries but have seemingly found a niche in the food processing and manufacturing industry. The company has become one of the largest installers of urethane cement flooring systems (the Cadillac of floors for the food industry) in the country, providing their services to some of the biggest names in the industry such as Smithfield Foods, Nestle and Dunkin Donuts to name a few. Director of Operations, Stephen Smedley, stated that "Over half of our work is done for food related companies, we are sought out by food processing, manufacturing, and packaging facilities as well as commercial kitchens, commercial bakeries, and restaurant kitchens not only because of our installation expertise but also because our ability to get jobs done on time. Some of our clients shut down their production lines and businesses at a huge cost and if we don't complete their installation on time they stand to lose a lot of money. This is one of the biggest reasons for our growth" To find out more about this growing epoxy flooring company, visit their website at http://www.highperformancesystems.com For more information about us, please visit http://www.highperformancesystems.com Contact Info: Name: Jeff Smedley Organization: High Performance Systems, Corp. Address: 436 Lincoln Blvd. Middlesex, NJ 08846 Phone: 800 928 7220 Release ID: 108651 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) Stairlift Company Reviews Brings Free Micro-sites to Local Kentucky Dealers Stairlift Company Reviews is pioneering an innovative free mini website service that gives Kentucky dealers an excellent opportunity to present personalized product offerings to educated consumers -- There are many advantages in being the main single independent source of stair lift data on the internet, and one of these is the capacity StairliftCompanyReviews.com possesses to support a free dedicated mini websites offering to Kentucky dealers. Each of these mini-websites can be configured according to the dealer's wishes, with the specific product specifications and installation information, the imagery, and the business details and customer reviews they want the customer to view. Stairlift purchasers are also given the opportunity to contact dealers directly and buy via the internet. This offering is good news for all Kentucky dealers, but particularly those dealers who do not have any digital presence. Yale Lipshick, Co-Founder of StairliftCompanyReviews.com comments, "the internet has become a significant market place for stair lift products. We want to encourage Kentucky dealers to take up the challenge and present their products and services to online chair lift consumers in a way that lets them put their individual stamp on each offering. We will guide them to choose the best imagery and use other presentation tactics with a proven success record. In this manner we can bring local dealers a valuable additional revenue source while at the same time giving the online consumer a better set of options to choose from." Stairlift Company Reviews values its excellent reputation in the local stairlift market, and is confident that local dealers will appreciate linking up with a well-educated and highly interested demographic for stair lifts. Kentucky stair lifts dealer Susan Varos expresses an opinion shared by many others, "StairliftCompanyReviews.com has done a wonderful job guiding us through our mini-website launch. We see how the online buying public are now making contact with us, and regularly placing new orders. We lacked the knowledge to achieve all this unaided so the assistance we received has made a very positive contribution to our business." With these encouraging developments in the Kentucky market StairliftCompanyReviews.com plans to initiate more service/product rollout in the coming months. For more information please visit www.stairliftcompanyreviews.com. About StairliftCompanyReviews.com StairliftCompanyReviews.com is the internet's largest single source of stairlift information. We connect stair lift shoppers with the best local chair lift dealers, installers, and servicers who represent the most popular brands in the industry. Chair lift customers can quickly and easily get price quotes from all major brands on stairlift rentals and on all new and pre-owned models from manufacturers like Acorn, Stannah, Hawle and Bruno. Consumers who use StairliftCompanyReviews.com receive competitive quotes from only prescreened, trusted dealers and service representatives for new and pre-owned stairlifts. For more information about us, please visit http://www.stairliftcompanyreviews.com Contact Info: Name: Yale Lipschik Email: info@stairliftcompanyreviews.com Organization: Stairlift Company Reviews Address: 500 Mamaroneck Ave Harrison, NY 10528 Phone: 1-888-507-2015 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/stairlift-company-reviews-brings-free-micro-sites-to-local-kentucky-dealers/108772 Release ID: 108772 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) Cambridge Electronics Announces Partnership with Prominent Technology Company Telus/Cambridge Electronics Incorporated selected by Multinational Technology Company, Apple Inc. & Telus for strategic Partnership to bring its Customers enhanced sales & support for Apple products in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada -- National Telecommunications Company, Telus/Cambridge Electronics Incorporated and Multinational Technology Company, Apple Inc. have announced a strategic partnership going forward. Long Time Store Manager Brian Komlance has been selected to the lead the program in store located in the Cornerstone Mall in Fort Saskatchewan. Brian has been with Cambridge Electronics since 2002. One of the most experienced Apple Sales Associates in the immediate area. All questions about Apple Products can be answered by stopping by the store and talking to Brian. Full details on the partnership can be viewed here: http://www.telus.com/en/bc/mobility/customers-first/ The partnership will encompass Apple Masters in Telus which will have the benefit of Enhancing the store environment Giving Sales Staff the best Training to ensure an Exceptional Experience for all Apple Customers. In the near future, customers of both companies can expect an Enhanced Experience to an Apple Masters right in store in Fort Saskatchewan Cornerstone Mall. The Trained Sales & Support Associate, will provide an enhanced Customer experience for Apple Solutions and Act as a Resource in store for all Apple Customers. As part of a long-term strategy, the two companies hope to provide enhanced & support customer experience with Apple Products. When asked about the new joint venture, Dan L'Heureux from Telus/Cambridge Electronics Incorporated said, The store is excited to be part of the Apple Masters Program giving the enhanced training required to provide Customers the best solutions for all their Apple iPhone needs. Dan L'Heureux of Cambridge Electronics Inc. is also excited about the venture, saying Creating a consistent amazing customer experience in Store for all Apple Customers is the goal. Current and future customers are invited to learn more about the joint venture and how they will benefit by visiting the website at http://www.telus.com/en/bc/mobility/customers-first/ . About Telus/Cambridge Electronics Incorporated and Apple Inc. Telus/Cambridge Electronics Incorporated was founded in 1994 and serves the Apple iPhone Products industry. Apple Inc. was founded in April 1, 1976, Cupertino, California, United States and serves the Mobile Phones industry. For more information about us, please visit http://www.mobilityhelp.com Contact Info: Name: Dan LHeureux Organization: Telus/Cambridge Electronics Incorporated Address: #105-8701-94 st, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, T8L4P7 Phone: 780-998-9551 Release ID: 108482 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) Mt Vernon Used Car Dealers Launches New Ohio Second Hand Cars Site A Mt Vernon used car dealership has announced the launch of a new site which lists every second hand car it has on offer, as well as detailing its financial and servicing department. For more information or to arrange servicing, customers can call (740) 397-6769. -- Ross Premier Motors, a used car specialist in Mount Vernon, Ohio, has launched a new site to advertise its service to local customers. It boasts a state of the art showroom, a parts and service center, and a finance department to help people to buy the vehicles they want, regardless of their budget. More information is available on the Ross Premier Motors website at: http://rossrpm.com/index.cfm. Ross Premier Motors is a family run business with over thirty five years' of experience in the industry. It is run by Ron and Zach Ross, the second and third generation owners of the business, who pride themselves on offering great service. As part of this goal, Ross Premier Motors offers visitors to their site the chance to request any vehicle. All they have to do is click on the "Request Quote" link at the top of the site and choose from a range of filters, and the Ross Premier Motors staff will do their best to track down a vehicle that matches the specifications. Anyone wanting to buy used cars in the Mount Vernon area can find a huge range of vehicles on offer on the Ross Premier Motors site. Gas and diesel cars are available, with many available for under $10,000. People with specific vehicle requirements can find what they're looking for by using the powerful search tool at the top of the inventory page. This includes options for refining the search results by make, model, price and vehicle type, as well as mileage. People can contact the financial department to arrange for a credit application for help with any purchase, while the service department can help with any problem a customer has with their vehicle. It offers a full lube, oil and filter service alongside a 48-point safety inspection for $24.95. On top of this, there is an online form for scheduling an appointment for any type of servicing work, or customers can call the company on (740) 397-6769. The staff are on hand to answer any questions, or get customers booked in as fast as possible. For more information about us, please visit http://minimoservices.com/press Contact Info: Name: Aaron Landreth Organization: Get Local Search Marketing LLC. Phone: 775-453-0163 Release ID: 108773 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) I feel as though I have died and gone to heaven, said Britains skills minister in a recent speech, as he prepares to preside over the fastest rise in the minimum wage in the countrys history. The new policy, which starts on Friday, will see the wages for low-paid workers rise four times faster than average earnings this year. The world will be watching. Governments in many developed countries are turning to minimum wage policies as they try to deal with inequality and anaemic wage growth. The stagnation in wages in recent years has been blamed on the rise of global competition, the decline in collective bargaining, a slowdown in productivity growth and the way in which technology has hollowed out some middle-skilled jobs. In response, Germany introduced its first ever minimum wage last year; Japans prime minister Shinzo Abe has called for minimum wage increases of 3 per cent a year for the foreseeable future; and some US cities such as Seattle are raising their wage floors to $15 an hour. Developing countries such as Malaysia are also using minimum wages to try to redistribute growth more fairly and encourage employers to move up the value chain. As Richard Dickens, an economics professor at Sussex university, concludes: Minimum wages have never been so popular. The next question is: how far can you push it? This is the question that Britains new national living wage which starts at 7.20 an hour and will reach about 9 an hour by 2020 will put to the test. Nick Boles, the skills minister, has claimed it will be one of the biggest increases in the legal minimum wage that any government has done in the western world in living memory. But the Conservatives did not always feel this way about the minimum wage. Indeed, the party opposed the UKs introduction of the policy in 1998, arguing it would destroy jobs. We bring to it the zeal of converts, Mr Boles admitted. Many economists have also changed their views. Economics textbooks used to state that if you raise pay above the value it creates for employers, you reduce demand for labour. In other words, minimum wages cost jobs. But economists opinions are now more nuanced, in large part because of the experience of countries such as the UK, which have so far sustained steady increases in the minimum wage without doing any notable damage to employment. The early signs from Germany are also positive. In spite of nervousness from businesses about the introduction of a minimum wage of 8.50 an hour last year, the unemployment rate has continued to fall and is now at a record low. My view of the history of minimum wages is that weve always been surprised about how you seem to be able to push them up without harming job prospects, says Alan Manning, a professor at the London School of Economics. Of course, there would come a point, if you pushed it up too far, that there would be serious adverse effects. We just dont quite know where that is. The UKs minimum wage is already relatively generous by international standards, according to the Financial Times Big Mac minimum wage index. At 6.70 an hour, a minimum wage worker in the UK would have to work 26 minutes to buy a Big Mac. That is better than the US (41 minutes) and Japan (32 minutes), similar to Ireland and Germany, and worse than Australia and Denmark (18 and 16 minutes respectively). If Britain brought in its 9 an hour target today, a minimum-wage worker could buy a Big Mac after 18 minutes. There are other ways to measure the level of a minimum wage, such as where it stands relative to average pay. The government plans to increase the national living wage to 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020, which would take the UK from the middle of the OECD pack to the upper end. The government chose 60 per cent as a target in part because a handful of countries such as France and Australia already sustain minimum wages at that level. France has relatively high unemployment and Australia relatively low unemployment. But it is difficult to make straight comparisons because of differences in how the wages are set and to whom they apply. In terms of coverage, OECD data analysed by the Low Pay Commission, responsible for recommending minimum wage rates to the government, shows that about 9 per cent of UK workers currently earn within 5 per cent of the minimum wage a fairly high proportion compared with peers such as Australia, the US and Canada. By 2020, the LPCs analysis suggests this figure will swell to about 18 per cent substantially higher than in any other OECD country for which data exists. Were going into uncharted waters and we just dont really know. In some ways its a social experiment, says Professor Dickens, who is also a member of the LPC. The big question is whether the UK can maintain its strong employment record, particularly for the lowest-skilled workers, who are about to become more expensive to employ. Andrew Hilton, director of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, believes the policy will be devastating for entry-level and low-skilled jobs. This debate has emerged in Germany recently, too, after concern that the minimum wage is too high to enable recently arrived refugees to find jobs. Some German politicians have called for exceptions to the minimum wage for low-skilled refugees. Yet Professor Manning points out that the modelling being done for the minimum wage experiments in US cities like Seattle is encouraging. These analyses suggest low-paid workers will spend more money in the local economy, boosting local demand and creating a virtuous circle for employers and employees. He says the UK is right to experiment and disputes the idea that the country is stumbling towards a cliff edge. He adds: We may be in the dark . . . but its much more like were on the top of a rounded hill and if you go a little bit too far down, you just walk back up again. Nothing here is irreversible. Letter in response to this article: Big Mac price is bound to change / From Charles Horner Tilney Bestinvest has named Julius Baers managing director Alan Edwards as its head of investment management for England. Based in the Liverpool office and appointed to the executive board, he will manage the firms investment teams in London, Liverpool and Birmingham. Prior to joining the Julius Baer in January last year, he held senior roles at Barclays Wealth, Coutts and HSBC, all after having been a professional rugby league player before moving into the financial services industry. This appointment comes as the company makes a number of changes to its investment team, with the hire of former managing director at Signia Wealth Martin King last year, followed by the loss of Chris Leyland to True Potential Investments. Peter Hall, chief executive of Tilney Bestinvest, said he is confident that Mr Edwards will play a pivotal role in the success of the business. Tilney announced the takeover of Ingenious Asset Management in February, which will bring its discretionary accounts to 11.2bn. katherine.denham@ft.com Scottish Widows is to launch a new employer hub as the first in a series of digital developments backed by its 50m Driving Pensions Value programme. The new online portal is currently being tested in a live environment with six pilot employers and will be fully rolled out once the testing is complete. It will allow clients to upload payroll files in a variety of formats, providing immediate feedback on any errors with their data, so that any issues can be corrected instantly. David Holton, director of corporate propositions at Scottish Widows, said hes aiming to deliver a market-leading digitisation programme. The pensions industry has been slow to adopt the proliferation of technology other financial services sectors particularly banks are using to great effect to engage their customers. Building on the success story of mobile banking in particular, we want to make pension saving more accessible for all, leveraging the experience and resources of Lloyds Banking Group to transform the way we serve advisers, employers and customers. Earlier this month, Scottish Widows announced it would spend 50m on improving products and services, as well as upgrading its adviser support over the next 18 months. Ian McKenna, director of the Finance and Technology Research Centre, said: Scottish Widows have clearly recognised both the importance of becoming a truly digital business and that this is not a transformation that can be achieved overnight. Having looked at the way they are working Im encouraged by the fresh, dynamic practices they are implementing. Newton Investment Management is to cut the yield target on its 2.2bn Asian Income vehicle in order to broaden the funds universe of investible stocks. As of May 26 the fund will target an annual yield at least 25 per cent higher than that of its FTSE Asia Pacific ex Japan index. The current target is a yield that is 35 per cent higher than that of the index. Meanwhile the yield threshold at which stocks can be considered for inclusion in the fund will drop from 100 per cent to 85 per cent of that of the index. The threshold at which stocks are to be sold from the portfolio will also fall, from 85 per cent to 60 per cent of that offered by the index. Fergus McCarthy, head of UK and Ireland intermediary distribution for parent company BNY Mellon Investment Management, said inflated historic yields on Asian equity indices had limited the number of stocks available for inclusion in the fund. In recent years, the dividend outlook for some companies in Asia excluding Japan has become more challenged, he said. We believe that, in certain industry sectors, the ability of companies to sustain dividend distributions in line with their historic practice has become increasingly unrealistic. We believe that the proposed modifications to stock-level yield discipline and fund-level yield target will expand the quality of the investible universe and allow the Asian Income fund to continue to deliver superior total returns across a broader range of market conditions. According to FE Analytics the fund, which has been managed using a team approach following the departure of Jason Pidcock last year, has shed 3.1 per cent over 12 months, compared with a 7 per cent drop for the IA Asia Pacific ex Japan group. Government communication of changes to the state pension has been so bad neither the winners nor losers yet know who they are, MPs have said, in what Saga has branded a shambles. Most people retiring under the new flat-rate regime from 6 April will not receive the much publicised 155.65 weekly rate, a Work and Pensions Committee final report has found. But failures of communication mean too few people understand the true amount they are likely to receive, as the government has focused on the full flat rate, the MPs said. They called on the government to set up a telephone hotline, manned by pension experts, for those negatively hit by the changes to discuss their personal circumstances, adding that this might be provided by an existing pensions guidance service. The letdown echoed the government shambles around changes to womens state pension age, and left people unable to make sound financial plans, according to Paul Green, Sagas director of communications. It is simply untenable those approaching retirement can be treated with such disregard when it comes to their pension income, he said. Most people make significant financial plans about their future based on what they believe they will get from their state pension and if inaccurate or outdated could leave them with little to no time to make up for this government information error. Its like history is repeating itself, with striking similarities to the shambles that occurred around womens state pension age. Three groups in particular stand to receive less in the early years of the new state pension than they would notionally have received under the current system, the committee found. These are people with fewer than 10 years of qualifying contributions; people - largely women - who would currently derive rights to a pension based on their spouses contributions and are not covered by transitional protection; and those who built up large guaranteed minimum pensions during the period from 1978 to 1988 and will reach state pension age during the early years of the new state pension. The MPs report recommended the Department for Work and Pensions write to those negatively affected by the changes as a matter of urgency. These letters should clearly explain the persons circumstances and set out both projected entitlements and means of improving them, the report said. It also recommended the government send automatic state pension statements to all people aged 50 and over, issued annually, in line with the private sector. Ubisoft has announced the formation of a new studio in Santa Rosa Laguna, Philippines, 35 kilometers from Manilas main business center. The location will be open during the spring and employ up to 50 people by the end of 2016. Members of Ubisofts Singapore studio will be headed to Santa Rosa Laguna to seed the team and help start to build The Philippines video game industry. Ubisoft chose the location due to its proximity to Manila and the airport, which is close enough to commute but offers a better quality of life than the city. The studio will be located on the La Salle University campus, and will partner with the institution to foster young talent. The Philippines is Ubisofts third Southeast Asia location, joining Singapore and Chengdu, China. Our Take Ubisoft has a history of building up the industry around itself. The Singapore location, for example, has played a role in the Assassins Creed series since the second entry and was responsible for the naval combat in III and Black Flag. The Southeast Asians market is responsible for $1.5 billion of revenue annually with 80 million online gamers. If youre going to open up a new studio and have your pick of bright young talent (and a ready market), growing in that area of the world makes sense. Traffic report : Detours, accidents and annoyance Bonn/Region If you are underway on the autobahn or in public transport, you might have noticed or will become aware of the following traffic disruptions. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Hausdorffstrae bus service: Some buses will be taking detours from March 30 to April 1 due to work on Hausdorffstrae in Dottendorf. Line N3 going to the Bonn central train station, 612 going in the direction of Hindenburgplatz and 630 in the direction of Venusberg-Tannenbusch-North are all affected. Because of the extra time needed to get to the final station of Hindenburgplatz, passengers should be aware that they may not meet their normal connections for the 61/62. Interrupted service between Bonn and Bruhl: From April 2 until April 4, passengers travelling on tram line 18 between Bonn, the Vorgebirge and Cologne will be transported on buses between Bruhl Mitte and Schwadorf. Work is being done there to construct a second track. The interim buses will have the number 118. Line 18 coming from Cologne will go until Bruhl Mitte and then return to Cologne. Between Schwadorf and Bonn, lines 18 and 68 will be running on a different timetable during that period and it is recommended passengers give themselves an extra 15 minutes. A59 accident: An accident on Monday afternoon caused the temporary closure of the A59 towards Konigswinter. Police say two cars collided in the right lane at around 12:45 p.m. Two persons were slightly injured and brought to the hospital. The autobahn was closed until 1:15 p.m. when one of three lanes was opened. An hour later, all lanes were opened. B56 accident in Swisstal-Buschhoven: On Saturday evening at 8:25 p.m., a 60-year-old woman was seriously injured in an accident involving a passing maneuver. The woman had been driving behind a tractor. A 22-year-old driver behind her attempted to pass both her and the tractor and just as he was nearly alongside her car, she had also decided to pass the tractor. The cars touched on the sides and the womans car crashed into a tree. She was brought by ambulance to the hospital with serious injuries. Both cars were heavily damaged and had to be towed away. Police estimate damages at 16,000 euro. A555: Despite resentment from drivers, the A555 right hand shoulder will remain blocked off where the exit to the A565 is also closed off for construction work. People have complained that the red and white traffic posts block off the right shoulder, preventing them from using it as a right lane to take them directly to the Tannenbusch exit. Instead, right turners have to wait with the rest of the traffic. Authorities have said the traffic barriers will remain in place as a safety measure. Bonn central train station : Police identify bomb threat caller Bonn Police say they have identified the man who called in a bomb threat at the Bonn central train station on Friday. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Police say they have identified the person who called in a bomb threat to the Bonn Fire Department on Good Friday. It was apparently a 38-year-old man who is mentally ill. He has been brought to a hospital and will remain there for the time being. Police will press charges for abusing the emergency calling system and threatening a crime against the state. After the call was received on Friday, police had to close off the Bonn central station for several hours while they searched it with trained police dogs. Police spokesperson Robert Scholten says they are proofing whether or not they can demand payment for the extensive security measures that were required due to the threat. Because many different police units were involved, this could be difficult. Google's Camera app may get Google Goggles functionality News oi -GizBot Bureau Internet giant Google is rumoured to include an extra modification of Google Goggles to the official Google Camera app in Android devices for searching information by just taking a picture. The extra functionality is nothing new but the implementation of Google Goggles technology the search giant already uses. Google Goggles is an augmented reality (AR) app that allows user to make a search by taking a picture of anything, androidauthority.com reported on Sunday. SEE ALSO: Google's Professional Photo Editing Software worth Rs 10,000 now available for free! For example, to search for the creator of a painting, one can click a picture through Google Goggle app and it will find you the details of the painting from its database. Goggles can read text in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Turkish, and translate it into other languages. Goggles also works as a barcode/QR code scanner. It can recognise famous landmarks, translate by taking a picture of foreign language text, add contacts by scanning business cards or QR codes, solve Sudoku puzzles and find similar products. In Google Goggles, one can only search the whole image, which has proven to bring plenty of discrepancies, the report said. SEE ALSO: 10 Mindblowing Facts you should know about the GooglePlex! Images often display plenty of distractions, background items and other objects that may throw off a search result. However, according to the report, there will be a new feature integrated, allowing users to outline the specific areas of the image in order to directly target their searches. For example, if one wants to find the model number of a Nike shoe in a picture having a lot of other stuff, the user can select that shoe and outline it to focus the search. Furthermore, it is said this technology has also been tested in "wearable computing devices", suggesting this technology may be incorporated with other products like Google Glass and VR headsets. Google Goggles was launched in 2009 as a visual search technology app but after a few years the company stopped updating it and it fell by the wayside. Google may merge this app directly with the camera so it comes incorporated in all phones. Best Mobiles in India Behind scenes at Ssang Yong 16: Combat Logistics Battalion 31 US Marine Corps News By 1st Lt. Karoline Foote | March 28, 2016 Behind every operation a military unit conducts, there is a group of people that work behind the scenes to make everything happen. That group makes sure there are vehicles for transportation; water and food for the troops; medical treatment if needed; and ammunition for the operation. In the case of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, that group of people is Combat Logistics Battalion 31. The Marines and sailors of CLB 31 deployed to the Republic of Korea as the logistics component of 31st MEU in support of exercise Ssang Yong 16. Ssang Yong is a biennial combined amphibious exercise conducted by forward-deployed U.S. forces with the Republic of Korea Navy and Marine Corps, Australian Army and Royal New Zealand Army forces in order to strengthen interoperability and working relationships across a wide range of military operations - from disaster relief to complex expeditionary operations. CLB 31 provided logistics, security, medical and range support to the Marines of 31st MEU, allowing them to conduct multiple complex training scenarios over the course of the MEU's participation in Ssang Yong. The military police officers of CLB 31's MP detachment even pulled double duty. In addition to providing force protection to the MEU Marines ashore at Camp Mujuk in Pohang, South Korea, the MPs augmented the Camp Mujuk provost marshal's office in support of exercise Key Resolve, an annual command post exercise. According to Lance Cpl. Kenneth Rodriguez, a fireteam leader in the MP Detachment, the MPs ran multiple entry control points, checked vehicles and personnel coming through the gate and helped maintain security on the camp hand-in-hand with the Camp Mujuk PMO. "We overlook everything from manning the front gate to manning ECPs, making sure that everybody stays safe and everybody who is authorized to be in certain areas are in those areas," explained Rodriguez. We are making sure they have the proper clearance." In addition to the military police keeping the 31st MEU Marines and sailors safe, CLB set up a shock trauma platoon. The STP is a just-in-case force used to support any operation by standing by with medical care in the event of any injuries. "The shock trauma platoon is a 'Role 2' capability, meaning we have a level of medical care that is just below a major hospital with surgery," said Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Sheep, the officer in-charge of the STP. "Our domain is the golden hour, meaning the hour after the initial injury. That is when most preventable deaths happen and that is the reason we are there to mitigate that golden hour so people can survive and either get back into the fight or to go on to a greater level of care." Ssang Yong had no major casualties, and minor casualties that did occur were able to be treated quickly and effectively, according to Sheep. The MEU was able to conduct all their ranges safely due in part to the presence of CLB 31's Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. "CLB's EOD section conducted surface clearance operations for conventional and unexploded ordnance before the ranges for Ssang Yong began," said Chief Warrant Officer Steven Tamm, the MEU's EOD officer. "After the ranges began we were on standby to remove any lodged projectiles from the weapon systems fired on the ranges, from the 40mm grenades all the way to the M777 howitzers." CLB 31 not only supported Ssang Yong with security, the STP and EOD but also with the small common necessities that everyone is used to. The CLB made sure all the Marines and sailors participating had fuel, food, water and bathrooms while they were out in the field. "CLB's main role was to support the warfighters during Ssang Yong," said Sheep. "I believe this Ssang Yong went excellently, but I do not believe Ssang Yong could have been completed to the level it was intended without CLB," said Tamm. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Amercia Conducts Underway Replenishment Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160328-01 Release Date: 3/28/2016 9:23:00 AM By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kyle Goldberg, USS America (LHA 6) Public Affairs PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) pulled alongside the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200), March 24, and conducted underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea for the first time in more than 10 months, after completing a post-shakedown availability. UNREP demonstrates the ship's ability to sustain itself at sea and allows ships to continue its mission without the need to pull into port. Guadalupe transferred fuel to America during the complex evolution that involved America's air, deck and engineering departments working together to keep both ships perfectly aligned, receive the fuel, and have it properly tested and stored. "This was my first time serving as conning officer," said Ensign Jackson Fisher, deck department's 1st division officer. "It was an awesome experience and I'm glad the evolution went [safely]. Everyone involved did an excellent job." America's deck department prepared for several months to ensure the UNREP would be successful. Knowing they had to train their Sailors well in advance, they sent their most inexperienced personnel to ships on the San Diego waterfront to get hands-on training at sea. Additionally, the department simulated the evolution aboard America to ensure success. "We trained up until the first day of the underway," said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Christopher Vincent, assigned to deck department's 2nd Division. "At one time, I was in their shoes, and to see the look in their eyes is always fun for me. This is what we train for and that's why I love teaching the new guys." At the conclusion of the UNREP, Capt. Michael. W. Baze, America's commanding officer spoke over the 1MC, the ships announcement system, to congratulate the crew for a job well done. "I wanted to pause at the end of the successful UNREP, which, by the way, was marvelous," said Baze. America is an aviation-centric amphibious assault ship that provides forward presence and power projection as an integral part of joint interagency and multinational maritime expeditionary forces. It will support Marine aviation requirements, from small-scale contingency operations of an expeditionary strike group, to forcible entry missions in major theaters of war. America is currently conducting maritime training operations off the coast of California. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS America Performs Mass Casualty Drill Navy News Service Story Number: NNS160328-25 Release Date: 3/28/2016 3:13:00 PM By Mass Commmunication Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Colon, USS America Public Affairs USS AMERICA - At Sea (NNS) -- USS America (LHA 6) completed a series of mass casualty drills during its first underway in 10 months after completing a post-shakedown availability, March 22. The drills were designed to prepare the medical training team and ship's crew for an upcoming inspection referred to as Fleet Service Operation Medical 1.4 with Afloat Training Group, San Diego. The shipboard inspection will assess the MTT, their level of knowledge in emergency response and the crew's knowledge of basic first aid. Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Brian Butorac, Medical department's leading chief petty officer, explained the significance of having the crew prepared for any casualty. "The overall importance is making sure we are ready to go to sea," said Butorac. "Doing these drills on a day-to-day basis ensures that, at any time, if there is an accident or emergency involving an injured crew member, another crew member is ready to respond to help the fallen casualty, or possibly save a life." Each day, the training team executes a different casualty, whether it's a compound fracture, sucking chest wound, a facial wound or electrical shock. One day during the underway, the crew and MTT held seven drills sporadically throughout the ship. Their goal was to test the crew's proficiency in responding at any given moment. Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Fabiola Cesar, a member of the MTT, explained the importance of holding each individual drill. "Our drills and the knowledge we provide goes toward aiding crew readiness," said Cesar. "We have to prepare for the mission. You have to train like you fight, and you fight like you train. Once you drill, you gain the knowledge and the experience, and it becomes second nature." The last drill was a mass casualty held in the ship's forecastle. With all of the unpredictability of a mass casualty, preparation is vital to assisting injured personnel. Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jaime Cardenas, the program coordinator for casualty drills, described the crew's progress in the treatment of each casualty situation. "I can tell from the beginning that we needed some work," said Cardenas. "We were just unorganized, and as we did these drills over and over, I've seen us improve and our confidence build with every drill. I enjoy seeing the progress from where we started, and I feel confident that if we have a real casualty that we will be able to respond to it and respond well." "I love training and this is why I joined MTT," said Cesar. "I think it's awesome for the crew, and the drills we do will only help us down the road in case of any emergency." America is an aviation-centric amphibious assault ship that provides forward presence and power projection as an integral part of joint interagency and multinational maritime expeditionary forces. It will support Marine aviation requirements, from small-scale contingency operations of an expeditionary strike group, to forcible entry missions in major theaters of war. America is currently conducting maritime training operations off the coast of California. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US, Turkey Look to Expand Fight Against IS by Pamela Dockins March 28, 2016 The U.S. and Turkey are discussing plans to expand cooperation in order to put greater pressure on Islamic State (IS) militants, said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday during a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "We all have an interest in taking out Daesh, [al] Nusra terrorist organizations as fast as possible and restoring stability to the region," Kerry said, using another name for IS. Turkey, a NATO ally, is also part of the multi-national coalition that has been battling IS militants in Iraq and Syria. However, the U.S. and Turkey have been at odds over the U.S. support of Syrian Kurdish militants that Ankara says are aligned with the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), a terrorist group fighting for autonomy in Turkey. On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish security forces had captured or killed more than 5,000 Kurdish rebels aligned with the PKK since July. He commented ahead of a visit to Washington this week to take part in an international nuclear summit. Another focal point for the U.S. and Turkey is the Syrian refugee crisis. About 2.7 million Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring Turkey. "Turkey has been doing its best to host some migrants," Cavusoglu said. "We have spent more than $10 billion." Earlier Monday, the U.S. announced plans to provide an additional $20 million dollars in aid to help relief organizations assist refugees in Europe and the Middle East. The State Department said some of that funding would be directed toward relief efforts in Turkey. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Coalition Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 29, 2016 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq yesterday, 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 Iraq Attack aircraft conducted four strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government: -- Near Hit, two strikes struck an ISIL bed-down location and an ISIL safe house. -- Near Sinjar, a strike destroyed two ISIL assembly areas and suppressed an ISIL machine gun position. -- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed three ISIL assembly areas. 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, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Confirms Escorting Russian Aircraft Over Baltic Sea on March 28 Sputnik News 19:23 29.03.2016(updated 21:17 29.03.2016) The NATO official explained on Tuesday that the alliance reacted to military and civil aircraft nearing member states' airspace and not following international flight norms. BRUSSELS, March 29 (Sputnik) NATO aircraft escorted two Russian Su-27 fighter jets and a Tu-154 plane over the Baltic Sea on March 28, a NATO official confirmed on Tuesday. "On Monday 28 March, NATO radars detected three aircraft flying over the international waters of the Baltic Sea: two Russian Su-27 fighter jets and a Tu-154 transport aircraft," the official said on condition of anonymity. "The Su-27 fighters did not have a flight plan, were not communicating with the air traffic control and were not using their transponders. The Tu-154 transport aircraft had a flight plan and used its transponder," the official said adding that the aircraft "were escorted by NATO fighter jets in international airspace." A RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the Tu-154 Monday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was aboard the plane en route to the westernmost Russian exclave of Kaliningrad over neutral waters when the incident took place. NATO Eurofighters began shadowing Shoigu's plane at that time, keeping a distance of just over 1 mile and not approaching the minister's aircraft. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow, Caracas Complete Negotiations on 12 Su-30 Fighter Jets Deal Sputnik News 10:45 29.03.2016(updated 11:05 29.03.2016) A deal over selling 12 Su-30 fighter jets from Russia to Venezuela is about to be conducted. SANTIAGO (Sputnik) Moscow is expecting a response from Caracas on the commercial offer of selling 12 Su-30 fighter jets, the deputy head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said. "The according negotiations have been held and the customer has been given an offer. We're expecting a response from our Venezuelan parnters," Anatoly Punchuk told RIA Novosti in an interview on the sidelines of an arms exhibition in Chile. In November, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro confirmed the intention to buy 12 new Su-30 fighter jets for multiple purposes, including the fight against drug trafficking, particularly from Colombia Russia supplied 24 Su-30 jets to Venezuela between 2006 and 2008. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines Peace Advocates Remain Hopeful Despite Faltering Process by Simone Orendain March 29, 2016 Two years after the Philippine government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group signed a pact aimed at ending four decades of bloody unrest in the south, questions remain about where the peace process is headed. Before adjourning for a months-long break, Congress failed to pass a proposed law that would create a self-governing region for the rebel area. The legislators won't be back in session until after the May general election in which Filipinos are set to vote for a new president, who will now determine the fate of the peace process. The original measure crafted by the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiators, called the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), calls for a parliamentary form of government with shared powers at the local and national levels. The Senate could not agree on competing versions, while the House had better consensus. Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders have acknowledged discontentment among the rebel group's ranks and peace workers have expressed fears the younger generations might return to arms. The Front's head negotiator Mohagher Iqbal talked to reporters on the sidelines of a two-year anniversary commemoration of the peace pact at Notre Dame University in Cotabato City. He said since Congress ended its session, he had been crisscrossing the provinces and cities within the proposed Bangsamoro region. "That goes to show that we are really handling the situation," said Iqbal. "It's very tough. But it can also show the command and control of the MILF, that our people, our commanders, our combatants as well as members of the MILF are still listening to the MILF." In a speech at the commemoration, government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer pointed to nearly 20 years of peace negotiations in which both sides overcame breakdowns that lead to skirmishes. "With all due respect, I disagree with those who are saying that we have nothing to celebrate because we did not get the BBL," she said. Speaking with reporters, Ferrer highlighted programs and aspects of the deal that were not dependent on the passage of the law. She noted the skills training programs underway to help former rebels in the deeply impoverished Muslim-majority region. Jacob Palao, a 57-year old rebel who participated in a decommissioning event in June last year, attended the commemoration at Notre Dame. The former deputy commander for the rebels' combat operations told VOA he was completing training in dressmaking. He also said his son, who had to stop college because the family could no longer afford it, had gone back to school thanks to help from the decommissioning program, which includes $53 million for education, social welfare and other benefits. Palao, a spokesman for the dozens of rebels who laid down their arms last year, said the fighters would continue to support the process despite the non-passage of a basic law and a change in administration. "As long as our peace panels are still there working, we will not lose hope," he said. But as it stands the current peace process has fallen far behind its proposed timeline of having the law passed, the autonomous region determined and a new local parliament in place by June this year. That is when President Benigno Aquino steps down. International Alert's Philippine country manager Francisco Lara said peace-builders like his organization are looking at three scenarios once Aquino leaves: a continuation of what started under the current administration, making the proposed basic law a starting point with expected revisions or entering into new negotiations altogether. He said that last option could see the rebels walk away. Lara said the programs that are part of the peace pact but do not fall under the proposed law will be particularly vulnerable because whoever comes into office may not prioritize funding for them. "They don't need to shut it down. All they need to do is just ignore those bodies that have been created. I'm talking about the decommissioning bodies, the normalization committees, the transitional justice and reconciliation committees," he said. Lara said as long as there is no formal termination of these offices, the terms of the signed pact are not violated. In his speech at the commemoration of the agreement, Iqbal emphasized the importance of the pact. "Now that our legitimate grievances and aspirations have already been recognized and affirmed not only by the government of the Republic of the Philippines but the nations of the world, do you we have to stop in our struggle just because the moment is not favorable to us?" said Iqbal. "No. I personally urge everyone to stand up for peace. Long live the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro." Decades of fighting in the southern Philippines has left more than 120,000 dead. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address M-1978 / M1989 (KOKSAN) 170mm self propelled (SP) gun The M-1978 (KOKSAN) 170mm self propelled (SP) gun, of North Korean design and manufacture, is probably mounted on a T-54 chasis, a Chinese Type 59 hull or a T62 Chassis [most soruces tend towards the Type 59 tank chassis, the CHICOM derivative of the T-54]. The 170mm gun has no superstructure, and it has 2 large spades at the rear. The 170mm (~6.69") gun itself is a previously unknown type, possibly Russian coastal-defence or ex-naval weapon. The M-1978 Koksan gun was first noted publicly in a parade in 1985. The Koksan is named after the city in North Korea where it was first seen by the West in 1978. The M-1978 version carried no on-board ammunition supply. The M1989 KOKSAN is a later version or modified M1978 which carries 12 rounds on-board ammunition supply. The installation position of the early M1979 artillery used the rare "slide cover" technology-the artillery body is installed on the gun base, and the gun base is not It is not directly rigidly fixed to the chassis of the T-54/55, but first a layer of rails are installed on the T-54/55, and then the gun mount is placed on the rails. This is a very strange approach, because the rail on the car body is parallel to the car body, instead of the inclined track or the track with the rear seat device of the mixed rear seat, which is common in the retreat gun, and the related From the photos taken during the military parade and inspection, we can find that the position of the M1979 artillery is not static, but sometimes in the middle and sometimes in the rear. If it is in combat, in addition to the rear hoe, the gun mount is also located in the vehicle at the back of the body. So what artillery may be the source of reference for this country? First of all, many people think that the gun is completely copied from the Soviet-made S-23 gun, but this is just a layman. The S-23's artillery retreat and recoil machine is installed in the lower part of the barrel. Among the Gushan Cannon, the early M1978 adopts a trough-shaped cradle design, and the barrel is fixed in the trough and slides back and forth. Although both used vertical push-type balancing machines, there were too many heavy artillery of 150 or more with similar designs in that era. Even harder to find, the arrangement of the retreat and retreat aircraft of the K-18 170mm artillery of Nazi Germany is somewhat similar to the trackless version of the Gushan Cannon exported to Iran by a certain country captured by the US military in Iraq. However, this model is a transitional model from M1978 to the final version of M1989, not an early prototype. And if the source of the M1979 version is its own guide rail, then considering that the barrel length 70 times diameter of this gun fits the design of the cannon, a special coastal fortress gun is likely to be the reference blueprint for that peculiar gun mount. North Korea used them in batteries of 36 vehicles & supplied them to Iran when missiles became available as replacements. These foreign trade versions have complex designs. In addition to the traditional U-groove cradle version, there is also a combined cradle without back seat track. In addition, the artillery of these two types of cradles also has a variety of sub-models including at least slotted and pepper-bottle muzzle brakes. Later, the M1989 version also appeared dual-chamber brakes, which also shows from the side that the People's Army has been modifying the main gun. It is difficult to say whether these transitional models are improved in response to customer needs or if they have found a takeover during the improvement process. However, the models delivered from these are all T-54 chassis and no auxiliary loading mechanism, and it has not been long since the appearance of M1989 at this time, perhaps the statement of cleaning up the inventory in the improvement test is more realistic. As for M1989, it can be regarded as a complete version of the main thought cannon. The most important feature of M1989 is the comprehensive upgrade of the chassis. It uses a chassis similar to T-62 and pulls the skin. The guide rails are removed and the artillery is placed at the rear. About 12 rounds of ammunition racks were reserved, and the overall artillery cradle was changed to a combined cradle that requires higher materials but is lighter and more efficient, making the recoil curve of the artillery smoother. The overall shape is similar to the Soviet 2S7 self-propelled artillery, and the shape is more modern, and the overall center of gravity is also significantly reduced, which improves the passability. During the Iran-Iraq War, key oil facilities of both nations were within artillery range of each other's armies. By June 1982, the Iraqis had been driven completely out of Iran. From that point on, Iraq spent most of the war on the defensive. In 1986 and the beginning of 1987, Iran launched new offensives, the last reaching the outskirts of Basra before again bogging down. Meanwhile, Iraq initiated a new tanker war in the Gulf, prompting Iran to target neutral shipping. Kuwait provided billions of dollars in loans and grants to support Iraq, and found itself in the middle of the combatants. Iran acquired a number of M1978 Koksan guns from North Korea in 1987. "At that time, it was the longest-range field gun made anywhere in the world, capable of firing a rocket-assisted projectile to a range of almost 60 kilometers. It had been used by the Iranians to conduct harassment fire from the Al-Faw Peninsula into Kuwait's northeastern oil fields." [Ally to Adversary, page 27] With the Iran/Iraq War raging just to the north, fighting spilled over into Kuwait, and the steady pounding from the artillery barrages just to north shook the walls in Kuwait City. Even the range advantage failed to save the reputation of the "Tanishan Cannon". Iranian gunners soon discovered that these weapons were not only inaccurate but also inconvenient to use: although the tank body was used as the chassis, it could not carry any gunner or ammunition. The rate of fire of its artillery is one round every three minutes, and manpower is required to slowly lower the barrel every time it is reloaded; not only that, because the length of the cannon exceeds 15 meters, it is difficult for the "Gushan Cannon" to even maneuver on curved roads -This quickly diminished the interest of Iranians. During the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq captured more than a dozen North Korean "Gushan Cannons" from Iran. In the Gulf War in 1991, some of these artillery were seized by the U.S. Army. The U.S. military made detailed information about the North Korean "Gushan Cannons". The test gave an accurate understanding of the performance of "Gushan Cannon". U.S. military tests have proved that although the "Tanishan Cannon" has a maximum range of 45 kilometers when using a rocket extended-range projectile, the rate of fire is very low due to the complicated design, and the normal rate of fire can only reach one round in 5 minutes. At present, the mainstream 152/155 self-propelled howitzers in the world can usually reach 50 kilometers using rocket extended-range projectiles, and the Chinese 05 can even reach 55 kilometers; todays mainstream self-propelled howitzers are equipped with semi-automatic loader, and the average rate of fire is 5-6 rounds per minute, 8 rounds per minute can be fired quickly, and the firepower density is at least 25 times that of the "Gushan Cannon". Since 1993, the North has reinforced its artillery capability in the forward area. As of 1998 the South Korean military estimated that the DPRK had finished deploying 170mm self-propelled artillery with their range of over 50km and 240mm MRLS in the central and western areas, and was in the process of increasing deployment of these two weapons systems in the eastern area. North Korea continues to improve its military. Highlighting these enhancements is an ambitious program to improve ground forces capabilities. A key component of this initiative involves the deployment of large numbers of long-range 240mm multiple rocket launcher systems and 170mm self-propelled guns to hardened sites located near the Demilitarized Zone. With the exception of the 170mm M-1978 Koksan gun, a new turreted self-propelled gun observed in a 1992 parade, and perhaps a few other systems, most artillery was developed from older Soviet and Chinese designs. The M1989 Koksan was a further development of the M1978 Koksan. It carries the same 170mm Soviet Costal Gun mounted on a new chassis which can carry 12 on-board rounds. Both M1989 and M1978 are located over the DMZ these vehicles were designed to hit Seoul from the DMZ. The M1989 was introduced in 1983 and presented a lengthened chassis with a front cabin reminiscent of the Soviet 2S7 Pion. According to one report, a South Korean security analyst suggested that DPRK artillery pieces of calibers 170mm and 240mm "could fire 10,000 rounds per minute to Seoul and its environs." The number of Koksan guns is not publicly reported, but it is reliably reported that North Korea has about 500 long-range artillery tubes within range of Seoul, double the levels of a the mid-1990s. Large caliber self propelled artillery pieces typically have a sustained rate of fire of between four and eight rounds per minute. This suggests a total rate of fire of artillery alone of between 2,000 and 4,000 rounds per minute. The DPRK's two hundred 240mm MRLs fire either 12 or 22 rounds, providing a maximum single salvo of no more than 4,400 rounds. North Korea is establishing a host of antitank defensive positions on the eastern and western fronts of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that bisects the two Koreas. The North Korean army has been building antitank defensive positions north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in Kangwon Province since March 2001, and in early 2002 such positions were going up along the western front as well. It is exceptional for the North to build defensive facilities as its strategy has always centered on an offensive posture. The North has demanded that South Korea abolish its defensive concrete walls, designed to deter advancing North Korean tanks, south of the MDL. By January 2002 fifty more positions had reportedly been spotted on flat land and roads, which ensure that tanks and other vehicles can be conveniently maneuvered. The positions are reportedly five meter-high concrete structures with holes at the front, left and right for antitank guns. The structures are camouflaged by earth and sand after completion. Given North Korea's reliance on artillery as the foundation of their combat power and the size of these positions, they are likely designed for self-propelled artillery pieces such as North Korea's Koksan Gun. The height of the positions is much more then is required to provide protection for either tanks or anti-tank guns. Tanks are usually employed "hull down" in which only the turret is exposed and anti-tank guns which have little use against modern armor, normally seek to fire at the flank of armored vehicles at close range in restricted terrain. Anti-tank guns are of little value against the K-1 and M-60s of south Korea's military. North Korea's only realistic chance to take out modern armor is with the use of anti-tank missiles, mines, or close infantry assault. On 07 March 2016, South Korea and the United States began joint annual war games "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle," which Pyongyang claimed were rehearsals for northward invasion. On 26 March 2016 the DPRK threatened to fire long-range artillery at Seoul unless South Korean President Park Geun-hye apologizes and punishes those who planned striking the DPRK leadership. Pyongyang issued the warning in an ultimatum sent to the Park administration by the artillery force of the Korean People's Army(KPA). The ultimatum urged Park to offer "an official apology" to all Korean people for "dare attempts to slander and do harm to the sun of Songun," which refers to the DPRK's top leader, Kim Jong Un. Korean Central News Agency reported that "The recent simultaneous firings conducted by the long-range artillery force of the Korean People's Army, rocking the earth and sky, turned the imaginary enemy bases of provocation into a sea of flames in a flash. This was a great eruption of its irrepressible hatred and wrath at the enemy which committed the thrice-cursed act of daring attempt to hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK. It was, at the same time, the beginning of the merciless retaliatory campaign to put the most miserable end to the Park Geun Hye group of south Korea." Korean Central News Agency reported 27 March 2016 that "Citizens in the DPRK fully support the ultimatum to the south Korean puppet group recently issued by the long-range artillery force of the Korean People's Army. Kim Han Il, manager of the Chollima Steel Complex, told KCNA: "The KPA's ultimatum is as good as the last warning to those provokers by the workers of my complex. The respected Marshal Kim Jong Un is the great sun of Songun Korea representing the destiny and future of the Korean nation. It is a never-to-be-condoned crime to point an accusing finger at the sun."" NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan to set up law banning people from joining ISIS ROC Central News Agency 2016/03/28 15:47:01 Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The National Security Bureau (NSB) said Monday that it will deliver to the Legislature during its current session a bill that bans Taiwan nationals from joining ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks around the world, including the one in Brussels last week that killed at least 30 people and wounded 230 others. At a hearing of the legislative Foreign and National Defense Committee, NSB Director-General John Yang () said that there is no "legal tool" in force in Taiwan that can be used to stop Taiwanese people from joining ISIS. The bureau had tried to promote the formation of such a tool in the previous Legislative Yuan session, which, however, did not approve it before the end of its four-year term, Yang said, noting that they will do that again in the newly elected legislature. Yang was answering questions from Kuomintang lawmaker Chiang Chi-chen () at the hearing on what Taiwan can do to prevent foreigners overseas from entering Taiwan to carry out terrorist activities. Chiang asked if it is illegal for Taiwanese nationals to join ISIS. If not, how can the relevant authorities prevent terrorist attacks like those in Brussels from happening in Taiwan? he asked. The lawmaker also said that under the existing law, which protects freedom of speech, people can spread words online supporting ISIS. He expressed hope that the relevant authorities can do something about this by revising the relevant regulations as soon as possible. (By Lu Hsin-hui and Elizabeth Hsu) ENDITEM/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 8 people in Taiwan have shown interest in joining ISIS: NSB ROC Central News Agency 2016/03/28 17:45:02 Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The National Security Bureau (NSB) is monitoring eight people in Taiwan who have shown an interest in joining the Islamic State (ISIS), NSB Director-General Yang Kuo-chiang () said Monday. These people have been discovered to have left their personal data on the website of the terrorist organization, Yang told lawmakers during a legislative hearing on measures to prevent foreign nationals from engaging in terrorist activities in Taiwan in the wake of the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. Yang did not elaborate on the identities of these eight people. He also said that the NSB has compiled a list of 35 suspected foreign terrorists who are barred from entry into Taiwan and will constantly update the list as part of its efforts to monitor and respond to the threat posed by foreign terrorists. National Police Agency Deputy Director-General Chen Jia-chang (), meanwhile, said his agency judges that the likelihood of a terror attack occurring in Taiwan is relatively low. (By Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low) ENDITEM/J NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistani forces launch anti-terror drive after bomber killed 72 People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 18:49, March 28, 2016 ISLAMABAD, March 28 -- Pakistani security forces have launched operations in parts of eastern Punjab province where a suicide bomber killed at least 72 people and injured 315 others at a crowded park, the army said Monday. A Pakistani Taliban splinter group "Jamaat-ul-Ahrar" claimed responsibility for the attack in Lahore Sunday evening and its spokesman said minority Christians were its target. Christians were at the park to celebrate Easter. Police officials, however, said 44 were Muslims among those killed. The security forces conducted operations in some major cities in Punjab hours after the blast. "Intelligence agencies with Army military 'Rangers' carried out 5 operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan in Punjab since last night. Operations continue with more leads coming in," the army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa said. "A number of suspect terrorists and facilitators arrested and huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered," he said in a statement. The army chief, Gen Raheel Sharif, presided over a high level security meeting to review progress of operation in Punjab to nab terrorists in the aftermath of Lahore blast, the spokesman said. Separately Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also chaired a meeting to review security after the deadly terrorist attack in the relatively peaceful city. Official sources told the media the meeting agreed to take action against the "suspected facilitators" of the militant groups. The prime minister, who postponed his visit to London, also visited a main hospital Monday morning and inquired about their health. Sharif was scheduled to leave for London on Monday for his onward journey to Washington where he will represent Pakistan in a nuclear summit. He will now leave for Washington after two days. Mourning day is being observed across the country against the Lahore suicide attack. The national flag is flying at half-mast at all the government buildings. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Develops New Heavy-Class Communications Satellite Sputnik News 19:08 28.03.2016(updated 19:23 28.03.2016) A new Blagovest heavy-class communications satellite is being developed by Russia's Information Satellite Systems - Reshetnev Company, the enterprise's corporate newspaper reported Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) At present, the satellite is being prepared for the next stage of testing, to check its radio performance. "Work on a new telecommunications satellite is ongoing in the workshops of the Reshetnev Company. It is a Blagovest heavy-class satellite," an article in the publication reads. The satellite is due to work in a geostationary orbit for at least 15 years. It is based on the Ekspress-2000 satellite platform. The satellite is designed for high-speed data transmission. It will provide consumers with telephone and video conferencing, as well as granting access to broadband Internet. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPRK Foreign Minister Interviewed by TASS Foreign News Editor Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS) Pyongyang, March 29 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong gave the following answers to the questions put by the foreign news editor of TASS Tuesday as regards the DPRK's stand to cope with the situation prevailing on the Korean peninsula: The U.S. extremely hostile policy and nuclear threat to the DPRK have been the root cause of escalating tensions on the peninsula and compelling the latter to bolster up its nuclear deterrence. The U.S. has posed a nuclear threat to the DPRK since long before the latter's access to nuclear weapons and adopted it as its policy to mount a preemptive nuclear attack and staged ceaseless nuclear war drills to put it into practice. It attempted to mount a nuclear attack on the DPRK already in the past Korean war. Since the 1950s, it has threatened and blackmailed the DPRK by shipping huge nuclear weapons into south Korea. The Bush administration listed the DPRK as "part of the axis of evil" and target of its preemptive nuclear attack. This policy remains unchanged till now. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that the Obama administration excluded the DPRK from the list of the countries for non-use of nuclear weapons in April, 2010 and declared a preemptive attack on the DPRK while staging joint military drills with huge nuclear strike means involved in south Korea. The U.S. is now staging nuclear attack drills against the DPRK by amassing all its strategic nuclear strike means in south Korea and in its vicinity. No country in the world has been exposed to such serious and potential nuclear threat as what Pyongyang is now experiencing. It is quite natural for the DPRK to counter the U.S. nuclear weapons in kind. As the U.S. has worked hard to stifle the DPRK with nuclear weapons, the latter was compelled to have access to nukes to protect the sovereignty and vital right of the nation to cope with it. The U.S. is the arch criminal who pushed the DPRK to have access to nuclear weapons. The decades-long U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail have prompted the DPRK to do so. The only way to cope with the constant nuclear threat and war provocations of the U.S., the world's only user of nuclear weapons and biggest nuclear weapons state, is to achieve the equilibrium of strength by bolstering up nuclear armed force. The DPRK has tremendous military muscle capable of fighting any type of war desired by the U.S. It opened to public real miniaturized and light nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic rockets and showed the capability of the atmospheric re-entry of inter-continental ballistic rocket. The DPRK will further strengthen the state defence capacity with the nuclear force as its pivot to cope with the reckless hostile moves of the U.S. and its undisguised nuclear threat. In the future, the development speed of the DPRK's nuclear force will depend on how the U.S. will behave and how its viewpoint on the former will change. The U.S. is now busy with madcap largest-ever Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 16 joint military maneuvers targeting the DPRK across south Korea despite its repeated warnings. The war rehearsals in which hundreds of thousands of armed forces and various nuclear strategic means are involved are now under way under the simulated conditions involving nuclear preemptive attack on the DPRK and "beheading operation" aiming at a the supreme headquarters and "regime change," in particular. The U.S. unhesitatingly declared that the joint military drills were aimed to finally examine the feasibility of a war of aggression against the north, thus completely discarding the deceptive and shameless cloak of "annual and defensive ones" though they have been billed outwardly so far. The situation of the Korean peninsula is driven to the brink of war as the U.S. is making a preemptive attack an established fact while staging actual maneuvers under the simulated conditions of all kinds of surprise attack against the DPRK. It has become quite obvious that the DPRK can never remain a passive onlooker to the imminent U.S. threat of aggression. The DPRK has shifted all the military counteraction modes to preemptive attack ones to cope with the U.S. nuclear war hysteria and declared the will to mount a decisive preemptive nuclear attack. In a word, the Korean peninsula is standing at the crossroads of a thermonuclear war and peace. The extremely tense situation prevailing on the Korean peninsula is something unprecedented and the whole world including your country is closely watching it with great concern and uneasiness. In order to prevent the vicious cycle of ever-escalating tension on the peninsula, defuse the danger of war and ensure peace and security, one should not just watch phenomena in sight but properly judge their root cause and take measures for rooting out them, to begin with. All the countries desirous of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region should watch with vigilance the moves of the U.S. regarding the DPRK as its primary target of attack after shifting the strategic pivot for world domination to the Asia-Pacific region and make due efforts to prevent them. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korean Nuclear Rhetoric Against US May Be a Request for Talks Sputnik News 06:50 29.03.2016(updated 08:27 29.03.2016) North Korea's heightened nuclear rhetoric against the United States and its allies may signal a desire to reengage in nuclear talks, Japanese member of the International Atomic Energy Agency Nobumasa Akiyama told Sputnik. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Over the weekend, a source at the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that North Korea would like to hold talks with the United States, noting that Pyongyang has conducted its recent missile tests in response to a US rejection of talks. "North Koreans, although they are trying to escalate in their messages against the United States in my opinion, signal for a request for dialogue," Akiyama said on Monday. Akiyama noted that the reports from the Russian government are likely "a true signal," but questioned whether both sides of the potential nuclear talks are "really ready to discuss with some specific idea" the modalities of an nuclear agreement with North Korea. "So far, it is going to be very difficult for us to acknowledge the North Korean nuclear weapon capabilities. And on their side, definitely they are not going to give up [their nuclear weapons]," Akiyama stated. Since the start of 2016, North Korea has tested a nuclear device, followed by a series of short and medium-range rocket launches, and a long-range missile test. In response to Pyongyang's actions, the UN Security Council imposed harsh sanctions on North Korea in February, followed by additional sanctions by the United States. North Korea had been engaged in nuclear talks up through 2009 under the Six Party framework, involving Russia, China, South Korea, Japan and the United States. The talks were aimed at ensuring a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow, New Delhi in Talks on Modernization of Indian Submarine Fleet Sputnik News 16:59 29.03.2016(updated 17:01 29.03.2016) Sergey Goreslavsky, who is deputy director general of the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, said that Russia and India are negotiating the prospects for the development of the Indian Navy's diesel-electric submarine fleet. GOA (India)(Sputnik) Russia and India are in talks on the modernization of Russian-built Varshavyanka-class submarines, which form part of the Indian Navy fleet, Sergei Goreslavsky, who is deputy director general of the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, said on Tuesday. Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric submarines feature advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike at land, surface and underwater targets. "We are negotiating the prospects for the development of the Indian Navy's diesel-electric submarine fleet. [We are] in talks on determining the prospects for upgrading Varshavyanka-class submarines, which were previously delivered to the country [India]," Goreslavsky told reporters, speaking at the Defexpo India 2016 military exhibition. Russia and India have enjoyed mutually beneficial strategic relations, especially in the field of defense and military cooperation, since the 1960s. The Defexpo India 2016 exhibition is being held in the Indian state of Goa on March 28-31. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq Security Forces Thwart Daesh Attack on Army Units Near Mosul Sputnik News 18:26 28.03.2016 Iraqi security forces foiled an attack by Daesh jihadist group on military units to the south of the country's second largest city, Mosul, and eliminated 32 Daesh militants, local media reported Monday citing a security source. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Last week, Iraqi military command announced the start of a campaign to liberate the northern Nineveh province from Daesh militants, after it successfully regained control over several villages in the suburbs of its capital Mosul. "Nineveh Liberation Operations Command foiled an attack by Daesh group on the units of the 15th Brigade [of the Iraqi Army] in a village south of Mosul," the Alsumaria television channel quoted the source as saying. According to the source, 17 of the eliminated terrorists were suicide bombers. Daesh, a terrorist group that is outlawed in Russia and the United States, among many other countries, took Mosul and some of its surrounding areas in June 2014. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan Detains Over 200 Suspects in Lahore Bombing by Ayaz Gul March 29, 2016 Authorities in Pakistan have detained more than 200 suspected Islamist militants in a major crackdown in connection with Sunday's suicide bombing in Lahore that killed at least 72 people, many of them Christians celebrating Easter. The deadly attack occurred at a crowded public park in the capital of the country's most populous province of Punjab. Twenty-nine children were among the dead while more than 300 other people were wounded. Investigations Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told reporters Tuesday that police and special counter-terrorism units, led by intelligence agents, have conducted scores of raids across Punjab and rounded up more than 5,000 people. Investigators later released all but 216 people who are undergoing further investigation, he said, adding the crackdown is continuing with a determination to bring the perpetrators of the Lahore carnage to justice. In a separate news conference in Islamabad, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. General Asim Bajwa said that intelligence agencies along with regular and paramilitary troops are also carrying out operations against suspected "sleeper cells" and "terrorist hideouts" in several cities of Punjab. Jamaatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it was intentionally aimed at the Christians. The group's spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, vowed to carry out more such attacks in Punjab, prompting authorities to temporarily close all public parks across the province. In his latest message, the spokesman also threatened to attack local media. "Everyone will get their turn in this war, especially the slave Pakistani mediaWe are just waiting for the appropriate time," the spokesman said in a Twitter post. The Easter Sunday bombing was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since a December 2014 militant raid on a school in Peshawar that killed nearly 150 people, mostly children. Punjab is Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political power base, where 60 percent of Pakistan's 190 million people are located. The Pakistani Taliban and its affiliated militant outfits have been waging an insurgency against the state for more than a decade, killing tens of thousands of people. Vow to punish those responsible In a televised national address Monday night, Prime Minister Sharif vowed to intensify counter-terrorism and anti-extremism operations in the country to punish those responsible for killing innocent Pakistanis. "We are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest until it is paid," he said. A major military-led ground and air counter-insurgency operation has been under way in semi-autonomous tribal areas near the Afghan border since 2014. The region is known to have harbored local and foreign militants for years. Officials insist that the operation has significantly reduced militant violence across the country, describing recent attacks on "soft targets" like public places an act of desperation by the militants. In the wake of the Lahore bombing, Sharif canceled a planned to trip to the United States, where he was to attend a nuclear security summit starting on Thursday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Arms Exports Totaled $14.5Bln in 2015 - Putin Sputnik News 18:12 29.03.2016(updated 19:54 29.03.2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin said that exports of Russian military equipment in 2015 exceeded expectations and totaled $14.5 billion. NIZHNY NOVGOROD (Russia) (Sputnik) Russia's arms exports in 2015 exceeded expectations and totaled $14.5 billion, while the current foreign orders portfolio stands at over 56 billion, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. "Exports of Russian military equipment in 2015 exceeded our expectations and totaled $14.5 billion," Putin said at a meeting of the presidential commission on military-technical cooperation with foreign states. According to the president, Russia is maintaining a solid second place among global leaders in arms trade. "Our foreign orders portfolio is growing. Last year, we signed arms export contracts exceeding $26 billionAs a result, the current arms export orders portfolio has exceeded $56 billion for the first time since 1992," Putin stressed. Russia delivered military equipment to 58 countries in 2015 while expanding its presence to new markets in Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East, Vladimir Putin said. Putin said that Russia's key partners in military-technical cooperation were countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as India, Iraq, Egypt, Vietnam, China and Algeria. "In addition, we are actively exploring new arms markets in Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East," Putin added. Vladimir Putin also noted that he hopes that a possible revival of military-technical cooperation between Russia and Europe would help increase trust. "Military-technical cooperation with European countries has almost stopped. I would like to underline that this was not at our initiative and we expect that this is a temporary situation," Putin said at a meeting with Russia's Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation. The president told the commission he was confident that it was in the interests of all European countries to restore transparent and productive cooperation in all areas, including within the military-technical field. "Of course, this will increase trust," he said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Campaign Pays Off as Moscow Lands Military Contracts Sputnik News 14:53 29.03.2016(updated 14:56 29.03.2016) The Russian Aerospace Forces' success in Syria has already attracted the attention of a whole array of foreign customers, with the total value of the military contracts expected to be ten times that of the anti-terrorist operation itself, according to the Russian daily Kommersant. Russia may benefit significantly from the success of its air operation in Syria; the value of contracts for the purchase of advanced Russian arms that it has received in the wake of the campaign are due to be ten times that of the operation itself, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. In the next few years, Russia may clinch such contracts, worth about seven billion dollars, as compared with the 33 billion rubles that were spend on the country's air campaign in Syria, the newspaper said. According to the Kommersant, the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has already received plenty of proposals pertaining to purchasing advanced Russian military hardware, mainly aircraft. Algeria, for example, plans to buy 12 Russian Su-32 frontline bombers and new-generation 35S multi-role fighter jets; the contract cost for the Su-35S fighters is expected to total about 1.5 billion dollars. Additionally, Algeria signed an agreement to buy 40 Russian Mi-28NE combat helicopters, with the deal estimated by experts to be worth around 700 million dollars, according to Kommersant. Egypt, for its part, is set to buy 46 advanced Russian Ka-52 multi-role attack helicopters already next year. As for the Su-35S, plans to purchase such warplanes are currently being considered by Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan; Russia's deals with Hanoi and Islamabad are expected to be worth more than one billion dollars. A video of the Russian T-90 battle tank surviving a hit by a US-made TOW missile may add significantly to an increase in demand for the tank from foreign customers, including those from Iran, Iraq and the former Soviet republics, Kommersant said. Last but not least is the customers' interest in the sophisticated Russian S-400 air defense system, the newspaper added, referring to Russia's possible agreements with Saudi Arabia and India, which would be worth about four billion dollars. Between September 30, 2015 and March 14, 2016, the Russian air campaign in Syria added considerably to disrupting the supply of arms and ammunition to the terrorists, cutting off the main channels of illegal oil supplies and pushing back terrorists in several Syrian provinces. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's Rouhani urges lasting ceasefire in Syria Iran Press TV Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:5PM Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has called for the continuation of ceasefire in Syria and acceleration of political negotiations to end a foreign-backed war that has gripped the Arab country for over five years. "Concurrent with the ceasefire, political negotiations should speed up and it should be noted that this truce and political negotiations should not disrupt the relentless campaign against terrorists and terrorist groups in Syria," Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. He added that cooperation and consultation among Iran and Russia would play a leading role in consolidating peace and stability in Syria. "Only the Syrian people can decide about Syria and the future of the country's political system," Rouhani said. He hailed the Syrian government forces' recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra from the Daesh terrorist group, saying it indicates that the Syrian army and people have become stronger. Following four weeks of military operations against Daesh, Syrian forces, backed by popular defense groups and Russian air cover, wrested back control of Palmyra in the western province of Homs on Sunday. The Iranian president said protecting borders and blocking the flow of arms and terrorist recruits into Syria as well as preventing terrorists from participating in Syria peace talks under the aegis of the opposition are "undeniable necessities." Delegations representing the Syrian government and the foreign-backed opposition groups have recently been holding UN-brokered indirect peace talks. Damascus says the talks have hit an impasse on several occasions due to obstructionist measures by the Syrian opposition. The ceasefire in Syria went into effect on February 27. Russia and the United States mediated the truce agreement. Putin, for his part, briefed Rouhani on the latest talks between Russia and the US on Syria and said all efforts are aimed at settling the crisis in the Arab country through peaceful approaches while Tehran and Moscow have full coordination in this regard. He added that terrorists should not be allowed to join the opposition during political talks on Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia ground troops not invloved in Palmyra operation: Kremlin Iran Press TV Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:16PM The Kremlin says Russian ground forces did not participate in the Syrian government's operations to push back the Daesh Takfiri militants from the ancient city of Palmyra. Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, made the remarks in a teleconference with reporters on Monday, saying that Russian Air Force, however, has been assisting the Syrian army and will continue its operations against Takfiri militants in the Arab country. "Our armed forces are not conducting any land operations there," Peskov said, adding, "After the withdrawal of part of our [military] contingent from Syria, air force units remaining at two bases - in Hmeymim and Tartus - will continue fighting terrorist groups ... and will continue supporting the Syrian army's offensive." Russia launched an aerial campaign against the Daesh Takfiri terrorists and other militant groups in Syria on September 30, 2015, upon a request from the Damascus government. The air raids have expedited the advances of Syrian forces against militants. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian forces had been ordered to leave Syria. It came in the wake of a Russia-US brokered cessation of hostilities that has been in place since February 27 and a new round of UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and the opposition. Also on Monday, Russia's state TV channel, Rossiya-24, said three heavy attack helicopters, together with a number of engineers and technical staff, left Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria on board an Antonov-124 transport airplane. A Russian officer at the airbase in the Syrian city of Latakia said that the remaining Russian forces in Syria were enough "to repel at any moment any attack and accomplish any military tasks." The Russian strikes have drawn criticism from Western governments and their allies in the Middle East, which have been supporting the militants operating in the region. The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has claimed the lives of some 470,000 people, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria can restore Palmyra in five years: Official Iran Press TV Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:44PM Syria's director general of antiquities and museums says the country can restore the ruins of ancient city of Palmyra, which were damaged by the Daesh Takfiri militants, in five years. "If we have UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation)'s approval, we will need five years to restore the structures damaged or destroyed by IS (Daesh)," Ma'amoun Abdulkarim said on Monday. He noted that Syria has qualified experts and knowledge in the field and that his department can start the restoration of the structures in a year. "Eighty percent of the ruins are in good shape. My expert colleagues arrive today in Palmyra. I have asked them to assess the stones and the old city. They are taking pictures of the damage and documenting everything, and then the restoration can begin," Abdulkarim added. His remarks came a day after Syrian forces liberated Palmyra in the west-central Homs Province, inflicting heavy losses on Daesh militants. The Takfiri group took control of the ancient city in May 2015. The militants used the city's ancient amphitheater as a location for public executions and killed Khaled al-Assa'ad, the city's former antiquities chief. Daesh militants also demolished Ba'al Shamin shrine and destroyed the 2000-year-old Temple of Bel and detonated the Arch of Triumph that dated back to 200 AD. Militants also destroyed a number of tower tombs. The major gain came after Syrian army advances in the western and northern parts of Palmyra during the previous several days and intensive military operations in the south. The liberation of Palmyra now opens up eastern Syria to the army dealing a heavy blow to the Takfiri Daesh terrorists, who are in control of most of the two provinces of Dayr al-Zawr and Raqqah. With Palmyra under control, Syrian soldiers are determined to step up their anti-Daesh offensives on various fronts "on top being Dayr al-Zawr and Raqqah," two provinces in Syria's east and north, respectively, the General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces said in a statement on Sunday. Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by a militancy it blames on some foreign governments. The conflict has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 470,000 people. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow: Recapture of Palmyra Helps Political Process in Syria Sputnik News 20:12 28.03.2016(updated 20:13 28.03.2016) Moscow considers the recent success in the fight against terrorists in Syria as a real chance to help advance the political process in the war-torn country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to the statement, Russia will continue its support of anti-terrorist operations in Syria, but Moscow insists that only the Syrians can and should accomplish the task of eliminating terrorists and extremists on entire Syrian territory. "The military gains in the fight against terrorism open real prospects of political settlement in the Syrian crisis, which is vital for long-term normalization of the situation in Syria," the ministry said in a statement commenting on a recent recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra. "As the recapture of Palmyra clearly shows, the Syrian army has achieved a turning point in its decisive fight against terrorists by regaining strategic initiative," the statement said. The Syrian army confirmed Sunday that it had liberated the historic city of Palmyra from Daesh terrorist group with support of national aviation and Russian Aerospace Forces. Palmyra, located 210 kilometers away from Damascus, is considered key for advancing to the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa in eastern Syria. The town of Palmyra and its historic ruins have been under Daesh Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daesh Crosses Turkey-Syria Border Despite Ankara's Efforts to Stem Flow Sputnik News 17:09 28.03.2016(updated 17:44 28.03.2016) Turkey is trying to retain control over its borders, but Daesh militants are still managing to penetrate the country. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Turkey is trying to retain total control over its borders, but Daesh extremists are still managing to penetrate the country, exploiting the unstable regional situation, residents of the southern Turkish Hatay province and local sources told Sputnik. "Ankara can prevent the infiltration of jihadi elements across the border, but [Islamic] State continues to transport jihadists, taking advantage of the situation in the region," journalist Ali Demirhan said. Turkey is fully capable of using its intelligence and security forces in the fight against militants, he noted. "A large number of servicemen are deployed at the border and [at] its crossings. The state strictly controls the border and knows everything," Demirhan asserted. The Turkish authorities have begun implementing a variety of security measures to stem the flow of terrorists across the border, sources in the Turkish town of Antakya near the Syrian border, said. "They strengthened the[ir] control over the border a year ago, after the killing of a Turkish border guard in [the district of] Yayladagi by Nusra Front militants. However, before, throughout the Syrian crisis, they've been keeping the borders open," one of the sources noted. A former head of Karbeyaz village in the Hatay province echoed the words of the local sources, confirming that the Turkey's frontier service had intensified its control in recent years. "The Turkish command has sent artillery to strategic points. [Border] control is complicated by the previous policy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which kept the borders open," he explained. Al-Nusra Front militants do not even have to hide their identities, they move freely through the streets of the town of Yayladagi along with the local population and cross the border whenever they want, a resident of the town stated. The Turkish security services have continuously insisted that they are attentively patrolling the 550-mile southern border with Syria. However, militants of various radical Islamist groups continue to slip through the Turkish-Syrian border. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia continued to see militants crossing the border between Turkey and Syria and weapons being smuggled into the war-torn country. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia to Deploy Sappers, Robots to Syria to Demine Palmyra Sputnik News 14:11 28.03.2016(updated 14:12 28.03.2016) Russia will deploy sappers and specialized robots to Syria in the next few days to demine the recently liberated city of Palmyra, Russian General Staff head Army General Valery Gerasimov said Monday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Syrian army confirmed Sunday that it had liberated the historic city of Palmyra from Daesh terrorist group with support of national aviation and Russian Aerospace Forces. Later on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had instructed the Russian Defense Ministry to provide maximum support to Syria in demining Palmyra. "In line with the decision by the Russian president, engineering troops, including units from the International Anti-Mining Center, will complete tasks on demining Palmyra," Gerasimov told journalists. He said that this week the necessary equipment and demining robotic equipment would be sent to the liberated ancient city. Palmyra, located 210 kilometers away from Damascus, is considered key for advancing to the Daesh stronghold of Raqqa in eastern Syria. The town of Palmyra and its historic ruins have been under Daesh control since May 2015. The terrorist group has since destroyed part of the historic sites, which are a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palmyra Victory Proves Syria 'Can Crush Terrorists With Its Own Forces' Sputnik News 10:32 28.03.2016(updated 10:45 28.03.2016) On Sunday, the Syrian Army and its allies, with air support from Russia, completely liberated the ancient city of Palmyra from Daesh militants; the joint military operation took three weeks. Without doubts, this has been the biggest defeat for Daesh since its "caliphate" was declared in 2014. For over 10 months, Palmyra was under control of the terrorists, who pillaged and destroyed its world-renown ancient ruins. However, the Syrian government was able to strike back: its assault on Palmyra lasted three weeks. On the morning of March 27, while Western Christendom was celebrating the Easter holiday, the city was liberated. Over 400 terrorists were reported to have been killed in the operation. Security and stability have been restored in Palmyra, a spokesperson of the Syrian Army commented. The army also regained control of the surrounding heights and hills, killing many terrorists in the process. "This battle is really of strategic importance. It proved that the Syrian Army is capable of fighting on its own. It is the only force in the country capable of defeating Daesh. The liberation of Palmyra is a tremendous strategic and symbolic victory for the government forces," Syrian military analyst Kamal Alam told RT. He also explained why this victory is now so important. "Palmyra is situated right in the middle of Syria. It connects the eastern and the middle parts of the country. The main routes to Raqqa, Damascus and Idlib run through the city. Having regained control over Palmyra, the Syrian Army would advance to eastern Syria," he pointed out. Alam added that after the Palmyra liberation, there are several ways to settle the Syrian crisis despite the skeptical position of the West. "The West should change its stance and admit that the Syrian government and the Syrian Army are the only institutions capable of defeating Daesh. Western governments should support Bashar Assad in the fight against terrorism," he said. Daesh militants cannot survive the organized ground operation being launched by the Syrian government forces, strategic analyst Gregory Copley pointed out "In order to survive, Daesh would need much more support from abroad, including from Turkey, Qatar or Saudi Arabia. Now, Daesh is adopting a defensive position," he said. The end of the Syrian conflict would not serve Ankara's interests, he added. "Turkey cannot let Daesh lose at the current stage of the war. If the terrorists are defeated in Syria, they will go back to Turkey. As a result, the Kurdish problem, which has nearly turned into a civil war in Turkey, would intensify," Copley explained. The Battle of Palmyra, between the Syrian Army and Daesh militants, began on March 24. Government forces attacked Daesh all along the front line. They reversed the tide of the battle and pushed the terrorists back. Palmyra is not only one of the most important strategic targets, but is also considered Syria's greatest archeological and historic site. A number of monuments have been destroyed by Daesh. They have also laid dozens of mines in the heart of the ancient city. "UNESCO will send a supervising mission to Palmyra when security conditions are restored. We're inviting international experts, everyone who loves Palmyra, to contribute to its restoration," Maamun Abdulkarim from the National Museum of Damascus said. The victory of Palmyra has both strategic and symbolic meanings. According to experts, after the defeat in Palmyra the militants will retreat toward Deir ez-Zor or flee to Iraq. As Daesh flees east, it will have to contend with the US-led coalition's airstrikes in Iraq. Currently, coalition aircraft are dropping bombs on large cities in Iraq, where the terrorist group has already lost 40 percent of its territory. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian army advances against Daesh near city of Homs Iran Press TV Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:26PM The Syrian army soldiers have made new advances towards the town of al-Qaryatayn in the central province of Homs in their latest push against the Takfiri Daesh terrorists wreaking havoc in the Arab country. An unidentified Syrian military source said that an army unit, backed by popular defense groups, established control over a rural farmland south of the key town, Syria's official SANA news agency reported on Tuesday. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said pro-government forces, supported by "intense" airstrikes provided by both Syrian and Russian warplanes, advanced towards Qaryatayn. The Syrian troops also captured a series of strategic hilltops overlooking the town, the UK-based monitor group added. Daesh had seized the strategic town in August 2015, kidnapping at least 230 people and razing its famed monastery of St. Elian. The town lies on a key road connecting the ancient city of Palmyra to the Qalamoun region of Damascus. The latest gains came two days after Syrian forces liberated Palmyra after some four weeks of fierce fighting with the Daesh militants in the ancient city. The Syrian army has vowed to press ahead with its counter-terror military operations and drive Daesh elements out of their major strongholds in the conflict-ridden state. On Tuesday, Syria's Defense Minister Fahd Jassem al-Freij said the armed forces would press ahead with their offensive to secure a "final victory" over the extremists. "Bringing security and stability to Palmyra is an essential step towards a final victory over Takfiri terrorism," Freij stated in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan. Syria has been gripped by a militancy it blames on some foreign governments. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people in total since the start of the militancy in 2011. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran urges intensification of Syria's anti-terror fight Iran Press TV Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:30AM Iran's defense minister has called on Syria to intensify its military operations in order to root out terrorism following the Arab country's recent advances against Daesh terrorists. In a phone conversation with his Syrian counterpart Fahd Jassem al-Freij, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan congratulated Damascus on its liberation of the ancient city of Palmyra. The Syrian army must "continue and intensify the military operation in order to stem the cancerous tumor of terrorism in the region and liberate remaining areas under the occupation of terrorist groups," Dehqan said. On Sunday, Syrian armed forces successfully established full control over Palmyra, which had fallen to Daesh last May, inflicting what the army called a "mortal blow" to the Takfiri terrorist group. After the victory, the General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces vowed in a statement to press ahead with counter-terror military operations and drive Daesh terrorists out of their major strongholds. The Syrian army is currently closing in on the provinces of Dayr al-Zawr and Raqqah, which are respectively located in Syria's east and north. In his telephone conversation with the Syrian defense minister, Dehqan reasserted Iran's unflinching support for the Arab country. Freij said the support and assistance provided by Syria's friends, especially Iran, had "an important role" in achieving the recent victory, the Fars news agency reported on Tuesday. The liberation of Palmyra, he said, was crucial to achieving the "ultimate victory against terrorists and their supporters." On Monday, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani hailed the Syrian army's recapture of Palmyra and vowed to continue support for the Syrian government in its fight on terrorism. Shamkhani sent a message to President Bashar al-Assad to congratulate him on Sunday's "admirable and honorable" win over Daesh. Iran's government and its armed forces "will continue to provide Syria with their full support" against the Takfiris, Shamkhani said, according to the official news agency IRNA. Chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said "the situation in Syria is very good" after the recapture of Palmyra, Fars reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari also lauded Syria's victory and said that Tehran will continue to back the Assad government and other governments battling extremism. "Iran's support continues for the fight against terrorism in Syria, Iraq and countries exposed to this threat," Ansari told Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television. "Syria will march forward strongly in the fight against terrorism and the terrorists definitely won't have a place in the future of the region," he added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Top US General: 'No Doubt' Russia Stabilized Syrian Regime by Carla Babb March 29, 2016 The top U.S. general says he has "no doubt" that Russian intervention in Syria propped up the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. "With respect to Russian activity in Syria, there's absolutely no doubt that they stabilized the regime, and they have put themselves in a position to influence the political solution," General Joe Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Dunford said the Syrian government was "reeling" in July and August of last year but is now in "much better shape." Russia's withdrawal from Syria "calls into question" their true purpose for entering into the Syrian conflict, he added. "The stated intent was to go after ISIL," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. "They've now announced the withdrawal. From my perspective, there's still some work to be done against ISIL." New military methods needed The general said one of the "most significant challenges" the U.S. military is dealing with is the need for "more effective methods" to deal with Russian behavior in Georgia and Crimea, malign Iranian influence across the Middle East and Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. The traditional U.S. military approach, he explained, is to either be at peace or at conflict, but Dunford said that method is "insufficient" to deal with players advancing their interests while avoiding U.S. military strengths. "The adversary knows exactly what the threshold is for us to take decisive military action, so they operate below that level," Dunford said. "They continue to advance their interest, and we lose the competitive advantage and frankly our interests are adversely affected." The general said he will make recommendations to Congress in the coming weeks for significant changes to the military's command and control in order to be more "suited" for the character of current conflicts across the globe. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine MPs approve top prosecutor's resignation over corruption Iran Press TV Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:39PM Ukrainian parliamentarians have accepted the resignation of the country's prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, amid public anger at the failure of the government to properly tackle corruption. Lawmakers voted 289 to six during the chamber session on Tuesday to dismiss Shokin, who had submitted his resignation a month ago. Shokin has been accused of refusing to clamp down on corrupt officials in Ukraine. About 500 people gathered outside the administrative headquarters of the office of Ukraine's president on Monday, urging Shokin and other officials involved in corruption cases to resign. Calls for Shokin's resignation gained fresh momentum after a Kiev court gave his office full rein to investigate one of its toughest critics the Anti-Corruption Action Center, over claims that the body embezzled USD 2.2 million in aid. The center has called the charges politically motivated. Shokin was forced last month to submit to the parliament a letter of resignation, apparently to ease pressure on President Petro Poroshenko, who has seen his public approval ratings fall dramatically over the past months. Officials in Shokin's office had said on Monday that there would not be enough votes to approve his dismissal. Hours before the dismissal vote, Shokin sacked one of his deputies after the official accused him of maintaining ties with corrupt officials and lawmakers. Shokin said in a statement that Davit Sakvarelidze had violated prosecutors' ethics and interfered in the work of another prosecutor in ways not stipulated by legislation. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk faces similar calls for resignation, although he has decided to cling to power. Last week, Poroshenko once again called on Yatsenyuk to resign and urged the parliament to pick his successor. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PITTSBURGH, Pa., March 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - UPMC will increase minimum starting salaries for entry-level positions at most Pittsburgh facilities to $15/hour by January 2021, including its flagship UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside hospital, UPMC Mercy, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and many other facilities and sites. Additionally, average service worker pay at these facilities will exceed $15/hour by January 2019. The pay range changes begin Jan. 1, 2017. This action, based on UPMC's continual evaluation of the market, solidifies its reputation as a highly desirable employer with industry-leading total compensation packages, a focus on work-life balance, and significant opportunities for career advancement. With nearly 62,000 employees across all facilities, UPMC is the largest non-government employer in Pennsylvania. "We are very proud of our wages, generous benefits and other rewards and of the tens of thousands of jobs at UPMC that have meaning and purpose, and that fulfill an incredibly important mission for the region and the communities that we serve," said John Galley, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, UPMC. "We review the market each year to ensure that our salary ranges are competitive and we are committed to rewarding our strong-performing employees with merit increases on an annual basis." The total package of salary and benefits available to employees includes a retirement savings plan with a percentage match by UPMC, a defined benefit pension plan paid entirely by UPMC, tuition assistance for employees and their families, comprehensive health insurance and generous paid time off. Those making $15/hour and taking full advantage of UPMC's robust benefits package will earn the equivalent of $24.25/hour. For UPMC employees represented by unions, their wages and benefits will continue to be negotiated by their respective unions. "We are particularly pleased to offer entry-level employment to those with fewer technical skills and training," added Galley. "UPMC employees consistently demonstrate their commitment by providing superior patient care and customer service. And as part of UPMC's dedication to our valued employees, we provide career pathways with financial support to help all employees grow and learn so that they can stretch their knowledge and skills and advance their careers. Many of our employees began their careers at UPMC in entry-level positions and have advanced into technical, professional and management roles." UPMC McKeesport Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services Dawndra Jones began her career at UPMC 25 years ago as a new staff nurse and with assistance from UPMC's tuition reimbursement program, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing, and most recently, a doctor of nursing practice degree. "I am an example of how a UPMC employee can take advantage of the rich benefits offered to us and achieve a lifelong career within UPMC," said Jones. UPMC employs nearly 25,000 people with an annual salary of over $50,000, more than any other employer in the region. About UPMC A world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. It provides more than $888 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region's most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 60,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, more than 500 doctors' offices and outpatient sites, a 2.9-million-member health insurance division, and international and commercial operations. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 13 in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. For more information, go to UPMC.com. http://www.upmc.com/media This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/03/prweb13297323.htm Danville is once again a Virginia Main Street Community, thanks to the River District Association applying for the designation. Ernecia Coles, executive director of the RDA, said the designation gives the group recognition for the efforts they have made to help revitalize downtown Danville and is also a salute to the city for its efforts to draw private investment from industry, entrepreneurs and developers to the River District. The RDA is made up of River District merchants, tenants and property owners. State Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones made the announcement at the parking lot next to the former Downtowner site at Main and Union streets on Monday morning. He said Danville was one of four localities added to the list of 25 Main Street Communities in the state, with Lexington, Wytheville and Gloucester Courthouse. Jones drew applause from the crowd as he noted, Danville is our favorite; thats why Im here, to make the announcement, drawing laughs when he said not to tell the other localities. Bill Shelton, director of Virginias Department of Housing and Community Development, accompanied Jones to the event. Prior to the announcement he said the RDA did a really great job of getting Danville into the program. Shelton said being a designated Main Street Community opens doors for small localities in the state, offering advice, grants and other help in revitalizing stagnant downtowns. He said his department can bring in other agencies to help groups like the RDA with downtown redevelopment. Since the state program started in 1985, Jones said, the 25 existing Main Street Communities have seen more than $800 million in investment. Mayor Sherman Saunders noted that the city has spent the last six years working to redevelop downtown Danville. Look at how this historic district has been reimagined into a vibrant place to live, work, shop and play, Saunders said. It is a place where the private sector has, and will continue, to invest. It is a place that we are proud to call home. The program is focused on helping smaller, historic communities revitalize their downtowns. Danville earned the designation once before, in 2000, with the River District Association (then called the Downtown Danville Association) again heading the project. As Danville lost its textile and tobacco industries and downtown began to deteriorate it lost its designation. Communities chosen for the designation can access a variety of consulting services, grants, training and other assistance to improve those communities in exchange for following program guidelines and continuing to invest in downtown improvements. This is about more than economic development, but economic development is certainly the hub of it, Jones said. Our downtowns are really the places that aggregate the community, particularly on the weekends. Coles said one of the goals is to build a strong sense of community pride and the RDA will continue will continue to plan more activities that will bring more people to the River District including one next month being planned to celebrate becoming a Main Street Community. Thibodeau reports for the Danville Register & Bee. The Prizery was packed Thursday night, not with theater-goers but with party-hearty business leaders there to celebrate the corporate ethos they believe is alive and well in Halifax County and to recognize entrepreneurial excellence in their midst Michael Watson, a managerial mainstay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in South Boston was named Business Person of the Year by the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce. Watson, who graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in hospitality and tourism, was surprised and honored to be chosen. But the chamber board wouldnt have it any other way Mitzi McCormick, the chambers new president, said Watsons contributions to the community and his service to the chamber made him the undisputed champion for 2016 award, and her colleagues on the board clearly agreed. The process is a simple one: nominations for the Business Person of the Year are sent to chamber members in January criteria include involvement, service on committees, volunteering at events, and, of course, an unshakeable can-do attitude in fair weather or foul. Watson, said McCormick, has all of these and more. The Fairfield Inn manager arrived in Halifax in 2009 with a specific mission to open a new inn for the True North Hotel Group, a franchise of the Marriott Corporation. He wasted no time, moving with his wife from Hickory, North Carolina, where he had already demonstrated his leadership skills at the Courtyard Marriott, to Halifax County. The transfer had hidden benefits as well a much shorter drive to Appomattox County where family members still live. The good news and the bad news is that Watson and his wife are moving on to greater challenges Marriott has asked him to use his skills to make the Fairfield Inn in Leavenworth, Kansas, another must-visit destination. Hell be further away from family in Appomattox, but a big step closer to realizing his dream managing not just one, but a regional network of world-class hotels. VANCOUVER, March 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Lithium X Energy Corp. ("Lithium X", or the Company") (TSX-V: LIX)(OTCQB:LIXXF) is pleased to announce that its common shares are now trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States under the symbol "LIXXF." "Admission to the OTCQB market is part of a long-term strategy to introduce the Company to a broader international audience," said Brian Paes-Braga, President and CEO of Lithium X. "This provides us with a trading platform for current and future American investors as well as a means of increasing our international visibility." The OTCQB Venture Market is for entrepreneurial and development stage U.S. and international companies. To be eligible, companies must be current in their financial reporting, pass a minimum bid price test and undergo an annual company verification and management certification process. The OTCQB quality standards provide a strong baseline of transparency, as well as the technology and regulation to improve the information and trading experience for investors. Lithium X Energy Corp. will continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under its existing symbol "LIX". About Lithium X Energy Corp Lithium X Energy Corp. is a lithium exploration and development company with a goal of becoming a low-cost supplier for the burgeoning lithium battery industry. Lithium X has entered into an agreement to advance the Sal de los Angeles lithium brine project in the prolific "Lithium Triangle" in mining friendly Salta Province, Argentina, a well-known salar with positive historical economics, grade and size. Lithium X is also exploring a large land package in Nevada's Clayton Valley, contiguous to the only producing lithium operation in North America Silver Peak, owned and operated by Albemarle, the world's largest lithium producer. Lithium X is listed on the TSXV under the trading symbol LIX. For additional information about Lithium X Energy Corp., please visit the Company's website at www.lithium-x.com or review the Company's documents filed on www.sedar.com. Join the Company's email list at http://lithium-x.com/subscribe. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Paul Matysek" Paul Matysek Executive Chairman 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. This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "believes", "aims to", "plans to" or "intends to" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, standard transaction risks; impact of the transaction on the parties; and risks relating to financings; regulatory approvals; foreign country operations and volatile share prices. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE Lithium X Energy Corp. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 29, 2016) - Canterra Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CTM) (the "Company") is pleased to provide an update for the Buffalo Hills Project, located 400 kilometres ("km") northwest of Edmonton, Alberta. Following a review of in-house data, the Company has acquired four Metallic and Industrial Minerals Permits covering two separate areas of interest. The first area is located five km north of the K91 kimberlite and covers 18,432 contiguous hectares ("ha"). The second area covers 17,664 contiguous ha and is located roughly 15 km west of the K8 kimberlite. Randy Turner, President & CEO states; "From our in-house data we were able to develop a geologically coherent model for the Buffalo Hills kimberlites. Subsequently, it was evident that untested geophysical anomalies in certain areas had a high probability of being diamondiferous kimberlite, and so these areas were acquired." The Company also conducted a breakage study for diamonds which were recovered from the K6 kimberlite in 2008. Kimberlite recovered from surface pits, totaling 231.89 tonnes, was processed through a dense media separation plant operated by joint venture ("JV") partner Shore Gold Inc. (Prince Albert, SK). A total of 16.28 carats (+0.85mm) were recovered with a reported sample grade of 7.02 carats per hundred tonnes ("cpht") (see Diamondex News Release, October 15, 2008). The breakage study determined that a 1.77 carat diamond was broken during processing. Prior to breakage, the diamond was a colorless single tetrahexahedroid crystal with very few inclusions. This is the largest diamond recovered from the Buffalo Hills Project to date. In addition to the 1.77 carat diamond, three diamonds exceeding one carat and of similar shape, color and clarity were also recovered in that sample. Mr. Turner further states, "As part of our in-house review we determined that a breakage study of diamonds from K6 was warranted. The study showed that while a large diamond had been broken, diamond breakage was minimal and the results suggest that a coarse size distribution is present at K6. " MCC Geoscience Inc. (Vancouver, BC) was commissioned to conduct a review of the historical data and complete the K6 diamond breakage study. Bruce Kienlen, P.Geol., Senior Geologist for Canterra is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed the technical information in this news release. About the Buffalo Hills Project: The Buffalo Hills Project is located 400 km northwest of Edmonton, Alberta and is a JV between Canterra (33%), Shore Gold Inc. (33%) and Encana Corp. (34%) with Canterra as the operator. Between 1997 and 2003 the JV discovered 38 kimberlites within the project area and collected bulk samples of 20 tonnes or more from five bodies. An extensive database amassed by the JV includes over 160,000 line-km of airborne and ground geophysical surveys and nearly 38,000 meters of drilling. The K6 kimberlite is located in the northern group of Buffalo Hills kimberlites that also includes the K252 kimberlite, located 300 metres northwest of K6 with a sample grade of 55.2 cpht from a 28.16 tonne composite sample. About Canterra: Canterra Minerals is a Canadian resource company specializing in diamond exploration with a focus on the South Slave Region in the Northwest Territories and the Buffalo Head Hills Area in Alberta. As leaders of exploration in the junior diamond sector for over 25 years, the Canterra team has been involved in the discovery of two of Canada's four diamond mines including the Snap Lake Diamond Mine in the South Slave and the Ekati Diamond Mine in Lac de Gras. For additional information, please visit the Company's website: www.canterraminerals.com CANTERRA MINERALS CORPORATION Randy Turner, President & CEO The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: MIN) (FRANKFURT: 3XS) (OTCQX: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed a National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 Technical Report dated effective January 28, 2016 on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Report is with respect to Excelsior's Updated Prefeasibility Study ("Updated PFS") on the Gunnison Copper Project in southern Arizona; the results of which were originally announced in a February 9, 2016 news release. The Updated PFS was completed as a result of the recent acquisition of the Johnson Camp Mine ("JCM") and staged production approach which have dramatically lowered initial capital costs to $45.9 million. Commenting on the filing of the Updated PFS, Stephen Twyerould, President & CEO said, "The Updated Prefeasibility report represents another major milestone for Excelsior as we continue to advance the Gunnison Copper Project. By combining the assets of our recent JCM acquisition with the exceptional economics and our ISR copper project, we have demonstrated once again the value created by management and our excellent technical team. This same high level of technical acumen will now be applied to the completion of the Feasibility Study, which will be finalized before year-end." Updated Prefeasibility Study Results Highlights of the North Star Gunnison Copper Project Updated PFS (United States dollars) Net Present Value ("NPV") of $1.2 billion pre-tax and $829 million post-tax at 7.5% discount rate using a life of mine ("LOM") copper price of $2.75/lb; Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 57.9% pre-tax and 45.8% post-tax; Initial construction capital costs of $45.9 million includes 20% contingency, 16% EPCM, freight, mobile equipment, owner's costs and capital spares; Payback period for initial capital of 1.8 years pre-tax and 2.6 years post-tax; Average life-of-mine operating costs of $0.70/lb; All-In Cost (all capital plus operating costs) of $1.24/lb; Over 850 million pounds of copper added to the probable mineral reserve, an increase of 24%; total probable reserve now 4.4 billion pounds (775 million short tons grading 0.29%); Mine life of 27 years (24 years of commercial production); Staged production profile: initial production rate of 25 million pounds of copper cathode per annum using the existing JCM facilities, followed by an intermediate expansion stage to 75 million pounds per annum and final expansion stage to full production of 125 million pounds per annum (includes the construction of an acid plant at full production). The staged production profile makes possible the funding of future expansions out of cash flow; Staged production approach lowers initial capital costs, reduces financing risk and speeds the timeline to first production. Qualified Person Excelsior's technical work on the Gunnison Copper Project is supervised by Stephen Twyerould, Fellow of AUSIMM, President & CEO of Excelsior and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Twyerould has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. About Excelsior Mining Excelsior is a mineral exploration and development company that is advancing the Gunnison Copper Project. The Excelsior management team consists of experienced professionals with proven track records of advancing mining projects into production. Further information about the Gunnison Copper Project can be found in the technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com entitled: "Gunnison Copper Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Prefeasibility Study Update" dated effective January 28, 2016. For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com. ON BEHALF OF THE EXCELSIOR BOARD Stephen Twyerould, President & CEO Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the technical viability of the Gunnison Project; (ii) the market and future price of copper; (iii) the results of the Updated PFS including statements about future production, future operating and capital costs, the projected IRR, NPV, payback period, construction timelines, permit timelines and production timelines for the Gunnison Project,; and (iv) the ability to mine the Gunnison Project using in-situ recovery mining techniques. In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future exploration and development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs, the availability of necessary financing and materials to continue to explore and develop the Gunnison Project in the short and long-term, the progress of exploration and development activities, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the completion of the permitting process, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not commence at the Gunnison Project, risks relating to variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates resulting from current exploration and development activities, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products and in the mining industry generally, risks related to current global financial conditions, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the development process, regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, including the risk that the financing necessary to fund the exploration and development activities at the Gunnison Project may not be available on satisfactory terms, or at all, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interest, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information. 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, and no securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this release. Tuesday, March 29, 2016 / TheNewswre / Vancouver, BC- Nevada Energy Metals Inc. ("the Company") (TSX-V: BFF) (OTC: SSMLF) (Frankfurt: A2AFBV) is pleased to announce that an initial near surface exploration program on our 100% owned Teels Marsh West claims which covers approximately 810 hectares (2000 acres) in Mineral County, Nevada will commence next week. Lithium concentrations of up to 850 ppm have been reported from earlier sampling programs conducted by the US Geological Survey (OFR: 76-567) at Teels Marsh. This initial phase of the lithium detection sampling will consist of 20 shallow auger holes. This drill program is designed to collect fluid and sediment samples in close proximity to a recently discovered thermal area located on and adjacent to a range front fault system along the west side of Teels Marsh. This thermal anomaly was discovered during research into the relationship between geothermal systems and Quaternary borate deposits previously mined at Teels Marsh (Coolbaugh et al. 2006). Close proximity to a geothermal heat source is believed to be one of the principal requirements for concentrating lithium in the brines at Clayton Valley, home to the first commercial lithium brine operation in North America. About Nevada Energy Metals: http://nevadaenergymetals.com/ Nevada Energy Metals Inc. is a Canadian Based exploration and development company who's primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's main focuses are brine based lithium exploration targets located in the mining friendly state of Nevada. As of the 13th of January the Company has completed a $900,000 CAD secondary funding to carry out an exploration program on the area known as Alkali Lake and Alkali Flats. This lithium target is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada, just 12km from Rockwood Lithium, the only brine based lithium producer in North America. Nevada Energy Metals must complete a one-time payment of shares, cash payments over three years and complete certain exploration milestones for a 60% earn-in agreement with Dajin Resources Corp. Nevada Energy Metals has acquired, by staking, 100 placer claims covering 200 acres (80.9 hectares) at Teels Marsh, Nevada. The property, called Teels Marsh West is a highly prospective lithium exploration project, 100% owned without any royalties, located on the western part of a large evaporation pond. On March 23 2016 the Company announced the addition of the San Emidio Dessert lithium property, which is Nevada Energy Metals third perspective lithium brine project in its project portfolio. The Company has begun its first exploration program with the initiation of a 20 hole shallow auger program on Teels Marsh West and the results will be forthcoming. Qualified Person: The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ali Alizadeh, MSc P.Geo, MBA, a director of the Company and a Qualified Person under the provisions of National Instrument 43-101. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Harry Barr Chairman & CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. VANCOUVER, March 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ, Frankfurt: M8R) (the "Company") announced that it has filed an amended technical report on SEDAR titled "Amended Technical Report, Virginia Project, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Initial Silver Resource Estimate" dated 29th February, 2016, that was prepared by independent resource consultants and Qualified Persons Donald F. Earnest P.Geo. and Michael J. Lechner P. Geo. (the "Amended Report"). The Amended Report was prepared to address specific technical comments received from the BC Securities Commission (the "BCSC") following their routine review of technical disclosure. This review identified aspects of the original Virginia Mineral Resource Report dated January 23, 2015, (the "Original Report") which were non-compliant with NI 43-101 guidelines. The BCSC has now confirmed that the Amended Report adequately addresses the comments raised by their review. Refer to the Amended Report, which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR, and from the company's website (Amended Technical Report, Virginia Project, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina - Initial Silver Mineral Resource Estimate) The base case Mineral Resource estimate for the Virginia Project described in the Original Report remains unchanged in the Amended Report, standing at open-pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resources totaling 1.197 million tonnes at an average grade of 310 g/t Ag and containing 11.9 million ounces of silver, and an additional 0.460 million tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resources having an average grade of 207 g/t Ag, containing 3.1 million ounces of silver. These Mineral Resources are based on a US$20/oz Ag metal price and a 63 g/t Ag cut-off grade, and all are contained within seven outcropping veins of high-grade silver mineralization (see Table 1 and the Mirasol News Release of January 28, 2015). Due to the prevailing lower silver price compared with the price at the time of filing of the Original Report, the BCSC suggested that Mirasol consider including an additional low-price sensitivity case for comparison to the base case Mineral Resource estimate disclosed in the Amended Report. This lower price sensitivity case (US$15/oz Ag at a cutoff of 84 g/t Ag) defined open-pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resources totaling 0.999 million tonnes averaging 343 g/t Ag and containing 11.03 million ounces of silver, and an additional 0.314 tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resources averaging 239 g/t Ag and containing 2.41 million ounces of silver, as shown in Table 2. This low-price sensitivity case captures 90% of the contained metal in the Original Report, at a higher average silver grade, attesting to the robustness of the Mineral Resource at Virginia. Since the time of the drilling campaign which defined the Mineral Resources disclosed in the Amended Report, Mirasol has integrated electrical geophysical survey data with new surface mapping and trench sampling to define new drill targets (Figure 1). Some of the rock chip and trench assay results indicate localized high-grade silver mineralization, suggesting there maybe potential to expand the current Mineral Resource base by further drilling at the project. Mirasol sees the recent improvement in the investment climate in Argentina and the Company's March 2016 announcement of the new Claudia joint venture with Cerro Vanguardia mines (see Mirasol News Release dated March 1st 2016) as evidence of renewed exploration interest in Argentina in general, and in Santa Cruz Province specifically. Mirasol continues to consolidate its land position at Virginia, recently staking an additional 17,200 ha of adjoining claims, bringing its total land package in the Virginia district to approximately 56,600 ha. Mirasol is actively seeking a joint venture partner to advance exploration at the Virginia silver project. Stephen C. Nano, the President and CEO of the Company has approved the technical content of this news release and is a Qualified Person under NI 43 -101. Mirasol is a project generation company focused on the discovery of precious metals and copper resources in the Americas. Strategic joint ventures with metal producers have enabled Mirasol to advance its priority projects, focused in high-potential regions in Chile and Argentina. Mirasol employs an integrated generative and on ground exploration approach combining leading edge technologies and experienced exploration geoscientists to maximize the potential for discovery. Mirasol is in a strong financial position and has a significant portfolio of drill ready gold-silver exploration projects located in Chile and Argentina. Stephen C. Nano President, CEO, Director and QP Forward Looking Statements: The above contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Exploration at the Virginia Projects was supervised by Stephen C. Nano, then the Vice President of Exploration; Timothy Heenan, Exploration Manager; and Paul Lhotka, the former Principal Geologist who is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 for the surface exploration and drilling used in the mineral resource estimate. All technical information for the Virginia project was obtained and reported under a formal quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. Drill core, rock channel and rock chip samples were collected under the supervision of Company geologists in accordance with standard industry practice. Samples were dispatched via commercial transport to an ISO 9001:2000-accredited laboratory in Argentina for analysis. Results of this exploration program where regularly audited to confirm the Company's QA/QC process/procedures and laboratory performance met required standards. Assay results from diamond drill core samples may be higher, lower or similar to results obtained from surface samples due to surficial oxidation and enrichment processes or due to natural geological grade variations in the primary mineralization. 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. SOURCE Mirasol Resources Ltd. Ben Ilic pours a drink inside new Japanese-inspired bar Suke Suke in Civic. Photo: Jay Cronan You won't need to go far to get a taste of Tokyo nightlife soon with Japanese-inspired bar Suke Suke opening in Civic near the bus interchange. Bar managers Ben Ilic and Jared Calnan have worked in the local hospitality industry for eight years at a number of watering holes, and wanted to create a, "very upbeat venue". "Obviously in Canberra there's a lot of small bars popping up now, and we think they're a really good kind of way to celebrate hospitality in Canberra. We just wanted something funky and fresh," said Ilic. The idea for the Japanese theme came from existing restaurant Tasuke which sits above the bar in Alinga Street. "We approached them we wanted to partner with them to create something a little bit different for Canberra," said Calnan. "You see a lot of other restaurants and bars partnering together to try and create products that you wouldn't really achieve in one venue, two different spaces but in an area that's really accessible." Entry to the bar is off Verity Lane which runs through the middle of the Sydney Building. From Alinga Street, walk in and turn immediately left and look for the light box giving away the somewhat-hidden entrance. From there, you walk down a dark staircase and are greeted underground by a giant neon red sumo. The industrial fitout mixes concrete, wood, masculine colours and low lighting which are, in true Japanese style, offset by touches of quirk from the yellow and pink sumo pop-art wall, to the pots of (fake) Cherry Blossoms and Geisha jars with edible flowers for shared cocktails. The small space it comfortably fits about 100 people has plenty of seating, from stools and high tables to booths and an alcove decorated with calligraphy. The partnership with Tasuke means you can order share plates of Japanese food think edamame, gyoza, octopus balls and fried chicken at the bar, and they'll be delivered to you from upstairs. Behind the bar, in keeping with the Japanese theme you'll find Asahi on tap, plus an extensive range of Japanese whiskys and sake. There's also Canberra-district wines, a range of gin and cocktails. The name is a bit of a nod to upstairs Tasuke, and is also the name of, "a devil fruit in Japan. It's a myth that if you eat this devil fruit you become invisible," said Calnan. Initially, they will be open Wednesday to Saturday from 4pm, and has a built-in DJ booth so things can kick into the late evening. The bar will officially open Wednesday March 30. Suke Suke is in Verity Lane, Civic. See sukesuke.com.au. 3 Nifty Based ETFs Launched On Taiwan Stock Exchange Business oi-Sunil Taiwan's first-ever ETFs tracking the burgeoning Indian market debuted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) on 29 March 2016, providing investors with more strategic options to hedge risk and to enrich their investment portfolio. The three ETFs - the Fubon NIFTY ETF (00652), Fubon NIFTY 2X Leveraged Index ETF (00653L) and Fubon NIFTY -1 Inverse Index ETF (00654R) - were issued by Fubon Asset Management and track the Nifty 50 Index, Nifty PR 2X Leverage Index and Nifty PR 1X Inverse Index respectively. The three indices were created of and maintained by India Index Services and Products (IISL), a National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) group company, that provides a variety of indices and index related services for the capital markets. Mr. Sush-Der Lee, Chairman of TWSE, said, "TWSE has been actively developing Taiwan's ETF market over the past few years, with the number of ETFs listed on TWSE now reaching forty, with total assets under management of more than US$6.8 billion. In 2015, the total trading value of Taiwan's ETF market reached a record US$51.4 billion. The introduction of the Fubon Nifty ETFs is consistent with the Financial Supervisory Commission's (FSC) promotion of the Financial Import Substitution program and will boost the growth of Taiwan's ETF market. We hope that the launch of these new products will help us rapidly expand our connections with more overseas markets in order to increase the competitiveness of our capital market. With the support of the relevant authorities, we are also committed to deepening the cooperation between Taiwan and India, as well as other markets, to provide more diversified products for investors." Mr. Gang Shyy, Chairman of Fubon Asset Management, said, "India is rising strongly with a positive combination of being in the right time and place, with the right people. It is the third largest market in Asia in terms of market value and trading volume after Greater China and Japan. Although there are structural problems in India, it is emerging as an important market for risk diversification in terms of investment from Greater China. The India Index ETFs launched by Fubon Asset Management can not only help investors diversify portfolio risks, but also provide them with a comprehensive trading tool through leveraged and inverse ETFs." Mr. Mukesh Agarwal, CEO of IISL, said, "Currently India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the listing of Nifty 50 based ETFs in Taiwan will ensure that investors in Taiwan can participate in the India growth story. Nifty 50 is the benchmark index of India. It is a well diversified 50 stock index representing 13 sectors of the economy covering 65% free float market capitalization of the stocks listed on NSE. Nifty 50 is the most widely used ETF benchmark in Indian domestic market with 13 ETFs tracking the index. In terms of contracts traded, Nifty 50 options traded on NSE is ranked number 1 globally and Nifty 50 futures is ranked 7th globally." The listing of the Nifty ETFs further expands the range of ETFs tracking overseas securities that are currently available on TWSE. This includes products tracking the Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and the U.S. securities markets. The new products will also provide Taiwan investors with a more cost-efficient way to access the Indian market, as well as to further popularize Taiwan's ETF market globally. According to the Securities Investment Trust & Consulting Association (SITCA), Taiwan investors invested around US$20.2 billion in single-country offshore funds as of the end of 2015. This included US$1.5 billion in India funds, compared to US$15.1 billion in U.S. funds and US$1.7 billion in Japan funds. Goodreturns.in For investment related articles, business news and mutual fund advise Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 8:55 [IST] Fotolia Medical students are more prone to alcohol abuse than their peers not attending medical school, especially if they are young, single and under a high debt load, according to a Mayo Clinic study. An author of the study says the study team recommends wellness curricula for medical schools, identifying and fixing school factors that contribute to stress, and easing access to mental health services. SHARE Crushing debt is cited as one factor By Mayo Clinic News Network (Tns) ROCHESTER, Minn. Medical students are more prone to alcohol abuse than their peers not attending medical school, especially if they are young, single and under a high debt load. That's according to a study on medical student burnout by researchers at Mayo Clinic. The findings appear in the journal Academic Medicine. "Our findings clearly show there is reason for concern," says Liselotte Dyrbye, M.D., Mayo Clinic internist and senior author of the paper. "We recommend institutions pursue a multifaceted solution to address related issues with burnout, the cost of medical education and alcohol abuse." Mayo researchers surveyed 12,500 medical students, and one-third of those students responded. Approximately 1,400 of that subgroup experienced clinical alcohol abuse or dependence. Nationally, that translates to about one-third of those responding, compared to only 16 percent of peers not in medical school, and double the rate of alcohol abuse or dependence of surgeons, U.S. physicians or the general public based on earlier research by this team. Burnout factors such as emotional exhaustion or feelings of depersonalization were all highly associated with alcohol abuse or dependence among the medical students. Three other factors were independently associated: A younger age than most peers in medical school Being unmarried Amount of educational debt No statistical difference was found between differing years of medical school or between men and women. Researchers say the average cost of medical school from 1995 to 2014 increased by 209 percent at private colleges and 286 percent at public schools. They say physicians graduating with a medical degree in 2014 had an average of $180,000 in educational debt. "In our paper we recommend wellness curricula for medical schools, identifying and remediating factors within the learning environment contributing to stress, and removal of barriers to mental health services," says first author and Mayo Medical School student Eric Jackson. Other co-authors include Tait Shanafelt, M.D., Omar Hasan, M.B.B.S., and Daniel Satele, of Mayo Clinic. The research was funded by the American Medical Association and Mayo Clinic. Jilly Toyoshiba/Kansas City Star/TNS RoseMary Lee (left), of Gladstone, Mo., survived a stoke in February thanks to recognition of symptoms by her niece Bernadine Arnold, of Kansas City. When she was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, Lee was given a tissue plasminogen activator and a sizable clot was removed. Lee was able to go home after about a day and a half and has no side effects. SHARE Tissue-type plasminogen activator, or tPA. Karin Olds, neurologist at St. Luke's Hospital, said of tPA's use, "I think there's some trepidation, what's the risk and benefit ratio. Emergency room doctors tell me they feel they don't have the backup (from neurologists) after it's given. When you're not treating strokes all the time, you not comfortable using (tPA)." Use, timing of stroke drug is being studied By Alan Bavley, The Kansas City Star (TNS) KANSAS CITY, Mo. Count RoseMary Lee among the fortunate ones. When Lee suffered a stroke a few weeks ago, she was rushed to a hospital with an advanced stroke program and she received state-of-the-art care. Two days later, Lee, 79, was back home in Gladstone and back to normal. "It's amazing how it worked," Lee said. Amazing, yes. But it happens far less often than it should, many doctors say. Close to 800,000 people in the United States have strokes each year; they kill nearly 130,000 people. It's the fifth-leading cause of death. When they're not deadly, strokes can be severely debilitating, making it difficult or impossible for survivors to speak or walk or care for themselves. But advances in stroke care have made it possible for more people like Lee to leave the hospital with little or no disability. The first line treatment for stroke what the American Heart Association calls the gold standard is a drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA for short. Given intravenously, tPA dissolves the blood clots in the brain that are responsible for about 87 percent of strokes. Patients who get it three hours or less after their stroke starts are 30 percent more likely to recover with little or no disability. Some patients qualify for tPA even 4 hours after their symptoms first appear. The drug has been around since 1996, but even after two decades few patients are getting it. A key reason is that only 22 to 31 percent of patients arrive at a hospital in time for tPA. People often don't realize they're having a stroke and delay calling 911. Indeed, about 20 percent of strokes happen while people are asleep. But even when patients arrive at hospitals in time, just 13 percent got tPA last year, according to the American Heart Association. "People still don't get urgent medical attention for stroke," said Ralph Sacco, a past president of the heart association and chief of neurology at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. "There's a lot of room for improvement." A recent study of Medicare patients found that tPA use varies drastically from region to region. In some hospital markets, no patients at all were receiving tPA; in other areas, tPA use was more than three times the national average. One reason tPA hasn't been more widely adopted, stroke experts say, is that many doctors remain skittish about using the drug. "I think there's some trepidation, what's the risk and benefit ratio," said Karin Olds, a neurologist and medical director of the stroke center at St. Luke's Hospital. "Emergency room doctors tell me they feel they don't have the backup (from neurologists) after it's given. When you're not treating strokes all the time, you not comfortable using (tPA)." That anxiety comes from some very real risks from tPA. The longer that a clot blocks an artery and starves the brain of oxygen, the greater the damage a stroke causes. Close to 2 million brain cells die every minute. As the damage progresses, the greater the chance tPA will cause catastrophic bleeding in the brain. About 6 percent of tPA patients will develop a serious hemorrhage. Overall, the death rate for patients treated with tPA and those who aren't is roughly the same. The drug's benefit is in minimizing disability, not preventing death. But those benefits of tPA aren't always immediately apparent; tPA catastrophes happen in the ER, where emergency physicians see them. "I've witnessed both dramatic improvements (with tPA) in my emergency department, but I've also seen the other side, people bleed and hemorrhage and deteriorate substantially," said Michael Brown, chairman of emergency medicine at Michigan State University. Brown headed a committee of the American College of Emergency Physicians that issued new guidelines last year downgrading the organization's earlier support of tPA. It reassigned tPA for stroke from a "generally accepted" principle of patient management based on "a high degree of clinical certainty" into a strategy reflecting only "moderate clinical certainty." The drug may be given to "selected patients," the new guidelines said, "at institutions where systems are in place to safely administer the medication." Brown said the changes take into account new studies that "basically confirmed the harm part of the equation." But he also acknowledged that the emergency physicians' group encountered a "groundswell of concerns" from emergency physicians who took issue with the previous 2013 guidelines favoring tPA. SHARE NEW! Cloudt Ranch 8.28 Miles NW of Hwy 55 & 83N on 55 toward Camp Wood, Camp Wood, TX PH: 210-590-8880 FX: 210-229-0266? ? Uvalde Area Whitetail Deer Hunts - Offering a special price of $1,500.00 per hunter on a managed ranch located near Uvalde. Call 830-275-9532 to reserve your hunt. Quail Hunts - Special price of $200.00 per day/per hunter with a reservation of 4 hunters per day. Private ranch located 30 minutes South of Uvalde. Call 830-275-9532 to reserve your hunt.? ? ? South Zone Dove Hunts - Farms and ranches located near Uvalde are available beginning on Friday, September 21st. Prices start at $80.00 per person, per day. Please call 830-275-9532. ? Central Zone Dove Hunts - SPECIAL PRICE! Farms and ranches located near Uvalde, Knippa and Sabinal are available with prices starting at $50.00 per person, per day with a minimum reservation of 4 persons. Please call 830-275-9532. ? Dove Hunting ? South Zone. 20 miles South of Uvalde. 70 acres. Water tank and Leona River. Lots of Birds. Contact TK 210/218-4320 ?? BowRanch ? The BowRanch offers free range archery hunts for Whitetail Deer, hogs, Rio Grande Turkey and Aoudad sheep. Located 45 minutes North of Uvalde. The ranch has 2000 acres of scenic hill country terrain complimented by springs and canyons. Accommodations include a nice cabin, electricity, hot water, WIFI internet service, walk in cooler, hunting stands and feeders. Interested in a nature trip? The BowRanch is now offering lodging for nature tourism and photography. Visit our website: www.bowranch.com. 830/275-9532 for hunts. 830/279-3517 for nature tours lodging. ? Living Waters Ranch ? 720 acre pristine ranch located along the Nueces River in Uvalde, TX. Newly opened to non-family members. You and your guest will enjoy some of the finest hunting and lodging available in Texas. Visit: www.livingwatersreserve.com. Theresa DeWitt. 512/505-4185. ? Brushy Hill Trophy Bow Hunting Ranch ? Owner/operated 13,000 acre ranch in Sabinal, TX. Bow-only for 17 years. Offers some of South Teas' best fair chase hunting for whitetail deer, Rio Grande Turkey and year-round feral hog. Affordable pricing and no trophy fees. All hunts include lodging. Unlimited hog and predators. Visit: www.brushyhill.com. Pete Denney. 830/988-2802. ?? Fully Guided 4 Day Adult/Youth Hunt ? 1,150 acre ranch located outside of Uvalde, TX on transition between the Hill Country and South Texas Brush Country. The ranch is well managed with multiple water sources, year round protein feeding program, large executive blinds, and beautiful views. This hunt is focused on the young person rather than the adult. We sell only one hunt per year. One mature buck and one cull buck or doe. Hogs unlimited. Full lodging accommodations available. References available. Dr. Sandy Hurwitz. 512/751-8128 or Leslee 512/632-4267.? War Horse Ranch ? Package hunts for trophy whitetail. 40 species of exotics. Turkey and dove hunting on ranch as well as hunting concessions on over 20 different ranches totaling 30,000 acres. Main lodge is a Santa Fe Style building with adobe walls located 4 miles Southeast of Uvalde on the Frio River. Fishing, recreational lodging, bird watching and swimming also available. Contact Jeffrey James. 830/591-0153. Russell James. 830/278-5514. Email: warhorse@mecwb.com. Website: www.warhorseranch.com. ? Elderado ? Located on the outskirts of Uvalde. Package hunts available for all hunting seasons. Can accommodate up to 20 hunters. On-site lodging facilities. Deer, dove, quail, turkey, hog and upland hunts. Contact: Joe Elder. 830/317-0456. Email: joeelder@sbcglobal.net. Website: www.elderado.net. ? Chalk Bluff Park ? White-winged and Mourning Doves. Large farm with several crops. Flight pattern near Nueces River. North and South Zones. Cabins and fishing in the River also available. Contact: Charlie Hardy. 830/278-5515 or 512/825-0995. ? Uvalde County ? Day Dove Hunts in Central, South and special White Wing zone. Contact: Mark Roberts. 830/261-9467. Website: www.markrobertsdovehunting.net ? Golden Triangle Outfitters ? Uvalde County and Mexico. Customized hunts for whitetail, elk, hog, dove, quail and turkey. Call for group rates and pricing for specific hunts. Catering and lodging services also available. Contact: Kendall White. 830/591-9789. Email: kendall@gtohunts.com. Website: www.gtohunts.com. ? Uvalde and Beyond ? Hunting Uvalde, Zavala and Dimmit counties. Dove, deer, hogs, and exotics. 50 lodges on the Frio River in Concan. 20,000 plus acres. Available for corporate, individual and family group hunts. Meeting facility available. Contact: Frio Country Ranches. 830/279-0942. SHARE As I read the Chicago Tribune guest editorial "The big test for Medicare" in Wednesday's paper, I found that I began to feel angry about the misquoted and distorted facts quoted by the author. Clearly the writer had an agenda and was purposing this piece to incite mistrust toward the physicians who, by necessity, use multiple high-cost medications. The writer wanted to lead the audience to believe that physicians such as Retina Specialists, Rheumatologists, and Oncologists choose the therapies because of the 6 percent overhead payment that Medicare pays for the medications, and not for the most recent studies proving the improved efficacies of the newest medications, which are approved by the FDA to treat many debilitating diseases, such as wet macular degeneration. One must look at the overall cost to treat patients and the continually decreasing reimbursement for surgeries and testing under the guise of "over-valued codes" that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services had originally put in place. The words "over-valued" are code words in CMS as "overpaid" as these procedures have become the most commonly billed and thus the most expensive cost to CMS. The writer also implied that providers actually receive the 6 percent over the cost of the medications they use, but failed to disclose the 2 percent sequestration cut that every provider has had to live under since it was passed by Congress in 2012. This cut was passed on to all governmental contractors who deal with the government, including all providers of health care. It has been in place for four-plus years, although most recently a partial repeal was enacted, taking two years to implement fully. But this increase in payment to providers is easily offset by the procedural payments, which have been dramatically cut this year. Worst of all, the writer implied that there was a "perverse incentive" for providers to use the higher-cost medications to make more money, thus impugning the character and ethical practices of certain providers who use these drugs regularly. This speculation leaves no latitude for which medication may work best in each individual patient or in a population of patients who need these kinds of medication as proved by peer-reviewed literature. The heart of the matter is the cost of these unique drugs and the cost to CMS, which acts as the single-payer insurer for all Medicare recipients. The solution is not to drive the costs down on the backs of subspecialty providers, but to make drug development and production profitable for the pharmacia industry. The most obvious solution is one of changes in intellectual property protection, resulting in additional years of patent protection, so that the cost of development, FDA approval and production can be recouped over additional years such that the costs per unit can be lowered and profitability is maintained for these drug-developing companies. The five-year trial question can be addressed simply no ongoing study reducing payment to providers by CMS is necessary. Trends and behavioral modification can be deduced in much less time and will drive physicians to use cheaper, non-FDA-approved medication as a first-line trial in all patients. That's even though these medications have not undergone any FDA-required research on safety and efficacy done on some of the lowest-price medications. In the end, patient care will suffer, patient outcomes will be compromised and provider viability, especially those in solo practice, will push many to retire or move to larger markets with multiple subspecialists in a single office to survive. Frank Pool (right) walks around the Millennium Rig in San Angelo with Curtis Landon, a driver who moves rigs from place to place. Pool, 88, still works as a consultant for Pool Energy Services. He designed the Millennium Rig in 2003. The site in San Angelo is used to train workers on how to use this new, state-of-the-art drilling equipment. SHARE By Dudra Butler It was a Saturday morning 15 years ago that a phone call woke me and I saw that the caller ID said Frank Pool. The day before Id announced that I was running to become a San Angelo school trustee, and the voice on the other end of the line said, Dudra, Elizabeth and I want to do all that we can to support your candidacy for the school board. Although I lost a close runoff race, my high-school friend Martha Pool Elders father became a friend and a mentor to me throughout that process. I will cherish the many visits to the Pool home to be mentored on how a school board member is to act in public. It is with great joy today that I wish my friend and mentor Frank Morrow Pool a most joyful 95th birthday. He is loved and respected by so many around the world and primarily here in San Angelo. I took great pleasure reading myriad articles from the Standard-Times archives about Pool. There was a happy birthday wish for his 70th birthday in a 1988 article commemorating the 40th anniversary of Pool Co. There were a couple of clippings wishing him a happy 80th birthday, which at the time was extraordinary because he was still working and consulting and sharing his expertise in one of his loves, the oil industry, 50 years after founding Pool Co. Reading all the stories reminded me of the extent to which Pool has been a pillar of our community and our country. One of the people wishing him a happy 80th was Growing Edges author and former San Angeloan Jeanie Miley. She wrote, My friend is an adventurer because he has insatiable curiosity and interest in the world in which he has lived and worked. He has moved courageously and boldly into the unknown, the challenging and the difficult like the true pioneer he is, learning and exploring, teaching and celebrating the small and large mysteries of a universe that he finds infinitely beautiful and awesome. Miley continued, Perhaps it is that my friend knows so much because he has had enough humility to approach life with a childs sense of awe and wonder at the world around him. Pool was born in Hill County, near Grandview. In his early teens his family moved to Waco, where he graduated high school in 1936. He went on to Texas A&M University, where he earned two degrees. From 1941-48 he was petroleum engineer for Humble Oil & Refining Co., leaving the company during that time only for World War II service and to marry his beloved, the late Elizabeth Hughes, from Mertzon, in 1946. They had three children, the late Frank Jr., Mary Ellen Hartje and Martha Jean Elder. In 1948, Pool came to San Angelo with Elizabeth and Frank Jr. and started Pool Well Servicing Co. and Affiliates. On a recent visit to the Pool home, Martha wanted me to know that her dad was more than just the founder of Pool Co. Dad is an inventor, she said. Dad created cost-efficient, mobile hydraulic derricks with more modular designs. He created equipment to complete tasks that formerly were accomplished with fixed construction derricks. One of the last milestones that Dad was involved in while working as a consultant with engineers at Pool Co. was to develop the Millennium Rig. A five-member team began working on the project in 2000 to create the electronic rig, finishing the first design in 2003, Martha said, adding that it completely changed the method of work for the drill operator. My primary goals were to always ensure safety for everyone and to preserve the land, Frank Pool said. In 1956, he established the Association of Oilwell Servicing Contractors, a group that is still going strong. Pool has been bought out by Nabors Oilwell Servicing Co. I believe his legacy in the industry cannot be overstated. The other focal point in Pools life after God, family and the oil industry was education. He voiced with pride the accomplishments of the San Angelo ISD when he served as school board president in 1954. We integrated San Angelo schools without a hitch after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education that stated separate but equal schools would not suffice, Pool said. He went on, I frankly could not see why we had waited so long to remove some of the barriers. The San Angelo community was most accepting of the change. Pool served on the SAISD board for six years, and later was appointed by Gov. Dolph Briscoe to serve on the State Board of Education. Thank you, Frank Pool, for each and every contribution that you have made to the land. And I agree with Miley that perhaps you know so much because you have the humility to approach life with a childs sense of awe and wonder at this large world around you. Happy 95th birthday. We love you. SHARE The following editorial appeared in the March 22 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The government of the Palestinian Authority, aspiring to become an independent state, is in a lamentable position. This is important and unfortunate for several reasons. The first is it affects 4.5 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in principle under PA authority. The second is that, if the Palestinians are to carry out meaningful, sustainable negotiations with the Israeli government, they need to be able to present a unified front, with coherent positions. It is certainly the case that, if the Israelis ever come to the table with serious intent, they will have prepared themselves thoroughly in advance. Another reason is that the patience and willingness of the rest of the world to aid the Palestinians is greatly diminished by the divided nature of the Palestinian Authority. Finally, there is the question of whether President Barack Obama should try once more to push for talks toward a Middle East agreement that might result in two states, Israel and Palestine, coexisting side by side. The general conclusion at the moment, considering the state of both the Israelis and the Palestinians, is that such an effort would be a waste of time. One way for the Palestinians to make another outside initiative toward peace more attractive would be to clean up their act politically. They have not had elections since 2006. ... The Palestinian parties agree, more or less, only on continuing to abhor Israeli occupation and settlers, whose numbers continue to grow and now stand at an estimated 700,000. But the Palestinians could improve their prospects greatly through political reform, something that has been lacking for years. Amid new predictions that public pensions are facing another downturn, at least one pension plan may be heading toward life support.Since several plans' fiscal year started last July, the stock market has been extremely volatile. As a result, Moodys Investors Service predicts pension plans are likely to report 10 to 50 percent increases in liabilities when they close out their 2016 fiscal years on June 30.The bad forecast comes just after most plans reported meager investment returns in fiscal 2015. The two-year hit, warned Moodys, will effectively wipe out the funding progress that many plans made in 2013 and 2014.The situation could force governments to put in more money over the next few years than was previously forecast. That notion, in turn, could trigger lawmakers to discuss other solutions for funding pensions or ways to control future pension costs.Nowhere is this more evident than in Kentucky, where the state lost nearly $53 million in investments during the last six months of 2015 because of the stock market dip and lawmakers are now debating how to recover.For years, lawmakers have shorted the state's annual payment into the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS). That's played a big part in turning the state employee plan into the worst-funded among the 50 states. As of last summer, it reported holding just 19 percent of the assets it needs to meet nearly $12.4 billion in total liabilities.The legislature tried to shore up KERS in 2013 when the state enacted a new law that reduced its pension contributions for new hires and also required it to make its full pension payments. But some worry the changes came too late.The fund's assets have continued to shrink, and stock market losses have exacerbated the problem because the funds investment earnings are ideally supposed to cover the gap between what the fund pays out to retirees and what it collects from state and worker contributions. Halfway through the current fiscal year, the plan lost $212 million in assets, according to the latest figures from plan actuaries. The fund -- which pays out more than $900 million in annual benefits to retirees -- now has a little more than $2 billion in total assets.The pension system's low funding level has now prompted a cash-flow problem. If its assets drop to $1.3 billion, actuaries warn KERS officials that they'll be forced to convert all investments to cash."Theres no fixing a fund once it goes to a cash portfolio," said Jim Carroll, cofounder of Kentucky Government Retirees, an advocacy group. "It goes from intensive care to hospice care."The state House and Senate conference committee is meeting this week to iron out differences between the two chambers budgets. How to deal with the states ailing pension system is one of the key differences. Both budgets call for putting in more money than required, but the Senate's calls for substantially more.Carrolls group is backing the Senates version of the budget bill, which is similar to Republican Gov. Matt Bevins proposal. That bill (which includes more than $600 million in spending cuts) proposes up to $256 million in additional pension payments to KERS -- on top of the required contribution -- over the next two years. The House bill proposes an additional $89 million over the next two years.Bevin and the Senate also want to use a $500 million surplus in the states health-care fund to start an endowment fund to supplement the state's two largest pension plans. Investment earnings from the proposed fund would go toward helping KERS and the Kentucky Teachers' Retirement System make their payments.The House, where Speaker Greg Stumbo has several times proposed issuing bonds to help fund the teachers' retirement plan, has other ideas. Its budget plugs the $500 million surplus directly into the teachers fund, which is better funded than KERS but doesn't have the same funding promise given in the 2013 legislation.Carroll's group has been actively lobbying legislators on the conference committee, but he's still unsure which budget will get more support.Stumbo has argued that the House budget avoids potentially devastating cuts to state higher education while still putting in more than is actuarially required into the state pension system.But Bevin has warned that any budget that doesnt address pension funding now will lead to bigger cuts for everybody down the road.If we don't pay our pension obligations down ... we won't be able to borrow money, Bevin recently told a Louisville television station . And we will be in such a level of debt, in such a level of unfunded financial obligation, that we will be cutting [services] 19 and 29 and 59 and 99 percent. Gov. Butch Otter Monday ruled out calling a special legislative session or taking action on his own to advance an Idaho-designed, federally-funded health care program for 78,000 poor and uninsured Idahoans.Instead, he said his administration would work with a forthcoming interim legislative committee that will study how Idaho should proceed, likely via a federal waiver that would permit the state to implement an alternate approach to Medicaid expansion to cover the uninsured group. Expansion of Medicaid is a component of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare.The yet-to-be-formed panel, announced Friday after the House voted against giving the administration the go-ahead to seek the waiver, would comprise House and Senate lawmakers of both parties, supported by the administration and in dialogue with the federal government.The governor made the comments at an end-of-session press briefing attended by leaders of the Republican House and Senate majorities. The group of lawmakers pointed to various successes of the session, notably on education and schools funding, but were pressed on the failure of the Legislature to take more immediate and substantive action on health care for the gap group.The governor said he would honor a commitment not to act unilaterally on Medicaid expansion, saying that similar "contentiously made" executive orders "don't work out too well." He said he knew of "no reason at this moment" to call the Legislature back into session to take up the question.But he added that Obamacare was what "started this fight" and "started the problem," and said that the November elections and the new year would bring a different president, Supreme Court and Congress, suggesting that Republicans are still hoping that the change of administrations in Washington might bring a course change on health care."Those who would suggest that the Republicans in the Legislature don't care about those 78,000 people are dead wrong. They do care," Otter said, responding to a question. "We're just trying to get a solution that we can live with and not make false promises."Otter has convened two working groups of health experts to look at the state's options on expanding Medicaid, in 2012 and 2014. He said the new legislative panel "can call on all those experts.""I counted more on the experts than I counted votes, because I thought once we can see a clear path, we'll just do the right thing," the governor said. "I think it's time that we included those votes on those working committees."The committee proposal came Friday from House Speaker Scott Bedke as the House concluded its business for the year. The speaker Monday defended the progress lawmakers made on the issue this year."We weren't even talking about this last year. We were not even talking about this in January," Bedke said. The action lawmakers took, he said, reflects an "acknowledgement that we need to do something different than what we're doing" on health care."What that looks like, the House feels strongly that there needs to be a legislative component to that solution going forward," he said. "I think we need to count it as great progress that from an issue that we weren't talking about, and said that we were not going to take up, that we have, in a very meaningful way."Otter, Bedke and Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill each pointed to action on education by the Legislature this year, achieved with little dissension or debate. The Legislature authorized a 7.4 percent increase in K-12 spending totaling $1.58 billion, including funding for the second year of teacher salary increases and an elementary school literacy program, in addition to nearly $280 million for higher education."All in all I think the legislature did a tremendous job," the governor said.Hill, mentioning education, said the Legislature "did some great things and they went smoothly, things that we have struggled with in the past.""What failure we may have had those are opportunities to begin again," he said. State Sen. Virgil Smith started serving his 10-month jail sentence today as punishment for shooting his ex-wife's Mercedes-Benz, but he never resigned from his job as a legislator.So, he will continue to receive his $71,685 annual salary plus benefits while serving time behind bars.Smith, 36, D-Detroit, had agreed to resign from his job as part of a plea deal in the case, but then a judge said he didn't have authority to impose that as a condition of sentence and took it out of the agreement.Wayne County Circuit Judge Lawrence Talon said earlier this month that Smith could be expelled, voted out of office or resign, but requiring him to step down violates the state constitution.Prosecutors then asked for the plea deal to be voided -- and the case scheduled for trial -- since Smith didn't comply with the terms of the agreement.During today's hearing, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey argued that prosecutors should be able to retool their offer in the case.But Talon rejected the prosecution's request, saying "vacating the plea bargain would not serve the interests of justice."The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office vowed to appeal today's decision."We believe that the law supports that the agreement remains conditional until all the terms of the agreement are fulfilled," Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the office, said in a statement issued after the hearing. "Prosecutor (Kym) Worthy will appeal the court's ruling because the defendant did not fulfill his part of the plea agreement by resigning his elected position."Smith pleaded guilty to a felony count of malicious destruction of personal property of $20,000 or more in connection with the incident outside his home on Wexford last May and on March 14 was sentenced to 10 months in jail with no early release.His attorney, Godfrey Dillard, asked the court not to vacate the agreement."I'm asking the court to let it stand, allow the senator to stand on principle, stand against what we view is excessive power by the prosecutor," Dillard said.Lindsey fired back, saying Dillard was part of the discussionsand said he repeatedly indicated this is what he wanted to do."If I was on the street, I'd say counsel is talking out of both sides of his neck," she said.Before Smith was escorted out of the courtroom by deputies to begin his sentence in the Wayne County Jail, his father, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Virgil C. Smith, asked permission to give his son a hug."I guess my response to that is that I must treat him the same way that I treat everyone else in this position," Talon responded, before saying "no."Dillard refused to answer questions from reporters as he left the courtroom, including why his client has decided not to resign from office.Other state lawmakers have spent a night or two in jail after being arrested for things like drunk driving, but Smith is setting a new precedent, serving as both a state senator and a lengthy sentence, a political expert said."The idea of someone serving while being convicted and sentenced on a felony charge, it's never happened in Michigan," said Bill Ballenger, a former state Senator and editor of the Ballenger Report, a political newsletter.Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, said Smith told Meekhof on Friday that he intends to resign when he begins a jail sentence."The resignation has never been based on a plea deal, but rather on the understanding that Sen. Smith cannot serve his constituents while he's serving time in jail," she said.If he doesn't resign, then expulsion hearings could begin when the Legislature returns from a two-week spring break on April 12.Any member of the Senate can introduce a resolution asking for the expulsion of another member."And it would be up to the Majority Leader's discretion on how that would proceed," McCann said.Until that happens, Smith would continue to receive his salary and benefits.As part of the deal that was reached in the case, Smith also must serve five years of probation, stay away from alcohol, comply with mental health treatment and not have contact with his ex-wife, Anistia Thomas.Smith previously told investigators the shots were fired after Thomas pushed her way into his house and attempted to attack a woman in his bed. Thomas, who was in court today, has said Smith punched her and rammed her head into the floor and wall when she was inside his home.According to information presented in the case, Smith suffers from bipolar depressive hypomanic disorder, had been in car accident in 2014 that caused a traumatic brain injury and was recently treated for alcohol dependency.Prosecutors agreed to dismiss three felonies at part of the plea deal, including a count of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, which carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence, and a misdemeanor count of domestic violence.Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said on Friday an expulsion hearing will have to happen if Smith doesn't resign.Ananich said he asked Smith to resign when he was first arrested, "But the legal process was important to play out. I don't think it was appropriate for us to have a parallel investigation going on at the same time."Only four lawmakers have been expelled from the Michigan Legislature: Rep. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, who was expelled in September after getting caught up in a sex scandal and bizarre cover-up that also forced the resignation of Rep. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer; Sen. David Jaye, R- Washington Township, in 2001 after three drunken driving convictions and claims that the lawmaker assaulted his fiancee; Rep. Monte Geralds, D-Madison Heights, in 1978, after an embezzling conviction; and Rep. Milo Dakin of Saginaw in 1887 after he was accused of attempting to bribe his colleagues over changes to the Saginaw city charter. What Data Can Do Making It Work In the past, public-private partnerships have mostly involved the delivery of services, much like the way Chicago teams with Comcast to bring the Web to low-income families through the Internet Essentials partnership.Recently, though, the city has found a new way to partner with the private sector, joining with insurer Allstate to leverage data analysis as a means to improve city services. In an era driven by big data and data analytics, such efforts could represent a new means for public CIOs to take advantage of private-sector expertise.The city has just 42 health inspectors to monitor some 15,000 food establishments. The best way to tackle this Herculean task is to start by checking in on those restaurants most likely to be in violation of code. But how to know where to begin?Chicago IT officials paired their extensive open data with Allstates analytic muscle to come up with a solu-tion, leveraging outside talent to augment internal skills. At a time when skilled workers with deep analytical skills are in short supply, the partnership gave the city access to capabilities it might not otherwise have been easily able to acquire.We have been looking for ways to use analytics and data to improve the quality of life for residents, or to improve the efficiency of city operations, said Chicago Chief Data Officer Tom Schenk. To that end, city IT managers and Allstate volunteers looked at a wide range of variables: Does the establishment serve alcohol? How long has it been since the last inspection? Have there been local burglaries, sanitation complaints or unusual weather? In all, some 600 data sets were considered.All of that information is available on the citys open data portal, so it was essentially a matter of gathering what was already there and pulling it all together, said Gavin Smart, Allstates quantitative research director.Those data produced results in an initial two-month trial, with the city proving that data analysis could help inspectors zero in on potential problems much faster than in the past.In September and October 2014, the health department found 1,637 violations in eating establishments. Of those, 55 percent of critical violations showed up in the first month and 45 percent in the second month. Thats about as expected.At the same time, the city ran its own model, using data analytics to determine the most efficient hypothetical routes for inspectors. In the simulation, 69 percent of violations turned up in the first month. Data-driven inspec-tions were more timely and more effective, meaning fewer people would have potentially gotten sick. Thats exactly the outcome project planners were looking for. We want to catch the violations earlier, Schenk said. That is what reduces the exposure of patrons to unsanitary restaurant conditions.Why did the data-driven model show such strong results? A number of factors likely came into play, including the productive teaming of the city CTOs three data scientists with the Allstate volunteers, as well as a quantita-tive approach thats just beginning to take hold in public management processes.The Chicago simulation worked because data works. As public CIOs are learning, the rise of big data and analytics has profound real-world implications.In this case, the citys access to data-savvy talent came about partly thanks to the Civic Consulting Alliance, a nonprofit group that helps to broker public-private alliances in Chicago. The use of data is a powerful new tool in these partnerships, said alliance CEO Brian Fabes.The challenges have changed and now the tools have changed, in the evolution of technology and the ability to dive in and use data and analytics to find new ways to do things, he said. This is a great, very specific ex-ample of that. And we are starting to see lots of other examples like this all around the country, with big data and data analytics providing a window on what is happening and generating ideas about what is to be done.Allstate, for its part, saw the project as a way to drive positive social action from the kinds of data-driven modeling it already has been doing in the insurance arena.That is the beauty of working with data and mathematical models, that you can see the impact of the things you are doing, you can see how well they are performing, Smart said. When you can quantify things, it is easi-er to see how well you are doing and what the opportunities are.Allstate engaged with the city through its Project Lightbulb, a company program that gives each employee four hours a week to pursue work-related interests outside their daily responsibilities. Sometimes this includes professional enrichment; sometimes employees use the time to work on theoretical models and tools. In this case, three to four analysts used their time to help the city solve its restaurant problem.This is a great opportunity to give some of our folks a chance to learn from people in different fields, as well as help those folks make some progress in their particular areas, said Smart. And its a great way to be able to give back to the community.To that end, Allstate volunteers worked primarily on developing data sets and building mathematical models based on available data. That information is sprawling 600 data sets were put into play. This raises a question: With big data capable of doing so much, how do analysts know when to stop? If they are counting everything from the weather to local robbery statistics, is there anything that doesnt go into the equation?Whenever you are approaching analytic-type projects or problems, you can almost go on forever looking at data sources that might be predictive, Smart said. The solution is to work within constraints how fast do we need a result? and also to accept that any improvement, however imperfect, still counts as a win.If we can get something done, get a Version 1 model completed within some reasonable amount of time that shows some reasonable improvement, we can always look to other people to move it forward, he said.In the push to put data into play, Schenk noted that there are pros and cons to the kind of public-private ar-rangement that arose here. While the project did give the city access to data pros at a time when such talent is pricey and hard to come by, its also true that any engagement with an outside partner can bog down the public CIO in contractual paperwork.At the same time, the move toward opening up access to public data can help overcome such bureaucratic roadblocks. When the data is already publicly available, there is no nondisclosure agreement we need to sign, said Schenk. It lets us sidestep months of work, since they already have the ability to access that data very easily.Still, that very openness merits a word of caution from Smart, who reminds CIOs that analytics will forever be a moving target.As the analytic capability grows, people need to be mindful of how to maintain a lot of this. From our own experience in predictive modeling, we know that if you have a model that has been in production for quite a while and then trends start to change, it can produce some deterioration, he said. You need to have the re-source and capabilities to keep refreshing and rebuilding those models.For now, the partnership between the city and Allstate is continuing beyond food inspection analysis. In their latest joint venture, analysts have set their sights on prioritizing elevator inspections based on available data. The hope is to isolate those most likely to fail in order to maximize the benefits of city inspections and best serve the cause of public safety. (TNS) -- The need is clear: Indianapolis tech industry is expected to blossom in the next decade, calling for an additional 51,500 workers by 2025.To help the city on its way to a computing-based future, the White House designated Indianapolis as a TechHire city this month. The program prepares low-skilled workers for high-paying tech jobs.Its exciting because it will help inspire employers to understand that great talent doesnt have to come out of a four-year university, said Sally Reasoner, director of talent initiatives at TechPoint, a group that works to accelerate the growth of Indianas tech community. There are other training pathways to scale up talent in the state.The TechHire program builds on the work already being done in Indianapolis, Reasoner said. The city has made a name for itself in the tech community with companies such as Angies List and ExactTarget, a business that was sold to Salesforce in 2013 for $2.5 billion.The TechHire designation will foster training for jobs in software development, network administration and cybersecurity. Up to 186 people could get jobs this year as a result of it, according to an estimate from the Obama administration, which also predicts 560 people could be employed by the close of 2018.The program links resources such as the coding school Eleven Fifty Academy, TechPoint and EmployIndy, Marion Countys workforce development board. It also enables the city to compete for federal funding, although none is specifically set aside for the program.TechHire originated with 21 locations and has grown to 50.Indianapolis has invested a lot of time and resources to build the footprint of technology companies here, said Shelly Towns, senior vice president of product at Angies List, one of the companies participating in the TechHire program. Thats often overlooked as our selling point as a city and economy.Other Indiana employers participating in the program include Apparatus, Blackboard, Bloomerang, FiberIndy, Interactive Intelligence, NetLogix, TCC Software Solutions and WDD Software Solutions.TechHire has been successful in Louisville, Ky., where about 500 people have completed training programs. The real benefit, though, has been developing a training structure that can be used to usher in new generations of workers, said Ted Smith, chief of civic innovation for the city of Louisville.It has worked out very well, he said. This is the first program in the country where weve seen tremendous diversity in terms of race, gender and age. We have an unbelievable cross section. Its like walking into the grocery store.Louisville, like Indiana, has a strong manufacturing tradition. TechHire has filled some of the gap created by the loss of manufacturing jobs due to technological advancements and outsourcing, Smith said.As manufacturing continues an overall decline, it will have a harsh impact on Indianas workforce over time. Indiana leads the nation in manufacturing employment, which accounts for almost 17 percent of the state's workforce.In fact, Indiana lost 235,058, or 31 percent, of its manufacturing job base from 1969 to 2014, according to data from the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.Although Indianapolis will have tech jobs to replace those lost by a gradual decline in manufacturing, theres more work to be done, said Frank Sprague, manager of technology recruiting at Blackboard, one of the Indianapolis companies participating in TechHire.The biggest obstacle is ensuring that workers who would have been employed in low- to midskill manufacturing jobs receive adequate training, Sprague said.The challenge for EmployIndy is if they think they can put these people in an eight-week boot camp and make them credible software engineers, that goal might be a little lofty, Sprague said.The training is intended to give people a basic skill set that can be expanded over time, Sprague said.The training provided under TechHire will be a launching pad for creating a more skilled workforce, Reasoner said. The training builds on the tremendous growth the city has seen in tech jobs, which increased 17 percent, or 5,000 jobs, from 2009 to 2014, she said.This microcluster of tech is booming, she said. We are moving the needle. The programs we are working to build and grow are making an impact.At the end of the day, its about opening doors to people who otherwise wouldnt have been able to work in tech jobs, Reasoner said.It means that the young person who is working at FedEx and has tinkered with computers in the background and doesnt have a degree in computer science can find a way to technology, she said. They can find training resources that will get them in the door that can make them a systems engineer.IndyStar Washington Bureau reporter Maureen Groppe contributed to this story. Coal mines are closing in Hotchkiss, Colo., and citizens are giving pot shops a second look,If we could get it legalized right now, we could create some jobs, and we need the tax revenue, said Thomas Wills, a town trustee. Downtowns not going to be all flashing green crosses and dancing marijuana leaves. You can make it as unobtrusive as you want.After state legalization in 2012, the town initially voted against allowing the drug and its paraphernalia from being sold for worry of an influx of crime and change in community character.Read the full story for a slice of Americas changing economic landscape. Privacy vs. security A federal order Battle is far from over (TNS) -- The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced it was dropping an effort to have Apple defeat privacy safeguards the company had built into its software after federal agents managed to read the data encrypted on a phone used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook.Efforts to bypass that devices pass code without Apples intervention proved successful, said the Department of Justice. The iPhones operating system is designed to prevent such attempts, but security researchers have identified some weaknesses in that software.The Department of Justice announced last week that it had obtained technical help from an unnamed party, prompting it to ask a federal court in Riverside to postpone a hearing originally scheduled for last Tuesday on an order the government was seeking to compel Apples assistance.It wasnt immediately clear what methods the outside party used to read the data.The breakthrough marks the end of one battle between a technology company and the government. But the war over privacy and security that this case came to symbolize rages on. Apple faces 12 similar orders to assist law enforcement in unlocking iPhones.And other technology companies, many of which filed briefs supporting Apples position, are similarly building stronger protections into their software that may stymie government attempts to read their users data.In recent remarks at an industry event in Austin, President Obama called on the technology industry to find a middle ground on encryption. Yet compromise has been hard to find . Privacy and security advocates say the revelations of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden alarmed many about the ability of government agents to spy on citizens. Mistrust has run high on both sides.By finding a way to break into the San Bernardino iPhone without Apples intervention, the Department of Justice has avoided, for now, the possibility that a court might rule against it. But the government said it might seek court orders if technical means fail in the future.As the government noted in its filing today, the FBI has now successfully retrieved the data stored on the San Bernardino terrorists iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple required by this Court Order, said Department of Justice spokeswoman Melanie Newman. It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails. We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors.In February, a federal magistrate in Riverside ordered Apple to write software altering the iPhones security protections, which would help federal agents more easily bypass that phones encryption.Apple had contended that such a measure would give the government a dangerous power to weaken security protections in devices used by hundreds of millions of people.The Cupertino company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief business and legal officer for Mozilla, the nonprofit Web browser maker, said in a statement that the FBI should have explored all technical options before turning to the courts.The governments decision to drop the case doesnt change the need to have the broader discussion of what limits should be placed on law enforcements ability to compel assistance from tech companies, she said. If anything, todays development makes this question even more important, because this is a step that the FBI should have taken before deciding to start a legal fight with Apple.Mozilla, along with dozens of other technology companies and organizations, had filed briefs with the Riverside court supporting Apples position.Newman said that the FBI is reviewing the information on the phone, consistent with standard investigatory procedures.The governments withdrawal in this case does not mean that the battle over encryption is over, said security researcher Dan Kaminsky, who has publicly supported Apples stance in the San Bernardino case.Its not merely that the war is continuing, he said. Damage has been done. The largest technology company in the world just had to spend an enormous amount of its resources and attention not making better products, not making more secure products, but fighting off a demand for insecurity. (TNS) -- The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is opposing the concept of innovation districts proposed by the finance committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, arguing the bill would only add to the states fiscal woes.The first Senate bill introduced in 2016 legislative session, the proposed act would funnel provide $25 million in grants to newly designated innovation districts , along with the same amount to business accelerators throughout the state and $60 million as loans to startups.The bill would also create a quasi-public office dubbed ImpaCT with a majority of its members serial entrepreneurs to promote policies that foster startups, while acting as a liaison between startups and state agencies. And the legislation would establish an office that would work to commercialize technologies being developed at universities or corporations not interested in pursuing products themselves based on those developments.While we recognize the positive intentions of the bill, we are deeply concerned about the significant fiscal impact of this bill given the states new economic reality, said Ben Marnes, secretary of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management , in testimony to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly . It contains many new tax credits and additional expenditures which we cannot entertain in this current economic environment. At present the state has limited revenues and a need to cancel existing bond authorizations because of those revenue limitations. 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. American Telugu Assn. Hosts ATA Women's Day American Telugu Association [ATA] hosted a grand ATA Womens Day 2016 to celebrate and to honor women in commemoration of the Worlds Womens Day and in conjunction with the forthcoming ATA Convention at Viceroy Banquet Hall in Lombard, Illinois that drew the attendance of over 250 guests predominantly women with their families. The evening celebrations lauded the role of traditional Indian women who play a vital role in nurturing and shaping the family, community, and society and beyond; and their significant role was revered for their stoic commitment to the family values and time-honored traditions. The event set off with the lighting of the lamp by Chandrasekhar Reddy Palvai, Convention Convener, Dr. Meher B. Medavaram, ATA Trustee, Krishna Mushyam Convention Co-Convener and Kamala Chimta, Convention Coordinator and Dr. Uma Katiki which was accompanied by a prayer song. Women dressed in their finest traditional colorful sarees showed a great degree of grace and poise in showcasing their talents at the evening celebrations. Chandrasekhar Reddy Palvai, ATA Convention Convener welcomed the guests and the couples and praised their important role in building American Telugu Association to its robust strength; while Mr. Krishna Mushyam Convention Co-Convener complemented women on their societal role and urged women to actively engage in the silver jubilee ATA Convention in the same vibrant spirit. The event was conducted by Dr. Meher B. Medavaram, with the partnership of Dr. Uma Katiki, Chairperson for the Womens Forum for the 2016 ATA Convention and her team along with women members of various committees. Kamala Chimta, Convention Coordinator eloquently addressed the women in Telugu encouraging the empowerment of women as one of the key goals of ATA. The event encompassed speakers who made informative healthcare and wellness presentations especially Dr. Arati Reddy, Endocrinologist who spoke on diabetes and thyroid disorders in women; followed by audience participation in question and answer session. Mrs. Anu Malhotra, Health Care Executive gave a presentation on the art of stress-free living and taught the audience the power of breathing, relaxation and meditation technique. Mrs. Rifat Khan, Child Psychologist/CEO Douglas Center in Chicago also spoke. With music, dance, fashion show and delectable food with shopping stalls of sarees and jewelry. The women received prizes for categories such as: best dressed the best dancers and a raffle, along with charity fundraiser events for old age home in India. The meeting was also attended by the ATA committee chairs and members: Mr. Venkat Thudi, Mr. Ramana Abhiraju and Mr. Bhanu Swargam. Severed cow's head placed at Hindu sanctuary in US New York: The severed head of cow has been placed at a Hindu cow sanctuary in Pennsylvania and the state police are investigating the crime as a case of "ethnic intimidation." The cow's head was dumped at over the weekend at the Lakshmi Cow Sanctuary in Monroe County, according to media reports. The Express Times newspaper reported Tuesday that Pennsylvania State Police are calling the incident which happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning "ethnic intimidation, criminal trespass and harassment." State Trooper Carrie A. Gula, who was quoted by the newspaper, said explaining the intimidation description, "The victim's religion is Hinduism. In this religion, the cow is (a) symbol of life and may never be killed." None of the 20 cows at the sanctuary were hurt, local TV station WNEP reported on its web site. The severed head was left where Sankar Sastri, who runs the sanctuary could find it, "but he's not letting this taint what the sanctuary is all about," reporter Jim Hamill said. "Now the sanctuary has a chance to educate folks about Hindu beliefs in spite of a disturbing deed." Sastri told the station, "I hope this doesn't magnify anymore. I don't want to take it to the next side. I hope just a prank. They probably didn't realize. People are unaware of what we're about." Sastri would use the incident to inform the local people about Hinduism, Hamill said. The Express Times reported that the cow sanctuary was founded about 20 years ago by Sastri, a retired professor and dean at the New York City College of Technology, and relocated to the area around Jackson Township from another location in the state only about about a month ago. He told the newspaper's web site, lehighvalleylive.com, that finding the cow's head was like the scene from "The Godfather" movie where a severed horse head is left on a man's bed as a warning from the mob boss. But "they didn't leave it in my bed." Sastri said. Rajan Zed, the president of the Nevada-based Universal Society of Hinduism, said that "Hindus are highly concerned" over the incident and asked Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Monroe County Chairperson John R. Moyer to reassure the community. "It was shocking for the hard-working, harmonious and peaceful US Hindu community numbering about three million, who had made lot of contributions to the nation and society, to receive such signals of hatred and intimidation," he said in a statement. Oops! There was a problem! Sorry, but we can't find what you were looking for right now. The content may have been removed, or is temporarily unavailable. GreatAndhra.com powered by India Brains Infotech, LLC, its owners, associates and employees are not responsible for any errors, omissions or representations on any of our pages or on any links on any of our pages. We do not endorse in anyway any advertisers on our web pages, links to personal pages, official pages, or commercial pages. We have no control of the content of external information. Please verify the veracity of all information on your own before undertaking any reliance. 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'Oopiri' Review: Touching And Beautiful Movie: Oopiri Rating: 3.5/5 Banner: PVP Cinema Cast: Nagarjuna, Karthi, Tamannah, Jayasudha, Prakash Raj, Kalpana, Ali, Nora, Adivi Sesh, Anushka, Shriya and others Banner: PVP Cinema Dialogues: Abburi Ravi Music: Gopi Sundar Cinematography: P S Vinod Producers: Param V Potluri & Kevin Anne Direction: Vamsi Paidipally Release Date: 25 March 2016 One of the most awaited movies of this year is Nagarjuna and Karthis multi-starrer movie 'Oopiri'. With nearly Rs 60 Cr budget, this bilingual was shot lavishly in Paris and Belgrade and the trailer was a hit. Since Nagarjuna has delivered two blockbusters in a row, this movie has become hotter in the trade circles and created huge expectations. How does the film fare? Story: Vikram Aditya (Nagarjuna) is a billionaire who is paralyzed down the naval in an accident. He runs a big business and is assisted by able managers and a secretary (Tammanah) but he is looking for a caregiver. He wants a caregiver who shouldnt be a mere physical help but someone who can cheer him up. Sreenu (Karthi) who is out of jail applies for this job. Surprising his own staff, Vikram Aditya picks up Sreenu among all the applicants who come for the interview. What quality does Vikram Aditya see in Sreenu? How does Sreenu change Vikram Adityas life? Artistes Performances: Nagarjuna is pillar of the movie. He has acted in highly challenging role of a person who is handicapped and cant move his legs. Nagarjuna has given most matured performance. But the real surprise and soul of the movie is Karthi. Karthi is perfect as street- smart guy. This is his first movie in Telugu; his dialogue delivery is commendable. Tamannah is beautiful and her chemistry with Karthi is perfect. Jayasudha, Kalpana, Prakash Raj and host of other seniors have done their justice to their roles. Technical Excellence: Stunning view of Paris and beautiful visuals throughout the movie are the major feature of Oopiri. P S Vinod who also did the camerawork for Nagarjunas Manam and Soggade Chinni Nayana has filmed the movie perfectly. His camerawork is the main highlight. Other noteworthy work in the technical department is Gopi Sundars music. Songs are neat but his recording is the best. Runtime of the movie has exceeded two and half hours. PVP Cinema has invested huge money to make a high quality movie. This is one of best directed movies in the recent times and all the credit goes to Director Vamsi Paidipalliy. Highlights: Story and Screenplay Nagarjuna and Karthi Terrific direction Rich cinematography Many touching moments Quality production values Perfect music Drawback: Too lengthy Drags on towards the end Analysis: The film is official remake of a French film called The Intouchables. When most of the Indian filmmakers are copying international movies, director Vamshi Paidipally and PVP Cinema have bought the official rights and adapted it, which is commendable. The French movie was a blockbuster. Vamsi Paidipally has been faithful to the original story though he has done some changes which are superb to the say the least. He has not changed the structure of the original movie. Two unlikely people meeting and forging a friendship is told in the most humorous way possible here. There are fun moments, there are daring acts, and there are sentiment scenes. The first half of the movie is narrated in a fun way while the second half has more drama. Given the storyline, the film could have been a sentimental tearjerker but it is not. Director Vamshi Paidipally has balanced that on rightly. When Karthi is helpless in his sisters marriage issues, he pouring out to his emotions to Nagarjuna and the subsequent episode touches the heart. Very classy way of telling a scene by the director and writers. In the second half, when Nagarjuna feels the pain when Karthi leaves him, the scene also stands out. The movie is filled with many emotional moments all the while keeping humor intact. This is the directors movie. And Karthis show all the way. Despite length, Oopiri is one of the best made heart-touching movies in Tollywood. It is seeped with classiness. Bottom-line: Classy Feel-good Drama (Venkat can be reached venkat@greatandhra.com or Twitter) Click here for Telugu review Assembly Building Or Atomic Reactor? The designs finalised by the Andhra Pradesh government for the two iconic buildings State Assembly and High Court in the new capital city of Amaravati has disappointed not only intellectuals, but also common people, a lot. As if there are no expert designers in the country who have the fair knowledge of the Telugu culture and tradition, the Chandrababu Naidu government has approved the design of a Japanese architecture firm Maki and Associates for reasons known only to it. Though it is a world-renowned firm and has the credit of constructing several high rise buildings across the world, Maki and Associates appears to have absolutely no idea of the culture of Andhra Pradesh. Experts have commented that the design approved by the Naidu government for the State Assembly building resembles that of an atomic reactor, rather than an Assembly building. Needless to say, Japan is known for its heavy nuclear reactors. Most of the Assembly buildings, barring a few, in the country have a reflection of either Indian heritage or local culture in their designs. But the proposed Amaravati Assembly building has no such look, though it looks very modern. Many say the design submitted by DV Joshi Architects (India) was much better. But somehow, Naidu preferred Japanese design. They've Learnt This Well While CBN is implementing all of KCRs tricks in AP, there is one aspect in which KCR is following his guru. And that is in the art of media management. Whether anything gets done or not, creating a lot of hype and then getting credit for virtually nothing done on the ground through support from the media. This is an art CBN has perfected and taken to the highest level and KCR is following the same. On April 4, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy will be inaugurating the new IT Policy of the Telangana government. The government had decided to unveil the policy during the visit of Microsoft CEO, the Telugu-speaking Satya Nadella, in December last year. But with the model code of conduct coming into force, it had to defer the launch. As the polls are over and the ongoing session of Legislature is also set to close, the IT Department has fixed April 4 as the new launch date. And this time, it will be Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy who will launch the policy. In doing so, Telangana also would keep its penchant for roping in big names for launches intact. For the opening of the T-Hub, the State had waited for emeritus chairman of Tata Group Ratan Tata to recover after a surgery. Thus, there will be no shortage of publicity and hype. Will anything actually happen on the ground? Good question! TRS Keen On Joining NDA? Telangana Rashtra Samithi leadership is learnt to have stepped up its behind-the-curtain attempts to join the National Democratic Alliance government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to reports from New Delhi, the TRS MPs have been holding hectic parleys with the senior BJP leaders and some Union Ministers to work out a formula for joining the NDA government. In the last few weeks, Minister of IT, Panchayat Raj and Municipal Administration K T Rama Rao went to New Delhi quite a few times to convey the feelers of his father K Chandrasekhar Rao with a wishlist to join the NDA. He will be going to New Delhi again on Tuesday to discuss the issue with the BJP leadership. Sources said senior union minister M Venkaiah Naidu is learnt to be lobbying a lot for the TRS in its attempt to join the NDA. Even media baron Ch Ramoji Rao is said to have suggested to Modi to make friendship with KCR. If everything works out, the TRS will join the NDA in a month or two and Kavitha will become a Union Cabinet minister! Two More Congies Eyeing TRS? Last week on the occasion of his birthday, Deputy Leader of Congress in Legislative Council, P Sudhakar Reddy decided to donate his salary for the month to the Chief Ministers Relief Fund. He requested that the salary amount be used for drought relief measures. And another Congressman and party spokesperson V Krishna Mohan Rao has been praising KCR through articles in newspapers and debates in the studios of TV Channels. In short, Krishna Mohan has been acting as a spokesperson for KCR. Naturally, the Congress Party has served a show-cause notice on him. Party insiders say that these two Congressmen are wooing KCR in their respective fashions and it is only a matter of time before they switch lovers. Who Is Afraid Of KCR: Babu or Jagan? Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday witnessed a heated debate on an interesting issue: who is afraid of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao? During the course of intense discussion on Pattiseema and Polavaram projects, Leader of Opposition and YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy lashed out at the Chandrababu Naidu government for compromising on the Krishna waters by taking up the Pattiseema project. The project which was taken up at a whopping cost of Rs 1600 crore does not have any storage capacity. If the Godavari water is taken to Krishna basin through Pattiseema project, it will bring down AP share of Krishna waters as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana would raise objection as per the clauses of the tribunal award. "Naidu is not able to prevent Telangana from taking up Palamuru lift scheme only because he has taken up Pattiseema project unauthorisedly on Godavari river. "When Telangana Chief Minister had a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister on various projects on Godavari river, Naidu remained silent but did not make an attempt to be part of the discussions. He is afraid of confronting KCR, simply because he is caught neck-deep in the cash-for-vote scam, Jagan alleged. Refuting the charges of Jagan, the AP Chief Minister said the Opposition leader had absolutely no knowledge of irrigation projects. Our government has proposed Pattiseema project only as per the Godavari tribunal award which entitled us to use surplus waters. This has nothing to do with Krishna river sharing. Jagan is speaking against the interests of the State. And why should I be afraid of KCR? In fact, Jagan has a lot of fear towards KCR, because he needs protection to his benami assets in Hyderabad, Naidu retorted. Who Is Protecting Agri Gold Scamsters? The Agri Gold scam has been rocking the Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for nearly one year and the depositors have been crying foul over the way the company management duped them of more than Rs 7,000 crore which it had collected in the form of deposits. Yet, the bigwigs of the company are able to get away without any arrests or prosecution. Everything is as usual with the company and the Tollywood channel being run by the company continues to operate with a lot of programmes. After a lot of hue and cry, the CID has taken up the investigation thanks to the intervention of the High Court and arrested a couple of directors, who were out on bail within no time. The assets are frozen, but the bigwigs in the management had already diverted thousands of crores to other properties through benami transactions. YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy raised this issue in the Assembly on Monday and pointed out that the ruling TDP leaders had bought huge chunks of land of Agri Gold through benami transactions and that is why, the government was not taking any action against the company management. The CID probe is an eye-wash. The government should order a CBI inquiry into it, he demanded. Why Is Jagan Not Able To Gel With Seniors? There seems to be something wrong with YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in handling senior leaders, which is evident from the way they are deserting the party one after the other. For any party, seniors are an asset because of their experience and ability to do political management in the hours of crisis. Since they had spent donkeys years in politics, they expect the party leader to respect their experience and importance. It may not be possible to give key positions to all the seniors, but there is a way to respect their feelings and they should be taken into confidence while taking crucial decisions. Apparently, Jagan is not aware of this simple strategy. This is basically because of his attitude: he thinks all these so-called seniors had made name and fame only because of his father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and hence, they should be loyal to him, too. Since he is the party president and they had all joined him only to safeguard their political interest, he does not have to care for them and respect their feelings. This is the reason why most of the seniors like Sabbam Hari, Konathala Ramakrishna, S P Y Reddy, Bhuma Nagi Reddy Dadi Veerabhadra Rao and others had left the YSR Congress party. The latest in the list is Jyothula Nehru, who felt humiliated for being ignored for the PAC chairman post. He did not bother to heed the advice of YSR loyalists like K V P Ramachandra Rao or Sai Pratap. And other seniors like Ummareddy Venkateshwarlu, M V Mysoora Reddy, Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy and D A Somayajulu are also said to be terribly upset with the attitude of Jagan in not respecting the seniors. They might look for alternatives very soon, if he continues to ill-treat him. Another Rag Picker Visits UoH The University of Hyderabad was honored by the visit of yet another rag picker to its premises. This time, it was former Union Minister and Congressman Sushil Kumar Shinde. Shinde questioned as to why the police failed to arrest the Vice-Chancellor P Appa Rao and arrested the students instead. Shinde, the genius is probably unaware of the fact that it was the students who resorted to violence and vandalism, not the Vice-Chancellor. By the way, Shinde has great respect for Pakistan and terrorists as well. He came under intense criticism by the Indian media for addressing Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and an alleged conspirator of Mumbai Terror Attacks Hafiz Muhammad Saeed using honorifics like Mr. and Shri. On December 17, 2012 in an identical statement in both Houses of the Indian Parliament, said ...We had been given to understand by the interior minister of Pakistan that Mr Hafiz Saeed had been arrested on the charges of being a part of the conspiracy for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks ... When we pursued this matter, they gave us papers pertaining to the detentions of Shri Hafiz Saeed in 2002 and 2009..." And thats not all! During a speech made in Congress's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, Shinde had claimed that the Home Ministry had received a report that the RSS and BJP were promoting Hindu terrorism through their training camps. He also accused the RSS and BJP of being behind the Samjhauta Express bombings, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon blasts. His statements were condemned by the BJP for claiming something without giving credible proof. The BJP demanded his immediate resignation, which at his failure to do so they would begin nationwide agitation. Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, Dr Praveen Togadia demanded Shinde to take back his words and apologise to the whole country. Shiv Sena also condemned his statement saying that in the aftermath of 26/11 Terrorist Attack, the Congress had said that terror should not be associated with any color or religion. However, this time the Congress had raised the issue of "Saffron terrorism." Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too then slammed him calling his statements "irresponsible" that clearly showed his "immaturity". The terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa in Pakistan congratulated him and welcomed his statements. This approval prepares the way for the use of Gevo ATJas well as ATJ-SPK fuels produced by other manufacturersin commercial operations. As previously announced, Alaska Airlines is now poised to fly the first commercial test flight using Gevos renewable ATJ-SPJ fuel. ( Earlier post .) Gevo is preparing the shipment of ATJ to Alaska Airlines for this first flight. Alaska Airlines will work with the Federal Aviation Administration to schedule the flight using Gevos ATJ. Renewable isobutanol company Gevo announced that the ASTM International Committee D02 on Petroleum Products, Liquid Fuels, and Lubricants and Subcommittee D02.J on Aviation Fuel passed a concurrent ballot this week approving the revision of ASTM D7566 (Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons) to include alcohol-to-jet synthetic paraffinic kerosene (ATJ-SPK) (the D02.J Ballot). ( Earlier post .) (The ATJ Task Force in ASTM D02-J6, initiated by Gevo in 2010, focused on two main fuel products: ATJ-SPK (paraffins) and ATJ-SKA (Synthetic Kerosene with Aromatics). ATJ-SPK has a maximum blend ratio of 30%; ATJ-SKA has a maximum blend ratio up to 70%. SKA is intended to supply additional aromatics compounds to alternative jet fuels blends. Most of the other pathways, including ATJ-SPK, yield products that are too low in aromatic content to be used on their own.) Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Click to enlarge. The D02.J Ballot passed two levels of ASTM technical scrutiny: subcommittee and main committee ballot and is in the final stages of Society Review. The ASTM process is substantially complete as it relates to the approval of the D02.J Ballot. In order to fully complete the process, the ASTM still needs to close the Society Review, perform a final ballot tally, and publish the revision of ASTM D7566 (Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons) on its website. It is expected that these final actions will be completed by the ASTM in early April. Once the revision of ASTM D7566 (Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons) is published by the ASTM, Gevos ATJ will be eligible to be used as a blending component in standard Jet A-1 for commercial airline use in the United States and in many other countries around the globe. Gevos ATJ would be eligible to be used for up to a 30% blend in conventional jet fuel for commercial flights. Were pleased that this newly-revised standard now supports isobutanol based alcohol-to-jet aviation biofuels and we look forward to flying it this year. Developing a domestic, competitively priced, sustainable supply of biofuels is fundamental to Alaska Airlines long term sustainability goals. Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines Senior Vice President of External Relations This ASTM revision is a major achievement and supports one of Gevos key products. We believe that Gevos renewable ATJ provides a clear and cost-competitive path for commercial airlines to reduce their greenhouse gas footprints and reduce their particulate emissions from combustion. For Gevo, this step is expected to open a large and significant market to Gevo around which Gevo expects to build a profitable business. Dr. Patrick Gruber, Gevo CEO Gevo developed proprietary technology that uses a combination of synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, chemistry and chemical engineering to focus primarily on the production of isobutanol, as well as related products from renewable feedstocks. Gevo has also developed and demonstrated the technology to convert isobutanol into aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons using known chemistry and existing refinery infrastructure: Isobutanol produced from starch or biomass is dehydrated over an acidic catalyst to produce isobutylene, which is then further reacted to product mixtures of longer chain aliphatic hydrocarbons. A portion of this material is reacted separately to form high density aromatic compounds. Hydrogen gas, a byproduct of the aromatization reaction, is used to remove unsaturated bonds in the aliphatic material. The hydrocarbons then are blended in proportions that can meet all ASTM standards for fuels: isooctane is a dimer of dehydrated isobutanol and is a major component of the premium value alkylates, a key gasoline component; a trimer of the isobutylene (dehydrated isobutanol) is a jet fuel blend stock; a polymer of four and five isobutylenes can make a diesel blend stock. Resources RALEIGH New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray have banned nonessential publically funded travel to North Carolina in response to its legislation blocking anti-discrimination protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people. Cuomo and Murray issued executive orders Monday saying the bans would take effect immediately. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee made the same move Friday. North Carolina lawmakers approved and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed legislation last week voiding a Charlotte ordinance that would have provided wide protections against discrimination in public accommodations. The law also prevents cities and counties from passing anti-discrimination rules and imposes a statewide standard that leaves out protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. GREENSBORO A federal lawsuit was filed Monday challenging House Bill 2, the new state law blocking local governments from passing anti-discrimination rules that include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and mandates that transgender people use public restrooms of their biological sex. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Equality North Carolina, a lesbian and two transgender men brought the suit. The two transgender men Joaquin Carcano of Carrboro and Payton McGarry of Greensboro were born female and have not changed the sex designated on their birth certificates. They say using bathrooms and locker rooms for women could lead to harassment or violence. In nearly every incident where my gender has been an issue it has been in a female bathroom, McGarry said in a Monday interview. McGarry, a UNCG sophomore majoring in business and accounting, has identified as male since his high school days in Wilson. There, he said, he used female bathrooms until it was clear that it made female students uncomfortable. He had to begin using a faculty bathroom to avoid harassment and even physical violence from female students. Since then, hes undergone hormone therapy, lived as a male and used male bathrooms with no trouble. McGarry said he was hurt by the suggestion from state legislators that if he and other transgender people were allowed to choose their bathroom, it would lead to predatory behavior and harm to women and children. I think a lot of the fear is just born out of ignorance, McGarry said. Everybody wants to think Im a woman using a male bathroom and thats just not the truth whatsoever. The new law puts all transgender people in a difficult position, he added. I can put myself through the anxiety and stress of going to a female bathroom and risk being verbally and physically assaulted or I can break the law, McGarry said. In a Monday news conference, Carcano said transgender people are already part of their communities whether people realize it or not. We exist, Carcano said. Youve passed us on the street whether you know it or not. I guarantee youve shared a restroom with us. We use it just like you. In addition to rolling back local protections passed in Charlotte, Greensboro and other North Carolina cities, House Bill 2 prevents future local ordinances that extend existing non-discrimination protections to LGBT people in areas such as employment and public accommodations. Angela Gilmore, another of the plaintiffs, lives in Durham and is a law professor at N.C. Central. She said the law makes her and her family feel less welcome in North Carolina. North Carolina is our home and our community, Gilmore said. And when someone, anyone, threatens your home you have to respond. That is why I am part of this lawsuit. The lawsuit asserts that the law is a violation of the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The suit names Gov. Pat McCrory and N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper. Both will face each other in Novembers gubernatorial election. Cooper has already made statements and filmed online videos denouncing the law. It wasnt clear Monday how or whether his office will defend the state against the suit. The General Assembly has regularly hired outside attorneys to represent the state in federal lawsuits over the years. In a statement, the NC Values Coalition said the lawsuit was without merit and filed by groups that represent radical extremists who want to allow grown men to shower and use the bathroom next to little girls. Chris Sgro, the executive director of LGBT advocacy group Equality North Carolina, said that was inaccurate. The threat of this bill that it presents to LGBT people and the whole of North Carolina is real and immediate, Sgro said. It will not stand the test of time or the test of federal court. The bill has also received significant backlash from the business community. Dow Chemical and Wells Fargo have denounced the law as discriminatory and bad for business. Other major companies such as IBM, American Airlines, PayPal and Apple have also lent their voices to the opposition. On Monday, the High Point Market Authority said the law is already hurting its business. Based on the reaction in just the last few days, hundreds and perhaps thousands of our customers will not attend Market this April, the organization said in a statement. N.C. Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) said he doesnt believe it was the legislatures intention to discriminate against anyone. I think this is about the city of Charlotte exercising an authority it doesnt have, Hardister said on Monday. We cant have cities passing laws that are different across the state. If were going to have anti-discrimination laws, they need to be uniform. Connecticut may seem like a quaint place, but some unusual things go on here. Take a look at some of Connecticut oddities, legends and creepy places. GFFs upcoming spring 2016 issue. This is convincing evidence that the gluten-free movement isnt going anywhere. Meredith Corporation owners of brands including Every Day With Rachael Ray, EatingWell, and Shape will distribute San Francisco publication GFF: Gluten Free Forever beginning April 19, with the magazines spring 2016 issue. Launched in October 2014 during the indie-food-rag boom, GFF had until now a relatively minor circulation of 12,000 copies. The magazine will move far beyond the select Whole Foods and specialty food retailers that have carried it so far, as distribution will skyrocket to 250,000 copies and be done on a nationwide, mass-market scale. The magazine might have been an upstart focused on a niche, if growing, market, but its founders certainly werent. Editor-in-chief Erika Lenkert, who says she has been gluten-free since 2001, has an extensive resume that includes stints as executive editor at Glam Media, the North Bay food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, and a recipe developer for the likes of Every Day With Rachael Ray and InStyle. Glossy and manicured with high-quality paper and attractive photography, the magazine certainly taps into the current vegan-glow moment. There are recipes from chefs such as Delfinas Craig and Annie Stoll or 2014 JBFA winner Shauna Ahern; product guides to cake mixes and an upcoming gluten-free-beer roundup; travel tips and guides for places like Luang Prabang in Laos and New Orleans; and entertaining guides for all sorts of occasions. Its basically a one-stop shop for gluten-free living, and, with a still-growing market, it could be big. [San Francisco Chronicle] Maybe time for the other white meat. Photo: Roman Marzinger/Westend61/Corbis The poultry industrys newest problem sounds like a textbook case of bad karma: Its billions of factory-farmed chickens are suddenly developing an array of strange muscle diseases that give meat a regrettably gummy, elastic taste. Producers have obviously spent years doing unnatural things to the 9 billion broilers they raise annually, among them using drugs that act like bird Miracle-Gro, causing todays chickens to reach twice the size in half the time they did 50 years ago. (Breast meat alone is now heavier than the whole chicken used to be.) Its hardly surprising, then, that meat is getting knotty and fibrous thanks to a defect called woody breast. It poses no threat to humans (hooray?) but is definitely an assault on peoples mouths. One food scientist describes the texture as more hard, and also more elastic, so you have to put more energy in to chew on this kind of meat. Experts think between 5 and 10 percent of boneless breasts sold worldwide are affected, though the number appears to be growing. Other defects are also popping up in meat that sound equally unappetizing: Theres something called white striping in the breasts and thighs, or another thing called green muscle disease where hemorrhaged tissues cause funky coloration in the meat. Whats the industry planning to do about these gross and inhumane-sounding problems? The answer right now is not much. Scientists dont know exactly what causes the defects anyway, but removing bad meat from the good is costly. Sanderson Farms, a large producer, was the only company that outlined any specific proactive actions to The Wall Street Journal it says enough customers complained last year that employees now feel every piece of boneless, skinless breast for knots. Those pieces still get ground up into sausage or sold at discount, though, and nobody else even gave the paper the time of day when questioned about the texture of their giant birds meat. Earths second-largest meat producer, Tyson, allegedly doesnt have issues with so-called woody breast, if thats at all comforting. [WSJ] Back in December last year, action camera maker GoPro promised to update their Windows Phone app with support for Windows 10 Mobile. However, it has now come to light that the company has dropped the support for Microsoft's mobile platform. "Please keep in mind that the previous post stating that we support Windows phones was back in the beginning of December of last year, and as is the nature of technology things change fast," a GoPro support member wrote while replying to a user query on the company's website. "That being said, we definitely do offer legacy support for Windows phones. This means we will do all we can to help out in getting your phone and camera connected, but we will no longer adding updates and new features to the Windows platform." The company has also stopped advertising Windows Phone support - GoPro's website now only shows Google Play and Apple App Store as the download options for its app. This comes shortly after the company discontinued its budget HERO series of cameras. Source | Via Samsung Pay comes to China in partnership with China UnionPay Inline with the March time-frame announced by Samsung last month, the company has launched its mobile payments service Samsung Pay in China. Samsung has partnered with China UnionPay (CUP) for the launch. The mobile payments service is currently available on select Samsung flagships including the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, and Galaxy Note5. However, the company says that future support for additional mid-range models is on the cards. In China, Samsung Pay currently supports credit/debit cards from nine banks, including China CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank, China Everbright Bank, China Guangfa Bank, China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd, China Merchants Bank, Hua Xia Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Ping An Bank. The launch comes over a month after rival Apple launched its mobile payments offering Apple Pay in the Asian country, which is also the world's largest smartphone market. Source If you are an audiophile and especially one immersed in the vast indie scene, then SoundCloud is surely a second home for you. Now, the platform has been working hard on expanding its reach and appeal recently, striking various deals with the likes of Sony and other titans in the music industry. As a direct result, the German company is now ready to out its own on-demand music streaming service - SoundCloud Go. It is aimed squarely at other major players in the niche, like Spotify, Apple Music or Google Music and appears to be confident enough for a battle on equal grounds, as evident by the adopted industry-standard rate of $9.99/month. The company has stressed that the service won't change for all its current free users, who enjoy the freedom of creative sharing. The new paid addition to the library will come in the shape of around 125 million tracks at launch. These will pop-up to non-paying users as well, but they will only get 30 second previews. There is also a small catch in pricing. The $9.99 per month standard tier is actually $12.99 for Apple users to compensate for the company's 30% cut. Existing SoundCloud Pro Unlimited users will be charged $4.99 a month. Source | Via Introduction The Xiaomi Mi 4s went official hours before the Mi 5, a teaser of sorts for the headliner. It even made the trip to Barcelona but enjoyed little of the spotlight for obvious reasons. This is the fourth installment in the Mi 4 lineup - hardly breaking news in a week full of high-profile announcements. Yet, we bet the new Xiaomi flagship wouldn't mind repeating the success of a predecessor that spawned quite the offspring. A year and a half separates the Mi 4 and the incumbent Mi 5 flagship - the time in-between was filled with a couple of phablets, including the Quad-HD Xiaomi Mi Note Pro, and a couple of Mi 4 modifications. The Xiaomi Mi 4 turned out quite a popular device, and the company was keen to use the flagship momentum in the midrange Mi 4i and Mi 4c versions. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note series too made themselves comfortable in the midrange, and now Xiaomi fills an upper midrange spot with the Mi 4s. It builds on the Mi 4c with premium looks, more storage, more RAM, and more battery capacity, and flaunts a new fingerprint scanner at the back. Xiaomi is sticking to the dual-glass design in both the flagship Mi 5 and the Mi 4s. Compared to the Mi 5, the Mi 4s uses a different kind of metal frame sprayed with zircon sand for a pleasant soft touch and improved grip. Before we get into details, let's take a closer look at the spec sheet, shall we? Key features 5" IPS LCD display of 1080p resolution; 441ppi; Snapdragon 808 chipset with hexa-core processor (2x Cortex-A57 at 1.82GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 at 1.44GHz); Adreno 418 GPU; 3GB RAM 13MP f/2.0 main camera with phase detect autofocus, dual-tone LED flash; 1080p video at 30fps; 5MP f/2.0 front-facing camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps Cat.4 4G LTE (150Mbps); Dual-SIM; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.1; GPS, GLONASS and Beidou; IR blaster Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner 64GB storage, expandable via a microSD slot Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with MIUI 7 3,260 mAh non-removable battery, fast charging Main disadvantages Limited regional availability Hybrid microSD/SIM slot - memory card uses SIM 2 slot, can't have both simultaneously Sealed battery No FM radio Xiaomi hasn't done anything unusual with the Mi 4S - after all, the flagship understandably received more attention. The re-design works quite well though and the hexa-core chipset is a sensible choice considering the phone's standing in the pecking order. Its productivity should be comparable to a Snapdragon 650, power efficiency in favor of the 20nm Snapdragon 808. As usual with Xiaomi, the sealed battery and the shared SIM / MicroSD card slot shouldn't be unexpected. We hope the Mi 4s lives up to its legacy and, well, keep the surprises mostly pleasant. Let's see how the things turn out this time - our hardware tour starts right after the break. Special thanks to HonorBuy.com for providing us with this review unit. Haiti - Politic : The new Minister of Justice former student of PM Monday, Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles proceeded to the installation of Me Camille Junior Edouard the new Minister of Justice and Public Security. The Head of Government after revealing that Me Camille Junior Edouard was one of his most brilliant former students at the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences of the UEH, said building on the reliability and competence of the new Minister, to implement Government policy in the field of Justice, to the benefit of the population. For his part, Me Jean Roudy Aly, General Director of the Ministry who spoke on behalf of the outgoing Minister, Me Pierre-Richard Casimir, recalled that Me Camille Junior Edouard was a accustomed of the Ministry for having be at his service there are about four years. In his speech for the occasion, the new Minister of Justice thanked the two heads of the executive for the confidence placed in him. Regarding the climate of insecurity, which continues to mourn Haitian families, the new minister sent a message both explicit and direct to those he calls the "death knights". He has given every guarantee to the population that will do whatever is in its power to enable citizens to freely go about their usual activities and announced that formal instructions will be immediately passed to the authorities of the Haitian National Police (PNH), so that the perpetrators are sought, prosecuted and brought in front of Justice. Note that Me Camille Junior Edouard is a lawyer at the Bar of Port-au-Prince and professor of public law for several years at the State University of Haiti. HL/ HaitiLibre By Vasia Orion | Published on 2016/03/28 "Vampire Detective" starts out with a bang and a bite, as our heroes and villains are introduced, mysteries are opened and relationships established. The series offers a lot of action and crime solving, but there is more than meets the eye to the story and characters involved in it. I have questions, a lot of them and if a series can create enough investment for one to have them, I call that a solid start. Advertisement Judging from the preview to episode two, what we have is a drama using the episodic format OCN has favored a lot until now. The problem with shows diving right into that format is that we have little time left to really get to know and warm up to our main characters and their own conflicts. It is therefore quite fortunate that "Vampire Detective" first introduces the main plot before going back and following the path to its untangling. Yoon San (Lee Joon) has the stock backstory of losing his love and giving up on his career as a police officer, but the element of being betrayed by that love and her connection to our main villains is really intriguing. It is clear that the series will place our heroes against a secret vampire society or cult and everyone will obviously be connected to it in some way. In itself this could be boring, but by creating a hero who is likable enough and unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of this mess means it is worth sticking around just to see his story. "Vampire Detective" plays it smart with how much it reveals about its characters though. San clearly ticked the wrong people off long before he became a vampire hybrid. It is not clear whether he quit the force or was kicked out. Yong Goo-hyeong (Oh Jung-se) might be a comic bromantic relief, but his past and the reason behind his clearly strong emotional attachment to San are still a mystery as well. The series makes you want to know more about them. The biggest question now is, will all of the rest be answered or are the creators only going to move forward and address the big ones? It is also hard for me to understand how much they want us to know at this point. The mysterious female villain is definitely Lee Chung-ah's Yo-na, as the creators are not careful when showing glimpses of her face at all. Her very character poster also looks like that of a villain. Is this supposed to be a big reveal, in which case they think we are blind and/or stupid, or are we supposed to know this already? Whatever the case, the first episode is good enough for me to really like the idea of coming back for more. A lot of shows in this genre try too hard with the fanservice, action and humor when starting off, making style their primary concern. I am not saying I do not enjoy a sweaty, topless Lee Joon or Oh Jung-se as his nagging wife, but I appreciate that I do not need to shut my brain off to enjoy this. Give me more. "Vampire Detective" is directed by Kim Ga-ram and Lee Seung-hoon-IV, written by Yoo Young-sun and features Lee Joon, Oh Jung-se, Lee Se-young and Lee Chung-ah. Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings' Watch on Viki Published on 2016/03/28 | Source Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min and Chun Woo-hee are coming together for the movie "The Wailing". Advertisement "The Wailing" is director Na Hong-jin's first movie in 6 years which is about a group of people who face a situation after a series of cases occur since the appearance of a foreign person. Kwak Do-won takes on the role of a policeman named Jong-gu and throws himself in action chasing down a criminal down the mountain and running around on a cliff. Na Hong-jin said, "He was the most impressive actor when we shot "The Yellow Sea". I needed a genre of acting in "The Wailing" and he pulled it off. He was always devoted to the movie and never let me down". "He is one of my favorite actors and he's an very appealing person" Na Hong-jin continued. Hwang Jung-min takes on the role of a shaman named Il-gwang. He thoughtfully prepared everything from hairstyle to costume and even met real shamen for advice on the role. Chun Woo-hee takes on the role of Moo-myeong, a witness. Na Hong-jin said, "She was different from the moment I met her. She read the script on the spot and I was blown way. I didn't need to think about anyone else and I wanted her to play the role". Meanwhile, "The Wailing" will be released on May 12. ConAgra found liable for $108.9 million in lawsuit over fatal 2009 North Carolina plant explosion On March 25, a jury in Nebraska found US food giant ConAgra Foods responsible for the June 2009 explosion at the Slim Jim plant in Garner, North Carolina. Jacobs Engineering, a contractor at the plant, paid $108 million to settle lawsuits with affected parties after the gas explosion at the plant, which killed four and injured dozens, but the jurors have now found ConAgra liable. The Slim Jim plant after the explosion - Image: CSB California-based Jacobs Engineering brought the case against Nebraska-based ConAgra, claiming it was not responsible for the explosion, which was caused by a natural gas leak during the installation of a water heater. The Douglas County jury agreed, and found ConAgra negligent and liable for $108.9 million in damages. The Omaha World-Herald said this case could represent the largest-ever damages ruling in Nebraska legal history. ConAgra spokesman Dan Hare said: While we respect the jurys decision, we have several strong grounds for appeal, which we plan to pursue. ConAgra said last year that it would move its headquarters from Omaha to Chicago by the end of 2016. It has also cut 1,500 jobs and embarked on a cost-cutting plan to save $300 million annually. Contact Details and Archive... Staff at Essential Energy will go on strike next month in protest amid an ongoing industrial dispute against the state-owned enterprise. An overwhelming number of Essential Energy workers voted in support of industrial action and other work bans, in response to their employers plans to axe up to 800 jobs plus terminate its current workplace agreement. Now staff at the publicly-owned electricity network company will be able to lawfully take place in strikes and stoppages from early next month. The Australian Electoral Commission conducted the ballot, which closed on March 22, and found 94.8 per cent of Electrical Trades Union members were in support of stopping work between one and 72 hours in length. A further 96.1 per cent of workers supported imposing bans on a range of work practices, including the use of computers, mobile phones and other technologies, overtime, training and paperwork. In June 2015 the NSW Government-owned company announced plans that it would make hundreds of positions redundant, and ABC reports say Essential Energy will try to axe up to 800 jobs within the next two years. Essential Energy made the redundancy announcement after the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) reduced the amount of money the company can recover from consumers. Now the embattled electricity infrastructure company is seeking to terminate a range of agreements and policies, including redundancy provisions, staff redeployments, and salary maintenance, impacting on thousands of employees across the state. The new workplace agreement proposed by the company would permit the immediate sacking of 800 regional employees, and allow an unlimited number of job cuts after June 2018. ETU secretary Steve Butler accused Essential Energy management of treating their loyal workforce with complete contempt. "This is the first time a publicly-owned company has attempted to rip up their own workplace agreement, which had been negotiated in good faith by their workforce, using it as a tool to threaten massive cuts to wages, conditions and jobs," Butler told the Wellington Times. ompany that fired a habitually late employee has been praised by the FWC for their commendable approach when terminating his employment.The employee was a habitual late-comer who repeatedly failed to turn up to work on time and had on one occasion arrived to work an hour late, telling his employer he had slept through his alarm.In Todd Allan Rooney v Pickles Auctions Pty Ltd [2016] FWC 858, the Fair Work Commission commended the process followed by his employer when deciding to sack him for repeated lateness.The applicant was often late for work and had received both written and verbal warnings from his employer, the FWC heard.One morning in June 2015, the employee slept through his alarm and arrived at work an hour late. His employer organised a meeting with him that afternoon where he was asked to provide a reason for his lateness and advised that his employment was at risk because of his poor attendance record.Despite being provided an opportunity to make further comments, the employee did not give a satisfactory explanation for his lateness, or for failing to tell his supervisor that he was going to be late that day.The employer then adjourned the meeting to consider the employees ongoing employment.The employees work history and his explanation for his lateness were factors taken into account by his employer during the adjournment, while the employer also consulted with its employee relations staff.The employer also took into account the prior warnings issued for late attendance and other warnings relating to instances of misconduct.In the end, the employer decided to terminate the applicant's employment. When reconvening the meeting, his boss advised the employee that he would be dismissed from his position both verbally and in writing.The written letter provided to the employee explained the reasons for his dismissal and referred to his previous warnings and highlighted the fact that although the employee had been given an opportunity to improve his attendance, there had been no satisfactory improvement.The FWC held that the employees persistent tardiness was a valid reason for dismissal and the employer's approach when dealing with his termination "should be properly recognised as commendable.Amber Sharp, Partner at Marque Lawyers says that the employer followed textbook procedure when considering the employees dismissal.While the FWC described the approach as commendable, really it wasnt rocket science, Sharp told HC Online.The employer provided numerous verbal and written warnings, and before making a final decision to terminate, gave the employee an opportunity to respond,This is stock standard stuff that should precede any termination.Sharps advises employers to make an effort to find out if there is any reason for an employees habitual lateness.Dropping the kids at day care should be afforded different weight to I accidentally slept in, again, Sharp says.If the former, think about whether the scheduled starting time is absolutely necessary, and whether the employer and employee can instead agree on a later start and finishing time.Similar stories: The Rev. William J. Barber II, leader of the N.C. Moral Monday Movement, will speak on March 31 at 7 p.m. in the Schaefer Center at Appalachian State University, delivering the second of two State of the State of North Carolina 2016 messages by political activists. These public lectures are being offered in advance of the 2016 election season to address concerns of North Carolina citizens and to better inform the public about issues facing the state. A question and answer session will follow the presentations. The events are free and open to the public. Barber, is president of the North Carolina NAACP and is best known as the architect/convener of the Forward Together Moral Movement, better known as Moral Monday. The movement is a coalition of over 200 state organizations that support progressive efforts in the arenas of education, labor rights, health care, womens rights, immigration policy, and the environment. Barber has an undergraduate degree from N.C. Central University, a Master of Divinity Degree from Duke University, and a doctorate from Drew University. He serves on the NAACP National Board of Directors and is chair of the national NAACP Legislative Political Action Committee. He is the author of the books Forward Together: A Moral Message for the Nation and The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics and the Rise of a New Justice Movement, written with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and recently published by Beacon Press. Barber has served as minister at Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro for the past 24 years. Barbers message follows a March 24 event with John Hood, who was recently named head of the John William Pope Foundation on Higher Education and chairman of the board of the John Locke Foundation. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Ironically, water was a very bad thing for the fish BJ Ramer recalls looking up at the ceiling, which came crashing down in the flood. BJ Ramer has made the most of being a fish out of water. Related Stories A lover of the ocean and a fierce defender of all its inhabitants, she started a public aquarium in 2001 in her kitchen. Before that, she says, I had been a volunteer for an organization called Oceans for Youth and I went to schools and talked about ocean conservation and my experiences diving, realized it wasnt enough. Over 60 percent of our kids never see blue water. So I thought we need to do more. In 2001, she led her first educational diving and ocean conservation trip, swimming with manatees on Floridas gulf coast. The ECCO Aquarium and Ocean Center opened in the 500 block of North Main Street in October 2011. All went swimmingly, you might say. No one knew whether tourists strolling on a small town sidewalk in the Blue Ridge Mountains would be drawn to seahorses, sharks and eels but they were. The fish census grew. More and more children and adults arrived for classes. Families with children paid admission. Then disaster struck ironically in the form of water. Ramer and her crew of volunteers had just finished cleaning and renovating the system when, literally, the roof fell in and the flood came down. On Feb. 26, a water heater from the residential condo upstairs broke, sending thousands of gallons of water through the floor. Dirty water and chunks of ceiling tile poured into the fish tanks, contaminating the saltwater habitat and killing 41 sea creatures, many of them star attractions. City firefighters responded, helping to round up fish, clean tanks, remove soggy ceiling tile and bring order to chaos. A month after they first got the emergency call, ServiceMaster crews are still working on the cleanup. Fish are still dying. We dont know how much they ingested, Ramer said on a recent Sunday. Theyre fish. They might think its food when it crumbles. See how yellow that water is in that tank? It had tile in it. 'People were kicking the door' FFA members Alex Baker, Hayden Whaley and Oscar Martinez pose with a shark and ECCO interns Katlyn Kanup and Kortney Clark and BJ Ramer after presenting a $500 check for the aquariums recovery.Ramer is not 20,000 leagues under the sea without an air tank. She just feels like it. Yesterday people were kicking the door, she says. The attitude of people seems to be Its just water. Wipe it up. I dont think people realize exactly what happened, she says. They think it was just a little water leak. This is major stuff. We had to cancel programs. Weve lost over $5,000 of revenue because of this. Last year we did over 7,000 guests and we were only open 9 months and we did over 3,700 people in classes. We had just used the majority of our reserve money to reboot all of these tanks and buy new decorations and new sand, she says. We just put a whole new lighting system back here. That got trashed. There are potential insurance claims from the residential condo insurance, the building and the Ocean Center. Ramers insurance has a $1,000 deductible. I dont want them to buy me a car, she says of the adjusters. I just want it fair. And I want it back. Shes hoping to reopen soon. Were shooting for April 1st but Im not going to hold my breath, she says. We lost all the sand, all the live rock everything had to go. Were going to be in debt probably 20-grand to fix this. Were looking at almost $2,000 just for the lost fish. She pulls out a fish catalogue and points at a popular species she plans to order as soon as the tanks are habitable. Seahorses $79.99, for one, and thats with our corporate discount, she says. ECCOs high school interns started a Go Fund Me page (theres a link on the ECCO Facebook page). The center plans its first Seafest, on June 11 in the First Citizens Bank parking lot, as a fundraiser. She hopes to raise $15,000 to $20,000. Ramer plans to ask the Tourism Development Authority for help, too. She argues that ECCO is one of the drivers of tourism. We send a lot of those folks for lunches or they go shopping, she says. They ask us, Where else can we go? What else can we do? And were always telling them. On Tuesday three students from North Henderson High Schools Future Farmers of America club gave Ramer a brighter outlook. The reason we wanted to raise money for her is that we heard about the accident, said Alex Baker, reporter for the FFA, and we were in need of a community service project to help somebody out that was less fortunate. Baker and club members Hayden Whaley and Oscar Martinez presented Ramer with a check for $500 for recovery. The founder of the Real IRA has been released from prison after serving a 20-year sentence for directing terrorism. Michael McKevitt (65) has spent the past number of weeks on temporary release at his home in Blackrock, Co Louth. However, he has now been formally released after his sentence expired on Sunday. McKevitt was released from Portlaoise Prison where he served his sentence for directing terrorism and was also convicted of membership of an illegal organisation after being convicted in the Special Criminal Court in August 2003. Cancer McKevitt, who has cancer, was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bombing in a civil action at Belfast High Court taken by relatives of the dead. The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people and unborn twins on August 15, 1998. In a statement to the media, McKevitt denied having anything to do the atrocity. "I had no involvement in the bombing whatsoever. I was stitched-up from the outset," he said. "Within days of the bombing, I said that I had no hand, act or part in the bombing and that remains my position." He added that the British presence in Ireland was "illegitimate". A garda at the scene of the tragedy. Photo: Collins Dublin The mother of a little boy who drowned along with his father in a shallow stream had previously lost a partner in tragic circumstances. Three-year-old Tyler Joyce and his father Sean Sweeney (36) were found dead on Sunday at the boundary to the Ashington Estate in Finglas. Tyler's devastated mother, Pamela Joyce, has known tragedy - her then-partner Lee Kinsella was murdered in front of her nine-year-old son, Ryan, in 2006. Ms Joyce was living with Finglas man Mr Kinsella (30) when he was gunned down. He was fatally injured when shots were fired through the front window of his home on Ratoath Avenue. His family believe the shooting was the result of a feud with a gang he had confronted after they crashed a stolen car into a vehicle he and Ryan were sitting in 18 months before his death. He saved Ryan's life by pushing him out of the way of the bullets. Nightmares Some of Mr Kinsella's siblings later went on hunger strike in the hope that justice would be done. At the time, Ms Joyce revealed just how traumatised her son was, saying he had become angry and was suffering nightmares. "His death has really affected him. He can't sleep, he has become aggressive and is scared when he hears noises in the house," she said at the time. "They have killed Lee and destroyed Ryan's life." Tyler was with his father when they were found in the stream near the Royal Canal at around 3pm on Sunday. Gardai suspect they may have fallen when taking a popular shortcut through a broken railway fence from the Ashington estate to their home in Finglas. "Sean was a lovely, lovely chap, anyone would tell you that. We are deeply upset," said a neighbour of the Sweeney family last night. Local people yesterday left flowers and soft toys at the foot of a tree near the scene of the tragedy. Teddy bears, Easter eggs and colourful windmills were among the items. "To our little brave boy Tyler, you will be sadly missed. Please angels mind him and keep him safe," one card from a family member read. Childhood friends of Mr Sweeney also laid flowers at the scene and left cards and messages paying tribute to him. A garda spokesman said the deaths were the result of drowning, which was determined in post-mortems, but it is not yet known how long the pair had been in the water. The incident is being treated as a tragic accident. Irish Rail confirmed that a work crew had fixed the fence just over two weeks ago, on March 12, but it was broken again in the meantime, allowing Mr Sweeney and Tyler to use the shortcut on Sunday. "We repaired this fence on March 12. It is an area where there is frequent interference with the fence and we have fixed it numerous times," a spokesman said. He added that the damage was discovered by a line inspection team earlier this month. Irish Rail will be consulting with Dublin City Council about future plans for the area. Secure "We will have talks to establish if anything can be done to make this area more secure," said the spokesman. Local people told the Herald that the shortcut is used regularly, especially by younger people. Labour councillor Brendan Carr said he had known the area since he was a child. "It appears the fence is meant to prevent people getting on to the railway line," he said. "It's time for Irish Rail and Dublin City Council to come together urgently and replace it with a high wall as a permanent safety measure." RTE Radio Presenter Joe Duffy performs an outside broadcast on OConnell Street, as part of the RTE Reflecting the Rising (in partnership with Ireland 2016) celebrations on Easter Monday Dublin celebrated like never before as 500,000 people thronged the streets to play their own part in the 1916 Rising centenary commemorations. Walking tours, wreath-laying ceremonies, live radio broadcasts, a duck procession and a ceili mor were some of the events taking place in the biggest outdoor celebration ever organised by RTE. With the sun shining and a relaxed Easter weekend atmosphere, the action began from early morning as hundreds of thousands of people made their way into the city centre. Shooting Among those enjoying the day was Ann Harrington-Dunne, from Killester. She was joined in St Stephen's Green by her daughter Caola, who was celebrating her fourth birthday. Ann, who owns the Rainbow Drama School, oversaw a procession of wooden ducks by 20 of her pupils. "The duck procession is basically about when the British and the Irish were shooting across Stephen's Green at each other, and the park keeper would wave the white flag and the shooting would stop in order for him to feed the ducks," she said. Isabelle Hogan (5) and six-year-old Kate Slattery, from Artane, were making the most of the sunshine at the city centre celebrations, as was the McKiernan family, from Clondalkin, who were among the 1,200 volunteers who dressed up in period costume. The Fenlon family, from Co Clare, said they couldn't miss "celebrating such a special and historic event" as they threw themselves into the ceili mor on Earlsfort Terrace. Across the city, tens of thousands of people gathered outside the GPO, while broadcaster Joe Duffy led bystanders in a special centenary broadcast of Liveline. "I thought the participation of the crowd was just stunning and they knew so much," he told the Herald. "We were talking to people as if they were actually involved in the Rising and we didn't plan that, so it was fantastic and I was so proud." Presenters Mary Kennedy and Anne Cassin turned heads when they stepped out in Edwardian-style dress. Kennedy was filming for a centenary special of Nationwide. "It's from the costume department in RTE," she said. "It's actually very comfortable, but that's because she let out the fasteners at the back. "The Rising events have been spectacular. It was also very moving and very poignant." RTE head of TV Glen Killane said the celebrations would not have been possible without help. "It has been a huge collaborative effort with Dublin City Council and the gardai - Ireland 2016 are obviously huge supporters of this and the Office of Public Works," he said. Ambitious Mr Killane added that much of RTE TV's content, including drama Rebellion and the Bob Geldof documentary on WB Yeats, would not have been possible without funding from the BBC and Sundance TV. Jim Jennings, the head of RTE Radio 1, said he had initial concerns that the undertaking was "too ambitious". "We thought, 'Okay, we can do it', but it expanded a lot and then the Government came to us about three months ago and said they needed more locations so we got organisers in," he said. Thousands of children were in their element as vintage carousels and trams took over Smithfield, while RTE topped off a historical day with a sold-out concert in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. Pakistani police cordon off the bomb site at the amusement park in Lahore, Pakistan. Photo: AP Malala Yousafzai has condemned the "senseless killing" in her native Pakistan after a terrorist bombing left at least 70 dead on Easter Sunday. The country entered a three-day mourning period yesterday following the attack in a park in Lahore, believed to have been carried out by a suicide bomber. "I am devastated by the senseless killing of innocent people in Lahore," said the 18-year-old former Nobel Prize winner, who lives in Birmingham. "My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends. I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms." She called for Pakistan and the world to stand together. "Every life is precious and must be respected and protected," she said. More than 300 were injured in the attack, many seriously, after a device was detonated near children's rides while families celebrated Easter in the eastern Pakistani city. A breakaway Pakistani faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the carnage and said it had deliberately targeted the Christian community. However most of those killed were Muslims - with 14 having been identified as Christians, according to Lahore Police Superintendent Mohammed Iqbal. British prime minister David Cameron, who used his Easter message to urge Britons of all faiths to stand up for Christian values, said he was shocked by the attack and promised British help. Victims "My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. We will do what we can to help," Mr Cameron posted on Twitter. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond advised British nationals to avoid the area and monitor travel advice updates and local media. "We will continue to provide support and assistance to the government of Pakistan as they work to defeat those who plan and perpetrate these acts of terror." Teen-line, the freephone confidential helpline for young people, is on course to respond to 30,000 calls from teenagers dealing with worries. Stock photo: Karel Miragaya Teen-LIne, the freephone confidential helpline for young people, is on course to respond to 30,000 calls from teenagers dealing with worries. "We generally get anything between 100 and 140 calls most nights," said its director, Declan Brennan. "However, we may not get to answer that many. We have anything between three, four or five volunteers, depending on the roster. Like all helplines, we badly need volunteers." Around 110 calls came through on Easter Sunday, and the three volunteers on duty managed to answer 93. Listening The service also receives a sizeable volume of texts. It primarily deals with teens aged between 13 and 19, and the helpline and text service operates every day from 8pm to 11pm. "We are a listening service, as opposed to a counselling service. We help teenagers consider their options," Mr Brennan said. Many calls are from teens who are lonely, who need a chat, or who feel that they don't have anyone else they can talk to. The service also gets a lot of silent calls. "We have letters from kids who thanked us and told us in the letter how they rang for many months and just listened to the volunteer," he added. "We have people who call us once, and may never call us again - because that one call may have helped them. "But, like all the helplines, we have people who call us every night, or very regularly." "We are only ten years old this summer, and we began the text message service in November 2014. Last month, we got just over 2,800 text messages, so it is growing all the time." The service responded to approximately 25,000 calls last year, and the first two months of this year saw a further hike in calls."Our average answering time is about two minutes," said Mr Brennan. Twice as many girls phone the service as boys. Meanwhile, twice as many boys use the text number, and that does not vary. Earlier this month, Toyota Ireland donated 12,000 to Teen-Line Ireland. It is a non-profit organisation that relies solely on charitable contributions to do its work. Faycal Cheffou in a still from a YouTube video, he was released from Belgian police custody yesterday. Photo: Getty The only man arrested and charged with involvement in the Brussels attacks has been released because of a lack of evidence. The man - named officially only as Faycal C but identified in media reports as Faycal Cheffou - walked free after a judge found there was not the evidence to justify holding him. Bombers Belgian prosecutors had said he was facing charges of "involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder and attempted terrorist murder". It had been reported that Cheffou was the "man in white" wearing a black hat and pictured pushing a trolley through Brussels airport with suicide bombers Brahim El-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui shortly before the blasts. But police yesterday released airport surveillance video of the man and asked for the public's help in establishing his identity - suggesting they still do not know who he is. The website of Belgium's Federal Police yesterday began carrying a 32-second video of a mysterious man in a hat suspected of having taking part in the March 22 bombing of Brussels Airport, and stated: "The police are seeking to identify this man." Some 35 people were killed and many more injured in the terror attacks at the airport and Maalbeek Metro station. His release comes after Donald Trump said Britain and Europe were "not safe places" following the recent terror attacks. The US Republican presidential front-runner said Europe had lots of "very, very severe" problems and added that he did not even think America was a safe place for Americans. Mr Trump told ABC: "I think there are a lot of problems in Europe that are very, very severe. "When you look at Brussels, when you look at the way they've handled things from law enforcement standpoints, when you look at Paris, when you look at so many other places, no, it's not (safe)". The comments were echoed by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, who told CBS's Face The Nation that US citizens should "avoid a crowded place" if they were travelling to Europe, because "you have no control over who may be there". Nothing goes right for Edgewood in long trip to East Central SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - As the Zika virus speeds through the hemisphere, a cluster of one-story buildings set in the shade of banyan and mango trees has become the epicenter of the U.S. fight against the pathogen. Behind an unmarked gated entrance in this working-class neighborhood of San Juan, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have only one focus: to stop Zika's spread. About 100 virologists, biologists, entomologists and more are working here, including dozens brought from CDC sites in Colorado and Georgia. They're racing to develop tests for faster and more accurate diagnosis of infection and killing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by the hundreds to determine what chemicals are most effective. Much of it is labor-intensive. The insecticide research means collecting eggs on sticky brown paper placed all over the island, then soaking those egg-dotted sheets in shallow trays of water back at the lab. The eggs grow from larvae into adult mosquitoes, which are kept in mesh cages and fed pig's blood contained in what looks like a membrane-wrapped sausage. The final stage? Putting the adults inside chemical-coated bottles. If 98 percent are dead within 30 minutes, the chemical has real potential against Zika's prime source of transmission. The effort is critical, according to entomologist Audrey Lenhart, because much of the mosquito population has become resistant to permethrin, one of the most commonly used insecticides in Puerto Rico and abroad. "It's very impressive," CDC Director Tom Frieden said after visiting the complex during a recent trip. "You see 20 mosquitoes all flying around happily in a bottle that's been coated with an insecticide that is being widely used and next to it another bottle where all 20 mosquitoes have been rapidly knocked down [by the experimental substance] and most of them killed." In the midst of their research, the scientists also are scrambling to protect the population most at risk here. The island already has at least 249 confirmed Zika cases, almost as many as the rest of the entire United States. Twenty-four of those involve pregnant women, and the number could skyrocket given the 4,000 pregnant women who live in areas with active transmission. Not only is the CDC helping the authorities install window screens on homes in these communities, it is working with local authorities to distribute 4,000 Zika prevention kits. The contents include condoms as well as repellent since sexual transmission is now proven. Until January, the lab's target was dengue fever -- the reason this branch was set up 30 years ago. Dengue fever is one of the world's most virulent infectious diseases, with more than 400 million people becoming infected each year. But today, all of the branch's work is shifted to Zika. "There is no silver bullet to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito or reduce the risk of Zika infection on a population-wide basis, but there are some things that we may be able to do if we have the resources that would significantly reduce risk," Frieden said. Conditions in Puerto Rico provide scientists a unique opportunity to study the virus and its effects in real time, noted Tyler Sharp, acting head of the epidemiological team. Teams are monitoring the pregnant women with the rash, red eyes and joint pain that are signs of Zika and visiting the homes of pregnant women without symptoms. They hope to learn more about Zika's link to a range of birth defects, including microcephaly, in which children are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. Researchers expect to see an uptick in Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that may be triggered by Zika. So far, there is only one case. But epidemiologists are scouring three hospitals' patient records going back to 2012 to establish the syndrome's prevalence before the Zika outbreak. With a baseline, Sharp said, they'll know the point at which additional cases represent a true increase. The CDC wants to address another key question, too: "How long is Zika detectable and infectious in blood, semen, saliva, and vaginal secretions?" Sharp said. What is learned in Puerto Rico should benefit the several dozen countries and territories in the Americas that are battling Zika. Cuba is the latest, as signaled Saturday when the CDC added it to the agency's travel-advisory list of places with active Zika transmission. One of the biggest challenges in halting the spread of the virus is figuring out if someone is infected. It's complicated because 80 percent of people don't show symptoms. More than a year ago, lab scientist Gilberto Santiago helped to develop a new diagnostic that simultaneously tests for Zika, dengue fever and chikungunya, related viruses that tend to spread in the same regions. Known as the trioplex, it has been used in Puerto Rico since January. On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency approval to the three-in-one test, and on Monday, the CDC plans to start shipping hundreds of kits to labs in the United States and other countries. "This will help the public in the most affected countries," said Jorge Munoz, director of diagnostics and research. Another major hurdle is eliminating mosquitoes outside homes without using insecticides. Some of the lab's past research, led by entomologist Roberto Barrera, suggests one answer. Barrera's team designed a low-tech trap -- a 5-gallon black plastic bucket filled with water and hay. On top is a small, round chamber lined with special adhesive paper. Female mosquitoes looking for containers of water to lay their eggs are attracted by the odor of the hay decomposing, Barrera said. They fly into the chamber, get stuck on the paper and die within minutes. Versions of the traps, which Barrera described as cheap, durable and low maintenance, have been tested in southern Puerto Rico for the last several years. Communities with them had 80 percent fewer mosquitoes than communities with no traps, he said. The researchers now are talking with companies about potential mass production. The defining moment of the absurd special legislative session held this week in Raleigh had nothing to do with the common sense decision by the Charlotte City Council to allow transgender people to use the public restroom that corresponds to their sexual identitythe way many other local governments and private companies do. And it had nothing to do with the anti-worker provisions of the secretly crafted legislation that forbids cities from requiring companies that contract with local governments to pay decent wagesas damaging as those provisions are to workers and the economy. And it wasnt even about a provision debated on the House floor that takes away the right of workers who are fired simply because they are African-American or Jewish or female to sue under state lawas shocking as that provision is, joining North Carolina with Mississippi as the only places where workers cannot sue in state court for being fired people for their race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex or disability. No, the defining moment in what has to be one of the most offensive special legislative sessions in North Carolina history came in the House on amendment proposed by Rep. Grier Martin that would have broadened the states nondiscrimination law to include military status, sexual orientation and gender identity. Martins proposal came after bill sponsor Rep. Dan Bishop boasted that the legislation, unveiled minutes before it was debated in a House committee, would establish a statewide nondiscrimination law that protects people in employment and public accommodations based on their race, religion, color, national origin, age, biological sex or disability. Biological sex was added to make sure transgender people were not protected. The ordinance passed by the Charlotte City Council also included protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to the bathroom provision that was the subject of some of the worst demagoguery and fear-mongering to ever come out of the Legislative Buildingand thats quite a high bar to clear. Bishops bill voids Charlottes protection of LGBT people from discrimination and prohibits any other local governments from protecting them either. That didnt deter Bishop from repeatedly bellowing about what he called the historic statewide nondiscrimination standard the legislation established. Martins amendment, the defining moment of the day, simply tried to broaden the basic protections to LGBT people across the state. It is easy to describe the debate that followed. There wasnt any. Rep. Paul Stam moved to table the proposal and the House voted 72-35 to kill the amendment. Thats what the legislative record shows. But what the vote means is that the majority of the state House affirmatively decided that is ok for companies to fire people who are gay simply because they are gayin Charlotte and everywhere else in North Carolina. They voted to allow hotels to refuse rooms to same-sex couples and let taxis refuse rides to transgender men and women. The majority of the House voted to give restaurants permission to refuse to serve a gay man and allow theaters to refuse to seat him based on his sexual orientation. The legislation adopted by the General Assembly this week included this clause about public accommodations. It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all individuals within the State to enjoy fully and equally the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of places of public accommodation free of discrimination There is a similarly flowery paragraph about employment protections. But it is not true. Not for all individuals, not for members of the LGBT community. They can still be openly discriminated against. The state House had a chance to change that Wednesday in a simple up or down vote. They had a clear choice, equal rights or discrimination. And they chose discrimination. That is the undeniable legacy of the 2016 special session of the General Assembly. Chris Fitzsimon is the founder and executive director of N.C. Policy Watch. Whatever becomes of his candidacy whether he wins the Republican Partys nomination or is even elected President of the United States Americans and the rest of the world will be wondering for a long time how the phenomenon of Donald Trump happened. They are already doing so. The first thing to understand is that American political parties have nothing to do with who runs for the US presidency. In fact, US political parties amount to a collection of functionaries who arrange the process of selecting a presidential nominee and push for victories for the party in the November elections. Presidential candidates are, in reality, freelancers. They decide on their own whether to run, and the decision is based on their sense (and perhaps polling) of how they would do and whether they can collect the necessary funds. Some people run simply out of ego or greed. The publicity that attends a presidential bid can garner even a failed candidate a book contract, a television gig, or a well-paid speaking career (or perhaps all three). Trump ran on the basis of his celebrity. A famous developer with his name on all sorts of edifices and a personal fortune, he had been the star of a long-running prime-time reality show a lodestone of US popular culture. He knew that Americas party system is so nebulous that he could decide on his own to run for President, and that there was no party structure to stop him. (At least, that is what he is hoping, if he heads to the nominating convention in Cleveland this summer without enough delegates to sew up the nomination.) Read| Mock Trump tombstone removed from NYCs Central Park Trump read the zeitgeist well: He played to the anger of the working class those left behind in the shift from a manufacturing-led economy to one based on information. This was the group most hurt by trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which encouraged US companies to move their factories to Mexico and gave business owners who remained leverage to hold down wages. Trump lambasts NAFTA and promises that, as President, he would make trade deals that are more favorable to workers. Early on, he based his campaign on anti-immigration sentiment, launching his run by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers. Trumps campaign is premised on his reputation as a fabulously successful businessman, though its not clear just how successful hes been; there have been four bankruptcies, and some of the businesses based on his brand have failed. He bristles at questions about whether hes worth $10 billion, as he claims, and resists releasing his tax returns, which is expected of presidential aspirants. Though Trump still mentions the preposterous wall he has vowed to build along the border with Mexico (with Mexico footing the bill), he has now made trade his main issue. It is no coincidence that both Trump and Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clintons opponent for the Democratic Partys nomination, have made trade a major issue. Both Trump and Sanders are riding a middle-class revolt. Unemployment among those just out of college, a key constituency for Sanders, is 12%. Most of Trumps followers may not have gone to college, and if they lost their jobs because of trade deals or think they did they havent received the retraining they were promised (or they have jobs with pay that has stagnated for years). Read| From bimbo to slobs: Trump could be ruined by comments on women A whiff of fascism was apparent in Trumps campaign from the outset: The strong man will eliminate the barriers keeping his supporters from getting ahead. By sheer force of will, he will make life better for them. When some of Trumps backers at a campaign rally last November in Birmingham, Alabama, were beating up a black protester, Trump encouraged them to hit the man harder, shouting, Get him outta here. Liking the sound of this and his audiences ecstatic response, Trump repeated the phrase several times and at subsequent rallies. Rather than ignore them, as many politicians do, Trump calls attention to protesters to show how a strong man responds to them. Spurring violence is one of Trumps instruments for gaining power. Were he to become President which cannot be ruled out at this point there is little reason to doubt that he would exploit violence to maintain power. The violence that broke out at the site of a planned Chicago rally in mid-March was probably no accident: the chosen location invited it. Trump took credit for calling off the rally and, understanding how media works, he was available for interviews on the three major cable news channels as footage of the violence was played over and over. The panicked Republican establishment that is now scrambling to block Trump from gaining enough delegates to win the nomination may be too divided and ineffectual to succeed. They are also torn over whether to try to block him at the convention, knowing that if they do, his followers may rebel. A few weeks ago, a small number of Republicans began to reconcile themselves to the idea that a President Trump wouldnt be so bad; but this stopped when Trump continued apparently to encourage violence. Other Republicans concluded that his nationalism and nativism, as well as his ignorance about public affairs, make him dangerous. And now they have reason to fear that something has been unleashed that no one can stop. Elizabeth Drew is the author, most recently, of Washington Journal: Reporting Watergate and Richard Nixons Downfall. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2016. www.project-syndicate.org Actor, poet, sportsperson, writer and director Tom Alter has a special connect with Delhi since his childhood. The actor, who staged the play Delhi-Ciously Chekhov in the Capital earlier this month, talks about his journey as an actor and love for the city. Born and brought up in Mussoorie, Alter reminisces travelling to Delhi on a bicycle at the age of 15, saying, My uncle had challenged me, saying that I cannot cover such a long distance on my bicycle. My friend Paul and I took up the challenge. Also because this city has always been the centre of excitement for me and I used to come here to meet my girlfriend. Alters last play, Delhi-Ciously Chekhov, was an adult comedy, and he believes that the audience here are adaptive to different genres, adding, I have been performing here for the past 15 years and every year the response gets better. Read: Heres why board games are the coolest toys in town Known for his significant roles in Urdu plays based on the works of Ghalib, the 65-year-old actor says Urdu was taught to me as a child and I loved it. However, I perform in all the languages as long as the script is good. My last play was in English with a fusion of Gujarati in it. The actor, who is a die-hard fan of late Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna, recollects how he had even bought tickets over the counter to watch his film. In Mussoorie, Rajesh Khannas film would be shown in theatre after six months of its release. It was a very long wait for me. Instead I would travel all the way to Delhi, to catch his film, remembers Alter. Not many know that Tom Alter has worked as a teacher in a small town of Haryana. I was nineteen when started my career as a teacher in Haryana near Yamuna Nagar. It was later that I travelled to Mumbai to try out my luck as an actor. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Smaller constituents of the opposition grand alliance in Bengal plan to bring the likes of Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav to campaign in Bengal, not only for their respective parties but also for the Congress and Left Front. If successful, this campaign season will see Congress, Left, RJD and JDU leaders sharing a platform in a Bihar-like situation. JDU state president Amitava Dutta is scheduled to meet Left Front chairperson Biman Bose on Tuesday and Congress stalwart Somen Mitra on the issue. RJD state president Binda Ray too stated that Lalu Yadav and other leaders from Bihar are keen to campaign in Bengal. During Bihar Assembly polls, Congress, RJD and JDU combined to thwart BJP. CPI(M) was not part of the alliance in Bihar. However, in Bengal Left Front is part of the alliance against Mamata Banerjee on the one side and BJP on the other. It is impractical that Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav will be here to campaign for just one or two seats. We want them to campaign all over the state for Congress and the Left. They will have a good impact on Hindi-speaking voters of Bengal, said Dutta, JDU state president who is contesting from Howrah central seat, supported by Congress and Left. JDU is part of the grand alliance where Congress Left Front and RJD are present. JDU is contesting in Islampur, apart from Howrah central. In 2011, JDU placed candidates in 71 seats and won in 1 (Bhagabangola). Lalu Prasad will come. We are trying to bring in a host of other leaders. We want them to campaign for Left Front and Congress candidates too. Here as a part of the alliance we will be fighting against Trinamool Congress and BJP, said Binda Ray. RJD is contesting from two seats, Jorasanko and Bhatpara as a part of the alliance. RJD won the Burrabazar Assembly seat in 2006 as a Left Front partner. State Congress leaders welcomed the move. It will be beneficial and good that political stalwarts like Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar will be here to campaign for the alliance, said Pradip Bhattacharya, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of campaign committee of the party in Bengal. RJD and JDU state leaders recently met with state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury. The PCC chief told them to take up the alliance issue with their respective party heads. After getting the green light, both parties joined the grand alliance. Why would the Congress object to leaders like Lalu Prasad campaigning in Bengal, said Abdul Mannan, senior state Congress leader. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON One of West Bengals most popular sweets is at the centre of a bitter poll battle in the South 24 Parganas district with rival political parties claiming credit for getting it the prestigious geographical indicator (GI) status. The ruling Trinamool Congress and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) both say they were instrumental in getting the GI tag for the Joynagar Moa, a perishable jaggery-based snack. The GI tag is an internationally recognised mark that prevents things produced elsewhere to be passed off as original. The tag is important for local businessmen struggling to fend off competition from cheaper duplicates that hurt the business of around 15,000 families in the area. I have tried my best to obtain GI that will protect the snack from imitations. It was a longstanding demand of the Joynagar people to spread the business in the global market, said Pratima Mondal, the local Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP. But the Suci (C) contradicts this, saying the Trinamool is usurping credit. Our party organised a movement to attract the attention of the concerned authorities, said Bachhu Bose, a Suci leader of Joynagar. Sucis Tarun Naskar, a professor of Jadavpur University, is the incumbent MLA in Joynagar while the Congress has fielded Sujit Patwary in the hope of snatching the seat as the local municipality is under its control. Biswanath Das is the ruling party candidate but has an uphill task of combating the ire of local businessmen. Trinamool did nothing for us. We were promised loans but nothing has materialised. The duplicate moa makers are still in the market, Rajesh Sasmal, a prominent manufacturer told Hindustan Times. The GI tag is expected to boost efforts to prolong the shelf life of the Moa from around four days to a month, crucial if the sweet has to be marketed outside the state. Ever since Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover worked together in Alone (2015) , rumours of their link-up have been doing the rounds. The couple has denied the same on multiple occasions, and claim to be just good friends. However, their chemistry has not gone unnoticed, and pictures of the duo from their vacations have often popped up on social media. Sources claim that until now, they could not take their relationship to the next level as Karans divorce from Jennifer Winget was still pending. But now that the divorce has finally come through, sources claim that the actors are looking to make their relationship official. According to reports, Bipasha (37) and Karan (34) plan to get married on April 30 in Mumbai. Apparently, Karans mother had objected to their relationship initially, but has accepted it now. The duo has apparently already started locking the venue and functions for their nuptials. Read More: Bipasha Basu, Karan Singh Grover marriage stalled by their families? While Bipasha has been open about her love life in the past, this time she has kept mum. Earlier this month, while rumours of her wedding to Karan were doing the rounds, she had tweeted, Wait for me 2announce my wedding when I want to n if I want to.Please stop treating it frivolously (sic). HT Cafe had spoken to Karan about rumours of their engagement recently, and the actor had denied the same. He had said, There is nothing of the sort. If anything like that happens, we will let everyone know. Read More: Bipasha Basu celebrates Karan Singh Grovers birthday in sunny Goa Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover were both unavailable for comment. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to reconsider the U/A certification given to upcoming film Santa Banta Pvt Ltd, after a Sikh group claimed the title and contents of the film offend the sentiments of the community. The court asked CBFC to treat as a representation the petition filed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) seeking to cancel the U/A certificate given to the film, scheduled for release on April 22. The court has given a deadline to censor board to decide on the representation by April 8, 2016. The Sikh group had said the posters and trailers of the film characterized Sikh community in a defamatory and denigrating manner. Contending that the release of the film would affect the interest of Sikh community, the DSGMC also sought for a direction to ban the release of the film. However, the producers and makers of the film denied the allegations that the film disrespected the communitys sentiments. They told court that the posters of the film, which are alleged to be objectionable has been withdrawn. Earlier, during the hearing on the petition, the censor board had stood by its decision to certify it on the ground that there was nothing objectionable. Follow @htshowbiz for more. There is a conflict between two finance ministers, and it seems the official one is not winning this war. The countrys finance minister announced a scheme to monetise the gold holdings of Indias families, but the finance minister back at home, the housewife, is having none of it. This came through clearly at a recent meeting between economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das and representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, temple trusts and other bodies, to discuss ways to make the scheme more attractive. I am not even able to convince my wife to part with her jewellery, which she hardly uses, one official reportedly said at the meeting, raising laughter. Its easy to convince North Block but very difficult to convince finance minister at home to participate in this scheme. The main stumbling block, officials said, was the emotional value attached to the jewellery, which had often been passed on by the previous generation, sometimes even several generations. The concept of even contemplating monetising such heirlooms was abhorrent to the lady of the house, and this was even leading to confrontations in families, they have found. Even temples, which receive tonnes of gold every year and were expected to be major participants in the scheme, are not convinced. The head of the Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam trust recently said the temple would like to receive interest payments in gold, rather than cash, for deposits of over 3 years tenure before which the entire concept of monetising idle gold falls flat. The government is now mulling the merits of launching an advertisement campaign to educate people of the benefits of the scheme, the official said. The gold monetisation scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, has only managed to garner 3 tonnes of gold in the entire fiscal. Indias families are estimated to own some 20,000 tonnes of gold jewellery and bullion. In January 2016, the finance ministry had relaxed certain norms to make the scheme more attractive, including premature redemption of medium- and long-term deposits, and a commission to banks for their services. The ministry had also strengthened the physical infrastructure for the scheme by establishing more purity and testing centres for gold before the metal is accepted in banks. Indias love for gold is common knowledge. India is the second largest importer of gold after China, importing as much as 1,000 tonnes a year, which amounts to 25% of its trade deficit. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told the Supreme Court Tuesday that it was not advisable to make public the names of defaulters who owed over Rs 500 crores to public banks. The banking sector regulator submitted a list of such defaulters, in accordance with the top courts February 16 order. RBI said it was extremely necessary to keep the confidentiality of the information as disclosing names of defaulters will adversely affect business climate and could impact scores of employees in such entities, RBI said. It...may have adverse impact for the business and in a way, may accentuate the failure of the business, rather than nursing it back to health, RBI said in an affidavit. It said sharing of information among banks regarding defaulters facilitate better follow up and recovery, however, putting it in public may dissuade legitimate risk taking and investment by good and well intentioned promoters. Strongly disapproving of the banks policy to write off such debt, the SC during an earlier hearing had asked the banks to also clarify its stand on the issue. The SC had also asked the RBI to furnish details of loans written off by public sector banks in the last five years. Responding to the courts query, RBI said banks write off non-performing assets as a regular exercise to clean up their balance sheets. Substantial portion of write-offs is however, represented by technical write off which is primarily intended at cleansing the balance sheet and achieving taxation efficiency, RBI said. The government should provide a level playing field and not just suit four or five tycoons, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes tells HT in an exclusive interview a day after Tata Sons increased its stake in their joint venture airline in India. Its time for India to stop putting self-interest above national interest, he said. Excerpts: Whats your take on Tatas increasing stake in AirAsia India (AAI)? It obviously shows Tatas are very committed to AAI. Both of us are committed to whatever capital is required to grow the airline. We are going to add two planes soon and I did like to take it to 10. We are also removing the uncertainty over shareholders and are clear on our capital plan. Secondly, we have worked hard in getting a new management team in place. All the blocks are in place. By when do you add two planes? Its imminent. What was the need for Tatas to buy out Arun Bhatias stake? You will have to ask the Tatas that. Have you and Tatas put in more equity? No, we havent as yet. Would it have been better that AAI was a two-way JV from the very beginning? Its definitely better to have one wife than four but at that time the Tatas did not want to own more than 30% so we needed other shareholders. But I dont regret anything. Arun Bhatia contributed. He put in a lot of effort. I wish him good luck. But havent his public statements brought more problems for you? I have no comment on that. Will the issue of foreign control be finally settled with Tatas increasing their stake? I never thought there was an issue. Obviously, if Tatas thought there was an issue they wont be extending their stake. The chairman has himself become a stakeholder so its very clear that no one thought it was an issue and no one will put their reputation on line. By having Tatas there as a much larger shareholder now, further confirms that they never had an issue about this foreign control. How will the abolition of the 5/20 rule help Indian aviation? Its time for India to stop putting self interest above national interest. Everyone can see very clearly that India has been short of international connectivity and that hurts the economy. It is short of connectivity because it does not give enough rights to foreign airlines and the local airlines are not pushing for it either. When people are willing to invest to improve the lives of Indians and improve the economy then why not. If Emirates or Etihad or Qatar putting in more flights for more people to come to India and invest, so be it. To have a policy to just stop international (routes) so that people are forced to do domestic (flights) makes no sense. Both domestic and international should grow at the same time. In Malaysia domestic has grown as much as international. The same happened in Indonesia and China. These are red herrings. Really, a lot of this has been put in place to please owners of some Indian carriers. I think India has moved beyond protecting a few businessmen. If there was a national referendum right now on whether India should have more flights and should it allow airlines to fly international, I am pretty sure where the people will vote. How will the Tatas increasing stake help AAI? We have two clear shareholders who are dedicated to growing the airline. Shareholders can share the same strategy which enables to grow with a clear objective and less internal issues. There was lot of hype surrounding AAIs launch. Have you lived up to expectations? No one in AAI made any promises or deadlines. This is not a two year story. People were excited because they were excited with what we had done in other countries. We havent been able to grow as much as we wanted to because of so many court cases, obstacles, lobbying etc. Its such an exciting thing because the people of India wanted to have more choice, more international flights and more connectivity. Of course, there was hype. Have we lived up to that? No. But no one expected all these issues that we have been caught with. Are we giving up? Clearly not. One of our major shareholders is putting in more capital. We see a potential of helping change Indian aviation. Competition makes people better. Imagine if there was only one mobile phone provider or one newspaper in India, it wont have been such a vibrant media industry. Vistara has grown at a much faster pace than AAI. Can you share your expansion plans over the next three years? I have no idea at the moment. Vistara is only one airline I have the potential for investment in many different places - Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan etc. Singapore Airlines has one overseas investment. Both Tata and I want to make sure we are not sinking money into a black hole. In a short period, Vistara has changed their business model. We are very experienced in this. There is no point rushing in like a bull in a china shop and losing hundreds of millions of dollars so we are slowly learning the market. We are not here to see who is bigger. Lets see who is here in 10-15 years time. You have applied to become an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)... Let me make it clear through your newspaper: I didnt apply for OCI for anything to do with AAI. It has zero bearing whether I am an OCI or whatever. I applied because my dad would have been proud. I applied because I want to spend more time in India and as an OCI I dont need a visa. I was told I am same as an NRI and I can buy houses, dont need a visa etc. So that was another bonus. It has nothing to do with AAI. I was tired of all these other airlines saying foreign, foreign, foreign (ownership and control). Actually my fathers heritage and the fact that we have the Tatas, we are probably more Indian in substance than many Indian airlines. Jet has Etihad plus Naresh (Goyal) lives in London, I am told that GoAir guys live in Turkey, IndiGo is an American airline from what I can see and if you look at the shareholders more than 60% shareholders are foreigners. So apart from Air India they all got foreign connections. But I dont care who is foreign and who is not. I only care what we can do for Indian people but these guys have been bringing it up non-stop. Let me make it very clear OCI has nothing to do with AAI. It will be very naive for me to think like that. File photo of AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes. (AP) Do Indian carriers fear you? You have to ask them. I find it very strange. We have six planes versus IndiGo which has 100 planes and they are all worried about us. Having said that we started with two planes in Malaysia and now we are the largest Malaysian airline. I will just focus on myself. In all these years I have never thought about other airlines. I am not focused on competition. I focus on how we can do better. I find it so strange that other airlines spend so much time trying to stop us. When an Indonesian airline came to Malaysia we welcomed them. We didnt stop them. We didnt force the government to stop them. We said let the best man win. There is a market for everybody. Let the people choose. Competition is good. When will AAI break even? I dont know. But we are moving in the right path. What are your views on the regulatory problems in India? We need less regulation. Obviously government should facilitate business and not hinder business and government should provide a level playing field and not a field just to suit four or five tycoons. They should put in a regulation that helps the people of India, create jobs and create economic growth. I am a believer in free market. Since AAI has come in we stared new routes we created more traffic. India is desperately short of international tourists and thats a great and easy earner. It has been made clear by the India PM that tourism is a key goal. Ajay Singh (of SpiceJet) made a good point at the Hyderabad air show that the government should reduce the cost of business. We still have aviation tax fuel and very high airport charges. The government should be focussed on that as well to allow more people to fly. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday that the Centre will attempt to destabilise the Delhi and Himachal Pradesh governments. He called the imposition of Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand a murder of democracy. The chief minister also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing the visit of the Pakistani joint investigation team to probe the Pathankot terror attack. Kejriwal said the overture of the Prime Minister towards Pakistan was aimed at securing either a Noble Peace Prize or the Prime Minister has got into some kind of deal with Pakistan. Kejriwal was speaking on the lieutenant governors address in Delhi Assembly. Leader of opposition, Vijender Gupta, and two other BJP legislators walked out in protest stating the CM was speaking on issues which are not related to the L-G speech. Accusing the BJP of resorting to horse trading in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarkhand, Kejriwal said that an Intelligence Bureau officer told him that a big industrialist has asked to buy AAP MLAs. The BJP was left with three seats in Delhi elections nine months after getting a historic mandate at the Centre. Then Bihar happened. The BJP knows it will not win a single election in the next two years so it has resorted to goondagardi. They will try it in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi next. In Delhi, they plan to suspend 21 MLAs first and then attempt to buy 23 more, he said. Questioning the visit of the Pakistani JIT to probe the Pathankot terror attack, Kejriwal alleged that Centres decision may have been influenced by a deal struck between Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Nitin Chawla and Priyanka Kapoors marriage was doomed from the start. A clash of lifestyles often led to arguments and even violence. Chawla struggled to cope with his wife. Sources said Priyanka, who frequented night parties before marriage, started feeling suffocated after Nitin asked her to stop drinking and settle down as a homemaker. Nitin told the police he could no longer continue to wait for her late into the night. He said after about a month, he began beating her. An event manager, Priyanka Kapoor allegedly committed suicide early Friday. Her suicide note blamed husband and her frequent beatings. Rape case against Nitin Priyanka learnt that her husband was a rape accused a few weeks into the marriage. A model in Mumbai had filed a rape complaint against him. She reportedly threatened to tell everyone about the case filed by the woman in April 2014. Nitin was reportedly living with the model and had developed intimate relations with her, promising marriage. When the woman found out that he was already married, she filed the rape complaint. He was arrested, but later released on bail, an investigator said. Read: Husband who promised to keep Delhi model happy beat her mercilessly Sources also said the police had received information about Nitins involvement in cases of cheating and fraud, which are yet to be verified. A file photo of Delhi-based model Priyanka Kapoor. She was found dead in Defence Colony. (HT Photo) Trouble began much before marriage During questioning, Nitin told the police that he was upset with Priyankas conduct and often asked her to mend her ways, but she refused to listen. This made him angry. He told the police that she never cared about her marriage and her step son, which infuriated him. He said she was used to leading a lavish lifestyle and he was unable to meet her demands. He recently suffered losses in his business. He feared that she would leave him for money. He has also accused her of not visiting his parents in Meera Bagh after marriage, a source said. Police sources said in August last year, Priyanka reportedly went missing. Nitin and her sister had filed a police complaint at the Lajpat Nagar police station. The police later found her at the city five star hotel. She had visited the hotel with one of her male friends and was found unconscious in the room. Nitin took her to Max hospital in Saket. Doctors said she had fallen unconscious after a drug overdose. The nature of drug was, however, not ascertained. She returned home the next day, a source told HT. Her past Nitin in his interrogation said he was unhappy about his wife being close to her male friend. This resulted in frequent clashes between the two. He said Priyanka was close to him before marriage and had also gone to Egypt with him. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Canteens to provide cheap yet nutritious meals to the poor was among the real aam aadmi proposals in Delhi finance minister Manish Sisodias budget that the presented on Monday. Akin to the Amma Canteens, which were started by Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the Delhi editions of the initiative will be implemented by a special organisation -- Bureau of Affordable Meals. Finance Minister Sisodia has allocated a budget of R10 crore annually for the initiative. The bureau will run canteens where people will be able to eat hygienic food at affordable rates. It is proposed to start Aam Aadmi canteens in Delhi for proving nutritious and hygienic food, at low prices, to citizens, particularly the poor and down trodden who find it difficult to have a proper meal, like rickshaw pullers, daily wage labourers, construction workers, Sisodia announced in his budget speech. Opening Aam Aadmi canteens was one of the major poll promises of the AAP. Conceding that the idea has been borrowed from some others states where similar scheme have been implemented successfully , Sisodia said the bureau will be set up to monitor and coordinate the functioning of these canteens. Experts welcomed the move and said this plan will help in making Delhi a hunger-free city. Countries such as Brazil have been running such programmes in which canteens sell food to the working class. This is a much-needed step to eradicate hunger, said Biraj Patnaik, principal adviser to the commissioners of the Supreme Court in the Right to Food case. NC Saxena, former member of the Planning Commission, said, This is a good idea as a large number of people go hungry in the city. It will also help in providing nutritious food. Last year, the government had announced setting up of Aam Aadmi Canteens after it cleared a proposal on the same by Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC). The DDC was set by the government to work on seventy poll promises made by the party in its manifesto. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In mid-February, more than 20 people died and over 200 were injured when Jats, a prosperous agrarian community, went on a rampage in Haryana. Over 10 days, members of the community ransacked buildings, torched vehicles and blockaded road and rail routes. While there are no official figures, some estimates have put the loss at `20,000 crore. To put things in perspective, the estimate is double that of Delhis latest budget for education. In addition to this loss, the protests also had an incalculable psychological impact on stranded commuters on the highway (there were reports about gender violence too) and those outside the protesting community. All this happened because Jats wanted reservation in government jobs under the Other Backward Classes category. But their utter disregard for law and order has paid off handsomely: On Tuesday, the Haryana Cabinet passed the Jat Reservation Bill. The state government, which is led by a non-Jat chief minister, lost its nerve after protesters threatened to resume their agitation if their demands were not met by March 31, the last day of the budget session. Read | Haryana assembly unanimously passes Jat quota bill The Jats demand for reservation is a response to the challenging times that India is going through: While agricultural income is decreasing this has hit the Jat community badly jobs outside the sector are scarce. Whatever employment is available is out of the reach of many who have come through the uneven public education system. In such a scenario, a government job is like winning a lottery; it assures an income for at least 30 years. Jats are not the only ones vying for these limited prized opportunities: There are Gujjars in Rajasthan and Patidars in Gujarat who are also eyeing quotas. All three communities have taken the same route to press their demand: Force the governments hand by indulging in violence and blackmail. Now that the Jats have managed to get their demand, it is only time before other communities learn that they can get their due by arm-twisting the government. Read | Jat reservation Bill: BJP MLAs express resentment, seek adjournment motion The political class is responsible for the reservation precipice on which India stands now. What started as affirmative action for those who needed a helping hand is now being seen as an entitlement by different social groups. And, instead of working out ways to improve education facilities and create more jobs, which can create a level-playing field, politicians are opting for short term solutions. This is dangerous and is certain to backfire in the long run. Read | Turmoil in Haryana: Jat quota agitation turns violent Two pieces of information that came from Syria on March 27 give hope that the West Asian nation is finally turning the corner in the civil war and in the fight against Islamic State (IS). First, after 20 days of intense battle with IS, pro-Damascus forces regained control of the ancient city of Palmyra. IS captured this Unesco World Heritage site and city in May 2015 and went on to destroy many monuments. Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces were able to regain control of the city with pivotal backing from the Russian Armed Forces and Iranian troops. Second, initial reports from Palmyra suggest that the damage to the monuments is not as extensive as experts feared. While the Temple of Baal and the Arch of Triumph have been destroyed, the Agora and Roman amphitheatre, used by IS to stage public executions, have survived. Read | Experts rush to ancient Palmyra after Syrian army ousts IS One person who Syria and the world must be remembered at this moment is Khaled al-Asaad, the Syrian scholar who played a vital role in the excavation of the site and for more than four decades was closely associated with the preservation and promoting of Palmyra. Before the fall of Palmyra Assad had shifted four large consignments of artefacts and antiquities to Damascus and he refused to reveal the locations of the hidden artefacts in the area. After being tortured for over a month he was killed in August. A banner belonging to the Islamic court of the Islamic State on the ground after forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad recaptured Palmyra city, March 27 (REUTERS) Palmyra is an important addition to the presidents expanding map of control in Syria, and will help in the recapture of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour. But a major task will be to demine the city IS, before retreating, planted a number of mines throughout Palmyra. Reports suggest that experts have demined more than 150 bombs in the archaeological site. It is also a psychological boost to regime forces and will revitalise the fight against IS, which is losing more ground with every passing day. Read | Putin congratulates Assad on retaking Palmyra That said, Syria is not yet out of the woods and the civil war is far from over. The equations among nations involved in the conflict and those in the peace process are still so brittle that a miscommunication will turn back the clock. One of the reasons for progress in the civil war is the intervention of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putins decision to send troops late last year put an end to the indecisive engagement by the West in Syria. Russian forces not only helped Damascus but also pushed IS on the back foot and led events to the current peace talks in Geneva. Read | Syrian army command says Islamic State beginning to collapse The recapture of Palmyra is a reflection of President Assads increasing power, but that should not stop the world from asking tough questions. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a month after the cessation of hostilities came into force, 646 people have been killed 174 of them innocent civilians in shelling by the regime in places observing the ceasefire. Russias role will now be to see that the Geneva talks have a positive outcome. More than any world leader today Mr Putin has got the leverage to influence Mr Assad to cooperate with these talks. This is Mr Putins chance to win where the West has failed and bring about peace in Syria. Child actor Neel Sethi, all set to make his debut with Disneys big-budget fantasy film The Jungle Book as Mowgli, says he is fond of Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra. The Quantico star has voiced the character Kaa, a snake who is one of Mowglis mentors and friends, in the Hindi version of the film. I love Priyanka Chopra because she plays Kaa in the Hindi version. She is now in Hollywood too. I would love to act with her, and everybody in Bollywood. I think itll be a lot of fun, Neel told PTI in an interview. Read: Jungle Book Hindi trailer: Priyanka Chopra aint no Scarlett Johansson Besides Priyanka, the 12-year-old youngster also looks up to Captain America star Chris Evans and Matthew Perry, known for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom Friends. I really like Chris Evans, because he is Captain America and is a really nice guy. I like Mathew Perry because of Friends. I love the show. Even though he is based in New York, Neel watches Hindi films and was impressed with the critically acclaimed Irrfan Khan starrer Talvar, which he found very cool. Watch the Jungle Book trailer here The actor is open to do Bollywood films in the future as they have a different acting style. I like everybody in Bollywood. There is a different acting style (in Bollywood). May be, in future, I would like to do a film here. It will be every exciting. Read: The Jungle Books Indian posters highlight Priyanka, Irrfan, Nana Directed by Jon Favreau, The Jungle Book, based on Rudyard Kiplings book, narrates the story of an orphan boy Mowgli who is raised in the jungle by a pack of wolves, a bear, and a black panther. In the film, Neel plays the only human being and he said he was hand-picked by Favreau from over 2000 hopefuls for Mowgli. The actor, however, bagged the role in his very first audition and was not aware of the number of people he was competing to play the iconic character. My dad took me to the audition. When they were told I got the role they were so excited and amazed, he said. Once he started filming, Neel credits Favreau for guiding him as this was the first time he was venturing into acting. Watch the Hindi trailer here It felt good. I didnt know what to do because it was my first time. Whatever the director told me I started doing that because he knows everything about it. He taught me everything. Jon (Favreau) is a very nice guy and it was really fun working in the film. I liked it. When asked if he was nervous while doing the film, Neel said, I wasnt nervous at all, not really. Because I didnt know how big the film is. Read: The Jungle Book: Jungle jungle baat chali hai song is back The actor is currently in Mumbai and has managed to see the Gateway of India before he flies back to Los Angeles. This is not the first time that Neel has come to India he has been here before. Read: The Jungle Book embraces its origins, will start promotions in India I have come to India before as my grandparents are here. I love India because this is my home. This is so different from usual New York from where I come. Its so different and cool, he said. One special fondness that the 12-year-old-actor has of India is eating Golgappas (Pani-Puri). ...Golgappas (Pani-Puri) I can have 27 in one go. I tried to beat my sister but that did not happen, Neel said on a lighter note. The Jungle Book will release in India on April 8, a week before it hits theatres in the US. Follow @htshowbiz for more A Pakistani team investigating the Pathankot attack was forced to enter the air base from a specially made gate at the rear-end of the base on Tuesday following violent protests by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party workers in the north Punjab town. Chanting slogans against the Centre and holding placards saying Pak JIT go back, the protestors waved black flags and reached the gates of the Air Base, where defence personnel were seen trying to restrain them and stop them from entering the restricted area. First they come here and attack on our soil bleeding us and they pretend that they are trying to get justice. Congress will never stand this farce, Harinder Kaur, a protestor told ANI. The five-member joint investigation team is in India to prove alleged involvement of Pakistani militants in Januarys ambush at the sensitive air base that left seven soldiers dead. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has said the team will be given limited access to the air base. The investigators are expected to be shown the infiltration points and the terrorists route from the border to the airbase. India is also likely to allow the JIT to talk to the witnesses and the injured, including superintendent of police Salwinder Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma, and the cook, who claimed that the terrorists had kidnapped them. On Monday, the National Investigation Agency gave a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani team on the evidence collected in the case. The JIT also furnished a legal mandate to gather evidence in India. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. This is the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials are traveling to India to investigate a terror attack case. New Delhi has been pressing Islamabad for action on the attack by terrorists on the key Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, in January this year. Seven security personnel were martyred in the attack. All terrorists involved in the attack were also killed in the gun-battle. The Indian Air Force has visually barricaded key locations in the air base as it doesnt want the Pakistani team to have full view of the area. We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase, an IAF officer told IANS. Punjab Police DIG (deputy inspector general) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said that the Pakistan JIT will be taken by the NIA to the site of the gunbattle. The team will be provided access to the area of the encounter, Singh said. Informed defence sources here said the team members could also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government mortuary. NIA officers will accompany the JIT members. The JIT will not get to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A New Delhi-bound Air India (AI) flight with 158 passengers on board from Hong Kong on Tuesday made a precautionary landing at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata after the pilot reported a snag in one of the engines of the plane, AI officials said. Flight AI 315 from Hong Kong to New Delhi, which departed at around 5.30 PM, was around 126 Nautical Miles from Kolkata when the pilot reported a snag in the planes right engine and requested to land at NSCB Airport, the AI spokesperson said. The flight made a precautionary landing at Kolkata at around 8.25 PM and the engineers immediately attended to the snag, but the plane was declared unfit to continue its flight to Delhi, the spokesperson said. All passengers were disembarked and they would be sent to Delhi in another flight, after a scheduled New Delhi-Kolkata flight reaches the city later at night, the spokesperson added. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has sought an apology from the BJP for union power minister Piyush Goyals comment on Tamil Nadu and its government. Goyal, who was speaking at a meeting in New Delhi on Friday, described Tamil Nadu as a state within a state while expressing his inability to meet chief minister J Jayalalithaa. I made several attempts to contact ministers in the Jayalalithaa government. I have access to 28 states in this country but for the 29th state, when I want to talk to someone, I cant. I call up and talk to the power minister and he says he will get back to me after he speaks with Amma, Goyal had said. Terming the statements as baseless allegations, state finance minister O Panneerselvam said, The statement by Goyal that he could not meet the honourable chief minister Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader) is a preposterous accusation. It is an unsubstantiated allegation made with a political purpose. Listing the details of meetings the chief minister had with union ministers, eight in all, since the new union government took office in 2014, Paneerselvam claimed Jayalalithaa was and is always accessible for discussions regarding the welfare and development of Tamil Nadu. Accusing Goyal of an ulterior motive, the two-time former chief minister reminded the BJP leadership that honourable Amma had even hosted the Prime Minister during his visit to Chennai in August 2015. For the BJP, the union power ministers statement sets the tone of their election campaign against the government. We will make this an election issue in the campaign, said a senior BJP leader. Amidst Goyal criticising AIADMK parliamentarians for their servility to Jayalalithaa, other top state BJP leaders have been taking on the Jayalalithaa-led government. State party president, Tamilisai Soundarajan added to the issue stating if a union minister experienced trouble in meeting the chief minister, one must imagine how it must be for the rest of the people. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday alleged that the BJP spent hundreds of crores of rupees in an attempt to topple his government with the help of governor. BJP spent lots of money. They wasted hundreds of crores before the Bihar elections to topple the government in Assam. They tried it by taking Himanta (Biswa Sarma) and other MLAs, but they could not do it, Gogoi told a press conference in Guwahati. Gogois allegation came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modis blistering attack on the Congress leader during the recent poll rallies in Assam. Sarma, once a trusted Congress minister of Gogoi, who is presently in BJP, had almost garnered the support of 35 MLAs and tried the same tactics used in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand of shifting the base to BJP, Gogoi claimed. The governor (Padmanabha Balakrishan Acharya) was also involved in this. Without his support how is it possible? That is why, the centre is not appointing a permanent governor in Assam. That is why they are appointing all RSS people as governors, Gogoi alleged. Gogoi further said if the 35 MLAs, whose support was shown to be withdrawn from Gogois leadership in front of the Congress high command, had really shifted their allegiance to BJP, the government would have fallen instantly. Gogoi also regretted his decision to trust Sarma during his tenure with the Congress. Yes, I trusted him a lot. He betrayed a simple man like me. Himanta and all his supporters were not original Congressmen. They come and go. Himanta was with ULFA, then AASU, AGP, Congress and now (a) BJP man, Gogoi said. Talking about the Uttarakhand crisis, the chief minister said the entire development is just a murder of democracy. You did it in Arunachal and now Uttarakhand. The government was to test its majority next day and you (Centre) toppled it. (This is) Hitler in India! This is dictatorial and a murder of democracy, he alleged. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had accused the Modi dispensation of trying to destabilise and topple his government by using central agencies. He alleged the centre has been destabilising Congress-ruled states one by one and cited examples of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where Presidents Rule was imposed. The body of Raghavendran Ganeshan, the Infosys staffer who died in the Brussels bomb attacks, has reportedly arrived in Chennai and is being taken to his Chittalapakkam residence. Cremation will take place later in the evening. Ganeshans parents and brother accompanied his body from Brussels. The techie, who studied in Maharashtra for his initial schooling, joined a private engineering college in Vellore where he specialised in electronics. He was among the brighter students who got picked up by Infosys and got trained in Bengaluru. After a short stint in Pune, he was posted in Brussels, where he has been working for the last four years. Ganeshans cousin and childhood friend Sridhar said his son was too young to understand the loss. What will anyone tell his two-month-old son? Raghavendra was in Chennai in February at his in-laws place, for the delivery of their first child. He was scheduled to come in July. We are in big shock. Last Saturday, we got the shocking news from the Indian Embassy. They matched the DNA samples and confirmed his death, Sridhar added. His wife Vaishali also reached his relatives place, where his mortal remains will be brought. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi have condoled the tragic and shocking death of the young software professional. The body of an Infosys employee who was killed during last weeks Brussels attacks, will be taken to Chennai on Tuesday according to officials. Infosys employee Raghavendran Ganeshan was killed while travelling in the Brussels Metro which was attacked by one suicide bomber on March 22. Read: Brussels: Missing Infosys employees last call tracked to metro I am deeply pained to inform that Brussels authorities have identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of terror blasts in Brussels. His mortal remains are being handed over to the family in Brussels. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet on Monday. I am deeply pained to inform that Brussels authorities hv identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of terror blasts in Brussels. /1 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) 28 March 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to express his condolences for Ganeshan and his family. A young life, full of hope & promise cut short by mindless violence... condolences to family of Raghavendran, who lost his life in Brussels. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 29 March 2016 His body was charred beyond recognition and was identified only after matching DNA samples with his brother. Raghavendrans remains will be flown to Chennai on Tuesday for last rites, officials said. Read: Infosys awaits Indian techies fate in terror-hit Brussels The victims parents, C. Ganeshan and Annapoorna, flew to Brussels last Wednesday. His brother Venkatesan, who is studying in Germany, also joined them. Raghavendran, 31, is survived by his wife and a one-month-old baby. He had been recruited to Infosys through a campus placement programme and was working in Brussels from the past four years. Indian American Hindus of California are closely watching a revision of the historysocial science school course that they fear may end up giving a skewed depiction of their religion. The California department of educations instructional quality commission, which is overseeing the revision process, is expected to submit a new set of recommendations in April. The community, led by activists and groups such as the Hindu Education Foundation, an arm of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, has been somewhat successful. They were able to prevent what they said, for instance, proposed edits in the reading material to replace India with South Asia and Hinduism with ancient Indian religion. The Hindu American Foundation (HAF), an advocacy body for the community, called the proposed changes problematic. The proposed edits included removing mention of Hinduisms acceptance of religious diversity, relinking Hinduism with caste, and removing mention of the contributions of Hindu sages of different backgrounds, such as Valmiki and Vyasa, it said in a statement. A change made in the course for Grade 7, according to minutes of the hearing from November 2015, says: While relations between people of different religions were often peaceful, some Mughul rulers, who were Muslims, persecuted Sikhs. Change to, While relations between people of different religions were often peaceful, generally, most Muslim rulers persecuted Sikhs as well as Hindus and Jains. Other modifications included describing god Shiva as the transformer and not the destroyer or the destroyer and creator as proposed by the editors. In another change, already accepted and also from Grade 7, deleted the word Hindu from the phrase the Hindu cast order in the context of the founding of Sikhism. The community is awaiting the revised text, likely to be made public in April. The accurate portrayal therefore in our classroom, of women in Indias history as leaders, sages, scholars, and often spiritual authority figures for families and communities is incredibly important for all members of my learning environment, said 12-year-old Vaidehi Dandekar, a seventh grade student from El Cerrito, California, in a statement from HAF. The Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday asked the deposed Harish Rawat government to seek a trust vote on March 31, in an unusual order that added to the political flux in the state. While the rebellion-hit Congress welcomed the verdict and its ousted chief minister, Rawat, expressed confidence that he has the numbers to prove majority, the BJP termed the decision unprecedented. Presidents Rule was imposed in the hill state on Sunday following days of political upheaval after nine dissident Congress lawmakers threatened to take power by joining hands with the BJP. The Centre will challenge the high courts decision. On Wednesday, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi will go to the Nainital court to oppose the order on floor test. Never ever such a ruling has come on a Presidents Rule, parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu told HT. Justice UC Dhyani ordered that a registrar of the high court will monitor the House proceedings as observer. The decision came on a day the Supreme Court agreed to hear next week a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the imposition of Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand and demanding a CBI probe into allegations of horse-trading. A file photo of the Uttarakhand assembly building, which has become the centre of attraction. (HT Photo) Read: Uttarakhand crisis: HC order tremendous setback for Centre, says Rawat The Speaker will submit the trust vote results in a sealed cover to the high court by Friday morning. But there is no clarity on how the court ordered the floor test even as the 71-member assembly remains suspended. The high court has not stayed Presidents Rule in the state, additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta told HT. The Centres move to depose the Uttarakhand government last week, while citing a constitutional breakdown, sparked a political storm with the Congress and BJP accusing each other of murdering democracy. Rawat, who became chief minister in 2014 after an intense intra-party power struggle, claims to have the support of 34 MLAs. The high court accepts the point that despite Presidents Rule there is enough scope for judicial review to allow a floor test to take place. This was asked by us, said Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for the ousted state government. It (the floor test) is to record the votes. It will prove that there was no reason to impose it (Presidents Rule). Justice Dhyani said the nine dissident Congress MLAs, disqualified by the Uttarakhand Speaker under anti-defection law, will have the right to vote. A petition by the rebels challenging their dismissal will be heard on Wednesday. Read: All you need to know about Presidents rule in Uttarakhand Harish Rawat (centre) along with Congress leaders and MLAs after meeting Uttarakhand governor KK Paul at Raj Bhawan in Dehradun on Monday. (PTI) The court ordered that the trust vote will be held through secret ballot and the votes of the nine legislators will be kept separate. Sources said a group of Uttarakhand BJP leaders left for Delhi late on Tuesday evening to discuss strategy with party chief Amit Shah following the verdict. Three former chief ministersBC Khanduri, BS Koshiyari and Ramesh Pokhriyal are likely to attend the meeting. The BJP, which has 28 MLAs in the state, is banking on the support of the dissident Congress lawmakers to defeat the confidence motion Rawat will move during the floor test. (With inputs from Deep Joshi in Dehradun) Read:Uttarakhand crisis: Vijayvargiyas aggression made the difference In a bid to avoid a repeat of the Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand-like situation, the Congress took the first step on Tuesday to save its government in Manipur by appointing former minister TN Haokip as the state chief. Haokip, a preferred choice of about 25 dissident legislators, replaces Gaikhangam as the state party chief. Gaikhangam is also the deputy chief minister. The rebels had raised a banner of revolt against chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and threatened to topple the Congress government if their demands for removal of Gaikhangam under the one-man-one-post formula and some of the ministers were not met. Congress sources said a cabinet reshuffle is likely soon. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi met the chief minister and the state chief in Delhi last week and told them to address the genuine concerns of the rebels. The Congress president also assured the rebels that their demands for a cabinet reshuffle and the leadership change would be considered and that they should not hurt the party ahead of next years assembly polls. The rebels had threatened to cross over to the BJP. In the 60-member assembly, the Congress has 42 seats. However, the Congress tally went up to 47 after five legislators from the Manipur State Congress Party joined it in April 2014. The revolt in the Congress followed the governments decision to suspend five Manipur police personnel after the Nagaland-based Naga Students Federation imposed an indefinite ban on the entry of vehicles belonging to a particular community. The ban followed an incident on February 14 in which some members of the student body were assaulted by Manipur police. The student body had demanded suspension of the personnel and the state government yielded to its demand. Smarting under a humiliating snub from Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) supremo Captain Vijayakanth, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is planning to engineer a split in his party or weaken it by weaning away second-rung leaders in the run-up to the upcoming state assembly elections. Resentment reportedly arose among DMDK cadres and second-rung leaders over the partys decision to shrug off an alliance with the M Karunanidhi-led DMK. Former deputy chief minister MK Stalin is reportedly meeting a few DMDK MLAs who are unhappy with the party decision, and want to align with a strong force like the DMK for electoral gains. Party sources said that the DMK is now targeting the DMDKs district secretaries and party MLAs. They said that while several second-rung leaders and MLAs of the DMDK have been trying to meet Stalin, a few DMK leaders are already in touch with disgruntled elements in Vijayakanths party. Also read: Vijayakanths wife booked for telling voters to accept cash for votes However, sources close to Stalin said that the DMK would not reward any leaders who have crossed over from the DMDK. We are in no mood to entertain such people, a DMK leader said, although he did not deny that some DMDK leaders were keen on joining his party. Over 1,000 DMDK cadres led by Tiruchirapalli district leader Amjad Ahmed joined the DMK in the presence of senior leader KN Nehru on Sunday. Similar transfers of cadres and leaders were taking place in different places of Tamil Nadu, said another source close to Stalin, but denied that the DMK had anything to do with it. The J Jayalalithaa-led All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) , which is also trying to weaken its former ally, had snapped up eight of its MLAs last year itself. The partys leaders are also negotiating with DMDK members who are willing to cross over. Also read: Tamil Nadu polls: Vijayakanth is DMDK-PWF alliances CM candidate The DMDK, on the other hand, asserted that it was not bothered by the desertions. The party maintained that as long as the people vote for Vijaykanths ideals, its the defecting MLAs who stand to lose. A senior functionary of the Peoples Welfare Front (PWF) , which has allied with the DMDK, said, Premalatha (the wife of Captain Vijayakanth) has said that the party will not be affected in any way by people wanting to leave it. However, analysts believe that the PWF-DMDK combine may run into trouble when its time to discuss seat adjustments and constituency choices. Senior BJP leader H Raja even wondered if the new third front would remain intact till election time. The PWF functionary, however, termed these speculations as wishful thinking on the part of opponents who were rattled by the entry of a real alternative into the states political arena. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A five-year road map for reviving ties with European Union (EU), deeper energy and security ties with Saudi Arabia and discussions on nuclear security at a summit in Washington are part of the three-nation tour that Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins from Wednesday. The PMs first stop will be Brussels, where an Indian casualty was confirmed on Monday as among the 35 victims of purported Islamic State bombings. The attacks in Brussels, of course, it will be the starting point of the talks, joint secretary (Europe West) Nandini Singla, told reporters. The crux of the talks, however, will be a five-year roadmap for trade cooperation between India and the 28-nation European Union that had been strained after a dispute over Indian drug exports in 2012. Modi will meet top businessmen, including a delegation of diamond traders, address the Indian diaspora in Brussels, meet Parliamentarians and a delegation of indologists separately. Antwerp in Belgium is the worlds largest diamond trading where nearly 84% of the worlds rough diamonds passes. There is a sizeable presence of Indian traders in Antwerp. From Brussels, Modi will leave for Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) on March 31 and April 1. He is set to make specific announcements and proposals on nuclear security, besides detailing steps India has taken. The summit is also likely to discuss ways to pre-empt nuclear terrorism. The Prime Minister was earlier likely to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the summit but Sharif has pulled out in wake of an attack in Lahore where more than 70 people were killed on Sunday. Modi will travel to Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on April 2 for a two-day visit at the invitation of King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. The PM is likely to take up the issue of how Indian workers are treated in the kingdom during his talks with the Saudi leadership that will also touch upon cooperation in the areas of energy ties and counter-terrorism. More than 50 faculty members of University of Hyderabad went on leave on Tuesday protesting against the police action on campus and the return of vice chancellor P Appa Rao. A day after 25 people were granted bail and released from jail for the violent protests held on campus last Tuesday, teachers, including those from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, applied for the leave in protest, an assistant professor said. Read more: Hyderabad univ students held for protest against V-C Appa Rao get bail The university campus was thrown out of gear on March 22 when Rao resumed office after a two-month leave following the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. Students alleged Rao was responsible for Vemulas suicide, and demanded his immediate arrest. The university registrar suspended classes till March 28 due to the ensuing violence. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice that is pursuing Vemulas case, however, asked students to resume their academic schedule while protesting as the semester was ending and this is a crucial time for them. We appeal to the students to use blue ribbons as a means of protest, declaration and reminder of the fact that our fight is still on while going about their classes, labs and other activities, the JAC statement said. The JAC is also readying to welcome the students and faculty members returning from jail on Tuesday evening, with plans of a long march and a public meeting on campus. Students from Osmania University are also expected hold a rally till Hyderabad central university. A number of University of Hyderabad students called off their boycott on Tuesday after the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, an umbrella group of 14 student bodies, urged them to return to classes wearing blue ribbons on their sleeves as a mark of protest. In spite of the student organisation making the same request to the universitys faculty members, as many as 40 Dalit teachers went on mass leave to protest a police crackdown on the students on March 22 as well as the return of vice-chancellor P Appa Rao to the university campus. The agitators, who hold Rao responsible for the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula on January 17, have been demanding his removal and arrest. Read: Hyderabad university row: About 50 faculty members go on leave Stating that Raos return has disturbed the academic routine on the campus, the student body said it was the end of the semester and an important time for students. We appeal to students to use blue ribbons as a means of protest, declaration and reminder of the fact that our fight is still on while going about their classes, labs and other activities, the JAC said in a statement. Rao had gone on leave after he was named in the FIR on Vemulas suicide. The agitation that followed cost students two weeks of their classes. The vice-chancellors return on March 22 sparked a massive protest by the students, who ransacked VC Lodge on the campus. Police arrested 22 students and two faculty members and sent them to jail. A city court granted bail to the students on Monday, and they were expected to be released the next day. More than 50 faculty members of University of Hyderabad went on leave on Tuesday, protesting against the police action on campus and the return of vice-chancellor P Appa Rao. A day after 25 people were granted bail and released from jail for the violent protests held on campus last Tuesday, teachers, including those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, applied for the leave in protest, an assistant professor said. The university campus was thrown out of gear on March 22 when Rao resumed office after a two-month leave following the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. Students alleged Rao was responsible for Vemulas suicide, and demanded his immediate arrest. The university registrar had suspended classes till March 28 due to the ensuing violence. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice that is pursuing Vemulas case, however, asked students to resume their academic schedule while protesting as the semester was ending and this is a crucial time for them. We appeal to the students to use blue ribbons as a means of protest, declaration and reminder of the fact that our fight is still on while going about their classes, labs and other activities, the JAC statement said. The JAC is also readying to welcome the students and faculty members returning from jail on Tuesday evening, with plans of a long march and a public meeting on campus. Indias central bank said on Tuesday it would allow its Sri Lankan counterpart to draw up to $700 million over a maximum period of three months under a new special currency swap agreement signed by the two central banks. The Reserve Bank of India has previously provided currency swaps to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, including plans to extend a $1.5 billion agreement by one year. Sri Lanka is seeking a loan of $1.5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost foreign exchange reserves and help avert a balance of payments crisis. The country has seen its foreign exchange reserves depleted by the central banks defence of its rupee currency, as it struggles with heavy debt piled up under the previous government. Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, a Catholic priest kidnapped earlier this month during a terrorist attack on an old peoples home in Yemen, is still alive, a senior bishop in the Middle East said on Tuesday. Several reports in news outlets linked to the church had on Monday quoted Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna as saying that Uzhunnalil had been crucified by the Islamic State on Friday. Bishop Paul Hinder, who is in-charge of the Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, told the Hindustan Times in a statement that he has strong indications that Father Tom Uzhunnalil is still alive. Hinder, based in Abu Dhabi, said rumours about Uzhunnalils crucifixion on Good Friday are spread but nobody provides evidence. He said he could not give any information about the efforts to free Uzhunnalil, who has been in the hands of his kidnappers since March 4. Earlier, Hinder told the Catholic News Agency that Cardinal Schonborn had corrected his statement, which was made on the basis of incorrect remarks by Archbishop Moras of Bengaluru. The external affairs ministry had said on Monday that there was no independent confirmation about the reports of the priest being crucified. Uzhunnalil, 55, belongs to Ramapuram village in Keralas Kottayam district. He was abducted when suspected Islamic State fighters stormed the old peoples home in the Yemeni port city of Aden on March 4 and gunned down 16 people, including an Indian nun. The home was being run by Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday the government is making all efforts to secure the release of the priest following his abduction by a terror group. Several Christian groups, including the Franciscan Sisters of Siessen, had claimed they had received reports that Uzhunnalil was being tortured and would be crucified on Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. A five-member Pakistani team visited an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on Tuesday to probe a terror attack on the strategic facility on January 2, triggering protests by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) team accompanied by officials of Indias anti-terror agency, NIA, entered the airbase, but was taken to the scene of crime where the encounter took place between soldiers and terrorists. The area was visually barricaded so that the defence assets were not exposed. This is the first time a Pakistan team examined witnesses in a case in India. This is also the first time an official of Pakistans spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is part of such a high-profile team that has Indias nod. On January 2, militants believed to be from Pakistan attacked the engaged in an 80-hour gun battle that killed seven soldiers. Waving black flags and placards, Congress and AAP workers stood outside the airbase on Tuesday and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. Heres what political parties said about the visit. Members of the hiv Sena hold a protest against Pakistan's JIT near the Pathankot base on Tuesday. (PTI) Read: Pakistans Pathankot probe team gets down to work Arvind Kejriwal, AAP The Delhi chief minister said the move defied logic, asking why the Pakistanis should be allowed to probe an attack masterminded by the Pakistani intelligence. Not everyone is happy with the decision, he said, a day after criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. Kapil Mishra, AAP He said allowing the JIT to visit the IAF base was shameful and disgusting. For the first time in 35 years, we are saying that ISI was not supporting terrorism... the same people who have killed our people have come here...this is so shameful and disgusting, Mishra said. This is an insult of our Mother India. We will not let Modi government to do this, he said. Modi has shown his real face. We do not want killers to be allowed to probe the matter. We will not tolerate this and that is why AAP is holding protest here, Singh, who is AAP in-charge for Punjab affairs, said. It is an insult to Indians and martyrs, he said. The Pakistani team cross a bridge over Oonj river in Bamiyal sector near the Pathankot base on Tuesday. (PTI) Farooq Abdullah, NC National Conference president Farooq Abdullah backed the government, saying it was time for India and Pakistan to give up animosity and push friendship. The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said the two countries have to join hands to defeat terror in the sub-continent and usher peace and prosperity into this state. It is a very good stepIf we want to improve relations with the neighbouring country, then what is the harm in joining hands to see who is responsible for such attacks? he said. Omar Abdullah, NC Former J-K CM Omar Abdullah said only time will tell whether the visit will benefit India, but expected Pakistan to take steps to control terrorism. There will be a controversy (on the Paks JIT visit) because unfortunately BJP did the same (opposed normalisation of ties with Pakistan) during its time (in opposition), and today they are bearing the brunt. Only time will tell whether the team from Pakistan visiting Pathankot will benefit us or not, but now that they have come, we expect it will benefit us in a way that those responsible for the attack would be arrested and given harsh punishment, Omar said. Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh along with party volunteers protest against Pakistan's JIT near the Pathankot base on Tuesday. (PTI) PL Punia, Congress Keeping up his partys offensive, he accused the government of compromising the countrys sovereignty and setting a wrong precedent. It is known all over that the Pakistani ISI is behind the terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, and still we are serving biryani to the JIT which also includes an ISI official. Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Terming the governments decision wrong, Raut said rather an Indian team needs to be sent to Pakistan to probe those behind the terror strikes. Raut, leader of the key BJP ally, reminded the Centre that not India, but Pakistan is an accused in the Pathankot strike. The entire matter is laughable, the Sena MP said. Amit Shah, BJP In the face of protests, BJP chief Amit Shah credited the neighbouring country for making serious efforts in investigating a terror case. But I believe that for the first time, Pakistan is making serious efforts in investigating a terror case. What will be the result will be known only after they the probe is completed, Shah said. Manipuri rights activist Irom Sharmila told a Delhi court that she was ready to end her fast if the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (Afspa) was repealed and expressed her desire to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue. Sharmila, 42, who has been fasting for around 16 years in Manipur demanding the repeal of Afspa, said in the court on Tuesday that she had expressed her desire to meet the Prime Minister long time ago, but he has not met her so far. Sharmila, who is fed through a nasal tube, said this during final arguments in a case in which she is facing trial for allegedly trying to commit suicide while undertaking fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar on October 4, 2006. Advancing final arguments, the prosecutor contended that Sharmila had the intention to kill herself and the offence of trying to commit suicide was clearly made out against her. Metropolitan magistrate Harvinder Singh fixed the matter for tomorrow to hear arguments on behalf of Sharmilas counsel V K Ohri. During the hearing, the activist said she loved her life and was using her fast as a weapon to achieve her goal of repealing Afspa as it would have more impact and added that this was not a crime. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had resorted to fasts while making certain demands, she said while justifying her fast. I am fed up by trials on the same charge again and again, she added. Sharmila also said, Since there is no meaning of true democracy in the country, human rights activists should join hands. The matter should be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. Sharmila had earlier told the court that she was very much eager to eat if she got the assurance that the draconian law will be revoked. Widespread discrimination was being done with the people from Northeast, she had alleged, adding she never intended to commit suicide and it was just a protest against Afspa. The court had on March 4, 2013, put her on trial after she had refused to plead guilty to the charge of attempting to commit suicide (Section 309 of IPC). If convicted, Sharmila, who is out on bail in this case, faces a maximum jail term of one year. Known as the Iron Lady, Sharmila had earlier told the court that her protest was non-violent. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said he agrees to the Congress demand that the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate should not go beyond 18 %, brightening prospects of the passage of the legislation in the second half of the budget session. I am in agreement with them that the taxation rate must be reasonable. I also agree with the spirit of suggestion that it should not go beyond 18%. I have no difficulty with that, Jaitley said in an interview. The finance minister, however, added that the principal Opposition partys demand to fix the cap in the Constitution amendment bill itself is difficult. There is only a difficulty about prescribing tax in the Constitution because you never know unforeseen emergencies. Therefore, the Congress will have to see the reasonableness of this particular view, Jaitley said. Once passed, the GST law will replace the myriad local levies and usher in Indias biggest tax reforms. The Congress, up in arms against the BJP over the dismissal of its government in Uttarakhand, however, ruled out any possibilities to cooperate with the party to pass the bill. The BJP should not expect any help when they are murdering democracy in Arunachal Pradesh, followed by Uttarakhand. The NDA government has vitiated the atmosphere in Parliament, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, a key strategist on the GST issue, told HT. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier this year for their first ever meeting and discussed the GST issue, but the logjam remained. Jaitley said on Tuesday that he will reach out to the Congress again to get its support on the tax reforms. Left to myself, I will continue till the last moment to persuade the Congress, he said. Jaitley claimed the government has sufficient support to pass the GST bill but he would prefer to do it with consensus because, after all, it is states that also have to implement this. (EOM) A Pakistani investigation panel on Tuesday visited various locations in Punjab, including a part of the Indian Air Force base that was attacked in January, to retrace the movements of the suspected Pakistani militants who infiltrated it. A five-member Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) was taken to various locations along a route, National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials believe, was taken by the terrorists. The air force base was attacked on January 2, and laid siege to for more than three days. Seven Indian security personnel and all the militants were killed in the conflict. Accompanied by NIA officials and Punjabs Polices elite SWAT commandos, the team reached the air base through a specially created entrance at the Air Force Station. They were taken to the areas where security forces engaged the militants and kept away from the stations technical area. We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase, an IAF officer said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had also said on Monday that the JIT would not have access to the operational area of the base, but only the isolated crime scene. The JIT was also not allowed to interact with the Indian Air Force or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists. Informed defence sources in Pathankot said the team would also be shown the bodies of the terrorists kept at a government hospital mortuary. Through their tour on Tuesday, tight security arrangements were in place as political activists from the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protested against Pakistani officials investigating the attack. The protesters, led by AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and SS Chhotepur, carried black flags and banners, and shouted Go Back slogans. The JIT members arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and held day-long meetings with NIA officers before heading to to Pathankot via Amritsar on Tuesday. A day after the Maharashtra assembly witnessed an uproar over allegations that a lake in adjoining Raigad district was purified by a Shiv Sena MLA, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday informed the house that no such ritual took place. A Jalpujan ceremony was performed at Mahad on March 16 as part of the Jaljagruti Saptah organised by the government. People of all castes and religions were present. All such news (of lake purification) in this regard is baseless, Fadnavis said, making a statement in the assembly. The house was adjourned on Monday with Congress-NCP opposition alleging that Sena MLA Bharat Gogawale recently performed a purification ritual at the Chavdar Tale at Mahad in Raigad district, where Babasaheb Ambedkar had in 1927 led a water satyagraha to assert the rights of Dalits to use the water in the lake. Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said there was no need to call the event, organised by a government department, as jalpujan. An inquiry should be held to ascertain in which other place in the state such a jalpujan event was held, Chavan said. Speaker Haribhau Bagade said there is nothing wrong with holding jalpujan ceremony. Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had said Sena MLA Bharat Gogawales act amounted to insulting the Dalit icon, and sought a statement and apology from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. In March 1927, Ambedkar had arranged a conference at Mahad and at the end of it, he and his followers marched to the Chavdar Tale (tasty water lake), the main tank of the town, and drank its water as a symbolic act to assert the right over its water to all sections of the society. Vikhe Patil had also raked up the issue of police cases slapped on students of Punes Fergusson College for chanting Jai Bhim, a salutation used by Ambedkarites. Referring to the Pune Fergusson college campus incident, Fadnavis today said college principal R G Pardeshi had initially written to the police asking them to arrest students on charges of sedition, but later realised that he had made a typo in his letter. The principal only wanted the police to investigate whether there had been anti-national activities and then withdrew his earlier letter and submitted the corrected letter, the CM said. The college has formed a fact finding committee on the issue, Fadnavis said. India may soon have a single number for all its emergency services along the lines of 911 in the US. Telecom Commission, an inter-ministerial committee by the central government, has accepted Telecom Regulator of Indias recommendations to use 112 for emergency services such as the fire department, police ambulance services. Sources in the telecom ministry say the new service could be rolled out within the year. Telecom Commission has accepted Trais recommendation on single emergency number 112. It will now be drafted by the Department of Telecom and will require Telecom Ministers (Ravi Shankar Prasad) approval. It will be rolled out within months rather than a year, the source said. The service will be available even on landlines and cell phones whose outgoing call facility has been stopped or temporarily suspended. Emergency contact can also be made through text messages. The system will then trace the senders location and relay the information to the nearest help centre. A call centre-like system will take the emergency calls. Representatives at the centre will have to speak English, Hindi as well as the local language. The number will replace existing individual numbers. Currently, emergency response number for police is 100, fire brigade 101, ambulance 102 and Emergency Disaster Management 108. States have their own help line numbers. For instance, Delhi government has its own special numbers, such as Woman in Distress (181), Missing Children and Women (1094) and Crime Against Women (1096). A Kerala-based woman engineer was denied job in the Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank because her mother tongue is Malayalam, not Hindi. Twenty-four year old Binithamol P Vijayan approached the Supreme Court with her plea that denial of job on the ground of mother tongue violates her right to work. Justice J Chelameswars bench Monday agreed to examine the case and has sought the banks response. The Reserve Bank of India, the Centre and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection were told to submit their stand. The womans lawyer, Jignesh, told the court she was not allowed to join the bank in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, despite qualifying the exam and receiving an appointment letter. He said Vijayan wants the court to direct the authorities to pay her Rs 5 lakh for the mental agony she underwent. She received a formal letter in January this year, asking her to join the bank as an office assistant. But when she went there on February 8, the bank authorities told her she cannot work there because Hindi is not her mother tongue, the lawyer said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In rapt attention, five members of a Pakistani investigation team listened to an audio clip that India believes is irrefutable proof of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammads (JeM) links to the attack on the Pathankot airbase. The audio clip purportedly contains the voice of Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar -- brother of JeM leader Maulana Masood Azhar -- claiming to have send mujahideen (holy warriors) to attack the Pathankot airbase and making fun of Indias response. They listened attentivelydid not question the evidence provided by us, said Sharad Kumar, the chief of Indias National Investigation Agency (NIA). Kumar was present when the clip was played for the Pakistani team on Monday. The team visited the airbase on Tuesday as part of its investigations into the attack that left eight people including seven security personnel dead. Six terrorists were also killed during the siege of the strategic airbase in January. Read: Insult to Mother India: Rivals attack Modi over Paks Pathankot team India blames JeM for the attack that derailed proposed talks between foreign secretaries of the two countries. Asghar is also a prime accused in the hijacking of flight Indian Airlines IC-814 to Kandahar in December 1999. The passengers and crew were released only after India released three top terrorists including Masood Azhar. The audio clip of Rauf is an important part of the evidence gathered by NIA during its probe into the January 2 airbase attack as it shows Jaish owning up responsibility of sending attackers, Kumar said. The clip was uploaded on a Jaish-linked website rangonoor.com. Jaish also uses another website alqalamonline.com for its jehadi propaganda. Write-ups by one Saadi which Indian investigators believe to be a pen name of Masood Azhar, appear regularly on alqalamonline.com. During the probe, the NIA found that both the websites are hosted on a service provider called siteground.com in Pakistan and a credit card used to payment. The card is in the name of Nasim Ahmad, who we believe is a frontman of the Jaish chief and his brother Rauf, said an investigator on the condition of anonymity. Kumar said the NIA will seek access to Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf besides their voice samples. We would also like to visit Bahawalpur, where Jaish is headquartered. We expect Pakistan will agree to our demand, Kumar added. Read: Pakistans Pathankot probe team gets down to work India has already provided intercepted phone calls purported to have been made by the Pathankot attackers to family members and handlers based in Pakistan. Kumar said that the NIA will seek details of Pakistans probe into the attacks during Wednesdays talks with Islamabads joint investigation team. If they want access to (Punjab police official) Salwinder Singh and his associates, we are ready for that on Thursday. But our officials will examine them on the questions asked by the JIT, added Kumar. The Gurdaspur superintendent had claimed that a group of terrorists who later attacked the airbase had abducted him and his friend and his official vehicle snatched on December 31. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Pakistani team investigating the Pathankot attack inspected select parts of the sensitive air base on Tuesday amid violent protests by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party workers in the north Punjab town. The five-member joint investigation team entered the air base from a specially made gate at the rear end of the compound and left after a few hours. I think for the first time Pakistan has made a serious effort towards investigation, BJP chief Amit Shah told reporters. Outside the base, protesters chanted slogans against the Centre and held placards saying Pak JIT go back. They waved black flags and reached the gates of the air base, where defence personnel were seen trying to restrain them and stop them from entering the restricted area. The team is in India to prove alleged involvement of Pakistani militants in Januarys ambush at the sensitive air base that left seven soldiers dead. This is the first time that Pakistani intelligence and police officials are traveling to India to investigate a terror attack case. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has said the team will be given limited access to the air base. The investigators are expected to be shown the infiltration points and the terrorists route from the border to the airbase. India is also likely to allow the JIT to talk to the witnesses and the injured, including superintendent of police Salwinder Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma, and the cook, who claimed that the terrorists had kidnapped them. On Monday, the National Investigation Agency gave a detailed presentation to the visiting Pakistani team on the evidence collected in the case. The JIT also furnished a legal mandate to gather evidence in India. As far as Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) involvement in Pathankot attack was concerned, the Pakistani JIT did not deny the evidence furnished by the NIA, sources said. The Indian Air Force visually barricaded key locations in the air base as it doesnt want the Pakistani team to have full view of the area. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Pakistans joint investigation team (JIT) on Tuesday landed in Amritsar in a special aircraft and headed to the Pathankot airbase by road almost three months after the terrorist attack on Indias frontline airbase to visit the scene of the 80-hour gunfight. The probe team is expected to reach the Pathankot airbase by 11 am. Following inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs about a possible threat to the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by the Islamic fundamentalist organizations based in Pakistan and their proxies in India, the Punjab Police has made arrangements to provide 25 bulletproof cars to ferry them , ANI reported. The five-member team was in New Delhi since Sunday and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has briefed it about the attack and the later inquiry. Watch | Families of those killed in Pathankot attack demand fair probe The air force will keep the visitors away from key spots at the strategic base but show them the building where terrorists were holed up and the 300-metre-area in which the troops cordoned them. Seven security personnel and six Pakistani terrorists were killed in the encounter on January 2. Pakistan JIT leaves from Amritsar Airport in bullet proof SUVs for #Pathankot pic.twitter.com/2r2hTFDOBS ANI (@ANI_news) 29 March 2016 The JIT will also be shown the infiltration points and the terrorists route from the border to the airbase. India has allowed the JIT to talk to the witnesses and the injured, including Punjab superintendent of police Salwinder Singh, his friend Rajesh Verma, and the cook, who claimed that the terrorists had kidnapped them. The visit might not make a difference to the investigation but Pakistan will succeed in conveying to the international community that it is serious about fighting terrorism. The bodies of four Pakistani intruders are still inside the local civil hospital, and the team from across might also be told about that. The security in and around Pathankot district has been beefed up for the safety of the Pakistani team amid different protests that are planned. The local administration has made all arrangements to receive the JIT amid a protest by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) against the visit. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Authorities at Pathankot airbase in Punjab will take the visiting Pakistan probe team only to specific and limited areas within the Air Force Station (AFS) when it arrives on Tuesday. The Pakistan Joint Investigation Teams members will be kept away from the AFS technical area and shown only those areas where security forces engaged the Pakistani terrorists in the first week of January. Read more: Pakistans Pathankot probe team gets down to work Informed defence sources said the team members could also be shown the bodies of the killed terrorists kept in a government mortuary in the town. Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will accompany the JIT members. Read more: 5 things about Pak Pathankot attack probe teams India visit Notinteraction with IAF The JIT will not get to interact with IAF or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists who attacked the airbase in the early hours of January 2. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday in Panaji (Goa) that the Pakistani team would not have access to the operational area of the airbase, but only the isolated crime scene, which has been completely barricaded and fenced. All the terrorists and seven security personnel were killed at the base. Watch | Families of those killed in Pathankot attack demand fair probe The January attack on the IAF base was the second one by suspected Pakistani terrorists. A group of three Pakistani terrorists had attacked Dinanagar town in adjoining Gurdaspur district on July 27 last year, leaving seven people dead. For the record, NIA Inspector General Sanjiv Kumar said the JIT will be taken to different locations associated with Pathankot attack case on Tuesday. Political storm over visit: Congress said unfettered access given to Pakistans five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by according an almost red carpet welcome raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. Endorsing the stand taken by Congress, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of surrendering to Pakistan by allowing its investigators to probe the Pathankot attack and said instead Indian probe agencies should have gone to that country where actual masterminds are sitting. India will ask for access to Pakistani terrorist Masood Azhar, blamed for the attack at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, the NIA said on Tuesday as a probe team from Pakistan spent a day at the base. We will seek access to Masood Azhar and his brother-in-law at an appropriate time, director general of National Investigative Agency (NIA) Sharad Kumar said. He said another formal request would be sent after the five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team returned after their probe into the terror attack. The Indian Air Force base was attacked on January 2, leading to the death of seven Indian security personnel and all the attackers after an 80-hour gun battle. Read: Insult to Mother India: Rivals attack Modi over Paks Pathankot team The five-member Pakistani JIT reached the air base on Tuesday amid vociferous protests by activists of the Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena. Weeks after the attack, media reports from Pakistan said Azhar and his relatives were placed under house arrest in Islamabad, and that Jaish-e-Mohammed seminaries and offices were raided and shut down. However, highly placed diplomatic sources in India said the Pakistan government did not confirm that Azhar was arrested. We got information that some Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives were arrested but Azhar was not among them, the sources said. Read: Pakistans Pathankot probe team gets down to work They said Azhar, who is also responsible for the attack on Indias parliament in 2001, was not to be found at his base and hometown of Bahawalpur in south Punjab and may have gone into hiding much earlier. Meanwhile, NIA sources told IANS that the JIT has reached Delhi and they had second phase discussions with them. We can say it was a phase two discussion with the Pakistan JIT. The first phase of discussion took place on Monday. We showed them all the relevant places today (Tuesday). The JIT understood all the genuine causes and evidence. Their understanding was clear. We shared with them all the incident related things which cannot be disclosed, the NIA source said. Government employees in Uttarakhand feared for their salary in April as the governor has yet to clear the finance bill apparently passed by the Congress-led administration before central rule was imposed on Sunday. Former chief minister Harish Rawats government tabled a Rs 40,000-crore budget for the 2016-17 fiscal on March 11 but a week later, nine Congress rebels joined the BJP in the House and demanded division of votes on the finance bill. In the chaos, then Speaker Govind Kunjwal said the bill was passed through voice vote despite opposition from the BJP and Congress dissidents. The crisis deepened after Kunjwal suspended the nine rebels under the anti-defection law and the Centre hit back by imposing Presidents rule on the state. But the oscillating turmoil left the finance bill in limbo. The bill is pending with the state law department, a senior official said. Finance department officials might adopt an alternative plan as the bill could not be moved to Raj Bhawan for the governors clearance even 10 days after it was passed by the assembly. A couple of top officials rushed to New Delhi on Monday for advice. Experts said the President can clear a finance bill that could later be rectified by Parliament. Now that the state is under central rule, the state has the option of knocking on the Presidents door to prevent a financial crisis, former chief secretary Indu Kumar Pande said. Additional finance secretary Sridhar Babu Addanki allayed fears of an immediate crisis, saying financial exigencies were in place and working. Officials are working on finding a solution. Let me assure that financial work will not be hampered, he said. His statement might lessen the anxiety of government employees over their March salary, due in April. But it couldnt be confirmed if the wages will come on time. A special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court on Tuesday convicted 10 people and acquitted three, in the triple bomb blasts case in Mumbai between December 2002 and March 2003. Saquib Nachan, who police said is the mastermind, has been convicted. Adnan Mulla, Harroon Lohar and Nadeem Paloba have been acquitted for lack of evidence. All the accused have been charged with murder, attempt to murder, grievous hurt waging a war against the nation, criminal conspiracy under the IPC and on several charges under the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, and POTA. The three blasts, killed twelve people and injured 139. According to the Mumbai police, the act was the handiwork of the banned organisation SIMI. Prosecution alleged that former general secretary of SIMI, Saquib Nachan along with Pakistani national and member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Faisal Khan were the mastermind behind the blast, along with 23 other accused. Out of the total 25 accused, five including Khan died ,while five other accused are still absconding. Police said Saquib Nachan, with the help of his other SIMI members gathered more men power and arranged for arms and ammunition while Dr Wahid Ansari with the help of wanted accused prepared for bombs. It was Muzamil Ansari who along with an absconding accused Janab, who planted most of the bombs. On December 6, 2002, a bomb exploded in the McDonalds outlet at Mumbai Central railway station where 27 persons were injured. A month and a half later, on January 27, 2003, a bomb planted on a bicycle exploded outside the Vile Parle railway station, killing Anita Indulkar (35) and injuring 32 others. On March 13, 2003, another bomb exploded in the ladies first-class compartment of a Karjat-bound fast train as it approached Mulund station where over 90 people were killed. According to the chargesheet, Ansari and Janab planted the bomb at McDonalds near the Mumbai central station on December 6, 2002. On January 27, 2003, the two of them also planted a bomb at Monghibai road on a bicycle opposite the Jawahar book depot at Ville Parle. Ansari and Janab also planted two bombs in a general and a first class compartment in a Karjat bound train on March 13, 2003. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In her two-room thatched hut, daily wage labourer Mantu Devi is inconsolable. It has been over three months since her 18-year-old son, Bhola Gosain, an intermediate student who used to double up as daily wage labourer, was brutally killed, but the perpetrators are yet to be booked. It was a cold, windy December evening last year and Bhola after a hard days work in a nearby brick kiln, went home, took a shower and walked to a nearby a temple where he generally meets his friends. A while Bolero van with tinted glass stopped, five men got down, forced Bhola into the vehicle and zoomed away at breakneck speed. We looked for him all over the place, all the way to Ranchi, but he was nowhere to be found. When we approached the police, they did nothing but kept asking us in turn whether we suspected anyone or any group. Naming the group we suspected would have risked all our lives as their members enjoy full police patronage, said the mother, whose pain of losing an adolescent son was impalpable. Almost one-and-a-half months later, courtesy a vegetable vendor, the family located Bholas grave, exhumed his body and conducted last rites. Mantu Devi said the culprits were moving freely in the town but that the police were turning a blind eye. Kalpai Kalpai ke mor beta ke jaan lei rahe. Garib ke chhauva ke koee bachai ke na rahe (They brutally tortured my son to death. There was none to save the poor mans son), she said in chaste Kudukh language, fishing out a photograph of her slain son from a torn bag, the only memory his family has of him, now. This family, hailing from Gumlas Ghagra block around 120 km west of capital Ranchi, is traditionally into farming, but post monsoon when the fields go dry they take up odd, menial jobs on daily wages for survival. My brother had no connection with any group. He hardly had any friends. They broke all his limbs and buried him while he was still breathing. Police did not show any seriousness to solve the murder mystery said Shankar Gosain, Bholas elder brother, who also works in a brick kiln in another state. Locals said the pro-police and anti-Maoist ultra-outfit, Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) had carried out Bholas abduction and murder. A day before Bholas abduction, suspected Maoists had killed a JJMP cadre, Rupesh Singh, in the town. The rebels suspected Bhola to be a Maoist sympathizer. Nathpur, the place where Bholas body was recovered, happens to be JJMPs stronghold. We havent got any evidence against JJMP in the murder, Ghagra police station office in-charge, Rajendra Rajak said, assuring action against the culprits if they were caught. Ghagra residents mocked Rajaks fake assurance, alleging that JJMP cadres sleep in police barracks and abuse human rights with impunity under their patronage. In a state where security forces are fuelling the growth of terror gangs to counter Maoist insurgency, commoners find themselves trapped among enemies on all sides with no one to listen to their grievances. JJMP cadres are at the frontline of all combat operations against Maoists, launched by the forces. In return, they get free land and take the law into their hands if their interests are vitiated by any individual or group. Last year, a senior ADG rank police officer stirred a wider debate when he condemned the use of terror gangs like JJMP in anti-Maoists operations, but he was silenced as the government put him in a non-field post. DGP D K Pandey and his officers declined using any terror group in the war against the Maoists. A Pakistani investigation panel on Tuesday visited various locations in Punjab, including a part of the Indian Air Force base that was attacked in January, to retrace the movements of the suspected Pakistani militants who infiltrated it. A five-member Pakistani joint investigation team (JIT) was taken to various locations along a route National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials determined was taken by the terrorists. Read more: Pak probe team in Amritsar, to reach Pathankot in bullet-proof SUVs The air force base was attacked on January 2, and laid siege to for more than three days. Seven Indian security personnel and all the militants were killed in the conflict. Accompanied by NIA officials and Punjabs Polices elite SWAT commandos, the team reached the air base through a specially created entrance at the Air Force Station. They were taken to the areas where security forces engaged the militants and kept away from the stations technical area. We have, physically and visually, barricaded the airbase. Tent walls have been erected around the crime scene (shootout site) and nothing else will be visible to the JIT members. Their entry will also be through a special gate through the rear portion of the airbase, an IAF officer said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had also said on Monday that the JIT would not have access to the operational area of the base, but only the isolated crime scene. The JIT was also not allowed to interact with the Indian Air Force or other defence and security officials and personnel involved in the 80-hour counter-operation by security forces against the terrorists. Informed defence sources in Pathankot said the team would also be shown the bodies of the terrorists kept at a government hospital mortuary. Through their tour on Tuesday, tight security arrangements were in place as political activists from the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protested against Pakistani officials investigating the attack. The protesters, led by AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and SS Chhotepur, carried black flags and banners, and shouted Go Back slogans. Pathankot: Congress workers protest against Pakistan JIT's visit to #Pathankot pic.twitter.com/zuWQWY4QzX ANI (@ANI_news) March 29, 2016 The JIT members arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and held day-long meetings with NIA officers before heading to to Pathankot via Amritsar on Tuesday. A Rs 64,000-crore project to build high-tech submarines in the country has created a buzz at a military systems exhibition in Goa, with foreign manufacturers eyeing alliances with domestic shipyards in hopes of kicking off one of the costliest projects under the Make in India programme. Six advanced submarines will be built under project P-75I to scale up the navys undersea warfare capabilities and counter the swift expansion of Chinas submarine fleet. Russia, one of the competitors for the project, on Tuesday said it had begun its homework on the project aimed at building a second line of submarines in India. Negotiations are on...we are working on different proposals. We are open to cooperating with both public and private sector yards under the Make in India plan, said Vladimir Drozhzhov, who heads military technical cooperation for Rostec Corporation. Rostec deals with manufacture and export of high-end products. Russia will compete for the project with its Amur 1650 submarines. Five Indian shipyards have been shortlisted by a top government committee for the project. The Germans, who supplied HDW Class 209 submarines to the Indian Navy, are also strong contenders for the project. German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has offered India its HDW Class 214 submarine. Its a very significant project for us. The Class 214 is a proven platform and we are ready to transfer critical technology on which we have spent a lot of money, Thyssenkrupp managing director Gurnad Singh Sodhi said at DefExpo-2016. Foreign vendors are waiting for the defence ministry to release its policy on strategic partners to allow joint ventures with local firms for building warplanes, advanced submarines and helicopters. The shipyards shortlisted by the high-powered panel are Mazagon Dock Limited, Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Cochin Shipyard Limited and private sector yards Pipavav and Larsen & Toubro. The new submarines will have the capability to operate underwater for several weeks with air-independent propulsion systems, greater strike power against land targets and improved stealth features that make them harder to detect. French firm DCNS plans to compete the the project with an advanced version of its Scorpene submarine. Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built at the Mazagon Dock Ltd in Mumbai with technology from DCNS under a Rs 23,562-crore project codenamed P-75. Kalvari, the first of six diesel-electric attack submarines, is likely to be inducted into the navy by the year-end. The remaining five boats will be delivered by 2020. The 66-metre submarine can dive up to a depth of 300 metres to elude enemy detection. The Scorpene project, plagued by cost overruns and missed deadlines, is important to the navy as its underwater capabilities have blunted over time. India operates 13 ageing conventional submarines and an Akula-II nuclear-powered attack boat leased from Russia. In contrast, China possesses 53 diesel-electric attack submarines, five nuclear attack submarines and four nuclear ballistic missile submarines. Spains Navantia S-80 class and Swedens Saab Kockums with its A26 submarines have also shown interest in the P-75I. The exhibition in Goa is being attended by 1,055 Indian and foreign firms eyeing alliances under the Make in India initiative for the defence sector. On Monday, Parrikar unveiled Indias new defence procurement rules aimed at accelerating the indigenisation plan and speeding up critical acquisitions. When the Justice Mukherjee Commission that was set up in 1999 to probe the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose sought information on whether any file pertaining to the relevant terms of reference of the commission were destroyed, the governments answer was in the affirmative. One file that contained the agenda paper for cabinet decision regarding investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of Bose was destroyed in 1972 in the course of routine weeding out of old records, the commission was told. This was revealed in the second set of 50 declassified files related to Netaji that were released on Tuesday. The files also show that the government did not consider Netaji a war criminal. A letter from the MEA specified that the International Military Tribunal for the Far East does not have any records to prove that he was either a war criminal or a prisoner of war. It said as per official records and private documents, Netaji was killed in a crash on August 18, 1945, after his departure from Taipei airport, where he had stopped on his way from Saigon to Dairen. A letter by JN Dixit, the then first secretary at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo to the MEA, also affirms that Japanese foreign office and academic circles had given tentative confirmation that he was not declared a prisoner of war. Maintenance workers found the pinnacle of the south western minaret of Taj Mahal lying on a cleaning platform surrounding the structure in Agra on Monday, sparking worries that the turret may have fallen off. However, officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said that the pinnacle was removed because the structure had weakened, blaming monkeys for it. Three of the minarets of the Taj Mahal are being chemically cleaned and a mesh structure being put up around it. During this work, the pinnacle was found on the cleaning platform. The ASI later covered up the top of the minaret with a piece of cloth. Scaffoldings have been put up around the minarets for the past few months to chemically wash the Taj Mahal. The pinnacle did not fall down and is lying at the platform laid around for chemical cleaning. It would be repaired and pinnacle placed by tomorrow (Tuesday), said Bhuvan Vikram Singh, superintendent, ASI, adding that monkeys could have weakened the structure. Watch | Taj Mahal minaret pinnacle falls during repair work? Scaffoldings have been put up around the minarets for the past few months to chemically wash the Taj Mahal that has taken on a dull coat over years. Once spruced up, the monuments first big visitors will include the royal couple, the Duke and duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 16. The couple will be visiting the monument 24 years after the princes mother, Lady Diana, visited the Taj Mahal in 1992. Her photograph of sitting on a marble bench in front of the monument has become an iconic picture, with the bench being nicknamed the Diana seat. Kausalya, the 19-year-old widow of the Dalit youth who was hacked to death in full public view at a bus stand in Tirupur in a suspected honour killing, has been discharged from the government hospital in Coimbatore. The March 13 incident had led to public outrage. The video footage of the savage attack, carried out allegedly at the behest of the girls father, had gone viral and several political parties condemned such honour killings. Kausalya was undergoing treatment in the hospital. She had suffered deep cuts on her head and forehead and was discharged yesterday evening, police said. Since it is a sensitive issue, her discharge was kept a secret, they said, adding she was taken in an ambulance to Komaralingam in Tirupur district to her in-laws house, as she had expressed her wish to stay with them. Adequate security has been provided there, they said. Kausalya had earlier rued that nobody came to their rescue when they were attacked. She had also expressed willingness to continue her engineering course and get a job to look after her in-laws, even as All India Democratic Womens Association offered to provide financial assistance for her studies. She had held her father responsible for the attack, who later surrendered before a local court in Nilakottai in Dindigal district. On March 16, five persons were arrested in connection with the murder and remanded to judicial custody. Legislators from Telangana became the countrys highest-paid state lawmakers on Tuesday after the assembly approved a bill that hiked their gross monthly salary by 163% to Rs 2.5 lakh. The basic pay for members of the state assembly and council was increased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. The constituency allowance that comprises other perks, benefits and subsidies was hiked from Rs 83,000 to Rs 2.3 lakh a month. Legislators in the state that will turn two in June overtook their counterparts in Delhi who draw a gross monthly salary of Rs 2.1 lakh. The move triggered condemnation with many saying a state with mounting public debt and worsening agrarian crisis couldnt afford fat salary packages. But chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao justified the jump, saying it wasnt an era of sacrifices. The economic dynamics immediately after Independence was different and the economic dynamics of today are different. Today there is no need for anybody to make big sacrifices. This is not an era of sacrifices because we are all involved in the process of nation building, he said. Raos salary was hiked 72%. He will now get a monthly package of 4.21 lakh, up from the existing 2.44 lakh. His basic monthly pay was hiked from Rs 16,000 to Rs 51,000, and the constituency allowance was increased to Rs 2.30 lakh per month from Rs 83,000 at present. The monthly salaries of the assembly speaker and chairman of the legislative council have gone up from Rs.2.42 lakh to Rs.4.11 lakh. Ministers, chief whip and whip will get a monthly package of Rs.4 lakh, up from the existing 2.42 lakh. Speaking in the assembly, Rao dismissed criticism over the salary hike and asked the media to not demean the legislators by terming this a loot of public money. The chief minister argued that facilities were necessary for lawmakers to play an active and positive role in nation building and remain free from corruption. The hike will cost the state Rs 42 crore per year, a negligible percentage of the state budget, he added. Salaries and allowances of MLAs vary from state to state. At present, a lawmaker in Himachal Pradesh is paid Rs 1.25 lakh a month the highest after Delhi -- while an Odisha MLA has a monthly income of Rs 20,000, the lowest in the country. BJP has adopted wait-and-watch strategy in Uttarakhand, which was brought under Presidents Rule on Sunday, in view of the states ruling Congress challenging the decision in court and nine of its rebel MLAs seeking legal recourse against their disqualification. The party had last week expressed confidence that it will form the government in the state as the Congress dispensation struggled to put together a majority but the Assembly Speakers decision to disqualify the rebels supporting BJP put a spoke in its plan. Party sources said they would wait to see how the matter progresses in court before taking a decision. It is no longer a political matter only as the court too will have a view now. We will have to wait, they said. Earlier, former chief minister Harish Rawat moved Uttarakhand High Court seeking revocation of Presidents Rule in the state and restoration of his government, terming the Modi governments decision as a brazen display of high-handedness and authoritarianism. BJP media in-charge Shrikant Sharma refuted Congress charge that the Centre had murdered the democracy in the state, saying it was murdered by the Speaker on March 18 when he announced a failed bill as passed despite a majority of MLAs raising their hands against it. He also referred to a sting purportedly showing the then Chief Minister Harish Rawat offering allurements to MLAs and called it murder of democracy. If anyone is responsible for the crisis, it is the Congress leadership, he said. The Uttarakhand assembly has been kept in suspended animation with the proclamation of Presidents Rule under Article 356 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, over two dozen BJP legislators arrived in Dehradun to a grand welcome at the Jolly Grant airport on Monday. Hundreds of BJP activists gathered at the airport exit to welcome the legislators, showering flowers and raising slogans. The BJP MLAs had been camping in Jaipur, Gurgaon and New Delhi for the last one week, to avoid contact with the beleaguered Rawat camp and chances of horse trading since the political crisis erupted in the hill state. State BJP president Teerath Singh Rawat said after his arrival that the state unit was thankful to President Mukherjee for signing the proclamation of central rule. We are very thankful to Rashtrapatiji that he acted as the true custodian of the constitution, he said. Other BJP legislators targeted Rawat for drawing Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the issue and said he was doing so only to deflect attention from his failures, poor governance and corruption. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley justified imposition of Presidents rule, saying Rawat should have quit as chief minister after failure of the Appropriation Bill. In a Facebook post titled A State without a Budget, Jaitley wrote: This leaves the State without any approved financial expenditure with effect from 1 April, 2016. What better evidence do we need of a breakdown of Constitution? The Congress government of Uttarakhand was murdering democracy every day from the 18 March till 27 March. Having plunged the state into a serious constitutional crisis by continuing a government which should have quit after the failure of the Appropriation Bill, and further complicating the crisis, the chief minister started allurement, horse-trading and disqualification with a view to altering the composition of the house, Jaitley said. He also criticised Uttarakhand assembly Speaker Govind Kunjwal for suspending rebel Congress legislators. Terming this move of the speaker as unprecedented, Jaitley said, This leaves the state without any approved financial expenditure with effect from April 1. What better evidence do we need of a breakdown of the Constitution? It is now incumbent upon the central government to ensure that steps are taken under Article 357 to authorise expenditure of the state with effect from April 1, he said. Jaitley said there are strong facts to suggest that the Appropriation Bill was actually defeated and as a consequence, the government had to resign. The crisis in the hill state erupted on March 18 when nine Congress MLAs rebelled against Rawats government, resulting in flip-flop in the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The BJP met the governor that day and staked claim to form the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed his grief over the death of an Infosys employee from Bengaluru in Brusells bombings. Raghavendran Ganeshan was missing since the deadly terrorists attack took place in the Belgian capital. A young life, full of hope & promise cut short by mindless violence... condolences to family of Raghavendran, who lost his life in Brussels. Modi tweeted on Tuesday morning. A young life, full of hope & promise cut short by mindless violence... condolences to family of Raghavendran, who lost his life in Brussels. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 29, 2016 The Indian embassy in Brussels and the ministry of external affairs confirmed the death of Ganeshan on Monday. Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Ganeshan was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Maelbeek station. Watch | Indian Envoy expresses grief over Infosys techies death The Indian Embassy said the mortal remains of Raghavendran are being handed over to his family for being taken to India. RIP Raghvendran ! We offer our deepest condolences 2 the family and friends, the Indian embassy tweeted. RIP Raghvendran!The Belgian authorities hv identified Raghvendran as 1 of d victims f barbarian terror attacks of March 22.@SushmaSwaraj 1/2 India in Belgium (@IndEmbassyBru) March 28, 2016 The Infosys too condoled Ganeshans death and said it will provide all possible support to the family. It is with deep regret that we confirm the passing of our colleague Raghavendran Ganeshan in the terrible attack in Brussels. Our thoughts and prayers are with Raghavendrans family and with those who were injured or lost a loved one in these attacks. We will continue to provide all possible support to his family in this hour of grief. We would request the privacy of Raghavendrans family during this difficult time, an Infosys spokesperson said. (With inputs from PTI) Two groups of students one belonging to Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the other to University Community for Democracy and Equality (UCDE) - took to streets on Wednesday outside the University of Mumbais Kalina campus. While members of ABVP were discussing the truth about JNU with collegians, their slogans were countered by members of UCDE. With no permission from the university to conduct the meet inside the campus, both groups raised slogans outside the campus. The entire issue at JNU has brought much negative light on the university and our aim is to clear the air. Just because some people are anti-national doesnt mean the entire system is the same, said Lalit Pandey, ABVP head from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, who was in the city for this meet. Pandey and Aniket Ovhal, the Mumbai secretary of ABVP, gave an hour-long speech outside the Kalina campus and were cheered by students and other party members with slogans such as Bharat Mata ki Jai. Read: JNU students protests get support from universities across India We have nothing against the students but we have noticed that there are many Leftists, Marxists and Maoists in educational institutes. We are only trying to make other students aware of the same, said Ovhal. However, members of UCDE gathered in the same area and shouted counter-slogans including RSS Murdabad and ABVP Murdabad. This group calls itself nationalist but its work has always been anti-national. Even in the incident where JNU Student Union president was arrested, it has been proved now that the videos were doctored but ABVP has nothing to say about this, said Nagesh Dhurve, a UCDE member. Since ABVP members had announced their plans of a discussion a day in advance, university officials had called the police. All vehicles entering the campus were being checked by officials. The security arrangements were to avoid any altercation between students, said a university official. ABVP has been conducting similar discussions in city colleges and on Tuesday members had interacted with students of Mithibai College in Vile Parle as well as Ruia College in Matunga. Thirteen years after three blasts rocked the city between December 2002 and March 2003 killing 12 people and injuring 139 others, a designated Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court on Tuesday convicted 10 people and acquitted three. The police said this is the first blast where banned organisation Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) conspired to conduct blasts. The court will hear arguments on the sentencing from Wednesday onwards. The prosecution claimed former general secretary of SIMI Saquib Nachan, along with LeT member Faisal Khan, Pakistani nationals and 23 other accused were involved in the case. Of the 24 accused, five, including Khan, who was killed in an encounter, are dead, while six other accused remain absconding. While pronouncing the verdict, designated POTA judge PR Deshmukh said, The case is going on for 13 years for the prosecution and for the defence I have tried to appreciate both the evidence. You know this is the trial court and not the last court. Some might be pleased and some might not. I have tried to give justice. The accused, apart from Nachan, who are convicted are Ateef Mulla, Hasib Mulla, Muhammed Kamil, Noor Malik, Anwar Ali Khan, Gulam Khotal, Farhaan Khot, Dr. Wahid Ansari and Muzammil Ansari. Adnan Mulla, Harroon Lohar and Nadeem Paloba were acquitted for lack of evidence. Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian said, Our case was not for the blast primarily. It was for the preparatory act of the accused for committing terrorist activities in and around the city and wage a war against the nation and establishment. Salian said the conspiracy began in May 2001 and the convicts were found with weapons. They had gathered sophisticated weapons and explosives, which were used to train to the youth in the hills of Padagha in Thane, Salian said. The prosecution had also pointed out the accused had planned to attack several political leaders attached to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for which they had gathered several sophisticated weapons. The accused had been booked for hatching a conspiracy to conduct terror activities in the city and collecting men and explosives that were later used in terror attack and also for training youth to carry out the blast. On December 6, 2002, a bomb exploded in a fast-food outlet at Mumbai Central railway station where 25 people were injured. A month-and-a-half later, on January 27, 2003, a bomb planted on a bicycle exploded outside Vile Parle railway station, killing Anita Indulkar, 35, and injuring 32 others. On March 13, 2003, another bomb exploded in the womens first-class compartment of a Karjat-bound fast train as it approached Mulund station where more than 82 people were injured. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON If two major power distribution companies have their way, power bills for more than 35 lakh consumers are likely to rise marginally, come June. Reliance Energy (R Infra) and Mahavitaran have both proposed slight hikes in their tariffs, in the range of 2% to 10%, depending on how much power you consume. In their annual tariff petitions filed before the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), Reliance Energy has proposed an average hike of 7% a unit, while Mahavitaran (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd) has proposed an average tariff hike of 5.5% across all user categories. The MERC will now decide the tariff based on the petitions of the two power distribution companies. Reliance Energy distributes power to Mumbais suburbs and Mira-Bhayander, while state-owned Mahavitaran distributes to consumers in the state except most of Mumbai. Its distribution area also includes the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai. Reliance Energys proposal will hit the smallest consumers the hardest. The proposed hike is the sharpest if you happen to consume 300 units of power each month. For homes that consume less than 100 units, the company has proposed to hike per unit cost by 10%, from Rs5.39 to Rs5.93. Similarly, for homes which consume between 100 and 300 units of power each month, the company has proposed to hike the unit cost by 8% from Rs7.69 to Rs8.31. The company supplies power to nearly 25 lakh consumers across the city alone, with another 4 lakh-odd consumers in Mira-Bhayander Municipal corporation area. Of the 25 lakh customers in Mumbai, an overwhelming majority consumes less than 300 units. The only respite the companys proposal offers is to Below the Poverty Line (BPL) consumers, where it has proposed to slash the power tariff per unit from Rs5.24 to Rs4.88, a dip of 7%. The company has also proposed an average hike of about 7% for low-tension commercial units across the city this year, while proposing a cut of 1% in the power tariff for high-tension commercial units. It has also proposed an average of 6% hike for its industrial users. Overall, the company has proposed a 5.26% hike across categories this year. Interestingly, in its petition, Reliance Energy has listed out the tariffs for the next four years, until 2020, and has proposed marginally increases every year. In its petition, the company has proposed an average hike for residential consumers at 5% in 2017-18, and 3% in both 2018-19 and in 2019-20. One of the reasons the company has stated for this hike is its move to bridge its cumulative revenue gap of Rs1,325 crore. A public hearing will be held to discuss Reliances tariff on April 28. Meanwhile, state power minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the hike proposed by Mahavitaran was to help the company recover expected revenue loss of Rs34,108 crore during 2017-17 to 2019-20. 53-year-old Paramjeet Kaur has been running from pillar to post for the last eight years, seeking action against the culprits who threw acid on her face. But neither have all the accused been punished nor has she been given any compensation or monetary help by the government. Paramjeet, a resident of Kandila village, was elected the sarpanch of her village in 2002 on a Congress ticket. Ever since then, she and her family have been battling political vendetta. In 2007, when the SAD came into power in the state, the partys supporters started forcing me to join hands with the Akalis, she said. Her repeated refusals earned the wrath of the party men who warned her of dire consequences. On the night of December 28, 2007, four men barged into my house and threw a can of acid on my face. I was rushed to Batala civil hospital, from where the doctors shifted me to Amritsar, Paramjeet remembers. I underwent four eye surgeries and half a dozen plastic surgeries. But not even a single penny was given by the government for my treatment. My family has spent over Rs 20 lakh on my eye surgeries but to no avail. I applied for widow pension and disabled persons pension but since I am a Congress worker, all these benefits were denied to me, she added. Paramjeet says she has made numerous rounds of the Gurdaspur deputy commissioner and Batala SDMs office but other than assurances, she hasnt received anything. When contacted Batala SDM Sourabh Arora said they had not received any document regarding compensation from the victim till date. Subsequently after getting appropriate documents, her case will be sent to the Punjab Legal Services Authority for compensation, he assured. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said everyone in Punjab knew who was behind the smuggling of narcotics in the state but the police was unable to check it due to the lack of support from the state government. Amarinder said so while addressing party workers during a district-level meeting held in Gurdaspur on Tuesday. Speaking on the standard of education in government schools in Punjab, Amarinder said that 78 per cent of the students failed their examinations last year, but the SAD-BJP government did not have time to address such problems. He said that over 70 percent of the children in the state came from poor families, so it was the duty of the state government to ensure imparting quality education to them too. Amarinder gave the Dr Manmohan Singh, who studied in a government primary school in a small village but went on to become the Prime Minister of India. Recognising the role of the workers in a party, Amarinder said that a party could not be strong if party workers were weak. He promised them due respect and share in party offices, advising them to observe discipline and be united to ensure the partys victory in the upcoming Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. Amarinder lashed out at Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal saying that his misrule has brought the once prosperous state of Punjab to the brink of destruction. He said that farmers, traders, youths and women all suffered in the SAD-BJP tenure. He said that everyone was fed up with the SAD-BJP regime and were looking forward to an opportunity to throw it out of power. Amarinder said the party would announce the names of the party candidates for 2017 state assembly elections six months before the election. He said not more than one party ticket would be allotted to a family during the elections. He said that if the Congress came to power in 2017, panchayats would have full rights in the matters of the panchayats. He said at least one member of each household would be given a job. Reacting to the demand of Gurdaspur district Congress Committee president and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Amarinder said a new sugar mill would be set up in the district to generate job opportunities. Earlier Amarinder interacted with the party workers who centred their questions around issues such as unemployment, problems faced by farmers, deteriorating condition of education, false cases against Congress workers and the infighting among the district party leaders and workers. Amarinder promised to solve the problems of the area on coming to power. He asserted that Congress was sure of coming to power after the coming of state assembly elections as every section of the society was dismayed with the poor performance of the Badal government and Aam Aadmi Party had no existence in the state. In reply to a query, Amarinder said that Parshant Kishore was an adviser and strategist for Congress for the coming Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections as he had done for the election campaign of Narendra Modi and Natish Kumar. Meanwhile when contacted to ask about his role for Punjab Congress, Parshan Kishore told Hindustan Times that he was playing no role for Congress. I do not give interviews, he added. Five armed men on Tuesday freed gangster Palwinder Singh alias Pinda after firing on policemen at the local civil hospital where he was brought for dental examination. A policeman was injured in the firing while two others suffered injuries in the eyes as the men threw chilli powder into them. Pinda is one of the accused in the alleged killing of an assistant sub-inspector at Haveli restaurant in Jalandhar in April 2013. Later, the Patiala police had arrested him following an encounter. The daring act led to panic in the town as the civil hospital is centrally located. It also raises a question mark over Punjab Police and the jail authorities as Pinda was freed within an hour of leaving the Nabha jail. Pinda was brought to the hospital around 11 am in custody of three constables of Punjab Police and a van driver. The unidentified men, who were apparently associates of Pinda, and were already present at the hospital, opened fire at the policemen and injured constable Deep Singh. They also threw chilli powder into the eyes of the cops. Constable Nirmal Singh said, After being examined in jail, Pinda was referred to the civil hospital where the dentist advised an X-ray. As constable Satbir Singh went to get the slip from the registration window and I, along with Deep Singh and Pinda, started moving towards the X-ray department, the armed men arrived on the scene and attacked us with chilli powder besides opening fire. Eyewitnesses said the men, along with Pinda, ran towards the back gate of the hospital. SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, SP (detective) Paramjit Singh Goraya and DSP Manpreet Singh reached the spot. Police examined the CCTV footage from the shops outside the hospital and also recovered bullet shells from the spot. Constable Deep Singh was admitted to Rajindra Hospital. Pinda, resident of Nehaluwala village in Jalandhar, was awarded imprisonment of five years and three years in two different cases of attempt to murder in July 2014 and was facing trial in the murder of the ASI besides also being charged under the NDPS Act. He was brought to the Nabha jail on August 24, 2015. The police are also investigating the call details of the jail telephone booth. Meanwhile, security has been upped and a manhunt is on to nab the gangster. A senior municipal corporation official on Tuesday informed that as per the letter received from the state governments local government department, a complete ban would be imposed on polythene (plastic) carry bags and thermocol (excluding packing material) from April 1. In a press note issued here, the official informed that the residents were already educated about the ban by installing hoardings in different parts of the city. A complete ban would be imposed on manufacturing, stocking, distribution, reuse, selling and using polythene (plastic) carry bags and thermocol material that can be used only once. Meanwhile, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has also appealed all residents to follow the ban as violators would attract strict legal action. Hundreds of farmers held a protest here on Monday against the Punjab settlement of agricultural indebtedness bill, which was passed recently by the state assembly, and termed it anti-farmer. The farmers had gathered under the banner of the Bharatiya Kissan Union (Ugarahan). Describing the bill as a mere poll stunt to pacify the farming fraternity before the 2017 assembly elections, the union leaders believed that the bill was not going to provide any relief to farmers from the increasing debt. The bill envisaged settlement of only non-institutional debt up to `15 lakh. Addressing the gathering, district president of the union, Shingara Singh Mann, said the bill didnt have anything which would help farmers and labourers, who are in distress and committing suicides due to debt for the past many years. The government has failed to include any criteria for the settlement of the debt taken from public institutions, including banks and co-operative societies, loan taken for business purposes and debt taken on agricultural land and houses, Mann said. He added that there was also no provision to stop the auction of farmers land and houses. The farmer and labourer bodies had submitted a blueprint of a settlement of loans bill 10 years ago, but the government did not bother to consider it before passing the present bill, he said. Jagjit Singh, general secretary of the union, said instead of ending their lives, farmers should fight for their rights. Instead of killing themselves, farmers must join and support the protests to press the government to fulfil their demands, he said. The other demands of the union included withdrawal of the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, laws to take action against defaulter seed and pesticide dealers, government job to one of the kin of the farmer who commits suicide, tackling the stray cattle menace, allotment of tubewell connections on priority basis to farmers having less than two-and-a half acre land, and minimum support price of Rs 4,500 per quintal for basmati-1509 variety and Rs 5,000 per quintal for basmati-1121 variety. Bill to benefit rich farmers only In Moga, Members of the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) held a protest against the Punjab Relief of Agricultural Indebtedness Bill, 2016, and alleged that it was aimed at benefiting the rich class of farmers and commission agents. Hundreds of farmers, led by union president Amarjit Singh Saidoke, held a protest outside the deputy commissioner office in Moga and chanted slogans against the government for implementing anti-farmer policies. The government should have focused on making farmers debt-free and curbing suicides by farmers, he said. He demanded that the government should waive loans of farmers and give a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a government job to one member of the families of the farmers who committed suicides. Saidoke also demanded immediate release of pending cheques of compensation to the cotton farmers, who had suffered heavy losses due to whitefly attack last year. Farmers have also demanded compensation for damage to wheat crop after untimely rain and hailstorm in the region. An official of Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT), a public sector undertaking (PSU) which is facing shutdown, committed suicide by jumping off stairs of an overhead water tank located on the factory premises in Pinjore on Monday morning. The deceased had been identified as 57-year-old Kamaljeet Singh Naagi, joint general manager at the tractor division of the HMT. Naagi was one of the employees who had not been paid for the past 19 months. Though the HMT employees claimed that Naagi took the extreme step due to financial constraints, the family said they were not facing any financial problem as they were well-off. Naagis wife Nihal and his younger brother Dr Jagjeet Singh blamed HMT executive director Col KP Mishra (retd) for driving him to commit suicide and the police booked Mishra for abetment to suicide on their statement. They alleged that Mishra used to harass Naagi. Talking to the media, Jagjeet said: My brother attended a meeting with the executive director this morning. He was called again by Mishra and soon after coming out of his room, he climbed the overhead tank and jumped off. My brother had told us that he was being targeted and harassed. Senior officials were pressing him to force employees to work even as the factory is facing shutdown. Those present at the meeting should also be questioned, he added. Denying allegations, Mishra said: I am surprised that such allegations are being levelled against me. The HMT is facing shutdown. There is no work. There are no targets. Today, Naagi met me just for a few minutes. Even I had joined today after leave as I was not well. Talking to Hindustan Times, HMTs human resource head BD Bijola said Naagi did his engineering from Ludhiana and MBA (marketing) from IGNOU and joined the HMT in 1983. He worked here till 1991 and after an years break, he rejoined the organisation. He used to remain calm and composed, said Bijola. Naagis personal assistant KL Batra said as usual, he reached office around 8:30 am and seemed normal. He met the executive director and later we came to know that he had jumped off the water tank, Batra added. Naagi had removed his turban and goggles and kept them on stairs before taking the extreme step. Meanwhile, the suicide triggered protests by employees who alleged that Naagi took his life as he was facing financial constraints due to non-release of the salary. The agitated employees raised slogans against the Union government and the HMT management. Pinjore station house officer Mohinder Singh said Mishra had been booked for abetment to suicide on the statement of Naagis wifes. She told the police that Naagi was under stress because of Mishra. Later, the body was sent for post-mortem to a Kalka hospital. Naagi has two daughters and the elder one got married in January. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, in his budgetary proposals for 2016-17, announced excise duty of 1% on non-silver jewellery. The jewellers and bullion traders in the country responded by launching an indefinite, nationwide strike on March 2. Despite assurances from the Centre, they have continued their protest. The protesting jewellers there are thousands of them in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh took their fight to the next level on Monday by blocking rail and road traffic in different parts of the region. HT cuts through the noise and takes a closer look at the stand-off: What is the issue? The finance minister proposed excise duty of 1% on jewellery without input credit or 12.5% with input tax credit on articles of jewellery, excluding silver jewellery other than those studded with diamonds and some other precious stones. The government move is aimed at bringing the gems and jewellery industry that is still largely an unorganised sector into the tax net. Jewellery, being a luxury item, cannot be allowed to go untaxed, it argued. The reason: the sector, where cash purchases made on kachhi parchis are not uncommon, contributes to accumulation of black money in the economy. India is one of the largest consumers of gold jewellery in the world. Why the strike? Jewellers, who are also opposed to the government move to make the permanent account number (PAN) mandatory for purchase of jewellery worth more than Rs 2 lakh, are up in arms over the excise tax, alleging return of inspector raj. The move, according to them, will not only put additional burden on buyers, but also worsen the market sentiment already hit by the decision to make PAN a must. The excise duty would mean more paperwork, pressure for compliance and unnecessary harassment. Then, there are other irritants such as tax collection at source on sales of `2 lakh and above and the system of unique identification number (UID) on each jewellery item hallmarked in India aimed to curb duplication and ensure traceability. Jewellery retailers have been having issues with the extent and mode taxation since long. However, Vinod Talwar, the president of the Jewellers Association of Chandigarh, says jewellers do not have a problem with paying 1% more tax, but they do not want interference of the excise department. I agree that maximum amount of black money is spent on gold, but people use it to buy pure gold, not jewellery. The government can ban the sale of pure gold, he suggests. Who has been hit? The indefinite strike, which entered its 26th day on Monday, has left thousands of artisans working for jewellers and manufacturers without work and, in many cases, without wages. It has also taken the sheen off weddings. While customers have the option of buying jewellery from branded stores in cities like Chandigarh, most jewellers in many parts of the region have kept their shutters down. But they, too, are helping out their regular customers by delivering on their pre-strike orders or by selling available jewellery items to them. Most of us keep stock of ornaments at home. A few others open their shops for two hours early in the morning to meet the demand, confided a jeweller in Amritsar on condition of anonymity. In small towns such as Jandiala Guru and Majitha, the strike call has got a lukewarm response. The standoff has hit business and, consequently, government revenue. Govts take The Centre has set up a task force under former chief economic adviser Ashok Lahiri to look into the demands of jewellers, giving it 60 days to ascertain issues pertaining to procedures for excise duty, maintenance of records etc, but it has not worked. While the protesting jewellers are adamant, the central excise officials dismiss apprehensions regarding return of inspector raj. Says commissioner, Central Excise (Chandigarh-I) Kishori Lal: There are strict instructions from the Central government that in normal circumstances no official from the department will visit the premises of jewellery manufacturers and the department will depend on the assessees self declaration. Artisans, who manufacture jewellery on a job work basis, are not required to pay the duty. Also, small jewellers will be eligible for exemptions up to a certain limit. (With inputs from Surjit Singh) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A group of gangsters on Tuesday morning freed gangster Palwinder Singh, alias, Pinda, after firing at police cops at the Nabha civil Hospital. A policeman was injured in firing, while two sustained injuries in their eyes as gangsters threw chilly powder. Pinda was one of the accused in the alleged killing of an assistant sun-inspector (ASI) at Haveli Dhaba in Jalandhar, back in April 2013. He was arrested by the Patiala police in an encounter. The daring act has created a panic in town, with the civil hospital situated bang in the heart of Nabha. As per information, Pinda was admitted to hospital with some ailment. Members of his gang, started converging at hospital from various locations and freed him by firing in air and at the policemen deputed for Pindas security. Eyewitnesses said they later sped away in a car, possibly towards Malerkotla. After the incident, heavy police has been deployed and a manhunt is on to nab the gangster. Apart from ASI murder case, the accused is wanted in at least six other criminal cases, including contract killing. A five-member joint investigation team (JIT) from Pakistan that visited the Pathankot air force base to probe the January 2 terror attack faced strong protest from activists of various political parties. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress protesters accused the BJP-led Union government of hurting the sentiments of Indians by allowing a Pakistan team to probe terror attack on Indian soil. Senior AAP leaders, including Sanjay Singh, Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur, led the partys protest. The Congress activists were led by partys district president Anil Vij and Viney Mahajan. Activists of the Congress protest against the visit of Pakistani investigators near Pathankot airbase on Tuesday. (Sameer Sehgal/HT Photo) Even the state unit of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) led by its state chief Yog Raj Sharma held a protest outside the airbase gate but it was confined to the Pakistan probe team. A large number of AAP activists raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing the Pakistan team to visit to the airbase. Mishra said allowing the Pakistani team to visit the airbase was shameful and disgusting. Instead of allowing the Pakistan team to visit India to probe Pathankot attacks, Indian security agencies should have been sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of masterminds enjoying hospitality of the Pakistan government not only in Pathankot attacks but in Mumbai attacks too, Mishra added. Hitting out at Modi, Sanjay Singh said: He used to claim of having 56-inch chest to deal with any evil design of Pakistan, but now he has virtually mortgaged the dignity and sovereignty of the country to Pakistan for the sake of developing personal relations with his friend Nawaz Sharif. Despite knowing that ISI is behind every terror attack in India, Modi offered red carpet welcome to the Pakistan team. He wants to help his businessmen friends to spread their trade in the neighbouring country at the cost of Indias security, Singh added. The police and air force personnel guarding the area near the air force station were seen struggling to control Congress protesters, who managed to cross the barricades and reach near the main fate of the air force station where they burnt an effigy of Pakistan. Later, the police forced the protesters to retreat. Meanwhile, activists of political parties seemed in a race to make their presence felt in registering protest against Modi and the JIT. Later, AAP activists took out a march in markets and handed over a memorandum to Pathankot deputy commissioner Amit Kumar. The Punjab governments finance department has assured that value-added tax (VAT) on tobacco products, including beedi and cigarette, would be increased that would to make them unaffordable for children and poor [and] reduce prevalence. This came about at a state coordination committee meeting where the states multi-pronged strategy for controlling tobacco and nicotine consumption was underlined by principal secretary, health, Vini Mahajan. She also said that necessary instructions had been sent to the officers at the district level to ensure implementation of the Punjab Tobacco Vends Fees Act & Punjab Street Vendors Scheme strictly in Punjab to limit the number of tobacco vendors and reduce the availability of tobacco to children and the youth. Secretary, health, Hussan Lal; Dr Usha Bansal, director, family welfare; and representatives of various stakeholder departments, deputy commissioners and various NGOs were present. Mahajan further said that the Punjab Street Vendors Scheme 2016 has been notified by the department of local bodies to issue licences to tobacco vendors as per conditions suggested by the departments of health, and excise and taxation. The Punjab Tobacco Vends Fees Act would be implemented by the department of excise and taxation, and would limit the number of tobacco vendors. Hussan Lal said that the Food and Drug Administration has initiated various steps to curtail the sale of e-cigarettes too. Punjab was the first state to declare e-cigarettes as unapproved drug and court cases have been launched against the violators. Scented and flavoured chewable tobacco has also been banned. State programme officer, National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), Dr Rakesh K Gupta highlighted various legislations, notifications and regulations dealing with tobacco and nicotine. Dr Rana J Singh from The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, New Delhi, said that global evidences show that, with increase in taxation, revenue increases, and also it decreases the use of tobacco. He also said that though it is necessary to book the guilty but the approach adopted by the implementers should be more to generate awareness than collect challan money. Their sole purpose is not to punish the guilty alone but to work towards having deterrent effect and thereby reducing the tobacco use, he said. Chandigarh MP and actor-politician Kirron Kher of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students union president Kanhaiya Kumar for his statement differentiating between the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 anti-Muslim Gujarat riots. He, meanwhile, claimed he had been misinterpreted and misrepresented. In three tweets on Tuesday, she fleshed out her anger, terming Kanhaiyas statement as disgraceful. She wondered if his conscience was dead. The first tweet said: Disgraceful statement by @kanhaiyajnusu [Kanhaiyas Twitter handle] that 1984 anti Sikh riots were done by mobs and not state sponsored. Then she added: So many Cong leaders are in the dock for the 1984 riots. Statement by @kanhaiyajnusu wilfully ignorant. And she finished off with: Kya aapka zameer bilkul mar gaya hai, Kanhaiya? @kanhaiyajnusu (Has your conscience died, Kanhaiya?) Kanhaiya had on Monday, while comparing the alleged attack on universities with the Gujarat riots, claimed that while the Gujarat riots were carried out through state machinery, the Sikh massacre was caused due to mob frenzy. However, he posted on Facebook on Tuesday night: I have been misinterpreted and misrepresented yet again. There isnt an iota of doubt that Emergency represents one of the darkest periods of Indian democracy. My organization AISF strongly opposed and fought against the state repression during Emergency. Both 1984 and 2002 were indeed state led pogroms for which justice is still awaited. The current central government is relentlessly carrying forward its fascist agenda using state power, as visible in the recent authoritarian actions against students and all voices of dissent across the country. What we now witness is unprecedented - a form of undeclared emergency. Disgraceful statement by @kanhaiyajnusu that 1984 anti Sikh riots were done by mobs and not state sponsored. 1/3 Kirron Kher (@KirronKherBJP) March 29, 2016 So many Cong leaders are in the dock for the 1984 riots. Statement by @kanhaiyajnusu wilfully ignorant. 2/3 Kirron Kher (@KirronKherBJP) March 29, 2016 Kya aapka zameer bilkul mar gaya hai, Kanhaiya? @kanhaiyajnusu 3/3 Kirron Kher (@KirronKherBJP) March 29, 2016 Kirron otherwise tweets relatively rarely, and has posted 10 tweets, including the three on Kanhaiya, in the past two months. Ever since the arrest and later interim bail of Kanhaiya and of fellow students including group leaders Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya over alleged anti-national slogans raised on JNU campus last month, the JNUSU president has attracted a lot media and political attention. This includes some stinging remarks by Kirrons husband, actor Anupam Kher, who at a movie screening on the JNU campus around two weeks ago said, without expressly naming Kanhaiya: He is out on bail, he hasnt come back with a medal from Olympics that he should be accorded such a huge welcome... One who talk ill of the country, how can he be celebrated as hero? I have been misinterpreted and misrepresented yet again. There isnt an iota of doubt that Emergency represents one of... Posted by Kanhaiya Kumar on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 Also read: Watch 15-yr-old Ludhiana activist challenge Kanhaiya Kumar In a country like India whose diversity is its beauty, its joy, there are forces out to wreck this variedness. Much like thrusting Hindi on a nation which has over 20 listed languages and innumerable dialects, and much like pushing a Hindutva agenda on a multi-religious community, 63rd National Film Awards have gone mostly to Bollywood fare, Hindi language cinema to be precise, or the big blockbusters. The other cinemas of India have been left holding regional recognition. The smaller pictures with modest budgets have gone unsung. Baahubali in Telugu has walked away with the Best Film Award. But what a pick for the best feature! Made at a huge cost, this Hindu mythological epic was probably pushed into the top slot because of its content. For, there is no performance worth the name in the movie. The script is poor, there is lack of continuity, the plot is confusing and the style of story-telling archaic. Above, it is pretentious with a capital P. Yes, it has special effects, but compare them with an Avatar or even a Titanic, Baahubali will totter on the track. A far better choice in the Best Film category could have been Vetrimaarans Visaaranai -- a brutally powerful look at police highhandedness that premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2015. The use of raw force on defenceless migrant labourers is a telling example of what power and uniform can do to soil humanness. Read: Bollywood congratulates National Award winners Vetrimaaran's Visaaranai is based on a book called Lock Up by Coimbatore-based autorickshaw driver Chandra Kumar. But Visaaranai had to settle as the Best Tamil Film, dumped into alleyway we in India call regional cinema -- much like how Satyajit Ray was once introduced at the International Film Festival of India in Calcutta as the Bengali director. Could anything have been more insulting to a man who literally put Indian cinema on the world map at Cannes in 1956 with his immortal classic called Pather Panchali? That Song of the Little Road led India to a mighty highway. Read: National Awards are complete farce this year, says the director of Chauthi Koot And Sanal Sasidharans An Off-Day Game is pure cinema, unpredictable and unpretentious. We also had Gurvinder Singhs Chauthi Koot (which played at Cannes) -- a story of fear and uncertainty set in the times of the Punjab insurgency and narrated in a gripping Hitchcockian style. These are but just three examples of the kind of movies that could have been far worthy of the Best Film trophy. Did not the National Awards jury, headed by the Bollywood mandarin, Ramesh Sippy, and handpicked by the Directorate of Film Festivals (a wing of the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry) find these films worthy of an honour? Among performers, Amitabh Bachchan got to wear the Best Actor hat for his portrayal of a grumpy old constipated man who is so mulish that he forces his daughter to take him from Delhi to Kolkata in a taxi. There was nothing extraordinary in Big Bs acting, but then Big B being Big had to be among the winners. So what if there were far better artists than him! Read: I wanted Deepika Padukone, Priyanka to win National Awards, says Bhansali Papanasam is the official Tamil remake of Malayalam hit Drishyam. It is directed by Jeethu Joseph, who also directed the original. (papanasamtamilmovie/Facebook) Two names come to ones mind so easily, so effortlessly. Kamal Haasans cable television operator in Papanasam who foxes the cops with such amazing cunning is a performance that will remain etched in ones memory. Haasan reinvented himself -- after a long time -- as Haasan the actor, totally convincing in a part that gave him an excellent opportunity to sink into the character. And he did this so superbly -- brushing aside all the trappings of a superstar that he is. Read: Complete list of winners of 63rd National Film Awards Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Dashrath Manjhi in Ketan Mehta's Manjhi The Mountain Man. Dashrath carved a way through a mountain in Gehlaur toiling for 22 years with a chisel and hammer, all alone. And what about Nawazuddin Siddiqui as and in Manjhi -- The Mountain Man, directed by Ketan Mehta. Siddiqui was brilliant as a poor farmer who loses his wife because a mountain stands between his village and the nearest hospital, fatally prolonging the journey. There is more to come. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was the Best Director for Bajirao Mastani, a look at Maratha valour, a subject that probably endeared him to the jury, which is facing its share of controversies. One of them relates to music director Ilaiyarajas brother, Gangai Amaran. He was part of the panel that honoured Ilaiyaraja for the background score in the Tamil work, Thaarai Thappattai. However, Amaran has been contending that he did not take part in the deliberations on music. Obviously, such unilateral celebration of the biggies and Bollywood has caused a storm in the social media. Ananth Mahadevan, producer, director and actor, said that the awards were as bad as sending Jeans for the Oscars! Gurvinder Singh, despite winning a trophy for the Best Punjabi Film (Chauthi Koot), felt that the prizes were a complete farce. Veena Bakshi whose The Coffin Maker was a riveting look at death, quipped, what a sad and shameful turn of events. Filmmakers Ananth Mahadevan and Veena Bakshi make a comment on the jurys selection. One would like to end this piece with an observation that French-Polish film director Roman Polanski once made: The awards are as good as the jury. There you go. Views expressed are the authors own ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Tougher laws or not, women in Delhi are still not safe. Even the horrid Nirbhaya gang-rape from December 16, 2012 could do little to improve womens situation, says a study that found 40% of the women surveyed in the national capital reporting sexual harassment in the past year. About 40% of women surveyed in Delhi said they have been sexually harassed in a public place such as a bus or park in the past year, with most of the crimes occurring in the daytime, said the study published online in the journal International Criminal Justice Review. The gangrape of Nirbhaya by a group of men on a moving bus in Delhi brought about new laws that doubled prison terms for rape and criminalised voyeurism and stalking. While sexual harassment is a problem experienced by women worldwide, it may be more prevalent in emerging democracies such as India and other countries in South Asia where women are becoming more involved in the workforce. (Shutterstock) Nirbhaya became the pseudonym given to the gang rape victim whose death in 2012 brought worldwide attention to violence against women. The results based on a survey of some 1,400 men and women in the capital city further revealed that 33% of women have stopped going out in public and 17% have quit their jobs rather than facing harassment, or worse, in public places. What this means is that women, despite Nirbhaya, are still afraid, said one of the researchers Mahesh Nalla, professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University in the US. Women in India do not feel safe being in public spaces, which is clearly a human rights issue, Nalla noted. While sexual harassment is a problem experienced by women worldwide, it may be more prevalent in emerging democracies such as India and other countries in South Asia where women are becoming more involved in the workforce, Nalla said. Read: 7 sexual harassment cases that rocked India The problem is intensified by the existence of a cramped, inadequate public transportation system, massive youth migration to urban areas and the fact that India is a traditional patriarchal society where many still believe a womans place is in the home, the researchers pointed out. Nalla and co-investigator Manish Madan, assistant professor at Swedens Stockton University, surveyed the people in New Delhi on a host of issues including perceptions and history of sexual harassment, use of public transportation, safety in public spaces and police effectiveness in dealing with these concerns. The findings showed that 40% of female respondents were sexually harassed in the past year and 58% were sexually harassed at least once during their lifetime. The findings from this study highlight the importance and immediacy of addressing womens safety in public spaces and womens human rights, Nalla said. Mitchell Santner, New Zealands left-arm spinner, has had a great World T20 so far, picking eight wickets in three games. He deceived Rohit Sharma and collected three more to produce a match-winning spell at Nagpur in the opening game, giving away just 11 runs. At Dharamsala, against Australia, he claimed David Warner and Steve Smith. Though the spin-friendly pitches at Nagpur and Dharamsala certainly aided him, Santners performance(2/29) at Mohali, against Pakistan, shows he has tricks up his sleeves. His high-arm action gives him an edge over the other left-armers in the competition, enabling him to release the ball late. This freedom lets him vary his pace and length in accordance with the batsmans position, even when the latter steps out. For instance, against Pakistan, Santner got Khalid Latif by reducing his pace after he spotted him planting his foot to slog the ball. At Dharamsala, Santner spotted Mitchell Marsh stepping out of the crease early and cut his length short and bowled wide. Marsh barely survived the subsequent stumping chance. In the opener, against India, he did the same to an onrushing Rohit Sharma, deceiving the latter with his flight. The dismissal of Steve Smith too was similar. I like the way he approaches the crease and that is one thing that adds to his bowling a lot, says former India left-arm spinner Bishen Bedi. Santners gets side-on delivery stride and action in reminiscent of former New Zealand international Daniel Vettori. He is a tall fellow and the best thing about him is that he is a big turner of the ball. Not many spinners these days can do that, but Santner certainly has this ability. If I get a chance, I would certainly want to talk to Santner and maybe share couple of things that might help him in his bowling, Bedi added. Santner has also managed to keep his armer distinct. Bowlers who go wide, often find to get this right. Hardik Pandya would certainly agree, for he got beat twice, the second an lbw. Santner, however, has his weaknesses. The 24-year-old is inconsistent on his length and his short balls has been punished by batsmen. Though he claimed Warner and Ahmad Shahzad on short deliveries, more often he has been pulled by batsmen. Since he delivers the ball from a height, it rises steeply on bounce, thus giving the batsman the control to pull shot. He is dropping some balls short. This is because his non-bowling arm remains inactive to an extent and could be a lot more pro-active, says Bedi. So when he delivers the ball, his right arm should go high enough than where it is. This in turn locks his arm and he fails to complete his follow through. But he appears to be a studious character and his humble attitude will help him learn as a bowler. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday but the passengers and crew were freed unharmed and the hijacker, whose motives remained a mystery, was arrested after giving himself up. Eighty-one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320 flight when it took off, Egypts Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. Conflicting theories emerged about the hijackers motives, with Cypriot officials saying early on the incident did not appear related to terrorism but the Cypriot state broadcaster saying he had demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, negotiations began and everyone onboard was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypts Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Soon after his comments, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off. Read: In pics: EgyptAir plane hijacked, taken to Cyprus; passengers released The hijacker then surrendered to authorities. Its over, the Cypriot foreign ministry said in a tweet. Speaking to reporters after the crisis ended, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the hijacker was an Egyptian national but that his motives remained unclear. At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific, he said, adding that the man would now be questioned to ascertain his motives. Cypriot foreign ministry official Alexandros Zenon told reporters during the crisis that the hijacker apppeared to be unstable. Egypts Civil Aviation Ministry said the planes pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who claimed to be wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to divert the plane to Larnaca. Photographs shown on Egyptian state television showed a middle-aged man on a plane wearing glasses and displaying a white belt with bulging pockets and protruding wires. Fethy, the Egyptian minister, said authorities suspected the suicide belt was not genuine but treated the incident as serious to ensure the safety of all those on board. Our passengers are all well and the crew is all well... We cannot say this was a terrorist act... he was not a professional, Fethy told reporters after the incident. In the midst of the crisis, witnesses said the hijacker had thrown a letter on the apron in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. But the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) said the hijacker had asked for the release of women prisoners in Egypt, suggesting a political motive. EgyptAir also delayed a New York-bound flight from Cairo onto which some passengers of the hijacked plane had been due to connect. Fethy said it was delayed partly due to a technical issue but partly as a precaution. The plane remained on the tarmac at Larnaca throughout the morning while Cypriot security forces took up positions around the scene. EGYPTS IMAGE While the reasons for the hijacking were not entirely clear, the incident will deal another blow to Egypts tourism industry and hurt efforts to revive an economy hammered by political unrest following the 2011 uprising. The sector, a main source of hard currency for the import-dependent county, was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said the Russian plane was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. The incident has raised renewed questions over airport security in Egypt, though it was not clear whether the hijacker was even armed. Ismail said stringent measures were in place. There was also some confusion over the identity of the hijacker. Egypts official state news agency MENA initially named him as Egyptian national Ibrahim Samaha but later said the hijacker was called Seif Eldin Mustafa. The Cypriot Foreign Affairs Ministry also identified the hijacker as Mustafa. Passengers on the plane included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a Syrian and French national, the Civil Aviation Ministry. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. Egypt said it would send a plane to Cyprus to pick up stranded passengers, some of whom had been traveling to Cairo for connecting flights abroad. The hijacker of an EgyptAir flight, Ibrahim Abdel Tawwab Samaha, is a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria University, a staff list on the university website shows. Samaha is head of the department of food health, the site shows. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypts aviation ministry said. Egyptian state media named the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, but gave no other details about him. Passengers on the plane included eight Britons and 10 Americans, three security sources at Alexandria airport said. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. Egypts vital tourism industry was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day seige had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. A man thought to be strapped with explosives hijacked an Egyptian plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo on Tuesday and forced it to land in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said. After the EgyptAir plane landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released all the people onboard except four foreign passengers and crew members, EgyptAir said. About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) reported that the hijacker may have personal motives. He had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said. The negotiations with the hijacker have resulted in the release of all the plane passengers with the exception of the crew and five foreigners, the airline said in a statement, but it later changed the figure to four foreigners still held. 4.59pm - At least four more people leave hijacked EgyptAir plane. 4.40pm - Cyprus police have evacuated a stretch of beach near the Larnaca airport tarmac where the hijacked EgyptAir passenger jet is parked. The standoff at the airport is continuing with the hijacker and seven passengers and crew remaining on the plane. 4.15pm - Cyprus foreign ministry on Tuesday identified the hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa in a tweet. It did not provide further details. The situation is still ongoing, it said. Earlier, two Cypriot broadcasters reported the hijacker had dropped a letter on the apron of Larnaca airport that appeared to be demanding the release of prisoners in Egypt. Eygptian state media had earlier identified the hijacker as a different man. 3:47 pm The hijacker of an EgyptAir airplane that was diverted to Cyprus on Tuesday has asked for the release of female prisoners in Egypt, the Cyprus state broadcaster reported. All but seven people on board the aircraft, which was traveling from Alexandria to Cairo, have been released. The pilot had reported that the hijacker was strapped with explosives, but Egyptian authorities have not confirmed this. 3:03 pm: Everyone on board a hijacked EgyptAir flight diverted to Cyrus on Tuesday has been released except for four crew members and three passengers, Egypts civil aviation minister said. Sherif Fathy told a press conference that the captain, an assistant, an air hostess and a security man remained on board, along with the three passengers. The minister also said that Egypt is sending a plane to Cyprus to pick up stranded passengers. The official also said that the hijackers demands remain unknown, or at least cannot be stated publicly. 2:55 pm The hijacker of the EgyptAir plane has an estranged Cypriot wife who has been brought to Larnaca airport to negotiate with him. The woman lives in the village of Oroklini not far from the airport, AFP reported quoting sources. #EgyptAir hijacker took plane over ex-wife, not terrorism, spokesman for Cyprus Ministry of Transport tells CNN. https://t.co/Qd071Zl9fV CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 29, 2016 Mustafa Bakry, an Egyptian MP, said on Twitter that Samaha was a visiting professor at the University of Atlanta in the US. The spokesman, Hossam al-Queish, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker, identified as Egyptian national Ibrahim Samaha, had explosives on him. The channel also showed a photo of Samaha standing in what appears to be the back of an aircraft. He was said to be a doctor. 2:40pm - Officials at the Egyptian airport from which the hijacked EgyptAir aircraft took off and was taken to Cyprus say the hijacker is a native of the Egyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria and a dual Egyptian-American citizen. - Egyptian officials have earlier identified the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, a veterinarian. 2:25pm - Cyprus president says the EgyptAir hijacking incident is not something which has to do with terrorism. - Nicos Anastasiades says the government of Cyprus is doing its utmost so that all passengers on the EgyptAir flight that has been hijacked are safe. He spoke on the sidelines of a meeting Tuesday with the president of the European Parliament. - Anastasiades says we are doing our utmost in order for everyone to be released and safe and to give an end to this unprecedented (incident). In any case it is not something which has to do with terrorism. 2.15pm - The hijacker of an EgyptAir flight, Ibrahim Abdel Tawwab Samaha, is a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria University, a staff list on the university website shows. Samaha is head of the department of food health, the site shows. 2pm - EgyptAir hijacker demands to see estranged Cypriot wife, says Cyprus government official. - The woman lives in the village of Oroklini not far from the airport, the source told AFP. - At least five more people freed from hijacked EgyptAir. - Hijacked EgyptAir plane carried 21 foreigners including 8 Americans: aviation ministry. - EgyptAir said negotiations resulted in the release of all passengers on the hijacked Egyptian plane except for five foreigners and the crew. In pics: EgyptAir plane hijacked, taken to Cyrus; passengers released 1:50 pm - Egypt Air has released emergency numbers for more information on the hijacked plane: - For more information, please call 08007777000 from within the Republic of Egypt Arabic and 00202-25989320-29 from abroad, Egypt Air said in a tweet. 1:45 pm - Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) reported that the hijacker of an EgyptAir plane that was forced to land in Cyprus on Tuesday may have personal motives. - The hijacker had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said. - Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. Media gather at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320. (REUTERS) 1:20 pm - EgyptAir hijacker is an Egyptian national - Egyptian State News Agency - Cypriot state television is reporting that Egyptair flight MS181 hijacker identified as Ibrahim Samaha is asking for a translator and political asylum. [Live] The hijacker of an #EgyptAir plane is an Egyptian national called Ibrahim Samaha https://t.co/tu3GTdU4B9 https://t.co/Ns3qUiW162 euronews (@euronews) March 29, 2016 Passengers disembarking/on the tarmac, following the release of most of the passengers #Cyprus #Egypt pic.twitter.com/g0l6ylwhgz Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 29, 2016 - Flights to Larnaca in the south were diverted to the Paphos airport in the west, the officials said, after Egyptian civil aviation said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosives belt on the EgyptAir plane. 1:00 pm - Hijacked Egypt plane showed no sign of distress - An official with a flight-tracking website says the EgyptAir flight that was hijacked on the way to Cairo showed no immediate signs of distress while in the air. - Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that EgyptAir flight MS181 flew in a typical fashion on the Cyprus, without the pilots signaling any trouble via their transponder. - Petchenik said: It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked. - Egyptian aviation authority says the flight is an Airbus jet, it was supposed to fly from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday morning. 12: 50 pm - Hijacker frees all passengers except 4 foreigners - In a statement issued in Arabic, EhyptAir said negotiated release of all aboard hijacked plane except four foreigners and the crew. Negotiations with the kidnapped result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners. EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 12:30 pm - Hijacker asks police to back away from aircraft, allows women and children to disembark - The hijacker who forced an EgyptAir flight heading to Cairo from Alexandria to land in Cyprus is thought to be strapped with explosives, Cyprus broadcaster CYBC said on Tuesday. - The airplane was parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, the broadcaster said. - AP quoted Cypriot official as saying EgyptAir plane hijackers allow women, children to leave; some are now disembarking the aircraft. 12:25 pm - Egypt Air hijacker threatened to detonate explosives belt - Egypts aviation ministry said in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca - EgyptAir in a statement confirmed that there were 81 passengers on board. 12:15 pm - AFP is reporting that hijackers contacted the control tower at 8:30 am (0530 GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8:50 am, the police said. - The hijackers made no immediate demands and a crisis team has been deployed to the airport. 12:10 pm - In a tweet, Egyptair confirmed the hijacking of Egypt air MS181. It said it will issue a statement shortly. Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we'll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 12:00 pm - An Egyptair domestic flight MS181 from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday and landed in Cyprus, state radio said. - The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 people were on board, with a crew of 7. There were earlier reports of about 80 to 81 people on board. The hijacking occurred in Cypruss flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca. (Google Maps) - At least one man was thought to be armed. The hijacking occurred in Cypruss flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca. British counter-terrorism agencies are tracking as many as 25 serious ISIS terror attack plots threatening to cause carnage in the UK, according to a media report. More than 50 hardcore jihadists are suspected of planning attacks in Britain in the wake of the Paris and Brussels massacres, the Daily Express reported. Security officials are tracking up to 50 British jihadists 24 hours a day with intense scrutiny amid fears they could be about to unleash a wave of terror in Britain. MI5 is tracking the plots by hardcore jihadists but are struggling with limited resources. The counter-terror officers are working around the clock to prevent an attack on the scale of Paris or Brussels taking place in Britain. Investigators fear sleeper cells could be awaiting orders at a moments notice to carry out plots, the report said. These cells are often small, tight-knit groups that can more easily evade MI5s network of tipsters monitoring mosques and radical meetings. Militants in these cells are usually simply awaiting a green light to strike and could attack without any warning to security forces. A former British intelligence officer said, Everyone in the counter-terrorism community believes an attack in Britain will take place. There are about 450 extremists of concern to counter-terror officials throughout the UK. Some have returned from the conflict in Syria and others have been radicalised at home. Security experts fear in the wake of Paris and Brussels atrocities that London could now be next. The terrifying claims by intelligence sources come as a former British intelligence officer admitted it was a case of not if but when ISIS terrorists strike at home. The pace of investigations to try and stop this happening is extremely dynamic and fast-moving. There is no respite and no sign of the threat to Britain going away, the intelligence was quoted as saying. Since 2014, MI5 has warned Britain is at severe threat of an attack from extremists, meaning that a bombing or shooting on our streets is highly likely. This is one stage away from the top alert state of critical which means there is credible intelligence that an attack is imminent. An EgyptAir flight on Tuesday was hijacked by a passenger with a suicide belt strapped on, the latest in a series of such high-profile cases that have rocked the aviation industry. It brought back memories of the plane abduction hours before the September 11, 2001 attacks and the bloody 1985 EgyptAir hijack. Here are previous cases of plane hijacks: March, 2015: Germanwings Flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf was hijacked by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz (28), who locked himself in the cockpit. He crashed the plane in the Alps near the French village Prads-Haute-Bleone. 150 people died. January 2011: Turkish Airlines Flight 1754 from Oslo to Istanbul was in Bulgarian airspace when an unsuccessful attempt was made to hijack it. The suspect said that he had a bomb but passengers overpowered the hijacker. September 2001: American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines Flight 93 were hijacked on the morning of September 11 by al Qaeda-affiliated extremists. Flight 11 and 175 were deliberately crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon and Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after hijackers crashed the plane due to a revolt by passengers. A total of around 3,000 people were killed. Read: 4 crew, 3 passengers still on board hijacked EgyptAir plane July 1968: To date, the only successful El Al hijacking attempt, as three members of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked El Al Flight 426 from Rome to Tel Aviv. Diverting to Algiers, the negotiations extended over forty days. Both the hijackers and the hostages went free. December 1999: An Indian Airlines flight 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by Pakistani militants, who forced it to land in Kandahar in Afghanistan. A tense negotiation followed that stretched on for days and India released three top militants, including Maulana Masood Azhar who has since been implicated in several terror strikes such as the Mumbai 2008 attacks. February 1993: Russian Aeroflot passenger jet flying from Perm to Moscow diverted to Gardermoen airport by two Iranian brothers. Hijackers surrendered and hostages went free. The hijackers were later given asylum in Norway for humanitarian reasons. September, 1986: 22 people were killed when Pakistani security forces storm Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi, carrying 360 passengers and crew after a 16-hour siege. The hijacking is known for the heroics of the cabin crew, including Neerja Bhanot on whom a movie was made in 2016. Read: In pics: EgyptAir plane hijacked, taken to Cyprus; passengers released August, 1984: Seven young Sikh hijackers demanded an Indian Airlines jetliner flying from Delhi to Srinagar be flown to the United Arab Emirates. The plane was taken to UAE where the defense minister of UAE negotiated the release of the passengers. August, 1982: A lone Sikh militant, armed with a pistol and a hand grenade, hijacked an Indian Airlines on a scheduled flight from Mumbai to New Delhi carrying 69 persons. Indian security forces killed the hijacker and rescued all passengers. January, 1971: Indian Airlines Fokker F27 on scheduled Srinagar-Jammu flight was hijacked to Lahore by two self-proclaimed Kashmir separatists. All passengers were released by February 2 and repatriated to India, but the aircraft was blown-up, leading to an India-Pakistan air-travel ban, and suspension of overflight rights until 1976. An official with a flight-tracking website says that the EgyptAir flight that was hijacked on the way to Cairo showed no immediate signs of distress while in the air. Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that EgyptAir flight MS181 flew in a typical fashion on the Cyprus, without the pilots signalling any trouble via their transponder. Petchenik said: It looks like a completely controlled flight aside from the fact it was hijacked. Egyptian aviation authority says the flight is an Airbus jet, it was supposed to fly from Alexandria to Cairo on Tuesday morning. An EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday and landed in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said. The pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger strapped with explosives, Egypts civil aviation ministry said. The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 passengers were on board and a crew of seven. The hijacking occurred in Cypruss flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypts aviation ministry said. The ministry in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. CYBC said the airplane is parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, it said. Meanwhile, Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the plane hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. North Korea test-fired a short-range missile or rocket near its east coast on Tuesday, South Koreas military said, the latest in a series of launches amid rising tension on the divided peninsula. The North fired the short-range projectile near the eastern city of Wonsan around 5.40pm (0840 GMT) which flew about 200 km to the countrys northeast, Seouls Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. We are closely monitoring the situation and standing ready for any situations, the statement said. The projectile appears to have fallen on land unlike previous tests when missiles were fired into the sea, Seouls defence ministry spokesperson told AFP. It was the third such launch by the North in two weeks, as the isolated state steps up its military threats to protest ongoing Seoul-Washington joint army drills being held south of the border. The North last Monday fired five short-range rockets or missiles into the sea off the east coast, days after test-firing two medium-range missiles. The latest launch comes ahead of trilateral talks between the leaders of the US, Japan and the South aimed at discussing the growing threat of the nuclear-armed North. On Thursday, US President Barack Obama will meet his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a nuclear security forum in Washington. Military tensions have soared on the peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its fourth atomic test in January, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test. The UN Security Council responded earlier this month by slapping its toughest-ever sanctions on the North. Seoul and Washington started their largest-ever joint military drills on March 7. Since then the North has issued a series of threats, including warnings of nuclear attacks against the South and US. An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane and forced it to divert to Cyprus demanding to see his ex-wife surrendered on Tuesday after a six-hour airport standoff ended peacefully. The hijacker, described by officials as unstable, claimed to be wearing a bomb belt but no explosives were discovered after he gave himself up at Larnaca airport and was arrested. He tried to communicate with his Cypriot ex-wife, who lives on the island, and the hijacking was not terrorism-related, officials said. Most of the 55 passengers were quickly released after the plane landed but some escaped only minutes before the hijacker surrendered, including one man who climbed out a cockpit window. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not something that has to do with terrorism, and a government official said the man seems (to be) in love. This is about the individual action of a person who is psychologically unstable, said the Cypriot foreign ministrys permanent secretary, Alexandros Zenon. The Egyptian interior ministry identified the man as Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa. Read: EgyptAir plane hijacker unstable: Unusual cases since 2001 The man reportedly dropped a letter in Arabic on the tarmac, making a number of rambling demands including to see his Cypriot ex-wife, with whom he has children. Police said she was brought to the airport along with a child but provided no further details. (Text by AFP) The hijacker also complained about the Egyptian government and demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails. He is not a terrorist, hes an idiot. Terrorists are crazy, but they are not stupid, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. Anastasiades told reporters the incident appeared to be motivated by personal reasons. Asked about reports that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman, Anastasiades laughed and said: Always there is a woman. His response drew laughter. After searching the hijacker and sending sniffer dogs into the plane, Cypriot police said no bombs were found. The EgyptAir plane, which was headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo, landed in Larnaca at 8:50am (0550 GMT), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion. Egyptian civil aviation said he threatened to detonate an explosives belt --- which was found to be fake -- on the Airbus A-320. Egypts Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in televised remarks that the hijacker was an Egyptian and had demanded to speak to a European Union representative. Read: EgyptAir hijack ends with passengers freed, suspect arrested A man believed to be the hijacker of the EgyptAir Airbus A-320, which was diverted to Cyprus, leaves the plane before surrendering to security forces after a six-hour standoff on the tarmac at Larnaca airport's largely disused old terminal. (AFP) Cockpit window escape Egyptian civil aviation officials said there were 21 foreigners among the passengers, and that the hijacker had demanded the plane land in either Turkey or Cyprus. They included eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, according to the Egyptian authorities. Nearly all of the passengers were able to disembark shortly after the plane landed, but Egypts civil aviation minister, Sherif Fathy, told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, a flight attendant and a security guard, along with three passengers, had remained on board. They were later seen exiting the aircraft, with several descending the steps from the plane and one clambering out of a cockpit window and dropping to the ground. A man then emerged, walked across the tarmac and raised his hands to two waiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him for around two minutes before taking him away. At 2:43 pm, Cypriot government spokesperson Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter that the hijacker has just been arrested. Officials in both Cyprus and Egypt then confirmed that all crew and passengers were safe. Flights diverted Authorities closed the airport -- the main entry point for tourists to the resort island -- and nearby beaches during the incident. Incoming flights were diverted to Paphos on the islands western edge. The airport was later reopened. Concerns were raised about security at Egyptian airports after a Russian airliner was downed on October 31 over Egypts Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. The Islamic State group claimed to have smuggled a bomb on board the plane. In pics: EgyptAir plane hijacked, taken to Cyprus; passengers released Unidentified people leave the hijacked EgyptAir Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. (REUTERS) The Pakistan Army has arrested several terrorists and facilitators during an operation in the countrys most populous province of Punjab in the aftermath of a suicide attack at a crowded park that killed 72 people, most of them women and children. Soldiers and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers personnel have carried out five operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan since Sunday and arrested a number of suspect terrorists and facilitators and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, chief military spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said. Operations continue with more leads coming in, he said. Most of the armys campaigns against terrorists and militants have been conducted in Pakistans northwest and an operation has not been conducted in Punjab despite several outlawed groups, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, having a significant presence in the province. The influential Dawn newspaper reported there were clear indications that a decision had been taken by the military high command to expand the operation throughout Punjab. The Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying that the crackdown had commenced from southern Punjab, long believed to be a hotbed of religious extremism and militancy. The operations in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Muzaffargarh targeted seminaries and other targets linked to terrorist and extremist groups, the Dawn reported. Raids were carried out on the basis of technical evidence and information gathered by intelligence agencies after the bombing at Lahores Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park on Sunday. Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, who had ordered raids on terrorist hideouts in Punjab at a late-night military session on Sunday, chaired over another meeting at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday morning to review progress. Sundays suicide attack was claimed by the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban. However, it was not clear which of the numerous banned groups in Punjab were being targeted in the ongoing operations. The Dawn quoted an intelligence source as saying that orders had been given for expanding the scope of the crackdown to all parts of the province and against all groups involved in acts of terror without any discrimination. The army had been long pushing the government to initiate action against Punjab-based extremist and terrorist groups, but the civilian government was dragging its feet on the matter, the report said. The government had asked the military to identify the problem and leave it to the provincial law-enforcement agencies to neutralise the threat, it added. The PML-N governments at the centre and in Punjab were reluctant to agree to a military operation because of concerns that such a move could weaken the partys hold in the province, where it has been in power since 2008, the report said. The daily, citing a source, reported the military and intelligence leadership concluded after Sundays bombing in Lahore that it was beyond the capacity of civilian agencies to tackle the problem. The military, instead of waiting for consultations with civilian authorities, decided to go ahead with a large-scale effect-based operation, using all resources available at its disposal, the report added. There has been no publicly reported conversation between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Gen Sharif over the past two days with regard to the operation. The Prime Minister, during his address to the nation on television on Monday evening, reaffirmed his pledge to fight terrorism but stopped short of announcing an operation in Punjab. The absence of a clear announcement in the Prime Ministers speech regarding a counter-terrorism offensive in Punjab reinforced the impression of civil-military differences over the operation, the report said. (With inputs from agencies) Taliban militants, who killed 72 people in an Easter weekend bombing, mocked Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday with a taunting tweet that declared war had reached his doorstep. Hundreds were injured when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near a childrens play area in a Lahore park, where families had gathered to enjoy a warm Sunday evening. Sharif vowed in a televised address Monday to avenge the attack in the provincial capital, a stronghold for his ruling Pakistan Muslim League. Terrorists cannot dent our resolve. Our struggle will continue until the complete elimination of the menace of terrorism, he said. But on Tuesday Ehansullah Ehsan, spokesperson for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban that carried out the attack, derided the Prime Minister on Twitter. After the Lahore attack, Nawaz Sharif repeated old words to give himself false assurances, he wrote. Nawaz Sharif should know that war has reached his doorstep, and God willing the mujahideen will be the winners in this war. The attack was the worst so far in 2016 for a country grimly accustomed to atrocities, and will further fray inter-religious ties in the Muslim-majority nation. In response to the atrocity, the countrys powerful army announced it had carried out raids in Lahore as well as in Faisalabad and Multan, two other major cities in Punjab province. More were planned, it said. Christians make up an estimated 1.6% of Pakistans 200 million people and have long faced discrimination. Twin suicide attacks against churches in Lahore killed 17 people in March last year, sparking two days of rioting by thousands of Christians. A military operation targeting insurgents was stepped up in 2015 and saw the death toll from militant attacks fall to its lowest since the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were formed in 2007. But analysts have warned the group is still able to carry out major attacks. A Taiwanese man suspected of decapitating a four-year-old girl was beaten by an angry mob, as the case sparked fresh debate Tuesday about the death penalty for child-killers. The man grabbed the child as she cycled to a Taipei metro station with her mother on Monday, and beheaded her with a kitchen knife, police said. The suspect pushed away the girls mother as she tried to save her daughter. Seven bystanders were also unable to stop the man, police added. A suspect (C) of decapitating a girl is escorted to Detention Center in Taipei. (REUTERS) The girl has been identified only by her surname Liu. Local media have used her family nickname little light bulb. Police said the suspect, a 33-year-old surnamed Wang, had previously been arrested for drug related crimes and had sought medical treatment for mental illness. The case, the second child killing in Taipei in less than a year, has sparked widespread public anger and criticism of calls to abolish the death penalty. Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus. Executions are reserved for serious crimes including aggravated murder and kidnapping, but the political elite is divided over whether or not to retain it. A woman visits a makeshift memorial for a girl who was attacked to death Monday by a knife-wielding assailant outside a subway station in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP) Parliament says it will on Thursday a review of a bill that would ensure those convicted of killing children under 12 are given the death penalty, or at least a life sentence in the case of severe mental illness. I am deeply saddened by the case... (the suspect) should be sentenced to death in the case of a stranger killing a child, said lawmaker Wang Yu-min, who proposed the bill. Childrens welfare group the White Rose Social Care Association is planning to hold a rally in Taipei on April 10 to push for enforcement of capital punishment. This kind of random killing shows that Taiwan cannot afford to abolish the death penalty, said chairwoman Eva Liang. The girls mother, however, urged the public not to discuss the issue to allow the family time to grieve. If you are concerned about us or have sympathy, please respect us... I dont wish to see such discussions at the time being, she told reporters outside a funeral home, also asking people not to circulate photos of the girls body. Stop beating A woman prays in front of a makeshift memorial offered with flowers and stuffed animals for a girl who was attacked to death Monday by a knife-wielding assailant outside a subway station in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP) Television footage Monday showed dozens of angry people gathered outside a police station in Taipei where the suspect was being held. Some attacked the man as he was being transferred to the prosecutors office for questioning. He pleaded with them to stop beating. Others came to lay flowers and toys at the spot where the girl was killed and her family held a religious ceremony for her there. President-elect Tsai Ing-wen who will take office on May 20, also went to the scene to lay flowers. This incident deals a big blow to Taiwans society. Many Taiwanese people are saddened and feel insecure... We should work together so parents dont have to worry and children can grow up safely, she said. Keeping up with the Joneses may decrease fertility, according to a new study. A new mathematical model developed by researchers from Emory University revealed that fertility drops as competition for social status goes up. Paul Hooper, an anthropologist at Emory University, said that the latest findings support real world scenarios in both modern and hunter-gatherer societies. "The areas were we see the greatest declines in fertility are areas with modern labor markets that have intense competition for jobs and an overwhelming diversity of consumer goods available to signal well-being and social status," said Hooper. "The fact that many countries today have so much social inequality - which makes status competition more intense - may be an important part of the explanation." "Our model shows that as competition becomes more focused on social climbing, as opposed to just putting food on the table, people invest more in material goods and achieving social status, and that affects how many children they have," Hooper explained. Hooper and his team note that fertility has gone down globally , and factors like access to birth control, higher education and lower child mortality rates are "insufficient" when it comes to explaining recent statistics. "While these factors are very important they are insufficient to explain the drops in family sizes that we are seeing," said Hooper Hooper and his team said the latest findings can also be seen in modern hunter-gatherer societies. "In a hunter-gatherer society, parents have a limited number of things available to invest in: Food, clothing and shelter," said Hooper. "The average Tsimane family has nine children and they can provide these basic needs for all of them." However, the size of Tsimane families tends to become smaller the closer they are to Spanish-speaking towns and come into contact with market economies and industrialized products. "When they start getting earnings for the first time, they spend money on things you wouldn't really expect, like an expensive wristwatch or a nylon backpack for a child attending school, instead of sending them with a traditional woven bag," Hooper said. "I got the impression that these things were largely symbolic of their social status and competence." Researchers said that the latest findings are important because they show how prioritizing prestige and social standing can hurt society. "The human species is highly social and, as a result, we appear to have an ingrained desire for social standing," Hooper concluded. "The problem is that our brains evolved in a radically different environment from that of the modern world. Evolution didn't necessarily train us very well for the almost infinite size of our communities, the anonymity of many of our interactions and the vast numbers of goods that we can use to signal our status. Our evolved psychology may be misfiring and causing us to overinvest in social standing." The findings are published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Alaska's Pavlof Volcano recently began erupting in the Aleutian Island chain, 592 miles southwest of the city of Anchorage. It has been an active one in general. This volcano erupted more than 40 times in the history of measuring such geological action, and is one of the Aleutian Arc's most active volcanoes. Pavlof is covered in snow and ice, and is located on an arc of active and dormant volcanoes that extends into the Alaskan mainland and for the length of the Aleutian Island chain. It is a stratovolcano - meaning one that is built of alternating layers of lava and ash. During the current eruption, ash flew 37,000 feet into the air, and Alaska Airlines canceled 10 flights out of Anchorage and their return legs. Mud flow is likely on the flanks of the volcano. HNGN recently spoke with scientist Jessica F. Larsen, who is a professor of volcanology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and acting coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), focusing right now on Pavlof. Pavlof has erupted over 40 times. When was its first eruption recorded? Were previous eruptions clustered in time, and if so, how? I think, probably, the most interesting time period for Pavlof eruptions is the "historical" time period, stretching back to the early 1800s. The first confirmed historical eruption occurred in 1817, as described in a report from the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University and NOAA. There was an earlier eruption. Have you been expecting the current one for some time? The last prior eruption period from Pavlof was in 2014. A period of time from May 31, 2014 to June 25, 2014, involved ash clouds to 22,000 feet above sea level on June 2. Then again, in November of that year, an eruption started Nov. 12 and escalated to ash clouds [of] 25,000 to 30,000 feet on Nov. 15-16. That eruption subsided by Nov. 25. The current eruption began Sunday, March 27, just before 4 p.m. AKDT, with an abrupt onset, and sharply increased with accompanying seismicity. Although this event was surprising given the lack of a warning sign in terms of precursory seismicity, Pavlof Volcano is so frequently active I would not say it was totally unexpected. How many volcanoes in the Aleutians are consistently active? There are 52 active volcanoes in Alaska. We have on average one to three eruptions per year (in approximately 25 years on record). Does your work involve keeping tabs on all Aleutian volcanic activity? How long have you been doing that yourself, and does it include monitoring all seismology too? I work with the Alaska Volcano Observatory through the UAF Geophysical Institute partner agency. I have worked for AVO since summer 1997, almost 19 years now. The AVO collectively monitors activity from 27 volcanoes, meaning those volcanoes have some level of seismic monitoring. The remainder are observed using remote methods, including satellite remote sensing and infrasound activity. Infrasound is detection of sound waves emanating from volcanoes, typically in the form of explosions. Is the community of Cold Bay, 37 miles from Pavlof, ever affected by its eruptions? Depending on the direction of the wind, it is possible for ash fall to impact Cold Bay from Pavlof Volcano. There is a record of ash impacting Cold Bay to some extent during 2014, and I provide a link to an article about it. Is there anything else you'd like to say about Pavlof or the Aleutian volcanoes in general? Many people living outside of Alaska know maybe a little about our volcanoes, or the fact that we have so many active volcanoes. But, I am not sure it is well-known that we have 52 active volcanoes and an average eruption rate of one to three per year. Also, there are approximately 50,000 people in commercial airliners traversing the North Pacific air routes (typically from North America to Asia). So, apart from the ground-based hazards to Alaskan residents typically from ash fall, aviation safety concern here is a large issue, and Alaska Volcano Observatory fulfills an important public safety mission for people living near our active volcanoes as well as regional, national and international air traffic. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. It might be quite entertaining to watch Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Ted Cruz fling mud at each other. It might even be just as entertaining to see how the two candidates attempt to outdo the other when it comes to immigration. As entertaining as it is to watch, however, it seems like other world leaders are not very amused. In an interview last Sunday, America's top diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, stated that the ongoing proposals put forward by the GOP presidential hopefuls about banning Muslims from immigrating to the U.S. and increasing the surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods are an "embarrassment" to American politics. According to Kerry, the strong rhetoric, as much as it is effective to sway the viewpoints of voters, have started to alarm world leaders. "Everywhere I go, every leader I meet, they ask about what is happening in America. They cannot believe it. I think it is fair to say they're shocked. It upsets people's sense of equilibrium about our steadiness, about our reliability. It's clear to me that what's happening is an embarrassment to our country," Kerry said. Though the diplomat did not specifically call out any of the Republican candidates, it is quite simple to figure out which among the GOP candidates have alarmed foreign leaders. After all, Republican candidate Donald Trump and his rival, Ted Cruz, have both issued bold proposals when it comes to handling immigration-related issues. Last December, Republican front-runner Donald Trump proposed to fully ban Muslims from entering the United States. Though Trump stated that the ban would be temporary, it nonetheless invited much criticism from numerous advocates. Apart from banning Muslims from entering the country, Trump also expressed his desire to bring back torture as a means of interrogation for suspected terrorists. Speaking of the deadly terror attacks on Brussels, Trump said that torturing one of the captured suspected terrorists might have resulted in information that could have prevented the attack. Not to be outdone by his rival, Ted Cruz also suggested that law enforcement must assertively increase their patrols on Muslim neighborhoods in order to prevent them from being radicalized. Of course, such rhetoric has triggered massive criticism from the candidates' critics, as well as apprehension among Muslims in the United States. Considering Kerry's statement, the criticism extends far beyond the borders of the United States. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In his recent state visit to Cuba, U.S. President Barack Obama urged the Caribbean nation to help rebuild the ties that were lost during the Cold War. In one of his notable addresses in the country, the U.S. president declared that it is now time for both Cuba and the United States to put aside their differences and move forward in peace and cooperation. It was an address that the current Cuban president, Raul Castro fully embraced. For the numerous citizens of the Caribbean nation, the U.S. president's visit signified the possibility of the countries being able to finally reach an accord with each other. For former president and iconic communist leader Fidel Castro, however, Obama's visit was not so impressive. In fact, in a column published in Granma, the official news publication of Cuba's communist party, on Monday, Castro criticized Obama's visit for being an attempt to "sweet-talk" the people of Cuba. The former president also urged the country to be very wary of the "olive branch" that the U.S. extended though Obama's state visit. Simply put, Castro's long opinion piece implied that there is simply too much history between Cuba and the United States. So much history, in fact, that simply throwing aside all differences in the past today would seem like a betrayal of the very principles Cuba's communist regime fought for in the past. "I suppose all of us were at risk of a heart attack upon hearing these words from the President of the United States. After a ruthless blockade that has lasted almost 60 years, and what about those who have died in the mercenary attacks on Cuban ships and ports, an airliner full of passengers blown up in midair, mercenary invasions, multiple acts of violence and coercion?" Castro wrote. Castro further urged his people to deny the "illusion" painted by Obama during his visit, as well as the possibilities of aid being given by the United States to the Caribbean nation. For the communist leader, Cuba does not need any help from America, as it is capable of standing on its own. "I also warn that we are capable of producing the food and material riches we need with the efforts and intelligence of our people. We do not need the empire to give us anything. Our efforts will be legal and peaceful, as this is our commitment to peace and fraternity among all human beings who live on this planet," Castro concluded. Despite the fiery reproach from the former Cuban president, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the Obama administration actually welcomes Castro's words. "The fact that the former president felt compelled to respond so forcefully to the president's visit, I think is an indication of the significant impact of President Obama's visit to Cuba," Earnest said. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Massive rockfalls send giant slabs of granite rock tumbling to the ground in California's Yosemite National Park about 60 to 70 times per year. What's surprising is that 15 percent of these events happen on sunny days with no sign of rain or seismic activity. This, researchers say, has remained a long-standing geological puzzle - until now. Yosemite's iconic granite cliffs formed as layers of rock peeled away from the mountainside. These precarious attachments, known to geologists as "exfoliations," fall at a rate of one a week, on average. Generally they are triggered by an earthquake, heavy precipitation or freeze-thaw cycles that cause water trapped in a fissure to freeze, expand, and gradually wedge open a crack. From time to time, however, slabs of rocks spontaneously fall down. To learn more about what causes Yosemite's mysterious rockfalls, Brian Collins, a geological engineer from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a mountain climber, worked with Yosemite National geologist Greg Stock to monitor the granite cliffs. They found that repeated day-to-night changes in temperature causes the rocks to eventually separate from the cliffs. The study "is a very important piece of work that brings a new kind of life to rocky landscapes," said Jeffrey Moore, a geologist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. "A 1-centimeter deflection over the course of a day is not trivial." For the study, researchers installed strain gauges and crackmeters to measure overall changes in length at three spots along a 19-meter-long and 4-meter-wide slab, which has its top and bottom edges barely attached to a south facing cliff in the park. From May 2010 through October 2013, Collins and Stock measured the deformations present in the granite slab every five minutes. Looking a little like a scissor jack, the researchers' crackmeter recorded any movement in the crack, which changed from hour to hour and day to day, sometimes by as much as 0.4 inch in a day. Weather conditions including sunlight intensity, humidity, and air temperature were also taken into consideration. Researchers found that as the temperature rises from morning to afternoon, the thin outer layer of rock heats up and moves ever so slightly away from the cliff, then contracts as the evening cools. "Every day we found this movement," Stock said. "On top of that, there's a seasonal signal." In other words, the slab would progressively expand outward in the summer and inward in the winter, slowly opening the crack from year to year. This constant back and forth movement inevitably destabilizes the slab, causing it to eventually reach its breaking point. "We think that this process...is probably happening almost everywhere in Yosemite Valley and this process can account for these otherwise mysterious rockfalls that are occurring on these warm, clear days when you wouldn't expect a rockfall to happen," Stock added. Their study was recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. After spending a month in beta, Samsung officially launched its mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, in China. The launch comes a month after the official launch of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay's biggest rival, in the region. What is particularly interesting is the fact that Samsung's partner in China, financial giant UnionPay, is the same firm that is partnered with Apple's mobile payments system. According to Samsung, up to 10 UnionPay credit and debit cards could be loaded on a mobile device. For now, only select Samsung flagship handsets support Samsung Pay in China, with only the company's latest offerings, namely the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S6 Edge+ and Note 5, being able to support the mobile payments system. However, Samsung has hinted at the possibility of past flagships and other mid-range devices such as the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, A5, A7 and A9, also being included in the list of officially supported devices in the near future. Rooted devices would, of course, be automatically excluded from the list of supported devices, regardless of model. Samsung Pay's launch in China includes support for nine banks across the massive country, including China CITIC Bank, China Construction Bank, China Everbright Bank, China Guangfa Bank, China Minsheng Banking, China Merchants Bank, Hua Xia Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Ping An Bank. Samsung further announced that support for the Bank of China, Bank of Beijing, Bank of Communications, China Bohai Bank, Industrial Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank would be added to the mobile payments system soon. Injong Rhee, Samsung's executive vice president and head of R&D, is extremely optimistic about the possibilities that are being opened by the launch of Samsung Pay in China. "The reception of Samsung Pay since its launch has been extremely positive and the service has already seen tremendous success in terms of availability and adoption by consumers," Rhee said. "In compliance with national laws and regulations, thanks to cooperating with CUP and many banks, we ultimately want to make Samsung Pay available to as many consumers as possible in China, so that everyone can have the opportunity to enjoy the simplicity, safety and convenience of this mobile payment solution." Prior to the entry of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, China's mobile payment market had been dominated by homegrown systems such as Alipay and WeChat. Through the years, the market has grown significantly, with an astounding $2.8 trillion worth of transactions being processed through mobile payment systems last year. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sleep is a serious matter for some. Interrupting it is a grave offense and those who are found guilty of the act can find themselves on the receiving end of some harsh - albeit unfair - punishment. Unfortunately, two Pennsylvania roosters had to learn this lesson the hard way. Two roosters made the mistake of waking up a woman up one morning and she responded by killing them, prompting police to charge her with animal cruelty. The situation played out several weeks ago when 21-year-old Jenna Caso was sleeping inside a home in Ashland and heard the roosters crowing just after 6 a.m. In response, armed with a pistol, she walked outside where the two had wandered and shot them each three times. When asked by a witness why she shot the birds, she responded, "they woke me up," before going back inside her home - presumably to go back to sleep. A bizarre act turned tragic, however, because the two roosters were viewed as members of the community. Tony Loftus a worker at the local Pioneer Tunnel coal mine noted how the two roosters were actually brothers who had been donated to the tunnel a year ago after the rooster and hen who came before them, Big Red and Ann-Thracite, died of natural causes. They soon became a tourist attraction as they would often be heard doing their iconic crow at sunrise or seen roaming the area together. For him, his fondest memories were the two roosters following him down into the mines when he opened up as well as hearing them crow in the morning. "Normally, when I come in the morning to fire up the steam locomotive, the roosters would be crowing when the sun comes up. I know I will probably miss that," Loftus said. Locals outside of the tunnel mirrored that sorrow, labelling Caso's acts as "extreme." "They seemed to be like farm animals," said resident Samantha Kinkaid, who saw the roosters often and, like nearly everyone else, viewed them as part of the community. "They never bothered anybody. I never heard of them attacking anybody. They seemed pretty friendly." As a result of the shooting, local police charged Caso with misdemeanor animal cruelty and reckless endangerment. She now faces a preliminary hearing May 4. Authorities noted that no one, not even Caso herself, had complained about the roosters before then, making the shooting even more upsetting for the community. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A nurse from upstate New York has surrendered her medical license after pleading guilty to taking a snapshot of an unconscious patient's penis with her iPhone. The surrendering of the license comes as part of a plea deal in which she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disseminating of unlawful surveillance photos. According to court documents, Kristen Johnson, 27, was found guilty of disseminating unlawful surveillance photos on at least two occasions. The first came March 2, 2014, when she used her iPhone 5 to take a video of another nurse cleaning an incapacitated female patient's gastrointestinal blood clot. The second came several months later, Aug. 4, when Johnson used the same phone to photograph an incapacitated male patient's genitals. The investigation into the acts began when Johnson's co-workers at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse complained that she captured images of two patients and sent them via text message. Acting off that tip, police seized her computer and found the photo and video stored within. Records indicate that one co-worker told police that Johnson pointed her phone at her while she was cleaning the blood before sending the video to the other nurse's phone. Overall, the investigation lasted nine months and culminated in an arrest in May 2015. Johnson was charged with two counts of felony second-degree unlawful surveillance and one count of second-degree disseminating unlawful surveillance, a felony. Appearing in court in November, she plead guilty to charges and declined to argue against allegations that she is morally unfit for practice. "Kristen A. Johnson; Registered Professional Nurse; Fulton, NY 13069; Lic. No. 623118; Cal. No. 28576; Application to surrender license granted. Summary: Licensee did not contest the charge of moral unfitness in the practice," the New York State Education Department's Board of Regents announced. Her guilty plea reduced the initial felony charge, allowing her to serve three years probation instead. At the time of her arrest, Darryl Geddes, an Upstate University Hospital spokesman, stated that Johnson was no longer working for the hospital. It's unclear if she will be able to get her license once her three year probation is over. Even if she does, it's unlikely that she will be allowed to work at Upstate University Hospital again. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Although NASA doesn't plan on putting humans on Mars until the 2030s, they are still aiming to put the first "lander" on the Red Planet in 2018 in order to get a better idea of its atmosphere and physical characteristics and fill in the current gaps in our knowledge of the planet. "There are lot of things about Mars we do not know," said Larry James, deputy director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We seek to know the interior of the plant, penetrate the ground for up to 10 meters or more, do a follow-up on the next rover in 2020 and check the samples on the surface." "The current experiments are to check whether there was ever any life on Mars," he added. "After putting the man on Mars, humanity has to decide what to do next. It is going to be an international collaborative effort as individually we can't do it. We have about 10 projects." NASA will launch the Interior Exploration using the Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander on May 5, 2018, with a planned landing on Mars scheduled for Nov. 26 of the same year. The spacecraft's original 2016 launch was ruined by a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument, which was fixed through the reworking of the seismometer's vacuum container. Despite this setback, the agency is committed to its current 2018 launch date. "The science goals of InSight are compelling, and the NASA and CNES plans to overcome the technical challenges are sound," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "The quest to understand the interior of Mars has been a longstanding goal of planetary scientists for decades. We're excited to be back on the path for a launch, now in 2018." Mars is of great interest to scientists working in the field of planetary exploration because "it has more to offer, it is closer, more earth-like than the moon, has atmosphere to make oxygen and lots of potential," according to James. NASA is currently conducting joint projects with firms in Spain, Israel and India in order to create propulsion systems, spacecraft and radars, among other technologies, for the mission. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Australia's largest privately owned hotel management company StayWell Hospitality Group (SWHG) today announced the signing of a management agreement to open and operate the company's first Park Regis properties in Makkah Saudi Arabia. Expected to open in the second quarter of 2018, the remarkable two hotels boast 286 and 344 guest rooms respectively (630 rooms in total). This Park Regis development will be one of the latest openings for the fast growing international brand which has a presence in Australia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, India, United Kingdom and Indonesia. StayWell Hospitality Group CEO Mr Simon Wan said that formalising the management agreement for the hotels is a strategic move for the Sydney based company in entering the established Saudi Arabia market to grow its presence in the Middle East further. "These two unique hotels will offer guests superb dining options as well as deluxe accommodation within walking distance to the Grand Mosque in Makkah. "The hotels are targeting to open in time for the 2018 Hajj and will welcome guests for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah visitors in this religious destination. We are looking forward to both hotels complementing our existing Park Regis Kris Kin and our upcoming Park Regis Business Bay hotel, located in Dubai. We are also actively looking for further opportunities to expand our network in the Middle East," he said. The owner's representative Riyad Alhoraibi said "Discussions on the Park Regis Makkah hotels first started at ATM 2015 and over the ensuing months the relationship developed culminating in the signing of agreement for the two properties just weeks before the 2016 ATM." "We are delighted to be able to offer guests a range of accommodation in Ibrahim Al Khalil Street within walking distance from the Haram." The opening of the Park Regis Makkah hotels will bring the StayWell Hospitality Group's portfolio to 31 hotels worldwide and 4 in the region and a step closer to the group's strategic objective of expanding its portfolio to 100 hotels within three years. For more information on StayWell Hospitality Group visit www.staywellgroup.com About StayWell Based in Sydney Australia, StayWell Hospitality Group operates two high profile hotel brands - Park Regis and Leisure Inn. StayWell has a growing international hotel network now numbering 32 properties across Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, India, the United Kingdom, and United Arab Emirates. The company is privately owned by three stakeholders - Simon Wan (CEO and Managing Director), Richard Doyle (Executive Director and Corporate Counsel), and Bal Sohal (Non-Executive Director). StayWell has a defined strategy to grow its portfolio within three years to a network of more than 100 hotels across Australia, South East Asia, India, China and Europe. Hina Bakht MPJ + 971 50 6975146 StayWell 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 Microtel Inn, Kalamazoo, Michigan Edward Walsh, President of Alpine Realty Capital, LLC has facilitated the recent sale of the Microtel Inn located at 5597 S. 9th Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The 75-key economy hotel was opened in 2012 in close proximity to I-94 on the west side of Kalamazoo. Edward Walsh, President of Alpine Realty Capital, LLC and member of Hotel Brokers International, has facilitated the recent sale of the Microtel Inn located at 5597 S. 9th Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The 75-key economy hotel was opened in 2012 in close proximity to I-94 on the west side of Kalamazoo and is well positioned along the growth corridor west of Kalamazoo. According to the Broker, the property is in excellent condition and will need very little in immediate capital. The Kalamazoo market has long been a very consistent performer with limited new construction, allowing the Microtel to continue to make revenue gains, said Mr. Walsh. Alpine solicited Buyers in an off-market process, but was able to utilize the substantial resources of Hotel Brokers International to identify prospective Buyers capable of completing the transaction. Ed Walsh is President and Principal Broker of Alpine Realty Capital an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based brokerage firm specializing in hotel asset investment, valuation, financing, marketing and transaction. Mr. Walsh's professional career spans more than 25 years in the lodging industry. He has held numerous positions in consulting, valuation, and for the most recent years as a hospitality real estate and mortgage broker, founding Alpine Realty Capital in 2007. His expertise includes providing services regarding all phases of development, from site selection and acquisition to feasibility analysis and appraisal, and from mortgage financing to construction cost analysis. In all, Mr. Walsh has provided real estate consulting and/or transaction services for more than $1 billion worth of hospitality real estate assets. Mr. Walsh is a frequent speaker at lodging industry conferences and is a member of the Advisory Council to The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University. Founded in 1959, Hotel Brokers International members lead the industry in hotel real estate sales. HBI hotel brokerage specialists have successfully negotiated more than 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: Ed Walsh, President Alpine Realty Capital, LLC Phone 734.372.7130 ewalsh@alpinerealtycapital.com Glenda J. Webb, Managing Director Hotel Brokers International Phone 816.505.4315 gwebb@hbihotels.com The Painful Truth About Hotel Website SEO You are a director of sales and marketing overseeing all day-to-day activities for your property, maybe several properties, from meeting/group sales to Trip Advisor reviews and website promos. It all falls on you. Then one day, your GM calls and says, I just did a Google search for Miami Hotels and we dont come up anywhere. What are we paying that hotel website company for? You immediately go online to do more searches and panic ensues. You start to think, what ARE you paying them for? Arent they supposed to be handling all of that Google stuff? Why isnt your hotel on the first results page for all of those non-branded keywords? Why is everything so different on Mobile? The answer is that everything youve expected or known about search engine optimization for hotels up until the last year is now obsolete. Even if youve invested thousands of dollars into your SEO efforts to have your website successfully rank on page one of Google for Miami Hotels, you may never see your website show up on page one, let alone see a measurable ROI. So how do you answer your GM and hold your Hotel SEO firm accountable? Its time to redefine your KPIs when it comes to search, and face some of the harsh realities of SEO for the hotel industry. Problem 1: Google Has Commercialized Its Results Pages Summary: In 2015, Google reduced its maps or places results from displaying a 7-Pack to a 3-Pack, only showing three Hotels with a thumbnail image and Googles own commercialized meta-tool. Hotel Price Ads (HPA) may lead a consumer to book via Google or with one of their OTA advertising partners. And recently, Google made further, MAJOR layout changes to its SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), especially for broad search queries like Miami Hotels or Hotels in Times Square. As a result, natural/organic search listings have now been pushed further down the pages and are seeing a reduction in organic click-throughs, and even less traffic on mobile devices. Solutions: While you cannot control the search engines giant layout or where your listing is displayed in the SERPs, you do have some control on what information is being populated: Claim your propertys Name and Place (NAP) and make it consistent across all platforms from Google Plus to Yelp. Make sure your Google Plus page is verified and links directly back to your hotels website. Services like Yext or Moz Local can help you manage all of these in one simple platform. Other services like Whitespark can assist with citation cleanup or updating any listing on the web that has your propertys business name, physical address and phone number, in addition to helping build safe, credible backlinks. Control the images you display across the online universe with image parity software like ICE Portal or VFM Leonardo. This will help clean up images of your hotel across the web, including the OTAs. Target answers not keywords. A recent study revealed that 15 percent of Googles 3.5 Billion daily searches were questions or queries that the search engine has never seen before! Hotel websites need to target long tail search queries by adding content that answers a travelers questions and provides information about the destination or the experience guests will have. Dont be afraid to promote local businesses or restaurants; not everything on the site can be self-serving. A hotel site is more likely to rank for long tail queries that have less competition and will see a rise in user engagement. Quality website traffic over quantity! Utilize a content mapping and interlinking strategy. What page does your website user visit most before they book? Is there a pattern in the sequence of the pages they visit before entering the booking engine? Once you identify the most relevant pages on your hotels website, analyze the typical users journey to complete a booking. This path report can be pulled from Google Analytics. Content mapping ensures that the content on those pages, and the text links within the site copy, are interlinked properly, making it easier for the user to find the information they are looking for in addition to passing signals to Google about what content is most related and important. Problem 2: Increased Competition for Your Own Hotel Name Summary: Googles Hotel Price Ads and Instant Booking products have made it harder than ever for hotels to get traffic from their own brand name. TripAdvisor, big brands and the OTAs have always out-muscled individual hotel websites for popular non-branded keyword searches (ie: Miami hotels). But in 2015, new paid advertising products emerged, making the search engine marketing space even more competitive for individual properties. Last year, Google introduced its Instant Booking model alongside its Hotel Price Ads module. Online users now have the option to view rates from all OTAs or book with Google directly from the SERP page, without ever having to actually visit a hotel or OTA website! Properties are paying approximately 10-12 percent commission to Google for the instant booking feature and anywhere from $1.00-$4.00 cost per click (CPC) to have their rate listed alongside the OTAs on Googles Hotel Price Ads module. You can read more about how Googles products work on their official websearch blog. But here is a simple visual breakdown of Googles new page structure: Solutions: Dominate the SERP by combining PAID and Organic Search Efforts. Consider having your PPC and SEO teams working side by side to implement tactics like Review or Ad Extensions and Event Schemas to take up as much real estate as possible on a page for brand related search queries. If budget permits, participate in Meta Search Advertising or Hotel Ads, but be sure that the hotel rates are in parity! Add alternative tags to all of the propertys images and with the hotels name to influence branded image results. Invest in having unique content in other places that have direct links back to your website from authoritative places like Wikipedia, Youtube, etc. Refresh the websites title tags and header tags if you notice click-through rates on your organic results are decreasing. Use strong language in your sites title tags and meta descriptions like book direct or official hotel website. Check back next week for Part 2 of Painful Truths about Hotel SEO About Tambourine Tambourine uses technology and creativity to increase revenue for hotels and destinations worldwide. The firm, now in its 30th year, is located in New York City and Fort Lauderdale. Please visit: www.Tambourine.com Two student teams' presentations were so strong that the judges in the Cornell Hospitality Business Plan Competition declared a tie. Both teams will be awarded the first-place prize money of $25,000, the largest prize package on campus specifically for current Cornell University students. The co-winners in the 2016 edition of the competition are Team Last Second Beach and Team Maidbot. Team Chill won third place, with a prize of $5,000. A total of five student teams, which have been working on their plans for the entire academic year, presented their business concepts to a judging panel of entrepreneurs. The competition was held during the annual student-run event, Hotel Ezra Cornell. Team Last Second Beach plans to offer a mobile app that aggregates and presents the best options for travelers seeking to take short beach vacations such as all-inclusive resorts and cruises, thereby fulfilling consumers' needs and giving distributors a targeted, low-cost distribution channel. Aimed at hotel operations, Maidbot is a robotic vacuum cleaner that would speed room turnaround by assisting room attendants in cleaning rooms and public spaces. Team Chill's plan is for a chain of Italian ice shops allowing for personal self-service customization. The teams are composed of primarily students at the School of Hotel Administration. Students from other colleges including the Johnson School, the ILR School, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the College of Engineering also participated in the competition. The winning teams are: Last Second Beach: Owen Buehler ENG '16, Zach Demuth MMH '16, Harrison Goldstein ENG '18, and Khalid Ladha MMH '16; Maidbot: Alex Levy SHA '18; and Chill: Hanna Basra SHA '17, Joseph Bell SHA '17, W. Spenser Cardenas SHA '17, and David Luo SHA'17. The Hospitality Business Plan Competition is part of the experiential learning programs of the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the School of Hotel Administration (SHA). This years' total of over $35,000 in prizes is the largest yet for the competition. The purpose of the competition is to educate the student teams and give them experience in conceptualizing, researching, and articulating a business idea, all skills they will need to successfully launch a business. Throughout the competition, SHA faculty advise the student teams, as do the members of the institute's extensive entrepreneurship network. In determining the top concepts, judges considered factors such as whether the target market size for the concept is sufficiently large and attractive for the company to eventually reach scale, and whether the proposed business model makes sense, so that the company can actually make money. The final presentations had to be clearly articulated and supported with data relating to potential demand and market barriers. The competition is supported by gifts from the title sponsor, Stephen Thomson '82, and the originating sponsor, the Sun Family, Stanley '00 and his parents Dennis and Betty. Additional sponsors include platinum sponsors Greg Dollarhyde '80, MBA '81, Hersha Hospitality Trust, and Marriott International; and silver sponsors Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud '00 and Barbara Foote Shingleton '75. The purpose of the Cornell Hospitality Business Plan Competition is to provide an experiential learning opportunity to rising entrepreneurs and assist them in developing a professional business plan in the hospitality industry. The process involves direct interaction with experienced entrepreneurs and venture capital and equity investors. Since the genres beginnings, rappers have had tumultuous relations with police. As there has been a renewed focus on police brutality over the past couple of years specifically with regard to the black community, its clear that police relations with rappers, even of the most successful variety, have not improved either. Their success may afford them worthy lawyers, but it has also made them targets of police officers looking for high-profile arrests. Here are five incidents, all within the past year, that rappers have been unjustly targeted by police. Offset Arrested for a Bogus Parking Ticket Offset spent nearly eight months of last year in jail, for charges of drugs and weapons possession stemming from an arrest made last April during a concert at Georgia Southern University. Quavo and Takeoff were also arrested, though they were soon released, unlike Offset, who was denied bond due to his past record. Offset had to accept a plea deal in order to gain release in December, and earlier this month, he was arrested again this time, for no reason at all. Apparently he was pulled over for having tinted windows and police then handcuffed him and put him in jail for allegedly not having paid an old traffic ticket. Upon his release, for which he posted $1900 bail, it was soon reported that he had indeed paid for that ticket, and thus, the entire arrest took place on false grounds. Quavo recently denied that Offset would be pursuing legal action against the police force, but anyone whos never been to jail should realize the egregiousness of locking someone in a cell on baseless charges. Especially someone who had just been in there for eight months. Blac Youngsta Arrested at an Atlanta Wells Fargo While on a recent trip to Atlanta, Memphis rapper Blac Youngsta decided that he wanted a new Benz, and he soon went to a local Wells Fargo to take out the necessary paper: $200,000. A bold move, no doubt, and many police cars soon stormed the surrounding parking lot and arrested Youngsta outside of the bank. There had been a fraudulent check cashed for $24,000 at the same Wells Fargo, and cops believed that Youngsta matched the suspects description, i.e. he was black. It turns out, Youngsta had never cashed a check at Wells Fargo (he doesnt believe in checks), and though this isnt on the cops Wells Fargo released a statement claiming that Youngsta never had an account with the bank, which the CMG rapper soon proved to be untrue. Youngsta smartly cut his ties with Wells Fargo in favor of a new account with Bank of America, and though he was never charged and was eventually given back the money that was rightfully his, that doesnt make up for being pinned down against the asphalt of a public parking lot and getting handcuffed in broad daylight for again no reason at all. LOOK AT HOW THEY TREAT A YOUNG RICH NIGGA #CMG A photo posted by Blac Youngsta (@blacyoungstafb) on Jan 8, 2016 at 3:08pm PST Kevin Gates Escorted out of Mall by 7 Officers Late last year, Kevin Gates and his BWA crewmate OG Boobie Black were escorted out of a mall by at least seven police officers for reasons that are still unclear. He posted a short video of the officers demanding that he leave to his Instagram. No matter what I always conduct myself as a gentleman, he wrote in the posts caption. Several officers to escort a man one showing no signs of resistance out of a shopping mall? Big up to Gates for handling the situation in such a composed manner. Hes likely dealt with similar unjust scenarios many times before. Me and @ogboobieblack_bwa were kicked out the mall for apparently no reason no matter What I always conduct myself as a gentleman Silence May peace be upon you all A video posted by Kevin Gates (@iamkevingates) on Dec 12, 2015 at 6:01pm PST Snoop Dogg Forced to Submit to Drug Test in Sweden Last summer, while on a tour of E.U., Snoop Dogg proved that America isnt the only country in which racial profiling exists. On both sides of the Atlantic, unchecked power leads to corruption. After performing a concert in a small college town in Sweden, he was pulled over, put in a police car, and taken to the station, where he was forced to pee in a cup. They didnt find anything and Snoop was eventually let go, though the incident certainly ruined his visit to the beautiful Nordic country. Safe to say he wont be back. A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Jul 26, 2015 at 12:58am PDT Ftp . On mamas !! A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Jul 26, 2015 at 6:38am PDT Ftp A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Jul 26, 2015 at 6:43am PDT On my mamas im sick and tired of the pigs. N America n these countries that jus dont respect us fuck that new me new u u do we do 2 A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Jul 26, 2015 at 6:46am PDT Message to my fans n fam !! A video posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Jul 26, 2015 at 6:50am PDT Young Thug Arrested for Terroristic Threats Young Thug made sensational headlines last summer when he was arrested on charges of terroristic threats. Thats right, the police force in the small town of Dunwoody, GA tried to paint our beloved Thugger as a terrorist. The cops werent the ones who raided his home and took him to jail, though; instead, they handed that duty over to the U.S. Marshals. The arrest was made without incident, meaning that the Marshals were able to search Thugs property, and they ended up finding drugs and weapons, adding both of those charges on top the initial one for terrorism. They even seized all of his computers and studio equipment, though, luckily, his trusty engineer, Alex Tumay, had made backups of his most important work. It was soon discovered that Thug was initially charged for making a violent threat to a security guard who forced him to leave a mall for refusing to get off his hoverboard. His forced exit was likely akin to that of Kevin Gates, though regardless, threatening Paul Blart shouldnt lead to a full-on raid and unwarranted search of ones suburban home. As far as we know, Thug is still awaiting trial for the initial arrest as well as the possession charges. Hopefully the trial wont impeded upon his current winning streak. Fat Trel was reportedly arrested on Sunday morning after trying to use fake $50 bills while at a casino in Maryland. According to TMZ, the MMG rapper tried to use nine fake $50 bills to gamble with, but police were able to identify the fake money easily by the bills matching serial numbers. Trel was ultimately arrested and charged with possession of counterfeit currency. Trel decided to claim his innocence earlier today by saying the bills did NOT come from a 7-11 ATM machine as TMZ is reporting. Trel took to twitter to further explain his side of things, stating a fake promoter was part of the reason, and they he wont snitch about it. Check out the tweets below, and peep his mugshot in the gallery above. Well keep you posted if any more on this situation comes to light. Fat Trel Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. 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You have successfully verified the account Continue Hi your HR.com account is ready Your Profile completion: 30% Complete your profile Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 16-03-29 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. 58/16 29.03.2016 [A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS [01] Akinci argues that if a rational stance is not exhibited, the natural gas in Cyprus' EEZ could cause tension [02] Turkish Cypriot columnist emphasizes on Turkish side's double standards and intransigent policy on the Cyprus problem [03] Cavusoglu met with Kerry; They agreed that a Cyprus settlement is possible this year [04] Turkish Cypriot daily reveals details on the new "economic protocol" to be signed between Turkey and the occupation regime [05] Incentives to tourists arriving to Larnaka and crossing to the occupation regime [06] The occupation regime launched a campaign in Scandinavian countries to attract tourism [07] Turkey sent diplomatic note over foreign envoys attending journalists' trial [A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS [01] Akinci argues that if a rational stance is not exhibited, the natural gas in Cyprus' EEZ could cause tension Under the title "Akinci supported Turkey's stance", Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (29.03.16) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci has argued that the natural gas in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a possession for the future and if a rational stance is not exhibited, tension could be created regarding this issue. Noting that these things happened in the past, Akinci said that cautious behavior is needed in order for these things not to be repeated. In statements after his meeting yesterday with President Anastasiades within the framework of the Cyprus talks, Akinci said that the Greek Cypriots see the natural gas as a field of sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and added: "They think that they can do whatever they want on this issue, but we do not share this view. This wealth is a common property, a common wealth of the two communities?" Noting that the negotiations are continuing in an intensive manner, Akinci argued that "while we should concentrate all our energy here and create a field of cooperation by which everybody will benefit, no pretext should be given for new tensions and for turning the future common wealth into a tension today". We have concerns on this issue", he noted and said that he conveyed his concerns both to the UN and President Anastasiades, arguing that he did the right thing. He afterwards expressed the wish that this message is "correctly perceived". Referring to the issue of halloumi, Akinci recalled the agreement reached with the President of the EU Commission, Jean Claude Junker and added: "Halloumi is also a wealth of Cyprus. We also want it to belong only to the Cypriots with its geographic registration, but the Greek Cypriot Ministry of Agriculture is proposing some changes outside this understanding. This mistake should not be committed. The reached agreement should not be spoiled. We conveyed our concerns on this issue as well to Anastasiades". Akinci referred also to the issue of nine Roma families living in the government-controlled area of Cyprus which had reportedly been informed by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus that they should evacuate the house there are living in. Akinci said that he discussed the issue with the UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser for Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide and with President Anastasiades. He noted that he was told that the one of the families is currently staying at a hotel and when the house they were living is repaired, they will move there again. No procedure will be followed for the other eight families, said Akinci adding that the letters sent to them have been withdrawn and described the conclusion of the issue as satisfying. (I/Ts.) [02] Turkish Cypriot columnist emphasizes on Turkish side's double standards and intransigent policy on the Cyprus problem Under the title "Life does not stop in Morfou, but stops in Varosha", Turkish Cypriot columnist Sener Levent criticizes in daily Afrika newspaper (29.03.16) the Turkish side's double standards policy on the Cyprus problem. Levent refers to Turkey's reaction for the invitation of a new round of tenders in Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) recalling that Turkey argued that this cannot happen in a period during which negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem are continuing and that the tenders will dynamite the negotiations process. Referring to the Turkish stance on the issue of the return of occupied Morfou and the occupied fenced off city of Varosha to their legal owners, Levent points out the following: "When it suits you, you say 'we cannot stop life'. You do not wait for the solution. You build a new university in Morfou. Morfou is an issue of bargain on the table. However, you continue doing what you know saying 'life is continuing'. And on the other hand, you related Varosha to the comprehensive solution with a totally opposite understanding. Life continues in Morfou, but stopped in Varosha, is that so? It stopped in 1974. The watches are not functioning in Varosha. When it suits you, 'life continues' and when it does not suit you, life does not continue. We were curious about Mustafa Akinci's stance after Turkey's ultimatum to the Greek Cypriot side on the hydrocarbons issue. And behold, we found it out. There is no surprise. He did not surprise us. He did not say why Turkey interferes in Cyprus' natural gas and oil explorations in its own territorial waters. He did not say that Ankara is actually dynamiting the negotiations process. He did not say anything contrary to Ankara's statements. Look what he said: 'While the negotiations for the solution are continuing, we should concentrate all our energy here and create a field of cooperation by which everybody will benefit, no pretext should be given for new tensions. It was my duty to convey my concerns on this issue both to the UN and my interlocutor'. He said he conveyed to his interlocutor, that is, to Anastasiades. What he conveyed? Of course, Ankara's concerns. The first reaction to the new hydrocarbon tender came from Ankara, not from us. [?] If Ankara had not made such a statement, we would not have even thought about doing this... However, life continues dear Mustafa. You also said that life continues. We cannot stop life, can we? What did you say when a reaction came from the Greek Cypriot side to the construction of a new university in Morfou? Have you forgotten? Did you not say that 'we cannot stop life until a solution is reached'? E, if you cannot stop life, can the others stop it? Why the others should wait? Is Morfou not a common wealth for us, like the wealth in the sea? Moreover, as Ankara demands again, you do not intent to return Morfou. What is it if not a mentality of conqueror at the table to expect all the concessions to be made from the other side? What is the difference of this from Danktas' 'what is taken with blood cannot be returned at the table'? If there is a difference show it to us so that we also see it. During your election campaign you were continuously referring to Varosha. After you were elected, you forgot Varosha. You totally forgot it. The word Varosha is not even heart from your mouth. What happened to 'we cannot leave it to the snakes and centipedes to eat it'? Behold, we still continue leaving it [to these] to eat it. We have consumed one year with you. Come and let us count what we did not do, what we could not do within a year and not what we did. You will see that it is not very different than the past years. I do not want to destroy the hopes of those who have not stopped hoping in you. However, the fact that you could not exhibit a different stance from Ankara is not giving me hope for the period to come. We will not open Varosha. We will not give Morfou. We do not want too many Greeks among us. We will not abandon the guarantees. We will not abandon the population from Turkey. E, how a solution will be reached in this manner? If this is not legalization of the existing status quo, then what is it?" (I/Ts.) [03] Cavusoglu met with Kerry; They agreed that a Cyprus settlement is possible this year Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (29.03.16) reports that Turkey and the United States agreed on March 28 that a political settlement may be possible this year in Cyprus. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, and both diplomats were upbeat about chances for a deal. "We have also some good news from the eastern part of the Mediterranean, I mean Cyprus," Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by AFP to a group of reporters ahead of their meeting. "We are hoping to reach a settlement in Cyprus in 2016. Turkey's side is ready," he said, confirming for the first time that a deal is possible this year. Cavusoglu added that the Cyprus negotiation talks on the issue had slowed down during the preparations for May's legislative elections in "Greek Cyprus", as he called the Republic of Cyprus. "But after the elections we are hoping to reach a settlement and the United States is giving its full support to this process as well as Turkey", Cavusoglu added. On his turn, Kerry said that he "couldn't agree more". "We are very deeply committed to and involved in the talks on Cyprus," said Kerry, adding that both he and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had recently visited the island. "We have met with the folks on both sides as well as individual countries and we are going keep pushing very, very hard towards a resolution of the Cyprus crisis", Kerry added. [04] Turkish Cypriot daily reveals details on the new "economic protocol" to be signed between Turkey and the occupation regime Under the title: "This signature will be widely debated", Turkish Cypriot daily Havadis newspaper (29.03.16) reports that the clues about the content of the draft "structural reform economic protocol between Turkey and the "TRNC" for the years 2016-2018 has been leaked out to the public. According to the paper, the demands of the Turkish side include among others the abolishment of the "State planning organization" ("DPO"), the complete privatization of the "telecommunications and ports" in the "TRNC", and the privatization on the "transmission" of energy. The model being proposed, envisages the partnership of the "private-state" sectors under the model of build-operate-transfer (BOT). On the issue of "judiciary", Turkey has also demanded for the "judiciary o become more independent and transparent", writes the paper. The main surprise of the "new protocol", adds the paper is related with the "state planning organization" ("DPO"), since Turkey's demand is the lifting of the "organization" and the distribution of its duties to the "ministries". Also, a separate "department of Statistics and Planning" will be established under the "prime ministry", while the authorities for incentives funds will be transferred to the so-called ministry of economy. (AK) [05] Incentives to tourists arriving to Larnaka and crossing to the occupation regime Under the title: "Incentives to the tourists arriving to Larnaka", Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen (29.03.16) publishes exclusive statements by so-called tourism minister Faiz Sucuoglu, who has announced that in order to attract more tourists in the "TRNC", they will provide to all tourists arriving to the island at Larnaka and crossing to the "TRNC" for a specific period of time, the amount of 15 euro per person as an incentive. Supporting that their goal is to bring around 50,000 tourists in case that the problems exist with Larnaka on the issue of tourism are solved, Sucuoglu said that in order to achieve this, they will need 6 million TL in total as prims. Sucuoglu added that they are on talks on this issue at the moment and added that he will discuss the matter during his contacts in Ankara next week. Referring to the problems experienced by several tourists who arrive to Cyprus via Larnaka airport and they want to cross to the "TRNC", Sucuoglu said: "A tourist arriving to Larnaka, cannot cross to north Cyprus via buses. He can only come either with a taxi or with a mini bus. And he is charged with 100 or 200 TL extra". (AK) [06] The occupation regime launched a campaign in Scandinavian countries to attract tourism Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (29.03.16) under the title: "Promoting the TRNC in Scandinavia", reports that the "TRNC" has launched a "promoting campaign" to attract tourists from the Scandinavian countries. According to the paper, the tourism fair "Road Show" which is co-organized by the Turkish Airlines and the "tourism ministry" was inaugurated yesterday in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark. The fair will be opened for six days and afterwards it will continue to Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki. Tourist operators, hoteliers and representatives of the sector from several Scandinavian countries will attend the fair writes the paper, adding that efforts will be exerted by the "representatives" of the "TRNC" to attract tourists in the "country". The occupation regime is represented in the fair by "officials" of the "Turkish Cypriot travel agencies' union", the "director" of the Turkish Airlines in the occupation regime, and the "director" of the "ministry of tourism", Umit Ozkiran. In statements on the issue, "officials" from the "ministry of tourism" said that the Scandinavian countries are very important and that they will continue their efforts for attracting tourists from there. (AK) [07] Turkey sent diplomatic note over foreign envoys attending journalists' trial Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (28.03.16) reported that Turkey has sent a diplomatic note to the embassies of the eight Consuls General who attended the controversial trial of Cumhuriyet editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul, while the Presidential Spokesman and Justice Minister slammed the diplomats for intervening in Turkey's domestic affairs and judicial processes. Foreign Ministry officials said that the sharing on social media of photos at the trial by some diplomatic and consular representatives amounted to an intervention in an ongoing independent judicial process and is incompatible with the principle of impartiality. They said that Turkey's disturbance over the issue had been sent to the related country representatives. The announcement came after leading political figures including Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kal?n, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Consuls General from various countries as well as main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Deputies for attending the first hearing of the case on March 25 to show solidarity with Dundar and Gul, who were released on February 26 upon a Constitutional Court decision after 92 days in jail. Diplomats from several countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Italy and Poland attended the hearing where U.K. Consul-General in Istanbul Leigh Turner shared images from outside the courtroom and messages of support for the journalists on his official Twitter account. (?) 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 Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-29 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] No refugees and migrants arrived at Pireaus on Tuesday; 5,600 still remain at the port [01] No refugees and migrants arrived at Pireaus on Tuesday; 5,600 still remain at the port To practically null has been reduced on Tuesday the inflows of refugees and migrants to the port of Piraeus, since the two ferries "Ariadni" and "blue star 1" that docked earlier in the morning carried no refugee from the islands of Aegean Sea. According to the Port Authorities, after yesterday's night counting, the number of the refugees and migrants settled in the arrangements provided to host them at the port's facilities was raised to 5,600, from 5,467 yesterday. Volunteers and Aid Organizations estimated that some of the refugees must have returned to Piraeus from accomodation centres elsewhere. Numerous refugees and migrants still remain in tents within the premises of the Piraeus Port Organization, since the passengers stations and the other buildings are already jam-packed with people. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-29 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Greece should be ready for a long stay of refugees in Greece, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili [02] 2016 will be an excellent year for Greek tourism, Alternate Tourism Min Kountoura says [01] Greece should be ready for a long stay of refugees in Greece, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili Greece should be prepared for a lengthy stay of refugees in the country, stated government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili during a press briefing on Tuesday. She also added that the implementation of EU-Turkey agreement creates a legal corridor for the refugees to Europe. The government implements everything agreed and gives a battle so that the agreement is respected by all sides, she noted. Regarding Alternate Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas' issue, she said that the government has expressed its intentions. The issue will be discussed immediately after Monday's debate in parliament, said Gerovassili. [02] 2016 will be an excellent year for Greek tourism, Alternate Tourism Min Kountoura says Russian, German and British tourists have shown a special interest in visiting Greece this summer, Alternate Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura on Tuesday said in statements to Praktorio 104.9 FM. "It is estimated that 2016 will be an excellent year for Greek tourism," Kountoura underlined. She also noted that Greece has managed to establish itself as a global tourist cruise destination, and made special mention to the increase in tourism from Russia and the events to be held within the Greece - Russia year. As she said, in consultation with her Russian counterpart Alla Manilow, a forum will be held in Greece on May 20 with the view to promoting religious tourism. "The flow from Russia is expected to be very large and Ms Manilow underlined the interest of all Russian regions to visit Greece in order to recommend it to their residents," Kountoura stressed. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-29 Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Athens News Agency at CONTENTS [01] Parliament to investigate 'shady' loans given to parties and media, Tsipras says [02] Arrivals of unaccompanied refugee children rising, Greek coast guard staff report [03] Greek choreograpger Dimitris Papaioannou and team nominated for six Emmys [04] European Parliament delegation to visit Athens on March 30-31 [05] Draft bill on cybercrime opened for public consultation until April 1 [01] Parliament to investigate 'shady' loans given to parties and media, Tsipras says Launching an off-the-agenda debate on justice issues in Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras challenged main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis to distance himself from the "dark recent history of his party" and also announced that SYRIZA will propose a Parliamentary investigation into suspect loan agreements between banks, political parties and the media. He also raised questions concerning the allegations of intervention levelled against Alternate Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos. The prime minister accused ND, on the pretext of a so-called revelation about a supposed government intervention in justice, of acting in close concert with some of the well-known "media of corruption" in order to create a hubbub and false impressions. "This is not naivete but effrontery and arrogance...You did not even think that in this way, you would be opening Pandora's box yourselves," he said. Tsipras specifically highlighted the "notorious Papangelopoulos intervention" - relating the minister had attempted to influence a prosecutor's handling of an investigation into the businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos. He noted that a disciplinary inquiry was already underway concerning the handling of the specific case, which involved major financial interests, and the actions or omissions that had resulted in three separate cases files being shelved. According to the prime minister, three questions naturally sprung to mind in connection with this affair and the minister's involvement. Firstly, whether the meeting for which Papangelopoulos stood accused had been requested by the minister or the public prosecutor. Secondly, why the specific case was in the hands of Appeals Prosecutor Georgia Tsatani at all and why it had been removed from the prosecutors for corruption. Lastly, why had the Supreme Court deputy prosecutor issued a document on April 22 stating that all corruption cases were the exclusive province of the corruption prosecutors, then on December 18 in the same year, the same person issued a second document saying that the Vgenopoulos cases had been rightfully removed from the corruption prosecutors. "I ask you: is there not a very obvious legal contradiction here?" Tsipras said, noting that members of the opposition had also talked publicly of a cover-up in the specific case. He went on to announce that SYRIZA's Parliamentary group will table a proposal for a Parliamentary examining committee to carry out an in-depth investigation of loan agreements between banks, political parties and the media, whose final conclusions will be issued no later than the end of May. Tsipras stressed that the issue of shady loans given to political parties could not end "overnight" because the previous ND-PASOK coalition government had slipped through an amendment pardoning and giving immunity to those responsible. The prime minister went on to give a shopping list of 13 major instances of what he alleged were interventions in justice by previous governments, including what he called a direct intervention in the self-administration of courts by a justice minister in the government of former Greek premier Antonis Samaras, shortly before the January 2015 elections, to favour his cronies. There has always been intervention in justice, Tsipras claimed, but the "plot was entirely lost" during the three-year Samaras-Venizelos coalition government. Omissions were also sometimes a form of intervention, he added, with the most flagrant being the failure to hand over the Lagarde list evidence to the appropriate authorities, while he also spoke of a cover-up in the Siemens' kickbacks case and slammed the out-of-court settlement with the company as "unacceptable". He announced that the government will set up a committee of experts and political staff to renegotiate this settlement, calling on the opposition to participate. Tsipras also repeated that the next constitutional revision "must put a final end to the shame that is the law on ministerial responsibility. Ministers must be treated as any other citizen." Referring to the recent case involving former Samaras aide Stavros Papastavrou, the lawyer who paid a 3.3-million-euro fine to avoid criminal charges for undeclared deposits of 5.4 million dollars in Switzerland, Tsipras this was a resounding example of the decadence of the old political system. He asked main opposition ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis to explain why he was "covering for" the former premier and Papastavros and why he did not distance himself from the "dark recent past of his party," and also called on him to explain the revelations of possible ND links with a ring of corrupt journalists. [02] Arrivals of unaccompanied refugee children rising, Greek coast guard staff report The number of unaccompanied refugee children arriving in Greece from the shores of Turkey spiked in the first quarter of 2016, according to figures presented on Tuesday by the head of the Hellenic Coast Guard's personnel union federation (POEPLS) Thanos Tsatsoulis in a press conference. Tsatsoulis said that 537 unaccompanied minors up to the age of 13 had arrived on the island of Lesvos alone in the first three months of the year, compared to a total of 750 in 500,000 people arriving on the island throughout 2015. Coast guard officers at the press conference described harrowing scenes during their rescues of refugees and migrants and said that some of the children that spoke English said they had come alone because their parents did not have enough money. They majority, they added, communicated with their families via Facebook and had been instructed to post their whereabouts as soon as they arrived at any kind of institution in Greece or Europe, so that their parents or relatives could come and find them. Talking about rescues in the Aegean, officers said that panic was the cause of many shipwrecks as refugees - crammed as many as 50 to a boat designed for six - moved about and caused the dinghies to capsize. Many of the people on board did not know whether they were in the sea or a river, they said, while many infants had no lifejackets and even when these existed, they were of poor quality. A Super-Puma helicopter operator noted that the most difficult rescues were those of babies and small children. In one hair-raising incident he recounted, the occupants of the boat had insisted that the rescuers first lift a travel bag into the helicopter which, once opened, proved to have an 11-day-old baby inside. Tsatsoulis and the other coast guard officers said those serving in the Aegean rescue missions were under immense psychological strain as a result of all they have witnessed over the past year, with many on the verge of psychological collapse, and asked that the state provide care but also some form of material compensation for their very important work. [03] Greek choreograpger Dimitris Papaioannou and team nominated for six Emmys Renowned Greek choreographer and performer Dimitris Papaioannou and his talented team have been nominated for six Emmys for the opening ceremony they created for the 2015 European Games in Baku. The ceremony, titled "Origins", has been nominated in the categories of artistic direction, direction, costumes, music and lighting. Papaioannou and his team will travel to Los Angeles to attend the 43rd Daytime Emmy Awards on May 1. The choreographer is also personally nominated for two awards in the categories "Outstanding Directing Special Class" and "Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design". [04] European Parliament delegation to visit Athens on March 30-31 A 12-member European Parliament delegation is to visit Athens for two days on Wednesday and Thursday, led by the Chair of the EP's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) Roberto Gualtieri. The visit is taking place in the framework of the European Parliament's decision to monitor the implementation of the Greek programme. It is expected to include meetings with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, government ministers, the leader of the main opposition New Democracy party Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras, MPs and representatives of business associations and social groups. [05] Draft bill on cybercrime opened for public consultation until April 1 A draft bill by the Justice ministry on cybercrime which ratifies a convention approved by the Council of Europe and criminalizes racist and xenophobic actions committed through the internet has been published online on Tuesday for public consultation. The bill refers to crimes such as child pornography, racism, genocide, crimes against humanity, intellectual property, etc and its additions will allow the Greek government to adopt the necessary criminal legislation. It also adopts a European Parliament directive on cyber-attacks against information systems. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article ew Zealand union has spoken out over dangerous workloads, claiming probation officers and prison employees are being pushed to limit with their health and wellbeing suffering as a result.According to the Corrections Association of New Zealand, case managers should only deal with up to 35 prisoners but thanks to an exploding prison population, some are now coping with up to 70."It's a huge increase of work and it is breaking people," union representative Beven Hanlon told ONE News. That's not acceptable people are actually going off sick, they are suffering heart conditions they have got anxiety all sorts of problems are happening, he added.However, its reported that the Department of Corrections is actively working on the issue."We acknowledge that staff are busy, but the workload is manageable, chief probation officer Darius Fagan said in a statement, adding that Corrections has been Actively working with the Public Service Association.Fagan stressed that the PSA had been involved in a work plan to better manage workloads.The workload tool allows us to identify which staff have very high workloads, so that they can be re-distributed, and also shows where pressures are emerging due to location-specific issues, such as offending or sentencing trends, he revealed.The tool is not the sole determinant of work distribution, with managers considering staff experience and expertise when allocating cases, he continued."I am confident we have the people to do the job, but we must constantly refine the distribution of work to meet demand changes, he added. Where there is a compelling case for additional resource in a location, we will meet that need." What do you do when you want to name your child Olivia but it's the second most popular name in Canada for girls? You name your child Aliviyah instead. Or try Leeam, Liaam, Liahm or Liamm instead of Liam, the number one boys name. Anything unique to set your child apart. But a study suggests this trend could have a negative effect on kids. Generally, baby name trends follow big cultural happenings. The names Arya and Tyrian rose in popularity when Game of Thrones debuted. This year, Star Wars is set to inspire some new parents. But a curious trend that's been gaining steam is the intentional misspelling of "common" names. Advertisement A study released by the San Diego State University in 2009 posits that the rationale behind the head-scratching creations is the parents' desire to enshrine their child's uniqueness in a name. "This huge change in how parents name their babies is a particularly vivid illustration of the shift toward valuing uniqueness in American society," Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at the university and co-author of the study said. According to Twenge, where parents used to want their children to fit it, now they want them to stand out. "Unique names may have some benefits such as creating a more individual identity, but they run the risk of promoting separateness, which is linked to narcissism," W. Keith Campbell who co-authored this study and the book The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement with Twenge. Advertisement There might be other long-lasting effects. Children with 'misspelled' names can have difficulties with spelling and reading David Figlio, a researcher at Northwestern University in Illinois, told Live Science. "You have the child named Jennifer spelled with a 'G,' her teacher says 'Are you sure your name is spelled that way?' That can be incredibly hard on a person's confidence," Figlio said. According to a Bounty.com study, which interviewed about 3,000 parents, one in five regretted choosing the name that they did for their kids, mainly wishing they had chosen names that were easier to spell. And then there's the whole irritation factor. According to a recent Reddit thread on the worst baby names, these misspellings cause serious annoyance. It's important to note that the annoyance at the trend in question is not referring to ethnic names or ethnic variations of spelling, such as Kristofer/Christopher, which of course is to be celebrated. Advertisement Unique names, in that they're actually unique and not misspellings can actually benefit children. They can serve as markers of cultural identity. Or they can be an extension of a larger parenting strategy of celebrating uniqueness, Twenge said. But when parents purposely invent a new spelling of a name, people can get pretty vocal about it. In the New York Times, one blogger wrote: "Misspelling a childs name wont make Junior special, creative or unique. Ys and Is are not interchangeable, and apostrophes are not some sort of newfangled confetti to be sprinkled liberally throughout groups of letters." In a comment thread about baby names on Mommyish, one reader said: "Letters are not squiggly things bereft of meaning. If you want a name that uses an A sound, USE THE LETTER A." Someone even started a poll on people's thoughts about intentional misspellings of baby names. The majority felt this trend is "shortsighted. The child will face a lifetime of corrections and possibly ridicule." But at the end of the day Steven, Stephen, Steavan and Steephan may look different but they still sounds the same -- so why bother? Advertisement Also on HuffPost When was the last time you cleaned your belly button? If you don't remember, chances are you're not alone. If you aren't cleaning out that tiny crevice on a regular basis, you may want to reconsider. In the video above, Dr. Travis Stork of The Doctors explains the average belly button is home to more than 60 different types of bacteria in addition to lotions, dirt, sweat and soap. Advertisement Belly button dirt can actually build up so much, people have mistaken it for skin cancer, dermatologist Alexandria V. Booth explained to Women's Health. In the slideshow below, we reveal 10 fascinating facts about your belly button, from how it's formed to the infections you can get and most importantly, how to keep it squeaky clean. CP In life, the Ford brothers happily catered to requests for selfies. If that's what the ratepayers wanted, then darn well that's what they were going to get. Evidently, the same appears to be true in death. Doug Ford is drawing heat online for posing for pictures with mourners with his younger brothers body laying in repose, metres away. Advertisement Doug Fords selfies were a total lack of judgement and showed complete disrespect at the viewing of brother Rob Ford, wrote one commenter about Ford's decorum Monday. Is it just me, or is it disrespectful for people to take selfies with members of the Ford family at the visitation at City Hall? Laura T (@torontolaura) March 29, 2016 Doug Ford and funeral selfies. Part of me thinks Rob would have laughed and approved. Part of me says he would have rolled his eyes #topoli Dale Barbour (@DaleBarbour) March 28, 2016 Advertisement Some criticized the former councillor for politicking beside his brothers corpse. Another called the timing and act of Ford smiling and giving the thumbs up in pictures morbid and creepy. While Ford drew the ire of some critics, others turned their focus toward those asking for pictures in the first place. People are treating this week as an opportunity to get selfies with the Ford family. Stay classy, Ford Nation. Shannon (@zchamu) March 28, 2016 People are criticizing Doug Ford for smiling in selfies at Rob Ford's funeral. Maybe they should criticize the people asking for selfies... Nicky P (@thenickster15) March 28, 2016 Hundreds lined up at Toronto City Hall to pay their respects to former mayor Rob Ford. Ford, the enigmatic politician who rocketed Toronto into international spotlight with his crack cocaine use and colourful outbursts, died from a rare form of cancer on March 22. Advertisement The elder Ford isnt the first public figure to be scorned for taking so-called funeral selfies. U.S. President Obama faced the same criticism during a memorial for Nelson Mandela, and Canadas prime minister also faced some heat for posing for a funeral selfie on the street. Nearly two years ago, then-Liberal leader Justin Trudeau got some blowback after he posed for a selfie before the state funeral of former finance minister Jim Flaherty. Rob Ford himself, then Torontos mayor, also posed for a photo with a supporter at Flahertys service. Also on HuffPost: A chef from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut is going to have his hands amputated after suffering severe frostbite. Romeo Tucci was walking to a cabin during a whiteout earlier this month when he fell through a crack in some ice, CBC News reported Tuesday. Soaked and disoriented, he found his way to a health care centre. By the time he arrived, his hands were "frozen solid like a rock and white like a ghost." Advertisement Frostbite is a condition that happens when extreme cold damages both skin and body tissues, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. You can recover from frostbite if it doesn't affect your blood vessels if not, the damage is irreversible. Tucci suffered frostbite to "95 per cent of his hands," according to a GoFundMe page, and they're being amputated in an Edmonton hospital on Apr. 5. Advertisement His family is raising money through the site to pay for prosthetic hands, as well as a hotel and airfare. "I'm scared," Tucci told CBC News. "I'm a chef. I need my hands." This isn't the first time that graphic images of frostbite in Canada have appeared on the Internet. Last year, an Australian woman posted photos of her frostbite to Imgur after she fell asleep outside in Prince Albert, Sask. when it was -30 degrees Celsius. She was able to keep her hands and made a full recovery. Advertisement Also on HuffPost: A new poll suggests that while the vast majority of Ontarians disapprove of Premier Kathleen Wynne's performance, her top rival remains a mystery to many voters. The Forum Research poll released Tuesday shows just 20 per cent of voters approve of the job Wynne's doing, while 64 per cent disapprove. Thirty per cent of voters, however, would still cast a ballot for Wynne's Liberals if a provincial election were called today. Advertisement Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne appears at a press conference in a Toronto supermarket on Feb. 18, 2016. (Photo: Michelle Siu/The Canadian Press) Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown, meanwhile, has the approval of 26 per cent of voters, even though his party leads the poll with 40 per cent support overall. But more than half of voters 52 per cent told Forum they don't have an opinion of Brown, even though he has led the provincial Tories for almost 11 months. Advertisement NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has the opposite problem as Brown. Horwath has the highest personal approval at 35 per cent, but just 24 per cent of voters say they would support her party. On the question of who would make the best premier, things aren't much better for the incumbent. Wynne scores 14 per cent, compared to 23 per cent for Brown and 18 per cent for Horwath. The most popular answer at 25 per cent is "none of these." "Patrick Brown needs to make himself more known to the electorate, turning some of the 'don't knows' into approval." Of course, there's plenty of time for Wynne to turn things around before the next provincial election in 2018. And that will likely mean trying to define the 37-year-old Brown, a former Conservative MP with a track record of social conservatism. "The PCs are strongly outperforming their leader in appeal, which could present a problem in an election situation," Forum president Dr. Lorne Bozinoff said in the poll summary. Advertisement "Patrick Brown needs to make himself more known to the electorate, turning some of the 'don't knows' into approval." The poll was conducted via interactive voice response on March 23 among 1,225 randomly selected Ontarians. Results are considered accurate within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Brown promises change Brown has spearheaded a rebranding of the once-mighty PCs since winning the party leadership last May. At his party's convention earlier this month, he surprised some by coming out in favour of putting a price on carbon to protect the environment. "Climate change is a fact. It is a threat. It is man made," he told delegates during his keynote address. Advertisement Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown delivers a speech at his party's convention in Ottawa on March 5, 2016. (Photo: Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press) "We have to do something about it, and that something includes putting a price on carbon." He also spoke about the need for Tories to build a broad coalition and welcome voters from all walks of life. "It doesn't matter who you love. It doesn't matter where you worship," he said. "It doesn't matter if you belong to a union." The party unveiled a new party logo featuring a green leaf and launched its re-brand with an optimistic ad painting Brown as a "new kind of conservative." The spot, which appears to borrow a line from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that "better is always possible," shows Brown marching in Toronto's Pride Parade last summer. Advertisement Brown also spoke at an event in Barrie last week, dubbed "Conservative Futures," that marked the unofficial kickoff to the federal leadership campaign. The PC leader bluntly said his former party "lost its way" in the last campaign by alienating multicultural communities, adding federal Tories went "too far on the niqab." He also addressed his recent comments on climate change, conceding they "raised a few eyebrows." "I never bought for a second you can't care about the environment and be a conservative," he said. With files from Zi-Ann Lum, The Canadian Press ALSO ON HUFFPOST: In recent years, most of the world's 34 richest countries have developed policies that grant dads paid paternity leave or set aside a portion of parental leave exclusively for dads, known as "daddy quotas." But not Canada. The benefits of paternity leave are many. "Father's leave is linked to more involvement in child-care activities such as helping a baby to eat, changing [diapers], getting up in the night, bathing and reading to a child," explains Dr. Jennifer Baxter of the Australian Institute for Family Studies. Advertisement Her research on the topic makes the link between a dad's heightened involvement in the early years and a baby's increased cognitive abilities. Other studies prove that dads who are hands-on from the beginning have a positive impact on their child's academic performance as far down the road as high school. Writer and journalist, Liza Mundy, also points out that the family member who benefits the most from paternity leave is mom. "[Paternity leave] has been shown to boost male participation in the household, enhance female participation in the labour force, and promote gender equity in both domains," she says. When dads take leave, mothers are able to return to work sooner, preventing them from missing out on valuable experience and promotions. Advertisement Shorter leave also means that women are less likely to fall prey to the "Motherhood Penalty," the tendency for women with children to make less money than their childless counterparts. Unfortunately for Canadian parents, Canada is one of only nine OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries that does not have a national paid paternity leave or father-specific parental leave in place. Quebec is the only province that offers five weeks of unpaid leave exclusively for fathers. They can receive up to 70 per cent of their weekly salary through the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan. Considering our poor ranking, we thought we'd take a look at the top five OECD countries' paternity leave policies and find out how they're offering dads time off from work to spend with their kiddos. Advertisement 1. South Korea Topping the list is South Korea with 53 weeks of paternity leave. In an effort to repair the country's declining birth rate (Korea has the lowest birth rate among all OECD countries), a father-specific leave has been in place since 2007. Uptake among men, however, was extremely low, prompting President Park Guen-hye to institute a more rigorous two-tier plan after her election in 2013. Park's plan not only increased financial incentives for dads taking leave, with partial payment of their salary for up to 53 weeks, but also for the companies that employ them by offering funds to train interim employees. Women in South Korea currently have 90 days of maternity leave, 60 of which are paid in full. After 90 days they are eligible to take up to a year of partially paid parental leave. Ideologically, the longer leave allowance for men would make men and women more equal in the eyes of an employer. Why discriminate against a woman if a man is just as likely to need time off to raise the kids? This could ultimately strengthen women's careers so that they feel secure enough to go ahead and have children. Advertisement But paternity leave is still a tough sell. In 2014, only 3,241 of Korean fathers took the leave they are entitled to. Currently, only five per cent of parents on leave in South Korea are men. 2. Japan Hot on the heels of South Korea is Japan with 52 weeks of paid leave available to dads at approximately 60 per cent of their regular earnings. Moms are entitled to 14 weeks of mandatory maternity leave extending from six weeks before the due date to eight weeks after (dads can take leave at the same time). The generous parental leave is part of a push on behalf of the government to grow the percentage of women in the workforce, which is currently one of the lowest in all OECD countries. Advertisement As much as 60 per cent of women in Japan do not return to work after having children due to a lack of child care. They also face one of the largest pay gaps in the developed world, earning an average of 30 per cent less than men. Despite the paternity leave policy, only 2.3 per cent of Japanese fathers took paternity leave in 2015. Many men who would like to take paternity leave face discrimination and pressure to continue performing at work. 3. France With the aim of promoting gender equality, French parental leave was reformed in 2014, giving fathers the ability to take more job-protected leave -- a total of 28 weeks. This would allow mothers to get back to their jobs sooner. French "papas" are entitled to 11 days of paternity leave at their full salary, while women get 16 weeks of maternity leave at their full salary (extended to 26 weeks if it is their third child). Advertisement After that, the family is allowed 12 months of partially paid parental leave with the caveat that six months must be taken by one parent, and the next six months by the other (or they forgo the second six months altogether.) Despite the policy, there has not yet been a significant rise in the number of French dads taking parental leave from a decade ago. 4. Luxembourg Not only is parental leave in Luxembourg generous, but it's flexible, too. Since 2015, each parent is entitled to either six months of paid full-time leave or one year of paid part-time parental leave (for a total of 26 weeks each). As long as one parent takes their leave immediately following the compulsory eight weeks of maternity leave, the other parent can take their leave any time before the child turns five. Advertisement Like France, Luxembourg also has a "use it or lose it" policy in place. If one parent chooses not to take leave, it cannot be transferred. Compensation is not based on salary or length of employment before the birth. Instead, everyone gets a fixed rate. 5. Portugal Since 2009, Portuguese dads can take 21 weeks of paid leave after mom's 45 days of obligatory maternity leave. And if the mother and father share parental leave, they get bonuses. If dad takes 30 consecutive days of shared parental leave, the government will add a "bonus" 30 days to be used by either parent. Likewise, payment while on leave is higher if the parents share it. Advertisement In Portugal, the uptake of paternity leave is relatively high, at about 40 per cent. Also on HuffPost A Toronto woman's now-viral poop story is one poop story you'll never be able to flush out your memory. Makela, a 19-year-old Twitter user by the name of @_blotty, went to epic lengths to describe a first date where she was forced to wrap her poop in toilet paper and put it in her purse. Documenting the whole saga on Twitter, she said she had to make the "hard decision" when her date's toilet didn't work. Advertisement And while people are either grossed out or laughing hysterically, it really makes us all wonder, what would you have done in her situation? I don't think I realized what I was doing was completely insane until I put it in my purse and I sat down (on his couch) and he called me beautiful," she told the Toronto Star. The 18-part story, starts with Makela talking about going to her date's place and because she was a "confident, calm and self-assured woman," pooping in his bathroom wasn't an issue. Properly. So, of course, like any calm, confident, self assured woman. I panicked. And flushed it a million times, making everything worse misunderstood worm (@_blotty) March 22, 2016 Advertisement Something came over me. And I knew exactly what I had to do. I got toilet paper and removed the one poop from the toilet. Once that was done misunderstood worm (@_blotty) March 22, 2016 I'd DEFINITELY been in there too long. So, again, making another horrible decision. I did the only thing I could think to do. I wrapped it misunderstood worm (@_blotty) March 22, 2016 At one point, she even texted her sister for advice. At this point, I text my sister for advice pic.twitter.com/lMeX55iiH4 misunderstood worm (@_blotty) March 22, 2016 And while pooping and farting is natural for both men and women, there's been much back and forth as to when you should feel comfortable taking a poop in your partner's home, Bustle notes. And as tempting as it may be to hold it, especially on a first date, let's all get one thing clear: your significant other knows you poop. To read Makela's full story, piece-by-piece, check it out on Twitter here. Everyone needs to read this pic.twitter.com/L5OJ791oF2 FREDDY (@FreddyAmazin) March 23, 2016 Advertisement So what happened to the poop in her bag? Watch the full video above to find out. ALSO ON HUFFPOST: The Duke of Cambridge spent most of his Easter weekend in Africa for both business and pleasure. At the start of his four-day trip, the 33-year-old prince met with the President of Kenya, and spent time at elephant and rhino conservation Tusk Trust, a charity he is involved with. The Duke of Cambridge has met the President of Kenya today, during a short visit to the country. https://t.co/6AoKkglly7 Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 24, 2016 Advertisement Proud to have the chance to show #PrinceWilliam work of our conservation partners today in northern Kenya @KensingtonRoyal@lewa_wildlife Tusk (@TuskTrust) March 24, 2016 The latter part of his trip, however, was reserved for reuniting with old friends at the wedding of his ex-girlfriend Jessica "Jecca" Craig. The prince dated Craig before attending university, and has remained close with her family, Vanity Fair reports. Craig also attended William's 2011 royal wedding to Kate Middleton. This isn't the first time the prince has attended a friend's wedding alone, and it likely won't be the last. Last summer royal photographer Mark Stewart explained to People Magazine that the royal couple prefers to attend weddings separately to avoid stealing attention away from the celebrants. The Duke and Duchess reunited on Sunday, and are are set to embark on their first trip to India together in early April. Advertisement The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit India and Bhutan from 10-16 April #RoyalVisitIndia#RoyalVisitBhutan Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 29, 2016 Also on HuffPost SednaEpic/Twitter A Calgary woman's ad isn't promising much pay for a dangerous expedition to the Arctic. And she's not exactly guaranteeing a safe return, either. "Women wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete sunlight, constant danger, safe return hopeful, honor and recognition in case of success," it read. It's signed by Susan R. Eaton. Advertisement Eaton is looking for female explorers bold enough to answer her call, its wording inspired by an advert Antarctic-explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton supposedly printed in The Times a century ago. Those who respond to Eaton's posting will be going to where "no man has gone before" her all-female team plans to snorkel the entirety of the Arctic Northwest Passage. Boldly go where no man has gone before: @SednaEpic wants #PADIwomen for #BaffinIsland snorkel/dive trip Jul 25-Aug 9 pic.twitter.com/67BVcEJaSJ Susan R. Eaton (@SusanREaton_Geo) March 19, 2016 The Sedna Epic Expedition named after the Inuit goddess of the sea will draw attention to the effects of global warming in the Arctic. Advertisement Scientists will document the disappearing sea ice that makes their snorkeling trip possible, all while tagging Greenland sharks. There are also plans to bring ocean education programs to local Inuit communities. In 2014, the team undertook a a test-run from Labrador to Greenland. Next up is a warm-up mission to Baffin Island in July before attempting a 100-day snorkel relay over the summers of 2017 and 2018. The team will snorkel over 3,000 kilometres in frigid arctic water from Nunavut to the Northwest Territories. (Photo: Sedna Epic Expedition) Unpredictable sea conditions, gale-force winds, sharks, walruses, and drifting pack ice will make the expedition a dangerous one, Eaton told CBC News. Advertisement Eaton is a conservationist, geologist, geophysicist, explorer and journalist. Her talented team is also chock full of renaissance women with 10 divers who hail from five different countries. Among them include ocean scientists, explorers, movie-makers, photographers, artists, educators and polar divers. Last year, she was named as one of Canada's top explorers by Canadian Geographic. She was one of 18 women to make the list. Season's Greetings! Here's to a 2016 full of exploration! Follow my all-female team of #Arctic explorers @SednaEpic. pic.twitter.com/ZNdtlT3Lid Susan R. Eaton (@SusanREaton_Geo) December 26, 2015 "We're not simply interested in a world's first which would be a snorkel relay of the Northwest Passage we want to work with the Inuit communities along the way, we want to leave a legacy of ocean education outreach," Eaton told Global News. The women on the expedition hope to translate their findings into educational programs that will inspire women, youth and the aboriginal community to "think big" when it comes to tackling climate change, according to the expedition's website. Advertisement Susan Eaton navigates around pack ice in Labrador in 2014. (Photo: Susan Eaton/GoFundMe) Eaton is currently fundraising to cover her costs for this summer's expedition. "Just as in Sir Ernest Shackleton's day, polar exploration is not for the faint of heart," reads the explorer's GoFundMe page. It may not be for the faint of heart, but the Calgarian is certainly up for the challenge. Also on HuffPost: Actor Wentworth Miller has opened up publicly about his battle with depression, after a body-shaming photo of him went viral on Monday. A picture of the former "Prison Break" actor wearing a red shirt and smiling, was shared on news site The LAD Bible's Facebook page, along with the tagline, "When you break out of prison and find out about McDonald's monopoly..." Advertisement The comment refers to Miller's character on the show, a man who gets himself into prison only to break his brother out. However, with a side-by-side photo of Miller topless and the one with his red shirt, the meme was clearly pointing out his weight. And while celebrities are used to be the subject of memes, Miller said this one hit home. "In 2010, semi-retired from acting, I was keeping a low-profile for a number of reasons," he wrote on Facebook, noting he was suicidal, something that he has discussed in the past. "I've struggled with depression since childhood. It's a battle that's cost me time, opportunities, relationships, and a thousand sleepless nights." Miller continues to write 2010 was the lowest point in his adult life, and for comfort, relief and distraction, he turned to food. Advertisement "It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to," he wrote. "There were stretches when the highlight of my week was a favorite meal and a new episode of TOP CHEF. Sometimes that was enough." Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the... Posted by Wentworth Miller on Monday, March 28, 2016 The LAD Bible, issued a formal apology to the actor on Facebook, noting that mental health was no joke or laughing matter. Wentworth Miller,We posted two pictures of you last night to our Facebook page, but today we want to say weve got... Posted by The LAD Bible on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 "We posted two pictures of you last night to our Facebook page, but today we want to say weve got this very, very wrong," they wrote. "We certainly didnt want to cause you pain by reminding you of such a low point in your life. Causing distress and upset to innocent or vulnerable people is simply not acceptable." Advertisement And when the 43-year-old actor saw the meme for the first time, he does admit it hurt. However, it also reminded him of his progress so far. "Now, when I see that image of me in my red t-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without." Also on HuffPost Toronto is a city of culture pockets, in a quite literal sense. Geographically, one can pass through distinct neighbourhoods akin to Korea, Italy, China, and Portugal within a single 30-minute stroll. In terms of creative output, the same model exists. Specific to music (the communities to which I'm closest), there exists burgeoning punk, electronic, hip hop, country, and indie rock scenes that, even independent of one another, could rival many other cities' entire music scenes. As such, it seems fitting that when Toronto's musicians reach relevance internationally, they bring their entire creative community with them. Historically and contemporarily, this proves to be true. And, as someone who has made a habit (and a career) of digging into emerging music scenes, I can see that Toronto's community-first model is growing. Advertisement There's been plenty of excitable chatter in the past 12-24 months about the rising value of Toronto's music scene on an international level, perhaps more so than ever. Our city has adopted chart-topper Drake as its culture flag-bearer and he has taken the role seriously; initiating an entire re-brand (The 6) that has reached areas of the globe that "Toronto," or "T-dot" never could, simultaneously transforming the global dialogue around Toronto's urban music output from largely non-existent to arguably the world's most touted. But as positive of an impact he's had on his hometown brand image, he's perhaps more passionate about his OVO crew. The collective that he and his longtime friends/production partners have turned into a record label, a clothing brand, and an annual festival. Drake has become somewhat of a @ChampagnePapi to many other talented artists that he's surrounded himself with; rapper Party Next Door, R&B sensation The Weeknd, and now producer/performer duo Majid Jordan have all seen their careers boosted by their respective OVO connections. Drake and A$AP Mob performs for Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days in LA in Los Angeles, CA, USA on 30 November 2014. Photo credit: Misha Vladimirskiy / Red Bull Sound Select / Content Pool Advertisement This is a model that Toronto's exports have seemed to follow for years -- when one artist breaks, so do the communities that have birthed them. While not entirely unique to Toronto, it's certainly a trend that has planted roots there and helped grow Canada's music scene immensely, one [Broken Social] scene at a time. 2017 will mark the 15th anniversary of Broken Social Scene's "You Forgot it in People," an album which was universally acclaimed in the early days of online music journalism. The album's credits boast a 15-person musical gang that, in the years that followed, became a veritable whose-who of relevant musicians hailing from Toronto. Feist, as well as key members of indie rock mainstays Metric, Apostle of Hustle, Stars, Do Make Say Think, and others are all credited as being part of the album's personnel. BSS founder Kevin Drew also co-launched Arts & Crafts around this time, a Toronto-based record label & management company whose international relevance was unrivalled by Toronto upstart music companies until OVO came along. Arts & Crafts continue to be in the business of discovering new talent in the city, and it comes as little surprise that they do so by looking at cultural communities as much as singular artists -- and it's a model that many people interested in the "next ones" have adopted locally. Next week sees two of these groups joining forces, as Arts & Crafts curates this month's Red Bull Sound Select Presents: Toronto showcase at the Silver Dollar Room on March 31; Sound Select being the energy drink-backed live music program which seeks to highlight and support emerging music in cities around the world. The monthly shows put emphasis on the local support acts, rather than the headliner, and the two focus acts this month both have strong ties to fledgling creative communities in our city. Advertisement Blunt Chunks performs for Red Bull Sound Select at The Drake in Toronto, Canada on August 6th, 2015. Photo credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Select / Content Pool Sludge-y grunge revivalists Frigs call 'Heretical Objects Collective' home, quite literally. The underground arts community all live together in a live/work space in the city's upper-west side where they eat, sleep, play music, and just generally exist all together. Likewise, solo experimental electronic musician & vocalist Blunt Chunks is otherwise known as Caitlin Woelfe O'Brien, who is a member of Bad Actors Collective, a diverse community & label of cutting-edge and avant garde musicians led by Fucked Ups Ben Cook. Frigs and Blunt Chunks could very well be the next Toronto artists to break through to audiences outside of Toronto, as Red Bull Sound Select and Arts & Crafts suggest they might. If they do, we're bound to see that success spread beyond their individual careers and into the artist communities that surround them. One thing's for sure -- it's because of instances like this that Canada's community of Artist Collectives continues to grow. The best part? It shows no signs of slowing down. Advertisement Blunt Chuncks poses for a portrait for Red Bull Sound Select at The Drake in Toronto, Canada on August 6th, 2015. Photo credit: Maria Jose Govea / Red Bull Sound Select / Content Pool Come out and catch Toronto's newest sound at Red Bull Sound Select Presents: Toronto feat. Lower Dens, Frigs and Blunt Chunks at the Silver Dollar Room on March 31. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Assalamu Alaikum (Peace be with you) I feel like I am at the Muslim Oscars! Though if I may suggest something to the organizers: Next year you may want to put some clothes on the statute in the videos. This is a wonderful gathering. Each one of you is a winner for being part of this event. Not to put a damper on all the positive energy around us today, but we must not forget the reality around us. Islamophobia is on the rise. As one of our keynotes, Zaib Shaikh, noted, one of the ways to challenge and combat anti-Muslim hate is to become part of popular culture. We need to mainstream Islam and Muslims. Another thing we must do is to build relationships with others and form alliances. We must not be concerned only with our causes but those of others. We have failed in making meaningful connections. As an example, in the immediate aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11, CAIR-CAN (now known as the NCCM) and other groups organized an open house at the Jami Mosque in Toronto. Many of the neighbors informed us at the time that this was the first real engagement (other than around parking disputes) between them and an institution that had been in existence from the late 1960s! We all have much work to do. From the very beginning Muslims have relied on friends and allies from the non-Muslim community. In fact, the non-Muslim uncle of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) Abu Talib is considered one of the best friends and first supporters of the early community. We are also familiar with the story of the Muslims who fled persecution in Mecca and sought refuge in the Christian Kingdom of Aksum, present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea (formerly known as Abyssinia). The Aksumite King who gave them asylum is known in Islamic sources as the Negus (Arabic: najasi). The MAX Friend of the Community Award recognize a non-Muslim individual who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Canadian Muslim community. This friend has assisted in the achievement of certain significant goals in areas of importance to the community. I had the privilege of speaking on the same panel with this year's winner back in 2008. At that time I had thanked him on behalf of the community for standing up for Canadian and Islamic values of justice and basic human rights. Today I am honoured to formally thank him on behalf of the community. This year, the winner of the MAX friend of the community award is Dennis Edney. Thank you! Aping Vision / STS via Getty Images businessman studies China stock market with newspaper, mobile phone and Tablet PC Intuit recently conducted a study that revealed more than half (55 per cent) of Canadian entrepreneurs are running their companies from a smartphone (much higher than in the U.S. at 43 per cent), and are using mobile apps to do so effectively. As life becomes increasingly mobile, there is an uptick in the number of Canadians who start and manage small businesses without brick and mortar locations. Another significant shift is that more and more people are freelancing and earning money from the sharing economy. Advertisement No matter how mobile or field-based entrepreneurs earn their income, it's important to understand how these modern business endeavours impact your taxes. Here's an overview of what you need to know before you file: Do you qualify for a tax break? The definition of "self-employed" isn't as straightforward as it used to be. While a freelance writer or the sole proprietor of a small business are fairly recognizable examples, those earning money in the sharing economy through apps like Uber or Airbnb, for instance, may be wondering what they have to report on their income taxes. If your work isn't being run commercially and what you're doing is simply a hobby, you should not consider yourself self-employed. In this case you don't have to report any income when you file your taxes. However, if your profession or trade has a reasonable expectation of making a profit, as with the scenarios noted above, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will consider it a business and all income you receive will need to be reported on your personal tax return. According to a 2015 report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, 40 per cent of young Ontarians (ages 18-34) are consumers of the sharing economy, and global revenue generated by these companies is expected to grow to $335 billion by 2025. It's big money, and if you're part of it, you can claim a number of business expenses. Advertisement What counts as a business expense? As a sole proprietor, you can deduct all reasonable business expenses that you've incurred to earn an income. Did you know that if your home is your main place of business (i.e. where you meet clients or where you do the bulk of your work), you can deduct home office expenses? While there are a few exceptions, capital property - like furniture, your car and any computer equipment used for business purposes - can be written off over time as capital cost allowance (CCA). In order to stay on top of your expenses, make a point of keeping all of your receipts and records in one place so you can track and back up any claims made when filing your taxes. Financial management tools like QuickBooks Online make it easy to track expenses on the go. Also, remember that your filing deadline is a little later if you're self-employed: June 15, 2016 is the date you'll want to mark in your calendar, however any tax owing must be paid by April 30. Further, because the income you're earning does not have tax withheld at source (like a traditional employee), you may have to pay in instalments. These are due quarterly on March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15, and the CRA will have notified you if you need to make payments. What's the easiest filing option? There are a number of tax-filing options available, but why not choose one that best suits your mobile, on-demand lifestyle? While you may already be accustomed to setting up an appointment with a specialist, there's no need to attempt to squeeze another meeting into your calendar. Reliable software like TurboTax lets you file when and how it's convenient for you - on the go, day or night. TurboTax Free gives the option to file from your smartphone or tablet, and the ability to start, stop and continue your return across multiple devices seamlessly. Or, if you're looking for added guidance including step-by-step directions and tips for filing your small business taxes, TurboTax Home and Business has you covered. When you're running your own business, it's important to save time and money wherever you can, so why not leverage products and resources that will make life easier? As an entrepreneur, you're likely the kind of person who enjoys being in the driver's seat. With secure and user-friendly tools at your fingertips, as well as access to trusted professional advisors and accountants when you need them, there's no reason why you can't take control of your taxes as well. Advertisement NiroDesign via Getty Images Law and justice of Canada concept with a 3d rendering of a gavel on a wooden desktop and the Canadian flag on background. By Juliet Guichon, Pauline Alakija, Christopher Doig, Ian Mitchell and Pascal Thibeault To date, courts have declared three Canadians eligible for a physician-assisted death. In at least two cases, the court ordered that the medical certificate of death should misstate the truth. Instead of recording a death from "drug toxicity", the medical certificate of death will apparently state that the person died of the underlying illness: ALS in one case, and lymphoma in the other. When family members, statisticians and historians review these death certificates, the documents will reveal nothing to indicate that anything other than the natural progression of the disease processes occurred. If provinces and territories adopt this current judicial practice, then they will subvert both accurate death reporting and expert death monitoring. Advertisement Accurate recording of major events such as birth, marriage, and death is a hallmark of Canada's vital statistics. After any death, stating the cause accurately is necessary to achieve certain public goals related to human protection, prosecution, prevention health promotion and health planning. To achieve these purposes, a newly lawful death should not be confused with a natural death. A natural death occurs when the natural disease progresses uninterrupted until death ensures. For example, the natural course of ALS is to cause paralysis, inability to protect the airway, then pneumonia. This natural process is interrupted when drugs are injected to shorten that course of events and cause death. A death by ALS with its course of paralysis and pneumonia is, however horrible, a natural process of death. A death by multiple drug toxicity is a non-natural cause of death. Such deaths are reported to coroners and medical examiners, who make great efforts to ensure that death reports and death certificates are accurate. Indeed, the coroner or medical examiner is typically the only public official empowered by legislation to determine cause and manner of death when deaths occur in certain circumstances, such as when the suspected cause is by toxicity or from a reason other than disease. Coroners and medical examiners are expert at determining how deaths occur, and have the independence and public duty to record these conclusions accurately. Accuracy in death recording and reporting are essential in death monitoring. Scrupulous monitoring is necessary for physician-assisted dying because the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that physicians could be exempt from criminal liability only where there is "a carefully-designed system imposing stringent limits that are scrupulously monitored and enforced." Concern for misuse of physician-assisted dying requires expert death monitoring. Advertisement Yet when A.B., the Ontario court applicant, requested in early March 2016 that the coroner be excluded, the court complied. The applicant's lawyer complained that the Ontario Chief Coroner could not assure the lawyer that the coroner would not seize and autopsy the body after a physician-assisted death. But nor should a coroner give such an assurance regarding a death. The coroner's job is to determine who died, when, where and how the person died and by what means. Coroners and medical examiners cannot make promises as to what they will do to establish those five facts. The nature and extent of their efforts depend on the circumstances. After a court approved physician-assisted death, the coroner could examine the court judgment, court order, consent form and medical record; and interview the physician who administered the drug. If satisfied that all the questions could then be answered, the coroner might not conduct invasive procedures. By ordering a misstatement of the truth on official records, judges have prevented the very people who would both determine and tell the truth from performing their statutory duties. This unexpected judicial behaviour of ordering misstatement in official records might only be temporary; court applications for physician-assisted dying will not be necessary after June 6. Nevertheless, provinces and territories should not adopt the unusual precedent as they draft legislation to govern this new manner of death. Instead, provinces and territories should look to their own coroner and fatality inquiry statutes, which have created systems for ensuring that death records are accurate and that monitoring of death occurs by death experts. Provinces and territories should clarify that physician-assisted deaths (as non-natural deaths) are mandatorily notifiable, and ensure that coroner and medical examiner offices are adequately staffed and funded. Advertisement The courageous disclosure of private medical information by suffering witnesses in the 2011 Carter trial helped lead to the historic judicial result that now permits physician-assisted death for a small class of people. Such brave candour should not now be followed by prevarication in official records and the absence of mandatory, scrupulous monitoring of a new cause and manner of death. Juliet Guichon, Christopher Doig and Ian Mitchell are faculty members in the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary; Pauline Alakija is a forensic pathologist and clinical professor at the University of Alberta medical school; Pascal Thibeault is a master of laws student at the University of Toronto. Political campaigns are an exercise in brand management. The questions asked inside campaign operations are similar to those asked inside marketing boardrooms: what types of issues should we support? What do we stand for? Is our message digestible to consumers and differentiated from our competitors? As the U.S. election season continues, and the field of candidates has narrowed, it is those who have managed their brand most effectively who remain. The following are five key learnings sponsors can learn from the U.S. election. Advertisement 1. Allocation of scarce resources is essential to victory Campaigns must constantly make trade-offs with respect to both where they are spending their money and where the candidate is spending their time. Winnable regions are often prioritized versus wasting money and time in a region where the candidate is unlikely to have success. Corporate sponsors have finite budgets as well. Factors such as business need, employee presence, and competitor activity often dictate market priority. Brands can leverage sponsorship to protect strategic markets with increased investment or as a launching pad in a developing market -- and can even benefit from using it to satisfy both objectives. While resource allocation in marketing is not as black and white as it is in politics (there can be more than one winner in marketing), the idea of trade-offs is still a reality in sponsorship. 2. Message discipline drives breakthrough and recall but can be limiting Political candidates have a tendency to speak in soundbites, constantly reinforcing their positions and key messages. However, candidates who never stray from the same talking points can be viewed as one-dimensional or appear robotic and scripted, as former Republican candidate Marco Rubio was accused of being. Sponsors who are more active are more likely to have their message breakthrough in a cluttered marketing landscape. However, brands must be conscious of message discipline as well. Adapting your activation narrative on a property by property basis or evolving your message over time are essential strategic tools to overcome consumer fatigue. Advertisement 3. Must balance playing to your base and winning independents Campaigns win by either winning undecided voters or by increasing turnout amongst their supporters. Two candidates for the Republican nomination, Ted Cruz and John Kasich differ in this respect. While Cruz has a defined base of socially conservative voters, Kasich's moderate positions are targeting independent voters who may be undecided between a Democrat and a Republican. Sponsors can also face this dynamic in how they opt to activate. They can either attempt to drive customer acquisition (to win undecided voters) or they can reward their current customers with exclusive experiences (play to their base). Virgin Mobile's sponsorship of music festival Osheaga, in which they offered early ticket access was an effort to increase loyalty amongst existing clients. 4. Social media as price of entry versus a competitive advantage Barack Obama's 2008 victory is recognized as the first time a major campaign leveraged social media to organize voter turnout and extend the reach of its message. It was in 2008 that Twitter was just beginning to gain popularity. Eight years ago, social media was a major competitive advantage for those who were early adopters. In 2016, a social media presence for campaigns has become more table stakes. Social media extensions in sponsorship is no longer an added benefit but an expectation for sponsors. Social media must be at the heart of an activation plan versus serve as a tactical overlay to ensure sponsors are reaching their market effectively. 5. Mind the authenticity gap One indicator of how successful a candidate is going to be in an election is the perception of that candidate's "authenticity". According to a New York Times / CBS poll taken in December, 76 per cent of Republican voters believe that Donald Trump "says what he believes," rather than "saying what people want to hear". Advertisement Authenticity is essential in corporate sponsorship as well. Brands who invest to support a certain property genre must ensure they are credible in their support -- an issue that is particularly prevalent in the cause sponsorship space. In 2009, RBC -- who through their Blue Water Project has pledged $50 million over a 10-year period to water protection charities -- was challenged for a lack of authenticity on the issue. The Rainforest Acton Network, a group of environmental activists, lobbied RBC to stop financing water polluting energy companies, taking the bank to task for hypocrisy. Sponsors who show support for social issues must take a disciplined internal audit of their operations to ensure they are "walking the talk". S&E Sponsorship Group Inc. is Canada's leading sponsorship agency, providing strategic counsel and activation solutions to leading brands Mark Blinch / Reuters Actress Lucy DeCoutere, a complainant in the case against former Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi, leaves the court after an Ontario judge found him not guilty on four sexual assault charges and one count of choking, in Toronto, March 24, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Blinch Last week, Judge Horkins acquitted Jian Ghomeshi on three counts of sexual assault and one count of choking. He did so on the basis that each of the three complainants lacked credibility and that, therefore, their testimony was unable to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. As I have said elsewhere, the judgment was largely unsurprising. Along the way, though, Judge Horkins made a number of remarks that were eyebrow-raising, and they have attracted widespread criticism. Some of those criticisms have been rather too strident. But there is more than a kernel of truth in them, and I want to focus on that kernel here. In the judgment, Judge Horkins observed that the first complainant, L.R., had "been exposed as a witness willing to withhold relevant information from the police, from the Crown and from the Court." He continued: "It is clear that she deliberately breached her oath to tell the truth." The second and third complainants hardly fared better. Lucy DeCoutere was said to be "careless with the truth." Judge Horkins found that she "consciously suppress[ed] relevant and material information" while under oath, and was "manipulative." Advertisement Meanwhile, S.D. was found to have made a "deliberate lie" and to have "actively suppress[ed]" the truth. Judge Horkins remarked: "S.D. was clearly 'playing chicken' with the justice system. She was prepared to tell half the truth for as long as she thought she might get away with it." In response to the suggestion that S.D. was unfamiliar with the process, and simply did not understand how to "navigate" it, Judge Horkins answered: "'Navigating' this sort of proceeding is really quite simple: tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Needless to say, these are damning comments. Following the verdict, a number of commentators attacked the reasons of Judge Horkins as a sustained exercise in "victim-blaming." In a sense, of course, that is straightforwardly true: the complainants' testimony was regarded as insufficiently trustworthy to support a conviction precisely because, it appears, they attempted to manage the flow of information about their post-offence relationships with Ghomeshi. It has become virtually common knowledge that the conduct and testimony of sexual assault complainants will be measured against a stereotype of the "ideal victim." Judge Horkins didn't mince any words: the main problem was not that the complainants' conduct was inherently inconsistent with the claim that Ghomeshi assaulted them (though one passage in the opinion could be taken that way). Their credibility was undermined by the fact that they chose to withhold evidence from the police and the Crown, and had lied about their post-offence conduct while under questioning. Advertisement No one will ever know whether Ghomeshi would have been convicted had his accusers been more honest and candid. All we can say is that the Crown's case would have been far stronger. And many commentators, deeply sympathetic to the need to reform Canadian sexual assault law (again), nonetheless are prepared to accept that, given the extensive damage to the complainants' credibility, it was right and proper that Ghomeshi should be acquitted in this case. If there is impatience with Judge Horkins' assessment of the three complainants, it surely lies in the fact that their behaviour was eminently understandable. It has become virtually common knowledge that the conduct and testimony of sexual assault complainants will be measured against a stereotype of the "ideal victim." Knowing that they will be judged in light of such "rape myths," it may seem sensible -- even obvious -- to a great many complainants that certain pieces of information should be managed so that they conform to the stereotype. This may seem all the more acceptable if one proceeds on the basis that post-offence conduct, in the end, just doesn't matter. None of this justifies the decision not to be honest and forthcoming under oath. But it does, as I said, cast the complainants' conduct in an altogether more sympathetic light. There is also something irritatingly one-sided about Judge Horkins' assessment, as though the criminal justice system itself is not implicated in these complainants' choices. It is all well and good to say that "navigating" the system is "simple" -- that all a complainant must do is "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Its apparent simplicity, though, lies in the expectation that victims will cede all autonomy and control over the process. There is nothing unusual in that: criminal trials are, in the end, contests between the defendant and the state, not private disputes. But demanding that sexual assault complainants surrender control over a process that has done them few favours in the past may presuppose a degree of trust that has not yet been earned. Advertisement The upshot of Judge Horkins' opinion, for many onlookers, is this: either a complainant will be frank and forthcoming, and thereby take the risk that her behaviour will be found inconsistent with the trier-of-fact's "common sense" ideas of how victims of sexual assault act; or she will attempt to manage her image, and find her testimony rejected as dishonest and lacking in candour. I hope that overstates the case, but the concern (and anger) is well-founded. It suggests that, for all the progress courts and judges have made in understanding the situation of sexual assault victims -- and there has been considerable progress -- we have yet to develop a satisfactory response to those who are suspicious of the criminal justice system and its generations-long legacy of stereotyping and rape mythology. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook ALSO ON HUFFPOST: skyscapes via Getty Images Saskatchewan Legislative Building at dusk in Regina Saskatchewan. The recent Saskatchewan leaders' debate has been criticized as a great deal of shouting with very little substance. This is disappointing, as elections are exciting moments to consider important ideas in the light of what matters most: our health and well-being. That health is determined by income, education, employment, housing, food security and the wider environment. These social determinants of health are key to understanding how to improve outcomes, and how to make wise political decisions. Advertisement Beyond the debate, what do the party platforms say about how seriously they take the health and wellbeing of the people of Saskatchewan? What are their long-term visions for improving the upstream factors that determine health? Every party, Liberals and Greens included, talks of increasing the percentage of our energy supply from renewable sources, an important step given that the World Health Organization calls climate change "the biggest threat to human health in the 21st century". For the two major party platforms, that's where the commonalities end. A stable foundation is critical for a healthy life, making housing affordability key. The Sask Party proposes a property tax reduction for low-income seniors. The NDP promises an increase of 2,500 social housing units and a Housing First strategy to address homelessness and addictions. Beyond that, there is little in the Sask Party platform that would improve the health determinants of Saskatchewan people, simply because there is little in the platform at all. They list ten relatively minor new initiatives, using the rest of the 31-page document to point to past efforts. They do commit to an investment in remote presence technology for Northern health care. However, they also include a program that would decrease equitable access to health care, allowing wealthier patients to skip the queue for CT scans and gain quicker access to surgeries and other services. Advertisement The Saskatchewan NDP platform is much more detailed, giving a clearer glimpse of what that party sees as essential to building a healthier society. Income is the leading factor determining health. The NDP platform features modest wealth redistribution through slightly higher income taxes for Saskatchewan's highest earners. They also propose a pilot of a basic income guarantee (already Green Party policy for some time), an increase in the minimum wage, and a commitment to a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy. This contrasts with the most surprising omission in the SK Party platform; there is no mention of their poverty reduction strategy, quietly released shortly before the writ dropped. The lack of meaningful measures was badly received by anti-poverty advocates, but it's surprising to see no reference at all to the greatest cause of ill health. On the subject of education, the NDP platform proposes increased funding for early childhood development, 2,000 new childcare spaces, increased numbers of teachers and educational assistants, and changing post-secondary funding from loans to grants. Given the health inequities in Saskatchewan, the promise to bring equal funding for First Nations schools would be one of the more impactful measures proposed. The Sask Party promises increasing a scholarship for high school students continuing their education from $400 to $750 if finances allow. Perhaps the most important idea in this election is a quiet one: the NDP proposal to use a Health in All Policies approach. Reorienting the metrics of success for all government departments to health outcomes - whether Education, the Economy or Environment - is a sensible way to concentrate on what matters most. Advertisement Which is, in a way, the point of this exercise of reviewing the platforms based on the evidence for health improvement. However, with so little information in one of the platforms, voters are left to read between the lines with the question in mind: which party will help us to live healthier, happier lives? Hopefully they will choose to pose this question to their candidates. It's only with demand from citizens that would-be leaders will start to see that their primary role is to improve the health and wellbeing of the people who elect them. Ryan Meili is a Saskatoon Family Physician and author of "A Healthy Society: How a focus on health can revive Canadian democracy. " VR, or "virtual reality," is the new buzzword in technology and the travel industry may just be one of the first to bring this phenomenon into mainstream marketing. Who wouldn't want a "real life" experience in the Amazon before committing to a $10K-plus investment? As virtual reality becomes more and more accessible, companies like Marriott are diving right in. In a recent article published by Bloomberg Business, Marriott is calling their VR experience "4-D" and creating one of the most innovative teleportation-like journeys in the industry. To create this experience, Marriott developed personalized "teleporter stations" as part of the hotel chain's Travel Brilliantly campaign. The stations allow the guest to enjoy a 360-degree virtual experience, including movement, wind, smells and sounds which feels like you traveled into another dimension without ever leaving. Advertisement When we asked Chris Bazos, Co-Founder & President of Travelous, a private tour company, what he thought of VR and how it's about to impact the future of travel, he was excited at the opportunity of how this would transform his industry. Early adopters of airlines, hoteliers and tour companies like his realize its potential -- and the advantages to utilizing the immersive technology to stand out among other service providers. He believes VR is poised to enhance the overall travel booking process, by providing the ability to explore a location and virtually "try before you buy" it. "No longer is it just about itineraries, bloggers, reviews, images and video. Anyone in travel right now should be rethinking their content strategy with VR in mind -- a very exciting time for the travel industry and travelers alike," says Chris. According to Bloomberg, Thomas Cook, one of Europe's largest travel companies, went to Egypt to film the pyramids, six different hotel properties, and live-action biking on sand dunes. These videos will be used in their next marketing campaign where they will be utilizing Google Cardboard, an inexpensive VR player. Advertisement The players, along with 5,000 virtual brochures, will be mailed to their target audience, allowing the viewer to use their smartphones to enjoy custom-branded VR experiences via the downloadable app. Shawn Smith, founder of nadaCliche -- what he calls "The Black Sheep Travel Blog" -- is no stranger to traipsing the globe and capturing the essence of resorts, hotels and tours to enhance their visual experience through marketing and communications. Shawn is excited to embark on this new adventure in technology and creativity. Much like Bazos, he believes VR will play a major part in selling the experience. "It is the next evolution of 3D tours for the hospitality industry, which can showcase their offerings in a more interactive fashion. Hate it or love it, it's gonna happen. As a traveller who strives to discover the underdogs in the hospitality industry, I think the technology can lend great support in opening people's eyes. Don't believe that this 3 star 5 bedroom boutique hotel is as luxurious as the 5 star hotel down the street? Well then...*hand over the VR headset*... see for yourself," says Smith. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: MICHAEL BRADLEY via Getty Images Chrystia Freeland the Minsiter of International Trade from Canada looks on as Ministerial Representatives from the 12 countries for the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP) agreement in Auckland on February 4, 2016.The ambitious pact -- agreed in October 2015 after marathon negotiations in Atlanta, Georgia -- aims to break down trade and investment barriers between countries comprising about 40 percent of the global economy. / AFP / MICHAEL BRADLEY (Photo credit should read MICHAEL BRADLEY/AFP/Getty Images) On the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), International Trade minister Chrystia Freeland has claimed to be in listening mode." And she says no decision has been made yet. It is widely reported that she is touring the country to hear Canadians on the TPP. In February, at Question Period in the House of Commons, she said, Mr. Speaker, on the TPP, we are doing exactly what we promised we would do during the election campaign. We told Canadians that we would take the time to listen to Canadians and to consult widely on this deal. I myself have been part of more than 50 consultations, and our whole-of-government approach has included more than 200. Advertisement But it is not clear whom she is actually consulting. From our experience, it has been the usual blue-chip industry reps, chamber of commerce boards, and lawyers and academics -- not you or me. "Consultations" in Halifax Heres the recipe for a government consultation: first of all, the consultations are by invitation only. A select group of industry representatives or university professors are invited. No one else in the local community knows about it. The night before, through snooping, we get a notice that either Chrystia Freeland or her sidekick, Parliamentary Secretary David Lametti, will be doing a press conference, generally at a university the next morning following their consultations. At the actual event, there will be a small boardroom full of people. Sometimes, there are more when they stack the room with university students. Advertisement There, a panel of experts talk about the TPPs benefits. Then, there is a short question and answer period, where no one actually answers any questions. There is no record of the questions, and no report, as far as we can see. Only after the event does the government put up pictures of the public consultation. Here are some of the highlights of the open consultations: Vancouver, January 13: The event was billed as part of a national consultation tour. Panellists included John Ries, a professor of business economics at the Sauder School of Business, Matilde Bombardini, a professor at the Vancouver School of Economics, and moderator Yves Tiberghien, director of the Institute of Asian Research. Unfortunately, as our Chapter activist Tilby notes, "All the panellists minimized the impact of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provision and made little or no reference to the impact on our democracy." Nor did Freeland appear to see ISDS as a major issue. Meghan Sali from Open Media noted that six people were allowed to ask questions. None were answered. Quebec City, January 18 and Halifax, January 20: For Quebec City, we heard about the event hours before. For Halifax, we got a notice the night before that they would be consulting the Halifax Port Authority. We were unable to attend. Montreal, January 14: The notice was surprisingly long: three whole days in advance! There was a panel of three academics: Vincent Arel-Bundock, Cleo Paskal and Krzysztof Pelc. Only a few questions from the audience. No responses. Many students in the room. I snuck in a question about how this deal was created in secret between the plutocrats of the world, and how could Freeland reconcile this with her writing on inequality. We are all waiting for the answer. Regina, January 21: Again, this was an event that received less than 24 hours notice, as noted by Council of Canadians member Jim Elliot in the Regina Leader Post and the Regina CTV. Advertisement "Consultations" in Regina Winnipeg, January 22: Just the next day, again, with less than 24 hours notice, they had another public consultation. Our Prairies organizer, Brigette Depape, and activist Jobb Arnold managed to have a conversation with Parliamentary Secretary David Lametti. St. Johns, March 16: In this case, it seems that some activists were able to get invitations through the Harris Centre. But apparently, no mainstream media showed up, as these tweets show. "Consultations" in St. John's Guelph, March 17: Again, the night before. Mostly people in from the agri-business sector attended. Participants were predominately private sector, with a few public servants and one small NGO. Our activists were able to crash the event, and invited Lametti to their town hall on the TPP. Advertisement So now, we find ourselves asking questions aloud about these consultations. Why are we getting notice only a day before? According to the Independent, Lametti says, We cant plan that far in advance Were all members of Parliament as well. So because we are sitting, often times the trips are organized, as I said, relatively quickly and its hard to plan. Are they a smoke screen? Why only industry reps, and not citizens? Given that the corporate sector gets consulted first, does that not set the tone for the rest of the consultations? Now, it is still not too late to have proper consultations. We hear that the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade, a cross-party committee, will be holding hearings in Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg. And that Lametti will be doing his own consulting in Fredericton on March 30 and in P.E.I. on March 31. But the Committees press release says, The Committees primary objective is to assess the extent to which the agreement, once implemented, would be in the best interests of Canadians. Does that mean the government has made up its mind? It is well documented that, for years, corporate lobbyists have had their hands over it, in private. Surely, now, we get to have good look at it: civil society, unions, First Nations, municipalities and provinces. Advertisement We at the Council of Canadians have also been asking for full consultations, an independent analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Officer and also analysis that would include impacts on the environment and human rights. It is not enough to put up 6,000 pages of legal text or get department cheerleaders to brag about it. We need to have an impact analysis from independent sources so we can weigh the pros and cons of the agreement. In the meantime, we will be consulting you. And we will let the government hear your opinion. With Open Media and other groups, we are participating in a creating a tool that will send your comments to the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and to your MP. We will also keep your comments online so that we also can keep track of your comments. Use the tool to send your comments, register for the committee on trades process and talk to your local MP: many all over the world have questions about how the deal damages our public interest, the environment, health care and our democracy. We are more numerous, and we deserve a hearing. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Jooyoung Lee is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, a senior fellow with the Yale University Urban Ethnography Project -- and the author of: Blowin' Up: Rap Dreams in South Central. The just-published book details his research into a South Central Hip Hop workshop called Project Blowed. Lee examines how aspiring rappers and B-boys in the heart of Los Angeles's South Central neighbourhood learn the basics of the craft and hone their skills in search of hip hop glory. Advertisement U of T News writer Dominic Ali spoke with Lee about his research and about how his insights into South Central's Project Blowed could be applied to other cities with a vibrant music scene. What was the genesis of Blowin' Up? I was walking around UCLA's campus during my first year of graduate school and bumped into an old friend from Berkeley. He was an MC/graduate student and told me about Project Blowed, a legendary Hip Hop open mic workshop in South Central L.A.. He made it sound like a mystical training ground for underground MCs, so I went to check it out the following week and was immediately hooked! I had never seen or heard about this side of South Central L.A., which was so different from everything that I had ever seen or heard about the area. Tucked into gangland L.A., there was this incredible open mic workshop where rappers came each week to sharpen their craft. This project is also an outgrowth of my personal journey into hip hop culture. I grew up in Southern California listening to N.W.A. and other gangsta rappers from South Central and Compton. Even though I didn't have any personal experiences growing up around gang violence or police brutality, the music still resonated. It helped me make sense of my own experiences with racism and got me thinking about many of the core issues -- poverty, structural violence, racism -- that animate my research. What makes the music scene you document in your book so unique? Project Blowed sets an incredibly high bar for MCs who are trying to elevate the art of rhyming. The rappers would freestyle together for hours, refining their ability to string together words on the fly and create new styles of rhyming. It wasn't enough to just freestyle or write clever rhymes. MCs evaluated each other based on their abilities to create new and interesting ways to deliver their rhymes. It was a scene that placed a lot of emphasis on creativity. Advertisement Also, my book challenges a longstanding notion that hip hop encourages young people toward oppositional values and violence. I saw the opposite process unfolding in the lives of young black men from South Central. Many of the men who I write about grew up in the shadows of the Crips and Bloods and gang injunctions. Hip hop provided them with a creative alternative to gang life. What have you learned about hip hop and South Central that might be applicable to other cities with unique music scenes? I think music scenes provide a window into the worldviews of young people in different cities. The young men that I write about were making music shaped by their experiences around gangs and police violence. Music is very ethnographic in this way. And we can see the same types of representations appearing in Seattle grunge, punk rock from London, reggae music coming out of Kingston, and so forth. Most popular music is youth-driven, so it provides the world with a historical lens into young people's lived experiences. What conditions are needed for a city to successfully tap into its musical legacy? I think cities gain widespread musical recognition when a local artist blows up. Sometimes it can look like this happens overnight. But, as I learned, there is always a long backstory. Artists are typically working tirelessly behind the scenes and receiving support from lots of different people. Cities can help support this process by investing in music programs in public schools. They can also support the creative aspirations of musicians by providing funds for local artists and aspiring musicians. What do you think readers will take away from reading your book? I hope readers will realize that there's a lot more to places like South Central than just gangs and violence. Although gangs and violence are definitely part of South Central, they only represent part of the youth experience. Inner city communities are often unfairly stigmatized as dangerous, even lawless, places. These images are really caricatures that gloss over the range of experiences that people have in these communities. So, I hope that people will read my book and think critically about the taken-for-granted ideas they might have about "ghettos" across the U.S. and Canada. Advertisement What did your research reveal about North American culture? Hip hop is still widely stigmatized, as evidenced by recent efforts by the criminal justice system to use hip hop lyrics as evidence in violent crime cases. People still assume that it's an art form that socializes young people toward violence. But the stories in Blowin' Up challenge that. The men that I write about were doing exactly what society celebrates in stories of young, industrious and entrepreneurial people. They were using their talents and resources to pursue their passions in the hopes that they would realize their rap dreams. We often celebrate young people (think Bill Gates for instance) for doing this in other businesses and personal pursuits, but it takes on a very different tone when young black men from stigmatized areas take an unconventional path and invest their energies into it. What do you hope this book will lead to? I hope that the book will shine a light on why it's important to support the arts, especially in underserved communities. Hopefully, policymakers will realize that music and creative activities provide another way of responding to the "youth problem." Instead of only thinking about ramping up police efforts and punishing youth, it makes sense to invest in an infrastructure that will deter young people from going down those paths in the first place. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: The five things you need to know on Tuesday March 29, 2016 Paul is on holiday. So this morning's WaughZone is written by Graeme Demianyk 1) THERE GOES THE FEAR As Westminster wound down last Thursday, one top spinner involved in the EU referendum noted to me how the quiet Easter holiday was a good time to cause some mischief. They weren't kidding. Today's papers are full of referendum-based horseplay: dossiers, investigations, speeches. Its as if the Budget balls-up never happened. Advertisement "Deadly cost of our open borders," screams The Daily Mail on its splash, citing research from the Vote Leave group suggesting free movement rules have allowed "dozens of foreign criminals commit horrific offences in Britain". The analysis claims 50 of the most dangerous European criminals showed they were responsible for numerous serious crimes in the UK, including 14 killings and 13 sex offences. Most papers pick up on the same research, though The Guardian leads with the response of the remain side, branding the claim scaremongering of the worst kind. Its now a familiar waltz. Claim followed by counter-claim and a race to label your opponent a disciple of Project Fear. No wonder the public are confused. And theres more. "Expats quit Europe," thunders The Times, its page one tale concerning a vote to leave would "trigger an exodus" of British expatriates from the continent. It says 100 Britons are already leaving Spain each day amid "economic woes" in southern Europe, and experts believe the number will increase due to "uncertainty" over the UK's possible EU exit. Education Secretary and remainer Nicky Morgan joins in the fun. In a speech today, she will appeal directly to grandparents and parents by warning of a lost generation youngsters caused by Brexit denting job prospects. Advertisement Proof that in politics a sharp U-turn is the best U-turn. Theres barely a mention of cutting benefits to disabled people that dominated Westminster before Easter. 2) TATA FOR NOW? Westminster has a habit of losing perspective, becoming obsessed with stories that have little resonance in the real world. But today is different. A board meeting is being held at Tata in Mumbai to discuss the future the companys Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales. Company bosses will be deciding whether to accept a survival plan which would result in 750 job losses at the plant, and the Government has warned Tata that it faces damage to its international reputation if it decides to close the plant, the FT reports. On the Today programme, local activist Rob Edwards described the facility as "Treasure Island" so reliant the community is on the work. Business minister Anna Soubry also appeared, warning anyone listening not to "under-estimate" the Government's desire to keep making steel in the UK - but had a dig at former Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable: "Vince could have done more." When asked whether ministers had a plan for the area if Tata rejected the rescue strategy, Soubry said: "We are looking at all manner of plans that may or may not be available to us." Higher tariffs for cheap imports were a matter for the EU, she said, and we're almost back to the fear again. Advertisement 3) CHUCK BORIS There were two things polticos absolutely positively had to tweet about this weekend: the 1966 general election re-run on BBC Parliament yesterday; and that Matthew Parris column in the Times ripping into Boris Johnson. The latter was an old-fashioned hit job, but online it was shared like the Westminster equivalent of a cat gif. The former Tory MP and parliamentary sketch writer wasn't going to leave his readers in any doubt about how he felt about Brexits most visible supporter. Off a long run-up, he wrote: "Somebody has to remind us that its not enough for those who seek to govern us simply to be: they have to do. Incompetence is not funny. Policy vacuum is not funny. Administrative sloth is not funny. Breaking promises is not funny. A careless disregard for the truth is not funny. Advising old mates planning to beat somebody up is not funny. Abortions and gagging orders are not funny. Creeping ambition in a jesters cap is not funny." Ouch. These are the oft-cited vulnerabilities that many think will come back to haunt the London Mayor if he has a tilt at the top job. More followed when Boris's former lover Petronella Wyatt wrote a first-person piece in the Mail on Sunday about their "amitie amoureuse". But it was no kiss 'n' tell: the big reveal appeared to be that close friends and family call him "Al". For BoJo, it was business as usual. His Telegraph column was a clothes-peg-on-nose piece in praise for Assad/Putin for re-capturing the ancient city of Palmyra from Isis. 4) EASTER TRUCE It was a quiet weekend of the Labour Party, with only one round of calls for Jeremy Corbyn to quit. MP John Woodcock warning the party cannot go on like this for the sake of people being bled dry was slapped down by a spokesman for the leader, who once more told disgruntled MPs to respect his mandate. With Parliament not sitting theres no Monday night fireworks that is the weekly Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, so maybe Corbyn will enjoy an Easter truce. But shouldnt opposition parties be looking to own the recess heat? The down-time is a good opportunity to get out stories usually crowded out by the market. Andy Burnhams warning of the Home Office making a very serious mistake if it presses ahead with reductions of up to 6% in the Border Forces budget is its most prominent news win of the weekend. But its actually the Lib Dems with the biggest hit for the Opposition parties today. Advertisement Norman Lamb tells the i that the Government is falling short of mental health health targets. The former health minister says new waiting-times targets for conditions including bipolar disorder and OCD wont happen because the pledge to spend 1bn extra a year is not enough. 5) TERROR DIVISION As Brussels institutions today attempt to restore some semblance of normality after last weeks atrocities, the Belgian authorities are facing international ridicule for releasing the man in the hat because of a lack of evidence. Meanwhile, in the UK, a flagship Government anti-terror programme has hit difficulties. At its conference this weekend, the National Union of Teachers voted down the Prevent scheme after warning it could be used to target young Muslims. The Government's anti-radicalisation strategy urged teachers to refer to police any pupils they suspected of engaging in radical behaviour, but it has been considered a failure since around 90 per cent of referrals result in no action being taken. Kevin Courtney, NUT deputy general secretary, cited a catalogue of high-profile examples, including a group of young Muslim girls refusing to discuss Charlie Hebdo after the Paris attacks over concerns it would get them in trouble. Advertisement If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox. I was lucky enough to visit the second largest city in Colombia last week - Medellin. The city of eternal spring. Once known as one of the most violent cities in the world, before I travelled there I received heaps of advice about safety and tourism. I didn't know what to expect. I was encouraged by the city's recent status as one of the Most Innovative Cities in the World. It was chosen due to a great advancement in public transportation, with more than 500,000 residents and visitors using its Metro train system each day; a public bike-share program; new facilities and landmarks, including the Espana Library and a cultural center in Moravia; a large outdoor escalator the size of a 28-story building, enabling residents of the city's elevated Comuna 13 neighborhood to safely ride down the steep hillside; and a Metro system which reduces Medellin's CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons each year. Advertisement I came to Medellin for the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, a yearly gathering of entrepreneurship supporters, businesspeople and educators which grows a global entrepreneurship ecosystem. Over 100 countries were represented, all committed to encouraging entrepreneurship to thrive in their own countries. Here's a rundown of what I learned from the fascinating trip: 1. Colombia's grit and determination is thriving Medellin itself has undergone massive transformations. A tour of the city showed me how once violent and crime-ridden areas are now safer and tourist attractions, badges of pride for local people. This drive for a brighter future will serve Colombian entrepreneurs well. 2. Real investment is being made in enterprise I visited a number of startup incubators and schemes, including SENA and Ruta N, providing practical support for innovative entrepreneurs to start up their ventures and build an MVP. The passion amongst the tutors and entrepreneurs was infectious. Advertisement 3. The city's entrepreneurs are raring to go I spoke to hundreds of budding entrepreneurs from the city who told me they were so pleased to hear a British entrepreneur come and give them some inspiration. They are very excited about their futures and want to build pride in their country. 4. The government are firmly on board The Mayor pledged support for entrepreneurship at the conference and Cecilia Alvarez-Correa, Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Columbia, proudly introduced Medellin during her opening remarks, highlighting the Wall Street Journal and Citigroup's recognition of "Most Innovative City" in 2014. 5. The country is making it easier to start up The country is streamlining processes for starting up and for the growth of businesses. The country recognises the triple bottom line of social value, economic benefit and long term sustainable growth for its country and its citizens. You have a big occasion on the horizon and you've decided to splash out on a new suit. Money has been put aside and you are searching for something dapper and specially fitted to celebrate the big day but with so many options where do you start? Terms like off-the-peg, tailored, ready-to-wear, custom-made, made-to-measure and bespoke have all been suggested by someone 'in the know' but other than understanding that some options are pricier than others, most blokes don't really know what it all means and what is actually right for them. I spoke with sartorial experts Clements and Church, an independent British tailoring brand that creates various levels of tailoring solutions and good-looking attire for style conscious gentleman. Advertisement "To simplify things straight away and despite the various terminology you may have heard, you actually have three options: 1. Off-the-peg 2. Custom-Made and 3. Bespoke." Says Master tailor Aaron john. Each will include a certain level of personalisation but here's how they differ: Off the peg (otherwise known as ready-to-wear) is factory made and usually produced to standard sizes. There will be a wide range in quality standards depending on manufacturer and the production of the suit will have been completed already by the tailor so you won't have any input into its creation. To a certain extent the tailor can then work the garment to your profile, usually tapering trousers and tweaking elsewhere, but this option really is for those who fit within the standard sizing brackets and working to tighter budgets. Advertisement Next is made-to-measure (otherwise known as Custom Made). Made-to-measure is essentially a pre-made suit shape altered based on your preferences and measurements that take between 6-8 weeks. Rather than starting from scratch, you are fitted from a selection of sample garments, which are then tailored to your unique body type and provide you with fabric and detail options.' The pattern is then cut by hand specific to the individual's measurements taken from the fitting. Here you have more control in the production and you'll be far more involved in the process from start to finish. The steps include: 1.Measurement fitting: The tailor will measure everything from waist, arm & leg length to whether one of your shoulders drops lower than the other. 2.Choosing your fabric: the customer adds input into the type of fabric they want and can choose from a selection of fabric swatches Advertisement 3.The Style: single button, double button, double-breasted, three-piece, lapel size - it's your choice! 4.Adding your personality: this is when the detail is added. For instance, choosing your buttons, lining, stitching colour etc. 5.Final fitting: by this stage everything should all be in place but one more fitting is required just in case... The last option is bespoke. Now, I've just outlined the detail of what goes into a made-to-measure suit where the service is already pretty robust with two measurement fittings, and choosing details like fabrics, style of buttons, stitching and patterns so you're probably wondering what's left to do? Advertisement Well, it's more about how it's made and allow me to use luxury cars as my analogy. One day I'd like to buy a Maserati. I could go and get one from the garage tomorrow, adjust the seat, tweak the mirrors and drive away in my lovely new car, this is my off-the-peg option. Instead, I could go into the garage & have the same car built made to my specifications, choosing the interior colour, initial the dashboard, tweak the spec etc...then it'll go away to the factory and when I go in to pick up I'll drive away a car which was made for specifically for me. Although it will cost thousands more, it will be completely unique and that's the benefit of a made-to-measure suit. Now, bespoke suits can only be described as buying a Bentley. Again the car costs thousands more and doesn't necessarily perform better than other supercars but the price point is reached because of, in the most part, the car is handmade and with that comes the level of detail competitor products simply can't offer. So back to suits. Bespoke has become a bit of an exhausted term in the industry and it loses meaning each and every time a made-to-measure suit company uses it incorrectly. Bespoke suits usually take 12 weeks, are handmade and hand-stitched which will not only make the suits last longer but will look even more impressive than machine stitched garments. Here's how it differs to made-to-measure: Advertisement 1.Handmade from start to finish 2.Working from an individual pattern as opposed to a standard block 3.More personalised service as more fittings required. Some bespoke shops could require five fittings. 4.A larger selection of fabrics 5.Every single thing is measured to the individual 6.A more personalised product that takes more than 50 hours to create So effectively you're paying for the craftsmanship when it comes to a bespoke suit, which the super wealthy won't mind doing. A bespoke suit is also an attractive option particularly to those who have a physique that's significantly different to the standard sizing - for those chaps you can really tell the difference. Pricing will vary greatly depending on where you go but to give you some guidance, the chaps at Clements and Church price suits between 800-1,900 for off-the-peg, 2,000-4,500 for made to measure and 2,500 - up to anything you want to spend on bespoke. So, for most of us, once you've identified a good tailor a made-to-measure suit will satisfy most of you, particularly if you're new to tailoring but no words can describe the feeling of wearing a bespoke suit! Advertisement Those who serve in our Armed Forces are by their very nature resilient characters, trained to be robust and self sufficient. These men and women need to be as they protect our national security each and every day. It is essential that they are fit, tough and self confident and it is critical that their training is designed to reinforce this. As a result of the environment they operate in and the culture that they share with their comrades and colleagues on a daily basis, it is perhaps not surprising that asking for help can prove to be a real challenge for some of them. Nine years ago, SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity set up a confidential helpline, at the request of the Army, as a direct response to the Deepcut tragedies. The Army wanted to ensure that all of those with concerns had someone independent to turn to. In the last year we have seen a significant increase in calls from serving personnel, many relating to mental health issues. The helpline received 21,983 requests for help last year - a 6% increase on 2014. But the most striking increase was amongst serving personnel, with more than 3,000 calling Forcesline compared to 1,600 the year before. Advertisement There are few people who will know our service men and women better than their commanding officers and I vividly remember being able to identify those members of my team who were not functioning at 100% or whose behaviour had shifted, just slightly. However not everyone shows visible signs when they are struggling. Some of the sailors, soldiers and airmen and women who reach out to us, tell us that they are coming to SSAFA rather than their chain of command as they worry that asking for help could be perceived as a sign of weakness. They feel that it goes against what is expected of them or they are letting others down and this is a real concern to us. Although the Forces have made great strides in their welfare support, the 'grin and bear it' and "just get on with it" attitude within the serving community remains strong. Whilst this can be a real strength in an Armed Force, for some individuals it can be a serious problem. Thankfully, the dreadful and heart breaking images of dead and injured servicemen and women being repatriated from overseas no longer dominate the front pages. However, let us be quite clear about this - the United Kingdom is still at war and it is imperative that the welfare of our troops remains a priority. Our serving personnel remain exposed to high levels of pressure, unique to their profession, each and every day. To ensure we have the most robust troops on the frontline, whether that be operating a drone over a war zone from thousands of miles away, physically flying over the skies of Syria or placing boots on the ground in a hostile environment, we must not allow any of our troops to feel that when they need support, they have to deal with their issues alone. Advertisement SSAFA is also seeing an increase in the numbers of veterans coming to us for help. A recurring pattern seems to be they come to us when they have reached rock bottom. We are often presented with a complex web of issues that an individual is battling with, which can be very hard for us to unpick. A veteran who had left the Army 21 years ago recently walked into one of our drop in centres with an all too familiar tale. Since his discharge, he had struggled to find employment, he could not keep up with his rent and consequently he and his family had lost their home. His wife had subsequently left him and he had then turned to alcohol and other stimulants which left him s homeless, wrestling with substance abuse issues and without any family support. This downward spiral had not occurred overnight and when SSAFA volunteers asked him why it had taken him so long to ask for help, this proud veteran simply said: 'It's not the Army way.' It is our strong view that our serving troops and veterans must be encouraged to come forward with their problems as and when they arise. They need to know that it is OK to ask for help - we all need support from time to time. Ever since Pericles and the ancient Athenians "rule by the people, democracy has been hotly contested. It is under particular pressure today with widely diverging beliefs around the world, not least those fueled by extremism. Commentators tell us regularly about Britain being at the vanguard of democracy. In truth it is probably a self-serving assertion - one that is under threat. With fewer elected MP's, more unelected peers, anti Trade Union measures, Short money cutbacks, people missing from the Electoral Roll due to new Individual Voter Registration and boundary changes removing even more people, the notion of a fair democracy is getting even harder to justify. According to an Electoral Commission report published in 2014, 7.5 million people are missing from the Electoral Register - so much for democracy. That's equivalent to 12% of the population and represents 25% of people who voted in the 2015 General Election. That's hardly insignificant. Advertisement The Government wants to reduce the number of MP's to 600 from 650 and equalise the size of each constituency. Based on 2015 figures the Conservative lose 14, Labour 21, LibDem 4 and others 7 seats. At a time of austerity, the Tories claim politicians need to lead by example. Leaving aside whether austerity is necessary or not, The Electoral Reform Society rightly pondered on this claim, saying: 'so that's a 8% decrease in the number of elected MP's to pay for a 17% increase in the number of elected Lords", 244 Peers.' Approximately 800,000 citizens have dropped off the Electoral Roll as a consequence of Individual Voter Registration being implemented too quickly and without adequate awareness raising. Action could have been taken to link voter registration to the provision of services, tax or passport records. All this matches well with the Tory supporter profile, which favours older rather than younger voters - they wouldn't do it otherwise. If they were sincere then the Government would be actively engaging with young people through online media and citizen education, instead of leaving it to bite the Ballot and broader civic society. Advertisement There is little incentive for the Tories to reform our political system to make it fairer. That just wouldn't work for them because under First Past the Post in 2015 they got 52% of seats with only 37% of votes. That can be cemented by implementing the Boundary Commission proposals which gives them another 20 seats and restricting trade union funding to Labour and short money to all opposition parties. It is cynical, calculated and further erodes democracy. In this toxic mix it is hardly surprising that people do not feel connected with Government and do not trust politicians. People no longer believe that politics is relevant to their lives. Instead of responding constructively to these changing dynamics, the Tories simply seek to clinch a divide and rule country. That leads to an unhealthy polarisation not just in politics, but in our communities between the 'haves and have nots', with the potential for social unrest. Some 63% of the population didn't vote Tory, yet they hold a questionable 'mandate' to lean on disabled people's benefits and provide tax giveaways to the wealthy. Whilst there has been progress in recent years with the diversity of politicians, there is still much more to be done. Indeed, with the 2015 intake we saw a significant fall in the number of disabled Members of the Commons. The closure of the Access to Elected Office Fund and little sign of affirmative action, woeful representation of disabled people is unlikely to change any time soon. Reluctantly, I hesitate about replacing The Lords with a wholly elected Senate. The direct and authentic voices of disabled people tend to come from cross benchers. On past performance alone, turning our second chamber over to the will of political parties isn't going to help matters. An unelected system goes against principle, but there is a case for pragmatism if parties aren't going to meet the 'Disability Challenge'. Research about refugee women and children in detention In recognition of the use of immigration-related detention the Global Detention Project provides a source of accurate information about their use and other immigration control regimes. Immigration detention centres are within every region of the world, however their prevalence is mainly in the United States with 884 and Europe (548). A report published in 2015 by the Global Detention Project explained that it is impossible to have accurate knowledge of the numbers of migrants and asylum seekers being held in detention around the world. This article will highlight recent research about refugee women and children in detention. Concerns about the detention of children have become an international issue. International human rights legislation provides that child migrants should not be detained for immigration-related reasons. Detailed information about un-accompanied children is not available; however, it is known that within some countries children are routinely being detained. For example, in November, 2015 more than 100 countries criticised Australia for detaining women and children within offshore facilities (Millar, 2015). Following international pressure, the government in Australia pledged to change their domestic legislation in order to remove children from some detention centres (Anderson, 2015). A recent review of literature from studies around the world has found that detention for children leaves them depressed, sleep difficulties and developmental problems (Bosworth, 2016). Internationally immigration detention is an opaque area of public administration and it is claimed that a lack of knowledge about immigration centres means there is a tendency for speculative or ill-informed journalism (Shaw, 2016). Advertisement The detention of children, even for short periods is understood to be harmful. The United States has the largest number of immigration centres and some of these detain families. Despite the expiry of a license of Berks County facility because it holds asylum-seeking families, evidence has been obtained by a campaigning group called Human Rights First. This evidence is seven complaints by mothers who are concerned for the welfare of their children. These letters explain problems with healthcare, children suffering mental health issues and problems with getting help. #ShutDownBerks is the latest campaign to stop this detention centre operating illegally and violating not only human rights but also domestic civil law. Concerns about the welfare of women and children in immigration detention centres are shared by campaigners around the world. In the United Kingdom a recent campaign called #setherfree is organised by an organisation called Women for Refugee Women. This does not only highlight that women are being detained indefinitely without their friends or family but they are also pregnant. In January 2016, the results of a review were published which aimed to identify the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons (Stephen Shaw, 2016). Within this review, Professor Mary Bosworth from Oxford University conducted a literature review. This highlighted the lack of research in the United Kingdom about the psychological and psychiatric impacts of this form of detention. The review recommended the closure of a family detention centre in England called the Cedars. This review concluded that smaller, more strategically focused immigration centres would be more protective of the welfare of vulnerable people and deliver better value for the taxpayer (Shaw, 2016). Advertisement Before coming to Koh Lanta last week, I really did't know a whole lot about the island. I heard it was a lot quieter than the likes of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao on the other side of Thailand and that it was also nothing like the rowdiness of Phuket. Having spent just under a week exploring the island, I now have a new found love and appreciation for this beautiful stretch of paradise. Here are eight reasons to love Koh Lanta, at least in my eyes... 1. Deserted beaches Unlike most of the other places I have visited in Thailand (or the rest of South east Asia for that matter) I love that you can find totally deserted beaches just a short scooter or boat ride from your resort on Koh Lanta. We rented scooters (super cheap at only 5 dollars a day) and toured around the island by ourselves. Less than 10 minutes away from the resort we were stayed at, we found a strip of beach with not a single soul on it, making for a great photo shoot spot. The near by islands were also out of this world, and just a short boat trip away. Advertisement 2. Animal Welfare While on our whirlwind tour is the island on our cute little scooters, we stopped off at the Lanta Animal Welfare centre. I was worried it would be a very small and sad place, with big dogs kept in small kennels. However, from the minute we arrived at the centre, our silly misconceptions went flying out the window. The whole atmosphere in the place was so positive and happy. Run almost entirely by volunteers, whose smiles and positivity rub off on you instantly, it is the most wonderful place to visit. Check out the Lanta Animals Welfare site for more information. 3. Beach bars Dotted the entire way along Long Beach, and pretty much every other beach on the main strip, you will find the cutest little beach bars with either wooden benches, deck chairs or super comfortable cushions in the sand. Serving up deliciously cold chang beer, sunset cocktails and great snack food to keep your tummy from rumbling while you wait patiently for the sun to set, these were my favourite place to hang out at on the island. 4. Stunning resorts I honestly think this island has some of the most beautifully located resorts I have ever come across. On my first night I stayed in the Lanta Palace, where the swimming pool may as well have been on the beach and the sunsets were nothing short of spectacular. I then moved on to the Crown Lanta Resort which is located on it's own private stretch of beach and is pure luxury. With two huge pools surrounded by dense palm trees (making it magically feel like you are more secluded that you really are) and a swim up bar serving great happy hour cocktails, it was the type of resort which you check in to and never want to leave! Advertisement 5. Interesting mix of cultures One thing that makes Koh Lanta stand out from other island that may seem similar to the untrained eye is the interesting mix of people that live here. The three main cultures that live and mix here are Thai Muslim, Thai Chinese and Chao Ley (Sea Gypsies). We actually got to go to the islands annual Laanta Lanta Festival in Old Town yesterday which celebrates all people and cultures who live on the island and shows how well they all get along with each other. 6. Incredible boat trips On our four islands tour by traditional long tail boat (yet another reason to love this island - those boats must be the most instagrammed thing on the island!!), we got to go snorkelling at two different islands (more like rocky outcrops on the middle of the sea!) and saw a brilliant array of tropical fish including Nemo! We also got to go swimming in the most magical emerald cave, where the water glowed this crazy green colour an when you emerge at the other side you end of on this deserted beach. It was a real highlight of our entire stay. 7. The relaxed atmosphere Koh Lanta is totally chilled out. Even the music you here at the beach bars and restaurants is mellow. There are very few rowdy backpacker bars or dodgy all night joints, at least that I could see. The island is very family-friendly and also perfect for couples and even solo travellers looking for a bit of down time. There's very little beeping or noise pollution, especially once you get off the main strip. It really is the most chilled out piece of paradise, the perfect holiday spot. Advertisement 8. The sunsets Photo: Thomas Louapre The smell of cardamom-scented coffee fills the damp room in a suburb of Amman, Jordan. Reema places the tray on the floor. 'Ahlan wa sahlan!' - she welcomes me with a smile. Hospitality and warmth are the only things this Syrian family has left since they fled their homeland in 2013. Now Reema, her husband Abed and their five children live in this single bedroomed flat with its tiny, windowless kitchen and bathroom teeming with cockroaches. Kneeling on the floor, in front of worn-out couches, Abed speaks softly. 'We were surprised when we received the news. Our file is being reviewed at the US embassy. We might be resettled'. Advertisement Next to him, four children giggle and play. Cradled in Reema's arms is one-year old Mohammad, who is suffering from a severe heart condition. Abed spreads out the medical file which has pages and pages of tests, results, diagnoses and an impossible verdict: open heart surgery that starts at 10,000 Jordanian dinars (10,000). 'We were told he was very ill when he was two months old. Ever since, we've been in and out of hospitals. It costs a fortune, and the only solution is surgery. How will I ever be able to afford this? Our only hope is the US', says Abed. He takes his son from his mother's arms, sits next to me, and removes the layers of clothes. The baby is small for his age. 'Touch him,' he tells me. Mohammad's heart pounds furiously and irregularly against my fingers as I lay the palm of my hand on his chest. 'At night, when everything is silent and we are all asleep, I can hear his heart beating, like a wall clock,' says Reema, her eyes filled with sadness. 'I hope help is on the way. You'll see, if you go to the US, they will give him the care he needs,' I reply. Moments earlier, I was thumbing through pictures on my phone to show her my own healthy children. I don't know what else to tell her. While they wait to find out if they'll be resettled, Abed is trying tirelessly to keep a roof over his family's head, working illegally at night in a coffee shop, and earning 220 a month. Half of it pays the rent for their flat. Advertisement The family had two appointments with US officials in Amman, the second just a few weeks before I visited them. 'I was told that our file might be fast-tracked because of Mohammad . If not, we were promised to be sent to another country with a faster process,' says Abed. I visited the family on a cold, sunny Tuesday. The following Sunday, Mohammad died. In the interim, we had tried to contact local medical organisations to see if he could have his surgery urgently in Jordan. On Monday, I got a call from a colleague: 'Joelle, Mohammad is gone'. I paused for a moment that felt like an eternity. Nothing mattered anymore. No embassy appointments, no medical files, no resettlement interviews. The world stopped when Mohammad's heart stopped, both losing a battle that could have been won. And here we are watching rich countries debating yet again whether Syrian refugees should be allowed in or not, whether they pose a security threat or are linked to terrorist groups. At Oxfam, we've been calling for the resettlement of 10% of the most vulnerable five million registered Syrian refugees. That means children like Mohammad, whose life hinged on medical care, fathers like Abed who work night shifts to provide their families with a home, and mothers like Reema, who pray daily for their children to be safe and healthy. For all of them, the choice is: return to Syria and face potential death, or live in destitution in neighbouring countries. How many more children like Mohammad will die from preventable deaths if states do not open their doors and extend a merciful hand? For some, the word 'religion' is synonymous with gender inequality, homophobia and superstition. These associations are not completely without substance. Many faiths and denominations oppress women, oppose same-sex relationships and pedal the unlikely as fact. Far-right extremists and 'New Atheists' extend these negative associations to blame religion for historical and present-day violence. Anyone who thinks differently is an apologist, a wishful thinker, ignorant, or all three! On the face of it, their arguments seem plausible. But there is a stack of evidence that suggests they are misguided and dangerous. In this article I will argue why I think it is wrong to blame religion for the violence conducted in its name. I am not a religious person, nor am I ignorant - I have a Masters in history that focussed on religion through the centuries. There are times when I am a wishful thinker, but I have tried to keep that to a minimum. Your thoughts are welcome. Judge religion in its entirety and in its context The case for religion being inherently violent tends to be constructed through carefully selected pieces of religious text. But, as with any text, we can only understand its meaning by reviewing it in its entirety and in context. Advertisement By understanding how the origins of the world's major religions we get a strong sense of their non-violent nature. Many faiths grew as a reaction to state oppression - Judaism from the Egyptians, Christianity from the Romans and Islam from the Meccan elite. Their mass appeal was their vision of hope - for an inclusive and safe society free from fear, persecution and injustice. They were a means to reject violence, not to encourage it. It's why each has the values of charity, inclusivity and community at their core. It's why their role in society is overwhelmingly positive - be it through providing a meeting place for the community or direct charity via soup kitchens and food banks. The slaughtering of innocents, whether in Jerusalem in 1096 or Paris in 2015, abandons these core principles. Image courtesy of www.Hairyhiker.com Religion: A historical cause of violence? Part of the problem is that ancient contexts and sources make texts very difficult to interpret. They are often collections of contradictory accounts in languages that no longer exist, expressed in contexts removed from our own. This leads to diverse - although intellectually honest - interpretations and denominations. The belief that the major faiths justify or encourage violence is more than just a 'diverse interpretation'. It is only possible to reach this conclusion by selecting specific parts of texts and ignoring the rest. Doing this clearly highlights the existence of an external motive - either by the perpetrator or the interpreter. Advertisement History highlights a multitude of events where 'religious violence' was driven by external motives. For millennia, the external motive was the agrarian society religions existed in. The insecurity of a subsistence lifestyle and the associated greed of the ruling classes meant that violence (through raids, land grabs or defence) was central to everyday life. Religion was used as a means to justify or protect against violence, but the motives were distinctly secular. The Middle Ages is littered with examples of externally-motivated 'religious violence'. Religious academic Karen Armstrong describes The Crusades as a "political struggle for power between popes and emperors". Although misplaced religious zeal played a role, many that took part were inspired by fame, fortune and adventure. The expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 (the subject of my dissertation) was blamed on Jewish religious practices at the time, but in reality it was a convenient way of absolving the nobility of debt obligations to Jewish money-lenders. Similarly, The Spanish Inquisition was seen as a way to seize growing Muslim and Jewish wealth. Even the so-called Wars of Religion in the 16th and 17th centuries were predominantly political; Catholics and Protestants fighting on the same side, despite the religious objectives. Religion: A modern-day cause of violence? External factors continue to affect recent 'religious violence'. Ex CIA Operations Officer Marc Sageman demonstrated that only 25% of those involved in 9/11 had a traditional Islamic up-bringing. Most were self-taught and had not studied the Quran thoroughly. Their problem, according to Sageman was not Islam but ignorance of Islam. Robert Pape has studied every single suicide bombing since 1980, and concludes that religion is not a motive in itself. His study incorporates many hundreds of secular suicide bombings, most notably the Marxist Tamil Tigers - the 'leading' suicide bombers until 2003. Pape states "What 95% of all suicide attacks have in common, is not religion, but a specific strategic motivation to respond to a military intervention". The belief that ISIS' violence is built on religious ideology is also questionable. Most of their leadership are former members of Saddam Hussein's secular government, which certainly suggests external political motives. Didier Francois a former ISIS captive stated that the Quran hardly ever featured in ISIS discourse, the conversation being almost entirely political. David Kenner, who conducted interviews with 15 of their supporters, stated that they never raised the topic of religion. One Charlie Hebdo attacker was unable to separate Catholicism from Islam and some Britons departing to join ISIS in Syria were spotted with 'Islam for dummies' in their hand luggage. This letter from 120 Muslim scholars outlines how removed their practices are from the core messages of Islam. Psychologists highlight that many terrorists are opportunist criminals, and like other law-breakers are driven by desperation, disconnection or a quest for significance. Advertisement There is also the wider picture. Blaming ideology for troubles in the Middle East flatly ignores the overwhelming social, political and economic drivers - lack of democracy and (often secular) government oppression; a top-heavy economy; a century of Western interference in leadership, fixed elections, oil and boundaries. Do we really act on ideology? Evolutionary psychologists argue that our actions are predominantly driven by our evolutionary needs not by ideology. In their book The Rational Animal, Douglas Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius list our evolutionary needs as mate acquisition and retention, affiliation, kincare, disease avoidance, status and self-protection. How we engage with the world around us corresponds with the evolutionary drivers that are activated. This is why incidents of 'religious violence' are almost always associated with threats to our person. Is a world without religion less violent? If we were to believe that religious ideology causes violence, then it follows that violence should decline as religion becomes less influential. This is what many argue is needed in the Middle East, but in the West we have already conducted this experiment. The Reformation and The Enlightenment moved religion to the private sphere and championed logical, scientific enquiry. As great as these developments were, neither movements significantly reduced violence. In religion's place stepped fanaticism for capitalism and the nation state. Violence became justified for other reasons. Take the example of Thomas Hobbes explaining the slaughter of Native Americans because they were blocking 'productive' use of land. Secular regimes have produced some of the biggest genocides of human history. Nazi concentration camps are an obvious example and add to that Russian Gulags, Bosnian war camps, or any other number of totalitarian secular regimes across the world. And on what legal grounds did we justify the death and displacement of so many innocents in the Iraq war? Advertisement Religion, concentration camps and aliens Some argue that we infantilise terrorists by dismissing their stated motives. But it is simply not valid to act on behalf of a religion, when your actions blatantly ignore its core messages. At a stretch, they could be driven by ignorance or propaganda. In either case, the blame should lie with the individual or the brain-washer, not the religion. Of course, many genuinely believe they are acting in the name of a religion, but this simply highlights a tendency to attach actions to a socially available narrative. Psychology text 'Mistakes were made, but not by me' highlights a range of examples where this has occurred. It cites the thousands in the US who blame their psychological problems on childhood abuse, despite evidence suggesting they never experienced any. There is the case of Binjaman Wilkomirski author of Fragments, a book describing his childhood in a Nazi-occupied Concentration Camp. It was later revealed he was brought up by loving parents elsewhere. More bizarre is the 3 million Americans who believe they have been abducted by aliens (obviously wrongly). In each example they genuinely believed their constructed reality, and became more convinced when challenged. By blaming fictitious sex-offenders, concentration camps or aliens they no longer had to blame themselves for their insecurities. Instead they became 'victims' or 'warriors' that had overcome adversity. There is a strong parallel with terrorists and other perpetrators of religious violence. By justifying their actions by religious ideology they transform themselves from disconnected members of society to agents of God, with a purpose and feeling of belonging. The rewards are too strong for the contradictory evidence to hold much sway. What next? Each day the news presents us with a new violent atrocity conducted in the name of religion. As the incidents increase so does hostility to people within those faiths. If nothing else, I hope this article has raised the possibility that this violence is caused by external circumstances, not ideology. I believe that it's only by recognising this, that we stand a chance of making society the tolerant, non-violent place we long for. By incorrectly blaming religion we are in danger of doing the opposite. Advertisement The Passion narratives in the Gospels are very familiar at this time of year, read in church and featuring in the Passion oratorios of JS Bach. A key figure, apart from Jesus of course, is Pontius Pilate. We know him, if we still remember the accounts, as the man who 'washed his hands' of responsibility for Jesus' death, personifying this continuing expression of avoidance. Yet, we don't challenge these stories. Pilate was a brutal man, even by Roman standards, famously, if you know his story, he was recalled to Rome and disciplined for excessively unnecessary brutality, he was executing, and killing, too many Roman subjects. We get the impression from the Gospels that he was weak, dithering about releasing Jesus, seeking to persuade the crowd that he was one of them. We even read in one account that he was afraid, this was a man who was definitely not afraid, if he had a problem with the people he killed them. In today's society, long after we thought it was over, anti-Semitism is on the rise. Many of us know that the Gospels have a case to answer for lighting the blue touch paper on Christian anti-Semitism, though you're not likely to hear this in church. It's hard to take seriously that an oppressed people at a particularly nationalistic and meaningful time of year - Passover, commemorating the Exodus from slavery in Egypt - would be supporting the Roman Emperor - 'If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar.' This is a script which is unbelievable. Advertisement When we think about it, it is all too obvious what is happening in the story, what happened when it was written, still under Roman occupation. The Roman governor is painted in a good light, unrealistically. His eagerness to kill the innocent is highlighted elsewhere in the story of Jesus when there is mention of pilgrims to Jerusalem whose blood was mixed with their sacrifices. This reaches its culmination in a literally unbelievable shout from the crowd. There is no way that a restless, patriotic group of pilgrims, remembering the suffering and escape from previous oppression would voice these words, 'The only king we have is Caesar'. The Romans had such trouble in Judaea because the people would never accept them as rulers. And if the Romans are presented in a good light, particularly Pilate as the reluctant judge, it is the Jews who are tragically and unfairly presented as the bad guys. The legacy of the convenient, but unconvincing, cry, 'We and our children will be responsible for his death,' is all too apparent. If only these words had never been written, how many atrocities have they led to? It's too late to unwrite them but we can unread and unremember then, they are not what happened. They are too convenient in their paralleling of religious outlooks of an earlier era and in laying blame that ought not to have been laid. Yet, they are read unquestioningly and without comment. Much time and money has been invested in understanding the time of the Bible and in searches for the 'Historical Jesus', but without challenging biased and propagandist texts. Almost all historical anti-semitism, pogroms and the Holocaust ultimately point back to these accounts. I guess we all have this glorified vision of starting our own business. One fateful night sitting around with friends and a nice bottle of wine leads to one of those 'eureka' moments, that seeds a spiral of excitement and passion for your new business venture. Investment and capital flood in because, of course, your idea is brilliant and before you know it - you've turned over a million pounds. However, we don't live in a movie - and the reality of your start up business going in a direct upward trajectory isn't exactly a true representation of reality. Advertisement For the past two years I've had more media exposure and social media following than I've known what to do with. To be honest, most companies would give their right arm to have that level of positive exposure. But when you're still in the start up phase of your business, that press exposure can be both a blessing and a curse. The truth is; being an entrepreneur is hard. It takes guts to leave a stable job behind, a constant and worrying low bank balance and sheer overwhelming determination to keep going. In all honesty, there are more bad days than good, but it's those singular moments of triumph that keep you pushing forward to that faint light at the end of the tunnel. But most importantly, for every start up entrepreneur and successful ones that I've met - money has never been and will never be their main drive. See for them, money is only one factor in their success. Advertisement For every budding moneymaker, they chase the 'Niche Market', that ever-elusive gap that is just screaming to be filled (no pun intended), that will undoubtedly make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. See - I studied business at school, college and university and throughout the whole of my education in business I was taught, to a point of exhaustion, that the most important aspect of starting a new business is finding that 'niche market'. Well let me tell you - it's like searching for the Holy Grail, it never really exists. I have met so many passionate and determined people who constantly come up with the next 'big idea'. You know, the one that will make them rich. A shaving foam assistant, a waterproof radio, a new type of digital marketing, a style magazine...the list goes on. But the fundamental flaw of all those individuals' thoughts was bottom line - money. How can I turn a quick profit on this idea and make a million. The truth is, you can't. There is no such thing as easy money, and if you find it - I guarantee you'll find a string attached somewhere down the line. But those people who drive their business idea forward with a fundamental passion for something they love, that's where success lies. In following your dream, your passion and your integrity to provide something which you personally love and others do too. The truth is, being successful requires a level of integrity and authenticity, for you and your brand. If you create something with the sole purpose to make money - 99 times out of 100 you will fail. People will see through your transparency and not support your venture. But - if you approach your new start up with a level of care and passion, people will see that too. Advertisement Creating a brand is like molding a person. People like nice things; they warm to them and want to help. Good customer service, a great authentic brand and good people behind that organisation who people can relate to mean that you will grow and develop your company into something people will love and respect. Turning your dream into a tangible and of course, profitable reality. But following that dream is tough. It will be one of the hardest decisions you will ever make. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your grand idea - but that's ok - because nobody is expecting you to be a success over night, only yourself. If you're like me, the type of person who really can't work for somebody else - then take a leap of faith and follow your heart. But be prepared for sleepless nights, working until 2am and that feeling that not matter how hard you try, you keep hitting a brick wall. But, you're not alone. J.K. Rowling was turned away by 20 publishers before somebody took a leap of faith on her Harry Potter stories. Oprah Winfrey was between jobs at the age of 30 and even Walter Disney himself faced bankruptcy 3 times. See the thing is - starting your own business is probably one of the hardest, most challenging things you'll ever do in your life. But the rewards of it being successful are so much more than a slightly bigger bank account. It's a level of self-satisfaction, knowing that through your own hard work you have turned a simple idea into a thriving enterprise, business, brand, commodity, not-for-profit or even charity. Advertisement For me - that's my biggest drive. Knowing that I am capable of taking my ideas and turning them into something that I can call my own. Feelings that you can't win, find, be told or even achieve if you decide to follow the pack and live a life of 9-5. So why do I put myself through continuous financial struggle, heartache, sleepless nights and even disapproval from friends and family? Nearly a week has passed since landing back in the UK from Spain. Unfortunately we were delayed for 3 hours, but with other flights being cancelled, we were actually lucky to get home. This week took me to Virgin Atlantic HQ near Gatwick and a Holiday Inn hotel around Birmingham for filming. All for the imminent launch of Accessible Travel Week. More on this in my next post. This blog article, however, is to explain my trip to the historic and healthy Archena Spa in Spain! As I already mentioned in my last post, accessible transport was tricky on our holiday. Once Kasia's family decided that we should all visit the Archena spa, we all agreed a taxi was too far away (ie. too expensive). As they had a hire car, they managed to lift me with my transit seat into the vehicle. It was surprisingly comfortable too. They then put my shower chair in the boot for me to use at our destination. We all excitedly packed our swimwear and wondered how the spa would be. I was particularly unsure of the accessibility. Could I get changed ok? Would going in the pool be possible? Would I feel stared at? Advertisement As you can see from their promotional video, Archena is a haven of tranquillity and relaxation. I was pushed from the accessible parking bay all the way to the baths. They had a pool hoist for me to get in the warm waters. So Kasia was able to help me swim through the rapids, onto the jacuzzi bubbles and outside for the mountain views. Amazing. Also Kasia's niece and nephew loved the kids pool. The rest of her family loved the whole experience a lot too. The spa even had a wetroom shower just for disabled visitors. The only tricky part was getting dressed afterwards. I always need a hoist to transfer and a bed to lay on for putting my trousers on. Somehow Kasia helped me to get dry and dressed on the shower chair. Not ideal, but we managed. The waters were so relaxing. Being warm was beautiful. The natural minerals made me feel so healthy and happy. I never would have gone for such an experience. But being with my in laws pushed me out of my comfort zone. Something my family also do too. Therefore I would say getting out of your comfort zone for something like this is a very good idea from time to time. Advertisement Please do let me know if you have any questions on the spa or general accessible travel questions. Furthermore look out for Accessible Travel Week launching on Wednesday, where I'm sharing new videos and handouts on my travel tips. Martyn Co Editor Disability Horizons One of the great economic successes for the UK over the last twenty years has been the revival of the British car industry. In 2013, the car industry turned over 61 billion and employed 720,000. Nissan and Honda have invested heavily in the UK, using us as their base to manufacture in the EU. Ford and General Motors have also remained in the UK and invested more over the years. In addition, great British brands like have been bought by BMW (Mini and Rolls-Royce) and Tata (Jaguar and Land Rover). In 2015, 1,682,156 cars and commercial vehicles were manufactured in the UK, making us the 13th largest car manufacturer in the world and the 4th largest in Europe behind Germany, Spain and France. Nearly 80 per cent of the vehicles manufactured here are exported with half of these going to the EU. One of the big questions that needs to be addressed in the EU referendum debate is how Brexit would affect the car industry. The EU imposes a 10 per cent tariff on foreign car imports and a 5 per cent tariff on automotive components. This would make British made cars uncompetitive and would be likely to result in foreign manufacturers moving production from the UK to Germany, Spain and France. Brexit campaigners say that we would be able to rely on our membership of the World Trade Organisation ("WTO") to secure access to the single market, but we would be likely to still face tariffs. Advertisement The car industry is just one example of an industry where major multi-national corporations have used the UK as a base to access the single market, which has been greatly to the benefit of the UK economy. The other obvious example of an industry that has chosen the UK as its base is financial services. If the UK leaves the EU, it will be a disaster for the services sector This is, however, an industry that still hasn't benefited fully from our EU membership as the single market is not complete for services. In order to get the full benefits of membership, we need to stay in the EU and lead the push to get the single market completed. We have the most to gain as 78 per cent of our GDP relates to services. If we leave and rely on our membership of the WTO, this will be disastrous for the services sector as the WTO has made very little progress in its negotiations with the EU in this area. If Lisa Dougan's shoes were to tell a story they would begin on the marble hallways of the Capitol building in Washington and end on the clay streets of central Africa. Both of which would, undoubtedly, be described with the same level of enthusiasm. "I constantly reconnect to the humanity of my work" says Dougan, CEO of Invisible Children, an organisation set up to help combat the kidnapping of children in central Africa. Her frustration with bureaucracy is apparent, but diluted by traditional experiences she has lobbying with politicians. We are both sitting in our respective work spaces, comfortable, and talking on the phone. As we speak, hundreds of children are getting ready for bed with the fear of abduction in South Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a fear that originated 27 years ago with Joseph Kony, the self appointed messiah of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) dedicated to terrorising the region. "Everyday I feel the urgency of the situation in central Africa, but I have to hold that in tension due to the slow moving process of political advocacy" says Dougan. As CEO of Invisible Children, Dougan spends around four months in central Africa with the majority of her time consumed by acquiring donations and lobbying in Washington. After over ten years of creative documentaries, explanatory meetings with law makers, and loud protests Dougan and her team are confident that an end to the LRA is near. Advertisement The mutilated and indoctrinated young faces of child soldiers are difficult to internalise, but easy to divorce. "These fellow human beings have friends, favourite foods, inside jokes, and that person they find attractive -they are all of this" says Dougan, clearly motivated as she recites what is now the mantra of an organisation ready to end a bloody battle. Although the need for legislative and armed support is apparent, the marginalisation of community activists in central Africa complicates Dougan's positive intentions. Instead of waiting for the approval of legislation, Dougan uses radio networks and a 'Come Home' flier system that is distributed to the kidnapped children providing information on how to escape the LRA. Through these efforts, Dougan and her team empower on the ground initiatives in central Africa - and, Invisible Children is producing unparalleled results. Earlier this month, due to the efforts of Dougan and other community activists, Okot George Odek - a senior LRA commander - defected his post and surrendered to the Ugandan authorities. As the people of central Africa begin to utilise the technology supported by Invisible Children, Kony and the LRA begin to lose power. "It is important to support and reinforce the people in central Africa, it is what will win this fight," declares Dougan. Last March, three years after the organisation produced the viral documentary Kony 2012, Dougan became CEO and Invisible Children drastically reduced its Washington staff. She now focuses on changing political legislation, and managing larger teams in central Africa devoted to protecting and liberating those affected by the LRA. Although media scrutiny is not an oddity to Dougan and her team, Invisible Children leads a financially transparent campaign. She says "the communities affected by this conflict are now friends, and that is motivation to give 100 percent all the time." Dougan speaks plainly when clarifying why politicians and potential donors should care about the invisible children of central Africa. "The answer is simple," she says "they are just like us and that is why we should care." Dougan has dedicated the last ten years of her life to Invisible Children with unparalleled compassion for all people, something difficult to convey to politicians who will occasionally redirect her initiative toward something more American. On days where frustrating bureaucracy prevails, she retells the stories of the children in central Africa who are not experiencing the protection and peace they deserve, but who remain resilient in the face of extraordinary injustices. Advertisement Dougan says politicians remember the personal stories, not the facts. She is confident that it wants to inspire change, but is deterred by the slow moving methods of American democracy. Her go-to story is one she thinks of daily, about a young boy named Steven who escaped the LRA after finding a defection flier. She uses a series of vivid adjectives to describe Stevens getaway and concludes by telling a story about her father who is also named Steven. This parallel with the name Steven, one far away and one close to home, illuminates a "heart-rending necessity for an immediate call to action on the LRA conflict" says Dougan. As the sun subdues the cool African night, a breakfast of bread with questionable butter, and powdered coffee is fuel for a long day. On the ground, Dougan and her staff assist the communities afflicted by LRA violence through both the radio network and the 'Come Home' flier system. The latter provides emotional messages, with pictures of families, informing the brainwashed fighters of the LRA on how to safely escape. The early warning radio network disrupts patterns of violence by providing information to neighbouring LRA affected communities. In my blogs this month I have been looking at the importance of innovation, being innovative and adopting an innovative approach. While doing my research I came across a lot of amazing British inventions- which I thought I would celebrate. I have chosen my 10 favourite inventions but there are plenty more! I have put these in no particular order of importance and it is certainly not an exclusive list- more of a celebration of the inventiveness of our heritage and people. Great British Inventions 1. CHOCOLATE BAR Advertisement Image courtesy of Kim Traynor 1847. JS Fry & Sons Where would we be without chocolate? Up until 1847 you could only consume chocolate as a drink, until JS Fry perfected the technique of solidifying chocolate. Yum! 2. THE TELEVISION 1925. John Logie Baird, No Downton Abbey, Eastenders or A Question of Sport...there is much debate about the value of television but the technology allows for people all over the world to see and hear things they could never experience otherwise. 3. CATS EYES 1933. Percy Shaw Percy Shaw was a Yorkshire road contractor who said he got the inspiration for cats eyes literally from seeing his headlights reflected in a cats eyes while driving home one night. A simple solution to night time road markings that has had a major impact on road safety. Advertisement Image courtesy of Zoney 4. WORLDWIDE WEB 1989. Tim Berners-Lee The internet itself is a linked system of computer networks which when created was not accessible by ordinary people. Tim Berners Lee, created and donated what we now know as www to the world- for free- the ultimate gesture of freedom of information. He created the first server in late 1990 and, on 6 August 1991, the web went live, with the first page explaining how to search and how to set up a site. 5. COLLAPSIBLE BABY BUGGY 1965 Owen Maclaren During WW2 Maclaren helped design the Spitfire's folding undercarriage. He then applied that idea to solving the pram problem and created the collapsible baby buggy. 6. TOOTHBRUSH Image sourced from Pixabay 1770. William Addis William Addis was a rag trader who was sent to prison in 1770. Up until then people cleaned their teeth by rubbing soot and salt over them with a rag. Addis created the first toothbrush from animal bone with a hole in it, through which he inserted bristles. On his release Addis set up a business to mass-produce toothbrushes. His company, Wisdom Toothbrushes, still exists. 7. WIND-UP RADIO 1991. Trevor Baylis Trevor Baylis saw a television programme about Aids in Africa that said one way to stop its spread was for people to hear educational information on the radio. The problem, however, was the patchiness of available electricity in many of the outlying villages. Baylis solved this problem by designing a radio that didn't need batteries. It worked off an internal generator powered by a mainspring that you tightened by winding a hand crank on the outside of the radio. Baylis was given the chance to demonstrate his invention to Nelson Mandela and now his wind up radio has been distributed all over Africa. Advertisement 8. JET ENGINE 1937. Frank Whittle Frank Whittle was an RAF fighter pilot and only 24 years old when he first patented the turbojet aircraft. The design was so radically different from anything available at the time that the military refused to fund it and he could not get any interest from manufacturers. Undeterred he persisted until a few private backers supported his dream and in 1941 achieved the first 17-minute test flight of the jet engine. The rest, as they say, is history. 9. BETA BLOCKERS 1960's. James Black It takes him a decade, but Black manages to create propranolol (Indral), a drug that successfully blocks the heart's adrenaline-responsive beta-receptors. Black's beta-blockers, as they are now called, have saved the lives of countless heart disease patients around the world. 10. SOLAR EVAPORATION REFRIGERATOR 2007 Emily Cummins At the age of 19 Emily Cummins invented a refrigerator for third world countries that she personally went and tested in Namibia. Made from sustainable materials, it enables developing countries to refrigerate medicines and food without electricity. In the fields of Science, Engineering and Technology there have always been inspired men and women who have created products and processes that have changed the world we live in. I would love to know which of these are your favourites - or which inventions you think should be included as being truly important? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To book Pam call 07768 120949 or email info@pamwarren.co.uk. The recent terrorist attacks have once again brought predictable comment from the right wing. Arguably the UK's most prominent hate-for-pay hack is Katie Hopkins. She takes a staunch stand against immigration, encouraging a divide between Muslims and the rest of us. It's a short-sighted agenda which also happens to be number one on the ISIS to-do list. You are not going to stop ISIS by preventing immigrants from entering the UK. They are already here. Even if they weren't, modern terrorism is tenacious enough to get in. If Al-Qaeda were capable of pulling off an attack as audacious and complicated as the Twin Towers, border control will be a breeze for ISIS. To even think you might stop them by blocking access is naive and laughable. Katie and her cohorts willfully ignore the fact that the last big terrorist attack in the UK was homegrown. Three of the men responsible for the 7/7 attacks were born in England so no amount of border control was ever going to stop them. Advertisement The only way we can realistically reduce the possibility of future terrorist attacks from groups like ISIS is to prevent more young people joining their ranks. The job description of a suicide bomber is in the title, they don't tend to last for too long. To survive, ISIS need an extended line of disillusioned and isolated youths to groom and radicalise. These kids are in our country right now, they were born here, they didn't come over with the last influx of immigrants. It's tough being a kid. Even more so if you belong to a section of society which is marginalized. One only has to look at the suicide statistics for young LGBT people to see how desperate it can be growing up oppressed. When you live in a society which appears to hate you, you look for a way out. Interviews with Muslim youths after the Twin Towers and 7/7 attacks show how life was for them. They were spat at in the streets and moved away from on public transport. They were refused entry into pubs and clubs, a constant cloud of suspicion followed them everywhere. The majority of teenagers are strong enough to handle this treatment but we have to be realistic and realise that a small percentage are not. Some naturally have less confidence, the struggle in life is already difficult enough. The right wing will scoff and say 'Tough, they've got to man up and get on with it.' but that only sidesteps the problem, it doesn't stop it from happening. Daily confrontation and persecution can make an already-isolated young mind despondent and destructive. Even in the relative safety of their own homes they still encounter hostility on their social media feeds. They see the right-wing rantings of Katie Hopkins and her cronies. Every hate-filled article and comment is strapping the vest on the next suicide bomber. Here. In the UK. Advertisement Older teens and young adults who have already succumbed to radicalization are primed to spot new recruits. They reach out to the oppressed kids and the next bomb starts ticking. We will reduce terrorist attacks if we accept different cultures into our society. If we make them feel included instead of telling them they're not welcome then radicalization becomes much harder. ISIS absolutely need the divide to survive, it's their biggest weapon. The only surefire tactic we have is to take it away from them. Katie Hopkins, through her column with one of the biggest global news agencies, regularly reinforces the divide. She is, without question, pushing people towards ISIS and positively contributing to further terrorist attacks. I am autistic but I am very social and have many friends, two of whom got married on a hot August day. The dress code was no suits and wear purple. I had bought a purple dress to wear. That evening I took a friend to a blues gig in a cultural centre. I went over to the bar where a man who was about 20 years my senior and maybe a foot taller than me picked up my hand and started kissing it. I was scared; I took a step back and tried to look disinterested, then he said: "If you were a man, I would be gay", followed by "that was a joke". I declined his offer of drinking beer with him. Advertisement I'm autistic, my social skills are learned and I really didn't know how to make him leave me alone. I feared he might hurt me, and because I have a visual impairment, I thought I might not see an attack coming, plus I wanted to get a drink from the bar and wasn't going to let him stop me! Later in the evening he tried to dance with me - I said no! I went to the loo and my friend managed to stop him sitting on my seat. When the gig finished I went to the nearest Tube station thinking it would be the safest way home. Then from the platform I heard: "hello baby!" and I thought, "oh no". If I left the Tube station I would have been out of CCTV range, so I just concentrated intensely on my phone until the train arrived. When I got on the train he followed me on so I went over to two folding seats, put my bag in front of one to block him from sitting down, but he insisted on pulling it down and sat extremely close to me. He started kissing my hand again and I felt really uncomfortable. He tried to start a conversation but I kept my answers as brief as possible and didn't make eye contact. I feared that if I said: "please leave me alone!", that he would either hurt me or say something that I felt ill-equipped to deal with. He asked me for sex and I told him I had a boyfriend. He said: "Nothing serious." I said: "I think my boyfriend will mind." He was obviously very drunk and he had a Polish accent, which I found hard to understand. For me being autistic means that I need additional time to process auditory information, sometimes accents can slow down this process, especially if the person speaking to me is quite slurry due to alcohol. I just couldn't process everything he said fast enough, then he suddenly gave me a CD which alarmed me even more. When the train arrived at the next station, even though it wasn't my stop, I jumped off and waited for a while before travelling home. Advertisement I emailed a male friend and asked what he thought I should do if this happened to me again. As an autistic woman I didn't really have socially skilled friends as a teen to learn the basics of dealing with social interactions, situations like this that require you to predict how someone might react are really difficult for me when the situation is unfamiliar. This experience left me really shaken and embarrassed, I don't feel comfortable in my own body because I feel like a target for men and I really don't want that so I usually don't wear dresses. So how do you spot an autistic woman? You can't - and that's the problem for many women like me. We get missed or get the wrong diagnosis and even when autistic people get a diagnosis there is often very little in the way of post diagnostic support. Centres like the National Autistic Society's Lorna Wing Centre, and BASS (Bristol Autism Spectrum Service) are important - BASS help other clinicians learn to diagnose autism including in women. The Lorna Wing Centre has a lot of expertise in women. To get a diagnosis as a female you need professionals who know how to recognise autism in females. Society needs to recognise that autism looks different in different people because it's a spectrum which is wide, with people like myself able to live independently (but consider what might of happened if I had not had a friend to go to ask for advice and information which is the situation many are in), to people who do not speak, have a learning disability and/or need 24/7 care. Robyn Steward is a 29 year old autistic woman. She trains professionals in autism and is author of The Independent Woman's Handbook For Super Safe Living on the Autistic Spectrum Advertisement www.robynsteward.com Aid is risky. Let's be honest. But it is absolutely in our national interest, the global interest - and it is our moral duty. If you are going to operate in unstable and impoverished communities and countries to address challenges like disease, poor education, corruption, conflict and instability - there are going to be mistakes. Try telling any small-business entrepreneur working in this country, let alone the developing world, that they have to get it 100% right all of the time. If you are going to try and work in countries like Afghanistan or Yemen, Somalia or the Democratic Republic of Congo to support women standing up against sexual violence; to attempt to inoculate and educate children who would die before they are five years old, or fall prey to mass unemployment that could leave their hands idle to be exploited by extremists or criminals; to build up government institutions so countries can collect their own taxes and end their need for aid in the first place; then you are not always going to succeed. If you are going to try and support refugees fleeing Dae'sh/Isis in the volatile regions surrounding the conflict, rather than see more make the perilous journey across the seas to Western Europe; or to attempt to support people in far flung communities in Nepal or Haiti hit by a devastating earthquake; it isn't always going to work out like you might have planned in Whitehall. I saw that for myself visiting Afghanistan at the height of our military, development and diplomatic intervention there. Advertisement But it is a damn sight better to make that effort and succeed most of the time, than having not tried, or worse still taking the foolish decision to withdraw and ignore the turbulent and impoverished world around us. A world whose convulsions have consequences for our streets and our cities. And a world whose horrors should shame every British citizen, whether the 800 women who die every day in childbirth due to preventable causes, or the 20,000 children who die every day under the age of five due to diseases like malaria or diarrhoea. Any investigation or newspaper can find examples of where money is wasted, or where mistakes are being made - whether it's in our local council, the NHS or in the overseas aid budget. It is vital such work continues. It is absolutely right that any new allegations that have come to light are robustly examined, and action taken urgently where necessary, not least where allegations are made about money ending up in the hands of extremists - an allegation DfID has strongly denied. Advertisement I have every confidence that such an investigation will take place, and robust action taken if proven. This is because the Department for International Development is one of the most scrutinised and examined departments in government - including by specialised independent bodies that have been set up like the Independent Commission for Aid Impact which reports to Parliament, not the Government. But - a leap from exposing specific faults, or even dangerous or corrupt practises, to making a general dismissal of our aid budget is a dangerous and foolish mistake to make in our volatile world. The Mail on Sunday claim on the basis of a series of stories: "Rather than helping people who desperately need it, much of this money is wasted and...fuels corruption, funds despots and corrodes democracy in developing nations." Let's take each of those lazy allegations in turn: Corruption thrives in conditions of extreme poverty and insecurity. It's no coincidence that countries like Somalia, Yemen and Afghanistan hold up the bottom of the global Corruption Index produced by Transparency International. We have withdrawn our aid (or never even permitted) support on occasions where we had clear evidence that corrupt or indulgent leaders or governments planned to misuse it - Malawi and Zimbabwe being just two examples in recent years. Advertisement And democracy will only truly thrive when people in the world's poorest countries perceive a real link between voting and paying taxes, with governments that are able to improve their safety, job prospects, education and health to take but a few examples. There are many things that this Tory government has done which I deride, but in all fairness, they have taken a number of crucial steps in the right direction to improve the scrutiny and effectiveness of our aid budget. They have regularly reviewed the countries and international bodies that receive our support. They don't always get this right (e.g. in scrapping aid to volatile Burundi) but other decisions such as scrapping aid to rapidly developing India, whilst a tough choice given the levels of poverty that remain, were absolutely right. They have increased the independent oversight and scrutiny of the aid budget - which is widely regarded to be one of the most professional and impactful in the world. And they have rightly increased the coordination between our defence, diplomatic and development activities under the National Security Council. The nonsense that there is a zero-sum game between military spending and aid must be taken head on. That doesn't mean this government are always pulling in the same, or right direction - as the current and growing questions around UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia being used in Yemen shows. Advertisement But - I like many others am as strong a supporter of the 2% defence target, as I am in maintaining our extensive diplomatic network and aid spending. And the truth is that in 2014/15 defence spending made up about 75% of our total international focussed spending - with aid, diplomacy and intelligence making up 25%. For all of our efforts on "soft" development and diplomatic paths - sometimes "hard" (and expensive) military intervention e.g. to cope with a barbarous regime like Da'esh / ISIS is crucial. The Mail on Sunday make eight "recommendations": First, they want to scrap the aid target. What the Mail don't tell you (like many financial adverts) is that the new law means that the amount of aid can go down as well as up. The law passed to meet the 0.7% aid commitment will actually now result in the UK aid budget falling by 650million over the next few years due to declining economic growth. Second, they tell us to "only spend on what's needed". This is a vacuous suggestion that takes no account of disasters, complex conflicts or rapidly emerging situations like the Ebola outbreak. Of course DfID should not make up projects to spend money to a target, and there is a genuine challenge of coping with an increased budget with lower back office staffing. Third, they tell us to "hit the fat cat contractors". This is one of the few areas where they make a good point. Like in many areas of the public sector under this Tory government, we have seen an explosion in poor value for money contracting out to profit-making enterprises delivering public goods. DfID need to get this under control. Fourth, they tell us to make sure that projects are reviewed and audited independently. They are. Fifth, they tell DfID to stop funding "despots". The truth is the UK has for the last 15 years taken huge steps to ensure money doesn't get into the hands of repressive or corrupt governments. There will always be an element of risk however, and there are inherent difficulties in judging a government such as Rwanda who has as many ardent supporters in the West as critics. Sixth, they tell DfID to end Programme Partnership Agreements - large grants to charities. They are already doing this, although some argue this will lead to less efficient support of charities, not better. Seventh, they say there should be an "independent whistleblower" and "hotline".This already exists, and in my own experience of reporting allegations, these are dealt with thoroughly and swiftly. Eight, they want a "beefed up watchdog" to investigate aid. This already exists. And DfID is regularly and robustly scrutinised in Parliament. On the basis of a list of poorly researched recommendations, the Mail on Sunday misleads its readers that none of these things are being done, and exhorts them to "stop the madness" and sign a petition to scrap the 0.7% aid target. Advertisement The usual suspects from the hard right of the Tories and Ukip have weighed in support, forgetting to remind us that they are equally as happy to slash support for the poor and vulnerable at home, regardless of the size of the aid budget. But the growing chaos in Yemen, Somalia and across parts of Northern and Central Africa show exactly what the consequences of ignoring the gross poverty and instability in our back yard can be. A tiny investment as a proportion of overall government spending, amounting to less than a penny in every pound of national income - helps us to tackle those threats, and help change millions of lives for the better. It also can show the world that Britain is at its best a compassionate and moral global power. What would be madness is slashing the very budget focused on tackling the gross poverty, instability and insecurity that threatens our national and global security, drives people to flee their countries to drown in the Mediterranean, but most importantly - degrades us all as human beings. In her evocative poem 'Home', the Kenyan-born Somali-British poet, Warsan Shire writes: "No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. You only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well." This verse should ring loudly in the ears of world leaders arriving in Geneva this week for a high-level meeting, called by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, that aims to secure a greater commitment from the international community to help Syrian refugees fleeing the country's brutal five-year conflict. Since the refugee crisis began, some in the media and increasingly our Government have been pre-occupied by the number of refugees arriving on European shores, and how best to stem the flow of people. Policies have increasingly focussed on imposing draconian measures aimed at turning vulnerable people back towards the horrors from which they are fleeing. Instead, we should focus on how we can better help the men, women and children - families, just like yours and mine - who, through no fault of their own, have been forced to make desperate journeys in search of safety in neighbouring countries and beyond. Some aspects of the UK Government's response to the crisis should be commended. Our Government has done more than any other European nation in providing much needed aid to refugees in countries neighbouring Syria. We welcomed the Prime Minister's pledge to resettle 20,000 refugees over the course of this parliament. But the Government's response must be proportionate to the scale of the crisis, and it is wrong to set an arbitrary upper limit on a crisis on this scale. With thousands still risking their lives in search safety, the UNHCR conference on Wednesday [30 March] offers our Government an excellent opportunity to increase its commitment. Advertisement At Refugee Action, we believe one way the Government could do more is by changing existing family reunion rules, so that families who have been torn apart by conflict can be reunited in safety here in the UK. It is a belief shared by over ninety leading public figures including Dame Vivienne Westwood, Juliet Stevenson, Lauren Laverne, David Morrissey and Paloma Faith too, in an open letter to the Prime Minister last week. Our Government currently applies very restrictive rules that determine how refugees can bring their loved ones to live with them here in Britain. Too often these rules ignore the complex relationships that affect families torn apart by war - so that siblings, whose parents are missing or dead, cannot be reunited across borders and grandparents are not entitled to look after their grandchildren. Only recently Refugee Action met with a Syrian man called Omar who was smuggled in to the UK on a lorry last year. Like other refugees, he has survived unimaginable horrors and is delighted to have reached safety here in the UK. He is at pains to express his gratitude for the support and welcome he has received since he arrived here, but for Omar his freedom is coupled with a deep sadness too, as his family remain stranded in Turkey. While family reunion rules might allow his wife and teenage son to join him, the outlook for other members of his family - dependent on his care and support - is bleak. It does not have to be this way. By easing the restrictions on family reunion rules now, the UK Government can provide families stranded across Europe and elsewhere, with a legal route to safety here in the UK. In doing so, the Government will not only save lives, it will provide refugees already living here with the much needed support and care of their loved-ones. Krak des Chevaliers castle near Homs The recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra by forces loyal to the Assad regime is being celebrated by many as a good sign that some of Syria's most treasured ruins might be saved.Units of Lebanese Hezbollah, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Shi'ite foreign militias and what remains of the Syrian military took Palmyra with Russian air support on Sunday after a less than two months siege of the city. The so-called Islamic State group took control of the city last May, when Assad's forces curiously retreated from it. IS destroyed a number of important ancient objects, building and artefacts, including the Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph, which has led to calls for archaeological experts to head out to the region to assess the damage and possibly restore the sites http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/28/palmyra-after-isis-images-taken-following-syrian-recapture-offer-hope-amid-ruins. Boris Johnson wrote in the Daily Telegraph, "Bravo for Assad- he is a vile tyrant but he saved Palmyra from Isil. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/12205262/Bravo-for-Assad-he-is-a-vile-tyrant-but-he-has-saved-Palmyra-from-Isil.html" But while the thought of Palmyra being restored is encouraging, we should not forget that most of Syria's treasured sites were either damaged or destroyed by the Assad regime and not by the Islamic State group. Advertisement Syria boasts some 6, 500 ancient sites which range from Neolithic settlements to medieval mosques according to National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151125-isis-syria-satellite-images-looting-archaeology/. Teams of American archaeologists using satellite images of 1, 450 ancient sites found that one in four have been damaged or looted since 2011. Half of these sites are located in rebel and Kurdish held areas, a quarter in IS controlled territory and the rest in areas loyal to the Assad regime. But what these finding ignore is the simple fact that many of these ancient sites are located in scarcely populated areas, which the regime cannot put its resources into controlling and thus by circumstance come under opposition rule, the Assad regime only held 17% of Syria in 2015 when this study was done (although this has gone up slightly since) http://www.janes.com/article/53771/syrian-government-no-longer-controls-83-of-the-country. More importantly opposition areas are much more intensely bombed than regime held areas are. Some of the most important and iconic ancient sites were destroyed by Assad's forces. Krak des Chevaliers (Qalat al Hosn) the famous crusader castle located a few miles from the city of Homs, which had been a favourite haunt for tourists due to how well preserved the castle was- often said to be the best castle in the region. It was severely damaged by Assad regime air strikes and mortar fire in 2013, the full extent of the damage is unknown, but videos of the castle engulfed by smoke are readily available http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=60073. Al-Madina Souq in Aleppo which was the largest covered historical market in the world and it was destroyed when it caught fire after being shelled by regime forces in 2012 http://www.irishtimes.com/news/souk-burns-as-aleppo-fight-rages-1.739507. Archaeological sites in the 'Dead Cities' region of northern Syria was severely damaged by regime forces in 2011 and 2012 during their attempts to root out opposition forces and army deserters. The former Roman city of Bosra with its many heritage sites was heavily destroyed or damaged by regime tanks and artillery fire http://ghn.globalheritagefund.com/uploads/documents/document_2107.pdf. There are many more examples like this that have come out of this conflict. Of course, this is without mentioning the fact that in 1982 the Assad regime destroyed most of the old city of Hama, which they did after they had defeated the Muslim brotherhood inspired insurrection against the Syrian regime. Advertisement ASSOCIATED PRESS Chinese President Xi Jinping enters a hall to pose for a photo of leaders of BRICS meeting prior the G-20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) An open letter calling on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to resign and a subsequent crackdown on dissidents could be read as a sign of unease at the top of the country's leadership. Chinese authorities have reportedly arrested more than 20 people and detained family members amid a campaign of intimidation sparked by a letter to the countrys leader, Xi Jinping. Advertisement The open letter, signed by loyal communist party members and posted to the government-backed website Wu Jie News earlier this month, accuses Xi of leading a personality cult and of committing economic and foreign policy blunders. The letter which was quickly deleted sparked a hunt for the authors, with at least 16 people from the news site reportedly arrested, as well as their friends and associates. There are also reports nine technicians working for a technology firm that provides support to Wu Jie are also missing. Advertisement China's President Xi Jinping claps during the closing ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on March 14 Amnesty International has called on authorities to release those detained, saying the crackdown on family members of dissidents is draconian and unlawful. The persecution of family members of dissidents is a draconian and unlawful tactic that makes a mockery of Chinas claims to respect the rule of law, said William Nee, China Researcher at Amnesty International. The letter and the reaction to it could be read as dissent at the highest ranks of Chinas Communist Party, said Associate Professor Chongyi Feng, a member of the University of Technologys China Research Centre. There is division or infighting at the top of the leadership, and that letter can be seen as one of the major gathering points to lay down the accusations against Xi and gather the support in the cause to resist Xi," he told the Huffington Post Australia. Advertisement Former supporters of Xi who allowed him to amass power were now trying to block him, but Prof. Feng said an attempt to topple the leader was unlikely. He said the word contain should be used with caution, and there is no clear or unified coalition against Xi. "This kind of dissenting voice is the symbol, they are now determined somehow to block Xi from becoming a despot or a dictator, like Mao before, he said. A policeman, wearing a mask to protect from severe pollution, secures the area near the Great Hall of the People ahead of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 3 Advertisement After the letter was published in early March Chinese blogger and government critic, Wen Yunchao, who lives in New York, said his 65-year-old mother, 72-year-old father, and his younger brother were taken away by police in Guangdong province, southern China on March 22. Wen Yunchao was then contacted by his father and brother, who pressured him to disclose what he knows about who is behind the letter critical of Xi, and who helped spread the news about the letter, Amnesty International said. Wen Yunchao maintains that he does not know who is behind the letter or that he had any involvement in its publication. Future of China's Wujie Media in doubt after letter calling on Xi to quit: https://t.co/kNf1KWSvbqpic.twitter.com/6nbc3A7xGr WSJ China Real Time (@ChinaRealTime) March 28, 2016 Germany-based journalist Chang Ping said authorities had detained his two younger brothers and a younger sister. Advertisement Around noon on March 28, Beijing Time, police in my hometown Duofu Township, Xichong County, Sichuan province released one of my brothers Zhang Wei, telling him that, if he succeeds in contacting me, he should pass on three demands by the police and, in return, the police would release Zhang Xiong, my other brother Ping wrote on the website chinachange.org The reason the police station gave for detaining my family was that when they went to sweep the ancestral tombs, their firecrackers happened to burn some of the plants and vegetation in the vicinity. After they were detained, the interrogation was mostly about me and my work. Given that the case was handled by Domestic Security, its clear that its a political case. On 15 March, Beijing police detained well-known columnist Jia Jia who had been in discussion with the editor of Wu Jie News about the content of the letter. Eleven days later Jia Jias lawyer said the columnist had been freed, had met his wife and could return home anytime. Advertisement With Hong Kong booksellers silenced, China now goes after exiled dissidents https://t.co/QkG5zlx8iu With my comment: pic.twitter.com/EABVr78vn1 William Nee (@williamnee) March 28, 2016 The wave of detentions is the latest in a series of crackdowns in China. Property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang had his Weibo account deleted and was attacked in state-controlled media after he lambasted a recent media tour by Xi, suggesting that he was allowing the Party's needs to trump those of the people. "An EgyptAir plane was hijacked while flying from Alexandria to the capital of Cairo on Tuesday. Everyone on board except four crew members and three passengers were released after negotiations with the alleged hijacker, Egypts civil aviation minister said." The hijacker was reportedly motivated by personal reasons. [Jade Walker and Kelly Chen, HuffPost] The FBI says it was able to hack into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters without the technology giant's help. [Reuters] Advertisement Police shot Larry Dawson after he drew a weapon upon entering the Capitol Visitor Center. [Christina Wilkie, HuffPost] "The National Rifle Association says 22,739 people over 65 took basic firearm training courses from NRA-certified instructors in 2015, four times the number five years earlier." [WSJ | Paywall] "Like the opioid epidemic itself, [Jessica] Grubbs death was complicated. With the president and countless strangers pulling for her, she was let down by a treatment system that resists evidence-based practices and by a medical community that still hasnt figured out how to incorporate substance-use disorders into treatment mandates." Take a look at the HHS plan to stop deaths like Grubb's. [Ryan Grim and Sam Stein, HuffPost] WHATS BREWING Blame the latest iOS update. [HuffPost] The Supreme Court justice will play a judge, so it's not that much of a reach. [New York Magazine] "People from around the world have united to raise more than 86,200 (or around $123,007) in a matter of days for the grieving family of Asad Shah, a shopkeeper in Glasgow, Scotland, who was brutally killed on Thursday." [HuffPost] Advertisement No, it's not changing tomorrow, so stop worrying about turning on notifications. [HuffPost] In their own words. [HuffPost] Imagine a bad musical episode of "24" and you get the gist. [HuffPost] For more from The Huffington Post, download our app for iOS or Android. WHAT'S WORKING "The U.S. utility industry, beset by stricter pollution regulations and market forces that have made renewable energy more competitive, is seeking to rebrand itself into something more appealing to the public." [HuffPost] For more, sign up for the What's Working newsletter. BEFORE YOU GO ~ Violence in Chicago continues to rise to deadly new heights. ~ The Secret Service doesn't want guns at the GOP convention. ~ The history of the NYC fire escapes. ~ Living that start-up life -- when you're 50-plus . ~ The story behind "paleo happiness." ~ This Alaskan volcano is spewing ash over 20,000 feet high. ~ Buzzfeed takes a look at the "unbearable sadness of Ben Affleck." ~ No, Internet -- Jon Lovitz and Jessica Lowndes aren't engaged. But that was a nifty bit of marketing for her new single. There is no begrudging the almost magical success of "Business & Human Rights" (BHR) -- the new name for the newly revamped field of human rights advocacy that has emerged over the last decade to, well, supplement (read: not replace) what used to go by "corporate accountability." But two high-profile recent public letters -- one backed by a startling resignation -- appear to be sounding the alarm for a need for recalibration in the field. BHR and corporate accountability BHR was pioneered through the work of Harvard Prof. John Ruggie, who as a UN Special Representative led the development of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Ruggie has candidly admitted that his approach differed from the "traditional human rights approach" -- including a contentious and ultimately aborted effort, immediately preceding Ruggie's tenure, at codifying corporate human rights norms from a more purist "corporate accountability" perspective. The heart of the change to BHR may be more rhetoric than substance -- but the rhetoric has delivered amazing dividends. At the risk of oversimplifying, "corporate accountability" was built from an antagonistic perspective, reflecting what the advocates who built the field knew in their bones: that the corporations they were battling were guilty as sin, and rich because of it, and that the only meaningful question was whether our systems of justice and society at large would one day stop letting them get away with it. By contrast, BHR emerged at a time when the fight for human rights and environmental justice suddenly became less lonely; when major companies seemed to be talking more about social responsibility in their annual reports and ad spend than about their products or profit margins. The rhetorical warmth of "business and human rights" is as obvious as the antagonism in "corporate accountability." Everybody is on the same side and everybody is "part of the solution." Advertisement Courting business In addition to offering an olive branch of respect and trust to the corporate world, BHR offered to re-frame the entire discourse in ways that were deeply attractive to business. For one thing, the UNGPs themselves stopped short of imposing concrete and legally binding obligations on corporations (although that notion has reappeared in a recent debate on the idea of a binding BHR treaty), but rather sketched the contours of an obligation of "respect" for human rights. BHR also shifted the focus, to an extent, from litigation to a broader array of rights-supportive mechanisms such as voluntary due diligence efforts, self-reporting, and corporate human rights promotion projects unrelated to the corporation's operations. While this could be seen as an embrace of a public relations approach to human rights ("rightswashing," as it were), the argument was that (1) some of the reporting would be done by independent consulting firms; and (2) the increased transparency alone would allow the larger BHR community to scrutinize the self-reporting and achieve accountability through a public process of criticism and dialogue. Even where legal efforts still played a role, BHR sought to cast traditional lawsuits as just one among many options, including a variety of new (or established, but underutilized) quasi-judicial grievance mechanisms. The degree to which corporations are drawn to the BHR vision of the accountability process is illustrated by the case of Nestle, which continues to viciously fight litigation efforts regarding allegations of the existence of child labor in its cocoa supply chain in Liberia, even while it has moved into full-scale mitigation mode in the BHR arena, admitting there is a problem, implementing a "Monitoring and Remediation System," highlighting the cultural complexity of the problem, and so on. Advertisement Other carrots dangled to the business world by BHR were more specific. The central BHR private-sector institution is the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), a "knowledge hub" which hosted Ruggie's mandate website, maintains an exhaustive database of business-related human rights issues, and issues a weekly update which is a key resource in the field. Before BHRRC goes "live" with any alleged human rights violation, it offers the company involved the chance to respond with its own version of the facts, and usually publishes the response simultaneously with the news of the allegation. For companies, this is a powerful shift from the media dynamics they faced in the past, where in the best case they would get to provide a comment before a news story on alleged abuse broke, or in the worst case they would be hit with a press release or media campaign without any warning whatsoever. With the BHRRC, the company can be up and running with its competing narrative from the starting gun. The honeymoon phase The rhetorical and substantive moves made by BHR have attracted plenty of criticism. Some of it has been on fairness grounds, seeing any move away from "traditional" legal accountability as a double standard that gives corporations a separate (and softer) mode of justice. But mostly the criticism has reflected plain skepticism; the fear that corporations will gladly accept the invitation to dress themselves in the rubric of human rights aspirations, but will not make any of the serious changes to their business models that many advocates feel is necessary for meaningful human rights change. In thsee early "boom" years of BHR, the latter critique has arguably been premature. The very substance of BHR, after all, was to set aside earlier underlying assumptions about corporations and embrace them as partners. While people might have different gut feelings about how this would go, only time could tell. Similarly, the assumption that certain "hard" sacrifices and changes to business models are necessary for meaningful change was also set aside by BHR to allow its new business partners the space to develop support for a counter-proposition: that mitigation efforts could lead to real change without such disruption. A nice idea, if it works. When this "honeymoon phase" will come to an end is an open question. There is already pressure on BHR to show that its success in engaging corporations is translating into results on the ground, and in response there has been a great deal of attention to BHR metrics and an important new Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. But the passage of time also offers an opportunity for deeper reflection on how the core promises and compromises of BHR have played out on the ground. Advertisement The path ahead In the next blog in this series, we'll take a closer look at two recent public letters -- one by Prof. Ruggie and another by Puvan Selvanathan, formerly one of the five members of the main UN panel in the field -- that reflect some anxiety about how some of the early, courtship-phase promises of BHR are being operationalized. They take aim at the extent to which corporations and their executives have so thoroughly accepted the invitation to be "part of the solution" that they have assumed a leadership role capable of, and poised to, profoundly reshape the movement's antecedent principles and objectives. At issue is no less than the primacy of human rights in the BHR relationship, and whether BHR is even properly understood as a true human rights field, as opposed to new kind of hybrid: the business of human rights. In the previous blog in this series, we began looking at the alchemy of the new Business & Human Rights (BHR) field: the almost mystically successful transformation that occurred when these two worldviews were brought to a space -- the magic "&" -- which traded antagonism for mutual respect and cooperation. But we also reviewed some long-standing criticisms, and some new, more reflective concerns about what the relationship hidden in the "&" means for core human rights values and indeed the very nature of BHR as a human rights field. Some of these concerns, we noted, are coming from the most prominent voices in the field. John Ruggie on being part of the solution -- and part of the problem One example is a recent public letter by BHR "founder" Prof. John Ruggie himself, addressed to the new Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development. The Commission is a new institution aiming to "investigate how businesses can realise significant long-term economic rewards" of sustainable development. It was launched from the altitudes of Davos, Switzerland at this year's World Economic Forum. A review of the new Commission's website leaves the impression that it has taken the corporate human rights empowerment and optimism that BHR has nurtured over the years and dosed it up a notch; one prominent blow-up quote from Commissioner and former UNDP chief Mark Malloch-Brown states that "A massive prize awaits business if it successfully ushers in an era of shared prosperity and increased sustainability." Another by Commissioner and Unliever CEO Paul Polman talks about the "trillions of dollars [in] new markets" that Polman believes can and should be "unlocked" through sustainable development. Advertisement While collaborative and optimistic in tone, as one would expect from a famous bridge-builder like Ruggie, his letter nonetheless gets rather confrontational as it expresses some alarm at the new Commission's framing of the "business case": [W]hen it comes to the social side of the development picture too many companies are quick to jump to promotional initiatives, skipping the essential starting point of reducing negative impacts on people associated with their own business activities and value chains. . . . Too many companies today put resources into social development initiatives that are worthy on their face, while ignoring serious negative impacts on people in their own operations and value chains. So they end up giving with one hand while taking away--or enabling others to do so--with the other. This is the language of BHR skeptics, making its appearance under Ruggie's byline rather noteworthy. Ruggie has moved from being the UN Special Representative for BHR to serving as chairman of the Shift Project, whose mission is "Putting Principles into Practice" and which "work[s] with a small number of select business participants that are serious about implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights" (UNGPs). Shift lists a few such participants, including marketing powerhouses as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, H&M, Heineken, and L'Oreal. Ruggie, who is likely up to his elbows in the hard work of convincing these companies to implement the sort of impact-reducing policies he refers to in his letter, probably knows better than anyone what the leaders of these corporations need to hear as the movement enters the next phase of its development, and his letter suggests that it is not a new round of well-varnished optimism about gold at the end of the rainbow. Advertisement The insistence that corporations can't ignore their own negative impacts also carries a deeper message about the corporate role in the overall process. As noted in the last blog, corporations and their executives accepted Ruggie's invitation to be "part of the solution" with such gusto that it may have led them into something of a hero complex, seeing themselves as responsible for the vindication of rights beyond their own spheres of action, and further as leaders in defining what the vindication of rights means and looks like. These are roles traditionally held by human rights advocates and, more importantly, by affected communities and individuals ("victims") as a core part of their empowerment, autonomy, and self-determination. While it is not clear that these roles cannot be shared, it does seem that the balance involved of any such sharing -- that magic "&" again -- is not completely and mutually understood. There has already been plenty of criticism over the extent to which victims sometimes have to compete for agency or leadership vis a vis their own advocates/NGOs. It would hardly be fair to require them to further compete against well-resourced corporations and prestigious CEOs (even apart from the tricky issues raised if the corporation trying to lead the human rights response is the same corporation the community feels abused it in the first place). Puvan Selvanathan on the business "moral compass" Another letter that recently rocked the BHR world even harder came from Puvan Selvanathan, one of the five members (until his resignation in the letter) of the UN Working Group (UNWG). The UNWG is the central public sector actor in the BHR field that essentially essentially replaced Ruggie when his mandate expired and that hosts the annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights. Selvanathan's resignation was unexpected, as was the almost fiery tone of his letter. Selvanathan does not comment on the work of the UNWG itself, but focuses on the larger failure of the framework of UN institutions in the field, arguing that Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) is "unwelcoming" to business and "entirely 'stick,'" while the other related entity, the Global Compact, is "solely 'carrot,'" offering "unconditional association with the UN" and thus "wast[ing] the opportunity to be the authority and chaperone that business urgently seeks on the human rights agenda." While Selvanathan unequivocally agrees that business is a valuable asset to the human rights agenda, he seems to have serious doubts as to the progress of the field's understanding and use of that asset. Under the heading of a question that is asked all too infrequently in the BHR discourse, namely "Will a business choose to make less profit voluntarily?," Selvanathan writes: I have come to understand that businesses are machines designed to do only certain things and will always strive to do them as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. The loudest calls within a company for higher goals are distant echoes if even a whisper for profit exists. I am deeply wary of CEOs who claim to be guided by a moral compass because they ultimately only navigate waters their shareholders chart. As with Ruggie's letter, is language is a chill wind across the warm and trusting rhetoric that, as we saw in the last blog, has been the hallmark of BHR. Elsewhere Selvanathan deepens his critique of corporations as not just amoral, but happily immoral if "state-sponsored [judicial] systems allow [them] to behave badly." Selvanathan puts his weight behind what was, until the BHR era, an uncontroversial truth: it is only by changing rules (and the real consequences of breaking rules) that we can expect any corporation to deviate from the most efficient path to the greatest profit, largely irrespective of consequent human rights issues. Selvanathan emphasizes that his critique is coming from "inside" the business perspective, given his own lengthy resume as a corporate executive at numerous multinational firms. He wants to respect the business perspective, but not submit to it uncritically. "Business respects boundaries and business craves clarity," Selvanathan writes. For him, the consequence of this is clear: "if states wish for businesses to respect human rights then what that constitutes must be made mandatory." As described in the last blog, while this idea is hardly foreign to the BHR discourse, the rejection or at least deferral of the notion of truly binding obligations was one of the core compromises that brought businesses to the BHR table in the first place. The business of human rights? Both Ruggie and Selvanathan raise important questions about the real consequences of corporate leadership in a human rights field. But this may raise another question: is "Business & Human Rights" a human rights field after all? Or is something different, a hybrid that goes beyond human rights, or the impact of business on human rights, to include the business of human rights? To what extent is the mission of BHR to infiltrate the world of business with human rights principles and objectives, as is commonly emphasized, versus (or in addition to) infiltrating the world of human rights not just with business thinking, but with business objectives, such as making profit and opening new markets. An important ride-along with this, of course, is business investment capital. Obviously people will have different reactions to the idea of literally capitalizing the human rights agenda. For present purposes, I would ask whether we have a sufficient understanding of and confidence in the terms of the deal. Are we sure that human rights values are sufficiently protected? In other words, whether such a wholesale embrace of their use as inputs in a new human rights market will not unduly erode the innate value that they have so successfully represented (as seen in the near universal acceptance of human rights over the last sixty years). And at a more practical level, are we confident that human rights practitioners are prepared to dance the dance with such a famously dynamic, well-resourced, and (for some) seductive partner as multinational business without falling in a secondary or submissive role? Concerns over relationship dynamics are woven throughout the Ruggie and Selvanathan letters, and we will look more closely at resource disparity issues in the next blog in this series. Advertisement The letters also reflect more than a little confusion over what the "deliverables" of this deal really are. The substance of the investment being asked of the business community is sound human rights practice (setting aside funding for big conferences and lots of consulting fees, which is a factor not to be overlooked). But what is the return? The easy answer, the answer we want, is that it is human rights results, with a convenient and harmonious companion dividend of additional (or at least sustained) profit. Yet the framing by the Global Commission, found objectionable by Ruggie, suggests that parties to the deal may have distinctly different perspectives on this, while Selvanathan suggests that the only way to trust corporations to achieve human rights results is to assume that they are actually seeking only to achieve profit. A pendulum swing? No one could realistically expect the magic "&" in Business & Human Rights to have struck the right balance between such complex and autonomous worlds on the very first go. What the Ruggie and Selvanathan letters may presage is a recalibration of sorts; although in the real world, changes are less often made by scientific increment than by pendulum swings from side to side, which together hold the promise of an authentic center. I suspect we are seeing such a swing now, and I think it is due. Part of the effort will involve reexamining old compromises, like the issue of mandatory obligations raised by Selvanathan, and digging much deeper than the current "metrics" go. For example: Are we sufficiently confronting corporations' strategic use of networks of wholly-owned subsidiaries to enjoy the benefits and profits of far-flung operations while effectively insulating themselves from liability? Even as we introduce new forms of grievance mechanisms, are we empowering communities to make their own choices, including resorting to traditional lawsuits and public pressure mechanisms even if corporations don't like it? As one commentator recently asked, as we too lenient in letting corporations "get positive grades for the codes of conduct they sign onto or the community projects they lead without also taking into account the ways that they throw their weight around to avoid accountability, intimidate their critics and co-opt the political process"? There's no question that animal advocacy is a challenging endeavor, and changing public attitudes and laws to protect animals from cruelty and suffering is a long, painstaking process. But, each year, we find that we are making significant progress -- even if it's slower than we'd like -- in states around the country, through the U.S. Congress, with companies that exploit (or previously exploited) animals, and in the international arena. Lately, we've been, I dare say, blessed with measurable progress in this regard. A year or so ago, I couldn't have told you what a pangolin was. But now, Born Free USA and others, knowing that this "scaly anteater" of Africa and Asia is on a precipitous decline toward extinction in the wild as international trade in their scales and meat increases, have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the outstanding seven species of pangolins as Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. (One of the eight species is already protected.) It is estimated that roughly 100,000 pangolin specimens are being exported around the world every year, including tens of thousands being seized coming into the U.S. over the past decade. Whether found in West Africa, or in Vietnam, or the Philippines, or India, these species clearly deserve all the protection we can give them. It's truly a situation where the species could go extinct before people even know they existed. Advertisement Thankfully, on March 15, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that our Endangered Species Act petition is warranted, which means a 60-day public comment period and a 12-month review by the government to ultimately decide to list or not to list. After our success at the end of last year--listing lions under the Endangered Species Act--I have great hope that we will be equally successful for the beleaguered pangolin. And, at the same time that we received good news from the U.S. government about pangolins, we also received good news from fashion designer Armani. The company has declared that, beginning this fall, it will abolish all use of fur in the garments it produces, closely following the similar decision by Hugo Boss. This enormous and vital policy change came after a series of discussions with the Fur Free Alliance, an international coalition consisting of Born Free USA and 39 other organizations working to end the fur trade around the world. I am thrilled with Giorgio Armani's forward-thinking decision, which will save thousands of animals from prolonged, gruesome suffering and death, whether from cruel, indiscriminate traps or through a life of grim captivity on a fur farm. By deciding to go fur-free, Armani joins Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and Stella McCartney: fashion icons. It is my hope that with each renowned design house that commits to a compassionate animal welfare policy, the more other fashion designers, retailers, bloggers, trendsetters, and consumers will realize that high-end fashion can inspire the runways without coming at a deadly, torturous cost to animals. As we work in the legislative arena to try to win much-needed protection in law for wild furbearers, we must have the cooperation and support of corporations, as well. While we wait for legislatures to take action, which could take years and years, progressive companies interested in doing the right thing can make an immediate decision with significant and lasting impact. Advertisement And, another company that's taking concerted action is, shockingly, SeaWorld -- which, in partnership with our friends at the Humane Society of the United States, has relented under extreme public pressure since the release of the 2013 film Blackfish, to end its orca breeding program, stop importing orcas from the wild, and phase out its "theatrical shows" using orcas by 2019. This significant development is a positive one for orcas and a shrewd business move for SeaWorld, which was facing significant, marked decline and loss of customers over the clearly horrific conditions for the orcas there. At long last, SeaWorld has heeded the compassionate demands of an increasingly humane society. Of course, this is progress, but not the end of the discussion. These orcas continue to languish in the concrete SeaWorld pools, and other marine animals remain exploited at SeaWorld facilities. But, as I say, inch by inch, progress prevails. Ringling Brothers is going out of the performing elephant business. SeaWorld is going out of the performing orca business. Armani is going out of the fur business. And, eventually, the business of humane treatment of animals will be the strongest performer in America and around the world. I am an impatient person, and there is so much evil perpetrated on animals, and I find myself often screaming for action. But, I remember a fortune cookie message I got one night in college so many years ago that read: "Confucius says patience will be rewarded." As long as we continue our hard work and people increasingly listen to our pleas for animals, that advice will come true. A Disturbing Trend Eight years after the financial crisis, Europe has steered steadily towards the right of its political spectrum. This seemingly silent, rather stealthy shift, is one narrated by populism and nationalism, veiled in xenophobia. Advertisement This displacement to the right is no random event. Studying the period between 1870 and 2014, the Centre for Economic Studies in Munich finds that right-wing parties increase their share of the vote after a major financial crisis on average by 30%. Blaming foreigners and minorities for the times and turmoil faced by the majority is compelling polemic in such periods. Emboldened by their electoral success in autumn last year, the SVP were looking to pass the Durchsetzungsinitiative (DSI/Enforcement Initiative) towards the end of February in 2016. The initiative sought to deport foreigners who commit crimes. It is the second of its kind. The Ausschaffungsinitiative (ASI/Deportation Initiative) accepted in 2010 already ensures deportation of foreigners convicted of egregious crimes such as murder and sexual violence. The DSI sought to take this further and expel all who commit even two minor offences in a span of 10 years, such as speeding or disorderly conduct; judges would be stripped of their responsibility in considering individual circumstances of the case and any potential human rights violations as a result of deportation. The passing of such an initiative strikes at the very heart of the rule of law. In addition to being unconstitutional by applying different sets of law to different people, the DSI would coerce a fourth Swiss population, its two million foreign residents, to live in a constant state of vigilance, descending a nation proud in its democracy into an apartheid-like state of affairs. In studies conducted soon after national elections in October, 66% of those polled were in favour of the DSI with 31% against. In the middle of January 2016 these figures had narrowed to 51% for and 42% against. On the 28th of February, the day the initiative was brought to vote, it failed 59% against to 41% for. Advertisement A Numbers Game In a span of 3 months, what appeared to be a sure win for the populist movement, fell flat. The glaringly obvious reason as to why it failed, is simply that more people voted. More people voted in this initiative than in the national elections, four months prior. 64% of eligible voters voted, compared to the 48% who voted in the parliamentary elections. Translating into about 780,000 more votes. More people voted in this initiative than in any before in the past 6 years. The last initiatives to come close in voter participation were on the minimum wage and paedophilia. Both at 56%, a ways away from the Enforcement Initiative's 64%. More people voted against the Enforcement Initiative (DSI), than against the Deportation Initiative in 2010 (ASI). The Deportation Initiative passed with 53% of the vote. 1.4 million people voted in favour and 1.2 million people voted against. For the Enforcement Initiative, the same number of people voted in favour, 1.4 million. Against the initiative however, 1.9 million people voted. An increase of over 700,000 in opposition. The Winds of Change There occurred a mass mobilisation of votes, not across a particular cross-section of voters but rather across the entire spectrum. Behind this call to arms was Operation Libero. Founded in early 2014, Libero spearheaded the campaign against the Enforcement Initiative since autumn 2015 through to its victorious finish. Hannes Grassegger of Das Magazin does meticulous justice in telling their story. Dominik Elser, co-president of Operation Libero and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bern, profiles three defining features in Libero's campaign, which potentially contributed to the increase in voter participation. Advertisement Trolling Trolls Social media is plagued in hordes by trolls, cyber warriors arguing for the sake of argument, insistent on having the last word in a comment thread. Right-wing commenters on newspaper articles and Facebook media pages wield power over journalists writing the articles as well as influencing the silent majority of the readership. Libero dedicated a team of men and women charged with battling such comments in order to voice the opposition. "Don't feed the Troll" is common internet wisdom in not encouraging extremist dialogue. Ignoring this advice, Libero actively pursued them, and in doing so created visibility not just for themselves, but also for the inaudible voices of the opposition that were drowned in the comments sections. Yelling "Fire" Apathy was rampant in the opposition after their defeat in the October elections. Policy makers were willing to let the Enforcement Initiative slide as a win for the right-wing SVP, and were more concerned in applying resources to a subsequent initiative in which Switzerland debates national law against international law. Operation Libero was one of the few highlighting the gravity of the initiative at hand. The impending threat that the Enforcement Initiative placed on Switzerland's constitution, and on its ability to govern fairly. By being incredibly vocal on social media platforms, placing advertising boards and placards across the country, and open sourcing the distribution of its flyers (mailing them to whoever asked), it generated momentum and shifted much-needed attention onto the Enforcement Initiative. Rewriting the Mythos The prevailing narrative ahead of Libero's entrance, was that the SVP were at best conservatives, protecting Switzerland from the actions of criminal foreigners. Branding the SVP radicals, Libero championed human rights. A right to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness, ideals on which they claim Switzerland was founded. Ideals on which it should be governed, and ideals that would be trampled upon, should the populist initiative have passed. Advertisement Elser sees in Switzerland a more desirable version of the American Dream. In their campaign, Libero declared the preservation of these ideals, as opposition against the Enforcement Initiative. Thus upending the SVP's previously sole claim as protectors of all things Swiss. The Way Ahead For each head the mighty Hercules bludgeoned with his club, the Hydra of Lerna grew two. The defeat of the Enforcement Initiative may well be the one step forward preceding the two steps back. Yet it glimmers hope not just for the landlocked island of Switzerland, but for a wider European audience. One hopes that Europe's step to the right is but a temporary one, much like an adolescent experimenting with mascara and the Cure. But as Switzerland illustrated, it was the younger generation this time, providing the voice of reason. In the face of an older, more tired one, that simply wanted to do away with it all. As the world shrinks at the possibility of Donald Trump commanding nuclear codes, the need for clear-headed policy making has never been greater. Securing national borders appears to come at the cost of domestic discord, because by shutting the outside world out, we appear to shut ourselves in. On Wednesday, March 30, at a press conference scheduled for New York City Hall, a coalition of opt-out groups will demand that School Chancellor Carmen Farina take steps to inform parents of their Opt Out rights. According to NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) there has been "Enough with inequitable access to information; enough with partial and outright misinformation; enough with the talking points from State ED! ALL parents should have CLEAR and ACCURATE information so PARENTS can make an informed decision about whether their child should take the state tests." State Common Core English Language Arts (ELA) testing starts Tuesday April 5 and lasts for three days. Math tests will be administered over a three-day period starting April 13. The group charges that principals have been denying parents their legal right to pull their children out of the tests; that the school system makes "vague and unsubstantiated threats about the consequences of opting out"; and that families in "low-income communities" have not received information about their right to opt-out of high-stakes testing. Speakers from the opt-out coalition includes the presidents of a Bronx and Brooklyn PTA, the co-President of the Manhattan PTA President's Council, NYC City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, and Jeanette Deutermann, founder of LI Opt Out and co-founder of NYSAPE. Under pressure from parents and teachers, New York State did change some of the test mandates. State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia argues exams this "will improve the testing experience for students and the validity of the assessments" and city Schools Chancellor Farina sent parents a letter urging them to have their children take the tests. According to a New York Times report, several school principals claim they were instructed by either New York City School Superintendent Carmen Farina or by district superintendents that they and teachers in their school were not to encourage parents to have children opt-out of the tests. Advertisement While Elia and Farina are promoting the revised tests, test critic Fred Smith, writing for City Limits, argues the changes are at best "illusory." Twenty-five percent of the reading questions on the test are experimental and will not actually count, however, they can through off the performance of students on the rest of the exam. These questions were developed by Pearson, the discredited testing company that New York State already abandoned for future exams. In addition, while the new version of tests are supposed to be un-timed, in a school district with over a million children this will be impossible to administer. Farina also may be wavering. At an invitation-only meeting in Brooklyn's District 15 she reportedly told parents who are part of the opt-out movement that if she were a parent of a student with special learning needs or a recent immigrant whose child was grappling with learning English, "I'd probably opt out." Farina conceded "a child with an IEP who has a very low frustration level, who no matter how much you're going to do is never [going to] get to a certain level on this kind of test . . . to sit through a test with maybe a level 1 or 2 reader ... I think it is a little bit, you know, too much." The road through college can be daunting, especially if you're the first in your family to go to college or hail from a historically underrepresented group. While I wasn't the first in my family to go to college, I found it sometimes daunting. I made it through, but my passion for improving education in this country is fueled by the knowledge that many of my classmates weren't so fortunate. That's why I'm pleased to see a growing number of colleges and universities making smarter use of data to help students and themselves chart navigable paths to graduation and pinpoint where additional help is needed. Just as the GPS in our cars and on our phones can help us plot routes, identify trouble spots, and calculate alternatives, the data dashboards that leading institutions and their partners are creating help students, advisors, and campus leaders make real-time decisions that lead to better outcomes. We can see the difference this can make in students like John Carter, who arrived at Sinclair Community College in Ohio with a GED and a dream to be a paramedic and firefighter. He's moving closer to that goal, thanks in part to Sinclair's My Academic Plan (MAP), which allows John to track his progress and communicate with his instructors and advisors in real time if he needs help. Students like John who use MAP are twice as likely to graduate as those who don't. Advertisement We also see this working for students like Bonnie Boggs, who is studying communications at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. Bonnie started out thinking that she would be a science teacher, but the university's Degree Compass app, which uses enrollment and grade data to recommend courses, helped her to figure out a career in marketing was a better fit for her skills and interests. Since the introduction of the Degree Compass app, retention and graduation rates have increased significantly at Austin Peay, in part because students now receive the guidance they need before they get discouraged and drop out. Perhaps most impressively, we see how smart use of data can improve outcomes at Georgia State University, which has eliminated gaps in attainment rates across racial and ethnic groups. Not reduced, eliminated. They achieved this by starting with careful data analysis to pinpoint where, and among which groups, retention was fragile. Then, they used the data to redesign their advising programs to help more students successfully navigate the registration process and implement courseware that could address their specific learning needs. They also used the data to design an emergency aid program that prevents students from being forced to choose between paying for a car repair, or paying tuition and staying in college. Having and using better data won't fix all of the challenges facing our postsecondary system. But there's also no longer any need to let students fend for themselves on the critical journey to and through college. A high quality, broadly accessible public education is not only central to the American Dream; it is key to increasing promise and prosperity in this country. Send him to the stockade? Corey Lewandowski: The Soap Opera Continues The story - at least for this news cycle -- is about the campaign manager. That's never good news for the candidate. It's all supposed to be about the campaign. It used to be that way. The simple battery charge against Donald Trump's campaign manager takes Trump off message. But that's nothing new. Trump himself often takes Trump off message. For example, last week Trump gave a credible speech at AIPAC. Finally, we thought, Trump gets it. He is acting like the front-runner, even presidential. Despite his curious performance earlier that day at a Washington Post editorial board meeting, perhaps Trump is serious. The next day, radical Islamists staged yet another terrorist attack, this one in Brussels. As usual, President Barack Obama pretended that militant Presbyterians or extreme Methodists, maybe radical Episcopalians, staged the attack. And over several days, President Obama continued his travels in further embarrassment of the United States. For no reason that was in our national self-interest, the Apologist-in-Chief was doing penance for America - this time legitimizing the brutal Castro regime, which still imprisons and even tortures dissidents. Obama took his photo in front of a rendering of murderer Che Guevara. It may be that Guevara's repeated homicides do not arouse the Left, but glamorized Guevara was a serial and passionate racist (blacks did not fare well in Che's Cuba), and that sin is beyond political incorrectness. But the Castro brothers hate Jews, and growing Jew-hatred continues in vogue on the Left. Advertisement Then, on to Argentina, where Obama continued to make a fool of himself. While the Western world mourned Brussels, Obama was doing the tango. This was all justified to show that Obama "has a full plate," and terrorists do not affect his lifestyle. Obama was soon among students, not as a pro-American champion of liberty for all and a vibrant free market economy to grow a middle class. Instead we have Obama's crony capitalism that favors solar energy and Wall Street, and now he seemed to gush over socialism and appeared possibly ambivalent toward communism. As his term in office comes to an end, more and more we see the real Obama, the radical leftist who in 2008 pretended to be moderate. And, with all this happening, what was Donald Trump doing last week? He was resending Twitter photos comparing his wife Melania to Heidi Cruz. Defending all nonsense, Trump said - -as if he were a child on the playground, "Lyin Ted started it." If Trump were going to Twit photos, at least do Obama in front of Che, and then Obama en flagrante tango. And now, in recent days Trump has complained the Republican Party wants to steal the nomination from him. Trump does not have the nomination, yet. And the same rules apply to him as have applied to all others for years, decades, a century or more. If he, Trump, gets a majority of delegates, he wins the nomination, on the first ballot, or beyond. If he fails on the first ballot, an open convention might occur. Therefore, prudence would dictate that your campaign prepare. You learn the rules (they vary by state) and master them (and the convention rules). You start contacting delegates. This is all part of The Art of the Deal. We just learned that the Trump campaign, belatedly, has now recruited Paul Manafort, the kind of Washington insider/lobbyist that Trump rails against, to be his convention/delegate strategist. Advertisement Why did it take so long for Trump to get his act together about Cleveland? He doesn't know the process, and he runs his own show. His campaign manager tells him what he wants to hear. Worse, the manager was adrift, preoccupied. His priority was kissing up to Trump, being on the road with the candidate. And in the course of his sycophancy, Corey Lewandowski supposedly committed what Florida authorities call "simple battery" against journalist Michelle Fields. To be sure, as we must always say, Lewandowski is innocent until proven guilty, of this heinous crime, almost unspeakable. (Did he push her, or what?) In normal circumstances, Lewandowski would have quietly apologized to Fields. He was zealous, or didn't intend what happened, whatever. This should not be a big deal. But in trademark Trump fashion, Lewandowski doubled down. Soon her account was challenged - why doesn't she file a complaint? Be careful what you wish for. She did. The charge against Lewandowski is a misdemeanor that could be thrown out or plea-bargained. But the Florida standard makes "the case" against Lewandowski plausible. For the Trump campaign, this sordid episode is yet another distraction, at best. At worst, it supports the narrative that the Trump campaign is about bullies. Previously unresolved is Lewandowski playing bouncer to a protestor at another Trump rally, all this amidst the controversy over "Trump violence." The charge against Trump is unfair, because the catalysts are the protestors, some looking for trouble. But Trump's rhetoric is careless. The perception is there, and Trump is insensitive about it all. Advertisement A week ago I suggested Lewandowski do what other campaign managers do, and get back to the campaign office. He might spend some time with Manafort, an adult who works the smoke-filled back rooms, and at least prepare for the worst, which is to say, a possible open convention. But Trump might put Lewandowski on stage again, as Trump triples-down on his campaign manager. Trump backs up his people. Trump believes loyalty shows strength. If Trump wins the Wisconsin primary, he could sing the praises of Lewandowski. If Trump loses, that loss could provide Trump with the excuse to say to his aspiring bouncer, "You're fired," exiled from the campaign, to oversee security at Trump Towers. In March we marked International Women's Day and celebrated the contributions of women all over the world. But too often during the rest of the year, we fail to notice and act when the international community is failing women and girls. All over the world, women and girls are expected to eat last and least. About 60 percent of the world's hungry people are female, which means that nearly half a billion women and girls do not have access to the nutritious food they need for healthy and active lives. There has certainly been progress on both hunger and women's empowerment. Many Latin American countries, especially Brazil and Mexico, have been able to reduce poverty and raise the status of women. But the gains are fragile, and there is still a long way to go. Advertisement Growth in farming has proven to have more impact on poverty than growth in any other part of the economy. However, female farmers still face unique challenges. Although there are laws on the books that are designed to remove barriers for women to own land, they are often not fully enforced in rural areas of Latin America as elsewhere. Sometimes these laws are ignored entirely. Women often have to farm the most marginal land. They also don't have access to many of the tools, seeds, technologies, and other resources available to men. The World Bank has found that if female farmers were treated equally, they could raise their crop yields by 20 to 30 percent. This alone would feed between 100 and 150 million of the world's 795 million hungry people. Actions taken here in the United States affect women worldwide. The U.S. government's global hunger and food-security initiative called Feed the Future has reached millions of smallholder farmers, including many women. It has improved the prospects for long-term agricultural growth. Feed the Future works in three of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries. There, it helps farmers increase their productivity and income. Collectively, farmers earned additional income of more than $2.7 million in Haiti, $11.5 million in Guatemala, and $24 million in Honduras. Foreign-assistance programs like Feed the Future can also help change social and cultural norms and practices. This places more power in the hands of women. Boosting a woman's earning power boosts a family's economic prospects and promotes better nutrition and health. In 2015, the United States and 192 other countries adopted global development goals called Sustainable Development Goals. The fifth goal is to reach gender equality by 2030. But according to the World Economic Forum, the world will not reach gender equality until 2133 if it continues at today's rate of progress. We can't afford to wait more than a century to ensure that women are treated as equal to men. Advertisement Ben Arnon (BA): What inspired you to write Sky Above Clouds and how long was your journey of writing this book? Wendy Miller (WM): This is a question that has a few answers, first of all, because I started writing with my late husband, Gene Cohen, in 2005, and so we both had our reasons then; and after he passed away, I had to come up with a new reason to get myself to continue it without him. So I will give you all the answers. First of all, Gene started the idea for this book because he wanted to write a fairytale "Phoenix and the Fairy" for our young daughter. It was his way of seeing our family story of challenge and creativity in magical, metaphorical terms that he felt would give him a way to share with her from the very - her very - beginning. He was given a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer when she was just 19 months old. Thus this book started out as a co-authored book by Gene and me: a husband-and-wife team, made up of a scientist/psychiatrist and an artist/therapist. For five years it held our shared vision of a future working and living together, as it reflected backward on the sixteen years of our life together. We originally thought of it as "The Phoenix and the Fairy, and Other True Stories of Creativity, Challenge and Adversity." As it evolved, it became a holding space for our conversations, our shared hopes, expectations, and goals. That manuscript also included Gene's first venture into fiction writing - an original fairytale he wrote for our daughter to use creative imagery and story, as fairytales do, to capture the heroic life journey in which challenges and setbacks, heroines, heroes, and ogres ultimately illuminate our own fears, creativity, and courage. That whole manuscript combining science, art, autobiography, and fairytale, written as if it were a conversation between the two of us, was retitled "Heartsong," and we thought it was ready for publication when Gene passed away in November 2009. But once he wasn't here, that changed everything. It would have been as if we then added a last chapter that said, "oh by the way, he died." So that certainly wasn't the way I wanted to have a book. And my own years of grief reminded me daily that that certainly wasn't the book we wanted. It had to evolve for me to want to read it and find comfort and help through it. Gene wrote this describing why he had wanted to write this book: "My goal is not to describe my own special recipe for avoiding or coping with being sick, suffering, and dying. My story is not one of how-to, but of hope and creative possibilities, of tapping into aspects of yourself you may not have known were there for however long you are able to. It is a story of creativity in connection with loss. There is nothing romantic about loss, but it is part of the human condition when one is struggling to contain or cope with loss, there is also a desire to transcend it. This is a context, however unwanted, for accessing creative potential. So, to provide a series of stories will do justice to the many different ways it can be examined." For me, what mattered most in writing the book was this: that the book would be a companion on such a walk through hard places in life; that the reader does not have to be on that hard path at this time of reading, but be conscious enough to realize that we will all take these walks. It is not just a walk for ill people or aging people or dying people or grieving people. It is a walk of creativity in the deepest sense, when circumstances (even just reading) slow us down biochemically and psychophysically, and in that slowing down, we have a chance to engage with whatever is present and find meaning in it. Then there was also more of a professional reason for us, and that includes Teresa Barker too, our co-writer, for writing this book. We all have had professional careers in teaching, sharing information, and helping to improve the quality of life of others. Gene as a doctor, me as a therapist, and Teresa as a co-writer of books in research, health, and parenting. We all wanted to continue our team effort of working and living with serious conditions that confronted health, relationship, and family, to make it visible through our writing so that others could witness it and take from it what would be meaningful for them. BA: How did you muster the strength to continue writing this after your husband passed away? WM: Probably the most significant reason I continued, and ultimately what carried me through actually doing this - because writing a book is really hard work - was this: I had a quiet, intuitive voice that over time became a louder, more forceful voice that said: "If you don't edit and publish this book, it will be as if Gene has died twice." And I absolutely refused to let that happen. My commitment to our writing as Gene's legacy and his ethical commitment to both family and community was my "thread from above" that I write about in the book. It was what pulled me up out of the depths of grief and loss. It was my connection to the sky above clouds. Because to be honest with you, it has been very difficult for me to write this book. Yet I always knew that there are readers who are just as isolated as Gene and I were, in their own experience, particularly the aging process, and particularly when there are medical complications. So much of the isolation or struggle emerges in the course of everydayness, but the roots of it and potential relief lie much deeper in matters of existential identity. It can be uncomfortable for any of us to confront, much less engage in these conversations with ourselves or others, even with those we love. Whatever the reason, it is also true that there are many forms of "magical thoughts" inside all of us that say, if we don't know much about illness then it won't happen to us; that when we actually live through these "hard times" people mostly try to say the platitudes of polite positive hopeful thinking, or give advice, or change the subject, or give us that look that we can't name but somehow ends up adding to our invisibility. We can begin to feel like we have leprosy or some such thing that requires quarantine; we can feel psychically hidden and alone. And I wanted to write a book for those of us in that place, and that number grows every day. BA: What is an expressive arts therapist and how did that background assist you in writing this book? WM: As an artist, I am psychological as well as visual, so my creative intention was always to show facets of our psyches as I wrote about how we intuitively experience our lives, including our experience of thinking about our lives, and what creativity in living really comes to mean. Creativity up against health challenge - life - threatening health challenge - changes the way I look at everything. I have always used imagery in my work as a clinician. I listen for the language through which each person speaks - the visual, the auditory, the poetic, and the kinesthetic. You can hear it in people's language: "I am walking under a gray cloud" vs. "Everything is spinning inside" vs. "The rain tapping on the roof is driving me nuts." Imagery as a language of sensation speaks in different channels for each of us. My work is about discovering what channel is the right one for the person I am working with. That is my life as an expressive arts therapist, where I work daily to help people through experiential approaches and the creative arts in therapy. My studio and Create Therapy Institute, which houses my expressive arts therapy practice, are behind my home. My studio is downstairs with all my art books, art supplies, sculptures, jewelry, and art works in endless process. The upstairs is my therapy office filled with more art materials, miniature objects for sand tray work, and the furnishings necessary for comfort in the dialog that takes place between me and the people who come to see me. I see into the lives of others:children, adults, couples, and families, into the many ways the family body presents in their stories and struggles. The skills I use to listen closely to the discovery process within my clients' imagery are the same ones I use to listen for it within my own family body in writing this book. The steps that transform are slow and sometimes arduous; they are careful undertakings that happen millisecond by millisecond in one's life. Our work is the practice of emotional intimacy and remembrance: psychic history that I witnessed, recorded, and recalled. "Centering in Reflection" (1999), porcelain clay figure with oxides in raku fired bowl, 8 x 7 x 8 inches. Artwork by Wendy L. Miller, photo credit: Joshua Soros (used with permission) BA: Describe how creativity is associated with aging and illness. WM: I wasn't necessarily thinking about creativity and aging per se, when this all started, because I thought I could leave making those connections to Gene. But I have grown into it myself now. I am now 65 years old, the age that he was when he passed away. So I may not feel that 65 is very old at all, but that knowledge sits right beside the knowledge that things can happen that change our lives both drastically and instantly. Why do we react the way we do in certain moments? What brings us to impasses and then has us find a way through them? What changes in us day by day, moment-by-moment, in ways that can either free us or shackle us? I certainly did not want to write a book with self-help advice or bullets of magic guidance. I don't like those. The stories in Sky Above Clouds, and the conversations shared in it are offered as tools to activate the mechanism of seeing into one's own life, into one's own intimate psychological territory. This process of inquiry becomes the mechanism for creative knowledge. Creativity is a generative process that happens within our search for meaning when we exercise our full capacity for engagement whether it is in someone else's stories, as the reader finds in the book, or in one's own. In this way, creativity is not merely looking at but truly seeing your own experience, by feeling your way as you move through soul stories of experience. What is most helpful for this creative engagement to take place is that our twin capacities to receive and reflect on experience occur almost simultaneously. We are existential creative beings, and this book aims to reflect our own existential spaces where you can think about what is happening on the page, and the mirror images in one's own experience begin to reveal themselves. True creativity is something that is released, not something named or analyzed, rather something that becomes its own art of knowing. Our stories model a process, slow us down enough to engage in our own experience, and hopefully offer a mirror so that we can see, reflect, and find meaning in our own interpretation. In such a way, looking becomes seeing becomes art. BA: Describe the meaning behind the name of your book. WM: Both Gene and I loved to study psychological development and the creative arts. With his background in aging, he researched artists in the latter part of their lives. He was always in search of new ways to talk about aging, to translate more vividly the exciting emerging science and clinical stories of aging and insight into new images and metaphors that could represent a truer sense of the potential in our development as we creatively age into wisdom. He was frustrated, as we all should be, by the endless supply of stereotypical images that focus on decline in our older years. All we have to do is search for a birthday card for an older friend or family member to see exactly what these images of aging convey. Even taken as efforts of humor, they are not funny. The stereotypes are damaging, if not immediately to the individual then systemically to our culture, a culture that has historically portrayed and perceived older people in a state of decline. He knew that this was a misrepresentation of the truth about aging, growth, and development, and he was committed to changing that image, both literally and metaphorically. One of our favorite artists was Georgia O'Keefe, who, although she loved to travel, did not fly until later in her life. In her 70s, she painted her cloud series, titled "Sky Above Clouds." In his talks and presentations on creative aging, Gene frequently referred to O'Keefe's "Sky Above Clouds" paintings as the new metaphor for aging. This was the way we should envision aging, and approach it. As O'Keefe indicated in her paintings, even with her fears of flying, even in spite of her age or any illnesses, there is always sky above clouds. I chose to title our book "Sky Above Clouds" to honor Gene and his vision, to honor O'Keefe and hers, and to honor in each of us in our own process of creative aging, to bring the "sky above clouds" to life for every reader. There will always be clouds, thus there will also always be sky above clouds - that space in which life's complexities have the chance to become clear, where we can make the quantum leap into our own potential and our own vision. Sure, the clouds can obscure our view at times - believe me I know that from these years of grieving. Looking through the clouds, outside in, we may imagine, for instance, that we know what a person confronting such grief or a loss or a life-threatening illness experiences; or that we know what we ourselves will feel when we are in adverse circumstances. But, we do not and cannot know their reality, or even the one that awaits us, with any certainty at all. What we can know is that clear sky above something else always awaits us; an inner capacity for change and adaptation that is incontrovertible as nature itself. That "something else," the creative faculty is what draws us to life, calls forth our love, our resilience, our strength, and our capacity to choose not only life itself but it is also what enlivens us to life. We make our way through the clouds, whatever clouds may appear. Sky above clouds means that it opens us not only to potential but also to the essential. BA: What was your biggest learning about life through your journey of writing this book? WM: That there really is a miracle at the intersection of creativity, illness, and healing. Gene believed, as do I, that this kind of miracle - a life transformed - is accessible to each and every one of us. If I could write my way out of such depths of loss and grief, with all of its physical, emotional and spiritual pain and identity loss, then I can do and be anything. As the dust settles, it becomes increasingly clear that the Tribeca Film Festival organizers made a terrible decision to include the pseudo-scientific documentary "Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe" in the festival screenings. After an angry backlash from scientists, filmmakers, and others, the festival, with a weird explanation, reversed its decision to show the film, but not without some collateral damage. The controversy has given the film's creator, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who is one of the most reviled and discredited medical hucksters of the generation, a public moment to continue to spew his junk science. The film is all about his discredited work. Too, Tribeca's reputation has been sullied not only by its decision to show the film in the first place but also by its dishonest promotion of the film. Finally, the subject of the documentary, an inflammatory polemic seeking to resuscitate what every responsible scientific study has debunked - namely, a causal link between measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination and autism - will continue to handcuff the minds of scared and gullible parents whose decision not to vaccinate their children continues to inflict serious illnesses not only to their own children but in the larger community. Tribeca's decision to screen the film undoubtedly was influenced by the Tribeca co-founder, the great actor Robert DeNiro, whose own child suffers from autism. DeNiro noted he wasn't endorsing the film but merely wanted to illuminate the "issue of autism." However, the promotional materials and film trailer on the Tribeca website suggest that Tribeca was something less than a disinterested and objective venue. Indeed, and quite shockingly, none of the Festival literature contains the following well-documented information: -Wakefield's 1998 study of a possible link between MMR vaccination and autism, published in the British Medical Journal "Lancet," contained falsified data, including, most egregiously, falsified facts about each of the 12 children he and his team studied. Lancet retracted the study based on Wakefield's misconduct, and Wakefield's team members have retracted their interpretations. -After a lengthy hearing the British Medical Council found Wakefield guilty of dozens of counts of dishonesty, fraud, and abuse of his medical authority for subjecting the children to unnecessary and invasive medical procedures. Based on his "elaborate fraud" the Council stripped him of his license to practice medicine in the U.K. -Wakefield's study was covertly subsidized by a U.K. lawyer who was preparing a lawsuit against MMR vaccine manufacturers; the parents of the children in the study were selected by this lawyer for the study; Wakefield and the hospital conducting the study were covertly paid over one million dollars by this lawyer. -Wakefield himself applied for a patent for his own anti-autism vaccine before doing his Lancet study. -There is no evidence anywhere, by any respected scientist, demonstrating any causal link between MMR vaccine and autism. The Festival literature mentioned none of this. It promoted Wakefield's film by stating, misleadingly, that "The Lancet study would catapult Wakefield into being one of the most controversial figures in the history of medicine." Similarly, the Festival trailer for the film depicts on a black background, set to dramatic music, a waft of billowing smoke apparently coming from a syringe, and the words "Are Our Children Safe?" Included are comments from a discredited whistleblower who worked for the Center for Disease Control who claimed, in an interview with a rabid anti-vaccine activist, that the CDC suppressed evidence of a link between MMR and autism. To repeat, there is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. It's not clear what the "issue" is that DeNiro wanted aired. The film was dropped because DeNiro believed it would not meaningfully contribute to "dialogue or discussion about the issue." What is the issue for public discussion? It cannot be whether there is a link between MMR vaccine and autism; there is none. To show the film, while not necessarily endorsing Wakefield's discredited views, self-serving motives, and blatant misconduct gives this huckster a large and ready-made platform in a distinguished artistic venue to promote his financial interests. This is not a case of free speech and censorship. It would be astonishing if the Festival agreed to screen a documentary depicting, let's say, the "Hoax of the Holocaust," made by an avowed Holocaust denier; or a documentary by an anti-evolutionist proving that God created heaven and earth, say, on April 23, 3076 B.C., at 3:30 p.m. EST. To be sure, there are serious documentaries attacking the credibility of controversial scientific theories, "The Syndrome" coming quickly to mind, which discusses the now-discredited Shaken Baby Syndrome. But Wakefield's is not a serious documentary; it's a self-serving work. There are two main problems with Tribeca's initial willingness to show Wakefield's film. First, it sends a bad message to serious documentarians that personal and political interests of festival organizers can override artistic merit. Much more dangerous, however, is that by its promoting the most odious type of misinformation and pseudoscience, the festival, by showing the film, encourages parents to make unscientifically unsound decisions. To the extent that Wakefield and his ilk have contributed to parental paranoia, they should share some of the blame for the rise in multiple measles outbreaks in the U.S. and U.K., a disease once thought to have been eradicated, and now reappearing. Tribeca did the right thing in pulling the plug on a charlatan's con game. But it should never have let itself be conned in the first place. sad woman sitting alone If you are an organization that has the privilege and responsibility of caring for human trafficking survivors who have suffered some of the worst imaginable conditions, one thing you definitely shouldn't do is deny them medical care because of your religious beliefs. And if you're our government, which provides taxpayer dollars to these organizations, you shouldn't give a religious organization millions of dollars if they refuse to provide access to reproductive health care, especially when a federal court told you not to, and you promised you wouldn't do so. Advertisement But, alas, the government has broken its promise, and that broken promise could harm trafficking victims. In 2012, in a case brought by the ACLU, a federal district court held that the government violated the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state when it awarded a multi-million dollar federal contract to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to provide services to trafficking victims in the United States. The fact that the government contracted with a religious organization wasn't the problem. Rather, the violation of the establishment clause arose because the government allowed the bishops to prohibit its subcontractors -- most of which were secular nonprofit organizations -- from referring for or providing funding for contraception or abortion because of the bishop's religious beliefs. In its ruling, the district court recognized the unsurprising fact that trafficking survivors need access to contraception and abortion. Trafficking victims endure the most horrific conditions imaginable, and often experience sexual assault. When they escape their trafficker, they need a host of services to help them rebuild their lives -- housing, job training, and medical care. Access to reproductive health -- including contraception and abortion -- is critical to their ability to attain self-sufficiency. Our case took a turn, however, when the government ended its contract with the bishops and instead awarded the contract to organizations that would allow the full range of care to be provided to trafficking survivors. In funding these new organizations, the government itself acknowledged the importance of access to reproductive health care for trafficking survivors. Indeed, the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) said: Advertisement Taking into consideration the particular health risks posed to victims of trafficking, preference will be given to grantees under this FOA that will offer all victims referral to medical providers who can provide or refer for provision of treatment for sexually transmitted infections, family planning services and the full range of legally permissible gynecological and obstetric care, including but not limited to exams, tests and pre-natal services and non-directive health-related counseling. After the government awarded the contract to three new organizations under these terms, the government argued that our case was moot. The government repeatedly said in court that it did not intend to award the bishops the trafficking contract for the foreseeable future. We countered by saying that the bishops routinely restrict access to reproductive health care for vulnerable populations, so the issue is likely to come up again. The appeals court accepted the government's promise and found our case moot and dismissed it. Fast forward three years later, and unfortunately our predictions came true. The government has once again awarded a $2 million contract to the bishops to provide services to trafficking victims. How could the government possibly agree to give the grant to the bishops once again to the detriment of trafficking survivors, and likely in violation of the Constitution? We are demanding answers. That's why we have filed a lawsuit today under the Freedom of Information Act. We can't imagine what has changed in the last three years. We know the bishops prohibit all of its employees and subcontractors from referring human trafficking survivors for abortion or contraception care, even if the woman has been raped. It's precisely the same issue that we are investigating in the context of unaccompanied immigrant minors. These are teens that have crossed the border into the U.S. on their own, often fleeing abuse or violence in their home countries, and are awaiting deportation, asylum, or reunification with family members. The U.S. contracts with several organizations to provide these minors with day-to-day care, including USCCB, which receives millions of taxpayer dollars. In this context, too, the bishops refuse to follow the law and allow these minors access to contraception and abortion, despite the fact that many experience sexual assault during their journey to the U.S. The bishops are certainly entitled to their religious beliefs. Religious liberty is a fundamental value, and one that we fight for every day at the ACLU. But religion cannot be used to harm others or discriminate against them. The district judge put it very eloquently: To insist that the government respect the separation of church and state is not to discriminate against religion; indeed, it promotes a respect for religion by refusing to single out any creed for official favor at the expense of all others. How many actual copper lines, much less fiber optic access lines are in service in America today? AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink claim that they are 'losing copper lines' and use this to drive public policy decisions to 'shut off the copper', raise rates or not maintain the copper networks. However, a previous article outlined that the majority of copper or even fiber optic wires in America are not being counted. This chart details the total lines in America, as well as and basic copper-based landlines, commonly referred to as "POTS", plain old telephone service. Notice anything funny? Unfortunately, the facts of this accounting seem to have been subverted so that only a subset of the lines are being discussed, the copper-landlines, not the Total Access lines. (I'll come back to this chart in a moment.) Advertisement For example, Georgetown's Center for Business and Public Policy filed a report with the FCC on March, 16th, 2016, claiming that AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink (commonly known as an "ILEC", Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) have lost over 65% of lines since 1999. "According to the FCC's most recent Local Competition Report, by 2013 the ILECs' wireline networks had lost 59% of the lines they'd had in 1999, the first year such a report was issued... Given the rate of loss over the prior years and reported results in 2014 and 2015, we estimate that by the end of 2015, the ILECs had lost 65% of the access lines they had at the peak." This Georgetown data and report have an agenda, as can be seen by the title "Business Broadband: Assessing the Case for Reregulation". Its goal is to claim that AT&T, Verizon and Centurylink have lost so many lines that they are no longer the 'dominant' carrier, i.e.; there's plenty of competition and therefore the FCC should get rid of any remaining regulation or obligations to allow competitors, (commonly known as "Competitive Local Exchange Carriers, "CLEC"), to offer services and use these state-based utility wires. In fact, the FCC should not consider any new 'reregulation' of these state utility networks or special access lines. But there's a problem with the report; the number of "wireline network" lines has been going up, not down. Advertisement In 2015, the FCC released new data claiming that there was over $40 billion in broadband and data service revenues, (known as 'special access') in 2013, and that a whopping $24 billion, the majority, was still mostly-copper based services. (These findings more than doubled the FCC's original findings in 2013, that the special access market was only $12-$18 billion in revenues.) However, the FCC provides 'zero' lines for this upgraded-revenue analysis, and worse, in multiple recent decisions, the FCC is still basing the accounting of access lines by quoting manipulated data points and only discussing the 'copper-landline' accounting and not the actual total lines in service. If there is $24 billion dollars (in 2013) of mostly copper-based TDM, special access service revenues, a doubling of the revenues since 2007, then exactly how can anyone say that access lines went down? How distorted are Georgetown's numbers? The first chart represents the total access lines in America, from 1984 through 2014. It is based on the FCC's "Statistics of Common Carriers" for 1984 through 2007, (the last year the FCC published total access lines. We extrapolated data supplied by Verizon NY's published annual reports to supply 2007 through 2014.). And in 2007, the FCC's own statistics showed 379 million total lines. If revenues of the largest category of lines, (special access) doubled from 2007-2013, then, we would expect that access lines to provide these services also doubled. We pegged the total access lines in America to be around 600 million total lines, and that's probably low. And we believe that the POTS landline number is probably around 36 million total. Advertisement CAVEATS GALORE: We note that there are a host of caveats and issues, which we go through in some detail in the previous article. But "POTS' phone service was always a subset of the total number of lines, and by 2014 it could represent as little as 5%-10% of all lines. And note that there are lots of different categories of lines that are copper-based but are not part of the accounting. The Georgetown Report continues: "Indeed, by the end 2015, we estimate that wireline competitors had roughly the same number of lines as the ILECs." It would appear, then, that the goal of this data is to show that AT&T, Verizon and Centurylink are really losing lines and that they don't have market power, and we should feel sorry for the "ILEC", the incumbent phone companies, AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, and give them more deregulation - or whatever they need to survive. Unfortunately, using just a subset of total lines can't support any claims that the competitors have the same number of lines as the incumbent phone companies; it's just make believe. Note: "Business Broadband: Assessing the Case for Reregulation" was written by Anna-Maria Kovac, Visiting Senior Policy Scholar at Georgetown's Center for Business and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business, and John W. Mayo is the Center's Executive Director. The author of this report has written previous studies that were paid for by an AT&T-supported group, the Internet Innovation Alliance. And John Mayo recently wrote a paid-for-by-Verizon filing/response that was part of the Verizon New York testimony to help Verizon's request for more deregulation. Also, the school's funders include AT&T, Comcast Corporation, CTIA, (wireless association) U.S. Telecom (phone lobby/association) and the Verizon Foundation. All of the Wires are Part of One Network. There is, in fact, only one network, but you wouldn't know that from the accounting of lines and it is commonly known as the "PSTN", Public Switched Telephone Networks, but it should have been called the Public Networks, which, of course, was funded by customers. Advertisement This next quote is from the Verizon New Jersey 2000 Infrastructure Report and was part of the required annual progress reports of the company's progress in the deployment of fiber optics and the replacement of the aging copper networks. Known as "Opportunity New Jersey", by 2010, Verizon NJ was supposed to have 100% of their state territory covered to provide services that are capable of 45 Mbps in both directions, or higher. The Opportunity New Jersey plan, agreed to in 1993 by the NJ Board of Public Utilities, "NJBPU", changed state laws to charge local phone customers extra for this replacement of the copper wire with fiber optics -- and there have been multiple rate increases and tax perks over the next two decades, even though Verizon did not fulfill their obligations. But most importantly, the Verizon NJ 2000 Infrastructure Report specifically states that this plan was based on the fact that there is only 'one single network'-- and that customers paid (and continue to pay) for this one, single network. "By integrating a number of services on a single network, Verizon NJ will optimize our service delivery capabilities. The evolution to the full service ATM switched broadband network will significantly increase the efficiency of serving New Jersey through automated provisioning and activation processes, increase capacity availability, and result in an even more flexible delivery platform. Verizon NJ's integrated network of switches, transmission facilities and operating systems provides New Jersey's residential and business communities with an advanced telecommunications infrastructure that is ready, willing and able to act as the onramp to the Information Super Highway. "Our network investments are being driven by the exploding demand for a broadening array of services. These services range from additional lines, Internet access, and high-speed transport to applications requiring packet-switched networks, combinations of switched and private networks, and customized network designs." And notice that the network are 'combinations' of 'switched', (regular phone-based networks), and 'private networks' as well as Internet, and high-speed applications, and customized network designs, and these last items are the basis of 'special access' services. And this story is current, not simply history. First, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) never lowered rates or gave refunds for the failure to properly do the upgrades, nor audited the financial accounting books over the last two decades. The State, therefore, never stopped the other lines of business from directly benefiting from the rate increases and local phone customer funding. And, last I heard, in April 2014, Verizon NJ got the State to create a 'stipulation agreement' to erase the obligations and in May 2014, the NJ Division of Rate Counsel took a legal action to block the agreement. But, and in fact, the fiber optic wires for FiOS are part of the state telecommunications networks as told by Verizon's own cable franchise agreement - those lines were never counted by Georgetown in this accounting of line losses. Coda In closing this article, I found the following, proving that the manipulation of the access line accounting has been long standing and is everywhere. AT&T's March 16th, 2016 policy blog post is titled "CLECs End Game is Ethernet Reregulation". It states: Advertisement "There's no question that copper-based TDM services are in rapid decline. AT&T's access lines (copper last mile connections) are no exception - they have declined by almost 65% (more than 30 million lines, if you can believe it) since 2009. "Yet, despite all the evidence pointing to the end of the copper era, the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) seem hell bent on championing the imposition of greater regulation on quickly disappearing copper-based TDM special access services." The title is, of course, related to the Georgetown report. (However, though this AT&T policy post uses the same "65%" number, it claims that this represents AT&T's actual decline of access lines since 2009; the Georgetown academic report was for the entire US and started in 1999, a decade earlier.) AT&T also doesn't mention that the FCC's recent data showed a doubling of the 'copper-based' TDM special access services (of which Ethernet is usually included). Checking the AT&T Annual Report for 2015, a number of things pop out. The annual report supplies no lines for CLEC special access lines - Zero. And while the quote makes AT&T's plight sounds dire, in 2015, AT&T's "Legacy voice and data service" revenues for business and residential services was still about $24 billion. Advertisement And to call this the end of the copper era is so disingenuous that one has to cringe. There are a host of other areas of revenue listed in the AT&T annual report, which include U-Verse, AT&T's video, broadband and IP phone service, and they are all based on using these 'legacy' copper wires. (i.e., U-Verse uses the legacy copper wire to the home, which was never replaced, and connects them to a large neighborhood box, which is then attached to a fiber optic wire.) The loss of lines, then, is just part of a 'reclassification' of the exact same wires put into another category where there is no accounting of 'copper lines' in service. - And since AT&T controls 21 states' telecommunications infrastructure, this stuff matters. PART 2: Embrace Your Inner Nerd: PRIMER: Special Access, Switched Access - DSL, etc. - All use the same wires. Why doesn't Microsoft recognize the name Shandling? And then again why did I not know of the vastly creative man myself, in any kind of depth? On the day he died, at 66, apparently quite suddenly, my husband and I watched the episode of Jerry Seinfeld on his web series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee", with Shandling from January 2016, and he so impressed me. I wrote a comment in the New York Times on March 24, when they published a piece entitled "Garry Shandling, Star of Groundbreaking Sitcoms, Dies at 66" by Peter Keepnews. It got one of those yellow flags that says the Times recommends the comment (a Times "pick"). The comment went: I confess that it was through Judd Apatow's book Sick in the Head (Random House, 2015) that I really began to understand and appreciate the breadth and depth of this amazing man, and all that he did for television and comedy. So, oddly I feel I was just beginning to get to know him, and I'm really sorry he has died, and so suddenly. It is not a brilliant comment by any means but the "pick" may mean that the comment could resonate in the responses of more than just me. I will no doubt be one of the many who will try to get to know him and his contributions after his death. I was so struck while reading Sick in the Head by the generosity and innovativeness of this man, who at a few years younger than me did seem young enough, or sort of "too young to die." The personalizing of grief and sadness and the unevenness of the experience can feel daunting at times. I remember calling into Marc Maron when he hosted a show on Air America. It was right after the earthquake and tsunami had struck Thailand in 2004. As one Jewish neurotic person to another, I shared my guilt about not having yet contributed to a fund that was going to help survivors, and he confessed the same. We both seemed not to know which organization to trust in the matter. When I said I had decided to contribute, he said then I was making him feel bad. He was funny and easy to talk to, and open, a real person. And yet what made me call was something else, relating to someone in Italy -- an old friend of my husband -- who had died just earlier the same day. I told Marc that it felt strange, even perhaps a little wrong, that I was feeling more connected to the death of someone I hardly knew, than I was to the tragedy of so many people losing their lives in such a global tragedy. Maron, himself known for his harangues, his guilt and annoyances -- his complaints which were frequently entertaining and often glaringly on point -- was easy to talk to about that. He seemed to get it, and yet it does feel almost odd to feel so connected to someone never known or hardly. Advertisement I know, I know, there is transference to everything. We get set off, reminded, provoked -- touched in one way or another. The man in Italy seemed vibrant and when we met he was standing in front of a sign that read, "European Socialists". I asked him if he was one, and he said yes, the mood being kind of entertaining rather than serious. He had a twinkle and seemed kind. Then, for the fun of it, I asked if I could have a photograph in front of the sign. So it was I, and Peppino and another friend of his standing like comrades. The experience of meeting this man, made me smile. When I heard Peppino died from the effects of a fall on the way home to see his wife and bringing her flowers for no special reason at all, I was deeply saddened. I felt like I had known him, even though I didn't. But he was part of the homeland of Lino, the town of Acquaviva Delle Fonti, outside Bari, in Puglia. He was a regular, and the people I knew well, were all fond of him. Garry Shandling, when he was on Seinfeld's show was a delightful and for me a seductive human being. He could pull you in because of his irreverence, his humor (duh!), his interjecting of the philosophical and sane in the midst of tired assumptions. I'm not overly fond of the American habit of popularizing celebrities after their death, their sudden orbit to the bestseller list of whatever. I'm particularly not fond of the gossip that seems to come out of any woodwork around. Then again there is an opposing tendency to idealize to the point of setting in stone certain memories or perceptions. Advertisement Here I get the sense of something human going on, something real. I get the sense that the people who knew Garry Shandling felt they were, in a way, blessed to know him, fortunate for the experience and grateful for his presence. It seems real, this thing. And so I confess to having missed a chance to know him, personally and of course through the media channels. When someone of this ilk passes on, it is also a reminder of how polished and practiced and rehearsed so much of our entertainment and our communication are. I would dare to say that his daring to be quiet and wait before responding to a question -- something he was known for -- would be either smashed down or elevated as pioneering, if it were to be more present today. Imagine our politicians taking seconds to think, to wonder, to react in a way that registered presence of heart and mind? Okay, let's not push the envelope or the subject. Hardly a day goes by without someone within Europe's political establishment warning about the dangers of 'the populist challenge.' In fact, the influential think tank Carnegie Europe recently asked a group of experts - mostly from other pro-EU think tanks - the (loaded) question 'Will Populist Parties Run Europe?' Several think tankers answered that populists were already running Europe! This assessment is in line with the picture that many (broadsheet) media have been painting for years now. The 'rise' of (particularly right-wing) populism has been a major story since the 1990s, despite the fact that the results have been quite mixed. One of the more recent concerns is that populist parties are influencing foreign policy, and not just the usual (European integration and immigration policy) but also positions on, for example, Russia. Oddly enough, there is little academic research on the foreign policies of populist parties, particularly in Europe, which are supposed to be mainly concerned with domestic issues. A recent European Policy Center (EPC) report, the result of a working group of academics and think tankers of which I was a member, provides one of the first comprehensive analyses of the impact of populist parties on a host of foreign policy issues: European integration, foreign and security policy, international trade and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and migration policy. The general conclusion is encouraging, at least in light of the often alarmist and sensationalist statements in the media: 'contemporary European populists on both the left and right have so far shown limited transformative power in terms of their ability to determine actual policy choices' (you can read the full analysis in the freely downloadable report here). Advertisement But while most populist parties still function more as a blocking force than as a source of viable alternatives, they could become real 'troublemakers' in the future. To prevent that from happening, the report makes a range of suggestions, which are directed at all liberal democratic forces, not just the 'mainstream political establishment' of the major political groups in Europe - i.e. the Christian Democrats (EPP), the Social Democrats (S&D), and the Liberals (ALDE). First and foremost, liberal democratic forces should reframe the debate. This means, among others, that the deficiencies in the way our democracies work need to be acknowledged and addressed! Politics is not primarily about fighting your challengers' ideologies; it is about creating a positive and credible alternative. Rather than become the victims of the 'troublemakers', mainstream politicians should shape the debate according to their own worldviews and principles. Second, and related, 'outpopulising' the populists does not pay off! In fact, if the mainstream simply tries to steal their clothes, disaffection with traditional politics will push populist leaders onto more radical ground. Moreover, by doing this, mainstream politicians risk confirming in the public's mind the very shallowness and attachment to power that the populists accuse them of. Third, the media often pay disproportionate attention to populist actors, while many tabloids (and a growing number of broadsheets) even amplify the populist messages, which give the population the false impression that populists are more important than they really are. But while the media should address this challenge, if only for the sake of good journalism, mainstream politicians also need to work harder to recapture the media space by offering alternative narratives couched in comprehensible language. Advertisement Fourth, foreign policy makers should bring the international-domestic loop into the debate. International issues and the way they affect people's daily lives need to be brought into the public debate more proactively, with explanations of circumstances and issues, and ideas to address them. Fifth, the mainstream needs to connect with those groups in society who are not part of their 'old constituencies' and thus can only be reached through novel routes. The key thing mainstream politics should copy from the populists is their online success. It's not with populist leaders that liberal democratic politics should engage, it's with citizens! This means that traditional politics needs to engage with new networks of citizens to find alternative alliances between citizens and politics on international matters. Sixth, break the link between critical positions on the EU and Eurosceptic populism. It is legitimate to challenge the holy grail of European integration. The slogan that 'more Europe' is the only solution is no longer credible; it has the unintended effect of widening the divisions over European integration. Listening to citizens' concerns and engaging them in analyzing the solutions that the EU can provide, or those which are better addressed nationally or locally, can help occupy that space and devise more legitimate and inclusive policies. The 27th of April every year is a special day in the Netherlands: it's our King's birthday and therefore a reason for everyone to take a day off work and party hard. If you're in Europe around this date, try as hard as you can to get to Amsterdam for King's Day or, as the Dutch call it Koningsdag. King Willem-Alexander's birthday celebration is the biggest street party of the year and there's no better place to celebrate than the Dutch capital. According to the official tourism website for Amsterdam, between 600,000 and one million people flock to Amsterdam for the King's Day celebrations and it's estimated that Amsterdam's population on King's Day is twice that of any other day. If that in itself doesn't make you excited to spend April 27th in Amsterdam, here are a few other reasons you should start organising your trip: 36 hours of non-stop celebrating Don't think for a moment that the Dutch only celebrate on the King's birthday. Oh no - the partying actually starts the night before on King's Night (or Koningsnacht). Across the city there are outdoor street parties which you can join in for free or bars and clubs which have special events lasting early into the morning. Visit the official tourism website for Amsterdam for more information on where to dance the nights away. Advertisement Everything is orange On the day of Koningsdag, the whole of the Netherlands turns orange. Don't believe me? I guess you'll just have to come visit to experience it for yourself. Despite not being in the Dutch flag (which is red, white and blue), orange is the colour of the Dutch royal family and has therefore become an integral part of the Dutch identity. In the days leading up to King's Day, orange food and drinks will be sold at grocery stores across the country in addition to orange costumes, face paint and decorations. If you visit the Netherlands on King's Day, don't feel like an outsider - make sure you have an orange shirt, feather boa or lei. You can tick "party on a canal boat" off your bucket list Uniquely Dutch, the canal parties on King's Day are pretty incredible to behold and definitely something you don't want to miss. Thousands of decorated boats fill the picturesque Amsterdam canals, with people dancing on the boats themselves as well as on the bridges and roads bordering the canals. Expect live music and DJs, flowing alcohol and a lot of happy Dutch people dressed in orange. Amazing bargains at the vrijmarkts Across the Netherlands, children and their families wake up early on King's Day to set up stalls at the vrijmarkts ("free markets") in their local town centres. Amsterdam is no different. Starting at 6:00 in the morning, you'll find people selling a huge assortment of things on the streets, from second hand books to used bicycles. The large Vondelpark, situated just outside the central rings of Amsterdam is reserved for stalls organised by the young inhabitants of Amsterdam looking to sell their old toys or sweet treats they baked. Have fun hunting for bargains and deals - make sure you bring small change with you (fifty cents and euro coins) to pay for anything you find or to give to young musicians hoping to raise some money. Thrills at the funfair In the days leading up to King's Day, towns and cities across the Netherlands set up small funfairs (known in Dutch as a kermis) with a classic assortment of thrilling rides, fun houses and carnival games. Whilst the kermis set up on the Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam is considerably smaller than the one in The Hague, it offers one of the most incredible views of Amsterdam from the top of some of their rides. For a couple of euros you can swing 60 meters above the city or admire the rooftops of Amsterdam from the top of the ferris wheel. Advertisement There's a huge range of street food One of the perks of having a funfair come to town and vrijmarkts set up all over the city is the sheer amount of delicious street food available to fill your stomach while you explore the chaos of Amsterdam. Whether it be cakes sold by adorable Dutch children or the more exotic foods available at the funfair, there will be something you will want to eat. A couple of tips for King's Day: - bring small change to pay for snacks, things you want to buy at the markets or to use the bathroom - wear good walking shoes as you will be on your feet most of the day walking through the markets or dancing on the bridges - book your accommodation far in advance and consider staying outside the centre of Amsterdam - if you don't like big crowds, stay away from Amsterdam on King's Day. Consider visiting a smaller town such as Leiden to experience Orange Fever - as in most situations with large crowds, limit the valuables you bring with you, and if you do have to bring valuables, keep them close to your body at all times Advertisement - have fun and don't be afraid to go a little crazy! Have you studied abroad? Share your story with the College Tourist Follow us on Instagram @officialcollegetourist | Tag your photos #collegetourist. The vicious attacks on Christians celebrating Easter at a public park in Lahore, Pakistan, seemed to have confused the U.S. government as well as some politicians and reporters because many of the 70 or so dead were Muslims as well as Christians. Even though the Pakistani Taliban offshoot, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, quickly said the suicide bombing specifically targeted Christians, President Obama's State Department only condemned the deaths of "innocent civilians," as if this is just another in a long line of random assaults. Because the terrorists also described the attack as an example of government weakness, somehow Christian deaths were treated as subordinate collateral damage. Further muddying the issue, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton tossed the bombings into the catch-all bin of terrorism that the world must "confront and defeat." In contrast, Republican presidential candidates in the US's wacky primary election season, including the bombastic Donald Trump, saw fit to mention the deaths of Christians as a significant part of the action. Advertisement The New York Times, for its part, seemed to resist the idea that Christians were targeted. The fact is, attacks on Christians and other religious minorities are not just an incidental part of a terrorist campaign to upend hated governments--in this case, the Pakistani authorities--by showing them to be unable to protect their citizens. They are instead integral to the effort by radicals to purify Sunni Islamic societies by eliminating non-Sunni Muslim influences. Among the key practitioners are the Taliban in Pakistan, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Nusra Front in Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria and ultra-conservative Salafi and Wahhabi Sunni Muslim sects in Egypt and elsewhere. In their view, Christians have no place in the Islamic world and their communities must be destroyed. This is a departure, of course, from old traditions of Islamic tolerance enshrined in doctrines that say Christians, as "People of the Book" (theoretically including Jews), can live among Muslims, although under onerous, restrictive conditions. But as far back as 2007, the Islamic State in Iraq, forerunner of ISIS, issued a series of ideological guidelines for jihad. Among them was an unprecedented cancellation of traditional tolerance for Christians: Advertisement "We believe that the factions of the People of the Book, and those of their ilk such as the Sabeans [a small Gnostic sect] and others are today, in the Islamic State, a people of war not enjoying a status of protection." And where do dead Muslim picnickers in Lahore fit in? Under contemporary jihad, real Muslims should not be rubbing shoulders with infidel Christians at all. So if they get blown up on Easter, so be it. Al-Qaeda, the terror group founded by Osama bin Laden, has long regarded Christians as a danger to Muslims. Al-Qaeda writer Ali al-Aliyani only accepted the idea of tolerance so long as it was "clothed in humiliation and submissiveness." Degenerate Christian practices must be kept away from Muslims. He insisted on forbidding Christians from "openly proclaiming their religions and forbidding them from involving themselves with interest (on loans), fornication, or other things. . . ." Al-Aliyani expressed no ambiguity about the eventual solution: "O Allah, destroy the Jews, the Christians, and the polytheists, and whoever has befriended them or helped them in any way against your servants the believers." Al-Qaeda's ISIS cousins said Christians, by their very existence, pose a danger to Muslims. In Syria during 2011, chief radical ideologue Mustafa Abdul Qadir Set-Mariam--known as Abu Musab al-Suri--partly justified jihad against the Bashar Assad government in Syria to stop efforts by the Bashar al-Assad government to make relations between Muslims and infidels "normal" while expunging "hatred for Jews and Christians...from Muslim hearts." Advertisement Needless to say, Shiite Muslims and other Islamic sects are even more despised, as they lack even the nominal protection as People of the Book. In Pakistan, attacks on Shiites and their places of worship are commonplace, especially during Shia religious festivals. And after these religions and sects are suppressed, what then? Well, errant Sunnis need to be re-educated. Sufis, a large Sunni branch of Islam, is under threat from the radicals--the Islamic State has destroyed Sufi shrines in both Iraq and Syria. Liberal Muslims--those who believe that Islamic practices ought to be brought up to date--are next in line for suppression. Demands that men wear beards and women cover themselves head to foot are only the first steps in totalitarian control of Muslim lives. In Mosul, under Islamic State occupation since 2014, Sunnis who opposed the jihadists have been summarily executed and women raped in a reign of terror. That was after the expulsion of all the town's Christians. Recently, the Obama Administration acknowledged that Christians in Iraq, along with the smaller Yazidi minority, face genocide. In the same breath, the administration said it would do nothing about it, and now it is back to denying that religious intolerance has nothing to do with the latest attack in Pakistan. If superlative acting interests you -- and you probably wouldn't be reading this if it didn't -- you're well advised to make every effort you can to see Phylicia Rashad as Shelah in Tarell Alvin McCraney's Head of Passes, at the Public. Rashad is all but literally bringing down the timbers of set designer C. W. Mercier's threatened Louisiana home in a drama that could be considered a throwback to the mid-20th-century well-made play. About that I say what Shelah, who's fiercely devoted to her faith, might say: "Praise the Lord!" We'd better be grateful that McCraney saw potential in placing his drama at the point where, as program notes explain, the three main branches of the Mississippi River flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The area is known as Head of Passes and has severely been losing land for a long time, which accounts for the practically Biblical rain dripping heavily through matriarch Shelah's roof. We'd better be grateful that it also occurred to McCraney to join the disturbed territory with updating, as is also explained in the program notes, "The Book of Job" -- replacing Job's calamities with those descending on Shelah in the course of two acts. It should be noted that in his maelstrom-like spin, he doesn't hold back. Neither,by the way, do sound designers Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. Advertisement Shelah, not a woman to make a fuss over her own birthday -- may be tolerating the supposed surprise party her family and friends are preparing, but she's hardly looking forward to it. She's concerned with needing to inform older son Spencer (J. Bernard Calloway), younger son Aubrey (Francois Battiste), daughter Cookie (Alana Arenas) and best friend Mae (Arnetia Walker) about her failing health, while household workers Creaker (John Earl Jelks) and his son Crier (Kyle Beltran) facilitate things. Encouraging her to be open about her condition is family physician Dr. Anderson (Robert Joy). Given the tribulations afflicting Shelah and their cruel consequencs, the temptation to call Head of Passes a tragedy exists, but since tragedies by some definitions require a protagonist with a fatal flaw, the temptation should be resisted. Shelah is a good woman, a woman so devout that one of her house rules is never mentioning the devil's name. At one point and in one of the occasional jokes leavening Head of Passes, Creaker has to justify his mention of deviled eggs. Hewing closely to Job's saga of endless woe under the hand of a testing God, McCraney at first reveals Shelah as a wise woman who loves and understands her sons -- all the while chastising them for transgressions she sees. She readily forgives Cookie, a known drug addict whom she raised as her daughter when now deceased husband Aubrey brought his out-of-wedlock child home. Shelah, who's admirably righteous -- and at one point typically declares "Word is bond" -- stands up for anyone she loves and stands up to anyone who disagrees with her convictions. Often celebrating her Lord, she doesn't begin to doubt His actions as the rain continues and other dreadful developments mount. (They won't be itemized here.) Instead, she questions herself. Advertisement Through it Rashad gives a sterling performance. At first she's immaculate in a grey wig (Robert Charles Vallance's design) and a matron's tasteful party frock (Toni-Leslie James's design). Then, as her beloved home begins to fall apart she's less pulled together. Before McCraney, who's other works include The Brother/Sister Plays, ends his masterful work, Rashad has run emotions stretching from A to well beyond Z. When Shelah has suffered the last of the Job-like torments, McCraney give her a lengthy monologue in which her life flashes before her. She insists on confronting all the mistakes she's convinced she made. It's not so much that family secrets finally emerge with dire consequences but that Rashad has long sensed what the secrets are while refusing to acknowledge them. Rashad's delivery of a speech in which a good woman examines her soul and finds it wanting is superb. If standing ovations hadn't become meaningless several decades back, I'd say Rashad deserves one. Maybe what she deserves instead is the utter silence that often greets something this accomplished. (FYI: In the Bible there are two figures named Shelah. Both are male. "Shelah" might also conjure the "selah" that appears in the Bible 74 times. Various meanings have been attributed to it. I've always read it as "So be it.") In addition to jokes like the one about deviled eggs, McCraney is careful to relieve the somber moments almost up to but not including the denouement where uninterrupted solemnity is called for. One light-hearted sequence has Mae and Dr. Anderson showing the assembled parties how the Hully Gully, that dance craze, is meant to be done in their neck of the wet woods. It illustrates that the family that plays together stays together but ultimately only temporarily. Advertisement Each of the other players, under Tina Landau's faultless direction, is at the high levels of the others. As Creaker and Crier, Jelks and Beltran are a father and son at odds, and both excel during an all-too-believable late confrontation. As Aubrey, whom Shelah has favored, Battiste is suave and angry. As the lesser loved Spencer, the bulky Calloway is angry for a different reason. Arenas's Cookie, who has kept one of the worst family secrets, constantly exhales edginess while simultaneously courting and condemning Shelah. Joy's Dr. Anderson, who's been keeping his own secret about Shelah, neatly balances his demands of, and deference to, her. Walker's Mae is loving as well as confused by Shelah's mood swings. The trail that led me to a career in health promotion is relatively more or less selfish, depending on where we begin it. The rather more selfish version began at age 13. On little more than a whim, I tried out for the junior high school wrestling team, which, not being a co-ed enterprise, failed to enthrall me. I was there long enough, however, to hear from the coach how many sit-ups and push-ups the worthy among us should have been able to do. Let's just say I was unworthy, and by rather a wide margin. I had never thought much about exercise before then, despite my father's (a cardiologist) obvious devotion to it. But the margin of my unworthiness grated, so while I did not stick with wrestling, I did go home and do as many sit-ups (not many) and push-ups (even fewer) as I could. Advertisement The rest, as they say, is history. I became increasingly fanatical about ever more exercise, and it wasn't long before I began thinking about the fuel, too. So began an early devotion to high nutrition standards that influenced first my family, then my career. I have eaten unusually well, and exercised with great devotion, nearly every day for roughly 40 years. That's one trail. The other, ostensibly less selfish version began around age 27, in the middle of my residency in Internal Medicine. Residency is that period of medical training that is the stuff of legend and notoriety, and rightly so. Things have improved somewhat since, but in my day, it often meant more than 100 hours of work in the hospital each week, some of it coming in continuous stints of up to almost 40 hours. Much of the focus was, naturally, on something akin to one's own survival, conjoined to a desperate, continuous effort to avoid killing one's patients through omission, commission, or just general ineptitude. Those were the days! Despite all that, and through a haze of sleep deprivation, I did what I seem naturally inclined to do: I saw the forest through the trees. Roughly 8 out of 10 hospital beds were clearly filled by miserably sick people that never needed to be so sick in the first place, and that our best efforts, in common with the King's horses and men, would never again make truly whole. Hospitals battled the ravages of disease; we were not in the business of making health. That was beyond our mandate, above our pay grade. Advertisement But that didn't seem entirely right, even then. Hospitals were, after all, part of what we have long called our "health care" system. I couldn't swat away the irritating idea that somewhere, among all the catheters and cannulae, and between the raucous resuscitations (successful and otherwise), there was something more to do about actual health. I went on, accordingly, to a second residency in Preventive Medicine, and have done all I can ever since to keep people out of hospital beds in the first place. The reality, though, is that a lot of people do wind up in hospital beds; I have been there myself. And along with all of those who are there supine, there are the upright in their diverse multitudes: nurses, doctors, and PAs; technicians, dietitians, and therapists; social workers, chefs, and administrators. There are nearly 6,000 hospitals in the United States, employing more than 5 million of the health care sector's total workforce of some 12.2 million. These are sizable chunks of the U.S. workforce, population, and economy -- and in a sector that is growing. As the most visible castles on the most prominent hills of what we call, rightly or wrongly, our "health care" system, hospitals are ineluctably caught up in our notions of what both health and care should mean, and do. There is opportunity here, certainly, but also cause for grave concern, especially if the past portends the future. Historically, hospitals have been conceived, from their very construction to their by-laws, for the accommodation of providers, not patients. Your medical record, home to all manner of intimacy, has belonged to staff -- and not to you. The final hours of potential communion with a loved one in the ICU were subordinate to visiting hour rules often little better than arbitrary. Not that staff were on a picnic, either. The hours are long; the stress is high; the amenities, questionable. The smells are noxious, the sounds mostly dissonant, and the food generally dubious at best. Advertisement So it is these fortresses in the disease wars have done far less than they might to propagate health, and maybe even conspired against it for patients and providers alike. But that can change. One can imagine kinder, gentler hospitals. One can imagine a lobby like that of a hotel, scented with flowers, not formaldehyde. One can imagine the soothing tones of piano, or guitar. One can imagine an ICU designed with a wrap-around, outer corridor providing families private access to a loved-one's bed, while preserving the unobstructed line of sight and clutter-free workspace the nurses need, thus allowing for visitation any time, day or night. One can imagine the eviction of fast-food franchises, and junk food vending. One can imagine that these repositories of all the devastation tobacco wreaks would establish smoke-free campuses; sponsor smoking prevention programming; and offer state-of-the are smoking cessation programming as a matter of routine. Tobacco belongs entirely in history's ash tray of dreadful ideas, and hospitals might help speed it on its way. One can imagine a devotion to actual culinary excellence, so that food, too, is medicine -- for patients and staff alike. Better still, the hospital cafeteria might showcase family-friendly meals of high nutritional standards, and hand out laminated recipe cards along with encouragement to, by all means, try this at home. Perhaps those cafeterias might extend as well to a take-out service, so that weary staff at the end of a long day or night have recourse to something fresh, and wholesome, and nurturing. One can imagine, in other words, health promoting hospitals, and ideally, as prominences in a cultural landscape of health promotion. In principle, this is nothing but obvious. In practice, though, and historical context, putting hospitals and health promotion in a common sentence flirts with oxymoron. Advertisement There are exceptions, and I am privileged to work in one. Griffin Hospital, in Derby, Connecticut, headquarters for Planetree and the patient-centered care movement, demonstrates much of what's possible. Even here, though, more can be done. The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services is devoted to narrowing the gap between principle and practice, and to converting the luminous examples of possibility into the industry standards that prevail. They are not new to the fray; they convene their 24th annual conference this June on the Yale University campus. I am honored to be a participant. Though the most visible landmarks in our health care system, hospitals have historically had little to do with the promotion of health. Deeply caring people around the world are collaborating to change that. There is a bounty of years to add to lives, and a bounty of life to add to years, if we can establish health, and not just the treatment of disease, as the priority of a system that bears the name. -fin Director, Yale University Prevention Research Center; Griffin Hospital President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine First, some background: Colombia's armed conflict is the longest running in Latin America and, some say, the world. The Marxist guerrillas and the Colombian government started a peace process two years ago. They agreed on a deadline for a final peace accord: March 23, 2016. Such deadline, proclaimed by the country's president in the past United Nations General Assembly, was not met. Instead, a profound debate about how to achieve peace has dived Colombians further. Polarization inevitably became a trademark for Colombia's upcoming peace deal. Sadly, and maybe unavoidably, political differences between the country's leaders obscured the mere fact that peace between State and rebels might actually be signed this very same month. Such, one might say, is the Colombian way. Pessimism stalked peace negotiators right before the original deadline agreed by both government and guerrillas for signing the final peace accord. The deadline was Wednesday March 23rd. The actual date may or may not have a meaning; being given that even Barack Obama planned his historic trip to Cuba on the same week. But, the true connotation and impact of these missteps rely on the cloud of doubt that overshadows the country's view of a future sans political violence. Advertisement The first reason for doubt is based on obscurity. In particular, lack of knowledge on what was actually negotiated and what favors/pardons might have been promised to the FARC guerrillas, a group that has used terrorist tactics (with prolonged Human Rights violations) but has also been subject to historical deceit by the establishment. The FARC say that Colombia's political class and its Armed Forces are to blame as well. This is accurate in some cases, particularly on corruption within armed forces and their history with false positive killings. Impunity in private sector corruption cases is also part of this lack of trust. Yes, there has to be accountability for FARC's crimes. Yes, they have to give in their weapons. Yes, justice and peace have to equally prevail. The specifics on how to get this are not clear to anyone, yet. Timing is key. This is why a second reason for doubting this peace's solidity is the country's financial situation. Colombia's leadership in a weak emerging market environment is also under threat. Since both national production and financial disparity directly affect the country's stability, all eyes are on the once acclaimed Finance Minister. He, a brilliant mind, now faces at least two different investigations: one from the Attorney Generals Office and one from the Comptroller's Office. All based on his efforts as Minister to navigate Colombia's promising economy in a 30usd-oil-barrel world. In this sense, 2015 was rough and 2016 is uncertain. The list of reasons for being a pessimist expands: There isn't a public strategy clarifying that mistakes committed in past peace efforts with armed paramilitary groups wont happen again in this case. The second largest guerrilla, ELN, is still on the move. Cocaine production is up again. Advertisement Despite all this, Colombia's national conversation now tries to resemble public opinion debates in most modern democracies, where governments use their interpretation of official data to show how much a country prospers with their leadership while opposition leaders exacerbate this country's current weaknesses. The difference is that peace has come to be a victim of this dichotomy. The one thing that could and should unite the entire country now finds itself entangled in a political and bloody divide that, summed to a weak institutional public system, is fueling discontent lead by former-President-turned-Senator Alvaro Uribe. Little eye does the international community give to such threats. A majority of ally nations (or at least the countries interested in Colombia's reconciliation) see Colombia's process in a positive way. The United Nation's Security Council is now taking part in the implementation of a would-be peace accord. Barack Obama celebrated 15 years of systematic aid to Colombia with sweet words for its results. His National Security Advisor (and former Ambassador to UN) Susan Rice recently said that "Colombia today is more stable, secure, and prosperous than it has been for decades". The European Union is confident about the timings in the process. And the UN's Secretary General, who recently appointed a Special Mission on the subject, wrote an Op-Ed for Colombia's largest newspaper in a very positive tone. And sponsor countries for the peace process have not stopped working continually on it for the more than two years it has lasted. National campaigns are now being planned to support or defeat the final accord in a national vote, proposed by Santos himself. This process will prove that Colombia's polarization will be more similar to the type of polarization seen across the globe, hopefully less race-based than the one in the United States, but definitely less bloody than the one lived in the South American country for the past century. When the Cold War closed many people believed that history had ended. Peace had descended upon the earth. The lion was about to lie down with the lamb. The Second Coming seemed on its way. Europe was certain to be free and undivided. Alas, it hasn't worked out that way. But no worries. At least NATO officials are happy. Following Russian intervention in Georgia and Ukraine the alliance rediscovered a sense of purpose through its old enemy, Moscow. The Obama administration just announced a multi-billion dollar program to bolster U.S. forces in Eastern Europe. Now a Rand Corporation report warning that Russia could easily overrun the three Baltic members of NATO is raising additional alarm. Advertisement Said David A. Shlapak and Michael W. Johnson: the "unambiguous" result of a series of war games was that "As currently postured, NATO cannot successfully defend the territory of its most exposed members." Russia's forces took at most 60 hours to reach the Estonian and Latvian capitals. Such an invasion would leave the alliance only with bad options: "a bloody counteroffensive, fraught with escalatory risk, to liberate the Baltics; to escalate itself, as it threatened to do to avert defeat during the Cole War; or to concede at least temporary defeat, with uncertain but predictably disastrous consequences for the Alliance and, not incidentally, the people of the Baltics." The Rand researchers recommended a substantial allied--which, in practice, meant U.S.--military presence. Seven brigades, three armored, would "prevent the rapid overrun of the Baltic states." This would prevent Moscow from "being able to confront NATO with a stunning coup de main that cornered it as described above, an attack on the Baltics would instead trigger a prolonged and serious war between Russia and a materially far wealthier and more powerful coalition, a war Moscow must fear it would be likely to lose." Shalapak and Johnson dismissed the cost, estimated at around $2.7 billion annually, but more commitments require more force structure, and that burden almost certainly would fall upon America rather than the Europeans. Just like the administration's new initiative for Eastern Europe involving a single brigade. Nevertheless, argued Rand, better to deter than invite "a devastating war." Their conclusion illustrates the folly years ago of treating NATO as a social club and inducting new members which were irrelevant to the continent's security and possessed minimal military capabilities. At the time Russia was too weak to make much of a fuss and U.S. officials assumed that mere words would suffice to defend those inducted. NATO expansion was considered a great success. But now the alliance realizes that it is obligated to war against nuclear-armed Russia on behalf of three essentially indefensible countries. Advertisement Equally striking is how NATO membership has discouraged the Baltic nations from doing much for their own defense. After the administration announced its plans for the new rotating brigade, Roman Kuzniar of the University of Warsaw said "It is clear that the European Union can no longer adequately respond to Russia's demonstrations of power, so it is comforting that at least the United States is finally stepping up." Actually, the problem is not that the EU cannot, but that it will not, step up. In contrast, the U.S. has been stepping up for more than six decades. The three Baltics never hesitate to insist that they at great risk, but they spend little on their militaries. Despite recent outlay increases, only Estonia spends more than $200 per capita. Last year Latvia and Lithuania devoted 1.06 percent and 1.14 percent, respectively, of GDP to the military. Estonia was 2.04 percent--the first time Tallinn met the official NATO standard. No one believes the Baltic states are capable of defeating their large neighbor in a full-scale war. But if they truly believe themselves to be at risk they should spend sacrificially to create a military capable of inflicting substantial pain on any invader. Being ill-prepared militarily is the most important invitation to a Russian attack. Yet the surging fear over Russian adventurism distorts Moscow's interests and ambitions. Vladimir Putin is a nasty fellow, brutal at home and abroad. However, he seems to well represent much of his country's power elite and public. There is little apparent support for Western-style liberalism. Oust Putin and "le deluge" to follow would not likely be pretty. Putin's behavior is bad, but poses little threat to America, "old" Europe, or even most of Russia's neighbors. He is behaving like a traditional Tsar, not a reincarnated Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler. He has taken Moscow back to the Russian Empire, not the Soviet Union. His government is not interested in an ideological crusade and sees no inherent conflict with the West. Rather, Moscow demands respect for its status, protection of Russia's borders, and consideration of its interests. In pursuing these ends Putin is practical and measured, if perhaps imprudent and myopic--and, of course, dismissive of the cost to others. Advertisement Mikhail Saakashvili's Georgia was actively anti-Russian, pursued close ties with America, and sought membership in NATO--all certain to antagonize Moscow. Abkhazia and South Ossetia had resisted Georgian control in the past, giving Russia an easy means to weaken Tbilisi and pay back NATO over the latter's dismemberment of Serbia, with historic ties to Moscow. (Russia's defense of Belgrade helped turn an assassination into World War I.) Ukraine always mattered more to Moscow than Georgia or the Baltics for historical and cultural reasons, as well as the naval base of Sebastopol. Nevertheless, Russia accepted an independent Ukraine, even when ruled by the hostile, incompetent Viktor Yushchenko, who also pushed for his nation's membership in the alliance--then opposed by the majority of Ukrainians. Yushchenko's failure opened the way for the election of Viktor Yanukovich, nominally pro-Russian, though he resisted Moscow's control. Putin acted only after Europe pushed a trade agreement to reorient Ukraine away from Russia and both Brussels and Washington backed a street revolution against Yanukovich. Even then, Putin sought to weaken, not conquer, Ukraine. He seized Crimea, historically part of Russia, and backed ethnic Russian separatists in the east. Despite numerous predictions, Moscow did not absorb the Donbass, create a land bridge to Crimea, stage a coup de' main against Kiev, or launch a general assault on Ukraine. His brutal response was murderous and unjustified, but militarily on par with U.S. interventions. Putin continues to demonstrate no interest in ruling those likely to resist Russia's tender mercies. Ukrainians and Georgians would not likely act like docile Russian citizens today. Indeed, the former resisted the restoration of Soviet control after German forces were expelled in World War II. Nor was occupation necessary to bar those nations' way to NATO. Seizing the Baltic states likely would generate similar resistance. They developed separate identities under the Russian Empire and enjoyed brief independence between World Wars I and II. They also have the advantage of having joined NATO before Moscow could cause much trouble. Advertisement Moreover, as weak nations currently containing no foreign troops, the Baltics pose no potential threat to Russia. Ukraine in NATO would look very different. Finally, the Baltic ethnic Russian populations, though significant, demonstrate little sentiment for joining Mother Russia. They prefer cultural connection to political affiliation, creating a poor target for the sort of destabilizing tactics deployed against Ukraine. Wrote Robert Person, a professor at West Point: "the Baltic Russians are not particularly amenable to Russian hybrid warfare. Though they have many lingering grievances over language, cultural and citizenship policies, these grievances have not translated into separatism." So what would Russia gain from attacking the Baltics? A recalcitrant, majority non-ethnic Russian population. A possible temporary nationalist surge at home. A likely short-lived victory over the West. The costs would be far greater. Grabbing the Baltics likely would spur population exodus and trigger economic collapse. Launching a war without the convincing pretext present in the cases of Georgia and Ukraine might leave the Russian public angry over the retaliation certain to come. Worse, Moscow certainly would rupture economic and political relations with the U.S. and Europe and probably start a losing conventional war with NATO. Even more frightening would be the prospect of a nuclear conflict, whether intentional or inadvertent. Russia has destroyed Europe's peaceful equilibrium, but everything about Putin's presidency so far argues against reckless war for no rational purpose against the Baltics. Of course, they should act to reduce even minimal chances of such a war. However, the U.S. should not launch a multi-billion dollar allied build-up, one which, ironically, would create a perceived threat to Russia where none currently exists. Advertisement Migration has been a common occurrence in all of human history, people carrying out conquest or fleeing from it, or from religious or ethnic persecution, or from natural disasters, or just seeking a better life. Under current global conditions this has reached unprecedented scale - according to recent UN figures, there are almost 60 million people forcibly displaced, including almost 20 million refugees, not even counting many unregistered or others wanting to flee but currently unable to do so. Additionally there are millions of economic migrants fleeing into Europe and the United States. The overarching challenge is to outline what an acceptable global migration pattern would look like and then assess how to get there. Ideally, there would be zero migration, no forced movement of any large groups. Migrations can be very disruptive to the receiving countries and they drain source countries of some of their most dynamic and dedicated individuals. In addition, they often cause extensive suffering as well as local conflicts. Eliminating migration does not mean eliminating international movement. There will always be individuals attracted to move to other countries temporarily or permanently, and such movement spreads ideas and promotes innovation. Eliminating migration means eliminating large scale movements of people in distress. Obviously the first requirement is to improve the situations in the source countries, to buttress failed states, to promote global prosperity. Essentially this recognizes that globalization means the Industrialized World canno longer prosper unless the whole world does. It means finally addressing the lingering effects of colonialism and the subsequent plunder of resources by the Industrialized World, as well as a plunder of labor either by importing it for menial wages or simply paying minimal wages to manufacture goods or provide services from outside the Industrialized World. It is these grossly unequal economic ties that are fueling the current migrations. Advertisement Just as obviously such major realignments of the global economy will not happen overnight. In the longer run, grass roots development and population control are both important. But for the immediate future, it is necessary to focus efforts on the most attractive opportunities, countries that are the source of major refugee flows and where significant progress is possible in the short term. Successful actions there can serve as models for wider application in the future. Immigration for years was a positive element for the American economy and to some extent also for Europe. The United States was a Beacon of Freedom, welcoming those fleeing hunger and repression with the words chiseled into the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." Not only did the United States welcome these huddled masses, but the Melting Pot made them Americans and helped stoke America's rise as a world power. Unfortunately the two critical conditions that made immigration attractive to America are gone. First, the open lands, especially in the West, that helped to absorb millions of immigrants have not been open for a hundred years. Secondly, the growing economy that needed unskilled immigrants and then gave them new skills to move up and open space for even newer immigrants is gone. Partly as a result of automation and partly because of foreign competition, new jobs for the unskilled have all but disappeared. Those that remain are dead end jobs that Americans are reluctant to take because the pay is so poor. Seasonal immigrants doing these jobs are grossly exploited, while illegal aliens are consigned to a permanent underclass of economically distressed people, exactly the group most likely to fuel social unrest. For the United States, the immediate challenge is clearly to support development of the adjacent Latin American countries which are the major source of immigrants. Conditions in a number of Central American countries are now chaotic, fueling a significant crisis in early 2014 when thousands of unaccompanied minors flooded across the US southern border. The Administration responded with a media campaign in Central America seeking to persuade families of the dangers of the journey north, with pressure on Mexico to restrict transit routes, and with a request to Congress (largely rejected) for development funds for the area. With renewed pressure from young immigrants, renewed development efforts are essential. Mexico is a more difficult case since its government has historically been strongly resistant to American influence. But its biggest challenge now is the drug trade, fueled by American demand, in turn at least partly due to domestic economic conditions; heroin overdoses have reached a historic peak. This is all the more reason to address domestic economic inequality, as well as to promote increased cooperation with the Mexican government on drug suppression and development. These countries are still heavily agricultural, so support for agricultural development and associated light industry is most important. Some relatively simple measures, like tax breaks for US investors, could bring prompt results. Advertisement For Europe, the challenge is more pressing. The sheer volume of new refugees is overwhelming the system. Even countries historically supportive of refugees are seeing a significant increase in segregated areas of permanently lower class immigrants and are implementing a wide range of anti-immigrant measures. Jobs for newer arrivals are simply not there. The immediate cause of the current crisis is the destabilization of the broader Middle East, initiated by the US removal of established governments in Afghanistan and then Iraq, but a failure to replace them with stable regimes, based at least partly on a total failure to promote economic development. The situation was then exacerbated by the Arab Spring, a grass-roots movement promoting core Western values of freedom and democracy. Yet the main Western involvement in this effort was the destruction of another established government, this time, in Libya, and again without any replacement by a stable regime. As Libya descended into chaos an even more difficult situation arose in Syria where the government of Bashir Assad grimly hung on to power while mercilessly engaging rebels with widespread bombing of civilian areas. This has been the source of the largest refugee flow, and is now exacerbated by Russian military support of Assad. But the most distressing development was the rise of the Islamic State in the chaos of Syria, spreading into Iraq, and greatly exacerbating the Sunni-Shiite divide. For its own sake, Europe has to address this Middle Eastern turmoil. In addition, development efforts could help dispel Muslim skepticism on Western motives. A month ago, a prominent international initiative on transparency in the extractive sector gathered in Lima, Peru. This was the first time that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has met in Latin America for its global conference since the initiative was founded in 2003. Some weeks ago, a high profile environmental and indigenous rights activist, Berta Caceres was murdered in Honduras. Known for her long-standing opposition to the region's biggest hydropower project, the four Agua Zarca giant dams, Berta was assassinated in her own home by gunmen. Gustavo Castro, an anti-mining activist was with her at the time and is believed to have also been a target of the attack. As of writing, no-one has yet been arrested in conjunction with Berta's murder. Gustavo's safety is at stake. The EITI conference and Berta's murder may seem unrelated but they both stress how treacherous it can be to ensure that natural resource exploitation - be it oil, gas, minerals, forest, water, land - is carried out in line with internationally agreed human rights norms, in particular the principles of meaningful participation, non-discrimination and accountability. While in many resource-rich countries, communities and NGOs have often spoken out against extractive projects that brought few, if any, socio-economic benefits for local populations, nowhere has there been such strong opposition to what is being called "extractivism" as in Latin America. Berta's criticism of the Agua Zarca dams was not just about opposing that particular project. She questioned a development model based on the ever growing reliance on the extraction of finite natural resources (extractivism), at the expense of other more sustainable, carbon-neutral and equitable models of development. For Berta, this includes the right for communities to say no to major projects that seriously impact their lives. Berta is not alone. When I was in Lima last week, a group of Latin American NGOs mounted a campaign calling on the EITI to ensure that the possible impact that extractive activities has or can have on communities is taken into account. They asked for the EITI to request that oil, gas and mining companies disclose information on the social, environmental and climate costs associated with their projects. Given the potential of the EITI, the NGOs were calling on the initiative to explore how to include social and environmental information in its global standard and for the EITI to define what it can contribute to the debate on climate change in the sector. Advertisement (Photo: Andrew Parsons, Action Against Hunger, South Sudan) Approximately 25 percent of the population of South Sudan--2.8 million people--are experiencing an acute hunger crisis. More than half of the people in crisis are in conflict zones where humanitarian agencies cannot reach them. In Unity State, the emergency is most severe. Communities ravaged by war have fled their homes, living in swamps with no supplies of food or safe water, unable to meet their basic survival needs. According to warnings released in early February by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification in South Sudan (IPC), an estimated 40,000 people are now facing "catastrophe. " What does that mean, exactly? According to the IPC Emergency Review Committee, it means that there is "a potential risk of famine" in Unity State. However, because of intense, ongoing fighting, humanitarian agencies cannot get access to deliver food and water to populations in need. The United Nations and humanitarian partners agree that the situation in Unity is grave--and likely to get worse. But we cannot gather accurate evidence of the risk of famine, or deliver help, without full humanitarian access to areas affected by conflict. Quantifying the emergency: Evidence triggers aid Scott Logue is a technical assessment expert for Action Against Hunger, assigned to crisis zones to collect and validate data from nutrition surveys to determine whether communities are experiencing a large-scale emergency. Scott works as part of the newly founded Technical Rapid Response Team (Tech-RRT) consortium, which is an OFDA-funded partnership among Action Against Hunger USA, Save the Children UK, and International Medical Corps. Advertisement As the Tech-RRT's Nutrition Assessment Advisor, Scott was deployed to South Sudan in January of 2016--at the urgent request of Action Against Hunger, and endorsed by the South Sudan Nutrition Information Working Group, a data-focused partnership of humanitarian organizations and government actors focused on addressing malnutrition. "Since the fighting began in Unity State in April 2015, much of the population has been displaced," Scott says. "Humanitarian actors have not had access to many parts of the state to provide assistance." The humanitarian community desperately needed data to quantify the emergency in this conflict zone. Reliable data is what triggers--and justifies--the mobilization of additional life-saving, large-scale humanitarian funding and assistance. Saving lives, one survey at a time Scott provided immediate assistance in overseeing nutrition assessments and in validating data from two highly affected counties in Unity State: Panyijar and Leer. Advertisement "We must have high quality data on humanitarian needs before we know how to help," says Scott. "It's vital to get that information--and validate it as quickly as possible. The data guides the government and humanitarian agencies on where and what actions need to be taken." Nine survey teams from Action Against Hunger were deployed to Panyijar County and six teams went to Leer County to screen children for malnutrition and gather data for the South Sudan Nutrition Information Working Group. Each team covered roughly one village per day--intensive, painstaking work often requiring travel by foot to remote, isolated areas. In each randomly selected household, children from 6 to 59 months of age were measured to determine their nutrition status. The team also conducted interviews in each household to obtain information related to health, food security (in Leer only), and mortality (number of deaths per household). The data collected from Panyijar County was staggering, with levels of Global Acute Malnutrition among children that far exceeded international emergency thresholds. "In my entire career, I have never seen such an alarmingly high prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition anywhere," says Scott. "The data clearly indicates that in Panyijar, the emergency is quite severe." Victor Mallelah, Action Against Hunger's Survey Program Manager who led the emergency nutrition surveys in Panyijar and Leer, says, "Through this process, I interacted with and witnessed the needs of the most vulnerable communities in South Sudan." Victor says, "It isn't easy to be a humanitarian worker. But to me, it is a privilege. Many people don't have any place to turn, if not to humanitarian aid. Their expectations--and the sense of responsibility we feel--are huge." Additional surveys are proposed for highly affected counties in Unity State. Once these surveys are completed and the data is validated, there will be ample evidence to prompt an urgent demand for the levels of funding and assistance needed to mitigate famine and save children's lives in Unity State. Advertisement Scott, Victor, the entire Tech Rapid Response Team, Action Against Hunger, and the IPC Global Partners remain committed to ensuring that the crisis in South Sudan is not forgotten--and to collecting the evidence required to mobilize immediate humanitarian assistance where it is so desperately needed. When Lyndon Baines Johnson left office he travelled around Austin in a Lincoln Continental with the Seal of the Presidency on the door and two flags on the front. The Lincoln Continental it should be pointed out was the limousine used at the funerals of both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the North Korean despot and father to Kim Jong-un "Deeply Hated, but Present: a U.S. Touch at Kim's End," NYT, 12/28/11). Vladimir Putin has been compared to a reptile ("The Accidental Autocrat," The Atlantic, 3/05) but Johnson exhibited the territoriality of a dog, famously shaking his beloved "Jumbo" at colleagues who were unfortunate enough to be in his proximity in the congressional bathroom. Johnson died of the a massive heart attack at the age of 64, but in the last two years of his life he held court in the replica of his Oval office that was recreated in the LBJ Presidential Library. Both the limousine and the office are still on exhibit today in the library, which is on the campus of the University of Texas adjacent to the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs. Johnson recorded all his phone calls and you can hear him berating Adam Clayton Powell and jollying up the Washington Post's Katharine Graham. But one of the most dramatic parts of the library is the floor to ceiling manifolds of all the bills Johnson managed to get through congress. You might be one of those whose view of Johnson's legacy as being stained by his prosecution of the Vietnam War (remember "hey, hey LBJ, how may kids have you killed today?") but if nothing else the library points to his huge contribution as a Roosevelt Democrat who earned his stripes in the gritty hard boiled world of Texas populist politics. Lyndon Johnson championed the Great Society which would eventually comprise The Civil Rights Acts of l964 and the Voting Rights Act of l965, Pell grants, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, Head Start, VISTA--in short the world of entitlements which Republicans have spent decades trying to do away with and which they are still fighting to remove today. Johnson's biographer Robert Caro is quoted as saying: The need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage should be a primary topic of discussion in every freshman economics class because living wages are necessary for the creation and sustainability of the middle class that every student wants to join upon graduation. This simple logic surrounds micro economics of the individual as well as the macro-economics of our capitalist system. Our ability to buy things we produce regenerates the economic cycle which fuels the engine of progress and increases societal wealth. A $7,25 per hour employee can't even buy the basics of life and therefore must be subsidized with government grants which throws an additional burden on taxpayers. In too many cases, this adds to budget deficits. Regardless of budget considerations, these "grants" to individuals should have been spent to improve public utilities and transportation infrastructure. Government subsidies provided to these underpaid workers forms a funnel that transfers wealth to the stockholders of the companies that underpay the workers. This is corporate welfare. This is a primary reason the Walmart Corporation and the Walton family is rich beyond reason and it's why Senator Bernie Sanders talks despairingly about their business model. If this type of corporate welfare had never existed, America would be a very different and certainly a more equitable Country. Advertisement It's been said that "a rising tide lifts all boats" and it certainly true for wages. If a living minimum wage of $15 per hour is paid to workers, those individuals earning an industrial wage of $24 per hour or more will be better off too because they will be relieved of the taxes that supported the underpaid workers which again, actually subsidizes the wealth creation of corporate welfare class. Also, the workers now earning the higher minimum wage will be more likely to spend some money on the products produced by the labor of the higher skilled industrial worker. As a result, more total wealth is generated in the nation's economy and the lives of everyone involved is improved. During 2016 the United States is commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the federal historic preservation program, created when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) into law. This year-long celebration has been dubbed Preservation50. It has united an unprecedented coalition of citizens who care about preservation and community to take stock of the past fifty years of preservation lessons and look towards shaping the next half decade. Americans are also choosing their 45th president, in an unusually historic and dramatic election. So what are the records of the leading candidates on preserving history itself? There is a surprisingly close association between American presidents and historic preservation. Thomas Jefferson is often called the Father of American Archaeology for his excavation of Indian mounds at Monticello in 1782, and his home and the University of Virginia that he founded are now World Heritage Sites. In 1858 George Washington's home at Mount Vernon was the site of the first national preservation effort when the Mount Vernon Ladies Association formed in response to the estate's poor condition. South Carolina socialite, Louise Dalton Bird Cunningham, traveling up the Potomac by steamer, was horrified by the neglect and approaching destruction of Mount Vernon, and wrote, "If the men of America have seen fit to allow the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin, why can't the women of America band together to save it?" Advertisement The influence of American presidents on the nation's historic treasures has been felt since that time, particularly after Theodore Roosevelt signed the 1906 Antiquities Act into law. This legislation protected the archaeological relics in the West that recalled the thriving cultures of the first Americans, like the cliff dwellings of Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. It also allowed presidents to create National Monuments to protect places as diverse and significant to our past as Fort McHenry, Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad, and Cesar Chavez's Forty Acres. TR's distant cousin FDR went on to sign the Historic Sites Act of 1935, which established the National Historic Landmarks program and the Historic American Building Survey. By far the greatest impact on America's historic and cultural resources, however, came with the 1966 passage of the NHPA. Birth of the Federal Historic Preservation Program The NHPA was a response to the well-intentioned but destructive effects of federal programs like urban renewal and the interstate highway system. It created a National Register of Historic Places, and historic preservation offices in every state. It also established a process for reviewing projects that involve federal money, land, or permits to ensure their impacts on historic buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects are considered and addressed. In most cases, agreements are reached to lessen the impacts or even positively benefit affected historic and cultural resources. For the first time, a program was in place to comprehensively identify, evaluate, protect, and enhance the Nation's rich cultural heritage. In practice, the effect of this legislation cannot be overstated. Today the National Register of Historic Places includes more than 1.7 million resources in more than 89,000 listings. Federal consultation about the impacts to historic sites happens approximately 140,000 times a year. Over 2,100 historic districts provide dynamic places for people to live and work. Millions of visitors from around the world enjoy iconic places such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, the French Quarter of New Orleans, prehistoric effigy mounds in Iowa, the Alamo in San Antonio, the Spanish missions of California, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s church in Atlanta, and the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. Advertisement The American people took the NHPA's call to action to heart in the last half-century, transforming their neighborhoods from coast to coast and generating widespread economic and social impacts. Countless studies show that the NHPA helps stabilize neighborhoods and downtowns, contributes to public education and public health, attracts investment, creates jobs, generates tax revenues, supports small business and affordable housing, combats blight and powers America's heritage tourism industry. Historic places, from private homes to community landmarks to archaeological sites to historic military bases and national parks, also maintain community pride and identity, and aid local and regional economies through their operation and maintenance. Choosing the Preservationist In Chief Let's be clear: when it comes to an election featuring a possible contested convention, several potential "firsts," and the epithet "short-fingered vulgarian," few voters will have cultural heritage protection foremost on their mind when they enter the voting booth. None of the leading candidates have position statements on the topic on their campaign websites. No one should expect Donald Trump to threaten to expose Heidi Cruz for her secret commitment to cultural heritage protection. On the other hand, preservationists do constitute a sizable and untapped constituency. A recent study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation identified 15 million active local preservationists, nearly the total number of people who voted in the 2008 Democratic primary. At least 50 million Americans, or 15% of the total US population, are deeply sympathetic to the cause of historic preservation. Without a doubt, there are significant stakes in this election for cultural heritage protection, and events over the last several years show that elected officials play an outsized role in determining whether the policy environment for preservation is favorable. Here are three key questions voters might ask the presidential candidates: Advertisement Leadership. Will you appoint officials who will make cultural heritage preservation a priority domestically and internationally? The Department of Interior plays a primary role, including through the National Park Service, which manages almost 100,000 heritage sites. Within the Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service conserves nearly 350,000 cultural heritage sites. The independent Advisory Council on Historic Preservation advises the President and Congress and oversees the protective planning process. On the international leadership front, will you support international cultural organizations like UNESCO? The State Department and Homeland Security are positioned to confront the scourge of the black market antiquities trade, a major funding source for international terrorism. Funding Support. Will you ask Congress to fully fund and permanently authorize the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF)? The HPF supports the work of preservation offices across all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia, and 165 American Indian tribes. Year after year, presidents request a fraction of the $150 million authorized by Congress 37 years ago, and Congress appropriates even less. For context, the annual direct investment in protecting our past has been less than 20% of the cost of a single $337 million dollar F35C Navy jet. Incentives for Private Investment. Will you stand up for the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit? The tax credits have helped create 2.3 million jobs, saved 38,700 historic structures, and attracted106 billion in private investments. The cosponsorship list on the Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act, H.R. 3846, includes everyone from liberal James McGovern of Massachusetts to Freedom Caucus member Ted Poe of Texas, evidencing broad bipartisan support for historic preservation in Congress. Attempts to eliminate tax credits are a periodic threat, however. If past is prologue, we can predict how this year's leading candidates will support cultural heritage preservation from the Oval Office. Primary popular vote totals to date are as follows: Hillary Clinton (8,924,920), Donald Trump (7,811,245 votes), Bernie Sanders (6,398,4202), and Ted Cruz (5,732,220). Let's take a look. Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, and Bernie Sanders. Getty Images. Hillary Clinton Several elements of Hillary Clinton's record suggest that she would be a robust supporter of cultural heritage protection. As First Lady, Hillary Clinton initiated and served as Founding Chair of the Save America's Treasures program, a national effort to match federal funds to private donations to preserve and restore historic items and sites, including the flag that inspired The Star Spangled Banner. The program awarded $315,152,000 to 1,287 grants to federal state, local, and tribal government entities and nonprofit organizations. While the program is still authorized, Congress currently does not fund it, but for a period of time under Clinton's leadership the effort shone brightly. Advertisement While First Lady, Clinton oversaw the restoration of the White House's Blue Room to be historically authentic to the period of James Monroe and the Map Room to its appearance during World War II. In 2000, she wrote An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History, a coffee table book that describes life at the White House, including the renovation and refurbishments, and directed all sales proceeds to the White House Historical Association. Funding for the Historic Preservation Fund doubled during her husband Bill Clinton's administration. Secretary of State Clinton championed the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, which since its creation by Congress in 2001 has demonstrated America's respect for the world's cultural heritage by supporting more than 640 projects in over 100 countries. She also visited 112 countries during her tenure, making her the most widely traveled secretary of state. Many of those visits included tours of the host countries' flagship cultural heritage sites, where one might presume her appreciation grew for the role that such places play in diplomacy as well as economic development. As a candidate for her party's nomination, Clinton advocates bold actions to reverse global warming and substantial investment in infrastructure, with "energy efficiency and sustainability" and job creation as prominent goals. She does not explicitly tether those goals to historic preservation, however, despite abundant proof that buildings are the primary source of energy loss and that the most efficient building is one that is already built. Donald Trump As with all things, Donald Trump's record on historic preservation is extravagant and not easily characterized. Much of his pre-reality television show fame was tied to his real estate deals, and the public imagination of old neighborhoods falling before Mr. Trump's gilded bulldozers may obscure the fact that Mr. Trump has some track record of bringing new life to historic structures through modern uses. The most over-the-top example of Mr. Trump's historic preservation sensibilities may be his restoration of his Palm Beach, Florida residence and private club, Mar-a-Lago. This 1927 palatial estate of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post was bequeathed to the federal government for its potential use as a "winter White House." When the government deferred, the estate sat empty for more than a decade until Mr. Trump bought it, furnished, for a mere $10 million in 1985. He then spent years restoring the property with his then-wife Ivana. According to the Palm Beach Post: Originally, the main house was 55,700 square feet, with 118 rooms, 58 bedrooms and 33 bathrooms. [A designer] frosted Mar-a-Lago in an unrestrained river of gold leaf, gold bathroom fixtures, rare marbles, carved stone and ancient Portuguese tile. Rooms were modeled after European palaces. Workers used up the country's entire stock of gold leaf when gilding the living room, with its 42-foot ceiling. As the rescuer of Mar-a-Lago, Trump invested millions of dollars and many years on a historically sensitive rehabilitation of what the club's website claims is "the greatest mansion ever built." He also donated easements on the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, ensuring preservation of the property in perpetuity while affording Mr. Trump tax benefits. Mere feet down Pennsylvania Avenue from the home he hopes to occupy, Mr. Trump recently embarked on redevelopment of the Old Post Office Pavilion, one of DC's top ten most visited landmarks, into a luxury hotel. His project bid promised to respect the building's historic character. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) chafed at Mr. Trump's use of federal historic tax credits to make the project economically viable, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation defended their use. The impacts on cultural heritage resources of Mr. Trump's proposed 3,000 mile wall on the nation's southwest border was a target of pointed humor by comedian John Oliver. Oliver's sendup included a clip of testimony from the Chairman of the Tohomo O'Odham Nation about the unrestricted desecration of native graves when the feds built an earlier southern border fence. Fragments of human remains showed up in the treads of construction machinery. Bernie Sanders Before he found success in politics, Senator Bernie Sanders had a brief career in Vermont historical interpretation. During 1979 and 1980 he created and sold filmstrips to Vermont schools and libraries. In a brochure for the American People's Historical Society, director Bernard Sanders explained, "It is our belief that state and regional history has too long been neglected by the audio-visual industry, and we are happy to begin the process of rectifying that situation. We believe that students have the right to learn about the state and region in which they are living." Advertisement Senator Sanders carried his interest in historic preservation topics into his four terms as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Under Mayor Sanders, the city became the first in the nation to adopt the Community Land Trust as a means of helping to ensure that middle and lower income residents maintain some control over and access to housing and public spaces. To this day the Burlington Management Plan speaks to the ability to restore and maintain historic structures while maintaining their affordability: Burlington's rich and varied historic and architectural legacy, the result of more than two centuries of development, remains a vital link to the city's history, and plays an active part in its future. Then Representative Sanders came to the rescue of the preservation community in 1995, when the House Appropriations Committee proposed to eliminate the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Rep. Sanders offered an amendment to restore the Council's funding, which was approved by a convincing vote of 267 to 130. As a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination, Senator Sanders, like Secretary Clinton, calls for bold measures to advance energy efficiency and sustainability without specifying historic preservation's critical role. He also recently called for greater social and economic justice for Native Americans, stressing the importance of native sacred spaces and of including native voices in decisions over these lands. Ted Cruz There is not much specific to the issue on the public record from which to discern Senator Cruz's feeling toward government's role in cultural heritage protection. His areas of policy concern throughout his career have focused on law enforcement and social issues. There are two major areas in which his philosophy is likely to impact historic preservation, however, and neither of them in a good way. Advertisement First, Senator Cruz opposes the extent of federal land ownership, specifically in western states like Nevada. The issue recently came to the fore during the Bundy militia's occupation of Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. In a February campaign spot, the Cruz campaign advocated returning several national monuments to control by states or private citizens. This position is significant because the federal government holds itself to a much higher standard of stewardship of cultural resources than do the states - due in large part to the provisions of the NHPA. Many states have weak or nonexistent protections for historic buildings, traditional cultural properties, and archaeological sites. Second, Senator Cruz is proposing to rewrite the tax code, and in the process purge the job generating historic rehabilitation tax credit. Perhaps Senator Cruz has an alternate strategy to redevelop anchor properties during a tough market, but he does not appear to have made it public. The Road Ahead The first Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, William Murtagh, remarked, "It has been said that, at its best, preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present over a mutual concern for the future." One might say the same thing about presidential campaigns, at their best. As part of Preservation50, the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation and partners are inviting public input on how to ensure an even brighter future for cultural heritage protection and its public use in the next fifty years. One way of doing so is to elect presidents, senators, and congresspersons who seek not only to make history, but to save it and learn from it. Greg Werkheiser is a founding partner of the law and policy firm Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC, which is managing the Preservation50 initiative. Co-authored by Marion Forsyth Werkheiser and Ellen Chapman, also of Cultural Heritage Partners. Standing at the threshold of his door, a 42-year-old Charan Das passed me a smile. We were standing across him photographing the stall of Hindu deities. There was a poster of Durga Mata sitting on a lion with both her legs on one side, reminiscent of the Victorian morality, during which "ladies" sat "properly" on their horses. Muslim women in Pakistan still sit on motorbikes in this way, putting their lives in threat every time they ride a bike. There was an air of festivity in the atmosphere. The entire mohalla was celebrating the final night of Navratri. There were bright lights everywhere. In one corner there were men preparing food for langar in cauldrons while the womenfolk sat next to them cutting vegetables. The younger lot was busy preparing the sound system and stage for the night, while children chased each other in the streets of this mohalla. The scene inside the mohalla was in sharp contrast to what lay outside. It was only 8 in the night and the city was already sleeping. There was darkness everywhere, while men slept on the charpoies outside of their shops. The Akaliyan Mohalla or the community of minorities shone beautifully in pitch darkness. This was 2010 when I along with my friends Bilal Ejaz and Iqbal Qaiser had traveled to Bahawal Nagar, a small city in southern Punjab, bordering Bahawalpur district, about four and a half hours away from Lahore. My Hindu contact in Lahore had informed me about this festival where hundreds of Hindus converge from all parts of the country for the festival of Navratri. We were greeted at the entrance by our friend and also by a flag of Jamaat-ud-Daawa, the front face of the militant organization Laskhar-e-Taiba. I had heard reports that militant organizations are now focusing more on southern Punjab and Sindh to recruit their cadres. The flag at the entrance of the Akaliyan Mohalla was symbolic. The minorities might live on a small island and might even have religious freedom to celebrate their festivals; the flag nonetheless clarified who is in control. Advertisement "What are you photographing the murtis for?" asked Charan Das in his sleepy tone. His beard was over grown while his hair also needed a trimming. There was a thick bangle on his feet and he wore no shoes. His bangle reminded me of a conversation I had with my young driver a few years ago. It was the month of Muharram, the month of mourning in Shiia tradition, when Imaam Hussain along with his family was massacred on the fields of Karbala. Every year millions of Shiias commemorate the event by mourning publicly. Young passionate devotees, like my driver Tanveer, inflict heavy punishments on their body. For two months he also wears a thick bangle on his foot. "What does it signify?" I asked him one day. "They represent the shackle that Imam wore when he was incarcerated," he said. "The bangle in my hand represents the handcuff the imam wore. It is my way of showing fidelity to the imam." For the first ten days of Muharram he also does not wear any shoes. "This is for a mannat. I will take off the bangle and wear shoes on the 11th of Muharram." Charan Das invited us inside his house. We sat on the ground in a small room. There was a picture of Durga Mata on her ride in one corner of the room, along with smaller pictures of other Hindu deities and Guru Nanak along with his sister. Das' younger cousins were also present in the room dressed up for the occasion, with tilaks across their foreheads, holding flags and wearing their cleanest clothes. Advertisement "The bangle on my foot is for a mannat," said Charan Das as we started the conversation. "I am praying for my cousin's job." Like Tanveer Charan Das too hadn't worn shoes for the past ten days as a part of his supplication. "We arrived earlier in the morning and went straight to the temple. We cycled all the way from Multan to attend this festival. This is my cousin," he said pointing to a young boy sitting next to him wearing a saffron shirt and pants. Look at his leg." He lifted his trousers to show the deformity of his leg. "He too rode with us. Mata gave him strength. All kinds of miracles come true here at the abode of Mata." Multan is about 200 kilometers from here. Throughout the day several groups of boys and men made their way to the mohalla traveling on foot or cycling from different parts of the country. This is their way to show their devotion to the goddess, proving to her that they would overcome a difficult journey to get to her. About a year after my trip to Bahawal Nagar I attended the Christian pilgrimage to Maryamabad, a small village about 100 kilometers from Lahore. The shrine at this village is dedicated to Mother Mary, where several years ago a passionate devotee is reported to have sighted her. Later a church was built over the spot to commemorate the event and every year a group of devotees started coming to the shrine. Now it is one of the largest Catholic gatherings in Pakistan that attracts thousands of devotees from all over the country. Similar to the Hindu gathering discussed above here too several young pilgrims make their journey much more difficult than it should be by either walking to the shrine from far away cities or riding a bike. Once at the shrine they stand in a long queue to present their offering, a scarf to the Mother. "We went straight to the temple once we got here," said Charan Das. "We had gotten a special chunri from Multan." There were long lines outside the temple as well, as devotees waited for their turn to catch a glimpse of the Mata and present their offering. Advertisement Green cloth with Quranic verses on it is an ubiquitous present to a Muslim Sufi shrine. Similar to the shrine of Mother Mary or Mata Durga, it is considered inauspicious to visit the grave of a saint without any offering. There is a congested market outside every Sufi shrine that sells these chadars which are then offered to the grave. Pilgrims present it to the caretaker who might or might not cover the grave with it, after waiting in a long line. Passionate devotees of the saint too undertake a journey on foot or cycle, usually traveling in groups to attend the urs celebration of a saint. They prefer bringing their own chadar as opposed to buying one from the bazaar outside the shrine. It is as if these three distinct religious traditions merge into one practice at their respective shrines. "I didn't have a job for an entire year so I made a pilgrimage to the Mata's temple and the next day I got a job as a peon at the DIG's office in Multan," said Das. "I promised Mata that I would return next year as well on a bicycle if I got the job, so here I am." "Do you get holidays for religious festivals?" I asked him. Whereas Muslim religious festivals are a national holiday all across Pakistan, Christians are also given holidays for their religious festivals. Then there are local holidays for certain patron saints. For example on the occasion of Data Darbar's urs, there would be a local holiday in Lahore. On the occasion of Baba Farid's urs there would be a holiday in Pakpattan. However no such rule applied to Hindu festivals. "No," he replied. "I asked for five days off to come to this pilgrimage but my supervisor rejected it." Advertisement "What will happen to your job now?" I asked him. "Mata takes care of everything," he replied. Twenty years after I left Moscow and turned the ABC News Bureau over to a successor in 1972, I revisited. By then, The bureau looked more like a television operation, with video editing equipment and a direct line to satellite feeds. I dropped in to the apartment of the Washington Post's husband and wife team. The Soviet-era appliances were gone, the paper having paid for a renovation including a new European kitchen. My ABC colleague was able to rent a modern apartment in an outlying area. In 1983, the Overseas Press Club held a reunion of former Moscow Correspondents, whose service dated back to World War II. They included Walter Cronkite, who was with United Press back then, and living and working conditions were tough. He said whenever he was asked how long he had been in Moscow, he'd reply, "two." Two what? "Too long." My three years there ended right after the state visit of President Richard Nixon in 1972, and I was delighted to escape to a new posting in Tokyo. A few months before I departed, Bob Kaiser arrived as the Washington Post correspondent. The Overseas Club recently held another reunion of Moscow correspondents, in which Kaiser participated. It can be viewed on the OPCofAmerica.org web site. Kaiser noted a change in the atmosphere after the summit meeting. Officials began to grant interviews to the Washington Post, which made his tenure not only worthwhile but memorable. . Advertisement But it was still the Soviet Union, and the improvement was ephemeral. Tom Kent, an Associated Press correspondent from 1976-81 said: "Western correspondents were barely tolerated. Almost never could we get the interviews we needed. Nor was there much contact with ordinary people, who seemed programmed to watch out for foreigners." Ann Cooper arrived at the end of 1986 for a five-year stint as National Public Radio's first correspondent "in the gray and grim Soviet Union." But then things began to change -- a lot. The new leader, Mikhail Gorbachov, "could see the economic disaster his country was headed for, but in order to bring about reform, he had to tell his people some truths, unlike 'Comrades, we overfilled the plan once more.'" The camps for political prisoners were being emptied. "All of a sudden," Cooper found, there was "a new population of people who we could talk to and they wanted to talk to us. "They held press conferences to air their grievances without fear of consequences," and dissidents started to call Cooper at home, knowing the phone was bugged. "But they said it doesn't matter any more. The story for me became the disappearance of fear. I went to Siberia and saw miners on strike, Orthodox believers could worship much more freely than ever before, environmentalists became active, and political reformers. People were losing their fear and speaking out as never before. For correspondents, it was a great time. Glasnost took on a life of its own. It was exhausting, exhilarating." Even more so for David Hoffman, who came to Moscow for the Washington Post in 1995 and found during the early Boris Yeltsin era "a place just alive and afire with color. The entire society had been turned upside down. People were knocking down our doors to talk to us. There were four hours of independent television news every night that had to be monitored. Economic officials were available to chat. This group of men called the oligarchs were beginning to set up business and clans. They loved to talk, and mostly they loved to talk about each other. They were using privatization to become billionaires. I went to interview the president of a very small bank. He gave me a sheaf of PR materials, and on the bottom underneath he had given me, by design or inadvertently, the entire structure of one of the big business empires." Hoffman learned enough about the oligarchs to write a book about them. Advertisement There was more: "The fellow who was in charge of designing the Soviet space shuttle came to me, very upset, because he finally realized it was never intended to fly. It was a copy of the American space shuttle, just built to show to spy satellites that the USSR had one too." And he had to tell the Washington Post about it. "People in Yeltsin's time were trying to create democracy, to create civil society, to create a market economy." Speaking two decades later, Hoffman had to concede "how thin, how reversible, how unsustainable it was." Still, he hopes, the "green shoots" that sprouted at that memorable time will someday come forth again. Not in the Putin era. Alan Cullison became the Wall Street Journal's Moscow correspondent in 1999. He said at another recent discussion at the Kennan Institute in Washington, that foreign journalists were cordially ignored by Putin and his crowd. They could go where they wanted and write what they wanted, while Putin poured resources into his propaganda machine, internal and external "with its duplicitous Russia Today coverage." At first we had the "globalisation of balkanisation," when balkan-style failed-state wars became global after September 11. The modern trend, though, is the "balkanisation of globalisation." The failed world order gets divided up by barbed wire into mentally gated communities, due to economic failure, floods of refugees and persistent terrorist attacks. So the lonely position of the Serbian citizen of the 1990s is becoming universal. Our leaders from the nineties were indicted and found guilty in ICTY in The Hague, for committed war crimes, even genocides, but we can now perceive ourselves as universal, everyman figures. This month Radovan Karadzic, after eight long years of trial, was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years of jail. When he wasn't liquidating unarmed prisoners in Bosnia, Karadzic was a colorful, sinister politician, a lousy poet, mad psychiatrist and a hustler new age guru. The only thing archaic about Karadzic today is his personality cult. Karadzic certainly has more villainous brio than the relatively faceless European and Pakistani youngsters who cruelly exploded kamikaze bombs in civilian crowds in Brussels and Lahore. Advertisement Even Karadzic's defenders seem eager to rob him of his long-sought infamy and give it to someone else. His collaborator Biljana Plavsic, a 90 year old Bosnian Serb who served 20 years in prison and got out on parole, commented: it was actually Bill Clinton who orchestrated the Srebrenica massacre with the Bosnian government. It was a political deal, the truth will come out. Radovan Karadzic will outlive his sentence and be a free citizen again, just as I am. Does that mean that I will see Karadzic, just as I see Biljana Plavsic, shopping in my market in Belgrade downtown. Will he be interviewed by all press, while rambling about God, justice and evil? Will Bill Clinton himself show up to shop in Belgrade, perhaps as the good-will ambassador of his wife the President? In Europe the right wing governments are hastily building walls inside Europe so as to protect themselves against internal waves of civilian refugees from uncontrollable failed-state war zones in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and so on. Advertisement In USA the Republicans are bringing dishonour with their polarizing, misogynist candidate Donald Trump, who demands a wall and attacks Mexican migrants, even though Mexican immigration to the US is historically low. This represents an American coming-out of the Mussolini-style "uomo piccolo piccolo", the aggrieved and faceless man-of-the-street who opens his dirty heart and demands power to beat up the neighbors. It's the Balkan recipe of the 1990s, a Milosevic media fantasy of conspiracy theories, mud-slinging, nationalist paranoia and profound, raging victimism, asserting superiority by demanding revenge for slights and a return of greatness. I used to call this process "The Design of Crime," because everybody was involved and made guilty: the greedy parties, the irresponsible press, the indifferent citizens. But today I am calling this meta process the "humanisation of crime," because it seems so universalized. These politicians, these criminal deeds, this lack of humanity or common sense is part of all of us. It is not an ideological tyranny with the face and a name of an alien dictator, or of The Other. The poverty, fear and rising discontent is simply everywhere globally, notwithstanding the race, class and sex. It is "failed globe" rather than "failed state," a truly international shame and decadence of world disorder. In Serbia we will have elections soon: the party that used to support war criminals and war crimes, have changed their credo, although not their veteran personnel. They have been in power for some time and are popular, so they will probably win even greater power in a month. As is customary with them, they are celebrating the anniversary of Serbia being bombed by NATO, which is becoming a kind of odd national holiday. The fact that this has been so normalized is part of the humanisation of crime. The American people tolerate, and even celebrate, Trump's naked, vulgar, dirty unspeakable truth and bad habits -- they like the way he demolishes the propriety of political discourse with reckless lies, because it seems more human than the robotic rehearsals of the professional political class. Also very human is the fact that every party, in government or out, celebrates undeclared wars, civilian bombings, drone assassinations, targeted killings and terrorist attacks, whether they are victims, perpetrators, allies, opponents or arming both sides at once. The terrorists and patriots are the two faces of the same medal. Vladimir Putin's covert-action "little green men" can easily be subverters of Ukraine and heroes of Syria, sometimes on the same newspaper page. Advertisement We, as a civilisation are finally sitting down to dine with our inner demons: they kill and we eat what they put on the plate. Catholic Pope Francis washed the feet of Muslim refugees for Easter immediately after ISIS terrorist attacks in Bruxelles, but that was an unusually lucid gesture. In a twilight like this we must ask ourselves: what has become of our civil, skeptical, secular, scientific society? Where are our poets gone? What do our philosophers think, what do our futurists see? Where is our Cassandra conscience or our Antigone morality? What is our art -- because our media stars and fancy gadget designers seem to offer no path to survival. The basic moral ground seems clear to me: it's among the world's horde of sixty million refugees. These are our fellow moderns who are living bare life, from scratch. They are the ones "thinking outside the box" because their box is demolished. To become a refugee is really easy, because, trust me, in a balkanized globe that condition is for everybody and anybody. The breakdown of the moral opera we call normality will change its names and slogans, it can be called terrorism, or call it war, call it global warming, call it economic crisis, but in human terms it is the humanisation of crime. As everyday criminals, participants in a spreading evil, we become guilty fugitives within our own lives. How many people are truly aware of recent radiological material thefts in both Iraq and Mexico? What about revelations that the recent terrorist attackers in Belgium were exploring a nuclear option? In Iraq and Mexico, the stolen devices had no ingredients for a nuclear weapon, but they did contain Iridium-192, a radioactive isotope perfect for a "dirty bomb" capable of dispersing radiological material against civilians. Luckily, the material in both cases was recovered intact. But that doesn't tell the whole story. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) keeps an incident and trafficking database with multiple unresolved cases. And there are literally thousands of radiological sources that remain unregulated or unaccounted for. President Obama has called nuclear terrorism the greatest threat to US security, but the topic has been shockingly absent from the current Presidential election cycle. There has been nary a question, and hardly any in-depth commentary, from Secretary Clinton, Donald Trump, or other leading candidates - even after the recent Brussels attacks were linked to a plot against Belgian nuclear facilities. Advertisement It's more reason to take note that March 31 will kick off the fourth - and regrettably final - Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. The international summits began in 2010, following President Obama's promise to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. The summits are constructed on the premise that nuclear security is the key component of any campaign to prevent the proliferation of materials that could be fashioned into nuclear weapons or conventional weapons augmented with radiological material. Past summits, which emphasized countering nuclear terrorism, have produced considerable gains. Delegations reaffirmed previous commitments to enhance security at nuclear sites, and solidified new agreements to counter theft or the loss of materials. Information sharing on best practices and offers of aid abounded. By no means have the summits been an unqualified success in dealing with the problem of loose nuclear materials. However, the effort to strengthen safeguards and international cooperation has been commendable at a time when multilateral nonproliferation mechanisms, such as the review conference for the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, have found themselves stalled in proposing actionable steps for the future. Advertisement Even the US initiative behind the summits appears to be losing steam. In the budget request for Fiscal Year 2017, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) asked for $132 million less for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation programs. Part of the cut is accounted for in efforts to close the doomed Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) facility in South Carolina, but nuclear and radiological terrorism are continuing big threats, and there are many stockpiles of nuclear materials around the world that should be eliminated now rather than decades from now. Decreasing nonproliferation funding sends the message that we don't take these threats seriously. Unfortunately, too many countries have diverted their attention toward massive programs that modernize their nuclear weapons stockpiles, jumpstarting a potential arms race when the focus should be on reducing nuclear materials and ameliorating the threat of nuclear terrorism. The U.S-Russian relationship is a perfect example. Rather than cooperating to reduce nuclear proliferation, the U.S. and Russia find themselves focused on their own nuclear weapons modernization plans and, of course, geopolitical disagreements. Indeed, Russia will not even make an appearance at this year's summit. The medical industry's uptake of complementary and integrative health and medicine is wildly uneven. This is true even in pain treatment, an area that drew most people to integrative practices and practitioners. For those interested in seeing more integration of these contributions, opening new governmental pronunciations is kind of like a white elephant gift exchange. Once you click enter, you don't know whether you will score big time or be on the losing end of what may feel a thoughtless or ill-meant prank. This fluctuation of inclusion led me to recently post an Open Letter to Barack Obama on his $1.1-billion proposed opioid strategy. The administration's recommendations were painfully non-inclusive. They denied the mounting evidence for non-pharmacologic approaches like chiropractic, acupuncture, mindfulness, yoga, massage and integrative and naturopathic medicine in pain care. The National Pain Strategy issued March 18, 2016 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was just such a powerful bomb of wrapped package. This guidance is the big one: the hoped-for bike or basketball or skis for any of us lucky enough to get one "big" gift on a solstice morning. What would the National Pain Strategy contain? Advertisement Back Story: Context and Poor Interprofessional Mix The document's pedigree goes beyond its agency sponsor. HHS's action was recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences in its 2011 Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care Education, and Research. The IOM, a quasi-public agency, had in turn been funded to study pain through the 2009 Affordable Care Act. As this analysis shows, the IOM Blueprint included 15 references to "complementary and alternative medicine" and integrative approaches and practitioners. This inclusion came through recommendations of a committee that included experts in integrative pain care. Of the 19 members, one was a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist who was a former president of the American Academy of Pain Management,Rick Marinelli, ND, MAOM, pictured above. Another was UCLA integrative pediatrician, Lonnie Zelzer, MD (below). A member of both the IOM group and the HHS's parallel committee, Myra Christopher, has characterized the now deceased Marinelli's interprofessional contributions this way: "Rick's special contribution was to remind us of the importance of a bio-psychosocial or integrative pain management approach." The contributions of this integrative duo was apparently meaningful. What might have been different had neither Marinelli nor Zelzer brought integrative expertise to the Committee? In contradistinction, the Oversight Panel for the HHS strategy included no experts from the integrative community. Zippo, also, from the licensed naturopathic, chiropractic, massage or acupuncture professions. Neither was the growing group of integrative medical doctors represented. For these, too, chronic pain is the most significant reason for patient visits. Advertisement The HHS Pain Strategy reflects work of 6 working groups: Population Research, Prevention and Care, Disparities, Service Delivery and Payment, Professional Education and Training, and Public Education and Communication. These had roughly 80 members. One, on the education group, was Maryland integrative medicine leader Brian Berman, MD. Zippo, again, for representation from the distinctly licensed integrative health and medicine professions. These roughly 120,000 licensed integrative health professionals -- without counting the 250,000 massage therapists and scores of thousands of yoga teachers -- are clearly part of the way people in the US are responding to pain conditions. Yet they were not considered significant for the dialogue in this purportedly national strategy. As an interprofessional engagement, the HHS National Pain Strategy was a failure event. For one about to take off the gift wrapping, this is worrisome. So how did the team do? A (Small) Place in the Vision I counted 15 mentions of licensed complementary or integrative health practices or practitioners in the 50 pages of the core document. Three were in a section on definitions. There the authors distinguished complementary healthcare approaches ("mind and body practices and natural products of non-mainstream origin, including chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, meditation, massage, relaxation, yoga, acupuncture, and naturopathic medicine") from integrative health care ("incorporates complementary approaches into mainstream health care to achieve health and wellness"). They further noted that pain self-management "can include a broad range of complementary health approaches." Notably, other than a mention of acupuncture in a discussion of coverage issues, the individual complementary or integrative approaches or practitioners are not again noted. Advertisement The Vision The expression of vision in the opening of Strategy includes 14 separate bullet points. In the 8th of these, the authors speak to the importance of broadening clinician education.They note a half dozen methods. The last of these is to educate to "the role of complementary and integrative medicine." (Notably, this relates to the education arena where Berman was involved.) Might the rest of the vision been more inclusive with broader interprofessionalism? Opportunities as "Collaborators" Despite poor representation, complementary and integrative practitioners were specifically included in 4 places as "collaborators" to meet objectives prioritized by the working groups. Service Delivery & Payment Objective #1, "Define and evaluate integrated, multimodal and interdisciplinary care ..." urged inclusion of "licensed integrative health practitioners." Same section, Objective #3, "Tailor payment to promote and incentivize high-quality, coordinated pain care ..." reaches out to "licensed integrative health care providers." Disparities, Objective #1, "Reduce bias (implicit, conscious, and unconscious) and its impact on pain treatment by improving understanding ..." calls out to include "social service providers (including licensed practitioners who provide integrative and complementary health approaches)." Prevention and Care, Objective #2, "Develop nationwide pain self-management programs..." invites collaboration with "licensed complementary and integrative health fields." These were 4 of the Strategy's 17 "Objectives" across the 6 working groups. While not directly referenced in any others, many of the remaining 13 urge inclusion of "health care professionals," "health care professional organizations," or "other relevant health disciplines." The door is thus open to any of the integrative medical or distinctly licensed integrative health and medicine fields - as long as they see themselves as "relevant." In the pain arena, they are. That the executive summary and vision that open the National Pain Strategy are nearly devoid of explicit mention of complementary and integrative methods and practitioners is quite probably a function of who was invited to the table. While the overall focus is on opioids --- 66 mentions in the 55 pages -- the remaining focus is biopychosocial and multidisciplinary. The general direction of the document is toward inclusion. Team methods are promoted. The report substantively looks, for instance, at the need to change the way payment and clinical management methods push pain care toward pharma and away from interprofessional teams. The document opens doors if one pushes past the overall obsession with opioids. Given near absence of direct involvement of integrative health professionals in the development of the HHS' National Pain Strategy, the opportunities for moving integrative strategies into the mix are significant. As shared here, the American Chiropractic Association, American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the American Society of Acupuncturists are ready to participate. I remember when I was really young, I wanted so badly to be white. I remember sitting in school and being incredibly conscious of the fact that I was a few shades darker than my classmates. On the first day of first-grade, my new schoolmates asked if I had come to school that day on a camel (to which I say: jokes on them because camels are dope as shit and if only we could all be so lucky as to have a caravan of camels for our transportation but mom decided to buy us bikes that year). Advertisement The weeks following September 11th, 2001 were an especially interesting time for me. I was only 7 years old - but old enough to know that something terrible had happened to my country and that my friends at school thought I was responsible. Within a few weeks after going back to school, I remember a classmate asking me if I was related to any of the terrorists. I remember playing alone at recess a lot. My teacher would not look at me. The other kids would not speak to me. The parents of the other kids would glare at me. To be fair, what I experienced then was for the most part just kids repeating what they had heard their adults say. They were scared- everyone was- and I looked different, so I was at fault. But those experiences stayed with me, and from that day forward- I tried my hardest to prove to the people around me that I was "normal," that I was "one of you guys," and that I was white. I did this for years, all through primary school, and well into my late teens. I threw myself into pop culture, and I vowed to become the quintessential American boy. I pledged allegiance to the flag of The United States of America, and I made sure my teacher and my friends were watching me when I did. Advertisement No one told me that I could be brown and American at the same time. I mean, people told me that- but what was said and what was exemplified by the people around me were two different things entirely. I was born and raised just 50 minutes outside Chicago in Aurora, Illinois. White privilege was the subtle, nuanced culture that I lived in; in which white people were the "main" group and nonwhite people were the "other" group. Everything about the community I grew up in equated being white with being normal. I remember when I was 13 a lady came up to me in a supermarket and complimented my skin tone (I'm going to quote her verbatim because honestly the main point of this piece is to try and convince everyone that I have beautiful skin). "You have such beautiful brown skin! I wish I could have a tan like yours." -- lady in supermarket, circa 2007 I became very upset with her- angry that she chose to interact with me because of my skin tone- but also ashamed and hurt that she had called me brown, and not white. To me, it felt like she had just blown my cover. Here I was, this brown kid trying so hard to be white- and this sweet lady blows my cover because she wanted to know whether I was born with it or if it was Maybelline. Advertisement I turned to the lady and very matter-of-factly said, "no, no- ma'am I am only half-brown, really mostly white, I'm definitely not brown-brown -- my dad is from Scotland, he is so white." She looked pretty confused as to why I was protesting my skin tone, and before I had a chance to delve into my family's immigration history to prove that I was indeed only half brown- she'd moved on to the bakery. I look back on that moment, and it saddens me to think that for most of my childhood, I ran away from who I was. If I wasn't running, I was trying so damn hard to hide it, or change it. That was my weird internal struggle of identifying with white, "normal" America, but at the same time being viewed as an "other" by it. Flash-forward to October 2015: a man in a public car park is upset at me because I have taken a spot that he claimed was reserved for him. I apologize to the man and begin to re-enter my vehicle so I can move my car. "Wait, I want to talk to you," the man says to me. "You and your people- you are what's wrong with America. You goddamn sand-niggers come over here and take our jobs and our women- and I just need to speak my mind when it comes to you camel-fuckers. We don't want your religion, we don't want your culture; all of you need to go back to where you came from." I had been asked in the first-grade if I had ridden a camel before, but I don't think this man meant it the same way my first-grade classmate had. Advertisement Fighting back tears, I told the man, "Where do you want me to go back to? I'm an American. I was born here. I got in my car and went home. I went to my bathroom mirror and looked at my brown skin. I looked myself in my brown eyes, and I cried because that day I felt the ugly side of all the "endearingly racist" things that had happened to me before that. I'm not writing this to make the issue of racism about me, I'm just sharing some of my experiences. I look at the people we are vetting to be the leaders of our country in the next few years, and I am terrified by how much these candidates fear monger people into being scared of those who are different from them. I am a born son of this nation, and I love my country. Diversity is what makes The United States beautiful and strong, but there are people in this country who fear that diversity. Chris Boeskool wrote a wonderful piece on equality vs. privilege, and I would like to quote him here: All this anger we see from people screaming "All Lives Matter" in response to black protesters at rallies. All this anger we see from people insisting that their "religious freedom" is being infringed because a gay couple wants to get married. All these people angry about immigrants, angry about Muslims, angry about "Happy Holidays," angry about not being able to say bigoted things without being called a bigot... They all basically boil down to people who have grown accustomed to walking straight at other folks, and expecting them to move. So when "those people" in their path don't move -- when those people start wondering, "Why am I always moving out of this guy's way?"; when those people start asking themselves, "What if I didn't move? What if I just kept walking too?"; when those people start believing that they have every bit as much right to that aisle as anyone else -- it can seem like their rights are being taken away. Equality can feel like oppression. But it's not. What you're feeling is just the discomfort of losing a little bit of your privilege -- the same discomfort that an only child feels when she goes to preschool and discovers that there are other kids who want to play with the same toys as she does. When I think of my first-grade classmates who asked me which terrorist pilot I was related to, and when I think of the man in the car park, I see people who are frightened. Frightened of losing privilege, of losing status, but mostly just frightened of someone who is different from them. That's a valid fear, to an extent- but that fear can drive people to do ugly things- to lash out in an attempt to defend their privilege. There comes a point where someone has to choose to willingly perpetuate that fear in their heart; to close off their mind and heart to the idea of knowing another person beyond the colour of their skin, and then further, to ostracize or abuse that person based on the colour of their skin, or the fact that they are different from them. "...in a patriarchal, racist, homophobic, and ableist society, there are social pressures to participate and engage in sexism, racism, homophobia, and ableism. At some point, you have to decide who you are and what matters morally to you." - Gary L. Francione Today, I no longer try to be white. I'm learning to be proud of my diversity because it makes me who I am. I don't know who exactly told me that I wasn't allowed to be proud of who I am. You can be proud of who you are, but not at the expense of making someone feel less than for being who they are. We are all diverse and we are all here in this country for the same equal opportunities and privileges. It's something to be celebrated, not feared. I'd implore anyone reading this who hasn't yet made the choice to look past their own fears when it comes to diversity - to do so. Just listen to someone's story, and ask them about their experiences. Broaden your perspective to the point where you can empathize with or at least see their side of things. Staying in a dark corner, guarding your privilege and lashing out at others can't be that fun. You should come out and get to know us. Advertisement The US Senate any day may take up bipartisan legislation to reform federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws. The proposal is incredibly modest; it does not eliminate any mandatory minimums and will leave many low-level, non-violent drug offenders subject to excessive sentences. Sadly but predictably, this small step in the right direction has elicited the same sort of shameful fearmongering that all sentencing reforms of the 25 years have. Congress should ignore the prophets of misery and pass bold sentencing reform that will make the public safer while saving taxpayers money. In 1986 and 1988, Congress passed anti-crime legislation that targeted drug offenses. The bills were supposed to target so-called drug kingpins and major traffickers. Right from the start, however, the laws ensnared low-level users and small-time dealers. It was clear the laws had gone too far. When reformers, including Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) finally convinced Congress to pass a "safety valve" in 1994 so that certain first-time, low-level offenders could be exempted from lengthy mandatory minimums, the fearmongering began. Some accused us of being soft on crime. But after the law was passed, the crime rate dropped for 20 years. Many states, which had followed Congress's lead in the 1980s and passed excessive mandatory minimum sentencing laws, began to recoil from the social and economic damage these laws were causing. In 1998 and 2001, Michigan repealed what was one of the harshest mandatory minimum drug laws in the country. Again, those of us supporting reform were told that we were putting families at risk of higher crime. Yet, after the law was passed, the state's crime rate fell. A pattern was clearly emerging; no reform, however modest, could be offered without some people trying to scare the public. When FAMM we persuaded the US Sentencing Commission in 2007 to lower its recommended sentence ranges for crack cocaine offenders and make that change retroactive, the prophets of doom howled. Then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey charged, "Many of these offenders are among the most serious and violent offenders in the federal system and their early release...would produce tragic, but predictable results." Then-Senator Hillary Clinton also opposed the retroactivity amendment. Once again, Mukasey, Clinton, and the Chicken Littles were proved wrong. The US Sentencing Commission conducted a study of those who received early release because of the crack guideline change. The Commission found that those were released early were less likely to reoffend than those who served their full sentences. And, once again, after the guideline change was made, the nation's violent crime rate fell even further. Given this history, we should not be surprised that doomsayers are issuing hysterical warnings about the modest sentencing reform bill pending in the US Senate. Leading the charge this go-round is Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), who said, "It would be very dangerous and unwise to proceed with the Senate Judiciary bill, which would lead to the release of thousands of violent felons." Senator Cotton is dead wrong, just as the fearmongerers before him were wrong. Some past reform opponents now support the Senate sentencing bill and are using arguments that sound very similar to ones FAMM has been making for 25 years. In fact, former Attorney General Mukasey - yes, the same one - is now urging the Senate to pass reform, writing recently, "[L]ocking up low-level offenders for long prison sentences doesn't reduce crime.... Research shows that longer sentences can often increase recidivism, especially for low-level offenders." Attorney General Mukasey's switcheroo demonstrates that if you work in Washington, DC long enough, you will see everything. Sadly, Senator Cotton's fear peddling shows that if you work in Washington, DC long enough, you will sometimes see the same things happen over and over and over again. Congress should ignore the critics' caterwauling and move forward with bold mandatory minimum sentencing reform. The commonsense reforms enacted by Congress and the states over the past 25 years have led to safer streets and communities. There is no reason to believe that we can't do even better. Julie Stewart is the president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year Since the 1999 court case that required Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to end busing because the schools had "eliminated the vestiges of past discrimination," the district has primarily assigned students to schools closest to home. This practice results in extreme socioeconomic disparity between schools, which CMS attempts to counteract by spending more money on the low income schools. Between 2000 and 2010, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) was nationally recognized for socio-economic school integration, and, before that, racial integration. Although this practice has since ended, many of the effects linger. In the 2013-2014 NCDPI School Report Cards 40 percent of CMS schools were rated an "A" or "B" compared to 50 percent in WCPSS. 29 percent of CMS schools were rated a "D" or "F", compared to just 11 percent in WCPSS. According to a 2015 New York Times report, Mecklenburg County currently ranks second to Baltimore for "big counties worst for income mobility for poor children." Advertisement This is the story of my experiences teaching at two vastly different schools and the systemic problems of socioeconomic inequalities I witnessed: CMS: 90 percent free and reduced lunch; extremely low performing; rated "F" WCPSS: 20 percent free and reduced lunch; high performing; rated "A" At the first school, we were flooded with monetary resources, technology, and additional school personnel. To serve 900 students, we had five administrators, a school resource officer, two security associates, two behavior management technicians, two in-school suspension teachers, two "Communities In Schools" staff, three instructional facilitators, a full-time beginning teacher coordinator, a CTE coordinator, two counselors, and a social worker. We had a technology device for every single student. Class sizes were lower than average. Despite these supports, I worked 12 hours a day to complete the most basic parts of my job and working conditions were far below what I would consider professional. I witnessed an unfathomable amount of violence and on more than one occasion felt personally unsafe. There was a culture of fear for everyone involved: fear of theft, fear of violence, and fear of multiple kinds of abuse. When teachers were absent, students were most often covered by stretching current staff because substitutes did not want to work in the unpredictable and sometimes hostile environment. On these days, teachers gave up their planning period and worked unpaid overtime at home. When I didn't have to cover other classes, I spent most or all of my planning period writing discipline referrals, calling parents (often unsuccessfully), finding an interpreter to call parents, and wrestling with the copy machine. Yet as hard as we worked, we perceived, at best, miniscule improvements to students' lives. Advertisement Now, I spend my planning period almost exclusively planning engaging lessons. I feel appreciated and I see the difference I make. I've only written one discipline referral and covered one class this year. In a year at the first school I spent over 180 hours performing daily non-instructional duties necessary to maintain order and help keep students safe. This year I expect to spend just 53 hours on such duties. There were similar discrepancies between required attendance at after-school events. When I talk with another teacher that left the first school the same time I did, she describes her feelings of guilt that prevented her from leaving earlier as "masochistic." Many believe that we need to attract more highly qualified teachers to low-income schools -- I disagree. I worked with highly-qualified, brilliant and passionate teachers and administrators who were relentless in their efforts to achieve student growth. The real problem is keeping any teachers at all. Research shows low teacher turnover increases student performance. Turnover at the first school was around 50 percent. Less than one year later, of the administrative staff, only the principal remains. My quality of life and sense of professional achievement at the first school were so low that I doubt I would have stayed for any monetary incentive. In Part 1 of a recent segment on the radio show This American Life entitled "The Problem We All Live With," host Ira Glass talked with Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times investigative reporter, about dozens of strategies school systems like CMS are using to help failing schools. Here's Glass: Advertisement What she noticed was that it never worked. I mean, like, never. The bad schools never caught up to the good schools. And the bad schools were mostly black and Latino. The good schools were mostly white. And sure, there might be a principal here or a charter school there who might do a good job improving students' scores, but even there, they were just improving their student scores. The minority kids in their programs were still not performing on par with white kids. They hadn't closed the achievement gap between black kids and white kids. So if all these programs aren't working, what does work? Nikole continues: I find there's one thing that really worked, that cut the achievement gap between black and white students by half... [school] integration... But instead, since 1988, we have started to re-segregate. And it is at that exact moment that you see the achievement gap start to widen again. Her research aligns with my experience. But integrated schools aren't just better for students -- they're better for teachers too. Integrated schools are significantly better at retaining teachers long-term as well as educating all students. I couldn't fully appreciate how lucky I was to be educated in an integrated system until I worked for a segregated one. As a student in integrated schools, I learned lessons much more important than any content found on a test. Unfortunately, in the six years since the end of socioeconomic integration, WCPSS is trending towards segregated schools. The 2014-2015 NCDPI School Report Cards look more like those of CMS. In Part 2 of "The Problem We All Live With," reporter Chana Joffe-Walt described the community engagement necessary to achieve school integration: Advertisement There are only a few places in the country that have seriously committed to school integration over a long period of time. Louisville, Kentucky is one; Wake County in North Carolina; those are the biggest. And in each case, something like this right here has occurred: a public reckoning seems to be a required step; some sort of long process by which the gap between two unequal systems is made very clear to the people who are not paying attention. I share my experiences not to disparage the valiant efforts of low-income schools but rather to bring awareness to the larger systemic problem. I share because the personal time it took me to write this article did not exist a year ago. I share because my heart breaks to watch WCPSS travel down the path towards segregated schools and because I've seen where that path leads. It's time for a public reckoning. We know from anecdotal evidence and quantitative data that separate is not equal and does not work. Our teachers deserve safe and professional working conditions. Our students -- all of them -- deserve a safe learning environment and a high quality education. College tuition and student loans have been in the news a great deal in recent years, largely because of the alarming amount of student debt in the United States. Currently, student debt is more than $1.2 Trillion dollars, higher than both credit card debt and auto loans. This debt is no longer held by private lenders. It was taken over by the Federal Government in 2010 when President Obama signed a bill that nationalized all student loans in the United States, making the Department of Education the sole lender. So if you don't pay, it is not your local Credit Union coming after you, it's the Feds, and they are not messing around, as Paul Aker found out when he was arrested by seven US Marshals, fully decked out in combat gear and wielding high-powered rifles. His crime? An outstanding student loan of $1,500 from 1987. Aker, however, is not alone--the default rate for student loans hovers around 10% and I think it is safe to say that a sizable portion of this debt will never be repaid. It is not surprising then, that the issue has been front and center in this year's Democrat presidential primary, with Bernie Sanders placing "free tuition" as a central plank of his platform, and Hillary Clinton not far behind with her own version of "debt-free tuition." Prominent cultural commentators on the left have also offered support for this idea, pointing to the higher education system in Europe, where tuition is, for the most part, free. Last year, for example, Michael Moore, the millionaire marxist movie maker, released "Where to Invade Next?" in which he interviews college students in Slovenia, which Moore characterizes as a "magical fairyland" where tuition is free and students, apparently, don't even know what "student debt" is. More recently, Camille Paglia, the insurgent proto-feminist libertarian, also advocated for free tuition and pointed, similarly, to the European system as an example of the viability (inevitability?) of free tuition. Is there free tuition in European countries? For the most part, the answer is "yes," but of course, it is a bit more complicated than that; the Americans touting the European system are not telling us the whole story. Advertisement In 2013, I received a Fulbright Award from the US State Department to spend my sabbatical teaching in Graz, Austria at the Kunstuniversitat Graz (KUG, "Graz University of the Arts"). I taught a class in the KUG Jazz Institute, but a significant portion of my Fulbright work was centered on a scholarship project which focused on studying jazz pedagogy and jazz styles in North America and Europe. To gather the data, I studied the curricula of leading jazz departments in Europe and North America, I surveyed jazz educators and jazz musicians on both continents, and I also interviewed dozens of artists and educators as well. My intent was to ask professionals in the field whether there had emerged, as renowned jazz writer Stuart Nicholson suggests, a style of jazz that was uniquely "European." If so, how does this style differ from American jazz, and do the pedagogical systems reflect or support these differences? The results were interesting, surprising, and, in some cases, quite provocative. It was apparent from my first day at KUG that the differences in pedagogy and higher education were inextricably linked to the differences in the funding models between the two continents, which became part of my study. Teaching in Austria The class I taught was "Jazz Theory" and it was a freshman class in the fall semester, so these were students in their first classes at university. In the first class, I gave a few assessment tests to gauge their level of preparedness and I was astounded by how strong their foundational skills were. (I won't go into details here, but I would say that they were similar to the students found entering our most elite music schools here in North America, and far surpassed the level of most students graduating from 2nd- and 3rd-tier schools.) Another surprise was the diversity found in this small group of about 20 students--there were at least nine different countries represented: Hungary, Germany, China, United States, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Brazil, and, of course, Austria. This led me to start asking some questions about tuition, in particular, I asked about the costs for students from other countries to attend university in Austria. In the United States, there are significantly higher costs for students to attend college in another state. As parents of college students know very well, "out-of-state tuition" is, on average, more than double the cost of in-state tuition. When I asked about "out of country tuition" it generated a puzzled response (much like the one from the Slovenian students who were asked about their "student debt" by Michael Moore in his film): "Out of country tuition? We don't pay any tuition, we just have to pay an administrative fee of 800 per year." I was flabbergasted--how is it possible for students from all over the world to go to university in Austria for a nominal administrative fee, subsidized almost entirely by the Austrian government? Why would Austria do that, and how can they afford it? Advertisement Why do they subsidize tuition for foreigners? As a Fulbright Scholar, I took part in several activities that included meeting members of Austria's government, and I took the opportunity to ask them about this "Why do you fund foreigners' tuition at Austrian universities?" The answer was given in a "matter of fact" manner, as if it were obvious: "Because we want the best artists in our country. We value art and culture, it is part of our lives and we support it because it is important to us, vital in fact." I found this to be incredible, not only because of the heart-warming content, but because it was sincere, not a contrived political sound-bite for media consumption. How can they afford it? This is where the story of free tuition became a bit more complicated, but the answer is obvious--like everything else in a socialist setting, services have to be rationed, and that is exactly what they do with higher education: they ration it. This is the part that is conveniently (and I suspect, intentionally) left out of the simplistic narrative being told by Clinton, Sanders, Moore, and others. The extent to which is rationed, in music education at least, was surprising. I became aware of it when I started interviewing professors about the audition process at their schools and I asked them how many students audition for each instrument and how many can they accept? In the US, at most schools, professors in the performing arts spend a great deal of time and energy "recruiting" students and even with vigorous outreach, most have difficulty finding enough students on each instrument to provide them with full-time teaching loads, much less to properly staff the ever-growing number of ensembles in most music departments. Rationing solves that problem. At one school in Europe, I asked how many piano students auditioned in the previous year, and the answer was "140." Out of those 140 applicants, only two were accepted. When I asked about the criteria for acceptance, the professor told me: "We only accept students who are our peers-in other words, the student needs to play well enough to perform with the faculty. If none of the applicants are at that level, then we don't accept anyone." (To restate my disclaimer one last time, the situation is probably similar in the United States for the elite universities and conservatories, which constitute perhaps 5% of all the music schools in the country.) Suffice to say that is not easy to get into a music program in Europe, especially when the competition is not just from the state, the region, or the country--students compete for very limited openings with students from all over the world. If it is this difficult for music students, you can imagine the difficulty students have being accepted into other fields like Engineering, Medicine, Nursing, Law, and other disciplines with clear career paths after graduation. Suffice to say, the standards in Europe in all areas are extremely high. Whether consciously or not, these European countries have decided that they need a certain, limited number of, for example, pianists and saxophonists in order to satisfy the nation's cultural and artistic needs and they want those students to be the very best that the world can offer. They fund that number and no more and the result is that the outstanding students that are accepted do not incur significant costs for their education. To compare the two systems, I decided to compare the two places I was teaching and working in-Austria, a nation-state within the European Union, and my home state of Michigan. In terms of population, the two are somewhat similar. Austria has approximately 8.6 Million citizens and Michigan has about 9.9 Million, but Austria is much more densely populated. Austria is one-third the size of Michigan, but has only 15% less population. I then looked at the total number of universities that offer a professional music degree (Bachelor of Music) in each. Here is how the two compare: In Michigan, there are 27 Institutions that offer Bachelors Degrees in Music, ten of which are public, state-sponsored universities, and seventeen are private colleges. (This does not include several private religious institutions that offer music degrees as well as several others that offer non-professional music degrees.) Institutions offering Bachelors Degrees in Music in Michigan State Sponsored: Grand Valley State University Central Michigan University Western Michigan University Michigan State University University of Michigan Eastern Michigan University Oakland University Saginaw Valley University University of Michigan-Flint Wayne State University Northern Michigan University Private Colleges: Hope College Aquinas College Calvin College Madonna University Adrian College Albion College Concordia College Cornerstone University Hillsdale College Kalamazoo College Marygrove College Rochester College Siena Heights University Spring Arbor College Andrews University Alma College In stark contrast, Austria has only five universities that offer professional music degrees. Institutions offering Bachelors Degrees in Music in Austria Kunstuniversitat Graz (University of the Performing Arts, Graz) Universitat fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien (University for Music and the Performing Arts, Vienna) Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversitat (Vienna Conservatory) Anton-Bruckner-Privatuniversitat Linz (Anton Bruckner Academy) Universitat Mozarteum Salzburg (Mozarteum University, Salzburg) With only 15% more population, Michigan has a staggering 440% more music degree programs available to its citizens. Viewed another way, if Michigan had the same number of music programs available per capita as Austria, there would only be five or six institutions offering music degrees. 21 of the 27 programs or institutions would be gone. Even if only the state-sponsored schools were included, there would still be 100% more music programs available. This is what rationing looks in a free tuition environment. It ensures that the students admitted are extremely qualified for what is, in reality, a "scholarship" they are receiving from the government. In order for this to work, however, the government has to decide how many graduates they want in each discipline and that number is reflected in the number of openings there are in any given field of study. The European socialists are indeed generous, but they are also realists--they don't need a thousand lute players graduating every year. This type of rationing occurs not only in education, but in their free health care system and in their welfare system. For example, many Austrians I met were curious about US social policies, which I discussed with them frequently. At the time, US unemployment insurance benefits were available for over 70 weeks, while it was only 16 weeks in Austria. When I told the Austrians, the response was always the same: "Are you crazy? Do you not understand human nature? People will start looking for a job four weeks before their insurance benefits expire!" Human nature, indeed, does come into play in this discussion. College student support for Sanders is strong (I see the t-shirts and the hats and the bumper stickers every day) and it is easily explained--he's offering "free tuition" which is an easy sell to those who are struggling with tuition. When I was about 20, I voted for the first time in my native Canada and I voted NDP (basically the Canadian Socialist Party) because they were promising to lower my car insurance. I guess I was a "one-issue" voter with no understanding of how the insurance industry worked, and how it couldn't work with arbitrary insurance rates that aren't linked to actuarial statistics; instead, those rates would be arbitrarily set by a political party who was promising, in effect, cash for votes. Advertisement I don't think that Sanders is cynical or insincere, in fact I am sure the opposite is true. I think he actually believes he could make tuition free in the United States, and perhaps he could. For that to happen, however, the country would have to adopt some of the same restraining mechanisms that are in place in the European system to ration the benefit. This would mean closing hundreds of universities across the country, consolidating or eliminating hundreds of programs, and making grown-up decisions on how many graduates in each field are needed. This does not seem to be something that we are willing to do, even in more practical fields like law, where the oversupply of lawyers is collapsing the career prospects of graduates. The European system is not a sampler platter where you can take one aspect--free tuition--and remove it from the myriad other structures that support it and that are, in turn, supported by it. Free tuition would mean that the real "burn" most students would be feeling would happen after they open their envelopes from Utopia University and find form letter informing them that they haven't been accepted into college. If you want free tuition, European-style, then you also need to accept the fact that college will then become severely rationed, with only the best students being admitted. This seems to fly in the face of American notions of fairness and equality and would be a very tough pill to swallow here, so perhaps the US system is actually better for the US where, culturally, we aspire for everyone to have a college education. Those clamoring to import the European model, if successful, may then find themselves unhappier then they are now. As Oscar Wilde famously said "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it"; this may be an instance when Wilde's jaded maxim actually applies. The Oregonian photo page from May 10, 1942 somehow, someway found smiling young internees effortlessly going about their daily lives behind barb wire and armed soldiers. A year later, President Roosevelt appointed the paper's editor and publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt as director of the Domestic Branch of the US Office of War Information, the American WWII propaganda agency. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It appears The Oregonian has once again failed the surviving internees, the Japanese-American community, the city and beyond with its whitewashed coverage of the paper's role in Portland's nightmare episode of ethnic cleansing and its WWII internment concentration camp. Writer Joseph Rose (Japanese-American internment in Oregon: Never forget February 1942, 02/19/16) claims the paper's coverage at the time was "appalling," due to its inability to ask "no hard questions. The newspaper failed to perform its basic function of fostering debate, seeking the truth and questioning authority when human lives hang in the balance." Advertisement But Rose's take doesn't come close to the awful truth of the paper's actions in this case. He describes the paper as one that basically ignored or downplayed the harrowing internments. This is false. As a result, his piece represents a continuing whitewash by this city's paper of record that did so much more than supposedly ask no hard questions. What's really appalling is either Rose knows the truth, or he's failed to make the most basic efforts at learning the role taken by his employer in this cruel human rights chapter. Either way, his Feb. 19 article fails to recall that The Oregonian not only did ask and answer some important internment-related questions of the day, it took a leading role early on in the roundup of the Japanese-American community both through its editorial pages and in person during Congressional hearings on the internments held in Portland. The Oregonian not only abdicated its responsibility to report objectively on the internment issue, it absolutely led the charge that every man, woman, and child with Japanese ancestry, US citizens and aliens alike, had to go. The Oregonian wasn't the watchdog questioning or not questioning authorities; it was a co-conspirator completely in bed with the powers that be. Executive Order 9066 issued on February 19, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt set off a series of actions ultimately forcing more than 110,000 Japanese and Americans of Japanese descent into isolated military-style camps in Western desert areas for the duration of the war. Prior to their final destinations, the internees from California, Oregon and Washington State were first ordered to report to temporary Assembly Centers, a total of 16 locations up and down the West Coast, while the larger desert facilities were constructed. The Rose City ended up with the Portland Assembly Center, its very own feeder concentration camp. Advertisement "The support for removal expressed at the Portland hearings was not atypical, but the Portland hearings (of the House Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration - better known as the Tolan Committee) did differ from those held in San Francisco and Seattle in one important way - the absence of organized opposition," wrote historian Dr. Ellen Eisenberg in "As Truly American as Your Son": Voicing Opposition to Internment in Three West Coast Cities; Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 104, No. 4, Winter 2003. "Small but organized groups opposing the removal participated actively in the San Francisco and Seattle hearings, but in Portland no organized group defended Japanese Americans or questioned the need for mass internment." No organized group, not one, spoke out for the Japanese Americans in Portland, according to Eisenberg. However, those speaking in favor of removal at the Tolan Committee hearings in Portland included Edwin Palmer Hoyt, editor and publisher of The Oregonian, who provided testimony on February 26, 1942 focused mainly on the potential for sabotage by the resident Japanese Americans in regards to widespread forest fire arson. Hoyt somewhat bizarrely explained, "I want to give you a viewpoint . . . which was expressed to me . . . that 10 or 12 individuals, in the western part of Oregon when the weather is at the right point and the humidity low, and with an east wind blowing, could set a fire that would virtually destroy our entire forest area, at least the commercial aspects of it" as a threat to the nation's military need for lumber. Hoyt then submitted his paper's pro-"evacuation" editorial from that day's publication titled "For the Tolan Committee" directly into the committee's official record. According to Eisenberg, only one person outside the Japanese-American community, Azalia Emma Peet of neighboring Gresham, a Methodist missionary who had lived in Japan, had the courage to publicly question the internments at the Tolan hearings. Advertisement The paper's February 1942 pro-removal editorial, the Tolan Committee Congressional hearings, and editor and publisher Palmer Hoyt's testimony supporting forced removal are never mentioned in Rose's article last month on the local internments and The Oregonian's related coverage. On November 24, 2015, Barack Obama presented to the family of the late lawyer and civil rights leader Minoru "Min" Yasui the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. A native of Hood River, Yasui is the only Oregonian to have received the award. He began his lifelong pursuit of human rights by challenging the wartime ethnic curfew in Portland, was jailed for months in solitary confinement in Portland's Multnomah County Jail, interned at the city's Assembly Center, and even falsely stripped of his citizenship for a time. Yasui challenged the legality of the ethnic curfews all the way to the Supreme Court, and helped direct the decades long campaign which resulted in a US government apology for the internments and reparations of $20,000 to each internee. Holly Yasui, daughter of Minoru Yasui, recently emailed me the following: "Though I do not hold the current City Hall or the editors of The Oregonian responsible for the actions of their predecessors, I agree that representatives of those institutions could certainly set the record straight by issuing apologies as the President and Congress did in 1988 on behalf of their predecessors." On March 28, 2016, the first official Minoru Yasui Day in Oregon, a public march will retrace his steps from Yasui's former law office in the original Japantown district to the old Portland police headquarters in a reenactment of his trek through the night-time streets of the Rose City alone to challenge the curfew laws. Minoru Yasui Day on March 28 will remain an annual event in Oregon as unanimously approved by the state House and Senate, and signed into law by Governor Kate Brown. One final note. Much of the information here (and details about the equally unjust internment actions by the City of Portland and related government officials) was earlier published Feb. 4, 2016 in the Speakout section of Truthout.org, and in 2013 in Blueoregon.com, both works by this writer. I had first submitted the piece which became the Truthout article to Erik Lukens, editorial and commentary editor at The Oregonian, for publication. He replied this Feb. 1: "Lawrence: Your piece would supplant another guest opinion . . . with greater relevance and interest to our readers. Erik." Advertisement Once again, The Oregonian gets it completely wrong. # # # About half of the nearly 4,000 area residents who were interned in Portland from May through September 1942 before their imprisonment in the larger desert concentration camps reportedly settled elsewhere and never returned home. When I was asked to participate in a reading of my current book Goddess of Love Incarnate (the biography of stripteuse Lili St. Cyr) at the flagship salon of Naked Girls Reading in Chicago, I was intrigued. Naked Girls Reading sounded like a fabulous evening; naked beauties sitting around reading literature to a paid audience. What a novel idea for a literary salon. But which came first, the nudity or the literature? (Michelle L'amour - photo by Don Spiro) NGR was started by international burlesque artist Michelle L'amour and her husband Franky Vivid after an inspired afternoon at their home. Franky was admiring his well-read wife who happened to be reading in the all-together. Something clicked. Beauty. Naked. Literature. About a year later their salon commenced. The readings would be theme-based (my event is Goddesses, naturally) and the first was "courtesans." Many years later and NGR salons have sprouted up in Warsaw, Tasmania and Cape Town, just three of the 25 active chapters throughout the world. In the 16th century those sensual Italians who, if not invented the salon certainly fostered it. Many countries eagerly took up the tradition, with the French perhaps the most well known today. The word salon first appeared in France in 1664 (obviously the root being salone, or sala, an Italian word for a large room in which to receive guests). Before the end of the 17th century these gatherings were often held in the bedroom of the hostess, who usually lay in bed with friends and patrons surrounding her. In their research L'amour and Vivid kept "stumbling upon all this artwork throughout history depicting naked women reading." I'm assuming these were the very same hostesses above-mentioned, reclining in all their glory. (Kiss night at Naked Girls Reading - Chicago) Advertisement Salons were held not only to amuse guests, but to cultivate the hostesses' taste and increase knowledge through readings and conversation. As the Roman poet Horace claimed the goal of poetry (writing, art, etc.) was "either to please or to educate." These hostesses, or salonnieres, knew how to do both. The salon came of birth in a time of great change in the 17th Century, a time of advancement, ideas and the widening gulf between the classes. Often it was the only safe place to express and foster radical ideas. Salons were a sort of casual "university for women in which women were able to exchange ideas, receive and give criticism, read their own works and hear the works and ideas of other intellectuals. Many ambitious women used the salon to pursue a form of higher education." (Research study, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, by Hannah Zundel, Sophie duPont, Emily Olsen and Marisa Rondinelli) This allowed women in a male-dominated society to safely share their opinions and their work, effectively having a very real influence on the world in which they lived; one of the only ways in which they could impact their world. Salons were in fact so influential it is believed the French Revolution was born in the salons of France, headed by forward-thinking women. Salons would also open the way for the women's movement. The salon was mostly under the rule of the salonniere, a woman who not only encouraged writers and artists but supported them. It was rare for a playwright, poet or author to find success without the help of a salonniere and the society she invited to her home to introduce the artist and his work to. Advertisement The Marquise de Rambouillet in her Chambre Bleue One early salonniere of note was Marquise de Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne. The Roman born beauty married at the age of 12, moved to Paris where, sometime around the 1620s she began to invite prominent guests and artists to join her in her chambre bleue, a small intimate room with blue walls where her royal and artistic friends could mingle together exchanging beliefs and carry on lively conversation. So powerful was the Marquise that her influential salon lasted nearly 50 years. In the mid-1600s the multi-hyphenate (as in author and courtesan) Ninon de Lenclos supported both Moliere and Voltaire along with playwright Racine. Of her many lovers was the French King's cousin. She was said to be brilliant with refined taste. It was at her hotel (home) that Moliere first read Tartuffe, before an exultant audience which included the Italian born composer, and master of the baroque style, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Racine. Tartuffe is considered to be the greatest comedy Moliere ever wrote, scandalously attacking religious hypocrisy, banned by church and King Louis XIV. The fiercely independent Ninon forswore marriage, dying at the age of 84 with great wealth, convinced she neither had a soul nor a need for one. The Marquise du Deffand In the 1700s the Marquise du Deffand hosted a salon in Paris that attracted and fostered scientists, writers, wits, and all who were of any consequence in the world of letters and in society. She too was a close friend of Voltaire. Mme. du Deffand's distinction besides being one of the most brilliant women of her day was that of a cutting wit she used like a sword, slaying those in less command of the language in which she dealt. Born in the reign of Louis XIV, she witnessed the birth of the Enlightenment and died a few short years before heads began rolling on the Place de la Concorde. Like so many women of her time, du Deffand was married at an early age to a near stranger. Later she was said to have had an affair with Louis XV's cousin, Philippe II of Orleans. Ironically this mistress of royalty ran her salon in the Convent of St. Joseph in Paris. She influenced France's literati for nearly four decades. Advertisement Skipping forward several centuries we cannot leave out American-born, French-living writer Gertrude Stein who brought together Picasso, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thornton Wilder, to name just a fraction of talent she mentored. Her Saturday salon at 27 rue de Fleurus were formal, commencing in the evening, allowing Stein time to write during the day, uninterrupted by impromptu guests hoping for her mentorship. It was Stein's lover, Alice who took up the role of salonniere, attending to the wives and girlfriends of the geniuses clinging to Stein's skirts in a separate room away from the lesser minds assembled. Distractions soon brought the death of the formal salon petering out by the 1940s; there would be WWII, radio, television. People would prefer to gather around their personal devices in the years to come. Exchanging of ideas happened over the internet. NGR will be reading Goddess of Love Incarnate April 1st Thus it is a pleasure and a relief to see the Naked Girl Readings thrive and grow in popularity, bringing together an exchange of ideas, fostering talent, with "actual feel-in-your-hand books." Brava Michelle L'amour. L'amour noted that after her first salon it was obvious something big had just happened, something spiritual. Emails started coming in from cities all over the country from ladies interested in starting their own literary evenings. The NGR salon are stripped, exposed, "intense vulnerable" says L'amour who cares little about her exposed body, but more about exposing feelings and ideas and a shared experience. And more importantly "Reading is sexy. Books are sexy," L'amour says. "You know that smell of a great old bookstore or of a library? It's a smell of knowledge, passion, creativity and excitement." And with that . . . I hope to see you all April 1st at Studio L'amour in Chicago. Naked Writers Writing? Author Zemeckis in celebration of Naked Girls Reading Advertisement April 1, 7:30 pm. 4001 N. Ravenswood Ave., Suite 205, Chicago. Tickets and information www.nakedgirlsreading.com The Constitutions interpretations and principles as they relate to the meaning of Women's Rights are never ending. As we approach the first quarter-century of the new millennium, we look back at the last century and how American Constitutional precedent relates to our current perspective and lives. After all, are not the social movements of each time the direct reflection of our circumstances? Michelle Obama spoke this past week while on an official visit with President Obama in Argentina to a gathering of mostly young woman (and perhaps a few young men) on the power of education and her "Let Girls Learn" initiative. Hosted by the first lady of Argentina, Juliana Awada, Mrs. Obama spoke of the richness of her childhood dreams that were supported by her modest upbringing. She described that although her family was not wealthy, and her parents had not reach higher levels of education, they taught her she could achieve anything. The first lady then told how when she began to attend school, external experiences presented conflicts to the support and messages she experienced at home. She began to question herself by these external challenges and doubts that were the voices of gender inequality, and the expectation that she strive to achieve less than her dreams and desires. Many young women experience this. I know I did. Advertisement This opens up a modern series of questions that are altered by our society today. As woman increase in numbers in the workplace, single parenting is more likely, and divorce rates at all time highs, it puts women in a position they have yet to be in before. Is this challenge or opportunity? Or are the goals and dreams of young women being swallowed by doubt and fear created by external expectations. The modern feminist movement over the past several decades fought for freedom, rights, and the right to make choices. What are the modern interpretations of the meaning of women's suffrage and the movements for Equal Rights? Does Roe v. Wade have value and meaning as a Supreme Court landmark case in 2016? In February of this year, the Supreme Court heard initial oral arguments in Whole Woman's Heath v. Hellerstead. The case challenges Texas' anti-Abortion law HB2. If the law were to be upheld, this would allow states to undermine the liberties seemingly protected under the precedent by calling the issues a protection of Women's Health, instead of anti-abortion. In the 14th and 19th Amendments protect the Women's equal protection and the Right to Vote. But, where are we now? As I watched and listened to Michelle Obama's speech days ago in Argentina, it made me think that there is another dialogue. Another discussion. "Doubt". "Strength". "Balance". Equal Pay? Advertisement There is now an additional load that has redefined the feminist cause. Girls and women are now expected to do it all, while still battling on unequal battlefields. Many are top earners in their families playing multiple characters in their own play called "life". Another large segment of women today are the first to attend college or achieve higher education degrees (or perhaps have gone to higher levels of education than their male spouses or siblings). The roles of Mother, career professional, community leader, organizer, problem solver, and then the added expectations of beauty and sex appeal. Not to leave out balancing family responsibilities, friendships and maintaining health. Today, if a woman works full time and is married, chances are and statistics show that woman is still more likely to carry the burden and responsibility of household chores and childcare responsibility. Arianna Huffington pushes women to "Thrive". Sheryl Sandberg tells women to "Lean In". Oprah Winfrey encourages both men and women to "OWN" themselves. Simply put, women are running themselves into the ground trying to be all things. Women are expected to balance climbing for professional careers, and balancing personal fulfillment and family life. Women are natural caregivers, which many times naturally has them think of others in major life and career decisions before serving their own needs. For me, it has been such a combination of these aspects that struck a cord with me as I listened to the first lady described how she became "tired". Tired of competing. Tired of people telling her she was not smart enough. Tired of people telling her she was too loud. Arianna Huffington described how she became "tired". Literally. Collapsing at her desk. "Women are not making it to the top of any profession anywhere in the world. The numbers tell the story quite clearly", said Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. On March 15th, after Hillary Clinton had given her Super Tuesday victory speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, had been criticized as being "shrill" and for her "style". Regardless of your political views and party affiliation, the comments made by Donald Trump referring to Secretary Clinton's bathroom break as "too disgusting" and a "weird deal"; comments that would not be made towards a male candidate. He was even more offensive towards Republican candidate, Carly Fiorina during the primary campaigns by commenting, "Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next President?" Advertisement This may resonate with women that have faced these challenges at home or in the workplace. It starts to sound like a familiar ring to any woman that has been looked at beyond anything other than her capabilities, and reduced to defending being a female. I was raised in the state of Maryland, and the long time Senior Senator from the state of Maryland, Barbara Mikulski is the longest serving woman in the United States Congress (US House of Representatives 1977-1987; US Senate 1987 - present). As a young woman I realized what she had accomplished was not the norm. Women such as her defied the odds during a period of change and most challenged environments. Senator Mikulski responded to critics following Secretary Clinton's victory's on Super Tuesday by saying, "Many of we women feel that there's a double standard. What's being said about Hillary is what women have heard for centuries. Your too loud, your too aggressive, your too pushy". Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) also commented, "I think women go through a magnifying glass that men do not. Look at GOP Presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump. Talk about braggadocio, talk about arrogance, talk about shouting, talk about demeaning, talk about insulting. It is all there." In my twenty-five years of working as an independent college admissions counselor, I have never been so bombarded with requests for information and help. Students are having difficulty with many aspects of colleges admissions, including unclear college application directions; diverse, confusing admissions policies; and the lack of accessibility and customer service on the part of many admissions professionals in colleges and organizations such as College Board and ACT. Add to this their feeling of being pushed to do more and more and perform better and better. The result: many are reaching a point of physical and emotional exhaustion. Here are examples: COLLEGE APPLICATIONS AND SUPPLEMENTS Are you aware of how college applications are filled with difficult-to-follow directions and sometimes no instructions at all? How much time do you think it takes to figure out how many words and/or "characters with spaces" a particular essay will allow if the number is not specified in the question? It's ridiculous. And if an applicant has a question or problem with the Common Application, they are forced to go through an online process involving a) finding a category that fits their question, b) searching through pre-prepared answers and c) if none is found (which students say is the norm), writing a query to a "technical specialist," often waiting hours and hours before receiving an answer. Surely life as a high school senior would be less of a hassle if college applications contained all the information needed in specific sections in which questions appear. Also, wouldn't it be more effective if applicants could pick up a phone and call a real person to get an answer for their questions? That's not possible right now. Advertisement DIVERSE, CONFUSING ADMISSIONS POLICIES Virtually every college has its own, individual application policies, but often it is difficult to find out what they are. Take Subject Tests. For some colleges none are required; for others one or two are required or "recommended;" and Georgetown University strongly recommends three. The difficulty comes when different departments within colleges have exceptions to their Subject Test rules. For example, the University of California's policy is NOT to require Subject Tests; but if a student wants to maximize his or her chances of admission to a hard-science major, they better know about and follow departmental Subject Test recommendations. E.g., if you want to get into UC Berkeley's College of Chemistry or College of Engineering, take Math Level 2 and a science Subject Test. UC Irvine, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and UCLA have similar science Subject Test recommendations, while UC Davis, Merced and Santa Cruz have none at all. How do students find out about other colleges' policies? For the most part, it is buried somewhere in respective college websites. Right now, there is no single source where students can go to get general and major-specific Subject Test information. MISLEADING ADVICE FROM SOME COLLEGES How about this? During campus Information Sessions, students report that some of the more competitive colleges (with acceptance rates of 5, 6, 7 and 8 percent) tell them not to worry about having sky-high grades and test scores. "Our college takes an holistic approach to admissions," they say. What this means is that many good--but not outstanding--students then think there's a chance of being admitted to these schools and they apply, even though their less-than-spectacular grades, test scores and activities will probably get them cut early? Colleges know this advice is misleading. Could they be egging on barely or unqualified students to apply so they can increase their admissions numbers and, therefore, yield rates? On behalf of already overwhelmed seniors, I hope not. Advertisement LACK OF HELPFULNESS AND EMPATHY I'm not done. Why have the testing agencies, College Board and ACT, become so difficult to deal with, sometimes downright ornery? Recently, a first generation student parent told me that his son had been "locked out of his account, just when he needed to print out his ticket for a Saturday test." They tried everything to find out how to get that ticket, but nothing worked; so the student didn't take the test and forfeited the fee. Another student complained that she never received her fall test scores and no one would tell her why or when they would come. The last I heard, she's still waiting. I also hear about mistakes on test transcripts, AND how impossible it is to get information and problems solved. Where did the customer service orientation of a few years back go? Just because clients are "kids" doesn't excuse testing companies from not being responsive or helpful to their clients. ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS If all of this is bad news for middle and upper class students, imagine the problems low income, first generation, minority students have with college admissions. These students rarely have anyone to help them go through the admissions process. Did you know that the counselor to student ratio in California public schools (especially in urban and rural areas) is 1 to 1000? There are similar outrageous rates in states throughout the US. Even more, most underserved students don't own computers, the very thing they need to apply to colleges online. For so many underserved students, school and/or community library computer access is very, very limited. And if a-low income student is lucky enough to have a computer, few of them have Wi-Fi access at home through which they can get to college applications. What do they do and where can they go? We all need to work together to make changes for these students. COLLEGE ADMISSIONS IS TAKING ITS TOLL This is all to say that so much of what is going on in college admissions today is a challenge, if not downright unhealthy for students and their families. As a mental health professional, I frequently observe signs of stress and anxiety. Even in my small, private practice, I see students who are sleep deprived, overworked and overwhelmed, some of which comes out as physical symptoms, eating disorders, cutting (purposely making scratches or cut on your body) and an overall lack of joy and fun. And the rat race is starting earlier and earlier. This year I have more panicked 8th grade parents calling me for help than I have had in all the other years combined. Advertisement SUPER-STUDENT SYNDROME Before I began working in college admissions, I counseled women, lectured and wrote books on topics such as The Superwoman Syndrome. I did everything I could to talk women out of being superwomen; you know, "trying to have it all by doing it all." Today our country is filled with "supergirls" and "superboys," who suffer many of the same health and mental health consequences of superwomen; in their case, trying to do it all in order to get into the highest-ranking, most prestigious colleges they can. "Super-dom" wasn't good for women and it's clearly not good for students. This photo taken on January 12, 2016 shows the cooling towers of Belgium's Doel nuclear plant belching thick white steam. They are part of a groundswell of concern in the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg over the safety of Belgium's seven ageing reactors at Doel and at Tihange, further to the south and east. / AFP / EMMANUEL DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images) As world leaders gather for the fourth nuclear security summit this week, in the aftermath of the horrifying terrorist attacks in Brussels, it seems likely that Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel will have more to say than anyone else -- both about real nuclear terrorist dangers and about real steps taken to improve nuclear security. Since the 2014 summit, Belgium has suffered a number of suspicious and alarming activities at its nuclear sites and against some of its nuclear technicians. In Aug. 2014, for example, someone with inside access at the Doel-4 nuclear reactor drained the lubricant for the reactor turbine, causing it to overheat and resulting in an estimated $100-$200 million in damage. The perpetrator and the motive remain unknown. Advertisement In Nov. 2015, Belgian police discovered that the terror cell that carried out the Paris attacks used a secret video camera to monitor an official at nuclear research sites with a wide range of nuclear and radiological materials, including enough highly enriched uranium for several nuclear bombs. In response to what seemed to be a growing terrorist threat to the country's nuclear infrastructure, the authorities beefed up protection against insider threats, toughened access control, deployed armed troops to protect reactors and, following the airport and subway attacks, removed all non-essential personnel from nuclear sites in order to reduce the number of potential insiders. With a variety of different takes on these events swirling in recent news stories (see here and here), it's worth clarifying what we know and what is still unknown about the scale of this threat and how best Belgium -- and the rest of Europe -- can protect itself. (A just-released Harvard study also has details up through February.) What was the video monitoring of a nuclear official about? The short answer is that we don't know yet -- though sustained monitoring of a nuclear expert may be the most troubling indicator yet of nuclear intent from the so-called Islamic State. Belgian terrorists recorded about 10 hours of video of a nuclear official at Belgium's SCK-CEN research facility, near the town of Mol. As the Times story reports, Belgian authorities believe the hidden video camera was picked up by Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui, brothers who are believed to have later been suicide bombers in the Brussels attacks. They reportedly delivered it to Mohammed Bakkali, now under arrest, who is accused of helping with logistics for the Paris attacks. Advertisement Brussels police in riot gear protect one of the memorials to the victims of the recent terrorist attacks on March 27. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Several media accounts have suggested the terrorists might have been after radiological material for a "dirty bomb" from SCK-CEN. This seems unlikely (unless they were confused, as is certainly possible) -- radiological materials are available in many locations where they would be much easier to steal, like in hospitals and industrial sites. (The Nuclear Threat Initiative has a very good new report on the dirty bomb threat and steps to address it.) The Times story quotes me as seemingly worrying about Cs-137 from SCK-CEN; what I was actually saying is that Cs-137 is a big concern, and in many places it is much less well protected than at SCK-CEN. The Times story largely dismissed -- wrongly, in my view -- the idea that the HEU at SCK-CEN might have been the terrorists' ultimate objective, saying that the idea that terrorists could get such material and make a crude nuclear bomb "seems far-fetched to many experts." Unfortunately, as we document in detail in our recent report, repeated government studies, in the United States and elsewhere, have concluded that this is not far-fetched -- that it is quite plausible that a sophisticated terrorist group could make a nuclear bomb if they got the needed nuclear material. As a 1977 Office of Technology Assessment study put it: A small group of people, none of whom have ever had access to the classified literature, could possibly design and build a crude nuclear explosive device ... Only modest machine-shop facilities that could be contracted for without arousing suspicion would be required. Of course, just because the terrorists could find and monitor a nuclear official's home does not mean they could have broken in to SCK-CEN and gotten HEU or anything else. What did they think they could accomplish with this monitoring? One obvious possibility is that they envisioned either kidnapping the official or kidnapping his family to coerce him into helping them carry out whatever plot they had in mind. Such coercion is a frequent criminal and terrorist tactic. Breaking into a nuclear facility is not as simple as kidnapping someone. But a kidnapping might well contribute to a more complex plot. Advertisement Did the Belgian bombers first plan to attack nuclear facilities? If the Belgian suicide bombers were the ones monitoring the nuclear official, it's possible they first planned to attack the country's nuclear infrastructure. They may have shifted to the airport when their plans were accelerated by the arrests of co-conspirators, or because of Belgium's deployment of armed troops to guard its nuclear facilities. But a spokesman at the Belgian Federal Agency for Nuclear Control told the Washington Post that they "knew nothing" of any such a plot, and Belgian federal prosecutors have not confirmed any such plot. A house opposite the Tihange nuclear plant in Belgium on Dec. 29, 2015. (REUTERS/Francois Lenoir) Press accounts of the possibility the terrorists were planning some kind of an attack on nuclear facilities have unduly played down the potential dangers of reactor sabotage. A story in The New York Times, for example, quotes an argument that the TATP explosive the terrorists were using would not get through the steel pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor. It is certainly true that to cause a major radioactive release, terrorists would have to understand how to overcome a number of different safety and security systems. Getting into a power plant with a suicide vest of explosives would not be enough. But as Fukushima made clear, cutting off a reactor's electricity and cooling water can cause a disaster that can provoke widespread panic and cause devastating disruption and economic losses. Sabotage at Doel-4 The sabotage at Doel-4 in 2014 also remains a mystery. By sabotaging the turbine (in a non-nuclear part of the plant), the perpetrator caused serious economic damage -- but there was never any chance of a radioactive release. Was this a terrorist incident? A disgruntled worker? Something else? The bare facts are these. In August 2014, an insider at the plant opened a locked valve and allowed all the lubricant for the reactor turbine to drain out, causing the turbine to overheat and destroy itself. The reactor was down for months. Total damage was in the range of $100-$200 million, making it one of the biggest economic sabotage incidents of all time. Investigators have yet to find the culprit -- who may still be on staff. Advertisement A radical extremist in vital areas As investigators were looking into the 2014 sabotage, they found that almost two years before, a contractor employee at the plant named Ilyass Boughalab had left to go fight for terrorists in Syria. He was later convicted in absentia of participating in the Sharia4Belgium terrorist group. He had passed a security investigation in 2009 to get clearance for access to the "vital areas" of the reactor -- the places where equipment whose sabotage could cause a major disaster is located. Police officers during a raid in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels on March 18. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) His main job was inspecting the quality of welds. His family reportedly asserts that he was radicalized after the background check -- but the police chief in the town he grew up in has been quoted as saying he had an extensive criminal record (including assault and battery charges) before getting the clearance, raising questions about how careful the investigation was. One interesting element of the Times story is that it refers to two jihadists having been employed at this facility. The other was likely Elias Taketloune, accused of having been the person who radicalized Boughalab and who was also tried in the Sharia4Belgium trial. I have not yet seen any public confirmation that he worked at Doel-4 with Boughalab. Belgium beefs up protection In December 2014, after the August sabotage, Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control imposed new regulations substantially strengthening protection against insider threats. Then, after the Brussels airport and subway attacks, Belgium withdrew non-essential personnel from its nuclear facilities. This significantly reduced the number of personnel at these sites, reducing the chance that there might be a malevolent insider among them. They also added new rules on security cameras and use of two-person rule in sensitive areas. Moreover, Belgian authorities reportedly withdrew access passes for at least four workers at nuclear facilities in the days after the attacks. Advertisement Following the Paris attacks, the revelation of terrorist rings in Brussels and the monitoring of the Belgian nuclear official, Belgium decided to deploy armed troops to guard its nuclear facilities. (A specialized guard force will be trained and deployed in the coming months.) Two days after the airport and subway terrorist attacks, with armed guards newly deployed at Belgium's nuclear facilities, a security guard at one site was murdered. The dead man worked at a radioactive materials facility, not a power reactor. Prosecutors have denied early reports that the guard's security pass had been stolen, and are playing down any militant link. Still, in a country with one of the world's lowest murder rates -- only about 200 murders occur in Belgium each year -- it is a surprising coincidence. Previously, Belgium had no armed guards at all at its nuclear facilities, relying instead on response forces a few minutes away. U.S. officials had long criticized Belgium on this and other aspects of nuclear security; the Center for Public Integrity reported on an incident in the mid-2000s in which the United States became so concerned that it threatened to cut off further nuclear supply to Belgium. Police officers talk during an anti-terrorism drill on March 20, 2012, held in a preparation for the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit. (REUTERS/Lee Myung-ik) What does it all mean? While there are important unanswered questions about each of these incidents, all told they offer troubling suggestions that ISIS is pursuing nuclear or radiological attacks. Ultimately, the group envisions a total war between the "crusader forces" and itself; winning a total war with a nuclear-armed superpower would presumably require very powerful weapons. Advertisement Fortunately, as Belgium has shown, there are clear actions that can drastically reduce the risk. At this week's summit, the assembled leaders must take action to ensure that all nuclear weapons and weapons-usable nuclear materials worldwide are effectively and sustainably secured against the full spectrum of threats terrorists and criminals might pose. Major nuclear facilities, similarly, must be protected from sabotage. And radiological sources must be protected, tracked throughout their life and, where possible, replaced with less dangerous technologies. The world needs to act to ensure that ISIS can never get its hands on the ingredients of nuclear terror. Earlier on WorldPost: Here are a few facts about Mark Kirk's election to the U.S. Senate in 2010: He defeated Democratic State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias by a slim margin of 1.6 percentage points; 59,220 votes among 3,704, 473 votes cast. Giannoulias throughout the campaign was dogged by the circumstances surrounding the April 2010 failure of his family's bank, Broadway Bank, where the candidate had been a senior loan officer before his election as treasurer. The Green Party candidate received 3.2 percent of the total vote (117,914 votes), at least some of which may have been protest votes against Giannoulias' candidacy. Advertisement Kirk and Giannoulias were running to replace Roland Burris, who had inherited the Senate seat after accepting a controversial appointment from Rod Blagojevich following Blagojevich's arrest for, among other things, trying to sell the appointment to the highest bidder. Thus, public confidence in Democrats in this race already was impaired. That's a long way of saying that Kirk didn't exactly ascend to the U.S. Senate on a wave of popular support in 2010. He was helped considerably by questions, fair or unfair, about his opponent's business dealings and various other factors. Which is why Kirk, perhaps more than any Republican candidate in the nation, has reason for concern if Donald Trump becomes the Republican presidential candidate. Historically, Democratic voter turnout is higher in Illinois in presidential election years. Given Trump's polarizing effect -- not to mention the genuine fear he instills in many voters -- his presence atop the ballot on Election Day will provide even more incentive for Democrats to get to the polls. Advertisement No one is more acutely aware of this than Kirk's Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, whose campaign on Monday launched a blistering effort to tie Kirk to Trump in as unforgiving a fashion as possible. In less than a minute, the video links Kirk's statement that he'd support Trump if Trump is the Republican nominee with many of the more ridiculous statements Trump has made during the campaign. Mexican rapists, John McCain not being a war hero because he was captured, comments about Fox's Megyn Kelly bleeding "from wherever," Obama being a foreign-born Muslim... all those statements are there, interspersed repeatedly with the same NBC5 Chicago interview in which Kirk says that he'd support Trump as the GOP nominee. The video ends with the kicker title, "Kirk and Trump: Making America great?" The video no doubt will galvanize the 557,000 Republican voters who helped Trump earn a solid victory in the March 15 primary. In all, 1.4 million Illinois Republicans cast ballots in the primary. But Hillary Clinton received 1.02 million votes on the Democratic side, where the vote total was 2.02 million. There were a whole lot more Democratic voters out for the primary, and Kirk will need to win a good number of them -- as he did in 2010 -- to defeat Duckworth. And if the prospect of beating back a Donald Trump presidency isn't incentive enough to give Democratic voters extra motivation, a new election law passed in the final weeks of Gov. Pat Quinn's administration will expand early voting and same-day voter registration for the November election. The changes are thought to benefit Democrats in getting out the vote. Advertisement The video kicks off a campaign called "112 Days of Trump," in which the Duckworth camp plans to count down the remaining days until the Republican National Convention in Cleveland "to highlight how the embarrassing duo of Trump & Kirk won't make America great again," says a press release. Duke University student Sydney Roberts shouts during a protest against House Bill 2 on Thursday, March 24, 2016, outside of the Governor's Mansion on North Blount Street in downtown Raleigh, N.C. (Jill Knight/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images) Micky Bradford, TLC@SONG Regional Organizer, and fellow protesters outside of the North Carolina governor's mansion in Raleigh on Thursday, March 24, 2016. Photo credit: Matthew Lenard. When my husband and I moved from Atlanta to Raleigh in early 2012, we had no idea what we were in for. Naively, we assumed that moving north meant that we were headed to a more progressive state. We were wrong. Advertisement Shortly after we arrived in North Carolina, we learned about Amendment 1. This proposed Constitutional amendment would recognize heterosexual marriage as the only legal domestic union in North Carolina, thereby limiting the rights of same-sex couples--and in fact, all unmarried couples throughout the state. Thoroughly repulsed, we made a beeline to the LGBT Center of Raleigh to help in the growing fight against Amendment 1. We attended rallies; we volunteered at phone banks; we put up signs in our yard, and we even took part in a video campaign against the amendment. As a married heterosexual couple, the amendment didn't directly trample on our rights, but by trampling on the rights of our new friends and neighbors in a state that we were quickly growing to love, it did something worse: It trampled on our collective notion of justice and decency. And when ignorance and bigotry begin flooding your neighborhood, it's only a matter of time before your own home is under water. Ultimately, Amendment 1 passed, but a couple years later, it was found unconstitutional, and shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal across the nation. But consistently, over the past few years, North Carolina's leaders have demonstrated a demented determination to dig in their heels on the wrong side of history--and we have been here to witness and protest all of it. Advertisement And in case this isn't enough to convince you that the Tar Heel State is moving backward, there's more. Last week, North Carolina's willfully troglodytic legislature and microscopic-minded governor hit a new low. In a single day, after convening for a special legislative session costing taxpayers $42,000, representatives swiftly rammed House Bill 2, the so-called "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act," through the legislature with all but zero debate, and hours later, Governor McCrory signed it into law. This legislation represents big government at its worst. A direct response to an antidiscrimination ordinance recently passed by the city of Charlotte, the law governs, among other things, where North Carolinians are permitted to urinate and defecate, as our choice of public restroom must now match the gender listed on our birth certificates. So yes, theoretically, you may now have to show your birth certificate to use a public toilet in North Carolina. In addition to rescinding Charlotte's antidiscrimination ordinance, the law also forbids all other municipalities from passing similar ordinances and from setting a higher minimum wage than the state's paltry $7.25 per hour. Though the full economic impact of this legislation has yet to be seen, the backlash has been swift, with a clear corporate consensus: discrimination is bad for business. American Airlines, which maintains its second-largest hub in Charlotte and employs some 14,000 North Carolinians, has already expressed opposition to the legislation, as have many other companies, including Google, Apple, IBM, PayPal, Dow Chemical, Biogen, Marriott, Red Hat, Salesforce, Wells Fargo, Bayer, Lowe's, Bank of America, Citrix, Facebook, the NCAA and the NBA. Thus, on a single day in March, the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor McCrory took bigotry to new heights, thoroughly and simultaneously offending both big business leaders and civil rights activists alike. As proud members of the latter contingent, my husband and I joined hundreds of other North Carolinians last week to yet again voice our opposition to the unconstitutional overreach that has become a hallmark of our state government. As we stood outside the governor's mansion Thursday night as part of the North Carolina BlackLivesMatter QTPOC [Queer and Trans People of Color] Rally Against HB2, loudly chanting "I believe that we will win" in unison with hundreds of others, we were reminded why we love living in this state. Advertisement The people of North Carolina have not taken our state leaders' massive overreaches lightly. We have stood up, time and time again, against the hateful legislation that our state has passed, and we have watched as courts have rightfully declared those laws unconstitutional. The hugely influential Moral Monday movement, spearheaded by the North Carolina NAACP under the leadership of Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, is a prime example of how North Carolinians are standing up and speaking out against the injustices imposed by our leaders. And we are not about to concede defeat. It may take time, but I do believe that we will win, and I am not alone. There is so much craziness going on in the political world right now that it makes it hard to think, as random supernovas of strangeness keep exploding in the political atmosphere. But like physicists trying to explain all the seeming contradictions and strange anomalies of how the universe operates, maybe we should be looking for a theory that unifies everything, a theory that can explain all the total weirdness of American politics right now. Today, I go in search of a unifying theory of political everything. How to explain all this weirdness in the political universe: After decades of nominating the next establishment guy in line (the first George Bush, Dole, the 2nd George Bush, McCain, Romney), the likely Republican nominee is this bizarro show boat captain, straight out of central casting for a Mad Max-style futurist world gone tragically wrong. Even his nickname, The Donald, captures how truly odd this man is. The second most likely Republican nominee, Ted Cruz, is the most far-right candidate that has run for a presidential nomination of a major party since John C. Calhoun in 1824. The conventional wisdom punditry's predictive power has never been sterling, but this year their prediction machine went straight over the cliff, being spectacularly wrong on pretty much all things. If there was a unifying theory of everything about political pundits, it would be: they are just wrong. They predicted Bush would win, probably easily; his name ID, money, and the affection for his family would allow him to dominate his rivals; his early stumbles would be overcome by his money. The pundits predicted that Trump would never run; he would never last; he would blow himself with his incendiary comments and outrageous proposals; he had a hard cap of support that would keep him from winning once the field narrowed. The pundits said that Rubio had the charisma and ability to unite the party's different elements together; once he became the establishment choice, after Bush and Christie dropped out, he would start winning. Then there is the Democratic side: I can't think of an establishment pundit who predicted Bernie's crowds, money raising ability, or his strong showing and staying power in this race. If it was a job requirement for the political experts that they knew enough about politics to get even a few of their predictions right, they would all have lost their jobs this year. Who are politicians the most angry at according to their election year rhetoric? Well, it certainly seems like it is Wall Street. From Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on the right to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the left, everyone is sounding tough on Wall Street and talking about how much they are going to do to take them on, prosecute their crimes, and hold them accountable. Yet at the same time, the big bankers sure seem to have plenty of friends on Capitol Hill and in both parties. A top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee member, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer from Missouri, told a bankers' conference that he wanted to help them find a way to "neuter" Elizabeth Warren. Meanwhile the Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is co-sponsoring a bill to weaken one of Warren's (and President Obama's) signature achievements, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The first item, while appalling, I sorta get, as Republicans on the Hill generally have been owned by Wall Street lock, stock, and barrel, and they always want to sound tough about Warren when talking to bankers. But the DNC chair attacking the CFPB? That is weird, but not only weird: it is a sign of how twisted our politics has become. One more weird item I'll throw your way: a leading Democratic establishment group, in the year 2016, thinks the election results so far have shown that populism doesn't work. Yes, you read that right. Because Hillary Clinton is apparently beating back Sanders' challenge, this proves populism can't work. More on this odd item in a moment, but seriously: whatever these guys are smoking has to be illegal. So how do all these strange anomalies of the political universe fit together? I'm glad you asked. The political version of the Unifying Theory of Everything is that the elites don't get it. Real voters -- the ones out in America's heartland who rarely get raises, who are stressed and financially pressed by trying to figure out how to support their families and pay for their kids' college tuition and save a little bit for their retirement -- are tired of political BS, and tired of the people at the top getting all the breaks while they get none. For many of those folks, the breaking point came when Wall Street wrecked the economy through all kinds of reckless and fraudulent financial speculation, and not only got to keep from going to jail or getting fired, but actually got record bonuses just months after taxpayers bailed them out from the financial panic -- an economic catastrophe which caused massive job loss and the crash of the housing market. When that happened, Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters alike got incredibly cynical about American politics. In the decades before that, as family incomes stayed flat and politicians made promises they rarely kept, voters were getting fairly cynical, but with the financial crisis and the lack of Wall Street accountability, that cynicism exploded. Democrats less so than the other two categories of voters, because they understood the enormously complicated mess Obama had been left to fix and appreciated his progressive policies in other areas. But everyone except the elites in both parties were totally outraged by the stunning events of 2008-9, and that's why the establishments of both parties, the pundits, and everyone else expecting business as usual have been so surprised by the events of the previous 12 months. On the Republican side, it has taken an especially nasty turn, as Trump and others have succeeded at getting their voters to believe that immigrants, Muslims, liberals, and poor folks are more to blame for their problems than Wall Street. Voters in general, though, are eager to reject an establishment they think has grown corrupt. For those of us terrified by the idea of a Trump presidency and the prospect of fascism in America, we need to understand that business as usual in our election strategies is not the way to go. Voters are in a bad mood, and that's why the analysis of Wall Street-funded organizations like Third Way needs to be rejected. The voters in Democratic primaries who are supporting Hillary Clinton are mostly not supporting her because they like the establishment and because they love careful moderation. The fact that most of Hillary's margin has come from African-American voters when African-Americans are the most supportive of any demographic group of being tough on Wall Street, raising the minimum wage, and taxing the wealthy to pay for more government services puts that silly argument to rest. Hillary voters appreciate her experience and her toughness, they like her lifelong history of fighting for the needs of children, they might think she is more likely to get things done than Sanders, and probably most importantly are eager for the candidate they perceive as most likely to beat Trump. They aren't rejecting populism because in fact Hillary has been running as a populist. She has run on a platform of taking on Wall Street and the drug companies and Big Oil, taxing the rich, raising the minimum wage, and expanding benefits and paid leave for workers. And quotes such as these are not exactly rejecting populism: Advertisement "Economists have documented how the share of income and wealth going to those at the very top, not just the top 1 percent but the top 0.1 percent, the 0.01 percent of the population, has risen sharply over the last generation," she said. "Some are calling it a throwback to the Gilded Age of the robber barons." Back to the original point: in order to win this election, Democrats need to reject conventional wisdom. Trump is not going to be easy to beat -- he is a master at appealing to voters sick of political BS, and that would be most voters right now. If Hillary is the nominee, she will need to reject the advice of all those pundits and donors who have been wrong about everything so far this election cycle. Nearly a trillion dollars -- $981 billion to be exact. According to a report released today by the Sierra Club, CoalSwarm, and Greenpeace, Boom and Bust 2016: Tracking the Global Coal Plant Pipeline, that is the estimated amount that could be spent on the global coal plant pipeline. It is also more than one-and-a-half times the cost to end energy poverty according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Energy for All Case. But instead of solving a global crisis, those trillion dollars may go down the drain, supporting potentially stranded assets in the dying coal industry. Today's report is an update to last year's report on new and proposed coal plants worldwide. Last year, we found an industry in peril, with two proposed plants shelved or canceled for every one completed. The news isn't any better for the industry this year. Advertisement Worldwide coal use has dropped for the past two years, but the industry continues to ignore this trend and build new coal plants. This is not surprising, given that no industry wants to admit it is obsolete, but the staggering lack of foresight will only accelerate the collapse of coal. Nowhere is this more evident than in China, which is still building new plants even while use of its existing fleet has fallen below 50 percent. And China is not unique. We are seeing utilization rates fall among big coal consumers, including the European Union, the United States, and India. Graph from page 5 of this year's report. Coal generation was previously tied closely to coal capacity, and knowing how much power could be generated from coal used to be a good way to estimate how much energy would be generated from coal. Not anymore. With utilization rates plunging, investments in new capacity could quickly turn into stranded assets -- and investors know it. Big banks like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are backing away from coal. In Indonesia, the world's largest exporter of coal, mining companies are asking for public subsidies and a raid of the country's pension fund to keep business afloat. Research shows coal mines in Australia, the second largest exporter of coal, are one of the riskiest investments in the world, while banks across the globe are rejecting the flagship Carmichael coal mine in Australia's Galilee Basin. In the U.S., Peabody has warned it may file for bankruptcy, following in the footsteps of Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal, and Patriot Coal. In March, China ordered a halt in new coal plant permits in 13 provinces, a move that follows the announced closure of a thousand coal mines earlier this year. Advertisement While the economics of coal falter, clean, renewable energy is booming. Coal is not cheap, and we are already seeing renewables like wind and solar beat fossil fuels in the energy market. Solar costs less than coal in parts of India. Unsubsidized wind is the cheapest energy in the UK and Germany. These trends will only continue as renewable technology advances, making the decades-long investment necessary to build a new coal plant a poor choice in comparison. At the same time as the economics for new coal plunge, the retirement of existing coal plants is accelerating, led by the U.S. and EU. Even if no new coal plants come online, existing coal plants will still release 150 percent more carbon than what is compatible with two degrees warming. The data proves these plants would further endanger our climate. New coal plants will likely operate for at least 40 years, releasing far more climate disrupting pollution over their lifetime. With per capita emissions in the industrialized world far exceeding the rest of the planet, it is imperative that the richest countries do their part to phase out coal. But what about the 1.2 billion people without access to electricity? It turns out coal is a bad choice for them as well. A recent report from the Overseas Development Institute and Oxfam showed that distributed clean energy, not coal, is best suited to meet the needs of the rural poor. Grid extensions are expensive, and new thermal plants support existing users and industry, which are already connected and can afford to pay more for power. Distributed off-grid and mini-grids, in comparison, generate energy where it is needed and support local communities. The failure of coal is perhaps best seen in India, which added 95,000 megawatts of largely coal generation since 2001 while barely putting a dent in rural energy poverty. This is why the IEA's Energy For All Case calls for over half of investments to go toward mini-grid and off-grid solutions. The Koran (Quran) is the Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic. The Koran consists of 114 units of varying lengths, known as suras. Nabeel Qureshi, made famous for being the Muslim who converted to Christianity, in a recent op-ed reaches insidious conclusions about Islam. Qureshi alleges the culprit behind the Belgian atrocities isn't necessarily the corrupted beliefs of extremists, but the Qur'an itself. Although Qureshi claims that he is not questioning the faith of over 2.1 billion Muslims, he clearly is when claiming that their holy scripture is inherently violent. By cherry picking verses from a 1400-year-old religious scripture out of its historical and literary context, Qureshi falls into the same trap of many amateur scholars when attacking Islam under the guise of academic pursuit. Advertisement If this wasn't the case, then surely Qureshi would mention that the Qur'an encourages all to read it and reflect upon it (Chapter 30: Verse 22). The Qur'an encourages mankind to test their faith with reason and rationality (Chapter 8: Verse 22). When one does this, one finds that the Qur'an fosters interfaith harmony (Chapter 109), freedom of choice (Chapter 2: Verse 256), abstinence from disorder (Chapter 2: Verse 11) and justice and respect for all human beings (Chapter 25: Verse 8; Chapter 57: Verse 25). In fact, the word "Kafir" (unbeliever) appears only six times in the Qur'an. Even then, an unbeliever doesn't necessarily mean a non-Muslim but rather one who isn't a believer in the eyes of God. Only God knows who's a believer or not. Qureshi claims that ISIS backs its claims by referencing the highest sources of authority in Islam, such as the Qur'an, and the sayings and teaching of Prophet Muhammad. In reality, ISIS has no basis in the Qur'an. Didier Francois, who spent almost a year in an ISIS prison, stated his ISIS captors had little care for religion. Francois states "We didn't even have the Quran; they didn't want even to give us a Quran." ISIS uses religion as mask to hide their political agenda, as Francois says, "There was never really discussion about texts or -- it was not a religious discussion. It was a political discussion." ISIS's propaganda magazine, Dabiq, urges Muslims to realize that they are living in the times of early Muslims. Qureshi compounds this false notion by alleging that Islam has had a trajectory of violence that started early on. Nothing could be further from the truth. For the first thirteen years of early Islam, Muslims were tortured, beaten, and killed by the native Meccans. One example is of Bilal, an Ethiopian slave who converted to Islam, and was dragged from a rope around his neck across the burning sand. During this period of thirteen years of brutality, not a single Muslim fought back. It was only after 13 years of persecution did Muslims receive the commandments to defend themselves. The early Muslims had migrated from Mecca to Medina to escape the persecution, and the Muslims were attacked for a period of nine years in Medina from the Meccans, after which Surah (i.e. chapter) 9, Al-Taubah was revealed. Advertisement Qureshi claims that Surah Al-Taubah compels Muslims to fight, and if they do not, they are hypocrites, that they must either kill or be killed in battle to be a true Muslim. Qureshi claims that Surah Al-Taubah is the violent chapter of the Qur'an that fuels extremists. This is a superficial understanding of Surah 9. Surah Al-Taubah literally means "the forgiveness" or "the repentance." One would assume that the "violent" chapter of the Qur'an would not even suggest forgiveness. The verse that is most famously quoted from this chapter states, "kill the idolaters wherever you find them and take them prisoners, and beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush." However the next sentence is often forgotten: "But if they repent and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, then leave their way free. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful" (Chapter 9: Verse 5). The following verse continues by stating, "And if anyone of the idolaters ask protection of thee, grant him protection so that he may hear the word of Allah; then convey him to his place of security. That is because they are a people who have no knowledge" (Chapter 9: Verse 6). How is it possible to lie in wait and kill someone but to also forgive them and provide them with shelter and protection? When this verse is taken into the historical context of the persecution the Muslims were facing, it instructed Muslims to protect themselves for the first time. At that time, there were only a handful of Muslims, and the Meccan attacks threatened Islam itself. This verse was revealed at that time for that specific moment in history, as a means of self defense. However Qureshi claims these verses slowly lead to a violent Islam. If this was the case, then why did Prophet Muhammad forgive nearly all the Meccans when the Muslims successfully marched towards Mecca? 1991 Pakistani journalist Shaan Khan's piece "What's Really Behind India's Rape Crisis," published this Friday on The Daily Beast, looks at China and India -- two countries with similarly skewed sex ratios -- and asks why India in the last few years has experienced a "rape crisis," while China has not. At the outset, one could reasonably object that this premise is itself flawed since statistics on incidents of rape are notoriously unreliable in both countries (the proportion of cases that goes unreported is unknown), and what data we do have shows that the numbers in both countries are actually comparable. The same data also shows that several developed countries have higher per-capita incidences of rape (UN Office of Drugs and Crime, Statistics: Crime (2012)). Indeed, while violence against women in India is deplorable, it is not exactly a local phenomenon. But as we shall soon see, this is remarkably the least serious of the problems with Ms. Khan's argument. Advertisement If a social scientist for a moment accepted this false premise, he or she might look at sex education in both countries; might try to study the efficacy of the justice system in both countries; might take the time to interview the survivors and convicted attackers. Yet, all of this proves a rather jejune, superfluous exercise for the columnist. Instead, the answer, she claims, lies in the fact that there is "a total and complete disrespect for women in Indian religious scriptures." Khan goes onto cite three Hindu texts that demonstrate, to her mind, that "at the heart of these ballad-like mythological stories lie lurid tales of sex that glorify rape." These stories condition society to "attach zero consequence to rape." We once again might reasonably object that there is no justification provided in the piece for said conditioning. Has any convict or rapist justified their actions through scripture or religion? Asking such natural questions, however, would sidestep the blatant Hinduphobia that lies at the heart of Khan's argument. (I deliberately use Hindu here because while Khan repeatedly uses the terms "Indian stories" and "Indian mythology," all of her examples, after all, deal with Hindu texts.) We must therefore confront head-on the question of whether the nearly endless compendium of Hindu itihasas, puranas, and Upanishads condone -- or as Khan even suggests, glorify -- sexual violence towards women. One approach in dealing with this issue would be to go through each of Khan's examples and demonstrate that they arise from superficial readings of the portions of the text from which they are lifted. This, however, would be giving the argument a little more credit than it, quite frankly, deserves. For example, how can one shloka buried deep within the Mahabharata (spoken by Bhishma, not by some authoritative voice, as Khan ellides with the phraseology "The Mahabharata ... states") be representative of an epic with 100,000 such shlokas, an epic 10 times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined? Yet, make no mistake, this representative-ness is precisely the claim, as Khan makes clear with phraseology such as "at the heart of" and "total and complete." Advertisement In fact, the examples Khan cites are so esoteric, I must confess that I do not feel sufficiently familiar with them to be able to analyze them in a meaningful, intellectually honest way. It may not speak well for Khan's argument that a practicing Hindu male would not be familiar with -- let alone conditioned by -- the examples she cites. So, instead, I wish to illustrate to the reader precisely why I was so intensely motivated to write this piece, by recounting stories that I have heard told and re-told countless times during my childhood, from the warmth of my bed to the cool tile floor of my mandir. Let us start with the Mahabharata, since we've already briefly touched on it. If someone mentioned "violence against women" and The Mahabharata in the same breath, the episode that would most readily come to mind is surely Dushasana's attempt to strip Draupadi in open court and assert his contorted notion of ownership and agency over her. For Khan, every such incident in Indian stories "is given a clean chit. It is merely what macho men do; it is just normal." Here, nothing could be farther from the truth. What happens in the Hasthinapur court is anything but the norm; in fact, it could be argued that the entire epic turns decisively with this incident, as Bhima promises war as retribution (2.64.10-12), effectively sealing the conflict between the Kauravas and Pandavas that defines the Mahabharata. The text makes amply clear that both Duryodhan and Dushasana have committed adharma, an unspeakably horrid act worthy of censure (e.g., Draupadi: "The dharma of the Bharatas is destroyed... the seniormost of the Kurus take no notice of this savage violation of dharma!"* (2.60.33-35)). In her entreaties to the court, Draupadi cries, "I am the wife of Yudhishthira, lord of dharma, and equal to him by birth" (2.62.11) -- a statement that likely reflects as much on the nobility of both characters as it does the fact that one is not considered superior to the other. Another story that comes to mind is that of Krishna and Naraksura from the Bhagvata Purana. Like the above episode from the Mahabharata, it is an important one, as it is celebrated by many Hindus as Naraka Chaturdashi on the day preceding Diwali. Naraksura had kidnapped several women and was holding them in captivity, when Krishna and his wife, Satyabhama, learn of the asura's misdeeds. Satyabhama seeks Krishna's permission to lead the Dwarkan army to defeat Naraksura and free the women. Together, they embark to Naraksura's capital with their army and defeat him. Advertisement While in one retelling, Krishna kills Naraksura with his sudarshan chakra (discus); in another, Krishna faints in battle with Naraksura, and it is actually Satyabhama who slays him and frees the captured women. Thus, we have a female character defeating a rakshasa who is so consumed by ego that he asserts his power over women by holding them in captivity. In what bizarre world does this story engender sexist, misogynist attitudes? Krishna and Satyabhama battle Naraksura, Mughal era manuscript (Metropolitan Museum of Art), c. 1540 Finally, it is important to note that the examples Khan cites completely ignore the Shakta traditions within Hinduism. When the Devas fail to defeat Mahishasura, they call upon the divine feminine in the form of Durga to defeat the asura. It is precisely this respect and admiration for the divine feminine that, in fact, inspired a campaign called "Save Our Sisters," following the Nirbhaya gangrape in December 2012, which pictured Hindu goddesses with bruises along with the caption, "Pray that we never see this day." Now, whatever our opinions regarding this specific ad campaign may be, doesn't appealing to the viewer's sense of revulsion and despair at seeing goddesses with signs of sexual abuse point to the fact that the pervasive "glorification" and "normalization" of violence towards women that Khan ascribes to Hinduism could not be farther from the truth? It should be amply clear to the reader now that Khan's ideas about women and Hinduism are compete bunkum. But one may ask whether I am fair to have characterized Khan's views as Hinduphobia (analogous to anti-semitism and Islamophobia, for instance). I may have erred on the side of giving the columnist the benefit of the doubt, were it not for this gem of a paragraph in which she gifts us her most valuable pearls of wisdom: Indian mythology conditions people to attach zero consequence to rape. Furthermore, it is not just rape -- all kinds of sordid sex that the modern West would consider taboo is glorified and normalized in old Indian Scriptures. Sex between brothers and sisters, check; parents and children, check; and even with corpses and corpses of dead animals. What is most scary about this excerpt is not the sheer disgust and contempt that leaps from it, but rather that it distinctly reminds me of some academic work on Hinduism, albeit in a less eloquent, more baldfaced form. It would not be a stretch to say that Khan merely takes the sexual lens of Doniger's The Hindus and Kripal's Kali's Child to its logical, frightening conclusion. But that is an argument that deserves to be made more carefully another day. In closing, then, we might finally dwell on the connection Khan seeks to make between the spiritual and political. The form of her argument -- argue that Hinduism objectifies women and make a single politician, Modi, "the posterchild" for all of Hinduism -- makes it clear that the "theological analysis" she does is really a means to an end of scoring a political blow against the Indian Prime Minister. This should be clear from the non-textual errors she makes. Leading off with, "In Prime Minister Modi's India, the problem, instead of abating, has become worse," she then gives statistics from before Modi was prime minister; she calls 2011 the "Fiery Hindutva Ideology Days," even though it was the midpoint of the erstwhile Congress government's second term in office. Laying the blame squarely at "Modi's right-wing goons" and fallaciously blaming Modi for all that is wrong with India does nothing to help victims of sexual violence and abuse in India. Those of us who truly care must strive to eradicate the antediluvian mindsets that still prevail across the Indian political class: from Digvijaya Singh's "sau tunch maal" (100 [ercent good merchandise -- in reference to a female lawmaker) to Kailash Vijayvargiya's "a woman will be punished if she crosses her lakshman-rekha." We must understand the nub of the problem and do all that we can to alleviate it. But bashing Hinduism in order to do a slipshod hatchet job on the current Indian government? No, that's not helpful. That's just Hinduphobia. Plain and simple. Nepal is a democratic country. But often there is not enough democracy for the average people to have equality and to all have their voices heard. The country is poor but some people are very rich, leading to a severe disparity between socioeconomic groups. There is also a strict caste system that still prevents some people from having as many rights as others. There is no checks and balances system, like in the USA. Nepal's political system has "fissures," according to a Washington Post article by Ishaan Tharoor, and these fissures leave great problems in Nepali society. The framework of Nepali politics is a multi-party democratic system, led by a prime minister. Elections are often corrupt and all about finding the prime minister, not fixing the country's many issues. Especially in the wake of the 2015 earthquake, more effort is needed to help the thousands of displaced Nepalese people in the country. Focusing on a prime minister and playing fierce political games is simply not in the best interest of Nepal. Advertisement Nepali politics are still very much concerned with race and caste. People often struggle to be heard because they were born into lower castes. In some villages, there have not been elections for up to two decades, leaving many rural people without a voice in the political affairs of the nation. There are three Nepali regions, Himal, Pahad, and Terai, which are fighting each other to obtain a good politics platform. This political unrest is just opposite of what Nepal needs: a unified approach to improving the fairness and function of the country's political system. Many people do not realize that Nepal is indirectly ruled by India. The political leadership of Nepal simply a sham. It's great to seek the help of a neighboring country, but it is not beneficial to follow all that another country says. Recently Nepal wrote a new constitution and Nepal people were overjoyed, but India still was able to control the country by blocking the border to prevent food, medicine, and clothes from being exported to Nepal. India did this to regain control of Nepal, knowing that blocking the border would create a provisions crisis. Thanks to the big earthquake of 2015, Nepali peoples' lifestyles are in critical situation. Still so many villages have never received aid. They are under poverty and without homes, food, or clean water. Many people are still homeless, seeking refuge in other villages which do not have the infrastructure to sustain so many people. Leaders are silent about this issue. They are not doing what they can. When election comes, they buy people in order to capture votes. What kinds of politics are they are doing? They are doing politics for themselves, not for the people. Even college students are doing great harm to Nepali politics with their protests on the streets of Kathmandu. Without a good agenda, they are deluded about leaders, because political leaders are giving them small amounts of money to cloud their judgment. Advertisement Leaders like Dr. Baburam Bhattrai, Prachanda, Sherbahadur Deuba, and KP Oli served as prime minister and were unable to achieve their visions of betterment for the nation because of dirty politics. Soon money convinced them to rule for the wealthy classes and businessmen, not the average Nepali citizen. New future star leaders like Gagan Thapa and Ram kumari Jhakri are following the precedent of the old leaders, so that change still does not appear likely. Even they don't listen to the voice of new generation. One way Nepal can improve their development and bring in more prosperity is by opening the border with China for trade and ceasing their reliance on India. A railway to China can help expand trade. This would allow Nepal to become a well-developed nation and help do away with poverty and the need for dirty politics. Sensors, sensors, everywhere sensors. In our clothes, our shoes, air conditioners, cars, diapers and beds. And what are all these sensors doing? They're collecting and analyzing data of course - billions of discrete pieces of information every picosecond of every day so we can, a) make informed decisions and, b) automate all of the things connected by the IoT (Internet of Things). Soon sensors embedded in my pajamas will determine I'm dehydrated from having a little too much fun the night before, then send a message to the 3-D food printer in my kitchen to make a drink designed to replenish my electrolytes. Sensors will also heat my house the minute my car heads for home and tell me when my 16-year old is driving over the speed limit. Sound far-fetched? It shouldn't. Recently, Senior Editor of Wired Magazine, Bill Wasik, reported, "A new device revolution is at hand: just as mobile phones and tablets displaced the once-dominant PC, wearable devices are poised to push smartphones aside." In truth, the U.S. sensor market is expected to surpass $15 billion in 2016, causing On World to forecast that by 2017, global shipments of wearable, implantable, and mobile health and fitness devices will be up 552% from 2012. Welcome to SensorWorld. Now sensors and data analytics are preparing to go where 'no man has gone before.' Tackling an activity we spend a third of our lives ignoring: sleep! Why sleep? The National Sleep Foundation reports that 43% of Americans rarely get a good night's sleep, and 60% experience a sleep problem almost every night. A recent Gallup poll revealed that since 1942, the amount of sleep we get has decreased roughly a half an hour per night and continues to trend downward. And the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) claims over 9 million Americans currently rely on a pharmaceutical to fall asleep. Advertisement According to technology pioneer, and inventor of the world's first camera phone, Philippe Kahn, our growing problem with sleep began during the Industrial Revolution when "the mythical eight-hour sleep night" was fabricated to extract longer hours from factory workers. "Before the Industrial Revolution," Kahn explained, "people were mostly sleeping in two shifts... nobody was really sleeping eight hours straight." He continued, "The concept that we have to sleep in uninterrupted ways all the time, in a perfectly quiet environment, in a perfectly dark room... to me is a misconception and something that is misleading people to understand how to optimize their sleep." Kahn stumbled on the idea of "budgeting" sleep on a record-setting, two-man Transpacific sailing trip in 2009. With a two-person crew, each person is allowed to sleep for only brief periods of time. So Kahn decided to use his sailboat as a laboratory to determine the amount of sleep that produced the highest levels of alertness and energy. He discovered that number was twenty-six minutes. From that point on Kahn began modeling his sleep after his dog - short periods of deep rest with the ability to wake at a moment's notice in a high state of "readiness," and then quickly return to a deep sleep. Kahn claims that from an evolutionary standpoint this is the way humans were designed to sleep - they function best when sleep is "budgeted" for, and "optimized," in the same way we do investment planning - only when it comes to sleep, returns are measured in terms of health and productivity. Enter Kahn's latest breakthrough in sensor and data analytics technology: the Smart Bed. The Smart Bed replaces the traditional "box-spring" with a sensor-based unit designed to monitor movement, body temperature and other metrics so we can optimize when and how much we sleep. The Smart Bed and Sleep Tracker was developed by Kahn's company Fullpower - an enterprise focused on precise, non-invasive data monitoring and analysis. According to Kahn, sleep was a logical application for his company because of the number of hours humans spend sleeping, the mythology surrounding the need for a continuous eight-hour rest, and his personal revelations while sailing. Kahn observes, "Sleep is a bit like the deep ocean. We know it is there but we don't understand it well. Modern science doesn't understand sleep very well because it is very difficult to monitor sleep in a non-invasive way." With the new Smart Bed, Kahn is poised to revolutionize the way humans rest and the effect this will have on efficiency, output, health and ultimately, longevity. Advertisement While Fullpower is pushing the frontiers of sleep technology, other companies are leveraging sensor and data analytics technologies to optimize other areas. Pixie Scientific, is embedding sensors into "smart diapers" that will allow diseases, dehydration and nutritional deficiencies to be detected in diapers. Intel's new Smart Band tracks, monitors and analyzes the tremor patterns of Parkinson's patients, and a new generation of smart pills and monitoring patches from Proteus are in the works. Peter Reinhart, Director of the Institute for Applied Life Sciences for the University of Massachusetts recently revealed that sensor technologies would soon shift from diagnosis to treatment, "As we get better and better at this, we're going to find that new therapeutic options are going to be open to us. Identifying an Alzheimer's patient at the [observable] behavioral point, when 70 percent of the brain mass has already disappeared, really limits the number of therapeutic options you can provide that patient. If you could identify someone like that seven or eight years earlier, it now opens up a very different array of intervention strategies." But, as Kahn points out, collecting and translating data is only half the story. The other half is connecting to devices, which will be automatically instructed by the analyzed data. Google's Nest offers a home app that uses sensors, analytics and the internet to connect everything from your thermostat to your fire alarms and home security system. Apple has launched a similar IoT application called HomeKit. According to Kahn, the Smart Bed will have the ability to turn your bedroom thermostat down when your body is at rest and turn the heat back up when the bed senses you are waking. It will lift the shades in your bedroom, signal the hot water heater to ready the shower, and the coffee machine to prepare your coffee just the way you like it. And if that sounds like the stuff of science fiction, look again. Theo Priestly, technology strategist and Forbes contributor claims the IoT will be comprised of 50 billion interconnected devices before 2020 - representing a whopping $19 trillion market. Fitbit, smart watches, smart clothing, diapers and beds are just the beginning. Within the next five years, sensors will monitor, customize and automate everything. Look, I like Bernie Sanders. He's fired up liberals and young voters with passion and principles. I've watched every debate and town hall since election season started. I understand his strong rebuke of our system. I don't agree, however, with how he seems to denounce just about every aspect of capitalism and business, and promises a whole lot of things, such as making Wall Street pay for free college. I don't think his idealism and so-called "revolution" will actually solve problems in our divided government. And righteousness is not a plan. So I decided to get involved with Hillary's campaign. I've been hosting one of her staffers for nearly three weeks. She's a 23-year-old who deferred medical school to work as a field organizer across the country. She's whip smart, poised, and polite, and works tirelessly to get local volunteers like me to canvas and phone bank. We have fascinating discussions with the neighbors. We talk about how qualified and pragmatic Hillary is, even as we appreciate Bernie. None of us are millionaires or billionaires. We believe progress happens in steps, not by proclaiming it should be so. Advertisement I also happen to evaluate my candidates the same way I'd evaluate any job applicant. Is this person competent? Do they share my values? What sort of relevant experience do they have? Can they work well with others? What have they accomplished? Can they own up to their mistakes? When I hear of a free event to hear Hillary speak just 7 miles from my home, I just have to go. March 22, 2016 5:30pm I arrive at Rainier Beach High School. The line is already really long, coiling out of the parking lot onto the street. The news vans are everywhere. I'm impressed by the variety of people here in one of the most diverse areas of all of Seattle. A guy wearing a suit and tie holds a pink sign saying "Wall Street HEARTS Hillary." His penmanship is on par with my seven-year-old's. Nobody takes his bait. The crowd is polite. My husband Robert and I chat up a storm with others as we wait to be processed through metal detectors. Many of us volunteers share about our experiences calling people and knocking on doors. We've all heard the phrase "I like Bernie but...". We agree: the country needs to dump Trump and Cruz is dangerous. We talk about the Bernie supporters, all of whom are passionate and some of whom are downright nasty. Advertisement The event volunteers are working valiantly to maintain our spirits. One young lady tries to get cheers going by yelling "Hillary," "I believe that she can win!" and "I'm with her." The chants die down quickly. Now if only this had been a Seahawks game.... There's a guy dressed as Captain Hillster. I applaud his positivity and consider his outfit a step up from that dude at Trump's rally who dressed up as the xenophobic wall that will never be built. 7:30pm We're in! We're there early enough to score a spot near the stage. As others shuffle in, we continue to mingle with fine people. There are some disabled folks seated near the stage, moms, dads, kids, and a whole lot of media members towards the back. Nobody looks angry. Many of us wish we had chairs. Everyone is excited they got in; hundreds of others are relegated to the overflow section outside. There are Hillary signs, shirts, and buttons galore. We hear the American Nurses Association has just endorsed Clinton. I'm not surprised. She's pulled down so many endorsements from organizations around the country, including the Machinists Union, a voting block for Washington, the home of Boeing. She also has an extraordinary number of supporters at the federal, state, and local level. She knows you need alliances and partners to make things happen and she's fostered many relationships. (Bernie has no Senators endorsing him and shockingly few other partner endorsements.) A beaming lady named Kim waits next to us. She has three kids who attend this school. She tells me it was chosen because it's the most diverse school in Seattle, and in fact, the most diverse precinct in America. Who knew? Her daughter got picked to sing the national anthem for this event, the one that might feature our first woman president. So yeah, tonight's a big deal. Advertisement 8:40pm A booming voice over the loud speaker kicks things off. As Kim's daughter walks to the stage to sing the "Star-Spangled Banner," Kim says "Somebody else needs to tape it 'cuz I'm gonna get all teary-eyed." I love that she said "tape." With our iPhones a blazin', her daughter sings boldly and with conviction. Her mom isn't the only one who's teary-eyed. Three people who look like a diversity ad campaign take the stage...actual millennials for Hillary! They articulate why it's important to caucus. The young Asian woman takes the microphone. She talks about how as a little girl in China, she heard Hillary Clinton's famous 1995 speech on the radio: "Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights." This forever changed her view of America, a country where her family later emigrated. She talks about how her family found the healthcare situation very dire because they were denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. It was Hillary who laid the groundwork for the Affordable Care Act, and who has consistently advocated for women and children. Her voice is shaky, as are her nerves, but we can tell: she is bursting with pride to be on the stage that Clinton will soon take. Next up are Seattle's Mayor Ed Murray and his husband. If you're not used to hearing about men and their husbands you might not live in Seattle. It's just that kind of city. Mayor Murray isn't the only elected official in Washington who's endorsed Clinton. It's both Democratic Senators Cantwell and Murray and Governor Inslee. To say that Seattle is liberal is to say that Seattleites like coffee. Mayor Murray talks about many issues including the minimum wage increase and marriage equality. He offers up his husband, "The First Gentleman" of Seattle, as someone who could help Bill Clinton, should his spouse win this election. He then introduces Hillary as the "next President of the United States." The roaring crowd is very kind to her and she is very kind back, working the crowd with handshakes before she takes the podium beneath the school banners. Bonus! She's wearing that long forest green coat, one that I've admired before. (Is it bad that I mentioned her outfit?) Haters would say it's pandering to the "Evergreen State"; I say it's being fashionably relevant. Advertisement The first thing she does is show gratitude to the people who got her onstage: the elected officials, her staff, and volunteers. She says she's proud of the school's accomplishments and the crowd goes nuts! The golden rule of public speaking is to know your audience and Hillary is no slouch in this department. I watch closely in a way only a close-up view allows. I'm struck by her elegance, in part because a young fan next to me exudes, "She's beautiful." It's not just her stature and that coat, her scarf, and pumps. I'm also struck by her emotion. Her face shows passion and anguish at times, as in when she talks about the horrific terrorist attack in Brussels just hours before. I've heard her talk about terrorism before, but this night it feels decidedly urgent. The Secret Service dudes, by the way, are unflappable. Are they even listening? She talks about being a partner to Washington, calling Seattle a "great American city" and applauding our progressivism. I'm surprised somehow as she talks in detail about policy that can help our industries and small businesses. Unlike Bernie who seems to make everything about Wall Street, she targets her speech. She cites actual plans for doing things here. She then lays out a framework for the rest of the evening. The Test of 3 Things Whoever the next President is ought to pass three tests: 1) Make a positive difference in the lives of Americans 2) Keep us safe 3) Bring the country together 1) Positive Difference When elaborating on that first one, she surprises me with a rather poignant point. She says we all see images of people at rallies who are angry (read: Trump's angry rallies). But rather than denouncing or dismissing them, she gives their anger context. She talks about the great recession and people losing their homes and savings, of wages being stagnant for 15 years and many feeling like they're left behind. She reminds us that she wants to help the middle class, to raise incomes, to have family leave, as well as reduce the burden of student debt. The only mention of Bernie is in a policy distinction regarding college tuition. Not once does she demonize him, even as he often makes claims that the billionaire class is buying this election for her. Advertisement She talks about the need to act immediately on climate change, and I'm struck by her pledge of solar panels across our nation. She cites the Paris Agreement that was signed by 190 nations and says that it must be enacted; otherwise it's just a piece of paper. She talks about the Republicans' implacable obstructionism. (I do so love a good vocabulary.) I get a little giddy thinking we could be using clean, renewable energy under the next president. 2) Keep Us Safe The point about keeping us safe showcases her strength as Secretary of State, and as someone who's been by Obama's side. There's reasonable critique of some of her decisions, but compared to the Bush years of unilateralism, I'm with her. And I don't think Bernie's vote against the Iraq war makes him qualified on matters of national security. She talks about the Brussels tragedy, not to instill fear and racial profiling like the Republicans have, but to talk about smart power and engaging our allies. She is not only informed on these topics, she is downright, inarguably Presidential. My mind starts to wander to so many other countries that have already had tough women at the helm: Thatcher, Merkel, Bhutto. Why is America so behind? There is nobody else in the race whose knowledge of the world approaches Clinton's. She seems genuinely upset that Trump would talk about wall building and enhanced torture in response to the bombings. Walls don't stop the Internet from working and that is where ISIS is recruiting and propagandizing! I'm too am upset. Cruz's idea of patrolling Muslim communities? Asinine. 3) Bring Us Together Her third point is the one that resonates most. She talks about bringing the country together and says we really need more love and kindness. She suggests we can and should talk about politics. We don't need to put someone down to lift others up. We can engage, respectfully. Therein lies a major difference between her and others. Rather than just vilify those with different views, she talks about finding common ground, just as we must stand our ground on matters of principle. Her take on bi-partisan governing is steeped in experience. I'm inspired. I'm surprised. I'm surprised by how inspired I am. Oh sure, I know all politicians say they can unify the country and they usually don't. But I'm struck by how sincere this call is. Even after being targeted with incessant vitriol, she has remained resilient and poised to lead. Haters are going to hate, but she's proven time and again that she fights for others and cares about the future. She calls Trump out as a demagogue and bully who deserves a timeout. She's not aiming for snide laughs; she is sincerely shocked that a presidential candidate could be so inappropriate and so hateful. Advertisement Calls of "I love you Hillary," and "Madam President" percolate in the crowd, but she doesn't respond. She has more to say. When the microphone stops working, she handles it like a champ. She says this would be a good opportunity to be quiet. Then off the cuff, she remarks about how she gets criticized for speaking too soft, or too loud, smiling too much, or not enough. All this judgment seems to be launched at her, in no small measure, because of her gender. Looking around at the range of eager faces in the crowd, I reject the way she and her supporters have been simplified and demonized. I know of hundreds of staffers and volunteers who are working their hearts out, and millions (not just millionaires) have already voted for her. 9:40pm As the evening winds down, and we hear Katie Perry's anthem "Roar," there's a buzz in the air of having just witnessed history. Hillary calls on us to volunteer some more, to get involved, and be engaged. To that I say, of course! The word "Cuba" is said to be derived from the Taino language word "cubao" one of whose meanings is "where fertile land is abundant" . And it looks like there's plenty of fertile land. And yet, we had been told often that Cuba imports 80 percent of its food. We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant on the harbor in Bacuranao where Hemingway used to dock his boat. After a very good lunch of fish (imported from Venezuela it turned out) and black beans and rice and the local beer called Bucanero ("Pirate"), several of us wandered down for a closer look. Nice harbor, but no boats. Well, maybe one or two small row boats. Where are the boats? we asked our guide. "The government doesn't let us have boats," she replied, and then wouldn't really address any other follow on questions. It does make it hard to do much fishing if you can't have a boat. On the other hand, Key West is only a short 90 miles away... We got on our bus and drove on to Trinidad, about 110 KM away, on the south coast of the island. The road was a well maintained concrete highway, almost no traffic, with open land on either side. Not farm land, not really pasture land, we saw perhaps 5 percent of it under cultivation, maybe ten percent with a few cattle grazing, but mostly it was just open, well-watered, verdant green, flat to rolling countryside in a tropical location where that land could grow just about anything, certainly things like rice and beans that we had at every meal. All imported. The government owns all the land, so the people live in the cities. At least there weren't collective farms. Advertisement There were many small souvenir shops in Trinidad, the oldest city in Cuba and the site of the origins of the sugar business. Except that now there is very little sugar grown in Cuba. And the souvenirs were all made in China, but it's hard to fault the Cubans for this, it's a worldwide occurrence. We stayed in a beach resort outside Trinidad. It was owned by the government. It had no hot water. The technology for making hot water for buildings has been known for quite some time now. This "resort" was formerly a Russian Officer R & R facility, with little concrete cabanas full of lizards and very hard beds. I began to understand why the Russians left the island. And because the entire resort had no hot water, they couldn't sanitize the dishes at the restaurant, so about half of us got sick. We asked our guide about the food thing. She explained that as a tour guide she made the same amount of money as her husband, who is a dentist. In fact, most people make about the same amount of money, so why not live in Havana and work in a government ministry and wear a nice white shirt rather than dealing with crops and cow manure out in the country? Since the government provides free health care and a free education to everyone, you should study government, not animal husbandry. Or English. US visits to Cuba last year increased by 50% over the previous year. When the first 5000-person tour ship lands in Havana, there will be a need for lots of English speaking tour guides. When you're on a tour bus for hours at a time, lots of questions occur to you. What are the main industries in Cuba? Tourism, exporting "experts" like doctors and teachers to more backward countries, but always under contract to the Cuban government. And copying US patented pharmaceuticals and selling them to poor countries. The tourism infrastructure is already creaking under the current tourist visits. And although everyone we met is enthusiastic about normalizing US relations, and happily assumes that this will mean more tourists and some vague increase in economic well-being, no one seems quite to understand that this comes with burdens that will require substantial infrastructure development. Which is easier when the government can just seize your land. But why would Marriott or Starwood build a new hotel on insecure real estate? As for pirating drugs, this is no doubt on the negotiating agenda, as is compensation for expropriated property, like the former Hilton hotel in downtown Havana. So the future could be that Cuba returns to its past as a tourist destination for rich Americans and Europeans, and everyone on the island is a tour guide. Advertisement Back in Havana on our last day we drove to the main square and had a quick look at El Capitolio, which closely resembles the US Capital building, and used to be what it sounds like but now houses the Cuban academy of Sciences. Then we went to the Plaza of the Revolution where the surrounding buildings are emblazoned with images of Che Guevara and Jose Marti, both heroes of the revolution. "Are we going to the White House next?" asked one of the group. We then had to explain that this was where the US president lived. "So where does Raul live?" we continued. "We don't know, and we're not allowed to ask," was the chilling reply. Very well, time to get back on the plane and go to a country where they have Home Depots and hotels with hot water and where you know where the President lives. Every so often I've written about people who have made a difference in public life and inspired me. Some of these individuals I have known, while most of them I have not. I am drawn to these stories because I believe that in an age of divisive politics, a lack of belief in our ability to get things done together and a flagging American Dream, that it's essential to lift up ordinary Americans who help shine a light on a more positive path forward. Today, I want to talk about one individual I did know well: my dad, Gil Harwood, who passed away earlier this month. One of his greatest gifts to me was a deep affection and love for Judaism. Upon his death, I was instantly reminded of my three favorite words in the Old Testament. They were spoken by Moses when he stood before the burning bush and God called out to him. Moses responded: "Here I am." My dad believed that we are each called to step forward to say, "Here I am," in our own way--to repair breaches in society and account for our daily actions. He believed how one lived their life mattered. I saw him practice this approach first-hand time and again. When I was born, I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. As a young child, I would often be up all night sick. My dad was there. He would take things out of our hallway closet and make up games. He would tell me stories. And sometimes, he would simply lay beside me to make sure I knew I wasn't alone. Oftentimes this went on night after night, but he was still there, even while working 12- to 15-hour days, often seven days a week. Advertisement When I was five, I remember him taking me to drop leaflets for political candidates in Queens, NY, where we lived at the time. It was the start of regular conversations we would have about politics that would stretch out over 50 years. What I remember most from these conversations was his deep belief that politics should be--and can be--a noble calling to pursue the common good. And he taught me that for those of us who believe it should be such a calling, that it is our responsibility to work to make politics better. During my teens, I can remember seeing the mail piled up on our dining room table, and every couple of weeks or so a white legal-size envelope would be there from the Saratoga County Mental Health Committee. This was during the 1970s, when it was still taboo to talk about mental health issues in public, especially in upstate NY. My dad fought to make sure that any individual who needed support could get it. When I attended Skidmore College, I did a special project on urban renewal in Saratoga Springs. I had known my dad was on the Urban Renewal Commission for the city, but I hadn't known what I came to discover until I later talked with his colleagues and city leaders. They told me that it was my dad who insisted, over many years, that every person had a voice in the redevelopment of the community, especially those directly affected by urban renewal. Later on, after I had moved to Washington, DC, I was invited to a reception at a national, blue-chip law firm for the former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, who had just joined the firm. My dad had served as Cuomo's counsel for well over a decade. So, when the governor was told that I was there, he came over to me, and in front of his law partners and young associates, declared, "Now, your dad, he was a lawyer's lawyer!" Advertisement What he meant was that my dad was disciplined and rigorous in his approach. But what the governor didn't say, and what I was thinking at the time, is that my dad believed that no one in a position of power should ever use the law for their own personal benefit or political gain. The law was there to protect to the public good. Just a couple of years ago, my dad asked me to take him back to his old neighborhood in Brooklyn where he grew up. We spent three days together returning to Borough Park, which, when he was a kid, was a largely Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. We went to Webster Avenue to his old home where he played stickball in the street with his friends. He took me to where he went to public school and to the synagogue where he went to religious school three times a week. We went to Sunset Park, where his father, my grandfather, owned his first pharmacy. What I remember from this trip, what I remember about my dad, is that he never forget where he was from, and he never pretended to be from someplace he wasn't. Brendan Walsh looks at a rifle scope in the trade booths showroom during the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee April 12, 2015. REUTERS/Harrison McClary The tragic toll of war stupefies and stuns. In the 240 years since the Revolutionary War, we have sacrificed nearly 1.4 million Americans to war. In itself, this number is hard to grasp. But harder yet is to reckon the human cost -- of husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters; of perished potential; of achievements and kindnesses which will never be; of families forever shattered. However justified some wars may be, war sobers us, diminishes us, cheats us. We struggle to find some national purpose to console us, some nobility of spirit to uplift us. We mourn the tragedies of Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, the wars of our last half-century. Advertisement In less than that same half-century, from the murders of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy until now, guns have claimed over 1.5 million Americans -- 100,000 more deaths than in all the wars of our history. Here there is no nobility, no consolation, no parades or speeches or monuments or national days of remembrance. Nothing but the indelible stain of mindless butchery and private sorrow. Every year, year after year, we lose over 30,000 more of us to homicides, suicides and preventable accidents. Every day, we average more than one mass shooting -- four or more people dead or wounded. Perhaps a name attaches to that day: Charleston, San Bernardino, Sandy Hook; perhaps we see a memorial service on our screen. Beneath such days are buried the death of 88 more people that day, and every other. And the carnage moves inexorably forward. In the first two months of 2016, we have had 28 mass shootings. In two weeks time, we have added the names of Kalamazoo and Hesston, Kansas to this litany of shame. And yet nothing changes. Advertisement Why? It is not that America has more crime -- our crime rates are comparable to other advanced countries. Instead we are stalked by something uniquely American: death by gunshot -- four times more per million than the next highest country, Switzerland; 20 more times than Australia. America is the first worlds' slaughterhouse. Most Americans deplore that. A solid majority believes the the epidemic of deaths by gunshot is a serious problem; that mass shootings are something that can be stopped; and that our gun laws should be aimed at stemming these tragedies. Indeed, over 90 percent of Americans support background checks for all gun purchases. So why hasn't Congress taken steps to protect our safety. Because Republicans refuse. Amidst the comprehensive moral and intellectual collapse of the GOP, nothing captures its utter bankruptcy more than the issue of gun violence. Lest this seem too stark, we must consider its stunning record of rhetorical and legislative obedience to the NRA. Start with the party's most recent presidential candidates. At the height of the campaign season, the massacres in Kalamazoo and Kansas provoked no comment. To a person, they oppose any legislation or government measures whatsoever to prevent gun violence. Instead, their answer is more guns in the hands of more Americans, no matter how dangerous an individual may be. As for gun safety legislation, they consistently -- and falsely -- characterize it as an effort to confiscate guns from law-abiding citizens. Three of the principal contenders suffice to capture this cowardice and cynicism will:"You don't stop the bad guys by taking away our guns," Ted Cruz says. "You stop the bad guys by using our guns, and a free and armed American citizenry is how we keep ourselves safe." The recently-departed "mainstream" choice, Marco Rubio, asserts that "gun laws fail everywhere they're tried." Advertisement Attempting to outdo his rivals, the probable nominee Donald Trump claims that "we already have tremendous regulations. Now, if you look at my opponents, they're very weak on the Second Amendment. I'm very very strong." Again and again, Trump suggests that the only solution to gun violence is for Americans to carry weapons wherever they go. And they mean it. For example, as senators both Cruz and Rubio voted against expanded background checks to keep dangerous people from acquiring guns . Both opposed banning high-capacity magazines of over 10 bullets. And on and on, for there is not a single measure to reduce the toll of death that they support. This opposition is not grounded in reason. Instead, the GOP hides behind a shopworn litany of excuses which do not withstand scrutiny. First, there are the myths perpetuated by the gun lobby about self-defense. No question that law-abiding citizens have the perfect right to buy a gun for self-defense or any other lawful purpose. Advocates for gun safety laws don't debate this. To the contrary, they believe that, to the extent possible, the law should protect all of us -- whether we choose to own guns or not -- by keeping dangerous people from acquiring weapons There is certainly a need for such protections. Gun ownership alone won't keep us safe -- to the contrary, the assertion that guns used for self-defense keep us safer is counterfactual. A 2012 study by the Violence Policy Center showed that for every justifiable homicide there were 32 criminal gun deaths. The study concluded that: "The reality of self-defense gun use bears no resemblance to the exaggerated claims of the gun lobby and gun industry." With respect to women and domestic violence, a study by researchers at Boston University confirms a grim reality -- in states where gun ownership is higher, more women are killed by people they know. Advertisement As for the claim that gun safety legislation will do no good, it is bogus, a logical fallacy. The goal of such legislation is not the impossible -- to stop every possible death -- but to make it more difficult for dangerous people to kill with a gun. And it works. Incremental measures to stop deaths from smoking and drunk driving have drastically reduced both. Obviously, they did so without banning driving or even smoking. So, too, the effort to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and others with a propensity for violence -- as the shooter in Hesston, Kansas, freshly served with a domestic violence restraining order, so tragically exemplifies. Which brings us to the greatest falsehood of all -- that gun safety legislation means denying law-abiding Americans the right to own a weapon, whether for self-defense or any other lawful purpose. Not only would such legislation be unconstitutional, but nothing the Republicans so adamantly oppose remotely resembles the straw man of confiscation they so conveniently invoke. Yet again and again, the NRA and GOP deploy a preposterous perversion of the "slippery slope" argument -- that any legislation to prevent criminals or terrorists from buying guns is a step toward barring gun ownership by all Americans. Bereft of rational arguments and terrified of fact, they traffic in demagoguery and paranoia. The NRA's propaganda marks the absolute bottom of American political discourse -- rooted in fear, fomented by hysteria, dependent on lies and, in some cases, fueled by fantasies of blowing away "the other." As for the assertion that the 5 - 4 Supreme Court decision finding a constitutional right to bear arms means that guns cannot be regulated to protect law-abiding citizens, it is nonsense. No constitutional right -- including free speech -- is absolute. As to guns, the Supreme Court made clear that nothing in its opinion barred reasonable regulation to protect the public safety, such as background checks to screen out gun purchases by criminals, spousal abusers, and the adjudicated mentally ill. The Second Amendment protects the rights of law-abiding Americans to buy a gun, not the rights of violent felons to endanger the law-abiding. When all else fails, the NRA and its Republican handmaidens traffic in a particularly distasteful brand of diversion. A lot of homicides are gang-related, they argue, so why should we care? Besides, they say, many gun deaths are suicides, not homicides -- ignoring that the prevalence of guns means that a person in despair has a quick and easy way of placing themselves beyond second thoughts, or the help of others. Particularly odious is the suggestion that a mass murderer like the demented young man in Sandy Hook would simply have found another weapon to wipe out so many kids and teachers so quickly. With what -- a knife, or slingshot? Advertisement And, finally, this: given the NRA's success in promoting gun ownership and opposing gun safety legislation, why aren't we dramatically safer? Why so many mass murders? Why so many more killings than in any other first world country? Is the only answer that more Americans should carry weapons? Do the Republicans in Congress really believe -- for one tragic example -- the only protection for the black churchgoers murdered in Charleston would be bringing guns to their place of worship? Do they ever ask themselves whether our society is truly that helpless? In truth, it doesn't matter what Republican officeholders know or believe in their hearts. They are the NRA's legislative arm -- without them, the NRA could not have succeeded in making America the first world's most dangerous place. Because, quite simply, they are the craven servants of the gun lobby -- their services bought and paid for at whatever cost in human lives. They don't come cheap. Since 2010, the NRA and its allies have spent more than$46 million in soft money alone to influence federal elections. In the last election cycle , the NRA spent $18.6 million on candidates. Throw in lobbying, and the NRA spent $32.5 million in 2015 . Virtually every dollar spent on candidates went to Republicans. Along with that comes a small cadre of voters obsessed with guns, who respond to whatever scare tactic the NRA comes up with. What have the Republicans given the NRA in return? Anything it wants. Take background checks. The current law exists to prevent felons, fugitives, domestic abusers and the adjudicated mentally ill from purchasing weapons. This is no small matter: in 2013, for example, 61 percent of women killed with guns were killed by intimate partners; in 57 percent of mass shootings, one of the victims was the shooter's partner or family member. Since taking effect in 1994, the law has blocked more than 2.4 million gun sales to dangerous people. Patently, this has nothing to do with taking guns from law-abiding citizens -- it exists to protect them. But the law needs to be strengthened. Due to a gaping loophole which exempts gun shows and the Internet, roughly 40 percent of gun sales occur without a background check. That's millions of guns every year -- imagine what Republicans would say if TSA failed to check 40 percent of airline passengers. And even the existing system is hampered by a process of record-keeping which is badly underfunded. Advertisement But Republicans have blocked absolutely all legislative efforts to strengthen the system, extend background checks, and close loopholes. Conspicuously, that includes Senators Rubio and Cruz. Just who are they protecting? No one but dangerous people who can't pass a background check. Their rationale -- that they are protecting gun rights from an oppressive government -- is shamefully dishonest, the fig leaf of a political lapdog. And shamefully typical. Days after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino killed 14 people, the House and Senate considered a bill to ban the sale of guns and explosives to people on the FBI's terrorist watch list. After the NRA opposed the measure, the legislation was voted down by all 241 Republicans in the House, and 53 of 54 Republican senators -- including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. At the time, President Obama asked, "what could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semi automatic weapon?" Rubio's answer? He was worried about "people that basically just have the same name as everybody else, who don't belong on the no-fly list." Incredibly, Rubio claims to be more concerned about bureaucratic error than allowing terrorists to buy weapons of mass murder. The GOP's duplicity and hypocrisy is exposed by another favorite excuse -- that the problem is not guns, but mentally ill people with guns. " The country," Rubio says, "should examine mental illness." By this logic, the GOP would want to extend background checks on the mentally ill by closing the gun show loophole -- which, of course, it opposes. But there is more. As part of a relatively modest gun safety measure, in 2013 Obama proposed to increase funding for mental health programs designed to identify and help people who are potentially dangerous. At the behest of the NRA, Republicans in the Senate killed it . Note here an ironic coda -- two weeks ago, an Idaho pastor who appeared with Ted Cruz was gravely wounded by shooter with a history of mental illness. But there is no incident, however personal, which causes Republican politicians to reflect on their obedience to the gun lobby. Advertisement Indeed, another important part of the Republican cover up is to help the NRA suppress research into the cost and causes of gun violence. This is critical to deceiving the American public -- to the gun lobby, facts are more deadly than bullets. Thus for 20 years. Republicans in Congress have banned the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention from conducting basic research into gun violence and its impact on public health. No other research topic is subject to a ban -- which Republicans in Congress extended yet again in December 2015. The reason is simple: the NRA fears the research will refute its propaganda against gun safety laws, and expose its bogus claims that measures like concealed carry laws save lives. Little wonder -- a recent research project showed that, since 2007, 763 people were killed by shooters with concealed carry licenses, including 29 mass killings which took 139 lives; the murder of 17 police officers; and, ironically, 223 suicides. Only after he left Congress did the NRA's point man, Republican Congressman Jay Dickey, admit that "I wish we had started the proper research and kept it going all this time." "I have regrets," adds Dickey. "If we had somehow gotten the research going, we could have somehow found a solution to the gun violence..." If the Republicans still in Congress feel any regret, they keep it to themselves. Indeed, at the instance of the NRA, the GOP has enacted more, and more deadly, suppressions of potentially life-saving information regarding guns. A 2003 Republican sponsored measure prohibits the ATF from releasing information to cities and states which would allow them to trace crime guns. This effectively prevents law enforcement agencies from examining patterns of gun trafficking to criminals or identifying crooked gun dealers linked to large numbers of gun crimes. Another GOP-backed provision frees dealers from submitting inventories to the ATF, allowing crooked dealers to supply guns to criminals and they claim they were "stolen." Yet another provision requires the FBI to destroy within 24 hours all records of approved purchasers gained from background checks. This makes it very hard to retrieve guns issued to dangerous people by mistake -- like Dylan Root, the Charleston shooter -- or from purchasers later shown to be criminals, mentally ill, or spousal abusers. Advertisement A major cause of gun death is assault weapons. In 2004, Republicans in Congress voted to allow the federal assault weapons ban to expire. As the New York Times comments, "as a result, gun manufacturers have been allowed to sell all manner of war weaponry to civilians. Including the super destructive .50-caliber sniper rifle... Why any civilian would need this weapon, designed to pierce concrete bunkers and armored personnel carriers, is a question that should be put to the gun makers who profit from them in the politicians who shamelessly do their bidding." The Republicans only coherent answer is to cite the difficulty in defining an "assault weapon" -- without, of course, entering into any effort to address the problem. Beyond that, they are reduced to insisting that Americans have the right to purchase any gun they want, up to and including military style weapons designed for mass killing. But such guns are hardly necessary or even suitable for self-defense; as for hunting, their use on a deer would yield not a trophy, but ground venison. In truth, all that such weapons are good for is killing a lot of people quickly at close range. Which is why they were used by the shooters in the massacres at San Bernardino, Fort Hood, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Aurora, Colorado, Umpqua Community College in Oregon and on and on. Offered a chance to rethink this after Sandy Hook, Republicans in Congress blocked an effort to renew the ban. As a result, gun companies are aggressively marketing military-style weapons to boost their profits. As the Times reports, their advertising says it all: "'As Close as You Can Get Without Enlisting,' reads one tagline under a photo of a poised shooter aiming the civilian version of a military rifle. An ad for a semi automatic shotgun promises security whether in 'Iraq, Afghanistan, Your Living-room.' An ad for an armor-piercing handgun shows an embattled infantrymen above the line: 'Built For Them... Built For You." They will face no consequences for manufacturing unreasonably dangerous guns and selling them in ways that only enhance the dangers. Why? Because in 2004 a Republican majority in Congress passed one of the NRA's top legislative priorities: a bill granting gun manufacturers and dealers -- no matter how crooked -- broad immunity from lawsuits in state or federal court. Advertisement Similarly, Republicans in Congress have blocked the federal consumer products administration from requiring that guns have even basic safety features. Cars and food and aspirin and kids toys must be made safer -- only guns are sacrosanct. But there is seemingly no end to the NRA's appetite, or the GOP's servility. Recently, stymied by the Republicans in Congress, President Obama took modest administrative steps to try to strengthen background checks, expand access to mental health treatment , and improve gun safety technology. At once Ted Cruz rushed forward to claim that the president was proposing "taking away our guns." But Marco Rubio equally captured the spineless servility of the GOP to the NRA's dystopian demagoguery. President Obama, he claimed, "has waged war on the Constitution. He is obsessed with gun control." He charged that Obama's measures were "meant to further erode the Second Amendment." But, of course, the ever-vigilant Rubio promised to protect us: "I believe that every single American has a constitutional -- and therefore God-given -- right to defend themselves and their families... On my first day in office, behind a desk, don't worry, those orders are gone." For sheer fear-mongering and dishonesty, that is hard to beat. One wonders whether Rubio ever asks himself who will pay the price in blood for this kind of "leadership." But if you want to define the word "servility" with pellucid clarity, you will not require a dictionary. Far better to contemplate Mitch McConnell. After President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, McConnell was asked if, as Majority Leader, he would permit a vote on Garland in the event that a Democrat won the presidency in November. McConnell flatly said that he would not. Here is his reason: "I can't imagine that a Republican majority in the United States Senate would want to confirm, in a lame duck session, a nominee opposed by the National Rifle Association." Advertisement Truly, ineffably, servile. The annals of American politics are rife with self-serving hypocrisy. But the Republicans' cowardly and contemptible servitude to the NRA stands alone in its cravenness and in its costs: the death and maiming of so many thousands of Americans, year after year, shattering families and inflicting the stain of violence on our country. And the GOP's only answer is to promise us more. Think about fairy tales and where does the mind wonder first? Germany! Think about myths and legends and then what - back to Germany, right? So when you think about seeing the best collection of witches and devils dancing around a big bonfire and reveling in a good time then where are you going to go? Well, if you said Germany you'd be right once again. Of course, it's all in fun. Most folks know the May 1 holiday as May Day or Beltane, but in Germany it is called Walpurgis Night. Walpurgis Night is held on April 30 in the Harz Mountains in the Brocken. The Brocken is the highest peak in the Harz Mountains and the focal point for what is the yearly and much loved celebration in those parts called Walpurgisnacht. Advertisement Walpurgis is an old pagan festival and the name was derived from Saint Walburga whose feast day is on May 1. It is on April 30 that it was believed (and still is by some in this area) that witches ride their broomsticks to places that were scenes of old pagan sacrifices and that would be... you guessed it, the Harz Mountains in Germany. Discovering the Harz Mountain area is half the fun so there is no better way to do it than in the 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport. The Land Rover is not only stylish, but offers pure comfort and it's not so bad on the mountain roads during these slushy spring months either. Considered a luxury mid-size SUV with a capital L on the luxury part, the Land Rover Discovery Sport was all new in 2015 so for 2016 there have only been minor tweaks added. With five person seating there is a third row and you can choose from three trim levels; SE, HSE and HSE Lux. Under the hood on the 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport it's a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque and a nine-speed automatic transmission. When this Discovery Sport is equipped properly it can also tow up to 4,409 pounds and the powertrain includes the Land Rover driver-adjustable Terrain Response system with four settings; General, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts and Sand. These settings help with proper steering, gears, stability and differential engagement depending on the terrain. With a price tag of $52,443 for the Discovery Sport HSE LUX you get 20 miles per gallon in the city and 26 miles per gallon on the highway. An enjoyable drive it's much like the Range Rover Evoque behind the wheel and you can count on a stable and strong ride that will give you a feeling of being connected to the road whether it's on the highway, city streets or off road where this 2016 Land Rover Discovery really shines. So head on over to Germany to and attend this lively event this year and you will find, like I did a mountainous range in the Harz that is certainly alluring and mystical. It is shrouded in mist and clouds, which lends to the air of mystery and in Germany it is rumored to still be the home of witches (Hexen) and devils (Teufel). At the festival you can see all sorts of folks; men, women and children dancing around bonfires in costume and there are also booths set up selling local wares, tasty German food and live music. And sure, even a couple of bonfires too. Walpurgis has been the stuff of legend for many years. Case in point, back in the late 1700s even the writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe mentioned the area in his play "Faust." He wrote "Now to the Brocken the witches ride; the stubble is gold and the corn is green; There is the carnival crew to be seen, And Squire Urianus will come to preside. So over the valleys our company floats, with witches a-farting on stinking old goats." It is most likely that the witches celebrating on the Brocken were ordinary humans that were forced to Christianity by Charlemagne. Even so, they still kept the, what would have been considered, pagan rituals and went secretly in the mountains to worship their gods, hooded or masked to protect themselves. Jacob Grimm wrote in 1883 "There is a mountain very high and bare...whereon it is given out that witches hold their dance on Walpurgis night." So is your curiosity up yet? I know mine was and that's why I attended the festival of Walpurgis and found a lively group of folks in the thousands heading up the mountain most dressed like witches and devils. We all rode what was called the Witches Express, a train that leaves every year on this night from the charming city of Wernigerode. Advertisement Wernigerode has its own unique charm and even before the Walpurgis Night festival begins up on the mountain the townsfolk welcome the witches in the town square where there are booths and vendors set up for the day. The charming hotel I stayed in while visiting called Weiser Hirsch was right on the square and I could see the procession out my window. I also had dinner there my first night and was not disappointed with the local flavors. On April 30 leading up to the big event in the Harz I took a scenic train ride to the castle overlooking Wernigrode where yet another festival was going on. It was a medieval festival with amazing music on the grounds as well as all types of food stands and vendors open for business. It was a time of celebration because finally spring had properly arrived. There is much to say about the enchanting Wernigrode castle first mentioned in 1213. It appears to have been lifted straight out of a fairy tale. Some might call it imposing as the strong structure sits high above the town, I simply call it enchanting. The stories this amazing castle has to tell are many and the architecture displays a range of styles from its original Romanesque style to Neo-Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-Romantic, the latter added in the 19th century by a man named Count Otto. Back down in Wernigerode, which was by the way first chartered in 1121, you will find old buildings and landmarks, namely the Town Hall in Town Square. You will certainly be able to feel the strong history that is associated with this area of Germany that is dominated by its proximity to the magical Harz Mountains. The churches and monasteries in the Harz mountains also have stories to tell since the area was once a center of religious power and church influence. Translated that means many well preserved structures still standing like massive cathedrals and Romanesque buildings - some boasting the moniker of the most impressive Gothic churches in Germany. Visit Halberstadt of St Stephen and St Sixtus for an example of this architecture or check out the Woeltingerode Monastery founded in 1147 as a Benedictine Monastery and later converted to a Cistercian nunnery. Indeed, the Harz is a secret little gem located right in the middle of the country where you will discover layer upon layer of little gems. Keep in mind too that in this region there are entire villages that have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the medieval towns of Quedlinburg and Goslar and there are also the mines of Rammelsberg that draw visitors to the area. After my time with the witches on Walpurgis it was time for another widely popular reason that folks head to Germany and that is the spas. In Bad Homburg I stayed at the centrally located Maritime Hotel and took in the atmosphere at the Kur Royal Day Spa and enjoyed a lovely lunch looking out on the grounds of this magnificent property. Afterward there was a delightful city tour where I learned about the history of Bad Homburg and then it was time to eat again, this time at Restaurant Romerbrunnen. There is also a casino in Bad Homburg and for the most part it is still European old school, you know, the way it should be like in the James Bond movies. I thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the casino and was even given a lesson in gambling before dinner at the posh casino restaurant called Crystal. For more information visit www.germanytravel.com. "It takes a village to raise a child" Going through the photos and reports of a flood with water levels never seen before in Tongka village, Borneo, this African proverb came to mind. There is no way a remote community in Borneo should be burdened with saving forests where trees hundreds of years old stand threatened by chainsaws and bulldozers. Not when scientists and activist groups are demanding the preservation of forests in Indonesia for our common benefit as a planet. In these days of extreme weather where forests are said to be the best weapon in our fight against climate change, the world at large needs to come to the aid of places like Tongka village in Central Kalimantan. Tongka village is located in the district of north Barito, Central Kalimantan province in Indonesian Borneo. Village history shows the area was settled in the early 1630s by six families. Once touted as a site with potential for REDD programs, Central Kalimantan is being abandoned in favor of East Kalimantan according to this report from REDD Monitor. This is not surprising considering the fact that most of the land in Central Kalimantan seems to be leased out to one industry or another. In north Barito's case and especially for the village of Tongka, coal mining and the timber industry represent the most immediate threats. The most well known issue on coal remains that of Australia's BHP Billington's leasehold on 350,000 hectares of land in Central Kalimantan. Advertisement This photo was taken two months ago. It's an ancient tree, know locally as "binuang" or "octomeles sumatrana". The species is not endangered as its range countries cover most countries in South East Asia but that does not mean this spectacular tree is not worthy of saving. No amount of money can replace centuries of life. What is endangered are the other tree species and wild animals that live in Tongka's forest. Most notable are the ancient "ulin" trees, known also as "belian" in Malaysia or "Eusideroxylon zwageri" whose slow growth and exploitation has caused the Indonesian government to ban its export. A slow growing tree with a growth rate of only half an inch a year, some of the ulin trees in Tongka's forests stand over one hundred feet tall, placing their age at well over 500 years old. My work with village NGO, The Lumbing Jewata Foundation( named after the original Dayak settler in the area, Lumbing ) over the past year has seen mapping work done to identify the areas where these ancient trees still stand. 1200 hectares have been identified and discussions have been initiated with different groups and companies to fund its protection. An application to the Indonesian government has been filed to claim these areas plus an additional 50,000 hectares for management under tribal laws but realistic expectations are that the government will grant much less. In a power play to convince the Indonesian government that we are capable of both protecting these ancient forests and fulfilling government mandates to bring development to Indonesia's rural communities, we used funding from Lush Cosmetics to begin development activities. Advertisement A plan for tourism was made with jungle treks to see the ancient trees. Planting of high value agarwood trees was started with the purchase of one thousand agarwood seedlings. Studies were done with villagers to see if "dragon's blood" rotan was one of the thirteen species of rotans found in Tongka. Time was put into studying the cultivation of one of South East Asia's most intriguing Non-Timber-Forest-Product, the eurycoma longifolia or "pasak bumi" as it's known in Indonesia. Challenges in saving Tongka's Forests The reason for looking at growing high value products in Tongka village, is that it's so far away from the nearest port of export. Growing organic rice or cocoa would have been simpler but there simply isn't a market that would pay for the premiums needed to get these to consumers. I wanted to avoid fat cat middlemen in big cities whose prices would only serve to keep the villagers of Tongka in poverty. Bringing development to the villagers will be key to the success of any efforts to protect the ancient forests in Tongka village. Amongst the villagers themselves, are rogue members who have been cutting down the ancient ulin trees in violation of Dayak customs. The binuang trees have been spared so far as Dayak superstitions say that the souls or spirits well in binuang trees. This superstition will not guarantee their survival. Tongka's forests are included in licenses that the government has granted to timber and coal mining companies. These companies will have no issues with removing an ancient tree even if it's a thousand years old. Ancient trees aside, the forests in Tongka are still home to most endemic Bornean wildlife including Clouded leopards and the Sunda pangolin. The flood washed away poultry and other food sources from the villagers which is causing me to squirm at the thought of increased hunting for bushmeat. Gibbons and wild fowl like the punai are still plentiful. Even sunbears and pangolins may become food or sold for cash. Wild animals are the collateral benefits I hope to gain from saving the forests in Tongka. Yet I cannot challenge these peoples rights to survival. All I can do is send in emergency supplies of instant noodles and medicine to help them get over this disaster. Placing forests and exotic wild animals as a priority over forest people has seldom worked to save forests unless the people are forced out. This recent report only serves to remind me that if saving endangered wild life is the ultimate goal, then we have to work with the orang hutan or forest peoples to save them. Advertisement These indigenous forests hold a key to saving Indonesia's biodiversity. In Tongka village, their forests have great potential to be a seed bank for endangered tree species like the Borneo ironwood. The IUCN Redlist on Borneon ironwood actually mentions the "inadequate supply of seeds..." as a reason for the lack of preserving this species. In an area where most of the land has been licensed out to big industry, these forests could be a last refuge for wildlife as the bulldozers and chainsaws inevitably take down the remaining forests. Invitations to conservation groups and researchers I know are yet to be answered. Waiting for Help The struggles got harder at Tongka village with the flood last week. Already short on funding to begin with, we will look to salvage what we can to rebuild the guest house and hope tourists will come. The agarwood seedlings will be planted once villagers recover from the disaster. Development of "dragon's blood" red resin will continue with what little knowledge we have on it as research funds were diverted to provide emergency food and medical supplies. I hope we succeed. There's been so much said about saving Indonesian biodiversity that this ocean of words and reports could drown every remaining orangutan. Even the French bill to super tax palm oil will only be a tax grab unless they can show it being used on the ground in Indonesia and Malaysia. There are numerous discussions and debates on saving forests within industry controlled areas but little focus on the tremendous positive impact that community forests in Indonesia can yield. This recent report indicates that over 31,000 communities in Indonesia are undergoing land fights with the government and industries. Not all of them will have the same quality of forests or a land claim as large as that of Tongka village but if we can't save the ancient forests in Tongka, then I have little hope for the rest of them. Will the conservation minded tourist put up with the fourteen hour journey to see and save these ancient forests? Will the billions of dollars of global conservation funds ever end up being more than 1% spent on the ground? Or will destructive companies end up being saviors of forests like Tongka? Advertisement Regardless of where funding comes to save the besieged ancient forests of Tongka village, I believe we will save at least the 1200 hectares. My confidence lies in knowing that it's not some city dwelling conservationist or some corporation looking to do good that wants to save them. It's the tribal council of Tongka and supportive villagers that will achieve at least this little bit. You have probably heard that the National Rifle Association (NRA) has published a couple of revised fairy tales, specifically Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel, to emphasize the security and safety that come from carrying a firearm. Not unexpectedly, the liberal, anti-gun lobby has jumped all over the NRA for this creative effort to convey the true story about firearms. Of course, the NRA is right on target. Firearms ensure peace. My only quibble is that the NRA aimed too low. Why fairy tales? Why not make use of the greatest story ever told to talk about the greatness of guns? Herewith my suggestions for how beloved New Testament stories can be respectfully rewritten to bring home the NRA's valuable lesson: Miracle of the Guns and Ammo When the crowds learned that Jesus was heading to the gun show, they followed him, hoping to hear his word and buy weapons he might recommend. However, Caesar had recently issued a decree banning gun show sales. As the disappointed crowd filed into the parking lot, Jesus's disciples came to him and said, we have but two guns and five bullets to share with this crowd. But Jesus blessed the guns and bullets and bade his disciples to set them before the crowd, and all left satisfied with a choice weapon and a full magazine. Advertisement The Good Samaritan Jesus told this parable, "A man left on a journey. He was hoping to carry some protection with him, but he had to leave quickly, and a ridiculous 72 hour waiting period prevented him from obtaining a gun. Defenseless, he was assaulted while on the journey and left by the side of the road. The man asked a traveler who happened by for a weapon so he could track down his assailants. But this traveler was an anti-gun zealot and ignored the man. Another traveler happened by, but this traveler was a liberal legislator and he also ignored the man's plea. Then a Samaritan who was an NRA member happened by. He happily shared a spare Glock that he had with the man and together they drove off to find the assailants and bring them to justice." Testing by the Pharisees Then the Pharisees went and took counsel on how to entangle Jesus in his talk. "Teacher, we know that you emphasize the safety and security that firearms bring, but if firearms are freely available to all without any reliable background checks, will this not decrease safety by putting firearms into the hands of those who would use them to bring about evil?" Jesus calmly pulled back his mantle to reveal a SIG Sauer P226, and said, "Here's your answer." And the Pharisees troubled him no more. In the Garden at Gethsemane Now it came to pass that the authorities decided to arrest Jesus, as his vigorous advocacy of Second Amendment rights was causing a tumult. For protection, Jesus always carried with him both a handgun and an AR-15, but Judas, a disciple who betrayed Jesus to curry favor with the Hollywood crowd, stealthily removed these weapons while Jesus slept. So the authorities came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. One disciple pulled out a knife and cut off the ear of one of the jackbooted government thugs. To this Jesus said, "An ear? Really? Is that the best you can do?" Last week, several cities across the world were subjected to deadly attacks. In Ankara, Brussels, Istanbul, Baghdad, and most recently, Lahore, people's lives were suddenly changed when they and their families became the victims of extremism. The number of attacks we are witnessing today feels high. Just as we begin to let go of the shock from one, another attack appears. In the wake of these devastating events, the whole world grieves along with the victims, their families, and their countries. As world leaders begin to express their solidarity with the victims and individuals take to social media to express their compassion, the response of Muslims is always subjected to great scrutiny. Muslims are often put in a very difficult position following these attacks, when they are faced with common accusations that Islam is an inherently violent religion and Muslims the inevitable perpetrators of extremism. Underlying the expectation that Muslims will condemn the attacks is the assumption that they and their religion are somehow responsible for extremism. Advertisement Reem al-Atassi and Mashal Mirza, who are students at Emory University, decided to respond differently. Rather than fulfill the expectation and respond in a manner defensive of Islam, Al-Atassi and Mirza responded in a way that was affirmative of our common humanity. Along with twelve Muslim students from Emory, they created a video sending empathy, compassion, and love to those affected by extremism. Mirza explains, "Muslims often feel like they have to defend themselves and their religion when it comes to ISIS attacks; soon, we become defensive and forget that not only are we Muslims, but we are human beings who share this earth with those who suffer from these attacks. Rather than a video condemning these attacks and differentiating the difference between ISIS and Islam, this video is dedicated to wishing for peace in this corrupt world and for vocalizing our thoughts and prayers for these victims." Senate Chambers Minneapolis Minnesota State Capitol Capital Building. When engineers and local officials gathered at a modest home in Flint, Michigan, they were eager to start on the long-awaited project of replacing pipes in the distressed community. Flint's residents have spent nearly two years dealing with a crisis of unmatched proportion. An emergency financial manager appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder forced the city to change its drinking water source from Detroit to the contaminated Flint River. For more than a year, and despite widespread outcry, damaged pipes carried lead into the homes and bodies of children and adults throughout the city. After months of political wrangling, the city and the state finally chose the first home to receive new pipes. The home had tested for 297 parts per billion of lead in the water. (For reference, EPA regulations define 15 parts per billion as "actionable.") Officials prepped the homeowner for a week for the media blitz planned for a Friday morning in early March. On Thursday, they dug out the supply pipe leading from the water main to the house. To the frustration of everyone involved, the pipe they uncovered was copper, like the other pipes in the home. It could not have been the source of the lead. Advertisement The engineer in charge of the effort reluctantly left with the rest of the group for another home down the street, knowing that for all their efforts, they had not fixed the problem. What seemed a challenge at first is now a frustrating puzzle, with the safety of thousands of Flint residents hanging in the balance until it is solved. Tracing the lines of pipe buried under Flint is only one part of the solution. The other is tracing the equally confusing lines of political maneuvering and funding tying the city, the state, and the federal government together. When the crew entered the ground in Flint, they had expected to find corroded pipes. When Senators Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, and Jim Inhofe, R-OK, entered the Senate chamber in March, they had expected to find support for their funding request for Flint. Well, it looks like there's enough disappointment to go around. Stabenow and Inhofe's request would provide $220 million in grants and loans for Flint and other cities facing crises related to water infrastructure. The money for Flint would come from an early phase-out of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program. Within a few short years, the assistance to Flint would be paid off through savings. Despite bilateral support, the Senate will head into a two-week recess with no movement on the bill. Senator Mike Lee, R-UT, who rode a wave of Tea Party support to secure his seat in 2011, has called the bill "political grandstanding" and stopped the bill from going forward. Despite assurances that the funding would be fully paid for by savings from the ATVM fund, Lee's opposition remains one of the last major roadblocks to getting Flint and other communities the help they need. Advertisement Lee gained notoriety his first year in office when he argued that federal aid to disaster-stricken communities is unconstitutional. The freshman senator went so far as to argue that even in a situation like Hurricane Katrina, federal aid should not be released to aid recovery. Of course, when it came to flooding in his home state, Lee eagerly supported federal funding to his own constituents. "That money is there," he argued, "and I see no reason why Utah ought not be entitled to receive such federal funds." Of course, Senators Stabenow and Inhofe have made the same argument for Flint: the money is there, and but for Lee's opposition, the rest of the Senate seems to think residents ought to be able to access it. Without Lee's support, though, that may not happen. Senator Bill Nelson, D-FL, has also put a hold on the bill, but not in opposition to Flint. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, amended the bill to increase funds available to states that increase offshore drilling. A long-time opponent of drilling off the coast of Florida, Nelson supports the bill but not the amendment. (The irony here is that, in the middle of a bill to protect people affected by environmental contaminants, Cassidy has included a proviso to support an activity that itself has generated opposition precisely because of its potential environmental hazards.) The debate about the proposal, too, misses the key point that the crisis in Flint is unlike many disasters, including Katrina and the flooding in Utah. This wasn't an "act of God" but an act of government, at all levels. Local, state, and federal officials all failed in their responsibilities to protect the people of Flint. Regardless of where one sits on the political spectrum, undoubtedly everyone can agree that at the very least, governments should not poison their citizens. Even Senator Lee, hopefully, can agree with this. Making government smaller, as he desires, shouldn't mean making it less accountable when it harms people. What remains to be seen is if Lee and his supporters will also agree with Sens. Stabenow and Inhofe that when this does happen, the same government should make the investment necessary to correct it. Advertisement Reflecting a return to socially-minded business practice being seen increasingly around the globe, there's a tight-knit but growing group of independent, owner-operated hospitality outfits in Auckland, New Zealand. Those that pay staff a living wage, think about their footprint and work hard to ensure customers feel not only welcome, but like they're part of a community. Eighthirty Coffee Roasters is such an enterprise. I spoke to part-owner Christy Tennent about the company's operations and ethos for Impolitikal. How long has eighthirty been running? Five years. It was just our little site on K Rd then. I was our third employee, we've done one espresso bar per year since. Ponsonby Central, then Little Johns in Parnell, and then High Street. And we partnered with a couple in Sydney, who have started a place called Skittle Lane over there. What's your role at the company? We've just gotten to a point where we've got a really great team, and a really great core team. So we're working out what each of our roles are a bit more robustly and where we are headed towards. Currently my role involves being our coffee trainer and doing wholesale account management stuff, as well as making coffee at our espresso bars. We're also working on building our education of our staff and baristas on our accounts, and hopefully the wider population soon as well. Advertisement How would you describe the ethos behind how eighthirty do business? First and foremost we're about doing the best coffee we can, but the ethos of how we create that - and I guess the benchmark of measuring the success of our business - is three-pronged. Rather than just profit, we're interested in environmental, social and economic factors. I like to say: people, profit and planet. More of a triple bottom line. We really do hold dearly to each of those principles, and outwork them in different ways. How does that work in application? With the people side of things, we really value and try to look after our team and our staff really well. Every staff member is on more than the living wage, which is something that we believe in really strongly - that all staff get to share in the profit side of things, and the success. I'm also proud of our ownership structure. There's space for employees to buy into the business. Three of us are part-owners, and that door's open for future employees to come in. It's all owner-operator, and all the owners work within the business. For staff also, we're really committed to creating space for people to achieve their own goals, or develop their own careers within the company. Lots of staff have done that in different ways. I guess we're fortunate in that a lot of our staff are really passionate about things within the coffee world. We really want to support them to be able to do the various things that they want to do. Whether that's participate in a barista competition, or be a part-owner of one of the stores, or learn how to roast - or go and set up a cafe in Sydney. Also, I love that people feel welcome in our spaces. Our local homeless on K Rd know that they can come in and have coffee; we know their names and they are welcome there as much as the business owner around the corner or whoever. I like that those places are melting pots where worlds break down, and the only barrier is the appreciation of a good coffee. I like that the space can do that, and that coffee can do that. The U.S. Delegation at ISTP 2016 via Ruhmeier / Muller Witte / ISTP 2016 Every few years the education news and policy world's ears perk up and tune-in to the release of PISA results. Data is diagnosed and dissected; country performances are condemned or coronated. PISA has its place; but just like classroom and school-level data, it's only as powerful as the questions it inspires, the policies it informs, and the practices we're spurred to examine. So our collective focus might better fall on the annual convening of education ministers and union leaders known as the International Summit on the Teaching Profession. The 2016 iteration took place in Berlin in early March, convening 23 countries around the theme of "teachers' professional learning and growth: Creating the conditions to achieve quality teaching for excellent learning outcomes." At the conclusion of two days of cross-national discussions, informed by OECD data and local contexts, each nation made three commitments to their international colleagues. The US, rarely sheepish on international commitments, made four, shared by the American Federation of Teachers, the Council of Chief State School Offices, the National Education Association and the US Department of Education. And for me, they're the right four. And these organizations working together on these ends is promising. If we want exceptional people to hear and heed the call to teach, if we want children to have compelling experiences in school, if we want promising opportunities for all children in this country, then we must pursue these ends. Urgently. Advertisement Create Standards of Support for Teaching Professionals Get a dozen teachers together and you'll likely find close to a dozen different levels of support for their work, but common expectations for student outcomes. What we know, generally, is that teachers work extraordinarily long days and feel incredibly stressed, while persisting as a new teacher is perilous. For students to get the most from our teachers, their work needs support: induction programs, mentoring, meaningful and on-going professional learning, and reasonable time to plan and collaborate with colleagues. These supports, among others, should be standard. Encourage States to Elevate Teacher Leadership and Voice One of the most fascinating nuggets from the international conversations is that Singapore fills 5% of their education ministry's civil servant posts with teachers-in-residence: classroom teachers, pulled into the policy world for a year to advise, who then return to the classroom. Singapore's Dr. Puthucheary noted the initial political cost to making these changes in the short term, but argued the systemic change engendered future flexibility and educational benefits well worth the cost. Some states are all aboard the "Teacher Leadership Express." Connecticut has a Teacher-Leader in Residence program. Illinois, Michigan, and other states have blossoming teacher leader networks. And USDE has made great strides with the wildly successful Teach to Lead initiative. But, until teacher leadership pathways, which the majority of teachers desire, are readily available and leveraged to inform and improve practice and policy throughout the country, we must continue to push. Advertisement Create Opportunities to Promote Student Equity and Teacher Diversity For many, Jonathan Kozol labeled it exactly right by titling his account of America's 'return to apartheid schooling' as "The Shame of the Nation." Ten years later, inequity and segregation in schools continues to be the problem we all live with. But, there is cause for hope on fighting inequity, as this issue has become a key focus for AFT, CCSSO, NEA, and USDE. This is promising, but true momentum will come as these organizations dovetail with more local districts and grass roots movements to work in solidarity for justice for children. It's commonly known that America's public schools are now "majority minority" while our teaching force is nearly 83% white. The notion that we need to increase teacher diversity is generally accepted. But now comes the work. And that means deeply considering the context for teachers of color in how schools have been disrupted in communities of color. It means making the case for how white children and children of color benefit from increased teacher diversity. And it means having the will to confront our own biases and backgrounds and how they live within institutions. Change the Narrative Around Teaching to Improve Recruitment and Retention Changing the narrative is another challenging commitment worth the struggle, because we cannot simply create a false narrative. We have to continue to change the reality of the work, and raise that narrative. The challenge is that teaching currently has major tradeoffs. Supporting young people to learn, believe in themselves, and find a way to contribute is an incredibly rewarding experience. The fruits of that labor are captured in budding social media campaigns like Teach Like Me and #LoveTeaching. But the conditions under which that work is done can be exhausting, defeating, and constraining. This tension led Gallup researchers analyzing data on occupational groups to note that teachers "love their lives, but struggle in the workplace." And that paradox should cause us to step back and look at these commitments again. What if teachers didn't struggle in the workplace? What if we all received sufficient support, if teacher voice helped lead in policy and practice, and did so from within systems with equity of opportunity and faculties that reflected the diversity of our country? Advertisement Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a rally Friday, March 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Bernie Sanders will win more pledged delegates than Hillary Clinton in the second half of the Democratic nominating season. In fact, he'll almost certainly win more pledged delegates than Clinton in the final three and a half months of the primary season. Advertisement And virtually without question, he'll win more states than Clinton in these final three and a half months -- it's just a matter of how many more. He'll also close out the primary season, it appears, beating Donald Trump by as much or (more often) substantially more than Clinton in nearly every national and battle-ground state poll taken. Yet none of it is a surprise, even in the context of a race the media told us was essentially over a month ago. In fact, everything that's happening now in the Clinton-Sanders race was predicted, long ago, by either Sanders himself or the hard data of this election season. Moreover, none of what's happening is a surprise to the politicos on the Clinton side, either; that's one reason they're working overtime to control and then shift the narrative from the inevitability of a major Sanders comeback. While it's still up in the air whether that comeback will be total or near-total, only by manipulating the narrative can the Clinton campaign keep Sanders at bay. Advertisement And that's why understanding that what's happening now is no more or less than what was readily predictable a year ago is crucial to understanding the current state of the Democratic primary race. This means unpacking not just the Clinton camp's transparent attempts to skew the media narrative, but also, and more importantly, the hard data behind a comeback that could end up being every bit as historic as Sanders supporters are now suggesting it will be. So here are the four items every voter needs to have a handle on as we enter the vortex of nonsense the Clinton campaign sent spinning into the election season as soon as Sanders eliminated 22.5% of her delegate lead in just twelve hours of voting in three states. 1. Hillary Clinton's reversal of her position on super-delegates. A year ago, when Bernie Sanders was at 4% in the polls, and Hillary was the presumptive Democratic nominee, and Party-selected super-delegates began lining up in droves to support Clinton's candidacy for President, the Clinton camp was very, very fond of super-delegates. Super-delegates were announcing themselves by the hundreds before a single vote had been cast -- anywhere -- and without meeting with all of the Democratic candidates for President first. Indeed, super-delegates were announcing themselves by the hundreds before any of the Democratic candidates for President had made the case for their candidacy to either voters, the media, or even Party elders. That was fine with the Clinton camp. Then super-delegates began being reported by the national news media as though they were in some way obligated to the candidates they endorsed. The Democratic National Committee told the media to stop doing this, as super-delegates don't cast any votes until the nominating season is over, and -- as happened to Hillary Clinton herself in 2008 -- can change their minds up until seconds before they declare themselves at the Democratic National Convention. They can even --as happened in 2008 -- vote by the hundreds and hundreds against the Democratic candidate for President who earns the most popular votes. Advertisement So in the event, even a not-so-secret Clinton partisan like Debbie Wasserman Schultz had to go on television repeatedly to say that super-delegates are not earned in caucuses and primaries and therefore cannot be reported by the media in this fashion. In fact, Wasserman Schultz indicated, they shouldn't be tallied at all prior to Philadelphia, at least not as part of electoral-math news reporting. The Clinton camp said nothing. Misleading reporting about the function and meaning of super-delegates wildly favored Clinton, so as the DNC asked the media to stop what it was doing, the Clinton camp stayed quiet. In fact, they were thrilled that this misleading reporting was -- day in, day out -- making a Sanders nomination seem mathematically impossible. It must have been particularly rich for them to watch John King (CNN) night after election night saying that "Sanders supporters complain" about the reporting of super-delegates -- when in fact it was the very Party apparatus the Clinton camp owed its loyalty to, the DNC, that was doing the complaining. So all that was fine with the Clinton camp. Then things got ugly: Sanders starting winning a number of states by large margins, and -- incredibly -- tying or losing the delegate count in those states because state super-delegates refused to support the candidate selected overwhelmingly by voters themselves. This too was absolutely fine with the Clinton camp. It was fine with them because it changed the narrative after Sanders' massive victory in, say, New Hampshire -- a state roughly equidistant from Sanders' home in Vermont and Clinton's in New York -- from "Bernie gains massive delegate haul" to "Bernie's win in his 'backyard' nets him zero delegates on Clinton, so who really cares?" But then something happened. In fact, two things happened. First, noted pollsters, including Nate Silver of The New York Times, informed the Clinton camp that it was "very possible" she wouldn't be able to win the Democratic nomination via pledged delegates alone. In fact, she might not even come close to the needed 2,383 delegates without heavily relying on Party-selected super-delegates. Advertisement Second, the Sanders campaign, seeing the same hard data, concluded -- as a matter of fact, not strategy -- that this meant both Sanders and Clinton would need to make their respective cases to super-delegates in Philadelphia. It meant that the (apparently convincing) argument Clinton had previously made to super-delegates before any votes had been cast or polls published -- that she had the best chance of winning in November -- would now be made by her opponent, Sanders, and this time with infinitely more data than she had ever had at her own disposal. Sanders would be able to point to head-to-head state and national polling showing that he had a much better chance than her of defeating Donald Trump in November. He'd be able to show that he'd won or tied -- or lost so narrowly that another week in-state would have meant a win -- in nearly every November battleground state: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, Utah, Maine, Nevada, and Massachusetts. He'd be able to show that Clinton's pre-election, early voting-driven leads had been halved or worse in Ohio, North Carolina, and Arizona -- with Election Day voting in the second of these favoring her only 52% to 48%, and Election Day voting in Arizona actually favoring Senator Sanders, 52% to 48%. She would have to hang her electability argument on Florida -- where she and Sanders perform equally well against Trump in head-to-head polling -- and a bevy of Deep-Southern states the Democrats won't be contesting in November. So that was when Charles Blow (The New York Times) went on CNN and argued that Bernie Sanders had a "dangerous" view of the role and function of super-delegates. Advertisement And that was when other, more ardent Clinton surrogates started spreading the same tale. Some went so far -- Bakari Sellers of CNN tried particularly hard on this score -- as to call Sanders disloyal to the Democratic Party, implicitly reminding super-delegates that really it was all the money Clinton had raised for their own election campaigns, not anything about her values or first principles, that demanded their loyalty. Sellers and others peddled the tale that somehow Sanders was seeking to destroy the Democratic Party -- even as friends of Sanders like Bill Press (CNN) were telling everyone who would listen that Bernie had always, from day one, said he would not run as an Independent and would support the Democratic nominee for President. No public pledge was required from Bernie -- as was the case with the Republicans -- as in fact Bernie had voted so consistently with the Democrats over the course of his career as an Independent that the idea of doing anything to harm the Party's chance of winning the general election in November was beyond even his capacity to imagine. So here we are. Clinton's view of, use of, and benefit from super-delegates has been anti-democratic from the jump. And now, suddenly, Sanders making a fact-based argument to super-delegates on the very subject they're supposed to care about -- electability -- in the context of an election in which neither party can clinch, is "dangerous." Fortunately, neither the Sanders campaign nor Sanders supporters appear to be wrong-footed by the audacity of this rhetorical reversal by Clinton, nor by its hypocrisy. 2. The certainty that Sanders would fall way behind in the first half of the nominating season, only to come roaring back in its latter half. Advertisement This part of things gets very data-intensive, but I hope you'll bear with me. First, here's a chart taken from FiveThirtyEight.com data. It shows how polling in the early nominating states -- from the jump -- predicted that Sanders would fall far behind Clinton in the first half of the primary season. Specifically, it ranks, from lowest to highest, Sanders' polling-projected chances of winning the early states, with the actual result of each contest at the head of each subsection. Figure 1: Sanders' Pre-Election Chances of Winning Past Contests, With Actual Results (ranked from lowest pre-election chance of winning to highest) Losses Alabama: 0% chance Florida: 0% chance Georgia: 0% chance Louisiana: 0% chance Mississippi: 0% chance North Carolina: 0% chance * South Carolina: 0% chance Tennessee: 0% chance Texas: 0% chance Virginia: 0% chance Arkansas: 3% chance Ohio: 5% chance Nevada: 29% chance* * In North Carolina, Election Day voting was a virtual tie (52% to 48% for Clinton). In Nevada, the final margin was relatively small (5.5%). All other Clinton wins were by reasonably healthy margins. Ties Massachusetts: 6% chance Illinois: 12% chance Iowa: 33% chance Missouri: 46% chance Wins Michigan: 0% chance Oklahoma: 49% chance New Hampshire: 100% chance Vermont: 100% chance Note that we begin to see ties in the voting results when Senator Sanders is given even a 6% pre-election chance of winning. We begin to see Sanders pulling out wins when he's given a 49% or greater chance of winning. The obvious and critical exception here is Michigan, a state Sanders won when he had "no chance" (note that there is no similar result for Clinton to point to). Advertisement As the sharp-eyed will note, for one primary, Arizona, there were no pre-election predictions from FiveThirtyEight. And of course, Sanders also won many caucuses in the first half of the nominating season, though none of these were sufficiently polled to result in a pre-election prediction. This of course hurt Sanders, as all of Clinton's wins could be spoken of in advance by the media in flushed excitement, whereas Sanders' wins came in states whose votes necessarily received slightly less media coverage because of the absence of much if any meaningful polling beforehand. Sanders (usually) received ample media coverage when he won states, that is, but he enjoyed only a fraction of the pre-election coverage Clinton did amping up his ability to win in certain states. The next chart takes the data in the chart above and condenses it -- with the aim of showing that Sanders' chances in the second half of the nominating process are wildly better than was the case in January, February, and March. Again, this data is from FiveThirtyEight (scroll down at link). Figure 2: Sanders' Odds of Winning, First 21 State Primaries (with % of contests falling into each category; two largest categories in bold) No chance (0% chance; 11 states): 52% Low chance (1% to 29% chance; 5 states): 24% Reasonable chance: (30% to 70% chance; 3 states): 14% High chance (71% to 100 chance; 2 states): 10% So in the first half of the nominating season, polling data gave Sanders little to no chance in 76% of the contests. That's why it isn't too surprising that Sanders found himself in a deep delegate hole after the first half of the nominating process. But here's the thing: going forward, the Senator has at least a reasonable chance to win -- and in some cases a very high one -- in 89% of contests: Advertisement Figure 3: Sanders' Odds of Winning, Remaining 18 State Primaries and Caucuses (with % of contests falling into each category; two largest categories in bold) No chance (0%; 0 states): 0% Low chance (1% to 29%; 2 states): 11% Reasonable chance (30% to 70%; 13 states): 72% High chance (71% to 100%; 3 states): 17% To further refine the data above just a bit, here's a state-by-state breakdown -- with delegate counts -- for how the upcoming races are looking for Sanders, per FiveThirtyEight.com's demographics-based projections: Figure 4: Breakdown of Sanders' Odds of Winning, Remaining State Primaries and Caucuses High Odds of Winning (71% to 100% Chance): 53 delegates North Dakota (90%), 18 delegates Montana (85%), 21 delegates Wyoming (80%), 14 delegates Reasonable Odds of Winning (30% to 70% Chance): 1,484 delegates Oregon (70%), 61 delegates West Virginia (67%), 29 delegates Wisconsin (61%), 86 delegates Rhode Island (52%), 24 delegates Connecticut (43%), 55 delegates Indiana (42%), 83 delegates New Mexico (42%), 34 delegates Pennsylvania (41%), 189 delegates California (37%), 475 delegates South Dakota (34%), 20 delegates Kentucky (32%), 55 delegates New Jersey (32%), 126 delegates New York (30%), 247 delegates Low Odds of Winning (0% to 29% Chance): 116 delegates Delaware (21%), 21 delegates Maryland (10%), 95 delegates Advertisement For those who wonder why I term a 30% to 70% chance of winning a state a "reasonable chance," look at it this way -- if a batter is up at plate in a baseball game and his batting average is .300, would it be fair to say he has a "reasonable" chance of getting a hit? Sure. So: if Sanders begins getting delegate ties when he has a 6% chance of winning -- a worse chance of winning than he has for any of the remaining 18 state votes -- and, Michigan aside, tends to win states when his chance of winning is 49% or greater (which is the case in 7 of the remaining 18 contests), we can begin to see what the second half of the nominating season could look like for Sanders. Obviously, these data are assurances of nothing; however, they do underscore that, given the polling and demographic data available to both the Clinton and Sanders camps, both sides knew Sanders would storm back into electoral relevance in the second half of the primary campaign. 3. The Clinton camp's use of the media to spin its chances of clinching the nomination via pledged delegates. Let's be clear: as noted in my last article, Sanders does just fine in states with diverse populations. But the narrative coming out of the Clinton camp lately -- and therefore the media -- is that because Sanders can only win in a) nearly all-white states, and b) caucuses, he won't continue to perform well over the final 18 contests. Advertisement The Clinton camp doesn't believe this, however. Nor does the media. Not just because it quite evidently isn't true based on the data we have, but because it's an argument whose timing is so wildly convergent with the emergence of serious doubts about Clinton's candidacy that it doesn't so much smack of politics as embody what we Americans hate about all things political. First and foremost, ten of the 20 whitest states in America have yet to vote, so this is a bizarre time for the media to be saying that Sanders is heading into unfriendly territory demographics-wise. Somehow, the media has turned Pennsylvania, the 19th whitest state in America, into a state "too diverse" for Sanders to win. Mind you, three of the ten least white states in America were just won by Sanders in landslides, but somehow a state substantially more white than these is a Sanders bogeyman. It's nonsense. The same is true for Wisconsin, which is the 11th-whitest state in America but is being cast as "much more diverse" than the three states Sanders just won in a landslide, when of course it's much less diverse. Why the nonsensical rhetoric from the media? I don't know -- ask the Clinton camp. Most days CNN commentators are (I emphasize, by their own on-air admission) simply reading out Clinton-camp texts and tweets to their viewers. (Dana Bash and Brianna Keilar, I'm looking at you two in particular. Stop reading out campaign propaganda on-air as though it were news -- or reliable.) Another state that must be shocked to suddenly discover itself "too diverse for Sanders to win" is Connecticut, which is 71% white (the U.S. is 62% white overall). Or Delaware, which is 63% white. While New Jersey and New York are just a hair more diverse than the middle 50% of American states (demographically speaking, as to race and ethnicity) that Sanders is losing to Clinton just 52% to 48% -- New Jersey is 58% white and New York 57% so -- only Maryland looks to pose a real demographic challenge to Sanders, assuming you believe the media canard about Sanders' appeal to nonwhite voters in the first instance. This is probably why Maryland is the state with the lowest "Sanders win" percentage, above. Advertisement Demographically, Maryland (54% white) looks much more like the four states Clinton gets 95%+ of her delegate lead from: Florida (55%), Georgia (53%), Mississippi (57%), and Texas (44%). The difference, as Ben Jealous of the NAACP and many others have pointed out, is that nonwhite voters are not monolithic -- the conservative bent of nonwhite voters in the Deep South is not matched by large numbers of nonwhite voters north of the Mason-Dixon line. In any case, based on past results (see Figure 4 and actual vote tallies from past primaries and caucuses), we can readily imagine Sanders winning states in which he has "high odds of winning" by a margin of, say, 75% to 25% -- which would net him 27 delegates on Clinton's current 230-delegate lead (40 delegates to 13). While more difficult, it is certainly not beyond the pale to imagine Sanders winning the largest category in Figure 4 -- states in which Sanders has a "reasonable chance of winning" -- by 55% to 45% overall, meaning he would net 148 delegates on Clinton (816 to Clinton's 668). In the states where Sanders has a low chance of winning -- remembering that, in the very worst of these, Maryland, his chance of winning is still 500% better than was the case in his worst Southern state -- we might expect Sanders to lose to Clinton 55% to 45%, for a net delegate loss of 12 (64 delegates for Clinton, 52 for Sanders). Under this scenario, Sanders would gain 163 net delegates between now and the end of the California primary (specifically, he'd gain 908 delegates to Clinton's 745). Advertisement The result would be that, after California, Sanders would have 1,945 delegates, and Clinton 2,012. An additional 94 delegates would come from four non-state voting units: Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. The upshot: the math above emphasizes how easy it will be for Sanders to keep Clinton from clinching the Democratic nomination -- which requires 2,383 delegates -- with just pledged delegates. Indeed, in the very reasonable scenario imagined above, Clinton could win fully 100% of the non-state primaries whose delegates haven't been allotted here and she would still come up hundreds -- literally hundreds -- of delegates shy of clinching the nomination with just pledged delegates. Or, alternatively, Sanders could slightly outperform the scenario imagined above, win a good portion of the non-state voting, and come out just ahead of Clinton in pledged delegates. In either scenario, neither candidate would be able to clinch the nomination before Philadelphia. 4. Sanders' growing ability to meet or exceed his delegate targets almost everywhere. Right now, FiveThirtyEight.com says that Bernie Sanders has met 92% of his delegate target -- the number he needs to ensure that he wins the pledged delegate battle -- after braving far and away the most difficult portion (for him) of the primary calendar. Meanwhile, Clinton is only 8% over her target, despite having had the benefit of all of the states that are most favorable to her having already voted. Here another view of this: Figure 5: Sanders' Performance, Relative to Delegate Targets, in States Voting Before March 5 (with performance relative to target, followed by % of all pre-3/5 states falling into the given category; largest category in bold) Advertisement Exceeded Target: 19% Met Target: 6% Failed to Meet Target: 75% Figure 6: Sanders' Performance, Relative to Delegate Targets, in States Voting On or After March 5 (with performance relative to target, followed by % of all pre-3/5 states falling into the given category; largest category in bold) Exceeded Target: 47% Met Target: 16% Failed to Meet Target: 37% When you go inside these numbers, they're even more striking. Of the 16 contests before March 5, Sanders only exceeded his delegate targets three times -- but even in these three successful contests, he never exceeded his delegate target by more than two delegates (out of a total of 4,051 pledged delegates to be awarded this primary season). So even when Sanders did well, he didn't do so in dramatic fashion. From March 5 onward, there have been 19 contests. Sanders exceeded his target in nine of them -- and in every case but one, exceeded his target by more than two delegates. In many cases, much more. So really, it isn't enough to say that Sanders is doing better now than he was, but that the media expected him to be doing better now than before and -- even still -- he's outperforming even those out-sized expectations. FiveThirtyEight.com predicted, for instance, that Sanders would win both Hawaii and Alaska by 8 points, and instead he won the former by 40 points and the latter by 60. Essentially, the media hasn't been able to keep pace with Sanders' momentum, even in those rare instances it uses hard-data projections to try. One consequence of this is that many of the projections for future Sanders delegate hauls are almost certainly wrong. First, they're wrong in caucus states because those projections (e.g., from FiveThirtyEight) still project 55%-45% Sanders wins in these votes, even though Sanders has already shown that his caucus wins tend to be by 40 to 50 points rather than ten. Second, the future projections are wrong because they do not, in many instances, consider past voting behaviors; for instance, whereas demographic data shows that Sanders has a 41% of winning Pennsylvania, for some reason FiveThirtyEight.com has used just a single poll from the last four weeks -- which poll sampled just 408 likely voters in a state of 13 million -- to conclude that Sanders actually only has a 4% chance of winning. Advertisement Having only one poll from the last month with which to predict the results in Pennsylvania means using, instead, data that comes primarily from the first half of the election cycle -- when all factors and data seemed to favor Clinton -- to predict an election that's happening under radically different circumstances. So let's repeat here what I said at the start of this article: Sanders will win more pledged delegates in the second half of this nominating season than Hillary Clinton. In fact, he'll almost certainly win more pledged delegates than Clinton in the final three and a half months of the primary season. He'll also close out the primary season, it appears, beating Donald Trump by substantially more than Clinton in nearly every national and battle-ground state poll taken. So pollsters now have a choice: use polls from a month or more ago to predict the future -- which FiveThirtyEight is now largely doing, and which the Clinton camp wishes for them to continue doing -- or use the results as they've actually come in from individual states, not just the "light-blue versus dark-blue" binaries pushed by CNN's simplistic "magic wall" but the final tallies everywhere, to correctly chart the course of an historic electoral comeback. It's a narrative the Clinton campaign will be pushing back on almost every single day, usually with audacious claims that are offensive to anyone with eyes and ears -- such as the recent one to the effect that Bernie Sanders is running a "very negative" campaign. If the Clinton campaign is so stridently disrespecting voters' intelligence in March, how will they distinguish themselves later on against a man who's made his political career disrespecting voters' intelligence, Donald Trump? Advertisement The simple answer, I suppose, is that if they keep on the way they are, they'll never get the chance to find out. A Syrian Kurdish boy sits on a destroyed tank in the Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, on March 27, 2015. Islamic State (IS) fighters were driven out of Kobane on January 26 by Kurdish and allied forces. AFP PHOTO/YASIN AKGUL (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images) On March 27, the Syrian army liberated Palmyra from the barbarians. No doubt it was a very important day for Syria. Moreover, after nearly two weeks, representatives of the Syrian government and opposition have paused peace talks in Geneva. The negotiations wrapped up at the end of a tumultuous week, revealing how far-reaching the consequences of the Syrian conflict are and the urgent need to find political resolution. The terrorist attack in Brussels, which left over 30 dead and more than 300 injured, demonstrates the need for a unified Syrian front against the so-called Islamic State. While the group has lost a significant amount of its territory and leadership, including its second-in-command, the Brussels bombing shows that it will become even more aggressive in its foreign operations as it loses ground, with some stating the attack in Brussels is an indication of panic in the group. Advertisement While no breakthrough agreement was reached in the peace negotiations in Geneva, the mere fact that the two sides stayed at the table for so long, all while a "cessation of hostilities" generally continues to hold in Syria, is a significant achievement by itself. The warring parties also came out of the talks with encouraging statements. According to Reuters, chief Syrian government negotiator Bashar Ja'afari was "positive" and believed the round of talks had "broken a diplomatic impasse." The coalition of opposition groups known as the High Negotiations Committee, a grouping that was formed in Riyadh in December and represented the opposition at the negotiations, has also reportedly stated that the talks have "laid the basis for substantive talks" for when the two sides meet again in April. The tragedy that is the Syrian civil war, which by some reports has led to the deaths of at least 470,000 people and spawned an unprecedented refugee crisis, has torn asunder a society once renowned for being a mosaic of different religious and ethnic groups. Before the unrest in Syria started in 2011, Syria maintained a delicate ethno-religious balance through institutionalized tolerance and respect for minority rights. It also had a health care system that was "the envy" of many regional countries, a "healthy record" on public education and significant economic growth in the decade leading up to the civil war despite international embargoes imposed on it by the United States. Syria was also a critical factor in there being a stable regional balance of power. It strongly opposed Saddam Hussein's invasions of Iran and Kuwait and was a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Simultaneously, though, it maintained strong partnerships with the Sunni power centers, especially Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Advertisement Belgian Army soldiers patrol at Zaventem Airport in Brussels on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. (AP/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Of course, it goes without saying that Syria's political system was in need of serious reforms. These reforms, however, should have been pursued through diligent peaceful means, such as regional and international incentives, to avoid a total breakdown of political institutions. Unfortunately, this was not done, leading to the massive disaster we are witnessing. Since Iran was first invited as a participant in the Syria peace talks last November, there has been substantial progress towards a final settlement, though major steps still need to be taken. "We adopted the notion of a transition for Syria. Russia and the United States and all of the other countries ... And I might add, one of the supporters of that particular approach both times in Vienna and subsequently in the meeting in New York and then in Munich is Iran, which also signed onto that," said John Kerry. Here are seven suggestions that may help resolve the civil war in Syria, end the refugee crisis and alleviate the terrorist threat posed by ISIS to Europe and the rest of the world: Palmyra was liberated from ISIS by the Syrian government army on March 27, 2016. (Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images) Full cooperation between the two coalitions fighting ISIS -- i.e. the coalition spearheaded by Iran, Syria, Iraq and Russia and the one by the United States and its regional and international allies. This will assure cooperation among the key regional and international powers in the ISIS fight and is the only effective way to destroy the group. In Syria, the ground offensive against ISIS led by the Syrian army and Kurdish forces should immediately be supported internationally and be intricately connected to Iraqi military and paramilitary efforts against ISIS. For that to happen, the Saudis, Qataris and Turks must command their proxy rebel forces to adhere to a complete ceasefire and allow them to cooperate with government and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS if possible. In line with that, the Syrian government, opposition, as well as regional and international powers, should move beyond the current "cessation of hostilities" towards a formal and durable ceasefire. Parallel to this, prisoners should be released by both sides and humanitarian assistance should be administered to all areas. International peacekeeping forces, numbering in the thousands, should be sent to guarantee the ceasefire and reopen the contested cities and towns to resettle as many displaced refugees as possible. Investing in the creation of such a force will be far cheaper to do than the billions spent to destroy the country and the cost of settling refugees outside of the country. In light of the proxy nature of the conflict, no Arab or Iranian forces should be a part of this peacekeeping force. A huge reservoir of forces exists in Asian, Latin American, European and African countries that could be used in this regard. Hundreds of used life vests lie on a makeshift rubbish dump hidden in the hills above the town on March 10, 2016 in Mithymna, Greece. (Alexander Koerner/Getty Images) "We will not talk to anyone who talks about the position of the presidency. Bashar [al-Assad] is a red line," the Syrian foreign minister, Walid Muallem has said. However, the fate of Assad and the Syrian presidency should be left to the people of Syria through an election supervised by United Nations. In parallel, the opposition forces must precisely define who would negotiate for a national unity transitional government that would have full executive powers. This process will lead to a new constitution and ultimately to an internationally sponsored election. Terrorist and radical religious groups should be excluded. There is a major need for a strong post-war rebuilding plan; a type of mini-Marshall plan that would foster stability during the fragile recovery period with economic support, enabling the re-inhabiting of destroyed cities and towns and preventing a chaotic and prolonged recovery. The refugee centers in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon should be gradually dismantled to prevent them from becoming a long-term security threat to the region, as refugee camps unfortunately tend to become. Every effort should be made to return refugees to their towns and assist them in reconstruction and participation in the political process. For all these elements to succeed, there must be unity among the international community, specifically the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. They need to control their regional allies and direct them towards these goals. Moreover, the Security Council should implement plans to stifle the deadly sectarianism spreading in West Asia. If not checked, it will have serious consequences for the entire world. Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian is a research scholar at Princeton University and a former spokesman for Iran's nuclear negotiators. His nuclear book, "The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir," was published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His latest book, "Iran and the United States: An Insider's View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace" was released in May 2014. Earlier on WorldPost: It's Easter weekend on Vashon Island, Washington. Easter is the Christian holy day celebrating celebrating life after death, and the pagan holiday symbolizing renewal. It's celebrated on the first lunar moon after the vernal equinox, the half way point of the sun's timeless journey across the sky that neatly divides the day into dark and light. There is nothing more essential in nature than sunlight, and from ancient times we've celebrated its growing presence in our lives, and the renewal that springs from it. This was my first winter in Seattle. One of the rainiest cities in America had its rainiest winter on record. I eagerly await spring and sunlight to pierce my flat mood and the numbing grey Seattle sky. But nature has its own schedule. So my friends and I came up with a list of 150 ideas to get a head-start on spring and connect with the world in a fresh, new way without any prompting by nature. While designed for single women, most of these activities work if you're male or married, too. Tell me which 5 activities I should try. No judging! Maybe some of them will work for you, too. When all else fails, combine them -- just like that party game -- with a lover. Happy Spring. The impact of the heinous Brussels attacks may not have altered daily lives in Europe just yet, let alone the rest of the world, but in the absence of global policy coherence it incrementally will. If nothing is done at a multilateral level to address the aftermath, the responses by different governments and actors will be piecemeal and often counterproductive to stated end goals of reversing the tides unleashed. Although several Western leaders have cautioned restraint in rushing to judgment in fueling anti-Muslim apartheids, including President Obama, the dye is cast. The IS/Daesh terrorist in Paris and Brussels wanted fear to still the heartbeat of Western civilisation, and he has succeeded. He has succeeded because his goal is first fear, followed by a mushroom-cloud of suspicion, division and exclusion. The Daesh's first goal is to divide the world into black and white, into a clash of civilizations, followed by capture of cash, booty and territory. His toolkit is low-cost and can cause carnage without sophisticated hardware. His ideology provides instant gratification as well as self-glorification. He is a postmodern rebel with what he thinks is an existential grievance against the empowered world, and he has a digital megaphone that can't be turned off. Between the travel advisories and the enhanced muscularity of border controls in Europe, the tilt to more than random Muslim profiling will likely be real. The narrative fires of rising European nationalism, and an unprecedented rightist Republican guard in the US may well cause a swing to the once-moribund left. But constituencies for exclusion have the microphone now, and if left unchecked, can lead the way to a darker age, where citizens that were once more agnostic to hate may find new exclusions digestible. Despite the fact that the majority of non-Muslim citizens in these societies will continue daily affirmations of solidarity with Muslims in public spaces, the shadow will fall among us all like a biblical serpent. Whether real or imagined, it will have its flesh. Advertisement The habitual accommodations that many cultures and countries make to live with immigrants and minorities will hardly muffle out the angry noise. Assimilation and its terms will become a harder battleground for race, culture and less negotiable identities. Secularism's glittering promise will both be challenged by the fear of diversity, while the daily norm of un-policed tolerance will be harder to enforce. Here's why. Everyday kindnesses or legal entitlements do not make headlines, nor do facts always inform policy, especially in the reactive world after 9/11. Facts too often don't, and won't matter in such a context. The US invasion of Iraq is a prime example of state responses based on wrong intelligence, and an entire region vortexing into chaos. Another example is the state of terror-related casualty figures in Europe even after Paris and Brussels. It won't matter that Europe is safer today than it was in the 1980s, because terror is not treated through the machinery of crime now. It begets visceral responses that suspend fundamental rights in seconds. In Pakistan, too, we treat terror now though a prism of moratoriums on due process. It is seen as an attack on civilisation as we know it. Anyone seeing the Daesh-style beheadings and grisly executions will find it hard to disagree. In the age of low economic growth and growing inequality, irrespective of wealth creation in colder climates and even Asia, anger will not be in short supply in any continent. Cantonized states in the Middle East will remain central to borderless conflict, terrorism, sectarian wars, narcotics and human traffic. Just the Syrian implosion, which has created mass slaughter and homelessness on a scale that the 21st century should not have had to witness, will breed more sub-optimal policy choices, and likely evade conventional dispute-resolution or an enforceable peace. Afghanistan, too, will fight and talk while remaining under predation from Taliban insurgents, who in turn fight Daesh. Iran and Saudi oil, with crashing prices and clashing agendas, will not bankroll stability, nor fight a common enemy in any coherent strategic play that demonstrates Muslim state leadership in times of epochal crisis. Smart global policy that unifies state agendas and identifies common enemies will continue to evade retreating powers. For both the Muslim world and the Western behemoth, unity on key single agendas will remain a mythical unicorn. Advertisement For Pakistanis, the pain will be magnified, for obvious reasons. Epitomized in global headlines as the place where all terror is routinely hatched and disseminated with impunity, we will find ourselves answering for many of the sins of commission and omission of the state and non-state actors. While 81 Pakistanis with visas were just recently denied entry into Russia, other Western countries will be reviewing their visa policies too. Will that mean we seal ourselves into self-referential silos, bereft of imagination or agency? Will we allow hyper-nationalism in other countries to auto-power our own, or will we shape responses that are constructive? Under-powered governments in Pakistan begin to look snowed in by the mid term in any case. In the high-velocity policy climate of eroding international order, when responses matter in real-time, institutional lags overshadow intent. Countering violent extremism is now a stated priority, but the real questions cut a big to-do-list swathe. From hate-speech reform to who we tolerate as second priority on our prosecute-terror list, change is patchy and slow. The questions to ask are about how many successes we are scoring in shutting down our own terror sub-groups. How well are we able to manage the border and ensure a semblance of peace with Afghanistan, when we know Daesh-style franchises are popping up in Kunar and Nangarhar. We also know that the terrorists at home may subscribe to different names and sub-nationalities, but that the Safoora Goth and Sabeen Mahmud killers in Karachi have sworn allegiance to Daesh. This kind of lone wolf actor, or a group such as Jundullah which has declared itself a member, may not have sprung whole from the Iraqi mother-lode or from foreign fighters with oil money to burn, but will cut a wide arc of headline terror if links are found to any international episode.In many cases, the exception will become the story and inform the Western headline. Little care will go into the nuance of how Pakistan degraded al Qaeda on its territory, or how many mothers still cry for their children killed in heinous attacks such as the APS massacre and then later at the university in Charsadda. The brutal cardboard cutout of Pakistan as a spoiler will trump all sacrifice, or the painful slog of policy turnaround, especially if militants on UN watch lists and bounty calls roam the country at large. Afghanistan and its failures of unification or post-US withdrawal conflict will become shorthand for Pakistan's supposed inaction, with the search for Taliban leverage becoming an existential albatross. In a year when much of the public wants the non-politician, there is a new model for successful office-holding -- the outgoing and ever-confident Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. If the electorate is looking for people who aren't career office-holders, then McAuliffe, who had never been in public office previously, is the example. What voters in Virginia got when they elected McAuliffe in 2013, however, was a vastly experienced politician, yet a first-time office-holder. McAuliffe had built a career mixing politics and business, starting with wrestling an alligator to raise money and continuing to the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee and chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign for president in 2008. Advertisement Along the way, he made friends, and a few enemies, too, but mostly friends who admired the drive and constant and colorful upbeat of McAuliffe's winning ways. As an insider, but outside political office, he managed to learn more about governing than most who had been longtime elected officials. When McAuliffe decided to enter electoral politics for himself, running for Virginia's Democratic nomination for governor in 2009, he was largely unknown in the state but still placed second in a three-man race. The winner, a state senator, lost badly to the Republican that November. (The Republican, Robert McDonnell, is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep from going to jail after being convicted on corruption charges.) If McAuliffe then waited more than one day to start running again, no one noticed, because he soon was traveling over the state, learning and taking ubiquitous notes, to become unopposed as the Democratic nominee for governor in 2013 and going on to defeat a strong Republican opponent, a sitting attorney general, to occupy the historic governor's mansion in Richmond. There were still a few, even then, who thought McAuliffe might not be all that serious about governing, but when the hard work began, he quickly proved that as a first-time office-holder, known for political friendships and little-known as an executive, he would be his own force. Advertisement McAuliffe courted and charmed all, especially the controlling Republican opposition in the state legislature, the General Assembly. But it was executive strengths and detailed knowledge of and preparation on issues, not just courtship, that enabled him to succeed where others had failed. If today's public wants one thing out of its political leaders - jobs - McAuliffe has made job creation his urgent overriding goal, and he has succeeded in bringing new plants and industry into the state, coming from as far away as China. He has traveled extensively throughout the world to sell Virginia's goods and get investments. On occasion, a promised project might not pan out, to the delight of some opponents, but McAuliffe simply worked harder and achieved a job production batting average that all-stars would envy. Then, to underpin both bringing jobs to Virginia and creating the workforce to fill those jobs well into the future, McAuliffe this year succeeded in pushing through a reluctant legislature a broad plan to raise educational levels in Virginia, particularly including training and producing a workforce through the state's strong but little-noticed community college system. Unable to get an obstinate Republican legislature to reconsider its vehement opposition to President Obama's health care program - Virginia being one of the few states to ignore its uninsured population and leaving a pile of federal money on the table - McAuliffe can now look to his promising education and workforce programs as an enduring legacy. Jobs and workforce have been the hallmark of McAuliffe's administration, now half-way through its four-year term. (Virginia is the only remaining state barring reelection after only one term.) But he has also strengthened Virginia's previously-loose ethics laws, notably compared to the former Republican governor awaiting prison, and has succeeded in a long list of other accomplishments. Advertisement All of which is to say that no, Terry McAuliffe isn't this year's candidate for President, even at a time when much of the public is looking for a leader with different appeal. He is strongly behind Hillary Clinton and believes in her experience. What his success in Virginia does say, however, is that in the future, voters throughout the country might well look beyond the tried-and-true career office-holder for new leadership. Even Hillary Clinton didn't hold elective office until after her First Lady years when she became senator from New York. There are in Washington and throughout the statehouses numerous experts at governance - yes, including lobbyists - who might fit the McAuliffe model, although few if any have his drive and electability. One previous example of this model, from the Republican party, might well be Haley Barbour. He, like McAuliffe, was a national party chairman who had built a successful Washington lobbying business. Barbour then went back to his native Mississippi to become a popular governor, quickly restoring Mississippi after the devastating Hurricane Katrina of 2005. Advertisement Curiously, one candidate to succeed McAuliffe as governor of Virginia is Republican Ed Gillespie, a Washington lobbyist and political operative who has not held elective office, although only narrowly defeated by incumbent Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) when Warner was reelected in 2014. Acid attack is not something unheard of in India. It has shocked the conscience of our nation again and again - with mutilated faces, unbeaten survivors coming to the frontlines to share their horrific stories, and families driven to bankruptcy supporting recovery costs. The Indian Penal Code was modified in 2013 for the first time to add regulations tailored to acid attacks. But have we done enough? Do enough of us care? Why should we care? Why should we care anymore than we do for general fight for women's rights and safety in India about acid attacks? Because acid attack is possibly the worst infliction on another human - leading to complete debilitation, loss of income and opportunity, and even social sequestration- and it can happen to anyone, at any time. The means to this evil remain quite accessible to most and the causes provoking such malice can be unimaginably trivial. Accepting a drink from a local shopkeeper? Or rebuking harassment on the streets? Just being in home sitting on a couch? These are all known causes of attacks on acid attack survivors. The last story - is that of Piyali Dutta - who got caught in a crossfire and now is an acid survivor for life. Sonali Mukherjee's story - attacked while sleeping in her own house for standing up to harassment - is one that should keep all of us awake as it could have been, or still can be, anyone. 85% of victims are women, so acid attack can overwhelmingly be classified as gender violence. For the 15% male victims, the primary cause of attack is property dispute. Advertisement What factors allow such attacks? Un-counseled anger and frustration is behind the crimes as much as pre-disposition to sociopathic traits, and violence and societal chauvinism plays a significant role (85% of the victims are women). But the real culprit to blame is the ease to get away with it. Anger over rejection (41% of attacks in India from 2010 - 2013 was from spurned lovers) causes the desire to lash out and inherent disregard for women in specific and human suffering in general seeds the thought, but the lax laws - both to limit availability and to counter the crime - is what lets the perpetrators (who happen to list from white collar officials to migrant workers) convert their thoughts in to action. Before insertion of Sections 326A-326B of Indian Penal Code (as recent as 2013), acid attack could only be prosecuted as violence against women. This tremendously hindered data availability and made arrest and punishment subjective and lenient. The Indian Penal Code amendment on the 2nd of April 2013 included provisions for prosecution of perpetrators, treatment and rehabilitation of the victims, right to self-defense against acid attack and control of acid sales. The laws however, for sure 'too late', might also be 'too little' in their current state. Let's take a look at the acid sales restrictions, prosecution and rehabilitation realities post 2013 to understand why. When consulted, Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI; partner of Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI)), broke down the acids taking primarily West Bengal, India and Bangladesh as examples. Availability of acids (12% or higher concentration, or in forms which can be concentrated to higher strength) depends on usage. The organized sector - fertilizer and other heavy industries - are mostly under regimented control system, so leakage or misappropriation, although feasible, are not too common. Advertisement The unorganized sector on the other hand, in lieu of the large migrant and rural population in these sections, have a myriad of acids abundant depending on the industry. Gem and jewelry business - a prime consumer of aqua regia - thrives on mostly migrant workers who therefore have access. Hard to track and censor, they therefore need to be targeted through awareness campaigns (one of the most successful ways to curb attacks - as demonstrated in Bangladesh - has been by limiting availability through massive campaigns). Assailants can also concentrate lower strength acids still available unrestricted. The statistics substantiate the importance of source of availability in tackling this problem. Murshidabad - the cotton hub of Bengal - have much higher number of attacks given the availability of acid used for fading work which is often sub-contracted to a hard to trace and migrant worker base. Paints and household cleaners remain another easy to avail source and even though regulation has now been passed in India, the police force is understaffed to go after the numerous shops selling acids as household cleaners or cleaners with acid above permissible levels. In general, the logistics of confiscating and testing illegal chemicals and prosecuting offenders remain extremely cumbersome for most South East Asian countries. Additionally, passed regulations in which the Supreme Court assigns the Sub division officer (SDO) responsible for overseeing control) doesn't detail out ownership and implementation roles specifically to make sure funds and resources are dedicated to this effort. In sum, loopholes remain owing to falling a step short in the laws in defining ownership and allocating resources for making sure the provision of selling acid only with records to control access gets implemented. Advertisement The prosecution statistics published in the situational analysis of acid violence in eastern India report published by ASFI tell a similar story. Of the attacks registered from 2010-2014 (most prior to 2013 went into grievous assault bucket) only 60% resulted in filing of charge sheets - 81% of the perpetrators were able to obtain bail, 49% are absconding. Even securing rehabilitation and government compensation as provisioned by law now (mere 3 lakh in comparison to average 50 lakh needed for 50-60 surgeries depending on the severity of the attack) remain painstakingly slow process (only 3 out of the 38 cases ASFI headquarters in Kolkata has filed for has received compensation so far). Drawing comparison to acid control legislation successfully implemented in Bangladesh (now constantly mentioned in international forums as exemplary in this regard), the factors hindering the same from happening in India need to be considered and countered. The size of the country, region to region differences, and lack of coordination between center and state governments come up as the prime factors. So specific roles and responsibilities and resource allocation is vital. Awareness campaigns appealing to public to not sell, distribute, or use - especially with listed consequences of high profile convictions and warning women to be aware of the signs and to take threats seriously (in almost all of the cases being handled by ASFI Kolkata there had been pre-warnings and even something as simple as knowing to scream when being approached is known to be a deterrent) need to have central govt. allocated funding. Same is needed for widely publishing immediate first aid steps (acid burns need to be treated fast and right to minimize damage). Elimination of bureaucracy is needed for victim rehabilitation (most are unable to continue previously held jobs, many are shunned and ostracized by their families). Definition of roles in implementing control, tougher punishment (Bangladesh has up to capital punishment for acid violence) and fast track courts dedicated for trying these cases comes next. Most victims lose the motivation to pursue the fight after the initial months pass as the irreversibility of their condition become apparent to them. Hopelessness and depression sinks in replacing anger and motivation for justice, lowering further the rate of prosecution and conviction of assailants. Advertisement On the opposite end of the globe - Columbia responded swiftly in shock and horror after attack on Natalia Ponce De Leon in 2014. Within 2 years of the attack Columbia passed a law named after her, making penalty for acid attacks comparable to that for homicide. Why does our conscience as a nation need to be shocked again and again with multiple faces over so many years leaving us vulnerable in the meantime to such a cruel and destructive crime? The life the survivors have to lead have made us shudder at thought - we need to continue shuddering until every woman (and man) in India is safe against acid violence. Today? We are far from that place. Data credit: ASFI Kolkata (http://www.asfi.in/) By Jeremy Galloway The overdose crisis has touched almost every corner of the United States. According to the CDC over 47,000 people died from overdoses in 2014, most from opioids like heroin, hydrocodone, OxyContin, morphine and fentanyl. These deaths can be preventable with access to naloxone and education about overdose prevention and harm reduction. Most states have passed naloxone access and 911 medical amnesty (or "Good Samaritan") laws in recent years. But that's only the first step, and there are critical gaps in implementing those laws on the ground. One of the widest gaps is in our corrections system. People are dying from overdoses in significant numbers shortly after they're released, we know that. But they're also dying within weeks of being arrested. Advertisement There's a commonly held notion that withdrawal from opioids is a miserable experience, but not fatal. Once, when I was homeless and reached out for help, a treatment hotline told me I didn't qualify for a bed in a detox program because "heroin withdrawal won't kill you." I was in jail within two weeks. Fortunately, it didn't kill me. But recent incidents at jails across the country demonstrate that opioid withdrawal, and the related symptoms, can be deadly. With proper medical care and access to evidence-based treatment, however, it needn't be. Dying for Help Since 2015 there have been at least four prominent cases of people dying in jails from opioid withdrawal symptoms. Some symptoms, like anxiety, runny nose, muscle aches or insomnia, can be minor. More severe symptoms include vomiting and profuse diarrhea, leading to dehydration, and, in extreme cases, convulsions, seizures and delirium. In a closed setting with limited access to medical care, inadequate nutrition, and crowded, unhygienic conditions -- as is the case in many county jails -- this can yield potentially fatal results. In March 2015, 18-year-old Victoria "Tori" Herr died in a Pennsylvania jail after being arrested on drug charges. According to several inmates, Tori was denied medical aid. Her mother told local news: "She was basically sentenced to death before she even saw the judge." Her family started a Facebook group which now has almost 5,000 members. Advertisement Tori Herr In June 2015, 32-year-old David Stojcevski, a Detroit man enrolled in a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program, died while serving a 30-day sentence for careless driving. His family has filed a lawsuit, citing an "excruciatingly painful and slow" death from "acute withdrawal from chronic benzodiazepine, methadone and opiate medications" and the incident is being investigated by the FBI. In September 2015, 23-year-old Krista Deluca died in a California jail cell from what the Santa Cruz county coroner described as "severe heroin withdrawal symptoms." Krista Deluca In January of this year, Kellsie Green, 24, died in an Anchorage, Alaska jail during heroin withdrawal. Her father says: "You go to bed at night and pray that your child will be arrested and taken care of. You hope this will be a second chance, not a death warrant." The Alaska Correctional Officers Association blamed the situation on jail medical staff -- claiming that they refused to treat inmates or disagreed with assessments of corrections officers, and saying she should have been "in a hospital bed, not a not a prison cell." Chronic pain patients are denied opioid medications in most U.S. correctional facilities. And people with substance use disorders (SUDs) are widely considered to have a health condition which often requires medical treatment, but are almost universally denied care, which groups like the ACLU consider a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Advertisement The Federal Bureau of Prisons has detoxification guidelines for withdrawal, which describe a protocol of librium (a mild sedative) and clonidine (a blood pressure medication), with regular checks by medical staff. Most U.S. inmates, though, enter county jails, which aren't subject to federal guidelines. One county jail in Florida and jails in Rhode Island, Baltimore City, Seattle and Philadelphia, provide MAT to inmates, but most jail and prison officials don't view treatment -- including maintaining MAT for patients like David Stojcevski -- as their responsibility. Yet continuity of treatment and access to medication for people with opioid use disorders are critical both for post-incarceration success and to give inmates the best chance of staying alive. Benefits of Continued Treatment During Incarceration Studies overwhelmingly associate proper medical care and continued access to MAT with positive post-release outcomes. A 2009 study published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs confirmed that opioid-dependent inmates who were denied MAT or other medical care not only suffered unnecessarily, they engaged in "a variety of unhealthy behaviors designed to relieve withdrawal symptoms," created unhealthy and uncomfortable conditions for fellow inmates, and were less receptive to MAT upon release. The study confirms the need to either provide supervised medical detoxification or MAT for these inmates. A 2015 study of Rhode Island inmates in MAT programs showed that inmates maintained on methadone during incarceration were "more than twice as likely than forced-withdrawal participants to return to a community methadone clinic within one month of release." Advertisement "You go to bed at night and pray that your child will be arrested and taken care of. You hope this will be a second chance, not a death warrant." A long-term (1985-2012) Australian cohort study published in 2014, with over 16,000 subjects, followed inmates with a history of MAT as they entered and left prison. The study revealed that the "lowest post-mortality was among those continuously retained on [MAT]." It also showed the highest risk of death occurred in the group which received no MAT. The study's data models showed a 75 percent reduced risk of death after exposure to MAT programs within the first four weeks of release. Data from the same study showed that in the first four weeks of incarceration, those maintained on medication were 94 percent less likely to die from all causes, while long-term results showed the same population was 75 percent less likely to die over a longer period, resulting in an overall 87 percent lower likelihood of death for medicated inmates. Numerous other studies (here, here, here, and here) associate MAT with reductions in mortality, illicit substance use, property crime, recidivism and health problems like HIV and hepatitis C. This graph shows the reduction in "crime days" for people undergoing long-term methadone maintenance treatment. (Source) Advertisement Releasing Inmates With No Safety Net Many people with SUDs already face obstacles navigating daily life, like maintaining a job, stable housing, education, and vital relationships with family and friends. Formerly incarcerated people face all of these obstacles upon release, and others, too. A condition know as Post Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) is associated with many people released from jail or prison. Researchers have suggested* this condition be included in the DSM-5 as a subtype of PTSD. A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry showed that, in addition to PTSD, formerly incarcerated people exhibited "institutionalized personality traits resulting from incarceration; social-sensory deprivation syndrome and temporal and social alienation." Added to external difficulties, such as finding steady employment and housing, and restoring relationships, PICS can create a perfect storm of harmful conditions, which might contribute to relapse. Terence Gorksi, a pioneer in addiction studies, specifically indicates "reactive substance use disorders"** as an element of PICS. "Naloxone is a lifesaving rescue medication which can reverse overdoses from heroin and other opioids, but nearly every jail or rehab sends at-risk people home without it." Jails and prisons fail to maintain inmates who enter the system on MAT, deny them opportunities to obtain MAT during incarceration, and release them without the resources they need to survive and recover. Naloxone is a lifesaving rescue medication which can reverse overdoses from heroin and other opioids, but nearly every jail or rehab sends at-risk people home without it. Advertisement Encouragingly, New York State established a pilot program in 2014 to train inmates to use naloxone and, upon completion, leave with a naloxone rescue kit. In 2015, the Durham County Detention Facility became the first jail in the Southeast (a region with one of the nation's highest overdose death rates) to provide naloxone to released inmates. But these are exceptions. Even in areas where third parties equip jails with naloxone for released inmates, it often goes unused. Missed Opportunities Correctional institutions, which ostensibly exist to protect us, serve as a key contact point for at-risk populations. When they fail to equip inmates with survival tools, educate them about harm reduction and overdose prevention, or provide critical reentry services, they're complicit in the cycle of recidivism, continued suffering from substance use and PICS, and the wave of drug-related deaths in the U.S. Jails and prisons have a unique opportunity to serve people in need of treatment and divert them from harmful behaviors. But right now, almost every step they take reinforces an incarcerated person's reasons for using substances. A drug-related jail or prison term shouldn't carry a death risk. And rather existing merely to punish, the corrections system should provide incarcerated people with the tools they need to reintegrate into society and live healthy, productive lives. Advertisement -- *Marieke Liema, Harvard University; Maarten Kunst, Leiden University; Is there a recognizable post-incarceration syndrome among released "lifers"?, Conclusions **Gorski lists five symptoms of Post Incarceration Syndrome: 1) Institutionalized Personality Traits; 2) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; 3) Antisocial Personality Traits; 4) Social-Sensory Deprivation Syndrome; and 5) Reactive Substance Use Disorders, and indicates symptoms are most severe in prisoners incarcerated for longer than a year, who have multiple episodes of incarceration, have little to no access to educational/vocational training, are subject to 30 days solitary confinement, or have experienced severe trauma as a result of institutional abuse--meaning an extremely large segment of the formerly incarcerated population. -- A version of this post was originally published by The Influence, a news site that covers the full spectrum of human relationships with drugs. Follow The Influence on Facebook or Twitter. Jeremy Galloway is a co-founder and harm reduction outreach coordinator for Georgia Overdose Prevention. He is also overdose prevention coordinator for Families for Sensible Drug Policy, and a certified SMART Recovery meeting facilitator in the North Georgia mountains. _______________________ Need help with substance abuse or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline. Photo by Johnny Martyr by Sonia Shah and Sarah Crichton Scientists agree that a pathogen is likely to cause a global pandemic in the near future. But which one? And how? Over the past fifty years, more than three hundred infectious diseases have either emerged or reemerged, appearing in territories where they've never been seen before. By delving into the convoluted science, strange politics, and checkered history of one of the world's deadliest diseases, Pandemic reveals what the next global contagion might look likeand what we can do to prevent it. In this conversation, Sonia Shah sat down with Sarah Crichton, her editor, to talk about visiting illegal pig farms in China, the cholera epidemic of 1832, and her family's personal experience with the superbug MRSA. Sarah Crichton: Sonia, congratulations on the fantastic reviews you've been receiving for Pandemic! "Superbly written," declares The Economist. And The Wall Street Journal says, "It could hardly be more timely." And yet, you started working on this five or six years ago, before the recent Ebola outbreak, or Zika. Has the focus of your book substantially changed over the years? When you're reporting on emerging infectious diseases, how do you keep up with a constantly evolvingand constantly surprisingstory? Sonia Shah: It's true, emerging pathogens are a moving target. And when these outbreaks first erupt, you don't know how far they'll spread. Some might turn into disruptive pandemicslike, say, cholera and HIVbut some fizzle out. Some go the way of, say, toxic shock syndrome and Mad Cow's disease. Those were big sensations when they first erupted, but they've vanished now, thanks to regulatory changes. Advertisement My solution was to use the history of pandemicsin particular the story of cholera, one of our most successful pandemic-causing pathogensto shed light on the possible future paths of new pathogens, like Ebola, MRSA, avian influenza, and the rest. What I tried to get at are the underlying drivers behind these pathogens. Where do they come from? How do they spread? These are microscopic creatures with no independent locomotionit's human activity that gives them wings. So I focused on those human activities. When Ebola broke out in late 2013, I was halfway through writing the book. But the underlying drivers that brought Ebola to West Africadeforestation, rapid urban expansion, social neglectwere things I'd already been writing about. I was able to bring the Ebola story into the structure of the book pretty easily, because it was a perfect example of everything I'd been learning about epidemics. So is Zika. SC: To research this book, you traveled to hot spots where new pathogens are most likely to hatchtravels that took you everywhere from an illegal pig farm colony in China to a splashy new medical center in India that specializes in international medical tourism. How did you determine where to go? What surprised you as you traveled? What alarmed you most? SS: I knew I had to go to Haiti, to see the leading edge of the seventh pandemic of cholera. But other than that, I was open to going anywhere. I had a map of a bunch of places I wanted to go: the so-called disease hot spots. These are places where new pandemic-causing pathogens are most likely to emerge, because there's a lot of invasion of wildlife habitat, or urban expansion, or intensive agriculture, or population mobility, or some combination of all of those things. Of course there are a ton of logistics involved in getting to these places, so ultimately I went wherever the logistics worked out. Advertisement I'm not one of those reporters who sees contagions as thrilling or romantic. When I went on these trips, I was fearful of getting exposed or, worse, becoming a modern-day Typhoid Mary and picking up pathogens and spreading them around myself. Some part of me expected that when I went to these disease hot spots that the local people there would feel the same way: fearful. But of course they don't. The farmworkers who handle bird-flu-infected chickens in south China, and the children playing in New Delhi gutters where super drug-resistant pathogens roost are totally blase about the pathogens in their midst. So what you see is boredom, joy, and all the other emotions of normal life. Not fear and terror. It's striking. But it makes sense, when you think about it. If people felt fearful about the pathogens around them, they'd take precautions to not get exposed or spread them around. It's exactly because they don't that these pathogens travel far and wide. Sign up for more essays, interviews and excerpts from Thought Matters. ThoughtMatters is a partnership between Macmillan Publishers and Huffington Post SC: To me, one of the most surprising and alarming stories in your book hits much closer to home. It is the quite terrifying struggle of your own family, when you and your sons became infected by the superbug MRSA. That had not been the case when you first started writing this book. What a scary coincidence! And have you all finally managed to wipe it out in your household? SS: My older son was infected about a year before I started writing the book. In the book, I tell the story of getting a call from his dad telling me that our son had a MRSA-related fever and was being sent home from school. I was out of town with the family car so he had to walk home. In fact, I was having lunch with you in New York, discussing the idea of writing this book! Advertisement I was infected about a year into writing Pandemic. Strangely, it didn't even occur to me to write about it, at first. It just seemed so personal. And I think part of me didn't want to think too much about what was going onthat this hard-to-control pathogen had so deeply rooted itself in my family's life. But of course it is a perfect example of everything I was learning about how new diseases erupt and spread. My son and I still have MRSA. The infections come and go. We live with it, and with the uncertainty of not knowing whether it'll get worse or better or what. I think that will be the new normal for many people in this coming era of emerging pathogens, in which there are few or no effective biomedical treatments. SC: You are such a vivid, descriptive writer. But what is also fascinating and exciting to read in your book are contemporaneous accounts of the cholera epidemic of 1832. Those were very dramatic, and horrifying. SS: That was one of the reasons I wanted to use cholera as a lens. The nineteenth-century pandemics of cholera were so terrifying, so fast moving, and so well documented. This pathogen can kill a person in a matter of hours. People would be infected after breakfast and dead by dinner. But this was the new factory age, and the canals and steamships that ferried cholera around were fueling massive economic growth. And so in New York, Paris, and elsewhere, city leaders refused to acknowledge (and sometimes even attempted to suppress) news about cholera epidemics. This outraged journalists and doctors who could plainly see the destruction this pathogen was causing. In defiance they documented it lavishly. SC: In Pandemic, you quote one man who attended a lecture of yours as saying, "Well, you've scared the shit out of me." It's hard not to be scared witless by much of what you write. Is there any good news you can leave us with? Advertisement SS: It's true, this can be scary stuff. But I think that is mostly because we have this expectation that we should be able to live infection-free lives, that we shouldn't have to worry about contagion, and medicine should have solved all of these problems for us already. It's a side effect of the era of antibiotics, which really did seem to vanquish infectious disease. But that infection-free period only lasted from around the 1940s to around 1980, when all of these new infectious pathogens started erupting. The reality is that we live in a microbial world and medicine is not going to save us from the risks embedded in that. We have to accept some level of risk. Still, there's a lot we can do to avoid contagions. We can take reasonable precautions to reduce the conditions that fuel them, for one thing. And when they hit, we can harness human cooperation to contain them, by collectively changing the behaviors that allow them to spread. I have a lot of faith in the immune system, too. It's been refined over millennia to repel pathogenic intruders. We're not powerless in the face of pandemics. Sonia Shah is a science journalist and prizewinning author. Her writing on science, politics, and human rights has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Scientific American, and elsewhere, and she has been featured on Radiolab, Fresh Air, and TED.com, where her talk "Three Reasons We Still Haven't Gotten Rid of Malaria" has been viewed by more than a million people around the world. Her 2010 book The Fever was long-listed for the Royal Society's Winton Prize for Science Books. Sarah Crichton is the publisher of Sarah Crichton Books. A home sale can feel like a one-sided process. Whether you're the buyer or the seller, it's hard to get feedback on what could be going wrong from the other side. (Do buyers really care about your bright yellow siding? Exactly how many other offers were on the table before yours was accepted?) If you've ever wished to be a fly on the wall during your own open house or listen in on the negotiation process, we have a treat for you. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at a few real estate truths , along with some actual real estate agent secrets. (Ready the popcorn, this is going to be good.) 1. The agent's commission is negotiable Many people believe that the real estate commission is always 6%, split 50/50 between the seller's agent and the buyer's agent (with a cut going to the brokerages involved). Although this is the case in many deals, it would be a violation of antitrust laws for real estate commissions to be fixed across the board. Each broker should independently set a price. And the seller can always negotiate this price before signing the listing agreement. Meanwhile, buyers don't need to concern themselves with this figure, since buyers don't pay real estate agents. Sellers pay agent commissions from the proceeds of the sale. So if you're a buyer, unless you've fallen in love with a FSBO home with owners who don't want to work with a buyer's agent, there really is no reason to go it alone -- it won't cost you anything to engage the services of a real estate agent. Advertisement 2. Your house smells bad If you have pets, most real estate agents probably have no qualms about letting you know when animal scent is detectable. But if your house has an unmistakable musty odor, smells like the fish you cooked last night, reeks of stinky garbage, or houses a fridge that would make you want to back away quickly, it's an awkward topic to bring up. Although an open box of baking soda can freshen up a smelly fridge, it's never a bad idea to throw out moldy food and wipe away those meat juice spills (ew). When you toss rotten food into your garbage can, besides changing the bag before buyers come over, put a sachet or tea bag in the bottom (you can make an easy sachet from baking soda placed in a coffee filter and then tied up). "Homeowners rarely notice their home's distinct aroma, but guests do," says David Kean, a Beverly Hills, CA, real estate agent. He suggests airing out your home every so often. And bonus for when you do: "It's also an opportunity to make sure your windows aren't sticking." 3. Your house is messy There's nothing wrong with loving that your houses feels "lived in." But potential buyers probably won't think it's charming that you drape your gym socks on the bed. Once they spot a messy room, they might head for the door before looking around. Instead of suggesting that their clients pick up, many real estate agents clean a home for sale themselves, and they often do so on the sly. "It is up to the agent to tidy up before showings -- hiding musty towels, diaper pails, litter boxes, dirty dishes, and even used underwear and socks," says Phyllis Pei, an agent with Douglas Elliman in New York, NY. Pei finds that because of the sensitivity of this issue, she often returns the property to its precleaned state after the showing. 4. The agent has little control To get your listing, a real estate agent might tell you they can sell your house fast, and they might. But they can't really predict or control how fast your house will sell. "While it is true that an agent has to get certain basics correct in order to sell a home, once they do those things, the result is largely out of their hands," says Gary Lucido, president of Lucid Realty in Chicago, IL. What you can do before hiring an agent is ask how long it takes their listings on average to sell. Compare that with other area agents, and you'll eventually find a winner. Advertisement 5. People are petty over refrigerators A good negotiation leaves both sides feeling as if they've won and lost something. But when it comes down to the wire, one side might wish to one-up the other ... if they can. And this often happens with refrigerators. Why? Because this appliance often falls into a gray area regarding whether it stays in the home as part of the sale or goes with the seller. The best course of action is to specify in your purchase contract whether the refrigerator stays or goes. If you verbally change this, make sure the change is noted in the contract. Take what happened with Heather Witt Leikin, a Los Angeles, CA, real estate agent: "One time, I was the listing agent of an amazing architectural home that had a really old side-by-side refrigerator that looked out of place." The buyers said they would replace it, so the seller took it. The catch? The contract stated the fridge would go to the buyer, and Leikin did not get the change in writing. "The buyer's agent started screaming at me [upon finding] the fridge was gone. So the buyer's side demanded a $2,500 holdback (for a $250 fridge). The seller returned the refrigerator instead." Moral of the story: "Small issues can become big issues without compromise and clarity in the contracts." 6. Don't ask your real estate agent about race or ethnicity It's unethical to have your real estate agent show you homes or steer you from homes because of the predominance of a certain "race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and the presence of children" in the neighborhood, according to the Fair Housing Act. So don't ask your agent about any of that. "I can't tell you legally who lives where or who is buying your house," says Mark Ferguson, real estate agent and creator of Invest Four More. "Even if I could, I would not." That said, if you're genuinely looking for intel on a neighborhood because you're new to the area and want to live in a family-friendly area versus a millennial hot spot, there are ways to research on your own. For one, just try driving around and frequenting local cafes, stores, and markets to get a feel for the vibe. Next, head to Trulia Maps do some research on school districts, crime rates, and local amenities, among other things. Before long, you'll learn how to tell if a neighborhood is a perfect fit for you -- or not. 7. You can't afford this house A real estate agent can help you buy a house, but they can't make a deal happen if you aren't prepared financially. Remember, real estate agents aren't miracle workers. And it's not a real estate agent's responsibility to set your budgetary limitations. "Maintain your credit, save for closing costs, and look at what you can truly afford," says Chantay Bridges, a Los Angeles, CA, agent. Advertisement What are your favorite real estate agent secrets? Let us know in the comments! Also on HuffPost: On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb destroying the city of Hiroshima. Four years later, the Soviet Union developed its first nuclear weapon. In 1952, the U.S. upped the ante by creating a hydrogen bomb. A year later the Russians did the same and the nuclear arms race was on. One could conclude that no other issue has affected the U.S., and indeed the world, more than nuclear weapons. It is the one constant that has remained for over 70 years. Presidents have come and gone, countries have experienced coups and revolutions, social movements have altered the landscape, the U.S. has fought multiple wars, and the economy has ebbed and flowed all with the looming threat of nuclear war ending life on the planet. This remains the case today. Nearly every issue that is of importance is directly related to nuclear weapons. The biggest threat in regards to foreign policy is that a terrorist group will obtain a nuclear weapon. This of course was at the heart of the Iran nuclear deal. When people discussed military action in the Ukraine and our relationship with Russia, in the back of everyone's mind was there was no way the two biggest nuclear powers could go to war. As we come to grips with our crumbling infrastructure and abject poverty, one cannot help but bring up President Obama's budget, which includes $1 trillion over the next thirty years for new nuclear weapons. That said, why is there not currently a major antinuclear movement in the U.S.? This was not always the case. Some of the most prominent activists of the 1960s were committed to disarmament. "As a young man I was moved by two issues, civil rights and the threat of nuclear war," Tom Hayden said. Throughout the Cold War, the nuclear issue brought together peace and civil rights activists, as well as the religious community. Gay or straight, black or white, passive or militant-many were working for nuclear disarmament. One only needs to examine the largest march in U.S. history in June 1982, with over 1 million people in New York City, to see the power of the antinuclear movement. Advertisement I asked this question to Lilly Daigle, a U.S. field organizer who organizes young people for Global Zero, the movement to eliminate nuclear weapons. "My generation and those younger than me didn't grow up in the Cold War. While our parents and grandparents vividly remember hiding under their desks for atomic bomb drills, we did not. The Cold War narrative just doesn't resonate with my generation," she said. However, Daigle thinks the key to reviving the antinuclear movement is to "reframe our fight as one about justice, human rights, and fiscal prioritization." One model Daigle points to is the environmental movement. She explains that while the antinuclear movement seemed to peak with the June 1982 march, the environmental movement has a "done a fantastic job organizing for the long term, building power so there are tens of thousands in the streets calling on elected officials to act on climate." But Daigle points out, "the antinuclear movement today is where the environmental movement once was. Now we have to learn from them because the only way we will eliminate nuclear weapons is when millions around the world are once again demanding nuclear disarmament." All of this brings me to President Obama. Back in June, I wrote about the frustration of being an Obama supporter and antinuclear activist. In 2009, Obama delivered one of the most antinuclear speeches in presidential history in Prague, then signed the new START treaty, and prevented Iran from building a nuclear weapon. However, Daigle maintains that Obama has "walked back on his promise by pledging to spend $1 trillion on our nuclear arsenal." This week will be the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit of the Obama presidency. In the first meeting, Obama brought together 47 nations to discuss nuclear security. Over the years, Obama has convinced numerous countries to give up their bomb making materials. However, the most troubling aspect of the 2016 Summit is that the elimination of nuclear weapons is not even on the agenda. So while she remains optimistic about dozens of key nations coming together to discuss nuclear security, Daigle is correct when she argues, "There is no such thing as 'nuclear security' when the world has 15,000 nuclear weapons." Advertisement Will we ever get to a place where millennials rise up like previous generations and make the connection between racism, poverty, and nuclear disarmament? Daigle has faith: "My hope for the future is that we rebuild the movement to the point where it's a force to be reckoned with once again. We have a choice: live in a world where nuclear weapons will inevitably be used again, or demand a world without them. My hope is that humanity chooses to demand zero." Many years ago, I published a novel. It was the third novel I'd written, but the first I'd published. I loved the book. I was excited about it in a way I had not been about my first two books. The story's voice sounded more like me than anything else I'd written. Once I'd found the story's true beginning, the plot seemed to fall together on its own. It took place in the 1800s, and I found myself happy to do the kind of exhaustive research I had not been willing to do for my second book, which had been set during Prohibition. The first agent I showed it to at a writer's conference snatched it up immediately. I was thrilled. I'd never had a real agent. In fact, I'd spent the first seven or eight years of my nascent writing career thinking how much better life would be if only I had an agent. Now I did. She was eager to send it out. Great, I said. Strangely, I couldn't really imagine a big New York publisher actually buying it. But this was all new to me, and I wasn't going to worry about what I couldn't imagine. My agent sent it out, and it came back. The editors had many complimentary things to say, but it wasn't... quite... right. I would eventually find a tiny publisher whom I basically convinced to publish it. I had no idea if they actually liked it. When the book finally came out, after many unexplained delays, it was littered with typos, I was paid half of what I was owed, and I received exactly two copies, which I stuck on my shelf and tried to forget existed. I no longer loved the book. It was an embarrassment. Advertisement 10 years later, I found myself pulling a copy off the shelf and reading the first page. A lot had changed for me in those ten years. For instance, I no longer believed that my life would be better if only I had an agent. Also, 10 years is a fantastic buffer for a writer's memory. I had forgotten enough about the book that I could read it almost as if a stranger had written it. To my surprise, I liked it. I kept reading. I still liked it. If I had found it on a shelf in a bookstore, I'd have bought it. Period. It ought to have been published by one of those New York publishers, I thought to myself. But I couldn't be bitter about how it was published. I never really believed it would be published, and so, for all practical purposes, it wasn't. My experience matched my belief perfectly. I found this comforting as I returned the book to its place on my shelf beside all the other books written by friends and strangers. I no longer believe in luck or talent or even hard work. I believe in perception. I will never be able to prove that what I believed, while sitting in my office in Seattle, somehow influenced an editor in her office in New York. It makes no logical sense. But I do know that I cannot write a single sentence unless I believe my story is interesting, or exciting, or profound. And I know that I cannot write about love if I am feeling hateful, and I cannot write something funny if I am feeling sad. And I know that if I perceive someone as a friend, they are friendly; and if I perceive them as an enemy, they are not friendly. And I also know that that the only person's mind I can change is my own. I have tried mightily to change other people's minds, but to no avail. I cannot make anyone like what I have written, or buy what I have written, or praise what I have written. All I can do is believe that what I have written is worth sharing, and that continues to make all the difference. Advertisement The caramel dunes and rocky hills melt up into the sky. It is night, almost morning; it is dark, but not quite black-almost the last sparkling shade of heavy purple that bleeds from the spectrum between blue to black. A thick palm tree pops into the mix every few hundred feet, and we speed through the speckles of small towns built off the highway. Arabic on lit signs in flickering colors sometimes stand above or besides their English translations or transliterations or some weird estimated meaning that doesn't exactly match up-but you go with it. A sheikh leading our trip stands at the head of the aisle, hollering into the mic at 2:44 AM. The warm bus seats 50 family, friends and family friends dozing off to sleep at the phenomenal but fatiguing eight days through Medina and Mecca. Some fashion a smile at the perceived efforts of the sheikh, but everyone not-so-secretly wishes to sleep this short car trip to Jeddah. "One last thing," the sheikh begins, building up hopes that the driver will soon shut off the cabin lights so we too may melt into the purple night. "I think the girls on this trip could have done a better job speaking up. Like when I asked around just a few minutes ago about one dua everyone has for the Muslim Ummah, the girls didn't talk, even when I offered them a chance." Advertisement But, false. I spoke, both of my sisters spoke, my best friend spoke-automatically accounting for half the "girls" in the group, as well as immediately outnumbering the number of "boys" who spoke. This wasn't supposed to be a head-to-head comparison, but when the sheikh made the comment, my mind couldn't help but cut to the quantitative crunch. He kept going. "You know, I hear a lot of girls complaining and whining about how they don't have a voice, but how about you just step up and stop being shy or cowering away when we give you the opportunity?" complaining and whining. just step up. give you the opportunity. we give. when we. I begin burning. All my exhaustion has precipitated into disgust. I am no longer poised and purple, now wanting to be one with the blistering Arabic stars. My brain frantically scours for the line between the patience we have grown and groomed over these days on Umrah and the right to defend one's dignity against defamation -- not to mention an additional stand against an entire gender's general reduction into one, incapable stereotype -- but my mind quickly realizes we are way past this point. Advertisement As my hand shoots up into the air, I am flooded by over a week's worth of reflection, induced by my American born-and-bred self visiting the Holiest of sites in the most conservative of lands. All the frustrations I dissolved into my stomach now bubbling like hot soda in the summer. Am I supposed to apologize on behalf of of my friend's 12-year-old sister who fell asleep because it is the middle of the night, no one has slept, and we are all verging on the brink of flu, colds and who knows what else? Am I supposed to bow and thank you when you GRANT me the opportunity to speak, which is apparently at your discretion and worth your blessing? Zoha, stop. This was Umrah. Clean thoughts, clean heart. My tired arm pummeled two inches higher into the air, betraying anyone who was counting on some shut-eye after this "one last thing." He continues. He tells us that we needed to stop blaming men if we didn't speak up for ourselves. He pauses, smirks, points. "Actually, I'd just like to say that I have been there -- as in personally, and as a witness-in this country on this trip, in America back home. Many times when women speak up, we are immediately hushed and silenced, or at best, our voices are reduced. You don't just 'get to speak' when or because you want to. It doesn't work like that that. We are told to be silent." I paused, shuffling for some positive twist on my 3 AM rant. "I ask of everyone male in this bus, that if you ever see a woman being told to be quiet or stop talking, that you stand up for her. Because no woman's opinion hold's gravity to someone who is trying to silence another women in the first place. Your voice holds validity, and you must use that because we will never have it." Advertisement He reclaimed the mic from me. "Aw snap!" Excuse me? "'Good... point," he emphasizes to me like I am a kindergartner who doesn't waste my animal crackers or apple juice box at recess today. The infantilization goes on with reminders that men mean well and certain restrictions about speaking up have reasons. Like Qur'an recitation. There are reasons for segregation. Separation. "Separate but equal." Another hand springs up to my left on this 3 AM sleep-deprived drive, this time my father's. I am comforted by his efforts to back me up. Our discussions over years have brought us to more mutual understanding, and I am proud to have his voice back me up-though his final example leaves room for me to finalize one crucial point. "Something important to note," he started, "is where we are just coming from. The Grand Mosque, the Kabah-the only at least major Haram in the world to allow men and women to pray side by side in sections. If this is at least the theory behind one of the Most Holy Mosques on Earth, well, I mean, it makes you think." His quick trail off offers my perfect chance to swoop in and recount one of our recent memories of Tawaf. "True," I started, "but Papa, even we saw the religious police fighting and pushing women out of the main Tawaf area circle around the Kabah during the star of Salaat - because they only wanted men to be there. The women fought hard, or at least my dad tells me," I explain to the bus, "because I couldn't be around to witness their strength. We had to exit the premises, of course." I paused. "Even well after Fatiha began, the scoff heightened until the women were finally shoved away by the police." The sheikh recovered the mic from me, "RAWR," we have a feisty one up in here. He flicks his wrist into a clawing motion. Advertisement "RAWR." I am one who accepts my differences in thought, approach, and attitude with others-but this left me at a loss. I do not hold ungrounded grudges, but I have never been more offended. I expected, entered, and lived my days in Saudi Arabia with mental caution. I knew my regular filters, thoughts, ideas could not be automatically spewed or readily applied as I would in my usual day-to-day reality. But it was completely crushing and dehumanizing to be told by someone who is allegedly a facilitating community leader in my usual ecosystem when I should be angry or not, or why or why not. Patience is paramount, and it must be exercised profoundly is many scenarios. But there is a line at which a clear limit exists. I am not an animal. I am not a pawn. I am not a puppet or doll, or a creature at all. Respect for women is not drawn out at the sporadic discretion of men with reductive attitudes. It is cultivated through thought and corrected through conversation-when flaws are determined, they need not be morphed into a fabricated excuse, at best, or an offensive remark, at worst. I refuse to sit here, watching and waiting for your gift of "my turn." GEORGE MICHAEL via Getty Images An EgyptAir Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca airport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. A hijacker seized the Egyptian airliner and diverted it to Cyprus, before releasing all the passengers except four foreigners and the crew, officials and the airline said. / AFP / GEORGE MICHAEL (Photo credit should read GEORGE MICHAEL/AFP/Getty Images) An official at the foreign ministry in Egypt is understood to have retorted that the man who hijacked a passenger plane with about 60 people on board was "an idiot, not a terrorist". The hijacker, said to be distressed over a family matter, wanted to contact his ex-wife in Cyprus, where he forced the plane to land and allowed most of the passengers to disembark. "It is not something which has to do with terrorism," Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters. Asked if a woman was involved he said "There is always a woman involved." Advertisement The Guardian reported that an official at Egypts ministry of foreign affairs said the hijacker's motive was personal. "Hes not a terrorist, hes an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they arent stupid. This guy is, the official said. Hes not a terrorist, hes an idiot." - actual statement from Egypt foreign ministry. #EgyptAir Jeff Semple (@JeffSempleGN) March 29, 2016 The EgyptAir plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo was hijacked and forced to land at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. The hijacker released all the people onboard except four foreign passengers and the crew following negotiations, EgyptAir said. About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. The pilot reported that the man was strapped with explosives, although this was not confirmed. Advertisement Citing security sources, Cypriot state media said that the motives of the hijacker appeared personal and he had asked to contact his ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus. Egyptian state media named him as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, but gave no other details about him. A professor named Ibrahim Samaha has reportedly told BBC Arabic that he had been on the plane but was among those evacuated. We did not know what was going on. We got on board the plane and we were surprised that the crew took all our passports, which is unusual for a domestic flight. After a while we realised the altitude was getting higher, then we knew we were heading to Cyprus. At first the crew told us there was a problem with the plane and only later did we know it was hijacked, he said. However, Gamal al-Omrawi, a deputy dean at Alexandria University, said that Samaha was a passenger on the plane and not the hijacker. He said he had spoken by phone to Samaha, who confirmed that he was one of the passengers who was released. The Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt who forced him to land in Larnaca. A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region. Advertisement Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. Passengers on the plane included eight Britons and 10 Americans, three security sources at Alexandria airport said. The Dutch Foreign Ministry said a Dutchman was among the foreigners still onboard the aircraft. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. Egypt's vital tourism industry was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. Advertisement In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. ASSOCIATED PRESS Ein Flugzeug vom Typ Airbus A320-214 der Aegyptischen Fluggesellschaft EgyptAir startet in Duesseldorf am14. Okt. 2003 vom Flughafen Duesseldorf International. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) --- An Airbus A320-214 airplane of the Egyptian airline EgyptAir takes off from Duesseldorf International airport on Oct. 14, 2003. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) LARNACA (Cyprus) -- A man thought to be strapped with explosives hijacked an Egyptian plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo on Tuesday and forced it to land in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said. After the EgyptAir plane landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released all the people onboard except four foreign passengers and the crew, EgyptAir said. Advertisement About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said. Negotiations with the Hijacker result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners. EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) reported that the hijacker may have personal motives. He had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said. "The negotiations with the hijacker have resulted in the release of all the plane passengers with the exception of the crew and five foreigners," the airline said in a statement, but it later changed the figure to four foreigners still held. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. Advertisement A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region. Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said. Egyptian state media named the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, but gave no other details about him. Passengers on the plane included eight Britons and 10 Americans, three security sources at Alexandria airport said. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said: "It looks like at least 49 of the passengers have been freed. That is all I have to say" he told reporters. Advertisement Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. Egypt's vital tourism industry was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East. A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978. In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed. Advertisement Emergency Call Center Within Egypt 0800 77 77 000 International +2 02 25989320-29 EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016 Contact HuffPost India Also on HuffPost: "I am a development economist associated with Ranchi University and the Delhi School of Economics. I live in Ranchi, but I come to Bastar from time to time to spend time with Bela. Most of my work is concerned with hunger, poverty, education, health and other aspects of social policy. I am a close colleague of Amartya Sen, Angus Deaton, Nicholas Stern and other economists who should be sent to jail if I am a Naxalite, according to the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. According to the leaflet mentioned earlier, I am a "foreign agent" (videshi dalal). In fact, I am an Indian citizen and I have spent more time in India than many of those who were distributing this leaflet yesterday. I love this country, where I have friends from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. In thirty-seven years of living in India, I have not faced hostility even once - until yesterday."- Jean Dreze in CatchNews. ASSOCIATED PRESS A young Sikh protestor holds a placard as dozens of others burn tires during a protest against Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi for his recent remark on the country's 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in Jammu, India, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014. Rahul Gandhi in a recent television interview refused to apologize for the riots that killed more than 3,000 Sikhs saying he was not in operation in the Congress party in 1984. Top Congress party leaders have been accused of inciting mobs during the violence that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) NEW DELHI -- Kanhaiya Kumar has emerged from the Jawaharlal Nehru University row as the hero who cocked a snook at the Modi government in the most trying circumstances. And now what the 28-year-old PhD student says and does matters because there are people in this country who look up to him. It is alarming therefore to hear him make this distinction between the 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots and the killing of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, whitewashing the complicity of Congress Party leaders in the massacre of the Sikhs. Advertisement "There is a fundamental difference between a mob killing a common man and massacring people through state machinery," he said at an event to mark the birth anniversary of the renowned history professor Bipin Chandra. Is Kumar seriously suggesting that the massacre of thousands of Sikhs in the national capital and elsewhere in the country, which continued for three days after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, was solely the work of "a mob killing a common man"? Not only is such a remark deeply painful to those Sikhs who have spent the past three decades trying to get the Congress Party to take responsibility for the violence unleashed against their community, it is just wrong. While the modus operandi might vary, there is very little difference in practice between the ruling party at the Centre trying to kill you and the state apparatus colluding to take your life. There is no difference when the state actively colludes to kill you, and when it deliberately looks the other way, because it is charged with protecting the life of every citizen. Advertisement In his judgment on a case relating to the Anti-Sikh Riots, Justice Fakhruddin of the Chhattisgarh High Court, wrote, "It is the duty of the State to create a climate where the cleavage between members of the society belonging to different faiths, caste and creed are eradicated. The State must act in time so that the precious lives of the people are not destroyed or threatened. Otherwise, Article 21 will remain a paper guarantee." A portrait of family members who died during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Police answers to the government For the past three decades, eyewitnesses have told and retold how police officials of varying seniority deliberately looked away or colluded with the mobs of men who were beating and clubbing Sikh men to death on the streets. It is well documented that the police in most neighbourhoods stood by as Sikh men were dragged out of their homes, doused with kerosene or sprinkled with a white powder, and then burnt to death. In many instances of this horrific violence, a tyre was placed around Sikh men before they were set alight to prevent them from trying to escape. Kumar would be well advised to read the most damning paragraphs of the Nanavati Commission Report which concluded that "the systematic manner in which the Sikhs were thus killed indicate that the attacks on them were organized. Advertisement In his report, Justice G.T. Nanavati, a retired Supreme Court judge, wrote about several features of the violence which showed that it wasn't spontaneous. For instance, large number of outsiders were brought into the capital in an organized way, they were supplied with weapons and inflammable material, and outsiders were shown the houses of the Sikhs. Justice Nanavati also recorded instances which showed either complicity or active collusion by the Delhi police. For instance, police took away arms of the Sikhs which they could have used to defend themselves, and they were asked to return home with assurances of safety. He also held then Delhi police commissioner S.C. Tandon directly responsible for the riots. "The attacks were made in a systematic manner and without much fear of the police; almost suggesting that they were assured that they would not be harmed while committing those acts and even thereafter....The shops were identified, looted and then burnt. Thus what had initially started, as an angry outburst became an organized carnage." "Large number of affidavits indicate that local Congress(I) leaders and workers had either incited or helped the mobs in attacking the Sikhs. But for the backing and help of influential and resourceful persons, killing of Sikhs so swiftly and in large numbers could not have happened." - Nanavati Commission of Inquiry. Activists of the All Indian Sikh Conference during a protest in New Delhi, 31 October 2004. "Living Shame For Any Police Organization" Another committee, which comprised of Dalip Kapoor, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, and Kusum Lata Mittal, a retired secretary to the Government of India, expressed its disbelief at how the Centre never punished Shoorveer Singh Tyagi, the Station House Officer at the Trilokpuri police station, where 500 Sikhs were killed. Advertisement Tyagi was described as aliving shame for any police organization" by the Kusum-Mittal Committee, but the Union Home Ministry never filed a charge sheet against him. In 2005, he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police. "His attempts, to a great extent successful, in obtaining affidavits in his favour by browbeating the witnesses indicate that it is highly unlikely that any witness would have the courage of coming and giving evidence against him," Mittal wrote. In April 2014, CobraPost went public with its sting operation which involved speaking with Tyagi and seven other police officials, who were on duty in Delhi when the violence erupted. Tyagi said that the impression was that the higher ups in the government wanted to harm the Sikhs. "Was any arrest made after Giani Zail Singhs car was attacked on the very first day?" he said. Hardly any action has followed countless reports and ten commissions of inquiry. For the 2,733 official death toll in Delhi, fewer than 30 people have been convicted for murder in the past 30 years. It is widely believed that at least 20,000 Sikhs were killed in the country. Advertisement "Instead of holding those responsible for the violence to account, many police officials and Congress party leaders involved have been promoted over the last 30 years,"Human Rights Watch said in 2014. Victims protest against acquittal of Congress Party leader Sajjan Kumar in August, 2013. Acknowledgment, regret The closest anyone from the Congress Party has come to acknowledging its role in the massacre was former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who said in 2011, "On behalf of our government, on behalf of the entire people of this country, I bow my head in shame." Kanhaiya's take on the anti-Sikh riots makes one wonder whether in his recent meeting with Rahul Gandhi, they had a tete-a-tete in which the Congress Party leader convinced him about his responses on the Anti-Sikh Riots, during his infamous interview with journalist Arnab Goswami. In January 2014, Gandhi said that the Congress government was "trying to stop the riots," while the "government in Gujarat was actually abetting and pushing the riots further." Advertisement But to rule out his party's complicity entirely is something that even Gandhi did not do. He admitted that "some Congressmen were probably involved... some Congressmen have been punished for it." Sadly, these two tragedies have become a tool for Congress Party and the BJP to score points. Routinely now, the Congress Party asks why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2002, refuses to apologize for the killing of Muslims. The BJP asks the same question of the Congress Party vis-a-vis the 1984 massacre. This comparison is shameful. And Kanhaiya, an icon to so many young people, shouldn't fall into the trap of making one sound worse than the other. The two admittedly have differences, but they are both a blot on our society and a reminder for us to be eternally vigilant against divisive forces. In 1984, the Congress Party government failed to protect the "life and personal liberty" of at least 3,000 citizens. In 2002, the BJP government in Gujarat failed to do the same for at least 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus. The accountability is clear. Also on HuffPost India: Twitter/ANI In a shocking incident, a man was killed in celebratory firing on his sons wedding in Jandla village near Badnagar town. The incident took place on Saturday, said police. Mansoor Patel died on the spot after being hit by a bullet fired by members of the marriage party, an official posted at Badnagar Police station said. Advertisement Soon after the incident the atmosphere turned gloomy in the village. WATCH (27/03/16): Groom's father killed in celebratory firing during a wedding procession in Badnagar (Ujjain, MP)https://t.co/xNOtYSAbEa ANI (@ANI_news) March 28, 2016 Patel hailed from Baloda Bujurg village in adjoining Dhar district, police said. A case under Section 304 of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was registered and further investigation was on, he added. This wasn't, however, the first of such incident during wedding celebrations. Recently, in March, two such incidents took place in Meerut and Baghpat areas of Uttar Pradesh in which a 16-year-old girl was wounded and another man was killed respectively. An eight-year-old boy also lost his life in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh in February this year where Samajwadi Party workers were celebrating victory of their candidate in a local poll. Advertisement (With inputs from PTI) Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: NARINDER NANU via Getty Images An Indian school band performs near the statue of freedom fighter, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Amritsar on January 23, 2013, as part of celebrations for his 116th birth anniversary. Bose was a prominent Indian nationalist leader who attempted to gain India's independence from British rule by force during the waning years of World War II. AFP PHOTO/NARINDER NANU (Photo credit should read NARINDER NANU/AFP/Getty Images) NEW DELHI -- The Centre will release the second batch of fifty declassified files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the national capital today. The documents consist of ten each files from the Prime Minister's Office and Home Ministry and 30 files from Ministry of External Affairs pertaining to the period 1956 to 2009. Advertisement Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (independent charge) and Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma will release these files online on web portal www.netajipapers.gov.in. In January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put the first lot of 100 files in the public domain on the occasion of the 119th birth anniversary of Netaji. The present release of files will further meet the continued public demand to access them and it will also facilitate scholars to carry out further research on the doyen of the freedom movement. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also see on HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - MARCH 27: A five-member team of Pakistani investigators (JIT) arrives at T-3 airport to carry forward the probe into the brazen Pathankot Air Base attack on March 27, 2016 in New Delhi, India. Joint Investigative Team from Pakistan comprising representatives from the powerful Inter Services Intelligence or ISI, Military Intelligence and Police arrived in Delhi today. The team from Pakistan formed on instructions of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will be the site of the terror strike and will also question the witnesses. Six Pakistani terrorists who had crossed over into Punjab were killed in the attack. The National Investigation Agency says it has established the identities of those six but also those who regulated their actions from Pakistani soil. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) PATHANKOT -- The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials today headed for Pathankot in connection with the probe into the 2 January terror attack at IAF base. The five-member Pakistani team led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai landed at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar and left for Pathankot. Advertisement Following inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs about a possible threat to the Pakistan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) by the Islamic fundamentalist organizations based in Pakistan and their proxies in India, the Punjab Police has made arrangements to provide 25 bulletproof cars to ferry them and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials in Pathankot and areas close to the border. JIT and National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take stock of the probe into the Pathankot terror attack, officials said. Punjab Police was escorting the convoy of the Pakistani team which also has ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Police officials said they have diligently barricaded areas around the IAF facility . "The district police has been informed about the visit and deployments have been done accordingly," a senior police official said. Advertisement A large police contingent has been deployed in and around Dhangu village where the IAF base is located. Meanwhile, Congress workers staged a protest near the air base against the visit by the Pakistani investigators. Government has made it clear that the Pakistani team will have "restricted" access to the air base with the NIA taking them to selected areas where the over 80-hour gun battle led to the killing of at least four terrorists and seven security personnel. Orange and blue coloured tarpaulin can be seen draping the interiors of the strategic facility, in an apparent indication of "visual prohibition" being put in place. Investigators from India and Pakistan had met in Delhi yesterday. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case. Advertisement The opposition parties have slammed the move with Congress saying that "unfettered access" given to Pakistan's JIT by according an almost "red carpet welcome" raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. Contact HuffPost India Also see on HuffPost: ASSOCIATED PRESS All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party chief Jayalalitha gestures during a hunger strike in Chennai, India, Sunday, March. 18, 2007.Jayalalithaa Sunday went on a one-day token fast demanding notification of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's final award in the Central gazette, amidst chaos and unruly scenes around the venue here according to a news agency. (AP Photo/M. Lakshman) The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has come down heavily on the BJP and demanded an apology from the party for Union Power Minister Piyush Goyals comment on Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa at a meeting in New Delhi on Friday. I made several attempts to contact ministers in the Jayalalithaa government. I have access to 28 states in this country but for the 29th state, when I want to talk to someone, I cant. I call up and talk to the power minister and he says he will get back to me after he speaks with Amma, Goyal had said according to a report in Hindustan Times. Advertisement Tamil Nadu government rubbished the allegations as baseless with the states finance minister O Panneerselvam saying, The statement by Goyal that he could not meet the honourable Chief Minister Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader) is a preposterous accusation. It is an unsubstantiated allegation made with a political purpose. Panneerselvam cited numerous meetings that Jaylalithaa has held with eight union ministers from the present government since it took office in 2014. The minister said Jayalalithaa has always been accessible for discussions regarding the development of Tamil Nadu and alleged that Goyal made the comment for political gains ahead of the elections. We will make this an election issue in the campaign, said a senior BJP leader. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: Facebook Nitin Chawla, the husband of 25-year-old model Priyanka Kapoor who committed suicide on 27 March has allegedly admitted to beating up his wife because he could not handle her extravagant lifestyle choices. Kapoor, who committed suicide on Friday a month after her marriage to Chawla by hanging herself from a ceiling fan, left two suicide notes blaming her husband. She also wrote about the beatings she would receive from him regularly. "Nitin wanted me to leave his house, so I am leaving the world," she wrote in one of her notes. Advertisement An updated report has shown that Chawla who was also charged with rape in the past, has told the police that he started beating Kapoor after she ignored his repeated requests to change her drinking habit and stop late hours outside the house. Last year, she was allegedly found unconscious by the police in a five-star hotel in the Capital, after suspected drug overdose. Chawla has claimed that Kapoor refused to accept his ten-year-old son (from his first marriage) who was living with them. Chawla was apparently insecure about a friend of Kapoors whom she knew before marriage and travelled to Egypt with. Chawla and Kapoors troubled marriage took a turn for the worse after she discovered that a model in Mumbai had filed a rape case against Chawla in April 2014 after discovering he was married. Nitin was reportedly living with the model and had developed intimate relations with her, promising marriage He was arrested, but later released on bail, an investigator said. A case has been registered against Chawla under Section 115 (abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life) , 498A (husband or relative subjecting her to cruelty), 304B (where death is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise) and 34 (common intention). Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images SRIHARIKOTA, Jan. 21, 2016-- PSLV-C31 rocket of Indian Space Research Organisation carrying IRNSS-1E satellite lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India, Jan. 20, 2016. India Wednesday successfully launched its fifth navigation satellite from the spaceport of Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. (Xinhua/ISRO via Getty Images) 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 Accusations of hate speech is not a political liability in India, says a recent study. While the law might determine whether politicians using hateful speeches in their rallies fall afoul of IPC 154A or IPC 295A, but for their followers, it only adds to their appeal. Advertisement The 63rd National Film Awards were announced on Monday, with the top awards going to SS Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning for Best Film, Amitabh Bachchan as the Best Actor for Piku and Kangana Ranaut as the Best Actress for the film Tanu Weds Manu Returns, among others. In a clear case of conflict of interest, metropolitan magistrate Dhamavarapu Varoodhini who is appointed for the hearing of students embroiled in the Rohith Vemula row is married to M Vijaykanth, an active member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Sangh Parivar. Former model Priyanka Kapoor committed suicide in Delhi and her body was found hanging in her home on 27 March morning. The 25-year-old allegedly left behind a suicide note where she said that her husband beat her up brutally and she couldn't bear the torture anymore. Main News India has decided to adopt '112' as the national emergency number, similar to '911' in the US and '999' in the UK, with the inter-ministerial telecom commission giving a go-ahead to the move. The roll-out of '112' may see a gradual phase-out of existing emergency numbers like 100 (for police), 101 (fire), 102 (ambulance) and 108 (disaster management), though they will continue to be in operation for at least a year. Advertisement Even as the President's rule was just announced in Uttarakhand, the BJP has blamed state chief minister Virbhadra Singh, saying that there was discontent within the Congress party. Demanding Singh's resignation, the BJP alleged that governance in the state had come to a standstill because of the corruption charges faced by Singh. Indian techie Raghavendran Ganeshan who had gone missing after the Brussels terror attack last Tuesday has been identified as a 'victim of Brussels Metro terror strike,' and officially declared dead by the Belgian authorities. His mortal remains were handed over to his parents and younger brother Chandrashekhar, who had been camping in Brussels for the past five days hoping against hope to find him alive. Off The Front Page The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to write history by launching 22 satellites, including a number of micro and nano ones from foreign countries, in a single mission in May 2016. A Bengaluru youth was stabbed to death after he objected to a dog's incessant barking during a local big screen-viewing of the India-Australia WT20 match on Sunday. The man, identified as one Avinash Jonathan asked a resident to go away from the area, as his dog was barking and disturbing the viewers. The man, who left the premises, reportedly came back with a 'gang' and attacked and Jonathan to death. A video uploaded by Dum Laga Ke Haisha actor Ayushmann Khurrana singing the song 'Moh moh ke dhaage' on his Facebook page has been going viral. Published in the celebration that his film with actress Bhumi Pednekar won the National Award for Best Hindi Film, the Khurrana's impromptu version has received accolades from his fans. Advertisement Opinion The suicide attack in Lahore on Sunday marks a further escalation by extremist groups in Pakistan, says an editorial in The Hindu. "This attack appears to have been timed to capitalise on the anger of ultra-conservative groups at the execution on 29 February of Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard-turned-assassin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer... If Pakistan is to survive this onslaught against soft targets, it must reshape the countrys political system to stamp out intolerance of minorities. Or else the carnage in Lahore may be just another atrocity paving the way for extremists to become the dominant voice," says the article. Most of the debate on the Aadhaar bill has centred on the right to privacy. All five amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha, subsequently rejected by the Lok Sabha, had an element of this right within them, writes Apar Gupta in his column in The Indian Express. "But the core deficiency rested not in the lack of protections in the Aadhaar bill but in the absence of a comprehensive privacy statute to develop and enforce them... As our everyday lives become connected, a comprehensive privacy legislation is an essential safeguard," he writes. Why do the Chitrapur Saraswats, a small Konkani-speaking community in Karnataka, have such a large presence in and outsize influence on Hindustani classical music, wonders Sumana Ramanan in her column in Mumbai Mirror. "They took much more to music than literature and theatre probably because Konkani was a boli, an exclusively spoken language, and did not have a script. The film world was another area in Mumbai that also attracted the Chitpur Saraswats, including Guru Dutt (whose surname was Padukone), Amebal Dinkar Rao (known as DML), Shyam Benegal and Deepika Padukone, among others," Ramanan writes. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also On HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - MARCH 13: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat at his residence on March 13, 2012 in New Delhi, India. Upset over being ignored for the job of chief minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat claimed that he has support of more than 17 party MLAas out of total 32. Only 13 party MLAas were present during oath taking ceremony of Vijay Bahuguna. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images) In a jolt to the Centre, the Uttarkhand High Court today ordered a floor test in the Assembly on March 31, giving a new turn to the political developments two days after President's Rule was imposed in the state. Justice U C Dhyani also allowed nine disqualified rebel MLAs of Congress to participate in the voting but their votes will be kept separate and will be subject to final outcome of the petition challenging their disqualification. Advertisement There was no clarity on whether by ordering the floor test, the President's Rule imposed on Sunday is stayed and whether the dismissed Harish Rawat government has been restored. The Centre may challenge the verdict before the Division Bench of the High Court tomorrow. Congress also plans to approach the Division Bench relating to the part of the judgement that deals with the disqualified MLAs. The votes of the disqualified MLAs will be taken into account subject to final outcome of the case, senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters after the second day of the hearing here. Singhvi appeared for the sacked Chief Minister Harish Rawat who had challenged the imposition of President's Rule and demanded its immediate quashing. Advertisement Rawat welcomed the order, saying it was a "tremendous setback" for the Centre which was trying to bring "authoritarianism". But this order would deter them from trying to destablise non-BJP governments in states, he said. Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: Government agencies in Ukraine provide more than 1,000 services. Behind this number, there are a host of public servants with low salaries exacting a huge cost from the people they are supposed to be serving through nerves and through time or money paid in bribes to get the bureaucrats to work faster, or at all. Many countries have taken out the human equation through automation saving money and improving public service in the process through introducing electronic government platforms. The United Nations ranked Ukraine ranked 87th out of 193 countries in its e-government survey in 2014. That is far behind Europe in terms of providing services online, but in 2015, the country made significant strides in making more government services available over the internet. According to Oleksandr Ryzhenko, chairman of the State Agency for E-Government in Ukraine, the process was spearheaded by the ministries of justice, regional development and ecology. Justice Ministry leads To get registered as a private entrepreneur in Ukraine, a person used to have to spend several days in line or pay a bribe to officials to skip the ordeal. Now, a new online service launched last year allows a person to register themselves as an entrepreneur within 24 hours. Out of the 3.5 million entrepreneurs who registered in Ukraine last year, 2.5 million registered via the ministrys free online registration service, and a half a million registered online and paid an official fee to expedite the process, said Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko. The ministry has also created a service that allows citizens to obtain an entrepreneurs certificate from the Unified State Registers within an hour, for a set, official fee. The key advantage of going online is that it reduces the risks of corruption in the Justice Ministrys system, Petrenko said. By the end of 2016, the ministry plans to make all its services electronic. That will enable citizens to amend a companys corporate charter and core business definition, change its director, register a change in surname, and register a marriage, divorce, death or birth online using a digital signature. Created by volunteers Pressure to remove the bureaucratic obstacles to delivering government services in Ukraine came largely from the ground up, from civil society. But with no coherent state strategy for implementing e-government, the country has at least two platforms that claim to offer similar functions. Dmytro Dubilet, the project manager of iGov a new state administrative services portal said his initiative started with a Facebook post. Dubilet called on other information technology specialists to volunteer to make the delivery of state administrative services more convenient and efficient. More than 100 people responded to the call, and they are now actively developing the project after the portal launched in June 2015. Developed on open source software, iGov cost the state nothing. If we built the project on a commercial footing it would cost millions of hryvnias every month, Dubilet said. As of now, 20 percent of the governments services are available on iGov. The plan is to add all 1,000 of them to the platform by the end of 2016. Some services are provided entirely remotely, such as applications for subsidies. For others, citizens still need to fill in an application, pay a fee, and schedule a visit to a government agency to receive the certificate they require. As electronic signatures are not widely used in Ukraine and not all ministries recognize them, the problem of verification was solved with the help of bank IDs nine Ukrainian banks have joined in the project. Currently, the online provision of state services is spread unevenly through Ukraine, with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast taking the lead. While earlier volunteers were asking government agencies to use their platform, now the central and municipal administrative bodies are coming to the iGov developers with requests to make their services available on the platform. As no big portal can survive on the enthusiasm of volunteers forever, iGovs founder is now looking for grants, and has hired the projects first full-time staff. Dubilet said that after iGov is finished and removed from the volunteers shoulders, keeping it going should cost the state less than Hr 100,000 per month. He said that the Economy Ministry will audit the portal before taking over responsibility for it. One stop shop Apart from the volunteer initiative iGov, the Economy Ministry has its own online government services pilot project -- poslugy.gov.ua. According to Ukraines law on providing administrative services, this unified state portal should play the role of a "one-stop shop," providing information about all administrative services in the country. At the moment, citizens can obtain online only those services that are provided by the Economy Ministry. However, other services that become electronic later should also become available on poslugy.gov.ua. Respectively all other portals that offer state services should be integrated into it, according to the rules. Those rules are almost finished and are being agreed for now, the State Agency for E-Governments chairman Ryzhenko said. According to officials, unlike iGov, the Economy Ministrys portal will allow citizens not only to schedule a visit to a government agency, but also to submit documents and receive services online. At the same time, Ukrainian law does not forbid government agencies and local authorities from providing their services separately on their own websites, just as the Justice Ministry does. The problem with making government services available online in Ukraine is that everything that has already been achieved will need to be re-done, says Oleh Levchenko, e-governance expert from the non-governmental Reanimation Package of Reforms. He doubts that the biggest portal, iGov, will become a centralized e-government platform, because it is a non-government initiative. There is also the question of the security of the personal data stored on iGov. "Its not enough to have the will and an electronic program. It is important to make officials work with it," Levchenko told the Kyiv Post. As for government initiatives, the problem with the online services of the Justice Ministry is that they are being introduced without a coherent strategy, Levchenko said. Thus, when other ministries go online, additional challenges will arise in efficiently connecting those systems. On the other hand, before introducing e-government, Ukraine needs to simplify or cancel many of its bureaucratic procedures, all of which are stipulated in laws, Levchenko said. The civic activists who are working on the iGov cannot re-engineer the legislation, he said. It can be done only by the ministries and state agencies which provide those services. Levchenko said this process is part of the state administrative services reform that is underway in the country. Thus, most management processes have been suspended or are only half complete, he said. This is why the effort to create e-government at this time looks like an attempt to make chaos electronic. Source: http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/business/e-government-taking-off-in-ukraine-bringing-light-to-nations-dark-corrupt-places-410838.html Amid its bold public administration and economic push, Serbia is ready to boost its partnership with Korea on e-government, trade and other areas that could be a catalyst to its ongoing recovery and bid to join the European Union, the countrys deputy prime minister told The Korea Herald. Kori Udovicki, also the Balkan countrys minister of public administration and local self-government, is seeking to take a page from Seouls rapid development, especially in the areas of the countrys consolidated government system and successful transition to a market-driven economy.While Europe offers a broader pathway to growth, the Korean model caters to Belgrades ongoing drive to streamline public administration and pare debt, she said, pointing out e-government. Source: http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=211984 Oracle is now asking for $9.3 billion in damages in its copyright lawsuit against Google over the use of Java in Android, about ten times the sum it was seeking back in 2012 at the start of the original trial. This figure for punitive damages has emerged as Oracle and Google prepare to go back to court for a new trial, due to begin on May 9, at which both Oracle's Larry Ellison and Google's Eric Schmidt will be present. The new trial, to be heard by Judge William Alsup is over the issue of fair use of the Java APIs and comes after an already convoluted history. It was August 2010 when Oracle initiated its lawsuit against Google citing both patent and copyright infringements. After several delays the case to come to trial in April 2012 with the outcome that the jury unanimously denied all eight of the patent infringements asserted by Oracle but deadlocked on Google's fair use of copyright defence. Judge Alsup then made fleeting legal history by coming to the decision Oracle's Java APIs Not Copyrightable, a ruling that was then overturned by a higher court, see Oracle Wins Copyright Appeal. Google in turn appealed to the Supreme Court, which declined it a hearing see Supreme Court Refuses To Reconsider API Copyright Decision. So now the matter goes back to Federal District Court in San Fransisco and some details of Oracle's claim have already emerged in a report prepared by James Malackowski, an expert hired by Oracle. He outlines the support for this claim, which is mostly for profits from Infringed Java Copyrights, referred to by Google as the 37 APIs, with the following "facts": The Infringed Java Copyrights were critically important to the timing of Google's launch of the Android platform Google's strategy in launching Android as a mobile platform was to ensure a continuing revenue stream for search services in connection with mobile advertising. Mobile search has generated has generated significant advertising revenue and profit for Google, and the Android platform is a critical component of Google's overall mobile search business. The Infringed Java Copyrights are necessary for and critically important to the ongoing operation of the Android Platform and its applications. Absent Google's use of the Infringed Java Copyrights, Sun would have generated significantly more licensing revenue at least from its Java ME platform. Absent Google's use of theInfringed Java Copyrights, Sun was strategically positioned to introduce a successful mobile platform either itself or through a license. Given that the sum of $9.3 billion would be equivalent to almost double the profit of $4.9 billion made by Google's parent company Alphabet last quarter, Google is contesting Malackowski's evidence and last week Google lodged a motion to exclude parts of it from trial claiming it: "ignores the statutory standard for copyright damages and fails to offer anything resembling an expert analysis" Google argues that the 37 APIs are: "a fraction of a percent of the code in the complex Android smartphone platform" and so its wrong to equate the value of the entirety of Android with the value of the 37 APIs. Google also asks that Malackowski's admitted speculation concerning Oracle's lost profits from its failure to launch a Java mobile based operating system should be stricken, referring to project Acadia Sun's effort to develop its own Java/Linux mobile operating system. Having been previously unaware of Project Acadia this prompted me to Google it and the reference I found was from the original trial, where, somewhat ironically, Googles Counsel argued that Oracle was only suing Google because it couldn't bring a smartphone platform of its own to make it to compete with Android! Is Oracle now trying to turn this gibe into its own attack. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for April 27 and no doubt we will hear more then. If this is the end game, it is likely to be a long drawn out one. Comments Make a Comment or View Existing Comments Using Disqus or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info Motorists honked in support of hospital advocates at City Hall on Monday. This is second anniversary of the closure of NARH. North County Cares Coalition held a similar rally last year. Banners marking the date and Donna Motta and her family say a full-service hospital is important and they plan to get involved. PreviousNext Advocacy Group Continues Call for Restoration of North Adams Hospital NORTH ADAMS, Mass. Two years after the closure of North Adams Regional Hospital, advocates are still pushing to expand services and bring back a "full-service hospital." Several dozen gathered at City Hall on Monday afternoon to remind local and state officials and to send the message that they were not giving up. "Berkshire Medical Center has done a wonderful job providing us with some outpatient services ... they really don't meet the needs of this community," said James Lipa of the North County Cares Coalition. "The Stroudwater Report outlined our community as being the poorest amd most elderly in Western Massachusetts ... "The wellness center that's up there really doesn't meet the needs of that community. What we really need is a small hospital along the lines of Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington that's all we're asking." The coalition, which has been meeting faithfully every Tuesday since the hospital's abrupt closure almost exactly two years ago, also plans to send 600 signed postcards with notes to the governor's office. Donna Motta said she and her family moved here not long after the closing and they've been trying to find answers. They made a point of being at Monday's rally and plan to become more involved. "We have to be heard, it's that important," she said. Rachel Branch, whose great-grandfather donated the land for the hospital, demanded on behalf of her family and the community that the hospital be restored including its name. The former 100-bed hospital served a population in Northern Berkshire and Southern Vermont of about 37,000 with an emergency department, surgical suites, maternity and other health-related services. While the hospital was in the black, its parent health system was struggling under a mountain of debt when it closed. Berkshire Medical Center opened a satellite emergency facility within months of the closure and later purchased the bankrupt hospital and its related assets. Since then, it has restored the visiting nurse and hospice care services, a walk-in care center for current patients, labs, imaging services, endoscopy and a number of outpatient surgical services, several outpatient wellness services and a cafe. It's also added two observational beds in the emergency facility. But advocates are calling for BMC and its parent company, BHS, to go further in providing at least 10 to 20 beds along the lines of Fairview Hospital to expand inpatient services and to return maternity services. A gap in mental health services was also made by NARH's closure of Greylock Pavilion. They frequently point to the Stroudwater Report, a state-commissioned survey of health care needs in North County designed to guide the resurrection of medical services. The 102-page report recommended keeping emergency care in North Adams and expanding on primary care but not adding inpatient beds until the facility could get the federal Critical Access designation that would raise its Medicare payments. A sad milestone in the history of the Spruces as the sign is removed. The landmark lions, however, will remain to watch over the entrance. PreviousNext Williamstown Housing Committee Shifting Focus WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. With nearly 100 units of income-sensitive housing in various stages of development in town, the Affordable Housing Committee wants to focus on the broader issue of addressing the town's complete housing needs. Chairman Van Ellet appeared before the Board of Selectmen on Monday to tell them the committee is working on a new housing needs assessment. "We had a needs assessment done a few years ago but that assessment really focused on subsidized housing," Ellet said. The Affordable Housing Committee wants to broaden its scope, Ellet said, even suggesting the town rename the panel to simply the Housing Committee, partly for differentiation from the Affordable Housing Trust. "The committee is grateful for all the progress that has been made on affordable housing the last few years," Ellet said. "I don't think any community in Massachusetts can say it has made the progress we've made. Cable Mills, Highland Woods and Cole Avenue waiting in the wings represent about 98 units. That's a tremendous amount of new units. "Given that scenario and the fact that we're probably a couple of years at least from completing Cole Avenue those of us on the committee didn't see a great need at this time to be thinking about large-scale projects in the future." The town's efforts around affordable housing were reinvigorated after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. The storm set in motion the events that led to this year's closure of the Spruces Mobile Home Park, which, while not subsidized housing, was a small "a" affordable housing option for scores of residents who lived in its 225 home sites. Through a donation of land from Williams College, an accelerated approval process from the commonwealth and significant local municipal contributions, the Highland Woods senior apartments opened this month and eventually will have 40 units available. Another 13 income-sensitive units are included in the 61-unit Cable Mills apartments. Berkshire Housing Development Corp. is probably years away from putting 46 more units at the former Photech Mill site at 330 Cole Ave. Ellet said Monday that the Affordable Housing Committee's new housing needs assessment would dovetail with the recommendations of the town's recently completed Economic Development Committee report and the efforts of the Planning Board, which has discussed the possibility of zoning that allows denser development in the town's core. Affordable Housing Committee Chairman Van Ellet explains the committee's new focus on general housing needs. "As noted in the Economic Development Committee report people in this town recognize there are housing issues," Ellet said. "There is a significant mismatch between current housing stock and future housing needs. It is part of the overall economic vitality of the community." After Monday's meeting, Debra Turnbull, who has managed the Spruces since the town assumed control of the park, reported that all but a little of the former residents' personal property has been removed from the site. The town received an extension from FEMA for the park's occupancy after a February incident delayed the opening of Highland Woods. But residents began moving into one wing of the new apartment building last week, and no one is currently living at the Spruces. On Monday, another milestone in the park's history was reached when workers removed the sign advertising the adult community and two gates at the entrance on Main Street. The two stone lions that overlook the entrance will remain. The Spruces property came up in yet another context on Monday evening, when Selectman Andrew Hogeland told his colleagues about the need for the town to develop an Open Space and Recreation Plan. Hogeland said the town does not have one on file with the commonwealth, a deficiency that came to light in the context of potential state funding for a redevelopment of the Spruces acreage as recreation space. "Happily, [town Community Development Director] Andrew Groff and [Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation Executive Director] Leslie Reed-Evans have been working quietly behind the scenes updating the [2003] draft," Hogeland said. "They're busily now trying to put something together. "There are bunch of outreach requirements. And they want a committee to steward this." Hogeland said such a committee would include representatives from the Selectmen, the Planning Board and outside groups like the Chamber of Commerce and Williamstown Youth Center. He volunteered and was appointed by his colleagues on Monday to serve as the board's representative to the Open Space and Recreation Planning Committee. In other business on Monday, Town Manager Jason Hoch discussed the highlights of the fiscal 2017 municipal budget, which will get its planned final look from the Finance Committee on Wednesday. Hoch noted that municipal operations budget is up by 2.3 percent from FY16, a rise of about $168,000 which is offset entirely by an increase in revenue from growth in motor vehicle excise taxes, building permits and rising hotel tax receipts. One number has changed since the Fin Comm reviewed the town's allocation for Mount Greylock Regional School, Hoch reported. He currently is readjusting the town's allocation for the school to reflect increased capital expenses related to the calendar year 2016 start of the recently approved renovation/addition project at the junior-senior high school. Melbourne Weather Live Updates, India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2022: No Rain Currently, But it is Clody Ahead of IND vs PAK Encounter India vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022: Can India Overcome the Demons of Left-arm Pace at the MCG? IND vs PAK, T20 World Cup 2022 Preview: India Open World Cup Hoping to Fill Bumrah, Jadeja Void IND vs PAK: 'MCG is Literally His Home Ground': Babar Azam Backs Haris Rauf to Perform Well Against India 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 The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: Mazda patrons in north of the capital now have a new home. Berjaya Auto Philippines, the exclusive distributor of Mazda vehicles in the country, and the ANC Group of Companies, have collaborated to put up a brand new full-service showroom, service and parts facility in Pulilan, Bulacan. Mazda Pulilan is the latest addition to Mazda Philippines growing dealership network. Located along DRT Highway, Sto. Cristo, Pulilan, Bulacan, the 123-square meter showroom facility features four of the latest Mazda SKYACTIV models available today. The opening of Mazda Pulilan is the brands way of further reaching out to its customers, says Steven Tan, President and CEO of Mazda Philippines. With the support of the ANC Group, we are sure to address the needs of our loyal patrons here in Bulacan and the neighboring Central Luzon provinces. The all-new showroom facility also provides after-sales services for Mazda owners. With its 192-square meter service lot and two workshop bays, Mazda Pulilan will be able to cater to a wide range vehicle work from Periodic Maintenance Services to diagnostics and mechanical troubleshooting. Moreover, comfortable customer lounge with air conditioning with more than ample seating is available for Mazda owners who wish to wait for their cars to be serviced. Mazda Pulilan is our humble way of bringing Mazda vehicles and its well-renowned customer services to the people of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, shares Anthony Cheng, Chairman of the ANC Group of Companies. He adds, Through this facility, we hope to provide full customer satisfaction for Mazda patrons here in the north and provide them the quality service they deserve. This is the fifth Mazda showroom owned and operated by the ANC Group of Companies following Mazda Alabang, Mazda Pasig, Mazda North EDSA and Mazda Quezon Avenue. The all-new Mazda Pulilan service center is open from 8:00AM to 5:00PM, Mondays to Saturdays. The showroom is open until 6:00PM on Mondays to Saturdays and from 9:00AM to 5:00PM on Sundays. Mazda Pulilan may be contacted via landline at (044) 913-9908, via Globe mobile at 0915-1091730, or through Sun Cellular at 0923-9344974. Back to top RX10 III Summary Sony created the large-sensor, long-zoom camera segment, and now it provides its object of desire. The Sony RX10 III is a bright-lensed, beautifully-built DSLR alternative with triple the zoom reach of its sibling, the RX10 II. Jam-packed with features and offering great image quality, there's no question it's a heck of a camera, but it has a pricetag to match. Is it worthy of its considerable cost? Find out in our in-depth Sony RX10 III review! Pros Versatile all-in-one replacement for a DSLR or mirrorless camera; Great handling and build; Excellent image quality; Spectacular zoom reach; Swift performance with generous buffer depths; Extremely capable video capture; Comprehensive remote control; Quick-and-easy image sharing Cons Extremely expensive for a fixed-lens camera; Fairly heavy for fixed-lens camera; Somewhat soft in the corners at wide-angle or tele; Noise reduction intrudes at higher sensitivities; No built-in ND filter; Not as fast when shooting raws; Slow buffer clearing Price and availability Available from May 2016 in the US market, the Sony RX10 III is priced at US$1,500. In Canada, list pricing is in the region of CA$2,000. Imaging Resource rating 4.5 out of 5.0 Sony RX10 III Review by Mike Tomkins Review posted: 07/27/2016 Last updated: 02/02/2017 With a powerful 24-600mm f/2.4-4 zoom lens and a high-resolution 20.1-megapixel image sensor, the Sony RX10 III takes the large-sensor RX-series into ultrazoom territory for the first time. It comes with a hefty pricetag, but boasts performance, features and image quality to match. But can it compete against its large-sensor, long-zoom rivals which cost barely more than half as much? Find out below in our Sony RX10 III field test! You'll also want to check out our performance test results, and browse our extensive gallery of real-world sample images. If you're looking for our full Sony RX10 III overview, please click here to jump further down the page. Sony RX10 III Field Test More zoom (and horses) than you can shake a stick at! Last summer, I wrote our review of the Sony RX10 II, a followup to the original RX10 which I'd also reviewed a couple of years earlier. I really loved both cameras, and own an RX10 II myself. Like the RX10 before it, the Sony RX10 II really made for a great all-rounder camera when I didn't want to pack a larger-sensored body and some interchangeable lenses. (In our current era of increasingly expensive baggage fees and stringent weight limits when traveling, that's been rather often in my experience.) The RX10 III's launch was much earlier than I'd expected, but made a lot of sense When I first heard that Sony was preparing to launch the RX10 III a few months back, though, my initial reaction was one of surprise. Not because I couldn't think of anything I'd improve in its predecessor, necessarily, but more because it came so hot on the heels of the much-praised RX10 II. Read our real-world Sony RX10 III Field Test Sony RX10 III Image Quality How does Sony's large-sensor long-zoom compare to its rivals? Below are crops from our laboratory Still Life target comparing the Sony RX10 III's single-shot image quality to its shorter-zoomed sibling, the RX10 II, as well as to its nearest 1"-sensor rivals, the Canon G3X and Panasonic FZ1000. By way of comparison to other sensor sizes, we've also included the Panasonic FZ300 as an example of a smaller-sensored camera based around a 1/2.3" sensor, and the Sony A6300 as an example of an interchangeable-lens camera based around an APS-C sensor. NOTE: These images are from best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction and using the camera's actual base ISO (not extended ISO settings). All cameras in this comparison with the exception of the Sony A6300 have fixed zoom lenses. The A6300 was shot with our very sharp FE 55mm F1.8 ZA reference lens. Clicking any crop will take you to a carrier page where you can click once again to access the full resolution image as delivered straight from the camera. For those interested in working with the RAW files involved: click these links to visit each camera's respective sample image thumbnail page: Sony RX10 III, Sony RX10 II, Canon G3X, Panasonic FZ1000, Panasonic FZ300 and Sony A6300 -- links to the RAW files appear beneath those for the JPEG images, wherever we have them. And remember, you can always go to our world-renowned Comparometer to compare the Sony RX10 III to any camera we've ever tested! Read our Sony RX10 III Image Quality Comparison Sony RX10 III Print Quality How will your photos look on paper? Print quality and image quality are similar but not identical, because what you see on a print isn't always the same as what you see on the screen. Our print quality analysis answers the important question: "Just how big can I print my photos at higher ISOs?" The Sony RX10 III delivers print sizes we'd expect based on the performance of both its predecessor and most 1-inch type sensored cameras in general. You can expect high-quality 24 x 36 inch prints at base and extended low settings, and then a typical size reduction occurring predictably after about ISO 800. Even ISO 12,800 allows for a reasonable 4 x 6 inch print, while good 8 x 10 inch prints are possible all the way up to ISO 3200. Read our Sony RX10 III Print Quality Analysis Sony RX10 III Conclusion It's pricey, but does it have what it takes to justify the cost? Over the last couple of years, we've reviewed both the groundbreaking Sony RX10 and its followup, the RX10 II. And in both cases, we've found them to offer a whole heck of a lot of camera. In many ways, the RX10 II -- which went on sale a year ago this month -- has continued to lead the field in the segment which its predecessor created. In one respect, though, both cameras trailed their nearest rivals. The original RX10 and its successor both shared the same zoom lens, and while its constant-aperture design was really bright, it had much more limited telephoto reach than cameras like the Panasonic FZ1000 and Canon G3X. The Sony RX10 III aims to resolve that. It doesn't replace the RX10 II, but rather complements it, with the two selling side-by-side in a new, broader RX10-series lineup. Between both cameras, Sony gives potential owners a choice which its rivals don't offer: Do you want a bright, constant aperture while still retaining a very useful 8.3x zoom range, or would you favor even more telephoto reach at the expense of that constant aperture? Read our Sony RX10 III Conclusion Sony RX10 III Review -- Overview by Mike Tomkins Preview posted 03/29/2016 In July 2015, Sony released its RX10 II digital camera, a follow-up for the original RX10 model which first shipped at the very end of 2013. Now, just eight months after the RX10 II hit the market, the next-generation Sony RX10 III has arrived and sells alongside that camera, offering a whole lot more zoom reach in a slightly bigger package! The mighty ultrazoom lens is the really big news The big story here is the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T*-branded lens. Where the Sony RX10 and RX10 II shared the same 24-200mm-equivalent optic, the RX10 III opts for a much more powerful 24-600mm zoom with f/2.4-4 maximum aperture across the zoom range. Actual focal lengths range from 8.8 to 220mm. This much greater reach suggests that rather than being a replacement for the RX10 II, the RX10 III is instead intended to sell alongside the existing camera. (And indeed, we've received confirmation from Sony that this is indeed the case.) Despite its huge zoom range and wide aperture, the lens has low to very low chromatic distortion, especially towards the wide end of the range. Sony has really pulled out all the stops in lens design for this zoom-monster, and the lens not surprisingly has a very complex formula. Compared to the earlier 14-element, 11-group design with seven aspheric elements, the Sony RX10 III instead opts for a whopping 18-element design with a total of 13 groups. That includes no less than eight ED glass elements, of which there's one super ED glass element, five ED glass elements and two ED aspherical elements. A nine-bladed aperture provides attractive bokeh; Sony didn't provide details on the aperture of earlier models, suggesting this figure is likely upgraded too. As you'd expect in a lens this far-reaching, image stabilization is included. Sony rates the Optical SteadyShot system in the RX10 III as good for a 4.5-stop corrective strength. Focusing is possible to as close as three centimeters at wide-angle, or 72cm at telephoto. Maximum magnification at the telephoto position is 0.49x. Aperture, zoom and focus rings are included on the lens barrel, providing an SLR-like shooting experience. There's also a focus hold button on the left side of the lens barrel near its base, making it easy to stop autofocus operation if you want to reframe before image capture. There are also 72mm filter threads on the front of the lens, should you wish to mount creative or protective filters. A bigger and heavier camera, but not as much as you might expect Not surprisingly, given its impressive new lens, the Sony RX10 III is both larger and heavier than is the RX10 II, but the change in size is rather less significant than one might expect. With dimensions of 5.2 x 3.7 x 5.0 inches, the RX10 III has grown by about a tenth of an inch in width, two tenths in height, and an inch or so in depth compared to the earlier camera. With a loaded-and-ready-to-shoot weight of 38.6 ounces, the RX10 III is significantly heavier than its 28.7-ounce sibling, doubtless due in large part to all the glass in its new lens. That makes the RX10 III about one-third heavier than the RX10 II. Like the RX10 II before it, Sony describes the RX10 III's body as being both dust and moisture-resistant, but provides no information on the number or location of seals. Nor does it provide any specific rating indicating the degree of sealing provided. A new sensor, but with familiar specifications The 1"-type, backside-illuminated image sensor itself also looks to be new, although sensor resolution is essentially unchanged from that of the earlier models. With an effective pixel count of 20.1 megapixels, the Sony RX10 III's sensor does differ just fractionally from the 20.2-megapixel chips of its siblings, however. As in the RX10 II, the sensor uses a stacked design with DRAM chip, and its output is handled by a BIONZ X-branded image processor. This provides performance enough to allow for extreme high frame-rate or 4K video capture. Sensitivity ranges from ISO 64 to 12,800-equivalents, also unchanged from the RX10 II. Continuous burst shooting is possible at a maximum of 14 frames per second with focus locked from the first frame, again unchanged from the RX10 II. Even with AF active between frames, the RX10 III is capable of up to 6.3 frames-per-second burst capture. (Our test target for this is static, yielding this maximum figure; Sony rates the RX10 III as capable of five fps.) Swift autofocus using contrast detection Just as in the RX10 II, the Sony RX10 III focuses using a contrast-detection autofocus system, branded by Sony as Fast Intelligent AF. Subject-detection algorithms operate even before a half-press of the shutter button, and are said to be able to determine a focus lock in as little as 0.09 seconds. The same viewfinder as the RX10 II... Sony has retained the same excellent electronic viewfinder from the RX10 II for the new Sony RX10 III. Based around an Organic LED panel with a 0.39-inch diagonal and a total resolution of 2,359,296 dots, the finder has 0.7x magnification (35mm-equivalent), and a 21.5mm eyepoint from the eyepiece frame. Manufacturer-rated coverage is 100%, and a dioptric adjustment for eyeglass-wearers spans the range from -4 to +3 diopters. As well as automatic brightness control there is also a five-step manual brightness adjustment provided. ...and the same dual-LCD design On the rear and top decks of the Sony RX10 III, there are separate LCD displays, just as in the RX10 II. The rear-panel 2.95-inch display has a resolution of 1,228,800 dots, and as well as those specifications being unchanged from the earlier RX10 II, so too is the articulation mechanism. This will allow tilting upwards by 107 degrees, or downwards by 42 degrees. The top-deck LCD, meanwhile, is a small monochrome status display providing basic exposure and operational information, again just as in the RX10 II. Made with movies in mind Like the RX10 II before it, the Sony RX10 III was clearly made with movie capture in mind. For one thing, there is no Full HD limit here: The RX10 III can capture 4K video at rates of either 30, 25 or 24 frames per second, and with bitrates as high as 100Mbps using full-pixel readout with no binning. You can, of course, opt for Full HD or HD capture if you don't need this resolution, and here capture rates top out at 120 fps. Sony RX10 Mark III 4K video #1 3,840 2,160, 30 fps, H.264, MP4 Download Original (263.9MB) 3,840 2,160, 30 fps, H.264, MP4 Sony RX10 Mark III 4K video #2 3,840 2,160, 30 fps, H.264, MP4 Download Original (355.1MB) 3,840 2,160, 30 fps, H.264, MP4 Sony RX10 Mark III 4K video #3 3,840 2,160, 30 fps, H.264, MP4 Download Original (356.9MB) 3,840 2,160, 30 fps, H.264, MP4 And like the RX10 II before it, the Sony RX10 III also allows high frame-rate capture at rates up to 960 fps, although the rather frustrating requirement to have clips upsampled to Full HD resolution in-camera post-capture remains, meaning that you may potentially miss shooting a subsequent clip if the camera has yet to finish rendering the previous one. (We continue to hold out hope that Sony will eventually allow saving at the actual capture resolution, as there's little advantage to upsampling in-camera.) Wireless connectivity The Sony RX10 III includes both in-camera Wi-Fi wireless networking and NFC radios, just as did the RX10 II before it. This allows both for remote control and capture, and also for cable-free transfer of photos to your Android or iOS smartphone or tablet. We've found Sony's implementation to be one of the more impressively easy to use, with Android users in particular enjoying the ability to send a photo to their phone simply by viewing it in playback mode on the camera, and then bumping the two devices' NFC antennas together. Wired connectivity Of course, there's all the wired connectivity you'd expect, too. Just as in the RX10 II, the Sony RX10 III includes a USB 2.0 High-Speed data connection to get photos and movies onto your computer, and a Micro HDMI connector to let you see them on your TV. There's also Sony's proprietary Multi Interface Shoe, which doubles as a hot shoe for Sony strobes and an attachment point for various other accessories. And catering to video capture, there is both external microphone and headphone connectivity, too. Power The Sony RX10 III draws power from the exact same 7.2-volt NP-FW50 lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack as did the earlier RX10 and RX10 II. Battery life is rated at 420 shots on a charge when using the LCD monitor, or 370 shots on a charge with the electronic viewfinder. That's 20 frames more with the LCD, or 10 more with the viewfinder, than was possible on the RX10 II. That's pretty impressive given that the RX10 III has triple the zoom range of the earlier cameras, and the CIPA test used requires that the camera rack across the entire zoom range once after every shot. Press Release: IMF Staff Completes Mission for a Staff-Monitored Program Review and a Stand-By Arrangement Discussion with Iraq End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMFs Executive Board. Press Release No. 16/142 March 29, 2016 An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Christian Josz visited Amman from March 17-29, 2016 to review the Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) and begin discussions on a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the Iraqi authorities. At the end of the visit, Mr. Josz issued the following statement: Iraq continues to face a number of challenges. Key among those is the ongoing armed conflict with ISIS, which continues to strain the countrys resources and results in new waves of internally displaced people, now reaching over 4 million. The other key challenge is the steep fall in oil prices, causing a large external shock to the balance of payments and budget revenue, which depend predominantly on oil export receipts. Real GDP contracted by 2.1 percent in 2015 owing to the conflict, destruction of infrastructure and assets, disruptions in trade, and deterioration of investor confidence. The increase in oil production, which is located in areas under control of the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, helped to mitigate the economic deterioration in the non-oil sector. The current account deficit of the balance of payment widened to 5.1 percent of GDP in 2015. As a result, foreign exchange reserves dropped by $13 billion to $54 billion at end-2015. Preliminary estimates indicate that the authorities continue to make progress under the SMP. Three out of the five indicative targets at end-December 2015 were met, owing to the under execution of expenditure on wages and pensions, goods and services, and transfers. The target on social spending was missed by a small margin. The target on non-accumulation of external arrears was missed due to the governments cash constraint. One out of three structural benchmarks was met and the other two were not yet met but good progress has been made and authorities expect to meet them shortly. The Iraqi authorities and IMF staff have made good progress towards reaching an understanding on a program of economic and financial policies that could be supported by financing. This program would include further fiscal consolidation to bring spending into line with the lower level of oil prices and maintain debt sustainability. It would also include measures to protect the poor and public financial management reforms to strengthen fiscal transparency, improve the quality of public spending, and enhance financial sector stability. The discussions will continue during the April 2016 IMF-World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, D.C. During the mission the team met with the Minister of Finance Hoshyar Zebari, Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ali Allaq, the Financial Adviser to the Prime Minister Mudher Saleh, and officials from the ministries of finance, oil, planning, electricity, the CBI, and representatives from state-owned banks and the Iraq Business Council. The team would like to thank the Iraqi authorities for their cooperation and the open and productive discussions. Imperial Valley News Center ICE arrests more than 1,100 in operation targeting gangs Washington, DC - A five-week operation, dubbed Project Shadowfire, netted 1,133 arrests, including more than 900 transnational criminal gang members and others associated with transnational criminal activity, like drug trafficking, human smuggling and sex trafficking, murder and racketeering. The operation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and concluded March 21. This operation is the latest example of ICEs ongoing efforts, begun more than a decade ago under Operation Community Shield, to target violent gang members and their associates, to eradicate the violence they inflict upon our communities and to stop the cash flow to transnational organized crime groups operating overseas, said ICE Director Sarah R. Saldana. Since the inception of Operation Community Shield in February 2005, HSI special agents, working in conjunction with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, have made more than 40,000 gang-related arrests and seized more than 8,000 firearms. Project Shadowfire was a surge operation conducted under Operation Community Shield, and led by the HSI National Gang Unit. Between Feb. 15 and March 21, HSI special agents worked with numerous state, local and federal law enforcement partners, including ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), to apprehend individuals from various gangs. Most of the individuals arrested during Project Shadowfire were U.S. citizens, but 239 foreign nationals from 13 countries in Central America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean were also arrested. Of the 1,133 arrests, 915 were gang members and associates, 1,001 were charged with criminal offenses and 132 were arrested administratively for immigration violations. The majority of arrestees were affiliated with gangs like MS-13, Surenos, Nortenos, Bloods and several prison-based gangs. Enforcement actions occurred around the country, with the greatest activity taking place in the Los Angeles, San Juan, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, and El Paso areas. HSI special agents also seized 150 firearms, more than 20 kilograms of narcotics and more than $70,000 in U.S currency. About Operation Community Shield Operation Community Shield is a global initiative, started by ICE in 2005, in which HSI collaborates with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to combat the growth and proliferation of transnational criminal street gangs, prison gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs in the United States and abroad. Through its domestic and international Operation Community Shield task forces, HSI leverages its worldwide presence and expansive statutory and civil enforcement authorities to mitigate the threats posted by these global networks, often through the tracing and seizing of cash, weapons and other illicit proceeds. Partnerships with state, local, federal and international law enforcement agencies are critical to the success of HSI gang enforcement operations. Law enforcement partners provide actionable intelligence which is critical in targeting gangs and their membership for enforcement actions. HSI special agents use intelligence gathered from surge operations to pursue complex criminal enterprise investigations and federal prosecutions. The National Gang Unit oversees HSIs expansive transnational gang portfolio and enables special agents to bring the fight to these criminal enterprises through the development of uniform enforcement and intelligence-sharing strategies. Recent National Gang Unit-led operations include: Southern Tempest in 2011, targeting gangs affiliated with drug trafficking; Project Nefarious in 2012, targeting gangs involved in human smuggling and trafficking; Project Southbound in 2014, targeting the Surenos, the fasting growing transnational gang in the U.S., and Project Wildfire in 2015, the largest gang surge conducted by HSI to date. Additionally, for the past three years, ICE has held an anti-gang conference with the U.S. Department of State in Mexico City to provide training and capacity building for international law enforcement officers to combat and prevent gang activities. To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour, toll-free hotline at: 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or visit www.ice.gov/tips. California State Assembly honor the 13 first responders of the San Bernardino tragedy Sacramento, California - Today, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia and the rest of the California State Assembly honored the 13 First Responders who were instrumental in saving lives at the San Bernardino tragedy back in December. Dec. 2, 2015, the nation was rocked by yet another tragic mass shooting, this time, very close to home in San Bernardino. The horrific incident resulted in lives lost and left endless questions, said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. Today we welcome and thanked our local heroes, who put their lives in jeopardy to save others. The people of California will always be grateful for their heroism on that terrible day Assemblyman Garcia concluded. California State Legislature presents resolutions to 13 First Responders who were instrumental in San Bernardino. The ceremony took place this afternoon during the State Assemblys Monday Session. Companies reduce costs by opting out of workers' compensation for private plans Stanford, California - About two decades ago, many large companies stopped offering workers' compensation in Texas, the only state that allowed them to do so. Now, big companies are pushing other states to allow them to opt out. Oklahoma made employer participation in workers' compensation voluntary in 2013, though the law is being challenged. Tennessee and South Carolina introduced similar bills in 2015. New research by Stanford law Professor Alison Morantz finds that company costs drop significantly by about 44 percent when firms chose to replace workers' compensation with private plans. Private benefit plans Morantz, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, analyzed all of the injury and illness claims filed by employees of 15 large, multi-state companies that withdrew from workers' compensation in Texas between 1998 and 2010. Those companies offered private benefit plans to cover workers injured on the job in lieu of workers' compensation. Workers' compensation was designed about 100 years ago to give employees salary and medical benefits in exchange for their agreement not to sue their employers when hurt on the job. By 1996, Texas was the only state without a compulsory workers' compensation law, and 39 percent of all firms opted out of the program. Though historically this group consisted mostly of small firms, a substantial number of large companies (employing more than 500 workers) began withdrawing from workers' compensation in the late 1990s deciding to risk large lawsuits rather than pay high insurance costs. But Morantz found the threat of ballooning legal costs was a paper tiger. In fact, their legal expenses went down. "The most salient aspect of workers' compensation is immunity from lawsuits. Yet as it turns out, these companies are not accruing any additional costs from shouldering tort liability," said Morantz, the James and Nancy Kelso Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. A potentially important factor driving legal cost savings is that 13 of the 15 companies in the study added mandatory arbitration clauses to their private occupational benefit plans. And that curtailed the risk of large jury awards against them. And while their legal fees didn't rise, the companies were still able to dramatically reduce their occupational injury costs. Morantz estimates that their costs per worker-hour plummeted about 44 percent, from roughly 14 cents per worker-hour under workers' compensation to around 8 cents per worker-hour under the private plans. Not only did companies see fewer serious claims involving some loss of work, but costs per claim were nearly halved, saving employers an estimated $1,900 per claim. These savings were about equally divided between medical and wage-replacement costs for injured workers. Moreover, these cost savings occurred even though in some ways voluntary plans are more generous than workers' compensation for example, in offering first-day wage replacement (as compared to seven-day waiting periods). The broader policy implications of these findings depend on the underlying reason for the savings, according to Morantz. Questions remain: Do the private plans do a better job of preventing workers from making weak claims? Or do they aggressively screen out legitimate claims and leave injured workers without benefits they deserve? Alternatively, exposure to lawsuits could strengthen companies' incentives to invest in worker safety potentially reducing accidents. Morantz found that the types of injuries that leave greater room for interpretation low back pain and other non-traumatic injuries are disproportionately affected by the opt-out choice. Coverage by private plans lowers the costs of these injuries much more than it does for others, and also lowers the proportion of all claims that arise from non-traumatic injuries. "The hyper-responsiveness of non-traumatic injuries to the opt-out choice suggests that more aggressive claim screening by employers or less over-claiming by employees or some combination of both could be important parts of the story," Morantz said. Still, exiting workers' compensation was associated with a 47 percent drop in the frequency of fractures, amputations, concussions and other severe, traumatic accident claims. Because these types of injuries are the least likely to be faked or disputed, such a large and significant drop raises the possibility that real safety improvements occurred following the adoption of private plans. However, aggressive claim screening cannot be ruled out as an explanation, Morantz said. Factors behind cost savings Unlike workers' compensation, the fine print of most voluntary plans includes provisions allowing companies to deny claims if, for instance, the injury was not reported quickly enough or the employee failed to comply with safety policies. Moreover, under Texas law, employees who are not covered by workers' compensation are not protected from being fired for reporting their injuries. Their only means for redress involves filing a claim in federal court and offers a narrower scope of remedies. Surprisingly, Morantz found that several high-profile features of voluntary plans play a relatively small role in driving cost savings. She focused on four features that constitute striking departures from workers' compensation: the lack of permanent partial disability benefits; caps on the total benefits individuals can receive; categorical exclusion of many diseases and some (mostly non-traumatic) injuries; and elimination of chiropractic coverage. While all of these factors do contribute to making private plans less costly, they explain a relatively small share of total savings. "The impact of these plan features on total savings looks much smaller than I expected," Morantz said. "It suggests that companies that offer private plans could expand their coverage of conditions that have devastating and headline-grabbing effects on individual workers without too much effect on their bottom line." Her findings also imply that other private plan characteristics play a major role in driving savings. The private plans Morantz studied give the company control over medical providers and require that injuries be reported to the company by the end of the work shift or within 24 hours unlike the 30-day reporting window permitted under Texas workers' compensation. Though she could not test the hypothesis directly in her study, Morantz suspects that short reporting windows could be a big cost driver. While companies say the policies help weed out fraudulent claims and expedite medical care, critics claim some injured workers may not file timely claims because they are traumatized, overwhelmed or suffering from cumulative injuries that take more than 24 hours to detect. Morantz said more research is needed before determining whether the cost savings also translate into fair protection for workers. Hot Days Can Trigger Yosemite Rockfalls Yosemite, California - After more than three years of monitoring the towering granite cliffs of Yosemite National Park, scientists have new insights into a potentially important mechanism that can trigger rockfalls in the park. Although many conditions can trigger rockfalls, some rockfalls are more likely to happen in the hottest part of the day, during the hottest part of the year. Rockfalls in Yosemite are common and part of the natural process of erosion, but they also pose hazards to park visitors. Improved understanding of this thermal triggering mechanism may assist the National Park Service in managing rockfall hazards in the park. To explain this phenomenon, U.S. Geological Survey and NPS geologists placed sensitive deformation and temperature gauges in a crack behind a large, partially detached slab of granite clinging to a Yosemite Valley cliff. The scientists found that daily heating and cooling of the rock surface caused the crack to open and close by nearly half an inch. The resulting stress can cause such cracks to grow, destabilizing the rock slabs to the point where they fall, in a process called exfoliation. According to Brian Collins, USGS geotechnical engineer and coauthor of the study, Our research provides clear evidence that thermal effects can move large slabs of rock and that these movements, over time, can lead to rock falls. Summertime rockfalls have been something of a mystery, said Greg Stock, Yosemite park geologist and coauthor of the study. With this work we now have a plausible explanation for why they happen. The full report, Rockfall triggering by cyclic thermal stressing of exfoliation fractures, is published in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, and is available online. Donald Trump leads slightly; California voters weigh in on rhetoric, immigration Los Angeles, California - With the California primary less than three months away, Donald Trump leads the GOP field among registered Republican voters in California while Ted Cruz is a close second, according to the latest USC Dornsife/LA Times Poll. When asked to choose from a list of Republican candidates for whom they would vote if the presidential election were held today, 37 percent of Republicans said they would support Trump while 30 percent said they would support Cruz. Twelve percent said they would vote for John Kasich. Some voters remain on the fence or prefer other candidates: 9 percent of registered Republicans said they will vote for another candidate while another 9 percent are undecided. Donald Trump is still the Republican front runner, both in California and nationally, but it appears that there may be a ceiling on his support, said Dan Schnur, director of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll and director of the Unruh Institute of Politics of USC. About 35 to 40 percent of primary voters are strong supporters of his candidacy, but there is still great resistance among the majority of Republicans. If Trump wins the nomination at the Republican National Convention in July, 42 percent of registered Republican voters in California would offer him their enthusiastic support. He draws tentative support from 27 percent who would reluctantly vote for him. Another 27 percent said they would refuse to vote for him. Violence at Trump rallies When asked to choose from a group of statements the one that best reflects their views on the recent violence at Trumps rallies between his supporters and protesters, 54 percent of all likely voters said Trump is encouraging violence with his rhetoric, while 22 percent said protesters are interfering with Trumps right of free speech and inciting violence. Another 19 percent said that the violence occurred in just a few small incidents and that the media blew it out of proportion. The remaining 5 percent either refused to answer, didnt know or didnt agree with any of the statements. The likely voters then responded to a question about what should be done about the violence at Trumps rallies, and again selected from a group of statements one that best represented their view. Most 65 percent said that Trump should tone down his rhetoric because he is worsening divisions in American society. But 27 percent said Trump should continue speaking out because the countrys problems are too serious to worry about offending people. Four percent disagreed with those statements and 1 percent agreed with both. Three percent refused to answer or didnt know. Immigration Trump has been outspoken on issues of immigration and refugees from Middle Eastern countries. When asked whether they support Trumps proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, 72 percent of voters said they oppose this idea while 22 percent support it. All registered voters were asked their views about what to do about immigrants who live in the country illegally. A majority 65 percent said they believe the immigrants should be allowed to stay and work in the United States and eventually apply for citizenship. Another 14 percent believe they should be allowed to stay and work but could not apply for citizenship, and 16 percent said the immigrants should have to leave the country. Five percent didnt know or refused to answer. When asked about Trumps views on dealing with Mexican immigration and the border, 68 percent said they oppose his views and 28 percent said they support them. The voters were also asked whether they favor or oppose an increase on security at the Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants. Sixty percent were in favor of it and 35 percent opposed the idea. In response to Trumps proposal to build a wall on the Mexican border, 66 percent of all registered voters said they oppose it and 31 percent said they support it. These are the types of things that have kept Trump from expanding his support base, said Schnur. If he does become the Republican nominee, the fact that so many GOP voters are unenthusiastic or opposed to his candidacy will be a huge obstacle in the general election. Favorability California registered voters were asked whether they felt very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable, or very unfavorable to the candidates or whether they hadnt heard enough about them to say. Kasich was the only Republican candidate viewed favorably overall: 38 percent of voters had a favorable view of him versus 30 percent unfavorable. Among whites, 46 percent were favorable versus 31 percent unfavorable. Among Latinos, 29 percent were favorable versus 26 percent unfavorable. When asked about Cruz, 57 percent of voters viewed him unfavorably versus 29 percent favorably. Among whites, 61 percent viewed him unfavorably versus 30 percent favorably. Among Latinos, 46 percent viewed him unfavorably versus 31 percent favorably. Regarding Trump, 73 percent of all likely voters viewed him unfavorably versus 23 percent favorably. Among whites, 67 percent viewed him unfavorably versus 29 percent. Among Latinos, 87 percent have an unfavorable view of him versus 9 percent favorable. Poll participants were also asked about their views of President Obama. Overall, 65 percent viewed him favorably versus 33 percent unfavorably. Among whites, 56 percent viewed him favorably versus 43 percent unfavorably. Among Latinos, 78 percent viewed him favorably versus 19 percent unfavorably. The latest USC/Dornsife Los Angeles Times Poll, the largest statewide survey of registered voters, was conducted March 16-23, and includes a significant oversample of Latino voters as well as one of the most robust cell phone samples in the state. The full sample of 1,500 voters has a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points. Additional poll results and methodology are available here. WEBSITE: http://dornsife.usc.edu/unruh/poll/ About the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll:The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is a series of statewide public opinion polls in California, designed to survey voter attitudes on a wide range of political, policy, social and cultural issues. Conducted at regular intervals throughout the year, the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll is one of the largest polls of registered voters in the state and has been widely cited, helping to inform the public and to encourage discourse on key political and policy issues. About the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics: The Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics is dedicated to bridging the academic study of politics with practical experience in the field. The Unruh Institute channels its efforts by offering courses in applied politics, a variety of speaker series, and an extensive political internship program. Its goals are to engage public officials with the USC community and to facilitate the discussion of relevant issues across campus. About USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences: USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is the heart of the university. The largest, oldest and most diverse of USCs 19 schools, USC Dornsife is composed of more than 30 academic departments and dozens of research centers and institutes. USC Dornsife is home to approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and more than 750 faculty members with expertise across the humanities, social sciences and sciences. About the Los Angeles Times: The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 2 million and 3 million on Sunday, and a combined print and interactive local weekly audience of 4.5 million. The fast-growing latimes.com draws over 10 million unique visitors monthly. Insights into human tears could lead to more comfortable contact lenses Stanford, California - When contact lenses work really well, you forget they are on your eyes. You might not feel the same at the end of a long day staring at a computer screen. After too many hours of wear, the lenses and your eyes dry out, causing irritation that might outweigh the convenience of contacts. Stanford researchers hope to alleviate this pain by both advancing the understanding of how natural tears keep our eyes comfortable, and developing a machine for designing better contact lenses. The work was inspired in part by a graduate student's dry eyes. "As a student, I had to stop wearing lenses due to the increased discomfort," said Saad Bhamla, a Stanford postdoctoral scholar in bioengineering who conducted the work as a graduate student in Gerald Fuller's chemical engineering laboratory at Stanford. "Focusing my PhD thesis to understand this problem was both a personal and professional goal." Bhamla isn't alone. More than 30 million Americans currently wear contacts, but roughly half of them switch back to glasses because of contact lens-induced symptoms such as dry eye. Bhamla and Fuller suspected that most of the discomfort arises from the break up of the tear film, a wet coating on the surface of the eye, during a process called dewetting. They found that the lipid layer, an oily coating on the surface of the tear film, protects the eye's surface in two important ways through strength and liquid retention. By mimicking the lipid layer in contact construction, millions of people could avoid ocular discomfort. In their most recent study, Bhamla and his co-authors outline two functions of the lipid layer. One is to provide mechanical strength to the tear film. Lipids in this layer have viscoelastic properties that allow them to stretch and support the watery layer beneath them. Bhamla likens this protective lipid layer to a swimming pool cover. You can't run on the open water, but even a thin tarp can provide mechanical strength to support a person's weight. "You will sometimes see the guards at the Stanford Avery pool run over the surface of the covered pool," Bhamla said. "The mechanical structure is very thin, but it protects the whole bulk of the liquid. If the swimming pool is shrunk to 1/100th the width of a hair, it is a good representation of the tear film with a lipid layer replacing the tarp." The lipid layer also prevents the tear film from evaporating away. Eyes are roughly 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), which is usually warmer than the ambient air. Like any liquid on a hot surface, the eye is constantly heating its liquid coating and losing moisture to the air. "We recognized early-on that the fluid mechanical responses of the lipid layer were just as important as the conventional view that its role was to control evaporative loss," Fuller said. "And it's been gratifying to realize that the combined role of these two forces is now accepted." The key to producing comfortable contact lenses, then, involves designing lenses that don't destabilize the tear film. Manufacturers recognize the importance of protecting the eye's natural tear film on a contact lens surface to minimize painful symptoms such as dry eye, but it is not an easy thing to measure. "Some people are studying contact lenses by holding them up to a light, dipping them in water, and looking at them to see if the tear film breaks up," Bhamla said. "We felt we could definitely do better than that." To solve this, Bhamla and Fuller built a device that mimics the surface of the eye. The machine, called the Interfacial Dewetting and Drainage Optical Platform or i-DDrOP, reproduces a tear film on the surface of a contact lens. It allows both scientists and manufacturers to systematically handle the unique array of variables that affect the tear film, including temperature, a variety of substances, humidity and the way gravity acts along a curved surface. With the ability to accurately recreate a tear film on the contact lens surface and test how quickly it breaks up, manufacturers are now armed with the tools to make a more comfortable lens that protects users from the painful side effects of wearing contacts. Even Bhamla may trade in his glasses for a new pair of lipid-protected eyewear. This study was co-authored by Chew Chai, Noelle Rabiah and John Frostad from Chemical Engineering at Stanford.. Debt collectors: You may like social media and texts, but are you complying with the law? Washington, DC - We get this question a lot: Is it OK to use text messages or social media to collect debts? Do you want the short answer or the more detailed one? The short answer is that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act doesnt prohibit collectors from using texts or social media. But and this is a major caveat recent FTC law enforcement actions suggest that using them can present particular compliance challenges. Thats the short answer. If you collect debts as part of your business, read on to find out more. The FDCPA doesnt prohibit collectors from using any particular form of communication, except postcards. (A postcard, of course, reveals the existence of a debt to anyone who sees it.) But like traditional letters and phone calls, communications through texts and social media must follow the law. That means: They cant be deceptive. FTC cases have challenged deceptive door openers texts that used false pretenses to get consumers to call the collector back. For example, defendants in the Messaging for Money law enforcement sweep sent texts like this: YOUR PAYMENT DECLINED WITH CARD ****-****-****-5463 . . . CALL 866.256.2117 IMMEDIATELY. To reasonable consumers, that could look like a fraud alert from their credit card company. In fact, it was a sneaky and illegal way for collectors to get a response from the person they claimed owed money. Similarly, a friend request that doesnt disclose that the friend reaching out to the consumer is really a debt collector would run afoul of the law. Debt collectors also shouldnt use social media to deceive third parties. A collector cant obtain location information about a consumer by using false pretenses to approach a friend or coworker e.g., by using a fake Facebook account to send a friend request to a purported debtors social connections in the hope of uncovering address or asset information. They must provide the appropriate disclosures. According to Section 807(11) of the FDCPA, the initial communication between a collector and a consumer must disclose that its from a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Later communications must make it clear that theyre from a debt collector. As the FTCs settlement with National Attorney Collection Services illustrates, there is no But thats tough to do in a text . . . defense under the law. The disclosure provisions of the FDCPA apply regardless of how debt collectors choose to communicate with consumers. They cant reveal the existence of a debt to third parties. Under Section 805(b) of the FDCPA, its illegal to reveal the existence of a debt to a third party. Whats more, Section 806(3) prohibits publishing a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts. Those are especially important lessons for collectors in the social media context, where a post on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr can instantly be viewed by others and especially by consumers social connections. An FTC staff letter closing an investigation of a debt collection attorney illustrates that point. According to the letter, [D]ebt collectors may violate the FDCPA and/or the FTC Act by . . . requesting to join debtors social media networks (for example, by sending a friend request on Facebook). Because it appeared to be an isolated incident for the purpose of collecting a commercial debt activity that falls outside the FDCPA that matter was closed. But prudent members of the industry take it as a lesson learned. They cant be used to impose illegal charges. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from collecting charges unless the charge is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law. One final note about your own online or social media presence. Some industry members use their websites and social media pages to offer helpful information for consumers for example, a breakdown of costs or an easier way to dispute a debt. So while were on the subject of new forms of communication, consider whether lawfully using these platforms to offer general information can benefit both your company and consumers. Seven Iranians Working for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Affiliated Entities Charged for Conducting Coordinated Campaign of Cyber Attacks Against U.S. Financial Sector New York - A grand jury in the Southern District of New York indicted seven Iranian individuals who were employed by two Iran-based computer companies, ITSecTeam (ITSEC) and Mersad Company (MERSAD), that performed work on behalf of the Iranian Government, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on computer hacking charges related to their involvement in an extensive campaign of over 176 days of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Ahmad Fathi, 37; Hamid Firoozi, 34; Amin Shokohi, 25; Sadegh Ahmadzadegan, aka Nitr0jen26, 23; Omid Ghaffarinia, aka PLuS, 25; Sina Keissar, 25; and Nader Saedi, aka Turk Server, 26, launched DDoS attacks against 46 victims, primarily in the U.S financial sector, between late 2011 and mid-2013. The attacks disabled victim bank websites, prevented customers from accessing their accounts online and collectively cost the victims tens of millions of dollars in remediation costs as they worked to neutralize and mitigate the attacks on their servers. In addition, Firoozi is charged with obtaining unauthorized access into the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems of the Bowman Dam, located in Rye, New York, in August and September of 2013. The indictment was announced today by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, Director James B. Comey of the FBI, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York. In unsealing this indictment, the Department of Justice is sending a powerful message: that we will not allow any individual, group, or nation to sabotage American financial institutions or undermine the integrity of fair competition in the operation of the free market, said Attorney General Lynch. Through the work of our National Security Division, the FBI, and U.S. Attorneys Offices around the country, we will continue to pursue national security cyber threats through the use of all available tools, including public criminal charges. And as todays unsealing makes clear, individuals who engage in computer hacking will be exposed for their criminal conduct and sought for apprehension and prosecution in an American court of law. The FBI will find those behind cyber intrusions and hold them accountable wherever they are, and whoever they are, said Director Comey. By calling out the individuals and nations who use cyber attacks to threaten American enterprise, as we have done in this indictment, we will change behavior. Like past nation state-sponsored hackers, these defendants and their backers believed that they could attack our critical infrastructure without consequence, from behind a veil of cyber anonymity, said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. This indictment once again shows there is no such veil we can and will expose malicious cyber hackers engaging in unlawful acts that threaten our public safety and national security. The charges announced today respond directly to a cyber-assault on New York, its institutions and its infrastructure, said U.S. Attorney Bharara. The alleged onslaught of cyber-attacks on 46 of our largest financial institutions, many headquartered in New York City, resulted in hundreds of thousands of customers being unable to access their accounts and tens of millions of dollars being spent by the companies trying to stay online through these attacks. The infiltration of the Bowman Avenue dam represents a frightening new frontier in cybercrime. These were no ordinary crimes, but calculated attacks by groups with ties to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard and designed specifically to harm America and its people. We now live in a world where devastating attacks on our financial system, our infrastructure and our way of life can be launched from anywhere in the world, with a click of a mouse. Confronting these types of cyber-attacks cannot be the job of just law enforcement. The charges announced today should serve as a wake-up call for everyone responsible for the security of our financial markets and for guarding our infrastructure. Our future security depends on heeding this call. According to the indictment unsealed today in federal court in New York City: DDoS Attacks The DDoS campaign began in approximately December 2011, and the attacks occurred only sporadically until September 2012, at which point they escalated in frequency to a near-weekly basis, between Tuesday and Thursdays during normal business hours in the United States. On certain days during the campaign, victim computer servers were hit with as much as 140 gigabits of data per second and hundreds of thousands of customers were cut off from online access to their bank accounts. Fathi, Firoozi and Shokohi were responsible for ITSECs portion of the DDoS campaign against the U.S. financial sector and are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer hacking. Fathi was the leader of ITSEC and was responsible for supervising and coordinating ITSECs portion of the DDoS campaign, along with managing computer intrusion and cyberattack projects being conducted for the government of Iran. Firoozi was the network manager at ITSEC and, in that role, procured and managed computer servers that were used to coordinate and direct ITSECs portion of the DDoS campaign. Shokohi is a computer hacker who helped build the botnet used by ITSEC to carry out its portion of the DDoS campaign and created malware used to direct the botnet to engage in those attacks. During the time that he worked in support of the DDoS campaign, Shokohi received credit for his computer intrusion work from the Iranian government towards his completion of his mandatory military service requirement in Iran. Ahmadzadegan, Ghaffarinia, Keissar and Saedi were responsible for managing the botnet used in MERSADs portion of the campaign, and are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer hacking. Ahmadzadegan was a co-founder of MERSAD and was responsible for managing the botnet used in MERSADs portion of the DDoS campaign. He was also associated with Iranian hacking groups Sun Army and the Ashiyane Digital Security Team (ADST), and claimed responsibility for hacking servers belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in February 2012. Ahmadzadegan has also provided training to Iranian intelligence personnel. Ghaffarinia was a co-founder of MERSAD and created malicious computer code used to compromise computer servers and build MERSADs botnet. Ghaffarinia was also associated with Sun Army and ADST, and has also claimed responsibility for hacking NASA servers in February 2012, as well as thousands of other servers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel. Keissar procured computer servers used by MERSAD to access and manipulate MERSADs botnet, and also performed preliminary testing of the same botnet prior to its use in MERSADs portion of the DDoS campaign. Saedi was an employee of MERSAD and a former Sun Army computer hacker who expressly touted himself as an expert in DDoS attacks. Saedi wrote computer scripts used to locate vulnerable servers to build the MERSAD botnet used in its portion of the DDoS campaign. For the purpose of carrying out the attacks, each group built and maintained their own botnets, which consisted of thousands of compromised computer systems owned by unwitting third parties that had been infected with the defendants malware, and subject to their remote command and control. The defendants and/or their unindicted co-conspirators then sent orders to their botnets to direct significant amounts of malicious traffic at computer servers used to operate the websites for victim financial institutions, which overwhelmed victim servers and disabled them from customers seeking to legitimately access the websites or their online bank accounts. Although the DDoS campaign caused damage to the financial sector victims and interfered with their customers ability to do online banking, the attacks did not affect or result in the theft of customer account data. DDoS Botnet Remediation Since the attacks, the Department of Justice and the FBI have worked together with the private sector to effectively neutralize and remediate the defendants botnets. Specifically, through approximately 20 FBI Liaison Alert System (FLASH) messages, the FBI regularly provided updated information collected from the investigation regarding the identity of systems that been infected with the defendants malware and operating as bots within the malicious botnets. In addition, the FBI conducted extensive direct outreach to Internet service providers responsible for hosting systems that have been infected with the defendants malware to provide them information and assistance in removing the malware to protect their customers and other potential victims of the defendants unlawful cyber activities. Through these outreach efforts and the cooperation of the private sector, over 95 percent of the known part of the defendants botnets have been successfully remediated. Bowman Dam Intrusion Between Aug. 28, 2013, and Sept. 18, 2013, Firoozi repeatedly obtained unauthorized access to the SCADA systems of the Bowman Dam, and is charged with one substantive count of obtaining and aiding and abetting computer hacking. This unauthorized access allowed him to repeatedly obtain information regarding the status and operation of the dam, including information about the water levels, temperature and status of the sluice gate, which is responsible for controlling water levels and flow rates. Although that access would normally have permitted Firoozi to remotely operate and manipulate the Bowman Dams sluice gate, Firoozi did not have that capability because the sluice gate had been manually disconnected for maintenance at the time of the intrusion. Remediation for the Bowman Dam intrusion cost over $30,000. Release of Azerbaijani Human Rights Lawyer Intigam Aliyev Washington, DC - The United States welcomes todays decision by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to conditionally release human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev. This follows the March 17 release of more than a dozen other individuals. We urge the government to release other individuals who have been incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms and to end restrictions on the movement of those released, and we look forward to working with the Azerbaijani government on additional positive steps. It is the end of an era for the ICGP, with Tipperary GP Dr Margaret ORiordan set to leave her position as Medical Director of the College, after serving the ICGP for 20 years in various capacities. Lincoln Place has advertised the post of Director of the Postgraduate Resource Centre, formally titled Medical Director. Reporting to ICGP CEO Kieran Ryan and Chair Dr Mary Sheehan, the post is a senior management position, which has a leadership/oversight role across postgraduate resources of the College, including education, professional competence and quality functions, providing co-ordination/integration, evaluation and support at strategic and operational levels within the College. The key role in promoting general practice and shaping health policy through interaction with Government, the public and the health sector, will see the successful candidate play a vital part in the implementation of the ICGPs Beyond 2020 statement of strategy 2016-2021. With a time commitment of three days per week, the post is offered for an initial period of two years subject to performance review, with the remuneration package reflective of the seniority of the position. The ICGP is looking for an appointee who holds the MICGP, is registered on the Specialist Division of the Medical Register-General Practice and currently in clinical practice in general practice in Ireland. With a minimum of five years work experience in general practice required, it is desirable to have experience in GP education as well as in strategy and planning. The closing date for receipt of applications is April 20. lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie Clinical decision-making has been confirmed as a factor behind major variations in hospitals admission patterns, with Letterkenny, for example, having a propensity to admit 40 per cent of patients from EDs, the HSE National Director for Acute Hospitals has revealed. Liam Woods told a seminar in Dublin recently that this compared with a rate of 27 per cent nationally to admit patients from EDs. The admissions rate varied widely: from as low as 9 per cent for children to between 55-60 per cent for those aged over 85, he noted. In part, Woods said the reasons were geographic, but clinical decision making was also a factor. In Letterkenny, where patients were potentially more likely to be admitted, the hinterland population was distributed across remote areas and patients were likely to have seen their GPs before attending hospital. It may also be the case that in a hospital such as Letterkenny, that struggles to attract and retain senior clinicians, there may be a higher degree of caution among junior clinicians, according to Woods, and thus a higher propensity to admit patients. Letterkenny opened 10 additional beds over the recent winter to support the hospitals emergency department. Trolley numbers then dropped significantly, Woods told a recent health seminar in Dublin. There had been an overall 10 per cent rise in attendances at EDs, which had increased pressures on the hospital system, he accepted, with the number of over-85s presenting at EDs in particular climbing. Meanwhile, the Executive now knew what its real costs were, Woods said. In developing activity-based funding, the HSE studied the cost of all procedures on a diagnostic-related groups (DRG) basis and this system went live in January. The budget for all hospitals was 5.1 billion and 3.2 billion of this related to day case and inpatients was now covered by activity-based funding, he explained. Costs per case per hospital had now been calculated and the hospitals were aware of these, he added. gary.culliton@imt.ie Following the finalisation of the long-awaited transfer of tasks agreement from NCHDs to nurses/midwives and prior to implementation of the deal, the real work now begins, Lloyd Mudiwa reports. A verification process meant to facilitate the Transfer of Tasks (ToT) from NCHDs to nurses and midwives is set to commence at the end of this month, with transfer expected to be implemented fully by June 30, Irish Medical Times reports. The pre-General Election 2016 agreement by unions and the health service and approved by Government on the transfer of four tasks from trainee doctors to nurses was announced in early February. According to a statement from the Department of Health, responsibility for phlebotomy, intravenous (IV) cannulation, first-dose intravenous antibiotic administration and discharging patients will transfer from doctors to nurses, and training was to begin immediately and occur mainly in acute hospitals and some district hospitals. The implementation of the agreement will be subject to a verification process, which will be carried out in a relatively short period of time and this process will begin by March 31, 2016, HSE Human Resources has stated. A circular has issued approving the transfer of certain tasks from NCHDs to nurses/midwives under the Nursing/ Medical Interface Section of the Haddington Road Agreement. The tasks, including their intrinsic elements, will transfer from medical staff to nursing/midwifery. IV cannulation includes, in the appropriate setting, peripheral cannulation in adults and peripheral cannulation in children who are subject to additional specific protocols and arrangements. Phlebotomy that is currently carried out by NCHDs, as distinct from general routine phlebotomy that is the responsibility of specifically trained and employed phlebotomy staff, is covered by the agreement. These tasks include, in the appropriate setting, venepuncture in adults and venepuncture in children. Also to be transferred is the first dose of IV drug administration, including, in the appropriate setting, medication management, Basic life support training, safe use of any medical devices and vascular access devices (VADs) used in order to safely administer IV therapy, theoretical knowledge of the medication prescribed in that clinical area (subject to local policy), and anaphylaxis treatment. Finally, nurse-led delegated discharge of patients will also be transferred. Implementation A core principle underpinning the allocation of tasks to either medical or nursing/midwifery employees is that the task is undertaken by the most appropriate employee at the particular time in the location. Under the terms of the agreement, responsibility for its implementation lies with the local management group, consisting of the Chief Operating Officer, Medical Director and Director of Nursing. This group is required to establish a Joint Local Implementation Group, which includes representative from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), SIPTU Nursing, and the IMO. In order to ensure implementation within the agreed time scales, HSE Human Resources has said the local management group will put in place initial and ongoing support arrangements for the provision of training in the relevant tasks, including sufficient appropriate training time both on and off site. The local management team also will ensure that staff are communicated with in respect of these developments. It will also prepare a proposal for any additional requirements in relation to staffing, including skill-mix in line with nationally agreed ratios. Any dispute over this (or any other) aspect relating to implementation will be referred without delay to the National Implementation Group for determination, according to HSE HR. The IMO, SIPTU Nursing and the INMO will ensure that where appropriate training is provided and adequate staffing levels are in place, union members will cooperate fully with the transfer. Delegation of responsibility for relevant tasks to the appropriate grades in each location will be communicated in writing to the appropriate staff, including an indication of the commencement date. Verification The implementation of the agreement will be subject to a verification process, which will be carried out in a relatively short period of time, and this process will begin by March 31. It will be conducted by a National Implementation and Verification Group (NIVG) and their decision as to whether the agreement has been implemented in a particular site or clinical setting will be final, the HSE stated. This group will include membership from the Department of Health, HSE, INMO, IMO, SIPTU Nursing representatives and will have an independent chair. Representatives of the group will conduct site visits where required, in order to verify progress. In order for verification to occur, the following will apply: evidence that training programmes are in place and undertaken by a sufficient quantum of nurses; evidence of specific confirmation of tasks being undertaken by nurses and that associated benefits are being achieved; and proof that at least three tasks have been undertaken by nurses. There must also be evidence that the required level of cooperation required by the NIVG in relation to transfers has been forthcoming and where a task has not transferred for reasons outside of the control of nurses, they will not be disadvantaged by this. Where training has not been put in place, individual nurses will also not be disadvantaged by this situation. It was recognised, the HSE acknowledged, that the speed of progress would vary considerably from location to location. However, it was expected that the agreement would be implemented fully by June 30. Payment for the task transfer will commence from July 1, however, it may be backdated to January 1, subject to verification from the NIVG. The payment for the task transfer is T1/6th for the hours worked between 6pm and 8pm. Inflatable Halloween Pumpkin Twice the Size of a House Rings in Spooky Season 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 }} The 69th Cannes Film Festival will open with Woody Allen's latest, Cafe Society. It's the third film of Allen's to open the Festival, following 2002's Hollywood Ending and 2011's Midnight in Paris; though the 14th to be screened overall, from the first, Manhattan (1979), to last year's Irrational Man (2015). Jesse Eisenberg plays a young man arriving in Hollywood in the 1930s with dreams of a career in its film industry; though instead finds himself in love, and entranced by the cafe society which marked such a spirited age. He'll star alongside Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, and Steve Carell. It's maybe the least surprising choice Cannes could have possibly gone with; but the news will, at least, have fans hopeful the director's wildly inconsistent career has, this year, turned up one of his strong suites. Allen certainly has one major player in his cinematic artillery here, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro; a three-time Oscar winner for Apocalypse Now (1980), Reds (1982), and The Last Emperor (1988). Cafe Society opens the festival on Wednesday 11 May in the Palais des Festival's Grand Theatre Lumiere; which then runs until 22 May. 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 }} Agents and actors have been alerted to a casting call issued by convicted child molester Victor Salva for a third Jeepers Creepers movie. In 1988, the US director was convicted of oral sex with Nathan Forrest Winters, the 12-year-old boy who had played the lead role in his horror film Clownhouse. He served 15 months of his three-year prison sentence and released the first Jeepers Creepers in 2001 after a five-year absence from Hollywood. Salvas latest casting notice advertised for the part of a 13-year-old girl called Addison who moves to live with her grandma after her stepfather starts making overtures to her. It sought an 18-year-old for the role, with shooting scheduled to begin in British Columbia, Canada shortly. However, production looks set to be delayed after the Union of British Columbia Performers caught wind of the notice, posted on Breakdown Services, and circulated a warning to those in the industry, reminding them of Salvas criminal past. It has recently come to our attention that a casting breakdown has gone out for a future film entitled Jeepers Creepers III and that the director of the film, Victor Salva, was convicted of sexual misconduct in 1988, the message read. The conviction allegedly resulted from misconduct involving a minor whom Mr Salva was directing at the time. At this time we would like to remind our members and their agents that, under Article A2702 (Safety and Welfare of a Minor) of the BC Master Production Agreement, a performer has the right to refuse work if they believe the nature of the work is unsafe. Best horror films of all-time Show all 10 1 /10 Best horror films of all-time Best horror films of all-time The Shining The retailer play.com used a heart rate monitor on film watchers to assess what horror films set pulses racing. The Heres Johnny scene in which Jack Nicholson peers through a hole in a door he has just created with an axe came up on top. The rest of the film isnt any less scary as a writer coops his family up in an empty Colorado hotel for the winter. Stanley Kubrick creates tension at every turn, especially when he follows Danny riding his bicycle along the corridors. AP Best horror films of all-time Rosemary's Baby Roman Polanskis adaptation of Ira Levins best-seller is the daddy of demon baby movies. It involves a struggling couple, a pregnant Catholic girl and unemployed actor, played by Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes, who move into an apartment block and are befriended by Satanist. The occult is scary, but not nearly as evil as Guys decision to sacrifice his wife for an acting role. Polanskis brilliance is that the horror is not the supernatural but the doubts that brew up in our own minds. Paranoia reigns. Getty images Best horror films of all-time Psycho There is a sense of foreboding even before petty thief Vera Miles checks into the Bates motel. Then we are introduced to Norman Bates and his Oedipus complex. The fact that Bates on the surface seems mild-mannered and ordinary only made his transformation scarier. Showers would never be the same, in the must iconic murder scene on celluloid. Getty Images Best horror films of all-time Blue Velvet The huge amount of film noir elements in the narrative of David Lynchs murder tale often see this 1986 American tale overlooked on horror lists. But this film is aimed to chill and has the aesthetics, pacing and tension of the greatest horror, including severed ears, dwarfs, and the supernatural. But its Dennis Hoppers Frank Booth that is the clincher, whenever hes on screen, whether hes harassing Isabelle Rossellini or encouraging singing, hes the scariest character that has ever been on-screen. Best horror films of all-time Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror The granddaddy of the genre, this silent masterpiece, an unauthorised adaptation of the Dracula tale (The Stoker estate won a case ordering all copies of the film destroyed, which was thankfully unenforceable in Germany), sees director FW Murnau establish many of the touchstones of the genre including vampires lusting after blood Getty Images Best horror films of all-time The Orphanage The haunted house is a staple of horror movies, especially of American horror. But its this Spanish gem from 2007 that is the scariest of them all. It starts with a mother whose attempts to deal with her childhood inner demons seeking closure by buying the orphanage in which she was born, and taking on the demands of looking after not just her own imaginative adopted son, but six other Orphans. What ensues is an eerie homage to Jack Claytons The Innocents that once again proves that nothing is as scary on film as creepy children. Best horror films of all-time Anti-Christ Lars von Triers says it was while he was undergoing cognitive therapy for depression that the idea to make a film exploring the semiotics and tools used by depression came to mind. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe play a couple coping with the death of their son. She cannot belief his response and he hers. The result is a film featuring gender mutilation, talking foxes and where chaos reigns. Booed at Cannes only seems to cement its status. Best horror films of all-time Don't Look Now Adaptations of Daphne du Mauriers prose have a habit of making great horror films, especially in the hands of Alfred Hitchcock (Birds and Rebecca). British director Nic Roeg created this masterpiece when he took Mauriers short story and meshed it with his trademark non-linear approach to the story of parents attempting to come to terms with the death of their young daughter by moving to Venice. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie give career best performances in a film that has a clairvoyant, serial killer, but most scary of all, feelings of guilt. Best horror films of all-time Suspiria There are not many directors who have made more horrors than Italian maestro Dario Argento. His 1976 effort Suspiria remains his masterpiece. An American ballet dancer goes to study in the Black Forest, where she meets a pair of lesbians administrators (Alida Valli and Joan Bennett), a bizarre shrink (Udo Kier, an actor who adds to the terror level of any movie) and discovers that the school was once a notorious witches coven. All this done in piercing Technicolor and a terrific synthesised score. Best horror films of all-time Audition J-Horror (Japanese horror) went through a purple patch at the end of the 90s with Hideo Nakatas excellent Dark Water follow Ring trilogies. However, the most chilling film of the era was directed by Takeshi Miike, who makes films like they are cups of morning coffee. He uses the casting couch as the source of his evil as a friend tries to find a television producer a new wife by hosting a fake casting call. Miike slowly pulls us into the tale, as we discover dark secrets of both the widower and the actress who has caught his eye. Breakdown Services removed the notice from its site soon after receiving the alert and issued the following statement, according to Deadline: Upon learning of this notice and our own verification of the facts surrounding Salvas conviction, Breakdown Services has removed this project from its files. All submissions made by any agent on this project are no longer available to the casting director nor any member of the production staff. Salva publicly acknowledged his conviction in 2006 when he begged for forgiveness during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. I made a terrible mistake, one I wish I could take back every day of my life, he said. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up I pled guilty to a terrible crime and Ive spent the rest of my life trying to make up for it. For almost 20 years Ive been involved with helping others, Ive been in therapy and Ive made movies. But I paid my debt to society and apologised to the young man and all I can hope is that people will give me a chance to redeem myself. Jeepers Creepers 3 is currently in pre-production and aiming for a 2017 release date. It remains unknown whether plans will be affected by Salvas past and he is yet to comment. 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 }} A video showing Brian O'Sullivan belting out an incredible, passionate rendition of The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" in tribute to his late friend has gone viral; and now the band themselves have responded. Mr. O'Sullivan initiated the sing-a-long at the wake of Ger 'Farmer' Foley, which was held at Falveys Pub in Killorglin, County Kerry; following the funeral of Mr. Foley earlier that day. "He was the salt of the earth, he will never be replaced and we will remember him forever in our lives," Mr. O'Sullivan preceded the sing-a-long with. "I think that the most appropriate song that you can get for this man is "Mr. Brightside"." The band tweet a link to the video accompanied with the message, referencing the band's frontman Brandon Flowers; "Brian O'Sullivan, if Brandon ever needs a fill-in, we're calling you! May we all have friends like #farmersrule." Peter Teahan, who was present at the wake and filmed the tribute, stated that the 45-year-old Mr. Foley, who had cystic fibrosis, was an incredibly popular member of the community. "It certainly wasn't a normal Thursday night in Falveys," he told BBC News, "A lot of people had been getting up to sing, one person had a guitar and did Raglan Road." "Brian was a good friend of Ger's, and that was one of Ger's favourite songs, so he got everyone going," he continued. "Most people in the area knew Ger, he was very popular. It was a very good send-off for him." 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 }} The Night Manager finale has been marred by controversy after domestic violence activists fiercely criticised a gratuitous torture scene involving half-dressed lead actress Elizabeth Debicki. Debickis character Jed Marshall was seen having her head plunged under water while wearing a flimsy satin slip with a plunging neckline. She was covered in cuts and bruises after being beaten up. Charity worker Charlotte MacDonald told The Telegraph that she found the scene offensive and degrading, concluding that it amounted to little more than transparent titillation. Marsha Scott, CEO of Scottish Womens Aid, added that producers are either part of the problem or part of the solution and criticised the BBC for telling the same old hackneyed story (that) can effectively revictimise women. Negative reactions to the scene could dent the BBCs improving reputation for presenting more strong women in its crime dramas, most notably in Happy Valley. The big-budget BBC adaptation of John le Carres 1993 spy thriller proved hugely popular, drawing an average 6.6 million viewers for its last episode. However, a glaring continuity error did not escape the beady-eyed audience when Tom Hiddleston Jonathan Pine somehow managed to keep his suit trousers bone dry despite dragging Freddie Hamids corpse into a swimming pool after strangling him. Did he have a spare pair of trousers with him just in case? wrote one Twitter user. Did he spend an hour drying them with a hairdryer? Discussions are already underway for a possible second series of The Night Manager, with le Carre reportedly very involved in creating a new storyline. The BBC is yet to respond to our request for comment on the torture scene. 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 }} Sony is thinking about making the upcoming PlayStation VR headset compatible with PCs, a senior executive has said. Such a move would make the PlayStation VR (PSVR) a major competitor to the more expensive Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets. In an interview with Japanese financial paper Nikkei, translated by Eurogamer's John Linneman, Sony executive vice president Masayasu Ito said there's a "possibility" that the PSVR could be made compatible with PC, since the two machines share many of their parts. He added: "At the moment, we're concentrating on games so I have nothing to announce at this point, but we're looking to expand in a variety of areas." It wouldn't be a case of plug-and-play for Sony - making their headset compatible with PCs would require some tweaks to the hardware and software. But it's not impossible. Early reviews of the Rift and Vive suggest they're both well-designed, immersive and most importantly, fun. However, the major criticism levelled against them is the price - the Rift costs $599 (419) and the Vive is 689. That's not counting the price of the high-end gaming PC needed to run them properly. 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 By contrast, the PSVR will cost 350 (400 with the required PlayStation camera) and works out of the box with the PlayStation 4, which can be bought for 300 and is already used by millions of gamers worldwide. Undercutting HTC and Oculus with the PSVR could pay off for Sony. The PSVR isn't even coming out until October, so we shouldn't expect any announcements soon, but Ito's hint at PC compatibility is bound to excite VR fans. 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 feminist writer has criticised Facebook for double standards after she was banned from the social network for confronting an internet troll, yet a meme she reported depicting domestic violence did not qualify to be removed. Clementine Ford, a columnist for Australias Daily Life, was banned from Facebook for 30-days on Friday after telling an internet troll, who allegedly called her a diseased whore, to "f**k off". Meanwhile, a meme showing a picture of a young woman with a bloodied face accompanied by the caption, He told me to make him a sandwich, I should have listened, did not violate Facebooks Community Standards after Ms Ford reported the picture citing annoying and distasteful humour. (Clementine Ford/ Facebook) In light of the two incidents, Ms Ford has lambasted Facebook as hypocritical with a pathetic, hostile attitude towards women. A number of Ms Fords Twitter followers said they had also reported the meme to Facebook and received the same response, which said: We reviewed the photo you reported for being annoying or uninteresting and found it doesnt violate our Community Standards." Following her ban, Ms Ford used a secondary Facebook account to air her views about the social media site. She wrote: I am posting this from a secondary account set up purely to deal with this s**t. And by s**t, I mean Facebooks pathetic, hostile attitude to women. We have to tolerate threats of violence and disparaging remarks about our bodies and what we need to be done to us to make us shut up because this is humour and free speech. But God forbid a tiny, childish little baby boy have to be told to f**k off as if his opinion isnt the most important thing in the world [sic]." She concluded her post by branding Facebook hypocritical. According to Facebook, the sites Community Standards aim to help users understand what type of sharing is allowed on Facebook, and what type of content may be reported and removed. Facebook say they will remove "content that threatens or promotes sexual violence or exploitation" as well as "hate speech, which includes content that directly attacks people based on their sex, gender or gender identity. Facebook add that because of the diversity of our global community", users must "bear in mind that something that may be disagreeable or disturbing to you may not violate our Community Standards. Last year, Ms Ford was suspended from Facebook after re-posting violent, sexist threats she received from other users, including a man asking for nude pictures and another user telling her to "sit on a butcher's knife", Buzzfeed reports. A Facebook spokesman told the Independent that the company are investigating the matter. 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 }} Discount chain B&M Stores has been criticised for stocking bathroom scales bearing a pro-anorexic slogan. One shopper posted a picture online of the scales, which have nothing tastes as good as skinny feels written on them. The quote was attributed to model Kate Moss in 2009, who was also accused of promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Recommended Read more Why going veggie would save millions of lives and cut pollution Rachael May Shevlin posted a picture of the scales on Facebook, urging other people to write to B&M Stores complaining about the product. She wrote: How lovely to see the phrase I said to my teenage/young adult self that also led to me calling myself a 'fat, disgusting, waste of oxygen', often before self-harming just because I had dinner. Would anyone else like to join me in writing to B&M?" Her post has been liked more than 4,400 times and shared more than 2,000 times. Other unhappy shoppers shared their thoughts on the scales, which many said sent out the wrong message to young and vulnerable people. A B&M spokesperson said: We have asked our supplier to withdraw this particular quotation from this range of novelty 3.99 weighing scales." Kate Moss was first quoted as using the slogan, after an interviewer at WWD fashion magazine asked her if she had any mottos she lived by, following the release of her TopShop collection. A spokesman for eating disorder charity Beat said: "Manufacturers and retailers should consider very carefully the messages they are conveying by producing and stocking such a product. "Irresponsible marketing like this can contribute to and prolong an eating disorder which affects 725,000 men and women of all ages and backgrounds in the UK, costing the economy 15.8billion every year. "Young people struggling with an eating disorder are fighting a tough enough battle as it is without thoughtless retailing such as this which can make it even harder. People worried about eating disorders can contact Beat on 034 5634 1414 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 }} Reflecting your personality in a handful of words on an hook-up app or during a speed dating session is almost impossible. But simply having an open posture, which sounds suspiciously like "manspreading", can make a person more attractive according to a new study. Researchers have found that adopting an expansive posture in profile photos makes other users twice as likely to rate a person as attractive. Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk, an expert in human behaviour at the University of California, Berkeley, who lead the study, explained to Smithsonian that researchers defined an expansive posture as an enlargement of the amount of space that a person is occupying. This is opposed to a photo where the person is pictured with their arms and legs close to their torso. A history of love Show all 13 1 /13 A history of love A history of love Plato's Symposium One of the Platos most famous works, this dialogue between Greek philosophers that takes place over dinner, explores the very nature of love, what it means to be in love, and has shaped the modern definition of platonic love. Getty Images A history of love Romeo and Juliet Shakepeare's tale of two young star-crossed lovers has stood the test of time and continues to be adapted for film, stage and even opera. Getty Images A history of love Troilus and Criseyde Considered one of Chaucers finest works the poem written in Middle-English brought about the term all good things come to an end as Criseydes lover dies a tragic death in the Siege of Troy. A history of love Pride and Prejudice Having sold over 20 million copies, Jane Austens novel based on the themes of manners, upbringing, morality and marriage continues to make women worldwide swoon at the thought of finding their very own Mr. Darcy. A history of love Sigmund Freud Freud thought that not only a couples love for one another, but the parents love for the child and the childs for the parent were basically of the same kind. A history of love Wuthering Heights Emily Brontes eerie tale of jealousy and vengefulness still haunts readers today and even inspired Kate Bushs 1978 hit. Getty Images A history of love Orpheus & Eurydice Perhaps the ultimate tragic love story, this Greek myth explores love at first sight and Orpheuss doomed journey to the Underworld to be reunited with his wife. Getty Images A history of love Song of Songs in the Bible A celebration of sexual love, The Song of Songs or the Song of Solomon is widely considered one of the most beautiful expressions of love and harmony. A history of love The Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal A story of love so epic that it led to the creation of one of the Wonders of the World, The Taj Mahal, this is a grief stricken Mughal Emperors exquisite manifestation of love for his favourite wife who died in childbirth. Getty Images A history of love Madame Bovary, Flaubert Flauberts 19th century realist novel follows narcissist Emma Bovary and her descent into adultery and despair as the boredom of bourgeois life consumes her. A history of love Anna Karenina, Tolstoy Tolstoys exploration of love as a kind of fate which can be a blessing but also a curse that leads to destruction is deeply embedded in modern culture. A history of love Doctor Zhivago Set during a war, the classic love triangle of a man who has fallen for two women is a tale of broken hearts and twists of fate. A history of love Layla and Majnun Persian poet, Nizami Ganjavi, narrates a story of young love which can only be united in death as the legendary lovers are buried side by side, to be reunited in the afterlife. The paper explained people make decisions about attraction quickly when seeing a photo on a dating app or during a speed date. Having a confidence stance, therefore, impacts these initial seconds. To make their findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers studied footage of 144 speed dates event at Northwestern University, which involved 12 men and 12 women who spoke for 4 minutes at a time. The attendees then reported whether they were attracted to their date. A second experiment involved a dating app similar to Tinder, where users select potential dates according to photographs and text on their profile. Participants were shown dating profiles of the same people. This difference was that one featured a photo with an expansive posture and the with a closed posture. The other details were kept the same. In a third study, researchers showed 853 participants photos of people with contracted or expansive postures in the images of the same people, and were asked to rate whether they were attracted. The researchers believe that such body language is appealing because the brain associates it with dominance and openness. And the technique worked equally for all genders, the study found. Ms Vacharkulksemsuk said the results may go against the stereotypical idea that men prefer submissive women. 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 }} Most police officers do a bang up job of protecting us from crooks. But power can go to the head of some and they begin to make ridiculous statements. Take Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. Hes Metropolitan Police Commissioner or, in other words, Britains top copper. Last week he suggested lenders could refuse to repay fraud victims to encourage them to take more care in future. He said: If you are continually rewarded for bad behaviour you will probably continue to do it, but if the obverse is true you might consider changing behaviour. That might sound perfect sense to him, but it just shows how out of touch he is. Becoming a fraud victim is not bad behaviour. Ive been a victim myself when crooks somehow managed to clone my debit card and drained my account in a series of withdrawals from ATMs. The withdrawals were made in Romania and, to this day, my bank has been unable to shed light on how the crooks did it. Should I have been penalised for becoming a victim? Of course not. Should anyone else? No. All those victims of courier fraud, when crooks trick people into handing over plastic cards and PINs, are victims of sophisticated villains. Even those who have fallen for a fairly simple phishing scam when crooks trick you into sending personal details by email should be helped, not penalised. Richard Lloyd, of Which?, said: The priority should be for banks to better protect their customers, rather than trying to shift blame on to the victims of fraud. I totally agree with his words. The big financial institutions have been pushing ahead with ways to make paying easier, with such innovations as contactless payments. But if the banking revolution makes fraud easier, thats their problem, not ours. Of course we should be aware of the risks and do all we can to avoid falling into a fraudsters trap, but the banks should continue to help victims and not listen to an out-of-touch copper who was knighted for services to policing, not for having any common sense. 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 }} UK union leaders have held talks in India ahead of a crucial board meeting of steel giant Tata which could decide the fate of thousands of workers. Officials from the Community union had constructive talks with senior company representatives in Mumbai, where the board will meet on Tuesday. The future of thousands of UK steelworkers is at stake, especially at the Port Talbot plant in South Wales. The site bore the brunt of 1,000 job losses announced in January but unless Tata presses ahead with a turnaround plan, the future of the huge plant could be in doubt. A spokesman for Community said: The delegation from Community led by Roy Rickhuss, general secretary, along with Stephen Kinnock, MP for Aberavon, and Frits van Wieringen, chairman of the Tata Steel European Works Council, met in Mumbai with senior representatives of Tata Steel in advance of the board meeting. The meeting was open and constructive. The European delegates made the case for Tata to continue to support the UK business. Tata Steel representatives outlined the context of commitment to the UK business to date, financial performance and the challenging global conditions of the steel sector. More than 35,000 people have signed an open letter to Tata Steel's chairman Cyrus Mistry in support of the UK steelworkers. Mr Rickhuss said: No-one underestimates the scale of the challenge we are facing but our steel industry is of vital importance to our communities, our families and our nation. In Mumbai, I'm standing up for the whole UK steel industry and asking Tata to give us the chance we need to succeed. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. Steel is the very foundation of our manufacturing base, even the Prime Minister has conceded that it would be simply unacceptable for Tata to end our steelmaking capacity. Alan Coombs, chairman of the Port Talbot multi-union committee, who has any also travelled to Mumbai, said: Our town was built on the steel industry. It has given us more than just jobs, it has shaped our lives and communities. On behalf of my town, my workmates and my industry, I will be asking Tata to back Port Talbot and the plan to save our steelworks. Steelworkers and companies have called for more action from the government to tackle cheap Chinese steel imports and high energy costs which have been blamed for thousands of job cuts. 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 }} Teachers may take joint action with the junior doctors as part of their campaign against the Government, National Union of Teachers general secretary Christine Blower has said. In her farewell speech to the NUT conference Ms Blower said she had received a letter of support from Yannis Gourtsoyannis of the British Medical Association's junior doctors' committee after her union had voted to back a ballot on strike action over the Governments proposal to turn every state school into an academy. The junior doctors are also in the middle of a dispute with the Government and taking strike action over its decision to force a new contract on them. In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 20,000 Junior Doctors marched through central London in protest at the new contract changes the government is trying to impose which they say will be unfair and unsafe In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors protest in London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 4 year old Cassius takes part in a demonstration in Westminster, in support of junior doctors over changes to NHS contracts, London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Protest over proposed changes to junior doctors' contracts, Leeds In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Over 5000 junior doctors rallied in Waterloo place, before marching through Whitehall and onto Parliament Square, in opposition to Jeremy Hunt's new working conditions for doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Demonstrators listen to speeches in Waterloo Place during the 'Let's Save the NHS' rally and protest march by junior doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors marched in London to highlight their plight In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK A protester at a demonstration in support of junior doctors in London Ms Blower said she was pleased to receive the letter of support, adding: So if there is scope to take action with junior doctors, you can be sure we will. We will, of course, continiue to offer solidarity on each of their forthcoming strike days. As we have heard from delegates, and we know from our own experience, the attacks on junior doctors are largely the same as the attacks on teachers. The BMA is clear that the contract the Government is seeking to impose will make the health service less safe. The attacks in the 'wrong priorities' White Paper will destroy our education service. Teachers and doctors are central to ensuring that we have decent public health and education services. We have common interests. We should indeed unite our fights. The NUT's dispute with the Government over its forced academisation programme centres round the fact the move will, say teachers' leaders, mean the total abolition of national pay scales and conditions. A second teachers' union, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers - which is seeking to form a new union with the NUT - will debate a motion at its conference next week warning the proposal could lead to industrial action. The joint action referred to could be rallies or demonstrations. It would be illegal for them to plan joint strike action - although it would be possible for them to both separately arrange action on the same day. A DfE spokesperson said: This sort of determination to go on strike over entirely unrelated issues is especially disappointing. Strike action holds back childrens education, disrupts parents lives and ultimately damages the reputation of the profession the NUT claims to care about. In a wide-ranging speech, Ms Blower, who is standing down as general secretary in May after eight years in the job, also attacked the Government's test and exams programme, saying: An excessive focus on exam results is turning our schools at all levels into exam factories. This is bad for pupils and is clearly the antithesis of what NUT members believe to be a good education. Earlier in the day, delegates warned of separate strike action if the Government's fails to increase the one per cent pay rises for teachers this year. At the weekend Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, addressing another teachers' conference - the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said the Government had no reverse gear on its school reforms and urged teachers' unions to get behind them. 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 }} For generations who have grown up with Blue Peter, the teatime show was the place to learn about sticky-blacked plastic rather than politics. But now the childrens favourite is to challenge its audience with a special edition devoted to the struggles faced by black Americans during the Civil Rights movement. In a first for the worlds longest-running childrens show, Fridays CBBC channel edition, titled The Walk That Changed The World, tells the story of the 1965 march between Selma and Montgomery in Alabama, led by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya will retrace the path of the 50 mile walk, meeting the surviving history-makers of the pivotal Civil Rights protest. Recommended Read more Blue Peter gets serious about civil rights The BBC said the 30-minute film will bring to life for younger viewers the violence, intimidation and difficult conditions faced by the marchers, demanding the right to voter registration without obstruction. The episode, marking the 51st anniversary of the march, fulfils a personal passion for Chinyanganya, 29, born to a black father from Zimbabwe and a white, Scottish mother. Rev King became a hero to Radzi, who was raised in Wolverhampton. The Moscow-born Chinyanganya, a former GB Bobsleigh team member, is believed to have convinced BBC executives, initially sceptical about the project, to go ahead with the ambitious special. During his journey Chinyanganya meets Senator John Lewis, who led the marches, Sheyann Webb, who was just eight years old when she faced police brutality on the Edmond Pettus Bridge, and Reverend Fredrick Reese, pastor of the Selma church the march left from. The BBC said: Over the course of that 50 mile walk, thousands of people joined to raise awareness around the world and bring about huge changes to the rights of black people in the US. It was a walk that means a lot to Radzi Chinyanganya. Hell be eating the same food, walking the same roads, and hearing the music that inspired them, to try and experience some of what those protestors experienced back then, to discover how what happened in one corner of Alabama has affected the USA today. The special illustrates how Blue Peter, which moved from BBC1 to the digital CBBC channel in 2012, must constantly reinvent itself, as it faces a fresh challenge for young viewers from Sky, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Television viewing is in decline with CBBCs target 6-12 age audience consuming content on mobile phones and tablets. Further specials may follow, however the BBC could not say if a similar British social movement, such as the 1936 Jarrow march against unemployment and poverty, might be the focus of a future programme. Blue Peter presenters are warned against straying into politics. Former presenter Konnie Huq had her BBC contract re-written after being criticised for attending a press conference alongside the then London Mayor, Ken Livingstone. Launched in 1958, Blue Peter has courted controversy. It incurred a 50,000 fine from Ofcom during the competitions phone-rigging scandal and admitted a breach of trust in 2007 over the decision to name a new kitten Socks following a web vote. 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 man managed to avoid the check-in baggage charges on an budget airlines flight - by wearing his entire wardrobe. Despite upsetting several tables in the airport lounge and becoming somewhat sweaty in his oversized "Michelin man" outfit, Matt Botten said his ensemble for the easyJet flight to Iceland was worth the trouble. He and his girlfriend, Abigail White, were less than impressed to discover a 46 charge would be added to the price of their initially cheap flights. "When most stuff you own is from Primark and collectively worth half that, it seemed ludicrous," Mr Botten, who is from Cardiff, told The Independent. "So I sensibly decided the one hour embarassment of looking like a massively flustered Michelin man, and subsequent odour, was worth the expenditure." The northern lights in Iceland, where the couple where headed on holiday Mr Botten said it was "entirely correct" to assume it had been a hassle to get into the clothing necessary for the outdoor lifestyle of the Icelandic landscape. He said he wore two hoodies, a coat, a scarf, ski gloves, possibly several trousers, walking boots, sunglasses and with trainers in both pockets. Matt Botten in the full ensemble "I upset three tables' worth of people in Gatwick Wetherspoons donning this get-up, one of which (resultantly) had a crying child on," he said. "Like all great endeavours though, you're always going to get some collateral damage." Mr Botten did at least avoid inflicting too much strain on himself - unlike boyband singer James McElvar, who last year passed out on an easyJet flight attempting the same feat. 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 }} Transport campaigners have warned Britain is heading towards a rail overcrowding crisis after a train from hell got so crowded that police had to help passengers leave it. With passengers describing conditions on the 10am Paddington to Penzance service as overcrowded, shambolic and unsafe, Great Western Railway (GWR) staff asked about 100 people boarding at Plymouth to return to the platform. British Transport Police assisted GWR staff in getting the passengers back on to the Plymouth platform before the train could continue to Penzance. Recommended Read more Passenger satisfaction with East Coast falls after privatisation As the train made the five and a half hour journey from London to Cornwall on Good Friday, travellers posted pictures on social media of people crammed into carriages and sitting or lying in the aisle between seats. In a series of tweets, Nigel Chapman, the former director of BBC World Service, said: On train from hell. Shambolic GWR train for Penzance. Overcrowded and no management by stroppy staff. Dangerous and unsafe. Pregnant woman fighting to get to loo. It prompted Stephen Joseph, the chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport to tell The Independent: This is symptomatic of the fact we are heading towards a crisis. There are many trains all over the country where people are packed in like sardines. It reflects long term underinvestment in the railways, at a time when people are in some cases being charged very high fares. We need to see more of a strategy and investment for tackling this otherwise we will be facing a huge crisis, and the overcrowding we have seen here will become general. 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 He added: There are plans to electrify and upgrade that [London-Penzance] line, but frankly they cant come soon enough. A GWR spokesman said passengers who were told to get off the two-carriage stopping service at Plymouth were subsequently able to board a high speed eight-carriage train. Storm Katie bends a crane He said: To improve comfort and safety we asked some customers to use a slightly later train which had been put on to cope with additional passengers. One can expect trains to be busy during the busiest travelling times. We provided as many services as we were able with the rolling stock available to us. He added: We wouldnt operate a service that we deemed unsafe. We take the safety of our services and our passengers very, very seriously, which is why we didnt continue that train with the numbers of people on it [at Plymouth]. 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 }} The Defence Secretary has paid a low-key visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss how Britain can cooperate more closely with the oil-rich autocracy on defence issues. Michael Fallons visit, which has not yet been widely reported in the British media, was reported by Persian Gulf-based news agencies. The Bahrain News Agency said Mr Fallon met with HRH Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, crown price, deputy prime minister and interior minister of Saudi Arabia on 29 March. A portrait of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed Bin Nayef in Saudi capital Riyadh (Getty) During the meeting, they discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of defence, Emirates News Agency, another Gulf news organisation said. The meeting also touched on the latest regional and international developments in the region, including the fight against terrorism and extremism. As interior minister Prince Mohammed is directly responsible for security in the kingdom, including the internal repression of protest and dissent. Saudi Arabia bans public gatherings, discriminates against its Shia minority, and has sentenced pro-democracy protesters and internal dissents to death by crucifixion and beheading, according to human rights groups and previous reports. In one case reported in the Western media, Abdullah Al-Zaher was arrested in 2012 after attending a pro-democracy protest at the age of 15. He was sentenced to beheading and crucifixion. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty David Cameron earlier this year that Britains relationship with the country was important for its security. They are opponents of Daesh and the extremism [they spread], he said. MPs on Parliaments international development committee this year called for an arms embargo against the country because of alleged war crimes committed by the countrys forces in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has admitted bombing multiple hospitals operated by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. During its intervention on the side of Yemens internationally-recognised government, it has also killed people at a wedding party and bombed schools. Despite these reports, the British Government has permitted increased arms sales to the regime. Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said: The death toll is rising and the humanitarian situation is getting worse. UK arms have been central to the destruction, and yet the Defence Secretary is sitting down for photos with the Crown Prince and discussing ways to make the toxic relationship even closer. Thousands have been killed by the bombardment and yet the UK has continued to arm the Saudis and fuel the destruction." Mr Fallon made the flying visit on his way to the DMIDEX arms fair in Qatar. Here he announced that the UK lead a new naval taskforced in the Gulf to tackle smuggling, terrorism, and piracy. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed Mr Fallon had visited the country. The spokesperson said: During these talks he reiterated the importance of working together to deal with global threats, including countering the poisonous ideology of Daesh, and regional instability. 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 }} EU membership puts British families at risk from dangerous criminals, the Leave campaign has claimed, as it published a dossier of 50 EU citizens with criminal records for offences including murder and rape who have been able to enter the UK in recent years. The claim prompted pro-EU campaigners to accuse the Vote Leave group of scaremongering of the worst kind, while a former Conservative Home Office minister said the UK already had powers to stop criminal suspects travelling from Europe. But it will further inflame the EU debate, which has increasingly focused on the security implications of Britains membership in the wake of last weeks terror attacks in Brussels. Vote Leaves list of European criminals includes 45 who went on to commit serious offences in the UK, including rape and murder. It includes Arnis Zalkalns, the Latvian national who took his own life before he could be charged with the murder of 14-year-old Alice Gross in 2014. Zalkalns had previously been convicted of murdering his wife in Latvia. Arnis Zalkalns killed himself before he could be charged with the murder of schoolgirl Alice Gross in 2014 Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, claimed the UK was unable to prevent dangerous individuals from walking into the UK. Free movement of people has created free movement of criminals making the UK less safe and less secure, he said. Weve allowed EU judges to hang out a welcome sign to individuals the public would rightly expect never to be allowed into the UK. But the claim that Britain would be safer outside of the EU was strongly challenged. Damian Green, a former Home Office minister and Conservative MP for Ashford in Kent, said that Vote Leaves argument made no sense. Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Show all 17 1 /17 Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Alexandru Cucu, 27, is wanted by Romanian authorities Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Janusz Kedziora, 28, is wanted by Polish authorities for actual bodily harm (ABH), criminal damage, robbery, attempted robbery and burglary Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Balint Budi, 25, is wanted by Romanian authorities in connection with human trafficking Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Krzysztof Malkowski, 39, is wanted by Polish authorities for grievous bodily harm and is due to serve 19 months imprisonment for attacking a man Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Mantas Jurgsat, 25, is wanted by Lithuanian authorities in connection with an incident of grievous bodily harm Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Patryk Kokoryk, 33, is wanted by Polish authorities Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Rouf Uddin, 39, is wanted by Belgian authorities in connection with a murder Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Jan Hiszpanski, 36, is wanted by Polish authorities Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Silviu-Bogdan Bruzlea, 27, is wanted by Romanian authorities following a murder Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Mariusz Kuliga, 21, is wanted by Polish authorities in connection with armed robberies Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Michal Ochecki, 29, is wanted by Polish authorities for robbery and assault Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Roland Ostvalds, 24, is wanted by Latvian authorities in connection with rape Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Octavian Medeleanu, 52, is wanted by Romanian authorities in connection with people trafficking Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Tomasz Naumowicz, 33, is wanted by Polish authorities having been convicted of rape Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Tomasz Pieta, 31, is wanted by Polish authorities having been convicted of robbery, assaulting a police officer and criminal damage Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Abri Bucpapaj, 35, is wanted by Finnish authorities in connection with allegations of rape, assault and threats to kill Britain's most wanted foreign criminals Algimantas Ringaila, 34, is wanted by Lithuanian authorities in connection with being part of an organised crime group The key alternatives they offer to our EU membership involve accepting the principle of free movement, he said. The truth is the UK already has the best of both worlds, we maintain all the benefits of EU membership whilst opting out of the passport-free Schengen area and maintaining our border at Calais rather than at Dover. The rival camps in the EU debate will also clash on Tuesday over new claims by the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, who will warn that the likely economic shock following Brexit would put young peoples employment opportunities at risk, creating a lost generation. Ms Morgan will warn parents and grandparents considering a vote to leave that they will be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildrens future. Polls have shown that the older voters are more likely to back Brexit. Its clear, that if Britain leaves Europe it will be young people who suffer the most, left in limbo while we struggle to find and then negotiate an alternative model. In doing so we risk that lost generation becoming a reality, Ms Morgan is expected to say. 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 }} Over-zealous attacks on the state of Israel can amount to anti-Semitism by proxy and have no place in the Labour Party, a shadow cabinet member has said. Chris Bryant, Labours shadow leader of the House of Commons, said that some Labour supporters were responding to the plight of the Palestinian people with an all-out attack on Israelis. Writing in The Times newspaper, the MP said that while Israel was far from blameless in the conflict there was a danger that anti-semetism would prosper in the partys midst. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is a strong supporter of Palestine (PA) We argue that much of what the Israeli government does is both wrong and self-defeating but too many people on the left in British politics are allowing their concern for the Palestinians to become an all-out attack on Israelis, he wrote. Questioning the very existence of the state of Israel is a not-too-subtle form of anti-semitism. Mr Bryant is listed as a supporter of both Labour Friends of Israel and Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East. Recent months have seen Labour suspend a number of its roughly 400,000 members for alleged anti-Semitism. The issue has risen up the political agenda since Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader on the back of his past activism in support of Palestine. Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Show all 12 1 /12 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The fire in my heart is beyond my ribs. You left me beloved - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Let me get enough of you, as Im still hungry for your smile my son - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict They besiege me in my homeland so I flew to heaven - Rodaina Al Agha, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict And I am still facing the pain all by myself - Lama Shakshak, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My brother, I watched you go while my heart was tearing - Helen Mo'amar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My new doll is lonely in the rubble - Ayah Sha'ath, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict When a soul hugs another soul they never split, even in death - Ismail Matar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Everyone is gone and I stayed alone to make the world witness the injustice done to me - Hamza Shaheen, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The hand that carries the arms carries roses too - Madeeha Al Majayda, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My eyes tell you about a dream that overcame the fence - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict A childhood caught in an unjust siege - Hadeel Quidh, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict All the details are torn after you - Hamza Shaheen, 17 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said last week that members who held such views should be banned from the party for life. Out, out, out, the shadow Chancellor told The Independent. If people express these views, full stop theyre out. Lord Levy a Labour peer with close ties to Tony Blair threatened to quit the party last week unless the leadership sent a clear message that it would not tolerate such racism. 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 and other rich countries are failing to do their fair share in giving sanctuary to Syrian refugees, with just 1.39 per cent having been resettled by wealthy nations, according to a new report by Oxfam. This comes ahead of a high level meeting being held by the United Nations in Geneva tomorrow to discuss a refugee crisis which has seen almost five million people flee Syria. Twenty-eight of the worlds richest nations have pledged to take in 129,966 people between them. But this is less than a third of what they should be committing to; and just 67,000 people have been resettled to date, states the report. Campaigners are demanding that Britain and other wealthy countries should take in more refugees, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees having estimated that almost half a million are very vulnerable and in urgent need of being resettled. Just three countries, Canada, Germany, and Norway, have made pledges exceeding their fair share, something which is calculated according to the size of their economy. But 25 out of the 28 countries are falling far short in the number they have promised to take in. 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. By the end of this year, Britain will have taken in just 5,571 people just 22 per cent of the 25,067 it has pledged to rehome. The UK ranks 13th out of 28 countries in terms of failing to resettle the number of people it has promised to take in. Some countries have performed even worse. Take Japan, Russia, and South Korea. Between them they have pledged to resettle more than 100,000 people yet they have yet to take in a single Syrian refugee, according to Oxfams analysis. To date the response to calls of increased resettlement of vulnerable refugees has been disappointing, and the conference is an opportunity for states to mark a change of course, says the report. Campaigners are demanding that rich countries take in 10 per cent of Syrian refugees, some 481,000 people, by the end of this year. Syrian refugees attend a French lesson at university in eastern France. To date, the worlds richest nations have resettled just 67,000 people between them (AFP) Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam GB said: It's shocking that while people continue to flee Syria most countries have failed to provide a safe home for the most vulnerable. He added: Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are struggling to cope with almost five million Syrian refugees. Rich nations should be doing more to share the responsibility and offer refuge to some of the most vulnerable women and children affected by this crisis. Ariane Rummery, spokeswoman for UNHCR, said: Refugee flows are a global responsibility, not just for those countries neighboring war zones. The Syria crisis is so vast. We simply need more countries to share the load by taking a greater share of refugees from what has become the biggest displacement crisis of a generation. Our conference on Wednesday aims to rally an increase over the next 3 years In the number of places for Syrian refugees to travel to third countries through humanitarian admission and other pathways." Richard Harrington, minister with responsibility for Syrian refugees, said: "The United Kingdom has been at the forefront of the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. "We have pledged 2.3 billion in humanitarian aid to Syria and neighbouring countries, making us the second largest donor to the Syria crisis. And we are providing nearly 55 million in response to the Mediterranean migration crisis, which includes life-saving humanitarian assistance within Europe. "In total, we have granted asylum or other forms of leave to over 5,500 Syrian nationals and dependents through normal asylum procedures since the crisis began in 2011. Additionally, more than 1,000 people have already been resettled as part of our commitment to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees under our Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme. 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 }} Angolan youth activists, including a well-known rapper, have been jailed for "rebellion" against one of Africa's longest-serving presidents after they read a book about non-violent resistance. Seventeen young people have been sentenced to several years in jail for supposedly seeking to overthrow Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the president of Angola, according to AFP. Luaty Beirao, a 33-year-old Angolan rapper, is one of 15 young people who were arrested while reading a book about democracy and peaceful protest during a book club in June last year. Mr Beirao, who raps about political issues, was handed a five-and-a-half year sentence for "rebellion against the president of the republic, criminal association and falsifying documents." Opponents of President dos Santos, who has been in power for 37 years and has promised three times to stand down, say the case is evidence of the entrenched political oppression in the southern African country. Michel Francisco, the lawyer representing 10 of the accused, said he will appeal. "Justice has not been done in a transparent way because things have been politicised and the judge only obeyed higher orders coming from the president," he told Al Jazeera. The group allegedly met to discuss a book written by Angolan journalist Dominigos da Cruz, who has also been sentenced, called Tools to Destroy a Dictatorship and Avoiding a New Dictatorship - Political philosophy for the Liberation of Angola. Mr da Cruz was identified as the "leader" of the group and given eight-and-a-half years for supposedly planning a coup. Amnesty International said the young people had been denied the right to a fair trial and instead been marched through a "kangaroo court". World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Muleya Mwananyanda, deputy director for southern Africa at Amnesty International, said: "These activists, held for over five months on trumped up charges, have not only been unjustly detained, but have also found themselves before a kangaroo court." All of the defendants insist they are peaceful campaigners for the departure of President dos Santos, who is Africa's second-longest serving president after Equitorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The court reportedly spent "days" reading out almost 200 pages of the unpublished book written by Mr da Cruz. President dos Santos, leader of the ruling Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party, has been in power since 1979 - four years after the country gained independence from its Portugese colonial rulers. He has been accused of authoritarianism and of making his daughter Isobel the richest woman in Africa. Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation, has ranked Angola 163 out of 168 countries in its corruption perception index. 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 }} American Airlines has canceled all flights to and from Brussels until April 7 in what appears to be further response to the terrorist attacks that killed 32 people and injured hundreds in that city last week. The airline released a statement saying that all flights in and out of Brussels Airport are on hold until a flight from Philadelphia departs on April 7. A return flight will depart the following day. "American Airlines extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to those affected by the tragic events in Brussels," the company said in the statement. American Airlines is the biggest US airline, followed by Delta and United. The airline did not specify exactly why it has cancelled all flights to and from Brussels in its statement. Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter. 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 }} Hundreds of Mexicans have celebrated Easter by burning effigies of Donald Trump, after the of US presidential candidates pledge to build a wall between the two counties sparked outrage in Mexico. In La Merced, Mexico City, residents yelled death and other insults as a giant papier-mache Trump, sporting a blue suit and his famous tuft of blonde hair, was set alight with exploding fireworks on Saturday evening. Trump effigies were burnt across the city from the highland area of Puebla to Mexicos industrial hub of Monterrey, according to local media. Effigies are burnt during Mexican Holy Week to represent Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ according to the Bible. The effigies are often modelled on unpopular politicians. Felipe Linares, the artist who made the Trump model, said: Since he started his campaign and began talking about immigrants, Mexico, and Mexicans, I said Ive got to get this guy. Mexicans burn an effigy of U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as they celebrate an Easter ritual (Reuters) Trump sparked outrage among Mexicans after pledging to build a great, great wall between Mexico and the US if he wins the race to the White House a construction, which he said, would be funded by Mexico. The billionaire entrepreneur claimed the wall was needed because Mexico is sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs and bringing crime and they're rapists, he added in a speech to supporters last year. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has said his country will not pay for the wall, while former President Vicente Fox compared the business tycoon to Hitler. 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 Trumps anti-Mexican immigration rhetoric has led Mexico Citys lawmakers to urge the federal government to take action to ban Trump after they unanimously voted to stop him entering the country. Judas effigies are burnt by local people in several Latin American countries, and anthropologists say the practice serves to unite communities around a common enemy. In addition to Trump, effigies of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the notorious drug cartel leader who escaped from a high security and was recaptured in January, and an Isis symbol were also burnt during the celebrations, CNN reports. Additional reporting by Reuters 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 }} The United Nations has expanded Argentina's maritime territory to include the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands. This decision by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf was welcomed by Argentina, and gives the country fresh impetus in its continued claims to the British overseas territory. It will increase the size of Argentina's territory in the South Atlantic by 35 per cent, but members of the islands' legislative body have expressed concern over the control of natural resources found in the surrounding waters. Oil exploration has been injecting millions into the economy in the Falklands, which was previously used for farming and strategic military purposes. Mike Summers, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, said: "Our understanding has always been that the UN would not make any determination on applications for continental shelf extension in areas where there are competing claims." The UN commission's ruling included a caveat referencing the unresolved diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain over the islands. Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra said the "historic" decision "reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf". Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War Show all 7 1 /7 Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War Antelope.jpg Martin Cleaver/PA Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War 5364185.jpg PA Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War 5364186.jpg PA Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War 5364182.jpg PA Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War 5364180.jpg Rex Features Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War 5364183.jpg AFP/Getty Images Shots across the bows: The images that defined the Falklands War 5364189.jpg Rex Features The Falkland Islands are self-governing but Britain is responsible for their defence and foreign affairs coming to their aid during an invasion by Argentina in 1982. The British government says islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentine sovereignty against their will. 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 }} The FBI has successfully accessed data stored on an encrypted iPhone used by one of the gunmen involved in the San Bernardino mass shooting. Following the breakthrough the US Justice Department asked a court to withdraw an order compelling Apple to assist them, according to a court filing on Monday. Until last week, the government insisted it had no way to access the phone used by one of the shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook, saying it would need to force Apple to write new software to be able to disable the phone's password protection. Apple fought an order obtained by the FBI last month, requiring the company to write new software, sparking an increasingly contentious debate surrounding digital privacy rights and national security interests. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot 14 people dead in a massacre in San Bernardino, California after opening fire at a conference centre on 2 December where Farook's firm were holding a party. The couple fled in a car but were chased and killed by police in a shoot-out. In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: San Bernardino shooting In pictures: San Bernardino shooting A couple embraces following a shooting that killed multiple people at a social services facility, in San Bernardino In pictures: San Bernardino shooting A victim is wheeled away on a stretcher following a shooting that killed multiple people at a social services facility, in San Bernardino AP In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Rescue crews tend to the injured in the intersection outside the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino Reuters In pictures: San Bernardino shooting A survivor (2nd L) of the mass shooting at the Inland Regional Center meets her family after police questioning in San Bernardino Rex In pictures: San Bernardino shooting An armed police officer protects a busload of people who were inside the Inland Regional Center where gunmen shot and killed 14 people and injured another 14, to be escorted to meet relatives at the Rudy Hernandez Community Center in San Bernardino Reuters In pictures: San Bernardino shooting People wait at a community center for a family member who was near a shooting that killed multiple people at a social services center, in San Bernardino, California AP In pictures: San Bernardino shooting In this image taken from video, armored vehicles surround an SUV following a shootout in San Bernardino AP In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Law enforcement officers search for the suspects of a mass shooting in San Bernardino Getty Images In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Law enforcement officers search for the suspects of a mass shooting in San Bernardino Getty Images In pictures: San Bernardino shooting The Inland Regional Center complex is pictured in an aerial photo following a shooting incident in San Bernardino Reuters In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Authorities prepare to search an area near a church, following a shooting that killed multiple people at a social services center for the disabled in San Bernardino AP In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Evacuees from the scene of a shooting at the Inland Regional Center hug each other as they wait inside the Rudy C Hernandez Community Center in San Bernardino EPA In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Omar Riopedre embraces his wife Diana, who was in the Inland Regional Center when the mass shootings took place, as they leave the Rudy C. Hernandez Community Center in the San Bernardino In pictures: San Bernardino shooting A Sheriff's Deputy runs after reports that suspects in the shooting at the Inland Regional Center were sighted in San Bernardino EPA In pictures: San Bernardino shooting Law enforcement officers search for suspects in a neighborhood after a shooting at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino EPA Home-made bombs were found at the scene of the rampage and 5,000 rounds of ammunition, 12 pipe bombs and equipment to make more were discovered at the home they shared with their baby daughter. In a two-page court filing the Justice Department said the government no longer requires Apple's aid and asked a federal magistrate in Riverside, California to withdraw the order forcing Apple to assist. Apple has not immediately commented on the news, but had argued the government request would create a back door to phones that could be abused by criminals and governments. Apple received support from tech industry leaders such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft. More than 24 other companies filed legal briefs supporting Apple. The Justice Department received support from law enforcement groups and six relatives of the San Bernardino victims. Eileen Decker, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said in a statement on Monday that the government's request to Apple was part of a "solemn commitment" to the victims. She said: Although this step in the investigation is now complete, we will continue to explore every lead, and seek any appropriate legal process, to ensure our investigation collects all of the evidence related to this terrorist attack. Additional reporting by agencies 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 }} North Carolinas attorney general vowed not to defend the states controversial transgender law in court, calling it a national embarrassment, after LGBT advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the state. Democrat Roy Cooper didnt mince words when describing his feelings about the new law, which was approved last week by North Carolina legislators and signed by Republican Governor Pat McCrory. Not only is this new law a national embarrassment, it will set North Carolinas economy back if we dont repeal it, Cooper said in a Tuesday press conference, adding that businesses in the state and around the U.S. have taken a strong stance in opposition to this law. Recommended Read more LGBT groups file lawsuit against North Carolina government LGBT advocacy groups - including the ACLU of North Carolina, Lambda Legal, and Equality North Carolina - filed a lawsuit Monday against Gov. McCrory and Mr Cooper. HB2 is hurtful and demeaning This law puts me in the terrible position of either going into the womens room where I clearly dont belong or breaking the law, Joaquin Carcano said in a statement released by the ACLU. But this is about more than bathrooms, this is about my job, my community, and my ability to get safely through my day and be productive like everyone else in North Carolina. The groups behind the lawsuit released a joint statement in response to Mr Coopers announcement, calling HB2 unconstitutional and discriminatory. Were grateful the attorney general stands on the right side of history with the many cities, states, businesses, and individuals who have come out against this harmful measure. Republican lawmakers called a special session and passed House Bill 2 (HB2), which prohibits transgender people from using public bathrooms aligned their gender identity. Instead, North Carolinians must use bathrooms based on the gender that appears on their birth certificates. It also requires all state schools to adhere to this bathroom and locker room ordinance, as well as bans cities from raising minimum wages above the states $7.25 per hour. HB2 was written in response to a Charlotte nondiscrimination law approved in February, which allowed transgender people to use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identities. Gov. McCrory called the Charlotte ordinance a radical breach of trust and security that defies common sense in a statement released last week. Mr Cooper immediately spoke out against HB2 after it was signed into law. North Carolina is better than this, he said in a video statement. Discrimination is wrong. Period. That North Carolina is putting discrimination into the law is shameful. Major U.S. corporations, including Facebook, Apple, Google, American Airlines, and the NCAA, decried HB2 after its signing. On the contrary, a spokesperson for Mr McCrorys re-election campaign told the Charlotte Observer that feedback [they have] gotten from businesses has been positive, adding that Charlotte shouldnt have passed their nondiscrimination ordinance in the first place. States have also taken a stand against the North Carolina law. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order banning all non-essential state travel to the Tar Heel state. Similarly, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee banned all city employees from traveling to North Carolina. Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a similarly controversial religious freedom bill amid pressure from companies who wouldnt work with or hold events in the state. 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 }} A wealthy University of Michigan student whose verbal attack against an Uber driver was filmed and has gone viral has resulted in the Uber driver being fired after he was accused of being anti-semitic. Student Jake Croman, son of New York real estate developer Steven Croman, and his friends verbally taunted Uber driver Artur Zawada after he refused their fare. Mr Zawada filmed and uploaded a video of the incident and it has since been viewed more than 600,000 times. Youre canceling us again why? For what? Mr Croman, a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, asked him. Getting no response, Mr Croman then repeatedly swore at Mr Zawada and used anti-gay slurs. They [Uber] dont give a s**t about you. They dont give two f***s. Theres 50 of you, and there is one of me here. Who spends the most money, you little f***? [Warning: this video contains explicit language] Mr Zawada filed a criminal complaint with Ann Arbor police. The Michigan Review reported that Mr Zawada was let go by Uber as claims surfaced that other passengers had heard him making anti-semitic remarks. Mr Zawada strongly denied the claims. They do whatever they want, said Mr Zawada. No call, no email, no legal doc. Im losing money everyday, and I did nothing wrong. An Uber spokesperson said both Mr Zawada and Mr Croman have been suspended while they are investigating the incident. Mr Zawada, 50, a Polish immigrant, said he had never been treated as badly as by Mr Croman during his 30 years in the US. He told college news network The Tab that he had picked up Mr Croman before and the trips had gone badly, so he refused to pick him up again. He knew that but he didnt cancel the trip, he said. I pulled in, I didnt even say anything to the guy, and that happened. So I pulled out my cell phone and recorded him. He should just have canceled before I came over. They were looking for trouble. They were hoping I would lose my cool. A University of Michigan spokesperson said they are extremely disappointed in the behaviour of some of its students, and the dean of the university had met with both the students and the driver. Mr Croman said in a statement to media outlets including BuzzFeed News that the driver had refused to pick him up due to the driver being anti-semitic. What you dont see in the video is that the driver had made a number of offensive anti-Semitic remarks that provoked my response, he said. I am not proud of my reaction to his discrimination and I regret my choice of words. Shortly after the verbal altercation, I filed a complaint with the Ann Arbor Police Department and they are now dealing with the issue. BuzzFeed could find no record of Mr Cromans police complaint. His father Steven has reportedly used tactics like intimidation and hiring a police officer to evict his tenants from rent-controlled apartments, spurring a group called the Croman Tenants Alliance to warn otherw of his actions, as reported by New York Daily News. His son works at the company, 9300 Realty, as an associate, according to his LinkedIn page. 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 }} Police in Washington DC have lifted the lockdown that was placed on Capitol Hill after a man with a gun drew his weapon and was shot and injured by an officer in a visitors centre. For several tense hours on Monday, tourists and Capitol Hill employees were told not to move, after a security cordon was thrown around one of the most closely guarded places in the US. Police later revealed that the man had been taken to hospital, where his condition was not immediately known. They said they believed it was an isolated incident and had no terror link. A female bysander also suffered shrapnel injuries - presumably from the shots fired by the officer. Contrary to earlier reports, no police officer was injured. A Capitol police officer secures the area after a man drew his weapon at the complex (EPA) US Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa told reporters said that the gunman was caught as he went through the screening process at the visitor's centre. He drew what appeared to be a weapon, he said. He pointed at a police officer. He said at least one officer opened fire and struck the gunman. Mr Verderosa said the man was known to Capitol police from prior contacts but he did not elaborate. He added: "We believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before. There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act." The incident, which happened at around 2.40pm, unfolded at time when the US is on heightened alert following a series of terror attacks overseas. Congress was on recess and politicians were back in their home districts, though the city was full of tourists enjoying Washington's famous cherry blossoms. President Barack Obama had earlier in the day overseen his final Easter Egg Roll as president. Beyonce and Jay Z were among his guests. A total of 35,000 people attended the event. Reports said Capitol Hill workers had been told to stay in place as a lockdown was ordered. The White House was also placed on lockdown, though CNN said this was the result of a separate incident in which someone was trying to enter the grounds. That person was also detained. A number of emergency response teams were dispatched to the location in the centre of the nations capital city where the shots were said to have been fired. Trevor Kussman, a textile executive visiting with his wife and children from Chicago, told the Washington Post that his family was inside the visitors centre watching an educational movie when an announcement was made about "shots being fired". The movie continued to play, but some people got up to leave, he said. After the first reports that shots had been fired, an email was sent to employees on Capitol Hill warning them to keep sheltering in place but said: No further gunshots being reported. The e-mail added: "One suspect is in custody, no further suspects appear to be at large, however the US Capitol Police are continuing to investigate. In 2013, a Connecticut woman was shot and killed by police officers after trying to drive through a White House security checkpoint and then speeding down Pennsylvania Avenue and driving her car into a security barricade on the northeast side of the Capitol grounds. In 1998, a mentally ill gunman opened fire at an entrance to the Capitol building, killing two Capitol Police officers - Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson. 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 }} The US Capitol was been placed on lockdown for the second day as authorities responded to a suspicious package. Reuters said the US Capitol Police said a suspicious package was found but did not elaborate. A bomb squad was spotted at the scene. Shortly before 10am, officials announced an "all-clear". The lockdown came after a man was shot and wounded by police after he pointed what appeared to be a weapon at officers in the underground US Capitol Visitor Centre on Monday. The centre had been set to return to normal operations on Tuesday. A line of tourists were waiting outside the visitor center when it reopened at 8.15am But they were quickly cleared from the area around after the unattended item was found. 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 }} When Donald Trump spoke to a heaving throng of supporters in Florida, having just won three out of five states in a single day, one of the most important men in his campaign was standing on his right hand side. Corey Lewandowski, his campaign manager, was smiling widely. The smile was presumably not only expressing the delight of his employers bulldozing win across the country. The grin also seemed to present a strong and unified move alongside Mr Trump to disregard claims of his aggression towards disgusting reporters that had acted to catapult him into an even hotter national spotlight. That claim from Michelle Fields, a former reporter from conservative website Breitbart, who said Mr Lewandowski tightly grabbed her arm at a rally, has now turned into a criminal misdemeanour charge of battery. Mr Trump has said his employee is innocent and Mr Lewandowski, who turned himself in on Tuesday, will plead not guily. The 41-year-old, married political advisor from Lowell, Massachusetts, who previously ran Americans for Prosperitys national voter-registration effort, an advocacy group for the billionaire Koch brothers, first met Mr Trump in New Hampshire in 2014 at a political event. Upon visiting the Trump Towers just months later, he accepted the offer to run his campaign. Mr Lewandowski, the former New Hampshire police officer, adopted a working mantra of Let Trump Be Trump - a policy that has been widely credited for allowing the plain-speaking candidate to become the likely frontrunner of the Republican party, handing his boss a straight win in New Hampshire in early March. It was a key state, and a key victory. Does Corey have a ground game or what? Mr Trump asked the crowds. But letting Mr Trump run wild over the last six months must have been hard work as his employer has become much more demonized than the Koch brothers ever were. The racist rhetoric and inciting of violence at Trump rallies have also been a real headache: day after day, week after week, protesters and supporters have clashed, journalists have been caught in the middle, and all the while his employer was promising to pay the legal fees. It is yet to be seen whether Mr Trump will stand by his claim to aid his campaign manager, who awaits the judge on 4 May. 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 }} Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has been arrested and charged with simple battery of former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. Lewandowski turned himself in to police shortly after 8am on Tuesday, The Palm Beach Post reports. The 28-year-old Fields filed charges against Lewandowski, 41, with the police department in Jupiter, Florida where the incident occurred earlier this month. Fields has said that she was forcefully grabbed and nearly thrown to the ground when she approached Trump to ask him a question. Washington Post reporter Ben Terris later identified Lewandowski has the man who grabbed Fields. The Jupiter Police Department later announced that they would investigate the March 8 incident but had not named Lewandowski as a suspect. "Mr Lewandowski was issued a Notice to Appear and was given a court date. He was not arrested," the Trump campaign said in a statement. "Mr Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge. He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Trump also defended his campaign manager on Twitter. "Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there," Trump wrote. "Why aren't people looking at this reporters earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape?" Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski Charged With Assaulting Reporter Texas Senator Ted Cruz also responded to Lewandowski's arrest during a campaign stop in Wisconsin. I think it is a really unfortunate development," Cruz told reporters. "I think it helps clarify for the voters what the Trump campaign is all about. Fields previously tweeted photos of her bruised arm after the Trump campaign said the incident never happened. Lewandowski replied directly to Fields' tweets maintaning his innocence. Fields, editor-at-large Ben Shapiro, and several others resigned from Breitbart just days after the alleged incident. Today I informed the management at Breitbart News of my immediate resignation," Fields told Politico in a statement. "I do not believe Breitbart News has adequately stood by me during the events of the past week and because of that I believe it is now best for us to part ways." 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 }} Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin and one-time favourite to win the Republican nomination, has announced his endorsement of Senator Ted Cruz one week away from crucial primary voting in his state, thus joining a broadening coalition of forces determined to throw up the buffers to Donald Trump. Indeed, Mr Walker, who bowed out of the nomination race last September amidst dwindling support and cash, made his announcement in the studios of Charlie Sykes, a very popular conservative radio host in Milwaukee, who has been exhorting his listeners for weeks to reject Mr Trump. I am proud to endorse Ted Cruz, Mr Walker announced on the show, timing his announcement for maximum impact. Candidates are engaged in a frenzy of campaigning in the state which goes to the polls next Tuesday. Mr Trump will hold a town hall meeting with voters in Janesville in the south of the state later on Tuesday while Mr Cruz has two rallies scheduled in the voter-rich Milwaukee area. Just as the race in Wisconsin appears wide open at this point, the stakes are sky-high especially for Messrs Trump and Cruz. The fall-out from whatever happens in this state will linger because the next big date for the candidates will not fall until 19 April when New York has its primary. While Mr Trump has led in most polls in Wisconsin, they have recently suggested that Mr Cruz is closing the gap, in part as he has moved quickly to gather in voters who might otherwise have supported Senator Marco Rubio of Florida who dropped out after losing Florida to Mr Trump. Also important has been the influence of figures like Mr Sykes warning Wisconsinites of the dangers of Mr Trump. On Monday, Mr Sykes noted in an interview with Politico that an endorsement from Governor Walker would be especially important for swaying the typical Republican in the ring of Milwaukee suburbs who had supported Walker or Rubiosomebody who would never have imagined theyd be a Cruz supporter, prior to this they might have had a long list of people ahead of him. I think that will help. Mr Walker, who led a national movement as Governor to constrain the power of the unions, declined directly to attack Mr Trump as he made his endorsement. My focus is going to be why I like Ted Cruz, he said. To me, Im all in. "I just fundamentally believe if you look at the facts, if you look at the numbers, that Ted Cruz is in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and to then go on and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall this year," Mr Walker added. Most alarming for Camp Trump is a recent Emerson poll showing Mr Cruz squeaking by him with 36 per cent of Wisconsin Republicans with the New York billionaire at 35 per cent. 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 }} The governor of Utah has signed a bill requiring women to undergo an anesthetic if they have an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy to ensure the fetus does not feel pain. Republican Gary Herbert has argued that after five months a fetus can feel pain and doctors will be legally required to give their female patients anesthesia. The procedure was optional before in Utah, now it will be mandatory. Recommended Read more US Supreme Court divided over abortion rights battle Senator Curt Bramble, who proposed the law, originally tried to ban abortion after 20 weeks but was told such a measure would likely be unconstitutional, as reported by AP. The governor is adamantly pro-life. He believes in not only erring on the side of life, but also minimising any pain that may be caused to an unborn child, Mr Herbert's spokesman Jon Cox said. Opponents of the bill say it could increase health risks to women by giving them unnecessary sedation to protect a fetus from pain - pain which is so far scientifically unproven. General anesthesia makes the woman unconscious and would require a breathing tube or a heavy dose of narcotics, according to Dr Sean Esplin of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah. This bill would be the first of its kind in the US, after a similar law introduced in Montana last year was vetoed by the Democratic governor. It is increasingly difficult, however, for women to have an abortion the later the pregnancy. In 12 states abortion is illegal after 20 weeks. In Utah women can abort their pregnancies for up to 22 weeks of gestation. The anesthesia will not apply to women whose lives are in danger by their pregnancy or if the fetus would nor survive outside the womb. 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 }} Carefully parsing the drinks menu at the hotel bar, Andy Hall finally decides on a milkshake - and I sense that is not entirely at ease in five-star sheen of the Hilton in St Julians, Malta. The disconnect is understandable, given that the British humans rights activist is more accustomed to dividing his time between factories in Thailand and his small office in Bangkok or, more recently, the inside of a court room. Theres stuff on his mind. Hall is currently being prosecuted for defamation by a Thai fruit company: if found guilty, he faces a seven-year jail sentence, as well as a fine of up to 400 million Thai baht (7.9m). For the second time in as many years, a Bangkok court has taken control of his passport. Apart from this visit to Malta, where he is speaking at a conference, and a brief trip to Burma earlier in the week, Hall is banned from travelling outside Thailand under his bail conditions. Its ridiculous, he says. I am not a flight risk. Why they feel the need to put these blocks on me, I dont know. Im disappointed. The Foreign Office, while supportive of Halls case, has erred on the side of soft diplomacy in his defence its stance also clearly disappoints him but he displays no trace of indignation at his plight. A practicing Buddhist, perhaps thats his Zen coming through - or, more likely, a sense of inurement to the whims of the Thai legal system. After all, his troubles now date back to 2012, when Finnwatch, a Finnish NGO, employed Hall as a freelancer to conduct field research into the treatment of shop-floor employees by Thai companies. The resulting report, Cheap Has a High Price published in January 2013 highlighted the appalling conditions in which migrants from Burma were working, alleging illegally low wages, unsafe working conditions and discriminatory treatment of migrant workers (all interviewed by Hall) as well as human rights violations at the pineapple processing facility of the Natural Fruit Company. Natural Fruit denied the allegations, and almost immediately brought defamation charges against Hall. Seven preliminary hearings later, he faces two criminal and two civil charges. (The additional criminal case relates to an Al Jazeera interview Hall gave in Burma.) Natural Fruit also accuses Hall of violating the countrys Computer Crimes Act, which bans online material considered a threat to national security simply because his name is on the front page of the Finnwatch report. The latter is the most severe of all the cases against Hall whose trial begins on 19 May and alone carries a seven-year penalty. But he says: Its not my report, and I didnt put it on the internet. The Computer Crimes Act is not meant to cover normal criminal defamation which is up to one year in prison. The two are different. Natural Fruit could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, Halls knowledge of the ins and outs of Thai law testifies to an impressive CV. Thirty-seven years old, and a working-class lad from Spalding in Lincolnshire, he has a first-class honours law degree from University College London; he speaks fluent Thai; and previous employment includes stints as a criminology, sociology and law tutor at the Universities of Melbourne and Cardiff. So what prompted him to up sticks and leave the seemingly cushy world of academia for South-east Asia in the first place? I was 24, and had just finished my PhD in corporate social responsibility when I realised I didnt know anything about the world, he says. I ended up not submitting my PhD, which my supervisor wasnt best pleased about, and went to stay with a friend and travel round Thailand instead. It was during this period that Hall was first exposed the daily plight of Thailands migrant labourers. I remember coming across a hotel construction site in Chiang Mai, he recalls. I saw many of these workers from Burma were disabled, and were dying every day in construction accidents. In particular, there was this one lady who was disabled, and she couldnt get any help or compensation, because she was an irregular. So I contacted the local NGO, started a project on occupational health and safety, and began fighting this ladys case. That, in turn, brought me into a fight with the Thai migration policy, and it all went from there. Hall worked for the Bangkok-based Human Rights and Development Foundation from 2007 to 2011, before heading across the border to become a migration advisor to the Burmese government, as a part of an EU-funded scheme. But since his return, hes found himself becoming the story. Its horrible to see your name in lights, he says. Its like people want me to feel weird or strange for doing what I am doing. But, publicity surrounding Hall whether he likes it or not has undoubtedly created greater awareness around Thai labour and human rights abuses, according to Sonja Vartiala, executive director of Finnwatch. We are seeing more industry leaders pushing for change, she says. Since 2013, we have also managed to reveal labour abuses in many different Thai export industries, including rubber gloves, glassware, chicken, mangoes and baby products. This has led to positive changes in migrant workers lives. But the task ahead remains nothing short of herculean. There are no trade unions for migrant workers in Thailand. A recent investigation by the Associated Press revealed widespread abuses in the seafood industry, including shrimp processing facilities manned by Burmese slaves and children. And for Bangkok-based writer Nick Dudley-Jones, who lives close to a Burmese community, the treatment of workers from Burma as second-class citizens is as palpable as it is endemic. I live in the Khlong Toei district of the city, he says, and many of the families live in tin-shack slums. But even then, theyll be moved out to make way for new construction which, ironically, will be done by Burmese workers. Recently, I was at a local restaurant where I noticed the waitress, who is from Burma, had stopped wearing Thanaka paste on her cheeks [a national custom]. She said it was so that customers would think she was Thai and give her a tip. If they know she was from Burma, they wouldnt. Perhaps nothing has stirred tensions around the treatment of Burmese migrants in Thailand quite like the recent case of two British backpackers found murdered on the island of Koh Tao. On Christmas Eve last year, migrant workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were found guilty, and sentenced to death, for the murder of David Miller and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, whose battered bodies had been found on a beach in the popular tourist destination. However, much of the trial and investigation has come under scrutiny, including claims the defendants were tortured into confessing the crime, and that local police officers botched DNA evidence from the scene. In his role as advisor to the Migrant Worker Rights Network, Hall is part of the two defendants defence team, which is now launching an appeal. But is he reluctant to take on the case, when the two victims were from his home country? No, he answers flatly. In fact, I didnt take an express interest in the case initially, because people die in Thailand every day. It was only when we got reports of torture that we sent a team to Koh Tao. Nonetheless, Hall has been the victim of threats for involving himself in the case. Ive had to block a few people on Twitter, he says. Ive spent a lot of time with the guys [Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo] and Ive become close to them. But I cant tell you whether they did it or not because the investigation was a farce and not in accordance with international standards. And if it cant be proven beyond reasonable doubt, they should be acquitted. Hall often refers to Thailand as dangerous place; no more so than for human rights activists. Between 2002 and 2013, Human Rights Watch recorded more than 30 deaths of human rights activists and environmentalists in Thailand. (Some, such as Por Cha Lee Rakchongcharoen, from Kaeng Krachan National Park, have simply disappeared.) Anticipating the next question, he brushes it off almost immediately. No, I dont think my life is in danger, he says. If I was Burmese or Thai, perhaps Id have been assassinated a long time ago but, because of the profile I have and the work I can do, I feel insulated from any danger. Before meeting Hall, I speak with his friend Alan Morison, an Australian journalist and former editor a small online news website Phuketwan, who knows only too well what a Thai courtroom looks like. In 2013, he and his colleague Chutima Sidasathian became embroiled in a defamation case with the Thai Navy for a 41-word paragraph included in an article on people-trafficking of Muslim Rohingyas from Burma, which had originally featured in a Reuters feature. Finally acquitted of charges in September, he says: These are bad laws that were never intended for use against journalists or human rights defenders. Its as if some still believe the cover-up is an appropriate response to valid work by journalists and human rights defenders. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, echoes this sentiment. The criminalisation of free expression seen in the prosecution of Andy Hall sends a chilling message to NGOs and journalists that investigating supply chain sources can be met with severe oppression, he says. An unholy alliance between rights-abusing businessmen and military dictators raises fundamental concerns about whether the powers that be in Bangkok have any interest in ensuring real corporate accountability for rights abuses. Such clamours dont appear to be falling on deaf ears. A #freeandyhall hashtag continues to trend on Twitter, while a number of politicians, including shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle and MEP Glenis Willmott, have lobbied the EU to intervene on his behalf. Perhaps its the David and Goliath angle? I dont know about that, says Hall, but I would say there is nobody doing the kind of work Im doing on the ground in Thailand. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International they wont dare. Theres an absence of these international organisations, which is why I got involved in the first place. Hall lets out a stretch. His milkshake long since drained, our times up. And hes already thinking about MWRN commitments for the following week, as well as the prospect of having to return his passport to the Thai authorities. If theres one silver lining on this whole case, its that its brought more focus on migrant issues and human rights defenders, he says. I do take solace from that. 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 }} Japanese officials are concerned over Russian plans to build a naval base on a western Pacific island chain, partly claimed by Tokyo, a government spokesperson has said. Tokyos trepidations follows a comment made by Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu last week, in which he said Russia would study the possibility of building a naval base on the island chain. Weve informed the Russian side through a diplomatic channel that we are concerned about the comment by Defence Minister Shoigu, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference. Weve also told them that of this led to the reinforcement of Russian military infrastructure on the Northern Territories, that would be incompatible with Japans stance and regrettable. Last week, Shoigu also said Russia would deploy some of its newest missile defence systems and drones on the Kuril islands. The disputed islands are called the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kurils in Russia. Japan claims a southern section of the island chain, which was seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War Two. A long-running territorial row has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty. The military build-up in Russias Far East comes as Japan shifts its defence focus to the south to better cope with Chinas maritime expansion. On Monday, Japan switched on a radar station in the East China Sea, giving it a permanent intelligence gathering post close to a group of islands disputed by Japan and China. The move has drawn a critical response from Beijing. China's defence ministry said in a statement that the international community should be on high alert over Japan's military expansion. It said: "The Diaoyu Islands are China's inherent territory. We are resolutely opposed to any provocative behavior by Japan aimed at Chinese territory. "The activities of Chinese ships and aircraft in the relevant waters and airspace are completely appropriate and legal." 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 }} To say that former mafia prosecutor John Sopko has a lot of enemies would be an understatement. Not content with having smashed an organised crime ring in Cleveland in the 1980s, he now leads the US governments drive to fix the fraud and waste of the fortune it spends in Afghanistan. Some $113 billion has already been spent by the US government on reconstruction in Afghanistan in the past 13 years. Thats more than the 103bn it spent on helping to rebuild Europe after the Second World War. For every dollar spent in Afghanistan, at least 29 cents disappears in fraud or wastage, based on figures from the US Commission on War Time Contracting. And even that is a conservative estimate, it said in its final report in 2011. In a bid to stem the losses, President Barack Obama appointed Mr Sopko the Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar) in 2012. Since then, Sigar investigations have resulted in savings of more than $946 million, and more than 100 arrests and criminal charges. In a rare interview, Mr Sopko, told The Independent how dealing with corruption in Afghanistan compares to dealing with the mafia: Its different and its harder. When I was with the organised crime section, Department of Justice, youre dealing with a legitimate legal systemyou dont have that in Afghanistan...and the joke is Afghanistan has the best justice system that money can buy. War artists in Afghanistan Show all 6 1 /6 War artists in Afghanistan War artists in Afghanistan Work by Matthew Cook Matthew Cook War artists in Afghanistan War artists in Afghanistan Work by Jules George Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Embedded: Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Work by Jules George Jules George War artists in Afghanistan Trooping the colours: Jules George was inspired by his father and grandfather to witness and document war, if not to wage it Jules George He adds: We have worked with some very honest and very brave Afghan policemen and prosecutors and judges but many of them are no longer there, they have either fled or been intimidated or been bought off or killed so its extremely difficult. Some of the examples of waste and fraud exposed by Mr Sopkos agency in recent months include millions spent on importing rare goats in a bid to boost the cashmere industry, only for the animals to vanish; and a petrol station which should have cost a few hundred thousand dollars to build which ended up costing $43m. One frustration is a widespread attitude of well what do you expect, its Afghanistan, according to Mr Sopko. Many problems stem from the way the US government does business, and the biggest problem is that individuals are never held accountable for their mistakes, he claims. Pressed on the proportion of money wasted in Afghanistan, he remarks: Too much has been wasted and its in the billions but I cant really say beyond that. Mr Sopko adds: I would imagine if they are stealing from us they are probably stealing from you guys too. The task of investigating and auditing US-funded projects in Afghanistan has become increasingly dangerous (Getty) The task of investigating and auditing US-funded projects in Afghanistan has become increasingly dangerous, with the security situation having worsened in recent years, he comments: I was there in February but I did not get out of the military bases. Its not like the old days when we travelled around, and I would meet governors, visit poppy fields, and visit police. And I remember when I first started driving in Masur in an unprotected, unarmoured car with just myself and a couple of agents and we were driving around the city, and the same thing in Herat. Kandahar was always a little dicey but we got around a bit. You cant do that anymore. Asked whether he has faced intimidation, he jokes: Ive had threats from US government officials...I was getting briefed by some of our security guys in the embassy and they were telling me Heres your trip and youre going to be able to go here, here and here but youre not going to be able to go to these places and I said Ill do whatever you guys say because youre the experts on security but do people really want to kill me? And the guy, with this total deadpan voice, said do you mean inside the embassy or outside the embassy? Then he broke up and laughed. Security is the biggest challenge facing Afghanistan, he claims. Corruption is right up there with security and narcotics is right there with corruption and security and its like a three legged stool of issues. Asked if Afghanistan is a narco criminal state, Mr Sopko replies: I cant say, I dont really know, I just know its a serious threat the narcotics traffickers are a serious threat to the government. Despite everything, the former prosecutor turned government watchdog is hopeful for the future. I am the eternal optimist, thats just my attitude...When I think of Afghanistan, I think it will get better but its not going to be easy and its not going to be fast. John Sopko: profile After graduating from Case Western University School of Law in Ohio, John Sopko worked as a state prosecutor before joining the Department of Justices organised crime strike force in Cleveland. In 1982, he was lead attorney in the successful prosecution of the entire leadership of the US citys mafia syndicate which was headed by James Jack White Licavoli. Mr Sopko went on to serve as an investigator and counsel for various US congressional committees, examining issues ranging from biological terrorism and cybersecurity to health insurance. Prior to his appointment as Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, he was partner in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, an international law firm based in Washington DC. 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 }} Thousands of suspected terrorists have been arrested as part of Pakistan's paramilitary crackdown on Islamist militants in the wake of the Lahore suicide bomb attack in which 72 people were killed on Easter Sunday. More than 5,000 people have been arrested and a cache of arms and ammunition found by the Pakistani army in operations following the atrocity that killed up to 72 citizens in Lahore. Of the 5,000 arrested, some 200 are thought to remain in custody. Rana Sanaullah, a provincial minister, said: "More than 5,000 people were searched and interrogated and most of them were allowed to go, but some 216 have been apprehended for further investigations." A further government intervention will hand over more powers to a paramilitary force - known as the Rangers - so it can conduct raids and interrogate suspects in the relatively affluent state of Punjab for the first time. Pakistan's state army earlier reported it was arresting suspected members of Jamaat ul-Ahrar, the Taliban splinter group which claimed responsibility for the attack at Gushan-e-Iqbal Park that left 29 children dead. An injured Pakistani child victim of a suicide blast rests in a hospital in Lahore The first wave of arrests were made in five operations across three cities in the eastern Punjab region, with many more following on rapidly. "Fifty suspects were arrested after the blast. Pakistan Army is leading the operation and no factor of any terrorist group will be spared," a Punjab minister told the Daily Telegraph. A "huge cache" of weapons and ammunition were also seized in the operations, according to the army's chief spokesman, Lt Gen Asim Bajwa. The added decision to give the Rangers, a special paramilitary group, extra powers in Lahore indicates the willingness of prime minister Nawaz Sharif to step up the fight against terrorism in his home region, according to Reuters. "The PM ordered a joint operation of the counter-terrorism department and Rangers in the border areas of Punjab against terrorists and their facilitators," said one government official. Another senior security official said, on condition of anonymity: "The technicalities are yet to be worked out. There are some legal issues also with bringing in Rangers, but the military and government are on the same page." Ranger operations of this kind have previously drawn criticism on the grounds of human rights abuses and the targeting of opposition politicians. Following the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, in which a Taliban faction killed 132 schoolchildren, hundreds of suspected militants were killed or arrested by such paramilitary forces. The attack by seven gunmen on teachers and students at the Army Public School prompted the government to bring back the death penalty for terrorism suspects. Following the recent attack on Easter Sunday, a spokesperson for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar told Mr Sharif: "This is a message to the Pakistani prime minister that we have arrived in Punjab." 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 }} North Korea has told its people to prepare for famine in what it has ominously described as a second arduous march. An article published in the state-run Rodong Sinmumn newspaper has urged citizens to prepare for economic hardship, warning that the road to revolution is long and arduous. We may have to go on an arduous march, during which we will have to chew the roots of plants once again. The term was coined following the four-year famine which started in 1994 and was responsible for the deaths of around 3 million North Koreans. Recommended Read more Isis left 150 mines around Palymra The famine took hold following a period of economic mismanagement, natural disasters and the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, which is a reliable source of information emerging from the hermit kingdom, has reported that the regime has recently collected 1kg of grain from every Pyongyang [capital city] citizen every month. In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test A lab employee from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety's regional office in Gangneung, east of Seoul, checks for radioactive traces in the air, in Gangneung, soon after North Korea announced it successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The office in Gangneung is the closest one to the site of the North's claimed test. Officials said it will take three to four days to analyze air samples in detail for any traces of radioactivity, the Yonhap news agency reported EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un signing a document of a hydrogen bomb test in Pyongyang In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test People watch a TV news program showing North Korea's special announcement at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test South Korean people watch TV news at Seoul station EPA In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Japan's meteorological agency officer Yohei Hasegawa displays a chart showing seismic activity, after a North Korean nuclear test, at the agency in Tokyo Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test Ko Yun-Hwa, administrator of Korea Meteorological Administration, briefs reporters showing seismic waves from the site of North Korea's hydrogen bomb test, at his office in Seoul Getty Images In pictures: North Korea hydrogen bomb test North Korea's border county of Kaepoong is seen from a South Korean observation post in Paju near the Demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas as North Korea announced it had successfully carried out its first hydrogen bomb test Getty Images People are getting anxious because the regime is forcing farmers to give extra food donations to the military, the paper added. It is thought the famine warning is set to last three years. The developments come less than a month after the UN Security Council voted to impose tougher sanctions following the countries recent nuclear war tests. It went on to say allegiances to Kim Jong-un, the countries leader, should not waver. Even if we give up our lives, we should continue to show our loyalty to our leader, Kim Jong-un, until the end of our lives, it added. North Korea has requested almost half a million tons of food aid from other countries, but only around 17,000 had been delivered by February. 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 Saudi price has been taken out of Europe and flown to Saudi Arabia against his will, his staff and associates have alleged. Prince Sultan bin Turki has an acrimonious relationship with the Saudi government and is seen by many as a lone voice for reform within the royal family. He brought legal action against the Royals following an alleged kidnapping in 2004 and employs 24 hour personal protection guards. Members of his entourage have told The Guardian that the Prince boarded a Saudi plane in Paris which was bound for Cairo on 1 February. However, the aircraft never arrived and appears to have disappeared. One associate said: There was a Saudi plane with a flight plan to Cairo but the plane did not fly to Cairo. This airplane had a Saudi flag on the tail. This plane came from the kingdom. Another said that a senior member of the royal family had spoken to the Prince several times before the flight departed in order to reassure him. The associate said: He called him two or three times, talking with full courtesy, he even sent him some money. When the Sultan decided to come from Paris to Cairo, [the senior royal] said Dont worry, we will arrange that for you and apparently he felt comfortable. But it was a big mistake and he paid the price. Another said: Last call we had he was laughing and said as a joke I am supposed to come to Cairo this week by royal aircraft. If you didnt find me they have taken me to [Saudi capital] Riyadh, try to do something. He is the third member of the Saudi royal family to seemingly go missing without explanation over the course of the last 12 months. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The Prince has previously accused the Royal family of kidnapping him in 2004 one month after he threatened to uncover corruption of Saudi officials. He says that to prevent damaging secrets from getting out, his royal cousin arranged for him to be kidnapped and forcibly removed from Europe and returned to Saudi Arabia. He filed a complaint with Swiss police in 2014 saying that he was attending a meeting with members of the royal family when they left the room and two heavy built men burst in. The reportedly gagged him, restrained him and hit him on the back of the head, causing him to lose consciousness. He says that he then woke up in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. He says he was then kept under house arrest for six years until he managed to escape in 2010. The Independent has contacted the Saudi royal family for comment. 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 }} An advert for supermarket giant Tesco's Thai subsidiary depicting a domestic worker being slapped has been criticised. The commercial shows a maid spilling a plate of crisps over a seated woman, who stands up, screaming, and hits the worker in the face. Thailand has deep-seated issues with the labour rights of domestic workers, advocacy groups have claimed. Viewer Rob van Gelder said the advert, produced by Tesco Lotus, was a disgrace". "What is even worse is that they make the final statement with exactly this scene," he wrote on Twitter. Another user on Twitter said the video needs to be taken down. The advert has now been removed from social media (Tesco Lotus/Facebook) Labour rights group Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) condemned the advert: WIEGO was at the forefront on campaigning for a convention on domestic work which was achieved in 2011 in extending labour rights to domestic workers," Mike Bird, Operations Director at WIEGO, told The Independent. Part of peoples labour rights is that they are not physically abused by their employers. Any suggestion that that is OK, wed certainly take issue with. The commercial was spotted by Bangkok-based journalist Jerome Taylor. It is not the first time the issue of domestic workers being abused has surfaced in Thailand. Cases of involving enslavement and physical violence are not uncommon in South East Asia. In a survey cited in a 2010 International Labour Organisation report, almost all domestic workers questioned were subject to some forms of violence or abuse by their employers. Even in households where this does not apply, many maids still work long hours with little time off. According to the MAP Foundation, which campaigns for the rights of domestic workers in Thailand, most work up to 14 hours a day and are paid 4,300 baht and 5,000 baht (84-98) a month. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Under Thai law, workers are entitled to an eight-hour working day and a minimum wage of 300 baht (around 6) a day. However, employers of domestic workers often disregard this. "Thai society does not see domestic work as work, so the person doing housework is not a worker," Poonsap Tulaphan, director of the Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion said. A spokesperson for Tesco UK said: Wed like to apologise for any offence caused and will be removing the scene from the advert going forward. The advert has since been removed from the Tesco Lotus's Facebook page. 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 Brussels cathedral hosted an interfaith service on Easter Monday to remember the victims of last weeks airport and metro attacks. Survivors, rescuers and representatives from Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Anglican and Evangelical communities gathered to reflect at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula. Im here for the others mostly, Ive been saved, so I want to be here to support the others, said Geoffroy Lemaitre, an airport worker who was injured during the bombings. During the service, which was presided over by Archbishop Jozef de Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels, both airport and emergency service personnel carried trays of candles and received applause from the congregation. Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Show all 27 1 /27 Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Wreaths of flowers in front of an entrance of the Maalbeek subway station in Brussels in homage to the victims of a terrorist attack. Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Wreaths of flowers in front of an entrance of the Maalbeek subway station in Brussels in homage to the victims of a terrorist attack. Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims A building illuminated with the Belgian flag colours and a heart in Brussels, two days after suicide bombing attacks of terrorists on March 22 in Zaventem airport and subway Maelbeek. Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims A picture taken on 24 March, 2016 on place de la Bourse in Brussels, shows drawings and a candle, two days after suicide bombing attacks of terrorists on March 22 in Zaventem airport and Brussels subway Maelbeek Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Candles are displayed in tribute to the Brussels attacks victims on 24 March, 2016 on place de la Bourse in Brussels, two days after the suicide bombing attacks of terrorists on 22 March. Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims A mourner lights a candle in Trafalgar Square during a candlelit vigil in support of the victims of the recent terror attacks in Brussels. Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels airport workers pay tribute to the victims near Zaventem Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Activists light candles and hold placards to condemn the terrorist attacks in Belgium, during a gathering in Manila, Philippines Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims A banner for the victims of the bombings reads "I am Brussels" at the Place de la Bourse in the center of Brussels Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left front center, stands with front row, left to right, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Belgium's King Philippe, Belgium's Queen Mathilde and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel as well as members of the European Commission during a minute of silence at EU headquarters in Brussels Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims People join hands in solidarity near the former stock exchange following the bomb attacks in Brussels Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Belgium flags ornate the facade of the Paris Town Hall Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims A woman embraces her children at The Place de la Bourse as she pays her respects to victims of the terrorists attacks in Brussels Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Belgian and European Union flags fly at half mast following the bomb attacks in Brussels Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Candles in the colors of the Belgian national flag are lit inside the Belgian embassy in Madrid, a day after the deadly suicide attacks on the Brussels airport and its subway system Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Servicemen of Azov, Ukrainian volunteers battalion, hold torches in front of floral tributes during a ceremony in front of the Belgian embassy in Kiev, in tribute to the victims of Brussels attacks Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims A refugee boy holds up a placard reading "Sorry for Brussels" at a refugee camp near the Greek-Macedonian border Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes People light candles in tribute to victims at a makeshift memorial at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes A woman holds a drawing by French cartoonist Plantu picturing a character made of a French flag consoling another made of the Belgian flag, in front of the Hotel de Ville in Paris Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes The colours of the Belgian flag are projected on to (clockwise from top left) the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the town council building in Belgrade, Rome's Campidoglio and the Royal Palace at Dam Square in Amsterdam Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes Candles are lit in tribute to the victims, at the Place de la Bourse in Brussels Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes A woman holds a placard reading "Paris hearts Belgium, How much time will it take us to open our eyes and say STOP, Today our hearts are broken, Open your eyes to change the future" at the Place de la Republique in Paris Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes People gather to pay a tribute to victims of terrorist attacks in Brussels Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes People write messages on the ground at Place de la Bourse in Brussels Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes A bouquet of flowers in the Belgian national colours with a card reading 'To our neighbours, to our friends, to our Belgian brothers - an indignant Parisian' is seen next to a French national flag at the fence of the Belgian embassy in Paris Getty Images Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes Solidarity messages are written in chalk outside the stock exchange in Brussels AP Brussels attacks: tributes are paid to the victims Brussels tributes Messages and floral tributes outside the Brussels stock exchange AP Over 1,100 people attended the memorial service, according to the Belga news agency. Being invited to a place like the Brussels cathedral is symbolic for me, explained Kamar Takkal, a member of the Muslim community. It means we are all together, whatever our beliefs, whatever our messages, we are united, hand in hand, in suffering. 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 }} Young men in the troubled Molenbeek district of Brussels have been sent text messages urging them to fight the westerners. The texts, calling for the youngsters to make the right choice, were written in French and sent from an untraceable prepaid account. They come less than a week after two terrorist attacks in the European capital - one on a metro train and one in the city airport - killed 35 and injured scores more. Isis, also known as Daesh, has claimed responsibilty for the atrocity. Socialist MP Jamal Ikazban, who posted a copy of the text message on Twitter, told the Guardian: These people are trying to take our youth by storm. It is like having a big-time drug dealer outside the school gates. We feel the same. They have to be taken off the streets. They are predators and our youths are the victims. Joining Daesh is a form of suicide. They understand that there is a despair here which could be used to indoctrinate and recruit these people. Im very angry that we have not done enough about that." Mr Ikazban has previously spoken in the Brussels Parliament about how the internet plays a much bigger role in radicalising youths than mosques. Molenbeek is home to nearly 100,000 people mostly Muslim and is among the poorest municipalities in the country. Half of the districts large youth population are unemployed. It is believed the propaganda messages are targeting young marginalised Muslim men, who are mostly of North African descent. 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 }} All hostages on the hijacked EgyptAir plane are to be released with the exception of the flight crew and four non-Egyptian passengers. Egypt's civil aviation minister says seven people remain with the hijacker on the EgyptAir plane that has landed in Cyprus, four crew and three passengers. This domestic flight was hijacked en route to Cairo from Alexandria and was landed at Lanarca airport in Cyprus after a request by the pilots. According to EgyptAir - Flight MS181 was carrying 56 passengers along with seven crew members and one EgyptAir security officer. Aviation sources told Reuters, eight British nationals and ten Americans were onboard but is unknown how many of them have been released Egyptian state media has named the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, stating he was sitting on seat 38K and is aged between 27 and 28 years old. In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Seif Eldin Mustafa, suspected of hijacking EgyptAir plane MS181, flashes the 'V' for victory sign as he leaves the court in Larnaca in a police car AFP/Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Seif Eldin Mustafa wears handcuffs as he leaves the court in Larnaca escorted by Cypriot police AFP/Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane An EgyptAir flight 181 passenger embraces a family member after arriving at Cairo international airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane CCTV footage shows Seif Eldin Mustafa walking through a metal detector before being patted down by security Egypt Ministry of Interior In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Cypriot police guard the hijacked EgyptAir A320 plane at Larnaca Airport after it landed in Cyprus EPA In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Passengers evacuate a hijacked EgyptAir Airbus 320 plane at Larnaca airport, Cyprus Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane An official boards a hijacked Egyptair A320 Airbus at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane A Cypriot policeman stands guard near a hijacked EgyptAir A320 plane at Larnaca Airport, Cyprus In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo EgyptAir have said that the hijacker in possession of a "suicide vest". While his motives are not yet known, some officials have said he has been seeking political asylum. A Cypriot spokesman has said authorities "doubt the hijacker has any real explosives". 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 }} An EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo has been hijacked and flown to Cyprus. Here is the airline's latest statement in full: An EGYPTAIR official declared that its flight number MS181 heading from HBE Airport (Borg El- Arab Airport in Alexandria) to Cairo Airport was already diverted to Larnaca airport in Cyprus as the aircraft was hijacked. The aircraft is an Airbus A320 with 56 pax onboard in addition to 7 crew members and one EGYPTAIR security member. The aircraft landed safely at Larnaca. EGYPTAIR confirms that it is following up with the concerned authorities in Cyprus through EGYPTAIR IOCC and negotiations are undergoing with the highjacker. EGYPTAIR will update you with any news within one hour. UPDATE 2: Negotiations with the kidnapper has resulted in the release of all passengers except for the flight crew and four foreigners. 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 German rail operator has introduced women-only carriages to some of its train carriages but denied the move is a response to the recent spate of high-profile sex attacks. The move, which comes days after the first suspect of the Cologne sex attacks was charged with a sex crime, has been widely reported as being linked to sex crimes that have been blamed on migrants by far-right activists. However, the company introducing the changes, Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn, has denied the new carriages are linked to the Cologne attacks. It said the measures were intended to encourage a safer atmosphere for all female travellers in general. Children, including boys up to the age of ten, will also be allowed to ride in the carriages, which run on the 50-mile Leipzig to Chemnitz line. The carriage will be situated next to an office for train staff. The local proximity to the customer service representative is chosen deliberately, a Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn spokesman said. Women-only carriages are used frequently in countries such as Japan, India, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia in an attempt to prevent sexual assaults. In the UK, the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, suggested women-only areas on public transport could be used to reduce sexual harassment. However, his suggestions were accused by womens rights groups of being regressive. They said the focus of tackling sexual harassment should be on the perpetrators rather than potential victims. 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 On Thursday, a 26-year-old Algerian man was charged with sexual assault and theft in relation to the incidents in Cologne. He is the first person to be formally accused of being involved on the disorder on New Years Eve in the West German city. More than 1,100 criminal complaints were received in relation to the events New Years Eve in Cologne, including over 480 accusations of sexual assault. There was controversy in some quarters over a perceived cover-up because of the alleged ethnicity of the attackers, described by many witnesses as of North African or Arab appearance. 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 }} Germany is considering introducing new laws which would require refugees to integrate into society in order to stay. Draft proposals include making refugees learn German, being employed and not stopping female relatives from being employed. If they do not comply with conditions, they could face having their settlement permit revoked after three years, Reuters reports. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said: For those who refuse to learn German, for those who refuse to allow their relatives to integrate- for instance, women or girls- for those who reject job offers: for them, there cannot be an unlimited settlement permit after three years. Rather, Mr Maiziere said, the country must strive for: a link between successful integration and the permission for how long one is allowed to stay in Germany. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel agreed with the proposals, telling local media: We must not only support integration but demand it. Refugees settle in Germany Show all 12 1 /12 Refugees settle in Germany Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed's wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany A refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants' shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents' laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Efrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Somali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin Getty Images There are growing tensions in Germany about the number of refugees which the country has accepted. Last year it accepted more than a million and has taken more than 100,000 thus far this year. Some right wing parties and media sources have argued that the high numbers are resulting in a cultural clash as some refugees and migrants do not integrate socially and culturally with local communities. In January, tensions soared after sexual assaults took place on a mass scale in Cologne, near the citys train station. Refugees were blamed for the attacks, but police inquiries later suggested that the attackers have largely been non-refugees. 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 }} An orphaned Syrian refugee has sent a message of condolence to the citizens of Brussels, saying he too knows the pain of losing loved ones. Osama, who is now living in Lebanon, wrote a letter posted to Facebook to let people in the Belgian capital know he was thinking of them. His cousin Hussein Mar, who posted the message to Facebook, wrote: "My orphan cousin Osama, his parents died in Syria in a bomb, [and he] wanted to give [a] message for the people in Brussels. "'Dear Brussels, my parents died in a bomb in Syria also, I feel in you, stay strong.'" Osama signed off, "Syrian refugee in Lebanon." Hussein urged people to share the message, which depicts his cousin sat on the floor holding the handwritten letter in his hands. The image has been shared and liked more than 200 times so far. At present about 1.3 million Syrian refugees have fled over the border to their neighbour, Lebanon, according to the UN Refugee Agency. In pictures: Brussels shooting Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Brussels shooting In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting Police secure an area in Brussels followinf the anti-terror raid linked to last year's Paris attack AP In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting An armed police officer runs on top of a roof during a police operation on the site of a shooting in the rue du Dries in Forest, Brussels EPA In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting Police officers take position on a rooftop during a police raid in Forest, Brussels EPA In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium Reuters In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium Reuters In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium Reuters In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting A victim is removed from the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium Reuters In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting A victim is removed from the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium Reuters In pictures: Brussels shooting Brussels shooting Police at the scene where shots were fired during a police search of a house in the suburb of Forest near Brussels, Belgium Reuters Lebanon has taken more refugees than any other country in the world and has not closed its borders, while its new inhabitants reportedly have access to all basic services. Yet families are reportedly growing increasingly vulnerable in the country as the 4.5 million population of Lebanon struggles to support them. About 470,000 Syrians have been killed since 2011 when president Bashar al-Assad began a brutal crackdown on those who rebelled against his regime, a situation worsened by the rise of Isis in Iraq and Syria. In Europe, 35 people were killed and more than 300 others were wounded when at least four attackers bombed Brussels Airport and a metro station in Belgium. 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 }} Officials in Cyprus have identified the hijacker of an EgyptAir flight to Cairo as Seif Eldin Mustafa, amid reports he has demanded the release of political prisoners. The new reports paint a dramatic new light on a story which Egyptian officials had appeared to play down, describing the man as an Egyptian doctor who wanted to get a message to his Cypriot wife. After the plane carrying 55 passengers was hijacked and diverted to Larnaca airport in Cairo, an unnamed Egyptian official told the Guardian: He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot. The Cypriot foreign affairs ministry named the hijacker in a tweet at around 11am BST, a couple of hours after he was mistakenly identified by the Egyptian government as Dr Ibrahim Samaha. There are still seven people being held hostage on board the plane including three passengers whose nationalities are known to the authorities but which have not been made public. The Airbus A320 has been sat on the tarmac at Larnaca airport in Cyprus now since around 7am, during which time the majority of the 55 passengers on board have been released. The hijacker declared he had a suicide belt while the jet was en route from Alexandria to Cairo this morning, and demanded the pilot land. Earlier, the man was named by officials as Dr Samaha, an Egyptian vet based at the university in Alexandria. But that has since been called into question not least when Dr Samaha himself spoke to the BBC to say he was a passenger on the flight and had since been released, rather than the hijacker himself. In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Seif Eldin Mustafa, suspected of hijacking EgyptAir plane MS181, flashes the 'V' for victory sign as he leaves the court in Larnaca in a police car AFP/Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Seif Eldin Mustafa wears handcuffs as he leaves the court in Larnaca escorted by Cypriot police AFP/Getty Images In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane An EgyptAir flight 181 passenger embraces a family member after arriving at Cairo international airport Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane CCTV footage shows Seif Eldin Mustafa walking through a metal detector before being patted down by security Egypt Ministry of Interior In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Cypriot police guard the hijacked EgyptAir A320 plane at Larnaca Airport after it landed in Cyprus EPA In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Passengers evacuate a hijacked EgyptAir Airbus 320 plane at Larnaca airport, Cyprus Reuters In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane An official boards a hijacked Egyptair A320 Airbus at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane A Cypriot policeman stands guard near a hijacked EgyptAir A320 plane at Larnaca Airport, Cyprus In pictures: EgyptAir hijacked plane Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo Whatever the motive for the hijacking, the incident has led to renewed concerns about Egyptian aviation security. Cairo airport has delayed the departure of a New York-bound airplane due to security fears related to the hijacking, two security officials told 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 }} A Syrian refugee has spoken of his distress as a selfie he took with Angela Merkel went viral after it was claimed he was one of the Brussels bombers. Anas Modamani arrived in Germany in September 2015 after fleeing violence in Damascus. The 19-year-old was living in a refugee camp in Berlin when he heard that the German Chancellor was coming to visit and to talk to refugees. Mr Modamani took the opportunity to take a photo with Ms Merkel and posted it to social media, thinking little of the reception it might get, he told Deutsche Welle. However, the photo has since resurfaced, after someone posted it online claiming that it showed Ms Merkel taking a photo with Najim Laachraoui, one of the suicide bombers who died in the attack on Brussels Airport on Tuesday. Social medias said there was a striking likeness between the two men and that it proved the terrorist had been posing as a refugee in Germany prior to the attack. In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A man carries an injured person in Brussels Airport, after explosions ripped through the departure hall In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Travellers get to their feet in a smoke filled terminal at Brussels Airport after explosions In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A man is wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A man speaks on a mobile phone in Brussels Airport, after the explosions ripped through the departure hall In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Belgian police officers detain a man at the Gare du Midi train station in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A police officer stands guard as people are evacuated from Brussels airport, after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People stand near Brussels airport after being evacuated following explosions that rocked the facility in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Crew and passengers are evacuated from Zaventem Bruxelles International Airport after an attack in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers gather near Brussels airport in Zaventem, following its evacuation after blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Two women wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers and airport staff are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers and airport staff are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Broken windows seen at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People leave the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People are evacuated from the scene after two explosions were heard at Brussels Airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People wait outside of the Brussels Airport after evacuation In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People leave the airport area after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers comfort each other as they are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Emergency services attend the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels Reuters In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Injured people at the scene at Brussels Airport after two explosions were heard PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport The aftermath of the explosions at Brussels airport PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People wait outside of the Zaventem airport after two explosions were heard PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Emergency services at the scene of explosions at Brussels Airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A view of the scene after the explosions at Brussels airport PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Emergency services at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels Reuters In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport The aftermath of the explosions at Brussels airport PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport The view of the Brussels airport after the explosion PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Smoke is seen at Brussels airport in Brussels AP In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A photo shows cars on a blocked highway near Zaventem, Brussels National airport, after two explosions rocked the main hall of Brussels Airport Getty Images Mr Modamanis friends told Deutsche Welle that the young refugee is horrified by the mistaken identity, calling the claims: lies with absolutely no basis. They said: He lives in Berlin with his German family, he goes to school everyday, its not even possible for him to go to Brussels. Unfortunately, these lies on the internet spread very quickly with no truth to them. There are growing tensions in Germany regarding the countrys policy of welcoming refugees. Last year, more than a million refugees entered the country and more than 100,000 have thus far this year. Today new proposals were announced in a bid to force refugees to become better integrated in German society. The suggested measures include revoking settlement status from refugees who refuse to learn German or who prevent their female relatives from working. 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 }} Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a military court in support of an Israeli soldier alleged to have shot and killed a wounded Palestinian man. Graphic footage emerged on Friday purportedly showing the Israeli soldier killing the Palestinian man as he lay injured on the ground after a stabbing attack. Amateur footage shows the man, named as Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif, lying on the street as one of the soldiers near him appears to raise his gun and shoot him in the head. Blood is then seen pouring from the wound. Palestinian man shot by Israeli soldier as he lies on the ground Mr al-Sharif and another Palestinian man, Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi, were shot after allegedly stabbing a soldier in Tel Rumeida, in the Hebron area of the occupied West Bank. Both men died at the scene. The stabbed soldier was treated for minor injuries. In his ruling at the military court in Kastina, the judge said he found reasonable suspicion of an illegal shooting, but noted the incident was "complicated". Israeli right-wing protesters demonstrate outside a military court during a hearing of an Israeli soldier who the military said has been arrested on suspicion of murder, near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Malachi, 29 March, 2016 (Reuters) The unnamed soldier, an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) medic, reportedly told military police he shot al-Sharif because he feared for his life. Haaretz reports the medic told interrogators: I fired the shot when the terrorist was alive. I did it because I felt my life was in danger. The trial continues, pending an autopsy of Mr al-Sharif's body. The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the IDF, saying at a cabinet meeting on Sunday: "Any challenge to the morality of the IDF is outrageous and unacceptable. "The soldiers of the IDF, our children, maintain high ethical values while courageously fighting against bloodthirsty murderers under difficult operational conditions. "I am certain that in all cases, as in the current one, the inquiry takes into account all conditions. We must all support the IDF chief of staff, the IDF and our soldiers, who safeguard our security." Clashes between residents and security forces are regularly seen in Hebron, which is divided between Israeli-controlled and Palestinian-controlled areas. The shooting comes amid a six-month cycle of stabbings and shootings, which has left 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead. 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 }} Israels Sephardic Chief Rabbi has sparked controversy after saying non-Jews should not be allowed to live in Israel unless they follow a set of Jewish laws. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said non-Jews who fail to live by the seven Noahide laws should be expelled to Saudi Arabia, The Times of Israel reports. Speaking in a sermon on Saturday, the Chief Rabbi said: If our hands were firm, if we had the power to rule, then non-Jews must not live in Israel. If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia. The seven Noahide Laws are a basic moral code outlined in the Talmud. They prohibit actions such as blasphemy, murder, illicit sexual relations, theft and eating live animals, according to The Times of Israel. Rabbi Yosef added that non-Jews who do agree to abide by the laws will be allowed to remain in Israel in order to serve Jews. Who, otherwise be the servants? Who will be our helpers? This is why we leave them in Israel, he said. Rabbi Yosefs comments have been heavily criticised by the human rights agency Anti-Defamation League, who have called on him to retract the statements. Jonathon Greenblatt, ADLs CEO, and Carole Nuriel, acting Director of ADLs Israel Office, said in a statement the comments were shocking and unacceptable. It is unconscionable that the Chief Rabbi, an official representative of the State of Israel, would express such intolerant and ignorant views about Israels non-Jewish population including the millions of non-Jewish citizens. As a spiritual leader, Rabbi Yosef should be using his influence to preach tolerance and compassion towards others, regardless of their faith, and not seek to exclude and demean a large segment of Israelis. This is not the first time Rabbi Yosefs comments have stirred controversy. Earlier this month, the Rabbi was criticised for suggesting Israelis should kill knife-wielding terrorists without fear of the law, the Jerusalem Post reports. "If a terrorist is advancing with a knife, its a mitzva [commandment] to kill him, he said in Jerusalems Yazadim Synagogue. One shouldnt be afraid that someone will petition the High Court of Justice or some [army] chief of staff will come and say something different, 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 }} One of the last pictures of baby Udai Faisal show him in his mothers arms. The little boys sunken eyes stare from their sockets, as feeding tubes wind around his skeletal face and body, swaddled in a blanket. He died days later, finally breaking down under the ravages of malnutrition in Yemen. Udai Faisal, who is suffering from acute malnutrition, at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, two days before his death on 24 March (AP) He vomited yellow fluid from his nose and mouth, his parents said. Then he stopped breathing. He didn't cry and there were no tears, just stiff, said his mother, Intissar Hezzam. I screamed and fainted. Udais short five-month life was destroyed by the raging Yemeni civil war and the worsening humanitarian crisis putting more than 300,000 children at risk of starvation. On the day his mother gave birth, a hail of air strikes from Saudi-led coalition planes were striking a nearby rebel base, with shrapnel showing the roof of the familys bungalow in a shanty town on the outskirts of Sanaa. She was screaming and delivering the baby while the bombardment was rocking the place, his father, Faisal Ahmed, said. UN-brokered talks could lead to ceasefire in Yemen The family lives off the pension that Mr Ahmed receives as a former soldier spreading around 140 a month between him, his wife and nine other children ranging from two to 16 years old. His former construction work has disappeared and with food prices rising and supplies sporadic, the family eats once a day, usually yoghurt and bread, with peas on a good day. Hezzam was able to breastfeed her newborn son for about 20 days before her own milk stopped, most probably because of malnutrition. Relying only on wood for fuel after air strikes cut electricity, the family turned to formula milk but could not always afford it even when there was any to be had. Udai was given the milk every few days, and sugar solution on the others, despite clean water being scarce for his parents and 19 million other people in Yemen three quarters of the population. At three months old, the baby was suffering from diarrhoea that local clinics lacked the supplies to treat. Udai Faisal with his mother Intissar Hezzam at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP) As the illness took its toll and Udai started wasting away, he was taken to the emergency department at Al-Sabeen Hospital on 20 March. He was diagnosed with severe malnutrition, diarrhoea and a chest infection, seeing him put on antibiotics and a feeding solution by leading clinician Saddam al-Azizi. Reporters from the Associated Press met Udai and his parents there on 22 March, describing the baby with arms were constantly convulsing, his emaciated legs motionless, his face gaunt and pale. His body was too dehydrated to produce tears when he cried and he weighed just 5.3 pounds (2.4kg) under half the size of a healthy child. After two days of treatment, his parents decided the situation was hopeless and took Udai home, although Dr Al-Azizi said he believed they could not afford to pay for the vital treatment. Udai survived just three hours after being taken home, being buried at the foot of the mountains nearby. His father read the Quran over the tiny grave marked only by rocks, reciting, On God we depend. Faisal Ahmed, whose son, Udai Faisal, died of severe acute malnutrition, pours water on his grave in Hazyaz village on the southern outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen (AP) Even if the treatment had continued, Dr Al-Azizi gave Udai only a 30 per cent chance of survival and the hospital was already dealing with dozens of malnourished children, who were arriving at twice the rate seen last year. At least 15 have died since the start of this year. To reach the hospital, desperate parents must walk for hours or even days, while others risk rebel checkpoints and air strikes on treacherous journeys. Clinics around the country have suffered shortages of medicines, meaning millions live in areas that have virtually no medical care. Although the Saudi-led coalition has allowed humanitarian flights bringing medical supplies as well food and water in to Sanaa as well as shipments into Hodeida port, transportation around the country is difficult. Dozens of medical facilities have been bombed, while those escaping the destruction are short of fuel to keep generators running. Udai was just one of an estimated 1.3 million children suffering from malnutrition in Yemen as the countrys humanitarian crisis continues to worsen under relentless air strikes. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia and supported by the US is seeking to drive out Houthi rebels and Islamists, including Isis and al-Qaeda, who seized swathes of the country and dislodged the government from the capital. Saudi-led airstrikes have altered the course of the civil war in Yemen While the Saudi-led bombing campaign has destroyed storehouses, roads, schools, farms, factories, power grids and water stations, a naval blockade, enforcing a UN arms embargo on the rebels, has disrupted the entry of food and supplies. Even before the conflict erupted last year, Yemen had one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, and the number of people unable to eat without aid has rocketed from 4.3 million to 7 million in the past year. Ten of the country's 22 provinces are classified as one step away from famine, according to the World Food Programme. Babies and young children among five are among those most vulnerable to the terrible consequences of hunger, with 1.3 million believed to be malnourished. Jean-Michel Grand, the executive director of Action Against Hunger, said the humanitarian situation is devastating for millions of families. Nearly 320,000 children are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition in the country, he added. Saying Yemen was at risk of becoming a failed state, Unicef estimated that nearly 10,000 additional deaths may have occurred among under-fives in the past year due to preventable illness like malnutrition, diarrhoea and pneumonia. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty As families remain trapped in areas besieged by the conflict, the true numbers may never be known. The fighting and the heavy barrage of airstrikes have killed more than 9,000 people, including more than 3,000 civilians, and displaced 2.3 million according to the UN Human Rights Office. Coalition airstrikes appear to be responsible for twice as many casualties as all other forces put together, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said, while Saudi officials argue that the rebels often use civilians and their homes as shields for their fighters. Unicef has recorded the deaths of 900 children in the past year alone, with more than 1,300 wounded averaging six killed or injured every single day. Children are paying the highest price for a conflict not of their making, said Julien Harneis, Uniceffs Representative in Yemen. They have been killed or maimed across the country and are no longer safe anywhere in Yemen. Even playing or sleeping has become dangerous. Additional reporting by Associated Press 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 student has proven himself to be just about the best grandson ever after surprising his grandparents with a cheque which will allow them to finally pay off their mortgage. Stefun Darts, a full-time student at San Jacinto College in Texas, the US, posted a video clip online of himself handing over the $15,000 (10,540) gift to his grandmother and grandfather who have been making monthly payments on their house for over 20 years. According to local news site KHOU.com, the pair still had four years to go until 24-year-old Darts - who also has a full-time job as well as running two small non-profits - stepped in to lend a helping hand. The site also reports that Darts had been eating microwave pizza and avoiding going out with his friends so that he could save up the surprise amount. In a message posted online to both his grandparents, Darts said he promised God while in the second grade that he would pay off their house and help them to retire, adding it was a promise he would never break. He continued: The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched...but are felt by the heart. Even with this, I could never repay you for what youve done for me. I sacrificed my teenage and early adulthood of not having fun for this moment. I couldnt stand you going to work at night, some nights I didnt even sleep knowing it shouldnt be like this. Never have I wrote a check wanting this to be the first one. To all my friends that stood by me over these last six years, I appreciate you. And as if that wasnt enough, as an added bonus, the student also revealed how he was throwing in some tickets to send his grandparents off to the Bahamas for a well-earned break, adding that he would sacrifice everything for his family. What a guy. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel 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 Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Advice about how best to organise your holiday money for Croatia is often conflicting and confusing. Even though Croatia is now part of the European Union, and is committed in time to joining the single currency, at present the currency remains the kuna (code HRK). I recommend that you use cash as much as possible, in order to be fully aware of the rate of exchange and not subject to bank fees as you would do if you use a debit card, and most UK-issued credit cards. The first essential is not to get Croatian kuna in large quantities in the UK, unless you shop around and get a rate close to the spot rate. On 29 June 2018, the spot rate was 1 = 8.33 kuna. You would never actually get this rate, but if you could then 1,000 kuna would cost 120.10. I checked with a range of providers across the UK; the cost of those 1,000 kuna ranged from 123 at Best Foreign Exchange, a London-based specialist, to 127.69 at Travelex at Heathrow airport. For comparison, I called a selection of bureaux de change in Croatia (known locally as mjenjacnica) and was quoted rates that were bunched together at an equivalent of 1,000 kuna for 123. Rather than the faff of arranging funds in advance, I suggest you simply change as you go along. There is intense competition between foreign exchange agencies in Croatia, so you can shop around and find excellent rates. Change here: a Croatian exchange bureau in Porec (Simon Calder) If you like to have a modest amount of foreign currency for incidentals when you arrive, then I suggest to go to your local post office and change 20 or so into Croatian kuna. You wont get a great rate of exchange, but it will be better than your departure airport and it is commission-free, which is handy for small transactions like this. (Note that you may need to order the currency in advance.) If you're a committed bargain hunter, use a comparison site such as travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com to find the bureaux de change with the best rates near you. As anywhere in the world, given that some places charge commission and some dont, the sensible question to compare rates is How many kuna will you give me for 100?. Estimate your likely spending (bearing in mind that Croatia is significantly more expensive than other parts of the former Yugoslavia), add on a little for contingencies, and take it in cash. Take clean Bank of England 20 notes (with a few 5 and 10 notes in case you need to change smaller amounts towards the end of your stay). All change: the kuna is pegged to the euro (PA) Keener rates are available for euros to which the kuna is pegged than pounds. So if you have some spare euros and do not intend to go to a euro country soon then you might as well bring them. But I dont think it is worth changing sterling into euros and then into Croatian kuna you pay two margins in the process. Click here for the best Croatian hotels and resorts 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 }} There were many things in The Night Manager that were clumsily audacious: Corky, played by Tom Hollander, grabbing Jonathan Pines buttocks in an upmarket restaurant, for instance, or Jed (Elizabeth Debicki) cracking open Richard Ropers safe and thinking no one would notice. But clumsiest of all was Pine, played by Tom Hiddleston, ordering a vodka martini in a Cairo casino in the final episode of the John Le Carre thriller on Sunday night. Hiddlestons portrayal of a British agent, recruited by Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the arms dealer Ropers inner circle, was already an audition for the next James Bond - but at least it had been a coolly suave audition, as discreet as a hotel night manager, you might say. Hiddleston, with that bashful, self-deprecating Who, me? charm, must have known he would be getting himself onto the shortlist to succeed Daniel Craig when he signed up to the gig. He shouldn't have let the scriptwriters ruin it by getting Pine to order a vodka martini - in a casino of all places - even as a joke. Of course Hiddleston would be a good candidate for Bond, but just like the US forces searching aid vehicles for weaponry on the Syrian border, we are looking in the wrong place. I have been so gripped by this six-part thriller that every week I wished for a cocktail of beta-blockers and camomile tea to get me through to the credits rolling at 10pm, and had to binge on several Su Dokus afterwards in order to get to sleep. But who was it who had me gripped? Not Hiddleston, but Hugh Laurie, whose performance as Dickie Roper was the best on TV for years. If each iteration of Bond should be a break with the last (and it should), then do we really want another blond-haired, twinkly-eyed, tortured and enigmatic soul after Craigs four run-outs? As with Craig, serving up Hiddlestons torso, as if on toast, in The Night Manager slightly patronises the female audience. Women love old-fashioned spy thrillers as much as men, and while I am sure many women will disagree with me, we dont all need something for the ladies to keep us watching. Instead, Barbara Broccoli and her fellow producers should consider Lauries craggy world-weariness for the next Bond. Even in the final scenes of the BBC1 series, when his arms deal went up in smoke, Roper was as languid as if he were lying on a sunbed at his Majorcan lair. If only Her Majestys Government could get Roper to switch sides (after MI6 had un-switched from Ropers evil side in the first place, of course) and be reinvented as 007, just think of the baddies who could be defeated. Recommended Read more Why I left my job in mental health Yes, Hiddleston did a great job of portraying someone pretending to be someone else, which is what you need to be a good James Bond. But consider this: Hugh Laurie is such a great actor he made us forget he was Hugh Laurie, which, as anyone who remembers him as the Prince Regent in Blackadder knows, is a gargantuan task. Even when Roper turned to Jed in an earlier episode and told her to cheer up, were on our olidays, as though he had temporarily been inhabited by Nancy from Oliver Twist, this was a terrifying, rather than comic, moment. In an interview earlier this year to publicise The Night Manager, Laurie said that after reading Le Carres original novel in 1993 he had impudently imagined himself portraying Pine the spy, not Roper the arms dealer. May I now impudently imagine Laurie as Bond? 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 }} If energy, enthusiasm and aphorism could make the world better, then Rutger Bregman's book would do it. Even in translation from the Dutch, the writing is powerful and fluent, although ultimately unconvincing. The basic income idea, which Bregman rightly says has been around since Thomas More's Utopia in 1516, has recently become fashionable. The policy of an unconditional payment to all citizens, whether they work or not, to replace all state benefits was espoused by the Greens before the last election, but even they downgraded it to a long-term aspiration when they saw what trouble Natalie Bennett got into trying to explain the party's relatively mainstream policy of building more social housing. Last year a stray sentence in a Finnish local government brainstorming document prompted a flurry of reports in the British press. Declan Gaffney patiently explained to Guardian readers why the idea is flawed. My colleague Hannah Fearn wrote favourably about it for Independent Voices when Ontario province in Canada said it would try it. Being unusually open-minded, she also commissioned Emran Mian, director of the Social Market Foundation, to explain why it wouldn't work. Bregman claims his book prompted several local authorities in the Netherlands to experiment, or to plan to experiment, with basic income policies, so I was interested to see how he dealt with the objections raised by Gaffney and Mian. To recap, a basic, or citizens, income seems like a good idea because it is so simple; it abolishes means-testing; it provides an incentive to work because every pound earned increases income (subject to tax); and, if set high enough, it would abolish poverty. The first problem with it is that it would be expensive. This is not an objection in principle, but it would require steep rates of tax on earned income to pay for it, which in turn requires people to vote for higher taxes. The fundamental problem, though, is that people's needs are different. If the basic income were set at a level that would allow people to afford London rents, it would be even more expensive and probably needlessly generous to people outside London. The same goes for people with disabilities that require expensive care. The basic income would, therefore, have to be set at different levels for people with different disabilities and possibly for different parts of the country. It would cease to be a universal flat-rate payment, and it would require a bureaucracy to administer it. In other words, it would be a bit like the existing systems of welfare in most countries, only a bit simpler and a lot more expensive. Ask Iain Duncan Smith how easy it is to bring in grand simplifications of social-security systems. Unfortunately, Bregman doesn't deal with these objections. He is mainly concerned to explain why, every time something like the basic income has been tried, the information about its success has been suppressed. Apparently it was tried in Winnipeg in Canada in 1973 but the experiment was stopped after a change of national government which "saw little point to the expensive experiment" and wouldn't provide funds to analyse the data. They have since been analysed, but Bregman doesn't tell us much about the conclusions, apart from quoting one couple who liked receiving free money. Bergman's other ideas are similar in their simplicity and grandiosity. He claims that abolishing all controls on immigration would double the world economy (which is just as well because one of the questions about a basic income in the UK is how it would operate with free movement of EU workers). And he advocates a 15-hour working week, another staple of utopians through the ages. Apart from tweaking incentives in the tax system to make it cheaper for a company to hire an additional employee than to extend the hours of existing employees, however, he offers little to achieve this leisure-rich paradise. Bregman almost redeems himself in his last chapter. He recounts the story of an American sect who believed that the world was going to end in 1954. When it didn't, some were disillusioned, but others simply redefined the prophecy and became more rigid in their beliefs than before. I thought he was citing this as a warning against "recalibrating reality" when it conflicts with one's world view. Instead, it leads him to a discussion about how unpopular the views of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman once were, and how their "neoliberalism" now rules the world. The lesson being that, if you stick with your ideas and they are right, you will eventually prevail. The book is a boisterously good read, dotted with quotations, most of them from John Maynard Keynes, which is no bad thing. But it should have concluded with this, from HL Mencken in 1917: "Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem neat, plausible, and wrong." 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 }} Two weeks ago I spoke to John. John was a paranoid schizophrenic who had missed his medication and was experiencing a psychotic episode. John believed staff in the hotel across the road from his flat were working for the police and refusing him access to his brother. I asked John if he was feeling violent towards anyone and he said he sometimes felt like stabbing the staff members across the road. Due to his unstable condition I stayed on the line until the police arrived, (they get called if there is a potential risk to our crew members) and an ambulance arrived shortly after. Calls like that from John are becoming increasingly more frequent and, unlike calls from weekend drunks, they can happen any day, at any time. Between 2012 and 2015 the London Ambulance Service reported a 15 per cent increase in calls involving Mental Health. Similarly, the Care Quality Commission (2015) reported an increase in the number of people detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act from the previous year. This section refers to people who have been taken to a place of safety after experiencing a mental health crisis in a public place. Recommended Read more Why I left my job in mental health Social care group Community Care reported that from 2010-2015, NHS Mental Health trusts have seen a decrease in funding of 8.25 per cent in real terms across the board and a 5 per cent income drop for in-community mental health crisis teams. This is despite the fact that those teams saw a 20 per cent increase in referrals during the same period. Some teams report caseloads double the recommended limits while staffing levels have been reported as 70 per cent lower than what managers believe is needed to meet national expectations. The Ambulance Service, attempting to deal with the increase in Mental Health calls, ran a pilot scheme in 2015 which saw Mental Health Nurses attached to control rooms respond to 1,804 calls in a three-month period. The aim is to expand this pilot by employing more mental health nurses who communicate with in-community mental health teams. Initiatives like this should be encouraged but should operate in conjunction with invaluable in-community support, rather than as a replacement. Recommended Read more Why we really respond differently to Lahore and Ankara versus Brussels Last week I spent over an hour on the phone talking to Tracy. She had taken an overdose of anti-psychotic medicine and had decided to call the ambulance service as shed realised she didnt want to die. She was alone in her apartment and told me she had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and was struggling to deal with her illness. As with John, I stayed on the line until help arrived. Tracy wasnt as talkative as John and it soon devolved into long silences punctuated by me asking if she was still there. Did you try calling your crisis team tonight Tracy? I asked tentatively. Yeah, but I can never bloody get a hold of them, she responded. All health and social services are interwoven, and cuts cannot be made to one, without a knock on effect on another. The more funding is cut for in-community support, the more people are slipping through the gap. Just as if someone is drunk and has fallen over, if someone has taken an overdose, feels suicidal or simply needs some help, we will get an ambulance to them and in many cases stay on the line until that help arrives. But wouldnt it be better if the resources were there, in the community to help that person before it even has to come to that? The views expressed in this article are my own and not representative of the London Ambulance Service. Names have been changed to protect those involved. 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 }} As that date with EU destiny approaches, have you ever been prouder to be British? In less mature European democracies facing so momentous a choice, the rival camps would descend into fractious squabbling. Yet here more unites the sides than divides them, however strongly they might disagree about the correct referendum answer. And what unites them most is shared contempt for scaremongering. The stoking of outlandish fears is exactly the sort of nonsense we can safely leave to funny foreigners. Time, space and life are too short to list even a small sample of the denunciations of EU scaremongering from recent weeks. But a brief glance at this weeks newspapers front pages confirms that each side continues stoically to resist temptation. Only news of Vernon Kayes long-overdue return to the arena of ribald texting keeps EU Lets Killers Into UK from being the splash in The Sun. But that headlines kissing cousin Deadly Cost of Our Open Borders takes the prize in the Daily Mail. That journal of record reports a dossier (never an item associated with the adjective dodgy before) revealing that a monumentally minuscule proportion of EU citizens to enter the UK have serious criminal convictions in their homelands. Recommended Read more The real reason Labour and the Tories are both in turmoil While failing to mention that sending our villains to Spain has been a crucial British export for decades (where would the balance of trade figures have been without that?), the Mail trots out the line that leaving the EU might facilitate more stringent border checks on EU nationals. Showing the same raw distaste for fanciful scaremongering, but in the cause of staying, are a pair of Cabinet titans. Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, warns parents and grandparents that leaving would destroy their descendants lives. It's clear that if Britain leaves Europe, it will be young people who suffer the most, left in limbo while we struggle to find an alternative model, she definitively states. If parents and grandparents vote to leave, they'll be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildren's future. Another laureate of classical English understatement is the Health Secretary. Why the Stay gang would permit Jeremy Hunt, with his reputation, to argue the case is beyond me. If Hunt offhandedly declared that drinking petrol is seriously hazardous to health, the reflex would to be drive to the nearest Texaco, stick a nozzle in the mouth, and wait impatiently for the person in the booth to activate the pump. Somehow his betters have sanctioned the klutz to speak, and he indulged this curious licence to warn that leaving would be a catastrophe for the NHS. It risks removing up to 100,000 key workers from EU countries from the health service, he insists. It would also apparently precipitate a funding crisis, though why he wouldnt welcome outside help in finishing the job he started there is unclear. Professional pride, I guess. Nigel Farage worries that remaining will flood the country with sex pests, and the PM frets that leaving will make us more vulnerable to Isis. The Daily Express, while condemning such hysteria, warns that the EU means to seize control of our coasts (doubtless with an eye to dousing the White Cliffs of Dover with a gigantic Sarsons bottle and watching them dribble into the sea. And how do you think Vera Lynn would feel about that?). On and on and on it goes, this wretched, witless race to the paranoid bottom, though leaked documents from both sides establish that we havent begun to plumb the depths. On Friday, speaking for Brexit, Michael Gove will warn of secret Brussels plans to mandate the recipe for orange marmalade as three parts farmyard slurry, one part weapons grade plutonium. Recommended Read more How the Prevent strategy affected my school In a hard-hitting Sunday Times riposte, meanwhile, George Osborne will warn that within weeks of voting to leave, a vast army of talking apes will emerge from its New Forest hiding place, marching on London wielding shoulder-held missile launchers in a bid to oust the Queen and replace her on the throne with an 11-year-old orangutan called Suki. Next up, one of Farages pinheads will warn that a vote to stay is a vote for all English-grown asparagus to be coated with mercury, in accord with new Intestinal Barometer legislation being drafted by deranged Eurocrats as we speak. The CBI will counter that, if we do vote to leave, we wont be allowed to have a currency ever again, the only items legally acceptable as barter being Bendix Bittermints and Dr Scholl shoes. As for the rest of us, the ones caught in the crossfire who will trudge to the polls on June 23rd and sullenly vote to stay in as the lesser of two evils, all we can do is stick a finger in each ear and hum la-la-la-la-la-la until it passes. If there is cause to be afraid, it is about living in a country so inviolably stupid and so unfathomably shallow that an incalculably important debate about its future is framed in the style of kindergarten playground squabbles. 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 }} Like many schools, mine recently trained its staff on implementing the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy. As he left that house to go to school that day, one of my colleagues, non-coincidentally a Muslim, was stopped by his wife as he finished his toast. Dont you dare say a word today. Can you blame her? For that matter can you blame him, for keeping silent? I can imagine whats going through their heads: if I speak up now, next thing I know my bags are halfway to Florida and Im stuck at the UK Border. The brand of Prevent is a byword for spying in many sections of society. Thats how its seen, and thats how it always will be. Children are told at home by fearful parents to keep silent on controversial issues of all kinds. Self-censorship is rampant. Reassurance is little use. Recommended Read more Why I left my job in mental health The police officer who delivered our training tried to assure us that nobody was going to be added to a register, and Im sure he said it in good faith, the damage of the policy itself has been done. In part this is because of the policys toxic reputation. As a strategy it involves reporting children for suspected extremist views. The language of pre-criminal space is used to describe this. 80 per cent of these referrals are rejected, and 90 per cent are of Muslims. Each of these groundless referrals, if handled badly, sends a message: speak unwisely, naively or too honestly, and if you look a certain way, you will be reported to the authorities. Handling this matter in private is like delivering sex education in private, in a back room, because a child draws obscene graffiti on their book. On the day of our training, the only people who questioned or raised concerns about the strategy we were being trained to implement were white. Some in the profession have claimed that they have no problem raising these issues with their classes. Respectfully, I call this unexamined privilege. This week in Brighton my union, the NUT, unanimously decided to implore the government to reconsider its Prevent strategy. When we did this, we did it in the knowledge that our views would be misinterpreted and misrepresented. This began immediately. In the un-moderated wilds of social media, people accused us of being terrorist sympathisers and protecting extremists. Recommended Read more Why I dropped out of teaching after six months Many also wondered why, when faced with other threats such as he forced academies policy, we decided to pick another fight. The answer is because they are the same fight. An alternative to Prevent, like an alternative to forced academisation, is needed to protect education and our children. The reason is simple: evidence is emerging that Prevent, as many of us have feared for some time, plays directly into the hands of those who would prey on our young people. Terrorists rely on feelings of alienation and isolation from our society. It is their most potent recruiting tool. If they can convince the young people we educate that they are outsiders, their work becomes easy. Why help them? David Anderson QC, the UK terror watchdog, has raised serious concerns about the strategy that we share. He has called it perverse that Prevent has become itself a huge source of grievance in many quarters. An immediate review of the policy would be an easy way for the government to demonstrate that it is interested in addressing these grievances. They must not let pride prevent such a review. Rob Price is a teacher in a central London school President Michael D Higgins said the aspirations of socialists in the Rising can inspire the rebuilding of Ireland's society and economy Soldiers march at a state ceremony to honour the Irish Citizen Army and James Connolly at Liberty Hall in Dublin (Maxwell Photography/PA) President Michael D Higgins has said the dream of some of the 1916 rebels has not been achieved. At a state ceremony to honour James Connolly and the Irish Citizen Army, the President said the aspirations of socialists in the Rising can inspire the rebuilding of Ireland's society and economy. "The women and men of the Irish Citizen Army were committed to achieving much more than just a national political independence: the Republic of which they dreamt - the Republic which is yet to be realised - was one that would enable a more equal redistribution of the fruits of prosperity among all of its children," Mr Higgins said. The President made his remarks at the special commemoration at Liberty Hall in Dublin, headquarters of the Irish Citizen Army, a socialist militia set up by Connolly in the wake of the 1913 Lockout, and where the Proclamation was printed. A wreath was laid at the rebel leader's statue on Beresford Place before a minute's silence was held, a piper's lament and the Last Post were played, the Tricolour was hoisted and Reveille and Amhran na bhFiann rang out. The Irish Citizen Army flag was also flown outside Liberty Hall for the ceremony. The original flag, a green weave with a yellow harp which was raised at the site on Palm Sunday, April 16 1916, was also on display after being returned to the trade union headquarters by the Inniskillings Museum in Enniskillen. A commemorative plaque in honour of Connolly was also unveiled. President Higgins said one of the Irish Citizen Army's most remarkable legacies was the place it carved out for women - among its ranks and in its vision for Ireland. Liberty Hall was shelled by the British gunship the Helga on the third day of the Rising and reduced to a ruin, even though it lay empty for the rebellion. President Higgins said its destruction was a metaphor intended as " a symbol of the ruination of the hopes that had galvanised the combatants of the Citizen Army". "Those hopes did not die. We are all here today," he said. It is one of the last official events of the 1916 centenary commemorations and President Higgins used it to reflect on a revolution which he regards as incomplete. "Land and private property, a restrictive religiosity and a repressive pursuit of respectability, affecting in particular women, became the defining social and cultural ideals of the newly independent Ireland, at the expense of any fundamental social transformation of an egalitarian kind," he said. "The republic for which they hoped remains unfulfilled, yet those same aspirations for true equality, for real independence, can still sustain us today in the task of rebuilding our society and our economy." In Irish the President urged people to take up the original cause of Connolly's Irish Citizen Army. "Their vision of a people free from want, free from impoverishment and free from exploitation remains a wellspring of inspiration for us as we seek to respond to the situation of too many workers who, in Ireland today, earn a wage that guarantees neither a life free from poverty, nor access to decent housing, adequate childcare and health services," Mr Higgins said. The President, a former Labour Party veteran, said he was especially pleased to attend the ceremony in Liberty Hall. He said the emancipatory aspirations and egalitarian dimensions of the Irish Citizen Army still appeal and call to people 100 years on. President Higgins said the militia's distinction lay in its ideals and its members' backgrounds, coming mainly from the 5,000 tenements in inner city Dublin which housed 87,000 people, trade unionism, socialism and cultural nationalism. Later, the President was meeting relatives of Peadar Kearney, who penned the lyrics to Amhran na bhFiann, and will present his mobilisation order and original manuscript of verse. At least 14 vehicles have been involved in a major pile-up on one of the country's busiest road junctions. The series of collisions occurred near the Dunkettle interchange just outside Cork shortly before 3pm. Gardai said the accidents happened on the N25 as vehicles travelled from the Midleton direction, about 600m on the city side of the roundabout. Emergency services were at the scene and the road closed but no serious injuries have been reported. "The road is currently closed and diversions are in place. Motorist are asked to use alternative routes," the Garda press office said. Traffic corps officers also appealed for witnesses to the collision to contact Anglesea Street Garda station in Cork or any other station or hotline. Elsewhere, a 69-year-old man has died after the car he was driving hit a ditch at Castlegal in Cliffoney, Co Sligo at about 3pm on Monday. Weight limits have removed any major benefits from the controversial beef grid, with the suckler herd the real losers, a farm body has warned. Co-op body ICOS agreed to seek a meeting with the Agriculture Department and Minister on a number of issues surrounding the quality payment system (QPS) after a meeting between the farm bodies. "Weight limits have taken away any benefits that should have arisen out of the grid and the suckler herd is the clear loser," said the ICSA beef chairman Edmond Phelan. "The U grade is coming out of the suckler herd and in theory they should be benefiting. Therefore the whole payment structure is broken. They are being penalised at the top end and hammered at the low end." It follows a discussion between ICOS, the ICSA, ICMSA, IFA and Macra on the grid. ICOS claimed the 70-day pre-slaughter movement restrictions were "anti-trade", as it pointed out the Bord Bia beef and lamb quality assurance scheme allows for multiple movement between quality assured farms. It pointed out many of the UK retailers, such as Tesco and M&S, do not have a 70-day rule and questioned the reasons Irish meat factories were describing it as a customer requirement. "The quality payment system is now seven years old and it's time to review it," said ICOS marts committee chair Michael Spellman. "In grading cattle, there is no doubt that the yield and quality of meat from a U grade suckler bred animal is far better than a P grade carcase from the dairy herd. It's only right that quality suckler production is rewarded for investment in breeding and feeding." Mr Spellman said many Irish factories have developed large feedlots which can throughput thousands of animals and "dampen market prices". He highlighted US legislation to outlaw processors owning feedlots and urged the EU to follow this example. The ICMSA's livestock chair Michael Guinan said farmers feel the QPS has become "one-sided" and it has outlived its "usefulness". Losses An analysis from the IFA shows Irish farmers would lose 10.6m a year - or an average of 79 per head - if the limits on heavier carcases weighing in at more than 420kg was in play across the board. The IFA's livestock chairman Henry Burns said carcase weight and age are the major specification factors impacting on price returns to farmers and knocking them out of receiving in-spec bonuses under the Quality Payment System (QPS). Meat Industry Ireland (MII) said the QPS was "critically important" in terms of rewarding quality and market suitability. It stated it was not opposed to a review but questioned what groups calling for one hoped to achieve. All of the farm bodies agreed key issues included carcase weight limit penalties, the 30-month age limit, residencies and the 70-day retention, a lack of Department of Agriculture monitoring on carcase trim and classification and a bonus for all livestock sold from Bord Bia quality assured farms. Movement restrictions being imposed on Irish-born calves by Holland "seriously threatening the future of the trade", according to one of the leading Irish live exporters. Wicklow Cattle Company boss, Seamus Scallan has called for immediate Government intervention to prevent the "collapse" of the live export trade for calves. He demanded a level playing field within EU for Irish exporters. "A lot of farmers are not aware of what is happening. I'm frightened that there is worse coming that will totally destroy the trade," he stressed. Mr Scallan said that Irish exporters comply with the highest animal welfare regulations in the EU and the Agriculture Department have a good code of practice but "the Dutch are now operating their own rules" which will wreck the Irish trade. "Under EU rules the calves are entitled to go to a resting point, stop for 12 hours, and legally drive for a further nine hours. The Dutch authorities are now insisting on a second stop - which is not an EU legal requirement - I can travel to Spain and don't have to stop - why is that? "There is a different interpretation of the EU rules in Holland. If we are found in breach (of the Dutch imposed rules) there are heavy penalties - we cannot afford to pay on tight margins," he said. Mr Scallan said they can only go to one "address in Holland" with a load as the Dutch have raised concerns about the TB status of the Irish calves and won't allow the truck to deliver to two addresses as previously was routine practice. "The 'starter' market was a good trade for Irish calves. The calves were reared for up to 12 weeks in Holland and moved on to Spain. The Irish calves are now not allowed to leave the farms in Holland unless they are going to slaughter while calves coming from other countries can move on. "Irish calves are being traded as second class because of TB status," he said adding it was "frightening the buyers". Mr Scallan said exporters have highlighted the problem but nothing is being done about it. The department figures show live cattle exports up to March 12 stood at 30,881, including 19,431 calves, up 5,776 or 23pc on the same period last year. It puts live cattle exports to Holland at 7,478 this year, up from 4,906 last year. Another Irish exporter, who asked not to be identified, claimed exports had fallen "to about half of 2015" and he was targeting Spain more often due to the transport regulations. John Humphreys from Cork Marts, large exporters of Irish calves, said that weather difficulties caused the cancellation of at least one shipping per week through February and March while the requirement for an additional stop has added 4-5/head to the export costs. The opening of the Turkish market for live exports has also received a guarded welcome from farmers and exporters. Cadillac, a favourite among America's older 'supper club set', is revving up sales to younger luxury buyers in China through smoother designs and localised production to keep prices accessible. The General Motors brand is softening some hard edges on its angular cars to appeal to Chinese buyers used to the smoother lines of luxury cars made by BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz that dominate high-end sales in the world's biggest car market. After a slow start in China, Cadillac is poised to overtake Japan's Lexus among the leading second-tier luxury brands, according to consultancy LMC Automotive. The opening in January of its first dedicated factory in China should also help Cadillac make its cars more accessible to younger luxury buyers by avoiding a 25pc import tax. Cadillac says the average age of a buyer of its cars in China is 34, little more than half the average age in the US. "In China, young buyers already dominate the luxury market. Since Cadillac is a relative newcomer it was far easier to begin to cultivate the desired positioning for the brand from the get-go," Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen told Reuters. Cadillac's China sales rose 17pc last year to nearly 80,000 cars, or a 4.1pc share of the luxury market, on the back of its ATS-L compact sedan and XTS large sedan. This year, de Nysschen has set a 25pc growth target, to above 100,000 Cadillacs in China. The former BMW and Infiniti executive predicts China could overtake the United States as Cadillac's biggest market in five to ten years. Cadillac sold around 175,000 cars in the US last year. While shopping for a car in Beijing, 26-year-old entrepreneur Ge Di said he preferred Cadillac over the more established German luxury brands. "Mercedes, BMW, even Audi, skew more towards businessmen. The comfort level is a bit higher, but as a young person I care more about performance and design," he said. China's luxury car market - seen rising 15pc this year even as slower economic growth saps overall demand - is breathing new life into brands seen as ageing or unfashionable in the United States. Ford, for example, considered closing down its Lincoln brand, which with Cadillac dominated US luxury sales until the 1990s, but China has revived its fortunes. Buick, which GM had thought about discontinuing, saw record China sales last month. Among the relative newcomers to China's premium market, Cadillac is vying with Lincoln, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan's Infiniti and Honda's Acura to unsettle the dominant German brands. De Nysschen - whose efforts to revitalise Cadillac include moving its headquarters from Detroit to New York's trendy SoHo area - says the brand will produce a single model design for its cars rather than making different versions for the Chinese and US markets. ( Reuters) Plastics and environmental firm One51 increased its revenue by 32.4pc last year up to 366m with earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing by 67.1pc. One51 is also seeking to list its shares with an Initial Public Offering (IFO) a likely route. Its shares are currently traded on a grey market but there is limited liquidity. The company posted EBITDA of 36.1m while its adjusted earnings per share increased by 30.5pc to 6.98c. While One51's gross profits increased year on year, its larger operating costs caused its profit before tax to fall to 21.1m. One51 chief executive Alan Walsh said 2015 was a year of "significant growth" for the firm. "Moving to our next phase of growth requires that we enhance liquidity in the companys shares and maintain an appropriate capital structure while having access to alternative forms of capital. "In recent months progress has been made to facilitate a listing and to raise additional equity capital. Subject to shareholder approval, any decision to proceed with a listing and capital raising by way of any share placing will be made based on market conditions and the companys interests and performance at that time," Mr Walsh said. In the company's annual results published this morning, it praised the "transformative" acquisition of American firm IPL. One51 said IPL has provided the company with a strong presence and platform for growth in the North American market. 2015 also saw the first full-year impact of Straight, which it acquired in 2014. The company said it has carried its strong momentum from the end of 2015 into this year and that it remains confident about its ability to grow profitability. She wants to be a chef when she grows up but for eight-year-old Lexi Schoene, its all about coding for the time being. The second class student from Monkstown, Co Dublin, designed her own blog and website using HTML and coding skills she learned at her local CoderDojo club in Dun Laoghaire. She now uses the website to blog about her daily life, which surprisingly, includes switching off from technology. Even though shes mad about computers and coding, her latest post is about attending a workshop for kids this summer about switching off their iphones and laptops and doing things that kids love doing, like hanging out with my family, even my annoying little sister. She was a winner of CoderDojo's 'Coolest projects' with her site lexililybelle.com. She entered the blog/website category at this year's awards ceremony. I used the HTML and coding skills I learned at CoderDojo Dun Laoghaire to design my website using Wordpress, said Lexi, who blogs on her life and interests across a range of platforms. Joining Lexi at the launch were 11-year-old Dhruv Bhamidipati from Francis Street CBS, who created his website Dino-Know-It-All to educate people about dinosaurs, using HTML and CSS coding learned at The Docklands Dojo. Also there was Harvey Brezina Conniffe (14) from The Warehouse Dojo in Dublin who has created an online editor that helps kids design their own website. This years awards will be held at the RDS on Saturday, June 18 and are expected to attract more than 10,000 spectators to witness demonstrations of the apps, websites, animation, games and robots among this years submissions. Award-winning actress Patty Duke poses for photographers following an unveiling ceremony honoring her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame REUTERS/Jim Ruymen/Files Oscar-winning American actress Patty Duke, widely known for the 1960s show "The Patty Duke Show" has died. Her manager, Mitchell Stubbs, confirmed that she died early Tuesday morning. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a mental health advocate and a cultural icon. She will be greatly missed, Stubbs said. Born Anna Marie Duke in December, 1946 in New York, Patty began acting in TV commercials, but her career took off after she was cast as blind and deaf Helen Keller in the Broadway version of The Miracle Worker in the late 1950s. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Award-winning actress Patty Duke speaks following an unveiling ceremony honoring her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in Los Angeles, California REUTERS/Jim Ruymen/Files Academy and Emmy award-winning actress, Patty Duke appears during a news conference (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Patty Duke, named best supporting actress of the year for her role in "The Miracle Worker," poses with her award after the Academy Award ceremony in Santa Monica (AP Photo, File) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Award-winning actress Patty Duke speaks following an unveiling ceremony honoring her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in Los Angeles, California REUTERS/Jim Ruymen/Files Patty took the role to the big screen in 1962, and won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her portrayal. At 16, she became the youngest person ever to win an Oscar. Duke also starred in her own sitcom, The Patty Duke Show, in the early-to-mid 1960s and then made history in 1965 as the star of Billie, the first movie ever sold to a television network. Her other film credits include Valley of the Dolls, Me, Natalie, and A Family Upside Down, while she won Emmy Awards for the mini-series Captains and the Kings and the 1979 TV movie version of The Miracle Worker, in which she played Annie Sullivan. Patty became President of the Screen Actors Guild in the early 1980s. She opened up about her battle with manic depression in her 1987 autobiography Call Me Anna, which was turned into a TV movie in 1990. Patty played herself from her 30s onward. She wrote a second memoir, A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic Depression Illness, in 1992. Away from showbusiness, she was a political advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment, AIDS and nuclear disarmament. Patty recently alluded to her illness in a tweet to fans on 1 March, writing, "Hi tweethearts and FB (Facebook) friends. I have been absent, but not far, believe me. I love and miss you all. Hopefully back more soon and often." Video of the Day She returned to social media on 15 March to mark her 30th wedding anniversary, writing, "30 years ago today, Mike and I married. We (are) having a very happy and quiet day. Love and hugs to all." Michael Pearce was the actress' fourth husband. She was also married to actor John Astin. She leaves behind three kids: her adopted son Kevin Pearce, Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin, and actor Mackenzie Astin. Flowers will be placed on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday afternoon. The German ambassador to Turkey has been summoned to its foreign ministry over the broadcast by German television of a song that makes fun of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey condemned the satirical video to Ambassador Martin Erdmann during a meeting last week and demanded that the public broadcaster that aired it on March 17 cease showing it, according to a ministry official. The German-language song, which can still be seen on broadcaster ARD's website and on social media, alludes among other things to the imprisonment of opposition journalists, authorities' heavy-handed response to protesters and allegations that Turkey prefers to take action against Kurdish rebels rather than the Islamic State group. It features a clip of Mr Erdogan falling off a horse. Its lyrics include the line: "A journalist who writes something that doesn't suit Erdogan will be in the slammer tomorrow." The German Federation of Journalists' chairman, Frank Ueberall, said that Mr Erdogan "apparently has lost his grip". He added in a statement that the president's indignation is "laughable" but said people should not overlook the fact that "the persecution of critical journalists is bitter reality in Turkey". Mr Erdogan is known to be highly intolerant of criticism. More than 1,800 cases have been opened against people accused of insulting him since he came to office in 2014, under a previously seldom-used law that bars insults to the president. Those who have gone on trial include celebrities, journalists and even schoolchildren. The Turkish official also said that Turkey is summoning a number of foreign envoys to the ministry to formally protest a group of diplomats who last week attended the trial of two opposition journalists. Mr Erdogan severely criticised the diplomats - including one who posted selfies from the courthouse - accusing them of violating their boundaries and siding with those he said wanted to carry out a "coup" against the government. The broadcaster that made the video noted that political satire is allowed in Germany. "That the Turkish government apparently has taken diplomatic action ... is not compatible with our understanding of freedom of the press and opinion," Andreas Cichowicz, the chief editor of NDR television, the ARD regional broadcaster that produced the song, told German news agency dpa. He said NDR has not yet received any complaint. Garda Mark Massey, who is stationed at Knock Airport, pictured with sisters Roisin O'Rahilly and Iseult Broglio after the wreathlaying ceremony on Dublin's Moore Street. Garda Massey's great grandfather Edward Dunphy was a Dublin metropolitan policeman in the GPO during the Rising and was let go by Michael O'Rahilly (Iseult and Roisin's father) after the rebels had taken over the GPO Photo: Frank Mc Grath At each site - hard won and even harder relinquished, the bloodstains only faded by the passing of a century - a wreath was solemnly laid. The synchronisation was done along the same military lines as the operations of 1916. The GPO - centrepiece of the rebellion, where Pearse read the Proclamation of the Republic on the steps. Moore Street - at the butcher's shop, where the wounded James Connolly was taken, badly injured, lying with three other wounded Volunteers and a British soldier. The Four Courts - where commandant Ned Daly held the garrison, despite only having 150 of the 400 Irish Volunteers that he had expected to show up. His eyes had filled with tears when Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell delivered Pearse's surrender note. Dublin Castle - where the Irish Citizen Army, under Captain Sean Connolly, shot dead a policeman but failed to take the fortress, retreating instead to nearby City Hall, where they were besieged by over 200 soldiers. The Royal College of Surgeons - where Commandant Michael Mallin and Countess Markievicz garrisoned the Irish Citizen Army after realising that St Stephen's Green was too vulnerable. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Singer Jack L is pictured performing RTE's 'Centenary' at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. The show itself was the culmination of the national broadcaster's programme of events marking the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising Photo: Frank Mc Grath RTE presenters Anne Cassin and Mary Kennedy at the RTE 'Reflecting The Rising' event Photo: Tony Gavin Shannon Whelan, Gary Farrelly, Jessica Fay and Sean O'Connell from the National Performing Arts School in Merrion Square Photo: Tony Gavin Paul Callery, Ken Armstrong, Pauline McCaul, Ronnie Daly, Brendan Hickey, James Langton and Paul Fleming, who took part in the RTE 'Reflecting the Rising' event, in Smithfield, Dublin Photo: Maxwells Dublin Garda Mark Massey, who is stationed at Knock Airport, pictured with sisters Roisin O'Rahilly and Iseult Broglio after the wreathlaying ceremony on Dublin's Moore Street. Garda Massey's great grandfather Edward Dunphy was a Dublin metropolitan policeman in the GPO during the Rising and was let go by Michael O'Rahilly (Iseult and Roisin's father) after the rebels had taken over the GPO Photo: Frank Mc Grath Edel Quinn (grand daughter of Mary Ann Rooney, Cumann na mBan) and Brian Cleary (grandson of Irish Volunteers VP Tomas B Cleary) who unveiled a plaque in Athenry Photo: Andrew Downes Claire O'Keeffe of the Defence Forces Band at the National Monument on Grand Parade, Cork City Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan TD lays a wreath at the Athenry ceremony Photo: Andrew Downes Patrick Pearse's great grand nephew Fearghas Mac Lochlainn reads the Proclamation at Pearse's Cottage in Rosmuc, Connemara Photo: Andrew Downes Aine Leahy from Ovens at the Cork celebrations. Photo: Darragh Kane Tanaiste Joan Burton lays a wreath at the monument in Ashbourne, Co Meath Photo: Gerry Mooney RTE Radio Presenter Joe Duffy performs an outside broadcast on OConnell Street, as part of the RTE Reflecting the Rising (in partnership with Ireland 2016) celebrations on Easter Monday / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Singer Jack L is pictured performing RTE's 'Centenary' at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. The show itself was the culmination of the national broadcaster's programme of events marking the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising Photo: Frank Mc Grath Boland's Mills - now an invisible ghost in the swanky 'Silicon Docks', but where de Valera's men were shelled by the British battleship Helga. Jacob's Biscuit Factory - now the National Archives and the DIT on Aungier Street, where Peadar Kearney, composer of the National Anthem, served under Thomas MacDonagh And the South Dublin Union workhouse - now St James's Hospital, where Nurse Margaretta Keogh was accidentally shot dead and Eamon Ceannt held command alongside WT Cosgrave, later Taoiseach of the new Free State. At 1.15pm yesterday, each key location seemed to shudder with the memory of those desperate days, not so very long ago, when Irish men and women had fought furiously for the freedom of a nation, realising, sooner or later, that the venture was doomed. Everyone was conscious that this was the 'real' centenary and the note of solemn reflection struck on Easter Sunday only intensified. Each ceremony saw the same programme unfold, with a piper from the Defence Forces School of Music, followed by a National Colour Party marching into position. At the Four Courts, Mrs Justice Susan Denham spoke passionately about the role women had played and recalled the humanity displayed by the Irish Volunteers when a water mains burst and threatened to drown all in the cells of the Bridewell. At Moore Street, the mood was tense when Minister Heather Humphreys was drowned out by protesters calling for her resignation because of her stance on the preservation of the key buildings. A republican protest down Henry Street continued past the place where the wreath-laying was to happen. The protesters lingered, but then moved on. But when the minister began to speak, a small group of protesters dressed in period costume who were behind a black screen blocking off the area, rose up in unison. "Shame on you," they chanted, shouting: "Out, out, out." The minister was clearly uneasy, but continued. "Your ancestors were part of a movement that changed the fault lines of history," she told the 1916 relatives in attendance. She told them that number 16 Moore Street was "an iconic location in our history, the scene of the last meeting of the Military Council of the newly proclaimed Irish Republic". Afterwards, Brendan Plunkett, whose father John had lived at the butcher's shop at number 16, said the protest had been ill-timed and in poor taste, but acknowledged: "This is an historical war zone. The preservation of Moore Street is of paramount importance." Maria White Fitzpatrick was also present; she is a great- grandniece of Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell, whom she described as a private woman until her death in 1957. She recalled her mother speaking of 'Aunt Lizzie' as a woman to be reckoned with. "It was her way or no way," she said with a chuckle. Around the corner at Henry Place, Australian Eamon McNamara (23), who is studying the Good Friday Agreement for a Masters, was immersed in his surroundings. Deeply enjoying the centenary events, he commented that Australia Day was "much more tense" because of the controversy over the treatment of the indigenous people. "It's brilliant to be here for this," he said. The ceremonies concluded, then it was time for a change of mood. The city shook off all sombre memories, and the party started. The very best kind of party. On O'Connell Street, an impromptu singsong of 'The Foggy Dew' ended with rapturous applause. RTE's 'Reflecting the Rising' programme was a showcase of awesome proportions, with re-enactments, talks and events galore and every corner of the city heaved with a sea of people thoroughly enjoying themselves. A group of neighbours from Ballybough were resplendent in period dress. A 'Volunteer' man in full military regalia was licking an ice-cream on Wicklow Street. It was the good stuff - guaranteed Irish and lovingly handmade. The men of 1916 would have been queuing up too. The city basked under unforecast sunshine - again the very best kind of sunshine. There were picnics on the grass in St Stephen's Green. At Dublin Castle, actor James McMahon - playing the policeman at the gates - had just been 'shot' for the 13th time at a highly absorbing re-enactment. "I've figured out that the best thing to do is to drop against the wall. It looks more realistic," he said, estimating that they had played before 1,000 people by the afternoon. Shane Dunne Colclough, great grandson of John Dunne, Eamon O Cuiv, grandson of Eamon de Valera and Acting Minister for Transport Pascal Donohoe at the 1916 Bolands Mill wreath-laying ceremony at Grand Canal Dock Photo: Tony Gavin Fianna Fail TD Eamon O Cuiv described laying a wreath at Boland's Mill in remembrance of his late grandfather, Eamon de Valera, as "one of the best honours" of his life. The Galway TD was joined by Shane Dunne Colclough, a descendant of 1916 sniper Jack Dunne, and acting Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe to remember those who battled the British at the historic building by Dublin's Grand Canal a century ago this Easter. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr O Cuiv said: "It was a huge honour, one of the best honours in my life, to have been asked to lay the wreath with Shane. "We're representatives, obviously, from a different generation - but (with) a common cause. My grandfather was the commandant here, but it was the whole group that made the stand of 1916." Mr O Cuiv continued: "The weekend has been so incredibly moving. I think it's a reminder to us all that people made huge sacrifices for what we enjoy today and maybe it's a challenge to us going forward to live up to that sacrifice." Hundreds of people braved the bitter March wind to pay tribute to the third battalion of the Irish Volunteers, led by former Taoiseach and President of Ireland de Valera - one of the few to claim any military success during the Rising. Across the capital, wreaths were simultaneously laid at six other rebel strongholds, including the Jacob's Factory and the Royal College of Surgeons, as the centenary commemorations continued. Acknowledging "the ideals they stood for," Mr Donohoe said: "This is a legacy that we must cherish and one which we should all renew through a deeper sense of idealism and civic purpose." After jetting all the way from Frankfurt with her mum and dad for the occasion, three-month-old Clara O'Shea stayed wide awake for the poignant commemorative proceedings. Dad David O'Shea - originally from Dublin but living in Frankfurt - joked: "We tried to time her sleeping and feeding patterns today so that she would sleep through, but it didn't go that way. "She wanted to get involved. We came over on the 15th for St Patrick's Day and we're going back next Tuesday." He explained: "I wanted her to be here for it. It was important to me and hopefully one day it will be important to her as well. "We've lots of photographs to prove that she was here." Volunteers engage in an exchange of gunfire with the RIC during an ambush during yesterday's recreation of the Battle of Ashbourne in 1916 Photo: Gerry Mooney President Michael D Higgins takes a moment to pay his respects during the Wreath laying ceremony for the 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising at the GPO on Dublin's O Connell St. Photo: Frank Mc Grath President Michael D Higgins believes that Britain needs to re-examine "imperial triumphalism" in the same way that Irish people have assessed republicanism over recent years. In a keynote speech, Mr Higgins said there had been much discussion of violence by Irish nationalists at the turn of the last century. But he noted the "supremacist and militarist imperialism" of Britain over the same time had not been reviewed with "the same fault-finding edge". "In the context of 1916, this imperial triumphalism can be traced, for example, in the language of the (British Army) recruitment campaigns of the time, which evoked mythology, masculinity and religion, and glorified the Irish blood as having 'reddened the earth of every continent'," he said. "But this is for another day." However, his comments jarred with another speech made by former Taoiseach John Burton in Dublin yesterday. He claimed that the commemorations had failed to challenge "myths" about Easter 1916. He said the armed rebellion must be subjected to "severe and honest reappraisal". "If we fail to do that, we are passing on to the next generation, through 'indoctrination by commemoration', a dangerous misunderstanding of history," he said. Mr Higgins made his remarks at a talk entitled 'Remembering 1916' at the Mansion House. The President said there "has been a great deal of critical reassessment of aspects of the Rising and, in particular, of the myths of redemptive violence that were at the heart, not just of Irish nationalism, but also of imperial nationalism". He added: "My view is that the latter has not, perhaps, been revisited with the same fault-finding edge as the former. "Indeed, while the long shadow cast by what has been called 'the Troubles' in Northern Ireland has led to a scrutiny of the Irish republican tradition of 'physical violence', a similar review of supremacist and militarist imperialism remains to be fully achieved." Mr Higgins described the leaders of the 1916 rebellion, most of whom were executed by Britain, as "advanced thinkers, selfless women and men, who took all the risks to ensure that the children of Ireland would, in the future, live in freedom and access their fair share of Ireland's prosperity". But he added that their vision was not realised in the founding years of the new Irish State. Mr Higgins said Irish people had a duty to retrieve the idealism at the heart of the Easter Rising. "Let us revive the best of the promise of 1916, so that those coming generations might experience freedom in the full sense of the term - freedom from poverty, freedom from violence and insecurity, and freedom from fear." However, speaking at an 'Reflecting the Rising' event at Iveagh House yesterday, Mr Bruton said the Proclamation was "a recipe for endless conflict" that offered "no room for compromise". He said that it was "on the strength" of its words "that people continue to be killed", including prison officer Adrian Ismay in recent weeks. "Those who declaim the Proclamation, as many have been doing at pageants in recent weeks, should think about what its words mean and about what they led to," he said. The former Fine Gael politician, who did not attend Sunday's commemoration ceremony outside the GPO, argued that the leaders of the Rising were "politically irresponsible and showed no understanding of Irish history". Mr Bruton said that if a 32-county Republic is ever a reality it will not be as a result of the methods used in 1916. "The focus on the 1916 Rebellion, and particularly on its uncompromisingly worded Proclamation, as representing the core values of our State, is a worry at a time when there is already such a level of disdain for politicians, and for the compromises that are a necessary part of democratic politics," he added. Arts and Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys criticised demonstrators who heckled her during a State wreath-laying ceremony to honour the rebels of the 1916 Rising. Protesters dressed in period costume tried to drown her out as she and two young children laid a wreath on Dublin's Moore Street to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising. Blowing whistles and shouting "Humphreys Out" and "Shame on you", members of the Save Moore Street protest group temporarily disrupted the synchronised wreath-laying ceremony. In her speech, she paid tribute to those who fought for Irish freedom, as well as the casualties of the insurrection, including 40 children who died after being caught up in the gunfire. Afterwards, the minister condemned the protest, saying: "I was very disappointed for the relatives who had gathered for the wreath-laying today in Moore Street in honour of those who fought and died for this country. "The ceremony today was designed to be solemn and respectful. I find it very disappointing that a small group of protesters would seek to disrupt it in such a disrespectful way." In attendance was Brendan Plunkett, whose father John was born above Plunkett Butchers at 16 Moore Street. Mr Plunkett's family - including his mother, who was seven months pregnant at Easter 1916 - had to evacuate the butcher's shop during the Rising. Maria White Fitzpatrick, a great grand-daughter of nurse Elizabeth Farrell, said the protest was not fitting on such a day. But members of Save Moore Street remained determined to carry on their protest as part of a campaign to protect a number of buildings on the street from demolition. The Save Moore Street group and the 1916 Relatives Group have been campaigning on the issue. They won a High Court injunction last week to halt demolition of some of the buildings, after Mr Justice Max Barrett declared the whole street a battlefield site. Niamh McDonald of Save Moore Street said: "Our goal was to make Heather Humphreys know that we are not happy with her on the street." Liam MacGabhann of Dublin Fire Brigade, with his mother, Hilda Madigan, whose father, Michael Madigan, was a captain in the Four Courts garrison in 1916 Photo: Maxwells Harrowing scenes from abroad that flash on our televisions every night are remarkably similar to what happened here 100 years ago, according to Chief Justice Susan Denham. "The Rising of 1916 was the first rebellion in Ireland in the 20th Century. It was also the first which was essentially urban warfare, fighting from house to house, causing mayhem where people lived, worked, studied and played. "This type of urban warfare we see now every night on television, coverage of wars elsewhere," she said, before laying a wreath at the Four Courts. The judge praised the rebels who manned barricades during the Easter Rising for their compassion and bravery. "What struck me in reminding myself of this historic event was the care shown by the Volunteers to those captured from the enemy force," she said. "Not only did the Volunteers treat them humanely here in the Four Courts, but the lives of many were saved by the Volunteers when a water mains burst and those in the cells of the Bridewell were about to drown." She spoke as a marching band walked past the Four Courts. Their drum beat sounded so similar to the gunshots that peppered the building in 1916 that many in the crowd turned to double-check that it was only a band. Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald then laid a commemorative wreath with Mrs Justice Denham and representatives of the 1916 Volunteers' families. Sheila Scully (92), from Drumcondra, looked on, wearing her father William McKeon's medals. "He was in the Four Courts during the rising. He was in C Company," she said. "He survived it but with all of that my father did not talk a lot about it. I imagine he didn't want to remind himself of what he saw." Mr McKeon was eventually ordered to leave the Four Courts. Judging by those scenes on TV now, he may have been better off. Not so, according to his granddaughter, Maura Flynn. She said: "He was on the run then for four months. He couldn't return to his family home because it was being watched but he survived it." Lynn Boylan is one of the new generation of Sinn Fein politicians, devoid of the whiff of cordite of some of her counterparts. However, this doesn't exempt the Dublin MEP from a basic understanding of the manner in which the Provisional IRA tarnished this country for over three decades. After Sunday's well-received Easter Sunday parade, Boylan complained about the State using daffodils rather than lillies at the commemoration, questioning if it was a case of "revisionism". Her query was less than innocent, based upon a conspiracy theory that the official State organisers were attempting to write the Easter lily out of history. In fact, there were lilies on display in the portico of the GPO, but Sinn Fein needed something to complain about. Notably, the choice of flowers carried by children representing the four provinces was the MEP's only observation on an event that was widely hailed as a credit to the nation. The Easter lily was first adopted as a symbol linked to the Rising in the mid- 1920s by Cumann na mBan to raise money for the dependants of Republican prisoners and to commemorate 1916. Since the 1930s though, it has, unfortunately, been adopted by those who believe in militant republicanism. So if there is a sensitivity, it's down to the latter day association with supporters of the Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein. As with so many of our symbols of republicanism, the Provos have stolen it for their own ends. The tricolour has been reclaimed over recent decades, perhaps it's time to do the same with the lily. Also wearing an Easter lily on Sunday was Shankill Road bomber Sean Kelly, when he participated in a Sinn Fein commemoration marking the 1916 Easter Rising centenary commemorations at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, where Gerry Adams gave the keynote address Kelly was released from prison under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement after being jailed for life for his part in the IRA's Shankill Road bomb in October 1993 which claimed the lives of nine people, including a seven-year-old girl. Yesterday, the lily was on the berets of the thugs from Republican Sinn Fein who marched through Dublin city wearing paramilitary-style garb. It was just a taste of what has occurred in Northern Ireland over the weekend. The editorial in the 'Belfast Telegraph' rightly stated republican dissidents had "debased the spirit of Easter" after masked figures paraded through north Belfast, Derry, Lurgan in Co Armagh and Coalisland in Co Tyrone, in stomach-churning displays. The front page of the 'Belfast Newsletter' was accurately headlined "An island divided" as it reflected on the "sharply different interpretations" of 1916 north and south of the border, with the acknowledged sombre commemorations in Dublin contrasted with the sinister events held by hardcore paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. The misguided use of 1916 as a rationale for terrorism is among the reasons why unionists were reluctant to accept invitations to the respectful events of the past weekend. DUP MLA Peter Weir reflected: "Events in Dublin may have been more dignified, but 1916 is still used as justification for decades of Provisional IRA terrorism and ongoing dissident republican terrorism." Hard to argue against. Scratch beneath the surface of Sinn Fein's own observations on 1916 and you'll quickly end up with a vindication of the Provos' campaign. Speeches over the weekend by Sinn Fein figures repeatedly laud "IRA volunteers", a reference to the Provos, not the War of Independence. Adams deliberately linked the Rising with the Provos' campaign of murder in Belfast on Sunday: "Today we also pay tribute to all of those who, in every decade since 1916, stood by Ireland and stood by the Republic. Our country and our people suffered hugely as a result of conflict in the 1970s, '80s and '90s." Sinn Fein's version of history would list the events in the GPO, Ashbourne, Athenry, Cork and Enniscorthy with the atrocities in Enniskillen, Birmingham, Guildford, Hyde Park, Warrington - and the Shankill Road. 'Revolution 1916', Sinn Fein's exhibition on the Rising, which charges the public 15 to enter, blatantly jumps from 1916 all the way to the IRA hunger strikes. Sinn Fein doesn't so much rewrite history as much as seek to unsubtly merge strands of history together. Sinn Fein-IRA's use of the lack of mandate for the leaders of 1916 to explain away the Provos activities from the 1970s to the 1990s is a simplistic interpretation of the Rising. It ignores the context of the times and the complexities of a country striving to gain its sovereignty. The 'minority within a minority' thesis about the 1916 rebels going against even the will of elements within their own organisations is indisputable, albeit open for debate. Padraig Pearse's own thinking was influenced by the leaders of previous republicans' rebellions, such as Emmet and Wolfe Tone. Nonetheless, if Sinn Fein wishes to cite the leaders of 1916 as the Provos' inspiration, so be it. However, how then do you counter the same proposition being put forward by the dissident republican groupings who also proclaim 1916 as the source of legitimacy for their actions? Last night, the founder of the Real IRA, Michael McKevitt, was released from prison. McKevitt was one of four men found liable for the Omagh bombing in a civil action at Belfast High Court taken by relatives of the dead. The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people and two unborn twins on August 15, 1998. Coinciding with his release, he claimed his movement continues in the tradition of 1916. He compared Sinn Fein to the looters of 1916, running a financial racket to profit off the back of the events of 100 years ago - presumably a reference to the party's museum and merchandise sales. The danger of Sinn Fein's deluded 1916 narrative is that it can be transposed by other groups who misguidedly claim they are following the same path. And for that reason alone, they deserve to be called out on more than just their view on the choice of flowers for commemorations. Curragh was jailed for his abuse of his own daughters in 2012 A petition to have a prolific paedophile who fathered a child with his daughter locked up for life has been launched by his ex-wife. Debbie Johnston (50) says her family has been destroyed by sick child rapist Alan 'Herbie' Curragh and she'll continue campaigning until the laws change so he'll never be set free. The mother-of-two has launched a petition on change.org called 'Brodie's Law' and is urging the public to support it to ensure that prolific sex offenders are not able to abuse again. Brodie was born through Curragh's incest with one of his two daughters, both of whom he abused and terrorised for 20 years. The little boy suffered from a serious genetic disorder because of the incest and died in agony aged just six years old. Ms Johnston said Curragh "should have been given life". Expand Close Brodie with Debbie and her husband William / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brodie with Debbie and her husband William "There's no words, really, to properly describe what he did. He's an alien, he's not human. He's a sicko. "He sat in that court day in, day out, leaving exactly as he came in - there was no remorse whatsoever. Not a 'sorry', no tears, nothing. Expand Close Curragh was jailed for his abuse of his own daughters in 2012 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Curragh was jailed for his abuse of his own daughters in 2012 "He just sat there as if he couldn't have cared less. "It was the same when the sentence was passed, no reaction, but I sat there knowing that I would get justice for Brodie. "That's what this is all about - getting justice for Brodie and having him acknowledged." Debbie added: "He handed him a death sentence and never once did he admit he had fathered him or feel any remorse for it." Curragh (53), a carpet fitter from Ballybeen in east Belfast, initially pleaded not guilty to the persistent and sustained rape of his daughters Cathy (32) and Emma (26), who were subject to his humiliating and depraved acts for years. He would scare one of them into submission by putting a gun in her mouth and threatening to kill their mother, then her, if she reported him to police. Although both women were legally entitled to remain anonymous, both bravely chose to waive that right to expose the full horror of the man they once called dad. After an initial trial the predator was set free to continue to abuse after a jury failed to reach a decision, but was finally convicted when a DNA test conducted on Brodie proved that he had fathered the boy. "He denied everything," Ms Johnston said. "He even asked that the DNA test, which proved 99.9% that Brodie was his son, was redone, but in America, but the court didn't allow it, there was no need." Jailed in 2012, Curragh was handed an eight-year sentence, but won an appeal meaning that he could be freed as early as 2018. Little Brodie was born in 2006 and was diagnosed with metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) - an extremely rare genetic disorder where most sufferers do not live beyond their fifth birthday. Eventually blind, immobile, fed through a tube and in constant pain, towards the end of his life Brodie suffered multiple spasms every day and relied completely on Debbie and current husband William for round-the-clock care. Throughout his short life, Ms Johnston, who adopted him from birth and raised him as her own son, was completely unaware he was the product of incest until tests confirmed MLD, a condition prevalent in the Third World in incestuous relationships. Brodie died aged six on November 18, 2012, just two weeks before Curragh was jailed. Ms Johnston is asking Prime Minister David Cameron and the Northern Ireland Executive to impose a life sentence where incest has been committed to reflect the suffering of the innocent children born out of the crime. She said: "The UK and Northern Ireland Sexual Offences Act needs strengthened so that sentences handed down to predators like Alan Curragh reflect the devastation he and others inflict on so many lives. Brodie did not ask to be born, and no other child deserves to go through what he went through. "No one should have to go through this. "No one should have to bury their own child, watch them suffering through no fault of their own. "I haven't grieved properly for him, but I am doing this for him and for all the victims of sexual abuse. "These paedophiles ruin lives. My mother never got over the shock of it, my daughters are trying to get their lives back, but the law needs to change so paedophiles are locked up for life. "They should never be free, to be let out to keep abusing people and ruining people's lives." Ms Johnson says her grief over Brodie's sad demise was still very raw and although she visited his grave at Roselawn every day, she coped by convincing herself that he was away visiting the hospice where he had respite care a few times a year. "I miss his wee smile," she added. "He loved to give you hugs and kisses and his favourite word was 'mum'. "I tell myself that he hasn't gone, he's coming back. "I've kept his room the same for him." She added: "Brodie was honestly the most loveable child. Don't get me wrong, he loved getting up to mischief as well and would have been the first to get in it. "He loved Mickey Mouse and Pinocchio, especially Guiseppe, and he loved going to the beach - I think we took him to every beach in England. "We took him to Disneyland in Paris after a kind stranger paid for it and he loved it. "He turned his nose up at Minnie Mouse, we never knew why, but he loved Mickey - we bought him virtually everything in the shop that time, and he loved animals, he loved visiting the zoo. "I remember his last words were 'yellow tractor'. We'd taken him out and he spotted one and those were the last two words he ever said. "He couldn't go anywhere without machines. "Me and his dad William would massage his wee legs, rub his shoulders to try and ease his pains and help him sleep. "It was heartbreaking to watch, but this petition is for him. He was never acknowledged or his suffering or the death sentence that was placed on him. "I want it to bring closure for him and justice, and for all the other innocent victims out there." ASTI's General Secretary has said that there is considerable time before the planned September strike action for negotiations around junior cycle reform to take place. Kieran Christie of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland told RTE's 'Today with Sean O'Rourke' that ASTI are willing to "talk until the cows come home" to reach a resolution. The ASTI's Standing Committee is planning a series of one-day strike from September as part of its ongoing campaign of resistance to the changes in teaching and learning. If the stoppages go ahead they will close up to 500 schools. Around 1,800 delegates of three teachers unions - ASTI, INTO and TUI - are attending annual conferences in Wexford, Cork and Killarney. Items on the agendas include the equalisation of salary scales, the impact of cuts at third level and the planned strike action in September over junior cycle reform. Earlier this month, Education Minister Jan O'Sullivan described ASTI's planned strike action as unwarranted and regressive. Ms O'Sullivan said she was deeply disappointed that the ASTI has chosen to threaten further inconvenience to students and parents through a series of one day strikes over junior cycle reform. Pat O'Sullivan (left) from Clane, Co Kildare, and Tomas O'Reilly from Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, at the INTO conference in Wexford Photo: Mary Browne Karen Foley from Doon, Co Limerick, and Niamh O'Dea from St Paul's Photo: Mary Browne INTO leader Emma Dineen: 'Children struggling with a lack of sleep, space to do homework, and a place to play with friends' Photo: Mary Browne Teachers are growing increasingly concerned at the effects of the rising homelessness crisis on children in their classrooms. Significant numbers of pupils are coming to school from emergency accommodation and are showing the physical and psychological impact of having to live in hotel rooms. The grim reality for many young children was spelled out by Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) President Emma Dineen, at the union's annual conference. Schoolchildren are struggling with a lack of sleep, a lack of healthy food, no space to do homework or to play and the inability to ask friends to visit. And all of these were negatively impacting on their lives, Ms Dineen warned. She said schools needed better support to provide good food, books and personnel to deal with increasingly complex pupil needs. Latest figures show that there were 884 families in emergency homeless accommodation in Ireland in January, including 1,830 children. According to Focus Ireland, the number of families that became newly homeless in January and presented to its services in Dublin alone reached a record monthly total of 125. The problem is being fuelled by a lack of houses and a growing reliance by families on the private rental market, where costs are increasing to unaffordable levels. Often when a family becomes homeless they are forced to move out of the area, which adds to the disruption for children and their parents. In the hope that a displacement is short-term, parents strive to keep their children at the same school but may then face lengthy journeys every day. This is combined with the constraints of a family often living in a single hotel room surviving on bought-in food. Teachers reported seeing the strain etched on the faces and in the personalities of children every day. The INTO president's comments have a particular resonance in the week that Ireland is commemorating the Easter Rising, which had, in part, its roots in social deprivation, including a housing crisis in Dublin. Ms Dineen's keynote speech drew heavily on the theme of 1916, and said the educational vision of some of its leaders had not been realised. She said the beliefs of Padraig Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh had a relevance for schools today. Pearse wanted to see pupils follow their own strengths, interests and abilities in school, while McDonagh believed in a system in which the sensitivity of the child could be nurtured in the classroom, she said. However, Ms Dineen said such ideals were impossible to realise until large class sizes and teacher workloads were tackled. "A teacher with 32 pupils in a classroom cannot find time to teach 11 subjects to every child in a child-friendly way and evaluate their progress. At the same time we want teachers to develop their pupils' self-esteem ... we also expect teachers to deal with increasing societal problems." Speaking at the conference, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) general secretary Patricia King also referred to the "appalling predicaments of homeless families and the ever-mounting housing crisis". She said that in the course of their work, teachers were better placed than anyone to predict the effects of life chances on children, who were living in poverty and on the margins of society. SECONDARY school teachers have overwhelmingly backed a vote for industrial action as they warned split pay scales are destroying their profession. Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) members voted overwhelmingly to seek sanction for industrial action from September if the Department of Education does not make meaningful concessions on the controversial common basic pay scale. The ASTI has now set an August 31 deadline for a resolution to the crisis over three different pay scales within the teaching profession. The vote in favour of a ballot for industrial action came as ASTI members expressed outrage at the estimated 100,000 to 250,000 earnings differential between teachers on the lowest and highest pay scales over the course of a 40 year working career. Teachers who entered the profession before 2010 now have a 9,000 pay differential over post 2011 recruits. It is also estimated that 5,000-plus teachers have entered the profession since pay scales were split as one of the public sector pay elements of Ireland's EU/IMF bail-out package. Motions demanding the restoration of pay scales and sanctioning a ballot on industrial action dominated the opening of the three-day ASTI annual conference in Cork. Read More Four ASTI branches - Bray, Dublin South Central, Wicklow and Fingal - tabled motions demanding the restoration of the pre-2011 basic pay scale. ASTI Bray branch Michael Browne said it was unacceptable that teachers recruited post 2012 now earn 22pc less than pre-2010 recruits. "This is going to have far-reaching consequences for the sector. It will become increasingly difficult to attract new entrants to the teaching profession Just look at what is happening in the UK," he said. "Teacher retention is also going to be a major problem," ASTI Dublin South Central member Sinead Corkery warned. "Public sector pay rates now need to start reflecting what is happening in other sectors. There should be equal pay for equal work just like there was before 2011." ASTI Wicklow branch member Declan McInerney said different pay rates now amount to "blatant discrimination." "Different pay scales are now driving a wedge between new entrants to our profession and those employed before 2010," he said. ASTI Tipperary delegate Siobhan Peters, who is on the post 2011 pay scales, said young teachers desperately need support. "There is nothing more disheartening than working in a job and earning less than someone else," she said. ASTI general secretary Kieran Christie said it represented an intolerable situation. "There are three pay scales in some staff rooms and it is causing increasing problems across the industry," he said. "It is causing frustration. The cuts across the industry have been savage and it is now time to invest in education and remove these legacy problems of austerity." Read More "We are acting very responsibly because we are sending a signal to the next Minister for Education that there is a critical opportunity to avoid this industrial action," he added "The form of action has not yet been decided but we believe there is a chance now to tackle the issue, address the problem and avoid this action." ASTI President Maire Ni Chiarba described the treatment of young Irish teachers since 2011 as blatant exploitation. "The message is very clear to the incoming Government - pay and conditions of new entrants will continue to be a priority issue for the ASTI," she said. "(The) Lansdowne Road Agreement did nothing to address the totally unacceptable situation for new entrants." "The discrimination against newly qualified teachers is so blatant that all one has to do is to consider the career earnings of a newly qualified teacher which will be significantly lower than earnings of those employed before 2011." "What an appalling situation currently exists where teachers are working on three different pay scales," she said. "What a disgrace. What discrimination and what inequity. Anyone who thinks that this situation will be allowed to continue is mistaken." "The ASTI will do everything possible to right the wrong and to have this shameful situation rectified." Incoming ASTI President Ed Byrne warned that unions had "no hand, act nor part" in the cuts foisted upon young teachers which was entirely the result of Ireland's bail-out packages. "This is a wound that now cannot be allowed to fester," he said. One young teacher said the differing pay scales are very unfair on new entrants. "I am one of the lucky ones because I have a permanent job. But if I had entered the profession just two or three years earlier I would have had a better basic salary as well as several extra allowances," Hugh Coughlan said. Hugh teaches Irish and French at North Presentation secondary school in Farranree, Cork. "What I am most angry about is the casualisation of our profession," he said. "You have young teachers travelling all over the country to get contracts for two or three hours work." "The allowances are also gone so there is no longer an incentive to pursue a Masters degree," the Clonakilty native said. Two-tier salary scales in the public sector have to go, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) general secretary Patricia King said. Having a multiplicity of pay rates for the same work was a regressive concept and untenable on an ongoing basis, she said. It is a key issue for newly-qualified teachers who are entering the profession on lower pay scales than those who started before 2011. As part of austerity-era cuts, the starting salaries for graduate teachers dropped 21pc. Over a career, the lower salary scales mean a loss of 100,000 for newly-qualified teachers, when compared with their more senior colleagues. New teachers now start on a salary of 30,702. From September, this will increase by 796 to a total of 31,498 and again in September 2017 by 796 to 32,294. In September 2009, a typical teacher started on 40,730. Cuts have also led to the wiping out of thousands of career opportunities for young teachers, because of a moratorium on promotions. Demands for equalisation of pay and conditions with more senior teachers is a key topic for discussion at the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) conference today, as well as at the conferences of the second-level unions. In her address to delegates last night, Ms King said she wanted to be "exceptionally clear" to the incoming Government about speeding up the unwinding of FEMPI legislation, the mechanism used by the Government to cut public sector pay. The Ictu general secretary said apart from the pay inequality between workers, two-tier rates led to industrial disharmony and resentment in workplaces. And from a staff planning point of view, it was not progressive and would result in young professionals much more likely to exercise career options. She said that with school enrolments rising, it could lead to teacher shortages. Ms King said she was not talking about a "public sector gravy train" but a "normal, healthy organisational, structural activity which encourages performance and provides opportunity to progress". INTO president Emma Dineen also signalled a warning on pay. She said if the economy continued to prosper over the next few years, public servants in general and teachers in particular would want to see pay cuts suffered by all teachers restored. Ms Dineen said most young teachers, especially in Dublin, have little or no hope of buying a house on a teaching salary. "If our society values our teachers, we need government to pay them a wage they can live on." And she said the issue of pay equality for newer entrants was a priority: "The incoming government must commit to pay equality for new teachers." A major anti-eviction rally takes place in Cork today as campaigners warned more than 200 householders face having to quit homes because of bank, receiver and landlord-driven sales. The protest takes place as the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Chris O'Leary, warned he fears thousands of householders nationwide will face eviction notices over the coming months given the surging number of properties being brought to market and requiring vacant possession for sale. "This is going to be the major social crisis we face this year," he said. The Cork protest also aims to increase pressure for emergency Government action on the escalating national housing crisis. The protest is aimed at highlighting the plight of tenants who now fear eviction. The demonstration, planned for Cork City Hall at 5pm, will also highlight how councils are struggling to cope with the chronic shortage of suitable housing. "The Government must realise that enormous pressure is being placed on authorities like Cork City Council because of the housing situation," Councillor Thomas Gould said. "Councils are at the point of not being able to provide other essential services because resources are being diverted to cover the failure of the Government to deal with the housing crisis," he added. It also aims to focus attention on the alarming increase in the rate of homelessness around Ireland. "This is a national housing emergency," Cllr Gould said. "It should not be acceptable for it to be the norm to see people bedding down at night in our city centres in the doorways of buildings." The protest came as a new survey underlined why banks, receivers and landlords are now trying to off-load properties despite spiralling rental yields. Property prices in Cork have soared by 1.75pc in just the last three months. Prices in the county soared by 3.7pc over the same period. One complex in Blackrock, Eden, was the focus of 35 notice-to-quit letters to tenants in January despite the fact that rents had gone up by 25pc just last year. An estimated 25 of the 35 tenants have since left the complex with the receiver allowing extra time beyond the March 18 deadline for those who are finding it difficult to secure alternative accommodation. The Eden complex was developed on the site of the former Ursuline Convent in Blackrock. The 22-acre site was originally purchased for 13m in 2001 but was later sold for 30m and was the focus of plans to develop 550 high-end housing units. A receiver was appointed to portions of the complex in 2010 on behalf of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). The six students who lost their lives in the tragic accident, top left to bottom right: Lorcan Miller, Eoghan Culligan, Nick Schuster, Ashley Donohoe, Eimear Walsh and Olivia Burke Lawyers representing the families affected by the Berkeley balcony tragedy said they are continuing to pursue lawsuits over the disaster after it was revealed that no-one will face criminal proceedings. The collapse, which occurred in the early hours of June 16 2015, claimed the lives of six Irish students and seriously injured seven more. Expand Close The six students who lost their lives in the tragic accident, top left to bottom right: Lorcan Miller, Eoghan Culligan, Nick Schuster, Ashley Donohoe, Eimear Walsh and Olivia Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The six students who lost their lives in the tragic accident, top left to bottom right: Lorcan Miller, Eoghan Culligan, Nick Schuster, Ashley Donohoe, Eimear Walsh and Olivia Burke The five Irish students who died were all from south Dublin - medical students and friends Lorcan Miller and Eimear Walsh; Olivia Burke, who went to school with Eimear; Niccolai Schuster, who was at the same college as Lorcan and Eimear, and his friend from school Eoghan Culligan. Irish-American Ashley Donohoe, who lived in California and was a cousin of Olivia's, also died. The students were on J1 working visas for the summer and were among 40 people attending a birthday party when the balcony collapsed. "The civil justice system and the criminal justice system operate independently, and the District Attorney's decision which was announced today in no way hinders or negatively affects the probability of success in the ongoing civil litigation," said Michael Kelly, of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly and Schoenberger in San Francisco. The lawyer also said it had been widely expected that no criminal action would be launched. He said complicating factors included the potential for a number of people or companies being responsible over a ten-year period. "The families and students are grateful to the District Attorney for the time, effort and expense invested in the process of evaluation," Mr Kelly said. He said the DA's inquiry was thorough and careful. "Much of the information generated, the facts developed, the witnesses identified and the evidence collected in the criminal investigation will benefit the bereaved families and the injured students as they now prosecute the civil actions that have been filed," he said. "The prosecution of the civil cases will permit our clients to achieve their primary goals: uncovering the truth, publicly identifying the wrongdoers, and holding accountable those responsible for the damage, loss and suffering they have caused, and bringing about changes to residential construction industry practices that will prevent such a needless tragedy from recurring in the future." Earlier today it was revealed No one will face charges over the Berkeley balcony collapse, which claimed the lives of six Irish students and seriously injured seven more. The news was announced by a district attorney in California following a nine-month investigation into the tragedy. Alameda County DA Nancy OMalley said there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal manslaughter charges against any one individual or company. Ms OMalley said the likely cause of the tragedy - water being trapped in the balcony deck during construction, leading to dry rot had been established. She said there appeared to be many contributory causes of this, including the types of material that were used and the very wet weather Berkeley experienced during the months of construction. The responsibility for this failure likely extends to many of the parties involved in the construction or maintenance of the building, she said. However, Ms OMalley said proving beyond a reasonable doubt that any one party was guilty of manslaughter would not be possible. Read More In order to file a manslaughter case based on criminal negligence, the district attorney must be satisfied that any defendant or defendants acted with gross or reckless conduct akin to a disregard for human life, and that the deadly consequences of those actions were reasonably foreseeable, she said. Any such charges would have to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt to twelve impartial jurors, all of whom must unanimously agree. Having carefully considered all the known evidence, and conducting an in-depth legal analysis based on expert opinion, the office has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to bring criminal manslaughter charges against any one individual or company. Ms OMalley said it was not a decision she had taken lightly. It is the culmination of months of consultation with my team of attorneys. It follows extensive review of reports, both legal and factual, and numerous meetings with investigators and experts. Read More In making the announcement, Ms OMalley said she was keenly aware of the devastation suffered by the victims and their families. Not a day has passed since the tragedy of June 16 that I have not thought of the victims and their families, she said. Friends, families and entire communities both in California and in Ireland have been affected by the horror of that day. Ms OMalley said that over the past nine months her office had devoted substantial resources to determining the cause of the collapse, the extent to which the collapse was foreseeable and the degree of culpability that may attach to the various parties involved. An assigned team of experienced prosecutors and investigators has been aided in this work by investigators from multiple state agencies, including the California Contractors State License Board, the California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists, and the California Board of Architects. Industry experts in the fields of structural engineering, waterproofing and architecture have participated extensively in this investigation. In addition to working closely with these industry experts, this offices investigation encompassed extensive witness interviews, and careful review of building plans, logs, inspection records and maintenance records. Ms OMalley said a central component of the investigation involved the destructive testing of the balconies and the building itself. An outside construction company was retained to carefully transport the balconies to a warehouse specially set up so the testing and analysis could be conducted. To ensure transparency and avoid prejudice, this testing was observed by representatives of the victims and their families, as well as representatives of the many different companies involved in the construction, maintenance, and ownership of this apartment complex, she said. After studying the balcony remnants and reviewing forensic lab reports, experts working with this office believe that the primary reason the balcony collapsed was because water had been trapped in the balcony deck during construction, leading to eventual and extensive dry rot damage. Ms OMalley said the families of the dead and injured were informed prior to her announcement today. In a statement today Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said his thoughts were "first and foremost with the families of the six young people who lost their lives in Berkeley last June. His said his department will "carefully consider" the details of the District Attorney's findings. He said that the investigation "shone a vital kught on the circumstances and factors that contributed directly and indirectly to the collapse of the balcony". Mr Flanagan also said that the investigation was an "important step in a process, the ultimate objective of which is to ensure that a tragedy such as Berkeley never occurs again". Independent Alliance members (l-r) Sean Canney, John Halligan, Shane Ross, Finian McGrath, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran ,and Michael Fitzmaurice: several independent TDs have warned they do not want to be stuck in protracted talks that lead to nothing Photo: Tom Burke Taoiseach Enda Kenny's talks with Independent TDs are in severe danger of collapse unless he dramatically changes his tactic of long, drawn-out discussions. A number of TDs have warned they do not want to be "lured" into protracted talks that will lead to nothing. With Fine Gael's hopes of striking a deal teetering on the brink, the first sign of a split within one of the main groups of Independents was confirmed last night. Waterford TD John Halligan told the Irish Independent he might not necessarily vote with Shane Ross's Independent Alliance if it decides to go into government. However, several Independent TDs warned the process won't even get that far. A number of TDs who attended Fine Gael's eight-hour roundtable meeting on housing last Thursday have described it as "badly managed". Mr Halligan went so far as to say it was "a waste of time". "You could see people bored out of their heads. I'm not going to commit myself to that and find I get nothing at the end." Fine Gael has asked all 15 Independent TDs and the Green Party to return to Government Buildings today for talks on issues such as rural Ireland and elements of the health service. It is believed Mr Kenny's team are keen to continue talks tomorrow and Thursday. "It's getting to a point where this is very serious and people need to be committed," said a senior party source. However, the acting Taoiseach is expected to be told that a significant number of the Independents are not prepared to pledge that amount of time, unless Fine Gael bring forward solid policy proposals - and Mr Kenny makes contact with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. "They know where we stand on issues anyway so they should draw up a programme for government and then we can talk about that," said one Independent TD. Speaking at the Grand National in Fairyhouse yesterday, Mr Kenny called on TDs not to "sit on the sidelines". He said he was "working very hard" on forming a new government "in the shortest time possible". "I do think it's important that all of those who are elected, wherever they come from, that they have to understand that they have a mandate and a responsibility not to just sit on the sidelines," he said. But speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Halligan was deeply critical of Fine Gael's approach, saying it was too focused on its manifesto which was rejected by voters. "I'm not going to be dragged through this day after day with no end," he said, adding that Fine Gael had tabled 86 points for discussion "that would have us talking into next year". The Independent Alliance brought financial, health and legal advisors to the meeting but Mr Halligan said: "We may as well have brought them to Timbuktu for a holiday." He said he is not afraid to go into government if Fine Gael or Fianna Fail bring forward "a pragmatic plan" but "right now I'm not seeing anything". "I'm in a seriously difficult position at present. I want to help form a stable government. It may not be possible with my ideology." He also became the first member of the Alliance to admit the group of six TDs will not necessarily vote as a block for a new Taoiseach. "If it reaches the stage where the Independent Alliance decided to row in with a government and I didn't, I wouldn't be devastated," he said. Mr Ross has always maintained the Alliance would vote as a block in relation to the election of a Taoiseach. And Independent TD for Tipperary Mattie McGrath, who is part of the Rural Five group, said unless big progress is made by Thursday he has "a lot of other things to be doing". "We're not going to be the piggy in the sandwich," he said. Mr McGrath told the Irish Independent that he needs Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to start engaging. "Whoever gets the prize of Taoiseach we need to be assured that the others won't run off the pitch with the ball," he said. Former Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt launched a stinging attack on his former Sinn Fein colleagues and questioned the party's claim to be republican, as he was released from prison. "When I look at Sinn Fein, I believe their behaviour is akin to that of the looters on the streets of Dublin in 1916. "They have turned the centenary commemoration into a financial racket, exploiting it for all they can. Shameful is probably the best description that I can use," he said. McKevitt, who is battling cancer, has just been released from Portlaoise prison after serving 15 years on charges of directing terrorism and IRA membership. He also refused to state that dissident republican paramilitaries should end their campaign of violence in the North. In a statement, he said: "It is immaterial as to whether I agree or disagree - armed struggle or guerrilla warfare is a tactic which has been around for hundreds of years. "Historically, the only form of resistance in Ireland that the British actually took notice of was armed struggle like they did in 1916 and in every decade since." As quarter-master general of the IRA, McKevitt broke away from the Provisionals to form the Real IRA in 1997 and become a high-profile opponent of the Adams-McGuinness leadership. Speaking about the 1916 centenary, he claimed it had become popular "to be seen and heard rebel rousing" but that many of those involved had no right to do so. "Political parties of all persuasions are tripping over themselves to commemorate the violent uprising of 1916. How can they, who have accepted the partition of Ireland, lay claim to the legacy of 1916?" McKevitt was released from E2 'Republican Landing' of Portlaoise prison. McKevitt was one of four people found liable in a civil case for the 1998 Omagh bomb in which 29 people were killed. The former Real IRA leader denied that he had any involvement in the bombing and claimed he had never been questioned in relation to it. Motorists in certain parts of the country are being warned of wet roads this morning. AA Roadwatch issued a warning ahead of rush hour to drivers in Cork city, Tralee, Castlebar and Portlaoise. Roads nationwide are reported as being dry or damp in most parts, but commuters are being asked to "drive with care" if travelling in wet conditions. In Dublin, the Luas service is back running as normal today. Meanwhile, Met Eireann have forecast sunny spells this morning but reported widespread heavy showers to be developing, including thundery and hail showers. Sleet is expected on high grounds in the west and temperatures are expected to be between seven and nine degrees Celsius. Noleen and Niall Murphy with their children Jennifer, Ellie Farrell (middle) a close family friend, Ciara and Ryan, at their home in Rhode, Co Offaly. Photograph: James Flynn/APX Autism affects people in different ways, with some having a more severe form than others - but the neuro-developmental disability is lifelong and causes difficulty for people to communicate, make sense of the world around them and form relationships. Research is ongoing, and earlier this year scientists in the US believed they had discovered cells which play a role in how the disorder develops in the brains of babies. By blocking cells which produce a chemical called IL-17a in pregnant mice, researchers were able to restore normal brain structure in the brains of their young. This breakthrough goes someway to show how viral infections during pregnancy can play a role in how autism develops - so the findings take a step towards treatment or potentially even a cure for the disorder. But in the interim, thousands of families throughout Ireland are living with the condition and Irish Autism Action is there to provide support and advice. On April 3, the charity will be hosting a fun run to raise funds and fundraising manager, Niall Murphy, urges people to take part as he says learning to cope with an autistic child can be a very difficult hurdle to overcome, particularly as the condition can take some time to be diagnosed. "When our eldest child, Ryan, was born 15 years ago, we didn't know straight away that there was anything wrong with him," says the Offaly father. "He passed all of his developmental checks when he was very little - was walking at 12 months and babbling away as he should have been. But even though my wife Noeleen and I thought there was something not 100pc right, neither a GP nor a public health nurse (PHN) wanted to put a label on him. "But just before he reached his second birthday, we noticed that he didn't seem to be interacting properly with people and also he didn't respond to his name and would run off by himself if we didn't keep a tight hold on him - he just seemed to be in his own world." Niall and Noeleen, who also have two daughters, Ciara (13) and Jennifer (12), remained concerned about their son's development, despite assurances that he was doing fine. But by the time he had turned three, they decided to take matters into their own hands. "For the first three years of Ryan's life, we had voiced our concerns on several occasions but were told that boys were naturally slower at developing and there was nothing concrete which showed a problem," says Niall. "But we went to Kerry for a holiday when he was three and as soon as we arrived, he started to roar crying and didn't want to leave the car. "We realised that he didn't like the different environment and as soon as we got back, we put the wheels in motion to get him on a waiting list for assessment. But after several months of waiting, we decided to get him assessed privately and he was diagnosed straight away with autism." Now that the couple had a diagnosis for their son, the next priority was finding a school which would help him to maximise his potential. "Ryan was nearly four by the time he was diagnosed with autism," says Niall. "We needed to get some help for him and while there was talk of setting up a school relatively close to us, the only one we could find at the time was 32 miles away. "So although it was a very long drive, we had no choice but to sign him up and for 10 months drove almost 70 miles on country roads every day - it was a nightmare and he really found it difficult to be in the car for that length of time. "In July 2005, we decided that we couldn't keep up the daily journey and luckily the special school in Mullingar was almost at completion, so we fundraised like mad and in February 2006, he became one of the first students at Saplings, which was 14 miles away - it was a massive relief to us." Once ensconced in his new school, Ryan began to flourish. Although he had ceased to communicate at 18 months, within a year at the school, he had begun to connect again with his family and the world around him. "Almost as soon as Ryan joined Saplings, he began to improve," says Niall. "Autism is a very complex condition with associated challenging behaviours and these were all addressed at the school. "Although he also has a learning impairment, in 2007, Ryan started to say some words again. Hearing the words 'Daddy', 'Mammy' and 'Nana' after six-and-a-half years was the greatest cause for celebration ever for us. Tears of joy and a great immense sense of happiness and relief overwhelmed us and the staff at Saplings School as we had finally made a small but very worthwhile breakthrough into Ryan's world. "His vocabulary is still improving, although we often have to drag it out of him. But he also uses PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System), which is very beneficial as he doesn't have to actually speak to communicate with us. He can also spell, write his name, work on his iPad and is constantly working on numerical skills. "He has also made great strides in other areas and is well able to look after himself at home - he strips his bed every morning, goes to the bathroom for a wash before getting dressed and comes downstairs to put his waffles in the toaster - all of these are huge achievements and we are very proud of him." Niall says without the help of Irish Autism Action, these developmental achievements would not have happened. "I don't know where we would be without the help of IAA," he says. "They provide so much support to us and so many other families. The charity doesn't receive any help from the Government and yet manages to be there offering advice on where to go, what to do and how to cope with autism. "No one really knows what the reality is like for us and all the other families who are looking after a child with autism - it is non-stop. "My son is now taller than me but has the mental age of a two-year-old. He has to be watched 24/7 as he has no sense of danger and can't tell right from wrong. "So I would urge people to get involved in the fun run on April 3 or do what they can to help raise awareness." About Irish Autism Action Formed in 2001, IAA aims to bring positive change into the lives of the one in 100 people affected by autism The charity does not receive any State funding so is dependent upon the generosity of the general public and corporate organisations The fourth annual 5k fun walk/run and 10k race with Midlands 103 presenter Will Faulkner will take place in Lough Boora Discovery Park Sunday April 3 at 11am, which is the first Sunday of April and Autism Awareness month. To take part see myrunresults.com * See autismireland.ie AN ENTERTAINMENT website has issued an apology to Prison Break star Wentworth Miller after posting a meme which made fun of his weight gain. The LAD Bible, which has more than 11m followers on Facebook, issued a public apology to Miller after the actor spoke out about how his struggle with mental illness was made more difficult by cruel online critics. The meme placed a photograph of Miller as his character in Prison Break beside a paparazzi shot taken in 2010 with the caption When you break out of prison and find out about McDonalds monopoly. Taking to his Facebook account last night Miller revealed that the meme was especially hurtful as one of the images had been taken at a time when he was struggling with his mental health. Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the rest. In 2010, semi-retired from acting, I was keeping a low-profile for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I was suicidal. One day, out for a hike in Los Angeles with a friend, we crossed paths with a film crew shooting a reality show. Unbeknownst to me, paparazzi were circling. They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. "Hunk To Chunk." "Fit To Flab." Etc. In 2010, fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed. "The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe, he wrote. Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the... Posted by Wentworth Miller on Monday, 28 March 2016 The LAD Bible issued an apology to the actor this afternoon and said the publication deeply regrets the pain caused to the actor. Mental health is no joke or laughing matter, a statement posted to The LAD Bibles Facebook page read. We certainly didnt want to cause you pain by reminding you of such a low point in your life. Causing distress and upset to innocent or vulnerable people is simply not acceptable. We applaud your raw honesty and promise to now cover such matters in the responsible manner that our audience expects. In the US, the FBI has successfully used a mystery technique without Apple's help to break into an iPhone linked to the gunman in a California mass shooting. The surprise development effectively ends a court battle between Apple and the Obama administration. The US government told a court that it had accessed data on gunman Syed Farook's iPhone and no longer requires Apple's assistance. Farook and his wife died in a gun battle with police after killing 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, 10 Indonesian nationals are being held hostage after their ship was hijacked in Philippine waters. Indonesia's foreign ministry said the owner of the hijacked tug boat and coal barge has received two telephone calls purportedly from militant group Abu Sayyaf, which is demanding a ransom. The ministry, which referred to the hostage takers as pirates, does not know exactly when the incident occurred but said the ship owner was first contacted on Saturday. "The current priority is the safety of 10 citizens who were taken hostage," it said, adding that the company which owns the ship has informed the families of the crew. The tug, Brahma 12, and the Anand 12 barge were going from Sungai Putting in Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian part of Borneo island, to Batangas in the southern Philippines. In Irish headlines this morning: 'A day to remember' reads the front page of today's Irish Independent. The front page features a photograph of young Catherine Moore and her dad Dermot as they enjoy the Easter Monday 1916 commemorations on O'Connell Street in Dublin. The Irish Examiner also leads with the country's 1916 commemoration. 'Army of citizens rise to the occasion' the headline reads. The Irish Times leads with the headline; 'Fine Gael to propose reduction in VAT on new homes'. The newspaper reports that the party is to table a 'Help to Build' funding scheme for affordable housing at talks. The Herald leads with the headline: 'Army guards gang's seized cars'. The newspaper reports that the army is standing guard over a fleet of high-performance cars seized in the probe into the Kinahan cartel. 'Madness' reads the front page of the Irish Daily Mirror. The newspaper features a photograph of a car parked on a slipway in Greystones, Co Wicklow just one week after five people lost their lives after their car slipped into the water in Buncrana, Co Donegal. A passer-by appears to be offering advice to the occupants of the car. The Irish Sun leads with the headline; 'Kingsize murdered by Judas', referring to the country's latest fatal shooting last week. The priest told Noel Duggan's funeral that the grandfather was gunned down by a coward like Judas who betrayed Jesus. 'Half the pupils in my school will be homeless' the front page of the Irish Daily Mail reads. A teacher has told the newspaper of the devastating effects on children forced to live in emergency accommodation. Finally, the Irish Daily Star leads with the headline: 'Garda in Kinahan tweets shock'. The newspaper reports that a garda has defended his online interaction with gangland boss Daniel Kinahan. 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. Michael D Higgins said the leaders of 1916 were 'advanced thinkers, selfless women and men, who took all the risks to ensure that the children of Ireland would, in the future, live in freedom and access their fair share of Ireland's prosperity' Photo: Mark Doyle IT may have taken a century, but over the last few days in commemorating the centenary of the Rising some refreshing new light, and even lightness, has finally filtered through some very gritty old windows concerning our past. This time, there were no countermanding instructions, and the people came out in their hundreds of thousands to mark what was truly a special moment in our history. For the first time in generations the people of the country had an opportunity to take ownership of their own history and wrest it back from those who have attempted to hijack it for their own ends. William Butler Yeats put it adroitly when he said: "All empty souls tend toward extreme opinions." Yet with strong but gentle resolve, and solemn respect, we saw over the past few days a nation at ease with its own history, devoid of guilt, shame or triumphalism. The story of 1916 is complex, textured and multi-faceted. It has a unique context. Yet events of Easter Week 1916 were seismic as they redefined our relationship with Britain, a relationship that went from subjugation to equality. Though turbulent and troubled, the last few days have shown that we are proud of the journey we have made. The past may be another country but it is not one we should disown simply because parts of it are uncomfortable to revisit. There has been too much misappropriation, revisionism and distortion to service shallow modern agendas. Hijacking the past to fit short-term, self-serving objectives has cheapened politics. The people are the rightful custodians of our history and it is not something to be peddled cheaply as a hollow political franchise. As President Michael D Higgins said yesterday, the leaders of 1916 were "advanced thinkers, selfless women and men, who took all the risks to ensure that the children of Ireland would, in the future, live in freedom and access their fair share of Ireland's prosperity". He also challenged us as a people to retrieve the idealism at the heart of the Easter Rising. We have, he said, an even higher duty "to imagine and to forge a future illuminated by the unfulfilled promises of our past". Lofty aspirations, not easily met, but to return to the words of Mr Yeats: "In dreams begin responsibilities." Petty politicians ignore schoolchildren's plight If our putative leaders needed further prompting that there are national issues which tower over petty party interests, they should have got it from the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) conference yesterday. It is always the children who feel the coldest, sharpest edge of poverty and neglect, and yesterday the INTO's Emma Dineen gave a bleak assessment of how the problems of homelessness are now all too evident in the nation's classrooms. More pupils are coming to school betraying the painful physical and psychological signs of having to live in emergency accommodation. Too little sleep, not enough nourishment, no space to do homework or to play, and all are taking a toll at a critical time in the development of the child. Schools are clearly unable to meet these demands. Focus Ireland tells us that a dismal new record for the number of families that became newly homeless was set in January this year, with a monthly total of 125. A lack of houses and a rocketing rental market combine to guarantee matters can only get worse. What more is required for our politicians to set precious party policies aside and focus instead on the needs of the most vulnerable members of our society? Team Essence members (left to right) Oliver Bailey, Jason Fox, Mathew Bennett, Ross Johnson and Aldo Kane celebrate after they arrived in Trinidad (Brendan Delzin/PA) Five British men including TV stars Jason Fox and Aldo Kane have entered the record books after becoming the fastest crew to row the longest route across the Atlantic Ocean - despite capsizing three times. Fox, 39, of Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins, Kane, 38, of BBC Two's Extreme Mountain Challenge, and Mathew Bennett, 37, Ross Johnson, 36, and Oliver Bailey, 39, have been battered by strong winds, 20ft waves and have even been stalked by a shark. They have rowed into the record books by becoming the first team to row unsupported, crossing the Atlantic Ocean from east to west, non-stop from mainland to mainland. And they have also become the first crew to row non-stop and unsupported across the Atlantic from mainland Europe to South America. Setting off from Lagos in Portugal 50 days ago on February 7, they arrived in Venezuela on Monday night - finally completing their 3,308-nautical-mile journey. Team Essence skipper Bennett, originally from Devon, said they decided on the route which was 500 miles longer because the shorter traditional option felt like a "huge shortcut". "We have achieved a world first, and I couldn't be happier - this has been a dream of mine for seven years and it is finally complete," he said on finishing the row. Bennett said some of the highlights of the challenge included the wildlife they saw, but he also said some of their worst moments turned out to be the most "memorable". "The capsizes were dangerous and scary, but with that came a bonding and a closeness that I can only compare to my time in Iraq," he added. "When you go through something like that, it is scary. But the moments after when you pull each other out and no one is hurt - they are surreal, memorable moments." Video of the Day Rowing continuously in two-hour shifts for 24 hours a day, carrying everything they needed for the trip, their world records were confirmed using GPS technology. It is an achievement that has seen more people travel into space and summit Mount Everest than complete their challenge - in which they were burning 12,000 calories a day. Using their challenge to raise funds for the NSPCC, more than 100,000 has been donated to their efforts so far - a figure they hope to double. Bennett, the founder of Acorn Children's Homes, said the NSPCC's work is important to all five rowers, and supporting the charity was a "no brainer". With no previous rowing experience and ranging in height from 5ft 8in to 6ft 5in, the two former Royal Marines, a former SBS operative, city broker and former military police officer have spent seven weeks at sea on the 8.5m-long and 1.2m-wide boat. They have battled hypothermia, infection, sleep deprivation and dehydration; have been pelted by flying fish; and four of the crew had to row without shoes after they were lost in a capsize. Posting blog updates from the sea as they made the crossing, some of their videos have garnered more than 20,000 views on social media. Celebrities such as Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid, Sir Richard Branson, astronaut Major Tim Peake, and adventurer Bear Grylls have tweeted their support. Bennett said: "The amazing support we have had from people all around the world has been phenomenal. We genuinely could not have done it without reading the odd supportive tweet. "We were blessed by Inmarsat who sponsored us. It has been an amazing journey and we can't thank people enough for their support." To make a donation to Team Essence, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/teamessence An armed man was shot and wounded by police after he walked into the underground US Capitol Visitor Centre yesterday and pointed a gun at officers. Police said the man was known to police and there were no indications of a terrorist link to the incident. The suspect and a female bystander, who also suffered wounds, were taken to hospital for treatment, according to Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa. "Based on initial investigation, we believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before. There is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said. A US government official confirmed that no evidence had emerged of a connection to terrorism. No police officers were injured in the incident. Chief Verderosa said it was unclear how many officers fired shots. A weapon was recovered on the scene and the suspect's vehicle was found on Capitol grounds, he added. On a day when the Senate and House of Representatives were not working and few lawmakers were in Washington, the Capitol building was briefly locked down before reopening for official business. The Capitol Visitor Centre is used chiefly by tourists. Police did not identify the suspect and said he was the only person involved. The US Secret Service temporarily cleared tourists from an area around the White House, but activities quickly returned to normal. A report that a person tried to gain entry to the White House was incorrect, a Secret Service spokesman said. The District of Columbia Police Department, a separate force from the US Capitol police, called the shooting an isolated incident and said there was no threat to the public. Cathryn Leff of Temecula, California, in town to lobby with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Centre when police told people to leave immediately. Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told those there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left." After a while, police told her and others to keep running. "I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all." Amanda Smith of Columbus, Ohio, said she and her family were touring the Capitol and were in the Senate visitors' gallery when she heard police officers' radios start talking about shots being fired. "Sure, we were worried," she said. "But there were lots of kids around so we didn't make too big a deal of it." Mother Mary Angelica, the folksy Roman Catholic nun who used a monastery garage to begin a television ministry that grew into a world religious media empire, has died at 92. Known to millions of viewers simply as Mother Angelica, the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network died on Easter Sunday at the rural monastery in Hanceville where she lived, about 45 miles north of Birmingham, Alabama, according to EWTN chairman and chief executive Michael Warsaw. "Mother has always, and will always, personify EWTN, the network which she founded. In the face of sickness and long-suffering trials, Mother's example of joy and prayerful perseverance exemplified the Franciscan spirit she held so dear. We thank God for Mother Angelica and for the gift of her extraordinary life," Mr Warsaw said. Mother Angelica had been in declining health since suffering a severe cerebral hemorrhage on Christmas Eve 2001. She never regained her full speaking ability and had other, less-severe strokes through the years. Bedridden for months, she was placed on a feeding tube last year as her health slowly declined, fellow nuns at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery said. Alabama governor Robert Bentley said Mother Angelica would live on forever in the hearts of those touched by her sermons. "On this Easter Sunday, it is only fitting that the Lord chose today to call home one of his humble servants, Mother Angelica. She devoted her life to ministry, converting untold numbers of people to the church. She left an indelible mark on Alabama, the Catholic Church and the world as a whole," he said. Although she had been out of the public eye for years and was no longer appearing on her trademark Mother Angelica Live show, old episodes have remained a programming staple on Eternal Word. "We want you to know how much God loves you, and that's a lot," she told viewers at the end of an episode recorded in November 2000. Mother Angelica displayed both deep devotion to Jesus and a comic's timing on the episode, drawing laughs when she could not reach her Bible during the opening sequence. An unseen aide hands her the book from off-camera. "That's when you appreciate long arms," Mother Angelica deadpanned. Born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, in 1923, she entered the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration monastery in Cleveland at 21 and joined other nuns in moving south to open a new monastery in Alabama in 1962. With only 200 dollars, the nun began broadcasting a religious talk show from a TV studio put together in the monastery garage in suburban Birmingham in 1981. That show grew into Eternal Word Television Network, which has long had the blessing of the Vatican. While critics sometimes accuse Eternal Word Television Network of being too conservative or too liberal, it says it tries to stick to the leadership of the Vatican. The network reports extensively on statements and trips by the Pope. Despite its humble beginnings, EWTN Global Catholic Network calls itself the world's largest religious media network. It has 11 TV networks that broadcast Catholic programming to more than 258 million households in more than 145 counties and territories. Eternal Word's radio operation includes a global shortwave broadcast; satellite and Internet radio channels; and more than 300 Catholic radio affiliates in the United States. Its print services include The National Catholic Register newspaper, the Catholic News Agency and EWTN Publishing. The non-profit broadcaster reported total revenues of 46 million dollars (32.6m) in 2013, the last year for which tax records are available. Of that, 45.4 million (32.1m) came from donations. An associated catalogue division reported revenues of 2.7 million dollars (1.9m) in 2013, mostly from sales, records show. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Friday at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, followed by interment in the Shrine's Crypt Church. Ted Cruz he hugs his wife Heidi during a campaign rally Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump is planning to make his first campaign visit to Wisconsin today, where the upcoming Republican presidential primary could mark a turning point in the unpredictable race. But rival Ted Cruz has gotten a jump-start on next week's contest, collecting influential endorsements and campaigning in key regions. A solid Cruz win in Wisconsin would narrow Trump's path to the nomination, put pressure on the billionaire to sweep the remaining winner-take-all primaries this spring and increase the chances of a contested party convention in July. "The results in Wisconsin will impact significantly the primaries to come," Cruz said after a rally on Friday. Roadmap Next Tuesday's contest will be the first primary since the Texas senator began collecting the backing of establishment Republicans, such as former Florida Gov Jeb Bush, who has been adamant about eliminating Trump. As Cruz campaigned across the state, he was following a winning roadmap drawn by Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in 2010 in Wisconsin's rural and working-class midsection, the same demographic that has driven Trump's success thus far. Trump has slightly fewer than half of the Republican delegates allocated so far, short of the majority needed to clinch the nomination before the party's national convention this summer. Cruz has more than a third of the delegates. If Cruz wins most of the 42 delegates in Wisconsin, then the remaining winner-take-all contests in Delaware, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey and North Dakota could determine the future of the race. A solid Cruz win in Wisconsin would likely require Trump to win those five contests to avoid fighting for the nomination at the party's national convention. Cruz's campaign was airing about $500,000 in advertising over the final two weeks before the primary - a sharp contrast to Trump, who aired no commercials in the state. The anti-tax group Club for Growth announced its plans to spend $1m on pro-Cruz ads, while an anti-Trump group was spending roughly $340,000 in the final two weeks. The third remaining Republican candidate, Ohio Gov John Kasich, has also visited Wisconsin, but polls show him trailing both Trump and Cruz. "Ted Cruz has a real opportunity to win the state, in a way that would be pretty resounding," said Mark Graul, an unaffiliated Republican strategist from the state. There are nonetheless ways that Trump could still be denied the Republican nomination. Firstly, he could lose the delegate lead. Trump is ahead of Cruz by a little less than 300 delegates. That's a large advantage, but there are still more than 800 bound delegates remaining to be selected, almost all of them in winner-take-all or winner-take-most states. There isn't enough polling data to indicate what's going to happen in most of these. And that delegate lead is a little shakier than it might seem. About 200 delegates are either uncommitted or allocated to candidates who have dropped out of t he race. Most of them are free to choose, and there's reason to believe that most won't support Trump. Once they declare, Trump's margin could narrow. There's an interactive effect, too. If Trump is winning, the free-to-choose delegates will tend to either support him or remain undeclared. If Cruz (or Kasich) starts winning, they'll move in that direction. Nomination If Trump does lose the delegate lead before the convention, it's extremely unlikely that he could recover to win the nomination. Secondly, he could retain the delegate lead, but fail to reach the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination. If Trump doesn't win any of the uncommitted or unbound delegates, he needs to win about 60pc of the remaining bound delegates to get over the top. He's on pace to fall short by just a few delegates, according to several close observers. If Trump can't quite reach 1,237 after the July 7 primaries, he will try to get them during the pre-convention period, the six weeks between the final primaries and the convention. Florida police have charged Donald Trump's campaign manager with misdemeanor battery in an incident with a reporter earlier this month. Corey Lewandowski turned himself in to police, where he was issued with a notice to appear before a judge on May 4. In a second piece of bad news for Mr Trump, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker endorsed his rival Ted Cruz in the Republican race for the party's nomination. A surveillance video released by the police appears to show Lewandowski grabbing a woman reporter for Breitbart News as she tried to ask Mr Trump a question during a March 8 campaign event. Expand Close U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski (L) speaks with an unidentified aide REUTERS/William Philpott/Files / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski (L) speaks with an unidentified aide REUTERS/William Philpott/Files The reporter filed a complaint and posted pictures of her bruised arm. That incident and past Mr Trump remarks about women are hurting his support among female voters. The Trump campaign said Lewandowski "is absolutely innocent of this charge". Mr Walker said his endorsement was not part of mainstream Republicans' drive to block front-running Mr Trump but support for "a strong new leader". The Wisconsin governor, who was briefly in the race for the Republican nomination, announced his support for Mr Cruz and said he is "in the best position by far to both win the nomination of the Republican Party and then go on to defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall". Mr Trump planned to make his first campaign appearance in Wisconsin before joining Ohio governor John Kasich and Mr Cruz for a CNN interview. It is unclear how much Mr Walker's endorsement will help Mr Cruz. The governor's approval rating has not cracked 40% in more than a year. Wisconsin has 42 delegates, with 18 going to the state-wide winner and 24 divided among the winners in each of the state's eight congressional districts. Mr Trump heads into Wisconsin with 739 delegates to Mr Cruz's 465. Kasich lags behind with 143. It takes 1,237 to assure the nomination. A New York nurse has stepped down from her profession after she was convicted of taking a photograph of an unconscious patient's penis. Kristen Johnson (27) took the photographs on her iPhone and sent them via text message, authorities said. The Onondaga County District Attorney's Office began to investigate the young nurse after her colleagues reported she had taken intimate images of two patients. Johnson was arrested in May of last year and pleaded guilty to 'disseminating of unlawful surveillance photos' in November. She initially faced a felony charge, but it was later reduced. As part of the plea deal, she has now given up her nursing licence and is required to spend three years on probation. Johnson, from Fulton, "did not contest the charge of moral unfitness in the practice," the state Board of Regents announced following the agreement. Johnson took the photographs in 2014 when she was working at Upstate University Hospital, New York. Funeral of one of the victims Photo: ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images Relatives of the victims of the suicide bomb blast at a children's playground outside a hospital in Lahore Photo: EPA/REUTERS/Mohsin Raza Family members mourn the death of a relative, who was killed in a blast that happened outside a public park on Sunday, in Lahore, Pakistan. Reuters/Mohsin Raza The full horror of the bomb that ripped through a children's play area, claiming 72 lives, emerged yesterday. Hundreds were left wounded after a suspected suicide bomber detonated the explosion in Pakistan, where Christian families were celebrating Easter. The carnage was in a public park in the city of Lahore, just yards away from a set of swings. Medical workers said the blast mainly killed women and children, while many of the wounded were in a critical condition and the death toll could rise even further. The splinter group Jamaatul Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had deliberately targeted Christians on Easter Sunday. "We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter," a spokesperson for the terrorist group said. "It was part of our annual martyrdom attacks we have started this year," he said, warning that more attacks would follow. "We had been waiting for this occasion. We want to convey to the prime minister that we have arrived in Punjab and we will reach you." Rescue spokeswoman Deeba Shahbaz said the toll had risen to 72 yesterday, with 29 children among the dead. Haider Ashraf, a senior police official, confirmed the number killed, adding that the majority of the dead were Muslims. Mr Ashraf said ball bearings were found on the ground after the attack, which he believed was a suicide bombing, and that an investigation was continuing. The area was crowded with Christians who were celebrating the Easter holidays, he added, and many families were heading home when the blast struck. "We are in a warlike situation," said Mr Ashraf, "there is always a general (terrorism)threat in Pakistan but no specific threat alert was received for this place." Footage from local TV stations showed chaotic scenes as people fled the area, carrying their children or cradling the wounded. Al-Khidma, a Lahore rescue worker, said: "Our ambulances lifted dozens of injured people to nearby hospitals. The majority are women and children." Another medical worker said at least 300 people had been injured and he feared that the death toll would rise. The Punjab government has announced three days of national mourning and the closure of all public parks in Pakistan. vowing to bring those behind the attack to trial. Describing the moment of the blast, one man who was visiting the park with his wife and two children said he heard a huge bang before all four of them were thrown to the floor. Another eyewitness saw pools of blood and body parts scattered across the park after the smoke had cleared. "It was the weekend, so there were a large number of families there, women and children in the park," he said. Former Lahore police captain Muhammad Usman said police had recovered parts of the bomber from the scene and were seeking to identify him. "The blast was a suicide attack, it was just outside the exit gate of the Gulshan Iqbal Park and a few metres away from the children's swings," he said. Javed Ali (35), who lives near the park, said: "Everything was shaking, there were cries and dust everywhere. "After 10 minutes, I went outside. There was human flesh on the walls of our house. People were crying, I could hear ambulances." He added: "It was overcrowded because of Easter, there were a lot of Christians there. It was so crowded that I told my family not to go." Pakistan has been struggling to control a homegrown Islamist insurgency since 2004, with the Pakistani Taliban frequently carrying out attacks in an attempt to overthrow the government. Last year, a popular regional minister was killed along with eight others in a bomb attack on his home. The blast comes just days after police in the capital of Islamabad clashed with thousands of supporters of an Islamist assassin, who was hanged earlier this year for killing a regional governor. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Indonesia says 10 of its citizens are being held hostage in the Philippines after their ship was hijacked in the border region between the two countries. The country's foreign ministry said in a statement that the owner of the hijacked tug boat and coal barge has received two telephone calls, purportedly from the militant group Abu Sayyaf, demanding a ransom. It said it is unclear when the incident occurred but that the ship owner was first contacted on Saturday. The ministry referred to the hostage-takers as pirates. Foreign minister Retno Marsudi told a news conference that she is working with Indonesian and Philippine officials to coordinate a rescue. "Our priority is the safety of 10 Indonesian nationals who are now still in the hands of the hostage-takers," she said. Abu Sayyaf, which is on US and Philippine lists of terrorist organisations, is notorious for bombings, extortions and kidnappings for ransom in the volatile south of the Philippines. It has been weakened by years of US-backed Philippine offensives but remains a security threat. If the Abu Sayyaf is confirmed responsible, the number of hostages would be among the largest it has seized since 2001. In the Philippines, army Major General Demy Tejares said troops were trying to verify reports that the Indonesians were taken to the southern province of Sulu and that an Abu Sayyaf commander notorious for ransom kidnappings, Alhabsi Misaya, was involved. "There is information pointing to Sulu as the destination so we're monitoring it," Mr Tejares said of the predominantly Muslim province 590 miles south of Manila, where several other kidnapping victims are believed to be held by Abu Sayyaf militants. Philippine military chief General Hernando Iriberri flew to Sulu on Monday to meet commanders and their troops involved in efforts to locate the Indonesians. The tug, Brahma 12, and the Anand 12 barge were going from Sungai Putting in Kalimantan, which is the Indonesian part of Borneo island, to Batangas province, south of the Philippine capital. The Facebook page of the Brahma 12's captain, Peter Tonsen Barahama, shows smiling photos of him and the crew on the vessel preparing for the voyage and good luck wishes from friends commenting on a port clearance document he posted. The document shows the vessel and its barge left a port in southern Kalimantan on March 15. A Philippine police report said a villager sighted an unmanned boat marked "Brahma 12" on Saturday drifting in waters off Languyan town in the southernmost Philippine province of Tawi Tawi, near Sulu, and the vessel was taken by police to a Languyan wharf. Indonesia's foreign ministry said it believes the barge, carrying about 7,000 tons of coal, is still under the control of the hostage-takers. Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur is discussing the French response to the Paris attacks of last November Belgium's justice minister has pleaded for critics of Belgium's intelligence failures to focus on the hunt for those behind last week's Brussels attacks and November's massacre in Paris. Investigators say they are still looking for at least one suspect in the attacks seven days ago, when suicide bombers killed 32 people at Brussels' airport and in a subway station near the European Union headquarters. Three suicide bombers also blew themselves up. The Health Ministry and victims identification officials said 90 people remain in hospital, a third of them suffering from severe burns. In a joint press conference they said the 32 dead include 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners, while 44 of the wounded are foreigners from 20 nations. Belgium has faced rising international criticism over its evident inability to identify and monitor Islamic State activists living in the Belgian capital who have been deemed responsible both for the March 22 bombings in Brussels and the November 13 attacks on Paris nightspots that left 130 dead. Several of those who killed themselves during the attacks or were subsequently arrested were Belgian nationals of North African background. "Now is not the time to fight one another. As far as I know, the enemy is in Syria," Justice Minister Koen Geens said, referring to the primary power base of the Islamic State extremist group that claimed responsibility for both attacks. But authorities in Belgium and the neighbouring Netherlands faced fresh questions on Tuesday about how much they knew in advance of the March 22 bombings. Turkey already has revealed it deported one of the suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, to the Netherlands in mid-2015 after catching him near the Syrian border and identifying him to Dutch authorities as a suspected IS militant. Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur said that his country's security services received a note from the FBI on March 16 detailing what he called the "radical and terrorist background" of the El Bakraoui brothers. One, Ibrahim, blew himself up alongside an accomplice at Brussels airport, while the other brother, Khalid, detonated a bomb inside a train leaving the Maelbeek Metro station. The timing of the note and why it was sent to the Dutch remained unclear. Belgian authorities said they were not informed of its existence and had no idea where the El Bakroaui brothers were before the Brussels bombings. Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur, who faces criticism for his own actions before and after the suicide bombings, said Belgian authorities must learn painful lessons and improve their ability to combat Islamic militancy. "Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Otherwise these attacks would not have happened," he said. Brussels, he suggested, would never feel the same. " There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore," he said during a visit to Paris. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins "a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction", Brussels airport has yet to reopen since the attacks but has been testing a temporary check-in system for use in coming days. The Metro system is mostly running again, though under heavy guard. Belgian prosecutors yesterday released a man they had charged in connection with last week's deadly Brussels bombings, saying they did not have enough information to justify holding him. The man, named only as Faycal C, had been accused of taking part in the activities of a terrorist group and actual and attempted terrorist murder after being detained on Thursday. His home had been searched but no weapons or explosives had been found. "The evidence which led to the arrest of the man named as Faycal C has not been backed up by the ongoing investigation. As a result, the person has been freed by the investigating magistrate," the prosecutor's office said. The announcement was a major blow to an investigation that had netted half a dozen people charged with lesser offences in Belgium and others in the Netherlands, Italy and France, where officials said the same network had planned another attack. Belgian media had identified the man as Faycal Cheffou and a source close to the investigation had said officials believed he was the man caught in security camera footage at Brussels airport moments before two bombs exploded last Tuesday. Earlier yesterday, police had issued a new appeal for witnesses, saying they were seeking to identify the man seen in the video wearing a light jacket, with a hat pulled down over his face and glasses (pictured). The suspected suicide bombers walking alongside him were dressed in black with their heads uncovered. Police say one man left a suitcase containing a bomb at the terminal and fled while two others detonated their bombs. The death toll from the attack on the airport, and a subsequent bombing of a rush-hour metro train, rose to 35 yesterday, excluding the three men who blew themselves up. Around 340 people were wounded and 96 were still being treated in hospital, of whom 55 were in intensive care, a health ministry statement said. A Europe-wide hunt for suspects has revealed links with the network that killed 130 people in Paris last November, as well as foiling a new potential attack on France last week, officials said. But several suspects are reported to be still at large. Isil has claimed responsibility for both the Paris and Brussels attacks. These have exposed weaknesses within intelligence services in Belgium, where some of the Paris attackers lived, as well as insufficient cooperation between security services across Europe. Dutch anti-terrorism police arrested a 32-year-old suspect on Sunday in Rotterdam on France's request, and Italy arrested an Algerian on Saturday suspected of having forged documents for militants linked to the Brussels and Paris attacks. Germany has also conducted raids but its Federal Criminal Police Office was among European security agencies still hunting for at least eight mostly French or Belgian suspects on the run in Syria or Europe, 'Die Welt am Sonntag' newspaper said. The US State Department confirmed four US citizens were among victims of nine different nationalities, including Belgian. Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block said more of those wounded in the attacks had since died. "Four patients died in hospital. Medical teams did everything possible. Total victims: 35," she said in a tweet. Other foreigners killed were British, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Swedish. The airport in Brussels remained closed yesterday and the metro was running a reduced service in the capital, which was largely shuttered for the Easter holiday. Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo, officials said. Flightradar24/PA Wire An official boards a hijacked Egyptair A320 Airbus at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus, March 29, 2016.REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou A hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 airbus stands on the runway at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus , March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou A policeman stands guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair A320 , March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy speaks during a news conference after an EgyptAir Airbus 320 plane was hijacked to Cyprus, in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany Passengers, or crew members, leave the hijacked aircraft of Egyptair at Larnaca airport. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) A special investigator makes a signal to a passenger, or crew member, who leaves the hijacked aircraft of Egyptair at Larnaca airport. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) Passengers and crew leave the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus A man climbs out of the cockpit window of the hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 at Larnaca Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus. Reuters/ Yiannis Kourtoglou An alleged hijacker who forced an Egyptian plane to divert to Cyprus and took passengers and crew hostage was wearing a fake suicide vest, officials have confirmed. The passengers and crew on EgyptAir flight MS181 were freed and unharmed, and the hijacker, named as Seif Eldin Mustafa, was arrested after giving himself up. Cyprus' Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the identity of the man this morning. Some 81 people were on board the plane, which landed in Larnaca airport in Cyprus less than an hour after takeoff at 8am local time. The plane, an EgyptAir domestic flight, was travelling from Alexandria to Cairo. German newspaper Bild earlier reported that an Irishman was on board. However, the Department of Foreign Affairs said this evening that none of the passengers were carrying an Irish passport. Minister Charlie Flanagan said he was "glad to see a peaceful resolution" to the hijacking at Larnaca airport earlier today. "In the event, my department did not receive any request for consular assistance and, as far as I am aware, none of the passengers was travelling on an Irish passport. Expand Close Police stand guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 , March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police stand guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 , March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. After the aircraft landed at Larnaca airport, negotiations began and everyone onboard was freed except three passengers and four crew, Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Expand Close Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo, officials said. Flightradar24/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo, officials said. Flightradar24/PA Wire Soon after his comments, Cypriot television footage showed several people leaving the plane via the stairs and another man climbing out of the cockpit window and running off. The hijacker then surrendered to authorities. Department aware of the security incident at Cyprus Larnaca airport, looking in to the matter urgently DFATravel (@dfatravel) March 29, 2016 Anyone with concerns about Irish citizens due to fly from #Alexandria to #Cairo can contact us on 01 408 2000. #Egypt #Cyprus DFATravel (@dfatravel) March 29, 2016 "Its over," the Cypriot foreign ministry said in a tweet. Cypriot authorities have determined that the belt worn by Seif Eldin Mustafa did not contain explosives, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. "Security in Cyprus confirmed that the explosive belt worn by the man who hijacked the plane was fake," it said. At around 1.30pm local time police expanded the security cordon around the aircraft, Sky News has reported. Police ordered the evacuation of a beach area over the airport perimeter fence and the closure of its seafront bars and restaurants. Later, one person was seen climbing out of the EgyptAir cockpit window while other people were seen walking off the plane and were led away by security. Egypt minister for Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy said the hijacker had demanded that the plane land in either Turkey or Cyprus. "He had no gun or anything. We don't know yet whether his (explosives) belt is real but for the safety of passengers we are dealing with it as real," he said. #EgyptAir says the release of all passengers has been negotiated except for four 'foreigners' and the crew https://t.co/KxLum23wC3 Sky News (@SkyNews) March 29, 2016 20 passengers reportedly released from #EgyptAir flight, one reported hijacker, no confirmation on explosives https://t.co/dmSYSh73xX Sky News (@SkyNews) March 29, 2016 Eight Britons and ten Americans reportedly aboard hijacked #EgyptAir passenger plane https://t.co/UWygkIGxMl Sky News (@SkyNews) March 29, 2016 Passengers disembarking/on the tarmac, following the release of most of the passengers #Cyprus #Egypt pic.twitter.com/g0l6ylwhgz Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) March 29, 2016 Citing security sources, Cypriot state media reported that the motives of the hijacker appeared personal, and had asked to contact his ex wife, who lives in Cyprus. "It is not something which has to do with terrorism," Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters. "What we have clarified ... is that it's not about terrorism. It appears to be a person who is unstable, in an unstable psychological state and the issue is being handled accordingly," foreign ministry official Alexandros Zenon told journalists. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said authorities would question the hijacker to ascertain his true motives, which remained a mystery. "At some moments he asked to meet with a representative of the European Union and at other points he asked to go to another airport but there was nothing specific," he said. Earlier this morning, an Egyptian foreign ministry official said: "He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot," after it was reported that the hijacker of Flight MS181 appears to have seized the plane as part of a bizarre dispute with his ex-wife. An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes. It has been reported that a woman, believed to be the hijacker's ex-wife, travelled to Larnaca airport to meet him during the situation. Cyprus's Sigma television has reported that the woman was brought to the airport from her home village of Oroklini, accompanied by a young child, according to AFP. Cypriot media has reported that the man wanted a four-page letter delivered to his ex-wife, and that he also asked for female prisoners in Egypt to be released. Meanwhile, the departure of a New York-bound EgyptAir flight was delayed due to security fears related to this morning's hijacking, according to security sources. Earlier the Cyprus state broadcaster reported that the hijacker had demanded the release of female prisoners in Egypt, where the government is facing an Islamist militant insurgency based in the Sinai Peninsula. Read More Footage released this morning and aired on Sky News showed released passengers making their way down the steps and into a waiting bus on the runway. EgyptAir says those concerned within Egypt could call their emergency centre at 0800 77 77 000, while those living abroad can call +20 2 259 893 2029. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. Meanwhile in 1985, TurkeyAir was hit by a hijacking when one of its planes was taken over by the terrorist group Abu Nidal Organisation. EgyptAir Flight 648, a Boeing 737-200, was hijacked on its way to Cairo from Athens and diverted to Malta where it landed. Egyptian troops raided the plane and 60 people were killed, including two of the three Palestinian hijackers. In 1978, another incident involved Egyptians, planes and Larnaca airport. The incident arose when two Palestinians assassinated an Egyptian government minister at his hotel in Nicosia. The assailants took hostages and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane with them. They later returned to Cyprus, where they had an hours-long standoff until an Egyptian C-130 carrying commandos landed at Larnaca airport. The commandos attempted to storm the Cyprus Airways jet, but were fired upon by Cypriot troops. Many were killed. The Palestinians eventually surrendered. They were arrested, sentenced and released years later. The incident poisoned Egypt's relations with Cyprus for years. Relations eventually improved, but it was Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in office since June 2014, who has forged close ties with Cyprus. El-Sissi and Anastasiades frequently confer in person or on the phone. Belgian police and soldiers secure the area outside Zaventem Airport in Brussels (AP) The number of people killed in last week's bombings at Brussels Airport and on a rush-hour metro train has been revised down to 32, excluding the three suicide bombers, Belgian federal prosecutors said today. Officials had previously put the death toll at 35, but they said on Tuesday that had been due to the double counting of three people with dual nationality. Expand Close CCTV: The three caught on camera Photo: Belgian Federal Police/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp CCTV: The three caught on camera Photo: Belgian Federal Police/PA Wire Ine Van Wymeersch, a magistrate, said all the victims from the twin bomb attacks last Tuesday had been identified and consisted of 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners. "After thorough verification: number of victims goes down to 32. Still 94 people in hospital," tweeted Belgian Health Minister Maggie De Block. The foreigners killed in the attacks comprised British, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Swedish and U.S. nationals. Brussels airport began trying out a make-shift check-in area on Tuesday that could allow a limited restart of passenger flights in the coming days. However, a spokeswoman said the airport would not reopen, even partially, on Wednesday. The departure area was heavily damaged when Ibrahim ('Brahim') El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui blew themselves up on March 22. Bakraoui's brother Khalid blew himself up shortly afterwards on a metro train in Brussels. Adding to a series of missteps and blunders by security forces that have emerged since the attacks, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Dutch police the Bakraoui brothers were being sought by Belgian authorities a week before the attacks in Brussels. The Dutch interior minister said the information had been shared at a meeting between Belgian and Dutch authorities on March 17, but that was denied by Belgian federal police. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, reported to be the mastermind behind the Paris attacks, boasted of how border guards failed to stop him. Fifty of Europe's most dangerous offenders including murderers, rapists, paedophiles and one of the world's most wanted terrorists have slipped into Britain undetected, a new analysis has found. Vote leave, the eurosceptic campaign group led by Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, warned that foreign offenders are using EU freedom of movement laws to enter Britain despite being convicted of serious crimes. At total of 45 of them have gone on to commit further crimes in Britain, including 14 who have gone on to kill, 13 who have committed sex offences and nine who carried out violent assaults. The cases include that of Arnis Zalkans, a Latvian suspected of murdering 14-year-old schoolgirl Alice Gross before killing himself. Before entering Britain he served seven years in prison in his home country for murdering his wife. In another high-profile case Adelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian citizen who orchestrated the Paris terror attacks, entered Dover last year despite being subject to an arrest warrant. In several of the cases senior judges expressed their astonishment that the offenders had been allowed into Britain despite the severity of their offences. The analysis added to the deepening row within the Conservative Party over Europe as David Cameron has repeatedly argued that Britain will be safer if it votes to stay in. Vote Leave claimed the European Union is "hanging out the welcome sign" to foreign criminals. Dominic Raab, the eurosceptic justice minster, said: "European Union rules make it far too difficult to control who comes into the UK, and who we can deport. In security terms, that forces us to import risk, at the expense of public protection. There's no escaping the fact that this weakens our security." However Damian Green, a Conservative MP and former Home Office minister who is campaigning for Britain to stay in, said that since 2010, 6,000 European citizens have been barred from entering the UK He said: "Once again, the Leave campaign's argument makes no sense, it is a mix of chaos and confusion. "The truth is that the UK already has the best of both worlds. We maintain all the benefits of EU membership while opting out of the passport-free Schengen area and maintaining our border at Calais rather than Dover." The analysis is also likely to prove controversial as the family of Alice Gross previously said they did not want their daughter's death "hijacked" by anti-immigration groups. In a statement released through Liberty, the civil rights group, ahead of her inquest last year the family said that they "believe in freedom of movements and human rights". Foreign offenders have entered the UK under Europe's "free movement" laws, which entitle EU citizens to travel and work across Europe. While Britain can bar foreign offenders from entry if they are deemed to pose a "serious threat" to public security, European nations are not compelled to share the criminal records of their offenders. In some of the most serious cases foreign offenders were allowed to enter Britain because the authorities had not been informed that they had committed serious crimes in their home country. Vote Leave also highlighted concerns that while convicted murderers in the UK are subject to supervision for the remainder of their life on release, the same approach does not apply to those convicted of murder in other EU states. As well as Zalkans, the 45 criminals from the EU who have committed further offences in the UK include Victor Akulic, a Lithuanian who raped a 40-year-old woman and then forced her to watch a recording of the horrific attack just months after arriving in the UK in 2010. In 2012 Kajus Scuka, a murderer from the the Czech Republic who had served 11 years for murdering his wife in his home country, was jailed for a series of sex attacks including a knifepoint rape. Until he was caught, police did not even realise that he was in the country. Judge Peter Kelson said at the time: "It seems to me [to be] the case that even with your convictions for murder and assaults you were free to enjoy the same freedom of movement as any other European citizen." Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Here is what we know so far about the EgyptAir plane hijacking this morning: 1. Flight details An EgyptAir domestic flight was travelling to Alexandria to Cairo in Egypt when the pilot was ordered to divert to Cyprus. The aircraft involved is an EgyptAir Airbus A320. 2. Reports of Irish citizen on board The Department of Foreign Affairs are unable to confirm the reports of an Irish citizen on the flight, but German newspaper Bild are reporting an Irishman to be one of the foreign passengers. Read More 3. Hijacker identified The hijacker has been identified by Egyptian state media as 27-year-old Egyptian national Ibrahim Samaha. Ibrahim Abdel Tawwab Samaha is a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria University, a staff list on the university website shows. Samaha is head of the department of food health, the site shows. 4. Demands It is understood he requested a translator and political asylum. Cypriot state radio also reported the man wanted a four-page letter delivered to his ex-wife. 5. Reaction "It is not something which has to do with terrorism," Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters. Larnaca airport has been closed and scheduled flights have been diverted elsewhere. EgyptAir says those concerned within Egypt could call their emergency center at 0800 77 77 000, while those living abroad can call +20 2 259 893 2029. A jury has been sworn in to try the case of four students accused of raping a woman at an annual college ball and filming the alleged attack. Thady Duff, 22, James Martin, 20, Leo Mahon, 22, and 22-year-old Patrick Foster deny all the charges they face, which are alleged to have been committed against the same woman. Expand Close Thady Duff / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Thady Duff They are accused of raping the alleged victim at the end-of-year ball at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in May 2014. A jury of six men and six women were sworn in to hear the case at Gloucester Crown Court. Expand Close James Martin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp James Martin Judge Jamie Tabor QC told the panel that barrister Fiona Elder would begin the prosecution case on Wednesday morning and they were released until then. He told them: "This case concerns sexual activity on a ball night at the Royal Agricultural University. Some of that was filmed. Expand Close Patrick Foster / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Patrick Foster "This is going to be what we call adult pornographic material - very short in length - to be watched." Duff, of Blunsdon, Swindon, Wiltshire denies three charges of rape. He also denies a charge of sexual assault against the same woman which is alleged to have been carried out between October 1 and 31 2013. Martin, of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, denies a single charge of rape. Mahon, of Cirencester, Gloucestershire denies three charges of rape and two charges of assault by penetration. Foster, of Kelvedon, Colchester, Essex denies one charge of rape and two charges of assault by penetration. The internationally renowned university, which until 2013 was known as the Royal Agricultural College, is rated the Oxbridge of agricultural studies. Founded in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport, in these undated photos made available to Reuters by the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, in Brussels, Belgium, March 29, 2016 Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport Belgium's justice minister has pleaded for critics of Belgium's intelligence failures to focus on the hunt for those behind last week's Brussels attacks and November's massacre in Paris. Investigators say they are still looking for at least one suspect in the attacks seven days ago, when suicide bombers killed 32 people at Brussels' airport and in a subway station near the European Union headquarters. Three suicide bombers also blew themselves up. Expand Close Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport, in these undated photos made available to Reuters by the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, in Brussels, Belgium, March 29, 2016 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport, in these undated photos made available to Reuters by the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, in Brussels, Belgium, March 29, 2016 The Health Ministry and victims identification officials said 90 people remain in hospital, a third of them suffering from severe burns. In a joint press conference they said the 32 dead include 17 Belgians and 15 foreigners, while 44 of the wounded are foreigners from 20 nations. Belgium has faced rising international criticism over its evident inability to identify and monitor Islamic State activists living in the Belgian capital who have been deemed responsible both for the March 22 bombings in Brussels and the November 13 attacks on Paris nightspots that left 130 dead. Several of those who killed themselves during the attacks or were subsequently arrested were Belgian nationals of North African background. Expand Close Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport "Now is not the time to fight one another. As far as I know, the enemy is in Syria," Justice Minister Koen Geens said, referring to the primary power base of the Islamic State extremist group that claimed responsibility for both attacks. But authorities in Belgium and the neighbouring Netherlands faced fresh questions on Tuesday about how much they knew in advance of the March 22 bombings. Turkey already has revealed it deported one of the suicide bombers, Ibrahim El Bakraoui, to the Netherlands in mid-2015 after catching him near the Syrian border and identifying him to Dutch authorities as a suspected IS militant. Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur said that his country's security services received a note from the FBI on March 16 detailing what he called the "radical and terrorist background" of the El Bakraoui brothers. One, Ibrahim, blew himself up alongside an accomplice at Brussels airport, while the other brother, Khalid, detonated a bomb inside a train leaving the Maelbeek Metro station. The timing of the note and why it was sent to the Dutch remained unclear. Belgian authorities said they were not informed of its existence and had no idea where the El Bakroaui brothers were before the Brussels bombings. Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur, who faces criticism for his own actions before and after the suicide bombings, said Belgian authorities must learn painful lessons and improve their ability to combat Islamic militancy. "Were there mistakes? Did we miss anything? Certainly. Otherwise these attacks would not have happened," he said. Brussels, he suggested, would never feel the same. "There's no such thing as 'normal' anymore," he said during a visit to Paris. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo pledged solidarity with Belgium as it begins "a long and painful process of grieving and reconstruction", Brussels airport has yet to reopen since the attacks but has been testing a temporary check-in system for use in coming days. The Metro system is mostly running again, though under heavy guard. Throughout the day people have been wondering about the identity of a passenger who had the cheek to take pictures with the EgyptAir hijacker. Now the mystery is solved: he is a 26-year-old English man named Ben Innes. Mr Innes's sister confirmed it was her brother in a tweet and friends from the University of York also recognised him. "Only Ben could get a selfie!" she tweeted, with the #proud #EgyptAir hashtags. "This is not a surprise at all," a friend said. "Ben is a wild man and this is totally in character for him. He was a big rugby guy and very into his banter and didn't have much respect for authority." Mr Innes's flatmate Chris Tundogan told MailOnline he had "no idea" why his friend had the photograph taken, adding: "I find it pretty mental, but that's just Ben I guess!" Expand Close Police stand guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 , March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police stand guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 , March 29, 2016. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou Mr Innes graduated in environmental science in 2011 and now lives in Leeds and works in health and safety. His mother, Pauline Innes, was less keen to discuss but pointed out the photograph was not a selfie. She said: "All we can say is that the picture is clearly not a selfie as everyone has been describing it. "You can clearly see that it is not Ben who is taking the picture. He's in it but he's not taking it. Expand Close Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo, officials said. Flightradar24/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Screen grabbed image taken from Flightradar24 of EgyptAir plane MS181 which has landed in Cyprus after being hijacked while flying from Alexandria to Cairo, officials said. Flightradar24/PA Wire "But we don't want to speak about anything until he's back home." Mr Innes, believed to be a health and safety auditor, is said to have approached the alleged hijacker while being held hostage on the tarmac, and sent the photograph to one of his flatmates as well as other friends, it has been reported. Earlier today, the Egyptian plane forced to divert to Cyprus was due to an alleged hijacker who was wearing a fake suicide belt. The captain and crew have been congratulated for how they dealt with the incident in which a man on board claimed to have an explosive belt and took people hostage. The plane was carrying 56 passengers, including 26 foreigners, on an EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo. Most of those on board were freed shortly after the plane landed at Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island at 8.50am, before the hijacker held seven people hostage for a number of hours. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are relieved that the situation at Larnaca airport has now come to a safe conclusion. We are providing consular support to four British nationals caught up in today's events. "We remain in close contact with the Cypriot and Egyptian authorities." Diplomats in Dublin said they did not believe any Irish citizens had been caught up in the hijacking. The man was arrested minutes after some of those being held were seen walking down the stairs of the plane, with another escaping through a cockpit window before they were led away by security officers. EgyptAir said Cypriot authorities at the airport had confirmed "the explosive belt that the hijacker allegedly said that he was wearing is fake". The Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Yehia Rashed, said: "We congratulate the EgyptAir captain and his crew for landing the plane safely and for putting the safety of the passengers as a priority, in a highly professional manner and in accordance with international aviation standards. "The Egyptian Prime Minister, Sherif Ismail, was personally involved in helping to resolve this incident and EgyptAir is currently taking the necessary steps to bring back all passengers involved. "We are assured by passengers on the flight that all security measures at Borg El Arab Airport were fully implemented." Footage posted on the official Facebook page of Egypt's Ministry of Interior appears to show the hijacker passing through security before boarding the flight. The man, circled in red, can be seen loading his bag to be scanned and calmly walking through a detector. He is then frisked by a security official before collecting his bag and walking off. Another image posted on the page shows a scan taken of his bag, which appears largely empty. Cypriot officials confirmed the incident had reached a peaceful conclusion. Officials said early on that the hijacking was not an act of terrorism, and later that the man appeared to be psychologically unstable. The man was said to have initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport. At one point he demanded the release of women held in Egyptian prisons, but he then dropped the demand and made others. According to The Guardian, an official at Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs added: "He's not a terrorist, he's an idiot. Terrorists are crazy but they aren't stupid. This guy is." Egypt's official Middle East News Agency identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa, without providing further details. The hijacking will raise serious concerns over security at Egyptian airports, and one aviation expert claimed the incident was a return to "the security stone age". David Learmount said it appeared the captain of the flight "didn't have faith in the security systems" and felt he had to follow the hijacker's demands, resulting in the "first major successful hijack since 9/11". But he said the captain should have been confident that it was "impossible" for someone to have got through security with a suicide belt. The incident comes just five months after 224 people were killed when a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft in October, and the extremist Islamic State group (IS) said it was responsible. Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said: "I was glad to see a peaceful resolution to the hijacking incident at Larnaca airport in Cyprus earlier today. "In the event, my department did not receive any request for consular assistance and, as far as I am aware, none of the passengers was travelling on an Irish passport." Pope Francis has denounced the "vile and senseless" bombing in a Pakistani park, targeting Christian families celebrating Easter, and pressed for protection for religious minorities in the largely Muslim nation. "Easter Sunday was bloodied by an abominable attack that massacred so many innocent people, for the most part families of the Christian minority, especially women and children, gathered in a public park to joyfully pass the Easter holiday," Francis solemnly told faithful in St Peter's Square. Later, Pakistani authorities said most of the victims identified so far were Muslim, but that Christians were also among the 70 victims. The Pope has repeatedly spoken passionately about the suffering of Christians in the Middle East, Africa and Asia who are being targeted by Islamic extremists. Just last week, in a Good Friday service, he criticised what he called the "cowardly silence" toward the persecution and killing of Christians. Yesterday, he pointedly called for improved security for religious minorities and asked those present to pray for the victims. In his Easter message Pope Francis had earlier tempered his message of Christian hope with a denunciation of "blind" terrorism, recalling victims of attacks in Europe, Africa and elsewhere and expressing dismay at Europe's attitude to the plight of refugees. Tens of thousands of people listened to Francis deliver the traditional noon Easter speech from St Peter's Basilica. Francis toured the square, which was adorned with tulips and other spring flowers, in his open-topped 'Popemobile' after celebrating Mass on the basilica steps. He leaned over barriers to shake hands as the vehicle ventured past the Vatican's confines, his bodyguards jogging alongside. A SWISS prison guard who snuck her serial-rapist lover out of prison in the middle of the night has been arrested after two months on the run. Angela Magdici (32) had been on the run with convicted rapist Hassan Kiko (27) since early February when the pair fled Zurich's Limmattal Prison. They were arrested last Friday in Italy - just four days after posting a video taunting authorities for not catching them. Police believe the pair were planning on fleeing to the Middle East. Italian authorities are now extraditing the couple back to Switzerland. In the video clip posted last week, Magdici apologises to the husband and family she left behind - and for draining their bank account. What we did was a result of love, she said. Everything was so surreptitious, but it was not possible to say anything before vanishing from your lives. I am really sorry and I love you all very much. Hassan is the love of my life. I have never met such an honorable, warm and sensitive and funny man as him. Kiko meanwhile used the video to deny the rapes he was convicted of, and to slam prison food. This crap food, which I was always given by these crap people, he said. The extraordinary legal fight pitting the Obama administration against technology giant Apple ended unexpectedly after the FBI said it used a mysterious method without Apple's help to hack into a California mass shooter's iPhone. Questions remain about how the sudden development would affect privacy in the future, and what happens the next time the US government is frustrated by digital security lockout features. Government prosecutors had asked a federal judge to vacate a disputed order forcing Apple to help the FBI break into the iPhone, saying it was no longer necessary. The FBI used the unspecified technique to access data on an iPhone used by gunman Syed Farook, who died with his wife in a gun battle with police after they killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. The US justice department said agents are now reviewing the information on the phone. The government's brief court filing, in the US district court for the Central District of California, provided no details about how the FBI got into the phone. Nor did it identify the non-government "outside party" who showed agents how to get past the phone's security defences. Authorities had previously said only Apple had the ability to help them unlock the phone. Apple responded by saying it will continue to increase the security of its products. "We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along," the company added in a statement, while reiterating its argument that the government's demand for Apple's help was wrong. "This case should never have been brought," the company said. FBI assistant director David Bowdich said examining the iPhone was part of the authorities' effort to learn if the San Bernardino shooters had worked with others or had targeted any other victims. "I am satisfied that we have access to more answers than we did before," he said in a statement. The dispute ignited a fierce internet-era debate that pitted digital privacy rights against national security concerns and reinvigorated discussion over the impact of encryption on law enforcement's ability to serve the public. Californian representative Darrell Issa said that while it was "preferable" that the government gained access to the iPhone without Apple's help, the fundamental question of the extent to which the government should be able to access personal information remains unanswered. Republican Mr Issa, a critic of the administration's domestic surveillance practices, said the government's legal action against Apple raised constitutional and privacy questions and that "those worried about our privacy should stay wary" because this does not mean "their quest for a secret key into our devices is over". The surprise development punctured the temporary perception that Apple's security might have been good enough to keep consumers' personal information safe even from the US government. And while Barack Obama's administration created a policy for disclosing such security vulnerabilities to companies, the policy allows for a vulnerability to be kept secret if there is a law enforcement or national security rationale for doing so. The withdrawal of the court process also takes away Apple's ability to legally request details on the method the FBI used in this case. Apple attorneys said last week that they hoped the government would share that information with them if it proved successful. The Justice Department would not comment on any future disclosure of the method to Apple or the public. Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief legal and business officer at Mozilla, which makes the Firefox web browser, said in a statement that "fixing vulnerabilities makes for better products and better security for everyone" and the "government needs to take that into account" and disclose the vulnerability to Apple. Apple CEO Tim Cook had argued that helping the FBI hack the iPhone would set a dangerous precedent, making all iPhone users vulnerable, if Apple complied with the court order. He as well as FBI Director James Comey has said that Congress needs to take up the issue. Apple was headed for a courtroom showdown with the government last week, until federal prosecutors abruptly asked for a postponement so they could test a potential solution brought to them by a party outside of the US government last Sunday. A law enforcement official said the FBI would continue to aid its local and state partners with gaining evidence in cases - implying that the method would be shared with them. High on the waiting list for assistance is likely to be Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, who told a US House panel earlier this month that he has 205 iPhones his investigators can not access data from in criminal investigations. Apple is also opposing requests to help extract information from 14 Apple devices in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. An Indian Catholic priest was crucified by Isil on Good Friday in Yemen, according to a group with close ties to the home where he was abducted. A Dubai-based prayer group with close ties to the missionary home in Aden reported Father Tom Uzhunnallil's death on its Arabic website. He had been kidnapped earlier this month. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Archbishop of Vienna, referred to the claims in his Easter Sunday homily. Asked about the reports on Austrian television news, the archbishop replied: "We hope that it's not so, but we have to fear that it's true". The Corpus Christi Dubai report appears to lend weight to earlier warnings that Isil was planning to crucify Fr Uzhunnallil on Good Friday. Fr Uzhunnallil (56) was kidnapped on March 4 by gunmen who raided Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, the Aden missionary home where he had been working as a chaplain. Sixteen people were killed in the attack. Sister Sally, the order's mother superior who survived the attack, claimed the gunmen were from Isil and a neighbour reportedly witnessed militants driving away with Fr Uzhunnallil in a car. The latest reports come just days after Sushma Swaraj, India's foreign minister, said: "Fr Tom Uzhunnallil - an Indian national from Kerala - was abducted by a terror group in Yemen. We are making all efforts to secure his release," she wrote on Twitter on Saturday. She had earlier written: "We will spare no efforts to rescue Father Tom Uzhunnallil." This photo released on Sunday March 27, 2016, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a general view of Palmyra citadel, central Syria. Palmyra is an archaeological gem that Syrian troops took back from Islamic State fighters in central Syria. The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic Syrian town of Palmyra was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) Destroyed statues at the damaged Palmyra Museum, in Palmyra city, central Syria. (SANA via AP) The damaged Palmyra Museum, in Palmyra city, central Syria. (SANA via AP) The amount of destruction found inside the archaeological area in the historic Syrian town of Palmyra was similar to what experts have expected but the shock came Monday from inside the local museum where the extremists have caused wide damage demolishing invaluable statues that were torn to pieces. (SANA via AP) Demining experts have so far removed 150 bombs planted by the Islamic State group inside the archaeological site in the historic town of Palmyra, a Syrian antiquities official says. Syria's head of antiquities and museums, Maamoun Abdul-Karim, told The Associated Press that a technical team has returned to Damascus after a two-day work in Palmyra. Syrian troops captured the town from IS fighters on Sunday after three weeks of intense fighting. Abdul-Karim says the team photographed inside the museum where many statues were damaged by IS during its 10-month control of Palmyra. He says the technical team could not reach some remote sites, including the burial places, because there are "hundreds of mines" left. Syrian state media reported that war planes struck several IS vehicle and targets east of Palmyra. Migrants during a protest demanding the opening of the border between Greece and Macedonia in the northern Greek border village of Idomeni (AP) Police have clashed with some 300 migrants and refugees at the Greek border with Macedonia, as protests intensified and thousands ignored government instructions to move to organised shelters. Youths threw rocks at riot police who withdrew from the area without making any arrests, authorities said. The protesters have blocked freight rail tracks for the past eight days, demanding that the border reopen. Macedonia says the border will remain closed to all migrants at least until the end of the year. Some 12,000 people remain camped out in harsh conditions near the border village of Idomeni, despite daily calls by the government to move to nearby shelters built by the army. Police vehicles at Capitol Hill in Washington DC after reports of gunfire at the Capitol Visitor Centre complex (AP) Police shot a man after he pulled a weapon at a US Capitol checkpoint as spring tourists thronged Washington. The suspect was previously known to police, who last October arrested him for disrupting House of Representatives proceedings and yelling he was a "Prophet of God". US Capitol Police identified the man as 66-year-old Larry Dawson of Tennessee. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed. Dawson was taken to a local hospital, where police said he was in stable but critical condition. A female bystander also suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Initial reports had said a police officer was injured but that proved wrong. After his arrest last year, Dawson was issued a "stay away order" by DC Superior Court in October, telling him to keep away from the Capitol grounds. The US Capitol was on lockdown for about an hour on Monday and the White House also was briefly locked down. As the capital teemed with spring tourists in town to view the cherry blossoms, staff members and visitors to the Capitol were rushed into offices and told to shelter in place. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," said Capitol Chief of Police Matthew Verderosa. He said it was unclear how many officers fired their guns. Mr Verderosa said the suspect's vehicle had been found on Capitol grounds and was seized. The incident unfolded with Congress on recess. House Speaker Paul Ryan thanked Capitol Police, saying: "This evening our thoughts and prayers are with all those who faced danger today." According to court documents, Dawson was arrested at the US Capitol in October after he stood up and shouted Bible verses in the gallery of the House chamber. He was charged with disorderly and disruptive conduct on the grounds of the Capitol and assaulting, resisting or interfering with a police officer. He was also ordered to stay away from the building and grounds. Dawson did not return for a scheduled hearing in November. In a letter filed with his case, he said he will "not comply with the court order, nor will I surrender myself unto your office". Visitors were turned away from the Capitol in the immediate aftermath of the shooting as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police cordoned off the streets immediately around the building. Cathryn Leff of Temecula, California, in town to lobby with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Centre when police told people to leave immediately. Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told those there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left ... I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all." South Carolina football beats Texas A&M 30-24 in first win vs Aggies South Carolina football nearly squandered a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but held on to beat Texas A&M 30-24 for the first time in program history. SHARE By Nikie Mayo of the Independent Mail Anderson could soon be getting a new Aldi grocery store. The Anderson City Council has been petitioned to annex and rezone about 5 acres on S.C. 28 Bypass near Walmart Supercenter and Zaxby's restaurant in preparation for the grocery store. Anderson officials are also looking to rezone an adjacent, roughly 1.5-acre parcel that contains a sewer trunk line and is owned by the city. Both pieces of property may soon be zoned to allow for general commercial development. "I don't think it is any secret that this larger piece of property is for an Aldi," City Manager Linda McConnell said Monday night. There is already one other Aldi on Anderson. It is on Clemson Boulevard. Aldi is a German-based discount grocery chain. It cuts costs by offering private-label brands and having customers bag their own groceries. The request for annexation and rezoning was referred Monday night to the city's Planning Commission, which is expected to take it up April 5. The council also referred another rezoning request to the commission. That request is to rezone a piece of residential property at 407 Concord Road. The applicant is seeking a neighborhood professional zoning, which would allow for a health services, massage-therapy business on the property. In other business, the council approved a one-year contract with Southern Health Partners, a Tennessee-based company that provides medical care for inmates. The company was awarded a contract for $137,980 and will begin providing care for inmates at the city jail in April. The contract is based on the city having 110 inmates daily, which is what it averaged in the past year. If the daily inmate population goes up, the amount of the contract can be adjusted. It won't cost any less if the population goes down, city officials said. Inmates' medical care now is being provided by city staff, but the city recently began to look for ways to handle that more efficiently, according to paperwork provided to the council. Having the company provide inmates' medical care reduces liability for Anderson, according to city officials. Southern Health Partners already provides medical care to inmates at the Anderson County Detention Center. The company also provides care at several other facilities in South Carolina, including one in Pickens County. In other business, the council took steps to refinance a series of water and sewer bonds, with the goal of saving money. The council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would allow the city to start the process. But if market conditions change or the city determines it would not save money, officials can stop the refinancing process, McConnell said. The city refinanced $48 million in water and sewer bonds in 2012 with the goal of saving roughly $4 million. Because of favorable market conditions, the city netted a savings of $5.9 million in interest. The savings was divided among the city and county of Anderson and a sewer district in Homeland Park. Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo Anderson County authorities are still investigating whether diabetes was a factor in the death of a Wren High School student who was killed in a single-vehicle wreck Friday. James Robert Tharp, 17, died at the scene of the wreck on Wren School Road just before 2 p.m., less than a mile from the high school. The 2006 Toyota Camry that Tharp was driving struck a tree, said Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore. Diabetes may have contributed to speed being a factor in the crash, Shore said. No official data was ready yet Monday about Tharp's insulin pump, but the toxicology report shows his blood sugar levels were higher than 500, Shore said, according to a report from Independent Mail coverage partner WSPA News Channel 7. No drugs or alcohol were in Tharp's system, the coroner said, according to the WSPA report. Anjani Portland Cement slipped 2.6% to Rs.148.10 on BSE. On Monday, the company got approval from Sebi for its proposed rights issue. Market regulator SEBI has given approval to the company for a rights issue to raise Rs. 75 crore. The Securities and Exchange Board of India received draft documents for the rights issue on December 30, and issued its 'observations' on March 23. The scrip opened at Rs. 150.1 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 150.1 and Rs. 146 respectively. So far 3665(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 279.53 crore. The BSE group 'XC' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 234.5 on 01-Dec-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 90.9 on 13-May-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 154 and Rs. 146 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 75 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 0.23 % and 24.77 % respectively. Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive... then go do it. World needs people who have come alive.- Howard ThurmanThe world and it's markets seem to have no major worries. So was the case on Monday but Indian indices came tumbling down charting it's own course. Metal, pharma and banking stocks were among the top losers. The weakness on Monday was accentuated by a fall in Tata Steel, SBI and ICICI Bank.The outlook is a flat start. Crude prices have cooled. Asian markets remain directionless as they are moving in a narrow range. US indices too ended near precious closing levels. Fed policy will be in focus as global investors will eye US GDP data and a speech from Janet Yellen.Nifty resistance at 7745 is particularly strong; this level is the midpoint of the current gann channel. Technically speaking, formation of hanging man candlestick at the top of the uptrend also suggests investors should adopt a cautious approach.With F&O expiry around the corner, market is most likely to swing between 7500-7700 zone (maximum call/put OI at 7700/7500 strikes). With FIIs adding significant index long position during the March series; rollovers of their long index future position is most likely to dictate near term trend in the market. India VIX (fear index) has seen sharp increase in todays trading session indicating market participants expect the current rally to halt at 7,750 level.: The Walt Disney Co is in talks with India's DLF Brands to open stores in the country, according to reports.Disney plans to operate such stores on a licensing and franchisee basis.: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will fully fund its $1.27 bn stake buy in Vankor field in Russia through overseas borrowing, chairman Dinesh K Sarraf reportedly said. The Board of Directors of ONGC have approved the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the development of fields falling under Cluster 2 of the Deep-water NELP Block KG-DWN-98/2. The development would involve a capital expenditure of US$5,076.37 million.: State Bank Of India, has announced that the Bank has made payment on March 28, 2016 to the eligible bondholders of SBI Unsecured Non-Convertible Bonds 2005-06 SBIN (Series III), issued by the erstwhile State Bank of Indore (since merged with State Bank of India) which were due for payment on redemption.: The company proposes to issue 1000 Secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures with a face value of Rs. 10 lakh each aggregating to Rs. 100 Crores, on Private Placement basis, pursuant to special resolution passed by the shareholders of the Company at the 10th Annual General Meeting held on September 07, 2015.: The bank has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank is scheduled to be held on March 31, 2016, for considering issuance of equity shares of the face value of Rs. 10/- each aggregating up to Rs. 740.00 Crore by way of preferential allotment in favour of Government of India.: Inox Wind has announced that continuing Company expansion in southern states of India, Inox Wind Infrastructure Services Limited, a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Inox Wind Limited has acquired Sarayu Wind Power (Kondapuram) Private Limited, with effect from March 25, 2016.: Albert David Ltd entered in a deal with Zydus Cadila. The deal is valued at Rs. 55 crore.: Wipro announced a five-year partnership with Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, master franchisee for Domino's Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts in India and the leader in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) space in the country with over 1000 restaurants in India, to deliver energy management services and help reduce its energy and operational costs.: The company has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company, on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, on March 28, 2016, appointed Dr. Rakesh Mohan as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company with effect from May 01, 2016 upto June 30, 2020: The company announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan has approved its biosimilar Insulin Glargine.: The company said in a notice to BSE that it has received two orders worth Rs.623 crore from Bhutan, Jammu & Kashmir for Hydro and Tunnel works.: GVK Power Infra announced in a notice to BSE that is has divested 33% stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd to Fairfax Group for Rs.2,149 crore.: SSWL said that it won 15 million business from PSA Peugeot Citroen.: Allcargo Logistics has informed BSE that the Resource Raising Committee of the Company at its meeting held on March 28, 2016 (today), inter alia, has considered and approved raising of funds up to Rs. 300 crore by issue of secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures (NCDs) on private placement.: TVS Motor Companyannounced the launch of its new four stroke TVS XL 100 in Maharashtra. The all new TVS XL 100 has been designed to meet the evolving needs of todays customer.: Panacea Biotec, India's 3rd largest biotechnology company introduces indigenously developed high quality Oncology product, CABAPAN (Cabazitaxel Injection), for treatment of metastatic Castration Resistant Prostrate Cancer (mCRPC).: The company has received Rs. 72 crore from Sadbhav Engineering Limited against stake of 20% held in Mumbai Nasik Expressway Limited (MNEL).: The company has announced that the board of Directors of the company has approved scheme of arrangement between Lasa Laboratory, Urdhwa Chemicals, Rishichem Research, Desh Chemicals and Lasa Supergenerics.: State-run power equipment maker BHEL has commissioned a 40MW unit of a hydro power plant in West Bengal.: The company has acquired Piramal Consumer Products for a consideration of Rs. 1.50 Lakh.: Dr Reddys Laboratories and XenoPort Inc. has entered into a licence agreement pursuant to which Dr Reddys Laboratories will be granted exclusive U.S. rights for the development and commercialisation of XenoPort's clinical stage oral new chemical entity, XP23829.: The pharma company has been granted final approval by United States Food & Drug Administration for Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 3mg/ 0.03 mg, the generic version of Yasmin Tablets of Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Bayer) and for Levonorgestrel Tablets, 1.5 mg, the generic version of Plan B One-Step Tablet of Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Product R&D Inc., for over the counter use.: The company has informed BSE that a work order amounting to Rs. 109.27 Crores namely "Jarapada-Budhapank with flyover at Talcher Road - 3rd & 4th line; Execution of Earth Work, Minor Bridges & Other Allied works (KM 525.133 to KM 483.047 i.e. 35.5 Km -3rd Line & 42.00 Km-4th line approx. excluding flyover portion at Talcher Road" has been awarded in favour of one of the Company's Joint Venture (JV) i.e. "ARSS-SIPS (JV)" by East Coast Railway, Bhubaneswar.: The company have successfully commenced commercial production in the new manufacturing unit at Palsana, Surat (Gujarat) w.e.f. March 25, 2016.: UCO Bank has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on March 28, 2016, considered the proposal for issue of equity shares to Government of India on preferential basis against their proposal for capital infusion of Rs. 935 crore subject to necessary approvals from shareholders and other authorities.: Consumer Confidence (Mar) EUR, Business Confidence (Mar) EUR, Private loans (YoY) (Feb) EUR, M3 Money Supply (3m) (Feb) EUR, M3 Money Supply (YoY) (Feb) EUR, FOMC Member Williams speech USD, Raw Material Price Index (Feb) CAD, Industrial Product Price (MoM) (Feb) CAD, Redbook index (MoM) (Mar 25) USD, Redbook index (YoY) (Mar 25) USD, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (YoY) (Jan) USD, Consumer Confidence (Mar) USD, 52-Week Bill auction USD, 4-Week Bill Auction USD, Fed's Yellen Speech USD, 2-Year Note Auction USD, API Weekly Crude Oil Stock (Mar 25) USD, Building Permits s.a. (MoM) (Feb) NZD, Industrial Production (MoM) (Feb)Preliminar JPY, Industrial Production (YoY) (Feb)Preliminar JPY: The domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of Rs.24.94 bn in the cash segment on Monday. The FIIs were net buyers of Rs.20.42 bn as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.announced it will divest 33% stake in Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to Fairfax India Holdings Corporation and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, through their wholly-owned subsidiaries in Mauritius, for an aggregate investment of Rs21.5bn. (BS)has received eight observations for its formulation plant at Kothur near Hyderabad and API facility at Manali (near Chennai), following inspections by the USFDA in the months of February and March. (BL)has acquired Actibile, a gastroenterology brand from Albert David for an undisclosed sum. (ET)has entered into a US licensing pact with XenoPort for the development and commercialisation of latter's clinical-stage oral new chemical entity XP23829. (BS)has received final approval from the US health regulator USFDA for oral contraceptives and leukemia treatment injection. (BS)has commissioned second 40 Mw hydropower generating unit at the Teesta low dam hydro electric project (HEP) stage-IV in West Bengal. (BL)said its board has approved a Rs340bn investment plan to bring into production a flagship hydrocarbon block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the Andhra coast. (BL)has got approval from Japan's health ministry to sell its biosimilar insulin Glargine in disposable pens in the the country, the second largest market for insulin outside of the US and Europe. (BS)has bagged two orders worth Rs6.2bn in the hydro power and tunneling sectors. (ET)subsidiary L&T Infrastructure Finance Company plans to raise up to Rs2bn through issuance of non-convertible bonds on a private placement basis. (BS)announced the acquisition of Noske-Kaeser's rail and vehicles business in select markets for 2.3 mn euros. (ET)The Delhi government presented an annual budget of Rs466bn for 2016-17, an increase of Rs88.5bn over last year. (BS)The government is likely to infuse additional capital of about Rs50.5bn in some public sector banks this week. (ET)The newly constituted Board of Trade (BoT), a top advisory body on external commerce, is expected to meet on April 6 to discuss on the ways to boost exports. (BL)The Centre has notified the new Aadhaar Act which gives the numbers assigned by it a statutory backing for transfer of subsidies and benefits to people eligible for them. (ET) TEN MOST ACTIVE FUTURES Symbol No.of Cont Traded Last price Open Interest % chg in Op.Int SBIN 25,384 188.80 50,758,000 -12.43 ICICIBANK 24,826 226.15 49,874,600 -14.18 AXISBANK 23,890 424.40 29,515,000 -14.03 HDFCBANK 18,170 1,052.60 19,475,500 -13.45 LT 17,442 1,209.90 7,068,300 -14.00 TATASTEEL 16,341 300.20 16,466,000 -20.95 INFY 15,364 1,208.65 8,595,000 -7.30 MARUTI 14,139 3,650.50 2,135,250 -16.00 HDFC 14,006 1,143.95 7,199,200 -19.54 VEDL 13,298 88.15 44,600,000 -10.53 TEN MOST ACTIVE OPTIONS Option Type Strike price No.of Cont Traded Open Interest % Chg in Op.In SBIN CE 200 7,517 7,788,000 14.77 SBIN CE 195 5,020 3,310,000 88.28 RELIANCE CE 1,040 4,341 1,052,500 -8.04 MARUTI CE 3,800 3,614 155,750 33.83 TATASTEEL CE 310 3,575 1,930,000 40.67 SBIN PE 190 3,525 2,368,000 -33.45 YESBANK CE 860 3,329 479,500 44.21 AXISBANK CE 440 3,300 1,275,000 43.26 TATASTEEL CE 320 3,160 2,184,000 16.17 DLF CE 115 3,134 6,215,000 18.38 SUPPORT & RESISTANCE LEVEL Company Name S3 S2 S1 Close R1 R2 R3 Sensex Index 24,612 24,698 24,789 24,966 25,144 25,235 25,321 Nifty Index 7,508 7,534 7,562 7,615 7,668 7,696 7,722 ABB Ltd 1,205 1,213 1,221 1,236 1,252 1,260 1,267 ACC 1,353 1,359 1,366 1,378 1,390 1,396 1,402 Ambuja Cements 223 224 226 230 233 235 236 Bajaj Holdings 1,401 1,406 1,410 1,419 1,428 1,433 1,438 BHEL 110 111 111 113 115 116 117 Bharti Airte 341 343 346 350 355 357 359 Cipla 515 518 520 524 529 531 534 Dabur India 238 239 241 243 246 247 248 GAIL India 353 354 355 358 360 361 363 Grasim Ind. 3,744 3,754 3,765 3,786 3,807 3,818 3,829 HCL Tech 800 803 806 812 817 820 823 HDFC Bank 1,040 1,042 1,044 1,048 1,051 1,053 1,055 Hero Honda 2,818 2,825 2,833 2,848 2,863 2,871 2,879 Hindalco 77 78 80 83 87 88 90 Hindustan Unilever 855 857 860 864 869 871 873 ICICI Bank 218 220 222 225 229 231 233 Infosys Tech 1,179 1,185 1,192 1,205 1,217 1,224 1,230 ITC Ltd 317 318 319 322 325 326 328 L&T 1,176 1,183 1,191 1,206 1,221 1,229 1,236 MTNL 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 M&M 1,225 1,229 1,234 1,243 1,253 1,257 1,262 Maruti Suzuki 3,543 3,566 3,591 3,638 3,686 3,710 3,733 Mahindra Satyam 461 465 468 475 482 485 489 National Alumin 36 36 37 37 38 39 39 ONGC 210 211 212 214 216 217 218 Oriental Bank 85 86 87 88 90 91 91 PNB 80 81 81 82 83 84 85 Ranbaxy Labs 782 789 796 811 826 833 840 Reliance Capital 349 352 355 361 367 370 372 Reliance Comm 48 49 49 50 51 51 52 Reliance Energy 511 514 517 523 528 531 534 Reliance Inds 1,010 1,012 1,015 1,021 1,026 1,029 1,031 R Power 45 45 46 46 47 47 48 Siemens India 1,043 1,050 1,057 1,072 1,086 1,093 1,100 SBI 182 183 185 188 192 194 195 TCS 2,436 2,445 2,455 2,474 2,492 2,502 2,511 Tata Motors 353 356 358 363 368 371 373 Tata Power 59 60 60 61 62 62 63 Tata Steel 287 290 293 300 307 310 313 Tata comm 366 368 370 374 378 380 383 Wipro 546 548 551 555 559 562 564 Wire And Wireless 34 34 34 35 35 35 35 Zee Entertainment 384 385 386 388 391 392 393 Read Leader Speak: https://www.indiainfoline.com/Research/LeaderSpeak/ All the news on India Infoline: https://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/ To subscribe please send a mail to editor@indiainfoline.com Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. 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The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others. Touted as the biggest of 2016 so far, Equitas Holdings initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on April 5 and will close of April 7. With this, the Chennai-based firm will become the first listed small finance bank (SFB) in the country.The company and its investors are expected to sell shares worth over Rs. 2,200 crore through fresh equity and offer for sale (OFS).The company has fixed price band from Rs. 109 to Rs. 110 a share.The IPO will see several existing foreign investors of the company reducing their shareholding under the RBI guidelines on foreign ownership in SFBs.The book runnin lead managers to the issue are Axis Capital, Edelweiss Financial Services, HSBC Securities, and Capital Markets (India) Pvt Ltd and ICICI Securities Ltd.As per the RHP filed with Securities and Exchange Board of India on October 19, 2015, foreign investors held 93% of the equity in the company as on 31 March 2015. Equitas had received Sebi nod for the IPO on December 29.Foreign investors that are selling shares in the IPO include Sequoia Capital, World Bank arm International Finance Corp., Dutch development finance institution FMO, Helion Venture Partners, Aavishkaar, India Financial Inclusion Fund, Westbridge Ventures, Lumen Investment Holdings and Aquarius Investments. The combined holding of these investors is 67.53% in the company.Besides, P N Vasudevan, the founder of Equitas will also trim his holding a bit. Vasudevan currently holds 3.17% stake in the company.As per the IPO documents, the company has reported revenues to the tune of Rs. 755.90 crore in FY15, 56% higher than the previous financial year. Meanwhile, the firms net profit had stood at Rs. 106.60 crore, growing at 44%. ASSOCHAM. Reflecting how skewed is Indias export base, two states Gujarat and Maharashtra, account for more than 46 per cent of the merchandise consignments from the country and with the addition of three next best performing sources of shipments, the top five states claim over 69 per cent of Indias entire export earnings, according to the latest study by apex industry body Analysing the data between 2007-08 and 2014-15, the ASSOCHAM study on Export Performance of States found that besides Gujarat and Maharashtra, the other top performing states on the export map include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. While Gujarat and Maharashtra have been vying for the top spot, the latter became the best performing states shipping goods worth USD 72.83 billion in 2014-15. Gujarat had export shipments of USD 59.58 billion in the same period while Tamil Nadu emerged as the third largest sourcing state with USD 27.47 billion of the consignments, noted the study prepared by ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau. Though Gujarat and Maharashtra have traditionally been dominating the export business because of their locational advantage in terms of coastline, their growth rate has not been as good as those of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which are doing a lot of catching up despite being land-locked. Surely, on a low base as compared to the best performing states, but UP registered a growth of 18.3 per cent at a compound level in 2014-15 while it was 14.4 per cent for Haryana. For Gujarat the CAGR was eight per cent while for Maharashtra, the compounded growth was 7.2 per cent, of course on a high absolute base. Land-locked states including Punjab, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have to focus on massive improvement in basic infrastructure like roads, rail and airports to cut the transaction cost to stay competitive in an otherwise choppy international market, highlighted the ASSOCHAM study. It noted that the Special Export-processing Zones (SEZs) have played an important role in promoting exports from the better off states. For instance, Gujarat has been highly successful in tapping the potential of SEZs within its jurisdiction. Another noteworthy aspect is that almost three-fourths of operational SEZs are located in six states Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Cost and efficiency of the transport system is of paramount importance for the competitiveness and success of export-oriented businesses. States with coastline, seamless connectivity and port capacity with deep draft (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh) also happen to be the leading exporters. On the other hand, many states in the hinterland and in the North East find it difficult to enter export market because of poor logistics compounded by a weak trade facilitation. Current indirect tax structure unmakes India, by fragmenting Indian markets along state lines. This has the collateral consequence of also undermining Make in India, by favouring imports and disfavouring domestic production and exports. The GST would rectify it not by increasing protection but by eliminating the negative protection for imports, the ASSOCHAM study concluded. Just over three months after the authorities lifted the four-decade ban on crude oil exports, the U.S. has actually exported less this year than it did over the same period the year before, when the ban was still in place.According to Clipper Data market intelligence cited by the Financial Times, we've seen a 5 percent decline in U.S. crude oil export volumes since the beginning of this year. The data suggests that on average we are exporting (waterborne) 325,000 barrels per day now, compared to 342,000 barrels per day during the first months of 2015.And there's no official data yetnot since the beginning of this year, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that during the week ending 22 January, the U.S. had exported just shy of 400,000 barrels of oil, which again was 25 percent less than what was exported for the same week in 2014.An oil tanker that reached a French port in January was the first post-ban delivery of U.S. crude oil, but things haven't really picked up pace since then.January's cargoes, totaling about 11.3 million barrels, marked a 7 percent decline from U.S. crude exports in December, according to data by the U.S. Census Bureau. Shipments during January went to Curacao and France, in addition to Canada, the primary destination. The total number of tankers that have set sail with U.S. crude oil will not be known until comprehensive data on February's shipments is released by the U.S. Census Bureau.The immediate beneficiaries of the ban suspension are gas and oil companies such as Chevron and Exxon Mobilamong the most tireless lobbyers against the banand oil trading giants such as Vitol Group BV and Trafigura Ltd Pet.Europe and Asia are flooded with oil from Russia and the Middle East, though the first two shipments to leave the U.S. post-export ban went to Europe: one to Germany and the other to France, to be used in a refinery in Switzerland. Dutch media outlets reported in January that a tanker from Houston had reached Rotterdam port, but this remains just a drop in the global export bucket.In Asia, even China's state-run Sinopecthe world's second-largest refinerhas imported a consignment of U.S. oil, according to a Reuters source. Japan's Cosmo Oil was the first Asian buyer of U.S. oil, purchasing some 300,000 barrels of U.S. crude in mid-January, which will be delivered to its refineries in mid-April.The very first South American country that will import U.S. crude oil is Venezuela. In early February, Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA imported a 550,000-barrel cargo of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) through its U.S.-based Citgo Petroleum affiliate. Venezuela started importing foreign crudes in 2014 amid a fall in its own production - buying mostly Angolan and Nigerian light grades.WTI is also expected to be exported to Israel, where Swiss commodities house Trafigura will ship some 700,000 barrels. Atlantic Trading & Marketing, the U.S. trading unit of French Total SA, has been planning an export cargo of US crude from cushing.Also, earlier this month, Exxon became the first U.S. oil company to export US crude, sending a tanker from Texas to a refinery it owns in Italy.However, storage is now at the highest level in at least a decade. US crude storage levels hit 487 million barrels in early November, closing in on the 80-year high of 518 million barrels in the last week of February. According to the EIA, about 60 percent of the U.S. working storage capacity is filled.Globally, the picture isn't much better, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) saying that 1 billion barrels were added to storage in 2015 alone. OPEC has reported that crude oil stockpiles in OECD countries currently exceed the running five-year average by 210 million barrels.Article Source: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Lifted-The-Crude-Oil-Export-Ban-And-Exports-WentDown.html By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com For every order placed through the website or app, the startup will receive a pre-decided commission. Restaurants can also get featured on the website homepage for publicity. Everybody eats food and the opportunity is huge. This is the thought that drove hordes of entrepreneurs to the food-tech space. However they seem to have miscalculated their move and a few of them have fallen flat on their face leaving others on shaky grounds.The start of 2015 was a golden period for the Indian startup ecosystem. Whether it was aggregators, foodtech, tech, agriculture, healthtech or practically any other startup, the funding flowed like water in each of them.Why did it flourish ? How did things come to such a pass? For starters, the prize was too good to resist. The size of the food ordering business over phone is $15 billion and startups waded in, aiming to move the business to apps. Investors were lavish with funds.Over the past couple years, the space ballooned in its venture capital raising and hype. In 2015 alone, food tech startups raised $5.7 billion across 275 deals, according to CB Insights, marking a 152 percent increase in dollars and 102 increase in deals. Now were starting to see the bubble pop.However 2016 is looking to be an all-out bloodbath for on-demand food startups.A food delivery company is one which takes customer order on its system and transfers it to a food production unit/restaurant, followed by a delivery boy picking up the order from the restaurant and delivering it to the customer. While their core proposition remains convenience for customers, food delivery startups do not do food quality control.Online food ordering platforms follow a simple business model. These systems act as a common platform between customers and restaurants. Subscribed users search for restaurants, place the order with their chosen restaurant, and pay for it online or opt for COD .The main sources of income are:On-demand meal delivery service SpoonRocket has shut down. The Berkeley-based company was unable to secure additional funding and when a last-ditch effort at negotiating an acquisition fell through, the company was essentially out of cash and was forced to close.Bengaluru-based start-up Dazo had to wind up its operations less than a year after inception. The company has given shortage of capital as the reason for its failure.Food delivery start-up Eatlo had to stop operations barely a year into its existence. The company stopped accepting orders from 15 December even after raising Rs. 6 crore in two rounds of funding backed by Powai Lake Ventures, Tracxn, and India Value Fund Advisors.Well, there are countless reasons for startup failure. Entrepreneurs are normal human beings trying to start their business and make an impact in the technology industry. Ideas that look promising right now might not turn out to become profitable when it reaches to the public and that is when it starts to hit back.In case of food tech startups there are some general reasons for failure. One basic reason is they are not able to deliver on the volume of orders. Getting 100+ orders a day is easy but managing the preparation and delivery of these numbers is tough. Also startups focus more on Tech part in a food startup rather than Food. More time is spent on making the app or website look wonderful rather than controlling the quality of food. Another major reason is focusing on the retention than expansion. More money and time is spent on expanding the business, than keeping the existing customers happy. Another major reason responsible for killing startups in inability to raise funds. While some startups fail simply because they are not able to keep up with the competition. Some startups have a very young team working and as such there is a lack of experienced people who can act as guides in times of requirement, leading to failure.Ahmedabad-based food-tech startup Jolly Food Fellow has reportedly raised an undisclosed sum in a pre-Series A round. Founded in 2015 by Rajiv Sharma and Niraj Harlalka, the startup provides food entrepreneurs analytics-led engagement and loyalty programs on its platform.InnerChef, a Big Data-based food discovery and delivery startup, has acquired two food tech companies Flavour Labs in Gurgaon and EatOnGo in Bangalore. With the acquisition of Flavour Labs, a restaurant-on-wheels company, InnerChef has entered the mobile kitchen space. With the EatOnGo acquisition, an on-demand meal service, InnerChef aims to deepen its presence in Bangalore.Cookaroo which is a Bangalore-based startup that aggregates and delivers freshly prepared meals from under-utilised commercial kitchens, has raised angel funding from Highland Hospitalities.Food-tech startup First Eat, which is run by F. E. Food Tech has also raised $200,000 in seed investment from an undisclosed serial investor, who is an F&B entrepreneur in Gurgaon.Online first restaurant FreshMenuhas raised Rs 110 crore in a funding round led by Zodius Capital with participation from existing investor Lightspeed Venture Partners, marking a renewal of interest in a sector bruised by closures and lay-offs in the previous year.Rocket Internet backed Foodpanda has not been able to find a buyer even with a rock bottom price tag of $10-15 million. The company laid off 300 people in December 2015, about 15% of its workforce.Mumbai-based TinyOwl has handed pink slips to 112 employees as food ordering and delivery ventures prune escalating costs and streamline their businesses. This was the second round of so-called restructuring that TinyOwl executed in less than two months, having let go off about 200 people.Zomato, the $1 billion+ restaurant discovery portal based out of India laid off around 300 staff, or just under 10% of its current workforce of 3,000 in order to cut costs in weaker parts of its business and shift more focus into revenue-generating areas like reservations.Although there are a few that continue to receive funding, there seems to be ruin all around the segment in which barely 18 months ago there was a scramble to launch business. Closing bell- Finally, BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 66 points at 24,900. The BSE Sensex opened at 24,957, touched an intra-day high of 25,079 and low of 24,835.The NSE Nifty closed with a loss of 18 points at 7,597. The NSE Nifty opened at 7,607 hitting a high of 7,653 and low of 7,582. The losses in pharma, capital goods, IT, utilities and FMCG counters weighed on the index.Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Idea Cellular, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel were among the gainers on NSE, whereas Lupin, Cipla, Dr. Reddy's, GAIL, BHEL and Sun Pharmaceuticals were among the losers today.On the global front, Chinas Shanghai Composite Index closed down by 1.28% and Hang Seng ended marginally up 0.10%.In Europe, the FTSE 100 marginally down 0.11%. On the other hand, DAX down 0.30% and the CAC 40 trading higher by 0.2%.The Indian Rupee was trading up by 8 paise at 66.49 per US dollar.Live market:At 3:17 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 24,890 down 76 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 7,596 down 19 points.The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.24% at 10,356, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.24% at 10,304.Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, RIL and HDFC Bank are among the gainers, whereas Lupin, Sun Pharma, Dr.Reddy's and GAIL are losing sheen on BSE.Some buying activity is seen in metal, auto, realty, energy, banking and consumer durables sectors, while pharma, capital goods and FMCG sectors are showing weakness on BSE.The INDIA VIX is up 1.61% at 17.7675. Out of 1,800 stocks traded on the NSE, 886 declined, 639 advanced and 275 remained unchanged today.A total of eight stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 43 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.The Indian rupee opened higher by 8 paise at 66.50/$ on Tuesday as against the previous close of 66.58/$. On Monday, rupee regained lost ground against the greenback, helped by persistent foreign inflows in capital markets, healthy foreign exchange reserves and hopes of a rate cut by the RBI during the monetary policy review next week.ARSS Infrastructure gained 1.4% to Rs.32.75 on BSE. The company said that it has bagged a work order amounting to Rs 109 crore in Odisha.Anjani Portland Cement slipped 2.6% to Rs.148.10 on BSE. On Monday, the company got approval from Sebi for its proposed rights issue. Market regulator SEBI has given approval to the company for a rights issue to raise Rs. 75 crore. The Securities and Exchange Board of India received draft documents for the rights issue on December 30, and issued its 'observations' on March 23.Lupin stock was lower by 12.5% at Rs. 1309. Mandideep Unit has received 483 letter from US FDA, as per a report.City Union Bank Ltd jumped 4.4% to Rs.91.65 after huge block deal. Around 7 million shares were changed hands in a block deals.Aurobindo Pharma slipped 3.5% to Rs.719 on BSE. The pharma compnay has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Rivastigmine Tartrate Capsules USP, 1.5 mg, 3 mg, 4.5 mg and 6 mg. This product is expected to be launched in Q1 FY16-17.Prestige Estates Ltd stock was higher by 4.5% at Rs. 161. The company has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting have accorded their in-principle approval for the merger of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Downhill Holiday Resorts Private Limited, Foothills Resorts Private Limited, Pennar Hotels and Resorts Private Limited and Valdel Xtent Outsourcing Solutions Private Limited with the Company.Shares of Albert David Ltd, a mid-cap pharmaceutical company, are currently trading 5.69% higher at Rs. 310 after the company yesterday enter into a deal with Zydus Cadila to sell one of its brands Actibile.NTPC Ltd has informed BSE that the Unit-3 of 660 MW of Mouda Super Thermal Power Station of NTPC Limited has been commissioned on March 28, 2016. The stock is currently trading lower by 0.12% to Rs.129.20 on the BSE.Biocon Ltd stock was up by 1% at Rs. 483. The company announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan has approved its biosimilar Insulin Glargine.Rajesh Exports Ltd has announced that it has repaid loans availed for acquisition of Valcambi. The stock is currently trading at Rs. 602.50, up by 0.96% from its previous closing of Rs. 596.75 on the BSE.Gloster Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 29, 2016, inter alia, to consider Issue of Bonus Shares. The stock is currently trading at Rs. 580, down by Rs. 22.7 or 3.77% from its previous closing of Rs. 602.7 on the BSE.Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank were trading higher 1% at Rs. 676 on BSE today. Around 35 lakh shares were traded in a multiple block at Rs. 327.45 on the BSE. Mastek has approved the change in pricing policy between the company and its UK unit, Mastek UK Limited.Mastek said in a filing to the BSE, The Board of Directors of the company at its meeting held on March 28, 2016 has approved the change in pricing policy between the company and its wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Mastek UK Limited.Mastek UK Limited was engaged in the distribution of services offered by Mastek India in the United Kingdom. The current terms of the engagement and the current pricing policy between Mastek India and Mastek UK Limited are recorded in the Master Agreement dated 30 March 2005 executed by and between the company and Mastek UK Limited and further extended vide Master Agreement dated June 1, 2015.The IT firm in its statement said, Considering the expansion in roles and responsibilities of MUK due to ongoing business developments, the company proposes to revise the current pricing policy with effect from April 1, 2016 to align the same with arm's length.Consequently, the company proposes to terminate the Master Agreement, execute a services agreement with Mastek UK Limited so as to record material terms of the Change in Pricing Policy and the new terms of its engagement with Mastek UK Limited, execute a corporate trademark license agreement with Mastek UK Limited and undertake relevant tax and regulatory filings, if any to implement the above. The Reserve Bank of India has signed a Special Currency Swap Agreement with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Under the arrangement, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka can draw upto US$ 700 million for a maximum period of three months.This special arrangement is in addition to the existing Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for the SAARC Member Countries.The proposal to extend the additional currency swap facility of US$ 700 million to Sri Lanka for a limited period was decided with concurrence of the Union Government in March 2016 for short-term liquidity management in the context of Indias strong bilateral relations and economic ties with Sri Lanka. Adani Transmission Ltd jumped 5.5% to Rs.32.50. Adani Transmission Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 30 March 2016, to consider the proposal for raising of funds by way of debt issue. Excel Industries surged 13.5% to Rs.228.40 after the company approved buyback of shares at Rs. 275 per share for up to Rs. 18 crore. Indo Count Industries slipped 0.4% at Rs 904.80. The company informed bourses that it has launched three new brands to its home textile product portfolio in US Market. The company will also launch these new brands in other markets. These new brands are Boutique Living, Revival and The Pure Collection. ARSS Infrastructure gained 1.4% to Rs.32.75 on BSE. The company said that it has bagged a work order amounting to Rs 109 crore in Odisha. ARSS Infrastructure gained 1.4% to Rs.32.75 on BSE. The company said that it has bagged a work order amounting to Rs 109 crore in Odisha. Anjani Portland Cement slipped 2.6% to Rs.148.10 on BSE. On Monday, the company got approval from Sebi for its proposed rights issue. Market regulator SEBI has given approval to the company for a rights issue to raise Rs. 75 crore. The Securities and Exchange Board of India received draft documents for the rights issue on December 30, and issued its 'observations' on March 23.Lupin stock was lower by 12.5% at Rs. 1309. Mandideep Unit has received 483 letter from US FDA, as per a report.City Union Bank Ltd jumped 4.4% to Rs.91.65 after huge block deal. Around 7 million shares were changed hands in a block deals.Aurobindo Pharma slipped 3.5% to Rs.719 on BSE. The pharma compnay has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Rivastigmine Tartrate Capsules USP, 1.5 mg, 3 mg, 4.5 mg and 6 mg. This product is expected to be launched in Q1 FY16-17.Prestige Estates Ltd stock was higher by 4.5% at Rs. 161. The company has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting have accorded their in-principle approval for the merger of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Downhill Holiday Resorts Private Limited, Foothills Resorts Private Limited, Pennar Hotels and Resorts Private Limited and Valdel Xtent Outsourcing Solutions Private Limited with the Company.Shares of Albert David Ltd, a mid-cap pharmaceutical company, are currently trading 5.69% higher at Rs. 310 after the company yesterday enter into a deal with Zydus Cadila to sell one of its brands Actibile.NTPC Ltd has informed BSE that the Unit-3 of 660 MW of Mouda Super Thermal Power Station of NTPC Limited has been commissioned on March 28, 2016. The stock is currently trading lower by 0.12% to Rs.129.20 on the BSE.Biocon Ltd stock was up by 1% at Rs. 483. The company announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan has approved its biosimilar Insulin Glargine.Rajesh Exports Ltd has announced that it has repaid loans availed for acquisition of Valcambi. The stock is currently trading at Rs. 602.50, up by 0.96% from its previous closing of Rs. 596.75 on the BSE.Gloster Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 29, 2016, inter alia, to consider Issue of Bonus Shares. The stock is currently trading at Rs. 580, down by Rs. 22.7 or 3.77% from its previous closing of Rs. 602.7 on the BSE.Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank were trading higher 1% at Rs. 676 on BSE today. Around 35 lakh shares were traded in a multiple block at Rs. 327.45 on the BSE.Somany Ceramics Ltd has completed the expansion at its plant located at Kassar (Bahadurgarh). The company said that the expansion to produce 4 million square meters of Glazed Vitrified Tiles annually is successfully completed and commercial production has commenced from March 28, 2016 ahead of its scheduled timeline in Q1 of FY 2017. Somany Ceramics Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 380, up by Rs. 1.9 or 0.5% from its previous closing of Rs. 378.1 on the BSE. DLF: The Walt Disney Co is in talks with India's DLF Brands to open stores in the country, according to reports.Disney plans to operate such stores on a licensing and franchisee basis. : The Walt Disney Co is in talks with India's DLF Brands to open stores in the country, according to reports.Disney plans to operate such stores on a licensing and franchisee basis. : Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will fully fund its $1.27 bn stake buy in Vankor field in Russia through overseas borrowing, chairman Dinesh K Sarraf reportedly said. The Board of Directors of ONGC have approved the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the development of fields falling under Cluster 2 of the Deep-water NELP Block KG-DWN-98/2. The development would involve a capital expenditure of US$5,076.37 million.: State Bank Of India, has announced that the Bank has made payment on March 28, 2016 to the eligible bondholders of SBI Unsecured Non-Convertible Bonds 2005-06 SBIN (Series III), issued by the erstwhile State Bank of Indore (since merged with State Bank of India) which were due for payment on redemption.: The company proposes to issue 1000 Secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures with a face value of Rs. 10 lakh each aggregating to Rs. 100 Crores, on Private Placement basis, pursuant to special resolution passed by the shareholders of the Company at the 10th Annual General Meeting held on September 07, 2015.: The bank has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank is scheduled to be held on March 31, 2016, for considering issuance of equity shares of the face value of Rs. 10/- each aggregating up to Rs. 740.00 Crore by way of preferential allotment in favour of Government of India.: Inox Wind has announced that continuing Company expansion in southern states of India, Inox Wind Infrastructure Services Limited, a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Inox Wind Limited has acquired Sarayu Wind Power (Kondapuram) Private Limited, with effect from March 25, 2016.: Albert David Ltd entered in a deal with Zydus Cadila. The deal is valued at Rs. 55 crore.: Wipro announced a five-year partnership with Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, master franchisee for Domino's Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts in India and the leader in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) space in the country with over 1000 restaurants in India, to deliver energy management services and help reduce its energy and operational costs.: The company has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company, on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, on March 28, 2016, appointed Dr. Rakesh Mohan as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company with effect from May 01, 2016 upto June 30, 2020: The company announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan has approved its biosimilar Insulin Glargine.: The company said in a notice to BSE that it has received two orders worth Rs.623 crore from Bhutan, Jammu & Kashmir for Hydro and Tunnel works.: GVK Power Infra announced in a notice to BSE that is has divested 33% stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd to Fairfax Group for Rs.2,149 crore.: SSWL said that it won 15 million business from PSA Peugeot Citroen.: Allcargo Logistics has informed BSE that the Resource Raising Committee of the Company at its meeting held on March 28, 2016 (today), inter alia, has considered and approved raising of funds up to Rs. 300 crore by issue of secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures (NCDs) on private placement.: TVS Motor Companyannounced the launch of its new four stroke TVS XL 100 in Maharashtra. The all new TVS XL 100 has been designed to meet the evolving needs of todays customer.: Panacea Biotec, India's 3rd largest biotechnology company introduces indigenously developed high quality Oncology product, CABAPAN (Cabazitaxel Injection), for treatment of metastatic Castration Resistant Prostrate Cancer (mCRPC).: The company has received Rs. 72 crore from Sadbhav Engineering Limited against stake of 20% held in Mumbai Nasik Expressway Limited (MNEL).: The company has announced that the board of Directors of the company has approved scheme of arrangement between Lasa Laboratory, Urdhwa Chemicals, Rishichem Research, Desh Chemicals and Lasa Supergenerics.: State-run power equipment maker BHEL has commissioned a 40MW unit of a hydro power plant in West Bengal.: The company has acquired Piramal Consumer Products for a consideration of Rs. 1.50 Lakh.: Dr Reddys Laboratories and XenoPort Inc. has entered into a licence agreement pursuant to which Dr Reddys Laboratories will be granted exclusive U.S. rights for the development and commercialisation of XenoPort's clinical stage oral new chemical entity, XP23829.: The pharma company has been granted final approval by United States Food & Drug Administration for Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 3mg/ 0.03 mg, the generic version of Yasmin Tablets of Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Bayer) and for Levonorgestrel Tablets, 1.5 mg, the generic version of Plan B One-Step Tablet of Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Product R&D Inc., for over the counter use.: The company has informed BSE that a work order amounting to Rs. 109.27 Crores namely "Jarapada-Budhapank with flyover at Talcher Road - 3rd & 4th line; Execution of Earth Work, Minor Bridges & Other Allied works (KM 525.133 to KM 483.047 i.e. 35.5 Km -3rd Line & 42.00 Km-4th line approx. excluding flyover portion at Talcher Road" has been awarded in favour of one of the Company's Joint Venture (JV) i.e. "ARSS-SIPS (JV)" by East Coast Railway, Bhubaneswar.: The company have successfully commenced commercial production in the new manufacturing unit at Palsana, Surat (Gujarat) w.e.f. March 25, 2016.: UCO Bank has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on March 28, 2016, considered the proposal for issue of equity shares to Government of India on preferential basis against their proposal for capital infusion of Rs. 935 crore subject to necessary approvals from shareholders and other authorities. Baahubali was 2015s mega-hit and the film proved that regional films too can win hearts of the audience. The winners of the 63rd National Awards were announced on Monday and Baahubali managed to bag two awards and it wasnt even a surprise at all because we already saw it coming. Directed by S S Rajamouli, the film won the Best Film Award along with a prize for the Best Special Effects category. The film which was made in Telugu and Tamil and dubbed in Hindi was critically acclaimed both nationally and internationally and fans are eagerly waiting for the sequel! Here's what Baahubali star Tamannaah Bhatia said about the film's twin win: Thank u for this lovely hair n makeup @themadhurinakhale @nickyjaan at the joh rivaaz event A photo posted by Tamannaah Bhatia (@tamannaahspeaks) on Sep 8, 2015 at 6:17pm PDT "It's a highly deserved recognition and I'm very happy for Rajamouli sir and the entire team who worked tirelessly on such a mammoth project. Getting this award is a validation of the appreciation it has received from all quarters. The way it was received in India and abroad proves that language is fast losing its importance and that people are now looking more for good content. It's also a boost for regional filmmakers to go all out and dream big. For me personally, having been part of the film itself is a big award. I'm in Mumbai right now and when I go to Hyderabad I'm sure we will celebrate with the team, because it's certainly something to be rejoice about!" Rana Daggubati who is busy attending congratulatory phone calls said: Back from memory lane #baahubali A photo posted by Rana Daggubati (@ranadaggubati) on Mar 16, 2016 at 7:51am PDT "It's very exciting to hear the news. The film has crossed all international boundaries. I was just in Japan where a half French and half Lebanese couple came up to me and referring to Baahubali said, 'Are you that actor from India from the 300 kind of war movie?' I was completely floored by the sheer reach of the film crossing linguistic and geographical limitations!" Here's how the team and crew used social media to express their happiness and it clearly shows that they are planning to make the sequel BIGGER AND BETTER! Our #Bhallaladeva and the Director during the shoot in Maahishmati Kingdom... #Baahubali #LiveTheEpic A photo posted by Baahubali (@baahubalimovie) on Oct 10, 2015 at 9:04pm PDT My producers are the best! Glad even the jury recognised the fact..:)So happy for all the vfx teams and individuals... Posted by SS Rajamouli on Monday, March 28, 2016 Congratulations to my entire Baahubali team for getting National Award in Best Film category.... Proud... Posted by Prabhas on Monday, March 28, 2016 wegotthiscovered Prison Break star Wentworth Miller recently hit back at trolls who were body shaming him on social media. A meme on him was currently doing the rounds, which showed his before and after body transformation. And he recently took to his social media handle to write a powerful message for all those who had been body-shaming him in the past. He wrote, "First and foremost, I was suicidal, he explained. This is a subject Ive since written about, spoken abut, shared about. But at the time I suffered in silence. As so many do. The extent of my struggle known to very, very few." He also explained how he had turned to food to cope with his depression, from which he has been prone to since childhood. And kudos to him for openly talking about his problem. He added, "In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to." Here's the entire post. Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the... Posted by Wentworth Miller on Monday, March 28, 2016 Here's the entire text from his hard hitting post. Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the rest. In 2010, semi-retired from acting, I was keeping a low-profile for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I was suicidal. This is a subject Ive since written about, spoken about, shared about. But at the time I suffered in silence. As so many do. The extent of my struggle known to very, very few. Ashamed and in pain, I considered myself damaged goods. And the voices in my head urged me down the path to self-destruction. Not for the first time. Ive struggled with depression since childhood. Its a battle thats cost me time, opportunities, relationships, and a thousand sleepless nights. In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to. Count on to get me through. There were stretches when the highlight of my week was a favorite meal and a new episode of TOP CHEF. Sometimes that was enough. Had to be. And I put on weight. Big fking deal. One day, out for a hike in Los Angeles with a friend, we crossed paths with a film crew shooting a reality show. Unbeknownst to me, paparazzi were circling. They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. Hunk To Chunk. Fit To Flab. Etc. My mother has one of those friends whos always the first to bring you bad news. They clipped one of these articles from a popular national magazine and mailed it to her. She called me, concerned. In 2010, fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed. Long story short, I survived. So do those pictures. Im glad. Now, when I see that image of me in my red t-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without. Like a dandelion up through the pavement, I persist. Anyway. Still. Despite. The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe. But as with everything in life, I get to assign meaning. And the meaning I assign to this/my image is Strength. Healing. Forgiveness. Of myself and others. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Reach out. Text. Send an email. Pick up the phone. Someone cares. Theyre waiting to hear from you. Much love. W.M. The road transport and highways ministry is likely to set up a first of its kind Rs 1,000-crore green fund for 2016-17 to be utilised for plantation along the highways. pinimg Officials said the ministry has set a target of greening about 10,000 kilometres of existing national highways during the financial year by planting fruit-bearing trees and shrubs. It will entrust the job to over 200 non-governmental and rural organisations, they said. The green fund is proposed to be set up under the ministry's green highways policy that was unveiled last year. Under this policy, all upcoming and existing national highways will be converted to green highways. As per the policy, 1% of the total highway cost has to be set aside for planting trees in a planned manner. blogspot The ministry plans to award road contracts worth at least Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the fiscal. The cost of plantation and maintenance will be borne by the concessionaire in the case of BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects and by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) or the ministry for public-funded projects. The ministry is encouraging state governments to follow the same policy for all state highway projects. The NHAI will act as a fund manager for maintaining the green fund and release payments based on recommendations of officials and agencies concerned. For monitoring of the green corridor project, the government plans to set up a dedicated green agency with its headquarters at Transport Bhawan in Delhi along with field offices in regional headquarters. blogspot "A third-party audit will be conducted time to time to ensure the survival of trees. Also, unmanned aerial vehicles will be used for monitoring," a senior government official said. The official, who did not wish to be identified, said the government plans to create a brigade of 1,000 green organisations, mostly NGOs and rural social enterprises, to fulfil this task. "The project would be done in participation with local community, farmers, NGOs, private sector, government agencies and forest department," he said. Undeterred by strong opposition from influential Islamic bodies to judicial scrutiny of Muslim personal law practices, the Supreme Court on Monday decided to examine the legality of triple talaq by entertaining a Muslim woman's petition that this mode of divorce be declared unconstitutional as it allowed Muslim men to treat women like "chattel". feministsindia "Muslim women have been given talaq over Skype, Facebook and even text messages. There is no protection against such arbitrary divorce. They have their hands tied while the guillotine of divorce dangles perpetually ready to drop at the whims of their husbands who enjoy undisputed power," Shayara Bano's petition said. Uttarakhand-based Shayara Bano, who was divorced through triple talaq after 13 years of marriage, said in her plea that "such discrimination and inequality expressed in the form of unilateral triple talaq is abominable." scoopwhoop Her petition was taken up on Monday along with the suo motu proceedings initiated by the apex court to examine the need to protect Muslim women. Shayara's counsel Amit Singh Chadha informed a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit that last year, a high-level committee appointed by the UPA government had submitted a report to the ministry of women and child development on the subject 'Women and the law: An assessment of family laws with focus on laws relating to marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and succession'. The committee recommended a ban on various practices that are purportedly Islamic but require reform, including talaq-e-bidat (unilateral triple talaq) and polygamy, he said. i2.mirror The bench asked additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta to file the Centre's response to Shayara's petition along with a copy of the report within six weeks. It also asked National Commission for Women's counsel Aparna Bhat to file response. Interestingly, the court also sought Shayara's ex-husband's response. The court's decision indicates its inclination to examine the legality of triple talaq in the face of strong opposition from All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat-e-Ulema. Both had said Muslim personal law was Quran-based and not enacted by the legislature and hence was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny. The hijacker of the EgyptAir flight MS181 had been earlier identified as Ibrahim Samaha. Local television news channel said that he is a 27 or 28-years-old who was trying to get the plane to Istanbul but decided on Lacarna in Cyprus after being informed that there was not enough fuel to make the journey. independent.co.uk #Media reports tt hijacker of #EgyptAir plane reported 2 #Cyprus is an officer in Egyptian army, not university professor Helena Smith (@HelenaSmithGDN) March 29, 2016 A series of tweets has shed light on how Ibrahim Samaha, who was earlier identified as the hijacker, was actually one of the released passengers from the flight. The #hijacker of #MS181 is Seif Eldin Mustafa. The situation is still ongoing. Cyprus MFA (@CyprusMFA) March 29, 2016 The Egyptian government has also denied having issued a statement calling the hijacker "an idiot". However, the official who shared the statement with the media maintains that it had been issued. Spokesperson for Egypt's Foreign Ministry denied issuing any statements or remarks to @guardian regarding hijacking of EgyptAir flight today Egypt MFA Spokesman (@MfaEgypt) March 29, 2016 Associated Press The plane landed at the Larnaca airport before 9 am today and negotiations have been underway to release the crew members and four foreigners held hostage on board. Reports say that an unidentified woman was brought to the airport and the hijacker flung a letter in Arabic onto the tarmac for her. ex wife of man behind #egypt air hijacking now at #larnaka airport where #cypriot gov hopes she'll talk sense 2 love-sick former partner Helena Smith (@HelenaSmithGDN) March 29, 2016 The Egyptian government has failed to respond to questions regarding how a passenger was able to board a flight with arms. The Minister for Civil Aviation has also turned down questions on whether the suicide vest is real, stating that these will be addressed after the "urgent situation" has been handled. Meanwhile, the hijacker has also demanded the release of some unspecified female prisoners in Egypt, according to unconfirmed reports. mirror.co.uk The remaining hostages on the flight include the pilot, the co-pilot, a female cabin crew member along with four international hostages who have not been identified so far. Flying for the first time can be a daunting for anybody, which led a 50-year-old woman to deploy an emergency exit slide when she thought the emergency exit door was another washroom to relieve herself. weibo The China Southern flight bound from the Chinese city of Chongqing to Shenzhen was delayed by two hours. Many passengers panicked as there was a hissing noise, while other took to recording the incident on the social media platform, Weibo. Weibo Although Chinese Civil Aviation Law consider endangering aircraft safety a criminal offence, investigators are still looking into matter. The woman who caused the incident was looking to avoid the long queue for the toilet set off chaos just before take off. Weibo EgyptAir flight MS181, hijacked while flying to Cairo from Alexandria has landed at Cyprus' Larnaca airport, according to local media reports. The flight has 80 passengers onboard, and it is being reported that there might be a bomb on flight. BREAKING: Cyprus official says hijacked Egypt plane has landed at Larnaka airport, bomb suspected on board The Associated Press (@AP) March 29, 2016 The flight landed and is confined to the runway, about 80 passengers on board. one man thought to be armed, Cyprus state radio reports. We are investigating reports about a possible hijack of EgyptAir flight #MS181 that landed at Larnaca, Cyprus. pic.twitter.com/WdwTIYEwxF AviationSafety (@AviationSafety) March 29, 2016 The hijackers demanded for the flight to land in Cyprus, according to an unnamed official, an hour after takeoff. Map shows highjacked Egypt Air 181 now landed at Larnaca airport, Cyprus. #MS181 pic.twitter.com/2c7UsAwpkY John Beck (@JM_Beck) March 29, 2016 =---------- The pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger strapped with explosives, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said. The ministry in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the plane hijacking, according to an Israeli military source. A resilient Syrian Army with the help of Russian air attacks has retaken control of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. The UNESCO world heritage-listed citadel, known as the bride of the desert had fallen to the terror group nearly ten months ago. Liberation of Palmyra a major victory over ISIS.Wonder why @UKagainstDaesh & @foreignoffice keep silent about it pic.twitter.com/BNRPKPZXeN Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) March 28, 2016 After the capture of the ancient city, ISIS militants went on a rampage, destroying many historic sites including the Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph with many of them suffering irreversible damage to its legacy. Even a noted archaeologist who was involved in restoring the city was beheaded by ISIS. Now first visuals have come out of the city, showing the sheer amount of destruction inflicted by the barbarism of ISIS. Photographs show how the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the Arch of Triumph have been turned to rubble. AFP AFP AFP AFP But despite the chaos, some of the ruins appear to have survived. Both the Agora, the city's most important meeting space, and the colonnade still seem to be in tact following the recapture of the city - known as "the bride of the desert". The Roman amphitheatre - used by ISIS for staging beheadings - was also found undamaged. Even though the extend of damage is very high, a team of Russian experts said it can be restored to a great extend. The damage done to Palmyra architectural monuments is enormous, but it has not been razed to the ground completely. The main symbol of the city the famous columns, they are standing, and we now have to inspect the site accurately to determine, what else is left there, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage Museum in Russias Saint Petersburg said. These are some of the first visuals from Palmyra. Reuters Reuters AFP AFP AFP AFP India may have to make a crucial change in their playing eleven ahead of the World T20 semifinal against West Indies on Thursday. AFP An ankle injury to Yuvraj Singh in the match against Australia means he is doubtful for the semis. Manish Pandey has been named as cover by the BCCI, while this might also open the doors for Ajinkya Rahane. AFP Sources within the BCCI say that the left-hander went for a MRI scan soon after arriving in Mumbai with the rest of the team members. AFP However, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not hint about making any changes to the team just as yet. But he did say depending on the nature of the injury, some decision will be taken. Yuvraj's condition is being assessed by the team management. The left-hander had to be attended by the physio since he was clearly in pain while playing against Australia. AFP While Rahane is expected to be match-ready should the need arise, Pandey is riding high on confidence after his hundred against Australia in the only ODI India went on to win Down Under in January. Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. A legal request has been filed to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff for obstructing justice and fiscal accounting tricks, the second one against the leader politically embattled by her own government. The request filed by the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) on Monday also involved Rousseff granting international football body FIFA tax-exempt status during the 2014 World Cup. In reaction to the claims, Tourism Minister Henrique Eduardo Alves turned in a resignation letter on the same day, becoming the first minister from the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) to declare leaving Rousseffs government. PMDB, Brazils largest political party, is expected to abandon its alliance with Rousseffs Workers Party and collapse the coalition government. A party vote is expected to be held on the issue on Tuesday. Rousseff already faces an impeachment process over the alleged manipulation of government accounts that opposition parties maintain helped her win narrow reelection in 2014 by allowing her to boost public spending. The presidents supporters tried to physically block the entry of the new impeachment request in the lower house of Brazil Congress, shouting the left-wing slogan Nao passaram! meaning They shall not pass, while pushing and shoving opponents of the embattled president. Another serious impeachable offence in the new request is the alleged interference by the president in investigations into the massive Petrobras corruption scandal.\ Aljazeera. President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday urged the South Sudanese government to invest more in agriculture and not to be solely dependent on oil revenues to grow the nations economy. Speaking at a meeting with the outgoing South Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Makuet Riak, held at the State House in Abuja, President Buhari said South Sudan could avoid the mistake made by Nigeria in her over-reliance on crude oil revenue. Investing in sustainable agriculture is one of the best ways to provide jobs for the people and keep the nation productive, Buhari said. Food security is important to any country and that is what we are trying to achieve here, years after we threw away agriculture for oil. President Buhari also praised the excellent relations between Nigeria and South Sudan and reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening existing bilateral ties. Ambassador Riak described his four-year duty tour as his countrys first ambassador to Nigeria as very fruitful. He said South Sudan was blessed with fertile land and would welcome more investments from Nigerian companies. A demolition company has been left red-faced after tearing down the wrong house blaming the mistake on Google Maps. The house in Texas had been damaged by a tornado and was set to be repaired and rebuilt. However, it was completely demolished instead of the intended house, which had the same address but was located one block away. The demolition company, Billy L. Mabours Demolition, is apparently blaming Google Maps for the error. The owner of the house that was mistakenly demolished confronted the company and an employee responded by sending her a screenshot from Google Maps showing the arrow 7601 Cousteau Drive, pointing at where her house use to stand. Owner Lindsey Diaz told WFAA8 she is devastated. How do you make a mistake like this? I mean, this is just the worst. Thats what their job is to wreck it in demo, and they really wrecked my life. The company is yet to apologise. Yahoo! Encomiums have continued to pour in for former Governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who turns 64 today. To mark the day, a one-day colloquium on agriculture will hold today in Abuja to explore the possibilities in that sector as Nigeria moves to diversity its economy and expand its revenue base. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in his birthday message to the APC leader, described him as a formidable political force who has brought changes to the political landscape. In a statement by his spokesman Turaki Hassan, Dogara said: On this joyous occasion of your birthday, we in the House of Representatives salute you, great leader, for the milestones you have attained in Nigeria. Your feats are bold and exceptional; from business to governance and politics. As a governor, you made sweeping reforms that till date your successors are still building on and making Lagos State proud. In politics, you have been a formidable force, helping to put together a great political party that won power at the centre in Nigeria. You have proved to be a true hero of democracy, a light that cannot be concealed! As you mark yet another year, my prayer for you is that God will continue to consolidate your efforts and crown them all with success. Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, described Tinubu as a true democrat and bridge-builder. In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, Aregbesola said: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu means many things to many people but there are certain things that everyone agrees about him: a political think-thank, master strategist, promoter of politics of inclusion, political futurist and fearless activist and top politician per excellence. His life is packed with personal achievements and involvements as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a pro-democracy activist, two-time governor of Lagos State, mentor of successful leaders and currently a major player and factor on the national political scene. He strikes as a consummate politician and very strategic, original political thinker. When he became governor of Lagos, the state was financially incapacitated but Tinubus knowledge of public finance changed the fortune of the Lagos Internally Generated Revenue from mere N600m. The rest is history as Lagos today stands on firm, sure footing of unimaginable development proportion. There is no denying the fact that Asiwaju is a rare breed politician, patriot and a true democrat. Through his political efforts and strategies, progressive politics for which the South West was noted now dominates the realm. No doubt, the accounts of modern Nigerian political evolution would not be complete without ample recognition of the roles of this selfless political leader. Similarly, Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun said: On this occasion of your birthday, I join you and your immediate and political families in celebrating the abundant grace of God on your life. Your life has been an eventful one dotted by numerous achievements and accomplishments. Nigeria has benefited immensely from your fountain of knowledge, wealth of experience, political sagacity and leadership acumen. The remarkable impact you have made in all spheres of human endeavour remains a reference point. This is so that you can continue to make significant contributions to the overall development of our party, in particular and our nation, Nigeria in general, Governor Amosun said. Billionaire entrepreneur and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, in his birthday message to the celebrant, said: I join millions of Asiwaju Bola Tinubus well-wishers, supporters, followers, political associates and family in celebrating an icon whose contributions to the social, economic and political development of Nigeria is commendable. Your doggedness, forthrightness and passion for a just society have earned you goodwill across the country, regardless of political affiliations. Afenifere Chieftain, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, said: Your name is assured a prominent place of honour in the history of Nigeria. Please continue to remain firm like an anvil under the stroke. Wishing you many happy returns of your 64th birthday God bless. The FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman without Apples help, ending a court case, the US justice department says. Apple had been resisting a court order issued last month requiring the firm to write new software to allow officials to access Syed Rizwan Farooks phone. But officials on Monday said that it had been accessed independently and asked for the order to be withdrawn. Farook and his wife killed 14 in San Bernardino, California, in December. They were later shot dead by police. The FBI said it needed access to the phones data to determine if the attackers worked with others, were targeting others and were supported by others. US officials said Farooks wife, Tashfeen Malik, had pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State on social media on the day of the shooting. Last week, prosecutors said an outside party had demonstrated a possible way of unlocking the iPhone without the need to seek Apples help. A court hearing with Apple was postponed at the request of the justice department, while it investigated new ways of accessing the phone. At the time, Apple said it did not know how to gain access, and said it hoped that the government would share with them any vulnerabilities of the iPhone that might come to light. BBC. Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to end the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and turn around the economy. This is the view of many of those who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Abaji yesterday. Mr Felix Wodi, who resides at Abaji, FCT, said I did not enjoy this Easter at all because I have been on queue at petrol station for hours and there has been no power supply for more than a week in my area. I am appealing to the Federal Government to find lasting solution to this fuel scarcity as soon as possible because it is tearing Nigerians apart gradually. Mr Saleh Abu, a resident of Kwali, also in the FCT, said he had been on queue for a while to buy petrol in his bike, saying he was not happy with the present situation in the country. The Federal Government is trying its best to ensure better living condition for the public but we Nigerians also need to pray more for the country. The situation at Gwagwalada was not different as many motorists were seen at ASO filling station waiting for a petrol tanker to discharge fuel. A resident of Kuje, Mrs Laraba Hassan, said she could not slaughter any chicken this Easter because of the hardship she was facing at the moment. Easter celebration should be a time to have fun but as it is, it is looking miserable with the present economic situation. I urge all Christians to use this Easter period to pray for the restoration of peace and economic stability in our nation, Nigeria, she said. Mr Abraham Gado, an artisan in Kuje said he and his family were celebrating Easter on a low key as they could not travel to the village. Mr Emeka Nonso, a businessman at Sauka in Kuje Area Council said that the economic downturn with the fuel scarcity across the country made the holiday boring. (NAN) Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday said that it took 19 days after the abduction of hundreds of Chibok schoolgirls for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan to call him as the Chief Security Officer of the state. Boko Haram gunmen on the night of April 14, 2014 stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, where they abducted over 200 girls, who were preparing for their examination. The abduction sparked local and international condemnation with then President Jonathan at the receiving end for his apparent slow response to the development. The Borno governor, who spoke yesterday when ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is on a two-day visit to the University of Maiduguri, visited him at the Government House, said Obasanjo would have handled the issue differently were he to be at the helm of affairs of the country at that time. In our case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency, he said. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons. Shettima, who showered praises on the former president for having a hands-on approach to issues when he was president, disclosed that Someone even told me that as President, Baba Obasanjo had phone numbers of traditional rulers and resident heads of security establishments in states that were prone to crisis and he sometimes spoke with them directly to get firsthand information. Without crisis, he created time to call traditional rulers to make enquiries about communal stability, ethno-religious co-existence and community policing in order to forestall problems. In our case, Your Excellency, after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons. Obasanjo, who arrived in Maiduguri about 11 am, visited Shettima at the Government House. The governor said Mondays visit was the former presidents first call at the Borno Government House since 1976. Mr. Obasanjos visit to the state is at the instance of the management of UNIMAID, following his request to excuse himself from the forthcoming convocation of the university billed to hold soon. Mr. Shettima could not hide his excitement, describing himself lucky and privileged to receive Obasanjo in his office as a sitting governor. Your Excellency, Sir, majority of Nigerians salute you; we adore and respect you and we shall forever be grateful to you for standing for the unity, continued existence and the recovery of Nigeria when Nigerians needed you most, he added. Obasanjo, who praised the Borno State governor, urged the Federal Government to embark on detailed research to document the Boko Haram insurgency for posterity to learn from. He also hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. I know that he (Buhari) is concerned about the insurgency. He has got it right that first of all there must be military ascendency over the insurgents, he said. I do travel a lot in Africa and outside Africa. Where I have gone in recent times, what the people wanted to know is how Nigeria is coping with the situation of insurgency. I think we are not out of the woods yet, but it appears we can see the light beyond the tunnel, Obasanjo said. A senior Army officer serving at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry Jaji in Kaduna State, Colonel Samaila Inusa, has been found dead. A statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the Nigerian Army wishes to regrettably inform the public that Colonel Samaila Inusa who was kidnapped on Sunday 27th March 2016, was found dead today (Tuesday) at about 6.00pm. Preliminary investigation revealed that most likely the senior officer was killed same day he was kidnapped by his abductors because the body was found already decomposing around Ajyaita village off Eastern Bypass Kaduna, Kaduna State, Usman said. Arrangements are in progress to move the body to 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna. Whoever is behind his abduction and murder would be fished out to face the full wrath of the law, the Army said. Colonel Inusa was abducted from his car around Kamazo area, near Refinery Junction in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday, March 27. Pakistans PM has urged better co-ordination between security agencies against terror, a day after a suicide bomb killed more than 70 in Lahore. At a meeting of security officials, Nawaz Sharif said the nations resolve to deal with militants was growing. A number of arrests were made and weapons seized in five raids by security forces, the army said. Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said it carried out the attack against Christians celebrating Easter. At least 300 people were injured, with officials saying they expected the death toll to rise. The area was more crowded than usual, as members of Lahores minority Christian community had gathered to celebrate Easter at a funfair in the park. However, most of those who died in the attack were Muslims. At least one funeral, of 11-year-old Christian boy Sahil Pervez, was held on Monday. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said the target of its Easter Sunday attack was the Christian community but it appeared to be an indiscriminate act of mass murder. Christians were among the victims but many of the casualties were Muslims. In the end, those killed and wounded were simply Pakistani citizens spending a day out in the park with their children. Punch There are strong indications that President Muhammadu Buhari has initiated moves to forestall the escalation of the festering feud between the All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu. Vanguard Ado-EkitiTHE All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ekiti State, has described recent conduct and utterances of Governor Ayodele Fayose, as constituting a serious threat to national security. The Sun The Federal High Court in Lagos has insisted that President Muhammadu Buharis administration must account for recovered stolen funds since the return of democracy in 1999. Thisday The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has asked a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt to commit the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonishakin, and Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai, to prison for deploying soldiers during the March 19 rerun elections in defiance of a court order. Guardian Northern youths, under the auspices of Arewa Intergrity Youth Forum, have taken a swipe at the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu over his comments on the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu over the lingering fuel crisis in the country. Daily Times Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, on Sunday, said the Federal Government had set aside N3 trillion for projects in 2016. Daily Trust The Senate yesterday summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, over the scarcity of petrol in the country. National Mirror The recent fire incident that razed hundreds of shops at the Sabon Gari market in Kano State, has been described as worst in living memory. Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who stated this when he visited the scene of devastation, said impact of the destruction would be felt throughout West Africa and beyond. Leadership The federal government has projected an accrual in excess of N2.5 trillion from payment of Stamp Duties from the financial services industry in 2016 as outlined by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The Nation Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday defended his statement that those coming to the state for the rerun election should write their will. Tribune President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday assured Nigerians that the next few months will witness his administration taking more pragmatic actions in a bid to improve the nations economy and boost their living condition. The president gave the assurance at the 8th Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja. Buhari was the Chairman of the Colloquium themed: Agriculture: Action, work, revolution. A former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is the Jagaban of the Borgu Kingdom in Niger State, was one of the pillars of the then opposition APC that played a frontal role in the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2015 Presidential election and the emergence of Buhari as president. The colloquium was held to mark the 64th birthday of the APC leader. Speaking at the occasion, President Buhari eulogized Tinubu, whom he noted possesses some unique qualities that have contributed immensely to the growth of Nigeria. There are very few patriots alive today that can match the commitment, zealous, creativity that Bola Tinubu has demonstrated in his contribution to national growth, Buhari stated. He said that his governments desire was to invest heavily in human capital development towards reducing high level poverty in the country. In the coming months, Nigerians will see much more actions. Government will continue to invest substantially in human capital development and this is just the beginning, he said. He also welcomed more companies that are willing to invest in the country. The president said: We are going to hold ourselves accountable. We will measure results. There will always be some skepticism, some have even become disorientated and impatient enough to think that barriers are insurmountable. Anyone who claim great change is impossible can only look as an ordinary success. Despite the odds, President Buhari said that there are incredible examples of entrepreneurs who have set up processing factories, green house farming and commercial up taking systems. He added: We can achieve more with partnership that link up and scale up our respective efforts. I am declaring that we need a new approach that challenges more states and local governments, more organisation, companies and non-governmental organisations and individuals, some of the younger people who are here to step up and play a role because government cannot and should not do it alone. All hands should be on deck, he said. He also explained that the opportunities that the government sees in the agriculture value chain were enormous. Buhari commended the organizers of the Bola Tinubu Colloquium for the choice of the theme of the event, which focused on improving agriculture. The president said: We intend to organize an efficient market infrastructure that will make agriculture viable for investors. We are providing an enabling environment so as to ensure certainty and predictability for the private sector. We intend to also ensure that the market is fair and worth to transform small holder farmers from beggars to businessmen, he added. President Buhari also assured that government will speed up actions that will improve food production techniques as technology will play a huge role in better seeds, better harvest, weather forecast and predictable market prices. Furthermore, we are going to keep focusing on improved nutrition for children. We know the effects of hunger and poor nutrition can last a life time. Children are thrown out of school to earn a living, the president said. Dignitaries that graced the occasion included Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; wife of the celebrant, Senator Remi Tinubu; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu; state governors of Zamfara Abdulaziz Yari, Osun Rauf Aregbesola, Ogun Ibikunle Amosun, Kebbi Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Adamawa Jibrilla Bindow, Cross River Ben Ayade, Bauchi Muhammed Abubakar, Lagos Ambode Akinwunmi, Kaduna Nasir el-Rufai, Oyo Abiola Ajimobi. Also at the event were the APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, Senator Smart Adeyemi, cabinet members and other top government officials. President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the passing of elder statesman and pro-democracy advocate, Tunji Braithwaite, who died on Monday at the age of 82. The president also commiserated with the immediate family, friends, professional colleagues and political allies of Mr. Braithwaite. Mr. Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, expressed the belief that the death of the lawyer, author and politician came at a time that his wisdom, intellectual depth, vast knowledge and experience were sorely needed by the country. The statement said President Buhari recalled the immeasurable contributions of the late sage to the development of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Nigeria, assuring his family and friends that the political history of the country would be incomplete without capturing his roles. Buhari urged political leaders to emulate the virtues of the founder of the Nigerian Advance Party (NAP) during the Second Republic, who perceived politics as a platform for honest service to the nation rather than an opportunity to make money. President Buhari noted that the elder statesman was quintessentially selflessness, patriotic and committed to national development as his passion to serve the people never waned despite not winning in the presidential elections. The president prayed that the Almighty God will grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest, and comfort his loved ones. Governor Nasir El-Rufai will not back down from pursuing policies and programmes he has for Kaduna State, in spite of the opposition, his Political Adviser, Malam Uba Sani, has said. Sani, who made this known while fielding questions from reporters yesterday in Kaduna, said most of the policies being criticized are in the best interest of the state and its people, adding that the criticisms were the handwork of mischief makers. We are not going to get tired of explaining to our people that all the policies, programmes as well as legislations currently being implemented or about to be implemented by the El Rufai administration will always be in the best interest of the state. They will also be for the good of the people who overwhelmingly elected the governor into office. You may accuse Governor El-Rufai of anything but you dont even have to know him too well to deduce that the governor is not the type to be swayed by any form or shade of primordial religious sentiments, he stated. The political adviser assured that Gov. El Rufai will not betray the people that elected him. The governor has deep knowledge of the state and knows how easy it is for persons who do not mean well for the state, to orchestrate negative religious issues given the seemingly sharp religious divide in the state, he said. Sani explained that the religious bill before the Kaduna House of Assembly was not a new Law, saying it has been in existence since 1984. My understanding is that previous administrations in Kaduna State that had either enacted or retained this law were responding to outbreaks of religious violence in the state over time. So, like we have severally explained, in further amending this law, the government is only seeking to discourage the use of religion for violence and division. Kindly note however, that this law does not in any way abridge, threaten or violate the freedom of worship as enshrined in the constitution of our great country, he said. The All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State chapter on Monday called on its supporters to remain steadfast in their support of the party. This is just as the party described the March 19 rerun elections in the state as a violence-ridden sham and reiterated its demand for its outright cancelation by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Public Affairs to the Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, who made this known in a statement in Port Harcourt, the state capital, also expressed surprise at the hurried release by security agencies of some aides to Governor of the State, Chief Nyesom Wike, who were arrested for alleged electoral offences and violence during the abandoned rerun elections into National and State Assembly seats. The party wondered how all the suspects were allowed to go home and continue with their normal businesses despite the sensitivity of the allegations against them. One of the aides, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Emeka Woke, was arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, for allegedly attempting to assassinate the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside; Mr. Ikanya and the APC deputy governorship candidate in the 2015 elections, Hon. Asita O. Asita. It said: We are shocked and left speechless by the speed with which the Secretary to Rivers State Government (SSG), Mr. Kenneth Kobani; Wikes Special Assistant on Special Projects, Mr. Cyril Dum Wite and the governors Chief of Staff, Emeka Woke, were released and allowed to go home, despite the overwhelming evidence against them. Kobani was caught red-handed aiding rigging during the March 19 rerun polls, while Wite was caught with N40 million cash, arms, police and army uniforms in his car. On March 20, gunmen operating in two jeeps belonging to Woke, opened fire on a vehicle conveying Peterside, Ikanya and Asita, who were on their way from the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa. Our hopes were initially raised when Wikes implicated aides were arrested for questioning; we thought that justice would be made to take its course. We are disappointed that these men have been hastily released and left off the hook, instead of being vigorously investigated and charged before courts of competent jurisdiction. This is sad and unfortunate. Rivers APC urged security agencies in the state to conduct their activities with impartiality and ensure that they are not bought by Governor Nyesom Wike, in his alleged desperation to completely conquer and possess the state by hook or crook. The party advised its members and supporters not to be demoralised by the turn of events, but to keep hope alive. It assured that the Muhammadu Buharis administration would bring about the promised change in all ramifications. A retired soldier, Gafaru Rodoye, has told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that My wife has turned my boxers to rags as she always tears them to rape me. He told the court on Tuesday that his wife, Idiat, with whom he had five children in their 20-year old marriage, always raped him. My wife always rape me; she had turned all my boxers to rags to achieve her selfish aim, he said. The petitioner said that his wife was in the habit of threatening his life through beating and that he was afraid she might kill him one day. I had to run away from my 16-flat building to rent an apartment elsewhere just to avoid her frequent beatings, but she trailed me to my new apartment to fight me. I have reported her severally to different police stations, but it did not yield any positive result, he said. Gafaru said that his wife poured hot water on the new wife that was brought for him from the village by his family. He begged the court to end their 20-year old marriage, saying he was no longer in love as his life was in danger. Please, separate us before my wife kills me, my life is not safe with her, I am a pensioner, I need to enjoy the fruit of my labour, he said. However, Mrs Idiat Rodoye, 44, business woman, denied all the allegations, saying her husband was a womaniser. My husband runs after anything in skirt; he always sends me packing from the house whenever he wants to bring in another woman. He once sent me out with the children for three years. After sending me out, he had married six different women, but none stayed long with him. He will always come back to beg me to pack back, she said. The mother of five said she never raped her husband, that it was normal for husband and wife to make love. The respondent said that she did not beat her husband, but it was her husband that was always beating her. Idiat said that her husband removed the plasma television, air conditioner and disconnected the electricity supply from her flat, leaving her and the children in darkness. She urged the court to grant her husbands wish that she too was tired of the marriage and no longer in love. The Court President, Mr. Adegboyega Omilola, adjourned the case to April 5 for further hearing. The President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday called for a closer collaboration between Nigeria and Colombia in order to improve diplomatic ties and enhance democratic governance in both countries. Senator Saraki, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, spoke when he received a Parliamentary delegation from Colombia, led by Senator Edinson Delgado in his office. He also said that the National Assembly is open to relationships with other advanced parliaments across the globe to broaden its legislative experience and knowledge of its lawmakers. He noted that Nigeria and Colombia have a long standing relationship that need to be oiled and improved upon for mutual benefits just as he canvassed for strong investment in the Nigeria economy by Colombian investors. We are happy that you are here. I believe your visit will further strengthen the relationship between Nigeria and Colombia. For many years, lots of opportunities have not been harnessed by both countries in spite of the fact that Nigeria and Colombia have a lot of things in common. Here in Nigeria, we have two chambers just like you have in Colombia. We are very identical, we must build this relationship and that is why I am encouraging this visit particularly at this period of diversification of our economy, Saraki said. The Senate President extended invitation to the parliament of Colombia for cooperation and exchange of programmes that would improve the quality of law making in both countries. Earlier, the leader of the Colombian parliamentary delegation, Senator Edinson Delgado called for mutual cooperation between his country and Nigeria for mutual diplomatic and economic benefits. Delgado said the team which comprised of Colombian businessmen and investors was in Nigeria on a three city tour of Lagos, Yola and Port Harcourt to foster partnerships and explore opportunities with a focus on commerce, industry and agriculture between both countries. He promised to work hard to improve the economic and parliamentary relationship between Colombia and Nigeria. We are keen to strengthen our diplomatic relationship and establish basic opportunities between our two countries, Delgado said. Police officers in Nairobi on Thursday, March 24, arrested a woman who residents believed was the wanted terror suspect, Samantha Lewthwaite alias White Widow. According to Daily Post Kenya, Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) officers responded after city dwellers blocked a car the woman and two men were using along Moi Avenue, after suspecting the woman was the infamous terrorist. They held the suspects hostage for a while as they waited for the officers to arrive following an earlier alert warning that Al Shabaab militants were planning possible retaliatory attacks in Kenya. The three were taken to Railways police station where they were interrogated for hours before being handed over to ATPU for further questioning. Railways station head Kirimi Ringera said the woman claimed she had flown into the country from United States to visit her Facebook friend in Mandera. An officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations confirmed the arrests saying they acted swiftly following a call from the public. We received calls from residents indicating that they suspected the woman was the White Widow. We could not take any chances, he stated. Samantha has been on international police radar from several years after being suspected of masterminding terror attacks in different countries including the 2013 Westgate siege that led to death of over 60 people. Source:Naij Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, yesterday justified his comments in the build up to the March 19 legislative rerun elections in the state that those coming with the intentions to rig should write their will. Speaking when he appeared as a guest in Sunrise Daily, a breakfast programme of Channels Television, broadcast live from the Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike said that he made the statement which some of his critics believe is an evidence of his support for violence, in reference to those who might have sinister intention. Fielding questions on a wide range of issues, he also boasted that it will be an uphill task for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state to be defeated by the All Progressives Congress or any other political party. The governor noted that the state was in the firm grip of the PDP, besides his administrations modest achievements in its short period in office. Wike stressed that Rivers residents were determined to vote for the PDP because of his achievements in the last few months in office. According to him: It is difficult for anybody to defeat us in Rivers State because of the projects I have done in my short stay in office, and the fact that Rivers is a PDP state. The civil servants are happy with us. Nobody would be happy when, at the end of the month, they cannot take their wages home. We have done much to fulfil our campaign promises. If you go to Borokiri, where the former governor was living at Okaki Street, everybody was afraid to go there because of bad roads. But today, we have fixed the road and the people are happy. In Diobu axis, we had many bad roads before now. But today, we have fixed them. The general hospitals were dead; some health centres were not functioning. What we are trying to do, as a matter of policy, is to pick one hospital in each of the three senatorial districts and equip it. We are also going to train and retrain our doctors. For now, we are focusing on health and education. We dont want to carry all at the same time. We received N4 billion as (federal) allocation when our salary wage is N5.5 billion. How do we make up to pay salaries? When we took over, I had an IGR of N4 billion to N5 billion, but as I speak to you, we have improved our IGR to between N9 and N10 billion. This means nobody is running away from the state, because if people were leaving the state, our IGR would not have increased. And if the insecurity is much as is being claimed, why is our IGR increasing? Yet, if you read the newspapers, people would say the state is Rivers of blood. The governor, who pledged not to complete the monorail project started by his predecessor, said Rivers residents and other stakeholders told him to jettison the project and focus on another, which would have direct impact on the people. He disclosed that the monorail project had already gulped over N45 billion, adding that he did not want to have a headache over a white elephant project. Wike also accused his former boss and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, of attempting to destabilise the state because of his desperation to capture the state for his party, the APC. The governor said it was now evident that the APC could not defeat the PDP in the state. He noted that if President Muhammadu Buhari supported him, he would achieve peace and stability in the state. Wike, however, lamented the frequent change of his security chiefs, saying the rotation would jeopardize his plan to tackle the security challenges in the state. He said: The continued removal of the commissioners of police, director of State Security Service and other security chiefs in the state is to frustrate our effort. Of course, the minister is behind this, and people are saying we should reconcile. In what way? That means if I reconcile with him, they would not be removing my security chiefs. That was why I said we are personalising this, it shouldnt be. If there is need that we should come together to talk, we should not be desperate to take over the state. As far as I am concerned, I dont want to assert that kind of responsibility. But the issue of security is not political. We are fighting to stop this situation and there is a system trying to destabilise the state by removing the commissioners of police all the time. This is a man who has served as governor for eight years and Speaker for eight years. What has the state not done for him? As far as I am concerned, the Federal Government should support me by leaving the security chiefs to plan for the security problem in the state. The only problem we have with the election is for the umpire to say we must be fair to all. Security people should not be used to manipulate the process. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should stop employing those who, one way or the other, have interest in a political party. That is the way we can maintain peace. After major criticism within the Hadoop community regarding its nature and aims, Open Data Platform -- an initiative to create a reference-standard Hadoop distribution -- announced Monday it will now be hosted at the Linux Foundation as a Collaborative Project. The goal with this new organizational structure is to ameliorate the perception that the ODP Initiative is vendor-owned and vendor-controlled, rather than just participated in by Hadoop vendors among many others. Less regress, more progress John Mertic, senior program manager for the ODPi, explained in a phone call that the main goal of the project is to bring together representatives from different parts of the Hadoop world -- not only the distributions themselves, but the makers of tool sets, the ISVs, and the customer solution providers -- and remove both the duplication of effort and the divisions that have arisen between the parties deploying Hadoop. Most of the issues, Mertic explained, revolve around the way each distribution implements common parts of Hadoop in slightly differently. "Things as simple as filenaming strategies; environment variable exposure; not changing base, core, public APIs -- each vendor had a slightly different approach," Mertic said. They've proven to be a hindrance to customers, he said. What's to ensure that the ODPi doesn't slip back into the hands of the vendors that work with it? "For any decision in regards to what the focuses of a spec should be, what projects we look to include or remove, all of that is entirely driven by the vendors," Mertic said. "If a member has a project they want to add, they pass it upstream to our release team." The latter is composed of both technical and business members. The release team sets priorities for the requested items and determines what a release for such features will look like. The results are then passed back to the vendors for a vote, where each member has a single ballot, regardless of size. Pulling this process under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation provides "a way for vendors to engage and work together and collaborate in a vendor-neutral environment," without resorting to as "committer proxy war" strategies at the project level. Under a new umbrella Placing the ODP under the aegis of the Linux Foundation, rather than the Apache Foundation, further distinguishes the initiative's goals. "The Apache Foundation is build more around individual contributors and projects," Mertic explained, implying that it's mainly about development -- "a place to play for people who are deep into these toolsets." People who want to address their specific user cases, such as analytics or SaaS vendors, want to find a way to do that without dealing with specific projects, Mertic said. The ODP's work is thus intended to complement the Apache Foundation's work rather than replace it. "[The Apache Foundation] has paths for individual contributors, but it doesn't really have paths for companies," Mertic said. Most of that is accomplished by having employees from those companies contribute directly to projects. The ODPi, then, is meant to be "a different level of engagement for a different sort of audience," Mertic said. With the start of the Build conference a day away and the official Microsoft Build app now available, we have a good idea about most of the sessions and the general Azure slant of the developer offerings. As befits the occasion, Microsoft is sure to whip the Windows faithful into a frenzy. Andy Weir at Neowin provides a good look at the Windows 10 hyperbole already flying around: "You are all gonna FREAK OUT when you see this," tweeted senior PM Rich Turner. "These features are going to CHANGE EVERYTHING. No joke," from Scott Hanselman, principal PM for Azure. Both tweets have since been deleted. I've been looking at the schedule, the speakers, and the details, and wondering, "Where is WinRT?" For those of you who haven't been at this game long enough, let me start with a quick history of modern Windows development. Old-fashioned Windows programs -- the ones you likely use every day, such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office -- rely on the Win32 Application Programming Interface, the set of system calls that lets programs talk to the operating system. Charles Petzold wrote the first widely used book about the Win32 API in 1988. The Win32 API grew and morphed, reaching its pinnacle in Windows 7. When Microsoft announced Windows 8, it also announced the new Windows Runtime, a set of APIs (commonly called WinRT) that truly revolutionized Windows programming. The "Metro" apps you may recall from Windows 8 and 8.1 are based on WinRT. I'll gently sidestep the discussion of how Microsoft inexplicably built computers that would only run WinRT and instead move on to mobile. WinRT was the great rallying cry for mobile computing -- the nexus, at the time, of the mobile-first Windows world. It has all sorts of mobile-friendly capabilities, but relatively few developers have chosen to use it. There's a reason why -- many reasons, actually. Windows Phone 8 arrived in mid-2012, and Microsoft started touting how WinRT could run on both PCs and phones. In June 2012, research firm Gartner had this to say: [Windows 8] provides a common interface and programming API set from phones to servers. It is also the beginning of the end of Win32 applications on the desktop. ... Microsoft will continue to support Win32, but it will encourage developers to write more manageable and engaging applications using WinRT. This, of course, was rubbish -- WinRT running on a phone and on a Win8 PC were completely, torturously different, and server adds an entirely new can of worms. Microsoft pressed Silverlight -- its version of Adobe Flash -- into service as a development platform for Windows Phone 8. There was a time after the release of Windows 8.1 when developers had to choose between Silverlight 8, Silverlight 8.1, and pure WinRT, and they could only get into the Windows Phone Store if they made the hop to WinRT. I started screeching about the lack of support for Silverlight developers back in June 2011. Although Microsoft still lists Silverlight -- and offers it as an Optional update -- it's been abandoned. Devs who devoted months and years to figuring it out were tossed under the WinRT train. With Windows 10, Microsoft announced (and repeatedly renamed) its new Universal Windows Platform. UWP incorporates WinRT but goes beyond, as David Hale says in this MSDN article: Windows 10 introduces the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), which further evolves the Windows Runtime model and brings it into the Windows 10 unified core. As part of the core, the UWP now provides a common app platform available on every device that runs Windows 10. With this evolution, apps that target the UWP can call not only the WinRT APIs that are common to all devices, but also APIs (including Win32 and .NET APIs) that are specific to the device family the app is running on. The UWP provides a guaranteed core API layer across devices. This means you can create a single app package that can be installed onto a wide range of devices. And, with that single app package, the Windows Store provides a unified distribution channel to reach all the device types your app can run on. Thus WinRT got swallowed up by UWP -- and a whole bunch of other stuff was thrown in to fill out UWP. At least, that's the intent: Sticking Win32 API and .Net apps in UWP is the province of Project Centennial, which is still in beta and doesn't even have a real product name yet. There are bridges: The defunct Project Astoria -- announced at last year's Build -- was supposed to bring Android apps into the UWP fold. Project Islandwood (Windows Bridge for iOS) is supposed to help bring iOS apps into UWP. The Web Bridge (Hosted Web Apps) brings HTML and JavaScript programs into UWP. All of the UWP programs are destined for the Windows Store -- at least that's what we're supposed to expect. But take a look at what's happened, what's available in the Windows Store now. Microsoft originally put Metro apps in the store, then WinRT apps, and now UWP apps, and the pickings are embarrassingly slim. We have a handful of Windows Store/WinRT apps from Microsoft: OneNote, Sway, and arguably Maps are ready for prime time. Then there's all the rest: Edge, which is only now starting to sprout extensions; the recently announced rework of Skype; and the almost-promised working version of OneDrive (see the screenshots on Thurrot.com). Microsoft has been working on these big apps for more than a year -- nearly two years on Edge -- and they're shadows of what they should be by now. Microsoft itself is shunning the platform. The severely stunted Office Mobile is still around, but Office itself doesn't run on WinRT. The built-in Windows 10 apps are, with few exceptions, stick figures of real apps and don't cover many basic features. The WinRT Mail app, for example, is only now getting the ability to pop out messages, fer heaven's sake. WinRT Photos (the Windows 10 Photos app) doesn't hold a candle to Google Photos. And so on. Companies have been pulling their WinRT Microsoft Store apps left and right -- and few new ones are showing up to stem the tide. The new Instagram app (still in beta and quite unstable) is an iOS port, but it was ported using Facebook's tools, not Microsoft's Project Islandwood. The Facebook app is still unstable. The Twitter app doesn't come close to its analogs on iOS and Android. There are exceptions: The Dropbox app, at least in my experience, works pretty well. You might attribute the lackluster showing of Windows Store apps to teething problems, but the developers behind them have been working with WinRT for years. UWP is supposed to be the magic glue that holds it all together. As Gartner said of WinRT, it's a "common interface and programming API set from phones to servers" now extended to include HoloLens, Raspberry Pi, Surface Hub, and every IoT device galloping out of the stable. Yes, UWP has its App Model, device families, core APIs, and effective pixels. What it doesn't have right now is an example of a robust, scalable app. Edge is the only example that comes close, and it's a long way from being usable. You have to wonder what's so infernally difficult about WinRT. Moreover, if Microsoft can't come up with decent WinRT apps quickly, how on earth can business developers succeed? Or to the point, why would corporate developers choose WinRT when there are so many good alternatives? Which brings me back to the elephant in the room: Microsoft, as my colleague Paul Krill asserts, isn't giving up on UWP. Instead, UWP is being redefined in ways that aren't at all clear. The recent acquisition of Xamarin shows that UWP can be redefined to include Android and iOS apps, if they're built with Microsoft's .Net. Who knows what else awaits absorption into the UWP cabal? I think you're going to see WinRT marginalized in the next few years. It wouldn't surprise me one bit to watch it wither away, like Silverlight -- ignored for a time, then kind of exiled, with no decent burial. Developers will complain as they're pushed aside, but Microsoft will latch onto the next shiny object and let devs read the tea leaves -- or simply sway in the wind. ActiveX went that way, too. If you want to build an app that runs on PCs, Windows Phones, Xbox consoles, and HoloLens simultaneously, then WinRT is your only choice. For anything else, you have to ask if there's a better tool for the job at hand. And before you commit to WinRT, consider its history. Cattle bulls are back in force Sidwell Strategies - Sat Oct 22, 7:12PM CDT Cattle-on-Feed; Rebound in Equities & Energy 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%) Over the past two years, we've reported on various efforts by a wide range of foundations to boost college graduation rates for underrepresented student groups, including first-generation students and those from low-income families. National, regional, and local funders have all engaged this effort, pulling just about every lever they can think of to increase college completion. It's a great example of philanthropy mobilizing around a problem, with a recent torrent of funding amid rising awareness that first-generation college students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, had alarmingly low graduation rates. Related: Here Are the Top Foundations Working to Reduce College Dropout Rates So where do things stand now? Are all these millions that foundations are spending to increase college graduations showing any results? Well, according to the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), the answer is a resounding yes. We've written about the UIA before. In 2014, the heads of some of the largest public research universities joined forces around a common goal: boost the number of college-educated Americans from all backgrounds, especially low-income and first-generation students. UIA represents a way for these universities to share ideas, interventions, and practices that individual schools have found successful in boosting student success, regardless of a particular students socioeconomic circumstances. Related: The Other Half of the Battle: Funders Bet on Push to Keep Low-Income Kids in College Recently, UIA reported that its member schools are on track to increase the combined number of degrees conferred each year by nearly 20 percent. Over the next 10 years, this means 94,000 more college graduates than they would have had prior to the alliance. A whos who of higher education funders support UIA, including the Ford, Kresge, Gates, Lumina and Markle foundations, and USA Funds. Their support was matched by member universities, which include Ohio State University, Georgia State, Purdue, Michigan State, Arizona State, University of California at Riverside, and the University of Texas. So this is quite an impressive collaboration with lots of moving parts. UIA works at multiple levels, with the bulk of the effort occurring among campus-based student success teams. These teams work with a UIA project manager who coordinates an individual campus actions to increase student success. At another level, university institutional research and data experts define data and metrics to share. Enrollment and financial aid administrators collaborate to discuss federal financial aid and advocate for changes. Finally, at the top, university presidents and chancellors meet quarterly to set the big goals and determine how the work will be advanced. Federal officials are taking notice, too. In addition to foundation funds, UIA has also received an $8.9 million federal grant to launch a random control trial to identify what interventions are most successful with first-generation college students. Kids these days. With the social media. And the texting. And the emojis. It's enough to make old timers fret for the state of the country, and even more alarmingly, the lost art of writing. This pessimistic school of thought suggests that thanks to the proliferation of social media, "the kids" don't know how to write anymore. As a Washington Post opinion piece notes, the reason why Americans can't write is because no one is teaching them how to write. In 2011, a nationwide test found that only 24 percent of students in eighth and 12th grades were proficient in writing, and just three percent were advanced. And if kids can't grasp the basics of grammar, sentence structure, and syntax, how can they write creatively? How can they understand character development, plot, conflict resolution, and so on? Now we're getting really depressed. Thankfully, the Penguin Random House Foundation is on the case. Its Creative Writing Competition for New York City high school seniors has awarded more than $2 million to students and their schools for original works in poetry, memoir, fiction, drama, and graphic novel since 1994. This year, the foundation will award over $100,000 in scholarships. But it's one thing to teach kids creative writing in a one-off setting. It's another thing entirely to create a replicable curriculum that empowers public school teachers to keep the ball rolling. And so the foundation further supports student writers throughout the writing process with in-school programs and teacher training in over 50 city schools. These "WRITE NOW!" workshops include teaching artists sharing their work with students and then leading the class in fun, accessible exercises that produce new writing on the spot. As a follow-up to the initial workshop, the sponsoring classroom teacher then receives a four-lesson plan that guides students to further flesh out and finish a piece for submission to the competition. What's more, this program, now in its 22nd year, has achieved a rare feat: It has generated enthusiasm and buy-in from all the major players. Overworked teachers appreciate the guidance. The foundation notes that "administrators are eager for programs that will train teachers to provide opportunities for student-centered student writing and that will keep school culture centered on creativity." And the kids, of course, love it. To anyone familiar with the machinations of public school administration, this universal enthusiasm is more than a rare feat. It's a miracle. Roslyn Dawson Thompson, CEO, Dallas Women's FoundationNearly every week at Inside Philanthropy I meet another woman leader who shows me a way that womens funds and foundations are impacting the philanthropy landscape, and breaking down barriers to equality for women and girls. This week I talked to Roslyn Dawson Thompson, President and CEO of the Dallas Womens Foundation and the chair of the board of directors of the Womens Funding Network. Much of our discussion was about the role of economic security in empowering women. If women are not able to achieve economic security then it has massive implications for workforce development and the economics of every state and the country overall, said Thompson. She referenced a recent report produced by the Texas Womens Foundation (the research and advocacy arm of the Dallas Womens Foundation) on the difficult economic state of being female in Texas, where women face high unemployment and poverty. If 53% of our households in poverty are headed by women, then all of these issuesviolence against women, transportation, access to education, access to health carelive under the umbrella of economic justice and economic security. Over the past several years, the Dallas Womens Foundation has honed its focus to look more closely at impacting economic security for women, and has been funding grantees who can successfully carry out this charge. The foundation recently partnered with grantee Educational First Steps to create the Child Care Bridge Fund. This temporary, partial funding ensures low-income mothers can go to work or school, plus enroll their children at early learning centers that meet national quality standards. So far, this has produced an amazing result, said Thompson. Every dollar we have put in has enabled a woman to bring home $4.39 to her family. Its a super triple bottom line play because a woman has a job, a teacher in a high quality day care center has a job, and a child is getting high quality early childhood education. Thompson sees the work of the Dallas Womens Foundationand other regionally-based womens foundations across the country that zero in on local needsas underscoring the value of place-based philanthropy. If you watch how women see the issues, how they understand the issues from the very intimate reality that most women live and deal withwhether its I buried my mother or I took care of her or Im a single momthere are the threads of experience that women have all held together, and that keep us more close to the needs of the community, and more sympathetic and willing to take risks... Were not afraid." Another way the Dallas Womens Foundation is working to impact womens empowerment is by moving its own assets into women-owned and women-run businesses. Right now were at $33 million in overall assets, and we have committed to get at least 8 to 12 percent of our working capital and assets into gendered investments by 2018, to make the money we have in investments work for women just as our grants and philanthropy work for women. Now that the foundation is looking for financial products that target funding to womens businesses, Thompson said, she has observed the financial industry working to create products to meet this demand. A third way that the Dallas Womens Foundation is tackling economic security for women is through a ten-year commitment to financial literacy work with women and girls throughout the state. Thompson described how the program works to ensure that women and girls learn about money, know how to earn money, and know how to keep money, and not see money as strictly a tool of transaction. Thompson, like many of the other women leaders in philanthropy I have spoken with, sees womens empowerment as influencing not just philanthropy, but business culture as well, particularly the ideas of corporate responsibility and corporate citizenship. Thats the power alley of women. Theyve got the right stuff, the vision, the understanding, and the ability to be inclusive in their decision-making that countenances the business and consumer needs. Thompson sees corporate foundations having more influence now, and corporations becoming more responsive to the gender parity. The realization of this really hit home for her when she read a recent report from Ernst and Young entitled Women. Fast Forward, which calls on corporations to push harder on promoting women as a smart business strategy that will enhance the bottom line. Thompson described a particularly eye-opening section in the report when Karyn Twaronite, Diversity and Inclusiveness Officer at Ernst and Young was quoted as saying, We may have women leaning in, but the reality is we also need companies to be there supporting and sponsoring them to do so. Its not about fixing the womenits about fixing the environment. Shifting business culture and social policies so that they fit womens realitiesincluding their current lack of economic securityis an important way that the Dallas Womens Foundation and womens funding in general are altering the landscape of philanthropy. With initiatives that support economic security for women, Thompson and other leaders in the womens funding movement are giving women support and also benefit the community as a whole. It gets back to that the shared responsibility for everyone, which cant be abrogated, she said. Armadillo Self Storage in Sheffield, England, which is part of the Big Yellow Group PLC family of self-storage properties, is once again offering support to the Roundabout Youth Charity in the form of a free year of storage for furniture and other charitable donations. Armadillo has partnered with the organization for four years. Roundabout supports 150 homeless young people every day. Its the only emergency hostel in Sheffield for people ages 16 to 21, according to the source. The organization also has five self-contained apartments that provide housing for eight young people for up to six months as they prepare for independent living. Armadillo Self Storage [has] generously provided us with storage facilities for four years now, and that level [of] support has proved invaluable to us, said Ruth Gage, fundraising and communications manager for Roundabout. It proves, too, that there are so many different ways in which the business community can support a charity like ours. We now look forward to working with the Armadillo Self Storage team even more closely over the next 12 months. Armadillo Self Storage facility at 79 West Bar provides business, personal and wine storage. The property is open daily. Big Yellow Group operates 84 locations in the United Kingdom under the Big Yellow Self Storage and Armadillo Self Storage brand names, with most concentrated in Greater London. Its total portfolio comprises 5.1 million square feet. The Internet was abuzz in late March after Reuters reported that Deutsche Bank was poised to hire dozens of equity traders to bolster its operations in the U.S. and elsewhere. The news came as a shock because many other financial services firms Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Credit Suisse among them have been scaling back their trading staffs after years of falling volumes and plunging revenues. Does the big German bank know something the others dont? If it does, its not saying: Deutsche sources declined to comment on the Reuters story. But executives at other global banks are quick to acknowledge that the future of the sales trader both traditional and electronic is not as bleak as it may appear at the moment. High-touch trading is just as important as ever, and so is electronic trading, affirms Luiz De Salvo, co-head of Americas cash equities trading at J.P. Morgan Securities in New York. While our electronic-trading business has grown dramatically, it has also enabled our high-touch traders to leverage those tools for execution so they can focus on the really important client situations and provide the best liquidity and prices. Brian Gallagher, Morgan Stanley & Co.s co-head of electronic trading, concurs. As the liquidity of the market continues to evolve, we have seen a resurgence in the importance of a high-touch approach as our clients seek out the best access to liquidity and capital, he observes. While electronic trading has seen significant growth over the past few years and continues to be important to our client base, the sales trader remains a key part of helping clients find liquidity, utilize our capital and minimize impact in a lower-volume environment. According to Gallagher, buy-side trading decisions over the past few years have centered on three main factors cost, anonymity and liquidity each of which has its own value proposition. High-touch trading can offer access to a different form of service, higher cost, access to block liquidity but potentially less anonymity, says the New Yorkbased executive. For its part, electronic trading can offer lower explicit cost, anonymity and liquidity access that can be constrained to exchanges and alternative trading systems. The styles are not mutually exclusive, however. Increasingly, we are working with clients to bring elements of high touch and low touch together so that they have access to the optimal liquidity and high service with minimal information leakage, Gallagher says. Which firms offer the best execution and trading services high tech, high touch or both for U.S. equities investors? To find out, Institutional Investor asked buy-side traders, market structure analysts and other financial professionals to evaluate their service providers on a dozen attributes, ranging from access to unique liquidity to risk management. The result is the 2016 All-America Trading Team, our updated and expanded ranking of the U.S.s top brokerage firms. Morgan Stanley leads this years team, earning a top-three position in 11 of the 12 categories (missing out only in Analytics). Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan share second place, with nine positions each, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch lands at No. 4, with five spots. These results reflect the opinions of 280 investment professionals at 232 firms that paid an estimated $5.28 billion in commissions for U.S. cash equities last year. Click on the Leaders link in the navigation table at right to view the full list of ranked firms. To see the top-ranked service providers in each category, click on the attribute name. Survey participants could also vote for the sales traders and electronic-trading salespeople whom they feel provide exceptional service. Morgan Stanley lays claim to three of the top-five sales traders: Michael Cohen is No. 1, while Derek Johnson and John McCusker capture fourth and fifth place, respectively. Cohen has done an excellent job of representing our firm internally and is always both aggressive and proactive as it relates to connecting us to product specialists in the firm or facility trading flow, attests one backer. (Unless instructed otherwise, II keeps confidential the identities of survey participants and their firms to ensure their continuing cooperation.) Brendan Grady of Barclays Capital lands in second place on this roster. Brendan sets himself apart from other sales traders by always taking the extra time to respond to client requests, says one buy-side counterpart. He goes above and beyond with his morning emails, where he takes an anecdote either from history or his personal life and then relates it back to the markets. Its Wall Street Journal or New York Timesworthy. Among electronic-trading salespeople, no one is more highly regarded than Charlie Whitlock of J.P. Morgan. Charlie is a consummate professional who has been driven to bring the full services of the broker-dealer to clients, reports one senior buy-side trader who is based in Boston. He doesnt constrain himself by product and is willing to go the extra distance across products and assets. Charlie kicks down doors and doesnt take things too personally. He has very thick skin, which is a must in this business. I love his persistence. Jefferies is home to the remaining two of the top three in this category: Katherine Sullivan and Anthony Pallone. Matthew McGarrity, senior equity trader at CBRE Clarion Securities in Radnor, Pennsylvania, has worked with Sullivan for the past three years. Kat consistently provides us with excellent insight and service, whether it be through her knowledge of the Jefferies electronic-trading strategies, detailed analysis of market structure or intraday market commentary, he says. For rosters of the top salespeople by type, click on Sales Trader or Electronic-Sales Trader in the navigation table at right. William Bell Jr., a veteran of Lehman Brothers and then Barclays, joined Jefferies in the summer of 2014 as global head of electronic and program trading. One of the things I noticed was that the role of the electronic salesperson was more reactive, responding to client requests rather than providing some of the market color and other services offered by the traditional sales traders, he recalls. He set about restructuring the department so that investors receive the same level of attention. Were agnostic as to how we cover you. We want to align our services with the clients needs. Regardless of the execution vertical they want to use, we want to be there. Jefferies trading revenue has shown strong growth over the past few years, thanks largely to a recent surge in activity in its electronic franchise more than 350 percent over the past 18 months, Bell notes. Electronic trading should really account for one third to 40 percent of overall revenue, he believes. Were constantly working to find the right balance between high- and low-touch trading. Bell has noticed that when market volatility is high, clients gravitate more toward electronic trading. In a low-volatility environment we tend to see more interest in the high-touch approach, he adds, which is why its important for firms to be great in both. Clients feel comfortable with us because we have a neutral lens, owing to our conflict-free routing and having no ATS, he says. The secret to success in the electronic world is very similar to that of the high-touch approach: helping clients find the right strategy and assisting them as they navigate the market. Gallagher echoes that sentiment. For Morgan Stanley, putting clients first is one of our core principles, he notes. Understanding the approach and goals that a client has to achieve best execution as well as developing a balance within each execution method remains key. Specialization in client coverage across voice, program and electronic execution will remain core to how we service our accounts. Investors are impressed. Morgan Stanley outranks all other service providers in Responsiveness to buy-side needs and concerns, they say. Its also No. 1 in Block Liquidity and information Leakage Prevention. We have invested significant capital in the order-handling and routing systems utilized by both our traders and clients, Gallagher reports. For example, our smart order-routing technology is designed to access liquidity in parallel in a manner intended to minimize information leakage and maximize fill rates. J.P. Morgan is deemed the best in access to Unique Liquidity, Algorithms and Price Improvements. We have a diverse set of flows, from our market-leading cash-trading businesses to our top-tier derivatives-trading businesses, contends New Yorkbased Christopher Berthe, director of synthetic and forward trading for the Americas. Offering this liquidity back out to our clients is a key component of our business strategy. We are able to do this as we continue to invest heavily in technology, analytics and quantitative research to keep our algorithms, connectivity and execution tools cutting edge. Continually seeking ways to do things better, faster and cheaper is crucial in a trading environment that is growing ever more challenging. European regulators are finalizing new rules for unbundling research from trading commissions, measures that will likely bring the issue of costs into sharp relief and have a far-reaching impact on the way global banks do business. Moreover, in mid-March researchers at Tricumen, a U.K.-headquartered provider of financial market analytics, estimated that investment banks would report a 20 percent decline in sales and trading revenue year-over-year in the first quarter, which is usually the most profitable period for banks and often accounts for nearly one third of their annual income. J.P. Morgan, which enjoyed record profits of some $24.4 billion in 2015, acknowledged in February that its trading revenue would drop sharply this quarter. Citi announced in March that first-quarter trading income was likely to be down by about 15 percent. The situation could change if trading volumes return to their precrisis levels, but few expect that to happen. We were trading 15 billion shares a day just a few years ago. Now were trading at about half that level, and I think thats the new normal, says Jefferies Bell. I dont see us going back to 12 to 15 billion shares a day anytime soon. I would like to be wrong but I dont think I am. Get more research and rankings. A recent survey that small businesses are more reluctant than ever to invest or employ. To that end, I believe that now it is increasingly important for small businesses to reevaluate how their businesses are run in order to survive. I believe there is a very strong case for running every business in line with the principles of the big market players.Yes, smaller organizations have the advantage of being nimble and creative with their fingers firmly on the pulse at all times, but because there is often a lack of funds, staff and other resources, management can be challenging.Operating like a big business can produce big benefits for smaller companies, including a trustworthy reputation, loyal customers and an increase in efficiency.So here are my top dos and donts to running your business like a successful organization:Keeping an eye on the influential players is crucial for every small business owner, regardless of the industry youre in.Following industry publications and news sites religiously, and following websites and social media channels of industry leaders to stay up to date with their internal news and observe their actions, is essential.Learning from businesses enjoying success will only lend to your own, so always keep your finger on the pulse.Effective communication between employees, partners, suppliers and customers is the best way to boost efficiency similar to that of a major player.How can you update your communication methods or channels to increase efficiency? Consider integrating regular WIP meetings, monthly reviews and evaluations, ongoing and constructive feedback, quantifiable objectives and timelines into your workplace structure.Cultivating a strong brand with consistent messaging will help your business to secure repeat customers.The more recognizable your brand and the clearer the philosophies of your business, the more customers will be encouraged to engage with it.Brand consistency not only increases awareness, it helps to establish a brand as a prominent player in the industry. Small businesses should make it one of their key objectives to implement ongoing strategies that are effective in amplifying brand consistency across all channels, including its website, social media platforms, PR outreach and all other forms of marketing.With all of the technology available today, its now possible for small businesses to employ infrastructures that previously could only be afforded by large organisations. Using cloudbased applications, such as email and project management tools, levels the playing field and allows small businesses to operate more proficiently and economically.Small businesses often neglect this measure due to the lack of a dedicated technician.A secure, reliable network helps your employees access the information and resources they need to keep up with major competition. Network security is an indispensable constituent for small businesses endeavouring to run like a big business.Whether these are outgoings or incoming, make certain that your payment structures are seamless and timely.Compromising your business reputation with wavering financial matters is a big no-no. Always ensure to stay up to date financially, assign an employee to supervize all payments or download user-friendly accounting software from the web.Its too easy to rack up the hours when you have a smaller workforce, but dont. Always enforce measures that afford you some quality down time. Balance work and life by prioritizing responsibilities, establishing clear business hours and delegating effectively to team members.This is a slightly amended version of an article written by Sharon Zeev Poole, agency director, Agent99 Public Relations. It has been shortened to make it suitable for web publishing. Cyclists given access to insurance products and services and other benefits Manmade risks continue to rise and are becoming the predominant risks facing the world over natural disasters, according to the CEO of Lloyds. Inga Beale said that manmade risks, such as terrorism, continue to rise across the globe in moves that continue to shake-up the traditional days of the insurance world.Weve seen an increase in manmade risks all over the world, Beale told The Guardian.In the traditional days of insurance we used to be very concerned about earthquakes and hurricanes ... These days manmade risks are becoming the predominant risks.According to Reuters, the business is also looking at establishing offices in mainland Europe if the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union this year.Reuters note that chairman of Lloyds John Nelson, is looking at contingency plans for setting up offices in Europe as the so-called Brexit could diminish the attraction of Lloyds to investors outside of Britain.Beale spoke following results issued by Lloyds last week which saw the business take a 30% hit on profits thanks to a low investment yield and a challenging underwriting market Local councils in Australia continue to move toward the commercial insurance market presenting an opportunity for brokers, according to a new report from Aon The latest Australian Local Government Risk Report reveals that, while insurance mutuals still dominate the local government market, things could be changing.While mutual schemes continue to dominate the local government insurance market, the Australian Local Government Risk Report 2016 shows that in contrast to the exclusivity of mutuals in the previous year, 9% of councils surveyed have now moved to the commercial market. The report notes.However, this only reflects the early changes leading up to 30 June 2016, with numerous councils known to be currently testing the commercial market. For example, in December 2015, four major councils representing more than 50% of Tasmanian ratepayers, issued a tender for the provision of insurance brokerage services.Likewise, Aons market intelligence suggests that up to 70 councils nationally will tender in the commercial insurance market early in the 2016 calendar year for 2016/2017.Furthermore, if the proposed mergers take place in New South Wales, it is quite feasible that some of these larger councils will leverage their scale to reduce their insurance spend, allowing them to deliver more services back to the community.Paul Crapper, national head of local government at Aon Risk Solutions, said that the report next year could see big changes for the commercial market.There are clear indications that the 2017 report will show a dramatically different distribution of insurance placement, and that up to 25% of local councils may move from a mutual environment to the commercial market in the coming year.Crapper continued that the mutual scheme and its limited flexibility may not be best for councils in the future as the risk landscape continues to change.The reality of mutual insurance schemes is that they offer a one size fits all solution, Crapper noted.No one council has the same risks, needs or structure and, with such high levels of diversity, each should be considered individually, with insurance policies tailored to the individual needs of that council.Ben Rolfe, chief broking officerAustralia at Aon Risk Solutions, said the changes all come down to choice.Ultimately its all about choice, Rolfe aid.Choice of cover, choice of insurers, choice of limits and choice of retention strategies.On top of that, its about having access to comprehensive data and analytics to make sure that clients are making informed decisions about their risk transfer strategies and that the councils broker is acting for and advocating on behalf of council to get the best possible solutions and value for money.The report, found that the threat of cyber ranked outside of the top ten for local governments with financial sustainability and stability taking the top spot.Infrastructure and weather rounded out the top three but Paul Crapper, national head of local government at Aon, said councils need to start taking cyber risk more seriously.While it is little surprise that the top identified risk is a financial driver, the low rating of cyber risk is alarming, Crapper said.Councils, regardless of physical location and size, are increasingly under threat of cyber-attack and the malicious motives of hackers.1. Financial sustainability and stability2. Infrastructure3. Weather4. Population change5. Asset protection6. Human resources7. Funding8. Environmental9. Merger10. Reputation A major European disruptor has singled out the Australian market as its first international target following almost $20 million in funding. Friendsurance , a German based insurtech business which allows groups of people to pool insurance premiums together and offers an annual no-claims reward, will look to launch in Australia in 2016 following a funding boost from venture capital firm Horizon Ventures.The peer-to-peer insurance solution uses social networks such as Facebook to bring customers together with the business, listed as an independent insurance broker in Germany, boasting 75, 000 new customers on its platform in 2015."We intend to use the fresh capital to grow further in the German market and expand internationally, Tim Kunde, Friendsurance managing director said.Our first expansion target for 2016 will be Australia. We are presently considering expansion opportunities for further markets."Dr Amy Gibbs , digital communications and content strategy manager at ANZIIF , told Insurance Business that the launch could be a milestone event for the Australian insurance industry.The launch of Friendsurance in Australia could be very interesting, for one it would show that it can be done, that digital disruptors can work with or within Australias strict regulations, Dr Gibbs said.That will be inspiring for other disruptive thinkers. If Friendsurance can make it work others will definitely attempt to follow.Even if it proves not to be successful in a commercial sense, it lets the genie out of the bottle in a way, alerting Australian consumers to other models and methods of buying insurance that have already appeared overseas.Frances Kang, of Horizons Ventures, said that the peer-to-peer model is now becoming more common across the globe and the German Friendsurance business has a proven, successful track-record."We believe the Insurance ecosystem is ripe for change and disruption, Kang said.Customers demand more understanding and control over their policies, and transparency when processing claims. As early mover in the innovation of insurance tech, Friendsurance's unique business model improves the efficiency and experience for both the consumer and the insurer, but the biggest beneficiaries will be the consumers."In the two years since Horizons invested, we've witnessed the satisfying company's growth from a small but committed team into a grown-up with a six digit number of customers, 70 insurance partner and a team of more than 80 employees.Worldwide, 15 imitators are copying the peer-to-peer insurance model which shows its highly promising concept."Dr Gibbs noted that the Australian love of technology could see Friendsurance start off on the right foot in the market.Australians like technology, they like adopting it early and they like a fair go, Dr Gibbs said.Those three things make Australia an attractive market for disruption.With around 15 million Facebook users, that is, more than half the Australian population with a Facebook page, were a social media savvy nation. For companies like Friendsurance, where the model incorporates social as part of its business model and marketing, its a no-brainer.For brokers and insurance businesses already operating in the Australian market, Dr Gibbs recommends taking notice of the proposed launch as it gives customers an idea of different ways insurance can be bought.In a general sense, brokers and insurers should take notice of Friendsurance targeting Australia, Dr Gibbs continued.Not necessarily because they will lose customers to them, though they might, but because it signals the start of industry disruption solidly hitting our shores and it will allow consumers to dream bigger when it comes to their insurance options. Cross Insurance, an insurance agency headquartered in Bangor, Maine, has hired Abram Treadwell as account executive/Personal Lines and Sean Doyle as account executive/Commercial Lines. Both will be based in Cross Insurances Lewiston, Maine, office. Treadwell has more than a decade of experience in the insurance industry. Licensed in property/casualty insurance, he has serviced accounts in all 50 states. Doyle began his insurance career writing personal lines insurance in 2011 and later began assisting small businesses with their commercial insurance needs. Founded in 1954, Cross Insurance has 700 employees in more than 35 offices, serving 100,000 customers throughout the New England region. Family-owned and operated, Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of Cross Financial Corporation, provides insurance and financial products including personal and commercial insurance lines, employee benefits, surety bonds, risk management services, and specialized products focused on higher education and high net worth needs. Topics Maine An insurance salesman in New Jersey whose license was revoked for defrauding elderly clients is now facing charges that he stole the $305,000 life savings of a 90-year-old family friend, state authorities said Monday. Robert Berlin faces several counts in an indictment recently handed up by a New Jersey state grand jury and made public on Monday. The state attorney generals office says the 46-year-old Englishtown mans insurance license was revoked for defrauding elderly clients in 2008. He then opened a physical fitness center but continued to manage the assets of the elderly Toms River woman, whom he had sold annuities to years before. After the womans daughter died in 2010, prosecutors say Berlin helped the womans extended family place her in a private assisted living facility and continued to oversee her financial assets. Berlin then allegedly used his position as financial adviser to systematically liquidate nearly $195,000 from the womans annuity funds and sell nearly $111,000 worth of her stocks over a four-year period, pocketing the money for himself. He also allegedly used the womans bankcard for at least $7,000 in personal purchases, including airline tickets, pet care, and gymnastic classes and after-school activities for his children. The indictment also charges him with passing a $13,000 bad check to pay the assisted living facility where the woman lived before she was evicted for non-payment. The indictment also charges Berlin with bilking a Toms River couple out of $50,000 they loaned him for renovations at his physical fitness center. Berlin, who met the couple through the elderly woman, allegedly obtained the loan under false pretenses and never repaid it. The charges against Berlin include two counts each of theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception. Prosecutors were unsure if he had an attorney to comment on the charges. He could face up to 50 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics New Jersey Above a factory floor of machines carving metal to within a millionth of a meter, Stephen Cheetham is preparing his company for the unknown: a British exit from the European Union. Since the government announced a referendum on Britains future in Europe, Cheetham has deferred investment decisions, put off expensive hiring and even bought equipment with his own money to avoid straining the balance sheet. The aim is to prepare his company, which makes parts for first-class airline seats and intricate scientific equipment, for what he fears will be a slump in business if Britain votes to leave the worlds biggest trading bloc. It is extremely difficult to prepare for and it worries me witless, said the owner of PK Engineering. But our disaster plan is very clear: if all the kit is paid for, we hang on to it and we ditch everybody apart from the core. Britains big listed companies have appointed lawyers and strategists to identify the risks of a British exit, or Brexit. Wary of meddling in politics, however, they have largely not detailed their plans for the June 23 vote. But smaller companies in the manufacturing heartlands, crucial to the economy and often inextricably linked to continental Europe, are formulating contingency plans that illustrate the risks facing businesses across the country and the steps being taken to mitigate them. At the start of 2015, almost half of Britains private-sector turnover came from firms that employed fewer than 249 people, according to the Department for Business. For Cheetham his disaster plan involves jettisoning nearly half of his 30 employees if a Brexit compounds the drag from an already slowing global economy at his firm in the English rural town of Hereford. Across the nearby Welsh border, Gareth Jenkins, who runs a toolmaking firm, has identified which major customers in Europe are likely to abandon him should they have to accept higher costs or slower delivery times that might come from new border controls with EU countries if Britain leaves the bloc. He has calculated the financial impact and says in a worst-case scenario he could lose 25 percent of his turnover. He plans to tell his 91 employees in the next couple of weeks that a vote to leave could force him to lay off a quarter of staff. Poor Visibility Very little is clear ahead of the referendum called by Prime Minister David Cameron, with British voters divided on membership and both sides in the debate arguing Britain would be financially better off if their cause succeeds. The fears of business owners like Cheetham and Jenkins are driven by what most Britons on either side of the debate accept is unchartered economic territory should Britain vote to leave the group it joined 43 years ago. The terms of any divorce would be subject to two years of negotiations with the EU, with no guarantees of how the new order would look. At present British companies trading with other EU nations do not face customs tariffs, costly paperwork such as certificates of origin or VAT sales tax on imports. Should it opt to leave, Britain may negotiate continued tariff-free access but additional administrative burdens will almost certainly apply, making exporting to and importing from the EU more costly, say business owners and lawyers. They also fear any restrictions on European workers and a prolonged period of a volatile pound, while the effect on the EU of losing its second-largest economy is unclear. Adam Shuter, head of haulier Exact Logistics, is investigating whether he should set up a German office, which he thinks could cost less than the additional taxes and paperwork of serving EU customers from outside the bloc. For a small business, its quite a bit of investment, he said. It just adds a layer of administration. He is also gauging the extra customs costs his British customers might incur outside the EU, using non-members Norway and Switzerland as guides, and looking at how much it would cost to set up expensive software to handle border clearances. He charges an additional 50 to 60 pounds ($70-85) per consignment for customs clearance into those two countries, on top of a typical European delivery cost of 40 to 50 pounds. A spokesman for Vote Leave, one of the groups campaigning for Britain to leave the EU, said the concerns were unfounded. The group argues companies would benefit from fewer regulations imposed by Brussels, while the government could be more nimble in agreeing trade deals with the likes of India, China and the United States. The UK is the EUs largest market so every incentive exists for the UK to strike a free trade deal with the EU while using its new-found control to also strike free trade deals across the world, it said. Global Ties Cheethams focus is closer to home. He bought PK Engineering in Hereford, close to Englands border with Wales, four years ago after a career in the automotive and finance industry. With its 1.5 million pound ($2.2 million) turnover and 10,000 square ft factory, he says he is too small to employ consultants or lawyers ahead of the vote. Like many of Britains high-precision manufacturers, most of PKs goods 90 percent are exported to global supply chains, ending up at the likes of Boeings factory in Seattle or Airbuss base in Toulouse. You think were a rural business? asks Cheetham of his 27-year-old firm based on a small industrial park nestled in rolling countryside 190 km (120 miles) west of London. If we screw up, Boeing in Seattle stops or Airbus in Toulouse stops its all interconnected. Clutching a component of an airline seat in his right hand, the 58-year-old details how the aluminum came from Finland and the fittings from Germany to meet an order from a French customer in Wales who will send it on to Toulouse or Seattle. To his left is a large folder detailing the certification process the firm went through to allow it to win work in the aerospace sector. Known as the Aerospace Quality Certification AS9100C, the six-month process cost about 20,000 pounds. The EU contributed to that cost in its bid to improve productivity and competitiveness in the bloc and Cheetham said it would have taken much longer to complete had he needed to stump up all the cash. Leaving the bloc, Cheetham worries that his firm could miss out on this kind of advantage and become less competitive. Our ability to increase prices is very limited whenever we try, we lose work, he said. He has pushed back the hiring of a new senior engineer until after the vote. If we do vote for Brexit we will have a prolonged period of uncertainty and everything will grind to a halt, he said. And we dont want to be caught holding the debt. Major Blow to British Economy? Any move that led to British manufacturing firms losing their place in global supply chains would deal a major blow to the British economy; the sector accounts for a tenth of its output and employs 2.65 million people, the vast majority in small and medium-sized firms. Just over one hours drive from Hereford through country lanes decked with daffodils stands Jenkins 55,000 square ft toolmaking factory, a Welsh firm entwined in similar networks. Like Cheetham, 59-year-old Jenkins has been studying contracts and trying to work out whether three of his biggest clients, all based in Germany, would be able to cope if they had to accept higher costs or slower delivery times. He estimates that one if not two would stop using his FSG Tool and Die, Europes largest privately owned design and build toolmaking firm. I have mapped this out in my mind, he says, in a room off the spotless factory where tools are being built to make everything from yogurt pots to replacement hips and car parts. The minute we vote to leave customers will say theres a risk here and we need to mitigate it. We ship tools from here on Monday that theyll be using by Thursday. What happens if that is disrupted? he said, fearing that they will look elsewhere. Jenkins fears losing the close links he has developed with other EU firms should a vote to leave exclude it from the free movement and trade that has made the alliances work. Up against the might of low-cost centers such as China, he teamed up with firms in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere to train one anothers apprentices, refer sales, bid for emerging market work and hire a rep in Singapore to cover all their needs. Its a bit like a life raft, he said. Customs Conundrum The customs issues are perhaps most crucial for hauliers such as Shuters Exact Logistics, which delivers across Europe from its base in Rugby, central England. While lawyers and business owners say any new tariffs could be low, they worry that deliveries could be delayed by customs clearance and additional paperwork, including certificates of origin and export tax declaration documents. Shuter and one of his clients, Pete Churchill from Robert Welch Designs, estimate that the additional paperwork could mean the cost of a consignment jumps to between 150 to 200 pounds from the current 50 pounds. That compares with the value of the consignment which can sometimes be as little as 500 pounds. Sitting in an office crammed with filing cabinets and maps of Europe, Shuter is investigating how much it would cost to buy a new software system that could clear consignments with European tax and border authorities if Britain were to operate under different rules. Youre probably talking in the region of 10-20,000 pounds, so its relatively significant, he said. British importers also fear they will have to pay VAT sales tax when they take delivery of goods from the EU rather than at the point of sale making cashflow harder to manage. Facing so many unknowns, business owners such as Cheetham are struggling to plan for the future. Back in Hereford he lets his frustration show. Normally a supporter of Camerons Conservatives, he says he is furious at the position the government has put business owners in. They are playing roulette with the economic future of the country, he says, hands gripping the table. Were just hoping for the best. Im almost in denial. ($1 = 0.6933 pounds) (Additional reporting by Tom Bergin and Paul Sandle; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Pravin Char) Related: Topics Europe Manufacturing Alper Services, headquartered in Chicago, has added Matt Unertl as business development associate. With 11 years of experience in the industry, Unertl most recently worked as a producer at a large international insurance broker where he designed and implemented cost-sustainable employee benefits programs for mid-market organizations. At Alper, he will identify, develop and manage client business relationships and collaborate with the Alper team of experts to construct comprehensive risk management solutions. Alper Services provides workers compensation, commercial property/casualty insurance, claims management, private life insurance, personal insurance, financial services and more. Source: Alper Services A former Iowa firefighter pleaded guilty to insurance fraud related to a string of cases spanning Buchanan, Clayton and Delaware counties, the Iowa Department of Insurance reported. Terry Russell Groth, a former Strawberry Point firefighter, entered the plea on Feb. 16, 2016. Its third conviction for Groth related to these cases. Occasionally, as in this case, evidence doesnt surface for years, but once it does, law enforcement and insurance company investigators identify those who committed the fraud and prosecute them, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart said. Its important for Iowans to understand that we all end up paying for insurance fraud as it drives up insurance premiums for all Iowans. Groth and his accomplices, Damian Welsh of Strawberry Point and Zachary Norton of Monticello, were charged in Buchanan County District Court with arson and insurance fraud on Sept. 8, 2014. Groth pled guilty to Arson in the 2nd degree, on Dec. 8, 2015. On the charge of Norton received a deferred judgment on the same charge on June 30, 2015, and Welsh received a deferred judgment on Aug. 4, 2015. On Jan. 6, 2016, Groth pled guilty in Delaware County District Court to Fraudulent Practices in the 3rd degree, an aggravated misdemeanor. Groths accomplice, Welsh, had previously pled guilty to Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree, an aggravated misdemeanor on October 21, 2015. The insurance fraud began when Groths truck was found burned beyond repair on a rural Buchanan County road on Sept.10, 2011. Groth filed an insurance claim with Progressive Insurance, alleging that his truck had been stolen from his Strawberry Point shop, which he said had also been burglarized. On Oct.10, 2011, when Groth filed a claim with Farm Bureau Insurance for tools that he alleged were stolen in a previous burglary to his shop in Clayton County. He received insurance proceeds in the amount of $7,988.96. On Sept. 27, 2012, Groth filed another insurance claim with Farm Bureau Insurance claiming that his fathers property at 424 Brewer St. in Manchester, had been vandalized by an unknown perpetrator who caused damage to the walls and carpet of the home. Farm Bureau issued a payment in the amount of $4,939.49. In early 2013, information surfaced that prompted law enforcement authorities with the Iowa State Fire Marshals Office and the Iowa Insurance Fraud Bureau to review Groths insurance claims history. As the investigation continued, officers determined Groth paid Welsh and Norton to steal Groths truck, drive it to a predetermined location in Buchanan County and set fire to the truck. The investigation also revealed Groth provided false information to his insurance company concerning the theft of his truck and the theft of tools from his truck and shop, and further evidence determined Groth had paid Welsh $100 to vandalize the Manchester home for the purpose of collecting insurance proceeds. These investigations included collaborative efforts of officials from the Iowa State Fire Marshals Office, the Buchanan County Sheriffs Office, the Buchanan County Attorneys Office, the Delaware County Attorneys Office, the Clayton County Attorneys Office, the Iowa National Insurance Crime Bureau and Insurance Fraud Bureau. Source: Iowa Department of Insurance Topics Auto Fraud Iowa A Moscow-based hedge fund manager, his investment firms and two Paris-based funds have agreed to pay nearly $18 million to resolve a U.S. regulators claims that they engaged in insider trading using hacked press releases from newswire services. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed the deal with David Amaryan and his funds and the separate accord with Guibor SA and Omega 26 Investments Ltd in France in papers filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday. They were among 43 defendants sued by the SEC since August in connection with what it says was the theft of more than 150,000 press releases from Business Wire, Marketwired and PR Newswire before the corporate news became public. The SEC said the scheme resulted in more than $100 million of illegal profit over a roughly five-year period. Three men have pleaded guilty in related criminal proceedings. Amaryan, a Moscow resident, and investment firms Copperstone Alpha Fund, Copperstone Capital, Ocean Prime Inc. and Intertrade Pacific SA earned $8.1 million through the scheme, while Guibor and Omega 26 made $6.6 million, the SEC said. As part of the settlement, the SEC said Amaryan and his companies agreed to pay $10 million. Guibor and Omega 26, both of which are proprietary trading funds and share an owner, agreed to pay $4.2 million and $3.72 million, respectively. The defendants neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing as part of the settlements. Their lawyers declined comment on Friday. Authorities have said the scheme centered on the theft by Ukraine hackers Oleksandr Ieremenko and Ivan Turchynov of press releases from the three newswire services from February 2010 to August 2015. Traders, including many with ties to Russia, allegedly gave the hackers shopping lists of releases they wanted to see in advance, including quarterly results of public companies. Prior SEC settlements in the case include a $4.2 million deal in February with Ukrainian-based Concorde Bermuda Ltd and a $30 million accord in September with Ukrainian-based Jaspen Capital Partners Ltd and its principal, Andriy Supranonok. The traders who have pleaded guilty include Arkadiy Dubovoy, Igor Dubovoy and Alexander Garkusha, all of whom are from Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The case is SEC v. Dubovoy et al, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 15-06076. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) Related: Topics USA Cyber Claims President Barack Obama has declared a disaster in three Mississippi counties following flooding this month. Residents in the Bolivar, Coahoma and Washington counties can apply for individual assistance, including grants for temporary housing and repairs worth up to $33,000, as well as low-cost loans and other aid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says additional counties could be added after damage assessments. The state counts more than 600 structures with major damage and more than 1,400 with minor damage in the three counties. People can register online or by calling FEMA. Mississippi also sought federal aid to repair public infrastructure. The Federal Highway Administration said Thursday it will give $1 million for road repairs. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Flood Mississippi San Diego, CA, March 29, 2016 Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC, a national multi-line program administrator, welcomes Jesse Mauser as Vice President of Data Analytics. Mauser will provide comprehensive coverage of business intelligence and data analytics, with a focus on driving innovation through business enablement and strategic alignment. Mauser has extensive experience in areas related to business intelligence and analytics in both professional services consulting and enterprise information management roles. He has helped organizations manage their information systems and data strategies that relate to operational platforms, such as policy management or financials, or applied analytical applications, such as underwriting and/or fraud management. Mauser has established thought leadership in emerging data management paradigms such as rapid prototyping, agile data management, and moving data accountability away from IT and back to the business. Mausers career includes over thirteen years working with business intelligence and data analytics implementations in the insurance industry. In this role, he has worked on reducing the complexity related to the vast amounts of data associated with the expanded role of information on insurance. By increasing the importance of data driven decisions, Mauser will establish a data-first culture where accountability and innovation drive success. Mauser brings over seventeen years of experience to Atlas General Insurance Services. His passion is rooted in analytics associated with bringing efficiencies to business processes and harnessing the behavioral events of people to provide knowledge on various disciplines. He holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Colorado and is certified across a number of business intelligence solutions and project methodologies. About Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC Atlas General Insurance Services is a full service program administrator that offers a wide range of insurance solutions. Atlas has expertise in developing and underwriting programs with a variety of insurance carrier partners. Atlas has the primary goal of providing exceptional service and unique options for their clients. For more information, visit atlas.us.com. Media Contact Stephanie Bozzuto Marketing & Communications Director (858) 529-6700 stephanieb@atlas.us.com Topics Data Driven Guidewire announced today that it will acquire EagleEye Analytics, the first major insurance technology vendor M&A of the year. Insurance technology vendor M&As were hot at the beginning of last year, but have cooled off at the same time that more startup technology companies have entered the market. What does this all mean for carriers? INN reached out to Donald Light, director of Celent's North American P&C Practice, to take the temperature of the insurance technology market. INN: Why has Guidewire opted to expand into the analytics realm through purchasing EagleEye? Donald Light, Celent: Guidewire continues to expand its full-suite offering. Beyond core policy, claims, and billing; it wants to be the one-stop value creation center for its current and future clients. INN: What can we infer about what insurers are looking for from software vendors based on this acquisition? Donald Light, Celent: Few if any insurers today can ignore product, pricing, underwriting, and fraud mitigation advantages created by analytic solutions. The largest insurers will continue to buy and build their own solutions. Not-quite-as-large, and midsize insurers will often look to their existing vendors to provide analytic (and other capabilities) -- fewer vendors to manage, few throats to choke. INN: There seem to be competing trends toward consolidation of insurance technology vendors and, at the same time, increased startup activity. How do you interpret this phenomenon? Donald Light, Celent: Right now existing vendors and start-ups really exist in separate realms. Current vendors have products, customers, and cash flow. Start-ups have none of the above, but want to cross over. A few (maybe very few) will. INN: Many insurtech startups are built around analytics; are they looking to be folded into an existing heavyweight or grow independently? Donald Light, Celent: The insurtech startups are almost all owned by [venture capitalists] (VCs), some of which are insurer-owned. VCs want to monetize their investments through IPOs or being acquired. Ill bet the vast majority of successful VC exits will be through the acquisition route. On March 22 and 23, Celent hosted a CIO roundtable in San Francisco that brought together CIOs from a variety of Property Casualty carriers. Sessions included presentations by CIOs and discussions on innovation, core systems in the cloud, transforming the customer experience, digital strategies, dealing with millennials and gender balance in the workplace, and optimizing the agent experience to drive growth. Some of Celents recent research was presented to stimulate discussion as well. The discussion highlighted the similar challenges that carriers face, regardless of size, lines of business, or geography, as they look at transformation. Innovation Celent research shows that the population of highly digital individuals is growing and that a firms ability to innovate has a high impact on a highly digital agent or consumers willingness to work with them. Yet there are often barriers to progress as not all leaders within an organization are seen as supporting a companys innovation efforts. While carriers see that innovation is critical to meeting customer expectations, innovation is not always seen as important to a firms strategy. Carriers discussed the distinction between driving innovation processes and culture within an organization, and implementing specific innovation ideas. It was noted that employee engagement is key to innovation. One carrier presented the program they initiated to drive innovation within their own organization with the results of improving employee engagement, driving improved financial results, and improving the speed to market of idea deployment. The CIOs discussed a variety of best practices for stimulating new ideas, capturing and triaging these ideas and rewarding employees for their contribution while moving towards implementation. Core systems in the Cloud Activity in core system replacement continues to occur at record levels with well over half of the carriers in the industry either currently engaged in system replacement projects, or planning a future project. But these projects often take years to complete and deploy. As vendors look for ways to speed up these deployments, one option is a cloud deployment. Software vendors clearly recognize the importance of the cloud to drive their businesses forward 50% of policy admin vendors surveyed in Celents recent report on cloud capabilities tell us that cloud is mission critical, and 50% tell us they offer a cloud solution. But carrier take-up has been relatively nascent with few carriers choosing to make the leap. Almost 60% are waiting and watching while 20% are sure its not for them Typical concerns include data security lack of visibility into the infrastructure, concerns about difficulty moving data off the cloud, and how a cloud deployment will change the IT organization. One carrier spoke about their journey of replacing their core suite with a full cloud deployment. Specific issues the carrier faced were echoed by other carriers as core system replacements are often accompanied by a process redesign and often include a greater use of analytics to improve decisions and streamline processes. The cultural issues can be significant and change management is key to a successful implementation. Moving solutions to the cloud also raises new terms and condition in the contract with the vendor that carriers need to understand and think through carefully before signing. But a cloud deployment can potentially result in a faster implementation and can allow a carrier to deploy their scarce IT resources on the aspects of maintenance that are strategic to the insurance business rather than using staff on infrastructure management. A changing workforce 2015 was the year that millennials became the majority in the US workforce and millennials have very different expectations of their career and the role they can and will play. But there is a perception disconnect between what managers and millennials view as the most important factors that indicate career success. Millennials are most interested in meaningful work, flexible working hours and high pay. Managing millennials can require a shift in a leaders traditional practices. Gender diversity is also a gap in the industry with few women in executive level roles in the financial service industry. Men and women have different views of the opportunities available to them. CIOs exchanged a number of ways theyve been successful at attracting and motivating millennials including gamification efforts and opportunities to reward and recognize millennials for their contributions while providing them with expanding learning opportunities. Various sources of unconscious gender bias were discussed and ways of helping women become better at networking and building relationships within an organization were seen as tools to help women progress in an organization. Going Digital Digital is a buzzword in the industry and CIOs dont all have a common set of terminology or definition for what digital really is. Some define digital as automation of work processes and some define it as automation of decisions. Celent described four digital goals that are typically the results of a carriers digital strategy getting leaner by reducing expenses or increasing productivity; getting smarter by making better decisions and getting the right content to the policyholder at the right time; getting faster with shorter cycle times for policy issuance claims and product changes; and making the experience better for a customer. One carrier described their journey towards digital and transforming the customer experience. When every business unit owns the customer experience, its difficult to provide a consistent customer experience across the entire relationship without a true owner of customer experience. A discussion of who is the customer resulted with most carriers recognizing the role that the agent plays and the need to optimize the agent experience. CIOs then discussed some of the cultural issues faced as long-term employees work to absorb the change. It was clear that implementing the technology was not the roadblock to moving forward but that finding staff that are skilled in understanding the business and also understand the ways to digitize is hard. Combine that with the cultural challenges of massive changes in how the work is being done creates barriers to moving forward quickly. All agreed that aligning their digital initiatives with the company strategy is key to finding the right projects. An interesting question arose around is there a place where its too much? How do you know when to stop? CIOs agreed that this is a constantly evolving world and processes need to be in place to regularly assess, screen and prioritize new initiatives. Optimizing the agent experience Celent presented some recent primary research around agent needs and drivers when it comes to placing business. Agents clearly state that they place business with carriers that make it easy to do so. While a carrier must have a good product, a solid price, and excellent claims, in a tie, the agent with the easiest process for placing and servicing business wins the deal. CSRs have significant influence in the placement decision and the CSR community, like other roles in the industry is in the process of undergoing a generational shift with older CSRs looking at retirement and younger millennials entering. This generational shift means that carriers are looking at how to provide additional tools and support such as gamifying the training process, providing additional help text and supplying more documentation as transactions occur. CIOs described their own efforts in prioritizing connectivity with the agency management solutions and discussed the high priority that portals take when it comes to making IT investments. Overall This event gave CIOs an opportunity to share ideas with their peers and the mix of research and the CIO discussion of the practical applications was seen as extremely valuable by the participants. Additional events will occur over the summer in the Midwest and in the fall in the Northeast. This blog entry has been reprinted with permission from Celent. Readers are encouraged to respond using the Add Your Comments box below. The opinions posted in this blog do not necessarily reflect those of Insurance Networking News or SourceMedia. 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. Noi siamo fiduciosi del fatto che la Clinton comprenda il ruolo degli Stati Uniti nel mondo, non abbiamo dubbi che lei affrontera in modo assiduo i problemi che il nostro Paese deve affrontare, e lei ha dimostrato la sua disposizione allanalisi ed al duro impegno. E un estratto delleditoriale con cui il magazine The Atlantic ha palesato il suo appoggio alla candidata democratica alle elezioni presidenziali, Hillary Clinton. Il magazine ha deciso di dare il suo endorsment alla Clinton definendola uno dei candidati piu preparati di sempre e, inoltre, ha bollato Donald Trump come demagogo, xenofobo, sessista, uno che non sa niente ed e un bugiardo, specificandolo che lo considera il candidato piu dichiaratamente non qualificato nei 227 anni della storia della presidenza americana e che sarebbe una minaccia esistenziale per la Repubblica. Fondata nel 1857, la prestigiosa e storica rivista solo in altre due occasioni si era apertamente schierata a favore di un candidato alla Casa Bianca: nel 1860 con Abraham Lincoln e nel 1964 con Lyndon B. Johnson. A sottolineare limportanza e leccezionalita della decisione e il direttore di The Atlantic, Scott Stossel, che paragona la scelta di sostenere la Clinton a quella fatta nel 1964 a favore di Johnson che si scontrava con il repubblicano Barry Goldwater. In June 2015, Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, argued that Facebook Inc. (now Meta) had a 45% upside potential. The tech company was then trading just above $90, meaning Munster thought the stock could get as high as $130. He was righteventually. FB reached $130 in January 2017 and then kept climbing, topping $200 in July 2018. It hit the brakes immediately after that when the company released earnings that included a disappointing outlook for future growth. That had to happen sooner or later. In 2018, Facebook had about 2.3 billion users worldwide. Thats almost a third of the worlds population, and more than half of those who have internet access. It is an impressive figure, but there is a point of saturation. Eventually, Facebook will stop adding users and users will stop increasing the time they spend on its sites. There are other challenges that could not possibly have been anticipated in 2015. The biggest among them in 2018 was the firestorm caused by the continuing revelations that Facebook and other social media sites are the primary platforms used by foreign political operators to spread false information in hopes of swaying the opinions and votes of millions of Americans. Let's examine some of the risks that exist for investors interested in Meta and Facebook, its best-known operation. 46 The number of minutes per day that, in 2015, Facebook (now Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that people were spending on average on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram (which FB acquired in 2012). It was up to 68 minutes in 2018, according to Statista.com. Dependence on Ad Revenue According to the company's financial statements in 2015, Facebook (now Meta) received approximately 90% of its revenue from advertising. That figure had grown to 98% by 2017, according to Statista.com. To put this in perspective, Apple, Inc. has been trying desperately to introduce revenue streams outside of the iPhone, and Facebook is far more reliant on advertising than Apple is on the iPhone. Since Facebook is so reliant on ad revenue, its fundamentals are not that different from cable or satellite firms. Apply a few telecommunications metrics and a funny pattern emerges. The company's average revenue per user (ARPU) in Q2 2015 increased by almost a quarter at 23%, despite total ad purchases declining by more than half at 55%. This is possible only because the cost of advertising on Facebook rose by 219%. Ostensibly, this means some ad users are getting fantastic results on Facebook but most are not, and this only further concentrates the company's lack of revenue diversification. As of Q2 of 2022, ARPU had reached approximately $10 per user, worldwide. Advertising has been very good to FB so far, but a company relying on one revenue source is not any different from an investor relying on one really strong security. It is better, or at least less risky, if the company has a diversified money stream in case advertising dollars dip. Virtual Reality Unrealized Seemingly every tech giant has been throwing serious money at virtual reality. Meta's purchase of Oculus, which went for a reported $2 billion, may turn out to be a winner. Or not. Oculus tops a list of the most promising virtual reality initiatives of 2017, according to Datamation. The following two are Google and Microsoft. As of late 2018, all are making progress in developing games and practical applications using virtual reality, but no clear winner can be declared. Social Media Competition Meta has shown a propensity to mimic or buy out competitors. In 2012, the company spent $1 billion on Instagram. It made a far less lucrative purchase in 2014, buying the little-known WhatsApp for $19 billion. Those buys made strategic sense. Those apps could have drawn users away from Facebook. In the tech sector, however, rival apps come thick and fast. Meta cannot buy all of them, and one of them might catch fire. This is illustrated by Snapchat, a company Meta tried and failed to buy for $3 billion. As of 2018, Snapchat had 188 million users, but that was down a bit from its peak of 191 million and its stock got hit badly for the loss. It is hard to imagine Facebook going the way of MySpace, the once-dominant social site that is now a footnote in Internet history. Facebook's 1.97 billion user base as of Q2 2022 dwarfs the MySpace peak of 75 million, and Facebook has much better cash flow, generating $4.45 billion in free cash flows. But MySpace illustrates how quickly consumer tastes change. Facebook is entering its second generation of usersand younger Americans use Snapchat and Twitter as frequently as they use Facebook. Google and Apple, two players with longer track records, are challenging Facebook in the app install market, too. Market Risks Of course, the biggest risk to any stock is probably systematic, not specific. There is not much any company could have done in the buildup to the 2007-2008 stock market crash, especially one tied to housing or finance. The Nasdaq lost more than 75% of its value during the dot-com crisis, and it is difficult to predict if or when another free fall is coming. Regulatory Risk There is also the chance of regulatory risk. Facebook uses what is still a relatively new technology, and social media is a relatively unregulated market. Since American industries tend to become more regulated over time, it seems likely Uncle Sam will increasingly have his fingerprints on social media companies. Poll any investor and ask if regulations are good or bad and the likeliest response is "bad." And thats where the political firestorm over misuse of Facebook by political operators enters the picture. Facebook, accidentally or on purpose, allowed the political data firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest the data of millions of its users, and that data made its way into the hands of foreign political operators during the 2016 U.S. elections. One way or another, political operators used Facebook and other social media platforms to spread false information throughout the election season. Meta is addressing these problems, but the government may decide it wants to as well. The Bottom Line If the economy suffers or if funding dries up for new startup technologies, the ceiling for FB will almost certainly take a hit. Meta has mimicked the Google model of aggressive integration, but that strategy depends on an active technology sector with new ways to reach or add value to consumers. Meta has solid fundamentals and an enviable position in the social media sub-sector. However, there is no obvious route for the company to grow its valuation or reach huge new audiences. If the tech economy does not go the way Meta hopes, investors may be holding a stagnant stock. Investopedia does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider engaging a qualified financial and/or tax professional to determine a suitable investment strategy. The price of crude oil was rising again at the end of 2018, and that's unwelcome news for consumers who were finding it more expensive to fill up their cars. It's worth taking a look at the impact of the increase if it continues on the many industries that rely on oil as an input, such as transportation, producers of consumer goods and the food industry. In September 2018, Brent crude oil prices averaged $79 per barrel, up $6 per barrel from August. The short-term forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Agency predicted an increase in the average price per barrel from $74 in 2018 to $75 in 2019. That's not a drastic change, but it may signal that the bargain prices of recent years are coming to an end. Higher oil prices are good news for some industries. Obviously, they benefit petroleum businesses, and both positive and negative effects ripple through other parts of the economy. Oil producers and the companies that support the energy sector all saw their share prices drop dramatically as the price of oil fell from above $120 a barrel to the $45-$55 range. It's a good bet that they will rise in 2019 if oil prices continue to go up. Oil Companies The obvious link between oil prices and profitability is seen most clearly in the companies directly involved with the petroleum industry. The oil sector has various facets, including oil exploration, drilling, refining and distribution to consumers. These pieces of the industry can be divided into two main groups: upstream and downstream companies. Upstream companies are directly involved in the exploration and production of crude oil. Their job is to locate and test potential drilling sites and then set up the facilities for oil extraction. Downstream companies refine and distribute the finished products, including gasoline and diesel fuel. (For more, see: The Difference Between Oil Services and Refiners.) Upstream companies are hit hardest when oil prices fall since the price at which they sell oil is determined by the market, but their costs of production are largely fixed. If it costs more to produce a barrel of oil than it would fetch on the market, producers will incur losses and eventually go under. Large, expensive and capital-intensive drilling operations are hit harder than smaller, more nimble rigs, which can shut down temporarily and then restart once prices rise. Downstream companies will not be hit as hard since they profit by purchasing crude oil and selling the refined products at a premium. Their profit margins should remain fairly stable even with fluctuating oil prices. Today, most of the big oil companies have both large upstream and downstream operations and are referred to as integrated oil companies. These companies saw their stock prices decline due to their involvement in upstream operations. Pure play upstream companies, who do not have a downstream component, saw their stock prices tumble even further. Pure play downstream companies that focus entirely on refining and selling finished products profited during this period of low oil prices. The following table shows the six-month change in stock prices for some large integrated and pure-play companies during a period of falling oil prices: Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) buy shares of a number of stocks on behalf of their investors, and when those stocks pay dividends, the money is passed along to the investor. Most ETFs pay out these dividends quarterly on a pro-rata basis. That is, the payments will be based on the number of shares the investor owns. Some ETFs pay dividends monthly. The dividends are typically paid either in cash or in additional shares of the ETF. Key Takeaways ETFs pay out, on a pro-rata basis, the full amount of a dividend that comes from the underlying stocks held in the ETF. An ETF that receives dividends must pay them out to investors in the fund, either in cash or in additional shares of the ETF. An ETF may pay out qualified dividends, which are taxed at the long-term capital gains rate, and non-qualified dividends, which are taxed at the investor's ordinary income tax rate. ETF dividends are generally paid quarterly, but some pay monthly. Investors can choose an ETF that focuses on dividend-paying stocks. 1:15 What Are Qualified Dividends? How Dividends Are Allocated If there were only 100 shares of an ETF outstanding, the investor who owns 10 shares has the right to 10% of all of the dividends earned by the ETF. The company managing the ETF will receive the dividends from the companies whose stocks are held in the ETF. The money goes into a pool and is then distributed to shareholders, usually quarterly. In this example, say five of the stocks held in the ETF pay quarterly dividends of $1 each. The ETF owns 10 shares of each of these dividend-paying stocks, so it will earn $50 in dividends per quarter. The investor who owns 10% of the shares of the ETF would earn a quarterly dividend payment of $5. The best-performing ETFs in mid-2022 were heavily invested in commodities, including natural gas and industrial metals. Supply-chain disruptions forced prices higher. 2 Types of Dividends an ETF Can Pay Out There are two types of dividends that an ETF can pay to investors: qualified dividends and non-qualified dividends. The tax consequences for the two are different: Qualified dividends qualify to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as long-term capital gains, assuming that the underlying stock has been held for longer than 60 days prior to the ex-dividend date. qualify to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as long-term capital gains, assuming that the underlying stock has been held for longer than 60 days prior to the ex-dividend date. Non-qualified dividends are taxed at the investor's ordinary income tax rate. The total amount of non-qualified dividends held by an ETF is equal to the total dividend amount minus the total amount of dividends treated as qualified dividends. Most investors will pay a lower rate on capital gains than on ordinary income. As of 2022, the capital gains tax was 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income. The earned income tax rates range up to 37%. Whether the dividends from an ETF are qualified or unqualified depends on how long the fund held the stock that paid the dividend. If the stock has been owned by the fund for less than a year, the dividends are unqualified. 8,552 The number of ETFs available to investors globally. In 2003, there were 276 ETFs. Are ETFs Required to Pay Out Dividends? ETF issuers are required to pay their shareholders the dividends they collect from securities held in their funds. However, how they choose to distribute the funds is up to the individual issuer. The proceeds from these dividends may be paid to investors in the form of a cash distribution or a reinvestment in additional shares of the ETF. Are ETF Dividends Qualified? Dividends paid by an ETF may be qualified or unqualified. That is, they may or may not qualify to be reported as long-term capital gains rather than regular income, thus usually allowing the investor to pay a lower tax rate on the money. However, most dividends are taxed as ordinary income. They are "unqualified" for treatment as capital gains. Most ETFs that pay dividends pay them quarterly, although a few pay monthly dividends. Do ETFs Pay Dividends and Capital Gains? ETFs are required to pay their investors any dividends they receive for shares that are held in the fund. They may pay in cash or in additional shares of the ETF. So, ETFs pay dividends, if any of the stocks held in the fund pay dividends. That is, they collect any shareholder dividends that are paid by the companies that issued the stocks that are held in the fund, and then pay them to investors in the ETF, usually quarterly. The payment may be in cash or in additional shares of the ETF. If you sell your shares of an ETF, you may realize a profit. The profit, or capital gain, will be taxable in the year in which you sell it. If you sell it less than a year after you bought it, any profit will count as ordinary income for that year. If you own it for at least a year before selling it, it will be taxed at the long-term capital gains rate, which is lower for most taxpayers. Which ETFs Pay the Most Dividends? ETFs now come in every variety, from funds that track the S&P 500 Index to funds that invest in gold-mining stocks. There are funds that focus on dividend-paying stocks. For example, the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) tracks the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) invests in companies that have increased their dividends for at least 10 consecutive years. Some ETFs invest in bonds and are designed to provide a regular stream of interest income to their investors. The iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) and the SPDR Blackstone Senior Loan ETF (SRLN) are examples. The Bottom Line Exchange-traded funds are similar to stocks in that they can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Also, the investor may harvest a capital gain when selling shares of the ETF. Unlike some stocks, ETFs do not directly pay dividends based on their earnings. They are, however, a conduit for dividends paid by the companies they invest in. An investor who wants to reap the benefits of dividends can choose an ETF that focuses on dividend-paying stocks. Whether they are paid in cash or reinvested, they're a bonus on the investment. A reference to the underground economyalso known as the shadow or black economymay conjure up images of drug deals and prostitution rings, but the term actually has a far broader scope. It refers to any economic activity that is not reported to government authorities and, consequently, is not taxed. Cooking a meal for your family or driving your neighbor's kids to school is typically not considered underground economic activity. But food service workers, housekeepers, and construction workers who get paid under the table definitely are in this category, as are self-employed people who work for cash. Basically, any economic activity that generates unreported income is considered to be underground. Key Takeaways The underground economy includes any paid work or transaction that is not reported to the government and therefore is not taxed. During economic downturns, the underground economy grows as more workers unable to get legitimate jobs turn to working off the books. Countries with high levels of taxation, government corruption, and regulatory barriers tend to have the largest underground economies. How Big Is the Underground Economy? Estimates vary widely, but some put the underground economy at 11% to 12% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). In the first quarter of 2022, U.S. GDP was estimated at $24.88 trillion, which puts the underground economy at more than $2.5 trillion. That number must be taken as a guesstimate. There's an obvious complication in trying to determine the size of any countrys underground economy. The activities in it are by definition not reported, and those engaging in it do their best to remain undetected. Some indirect approaches have been used to estimate its size. Counting Cash One approach uses macroeconomic indicators as proxies for tracking shadow economy activity over time. One of the most widely used of these is currency demand. Most underground transactions use cash to avoid leaving a paper trail. So this approach tracks deviations in the demand for cash that could be attributed to underground economic activity. Economist Friedrich Schneider estimated that the size of the U.S. underground economy, excluding criminal activity like drug dealing, was 7.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007. That put the U.S. well below the global average for that year of 13.9% of GDP, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. At the time, Schneider found that the shadow economy was in decline, not just in the U.S. but around the world. 11% to 12% The estimated size of the U.S. underground economy as a percentage of GDP. The Rise and Fall of the Shadow Economy The 2008 global financial crisis, however, appears to have rejuvenated the shadow economy. Economist Edgar Feige estimated that underground economic activity in the U.S. in 2009 totaled $2 trillion, approximately 12% of GDP. Evidence of this can be found in a number of macroeconomic figures from the worst of the Great Recession years: A decline in the official U.S. labor force, an increase in U.S currency in circulation, and a curious increase in retail sales despite relatively high official unemployment numbers. The Downside The pattern was easy to spot. As the economy moved into recession, businesses cut workers and consumers cut back on spending. Many people forced out of their jobs wound up working in the underground economy and hoping for better times ahead. One downside is the loss of government revenues. The IRS estimated that $441 billion in taxes were lost on average between 2011 and 2013 due to unreported wages. But there are other reasons to be concerned. Workers in the underground economy are truly under the radar. They dont receive health insurance or worker's compensation benefits, and they have less legal protection. They are not contributing to their future Social Security benefits. It is much easier for such workers to be exploited. Why We Have an Underground Economy If you havent guessed already, one of the primary reasons the underground economy exists is that people are trying to evade taxes. But there are other reasons. Avoiding the government also can mean circumventing government regulations related to employee benefits, working conditions, and safety regulations, not to mention a great deal of regulatory paperwork. The Undocumented Factor Immigrants without legal status often find themselves working for cash in the underground economy. Obviously, their illegal status keeps them from reporting their income, as doing so could result in their deportation. One alternative for these undocumented immigrants is to purchase fake documents. In a 2018 article, The New York Times reported that these are readily available on the streets of Los Angeles, with a complete set including a Social Security card and a green card going for $80 to $200. The papers can enable them to get better jobs (and pay taxes on the salaries they earn). The level of government and local corruption is another factor that can contribute to a larger shadow economy. The abuse of public power for private gain can drive businesses and workers to the underground economy for refuge. Shrinking Shadows All of the above makes it unlikely that the underground economy will ever disappear. But it is true that some countries have a much bigger problem than others. This is precisely what an International Monetary Fund (IMF) study found. Countries with relatively low tax rates, fewer laws and regulations, and a well-established rule of law tend to have smaller shadow economies," the study concluded. Top News - Investor Idea Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Continues Acquisition Path With Purchase of ELMS Assets Including Factory in Mishawaka, IN., Enabling EV Production for Retail and Commercial Vehicle Lines BREA, Calif. - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces the US Bankruptcy Court approval on Oct. 13th, 2022 of its acquisition of electric vehicle company ELMS's (Electric Last Mile Solutions) assets in an all cash purchase. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ: $MULN) Taps Former GM Executive John Schwegman as Chief Commercial Officer for Next Phase of EV Growth BREA, Calif. - October 21, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today the hiring of John Schwegman as its Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Mullen's line of commercial vehicles. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea EV Stocks Driving Higher: (NASDAQ: $MULN) (NASDAQ: $TSLA) (NYSE: $NIO) (NYSE: $F) Vancouver, Delta, BC - October 20, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering EV and automotive stocks releases a special report featuring Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), covering the continued growth of the EV market as government policy and infrastructure plans sync up with consumer and investor interest in the EV space. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire On July 13, 1989, forty days after the death of the Islamic Republics founder Ayatollah Khomeini, Dr. Abdolrahman Qasemlou, the leader of the Iranian Kurdish Democratic Party, was assassinated. It was soon determined that he had been shot three times at the negotiating table by the chief of the delegation that had come from Tehran to conduct secret negotiations with Qasemlou. At the time, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was the President of the Iranian regime and the head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) which is the highest decision-making organ on military, political and security issues. SNSC is composed of the heads of three government branches, two representatives of the supreme leader , ministers of interior, foreign affairs and intelligence, the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, and commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and the military, among others. The decisions made by this organ are directly approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei . Rouhani was the Secretary of SNSC at the time of the assassination and was personally aware of the plot. The assassination of Qasemlou was the first in a series of assassinations of the Iranian opposition abroad during the tenure of President Rafsanjanis. This and other terrorist acts had been approved by the SNSC. Around the time of the operation, Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian deputy foreign minister on Western European Affairs, repeatedly summoned the Austrian consul in Tehran and threatened the lives of Austrian diplomats and the embassy staff . The plan was to shoot dead Qasemlou and his two companions during trusted negotiations. The regimes negotiating team included Mohammad Jafari Sahraroudi, Mostafa Haj Ajvadi and Amir Mansour Bozorgian (Ghafour Darjazi). Sahraroudi was injured during the operation and transferred to the hospital. Bozorgian was arrested only to be released in 24 hours and took refuge at the Iranian embassy in Vienna. Additionally, Ali Akbar Velayati, who was then the Iranian foreign minister, sent messages to Austrian officials saying that Iran was prepared to move forward from this incident and resume economic relations, but also threatening Austria that more extensive terrorist operations. As such and despite the opposition of the Austrian Police, Austrian leaders ordered Mohammad Jafari Sahraroudi to be taken to the airport and sent back to Tehran. In a short while Amir Mansour Bozorgian also fled Vienna. A while later, as investigations progressed, Austrian officials decisively concluded that the assassination in Vienna had been committed by the same team that was negotiating with the Kurds. Thus, on 22 December 1989, an international arrest warrant was issued for Sahraroudi and his two colleagues. Mohammad Jafari Sahraroudi is currently the chief of staff for Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. And now, 26 years later, then-SNSC Secretary Hassan Rouhani is returning to Vienna as regimes President. Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited 3 Hong Kong provides data-roaming customers over NTT DOCOMO's mobile network with eCoupons offering up to 40% discountat designated shops in Japan Hong Kong, 29 March 2016 - 3 Hong Kong, the mobile communications division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings (HTHKH, stock code: 215), today announced collaboration with Japan's NTT DOCOMO, INC. that will provide 3 Hong Kong's data-roaming customers with complimentary electronic coupons (eCoupons) from merchants in Japan, plus travel information. Starting today, data-roaming customers arriving in Japan can get complimentary eCoupons entitling them to discount of up to 40% at popular tax-free shops and department stores, as well as restaurants and beauty salons. Building more appeal into an excellent data-roaming experience HTHKH Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Tan said: "As members of the Conexus Mobile Alliance, 3 Hong Kong and NTT DOCOMO are co-operating to provide customers with an excellent data-roaming experience. This new collaboration provides eCoupons for the added enjoyment of our customers. Special offers from a diversity of merchants covering shopping hotspots will suit a variety of needs among our data-roaming customers while in Japan." Data-roaming customers using the 3Roam Data Plan or Data Roaming Daily Pass will receive an SMS from 3 Hong Kong containing special merchant offers and practical travel information after commencing data-roaming service over NTT DOCOMO's mobile network in Japan. By following instructions, customers can download complimentary eCoupons from a website linked to the SMS. They will get discounts of up to 40% simply by presenting eCoupons when shopping. Merchants in the programme1 throughout Japan's shopping hotspots include the Laox Tax-Free Shop, Daimaru Department Store, Matsuzakaya Department Store, Mitsui Outlet Park, LaLaPort Shopping Mall, COREDO Shopping Mall, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, and the Megane-Ichiba / ALOOK Glasses Shop, as well as the Hot Pepper Gourmet and Hot Pepper Beauty outlets. A range of merchant offers will suit a variety of preferences and tastes. Data roaming service covers as many as 152 destinations worldwide 3 Hong Kong co-operates with operators all over the world to enhance data-roaming network coverage, so customers can stay connected with friends and family when traveling or working overseas. 3 Hong Kong customers can use their own SIM cards and stay connected while at 152 destinations, roaming via 215 networks - all by choosing from a variety of data-roaming services. 1 Please visit the special benefit programme's website at http://www.three.com.hk/dailypass for details of the latest merchant list. - Ends - About 3 Hong Kong 3 Hong Kong is a leading mobile communications service provider and the only local operator to own blocks of spectrum across the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz and 2600MHz bands. 3 Hong Kong offers cutting-edge data, voice and roaming services under the "3" brand via far-reaching advanced 4G LTE, 3G and 2G networks. 3 Hong Kong also works with renowned partners to offer a wealth of innovative mobile devices and value-added services, while providing high-speed Wi-Fi at "3HKWiFiService" hotspots to serve Hong Kong's major areas. 3 Hong Kong is the mobile division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (stock code: 215), a group member of CK Hutchison Holdings (stock code: 1). For more information on 3 Hong Kong, please visit www.three.com.hk. For more information on HTHKH, visit www.hthkh.com. For more information, please contact: Sandy Wong/ Emily Jim +852 2128 5313/ +852 2128 2811 sandy.wong@hthk.com/ emily.jim@hthk.com President Bill Clinton will receive a Lifetime Achievement award from IrishCentral's sister publication Irish America magazine on Wednesday, March 30, at the 2016 Irish America Hall of Fame and Special Commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising Centenary. Clinton, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011, is being recognized for his extraordinary role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and will welcome the 2016 inductees into the Hall of Fame. The distinguished 2016 Hall of Fame inductees include Astronaut Eileen Collins, NASAs first female space shuttle commander; former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey; novelist, essayist, and journalist Pete Hamill; and Edward J. T. Kenney, special consultant at Mutual of America. Founded in 2010 in celebration of Irish America magazines 25th anniversary, the Irish America Hall of Fame honors Irish-American leaders for their significant accomplishments and contributions to American society, commitment to safeguarding their Irish heritage and the betterment of Ireland. The Irish America Hall of Fame is housed at the Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience in New Ross, Co. Wexford. ABOUT THE HONOREES The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States and throughout his tenure in office was a major supporter of the Irish peace process. Clinton involved himself in the pursuit of peace in Ireland in a way no other president ever has. In 1995 he became the first president to visit Northern Ireland, where an estimated 50,000 people from both sides of the sectarian divide amassed in Belfast to hear him speak a message of peace. The previous year, he granted a U.S. visa to Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, a decision that paved the way to the first IRA ceasefire and played a huge role in the Irish peace process. In September 1998, Bill and Hillary Clinton visited Omagh, a town still reeling from the effects of a bombing the month before. Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland), said later, during Clintons visit to Dublin: The helping hand of the United States was always there in the hour of need. And there were many such hours. Clinton played a key role during the crucial lead up to the Good Friday Agreement a milestone accomplishment that established the Northern Ireland Assembly. Senator George Mitchell, the man he personally appointed as his peace emissary, brought all of the parties together to sign the historic document on April 10, 1998. Clinton's Irish roots come from his mother, Virginia Cassidy Kelley, who was the granddaughter of immigrants from County Fermanagh. Eileen Collins Former NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel Eileen Collins was the first female commander of a space shuttle mission and a career U.S.A.F. officer. In 1999 she commanded the Columbia on mission STS-93 to launch the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the most advanced X-ray telescope produced at the time. Collins was born in Elmira, NY, the second of four children of Rose Marie and James Collins, whose ancestors are from County Cork. She had an interest in flying from an early age and received an R.O.T.C. scholarship to study at Syracuse University in 1976, marking her entrance into the Air Force in the first year women pilots were accepted. In 1990, she was selected for the astronaut training program and became an astronaut the following year. In 1995 she made history as the first woman to pilot a space shuttle when NASA chose her to fly the first U.S.-Russia Shuttle/Mir rendezvous. She retired from NASA and the U.S.A.F. in 2006. General Martin E. Dempsey Martin Edward Dempsey served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff he served two terms and is a retired U.S. Army general who also previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Army. General Dempsey graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1974 and has been a career armor officer, serving in Operation Desert Storm, commanding the 4th Battalion, 67th Armor in Germany, and as an advisor to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, among other posts. In June 2003, he took command of the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad and served 14 months, before redeploying with the division to Germany. In August 2005, he returned to Iraq to train and equip the Iraqi Security Forces as Commanding General of MNSTC-I. Dempsey was raised in Goshen, NY in a strongly Irish-American family. His grandparents were born in counties Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, and Donegal and he holds a masters degree in literature from Duke University, where he wrote his thesis on the Irish literary revival. Dempsey has also learned conversational Irish from childhood summers spent in Ireland. Pete Hamill Pete Hamill is a much-lauded journalist, columnist, essayist, commentator, and novelist who has spent a career documenting stories from wars in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland to rock and roll and the underclass of New York City. Born in 1935 in Brooklyn to Belfast immigrants who arrived in New York the same day as the 1929 stock market crash, Hamill had artistic ambitions from a young age. He attended the School of Visual Arts and, following a 4-year enlistment with the U.S. Navy, studied painting in Mexico City before becoming a writer. He joined the staff of the New York Post in the summer of 1960 as a night reporter and subsequently spent time at most of the major New York City daily tabloids, including the Village Voice, the Daily News, the Herald Tribune, and Newsday. In the 1990s, he served as the editor of the Post and as editor-in-chief of the Daily News. His feature articles and essays have appeared in publications such as the New Yorker, Esquire, New York, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. He also won a Grammy Award for his liner notes on Bob Dylans 1975 album "Blood on the Tracks." In 1994, Hamill published "A Drinking Life," a memoir about his childhood and early years reporting, focusing on his embrace of drinking and eventual decision to abstain, which brought him national acclaim. Among his other books are: "Forever," a novel about the history of New York; "Snow in August," which follows the unlikely friendship between an 11-year-old Irish Catholic boy and an elderly Jewish rabbi in 1940s Brooklyn; and "Why Sinatra Matters," which has recently been reissued with a new introduction by Hamill in honor of Sinatras 100th birthday. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Japanese journalist Fukiko Aoki, and has two daughters. Edward J. T. Kenney Ed Kenney is a special consultant for Mutual of America, a firm he has been with since 1994 after retiring from a 25-year career as an F.B.I. agent. Throughout the peace process in Northern Ireland he used his diplomatic background as a liaison with other law enforcement and government agencies as a valuable tool. Kenney joined Mutual just as chairman Bill Flynns invitation to Gerry Adams won the Sinn Fein leader a visa to the U.S. Flynn and Tom Moran, who succeeded Flynn as Mutuals chairman, president and CEO, continued to extend hospitality to loyalist and nationalist politicians at the New York offices of Mutual of America, and it was Kenneys job as executive vice president of external affairs to facilitate those visits and the many visits that Flynn and Moran made to the North in the ensuing years. Ed is known for his philanthropic efforts, particularly in promoting the work of Concern Worldwide, the Irish international humanitarian organization that works to transform the lives of the worlds poorest people. Over the course of the past 20 years, as a board member of Concern Worldwide, U.S., Ed has made numerous trips overseas to countries torn by war, natural disasters and epidemics, and has been a key figure in persuading donors to support the organizationss humanitarian efforts. Born in Queens, NY to parents of Roscommon and Tipperary heritage, Kenney graduated from St. Josephs Seminary with a degree in philosophy. He and his wife Brigid live in Ossining, NY. They have five children. There has never been an Irish Jane Austen for a good reason: there is no such thing as a truth universally acknowledged in Ireland, not even jokingly, which makes it fairly unique. The truth is that what you see in Ireland largely depends on where you stand. If it's in South Dublin you won't often see the less salubrious streets of North Dublin. If it's in East Belfast you won't spend much time thinking about what goes on in the West. Grow up in the leafy suburbs just about anywhere in the country and you'll soon learn not to concern yourself with the daily grind of the council estates. So the partitionist mentality extends far beyond the borders that divide the north from south. It's a really a nation of balkanized insiders and outsiders, stamped to rule or stamped for export, and it has been since the foundation of the state. This past weekend the Republic celebrated the centenary of the 1916 Rising that led to its creation. But remarkably, it did so without a fully functioning government (has it ever had one?). So we don't have a government, but we have a Republic. It's remarkable that in this centenary year and month so few have even bothered to discuss this. It's probably because the Irish people have an expectation of low standards in high places, so they expect their needs to be unmet, having been conditioned by experience and by their hard colonial history. To coin a phrase Don't Ask, Won't Get is really the national motto. When, for example, in 1947, one hundred years after the darkest year of the Great Hunger, the curate of Skehana, County Galway ended the practice of burying unbaptized infants outside of the parish graveyard his decision was met with serious opposition from some local families. They wanted the callous traditional practice to continue. They wanted a society of insiders and outsiders, they even wanted their own lost babies to adhere to these rules. What does that say about our capacity for self-sabotage? Gerry Adams said in an exclusive interview with IrishCentral last week that the British took care to shoot the poets, philosophers and political thinkers who gave us the Easter Rising. Then a counter-revolutionary movement in the north and south was permitted to come to power. This new divided nation was where the ideals of 1916 went to die. Few journalists in the Republic or the North have ever thought to ask Adams about his views of the revolutionary generation, a failure that demonstrates how deeply the partitionist mindset is entrenched in the societies they hail from. The national and international thinking of the revolutionary generation (once Irish America was thought of as a major political player, not the sentimental corned beef circuit it's lampooned as nowadays) sought a revolution in Irish people's thinking about where they lived, how they could support their own nation, with a dose of internationalism that would lift their eyes above the parish pump. What's interesting about 2016 is the Irish electorate have finally gotten 1916's memo that their 19th century political model no longer works (and frankly it never did). The Irish electorate still vote for the same political parties that ensure the same stalemates, but something feels different this time. They have returned them to power but have guillotined their mandate to rule. A foundational shift only follows on from a paradigm shift, but that moment has already arrived, even in the nation that James Joyce called the most belated in Europe. This weekend the nation celebrated its existence whilst navigating that disconcerting political no man's land between tradition and modernity. Our traditional parties are doing what they do best and rearranging the deck chairs on the old ship of state this week, but this time they're facing into a reckoning that's really one hundred years in the making. You can read more of IrishCentral's centenary coverage here. Lawrence Downes of The New York Times appears to desperately want to belong on the editorial board of Americas most widely read newspaper. To do so he is only too happy to become that type of apologetic Irishman we have all come across in such institutions. How else can one explain his extraordinary Sunday column slamming the 1916 Easter Rising based on an Irish Times column by one Father Seamus Murphy, a Jesuit priest from Loyola in Chicago who has suddenly popped up as an instant expert on Irish history, and who turns out to be a major supporter of the murder and violence of the Iraq War, which he called a just war condemned even by successive popes. Father Murphy denies the Rising was necessary and states it was a fiasco carried out by a group of unrepresentative gunmen who only created a pretend Republic. That is grossly insulting to the leaders of 1916, who within two years of the Rising, enjoyed the support of 78 percent of the Irish people. It is also a simplistic look at the history of the time as refracted through the modern era. President Michael D. Higgins dealt with the issue beautifully. Higgins stated to the BBC that when questions are raised about the morality of the violent uprising, people should remember the historical context at the time. When we decide to address the issue of violence, let us speak of the violence of empire, the violence of state, the violence of insurrection. On Easter Monday, President Higgins stated it was time to examine imperial triumphalism the way Republicanism has been put under the microscope. In the context of 1916, this imperial triumphalism can be traced, for example, in the language of the recruitment campaigns of the time, which evoked mythology, masculinity and religion, and glorified the Irish blood as having reddened the earth of every continent. But the only context for revisionists like Downes is those bloodthirsty Republicans. However, one would have thought Downes might have looked deeper into Reverend Murphy given he placed such store in him as a man of peace. He might have discovered much of interest. For instance, here Fr Murphy's take on the Iraq War, which he considered a just war. Given Saddam's addiction to war ...he is likely, if left in power, to provoke more wars. That, coupled with the oppression and terror, far outweighs the burden of the US/UK invasion. At worst, the US/UK invasion is the lesser evil, at best a liberation. However, he says the Easter Rising passes none of the just war criteria. Instead, he calls it a pagan love of war and blood-sacrifice and claims that it attacked important political common goods. (See more here.) Well, at least the 1916 rebels didnt claim secret weapons of mass destruction. One million people didn't die including thousands of Americans, billions of dollars were not looted and the American economy impacted. The invasion of Iraq as an example of liberation theology is a real beauty (maybe he was influenced by Judith Millers reporting in the New York Times about fictional weapons of mass destruction she reported on exclusively.) Downes must feel a bit of an idiot quoting a just war defender of the Iraq War. The Iraq Body Count project says up to 1 million people have been killed to date as a result. So this guy is no pacifist, Larry, despite your embrace of him. It is also not true to say there was no support for the rebels at the time. The Gaelic Revival was in full swing. There was major backing for insurrection. The funeral of Fenian martyr O'Donovan Rossa had drawn hundreds of thousands of sympathizers the year before. The Irish Volunteers who fought in the GPO did so preferring to die there than on a bloody battlefield like the Somme at the behest of a despotic monarch. If the Iraq slaughter and invasion done by a foreign army was a just war, then the Easter Rising, when Irishmen like Americans before them and French too, took matters into their own hands and declared for freedom, was certainly more just. Downes would probably prefer to believe the American colonists should have just accepted the British right to rule or the French monarchys droit de seigneur. Certain Irishmen love to cuddle up with royal fantasies. Downes and Murphy belong to that rather addled revisionist stream of Irish history which has lately begun to run dry. It has been proved beyond doubt that, far from rushing into war, the 1916 leaders only did so after Ulster militants armed themselves, then the British Army at the Curragh refused to confront them, despite orders to do so. Unionist leader Edward Carson was also given explicit assurance by Asquith that Home Rule would never be enacted and the British were likely to consider conscription. James Joyce, years earlier in 1907, had predicted the very situation of no Home Rule, noting that anytime the Irish got uneasy the British sent a comet called home rule to calm and tantalize them, shining brightly for a while but then disappearing. If there is a villain it is John Redmond of the Irish Parliamentary Party opposed to Pearse, who bowing to that comet sent over 30,000 Irish to their graves in WWI. Pearse and Connolly saw through all that and understood only rebellion would give them the opportunity to strike for nationhood as generations before them had. There is no doubt the 1916 uprising by 1,200 brave souls, who for one week held off an imperial army that grew to 38,000, succeeded in their primary goal: to fire up the spirit of a nation. Not surprisingly the New York Times at the time, calling them British subjects, demanded the rebels all be executed. Here is what is true. The decades long battle to besmirch the Easter Rising has been lost. In Dublin on Sunday something magical happened as hundreds of thousands turned out and all political parties without exception paid fulsome praise to the leaders of the Irish revolution. Father Murphy and Downes may well embrace the Good Friday Agreement, but they conveniently forget that it came about because Republicans took the courageous step to turn away from the gun. It is a strange era. Over the weekend, a leading columnist for the establishment British newspaper The Daily Telegraph called for a British apology for shooting the Rising leaders. The New York Times editorial writer Lawrence Downes would hardly agree. A discredited Jesuit who said 1916 was not a just war but that the Iraq War was carries far more weight, no doubt. A genealogy-based DNA project in Maine, where 18 percent of the population claims Irish ancestry, is connecting people to their relatives in Ireland. The Maine Gaeltacht DNA Project was started in 2011 by the Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland. The project is overseen by several volunteers who have spent thousands of hours and their own money developing a massive family tree of Irish immigrants who came to Maine during the Industrial Revolution and the Great Famine of 1845-1852, the Portland Press Herald reports. To date the project has integrated the family trees and DNA test results of some 535 project members. The Maine Gaeltacht DNA Project now has a list of more than 142,000 people. Dr. Maurice Gleeson, a psychiatrist based in London whose personal passion is genetic genealogy, praised the project. Its the most advanced DNA project of its kind in existence, said Gleeson. Its almost a template for other DNA projects. They have married traditional genealogy with genetic genealogy. What they have done could be replicated anywhere. The project was started by Margaret Feeney LaCombe, 65, a lead genealogist at the Maine Irish Heritage Center. She had the idea after researching her own family tree. I had amassed thousands of records, sitting at microfilm machines for months and writing down hundreds of Feeneys, Foleys, McDonoughs, Connollys, Mulkerns and Costellos in my family tree, said LaCombe. You know, if you keep digging, everybodys related. Read more: American woman's search for her Irish roots pays off In the late 1990s, she delved into genetic genealogy by testing her mothers DNA. Since then, she has tested an uncle, three brothers and four cousins. My mother was in her 80s when the DNA kits started coming out, so I wanted to get her DNA before it was too late, said LaCombe, whose Feeney ancestors hail from Leitir Mor, off the coast of County Galway. The Maine Gaeltacht DNA Project includes the family trees and DNA test results from people still living in Ireland, particularly in the Connemara region of County Galway, where many Irish Mainers have roots. LaCombe, who is the project administrator, and Maureen Coyne Norris, 68, the founding board chairwoman of the center, have traveled to Ireland numerous times to test dozens of people from different families using DNA test kits purchased with their own money, assuming people would be more inclined to be tested if it was free. Theyve even tested elderly residents in nursing homes who have surnames that would help to expand the projects database. Theyre so appreciative that we want to know about their history. Ive only ever had one person say no, said Norris, who is an ambassador to the Emigration and Diaspora Centre in Carna, County Galway. The DNA tests are a big help to people trying to track down their ancestors in Ireland, where many public records are illegible or nonexistent. Gleeson says that many parishes in Ireland didnt keep records to avoid persecution by the English. We still have the same problem with going back further than the early to mid-1800s on most Irish ancestral lines, he said. Complicating the process is the fact that in 1922, during the Irish Civil War, the countrys public records office in Dublin was destroyed by fire. Census records from 1821, 1831, 1841, 1851 and more were lost in the fire. We lost 800 years of Irish history in a matter of seconds, Gleeson said. Through the project, Deb Sullivan Gellerson, a volunteer genealogist at the center, was able to connect with her relative Kevin Coyne, a retired postmaster living in County Galway. Gellerson and Coyne are third cousins within the Joyce family, Gellersons mothers paternal line. Gellerson had met Coyne on previous trips to Ireland. After Coyne was swabbed for DNA as part of the project, Gellerson traveled to Ireland in 2014 and shared the DNA results with him. He was very pleased, but he expected it, Gellerson recalled. For me, it just verified so much. You work so hard to find out anything you can about where your people come from. Some people are satisfied if they cant find out exactly, but I want solid proof. The Maine Gaeltacht DNA Project requires members to submit genetic information through the Family Tree DNA website. Project members can use the websites Family Finder autosomal DNA test, which can confirm parent-child, sibling and cousin relationships through genetic matches excluding the X or Y sex chromosomes. The autosomal test reaches as far out as fifth cousins and as far back as five generations, said Krista Heatley Ozyazgan, co-administrator of the Maine Gaeltacht DNA Project. People whove been tested through Ancestry.com, 23andMe.com or National Geographics Genographic Project can transfer their results to FamilyTreeDNA.com. The Portland Press Herald reports that male project participants can test their YDNA to determine their paternal line, and female participants can test their mtDNA to find their maternal line. All participants joining the project must submit a family pedigree delineating at least three to five generations. For more information, visit www.maineirish.com. On April 24, 1916, the Irish rebellion known as the Easter Rising began leading to the destruction of Dublin's city center, major loss of life, and the eventual execution of the cause's leaders. Here's how it all played out. In honor of the 106th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, we provide a day-by-day guide to how the rebellion played out. From its beginnings on Easter Monday, (Apr 24, 1916) the rebellion destroyed the city of Dublin and led to the execution of its leaders after their surrender. The suppression of the rebellion sparked outrage among Irish citizens over the execution of the Rising's leaders, generated a nationalist surge leading to support for Sinn Fein and its separatist agenda that would lead to the War of Independence, the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty that partitioned Ireland into north and south, and the eventual rejection of the free state's position as a dominion in the British Empire and its establishment as a fully independent republic in 1949. Some may argue that it also acted as a forerunner to the violence seen during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, with Sinn Fein acting as inheritors of the ideals left behind by the passionate rebellion leaders. Day One - April 24, 1916 In the days preceding the outbreak of the rebellion, there had been much confusion among the Irish Volunteers. The military action had previously been scheduled to get underway on Easter Sunday until Irish Volunteer leader Eoin MacNeill issued a countermanding order to all volunteers that armed insurrection would not take place. MacNeill had never believed in the rebellion and had initially been kept in the dark, but on learning what was afoot several months previously, he was convinced to act by the promise of German support and a shipment of German arms that was to be delivered in Kerry by Roger Casement aboard the Aud. However, when the Aud was intercepted on Good Friday, Casement captured and the shipment of arms lost as the British scuttled the boat, MacNeill ordered Volunteers to stay at home. Two members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood military council were convinced that the Rising should go ahead and by overruling MacNeills order, Thomas Clarke, long thought to be the military mastermind behind the Rising, and socialist leader James Connolly, the founder of the Irish Citizen Army, insisted that the Rising go ahead one day behind schedule on Easter Monday. Nonetheless, it being 1916 and not having the instant communication abilities we have now, the word about the rescheduled insurrection did not spread far, meaning that the vast majority of Irish Volunteers were still in their homes all around the country when on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, 1,250 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army assembled across Dublin. Easter Monday 11:00 am Around 1,250 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army, including 200 women from Cumann na mBan, assembled across Dublin. 11:30 am - 12:30 pm: Within the first hour of the rebellion, rebels stormed and occupied several of the capital citys most important political and economic buildings: Jacobs factory, the Four Courts, Stephens Green, the South Dublin Union (now St. Jamess Hospital), Jameson Distillery, the Mendicity Institute, Bolands Mills and Bakery, plus 25 Northumberland Road and Clanwilliam House. The Volunteers' Dublin division had been divided into four battalions led Proclamation signatories Commandant Thomas MacDonagh and Commandant Eamonn Ceannt; future Irish Taoiseach and President, the New-York born Commandant Eamon de Valera; and Commandant Ned Daly. The first battalion under Daly made up about 250 men. They occupied the Four Courts, apart from D Company, lead by Sean Heuston, whose 12 men would occupy the Mendicity Institution, across the river from the Four Courts. The second battalion of 200 men was lead by MacDonagh and assembled in Stephens Green with orders to occupy Jacobs biscuit factory. De Valera was in charge of the 3rd battalion of 130 men and they would take Boland's Mills. The fourth battalion, led by Eamonn Ceannt and numbering about 100 men, was to guard against British troops coming from their base in the Curragh Co. Kildare, by taking the South Dublin Union, which was near to the main rail line from the west and southwest. At Liberty Hall, 400 volunteers under the command of Commandant James Connolly gathered in preparation for the day's action. From there, 100 men and women from the ICA, under Commandant Michael Mallin, were sent to Stephens Green just south of Grafton St. 12 At 12 pm, rebels attempted to seize weapons from the Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park but, despite disarming the guards, they failed to obtain any arms. Rebels also failed to take Trinity College Dublin, which was defended by a handful of Unionist students. Most importantly, however, the General Post Office (GPO) on Sackville Street, Dublins main thoroughfare (now known as OConnell St), was stormed, seized, and established as rebel headquarters. Customers and staff were expelled from the building and a number of British soldiers who were present were taken prisoner. All remaining men not within the first four battalions were stationed here, including five members of the military council: Padraig Pearse, President and Commander-in-Chief, Tom Clarke, James Connolly, Sean Mac Diarmada and Joseph Plunkett. 12 At 12:20 pm, the Tricolour was raised above the GPO, along with a green flag bearing the words Irish Republic as the rebels settled in for battle. The forced entry into the buildings was not without incident, however, and it is believed that in Jacobs and Stephens Green rebels shot civilians who attempted to break down their barriers or to attack them. In other stations, instead of shooting civilians, anyone who showed defiance to the rebels was hit with a rifle butt. The first official fatality of the rebellion was a non-combatant, a nurse attempting to tend to the injured. Margaret Keough, the grand-niece of US Cavalry Captain Myles Keogh, was shot by a British soldier as she responded to shots and attempted to save those injured. 12:45 pm: To a confused gathering of Dublin citizens, bemused by what they were witnessing, Padraig Pearse emerged from the GPO to decree the independent Irish Republic for the first time, reading aloud the proclamation he himself had written on behalf of the Provisional Government of the new Irish Republic. 12 Still applauded as a work of inspiration, the Proclamation of the Irish Republic set all citizens of Ireland on equal terms men, women, and children praising the work of Irish emigrants on behalf of the Irish cause, in particular, her exiled children in America without whom, some claim, the Rising may never have happened. To the average Dublin citizen, the storming of the GPO and other buildings by the rebels was not a cause for celebration as they attempted to carry on with their normal lives, unhappy with the unrest and violence brought to their streets. 1:22 pm: On Easter Monday, many British soldiers in Ireland, in particular, those stationed in Dublin Castle, the center of British rule in Ireland, had gone to Fairyhouse racecourse to enjoy the Irish Grand National, leaving the city short of the troops when the Rising began. The Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in Ireland, General Lovick Friend, was on leave in England, Officer Commanding the Dublin Garrison, Colonel Kennard, could not be located and it was left to his adjutant, Col. H. V. Cowan to call for Marlborough Barracks to investigate the disturbance at the GPO. He also called Portobello Barracks, Richmond Barracks, the Royal Barracks, and the barracks in the Curragh to send reinforcements. Despite the absence of troops at Dublin Castle, the rebels hesitated to take the building, a move that would have been a significant blow to the British and of vital importance to the rebels. The unit disarmed those in the guardroom and shot a police sentry but failed to press any further as those inside alerted by the shots began to close the castle gates. Instead, the small detachment of men allocated to the area under Captain Sean Connolly opted to take City Hall. Michael Mallin, joined by Countess Markievicz, dug trenches in Stephens Green, commandeered passing vehicles in order to make a barrier, took buildings around the park including the Royal College of Surgeons. 12 1:38 pm: At the Four Courts along the Liffey a troop from the 5th and 12th Lancers was ambushed by Dalys men, who were the first engage with British troops. The troop had been escorting an ammunition convoy along the North Quays when they were forced to take refuge in nearby buildings because of rebel fire. Attempts were made by the British Army to gain access to the GPO by charging down Sackville St. They were repulsed, however, as they passed Nelsons Pillar and the rebels opened fire, killing three cavalrymen and two horses and fatally wounding a fourth man. 4:45 pm: On Northumberland Road on the southside of the city, the elderly and unarmed Veteran Defence Force walked into a rebel ambush. By the end of day one: Just a few hours into the Rising, and despite the poor coordination of the British Army response, the rebels were already losing ground, with those in the eastern end of the South Dublin Union surrendering. The Union complex as a whole remained in rebel hands, however. Encountering an outpost of Ceannts force at the Union, men from the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (RIR), faced off with rebels under Section-Commander John Joyce. 12 Although they lost three men in the first volley and further men as they were repelled a number of times, eventually the superior numbers of the British Army succeeded and the small rebel force surrendered. Additionally, on the first day of the Rising three unarmed members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police were shot dead causing their Commissioner to pull the police off the streets. The lack of police presence is blamed for the level of looting that took place throughout the city as buildings were torn apart during the week. In total, 425 people were arrested for looting after the Rising. - Frances Mulraney Day Two - April 25, 1916 On the second day of the Rising, the Irish rebels fought to hold their positions, news in addition to misinformation began to spread throughout Ireland, looting erupted on Sackville Street (now OConnell Street), British General William Lowe arrived in Dublin to assume control of the British forces in Dublin, and Lord Lieutenant at the time, Lord Wimborne, declared martial law. While until this point the Irish Volunteers had seen relatively little confrontation from British forces, by the end of the second day of the Rising, almost 7,000 additional British soldiers had moved into Dublin from the Curragh in Co. Kildare and from Belfast. In fact, until this point, some of the rebel strongholds encountered the most resistance from disgruntled civilians. According to the testimony of a 15-year-old named Martin Walton, who joined the Volunteer Forces at Jacobs Biscuit Factory, When I arrived then at Jacobs the place was surrounded by a howling mob roaring at the Volunteers inside, Come out to France and fight, you lot of so-and-so slackers. And then I remember the first blood I ever saw shed. There was a big, very, very big tall woman with something very heavy in her hand and she came across and lifted up her hand to make a bang at me. One of the Volunteers upstairs saw this and fired and I just remember seeing her face and head disappear as she went down like a sack. That was my baptism of fire, and I remember my knees nearly going out from under me. I would have sold my mother and father and the Pope just to get out of that bloody place. 5:30 am: After sustaining gunfire from the roof of the Shelbourne Hotel, the rebels at St. Stephens green retreat towards the Royal College of Surgeons. 12 Mid-day: Irish rebel forces lose control of City Hall. As Debra Kelly recalled for IrishCentral, venerable actress and gunrunner Helena Molony was among the small group who tried to hold on to City Hall, even as British troops flooded in. As British troops advanced on the tenuous stronghold, and the mostly unarmed group surrendered, the prisoners were dealt with amidst the assumption that the women were only present as nurses and medical support, not as the front-line combatants that they were. However, once the truth was revealed, Molony and her fellow female fighters were taken to Kilmainham with the rest of those captured. 4:10 pm: Rebels at the GPO witness looting all along Sackville (now OConnell) Street. Evening: In response to the reports of looting, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington went to the city center to attempt to organize a civilian police force. However, he was arrested at Portobello Bridge by members of the 11th East Surrey Regiment and fell into the hands of one of the Risings most notoriously vengeful British officers, Captain J.C. Bowen-Colthurst. Sheehy-Skeffington was then held hostage by an army raiding party and, per Bowen-Colthursts orders, executed the following day along with two pro-British journalists who had the misfortune to be in a shop the troop raided. 9:40 pm: Martial law declared in Dublin by the British. - Sheila Langan Read more The 1916 Easter Rising - How Irish America and Ireland saw it very differently Day Three - April 26, 1916 On the third day of the rebellion, the tide began to turn. From 8 am, the gunboat Helga began shelling Liberty Hall. At the Mendicity Institute, near the Four Courts, the rebels surrender after ammunition finally runs out. For civilians conditions were deteriorating the air was filled with smoke, food was running low and danger and possible death were everywhere. British reinforcements arrive in Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) and are welcomed by Dubliners, some giving them food before they march toward the city. Many of the British soldiers were confused thinking they had been en route to France. Also many were inexperienced, some having only learned to operate their weapons on the docks. The Battle at Mount Street Bridge is something of a small victory for the Irish rebels as the British army suffered their highest casualties of Easter Week. Sackville Street continues to suffer heavy bombardment and fires break out. By the end of the third day, General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell was dispatched from London to deal with the Rising. After Martial Law had been declared the previous day General Maxwell was to be judge and jury in Ireland upon his arrival. 6:20 am - British reinforcements arrive by ship in Kingstown Harbour (now Dun Laoghaire). Many of the British soldiers were apparently confused as to why they are in Ireland and not France. The local Dubliners greeted the soldiers cordially, some bringing them food. 8:00 am - Liberty Hall is shelled by the British. By midday, the building, which spawned the insurrection, is pulverized by artillery fire. 9:00 am - Jacobs biscuit factory is under heavy machine-gun fire from Dublin Castle. It is reported that many civilians are killed by the automatic fire as they venture out seeking food, which is running low, or to check on friends and relatives. Others are killed in their homes. British troops in the Gresham Hotel, on Sackville Street (now OConnell Street), and Volunteers in the GPO engage in a gun battle for hours. 11:00 am At Stephens Green one of the most peculiar scenes of the Rising is witnessed a brief ceasefire allows the caretaker to feed the ducks. The caretaker leaves his lodge, near Earlsfort Terrace, and walks to the duck pond. Both sides cease fire and are transfixed by his actions. However, this peace did not last. James Stephens took a walk to Stephens Green that morning. Rebels sniped from the roof of the Royal College of Surgeons and machine guns were positioned on the roofs of Shelbourne Hotel, the United Service Club, and the Alexandra Club. Stephens wrote, Through the railings of the Green some rifles and bandoliers could be seen lying on the ground, and also the deserted trenches and snipers holes. Small boys bolted in to see these sights and bolted out again with bullets quickening their feet. Small boys do not believe that people will really kill them, but small boys were killed. Meanwhile Sackville Street has turned into a warzone. From the river, machine guns are firing and incendiary bullets have caused the remaining shops and canopies to set fire. Read more London Jew gave his life for Ireland during Easter 1916 12:40 pm Rebels disperse between 25 Northumberland Road, the roads schools, and Clanwilliam House. Four battalions of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment arrive and are ambushed. General William Lowe had ordered that the bridge at Mount Street be taken at all costs and the troops continued to attempt to take the bridge. By the end of the third day, the rebels had killed 240 soldiers, two-thirds of the British losses for Easter week. 1:45 pm The Dublin Fusiliers, the Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army, capture the Mendicity Institute (on Ushers Island) and lay siege to the Four Courts, on the River Liffey. 2:00 pm - The British set up a heavy machine gun position in Purcells Shop at the tip of Westmoreland Streets junction with DOlier Street and fire up Sackville Street. 3:50 pm - Marrowbone Lane Distillery (Jamesons) is under constant sniper fire from the Rialto direction. 4:00 pm - The attack on the Four Courts by riflemen from the south continues. The Linenhall Barack, to the north, has been set alight and the air is filled with smoke. 5:00 pm On Northumberland Road, a ceasefire allows doctors and nurses from Sir Patrick Dunnes hospital to enter into the kill zone. Fighting continues on Mount Street Bridge. Shots continue to ring out on Sackville Street and the fire is increasing. 6:00 pm 25 Northumberland Road, held by rebels, is taken. The door was blown off and the British troops were met with a sea of fire. 6:15 pm At Church Street Bridge, by the Four Courts, two rebels undertook an act of suicidal bravery by rushing across the bridge setting fires and rushing back. The British troops retreat from the southern quays. 6:30 pm The Sherwood Foresters gain ground taking a second position on Northumberland Road, captured at the rear of the Parochial Hall. 6:40 pm Liberty Hall is now destroyed. It is stormed by infantry who find it empty. 7:00 pm The British continue to gain ground in a bloody battle at Mount Street. Clanwilliam House is shot to pieces by machine guns on Haddington Road. 8:00 pm - Mount Street Bridge is in British hands and they have entered Clanwilliam Houses outer walls. 8:30 pm - Clanwilliam House has fallen. 10:00 pm - Bolands Mill is under constant attack. Thomas Walsh wrote about being inside the Mill. He said, During the latter fight Paddy Doyle would say, Boys, isnt this a great day for Ireland? and little sentences like this. He was very proud to live to see such a day. After some time Paddy was not saying anything. Jim spoke to him and got no reply. He pulled him by the coat, and he fell over into his arms. He was shot through the head. On Sackville Street, silence descended while snipers wait for any movement. - Kate Hickey Read more The major role of gay women in the 1916 Easter Rising Day Four - April 27, 1916 The Volunteers lose some crucial areas in Dublin on the Thursday of the Rising with constant heavy fire raining down on headquarters at the GPO. The Four Courts is experiencing heavy fire from machine guns. Capel St is taken by the British, but, despite numerous attacks, increasingly dangerous conditions in the GPO, and a bad injury sustained by James Connolly, the Volunteers remain strong in defense of the building. 8:40 am: Working overnight, the British had established slit trenches (or defensive fighting positions as theyre more commonly known) within Fairbrothers Field to the back of the South Dublin Union, allowing British troops to open fire on Marrowbone Lane Distillery. Despite their many attempts to take the building, the South Dublin Union continues to be a thorn in the side of the British as they struggle to bring down the Rising. 10:00 am: Rebel troops begin to reorganize with men and guns sent to those who are struggling to maintain control of their operational centers. The Volunteers in Westland Row train station are hard-pressed and, so, a sortie of rebels on bicycles speeds away from Jacobs factory in the direction of St. Stephens Green to help out. 10:35 am: Despite several advances, the British fail to take Marlborough Lane Distillery with homemade bombs being flung by rebels whenever troops reach the outer wall. Those making their way on bikes to Westland Row encounter the Staffordshire battalions positioned around Merrion Square. Unable to break through, the supporting rebels retreat to Jacobs leaving those in the train station to fend for themselves. As they cycle back by Stephens Green on the way to the factory, a machine gun opens fire bringing down one of the cyclists. The other Volunteers stop to shoot back and are assisted by those holding the nearby Royal College of Surgeons. 11:35 am: The British attack continues and wave after wave of bullets strike the buildings still controlled by the rebels. Sackville St is pounded with artillery as the British try to bring down headquarters in the GPO. They succeed in capturing Capel Street Bridge and also attack the Four Courts, North King Street, and the South Dublin Union in an attempt to blast through a passageway for troops in a bid to provide access for an assault on the GPO. 12 At South Dublin Union second-in-command Cathal Brugha is badly injured. Not able to retreat from the Union when the order was given, Brugha was thought to be lost but, although still surrounded by enemy soldiers, he was found by Eamonn Ceannt singing God Save Ireland with his pistol still in his hand and brought to safety. He would go on to fight in the War of Independence and in the Civil War, taking the anti-Treaty side. He would be killed during the Civil War despite his reluctance to take up arms against the pro-Treaty side, refusing to surrender after forcing his men to do so in 1922 when a severe bullet wound severed an artery in his leg. He died on July 7, 1922. With the GPO coming under sustained fire, a nearby warehouse owned by the Irish Times was hit several times, eventually causing a fire that spread throughout the day. 1:15 pm: The British appear to be planning something large at the Four Courts with sniper fire raining down from the roof of Jervis Street Hospital. Shellfire is increasing and the noise is deafening. 3:02 pm: There are huge casualties reported on Sackville Street as a further assault by infantrymen is repelled just a short time after another failed attempt on Abbey St. Everything between Lower Abbey Street and Eden Quay is ablaze with rebels taking down any British who attempt to escape through a burning barricade. The infantrymen were left with only two choices: be shot by rebels trying to escape the blaze or take their chances in the fire. 4:35 pm: The South Dublin Union is still holding out despite machine-gun fire from the Royal Hospital and troops from the Sherwood Foresters and Royal Irish regiments going to ground to engage in close-quarter combat. 4:42 pm: Things are not looking so good for the rebels around Capel St and on Capel St Bridge as their forces are cut in two by the Sherwood Foresters. Wanting to ensure they can completely secure the area, the infantrymen are removing civilians from their homes. 8:00 pm: Capel St is taken and secured by the British. This is extremely problematic for the rebels on the north side of the River Liffey as the British troops at Capel St can now act as a blockade between headquarters in the GPO and those Volunteers still fighting in the Four Courts. 8:25 pm: It is at this time that rebel leader and Proclamation signatory James Connolly is first injured. Wounded in the fray on Middle Abbey St, he is brought back to the GPO where he is treated by a captured British Army doctor. Connolly had first been injured by a gunshot to the shoulder outside the GPO and he sought first aid from a medic without drawing attention to his injury. Later, however, he took another bullet to the left ankle which left him unable to walk or stand. Although treated by a doctor he would spend the rest of the Rising on a makeshift stretcher unable to walk with the wound growing gangrenous through lack of proper treatment. 11:00 pm: On the opposite side of Sackville St., Hoytes Druggist and Oil Works have suffered heavy damage due to fire from British boat The Helga on the Liffey. The Oil Works explode in a ball of flames scattering debris over a wide area. 11:30 pm: By the end of day four, with the continued bombardment from the British, rebels on OConnell Bridge, south of the GPO on Sackville St, and those along Henry St., which runs just to the north of the building, begin to retreat to the rebel headquarters. Things in the GPO were getting increasingly desperate. Small fires were breaking out on the roof and in the surrounding buildings while the rebels attempted to put out any they could. Between the buildings around the GPO, the Irish Times Warehouse, and the Oil Works, Dublin glowed red with fire by the time night fell. Thankfully, changes in wind speed and direction offer some respite for the rebels. Across the street at Clerys and the Imperial Hotel, however, such was the heat created from the burning interiors of the buildings that molten glass is now raining down on Sackville St. Machine guns will continue to fire throughout the night. At the end of Thursday, James Connolly lies propped up on a mattress still trying to mastermind the Volunteers' defense. All members of the Provisional Government are now gathered at headquarters. - Frances Mulraney Day Five - April 28, 1916 On day 5 of the Rising, the Volunteers are forced to abandon their headquarters in the GPO as conditions within the building became too dangerous. In other parts of the city, they hold onto Bolands Mills bakery, the Royal College of Surgeons, Jacobs Biscuit Factory, the South Dublin Union, and the Four Courts. 7:55 am: Its been a long and brutal night for the Volunteers with no let-up from British troops attacking Sackville St. The area is unrecognizable with human and animal corpses littering the street. The surrounding buildings are descending into piles of rubble. 10:00 am: Tension among the forces is mounting with a massacre of captured insurgents and civilians narrowly avoided with thanks to the last-minute call from a British major. They are instead sent to the Custom House. 12 The college located on Bolton Street is thronged with refugees trying to escape the burning city. 11:00 am: There is a respite taken by the Volunteers at Marrowbone Lane Distillery when they spot enemy soldiers burying their dead in shallow graves. The Citizen Army located in Stephens Green is not only suffering from the threat of bullets but also from intense hunger, with snipers lying in waiting to shoot at the first sign of movement, which cuts off any potential food supply. The ducks of the park, however, are still well-fed with the park keeper returning several times to ensure their welfare. Although Bolands Mills, the Royal College of Surgeons, Jacobs, the South Dublin Union, and the Four Courts are holding out, the intense pressure placed on the GPO by British troops is taking its toll and there's no sign of any let-up. The tension is rising in Bolands Mills as well. The previous evening, a Volunteer fell to friendly fire, the result of the over-strained senses of an exhausted comrade. 12:00 pm: The Volunteers succeed in preventing a detachment from the 2/6th Sherwood Foresters Regiment from reaching the GPO. Lying in wait on Henry St until they are in close range, they ambush the detachment, and the infantrymen retreat. 2:00 pm: Another successful ambush by the Volunteers, this time near Bolton Street on the south side of the city. That morning the 2/6th South Staffordshires had moved to their Bolton Street headquarters from where they began to launch an attack on North King Street. As they marched, however, the rifle fire began and the soldiers are forced to scramble through the side streets back to Bolton Street. 2:45 pm: Casualties are suffered on both sides as Volunteers stationed on North Brunswick Street and Upper Church Street at Moores Coachworks and Clarkes Diary are involved in a heavy sniper battle with the British soldiers. 3:00 pm: British forces on North King Street have not yet given up and continue to fight inch for inch to reach the Volunteers based at Langans Pub. Fire from the Volunteers does not let up, even as the British begin to once again retreat. Reillys pub, instead, becomes the main target for the British. Charging, retreating, regrouping, and charging once more, the British continuously fail to break through with rifle fire coming at them from all directions. Taking to the rooftops to try and outflank the Volunteer position at Langans Pub, the South Staffordshires leave themselves open to rebel fire from the Four Courts and Monks Bakery. Once again they are forced to retreat with increasing frustration and ever-growing hatred for the Volunteers. In Father Mathew Hall, wounded from both sides lie shoulder to shoulder as they are treated by rebel nurses, any differences between them long forgotten. 3:30 pm: On the Northside, the British continue to build barricades that will cut the rebels off. They are now concentrating on a barricade on Moore Street. The British are adapting to the street fighting being used by the rebels and learning that barricades are the best way to combat it. 4:00 pm: Volunteers in the Four Courts are also holding strong with more guns and ammunition than they had on Easter Monday. Reinforcements from the Four Courts are making their way to Reillys Fort. 5:00 pm: The ferocious fighting is still ongoing on North King Street with all rebel fire directed at an armored truck as it attempts to bring in further infantrymen. When the door of the truck is kicked open and a British soldier attempts to jump out, he is shot dead before his foot could touch the ground. Civilians in this area are left hiding in their homes with no means of escape from the deafening noise and danger. 6:30 pm: The roof of the GPO is caving in, but Volunteers still shoot from amid the building debris. 7:00 pm: As the armored truck on North King Street continues to battle through the fire to bring in infantrymen, it suddenly stops. The driver and co-driver have been badly wounded. 7:30 pm: Plans to evacuate the GPO are developed as the ceiling continues to cave in around the Volunteers' heads. A group of Volunteers leaves the building to establish which escape route to Moore Street would be best. 8:00 pm: The Volunteers based at the Metropole Hotel retreat to a GPO that is now in complete chaos. Not long after Volunteers abandon the Metropole, the whole hotel collapses. 8:30 pm: The GPO is being given up as a lost cause and after a rousing speech from Pearse, Volunteers sprint desperately in small groups of two or three into Henry Street but apparently the way is barred by machine guns and Volunteers are at a loss as to where to go for shelter. Volunteer captains McLoughlin and Michael Collins attempt to set up a position on a building named The White House on Moore Street in an attempt to neutralize the British soldiers at the Rotunda hospital. 12 They succeed in placing a truck alongside an existing barricade to shelter themselves from the hospital and proceed to break into civilian buildings on Moore Street, making their way down the street building by building. A temporary HQ is established in Cogans Shop, at the junction of Henry Place and Moore Street, and a barricade is built along the laneway outside. 9:50 pm: The GPO is lost. Pearse is the last to leave the building with Connolly having been carried out earlier on a stretcher. Moore Street is now a battlefield. At Cogans a new Commandant is appointed - 20-year-old Sean McLoughlin. Connolly is too badly injured, Pearse and Plunket are exhausted and the remaining members of the emergency council of war do not have the military mind. This young man is the only person left they feel they can place their faith in. 11:30 pm: Headquarters is relocated to 16 Moore Street while stalemate reigns over the other locations around the city. - Frances Mulraney. Read more 1916 Easter Rising made the front page of the New York Times 14 days in a row Day Six - April 29, 1916 On Saturday, April 29, 1916, at 12 pm, rebel headquarters on Moore St surrender. Pearse issues the order to the Volunteers across the city but it is Sunday afternoon before all rebels have laid down arms. 6:30 am: Dublin awakes to a quieter city than it has seen in days with rebels laying low on Moore St. Plans are being put in place to divert the attention of British troops so as to allow the majority of the Volunteers to escape to the Four Courts, a rebel garrison that has been faring much better than their Sackville St counterparts. Morale in Moore St is low, however, and Volunteers are just simply exhausted after the fight for the GPO. The new Commandant McLoughlin had earlier suggested a do-or-die assault on a British barricade blocking their route to the Four Courts but some of the men are in no position to launch such an attack. North King Street is still a complete war zone and every inch of space is being fought for. Langans pub has now been abandoned by the Volunteers and the street is full of the bodies of those shot down as they attempted to escape. Reillys pub is still holding but is under increasing pressure. Volunteers in the College of Surgeons and Stephens Green are not under as much immense pressure as those in Moore St but are starving. Groups are sent out from the college to attempt to search for food but return with slim pickings. Conditions are much better in the South Dublin Union and a nearby distillery although the quiet that has descended on the city is disconcerting for those on the south side who have no idea how Volunteers on the northside are faring. Those in the Union are well-rested and well-fed and the rebels in the distillery are even planning celebrations of their success for the following evening, unaware that by that time the surrender order would reach them. 8:00 am: Due to exhaustion and frustration on both sides of the fight, several civilians are accidentally killed on Saturday morning while trying to move to safety. Even shadows are immediately shot at with questions asked later as to who exactly they are. 9:00 am: The cycle of British attack and retreat seems endless on North King St and wounded men on the street can no longer be tended to. They are not even in reach of the brave firemen, who have families on both sides of the divide and who have tended to the streets for the past number of days. Father Mathew Hall, where the wounded are being tended, is packed with the injured, and medical staff struggle to cope with a large number of patients. 10.00: The battle on North King Street seems to finally be coming to an end. The Volunteers decide to leave Reillys and tricking the British into thinking they are about to flood out the front door, they jump through the side windows and escape relatively unharmed. 12.00: A white flag emerges from 16 Moore St. The military council appears to have abandoned any hopes of breaking through the barricade to the Four Courts. Nurse Elizabeth OFarrell emerges from rebel HQ and approaches the British barricade. Fighting continues through the city, Volunteers unaware that the Rising is nearing an end. 2:30 pm: Surrender negotiations are now underway on Moore St with OFarrell emerging again from Moore St, accompanied this time by Padraig Pearse. They meet with Brigadier General Lowe to discuss terms. 3:30 pm: The surrender is official. Pearse is driven away by the British and it is OFarrell who returns to headquarters to issue orders. Connolly is gravely injured and again has to be stretchered from HQ to meet the British. 7:00 pm: As word of the surrender order makes its way to Volunteer positions, those in the Four Courts are stunned. When Commandant Daly initially delivers the order they refuse but eventually reluctantly comply. The Volunteers on North Brunswick St have not yet been reached but a ceasefire is apparently worked out with the help of two priests and fighting stops there also. 7:45 pm: Volunteers leave Moore St in silence, walking to Sackville St to surrender their weapons. They are detained on the grounds of the Rotunda Hospital. The odd gunshot still rings out across the city. IrishCentral History Love Irish history? Share your favorite stories with other history buffs in the IrishCentral History Facebook group. Day 7 - April 30, 1916 The order to surrender will finally reach De Valera at Bolands Mill and those on Stephens Green and in Jacobs factory by 10 am on Sunday, April 30. 12 De Valera, however, decides that he does not take orders from a prisoner and with Pearse now in captivity, he now takes orders from Commandant MacDonagh. MacDonagh also states that the surrender order is invalid as Pearse is a prisoner although he agrees to meet with General Lowe to parley. Although those on North Brunswick had agreed to a ceasefire yesterday, they would not yet believe that a surrender warrant had been issued. Two priests are allowed access to Pearse in order to acquire an official surrender statement. MacDonagh meets with Lowe and a further surrender deal is reached with a truce in place until 3 pm. An exhausted OFarrell is now traveling around the city conveying MacDonaghs new surrender order to the Volunteers. Some are angry with the order believing they should fight until the end. The Irish Citizen Army at Stephens Green surrender around midday and 120 men and women march from the Green. At 3.30, Jacobs Garrison also marches into the custody of the enemy. It wouldnt be until after 3 pm that the Volunteers in the South Dublin Union would also lay down their arms. Although they comply with the order, they are unhappy and unable to understand why the fight does not continue. From 4:30 pm, the Volunteers within the grounds of the Rotunda are marched to Inchicore, and with Dublin citizens now emerging from their shelter to view the destruction of the city, the rebels are heckled as they make their way there. The opposite occurs as Vice-Commandant OConnor leads the 3rd Battalion from Bolands Bakery. Crowds cheer and offer their support for the rebels. By 6 pm, the fighting has ended. There were are least 485 deaths, 50 percent of whom were civilians. In total, 1,350 people lie dead or wounded and 3,430 men and 79 women have been arrested by the British. Although initially angry at the rebels and their leaders for the week of heavy fighting and the civilian deaths, between May 3 and May 12, 15 of the Risings leaders would be executed in Kilmainham Gaol, including all seven signatories of the proclamation, and public opinion regarding the Rising would begin to soften. Those executed at Kilmainham included Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Thomas J. Clarke, Joseph Plunkett, William Pearse, Edward Daly, Michael O'Hanrahan, John MacBride, Eamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin, Sean Heuston, Conn Colbert, James Connolly, and Sean MacDiarmada. 12 The British had to tie the severely injured Connolly to a chair in order to shoot him. The most prominent leaders to survive was Eamon de Valera, with thanks to his American birth, and Countess Markievicz, with thanks to her gender. Sir Roger Casement was later executed in London, following his high-profile trial in which he was charged with high treason. The other imprisoned men were sent to internment camps in England and in Wales and it was within these camps that the new leaders of the movement would begin to emerge, Michael Collins among them. The camps became known as Universities of the Revolution. By the time of the general election in 1918, the republican feeling is swaying the public away from the more moderate Irish Parliamentary Party and the belief that Home Rule will ever be delivered has all but run out. The election is a landslide victory for the more radical Sinn Fein, who are mistakenly associated with the Rising, despite them technically having no official part in its planning. The War of Independence is just beginning. H/T The Irish Times, Today in Irish History IrishCentral History Love Irish history? Share your favorite stories with other history buffs in the IrishCentral History Facebook group. The country entered a three-day mourning period yesterday following the attack in a park in Lahore, believed to be carried out by a suicide bomber. The 18-year-old Nobel Prize winner, who lives in Birmingham, said: I am devastated by the senseless killing of innocent people in Lahore. My heart goes out to the victims and their families and friends. I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. She called for Pakistan and the world to stand together, adding: Every life is precious and must be respected and protected. More than 300 were injured in the attack, many seriously, after a device was detonated near childrens rides while families celebrated Easter. A breakaway Pakistani faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility for the carnage and said it had deliberately targeted the Christian community. However, most of those killed were Muslims with 14 having been identified as Christians, according to Lahore Police Superintendent Mohammed Iqbal. British prime minister David Cameron, who used his Easter message to urge Britons of all faiths to stand up for Christian values, said the attack shocked him. My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. We will do what we can to help, Mr Cameron posted on his Twitter feed. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: My thoughts are with the victims and the family of the victims of the horrific attack in Lahore. Zuckerberg plea Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has spoken out against the fear and distrust spread by the recent wave of terror attacks and called for love and empathy to combat them. The tech entrepreneur said atrocities in Belgium, Pakistan, and Turkey were all designed to sow seeds of hatred between different communities. Writing on his Facebook page, he wrote: Each of these attacks was different, but all had a common thread: they were carried out with a goal to spread fear and distrust, and turn members of a community against each other. I believe the only sustainable way to fight back against those who seek to divide us is to create a world where understanding and empathy can spread faster than hate, and where every single person in every country feels connected and cared for and loved. At least 70 people were killed when a Taliban splinter group detonated a bomb in Lahore, Pakistan, on Easter Sunday. Teaching unions are expected to join forces with Gardai and nurses to negotiate pay with the next Government. They are looking for pay cuts imposed on all new entrants since 2011 to be reversed. The three teachers unions are holding their annual congresses this week. INTO General Secretary Sheila Nunan says the current system is inequitable: "The cut to new entrance pay is a front to the core trade union principle of equal pay for equal work. "Teachers unions, our colleagues in ASTI and TUI, this week are opposed to pay discrimination and we pledge that we will overturn it." Tomas OReilly graduated in 2013 and is now a 4th class teacher in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim. He says he is directly affected. "Over the course of my career I earned over 220,000 less that a person who qualified in 2010, so just three years before me. "The government implemented cuts in 2011 and instead of people starting on .4 of the payscale they started on .1, but then again in 2012 they decided to create a completely new payscale that's completely different." A 65-year-old British woman was rescued by Portuguese fishermen after she tried to swim out to her passing cruise liner in pursuit of her husband. After spending four hours in the water, Susan Brown told hospital officials she jumped into the sea, thinking her husband had backed out of their plans to fly back to the UK, ending their cruise early. Felix Marques, harbour captain and the local maritime police commander at Funchal port in the Madeira Islands, said Mrs Brown and her husband bought tickets to fly home early, during a stop-over in Madeira. The cruise was sailing to Lisbon before Bristol, where the couple were returning to that night by plane. Mr Marques said he did not know why they chose to leave early but, after getting lost and distressed, Mrs Brown threw herself into the sea, mistakenly believing her husband was on the ship. According to Mr Marques, police have confirmed her husband, Michael Brown, 69, was in fact not on-board and returned to England. Mr Marques said they are still trying to get in touch with Mr Brown. He added: "We are trying to get in contact with Mr Brown to find out, from his side, what happened. We have confirmed he is in England. "The situation is not well-known, we only know Susan Brown's version. She had decided with her husband to stop the cruise in Madeira and they went to the airport to buy a ticket to fly home to Bristol. "We confirmed that Mr Brown had booked tickets to go back to Bristol on Saturday night. Susan Brown must have got a little lost and, when she was close to the airport, she saw the cruise at a large distance and threw herself into the sea, trying to reach the ship. "She had a little bag with her documents in. I think it was impulsive, to try to swim to the boat ... she was upset and desperate. It didn't end badly but she could have died in the water because when she was rescued she had hypothermiaIt was very serious. "She spent four hours in the water and was found at 12.20am by some fishermen who were working near her and heard her scream 'help me, help me'. "They found her, retrieved her from the water ... and she was taken to hospital in Funchal. "They noted that she seemed very perturbed, very disorientated ... and she told (the hospital of) how she meant to swim to her husband on the boat. "It's a complicated story and we need to wait for Mrs Brown to recuperate to find out the full story." Mrs Brown was taken to hospital on Monday with advanced hypothermia and is currently in a psychiatric ward. Local reports said the couple had rowed but the ports captain could not confirm there had been an argument. The level of GDP growth predicted by business representative body Ibec remains strong at 4.6% but is someway short of the 7.8% increase seen over the course of 2015. A range of factors, including a troubled global economy, the potential risk of the UK opting out of the EU, and an erosion of competitiveness, have contributed to the lowering of expectations after an exceptionally strong last 12 months. Ibec warned that the threat of the UK leaving the EU, along with other economic headwinds means the business environment will be less benign and increasingly uncertain over the coming months. Already, fears of a so-called Brexit have put the squeeze on Irish firms exporting to the UK with the euro strengthening significantly since the turn of the year. The cost of Irish exports into the UK economy are now 10% more expensive than they were in December as the sterling/euro exchange rate moved from 0.70 to almost 0.80 today. With the rate expected to move towards 0.85 by the time UK voters go to the polls on June 23, Irish exporters are beginning to feel the pinch, according to Ibec CEO Danny McCoy. A UK exit would send Ireland, Britain and Europe into uncharted and treacherous waters said Mr McCoy. The value of sterling has already fallen significantly, a vote to leave would prompt a further significant depreciation, heaping pressure on businesses trading with the UK. "This is in addition to the countless other risks that would arise during and after the period of a negotiated exit. The UKs continued membership of the EU is of overwhelming strategic importance to Irish business. "As the referendum approaches, it is increasingly important we have a stable domestic political backdrop to ensure Ireland is in a strong position to effectively manage every eventuality. Trade between Ireland and the UK would also be hit by Brexit, while firms would also have to contend with regulatory differences. It could, however, spur foreign direct investment in Ireland, especially in the financial sector, as firms look for an EU base in the aftermath of a UK exit. With the economic recovery still fragile and uneven and given the increased uncertainty that has developed in recent months - a relentless focus on competitiveness is needed to ensure Irish business continues to strengthen. In this context, Mr McCoy called for wage restraint, describing many new pay claims as far beyond what is realistic and affordable. Ibec is also predicting employment growth of 2.1%, or 40,000 jobs, in 2016, buoyed partly by an increase in consumer spending of 4.1%. It is an exciting year for Colombians, as a peace agreement nears that will bring an end to a 50-year conflict with the Farc guerrilla movement, or Fuerzas Armadas Revolutionaries de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo to give it its full name, which in English translates to Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Peoples Army. However, having an economy heavily dependent on oil exports, the collapse in the price of its black gold has brought Colombias economic challenges into sharp focus, with a national strike on March 17 taking place to protest the governments socio-economic policies. Many Irish people will have little interest in the economic fortunes of Colombia. However, anyone invested in emerging markets, for example, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, of which almost all pension and investment portfolios now have an allocation, will be invested in Colombian equities. Reflecting on this dynamic, it raises questions about the passive nature of capital whereby small shareholders have little say in how companies are run that forms the basis of the economic model we all operate within. During my trip, I met officials from Colombias finance ministry and heard their latest presentation on Colombias economic strategy in the new global context. After the presentation, I put various questions to them about Colombia as a place to invest, their current economic challenges, and the policy decisions of their various authorities. It was an interesting meeting, adding further colour to the picture Id developed from experiencing the country, meeting and speaking with locals. What I found unnerving is just how similar the Colombian officials sounded to our own officials. Of course, the language of economics is a universal one, so there is some commonality to be expected as the same metrics are applied to every country. However, one might have expected that their use of language and their economic approach for developing Colombia might have sounded some bit different. However, it was like they had just read the Troika handbook. The fall in oil price revenue has prompted an austerity budget, only they call it intelligent austerity. I am sure Finance Minister Michael Noonan would be disappointed someone at the Finance Department failed to latch on to that term. On tax reform, Colombian officials are concerned with broadening the tax base, while at the same time they want to redistribute the tax burden from corporates to people. An increase in the sales tax a regressive tax that hits everybody from 16% to 19% is one such measure to be announced. Speaking to locals, they are already paying high taxes, but the issue is that they are not getting anything in return. High taxes but poor social services. Sound familiar? Just this year, the Colombian government sold off its 60% stake in one of Colombias largest and most profitable energy companies, Isagen, at a time when the climatic change weather system El Nino has caused energy shortages. Interestingly, in the end, there was only one bidder for the company, Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management. Even more intriguing is the Colombian media reports that former British prime minister Tony Blair brokered the deal. The sale, opposed by opposition politicians on the left and right, sparked protests in Bogota when it was confirmed in January. Vender Lo Publico Es Traicion A La Patria read one banner: Selling public assets is treason against the homeland. I wonder where they would stand on recent Irish government policy? Like Ireland, Colombia is operating under an economic model that measures development in just one way. The government is doing everything right according to this model, but one must question whether it is the right economic model. The fact that, according to research carried out by charity Oxfam, 62 people on this planet control as much wealth as the poorest 3.6bn should answer that question. Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his Fine Gael/Labour government learned first-hand that presiding over the fastest-growing economy in Europe is not enough. Their failure to be re-elected despite the strong headline numbers reflects the reality that not everyone has benefited in the economic recovery what many believe has been an unequal recovery. At the same time, the stalemate in terms of electing the next government reflects an electorate split by successful austerity, unsure of who to believe in to build a better, fairer society. The real challenge across the world, be it Ireland or Colombia, is finding an economic model that fosters growth for the benefit of all stakeholders in the economy, which allows for a greater percentage of a population to participate in that growth and with a more equitable distribution of wealth. While finding agreement on what that economic model should look like will not be easy, one thing is for sure, it is not going to happen when everyone in power is thinking the same way. Vincent McCarthy is head of investment consulting at Invesco Ltd On Sunday, the Defence Forces owned the streets but on Easter Monday it was the turn of the citizens army to reclaim their territory. They turned out in extraordinary numbers across the country at ceremonies to mark the moment when the first shot of the 1916 Rising was fired, and at celebrations of the everyday people who lives were changed forever in that pivotal moment of history. Dublin was the centrepiece of the Reflecting The Rising themed commemorations, the city centre north and south of the Liffey turned into one vast pedestrian zone dedicated to the cultural heritage of the city and country. The work and play, conditions and ambitions of the people of 1916 were brought to life in re-enactments and recreations of their lives on stages and in open air venues while some 300 talks were delivered and debates led by historians, commentators, and relatives of the rebels. Free outdoor concerts brought music that spanned the century to thousands, hundreds of costumed actors strolled the streets with stories to tell, and a huge team of volunteer guides led walking tours to some of the main sights associated with the Rising. RTE, which brought the massive multi-faceted production together in association with the Ireland 2016 organisers, rounded off the day with a live broadcast from the Bord Gais Energy Theatre featuring a combination of theatre, dance, music and song both traditional and modern. The lavish centenary show was written in 18 segments, each with a theme relating to the Rising and its aftermath up to the present day, and attracted performers such as traditional musicians Donal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, and John Sheahan, soprano Celine Byrne, and popular stars Imelda May, Jack Lukeman, Gavin James, and Danny OReilly. The days formal ceremonies focused on synchronised wreath-layings at seven locations across Dublin which all played key roles in the events of Easter week 1916 and also in Cork City, Athenry, Co Galway; Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, and Ashbourne, Co Meath. For regular updates on news and features (as well as twitter action action as it may have happened 100 years ago) to mark the revolutionary period follow @theirishrev HERE In Cork, thousands gathered to remember the hundreds of volunteers who mobilised under the command of Tomas MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney in an ambitious but doomed mission to support their comrades in Dublin. Abroad, Irish soldiers on peacekeeping duty also staged their own commemorations. In the Golan Heights, the 50th Infantry Group held a small ceremony and reading of the Proclamation for the Quick Reaction Force personnel in between patrols. In Lebanon, the 190 members of the 51st Infantry Group gathered for a ceremony at United Nations Post 2-45 near the town of Tiri in the south of the country. Back home, the day was not without politics. Dublins lord mayor Criona Ni Dhalaigh opened a day of reflection at the Mansion House on the living conditions of the citizens of 1916 with a call to remember the children of 2016 stuck in emergency accommodation, in substandard dwellings and on growing waiting lists for social housing. At Moore St, Arts and Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys was heckled and booed as she laid a wreath at buildings which have been the focus of a protracted legal battle over their conservation status. On OConnell St, members of Republican Sinn Fein in paramilitary-style uniforms marched to the GPO and staged their own wreath laying and reading of the Proclamation, rejecting official commemorations as a betrayal of the united Ireland ideal of 1916. President Michael D Higgins acknowledged the challenge of what he termed ethical remembering, saying commemoration needed to include the voices of the marginalised and disenfranchised in our recollections and openness to the dissonant voices and stories of the other, the stranger, the enemy of yesterday. He also urged the public to keep faith with the principles of the Proclamation. We have a duty to honour and respect that past, and retrieve the idealism which was at its heart, he said. And while the cordons were coming down on the weekends events and the streets were being reopened to traffic, he reminded the nation that this was just one occasion of remembering. With the defining events of the War of Independence and the Civil War also to be recalled, the decade of commemoration is still to run its course. Enjoyed this? Then check out our dedicated micro-site, developed in collaboration with UCC, to mark the revolutionary period HERE The first study on lobbying at national government offices in Brussels has revealed the majority of contacts with senior Irish diplomats is with corporate lobbyists. Over a recent 12-month period, the two most senior members of Irelands permanent representation to the EU listed a total of 123 meetings with large multinational firms, professional lobbyists, representative bodies and journalists. The research by the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (Alter-EU) into the level of lobbying with the high-powered permanent representation of the 28 EU states showed Irelands head of mission, Declan Kelleher and the deputy permanent representative, Tom Hanney, met with senior executives of many large firms including Amazon, Bank of Ireland, Deutsche Bank, Google, Morgan Stanley, Ryanair, Shell, Uber, and Zurich Insurance during 2015. They also met representative groups including Ibec, the Irish Offshore Operators Association, and the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU. Alter-EU claim non-governmental organisations had considerably less access to permanent representations than corporate lobbyists. The dominance of corporate interests in interactions with the Irish permanent representation is clear and raises questions over the ability to ensure balanced input into EU decision-making processes, the report stated. Ireland was praised as one of only four of 17 EU states along with Romania, the Netherlands, and Poland which provided the requested information, despite the fact that all EU countries with the exception of Cyprus have some type of freedom of information legislation. However, the Irish Government limited the disclosure of information to the work diaries of its two most senior officials in Brussels rather than a list of lobby meetings held by all staff. Ibec, the employers representative body, had the most meetings with Irish officials in Brussels a total of seven. Three meetings each were held with representatives of Google and Teneo Holdings, a US-based global advisory firm headed up by Declan Kelly, whose brother, Alan, is environment minister. Bank of Ireland, Morgan Stanley, VIP Electronic Cigarettes, and the American Chamber of Commerce each held two meetings. Alter-EU said the report showed lobbyists are able to exploit a loophole in EU transparency rules which enables them to lobby permanent representations of EU states in Brussels without being registered. At least one in five meetings was with companies and organisations that were not listed on the current EU register of lobbyists. In addition, any party which is based outside Ireland and only lobbies the governments permanent representation in Brussels is not strictly obliged to register with the new register of lobbyists introduced in Ireland last year. The Alter-EU report also highlighted a lack of record-keeping about lobbying meetings which it claimed made it difficult for citizens to find out whom their governments were meeting on the development of key EU policies. When asked about its meetings with the International Emissions Trading Association and the Irish Offshore Operators Association, the Irish permanent representation said it had not kept any minutes. A lack of record keeping means it is difficult for citizens to follow the influence of private interests in decision making and hold public representatives accountable, the report said. Vicky Cann of Corporate Europe Observatory, a member of the Alter-EU steering committee, said the report exposed the inadequacy of the current EU lobby transparency regime UK voters go to the polls on June 23 in a decision to quit or to remain in the EU with the fallout of a Brexit likely to be significant on this side of the Irish Sea. Business group Ibec has warned of the immediate risk of the sterling/euro exchange rate moving to parity and heaping pressure on Irish businesses should the UK leave. A postmortem was conducted yesterday on the bodies of Sean Curley Sweeney, 36, and his three-year-old son Tyler Joyce, who died in what gardai are calling a tragic accident in the Ashtown area of the capital. Their bodies were discovered by a passerby near the railway line at Ashington Green on Sunday afternoon at around 3pm. Gardai believe they may have first fallen into the ditch, possibly as early as the previous evening. One possibility being explored by gardai is that Mr Sweeney, who lived in the area, may have been crossing with his son to visit his parents, who live in the Ashington estate in Ashtown. It is understood Tyler, who lived with his mother, was spending the weekend with his father. Both live in the Navan Road/Finglas locality. It also emerged yesterday that while local youngsters are understood to use the same crossing over the stream to cross the railway line and canal, fencing at the site has regularly been damaged. Irish Rail said it had been repaired as recently as March 12. Local Labour Party Cllr Brendan Carr said even before the tragedy there had been calls for a permanent solution to be found and that gardai were also keen to have the fencing permanently repaired. We have been on to the council a number of times to try to get them to do something more permanent, Mr Carr said. Irish Rail has been conducting repairs on the railing, but Mr Carr said Irish Rail and the council needed to come to an arrangement whereby the area was sealed off. We are looking for a meeting between the council and Iarnrod Eireann on this, he said. He would warn against the obsession with measuring childrens performance; he would question the use of targets and data collection for system purposes; he would challenge the media preoccupation with league tables, particularly in the north of our country, and with an overcrowded curriculum and a school system tasked with remedying the ills of society, I think he would ask, where is the time and space for teaching, learning and caring? said Emma Dineen. Ms Dineens remarks were part of her presidential address at the INTO Annual Congress in Wexford yesterday. She said class size is the single biggest issue facing the quality of education our children are receiving. A teacher with 32 pupils in a classroom cannot find time to teach 11 subjects to every child in a child-friendly way and evaluate their progress, said Ms Dineen. At the same time we want teachers to develop pupils self-esteem, open their minds to the pleasures of the arts and encourage involvement in a healthier lifestyle. We also expect teachers to deal with increasing societal problems such as family break-up and parent addiction, she added. She said the incoming government needed to take action on class size and increasing workload. The very minimum required to bring our class sizes down to the European average of 20 pupils, said Ms Dineen, will be a reduction of one per year, for the next 5 years. In reference to Irelands current social problems, the INTO president stated that teachers are seeing first hand, the effect of homelessness and poverty in their classes. Ms Dineen said that teachers are witnessing the physical and psychological effects of homelessness, emergency accommodation and the direct provision system on the pupils in their classrooms. She told the congress in Wexford that lack of sleep, a lack of healthy food, no space to do homework and even to play, the inability to ask a friend around to play were all impacting negatively on todays children. The three-day congress, which began yesterday is happening in the absence of a Minister for Education as the country continues to go without a government. Eight hundred national school teachers are attending it and this year the INTO conference will focus on equal pay for new teachers, joining the profession. Meanwhile, Barry Johnston, independent candidate on the NUI Seanad Panel, said cuts to teachers pay must be reversed. I graduated with the cohort of teachers most directly impacted by public service cutbacks during the economic crisis. Many chose to emigrate. Those that remained have faced prolonged periods of part-time employment while others that have secured full-time positions work alongside colleagues under differential conditions. Unlike Easter Monday 1916, when rain covered the city, the sun shone brightly as hundreds of civic, political, and military guests attended the state commemoration at the National Monument. Mayor of County Cork John Paul OShea said that for many people in 1916, Ireland was a country worth dying for. The aspirations of those who went before us live through us, and through our actions we owe it to ourselves as Irish people, and here today as Cork people, to ensure that the lives we live and the actions we take, are done with honesty, integrity, and inclusivity in mind, he said. The Proclamation is many things but one thing I take very strongly from it is the call for togetherness. Together we are gathered here today to commemorate the Easter Rising and 1916, and together we will walk the path of Irelands future. Let us never forget our way. The Proclamation was later read to the assembled guests by Lt Cian Clancy, before wreaths were laid at the National Monument by Mr OShea, Lord Mayor of Cork City Chris OLeary, and Defence Minister Simon Coveney. Following a minutes silence and the Last Post by buglers of the Army 1st Brigade Band, Lt Diarmuid Barry raised the National Flag. As threatened showers held off and as the band struck up Amhran na bhFiann, four Air Corps Cessna 172H aircraft flew over, impressing the guests and thousands more who watched proceedings on big screens further along Grand Parade. Earlier, Mr OLeary reminded those who gathered that, while the men and women who bore arms are rightly regarded as heroes and heroines, they were no different to Irish people today. For, as well as being mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, loving sports, or being poets and writers, he said, it was a love of their country that drove them to sacrifice all that was beautiful in their lives for Irish freedom. An abiding patriotism that could not rest until the country that they loved was in charge of its own future. Its true that these extraordinary people were no different from us except perhaps in that one respect, said the lord mayor. Cork did not take part in the 1916 Rising despite more than 1,000 Irish Volunteers mobilising around the county on Easter Sunday, largely due to confused orders from Dublin around that weekend in 1916. But, said Mr OLeary, it was reasonable to suggest a strong connection between the so-called failure of the Volunteers to engage in armed conflict that week, and Corks central role in the military campaign against British rule during the War of Independence. For regular updates on news and features (as well as twitter action action as it may have happened 100 years ago) to mark the revolutionary period follow @theirishrev HERE He acknowledged the presence of the relatives of his predecessors as lord mayor of Cork Tomas MacCurtain and Terence MacSwiney, who both died in 1920 while holding that office among others who he said were patriots whose bravery carved a new and proud nation. Others who died or who took part in the conflict, including the Kent brothers, Richard and Thomas (killed fleeing police and executed, respectively, in May 1916), Sean Hurley from Drinagh who died in Dublin during the Rising, and Diarmuid Lynch from Tracton who helped organise the Rising, were also represented by family members. Mr Coveney said it was an occasion to remember the courage and vision of a generation filled with idealism, whose self-sacrifice and determination helped to create a free Ireland. We are rightly remembering all of those who fought, and many of whom died, for Irish freedom in 1916. But while we commemorate them, we are mindful that the Rising also resulted in the deaths of many British army and police personnel, many of whom were Irish too, and that the majority of those who died during the conflict were civilians, children, he said. While this weekend and the whole year have been about reflecting on events of 1916, he said, the centenary year should not be remembered for commemorating conflict alone, but rather a year in which we embrace the meaning of the word freedom and what it means to be in control of our own destiny. I am reminded that we now live in a country that 100 years ago, while we had revolution on our streets... we now have the longest unbroken service in international peacekeeping of any country in the world, the minister said. We have seen 64,000 tours of duty protecting people in other parts of the world that need protection, that need our professionalism and courage and idealism and standards, and that reminds me of the extraordinary journey that this country has taken. The wreaths were laid at 1.15pm the time the first shots of the Rising are believed to have been fired on Easter Monday a century ago and at the same time as similar ceremonies in Dublin, and other locations. In Ashbourne, Co Meath, where eight members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and two Volunteers of the Fingal Battalion died, the battle was re-enacted. The ceremony in Enniscorthy commemorated events there 100 years ago, when Irish Volunteers seized the town a few days after the Rising began in Dublin, occupying the Athenaeum building and only surrendering when word came from the capital do to so. Enjoyed this? Then check out our dedicated micro-site, developed in collaboration with UCC, to mark the revolutionary period HERE In a detailed speech at Dublins Mansion House as part of the RTE Reflecting the Rising events, the head of state said the remembrances mean todays Irish people must examine why and how has the flame of equality and social justice been quenched and to encourage a greater duty to achieve what was first set out. Speaking to a packed audience, the President said what was outlined in the ideals of the 1916 proclamation and the subsequent 1919 Dail have not been fully achieved. Mr Higgins acknowledged that it is unwise to examine historical events from todays standards and noted that many societal problems have their roots long before the foundation of the State. President Michael D. Higgins takes to the stage in the @MansionHouseDub, at the #ReflectingTheRising event: pic.twitter.com/2fhowxfd39 President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 28, 2016 However, he said, now is the time to open a genuine discussion about what true Irish republic means, and how it must respect and protect all sections of society issues the President said have, at times, been ignored over the past century. Today I would like to offer to our collective reflection a brief, but, I hope, constructive, appraisal of Irish nationalism from the point of view of the egalitarian tradition which manifested itself before and during the Easter rising, but which was progressively and, I shall argue, consciously, repressed over the subsequent decades, said Mr Higgins. What is the nature of our nationalist movement, and where is its egalitarian element? Why and how has the flame of equality and social justice been quenched? What republicanism are we talking about in Ireland? Can these centenary commemorations be an occasion to redefine what constitutes a real republic, a polity of meaningful and celebratory co-existence, reaching back to the generous aspirations of the men and women who preceded us to the unfulfilled future of our past and reaching forward to the generations who will succeed us. For regular updates on news and features (as well as twitter action action as it may have happened 100 years ago) to mark the revolutionary period follow @theirishrev HERE He noted what he said was, at times, a deliberate attempt by some of Irelands most senior political figures during the first decades of the state to extinguish the Bolshevik-labelled social reforms of the rebellion, including full equality for women. Mr Higgins said that, despite the intentions of 1916, by the 1930s Ireland had fallen into bigotry, censorship, and subjugation of the State and its institutions to hierarchical and patriarchal values. President Michael D. Higgins speaking this afternoon at #ReflectingTheRising: pic.twitter.com/6kX4ElGqhY President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) March 28, 2016 He said the fetishising of land and private property and a restrictive religiosity defined the Ireland of that time, and that a true evaluation of what happened 100 years ago must fully consider what ideals were originally put forward. The early years of our State did not represent any idyll of liberty and freedom but a study of the revolutionary moment does present to us a moment of idealism and hope, the promise of what our nation might yet become, said the President. The passage of one hundred years allows us to see the past afresh, free from some of the narrow, partisan interpretations that might have restricted our view in earlier periods. We have a duty to honour and respect that past, and retrieve the idealism which was at its heart. But we have a greater duty to imagine and to forge a future illuminated by the unfulfilled promises of our past freedom from poverty, freedom from violence and insecurity, and freedom from fear. Enjoyed this? Then check out our dedicated micro-site, developed in collaboration with UCC, to mark the revolutionary period HERE Scientists based at MaRei (Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy) are trying to develop solutions to lessen the effects of climate change which could seriously impact on the economy, agriculture, and infrastructure. These include the potential loss of staple crops like potatoes, the disappearance of important coastal highways, melting tar on roads, and buckled railway tracks, as summer heatwaves rival southern Spain. They also predict that, in the autumn and winter, the country will be deluged, which will present problems for our capabilities of storing excess water when it is really needed. The rapid shrink of the Arctic ice sheet which Inuit tribes have personally detailed to another Cork-based scientist plus the predicted fallout of ferocious coastal storms and monster rain battering the country even during the summer has worried scientists so much University College Cork is planning a dedicated Climate Laboratory. Scientists at the Environmental Research Institute, UCC, plan to work with a team of expert economists, accountants, engineers, and sociologists to help protect and educate us on the worst affects of global warming. ERI manager Paul Bolger said he hopes to have the multi-disciplinary group in place later this year. Robert Devoy, a senior technical advisor in MaERI, said within the next 100 years, some communities will have had to move inland as sea levels rise by about 1m and more ferocious storms batter the coast. Prof Devoy said interim measures could be put in place which would buy time but not ultimately protect some coastal communities. These measures might include lower cost options of tying huge banks of old tyres anchored into the seabed, or building more expensive concrete defences. But both will be difficult to maintain and will not prevent coastal change. He said a barrage, similar to one in Londons Thames, could be an option to protect Cork possibly at Roches Point or nearer the city at Tivoli but would cost close to 1bn to construct. However, when it comes to saving already vulnerable coastal communities, many Irish scientists say in some cases, they cannot turn back the rising tide. Prof Devoy, who worked on developing the Thames barrage, said that as far back as the 18th century, scientists were proffering views on global warming, but since then the chickens had come home to roost. The scientist said he recognised coastal communities have strong links to previous generations, but they may have to let go in order to survive, and accept they will have to at some stage move from their present coastal positions. In the shadow of Dublin Castle, which for so long had been the headquarters of British rule in Ireland, the minister and Rising relatives stood side by side at 1.15pm as they observed a minutes silence in honour of those who died. A century ago, Sean Connolly fired the first shot of the Rising as he and his colleagues took over City Hall and many of them gave their lives in battle. However, in keeping with the tone of this weekends commemoration events, Mr Flanagan who was taking part in simultaneous wreath layings by ministers at key sites to mark the historic date said the events should honour all people, and encourage a more inclusive Irish society to grow. Jack and Ruby March, Togher, at the Cork Easter Monday Celebrations to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Rising. Picture: Darragh Kane Speaking beside Dublin lord mayor and Sinn Fein councillor Criona Ni Dhalaigh, Mr Flanagan told the crowd of ordinary citizens, tourists and 1916 relatives that Ireland must remember the ideals they [those who fought] stood for. I believe it is appropriate we place 1916 in the larger international context of the time, the fact that not only were Irish people involved in fatalities but we also recall many of our fatalities in Europe [during World War I], he later told journalists. Relatives of former mayor of Cork Tomas Mc Curtain, Mai, Fionnuala, Tomas, Ava, and Aron, at a ceremony at the National Monument on Grand Parade, Cork. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision It was a time of great change and great conflict, not only here in Ireland but in Europe. Im very pleased that the centenary events are in something of a contrast with the 50th anniversary in 1966. The events of this weekend are far more sensitive to various strands that make up Irish history. Relatives of Patrick Varian, Josephine and Elizabeth Varian and Tina McAree, at a ceremony at the National Monument on Corks Grand Parade. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision The greatest legacy of 1916 was the actual implementation of the ideals of the Proclamation, and 100 years later many of its sentiments are still a work in progress, he added. Mr Flanagans comments were made at one of seven simultaneous wreath-laying events at key rising locations to mark the first shots fired at 1.15pm yesterday. Adrian, Aishling, and Ciara Kelleher, with Muirne Griffin, at the National Monument on Grand Parade. Picture: Darragh Kane For regular updates on news and features (as well as twitter action action as it may have happened 100 years ago) to mark the revolutionary period follow @theirishrev HERE At the Four Courts, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald and Chief Justice Susan Denham placed wreaths where much of the fighting took place and where volunteers heroically saved the lives of those captured after a burst pipe led to flooding in cells. In the former Bolands Mills, now in Dublins re-built docklands, Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe and Eamon de Valeras grandson Fianna Fails Eamon O Cuiv lay wreaths to honour those who gave their lives to mount the rebellion. Jane Walsh reads the Proclamation as part of the 1916 Commemoration in Mallow, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan Similar events took place at the former site of Jacobs Biscuit Factory where the national archives offices and DIT Aungier Street now sit; the South Dublin Union which is now on the grounds of St James Hospital; Moore Street; and St Stephens Green by ministers Alan Kelly, Richard Bruton, Heather Humphreys, and Leo Varadkar. A relative of 1916 volunteer Finbarr Murphy Black, from Kilmichael, at the Cork Easter Monday Celebrations. Picture: Darragh Kane While Heritage Minister Ms Humphreys was heckled due to the ongoing Moore Street site controversy, the remaining locations saw dignified responses to what happened. Underlining the tone of the commemorations, Mr Varadkar and Ms Fitzgerald both separately said there are opportunities to act on the Proclamations unachieved goals, while Mr Varadkar noted with concern how 23-year-old Margaret Skinnider a sniper in the Rising had to fight a second battle for equal rights before the law in later years because her gender meant she could not receive the military pension. Taking a well-deserved rest during a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the Rising at the National Monument on Grand Parade, Cork City yesterday. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision Ms Justice Susan Denham touched on the same topic, saying 276 women who have in the past been written out of the Rising story, 40 children who died, and civilians should also be remembered by those honouring the fight for freedom. Enjoyed this? Then check out our dedicated micro-site, developed in collaboration with UCC, to mark the revolutionary period HERE The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) warned that, due to more secure employment options in industry, it will become considerably more difficult for schools to attract teachers in an increasing number of subject areas unless salaries are equalised. The union is calling for salary equalisation over as short a timeframe as possible. It pointed out that those who entered the profession from February 2012 have been placed on a severely-reduced starting salary which sees them generally earn over 21% less than those appointed prior to 2011. Speaking before the TUI annual conference which starts in Killarney today, its president Gerry Quinn said it is becoming increasingly clear that schools all over the country are struggling to attract new teachers in certain subject areas. Graduates who had intended to undertake a masters in teaching and, increasingly, qualified teachers across a range of subjects, are routinely finding better-paid and more secure employment in industry. The problem is particularly pronounced in subjects such as home economics, modern languages, the science subjects, and Irish, he said. Mr Quinn said that, with around 3,500 more teachers needed to be hired over the next decade, this situation is likely to spread to all subjects unless something is done to make the profession more attractive. This is a damaging legacy of discriminatory, reduced pay rates for new teachers, and a rampant casualisation of the profession. While the salary scales of all new entrants to the public service were targeted, reductions in teachers pay were far greater than what applied to most public servants. As if this wasnt bad enough, for several years now second-level teachers have been applying for fractions of jobs with no guarantee of being retained from year to year, he said. The TUI president said these teachers are now facing income poverty and often struggle to pay rent. Some 30% or more of our second-level teachers are employed on a temporary, part-time basis, and that this proportion grows to 50% for those under 35. It is little surprise that graduates who now qualify in certain disciplines/subjects are reluctant to undertake the required additional two-year postgraduate masters in education when they can earn considerably more in industry, start work two years earlier, and enjoy full hours, better job security, and promotional prospects from the start of their career, said Mr Quinn. Last week, the TUI called for a 1% levy on corporate profits in order to generate additional funding for a resource-starved higher-education sector. It said the levy would allow for the employment of thousands of academic staff and could also be used to remove the 3,000 student registration fee. TUI members in the third-level sector took a days strike action last month due to alleged underfunding, understaffing, the employment status of many staff, and the detrimental effect on the service to students. WE wont be able to grow potatoes, will have to put a different type of tarmac on our roads, learn to be clever with water use and find a way to stop our railway tracks buckling as the summer landscape begins to resemble southern Spain. These are just a few of the problems Ireland will face in the next 100 years as global warming takes hold, according to senior climate adaptation scientist Barry ODwyer, who, like others, is trying to mitigate against whats likely to come down the tracks. He is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency, government departments, and local authorities to plan for future climate change in a number of areas such as transport, agriculture, and the marine. The scientist, who is based at MaRei (Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy) in the Environmental Research Institute at University College Cork, said summers will become much hotter and drier while autumns and winters will be far wetter. He said extreme summer heatwaves will cause roads to disintegrate if we dont start using a tarmac more resistant to heat. Our hottest summer days are expected to get hotter by up to 2.6 degrees celsius by mid century, and getting hotter after that. Some railway tracks will have to be improved so they dont buckle in the heat. Passenger comfort will also have to looked at, possibly with air-conditioned buses but this would have implications for reducing our emissions so we will need to be innovative in how we plan and design for this, said Dr ODwyer. We will also have to move transport corridors away from high-risk coastal areas which might be subject to flooding from sea level rise. A big part of my work is to get people to realise that our climate is now changing. He pointed out that maintaining our roads is likely to become more expensive due to climate change, which can already be seen from the recent winter storms and freezing weather which have caused extensive damage to our road network. The scene of destruction on Rossbeigh Beach in March 2014, after the worst storm damage in living memory. Coastal erosion is the biggest treat to one of Kerrys one popular scenic beachs. Picture: Valerie OSullivan On the agricultural front, Dr ODwyer said well be forced to diversify, as we may be unable to be able to grow more traditional crops such as potatoes, which he described as a likely casualty of global warming. Irrigation and storing water will become a big issue, as there will be much more rainfall in the autumn and winter and less than normal in the summer. Other crops may also go because the cost of providing them with water may make them uneconomic, he warned. Grass growth, he said, will decrease in the summer months in parts of the country, which will have implications for beef and dairy farmers. Dr ODwyer said there would also have to be a balancing act with water distribution, filling the needs of industry, agriculture and human consumption. He added that warmer summers may make it viable for Ireland to grow its own vineyards, which is already happening in the south of England. Rainfall in the summer is expected to decrease by up to 20%, although there will be an increased likelihood of so-called monster rain events during this season as happened on June 28, 2012, when several towns, especially in the south of the country, experienced serious flooding. Increased temperatures will likely result in a decline in native species, changes in migration patterns and increased pests, non-native and invasive species, said Dr ODwyer. Reduced river flows and water quality during summer will have implications for water supply, e.g. reduced water availability during summer will have implications for crop production due the high possibility of having an increased irrigation requirement, said Dr ODwyer. Cod is likely to disappear from the menu as the water around our coast becomes warmer, introducing some tropical fish, as well as some unwelcome visitors. These will include jellyfish, which have the potential to seriously damage salmon farms. Another unwelcome visitor will be the mosquito. Dr ODwyer said our ports will have to be increasingly dredged, which will be costly, because of larger volumes of sediment being washed down rivers due to high winter rainfall. He suggested that government and local authorities may have to be put a wide range of measures in place to prevent damage to businesses and homes, such as growing forests in strategic places to soak up water before it reaches our city and towns and creating floodplains. Due to our long history of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, climate change impacts are already being observed and these impacts will continue and intensify for the foreseeable future, regardless of ongoing efforts to reduce GHG emissions, he said. These impacts will have wide-ranging impacts on Irelands eonomy, environment and society. Dr ODwyer also believes engineers will have to consider designing temporary solutions for extreme weather events, such as riverside demountable flood defences, which they can build upon as the effects of global warming becomes more pronounced. While his vision is may be for an island 100 years on, there is concern some of these climate changes will come quicker than expected. Martin Le Tissier recently returned from a major climate change conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he met Inuit people who have been affected by melting ice. He said he was concerned by what hed learned and it may mean that the affects of climate change will arrive at our doorsteps sooner than anticipated. Dr Le Tissier is project manager with Future Earth Coasts (FEC) an international body which is endeavouring to provide the science to allow governments make good policy decisions to adapt to climate change. It has an office in the MaRei centre. Ive just been to the Arctic Science Summit, he said. I met the Inuit and they showed me videos where their traditional hunting grounds for seals and walrus are giving way under their feet. He said traditional knowledge passed down from tribal elders about safe places to hunt and good transport routes were gone out the window as the ice has thinned by up to a third in the past 25 years. Now one in every 12 Inuit has reported falling through the ice because its become so thin. In an effort to help them adapt an Irish-born scientist Trevor Bell and Don Forbes, from Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, who are collaborating with MaRei, have developed technology which allows the Inuit to measure the thickness of the ice. The equipment is carried on sleds. Were trying to help them adapt to stay safe, said Dr Le Tissier. He has personal experience of the consequences of flooding that may be linked to climate change. In 2008 while living in Morpeth, Northumberland, his house was flooded and his prized MG car destroyed. He said its worth the government considering providing grants for flood gates and adapting houses to cope with climate change, but in some places that can only be an interim measure. Its about creating a bit of breathing space, he said while government, local authorities, and scientists look at ways to mitigate flooding caused by rising sea levels, storms and increased rainfall. According to Tom McDermott of the school of Economics and Environmental Research Institute, MaReis governing body, climate change is likely to exacerbate the risk of flooding through a combination of sea level rise and more extreme weather events. While economic development generally means more resources are available to cope with extreme weather events, large-scale urban flooding events in the past do not appear to have resulted in much adaptation, in the sense of relocating away from the most risky locations, said Dr McDermott. This resistance to change, combined with development trends that are increasing exposure, could result in the costs of future flooding being much larger than anticipated. Coastal communities are already suffering from storm damage and erosion. Rory Scarrott, a researcher from the MaRei Centre working with the European Space Agency, said there will be more storms, more wind and larger waves smashing into the coast, which will piggyback on top of higher sea levels and early warning system need to be put in place for coastal communities. We can adapt [defences] with rivers but when it comes to coasts we cant change rising sea levels, said Mr Scarrott. The Thames Barrier in London cost a fortune to build, and already options including a new larger barrier are being considered. Industry and businesses in urban coastal communities may have to start adapting to rising sea levels and increased risk of flooding and storm-based water damage. He said simple things businesses in city centres could do was to copy the Venice model by placing electrical sockets higher up walls and installing tile floors which were easy to clean. In at-risk areas, build your business to flood, dont wait until it has flooded, said Mr Scarrott. All coastal infrastructure needs to be built with sea level rise and more frequent and extreme weather factored into their design. We need to adapt now. Warning signs at Ballyheigue, Co Kerry. Picture: Robert Devoy A sea change in ocean feeding habits One of the most beautiful diving seabirds on the planet might have changed its feeding habits off the coast of Ireland thanks to a free meal offer provided by trawlers, while climate change could explain why a rare Arctic whale species has been recorded in our waters in the last few months. Researchers in the MaRei (Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy), in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, and the School of Biological Earth and Environmental Science, University College Cork, made the discoveries as they surveyed large, offshore areas, under a government-led fact finding mission called the ObServe Programme. The project surveys and maps areas of wildlife importance and provides high-quality data that is essential for conservation and sustainable offshore development. The research was conducted by Mark Jessopp a marine ecology researcher who is part of a team working on the ObServe Aerial project (it is funded by the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, in partnership with the National Parks & Wildlife Service). He and his team fly 300km off the coast to record marine mammals, seabirds, and other sea life, in what has become the largest offshore aerial survey in the history of the State, and they have made some interesting discoveries. One notable observation was that gannets were largely seen over the Continental Shelf waters in winter, perhaps because they have cottoned onto the activities of particular fishing boats. Dr Jessop said they had previously tracked the distinctive, yellow-beaked diving birds using GPS tags, and found they were able to distinguish between different types of fishing boats and were now following trawlers that they knew would later discard certain species of fish from their nets. Their distribution in winter, as recorded so far by the ObServe Aerial project, seems to be consistent with fishing activity, suggesting that they might have changed behaviour. It was quite surprising, actually. Theyre cute enough to follow the trawlers and pick up the discards. Its a free meal, really, and wouldnt anybody take one, he said. But while gannets are staying local, others not normally seen in our waters are the new tourists. During the winter surveys, we saw a pod of three beluga whales about 200km off the south-west coast from Castletownbere, Co Cork, he said. Belugas, also known as white whales, are an Arctic species and to spot a group of three individuals this far south is really unusual. Interestingly, a single beluga was also seen off the Antrim coast, in Northern Ireland, last year, and another pair of these rare animals was seen off the coast of Northumberland, in the UK, said Dr Jessop. These significant sightings could possibly be the result of climate change altering conditions in the Arctic, or causing unstable weather patterns in the Atlantic. The ObServe Aerial survey project is still ongoing, with a second round of summer and winter offshore surveys to come, and it is expected that experts will complete their analysis of the survey data for the government departments by the spring of 2018. Their observations will complement a related ObServe project, which is being carried out in the same time frame by Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. This ObServe Acoustic project is gathering detailed information on the presence and distribution of whales and dolphins, using specialised sound-recording devices placed near the ocean floor and towed behind survey vessels. WHITE House contender Donald Trump is known for his incendiary campaign and his insulting of vulnerable minorities, but we are less familiar with his closest rival for the Republican nomination, Texas senator Ted Cruz. Cruz touts his Irish roots even as he vows, like Trump, to deport thousands of Irish, and other illegal immigrants, from America if elected president. He was born in Canada in 1970, to a Cuban father, and an American mother of Irish and Italian descent. Hence, Cruz likes to say: Im Cuban, Irish, and Italian. In contrast to Trump, who has no political experience, Cruz has been on the inside track of Republican politics for 15 years and has been a senator for the last four. He worked on George W. Bushs 2000 presidential campaign and served in that administration as associate deputy attorney general. He spent five years as solicitor general of Texas, successfully arguing a number of cases before the US Supreme Court, before winning his Senate seat. He is the darling of the rightist Tea Party, has strong evangelical support, and is regarded as a conservative ideologue, who eschews political compromise and condemns as traitors colleagues who seek any accommodation. Thus, he is loathed even more than Trump in the halls of Congress. Republican senator Lindsey Graham, before opting for Cruz, summed up the choice between the two rivals for the nomination: Its like deciding between being shot or being poisoned. The loathing for both candidates runs deep. Trump has been called epithets such as phony, fraud, racist, sexist, demagogue, fascist, nativist, and bully. Then again, these terms seem mild compared to the ones he has used. When he launched his campaign in New York last June, he called Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. Cruz, by contrast, keeps his language in check, but has been described as ruthless and sanctimonious, and is disliked so much by colleagues that he uses it as a badge of honour, calling himself a political outsider who is not part of the Washington cartel. Republican Senate colleague John McCain particularly dislikes Cruz. In March 2013, McCain called Cruz a wacko bird, whose beliefs are not reflective of the views of the majority of Republicans. In a heated Senate floor speech last year, Cruz accused Senate leader Mitch McConnell of telling a flat-out lie. In the same debate, he attacked other Republicans for not being conservative enough and for not sufficiently opposing US president Barack Obamas agenda. He has repeatedly said the international nuclear agreement with Iran will make the Obama administration the worlds leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism. Obama called Cruzs statements an example of outrageous attacks from Republican critics, which have crossed the line of responsible discourse. Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said connecting Obama to terrorism was way over the line and hurts the cause. But Cruz won a major boost for the cause on March 23, when Jeb Bush, his one- time rival, endorsed him. The former Florida governor particularly dislikes Trump, who belittled him in debates and trounced him in early primary contests. This was despite the fact that Bush had come into the race with the biggest-ever campaign war chest and a dynastic machine that had previously propelled both his brother and father to the White House. But the endorsement may be too little, too late, because, just hours before it, Trump increased his delegate lead over Cruz still further with a big win in the Arizona primary to bring his delegate count to 738, compared with 463 for Cruz. To win the nomination, a candidate needs 1,237 delegates. Even though Trump likes to talk about how bright he is (I have a very good brain), Cruz is seen as the smarter of the two candidates. Cruz graduated from Harvard Law School with distinction in 1995, with a doctor of law degree. Referring to Cruzs time as a student at Harvard, law professor Alan Dershowitz said: Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant. During their primary debates, the candidates differed on their foreign policy stances: Trump would cosy up to Russian president Vladimir Putin, whom hes praised as a strong leader, while Cruz sees Putin as a bully and a dictator. After the Brussels attacks last week, Trump repeated that the US should close its borders to Muslims. Cruz said that US authorities should patrol and secure all Muslim neighbourhoods. Trump is often seen as the more dangerous of the two because of his authoritarian streak and his willingness to exploit voters anger. But he is also seen as potentially malleable, whereas Cruz is seen as an inflexible zealot, lacking in the pragmatic skills required for political deal-making. Most worrying for some is Trumps strongman image. Time and again, protesters who have stood up to him, or even journalists who have questioned him, have been roughed up at his rallies. Rather than condemning this, Trump has used language that merely encourages it. At a rally in Iowa, in February, he told his supporters to attack protesters: If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of em, would you? Seriously. Okay? I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. A few weeks later, at a February 22 rally in Las Vegas, he said of a protester: I love the old days. Were not allowed to punch back anymore. You know what they used to do to guys like that? Theyd be carried out on a stretcher, folks. Later, as the protester was being led away peacefully, Trump shouted: The guards are very gentle with him. Id like to punch him in the face. And so it continued. On March 12, a day after his rally in Chicago was cancelled due to protests, Trump turned on Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, blaming him for the chaos and threatening to send his supporters to disrupt Sanders rallies. Be careful, Bernie, or my supporters will go to yours, he warned. Then, on March 16, he said his supporters would riot at the Republican convention in July if he didnt get the nomination. I think youd have riots, he said on CNN. Republicans are not the only ones with a Trump versus Cruz dilemma, however. Democrats, too, lie awake at night wondering whether their presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, would have a better chance of winning the presidency in a match-up against opportunist Trump or ideologue Cruz. The jury is still out on that, but, either way, shell certainly have a fight on her hands. JAMES CONNOLLY was a feminist and he was the one who insisted that the 1916 Proclamation included women as well as men. When we read the proclamation today we can rightly ask ourselves the question: what happened to the aspired Irish Republic that guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens cherishing all the children of the nation equally? Even though a great number of women played an integral role in the 1916 Rising, they never got the recognition they deserved for the part they played. This is evidenced in the reality that far too many of the women who fought alongside their fellow men were denied pensions after the War of Independence, and were not celebrated as heroes as their male counterparts were. It has taken 100 years to acknowledge and validate the role women played in 1916. The 1916 Proclamations commitment to gender equality was ahead of its time. Over the years we have demonstrated in Ireland that we are very good when it comes to producing reports but very poor when it comes to implementing the necessary changes to effect real change. Could this implementation deficit have had its genesis in 1916? There is no single answer as to why the problem of gender inequality has been so difficult to shift, but we know that since 1916 women were treated as second class citizens in Ireland. Married women were seen as the property of their husbands, they did not have the right to create their own domicile, and they had to retire from their public service jobs when they married. This is to name but a few of the many inequalities that have existed for women in Ireland. It is true that since 1916 we have slowly but surely, but too often with great difficulty, made the necessary changes to address these inequalities. However, we still have some way to go yet to redress the many inequalities that still abound. We need to work together to transform the social and cultural norms and institutions in order to once and for all eradicate inequality in our society, in particular violence against women, childhood poverty and homelessness. Genders quotas, implemented in our recent General Election, have begun the process of redressing the gender imbalance that has always existed in Dail Eireann. However, female members of the Dail still only account for 22% of the overall membership. Gender quotas are like stabilisers they can come off eventually once the balance is reached. The disparity in female representation is also sadly evident in our second house, the Seanad. I wonder what Constance Markievicz would say if she knew that in 35 years the graduates of National University of Ireland have not elected a woman representative to its Seanad panel? How would she react to hearing that women are still being paid less than men, for doing the same work? What would Dr Kathleen Lynn think of the statistics regarding violence against women, or Rosie Hackett of the housing crisis? Would they believe it if someone told them that 100 years from 1916 some families are forced to sleep in their cars because of the housing crisis and every night we witness people sleeping in doorways in our cities? European Commission Statistics published in 2014 show Irelands gender pay gap is increasing. It was 14.4% in 2012 compared with 13.9% in 2010 and 12.6% in 2009 and 2008. The average EU gender pay gap stands at 16.1% (2014). These figures speak for themselves. While we have come a long way we are still very far from reaching gender equality in Ireland. Feminism needs to be embraced by everyone. It is not something to resist or to be afraid of. We know that more equal societies are healthier, happier and more prosperous. In the recent General Election we saw the positive affect of the introduction of gender quotas. In order to represent our society fairly and to have a true mandate from all the people of Ireland, we need both genders in our Oireachtas. Our Oireachtas is made of the President, the Dail and the Seanad. Over the past 20 years we saw the very positive effect that our first two women Presidents, Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, had on Ireland. Both Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese were keenly aware of the symbolic significance of their position and their role as President on Irish society in general and on the women of Ireland in particular. Irish women as a consequence felt more empowered and confident as a result of having a female President. The fact that both Presidents were very different in their personalities and in the execution of their roles only enhanced their positive effect on our society. It is very heartening to have in President Michael D Higgins, a man who is a feminist and very proud to call himself a feminist. In 2013 the people of Ireland voted to retain our second house of Government, Seanad Eireann. Since then Dr Maurice Manning has delivered an excellent report on Seanad reform. However this report, along with 12 other reports on Seanad reform that were commissioned in the past, has not yet been implemented. The current Seanad election is being conducted in the same way as Seanad elections of the past have always been conducted. It is elitist, it is a huge cost to the exchequer and it is not representative of all of the people of Ireland. The Manning Report needs to be implemented as a matter of priority in the new Government to address all of the above. So as we commemorate 1916, let us reconnect to that spirit of equal rights and opportunities for all our citizens. If elected to Seanad Eireann next month, I will be the first woman elected to the NUI panel since 1981. Working together for true equality, education rights and mental health reform, we can make a difference. Ellen OMalley Dunlop was CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre for 10 years, and is an independent candidate for the NUI panel in the current Seanad election. THE suicide bomb attacks in Brussels last week have left Europe and the West shaken. Fears of further violence are compounded by the perceived threat of the Islamic State (IS) militant group and the massive refugee crisis, which are contributing to a sense of instability and divisiveness. Nato Commander General Phil Breedlove has said that Russia is weaponising refugee migration to destabilise Europe. It remains to be seen if the fallout from the Brussels attacks will benefit the Kremlin and president Vladimir Putins regime. The looming threat of terrorism distracts attention from Russias policies towards Ukraine. Two years of conflict from Moscows annexation of Crimea to its shadow war in eastern Ukraine has cost Russia dearly in economic sanctions and international isolation. The sanctions, coupled with low global energy prices since 2014, have tanked the Russian economy and the rouble. Russia wants to end sanctions and position itself as a potential partner to the West, in the fight against IS. The new focus on extremism may create an opportunity for Russia to lobby against sanctions, especially when the EU will consider whether to extend them again this autumn. The instability in Europe may also give Russia a window to consolidate gains in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed militants have established separatist territories around Donetsk and Luhansk. On March 16, the separatist leaders of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DNR) began issuing their own passports. The territorys militant leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, called the move a very important step toward building statehood. This is an attempt to solidify and formalise the territorys separatist status and will likely be followed by the spread of Russian passports, in line with Moscows previous strategies of passportising foreign separatist territories, such as Moldovas Transnistria, Georgias South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Ukraines Crimea. Russia is unlikely to uphold the ceasefire agreement signed by Putin in February, 2015, and will continue undermining Ukraines territorial integrity, which may be easier if Europes and the USs attentions are focused on fighting extremism. On the day of the Brussels attacks, Russia sentenced Ukrainian pilot and member of parliament Nadiya Savchenko to 22 years in prison. She is accused of complicity in the murders of Anton Voloshin and Igor Kornelyuk, two journalists working for Russian state television, who died in an artillery strike during the conflict in east Ukraine in June 2014. Savchenko has denied the charges, and the trial has been dismissed in Ukraine and internationally as politically motivated. The Brussels attacks have drawn public attention away from her sentence, though leaders such as US secretary of state John Kerry, continue to press her case, as Kerry did on his visit to Moscow. Beyond Ukraine, the threat of terrorism, and the fears linked to mass migration of refugees, have boosted anti-immigrant and anti-refugee sentiment in Europe, increasing the popularity of far-right political parties. Moscows closest allies in Europe are among the far-right, nationalist, anti-EU and anti-Nato politicians and parties, from the UK and Germany to Greece to Bulgaria. Such European far-right parties have supported Russias annexation in Crimea and its policies in Ukraine. Just last month, Frances far-right National Front party reportedly asked Russia for a 27m for the 2017 presidential election campaign. It received a 9m loan from a Russian bank in 2014. The National Fronts leader, Marine le Pen, denied that financing from a Russian-owned bank would influence the partys policies. The threat of Islamic extremism in Europe gives additional leverage to Russias self-proclaimed role as the defender of traditional Christian values from the liberal and decadent Europe and US, and as the defender of Christians from radical Islam in Syria and beyond. For instance, the Kremlin-aligned Russian Orthodox Church described Russias military intervention in Syria as a holy battle to protect Christians. In the US, fear of the spread of extremism has coloured political sentiment and has dominated the rhetoric on foreign policy in the presidential campaign. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has proposed a non-interventionist foreign policy for the US and questioned the need for Nato. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton countered that Putin already hopes to divide Europe. If Mr Trump gets his way, itll be like Christmas in the Kremlin. The tragic events in Brussels, and the urgent need for European countries and the US to focus on diverting future terrorist attacks and tracking down radicals, should not overshadow other foreign-policy priorities. Russia has emerged as challenger to the post-Cold War order and it will seek to exploit the EUs troubles, and Americas distraction with the presidential campaign and the focus on IS. Difficult times such as these make a one-track foreign policy a dangerous choice for the US, the EU, and their allies. Agnia Grigas is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Truman National Security Fellow. She is the author of Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire. Follow her @AgniaGrigas. John L Allen Jr has, in his book Global War on Christians, described how 80% of all todays acts of religious discrimination are directed at Christians. According to the Pew Forum, between 2006 and 2010, Christians faced discrimination in 139 nations, almost three-quarters of all recognised countries. According to the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, an average of 100,000 Christians have been killed in what the centre calls a situation of witness every year for the last ten years. Thats 11 Christians killed every hour, seven days a week and 365 days a year, because of their faith. Pope Francis recognised this desperate situation in remarks last month. These are below-the-radar figures hard to grasp even in a country with a history of inter-Christian persecution. The idea of killing, or attacking a stranger, because of religious beliefs is alien in todays Europe, a core value hardwired into our consciousness by the evil genocides of the last century. However, more people in Europe and America are prepared to test that principle in the face of indiscriminate attacks like last weeks bombs in Brussels. An escalating refugee crisis feeds into this narrative. Aggressive religious discrimination is one the themes in the campaigns of the two Republican frontrunners in the White House Race. The anti-Muslim hatred expressed by Donald Trump and Ted Cruz epitomise the evils the great libertarian leaders of America did so much to counter half a century ago, yet Trump and Cruz improve their ratings every time they attack Islam. Cruz, an avowed fundamental Christian, has gone as far to promise to carpet-bomb ISIS into oblivion, testing if sand can glow in the dark. This racism and bigotry is a darkening stain on Americas character. Tragically, this irrational hatred echoes from the other end of the spectrum too. On Sunday, as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar murdered Christians in Lahore, riots broke out in Islamabad. Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, hanged for the murder of Punjabs governor Salman Taseer in 2011, have demanded the execution of Aasiya Bibi, a Christian woman on death row convicted of blasphemy. Qadri, Taseers bodyguard, shot him over the governors call to reform blasphemy laws and his support for Aasiya Bibi. Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and politician Salmaan Taseer were also murdered for supporting her and opposing the blasphemy laws. Unsurprisingly, Pakistans Christians have accused their government of not doing enough to protect them. They are not alone. Christians in India and Burma, in Egypt and Iran, in Nigeria and North Korea, and in many, many more countries, are becoming what John L Allen Jr has called an entire new generation of Christian martyrs ... The carnage is ... the premier human rights challenge of this era. Surely, and despite dire warnings from Tony Blair, humanity can find a way to disagree and live together? The evidence seems to suggest that we cannot, and what a very dark, dispiriting portent that is. The shipment of animals from Albertas Elk Island National Park to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation follows a 2014 treaty among tribes in the US and Canada that aims to restore bison to areas of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains where millions once roamed. For thousands of years the Blackfeet lived among the buffalo here. The buffalo sustained our way of life, provided our food, clothing, shelter, Blackfeet chairman Harry Barnes said. It became part of our spiritual being. We want to return the buffalo. The 89 plains bison, also known as buffalo, will form the nucleus of a herd that tribal leaders envisage will soon roam freely across a vast landscape the Blackfeet reservation, nearby Glacier National Park, and the Badger-Two Medicine wilderness more than 10,000 km sq combined. Bison were hunted to near-extinction in the late 1800s as European settlers advanced across the once-open American West. Most of the animals that survive today are in commercial herds, raised for their meat and typically interbred with cattle. The Blackfeet have a commercial bison herd established in 1972 that numbers more than 400 animals. The lineage of Elk Islands bison, which experts say are free of cattle genes, traces back to a small group of animals captured by several American Indians on Blackfeet land south of Canada. Those bison were later sold to two men, Charles Allard and Michel Pablo, who formed what became known as the Pablo-Allard herd. By the early 1900s, the Pablo-Allard herd was said to be the largest collection of the animals remaining in the US. After US officials rejected a sale offer from Pablo, the Canadian government purchased most of the bison. The animals were then shipped train from Ravalli, Montana, to Elk Island, according to park officials and Western historians. Theyve made a big circle, but now theyre coming home, said Ervin Carlson, a Blackfeet member and president of the Intertribal Buffalo Council. The relocation comes as the restoration of genetically-pure bison to the Wests grasslands and forests have gained traction. Murderers and child rapists are among 50 offenders, identified as most wanted by Vote Leave, that have headed to the UK under freedom of movement laws. The group claimed that instead of turning criminals away, Britain has allowed EU judges to hang out a welcome sign. The analysis sets out how 45 of the offenders went on to commit fresh crimes. It includes Ireneusz Bartnowski, who was convicted in 2012 for the murder of Giuseppe and Caterina Massaro in their Wolverhampton home. The Pole, who had a previous conviction for burglary, had been in the country for just two weeks when he attacked the elderly couple with a claw hammer and a knife. The document also includes Arnis Zalkalns who is believed to have killed London schoolgirl Alice Gross in 2014. The Latvian builder who lived unchecked in Britain despite serving a prison sentence for murdering his wife in his home country later committed suicide. Vote Leave said the dossier shows how British families are being put in danger because EU laws have made the country less secure. Under current rules, countries are entitled to consult previous police records but convictions are not grounds for restricting the right to free movement. The Government is not automatically notified about the convictions of serious offenders, which paves the way for murderers to enter the country unchecked, according to Vote Leave. It also warns there is a lack of proper supervision of dangerous criminals within the EU. Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott said: EU membership means we have lost control of our borders and have been unable to prevent dangerous individuals from walking into the UK. Free movement of people has created free movement of criminals making the UK less safe and less secure. "Weve allowed EU judges to hang out a welcome sign to individuals the public would rightly expect never to be allowed into the UK. If we want a sensible and humane migration policy, the only safe option is to Vote Leave and take back control. Eurosceptic Tory MP Philip Hollobone earlier this year told the Commons that around 12% of the prison population is made up of foreign nationals and around 47% of those 10,000 inmates are from Europe. Remain campaigners accused Vote Leave of scaremongering. Belgian federal police also released a 32-second video of a man in a hat seen in the company of the airport suicide bombers, indicating that he could still be at large. It was not clear if the three suspects ordered to be held by an investigating magistrate were linked to the March 22 attacks in Brussels that killed 35 people and wounded some 270. Those suspects identified by Belgian prosecutors as Yassine A, Mohamed B, and Aboubaker O were detained during 13 police searches on Sunday in Brussels and the northern cities of Mechelen and Duffel. The Belgian Federal Prosecutors Office provided no details of the alleged actions committed by the suspects and said a fourth person also detained on Sunday was released without charge. Yesterday, Belgian health minister Maggie De Block announced that four of those taken to hospital after the bombings at the airport and Metro had died. She posted: Four patients deceased in hospital. Medical teams did all possible. Total victims: 35. Courage to all the families. Ms De Block reported over the weekend that 101 of those wounded in the blasts were still being treated in hospitals, including 32 in burn units. A doctor at one of those burn units who had once served in Afghanistan described patients wounds as shocking. One week after the devastating attacks, the airport is planning to test its capacity to partially resume passenger service, but its too early to say when service might actually resume, an airport official said. The attack severely damaged the departure area. Florence Muls, an airport communications manager, said 800 staff members today will test temporary infrastructure and new arrangements designed for passenger check-ins. The Belgian government and firefighters must approve the new system before the airport can start handling passenger traffic again, she said. Before the bombings, the airport served some 600 flights a day and 23.5m passengers per year. Meanwhile, Turkey has prevented potential attacks in recent weeks including planned suicide bombings, president Tayyip Erdogans spokesman said yesterday, following a spate of attacks blamed on Islamic State and Kurdish militants. Ibrahim Kalin made the comment at a news conference in Ankara. Turkey has been hit by four bombings this year that have killed more than 80 people. The most recent on March 19 in Istanbul, killed three Israeli tourists and an Iranian. Israel has urged its citizens in Turkey to leave as soon as possible in an upgraded travel advisory predicting possible follow-up attacks. Scientists found the pace of emissions eclipses even the onset of the biggest-known natural surge in fossil records, 56 million years ago, that was perhaps driven by a release of frozen stores of greenhouse gases in the seabed. That ancient release, which drove temperatures up by an estimated 5C, and damaged marine life by making the oceans acidic, is often seen as a parallel to the risks from the current build-up of carbon in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. Given currently available records, the present anthropogenic carbon release rate is unprecedented during the past 66 million years, the scientists wrote in the journal Nature Geoscience. Japanese police have caught a 23-year-old man who had been sought since a teenage girl escaped his apartment after being held captive for nearly two years. The girls disappearance from her hometown in Saitama, near Tokyo, when she was just 13, was major news in Japan at the time. Police said the 15-year-old girl managed to escape from Kabu Terauchis apartment in downtown Tokyo on Sunday while he was shopping in Akihabara, a district known for technology and comic book geeks. Saitama police said the girl, whose name was withheld because she is a minor, told investigators that she escaped when her captor forgot to lock the door. The girl was seen wearing a sweatsuit and sandals in the cold weather when she called home from a pay phone at a train station in downtown Tokyo. Her mother reported the call to the police, who raided Terauchis apartment. Investigators captured Terauchi in the early hours of yesterday near a forest west of Tokyo. He was bleeding from the neck from a minor self-inflicted injury as a result of a failed suicide attempt. Police plan to formally arrest him on suspicion of kidnapping. Terauchi attended university during the years he allegedly had the girl in captivity. He graduated this month and even had a job offer. Police quoted the girl as saying she was confined in Terauchis apartment near his university in Chiba before moving to Tokyo last month. She was always locked inside and closely watched, but was not tied up or put in chains. He sometimes took her outside but always closely watched her. The man, named officially only as Faycal C but identified in media reports as Faycal Cheffou, walked free after a judge found there was not enough evidence to justify holding him. Belgian prosecutors had said he was facing charges of involvement in a terrorist group, terrorist murder, and attempted terrorist murder. It had been reported that Mr Cheffou was the man in white wearing a black hat and pictured pushing a trolley through Brussels airport with suicide bombers Brahim El-Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui shortly before the blasts. However, police yesterday released airport surveillance video of the man and asked for the publics help in establishing his identity suggesting they still do not know who he is. The website of Belgiums federal police began carrying a 32-second video of a mysterious man in a hat suspected of having taking part in the March 22 bombing of Brussels Airport, and stated: The police are seeking to identify this man. Some 35 people were killed and many more injured in the terror attacks at the airport and Maalbeek Metro station. His release comes after US Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Britain and Europe are not safe places following the recent terror attacks. Mr Trump said Europe had lots of very, very severe problems and added that he did not even think America was a safe place for Americans. Mr Trump told ABC: I dont think Brussels, England, or I dont think that Europe is a safe place. No, I dont. I think there are a lot of problems in Europe that are very, very severe. When you look at Brussels, when you look at the way theyve handled things from law enforcement standpoints, when you look at Paris, when you look at so many other places, no, its not [safe]. The comments were echoed by John Kerry, the US secretary of state, who told CBSs Face The Nation that US citizens should avoid a crowded place if they were travelling to Europe, because you have no control over who may be there. In December, Mr Trump was mocked by Britons for his comments on no-go areas in London. Experts say they need time to assess the full extent of damage in Palmyra, a Unesco world heritage site boasting 2,000-year-old Roman-era colonnades and other ruins, which once attracted tens of thousands of tourists every year. Syrian troops drove IS out on Sunday, 10 months after the militants seized the town. Asia China Official Says Dalai Lama Making a Fool of Buddhism Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is making a fool of Tibetan Buddhism with suggestions he may not reincarnate, a Chinese official writes. BEIJING / DHARAMSALA, India Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is making a fool of Tibetan Buddhism with suggestions he may not reincarnate, or reincarnate as something inappropriate, and the faithful are not buying it, a Chinese official wrote on Monday. The comments came as early election results put the leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, on course for a second term, part of a strategy to sustain a decades-old struggle for greater autonomy for its Chinese-ruled homeland. China says the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, is a violent separatist. He denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet. The animosity between the two sides, and their rivalry for control over Tibetan Buddhism, is at the heart of the debate about reincarnation. Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. China says the tradition must continue and its officially atheist Communist leaders have the right to approve the Dalai Lamas successor, as a right inherited from Chinas emperors. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk has suggested his title could end when he dies. China accuses him of betraying, and being disrespectful toward, the Tibetan religion by saying there might be no more reincarnations. Writing in the state-run Global Times, Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the top advisory body to Chinas parliament, said the Dalai Lama had to respect tradition. The Dalai Lama continues to proclaim his reincarnation is a purely religious matter and something only he can decide, but he has no way to compel admiration from the faithful, wrote Zhu, known for his hardline stance on Tibet. Hes been proclaiming hell reincarnate as a foreigner, as a bee, as a mischievous blond girl, or even proposing a living reincarnation or an end to reincarnation, he added. All of this, quite apart from making a fool of Tibetan Buddhism, is completely useless when it comes to extricating him from the difficulty of reincarnation, wrote Zhu, who was involved in the past in Beijings failed efforts to talk to the Dalai Lamas representatives. A senior aide to the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Taklha, said there was no way Tibetans would accept a successor appointed by China. The Chinese are following an absurd agenda and we continue to reject it, he said. In 2011, the Dalai Lama called on exiled Tibetans to nominate an elected leader, or Sikyong, to lead the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Sangay was on track to win re-election with over 65 percent backing in the March 20 vote. I hope to do much better. Both on political terms, by holding dialogue with the Chinese, and working on welfare issues in the next five years, he told Reuters. China does not recognize the CTA, which is based in Indias Himalayan town of Dharamsala and represents nearly 100,000 exiled Tibetans living in 30 countries including India, Nepal, Canada and the United States. Burma Ethnic Armies Pledge Talks First, Joint Defense Contingency Five ethnic armed groups fighting the government and Burmas largest non-state army will prioritize negotiated peace, before turning to joint defense if that fails. RANGOON Five ethnic armed groups in conflict with the government and Burmas largest non-state army will first seek to negotiate an end to hostilities, but the strategy will evolve into joint defense if those talks fail, the groups leaders agreed following a meeting in Panghsang, Wa Special Region. Our ethnic armed forces will take action jointly if they [aggressors] continue to fight, or try to control others areas of control, said Kyi Myint, a spokesperson for the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), one of the groups invited to the meeting, while noting that negotiation was the preferred means of conflict resolution. The groups said this approach applied both to recent fighting between the government and ethnic armed groups, and in an apparent territorial dispute that last year saw troops from the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) clash with the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S). The TNLA was also among the ethnic armed groups that sent representatives to Panghsang, headquarters of the United Wa State Army, Burmas largest non-state armed group. The UWSA is not among actively warring parties in Burma, with a 1989 bilateral ceasefire with the then junta government holding strong. The six groups signed onto a joint statement echoing Kyi Myints remarks following the three-day meeting, which concluded on Monday. Whats most important is to settle the lives of people, bringing peace. This is what we all agreed to do at the meeting. We are asking them to stop fighting, Kyi Myint said, referring to inter-ethnic hostilities. We are also asking the Tatmadaw [Burma Army] to stop fighting. The SSA-S, a signatory to the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) signed by eight non-state armed groups and the government in October, was not invited to the Panghsang summit. Kyi Myint did not specifically mention the SSA-S, but said any group that fomented conflict in the region would be subject to the approach laid out in the joint statement. Col. Sai Hla, a spokesperson for the SSA-S, said his group welcomed UWSA involvement in resolving northern Shan States conflicts. It would be appropriate for them [UWSA] to go and say to the TNLA first not to fight us, because the TNLA was first to attack us. There will be no more fighting if the TNLA does not fight anymore, said Sai Hla. Sai Hla said his group hoped to have direct talks with leaders from the TNLA, describing it as the only solution to lingering tensions between the two groups. In November, troops from the TNLA clashed with the SSA-S in Shan States Namkham Township, in a troubling setback for peace prospects in the region. More recently, in February, thousands of civilians in Kyaukme Township were displaced by fighting between the TNLA and government troops, in what the former has described as a massive Burma Army offensive. Clashes were reported as recently as last week by both the TNLA and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), both of which sent representation to Panghsang over the weekend. Kyi Myint said also discussed was how to handle the resettlement of civilian populations displaced by recent fighting in northern Shan State. The statement from the six groups in Panghsang said the meetings attendees would participate in peace-building with the new government, to be led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). We all made the decision at the meeting to actively participate in the peace process by cooperating with new government, said Kyi Myint, adding that the NCA framework that the incoming administration will inherit was not perfect. There was fighting between Taang and RCSS, he said, referring to the Restoration Council of Shan State, the political arm of the SSA-S. This fighting broke out just after the signing of the NCA. The RCSS took advantage by signing the NCA, then fought others to get more territory under its control. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Shan State Army-North and Arakan Army also joined the Panghsang summit. None of the six groups attending is an NCA signatory, and all have clashed with government troops within the last year. Burma Fire Destroys Burmese Refugee Homes, Thai Military Post Up to 40 bamboo and wood structures are lost after a fire caused by a cooking accident spreads throughout Mae La Oon refugee camp. CHIANG MAI, Thailand A large fire broke out in a Burmese refugee camp in northern Thailand on Monday, destroying about two dozen homes and community buildings as well as parts of a nearby Thai military base. The fire occurred in Mae La Oon refugee camp in northwestern Thailands Mae Hong Son Province at around 4 p.m. The bamboo and wood structures lost in the blaze were located in Section 8, near the camps entrance. The flames also spread to the temporary homes built for Thai soldiers who are stationed outside the camp for security. Saw Tu Tu, the head of Karen Refugee Committees branch office in Mae Sariang Town, Mae Hong Son Province, told The Irrawaddy that the cause of the fire was accidentalthe result of a cooking mishap in a refugee household. [A local woman] was resting outside the house and burning firewood fell to the floor, he said. Saw Tu Tu said more than 20 residences were lost in the fire, including a food and supplies office and a local outpost of the International Organization for Migration (IOM); around ten structures were lost at the Thai military post. Mae La Oon is one of nine refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border and it hosts an estimated 12,000 refugees who have fled civil war in Burma. It has 13 sections in total12 of which were not affected by this incident. After the fire was contained, local Thai authoritiesincluding soldiersvisited the site and reportedly distributed food and water to the affected residents. They urged camp residents to be aware of the causes and risks of fires during the dry summer season due to heat and wildfire from the surrounding forest. Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that 30-40 homes had been razed by the fire, according to Saw Tu Tu. The head of Karen Refugee Committees branch office in Mae Sariang town actually put the number at 23-24. Burma Questions Raised Over Power Transfer Invites As Naypyidaw prepares for a power transfer ceremony on March 30, the invitation list remains unclear and journalists are questioning the media selection process. RANGOON Three-hundred representatives from various organizations will be invited to participate in the transfer of power ceremony at outgoing President Thein Seins residence in Naypyidaw on March 30, senior National League for Democracy (NLD) official Win Htein said on Monday. Ambassadors, high-ranking military generals, government officials and senior members of the NLD are among those invited to the Presidential Palace for the occasion, according to the central executive committee member. We will invite the appropriate people [from the military], he added, after party leader Aung San Suu Kyi excluded three militarily appointed ministers from a meeting of the incoming cabinet that she convened last week. Recently, journalists have criticized the invitation process regarding media selection, amid rumors that a bipartisan committee formed to oversee the transition had planned to only invite government mouthpieces and a few private newspapers to the event. Outgoing Information Minister Ye Htut explained to the public on his Facebook account that the NLD had picked which media outlets to invite, and that the matter should be taken up with the incoming ruling party. His account did not confirm the number of media invitees, but said the committee would choose about 20 weekly journals, seven dailies, both state-owned and private broadcasters, and some international media, such as Voice of America and the BBC. On Monday evening, Win Htein could not confirm the number of news organizations invited to the historic event and said the question should be addressed to newly appointed Information Minister Pe Myint. President-elect Htin Kyaw will be center stage at the power handover on March 30, but Suu Kyi will also presumably be in attendance. She named herself to head four ministries of the incoming government and has effectively said she will govern via Htin Kyaw as part of a proxy president arrangement she deemed necessary given that she is constitutionally barred from Burmas highest elected office under a military-drafted charter prohibiting those with foreign children from assuming the role. Suu Kyi has two British-born sons. Burma Revived Cement Factory Draws Protestors in Hpa-an Hundreds of locals in Karen States Hpa-an gather to voice objections to a recently revived proposal there to develop a limestone quarry and cement factory. RANGOON Hundreds of locals in the Karen State capital Hpa-an gathered on Tuesday to voice objections to a recently revived proposal there to develop a limestone quarry and cement factory, which was put on hold two years ago pending public consultation. At a No Cement prayer vigil, protestors demanded a scrapping of the project, slated to produce 5,000 tons of cement per day in Mi Karen village, part of Hpa-an Township. Residents from dozens of villages fear the cement project, near Kawt Phyan Mountain, will have negative environmental and public health impacts if it goes forward. The villagers said they went to listen to Maj. Chit Thu of a Karen Border Guard Force, who held a meeting on March 19 in a hotel in Hpa-an, where the rebel-turned-businessman shared details of the project. The locals were not invited, but showed up to the meeting and were allowed to sit in after hearing about it on social media. Saw Nyan Win, a Mi Karen villager who attended that meeting, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that villagers were concerned that in addition to environmental and health consequences, the project would involve land confiscation. There are four villages near to the project area, but we did not give our consent to Major Chit Thu as we dont agree with it, he said, adding that organizers had collected the signatures of more than 500 people who attended the prayer event on Tuesday, and believed many more than that had turned out for the protest. Saw Nyan Win said he and the other villagers were told to consider the project a positive contribution to regional development. There are already two cement factories in Hpa-an run by the government and the militarys Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL), which have a combined production capacity of 4,900 tons per day. Both factories are located in Myaingkalay town, with the new project just a few miles away from the current operations, according to the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN). Saw Tha Phoe, an ethnic Karen environmentalist from KESAN, told The Irrawaddy that locals were facing enough health problems from the existing factories, which he linked to both air and noise pollution. Mining related to the operations had produced vibrations that also caused damage to an ancient pagoda, he said, adding that with the factories drawing migrants from elsewhere, both drug use and sexual abuse of women were social ills increasingly facing the community. As the new cement project is supposed to be run by coal, impacts could be added on crops and the local environment, he said, and the residents in a 10-mile radius around it will suffer more. Saw Tha Phoe said despite boosters touting of projects like the cement factory as development initiatives, the country still lacked a systematic approach to implementation. A significant change is our mountains have been getting gradually smaller, if we compare them to our childhood, Saw Tha Phoe added, referring to the impacts of mining on the area. Commentary From Strong Questions To Effective Decentralization in Burma Reflecting on a workshop with regional parliamentarians, contributor Zawtuseng Nanggaw explores the importance of better questioning by members of govt. Burma is at a crossroads in its decentralization process. The National League for Democracys (NLD) election manifesto affirms that it will implement transparent projects for the balanced development of all 14 states and regions of the country. In an effort to reduce centralized financial control, the NLD vows to divide authority and responsibility for financial matters appropriately between Union and regional governments. Though the capacity of sub-national governments remains unmeasured, their potential is huge. Nascent state and regional parliaments at the beginning of their five-year terms will need hands-on support and extensive resources to help realize the process. Earlier this month, the economic think tank Renaissance Institute (RI), in collaboration with The Asia Foundation (TAF), organized a two-day workshop for members of the Sagaing regional parliament on public financing and administration. It focused particularly on state and regional budgeting and the roles of local development organizationssuch as municipal organizationsat the city level and in the General Administration Department (GAD), which remains under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Nearly all of the 101 members of Sagaing parliament attended, including representatives from the Tatmadaw (the Burma Army) and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). I supplemented the main presentations with a basic overview of how the government could help its citizens manage social and economic risks with the help of various public policy approaches. Sandar Min, a former Lower House MP and a current member of the Rangoon regional parliament, shared her experience as a lawmaker regarding legislative responsibilities and oversight on government funded projects. It was very encouraging to see the participants enthusiasm and commitment to rebuilding the nation. In Burmas cultural hierarchy, people within the tightly centralized public sector are often reluctant to put forward even simple inquiries. But these MPs were engagedmost of them asked good questions. An NLD representative inquired why the USDP-approved government budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year had allocated only six percent of funds to agricultural and rural development when more than 60 percent of the countrys population is engaged in the agricultural sector. Another NLD member of the Sagaing parliament was curious if an increased GDP could actually benefit people under the poverty line, since Burmas growing GDP had not, over the last five years, changed the lives of the poor within his constituency. Other questions asked by the MPs concerned procurement, fair taxation, the tender process, implementation of government funded projects and oversight. While it remains to be seen whether NLD-led sub-national administrations have the capacity to deliver a democracy that meets peoples expectations, asking strong questions from the outset will play an important role in making decentralization work. Because of limited transparency under the successive governments of the past 60 years, such queries were not properly raised when they were most needed; this lack of good questions led to bad policy. Comprehensive data presented in Marchs workshop revealed how public financing practices over the last decade had led to the development of poorly made policies. Yet sub-national parliaments remain underfunded and with limited resources. They need tools for policy analysis, technical assistance and knowledge production to help them play meaningful roles in drafting better policy. Many of Sagaings regional MPs, including the Tatmadaws representatives, appeared to understand the needs of their constituents. But the challenges facing them are enormous: for most lawmakers, it is the first time that they are engaging in public affairs. They need hands-on assistance from both domestic and international experts in approaching sensitive issues, but the majority of outside attention has been directed to Naypyidaw since 2011. State and regional governments and parliaments will require diverse forms of support and resources for policymakers to be able to deliver democracy by turning good questions into effective and efficient decentralization. Zawtuseng Nanggaw is a program officer with the Open Society Foundations (OSF) Burma/Myanmar Program. He is currently on sabbatical from OSF to pursue research in Mandalay and Monywa. The views in this article are his own, and do not reflect those of OSF, RI, or TAF. Profile Su Su Lwin: Not The Lady, but Rather Burmas Next First Lady After years promoting education and supporting Suu Kyi and the NLD from the sidelines, Su Su Lwin steps into the spotlight, as Burmas new first lady. RANGOON The world knows Burma for its Noble laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. The Lady is a prominent political figure and leader of the pro-democracy movement who spent years under house arrest. But the people of Burma have a new lady in the spotlight now, the countrys incoming first lady, Su Su Lwin. But who is Su Su Lwin? Before her husband, Htin Kyaw, became Burmas president-elect, people knew Su Su Lwin as the chairwoman of the Lower Houses International Relations Committee and head of the education committee in Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD). She helped drafted the controversial National Education Bill, which in 2015 resulted in nationwide student protests. But her relationship with Suu Kyi and the NLD goes much deeper than that. Even though the 63-year-old former educator wasnt a party member when the NLD was founded in the late 1980s, she was no stranger to the party. Her late father U Lwin was a former colonel in the Burma Army and a leading figure in the NLD, which he helped found and later served as party treasurer. As U Lwins daughter, she witnessed the birth of the NLD. At that time, Su Su Lwin had a post-graduate diploma from Sydney University, a masters degree in English from the Rangoon Institute of Education and had worked for over 10 years at Burmas education research bureau. Suu Kyi took notice of Su Su Lwins education background and asked her to teach English to NLD youth members at her home, after all schools and universities across the country were closed following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. According to Zaw Aung, an independent social researcher who was then an NLD youth member and a student of Su Su Lwins, there were about 20 students in the NLD English class. They were all student activists who had been involved in the 1988 demonstrations and later joined the NLD. He remembers her as a great teacher who was very passionate about education. Her teaching methods were different from any others I had ever received in my life, he told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. For Zaw Aung, Su Su Lwins student-centered approach was a new experience. The classroom was fun and interesting because Su Su Lwin was always friendly, lively and patient with the students, he said. She taught them not only language skills, but also used English novels and short stories to teach them critical thinking. But after less than six months, the class had to stop when Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in July 1989. Su Su Lwin told her students to come to her home instead if they still wanted to learn from her. But former student Zaw Aung was also imprisoned and spent 10 years in jail. Su Su Lwins commitment to education was noticeable to everyone around her. Suu Kyis former personal assistant, Dr. Tin Mar Aung, echoed Zaw Aungs opinion. She is always so eager to share what she knows with others, she said. Su Su Lwin and Dr. Tin Mar Aung worked together at Unicef for about a decade, where they became close friends. She portrayed Su Su Lwin as a caretaker who treated everyone around her like family. They each have an intimate relationship with Suu Kyi and sometimes spent time together at Suu Kyis house talking about cooking and books, she said. Before getting involved in politics, Su Su Lwin invested most of her time in the education sector. She worked for Unicef from 1990 to 2005 and later served as a freelance consultant for monastic education programs. She founded a local non-profit organization called Hantha Educators in 2006 that partnered with local influential monks and focused on improving traditional monastic education, early childhood care and development programs. She was concerned about the lack of education opportunities for the poor, especially in Sagaing Division and Arakan State, and the failure of many development programs to reach those most in need. Her organization stressed the importance of child-centered teaching and critical thinking. Her former student, Zaw Aung, crossed paths with her again after his release from prison, when they both worked at Unicef and then at Hantha Educators. Zaw Aung remembers her being a vegetarian and her tendency to bring vegetarian meals to her office for colleagues. She knows how to cook vegetables deliciously, he said. Zaw Aung said she was kind and modest, despite growing up in an elite family, with a father who served as a minister during Gen. Ne Wins socialist regime. [Su Su Lwin and Htin Kyaw] supported Daw Aung San Suu Kyi closely, in their own different ways, he said. And in every possible way. They were two of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis most trusted confidantes. She married Htin Kyaw in 1973 when she was 21-years-old. According to a 2007 interview with Htin Kyaw in local art magazine Padauk Pwint Thint, Su Su Lwin was even more familiar with Htin Kyaws father, the prominent Burmese poet Min Thu Wun, because she had translated some of his poems into English. Despite her close relationship with Suu Kyi, she told The Irrawaddy that she officially became a NLD party member just before the 2012 by-election, when she won a seat along with dozens of fellow party loyalists. She dived into Burmese politics before her husband, and has represented Rangoons Thone Kwa constituency in Parliament ever since her 2012 victory, winning re-election to the seat last year. While working for Unicef, she was not supposed to show any political affiliation, so she avoided being in the public eye. But as the daughter of U Lwin, she witnessed every change and development of the NLD, Zaw Aung said. Its remarkable that not only the president-elect, but also the first lady, played historic roles in assisting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, he added. He believes that Su Su Lwin can be more than a first lady. Given her proven independent streak, passion for worthy causes and dedication to country, Burmas next first lady promises to be a trailblazer in her own right, breaking a mold set by recent predecessors at a time of countless firsts in a democratic transition that continues to unfold. Additional reporting by Kyaw Phyo Tha and Sandy Barron. Bertil Lintner: Its High Time the MPC Be Investigated for Corruption The Irrawaddy speaks with journalist Bertil Lintner about an Aung Sang Suu Kyi-led government and the prospects for peace in Burma. Bertil Lintner, a Swedish-born journalist and author, has written many articles and several books on Burma over the course of his career. He is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and currently contributes to various news outlets, including The Irrawaddy. In this interview with The Irrawaddys founding editor Aung Zaw, Lintner discusses what an Aung San Suu Kyi-led government might mean for Burma and the prospects for peace regarding the countrys engagement with foreign donors and peacemakers. Welcome to The Irrawaddy, Bertil. Today, wed like to discuss the incoming government, led by the National League for Democracy [NLD]. The Parliament has been approved, with U Htin Kyaw as the president, and theyve chosen two vice presidents. For the first time in decades, were going to have a civilian government. People have very high expectations. Its too early to make any judgments or speculations, but generally, people welcome this new political order in Burma. They want this military-led regimeone of the most oppressive, corrupt governmentsto go away. In spite of initial problems weve heard about in the cabinetfake diplomas and all thatpeople still generally welcome these changes. I want to hear your assessment, your opinion on this. Its only natural that expectations are very high. This will be the first civilian president in half a century, a government where most of the ministers dont have a military background. Expectations are high, but I will say theyre unrealistically high. It will be very hard for this new government to live up to peoples expectations because theres still the 2008 Constitution, which preserves fundamental powers within the military. So were going to have a very popular civilian government with very limited powers. And we have to wait a year or twomaybe even less than thatto see what they can actually do, because the Minister of Defense is under the military, [the Minister of] Border Affairs, and most importantly, the Home Ministry [are also under the military], which means the department administration is above all the local governments, really, when it comes to day-to-day affairs, and they also control the police. So whats left for the elected government is not that much really. So what youre saying is that no matter who comes into power, power lies in the armys hands, the army still calls the shots? According to the 2008 Constitution, all the key ministries are still controlled by the armed forces. And in the Parliament, 25 percent is reserved for the military; they have absolute veto power. Definitely. If you want to change the Constitution, or even amend it somehow, according to one of the protocols in the Constitution, more than 75 percent of all the MPs have to vote in favor of the suggested change. Thats not even the end of it. After that, according to the Constitution, that proposal to change the Constitution has to go to a national referendum. Its a very cumbersome process. So in effect, its impossible to change the Constitution unless the military decides, OK, now well go ahead and change it. And because of the Constitution, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi cannot become President. Shes now taken four minister positions, which will give her a seat on the National Defense Security Council, the most powerful executive councilan 11-member council that decides national security issues. But shes also taken on another three portfolios as minister. It seems to kind of suggest that shes a super minister. But at the same time, Ive heard that there werent enough qualified people or people had to drop out at the last minute, and she had to take over these portfolios. What is your reading on that? Im not quite sure that was the case. Lets look at the [ministries] chosen: foreign affairs, energy, presidents office and education. These are very important ministries. She will become, really, above the president, as she said. If you look at energy, for instance, that will have to do with relations with China. And China, as you know, is one of the owners of the biggest power stations in the country, which is very controversial. And that, combined with her foreign minister portfolio, gives her a kind of international profile, which is above the president. And then, of course, she is a minister in the Presidents Office as well. The question is: Can she really do all of these things at the same time? Its going to be very difficult, and still, she has to deal with the military, and if the military says no, its no, no matter what she [Aung San Suu Kyi] wants to do. Some are saying that because of the cabinet minister list, the fake diploma, a lot of unknown peopleincluding the vice presidents, one [of whom] was chosen by the military, whos very corrupt, General Myint Swe, and also very loyal to the former dictator, General Than Shwe; the other one is a totally unknown person, an ethnic China lot of heavyweights are being left out in the cold. So the honeymoon period may be shorter, because the press is getting aggressive, even the international media are getting aggressivesuch as [the story] about Aung San Suu Kyis driver becoming Presidentso I think [there is] a lot of misleadingas well as more aggressive and criticalreporting on the incoming government already. So I think the honeymoon period will be quite short. So what is the to-do list for Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD-led government? Well, I think first we have to dismiss this nonsense that this government is not, you know, competent enough compared to whatever. Lets face it: Compare this cabinet with its predecessor and its predecessor before that. Were they any more competent? No. They were absolutely very corrupt people, and they served an oppressive machine. And the only experience most of them had was military, not running ministries. So I dont think this government is going to be less competent than the previous one. And also the foreign media jumping on this thing about Aung San Suu Kyis driver. Maybe he drives her car, I dont know, I drive a car, too, but I dont want to be called a driver based in Thailand. Im a writer. He [Htin Kyaw] is a decent person, hes a good choice, and I can understand why people are enthusiastic about him. Do you think that a lot of foreign investment will be coming in because an Aung San Suu Kyi-led government takes power, or that the country will become more aid-driven? More aid, definitely. A lot of foreign governments have pledged to give more aid. But investment, well, I think that will take time, because no one suggests jumping in and saying, OK, now Burmas become democratic, lets go invest. I dont think people think that way, thats not their mindset. Their mindset is more wait and see, lets see how this government performs. But youre talking about a to-do list. Yes, you have the economywhich is in shambleseducationit definitely has to improveand then the old question of the civil war and peace in the country. So if youre talking about a to-do list, those three [things] should be at the top of that list. Talking about peace, we had a very well-known organization established under Thein Seins government called the Myanmar Peace Center, MPC, led by outgoing minister U Aung Min and other peacemakers and other foreign peace experts, who came flocking to Burma to try to achieve peace between several ethnic groups. But also the NCAthe Nationwide Ceasefire Agreementsigned by President Thein Seins government, was a kind of half-baked success. Under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, this process will continue, but it will be very much different. The MPC will become some sort of NGO, and theres a rumor going around that Aung San Suu Kyi will lead the MPC. What are your expectations? Well, first of all, you have to look at the MPC: What did they actually achieve? How many years have they been [in Burma], almost four or five years, and all they can show for the record is a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement signed in Naypyidaw in October of last year with eight groups. But look at those eight groupsfive of them have no armies, some of them just exist on paper. Its only three groups, really. The RCSSthe Shan group, the KNUthe Karenand the DKBAthe other Karen faction. Three groups, which are mostly based on the Thai border, which were forced into signing this agreement under heavy Thai pressure, theres no doubt about that. All the major groups are left out, like the Wa, the Kachin, the Shan-North and so on. So its obvious they need an entirely new approach for this problem, this issue. Exactly what that will be remains to be seen. I havent seen any statement from them. The new government will be the only one to tackle the old issue of the ethnic civil war, which Aung San Suu Kyi herself said after she came out of house arrest in 2010, that the ethnic issue, the civil war, is the most important issue the country has to solve in order to move forward. So one should expect that the new government will try to tackle this problem in a different way. But the problem here is that its also become an industry. I dont know how many foreign peacemakers come in here [] and say they want to make peace. But these people understand nothing about the roots of the ethnic conflict in Burma. Before we go in-depth about peacebuilding, I want to take it back to trust-building and confidence-building. When an Aung San Suu Kyi-led government comes to power, do you see there being any progress with those heavyweight groups that were left out, because Aung San Suu Kyi is different from the previous government? I think theyre willing to give the new government a chance. Thats my impression from talking to people from non-Burman ethnic groups, but its too early to say. But if you look at this new cabinet, there are not that many non-Burman ministers there. And there are no women, apart from Aung San Suu Kyi [] Burma has a tradition of politically active women that predates Aung San Suu Kyi. Like in the 1950s, Burma had a lot of female MPs, they had female administrators. Women played a very important role in society at that time. [There were less women later] because the military is, by definition, a male-dominated institution, which they [the NLD] have yet to correct. I think an argument that can be used against this new government, which it will have to face, is why its not more equal when it comes to ethnicity and gender. So [how] will the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi get these remaining ethnic groups to come to the table? The problem is that this approach [signing the ceasefire agreement] has been tried since 1963 when the first peace talks were held in Rangoon, and its not working. Theres not a civil war in the country because people like to fight; theres a civil war because there are many ethnic groups who would like to see a return to an improved version of a federalist system that Burma had before 1962. Unless they start talking about this issue now, theyre not going to be able to move forward. None of these groups is going to agree to be disarmed unless there are serious political concessions made by the government. I think resource-sharing is also one of the biggest issues. Particularly under the previous regime, theres been plundering of these resources. Does the NLD comprehend the magnitude of these problems? Do they have enough information to make decisions or to make a more realistic approach to this conflict? Well have to wait and see, but so far I see no signs of that at all. Look at Kachin State. The jade mining business is a multi-billion dollar business, and it could feed the whole country. But wheres the money going? Its going to China, its going to foreign interests, its going to a number of local businessmen connected to the generals. Nothing, really, ends up in the hands of or benefits the local population up there. Theyre still dirt poor. And the country remains poor. Bertil, the last issue I want to ask you about is the future of the MPC. There were news reports that donor communitieslike the EUcompletely fell in love with the MPC in the last Parliament are going to end their funding at the end of March. But this peace-building process will continue. [There is a lot of] embezzlement and corruption and deep scandals that are still unwritten in a lot of international media. These donors, mostly from the West, are the ones who talk about transparency and accountability. But do they have any idea whats going on? I dont think they do. When the Myanmar Peace Center was around, you had the European Union and Norway and Switzerland and Japanese organizations just pouring money into this thing, millions and millions of dollars and euros. It became a big business. And where does all this money go? I havent seen any proper counting of it, and its time now for these donors to sit down and say, Wait a minute, lets see, where did all this money go and how has it been used and how can we avoid something similar in the future? I cant prove anything because I havent seen the facts or figures, but I think its high time the MPC be investigated for corruption. On what grounds? To see where the moneys going and how the moneys been used and whos been doing what. Thank you so much, Bertil. Interview Pat Jasan Reverend: Well Continue Our Poppy Eradication Kachin Baptist Convention Chairman Rev. Gyung Hkawng discusses the reasons behind the activities of the Pat Jasan movement launched by his church. In recent months, Pat Jasan, an ethnic Kachin public movement, has made headlines with its vigilante-style march on opium-producing poppy plantations, which its volunteers cut down in an effort to curb rising drug abuse in northern Burmas Kachin State. Thousands of volunteers were involved, many of them motivated by their leaders who belong to the Kachin Baptist Church, which first set up Pat Jasan in 2014. Despite the presence of a police escort, Pat Jasans march into a poppy-growing area controlled by a government-backed militia ended in a violent confrontation with poppy farmers and militia members in late February. About 30 Pat Jasan volunteers were injured. The movements methods, in particular its forced detention of addicts, have been called into question. Rev. Gyung Hkawng, 65, Kachin Baptist Convention chairman, spoke to Myanmar Now about the movements origins and objectives, and why it is employing a vigilante approach. What are the reasons that Pat Ja San was set up? Drug abuse cases and arrests are increasing among the Kachin people. The users end up having a divorce from their wives and loss of livelihoods. Many Kachin people are addicted to drugs. As the government could not effectively conduct an anti-narcotics campaign, we did it with the help of local people in order to wipe out all parts of the opium industry. We first formed a 13-member committee comprising leaders of the Kachin community. How many poppy fields have been destroyed since the group was first established in 2014? We destroyed over 9,000 acres of poppy fields in 2014 and 2015. We have not compiled the figure for this year, but it could be some 1,000 acres. We destroyed mostly poppy fields in Tanai and Putao townships in this state. We conducted educative talks on the dangers of poppy. We held discussions with community leaders at Kampaitee [a border town in the militia-controlled area] last year and they promised us they would destroy poppy fields. So then we tried to eradicate the poppy fields there. What will you do against the poppy fields in areas under control of the Kachin Independence Army? The KIA is destroying the poppy fields by itself there, so we need not go. We only conducted eradication in Kachin peoples areas where the KIA has no access. And we do not destroy poppy fields in other ethnic areas. Why dont you register Pat Jasan as an official organization? The government did not accept our registration, saying poppy eradication is their task and that they will take action against our movement. However, we cannot neglect immoral practices by the followers of our church. Authorities banned our anti-poppy movement, but we have to take the risk [of government action] as we cannot stop to protect our people. Does Pat Jasan inspect private houses? Yes, we inspected the houses of our followers and Kachin people if we get tip-offs on who is selling heroin. We did not harass people, but we search for illegal drugs. Accusations have been circulating that KIA members are taking part in Pat Jasans operations. What is your response to this claim? The KIA is conducting their own anti-drug policy separately. This is wrong information. We are working with only ordinary people. Our movement sends a message about poppy cultivation to the global community. We are trying to reveal this situation in Myanmar and collect data. We want to announce who are the drug lords in our country. How long will it take to eradicate all poppy fields across Kachin State? We will continue our movement on poppy eradication regardless of time limitations. Our mission will be finalized within one or two years if the government supports us, otherwise we cannot estimate how long our movement will need to work. This story first appeared on Myanmar Now. Interview Tenasserim Chief Minister Lei Lei Maw: We Will Rebuild Our Country Lei Lei Maw, one of two women appointed chief minister of Burmas regional governments by the incoming NLD administration, discusses her plans for Tenasserim Division. Lei Lei Maw, a sitting lawmaker in the regional legislature for Tenasserim Division, was appointed chief minister of the division on Monday, becoming one of Burmas first females to hold the position. Burmas state and divisional parliaments this week announced the incoming regional heads, appointed by President-elect Htin Kyaw, and the list included two womenLei Lei Maw and Karen States Nang Khin Htwe Myint. Despite pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyis prominence in Burma, women have been largely excluded from top political posts in her incoming National League for Democracy (NLD) government. Lei Lei Maw, 51, is a medical doctor who joined the NLD in 2012 and ran in the November 2015 general election, representing Thayetchaung constituency. The ethnic Karen-Burman, Christian, and mother of four has run a private clinic for more than 20 years and has delivered free health care in remote villages. She will succeed the Union Solidarity and Development Partys (USDP) Myat Ko, who sought re-election in 2015 but was defeated. The ceremonial transfer of power will occur on Wednesday night in Naypyidaw. The Irrawaddy spoke with Lei Lei Maw following her parliamentary appointment on Monday. What are the three main things you would like to focus on during your term? Because we are far away from Burma proper, agriculture is not very developed even though there is a lot of land. In order to utilize, manage and develop that land, I would first like to tackle land confiscation cases, in which land that was designated for agriculture was seized by the government, U Paingthe [military-owned] Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited [UMEHL], and other private businessmen. Second, rule of law must be reinforced in all states and divisions. And third, I will reassess the investments in the Dawei seaport project. If it doesnt benefit the residents, we have no reason to accept it. As far as I know, there is no environmental conservation plan even though it is a huge project. What you will do for women in your region? Because we are near the border with Thailand, many women and girls leave school and migrate across the border to supplement their family income. They are eager to work despite disparagement. I want to empower them and give them better prospects. I hope our sons and daughters will come back home if we can boost small and medium businesses here and offer them job opportunities. What do you think you can do better or different than your predecessors, as a woman chief minister? I think I will work more for gender equality, womens empowerment, health care for mothers and children, and public health. When we say public health, most people think of building hospitals and opening clinics, but this is not effective because most people cannot afford to go to the hospitals. There is a Burmese saying, Prevention is better than cure. Burma is bad at raising public health awareness, especially in low-income communities where infectious disease occurs most. There are currently only three women in the cabinet. Some people say the number of women in government is too low. What do you think? We need to try to get more women involved. Globally, female presidents are leading countries. We need to create more programs that empower women and train them for that. Is there anything else that you would like to add? I believe that peoples lives will improve under Aung San Suu Kyis leadership. Following her, we will rebuild our country. Business / Companies by Thobekile Zhou Bata Shoe Company is set to export shoes to European and Asian markets.The Gweru based shoe manufacturer, last year exported 3,000 pairs of safari shoes, popularly known as the "farmer shoes" to Chile.Managing director, AHM Ehsanuzzaman said the firm has improved the quality of its products and will be exporting more shoes to Latin America and exploring avenues in Europe and Asia."We exported about 3,000 pairs of shoes to Chile last year, something which we're proud of. This year we've improved our collection in terms of Safari Shoes and Tommy."We're now communicating with our sister companies in Latin America and within Africa so that we can export shoes to these countries," said Ehsanuzzaman."We're also in contact with countries in Europe and Asia who're also interested in our footwear. We expect some orders from there and our competitive edge is that we're producing world acclaimed quality shoes," he added. Wi-Fi routers connect home networks to the internet. If you have and ASUS N or AC speed router you must read this. If not check out 11 tips to make home routers safer. In February, iTWire reported that ASUS, a well-known and respected Taiwanese PC component and accessory maker, had settled with the U.S. FTC over security issues impacting many of its N speed routers. iTWire was recently able to confirm that this also applied to its N speed routers sold in Australia and if you have a router model with the alpha prefix DSL-N, RT-N, or WL-N go to its support page and download the latest firmware. In any case, ensure that you read our safety tips below and at a minimum change all administration login/passwords (and user passwords) and disable AiDisk and AiCloud functionality. DO NOT DOWNLOAD FIRMWARE FROM ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY SITE IT WILL LIKELY BE COMPROMISED. Australian security researcher, Tres Acton from BAE Systems Applied Intelligence has discovered that ASUS Wi-Fi AC speed routers have vulnerabilities too: RT-AC3200 RT-AC5300 RT-AC66U RT-AC68U RT-AC87U RT-N66U Acton has issued an alert. FTP users can read all system files, and retrieve root password, in multiple ASUS routers The affected routers suffer from a vulnerability relating to symlinks and weak permissions for FTP Users, including the Anonymous FTP User. This results in read access to certain system files. FTP users can overwrite arbitrary system files in multiple ASUS routers The affected routers suffer from a vulnerability relating to symlinks and weak permissions for FTP Users, including the Anonymous FTP User. The attacker gains write privileges to all system files, including /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Session management flaw in AiCloud affects multiple ASUS routers AiCloud suffers from a session management flaw. If the attacker has the same external network (or is on the same local network), they can spoof their User-Agent to match the admin's User-Agent, and by doing so impersonate the Admin user. This is only possible while the admin has an active session. This vulnerability can lead to SSH/admin interface access as a result of unsalted MD5 hashed password disclosure, via ADB-2016-0326-0005 Sensitive information disclosure in MiniDLNA server affects numerous ASUS routers The MiniDLNA server on port 8200 suffers from a remote, unauthenticated sensitive information disclosure. Exposed information includes details of all clients (including internal IP address, MAC address, and device type), and file type statistics for attached storage devices. Insecure default FTP configuration in multiple ASUS routers The affected routers suffer from insecure default configuration for Anonymous users, once anonymous access is enabled. Write access is enabled for all directories in the attached storage by default. Furthermore, the admin is not able to restrict read or write access for any specific directories on attached storage devices. A patch has not been released, however, the most recent patch now warns a user went Anonymous FTP is enabled. Tips to secure any router Change the Wi-Fi administration user name and password Change the default SSID it should not be based on the router make or model Log out of the management website for your router Configure router to use WPA2-AES Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Advanced Encryption Standard Disable WPS Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) may be easy, but it can be exploited but it can Limit WLAN signal Your signal can extend beyond the walls of your home, so limiting the range of that signal also limits access. This is harder but if you get a signal say more than 10 metres outside your front door seek qualified help Disable Universal Plug-n-Play UPnP allows network devices to discover and establish communication with each other on the network Upgrade firmware regularly check at least each month Disable remote management Remote management can allow intruders to establish a connection with the router through the WAN interface. the router through the WAN interface. Monitor for unknown device connections Turn network off when not in use e.g. going away Comment While this article focuses on ASUS and the FTC action it is by no means the only culprit most brands, and in particular older models of routers, have vulnerabilities. The new vulnerabilities are largely proof of concept meaning they could happen and must be addressed by ASUS via firmware updates. That does not make ASUS routers any less reliable than any other brand. In fact, you could reasonably assume that it will now have a laser like focus on security. The FBI has gained access to the data on an iPhone 5C without the help of Apple, ending a stoush that had threatened to end up in the Supreme Court. An FBI official told USA Today that a method proposed by an outsider to bypass the locking function of the phone had proved successful. In a short motion to vacate sent to the US district court for the central district of California, lawyers for the US Justice Department wrote: "Applicant United States of America, by and through its counsel of record, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, hereby files this status report called for by the Courts order issued on March 21, 2016. "The government has now successfully accessed the data stored on Farooks iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by Courts Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016. "Accordingly, the government hereby requests that the Order Compelling Apple Inc. to Assist Agents in Search dated February 16, 2016 be vacated." It took just over a month after FBI testified under oath that they couldnt access a locked iPhone to access a locked iPhone. Jonathan Zdziarski (@JZdziarski) 28 March 2016 The iPhone in question belongs to the San Bernardino County Department of Health and was being used by Syed Rizwan Farook, an employee. Farook was one of two people involved in killing 14 people in California in December. He had destroyed two other iPhones belonging to him. If I'm Tim Cook, the next #Apple keynote sends a message even the @FBI won't have trouble decrypting. "iPhone works for you, and you alone." Edward Snowden (@Snowden) 28 March 2016 The Department, on advice from the FBI, changed the password for the Apple ID on the phone, leading to speculation that the agency had done this to remove one means of knowing what data was on the phone. The FBI had obtained a court order asking Apple to supply a new version of its mobile operating system, iOS, which did not have certain locking functions, so that the agency could attempt to guess the pass code by using a brute force method. When Apple resisted, the FBI came back with an order compelling the company to fall in line. The matter was supposed to be heard in Court last Tuesday (March 22) but a day before this the FBI suddenly asked for a continuance until April 5 in order that a method proposed by an outside agency for breaking into the phone could be tested. This method has apparently been a success. The outside party was the Israeli firm Cellebrite which was paid more than US$15,000 for the job. Under the agreement, Digital China will release its new Performance Management System based on NETSCOUTs flagship solutions, nGeniusONE service assurance platform and InfiniStream appliances with Adaptive Service Intelligence patented technology. The NETSCOUT technology in conjunction with Digital China technology will be integrated into Digital Chinas portfolio and marketed to enterprises and carriers in China, with shipments starting in June this year. "We're excited to offer our valued customers the industry's highest network performance management and cybersecurity solutions," said Ye HaiQiang, vice president of Digital China. NETSCOUTs solutions complement our portfolio of products and services and help ensure that Digital China maintains its position as a leading IT service provider. This win-win relationship will increase opportunities for both companies and enable us to provide our customers with industry-leading solutions at a competitive price."NETSCOUT CEO, Anil Singhal said the partnership was an important part of NETSCOUTs global growth initiative.By collaborating with an industry-leading company like Digital China, we are increasing our global footprint and bringing service assurance, security, and business intelligence solutions to a new market that is seeking leading technology innovation for its customers.Digital China says it will adopt and market the latest technologies from NETSCOUT to meet the needs of the localisation market trend in China.The company says that, based on these trends, NETSCOUTs solutions will enable Digital Chinas customers to gain full service delivery insight for their virtual, physical and hybrid IT environments.The partnership expands Digital Chinas solutions portfolio, creates new market demand in the field of service assurance and security, and gives customers more quality options when making their purchasing decisions.This exciting strategic partnership combines the strengths of two market leading organisations to deliver innovative solutions to enterprise and carriers as they look for new ways to service their customers, Singhal said. French analysts and big data experts Ezako have a range of tools and algorithms within a QoS and QoE monitoring software suite designed for telecom operators with five key takeaways. Ezako, founded in France in 2011, asks an intriguing question in its latest opinion piece, entitled How can telecom operators make up for being 10 years behind e-commerce?. After enjoying success in the e-tail market with its tools, Ezako turned its attention to the telco world. The company explains that analytics, predictions, recommendations and customisation are some of the innovations used in e-commerce since the 1990s to sell the right service to the right customer. Ezako then notes that some VOD players in the telecom market have understood the importance of investing in recommendations, and are slowly gaining credibility in the market. The company suggests VOD is an example of a crucial technology to help telcos prevent churn, stating: In such a market where churn is a crucial stake, operators must look to the latest technologies and state-of-the-art knowledge to defend their market share, and even appropriate some from their competitors. Ezako proudly boasts of its roots in the world of e-commerce, and of being a Big Data specialist in the telecom industry, and shares five key takeaways it suggests that telecom operators can learn from e-commerce. 1. Understanding end users to refine their offering and anticipate failures In the e-commerce world, Ezako says e-tailers use analytics tools to track their end users anonymously. In real time, e-tailers can track where end-users click, what pages they visit, how long they spend on each various page, what is their purchase funnel, etc. The company states that tools like Google Analytics and Piwik are very widespread, and enable websites to track their audience. So, what about telecommunications? Ezako points to a few agencies, and singles out French firm Mediametrie, which it says is able to recover audience data from a representative sample of the population. Today, however, Ezako states we can do much better. The explanation is as follows: If well managed, Big Data could already enable operators to know the number of people connected within one household, the channels they watch, the time they spend channel-surfing, OTT and VOD consumptions, and even analyse the quality of the service provided by monitoring the WiFi connectivity ratios, or macroblock issues for example. The Operators would not only be able to have a detailed view of the use of their network, but also of its condition. In addition, the Big Data collected may be used to predict future outages, and thus help save on maintenance and customer service costs. 2. Making more effort over the last mile: the last interaction that is the closest to end users In the e-commerce world, Ezako states that major efforts are made to improve the compatibility of e-commerce website display with all the browsers on the market, as well as the various devices: PC, Mac, tablets and smartphones. Technologies such as HTML5 and responsive design techniques have been invented. So, again, what about in the world of telecommunications? Ezako explains: for the operators, the last mile has always been a grey area and the source of many network problems. They install gateway and set-top boxes in end users' homes to enable internet connection (ADSL, VDSL, fibre, cable, WiFi), VoIP telephony and television (mainly IPTV or DVB) services. The brands and generations of this equipment are very diverse and difficult to maintain remotely. This material diversity may cause end-user frustration when using these services. Operators need to be able to track the problems and understand how to solve them. A last-mile monitoring tool can turn out to be very useful for this. 3. Upgrading end user interfaces to improve the customer experience In the e-commerce world, Ezako states: The interface and design of e-commerce websites change regularly. It is usual to analyse the data to study the customer's visiting path in order to constantly improve it, offering a better experience and quicker browsing. Thanks to this data, we know that the acceptable display time for a web page is between 1 and 2 seconds maximum. Any longer, and the visitor goes elsewhere. If Google's display time is longer than half a second, it has 20% less traffic. And in the world of telecommunications? Ezako says: Telecom operators could do the same by measuring the activity of end users and understanding how they use telecommunications. They could change the interfaces of their set-top boxes to make browsing easier, for example, to avoid too much clicking or to choose the best positions for the menus and redesign remote control short-cuts. The next two points are below, please read on! 4. Implementing recommendation tools to increase loyalty In the world of e-commerce, Ezako states: What could be better than a service that predicts what you want? Recommendation algorithms has been used by e-tailers for several years. 30% of Amazon's turnover is generated by recommendations. 75% of Netflix's traffic is generated by recommendations. Furthermore, Netflix invests a significant amount of funds in predictive technologies: $150 million per year! It is now the leader on the SVOD market, available in 190 countries. And in the world of telecommunications? Ezako says: Despite the fact that some players have started to show interest in recommendations, they are still few and far between. This tool is a real conversion lever, one which makes consumers' lives easier and which operators would be wrong to ignore. There are numerous possibilities: whether it be to offer a selection of films in VOD, to counter the Netflix effect, or OTT services. The margin of progression and possible earnings for operators is very high, as recommendations are a way to keep the end user interested in the services offered and improve their loyalty. 5. Pushing re-targeted advertising In the world of e-commerce, Ezako says: You have recently surfed online to find offers of holidays in Bora Bora. What do you see a few days later? Ads for holidays in Tahiti... These retargeting techniques are more or less well-accepted by consumers. If well-targeted and not overly intrusive, they will help catching consumers who would have left without buying and help to double or even triple the conversion rates. In the world of telecommunications, Ezako states: Operators could also offer customised advertising on their boxes depending on the tastes of each customer, their media consumption, the films they watch and how they channel-hop. They could use this to better target advertising, offer new economic models and to ultimately offer a better service by increasing the conversion rates of their advertisers. These are some examples of the best practices to be applied in the telecommunications sector. Thanks to its expertise in e-commerce and Big Data, Ezako has developed Big Data solutions dedicated to this sector, such as data collection, data analysis and monitoring, to accompany the telecommunications industry in this digital transformation. Precise use cases have been developed with prestigious customers. Ezako says it is today able to deliver a list of customers dissatisfied with the triple play service to operators, to generate alerts, predict equipment failures and faults, and to offer a recommendation algorithm for set-top boxes and that its solutions change every day. If any of this is of interest to telcos, naturally, Ezako would love to talk to them to explain it all in greater detail - more information can be found here. Entertainment / Arts by Staff Reporter Film director Davison Mudzingwa - Directing Lost Tongue Directinging Lost Tongue South African feature documentary film Lost Tongue has received the esteemed Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) award following its premier at the Socially Relevant Film Festival New York last week.Presenting the award last Sunday night, WFCC representative Edie Nugent, a New York based writer and publicist said their organization was an association of 80 women film critics and scholars from around the world formed 12 years ago.She said the organization was founded "in the belief that women's perspectives in film need greater recognition".She highlighted that the film documented the struggle to preserve the language of the Khomani San people of the Kalahari of South Africa.Film director Davison Mudzingwa said "We are encouraged by this recognition. It gives us confidence that the body of work we did resonates with the whole world. However more importantly the award gives the film traction"Our aim is that the whole world should take notice of the urgent intervention required in the Kalahari but most importantly for everyone to reflect and save their identity."He added that the award was tribute to the people of Kalahari who "allowed us to work with them. They showed that, despite the problems they face, there is still hope for humanity."MeSun Barnett the US producer of Lost Tongue called the picture a "piece of peace".She said the film reveals a cultural and spiritual battle through time as the language faces absolute extinction.Barnett added that today the fight " continues with new conflicts against time with the number of surviving people who can speak the language diminish".The film journeys forward, and is set to premiere at the Singapore World International Film Festival in April, whilst gearing up for to compete with films from around the globe for the title, Best Feature Documentary in Toronto at the ReelheART International Film and Screenplay Festival in July.Engendered from from the documentary, the filmmakers have begun a new journey of driving a social impact programme, the Lost Tongue Legacy Project.The team's objective is to strengthen current partnerships whilst forming "new bridges of opportunities" for the construction of a multimedia centre at the heart of the Khomani san community in the Kalahari Desert.Francis Yannicq Hweshe, the South African producer of the film said the centre would allow the community learns to tell their own stories through film, radio, photography and multimedia.Hweshe said: "We want to play our part in stemming the tide and to be part of the efforts to roll it back. This centre will be the symbol of hope and regeneration of the N!uu language". The courts finding follows action brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Court found that Valve - through its online game distribution platform Steam, and its Steam website - made the following false or misleading representations to consumers, in the terms and conditions contained in three versions of its Steam Subscriber Agreement and two versions of its Steam Refund Policy: Consumers were not entitled to a refund for digitally downloaded games purchased from Valve via the Steam website or Steam Client (in any circumstances) Valve had excluded statutory guarantees and/or warranties that goods would be of acceptable quality; and Valve had restricted or modified statutory guarantees and/or warranties of acceptable quality.Justice Edelman concluded that making each of the representations involved conduct in Australia by Valve and that, in any event, Valve was carrying on business in Australia.Valve sells digitally downloadable computer games through Steam to Australian consumers but does not have physical retail stores in Australia and predominately operates from Washington State.The ACCC noted that digital gaming sales worldwide grew 8% from 2014 to 2015 and has become a $61 billion industry.ACCC Chairman, Rod Sims, said the Federal Courts decision reinforces that foreign based businesses selling goods and/or services to Australian consumers can be subject to Australian Consumer Law obligations, including the consumer guarantees.In this case, Valve is a US company operating mainly outside Australia, but, in making representations to Australian consumers, the Federal Court has found that Valve engaged in conduct in Australia. It is also significant that the Court held that, in any case, based on the facts, Valve was carrying on business in Australia.This is also the first time Courts have applied the extended definition of goods to include computer software in the ACL. It will provide greater certainty where digital goods are supplied to consumers through online platforms.Sims cautioned that consumer issues in the online marketplace are a priority for the ACCC and the commission will continue to take appropriate enforcement action to hold businesses accountable for breaches of the ACL."Under the Australian Consumer Law, all consumer goods or services come with automatic consumer guarantees that they are of acceptable quality and fit for the purpose for which they were sold. If they are not, consumers have a right to a remedy, which may include refund, repair or replacement in certain circumstances. These consumer rights cannot be excluded, restricted or modified.A hearing on relief will be held on a date to be fixed by the Federal Court. Its all over the news, an analyst thinks BlackBerry may soon retire its hardware business despite the Android-powered Priv recently launching, but is it true? TD Securities analyst Daniel Chen is being widely quoted in the media, suggesting that BlackBerry may soon quit production of its own hardware. This is despite generally favourable reviews for BlackBerrys first Android-powered device, the PRIV, with slide-out physical keyboard, which iTWire colleague Ray Shaw has thrice written about, first on 3 February in an article entitled BlackBerry PRIV - for Private and Privileged,' second on 10 February in an article entitled BlackBerry PRIV is only a small part of what it does and then most recently on 26 March in an article entitled BlackBerry PRIV - a wolf in Android clothing (review). One of the reasons it appears TDs Chan suggests BlackBerry could soon voluntarily dePRIVe itself of its handset business is because Blackberry did not introduce its lower-cost Android-powered BlackBerry handset with fixed, non-sliding physical keyboard at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Whether the lack of a single product launch is enough to extrapolate the exiting of an entire business line, one which BlackBerry has just revitalised with Android support is yet to be seen, but it appears that Daniel Chan is calling it. Other supposed factors for BlackBerrys supposed exit is the reality that Facebook will stop supporting the Facebook app on BlackBerrys BB10 powered smartphones from the end of the month, 31 March, and that Facebook subsidiary WhatsApp will cease support of BB10 this year, too. But BB10 is not Android, so perhaps BB10 will find itself shut down, and BlackBerry phones powered by Android will live on. ValueWalk quoted Chan stating: Not only are there no BB10 devices in the pipeline, but also the loss of two of the most popular mobile apps across all platforms could lead to the end of life of BB10. More below, please read on. The closure of BlackBerrys hardware division would apparently see the company earn US $1.4 billion per year, have an estimated net cash of $1.4 billion and would enjoy a 33% operating margin, but whether this would continue for the company with no hardware of its own is in question. Were all supposed to find out more on 1 April, when BlackBerry is slated to report its fourth-quarter results, although 1 April in the US will most likely be sometime on 2 April for Australians. Until then, BlackBerry will undoubtedly want to sell as many Android-powered PRIVs as possible, and even if it is contemplating a potential hardware exit, would presumably want to give the current PRIV model as best a shot as possible to gain some momentum. So, just because an analyst predicts something, doesnt mean it is guaranteed to happen, with BlackBerry likely to push PRIV hard - and perhaps even unveil that more entry level Android model after all, especially if PRIV proves more popular than Daniel Chan from TD Securities expects. This Week in Review A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. 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. News / Health by Staff Reporter HIV and Aids patients are in great danger if international donors pull out, a senior health expert warned.Addressing journalists at a National Aids Council (Nac) workshop, Natpharm's representative Godfrey Tirivanhu described the situation that would prevail if the country's major healthcare donors pulled out as "scary"."If somebody pulls out we will fall in our faces and when we are talking about people's health it's frightening," Tirivanhu said.Tirivanhu allayed fears of the "worst" saying "Donors love this country so the likelihood of donors pulling out is not feasible".Officials said even if all the money collected from the Aids levy was to be channelled towards drug purchasing the stocks would only last four months and will not include opportunistic infections.Zimbabwe has depended on donors to fund its health programmes but the introduction of an Aids Levy on all workers provided Nac with another source of funding particularly for HIV treatment, albeit on a small scale. It appears that Hewlett-Packard is facing another battle as it thrives to survive in the world of the business and industry. It has been noted that Hewlett-Packard is being sued and accused by the Oracle. The accusation rendered forth by the Oracle was regarding the illegal actions done by HPE. According to the post by The Recorder, "In a suit filed Tuesday, Oracle's attorneys at Latham & Watkins contend that Hewlett Packard Enterprise worked with a technical support company that illegally downloaded copyrighted software updates." Although it has not yet been verified, the company has legally claimed its right and filed the complaint against HP particularly over its Solaris software. It stands out that the firm Oracle filed the complaint in one of the federal courts in federal court in San Jose, California." More report from Bloomberg revealed, "Oracle claims HP Enterprise knew that Terix Computer Co. was marketing its support services without authorization and was also aware that Oracle required customers who installed Solaris updates to pay for technical support." However, it stands to reason that both parties have been filing lawsuits against each other. According to the same report, Hewlett Packard has already filed a complaint against the Oracle and the trial is set to begin in May in the state court of San Jose, California. The claim of HP indicated how Oracle failed to impart promised software support for Intel Corp.'s Itanium microprocessors. Meanwhile, HP Enterprise spokesman Blair Hinderliter did not render forth any comments regarding the rising lawsuit against the firm. As for Oracle, its General Counsel Dorian Daley provided a statement, and according to Daley, "Oracle obtained a judgment against Terix, and will continue to pursue companies like HP that misappropriate our software for their own financial gain." As the tension escalates between the two companies, it remains to be seen how the proceedings in court would affect their overall operations and their business ties. News / National by Stephen Jakes Mthwakazi Republic Party has accused President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF for putting policies which destroyed the country's economy since independence in 1980.Party's secretary general Hloniphani Ncube said since 1980, the, Mugabe led government have done nothing to promote socio-economic development except taking the Mthwakazi economy to its drainage. MRP have learnt that,firstly Mugabe introduced the Economic Structural Adjustment Program to get rid of all people with Mthwakazi blood out of the public sector and began his Shonalisation program as enshrined in the 1979 grand plan," he said."Secondly. he destroyed highly performing and strategic industrial hub of not only Mthwakazi, but Southern Africa in Bulawayo and in turn he has turned Bulawayo a market place for Chinese products. What it means is that Bulawayo will no longer be a productive city, but rather it would be a market place for the Chinese."Ncube said as experienced through case studies of countries that has diplomatic relations with China, China is not a country that has a development agenda for Africa, instead it is there to establish markets and loot resources in Africa, which is what was done by the colonists."Mugabe should have learnt this before, however he prefers to prevent isolation through undertaking desperate measures in our nation. To Mthwakazi Republic Party this is an insult in its greatest levels and its shows how Mugabe led government is determined to totally destroy the economy of Mthwakazi," he said."Mthwakazi in particular as a standalone country have vast resources and progressive sectors that can sustain our people if the government administration is in the proper hands. We have plenty gold mines as well as mineral reserves that can get our economy to its original status. Mthwakazi have very attractive tourists destinations whose income is looted by the Mugabe led government. We have the Hwange national park, Victoria Falls and Matopo hills among other interesting tourists destinations."Ncube said furthermore, they have oil deposits and timber in Lupane and diamonds in Tsholotsho which are looted by the government of Zimbabwe."Accordingly, Mthwakazi is the richest region of the modern day Zimbabwe, but it is poor in terms of development because the Zimbabwean government is aware that Mthwakazi is not their country, and the idea is to loot as much as possible before we eventually become independent. Secondly, they are trying by all means to disempower the Mthwakazi citizens and usher in Shonalisation with the mind that, Mthwakazi agenda will rest, but ironically everything that Mugabe and his cronies have done works towards the restoration agenda. They are now exposed and all our people are deeply tired of Zimbabwe," he said."Bakwethu konke lokhu sikuvezele ukuthi libone ukuthi sililizwe elibusisiweyo, njalo elikhona ukuzimela lodwa lenze okungcono kulalokhu kugqhilazwa esikwenzwa ngabeTshabi. Ukuzibusa yikho okuzaphendla ikusasa lakithi elihle kukanti labantwabethu bangathola impilo enhle. Siyakholwa ukuthi abafunda imbiko yethu bayenelisa ukwazisa abantu bakithi ngomqondo wethu ngoba phela uhulumende weZimbabwe engafuni ukuthi abantu bakithi bazwe lumbiko." CEO of Nest Tony Fadell suggested that Google is planning to develop its own voice-controlled personal assistant device in rival to Amazon's Echo. According to a report from The Information, stating that the Nest CEO was devoted in making the smart thermostat to meet its performance expectation after Google's acquisition to the company for $3.2 billion back in 2014. Google's ownership to Nest is not enough to help the search giant in terms of building to make reference to what's being called as the rival to Amazon Echo. Although Google's attempt to pursue such venture shows plenty of reasons to do so, considering that the smart home division sees major potential in the tech landscape, where Amazon has already taken the lead with its Echo range of smart devices. Amazon Echo is a progressively known consumer device that allows people to use voice command to take control of different devices and services in their house, which the device implies the use of Amazon's Alexa, a voice-controlled personal digital assistant offering consumers to play and control audio from different music streaming services using voice-command. The devices can also read audio books, report local news, weather, business and more information. The device took off slowly, being sold in the market at a price of $179, then the product started gaining momentum which it lead to become a sleeper hit in 2015 in the wireless speaker market. Where also last year, Amazon attempted to sell the Echo that was considered the best seller product across all $100+ product category on Black Friday 2015. As of now, Google doesn't hold a product to challenge the Echo, but if the company decides to release a product as similar as the Echo, then that would give a way to expand the company's footprint in the smart home segment. Last Sunday, Facebook sent misdirected safety messages to people in the U.S. and the U.K. about a terrorist bombing incident that killed 65 and injured more than 300 in Lahore, Pakistan. The social media giant's Safety Check is supposed to send messages only to people close to the area where an emergency occurred. But people in the other side of the globe received incorrectly routed messages. Some Facebook users received text messages on their mobile devices that asked: "Facebook Safety Check: Are you affected by the explosion? Reply SAFE if you're ok or OUT if you aren't in the area." The funny thing is that the messages didn't mention the place of the explosion. Other users received more detailed messages asking if they were in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park in Lahore, the place where the blast occurred. Facebook later apologized to those who received the misrouted text messages in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as those in other countries. The social media giant deployed its Safety Check notifications immediately after the blast, the same way it did after the recent bombing attacks in Belgium, Nigeria and Paris. This prompted those who were near the location to inform their family and friends that they were OK. Safety Check notifications coursed through the Facebook app mentioned that the explosion occurred in Pakistan. However, those sent through SMS did not and just ask simply: "Are you affected by the explosion?" "We activated Safety Check today in Lahore, Pakistan, after a bombing that took place there," a company spokeswoman said in a statement. "Unfortunately, many people not affected by the crisis received a notification asking if they were okay. We worked to resolve the issue and we apologize to anyone who mistakenly received the notification," the statement added. "This kind of bug is counter to our intent," a post on the company website said. However, Facebook did not mention what kind of bug caused the Safety Check malfunction. Celebrities Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Jay Z are not relying solely on the profits of being in the limelight. It stands out that these celebrities have seen the value of investing their resources and now, they are enjoying the fruits of those investments. According to a former post from E Online, "Investing in a new or old company means you believe in its unforeseeable ability to turn a profit and the end goal is to make more money than the amount you put into it." Although it has been noted that investment is never offering a full guarantee that money will return and double its fold, there are still those that relies on their wits and skills to make it a reality. Indeed, for Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Jay Z, being in business is a risky one but it did not hinder them from pursuing their goals, and now the past decision that they have made had led them to where they are right now. To prove the latter, for Paltrow, she is the founder and the living embodiment of the lifestyle brand Goop and her store recently launched a pop-up store in Chicago's Waldorf Astoria hotel, according to an article released by Fast Company. Even Jay Z launched his own company that have made millions as well as noted by Jobs & Hire. Despite the rising tension and stressing environment of being in the limelight, these celebrities have ventured into the unknown waters of the business world. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Jay Z, investment is one of the ways to secure their stability and now they have seen its outcomes and presently harvesting the fruits of their toils and labors. News / National by Stephen Jakes Participants at a Heal Zimbabwe public awareness campaign on the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) bill in Highfield, Harare at Sebiz hall demanded that the bill should address concerns of the victims of the operation Murambatsvina which left many residents in the cities displaced and without accommodation.The trust said a total of 141 participants attended the meeting."The public meeting sought to raise awareness on constitutionally provided functions of National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and to gather community views on the recently gazetted National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill," said the trust."The panel was composed of officials from Heal Zimbabwe, Edgar Gweshe from Crisis in Coalition in Zimbabwe and Shastry Njeru, from Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. In his opening remarks, Cleto Manjova from Heal Zimbabwe highlighted the purpose of the meeting which was to educate people on the contents of the NPRC bill so that they meaningfully participate in the public hearings on the bill."Edgar Gweshe made a presentation on the constitutional functions of the NPRC which include ensuring post conflict justice, healing and reconciliation. Advocate Njeru then took participants through the history of violence in Zimbabwe and reconciliation attempts.He highlighted that at independence, President Mugabe preached the message of peace but that was short-lived as there were disturbances in Matebeleland that saw a spate of violence spreading across the area."This defeated the call on peace and forgiveness he had enunciated at independence. These disturbances were halted when the Unity Accord was signed between ZANU PF and PF ZAPU in 1987," said the trust."Participants highlighted that the NPRC should also look into violations such as the 2005 Murambatsvina, which left many homeless after the government destroyed their houses."."The NPRC should also consider victims of government's brutality which left many homeless such as Murambatsvina", said one participant.Participants also bemoaned the need for compensation for those who had their houses demolished. One participant highlighted that Commission should look into possible compensation for victims who had their houses demolished."...The NPRC should look at ways of compensating those who had their houses demolished"..., said one participant.Some of the views from the public gathered during the meeting are,the NPRC should receive complaints from Murambatsvina victims,the NPRC should launch an investigation into the Murambatsvina violations.The NPRC should look into possible compensation for Murambatsvina victims, the NPRC bill rests a lot of powers into the hands of the Minister, hence the Commission might be compromised in the discharge of its duties.The Commission must also utilize the findings of past commissions such as Dumbuchena and Chihambakwe, Sandura, and Nziramasanga Commissions and it must not only wait for complaints for it to carry out investigations. News / National by Fidelis Munyoro THE murder trial of a man who is accused of killing his business partner took a new twist last week after the High Court rejected a statement made to the police by the accused saying it was made under duress.George Francis Lovell allegedly killed Allan Lawrence Banks and stashed his body in the boot of his car. In the course of his trial, the prosecution sought to produce extra-curial statements recorded from Lovell.The defence led by Advocate Thabani Mpofu challenged the admissibility of the statements.A trial within a trial ensued and Justice Joseph Musakwa presiding over the case ruled in favour of the defence."A cumulative assessment of factors raised by the accused person in challenging the admissibility of the statements raises serious doubts that they were recorded without undue influence and without the accused having been denied some fundamental rights," said Justice Musakwa."Accordingly, the statements are held not to be admissible." Justice Musakwa said police officers involved in the investigations should have attended the handing down of his ruling. This, he said, would have enabled them to appreciate aspects relating to the rights of accused persons."In the alternative, they should get a copy of this judgment," said Justice Musakwa. The judge said Lovell gave a more detailed account of torture which other accused persons appearing in the High Court had previously failed.Lovell explained that with his hands cuffed in front, an iron bar was placed behind the knees, before he was suspended between two desks. While suspended, the court heard, he was assaulted under the feet, on the buttocks and on the face.Justice Musakwa said when Lovell was taken for indications at the corner of Mazowe Street and Herbert Chitepo Avenue, he was made to fake signing the caution when recording of the video commenced."However, the truth was that the signing had already been made under duress off camera," he said. "He had difficulties walking down the steps and had to hold to the balustrade for support. This is because he had been assaulted on the soles. The main weapon was a baton."The trial of Lovell (31) of 88 Glenara Avenue, Hillside, and also owner of Invollata Mining Group, began in May 2014 before Justice Musakwa, sitting with assessors Mr Tennyson Gweme and Mr Gilbert Chakuvinga. Lovell was on the run since July 2012 after allegedly committing the murder.He is alleged to have also made off with $20 000.He was arrested in April 2013.When the trial started, Lovell, denied the murder charge. He claimed that his statement to the police was made under duress. This prompted the court to order a trial within a trial to establish the circumstances under which the statement was recorded from Lovell by the police.According to the charge sheet, Banks and Lovell were acquaintances and both were gold dealers. On July 1, 2012 and at around 11am, Banks left his shop Goodlife Appliances situated in Rhodesville, Greendale, intending to meet his brother Gordon at an unspecified venue, the court heard.It is alleged that Banks had a satchel containing $20 000 and was driving a Toyota Corolla, registration number ABV 3685. At around 12pm, Lovell sent his maid, Letwin Ganzwa, to buy cigarettes at Clyde Shopping Centre, about four kilometres away, thereby leaving him alone at the house.On her return, the maid found a car similar to Banks' parked adjacent to the study and facing the main gate, it is alleged. The maid handed over cigarettes to Lovell who got into Banks' car and headed to an unknown destination.On July 15, the car was found parked at the corner of Herbert Chitepo Avenue and Mazowe Street, with Banks' body which was in the early stages of decomposition stashed in the boot.On April 8 last year, Lovell was arrested in connection with killing Banks by striking him with a crow-bar on the head.Lovell allegedly led police officers to the recovery of the crowbar, which will be produced in court as an exhibit.The defence seeks to prove that Banks was murdered by unidentified criminals acting on the instructions of unnamed senior members of the society.Adv Mpofu is being instructed by Mr David Ngwerume of Mubangwa and Partners while Mr Albert Masamha of the Prosecutor-General's Office is prosecuting. News / National by Stephen Jakes Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that as the factional winds continue to rage in the ruling Zanu-PF party, it is becoming apparent that the centre can no longer hold, a development which has seen the party stumbling into uncharted territory."The humiliating water cannon attacks by police on war veterans in February who, since Independence, had always been a revered and somewhat untouchable population for Zanu- PF, signals a significant and unprecedented departure from politics as usual' for the ruling party," said ZPP."Politics as usual for Zanu-PF - particularly since the turn of the millennium when the revolutionary party found itself on the defensive facing stiff competition from the opposition following the formation in 1999 of the then formidable Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) meant relying heavily on vanguards of the revolution and gains of the protracted Chimurenga liberation struggle. These vanguards in the form of war veterans, the youths and chiefs, and oftentimes alongside state agents, have election after election fought fearlessly, ruthlessly and unfairly any opposition elements to the indomitable elevation of Zanu-PF."ZPP said in essence these vanguards have been the "legs" that the ruling party has stood on, and to what it owes much of its intimidation, manipulation, suppression and altogether management of dissenting voices to ensure controversial landslide victories at election times."Now with the war veteran wing weakened by doubt, mistrust and betrayal following their attacks by police on some of their numbers; coupled with some random verbal dress downs by the President Robert Mugabe and his wife, First Lady Grace Mugabe; and buttressed by internal bickering of their own amongst the war veterans themselves, against a background of factional fights, this leg has been stumped," said ZPP in its report."And should it walk on from here, would do so limpingly never as sturdily as before. Never before had the nation seen the revered war veteran mobilise angrily to appear before the President, but this is exactly what our February report shows as they boarded buses in their numbers headed for the capital city, the supreme seat of political power."ZPP said as if that is not enough, more uncharted territory is the tearing of the party in three distinct groupings the gamatox' who sympathised with and followed former vice president Joice Mujuru into her own party, the Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF); Generation 40 (G40') who are believed to be backing the First Lady as a possible successor to her husband at the exclusion of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who himself is backed by Team Lacoste', the third faction."While gamatox' completely broke away from Zanu- PF to form their own political outfit; G40 and Team Lacoste are fiercely battling out within the belly of the party, thereby significantly upsetting the very anatomy of the revolutionary party," said ZPP. "Incidences reported for February depict the various, multi-layered and multi-factioned conflict which found expression in intra- and inter-party conflict."ZPP said the coming onto the scene of Mujuru's ZimPF has shown Zanu-PF wasting no time in making the new party a target alongside its usual "enemies"- the MDCs in all their splinters."MDC is also experiencing uncharted territory with the emergence of ZimPF party on the political landscape. It used to be that the MDC was the dominant opposition party, but ZimPF seems poised to take the polar opposition position," said ZPP."For its part, the MDC, though to a much smaller extent than its ruling counterpart, continues to have pockets of intra-party conflict which on occasion resulted in scuffles. A long brewing intra-party conflict in Bulawayo saw the democratic movement recalling Senator Matson Hlalo from Parliament. In St. Marys a long drawn out factional situation gives rise to repeated, though minor, scuffles. This report carries one such scuffle incident."ZPP said this report also shows partisan distribution of food aid continuing. Though the instances of this are less than in previous months, even one instance of this would be worrying as the government is mandated by the Constitution to provide for and protect all its citizens."While a majority of the irregularities in food distribution are meant to disadvantage opposition members, other instances show a selfish and greed motive where some food stuffs are diverted for personal and/or financial gain by those intended to distribute the items. This report carries incidences to that effect," ZPP said."The report also carries a special feature on the effects of mining on communities with a particular focus on Hwange. Various rights of members of the mining are violated (refer to the feature on page 29.) Celebrations of the President's 92nd birthday saw teachers and civil servants in some areas being forced to contribute hard earned monies towards the melee. For fear of reprisals the forced individuals comply."ZPP said Multi-dimensional conflict continues to colour the country's political landscape."Even so,the struggle remains for the will of the people to be heard and not be overcast by individuals or groups hell bent on taking the nation on a tangent which brings neither political stability nor economic prosperity," said ZPP. Last summer, in what felt like a victory of great momentum, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees the right to same-sex marriage. For those of us working in LGBTQ communities across the country, the marriage equality ruling was accompanied by a sigh of relief quickly followed by the question, now what? As bathrooms have become the next battleground in our struggle for full LGBTQ equality, North Carolinas legislative bait and switch last week shows us just what is next both here in the tarheel state and across the country. While same-sex marriage is presumably here to stay, the new frontier for LGBTQ equality centers around protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the arenas of employment and public accommodation. N.C. House Bill 2, passed by the House and the Senate in special session (at an estimated taxpayer cost of $42,000), and signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory on Wednesday, was originally proposed as a measure to overturn the section of Charlottes non-discrimination ordinance that allowed transgender people to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. Gutting this section of the non-discrimination ordinance would have been damaging in itself for trans people in the city of Charlotte; however, the bill that ultimately passed was far more devastating. House Bill 2 nullifies all non-discrimination ordinances passed at the city or county level throughout our state, and forbids local governments from creating new ones. This means that the small patchwork of protections set up by our municipalities is now gone, and wont be coming back. In a state like North Carolina, where it is perfectly legal to fire someone for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, these local non-discrimination ordinances were hard-won protections against homophobic and transphobic bigotry. What does this mean? For gay and lesbian couples, while you are now free to marry today, it is perfectly legal for your employer to fire you tomorrow when you come in and put a wedding picture on your desk. For transgender and gender non-conforming people, the law explicitly forbids you from using a bathroom other than the one that corresponds to your sex at birth. This now puts many trans folks in the impossible situation of either breaking the law by using the bathroom that matches their gender identity and appearance or of using the restroom that matches their birth sex and risking ridicule, harassment and possibly violence. And of course, this bill will impact our states economy as well. It is no surprise that multiple N.C.-based businesses publicly opposed HB 2: LGBTQ discrimination makes it more difficult to recruit and retain top talent. PayPal, American Airlines and the NCAA are at the front of what I hope will be a very long line against it. Research shows zero evidence of a rise in crime or sexual assault as a result of passing non-discrimination ordinances that protect transgender people. Instead, lawmakers preyed upon fears and misconceptions to pass a sweeping discriminatory measure. States across the nation need to mobilize the networks of activists, politicians and supporters who were so critical in securing marriage equality and now work toward the goal that perhaps we should have been pursuing from the get-go: full protections under the law for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. WASHINGTON We have the Europe we deserve, admitted French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday. The question is how Europeans can build the security structures they need. The first requirement is solidarity, within each country and among the 28 nations of the European Union. This begins with better links with the Muslim communities, the angry, alienated people at Europes table. Yes, Europe needs to be more welcoming, but thats only half of it. Muslims need to embrace the obligations of European residence and citizenship. What would this solidarity look like? After Sept. 11, 2001, Muslims in America by the thousands volunteered for the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. They despised the terrorist acts that had been committed in their name by al-Qaida, and wanted to show themselves and their fellow citizens that they were loyal Americans. European Muslims should step up now in a similar way. In immigrant neighborhoods like Molenbeek in Brussels or the banlieues that surround Paris, Muslim leaders who want change should organize campaigns to enlist their neighbors in the army, police and security services; these leaders can create a new social compact by showing their fellow citizens that they are ashamed of what the jihadist thugs have done and are unafraid of retribution. European Muslims need to feel ownership of security, rather than viewing the police as an occupying army. The jihadists often emerge from a youth-gang subculture of violence and intimidation. No wonder the Belgian authorities stumbled for four months looking for Islamic State fugitive Salah Abdeslam. No wonder they couldnt find the suicide bombers who struck Tuesday, four days after Abdeslams arrest, even though they suspected an attack was coming. Nobody would talk to them. The community was deaf and dumb, as the mobsters liked to say about ethnic neighborhoods in America. The second requirement is fairness. The European Union has largely been a project of the elites. The powerful companies (and nations) have prospered. The weak have suffered. When the bills came due, the haves told the have-nots to tighten their belts. Should it surprise us that this arrogant system is cracking at the seams? The Greeks may have exploited a system that gave them a financial free ride, but the Germans then insisted on imposing an impossible debt-repayment scheme that was meant to teach the debtors a lesson. The Germans should have known better: The punitive repatriations plan imposed by the allies after World War I created the bitter payback of Nazism. The third requirement is for Europe to grow up about intelligence. Many Europeans seem to think that good intelligence is created by immaculate conception, rather than through the hard and sometimes intrusive work of surveillance. The authorities often dont mind if America does the counterterrorist snooping, so long as they dont have to admit it to their publics. Europeans dont like to talk about intelligence, and they often pretend their countries dont spy. This immature approach leaves them unable to demand accountability from the security services after chronic intelligence failures like the ones we have seen in France and Belgium. How can you reform something if you wont talk honestly about how it works? A fourth requirement is for a trans-Atlantic partnership thats equal to the seriousness of this crisis. All the alarm bells are ringing. The leaders of America and Europe should meet in a crisis summit Brussels would be a good spot and they should stay until they have agreed on plans for collecting and sharing intelligence together, so that citizens across Europe are safer. Bureaucracy, a modern European specialty, is the enemy: To forge an alliance that can succeed, Europeans must break through national, regional and international barriers to fight a global adversary. President Obama, perhaps more popular in Europe than in America, can lead this trans-Atlantic partnership and create a legacy thats worthy of him. The final requirement is to think ahead about changes that will create better stability in the future. If its 1941 in terms of the shock, it should be 1944 in terms of planning for the future devising the post-crisis equivalents of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations that can cope with the explosion of rage that has swept Muslim Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Its an interconnected problem, and the solutions require shared, visionary ideas about governance, economic development and global tolerance. Fix it or lose it. Thats the challenge today for Europe. They wont get it right without American help. Now is the time to start. The state legislatures special session cost $42,000, and all we got was a lousy law that will cost us millions unless the governor and the legislature come to their senses and rescind it. House Bill 2, the most egregious in a long line of bills of legislative overreach, would legalize a form of discrimination statewide. The bill that the legislature pushed through in the special session was quickly signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory. Our leaders should wake up to all the business our state stands to lose. The GOP leadership has fired up its far-right base for 2016, perhaps the main reason for the wrongheaded law, a solution in search of a problem. If the GOP leadership wont respond to the widespread and righteous calls for decency, they should at least respond to the power of the purse and rescind their mistake. Doing so would save them from a lot of questions they cant answer, like how in the heck do you expect to enforce your decree that people must use the public bathroom of their birth gender? The legislature met in special session last week to respond to an ordinance recently passed by the Charlotte City Council intended to protect transgender people against discrimination. But it not only killed Charlottes ordinance, it also, in effect, outlawed such provisions statewide. And it took the further, unexpected step of banning local governments from setting wage requirements for contractors with whom they do business, decreeing to North Carolina communities from Manteo to Murphy that the legislature knows best what their hiring practices should be. Not surprisingly, a lawsuit has already been filed against the new law. That will bring costs and more bad publicity for North Carolina. Already, major large employers and educational institutions have been strenuously objecting to the new law, saying it will be bad both in terms of recruiting talent and attracting customers. And the NCAA has expressed concern, raising the spectre of losing its lucrative tournament games. Religious leaders and civil-rights advocates are also objecting strongly to the new law. Hundreds of protestors came together around the Governors Mansion Thursday. Media outlets around the country have taken note and not in a flattering way. On Friday, state Sen. Tom Apodaca added insult to injury by threatening to charge Charlotte for the costs of the special session, saying, Charlotte brought this all upon themselves. One provision of the Charlotte ordinance would have allowed transgender people to use the bathrooms in which they feel most comfortable. Some supporters of the new law have emphasized this detail to argue that the ordinance would have given sexual predators increased access to children in restrooms a boogeyman claim that not a shred of evidence supports. States that have similar ordinances say no such problems have arisen. And how will the legislatures law be enforced? Will we need to have a valid ID handy, or even our birth certificate, when we enter a public bathroom? Would law enforcement officers check those suspected of violating the law by asking them to disrobe? Will we, and our children, find people wearing dresses in mens rooms and people with beards in womens rooms in other words, transgender people? Thats what the new law would have them do. This isnt the first time the legislature has wasted taxpayer money on a bill that constrains local government. No doubt some legislators hope to campaign on the hot-button issue. Their opponents will do the same, pointing to their wasteful and discriminatory attitudes. This law may feel good to the GOP leadership now in the warmth of spring. But November will be here before they know it, and it could be a cold one. The GOP leaders should rescind House Bill 2, if for no other reasons than it will cost them votes and the state money. Sarah Palin is no stranger to reality TV, and now she has her sights set on something even more potentially lucrative: a daytime court show. The former GOP vice presidential contender recently signed a deal with Warm Springs Productions, a Montana company, to star in a new courtroom reality show think Judge Judy, Cristinas Court where people bring her cases. According to People magazine, which first reported the news, the production team will include Larry Lyttle, an executive behind Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown. Unlike Judy Sheindlin, Joe Brown and Cristina Perez, Palin doesnt have a license to practice law. But Howard Bragman, a Warm Springs spokesman, said that while she lacks a law degree, Palin appointed judges and took in facts and passed judgment in her role as governor of Alaska. An unnamed source echoes to People that Palin works as a TV judge because of her telegenic personality, wide appeal and common-sense wisdom. While the same source floated fall 2017 as a potential premiere date, theres still a long way to go before the show exists: The next step is for the production company to produce a pilot and then pitch it to buyers around the country, trying to build enough demand so it lands a syndicated timeslot. It must be a tempting thought for Palin. Judge Judy Sheindlin is the highest-paid TV personality, earning as much as $47 million a year. A syndicated court show would certainly be a level up from the Palin familys extensive history in reality TV, which includes Sarah Palins Alaska on TLC; Bristol Palin: Lifes a Trip on Lifetime; Bristols two forays on ABCs Dancing With the Stars; Todd Palin on NBCs Stars Earn Stripes; and Sportsman Channels Amazing Adventures With Sarah Palin. No word on when Palin will start filming a pilot, as shes still with her husband Todd in the intensive care unit after his snowmobile accident. Either way, Warm Springs Productions seems like the perfect fit for the former Alaska governor, who is outspoken about both gun rights and the outdoors: The companys series include Gun Gurus, Log Cabin Living, NRAs Guns & Gold and Mountain Men. By of the Del Monte Foods, which has vegetable processing plants in Wisconsin, says it is switching to food cans without liners containing bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical blamed for health problems. The change will take place this year, Del Monte said Tuesday, including green beans and other vegetables processed in Plover, Cambria and Markesan. Wisconsin may be known as the Dairy State, but it actually leads the nation in the production of green beans, also called snap beans, processing 46% of the U.S. crop. For years, BPA has been used as a coating material inside food cans, including vegetables and soups, to keep food stable. It also forms a barrier from the can surface, preventing corrosion and migration of metal into the food. However, a 2009 Consumers Union study found that canned foods it tested were contaminated with BPA, and that green beans sampled had the highest levels. That study followed an award-winning investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that was among the first to call public attention to the potential dangers of BPA and similar substances. Some studies have determined that BPA is an estrogen-like substance that at high levels could harm the female reproductive system. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups in 2012 but says the level of the chemical that leaches into food from metal can liners is safe. The FDA also is awaiting the results of more studies. Del Monte says it has sought substitutes for BPA as consumer groups have complained about the use of the chemical. "We probably started that work five to seven years ago, and it's been quite a journey to find alternatives that work for our products," said Scott Butler, Del Monte's vice president of research and development, quality assurance and operation services. "Things like sauerkraut are pretty tough on a can lining. That's one we don't have a technical solution for yet," Butler said. Del Monte's products are on varied schedules for the conversion, but most will be BPA-free by the end of the summer, according to Butler. The new can liner, for vegetables processed in Wisconsin, will be polyester based. Butler said it will be more expensive for the company but probably won't raise prices for consumers. The company says it's also going to stop using sweeteners and flavorings derived from genetically modified crops such as corn and soybeans. This year, the added ingredients in all Del Monte vegetables, fruit cups and most tomato products will be non-GMO, according to the company. "This is a transition year for us," Butler said about the BPA and GMO changes. Some Del Monte products are already labeled as not having BPA or genetically modified ingredients. However not all products will get the label change, according to the company. On Monday, Campbell Soup Company said it will remove BPA from its soup can liners by mid-2017 and it would use liners made from polyester or acrylic materials. Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, has called for a ban on BPA, saying the scientific evidence is clear that the chemical poses health risks, especially to children and developing fetuses. "I think consumers should be concerned about metal can liners in general. We aren't meant to eat a liner, but we all know it can leach into the food itself and contaminate it," said Urvashi Rangan, executive director of Consumer Reports' Food Safety and Sustainability Center. Details of what's in a metal can liner are kept confidential by the manufacturer, according to Rangan. "It keeps all of us in a very murky soup of not knowing whether these things are safe or not. We ought to require that something is demonstrated to be safe before it gets on the market, and not the other way around. Unfortunately, in this country, there often has to be proof of harm before we take action," Rangan said. Nick George, president of the Midwest Food Processors Association, said studies have shown that BPA in canned food liners doesn't pose a health risk. "BPA is by far the superior liner. It has the least amount of leaching into the food, it doesn't discolor food or leave a taste. ... But consumer activists have identified BPA as a chemical they don't want to see in the lining of cans. And the consumer drives everything in the food industry, so Del Monte and other food companies are moving away from BPA," he said. SHARE By , New York An expedited screening program called PreCheck was supposed to be the answer to maddeningly long security lines at the airport. But four years after its launch, the Transportation Security Administration is far short of enrolling enough travelers to make a difference, spelling trouble for summer travel season. Fliers can expect massive security lines across the country, with airlines already warning passengers to arrive at least two hours early or risk missing their flight. The TSA cut its airport screener staff by 10% in the past three years, anticipating PreCheck would speed up the process. When not enough fliers enrolled, the agency tried to make up for that shortfall by randomly placing passengers into the express lanes. But it recently scaled back that effort for fear dangerous passengers were being let through. That's when the lines started growing, up to 90 minutes in some cases. The TSA is shifting some resources to tackle lines at the nation's biggest airports, but says there is no easy solution to the problem with a record number of fliers expected this summer. "We had unacceptable line waits at the majority of our hubs," says Robert Isom, chief operating officer of American Airlines. "Based on what the TSA is telling us, there is no relief in sight." Launched nationwide in 2012, PreCheck gives previously vetted passengers special screening. Shoes, belts and light jackets stay on. Laptops and liquids stay in bags. And these fliers go through standard metal detectors rather than the explosive-detecting full-body scanners most pass through. PreCheck lanes can screen 300 passengers an hour, twice that of standard lanes. The TSA offered Congress a lofty goal of having 25 million fliers enrolled in the program. Based on that and other increased efficiencies, the TSA's front-line screeners were cut from 47,147 three years ago to 42,525 currently. At the same time, the number of annual fliers passing through checkpoints has grown from 643 million to more than 700 million. As of March 1, only 9.3 million people were PreCheck members. Applicants must pay $85 to $100 every five years. They must also trek to the airport for an interview before being accepted. Getting once-a-year fliers to spend the time or the money to join has been a challenge. While 250,000 to 300,000 people are joining every month, it will take more than four years at that pace to reach the target. "It hasn't been a failure; it just isn't moving as quickly as it needs to move," says Sharon Pinkerton, senior vice president for legislative and regulatory policy at airline trade group Airlines for America. Without enough members, the TSA faced a problem: PreCheck lanes were nearly deserted while other lines snaked throughout terminals. Keeping empty PreCheck lanes open was a waste of staff. But without them, passengers who paid to join would be aggravated. So the agency created workarounds to allow passengers who hadn't been fully vetted to still get expedited screening. Those who flew 50,000 miles a year or more with an airline sometimes got the PreCheck designation on their boarding pass at check-in. Others would randomly get it based on demographic information. As a further step, the TSA in 2013 created a program called Managed Inclusion where it randomly pulls people out of the normal line when it grows too long. Fliers' behavior is monitored, they are screened for explosives and then allowed to use the faster PreCheck lane. The Associated Press has spent the last year fighting under the Freedom of Information Act for details on how many fliers are allowed into PreCheck through each method, but has been denied the information for unspecified security reasons. Lines did get shorter. By Thanksgiving 2014 nearly 50% of fliers were getting expedited screening. Then last year, two back-to-back embarrassing inspector general reports came out, highlighting TSA security lapses. One disclosed that the agency let a convicted domestic terrorist use PreCheck. The second revealed that in 67 out of 70 tests across the nation, screeners failed to find mock weapons and explosives. In response, TSA agents stopped pulling passengers out of line unless there was an explosive-detecting canine team present. That change went into effect in September, right after the Labor Day rush. The move forced about 10% of all passengers some 70 million fliers a year to go back to normal screening. Longer lines soon followed. By February, just 26% of passengers were screened through PreCheck, according to Associated Press calculations on TSA data obtained through a public records request. During the week of spring break in mid-March, 6,800 American Airlines passengers missed their flights because of long checkpoint lines, foreshadowing the headaches airlines fear during the peak summer travel months. "The TSA is more or less suggesting that we need to live with it," says Isom, American's chief operating officer. The TSA knows there is no quick fix. "The real answer to the volume growth is to ideally get a fully-vetted trusted traveler population," TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told The Associated Press. For now though, the agency is relocating 28 of its 142 canine teams to the 20 busiest airports so it can randomly put more fliers into PreCheck. The TSA won't say which airports are losing the teams and could therefore have longer lines. An additional 200 screeners are being trained each week, but that is offset by the average 103 screeners the TSA loses weekly through attrition. The agency is asking airlines to enforce carry-on bags restrictions before checkpoints so it has fewer bags to screen. Airport and airline staff will also take over some non-security related tasks, such as returning empty bins to the start of the checkpoint. News / National by Mashudu Netsianda A BULAWAYO High Court judge has ordered the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) to release a South African truck which was used to smuggle cigarettes out of the country through Pandamatenga Border Post.The judge also set aside a $2,000 fine imposed on the driver, a South African, and substituted it with a fine of $500.Justice Martin Makonese's ruling follows an application for review by Albano Antonio Manuel Da Cunha and RJA Kellie Company citing Victoria Falls magistrate Rangarirai Gakanje and the state as the respondents.Da Cunha was last year convicted of contravening a section of the Customs and Excise Act and fined $2,000 or six months in jail and the truck was forfeited to the state by Zimra.Justice Makonese ruled that there was a serious irregularity on the part of the trial magistrate when he ordered the forfeiture of the truck.Justice Makonese said the trial court failed to give RJA Kellie Company an opportunity to be heard. He said there was no evidence to infer that the company was aware that its vehicle was being used to smuggle cigarettes."It's clearly in violation of the provisions of the Customs and Excise Act which amounts to a serious irregularity which renders the order of forfeiture clearly defective and incompetent," ruled the judge.In reducing the fine, Justice Makonese said the trial magistrate was a junior magistrate who did not have the jurisdiction to impose a sentence of a fine exceeding $500 (Level 8)."The sentence ordering the first applicant to pay a fine of $2,000 is therefore incompetent and can't be allowed to stand. It's therefore set aside and substituted with a fine of $500," ruled Justice Makonese.Da Cunha was in November last year intercepted at Pandamatenga Border Post by Zimra officials while driving a South African registered Nissan UD truck loaded with 4,114 bricks of cigarettes hidden in a false compartment. The truck was destined for Botswana.Da Cunha produced his passport and a temporary import permit but did not declare the cigarettes to Zimra officials. A search was conducted leading to the discovery of the contraband hidden in a false compartment.In their grounds of appeal, Da Cunha said the sentence imposed on him was incompetent. He argued that Gakanje did not have the jurisdiction to impose a sentence exceeding $500.RJA Kellie argued that the magistrate erred in ordering the forfeiture of its vehicle without establishing whether the company was aware that its truck was being used for smuggling purposes. Inflation is a top issue for voters, but politicians' solutions could make things worse Voters have shifted their top priority from abortion to their wallets, but candidates are limited in what they can do about rising prices. SHARE By , San Diego Saudi Arabia's largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So it's turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop the drought-stricken American Southwest. Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in California's Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Ariz., becoming a powerful economic force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state. The purchases totaling about 14,000 acres enable the Saudis to take advantage of farm-friendly U.S. water laws. The acquisitions have also rekindled debate over whether a patchwork of regulations and court rulings in the West favors farmers too heavily, especially those who grow thirsty, low-profit crops such as alfalfa at a time when cities are urging people to take shorter showers, skip car washes and tear out grass lawns. "It flies in the face of economic reason," said John Szczepanski, director of the U.S. Forage Export Council. "You've taken on all of the risk a farmer has. The only way you can justify that is that they're really not trying to make a profit. They're trying to secure the food supply." For decades, Saudi Arabia attempted to grow its own water-intensive crops for food rather than rely on farms abroad. But it reversed that policy about eight years ago to protect scarce supplies. To further conserve water, the country has adopted bans on selected crops. This year, the kingdom will no longer produce wheat. In December, the government announced the country will stop growing green fodder, livestock feed derived from crops such as alfalfa, over the next three years. Almarai already farms worldwide to make sure that weather, transportation problems or other conditions don't interrupt supplies. The expansion in the American Southwest was a "natural progression" in its effort to diversify supply, said Jordan Rose, an attorney for the company's Arizona unit. "The cows feed multiple times a day, and they need to be certain that they are always able to fulfill that unwavering demand," she wrote. Despite the widespread drought conditions, the U.S. is attractive to water-seeking companies because it has strong legal protections for agriculture, even though the price of land is higher than in other places. "Southern California and Arizona have good water rights. Who knows if that will change, but that's the way things are now," said Daniel Putnam, an agronomist at the University of California, Davis. Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos and Lin-Manuel Miranda perform in Hamilton at Richard Rodgers Theatre. Credit: Joan Marcus SHARE Gabriella Pizzolo and Michael Cerveris enjoy a moment in "Fun Home." Joan Marcus Marla Phelan, Alexandra Silber, Jenny Rose Baker, Melanie Moore, Hayley Feinstein, Samantha Massell and Sarah Parker perform in Fiddler on the Roof. Joan Marcus Elizabeth Teeter, Saoirse Ronan and Tavi Gevinson perform in The Crucible. Jan Versweyveld By , New York The answer is an unqualified "yes": Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton," on stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre and sure to run on Broadway for years, really is all that. As the ensemble sings in the first number, the world or at least the world of musical theater will never be the same, in the wake of this hip-hop homage to an oft-overlooked founding father, whose story is told here by actors of color playing Hamilton, Jefferson, Washington and nearly everyone else. Enough with the gushing; you can read plenty of that all of it warranted elsewhere. But easy as it is to see "Hamilton" as a monument unto itself, what struck me in each of the five Broadway shows I recently saw were the variations they played on the question posed by Aaron Burr in the first lines of Miranda's musical: Just "how does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore" and immigrant emerge from "squalor" and "grow up to be a hero and a scholar?" In answering similar questions, all five shows emphatically including "Hamilton" wrestled with a dilemma at the heart of the American dream: How does one reconcile its liberating promise of fully expressing oneself with the frequently conformist dictates of the larger community particularly when one is an outsider and that community is prone to circle the wagons? Spanning our history from colonial New England to the here and now, these five shows underscore what the always generous Miranda would be the first to admit: "Hamilton" is part of a larger, ongoing conversation taking place on our stages about what it means to be an American. Rethinking Miller's 'Crucible' In his extensive notes to "The Crucible," Arthur Miller described Abigail Williams the ringleader of the frenzied girls whose accusations led to the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692 as a "strikingly beautiful girl" who had "an endless capacity for dissembling." True enough. But why? In the current Broadway revival of Miller's play, which I saw at the Walter Kerr Theatre in previews, director Ivo Van Hove and his all-star cast prove more interested than Miller himself was in answering this question. They arrive at much the same place as Stacy Schiff did in her recent book on Salem, in which she observes how powerless girls like Abby (Saoirse Ronan) and Mary Warren (Tavi Gevinson) were, in a colony where most of the girls naming names were orphans, servants or both. If Abby dissembles, this production suggests, it's partly because she can't otherwise be heard; she has no rights. John Proctor (Ben Whishaw) may be this play's hero, but he's also abused his power in sleeping with Abby; I've never felt more sympathy for her in the early, sexually charged scene in which she makes clear to Proctor that she's not going away. Nor, for that matter, have I ever rooted harder for Abby than I did in the scene here where she warns the self-righteous, imperious and intimidating Deputy Governor Danforth (Ciaran Hinds) that she's also got his number and is perfectly willing to take him down if he refuses to do her bidding. Abby may be no angel. But in a production that's set within a schoolroom and in which the girls are dressed in school uniforms she has few ways of being heard or taken seriously. The primary lesson Abby has absorbed in class is that expressing oneself in Puritan New England is a zero sum game. One can be whipped into submission, as Mary is by Proctor. Or one can leverage what one has to control others. And in this male-dominated theocracy, what Abby has is sex and men's sex-fueled fantasies of witches, underscoring their fear of women. The wonder of this production is that one simultaneously feels sympathy for Abby as well as Proctor and his wife (Sophie Okonedo); in one scene, Proctor himself is reduced to a student, chalking an answer on the blackboard to a minister's question. In the 1692 New England presented here, nearly everyone is treated as a child, writing what others prescribe under God's law rather than creating the story of the self. Philip Glass' original score highlights this yearning for all that goes unsaid, in a world where speaking one's mind could have fatal consequences. Give it up for 'Hamilton' Like each of the five Broadway shows I saw, "The Crucible" is as much about the playwright's present 1950s McCarthyism, for Miller as an imagined yesteryear like the 17th century. Nowhere is that clearer than in "Hamilton," set in the 18th century while boldly staking the claim that the American Revolution belongs to everyone, here and now. Yes: the actors enacting Miranda's story are dressed in modified period costume from the neck down, and Miranda's lyrics in this nearly entirely sung-through piece include fragments from period documents like Washington's Farewell Address. But the only white lead is King George. He's surrounded by actors of color sporting contemporary hairstyles while engaging in rap battles over thorny policy issues when they're not fighting brilliantly staged battles like Yorktown, involving armies comprised of women as well as men (stunning choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler). Watching "Hamilton" unfold on David Korins' set an old-fashioned world of wood featuring a double turntable that recalls Harlem dance parties as well as the passage of time since the American Revolution it's hard not to see Miranda's triumph as a fulfillment of Jefferson's dream of universal equality. As imagined by Miranda here and in his Tony-winning "In the Heights," that dream belongs to outsiders from elsewhere as well as entrenched natives like Washington, Jefferson and Madison; Hamilton, much like Miranda's own family, hails from the Caribbean. Miranda's inclusive America confirms what Burr belatedly learns: we're best when we see ourselves as the sum of our parts, in a world where there's room for all of us to be fully ourselves, together. An Unsentimental 'Fiddler' In "Wonder of Wonders," her excellent book on "Fiddler on the Roof," Alisa Solomon notes that Miranda has regularly acknowledged how "Heights" borrowed structure and theme from "Fiddler." Set in 1905, "Fiddler" is another show asking whether there's room for those who think differently, be they Jews in Russia or individuals within Judaism itself. Both of these issues receive heightened attention in the first-rate Broadway revival currently playing at The Broadway Theatre. Directed by Bartlett Sher, it stars Danny Burstein as Tevye and Jessica Hecht as Golde. "Fiddler" has been revived so often and is so well known that it's become a tradition akin to the one celebrated at the top of the show, in which the reasons for doing things a certain way are often no longer apparent, reducing what's left to sentimental vignettes or even kitsch. Sher strips all this away; in his grainy and gritty production, even an early song like "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" is less dreamy than dark, as three young women confront the dismal prospect of loveless marriages to potentially callous or abusive men. Like Abby in Miller's "Crucible," Tevye's daughters are searching for a means of expressing themselves within a traditional theocratic community, much as Anatevka's villagers are trying to be true to themselves within a murderously intolerant Russia and much as Jewish immigrants like Tevye would attempt to live the dream of selfhood after emigrating to America. Sher and his cast get it, while also calling to mind Europe's current refugee crisis. We see all this instead of a venerable period piece in everything from the cast's fresh-scrubbed and newly vital characterizations to changes in something as iconic as Jerome Robbins' original choreography another tradition, here, undergoing a remarkable transformation. Even as he honors the Jewish folk dances Robbins had incorporated into the show, choreographer Hofesh Shechter has injected strikingly contemporary dance highlighting the tension between communitarian tradition and individualized expression, as dancers embody what makes them different, moving toward freedom even as they nominally fall into line. Tapping a new story in 'Shuffle Along' It's dancing that made a blockbuster of "Shuffle Along," a 1921 musical created by and starring black theater artists that Langston Hughes called the start of the Harlem Renaissance. It's currently in previews at The Music Box, courtesy of George C. Wolfe and a cast that includes Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter and an ensemble of ferociously good tap dancers under choreographer Savion Glover. Wolfe gives us the original musical's song and dance while scrapping much of the substandard book and replacing it with his own. The full title of this repurposed production explains what he's up to: "Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed." Most significant in what "followed" is all this show did to open doors for black performers on Broadway, enabled at last to appear as themselves rather than in blackface. One senses the importance of 1921 for 2016 when watching McDonald's Lottie Gee sing "Love Will Find a Way" to her male lead. The 1921 show's black creators hover in the wings, wondering whether white America would buy the revolutionary idea of black actors expressing love for one another on stage. While we listen to McDonald's magnificent vocal instrument climb toward the heavens, the answer is clear on the creators' faces. As they watch an imagined 1921 audience watching Lottie Gee, one sees relief and then joy once it becomes clear that this long-ago audience was loving what it saw making it possible for a 2016 audience to watch and love McDonald. The old and the new are continually folded into each other in "Shuffle Along," in which "42nd Street" meets "Dreamgirls." Even one's program holds another, designed to resemble a playbill for the original production and filled with information involving the black theater artists who created "Shuffle Along" and made this adaptation possible. As Mitchell suggests in a moving final speech, theater allows the furniture to get rearranged like this, so that everyone can have a seat in the room. Making a house into 'Fun Home' Furniture gets rearranged a lot during the course of "Fun Home," the musical based on lesbian cartoonist Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir about growing up in the 1970s in a tightly wound family in which Bruce her repressed, obviously gay father eventually killed himself. Winner of five 2015 Tonys including best musical, best score (Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori) and best book (Kron) most of its original cast remains intact almost a year after its opening within the intimate, in-the-round confines of Circle in the Square. "We rearrange and realign/Everything is balanced and serene," sings 43-year-old Alison of her father's vain hope that a perfectly arranged house might somehow create an ordered and intact life. A committed house preservationist, Bruce (Michael Cerveris, in a Tony-winning role) constantly shores up the old as a bulwark against the new. "You have to study the forms, you have to learn the rules," Bruce tells his tomboyish young daughter on stage as Small Alison, along with college-aged Medium Alison and the middle-aged Alison, looking back and remembering these two younger versions of herself. Bruce is ostensibly talking about drawing, but he's actually describing his severely circumscribed life, lived in fear of being himself. Conversely, Alison will gradually grow into her true self leaping out of the closet, as she tells us, just months before her father stepped in front of a truck. For all the sadness in this beautifully wrought musical, it can be surprisingly funny; Alison's journey toward the light makes it so. Leaving the house of her father, she creates "Fun Home," inhabiting a more inclusive world where anything is possible. A brave new world, like the one being born in "Hamilton." "There's a million things I haven't done," Hamilton sings in the opening song of Miranda's musical, buoyed by the promise of all he might do in a country giving free rein to his prodigious talent. "Just you wait. Just you wait." Wisconsin food or beverage entrepreneurs looking for a boost have until May 15 to enter the Hottest Kitchen Entrepreneur Challenge at Milwaukee Area Technical College. The fifth annual regional contest features two categories: a start-up category for those with a new food business idea and an early-stage category for entrepreneurs who have launched (within the last five years) but are looking for help to get to the next level. The grand prize winner in each category will receive $2,000 in seed money from Reliable Water Services, a contest co-sponsor; tuition for a three-credit course at MATC; a private meeting with the director of innovation for FaB Wisconsin, another contest sponsor; and a prize package worth $400 from Fein Brothers restaurant supply. Entries will be accepted starting Monday. Enter online by submitting a short application and photo of the recipe or product concept. Finalists will be selected in late May. The final judging event will be July 20 at MATC's student-run 6th Street Cafe, 1015 N. 6th St. Judges include local chefs and others in the food business. Full contest rules and details can be found at the website. SHARE By , Havana Fidel Castro responded Monday to President Barack Obama's historic trip to Cuba with a long, bristling letter recounting the history of U.S. aggression against Cuba, writing that "we don't need the empire to give us any presents." The 1,500-word letter in state media titled "Brother Obama" was Castro's first response to the president's three-day visit last week, in which the American president said he had come to bury the two countries' history of Cold War hostility. Obama did not meet with the 89-year-old Fidel Castro on the trip but met several times with his 84-year-old brother, Raul Castro, the current Cuban president. Obama's visit was intended to build irreversible momentum behind his opening with Cuba and to convince the Cuban people and the Cuban government that a half-century of U.S. attempts to overthrow the Communist government had ended, allowing Cuban to reform its economy and political system without the threat of U.S. interference. Fidel Castro writes of Obama: "My modest suggestion is that he reflects and doesn't try to develop theories about Cuban politics." Castro, who led Cuba for decades before handing power to his brother in 2008, was legendary for his hourslong, all-encompassing speeches. His letter reflects that style, presenting a sharp contrast with Obama's tightly focused speech in Havana. Castro's letter opens with descriptions of environmental abuse under the Spaniards and reviews the historical roles of Cuban independence heroes Jose Marti, Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez. Castro then goes over crucial sections of Obama's speech line by line, engaging in an ex-post-facto dialogue with the American president with pointed critiques of perceived slights and insults, including Obama's failure to give credit to indigenous Cubans and Castro's prohibition of racial segregation after coming to power in 1959. Quoting Obama's declaration that "it is time, now, for us to leave the past behind," the man who shaped Cuba during the second half of the 20th century writes that "I imagine that any one of us ran the risk of having a heart attack on hearing these words from the President of the United States." Castro then returns to what he calls a review of a half-century of U.S. aggression against Cuba, including the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against the island; the 1961 Bay of Pigs attack; and the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner backed by exiles who took refuge in the United States. He ends with a dig at the Obama administration's drive to increase business ties with Cuba. The Obama administration says re-establishing economic ties with the U.S. will be a boon for Cuba, whose centrally planned economy has struggled to escape from over-dependence on imports and a chronic shortage of hard currency. The focus on U.S-Cuba business ties appears to have particularly rankled Castro, who nationalized U.S. companies after coming to power in 1959 and establishing the Communist system into which his brother is now introducing gradual market-based reforms. "No one should pretend that the people of this noble and selfless country will renounce its glory and its rights," Fidel Castro wrote. "We are capable of producing the food and material wealth that we need with work and intelligence of our people." At her 2011 graduation from Lakeland College, Jeanna Giese-Frassetto meets with Rodney Willoughby Jr., the physician who helped develop a groundbreaking rabies treatment in 2004 that saved her life. Credit: Journal Sentinel files By of the Celebrations follow Jeanna Giese-Frassetto as she passes the ordinary milestones of life: Graduation from high school, graduation from college, marriage and now, most recently, motherhood. Among the celebrants has been and will remain Rodney Willoughby Jr., the physician who in the fall of 2004, with his colleagues at Children's Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, made medical history when they devised a way to keep Giese-Frassetto from dying of rabies. She was, at the age of 15, the first known person to survive without a vaccine. Now, nearly 12 years later, "she is the president of a growing club," Willoughby said Tuesday. Using what has come to be known as the Milwaukee protocol, the treatment Willoughby and his colleagues created in 2004 has saved 10 lives: two in the United States, four in Peru, and one each in Colombia, Brazil, Chile and Qatar. And as the list of survivors grows, so does the research. Willoughby said medicine to directly treat rabies "is on the horizon." The mixture of medical ingenuity and faith that saved Giese-Frassetto's life was described by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the 2005 series "Soul Survivor," which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Giese was bitten on her left index finger by a bat she tried to rescue at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Fond du Lac. Rabies can be cured if treated promptly after infection. But Giese's family was unaware of the infection until, weeks later, she was rushed to Children's Hospital. Her prognosis was dire. Willoughby and his colleagues treated her with a technique never before tried on a rabies patient. Giese was given a cocktail of drugs that placed her in a coma and protected her brain from the virus. The treatment saved her life, but it was punishing. She had to learn to speak, stand and walk. Her chances of survival had been so poor that each milestone, whether it was as small as using her eyes to communicate, or squeezing a nurse's hands, seemed like a gift, Willoughby said. On Saturday, Giese-Frassetto gave birth to twins: Carly and Connor. "You can't imagine," Willoughby said, "any greater gift than that." SHARE Lead by example In this election year, our legislators are determined to avoid tax increases by cutting expenses for education and medical care and expecting better end results. Why don't they lead by example? For instance, cutting their own office expenses and staffs, thus getting more efficiency. They also could demand free time from the media for campaigning a few months before an election. Why not enact laws to get discounted or free fares from transportation and hospitality facilities? Maybe their local gas station should give them free gas or sell at below cost, because they are trying to save the taxpayers' money. Our state and federal legislators should lead by example, and not a case of "do as I say, not as I do." But what are the odds of that? As a taxpayer and consumer, I expect to pay a little more for better goods and services. Cutting costs to the bone often leads to bigger expenses later on, but then it's someone else's problem. As an example, look at the huge costs of fixing the Mitchell Park Domes now because previous leaders refused to spend enough money on maintenance. I would hope our current legislators and executives take into account long-term results, not just today's. But then what would they have to campaign on: depending on voters' short-term memory, they hope. Melvin M. Askot Glendale Obama right on Cuba House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans have condemned President Barack Obama's efforts on establishing a relationship with Cuba. This is yet another example of the Party of No offering criticism but no intelligible suggestions or alternatives. I'd assume Ryan would be satisfied with another 50 years of limbo with Cuba. He says Obama's visit to Cuba had nothing to offer in return or legitimizes a tyrannical dictatorship. Well, where do you begin the effort then? Obama's speech to the Cuban nation certainly didn't legitimize a dictatorship and offered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the Cuban people. It seems evident that within the foreseeable future there just could be a major political shift, hopefully peacefully, given the status, age or health of the current regime. Should such occur, would we be in a better position to impart some influence on the future of this nation without or with some diplomatic relations? Seems logical the latter is more advantageous. Ron Humphreys Colgate Dealing with Congress Maybe I missed it, but the one thing I've not heard any of the candidates for president talk about is how they would deal with an almost totally recalcitrant House and Senate as President Barack Obama has had to do. How does one deal with a legislative branch that says by its actions at the outset that it will not work with or even consider overtures from the executive office. Now, House Speaker Paul Ryan asks for more civility from the candidates. Where's that been in the legislative branch for the last eight years? I'd love to hear from any of the candidates on how they would civilly deal with a hostile and basically negative Congress if they should be the elected executive. Art Schmitz Milwaukee End the war in Syria Now that Russia's President Vladimir Putin is withdrawing most Russian forces from Syria, the time is ripe for the United States to negotiate an end to the Syrian War ("Russian warplanes start pulling out of Syria," March 16). The United States can lead the way to achieving a peaceful agreement in Geneva through the United Nations if it stops both the flow of weapons to rebel armies and by ending the bombing. The recent successful negotiations with Iran demonstrated that negotiations could work, despite the negative attitudes of those who said negotiations would not be effective. The huge decline in violence with the ceasefire will return to former or even higher levels if the U.S. continues airstrikes and supplying weapons in the area. This is prime time for action. Susan Dupont Greendale News / National by Felex Share GLOBAL efforts need to be redoubled if countries are to overcome Western countries' resistance to reform and democratise the United Nations Security Council, President Robert Mugabe has said.The President made the remarks while addressing journalists after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here yesterday.The Japanese Premier also said there was a need to modify and level the playing field at the world body's Security Council, which is dominated by the five countries with permanent seats. These are China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Said President Mugabe: "Zimbabwe and Japan concur on the need to reform the Security Council. It's my sincere hope that global efforts will be redoubled to achieve a more inclusive and full democratic United Nations Security Council. Currently, the pace is rather slow and we hope that members of the UN will work together to speed up this necessary adjustment."President Mugabe has made repeated calls for the modification of the Security Council saying other countries had been made "dwarfs" while the five countries, popularly known as the "Big Five" dominate the most powerful UN arm.In January, he threatened to pull out of the organisation if the West, principally Britain and the United States, continued to block efforts to democratise the organ.On the other hand, Japan is part of the Group Four (G4) countries together with Germany, India and Brazil.The countries have mutually supported each other's bids for permanent seats in the Security Council for them to possess veto powers which enable them to prevent the adoption of any "substantive" draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support for the draft.G4 countries have proposed reforms in the UN Security Council to include an additional six permanent seats, four going to them and two to African countries.President Mugabe said there was also a need to ensure resolutions of the UN General Assembly - the policy making and representative organ - were respected."During our deliberations (with PM Abe) we highlighted the importance of the UN General Assembly which at present is the only true representative body in our organisation," he said."While we work towards the reform of the Security Council, we will do well to ensure that the voice of the General Assembly is respected and its resolutions are complied with by all."PM Abe, who has for long sought African support to land a seat in the Security Council, said adjustments were needed in the organ that is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security."We acknowledged and reaffirm the challenge that we are facing in international fora in particular the need to reform the UN Security Council," he said."President Mugabe is the great leader and doyen of Africa and I would like to promote the Security Council reforms collaborating close with him."The Security Council is responsible for approving new members to the United Nations and approving any changes to its Charter.It is also responsible for establishing peace keeping operations, international sanctions and authorising military action through its resolutions. Berlin You stand at Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, 2,711 gray, concrete slabs aligned in rows, forming dark corridors on a bright spring day. It is a fitting place to find oneself after a week and half spent interviewing the refugees of Syria's civil war. Here in Germany, men first industrialized the practice of murder. Reporter's Notebook Previous Entry Next Entry Follow along with photos, videos and notes from reporter Mark Johnson and photojournalist Mark Hoffman on our Follow along with photos, videos and notes from reporter Mark Johnson and photojournalist Mark Hoffman on our Journey to Jordan page. A short walk away stands the Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe, half a million gypsies slaughtered by the National Socialist State -- the Nazis. There is a still, dark pool surrounded by stones, some bearing the names of the concentration camps, so many names you have to search to find Auschwitz-Birkenau. How many citizens have stood here, hoping or praying that mankind will never again sink so low? How many world leaders have vowed "We will never forget"? And yet, in Syria a dark new threshold has been crossed. In interview after interview refugees have told us of atrocities committed in front of cameras and spread to the world on YouTube and social media. I learned this week of a man who was murdered by Syrian rebels for running a pro-government Facebook page. Rebels forced the man to give out his password. Then they posted the video of his execution on his own Facebook page for his wife and children to see. I went to YouTube and typed in "Syrian execution" and received 100 results. I typed in "Syrian atrocities" and received 500 results. Other conflicts have sent waves of horrific images into cyberspace. But Syria seems to have been the place where social media became a routine tool for spreading terror. Now, the survivors of this dark turn in history are seeking refuge in Germany. The integration of the refugees has been far from perfect. No one we spoke with disputes this. But the refugees offer their new country a chance for something new and hopeful. "Germany is changing from this migration also," said Azamat Damir, a 36-year-old journalist, who came from Kazakhstan and is now a German citizen. We spoke with him after visiting the memorials. "Now if you say, 'I am German' it is like in America," he said. "My own daughter was born in Germany." READ MORE International reporting for this project is supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. twitter.com/majohnso markjohnson@journalsentinel.com SHARE By of the Two Waukesha residents who went online to buy puppies recently were victimized by scam artists. Waukesha police are warning that similar scams are happening throughout the United States. In the last few weeks, two people from Waukesha visited the website www.oodle.com and were eventually transferred to multiple websites advertising the sale of puppies locally. Once they were on the bogus websites, victims searched for puppies of different breeds and were eventually redirected to fraudulent shipping companies, Waukesha police said. The victims received emails telling them to send MoneyGram transfers of more than $1,000 in each case. Investigators believe the scammers are not American citizens and don't have ties to Waukesha. Waukesha residents who believe they have been victimized by this scam should contact Waukesha police. They're also encouraged to report Internet fraud to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, ic3.gov. To prevent online scams, make sure to buy merchandise from a reputable source, get a physical address rather than simply a post office box, call the seller to see if the phone number is correct and working, be cautious when responding to unsolicited emails for special offers and, if possible, purchase items online using a credit card because charges can often be disputed if something goes wrong. News / National by Stephen Jakes The Kwekwe based human rights defender and democracy activist Nkosilathi Emmanuel Moyo (28) has reportedly fled the country amid fears he could be victimised.Moyo made headlines for sending a prison uniform marked 'Crimes Against Humanity' as a birthday present to President Robert Mugabe when he turned 92 in February this year.He told Bulawayo24 that his life is in danger in Zimbabwe and he is being targeted by suspected state actors hence the need to flee for his life."I have been frequently receiving death threats through anonymous calls and a group of four men in dark suits driving a car without number plates are seriously hunting for me,"Moyo said."They are a group of very harsh people who frequently visit my office demanding to know my whereabouts they even violently kick doors if they don't find me. By just looking at them you can tell that they are very dangerous people. So I decided to flee and get out of Zimbabwe before I am made another Itai Dzamara."He could not disclose his where about.The 28 year old human rights defender and writer is also popular for the four political books he authored condemning President Robert Mugabe's government for crimes against humanity and dictatorship.The books are namely, Zimbabwe a Revolution Waiting to Happen, Robert Mugabe from Freedom Fighters to The People's Enemy, The Rise of Grace Mugabe-The Fall of Zanu PF and Everything Is Possible Without Zanu PF.Thousands of Zimbabweans are downloading his books free of charge on his website www.nkosilathiemmanuelmoyo.orgMoyo said he is not regretting anything despite threats on his life which he is now facing. What I did was the right thing and I don't regret anything despite of all the threats which am now facing."I still stand on my position that President Mugabe must face justice for committing serious crimes against humanity for the past three and half decades which he has ruled Zimbabwe. Yes they can kill me but I will rather die for saying the truth than to live in oppression forever," he said."I am now in exile at the age of 28, my life is in danger and my only crime was to say the truth against President Mugabe's misrule. But I am very optimistic that one day the people's power shall prevail and the Zanu PF regime will be history. How I pray that I may live to see that day."Moyo said he will continue his human rights work even in exile.He said he is working towards establishing the International Organization For Youth In Politics (I.O.Y.P) which will be capacitating young people and developing youths with political aspirations.Back home he co-founded the Zimbabwe Organization For The Youth In Politics (Z.O.Y.P) a youth organization which reaches out to thousands of youths in Midlands province with programs targeting young people who are in politics. Moyo can be contacted on his whatsapp number +263775037579. SHARE By of the A 21-year-old woman died Monday after being pulled from Lake Michigan near the McKinley Marina, where she had entered the water while holding an infant, authorities said. Witnesses said that the woman appeared to be attempting to drown herself and the child when the incident was reported about 3 p.m. near 1700 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, according to a news release from the Milwaukee Police Department. After officers pulled the two from the water they, along with Milwaukee Fire Department paramedics began life saving measures on the two, neither of whom had a pulse or was breathing, according to Deputy Fire Chief Terry Lintonen. Fire department paramedics were able to revive the child, Lintonen said, however the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office later reported that the woman had died. No further details on the incident were available Monday. SHARE Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Raquel Rutledge has won a James Aronson Award for her series "Gasping for Action," which detailed the hazards that the flavoring chemical diacetyl presents for people who work in coffee-roasting facilities or who smoke e-cigarettes. The Aronson award, administered by Hunter College of the City University of New York, recognizes journalism that touches on issues of social justice. Other 2016 winners include journalists from the Guardian US, the Marshall Project and Harper's Magazine. Additionally, the independent journalist who brought the Flint, Mich., water crisis to light was recognized. Rutledge's work on the investigation was done while she was on an O'Brien Fellowship for Public Service Journalism through the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. Rutledge was a fellow during the 2014-'15 academic year. Earlier this year, Rutledge won two awards for the series in the annual Society of American Business Editors and Writers contest in the contest's government reporting and explanatory reporting categories. Her initial story in the series also has been included in The Best Business Writing 2015, an annual anthology of business journalism published by Columbia University Press. Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel team behind "Unsolved: A murdered teen, a 40-year mystery" was recognized as a finalist in the online storytelling category in the annual awards sponsored by the American Society of News Editors. The New York Times won in that category. The Journal Sentinel team includes reporter Gina Barton; multimedia producers Erin Caughey, Katie O'Connell and Bill Schulz; and graphic artist Lou Saldivar. Reddit Email 0 Shares By Paul Rogers | (OpenDemocracy) | Tunisia, Paris, and now Brussels: escalating attacks on western targets reflect a shift of focus by ISIL. The security consultancy IHS Janes has just completed an assessment on the risk of an armed attack in Europe. Its report was published a few days before the assaults in Brussels on 22 March (see Urban Risk, Janes Intelligence Review, April 2016). The analysis concluded that the risk was high, and most likely to involve the use of firearms rather than bombs because the former are easier to obtain. It also employed a complex methodology to assess which cities were most at risk. The top five were, in order: Paris, Toulouse, London, Brussels and Copenhagen. The report cited a remark of Rob Wainwright, the head of the Europol security agency: Europe is currently facing the highest terror threat in more than a decade. Between 3,000 and 5,000 European Union citizens, he said, may have returned to Europe after training in the Middle East with the Islamic State group. In the event, the Brussels attacks did involve bombs rather than firearms. The explosive used was mostly likely triacetone triperoxide (TATP), an unstable chemical but one that can be made quite easily from widely available materials such as acetone and hydrogen peroxide. It would have required some skill, hence the urgent effort now to capture the bombmaker. There is a wider issue, however. Why has ISIL developed the strategy, evident in 2015-16, of extending its campaign to international targets? In this period there have been two such attacks in Tunisia, two in Paris, and now Brussels, with several others being thwarted along the way (including another in Paris, as reported by police on 25 March). In broad terms, this marks a contrast with its predecessor movement and sometime rival, al-Qaida. The latters operations in the early 2000s were very much focused on encouraging, enabling and organising such attacks: these occurred in Istanbul, Bali, Islamabad, Jakarta, Mombasa, Amman, Casablanca, Madrid, London, and many other places. ISIS, by contrast, has emphasised the control of territory, a purpose outlined by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis sermon as caliph in Mosuls grand mosque in July 2014. The caliphate in Iraq-Syria remains at the core of its immediate ambitions. Since mid-2014 it has also been involved in linking up with other groups: in the Caucasus, Yemen, and Libya (where it established control of Sirte and substantial areas elsewhere). More recently, it has set its sights on western targets. There, here There are three reasons for the change in strategy, two of them straightforward. First, attacks such as those in Paris and Brussels are designed to have a maximum impact, especially via the media, across the world. This demonstrates its potential as a movement with global impact and also incites further military action against it from the west. The latter point highlights ISISs long-term aim from the start: to provoke war in order to present itself as the true guardian of Islam under attack from the pernicious far enemy of the west. Second, ISIL wants to stir up as much anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia as possible, especially in western Europe. This damages community relations and makes a tiny but still significant proportion of young Muslims feel even more thoroughly alienated and marginalised, and therefore more susceptible to indoctrination and recruitment. Third, and more complex, the war being fought in the Middle East especially the air campaign waged by the United States-led coalition plays a vital role in ISILs shift. This has been under way for twenty months, since August 2014, and is now being accompanied by frequent claims that ISIS is in serious retreat. The evidence includes the groups loss of Ramadi and potential reversal in Palmyra. ISIL certainly is in some degree of retreat, but a more modest one than western sources believe. Ramadi, for example, was fought over for five months before Iraqi army forces finally took control in December 2015; yet it is reported that ISIL units still operate around the city and stage frequent attacks on the army. ISIL experienced a surge in recruitment from abroad in 2015. But it is being buffeted by a severe casualty rate, much higher than is recognised in most western countries. US Central Command, in charge of the campaign against ISIL, says it has killed at least 22,000 of the groups supporters in these twenty months. This is equivalent to a Brussels-level loss of life every day for twenty months. ISIL may be able to tolerate this, at least for some months yet. Its current expansion in Libya offers it encouragement. But ISIL also wants to remind its supporters that, when it is suffering in the noble war against the west, it is also capable of hitting back in a spectacular way. The impact of the intense air-war probably began to have an effect at the end of 2014 and start of 2015, which helped push ISIL towards its change of strategy. If Europol is right and ISIS has been assiduous in developing cadres of supporters ready to organise and stage attacks in the west, then the war against ISIL has indeed taken a new turn. It is a bleak prospect for European governments and for the United States. In the coming months, they will meet the challenge by increasing the tempo of the air-war in Iraq and Syria, greater use of special forces (and possibly even regular ground troops), and expanding the war into Libya. All this might be portrayed as indicating that ISIS is weakened and on the defensive. But it looks much more like a very nasty war coming home to roost. Via OpenDemocracy Reddit Email 0 Shares TeleSur The loss of the historic city amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for the extremist group since it declared a caliphate in 2014. Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes battled Islamic State group insurgents around Palmyra on Monday, trying to extend their gains after taking back control of a city whose ancient temples were dynamited by the extremist militants. The loss of Palmyra on Sunday amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for the extremist group since it declared a caliphate in 2014 across large parts of Syria and Iraq. The Syrian army said the city, home to some of the most extensive ruins of the Roman Empire, would become a launchpad for operations against Islamic State group strongholds in Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, further east across a vast expanse of desert. Syrian state media said on Monday that Palmyras military airport was now open to air traffic after the army cleared the surrounding area of Islamic State fighters. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in Amman, said he was encouraged that Syrian government forces had been able to drive Islamic State group out of Palmyra and that the citys ancient heritage could now be preserved. But the Syrian opposition said it feared President Bashar al-Assads forces were using a fragile cessation of hostilities in the wider conflict to make territorial gains. Via TeleSur Reddit Email 0 Shares By Martin Conway | (The Conversation) | What we feared has happened, remarked Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, in the immediate aftermath of the horrible and violent attacks on Brussels airport and the Maelbeek metro station on March 22. Yes, indeed. Nothing is less surprising than that the vortex of terrorism and repression that has developed since the November 2015 attacks in Paris should have resulted in these new violent attacks. But that doesnt mean we shouldnt consider how these circumstances came about. These events reflect several, much longer-term issues. First of all, there is the ever more emphatic pursuit of a level of security that can never be achieved. European leaders from Francois Hollande to David Cameron are promising somehow to wipe away the threat of terrorism from Europe. That of course cannot happen. Only those who believe most naively in the capacities of Europes current intelligence structures hovering over the incessant noise of email, mobile phone messages and the twittersphere will believe that what has come into existence can be willed to disappear. There is indeed a police problem one above all of capacity and coordination but the solution to Europes security crisis can never simply be more security. That has to be combined with more imaginative efforts to look at the origins of the problems. And that of course means that Europeans need to look at themselves and the societies they inhabit. Long incubation Brussels was not randomly selected for this attack. It is a prosperous, peaceful and predominantly secular city. In many ways it embodies the values that many in 21st-century Europe hold dear. But it is also home to radicalised minorities. Most bars on most nights of the week within easy reach of the Maelbeek metro station will contain a cross-section of the successful young generations of Europe. They mix in those easily permeable domains between European institutions, lobbying and journalism. But think also of those who are not present in those bars: the micro-communities of Europes margin. Some of those are well established and familiar; but others are emphatically more recent notably the arrival in the poorer districts of central Brussels of populations from North Africa and the Middle East. These are people with relatively little interest in the society they now inhabit. And indeed Belgium seems to have little to offer to them, beyond the immediate and insubstantial opportunities of transient employment. They are the expendable populations, and they know themselves to be that. Molenbeek Which brings us inevitably to Molenbeek. That one commune of the 19 which constitute the city of Brussels should have come to symbolise all its problems is in many respects unfair. What has happened in Molenbeek could easily have happened in the neighbouring communes of Anderlecht or Schaerbeek. But the wider reality is indisputable inner-city communities often lack clear structures of governance, social solidarity and opportunity. There is a Belgian and a European explanation for that. The Belgian dimension must focus on the manifold complexities of the Belgian state. It is inefficient and simply lacks the capacity to provide effective governance to many of the most disadvantaged populations who now live on its territory. Belgium is not, by contemporary European standards, a conventional state. It lacks an instinctive ethos of centralism. Belgians know themselves to be diverse and are rightly proud of the fact that they do many things at a local, rather than national level. That works when the participants sign up to rather basic values of co-existence, but it fails when they contain populations who do not experience the basic amenities and opportunities which draw people into the European social contract. But it is that social contract which has been stretched to breaking point and beyond, in Belgium and elsewhere, over the past 20 years or more. The replacement of structures of social solidarity with the relentless logic of the market, have hollowed out the ways in which the poorer communities of Brussels and many other cities across Europe have invested in their larger collective existence. There are of course many reasons for that, most obviously the way in which the scale and diversity of migration has transformed cities into communities where there is no identifiable majority. But the larger picture, in Brussels and elsewhere, is the degree to which social inequality has generated its own dynamics of marginalisation and radicalisation. In Molenbeek, as in many other disadvantaged communities, the emergence of cultures of militant Islam has been less a stand-alone phenomenon than the product of wider phenomena of poor schooling, limited economic opportunities and consequent petty criminality. Confronting the real task Previous manifestations of terrorism in Western Europe have had immediate and tangible origins. The conflicts between communities in Northern Ireland and between Basques and the Spanish state are two of the most well-known causes of the 20th Century. It is tempting to see the current waves of terrorism as very different the result of the sudden invasion of militant Islam. But in many respects the origins of the current violence remain just as local. They lie in the willingness of young men of immigrant populations to turn the quasi-criminal expertise learned in their formerly marginal lives to more political and violent ends. For some, such radicalisation leads to Syria and back. For others, there is no need to travel further than across the cities of Brussels and Paris from the neighbourhoods of the marginalised to the bars, music venues and metro stations of the comfortable classes. All of which suggests that the problems that we a pronoun which is more exclusive than we are often inclined to recognise confront today are not going to go away soon. The current terrorism is so amorphous and so shallow in its political affiliations that it may fade away, as those drawn towards it today are attracted to the more immediate opportunities of tomorrow. But it is more likely that the breaking up, arrest and imprisonment of particular networks of individuals will simply be replaced by other such groups, who will similarly find in particular languages of Islam the vehicle for their angers and their emotional rejection of wider society. Putting back together Europes social contract might take longer than any of us would like to think. Martin Conway, Professor of Contemporary European History, University of Oxford This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Related video added by Juan Cole: CNN: Nazi salutes at Brussels attack memorial Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 29, 2016) - CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQB: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) (CanAlaska or the Company) is pleased to announce that the first drill program has commenced on the West McArthur project (Project) under the option agreement with Cameco Corporation (TSX: CCO) (NYSE MKT: CCJ) (Cameco). The agreement enables Cameco to earn up to a 60% interest in the Project through total expenditures of $12.5 million consisting of cash payments to the Company and accelerating exploration programs, culminating in a joint venture. West McArthur Project Grid 5 Fox Lake Zone To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2864/19849_enhanced.jpg The drill program will test new uranium exploration targets on the Grid 5 target, which is believed to host the western continuation of the C10 conductor horizon being explored by Cameco nearby at Fox Lake. The drilling will commence in the vicinity of historic drill hole EL-007 which was drilled in 1989. This hole is located on CanAlaskas West McArthur property near the northern flexure of the main Grid 5 conductor and shows strongly silicified and altered rock in the top 400 metres of the sandstone column. This alteration zone appears to be cut off by a fault, which may correlate with the structure controlling the Fox Lake high-grade uranium mineral trend CanAlaska president Peter Dasler comments, We are very pleased with the immediate attention that Cameco has given our project. The previous work carried out at Grid 5 indicates there has been a significant amount of mineralized fluid flow above the unconformity. The experience of the Cameco geological team with their model of high-grade mineralization related to major conductors and cross faults in this area, has already produced one significant zone of high-grade uranium mineralization at Fox Lake. We are all hopeful that extending exploration from the Read Lake property onto the West McArthur property will find additional uranium and a much larger discovery. The West McArthur Uranium Project covers 35,830 hectares (88,536 acres) commencing 6 kilometres (4 miles) northwest of Camecos majority owned McArthur River uranium mine. Importantly, the Project is immediately adjacent to Camecos recently disclosed Fox Lake uranium discovery with reported inferred resources of approximately 68.1 million pounds based on 387,000 tonnes at 7.99% U3O8. The Fox lake discovery is within the Read Lake project operated by Cameco (Cameco 78.2%, Areva 21.8%) . In other news, the Fond Du Lac project has been returned to the Community as it was near the end of its Federal lease term, and CanAlaska has a focused commitment to its key projects at West McArthur and Cree East. The Company strongly appreciates the support received from the Fond Du Lac Community over the life of the project, and fully anticipates that further work will be carried out on the key target identified by CanAlaskas drill programs. CanAlaska is concentrating on pursuing further property option and joint venture opportunities under confidentiality agreements on its non-core projects. Recently the Company has received interest in its kimberlite exploration targets in the Western Athabasca. Stay informed of Company and industry developments by subscribing to our email list: http://www.canalaska.com/s/RequestInformation.asp. The qualified technical person for this news release is Dr Karl Schimann, P. Geo., CanAlaska director, and Vice President, Exploration. About CanAlaska Uranium CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQB: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) holds interests in approximately 700,000 hectares (1.7 million acres), one of the largest land positions in Canadas Athabasca Basin region the "Saudi Arabia of Uranium." CanAlaskas strategic holdings has attracted major international mining companies Cameco, KORES and KEPCO as partners at its core projects. CanAlaska is a project generator and is positioned for discovery success in the worlds richest uranium district. For further information, visit www.canalaska.com . About Cameco Corporation Further information on Cameco can be found at www.cameco.com On behalf of the Board of Directors Peter Dasler Peter Dasler, M.Sc., P.Geo., President & CEO, CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. Contact: Peter Dasler, President and CEO. Tel: +1.604.688.3211 x 138 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The TSX-V has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release: CUSIP# 13708P 10 2. Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / March 29, 2016: BonTerra Resources Inc. (TSX-V: BTR, US: BONXF, FSE: 9BR1) (the "Company" or "BonTerra") is pleased to announce that it has received assays from an additional five (5) holes from its 2016 Exploration and Drill Program on its 100% owned Gladiator Gold Project located north of Val d'Or, Quebec. Two new high-grade mineralized zones have been discovered to the north (BA-16-02) and south (BA-16-05) of the extensions of the main deposits. 2016 Drilling Program Update and Highlights: Drilled 5.0 m of 15.3 g/t Au in Hole BA-16-02 in a new zone (North Shear 1); Drilled 6.0 m of 10.4 g/t Au in Hole BA-16-04; Drilled 3.3 m of 29.0 g/t Au in Hole BA-16-05 in a new zone (South); Drilled 5.7 m of 24.3 g/t Au in Hole BA-16-09; 8,300 m drilled to date in 19 holes on western extension of Gladiator Deposit; Results reported to-date are for 5 holes below and 2 holes previously reported on March 2, 2016; 6 holes are currently in the lab, and 6 holes are in process; Visible gold was identified in 16 of the 19 holes; The Gladiator Deposits are now outlined to the west by an additional 200 m long by 250 m deep, where 23 new drill holes (2015 and 2016) have extended the main deposits and discovered 3 new parallel zones. New drill information demonstrates that three zones (Footwall, Main and Intrusive) continue along strike, while three new zones (North Shear 1, North Shear 2 and South) have been identified both to the north and south of the previously known zones. Nav Dhaliwal, President and CEO of BonTerra, stated: "We now have extended the zone of mineralization approximately 200 meters to the west of our existing deposit, and we continue to intersect grades higher than the existing resource model completed in 2012. Our technical team's review of the geological system continues to be validated with recent drilling, with much data in process. Our recent strategic acquisition of key land positions along strike were completed to ensure we control what we believe to be one of the more interesting discoveries in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt." Dale Ginn, Vice President of Exploration of BonTerra, added: "Our winter drill program has, so far, been highly successful in extending our known deposits to west and to depth. Perhaps more significant has been the discovery of three new parallel zones, two of which have given extremely high-grade initial results over excellent widths. I look forward to expanding our knowledge of these new zones and to extending our drill program to the east over the spring and summer months." The western extension of the Gladiator Deposit was targeted based on interpretation of recent geophysical programs and extension of known data from the existing Gladiator zones. With the ice drilling program now complete for the winter season, the project will now focus for the month of April on gathering and compiling information from the new core as received to date and pending. The 30-day window will also allow time for a full interpretation of the initial 19 holes and complete a detailed report of the winter campaign. Upon completion, BonTerra's technical team will define, target and prepare the next drilling campaign and summer surface work. This program is expected to continue with drilling the main zones, follow up and the recent discoveries, apply drilling in order to extend the deposits to the east, and to follow up on targets identified on the Coliseum Property to the west. Complete Drill Hole Results: Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m) Grade (g/t Au) Zone BA-16-02 11.0 55.0 44.0 0.4 New (North Shear 2) 79.0 137.0 58.0 2.5 New (North Shear 1) Including 79.0 95.0 16.0 6.1 New (North Shear 1) Including 79.0 84.0 5.0 15.3 New (North Shear 1) Including 92.5 95.0 2.5 7.5 New (North Shear 1) BA-16-04 64.0 70.0 6.0 10.4 Main BA-16-05 25.0 26.5 1.5 3.5 Main 184.0 186.0 2.0 12.7 Main 290.7 294.0 3.3 29.0 New (South) BA-16-06 20.8 30.0 9.2 2.1 FW 336.0 337.5 1.5 2.5 Intrusive 416.0 420.0 4.0 1.7 Main BA-16-09 21.7 27.4 5.7 24.3 Main 110.1 111.2 1.1 41.7 Main 364.0 369.0 5.0 1.8 New (South) *Stated lengths are core width as drilled, true widths have not yet been determined. BonTerra Resources Quick Facts: ~$3.5 million in cash as at January 1, 2016. ~59 million shares outstanding. 7,563-hectare (Gladiator Project) in the Urban-Barry Camp in Quebec containing: Using a 4 g/t Au cut-off grade, the project currently contains an inferred resource of 905,000 tonnes, grading 9.37 g/t Au for 273,000 ounces of gold . Of note, ~90% of the worlds operating mines have an average gold grade less than 8 g/t. Mineral Resource Estimate and technical report filed July 27, 2012, Snowden Mining Consultants. 2,165-hectare (Larder Property) in the Cadillac-Larder Break camp in Ontario (refer to March 17, 2016 news release highlighting historical gold resource). 2016 Exploration Program underway - up to 25,000 meters utilizing minimum of two drill rigs at its 100% owned Gladiator Gold Project to expand current gold resource. Dale Ginn, P.Geo. has approved the information contained in this release. Mr. Ginn is a Director and Vice-President of Exploration for BonTerra and is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Nav Dhaliwal, President & CEO BonTerra Resources Inc. For additional information, please contact: Todd Hanas Corporate Development E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. T: 866.869.8072 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. This press release contains "forward-looking information" that is based on BonTerra's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. This forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements with respect to BonTerra's exploration and development plans. The words "will", "anticipated", "plans" or other similar words and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause BonTerra's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related exploration and development; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in input costs; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration activities; and labour relations matters. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect our forward-looking information. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. BonTerra disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Copyright (c) 2016 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. [JURIST] Azeri human rights lawyer and advocate Intigam Aliyev [JURIST news archive] was freed from jail [press release, in Azerbaijani] on Monday. The Azerbaijan Supreme Court [official website] reduced his sentence from over seven years to a five year-probation period. Aliyev had been charged [Reuters report] with tax evasion, abuse of office and illegal entrepreneurship. Amnesty International Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia Denis Krivosheev stated [press release] that Aliyevs release is welcome, but he must now be fully cleared of all charges and allowed to resume his work. Without this, there will be no justice for this resolute defender of human rights in Azerbaijan. The human rights situation in Azerbaijan has drawn heavy criticism from the UN and various rights groups the past few years. In April the US State Department condemned [JURIST report] the imprisonment of Aliyev and called for his release. Aliyev was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison and a three-year ban from holding public office on charges of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion and abuse of power. The statement also called the charges questionable, while Aliyev himself called them politically motivated. Aliyevs lawyer released a statement [JURIST report] after his arrest in 2011, saying, his detention was connected with his activity as human rights defender, and the purpose of this is to silence him down, based on a political instruction from above. Also in April Human Rights Watch reported the conviction [JURIST report] of leading human rights activist Rasul Jafarov and called for his immediate release. Louisiana jails are failing to provide [press release] basic HIV services to inmates, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said in a report [text] Tuesday. HRW said this failure occurs through limited, haphazard, and in many cases, non-existent services provided to inmates. Louisianas two largest cities, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, lead the nation in new HIV infections every year, and Louisiana also one of the highest rates of incarceration. According to the report, the failure to treat HIV adequately in jails and to connect people leaving jail with external services could greatly harm society in many ways, from the health and safety implications to social effects. The study shows that jail time can also lead to the problem, not just inadequately address it. Going to jail tends to make people poorer, less stably housed, and more likely to be jailed againall factors known to play a part in HIV prevention and outcomes. Even brief incarcerations are likely to interfere with peoples access to, or use of, HIV medications and reduce the chances of achieving viral suppression, the pinnacle of good health for someone living with HIV. The report closes by addressing Louisianas criminal justice reforms thus far, but acknowledges that there is still much progress to be made. As the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] calls for reform in state courts, the treatment of prisoners and prison reform [JURIST podcast] have been matters of ongoing concern in the US. Earlier this month two groups in Ohio released a report [JURIST report] detailing recommendations for criminal justice reform in their state. Also earlier this month the DOJ urged state court systems [JURIST report] to stop using procedural routines and hefty fines to profit off poor defendants [press release]. Last month the Supreme Court of California ruled [JURIST report] that Governor Jerry Brown can put his plan to ease prison overcrowding on the ballot this November. In January the US Supreme Court ruled that a landmark decision banning mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles should apply retroactively [JURIST report]. In August the DOJ reached a settlement [JURIST report] with Los Angeles prisons on mentally ill inmate care. In May Human Rights Watch released [JURIST report] a report stating that mentally disabled prisoners experience unnecessary, excessive, and even malicious force at the hands of prison staff across the US. A federal court in February 2015 approved [JURIST report] a settlement agreement between the Arizona Department of Corrections and the American Civil Liberties Union in a class action lawsuit over the health care system within Arizona prisons. Also in February 2015 rights group Equal Justice Under Law filed suit [JURIST report] against the cities of Ferguson and Jennings, Missouri, for their practice of jailing citizens who fail to pay debts owed to the city for minor offenses and traffic tickets. News / National by Staff reporter PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe last week spent four days in Singapore- the second time he has been in the Asian enclave inside three weeks amid growing concerns over his health - although his handlers insisted the veteran politician had taken a direct flight to Japan on government business.According to government officials and the State media, Mugabe left Harare headed for Japan for a five-day State visit at the invitation of that country's Premier Shinzo Abe on March 23, but curiously made a four-day unofficial stopover in Singapore, prompting questions from his critics.Mugabe turned 92 on February 21, but insists he will be the Zanu-PF candidate for the 2018 presidential elections when he would be 94, despite his failing health and age.The former guerilla leader sneaked out of the country in the second week of March under the pretext that he was to attend the low-key World Cultural Festival in India, but ended up in Singapore before inexplicably aborting the Indian excursion.Details of his latest trip as shown on flightradar24, an aircraft tracking site, indicated Mugabe departed Harare International Airport on Wednesday March 23 at 12:05am and arrived at Singapore' Changi International Airport 10 hours later at 10:15am aboard Air Zimbabwe Flight UM1 Boeing 767- 2 NO (ER), registration Z-WPF.Mugabe's stopover in Singapore, which has become his favourite destination for reported medical treatment,lasted four days before his departure for Japan, where he, according to State media reports, has a packed programme for the next three days.The Zanu-PF leader left Singapore on Sunday March 27 at 09:55am and arrived at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport at 15:50pm after a six-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean.State media yesterday reported Mugabe had a "busy schedule" during his visit to Japan, with "more than 13 engagements", that include meetings with Abe, industrialists as well as Emperor Akihito.But main opposition MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu said his party was not amused by Mugabe's choice of Singapore for medical treatment instead of local institutions."The Zanu-PF regime has run down the health delivery system in Zimbabwe through decades of neglect, misallocation of resources and rampant corruption," Gutu said."The ruling elite no longer patronise local hospitals when they are in need of medical treatment. They prefer seeking medical treatment in South Africa, Dubai,India and Singapore because they know that local hospitals are ill-equipped. President Robert Mugabe should be ashamed of himself for running down a country that used to be the jewel of Africa.Mugabe and his regime have left a legacy of grinding poverty and destitution for the majority of the people."People's Democratic Party secretary general Gorden Moyo said Mugabe was literally enjoying his pension on the job."All these unwarranted trips are suffocating the already depressed economy.Mugabe has become a liability to this country. He is gifting himself with these endless trips as part of his pension package.He has remembered that if he dies in office, there is no chance of enjoying a pension. Mugabe is now a pensioner in office, Zimbabweans must punish him and his associates in Zanu-PF come the next elections," Moyo said.Since January this year, Mugabe has been to the Far East three times already and by the time he returns from Japan, the veteran ruler would have added another 16 000km flying hours to his growing resume as a "frequent flyer".The Welshman Ncube-led MDC's spokesperson, Kurauone Chihwayi, urged Mugabe to "park at home"."Mugabe is insensitive to the plight of the poor and hungry in the country. It is high time he stopped splurging public funds on useless trips and the MDC is calling on Mugabe to park at home and shut up," Chihwayi said.Last year alone, Mugabe gobbled over $50 million on foreign trips, with little tangible benefits to the national economy despite State media going to town to celebrate so-called mega-deals with China, India and Russia that have yielded nothing so far.Mugabe's trips to Asia have increased in frequency with each passing year as his failing health takes its toll. News / National by Stephen Jakes AN MDC-T official Promise NMkhwananzi has said claims made by MDC senior official and former Education Minister David Coltart in his book are a serious reverse of the gains of the democratic process which were instigated by the opposition party.Coltart claimed in his book that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai trained bandits in Botswana which has been vehemently denied by the opposition party."David Coltart's book makes false, reckless revelations that have potential to derail and destabilise the democratic movement at it's most critical phase. I don't even know what the aim is," said Mkhwananzi."Some of the things might cause hardliners to dig in, thus make spirited efforts to reverse some of the democratic gains and autonomy zones retained thus far. We must lower the transactional costs of reform minded elements within the state and increase incentives for democratisation."He said secondly, Coltart provides the regime with ammunition to pounce on the key actors of the democratic movement with grave consequences to the progress made to date. Jonathan Moyo's support always comes at a prize."Has Coltart wittingly or unwittingly walked into the spider web?" he asked.Lastly and important Coltart is a subjective actor as evidenced by his taking of sides during the 2005 split. It is sad but unsurprising that he refers to Tonderai Ndira as a "thug". I wonder whether in doing so Coltart fully reflected and understood both the import and effect of his actions, intended and/or unintended. For example is Coltart implying that Zanu PF was justified in the way it treated Ndira?Sometimes memiors are reserved and postponed for strategic as well as national considerations. NEWSLETTER Sign up Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Just Style Daily Update The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Just Style Weekly Update A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday. Just Style Magazine The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter. News / National by Staff reporter The Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Supa Mandiwanzira said artistes to desist from the pull him Down syndrome and work for a common cause.Minister Mandiwanzira said this at the Album launch of Andy Muridzo's Ngarizhambe in Harare.He praised local musicians for the unity they exhibited by attending the launch held at Dandaro Inn. He says Zimbabweans should promote local artistes.The launch was organized by music promoter Partson Chimbodza of Chipaz promotions. Chimbodza said he has been ditched by several musicians who he nurtured into internationally recognized artistes.Dendera musician Suluman Chimbetu urged other artistes to support Chimbodza and honour him.Several artistes attended the launch of the 15 track album. News / National by Thobekile Zhou MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai was in court this morning after a Zimbabwe National Army colonel, Christopher Mayoyo sued him for $500 000 in defamation.The matter was postponed to July 14 by High Court judge Justice Amy Tsanga.Mayoyo is suing Tsvangirai over the violence the army officer allegedly caused in 2008 in Masvingo."Zimbabwe National Army colonel, Christopher Mayoyo is suing the MDC leader for $500 000 in defamation for restating what the army colonel's victims, who identified the army officer during the brutal assaults, have been saying all along."Following his defeat by President Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008, President Robert Mugabe unleashed the army on innocent Zimbabweans for daring to vote for change." Over 200 people were killed in the violence. Only recently, former Zanu PF provincial Affairs minister for Masvingo, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti has gone on to reveal the names of senior army personnel deployed in the provinces to brutalize innocent Zimbabweans in 2008, " MDC-T Presidential Spokesperson and Director of Communications Luke Tamborinyoka said. Opinion / Columnist Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist and commentator, writer, and journalist. He writes in his personal capacity, and welcomes any feedback. Please feel free to call/WhatsApp: +263782283975, or email: tendaiandtinta.mbofana@gmail.com As Zimbabwe draws nearer to commemorating its 36th Independence anniversary on 18 April, it is so painful to reflect on how the notion of freedom has become so hollow, as Zimbabweans have become nothing more than slaves to the very people who claimed to have freed them.I am reminded of a very touching, but telling statement made by the late great nationalist leader Dr. Joshua Nkomo, who said, 'The hardest lesson of my life has come to me late, it is that a nation can win freedom without its people becoming free.'He was obviously making reference to Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans, and he was so right - which is why he is the greatest revolutionary to be born in this country.The people of Zimbabwe are, indeed, not free, as every day they have to struggle and toil not against the natural forces of this world, but against the very people who once claimed to be liberators, but have become the worst oppressors - proving that they were nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing.As Plautus once said, 'Homo homini lupus!', meaning, 'Man is a wolf to man!' - and ZANU PF has proved that exceptionally well, beyond a shadow of a doubt.If a Vice President has no qualms about staying in a hotel for one and half years - at the expense of the already suffering tax payers, who themselves can not even afford to pay rentals for their own dwellings - then it is clear that Zimbabwe is at its worse predicament than during the colonial days.At least during the colonial era, the regime made an effort to ensured that the economic landscape was vibrant and that those who resided in urban areas had decent accommodation, whilst the powers-that-be were never reported to be living in hotels, or any other grandiose lifestyle.ZANU PF's brazen disregard for the people that one is supposed to lead, clearly shows not only utter contempt and a lack of respect for Zimbabweans, but also shameless childishness, only expected of someone who has been homeless for the past 3 decades who suddenly wins the lotto.Actually, it is even worse than that, because at least this homeless man would be using his own money and pretty much can do with it as he pleaded, but the Vice President is staying in a reportedly US$400 a day hotel squandering the country's meagre resources that should have been used to uplift the lives of the suffering people of this country.Such unbecoming behaviour is not to be expected of a mature person who is meant to be a Vice President of a nation.However, such is the shameful behaviour of the whole ZANU PF caboodle.Is it then any wonder that this same government can preside over the disappearance of US$15 billion - an amount whose magnitude I can not even begin to grasp.An amount that could have easily fed all the starving people in this country, bought text books for all the schools, and provided for most of the nation's needs.If the government can afford to pay for the Vice President's stay in a hotel, where are they getting the money, since they always tell Zimbabweans that their suffering is a result of economic sanctions imposed on the country by the West?This proves that these were nothing but tales, and it is time that the people of Zimbabwe held the ZANU PF government accountable for its actions.The suffering people of this county can not take it anymore, and can not afford to just sit back and watch whilst those in power do as they please.It is time that Zimbabweans got their country back, and it is up to us to stand together and not leave it up to politicians to emancipate us.We have the power in our hands, and we need to use it.For how long are we to endure this insufferable humiliation and abuse at the hands of the ZANU PF government?For how much longer are we to stand by and watch our children not attending school - as we lack the financial means - yet our very own tax payers' money is being used to send the powers-that-be's own children to the most expensive schools all over the world?Are we to just fold our arms, and go to bed hungry, whilst the wealth from our God-given natural resources are being pilfered by a few, who have built palaces and little kingdoms for themselves?Are we to just watch whilst the government threatens to close down thousands of companies, thereby rendering tens of thousands more people unemployed - adding to the millions who are already jobless as a result of skewed government policies - that seem like empowerment programmes, but actually benefit only a small powerful clique?For how much longer are we to stand by and watch our sweat and tears being unrewarded, as business owners work us to a pulp, and yet fail to pay us at the end of the month - yet they live lavish lifestyles, with some of them being listed amongst the country's wealthiest?Are we to go into our graves without leaving a pension and financial security for our spouses and children, just because the company we toiled and sacrificed for for decades refuses to give us any terminal benefits - which the company owners and executives are using to holiday in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris and New York?The ZANU PF government and a few in the business sector have not shown any difference at all - as some of the business people are direct beneficiaries of cronyism with those in power.No, this can not be allowed to continue!It is time for us to take charge and show who really is boss in this country.The Constitution of Zimbabwe makes it very clear in Section 3(2)(f) that the State and all institutions and agencies of government at every level must show 'respect for the people of Zimbabwe, from whom the authority to govern is derived.'We, the people of Zimbabwe, have the power and the right to to also deprive this government to authority to govern - or at least demand our rights be respected.We have so much power in our arsenal, and we should be bold enough to use it.In this struggle, we do not need bazookas or light machine guns, but the brevity to stand firm on the rights enshrined to us in our Constitution.With the 2018 elections just round the corner, it is time for mass mobilisation.Let us go out there full throttle to educate our families about what is happening to our beloved country and the need to change the government.No one should say that they are not interested in politics.The next time we do not have enough food to eat, let us make it clear to our spouses, children, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers what the reason is, who is to chiefly blame, and how we can change this - by registering en mass to vote and kicking out ZANU PF.Whenever we can not afford school fees, and our children fail to attend lessons, let them know what is happening.Whenever our company closes, or we are not paid, let those close to us know and understand what is happening and how to change the status quo.Let those close to us understand how politics and politicians affect our everyday existence, and why each and everyone of us should get involved in bringing positive change to this country.Politics affects us all, and therefore, all of us should affect politics.Let us not sit back expecting the opposition to do it for us.The opposition also derives its power to be effective from the people, and without all of us being fully supportive and engaging in all their activities and programmes, then the opposition has no power at all.Instead of us complaining that the opposition is not doing anything, let us ask ourselves what we are doing in our individual capacities to effect positive change.The power for any change lies with us.We, as ordinary citizens, do not need to first draft some fancy manifesto - with some high-sounding sententious objectives and strategies - but we just need to go out there and make our voices heard and our power felt.The Constitution provides for our rights to peacefully demonstrate, petition, campaign for a cause, and engage in any political activities, and as such, we should bravely engage in those, without fear of any consequences.Even those in the diaspora can organise in their numbers and make sure that the plight of the people of Zimbabwe is never forgotten.Additionally, they need to come home and vote in 2018, as that is an obligation for all of us.No one but ourselves hold the keys to unlocking the shackles of oppression and misery placed on us by ZANU PF, and fearlessness is that key.As long as we have fear at the forefront of our thoughts, then we will forever be slaves in our own motherland.Let us make sure that our dissatisfaction with, and rejection of the manner in which the ZANU PF government is treating us is clearly heard.We should demand accountability from the government at every turn.Never again should the people of Zimbabwe allow for a few to make the lives of the majority a traumatic nightmare.We have power in unity and in numbers - let us use that effectively.When we are united and stand together as one powerful machine, nothing and no one can stop us.Not all the abductions, beating ups, arrests, tortures, or violence can stop a determined people.We have only our unity, dignity and our desire to be free and live joyfully as our strongest weapons, and the Constitution as our ally.We can no longer afford to just stand by and be mere spectators to our very own execution - but we need to stand together and get our country and freedom back. CAMPBELL, Calif.FriendFinder Networks is ready to take Tempe by storm during The 2016 Phoenix Forum by bringing partners and affiliates new product launches and promotions. In January, FFN launched their interactive live-broadcasting initiative aptly called Cams Connexion. Its a new feature that connects members and models with interactive experiences utilizing new advances in teledildonics. In addition to providing members with a more immersive experience, the feature is also providing FFN affiliates with growing returns on traffic as the new experience gains adoption with millions of Cams.com members. The FFN team will also be highlighting their new Cobrand Tool that is now available for more integrated marketing for dating traffic. A highlight of the show will be the attendance of CEO Jon Buckheit, who made his industry debut at Internext in January. Also in attendance will be FFNs Digital Marketing Manager Katie Dillon, Social Media Director Courtney Rudolph and Business Development Manager Sasa Masic. All will be available March 31 through April 3 at the Tempe Mission Palms taking meetings and networking. To set up a meeting, contact [email protected] For more information, visit FFN.com. SCHINDELLEGI, SwitzerlandInterMaxGroup AG, a leader in online dating in the German speaking and Central/Eastern European market has introduced MyDatingSiteBuilder, a brand new white label solution for affiliates willing to build their own online dating brand. MyDatingSiteBuilder enables the companys affiliates to build their custom dating brand with its own look and feel on their own domain, making their offer more individual among the widespread dating products to further improve their conversion ratios, and all integrated with the selection of promo tools, including recently updated/optimized banners and landers available in the companys online dating affiliate sponsor program imaXCash. MyDatingSiteBuilder is suited for anyone willing to give his/her dating offer a fresh and individual look. Be it portal owners looking to integrate their own online dating brand, media buyers looking to facilitate a feel of a smaller dating brand, or email marketers willing to make their offer fresh and individual. Customization options include a custom logo, colors or buttons design, including the sites logo being consistent in all email communication with the sites members in order to maintain the brand awareness. Affiliates may promote localized, mobile-ready dating products that are constantly optimized for better conversion rates, targeting the German speaking market and the usually lesser monetized central/eastern European countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Croatia or Bosnia and Herzegovina. This white label option offers our affiliates a brand new promotional angle, said Kamil Simandl, sales and affiliate specialist at imaXcash. The more you promote and share the brand and its logo in front of your potential customers, the better the chance they will remember your site and eventually join. Affiliates may choose their payout structure either as a lifetime rev-share or as pay-per-sale, with a bonus of $100 for new affiliates added to their first regular payout. In order to learn more about the new white label solution and to sign up, visit MyDatingSiteBuilder or contact Kamil Simandl at [email protected]. The company will be also present at the Phoenix Forum from March 31 to April 3, 2016. In order to learn more about how MyDatingSiteBuilder or imaXcash can benefit your business, please contact Lars Ruebel at [email protected]. LOS ANGELESOral Wet, the flavored disc designed to enhance oral sex for both partners, announced the selection of award-winning performer Kiki Daire as the Oral Wet Blow Job Queen. "I'm excited to be the Oral Wet Queen," said Daire. "Because when I used the discs I enjoyed giving blow jobs more, and my partner felt the same way." As spokeswoman for the brand, Daire will help to spread the companys message that Wetter Is Better! Oral Wet is the brainchild of Scott David, adult film producer and impresario. David partnered with a laboratory to master the technology that enables the release of flavor into the mouth while creating maximum moisture. After two years of research and development, Oral Wet was born. Oral Wet is a tiny disc that adheres securely to the gums and eventually dissolves. This disc not only creates moisture, it also provides a delicious flavor in the mouth, which can last 35 to 45 minutes while your partner receives amazing wet oral pleasure. There are four unique flavors to satisfy all palates, Strawberry, Watermelon, Bubblegum and Cinnamon Bun. Scott David, Kiki Daire, and adult starlet Jessica Ryan will be appearing on Gary Garver's Controlled Chaos show 8-9 a.m. PDT Friday, April 1, to discuss the benefits of Oral Wet. The show can be heard on KCAARadio.com or 106.5 FM and 1050 AM. It will also be replayed on iHeartRadio.com three days later. Oral Wet will be on hand for attendees of the International Lingerie Show in Las Vegas, at The Home Pleasure Party Plan Association suite, April 4-6. Anyone interested in more information on Oral Wet can call Scott David at (323) 400-6444 or visit OralWet.com. LINCOLN Gov. Pete Ricketts on Monday joined in the criticism of a shooting-related comment that Omaha State Sen. Ernie Chambers made during legislative debate. Chambers made the remark last Wednesday during consideration of a bill to ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. At one point he said the debate was so upsetting that, if he were a white man, he would have brought in a semiautomatic weapon to mow everybody down. The next day, Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley chastised Chambers and urged all senators to use their words carefully. Ricketts spoke out during his monthly live radio call-in show, in response to a Fremont caller who called Chambers prejudiced and his comment as bad as a terroristic threat from an average citizen. I agree with you 100 percent, the governor said. Those comments were way out of line. I view comments like that to be absolutely damaging to the fabric of the state. Ricketts went on to say that in an age of terrorism and mass shootings, such comments could incite violence and be perceived as threatening. He also told the caller that he had staff look into the matter and said they determined that Chambers and other state senators are immune from civil and criminal liability for statements they make in floor debate. That protection has been part of the Nebraska Constitution since 1875. As an alternative, Ricketts suggested, the Legislature should censure members when they use that kind of language. Although legislative rules permit the lawmakers to censure a colleague, it appears that has happened only once: In 1955, Sen. Sam Klaver of Omaha was condemned on a 37-2 vote for seeking compensation to defeat a bill. Chambers did not return a message Monday seeking comment. Thursday, though, he responded defiantly to Hadleys criticism. Chambers said he would continue to use the metaphors and similes he finds appropriate to a situation. I shall continue to express myself in the way I find most effective for the business at hand, he said. Chambers and Ricketts have tangled multiple times before, notably over the governors attempts to carry out executions and to overturn the repeal of the death penalty. Chambers is an ardent death penalty foe. Last year the governor was among those condemning Chambers when the veteran Omaha senator compared police to the Islamic State. He made that comment during a public hearing at which a legislative colleague said Nebraskans want to be able to carry handguns into bars because they are afraid of crime and terrorists. Chambers responded that residents of his north Omaha district fear the police more than they do extremist groups such as the Islamic State. Nebraska lawmakers struck a healthy compromise in legislation that will add environmental safeguards when petroleum industry companies seek to store fracking wastewater deep underground in our state. Additionally, passage of LB1082 last week will appropriately update the mission of the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The environmental group Bold Nebraska is celebrating LB1082s passage because the activist organization had spearheaded resistance last year to fracking water disposal in northwest Nebraskas Sioux County. In support of the legislation, Bold Nebraska supplied lawmakers with 10,000 petition signatures, 1,300 letters and written testimony from 460 testifiers. Bold Nebraska enthusiastically fanned public sentiment against fracking water disposal, but the legislation that passed appears logical and timely, considering that methods are changing in the Nebraska oil patch and those changes call for a shift in how the Oil and Gas Commission oversees exploration and development. Funded by fees from the industry it regulates, the Oil and Gas Commission was formed in 1959 for the purpose of promoting the development of Nebraskas oil and natural gas resources. The commission could fairly be described as industry-friendly as wildcat drillers raced to unlock the potential in oil fields spanning southwest Nebraska, the panhandle and southeast Nebraska. Development of Nebraskas oil and gas resources has been successful and without major environmental problems, but the evolution to new drilling and fracking technology has changed the industry and attracted public scrutiny and criticism. With the more productive wells that fracking makes possible come concerns about the environmental risks, particularly groundwater pollution. As a result of those concerns, Nebraska lawmakers voted 48-0 for final approval of LB1082. Among the protections that LB1082 adds for groundwater are requirements for regular sampling and reporting of fracking waste fluids, and monitoring of produced water transporters in Nebraska. Companies must periodically prove theyre financially prepared to pay if their operations cause problems. The law also calls for counties, cities, villages and Natural Resource Districts to be notified of fracking wastewater injection wells. LB1082 adds some reasonable assurances in case companies seek to store fracking wastewater underground in Nebraska. Coupled with existing safeguards that prescribe how wells are built to prevent groundwater contamination, the legislation sounds a warning that Nebraskans are serious about protecting their precious aquifers. Rosie the Riveter wasnt drafted to do her essential work during World War II. If she had been, she would have collected a pension and some praise. And the women who served as pilots during the countrys greatest conflict definitely would have been better off if the Air Force had demanded their services, rather than accepting them as volunteers. The contributions of women of the greatest generation received renewed recognition in Washington last week, with the arrival of 31 women who manufactured aircraft alongside the original Rosie at the Willow Run plant in Ypsilanti, Mich. It took 70 years, and the intervention of Michigan congresswomen Debbie Dingell and Candice Miller, for these civilian women to receive the honor. Another stop on the Rosies sightseeing itinerary was the Women in Military Service For America Memorial, where the more than 1,000 Womens Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) are given their full due for their 60 million miles flown and 38 lives lost during the war. But not everyone is willing to accord the pilots the recognition they deserve, including ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery. A 1977 law, sponsored by Cokies mother, Lindy Boggs, granted the pilots retroactive veteran status, and funerals at Arlington followed. But last year, the acting secretary of the Army declared that there was a technical problem in the law, and cut off the WASPs access to the cemetery. On the same day that the Rosies came to town, the House unanimously passed a bill reversing that decision; now the Senate must act. Leading the charge to reinstate the pilots privileges was Arizona Congresswoman Martha McSally, herself the first female Air Force fighter pilot to fly in combat, who reacted furiously to the acting secretarys insistence that it would require an act of Congress to reverse the decision. The pilots would have been spared that indignity if they had been fully accepted in the military in the first place. And, as our fighting women have explained for decades, to be fully accepted, women must be eligible for combat. They finally won that battle last December when Defense Secretary Ash Carter declared that all combat jobs, with no exceptions, would be open to women. What follows naturally from that decision is that young women turning 18 in this country, just like young men, should register for the draft. When draft registration was reinstated in 1980, Congress defeated an amendment to include women in noncombat roles. Some men, arguing that mandatory registration for males amounted to sex discrimination against them, brought suit against the government. Their claim was rejected in a Supreme Court decision stating that only men could engage in combat, and the point of registration was the availability of names to call up to fight. Over time, various proposals to register women have been introduced, insisting that the court ruling no longer applies to the modern military. But in every case, they were rejected based on the argument that women are not in ground combat, and therefore theres no need for them to register. As it is now, disabled males, illegal immigrants and men recently released from mental institutions or jail are all required to register for the draft. So are women who were born as men. (But not men who were born as women.) Able-bodied young women can watch their brothers sign up while they sit home. Thats not just bad for the military in case theres ever a need for a draft; its also bad for the women of America. 234 Shares Share You have a persistent cough and poor appetite, but for six months your doctor has prescribed an assortment of antibiotics after an initial chest x-ray showed a small pneumonia. Finally, short of breath, you go to the emergency room where a CT scan reveals untreatable lung cancer. Later you find your doctor has received a bonus from your HMO insurer for not ordering a CT scan earlier. Physicians count on experience to pursue patient symptoms, but does dangling a bonus suppress their learned instinct from medical school and residency training? Ethically, is it also a violation of the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm if the bonus was more important than the patient? Increasingly, employed and contracted doctors face this moral dilemma. Sometimes authorities at a higher level deny procedures, consultations, and treatments. When though the decision falls on your physician, how do you know outside employer influence will not affect the care you receive? All of us have seen the mechanized changes in health care with a drive-thru atmosphere devoid of emotions. Not only have statistical goals been mandated, but contracts are dangled with bonuses swaying medical decision-making. Who though would violate a physician oath and go against their moral character? When you have a 6-figure education loan to pay off, a new mortgage, and a young family, having a job is paramount. With over a decade invested toward a worthy career, one cannot easily walk away. There is a doctor shortage but disgruntled and emotionally burned out physicians are quitting or retiring at an alarming rate. Sadly also, their annual suicide rate has risen sharply. So, on the one hand, some patients are being short-changed in the care they are receiving, while doctors are finding they cannot live under the compromised care they are providing. Why? Business. Mainly hospitals, insurance companies, and big pharma. Over the past two decades, health care costs have surged at an exorbitant rate. Government decided drastic action would be needed, so they changed laws attempting to rein in costs. Unfortunately, they were written by K Street and rubber stamped by financially influenced legislators giving us the problems we have today. This business-created health care system continues to be a major contributing factor in personal bankruptcies, mortgage defaults, and even homelessness. What is the solution? Just as Henry Ford absconded with the mass production idea from Japan over one hundred years ago, we must look around the world for health care models and contour it to the needs of the American people. How will it be paid for? Remove the major profiteers, and dont allow K Street involvement. Then make sure the bureaucrats who make the law live under the law. Until then, our children and great grandchildren cannot compete economically against other countries in the world marketplace if they dont have viable medical care. For now, the next time you see a doctor, make sure you know who signs their paycheck. Gene Uzawa Dorio is an internal medicine physician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 776 Shares Share Over the last several years since I graduated from residency, Ive worked in many different hospitals up and down the east coast. These have ranged from large urban medical centers to rural community outposts. In all of these places Ive felt the inevitable conflict that exists between physicians and administrators to varying degrees. It almost seems like a rite of passage that the world of clinical medicine and administration are at loggerheads with each other in health care. Sad, but true. Ive personally worked with some very inspirational administrators (rare) and also some fairly terrible ones. Ive noticed that the best and most respected administrators have been physicians (or even nurses) themselves, with many still doing clinical work to stay in touch with the front lines. Experience has therefore taught me to be very careful with any job search, and observe carefully the state of the administration before signing on the dotted line. I feel Im now finally at a place where the relationship in the hospitals I work in is fairly good, but getting there has certainly had its ups and downs. One of the palpable drawbacks in the worst places Ive worked, that has been a consistent theme, is that administrators completely fail to grasp the realities and rigors of the frontline practice of medicine. They are all too quick to enforce mandates and band around terms like patient satisfaction like bumper stickers, but lose the forest for the trees in terms of reasons why their ideas are unsuccessful. A further trait in the very worst administrators (and remember, many of these people have a shelf life of less than a year or two) is that they almost pour scorn on the doctor-patient relationship and the sanctity of that trusted interaction. Why do they do this? Because to lots of them, it is something that they cant quantify or understand (until that is, they or a loved one are in need of a good doctor). Its incomprehensible to those who are only in the business of medicine that theres an entity like this that is outside their reach. The same goes for other administrative folk, including the health care information technology crowd. In their world, everything is about numbers, big data, and measurements. Its all click boxes, mandates, and the bottom line. The problem however for them is that health care will never be like that. No matter what changes occur in the business and administration of medicine, health care will always be about real people and human beings. Its an emotional arena in which that doctor-patient interaction still remains paramount. While not all administrators are bad or completely out of touch, the downstream consequences of having a bad administration which is perceived as alienating or not understanding their frontline staff, are a huge liability for any health care organization. If you are physician who is currently frustrated with your administration because they dont get it (and I have numerous friends and colleagues across the United States who are in this boat), take solace in the fact that you are a highly skilled professional who is very valuable to your patients. Realize that your level of education and training, along with your professional judgment, is way more than most. The bond that you get to form with your patients is special and unique. And above all, remember that your skills are transferable anywhere and that those administrators who may irk you the wrong way are very much here today, gone tomorrow. Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician and author of three books, including Thomas Jefferson: Lessons from a Secret Buddha. He is the founder and director, HealthITImprove, and blogs at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand. Image credit: Shutterstock.com A Waterford drug courier who has been in hiding from other ruthless and insidious criminals since his arrest for having 47,000 worth of cannabis has been jailed for three years. A Waterford drug courier who has been in hiding from other ruthless and insidious criminals since his arrest for having 47,000 worth of cannabis has been jailed for three years. Michael Dempsey (32), who had worked as a technician for Sky, was stopped by gardai coming out of Busaras when they got a smell of cannabis coming from his suitcase. They later found that one of the bags in the suitcase had split. Garda Kevin Carey agreed with Remy Farrell SC that his client owed money to drug dealers in his native Waterford but this debt was then sold on to a more serious criminal gang in Dublin. His modest debt was then multiplied by a factor of three or four and escalated to 55,000. At one point Dempsey was bundled into a van and threatened with a gun before he was warned his head would be blown off if he did not pay the debt. His family home was petrol bombed, his hand broken with a sledge hammer and his teeth smashed in. Gda Carey said he subsequently investigated Dempseys claims he had been threatened and confirmed that they were credible. He said Dempsey had received documentation from the gardai in April 2010 stating that his life was under threat. The garda further accepted that Dempsey had been used as courier in order to pay off the debt and was considered completely disposable by these criminals. It is my belief that he would have been used as a courier until he got caught by gardai, Gda Carey said before he accepted that Dempsey has been in hiding since his arrest. He also accepted that these people would still be able to reach Dempsey in prison and that if jailed, he would be in 23 hour lock up for his own safety. Dempsey with an address at Tubui in Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cannabis, worth an estimated 47,120, for sale or supply on Store Street, on January 17, 2011. He has five previous convictions which were mainly for road traffic offences. Gda Carey told Fergal Foley BL, prosecuting, that Dempsey made full admissions on arrest but did not reveal the identities of the owners of the drugs. Dempsey told gardai he had agreed to transport the drugs to pay off a debt. Judge Martin Nolan accepted that Dempseys original debt had been sold on to much more ruthless and insidious people who then seriously threatened and beat him. In a sense he is the author of his own misfortune, Judge Nolan said. By allowing himself to be indebted to these people, he exposed himself to these threats. He said the proper course would have been to notify the gardai of the threats but accepted that Dempsey did not feel like he was in a position to do that. Judge Nolan accepted that Dempsey had pleaded guilty and co-operated with gardai but said it is not unusual for debts to be used as a leverage to get someone to transport drugs. (Kitco News) - The gold price is looking a little top-heavy for New York-based research firm CPM Group, which on the day of its Gold Yearbook launch, says it expects the yellow metal to stay above $1,130 an ounce in 2016. Jeffrey Christian The gold price rose for a variety of reasons one of which was that you had a lot of investors concerned about recessionary economic conditions in the U.S. and China, and investors are now starting to back away from that, explained the firms managing director and well-known market commentator, Jeffrey Christian. Speaking ahead of the firms coveted Gold Yearbook launch, which examines fundamental trends in the market for the year, Christian said that if the metal manages to stay above $1,170-$1,180 an ounce, it would be incredibly bullish. We think the gold price could fall back to $1,130 and that would not be unreasonable to us, he explained. The yellow metal is currently up 15.5% since the start of the year, but down after hitting a 13-month high earlier this month. On Tuesday, April gold found some momentum settling the day at $1,235.80 an ounce, up more than 1%, or $15.7 ounce. As investors back away from fears of recession, you will see hesitance in buying more gold and you might see shorter-term investors liquidate some of their positions, Christian said. He explained that investors are coming to the realization that recessionary conditions will probably not come to fruition, but it will be an environment of relatively modest growth. The stock market has probably topped out but it probably is not going to collapse either, he said. Going forward, investment demand is forecast to grow setting up investors to compete with central banks for gold, which should influence prices positively, CPM said. He added, Our expectation is that the gold price comes down over the next two quarters second and third and by the end of year, [it] starts rising again as investor concerns of the economic outlook for 2017 starts to take hold again. In late 2010, CPM had previously forecasted that gold and commodity prices might reach a cyclical peak in a secular bull market, possibly around 2011, and then decline for three to five years before resuming their upward moves. Gold and commodities prices have been declining for more than four years now, since late 2011, and the firms 2016 yearbook suggested that this is, the most valid approach to future gold price trends. Christian added that one gold market fundamental that has been gaining importance as a positive influence on gold prices in recent years is central bank gold demand. The big surprise development in 2015 was the announcement by the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) in July, he said. It was an especially important period with regard to demand from this sector, he explained. The PBOC signaled that it had changed its attitude toward gold as a monetary reserve asset. It announced that it had added 19.4 million ounces of gold to its holdings in June and that it would continue to buy gold and add it to its monetary reserves as it buys it, which it has been doing since July 2015, CPM explained. Christian said that the firm expects the PBOC to be a more active and regular gold buyer in 2016, rather than the episodic purchase they made from 2003 to 2014. By Daniela Cambone of Kitco News; dcambone@kitco.com Follow me on Twitter @DanielaCambone SHARE By Chris Henry, chenry@kitsapsun.com PORT ORCHARD State and local school taxes account for more than 40 percent of most people's property taxes in Kitsap County. The Feb. 9 special election yielded a bumper crop of new school levies and bonds the effects of which won't be felt until a year from now, as property owners pay their 2017 first-half tax in April. The voter approved measures affect property owners in Bremerton, Central Kitsap, Bainbridge Island and North Mason school districts. South Kitsap plans to rerun its bond measure April 26 to build a second high school. The bond narrowly failed Feb. 9. Property owners can roughly calculate the impact of new measures to their taxes by multiplying the estimated rate per $1,000 of assessed value by their current property value. For example, Bremerton School District's new capital levy rate in 2017 is an estimated 94 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, so the owner of a $200,000 home will pay an estimated $188 per year on the levy. The actual rate per $1,000 depends on the total assessed value of all properties in the district, which proportionately will share the 2017 collection amount of $2.96 million. Remember to factor in levies that will go away in the new tax year. Bremerton's new capital levy, for example, replaces a capital levy that expires at the end of 2016. The current capital levy rate is 61 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, compared to 94 cents per $1,000 in 2017. Central Kitsap has a new school support (maintenance and operations) levy starting in 2017 that replaces an expiring levy. On Bainbridge, however, property owners in 2017 will add payments of 36 cents per $1,000 on a new bond to two existing bonds ($1.13 per $1,000 combined) and a capital technology levy (36 cents per $1,000). The capital levy expires at the end of 2017, so in 2018 the total rate for all capital measures in Bainbridge Island School District will drop. South Kitsap has no existing bond debt. Tax bills for 2017 are based on property values as of Jan. 1, 2016. The Kitsap County Assessor's Office is crunching numbers and will mail out value statements in June. A revised calculation based on the new (2016) value statement will give a more refined estimate of the impact of new school measures. The exact amount will be shown on the 2017 tax bill, which will come from the county Treasurer's Office around Valentine's Day in the familiar pink envelope. Complaints about property valuations are common after tax bills land, Treasurer Meredith Green said. But the time to complain is when you get your valuation notice, she said. Property owners have 60 days to appeal to the Assessor's Office. Some disputes will go before the county's Board of Equalization. Two main reasons your taxes increase are voter-approved measures, like school bonds and levies, and if your property value shows a greater increase in value relative to other properties in the district. Appreciation of real estate in 2015 averaged 4.3 percent throughout Kitsap County, including residential and commercial properties, according to the Assessor's Office. If your property saw a 6 percent increase due to major improvements, say, you'll pay a proportionately larger share of the total county tax burden in 2016. People worry that an increase in their property value will trigger a significant increase in taxes, Green said. But that's not necessarily so. If your property tracked close to the average, your proportional share of the total will remain roughly the same. Green likens it to boats riding the same rising tide. For non-voted taxes, districts are limited to 1 percent above the previous collection amount, plus an allowance for new construction. The 1 percent increase typically doesn't translate to a significant tax increase per household, Green said. On April 4, the county will launch a new version of its parcel search function designed to be more informative and easy to use. Among its new features, the site will offer ways to visualize the tax burden of each property. Links from the tax bill will show graphs and pie charts of the "general tax distribution" for each property, the proportionate amount for the county tax and junior taxing districts, such as schools (state and local), libraries, port districts, city taxes, fire and emergency services, and utility districts. In another view, you can see the cost of each taxing district over time. Tax relief is available to people at least 61 years old and those who are disabled. Qualified applicants with household incomes of $40,000 or less (not counting money spent on certain medical costs) are eligible for exemption from voted levies and, at lower levels, reduction in total tax liability. For property value questions and information on tax relief, contact the Kitsap County assessor at assessor@co.kitsap.wa.us or go to www.kitsapgov.com/assr. For questions on tax payments, call the Treasurer's Office at 360-337-7135, email treasurer@co.kitsap.wa.us or go to www.kitsapgov.com/treas. This article was edited to correct information on the window of opportunity for property owners to contest their assessed value. Kitsap Sun file The Kitsap Community Center, on Highway 104, in January 2013. The building is being sold to Coffee Oasis, which plans to operate a coffee shop and youth center there. By Rachel Seymour of the Kitsap Sun KINGSTON Coffee Oasis is moving into Kingston after years of searching for a location. The nonprofit which operates coffee shops throughout Kitsap that provide jobs, services and support to at-risk youth is buying the Kingston Community Center, which Kitsap County owns and has planned to sell for nearly a decade. Coffee Oasis will purchase the land and 8,000-square-foot community center on Highway 104 for $380,000, according to County Commissioner Rob Gelder, who represents North Kitsap. Money from the sale will help fund the new Village Green community center, which is expected to open this spring off West Kingston Road. "It seemed like a great way to move forward," Gelder said about filling the soon-to-be vacant building, while providing money to the new facility. The Village Green will be home to community meeting space, a gymnasium, the Boys & Girls Club and the Kitsap Regional Library's Kingston branch that is located in the old center. Coffee Oasis has until the end of June to finalize the sale, according to Executive Director Dave Frederick. Once the sale is complete, renovations to the center can begin; the facility could open as early as October. Renovations will cost about $120,000 with in-kind labor donations, Frederick said. Added to the purchase price, that makes it a $500,000 project. Community organizations, like the Rotary and Lions clubs, have helped with labor on other Coffee Oasis locations. Grants and donations (including $250,000 from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust, for which Coffee Oasis recently applied) should cover $430,000 of the $500,000 needed for the project. That leaves $70,000, which Frederick said wasn't too bad considering Coffee Oasis wasn't able to publicly fundraise without having a location selected. While Coffee Oasis will continue fundraising for the facility, two years of operating expenses $400,000 have already been donated, Frederick said. The first floor will serve as the youth center, where showers and a laundry facility will be installed. The second floor will house the cafe. The 2013 Leadership Kitsap class first proposed a Kingston location of Coffee Oasis. Leadership Kitsap is an annual 10-month program that reinforces civic duty by developing community projects. Coffee Oasis also has branches in Poulsbo, Port Orchard and Bremerton, which provides an emergency housing teen shelter. The Kingston site will make it easier for North Kitsap teens to access Coffee Oasis' services. "We are eager to be a part of that greater Kingston community," Frederick said. SHARE By Kitsap Sun Staff BANGOR Naval Base Kitsap was recently designated a StormReady community by the National Weather Service. Established in 1999, StormReady is a nationwide program encouraging communities to prepare for severe weather disasters. The designation recognizes communities that have met a standard of weather-related disaster planning and preparedness. "Earning StormReady recognition demonstrates that Naval Base Kitsap has a program to keep personnel and families on all of our bases ready for and advised of emergencies," commanding officer Capt. Tom Zwolfer said. To earn the designation, Naval Base Kitsap emergency management team collaborated with agencies, commands and organizations at its bases. The team is led by Scott Larson, supervisory emergency management officer; Amanda Windes, emergency management officer; and Force Tolar, manager of the base's Emergency Operation Center. The base is networked to the weather system's live weather updates, meant to keep communities better aware of potential disasters well ahead of time. Naval Base Kitsap also has an established warning system to ensure residents and employees can be alerted 24/7. StormReady communities also must have an established emergency operations center and multiple ways to alert the public of incoming severe weather. Preparing people before severe weather strikes is another important element of the StormReady program. The base does this through Ready Navy. Run by the base's emergency management team, it uses tools like information booths at events and regular public outreach to disseminate emergency preparedness messages and educate the community. The base also has trained weather spotters, made a formal hazardous weather plan and holds regular emergency exercises, all of which meet the requirements for a community to be designated as StormReady. SHARE Ted Cruz and John Kasich have declared they will not withdraw from the Republican nomination race. They each have perfectly rational reasons. It is bizarre, then, that neither Cruz nor Kasich is taking the obvious and most rational course of action to increase their prospects of gaining the nomination. I don't have a clue why they aren't. The strategy is simple: cooperate. The logic is simple, too. Neither Kasich nor Cruz has any chance of capturing a majority of convention delegates on a first ballot. Therefore, the only opportunity they have to gain the GOP nomination is through a brokered convention. There can only be a brokered convention if Donald Trump fails to gain a delegate majority through primaries and caucuses. By competing in every remaining state, Cruz and Kasich are creating the optimal conditions for Trump to gain a majority, severely undermining their own prospects. The obvious and only rational response is for Cruz and Kasich to divide up the remaining states between them. Trump would then be confronted with a series of one-on-ones. For example, they would agree that only Cruz would campaign in Wisconsin, Indiana, Nebraska, West Virginia, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and California. Kasich would urge his supporters in those states to embrace the #NeverTrump cause and strategically vote for Cruz. Marco Rubio did this for Kasich in Ohio. Kasich's map would include New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Oregon, Washington and New Jersey. Rational, self-interested cooperation between competitors, even enemies, is a ubiquitous, intuitive, ancient strategy. The best way to take on a playground bully is to gang up on him or her, not to pick one-on-one fights where the bully is destined to win. When mobsters want to move on a powerful don, they divvy up the targets. They don't all move into the same neighborhood or racket. When businesses compete with a big, established player, they search for markets where they can be the sole challenger, not one of many. When the small players coordinate their attacks, it is called collusion. But there is nothing illegal about collusion in politics. Kasich has some proven experience with cooperation strategies as a successful legislator and governor. Cruz, as far as I can tell, has had absolutely no success as a legislator (except acquiring notoriety) because he rejects cooperation. Perhaps that explains why he and Kasich are at a standstill. The #NeverTrump movement has an overwhelming interest in a Cruz-Kasich pact. Besides the benefits outlined, a rationally divided primary map would allow #NeverTrump organizations to more effectively deploy their resources ground troops, surrogates and, of course, advertising. The #NeverTrump contingent, however, has the same fatal deficiency as the Republican Party and its amorphous leadership: It lacks leverage the power to offer a deal Kasich and Cruz can't afford to refuse. It is at least conceivable that Republican mega-donors and their networks could collude quickly and refuse to give Kasich and Cruz any more money unless they cooperate. But there's no history of such disciplined, fast strategic cooperation at that level. Besides, the political judgments of the GOP oligarchy this year have been especially bad. None of this explains why Kasich and Cruz don't do the smart thing independently of party pressure. They have both assured voters in debate after debate that they are very, very smart guys. One Kasich adviser, a GOP backroom veteran named Charlie Black has said publicly, "I think you could make a case for coordination." So what is the hold up? One problem might be trust. Perhaps Cruz and Kasich don't trust each other to hold up the bargain. Cruz certainly hasn't earned much (any?) trust from his Republican colleagues in the Senate. It would be rational to act on that mistrust if and if they had better options. They don't. I have been told that Kasich and Cruz won't cut the rational deal for the simplest of reasons ego. They each somehow think lightning can strike them the good kind. They think a deal tarnishes their luster. They think a deal would undermine them at a brokered convention. They think Trump might go boom. They don't care who wins if it isn't them. Cruz and Kasich might stumble their way into a brokered convention anyway. Their latest strategic moves suggest they won't be top players there. Dick Meyer is Chief Washington Correspondent for the Scripps Washington Bureau and DecodeDC. Readers may send him email at dick.meyer@scripps.com SHARE By Kathleen Parker So what are we to do? This is a familiar question to opinion writers. Translation: You've told us what's wrong with everything and we agree. But, what's the action plan? Ah. The action plan. I hoped you'd never ask. A reader recently wrote three of us Washington Post columnists along these lines: "I feel your frustration and fear," she wrote, "but what are we to do to counter the insanity besides exercise our right to vote, express our opinions and make monetary contributions?" Excellent question. Would that someone could answer it. In such times, I turn to my personal wizard, Van Wishard, whom I've introduced in a previous column. A retired trend analyst, Wishard can't stop his fertile mind from examining the problems of our age. To all questions, his answer is "globalization." Nothing can be fixed or stopped, he says, until we come to terms with globalization as a profound psychological issue, not just a matter of economics or immigration patterns. In one of his highly distilled observations, he wonders (but isn't predicting) whether this may be our last election for a while. To Americans who already feel disenfranchised and voiceless, their votes virtually meaningless as political parties seek to override their votes, this idea won't much surprise them. Rather, they likely have already begun to feel resigned to a country no longer their own and a world that's out of control. Wishard's thesis hinges on his further observation that the military and Silicon Valley may be the only institutions left that are capable of governing. Might a marriage of military order and advanced technology be in our future? Silicon's masters of the future are furiously working to create post-human robots that promise to make better decisions albeit lacking in empathy, at least for the time being than their human bosses. Already, it's difficult to find a human to help you in a brick-and-mortar store, soon to be obsolete except as sensory museums for the elderly and curious. What whimsy awaits? The drone that brings you Starbucks coffee and a bagel? Such futuristic developments are upon us. The dehumanization to come, via designer genes and surrogate spouses who bring fantasies to life, won't leave much for humans to do other than cause mischief. Perhaps the rise of the Islamic State and other death-dealing savages are the counterforces to lengthening lives absent meaning the dark armies of Thanatos, the death drive that Sigmund Freud recognized as an instinct equal to survival. In the midst of such overwhelming, existential change, the pace of our daily lives will continue to increase as our world continues to shrink. Fear and anxiety are natural reactions, yet no one in the political realm acknowledges this. Understandably, few want to have a fireside reality chat. First, it isn't the bright and hopeful message upon which political campaigns are built. A Donald Trump would rather promise to stuff globalization back into the bottle than talk seriously about how America adapts. We'd rather be distracted by such quandaries as where a transsexual empties his or her bladder. Here's an action plan for you: If you're a transsexual woman or a man, use the restroom that corresponds to your chosen sex. Your privates are no one's business. There, that was easy. The rest is not so simple, which is why Trump is so popular. He makes things seem simple by offering slogans as solutions and by essentially denying globalization. This isn't only dishonest; it's offensive. Globalization today has become a force unto itself an expanding, assimilating organ nourished by diverse cultures, symbiotic systems and a rapidly converging collective psyche. There's no separating one from the whole. And there's no turning back. Any presidential candidate who isn't talking about globalization proactively, realistically and, yes, optimistically isn't shooting straight. Worse, he or she doesn't get it. Action plan? My robot and I will get back to you. Meanwhile, Wishard finds hope in young people, who, notwithstanding the fashionable rise of socialism, travel abroad, speak more than one language, have made friends across cultures through social media and accept international integration as the new normal. Perhaps it will take a younger candidate to one day lead the country into this newish century, assuming a robot doesn't beat him or her to it. But for now, the right candidate would do well to explain to people why they're uneasy and convince them that the human race, not just this country, is on the verge of awesomeness (for real) and walk them through an unavoidable adventure. SHARE Girl Scout Troop 42082, Kingston Grateful for help you give Girl Scouts We are a troop of eighth-grade Girl Scouts. We have been selling cookies for eight years. Every year, we are incredibly grateful for the support we receive from the community. Because of this support, we have been able to take trips to Seattle, Seaside, Oregon, and Great Wolf Lodge. We have hosted events and camps for younger girls. We also have been able to support the humane society, make blankets for children in the hospital, make Jared boxes, and educate children about the dangers of smoking. We also bought a goat, chickens, and helped pay for a girl's education in a developing country. Thank you for your support over the years! Girl Scout Troop 42082: Abby, Jessica, Vianne, Izabel, Gianna, and Gabrielle Police have charged a man with aggressive panhandling after saying that Paul Anthony Smith was blocking a sidewalk and forcing himself on passers by. Smith, 47, was taken to jail in the incident on Sunday. Police had responded to a call that several people were drinking and panhandling in front of Thai Smile in the 200 block of Market St. An officer said Smith had been cautioned against aggressive panhandling earlier. The officer said he was taken to jail because he likely would have continued his panhandling and drinking. Smith has a lengthy record of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public intoxication. A couple of weeks ago Kenny Harmon cooked 12 hamburgers because his six grandchildren were coming to dinner. Just one, Kelsey, showed up and what was meant to be a prank on the other five no shows turned into the biggest thing to hit the state of Oklahoma since Rogers & Hammerstein wrote, Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin back in 1943. Kelsey posted a brutally-sad picture of Papaw eating alone on Facebook with the caption, dinner with papaw tonight he made 12 burgers for all 6 grandkids and Im the only one who showed up love him. Guess what just spread across the country faster than a prairie fire? Within 24 hours the Tweet was retweeted over 70,000 times as the social media was aflame by those who would do anything for a chance to have a burger with my grandfather. Another Facebook post went viral with the caption: I cant look at the papaw picture without crying who does that to their grandfather? and it was accompanied by a stream of selfies with people all over America who were in tears. Mad? People were so furious that one grandson, Brock, got 737 death threats last Thursday. But, wait! Apparently there was a communications mix-up, as sometime occurs in impromptu family feasts. It was just a joke that got twisted around, Brock was finally able to explain and the bewildered Papaw couldnt believe what was happening. I just cant get my head around it, he said as media outlets as far away as England bombarded him with interview requests. And people were mad, indeed. Kelsey got a message what the @ of the other grandchildren we need to talk, and Kelsey immediately responded, papaw is ok guys I promise -- & he loves all grandkids equally, plz stop sending my cousins death threats everything is ok The trouble was, Kelsey couldnt keep up with the lightning-fast social media. I am sorry I cant reply to everyone. Getting hundreds of interactions every minute. I have had many laughs over the memes and funny posts of my grandfather. I have also had many, many messages telling me the post encouraged people everywhere to visit their grandparents. That means so much to me. I have also seen many posts that were sad, people saying they dont get the chance to see their grandparents For those saying I did this for attention, you are far from right. Family is the most important thing in my world and I would never take advantage of them for a few days of fame . Papaw is great. Please know he is loved deeply, and now widely. Soon the Harmon family decided to turn lifes lemons into lemonade. They invited everybody and anybody to come to the familys flea market property, just south of Norman to come have a hamburger with Papaw last Saturday afternoon. They hit on the idea they would charge $2 apiece, any money left over after expenses to help Papaw assist the grandchildren with their college tuition. They also sold T-shirts and hats, reading, I had a burger with Sad Papaw and presto a crowd police said averaged about 2,500 people, many from surrounding states and one from Australia, had their pictures taken with the overwhelmed grandfather. Our goal is to bring attention to the public that they need to visit the elderly and especially their elderly loved ones, said the somewhat embarrassed Papaw. At first the plan was to let Kenny himself cook the burgers but that fell flat real quick. Too many people had come great distances and wanted to pose for pictures with him, shake his, hand, and tell him that cared. We had 10 people cooking all afternoon and the demand never let up it was crazy, Brock Harmon told reporters. The theme that comes to me, said Papaw himself, from almost everybody is their grandparents, their great grandparents what they want to do now or wish they had done before. The Harmon family is calling the episode a great success after Saturdays huge turnout. When grandson Brock was asked what was best, he didnt hesitate. The most special moment of the day was seeing my grandpa cry, Brock said quietly. There were some people telling him their stories and he was really touched. And then there is one last thing. Papaw said it wasnt like the now-famous picture showed. I have a solemn look sometimes people say I dont smile enough but thats my personality. When I cook out everybody in the family is invited and, if they have conflicts, thats part of it. If one of my boys forgot to tell his kids, thats ok too. Kenny Harmon isnt sad, nor was he ever sad. How could he be with three grown sons, six adopted children and six grandchildren? Ill promise you this I dont get upset about stupid things. But I am pleased this had a good ending Remember what Brock, the grandson, asked the media to spread, Remember, your grandparents arent going to be around forever. Tell them that you love them. royexum@aol.com Sharon Falco, left, and Jeremy Morse, both advanced emergency medical technicians with Priority Ambulance, at the company's main offices in Knoxville on Tuesday. Priority Ambulance is holding a job fair Thursday to hire EMTs and paramedics. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS /NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE Sharon Falco, left, and Jeremy Morse, both advanced emergency medical technicians with Priority Ambulance, at the company's main offices in Knoxville on Tuesday. Priority Ambulance is holding a job fair Thursday to hire EMTs and paramedics. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS /NEWS SENTINEL) Rob Webb By Ed Marcum of the Knoxville News Sentinel Emergency medical workers are in high demand these days, and Knoxville-based Priority Ambulance is holding a job fair Thursday to recruit for emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic positions. Priority needs to expand to serve growing demand from hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities, but elsewhere across the country, ambulance companies are having problems filling emergency-personnel positions, said Rob Webb, vice president of Priority's Tennessee Operations. "There is a national shortage of EMTs and paramedics because a lot of companies are hiring them away from ambulance companies. We are competing with hospitals, doctors' offices and even flight services now," he said. "We have been very fortunate in that we are not in a mass shortage of employees," he said. "The reason we are hiring is we are expanding and need more people." Priority is holding an open house and job fair at its headquarters at 910 Callahan Drive, Suite 101, from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday. Prospective employees will get to tour the facility and its fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulances. Priority will be offering signing bonuses based on certification level and experience, Webb said. Priority plans to hire six to eight more emergency workers so it can add two ambulances to its Knoxville fleet, he said. In January, competing ambulance operator Rural/Metro of East Tennessee also held a job fair, seeking to sign up paramedics and EMTs. At the time, Chris Bakch, Rural Metro's vice president of operations for East Tennessee, said the high cost of training, plus an increasing level of required expertise, were discouraging people from entering the field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for EMTs and paramedics is expected to grow 24 percent from 2014 to 2024, exceeding the average of 7 percent growth for all other occupations. The only other field approaching this level of expected demand is health technologists and technicians, which is expected to grow 16 percent by 2024. The bureau cites an aging population and an increase in the number of specialized medical facilities as factors driving this trend. Priority Ambulance entered the Knoxville market in 2014, and besides Knoxville, has a facility in Blount County and another in Loudon County. Among the three locations, Priority has a total fleet of 20 ambulances and workforce of about 100 people. Priority has an extensive presence outside Tennessee, with facilities in Alabama, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and Indiana. It about 1,000 workers and 170 ambulances. SHARE Aaron Paul plays a conflicted husband in Hulu's "The Path," which begins streaming on March 30. By Luaine Lee, Tribune News Service When 17-year-old Aaron Paul arrived in West Hollywood to become an actor, he knew he had worlds to conquer. His mother drove with him in his 1982 Toyota Corolla, which had a trunk that flooded in a downpour and no second gear. "My mom dropped me off, moved me into this little studio, and there was a shoot-out at the Bank of America two blocks away," recalls Paul over lunch at a hotel cafe in Pasadena, Calif. "We could hear the gunshots. ... Helicopters overhead. And my mom is, of course, terrified. The first night with her leaving, I thought, 'OK, I'm an adult.' But I was an infant, really, with a lot to learn. I think that first night changed me." In spite of his youthful optimism it wasn't going to get better soon. Paul had saved $5,000 to make the move. "That was the most money I'd ever seen in my life. And it went pretty quickly. I was living on Top Ramen. You could get 10 packets for $1 back then." Nine months passed before he wangled a job. "The first few months was fine," he says, taking a bite of steak salad. "I had money to pay the $500-a-month rent, but quickly I had a roommate move in. And one week I had the bed, and the next week I had the walk-in closet. But it was great," he smiles. He managed to line up some commercials and was working as an usher at the Universal City movie theater. "I did that simply because I could watch movies for free and I was on a fixed income. I got by doing commercials," he says. "You just cross your fingers hoping you'd make the cut. I think I've probably done 30-plus commercials. I had my ups and downs, but I was having a great time. I was somewhat fulfilling my dream. But I wanted more." He got more all right, in a way that would alter his life. Paul, 36, landed the role of the flaky druggie Jesse Pinkman in the now-classic "Breaking Bad." "Right before 'Breaking Bad' I was at my lowest low in terms of doubting myself," he says, pausing, his fingers caressing his water glass. "I was barely paying my bills. I had spent money from my commercials. It costs money to live in Los Angeles. I'm like, how can I continue to go down this path of my own personal dream? I never wanted to ask for help from anyone. This was MY dream so I wanted to do it alone." But he couldn't. "I remember the day when I called my mom and dad it was very emotional for me and I asked them for help with my rent. I know this was very hard for them. It's almost impossible for them to say no, but it's very hard for them to say yes. "So they ended up paying my rent for three months. I knew that was that. It was 1,200 bucks a months, $3,600 and that was a LOT of money for them. Then I got a script sent to me by the name of 'Breaking Bad.' I read it and I knew that was the role that was going to change everything for me. So I just gave it my all." The series was such a phenomenal success that afterward Paul vowed to take a break from episodic television and concentrate on film. After all, he'd performed in seven pilots before he landed that series. None of them were picked up except "Breaking Bad." "At the time no one knew if it would survive," he recalls. "We saw it at the Sony lot this is before we were picked up. We knew it was a special script, we knew we had an incredible experience shooting the project, but you just never know. Everything has to fall into place in the most cosmic way. And it did. Everyone was so emotional, jaws on the floor. And when the credits rolled we were just speechless and we all knew our lives were going to be changed." So how does he follow a flawless effort like that? When his agent told him about "The Path," which premieres on Hulu March 30, he was reluctant. But he met with the producers. "I had a great meeting and walked out thinking, 'I think I'm going to pull the trigger. I think I'm going to do it.' Then I got cold feet and ended up passing on it." He didn't want to do another series and was concerned that people would compare it to "Breaking Bad." He needn't have worried. In "The Path" Paul plays a conflicted husband, a convert to a Scientology-like religion that tests his commitment and faith. "Two days later, after a couple of sleepless nights, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was in the middle of dinner and it was just internally in my head, and I just interrupted the conversation and said, 'I have to step outside and make a phone call.' I left and called my reps and said, 'Can we get this back?' I put them through a little torture but I'm so happy they didn't give it to somebody else." Dr. Ana Alves (front) speaking on the importance of International Womens Day at the reception held for Lee faculty and staff as student Kensington Wieland and Dr. Sara Ortega-Higgs look on (back). Lee University held a student poster session and a reception to honor outstanding female faculty and staff as part of its events to celebrate International Womens Day. During the poster session, which was open to the community, more than 30 students presented research on topics from a wide range of fields including education, political science, anthropology, biology, communication, English and mathematics. This was the second student poster session for IWD. I was very impressed with the quality of posters this year and with the relevance of the themes and subjects they brought to our attention, said Dr. Ana Alves, chair of the IWD subcommittee. My desire is that for next year more students can join in the conversation, either by presenting papers or by attending the poster session to dialogue with participants. A huge part of Lees mission is to train our students to integrate their faith and vocation through the practice of ethical action, redemptive service and responsible citizenship in the church, the community and the world. The International Womens Week Poster Session is an integral part of this mission as students are called to unveil inequality and injustice towards women within and/or through the lenses of their disciplines. Several members of the faculty served as judges for the poster session, awarding prizes based on relevance, poster aesthetics, content and verbal presentation. First prize went to Kaylah Cutshaw, a biological science major and TESOL minor, for her presentation Lowering Neonatal Abstinence Rates in Tennessee, which investigated whether the co-administration of opiates and dextromethorphan in opioid-addicted pregnant women results in lowered Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome rates. Second prize went to Modupe Omotajo, who is pursuing a masters degree in higher education administration, for her presentation A Seat at the Table: Women Leaders in Higher Education. This project examined the causes of the under-representation of women in middle and senior leadership positions in American higher education. Third prize went to Cailey Gino, a communications major, for her presentation on 1934 Vintage Crazy Quilts Unfinished Story. Her quilt and accompanying poster presents the story of a crazy patchwork quilt that was started in the mid-1930s with salvaged materials and was not finished until 2016. The story of the quilt reflects the historical role of quilting in creating social circles among women. It was exciting and mind-opening to be able to present my research to people who were interested in learning about the topic, said Ms. Gino. Not many understand the significance that quilting provided to our nations history and womens rights. Being recognized has made me feel bolder about discussing my project and interest in the social aspects of quilting. The reception for faculty and staff honored 14 women at Lee who were nominated for excellent work, character, and service to the Lee community and beyond. Faculty, staff and administrators from across campus were in attendance to honor the womens achievements. Dr. Sara Ortega-Higgs, associate professor of French and Spanish, announced the names of the women to be honored, which included Lena Barber, Counseling Center; Bobbie Bischoff, Physical Plant; Michaelia Black, Business and Finance; Michelle Bostic, Campus Ministries; Kim Brooks, Special Events; Carolyn Carroll, University Relations; Kimberly Cordell, College of Arts and Sciences; Tracey Davi, Department of Business; Marian Dill, Financial Aid; Crystal Keeter, College of Education; Angeline McMullin, Global Perspectives; Davonna Parker, Division of Adult Learning; Beth Seymour, Business and Finance; and Jill Welborn, Student Development. SHARE Clyde Joseph Hubbard (Knox County Detention Facility) Knoxville police have charged this man with robbing a West Knoxville motel Monday night. He is a suspect in the robberies of five local Subway restaurants since Sunday. (Knoxville Police Department) By News Sentinel Staff A 27-year-old Knoxville man has been charged in the Monday night robbery of the Travelodge motel in West Knoxville and is suspected in a spree of six other holdups and attempted robberies since Sunday afternoon, police said. Clyde Joseph Hubbard is charged with one count of robbery, according to an arrest warrant. He was being held in lieu of $15,000 bond Tuesday afternoon. Additional robbery charges are pending, according to a Knoxville Police Department news release. KPD officials said Monday night investigators had taken a "person of interest" into custody in the motel robbery and a series of robberies at five local Subway sandwich shops. None of the incidents involved a weapon, police said. Hubbard's girlfriend told investigators she drove him to the Travelodge knowing he was going to rob the motel, the warrant states. The motel clerk later identified Hubbard as the robber in a photographic lineup, police said. Authorities recovered $317 from Hubbard's pants pocket the same amount stolen from the Travelodge, according to the warrant. The motel robbery followed a similar holdup reported at 3:14 p.m. Monday at the Relax Inn on Central Avenue Pike, according to a KPD news release Tuesday. In that case again, a man matching Hubbard's description assaulted the employees, but left without any money, police said. Then, just before 4 p.m. Monday, a man matching Hubbard's description entered the Subway, 2625 N. Broadway, jumped the counter, threatened employees and demanded cash, according to police. The robber struck a female employee, who was able to grab a pen and stab the man in the neck, according to police. The robber fled empty-handed SHARE Re-enactors are pictured at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, which is hosting a celebration April 9-11 to commemorate the National Park Service's 100th anniversary. The celebration will also commemorate the release of a quarter by the U.S. Mint that honors the park. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE) Re-enactors are pictured at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park which is hosting a celebration April 9-11 to commemorate the National Park Service's 100th anniversary. The celebration will also commemorate the release of a quarter by the U.S. Mint that honors the park. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE) By Morgan Simmons of the Knoxville News Sentinel It's no surprise that a national park that specializes in celebrating history would pull out the stops when the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service comes around. National parks across the U.S. are holding special events this year to commemorate the park service's 2016 centennial. From April 9-11, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park will hold a highly-anticipated weekend extravaganza in honor of the centennial. The park's visitor center in Middlesboro, Ky., will be ground zero for a round-the-clock schedule of activities, including a gathering of 100 historical re-enactors portraying pioneer times, and culminating in the official launch of the newly-minted "America the Beautiful" quarter depicting Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Sula Jacobs, superintendent of the park, said she expects approximately 10,000 visitors to attend the free weekend celebration, "An American Memoir." "We want this to be remembered as our marquee event for many, many years to come," Jacobs said. Cumberland Gap National Historical Park was authorized in 1940, but progress was delayed by World War II, and it wasn't until 1955 that the visitor center was built and the park opened to the public. The park covers 24,000 acres in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia and features a replica of the Wilderness Road that guided scores of settlers through the gap in the late 1700s. Historical re-enactment is a staple of Cumberland Gap's programming, but never has the park convened a gathering as large and diverse as the one expected for "An American Memoir." The 100-or-so re-enactors expected to participate are among the top of their field, according to the park. Organizers of the event say they're especially excited about hosting Carl Closs of Pennsylvania, a former educator and business executive who has devoted his retirement to helping children and adults discover the life of George Washington. In keeping with the park service's centennial mission, rangers from parks around the U.S. will be on hand to illustrate the variety of careers available with the park service. Those rangers will include a river rafting ranger from the Obed Wild and Scenic River, a musician ranger from the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, and archaeologists and scuba divers from the Submerged Resources Center. Approximately 2,200 fourth- through sixth-graders from neighboring schools will be on hand to participate in the commemorative quarter launch on April 11. In keeping with President Obama's "Every Kid in a Park" initiative, two fourth graders from Middlesboro Elementary Hattie Landen and Makaya Patterson have been selected to emcee the coin launch ceremony and introduce elected officials and dignitaries from the National Park Service. In 2010, the U.S. Mint inaugurated the America the Beautiful Quarters Program and began issuing quarters featuring depictions of national parks and other national sites. One of the sites selected for 2016 was Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. On the final day of the event, Home Federal Bank in Middlesboro, Ky., will be at the park visitor center to handle a coin exchange where cash can be exchanged for $10 face-value rolls of circulation-quality Cumberland Gap quarters never before seen in circulation. The centennial celebration will be at the park visitor center from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday, April 9-10, and on Monday, April 11, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The Monday quarter-launch ceremony starts at 11 a.m. SHARE By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel WASHINGTON Beginning this fall, medical students at two Tennessee universities will be required to receive some form of training on new federal guidelines designed to limit the prescribing of opioid painkillers. The University of Tennessee College of Medicine and Lincoln Memorial University's DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine are among 60 schools across the country that have agreed to require their students receive the prescriber education to graduate, the White House announced Tuesday. The additional training is one of a number of steps the Obama administration is taking in conjunction with the public and private sector to escalate the fight against prescription drug abuse, which kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. "This epidemic is harming too many Americans and their families," President Barack Obama wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. "But we know and your lives affirm that treatment works and recovery is possible. That's why my administration is working to make sure that everyone who wants treatment can get it." Obama hopes to shed more light on the prescription drug epidemic when he speaks on Tuesday at the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta. The annual gathering is the largest national collaboration of professionals and advocates impacted by prescription drug abuse and heroin use. At the summit, Obama will announce a number of initiatives his administration is taking to expand treatment, prevent overdose deaths and increase community prevention strategies. The initiatives include the creation of a task force to improve access to mental health and substance abuse treatment; a proposed rule that would increase the number of patients for whom doctors could prescribe buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid disorders; and new grants to help law enforcement officials investigate the distribution of heroin and unlawful distribution of opioids. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines intended to limit the prescribing of painkillers. The guidelines urge primary-care clinics to offer patients alternative treatments for chronic pain, prescribe the lowest effective dosage possible to patients who need opioid drugs, and monitor the patient carefully since the drugs are highly addictive. The new prescriber education that medical students at UT and Lincoln Memorial must receive to graduate must be in line with those guidelines. Smoke envelops this house in North Knoxville after residents were roused from sleep about 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 29, 2016. All four occupants and three dogs escaped safely before firefighters arrived. (KNOXVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT) SHARE By News Sentinel Staff KNOXVILLE An early morning house fire Tuesday in North Knoxville drove four adults and their three dogs into the pre-dawn darkness. Residents of 3109 Cross Valley Road were awakened about 3:45 a.m. by a fire and called E-911, according to Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran. The occupants and pets fled safely outside. Firefighters went through the front door to attack the fire in the kitchen, where the fire appeared to have started in a vent fan over the stove, according to Corcoran. Damage was limited to the cabinetry. The family was seeking shelter from the American Red Cross while friends were attending to the pets, Corcoran said. More details as they develop online and in Wednesday's News Sentinel. Daughters of the American Revolution held a pinning ceremony Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2016 to present commemorative lapel pins to local Vietnam Veterans like Skip Koons. The ceremony in front of the City-County Building was commemorating Vietnam Veterans Day marking the 43rd anniversary of the last day with American combat troops on the ground in Vietnam. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) SHARE Amanda Hillard of the Cavett Station Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution fastens a commemorative lapel pin on Vietnam veteran William Robinson during a ceremony Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the City-County Building. Robinson, the longest-held enlisted POW in American history, was among the former soldiers honored on Vietnam Veterans Day marking the 43rd anniversary of the last day with American combat troops on the ground in Vietnam. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett are photographed with veterans during a ceremony commemorating Vietnam Veterans Day Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the City-County Building. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Related Photos Vietnam Veterans recognized on 50th anniversary By News Sentinel Staff For William "Bill" Robinson, the longest days of his life were those that came after his release from captivity as an American prisoner of war in Vietnam. The former Air Force rescue helicopter crew chief was captured after he was shot down in September 1965. He spent the next 2,703 days nearly 7 1/2 years as a POW, much of it in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prison. Robinson, 73, now is recognized as the longest-held enlisted POW in American history. He and several other Vietnam War veterans were joined by Knox County and Knoxville mayors Tim Burchett and Madeline Rogero at a flag-raising ceremony outside the City-County Building downtown Tuesday to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day and the 43rd anniversary of the last day American combat troops were on the ground in Vietnam. "Today I ended the longest period in my life," Robinson said. "I was released on the 12th of February 1973 and I had to wait for my last friend to be released from Vietnam on the 29th of March 1973." The North Carolina native was among the first 120 U.S. servicemen to be released. More than 400 other POWs followed in subsequent waves. "(Those were) the longest days of my life as I stood by waiting and waiting for each one of my brothers to come home," he said. Organized by the five local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Tuesday's event honored each of the veterans on hand with a commemorative pin as a token of gratitude. Burchett noted he still wears the same POW remembrance bracelet he's had since college. "I want to just tell you, welcome home. Thank you." SHARE Veterans James Caldwell, left, and Larry Moore attend a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans at the Anderson County Courthouse Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The event was organized by the Anderson County and the Clinch River Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS /NEWS SENTINEL) A wreath is placed on a memorial wall at the Anderson County Courthouse Tuesday, March 29, 2016, as veterans of the Vietnam War are recognized as part of a national effort on the 50th anniversary of the conflict. The event was organized by the Anderson County government and the Clinch River Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS /NEWS SENTINEL) Vietnam veterans Roy Burleson, left, and Frank Trent are presented with quilts by Clinch River Quilts of Valor representatives Gwen Cole, left, and Kathy Hayton Chippendale during a ceremony Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the Anderson County Courthouse. The event honoring veterans of the Vietnam War was organized by the Anderson County and the Clinch River Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS /NEWS SENTINEL) By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel CLINTON His commanding officer told him that after he left Vietnam and before he returned to the states, he should change out of his Army uniform into civilian clothes. "They didn't want us to be spit upon and have the protesters protesting," said veteran Sylvester Corley, 81, of Oak Ridge. Other aging veterans, wearing black ball caps with bright yellow lettering identifying themselves as Vietnam vets, told similar stories Tuesday during a somber ceremony in front of the Anderson County Courthouse. Others carried more permanent reminders of a conflict where physical and psychological scars remain a half-century later. He can't use his right hand normally today, said Edward Chandler of Corryton, who was shot in the right arm, shoulder and stomach in an intense battle on Feb. 9, 1969. Chandler, Corley and other Vietnam vets assembled for the commemoration the first of its type in Anderson County all agreed the remembrance and tribute to those who fought was "long overdue." Tuesday's observance was organized by the Clinch Bend Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and by Anderson County government. March 29 was chosen for the commemoration because the last American soldiers left Vietnam on that day ending years of U.S. involvement in the war-torn country. In all, 58,183 Americans were killed in the conflict, and the names of the 29 Anderson County residents who died in the war were read after a wreath was laid in front of the county's War Memorial. "The unfortunate choice to blame the American soldier for an era of political distrust was a dark valley in American history," County Mayor Terry Frank said. Those in the crowd of nearly 100 people were reminded by Anderson County Veterans Service Officer Leon Jaquet, reading a proclamation from President Barack Obama, that more than 1,600 service members remain listed as missing in action. "These veterans comprise, in large part, one of the greatest groups of least honored soldiers in our history," said Kathy Chippendale, regent of the local DAR chapter. SHARE By Richard Locker of the Knoxville News Sentinel NASHVILLE A state Senate committee approved several amendments to the controversial deannexation bill Tuesday but delayed voting on the overall legislation until Wednesday. From the viewpoint of cities, the amendments were mostly favorable and unfavorable from the standpoint of residents seeking to de-annex themselves from their cities. One requires deannexed property to be taxed for a proportional share of the city's employee retirement obligations incurred while the territory was in the city limits. Another amendment approved in the Senate State & Local Government Committee would require at least 20 percent of the registered voters in an area proposed for deannexation to sign petitions before a referendum can be held in the area. The original bill, and the version approved earlier this month by the House, requires only 10 percent. If approved, the bill represents a major change in state law governing how cities and towns expand and, in this case, contract their borders. The bill gives, for the first time in Tennessee law, residents of areas annexed into municipalities the right to petition for referendums in which they could vote to separate their territory from their towns and cities. The House approved the bill March 14 but an amendment there limited its application to Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Kingsport and Cornersville meaning that only residents of those cities could initiate de-annexation proceedings. The Senate committee last week added an amendment that would return the bill to a statewide application, potentially setting up a showdown with the House. The committee also approved an amendment favorable to residents who want to deannex: it makes territories whose annexations went into effect since May 1, 1998, eligible to deannex, even if the annexation ordinances were adopted prior to that date. That provision particularly applies to areas whose annexations were approved before 1998 but which were tied up in court and did not become operational until after the threshold date. The committee also heard testimony from residents and local officials who support the bill. John Avery Emison of Alamo, Tenn., a former Knoxville resident who fought that city's annexations as president of Citizens for Home Rule, argued that the bill is a completion of work begun two years ago when the Legislature required prior approval of residents being annexed. "The problem remains that many thousands of Tennesseans who were forcefully annexed have yet to have their say in the matter. If the Legislature was correct in 2014 when it ended forced annexation it follows that those who have been victimized by forced annexation should eventually have their say. That is the de-annexation remedy that this bill envisions. The original annexation was motivated by revenue, which his clearly unconstitutional," he said, citing a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling in 1978. SHARE By Richard Locker of the Knoxville News Sentinel NASHVILLE After a sharp debate that included references to Jesus Christ and charges of protectionism, the state House gave final legislative approval Monday night to a bill designed to ensure that food stores can start selling wine on July 1 as previously scheduled. The bill fixes a provision in the 2014 Wine in Grocery Stores Act to let the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission issue provisional licenses to the food stores and permit wholesalers to start delivering wine to those food stores, both prior to July 1. The ABC later interpreted the 2014 act to prohibit licensing and shipments prior to the July 1, even though the act also set that date for when food stores could start selling wine. Supporters of the bill said that without the new bill, wine sales would likely be delayed for weeks, possibly months. The Senate approved the bill 21-6 on Feb. 29 and the House followed suit Monday on a 72-16 vote, sending it to Gov. Bill Haslam, who's expected to sign it into law soon. But the bill also imposes a two-store limit on the number of retail liquor stores that a single person or company can own the provision that was most contentious and set off the debate. Before the 2014 bill, no single licensee could own more than one retail liquor store in Tennessee. But as part of the complex negotiated deal that led to passage of the law allowing wine sales in grocery stores, the one-store cap was lifted so that liquor retailers could own an unlimited number of stores, with the proviso that no out-of-state entity could own more than one. The state attorney general later opined that the residency requirement was unconstitutional and earlier this year, a Maryland-based liquor retailer announced plans to build mammoth stores in Nashville and later in Knoxville and Memphis. Tennessee liquor retailers demanded that a two-store ownership limit be imposed, but with owners who have been licensed for more than two stores since the 2014 act went into effect be grandfathered. Reinstating an ownership cap led to charges of protectionism and reneging on the 2014 deal. "This bill places a cap on business. I think placing a cap on business in Tennessee is an absolutely policy idea," Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, said. Those charges led the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, to defend his efforts with a floor speech that extended from the 21st Amendment to his religious faith. "For years our laws have limited the number of retail package stores in the state that can be owned by a single person or company. We get that authority from the 21st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (which gives) states the right to control their own destiny with regard to alcohol. This bill is not about protectionism. "We're selling distilled spirits. We're not selling a piece of candy. I've been accused by not members in here, but some of the outlets, through the news of being in some people's back pocket. Let me assure you that know me, I'm not in anybody's pocket. No amount of money can buy me. "I take that back. I'm only in one person's pocket and I always will be in it and guess who that is? Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior is the only pocket," Todd said. House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said he'd never question Todd's integrity, but he attacked the two-store cap provision. "What we're doing is we're limiting competition. We're not stopping people from drinking. What we're doing is deciding who makes the money off of it. We're not stopping one drop of liquor," he said. SHARE Cory Batey testifies in his own defense during his trial Monday, Jan. 26, 2015, in Nashville. (AP Photo/The Tennessean, Larry McCormack) By Stacey Barchenger, The Tennessean Cory Batey, one of four men accused of raping an unconscious woman at Vanderbilt University in 2013, will go to trial alone, a judge ruled Tuesday morning. Jury selection will begin Wednesday in Chattanooga. The change in the plan comes just a day before jury selection for the second, joint trial of both men was set to begin. The case has lingered in the court system for more than 2 years and seen multiple delays, a trial and even a mistrial that was declared in June. On Monday morning, defense attorneys and prosecutors met in chambers with Judge Monte Watkins. A court official said what happened at the meeting in the judges office was sealed. It was Batey's attorney, Worrick Robinson, who revealed in court Tuesday morning what happened: The judge granted a request from Vandenburg's team to delay his trial because of "personal issues." Then, the state offered to sever the trials and go forward with Batey standing trial alone. Continue reading at The Tennessean, a News Sentinel partner. SHARE A controversial law that turns the mothers of babies born dependent on drugs into criminals will expire later this year after a House subcommittee deadlocked last Tuesday on its renewal. The vote indicates a growing acknowledgment that pregnant women who are addicted need treatment, not jail. Neonatal abstinence syndrome is a growing problem in Tennessee. According to state figures, the numbers of babies born addicted to drugs has increased ten-fold over the past decade. Legislators in 2014 made Tennessee the first state in the nation to pass a law allowing authorities to charge the mother of a baby born with neonatal abstinence syndrome with misdemeanor assault. About 100 women have been charged in the past two years. The law has a sunset provision and was up for renewal this year. The renewal bill, sponsored by state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster, sparked a pitched debate in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee. Fear of prosecution led some women to react in ways unintended by supporters of the legislation. State Rep. Mike Stewart, a Nashville Democrat who serves on the subcommittee, said the law has discouraged pregnant drug abusers from seeking treatment and caused some to seek abortions, according to the Tennessean. Dr. Charles Harmuth, who practices in Coffee County, backed Stewart's assertion, saying women who are his patients have discussed obtaining abortions rather than risk prosecution. The six-member panel split the vote, and under legislative rules a tie results in the defeat of a bill. Rep. Andrew Farmer, a Sevierville Republican, joined Democrats Stewart and Raumesh Akbari of Memphis in voting against the measure. Duane Slone, a Circuit Court judge who oversees drug court programs in Sevier, Cocke and Grainger counties, told lawmakers the experiment has been a failure. His district was home to 28 percent of the neonatal abstinence syndrome births statewide in a recent year, almost all based on abuse of prescription opioid drugs. Sloane said East Tennessee Children's Hospital has found the number of newborns suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome at the facility has remained stable since passage of the 2014 law, although far fewer of the mothers had sought prenatal care. Even if women opted for treatment before giving birth, there are not enough slots in treatment programs to accommodate them. Mary-Linden Salter, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug & Other Addiction Services, told the committee that up to 1,000 pregnant women apparently are on waiting lists for drug treatment at any given time. Providing more money for treatment is a better option than prosecuting these mothers and possibly sending their fragile babies into state custody. Salter said the state should appropriate an additional $30 million for treatment programs. The subcommittee committed to $10 million before the bill died. Lawmakers should use another bill to increase funds for treatment programs. Jail provides neither treatment nor justice in these cases. Helping pregnant women beat addiction is better for them, for their babies and for the state of Tennessee. Students from two Chattanooga schools packed their bags for a "magical, fun-filled and educational trip" to Walt Disney World Resort where they entertained thousands of guests with their artistic performances at Magic Kingdom Park and Disney Springs in March. Marion County High School and Hickory Valley Christian School performed at Walt Disney World Resort. The Marion County Pride of the Valley Marching Band, along with their director Steve Burdick, marched down Main Street, U.S.A. past Cinderella Castle, playing songs and cadences that capture the spirit of Americana. The Hickory Valley Christian School Elementary Choir stepped into the spotlight at Disney Springs, showcasing its talents to Disney guests from across the nation and around the world. Additionally, some of the schools experienced an educational and mentoring program through Disney Performing Arts workshops, designed to inspire them to dream big and discover a world of possibilities that will help them prepare for their future. These lessons allowed the students to immerse themselves in Disney movie magic, rehearsing the scores of classic films in workshops such as Youre Instrumental and Disney Sings, or learn real-world audition techniques and choreography that puts them in the spotlight of their own Disney show through dance and theater showcases. These Tennessee schools were selected from applicants across the nation that submitted audition tapes reviewed by world-class adjudicators, who evaluate and select schools for the opportunity to participate in a Disney Performing Arts program. Students are taken on stage and behind the scenes, where Disney theme parks become vibrant classrooms as they discover new techniques and pursue their passions, all while making memories that last a lifetime. The Chattanooga area schools traveled over 500 miles to Florida to participate in the Disney Performing Arts program. Vocal, instrumental and dance ensembles from all around the world apply to perform each year as part of Disney Performing Arts at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Once selected, they are given the opportunity to perform at Disney amongst an international audience of theme park guests. Millions of performers have graced the stages of Disney Parks since the Disney Performing Arts program was launched more than 25 years ago. For more information, visit www.DisneyPerformingArts.com, Facebook/Disney Performing Arts or call 1-800-603-0552. 6:38 p.m. March 29, 2016 Florida man sentenced to prison for cross burning PORT RICHEY, FL -- A Port Richey, Florida man has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a 2012 cross burning. Pascual Carlos Pietri, 53, pleaded guilty on June 30, 2015 to one count of conspiring with others to threaten, intimidate and interfere with an interracial couples enjoyment of their housing rights. Those who violently threaten others because of racial differences tear at the very fabric of our diverse American society, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. The laws that protect our society leave no place for hate crimes. Cross burning remains a vicious symbol of hatred, said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III. All American families have the right to live where they choose, undisturbed by such racist threats. This prosecution sends a clear message that we will not tolerate hate crimes in our community. According to court documents, on Oct. 31, 2012, Pietri was living with another individual on Seward Drive in Port Richey in a predominantly white community. After an interracial couple moved next door, Pietri heard other neighbors make racial slurs and derogatory statements about African-Americans in general, and specifically the African-American neighbor. On Halloween night, Pietri attended a party at a neighbors house, where several Seward Drive residents decided to burn a cross in the African-American mans yard to intimidate him. Using wood and tools from the host of the Halloween party, Pietris co-conspirators constructed a wooden cross and obtained gasoline to pour on the cross. Pietri and a co-conspirator then carried the cross to the victims front yard, leaned it against their mailbox and set the cross on fire. Pietri and the co-conspirators burned the cross in the victims yard in an effort to intimidate the interracial couple. Published March 29, 2016 By Choi Sung-jin A warning light is flickering over the economic alliance between Korea and the United States. Politicians in Washington are complaining about the increasing U.S. trade deficit and what they view as Seoul's failure to implement what was agreed on in the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), officials said here Monday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Senate Financial Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch recently sent a letter to Korean Ambassador Ahn Ho-young. In it, the U.S. politician said Korea's implementation of the FTA falls short of expectations and he vowed to link the matter to Seoul's plan to join the U.S.-led free trade bloc - the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Republican from Utah especially raised five issues: the process of determining drug prices, transparency of investigations by the Fair Trade Commission, opening of the legal services market, use of illegally copied software by government agencies and rules on offshore outsourcing of financial information, ministry officials said. Behind these complaints is the widening U.S. deficit in trade with Korea, particularly since their free trade accord went into effect in March 2012. According to the Korea International Trade Association, the U.S. trade shortfall grew from $13.26 billion in 2011 to $28.32 billion last year. There are reportedly loud voices of disgruntlement that "the FTA has benefited only Korea." Sen. Hatch also said in the letter he knew that Korea has shown interest in joining the TPP and emphasized that the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) Act that passed the Congress last year made clear the faithful observation of the trade and investment agreements foreign countries signed with the United States is the key criterion determining their access to the TPP. This is translated as Washington applying a brake when Korea holds negotiations to join the 12-nation free trade pact. Trade experts also expressed concern about U.S. presidential candidates stating negative views on free trade accords. Democrat Bernie Sanders described the TPP as "catastrophic" and said "it will be the victory of Wall Street and big businesses while harming U.S. consumers and taking their jobs away." Republican Donald Trump has also been critical of the free trade scheme, vowing to renegotiate or repeal the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). But government officials here do not seem too worried. "These are minority views representing some extremists in the U.S.," the ministry officials said. Private experts are more cautious, however, saying these seemingly small moves can develop into major fissures in the bilateral economic alliance. They called for the government to build a favorable trade environment through careful management of the economic union. The ministry officials said they would closely monitor the U.S. views on the Korea-U.S. FTA as well as sentiments on ratifying the TPP. "The Korea-U.S. economic alliance is still rock solid and we will make efforts to minimize possible trade frictions," an official said. By Lee Hyo-sik Ambachew Mekonnen, Ethiopian minister of construction An Ethiopian graduate of the Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy and Management has become a minister in his home country, the state-funded school said Tuesday. The KDI School said that Ambachew Mekonnen, who earned a master's degree in public policy in 2000, is its first non-Korean graduate who has assumed a ministerial position. Mekonnen, who was appointed minister of construction in Ethiopia last October, enrolled in the KDI School in 1999. According to the school, he earned 39 credits and received a 3.67 grade point average out of 4.0. He then went on to the U.K. to earn his Ph.D. Last December, Mekonnen hosted a Korean delegation headed by Kim Kyung-hwan, vice minister of land, infrastructure and transport. At the meeting, the minister shared his experiences in Korea with the delegate. When contacted by The Korea Times, the minister said his experience with the KDI School has driven him to aim high and achieve professional success. "My stay in Korea during the academic year 1999-2000 was a wonderful experience in my life, changing the way I looked at things and still inspires me to work hard under Korea's Can Do' spirit," Mekonnen said. "Undoubtedly, one of the main contributing factors toward my career evolution as an economist and politician is the inspirational lessons I learned at the KDI School." The minister said he has been talking with his colleagues about Koreans' diligence, thriftiness and hierarchical loyalty. "My country is striving to follow the Korean model of development," he said. "I have been speaking a lot about Korea's miraculous economic performance with the astonishing features of rapid economic growth coupled with declining income inequality." Mekonnen said he will try to strengthen the relationship between the two historically and sisterly related nations. "I will also do my best to actively participate in the major events of the alumni from the KDI School of Public Policy and Management." The KDI School, established in 1998, offers three master's programs public policy, development policy and public management and a Ph.D. program in public policy and development policy. All lectures are offered in English. Korean students can enroll in a global master's program in which they complete the first year at the school and the second year at a partner institution of their choice abroad. Currently, 386 students are enrolled in KDI School programs. Of the 386, 194 are non-Koreans from 70 countries in Asia, Africa and South America, most of whom are public-sector employees. The school has 75 faculty members and 92 administrative staff. The KDI School is currently receiving applications from those seeking to enroll for the fall semester through May 25. For more information, visit its website at www.kdischool.ac.kr. By Lee Hyo-sik Ali Al Zaabi ENEC executive director Ali Al Nuaimi ENEC senior reactor operator ABU DHABI The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been collecting knowledge and knowhow from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and other Korean companies taking part in the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) construction project, according to executives of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC). In December 2009, ENEC signed a $20 billion contract with KEPCO in which the latter would build four nuclear reactors in Barakah, 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, by May 2020. "In accordance with a set of clear criteria, which puts top priority on safety and operational efficiency, we chose KEPCO as our contractor in 2009," ENEC executive director Ali Al Zaabi said in an interview with The Korea Times. "KEPCO has the best safety track record in the industry and is a top performer in terms of operational efficiency and reliability. KEPCO also offered competitive prices. Given all these, we believed that KEPCO is the right partner to support our plan and goals." Zaabi said ENEC's partnership with KEPCO has been very strong, adding that the close relationship will extend over 60 years during the time the BNPP is in operation. "We have also shared our cultures. Now we understand Korea's culture and Korean workers here understand ours," the executive director said. "Now there is a very strong bond between the two sides. Without it, we couldn't have made it this far." ENEC, which employs 1,600, has dispatched UAE citizens to nuclear power plants in Korea for training. "It is important to secure talented, skilled workers in the nuclear industry in order to operate the BNPP over the next 60 years," ENEC senior reactor operator Ali Al Nuaimi said. "What we need to do is to raise the technological standing of UAE companies in the area of nuclear industry. To do so, we have been sending people to Korea on the job training program. Many of them spend about a year to learn how the Korean plants operate." Over the past few years, ENEC has sent more than 400 people, including its employees and UAE university students, to Korea for training. By Jhoo Dong-chan The ASEAN-Korea Center, an international organization dedicated to boosting cultural and business exchanges between Korea and Southeast Asia, will send an economic mission of the nation's food importers to Myanmar and the Philippines next month. According to the organization, Tuesday, the selected applicants for the mission are expected to visit Yangon and Manila, the capital cities of both countries, for a number of product development workshops and one-on-one business meetings with local firms from April 3 to 9. They will also participate in Madrid Fusion Manila, an international culinary event held between April 7 and 9. Myanmar's commerce ministry and the Philippines' export-related agency will sponsor the program. "Myanmar and the Philippines are expected to achieve 8 percent economic growth this year," said an ASEAN-Korea Centre official. "The mission will be a great opportunity for importers to better understand and find potential business partners in Southeast Asia." Following the economic mission in Myanmar and the Philippines next month, the center is expected to send another mission to Vietnam and Cambodia in May. The center was established under a deal struck during the 11th Korea-ASEAN summit in Singapore in November 2007. The transport ministry said Tuesday that it has filed a complaint against Mercedes-Benz Korea with the prosecution for selling cars with wrong specifications. The local unit of the German car brand sold 98 units of the S350d series sedan with a nine-speed automatic transmission since Jan, 27, 2016, but the vehicles were labeled as having a seven-speed transmission, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The company sold upgraded models of S350d sedans in January but missed reporting the change in the technical data of the vehicle. Under the Korean vehicle management law, all car manufacturers and importers must report the exact specifications of the vehicle to the transport ministry. Otherwise, they will be subject to up to 10 million won in fines. The ministry said the Mercedes-Benz vehicles also did not go through air emission and fuel assessment tests, violating South Korean environment and energy management laws. The ministry suspended sales of the models on Feb. 29 and filed a complaint with state prosecution for violating the related laws on Tuesday. (Yonhap) Robinson Realty Group, a full service, locally-owned real estate brokerage, located in the heart of Chattanoogas Southside revitalization district, completed a comprehensive renovation of the companys 2,700-square-foot offices at 601 East Main Street. Company owners Rob Robinson and Sally Robinson announced this week that additional agents will be added to occupy spacious private offices. Mr. Robinson, the companys principal broker, said they are seeking to recruit eight affiliate brokers this year, with more to follow. Sally and I think the corporate culture we offer is unique, and the agent support we are capable of providing unparalleled. Were here to help empower agents. Mr. Robinson said. Ms. Robinson, also a broker, said the company will introduce a new concept in office design featuring areas set aside on a rotating basis for conference, client and meeting spaces. She said, Real estate office needs have changed over time, and we have reconfigured our space to match modern agent needs and expectations. Both Robinsons are graduates of the Realtor Institute, accredited buyer representatives and seller representative specialists. Both are also licensed to practice in Tennessee and Georgia. Founded in 2009 by the Robinsons, in addition to representing home sellers and buyers, the company has a residential property management and leasing program specializing in higher end homes. Hong Young-pyo, left, senior vice president at the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank), shakes hands with Cambodian Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth in Phnom Penh, Tuesday, after signing a contract to provide $13.3 million in loans to the country. Cambodia plans to use the money for its Siem Reap River Improvement Project Phase II. / Courtesy of Eximbank Korea By Kim Jae-won The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) said Tuesday that it will provide $13.3 million in low-interest loans to Cambodia, for a river improvement project. Hong Young-pyo, senior vice president at Korea Eximbank, signed the deal with Cambodian Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth in Phnom Penh. The money will be used for the Siem Reap River Improvement Project Phase II Project, one of the most important projects in the country. Siem Reap is a tourism destination and site of internationally well-known temple complex Angkor Wat. It is about 200 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh, the capital. "We expect the project will contribute to preserving Angkor Wat in Siem Reap," Hong said. "We also anticipate people in the region will enjoy additional income through preserving the heritage." Eximbank Korea said the project will prevent the river flooding, improving the lives of residents and preventing diseases. The lender also said Korean companies with technology in water resources development will benefit from the project The loan is part of the lender's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), which is designed to help developing countries improve their industries and support economic stabilization. The government established the fund in 1987 and it has provided a total of $11.8 billion to 350 projects in 53 countries. The highest policy-making authority of the EDCF is the Fund Management Council, which has 13 members, most of whom are ministerial-level government officials. The direction of EDCF operations and the assumption of principal policy-making responsibilities rest with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which also coordinates policy with other relevant ministries. Eximbank Korea is responsible for the administrative operation of the EDCF, including project appraisal, loan agreements and loan disbursements. Other duties include collecting principal and interest payments, supervising projects and evaluating project operations. The EDCF is one of two pillars of the government's official development assistance program, along with the Korea International Cooperation Agency's activities. The EDCF charges low interest on its loans while the KOICA offers free help programs to developing nations. Rep. Moon Jae-in, former chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, smiles during his visit to a traditional market in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Monday, to appeal for support in the April 13 general election. / Yonhap By Kim Hyo-jin The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) Monday altered a campaign pledge to move the National Assembly to Sejong by 2020, after it was accused of pursuing a populist agenda. The party said relocating the parliament will now be considered a long term policy objective without a fixed deadline. The plan was one of the MPK's election pledges announced Sunday. Kim Chong-in, the party's interim leader, reportedly pushed for the change as a response to criticism directed at the party for attempting to gain votes in Chungcheong Province in the April 13 general election. "We have decided to make it a long-term plan; the change was made while discussing the matter with Kim," Lee Yong-sup, the director of the party's pledge-making body said during a press briefing. The promise to move the Assembly to Sejong was met with objections and criticism by the ruling Saenuri Party and the public. Party officials now say that they will seek to establish a legislative branch in Sejong this year, and move the whole Assembly to the nation's administrative capital in 2020 before the next parliamentary term ends. They said that the move would improve efficiency in the government's administrative work and balance in regional development. It soon faced a flare-up from the ruling party denouncing it as "populist move" to win votes in the critical swing regions of North and South Chungcheong provinces. In line with an all-out offensive from the ruling party, negative public sentiment was also directed at the cost of the proposal. Amid the controversy, the party watered down the plan, saying it will only seek to set-up a legislative branch in Sejong, not a complete relocation of the Assembly. "Our pledge in this election is the establishment of a branch affiliate with the Assembly, not a relocation," Kim told reporters later that day. "It's premature to discuss it, considering a ruling of the Constitutional Court. It should be a long-term plan that needs a series of discussions." In 2002, Roh Moo-hyun, then opposition presidential candidate, pledged to make Sejong the nation's new capital. But in 2004, the Constitutional Court ruled that the capital should stay put, saying such a relocation was against the Constitution. The Roh administration revised this plan and made the city the nation's administrative capital, relocating many government branches and ministries, except the legislature and the judicial branch. The key offices such as the presidential office, and the defense and foreign ministries would remain in Seoul. South Korea urged its journalists Tuesday to exercise special caution when reporting near the Chinese border with North Korea amid heightened tensions following the North's nuclear and missile tests, a diplomatic source said. The government sent a letter to local news organizations, urging reporters in the area to pay special attention to their safety and follow Chinese laws, the source said on condition of anonymity. The warning comes after South Korea received intelligence of a possible North Korean terrorist attack or abduction of South Korean journalists and missionaries there, the source said. "Due to the recent U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea, concerns over North Korea's provocations and tensions in Northeast Asia are rising, raising the possibility that our journalists reporting from the North Korean-Chinese border area could be exposed to various dangers," the letter said. It added that some may come under legal sanctions for violating Chinese laws on news reporting. The government urged reporters to acquire a media visa before traveling to the area and to refrain from any suspicious activity in no photo zones and other restricted areas. Tensions remain high as North Korea has threatened further nuclear and missile tests in anger over the U.N. sanctions and ongoing military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. The sanctions were adopted early this month to punish the regime in Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch in February. (Yonhap) Vitaliy Raskalov on top of Lotte World Tower / Courtesy of Instagram By Ko Dong-hwan Ukraine photographer Vitaliy Raskalov, known for taking pictures from atop high-rise buildings, slipped through security at Seoul's Lotte World Tower and captured a shot atop the 555-meter structure. On Sunday, Raskalov posted a photo on Instagram that showed him standing on a crane on top of the tower, which is still under construction. Seokchon Lake, next to the tower, can also be seen. "Get ready for the new video. Seoul, Lotte World Tower 610 meters tall," Raskalov said on the SNS site. Two days later, Raskalov posted on the SNS site another photo of the tower from a nearby rooftop, saying "When you realize, I'll be there." Lotte World Tower released posters saying Raskalov and Vadim Makhorov had been banned from the building. The photographer appears to have entered the building in the early hours last weekend to avoid security. Before his stunt, posters were released banning Raskalov and his Russian partner, photographer Vadim Makhorov, from the building. The poster gave a phone number to call if they were spotted. A Lotte Corporation spokesman said they could only guess that Raskalov entered the tower last weekend, but could not give an exact time. He said it was also not known how the photographer got to the top of the building. "Because he climbs buildings in the most nonsensical methods by climbing up walls or exterior surfaces, it is difficult to prevent his entry into the building," the spokesman was quoted as saying in the Chosun Biz daily. The two urban explorers manage a website called "On The Roofs," where they post photos of the places they have climbed. These include the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the International Finance Center in Hong Kong, Shun Hing Square in Shenzhen and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Their latest post shows a climb to the top of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. During the Lunar New Year holiday in 2014, Raskalov and Makhorov climbed the Shanghai Tower, the world's second-tallest building, and recorded the escapade in a video that attracted more than 44 million YouTube views. Chinese authorities have banned the climbers from entering the country. By Kang Seung-woo President Park Geun-hye will hold summits with the leaders of the United States, China and Japan in Washington, D.C., Thursday, to discuss ways of dealing with North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In addition, a trilateral meeting between the U.S., Japan and South Korea will also take place, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. The summits will be the first since the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang for conducting a nuclear test, Jan. 6, and launching a rocket, Feb. 7. Park is scheduled to fly to the U.S. capital Wednesday to attend the Nuclear Security Summit and on the sidelines of the biennial event, she will meet first with U.S. President Barack Obama, followed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping. "On the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, President Park will hold bilateral summits with the leaders of the U.S., Japan and China as well as the three-way meeting," said Kim Kyou-hyun, the senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security. In her fifth summit with Obama, the two heads of state are expected to reaffirm the two nations' joint defense readiness against growing threats from the Kim Jong-un regime and hold in-depth talks about how to cooperate on their respective sanctions against the North. The Seoul-Washington summit will be followed by the trilateral summit. "The three leaders are expected to have in-depth consultations on how to deal with the threats posed by North Korea's nuclear program," Kim said. The Kim Jwa-jin submarine in its launching ceremony at Okpo Shipyard of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, in August 2013. / Korea Times By Ko Dong-hwan A villager who found a torpedo lost during a Korea-U.S. military drill two years ago must be compensated with a tenth of the weapon's value, a court has ordered. A case filed by a beach pension operator from Yeongdeok-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, identified as Park, 55, ended with Daegu District Court's decision Monday that Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, which lost the weapon, pay him 32 million won ($27,000), according to the Hankook Ilbo. In September 2014, Park saw what appeared to be a yellow object floating on the ocean while he was cleaning areas of Jangsa Beach. He paddled a kayak about 400 meters into the sea and discovered the object was a torpedo. After Park dragged the 800-kilogram weapon ashore, military personnel collected it. Daewoo had borrowed the torpedo from the Naval Logistics Command and had loaded it onto the Korean Navy's 1,800-ton submarine the Kim Jwa-jin during the drill in August 2014. After the loss, the company searched for the weapon but could not find it. The company compensated Park with 5 million won ($4,300), five secondhand televisions and five used air-conditioners. But Park said this was not enough and filed a suit demanding the company, under the Lost Articles Act, pay him 20 percent of the torpedo's value of 820 million won ($704,000). The court ordered the company pay Park 10 percent because the torpedo was an experimental weapon, it had floated on the sea for about a month and Park had no use out of it. The court also reduced the weapon's value to 327 million won ($288,000). Yang Hyang-ja By Kim Hyo-jin Yang Hyang-ja, a former Samsung Electronics executive, drew much public attention when she entered politics in January. She was that rare success in business a high-school graduate who began her career as an engineering assistant and reached a management position with the flash memory team of the nation's flagship company. Being a female employee appeared to be yet another hurdle. Despite a rigid corporate ladder, she made it to the top 28 years after joining the company. With many notable features, her success story has resonated with ordinary people. Surprisingly again, the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) selected her last month to be a candidate for the Seo-B district in Gwangju as the first strategic nomination ahead of the April 13 general election. The political newcomer is now vying with the high-profile Chun Jung-bae, a five-term lawmaker who co-heads the minor opposition People's Party. Despite public polls showing her trailing Chun by a large margin, Yang, 48, said she is confident of upsetting the opposition bigwig. "I'm going to shake off the image of a high-school graduate. No more storytelling as such. I want people to look at the side of me who used to spearhead the global high-tech industry," Yang told The Korea Times. Yang said she will barnstorm and explain to the voters that she can bring substantial changes to the region based on her background. "You know what people say to me the most when I walk around the city? It's, Candidate, please help me get a job,'" she said. "Attracting more firms should be the priority so the region can gain momentum. And that is the best thing I can do as I know how to approach companies." Yang recently made pledged to make Gwangju a test bed for the future automobile industry in collaboration with Samsung Electronics. She is determined to attract companies making batteries and inverters for electronic cars and the Internet of Things (IoT) for smart cars. The project expects to employ 20,000 people and bring a 3-trillion-won investment to the city, she said. "Samsung is also supportive of my campaign. The company links its pride to whether I win a seat in the poll, not to mention that having a person who understands business in politics is beneficial for its part." In competition with Chun, the title of "Moon Jae-in's person" is working negatively in terms of wooing voters, Yang mentioned. Yang was recruited by the MPK's former Chairman Moon Jae-in when the party suffered a mass exodus of lawmakers who opposed his leadership. Yang was the seventh of dozens of outside figures that Moon recruited in a bid to boost the embattled party. The party's approval rating plummeted on the MPK's traditional home turf Honam region North and South Jeolla Provinces while factional strife deepened between the Moon-led mainstreamers and those who are on the fringes, mostly Honam-based lawmakers who criticized Moon for wielding dominance in party affairs. "On the campaign trail, I met many people who express concerns about Moon coming back to the party if I'm elected," she said. "But at the same time I sense that voters' enthusiasm is growing for me as a candidate for an electoral seat against the opposition bigwig Chun. "Support is increasing more in proportion to the people's dissatisfaction with Chun's trial in the new party; I'm confident that I can whip up a tailwind," she added. "It is partly true that I joined politics due to strong persuasion by the party. But I appreciate the chance as I always wanted to give back what I got from our community," she said. "I'm a hard-worker and I constantly challenge myself. That's the aspect I will hold onto working as a politician." U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert on Monday dismissed accusations by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump that South Korea is paying little to keep American troops on its soil. Without naming Trump, Lippert cited various reasons why the allegations aren't true, including the fact that South Korea shoulders 55 percent of all non-personnel costs and increases its defense spending by 3 to 5 percent annually. "We feel very good about the resource sharing that we and the Republic of Korea do together as an alliance," the ambassador said during a meeting with members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. "It is remarkable." Lippert was responding to a request for comments on a "U.S. political candidate's" contentions that the country receives little from South Korea in exchange for its support. Trump has made repeated claims that South Korea is getting a free ride on defense, saying recently that the U.S. is "constantly sending our ships, sending our planes, doing our war games" but being "reimbursed a fraction of what this is all costing." He also told The New York Times he would withdraw American troops from South Korea and Japan unless they boost their financial contributions to the upkeep of the U.S. military presence. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to deter North Korean aggression, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the divided peninsula still technically at war. Lippert recalled his past work at senior levels in the Pentagon. "You get a sense of the alliances and how much and who contributes what," he said. "Korea does very well in terms of its contribution." Seoul has long shared the cost of stationing U.S. forces. The latest wave of U.N. sanctions on North Korea following its banned weapons tests may nearly halve the impoverished state's mineral exports, clouding its economy heavily dependent on China, a report showed Tuesday. The U.N. Security Council imposed a raft of tougher sanctions on Pyongyang earlier this month to punish it for the Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 launch of a long-range rocket, both of which violated previous U.N. resolutions. The sanctions, agreed upon by Washington and Beijing, include bans on North Korea's exports of mineral resources like coal, iron and rare earth minerals, as well as imports of aviation and rocket fuel supplies to the reclusive country. Out of North Korea's exports estimated at $3.34 billion in 2014, outbound shipments of the banned materials account for 44.9 percent, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said. The figures for 2015 were not available. Revenue from the coal trade was estimated at $1.14 million in 2014, or 34.2 percent, followed by iron ore and steel with 6.6 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively. The rest of the banned materials such as gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore and rare earth minerals also showed thin trading. The head of Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-ranked flag carrier, apologized to investors on Monday for the company's lackluster business performance last year, saying that he will do his best to improve its bottom line. Asiana Airlines reported 151.9 billion won ($129.8 million) in net loss last year, with its debt ratio spiking to 991.5 percent. The airline is currently pushing for restructuring including consolidation of overlapping businesses, early retirement schemes and other business normalization efforts. "I feel sorry for failing to create profit last year and I assure you, we will tide over cumulative losses once and for all this year and do our best to fulfill our corporate responsibly and role in increasing the benefit and convenience of stakeholders," Asiana Airlines CEO Kim Soo-cheon told investors. Facing criticism for a lackluster business performance, Kim said that a planned launch of a budget airline service in the second half will help improve the company's overall profitability much, adding that he will try to create a new growth engine through the airline maintenance and repair business. Meanwhile, during the shareholder meeting, an official representing Kumho Petrochemical, called last year's business performance of Asiana Airlines "disappointing," urging a "fundamental" overhaul including the sale of its non-core assets. The representative for Kumho Petrochemical, Asiana's second-largest shareholder, also criticized the airline company for resorting to such stop-gap measures as increasing its borrowings. (Yonhap) Over the past 30 years, 258 Chattanooga families comprising of more than 1,500 men, women and children, have experienced the joy and security of being Habitat for Humanity homeowners. These homes were built with love by the lifeblood of Habitat for Humanity caring and committed volunteers, said officials. Habitat for Humanity Internationals very first volunteer and longtime advocate, Clive Rainey, will travel to Chattanooga to help Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area celebrate its 30th anniversary on Friday, April 8. Mr. Rainey will share his passion of volunteerism and passion of eliminating poverty housing through his work over the past 39 years at Habitat for Humanity International in his keynote address at Raise the Roof. Whether serving as Habitats first Africa director, or speaking to audiences around the United States as he has done for the last several years, Mr. Rainey said his commitment to the work has remained as fresh as it was when he became the first person to join Habitat for Humanity International co-founders Millard and Linda Fuller. "We are absolutely thrilled that Clive will be joining us next week not only to help us celebrate our 30th Anniversary but also to help raise the awareness of National Volunteer Week, said Dominique Brandt, Habitats director of Volunteers and Special Events. National Volunteer Week is held annually on April 1017. In celebration of our 30th anniversary, we are encouraging the community to 'Lend a Hand to Habitat' by volunteering 30 hours over the next 12 months. With the assistance of volunteers, we will be able to build more homes and transform more communities in the Chattanooga area. Tickets to Raise the Roof are still available. The price of an individual ticket is $100 and tables (seating eight) are $600. To purchase tickets or to learn more about volunteer opportunities at Habitat for Humanity, call 756-0507 or visit www.habichatt.org. By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS The tide of hate has come to Brussels with three terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital. Islamic State (ISIL) jihadi militants carried out coordinated bombings on the Brussels Airport as well as the Metro killing at least 31 people and wounding hundreds of civilians. Coincidentally just days earlier, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry conceded the obvious, that the so-called Islamic State was committing genocide against minorities, especially Christians and Yazidis. French President Francois Hollande stated the challenge most succinctly; "Terrorism has hit Belgium, but Europe was targeted, and the whole world is concerned." After the dust settled we were again reminded that the assault on yet another European city formed part of the gruesome tableau of terror which has included Paris, London and Madrid. This is hardly the end but part of a continuing thread of terrorist networks which runs throughout Europe and yes, into the U.S. as well. Some commentators have suggested a shrugging inevitability, a kind of "new normal" where such attacks are just part of the global landscape. "If its Tuesday this Must Be Belgium," to cynically paraphrase a 1960's comedy about Americans touring Europe in a swirl and arriving in little Belgium presumably on a Tuesday. Tuesday was the day of the attacks; the recent November outrages in Paris came on a Friday. But by succumbing to the philosophy of inevitability we are feeding the self-fulfilling prophesy and thus willing to contain, but not to seriously confront and defeat, the emerging threat. Why Belgium? I fondly recall visiting Brussels on a pretty regular basis back in the day. There's NATO headquarters, the headquarters of the European Union (EU), not to mention some amazing historic cities, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, and naturally Brussels. The Kingdom of Belgium was always worth a visit. Centrally located and with open borders, Belgium offers easy access to the rest of Europe. As U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asserted, "The despicable attacks struck at the heart of Belgium and the center of the European Union." Precisely so because on the darker side security experts point to Belgium becoming a nexus for Islamic extremists and home-grown jihadi radicals whose sophisticated terror web extends to the recent Paris attacks as well as serving as a recruiting base for foreign fighters for Syria's civil war. Tiny Belgium hosts one of the highest per capita contributors of jihadi fighters to Syrian terrorist groups and thus highlighting the globalization of terrorism. Let me be blunt, contrary to the French police, the Belgian security networks and counter- intelligence are a pale shadow and simply not up to prime time. Haphazard and often uncoordinated intelligence sharing is another hindrance. Turkish police had warned the Belgians that they had earlier deported one of the Brussels bombers but no action was taken by Belgium. Then of course in Brussels there's a large Muslim community, 25 percent of the population which is not well integrated, some of which is radicalized and "off the grid," and marginalized in an increasingly multicultural society. Back to the important genocide declaration by the State Department. Secretary of State John Kerry at long last admitted the obvious; that the gruesome and targeted killings of Iraqi and Syrian Christians, the rape and enslavement of the Yazidi women, and the ongoing campaign by Islamic State is responsible for committing genocide. Broadly defined, genocide refers to the specific State targeting of racial, ethnic or religious groups for liquidation. For the past few years we wept while seeing ancient Christian communities in Iraq and Syria subjected to wanton killings and torture. The religious segregation of Christians as "apostates" by the ghoulish guardians of Islamic State in Mosul Iraq, the desecration of churches and smashing of Syria's rich religious mosaic, and the trashing of cultural artifacts dating from ancient times are part of this sordid legacy in the contemporary Middle East. In the depths of the security bureaucracy there's probably someone saying, "we can keep Islamic State terrorism to an acceptable level of violence." But now it's not only Brussels for which we pray for and stand in solidarity with. In the last few weeks, Belgium stands with Ivory Coast and Turkey as among the targets of terrorists. The list is growing but the western world seems unwilling to accept the long term threat as thousands of foreign fighters who fought in Syria have returned to threaten Europe. The thread of terror which runs through Beirut, Baghdad, Jerusalem, New York, London, recently added new cities to the litany: Paris, Brussels, and ??? By Andrew Hammond Washington DC plays host on Thursday and Friday (31 March and 1 April) to the fourth and potentially final Nuclear Security Summit (NSS), convened by US President Barack Obama. Post-the tragic Brussels attacks last week, the event has assumed heightened importance with media reports that some of the self-ascribed Islamic State (IS) bombers had initially planned to attack a nuclear power plant in Belgium. While the precise details of this alleged plot are unclear, there is unquestionably growing concern about the threat of nuclear terrorism. After the Brussels atrocities, UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon pointed to a "new and emerging threat" of terrorists acquiring nuclear weaponry, while former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has noted that "every senior leader, when you're asked what keeps you awake at night, it's the thought of a terrorist ending up with a weapon of mass destruction, especially nuclear". More than 50 countries will convene at the NSS to focus on "minimising the use of Highly-Enriched Uranium (HEU), securing vulnerable materials, countering nuclear smuggling and deterring, detecting, and disrupting attempts at nuclear terrorism". This wide-ranging agenda first came prominently on the international radar screen following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, when concerns were raised about safeguarding the former Communist state's extensive nuclear weaponry. More recently, however, the urgency of nuclear terrorism was raised by the September 2001 attacks. This was interpreted in some quarters as a wake-up call' about the possibility that a group such as al Qaida could detonate a small nuclear weapon or a radiological dispersal device (a so-called dirty bomb'). The NSS process kicked off soon after Obama assumed office when he asserted that nuclear terrorism represents "the most immediate and extreme threat to global security". In the same speech, he gave an ambitious deadline to "secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years". While this deadline was unrealistic, there has been progress in reducing the number of countries with access to HEU and plutonium. For instance, enough HEU for some 3,000 nuclear weapons has been down-blended' in Russia and the United States, around a dozen countries have returned their previous stockpile of HEU back to the country of origin (mostly to the United States and Russia); a significant number of former nuclear facilities across the world are now both HEU and plutonium free; and around 20 countries have launched a counter nuclear smuggling initiative. However, as the Washington summit will underline, this effort remains a work in progress. As of late 2013, for instance, some 30 states from Europe to Asia, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Pakistan had at least 1kg of HEU in civilian stocks. Moreover, since 1993, there have been more than 2,700 confirmed incidents of illicit trafficking, unauthorised possession or loss of nuclear and radioactive material reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). While the conventional wisdom is that the probability of a major nuclear terrorism event is very low, consequences would be so dramatic that it remains a significant concern. According to the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group, detonation of even a small handful-sized amount of plutonium could kill or wound hundreds of thousands of people in a densely populated area. And, the ensuing chaos would probably spiral outwards, potentially overwhelming medical facilities and causing major domestic and international travel problems. It could also trigger a significant macroeconomic shock by undermining consumer confidence. Given the hurdles to terrorist networks obtaining weapons-grade material, perhaps the bigger danger is a dirty bomb attack. Here, the complexity of the operation is unfortunately much reduced as conventional explosives would be used to spread radiation from a radioactive source. Only in December 2014, Mexican law enforcement authorities discovered a vehicle believed to have been stolen by thieves which contained radioactive medical materials that could have been used to power a dirty bomb. A further potential scenario is a terror attack on a nuclear plant, of which there are currently around 440 such facilities in 31 countries. Post the Brussels atrocities, some media outlets claim such a plot had initially been planned by IS terrorists in Belgium. While details of this remain unconfirmed, it is further reported in some media that earlier this month some 140 soldiers were sent to enhance security at the country's nuclear sites, and after the attacks that these facilities were closed off and non-essential staff evacuated. With this potentially final NSS coinciding with Obama's last full year in White House, it is likely that he will want to ensure the strongest possible set of outcomes. This would build upon the achievements in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 meetings in Washington DC, Seoul, and The Hague respectively which have reduced the amount of dangerous nuclear material across the world; improved security of much of this nuclear material; and generally strengthened international cooperation on this agenda, although the latter has been stymied since the post-Ukraine conflict chill in relations between the United States and Russia, and the latter country will not attend the Washington summit. Obama's sees enhancing global nuclear security as a key part of his presidential legacy. As well as initiating the NSS, he secured the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, under which Moscow and Washington committed to reducing their deployed nuclear arsenal, and the United States also reached a landmark nuclear deal with Iran last year. Beyond the summit, long-term success of the NSS agenda will be determined by severalfactors, including resources and funding, and what happens to the process after Obama's presidency given that it will need continued prominence to maximise prospects for success. Especially if the NSS is not renewed beyond 2016, it will therefore be important to anchor ongoing initiatives into other bodies, including the IAEA, so that the momentum and successes of the process are institutionalised as much as possible for the future. Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS (the Centre for International Affairs, Diplomacy and Strategy) at the London School of Economics. Rhee In-jong, head of the mobile payment business at Samsung Electronics' telecommunications division, delivers a congratulatory message at an event in Beijing marking the official debut of Samsung Pay in China, Tuesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics Samsung Pay available in China with major banks By Kim Yoo-chul With the iPhone designer Apple earlier anticipating China to be the Cupertino-based outfit's most important mobile payment market, it's no surprise to see that Apple's chief rival Samsung Electronics also wants a slice of this hot segment. After completing a one-month public beta test, Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it has begun servicing its mobile payment services _ Samsung Pay _ in China. Samsung teamed up with UnionPay, the biggest card issuer in China, to jointly promote the service. Customers using the Galaxy S7, S7 edge, S6 edge plus and Galaxy Note 5 could pay for their purchases using Samsung Pay at registered outlets, Samsung said, adding that Samsung Pay will both support UnionPay's credit and debit cards. Samsung was in talks with the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications to fix terms of the details before putting the Pay system on credit and debit cards by new clients. Samsung Pay works similarly to Google Android Pay. This is an application that lets customers load their supported debit and credit cards, which could then be emulated using phones to pay in registered stores. Samsung Pay could work in stores that support near field communication (NFC) payments; however, its advantage over Android Pay and Apple's Apple Pay is a technology called magnetic secure transmission (MST). MST lets Samsung phone users with Pay emulate an actual physical card swipe, meaning that the Samsung Pay system could work at any payment terminal where clients can swipe a card. The availability of Samsung Pay in China is widely expected as Samsung's de-facto leader Lee Jae-yong, who currently holds the title of vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, invited UnionPay's top management in April of last year to set up its office near Suwon, where Samsung's technology compound is. "Samsung Pay has gained steady momentum in Korea and the United States. It's been successful in terms of the amount of transactions and the ratio of frequency by users. Samsung will try hard to let Chinese customers enjoy Samsung Pay, conveniently," said the spokesman. Samsung's aggressive attempt to advance into the well-established mobile wallet market in China is a challenge as China's local services such as AlyPay and WeChat are already covering online shopping, tax services and others. According to market research firms, in the third quarter of last year alone China made 4.54 billion mobile payment transactions, which involved a staggering total of some $2.8 trillion, a 253 percent growth year-on-year. "It's interesting to see that Samsung Pay will continue momentum that it did in other markets. One good thing is that Google Android Pay won't have a chance given China's hostility toward Google services. Samsung's top mission is to change the habits of local Chinese users by adding more Chinese features on the application," an official said. The Dalton Board of Education is expected to approve the recommendation of Will Esters as principal of Park Creek School for the 2016-17 school year at its regular meeting on April 19. Mr. Esters returns to Dalton Public Schools after a brief stint as the K12 Southeast Regional Director of Mid-Market Sales at Instructure, Inc., the parent company of Canvas. Mr. Esters spent 20 years of his career at DPS having served as director of school support, principal of Brookwood School, assistant principal of City Park and Park Creek Schools, and the International Baccalaureate coordinator and English teacher at Dalton High School. During his time with Instructure, Mr. Esters worked closely with educators from multiple states to help them with the many challenges that come with digital integration in classrooms, schools and school districts. I am looking forward to Will Esters return to Dalton Public Schools as Park Creek principal, said Dr. Jim Hawkins, superintendent. Wills passion for student learning, engagement and innovative classroom design will be great assets to continuing excellent work at Park Creek. Mr. Esters follows Dr. Phil Jones who will become principal at Dalton Middle School next school year. Dr. Jones became Park Creek principal in 2009. I am thrilled and honored to be welcomed back to Dalton Public Schools as the principal at Park Creek School, said Mr. Esters. I have committed my life to public education, and I will closely partner with the staff and school community to assure that our students and teachers experience astounding success. What's Happening When Chicago's Teachers Walk Out On Friday By aaroncynic in News on Mar 29, 2016 7:21PM CTU members at a demonstration on February 4, 2016. (Photo by Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist) The Chicago Teachers Union and its allies are planning on shutting down several roads and areas of the city Friday as part of the CTUs one-day walkout. The CTU released a tentative schedule of actions that will take place for the day, which begin as early as 6:30 a.m. and culminate in a mass rally and march at the Thompson center at 4 p.m. Thousands of workers, students, parents and activists will take to the streets to call for an end to the budget stalemate in Springfield and bring attention to poverty and racial justice issues that are crippling Chicago, wrote the union in a press release. The CTU and CPS have been at odds over a contract since the last one expired in June, and its supporters have been demanding the District and Mayor Rahm Emanuel take several revenue options seriously, rather than focus solely on budget cuts and layoffs. The last straw for the CTU that cemented the one day walkout was when CPS announced mandatory furlough days earlier this month. Pickets, larger demonstrations, marches and teach-ins will begin simultaneously at several locations at 6:30 a.m., with pickets near Roosevelt and Harlan High Schools supported by minimum wage workers with the Fight For $15 Movement demanding an end to student-based budgeting cuts, a call for Bank of America to return toxic swap money to CPS, and living wages for workers. Additionally, Saucedo Elementary School is expected to march to Cook County Jail demanding funding for schools, rather than prisons. Other campuses will focus on special education cuts; ballooning class sizes and deteriorating conditions in school buildings. On the South Side, activists with the group BYP100 along with students and faculty from Chicago State University will host a teach-in beginning at 10 a.m. at the school focusing on racial justice, police violence and other concerns about black futures. At 11 a.m., there will be an all campus rally highlighting the schools own budget crisis and threats of closure. At the same time, a teach-in with the American Federation of Teachers will take place at Northeastern Illinois University on the North Side, followed by funeral march to illustrate the death of higher education in Illinois. In addition to an unspecified number of pickets to take place in the afternoon citywide, a youth march to highlight the school to prison pipeline and call for the closure of youth prisons will begin at 2 p.m. at the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, as well as demonstrations at City Hall and UIC. Demonstrators from all over the city will then converge on the Thompson Center at 4 p.m. for a rally, which will then lead to a 4:40 p.m. rush hour march lasting until 6:30 p.m. Both the District and Emanuel have criticized the walkout, with CPS arguing that the move is illegal since fact-finding in their contract dispute hasnt finished, but the CTU has called the situation new territory. While its unfortunate that CTU leadership is pushing an illegal strike, CPS is committed to providing all of our students with safe environments that will keep them fed and engaged, said CPS CEO Forrest Claypool. The District is opening more than 250 contingency sites for students with no other options for a place to go throughout the day, made up of 107 CPS schools, 80 Chicago Park District facilities, all 80 Chicago Public Library locations and numerous Safe Haven locations. Don't Worry, Corgi Fans, You Can Attend This Meetup By Kirsten Onsgard in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 29, 2016 7:00PM (Photo by Krysta Williams/Chicagoist) Last year, Chicago's Montrose Beach played host to the widely popular and suddenly controversial Corgi beach day. Now in the latest edition of mass corgi fandom, more than 1,000 people have RSVP'd to attend a corgi meetup next month in suburban Deerfield, Illinois. Corgi Beach Day was almost shut down last summer after organizers decided that the thousands of corgi-stalkers who had promised to attend just to admire the dozens of frolicking, smiley pups would overrun the event. It was eventually reopened to an exclusive and smaller group in the Chicago Area Corgi Owners Facebook group. But the April 23 eventdubbed Corgi Conference on Facebook, which sounds a lot stuffier than its adorable cover photo suggestsshould be safe for mere fans and non-corgi dog owners. Event organizer Kendall Seale said that though she is afraid of it being crowded, because it is in a public space she cannot police who attends. The dog park is located within Jaycee Memorial Park in Deerfield, Illinois, which is about a half a square mile in size. "I am a bit concerned about the amount of people coming because I don't want it to get shut down," she said. "Next event I'll be a bit stricter about people coming without pets." Seale previously organized a corgi meetup in West Dundee in March, which attracted about 30 little cuties and 20 humans. Though rain meant muddy paws and underbellies )which presumably increased the cuteness factor tenfold) she said the event prompted her to host more. "It's been an amazing experience to host these meet ups," she said. "Seeing all the corgis and getting to know their owners is wonderful. It's a little corgi family of Illinoisans." Meanwhile, several attendees on the event page are conspiring to select their best corgi disguises and corgi substitutes. "Fat shaming won't be tolerated right? my corgi is on the chunkier side," one user wrote about her very St. Bernard-ish looking corgi. Another user had a very lucrative idea and possible solution to this sudden corgi madness: "My friend and I were wondering what you do if you don't have a corgi? Are you still permitted to come? Or will there be corgis available to rent?" Sadly, no. Chicago's City College Students Decry Money-Saving Policies In Packed Town Hall By Chicagoist_Guest in News on Mar 29, 2016 8:20PM Local 1600 President Tony Johnston speaking to the gathered crowd of professors, students and elected officials at Grace Church on the issues and challenges of reinvention at City College of Chicago, Monday, March 28, 2016 in Chicago. by Tyler LaRiviere/Chicagoist By Tyler LaRiviere Over a hundred professors, students, and elected officials packed into the confined Grace Church Monday evening to voice their grievances over the current state of City Colleges of Chicago, which have been embroiled in budgetary problems. Those grievances primarily revolved around CCCs reinvention policy, which mandates that the colleges take a more college-to-career educational style and calls for them to become distinct from one another by restricting access to certain programs. The policy came about under Chancellor Cheryl Hyman, who on On Feb. 4 was given a vote of "no confidence" by the CCC faculty. Well over 90 percent of the faculty voted that they weren't confident in the Chancellors's leadership and felt that 'reinvention' and the increase to student tuition wasn't accommodating to a majority of CCC students financial or life situations. Tony Johnston, Local 1600 President, opened the meeting by saying he detested the reinvention plans, calling themassembly line education. He said plan calling for the seven City Colleges to be specialized by offering different programs is detrimental to students, though it is expected to save the City Colleges money. There are students that are spending hours in traffic traveling all hours, trying to reach these campuses, he said. Student TJuana Seay sees the problem first-hand. Seay is a child development major at Daley College who also lives near Daley College. By fall of 2016 she and fellow students will have to make their way to Truman College in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago if they want to continue their educations in their desired career field. Not only am I a student, but I am a full-time mom and I also work a full-time job, so Daleys location alone makes [my education] possible," she told the crowd. "If I had to travel more then 30 to 40 minutes I would not be able to attend school Daleys location allows me to make it home to cook for my children a hot dinner, help with homework and get a good nights rest to go to work in the morning. Attendees also decried the recent tuition hikes at CCC. According to activists, part-time students are particularly penalized by the colleges' new tuition schedule. The new tuition schedule rewards students whose lives are stable enough to attend City Colleges full-time and punishes students who can only attend City Colleges part-time due to the hardship and complexity of financial or family life circumstances," The Alliance of City College Unions said in a statement. "Making the part-time student pay more and the full-time student pay less per credit hour is a backhanded ploy to abandon the commitment to open-admission enrollment that is the foundation of the comprehensive community college." The city colleges have stated that the new tuition schedule was necessary due to the budget issues in Illinois and Chicago, however critics say that the CCC administration should take a pay cut over charging students more. City colleges media representative Katheryn Hayes declined to comment before the time of publication. The Alliance of City College Unions will be protesting in solidarity with CTUs one-day strike on April 1. ACCU will be meeting at 3 p.m. in front of Local 1600s offices and then will march to the Thompson center where they will join with the CTU strike. The author is a student at Harold Washington College. Tinley Park Mayor Says He'll Take The Lucas Museum By Mae Rice in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 29, 2016 3:36PM Designs for the Lucas Museum (Lucas Museum of Narrative Art) Tinley Park may be proud to be the 20th biggest city in Illinois even though that is... faint praise at best. It may also be a village, making its claim to be a fine-sized city semantically confusing. But here's one thing you can't knock Tinley Park for: having an unambitious mayor. The village's highly ambitious mayor, Dave Seaman, is making a play for the modernist blob that is the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Seaman sent a letter to Star Wars creator and unofficial nerd king George Lucas, the Daily Southtown reports, pitching a 280-acre lot at the corner of 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park as the site of Lucas's museum. "Long, long ago, in a village not too far away..." began the letter, according to the Daily Southtown. Seaman isn't delusional. "I'm sure Mr. Lucas gets about a million of these," he told the Daily Southtown. "But you know what? Stranger things have happened." His letter, written by village Public Information Coordinator Jason Freeman, also ends with "May the force be with you." "Jay's a bit of a 'Star Wars' nerd," Seaman told the Daily Southtown. Lucas has been trying to bring his museum to Chicago for more than a year. However, Chicago's Friends of the Parks have taken to court to fight the current plans for the museum, which put it on a lakefront lot just South of Soldier Field that they'd rather see become a park than a Star Wars shrine. Earlier this month, Mayor Rahm Emanuel expressed concern that the legal battle would prompt Lucas would take his museum elsewhere. Emanuel did not mention concerns about Tinley Park specifically, probably because it's not a major city or even a city at all. (It's a village!) And with a population just under 57,000, Tinley Park is a fortieth the size of Chicago, if you round generously in Tinley Park's favor. (Chicago had a population of 2.7 million as of 2013, according to Census Bureau data.) The logo of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. [File photo] Starwood Hotels & Resorts on Monday announced that it had received a revised proposal from a consortium led by China's Anbang Insurance Group. Starwood received a nonbinding proposal from the consortium consisting of Anbang, J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital for 81 U.S. dollars per share in cash on Saturday. Yet in discussions over the weekend, the consortium improved the bid to 82.75 dollars per share in cash, totalling some 14 billion dollars. Pursuant to separate agreements previously entered into by Starwood, Starwood stockholders would receive additional 5.91 dollars per share in stock for a spinoff of a vacation business. On this basis, Anbang's newest offer will be 88.66 dollars per share, beating Marriott's offer of 79.53 dollars per share. Starwood said it was continuing to discuss nonprice terms related to the consortium's revised proposal and was working to finalize the other terms of a binding proposal from the consortium, including definitive documentation. "The Starwood board, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, will carefully consider the outcome of its discussions with the consortium in order to determine the course of action that is in the best interest of Starwood and its stockholders," Starwood said in a statement. Starwood is one of the world's leading luxury hotels and the owner of the Westin and Sheraton brands with nearly 1,300 properties in some 100 countries and approximately 188,000 employees. Anbang is one of the largest insurance groups in China. According to the company, Anbang managed total assets of 1.65 trillion yuan (some 250 billion dollars). The Chinese insurer has made headlines with the acquisition of Waldorf Astoria, the landmark hotel on Park Avenue in New York City in October 2014. Under the agreement, Anbang purchased the iconic luxury hotel for 1.95 billion dollars from Hilton Worldwide Holdings. Police have caught around 130 suspects and filed 69 criminal cases in connection with the ongoing vaccines scandal, which was announced at a press conference by police and health and drug authorities on Thursday. Hua Jingfeng, a deputy bureau chief at the Ministry of Public Security, said some were facing prosecution on charges of illegal operation. The scandal came to light during a police raid in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, last April when it was discovered that a large quantity of improperly stored or expired vaccines had been sold in more than 20 provincial-level regions since 2011. Hua said the vaccines, including ones against meningitis, rabies and other illnesses, had been sold for 310 million yuan (US47.6 million), rather than the 570 million yuan as previously reported. Investigators found that most of the vaccines involved had been used, with 20,000 doses seized and sealed by authorities, he said. Li Guoqing, a supervision chief with the China Food and Drug Administration, said that, so far, police had traced and identified 41 suppliers, 46 buyers, 29 pharmaceutical wholesalers and 16 illegal inoculation institutions. The case has centered on a mother, surnamed Pang, and her daughter illegally selling vaccines to re-sellers. Li told the news conference that Pang had previously been given a suspended jail sentence for a similar crime. "During the period of the suspended sentence, this criminal evaded supervision and control and continued to engage in the criminal act of illegally selling vaccines," he said, in comments streamed on a government website. Li admitted there were "certain loopholes in our regulatory work" that allowed the vaccines to circulate on the Chinese market for so long before being found, but he said there were simply not enough people for the job. "At present our country has 12,000 drug wholesalers, 5,000 production firms and more than 400,000 drug retailers. Regulatory targets are many, but there are few people on the ground, making regulation difficult," Li said. "There aren't even 500 people with the aptitude to inspect drugs. There are dead spaces and blind zones for regulation and inspection." The issue of regulation, from food and drugs to online sales, has become increasingly contentious in China as it looks to improve quality and safety. Premier Li Keqiang has said regulatory bodies, including the health ministry and police, need to work more in tandem, and that "dereliction of duty" would not be tolerated. The government says it has not found any spike in abnormal reactions to inoculations. Though the vaccines weren't stored properly in the warehouse or refrigerated during delivery, they would be unlikely to pose health risks, Li, the administration's chief supervisor, said. He was keen to reassure the public that vaccination in China was safe. China is among very few countries in the world that entirely rely on domestic manufactures to solve vaccine supply, he said. China produces about 1 billion doses of vaccines every year, with 700 million used. More than 260 people suspected of involvement in the prostitution business at a nightclub in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, have been transferred to prosecutors, the People's Police News, run by the Ministry of Public Security, reported recently. Luxurious nightclub Royal No.1 in Zhengzhou.[File photo] According to the report, a total of 152 policemen and three prosecutors have been punished for accepting bribes and covering up the ring. More than 8 million yuan (US$1.22 million) in bribes and nearly 300 million yuan (US$46.08 million) of illicit fundswere seized. Criminal detection costs two years On night of Nov. 1, 2013, some 1,000 police from Xinxiang City, a small city near Zhengzhou, raided the Royal No.1 Nightclub after five months of secret investigation and detection. According to the provincial public security department in Henan, sending policemen from another city was a means of preventing any leaked information. Two years later, on May 25, 2015, Chen Jiagui and Wang Guofu, two managers of the luxury club, were convicted of organizing a sex trade and sentenced to life in prison. In addition, the Xinxiang Intermediate People's Court sentenced nine other suspects to 10-15 years, with fines ranging from 80,000 yuan (US$12,296) to 1 million yuan (US$153,700). According to a report from Xinhua News Agency in May, 2015, the nightclub employed more than 4,500 females in total, over 2,900 of them had provided sex services before the nightclub was raided and forced to close. Leaders and officers involved in the crime Among the 152 policemen and three prosecutors punished in the case, 124 of them were former officials, accounting for 80 percent of the total suspects. Zhou Tingxin, a former deputy director of the city's public security bureau, was found "borrowing" money from the club, which is a disguise for taking bribes from the ring. Wang Hai, former head of the Fire Protection Supervision Department at the Zhengzhou Fire Prevention Station, was once a renowned elite who won the first place during the firefighter competition held in Henan Province. Yao Tianli, former deputy director of the provincial public security corps in Henan, Bian Weihua, former head of the inspection and acceptance section in the Fire Protection Supervision Department at the Zhengzhou Fire Prevention Station, and Huang Boren, former chief of the Jinshui branch of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau, were all newly-appointed leaders and considered core staff members. Systemic corruption appeared in the case In a commentary published on the People's Police News on Feb. 26, the author summarized four reasons that local police officers were involved in the case. Firstly, regarding social relations, the illegal actions of those suspected policemen were aimed at seeking power. Secondly, for personal reasons, as some policemen lost their professional ethics and perverted their philosophy of life and values. Thirdly, for psychological reasons, the mind of some suspected policemen were dominated by a range of negative psychology, such as unfairness, greed and vanity. Fourthly, from aspects of system design, due to a lack of restriction mechanisms, public power supervision became a mere formality, losing its authority. Wang Jingbo, a professor at the Research Center for Government by Law at China University of Political Science and Law, concluded that the whole case was systemic corruption. "When the entire political environment in an area is polluted, the police team is very likely to be involved in the corruption," Wang said. "There are always huge benefits behind this kind of corruption." Wang also called for an efficient supervision system. "An integrity supervision mechanism should be put in place outside the jurisdiction of a police department, and it must be a regular means to prevent unethical behavior," said Wang. Daniel Clowes is not a man of science. His comics might step into the speculative and unknown, and sometimes time travel or death rays figure in his human dramas of the hilarious and the horrible, but he hasnt exactly got this stuff figured out. His 11-year-old son, Charlie, however, is obsessed with quantum physics and computers. Luckily he cant read my books because its got too much swearing, Clowes says with a laugh. But when he does in a year or two, hes going to be appalled by the science. Advertisement In his new book, Patience, time travel is merely a plot device to get to larger themes as an angry man deep into middle age discovers a means to possibly prevent the tragedy that ruined his life or to at least punish the villain who murdered his pregnant wife years before. The story his longest, at 180 pages follows the desperate journey of a bitter and broken Jack Barlow into the imperfect past. Its told with Clowes usual biting humor, vivid renderings of plausibly bizarre behavior and his protagonists sudden eruptions of rage. There are also deeply moving moments as the graphic novel slowly unveils the troubled youth of the doomed title character Patience, leading to an emotional denouement in Clowes final panels. When I was a teenager, he says, I used to think about what would you do if you had time travel? What would you do if you had superpowers? If you really play it out, its a difficult proposition. Youd probably just keep it to yourself. The book was initially inspired by the experience of self-examination as he prepared his work for the Modern Cartoonist: The Art of Daniel Clowes exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California in 2012 and its accompanying book, followed by a slipcase collection of his Eightball anthology comic. Doing the third thing, it was OK, Im so sick of my 28-year-old self, says Clowes, now 54. I felt really alienated from that person, so it was about this old man looking at this young person and examining him with ruthless clarity but also finding some sympathy for that person. Daniel Clowes new graphic novel, Patience, deals with time travel and death, among other things. (Michael Owen Baker / For the Los Angeles Times) Clowes, who lives in Oakland, is gray-bearded and in a black pullover sweater as he drinks ginger beer in a hotel lobby bar on the Sunset Strip. Just outside, sunbathers relax by the pool. In an hour, hell leave for a signing at Meltdown Comics, a store he calls one of a kind. Years ago, when he was a young comics creator known only to a select crowd of fans, Clowes created the stores one-eyed alien boy logo, and hes kept a close relationship ever since. When an animated version of Clowes appeared on The Simpsons (alongside fellow comics creators Alan Moore and Art Spiegelman) in 2007, it was at a store called Coolsville that was clearly a parody of Meltdown. Inside the real store on Sunset is a display case of Clowes memorabilia, including dolls of the irritable teenage girl Enid, the central character from Ghost World, his 1997 breakthrough work that helped usher in a larger audience for literate alternative comics. His generation of comics creators built on the legacy of work by the underground revolutionaries of Zap Comix, Raw and other titles drawn by the likes of Spiegelman, Robert Crumb and Robert Williams. The audience has evolved too. In the alternative 1990s, Clowes and his indie comics brethren could easily identify their readers in a crowd of comic convention attendees. I felt like we knew every reader by name, Clowes says of those days. We acted very cool: Oh, yes, we get many fans, but we knew. This was pre-Internet. To do a book and have a response from a hundred people was incredible. Now people post a picture of their lunch and get 200 responses. Its a very different thing. Clowes also senses a change in himself. The layers of feeling in Patience, he says, reflect his experiences as a family man with a different view of what is at stake in life. It began with the birth of his son. Before I had kids, I sort of had the vantage of a surly teenager. Even when I was 30, I still was that, he says, and I have a lot of friends who are 60 who are still that, basically. Then all of a sudden I became Im the voice of authority. Im the dad, and all that entails, and the terror you have to face with that. He once imagined a time when his sophistication as an artist and storyteller would become so advanced and refined that his work would become effortlessly shorter and concise. He always saw himself as an author mainly of shorter works, but Patience kept growing. Youd read about these old comics guys who would learn little techniques that would pare it down to the essentials, Clowes says. That was always my dream, and it just gets slower and slower. Everything is more labor intensive than it used to be. For the new book, he also chose to draw each page on larger 18-by-22-inch boards. He started the book in 2010, beginning by figuring out the moments, the beats, then imaging the story unfolding in two-page spreads, but keeping it as loose as I could up until the day I was drawing it. In the past, he has over-thought his work down to the smallest detail. Then its joyless to just draw it. You lose the spontaneity of it. Nothing weird ever appears. He worked on many things during the years he labored on Patience, including covers for the New Yorker magazine, but spoke little about the book in progress. A friend visiting his home on occasion might get a glance at a page Clowes was working on, but no one read it. One person who never looked until Clowes was finished was his wife, Erika. I need her to have this totally fresh take on it when Im done, because shes the only person I totally trust, he says. I know shell really read it carefully and honestly, so I dont want to poison it. I dont tell her anything about it. With Patience behind him, Clowes has begun thinking of his next big project. There was a time about a decade ago, following the success of the film version of Ghost World, for which he co-wrote the screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award, when Clowes thought he might veer into scriptwriting. Though he did write the screen adaptation of his own Wilson, to be released this fall starring Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern, that feeling has mostly passed. After a little while away, I started to feel I should be doing comics, he says. Thats the thing I can really do. Lately, hes been contemplating how his work in comics might further evolve with age and wisdom. The closest work hes seen to reflect another level of comics advancement was Crumbs version of The Book of Genesis. Im sort of looking for a role model, Clowes explains. There are role models as filmmakers and authors of this, but not in comics so much. If somebody is in their 70s doing this pure, pared-down versions of what they are the way John Huston did, where a lifetime of experience is imbued in this later work Im looking 20 years ahead to that. steve.appleford@latimes.com Edison International is launching a business that will help reduce energy costs, improve efficiency and offer more environmentally friendly options for large energy users. The companys new subsidiary, Edison Energy, aims to serve commercial buildings, data centers, retail centers, healthcare operations and educational institutions nationwide. The new business recognizes sweeping changes affecting energy production and consumption, Edison International executives said Tuesday at a conference titled The New Energy Future held at UC Irvine. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> With growing opportunities to tap renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, and to employ energy efficiency and energy storage, consumers are seeking ways to reduce their utility bills and the impact of electricity use on the environment. Energy companies such as Edison also are working to navigate the changing energy landscape as consumers increasingly become self-generators of electricity. That has disrupted the utility and power company business model, which historically generated and distributed electricity rather than balanced a system that includes consumers as energy sources. We certainly see our industry evolving, transforming, said Ted Craver, chairman and chief executive of Edison International, parent company of Southern California Edison. There certainly are some threats to our corporation that come from that. Craver said the Rosemead company decided to embrace the changing energy world. Edison Energy brings together three firms recently acquired by Edison International: EnerActive Solutions, a New Jersey consulting company; Delta Energy Services, an Ohio consulting company; and Altenex, a renewable energy procurement company. Combining those companies gives Edison Energy, based in Irvine, more than 200 employees. Edison Energy isnt part of Southern California Edison and isnt regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Stunning photos, celebrity homes: Get the free weekly Hot Property newsletter >> As part of forming Edison Energy, Edison International surveyed 500 large energy users. Some of those surveyed werent sure how much they were spending on energy. There was a lack of strategic planning in dealing with energy and its costs. Many said they lacked information sources they could trust. Who do you trust with all of these new technologies? asked Allan Schurr, president of the new Edison Energy during Tuesdays meeting. We know its hard to find. Consumers and energy providers, Schurr said, are having to think about energy in different ways. Energy as a service is a different way of thinking than energy as a commodity, he said. Michael Bates, global energy director of Intel Corp., said the ability of companies and consumers to choose how they get their energy is pushing energy providers to change. As my dad used to say, The toothpaste is out of the tube, Bates said. There are so many choices that customers are getting today. The old model is dead. For more energy news, follow Ivan Penn on Twitter: @ivanlpenn. ALSO FTC sues Volkswagen, alleging clean diesel was false advertising With economic data mixed, Yellen says Fed will proceed cautiously on interest rate hikes Parent company of Roscoes House of Chicken and Waffles files for bankruptcy protection Let them eat turkey pesto paninis. Or BBQ beef brisket on sourdough sandwiches. Or zesty chicken and black bean salads. Starbucks needs no marketing push from me, but Im here to bestow props anyway. The company has taken a leadership role in addressing domestic hunger by announcing that it intends to donate all its leftover food to charity. This year, Starbucks aims to provide nearly 5 million meals to food banks nationwide from its roughly 7,600 outlets. Within five years, it says, that figure should rise to 50 million meals annually. Advertisement Join the conversation on Facebook >> When we thought about our vast store footprint across the U.S. and the impact we could make, it put a fire under us to figure out how to donate this food instead of throwing it away, said Jane Maly, brand manager for Starbucks food division. The challenge was finding a way to preserve the foods quality during delivery, she said. Heres what all other restaurants, hotels, caterers and other food business need to understand: That challenge isnt insurmountable. Nor is the question of legal liability, which I know from past columns on this topic is the chief concern when it comes to donating prepared food. The federal government estimates that more than 48 million Americans live in what are called food-insecure households. That means hunger is a constant worry. Meanwhile, this country throws away up to 35 million tons of food every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In dollar terms, the Natural Resources Defense Council puts the wasted-food tab at $165 billion annually, or about $2,200 per household. And theres another component: By some estimates, about a quarter of the nations water is squandered on producing food that will end up taking space in landfills. Michael Flood, president of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, told me that Starbucks decision to donate leftover food wont solve the countrys hunger problem, but it will raise awareness among businesses that efforts can be made to get uneaten food to those who need it. In that sense, its a big announcement, he said. It puts out the message that donating food is OK. Organizations like Floods have been active for years putting a dent in food waste. They work primarily with manufacturers and retailers to collect unsold packaged and perishable foods, such as canned and baked goods. Food banks, in turn, oversee distribution of these goods to affiliated entities such as food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. Flood said Starbucks donations will be relatively easy to handle. Because were mainly talking about sandwiches, it wont be difficult to keep them refrigerated until theyre ready to be eaten. The most likely scenario, Flood said, is that local food pantries and kitchens will deal directly with nearby Starbucks outlets, arranging to pick up, transport and serve the leftovers. The greater challenge remains hot food served at restaurants, weddings, corporate functions and other events. About 1.5 million tons of prepared food is thrown out each year in California alone, according to the state Integrated Waste Management Board. Many restaurants and hotels dont donate leftovers to charity because they think theyll be subject to lawsuits if someone gets sick. What they often dont know is that the federal Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act shields most donors from legal liability. The catch is that the law doesnt protect charities that receive donated food, which must ensure that any meals served meet all local and state health requirements. Many charities will decline donations of prepared food rather than run the risk of serving potentially unhealthy meals. In April, Californias AB 1826 will start taking effect. This is a law aimed at forcing businesses to divert organic waste, including food waste, away from landfills. Flood and other advocates for the hungry said this represents a pivotal step toward isolating food waste and thus finding ways to put it to use. At first, that will mostly mean composting. But down the road, its likely that there will be improved efforts to channel uneaten food to those who need it. Its a big deal, Flood said. Starbucks gets points for doing its share. Not only is it setting a goal of contributing 100% of leftover food to charity but it gives instant legitimacy to food donations. Our hope is by taking this first step, other companies will see the possibility for their participation and together we will make great strides in combating hunger, said Cliff Burrows, group president of Starbucks U.S. and Americas. I see a business opportunity in coordinating pickup and prompt delivery of prepared food to soup kitchens and shelters with funding, perhaps, from companies that arent directly involved in the food business but want to help feed the hungry. The pitch: Uber for leftovers. Help yourself, entrepreneurs. 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 Surprise! Youre covered for the hospital, not the doctors Airlines scrap bereavement fares even as they make record profits Should a man taken to the ER in an ambulance against his will have to pay the bill? California has taken a step closer to becoming the first state to make retirement savings accounts a near-universal benefit for workers with a plan that lawmakers hope will help ease an expected massive shortfall in retirement savings. A state board Monday sent a set of recommendations to the Legislature calling for the creation of the California Secure Choice Retirement Plan essentially a 401(k) plan operated by the state and open to private-sector workers whose employers dont offer a retirement savings plan. Employees of any company with at least five workers would be eligible to participate. That would cover an estimated 6.8 million workers, about a third of Californias labor force. Advertisement The plan calls for eligible workers to be signed up automatically by their employers and have 2% to 5% of their wages invested in the plan, unless workers opt out. Business groups have questioned whether the plan could cost employers or make them liable for investment losses or other problems. But state officials have said the retirement plans would be similar to those available to many private-sector employees and, unlike pension plans for state workers, would not be funded or guaranteed by employers or taxpayers. Retirement savings advocates say the kind of state-run retirement accounts being considered by California and a handful of other states could help millions of Americans especially lower-income workers, who are the least likely to save put away at least a small retirement nest egg. These are plans that would be set up for employees who have nothing, said Karen Friedman, policy director for the advocacy group Pension Rights Center. Its a way of getting people saving. But we look at them as modest savings plans. Theyre not a replacement for good, old-fashioned pension plans. For young workers who start out saving 5% of their wages, the plan depending on investment returns could ultimately provide about one-third of the money theyll need to get through retirement, according to Overture Financial, a consulting firm that worked on the plan. The National Institute on Retirement Security estimates that about 45% of private-sector workers are not offered a retirement savings plan through their employer. And though workers without an employer-sponsored plan can create individual retirement accounts and other savings plans on their own, AARP estimates that only about 5% of such workers do so. That has led to growing concerns of a looming retirement crisis, as large numbers of baby boomers move into their retirement years without traditional pensions with fixed monthly payments. SIGN UP for the free California Inc. business newsletter >> The Secure Choice Retirement Plan has been in the works since 2012, when state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) wrote a bill calling for the creation of a board to look into the feasibility of a state-run retirement plan for private workers. At a news conference Monday, De Leon mentioned his aunt, who worked as a housekeeper for years but didnt save for retirement, as representative of the millions of Californians who dont have enough or any savings. My aunt had to keep working until her body physically gave out. She relies on me as her 401(k) to help her through her retirement, he said. Nearly 50% of middle-income workers are at real risk of sliding into poverty when they can no longer work. The Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board created by De Leons earlier bill recommended that the Legislature require employees be enrolled in the program automatically, though they could choose not to participate. The idea is that workers are much more likely to save for retirement if thats the path of least resistance. It begins to put in the minds of many people that savings can be automatic, said Blanca Castro of AARP, which supports the plan. The boards recommendations will now be incorporated into a bill that De Leon introduced last month. Similar proposals are under consideration in Oregon, Illinois, Connecticut and other states, though publicly run retirement plans are not yet open for business in any state. An Obama administration program launched last year, called MyRA, as in my retirement account, also aims to give workers a retirement savings option if they dont have a plan through their jobs. But the MyRA program allows workers to save only $15,000 before they have to move their cash into a private account. De Leon said he hopes that his bill will pass by July, allowing it to become law in January. Still, there are plenty of details to be hashed out and the plan could be more than a year away from investing money on workers behalf. We have lot of figuring out to do, said Christina Elliott, acting executive director of the Secure Choice investment board. Clearly we wont be enrolling on Jan. 1, 2017. A key issue will be where to park workers contributions. The board recommended that the retirement plan initially invest in U.S. Treasury bonds or other ultra-safe investments while officials study whether other types of securities mutual funds, for instance should be made available. Theres also the question of how money will be taken from workers checks and how their investments will be managed. Elliott said the goal is to minimize employers role in the process. Theyll be responsible for enrolling workers in the program and deducting money from their checks, then passing that money along to the board. The board, in turn, will hire a third-party investment firm think 401(k) giants Vanguard Group or Fidelity Investments to manage that money. The state plan could be big business for an investment manager. Overture Financial estimated that the average worker eligible for the plan makes about $35,000 a year, and that at least 70% of eligible workers would participate. If most workers save about 3% of their income, that represents about $5 billion in assets after just the first year. Other questions to be sorted out include whether workers will be able to take money out of the plan before retirement age and how the funds will be distributed once they do retire. We dont want folks to save, do a good job, be consistent, then take a big lump sum and go to Vegas, De Leon said. De Leons 2012 bill setting the retirement plan in motion passed along party lines and was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. His new bill incorporating the boards recommendations, SB 1234, will have its first hearing in the Senate Committee on Public Employment and Retirement on April 22. Marc Lifsher, a spokesman for California State Treasurer John Chiang, said he is optimistic that the new legislation to enact the plan will also make it through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. De Leon has a lot of clout. He wants to get it passed this legislative session, Lifsher said. james.koren@latimes.com Join the conversation on Facebook >> ALSO How would a minimum wage increase impact you? Words of warning not celebration in Silicon Valley after FBI ends Apple fight Hollywood reacts to Georgia governors veto of anti-gay bill Business groups said they are concerned about the effects of a proposed deal struck by lawmakers and labor unions for a $15 hourly minimum wage in California. The union behind the national movement for a higher minimum wage, not surprisingly, is doing a victory dance. If approved by the Legislature, the state's minimum wage would gradually rise to $15 by 2022. Already, cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego have agreed to boost the minimum wage over the next few years. Here's what you need to know. When would wages rise? On Jan. 1, 2017, California's minimum wage would bump up to $10.50 an hour from the current statewide rate of $10, according to a document obtained by The Times. In 2018, there would be a 50-cent increase, and then $1-per-year raises through 2022. Small businesses with fewer than 25 employees would get an extra year to reach compliance and would have to pay their workers a $15 hourly wage by 2023. What do you think? Vote now in our Twitter poll >> What do business groups think about it? The National Federation of Independent Business opposes the tentative deal because, it said, the measure would place an additional burden on small businesses. Tom Scott, state executive director of the NFIB California, said 90% of his organizations members believe any increase in the minimum wage would be detrimental to their operations. The organization represents small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, and has 22,000 members in California. Ruben Gonzalez, senior advisor of strategic affairs for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, said he was concerned about how the proposed state law would interact with local minimum wage regulations. If there is no provision that says the state law supersedes local minimum wage laws, there could be some municipalities adopting higher minimum wages faster or at different levels, Gonzalez said. "We are more than willing to work with all stakeholders, roll up our sleeves and figure out how we bridge the compensation gap that were all facing," he said. What do labor groups think? The Service Employees International Union called the proposed deal a "huge victory." "It's a win that shows the power of standing up and sticking together," SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry said in a statement. "It also shows the power that the 64 million people all over the country who make less than $15 will bring to the ballot box this November." The SEIU has backed the 4-year-old Fight for $15 campaign, which seeks better pay for fast-food workers and other low-wage workers. If approved, the California deal would be the biggest victory yet for the campaign, said Kendall Fells, national organizing director for Fight for $15. "I think that it shows workers around the country that it's possible," he said. "Now in other cities, workers are feeling more and more emboldened because they see what happened in California. These workers have already shown they have the right formula to win." Could the proposal have an effect outside of California? "There are absolutely going to be national implications," said Chris Tilly, director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. "I expected other states to follow suit, and I expect pressure to build for a federal minimum wage increase." He said New York will likely be the next state to jump in on $15 hourly minimum wage legislation based on the state's "rivalry" with California for being "forward-thinking." New York is currently considering a minimum wage increase proposal. For more business news, follow @smasunaga Saudi Arabias largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So its turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop the drought-stricken American Southwest. Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in Californias Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Ariz., becoming a powerful economic force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state. The purchases totaling about 14,000 acres enable the Saudis to take advantage of farm-friendly U.S. water laws. The acquisitions have also rekindled debate over whether a patchwork of regulations and court rulings in the West favors farmers too heavily, especially those who grow thirsty, low-profit crops such as alfalfa at a time when cities are urging people to take shorter showers, skip car washes and tear out grass lawns. Advertisement It flies in the face of economic reason, said John Szczepanski, director of the U.S. Forage Export Council. Youve taken on all of the risk a farmer has. The only way you can justify that is that theyre really not trying to make a profit. Theyre trying to secure the food supply. For decades, Saudi Arabia attempted to grow its own water-intensive crops for food rather than rely on farms abroad. But it reversed that policy about eight years ago to protect scarce supplies. To further conserve water, the country has adopted bans on selected crops. This year, the kingdom will no longer produce wheat. In December, the government announced that the country will stop growing green fodder, livestock feed derived from crops like alfalfa, over the next three years. Almarai already farms worldwide to make sure that weather, transportation problems or other conditions dont interrupt supplies. The expansion in the American Southwest was a natural progression in its effort to diversify supply, said Jordan Rose, an attorney for the companys Arizona unit. The cows feed multiple times a day, and they need to be certain that they are always able to fulfill that unwavering demand, she wrote. Despite the widespread drought conditions, the U.S. is attractive to water-seeking companies because it has strong legal protections for agriculture, even though the price of land is higher than in other places. Southern California and Arizona have good water rights. Who knows if that will change, but thats the way things are now, said Daniel Putnam, an agronomist at UC Davis. SIGN UP for the free California Inc. business newsletter >> Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates emerged as significant buyers of American hay as their governments moved to curb water use. Together they accounted for 10 percent of U.S. exports of alfalfa and other grasses last year. The land purchases signal that Almarai doesnt just want to buy hay; it wants to grow. And its not the only Arab-owned Gulf company to take that approach. Al Dahra ACX Global Inc., a top U.S. hay exporter based in Bakersfield is owned by Al Dahra Agriculture Co. of United Arab Emirates. It farms extensively in Southern California and Arizona and, according to its website, plans to add 7,500 acres in the United States for alfalfa and other crops. The exporter packages crops grown across the West at its two plants in California and one in Washington state. Most of the farms that Arab companies own worldwide are in developing nations. For instance, Qatars sovereign wealth fund has holdings in Latin America and Africa. But part of the kingdoms long-term food security strategy means investing in higher-cost countries with greater political stability, said John Lawton, owner of Agriculture Technology Co., a farming company in Saudi Arabia. In 2014, Almarai paid $47.5 million for more than 9,800 acres in La Paz County, Ariz., a sparsely populated alfalfa-growing region that is exempt from severe restrictions on pumping imposed on Phoenix, Tucson and other large Arizona cities under a 1980 state law designed to protect the states aquifers. It later turned to the Palo Verde Valley, where Southern California settlers staked claim to the Colorado River in 1877, beating Los Angeles and San Diego under a Gold Rush-era doctrine called first in time, first in right that governs the 1,450-mile waterway. The company paid $31.5 million for 1,790 acres in January after buying about 2,000 acres there last year. Farmers and water experts have greeted Almarai with both cheers and jeers. Supporters note that the company has embraced water-conservation methods that few other farmers have adopted. The Arizona Department of Water Resources released maps that show well levels on Almarais property in La Paz County rose in recent years, and the farms footprint has remained about the same since 2000. In California, some farmers say Almarai is a well-run company that has boosted the economy by growing its own alfalfa and buying more hay from neighboring farmers. The company recently broke ground on a plant in Californias Imperial Valley to package hay into ship-ready bales. Others say the purchases highlight misguided water policies. La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin raises concern that Almarai will deplete wells. Weve got them coming, moving in here and using our natural resources up. Why isnt anyone paying attention to the ground we live on? she said. Christopher Thornberg, an economist at the University of California at Riverside, called alfalfa farms a shocking waste of a resource and suggested California consider seizing land under eminent domain. At some point in time, he said, we have to face the fact that the state cannot continue to prosper under the current circumstances. ALSO How would a minimum wage increase impact you? California proposal for state-run retirement plan for private-sector workers moves forward Words of warning not celebration in Silicon Valley after FBI ends Apple fight That legal mess between the FBI and Apple over the last two months? The tech world wants to make sure it doesnt happen again. The FBIs declaration Monday that it could hack into an iPhone without Apples help -- a device the agency had insisted carried security measures only the tech giant could defeat -- at least temporarily ends the clash between Washington and Silicon Valley. Though a momentary reprieve for Apple and its peers, the tech industrys reaction to the FBIs decision contained more warning than celebration. Advertisement Perhaps with good reason: The FBIs move to dismiss legal actions against Apple in the investigation of the San Bernardino attack does little to settle the heated back-and-forth between law enforcement agencies seeking to expand their crime-fighting toolbox and tech firms fearful of being compelled to work at the behest of the government, executives and experts said. This entire experience has shown we need to have much broader conversation around the policy, regulation and laws in a digital world and what does it mean to have secure technology, Aaron Levie, chief executive of online storage provider Box Inc., said in an interview. Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief legal and business officer at software firm Mozilla, said in a statement that nothing had changed as far as the need to have the broader discussion of what limits should be placed on law enforcements ability to compel assistance from tech companies. Since the fight between Apple and the FBI became public in early February, cybersecurity experts have repeatedly said that the FBI could find a way into the gunmans iPhone 5c on its own given enough resources and time. Software is so huge, especially an operating system, you can never make it 100% secure, said Will Strafach, who runs software firm Sudo Security Inc. Things are just too insecure to argue the only way in is through the manufacturer. Now, tech officials have a clear-cut example proving that argument, experts said. Courts that hear claims that the FBI cant break into a cellphone will receive those claims more skeptically, said Gregory T. Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology. Congress will be more hesitant than it already was to enact legislation requiring Apple to build in back door. I think that idea might well be taken off the table now. Some members of Congress are already seeking to create a National Commission on Digital Security that would include tech executives, privacy advocates, law enforcement officials and academics. Apple said Monday that it remains committed to participating in a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Without national consensus on the limits of law enforcement, disputes like the one in San Bernardino will literally happen thousands of more times over the next many decades, Levie said. If anything, the experts and executives said, Mondays news raises new questions about how far law enforcement can go to hack into phones. Whats appropriate and what should be out of bounds? Nojeim said. Whats the FBI going to do with the [hacking technique] that its just developed? Strafach called it problematic for Apple that the FBI holds a way to crack security measures of at least one specific iPhone -- the work device of San Bernardino terrorism attack gunman Syed Rizwan Farook. No company wants its device to be susceptible to hacking. But the existence of that flaw is the lesser of two evils when compared with what could have been a potential judicial order forcing Apple to develop and deploy software against its will. Ordering tech companies into forced labor would have been a process the FBI replicated, Strafach said. But the agency will have to be more cautious with its new hacking technique because unfettered use could end up exposing the details of the method, he said. The nice thing is by nature it has to be carefully used and in situations where its absolutely needed, Strafach said. If they dont keep it guarded, it will get out there and Apple will be able to fix it. Its unclear when, or if, the day will come when most tech security holes are no longer relatively easy to access; Strafach put it at least 20 years away. But the broader discussion needs to address that as people demand greater protection, experts said. The industry isnt spending money [on improving security] and prefers to simply apologize when its products are hacked or plead ignorance and blame the users, said Vivek Wadhwa, a corporate governance fellow at Stanford University. This must change and we must hold tech companies liable for their inferior products. paresh.dave@latimes.com Twitter: @peard33 ALSO Bernie Sanders has a plan to hijack Hillary Clintons superdelegates Reports of hundreds of shots fired draw sheriff, FBI response in Apple Valley Gov. Brown hails deal to raise minimum wage to $15 as matter of economic justice I always thought I would see Anna again. We hadnt been in touch for years, but our collaboration had been so intense that not connecting again was inconceivable. Now its never going to happen. Anna, known professionally as Patty Duke, died with terrifying unexpectedness Tuesday at the age of 69. As the co-writer of her Call Me Anna 1987 autobiography, I spent a couple of years in the mid-1980s working closely with her, an experience so intense it might have been yesterday. I interviewed her for hours in her West Los Angeles home. I spent time with her sons Sean and Mackenzie Astin, was on the Georgia set of the TV movie where she met her future husband, Michael Pearce, but most of all I experienced the force of her personality, her energy, unblinking honesty and irresistible sense of humor. Advertisement Id met her on assignment for TV Guide, and her story of what she had gone through as the manipulated child star of the hugely popular The Patty Duke Show and her struggles with manic depression so riveted me that I came back a month later and asked whether she wanted to collaborate on a book. Ill ask you questions, well tape record your answers, and the book will sound like you wrote it, I told her. Her reply came immediately and with what I came to recognize as her trademark directness: How can you do that? I was so flummoxed that I said the first thing that came into my mind: I dont know, but I can do it. A light of recognition came into her eyes and she said, I know just what you mean. Thats the way I feel about acting. And so our adventure began. Throughout the interview process, Anna flinched from nothing. Not the way her managers, John and Ethel Ross, stage-managed her life as a young star, changing her name from Anna Marie Duke to Patty Duke and maneuvering her parents out of the way, and not the terrors that came with young adulthood. At that point, she had the freedom that came with her supporting actress Oscar for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (at 16, she was then the youngest person ever to win an acting Academy Award), but she also suffered from bipolar disorder, an illness that would go undiagnosed until her 30s. That led to wildly erratic actions, including a marriage that lasted 13 days. She was justifiably proud of having survived her adversity and prospered to the point where her peers had elected her president of the Screen Actors Guild. Call Me Anna starts with an anecdote about taking a SAG meeting with Sid Sheinberg, then president of MCA, in the same office where 15 years earlier she had thrown a Mickey Mouse clock at him. 1 / 4 Patty Duke, 16, poses with her Oscar and her lucky Chihuahua in April 1963. (R.L. Oliver / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 4 Barbara Parkins, from left, Lee Grant and Patty Duke, from the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls, reunited in New York in 2000 for a screening and discussion of the movie. (Richard Drew / Associated Press) 3 / 4 Patty Duke was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, 2004. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) 4 / 4 In this March 23, 2010, file photo, Patty Duke appears during a news conference at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. (Damian Dovarganes / AP) Her reason for writing the book, in fact, was to help other people who were suffering from this disorder, then known as manic depression, to let them know there was hope for them if they sought treatment as she had. In this she was wonderfully successful, so much so that she later wrote another book, A Brilliant Madness, solely about living with this illness. My favorite stories in Call Me Anna, however, are not the grim ones but others, the ones that feature humor, like her Catholic childhood memory of playing nun with a girlfriend: Assign a lot of homework, whack the table with a ruler, fight about who was in charge. You were the Mother Superior last week. Let me be Mother Superior. We played nun for hours. I also remember her telling me about the first time the pre-movie theatrical version of The Miracle Worker played before a live audience in its Philadelphia tryout. The production received 18 curtain calls, leading an older costar, Kathleen Comegys, to pull her aside and advise her, Well, my little dear, I want you to take a moment and really remember this, because it doesnt happen very often. Which was the understatement. Perhaps what I remember most vividly about Anna was the way she managed to distill wisdom out of the worst things that had happened to her. Here is advice she took from then-husband, actor John Astin, who told her at an especially bleak moment, If you keep living the truth of your life, that, not the mistakes or exaggerations, is what will endure. If you live your life in truth, the truth will out. The other words from Anna that I remember have special poignancy now. How odd to try to sum up all I feel for and about you in just a few words, she wrote when she signed my copy of our book. It would take yet another lifetime. Im so terribly sad that that lifetime is no more for Anna. Theres no getting over that. kenneth.turan@latimes.com When Dayme Arocena took the stage on Monday night for her Los Angeles debut, the 22-year-old looked resplendent in a white dress and matching headwrap. The backing band for the Havana singer and composer was already out in front of her at the Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, winding up to play her regal song Madres and begin a tour of contemporary rumba and ambitious Afro-Cuban jazz. But at her first notes, a wave of bass feedback overwhelmed the church-sized venue for a moment. Arocena gripped the mic, grinned and slyly led her band through it. Thats all the spirits trying to play with me, she joked. It seemed as if the room wasnt built to contain a voice that big. Advertisement As the relationship between Cuba and the U.S. thaws after generations of estrangement, the dialogue between the two countries is sure to only deepen. Cubas contributions to American jazz, Caribbean traditional styles and the Afro-pop diaspora are well noted. The island nations contemporary music world is less well known here, though, and Arocena is one of its most inviting ambassadors. The songs she performed on Monday spanned her latest album Nueva Era and her forthcoming One Takes EP (released on the influential BBC DJ Gilles Petersons Brownswood label) and tracks from a documentary, Havana Cultura Rumba Sessions: La Clave, that screened before the show. Arocenas catalog has touchstones from modern and established Cuban music, along with forays into contemporary R&B. Her show was a brief but comprehensive tour through all of it. Arocenas voice hits a rich and resonant low timbre (Nina Simone fans will find a sonic kinship here). But Arocenas mood was almost all joy on Monday, as she nodded to President Obamas recent visit to Cuba and laid out the history of her interlocking musical paths. Backed by a four-piece band (two percussionists, bass and piano), she often marched them through her exuberant rumba with a wooden clave in hand, demarcating tricky time signatures in ways that the packed crowd could clap along to. Her songs are rooted in moody, complex bass lines (here played by the stellar young Rafael Aldama Chiroles) that turn exuberant when layered with hand percussion and big washes of piano. But her singing called back to decades of musical conversation between Africa and the Americas. R&B fans would recognize the gentle poise of Sade in English-language singles like Dont Unplug My Body and African Sunshine, But Arocena always left room for rafter-clearing high notes that emphasized her virtuosity. On El 456, she whipped the audience into a call-and-response chant that proved her myriad talents are always in service of a communal experience. With travel restrictions to Cuba lifting, Americans will be heading there in search of some real, fundamental essence of the nations musical life that has been all but forbidden for decades. For a few hours in L.A. on Monday night, that feeling came right to their backyard. Follow @AugustBrown for breaking music news. Long before celebrities shared their private struggles on talk-show couches and social media feeds, actress Patty Duke broke a Hollywood taboo by speaking publicly about her mental health struggles. Duke, who died Tuesday morning at age 69, was diagnosed with manic depression (now called bipolar disorder) in 1982. Known at the time as the goody-two-shoes child star of The Miracle Worker (for which she won a best supporting actress Oscar at 16) and The Patty Duke Show, Duke revealed revealed a much darker reality in her 1987 memoir, Call Me Anna, written with L.A. Times film critic Kenneth Turan. In the book, she graphically detailed her turbulent life, drug and alcohol abuse and childhood mistreatment at the hands of cruel managers. In talking candidly about her mental illness, Duke took on the stigma long attached to the issue. In the years since Dukes disclosure, actresses such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Carrie Fisher, Rene Russo and Kim Novak have spoken publicly about their own bipolar diagnoses, while countless other public figures have talked about their depression. Advertisement Upon her death, Dukes son, actor Sean Astin, sought to continue his mothers legacy of bringing attention to mental health, launching a crowdfunding campaign to establish the Patty Duke Mental Health Initiative. Before her passing, before the suffering became too great, we talked about how the core mission of her mental health work might continue beyond her life, Astin said in a Facebook post. This initiative will fuel a multi-level approach to achieving results for those suffering with mental illness and their families and communities. Public awareness campaigns, lobbying efforts, and supporting a multitude of mental health programs big and small will be organized, prioritized and vigorously pursued. During her life, Duke lobbied Congress to increase funding for research into mental illness treatments and awareness programs, and discussed her experience of finding stability thanks to a combination of medication and therapy in her 1997 book with medical reporter Gloria Hochman, A Brilliant Madness. There is treatment. You do get well, Duke said, addressing the Senate in 1989. Having been through it, you dont want others to go through it. More recently, she interacted with fans on Twitter and Facebook, passing along information about mental health and addiction, as well as pictures and reminscences from her career. Before publicizing her diagnosis, Duke said she had worried that the disclosure would hurt her professionally. I was very frightened when I wrote the book, Duke said in an interview with The Times in 1990, when she was starring in a television movie based on Call Me Anna. You fear if you reveal yourself as having a mental illness, you are unemployable, you are an oddball. Instead, said she received mostly warm, grateful feedback to Call Me Anna, and to a series of talks she gave on what she called the black hole. Duke would go on to work steadily, appearing on shows like Frasier, Touched by an Angel, and Judging Amy and in the film Prelude to a Kiss. Her last credit was in 2015, playing a pair of elderly twins reminiscent of her Patty Duke Show persona on the Disney Channels Liv and Maddie. FROM THE ARCHIVES: Patty Duke looks back on The Patty Duke Show Patty Duke was a child star on screen, but a late bloomer on stage Our 1962 review of Patty Dukes Oscar-winning performance: A Miracle Picture? Seeing Is Believing The owner of a factory in Shanghai's Baoshan District has been sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for a year after being found guilty of dumping wastewater into a local waterway. The 65-year-old defendant, identified only by his surname Jin, was also ordered to pay compensation of 50,000 yuan (US$7,700), while his company was fined 100,000 yuan. At his trial at the Baoshan District People's Court, Jin was accused of authorizing the installation of a pipe to run from his textiles plant on Hutai Road to Huating Creek in May last year. The connection was used to discharge 2.6 tons of wastewater into the creek, which when analyzed was found to contain three times the permitted concentration of chromium a chemical that is commonly used in the fabric dyeing process. Prosecutors said the factory was not licensed to process industrial wastewater and was therefore guilty of deliberately polluting the environment. Shyster attorney Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) will never adapt to the button-down corporate environment of Davis & Main, even with its generous perks. Thats why he launches an obnoxious scheme to get himself fired on Inflatable, Episode 207 of AMCs Better Call Saul. While taking dictation for a resignation letter, legal assistant Omar (Omar Maskati) points out that Jimmy will forfeit his signing bonus if he quits within the first year. Advertisement This prompts Jimmy to destroy the letter and pretend he suffered a momentary lapse of reason due to job stress. The key, Jimmy realizes, is being terminated from his Santa Fe law firm for being a jerk rather than for malfeasance. And when he sees an inflatable dancer sign contorting on a street corner, Jimmy comes up with an idea. Copying the signs garish appearance, Jimmy buys suits, shirts and ties that span the color spectrum and are utterly inappropriate for a legal setting. As partner Clifford Main (Ed Begley Jr.) angrily puts it, Jimmy wears an optical migraine you call a business suit. The final straw is when Jimmy plays a bagpipe in his office to allegedly blow off steam. You win! Youre fired, Clifford yells. Tell me. How exactly did I mistreat you? I tried to make it work, really I did, Jimmy offers. Im just a square peg. Returning to Albuquerque, Jimmy reclaims his clunker car and tiny office inside a nail salon. Then he asks girlfriend Kimberly Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) to become his law partner by leaving Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Lets jump in with both feet, Jimmy enthuses, be our own bosses, build our own future! Kim has one question. Will Jimmy play it straight or will he be colorful? Theres no point in doing this if I cant be myself, ethically flexible Jimmy admits. So, yeah, colorful, I guess. Kim keeps her options open by interviewing with a rival firm headed by Rick Schweikart (Dennis Boutsikaris). But that job represents a lateral move rather than a step forward. You were right, Kim tells Jimmy. Time to be my own boss. Instead of teaming up with Jimmy, however, Kim wants to share office space but pursue separate careers. Not partners, she says. Solo practitioners, together. In other developments, Jimmy does most of the talking at the district attorneys office when Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) changes his statement regarding an assault by drug dealer Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz). Mike now claims that a gun found at the crime scene didnt belong to Tuco. For lying to the authorities, Mike receives $50,000 in cash from Tucos ruthless uncle, Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis). We want to put this guy [Tuco] away for years, an assistant district attorney (Kurt Caceres) emphasizes to Mike. The gun makes all the difference. But if the pistol is submitted as evidence, Jimmy warns, Mike will testify for the defense. Being an ex-cop, Mike wants Tuco to serve a lengthy prison sentence. That was the plan, in fact, when Mike conspired with Nacho Varga (Michael Mando) to lure Tuco into committing the assault just as police arrived. Their plan was thwarted, unfortunately, when Hector intervened and threatened to harm Mikes daughter-in-law Stacey (Kerry Condon) and granddaughter Kaylee (Abigail Zoe Lewis). On the plus side, that cash infusion from Hector will help Mike buy a house for Stacey and Kaylee in a better neighborhood. Its a lot of money, Stacey says after touring the home. Dont worry about that, Mike assures her. Well make it happen, whatever the cost. And that cost will surely take a toll on Mike as hes drawn deeper into New Mexicos criminal underworld. The ongoing debate over tipping, service charges and the minimum wage for restaurant employees has been a much talked about subject in the Los Angeles dining scene for quite some time now. But the issue came to a head Thursday when the state Legislature approved a plan to increase the minimum wage in California from $10 an hour to $10.50 next year and incrementally to $15 an hour by 2022. According to a document obtained by The Times, businesses with fewer than 25 employees would have an extra year to comply with the $15 an hour rate. What does this mean for restaurant owners and diners? Heres a look at the facts. Advertisement How will this affect tipping? Restaurants in California are not allowed to count an employees tip credit toward overall wages. So servers and other front-of-the-house employees who receive tips will continue to receive tips, as well as the increase in their hourly pay. This could further widen the pay gap between front-of-house employees and those back-of-house workers who generally do not receive tips. Will dinner be more expensive? In Los Angeles, the Bel-Air Bar + Grill announced it will increase menu prices, eliminate tipping and increase employee wages. It allows us to offer our entire staff a fair, living wage, the restaurant said in a recent Times article. And in Culver City, Bar Nine coffee shop and roaster has eliminated tipping and increased the price of most drinks by 50 cents. Nationally, some restaurants are doing away with tipping and adopting an all-inclusive model to provide higher wages for employees. Among them is New York-based chef Danny Meyer (Shake Shack, Gramercy Tavern). He raised menu prices to compensate for the employee pay increase. In a recent essay, Evan Kleiman, who ran Angeli Caffe in Los Angeles for 27 years and is the longtime host of KCRWs Good Food, advocated for doing away with tipping in favor of all-inclusive pricing. What about service charges? Some Los Angeles restaurants, including Jon & Vinnys, Trois Mec and Petit Trois, have implemented mandatory service charges. Employers own the revenue generated from this charge and are not required to share it with employees. Most restaurants with a service charge will make clear on the customer bill where the revenue from the service charge will go. Diners are free to leave tips on top of the service charge, or not. This led to confusion at Andy Rickers Pok Pok in Chinatown, where customers ended up mistaking the charge for the total tip or not leaving as much as they normally would. Ricker eventually eliminated the 5% service charge. How is this working elsewhere? In New York City, the minimum wage will increase to $15 by 2018. Seattle has already increased its minimum wage from $9.50 to $11 an hour, and businesses with 500 or more employees will need to further increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by next year. In San Francisco, the minimum wage has been increased from $11.05% to $12.25 and will reach $15 an hour by 2018. In some of these cities, its too early to tell how the wage increase will affect jobs and restaurant prices. But in Seattle, there are reports of restaurants raising prices by more than 20%. Ivars Salmon House in Seattle decided to start paying its employees $15 an hour ahead of the required time frame and has already raised its prices by 21%. A report by the American Action Forum, a group that identifies itself as a center-right policy institute, suggests growth in the rate of restaurant employment in cities that raised their minimum wage last year is down when compared to other cities in the same state. The report found that the number of restaurant employees in Seattle has grown .6% while the growth rate in the rest of the state is 6%. The Seattle Times spoke with restaurant owners who recently announced closures in Seattle, but they all claimed the closures are unrelated to the minimum wage increase. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Jenn_Harris_ ALSO: What Jonathan Gold is eating: Pierna de puerco at El Colmao Inside the new Mast Brothers chocolate factory and shop in downtown L.A. Theres a dog cafe in Silver Lake where you can play with dogs and drink coffee Plans to improve the Oxnard rail crossing where an abandoned vehicle caused a fatal Metrolink derailment last year got a boost Tuesday when the Federal Railroad Administration announced a $1.5 million grant to fund the engineering and design of a traffic bridge. The future of the project to separate passenger and freight vehicles from the busy rail line is still in doubt because local agencies, including the city of Oxnard and the Ventura County Transportation Commission, would have to come up with about 20% of the estimated $45 million cost to qualify for state and federal funds. Darren Kettle, executive director of the commission, said transportation officials are weighing a half-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot to fund the crossing and other projects. A decision will be made in the next month or two, Kettle said. Advertisement Kettle said the project was part of the commissions Comprehensive Transportation Plan approved in 2013. But the need for it was highlighted by the February 2015, crash. It had been something we talked about and planned for, but its profile grew with that particular accident, he said. The accident occurred when a truck driver made a wrong turn at the crossing and abandoned his vehicle on the tracks. A Metrolink train struck the truck, causing it to derail. The engineer was killed and 33 passengers were injured. The Federal Railroad Administration said the crossing has seen 13 accidents with two fatalities since 1976. We know what we need to do, Kettle said. The state and federal funds that come to Ventura County arent enough to do it all. Rice Avenue is the primary route for freight to and from Port Hueneme. About 35,000 vehicles cross daily. Annually, 1,820 Metrolink trains, 3,129 Amtrak intercity trains and 4,368 freight trains cross, the railroad administration said. The grant announced Tuesday at a news conference will go to the California Department of Transportation to fund local agencies to design a six-lane bridge with sidewalks and bike lanes. The 800-foot bridge will cross the Union Pacific tracks and State Route 34. Last year, railroad administration launched a campaign to reverse the recent uptick in railroad crossing fatalities. Collisions between trains and vehicles at the crossings are the second-leading cause of all railroad-related fatalities, according to a statement released by the railroad administration. In 2015, 244 individuals died in these collisions, down from 264 in 2014. doug.smith@latimes.com Twitter: @LATDoug Stacy McKenzie, who is suing former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner for sexual harassment, told a fellow city worker in July 2013 that she wasnt surprised when allegations surfaced about the mayors inappropriate conduct because of an interaction shed had with him, the co-worker testified on Monday. The colleague, Kathryn Ruiz, said she had just finished listening to a news conference on the radio in which a former councilwoman and two attorneys called for Filner to resign after they had heard credible evidence of the mayors harassing behavior. Thats when McKenzie, who works in the citys parks and recreation department, described an incident a few months earlier in which she introduced herself to the mayor at a park event. She said he asked her on a date and later touched her breast and buttocks, Ruiz recalled. Advertisement Ruiz testified in San Diego County Superior Court that McKenzie told her that the incident didnt make her angry or scared and that Filner had just acted like a stupid guy. She didnt feel that it was that big of an ordeal, but she wanted me to know about it, said Ruiz, who said she did human resources work throughout most of her 28 years with the city. She said McKenzie told her that she didnt feel harassed or intimidated by Filner, who would resign in August of that year, but that the incident was just creepy. Ruiz was among the first witnesses called to testify by lawyers representing the city and the former mayor in a civil trial that began last week. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> McKenzie contends Filner sexually touched and harassed her at an event on April 21, 2013. She says the then-mayor approached her from behind, hooked his arm around her neck and rubbed her breast with his elbow in the presence of two of her subordinates. Filner testified last week that he did not remember the incident, nor did he recall meeting McKenzie. As for the conduct she described, Filner said, There are certain things I would never do. Attorneys defending Filner and the city began calling witnesses Monday after McKenzies lawyers rested their case. But before that could happen, Filner was called back to the witness stand briefly to answer questions about language in the city charter and whether he had the authority to hire and fire city employees who worked outside his office. Some of the testimony has focused on whether Filner intimidated city workers, perhaps to the point that they feared confronting him about allegations of inappropriate behavior with women. Filner testified Monday that under the city charter, powers once held by the city manager including appointment and removal of some employees were transferred to the mayor under a strong-mayor form of government. He said he also understood that staffers in the mayors office which did not include McKenzie were at-will employees, subject to hiring and firing by the mayor without regard to civil service codes. Ruiz testified she believed the April 2013 incident McKenzie described was serious and needed to be reported formally to human resources or an outside agency. Another co-worker, Daniel Daneri, testified McKenzie told him about the encounter with Filner. He said that McKenzie seemed as though she was a little creeped out by it or something, but that they were able to joke about it. He said he didnt think the incident sounded like sexual harassment. dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield Littlefield writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Join the conversation on Facebook >> ALSO Will the $15 minimum wage pass Californias Legislature? And other key questions... Whats ahead for bullet train funding? Hearing outlines the many risks FBI unlocks San Bernardino shooters iPhone and ends legal battle with Apple, for now About half of the funding needed to build an initial operating segment of Californias bullet train faces legal, political and financial risks, state analysts told an Assembly hearing Monday although officials expressed confidence that they could navigate any pitfalls. The oversight hearing focused on a draft business plan released last month that proposed building the $21-billion section from San Jose to the Central Valley by tapping federal grants, state bonds and greenhouse gas fees. But questions loom over whether each portion of that funding could be guaranteed. We have to go into this with our eyes wide open, said committee chairman Jim Frazier (D-Oakley). Proceeding with this project will not be for the faint-hearted. Advertisement Beyond the financial risks that could affect the initial segment, officials have not made clear where they would get the money needed to complete the system, estimated to be an additional $43.5 billion. The state legislative analysts office and a peer review panel have said California should be clearer about how and when it will get those funds. At the hearing Monday, Hasan Ikhrata, executive director of the Southern California Assn. of Governments, agreed. Though the committee members including Frazier largely expressed support for the project, the questions they asked during the three-hour hearing were more substantive and detailed than any legislative panel has raised in recent years. And rail authority officials, including chairman Dan Richard, were more direct in laying out the projects potential problems. There are going to be things that go wrong, Richard said. There are going to be things that are unexpected. But he rejected the assertions of critics who say the project has been compromised so drastically that it bears no resemblance to what voters approved in a $9-billion bond measure in 2008. We are delivering what the public voted for, Richard said. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> The dependence on cap-and-trade funding, which would supply about half the money for the initial segment, drew the most concern. Frazier questioned whether the greenhouse gas marketplace would actually be shrinking over coming decades, while the rail authoritys planning is based on getting steady $500-million annual allotments. The plan calls for issuing bonds against future revenues beyond 2025. But legislative analysts said that future was difficult to predict. Depending on economic and technological trends, the number of greenhouse gas credits is expected to decrease over time, but the price of those credits could go up. Frazier asked whether private investors would buy bonds based on such uncertainty. The answer from the expert peer review panel suggested California might face higher financing costs and probably would be forced to make outright guarantees to investors, difficult issues for a future legislature to consider. The project does not need any immediate legislative action. It is moving along constructing about 118 miles of track in the Central Valley by virtue of its access to greenhouse gas fees and $3.2 billion in federal grants, as well as the voter-approved bonds. But within a year or two, the Legislature will need to extend the fees beyond 2020 and authorize the rail authority to borrow against those future revenues. At the same time, the rail authority will have to figure out whether it can get past litigation that has tied up the bond funds for several years. The new business plan also changed a previous commitment to build the initial segment from Burbank to the Central Valley. That prompted complaints Monday by representatives from both the Inland Empire and the Merced region. Adam Gray, a Merced Democrat, said he had been blindsided by the decision that left Merced out of the initial segment. We owe you and your constituents an apology, Richard said. Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino) wanted to know what good the project would do for her community, saying that the previous plan at least would have provided jobs in Southern California. And Catharine Baker, a Bay Area Republican, asked Richard about a Los Angeles Times report Monday that said the lead contractor on the first 29 miles of construction through Fresno had submitted a list of more than 300 pending change orders that could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the projects cost. Richard said the state already had disclosed those risks to the public. Could they result in cost increases? They could, he said. ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com Twitter: @RVartabedian Join the conversation on Facebook >> ALSO Will the $15 minimum wage pass Californias Legislature? And other key questions... Former San Diego mayor was creepy, but woman didnt feel harassed, co-worker testifies Yosemites granite cliffs are breathing, and heat can make them fall A huge sea cave that has opened beneath a Carlsbad bluff is the latest danger looming along San Diego Countys coastline, which has been battered this winter by high tides and big waves. The cave south of Cannon Road in the citys Terramar area is about 25 feet wide, 25 feet tall and 15 feet deep, and it has prompted authorities to post warning signs and cordon off the top of the bluff about 50 feet from its edge. Additional signs are posted below, at the mouth of the cave, but that might not be enough. The area is popular with joggers and visitors who venture onto the cliff to watch the sunset. Below, curious visitors who approach the cave ignore or are oblivious to the danger. Advertisement Similar problems have emerged from Torrey Pines to San Onofre, where waves have caused significant erosion, portions of cliffs and bluffs have collapsed and at least two sections of Coast Highway 101 have needed storm-related repairs. A couple climb down to the beach next to a section of bluff that has eroded in Carlsbad. (Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune) Were all running from emergency to emergency, said Robin Greene, superintendent of the San Diego office of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. State parks officials are considering a number of ideas to deal with the hazard in Carlsbad, Greene said, including using explosives, cables, inflatable wedge bags or high-pressure hoses to tear down the cave before it collapses. Park workers used cables earlier this year to pull down a large chunk of sandstone bluff at Torrey Pines State Reserve that was threatening to fall on a heavily traveled portion of a trail. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The state parks agency would much rather allow Mother Nature to run its course, Greene said, but after consulting with geologists and other experts, officials decided they had to intervene at Torrey Pines to maintain public safety. The best way to handle [an undermined bluff] is to keep people away from it, so that when nature takes its course no one is affected, she said. The problem is that people ... make poor choices. Thats whats happening at the Carlsbad site. Besides stepping over the caution tape at the top of the cliff, some visitors have entered the massive cave to carve messages in the soft sandstone. A collapse would rain down tons of sand on anyone standing above or below and certainly anyone inside. Several people have been killed by bluff collapses in San Diego County in recent decades. On Jan.16, 2000, a woman sitting below a bluff was crushed while her husband surfed in Encinitas. This seasons punishing waves have increased the danger. A big chunk of Sunset Cliffs between Adair Street and Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in Point Loma collapsed onto the beach in February, a few weeks after cracks developed in the nearby parking lot. The entire area was cordoned off for safety reasons. No one was injured. In Solana Beach which has 1.7 miles of coastline, almost entirely lined by bluffs El Nino waves have caused the beach to shrink, forcing people to walk closer to the base of the bluffs. Thats exactly where they shouldnt be, officials said. The big thing for us [this winter] was just the loss of sand, like everybody else, said Craig Miller, captain of the citys lifeguards. Our sand levels are really down. Miller said his lifeguards frequently warn people to stay back from the bluffs because of the danger that something might fall on them. Several tons of sandstone fell onto Swamis Beach in Encinitas in late January. No one was hurt, but Encinitas lifeguards spent the next few days warning people to stay away from the foot of the cliffs. Encinitas lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles estimated at the time that his employees contact about 4,000 people a year about getting too close to the bluffs. With so many tall bluffs along the coast, it would be impossible to post signs everywhere warning of a potential collapse. Enforcement is another problem. We would need a whole police force to stop people from entering dangerous areas, said Greene, the state parks official. Our general take on this is that the coast is always hazardous, she said. Even just a softball-sized rock can be devastating falling from a 50-foot cliff. Carlsbads beaches are patrolled by state lifeguards, but the citys firefighters respond to medical emergencies along the citys seven miles of coastline. Carlsbad Fire Chief Mike Davis said hes working with the state parks department to keep the beaches safe. The actual incidents of bluff failures that cause injuries or fatalities are rare, Davis said. Theyre very infrequent, and we want to keep it that way. Davis said the state is taking the lead on what should be done about the Carlsbad cave, but city officials stand ready to help. This is a really challenging one, Davis said. Its a balancing act, whether to step in or not. philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com ALSO Whats ahead for bullet train funding? Hearing outlines the many risks Report finds flaws in L.A. Countys system for defending children accused of crimes Former San Diego mayor was creepy, but woman didnt feel harassed, co-worker testifies Good morning. It is Tuesday, March 29. Every day is a good hair day for this San Francisco baby. Heres what else is happening in the Golden State: TOP STORIES Hacking the iPhone Advertisement Federal agents were able to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists. As a result, the government will drop its lawsuit against Apple, which had stated it would not create the software needed to hack into its products. We sought an order compelling Apple to help unlock the phone to fulfill a solemn commitment to the victims of the San Bernardino shooting that we will not rest until we have fully pursued every investigative lead related to the vicious attack, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. Los Angeles Times Governors approval rating A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll finds 60% of respondents approve of how Gov. Jerry Brown is doing his job. His secret? Governing is not about just having some idea, or some slogan, or some sound bite, he said. Governing does have its own skills. Los Angeles Times A new minimum wage California is leading the nation in the fight over increasing the minimum wage. A proposal to increase hourly wages to $15 by 2022 appears to be a done deal. Its a matter of economic justice. It makes sense, said Gov. Jerry Brown. The move is expected to have national implications, with some experts suggesting New York could be the next state to tackle wages. Los Angeles Times DROUGHT AND CLIMATE Reason for hope: Yes, California is still in a drought, but its getting better. The soaking storms that we got in March really delivered their biggest punch in the most important watersheds in the state, said one environmental reporter. KQED Falling rocks: Heat may be responsible for rockfalls in Yosemite National Park. The sun and the temperature are enough to make the rock move up there. Its just kind of a neat thing that I think people dont think about, said Brian Collins of USGSs landslide hazards program. Los Angeles Times L.A. AT LARGE Catch me a catch: Korean American parents dont like the trend of young people getting married later in life or relying on Tinder and eHarmony to find a date. In Koreatown, theyre attending matchmaking events to find potential suitors for their children. Do you want a good son-in-law? Then you have to seek, you have to find, said the emcee at a recent event. Los Angeles Times CEOs bonus: The gas leak in Aliso Canyon damaged Californias environment, forced thousands of families to flee their homes and was ultimately declared the worst methane leak in American history. But none of that was enough to stop the CEO of Sempra Energy, the parent company of Southern California Gas, from getting a $3.17-million bonus. If youre looking for evidence that American corporate executives are a truly privileged class, look no further, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik. Los Angeles Times Protesting a festival: Conservation groups are up in arms over a proposal to host a three-day music festival in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area. AngelFest is billed as family-friendly with oldies music and fireworks. Its absolutely inappropriate, adjacent to the Wildlife Reserve, without a buffer to sensitive habitat, said Muriel Kotin of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society. There will be many, many birds that will be frightened away from the area. Daily News Selling the airwaves: The Los Angeles Unified School District is looking to auction off its rights to public television station KLCS. The Federal Communications Commission is running the auction to open the airwaves for wireless communications. 89.3 KPCC POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Hollywood money: It is well documented that Sen. Bernie Sanders is tired of American politics catering to the millionaires and billionaires. And now, the Democratic presidential candidate is knocking his opponents campaign for asking donors to give $33,400 to attend a fundraiser with George Clooney in Los Angeles and $353,400 for two seats at a table with the actor and his wife in San Francisco. It is obscene that Secretary (Hillary) Clinton keeps going to big-money people to fund her campaign, Sanders said. Yahoo Polling numbers: In the race to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer, state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris leads, with Rep. Loretta Sanchez making small gains but still behind her. However, one-third of voters remain undecided. Los Angeles Times Off the ballot: Sen. Marco Rubio requested to have his name removed from the California ballot. Even though the Florida Republican dropped out of the presidential race, polling suggests his appearance on the ballot could take away votes from candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Los Angeles Times CRIME AND COURTS Major crash: Two people died in Monday when a driver in a high-speed pursuit crashed into another vehicle in San Bernardino, authorities said. The impact was so intense that the engine in one of the cars flew out of the vehicle and into the middle of the street. Los Angeles Times Out of jail: Gail Harrington-Wisely says the Orange Countys problems with jailhouse informants could set her husband free. Four inmates testified at Willie Ray Wiselys 1982 murder trial. He is the oldest living prisoner caught in the snitch crisis, Harrington-Wisely said. Orange County Register BUSINESS Growing alfalfa: Saudi Arabias largest dairy company recently doubled the size of its holdings in Californias Palo Verde Valley. The move allows the Saudis to take advantage of the states farm-friendly water laws. Associated Press Dont be evil: Do you know the name Sundar Pichai? Hes the Google CEO who is flying under the radar. Can Sundar Pichai transform Googles image? Can he make you actually like Google again? BuzzFeed Parting gift: If shes fired from Yahoo, CEO Marissa Mayers golden parachute might not actually be that valuable. Mayer would receive $3 million in severance, $40,000 in benefits and $9.34 million in stock. The package would have been significantly sweeter in the past, but a declining stock price and Mayers own vesting schedule have lowered the value of the deal. Bloomberg Hippies and tech: Designs for new headquarters for Google and Apple reveal the connection between technology and the counterculture movement of the 1960s. New York Times CALIFORNIA CULTURE Just a big parking lot: Its easy to hate Los Angeles. LA Weekly Hidden gems: These may be the most beautiful streets in San Francisco. SFGate Women and ink: A new exhibition in San Jose examines the relationship between Californias women and tattoos. Women in a lot of tribes in California really held that tradition. They were the ones who had the knowledge, said curator Amy Cohen. KQED Old train stations: L.A. is seeing something of a rail revival. Back when trains still reigned supreme, the downtown area was home to several depots. Heres a look back at that golden age. Los Angeles Times CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles has a chance of showers with a high of 64. In Riverside, there will be clouds and rain. San Diego will have a high of 64 with a chance of rain. Sacramento will have sunshine with some clouds, as temperatures reach 65 degrees. It will be partly sunny and 61 in San Francisco. AND FINALLY Todays California Memory comes from Sarah Erwin: When I was 5, our family moved to California from a farm in northern Illinois, because my little brother needed a warm, dry climate for his breathing problems. My dad took us kids exploring this new wonderland, so different from the flat, gray farmland of Illinois. Driving home from a magical trip to Yosemite Bears in the campground! Mountain hikes! Waterfalls! as we descended, clouds completely covered the valley below, with the setting sun igniting them in pinks, oranges and lavender. To us kids, it looked like we were heading into a sun-shot ocean of cotton candy! It was indescribably beautiful. The image will stay with me to the end of my days. 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-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I dont want you to miss today. TOP STORIES $15 an Hour: As California Goes Advertisement Gov. Jerry Brown has announced a six-year plan to increase the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour, a proposal we first told you about over the weekend. Will the rest of the country follow suit? A labor expert says New York could be the next state. (Jealous, much?) Meanwhile, a coalition of business groups say the proposed deal is overreaching. Could you live on Californias new minimum wage? Find out with our calculator. Why the iPhone Case Isnt Open and Shut Federal officials finally unlocked the iPhone used by San Bernardino attacker Syed Rizwan Farook, and with that, theyve dropped their legal fight against Apple. But Silicon Valley isnt celebrating, as it still grapples with the larger questions of national security versus privacy. The hack itself also poses a new set of issues. In a potential case of turnabout, Apple attorneys may try to force the FBI to turn over details of how it broke into the phone. An LGBT Battleground in the South State by state, liberals and conservatives are waging fights over who can be granted or denied protections related to housing, employment or even public bathrooms. The latest: Georgia, where Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a religious liberty bill that would have made it legal to deny services to gay people; and North Carolina, where Gov. Pat McCrory is defending a new law to prohibit legal protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Heres why the conflict has only grown since last summer. The Secret Life of Yosemites Rocks Yosemite Valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space, photographer Ansel Adams once wrote. As it turns out, the sunrise can stir that very edifice too. A pair of geologists have found that a 20-metric ton wall of granite can move about one centimeter a day. Read on to see why one says Yosemites rock formations are kind of breathing. Bachelor No. 647, How Is Your Korean? Tinder, eHarmony ... forget it. Some Korean American parents have been playing matchmaker for their sons and daughters at a Koreatown event that reporter Victoria Kim describes as a cross between a business pitch meeting, speed dating and bingo night. Each parent gives a two-minute introduction, laying out the specs: age, profession, education, hobbies, religion and Korean proficiency for starters. A few of the prospects show up too. Go inside the world of Chungsil Hongsil. CALIFORNIA -- With strong new job approval numbers, Jerry Brown chalks up his success to the skills of governing. -- Whats ahead for bullet train funding? A hearing outlines the many risks. -- A study says attorneys who defend many juveniles charged with serious crimes in L.A. County get fewer resources than elsewhere. -- Glen Dawson, who was part of the quartet that first climbed Mt. Whitneys East Face, has died at 103. NATION-WORLD -- An Egyptian man hijacked a plane and forced it to land in Cyprus on Tuesday. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was not something that has to do with terrorism. -- An armed man who was shot trying to enter the U.S. Capitol had previously disrupted a session of Congress, officials said. -- Most of Palmyras ancient treasures appear to have survived Islamic State vandalism. -- Bernie Sanders has a plan to win over Hillary Clintons superdelegates. -- Clinton says Republicans have only themselves to blame for Donald Trump. -- Sean Diddy Combs is opening a social justice charter school in Harlem. HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS -- Martha Plimpton builds her comedy rep in The Real ONeals, but the Catholic League isnt laughing. -- Daniel Clowes broke through in comics in 1997, but hes still sort of looking for a role model. -- Jesse Eisenberg, a.k.a. Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman, is a playwright too. His The Revisionist is premiering in Beverly Hills. -- Video: We asked these artists at WonderCon to draw the Flash in a flash. BUSINESS -- California could become the first state to make retirement savings accounts a near-universal benefit for workers. -- Michael Hiltzik: Despite the Porter Ranch disaster, the top executive at SoCal Gas is getting an enormous bonus. SPORTS -- Fifty years ago this week, the Dodgers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale engaged in a salary holdout that would help change baseball forever. -- Good news for L.A. Kings fans: Broadcaster Bob Miller is aiming to return next season. -- Ouch: The U.S. mens soccer team is in danger of not qualifying for the World Cup. WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING -- If your last name is Null or Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele, computers have a problem with that. (BBC) -- In defense of laziness on the job. Ahem. (NPR) -- What happened when a programmer deleted 11 lines of code? A lot of stuff on the Internet broke. Heres why. (Quartz) ONLY IN L.A. The building at Vermont and Kingswell avenues in Los Feliz is nondescript: two stories, gray, with air conditioners stuck in the windows. From 1923 to 1926, it was home to the imaginative minds of Disney Bros. Studio essentially the entertainment giants birthplace. Today, you can make photocopies, buy a skateboard or get a tattoo there. See pictures of the place then and now. PS: It doesnt have historical protection status. Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj. Attorneys who defend many juveniles charged with serious crimes in Los Angeles County get fewer resources and less oversight than in other large California counties, according to a long-awaited report released Monday. Most youths charged with crimes in L.A. County are represented by deputy public defenders if their families cant afford to hire private defense attorneys. When there is a potential conflict of interest for instance, if the public defenders office is already representing another defendant charged in the same case private attorneys who contract with the county are appointed. Those lawyers, known as panel attorneys, are paid a flat rate of $340 to $360 per case. Advocates have argued for years that the rate is too low for the amount of work required to provide an effective defense, and that children suffer as a result. Advertisement The county commissioned researchers at UC Berkeleys Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy in 2014 to look into a wide-ranging set of issues in the countys defense system for minors charged with crimes. The researchers looked at the juvenile defense systems in 10 other large counties, including Orange, San Diego and San Bernardino, and found that Los Angeles is the only one that pays attorneys a flat per-case fee. In other counties, attorneys representing minors accused of crimes were paid a salary or hourly rate, or were paid a flat fee that varied based on the type of case and how much work was involved. They also found that L.A. was the only county surveyed with no centralized body providing oversight or quality control for the panel attorneys, and the only one that did not give them access to county-paid investigators to help them prepare a defense. Public defenders have access to investigators through their office, but the private panel attorneys must hire their own investigators and pay them out of pocket. The report found panel attorneys in L.A. County had higher caseloads than those in other counties. The annual caseload averaged 289, but one attorney handled as many as 661 cases a year. In Alameda County, panel attorneys handled about 14 cases a year, and in Kern County, the average was 75 to 80. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> The private panel attorneys are assigned about 28% of juvenile cases filed in L.A. County each year, but handle many of the most serious cases, including representing the bulk of juveniles who faced potential trial as adults. Among those youths, the ones represented by panel attorneys were more likely to end up being transferred to adult court, the researchers found 26% compared with 13% of those represented by public defenders over the last five years. The researchers found that panel attorneys in those cases consulted less often with experts, provided less documentation to support the client and filed fewer motions. Minors represented by the panel attorneys were also more often sent to state or county lockups, the report found. An earlier report on the same issue completed by Loyola Law School made similar findings. Critics argued that the Loyola report failed to take into account other factors that might influence case outcomes, such as the history of the juveniles involved and the more complex nature of many of the cases assigned to panel attorneys. The Berkeley researchers acknowledged, It is possible that the difference in outcomes is a result of different resource use and attorney practices. It is also possible, however, that the difference in outcomes is a result of different types of clients. But Cyn Yamashiro, an attorney and county probation commission member who headed up the research for the earlier report, said the new research validated his teams findings. The problem with the model that L.A. uses is it provides lawyers the exact opposite incentive you would want your lawyer to have if they were working for you, he said. Yamashiro and other advocates argue that the minors who cant be represented by the public defenders office should go to the countys alternate public defender office, as adults and a small number of juveniles do now. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who originally asked for the review, said he wants to have the countys chief executive look at that and other options for overhauling the juvenile defense system, such as changing the fee structure and asking the county bar association to provide oversight of the panel attorneys. The need to make sure that justice is done for these juveniles is a high priority, and the extent to which they have not been adequately served can no longer be tolerated, he said. abby.sewell@latimes.com Twitter: @sewella Join the conversation on Facebook >> ALSO Whats ahead for bullet train funding? Hearing outlines the many risks Former San Diego mayor was creepy, but woman didnt feel harassed, co-worker testifies In the age of Tinder and eHarmony, Koreatown parents take their childrens love lives into their own hands Eighth-grade math is changing: Instead of emphasizing Algebra I where only some students thrive, many schools are placing all students in the same general class that covers several concepts. Common Core standards for the eighth grade call for all students to learn the same general math concepts, a departure from the push toward Algebra I that middle schools made in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Common Core is a set of English and math learning standards that most states have adopted, meant to be more rigorous and uniform than states' previous learning goals. See the most-read stories this hour >> A new study from the Brown Center at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit research group, found that the percentage of students in advanced math classes has decreased, while the share of students in general math has gone up. That doesn't mean that the "general" classes are less difficult than Algebra I. Instead, they're supposed to include concepts of algebra, geometry and statistics. But in his study, author Tom Loveless considered advanced classes to include Algebra I, and general math enrollment to include Common Core math classes. (Test) That change is even more stark in California since 2013, when the state got rid of incentives for middle schools to offer Algebra I, instead shifting its focus to Common Core math implementation. (Test) Having more students taking a single, general eighth-grade math course might help solve a different problem: the segregation that happens inside schools and between classrooms, when black and Latino students are kept out of high-level classes. Students are still separated into different classes there are others in pre-algebra classes, not shown in the results. And even within Common Core, school districts can implement an "accelerated pathway" for high-achieving middle school students, as L.A. Unified has done. But the shifts tell Loveless that as Common Core gains ground, fewer students are being pushed into algebra. Last year, California's legislature passed a law requiring school districts to put their high school math placement policy in writing, a recognition that math, particularly algebra, is one of the classes that's most difficult for students to pass, accounting for many dropouts. But recording these policies in high school might be too late, said UCLA education professor Tyrone Howard. In the 2011-2012 school year, black students were equally represented in Algebra I in middle school, while Latino students were underrepresented. White and Asian students were overrepresented. (Test) By the time students are learning Algebra II, black students become underrepresented along with Latinos, while white and Asian students still maintain their overrepresentation in these classes. This is important for California students because they need to complete Algebra II or its equivalent to qualify for University of California or Cal State University admission, the cheapest and highest-quality four-year college options for state residents. In 2014, a few years after some of those students took -- or missed -- Algebra II, white and Asian students were more likely than their Latino, African American and Native American counterparts to meet UC and CSU entrance requirements. Beyond math, school districts such as Long Beach Unified and Los Angeles Unified have taken a stand against the practice of tracking by opening AP classes to all students. In L.A. Unified, the share of Latino students in AP classes has increased in the last eight years, though Latino and black students are still underrepresented. Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli. ALSO Do out-of-state students hurt Californians' chances at UC schools? State audit to weigh in Report finds flaws in L.A. County's system for defending children accused of crimes California proposal for state-run retirement plan for private-sector workers moves forward A grey finless porpoise was washed ashore and found dead, with blood coming from its eyes, at a Quanzhou wharf in China's southeastern province of Fujian. [Photo / Chinanews.com] A grey finless porpoise was washed ashore and found dead, with blood coming from its eyes, at a Quanzhou wharf in China's southeastern province of Fujian on Mar. 28, Chinanews.com reported. The critically endangered animal was spotted by an angler fishing near the sea and then reported to the police, said a local officer named Liu Lihong. Experts say the cause of death is still a mystery, but the blood coming from its eyes may indicate that it had been exposed to air for too long. A close cousin of the Baiji dolphin, which was declared functionally extinct, the finless mammal species is known for its mischievous smile and has a level of intelligence comparable to that of a gorilla. There are only around 1,000 left in the main section of the Yangtze River and connecting lakes, with numbers declining by almost 14 percent a year, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The police say the animal's body is now frozen at a local ocean and fisheries bureau and will be given to a research center under China's State Oceanic Administration. A Chinese White Dolphin, or Sousa Chinensis, was also found dead in a nearby wharf on Mar. 25, following three similar cases in 2015, 2011 and 2007 in neighboring waters. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. Just several years after its glitzy launch, StudentsFirst, the Sacramento-based education group started by former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, is merging with another education advocacy organization, 50Can. Some of StudentsFirsts remaining chapters will be absorbed into 50Can, which has similar goals. The most well-known objective of Rhees group was to become a counterweight to teachers unions. StudentsFirst expects to cut its staff significantly but will maintain a small presence in its national office. Jim Blew, the groups president, confirmed the news Tuesday morning. The cause goes on, we are moving ahead and we have a lot to do in the next several years, Blew said. Advertisement Blew will step aside from the national organization, and the merged group will be called 50Can, though each groups local offices will retain their own names. Blew will lead StudentsFirst California, the merged groups state presence, and will focus on litigation and issues such as school accountability. The combined group will be led by 50Can Chief Executive Marc Porter Magee. Blew said the move makes sense because with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the replacement of the No Child Left Behind Act, state legislatures are crucial in determining the future of education in America. StudentsFirst, Blew said, is stronger on the lobbying side, and 50Can is stronger in advocacy. Rhees group launched on Oprah Winfreys talk show in 2010, with the goal of raising $1 billion dollars in its first year. The goal was then revised to $1 billion over five years; in its first year, it brought in only $7.6 million. It set up shop in Sacramento, where Rhees husband, Kevin Johnson, is mayor. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The organization promoted a menu of issues that came to be known as the education reform movement: evaluating teachers partially by their students standardized test scores; charter schools; and mayoral control of schools. The organization took off as Rhee absorbed the national spotlight for her tenure as D.C.s schools chief, where she made enemies for moves including firing a principal on camera. After StudentsFirsts launch, it stepped into the fray in many state legislatures that were rewriting their laws around teaching. It took credit for changing more than 100 education laws, and backed candidates at different levels through political action committees. Early on, Rhee faced criticism for not disclosing her donors. StudentsFirst was often criticized for interpreting the idea of education reform too narrowly. Internal tiffs over whether to support unions in a fight over right-to-work laws led to the departure of a few high-profile Democrats. In 2012, the group hired Kahlil Byrd as its first president; he left the job in 2013, as did many other staffers. In summer 2014, Rhee announced she was stepping down as chief executive officer and moved into a position on the board. She also became the board chair of St. Hope Public Schools, Johnsons charter school chain, and joined the board of Scotts Miracle-Gro. The group then downsized, and shut down its chapters in several states. Follow the Times education initiative to inform parents, educators and students across California >> Most recently, StudentsFirst has kept a low profile. Blew, who had worked for the Walton Family Foundation, took over as its president in the fall of 2014. Between December 2014 and now, Blew downsized the Sacramento office staff from 60 to 20. For now, Blew said, the group will keep its current Sacramento office, at least until the end of its lease, but, he said, we wont need a big office in Sacramento moving forward, but we will need a small office. In California, a staffer recently gave public comment on school accountability at a State Board of Education meeting. The group has remained somewhat active in several states. In Tennessee, for example, the group lauded the passage of a bill that would assign schools A-F grades. We should be thinking every day about how to get better and stronger, Blew said. We need to always assure our donors that were using their money as effectively as possible. Were completely dependent on these donors. He said Rhee expects to stay involved in whatever capacity the merged group wants. You can reach Joy Resmovits on Twitter @Joy_Resmovits and by email at Joy.Resmovits@LATimes.com. MORE FROM EDUCATION Sean Diddy Combs is opening a social justice charter school in Harlem UC President Napolitano to keep close tabs on Berkeleys actions against sexual misconduct At UC Berkeley, promises of a crackdown on sexual misconduct are met with skepticism by students A legal battle weighing privacy rights against the governments need to investigate terrorism came to an end Monday when the FBI said it found a way to gain access to Syed Rizwan Farooks iPhone 5c. The announcement may have staved off a historic court battle, but questions still linger about how the government gained access to the device and what implications the FBIs tactics will have beyond the investigation into the San Bernardino terrorist attacks. How did the FBI get access to the data on Farooks phone? Advertisement Federal prosecutors did not offer many specifics. Apple and the Department of Justice were headed for a court battle last week before federal prosecutors made an eleventh-hour request for a delay, announcing that an outside group may have found a technique to hack the device. The breakthrough came last weekend, according to an anonymous law enforcement official, who would not say how the device was hacked or what information the government found on Farooks iPhone. Previously, the FBI had been stonewalled by an update Apple made to its encryption practices in September 2014. Farook had enabled an auto-erase feature that would permanently delete all data on the phone after 10 consecutive failed attempts to enter the devices password. Data on the phone would be scrambled unless a correct password was entered, and Apple has repeatedly said it would need to create technology to defeat that encryption. Farook intentionally disabled the phones iCloud backup feature six weeks before the Dec. 2 attacks, according to court documents. Is the government required to say how it gained access to the phone? The FBI is under no obligation to tell the public how it defeated Apples security measures, but the agency could be required to tell the company if the government exploited a defect in the companys security protocols in order to gain access. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The policy that governs such disclosures is known as the Vulnerabilities Equities Process, according to Andrew Crocker, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group. The EFF sued to make the 13-page policy public in 2014 and won access to the document earlier this year. Crocker said the policy is weighted toward disclosure, but the government has successfully fought to keep such details secret before. What does this mean for other locked phones in police custody around the country? Local law enforcement leaders have said encrypted data can serve as a roadblock in a wide range of investigations, and have called on Silicon Valley to create back channels that would provide police access to smartphones when necessary. Tech companies have scoffed at the idea, claiming the creation of a so-called back door would jeopardize the security of millions of customers who are not the target of a police investigation. It is difficult to say what, if any, effect the breakthrough will have on local law enforcement investigations, but Mondays news was concerning to some civil liberties experts. Its likely that the FBI can and will just share its security hack with other federal, state and local agencies that want to crack iPhones, allowing law enforcement across the country to bypass Apples security even for routine criminal case, Peter Bibring, the director of police practices for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said in an email. The government has said they will continue helping state and local entities access data on mobile phones, but wont explicitly say whether this includes the technique theyve developed in this case. What did the government find in Farooks phone? What did they hope to find? The FBI has not said what, if any, pertinent information was contained on Farooks phone. Federal investigators have ruled out the idea that Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, were working at the behest of a foreign terrorism nexus, but questions still linger about the planning of the attack. The government likely now has access to six weeks of data thought lost when Farook disabled the phones iCloud backup. The families of some of those killed in the attacks have also said they believe the information of Farooks phone could answer lingering questions about the possible involvement of a third shooter on Dec. 2. It remains unclear whether the data will dramatically change the San Bernardino investigation. The FBI has already said the shooters acted alone and were self-radicalized. Investigators have found no evidence they were part of a larger plot. Who won? Apple or the FBI? The FBI certainly gained a major investigative victory by gaining access to Farooks phone, but in totality, the outcome might be best described as a draw. Both sides had a lot to lose in court. A government victory could have set a precedent requiring Apple, and other tech companies, to create software in service of law enforcement investigations. An Apple victory in court could have severely hampered future law enforcement attempts to compel tech companies to turnover user data. Ultimately, the government got what it wanted in the San Bernardino case, and both the FBI and Apple avoided what could have been considered major defeats. But larger questions about law enforcements right to access user data, and Silicon Valleys role in aiding police investigations, remain unanswered. Times Staff Writer Joel Rubin contributed to this report. Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in Southern California. ALSO Quiz: Is this a way to hack an iPhone ... or kill James Bond? What it means for Apple if feds have found a way to crack shooters iPhone Words of warning not celebration in Silicon Valley after FBI ends Apple fight A businessman was charged Tuesday with killing a well-known Chinese herbalist, his wife and 5-year-old daughter inside their hillside Santa Barbara home for financial gain, prosecutors said. Pierre Haobsh, 26, of Oceanside faces three felony counts of first-degree murder, according to the Santa Barbara County district attorneys office. Prosecutors further allege that Haobsh was lying in wait when he committed the murders. Haobsh was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Santa Barbara. Advertisement If he is convicted of the murders, Haobsh could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Prosecutors plan to decide on whether to pursue the death penalty after the preliminary hearing. The slain couple ran a popular Chinese herbal clinic on State Street in Santa Barbara, and Han was the author of several books on Chinese herbal medicine. Weidong Henry Han, 57; Huijie Jennie Yu, 29; and their daughter, Emily, were found dead Wednesday night inside their gated, 7-acre ranchette off the 101 Freeway. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Hans colleagues became concerned about his whereabouts when he didnt show up for a business meeting earlier that day. They went to his home and found the front door ajar and the familys vehicles outside. Deputies were notified and found the victims bodies wrapped in plastic and duct tape in the garage, said Sheriff Bill Brown of the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office. An autopsy determined all three victims died of gunshot wounds to the head, sheriffs Lt. Brad McVay said Tuesday. Brown called the slayings diabolic, premeditated. Within the first 32 hours of the familys killings, investigators began interviewing friends, relatives, neighbors and business associates who led them to Haobsh, Brown said. Detectives think Haobsh was recently involved in a business transaction with Han, the sheriff said. They then obtained a warrant to arrest Haobsh. Detectives began monitoring Haobsh and spotted him about 12:30 a.m. Friday at a gas station in San Diego County, where they arrested him. A loaded 9-millimeter handgun and property belonging to one of the victims was found inside Haobshs car, Brown said. This tragic case is a terrible blow to the Santa Barbara community and the medical community at large, he said. For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO: Vietnamese comedian touring U.S. charged with sexually assaulting boy Contaminated street drugs lead to 28 overdoses, six deaths in Sacramento County Coroner identifies men killed in San Bernardino crash after high-speed chase A pipe bomb explosion in Anaheim on Easter Sunday could be the handiwork of a man who police said was responsible for three other explosive devices found across the city late last year. Donald Paul Busteed was taken into custody Monday in Fountain Valley on suspicion of possessing explosive devices as well on probation violations, according to the Anaheim Police Department. NEWSLETTER: Get essential California headlines delivered daily >> Advertisement Busteed was previously convicted of manufacturing an explosive device and was on probation for that incident. Anaheim police investigators had been following up on two separate pipe bombs found in the city when Sundays device exploded in an alley outside a closed business. Busteed was identified as a person of interest in those incidents. Detectives are investigating his possible involvement in the latest detonation. The first pipe bomb was found Nov. 13 outside the main exit of a Lowes home improvement store in the 1500 block of North Lemon Street, police said. Customers reported finding the bomb, which was not detonated. On Dec. 11, a resident spotted another pipe bomb at the base of a utility pole in the 300 block of Claudina Street. Weeks later on New Years Eve, a third bomb detonated in the 2800 block of East White Star Avenue, according to the Police Department. Bomb squad investigators collected evidence from the third explosion, which led them to Busteed, police said. He admitted to detonating the device and later pleaded guilty, police said. He was sentenced to serve time in County Jail and released in January. Material collected from all three bombs has been linked to Busteed, Anaheim police said. Detectives also said the bomb incidents are similar to the explosion that occurred during the weekend. In that explosion, the device was found about 1:50 p.m. at the base of a utility police in the 600 block of North Anaheim Boulevard, police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said. The blast caused minor damage to a nearby concrete wall and the utility pole. For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter. ALSO Man attacks In-N-Out janitor, then steals patrol car, Pasadena police say Coroner identifies men killed in San Bernardino crash after high-speed chase Vietnamese comedian touring U.S. charged with sexually assaulting boy San Francisco State University said Tuesday it was investigating an incident captured on video in which a black woman confronted a white man on campus for wearing dreadlocks. In a video posted on YouTube on Monday, the man and woman can be heard arguing in a hallway about his hair. Youre saying that I cant have a hair style because of your culture? Why? the man said. Advertisement Because its my culture, she said. The man tells her that dreadlocks were part of Egyptian culture and asks her, Are you Egyptian? Nah, man, youre not. She asked him if he was Egyptian, and he told her no. Wait, wheres Egypt? she asked. Tell me. He responded: You know what, girl ... you have no right to tell me what I cannot wear. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> In the video, the man tried to walk away, but the woman stopped him, continuing to ask where Egypt was. When he tried to go around her and go up a nearby set of stairs, the woman grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. Yo, girl, stop touching me right now, he said. I dont need your disrespect. He came down the stairs, and she said, You put your hands on me, youre going to learn. When the man walked away, the woman asked a man taking video, Why are you filming this? and appears to put her hand in front of the camera. San Francisco State officials said in a statement that the confrontation happened on campus Monday and that university police were called to the scene when it happened. Although the title of the video which had more than 130,000 views on YouTube on Tuesday says the woman was a campus employee, university officials said none of the people shown were employed by San Francisco State. San Francisco State University promotes the rights of the campus community to engage in free speech, but does not condone behavior that impedes the safety or well-being of others, the university said. We are taking the matter seriously and will promptly and thoroughly investigate this incident through applicable University channels, including our campus student conduct procedures. hailey.branson@latimes.com Follow me at @haileybranson / Google+ ALSO UC schools harm local students by admitting so many from out of state, audit finds Contaminated street drugs lead to 28 overdoses, six deaths in Sacramento County Coroner identifies men killed in San Bernardino crash after high-speed chase The Los Angeles City Council threw its support Tuesday behind a plan to fix broken and buckled sidewalks across the city, then gradually hand off responsibility for future repairs to property owners -- a idea known as fix and release. City attorneys are now supposed to draft a new ordinance that would put the plan in motion, including rolling back a decades-old rule that put the city on the hook for sidewalks ruptured by street trees. Los Angeles leaders have blamed that long-standing rule for its broken walkways. State law says that the adjacent property owner is responsible for sidewalk repairs, but L.A. took on responsibility for those damaged by street trees decades ago -- then failed to keep up with the needed repairs. Advertisement This is a problem that has been 40 years in the making, City Councilman Paul Krekorian said Tuesday, complaining that city lawmakers in the past had made a very shortsighted decision to snag some federal funding that quickly evaporated. Councilman Joe Buscaino called the busted sidewalks an embarrassment and said he was tired of the city paying out millions of dollars annually for trip-and-fall lawsuits. Those crumbling sidewalks also spurred a major lawsuit by advocates for the disabled, who argued that impassable walkways violated their rights to access in the city under federal law. To settle that case, Los Angeles has pledged to spend more than $1.3 billion over the next three decades to smooth its sidewalks. Buscaino said that the Tuesday decision by the City Council, which approves a comprehensive plan for fixing sidewalks for years to come, sends a message that help is on the way. City lawmakers say the new program will begin in the next budget year, which begins in July. Under the new policy, L.A. will first pay to repair sidewalks next to commercial, industrial and residential properties, whether or not the damage was caused by a street tree. After those initial repairs are made, the city will offer a warranty period during which it will guarantee one more repair, meant to prevent homeowners and businesses from facing immediate problems. The warranty will not apply to damage caused by the negligence of anyone other than the city. That warranty period will last two decades for residential properties and five years for commercial and industrial property. Beyond that point, the property owner will be on the hook for future fixes. City officials also plan to establish a cap on the amount that L.A. would spend on sidewalk repairs at each site to prevent the city money from being consumed by a few especially expensive or vast projects. And to encourage people to fix their sidewalks quicker and stretch city funds, L.A. also plans to offer property owners a rebate if they choose to repair their buckled sidewalks before the city does, reimbursing them for roughly half of the average cost per square foot of repairs if they make fixes during the first three years of the new program. L.A. will also waive permit fees for such work. The fix and release plan had drawn concern from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, a community organizing group worried about financially strapped homeowners bearing the costs of future repairs. Some pedestrian and transportation advocates have also argued against the idea, saying that the city should fund its sidewalks the same way that it pays for roads. But city lawmakers praised the plan as a sustainable way to ensure that sidewalks did not fall back into disrepair in years to come. Krekorian stressed that it would be years before property owners had to foot the bill for broken sidewalks. This fear that seems to be out there that suddenly people are going to have a burden dumped upon them that just isnt the case, the councilman said. Branimir Kvartuc, a spokesman for City Councilman Joe Buscaino, said that recent fixes performed by the city had cost an average of $15 per square foot. However, Krekorian stressed that future repair costs borne by homeowners could vary depending on sidewalk conditions. The repair plan passed unanimously, 14 to 0, with Councilman Jose Huizar absent. The final wording of the new ordinance will return to city lawmakers for another vote before it becomes law. Follow @latimesemily for whats happening at Los Angeles City Hall ALSO UC schools harm local students by admitting so many from out of state, audit finds Patty Duke dies at 69; former child star and Academy Award winner FBI investigating reports of Middle Eastern men firing hundreds of shots in Apple Valley As a student at South Pasadena High School, Katherine Uriarte aced six Advanced Placement classes, got top scores on her ACT, served in student government and nailed a summer internship at Caltech. It wasnt enough to get into UCLA or UC Berkeley. The daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Uriarte still realized her dream of becoming the first in her family to go to college. She is now a freshman at Columbia University in New York City with a full-ride scholarship from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But she said she felt Californians like herself were losing out to a growing tide of students from other states and countries who want to go to UC schools. I think they should prioritize California students, she said. Advertisement A new state audit agrees. The scathing 116-page report released Tuesday accuses the University of California of hurting local students by admitting too many out-of-state applicants to its campuses. It recommended stricter entrance requirements for nonresident students, a cap on their enrollment and more focus on recruiting Californians particularly African Americans, Latinos and other underrepresented minorities. University of California President Janet Napolitano denounced the audits conclusions as disappointingly pre-baked and unfair and unwarranted. She said auditors ignored the fact that higher-paying out-of-state students contributed $728 million to UC coffers and allowed the 10-campus system to accept more Californians in the face of massive budget cuts imposed since the 2008 recession. The audit and reaction to it raised the stakes in an intense and long-running political controversy: whether the increase in nonresident students to what is widely viewed as the finest public university system in the nation has helped or hurt Californians. The audit was requested more than a year ago by Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Carson), who has watched with dismay as the enrollment of students from other states and countries has grown to 15.5% of UCs total undergraduate enrollment, up from about 5% eight years ago. The audit found that out-of-state applicants benefited from lowered admission standards, while California students increasingly were turned away from their campus of choice. The university has undermined its commitment to residents in an effort to increase its revenue by recruiting and enrolling nonresidents, the audit said. Because of the significant harm to residents and their families resulting from the universitys actions, we believe that legislative intervention ... is necessary to ensure that a university education once again becomes attainable and affordable for all California residents who are qualified and desire to attend, state auditor Elaine Howle said in a letter released with the audit. Gipson said he would immediately work with fellow legislators to push for such actions as placing a cap on nonresident students and a public hearing on the audit results. My reaction is utter disgust, Gipson said. Im going to use a harsh word, and the word is discrimination. We are disenfranchising California students. UC officials insist that nonresident students dont displace Californians. Instead, they say, the nearly $25,000 in additional tuition that nonresidents pay each year has allowed UC to enroll thousands more California students than the system could otherwise afford. Tuition and fees for out-of-state students totaled $38,108 this academic year, compared with $13,400 for in-state students. Without the extra money from out-of-state students, Californians could have faced an additional $2,500 in tuition a roughly 20% boost, Napolitano said. Tuition and fees have doubled since the 2008 recession, but have remained flat except for one fee increase for the last five years as part of an agreement between Napolitano and Gov. Jerry Brown that sent more than $3 billion in new dollars to the UC system. The University of California has hurt local students by admitting so many out-of-state applicants to its campuses and should be reined in with tough restrictions, according to a sharply critical state audit released Tuesday. In a separate deal, UC agreed to admit 5,000 additional California students for the fall 2016 term in exchange for $25 million more and a continued lid on tuition increases. Providing adequate state funding is the best way to increase the number of California students enrolled at UC, said a special report on admissions and finances released Tuesday by university officials in anticipation of the audit. The report made the case that UC policies overwhelmingly favor California residents over nonresidents. The system guarantees admission to at least one campus for all eligible California applicants those in the top 9% of their high school class who maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average while taking a battery of required classes such as English and math. No such guarantee is offered to nonresidents. Californians are also admitted at higher rates, with 71% accepted to at least one campus of their choice compared with 55% for nonresidents. And, the report said, only Californians enjoy access to three state scholarship and grant programs that have helped more than half of UCs undergraduates enroll without paying any tuition or fees. UC data show that California undergraduate enrollment increased from 163,773 in fall 2008 to 167,959 in fall 2015. During the same period, enrollment of out-of-state students grew from 9,000 to 30,907. Despite that growth, UC officials say their percentage of nonresident students is still significantly lower than the 40% enrolled at comparable public schools such as the universities of Oregon, Iowa and Michigan. Monica Lozano, chairwoman of the UC Board of Regents, said the audit was filled with erroneous conclusions. California students have always come first, she said, and the regents will continue expanding access for them. There is no doubt the primary focus and responsibility is for California students, she said. Howle, however, said UC officials failed to provide evidence for their key claims. They have not shown, for instance, how they used the $728 million in nonresident tuition for more California students. They never called into question any of the facts.... They just dont like our conclusions, Howle said. But our conclusions are based on the facts. Hans Johnson, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, said UCs decision to enroll more out-of-state students in the face of dramatic budget cuts was defensible. But he said he favored reducing their numbers, as they now make up more than 20% of undergraduates at the most popular campuses, UCLA and UC Berkeley. With fewer nonresident students, he said, more Californians could win admission to their top campus choices. Today, thousands of qualified students who are turned away from their selected campus are offered a seat at UC Merced, even if they did not apply there. Gipson and others have raised concerns that those referred to UC Merced are disproportionately Latino and African American. With fewer out-of-state students, UC would need to make up the financial loss with more state dollars or higher tuition and fees, Johnson said. In his view, higher tuition should be considered, as long as financial aid for low-income students increases accordingly. The state finance department, however, has said that UC also needs to control its costs. The audit recommends a biennial cost study and a review of how to reduce the $13 billion spent on staff salaries in 2014-15. UC officials said they have reduced costs aggressively and will continue to seek new ways to do so. Gipson also asked that the audit investigate UCs progress in equalizing funding per student across campuses. An audit from 2011 found that the four undergraduate campuses with more underrepresented minorities received about $3,600 less per student, on average, than the five campuses with fewer minorities. UC said that campuses with more graduate students and health sciences programs such as UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Davis were more costly to run. But officials have revised their formulas and expect state dollars will be equitably distributed by the 2016-17 school year. The auditors also found that salaries of campus chancellors were low compared with other research universities. But they said officials could have done more to reduce costs before raising tuition or admitting more nonresidents, such as placing employees on furlough, as they did in 2009. Napolitano said UC employees should be lauded for their remarkable feat in keeping academic quality high despite the intense budget challenges. We know that out-of-state enrollment is a sensitive point, and it should be, she said. But this report is just wrong. It shouldnt overlook the fact that the university continued to increase in-state enrollment and continued to provide a world-class education with some of the most highly ranked academic programs in the world and the country. For more education news, follow me @TeresaWatanabe ALSO Say goodbye to eighth grade Algebra 1 and hello to the rise of Common Core math Report finds flaws in L.A. Countys system for defending children accused of crimes California proposal for state-run retirement plan for private-sector workers moves forward A well-planned legal assault on public unions collapsed Tuesday when the Supreme Court deadlocked over a California womans lawsuit to strike down mandatory fees, the strongest evidence yet that Justice Antonin Scalias death has stymied the courts conservatives. The 4-4 split keeps in place a 1970s-era rule that authorizes unions to require municipal employees, teachers, college instructors and transit workers to pay a fair share fee to help cover the cost of collective bargaining. The tie vote, widely expected after Scalias death, nevertheless came as a relief to union officials who feared the conservative justices were on the brink of striking down the pro-union law as a violation of free speech. Advertisement In another sign Tuesday that the high court continues to grapple with the vacancy left by Scalia, justices asked for additional briefings in a pending dispute over the Obama administrations contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The request looks to be an attempt by the justices to find a compromise in that case, which appeared evenly split during oral arguments earlier this month. Tie votes could be a theme this year as justices vote on several major disputes that divide along ideological lines, including abortion, election districts and immigration. The White House said the courts deadlock in the union case underscores the need for the Senate to confirm the presidents nominee, Merrick Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to replace Scalia. The Republican-controlled Senate is refusing to act on Garlands nomination, saying the next president should fill the seat. With a Supreme Court thats not fully staffed, it makes it more likely that situations can arise across the country with different rulings in different courts that arent resolved by the Supreme Court, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One. Earlier this month, the court split, 4-4, in a narrow case involving spousal liability and gender discrimination, the first such vote since Scalias death. The deadlock in the union case leaves in place mandatory fees allowed by law in California and 22 other mostly Democratic states. Such fees are prohibited in right to work states across the South and in much of the Midwest. Orange County teacher Rebecca Friedrichs and several others had sued to overturn the fees, saying they objected being forced to support the California Teachers Assn. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected her suit, citing the 1977 Supreme Court ruling in Abood vs. Detroit Board of Education, which had authorized these fair share fees in the first place. That case held that workers could be required to share in the cost of collective bargaining, but they did not have pay for a unions political activities. Before Scalias death, the courts five more conservative justices had served notice that they were ready to overturn Abood and declare such forced fees as unconstitutional. The same five justices who in the Citizens United case struck down campaign spending limits on free-speech grounds seemed to view the unions fees as a 1st Amendment violation because employees were forced to pay to support a union they opposed. Instead Tuesday, the justices issued a one-line statement saying the 9th Circuits ruling is affirmed by an equally divided court. Labor law scholars said unions would have been crippled if nonmembers had no longer been required to pay anything to support the union. It would have been like a knife in the heart of the unions, said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Massachusetts. The National Education Assn. -- the nations largest union with 3 million members -- hailed the outcome as a victory. Eric Heins, president of the California teachers group, said wealthy corporate special interests had brought the case to make it harder for working families and the middle class to come together, speak up and get ahead. Now its time for senators to do their job and appoint a successor justice to the highest court in our land. Presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders agreed that the deadlock underscores the need to a confirm a Supreme Court nominee who will protect the rights of American workers to collectively bargain for fair wages and safe working conditions. The extreme right wing is just one conservative Supreme Court justice away from dismantling the rights of public sector unions to organize and collectively bargain on behalf of all workers. Conservatives said they saw no incentive to allow Obama to appoint another left-leaning judge, which would give the court a liberal majority for the first time in generations. Curt Levey, executive director of the FreedomWorks Foundation, said that the Supreme Court would shift dramatically to the left with the appointment of Merrick Garland or any other liberal, [and] become a rubber stamp not just for the wishes of powerful labor unions, but also for virtually the entire progressive agenda. Terry Pell, president of the Center for Individual Rights, which helped launch Friedrichs lawsuit, said the group would try to raise the issue again. We believe this case is too significant to let a split decision stand, and we will file a petition for rehearing with the Supreme Court, he said. A labor policy expert who supported Friedrichs said challengers should now to look to state legislatures to strike down the fees. With a divided court, thousands of public servants around the nation must still financially assist a government union that they disagree with, said Trey Kovacs, a labor expert with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Now it is up to state legislatures to provide public employees with the freedom to choose whether or not to pay for union representation. In the Obamacare case, the justices said Tuesday that they wanted to hear further arguments on whether insurance companies may directly provide contraceptives to some women without the religious charities and nonprofit organizations that employ them and object to birth control playing any role. Last week, the justices sounded evenly divided in a clash between the Obama administration and Roman Catholic archbishops over the contraceptive coverage that is now a required part of all health insurance plans under Obamacare. The administration had previously said that the Catholic charities and other nonprofit religious groups need not pay for this coverage, but that they must formally notify the government of their religious objections so insurers can be ordered to provide the contraceptives. But some Catholic leaders objected nonetheless and argued that notifying the government would trigger the coverage and make them complicit in sin, because they view some forms of the contraceptives as abortion. On Tuesday, the justices asked lawyers on both sides to submit a new brief on whether insurance companies could be required by law to provide the contraceptive coverage on their own so that the church-based employer would not required to submit any separate notice. The new briefs are due April 12. That suggests the justices still hope to decide the case this term. On Twitter: @DavidGSavage ALSO With strong new job approval numbers, Jerry Brown chalks up success to skills of governing California voters still undecided on U.S. Senate pick as race is eclipsed by presidential showdown How far left has Hillary Clinton been pushed by Bernie Sanders? Less than you might think Under pressure from the entertainment industry and major corporations, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Monday vetoed a religious liberty bill that would have made it legal to deny services to gay people. His decision stands in sharp contrast to the situation in North Carolina, where Gov. Pat McCrory vowed to defend a new state law that prohibits legal protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, even as civil rights advocates filed a lawsuit Monday to strike it down. The two states are the latest battlegrounds in what is becoming a state-by-state fight between liberals and conservatives over who can be granted or denied protections related to housing, employment and even access to public bathrooms. Advertisement NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> The conflict has only grown since the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling last summer to legalize same-sex marriage, which emboldened civil rights activists to seek greater protections. They have made headway in predominantly liberal cities, where local governments sympathetic to the cause have favored anti-discrimination laws that guarantee transgender people the right to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity and prevent employers from firing people for being gay. At the same time, conservative legislatures have been moving to limit transgender bathroom use and expand exemptions allowing people to deny services that might conflict with their religious beliefs. In response, national advocacy groups, celebrities and businesses have threatened boycotts to put pressure on governors and legislatures to back down from those plans. At least for now, they have claimed victory in Georgia. Lawmakers there passed the Free Exercise Protection Act on March 16 with the aim of ensuring that a pastor could not be forced to perform a same-sex wedding and that nonprofit faith-based organizations could legally refuse to rent or lease property for events they found objectionable. The bill also sought to give such groups the right to fire or not hire people whose practices they opposed on religious grounds. The legislation met sustained opposition from major players in the movie and television industries, which increasingly have been filming in Georgia because of its tax breaks and lower labor costs. Disney and Marvel threatened to stop film production there if Deal signed the bill into law. Apple, Comcast, Dell, Time Warner, Sony Pictures and other companies urged the governor to veto it. At least 40 actors and filmmakers, including Anne Hathaway and Julianne Moore, joined the rebellion. When Deal announced that he was vetoing the bill at a news conference Monday, he said he was not just providing a business-friendly climate for job growth in Georgia but also embracing Georgias image as a welcoming state. He insisted, however, he was following his own conscience and not succumbing to the outside pressure. To those within the business community, some of whom not all, by any stretch have resorted to threats of withdrawing jobs from our state, they should know: I do not respond very well to insults or threats, Deal said. The Motion Picture Assn. of America, a trade organization that represents the studios, lauded the veto, releasing a statement that we look forward to continuing to work with the governor and the state Legislature to expand and enhance the motion picture and television industry in the state. In contrast, North Carolina has stood firm on its legislation. The state law, which was passed in a special session and bans cities from passing their own anti-discrimination ordinances, came in response to the city of Charlottes decision to do just that. It also restricts people to the bathroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates. Opponents of the Charlotte law had repeatedly suggested that transgender women were potential pedophiles, with little evidence. You know, $42,000 is not going to cover the medical expenses when a pervert walks into a bathroom and my little girls are in there, said one Republican state senator, Andrew Brock. He was alluding to the $42,000 cost of holding a special session, according to the Salisbury Post. The federal lawsuit filed Monday comes from a coalition of advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and Equality NC. They are seeking an injunction against the new law on the grounds that it violates the 14th Amendment as well as Title IX. North Carolina is going to be a cautionary tale of what happens when the government decides to discriminate against its own people, said Lambda Legal attorney Peter Renn, one of the attorneys on the case. Lets be clear: You will be sued if you pass a law like this, he said. Payton McGarry, a 20-year-old transgender student at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, said he decided to become a plaintiff in the lawsuit after listening to the appalling way lawmakers described transgender people. When McGarry began transitioning to a boy in high school, the bathroom suddenly became one of his biggest danger zones. Join the conversation on Facebook >> When he used the girls restroom, he was pushed, slapped and screamed at, so he started avoiding restrooms to the point that he developed urinary tract infections. It took such a toll on my mental well-being to think, Hey, could this bathroom be the one where I finally get beaten to a pulp? McGarry said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He said that he has not faced discrimination as a transgender man at college. McGarry criticized lawmakers claims that the bill was passed for the privacy and safety of girls and women in restrooms. If you want to know what kind of genitals I have, then its you invading my privacy, McGarry said. You are trading the safety and well-being of transgender people for this perceived threat that doesnt really exist. In response to the lawsuit Monday, the governors office decried the distortion of the facts by activists and the media. The governor will continue to set the record straight on a common sense resolution to local government overreach that imposed new regulations on businesses that intruded into the personal lives of our citizens, spokesman Graham Wilson said in a statement. Now, both sides expect a showdown in court. matt.pearce@latimes.com Times staff writer Pearce reported from Los Angeles and special correspondent Jarvie from Atlanta. Times staff writers Daniel Miller and Libby Hill contributed to this report. ALSO Words of warning not celebration in Silicon Valley after FBI ends Apple fight Say goodbye to eighth grade Algebra 1 and hello to the rise of Common Core math Report finds flaws in L.A. Countys system for defending children accused of crimes President Obama challenged journalists to maintain high standards and rigorous scrutiny of political figures despite increased competition and the pressures of the smartphone age, warning of the cost to the nations democratic system if the press prioritized profit over the public good. When our elected officials and political campaigns become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesnt matter whats true and whats not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations, the president said at a political journalism award ceremony Monday. A well-informed electorate depends on you, and our democracy depends on a well-informed electorate, he added. Advertisement The speech at an event awarding the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, awarded by Syracuse University to honor the late New York Times reporter Robin Toner, offered Obama another opportunity to reflect on the presidential campaign, as he laid some blame on the news industry for what he called the coarsening of the political debate. Without naming Donald Trump, the political outsider whose domination of the airwaves preceded his amassing of a delegate lead in the GOP race, Obama again expressed dismay at vulgar rhetoric often targeting women and minorities, and called on journalists to do more to question the feasibility of candidates platforms. A job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone, he said, challenging reporters to probe and to question and to dig deeper. Voters would be better served, he said, if billions of dollars in free media came with serious accountability, especially when politicians issue unworkable plans or make promises they cant keep. Obama acknowledged the pressures on the media industry and journalists specifically in trying to attract readers in the Internet era, but said the reaction should not be to dumb down the news. A sensational story might get more hits online today, but wont stand up to the test of time, he said. For all the sideshows in a political season, Americans are still hungry for the truth, Obama argued. Its just hard to find. Its hard to wade through. The curating function has diminished in this smartphone age. [But] people still want to know whats true. The president also acknowledged some shortcomings on his part, saying that although he has not always agreed with constructive criticism of him in the press, he still valued great journalism. You should not underestimate the times Ive read something that you did and I have called somebody up and said, Whats going on here? he said. But while he promised to lead the most transparent White House in history, a recent Associated Press review found his administration had set a record for failing to fulfill freedom of information requests. One in six such requests, 129,825 overall, resulted in no documents being provided, the review found. Obama nonetheless encouraged reporters to keep up the difficult and oftentimes unglamorous work they do. In a year when Hollywood produced films about being stranded on Mars or battling grizzly bears, it was Spotlight -- a portrayal of the Boston Globes investigative reporting about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church -- that won an Academy Award. Im not suggesting all of you are going to win Oscars. But I am saying its worth striving to win a Toner, he said. michael.memoli@latimes.com Follow @mikememoli for more White House coverage. ALSO Bernie Sanders has a plan to hijack Hillary Clintons superdelegates Hillary Clinton says Republicans have only themselves to blame for Donald Trump Petitioners want guns allowed at GOP convention, but its hard to tell if theyre serious Flash Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that terrorists are killing innocent people as soft targets after they have been expelled from their hideouts. The prime minister was addressing the nation a day after a Taliban suicide bomber killed nearly 70 people, including women and children, at a public park in Lahore. More than 300 others were wounded in the deadly attack. "Terrorists have been deprived of their hideouts, training camps and infrastructure and now their remnants are attacking soft targets like educational institutions, public places and recreation areas," Sharif said shortly after he cancelled a visit to the United States over the terrorist attack. President Barrack Obama had invited Sharif to a nuclear summit being held in Washington later this month. "I want to reiterate my commitment that terrorists would be made accountable for every drop of blood of martyrs," Sharif said in his address aired by the state TV. Pakistan mourned the deaths of innocent people as world leaders condemned the attack and sent condolences to the Pakistani government and people. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group claimed responsibility. The group's spokesman said Christians were the target on Easter celebrations. However, police said over 40 among the dead were Muslims. "Action against terrorists would continue till we made them accountable for the last drop of the blood," Sharif promised the nation. He expressed the government's determination to firmly continue the great mission of transforming Pakistan into a cradle of peace, progress and prosperity. The premier said he has given clear instructions to concerned institutions to bring terrorists and their facilitators to book wherever they are. Sharif said the major offensive against the armed groups was launched to eliminate terrorists with full political backing and ownership of the people. "The operation has achieved its major objectives but the mission would continue till complete eradication of terrorism from the country," he said. The son of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted an apology Monday night about the misidentification of a woman at Chicagos canceled Trump rally as a Bernie Sanders supporter seen in a viral photo giving the Nazi salute. Nazi salute woman at Chicago rally wasnt Bernie supporter Portia Boulger was someone else. Got bad info. My apologies, Donald Trump Jr. wrote, clarifying his support of someone elses tweet about Boulger from two weeks earlier. His apology tweet was retweeted more than 350 times and got more than 1,000 likes. Nazi salute woman at Chicago rally wasnt Bernie supporter Portia Boulger was someone else. Got bad info. My apologies. Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 29, 2016 Advertisement The woman in the photo taken by a Tribune photographer outside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion on March 11 is shown wearing a Trump shirt and was identified as Birgitt Peterson, 69, of Yorkville, as reported in a Tribune story the next day. Peterson said she emigrated from West Berlin and has been a U.S. citizen since 1982. The Ohio woman Trump Jr. called out on Twitter gave her own response on social media. Why did it take two weeks for you to apologize? What was your goal (in) all this? Did you think about me or my family? Boulger tweeted. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Do you understand the ramifications of your actions? Do you know understand how you caused me a horrible two weeks? she said in another tweet. Someone on Twitter asked if Boulger thought if he was genuinely sorry or avoiding a potential lawsuit. Her Twitter response: Well, it didnt seem very sincere. May want to ask him. Maybe his dad knows. I was taught better thats for sure. Boulger is an organizer for Women for Bernie. The woman in the photo and her husband defended her actions, saying the salute happened during an argument with protesters. Peterson, a Trump supporter, said protesters told her she was there to vote for Hitler and started giving her the Nazi gesture. Peterson said she asked them if they knew what the salute meant. TRAIL GUIDE: All the latest news on the 2016 presidential campaign >> Her husband, Donald, told the Tribune, So Birgitt decided to teach them to do it.' He insisted they were not Nazis. Tribune photographer Jason Wambsgans said he had more than a dozen photos of Peterson giving the Nazi salute but did not see any protesters offering the same gesture and has no photos showing that. A protester photographed with Peterson, Michael Joseph Garza, disagreed with Petersons account, telling the Tribune he did not believe the woman was responding to anyone else when she did the salute. I went up to her and said, Maam, please leave, we have understood you, we have made a (path for your exit), Garza recalled. She said, Go? Back in my day, this is what we did, basically, and then she hailed Hitler. The Tribunes Rosemary Regina Sobol and Gregory Pratt contributed. lvivanco@tribpub.com Twitter @lvivanco ALSO Hillary Clinton says Republicans have only themselves to blame for Donald Trump Donald Trumps campaign manager is charged with battery in encounter with reporter How far left has Hillary Clinton been pushed by Bernie Sanders? Less than you might think North Carolinas attorney general said Tuesday he wont defend in court a new state law preventing Charlotte and other local governments from approving protections for LGBT people, calling it discriminatory and a national embarrassment. Democrat Roy Cooper made the announcement during a news conference a day after gay-rights advocates sued to overturn the law approved last week and signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. See the most-read stories this hour >> Advertisement The federal lawsuit lists Cooper among the defendants because of his official position as the states top lawyer. But he has said he wants it repealed. We know that businesses here and all over the country have taken a strong stance in opposition to this law, Cooper said. McCrory is also a defendant in the lawsuit and has doubled down on justifying his decision to sign the law, even as many corporations have criticized it publicly. Coopers announcement raises the stakes for the November gubernatorial race, in which Cooper is challenging McCrory. National Democrats consider it their best opportunity to pick up a governors mansion where a Republican currently resides. The campaigns of McCrory and Cooper already have raised more than $13 million combined, and the Republican Governors Assn. has reserved $4 million in ad time for the fall. The Republican-led Legislature and McCrory approved the law because they say Charlotte went too far with a local ordinance allowing transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> They have focused on the threat -- used by opponents of Houstons LGBT ordinance last year while defeating it in a referendum -- that sexual predators could use these kinds of rules as a pretense to enter womens bathrooms and locker rooms. Gay-rights groups have called these and other arguments bogus. The law also directs North Carolinas public schools, public universities and government agencies to require bathrooms or locker rooms be designated for use only by people based on their biological sex. They can offer single-occupancy facilities. Coopers decision continues a years-long tussle between him and Republican leaders in state government, who say they dont trust the attorney general to robustly defend state laws challenged in court. Cooper, the attorney general since 2001, has expressed his personal opposition to a law that placed new restrictions on voting, including a photo-identification mandate to vote in person. But he has said it was his duty for the state to be represented in a professional manner in pending litigation challenging the voting changes. Legislative leaders and McCrory, however, have hired outside counsel to sit beside the state attorney in this and other cases. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said Monday they couldnt respond to whether they would hire outside lawyers in the transgender lawsuit until they found out Coopers plans. ALSO Supreme Courts tie vote upholds public employee fees for unions Religious liberty vs. gay rights: Georgia rejects measure while North Carolina stands firm Obama plays media critic, partly blaming the industry for coarsening political debate Republican leaders alarmed by the prospect of Donald Trump as their presidential nominee have only themselves to blame, Hillary Clinton said Monday, seeking to cast the partys elite as extremists now trying to undercut President Obamas constitutional obligation to fill out the Supreme Court. Clinton recalled how the Senate majority leader had once said the partys primary purpose should be to make Obama a one-term president. She noted that a leading Republican presidential contender, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, sparked a 2013 government shutdown in his drive to unravel Obamas signature health law. What the Republicans have sown with their extremist tactics, they are now reaping with Donald Trumps candidacy, Clinton said. Advertisement Clintons comments came in an address on the importance of the Supreme Court as a voting issue, which has taken on greater resonance since the death of its conservative anchor, Justice Antonin Scalia. Clinton said Senate Republicans refusal to consider Obamas nominee to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland, was the latest in a long line of actions aimed at disrupting our government and undermining our president. Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Track the delegate race | Sign up for the newsletter These things are connected, she said. Once you make the extreme normal, you open the door to even worse. Clinton argued that the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, was ignoring the voices of tens of millions of voters who cast ballots for Obama in 2012, and called on Grassley to schedule confirmation hearings when the Senate returns from its recess. But the fight was larger than just the one seat on the high court, Clinton added, noting that by election day in November, two other justices will be at least 80 years old. Should a Republican president get to appoint multiple justices, she said, it could demolish the pillars of the progressive movement, after a period in which the court already had taken a dangerous turn by tilting the scales of justice toward the wealthy and powerful. At its best, the court is a place where the least powerful voices in our society are heard and protected, she said, including those of African Americans fighting for the right to vote, or women demanding abortion rights in the face of humiliating laws that would strip that right away. Clintons address, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was heavy on policy and reflected something of a hybrid strategy appealing for votes in the states competitive April 5 primary while also laying down markers for the general election fight in the fall. Conservatives know exactly how high the stakes are, she said, noting how often Republicans have sought to challenge Obamas policies in the courts. As scary as it might be, ask yourselves: What kind of justice will a President Trump appoint? Or for that matter, what kind of attorney general? What kind of lower court judges? Clinton actually seemed to promote another Democrats candidacy more than her own, that of former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, who is running to win back the Wisconsin seat he lost to incumbent Republican Ron Johnson in the 2010 tea party landslide. She noted that the area where she spoke was demographically similar to those in which rival Bernie Sanders has enjoyed strong support, but that she came to Madison nonetheless because she wanted to compete for every vote. Clinton urged Democrats to understand the high stakes in the election this fall, particularly when it comes to the Supreme Court. If were serious about fighting for progressive causes, we need to focus on the court, she said. She did not indicate whether she would renominate Garland if he were not confirmed by the Senate this year, saying only that she would not second-guess Obamas decision, one she suggested was influenced by the political realities of divided government. But she did say she would look for judicial nominees who had broader human experience beyond legal circles, and even possibly compile a list of potential choices after the primary. In a statement before Clinton spoke, Grassley dismissed her address as an effort to distract voters from congressional investigations into her handling of sensitive materials as secretary of State. The statement also listed outstanding questions that the Judiciary Committee has sought answers to involving Clintons compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and other federal records laws. Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, also accused Clinton of hypocrisy on the judicial nomination issue, citing her opposition to the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and to other lower court nominees of President George W. Bush. The only reason Hillary Clinton is calling on Republicans to breach decades of bipartisan precedent of not confirming election year Supreme Court nominees is so she could have a liberal majority on the court to help her carry on President Obamas legacy of executive overreach if elected, Short said. Follow @mikememoli for more news on the 2016 campaign and Supreme Court. ALSO: As California primary nears, state Democrats are uniting behind Clinton and against a common enemy: Trump Donald Trump leads in California primary race but threatens a GOP fracture Clinton email probe enters new phase as FBI interviews loom Regents of the University of California have wisely backed off a proposed statement that would have condemned anti-Zionism on campus on the grounds that it is comparable to anti-Semitism. Instead, the universitys overseers approved a set of principles against intolerance that condemn anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism as one of several forms of discrimination that have no place at UC. The change in wording may seem minor, but the difference in meaning is substantial. The final version avoids conflating anti-Zionism, or opposition to the idea of a Jewish state, with hatred for Jews as a people. The earlier formulation was overly broad and suggested that those who reject the concept of Zionism are bigots. In reality, its perfectly possible to oppose Zionism or advocate for a secular state in what is now Israel and the West Bank without being anti-Jewish. Supporters of the broader language had pointed to instances in which criticism of Israel or its policies toward the Palestinians had taken on the trappings of anti-Semitism. But when such bigotry is directed at individuals, the university already has policies against harassment and discrimination that allow it to take action. Advertisement With its reference to anti-Semitic forms of anti-Zionism, the new document arguably does no more than apply those existing principles to a form of intolerance that the regents recently have become concerned about: insulting language or conduct directed at individual Jewish students because of their presumed support for Israel. But the university can and must protect those students from abuse without stifling criticism of Israel. As the statement itself acknowledges, a university education will expose students to ideas that may be abhorrent to that student, yet may also be instrumental in helping a student further define their own vision. UC was right to have second thoughts about stifling such ideas. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook How can Donald Trump be stopped? At this point in the race, Trump is either someone you can live with or celebrate! as the standard-bearer of the conservative cause and the Republican Party, or he isnt. And as I wrote last week, this is an insurmountable divide. That means its a zero-sum contest. There will be winners and losers. Either Trump wins or #NeverTrump wins (thats the umbrella Twitter hashtag for a diverse coalition of conservatives who will never vote for the man). Theres no compromise. So if youre a #NeverTrumper, the debate now is all about the how. The most desirable, but least plausible, way to stop Trump would be for Ted Cruz or John Kasich simply to beat him before the Cleveland convention. Unfortunately, Cruz would need to secure more than 80% of the remaining delegates to win the nomination outright. Kasich, the longtime candidate of math-deniers, would need to capture a lot more than 100%. Advertisement The second-best, but more likely, scenario is to deny Trump the 1,237 delegates required to automatically win on the first ballot in Cleveland. Right now, that seems quite doable. Recently, University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato projected the most likely scenario for Trump to get past 1,237. It requires Trump to carry both Wisconsin and Indiana handily which polling suggests he wont manage and even then he lands at only 1,239. If you have an idea--zany or sane-- let me know at oped@latimes.com with the subject line Stop Trump. If Trump cant reach the magic number, most observers believe that hell hemorrhage support after each ballot, because delegates tend to be party regulars (and more and more delegates are released to vote their conscience after each ballot). But the margin of his shortfall will matter immensely. On a practical level, if he comes just a few shy of 1,237, he could probably push enough delegates over the edge. Or he could horse trade with Kasich, making the Ohio governor his running mate. A close call will also help Trump make the case that he deserves the partys uncontested endorsement. Some believe, in defiance of the rules, that Trump should be the nominee even if he fails to reach 1,237. My Fox News colleague, Sean Hannity, says he will support whoever gets the most delegates, which, given the math, means he will support Trump, period. Thats understandable if Trump misses the mark by, say, 25 delegates. But if he misses by 150 significantly more than the delegate totals of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina combined who can say with a straight face that he deserves anything at all? The bigger the shortfall, the easier it is to convince delegates that they are not defying the popular will by denying Trump, particularly given the widespread belief that Trump would be crushed in a general election. Cruz would be the most likely victor of a floor fight, but that isnt assured. The longer the balloting goes, the more likely it is that the bitter and bleary-eyed delegates will opt to order off-menu. Thats what Kasich is allegedly counting on. But Kasich is widely disliked, and it might be a good deal easier to find a unifying candidacy in, say, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, Nikki Haley or Mike Pence. The third option is what Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol calls Plan B. If the #NeverTrumpers fail to stop Trump at the convention, they could rally around an independent candidate. Who might that be? Thats the billion-dollar question. Some want a true outsider like Marine general James Mattis. Others think Mitt Romney could leap into the breach. The path to an independent candidacy is perilous. But if youre of the opinion that neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton are valid options, the perilous path is the only one available. :: There are surely other #NeverTrump schemes that havent occurred to me but perhaps theyve occurred to you, dear reader. Do you have a surefire way to stop the businessman? If you have an idea zany or sane let me know at oped@latimes.com with the subject line Stop Trump. Ill share the best proposals next week. jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Every physician who wishes to practice medicine in this country must pass a test most Americans have never heard of: Step 2 Clinical Skills. Approximately 20,000 medical students from U.S. and Canadian schools take it each year, paying hefty fees for a decidedly ineffectual exam. For anyone who wants to end waste in medical education, getting rid of Step 2 CS is a good place to start. In this eight-hour test, future doctors move through a battery of standardized encounters with patient actors. Medical students have 15 minutes to meet with each actor, take a medical history, perform a physical exam and discuss next steps for the patients care. Afterward, students have additional time to write a patient note, as well as list relevant diagnoses and tests. Until about a decade ago, these examinations were required exclusively of students from medical schools outside of the U.S. and Canada. Many felt, however, that it was unfair to subject only foreign medical graduates to this hurdle. Advertisement So in 2004, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the Federation of State Medical Boards introduced Step 2 CS as a universally required exam. Step 2 CS was conceived with sound intentions: All of our physicians should meet certain standards prior to caring for patients. But it suffers from serious flaws. To start, its tremendously expensive. The registration fee alone is $1,275. The test is offered only in five cities Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Most medical students must therefore travel to distant test centers, paying out of pocket or racking up credit card debt for flights, rental cars and hotel rooms. For each student, the bill often comes to $2,000 or more. Altogether, the costs for students from U.S. and Canadian medical schools are estimated to exceed $36 million annually. This price tag might be justifiable if Step 2 CS served its intended quality-control purpose. But it doesnt. Every year, 96% to 98% of medical students from U.S. and Canadian schools pass on their first attempt. Whats more, score reports include little more than pass/fail designations. As a result, students, medical schools and residency programs learn essentially nothing from the exercise. After 12 years of testing, there is virtually no evidence that Step 2 CS has improved patient outcomes or care. A few studies , based on Step 2 CS numerical ratings never released to students, have found that performance on the test might predict eventual performance during residency. But those numerical ratings are inherently subjective (its hard to measure interpersonal skills). And the correlations are tenuous at best. After 12 years of testing, there is virtually no evidence that Step 2 CS has improved patient outcomes or care. We should do away with this wasteful national test and let medical schools take over. Most medical schools already conduct clinical skills exams; they could design future exams to meet national guidelines, perhaps modeled after Step 2 CS. This transfer of responsibility would eliminate millions of dollars in unnecessary educational costs while ensuring the clinical competency of our physician workforce. The American Medical Assn. opposed Step 2 CS in the early 2000s and endorsed a similar approach to the one weve suggested, stating that clinical skills exams are best performed using a rigorous and consistent examination administered by medical schools. The Assn. of American Medical Colleges has also expressed concern over the financial burden placed on students by this national exam. Under our proposed system, graduates from foreign medical schools would still need to take a standardized skills exam in order to practice here. These students have historically passed Step 2 CS at far lower rates than students from U.S. and Canadian schools. And since our medical students would also need to pass clinical skills exams on par with national guidelines, there wouldnt be a double standard. The cost of higher education is a national crisis, with graduate and professional students carrying an especially heavy burden. Over 80% of physicians now graduate from medical school with educational debt; their average debt surpasses $180,000. Getting rid of Step 2 CS wont fix the larger problem, but it would save medical students thousands of dollars that they really shouldnt have to spend. Christopher R. Henderson and Nathaniel P. Morris are students at Harvard Medical School. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Washington lawyers and journalists are scratching their heads and spinning scenarios after a surprise order from the Supreme Court in what is popularly known as the Little Sisters of the Poor case. The case, whose official name is Zubik vs. Burwell, involves a challenge by religious nonprofit organizations to federal regulations requiring that employer-provided health insurance plans include contraception for women at no additional cost to the employee. The Little Sisters, a Roman Catholic order of nuns, operates homes for the elderly. Other plaintiffs include Catholic Charities and the Most Rev. David Zubik, the bishop of Pittsburgh. Last week an eight-justice court heard oral arguments in the case, in which the nonprofits argue that the Obama administration is violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by requiring them to indicate in writing that they object to providing birth control to female employees a bureaucratic step that allows the coverage to be provided and paid for by insurance companies or third-party administrators. Advertisement Paul Clement, the lawyer for the nonprofits, told the justices that the paperwork is not just a request to opt out of providing birth control but an authorization for the insurers to do so which would make the nonprofits complicit in what they regard as evil. (The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board isnt impressed with the good sisters argument.) It was expected that the justices would weigh the issue for another couple of months before ruling one way or another or dividing, 4-4, an outcome that would affirm lower-court rulings against the nonprofits without setting a national precedent. But on Tuesday the court issued an order asking lawyers on both sides to submit supplemental briefs. The order says: Petitioners with insured plans are currently required to submit a form either to their insurer or to the federal government (naming petitioners insurance company), stating that petitioners object on religious grounds to providing contraceptive coverage. The parties are directed to address whether contraceptive coverage could be provided to petitioners employees, through petitioners insurance companies, without any such notice from petitioners. For example, the parties should consider a situation in which petitioners would contract to provide health insurance for their employees, and in the course of obtaining such insurance, inform their insurance company that they do not want their health plan to include contraceptive coverage of the type to which they object on religious grounds. Petitioners would have no legal obligation to provide such contraceptive coverage, would not pay for such coverage, and would not be required to submit any separate notice to their insurer, to the federal government, or to their employees. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> At the same time, petitioners insurance company aware that petitioners are not providing certain contraceptive coverage on religious grounds would separately notify petitioners employees that the insurance company will provide cost-free contraceptive coverage, and that such coverage is not paid for by petitioners and is not provided through petitioners health plan. Is this is a distinction without a difference? How many devils can dance on the head of a pin? Jon Healey, deputy editor of the Los Angeles Times editorial page and our in-house expert on the Obama administrations accommodation on nonprofits, is skeptical that the alternative being floated by the court would placate the Little Sisters. The scenario the court sketches out wouldnt answer the Little Sisters basic complaint, which is that by virtue of providing health insurance, they are complicit in supplying birth control methods they find sinful, Healey wrote in an email to editorial board members about the case. Today, they have to submit a form to insurers (or a letter to the government) saying they object to providing those methods. That prompts insurers to provide the coverage anyway, on their own dime. Under the courts structure, they would be alerting insurers that they do not want their insurance policy to cover such methods even though federal law requires all health plans to do so. Insurers would provide the coverage anyway, on their own dime. The end result is exactly the same. And the end result is what the Little Sisters are suing over. They do not want their employees to receive this coverage unless said employees, on their own initiative, obtain separate, specialty policies for contraception. Thats a ludicrous position to take. The existing accommodation goes plenty far enough. Healey may be right, but it may not matter. If five justices agree to bless this additional variation in what is already a Rube Goldbergian arrangement, access to contraceptives will be preserved nationwide for employees of religious nonprofits and without the dusty answer of a 4-4 split. Follow Michael McGough on Twitter @MichaelMcGough3 MORE FROM OPINION A win for transparency in Missouri execution cases Why is Bernie Sanders struggling to win over black voters? Listen to his response Decisions on SeaWorlds orcas and Griffith Parks puma reveal a dramatic shift in how we view nature As he stood behind a lectern to announce a brokered deal to raise Californias minimum wage, Gov. Jerry Brown seemed unfazed by the suggestion that the agreement offered a glimpse into his political success. The compromise, Brown said, was simply a product of knowledge gained from years on the job. Governing is not about just having some idea, or some slogan, or some sound bite, he said at Mondays news conference. Governing does have its own skills. Those are skills, it seems, that voters think Brown is putting to good use. Advertisement A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll finds Brown who is entering the sixth year of an unprecedented run as governor with solid job approval numbers across a wide spectrum of California voters. Overall, 60% of those polled approve of how Brown is doing his job as governor. Browns recent showing is 7 percentage points higher than a similar poll taken late last summer and is tied for his second-highest job approval rating since returning to office in 2011. He embraces everything the job is supposed to be, said Rob Stutzman, a GOP political strategist who led the campaign of Browns 2010 gubernatorial rival, Republican Meg Whitman. Although its not surprising the governor wins praise from his own party faithful 80% of Democrats approve of his job performance in the new survey Browns real strength may rest on his ability to placate some of his natural political enemies. Twenty-seven percent of Republicans polled say they too approve of the governors job performance. Even more notable, 19% of registered Republicans who say they plan to vote in June for businessman Donald Trump nonetheless approve of how Brown is handling things in Sacramento. Browns job approval rating seems to transcend party lines. In the new polls subset of adults who said that California is headed in the wrong direction, 32% still approve of Browns efforts. Then there are the 35% of those who say that illegal immigration is a crisis but approve of the governors record on the job, which includes substantial new benefits for some of those without legal immigration status. And theres this finding from the new poll: 23% of Californians who disapprove of how President Obama is doing his job feel just fine about Brown. He does not behave like a typical politician, Stutzman said of the governor. Theres something to it that people find refreshing. In the state Capitol, Brown has cultivated the perception that hes the saucer that cools the otherwise liberal cup of hot Democratic politics, often clashing with the most progressive factions of his party. Some of his efforts include refusing to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in recession-era cuts to social services, rejecting efforts to ban oil drilling by hydraulic fracturing and vetoing sweeping gun-control proposals. He has disappointed me at times because I have my own view of the world, said state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), one of the longest-serving legislators. But in general, I marvel at his thoughtfulness, his comprehensive understanding of very complex issues and his political sense of what is doable and what is not. Its an admiration also shared by those outside Sacramento. See the most-read stories this hour >> The thing Ive appreciated about Gov. Browns leadership and legacy is that hes as idealistic as they come, but also as pragmatic as they come, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. He holds his cards close to his chest, but he plays them very well for the people of California. That kind of political acumen may be better now than it was in his first iteration as governor in the 1970s and early 1980s. Even so, Brown faces sizable political hurdles before 2016 is over. He will no doubt need the current reservoir of voter goodwill on efforts such as his controversial ballot initiative to overhaul prisoner parole. Some observers say that Brown, who turns 78 on April 7, has succeeded largely because he no longer comes across as an elected leader in need of headlines or TV news cameras. The perception in California is if Sacramento doesnt make the news, it must mean theyre doing a good job as lawmakers, Stutzman said. Brown was especially off the public radar in negotiating the minimum-wage deal, which was quietly worked on for months behind closed doors. In announcing the agreement to reporters, the governor conceded that his overall success is no doubt linked to the improving California economy since inheriting a $26-billion budget shortfall in 2011. In April 2011, a USC/Los Angeles Times poll put Browns approval at 44%. In contrast, his job-approval numbers have now been above the 50% mark for more than two years. At the same time, governors of other big states have found less favor. In January, Brown projected the state was on the way to collecting a tax revenue surplus of more than $6 billion. Overall unemployment stood at 5.5% last month, with more than 450,000 jobs created in the last year. Its quite remarkable what Californias been able to do, he said Monday. That wont always be, and when that turns around, I think the job will be far more challenging than it is today. john.myers@latimes.com Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast. Times staff writer Peter Jamison contributed to this report ALSO: Clinton leads Sanders in California Trump leads Republican primary field Californias June primary just became crucial in the race for the White House Full coverage of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll Detailed poll crosstabs Updates on California politics Live coverage from the campaign trail Evoking the threat of court-ordered prison releases, Gov. Jerry Brown this week appealed for help in collecting signatures to get his parole initiative on the November ballot. In an email blitz to political supporters, the governor said that even after significant improvements, the state does not have a durable plan to deal with prison overcrowding and faces the prospect of a forced release of thousands of inmates. SIGN UP for the free Essential Politics newsletter >> Advertisement Brown is proposing an overhaul of the parole eligibility rules only for inmates sentenced in nonviolent crimes. Felons who earned enough good behavior credits or participated in education programs could be considered for early release by parole boards empowered to set aside sentencing enhancements tacked on for factors like repeat offenses. The measure which the governor said would apply to inmates who turn their lives around is currently under legal challenge. But the state Supreme Court has given permission for signature collections to go forward in the meantime. In practice, the initiative essentially would undo many of the sentencing enhancements added to the penal code by state lawmakers and ballot measures, such as the Three Strikes law, approved by voters. Brown has spent much of his tenure as governor battling a panel of three federal judges over their orders for California to reduce prison crowding. The state now meets court-set population caps by sending thousands of inmates to contract prisons. The judges have ordered Brown to come up with a durable remedy. In 2011, the governors prison-realignment act created a drop in the inmate population by having lower-level state felons serve their time in county jails. In 2014, Proposition 47 had a large impact as well by converting crimes involving drug use or minor theft from felonies to misdemeanors. paige.stjohn@latimes.com For more California corrections news, follow me at @paigestjohn on Twitter. For the latest on political coverage, go to www.latimes.com/politics. MORE FROM POLITICS Jerry Browns unexpected fans: 1 in 5 Trump supporters like him Gov. Brown hails deal to raise minimum wage to $15 as matter of economic justice California voters still undecided on U.S. Senate pick as race is eclipsed by presidential showdown Flash Sudanese army said Monday it controlled strategic areas in South Kordofan State after attacking the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector. "The government forces have liberated areas of Mardis, Allabo, Kattan, Aqub and Karkaria Al-Biera in South Kordofan State in an operation that has been launched since early this week," Ahmed Khalifa Al-Shami, Sudanese army spokesman, said in a statement Monday. "Given the rebel's targeting of innocent civilians, the armed forces had to live up to their national responsibilities and exercised their constitutional duties in confronting the criminals and destroying their positions to end the suffering of the homeland and the citizens," he noted. He added that the armed forces have inflicted heavy loss in lives and equipments among the rebels, pointing out that a number of government soldiers were killed and others injured, without giving any numbers. Earlier, the SPLM/northern sector said that the Sudanese army attacked areas under the movement's control in South Kordofan state. The SPLM/northern sector has been fighting the central government at Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas since 2011. Last week, a most recent round of talks between the government and the SPLM/northern sector rebels failed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, under the patronage of the African Union. Khartoum unilaterally signed a road-map deal proposed by the African mediation, while the SPLM/northern sector and other Darfur rebel movements declined to sign the deal. Californias U.S. Senate campaign appears stuck in a political stasis, with nearly a third of voters still undecided about who to support in a race lost in the shadow of the nations presidential contest, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Support for Democratic state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, the current frontrunner, has not budged from the level of support she registered shortly after entering into the race a year ago, despite spending nearly $4 million on her campaign. Harris top Democratic rival, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana), has shown small gains since the fall in Los Angeles County and the Central Valley. But she has not gained enough support to solidify the overall second-place finish in the June primary needed to advance the November general election. Advertisement See the most-read stories this hour >> The results were not any rosier for two of the top Republicans in the race, Tom Del Beccaro and George Duf Sundheim, whose showings are in the single digits. Del Beccaro and Sundheim are Bay Area attorneys and former chairmen of the California Republican Party. The survey found Harris leading Sanchez 28% to 19% among registered voters, followed by Del Beccaro with 8% and Sundheim with 6%. Among likely voters in the June primary those with a solid track record of casting ballots Harris was a notch higher, hitting 33%. That compares to 15% for Sanchez, 10% for Del Beccaro and 8% for Sundheim. ------------ FOR THE RECORD 6:37 p.m.: An earlier version of this article story stated that the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found that Kamala Harris support among likely voters in the June 7 primary election was 30%. According to the poll, 33% of likely primary voters surveyed supported Harris. ------------ Republican Ron Unz, who championed a 1998 initiative to end bilingual education in California, jumped into the Senate campaign last week and was not included in the poll. I think what is most striking about the Senate race is that it hasnt changed since September, said Anna Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, a Democratic polling firm that conducted the poll with the Republican firm American Viewpoint. In the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted in September, Harris led Sanchez 26% to 17% among registered voters, with Del Beccaro receiving 10%. Sundheim had not entered the race at the time. Harris support among registered voters hasnt risen or fallen to a significant degree since February 2015, a month after she jumped into the race, when she was favored by 28% of registered voters. Support for Harris failed to increase even after she received the endorsement of California Democratic Party in late February. While the candidates have traveled up and down the state for months, mostly networking with party loyalists and donors, the radio and television ads that consumed previous high-profile, statewide political races have been noticeably absent. That, combined with the all-consuming news coverage of the presidential race, has largely eclipsed Californias Senate contest in voters minds. I really havent been paying much attention. I know Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez are in it, but Im not too comfortable with them, said Jose Torres, a Republican property manager from Tustin who took part in the poll. Torres, 39, couldnt name any of the Republicans running for Senate, but said he plans to study up before the June primary. It doesnt take much to research a few of those candidates, he said. Marylou Slagle, a Democratic homemaker from Temecula, said shes supporting Harris because she believes she has done a good job as state attorney general and there havent been any nasty rumblings about her. Slagle, 62, also acknowledged that she hasnt been paying much attention to the race or the other candidates, though. Im really focused on whats going on with the presidential race right now, she said. Under the rules of Californias jungle primary election, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June election regardless of party will face off in the November election. While Harris and Sanchez have topped the polls in the Senate race for months, the outcome of the June 7 primary remains difficult to predict because of the vast pool of undecided voters. The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey on the Senate race found that 32% of registered voters in California were undecided. Among Republicans and independent voters those registered as no party preference roughly 40% were undecided. Given that volatility in the electorate, there is still a strong possibility that one of the Republicans in the race could emerge as the GOP consensus candidate and edge out Sanchez, said Dan Schnur, who directs USCs Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics. If one of the Republicans can pump $1 million into a strategic ad campaign targeting loyal GOP voters or if a California Republican mega-donor such as Charles Munger bankrolls an independent expenditure campaign that might be enough to squeak out a second-place finish in the primary, Schnur said. Its pretty clear that even a very small amount of money could end up getting them into a runoff, he said. A freewheeling mega-donor might be the best hope. At the end of 2015, Sundheim had less than $70,000 in his campaign account, and Del Beccaro just under $40,000, federal election records show. Another wild card will be the GOPs presidential race, which looks like it will barrel into the California primary without a crowned nominee. If other state primaries are an indication, Republican voter turnout could increase 20% to 40%, while Democratic turnout might be below normal. That, too, could give a Republican candidate an edge if GOP voters can coalesce behind one candidate before June, Schnur said. If not, the splintered Republican vote might give Sanchez the opening she needs to nab one of the two spots on the November ballot. According to the survey, Harris strongest support is in the Bay Area, where she served as San Franciscos district attorney before being elected attorney general. She also has strong support among black voters, those with college degrees and self-identified liberals. Sanchezs strongest support comes from Latinos, and among voters without college degrees and those in lower-income brackets. The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll canvassed 1,503 registered state voters by telephone from March 16-23. The margin of error overall is 2.8 percentage points, and higher for subgroups. philip.willon@latimes.com Follow @philwillon on Twitter ALSO Brown approval strong in new poll Clinton leads Sanders in California Trump leads Republican primary field Full coverage of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll Full poll results and detailed crosstabs Updates on California politics According to a recent Pew Research study, Americans are sharply divided, especially on party lines, as to how the next president of the United States should address Islamic extremism. The poll found that 50% of Americans surveyed think our next leader should be careful to not criticize Islam as a whole when speaking out against extremism, while 40% want their president to speak bluntly, even if statements come off as critical of all Muslims. When looking through the scope of party affiliation, Republicans favored blunt talk by about 65%, while 70% of Democrats wanted a cautious approach. Asked what the bigger problem was concerning violence being done in the name of religion, 68% said violent people use religion to justify their actions, while 22% said the religious teachings themselves promoted violence. When pressed further, Islam was singled out by U.S. adults as the most problematic religion. Q: How do you think the next president should address Islamic extremism? Making generalized accusations and promoting prejudice from a place of panic and enmity is not the answer. We cannot say that everyone who is religious is violent. In fact, the majority are not, Muslim, Christian or otherwise. First of all, what does anti-American mean? There are non-extreme, nonviolent people who are upset with America, including Americans themselves. We should focus the fight on all those who want nations destroyed or humans killed, including Muslims and Muslim nations, especially when that rhetoric comes from ourselves. The hatred and terror emanating from our own nation does not allow us the moral high ground (www.splcenter.org/hate-map). The next president should address extremism or fanaticism in all forms. We should speak bluntly about violence in all religions, including Christianity, and the terrorism perpetrated by all terrorists, including extreme Christians. However, just as we would not associate the average Christian with the extremist, we must treat all people as individuals and not lump them into categories, assigning them inclinations en masse. Is that not what terrorists do, claim all Americans are alike? How does committing the same crime help? There is a reason people who know Muslims personally are more empathetic toward them as individuals. Further, why do more educated, nonreligious people exhibit more compassion toward Muslims? Ignorance combined with religious indoctrination breeds fear and animosity which leads to terrorism. So, rather than attacking fear and hate by generating more of it masked as blunt speech, we should react by bolstering knowledge, understanding and free thought. Separating the extremism from the person, realizing we can all be poisoned by fundamentalism, and seeing each other as humans first will unite us. We all want our children growing up in a world filled with peace and love. Do we achieve that by the leader of our nation or any other promoting prejudice over understanding, hatred over compassion? Fighting them after they perpetrate the crime or trying to weed out those who may, is not a long term or realistic solution to ending terrorism. If we abandon our founding values of being a welcoming nation founded on inherent individual freedoms, terrorists win. This doesnt preclude us being strong on terror but any long-term, final solution to protect our world from terrorism has to start and finish with education and compassion, not blunt bombast. Joshua Lewis Berg Humanist Celebrant Glendale The next president should realize that there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in any other country. And that person should realize that most Muslims are law-abiding and peaceful. Look at Indonesia: How much religious strife have we heard about from that country? Not much! The point is that most Americans are ignorant of the fact that a tiny few have hijacked Islam for their own agenda. Consider Dearborn, Michigan. It has a huge Muslim community, and have we heard of any problems coming from there? No! The problem is that a few who call themselves Muslim have made so many afraid of the word Islam. I am not one to blame the media for everything, but many in the media have not taken the time to educate themselves on the meaning of Islam (it means peace) or what the word jihad means (it means inner struggle). So when a bunch of crazies do something in the name of Islam, some lazy journalists have not taken the time to learn that one crazy person does not define what a whole religion thinks or believes. Come on, America: is every Christian peace-loving? Id say no. Is every Jew a keeper of the Torah? Id also say no. So dont assume that every Muslim wants everybody else dead who is not a Muslim. And watch some news that truly is fair and balanced. The Rev. Skip Lindeman La Canada Congregational Church La Canada Flintridge Extremism is not necessarily a religious issue as much as it is an issue about humans who think they should impose their opinion on others through violence. Unfortunately, much of the violence is being done in the name of religion, primarily Islam. All religious people suffer profiling. It is a part of human nature which cannot be eradicated. It can be subdued through education, but even tolerance can be misguiding if it solely endeavors to help humans treat everyone as equals. Terrorists are not equals and need to be stopped, regardless of their religious affiliation. Because of the concern for the safety of human life, I believe the next president must address the issue from a twofold point of view. First, as Americans we must be vigilant concerning those who desire to cause harm, and stop them if we can. Second, we should assure others that just because there are those who are causing harm in the name of a religion, it does not mean all people of that religion are the same. However, those who are Muslim should understand that profiling is not about Muslims in general, but an attempt to stop those who intend harm. I believe the Muslim community should be as much up in arms about this issue, and participate in helping to uncover those who mean harm. I also think Muslims should be patient in understanding the concern created by extremists in their religion. Others who react against Muslims with violence by overgeneralizing are doing the same thing as the Islamic extremists. Pastor Terry Neven Montrose Community Church Even blunt talk should be accurate. So, we should remember where Islamic extremists ISIS in the present circumstance have done the most damage, and who is bearing the brunt of the battle. Far more Muslims have been killed by ISIS, and far more are currently engaged in the fight against it, than Americans or Europeans. Many leading Islamic groups, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, have condemned the violent acts of extremists. Criticizing Islam as a whole doesnt acknowledge any of that, nor does it address the specific issues central to terrorism. Islam spans cultures from West Africa to Indonesia, a country whose Muslim population the worlds largest has shown little appetite for militant interpretations of the Koran. So, to identify all of Islam as problematic is both unfair and inaccurate. Soon after Muslim immigration became an issue in the presidential debates, the LDS church released a statement reiterating its position on religious liberty. Although the statement doesnt directly address the question of how a president should speak of Islam, it provides insight how the church views other faiths. The church is neutral in regard to party politics and election campaigns, the statement said. However, it is not neutral in relation to religious freedom. The statement went on to cite Joseph Smiths comment that to abridge the rights of any faith is to jeopardize the rights of all. It then quoted from an ordinance approved in 1843 by the city council of Nauvoo, Ill., a predominantly Mormon city that Smith founded. The ordinance assured equal treatment to Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter-day Saints, Quakers, Episcopals, Universalists, Unitarians, Mohammedans (Muslims) and all other religious sects and denominations. Certainly, strong leadership is needed in the war against terror. We may at times need frank speech. But we must not out of frustration and fear condemn or ostracize the innocent. To do so wouldnt be just, nor would it be practical. In our ever-shrinking world, the battle will require alliances and cooperation, built upon trust and mutual respect, as well as strength. Michael White The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints La Crescenta Terminology is not the real concern to me here. It is not words killing us, but bombs. Why speculate about a suicide bombers religion as though we could examine the beliefs of someone willing to die to bring about a medieval caliphate and find a motivation any rational person would understand? Call them extremists, jihadists, terrorists, or just the murdering creeps that they are, they have been clear about at least part of their beef against the West our invasions, military occupations and armed drone attacks. They resent our support for what they call apostate regimes, some of which the rest of the world call brutal dictatorships, and our support for an Israel which has expanded far beyond the original borders of the homeland rightly given for a Jewish democratic state. In this they are no different than native fighters opposing imperialism over the centuries, going all the way back to when Western Europe looked around and decided that with better ships and navigation they could and should discover and exploit the rest of the world. U.S. strategic interest in the Mideast is often facilely said to be the oil, yet our continuing Iraq horror hasnt even gotten us much of that, so inept has it been. And we need to go cold turkey from that addiction too. The same newspapers covering the latest Brussels murders reported that the scientist who was the most right from the beginningon climate change, James E. Hansen, now says the planets situation is much more dire than the current commonly accepted scientific wisdom. He claims we must sharply curtail use of fossil fuels right now or else climate change will be irreversible within todays young peoples lifetimes. Replacing whatever oil we get from the Middle East with renewable energy or just doing without it would be a good start, if there is even a chance that Dr. Hansen is correct. So I want our current and future presidents to move beyond talk and completely disengage militarily from the greater Middle East, to eliminate a big cause of Islamic (or whatever) terrorism, and save the planet for our grandchildren talk about a win-win! Roberta Medford Atheist Montrose -- MORE: In Theory: Monks press for a national religion in Thailand In Theory: Is there a gender issue in religious leadership? In Theory: Can the pope comment on Trumps religion? Soroptimist International of Glendale recently honored three brave women who have endured much to get to where they are today. The awardees accomplishments were highlighted during the annual Accolades luncheon on March 17 at the Oakmont Country Club. President Lola Abrahamian welcomed the more than 60 guests. Lynne Raggio gave the invocation and immediate past president Paula Devine led the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilwoman Laura Friedman delivered greetings from the city of Glendale. She said she always looks forward to attending a Soroptimist Club event because members support women and girls in our community and throughout the world. You do good in an area thats very important to me, which is for women and girls who are often, as we know, overlooked, left behind, not inspired, not allowed to fulfill their potential, and your mission is to make sure none of those things happen and you do that every week in our community in everything you do, she said. Friedman also congratulated the honorees, who have not only given to their community but serve as living examples and inspirations to everyone about whats possible for women. Carolyn Rowley, who holds a doctorate degree in psychology, received the Ruby Award. She is the founder and executive director of the Cayenne Wellness Center and Childrens Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to health and wellness. She specializes in nutrition and holistic psychology including anxiety, trauma, depression and chronic illness. She helps educate women and support the families of women who suffer from chronic diseases, particularly sickle-cell disease. Since age 5, Rowley has wanted to follow in the footsteps of Mother Teresa, an Albanian Roman Catholic religious sister and missionary. Rowley hoped to become a full-time missionary. She knew her passion was to serve and thats what she has pledged to do during her life. Although she suffers from sickle cell disease which is very painful it hasnt stopped her from serving others. Rowley has worked to make people aware of the disease, for which there is no cure. She works with hospitals to help people manage their pain. She has also traveled to Africa as a missionary over the years and, as a result, in 2005, she began the Machao Orphanage Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The primary goal is to house and educate the orphaned children of Makueni, Kenya. The foundation is raising funds to complete a clean-water project for the children. They now support 43 children, but the goal is to house 80 children by 2020. Our goal is to make sure that the girls go to school, she said. You already know that with education that means they will no longer be impoverished. They will no longer be there just to have children. They tell me they want to be someone. They want to be a teacher, an accountant, they want to do business and they want to become a nurse. Its remarkable that they can dream so high. Judges who selected Rowley were Brionna Stearns as well as Dan and Elly Wolf. Two other women received the Live Your Dream Award, which goes to women who are working to turn their lives around after dealing with many obstacles and who provide primary financial support for their families. The cash award gives them the resources they need to improve their education, skills and employment prospects. One of the recipients, Star, who preferred not to have her last name published for safety reasons, is a single mother of a 9-year-old daughter. She attends Diversified Vocational College and, upon completion, plans to enroll at Los Angeles City College to earn an associates degree in business. She said she wants to be the best role model for her daughter. The other recipient, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, is a single parent of two children, ages 4 and 5. Her goals are to complete her education at Pasadena City College by joining the dental hygiene program and finishing by 2018. She works as a tutor at the college and volunteers at a dental office. She wants to teach her children to become productive members of society, she said. Judging the Dream Award were Elissa Glickman, Philip W. Lanzafame and yours truly. Sandy Schultz was chair of the Accolades program committee, while Cindy Miller organized the Ruby Award judging and Heather Watson Ghermezian was chair of the Dream Award program, assisted by Laurie Leask. World-renowned quilter to give workshops Alex Anderson, a world-renowned quilter, author and co-host of The Quilt Show, the only quilt show series recorded live before a studio audience and seen exclusively on TheQuiltShow.com, is coming to Glendale. She will present two lectures on April 16 in the fellowship hall of the First Congregational Church, said Sandy Bradfield, president of the Glendale Quilt Guild, which is organizing the event. The first session from 10 to 11 a.m. will be on scrap quilts, while the second session at 1 p.m. will cover design choices. A luncheon with Anderson will be tucked in between. For more information, visit glendalequiltguild.org. Artist will demonstrate portrait in oil for club Artist Julie Snyder will paint an oil portrait of a live model during a meeting of the Glendale Art Assn. from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 14 in the Citibank Community Room, 2350 Honolulu Ave., Montrose. Her paintings have been exhibited locally, nationally and internationally, and her career has included several years of residence in Spain. She promotes the arts, paints, teaches and conducts workshops both locally and across the country as well as group tours to Europe for painters, sculptors and photographers. Admission to the meeting is $5 for members, $7 for nonmembers, and paintings submitted to the mini-show are $3 each. -- JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com. Miesha Tate said weeks ago that she sympathized with Ronda Rousey, who has admitted to having had suicidal thoughts after losing a match and her UFC bantamweight title to Holly Holm in November. So you might want to keep that mind when you read Tates response after Sports Illustrateds Maggie Gray recently asked her about the same topic. I thought that was unfortunate to feel that low about something, [but] I kind of saw it as a chink in the armor though, honestly, said Tate, who now holds the bantamweight title after beating Holm earlier this month. Advertisement Im always looking at her from an opponent perspective and I thought that was a big sign of mental weakness to be honest. Tate is 0-2 against longtime rival Rousey, including a a loss by third-round submission in a title bout at UFC 168. UFC president Dana White has said Tate will get a third shot at Rousey, after Rouseys current hiatus from fighting to concentrate on a movie career. Ive been down and out in this sport -- obviously I lost my [UFC] match fight to Ronda, that was really, really hard for me, Tate said. But my mindset is to get back in the gym and get better, get stronger and learn from it and come back, and now here I am with a world title. So, Tate said, Rouseys admission kind of makes me wonder what kind of fighter will return when Ronda, if Ronda does return. In the 1989 film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costners character famously heard -- If you build it, they will come -- and created a baseball diamond for ghosts to play ball. Now a dream imagined 24 years ago by artist Bruce Munro on his first visit to Australias majestic Uluru has become a reality too. Field of Light is a temporary art installation featuring a forest of 50,000 solar-powered lights with the sandstone landmark as a backdrop. The display, which opens Friday, is located about six miles from Uluru, a.k.a. Ayers Rock, in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the countrys Northern Territory. Advertisement Light has always intrigued me as a medium, Munro says. Theres something poetic about it. It goes on and off, and this skin of luminescence allows us to see the world around us a mysterious energy one thing you cant grasp. When Munro first sketched out a field of light on 10 to 15 pages that he stuck together, he thought it would be impossible to create a huge display in the middle of nowhere with no electricity. His first temporary Field of Light was created in 2004 for Londons V&A Museum. Other temporary fields have appeared around the U.K. and the U.S., including Sonoran Light at Phoenixs Desert Botanical Garden until May 8. Munro credits Ray Stone, the general manager of marketing for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia for bringing his artistic vision to Australia. In 2010, Ray heard me on the radio describing how Uluru first inspired Field of Light. He phoned me up two days later and said: Hey, I think you should come out and do this installation, Munro says. A variety of tours are available with prices starting at approximately $27 ($35 Australian) for adults. All include transportation from area hotels. Accommodations at Ayers Rock Resort, where the sculpture is located, range from luxury to camping. The Night at the Field of Light tour option includes a three-course dinner for about $178 for adults ($235 Australian]. For a Night tour that includes a camel ride its $284 ($375 Australian). And dinner plus a helicopter flight costs about $467 ($615 Australian). Profits from Field of Light will help the local community. The local Anangu tribe have named it Tili Wiru Tjuta Nyakutjaku or looking at lots of beautiful lights in Pitjantjatjara, the local language. The art display remains until March 31, 2017. Info: Field of Light MORE Royal cape made of feathers from 20,000 birds returns to Hawaii after 237 years Motel 6 changes it up with renovated rooms that make budget look hip Alaskas big volcanic blast that Instagram missed -- until now Best upscale cruise ship cabins for your next family sailing On 28 March a police chief and six municipal police officers were arrested in the eastern state of Veracruz accused of the enforced disappearance of three youths.This is the second time in just three months that crooked members of local police forces in Veracruz have been implicated in the enforced disappearance of youths. The arrests also coincide with the release of homicide and kidnapping figures showing that the security policies implemented by the government led by President Enrique Pena Nieto have failed to bring about a reduction in violent crime. End of preview - This article contains approximately 356 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Henrique Eduardo Alves, the minister of Tourism in Brazil, penned his resignation letter to President Dilma Rousseff this Monday, March 28, 2016. Minister Alves is the first of a seven-member group of ministers belonging to the PMDB (Brazil's Democratic Movement Party) to announce resignation. This decision follows PMDB's official announcement that it will no longer be a part of Brazil's Federal Government - a coalition. Rousseff and Lula's Attempt to Avoid Break of Coalition Despite efforts by President Rousseff herself and former president Lula da Silva to convince the political party to avoid disbanding, Michel Temer, current Vice President of Brazil and president of the the PMDB, announced that the political party's decision was final and that the party would make their official announcement on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The PMDB also announced that the party had established an April 12-deadline for all public workers belonging to the party to renounce their position from the government. Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazil's primary media outlet, reports that PMDB's decision comes about after popular acclaim for the political party to disband following the protests that have arisen in many regions in Brazil after corruption allegations within the PT (Worker's Party) and Dilma's controversial appointment of Lula as Chief of Staff after he was charged for money laundering. Many Brazilians have been calling for the impeachment of embattled President Dilma Rousseff and it is yet to be seen how this political story unfolds. Minister Alves' Penned Letter to President Rousseff The following images shows Minister Alves' letter to Rousseff which is followed by an english transaltion. English (paraphrasing) Your Excellency President Dilma, I hereby resign to my honorable position as Minister of Tourism of your Government and I would like to thank you for your trust and for the respectful relationship held mutually during these eleven months during which we worked together. I thought hard before making this decision; considering the motives and challenges that encouraged me to assume this ministry (which I believe I have honored) and to make make Tourism an important economic, political and social agenda for the country's government. However, independent from our intentions, [this] national moment puts the PMDB, my party for the past 46 years, before the greater challenge of choosing it's path under the presidency of my companion, Michel Temer. Everyone - the Government that I assumed and the PMDB - knows that I always supported permanent dialogue, a dialogue - that I sadly admint - has been exahusted. Thus, President Dilma, this is the decision that I make. I don't deny it is difficult but it is conscious, coherent, respectful to my Rio Grande do Norte and always - like everyone - in the fight for a better Brazil. I am sure that being a woman who above all supports the ideological coherence and the loyalty of their own party that you will understand my decision. Respectfully, Henrique Eduardo Alves With roughly a week remaining before the April 5, Republican primary in the winner-take-all state of Wisconsin, Texas Senator Ted Cruz leads overall GOP front-runner Donald Trump by five points. A new Washington Free Beacon survey of 500 likely Republican voters shows Cruz leading the pack at 36.2 percent to Trump's 31.4 percent. Ohio Governor John Kasich brings up the rear at 20.8 percent. The picture brightens even more for Cruz if he were to face Trump in a head to head match-up. In such a scenario, Cruz expands his lead over the New York City real estate mogul and political neophyte 47.8 percent to 36.2 percent. Wisconsin Critical for all the Candidates Wisconsin figures as one of the most crucial GOP primaries through all of election season. Trump is looking to build on his delegate lead, while Cruz is hoping to draw closer and Kasich appears desperate to simply garner enough support to remain relevant in the event of a contested Republican convention later this summer. The poll reflects Cruz's largest lead in the state in any survey taken there and represents the first time since Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker formally dropped out of the race that anyone other than Trump or retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has held a lead. Immigration Among the Biggest Issues On the issue of immigration, voters expressed views much more moderate than those set forth by Trump, who has vowed to deport an estimated 11 million immigrants in as little as 18-months if he is elected. Roughly 70 percent of voters indicated they support "a pathway" to citizenship for illegal immigrants, provided they pass criminal background checks, pay fines, learn English and "wait a period of years." Overall, Trump had just a net favorable rating of +9.8, compared to +41.2 for Kasich and +35.4 for Cruz. A new Emerson College poll also shows Cruz clinging to a lead, 36 percent to 35 percent, over Trump in the state, with Kasich stuck at just 19 percent. Deeper analysis of the numbers also found Kasich appears to be primarily siphoning votes away from Cruz, with his supporters finding Cruz more favorable than Trump 36 percent to 27 percent. On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laps liberal-minded Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders 50 percent to 44 percent, with 5 percent undecided. Despite the numbers, Wisconsin appears to line up well for Sanders, who has parlayed his greatest success from states with a vast pool of young voters and smaller minority communities. As for potential general election match-ups, Trump trials both Clinton and Sanders by the same 47 percent to 38 percent margin. Clinton tops Cruz by a far narrower cushion of 46 percent to 45 percent. Flash Belgian police on Monday issued a new appeal for information about "the man in the hat" caught on security camera footage along with two others thought to have blown themselves up in the Brussels Airport on Tuesday last week. March 22, 2016 saw the deadliest terrorist attack ever in Belgium's history, with terrorist blasts hit the Brussels Airport and then the Maelbeek metro station near the European Union institutions during moring rush hour. Victim death toll rose 35 after four people succumbed to their injuries in hospital, Belgian Minister of Health Maggie De Block said on Monday. "Medical teams did all possible... Courage to all the families." the minister wrote on Twitter. Belgian federal prosecutor's office in a Monday statement said Faycal C., identified by media as Faycal Cheffou and previously referred to by reports as "the man in the hat" wanted for the airport blast, was released without charge. "The clues that had led to the arrest of Faycal C. were not supported by the progression of the current investigation," the statement said. The man was arrested on Thursday last week along with two other people outside the building of the Belgian federal prosecutor's office and was charged on Saturday with "terrorist murder." No weapons or explosives were found during a search at his home. The releasing of airport camera footage on the mysterious man in the hat again on Monday meant that the third suspect is still on the run. "Police are trying to identify the man. He is suspected of having committed the attack at Zaventem Airport Tuesday, March 22, 2016," Belgian federal police said in a post on their official website. Two other men appearing in the airport camera footage had been identified as suspected suicide bombers Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui. The latter's brother, Khalid El Bakraoui, was identified as the suicide bomber at the Maelbeek metro station. Several people have been arrested during anti-terror raids in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy since the Brussels suicide bombings for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility. Fourteen militants are suspected to have been killed on air raids carried out by the US forces on the Al Qaeda-claimed territory in Yemen. The said air raids are one of the biggest attacks led by the US forces on the militant group. The Yahoo News reported, the air strikes took place on the al Qaeda-claimed territory in southern part of Yemen on Sunday. Local residents said, an aircraft air raided the buildings Al Qaeda group was using located in the southern coastal Abyan province. The air strikes also destroyed the militants' government intelligence headquarters located in the provincial capital Zinjibar. It is believed the building is used as their base. There had been six people reported to be dead by the medics from the said location, News Daily reported. An alleged US drone attack is also reported to have killed another eight militants earlier on Sunday in al-Hudhn and Naqeel al-Hayala villages in Abyan. Houthis, who was part of the Zaydi branch of Shi'ite Islam, ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2015, following which he has won the support of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi forces have been helping Hadi in his bid to return to power. Taking advantage of the ongoing unrest in the country, al-Qaeda wings have captured many buildings and military bases in Yemen, besides running training camps for their fighters, Daily Mail reported. Al-Qaeda militants, many of whom belong to Sunni tribes in south and eastern Yemen, are also fighting against the Houthis. The militant group has also attacked the state of Yemen for years, planned to bomb US bound airliners as well as claimed they are behind the Paris attack last year in January on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people. The US has confirmed the attacks using drones however, they refuse to comment regarding the specific details over the attack. The United Nations recently said the warring parties have agreed to ease tensions from the midnight of 10 April and start a fresh round of peace talks in Kuwait on 18 April. The truce then carried out a prisoner swap with Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Two rounds of talks failed to broker any deal last year. The attorneys of gay couples in Tennessee who helped win a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriage have been awarded by a federal judge more than $2 million. The judge noted that the attorneys should be entitled to costs and fees. In a report by ABC News, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger said the results that the lawyers got in the case were superb and far-reaching. However, the more than $2 million was 15 percent less than what the attorneys were asking for, The Commercial Appeal reported. Trauger added that the 15 percent subtraction was "appropriate" adding that the plaintiffs will therefore "be rewarded a significant portion of their requested reasonable attorney's fees and expenses." This is due to the fact that state Attorney General Herbert Slatery's office argued that the attorneys of the gay couples only deserved $1.1 million. The office noted that the attorneys had duplicated work, vague time-keeping as well as charging for their attendances during news conferences. A spokesman for Slatery has not commented yet on Trauger's ruling. One lawyer cited has been identified as Regina Lambert of Knoxville. Per reports, she worked on the case for many months and billed for $149, 460. However, it was argued that Lambert travelled frequently from Knoxville to Nashville and duplicated the work of other lawyers as well as "performed extensive publicity duties." The fees awarded to the attorneys covered nearly six thousand hours of work by the legal teams of the plaintiffs. A total of three couples in Nashville were represented by the attorneys. The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled 5-4 in favor of the plaintiffs in Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky essentially making same-sex marriage legal all over the United States. Their arguments were heard on April 28, WBIR.com reported. This is not the first time lawyers were awarded their legal fees. In Michigan, the lawyers were given $1.9M, in Ohio, they received $1.3M and in Kentucky, they were awarded $1.1 M. Utah Governor Gary Herbert has signed a new bill on Monday requiring the administration of anesthesia to women having an abortion. It is the first state in the United States to impose this type of regulation. As reported by Reuters, the new law will require doctors who are performing abortions to administer anesthesia to women who seek elective abortion at around 20 weeks. The previous law of the state only gave women a choice of having an anesthesia or not. The law is based on a study that during this stage of pregnancy, a fetus can already feel pain, thus, an anesthesia is required. According to Salon, Laura Banker of the conservative group United families said doctors should do everything possible to prevent the fetus from feeling any pain and make sure that they are comfortable. Several doctors in Utah, however, are concerned regarding the risk that women will undergo if they will be given heavy sedation in order to protect the fetus from feeling any pain. Dr. Sean Esplin of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah said the new law will force women to go into a risky process on a basis of a vague conclusion. Esplin added that in order to protect the fetus, women will have to undergo general anesthesia which will also require breathing tubes and heavy doses of narcotics, as per The Daily Mail. According to a policy analyst of the abortion-rights nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, Elizabeth Nash, no state in the coutry has passed a similar law. In 2015, Montana attempted to pass the same law but a Democratic governor blocked the bill and prevented it from becoming legal. The Utah law defines abortion as the intentional termination or attempted termination of human pregnancy after the implantation of a fertilized ovum through a medical procedure carried out by a physician or a substance under the supervision of a physician. Utah's Governor Gary Herbert said he supported the bill due to his stand as a pro-life advocate. The Spanish-language TV network, Telesur, which was started by the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is now being pulled out by the Argentinian government. The latter accused the TV network of blacklisting alternative viewpoints. In 2015, with funding's from six regional governments connected to Venezuela, the TV network Telesur was launched. The administration of Mauricio Macri of Argentina, however, has announced that it is pulling its 20% share in the venture. According to Hermann Lombardi, the Argentinian Minister of Communication, the country is leaving because they were not included in the financial and editorial decisions of the network as per The Guardian. Lombardi said in an interview that Argentina was prohibited from sharing its view. He added that the TV network was an interesting South American television project but it lacks pluralism on their part. As reported by the New York Times, the relationship of Argentina has gone sour since Macri's center-right government took office in December 2015. According to the Miami Herald, the misunderstanding started when the Macri administration destroyed some of the socialist policies of former President Cristina Fernandez. Lombardi said the Fernandez administration had lost its local flavor in public media. Telesur, on the other hand, said in a statement that Macri created ways in order to undermine the diversity of the media that is required by the law which includes smaller and alternative outlets. The network aims to reshape the people's view of Latin America with the help of a number of correspondents around the region. The people of Latin America has viewed the network as an alternative to large TV networks like CNN and is considered as one of the networks that provide in-depth coverage on issues that are seldom told on mainstream media. The network has unveiled its English-language website in 2014, hiring 100 English-speaking journalist and producers. The network's prime investor, Argentina, is facing a great economic downfall and has been in debt crisis from foreign investors. IBM Insight 2014 is 2 Weeks Away -- Add These Sessions To Your Schedule IBM Insight is now two weeks away. I'll have the opportunity to go this year and update the audience on IBM Connections and what we a... How To Add Sametime Web Awareness to Lotus Connections I while ago I had shared instructions on how to enable STLinks in Lotus Connections . STLinks was a way to add instant messaging awareness t... IBM Connections 4.5 Is Ready for Download The day has come! IBM Connections 4.5 is ready for download!! Partners can get the software from PartnerWorld and customers from Passport Ad... Lotus Connections PoC in a box It seems like business partners are all the buzz in the last few days, huh ? First, we have a Microsoft Business Partner publish a Lotus Con... Flash Somalia security forces from Galmudug State have arrested three foreign Al-Shabaab fighters in Mudug region of central Somalia during an operation on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. Somali National Security's Commander in Galmudug State Sadaq Omar Hassan confirmed to reporters that security forces arrested 12 Al-Shabaab fighters, three of whom were of foreign nationalities. "We captured 12 Al-Shabaab fighters including three foreigners with different nationalities in the east of Mudug region after successful operation against terrorist militants. Two of the foreign fighters are Kenyans and one Tanzanian," Omar said. "My name is Abdulahi Rabu Mohamed. I am Tanzanian. Two other are Kenyans and the rest are Somali citizens. We were captured by Somali forces," the Tanzanian suspect told journalists. Galmudug government forces have been launching the operations against Al-Shabaab terrorist group, which intend to flush out Al-Shabaab from all central Somalia regions as well as the regions under the Galmudug administration. You are here: Home Flash China has appointed a special envoy for the Syrian issue, indicating a more active role in addressing the conflict. Xie Xiaoyan, former ambassador to Iran and Ethiopia as well as representative to the African Union, has been appointed to the post, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday. "Xie, with a rich understanding of Middle East affairs, will fulfill his mission," Hong said. With the Syrian issue "at a crucial stage for settlement," China has named the special envoy to better promote dialogue, contribute Chinese wisdom and communicate with other parties to facilitate a proper solution, Hong said. Syrian government troops and the opposition are implementing a ceasefire agreement, and humanitarian assistance is progressing. The latest round of Syrian peace talks wrapped up on Thursday in Geneva. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has played a constructive role in addressing the Syrian issue. China advocates political settlement as the only solution, supports the UN's leading role and has provided humanitarian aid to Syria and surrounding countries, the spokesperson added. Next Land Rover Discovery to get off-road-focused trim Mar 29, 2016, 6:28am ET The SVX model will be designed by JLR\'s Special Vehicles Operations division. Land Rover is planning an off-road-focused variant of the upcoming Discovery, a new report finds. The model is tentatively called Discovery SVX, and it's being designed by Jaguar - Land Rover's Special Vehicles Operations. Building on the standard Discovery (pictured), the SVX model will be capable of going far off the beaten path thanks to a few additional inches of ground clearance, specific bumpers on both ends that will increase the approach and departure angles, as well add-ons such as a winch, skid plates, and a roof rack. Technical specifications aren't available yet, and they will likely vary from market to market. Land Rover expects the Discovery SVX will be popular in markets such as the United States, the Middle East, and Australia. The new Land Rover Discovery will most likely be presented to the public in September at the Paris Auto Show, and it will replace the LR4 when it goes on sale a few months later as a 2018 model. We'll hear more about the rumored SVX-badged variant in the French capital this fall, and British magazine Autocar speculates it will make its official debut in the the fall of 2018 at the very earliest. Flash A six-hour hijack drama ended shortly before 3 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) with the surrender of the man who had forced an EgyptAir Airbus-320 to land at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. The hijacker was seen on live footage of Cyprus's state television walking down the stairs of the plane, parked right next to the security perimeter of the airport. He had his hands raised in the air and was taken into a police vehicle. The hijacker's surrender was confirmed by Cyprus's president Nicos Anastasiades in his Twitter account. "My congratulations to all services involved for he termination of the hijack and the arrest of the culprit," Anastasiades wrote. The hijacking had distracted him from official talks he had with visiting European Parliament President Martin Schulz. The hijack had caused Cypriot authorities to mount a major security operation and caused tension in the region, with Israeli jets scrambling as a precaution following recent terrorist attacks connected with the Islamic State. It was soon made clear that the hijack was not connected to terrorism, as the hijacker originally indicated he wanted to deliver a letter or speak with his Cypriot ex-wife. But the letter delivered to her contained a demand for the release of all women prisoners held by Egyptian authorities. He also asked to meet senior European Union officials with the aim of obtaining political asylum or alternatively to be allowed to fly to another country. EgyptAir flight MS-181 had taken off from Alexandria for Cairo at 8 a.m. with 55 passengers and a crew of seven but shortly afterwards it was diverted by the hijacker Larnaca where it landed shortly before 9 a.m. The hijacker immediately demanded that all policemen and military personnel move away from the plane but he soon started releasing passenger, first all women and children and then the men. Minutes before his surrender three men in staff uniforms were seen walking down the plane's stairs and a man, probably the captain, jumping out of a cockpit window. The hijacker, originally named by Egyptian authorities as Imbrahim Samaha, a university professor at Atlanta, USA, was later renamed to Saif el Din Mustafa, a former Egyptian army officer who lived in Cyprus up to 1994. He was married to a Cypriot woman and the couple had four children, who live with their mother. Though his action had an almost farcical outcome, it brought to memory a hijack in 1978 when an Egyptian plane was forced to land at Larnaca after taking off from Bangkok. The hijack drama lasted 16 days and ended in a bloodbath at Larnaca airport, after Egyptian commandos botched their attempt to storm the plane. They were gunned down on the tarmac by the hijackers. The incident had led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt, two countries traditionally connected with the closest of relations between neighbors in the region. Bethlehem wants its residents to actually be able to enjoy city parks this spring and summer. So, city officials are asking city council to ban swimming and tighten parking restrictions at Saucon and Monocacy parks to control crowds and unruly behavior in the parks. The city's Saucon Park, along Route 412, was plagued by overcrowding and litter last summer and police struggled with enforcement. "It is a neighborhood park and it is a quality of life issue for the people that live in the neighborhood," Mayor Bob Donchez said. "... The amount of trash and vandalism that our men have to pick up on a Monday, it is just unbelievable." The majority of the issues stem from out-of-state visitors drawn to the swimming hole, the nice facilities and easy access to Interstate 78. Things got so unruly last summer city police began patrolling in 12-hour shifts and the city fenced off the swimming hole off Ravena Street. Eventually, Bethlehem shut Saucon Park down over Labor Day amid concerns about the legality of an effort to keep the park open to just city residents and pavilion-permit holders and their guests. "We felt our residents were being penalized because so many non-residents are coming into the park," said Jane Persa, city parks and recreation director. Donchez said Saucon Park could not accommodate the influx of 1,000 visitors on a Sunday. The city's been consulting Palmer Township on how it handled similar issues at Penn Pump Park. Monday afternoon, city council's parks and recreation committee reviewed the proposed changes and recommended the full council approve them. Under the proposal, swimming would be banned in both Saucon and Monocacy parks and grilling would only be allowed in the permanent mounted charcoal grills around pavilions. The proposal also bans pop-up tents and portable grills. The new rules ban consumption of alcohol by anyone not attending events in rented pavilions and beyond 25 feet of the pavilion. "You never really were allowed to swim," Persa noted. Park visitors were drawn to Saucon by the creek and swimming hole. "Water is the common denominator, that's what they Google," Donchez said. Once the swimming hole was closed, people started wading in the water around the pavilions, Persa said. Bethlehem plans to permanently fence off the swimming hole. "We had baptisms in there, people coming in from New York on buses," Persa said. As a New Jersey transplant, Bethlehem resident Jeremiah Lormand said he finds it offensive these rules are targeting out-of-town visitors, who are his friends and family. He loves swimming the creek and plans to continue to do so. Lormand finds it problematic that all of the issues are capacity based but all of the actions just restrict use. "If your problem is trash, your solution is not banning alcohol," Lormand said. Police Chief Mark DiLuzio said on the average Sunday, visitors were sitting in the Saucon Creek in lawn chairs, drinking from beer bottles and putting up tents over the water for shade. Visitors also put dams in the water to try to create swimming pools. Both the Monocracy and Saucon creeks are state-approved trout water and swimming and these actions damage the natural habitat, DiLuzio said. Councilman Adam Waldron and Councilwoman Olga Negron-Dipini both have reservations about a full swimming ban. Waldron thinks the majority of the problems, like putting tables in the creek, are already not allowed and education could help that. The creek is a resource, he said. "I think a lot of changes here are good but totally eliminating swimming I really don't like that at all," Negron-Dipini said. Resident Dana Grubb said outlawing wading in a stream is pure stupidity. If you don't want people swimming in a specific space, post it, he said. "If they have chairs in (the creek), cite them," Grubb said. But he does think action is needed. "The target is appropriate," Grubb said. "These are out city parks and we need to take them back." City officials hope by strictly banning swimming the park will draw smaller crowds. The park got so crowded last summer visitors were setting up pop-up tents in the grass, grilling and even bringing in electric generators to play music in pavilions. "We felt if we could keep people out of the water, except fisherman, that would be a way to stop all of the behavior we were seeing," Persa said. The city also wants double the illegal parking violation fines from Memorial Day to Labor Day within the parks. The fines are similar to the temporary fines enacted during Musikfest, DiLuzio said. Fines will rise from $15 to $30. "Our tickets are $15, that's like paying to park in New York City," DiLuzio said. Councilman Eric Evans said in the future he thinks the city should consider ways to close the park once the two parking lots are full. If the city does that, councilman Shawn Martell said he is afraid that would lead to turn away more local residents. Many of the out-of-town visitors show up early and stay all day. There have not been major issues at Illick's Mill in Monocacy Park but there were a few minor issues last year. "What we are trying to do is nip it in the bud before it becomes a Saucon Park issue at Monocacy Park," DiLuzio said. Bethlehem offers pavilion rentals at three parks -- Saucon, Illick's Mill and South Mountain. Banned under proposal Swimming Portable grills Electric generators Parking on the grass Alcohol unless renting a pavilion Fire anywhere other than grills Pop-up tents Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A man attacked his girlfriend following an argument at an Easter celebration on Sunday, Bethlehem police said. The department received numerous 911 calls at about 6:43 p.m. about a man pulling a woman out of a car in West Bethlehem. When officers arrived at Seventh Avenue and West Union Boulevard, they found the victim, who reported her boyfriend attacked her, police said. The boyfriend, 19-year-old Justin Urena, fled as officers were arriving but he was arrested two blocks away, police said. The couple were in Easton earlier in the day, at an Easter celebration at the victim's father's house, when they began to argue, police said. The woman decided to drive Urena to his home in Bethlehem; during the drive, while they were still in Easton, Urena punched the car's windshield and crushed the woman's cellphone, police said. Urena punched his girlfriend's arm as well, police said, leaving blood on her shirt from his hand injury. The woman dropped Urena off at his home, but then saw him in another vehicle near Eighth Avenue and West Union Boulevard, according to police. That's when Urena got out of the other car, and jumped on the hood of his girlfriend's car, police said. When the woman stopped, Urena allegedly tried to get in the car, then pulled her hair and pulled her by the neck. Officers saw red marks on the woman's neck and bruises on her arm, and she was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, police said. Urena, of the 2100 block on Pinehurst Road, is charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. He was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A Lehigh Township man is facing drug charges after officers raided his hotel room at The View Inn and Suites in Bethlehem Township and seized methamphetamine. (file photo) Brian Fosko, 24, of the 4200 block of Lehigh Drive, was renting a room at the hotel, where there was an active investigation of drug activity on March 10, police said. Officers raided Fosko's room and found several plastic bags, rolled up currency used to snort drugs and a small plastic bag with methamphetamine residue, police said. Police also seized a glass smoking pipe and a lock box with about 10 grams of methamphetamine. Fosko is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Broscius, who set bail at $10,000. In lieu of bail, Fosko was taken to Northampton County Prison. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A West Bethlehem woman accused of trying to commit suicide by burning down her house on Halloween is now facing trial. Nancy White, 60, waived her preliminary hearing on Tuesday on charges of arson and reckless burning, sending the charges to Lehigh County Court. White, of the 200 block of Hillmond Street in Bethlehem, remains free on $25,000 unsecured bail. Police said White lived with Steven Gibson at 1561 Eighth Ave.; the pair were in a relationship, but kept their personal items in separate bedrooms. White owns the home with James L. Klotz, according to Lehigh County property records. A few days before Halloween, White obtained a protection-from-abuse order against Gibson, but his personal items were still in the house, police said. At about 4:40 a.m. on Halloween, White decided to take her own life by setting fire to the home, police said. She used a grill lighter to set fire to furniture in the home's basement, then went into her bedroom and Gibson's bedroom and set fire to the beds, police said. "White then walked into the bathroom, closed the door and waited to die," police said. About 17 minutes after White started the blaze, people who saw the flames called 911, police said. City firefighters saved White, who was injured, and a majority of the house, but White's bedroom and the basement were consumed by the fire, and the rest of the building had severe smoke damage, police said. "White's actions needlessly placed approximately twenty (Bethlehem Fire Department) firefighters in harm's way, as well as several of her neighbors' homes and vehicles," according to an affidavit filed by police. Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin had labeled the fire suspicious. In an interview with investigators, White admitted to deliberately setting the fire as she tried to end her life, police said. Officials previously said a woman was injured in the blaze, but did not identify her. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Flash Japan's new controversial security laws took effect Tuesday, marking an overhaul of the country's exclusively defensive defense posture in the last seven decades. The new laws, which enable Japanese troops to fight overseas, have drawn wide criticism from the international community for threatening to destabilize security and peace in the Asia-Pacific region. Although the security laws are becoming effective, their unconstitutional nature does not change, Chief of Japan Institute of Constitutional Law Makoto Ito told Xinhua on Tuesday. And almost all the country's constitutional experts and lawyers believe the security laws violate the Supreme Law. Ito said he will continue requiring the retraction of the security laws and he will file a lawsuit with 600 other lawyers over the unconstitutionality of the security legislation in late April. Meanwhile, Japanese political commentator Jiro Honzawa said in his blog that the security laws will lead to Japan's military expansion and therefore may trigger a regional arms race. The unconstitutional security legislation overturned Japanese history in the past seven decades as it does not face up to history, Honzawa said. Yang Baoyun, an ASEAN expert with Thailand's Thammasat University, said that the security laws pose a severe challenge to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. "The security legislation will break the regional geopolitics and international peace since World War II," said Yang, adding the legislation is aimed at paving the way for the right-wing extremists to revise the Peace Constitution. Allowing the nation to exercise the right to collective self-defense, the legislation will bring the Asia-Pacific region, Southeast Asia and East Asia more new dilemmas as the present situation has grown increasingly complex, said the expert. Yang's opinions were echoed by Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, who also believed that the new security laws will impinge on regional geopolitics and add to security dilemmas in the region, especially in the maritime domain. "With its security legislation taking effect, Japan took the first step to become a military power," said Kim Yeoul-Soo, an international politics professor at Sungshin Women's University. The professor warned that the legislation could also help boost an arms race in Northeast Asia. If the ruling coalition wins the number of seats needed to amend its pacifist constitution during the upcoming Upper House election in July, Japan will head into revising the constitution, Kim said. "The Lower House has already won the necessary seats for the amendment. Generally speaking, it has a meaning that Japan took the first step to become a military power," said the professor. Kildare Town Community schools yearly business programme with Kildare Village has been hailed as a great success by all involved. The students who took part benefited from practice interviews, presentations from management about their careers and general learning about Kildare Village and its different departments. They will also each partake in work experience. Speaking after the final wrap-up session in the school recently, teacher Tadhg OConnor said: There was presentations of gifts to management of Kildare Village Outlet, and a presentation by students who all received their certificates of achievement. Described as fun learning, 35 fifth year students in Kildare Community School took part in the Kildare Village Outlet Business Programme this year. All the students enjoyed and benefited from the programme, which involved company interviews, presentations and work shadowing, he added. The students learned about different careers, the business in Kildare town and the international business which is also growing and successful. The last task before the programme completes for the year includes a three day work experience for each participant during the Easter holidays. Students are also looking forward to completing three days of work experience over the Easter break at the Kildare Village, said Tadhg. The Kildare Village is one of the Collection of nine Chic Outlet Shopping Villages by Value Retail. On Easter Sunday March 27, John and Jim Collins proudly stood in front of the GPO to honour the role their mother, a young Naas revolutionary, played in the 1916 Rising. Jim recounts the story of this brave young woman. During her twenty six year marriage in Kilcullen, she never spoke of her involvement in the struggle for Irish freedom. She didnt mention she reported for duty on Sunday April 23 and remained active until April 30 1916. A memorial card for Col. Comdt. Tom Keogh, which she kept in her prayer book, is a mystery. Did she know him? How? Why? Research in the Military Archives in preparation for the centenary celebrations for Easter Week uncovered a substantial amount of information on this mysterious lady's military exploits. She was born Mary Ellen Patterson of Number 11, Main Street, Naas on December 6 1896. Her pet name in the family was Daisy. On August 1 1914, aged seventeen, she started her apprenticeship at Morans Drapery on Talbot Street, Dublin, where she lived over the shop. Having lost her job because of her involvement in the Rising, she was later reinstated and finished her service in December 1920. In her reference, Mr M.J. Moran stated: She was courteous, efficient, trustworthy, and an excellent saleswoman. Cumann na mBan was founded in Brunswick Street in April 1914 shortly before Daisy had moved to Dublin. Daisy, like many nationalistic young women at the time, joined the organisation. A member of Michael Collins inner secret council, and a member of the IRB, Mr James McNamara, who fought in Easter Week and was later New York President of the Old IRA, proposed Daisy for membership in 1915. She was enrolled into the Central Branch, Cumann na mBan Parnell Square. Her commanding officer was Miss Lesley Price. Incidentally, Miss Price, who married Colonel Tom Barry, was an aunt of Father Cathal Price, curate in Kilcullen in the 1970s. The Patterson family of Naas was a Republican family, always interested in national affairs. Daisys older sister was President of the County Executive of Cumann na mBan in Kildare. Her brother, Tommy, was very involved in the Easter Rising activities in the Naas/Kill area. A frequent caller to the Patterson home in Naas was Liam Mellows. Patterson family folklore maintains that when the Black and Tans burned Bushells home in Main Street, which is now part of the Leinster Leader offices, the intended target was the Patterson home. The family had moved out of their house that night as they received word they were to be attacked. In a statement in the Military Archives, Tommy states: During the Black and Tan terror, it was no unusual thing to see a lorry of Tans or Auxies pull up at the shop door, call for all the drinks they wanted and leave without payment, frequently bringing some with them. I can state with justifiable pride that all my family have been for long years workers in the National Movement. He also states that his grandmother, Anne Tyrrell of The Fisheries, sheltered John Devoy when he was on the run from Crown Forces. An application for a Military Service Medal for Mary Ellen Collins (nee Patterson) details the role Daisy played. Among her many activities, it noted she paraded in full uniform from City Hall to Glasnevin Cemetery at ODonovan-Rossas funeral in June 1915; carried mobilisation messages to Naas Town and District prior to 1916 Rising; and carried firearms and ammunition for volunteers who were to take part in armed duty at Bodenstown. It said; During Easter Week in Dublin she carried ammunition and delivered communications for volunteers engaged in the Easter Rising. She helped the volunteers with food and clothing when they were on the run after the 1916 Rebellion. Rendered full service such as dispatch riding and all duties in connection with Sinn Fein general election 1918 to 1921. She also attended Naas Cumann na mBan meetings and delivered parcels to volunteers interned in The Curragh Camp, Mountjoy Jail, Dublin, and Cork Jail. She stored arms and documents for Martin Savage as well as carried out intelligence work for him. Supplied meals to republican prisoners in Naas RIC Military Barracks. Concealed documents and literature of Republican Army and transferred them to places of safety, said the application. Daisy also acted as a scout for IRA on Tan Patrols at RIC Barracks. After the truce, she carried out training at brigade training camp. Daisys statement says she: resigned from Cumann na mBan on June 29 1922 and took no part in the Civil War. Records from the Military Archives show names that testify to her military service: Tommy Harris, TD; Miss Graham, The Garage, Sutton, Dublin; Sean Kavanagh, (later Governor of Mountjoy Jail); Joe McGrath, TD; Louis Moran, Ballysax, The Curragh; Dan OConnor, Solicitor, Naas; and her sister, Kitty Patterson, Naas. In 1933 Daisy married James Collins, The Corn Mills, Kilcullen. He was three years her junior and too young to have been involved in 1916. He was active in later conflicts and spoke many times of his activities. Daisy and James had two sons, John and Jim. Having turned her back on the political scene after marriage, she busied herself with family, her fowl, ducks and geese on the river, the Church, and some acting in the newly opened Town Hall in Kilcullen. She died on February 18, 1959. Her funeral with full military honours took place in New Abbey Cemetery, Kilcullen. As for the mystery surrounding the memorial card for Colonel Commandant Tom Keogh, which Daisy carried in her prayer book, the military archives records have failed to reveal any answers. On behalf of the Chinese government, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on a Monday sent his condolences to the victims of terror attack in the eastern Pakistan City of Lahore, which has caused death of 72 individuals and injured more than 300 others. Li said in a text message to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he was shocked by the news of the violence that had caused a lot of casualties wherein women and children were mostly the victims. Li, extended his heartfelt condolences to the victims while venting deep sympathy with their relatives and the injured over terror attack. China strongly opposes terrorism in all forms and will continue to support the Pakistani government. Li added that China will undyingly support the people of Pakistan in their efforts to maintain national security and stability and to crack down on terrorism. Last Sunday evening, a suicide bombing shook a public park in Lahore, taking at least 72 lives as of Monday morning. According to the report, the attack was admitted by a Pakistani Taliban splinter group. The Easter weekend marked the 40th Anniversary of formation of the Alliance of Liberal Democrats in Europe (ALDE). ALDE is a political party is formed of an alliance many of the liberal and democrat parties in Europe. The ALDE party was founded on 26 March 1976 in Stuttgart in Germany. It was the first cross border political family. More can be read on the Stuttgart declaration at the ALDE party site but suffice to say it is based on the Oxford Manifesto of 1947 and was was formed from fourteen parties from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as well as the International Liberal Youth Organisation and the Liberal Group in the European Parliament. We meet twice a year to debate and vote on policy resolutions on which party policy, voted on in the European Parliament is based. A list of the member parties for Congress and Council delegations is available here: http://www.aldeparty.eu/sites/eldr/files/pages/12576/member-parties-congress-and-council-delegations-2016_0.pdf The organisational structure can be seen here except that the Gender Equality Network can now put forward resolutions. This is just one of the ways in which the ALDE party as progressed the European collaboration of liberals to promote tolerance and understanding. Happy Birthday ALDE. Here is to the next forty years! * Belinda Brooks-Gordon was #3 on the EU list in 2014, was a Cambridgeshire County Councillor, and is now an elected member of ALDE Council. Closing the Cancer Gap Higher mortality rates. Less access to care. Poorer quality of life. These are some of the realities minority groups face when cancer care is not equitable. LIMERICKS IFA deputy president candidate, Richard Kennedy, says the country is wide open to criminals after traversing the State over the last six weeks and only meeting one garda checkpoint. Mr Kennedy, Clarina, was speaking as the election campaign winds down and voting in certain branches begins from next Tuesday, March 29. And if the former national dairy and Limerick IFA chairman wins he says rural crime needs to be highlighted more. Mr Kennedy said he couldnt agree more with presidential candidate Joe Healy, who told Farm Leader last week that farmers security is a priority. I have been out five, four or a minimum of three nights a week since February 9, driving at all hours of the day and night. I was in every county in the country and only came across one garda checkpoint. If anyone wanted to rob the country they could take it with impunity. Thats what it looks like to me. The overall security issue is not being looked at, at all. The country is wide open to criminals. You hear about tens of thousands of euro worth of machinery, tools, fertilizer being taken and you would be wondering how it could happen. But I can understand fully how it could happen now because there is no one out there to check. The gardai are not checking at night, said Mr Kennedy. If elected IFA deputy president it is an issue he will be emphasising far and wide. It has to go back to the situation where if a guy goes out at night to commit a crime he must have some fear that he might be checked and from what I can see it is non-existent. With the amount of hours I was driving upto five nights a week all over the country you would expect to be stopped a number of times. This has nothing to do with garda station closures. That should not affect checkpoints on our roads, said Mr Kennedy. Turning back to the election he urges all Limerick IFA members to come out and vote when it is their branchs turn. It is one man, one vote instead of the old weighted system so every vote counts. I have so many people that worked for me and are working for me I can never thank them. The way they came out and helped me was brilliant from my own family to friends to members of IFA, and generally speaking I have found nothing but goodwill, said Mr Kennedy, who is up against Pat Farrell, Kildare and Nigel Renaghan, Monaghan. I think I am the best candidate and they are good candidates but I have it in experience over them. I hope I am elected, if I am not I have done my best. A MAN has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for following a teenager in the city and robbing him of his phone and 3. Christopher Mulqueen, 26, with an address at Clare Street Terrace, Dublin Road, pleaded guilty to the robbery of the Nokia phone and the small amount of cash on April 27, 2014, at around 8.15pm on the Rhebogue Road. He entered a plea on October 27, 2015, and he has been in custody since then. He was detained the day after the offence on a separate drugs matter, and was re-arrested and questioned on this offence. The victim, who was aged 18 at the time, had been walking on Clare Street away from the city centre. Mulqueen asked him for a lighter at one stage and he replied he had none, and they walked on. A short time later he again observed Mulqueen standing outside the A1 bar, where he stopped to tie his shoelace. The victim at this stage knew that Mulqueen had been following him, but he told him Youre alright kid. Mulqueen then moved on and started urinating against a wall. He then approached the victim, with what he believed to be a knife, and said Give me your f***king wallet or youre getting stabbed. The victim handed him his wallet and said he only had his ID in it. Theres no money in it, give me your money and you can have it back, Mulqueen replied. Mulqueen told him he was short money for a bag of weed. Under duress, the victim gave him his mobile phone. Gardai accepted that the defendant was frank and fortnight in his admissions, and accepted he was involved in the robbery, but claimed he had a biro in his possession, and not a knife. John OSullivan, BL, for the State, said that as there was no CCTV footage or DNA evidence, the case was grounded on the admissions made by Mulqueen. He told gardai he was sorry for his involvement, adding: If I could turn back the clock I would. Its my first time [offending] in three and a half years. The injured party told gardai that he felt completely frightened and thought I was going to be stabbed. I wasnt in a good sitaution and thought anything could happen. He declined to make a victim impact statement. The element of being followed was an aggravating factor in the case, Judge Tom ODonnell heard, but in mitigation he pleaded guilty at an early stage. The defendant previously received a three-year prison sentence, suspended for three years. Lawrence Boucher, BL, for the defence, said Mulqueen, who is a chronic drug user, gave away the phone for a bag of heroin. He said there is no pattern to his string of convictions, noting the first was in 2007, followed by public order in 2009, drugs for his own use the same year, firearms in 2011, and possession of articles in 2013. There is always a couple of years gap and then he re-offends again. Theyre semi spontaneous, said Mr Boucher. He asked that any custodial sentence would have an element of rehabilitation. Its about time he took responsibility for his actions. He does have some elements in his character that could be salvaged from this mess, he added. Judge ODonnell said this was a very opportunistic crime, which is all too familiar to us on the streets of Limerick. Judge ODonnell imposed a three year sentence, but suspended the last 18 months, on condition that he be of good behaviour for three years. He is to be under the care of the probation services for 18 months post release. THE instigator of the biggest clean-up endeavor ever undertaken in Ireland is hopeful that Team Limerick Clean-up - which brought 14,000 people onto the streets of the city and county on Good Friday - will become a fixture on the calendar for many years to come. Its amazing that litter has brought so many people together, so there is good in every bad situation, smiled JP McManus as TLC2 swung into action on Friday morning. We will take it a year at a time. Lets see today how it goes. It would be nice to think that it would be an annual event. Mr McManus launched the community endeavour with rugby legend Paul OConnell, TLC2 volunteers and the Boherbuoy Brass Band at the OConnell monument in the city before heading to Moyross. As they made their way there, a light aircraft flew across the sky over the city with a banner reading, Thank you to all TLC volunteers. In Moyross, Mr McManus and Paul OConnell were met by over 120 volunteers who were decked out in their hi-vis jackets for the big clean-up. JP planted a strawberry tree in the grounds of the playground of Moyross Community Enterprise Centre, explained Tracy McElligott, development worker at Moyross Residents Forum. We presented Paul OConnell with a picture that one of our residents, Deirdre Ryan, who is chairperson of Moyross Residents Forum did a 3D picture of Paul with his son Paddy. Thanks to their hard work the Moyross group collected over 100 bags of rubbish. As a reward for their work, the 14,000 volunteers who took part in the mammoth clean-up were given free entry to Munsters PRO12 clash with Zebre at Thomond Park on Friday night. MEMBERS of the city Sinn Fein party commemorated the 1916 Rising with a special ceremony at the Republican plot at Mount St Lawrence cemetery in Limerick, on Easter Sunday. A wreath-laying ceremony took place following the main commemoration, which was attended by main speaker, newly elected TD for Limerick Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, city councillors and regular members of the party. Deputy Quinlivan opened his speech, mentioning the names of the local Rising leaders, who died during the rebellion, including Edward Ned Daly and Con Colbert. For 100 years republicans have come together to remember our patriots. We do not come to mourn, but to remember and honour. To remember their sacrifice, their heroism and their inspiration. We have lost great leaders, comrades, family members and friends. But we do not mourn them as they live on today. They live on in ballads, songs and stories. They live on in communities across Ireland where people stand up to injustice. They live on where people fight for equality, for change, for progress and for a new and better Ireland. They are the inspiration that drives myself and this generation of republicans forward to unite our nation and build a true republic as envisaged in the proclamation. 100 years ago when the British executed the leaders of the Rising they were cheered on by the establishment and media in Dublin. He said at the ceremony that there is more support for Sinn Fein than any other time in our history. The promise of the Republic is in all our hands. The proclamation, a revolutionary document of its time, remains the mission statement for modern day Irish Republicanism. This new Irish establishment set aside the proclamation. For over 90 years they have presided over partition and inequality. The rights of citizens [are] secondary to the needs of elites. In the North a state formed out of discrimination, repression and exclusion could not reflect the principles of the Proclamation. During his speech, he spoke of topical issues in Ireland, such as housing policy and healthcare. The Proclamation makes clear that the republic guarantees the religious and civil liberties, equal rights and equal opportunities of all its citizens. We oppose racism, homophobia, sectarianism and any form of inequality and discrimination. We must also recognise the differences fostered by an alien government remain with us, he stated. He also criticised the current government, and that his party will not prop up a Fine Gael or Fianna Fail-led government. Unlike the Labour party we will stand by our election pledges. We will not support a government of the parties which created and sustained the crisis. Their policies are the problem. These parties are not the solution, he added. At the end of the ceremony, he said: Together we will build the only fitting tribute to our patriots a true Republic. AN ONLINE petition in opposition to plans by Irish Cement to burn used rubber tyres in Limerick has received more than 250 signatures. Michael Curtin has initiated the appeal, and is calling on Limerick City and County Council to deny the company planning permission in Mungret over concerns to public health and the environment. It is not yet clear whether it will be the council or An Bord Pleanala who will decide on this application. At the moment, the national appeals body is deciding whether the 10m project which will see the replacement of fossil fuels with burning of tyres at over 1,400 degrees should be considered as strategically important. If it is, An Bord Pleanala will decide. If it isnt, the local authority will adjudicate on the proposals, which if passed, could give work to 60 people according to Irish Cement. At the head of the petition, Mr Curtin wrote: It is common knowledge that burning tyres in the open is extremely harmful to human health and the natural environment. The fumes emitted are packed with the many toxic chemicals that tyres contain (including volatile organic compounds such as benzene, metals such as lead, hydrocarbons such as benzopyrene, and synthetic rubber components such as butadiene and styrene). He also warned the chlorine content in tyres can lead to the creation of dioxins and furans if burnt. Mr Curtin called on people living in the vicinity of the Shannon Estuary in Limerick and Clare who are concerned about the quality of air that you and your children breathe. As of this Tuesday, 256 people had signed the petition. One of those who responded, Carol Rainsford, asked: What about Irelands emissions? Are we not trying to cut these due to conform with European standards. Think of the green house effect - we seem to just ignore summits on global warming. Irish Cement was not available for comment on this petition. But in the past when concerns were raised about its plans, a company spokesperson said: Experience from elsewhere in Ireland and throughout Europe, shows the opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will prove critical to our ability to operate competitively and sustain jobs at Irish Cement into the future. Hillary Clinton on Monday urged a small crowd at UW-Madison to consider future rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court when casting a ballot in Tuesdays presidential primary and in Novembers general election. Clinton, the former secretary of state and current front-runner in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee, said to a group of invited guests at the Gordon Dining and Event Center that the next president is likely to appoint more than one justice to the nations highest court and warned of the impact of a Republican candidate making those choices. This election has ripped away the curtain and made it absolutely clear to everyone how essential the Supreme Court is, Clinton said. I will keep talking about it and advocating and calling on the Senate to do its job and I hope there will be a great chorus of voices across our land that will do the same. Its our Constitution, its our court and its our future, said Clinton, who stopped Monday in Madison and Milwaukee, kicking off a two-day tour of Wisconsin in advance of its April 5 primary. The state provides Clinton an opportunity to all but seal her case that she should be her partys nominee. If she wins here, Clinton then could sharpen her focus on her three potential Republican foes in the general election: businessman Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas or Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Primary opponent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is crisscrossing the state this week, too, and spoke to a crowd of thousands on Saturday in Madison. Speaking to the invitation-only crowd of about 250, Clinton urged the Republican-led U.S. Senate to stop its blockade of President Barack Obamas pick to fill the current vacancy on the high court, federal judge Merrick Garland. Clinton said Republicans in the Senate who are refusing to hold confirmation hearings on Obamas nominee are effectively ignoring the voice of voters who twice elected Obama. We chose a president we chose him twice. And now Republicans in the Senate are acting like our votes didnt count and President Obama is not still our nations leader, she said. Clinton also singled out Wisconsins own Sen. Ron Johnson, one of the Republicans who has declined to hold hearings or votes on Garlands nomination. Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has called for Obamas successor to name a justice, citing the highly politicized atmosphere of a presidential campaign. It marked the first time Clinton has spoken so pointedly on the Supreme Court vacancy, created by the recent death of former Justice Antonin Scalia. This is their job but they refuse to do it, said Clinton. Betsy Ankney, campaign manager for Johnson, said Clintons comments were ironic. Its ironic that career politicians like Hillary Clinton and (opponent former Sen. Russ Feingold) are saying do your job given that its their decades in Washington that have led to out-of-control spending, dangerously weak national security, and big government infringement on our freedoms, Ankney said in a statement. Ron is doing his job by protecting the Second Amendment rights of Wisconsinites and working to find other areas of bipartisan agreement. Maybe these career politicians should follow the example of someone with real-world experience. Clinton closed the address by taking questions from the audience for about 30 minutes. When asked whether Garland fits her criteria for a Supreme Court justice, Clinton skirted the question and said she didnt want to second-guess Obamas pick. But she offered that she would not appoint someone who thought Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, wasnt settled law, or someone who was not troubled by the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC case that cleared the way for corporations, unions and nonprofits to raise unlimited funds to make independent expenditures on elections. Clinton said during her address that if the high court did not overturn that decision, she would seek a constitutional amendment to limit the amount of money special interest groups may spend in elections. The idea, I believe, that money is speech turns our Constitution upside down, she said. Sanders is popular in Madison, especially among college students at UW-Madison. Even so, one of the first audience members to find their seats on Monday was Jack Nortman, a 21-year-old junior majoring in political science and history. Nortman said Clinton represented to him a way to continue what he described as economic progress under Obama. I think for me its an issue of, are we going to move forward? said Nortman. Former Gov. Jim Doyle, who also attended the event, said he expects Clinton and Sanders to battle in a close primary but speculated Clinton would come out ahead. I think this is going to be a very, very close primary, which is a very different thing, Doyle said. I think Hillary will win Wisconsin in November, which is what counts. Wisconsin as the 33rd state to vote in the Democratic presidential primary and 34th for the GOP is shaping up as a pivotal contest for both parties. For many Democrats, it is regarded as a state that Sanders must win to preserve a viable path to the partys nomination. Sanders, who held one of his first campaign events in Madison last summer, drew about 8,000 to the Alliant Energy Center on Saturday for a rally. Polls show Clinton and Sanders locked in a tight race in Wisconsin. A recent Marquette Law School poll showed Sanders leading by 1 percentage point. Another poll by Emerson College pegged Clinton with a 6-point lead, 50 percent to 44 percent. Both leads fell within the polls margins of error. Before Clinton left Madison, she stopped in Anthology on State Street with Madison Ald. Mike Verveer buying about $110 worth of goods including a red, chunky necklace, a couple pins and a print of a Neil deGrasse Tyson quote: The good thing about science is that its true whether or not you believe in it. Verveer said his parents are family friends of the Clintons. Verveers mother, Melanne Verveer, worked for Clinton when she was first lady. Shop employee Lindsay Quella, 23, said she had about an hour notice before Clintons visit. Theres never been this many people in here, she said, referring to journalists and campaign staff. State Journal reporter Mark Sommerhauser contributed to this report. 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. Legislator's Health Insurance Lawsuit has Obama Administration 'Grasping at Straws' Thomas More Society Religious Exemption Argument Keeps Wieland Rights at Forefront of Case Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 29, 2016 / In response to the Obama administration's rehashing the same argument already deemed already rejected by the United States Supreme Court. Thomas More Society Special Counsel Timothy Belz stated, "The government is grasping at straws in their argument. The Eighth Circuit agreed with the Wielands that the contraceptive mandate is indeed a substantial religious burden on them, and if an injunction is granted in their favor, then the state-run insurance company would be required under state law to provide a contraceptive-free policy. The court has also disposed of the government's other argument -- that the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate survives strict scrutiny. The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Sharpe Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decisions hold that the government flunks the strict scrutiny test." Wieland and his wife Teresa, like the owners of Hobby Lobby and Sharpe Holdings, object on religious grounds to mandated insurance coverage for contraceptives which includes abortifacients such as Plan B and Ella as well as sterilization. The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act assures them of religious liberty that cannot be federally usurped. The Wielands previously had exemption clauses in their policy, which were available to any employee, and easily accommodated by the insurance company, but that is something the Obama administration refuses to acknowledge. Read more about the Thomas More Society's defense of the Wieland family's religious liberty here. The United States Department of Justice filing from March 24, 2016 is available upon request. About the Thomas More Society Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit public interest law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, the Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. Visit Share Tweet Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 29, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Last week, attorneys for the United States Department of Health and Human Services filed a document in a civil lawsuit by a Missouri legislator to support the Department's motion for summary judgment that reiterated the same arguments previously rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Thomas More Society is representing Missouri State Senator Paul Wieland and his wife, Teresa Wieland, in Wieland v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, defending the Wieland family against the Affordable Care Act's controversial contraceptive mandate and the substantial religious burden it places on them. The lawsuit, in its simplest form, is the individual state employee's version of the well-publicized Hobby Lobby case in which the United States Supreme Court rejected Obamacare's infringement on religious rights. The Eighth Circuit soundly rejected the United States government's position and sent the case back down to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.In response to the Obama administration's rehashing the same argument already deemed already rejected by the United States Supreme Court. Thomas More Society Special Counsel Timothy Belz stated, "The government is grasping at straws in their argument. The Eighth Circuit agreed with the Wielands that the contraceptive mandate is indeed a substantial religious burden on them, and if an injunction is granted in their favor, then the state-run insurance company would be required under state law to provide a contraceptive-free policy. The court has also disposed of the government's other argument -- that the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate survives strict scrutiny. The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Sharpe Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decisions hold that the government flunks the strict scrutiny test."Wieland and his wife Teresa, like the owners of Hobby Lobby and Sharpe Holdings, object on religious grounds to mandated insurance coverage for contraceptives which includes abortifacients such as Plan B and Ella as well as sterilization. The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act assures them of religious liberty that cannot be federally usurped. The Wielands previously had exemption clauses in their policy, which were available to any employee, and easily accommodated by the insurance company, but that is something the Obama administration refuses to acknowledge.The United States Department of Justice filing from March 24, 2016 is available upon request.About the Thomas More SocietyThomas More Society is a national not-for-profit public interest law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, the Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. Visit www.thomasmoresociety.org home Faith Muslim shopkeeper killed after posting Easter greeting to Christians on Facebook A popular Muslim shopkeeper in Scotland has been murdered after he greeted Christians with a 'Happy Easter' message on social media. On Easter Sunday, 40-year-old Muslim shopkeeper Asad Shah posted an Easter greeting on Facebook, which also encouraged readers to follow the example of Jesus, who is also considered a prophet by Muslims. Three hours after he posted the message, he was attacked with a knife outside his newsagents shop in Glasgow, according to Breitbart. "Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation," Shah posted on Facebook. "Let's follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ and get the real success in both worlds." Aside from attacking him with a knife, the assailant also stamped on Shah's head. He was brought to the hospital in critical condition, but medics were unable to save him and he did not survive. Meanwhile, Scottish police confirmed that a 32-year-old Muslim man has been arrested in connection with the Muslim shopkeeper's death. Authorities vowed to launch a full investigation into the deadly Easter incident, which is being considered a religiously prejudiced attack. Shah was part of an Islamic sect called Ahmadiyyah which is being persecuted not only in the West but also in the Muslim world. The national constitution of Pakistan, Shah's home country, has been amended so that Ahmadiyyahs can be declared as non-Muslims, the report explains. Friends have set up a vigil near Shah's workplace and thousands of people have showed up in solidarity, including Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Mourners were encouraged to bring daffodils and light a candle during the vigil. They also set up a Gofundme page for the family he has left behind. Shah was a well-respected person in his community because of his conviction against hatred and violence. Twitter user Ehsan Abdoh-Tabrizi called him a "tolerant" Muslim who was killed by local extremists. Comanche harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex comanche). Public domain image by Alex Wild, produced by the "Insects Unlocked" project at the University of Texas at Austin. A new photography initiative is building a collection of high-resolution insect images and placing them online for anyone to download and use for free. The project, named "Insects Unlocked," was launched in the summer of 2015 under the supervision of Alex Wild, a curator of entomology at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA). Wild, a photographer and writer as well as an entomologist, has long championed the importance of photography's role in science communication and outreach. With UTA's support, Insects Unlocked involves students and curators in learning and mastering the use of professional photographic equipment to create public-domain images of a range of insects and spiders, too in the field and in curated collections. [In Photos: 'Insects Unlocked' Collection Shares Free Insect Images] Tiger beetle (Cicindela formosa). Public domain image by Christopher Johnson, produced by the "Insects Unlocked" project at the University of Texas at Austin. (Image credit: Christopher Johnson / UTA) One of the project's goals is to represent the diversity of "Texas' smallest wildlife," said a statement on the project's fundraising page. The high-resolution photos are released into the public domain, which means they are available for anyone to use at no charge and for any purpose personal, educational or commercial without permission or attribution required. Many of photographs' insect subjects reside in the University of Texas Insect Collection, Wild told Live Science in an email. The collection holds between 1 million and 2 million specimens, focusing on species that are native to Texas and Mexico. Wild, whose work as an entomologist explores ant evolution and taxonomy, began photographing insects more than a decade ago, and writes about insect photography for Scientific American. He built the imaging system that the Insects Unlocked group uses for the UTA insect collection. That group currently involves about 10 people, a mix of students at UTA and people in the larger Austin, Texas, community. (Rhynchophorus palmarum). Public domain image by Alejandro Santillana and Connor French, produced by the "Insects Unlocked" project at the University of Texas at Austin. (Image credit: Alejandro Santillana / Connor French / UTA) Response to the initiative has been very encouraging, Wild said, with Insects Unlocked images appearing in a number of different outlets: journal covers, news stories, Wikipedia pages, classroom presentations and corporate websites, to name a few. Insects Unlocked benefits the student photographers as well, imparting skills that can be applied to the students' future scientific efforts in species identification, collection and curation, Wild said. "Visual art skills are an extremely valuable asset for scientists," Wild told Live Science. "And in that vein, I see the primary benefit of Insects Unlocked is to provide young scientists with training they might not otherwise receive. "Of course, the free images that come out the other end are also useful," he added. Images are available to download at full resolution from the Insects Unlocked Flickr photostream. Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. The people of the Hadza society considered the act of poisoning the water supply equally bad regardless of intent, new research finds. Here, a Hadza family in Mangola, Tanzania. If someone were to walk off with your shopping bag in a crowded marketplace, would you judge the petty thief less harshly if he or she grabbed your bag by mistake? The answer to that question may depend on your culture, finds a study led by University of California, Los Angeles, anthropologist Clark Barrett. The researchers tested the degree to which intentions influence the way people judge the actions of others in societies across the globe. The result? The extent that intentions affect people's moral judgments varied across cultures. [Understanding the 10 Most Destructive Human Behaviors] Moral intent hypothesis According to most philosophical and anthropological research, and according to the law in many societies, intentions affect moral judgments, Barrett told Live Science. Take, for example, the distinction between first- and second-degree murder. The difference has to do not with the actual act itself, but rather with the state of mind of the perpetrator when committing the act, Barrett said. (A first-degree murder is premeditated; a second-degree murder is not.) More generally, "there are many cases where how harshly you might blame someone for doing something or failing to do something might depend on your judgments about whether they did it on purpose or not," he added. In fact, the scientific literature suggested that weighing intentions when making moral judgments was a universal human trait, an idea Barrett and colleagues termed "the moral-intent hypothesis." Most of the studies supporting this conjecture, however, took place in Western, industrialized countries. Barrett said he and his colleagues wondered if the hypothesis held true in small-scale societies in other parts of the world. Intent versus accident The study involved 322 participants in 10 populations on six continents. These populations included two Western societies, one urban (Los Angeles) and one rural (the Ukrainian village of Storozhnitsa), as well as eight smaller-scale communities from other parts of the world. In Western societies like Los Angeles, researchers found that intent seems to influence a person's moral judgments the most. (Image credit: shalunts / Shutterstock.com) To determine how study participants made moral judgments, researchers presented individuals with several stories in which a person, the actor, committed a harmful act of some kind; participants were then asked to rate the "badness" of the action, on a 5-point scale ranging from "very bad" to "very good." The scenarios included theft (of a shopping bag in a marketplace), physical harm (hitting someone), poisoning (a community water supply) and committing a food taboo (eating a culturally frowned-upon food). Importantly, the scenarios also varied by whether the wrongdoings were accidental or intentional. "The strong version of the moral-intent hypothesis would be that doing any of those things would be judged more wrong when one does it on purpose than when one does it by accident," Barrett said. Pardonable or not? Pooling data from all of the societies studied, the hypothesis held up: Overall, people regarded intentional actions about five times as severely as accidental ones. However, among the 10 societies, the extent to which intent affected moral judgments varied. In the Western societies, Los Angeles and Storozhnitsa, intent seemed to influence people's moral judgments the most. Whether an act was purposeful or inadvertent mattered much less to participants on the Fijian island of Yasawa, and to the Hadza and the Himba, two populations in Africa, than it did in other populations, Barrett said. [Op-Ed: The Evolution of Moral Outrage] For example, poisoning a water supply "was judged, essentially, maximally bad by the Hadza and the Himba regardless of whether you did it on purpose or by accident," Barrett said. "People said things like, 'Well, even if you do it by accident, you should not be so careless,'" Barrett added. In other societies, in contrast, while people still judged the accidental poisoning as bad, they viewed it less harshly than they did the malicious one. The researchers also examined the way other "mitigating" factors such as whether the agent acted in self-defense, acted based on misinformation or was insane might soften participants' moral judgments. Across the board, people viewed acting out of necessity the example of necessity given was knocking another person down to reach a water bucket to put out a fire and acting in self-defense as factors that would mitigate a moral judgment. There were also some cross-cultural variations in the factors that people regarded as mitigating: the factors of insanity or acting on mistaken information were seen as mitigating in L.A. and Sorozhnitsa, but not on Yasawa. "We in the West and people who have been educated in a Western scholarly tradition think that intentions are quite relevant to moral judgments, so one of the surprises of the paper was that there were more contexts and places than we might have expected when they [the intentions] were less relevant than we thought," Barrett concluded. "That might mean that there are many other examples of moral variation that we have yet to discover." The research was published online March 28 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Follow Ashley P. Taylor @crenshawseeds. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. The number of deaths from hepatitis C in the U.S. is on the rise, and the increase is hitting particularly hard among middle-age people, a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. The study found that the number of deaths in the U.S. from hepatitis C rose from 11,051 in 2003 to 19,368 in 2013. And baby boomers, or those ages 55 to 64, accounted for 51 percent of the deaths in 2013, according to the study, published online (March 17) in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The hepatitis C virus infects the liver cells and can lead to serious liver problems, including cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) or liver cancer. This rise in deaths from hepatitis C is "alarming," said Amy Nunn an associate professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island. Nunn is currently working on a study about hepatitis C screening and treatment in Philadelphia; she was not involved in the new report from the CDC. "This is an epidemic of enormous magnitude," she said. In the analysis, CDC researchers looked at data collected from death certificates in the U.S. between 2003 and 2013. The researchers compared the number of Americans who died each year from hepatitis C to the number of deaths from 60 other "nationally notifiable" infectious conditions, meaning diseases that health officials in every state are required to report to the CDC. These include HIV, pneumococcal disease, tuberculosis, measles, mumps, rabies and Lyme disease. [The 9 Deadliest Viruses on Earth] During the study period, there was an average yearly increase in deaths from hepatitis C of more than 6 percent, the researchers found. During the same period, deaths from the 60 other infectious conditions included in the study decreased: They fell from 24,745 in 2003 to 17,915 in 2013, or an average yearly decrease of more than 3 percent, according to the findings. In 2012, the number of Americans who died from hepatitis C exceeded the total number of deaths from all 60 of those other notifiable infectious conditions, the researchers found. The hepatitis C virus is one of five viruses that are known to cause hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C spreads primarily when people share needles, syringes or other equipment used to inject drugs. But before 1992, when the U.S. began screening the blood supply for the virus, hepatitis C was also commonly spread through blood transfusions and organ transplants. Less common ways of contracting the virus include accidental needle punctures among health care workers; sharing personal care items that may have come in contact with another person's blood, such as razors or toothbrushes; and sexual contact with a person infected with hepatitis C. Many people who are currently infected with hepatitis C are baby boomers who may have dabbled once or twice with an injectable drug when they were younger, Nunn told Live Science. Because people are not routinely screened for hepatitis C, about 85 percent of those infected with the virus don't know they have it, she said. There is a stigma and shame attached to hepatitis C because some of those infected are current or former injectable drug users, Nunn said. More screening, better treatment The study findings also come as no surprise to Dr. Raymond Chung, director of hepatology and the Liver Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, he said. "Hepatitis C may be a different beast from other infections" that affect the liver, that may be shorter in duration or have more symptoms, Chung said. Hepatitis C can be a silent illness, and people may have no symptoms for decades, allowing the disease to progress in the liver unnoticed, he explained. [7 Devastating Infectious Diseases] Three million to 4 million Americans may be chronically infected with hepatitis C, and most of those people are in their baby boomer years, Chung told Live Science. "That's the group where the epidemic resides," he said. Baby boomers were likely infected in the 1970s and '80s, and have had the disease for about three decades, Chung said. The illness may be diagnosed when these people seek treatment for their symptoms, but the individuals may already have more advanced liver disease and more complications from it, he said. Chung said that some people die from hepatitis C after the virus leads to liver failure or liver cancer, which reflects the trend of people being diagnosed only later in the disease process. This increase in the number of deaths may continue for another five years or longer before it peaks, Chung said. Then, the baby boomers will get older, and may be more likely to die from other causes. The challenge to health care providers is to identify people with hepatitis C earlier, through screening, and to get these individuals into care sooner, he said. There are now treatments that can cure the infection, or stop the development of the disease, Chung said. [Tiny & Nasty: Images of Things That Make Us Sick] Some of the medications used in the past to treat the disease were poorly tolerated and had lots of side effects, Chung said. "The cure had a reputation for being worse than the disease itself," he noted. The new drugs are better, but another problem is that they are very expensive, and some people are having a hard time getting access to them in early stages of the disease, Nunn said. Hepatitis C deserves more media and public policy attention than it has received, Nunn said. Awareness of the new findings may lead more people to seek screening and treatment, she said. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. Radar experts are casting doubt on claims that King Tutankhamun's tomb contains hidden, undiscovered chambers and they're calling for more data to be released. At a March 17 newsconference, officials at Egypt's antiquities ministry released radar data that they said showed the presence of hidden cavities inside the tomb of King Tut. The scans, carried out by Japanese radar technologist Hirokatsu Watanabe, "suggest the presence of two empty spaces or cavities beyond the decorated North and West walls of the burial chamber," they said in a statement. The scans also suggest the "presence of metallic and organic substances," and show what could be door lintels that indicate the presence of doorways, they said. Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves, Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, said the cavities may contain the burial of Tutankhamun's stepmom, Queen Nefertiti. [See Photos of King Tut's Burial and Radar Scans] However, Live Science contacted radar experts not affiliated with the project, and they said they doubt the validity of these claims. Some of these experts noted that the geology of the Valley of the Kings, which contains many natural voids, makes it difficult for radar to distinguish archaeological features from natural ones. A radar scan of the West wall of King Tut's tomb. Egypt's antiquities ministry suggested this was evidence of possible hidden chambers. (Image credit: Image courtesy of Egypt Ministry of Antiquities) "It does not appear that these GPR [ground-penetrating radar] data have been processed, or that any of the so-called anomalies are visible in the raw data that are provided," said Lawrence Conyers, a professor of anthropology at the University of Denver. Conyers literally wrote the book (now in its third edition) on the use of ground-penetrating radar in archaeology. "My suggestion to those who are collecting it is that they release the raw data for some peer review by other GPR people before they allow the antiquities people to hold a press conference about all the 'riches' that might be in these supposed tombs," Conyers said. "That [peer review] would cut down on all the speculation and critiques that have been going around by email the last few days, as there might be many scientists who could reach a consensus in advance of the speculation in the press." Michele Pipan, a geosciences professor at the University of Trieste in Italy, said the radar images released by the antiquities ministry show "many interesting features" but that the absence of vertical or horizontal scales on the images makes it difficult to determine how many feet behind the wall they are located. "I may only say that cavities and metals may fall within the reasonable detection range of a survey like that, but I obviously know nothing about the kind of inversion/interpretation procedure adopted by Watanabe," Pipan said, noting that more information on radar velocity is also needed. The inversion/interpretation procedure refers to the techniques used to gather and analyze the radar data. Live Science talked to other radar experts who agreed to comment only off the record. They also expressed doubts on the findings, and said there was a need for third-party review and the release of more data. The Egyptian antiquities ministry said more radar surveys will be conducted in the next few days, and another news conference is scheduled to take place on April 1 in Luxor. Economic crunch Egypt's tourism numbers have plummeted since the 2011 revolution that drove then-President Hosni Mubarak from power, according to other experts who spoke with Live Science. The country has been subject to terrorist attacks, including an attack by the Islamic State group that brought down a Russian plane in the Sinai Desert. Egyptologists have expressed hope that if Tutankhamun's tomb does, indeed, hold Nefertiti's tomb, it may help to bring back tourists and the badly needed jobs and income. Reeves recently told The New York Times that now is a good time to visit Egypt. "For anyone interested in Egyptian history, this is the time to plan a trip, because you're not going to get jostled by others the way you would have prerevolution. And, it's also a more affordable destination because prices have dropped," Reeves said. Reeves did not immediately return Live Science's requests for comment. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. Programme to allow vessels up to 14,000teu and change US shipping dynamics now 97% complete, with final testing in the coming weeks Final testing ahead of the opening of the expanded Panama Canal is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, with the official Panama Canal Expansion set to be officially inaugurated on Sunday 26 June. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced that the expansion programme - which will allow vessels with up to around 14,000teu capacity to navigate the canal, up from the current capacity of around 5,000teu - is currently 97% complete, adding: Final testing will be conducting in the following weeks, leading up to the official inauguration of the Expanded Canal on 26 June. Research last year by research by Boston Consulting Group and CH Robinson indicated that up to 10% of Asia-US container traffic could be re-routed to US east coast ports by 2020, following the opening of the expanded Panama Canal. While shipping direct from Asia to the US west coast will remain the fastest option for shippers for some inland destinations and for some types of cargo, a more cost effective solution will be to utilise the larger ships that will be transiting the expanded Panama Canal and calling at eastern seaboard ports, the report said According to Boston Consulting, two-thirds of container flow from Asia is landed at west coast ports, with much of that cargo then being forwarded as far east as the Ohio River Valley, or approximately three quarters of the way across the continent. But once the big, efficient post-panamax ships begin passing through the wider, deeper canal, the shipping dynamics will change, the report added. For many destinations, west coast ports will remain the landing place of choice, but these wont necessarily be the cheapest option. But for price-sensitive cargo that is relatively expensive to move, routing shipments through east coast ports to inland destinations will become more cost competitive and increasingly attractive, the report indicated. The report said this shift in cargo would have profound effects on both east and west coast ports, according to Lloyds List. On the west coast, ports are likely to experience slower growth than in previous years, altering the competitive balance between the two seaboards. It will also shape investment and routing decisions of rail and truck carriers and potentially alter the locations of distribution centres, according to Boston Consulting. ACP announced the launch date last week during the inauguration ceremony of the canals state-of-the-art Scale Model Maneuvering Training Facility, which will provide additional hands-on experience to pilots and tugboat captains to operate in the Expanded Panama Canal. The President of Panama, Juan Carlos Verela, was in attendance at the inauguration ceremony, along with the Panama Canal Board of Directors Chairman, Roberto Roy, and other members of the Board. The Scale Model Training Facility will allow us to continue providing world-class service to the global maritime industry, while guaranteeing safe and efficient transits through the soon-to-be inaugurated Expanded Canal, said Jorge Quijano, ACPs CEO. The dream of expansion will become a reality when we inaugurate the biggest infrastructure project in the history of the Canal and the country of Panama. The innovative 35.3-acre training facility features two lakes connected by a channel modelled after the Canal's Culebra Cut. The new facility features docking bays, replicas of the new and existing locks, gates, and chambers, all at a 1:25 scale. The facility is equipped with a number of meticulously created scale model Panama Canal tugboats, as well as ships built in France at Port Revel, including bulk carriers modelled after the Nord Delphinus, and a container ship modelled after the Maersk Edinburgh. In addition, a liquid natural gas (LNG) ship will be delivered by September 2016. The facility features wave and wind generators to provide a realistic, hands-on training experience for Canal pilots and tugboat captains to prepare them for the opening of the expanded waterway. It complements the training already provided at the Center of Simulation, Research and Maritime Development (SIDMAR) through immersive, 360-degree training simulations and courses. The Panama Canal is run by an autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. Regus, the worlds largest provider of flexible workspaces, announced Monday the opening of its first center in Laredo, located at 1100 Matamoros St. As the nations number one inland port between the U.S. and Mexico, Laredo draws a diverse business segment, said Wes Lenci, Regus regional vice president. Regus provides solutions for companies looking for short and long-term space to have an immediate and professional presence in the market. Laredos economy is rooted in international trade and most major transportation companies have a presence in the city. Banking, import/exporting and commercial warehousing drive the local economy. Regus space provides people in Laredo a convenient place to drop in and work for any amount of time, a news release states. Regus international portfolio includes locations in Mexico and Canada, so individuals traveling across North America can use any of Regus locations while traveling. Regus new space in Laredo is located inside of the Wells Fargo building in the heart of the central business district. Customers using this center will have access to international bridges and I-35. The U.S. district courthouse, county courts and Laredo City Hall are minutes away. Nearby San Bernardo Avenue provides a vast array of shopping and dining. Companies rely on the Regus network for affordability; ease of use and as an immediate entry point to business capitals around the world, the news release states. A receptionist, administrative team and tech support are standard services in each center. Regus Businessworld memberships provide access to the companys 2,000 signature drop-in business lounges, offering complimentary WiFi along with coffee and tea. In partnership with the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, Regus will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to celebrate its grand opening. Chamber attendees and Regus clients will attend the event. The public is also invited to attend and take a tour of the new facility. Check out our latest E-Edition Accessible anytime and anywhere on your desktop, tablet and smart phone devices. The Lodi News e-Edition is enhanced with the latest digital tools, including RSS feeds, social networking and much more. Check out our latest E-edition! The role of the Citizens information Service (CIS) in resolving workplace disputes was explored during a recent seminar in the Hilton Hotel in Kilmainham, Dublin. Connie Gerety, Development Manager Longford CIS, attended the event which was organised by the Advocacy Support Workers (ASW) Programme with the support of the Social Policy team of the Citizens information Board (CIB). The aim of the seminar was to provide high level information and training and to explore and clarify the theoretical, practical and social policy elements that arise. Angela Black, CEO of the CIB, explained that the National infrastructure to support the employment rights agenda has recently changed for the better. The new Workplace Relations Commission represents a step forward for lay advocacy and less formal access to employment rights. It has reduced and simplified the number of employment rights fora, streamlined timeframes and introduced the single online complaint form. These have all contributed to the creation of a more accessible and user friendly system, said Ms Black. Employment Law cases formed 20% of all advocacy cases handled by the CIS nationally in 2015. Geralyn McGarry, Social Policy Manager, CIB outlined the type of feedback received from CISs: "Employment rights issues feature consistently in social policy feedback from frontline information services as do issues relating to low wage employment and interaction with social welfare income supports. Employment protection issues for migrants are also a recurring theme. Other keynote speakers at the seminar, including Alan Haugh BL (Deputy Chair of the Labour Court), Hugh Lonsdale (Mediator with the Workplace Relations Commission - WRC) and Sarah OMahoney BL, demonstrated how the changes brought in by the Workplace Relations Act 2015 work in reality. Albany, NY - March 29th, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Department of Labor recovered $1.35 million in fraudulently collected Unemployment Insurance benefits in the first quarter of 2016, the largest quarterly total on record. The money was repaid to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund by claimants who collected Unemployment Insurance benefits for which they were not eligible. "We have no tolerance for those who seek to game the system at the expense of deserving New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "This administration will continue to aggressively crack down on the fraudsters and ensure that Unemployment Insurance benefits go to those who need them." Cases of suspected Unemployment Insurance fraud are identified and investigated by the Department of Labor's Office of Special Investigations and prosecuted by local District Attorneys offices. Successful prosecutions result in restitution to the Trust Fund. In 2015, the office set a record, collecting over $3.7 million in restitution from 568 cases statewide. However, the restitution collected in the first quarter of 2016 puts the Department on track to set a new annual record this year. The following District Attorney's offices were major contributors that contributed more than $50,000 of returned restitution during the January March 2016 period: District Attorney Total Restitution Erie $153,274 Queens $113,542 Monroe $111,793 Albany $91,712 Bronx $82,077 Suffolk $76,130 Orange $63,640 Onondaga $58,785 Rensselaer $56,372 Acting New York State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said,"Unemployment Insurance benefits are an important safety net for all New Yorkers and the State Labor Department is committed to safeguarding the system. Our staff works tirelessly to identify and root out fraud so the integrity of the Trust Fund is preserved. I thank the many District Attorneys offices that partner with us in this very important effort." The Department of Labor operates one of the largest Unemployment Insurance systems in the country. Employers across the state contribute to New York's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. When the Trust Fund is forced to pay out because of a fraudulent claim, employers have to pay more. It is in everyone's best interest to prevent Unemployment Insurance fraud. New York State is a national leader in the prevention and investigation of Unemployment Insurance fraud. In 2012, New York State was selected by the US Department of Labor to house the Unemployment Insurance National Integrity Center of Excellence, which is working to identify, develop and pilot new strategies and tools to combat improper payment and fraud on a national level. Anyone with information about possible Unemployment Insurance fraud should call the Department of Labor's anonymous toll-free fraud hotline at (888) 598-2077 or visit www.labor.ny.gov/fraud. Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: March 29 2016 Free Minority Health Fair to be Held April 7th at Mack Student Center. Nassau County, NY - March 29th, 2016 - In celebration of National Public Health Week, April 4th 10th, Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano, Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein and Hofstra University will again partner in the 3rd Annual Nassau County Minority Health Fair on Thursday, April 7, 2016. This event, from 12:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. in the Hofstra University Mack Student Center, Multipurpose Room, North Campus, is free and open to the public. The goal is to increase awareness of public health issues and chronic disease prevention. I am honored to participate with the Department of Health and Hofstra University in celebrating Public Health Week, said County Executive Mangano. I invite all to participate in this week-long celebration that promotes health. This is one of many collaborative events that assist us in addressing health disparities in Nassau County, said Health Commissioner Eisenstein. I am proud to partner with Hofstra University in our efforts to raise awareness of these important public health issues. Associate Professor and Director of Hofstras Master of Public Health program Dr. Corinne Kyriacou thinks that partnering with Nassau County helps attendees better understand the unique suburban context of the public health issues being addressed. Health promotion programs must be tailored to meet the specific needs of the communities they are intended to help, she said. The Nassau County Department of Health helps us maintain a local focus. Health fair attendees will have the opportunity to speak with local health professionals, obtain voluntary hearing, blood pressure, vision, dental and HIV screenings, and participate in exercise and healthy food demonstrations. Events earlier in the day include a discussion of the politics of food and soda with internationally known author and researcher, Dr. Marion Nestle (9:30 am - 11 am) and an interdisciplinary student film competition focusing on the Healthy People 2020 goals (11:10 am 12:25 pm). For additional information on event-specific activities occurring during Public Health Week and to RSVP, click here. Pets & Animal, Local News, Health & Wellness, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: March 29 2016 The NYS Department of Health reported that a raccoon submitted for analysis has tested positive for rabies. Hicksville, NY - March 24th, 2016 - The New York State Department of Health reported that a raccoon submitted for analysis has tested positive for rabies. The raccoon was recently collected in Hicksville by a licensed wildlife trapper. Raccoon rabies was first identified in Nassau County in 2004. Nassau County Department of Health has not reported a positive raccoon specimen since 2007. In response to this finding, the Nassau County Department of Health is asking residents to call the Department of Health at 516-227-9663 if they see any dead raccoons for possible collection and rabies testing or any sick or abnormal acting animals. Rabies is transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal. However, the virus may also be transmitted when the saliva of a rabid animal comes into contact with cut, open, or scratched skin lesions. To protect yourself from exposure to possible rabies: Keep domestic animals (dogs, cats, ferrets) on a leash and keep livestock confined in the evenings. Verify that your pets have current rabies vaccination, including dogs, cats, ferrets, livestock and horses. Do not touch or have contact with any animal other than your own. Do not touch dying or dead animals. If you must move them, use a shovel, wear heavy rubber gloves and double bag the carcass. Advise your family against approaching any unknown animal - wild or domestic - especially those acting in an unusual way. Instruct your children to tell you immediately if they were bitten or scratched by any animal. Notify the Health Department if a bat is found in a room where adults or children were sleeping, or if an adult enters a room and finds a bat with a child. Do not feed unknown animals and discourage them from seeking food near your home. Keep garbage cans tightly covered and avoid storing any food outside. New York State law requires all dogs, cats and domesticated ferrets to be vaccinated against rabies. If an unvaccinated pet or one thats overdue for its vaccination comes in contact with a rabid or suspected rabid animal, the pet must either be euthanized or strictly quarantined for six months. However, if a vaccinated animal comes into contact with a wild animal, it needs only a booster vaccination, but this immunization must be administered within five days of exposure. To protect your family and your pet, it is absolutely essential that your animals have up-to-date rabies inoculations. Individuals bitten or scratched by any animal should immediately contact their physicians or seek medical help at a hospital emergency room and then call the Nassau County Department of Health at 516-227-9663. For additional information on raccoon rabies, visit the Nassau County Department of Health website. 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 The US military revved up aerial assaults against al Qaedas official branch in Yemen during the month of March. The US launched at least six airstrikes against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in areas in southern Yemen this month, equalling the total from the five preceding months, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The US has conducted four airstrikes in the provinces of Abyan, Shabwa, and Hadramout between March 26-28, according to press reports from Yemen. The last strike took place on March 28, when US warplanes hit AQAP fighters stationed at the headquarters of Brigade 27 near the citys airport, an air defence camp and the house of the commander of the second Military Region in the city of Mukallah, the provincial capital of Hadramout, Reuters reported. The number of casualties has not been disclosed. The US carried out three airstrikes on March 26, including two in the villages of al-Hudhn and Naqeel al-Hayala in Abyan province, and another at an intelligence headquarters in Zinjibar the provincial capital of Shabwa according to Reuters. Fourteen AQAP fighters were reported to have been killed in the three strikes. On March 22, the US killed at least 50 AQAP fighters as warplanes pounded an AQAP training camp in Mukallah. The AQAP fighters were reportedly lining up for a meal when the camp was struck. And on March 4, the US killed four AQAP fighters after a drone struck a vehicle as it was traveling in Shabwa province. The six strikes in March equals the six strikes by the US in Yemen between October 2015 and February 2015. The US launched zero strikes in October and November 2015, one in December 2015, two in January of this year, and three in February. The uptick in strikes coincided with AQAPs rapid expansion of control in areas in southern Yemen since the spring of 2015. The cities of Zinjibar and Mukallah are currently controlled by AQAP, as is Houta, the provincial capital of Lahj province. AQAP administers large areas in southern Yemen in the provinces of Abyan, Hadramout, Lahj, and Shabwa. [See LWJ reports, Al Qaeda seizes more territory in southern Yemen and AQAP provides social services, implements sharia while advancing in southern Yemen.] The US has actively targeted AQAP leaders, operatives, and fighters in multiple airstrikes since 2009, but it has failed to halt AQAPs advance in the south. Although AQAP has lost several key leaders in American drone strikes since early 2015, this has not slowed al Qaedas guerrilla war. Among those killed was AQAPs emir, Nasir al Wuhayshi, who also served as a top official in al Qaedas global organization. Not only has AQAP continued to gain ground, it also quickly introduced new leaders to serve as public faces for the organization. The US airstrikes have also not stymied AQAPs focus on the West; AQAP masterminded multiple attacks against both the US and the West. Most recently, in January 2015, two AQAP fighters raided the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in the heart of Paris, and killed 12 people. AQAP has also provided key technical support to al Qaedas other branches, including Shabaab in Somalia and the Al Nusrah Front in Syria. Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. The 2015 Patent Act amendment changed the long-established rule, and determined that the employer may select in advance whether the right to obtain a patent for an employee invention belongs to the employer or the employee when the invention is made. The amendment comes into force on April 1 2016. Current system The current employee invention system is as follows, assuming that the right to obtain a patent for the employee invention belongs to the employee: The patent right for the employee invention could be transferred from the employee to the employer by agreement, employment regulation or other stipulation (stipulation). When the employee transfers the right for the employee invention to the employer, the employee shall have the right to receive reasonable value. Where the stipulation provides for the above value, the payment of value shall not be unreasonable in light of circumstances where a negotiation between the employer and the employee had taken place in order to set standards for the determination of the said value, the set standards had been disclosed, the opinions of the employee on the calculation of the amount of the value had been received, etc (negotiation, disclosure and opinion). Where no provision setting forth the value exists or where it is recognised that the amount of the value to be paid is unreasonable, the amount shall be determined by taking into consideration the amount of profit to be received by the employer from the invention, the employer's burden, contribution, treatment of the employee, etc. Problems of the current system The following problems have been pointed out in the current system: The ownership of a patent right is unstable because companies are not able to have the right to obtain a patent for an employee invention belong to themselves when the invention is made. The current system is not able to satisfy the various needs about economic profits for employee invention. It is unclear how the procedures of negotiation, disclosure and opinion should be followed in each specific case. New system In order to solve these problems, a new employee invention system is being introduced. 1) The right for employee invention is enabled to belong to the employer The right to obtain a patent for an employee invention is enabled to belong to the employer by stipulation. The instability in the ownership of a patent right will be eliminated. Some small and medium-sized companies, universities or research institutions may desire to have the right for the employee invention belong to the employee; if so, the system that such right belongs to the employee can be selected. 2) Right to receive reasonable remuneration or other economic profits An employee has a right to receive reasonable remuneration or other economic profits. Such economic profits include any profits other than money such as bearing of costs for studying abroad, providing stock option, and promotion causing salary increase. 3) Guideline for procedures to determine the details of the economic profits Negotiation, disclosure and opinion shall be considered in determining whether the economic profits for the employee invention are deemed to be unreasonable. The minister of economy, trade and industry will publish the guideline for the procedures concerning negotiation, disclosure and opinion. The JPO is publishing a draft guideline which reveals focal points about the procedures. Practical tips The amendment applies to employee inventions made after April 1 2016, whereas the current system applies to employee invention made before that date. In future R&D, it is preferable that companies record the details of the process by which an employee invention is made so that they can trace the date when the invention is made. The stipulation should be amended if companies desire to have the right for the employee invention belong to themselves. The provision of the stipulation should be clear that the right belongs to the employer when the invention is made. Companies are able to flexibly determine the economic profits for their employee according to their business type, scale and employee's needs. However, economic profits other than money may be evaluated differently by each employee. Companies should design the economic profits so that they will not be regarded as a disincentive for employee invention and explain the contents of the economic profit to their employees concretely. Companies should follow the guideline which will be published after April 1 2016 to reduce the legal risk. The draft guideline published now explains concretely what will likely cause unreasonableness of the economic profits in each stage of negotiation, disclosure and opinion. Companies need to follow the procedures when determining the economic profits so that the profits should not be regarded as unreasonable. In addition, in order to prove the facts for denying unreasonableness of the economic profits in the lawsuit which may be filed by their employees, companies should maintain a record to demonstrate how the procedure was conducted, such as meeting minutes of the negotiation and distribution materials to the employees. Takanori Abe Tomohiro Kazama ABE & PartnersMatsushita IMP Building1-3-7, Shiromi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 540-0001, JapanTel: +81 6 6949 1496Fax: +81 6 6949 1487abe@abe-law.comwww.abe-law.com Marie Claire newsletter Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Thank you for signing up to . You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) and are aged 16 or over. Imaan Hammam is the latest star to pose nude with just a towel, as part of legendary photographer Mario Testino's towel series. Imaan Hammam joins previous models, Bella Thorne and Kristen Stewart who also participated in the series. The beautiful photo series has seen a number of famed celebrities, from Naomi Campbell to Anna Wintour, pose in nothing but a towel for the lens. The classy black and white photographs have become a staple item in the aesthetic whirlwind that is Testino's Instagram feed, where the stars wear their towels - or towelling robe, in the case of Wintour - whichever way they prefer. On Testino's website, more about the project is revealed: 'Mario Testino's Towel Series began when he noticed Kate Moss sat in a white robe with a towel wrapped high around her head on the set of a shoot,' a post says. 'The ongoing series, published on Testino's Instagram, has grown to become a liberating lens.' 'I think girls and guys feel this freedom at being able to express themselves because there is no predetermined way of how they should put the towel on. You can do anything you want... wear it however you want,' the photographer elaborated. Well, all good things start with Kate Moss, of course, so we can't wait to see who's next. Scroll through our gallery to see a selection of images from the beautiful Towel Series. Imaan Hammam Imaan Hammam towel series Imaan Hammam Imaan Hammam towel series Jessica Hart Towel series Bella Thorne Bella Thorne Towel Series.jpg Naomi Campbell Mario Testino Towel Series Jourdan Dunn Mario Testino Towel Series Miley Cyrus Mario Testino Towel Series Kendall Jenner Mario Testino Towel Series Sienna Miller Mario Testino Towel Series Lily Aldridge Mario Testino Towel Series Georgia May Jagger Mario Testino Towel Series Gigi Hadid Mario Testino Towel Series Justin Bieber Mario Testino Towel Series Blake Lively Mario Testino Towel Series Rosie Huntington Whiteley Mario Testino Towel Series Selena Gomez The first container ship belonging to Iran's IRISL docked at Antwerp after departure Homburg. According to MANA, a cargo ship belonging to Iran's IRISL docked at Antwerp as her second port, becoming the first Iranian ship to reach Europe after a hiatus of over six years. The first container ship from IRISLs fleet after six years arrived to the port of Antwerp, Belgium as 2nd European port on her own path to Europe. The MV.Azargoon one of container ship owned by IRISL fleet in late March with the loading and unloading of goods at the port of Hamburg, had left this port and arrived and berthed in port of Antwerp, Belgium. IRISL container ship fleet by implementing JCPA and after six years of sanctions, was welcomed by President of port of Antwerp and Chris Adams, head of DPW terminal of the port and the other port officials. A plaque of port of Antwerp was presented to commander of vessel by Harbormaster of this port. MV.Azargoon was also welcomed in the port of Homburg by port authority in late March as her first port of call in European ports. The cargo operation of MV.Azargoon have already begun and after cargo loading, the Persian Gulf would be her next call. DP World Group Chairman and CEO HE Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem recently met the President of France, Francois Hollande and senior government and business leaders at a major investment summit at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Frances attractiveness as an investment location and DP Worlds projects in the country were highlights of the discussions which also covered infrastructure development, port centric development, distribution and export hubs, rail freight, customs, and other logistics topics. HE Bin Sulayem outlined DP Worlds contribution to global trade, investment opportunities in France and the potential for further collaboration in the trade, transport and logistics sector. HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World, said:, "France is an important partner in DP Worlds European operations. Our existing investments in Frances container ports and how they can be given further impetus formed part of the meeting. Participants were keen to know more about our global experience and expertise in moving goods across continents, connecting markets and enabling trade. He said: France has many attributes such as a skilled workforce, good infrastructure, proximity to the European hinterland and a unique position with coastal access to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and North Sea. It was a privilege to highlight our operations there and to provide our knowledge to this major economic power as it seeks to develop investment opportunities in the future. DP World operates marine terminals in the ports of Le Havre and Fos, responsible for handling approximately 50% of all of Frances container traffic. The Port of Le Havre on the French north coast is ideally situated as the gateway to Paris and the industrial north. The port is rail linked and has direct access to the River Seine by barge to and from the Paris conurbation. Generale de Manutention Portuaire (GMP), a joint venture between DP World and CMA-CGM, operates two marine terminals in Le Havre. The Terminal de France is the deep-sea container terminal, capable of handling the largest vessels. The Terminaux Nord also includes general cargo and Ro-Ro services. The Eurofos marine terminal at the Port of Fos, near Marseille in the south of France is also a joint venture between DP World and CMA-CGM and is Frances southern gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. Eurofos operates the largest container terminal in France 1.6kms long with 4 berths. It has direct barge access to the Rhone river leading north to central France including the major city of Lyon and road and rail links into the western Europe hinterland. Trade between Dubai and France in the first 9 months of 2015 reached AED 15.30 billion. The UAE is the largest market for French businesses in the Middle East with a quarter of French exports to the region. Over 5,300 French companies trade with the country, 60% of them SME exporters. The UAE also has 250 subsidiaries of French companies present in the country. Damen Shipyards Group has developed a committed response to the increasing number of laid up Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) resulting from the current predicament facing the offshore oil and gas industry. The Dutch companys solution involves converting idle PSVs into vessels capable of taking on roles in alternative sectors such as aquaculture, shipping and defence. The situation that the offshore oil and gas industry is experiencing is having serious consequences throughout the sector. Compounding factors include historically low oil prices, halted exploration projects and reduced production. This vicious circle is completed by a substantial drop in support vessel day rates. Damen has a solution to get these vessels active and profitable once again. Our design teams have come up with workable ideas across several industries. For example, we can convert a laid up PSV into a profitable Container Feeder or, for naval operations, a Logistic Support Vessel, informs Damen Sales Manager Remko Hottentot. The possibilities are numerous. It will also be possible to transform a PSV into an accommodation and O&M vessel The ship conversion know-how stems from Damens worldwide network of fifteen repair and conversion yards. With a strong reputation for engineering, craftsmanship and project management skills, Damens conversion teams are highly experienced in giving vessels a new lease of life, while staying on schedule and on budget, states Mr Hottentott. One example of an already developed proposal is the Damen Live Fish Carrier 8916 for the aquaculture industry. Here, the concept of using the existing PSV platform is ideal, yielding many advantages for live fish carrying situations. In addition to permanent conversion concepts, Damen can also create temporary designs. These can be applied to vessels originally built by Damen or other shipbuilding companies. Based in Damens Stavanger office, Sales Manager Norway Remko Hottentot has witnessed the sight of ports and harbours dotted with laid up PSVs. We can offer significant design and conversion expertise to owners and operators looking for effective solutions, he says. In combination with reliable financing support, this makes up a unique combination of activities that can be translated into realistic conversion packages. A European PATRIOT Act Will Not Keep People Safe It was not long after last week's horrifying bombings in Brussels that the so-called security experts were out warning that Europeans must give up more of their liberty so government can keep them secure from terrorism. I guess people are not supposed to notice that every terrorist attack represents a major government failure and that rewarding failure with more of the same policies only invites more failure. I am sure a frightened population will find government promises of perfect security attractive and may be willing to allow more surveillance of their personal lives. They should pause a little beforehand and consider what their governments have done so far to keep them "safe." The government of France, for example, has been particularly aggressive in its Middle East policy. Then-French President Sarkozy was among the most determined proponents of "regime change" in Libya. That operation has left the country in chaos, with much of the territory controlled by an ISIS and al-Qaeda that were not there before the "liberation." As we learned last week from Hillary Clinton's emails, Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron were much more concerned with getting their hands on Libya's oil after the overthrow of Gaddafi. The creation of a hotbed of terrorism that could easily make its way to Europe was not important. They wanted to secure enormously profitable deals for well-connected French and English energy companies. Likewise, European governments have been very active in the five-year, US-led effort to overthrow the Assad government in Syria. This foolish move has boosted both ISIS and al-Qaeda in Syria to the point where they nearly over-ran the country late last year. It has also led millions to flee their war-torn country for a Europe that has opened its doors with the promise of generous benefits to anyone who can make it there. Is it any surprise that so many hundreds of thousands took them up on the offer? Is it any surprise that in this incredible flood of people there may be more than a few who are interested in more than just free housing and a welfare check? Europeans should be demanding to know why their governments provoke people in the Middle East with aggressive foreign policies, and then open the door to millions of them. Do their leaders just lack basic common sense? Usually the so-called security experts who advise more government surveillance after a terrorist attack have a conflict of interest. They often benefit when the security state is given a bigger budget. Insecurity is the bread-and-butter of the security "experts." But why is it that after a terrorist attack, governments are rewarded with bigger budgets and more power over people? Shouldn't failure be punished instead of rewarded? As in the United States, the security crisis in Europe is directly tied to bad policy. Until bad policy is changed, no amount of surveillance, racial profiling, and police harassment can make the population safer. Europeans already seem to understand this, and as we have seen in recent German elections they are abandoning the parties that promise that the same old bad policies will this time produce different results. Hopefully Americans will also stand up and demand a change in our foreign policy before bad policy leads to more terrorist violence on our shores. Dr. Ron Paul Project Freedom Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives: Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. In the words of former Treasury Secretary William Simon, Dr. Paul is the "one exception to the Gang of 535" on Capitol Hill. Dr. Ron Paul Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. How Low Will Donald Trump, Republican's Sink? Donald Trump, whose ego is larger than Trump Towers, called Sen. Marco Rubio Little Rubio, a derogatory reference to the Florida senators height. Rubio responded by saying that Trumps hands were too small for the size of his body. And you know what they say about guys with small hands, Rubio counterpunched, adding that Trump doesn't sweat because his pores are clogged from the spray tan. Trump, said Rubio, isn't gonna make America great, he's gonna make America orange. The pro-Rubio crowd in Salem, Va., loved it. Unfortunately, Rubio wouldnt be able to zing Trump much more, dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination less than a month later. During the past two weeks, just when the people didnt think politics could sink lower, Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proved the people wrong.Lyin Ted was behind the latest attack, said Trump.Was not.Was so.Was not!The media circus had left Rubio in the Everglades and rolled onto the elementary school playground where Trump and Cruz, now the two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, were squabbling and jabbing at air over pictures of their wives.A photo of Trumps wife, nude and alluring, first appeared in a 2000 GQ photo spread, and was widely spread by social media 16 years later, challenging voters to decide if thats what they wanted in a First Lady. Later evidence revealed that a Cruz SuperPAC, officially unaffiliated with the campaign, was probably behind planting the salacious photo in front of the voters.Retaliating, Trump tweeted side-by-side pictures of his wife and Cruzs wife; the glam-photo of Melania Trump, a former model, was something that models send to agents to get photo shoots; Heidi Cruz was seen in a photo that made her look to be too ugly to even be a stand-in for the Hansel-and-Gretel witch. When Cruz called Trump classless, the man once known as The Donald threatened to spill the beans about Cruzs wife. The beans, coated with the ink of the National Enquirer, sprung the news upon a public that salivates at every sordid allegation in the presidential race, that Cruz had multiple extramarital affairs. Cruz, as expected, denied the allegation and claimed Trump and his henchmen had planted the story. Trump denied it.About the same time the national media and every blogger in America had published the 75th rerun of the same story and were looking for something else to amuse themselves when ISIS terrorists killed three dozen and injured more than 150 persons in Belgium. The Barnum & Bailey It Cant Get Any Worse political media circus took center stage, and the elephants began talking. President Obama was in Cuba on a diplomatic mission when the terrorists attacked. After the obligatory comments by the Tea Party wing of how the U.S. needs to turn the desert into glass and attach a monitor to the back of every Muslim who survives the genocide, even those who are U.S. citizens, they attacked President Obama, condemning him for being in Cuba when he should be in the White House leading the destruction of ISIS.The right-wing, more concerned about TV lights and sound levels than reality, are unaware that the president of the United States doesnt make policy and defense decisions for Belgium or that the president has full communications and dozens of civilian and military aides wherever he is, not just in an office in a building in the nations capital. It really doesnt matter what the candidates and their own staffs believe, the reality is that the blathering was recorded by the media and then channeled to the public who are waiting to hear every syllable of every word that Trump, Cruz, and fellow politicians are spewing. The voices also follow the dictate that whatever President Obama or any Democrat says or does is wrong. Jimmy Carter stayed at the White House for six months during the Iran hostage crisis, and the Republicans said he was wrong to do so. George H.W. Bush vacationed in Maine during the beginning of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and the Republicans backed the one-term Republican president for not being in the White House, knowing he had just as much capability to function in Maine as he did in Washington, D.C.But, Obama is different. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell so decreed in 2008 that the primary function of the Republicans would be to block whatever Obama wants, even if it is good for the country.So the past two weeks, the clowns were juggling attacks not only on a sitting president who isnt eligible to run for any more terms, and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the two leading Democrats for the presidential nomination, but also on their own leading candidates, who are daily proving that hype will always trump the truth in a presidential election.So far, Clinton and Sanders have focused upon policy issues and not resorted to bar room politics. If either expects to win the election, they now need to focus upon the greater issues of a campaigntheir opponents appearance. [Dr. Brasch is author of Unacceptable: The Federal Governments Response to Hurricane Katrina , the first major book that looked at the causes, problems, and effects of the storm. He and Rosemary Brasch, two years before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, had written a series of articles that predicted the United States was not prepared for a major disaster.] [Dr. Braschs current book is Fracking Pennsylvania, which looks at the impact of fracking upon public health, worker safety, the environment, and agriculture. The book--available at local bookstores and amazon. com--also looks at the financial collusion between politicians and Big Energy.] By Walter M Brasch PhD http://www.walterbrasch.com Copyright 2016 Walter M Brasch Walter Brasch is a university journalism professor, syndicated columnist, and author of 17 books. His current books are America's Unpatriotic Acts , The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina , and Sex and the Single Beer Can: Probing the Media and American Culture . All are available through amazon.com, bn.com, or other bookstores. You may contact Dr. Brasch at walterbrasch@gmail.com Walter Brasch Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Why Putin Loves Donald Trump If you religiously devour world viewpoints you know that Russia loves Donald Trump, but might not know why it does. Russias Fort Russ (fort-russ.com) thinks, In the US they already noticed that the Kremlin is sympathetic towards Donald Trump: state media and members of the political leadership of Russia have given positive feedback of the eccentric scandalous billionaire and expressed hope that he will be the next President of the United States. [1] It was only a parenthetical remark made by Vladimir Putin last December, but it shocked even some Western defenders. He [Trump] is a bright and talented person without any doubt," Mr. Putin said, adding that Trump is "an outstanding and talented personality." [2] The Russian leader called Trump "the absolute leader of the presidential race." [3] Followers of Russia Today (RT.com, John Kerry's favorite media demon) already know that critics of Washington policy, (e.g., Ron and Rand Paul) are often guests on RT interviews offset by other shows with center-to-left hosts. It described Donald Trump as "idiosyncratic and raw," and suggested he represents the popular will of U.S. voters. "Can America's elections be truly called democratic if the political establishment aligns itself against the popular will?" lamented Peter Lavelle, the American host of RT's flagship "CrossTalk" show. [4] As Americans were taught to admire Mikhail Gorbachev with scant knowledge of how Russian people viewed him, Russians are taught to admire Donald Trump with little knowledge of how American people view him. Views are usually based on national self-interest and identity. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a canonized saint to Westerners because he was an outspoken critic of the Soviet Union as Mr. Trump today is an outspoken critic of the U.S. "establishment". Donald Trump chose Carter Page for foreign policy advisor, which Fort Russ (March 28) found has very exotic views about the world, by American standards. He believes in conspiracy theories, agrees with Chinese TVs criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, and fiercely defends Russia from Western sanctions. Insofar as Russian affection for Mr. Trump, the views of Trump's adviser Carter Page help understand the reason for this affection. Who is Carter Page and what are his views? Mr. Page worked with investments in the oil and gas industry as a consultant of the Russian state monopolist Gazprom before creating his own investment fund Global Energy Capital. In a February 2015 essay by Mr. Page for Global Policy (globalpolicyjournal.com), analysis is paid to U.S. establishment figures leftovers from the George W. Bush administration that contributed to the unfair series of events in the Ukraine, Russia and other sovereign states with misguided and provocative actions. [5] He singles out Bush-leftover and neocon Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland who, along with Republican war-hawk John McCain, engineered the February 22, 2014 Ukraine Maidan coup that violently overthrew the democratically elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych while convincing U.S. mainstream media especially the CIA-Pentagon friendly Washington Post and New York Times that the coup wasnt really a coup but a victory for democracy. Mrs. Nuland, wife of neocon Robert Kagan and former spokesperson for Sec. Hillary Clinton, used de facto Nazis, ultra-nationalists and neo-fascist militias from Western Ukraine while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry remained detached. This fact, along with dozens more about U.S. conduct in the world, is indisputable though relatively unknown to Americans because of media silence. Preeminent American Russian scholar and liberal Stephen F. Cohen told conservative talk-show host John Batchelor (WABC-AM NYC, March 22) he would never vote for Mr. Trump but maybe the whole truth about why America started another Cold War with Russia will enter public discourse after years of media censorship. [6] Trumps challenge might lead, if the mainstream media does its job, to the public debate over U.S. foreign policy that has been missing for twenty years and certainly during the 2016 presidential campaigns. If it doesnt, said Cohen, he'd question democracy. In 2013, former President Jimmy Carter claimed, America has no functioning democracy. [7] Why would he choose Donald Trump over Ted Cruz today? Because Trump has proven already that he's completely malleable. I don't think he has any fixed opinions that he would really go to the White House and fight for." [8] He added, Ted Cruz is not malleable. He has far right-wing policies, in my opinion, that would be pursued aggressively if and when he would become president." From Russias perspective, it is beset with NATO hugging its borders and militarizing former Soviet states all the while Western media claims Putin is the aggressor who intends to invade Europe, who shot down MH-17, who ordered the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London, who is a gangster and a thug. U.S. inspired Putin did it propaganda has degenerated to such a bizarre point of incredulity that NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Philip Breedlove (a.k.a. Dr. Strangelove) accused Moscow of weaponizing refugee migration to Europe to destabilize the European Union. Together, Russia and the Assad regime are deliberately weaponizing migration ... to break European resolve, he told the Senate Armed Services Committee (Sen. John McCain, chairman) March 1. [9] In truth, refugees arent entirely fleeing ISIS; they are tragically immigrating into the very NATO countries that ironically are bombing their homeland, only to face more violence from anti-immigrant far-right nationalists. From Russias perspective, the U.S. and NATO have consistently violated international law by invading foreign countries in order to conduct regime change (through color revolutions or by military force). Insofar as Russian participation in Syria, it was by invitation from Bashar al-Assad to defend Syria against terrorists: both ISIS and so-called moderate rebels (a.k.a. US-NATO mercenaries culled from the ranks of al-Qaeda and other militant Islamist groups). As it stands, American sanctions against Russia have backfired bringing Russia and China into new economic and military alliances. EU member states are debating defying Washington by lifting sanctions in order to resume once-stable economic cooperation and co-dependency. Europe does not want war with Russia, or with China. "Donald Trump is a brave pro-Putin political maverick who would end U.S. foreign wars and perhaps lift sanctions on Moscow," critiqued Reuters. "Hillary Clinton, however, is a warmonger beholden to the military-industrial complex." [10] Dmitry Kiselyov is presenter of Russia's main weekly TV news show "Vesti Nedeli," "Trump doesn't suit the Republican party," Kiselyov told viewers. "They usually divide up the state budget (among themselves) by frightening people about Russia. But Trump is ready to find a common language with Putin. That's why they [Republicans and Democrats] don't need Trump and even regard him as dangerous." Trump has received advice from Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, a former U.S. military intelligence chief who advocates better ties with Russia, and who shared a dinner table in Moscow with President Putin last December to celebrate RT's 10th anniversary. [11] "For the last two years all we heard from Western newspapers and TV was very critical of Russia," Victoria Zhuravleva, a Moscow-based expert on U.S.-Russia relations, told Reuters. "So when you hear something that is not so critical and even more friendly towards your country it's like: 'Thank God, There's one person we can talk to: Donald Trump'." Postscript: After the bloody American engineered coup in Ukraine, Vice-President Biden's son Hunter Biden joined the board of directors of Ukraine's largest oil company at a time that the U.S. was urging Ukraine to develop energy independence from Russia and just days after the vice president visited Ukraine. [12] "Good U.S.-Russian relations are potentially very lucrative for the Trump Organization," wrote Reuters. In 2013, Mr. Trump met with Russian partners to discuss building a replica of his SoHo residential development project in Moscow. I have a great relationship with many Russians, and almost all of the oligarchs were in the room, he told Real Estate Weekly. In 2013 he revealed plans to construct a skyscraper in Russia, similar to New Yorks famous Trump Tower. "The candidate's foreign-policy positions are conveniently aligned with his long-standing business agenda," Reuters noted. "But whats good for the Trump Organization isnt necessarily good for America." [13] Sources: 1. Trump Hires Former Gazprom Consultant as Foreign Policy Adviser. Kristina Kharlova (translator). Fort Russ. March 28, 2016. http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/03/trump-hires-former-gazprom-consultant.html 2. Putin praises 'bright and talented' Trump. Jeremy Diamond and Greg Botelho. CNN. December 17, 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/17/politics/russia-putin-trump/index.html 3. Putin says he considers Donald Trump to be absolute leader of US presidential race. Tass Russian News Agency. December 17, 2015. http://tass.ru/en/politics/844947 4. "Trump's warpath". CrossTalk, RT. March 18, 2016. https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/336069-presidential-election-trump-america/ 5. New Slaves, Global Edition: Russia, Iran and the Segregation of the World Economy. Carter Page. Global Policy. February 10, 2015 http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/10/02/2015/new-slaves-global-edition-russia-iran-and-segregation-world-economy 6. NATO & Russia After The Brussels Attack. John Batchelor and Stephen Cohen. The John Batchelor Show. March 22, 2016. http://tunein.com/radio/The-John-Batchelor-Show-p138426/ 7. Jimmy Carter on NSA: 'America has no functioning democracy'. Kristen Butler. UPI. July 18, 2013. http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/07/18/Jimmy-Carter-on-NSA-America-has-no-functioning-democracy/6541374165224/ 8. Jimmy Carter: I would choose Donald Trump over Ted Cruz. CBS News. Feb. 3, 2016. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jimmy-carter-i-would-choose-donald-trump-over-ted-cruz/ 9. Russian Airstrikes In Syria Are Helping ISIS Terrorists Into Europe: US Air Force General. Christopher Harress. IBT. March 1, 2016. http://www.ibtimes.com/russian-airstrikes-syria-are-helping-isis-terrorists-europe-us-air-force-general-2328259 10. "From Russia with love: why the Kremlin backs Trump". Andrew Osborn. Reuters. March 24, 2016. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-russia-idUSKCN0WQ1FA 11. "Trump being advised by ex-U.S. Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties". Mark Hosenball and Steve Holland. Reuters. February 26, 2016. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-advisor-idUSMTZSAPEC2Q6G3JRH 12. "Biden's Son Gets Ukrainian Oil Company Gig". Jordyn Phelps. ABC News. May 13, 2014. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/05/bidens-son-gets-ukrainian-oil-company-gig/ 13. "Trumps Long Romance With Russia". Josh Rogen. Bloomberg View. March 15, 2016. http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-03-15/trump-s-long-romance-with-russia (c) 2016 Michael T Bucci. All Rights reserved. Michael T Bucci is a retired public relations executive currently living in New England. He has authored nine books on practical spirituality collectively titled The Cerithous Material. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. U.S. Lifted The Crude Oil Export Ban, And Exports WentDown Just over three months after the authorities lifted the four-decade ban on crude oil exports, the U.S. has actually exported less this year than it did over the same period the year before, when the ban was still in place. According to Clipper Data market intelligence cited by the Financial Times, we've seen a 5 percent decline in U.S. crude oil export volumes since the beginning of this year. The data suggests that on average we are exporting (waterborne) 325,000 barrels per day now, compared to 342,000 barrels per day during the first months of 2015. And there's no official data yetnot since the beginning of this year, when the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that during the week ending 22 January , the U.S. had exported just shy of 400,000 barrels of oil, which again was 25 percent less than what was exported for the same week in 2014.An oil tanker that reached a French port in January was the first post-ban delivery of U.S. crude oil, but things haven't really picked up pace since then.January's cargoes, totaling about 11.3 million barrels, marked a 7 percent decline from U.S. crude exports in December, according to data by the U.S. Census Bureau . Shipments during January went to Curacao and France, in addition to Canada, the primary destination. The total number of tankers that have set sail with U.S. crude oil will not be known until comprehensive data on February's shipments is released by the U.S. Census Bureau.The immediate beneficiaries of the ban suspension are gas and oil companies such as Chevron and Exxon Mobilamong the most tireless lobbyers against the banand oil trading giants such as Vitol Group BV and Trafigura Ltd Pet.Europe and Asia are flooded with oil from Russia and the Middle East, though the first two shipments to leave the U.S. post-export ban went to Europe: one to Germany and the other to France, to be used in a refinery in Switzerland. Dutch media outlets reported in January that a tanker from Houston had reached Rotterdam port, but this remains just a drop in the global export bucket.In Asia, even China's state-run Sinopecthe world's second-largest refinerhas imported a consignment of U.S. oil, according to a Reuters source . Japan's Cosmo Oil was the first Asian buyer of U.S. oil, purchasing some 300,000 barrels of U.S. crude in mid-January, which will be delivered to its refineries in mid-April.The very first South American country that will import U.S. crude oil is Venezuela. In early February, Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA imported a 550,000-barrel cargo of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) through its U.S.-based Citgo Petroleum affiliate . Venezuela started importing foreign crudes in 2014 amid a fall in its own production - buying mostly Angolan and Nigerian light grades.WTI is also expected to be exported to Israel, where Swiss commodities house Trafigura will ship some 700,000 barrels. Atlantic Trading & Marketing, the U.S. trading unit of French Total SA, has been planning an export cargo of U.S. crude from Cushing.Also, earlier this month, Exxon became the first U.S. oil company to export U.S. crude, sending a tanker from Texas to a refinery it owns in Italy.However, storage is now at the highest level in at least a decade. U.S., crude storage levels hit 487 million barrels in early November, closing in on the 80-year high of 518 million barrels in the last week of February. According to the EIA , about 60 percent of the U.S. working storage capacity is filled.Globally, the picture isn't much better, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) saying that 1 billion barrels were added to storage in 2015 alone. OPEC has reported that crude oil stockpiles in OECD countries currently exceed the running five-year average by 210 million barrels.Article Source: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Lifted-The-Crude-Oil-Export-Ban-And-Exports-WentDown.html By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com 2016 Copyright OilPrice.com - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Nearly 18 years after the incident occurred, a Martinsville man has been indicted in connection with a fatal hit and run. According to records in the Henry County Circuit Court Clerks Office, Glen Michael Mouyios, 43, of 380 Glasgow Drive, Martinsville, was indicted last week on a charge of felony hit and run stemming from an Aug. 11, 1998 incident that claimed the life of Ray Anthony Kellam, 45. Mouyios was arrested March 22 after turning himself in, those records continue. He was jailed on a $7,500 personal recognizance bond and currently is out on bond. According to Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester, Mouyios is scheduled for a counsel hearing on April 14 and his pre-trial is scheduled for May 16. On Monday, Virginia State Police Special Agents Billy McCraw and Rick Conley provided an interview to the Martinsville Bulletin to discuss the investigation. According to McCraw, the incident occurred around 1:18 a.m. on Aug. 11, 1998, on U.S. 220 Business in Ridgeway. Kellam was halfway across the northbound lane of 220 when he was struck by a vehicle. There was little concrete evidence found at the scene, Conley said, with the exception of a few paint chips and a plastic piece from the wheel well of the vehicle that struck Kellam. However, he said, the piece had a serial number printed on it, and State Trooper T.A. May, who arrived on the scene after the incident, and Special Investigator Diane Mandeville used the car part as a springboard for the investigation. "They were able to take (the part) to the local dealerships and finally were able to identify the piece as having come from a 1995 or 1996 Mazda Protege," Conley said. "From that, they were able to request from the Department of Motor Vehicles a list of all (Proteges) registered in a five or six county radius. The DMV did produce those documents for them." However, McCraw said, that list contained hundreds of vehicles, and initially was of little help. After a long period with little advancement in the case, McCraw said, in 2011, the Virginia State Police sent a release to the Martinsville Bulletin asking for tips regarding the incident. After the release ran in the paper, McCraw said, the state police received a number of promising phone calls and tips, but those tips didnt bring them much closer to a suspect. "Weve had either a trooper or special agent assigned to the case since Aug. 11, 1998," McCraw said. "Sometimes when these things go cold, they go cold for awhile. Sometimes it takes luck. Sometimes it takes good police work. Sometimes it takes a tip from the public. I think in this case, weve had a little bit of everything come together at the end." Earlier this year, McCraw said that some information was brought to the attention of the state police that significantly narrowed down the list of suspect vehicles and ultimately directed them toward one particular 1995 Mazda Protege. The vehicle in question was not owned by the suspect, Conley said, although the suspect was known to drive it and it was connected to one of the suspects family members. McCraw said that the vehicle was sold at some point in 2000 however, Conley said, it was not in an attempt to get rid of evidence. The vehicle has changed hands four or five times since then, McCraw said. Investigators believe that its original owner had knowledge that it was involved in the crash, but do not believe that any subsequent owners knew its history. "As soon as we received our initial tip, Special Agent Conley and I immediately jumped on this with both feet," McCraw said. "We did not initially interview Mr. Mouyios. We started doing a little bit of background. Probably within a couple of days of having this information, we contacted Mr. Mouyios. We interviewed several people that we felt might have information that would further our investigation." "Special Agent McCraw, after interviewing a few people, went back through the records and once that name of Glen Mouyios was mentioned to us, found a vehicle that piqued our interest as being associated with him," Conley added. Mouyios initially was approached by state police on Feb. 8, McCraw said, and has been cooperative with the investigation. He turned himself in on March 22. The suspect vehicle has not yet been located, McCraw said. The agents have tracked it to North Carolina, where it was last registered in 2008. While the North Carolina Highway Patrol and North Carolina DMV have been assisting the Virginia State Police in the search for the vehicle, the agents ask that anyone with information regarding the location of the 1995 Mazda Protege silver/gold in color contact the Virginia State Police at (800) 542-5959. Out-of-state residents can call (540) 375-9500. McCraw said that its unusual for such a long time to pass between a fatal hit-and-run and the arrest of a suspect. However, he said, just because a lot of time passes without an arrest after an incident, it does not mean that police are not actively investigating. "From our standpoint, when we contacted family members and advised them that we had made an arrest in this case, I think it was like a weight being lifted, being able to give them some kind of closure," McCraw said. "The biggest regret that I have is that we were not able to (arrest a suspect) earlier, before Mr. Kellams mother and father passed away. I think it probably would have been a relief to them knowing what had happened to their son." One of Kellams family members his sister Betty Ann Moon said that she felt wonderful after McCraw and Conley told her that a suspect had been arrested in connection with her brothers death. "He loved people, and everybody loved him," she said of Kellam. "He was a wonderful person. I still miss him. It seems like hes still living, because I think about him every day." RICHMOND With an admonition from the governor to keep down tuition costs, state higher-education officials Monday began processing the details of a budget package that promises $313 million in additional funding but comes with greater oversight on how it is spent. The two-year budget approved by the General Assembly increases the role the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia will play in awarding funds and in reviewing proposed tuition increases. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has not yet signed the budget legislation, but he told the presidents of public colleges and universities to keep increases to 3 percent. Ive always been very straight with you. I dont run your institutions, dont pretend to run your institutions, McAuliffe said at the meeting at SCHEVs offices. But he told them to make other cuts before raising tuition. Too many children are running up too much debt, he said. Its getting too expensive and were really pricing some of our children out of the market. Several universities already have approved increases in tuition and fees for next year of about 3 percent, including the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. But language in the assembly budget would provide greater state-level oversight of tuition the responsibility of each institutions governing board and that hasnt set well with the presidents. While the budget does not place a cap on tuition increases, it would require review by SCHEV and legislative leaders. McAuliffe declined to say whether he will keep the language when he acts on the budget next month. John Broderick, president of Old Dominion University and chairman of the Council of Presidents, said some of his colleagues had expressed policy concerns over whether the language would lose track of what the role of the board of visitors traditionally has been. SCHEV Director Peter Blake told the presidents that the review would only be of tuition and the portion of fees directly related to instructional costs. The state does not provide funds for auxiliary enterprises such as sports, housing and dining operations, which can constitute about half of college costs. According to SCHEV, the budget will infuse higher education with $313 million over two years and represents a welcomed, sharp reversal of recent funding trends. SCHEV will have a stepped-up role in determining how some of the funding will be spent. Blake will chair a new seven-member Virginia Research Investment Committee that will review schools proposals for spending $22 million over two years to attract high-performing researchers with success in commercializing their work. The budget includes $56 million in additional financial aid for undergraduates and graduates. In the second year of the budget cycle, however, $24.1million of the undergraduate aid would be moved to SCHEV and will be distributed based on the recommendation of an assembly panel called the Joint Subcommittee on the Future Competitiveness of Virginia Higher Education. Other budget items would provide: $104 million to enhance access to higher education, with an emphasis on minimizing increases in undergraduate tuition and fees; $20 million more for new equipment such as computers and research equipment through the bond-supported Higher Education Equipment Trust Fund. SCHEV says the $168 million total allocation will be the largest in the funds 30-year history; and $12.5 million for SCHEV to create and oversee a workforce-training program for public two-year transfer and community colleges and higher-education centers. The program would provide grants for noncredit courses such as industry credentials and certifications. A decision has not yet been made as to the localities with which Martinsville-Henry County will be partnered as part of a new coalition intended to help foster job creation and growth within the private sector statewide. GO Virginia, formally known as the Virginia Initiative for Growth and Opportunity in Each Region, was formed by the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and the Council on Virginias Future. The coalition aims to push for state incentives that will encourage collaboration among businesses, educational institutions and government in each region and provide a framework to implement business organizations and political leaders strategies to boost the private sector, according to Martinsville City Manager Leon Towarnicki. A major part of GO Virginia will be the creation of 8-10 regional councils statewide. The councils will be grouped based on similar regional interests, such as transportation or economic needs, officials have said. Three options for being part of a regional council are available to localities in the West Piedmont Planning District, of which Martinsville-Henry County is part along with Danville and Pittsylvania, Patrick and Franklin counties. Each option has advantages and disadvantages, officials have determined. One option is to partner with the Roanoke and New River Valley areas. Another is to partner with the Lynchburg area. Both options would enable Martinsville and Henry County to work with metropolitan areas on projects as well as have ties to major colleges and universities. Because of their larger populations, however, those areas might have more influence in the partnership than Martinsville and Henry County, according to city officials. Another option would be to partner with other localities in Southern Virginia east of Pittsylvania County. The Henry County Board of Supervisors has not declared a preferred option, County Administrator Tim Hall said. Martinsville City Council members have indicated they could live with any of the options. Still, Councilwoman Sharon Brooks Hodge, a city representative on the West Piedmont Planning District Commission, said the council would prefer for Martinsville to be aligned with the Roanoke area due to ongoing efforts to get Interstate 73 built through the region. Danville and Pittsylvania County, on the other hand, might be more interested in aligning with the Lynchburg area because they share another major four-lane highway, U.S. 29, Hodge said. The desire is not to split planning districts between different GO Virginia councils, although a district could have dual memberships in more than one council, she said. Being part of a council with the largely agricultural counties east of Pittsylvania could help Martinsville-Henry County access Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission funds, Towarnicki said. Martinsville-Henry County also could "have a larger voice" and "be a bigger player" in such a council, said city Councilman Gene Teague. Hodge said, though, she questions how the community could partner with Brunswick County, for instance, on a project due to the lengthy distance between them. Towarnicki recently told the city council that, based on information he received from planning district Director David Hoback, Roanoke and the New River Valley want to focus on their Virginia Tech connections and are not interested in partnering with either Martinsville-Henry County or Lynchburg. Also, he said, areas east of Pittsylvania hope to align themselves with areas along and near U.S. 360, which runs to the Richmond area. "It looks like nobody wants us," he told the council. Hoback could not be reached for comment on Monday. The state will decide which GO Virginia council that the West Piedmont joins, although residents, business people and government officials will be able to voice their opinions during a public hearing the time, date and location of which has not yet been announced, according to Hodge. "The key is going to be getting some of our folks (residents) appointed" by the state to whichever council that the West Piedmont becomes part, Teague said. On Sunday an official state ceremony was held in Dublin to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. The officials present, including the men of the Church, represent a class that did not support the Rising in 1916, but who now wish to present themselves as heirs to that heroic struggle. Here Alan Woods exposes the utter hypocrisy of these people and recalls what the Rising was really about. "The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour. They cannot be dissevered. Ireland seeks freedom. Labour seeks that an Ireland free should be sole mistress of her own destiny, supreme owner of all material things within and upon her soil. Labour seeks to make the free Irish nation the guardian of interests of the people of Ireland, and to secure that end would vest in that free Irish nation all property rights as against the claims of the individual, with the end in view that the individual may be enriched by the nation, and not by the spoiling of his fellows (...) Is it not well and fitting that we of the working class should fight for the freedom of the nation from foreign rule, as the first requisite for the free development of the national powers needed for our class? It is so fitting." (James Connolly, Labour and Easter Week, p175) Last Sunday in Dublin a ceremony was held as the culmination of a series of events organised by the Irish government to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Easter Rising. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of the Irish capital to witness the grand finale. The soldiers paraded. The bands played Reveille and the Irish national anthem. Six Aer Corps aircraft flew above the capitals main thoroughfare billowing smoke in the colours of the national flag. Tears were shed. The leaders made speeches. The crowds applauded. It was all very impressive. The chief impresario and ringmaster of the show was Acting Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny. He said it was "important that we bear witness this centenary year to all those who gave their lives during Easter 1916".A number of former Irish presidents and prime ministers were special guests at the ceremony. The Great and Good of the Emerald Isle were all there, dressed in their finery with the solemn faces one usually associates with a good funeral. Among the assembled dignitaries one noticed a well-known face. Alongside the well-dressed ladies and gentlemen of the Irish ruling class Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness stood respectfully to attention. The Deputy First Minister said it was "a very special day". In a way I suppose that was true. It was very special that the representatives of that class that condemned the Easter Rising and abhorred everything it stood for could bring themselves to stand before the people of Ireland and pretend to praise it one hundred years after it was all over. It was very special that the men in black cassocks who railed against the rebels and poured curses on their heads, saying that the Easter Rising was against God, could now raise their pious hands to Heaven and offer belated prayers for their souls. It was very special that the same Irish capitalists who hated everything that James Connolly stood for could now talk about a new Ireland based on the sacred principles of justice and freedom. It was very special that those same bourgeois politicians who have been slashing the living standards of the Irish people to the bone, slavishly carrying out the orders from Brussels and Berlin could now talk of the fight for Irish Independence and the wonderful achievements of Ireland that were bought by the blood of the martyrs of 1916. And this comedy they managed to perform with a straight face. Yes, it was all very special. And most special of all was the fact that Martin McGuinness, smartly turned out in suit and tie as befits the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, could be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Great and Good of the Irish Republic and offer fulsome praise for a shameful charade that was no more than a gratuitous insult to the memory of the martyrs of the Easter Rising. The Establishment and the Easter Rising The truth is that the respectable Irish middle class was appalled at the Rising. There were a large number of Catholic middle class people who were doing quite well under British rule. They saw no need to disturb the status quo. The sleek and prosperous burghers of Dublin were queuing up to condemn the men and women of Easter week. Town and county councils all over the country were falling over themselves to join the chorus of disapproval. The Irish Parliamentary Party under the leadership of John Redmond had a very cosy relationship with the British ruling class. Redmond had even urged Irishmen to enlist in the British Army. He and his ilk loathed the very idea of an armed uprising. They and their middle class supporters lost no time in condemning it. The bourgeois nationalist politicians were quick to denounce the Rising, cynically echoing the official line that the rebels were in league with Germany. The scoundrel Redmond went so far as to write: This attempted deadly blow at Home Rule is made more wicked and more insolent by the fact that Germany plotted it, Germany organised it and Germany paid for it. Only later, when the cold blooded murder of Irish prisoners by the British army provoked shock and revulsion in the population did they feel obliged to issue a lukewarm protest. The same was true of the Catholic Church. In the period immediately after the events of Easter week seven bishops explicitly condemned the rebels, denouncing the Rising as contrary to the law of God. Most of the rest maintained a complicit silence. Had they condemned the Rising the hierarchy, in the wake of the Rising and especially the executions that followed, would have faced a revolt. Catholic priestsHowever, the Vatican was not so coy. The Secretary of State at the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, sent a telegram on 30 April to the Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Michael Logue, asking the Irish hierarchy to cooperate with the authorities in re-establishing law and order and not to inhibit the task of the government in subduing the rebels. That is to say, the Church must support the British army in its bloody work and by no means hinder the work of the executioners. In a typical piece of Vatican intrigue the first telegram was leaked to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and it subsequently appeared in English translation in British and Irish newspapers. In some Irish Catholic circles it generated hostility and resentment, but Gasparri later sent a second letter to inform the Pope that the rebels had surrendered and peace had been restored. The Daily Mail reported that this message gave the pope much pleasure. A question of balance More than 450 people were killed and 2,500 injured during the fighting in Easter Week. The leaders were subsequently murdered by the British army without the slightest trace of a trial. James Connolly was too seriously wounded to be able to stand before a firing squad. So they shot him strapped to a chair in the stonebreakers' yard at Kilmainham Gaol. Now a monument is erected to celebrate the dead of Easter Week. That is to say, to celebrate ALL the dead: the rebels who rose against imperialism and were slaughtered by the enemy, some of them in cold blood, and alongside the names of the victims we will be able to read the names of some of those who killed them. It is all a question of balance, you see. In the name of balance, the lamb is placed next to the butcher; the oppressor is placed next to the oppressed, the hanged man is placed next to the hangman. What a beautiful picture! Such balance! Such poise! There is one of two possibilities. Either this is a work of art that puts Michelangelo to shame. Or it is a cynical example of facing both ways at once, of cowardly evasion, of dodging and diving, of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. We are sorry to say that the second variant is by far the more convincing. The entire history of the Irish bourgeoisie is a history of cowardice, treachery and betrayal. They have always traded with the cause of Irish freedom as they traded with potatoes, boots and bacon. For centuries they have sold the Irish people at bargain bottom prices. They are still doing it. But in order to fool the people and conceal their real nature, from time to time, they dress themselves up in the stinking rags of a fraudulent patriotism. And as everybody knows, patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Here we see patriotism in its lowest, most hypocritical form. One hundred years after that bloody Easter, we are supposed to forgive and forget. Murderers and victims are supposed to embrace each other in a posthumous act of forgiveness from the other side of the grave. And since dead men tell no tales, the opinions of the deceased need not be consulted. A woman whose grandfather was one of those dumb victims of imperialism spoke for them when she protested: It is not right to put the names of the oppressed side by side with the representatives of the oppressors. It is not the first time we have witnessed such loathsome hypocrisy. In Spain we saw exactly the same disgusting spectacle. One million people were killed in the Spanish Civil War. Countless others were imprisoned and tortured. Yet the leaders of the Socialist and Communist parties signed a sell-out deal with Francos heirs that accepted the Monarchy and the privileges of the Catholic Church. The torturers and murderers were allowed to get off scot-free. The corpses of their victims are still lying unburied in olive groves and mountain sides. All this in the name of peace and reconciliation. In Chile, Argentina and South Africa we have seen the same lamentable story. Only now the people are beginning to demand justice and reclaiming the historical truth. But in Ireland the historical truth is hard to find. It is buried deep under a mountain of lies, distortion and pseudo-patriotic claptrap. Last Sundays charade is only the latest episode in this long line of lies that is meant to pass for Irish history. The Irish bourgeoisie wants reconciliation. It desires, it yearns for it with every fibre of its being. It wants to see harmony between rich and poor, workers and capitalists, oppressors and oppressed. It fervently desires peace and national unity. After all, are we not all Irish? Only some Irish have done rather better than others. During the years of crisis, when constant appeals were made for all to accept sacrifice in the cause of Ireland, the rich have grown richer and the poor have grown a lot poorer. Behind the appeals for national unity, the bosses have been robbing and fleecing the workers. In order to distract their attention, the same bosses now wave the Tricolour flag and sing songs about reconciliation and harmony. They even summon the martyrs of 1916 as witnesses for the defence. But the Irish workers are not so easily hoodwinked. They know that the unity of which the bosses speak is the unity between the horse and its rider. Connolly erased from history For one hundred years the Irish ruling class that same cowardly and treacherous ruling class that has always betrayed the fight for Irish freedom has striven with might and main to falsify the historical record, to cover up the endless list of its crimes and betrayals, to blacken the names of those true revolutionaries who fought for freedom or, better still, to expunge their names from history altogether. This is particularly the case with that great Irish socialist revolutionary, James Connolly, the real leader of the Easter Rising. For years they have systematically played down his role, preferring to play up the role of the poet and teacher Pearse. But in reality it was James Connolly who was the heart and soul of the Easter Rising. The most determined elements of the armed struggle were made up of the proletarian fighters of the Citizens Army the first Red Army in the world. It was no accident that the British generals decided to murder Connolly. They recognised in him their most determined and dangerous enemy. And the reason for this was that he always combined the struggle against British imperialism with the revolutionary struggle for the emancipation of the working class. For Connolly, the Irish capitalists were no less of an enemy than the British imperialists. Connolly was not fighting for an Irish bourgeois republic in which one gang of exploiters and oppressors would merely be replaced by another. He was fighting for an IRISH WORKERS REPUBLIC neither more nor less. As he marched out to meet his death on that fateful day in Easter, Connolly warned his followers that the struggle was not only against British imperialism but against the bourgeois nationalists: "In the event of victory, hold on to your rifles, as those with whom we are fighting may stop before our goal is reached. We are out for economic as well as political liberty." (Greaves, Life and Time of James Connolly, p403) That was a constant theme in all his writings from first to last. As early as 1897 he warned: If you remove the English army to-morrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle, unless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic your efforts would be in vain. England would still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through the whole array of commercial and individualist institutions she has planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers and the blood of our martyrs. England would still rule you to your ruin, even while your lips offered hypocritical homage at the shrine of that Freedom whose cause you had betrayed. Nationalism without Socialism without a reorganisation of society on the basis of a broader and more developed form of that common property which underlay the social structure of Ancient Erin - is only national recreancy. One hundred years after the Easter Rising, how true these words still ring! Ireland, they say, is now truly independent. But is that really true? Today Ireland remains completely tied to British capital. More than 50 percent of its exports are sold in the British market. 90 percent of its oil imports and more than 90 percent of its gas imports come from Britain. No wonder the Irish bourgeoisie received Her majesty the Queen with the same grovelling sycophancy that a well-trained valet greets his master. To be fair, however, the dependency of the Irish bankers and capitalists on British capitalism is not as great as it was for the simple reason that the role of Britain in world affairs is not what it was. Britain has declined to the point that it has become a relatively unimportant island off the coast of Europe. It is not David Cameron but Angela Merkel who calls the shots in Europe nowadays. And so it is quite natural that the Irish bourgeoisie should look for a new master with whom to practice that grovelling subservience that it has perfected over a long time and which it has raised to the level of an art form. In recent years the Irish bourgeoisie have slavishly followed the dictates of the real rulers of Europe, who are not in London but in Brussels, or, more accurately, in Berlin. The same people who last Sunday wrapped themselves in the Tricolour and were beating their breasts about Irish independence for the last few years have been slavishly carrying out the orders of the European bankers, which are very much to the liking of the Irish bankers, but not at all to the liking of the Irish workers and farmers. We can imagine what James Connolly would have said on this subject. But Connolly lies in his grave. His voice is silenced. His socialist message is drowned out by the din of military bands and triumphal speeches, the drone of the priests chants and the roar of air force jets, the deafening cacophony of mind-deadening rhetoric and bombastic propaganda. The real message of the Easter Rising is being buried. Its banner is trampled under the boots of marching men. Its memory is disgraced. Its martyrs are being murdered for a second time. Two Irelands Those who delivered the speeches last Sunday consider themselves to be patriots. Nay more: they believe they have an absolute monopoly on patriotism. They alone have the right to speak in the name of Ireland. But as in every other country on this terrestrial globe, there is not one Ireland but two: rich and poor, exploiters and exploited, capitalists and workers. We have no doubt whatever in the sincerity of those thousands of ordinary Irish men and women who turned out on Sunday to remember those brave men and women who challenged the mightiest Empire the world had ever seen and willingly sacrificed their lives for the cause of Irish freedom. Their tears were honest tears. Their tributes came straight from the heart that most generous heart that beats in the breast of the Irish masses, the men and women of no property who were always the real motor force for progress in Ireland. But for the politicians and bishops, the bankers and capitalists, the hack journalists of the prostitute press, the sycophants and lackeys of imperialism for those lineal descendants of the ladies and gentlemen of Dublin society who cursed and spat at the rebels and shouted shoot the bastards as they were dragged away, covered in blood and dirt, exhausted and despairing to face the firing squad for these we have nothing but the deepest contempt. We Marxist internationalists celebrate the Easter Rising in our own way: not with parades and speeches but in a way that James Connolly would approve of. We swear on the sacred memory of those who fell in the fight for freedom and socialism that we will take up the fallen flag and continue that fight to the end. Eternal memory to the revolutionary martyrs of 1916! Long live the Irish working class! Long live the world socialist revolution! Workers of the world, unite! London, 29 March 2016 A collaborative Montana partnership is bringing unique educational opportunities to K12 students throughout the state. The group "We Are Montana in the Classroom" http://www.inspiredclassroom.com/we-are-montana/ has organized and created an interactive virtual classroom that brings distance-learning to isolated rural and tribal communities across Montana. To keep these classrooms going, "We Are Montana in the Classroom" has partnered with "Inspired Classroom," and is powered by "VisionNet," http://www.vision.net a tech group based out of Great Falls. And there are plenty of benefits from this new distance-learning venture. More than 6500 students have been reached in the first year of this initiative, and from here its only growing. By Joshua Robinson Full Story: http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/31579867/virtual-classroom-opening-doors-for-k12-montana-students Bozeman-based Sustainable Bioproducts http://www.sustainablebioproducts.com/ recently received a $300,000 grant to help develop technology that turns biological waste into oil-based products using a microorganism from Yellowstone National Park. Sustainable Bioproducts was among eight companies across the nation to be awarded the two-year, Phase II grant in February through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Small Business Innovation Research program. By Lewis Kendall Chronicle Staff Writer Full Story: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/economy/company-receives-grant-to-turn-waste-into-products/article_2daf4dd4-52c7-5e4d-8402-a0b0887ed77e.html PC Magazine, Tuesday, March 29, 2016 9:05 AM It should come as little surprise that Googlewhich is slowly looking to play more in the Internet of Things spaceis now looking to build its own competitor to Amazon's Echo. When the company released its OnHub router, which supports Google's own Thread and Weave protocols, in addition to Bluetooth 4.1, I half-expected the cylindrical device to come with support for voice commands. No luck there, but that doesn't mean Google is content to let Amazon lead the pack as far as virtual home assistants go. According to The Information, Google is working on a competing device. We don't know any details. Knowing Google, though, you can bet that it will likely be based on Google Now; here's hoping the company gives it a more personalized touch (or even a name) like Amazon's Alexa or even Apple's Siri. Read the whole story at PC Magazine by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, March 28, 2016 Internet service providers are undermining "the spirit and the text" of net neutrality rules by rolling out new so-called zero-rating services, which exempt certain material from consumers' monthly data caps, a coalition of advocacy groups says in a new letter to the Federal Communications Commission. Data-cap exemptions "enable ISPs to pick winners and losers online or create new tolls for Web sites and applications," the groups argue. "As a result, they present a serious threat to the Open Internet: they distort competition, thwart innovation, threaten free speech, and restrict consumer choice -- all harms the rules were meant to prevent." The letter, signed by more than 50 organizations, takes aim at the data-cap policies of four broadband carriers -- Comcast, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Those companies all offer plans that limit the amount of data subscribers can use in a given month, but don't count all data equally when calculating the total amount consumed. advertisement advertisement In Comcast's case, the advocates focus on Stream -- a new $15-a-month service that gives broadband-only subscribers access many of the same programs that cable customers can watch. Videos watched through Stream are exempt from the company's hugely unpopular usage-based billing, which now affects 15% of Comcast's customers. People subject to usage-based billing can only consume 300 GB of data a month before they're charged overages of $10 per 50 GB. (Subscribers in some markets can pay an extra 30 or $35 a month for unlimited data.) Comcast has argued that Stream doesn't violate net neutrality principles for several reasons, including that it's a "cable" service, and therefore not subject to net neutrality rules. The letter also addresses T-Mobile's relatively new Binge On, as well as "sponsored data" offerings from AT&T and Verizon. BingeOn now exempts video streams offered by around 50 companies from data caps, but also throttles all video to 1.5 Mbps. Binge On is activated by default, but users can always turn it off. AT&T and Verizon zero-rate data from companies that pay to sponsor it, and in Verizon's case, from its own video service, go90. "These practices distort competition, stifle innovation, limit user choice, harm free speech, and drive up prices," the groups write. Organizations signing the letter include the Center for Media Justice, Daily Kos, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Free Press. "In their current iterations, each of these plans run afoul of both the spirit of net neutrality and of the Open Internet rules." The letter comes several weeks after the advocacy group Public Knowledge filed a complaint with the FCC about Comcast's Stream. Public Knowledge -- which wasn't among the signatories to today's letter -- asked the FCC to order Comcast to either stop capping broadband data or to stop zero-rating Stream. At the same time, criticism of T-Mobile's Binge On appears to have decreased in recent weeks, as more companies have joined. At first, Binge On was only available to around two dozen companies that streamed video. But since then, the program has grown to include around 50 companies -- including Google, which was excluded at launch. Google initially was among the loudest critics of Binge On, but now says it supports T-Mobile's initiative. The CTIA chimed in today that free data services are "pro-consumer, innovative offerings that we should all embrace." That organization urged the FCC to "reject efforts to take away from consumers these free data services and options. Questions surrounding zero-rating systems have been in the news for months, but it's still not clear whether the FCC views those initiatives as problematic. The net neutrality rules prohibit broadband providers from blocking or degrading service and from creating online fast lanes. The regulations also broadly ban Internet service providers from engaging in conduct that interferes with people's ability to access Web content. Zero-rating could potentially violate that prohibition depending on the circumstances. The FCC has said it intends to take a case-by-case approach the question. The advocates who wrote to the FCC today predict that zero-rating plans "will continue to expand," unless the agency takes action. "We urge the FCC to respond to the proliferation of these plans, fulfill its mandate to protect Internet users, and enforce its Open Internet rules," the groups write. by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, March 29, 2016 George Lopezs wanderings through Sitcom Land have landed him at TV Land, where he is launching his third sitcom Wednesday night. Lopez and the folks at TV Land have concluded that the comedian and the network are a good fit, based on the success of Lopezs first sitcom, George Lopez, whose reruns have been running on co-owned Nick At Nite since 2007. It is reportedly the highest-rated show on Nick At Nite. That was the sitcom Lopez starred in and co-created for ABC, where it ran from 2002 to 2007. His second comedy series was short-lived. It was called Saint George, and it aired on FX from March to May 2014, when it was cancelled. advertisement advertisement In between sitcoms, Lopez, 54, had a late-night talk show, Lopez Tonight, which aired for two seasons on TBS, 2009 to 2011. The story on that show was that it was derailed by the arrival of Conan OBrien in 2010. Before that, Lopez Tonight was the only late-night show on TBS. Airing weeknights at 11 Eastern, it was the networks first-ever foray into late-night talk. A year after it premiered, however, OBrien made his famous exit from NBC and TBS took up the opportunity to hire him. His show, Conan, was slotted at 11 oclock and Lopez Tonight was pushed to midnight for its second season, after which it was not renewed. Clearly, as much as anyone, George Lopez knows the vicissitudes of TV program development and production -- from network to cable, and from prime time to late-night. This time around, his show has a one-word title, once again derived from his own name -- Lopez. And instead of playing a fictional factory worker named George Lopez (as he did in George Lopez) or a middle-class, small-business owner named George Lopez (as he did in Saint George), hes now playing a successful comedian named George Lopez who is more or less himself. The premiere episode of Lopez indicates that this was the right move. It enables him to act like himself in situations he himself has experienced (although the situations are exaggerated and embellished for TV). It also allows him to use his clout to draw a diverse group of guest stars. In the premiere of Lopez, two of them are Snoop Dogg and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who play themselves. He also picked the right home for this new comedy. TV Land is distinguishing itself with some of the best half-hour original comedies anywhere on TV with Younger, Teachers, The Jim Gaffigan Show and others. Lopez will fit right in. The premiere of Lopez sets up the scenario: This George Lopez is a successful, reasonably wealthy entertainer, so he lives in an upscale neighborhood in which he is the only Chicano. As he goes through his life, several things repeatedly happen to him. People mistake him for the parking valet, and friends and neighbors are always asking him to come and meet their housekeepers, who are always described as huge George Lopez fans. In this weeks episode of Lopez, George is accused of racism when he absentmindedly mistakes Mayor Villaraigosa for a parking attendant. Elsewhere in the episode, George agrees to be the star of a celebrity auction for his daughters private school, the prestigious Bragmoor Academy. The winning bidder gets George to act as an assistant for whatever chores the winner wants --including landscaping and parking cars (or washing them). Just about the only jarring aspect of the Lopez premiere is how it ends -- which is that it really has no ending at all. Its as if the show either ran out of time or no one could figure out how to close out this storyline anyway, so they just decided to bring it to a sudden and abrupt end and let the credits roll. As awkward as that ending is, it at least means that the show left me wanting more, as opposed to so many shows -- especially sitcoms -- whose endings cannot come soon enough. In the case of Lopez on TV Land, Episode Two cannot come soon enough. Lopez premieres Wednesday night (March 30) at 10 Eastern on TV Land. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, March 28, 2016 WPPs Sudler & Hennessey, the healthcare communications network, has acquired Viscira a digital marketing in the healthcare sector. Terms werent disclosed. The acquired firm develops interactive, digital marketing programs for clients in the pharmaceutical industry. Visciras 2015 revenues were $17 million, according to the holding company which also asserted that Visciras client roster includes 17 of the worlds top 25 pharmaceutical companies comprising over 135 unique brands. Viscira employs over 100 people and is based in San Francisco, with offices New York and London. It was founded in 2007. Sudler & Hennessey is part of WPPs Branding & Identity, Healthcare and Specialist Communications group. Collectively, including associates, the companies in this group generate revenues of around $6 billion and employ over 80,000 people. by Wayne Friedman , March 28, 2016 Pay cable TV network group Starz will rebrand with a new marketing and messaging look, unifying its Starz and Encore channels. Beginning April 5, Starz and its Encore suite of channels will undergo this marketing transformation. Starz intends to offer a single master brand -- the Starz brand name -- across Starz and and Encore networks. A major tagline will be: Starz: Obsessable. Starz is partnering with Troika, a Hollywood-based branding and marketing agency, for this effort. One marketing area is focused around the idea of understanding fans and fandom. In a recent study conducted by Troika, 85% of adults consider themselves to be fans of something, and 70% identify as fans of a TV series. At the end of 2015, Starz had 23.6 million U.S. subscribers, with the Starz Encore network at 32.2 million subscribers. The new Starz service will represent up to 14 linear channels (11 in HD) and about 5,000 movie titles and television episodes every year, including nearly 2,200 movies. Jeffrey Hirsch, president of global marketing and product planning, Starz, states: Harnessing the power and resonance of the Starz flagship brand and bringing the expansive movie and television series offerings under one brand is good for the consumer and the distributor alike. by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, March 29, 2016 One of the best and most entertaining ways to stay abreast of political developments and opinions across the spectrum is listening to podcasts. A variety of political podcasts covering the 2016 election range from conservative to liberal. All use conversational and interview structures. Below is a list of three political podcasts that will keep you up to date with the presidential election and provide insights from Washington elites and political journalisms best. Slates Political Gabfest The "Political Gabfest" is a comfortable place to start with political podcasting. Leaning mostly Democratic and hosted by David Plotz of Atlas Obscura, Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson of CBS Face the Nation, listeners are presented with a range of opinions, where disagreements on the role of the Federal government are not uncommon. advertisement advertisement With episode titles like The Rough Them Up Edition and The I Have a Gun and Her Name is America Edition, listeners are afforded additional insights from John Dickerson, who has had numerous personal interactions with the leading presidential candidates. Emily Bazelon, a senior research fellow at Yale Law School, is the legal expert. David Plotz serves as the well-educated layman. KCRWs Left, Right & Center For a full breadth of political inclinations, "Left, Right & Center" is a good choice. Each episode has pundits from the left, right and center of the political spectrum. Moderated by Josh Barro of Business Insider, formerly of The New York Times, with regulars including influential progressive journalist Robert Scheer and National Review editor Rich Lowry, this podcast will scratch your political debate itch. Barro serves as a moderate voice amid often strong pro-Sanders positions from Scheer and what you might call establishment GOP stances espoused by Lowry. The conversations are always civil, with the occasional rant from one side or the other. "Left, Right & Center" helps frame the various positions on issues central to policy debates in the 2016 election. The Pollsters As the name suggests, "The Pollsters" focuses on the most recent and interesting polls of the 2016 cycle. The bipartisan team of Democrat Margie Omero and Republican Kristen Soltis Anderson, both political pollsters by trade, discuss weekly developments in polling. A major tenet of the podcast is the continued trust in polls, but with the understanding that samples matter and that not all polls are equal. For a professional take on what polling means for the 2016 election, "The Pollsters" is the place to be. Episodes are often accompanied by interviews with fascinating guests, ranging from Frank Newport of Gallup and John Aristotle Phillips of Predictit, listeners develop a deep understanding of polling and its importance in most, if not all, political strategy. Honorable mentions: "The Axe Files" with David Axelrod, Slates "Trumpcast," "Off Message" (Politico), The Federalist, WNYC's "On the Media," Face the Nation 2016 Diary, NPR Politics Podcast, Slates Whistlestop, Pantsuit Politics and KCRWs "Scheer Intelligence." by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 29, 2016 Shutterfly has reached an "agreement in principle" to settle a fight with Illinois resident Brian Norberg, who sued the company last year for allegedly violating a state privacy law by adding his "faceprint" to its database. Shutterfly and Norberg informed U.S. District Court Judge Charles Norgle in Chicago of the settlement in court papers filed Monday. Norberg will resolve the case as an individual -- although he initially planned to seek class-action status -- according to the court papers. Other settlement terms were not revealed. Once finalized, the settlement will resolve a lawsuit filed last year by Norberg. He alleged that his "faceprint" was added to Shutterfly's database after his picture was uploaded to the service, and tagged with his name, by someone else. advertisement advertisement Norberg, who doesn't have an account with Shutterfly, argued that Shutterfly is violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which prohibits companies from storing people's "biometric identifiers" without their consent. Norgle handed Shutterfly a significant early defeat late last year, when he rejected the company's argument that the Illinois law didn't apply to material derived from photos. Shutterfly argued for dismissal based on the wording of the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act, which requires companies to obtain people's permission before collecting and retaining their fingerprints, retinal scans, and other biometric data including a "scan of hand or face geometry." The company unsuccessfully contended that "face geometry" must be derived from physical, in-person scans -- and not from photos. Shutterfly's argument stemmed from a section of the law that defines the terms "biometric identifiers" and "biometric information." Specifically, the Illinois law excludes "photos" from the definition of "biometric identifiers." A separate definition of "biometric information" appears to go further by also excluding any information derived from photos. Facebook is facing a similar lawsuit in federal court in the Northern District of California. Like Shutterfly, Facebook argues that lawsuit should be dismissed for several reasons, including that the Illinois law says it doesn't apply to photos. Google also was recently sued for violating the Illinois privacy law. That case is currently pending in front of U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang in Chicago. by Ben Frederick @mp_benfred, March 29, 2016 Pyze, a mobile business intelligence firm, emerged from stealth today having secured $1.7 million in seed funding. The aim of the company is to democratize the data pool, providing small publishers with the kind of data and intelligence that large app publishers have built for themselves. Pyzes initial investors include DoubleRock and a number of angel investors in New York and San Francisco. The funds will be used for product development and commercialization as per a release. The app market is currently top-heavy. Though it is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2020, a small number of apps make a huge percentage of the profits to be had, while most only make about $500 a month. Most app publishers are living on Ramen, says Prabhjot Singh, Pyzes CEO and co-founder. advertisement advertisement What Pyze was essentially designed to do, says Singh, was deliver a data scientist in a box to every app publisher. Looking at the larger publishers, Singh says theyve gathered enough data to look beyond surface level analytics and have targeted intent and behaviorsomething smaller publishers are unable to do. Singh says the key aspects of their product will be available to app publishers via a free tier of service, but will charge for enterprise services like 24/7 tech support. Just about everyone that uses analytics doesnt rely on just one service. Our long-term plan is being able to aggregate multiple data feeds, says Singh. The more data we have the more intelligent the system becomes automatically. The big challenge is not just data, but utilizing that data to engage with users at the right time, for the right reasons. by Ben Frederick @mp_benfred, March 29, 2016 Hopper, an airfare app that tells users how to find the cheapest tickets based on the timing of the flight, announced that it has raised $16 million in a funding round. The round, led by BDC Capital IT Venture Fund, brings the companys total funding raised to $38 million. The money is reportedly intended for growing the companys team in Montreal and Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hoppers app, released in 2015 after several years of offering web reports and archiving flight data, has about 3 million downloads so far on iOS and Android combined. The app trawls through millions of flight data points daily in an attempt to find the ideal time for users to book a flight. The data is presented to user via a color-coded calendar that identifies which days are expensive (red) and which are cheapest (green) to travel. The company only delivers its data through mobile. It is currently one of the top five travel apps in the Apple store. It reportedly delivered 7.3 million push notifications last month, and advertisement advertisement Hopper also signed a deal with American Airlines to offer airfares directly through the appAA was one of a few airlines that didnt offer its airfares through Hopper. The app now supports almost all major airlines. It makes money from the airlines, and charges a $5 convenience fee to consumers. New features the company plans to roll out include offering customizable search options that will enable users to find the cheapest fares, or avoiding long layovers. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 29, 2016 Integrating acquisitions seems a bit rocky for Alphabet these days, as in the case of smart camera startup Dropcam. The company's founder Greg Duffy took to the blog Medium on Tuesday to tell about his mistake to sell Nest to Google for $555 million in 2014. Nest bought Dropcam later that year. Duffy took the opportunity to tout Dropcams success prior to being acquired by Nest, but also expanded on the acquisition to talk about what occurred during the aftermath. "I cant publish Dropcams revenue, but if you knew what percentage of all of Alphabets other bets revenue was brought in by the relatively tiny 100-person Dropcam team that Fadell derides, Nest itself would not look good in comparison, Duffy wrote, who believes Nest stifled employees' ability to build great products. advertisement advertisement Tension had been brewing inside Nest for months, but Nest CEO Tony Fadell threw the baby out the with bathwater after claiming during an interview with The Information that many of the Dropcam employees were inexperienced and did not work out as well as Nest had hoped. Nest is not the only troublesome acquisition for Alphabet. Bloomberg first reported that Alphabet would put Boston Dynamics up for sale because it was unlikely to produce a marketable product within the next few years. Although Alphabet's 10-K Amended Annual Report, released Tuesday, points to acquisition as one possible challenge, the company may want to keep all revenue bets in the near term on Google. In 2015, Google generated 90% of revenue from advertising, per Alphabet's 10-K amended filing, which describes queries as questions and advertisements as answers. The clean white blinking cursor on Google's search home page represents a metaphor for how company executives think about innovation. Strengthening this strategy, one company goal focuses on bringing the next five billion people online who do not have Internet access. Even search isn't without challenges. The 10-K warns investors about companies and content farms that violate quality guidelines that can decrease Google's search quality, damage its reputation, and deter potential and existing users from its products and services. On Web sites it could ultimately reduce AdSense revenue, since some of these sites are AdSense partners. With challenges come risk, yet the company's board of directors are responsible for any considerations and oversight. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 29, 2016 Andrew Lloyd Webber released a 360-degree YouTube video that reached 1 million views in three days, bringing awareness to its latest Broadway show, "School of Rock." It's the first time a Broadway musical has used the video media. Although "School of Rock" arrived on Broadway December 2015, with a cast of live musical talent and budding rock stars, the producers wanted more. So Steam Motion, which describes itself as a "moving image agency," and Sound UK helped to create the Broadway's first 360-degree video. The format makes the viewer turn the video to interact with the content as the teacher -- the main character -- interacts with students around the classroom playing instruments. Zack plays the guitar; Katie plays the bass; Lawrence, the keys; and Freddy, the drums. Their real names are Brandon Niederauer, Evie Dolan, Jared Parker, and Dante Melucci, respectively. The Broadway hit tells the story of a wannabe rock star who poses as a substitute teacher in a prep school. He coaxes his fifth graders to form a rock group to compete in the Battle of the Bands. The video, part of a campaign to create awareness, drove a 160% spike in the show's ticketing site traffic and 550% spike in the show's Web site traffic. Backed by a multichannel paid media campaign to target potential ticket buyers, "School of Rock" has sold $1 million in regular weekly sales for the musical. The campaign included a short teaser and the full 360-degree video advertisement on YouTubes TrueView. As the legality of cannabis drifts through a period of flux, the spotlight of scientific research is rarely far away. A new study, following heavy cannabis users, yields further insight into the drugs financial and social ramifications. Share on Pinterest With the legalization of cannabis comes a host of new concerns. Both legal and public opinion of cannabis is changing in America. Today, in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the possession and sale of cannabis for medicinal and non-medicinal purposes is legal. Alongside these four states, another 15 are considering legalizing recreational cannabis use. Washington, DC, legalized the personal use (but not commercial sale) of cannabis in 2015. And a national survey conducted in 2013 found that 52% of Americans thought marijuana should be made legal. As the law steadily softens across the country, research into the long-term effects of cannabis is more important than ever. Cannabis research on the rise There are few areas of medical investigation as controversial as cannabis research, but previous studies into the social impact of cannabis have yielded contradictory or unclear findings. Despite these controversies, a study team, led by Magdalena Cerda at the University of California, recently conducted a thorough investigation into the social and economic aspects of heavy cannabis use. Alcohol abuse is more likely than cannabis to play a role in events such as traffic accidents and violence. However, when cannabis and alcohols effects on relationships, delinquency and education are measured, results are less conclusive. The number of potential factors to consider are vast, making results difficult to analyze and interpret. These factors include the likelihood of cannabis and alcohol users to abuse other drugs; also, the illegal status of cannabis means that users might be tied to other illegal activities, or incarcerated, both of which have negative consequences unrelated to cannabis itself. Additionally, heavy cannabis use from an early age might have its roots in underlying psychopathology or preexisting social or economic problems at home. Cerdas research attempts to head off as many of these confounding variables as possible. A fresh look at the impact of cannabis The study, published in Clinical Psychological Science, uses data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study that followed 1,037 New Zealand children from birth until the age of 38. Share on Pinterest The financial consequences of cannabis abuse might be worse than alcohol. The group represented a cross-section of the population and received a maximum of 11 follow-up assessments over the years. For the current study, the researchers utilized data from 947 individuals. In total, 18% of participants were considered marijuana-dependent in at least one of the assessments, and 15% were classified as regular cannabis users in at least one assessment. According to Cerda, the team found that regular cannabis users experienced downward social mobility and more financial problems such as troubles with debt and cash flow than those who did not report such persistent use. He adds: Regular long-term users also had more antisocial behaviors at work, such as stealing money or lying to get a job, and experienced more relationship problems, such as intimate partner violence and controlling abuse. These findings remained constant even after controlling for factors such as childhood socioeconomic problems, lower IQ scores, depression and antisocial behavior in adolescence, lower motivation to achieve, higher levels of impulsivity, criminal convictions and the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Rates of ear infection among American babies in their first year of life have dropped significantly over the last 20-30 years, say researchers who cite increased rates of breastfeeding as one of the reasons. Share on Pinterest The researchers say their analysis showed that frequent colds, bacteria in the nose and not being breastfed were major risk factors for ear infections in babies. The team from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston reports the findings in the journal Pediatrics. The researchers find that compared with similar studies from 20-30 years ago, rates of ear infection in American babies have fallen from 18% to 6% in 3-month-olds, from 39% to 23% in 6-month-olds, and from 62% to 46% in 1-year-olds. They suggest use of vaccinations, higher rates of breastfeeding and a decline in smoking rates could be major reasons. In the US, acute otitis media (AOM), or ear infection, is one of the most common infections in babies and young children. Ear infection is also the biggest cause of childhood doctor visits and the most common reason children are prescribed antibiotics or have to undergo surgery, note the researchers. There is evidence, they add, that repeatedly having ear infections up to the age of 6 months can lead to suffering the complaint more frequently later in life. Leading scientists have identified an important gene that is associated with cleft lip and palate. Experts say the discovery is a step closer to understanding how this birth defect arises, and will help in the development of medical approaches to prevent the disfiguring condition. An international team, led by Newcastle University, UK, and the University of Bonn in Germany, has found that variants near a gene called GREM1 (Gremlin1) significantly increase the risk for cleft lip and palate. A cleft is a gap in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth, or sometimes both. Each year, approximately 250,000 babies worldwide are born with a cleft, equating to about two babies a day in the UK. Dr Heiko Peters, who works at Newcastle University's Institute of Genetic Medicine, is senior author of the research paper published in the journal, PLOS Genetics. He said: "The findings reveal a link between GREM1 and specific clinical characteristics that arise in the formation of a cleft lip and palate. "This is very important in this research area as it helps to decipher the complex interplay between genes required for the different steps and in different tissues during lip and palate development. "A cleft lip can occur with or without a cleft palate and the genetic factors that predispose to palate involvement are largely unknown." The research team carried out analyses on genetic and clinical data from three large patient cohorts and identified a strong association between a region on chromosome 15 and cleft lip and palate. Experts carried out studies on mice to investigate where GREM1 is normally active in the development of the face and how alterations in the gene's activity may affect the lip and palate. Results indicate that it is not the loss of GREM1 function but rather its increased activity that causes the condition. It is the second gene which has been shown to be linked to a condition in which a cleft of the lip and a cleft of the secondary palate occur together. Dr Peters added: "These findings provide a framework for further analyses of GREM1 in human cell systems and model organisms, broadening our understanding of the processes that regulate the face's shape." Although not life-threatening for patients with access to postnatal surgery, cleft lip and palate requires additional multidisciplinary care by specialists, including ear, nose and throat experts, orthodontists and speech therapists. Children with the condition can have dental issues, speech problems and are at increased risk of serious ear infections and hearing loss. Currently, scientists only have a fragmented picture about which genes are required for lip and palate development, and how environmental factors might interact with genetic risk factors. To establish effective prevention strategies scientists must identify genetic risk factors and understand how gene-gene and gene-environment interactions interfere with lip and palate development. As the use of personalised medicine increases, understanding how genetic changes alter foetal development will become increasingly relevant. This is particularly important for conditions such as cleft lip and palate that appear to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as smoking or certain medicines used by the mother. Further studies will focus on identifying genes and environmental factors that interact with GREM1. Dr Laura Yates, consultant in clinical genetics at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The families we meet in genetic clinics on a daily basis generally have two common questions. "Firstly, what is the cause of the developmental anomaly affecting their child or themselves, and secondly, can it be treated or prevented in future pregnancies? "Studies such as this contribute vital pieces of information that enable clinicians to provide patients with answers that are relevant to them and their family, not just general statistics. "Our understanding of how genetic factors in both mother and foetus, and external or environmental influences impact on foetal development in the womb, is far from complete. "This study takes us one step closer to being able to identify genetic changes that increase the chance of a particular form of cleft lip and palate re-occurring in a family, therefore to studying what can be done to reduce the chance of this happening in individuals who have this genetic change." Case study Mother-of-five Joanne Brown knows first-hand the challenges faced by those with a cleft lip and palate. The student nurse's daughter, Emily, seven, was born with the condition and has had to undergo three operations so far with more expected in the years ahead. Emily has coped well with her condition but having a cleft lip and palate has affected her speech and confidence. Joanne, 33, of West Rainton, County Durham, who is married to David, 45, a joiner, welcomes the research into the condition. She said: "I found out at my 20 week pregnancy scan that Emily had a cleft lip and palate. I was very upset as I didn't know anything about the condition. "Speech is a huge problem for Emily and she is shy around other children. She never used to look in the mirror and it has taken time for her to be able to do this. "It's so important that research is carried out as the condition is a lifelong problem for sufferers. "This research is a significant step forward in understanding the condition. It would be phenomenal if, in the future, the chance of a cleft lip and palate occurring could be reduced." Understanding a hidden killer. New research by Dr. Sylvie Lesage, scientist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (CIUSSS- East Montreal) and associate research Professor at University of Montreal, just published in the prestigious international scientific journal Nature Genetics, has discovered that a common genetic defect in beta cells may underlie both known forms of diabetes. Worldwide, 400 million people suffer from diabetes, with rapid increases projected. Patients with diabetes mostly fall into one of two categories, type 1 diabetics, triggered by autoimmunity at a young age, and type 2 diabetics, caused by metabolic dysfunction of the liver. Despite being labeled a "lifestyle disease", diabetes has a strong genetic basis. "Our research finds that genetics is critical for the survival of beta cells - the cells that make insulin'' says Sylvie Lesage, who is also a member of the Montreal Diabetes Research Center. ''Thanks to our genetic make-up, some of us have beta cells that are tough and robust, while others have beta cells that are fragile and can't handle stress. It is these people who develop diabetes, either type 1 or type 2, while others with tougher beta cells will remain healthy even in if they suffer from autoimmunity or metabolic dysfunction of the liver." Different pathways to diabetes development Diabetes is a hidden killer. One out of every 11 adults is suffering from the disease, yet half of them have not even been diagnosed. Diabetes is caused by the inability of the body to lower blood glucose, a process normally driven by insulin. In patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), this is caused by the immune system killing off the beta cells that produce insulin. In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a metabolic dysfunction prevents insulin from working on the liver. In both cases, left untreated the extra glucose in the blood can cause blindness, cardiovascular disease, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy and death. In this study led by Dr. Adrian Liston, an international team of researchers investigated how genetic variation controls the development of diabetes. While most previous work has focused on the effect of genetics in altering the immune system (in T1D) and metabolic dysfunction of the liver (in T2D), this research found that genetics also affected the beta cells that produce insulin. Mice with fragile beta cells that were poor at repairing DNA damage would rapidly develop diabetes when those beta cells were challenged by cellular stress. Other mice, with robust beta cells that were good at repairing DNA damage, were able to stay non-diabetic for life, even when those islets were placed under severe cellular stress. The same pathways for beta cell survival and DNA damage repair were also found to be altered in diabetic patient samples, indicating that a genetic predisposition for fragile beta cells may underlie who develops diabetes. A new model for testing type 2 diabetes treatments Current treatments for T2D rely on improving the metabolic response of the liver to insulin. These antidiabetic drugs, in conjunction with lifestyle interventions, can control the early stages of T2D by allowing insulin to function on the liver again. However during the late stages of T2D, the death of beta cells means that there is no longer any insulin being produced. At this stage, antidiabetic drugs and lifestyle interventions have poor efficacy, and medical complications arise. Dr. Lydia Makaroff, of the International Diabetes Federation, commented this ground breaking work: ''The health cost for diabetes currently exceeds US$600 billion worldwide, 12 % of the global health budget, and will only increase as diabetes becomes more common. Much of this health care burden is caused by late-stage type 2 diabetes, where we do not have effective treatments, so we desperately need new research into novel therapeutic approaches. This discovery dramatically improves our understanding of type 2 diabetes, which will enable the design of better strategies and medications for diabetes in the future". Dr. Adrian Liston, leader of the Belgian arm of the research, sees new promise in these results, especially through the new animal models used which will enable scientists, for the first time, to test new antidiabetic drugs that focus on preserving beta cells. When contact lenses work really well, you forget they are on your eyes. You might not feel the same at the end of a long day staring at a computer screen. After too many hours of wear, the lenses and your eyes dry out, causing irritation that might outweigh the convenience of contacts. Stanford researchers hope to alleviate this pain by both advancing the understanding of how natural tears keep our eyes comfortable, and developing a machine for designing better contact lenses. The work was inspired in part by a graduate student's dry eyes. "As a student, I had to stop wearing lenses due to the increased discomfort," said Saad Bhamla, a Stanford postdoctoral scholar in bioengineering who conducted the work as a graduate student in Gerald Fuller's chemical engineering laboratory at Stanford. "Focusing my PhD thesis to understand this problem was both a personal and professional goal." Bhamla isn't alone. More than 30 million Americans currently wear contacts, but roughly half of them switch back to glasses because of contact lens-induced symptoms such as dry eye. Bhamla and Fuller suspected that most of the discomfort arises from the break up of the tear film, a wet coating on the surface of the eye, during a process called dewetting. They found that the lipid layer, an oily coating on the surface of the tear film, protects the eye's surface in two important ways - through strength and liquid retention. By mimicking the lipid layer in contact construction, millions of people could avoid ocular discomfort. In their most recent study, Bhamla and his co-authors outline two functions of the lipid layer. One is to provide mechanical strength to the tear film. Lipids in this layer have viscoelastic properties that allow them to stretch and support the watery layer beneath them. Bhamla likens this protective lipid layer to a swimming pool cover. You can't run on the open water, but even a thin tarp can provide mechanical strength to support a person's weight. "You will sometimes see the guards at the Stanford Avery pool run over the surface of the covered pool," Bhamla said. "The mechanical structure is very thin, but it protects the whole bulk of the liquid. If the swimming pool is shrunk to 1/100th the width of a hair, it is a good representation of the tear film with a lipid layer replacing the tarp." The lipid layer also prevents the tear film from evaporating away. Eyes are roughly 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), which is usually warmer than the ambient air. Like any liquid on a hot surface, the eye is constantly heating its liquid coating and losing moisture to the air. "We recognized early-on that the fluid mechanical responses of the lipid layer were just as important as the conventional view that its role was to control evaporative loss," Fuller said. "And it's been gratifying to realize that the combined role of these two forces is now accepted." The key to producing comfortable contact lenses, then, involves designing lenses that don't destabilize the tear film. Manufacturers recognize the importance of protecting the eye's natural tear film on a contact lens surface to minimize painful symptoms such as dry eye, but it is not an easy thing to measure. "Some people are studying contact lenses by holding them up to a light, dipping them in water, and looking at them to see if the tear film breaks up," Bhamla said. "We felt we could definitely do better than that." To solve this, Bhamla and Fuller built a device that mimics the surface of the eye. The machine, called the Interfacial Dewetting and Drainage Optical Platform or i-DDrOP, reproduces a tear film on the surface of a contact lens. It allows both scientists and manufacturers to systematically handle the unique array of variables that affect the tear film, including temperature, a variety of substances, humidity and the way gravity acts along a curved surface. With the ability to accurately recreate a tear film on the contact lens surface and test how quickly it breaks up, manufacturers are now armed with the tools to make a more comfortable lens that protects users from the painful side effects of wearing contacts. Even Bhamla may trade in his glasses for a new pair of lipid-protected eyewear. Spoken-language app makes meal logging easier, could aid weight loss. For people struggling with obesity, logging calorie counts and other nutritional information at every meal is a proven way to lose weight. The technique does require consistency and accuracy, however, and when it fails, it's usually because people don't have the time to find and record all the information they need. A few years ago, a team of nutritionists from Tufts University who had been experimenting with mobile-phone apps for recording caloric intake approached members of the Spoken Language Systems Group at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), with the idea of a spoken-language application that would make meal logging even easier. At the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing in Shanghai, the MIT researchers presented a Web-based prototype of their speech-controlled nutrition-logging system. With it, the user verbally describes the contents of a meal, and the system parses the description and automatically retrieves the pertinent nutritional data from an online database maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The data is displayed together with images of the corresponding foods and pull-down menus that allow the user to refine their descriptions -- selecting, for instance, precise quantities of food. But those refinements can also be made verbally. A user who begins by saying, "For breakfast, I had a bowl of oatmeal, bananas, and a glass of orange juice" can then make the amendment, "I had half a banana," and the system will update the data it displays about bananas while leaving the rest unchanged. "What [the Tufts nutritionists] have experienced is that the apps that were out there to help people try to log meals tended to be a little tedious, and therefore people didn't keep up with them," says James Glass, a senior research scientist at CSAIL, who leads the Spoken Language Systems Group. "So they were looking for ways that were accurate and easy to input information." The first author on the new paper is Mandy Korpusik, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science. She's joined by Glass, who's her thesis advisor; her fellow graduate student Michael Price; and by Calvin Huang, an undergraduate researcher in Glass's group. Context sensitivity In the paper, the researchers report the results of experiments with a speech-recognition system that they developed specifically to handle food-related terminology. But that wasn't the main focus of their work; indeed, an online demo of their meal-logging system instead uses Google's free speech-recognition app. Their research concentrated on two other problems. One is identifying words' functional role: The system needs to recognize that if the user records the phrase "bowl of oatmeal," nutritional information on oatmeal is pertinent, but if the phrase is "oatmeal cookie," it's not. The other problem is reconciling the user's phrasing with the entries in the USDA database. For instance, the USDA data on oatmeal is recorded under the heading "oats"; the word "oatmeal" shows up nowhere in the entry. To address the first problem, the researchers used machine learning. Through the Amazon Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform, they recruited workers who simply described what they'd eaten at recent meals, then labeled the pertinent words in the description as names of foods, quantities, brand names, or modifiers of the food names. In "bowl of oatmeal," "bowl" is a quantity and "oatmeal" is a food, but in "oatmeal cookie," oatmeal is a modifier. Once they had roughly 10,000 labeled meal descriptions, the researchers used machine-learning algorithms to find patterns in the syntactic relationships between words that would identify their functional roles. Semantic matching To translate between users' descriptions and the labels in the USDA database, the researchers used an open-source database called Freebase, which has entries on more than 8,000 common food items, many of which include synonyms. Where synonyms were lacking, they again recruited Mechanical Turk workers to supply them. The version of the system presented at the conference is intended chiefly to demonstrate the viability of its approach to natural-language processing; it reports calorie counts but doesn't yet total them automatically. A version that does is in the works, however, and when it's complete, the Tufts researchers plan to conduct a user study to determine whether it indeed makes nutrition logging easier. Opioids are very effective for treating some types of pain, such as cancer pain and postoperative pain, but not for other kinds of pain like chronic low back pain. An increase in the number of opioid-related deaths among addicts has led to the current movement to restrict opioid prescribing by state and federal authorities. While a laudable goal, these restrictions threaten to block their use for safe and effective pain relief when medically indicated. A new Editorial, "The Pendulum Swings for Opioid Prescribing", calls for physicians to speak out as a voice of reason in their communities, and is published in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The article is available to download free on the Journal of Palliative Medicine website until April 23, 2016. In the Editorial, Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Palliative Medicine and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Hospice and Palliative Medicine for the OhioHealth system, describes the shifting attitudes toward opioid prescribing he has witnessed during his nearly 30 years as a physician. Although the number of deaths from opioid addiction is rising, it is incorrect to draw the conclusion that the appropriate prescribing of opioids causes addiction in otherwise normal individuals, states Dr. von Gunten. He emphasizes the need for proper assessment of pain and, when indicated, appropriate prescribing and access to opioid drugs. "There needs to be balance. At the same time we assure there isn't an excess supply of prescription opioids in medicine cabinets to be diverted by others, we must assure an adequate dose and supply for patients whose quality of life and function is improved," says Dr. von Gunten. Journal of Palliative Medicine is the official journal of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) and an official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. Viruses have proven to be wily foes. Attempts to fend off viruses causing even the common cold or flu have failed, and new viral outbreaks such as dengue, Ebola or Zika continue to elude drugs. Given these challenges, a group at Stanford is tackling the problem from a different angle: boosting the human body's ability to resist the virus rather than taking on the virus directly. This approach has paid off with a drug that, in cells in a lab dish at least, helps fight two disease-causing viruses and potentially many more. The work was published March 28, 2016 in Nature Chemical Biology. Chaitan Khosla, a professor of chemistry and of chemical engineering who was one of the senior authors on the paper, said the way the drug works suggests that it could be broadly effective against viruses that use RNA rather than DNA as their genetic material. "Most of the really nasty viruses use RNA," Khosla said, including Ebola, dengue, Zika and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), a mosquito-borne virus that infects horses but can also kill people. Khosla cautioned that at this stage the team has only shown that the drug is effective in a lab dish and on certain viruses. They plan to test their strategy in animals next to learn whether it is safe and to understand which viral diseases it is most effective against. A new strategy This project came about when Jeffrey Glenn, an associate professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology, founded the ViRX@Stanford center through a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in collaboration with Stanford ChEM-H, which Khosla directs. The center's goal is to develop antiviral strategies targeting human cells rather than the virus. Scientists typically take a "one drug, one bug" approach to fighting viruses. Glenn's center, however, has a goal of "one drug, multiple bugs." The team had known about a drug being developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK983) that appeared to work along these lines, helping human cells fight viruses. However, after a few initial publications the drug got shelved. Khosla thought that with the help of collaborations formed through Glenn's new center, it might be possible to understand the drug's mechanism and possibly improve upon it, resurrecting the drug from the shelves and delivering it to patients. Chemistry graduate student Richard Deans started testing that drug on human cells in a lab dish and found that it enabled the cells to fight off viruses that cause either dengue or VEEV, both of which normally kill the cells. These viruses were chosen because they represent a serious threat to human health, and also represent two different classes of RNA viruses and would test the drug's breadth, according to Jan Carette, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and an author on the paper. Although the drug was effective at fighting the viruses, Deans found that over time the drug also caused the human cells to stop dividing. Unexpected insights As a first step to improving on the drug, Deans needed to figure out how it worked. For that, he turned to Michael Bassik, assistant professor of genetics and a senior author on the paper. Bassik, who is also member of Stanford Bio-X and ChEM-H, had developed a powerful new way of screening every gene in a cell to identify which proteins those genes produce to carry out a particular behavior, like responding to a drug. From this screen, the team learned that the drug interferes with a protein that is crucial for making the individual building blocks of RNA, the genetic code for the virus. Without RNA the virus can't make more of itself, which explains why the drug was so effective. However, because of the way the screen was designed, it also revealed two important additional details that the team wouldn't have otherwise known: why the drug doesn't work perfectly and why it causes cells to stop dividing. That information gave the team a way of reducing the drug's side effects and also suggested a way of making it more effective. "The genome-wide screen carried out in the Bassik lab was really powerful, because it gave us insights into future research strategies," said Deans, who was lead author on the paper. "I think going forward his strategy will be much more heavily used." Cells also need RNA, and can get RNA building blocks in two ways -- by making them or by importing them from the bloodstream. The drug blocked the cell's ability to make the RNA building blocks but left intact the cell's ability to import them. Without disrupting both pathways, some RNA precursors made it into the cell and were available to the virus. Ayse Okesli, a joint postdoctoral fellow in the Bassik and Khosla labs, said the team is now testing their drug along with another one that is known to block the import pathway to see if the combination is more effective than one drug alone, and to be sure human cells aren't damaged by the absence of RNA building blocks. Less toxic Knowing how the drug worked also explained why it caused the body's normal, healthy cells to stop dividing. The same building blocks needed for RNA synthesis are also needed to make DNA, the cell's genetic code that it replicates with each division to carry out business as usual. When a cell runs out of DNA building blocks, it can no longer divide. Knowing the problem, the team could devise a solution. They fed the cells a slightly different building block that can only be used to generate DNA, not RNA. With that added to the mix, the cells successfully fought off both dengue and VEEV and were able to keep dividing normally. This knowledge could help make the drug less toxic in animals and eventually people. Khosla said they plan to test the drug combination against many different RNA viruses to learn which it fights most effectively. If the drug combination is successful in animals, they hope it might become among the first broad antiviral strategies for human disease. Implications for the development of new treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders. A research group led by Osaka University and the University of Tokyo found that the intracellular protein trafficking is important for higher brain functions such as learning and memory. The research group showed that a molecule, ARHGAP33 regulates synaptic functions and behaviors via intracellular protein trafficking and that the lack of ARHGAP33 causes neuropsychiatric disorder-related impaired higher brain functions. Takanobu Nakazawa, Specially Appointed Associate Professor at Osaka University, Masanobu Kano, Professor at The University of Tokyo, and Ryota Hashimoto, Associate Professor at Osaka University generated ARHGAP33 knockout (KO) mice to examine the function of ARHGAP33. The research group found impaired spine development and decreased miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency and amplitude in ARHGAP33 KO mice. The research group also found that ARHGAP33 KO mice show impaired working memory and prepulse inhibition, both of which related to neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. Then, the research group examined the molecular mechanism behind the impaired synaptic functions and behaviors in ARHGAP33 KO mice and found that ARHGAP33 is localized to the Golgi apparatus to regulate intracellular protein trafficking of the Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) receptor, a neurotrophin receptor, to synaptic sites. Neurotrophins play important roles in the formation and function of synapses. In ARHGAP33 KO mice, TrkB is not sufficiently transported to synaptic sites due to the lack of ARHGAP33, which eventually leads to impaired synaptic functions and behaviors. Finally, the group found that the human ARHGAP33 is associated with schizophrenia. The molecular pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders is still not well understood, and the development of new antipsychotic drugs is imperative. The group' finding that the impaired intracellular protein trafficking leads to neuropsychiatric disorders-related abnormal higher brain functions has high impact on the fields of psychiatry, basic medical sciences, and pharmaceutical sciences. This study can potentially contribute to the development of new treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. The American College of Physicians (ACP) has released a new policy paper calling for changes that could slow the rising cost of prescription drugs. The paper, Stemming the Escalating Cost of Prescription Drugs, was published in Annals of Internal Medicine. "In the United States we pay comparatively much more for prescription drugs than other countries, an increasing concern for all Americans," said Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, president of ACP. "The impact of these rising costs can be very detrimental to patients, causing them to forgo filling important prescriptions or not taking drugs on the schedule that they are prescribed." The many issues surrounding prescription drug pricing are a complex problem. Because the research, development, regulatory and payment systems for prescription medication are deeply intertwined addressing the issue will take the combined efforts of many different stakeholders. Unlike other markets, competition alone may not be effective in encouraging innovation or controlling costs, especially without the price transparency required for true price competition. To address the complex factors at play, ACP's paper offers a series of recommendations aimed at addressing and slowing down the rate of price increase for prescription drugs. ACP: Supports transparency in the pricing, cost, and comparative value of all pharmaceutical products. Supports the elimination of restrictions on using quality adjusted life years in comparative effectiveness research. Supports novel approaches, including: allowing price negotiation by Medicare and other publicly-funded health programs, consideration of reimporting drugs manufactured in the United States, and policies and programs to increase competition for sole-source drugs. Opposes extending market or data exclusivity periods beyond what is currently granted. Supports approaches to encourage value-based decision making, including value frameworks, bundled payments, indication-specific pricing and evidence-based benefit designs that include explicit consideration of the pricing, cost, value, and comparative effectiveness of prescription medications included in a health plan's benefit package. Believes that payers that use tiered or restrictive prescription drug formularies must ensure that patient cost-sharing is not set at a level that imposes a substantial economic barrier to patients. Believes that biosimilar drug policy should aim to limit patient confusion between originator and biosimilar products. "We continue to pay more and more for drugs, making it harder and harder for patients to afford critical prescriptions. This situation must change," concluded Dr. Riley. "A prescription drug can only be as effective as a patient's ability to access it and adhere to the medication as prescribed. Year after year of rising costs is clearly a burden for many patients that ultimately impacts their health and quality of life." The time is right for significant, effective reform of Australia's current approach to alcohol taxation, with a shift to a volumetric tax the best-supported by current evidence, according to a Perspective published online by the Medical Journal of Australia. Ms Julia Stafford Executive Officer of the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth and Professor Mike Daube, Professor of Health Policy at Curtin University in Perth (and McCusker Centre), wrote that there is now "overwhelming consensus from leading Australian and international health authorities and researchers that alcohol taxation is one of the most effective policy interventions to reduce problems related to alcohol". "In dealing with harm from alcohol, price matters," they wrote. "There is near-universal agreement that the current approach to alcohol taxation in Australia is complex and that change is long overdue. The Henry Tax Review described the alcohol tax system as 'incoherent' and the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) in particular as 'not well suited to reducing social harm'. Others have described the system less flatteringly." WET is based on the wholesale price of wine, not its alcohol content, they wrote. "The WET is why cask wine can be promoted and sold for as little as 18 cents per standard drink, or $1.80 per litre - cheaper than many bottled waters - contributing only 5 cents per standard drink in tax." A volumetric tax that applies to all alcohol products should be central to reform, they said, with tax increasing for products with higher alcohol volumes. Other recommendations from the authors include: there should be an overall increase in alcohol tax collected; the real price of alcohol should increase over time; and changes to the tax system should not reduce the price of alcohol products, other than for low alcohol products. "There is an opportunity for health groups to press for comprehensive policies that include a clear commitment to alcohol tax reform. This will require strong and consistent communication of the substantial evidence base for reforming alcohol tax to improve health, as well as appropriate responses to misinformation likely to come from vested interests." Advertisement The programme promises to provide the vaccine to every six-weeks-old infants for free at all the public health facilities of the state."This Rota virus vaccine is a great help to poor parents like us. I can't express the fear we had till now of losing our children to diarrhoea. I have lost two of my children, so I know the pain. I hope the vaccine prevents my week-old daughter from facing the same fate like my sons," Mohanty told IANS in Oriya.She said that programme would also help her avoid travelling several miles for medical services.Rota is a highly contagious virus that infects majority of children before their first birthday. It is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among children, often necessitating hospitalisation, and leading to death.Preeti Jena, a young mother from a village on the outskirts of Bhubaneshwar, said: "In our area, the children born in hospitals are given vaccines. However, there was no effort made to immunise the childen born at home against any disease."The Rota vaccine programme aims to bridge this gap by sending health workers to village health centres to immunise the children against diarrhoea.According to people in Khurda, Koraput and Malkangiri, many of the young parents in several parts of Odisha get drawn towards occult practices such as branding of infants with hot metals when they see nothing else works.Under the vaccine programme, launched in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Haryana, Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) will go to all the public health facilities of these states and provide vaccines for infants up to six weeks. The second and third doses will be administered when the child is 10 and 14 weeks old, respectively.Bijaya Laxmi Mohanty, an Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery worker, stated that one of their focus area would be to cover those who had been left out in the villages, where mothers are not able to turn up for the immunisation programme.The programme is aimed at curbing the deaths of infants from diarrhoea -- 20,000 in Odisha. It will also help drastically reduce the 88,000 deaths and 8.7 lakh hospitalisations of children across the country every year.In Odisha, Rota Virus-caused diarrhoea accounts for over nine per cent of the disease burden. The state has the highest number of children afflicted by the disease in the country.Terming the occasion historic, union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said: "This is not a routine programme. This Rota vaccine launch sets the goal in the field of Indian health system."Rakesh Kumar, joint secretary in the union health ministry, who is in charge of all immunisation programmes, said they would try and roll out the programme across the country in the next two years."This vaccine programme is a proven one and we are sure that it will bring down the incidence of diarrhoea caused by Rota virus," he told IANS.A similar Rota virus vaccination programme has been tried in Mexico and Brazil, where the figures of affliction have dropped by 46 percent and 22 percent, respectively."Diarrhoea not only kills, but leads to malnutrition among our children. This is one of the best moves against Rota virus by any country in the world," said Kumar.Source: IANS Following the March 22, 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks that killed 35 and wounded over 300 others the Arab press featured numerous articles accusing the West and various opponents in the region of supporting terrorism.[1] However, several notable articles expressed self-criticism, laying the responsibility for the creation of suicide bombers and for horrific terror attacks on the prevailing cultures and perceptions in the Muslim and Arab countries of origin. They harshly criticized the Muslims for not standing up against terrorism or doing enough to eliminate it and for justifying or even praising the attacks while disregarding any Muslim responsibility for terrorism. (Al-Nahar, Lebanon, March 23, 2016) Following are excerpts from these articles: Al-Hayat Editor: We Have Failed, We Flee Our Countries And The World Attempts To Flee The Wave Of Suicide Bombers Produced By Our Culture In an article titled "We Have Failed Indeed," the editor of the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat, Ghassan Charbel, attacked the Arabs and Muslims for sowing destruction and fear in the very same European countries that had agreed to take them in after they had fled their failed countries. Charbel argued that the Arabs and Muslims had not managed to build states and citizens that could integrate into the modern world, and that they must recognize their failure and start from scratch. He wrote: "Are we [the Arabs and Muslims] simply part of this world, or are we perhaps an explosive charge implanted in [this world's] entrails? Are we a normal neighborhood in the global village, or are we maybe a neighborhood of suicide bombers in [that village]? Are these massacres that move [from place to place] aimed at annexing the Arab and Muslim communities in the West to the lexicon of slaughter and suicide? Are we part of the world's present and future, or are we a dark tempest that seeks to send [the world] back to the caves that it abandoned when it chose the path of progress and human dignity? "Do we seek to defend our character, right, or identity? Or do we [actually] seek to impose this character on others? Is our option for the other essentially that he will either be like us or we will blow him up, so that his body parts mingle with ours? Is it accurate [to say] that we are calmed only by seeing the streets of the other's world full of barricades of corpses and broken glass? Who was it that allowed Muslim fanatics to kill a Turk on the streets of Istanbul, a Frenchman on the streets of Paris, and a tourist on the streets of Brussels? "Has a man who came as a refugee or immigrant to a foreign country that took him in and provided him with a roof over his head, an address, social assistance, and medical care the right to blow himself up on its streets because it did not embrace his character, his interpretation, and his mode of thinking and way of life? Does the discourse regarding unemployment and non-integration in Western society detract from [the horror of] the crime? Has a spiteful person the right to kill the other merely because he does not drink with him at the same fount? Have we have the right to continue delving into historical sources in order to rely on past wrongs done to us and use this to justify the slaughter of innocents in a country whence we fled because of a tyrant or a civil war [in our own countries]? Who gave us the right to dictate to others the nature of their regimes, their values, and their lifestyle? "We have failed indeed. "This is the truth that can no longer be concealed or condoned. We have failed at building a normal state - a state that lives within its borders. a state of institutions that strives its utmost to obtain progress and development and provide its citizens with work opportunities and involvement, a state that cooperates with its neighbors and the world without being panic-stricken or fettered by spite. We have also failed to build a normal citizen, [one] who belongs to the current stage of development in a rapidly developing world. "We have failed indeed. "For decades and centuries, we have been gripped by negligence. We feared, and we closed ourselves off. We punished the oppositionist. We obliterated those who cast doubt, and accused anybody who raised questions of treason. We imprisoned the throats, the fingers, and the dreams. And thus our institutions rotted away - if they ever existed at all. The schools, the universities, and our educational curricula rotted away. Children graduate from our schools with sick imaginations and inflexible emotions... The student has become a number... and a bomb. We stood still on the world's platform, as it [the world] moved ahead, further and further, and we became sadder and angrier. We continued to feel that the world was being built without us, and in our absence - that it was being built against us. And this was how we readied our bodies and the explosive charges and blew ourselves up. "We have failed indeed. "These feelings overpowered me when I listened to Syrians in Berlin recounting how they had crammed into the death boats in the hope of casting themselves and their children [ashore] into the bosom of a European country; when I listened to the Iraqis who had used the Syrians' passports; and when I saw the tragedy in the eyes of the Yazidis, who were fleeing the hell of the [Islamic] State of [Abu-Bakr] Al-Baghdadi. This is frightening. How much we have read about our homelands and their deeply planted historical roots, while now we can only dream of escaping them, letting them die and writhe in agony around the sectarian anthems and victories by the militias. How we deluded ourselves that we were one people - and then our compatriots in this one people murdered us. We are left only with the death boats to flee our drowning countries... "We have failed indeed. "The world is seeking the best way to evade the throngs of refugees that we are sending, and the waves of suicide [terrorists] that are arriving from our territory and culture. The world treats us today as the source of peril to its security, progress, democracy and stability. The only solution remaining to us is to acknowledge this comprehensive and resounding failure, this terrible collapse. We must start from scratch, like a city devastated by a deadly earthquake. Continuing to hide behind lies and fallacies will [only] prolong our stay in the caves. We cannot progress to the future with our antiquated concepts and tattered garments. We cannot board the train without paying the fare [exacted] for our stagnation, our delusions, and our inflexible perceptions."[2] Jordanian Writer: Justifying Terrorism Is Worse Than The Attacks Themselves; We Are Responsible For The Terrorism In Our Own Countries Tareq Masarwa, a writer for the official Jordanian daily Al-Rai, criticized how some Arabs are attempting to justify terrorist attacks by claiming that European countries are racist and marginalize Muslims. He wrote: "... [According to] some analyses [of the Brussels attacks,] the terrorists grew up in the outskirts of European cities and were angry at being marginalized! We hear these same excuses here. However, other analyses responded [to these claims] with a wise comparison: They [the Muslim terrorists in Europe] chose terrorism. Otherwise, why aren't there millions of [South] American terrorists in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, since they too are poor and grew up in the outskirts of big cities?! According to another analysis, Europe does not give immigrants from North Africa, and specifically from Africa itself, the same opportunities that it gives European immigrants. This constitutes a justification of terrorism, since Europe gives the immigrant the opportunity for a free education, and thousands of Jordanians have attended French and German universities for free... and had an easy time becoming citizens of those countries... How are France, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium expected to promote immigrants who are illiterate? And under what social conditions can a 10-person Arab or African family [hope to] exist?! "It is shameful that we demand that the world treat us justly as we drive away our sons by killing them, imprisoning them, or failing to provide them with proper education, healthcare, and employment, and with a dignified life. The sight of people flocking to Europe's borders, including Syrians, Iraqis, Kurds, Afghans, and Iranians, is heartbreaking, especially when they are carrying their children or pushing them in front of them - but all we do is curse the Europeans as racists who hate Muslims and foreigners, and consider it our right to murder them in their airports, trains, and theaters. "Did the Europeans take over our countries? Yes. But they left over 50 years ago, and we now call on them to bring down our tyrants, and accuse them of dragging their feet [on this issue]. "Terrorism is a crime, and justifying it is an even worse crime. What is happening in the cities of Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, and Tunisia is terrorism, and we are responsible for its formation, its arming, and its funding. It is pointless to justify the murder of Europeans and Americans out of a desire to justify our own crimes."[3] Kuwaiti Writer: The Muslims Are Not Doing Enough Against Terrorism - And Some Are Even Praising It Kuwaiti writer and author Khalil 'Ali Haidar wrote in the Bahraini daily Al-Ayyam that the Muslims are not doing enough against terrorism and are shirking their responsibility for it. He wrote: "What are we doing here in our countries, or in Western countries in Europe and America, while these terrible blows of terrorism land on us and them, one after the other? ... In fact, we do not know how to act against these terrorists. Is it sufficient that following each of these terrorist actions, which take place in merciless rapid succession and are all perpetrated by young Muslims... that we say 'they aren't Muslims' and 'they do not represent true Islam' and are misguided khawarij[4] and apostates? And will the world be satisfied with [such statements]? "Is it normal that while terrorism succeeds in recruiting hundreds and even thousands of Muslims, we are satisfied to persuade ourselves that their numbers 'are still negligible' compared to the global Muslim population? Must the number of terrorists swell to tens or hundreds of thousands before we realize that a thunderous pounding torrent [is headed] towards us, and that this means that we must stop, convene, and give intellectuals the freedom to examine the reasons [for this] and the freedom to publish the results of their studies? "What if we had been citizens of France, Britain, Spain, and the U.S., and had given Arabs, Pakistanis, Chechens, and others all these benefits [that have been given to the Muslims in Europe], including job opportunities, the option of citizenship, salaries, and subsidies - and then they became terrorists who murdered us?! ... "The religious culture of the Islamic world during this era is afflicted with innumerable ills. We turn the world upside down over various matters, such as an article that offends us, or issues regarding the niqab, Halal meat, Christians using the word Allah - which Muslims in Malaysia, for instance, claim as their exclusive right. [Furthermore,] many leaders of Pakistani and other immigrant [groups] expend all their efforts in the sectarian campaign against the Ahmadi movement, to the point where they have no time to examine this terrorist urge among their young people, including among the educated, engineers and [other] experts. "Unfortunately, the Muslims do not yet unanimously condemn ISIS. Some Muslims praise them [ISIS members], think the media wrongs them, and join them at the first opportunity, and even carry out the first suicide mission they are offered anywhere in the world! "One reason for the immaturity of Muslim young people in Britain, France, and the U.S. is that the leadership of the religious institutions, and all religious activity, still remain in the hands of Arab, Pakistani and other activists and leaders who have fled to the West [and continue to] support political Islam parties. These leaders may not [themselves] carry out terrorist attacks, but they also do not truly take a stand against the terrorist religious culture. Moreover, most of their writings, ideas, and strategic positions regarding an Islamic system and the caliphate state share [this religious culture]. "We say that 'terrorism has no religion and no homeland.' But we must confront the fact that most terrorist attacks in the Arab and Muslim world itself are not carried out by Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Ahmadis, or Baha'is - but by Muslims and the sons and daughters of Muslims. Some are not satisfied with carrying out their crimes in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia, but carry them out in Western countries. And even if they believe that terrorism in Europe and the U.S. is justified because of [these countries'] 'colonialist past' and 'hostile positions' against the Arabs and Muslims - of what crimes are the Egyptians, Iraqis, Afghans, and Nigerians guilty? Do those countries also have shameful colonialist pasts?"[5] Endnotes: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is going to create history in the month of May by launching 22 satellites in orbit in one go. The carrier rocket, PSLV C34, will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Srikarikota this year. Previously, in 2013, they had launched 10 satellites but now they are aiming bigger. Reuters With the Indian remote sensing satellite, Cartosat 2C, playing the main role, there will be four micro-satellites each weighing 85 to 130kg and 17 nano-satellites weighing 4 to 30kg each. Moreover, 18 satellites from different foreign agencies, comprising US, Canada, Germany and Indonesia, are also getting launched. It is going to be a very proud moment for Indians not only because ISRO has taken up such a challenging project and will soon be executing it but also because two of the nano-satellites have been built by Pune University and Sathyabhama University. Kudos to these two universities for such an innovation! Reuters K.Sivan, the Director of VSSC, told The Hindu, The PSLV rocket, in its XL version, will be used for the mission. The injection of so many satellites into the orbit increases the complexity of the mission many fold. For the collection and the study of automatic identification system signals from earths orbit, Canadas micro-satellite M3MSAT will be used. LAPAN A3, the Indonesian micro-satellite, will be used to monitor the magnetic field and also be used for earths surveillance. High temperature events will be captured with the use of remote sensors in German micro-satellite, BIROS, whereas for imaging our beautiful earth, SKYSAT Gen2-1 of Skybox, U.S, will be used. BCCL The nano-satellites include three quadpacks of four earth imaging technology demonstrator satellites each of Spacelift, U.S, and a package of two Canadian satellites which are designed to measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The first test of RLV (Reusable Launch Vehicle) will also take place in the month of May. The RLV-TD is devised to cut down the cost of placing the satellites in the orbit. After the lengthy procedure of tests in VSSC, it will be sent to Bengaluru for acoustic tests before being taken to SHAR. The Republican announced his decision during a news conference in his office at the Georgia Capitol, saying, "I have examined the protections that this bill proposes to provide to the faith based community and I can find no examples of any of those circumstances occurring in our state." Deal added, "I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia." Republican majorities passed the bill to broadly protect people whose actions were rooted in their religion. It also would have protected clergy who won't perform gay marriages and people who won't attend a wedding for religious reasons. Churches and affiliated religious groups could have used their faith as an argument for refusing to serve or hire someone. The bill's opponents said it excused discrimination and could trample local ordinances protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Coca-Cola and other big-name Georgia companies joined the NFL, prominent Hollywood figures and film studios urging Deal to reject the proposal. Some threatened to boycott the state if Deal didn't veto. Deal, in his second and final term, heatedly said that those threats and questions about "my convictions and my character" from some in the religious community were misguided. "I do not respond very well to insults or to threats," he said. "The people of Georgia deserve a leader who will make sound judgments based on solid reasons that are not inflamed by emotion." Deal said he would sign the bill had it passed in its original form, which was limited to protecting clergy who declined to perform same-sex marriages. He said his decision to reject the bill was "about the character of our state and the character of our people. Georgia is a welcoming state; it is full of loving, kind and generous people." Georgia's General Assembly already has left the Capitol for the year, adjourning after midnight on Thursday. Lawmakers can ask the governor to convene a special session, but need a three-fifths majority in both the House and Senate. If they can reach that threshold, overriding a governor's veto requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber. Republicans don't hold that margin in either the House or Senate, and all Democrats voted against the bill. Several Republicans in the House and one in the Senate also cast dissenting votes. Leaders in the House and Senate didn't call for that step on Monday. House Speaker David Ralston said he respected Deal's "thoughtful consideration" but said he doesn't believe the bill permits discrimination. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said the bill struck the "right balance," adding that the state should actively protect religious belief. He blamed "hyperbole and criticism" for the raging debate. "I've always advocated for Georgia's status as the number one state to do business, but as we move forward I will never lose sight of the importance of an individual's right to practice their faith," Cagle said. However, one Republican state senator, Mike Crane of Newnan, called for a special session to override the veto. Crane is running for a congressional seat. Another supporter of the bill, Republican Sen. Josh McKoon of Columbus, wouldn't make any guess about whether there is enough support for a special session. "I'm just disappointed," McKoon said. "Governor Deal ran for office as someone the faith community could rely on." National gay-rights organizations immediately hailed Deal's decision. "We thank Governor Deal for doing the right thing," said Matt McTighe, Freedom for All Americans executive director. "The governor understands that while our freedom of religion is of critical importance, it doesn't mean there's a need for harmful exemptions that can lead to discrimination." Nancy Kidwell is offering the entirety of her town for just $8 million. She tried to sell the property in 2010 for $17 million but couldn't find any buyers. Now the 78-year-old has dropped the price and is including Cal-Nev-Ari's casino, diner, convenience store, 10-room motel, RV park and mile-long dirt airstrip in the deal. The only things not for sale are the residents themselves, some privately owned homes, the small community center and a volunteer fire station built by Clark County Kidwell and her husband, Slim, founded the town in 1965 when it was just an empty swath of land along U.S. 95. Now it is home to about 350 people, but Kidwell said she can't sustain it. Slim died in 1983 and her second husband died in 2011, leaving the bulk of maintaining the town to her. "It's time for someone else to do something with it," the 78-year-old said. "Fifty-one years is long enough." Listing broker Fred Marik said the main value of the property is land and that the businesses are "just breaking even." He said he is advertising the town as a blank canvas. It doesn't have paved roads, but it does have deep-water wells, a sewer system and a utility company. When real estate was a hot commodity, investors bought land in rural towns outside Las Vegas Kidwell said she once had two people get into a bidding war for the town but when the economy crashed interest died down. Marik said he has received a few inquiries so far, with prospective buyers considering the land for a retirement community, a renewable energy project, a motorsports park, a dude ranch, a survival school, a shooting range or a "marijuana resort," if that were to become legal. "You're basically buying the land and the opportunity to grow something on it," Marik said. Resident Kate Colton, who has lived in Cal-Nev-Ari for about 20 years, said she's happy that Kidwell is trying to move forward with her life. She said a marijuana business would be "a little scary," but that new investors are probably a good thing for the community. "The economy here could use a boost," she said. Police did not specify the name of the religious group, but local media have reported that they are members of Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese doomsday cult that carried out a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway in 1995. The Montenegrin police say the group, which also included Japanese, Ukrainian and Uzbek citizens, were expelled Monday after it was found out that they had no temporary residence permits allowing them to stay in the small Balkan country. After their discovery in two hotels in Montenegro, the group members gave statements to police and their laptops and mobile phones were taken for examination. No arrests were made. The 17-year-old apologized to her family Monday before learning her punishment in Wayne County Circuit Court. She earlier pleaded guilty to assault with intent to murder. Her adult boyfriend, Michael Rivera, is serving life in prison for attempted murder and conspiracy. Prosecutors say the then-15-year-old girl stabbed her 12-year-old brother in the neck and tried to stab her younger sister in their Plymouth Township home. Police say that Rivera guided the girl from outside the house, advising her on which knife to use. The Associated Press isn't naming the girl because Rivera was charged in a sex case involving her. HURON COUNTY The brutal winter weather and piled up snow days now means additional time in the classroom for some students in Huron County. The state of Michigan allows school districts to lose six days of attendance requirements when school is canceled due to weather issues, sickness outbreaks and infrastructure problems. In most cases, the days are used for inclement weather like a snow day. Any classroom time a district or school loses beyond the allowable six days must be rescheduled in order for the district to receive its full amount of state school aid funds. of Education, districts are required to offer at least 1,098 hours of instruction and must provide a minimum of 175 days of instruction. The state superintendent may grant additional days or hours of forgiven time only for instruction time missed after April 1. With the state superintendents approval, a district may be granted up to six additional days only for cancellations that happen after April 1. Three school districts in Huron County wont have to worry about making up any days this year because of weather. Harbor Beach, Owendale-Gagetown and Caseville School Districts are all projected to wrap up the school year as scheduled. All three districts missed six days of school due to snow. Harbor Beachs schedule pans out a little differently than the other districts. Superintendent Lawrence Kroswek told the Tribune his district scheduled 180 days of classes for the 2015-16 school year. Kroswek said Harbor Beach still has nearly four days and almost 25 instructional hours to use before having to make any days up due to inclement weather. The weather hit some districts a little harder than others. Four school districts werent so fortunate and went over the six days allowed. At least three of those districts have guaranteed more time in the classroom. Bad Axe took the biggest hit in Huron County, missing eight days of school because of snowfall and icy road conditions. North Huron and Ubly school districts each missed seven days due to weather and will both have students in classes for additional time. Ubly will need to make up two days of classes compared to North Hurons one day because Ubly classes also were canceled in November due to a power outage. The power outage was counted against Ubly and used as a day to miss. The weather kept Elkton-Pigeon Bay Port Laker students out of school for six and a half days, but students may not need to return to make up the missed time. Laker Superintendent Brian Keim told the Tribune the district is looking into options and asking questions as to whether it will have to make it up. Although some schools will be in session longer than expected, the extension of classes will not have an impact or change graduation dates for seniors. GOSHEN A man who shot and wounded another man outside the You You Asian Restaurant and Bar in the Town of Wallkill because he A North Carolina woman preparing a goodbye party for a relative joining the Navy was killed Saturday afternoon when she was struck and killed by an Amtrak train. Authorities had not released the woman's name as of late Sunday, but family members identified her to WNCN as Audrey Manning. Before she was killed, Manning had been helping to tie balloons for the party at a house in Four Oaks about 30 miles southeast of Raleigh, said Police Chief Stephen Anderson. WNCN reported that Manning's grandnephew was due to ship out on Sunday. Four Oaks Mayor Linwood Parker said the woman was walking between houses along a path that crossed the railroad but wasn't considered a marked crossing. "The houses, some of them were built prior to automobiles, and they had a path across the track," he said. "Witnesses said they heard the train blowing the horn," Anderson said. "She must not have heard it and walked in front of the train." The chief added that no charges are expected in the woman's death. "I know my aunt," Manning's niece Quovadis Blue told WNCN Sunday. "There is no way she would have gone across the train tracks if she heard a train coming. Nobody would have." The train was traveling from New York to Savannah, Ga. Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert said none of the crew or 217 passengers were injured. "The person was on the right of way, but didn't have authorization to be on the tracks," Tolbert said. A level of comfort and familiarity around the tracks appears to predate the founding Fair Oaks, which has about 2,000 people. The town's website says it developed around the tracks and owes its name to the railroad. It was chosen as a site for a supply depot because of an unusual landmark -- a tree 50 feet from the tracks that had four trunks growing from one base, the site says. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Almost 100 people mostly from Haiti who were rescued from an overcrowded boat off the Florida coast had no food or water for... A former Navy logistician will serve two years behind bars for taking some $25,000 in cash bribes while conducting humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. Donald Bunch, 46, of Pace, Florida, must also pay back the money plus a $5,000 fine, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled in Florida District Court. The sentence was announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice in a news release. Bunch worked at the Humanitarian Assistance Yard at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan as a senior chief petty officer from February to August 2009, according to department officials. In his role, he assisted in the purchase of supplies from Afghan vendors for use in responding to urgent humanitarian relief needs in Afghanistan. It was through this duty that Bunch arranged and accepted bribes from vendors used to purchase food and other humanitarian supplies. Bunch was tasked with resupplying goods such as rice, beans and clothing for the Humanitarian Assistance Yard and for selecting vendors from a pre-approved list to purchase the goods. "In connection with his guilty plea, Bunch admitted that he had been instructed by his predecessor to rotate among the vendors," Justice officials wrote in the news release announcing his sentencing. Instead, Bunch encouraged the Afghan vendors to bribe him so that he would select them to receive the HA yard's business. He funneled the more frequent and lucrative contracts to the vendors who padded his pockets, officials said. According to information released by DOJ, "Bunch sent greeting cards stuffed with proceeds of the bribes to his wife and used the money to pay for the construction of a new home." The case was investigated by agencies including the FBI, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Attorney Daniel P. Butler of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg of the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case, officials said in the release. Bunch pleaded guilty to accepting bribes on Sept. 18, 2015. According to an online resume, Bunch left the Navy in mid-2011 and most recently worked as a logistician for Mantech International Corporation. Bribery schemes plagued efforts in Afghanistan across the span of the 14-year war. SIGAR, which identified a staggering $17 billion in wasted spending during the war, list ten other troops and U.S. government civilians who pleaded guilty or were sentenced in Afghanistan bribery schemes in 2015 alone. In December, two U.S. soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Ramiro Pena and Staff Sgt. Matthew Louis Bailly, were sentenced to 24 months and 12 months respectively, for a bribery scheme that operated out of the same Humanitarian Assistance Yard where Bunch worked. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Three enlisted Army recruits of the Sikh religion are seeking a federal court ruling that will allow them to serve in the military while wearing the long hair, turban and beards considered sacred articles of faith. The three have already requested a waiver from the grooming and personal appearance regulations but are slated to begin basic training in May. So far, the Army expects them to meet the current regulations or rescind their contracts, according to Eric Baxter, senior counsel with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit law firm that is representing the three men. "It's embarrassing that the Army is still quibbling over their beards when militaries in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India all accommodate Sikhs without a problem," Baxter said. "Hasn't the Army ever heard of Ulysses S. Grant?" The three plaintiffs named in the suit include two already serving in the Army National Guard and one who enlisted under the Army's Accessions Vital to the National Interest program, or MAVNI. Spc. Harpal Singh, who is applying under the MAVNI program, is fluent in three languages the Army deems critical: Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu, according to the lawsuit. He signed a six-year contract with the Army last November and immediately filed for a waiver for religious accommodation, it states. Spc. Kanwar Singh is with the Massachusetts National Guard and Pvt. Arjan Singh Ghotra with the Virginia National Guard, according to the lawsuit. Because Ghotra is not yet 18 years old, he's filing his complaint to court through his father, Satwinder, the document states. Harpal Singh and Kanwar Singh both entered the Guard as specialist based on their educational background and course credits, according to Mark Reading-Smith, a spokesman for The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights organization advocating for the three. The lawsuit is the second that the Becket Fund has filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in recent months in an effort to end the Army's ban on Sikhs retaining their articles of faith while on active duty. In February, it sought an injunction against the Army requiring an officer currently serving with a temporary waiver from undergoing several days of special tests before it would consider making the waiver permanent. The court earlier this month ordered Capt. Simratpal Singh's waiver extended and delayed testing until at least March 31 while the lawsuit is heard. That is just two days from now. Reading-Smith said a decision could come down at any time but he expects nothing will be announced until the deadline. There are currently four Sikhs serving on active duty with temporary exemptions from uniform and grooming regulations, though more than 100,000 Army soldiers have waivers to wear beards for medical reasons. For about half of the injured troops, the waiver is permanent, according to the lawsuit just filed. The Defense Department has so far resisted calls by retired senior military officers and more than 100 members of Congress to lift the ban on Sikh articles of faith. There is no Defense Department-wide prohibition on the turban, beards and long hair, but the Pentagon leaves it up to each service, on a case-by-case basis, to provide religious accommodation. The Army allowed Sikhs to serve with the articles of faith from World War I up through the Vietnam War. In 1981, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger initiated the ban, though Sikhs already serving were grandfathered. Retired Army Col. Gopal S. Khalsa served in Special Forces for 10 years, according to The Sikh Coalition. Khalsa, who at one point served a battalion-level commander overseeing an 800-person intelligence group, was inducted into the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 2004. -- Bryant Jordan can be reached at bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bryantjordan. U.S. military families have been ordered to evacuate bases in Turkey to keep to them safe from possible attacks, officials announced Tuesday. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the order to leave Turkey would affect about 670 of the total of 770 dependents in the country. The 670 dependents are at the main Incirlik airbase and two other smaller bases at Izmir and Mugla, Cook said. The approximately 100 dependents who are being allowed to stay were with spouses assigned to Ankara, the Turkish capital, and Istanbul, which were considered safer postings, Cook said. Cook did not give a timeline for when the dependents would leave but said "my understanding is that this will move very quickly." The departures were not a response to the Brussels terror attacks last week in which an Air Force officer and four members of his family were wounded in the explosion at the Zaventem international airport, Cook said. "I don't believe this was specifically triggered by the Brussels attacks," Cook said. "It's not because of any one action or specific threat," Cook said, but was instead a step taken "out of an abundance of caution." The evacuation "is intended to mitigate the risk to DoD elements and personnel, including family members, while ensuring the combat effectiveness of U.S. forces and our mission support to operations in Turkey," U.S. European Command posted in a message on its Facebook page. The evacuation order applies to all Defense Department dependents in the Adena area, including Incirlik Air Base, Ismir and Mugla. "The decision to move our families and civilians was made in consultation with the Government of Turkey, our State Department, and our Secretary of Defense," Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, head of the command, said in the statement. "We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism," he added. Families at Incirlik Air Base had been previously offered voluntary relocation back to the States, though most had not accepted it. Turkey has also been subject to a travel ban for service members not on official business and civilians on Pentagon accompanied orders since last year. A military family member stationed Incirlik Air Base, who asked that her name not be used, told Military.com that official information about the evacuation is still trickling in. Her husband will continue to be stationed at the base without them for the remainder of his two-year tour, she said. "Im heartbroken," she said. "We're looking at basically a 15-month deployment now." The spouse was spending spring break with her three children in Europe when the evacuation was announced and is now at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. She said families visiting there from Turkey are not allowed to return to retrieve belongings. She said about eight families were pulled from a flight to Turkey this afternoon. The spouse said officials are allowing families with school-aged children to stay in Europe for the rest of the school year. After that, she does not yet know what they will do, she said. She said everyone she knows at Incirlik felt safe on base. "Several of us have joked that if they tell us to leave, we're going to hide out or chain ourselves to a tree to avoid being forced to go," she said. Moving also brings with it a financial impact for many families, the woman said. "Many spouses have jobs there and it's just regular life," she said. "Luckily I telecommute to a department in the states but others are rightfully nervous about the financial impact of an ordered departure on their families." -- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com -- Richard Sisk can be reached at richard.sisk@military.com It's always hard for Vietnam combat veterans to come to the shiny black wall where the names of the war dead are inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial, but a small group was there Tuesday as dignitaries laid a wreath to honor the sacrifice. "I've got a lot of friends up there, a lot of friends, too many" whose names are listed on the wall, said Peter E. "Pete" Davis, 73, of the Blinded Veterans Association. "Every time, it's difficult" coming back, said the former sergeant who served with the Army's 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1965-67. "It's always very emotional," said 83-year-old Donald Hilbert, a retired Army major general from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn who served two tours in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division and was at the wall with Davis for what was billed as the "50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War." Hilbert and Davis were among a small group of Viet vets who stood crisply at attention as an Army bugler played "Taps" at the apex of the memorial, the black, V-shaped wall near the Lincoln Memorial which lists the names of more than 58,190 who were killed-in-action or missing-in-action. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Veterans Administration Secretary Bob McDonald presented a wreath to honor the more than seven million Vietnam-era veterans, though the "50th anniversary" designation appeared to confuse some of the vets present. "I don't know what that 50th thing means," Davis said. Fifty years ago was 1966. The official reference to the Vietnam War era for the U.S. ran from 1955 to 1975. Standing nearby was Mark Franklin, a historian for the Vietnam War Commemoration Advisory Committee, who said that the subject of Vietnam and the American involvement there can easily lead to disputes. "Put 10 historians in a room and you'll come up with 11 different answers" on when the war began for the U.S. and when it ended, he said. Franklin said that in 1974, then-President Richard M. Nixon declared March 29 as "Vietnam Veterans Day." That was 42 years ago. The answer is apparently found in the proclamation issued by President Barack Obama in 2012 declaring the period from May 28, 2012, to Nov. 11, 2025, as "the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War." The year 2025 will mark 50 years since the last U.S. troops left Saigon. Neither Carter nor McDonald spoke in the brief ceremony at the wall, but both later spoke warmly and in private to several Vietnam vets, including Hilbert, who had lined up at the base of the wall to receive Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins. The pins said "Vietnam War Veteran" with the image of an eagle on the front and on the back had the statement: "A grateful nation thanks and honors you." At a later Pentagon news conference, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Carter told each of the Vietnam vets of his gratitude "for their service and steadfast devotion to our country. He told them he believes they never received the homecoming they deserved" and conveyed that "he's committed to demonstrating the thanks of a grateful nation by supporting veterans and their families in every way he can," Cook said. Hilbert, who served as a company commander on his first tour in Vietnam and as a battalion commander on his second tour with the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, said he was grateful to Carter for making time for the vets. But as always, when he's at the wall, Hilbert said his thoughts returned to that young lieutenant from the 1st Brigade who was so outstanding -- Gardner -- whose name is on the wall. First Lt. James A. Gardner, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions near My Canh, Vietnam, on Feb. 7, 1966. It was his 23rd birthday. Gardner's citation said that his platoon was advancing "to relieve a company of the 1st Battalion that had been pinned down for several hours by a numerically superior enemy force" fighting out of a series of fortified bunkers. Airstrikes and artillery called in on the enemy positions had little effect. "Leading the assault and disregarding his own safety, 1st Lt. Gardner charged through a withering hail of fire across an open rice paddy," the citation said. He destroyed a bunker with a grenade, then a second. At the third bunker, the machine-gunner leaped out. Gardner shot and killed him at short range with his rifle. Gardner rallied his platoon to continue the attack but they were pinned down by machine-gun fire from other bunkers. "Rolling into a ditch to gain cover, he moved toward the new source of fire," the citation said. "Nearing the position, he leaped from the ditch and advanced with a grenade in one hand and firing his rifle with the other. He was gravely wounded just before he reached the bunker, but with a last valiant effort he staggered forward and destroyed the bunker, and its defenders with a grenade" before succumbing to his wounds. Gardner's "conspicuous gallantry was in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army," the citation said. In his proclamation, Obama said that "as a grateful nation, we honor more than 58,000 patriots -- their names etched in black granite -- who sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know." -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. The Brewers have released lefty Franklin Morales, per a club announcement. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported on Twitter that Morales had been informed that he would not make the club. As an Article XX(B) free agent, he would be due a retention bonus if not placed on the active roster. Milwaukee stood to promise Morales $2.3MM if he made the club under the minor league deal he signed over the winter. That contract also included $1.5MM in available incentives. Morales was coming off of a nice bounceback season last year with the Royals, in which he threw 62 1/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with 5.9 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 with a 49.5% groundball rate. While the peripherals suggested that he benefited from some luck (as well as the Royals defense behind him), Morales was undeniable excellent against left-handed hitters who slashed just .194/.250/.320 against him. The move appears to open the door for fellow southpaw Chris Capuano to make the club, as Haudrcourt notes on Twitter. Indeed, hes been informed that will be the case, per colleague Todd Rosiak (also via Twitter). Economic growth is Myanmars number one priority, according to the finance minister designate. In an interview with The Myanmar Times, the National League for Democracys choice for Union planning and finance minister, U Kyaw Win, set out his views. Improving the financial sector, enforcing taxation and promoting rural development are together the key to economic growth, he said. Given the current economic climate, we are unlikely to see falling growth, but it is difficult to assess the rate of development because we lack detailed data. But we must try as hard as we can because we dont have much time, he said. Myanmars economy is mainly based on agriculture and livestock, both of which have faced growing challenges over the past five years, he said. If we can draw up a strategic plan for rural development, the economy will develop rapidly over the next few years, said U Kyaw Win. But there are no job opportunities for rural people, and many have flocked to the cities, exacerbating the problem with illegal residents. Thats why we need to promote manufacturing through rural development in order to boost exports. He also promised a review of the taxation system including exemptions. That doesnt mean a tax increase. But extensive exemptions from tax mean big losses for the country, he said. For the finance sector, we will need to reassess monetary policy and provide better support to the banking industry. If we can guarantee good credit risk management on loans, foreign banks will invest more into the credit sector and local banks can do better. Improvements in the credit sector will help small and medium enterprises develop, he added. We will also need to encourage the stock market to strengthen its current momentum, he added. Since 2011, Myanmar has attracted almost US$19.2 billion in pledged foreign investment, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. DICA director general U Aung Naing Oo said foreign investment is likely to continue to grow under the incoming government. The democratic transformation of the past five years has spurred economic growth, which is projected to reach 6.5 percent by the end of this fiscal year, according to World Bank estimates, and 8.5pc according to the International Monetary Fund. However, some entrepreneurs believe there has very little progress by comparison with ASEAN neighbours. They list major stumbling blocks including transportation, finance and economic policy. All three must be reformed in order to attract new investors, said U Nay Lin Zin, who owns an import-export company. For instance, factories have to pay very high unit electricity charges, plus another blanket 10 percent. We dont know why, he said. There are still many issues in the transportation and banking sectors. We will have to wait and see how the newly organised ministries address these problems. Translation by Zar Zar Soe Thai firm Chiangmai Frozen Foods will build a 60,000-square-metre plant in Nay Pyi Taw, the company announced yesterday. The Thai firm saw an opportunity in Myanmars less competitive vegetable processing industry, where the government has only recently started promoting foreign investment, Chiangmai Frozen Foods said. Nay Pyi Taw will be a priority area for infrastructure development, and is close to areas of agricultural production, the firm added. The outgoing government has been criticised for funnelling its agriculture budget into farmland around the capital city, while the rest of the country remains underdeveloped. An overhaul of the agricultural sector is one of the five pillars of the incoming National League for Democracys economic strategy. Linkages between farmers, traders and exporters are not well established, the NLD has said. Chiangmai Frozen Foods will own between 60 and 90 percent of a Myanmar subsidiary yet to be named and incorporated which it will use to export frozen vegetables. The firm is leasing 47.7 acres of land for its plant from local company Sein Taung Yar. The lease will last for 50 years with options for two 10-year extensions. Sein Taung Yar must coordinate with the authorities to arrange usage of land within nine months of April 1. The Thai firm has budgeted 80 million baht (K2.7 billion or US$2.2 million) for the initial land acquisition, and expects total investment to run to 700 million baht. Of this, 50 million would be spent on the land lease and the other 650 million on building the plant and buying equipment. Chiangmai Frozen Foods is preparing to pay a deposit equal to 50pc of the total lease fee. The Thai firm said it has the right to cancel the project if there are changes in Myanmar laws that cause significant change in return, but would have to forfeit a deposit equivalent to 30pc of the total lease value. Telenor continues to confront thorny health and safety issues in Myanmar, with an accident on one of its tower sites leading to two deaths and continued instances of child and underage labour cropping up. At a sustainability briefing yesterday the third given by the Norwegian operator, which is the only telco to hold a public event discussing these issues Telenor Myanmar CEO Petter Furberg covered major risks in the telecoms sector ranging from land issues to health and safety concerns. And though the company has taken measures to prevent violations, still it has seen tragedy strike. Mr Furberg said last June, two workers on a Mandalay tower site died in an accident due to serious violations of the firms health, safety, security and environmental (HSSE) standards. It was due to improper excavation of the tower pit, which ... has to be [done] in a way where the walls are not pointing inwards or collapsing, said Mr Furberg. It is also extremely important that the [soil] that has been taken out of the pit is placed securely around the pit. That had not happened in this case. The incident in part drove Telenor to implement a five-step sign-off process, which requires approval following progressive phases of the tower construction. In total, three people have died on tower sites contracted by the company since 2014, according to Telenor. The company does not build its own towers, but hires infrastructure companies to put them up on its behalf. In comparison, Telenors competitors Ooredoo and Myanma Posts and Telecommunications both told The Myanmar Times yesterday they had no reported fatalities on their tower sites in the past year. Meanwhile, Telenor reported that zero fatalities had occurred in the first quarter of 2016. In the same period, the company has found six cases of underage labour and one case of child labour in its supply chain. Underage labour refers to work conducted by teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17, while those under 15 years old are classified as child workers. Telenor found 13 cases of child labour and 38 cases of underage labour in its supply chain in 2015, with child labour cases up by seven on the previous year and underage labour down from 45 cases in 2014. Since we started [operations], we have discovered 89 cases of underage labour and 19 cases of child labour, Mr Furberg said yesterday. The numbers are going down, but we still have not been able to eradicate it. Child and underage labour is a complex issue in Myanmar, as Mr Furberg said international standards ban anyone under the age of 18 from potentially hazardous work a stipulation which forbids them from the companys tower sites. Meanwhile, local law dictates that from the age of 14, Myanmar children are eligible to work, he said adding that according to UNICEF, about one-third of children are working. To combat child and underage labour in its supply chain, Telenor conducts inspections the vast majority of them unexpected 95 times per week on average now, with over 4500 completed since 2015 and 7382 performed in total. The inspection team can halt work on a site if they see breaches this has happened 48 times and nine site supervisors have been fired for violations, Mr Furberg said. Were also asking our partners to blacklist subcontractors that have repeated offences, he said, with data yesterday pointing out that four have been struck off. All work and no play, children prop up Myanmars economy The issue of child labour, however, cant be solved by one company in the telecoms industry alone. In Shan State last year, Mr Furberg and a colleague spotted someone working on a Telenor tower site without protective gear. Of course the brakes were hit, he said. We ran out and were told by the site supervisor that they were working for another operator which didnt demand the same HSSE standards as Telenor. He said as long as there are different standards among suppliers and between operations, it will be impossible to lift industry benchmarks to an international level. The telco also addressed challenges to operating in Myanmar at its sustainability briefing, including corruption and infrastructure-sharing. It has introduced a no-gift policy to simplify procedures on presents, Mr Furberg announced, though the new rule doesnt count Telenor merchandise. Those of you who would like a Telenor propeller and cups and T-shirts will still be able to get them, he said to laughs. A state liason officer for the company was in one case asked by a local township authority for donations. The official was rejected and was told that accepting money could result in prosecution, and further requests could bring higher authorities into the picture, said Mr Furberg, adding that, in the end, the documents were stamped without any money changing hands. Donations were also sought by one ethnic armed group, who blocked work on towers. The situation led, even after weeks of talks, to Telenor withdrawing from the area. We did not reach an agreement satisfactory to Telenor, [as] we never pay any local taxes or donations in these situations, Mr Furberg said. We pulled out and even filled in one tower pit that had been excavated. Telenor reported yesterday it had nearly 5000 towers live across Myanmar bringing the company halfway to its goal of covering 90 percent of the country with almost 10,000 towers. Population coverage has reached 62pc, Mr Furberg said, with more than one-half of users engaging with data each month. The operator has now entered all of Myanmars states, regions and territories, though it cannot run its network in some areas due to conflict or permissions. We have come far, said Mr Fur-berg. But were still not yet where we really want to be with respect to international standards. For much of the world, facial tattoos can be controversial. German photographer Jens-Uwe Parkitny found himself especially drawn to the mystical facial tattoos of the Chin women and dedicated his career to documenting the art. His latest show, Marked for Life: Myanmars Chin Women and their Facial Tattoos, will be on display at Goethe Villa from March 29 to April 8. Parkitny first encountered the tattooed women on his second trip to Myanmar in the late 1990s. I was shocked when I first saw the beautiful marks I couldnt stop staring at their faces, he said. It was something that Id never seen before, as in Germany facial tattoos are taboo for all. At that moment I knew that I had found my photography focus. He started his photo project in the 2000s and returned to Myanmar several times to uncover more of the history of facial tattoos. I wanted to discover the extent of facial tattooing in this country, so I travelled to Rakhine State, Magwe and Chin State, he said. It took me several years. Despite the fact that facial tattooing has been officially banned in Myanmar since the 1960s for health-related issues, Parkitny found that the practice was still very much ongoing during his trips to Chin State in the 2000s. He learned that the art of tattooing has roots that trace back centuries to ancient Myanmar when tattoos were believed to have held magical or spiritual powers. The photographs he took during those trips inspired him to create a photo exhibition titled Blood Faces: Faces of the Chin Women, which has since shown in Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, the Netherlands and other countries around the world. I wanted to show their faces and the old, rare art form that is banned nowadays, Parkitny said. Marked for Life: Myanmars Chin Women and their Facial Tattoos by Jens-Uwe Parkitny will be on display at Goethe Villa, 8 Ko Min Ko Chin Road (next to Butterfly Hotel) from March 29 to April 8. Free entrance, 10am-6pm daily. Confirmation that the National League for Democracy has appointed all 14 chief ministers from within the party immediately ran into criticism yesterday, particularly from ethnic minority parties in the three states Rakhine, Shan and Kachin where the NLD holds a minority in parliament. All but one of the chief ministers was announced in sessions of the state and regional assemblies yesterday with the Kachin State parliament due to hold its hearing today. MPs from the Arakan National Party staged a walk-out when the Speaker announced U Nyi Pu as Rakhine chief minister. This followed talks in Nay Pyi Taw last week with the NLD which rejected ANP demands, as the largest party in parliament, to lead the state government. ANP general secretary U Tun Aung Kyaw said that his party would refuse in scheduled follow-up talks to accept any positions in the state executive. He would agree to meet but said the talks would be nonsense since the NLD had already taken the position of chief minister. We are very disappointed over the decision. They decided without any consultation with us, he added. The NLD choice for Shan State, U Lin Htut, was criticised for being an ethnic Bamar. Shan activists complained that the NLD had promised to appoint someone from an ethnic minority. A 56-year-old dentist, U Lin Htut was born in Yangon Region but worked in northern Shan State, in Kutkai and Lashio, from 1994 to 2006. He said his first priority was to work on the peace process, followed by tackling drug-related issues and unemployment. He promised to set up public forums for peace because we need to talk more instead of fighting. Responding to public complaints over his ethnicity, he admitted that there were not a lot of ethnic Shans involved in NLD politics. He said President-elect U Htin Kyaw had entrusted him with the important and sensitive post. I dont think I am perfect, so I will try again and again and serve with love, he said. U Ye Htun, a former MP of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party which was seen as close to the military-backed government and won just one seat in the state, said the new NLD chief minister would face problems with the USDP-military majority in the state hluttaw, particularly in passing the state budget. The new government would have to give and take with the USDP, he said. U Khat Aung, a 70-year-old Kachin Christian who is also a dentist, is expected to be nominated as Kachin State chief minister today. His well-known brother, U Khat Htein Nan, was an MP for a Kachin party allied to the USDP from 2011 to 2016 but lost his upper house seat in last years election. U Khat Aung was not politically active under the military regime and only became a member of the NLD last year, according to his friends, who described him as a very honest man. I feel sorry the NLD did not discuss in advance with us over appointing the chief minster or forming the government. But we can cooperate if they really work for development of Kachin State, said Manam Tu Ja, chair of the Kachin State Democracy Party. The NLD defended its choices, saying it was the presidents right to appoint chief ministers according to the 2008 constitution. However, officials insisted that other parties would be offered ministerial posts in the state and region governments. NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who made herself the only woman in the Union cabinet appointed two women chief ministers: veteran party member Nan Khin Htwe Myint for Kayin State and Daw Lae Lae Maw, a 50-year-old medical doctor, for Tanintharyi Region. Other appointments included U L Phaong Sho (Kayah), Pu Lian Luai (Chin), U Mahn Johnny (Aye-yarwady), U Min Min Oo (Mon), U Myint Naing (Sagaing), U Win Thein (Bago), U Aung Moe Nyo (Magwe), U Phyo Min Thein (Yangon) and party spokesperson U Zaw Myint Maung (Mandalay). Some analysts suggested the appointments did not bode well for the partys declared policy of promoting national reconciliation. I foresee there will be challenges and confrontations between the NLD and ethnic parties. Its true the NLD has the right to appoint chief ministers under this constitution but they should not act like this in the current political situation. They should consult with ethnic parties first, said U Yan Myo Thein. He said he doubted the NLDs ability to achieve success in the peace process or bring about significant development over its five-year term because the chief ministers risked being able to do nothing under the centralised power of the party. This attempt to control the state governments would run into delays and difficulties in implementing the budget and development projects, he said. This is not a good signal from the NLD, he added. The ambitious plan for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to lead four of the 18 civilian ministries is only a temporary arrangement, according to one of the new cabinet members. The roster approved unanimously by Pyidaungsu Hluttaw on March 21 awards the National League for Democracy leader control over the ministries of foreign affairs, education, electric power and energy, and the Presidents Office. But newly appointed Minister for Religion and Cultural Affairs Thura U Aung Ko said the multi-tasking bonanza will not stay in place for too long. It will be difficult for Daw Suu to take control of the four ministries for a long time. I assume that she will take control of all four ministries to guide them temporarily, said the former Union Solidarity and Development MP who sat next to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in parliament. He spoke to reporters on March 25 after a meeting with the NLD leader and all the new ministers in Nay Pyi Taw. Thura U Aung Ko acknowledged concerns that taking control of four ministries for a long time is hard work and one minister alone would not be able to do the job. Looking at Daw Suus health, it will be difficult to do, he said of the 70-year-old democracy icon. Following the meeting in the capital, Thura U Aung Ko said the NLD leader had instructed all incoming ministers to draw up a plausible plan for their respective portfolios within 100 days. NLD leaders next challenge: bureaucracy With religious affairs likely to pose a challenge for the NLD, which has already clashed with the rising tide of Buddhist nationalism over the past few years, Thura U Aung Ko said that building understanding to prevent politics and religion from coming to a head would be his priority. There will be challenges for the new government. Religious affairs might be one of them. To prevent risks due to a lack of religious and political awareness, I will build understanding with monk organisations first, he said. After that, he plans to strengthen understanding with other religious leaders. Without naming any particular organisation, Thura U Aung Ko said that some conservative groups are not so interested in seeing the fruition of the new government. We cant say that there is nobody in the country wanting to create instability. Such groups may appear, said Thura U Aung Ko. Hard-line Buddhist groups like Ma Ba Tha have protested regularly over the past few years, exerting their muscle over political issues. Citizenship and the right to vote for the countrys unrecognised minorities, especially Muslim Rohingya who are officially called Bengali, have proved particular trigger points. The NLD admitted just ahead of the November elections that it had avoided fielding any Muslim candidates to avoid provoking the nationalist establishment. Last October, party spokesperson U Win Htein told outspoken monk U Wirathu to go to hell for meddling in the election. Most recently, monks took to the street to protest the appointment of a Christian as vice president. Translation by Win Thaw Tar and Thiri Min Htun Senior National League for Democracy official U Zaw Myint Maung appears set to take the chief minister post in Mandalay Region, after President-elect U Htin Kyaw nominated him for the post yesterday. The former doctor had been widely tipped for the job prior to the announcement. U Zaw Myint Maung said he would accept if the parliament approved his appointment. I have no right to refuse this post because the selection was made by the president. But other representatives have a right to object so I will need to pass that stage. Not until I have taken the oath will I be chief minister, he said. U Zaw Myint Maung became involved in politics through the 1988 uprising, during which he was the secretary of the committee of demonstrating students at Mandalay University and co-secretary of the committee of demonstrating doctors in upper Myanmar. He won the constituency of Amarapura in the 1990 election but was later jailed and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. He was released in an amnesty in 2009 and soon returned to politics, winning the seat of Kyaukpadaung in the 2012 by-elections. He returned to Amarapura in the 2015 election, winning a regional hluttaw seat. A military MP said he would not object to the proposal. I have no reason to object to the president-elects decision to nominate Dr Zaw Myint Maung for the regional chief minister position, he said. Translation by Zar Zar Soe Communities in Chin and Rakhine states may begin to face severe food shortages in the coming months unless urgent action is taken, according to United Nations agencies. A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) highlighted how an alarming level of food insecurity continues to grip regions hit hardest by Cyclone Komen in late July and early August 2015. Over half a million hectares of farmland was flooded immediately after the cyclone, with around 340,000 hectares destroyed. Areas of Chin and Rakhine states in particular are far from a full recovery. The report makes the worrying assessment that paddy production appears to have fallen by up to 15 percent in western parts of Myanmar. FAO Myanmar representative Bui Thi Lan told The Myanmar Times that this number is extremely severe. In the case of Rakhine, where nearly 45pc of the population are reportedly already living below the poverty line, the considerable decrease in the 2015 rice production is expected to result in reduction in food supplies, she said. The impact of such a considerable decrease is felt not only on farmers but also on the landless and agricultural day labourers. There have also been high losses in livestock and fisheries in these areas, including 23,000 hectares of damaged shrimp ponds. Download the full report Both agencies are urging immediate assistance in Chin and Rakhine by distributing seeds for the forthcoming monsoon planting seasons, providing materials for harvest and post-harvest, as well as urgent restocking of livestock, such as chickens, ducks, goats and pigs, to avoid a further fall in protein intake. WFP Myanmar representative Domenico Scalpelli said affected households have faced difficulties in obtaining credit, so cash assistance is also needed in order to resume their livelihoods. Ms Bui Thi Lan also said there need to be longer-term interventions which enable farmers and communities to better cope with future emergencies. She said this includes developing grain banks at communal and regional levels to reduce post-harvest losses, constructing micro-dams in suitable areas and establishing a national early warning unit of food insecurity. But as the situation deteriorates in these areas, both UN agencies are grappling with ongoing funding issues. The WFO recently stated that it is US$47 million short of being able to meet all food assistance needs in Myanmar while the FAO is trying to secure further funding of $7.1 million. Major ethnic armed groups that stayed outside last years nationwide ceasefire agreement have called for early talks with Myanmars new government. We all are eager to cooperate with the new government. We agree that political dialogue with the new government should be held as soon as possible. We would like to create the groundwork for the internal peace process, seven armed groups said in a joint statement after two days of talks hosted by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in its Pangkham border stronghold. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said the ceasefire pact signed by U Thein Seins government last October with eight mostly minor ethnic armed groups must be broadened to include those that remain outside. The UWSA, which has close ties to China and is the most powerful of Myanmars armed groups, has sought to play a leading role among the ethnic organisations that refused to sign last Octobers ceasefire pact or were excluded by the government and Tatmadaw. The seven groups meeting in Pangkham also called on the Tatmadaw to halt its offensives in northern Shan State that have displaced several thousand people in recent months, and urged the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) to stop their fighting. The RCSS, one of the eight signatories, denies that it has profited from its ceasefire status in an attempt to expand its territorial control in northern Shan by fighting the TNLA, which was one of three groups shut out of the peace process by the military-backed government. The Pangkham statement, dated March 26, warned that if the RCSS intensified the conflict, the ethnic armed groups would have to intervene in what is already a complicated situation. Ethnic armed revolutionary groups will try to prevent the other side from attempting to continue the fighting, the seven groups said, without specifying how they would do so. Joining the UWSA in Pangkham were the allied National Democratic Alliance Army (Mongla), the Kachin Independence Army and the Shan State Progressive Party, as well as the three groups the government excluded from its peace talks the TNLA, the Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army. Representatives of the signatory groups and the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which represents nine non-signatories, said they held informal talks in Chiang Mai on March 27 in a sign that attempts are being made to bridge the divide. Members of the Joint Peace Fund created by western governments to support the peace process have also met both sides in Chiang Mai. The eight signatories, meeting in Chiang Mai from March 24-26, said they had formed a new body to coordinate the peace process with the incoming NLD government. The so-called Ethnic Armed Organisations Peace Process Steering Team will be headed by General Saw Mutu Say Poe of the Karen National Union with RCSS Lieutenant General Yawd Serk as deputy leader. Eight young children have died in Mandalay following an outbreak of a severe meningitis infection that has also spread to Yangon. Four of the Mandalay cases were confirmed to have been caused by the bacterial meningococcal meningitis infection, with four other deaths suspected to have been linked. Tharsi township has been suffering from a seasonal outbreak of the bacterial disease since the beginning of the month. Seven children under 10 years of age are still being treated in isolation for the vaccine-preventable infection, according to the regions health department. We have sent a blood sample to a Yangon laboratory to examine the reason for a childs death on March 26, said Dr Win Naing, head of the Department of Public Health. Education efforts are being carried out in villages in the area, which is also being monitored for patients with the tell-tale symptoms. Meningococcal meningitis is often severe and attacks the lining around the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms can come on suddenly and include a stiff neck, headaches, fever, fatigue, a rash, sensitivity to light, confusion, difficultly waking up, and vomiting, according to the World Health Organization. Without immediate antibiotic treatment, the disease is fatal in close to 50 percent of cases. Between 10pc and 20pc of survivors suffer from brain damage, hearing loss or other neurological complications. The bacterial infection can spread quickly as it is transmitted person-to-person via mucous, particularly through coughing and sneezing, or by sharing eating or drinking utensils. This is a highly infectious disease so we are carrying out preventive measures at once to avoid it spreading like a plague. If you find a patient with meningitis-like symptoms, please inform the nearby health department, said Dr Win Naing. From March 5 to 9, nine children under 10 from villages in Tharsi township arrived at Meiktila General Hospital with symptoms of meningitis. Four children died within days of the outbreaks detection. Tests showed all four to have the Neisseria meningitidis group B bacteria in their blood. The serotype is one of six that can cause meningitis outbreaks. On March 18, an eight-year-old from South Dagon township in Yangon died from the same type of meningitis. Her brother, who died days earlier, was suspected to have also had the bacterial infection. Twenty children from the same ward were admitted to Yankin Hospital on March 19 with similar symptoms. They were later released as their blood tests were negative for meningitis. Now the children are fine, said U Bo Gyi, ward director. The Yangon Region health department is still monitoring for the disease. Additional cases have not been found. No further information about such patients has reached the department so far, said a spokesperson for the public health department. Outbreaks of the bacterial meningitis disease have occurred seasonally in Myanmar since 1992. Health officials attribute the hot season spread to dusty conditions and advise anyone with symptoms to seek immediate medical attention. Additional reporting by Myint Kay Thi, translation by staff More than one in five children between age 10 and 17 go to work instead of school, according to the latest figures collated from the 2014 census. {modal url=http://www.mmtimes.com//files/images/mte/2016/di264/employment-census-st...} {/modal} In addition to the high prevalence of child labour, the occupation and industry data revealed in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday showed a relatively low unemployment rate, though also highlighted vast discrepancies between men and women, and young and more experienced workers, in accessing the labour market. According to the census figures, 4 percent of the labour force aged 15 to 64 were actively seeking but could not find work. The national unemployment rate for men and women were similar at 3.9pc and 4.1pc respectively. The number jumped if only including younger members of the labour force however, with 7.7pc of 15- to 29-year-olds unable to find jobs. We have included people who are searching for jobs in the unemployment rate, but not included those who are not interested in working, said Daw Khine Khine Soe, director of the population department at the Ministry of Immigration and Population. Those voluntarily outside the workforce include students, monks, retired people, and those who are ill or disabled. According to the employment statistics, 21.9 million people aged 15 years and over are employed in the country and, of these, 39pc staff government and private organisations. Forty-four percent are self-employed and 17pc are contributing family workers, said Daw Khine Khine Soe. The employment-to-population ratio is much higher for males at 81pc than for females at 48pc. Females mostly do unpaid household work. Many leave their jobs to get married, said Daw Khine Khine Soe. So the government must create more job opportunities for women. In almost all states and regions the female unemployment rate was higher than the male figure. The discrepancy was largest in Rakhine State, which also had the highest overall unemployment at 10.4pc for both sexes, 9.1pc for men and 12.8pc for women. According to the census data, almost half of the population aged 10 years and over is employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. The second-largest employment categories are wholesale and retail trade, followed by manufacturing with around 1.9 million and 1.4 million employed in these industries reespectively. A quarter of the population employed in wholesale and retail is based in Yangon, while most people employed in manufacturing are concentrated in Mandalay and Yangon regions, the report said. The census also indicated that 1.54 million children 10 to 17 years old are employed. There are 840,000 male and 700,000 female child labourers in the country. Of those child labourers, 61 percent were working in agriculture and 10 percent were in manufacturing. Also 6.4 percent in wholesale and retail, 5.4 percent in construction and 4.5 percent in accommodation and service industry, said the report. Janet E Jackson, country director for the UN Population Fund, said that the large number of child labourers means youth are missing out on education that can help them secure better jobs as adults. Myanmars youthful population puts the country on the verge of an economic boom, a phenomenon known as the demographic dividend, said Ms Jackson. This potential can only be realised, however, if the country invests in its children and young people and provides adequate opportunities for training and productive work. Government officials said only two remaining sections of the census data have yet to be published, the controversial ethnicity and religion reports. The population ministry said the data will soon be released, but was not able to provide specific dates. Ethnic and religious data was withheld from the initial batch of results published in May 2015. Census officials cited the complexity of tallying handwritten responses, though the decision to withhold sensitive segments of the tally was widely perceived as a political rather than logistical decision. There are no problems with the two reports. The next government will release them, said U Nyi Nyi, director of the Department of Population. Arakan National Party MPs yesterday staged a walk-out of parliament to protest the National League for Democracys nomination of party member U Nyi Pu as the states chief minister. The ethnic Rakhine lawmakers left the chamber as the nomination of President-elect U Htin Kyaw was read out. The party, which holds 23 of 47 seats in the state, had been lobbying the NLD for the chief minister position. The military-drafted 2008 constitution gives the president the right to choose the chief minister regardless of the make-up of the local legislatures, a clause the NLD has used to justify taking all 14 chief minister positions despite supporting constitutional changes last year that would have shifted the power to regional parliaments. U Aung Kyaw Htwe, a parliamentarian from the ANP, said the party does not recognise U Htin Kyaws nominee. He described the NLDs failure to heed ANP demands as a monopolisation of power. It shows the ANP stands together with the Rakhine people, he said. The NLD always talks about equality and federalism. But [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] did not respect the ANPs request to form state cabinet by itself. We should point out the NLDs hypocrisy on the issue of national reconciliation, U Aung Kyaw Htwe said. Forty-five of 47 members were present for yesterdays meeting, which continued after the ANP representatives left the meeting room. The walk-out followed negotiations between senior ANP officials and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw on March 24 over the composition of the regional government. U Tun Aung Kyaw, the partys secretary and a participant in last weeks talks, said the ANP walk-out occurred because the party wanted to keep its promise to the Rakhine people that it would form government if it won the election. The ANP does not believe a politician from another party will really understand Rakhine people and their desires, he said. We dont want a puppet chief minister, he said. U Nyi Pu comes from the mainland, even though he is ethnic Rakhine. "The first point is stability": U Nyi Pu, Chief Minister in Rakhine State According to a reporter who attended yesterdays session, the ANP contingent wore black stickers on their jackets during yesterdays session. MP U Aung Win said the campaign showed that the ANP was sad by the decision of the NLD to ignore its demands. Ethnic areas in particular are oppressed by the constitution The NLD should deal with us and respect us regardless of the flaws in the constitution, he said. Incoming chief minister U Nyi Pu told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the ANP opposition to his nomination made him more determined to work for a better future for Rakhine State. I think those kinds of cases may happen more in the future so I am planning to do as much as I can cooperate, negotiate, discuss with all stakeholders in parliament and the Rakhine people. We are being eager to build a future for Rakhine state, he said. The new chief minister for Yangon region U Phyo Min Thein has promised that his government will clean up corruption over its five-year term. U Phyo Min Thein, a National League for Democracy MP for Hlegu, was nominated yesterday by President-elect U Htin Kyaw and approved by the Yangon Region Hluttaw without objection. Speaking to reporters afterward, the new chief minister gave no indication as to when he would form his cabinet, or who would be included. While vowing that Yangon would become a no-corruption business city on his watch particularly in regard to foreign investment he also offered few clues as to how this would be achieved. Among his other priorities, he said, is to take steps to alleviate Yangons grinding traffic jams. I will form a clean government without any corruption. And we will implement what the people need from us, he said. Not all have welcomed the appointment of U Phyo Min Thein, who served as a Pyithu Hluttaw MP from 2012 to 2016 and was on the parliaments banking committee. Last week in Yangon, about 1500 people staged a protest accusing him of election violations and his party of shielding him from a legal investigation. The protest was organised by U Aung Myat Thu, a Union Solidarity and Development Party candidate who lost to U Phyo Min Thein on November 8. He said yesterday that they will continue demanding U Phyo Myin Theins prosecution despite his appointment. I dont care about position he holds. We wont drop our demands. We will protest against him soon, U Aung Myat Thu said. Some have also expressed concern at U Phyo Min Theins lack of formal education. The chief minister only completed the second year of a physics degree, as his studies were interrupted by the 1988 protests. After joining the movement, he then spent many years as a political prisoner. But most reactions have been positive. U Khin Maung Than, general secretary of Yangon Southwest Region Development Association, said that his organisation was glad and proud that U Phyo Min Then would become chief minister. The group is campaigning for the realisation of the Yangon new city, a controversial greenfield project slated for farmland on the west bank of the Yangon River, opposite downtown. We expect that he will help local people who are living in poor conditions on the other side of Kyeemyindaing and will develop the southwest region, U Khin Maung Than said. We like U Phyo Min Thein because based on his experiences and history we believe he will carry out his duties in close cooperation with local residents. The outgoing chief minister, U Myint Swe who will be a vice president in the new Union government has been regularly criticised over the past five years for his close links to prominent businesses and his governments repeated transparency failures. Businesses that have undertaken projects with the regional government in recent years said they were ready to work with the new NLD administration. U Tin Maung Win, the managing director of Capital Development, which won contracts for flyovers from U Myint Swes administration, said he expected U Phyo Min Thein would lead a government focused on Yangons development. If they call tenders or if they offer suggestions, we are ready to work with them. The new government is also our government, regardless of which party it is, he said. The non-profit Yangon Heritage Trust said in a statement yesterday it also looked forward to working closely with U Phyo Min Thein and his administration to make Yangon a more attractive and liveable city, with proper urban planning and conservation. Im delighted that Ko Phyo Min Thein will be Yangons new chief minister. I am confident he will be a strong supporter of proper urban planning and conservation, said the groups chair, U Thant Myint-U. The new administration will be taking office at a pivotal moment for Myanmars biggest city. There are pressing issues of jobs, basic infrastructure, housing, transport, and public health as well as heritage protection that need to be urgently considered, he said. [March 28, 2016] Digital Signal Corporation (DSC) showcased facial intelligence solutions at ISNR 2016 in Abu Dhabi, UAE CHANTILLY, Va., March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Signal Corporation (DSC), a world leader in facial recognition and identity management solutions, and its partner International Golden Group (IGG), announced today that they demonstrated the latest range of security solutions at the International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience 2016 (ISNR) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 15-17, 2016, Stand #A100. Exhibits covered DSC's market leading range of 2D/3D Facial Intelligence solutions. The DSC software suite, combined with its proprietary true 3D imaging technology, enables governments and commercial businesses to perform facial recognition with the highest accuracy available. "We welcomed the opportunity to exhibit at ISNR 2016 along with our partner, IGG," said David Guttadauro, CEO and President of Digital Signal Corporation. "DSC has been developing facial recognition solutions for over 15 years to address our changing society, which needs the security innovation, integration and knowledge that DSC brings. Our biometrics solutions have been used by worldwide customers in applications such as border control and customs, national ID, critical infrastructure, access monitoring, and retail," added Guttadauro. During the show, DSC demonstrated its CES system, the only available facial recognition solution that utilizes 3D and enhanced 2D matching to overcome the limitations of video-based systems and enable reliable identification in a surveillance setting. The CES is designed for real-wrld conditions and it operates indoor, outdoor, or as a self-contained mobile unit to automatically identify and alert on persons of interest. DSC also exhibited ENR a rapid biometric enrollment system that is suited for high-volume, real-world enrollment scenarios and queues, and SEEKER a biometric analysis solution which combines image enhancement, real-time fraud detection, and identity management into a single platform. This highly scalable platform is deployable on premise or in the cloud, and it handles real-time processing and databases of 20+ million records. ISNR Abu Dhabi is the world's largest event for homeland security and national resilience in 2016. This was the 7th edition of ISNR and it hosted 5 dedicated exhibitions, 2 conferences, 100+ seminar presentations and 10+ live features. There were over 500 exhibiting companies from 40 countries, 18,000 local and regional visitors and over 200 government buyers and delegation members. The event brought together experts in security and disaster prevention, management and recovery. Exploring the latest innovations, technologies and solutions in crisis management, border and transport security, intelligence and threat assessment, cyber security, emergency response, critical infrastructure and counterterrorism, ISNR Abu Dhabi continues to be the must-attend security event on the yearly calendar. ABOUT DIGITAL SIGNAL CORPORATION Digital Signal Corporation (DSC), was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia. DSC is the world leader in human identification technology through our revolutionary and proprietary facial intelligence solutions. The DSC software suite, combined with our proprietary true 3D imaging technology, enables governments and organizations to perform facial recognition with the highest accuracy available. With over 100 patents issued or pending, DSC continues to advance research and product development of human identification technology. For more information, please visit www.digitalsignalcorp.com ABOUT INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN GROUP (IGG) International Golden Group PJSC is a well-established company in Abu Dhabi-UAE and it has an excellent reputation in the UAE market. IGG has entered into long-term strategic business alliances with other local and international companies relying on a professional team of highly dedicated and experienced personnel along with a worldwide network of agents and affiliates committed in providing high- level services to its customers. Through the implementation of the latest technology, IGG is now capable to supply different kinds of military, security and civilian products and solutions for various purposes. International Golden Group PJSC has positioned itself to become soon a first-class manufacturer of special products for the local and regional defense markets. For more information, please visit www.iggroup.ae CONTACT NAME: Anca Bilegan PHONE: (703) 642-8901 EMAIL: [email protected] Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160215/333213LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-signal-corporation-dsc-showcased-facial-intelligence-solutions-at-isnr-2016-in-abu-dhabi-uae-300242154.html SOURCE Digital Signal Corporation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] State of Nevada Renews and Expands Contract for Tyler's Brazos Electronic Citation Application Tyler Technologies (News - Alert), Inc. (NYSE: TYL) has renewed and extended by four years its contract with the state of Nevada for Tyler's Brazos electronic citation application. Under the extended contract, more law enforcement agencies in Nevada, including the Henderson and Reno police departments, are expected to begin using Brazos, due largely to the success experienced by many of the state's jurisdictions. The mobile Brazos solution allows patrol officers in the field to easily enter citation information that is automatically uploaded to the department's central system. Nevada began using Brazos in 2011 as the foundation of its statewide citation and accident tracking system modernization project. The state required tools that would help law officers, first responders, engineers and others to more efficiently gather data from citations and crashes for analysis and uploading to the central Nevada Citation and Accident Tracking System (NCATS). Brazos also gathers data that is critical for Nevada oficials to effectively allocate resources for engineering, law enforcement, and educational programs, all designed to help make Nevada roads safer. That same data is used by police and investigators to proactively address traffic issues and make changes that can help improve road safety and save lives. With its efficient workflows, Brazos saves law enforcement officers time and helps them quickly collect accurate information for use by courts. This encompasses small jurisdictions to large, including complex ones like Clark County, home to Las Vegas, which uses Tyler's Odyssey courts and justice solution. The Brazos application became part of Tyler's public safety product suite via Tyler's acquisition of Brazos Technology Corporation in 2015. About Tyler Technologies, Inc. Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) is a leading provider of end-to-end information management solutions and services for local governments. Tyler partners with clients to empower the public sector - cities, counties, schools and other government entities - to become more efficient, more accessible and more responsive to the needs of citizens. Tyler's client base includes more than 14,000 local government offices in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and other international locations. Forbes has named Tyler one of "America's Best Small Companies" eight times and the company has been included six times on the Barron's 400 Index, a measure of the most promising companies in America. More information about Tyler Technologies, headquartered in Plano, Texas, can be found at www.tylertech.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160329005258/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] 29.03.2016 LISTEN Over the years, DJ Yoga, otherwise known as Bernard Boateng has warmed his way into the hearts of many young radio and Television lovers in the capital city with his weekly Friday night radio show on Breeze 90.9 fm called Music Arena as well as serving as Host on Sound splash on TV Africa. Archers Media Institute in Accra , an institution accredited by Ghana Education Service(G.E.S) and Institute of Commercial Marketing (ICM, UK) yesterday held their 3rd graduation ceremony for their students who have made it through their training and ready to serve in different aspects of the media. The Institution honored Dj YoGa otherwise known as Bernard Boateng other media personnel like Old Soldier of Peace Fm with a Honorary Executive Certificate of Excellence for their hard work and diligence in contemporary broadcasting. The institution over the years have honored individuals who are making a difference in the media and the country like Mr Fiifii Banson, Hon Effah Datteh with a Honorary Executive Certificate of Excellence. In an Interview with Dj Yoga, He said media personnel need to serve as check and balance for government,society and themselves to ensure our country succeeds in its goal of attaining a high level income nation. He also said there is a difference between music selection and disc jockey so its about time that people recognize that we can affect lives with music and the words we share on radio as media personnel. 29.03.2016 LISTEN It was all joy and merry making at the fifth edition of this year's Foklex Media Awards at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Kumasi as hundreds of radio and other media personalities converged to grace the occasion. There was live band performance and a performance from Wayoosi and Abusuapanin Ckiki Cherke Several prominent and renowned media personalities took home several awards. Key among them were Oduyefour Nana Asabre, Summer of Angel FM Eddie Ray, Bonti Talawa Akua Ahwenie Ike The Unpredictable, just to mention few. Interestingly, Gilbert Yeboah, known in the showbiz industry as Busumuru Sean Kingston, CEO seancitygh.com was crowned the Best Online Promoter of the Year. In an interview with Anning Ogee Oscar of Bekwai based Dess fm 90.3, Busumuru expressed his happiness to the organizers of the awards and the entire Ghanaians for recognizing his good work. He however dedicated the award to the leader and founder of Gods Way International Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim who according to him is his spiritual father. "I am very happy for this award. I will thank the organizers of Foklex Media Awards and the entire Ghanaians for this award. This award is fully dedicated to my spiritual father, Bishop Daniel Obinim. He has been a good father to me. I love him." Busumuru has been over the years distinguished himself as one of the best online promoters. With his Facebook name as Busumuru Sean Kingston, and his website, seancitygh.com seen with lots and lots of promotions. 29.03.2016 LISTEN Archbishop of the Action Chapel International Church, Nicholas Duncan Williams aka 'Papa', has said some Ghanaian pastors envy him to the extent that they want him dead so that they take over the members of his church. Duncan Williams did not mention the names of the exact pastors he suspected wanted him dead but said they would rather get the opposite of what they wished for him and die. Everybody has tried to kill me. There are men of God who are waiting for the day of my demise so they will take my glory. You don't know what I know. I know a lot. There are people who are scheming to take my members from me and give me a church empty, so their churches will be bigger than mine outshine me. They call me Papa, Papa but their heart is not with me, Duncan Williams told his congregation. Sounding somewhat paranoid, the highly revered Christian leader told his congregation during his Easter Sunday message that he had become a victim of envy and jealousy. He alleged that some pastors in Ghana were only in Christian Ministry because they wanted to compete with him and possibly outshine him. Duncan Williams noted further: They want to overtake me and outshine me and make me a failure and a disappointment and a reproach to prove a point, but that will never happen because they did not call me; I said they did not call me, they did not anoint me. The opposite will occur; it will be overturned. If you know the fight and the battles I go through to stand in the gap for this nation, there are people, if it wasn't for my ministry and my prayer ministry, they won't even be in ministry and yet they wish that something went wrong with me. And it's because of envy. He continued: There are people doing ministry not because God called them; it's because they are driven by envy to compete with me to prove to me they can be better than me. Don't be fooled by people who prophesy and it comes to pass. Or people who even work miracles and healings, because the Bible says on that day we'll say: 'We prophesied in your name, we cast out demons in your name, we healed the sick in your name', and Jesus will say, 'I don't know you, workers of iniquity, get out!' They'll say: 'Ah, but we got all these results in your name!', and He'll say: 'I don't know you'. Why? Because you were driven by envy, because your motive was wrong. Duncan Williams has a hallmark of generating controversy and topping news headlines for reasons other than Christianity. Tintin and Tiatia 29.03.2016 LISTEN Celebrated show stoppers Pray Tintin and Pray Tiatia have assured their fans and stakeholders that their reunion is for good and that there is absolutely nothing that can ever split the group. The group was a trio from 2004 until it split in 2011. This year, two of the members have regrouped and their comeback has received an overwhelming endorsement by the general public. We have learnt from the past and we can assure you that our coming back is for good. Pray can't split again and nothing can split us because there is nothing we have not seen before or experienced. We have seen the good, the bad, the ugly and we have decided to regroup so it is not possible that there will be a new challenge we cannot handle to the extent that we will split. Pray can only get bigger and you have to trust us on this, Pray Tiatia, also known as Big Jay Cartel, explained to NEWS-ONE. Tintin, also known as Mayor Kente, said though the split was sad, it afforded them an opportunity to learn a lot and that they had gained some valuable experiences which would be crucial to the success of their music career. We are even more resolved than we were in the past and this new Pray you are seeing comes with a new passion, maturity and determination to succeedWe are working very hard with our team and it is our belief that things would work out right for us, Mayor Kente added. Lords of the Ribs . Over the weekend, Pray had its eleventh major performance after their comeback and it was indeed an epic performance worth writing home about. The group was part of the list of performers billed for season three of 'Lords of the Ribs' at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra and they truly lived up to expectation. They started with a couple of performances of their old tunes before they staged their official new single, 'Kportor'. Kportor is basically an introductory fun song to alert the world that we are back for good and about to invade and spoil everywhere It is a single from our upcoming album we intend to release by the third quarter of this year and we are already working on the music video for it, the group has explained. Pray literally got the audience into a frenzy when as part of their performance they invited on stage Shean and Darel, the two 'young' siblings who often went on stage with them in the past. The group started with NESCAFE African Revelations in 2004 in Ghana and then went on to the Pan African edition. It won the KORA All African Music Awards in 2005 as the Overall Best Group from Africa. From 2005 to 2010, every album of the group has won between two to five awards at the Ghana Music Awards for an uninterrupted period of five years. 29.03.2016 LISTEN The 11th Kwahu Easter paragliding festival was held in the Kwahu ridge on top of the Odwenanoma Mountain in the Kwahu South District of the Eastern Region. A short colourful ceremony was held last Friday to begin the four-day festival, which has over the years become the flagship Easter holiday programme in the country's tourism sector. An initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, this year's event took off amidst tight security in the wake of possible terrorist threat in the country. A special team from the Counter Terrorism Unit of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) was deployed to the towns within the ridge where activities of the Easter celebrations were concentrated. Rescue mission from the 64 Military Battalion, Ghana Ambulance Service, the Ghana National Fire Service and the National Disaster Management and Organisation (NADMO) were also on the ground. A total of 15 paragliders joined hundreds of holiday revelers from on top of the Odweanoma Mountain through the ridge to the Nkawkaw Stadium. Eastern Regional Minister Mavis Ama Frimpong, who opened the event, assured Ghanaians of government's continuous investment in paragliding to boost the local economy of Kwahu. She urged private investors to come on board the paragliding festival which was the started by the late Jake Obetsebe-Lamptey during his tenure as the Minister for Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City 29.03.2016 LISTEN Ever since I boldly defy my familys condemnations and abhorrence to become a filmmaker, news and happening about movies globally has become of paramount interest to me. The pursuance of this passion has necessitated this write up today. I would like to share with my readers a good lesson that ought to be shared with all movie lovers especially in Ghana. A lesson I picked from a wonderful movies called Beast of No Nation. The popularity of this movie (Beast of No Nation) has spare me the time to go into details of it again in this write-up ,But for the sake of my readers who are yet to catch a glimpse of it, I will be generous to give a synopsis of it, probably to whet your appetite. Currently our social media in Ghana is inundated with news and comments about this award winning movie shot and directed in Ghana by Hollywood. Beasts of No Nation is a war drama that tells the story of a 14-year-old child soldier (Abraham Attah)who lost his family and is recruited to fight under the command of a guerrilla warlord played by Idris Elba. This film, which has a tiny cinematic release ahead of its main run on Netflix, is relentless in its depiction of everyday callousness. The film opens on Agus peaceful life in an unnamed village in West Africa, which is quickly shattered by the incursion of a larger civil war that seems reminiscent of events in Sierra Leone, Liberia, or Nigeria. Abandoned and walking through the jungle, he was picked up by a child militia commanded by Elbas unnamed soldier. Rather than dismiss or kill him, in the films most telling moment, the Commandant instructs his charges to respect Agus potential. A boy is a dangerous thing, he lectures, and indeed Agu soon becomes one of his surrogate sons, toting an AK-47 and executing captured prisoners on orders. This movie has so far received a lot of standing ovation from great people around the globe. The success and the applaud this movie has received since it was premiered has left me in a state of wondering, my mind is pregnant with questions. I will be just enough, not compare the strength and the logistic prowess of Ghollywood to Hollywood, but I believe in our own small way, our movies when conform to international standard and opportunities are given to people base on talent but not face, we can make impact. There is one lesson I have learnt from this movie after I spent 2 hours 17 minutes of my time watching it, and it is in this write up, I would like to bring to the attention of my loyal readers. The lesson is very conspicuous and uncharacteristic of Ghana movies. A poor boy from a slum area in Accra who has never been seen on any screen in the country will never be allowed to play any lead role in Ghollywood movie. I strongly believe such roles are reserved for well known celebrities the likes of Majid, Dumelo, Adjtey, and Prince Osei etc. Abraham Attah would have sold his pure water till he grows old if not for the sake of Hollywood for rescuing him from the street of Accra. There are a lot of Ghanaians today who are dying with their talent because the system is not fair, The system is not ready to give young people the chance to excel this our attitude has derailed a lot of potential talent that would have today been in various hall of fames in the world. I was opportune to read the script after the movie was shot, and I said to myself, if this movie had been directed by a Ghanaian or Produced by a Ghanaian, they would have added an addendum to the script that will feature Agu (Abraham Attah) as a child soldier who will later in the same movie grow up in ten years time as either John Dumelo, Prince Osei, Adjetey Annan etc. Thereby denying him the 2 hours and 17 minutes designated to him by the virtue of the script. But the Americans proved to us that the success of a movie is not about personalities or celebrities, but rather the consistency of the story line and good directing. I will be courteous enough so to avoid mentioning names, but I have seen several movies in Ghana that performed abysmally even though galaxy of stars and celebrities were paraded for that movie. Anybody who is intimately familiar with our movie industry would agree that we are not living up to expectations It is no exaggeration to say that Ghana is generously endowed with great diversity of talents Most of these talents can be harnessed to put Ghana on the Oscars stage. However, our movie industry is littered with antagonism. This phenomenon has done nothing but bred systemic corruption, favouritism, nepotism and inefficiency throughout the movie industry. For how long are we going to relax our veins for people to travel all the way from their countries into Ghana to make good use of our forest reserves and our human resources? At the mentioned of Ghana movie, you need to be a magician to tell how the movie is going to end, because our movies always have these story line, cheating wife or husband family witchcraft Rivalry in marriage money rituals broken heart etc Africa is surrounded with history that can be put on the screen to compete with movies that are shot in Hollywood, beast of no nation is a pure African history that was picked from our own backyard and transform into that epic movie we all love to watch again. It is my fervent wish that, this movie will serve as an eye opener to all filmmakers in Ghana, I pray this canker of antagonism that has soaked the fibre of our movie industry will be dealt with, so that the ordinary man can be given the opportunity to showcase his or her talent. Long Live Ghollywood and Long Live Ghana. Thank You. Prince Legacy Samba C.E.O. iPose Africa www.iposeAfricaonline.blogspot.com Twitter: @ipose_africa P.O.BOX AT644 Achimota 0244204842 Rabat (AFP) - Morocco on Tuesday rejected an explanation from the office of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that a row over disputed Western Sahara was because of a "misunderstanding". Ban infuriated Morocco this month when he referred to the "occupation" of Western Sahara, a disputed territory, during his visit to a refugee camp in neighbouring Algeria. "We regret the misunderstandings and consequences that this personal expression of solicitude provoked," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. "His use of the word was not planned, nor was it deliberate, it was a spontaneous, personal reaction." Morocco again lashed out at the UN chief on Tuesday, however, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying his "unacceptable" words were of "unprecedented gravity" and "neither justifiable nor erasable". "The situation... cannot be reduced to a simple misunderstanding," said the spokesman, quoted by the MAP state news agency But he reiterated that Morocco was ready to engage in "responsible, comprehensive and constructive dialogue". Ban declined to respond to the remarks at a news conference in Tunis on Tuesday. "My spokesperson yesterday explained in length... I'm not going to repeat. Because every single word is now being analysed and watched," said the UN chief. Morocco considers Western Sahara, the former Spanish territory which it annexed in 1975, as an integral part of the country, proposing self-government for the region under its sovereignty. In retaliation for Ban's remark, Morocco expelled most of the civilian experts attached to the UN mission in Western Sahara and closed a military liaison office. The Interior Ministry has released a statement on the arrest of the three South African ex police men and the attendant political ruckus, insisting security agencies are on top of the issues. The fourteen point statement among other things justified the arrest of head of security for NPP flagbearer, Capt (rtd) Edmund Koda, who was being held by the Bureau of National Investigation for allegedly inviting the three South African nationals to train NPPs security force. The Interior Ministry is suggesting that the former army officers current arrest stems for similar activities in 2014. Captain Kodas current arrest comes on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in a National Security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection. A training dubbed Assaulting the pillars of power, the release said. Capt Koda The release dated Monday March 28, 2016 was signed by Interior Minister, Prosper Bani. Capt. Koda was arrested on Friday over allegations he invited the three South Africans to illegally conduct military training for some supporters of the NPP ahead of the 2016 elections. He was released Monday. Even though the opposition party insists the training was only to equip workers of the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, on VIP protection and how to secure the flagbearer, security agencies hold other views. The BNI has suggested the three former South African police officers Ahmed Shaik Hazis, Denver Dwayne Naidu and Mlungiseleli Jokani may be scheming to take out key staff of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL). STL transmits tallied election results for the Electoral Commission. L-R: Ahmed Shaik Hazis, Denver Dwayne Naidu and Mlungiseleli Jokani The Interior Ministry's release also states "A comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staffs vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from Hazis's room" when security forces stormed his hotel in the Central Region. The release published in full below has assured the citizenry, political stakeholders and all who deem themselves to be high value targets that security agencies are committed to ensuring their safety. Should the need arise for any stakeholder to opt for private security as we have witnessed under this index case, we strongly advise that the mandatory legal processes are followed and exhausted. The peace, security and stability of our dear nation and its people shall always remain paramount to government, the release said. The release is published in full below. 28th March, 2016 MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR PRESS RELEASE ARREST OF THREE (3) SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONALS 1. Three (3) South-African Nationals namely, Ahmed Shaik HAZIS, Denver Dwayne NAIDU and Mlungiseleli JOKANI were arrested on 20/03/16 at EL CAPITANO Hotel at AGONA DUAKWA in the Central Region by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI). They were arrested while training fifteen (15) men in various security drills. 2. Two (2) of the suspects, JOKANI and NAIDU arrived in the country on 14/03/16 on South-African passport numbers A05213410 and M00096231 respectively. HAZIS arrived on 05/03/16 with Passport Number M00052092. HAZIS has visited Ghana several times between 2012 and 2016. They came into the country on B1 visas (temporary visas) for business. 3. The three (3) trainers revealed that they are retired police officers of the South-African Police Force. Mr. HAZIS is employed by iMvula Quality Protection as Director of Operations. NAIDU and JOKANI are employed by GLAEXEC Protection Services (GPS) (PTY Limited) of South-Africa as Directors. 4. A comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staffs vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from HAZISS room. STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results. 5. HAZIS denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by DANI ISAACA, an Israeli based in South- Africa. HAZIS claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three (3) weeks. During interrogation it was evident that he was conversant with the content of the document. 6. The suspects denied that they were invited by Captain Kwesi ACQUAH, owner of Delta Force Security. However, all items for the training were shipped in the name of Delta Force Security and his hotel, El Capitano was used for the training. Captain Acquah was released from the Ghana Army in 1980. 7. HAZIS, the leader of the team, revealed that Captain Edmund Kojo KODA, Head of Nana Akufo ADDOs Personal Security, who was in the Ghana Army at the same time as Captain Acquah, contracted him to train the Flagbearers Security detail and he in turn engaged the other two (2). He also disclosed that he was in the country in 2012 and worked closely with Captain KODA during the 2012 elections. As a young officer, Captain Koda had been involved in the AFRC regime. Following accusations of corruption he was convicted together with a colleague and incarcerated in the Ussher Fort Prison. They subsequently escaped during a jail break and went into exile outside Ghana. 8. Captain Kodas current arrest comes on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in a National Security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection. A training dubbed Assaulting the pillars of power. 9. During interrogation, Captain ACQUAH denied the claim that he invited the South Africans but indicated that Captain KODA requested to use his facility (EL CAPITANO Hotel) for the training of his personnel. He also indicated that it was purely a business arrangement with Captain KODA and nothing else. CAPTAIN KODA on his part confirmed that he invited the suspects to train his personnel. Captain KODA conceded that with hindsight he should have sought permission from the authorities before engaging in that exercise. 10. A review of the visa applications submitted by the three (3) South Africans revealed that two (2) of the suspects (JOKANI and NAIDU) were invited by Dr. Daniel MCKORLEY, Chairman, McDan Group of Companies while HAZIS was invited by Nana Attobrah QUAICOE, Director of Danquah Institute (DI). Efforts to reach the two gentlemen for questioning have so far not been successful. 11. Both Captains KODA and ACQUAH have been granted police inquiry bail pending further investigation. 12. On 23/03/16, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) started an investigation into the immigration status of the three (3) accused persons and requested the BNI to hand them over for further action. They were therefore released on 24/03/16 to the GIS as requested. Meanwhile, in line with regular practice the GIS requested that the BNI provide custody of the suspects. 13. During the course of investigation, the following places were searched: Captain KODAs residence, Captain ACQUAHs residence and Hotel El Capitano. 14. The security agencies of Ghana can assure the citizenry, political stakeholders and all who deem themselves to be high value targets to be assured of the commitment of the security agencies and government to provide the required and utmost security as has been exhibited since the commencement of our current democratic dispensation. Should the need arise for any stakeholder to opt for private security as we have witnessed under this index case, we strongly advise that the mandatory legal processes are followed and exhausted. The peace, security and stability of our dear nation and its people shall always remain paramount to government. Signed: PROSPER D.K. BANI MINISTER FOR THE INTERIOR Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected] The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has welcomed the arrival, in Juba, on Thursday 24 March 2016, of the twenty-two senior officials of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) to take part in the joint security arrangements for the capital city of South Sudan. This is an encouraging step towards facilitating the return of First Vice President-designate, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, as well as the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) in accordance with the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan signed in August 2015. The Chairperson notes, with great appreciation, the cordial manner in which the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) received the SPLM/A-IO officials upon their arrival in Juba. She wishes to underscore that this development is a necessary confidence building measure, which should serve as a stepping stone towards returning South Sudan to a period characterized by reconciliation, peace, stability and development. The Chairperson reaffirms the AU Commission's unwavering support in fulfilling the remaining steps in the phased arrival in Juba of the SPLM-IO protection forces, as agreed within the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) mechanism. In this regard, the Chairperson applauds former President Festus Mogae, Chairperson of the JMEC, and the JMEC secretariat, for their facilitation of the implementation protocols in the 2015 Peace Agreement. She further commends the international partners for their continued support to the implementation of the South Sudan peace process. Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL. The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, H.E. Rashed Al Hajri, on Thursday, 24 March 2016, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance and equip the Medical Centre at the AU Commission's Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The agreement will see the Government of Kuwait contributing a total of USD 5 million for the project, with the funds divided into two components: enhancing the Medical Services Department and supporting the African Centres for Disease Control (ACDCs). The MoU is aimed at boosting the capacity of the AUC to provide quality medical services to its employees and members of the Diplomatic Corps based in Addis Ababa. It will also contribute towards the operationalization of the African CDCs, which have the mandate to monitor infectious diseases such as Ebola, as well as build Member States' capabilities on early warning, prevention and tackling said diseases. According to the agreement, the larger objective of the initiative is to improve the overall health outcome of Medical Service Department clients through convenient provision of high quality, responsive, universal and equitable healthcare; and building capacity of the African Union on monitoring, prevention and combatting infectious diseases. An inaugural event will be held on October 2016, when procurement and installation of the new equipment is completed. The project's completion is planned by 30 October, 2018. The signed agreement fulfills a financial assistance pledge announced by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, when he addressed the 19th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government on 15 July 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Oracle, a world leading technology company, has opened its regional office at the Airport City in Accra to further the companys clouds portfolio expansion across the country as well as provide sales and consultancy service across the sub region. The ultra modern office is located in the Stanbic Tower Building. The country manager of the company Mr. Joseph Asumang said as a global technology leader, Oracle is committed to innovation, leadership, and excellence and has invested more than US$39 billion in research and development since 2004. Our technology is built on open industry standards, and one way that Oracles engineers drive innovation is by participating more than a hundred standard-setting organizations. Cherian Varghese, Oracles Cluster Leader for Sub-Saharan Africa said the new Oracle regional facility represents the growth of the companys business in Ghana as it continues to invest in its people and their personal development to best serve customers while supporting its numerous partners. Oracle Ghana understands the importance of personal engagement with customers and partners, and the new office affords the company with a great opportunity to strengthen that relationship even further, he said. Through our vibrant local partner ecosystem and dedicated team of highly skilled and experienced employees, based here in Accra and throughout the greater West Africa region, we provide customers with high-value products and services, and work to build lasting relationship through day-to-day engagements, he adds. In addition its business growth, the Oracle Academy has undertaken a number of training programmes for educators and leaders in Ghana. Asumang said successfully setting up a corporate presence in Ghana demonstrates Oracles commitment to doing business here and supporting our customers and partners in West Africa. He reiterated Oracle Ghanas commitment to upholding the companys global reputation by providing avant-garde technology solutions to its clientele. Our approach in Ghana aligns with Oracles global strategy: we are committed to helping organizations to transition to, and embrace the cloud; enabling them to transform their business with Oracle solutions. From the data center to the clouds, Oracle help a eliminate the complexity that can stifle business innovation, he said. By simplifying the IT environment, Asumang said, Oracle enables its customers 420,000 of them across a wide variety of industries in more than 145 countries to innovate faster added and create added value for their own customers. Our customers are using information technology as a power tool. They are saving money, they are delivering services that werent possible before and they finding very smart ways to bring their products to market. "Throughout Africa we have seen remarkable innovation and transformation, he said. In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Communications Dr. Edward Omane Boamah commended the management of Oracle Ghana for responding to the vision of President John Mahama to transform the structure of the Ghana economy through diversification, innovation and support for made in Ghana goods. He said the opening of this new office complex is a further step to prove to the world that Ghana is open for business. Mr. Omane Boamah noted that Ghana will continue to be at the fore front of telecommunication technology advances and innovations in West Africa as government is still investing in infrastructure to bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural communities in Ghana. He however said that since small scale enterprises are known to be the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, government will continue to assist both small and medium scale businesses to access technologies so as to be more efficient, effective to ensure long term sustainability for national development. In this regard it is our expectation that the presence of oracle Ghana translate to better support and empowerment in sustainability to our SMEs. The government through the Ministry of Communications is ready to explore new ways of mutually beneficial engagement with Oracle Ghana but with an expectation that with this new office complex, a new impetus and a huge momentum to oracle contributions to ICT development in Ghana will be huge. Oracle has an academy which has trained more than 45 educators from nine universities in database, programming, and java programming. The oracle has also trained school children between the ages of 8 and 14 old on Alice, tool designed to give young people their first exposure to programming. Makeup Ghana a business advocate and event organizers has rolled out an initiative that seeks to shape and promote the beauty industry in Ghana. The company recently launched officially with a call on industry players to share and exchange business ideas to enable them compete on the global market. The organization which has been operating for some couple of months organized a two-day makeup and beauty exhibition at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra. Setting new standard in participation and representation of the key industry players, Ghana Makeup Connects presented an enviable opportunity to exhibitors especially with regards to the promotion of their products and services to a large number of visitors, as well as liaising with key distributors and makeup artists. Though it was a maiden edition, the exhibition showcased new trends on the market. The program dubbed Ghana Makeup Connects attracted over 30 participant from across the country. Speaking after the exhibition the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts Dzifa Gomashie praised the exhibitors for quality works and remarkable products and services displayed. She said her ministry and government will be happy to support entrepreneurs like Makeup Ghana Connects. Makeup Ghana Connect is an initiative spearheaded by Rebecca Donkor a Ghanaian social entrepreneur to create momentum and an ecosystem for the emerging and fast growing beauty industry in Ghana. Rebecca Donkor said after the opening ceremony that there has been an upsurge in activities in the beauty industry in Ghana and with the emergence of a new crop of vibrant makeup artistes and an influx of cosmetic brands and stores should be a holistic approach to shape the sector. The program was initiated with the objective of creating a vehicle or platform to bring together players from the Makeup profession, the Makeup brands and stores in the trade to generate synergy and drive traction for growth in the industry. The 2016 winner of the American Institute of Physics' John Torrence Tate Award for International Leadership in Physics, Prof. Neil Turok, announced that he is donating the monetary portion of the award, a USD 10,000 cash prize, to the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) (www.NextEinstein.org). The donation will be used to initiate the Thierry Zomahoun Scholarship at AIMS, which will be awarded upon graduation to an African student currently taking the AIMS Masters at one of AIMS five centres of excellence. Thierry Zomahoun has served as President and CEO of the AIMS organisation for the past five years. I would like this scholarship to encourage students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, overcome huge obstacles in their personal development, and show outstanding commitment to creating a better future for others, said Turok. Thierry was a street kid who gained three Masters degrees and became an incredible manager and development leader. Africa needs more Thierrys! I can think of no better way to pay tribute to this honour, and to John Torrance Tate (who established the world's top physics journal), than to support an AIMS scholarship in Thierry's name. I hope this will encourage other donors to follow suit. Turok, who is the Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the founder of AIMS, is one of the world's most renowned physicists. The donation is a token of esteem for the outstanding leadership Zomahoun has exhibited during his five years at AIMS, driving the expansion of AIMS from one to five centres, with a sixth to open in Rwanda in August. Zomahoun is also the founder and chairman of the Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an AIMS initiative. The NEF was held in Dakar, Senegal from March 8 to 10, attracting over 1000 participants including top African scientists, policy makers and private sector leaders. It was the largest scientific gathering ever held in Africa. This is a great honour, said Zomahoun. I am humbled by this scholarship in my name. We are determined to transform Africa into the next global hub for science. All forms of scientific endeavour and especially those that produce tangible results will be encouraged with the aim being to solve challenges in Africa and around the world. Turok's hope is that the cash prize donation will encourage similar contributions from public, private and non-governmental sources to allow more African youth to benefit from top quality training in mathematical science. Media contact: Mimi Kalinda Director of Communications - AIMS Global Network [email protected] +2721 671 4262 About AIMS The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (www.NextEinstein.org)is a pan-African network of centres of excellence for postgraduate training, research and public engagement in mathematical sciences. The AIMS vision is to lead the transformation of African through innovative scientific training, technical advances and breakthrough discoveries which benefit the whole of society. Its mission is to enable Africa's brightest students to flourish as independent thinkers, problem solvers and innovators capable of propelling Africa's future scientific, educational and economic self-sufficiency. Some of the demonstrators 29.03.2016 LISTEN Rubber farmers in the Western and Central regions have decided to stop supplying rubber to the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) because of low prices offered by the company. The farmers asserted that while a tonne of raw latex was being sold at GH4,000.00 on the world market, GREL pays farmers GH1,400.00 per tonne of rubber supplied. They threatened to send their produce to neighbouring Ivory Coast to sell if GREL continues to cheat them. They appealed to government to allow other interested investors to venture into the rubber processing business to enhance competition in the industry. Over 1,000 rubber farmers from the Western and Central regions last Thursday poured onto the streets of Agona-Nkwanta to protest against what they termed as unfair treatment being meted out to them by GREL. They accused management of GREL of doing little to improve the living conditions of farmers, who supply the company with raw materials. Most of us have been divorced because we can't take care of the home and pay our children's school fees and some of our wives don't even allow us to touch them at night, some of the farmers disclosed. The rubber farmers, who were wore red armbands and headgears, sang and danced at the company's premises at Apemanim to register their displeasure. Most of the demonstrators held placards with inscriptions such as, Monkey de work, baboon de chop, GREL stop cheating poor farmers, GREL ye Daadaafo, President Mahama Intervene, GREL Needs a competitor and GREL, pay the right price, among others. . In an interview with BUSINESS GUIDE, John Cobbinah, President of the Western Region Rubber Farmers Association (WRUFA), noted that GREL persuaded the farmers to cut down their cocoa, coconut, oranges and palm plantations to cultivate rubber. According to Mr. Cobbinah, GREL told the farmers that they would benefit more from rubber cultivation than what they got from their previous crops and so the farmers hurriedly planted rubber trees. But now we have realized that we made a big mistake. The company thinks that the farmers are illiterates so it can just pay any amount to them after toiling to produce raw materials to the company, he added. Mr Cobbinah stated what GREL doesn't know is that the majority of the farmers are well educated. In fact, we got to know that the company was cheating the farmers after going to the internet and realizing that what GREL has been paying is peanut. The association lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Agriculture in Accra in the year 2014 and the management of GREL was advised to do the right thing. Since then, the rubber processing company continues to cheat the farmers. In fact, we have decided to send our produce to neighbouring Ivory Coast where we know we will be paid high than what we received from GREL, he stressed. The demonstrators later presented their petition to the management of the company. Perry Acheampong, Corporate Affairs Manager of GREL, who received the petition, promised to forward it to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. From Emmanuel Opoku, Agona-Nkwanta 29.03.2016 LISTEN Ghanas Constitution has elements reflecting the desire of African Leaders to have full control over a country in order to benefit from their resources personally and ensuring wrong doings cannot be so easily compared to developed countries in the West uncovered and stopped. Presidents of Ghana swear an oath of office to protect the country and submit themselves to punishment for any misconduct against the Constitution. Former President Bill Clinton of USA, based on a sex-scandal and his subsequent lies about it, faced an impeachment process. USA Prez. Richard Nixon stepped down before such a process took place having authorized the stealing of documents from the Democrat Partys Headquarters (Watergate Affair). Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of Germany was impeached over his NATO Double Treaty policy and replaced by Helmut Kohl. Impeaching a President in Ghana on similar grounds is as impossible as an aunt starts to fly based on legal, social and political conditions the country finds itself in. The Constitution of 1992 supports the impossibility of impeachment in several ways out of which the political structure is the main issue. Ghana has a central Government based in Accra and 10 Regions reflecting historic, social, economic and cultural boundaries giving people a smaller home to identify themselves with being a Ghanaian at large. The heads of these Regions are especially appointed Ministers from the Government in Accra send to the Regions. The Regions elect Assembly Men to voice their local concerns while the Head of the Assemblies are appointed by the President. Mayor Alfred Okoe Vanderpuye of Accra, head of Accra Municipal Assembly AMA, is appointed by the President which makes him a servant to the President and not an independent servant to his Municipality. The Regional Ministers get their order from the President for which they enforce the policy of the President unto the Regions. Money walks the talk and mostly is more powerful than any legal framework. The money for the Regions come from the central Government in Accra. Who wants to dance to the music has to dance to the tune of the man that pays for it. Through the Democratic backdoor, legalized by the 1992 Constitution, it has been achieved that Ghanaian Presidents during their maximum 8 years in office can rule like Dictators with no real serious and practical checks and balances in place showing a surreal face of modern day Democracy. The global world we live in with tough competition for natural resources, social concepts, Political Ideas, cultural and religious challenges, fears economic competition to grow and sustain an economy with increased numbers of population to feed and make happy, giant central political structures hard to move, supervise and slow in thinking towards the needs of the growing number of people, must have an effective structure in place to address these challenges. The race is on and only the fastest and fittest societies will stay ahead of others in this world. 1957, Independence Day, Ghana had a population of 3 Mio., this has grown to today 25-27 Mio.. The political structure of small countries like Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Switzerland is far different from the one in countries like USA or Germany. A Federal State with in-build grass-root democracy is an appropriate, even not forever, answer to todays political challenges moving a country ahead of others. Ghanas Constitution of 1992 needs a serious make-over and shake-up. Regions need to become independent from the influence of the Central Government, must appoint their own Governors or Regional Prime Ministers. A constitutional framework needs to ensure much needed standards and put a check and balance between the various levels of Governmental structures in place. This helps to stimulate competition between Regions/States to promote, in the fastest possible way, a sustainable growth race in the country. Reducing of the numbers of MPs, setting up a second chamber for the Regions/States in which the Heads of these Regions/States are represented while one seat should be reserved for the Head of the Traditional Rulers, would be the most effective and appropriate set-up for a modernized country of Ghana and give a much needed positive signal into all of Africa and beyond that a young Democracy is not a static concept, but an evolving process constantly looking into the best possible way to govern a country to the best of its abilities and beyond. Ghana, as the first country in Africa gaining its independence from their Colonial Masters, carries a historic duty in its shoulders to always be in the forefront of a positive change in Africa. Someone starting to say A has to say B also. As political wisdom is not in the country of Ghana to a large extend, buy it, as these days most things are for sale! Author: Dipl.-Pol. Karl-Heinz Heerde, Sakumono Estate, Block D10, Aprt.9, Tema West, Ghana, phone +233(0)265078287, [email protected] , 21.04.2016 The three South African security capos at the court last Thursday 29.03.2016 LISTEN Three South African nationals namely, Ahmed Shaik Hazis, Denver Dwayne Naidu and Mluginselele Jokani, were arrested on 20/03/16 at El Capitano Hotel at Agona Duakwa in the Central Region by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI). They were arrested while training 15 men in various security drills. Two of the suspects, Jokwani and Naidu, arrived in the country on 14/03/16 on South African passport no. A05213410 and M00096231 respectively. Hazis arrived on 05/03/16 with passport no M00052092. Hazis has visited Ghana several times between 2012 and 2016. They came into the country on BI visas (temporary visas) for business. The three trainers revealed that they are retired police officers of the South African Police Force. Mr. Hazis is employed by iMvula Quality Protection as Director of Operations. Naidu and Jokwani are employed by GLAEXEC Protection Services (GPS), (PTY Limited) of South Africa as directors. A comprehensive report on operations of Superlock Technology Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staff's vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from Hazis' room. STL is a company contracted to transmit tallied election results. Hazis denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by DANI ISAACA, an Israeli based in South Africa. Hazis claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three weeks. During interrogation it was evident that he was conversant with the contents of the document. The suspects denied that they were invited by Captain Kwesi Aquah, owner of Delta Force Security. However, all items of training were shipped for Delta Security and his hotel, El Capitano, was used for the training. Captain Aquah was released from the Ghana Army in 1980. . Hazis, the leader of the team, revealed that Captain Edmund Kojo Koda, head of Nana Akufo-Addo's personal security, who was in the Ghana Army at the same time as Captain Acquah, contracted him to train the flag bearer's security detail and he in turn engaged the other two. He also disclosed that he was in the country in 2012 and worked closely with Captain Koda during the 2012 elections. As a young officer, Captain Koda had been involved in the AFRC regime. Following accusations of corruption he was convicted together with a colleague and incarcerated in the Ussher Fort Prison. They subsequently escaped during a jail break and went into exile outside Ghana. Captain Koda's current arrest comes on the heels of a previous security alert in 2014, after his name popped up in national security investigation of the activities of some Serbian nationals who were brought into the country to train selected people drawn from across the country in the art of civil insurrection, a training dubbed, assaulting the pillars of power. During interrogation, Captain Acquah denied the claim that he invited the South Africans but indicated that Captain Koda requested to use his facility (El Capitano Hotel) for the training of his personnel. He also indicated that it was a purely business arrangement with Captain Koda and nothing else. Captain Koda on his part confirmed that he invited the suspects to train his personnel. Captain Koda considered that with hindsight he should have sought permission from the authority before engaging in the exercise. A review of the visa application submitted by the three South Africans revealed that two of the suspects (Jokani and Naidu) were invited by Dr. Daniel MCKORLEY, Chairman, McDAN Group of Companies, while Hazis was invited by Nana Attobrah Quaicoe, Director Of Danquah Institute (DI). Efforts to reach the two gentlemen have so far not been successful. Both Captains Koda and Acquah have been granted Police Enquiry Bail pending further investigation. On 23/03/16, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) started an investigation into the Immigration Status of the three accused persons and requested the BNI to hand them over for further action. They were therefore released on 24th to the GIS as requested. Meanwhile, in line with regular practice, the GIS requested that the BNI provide custody of the suspects. During the course of investigations the following places were searched: Captain Koda's residence, Captain Acquah's residence and Hotel El Capitano. Signed Prosper DK Bani, Minister for the Interior. 29.03.2016 LISTEN Although an Accra Circuit Court last Thursday granted bail to the three South African security officers who were arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for alleged breach of security, they were still being caged by the national security apparatus. They are Ahmed Shaik Hazis (Rtd), 54, Security Advisor; Captain Mlungiseleli Jokani (Rtd), 45, Consultant and Major WO/Denver Dwayhe Naidu (Rtd), 39, Security Trainer. The accused persons were reportedly invited into Ghana to provide security training for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) security detail. Charges The three have variously been slapped with charges of conspiracy to commit crime, unlawful training and false declaration. The prosecution, led by Superintendent Francis Baah, said that the accused persons, between March 15 and 20, 2016 at Agona Duakwa in the Central Region, undertook unlawful training of 15 men belonging to the NPP. The prosecution insists the accused persons met with the people for the purpose of military training or exercise without permission. The three have additionally been charged for making false declaration that they intended to visit Ghana for business purposes, based on which they were issued visas a declaration they knew to be false as at the time they were making it. Two Missing The South Africans were earlier rumoured to have been charged along with Captain Edmund Koda (rtd), the chief security officer of the NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Captain Kwesi Anthony Acquah (rtd), owner of the El Capitano Hotel in Agona Duakwa, where the South Africans were arrested on Sunday. Interestingly, they were not in the dock with the accused persons. . Bail The three, before trial judge Patricia Quansah, denied the charges and were each admitted to bail in the sum of GH20,000 and one surety on grounds that the accused persons were not in the position to interfere with investigations of the prosecution. The sureties were asked to provide valid photo Identity Cards while the accused persons were ordered to deposit their passports at the registry of the court. Mrs Quansah, while adjourning the case until April 12, stated that she would be compelled to release the passports to the three if the case did not reach an appreciable stage. This was after the prosecution failed to convince the court to remand the accused persons for the next 14 days to unable further investigations into the case. Banter Supt Baah had argued that the accused persons were foreign nationals with no fixed places of abode and that the nature of the case demanded that they be remanded to enable the prosecution complete its investigations. However, Ellis Owusu Fordjour, a former BNI boss who led a six-member team of lawyers, including Nana Asante Bediatuo, Samuel Attah Akyea and Seidu Nasigri, described the request for remand as laughable. He stated that the offences for which the accused persons had been charged were misdemeanours and that they were bailable under the laws of Ghana. According to the former BNI boss, the accused persons had been charged for engaging in military training per Section 189 of the Criminal Offences Code, adding that the facts of the prosecution did not support the charge. The trial judge consequently granted bail to the accused persons and adjourned the case. By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson [email protected] 29.03.2016 LISTEN The New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday described the continuous detention of the three South Africans alongside head of Nana Akufo-Addo's security as reminiscent of a police state. The atmosphere at the party headquarters was charged as supporters of the political grouping assembled for a planned march to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) Greater Accra Regional offices to demand the release of Captain Koda (rtd). The march was supposed to be preceded by a press conference but which had to be aborted following the release of Captain Koda and Captain Aquah, Chief Executive Officer of the Delta Force Security Company. Addressing the press conference, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the NPP, Ishmael Ashittey, said all the traits of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were symptomatic of a police state and which were at variance with democratic values. He slammed the government for still holding the South Africans, even when a court of competent jurisdiction had ordered they be released on bail. These developments, even as the international community and media are watching the country, are inimical to our image for which President John Mahama must be held responsible, he said. What happened on the compound of the judiciary, the NPP said during the press conference, in the full glare of journalists and lawyers, could only be described as the greatest form of disrespect and impunity against the office of the Chief Justice in particular and the Judiciary as a whole. Police State The action of the BNI, the party observed, happens under a typical Police State. We have to ask: has President John Mahama now declared Ghana a Police State? The disregard for the orders of the judiciary, the party explained, is something that even the state may hesitate to do under a dictatorship. GITMO2 For a government that sees nothing wrong with bringing into the country known terrorists and criminalise the main opposition party for simply seeking to enhance the capacity of the opposition leader to protect himself, his running mate and spouses, the party noted, is most rich and bizarre. The three South Africans are still being held in unlawful custody against the order of the court. They have been held for eight days, beyond what the constitution states, with no access to their lawyers. This is typical of a Police State, the party said. Continuing, the NPP said there is a state of insecurity in the country. . Flagbearer's Security The party expressed worry about the flagbearer's security, his head of security, Captain Koda (rtd) being held by the BNI, adding that he was held for 96 hours with no charge preferred against him and his lawyers not having access to him as he was held incommunicado. The developments of the past few days, according to the NPP, were intended to intimidate the opposition party. We see these activities and their timing, their nature and circumstances as deliberate acts of provocation. We hear the health of Captain Koda is bad and he has had no medical care. He was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital on Thursday but was returned to the BNI the next day, the party bemoaned. Ghana, the NPP went on, is a caricature of democracy in the eyes of the international community and media. The ordeal Captain Koda has gone through is intended to compromise the security of Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. If the state cannot ensure the safety of the opposition leader and his running mate who else can? Intelligence Report The NPP regional chairman said, We have been receiving intelligence reports over a period now that some people allegedly sympathetic to the government were planning to harm our presidential candidate, Akufo-Addo, and his running mate, Dr Bawumia, and blame it falsely on an internal attack. The party demanded of President John Mahama to stop interfering in the work of the BNI so that it can discharge its work professionally. Present at the press conference were the party's National Youth Organiser, Sammy Awuku; Nasara National Coordinator, Kamal Abdulai; National Treasurer, Abankwah Yeboah and some parliamentary candidates from across the regions. Nana Asante Bediatuo, one of the lawyers for the three South African ex-police officers who were arrested for allegedly training the security detail of Nana Akufo-Addo, has said the case concerning his client is not a national security issue. The trioAhmed Shaik , Denver Dwahye and MlungiseliJokaniwere picked up at the EL Capitano Hotel in the Central Region, where they had been based since arriving in the country early this month. The three were said to be training the security personnel in various security drills including unarmed combat, weapon handling, VIP protection techniques and rapid response manoeuvres. Critics and particularly members of the incumbent NDC administration have suggested that the NPP imported mercenaries to train persons to cause trouble in the November elections. However, the NPP has rubbished the claims that the three are a security threat and mercenaries sent into the country to disrupt the elections. An Accra Circuit Court has since ruled that the three South Africans be granted bail to the tune of GH20,000, each with one surety. Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News, Lawyer Asante Bediatuo was of the view the facts of the case did not support the charge of conspiracy to commit crime. He further intimated that he would be surprised if the case went to court because the charges brought against his clients did not hold water. I would be extremely surprised if this matter went to trial because the facts that were narrated in support of the charge were inconsistent with the charge itself. Lawyer Asante Bediatuo also explained that the case did not have any national security implications and that the charge of unlawful training brought before his clients only meant they were engaged in military style exercises. They've not been charged with anything remotely related to national security implications. They've been charged with unlawful training. Unlawful training under the law is when two or three or more people are engaged in military training and military exercises, he explained. By A.R. Gomda 29.03.2016 LISTEN The Convention People's Party (CPP) National Youth Organiser, Ernesto Yeboah, took organizers of a peace campaign by surprise when he declined to commit his party to a peaceful deal towards the November elections, citing the issue with the country's voter register as the reason for his behaviour. According to Mr Ernesto Yeboah, not only is the current register bloated, but it is also fraudulent and cannot be used to conduct any meaningful elections on November 7, 2016 unless it is thoroughly cleaned up through validation. He said as the Field Marshall of the CPP youth, he could not be part of a peace campaign put together by a non-governmental organization Youth Icons to get the various political parties in the country to champion peace among their youth towards incident-free elections, when the electoral roll remained bloated. At the launch of the campaign in Accra Thursday, Ernesto Yeboah, who was called to the podium to make the pledge on behalf of the CPP, said, I am just here, supposed to come and pledge beautifully towards a peaceful election 2016 but I am sorry; I decline to do that. He then refused to rise up and recite the peace pledge put together by the Youth Icons a move that shocked the organisers and other stakeholders who had already committed themselves to the deal. Mr Ernesto Yeboah was particularly angry at the manner in which the Electoral Commission (EC), chaired by Charlotte Osei, was handling the affairs of the Commission, stating that it was obvious that the register could not be used to organise any credible elections. He recalled that the EC's panel to look at the issue of the voter register recommended validation as a means of cleaning up the electoral roll but the Commission had turned a blind eye on it, with the National Peace Council, which Chairman, Rev Prof Emmanuel Kwaku Asante, and other stakeholders, were present at the function, having kept quiet about the attitude of the EC boss. The CPP Youth Organiser wondered why peace was being preached when there was a clear hindrance to peace building in the country. . He explained that it would be very hypocritical for him to pledge for peace on behalf of the youth of his party or anyone else towards election 2016 when the properties of his party CPP had been confiscated over the years by the state. My party has had its fare share of injustice in this country. As we speak, all my party's properties have been confiscated by the state of Ghana. Among these properties are the former Ministry of Information's building standing right here in Accra and the Fire Service office which was supposed to be the regional head office of the CPP. If you go to the Brong-Ahafo Region, our regional office is now serving as the premises for the regional police command Ernesto Yeboah stated. Mr Yeboah also doubted the sincerity of organizations in the country calling for peace; and described the issues raised at the recent inter-political parties meeting called by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) as a subtle threat. My table is full of letters coming from all manner of organizations and all of them are talking about peace. I have often questioned the sincerity of these organizations to the issue of peace. In fact, the last one I attended was called by the Inspector General of Police and to be frank with you, it appeared to be as though the police were only giving subtle threats and not really concerned about a peaceful Ghana, Mr Enersto Yaboah noted. Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Reverend Asante, has described the comments by the National Youth Organiser of the CPP as unfortunate. A DAILY GUIDE Report 29.03.2016 LISTEN Three candidates from different political parties are poised to contest the vacant parliamentary seat in the Abuakwa North Constituency of the Eastern Region. The candidates are Gifty Twum Ampofo aka Hajia Kande, on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Samuel Frimpong, Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) and Isaac Kwartey, United Front Party (UFP). The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has, however, withdrawn from the race. The by-election, which takes place today, will see over 46,000 constituents exercising their franchise in 69 polling stations to elect a Member of Parliament (MP) for the area. The by-election has become necessary following the death of the incumbent MP, Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, believed to have been murdered by Daniel Asiedu, a 20-year-old who is currently standing trial. Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo, speaking to DAILY GUIDE, said the race would easily be won by her since the NDC is not part of it, adding that the other political parties are not strong in the constituency. Nana Addo's Visit Meanwhile, the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who stormed the constituency last week Wednesday, has appealed to residents of Abuakwa North to turn out in their numbers and vote massively for the party's candidate, Gifty Twum Ampofo, in today's by-election. A vote for Twum Ampofo, Nana Akufo-Addo explained, will be a vote in honour of the late JB Danquah-Adu, and will send a strong signal to all Ghanaians that change from the severe economic hardships they are facing under President Mahama's government is coming to Ghana. . The NPP flagbearer made this appeal whilst campaigning at Old Tafo, Sokode Juase and Kukurantumi, all in the Abuakwa North constituency. Nana Addo, who was the MP for Abuakwa from 1996 to 2004 until the constituency was split into Abuakwa North and South, addressed a mini rally attended by hundreds of party faithful and sympathisers. I am here today because of the death of JB which has led to Tuesday's by-election. We have a replacement, in the person of Hajia Kande, and I am appealing to you as a son of this land and as your former MP to vote massively for her. The hardships that we are facing in Ghana are as a result of bad leadership and bad governance. I can assure you that God-willing from 2017 an NPP government will change Ghana. We will usher in an administration which will bring wealth and prosperity to every home in this country, he said. The NPP polling station executives who interacted with the flagbearer at Sokode Juase gave the assurance that they were delivering victory to the party with a margin not less than 60%. Ours is a party that understands business. We are coming to give a new lease of life to the private sector and to agriculture, both of which will create the thousands of jobs needed by the teeming masses of unemployed youth across the country. My government will make agriculture one of its topmost priorities because majority of the people can only feel a change in their lives when we develop agriculture; and I assure you that the people of Sokode Juase will benefit immensely from this, he stressed. Nana Akufo-Addo was confident that Gifty Twum Ampofo is coming to do a good job for Abuakwa North, very much like what JB did, adding, Tuesday is a dress rehearsal for November. Ghana is suffering too much, and we need your help this year to bring the much needed change to our country. Prior to Nana Addo's visit to Kukurantumi and Sokode Juase, he went to Old Tafo where he visited the family house of the late MP to once again express his deepest condolences and to sympathise with the members. He reiterated his call for a speedy resolution of the case, stating that the truth surrounding the death of JB must be unearthed. Nana Akufo-Addo was accompanied by a number of party stalwarts, including some former ministers of state and Members of Parliament. FROM Daniel Bampoe, Akyem-Tafo 29.03.2016 LISTEN The three South African ex-Police officers who were arrested in Ghana for training the security detail of the flagbearer and running mate of the opposition New Patriotic Party have been deported. They were put on board South African Airways flight number 210, which departed around 9:26 to Johannesburg. Nana Asante Bediatuo one of the lawyers for the former South African Police officers confirmed the development to citifmonline.com. Background The trio until their deportation were in the grips of the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI). The three including Major Ahmed Shaik Hazis (rtd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwayhe, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45 were charged with conspiracy to commit crime and unlawful training. The Head of Nana Addos security team Captain (rtd) Edmund Koda and the owner of the EL-Capitano Hotel Captain (rtd) Acquah where the 3 ex-officers lodged were also arrested and have been charged but the state dropped the charges but Captain Koda was latter re-arrested and kept in BNI custody until Monday when he was released on health grounds. 3 ex SA officers studying documents to compromise election results The Interior Ministry in a statement said one of the three South African ex-Police officers arrested in the country had in his possession, a comprehensive document on the vulnerability of some key staff of Superlock Technologies Limited, the company hired by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results. This was contained in a statement released by the Interior Ministry on Monday. According to the Ministry, the dossier on the company and the key staff is to possibly compromise them. A comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staffs vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from Haziss [One of the ex 3 South African Police officers ] room. STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results. Hazis denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by Dani Isaaca, an Israeli based in South- Africa. Hazis claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three (3) weeks. During interrogation it was evident that he was conversant with the content of the document, the report added. President John Dramani Mahama 29.03.2016 LISTEN New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo has scored President John Mahama a maximum of three over 10 in the fight against corruption. Ill give him between two or three over 10, the three-time presidential candidate of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition told Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on his 72nd birthday, Tuesday. He reiterated that the fight against corruption is a sham under the watch of Mahama, urging Ghanaians to vote the NPP into power to transform the country. He said the NPP will be vigorous in the fight against the canker when he comes to power for the West African country to improve on its ranking on the Corruption Perception Index and the Afrobarometer. Touching on his birthday, the former attorney general and foreign affairs minister said: Inside me, I feel very relevant and alive. According to him, age is just a number, adding that he feels young despite his age. File Photo 29.03.2016 LISTEN More School blocks are needed to aid teaching in learning in schools. In much the same way trees are needed in schools .Therefore the fight over eliminating schools under trees must take a new course in order to eliminate tension. We must by all means build schools yet trees must be planted in schools to play their god given roles in school compounds: Although the current government has been contemplating eliminating schools under trees, that venture must be carried out with care. As government is busy building more schools, especially in the rural settings, the number of school going children who need to be in class rooms keep raising. Some ministers of the current government of NDC and some men in opposition have been arguing on the number of schools under trees that have been eliminated in Ghana for some time now. Although the governments claims to be doing its bit in that direction it is not happy about criticisms it is receiving on it. The President John Dramani Mahama on his part had occasion to lash out at critics of his school under trees program saying it is a work in progress. While speaking at the annual Tortsogbeza Festival of the chiefs and people of Sokpoe in the South Tongui District of the Volta Region, the president said political opponents are using the program to score cheap popularity. But President Mahama said his administration has a strategy in place to eliminate all schools under trees explaining that the strategy adopted by government will ensure that the infrastructure deficit in the educational sector is covered. So we have a strategy for doing it, weve committed the district assemblies, (216 of them every year to replace two schools under trees from now to 2020). Government is going to build another 1,000 schools to remove schools under trees, he added. It is unfortunate that the issue of schools under trees has become a partisan issue between the government and the opposition. That should not be the case for trees are very important. It is my belief that neither this government nor even the government of the parties in opposition can eliminate schools under trees. The question to ask is, are we sure that we only need classrooms without the need for trees to complement the classrooms? I believe that in looking seriously at our curricula from primary to secondary and tertiary levels, there are many lessons in schools that need practical works that are done very well in large halls or outside of the classroom. Because we cannot get halls large enough with good ventilations at all times and in all schools, the trees then come handy during arts and culture that include the use of clay and during plays and singing drumming and dancing and cultural activities. It is true that all schools would require big halls for meetings and other mass activities, but we cannot rule out the holding of assemblies often outside of the classrooms especially during hot seasons where trees could be of use to provide coolness. Although the president and other government officials are working to eliminate schools under trees, I beg to plead with them to slow down on the rhetoric on this policy. Please take it easy as you provide the classrooms. Trees that play important roles in our lives must not be demonized for they are needed in schools just as school blocks are needed. As an environmentalist, working for sustainable development of human and natural resources, I believe that there must be more trees planted around schools to play their god given roles. The trees would serve as wind breaks, help provide cool atmosphere and again serve as places for recreational activities and shelter for those students wishing to relax and receive fresh air especially in hot seasons. For that matter lets not behave as if trees have no part to play in our schools. We believe that before classrooms were built in the Gold Coast right through the processes of Ghana becoming independence, trees played important roles in our educational programs and they will be useful now and into the future. For that matter the NDC and NPP must end their arguments over schools under trees while the government does its bit in putting up schools and getting more trees in support. Instead as people in one nation the political parties must work together to provide schools blocks needed in Ghana with trees to complement them. Executive Director EANFOWORLD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT P.O.BOX 17070AN 233244370345/23327483710 /233208844791 [email protected] /[email protected] File Photo 29.03.2016 LISTEN The current uniform being worn by TMA security guards in Tema is creating serious confusions among residents as a result of its semblance to that of Ghana Police Service. This has worries among the police in Tema especially among the junior ranks who expressed worry about the challenges they face in distinguishing a police officer from TMA security guard. Market women, taxi drivers, fishmongers and mechanics in the metropolis has since been complaining about the uniforms likeness to that of the police asking how could authorities allow that to happen. Hither too this men employed by TMA ONLY to enforce metropolitan by -laws wore white Top and black down just like that of AMA in Accra and other metropolitans ,municipalities and districts security guards across the nation. However, sources indicates that somewhere last year the TMA GURDS WHO CAME OUT after training in Accra came out with a uniform that is difficult for even police in tema who in some cases work closely with them to make the difference. i am reliable informed that since the introduction of this police- like inform by TMA authority for its men there has been a constant exchange of words between traders and drivers on the other hand and the something like police something like city guard on the other side. Since Then drivers in Tema do not complaint but questions whether these TMA personnel in police uniform are mandated to check their drivers license and other road traffic regulations as they are seen performing such duties that falls within the legal mandates of the police MTTD. What is worrying is that, Apart from the color of the uniform similarity to that of Ghana police service the TMA guards also currently uses same chevrons used as ranks in the police service. What i did not gather was whether the TMA city guards also referred to their ranks as Cpl. and Sgts. as in the Ghana Police Service. I must be frank that its not the TMA security alone that could be pointed wearing such uniform that looks like that of the Ghana police. Some private security companies in TEMA such as the G4S and others use similar uniform that is difficult for residents to differentiate between theirs and that of the police. My concern is that wearing a uniform that looks like any government security forces is a breach of the 1992 constitution. I think that the continues usage of those uniforms by private security company may thwarts the constant effort of the police administration to make sure miscreant do not use such uniforms to commit crimes. I believe that with the security concerns that arise during elections police must expedite actions at stopping these private security firms who were uniforms just like theirs. The police must immediately redraw all such uniform that in color, style or appearance looks like any of the state security. All efforts must be made at getting the security firms to send those uniforms to various police stations near their offices. Meanwhile all private Security must comply with the private security act, which frowns on individuals, group or institution that puts on uniform similar to that of government security i.e. police army, customs, prison, and fire service. I suggest authorities should make sure private securities conforms to the rules and revert to their prescribed uniform registered with The Ministry of the Interior so as to bring some sanity and ensure distinctive uniform for the police and the private security. Lets also check and control private security because some of their men do things above their mandates that may interferes with government security operations especially during and after election 2016. David Fianko- Okyere Marine Railways and Ports 29.03.2016 LISTEN MP for Akyem Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea has criticised the Interior Ministry for ignoring the lawlessness of state security apparatus after it detained three South African nationals despite being granted bail. He described a statement from the ministry as "very shameful" because it failed to touch on the action of the BNI considered disrespectful to the courts. He described the explanation for the continuous detention of the three men as a dubious and devious explanation arguing this should not have happened. Atta Akyea said the BNI actions have contributed to ruining the image of the country. The Ministry of Interior released a 14-point press statement on March 28 in which it detailed the background of the three South African ex-cops who are currently in the BNI custody. The men, Major Ahmed Shaik Hazis (Rtd.) 54, WO/Denver Dwayhe Naidu (Rtd.) 39, and Captain Mlungiseleli Jokani (Rtd.) 45 were picked up by the BNI at the El Capitano Hotel at Agona Duakwa in the Central Region on Sunday, March 20 for engaging in activities which threaten the peace of the country. In its reaction to the issue, the Interior Ministry said the activities of the three could compromise the election results of the November 2016 elections. A comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) and an assessment of some key staffs vulnerability for possible compromise was retrieved from HAZISS room. STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results." It further said that: HAZIS [one of the three men] denied authoring the document but indicated that it was given to him by DANI ISAACA, an Israeli based in South- Africa. HAZIS claimed he had not read the document which had been in his possession for about three (3) weeks. During interrogation it was evident that he was conversant with the content of the document. According to the statement, "the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) started an investigation into the immigration status of the three (3) accused persons and requested the BNI to hand them over for further action. They were therefore released on 24/03/16 to the GIS as requested. Meanwhile, in line with regular practice the GIS requested that the BNI provide custody of the suspects." Speaking on the Joy FMs Super Morning Show, Mr Atta Akyea said: If a man is on bail, he can always report to the authority, adding if a man is on bail and you arrest him, it amounts to lawlessness. He said if it was not an issue for officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the U.S intelligence agency to train some personnel of the BNI here in Ghana why should government find fault with South African ex-cops providing training. What are they doing in the country which have security implications? he asked adding there was no subversive dimension to activities carried out by the men. According to him, the government has demonstrated through the recent behavior of its officials that it is impossible to have a clear understanding of the law with the executive power. Listen to Audio: Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | Email: [email protected] Prof. Seth Opuni Asiamah 29.03.2016 LISTEN THE IMMEDIATE past Provost of the College of Architecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof Seth Opuni Asiamah, has watered down government's flagship rent bill seeking to check over exploitation of tenants by property owners. According to him, the bill would give the current rent law, Act 1963, the teeth to bite property owners as the huge deficit in the housing industry gives landlords the upper hand to continuously exploit tenants. Addressing journalists after a symposium on the value of commercial properties and the effect on doing business in Ghana, Prof Asiamah said until government began to improve the housing stock, the law would be a weak measure to restrict property owners in the number of years of rent advance they should take. All these low cost houses started in Kumasi, Accra and Tema and are getting rotten should be completed and given out. If the search for accommodation is not difficult, it will create equilibrium in the market. That is the only way we can control rent as the Ministry of Works and Housing is talking about, the university don noted. He observed that tenants themselves would thwart the implementation of the bill, if passed into law, because they would be happy to get a place to rent and live in the absence of an alternative. A bill, which is seeking a revision of Act 1963, is imminent and awaiting cabinet approval for onward submission to Parliament to be passed into law. . Under the new law, tenants will be required to pay a month's advance for rent, contrary to the current violation of the rent law where landlords charge as high as four years rent advance. Jonathan Zinzi Ayitey, Head of Architecture Department of KNUST, on his part, observed that store accommodation for retail businesses would shoot up in the next few years, adding that renting of office space would take a downward turn as a result of oversupply. He stated that inasmuch as he acknowledged that the supply of real estate was inelastic, people would find it difficult to secure retail space since it took time for properties to come on line. The symposium was organised by Good Governance Africa (GGA), an independent and non-partisan research organisation that works to improve government performance on the continent. Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tina Asante-Appeatu, explained that the symposium formed part of the organisation's mission to see the private sector developed. We actually look around to see the issues that will promote the private sector, she noted and added that the organisation intended to provide various platforms to raise issues and develop policy papers for onward transfer to government to address the concerns of the business people. From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi 29.03.2016 LISTEN THREE PEOPLE are allegedly dead and another person is seriously ill through voodoo acts, aka juju, due to their involvement in the theft of an old lady's chicken. The dead persons, who are all friends, are Kofi Kaya, Prince Osei and Solomon Abanga. The seriously ill person is Stephen Ampem. They reportedly stole the chicken of a certain old lady at Kwabena Ofori Town in the Atwima Mponua Area in the Ashanti Region. The sad story which was aired on Kessben FM had it that the lady became furious when her chicken got missing. According to the reports, the old lady saw feathers of the chicken lying in the area, a strong indication that someone living nearby killed the chicken. The theft occurred in December of 2015 and the old lady quickly contacted a powerful fetish priest to punish the thieves. . She reportedly presented the feathers of the chicken to the fetish priest who then used it to perform some strange rituals. A few weeks after the rituals, three of the four friends, namely Kaya, Osei and Abanga, fell sick and died shortly afterwards. Stephen Ampem, who is the only survivor, is reportedly seriously ill and is battling for his life as his legs and stomach have swelled. Family members of Ampem, in an attempt to save his life, took him to another fetish priest after they suspected his ailment was not of natural causes. The said fetish priest, after performing some rituals, disclosed that Ampem and his three other friends stole an old lady's chicken and she reported them to a fetish priest. FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi The mob chanting songs to welcome Nana Addo 29.03.2016 LISTEN HUNDREDS of revelers and residents on the Kwahu Ridge in the Eastern Region on Easter Sunday defied a heavy downpour to welcome the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, to the durbar grounds of Obo-Kwahu. Nana Addo, with the national executives of the party as well as the incumbent Members of Parliament, parliamentary candidates and his campaign team, joined the chief of Obo, Nana Afari Yeboah Gyan II, to mark his 25th Anniversary Thanksgiving service. The people, who were hitherto hiding under shades while it was raining, surged along the streets when they heard that Nana Akufo-Addo was coming to the durbar ground. The crowd temporarily held up the event as majority of them, including the chiefs, surrounded the vehicle of Nana Akufo-Addo wanting to shake hands with him. Scores of them were seen chanting numerous accolades to honour Nana Akufo-Addo, as others were blowing vuvuzelas and promising to vote for him to be the next president of Ghana. It took the police officers and the body guards of the NPP leader close to 30 minutes to bring the crowd under control before Nana Addo and his entourage could get to the durbar ground to sit down. . The NPP standard bearer in an address, appealed to the gathering of chiefs and the residents of Obo-Kwahu to cast their votes for him to win the upcoming polls. According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the Obo community would get its share of the national cake when he was given the nod as the next president of Ghana. The NPP presidential candidate donated GH10,000.00 to support the ongoing projects in the community, and also promised to assist the ongoing university project with logistics. Prior to his visit to Obo, Nana Akufo-Addo stormed Kwahu Tafo and Bepong to attend the Easter Sunday church services. He entreated the congregations to pray for God to shower His blessings on the country to have peaceful, free and fair general election. FROM Daniel Bampoe, Obo-Kwahu [email protected] The girls presenting their Petition at the Nangodi Palace 29.03.2016 LISTEN Girl-child education officers in the Nabdam and Talensi districts of the Upper East Region have blamed some traditional practices and beliefs, as well as parental irresponsibility, for the many teenage pregnancies in the districts. In these districts and others, it is traditionally unacceptable for a woman to give birth while still living with the parents and so when girls become pregnant even against their wish, they are compelled to marry the men who impregnated them. This mostly results in many of the girls dropping out of school to become housewives and mothers. In the 2012-2013 academic year for example, Talensi had 24 girls becoming pregnant while in school and over 75 per cent became wives in order not to bring shame to their families. In the 2014-2015 academic year, due to increased sensitization by the Ghana Education Service and Link Community Development, through the Tackling Education Needs Inclusively (TENI) Project, even though 54 girls became pregnant in their final year, they all stayed in school and participated in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Figures from the Nabdam district on the same issue were not available at the time of filing this report, but indications are that, the situation is not so different from that of Talensi. . Even though the situation is having a toll on the education of girls in these districts, the Nabdam District Girl Child Development Officer, Elizabeth Atinga, believes that continuous sensitization and engagement of traditional leaders in community durbars could help in changing the situation. According to her, parents will have to also be educated to live up to their responsibilities, especially those concerning the education and development of the girl-child. Madam Elizabeth Atinga was speaking at the end of a procession by school girls in the Nabdam district to end the Girls' Education Week Celebration over the weekend. It was organized by the Ghana Education Service in partnership with Link Community Development. The same event took place at Talensi, organised by the same institutions. In recent times, some teenage members of the TENI Girls' Clubs in Nabdam and Talensi have been bold in opposing their parents' decision to give them out for marriage. They have also been able to overcome temptations to engage in sexual relations with adults and young men. The LINK-TENI Project Officer, Bashiru-deen Yakubu, believes that very soon members of the TENI Girls' Clubs in the two districts, will have influence on their peers and educate them on the benefits of staying in school till they are old enough to work and marry. The girls at Nabdam presented their petition to the paramount chief of Nangodi through his representative, while those in Talensi presented theirs to the paramount chief of Tongo, Kubilsong Nalebik Tang, at his palace. From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Nongodi and Tongo Bishop Samuel Mensah 29.03.2016 LISTEN THE POLICE have begun investigation to unravel the source of death threat messages sent to the national executive members of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) last Thursday. Executives of the GPCC received death threats on their mobile phones through text messages sent by an anonymous person demanding an amount of GH5,000 from the pastors, failure of which they would be killed together with their families and 5,000 members of their congregations. The only way the death could be avoided, according to the content of the message, was that the clerics should send the money before the close of the following day (Good Friday). The text messages which came twice, read: We are armed robbers, we demand GH5,000 from you and your church or we will eliminate you and your family as well as 5,000 members of your church. Some minutes later, another message with a caution was sent by the same individual stating that It would be a very big case for you if you give this story to any media house. When are you sending the money? Let us know as soon as possible. No police intelligence unit can get me; just send the money or we will kill you and your members as well as your family. You have only tomorrow to send the money. There is no way to get me, not even Vodafone Company, tricks, police or media house. The first to receive the message was Bishop Samuel N. Mensah, President of the Full Gospel Church International (FGCI), who told DAILY GUIDE that he initially thought the message was sent by an insider of his church who has his contact. Initially, I was only scared when I received the message that Thursday while I was in the office but the second message that followed compelled me to report the matter to the police. Until I reported the case to the police and I was told another minister had also received a similar message, my attention was in the church since the church is made up of both good and bad people; and we need the bad people to be transformed into good, Bishop Mensah disclosed. . According to him, he contacted other members of the GPCC only to be told that they had also received the same message from the same telephone number. Bishop Mensah said he was aware about the security measures put in place by the police and conscious of his personal security. Rev. Gordon Kisseih, General Overseer of the Miracle Life Gospel Church, said he received the same message from the same person. The General Overseer has also lodged a complaint with the police who he said had intensified security around him. Rev. Kisseih mentioned that the police requested for the number of the unknown assailant and called him, but he (assailant) said he was at Nsawam in the Eastern Region and that he wasn't in Accra. According to Rev Kisseih, he's worried because other colleague pastors who double as key members of the GPCC, had also complained of receiving similar death threat messages. However, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. John Kudalor, the DAILY GUIDE gathered, had instructed his officers to go all length to bring the senders of the messages to book. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Juliana Obeng, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Tema Regional Command who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, indicated that the police would assure the safety of the pastors and their families. She said the regional police command had taken charge of the case and that investigations were ongoing to get the senders of the messages. From Vincent Kubi, Tema Cherian Varghese assists Patricia Dovi-Sampson to cut the tape 29.03.2016 LISTEN Technology giant Oracle has opened its new African regional operations office in Accra with a resolve to deepen its commitment towards innovation, leadership and excellence on the continent. The office, located in the plush Stanbic Heights at Airport City, is expected to pursue its cloud portfolio expansion and provide quality consulting services to clients in the sub-region. Paul Taylor, Commercial Attache at the Unites States Embassy, Accra, who represented the US Ambassador at the ceremony, said Africa's economy is expanding at a faster rate and the need to invest on the continent was growing. He said Ghana has a vast business potential and must be harnessed to the benefit of the people. Mr Taylor reiterated the US government's commitment to deepening trade ties on the continent. He also said technological advancement has become the mainstay of almost every economy and Africa cannot afford to be left out on the new order. Mr Taylor commended Oracle highly for opening offices in Africa, saying the innovation that Oracle brings is exciting. Cherian Varghese, Oracle's Cluster Leader for Sub Saharan Africa, said the opening of the new regional facility showed the growth of Oracle's business in Ghana. He said that Oracle, apart from the its business growth, had undertaken a number of training programmes for educators and learners in Ghana, saying we are investing heavily in Ghana because we believe in the potential path it is taking. Oracle Ghana understands the importance of personal engagement with its customers and partners, and the new office affords the company the opportunity to strengthen those relationships even further, he said. Joseph Asumang, Country Manager of Oracle, said the company had invested $39 billion in research alone since 2004. Our technology is built on open industry standards and one way that Oracle's engineers drive innovation is by participating in more than a hundred standards-setting organizations. He added that our customers are using information technology as a powerful tool. They are saving money, they are delivering services that were not possible before and they are finding very smart ways to bring their products to the market. Patricia Dovi-Sampson, Head of Research, Statistics and Information Management at the Ministry of Communications, who represented the sector minister, said government was committed to improving ICT infrastructure. Ms Dovi-Sampson also said it was promoting collaboration with the private sector in the area of capacity-building. She said the government was proud to be associated with Oracle's initiatives in the country. By William Yaw Owusu 29.03.2016 LISTEN The decision by the key operatives of the Kojo Tsikata-founded Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), formerly the Special Branch (SB) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS), to rudely and virulently defy the order of Judge Patricia Quansah, of the Accra Circuit Court, to release the three retired South African security police officials arrested at Agona-Duakwa and charged with endangering the security of the country, ought to be envisaged to have directly and unmistakably emanated from the Flagstaff House. It simply could not have been otherwise, because those of us present/alive at the revolutionary foundation of the BNI are incontrovertibly aware of the fact that the BNI is the bona fide torture tool of the erstwhile National Democratic Congress. I also dont recall any of the key operatives under the Kufuor-led government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) feeling as comfortable as the NDC operatives of the BNI in the unorthodox appropriation of the latter establishment as an instrument of torture. The BNI is indisputably an institutional importation from one of the revolutionary regimes after which the Rawlings-led so-called Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) may well have been patterned, namely, the Castro-led Cuban government or the Gaddhafy-led September Revolution of Libya. Indeed, it is ironic for intellectual and political toddlers like Mr. Felix Ofosu-Kwakye to be accusing Officers Ahmed Shaik Hazis, Mlungiseleli Jokani and Denver Dwayhe Naidu of being of treasonous intent because among the hi-tech military accoutrements found in the possessions of these licensed security trainers were Paint Guns or Spray Guns. This patently farcical mischaracterization of toy guns as vintage military hardware ought to inform the rest of the country and, in fact, the world at large about how deathly and morbidly frightened the Mahama Posse is; and this is rather pathetic. We must also not lose sight of the fact of the Zuma-led African National Congress (ANC) government being indisputably in on the rather bizarre decision by the Mahama Posse to treat these three South African citizens as non-members of the ANC and therefore common criminals deserving of being maltreated and possible tortured with reckless abandon by the National Democratic Congress security operatives and being given long prison sentences. Such eerily collusive and apparently collaborative decision by both the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress regime and the Zuma Posse still does not in any way, shape or form negate the judicial legitimacy of the order by Judge Quansah to release the three men who, by the way, we are informed entered the country legally at the express and contractual invitation of the leaders of the New Patriotic Party to train the security details of some of the key operatives of Ghanas largest and most formidable opposition to the increasingly crude, brutal and authoritarian Mahama regime, because the NPP leaders do not trust the members of the highly politicized Ghana Police Service. The Talensi Experience has taught these leaders to be forearmed, having already been forewarned. It is also rather laughable that a government that secretly and criminally consents to hosting certified Muslim-Arab terrorists from the killing fields of Afghanistan and Pakistan, just released from the U.S. Naval Base at Cubas Guantanamo Bay, should claim to be rattled by the presence of three legally licensed security trainers armed with paint guns who entered the country in full frontal-view of our customs and security officers at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). The fact of the matter is that Mr. Ofosu-Kwakye and his boss, to wit, the Chief Resident of the Flagstaff House, have been desperately on the lookout to equalizing for their disastrous handling of the Gitmo Two. But, of course, no psychologically sound Ghanaian citizen can be expected to even out scores by farcically converting spray guns, or spray paints, into AK-47s, the weapon of choice and prime instrument of mayhem and carnage made readily available to the PNDC Abongo Boys in the 1980s by the Rawlings-Tsikata Trokosi Revolutionary Nationalist Team of Anti-Akan Butchers. And, by the way, the concept of the BNI as a vintage torture chamber could also well have been imported into the country by Capt. Tsikata from Angola, where this impenitent SOB is widely alleged to have spent considerable time training and rehearsing for the Rawlings-led Trokosi Faux-Revolution. As of this writing, the three retired South African security trainers had, each, been reportedly granted a judicial bail in the sum of GHC 20,000 about $6,000 but, predictably, the Mahama Posse had decided to ride roughshod over the legitimacy of the countrys judicial system. Somebody ought to remind Little Dramani that the Shit-Bombing days of the Rawlings-Tsikata Devolution are well behind us. *Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs Johannesburg (AFP) - A lion named Sylvester that escaped from a South African national park last year, roaming free for three weeks, has escaped again, a park official said on Tuesday. Helicopters will be used to track down the three-year-old animal, which may be put down as a result of his repeated breakouts from Karoo National Park in the south of the country. "He is clearly a troublesome lion and could be a danger to humans," South African National Parks spokesman Reynold Thakhuli told AFP. "Authorities will have to consider various management methods to ensure his safety and that of people. Such interventions might include euthanizing the animal." A signal from Sylvester's tracking collar, which was fitted after his last escape, showed he was outside the park on Sunday, and by Monday he was 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the park's fenced boundary, in a mountainous area not easily accessible by foot. He has already killed a cow. During his last escape, he roamed 300 kilometres (186 miles) from the park, killing 30 animals over three weeks before being shot by a tranquiliser dart fired from a helicopter. At the time, wildlife officials said he had been forced out of the park by older lions. "This time we don't know what might have driven him away. It could be that he became used to easy prey while outside the park," said Thakhuli. Lions were re-introduced to Karoo National Park, in Western Cape province, in 2010 after an absence of almost 170 years. The last wild lion in the area was shot in 1842. Yaw Lokpao Deceased Corporal 29.03.2016 LISTEN Corporal Yaw Lokpao, 34, who was stationed at Sawla police station in the Northern region, has been shot dead at Kalba on the Sawla-Tuna Road by some suspected armed robbers. The Northern Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, who confirmed the incident to DAILY GUIDE, said the two suspected robbers, who were on a motorbike, shot the police officer at close range after he ordered them to stop. ASP Ebenezer Tetteh said the armed robbers fled the crime scene and left the police on the ground. The policeman was later rushed to the Sawla Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Sawla Hospital pending autopsy. Earlier the police in region assured the public of peaceful and incident-free holidays after a businessman was killed at Sawla. FROM Eric Kombat, Sawla Rebecca Akufo-Addo presenting food to a kid 29.03.2016 LISTEN Wife of 2016 New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Rebecca Okaikor Akufo-Addo has urged parents to secure the future of their children by voting for her husband Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the November polls. Mrs. Akufo-Addo gave the advice when she treated thousands of children in the Klottey Korley constituency to assorted food and drinks at the Osu Mandela Park to mark Easter Monday. In a brief speech, Mrs. Akufo Addo said under the tenure of President Mahama, school drop-out rate has increased due to the inability of parents to pay school fees, folding up of companies due to Dumsor and high unemployment rate, with children being the worst affected. According to her, the best way to ensure a bright future for the children is to create a strong economy which will create jobs for parents and provide children with affordable healthcare and education. Unfortunately, this administration has collapsed businesses, leading to unemployment and squandered so much money, which could have been used to cater for the needs of Ghanaian children. Today, unemployed parents are at home with their kids who have been sacked from school because of school fees. She stated that a secured future for the children is of utmost importance to Nana Akufo-Addo, explaining that the NPP flagbearer believes we cannot grow an economy and the country without transforming the knowledge and skills of our people. She said her husband was determined to ensure that under his administration every child in Ghana would have access to the real free education. Mrs. Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to call on parents to advise their children to be wary of corrupt politicians, who will like to recruit them to engage in violence in the upcoming elections. Also present to support Mrs. Akufo Addo was the NPP parliamentary candidate for Klottey Korley Constituency, Lawyer Phillip Anderson, former Minister of State in the Kufour administration, Mrs. Frema Opare, National Treasurer of the NPP Kwabena Abankwah Yeboah, Constituency chairperson Juliana Aboagye and other senior officials of the party. The party's parliamentary candidate, Lawyer Addison, used the occasion to urge parents to ensure that their children below 18 years were not allowed to register in the upcoming limited voters registration exercise. 29.03.2016 LISTEN The University of Ghana has conferred honorary degrees on fourteen persons during a special congregation held at the Great Hall, Accra, last Thursday. The spectacular event was attended by a number of dignitaries and heads of missions in Ghana including the former president John Agyekum Kufour. The conferment of the honorary degrees was preceded by the final lecture in the Aggrey Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lectures which started early in the week and was held under the theme Fighting Political Domination. The Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lectures was instituted in 1957 to commemorate the contribution made by the three persons memorialized to the founding of Achimota College, now Achimota School and more generally to the advancement of education and particularly higher education in Ghana. The three were James Kwagyir Aggrey, Alexander G.Fraser and Gordon Guggisberg. Prof.Christopher Udry, a Professor of Economics at Yale University was honoured for Distinguished Scholarship; three persons, George Francis Daniel Jnr, Professor Jerome Siau Djangmah and Professor Peter French were honoured for their respective contributions to education. Mr.Kwaku Mensah Bonsu and Dr. Asamoa- Bonsu were honoured for being the alumni the University was proud of while Robert Joseph Mettle Nunoo, Mrs. Bridget Ketsriku and Professsor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng had their honours for Public Service. . Ramchand Udharam Mohinani and Mrs. Justina Baidoo, a Takoradi based Business Executive were honoured for their contribution to industry and for the Institution Builders category, Professor Ofosu Amaah and Rev. Professor Andrews Seth Ayettey were recognized. Two other categories, Distinguished International Leadership and Statesmanship and 2016 Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lecturer were received by Akua Kuenyehia, a legal luminary and Vice President of the International Criminal Court and Professor Ian Shapiro respectively. Giving reasons for the award, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana said it provides an opportunity for the university to show the world they have an interest in what happens outside the campus. He continued we show this interest in observing policy making, business, civil society and their good works as academics influenced by men and women in public space. Speaking on the criteria for qualification, Professor Aryeetey explained that the processes include opening of nominations for people to apply, discussion of particulars and conduct of applicants and invitation for an interview with the selection committee. The Vice Chancellor stressed that the conferment of the honorary degree is not a lobby platform where people can buy their way through for a title adding that when we give the degree we do not expect recipients to change anything about themselves or make a declaration in the media with name change. He regretted how degrees are abused in the country stressing that just as a bishop starts as a priest, there was no way one can call himself a professor and remain in the civil service whereas his place is in the university classroom. By Solomon Ofori Nene Kanor Atiapah III 29.03.2016 LISTEN Nene Kanor Atiapah III, the Acting President of the Ningo Traditional Area, says President John Dramani Mahama is indifferent about the plight of Ghanaians, who are facing untold hardship. He stated categorically that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was unwilling to address the concerns of Ghanaians. The chief said the NDC government and the prepaid meters installed in various homes and institutions by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) were similar, saying The ECG prepaid meters are as sick as NDC government. Mankralo of Ningo Traditional Area was of the view that the prepaid meters are money-sucking equipment, which have worsened the plight of Ghanaians. He said he was against the installation of prepaid meters by ECG personnel in Ningo. Nene Atiapah III, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, said he boldly drove away two ECG personnel who were in his house to install a prepaid meter. . According to him, If the government and the ECG do not understand why I boldly disallowed the installation of the prepaid meter in my house, they can come and disconnect my house from the national grid. I'm ready to revert to the use of hurricane lamps. My people in this traditional area are poor farmers and fishermen and they hardly make ends meet and so if I allow ECG to come and install their corrupt prepaid meters my people will not get money to buy credit to reload them. I want to tell the ECG and government to leave my people alone to enjoy their post-paid meters. Acting President of the Ningo Traditional Area was unhappy with the long queues that customers sometimes form in order to purchase credit for the meters. Is it not so crazy that other times, too, when you go to buy the credit, the vendor tells you that the network is down? Must a customer sleep in darkness or be deprived of electricity to operate their business because of some 'useless' network failure? I maintain that the prepaid meters are as sick as this government, Nene Atiapah III observed. According to him, When a political party also fails to do the proper thing by listening to the cries of the people, we will rise and vote that government too out. We, the citizenry, have power vested in our thumbs and we must use it sensibly on November 7 when we go to the polls. From Vincent Kubi, Ningo Mr. Blankson making the donation to Madam Kwansima 29.03.2016 LISTEN As part of its efforts to put smiles on the faces of the needy, IDEAL FINANCIAL Holdings Ghana Limited, has donated assorted food items to the Echoing Hills Village Ghana, an Accra-based orphanage which also provides shelter to persons living with disability. The items donated on Thursday to the Village include different kinds of soap, milo, milk, bags of rice, other beverages, noodles, corned beef, gallons of cooking oil, among others, costing GH 12,000 with an additional cash donation of GH3000. Making the presentation, the Group Head of Corporate Communications at IDEAL Financial Holdings, Ekow Blankson indicated that the donation was part of his outfit and its subsidiaries' corporate social responsibility. He said IDEAL Financial Holdings had over the years catered for the needs of persons living with disability across the country and at the Echoing Hills Village. Mr. Blankson disclosed that his outfit has donated millions of exercise books to schools nationwide as well as rendered benevolent support to some health facilities particularly the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. . According to him, IDEAL Financial Holdings Limited has resolved to adopt Echoing Hills Village Ghana as a home that it can support annually under its corporate social responsibility ambit. In that regard, he said the company has established a foundation called Tsatse Foundation which is to oversee the charity works of all the subsidiaries under the IDEAL Holdings namely IDEAL Capital Partners, IDEAL Finance Limited and First Trust Savings and Loans, among others. Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Echoing Hills Village Ghana, Nana Akosua Kwansima who received the items on behalf of her organization thanked the givers profusely. She was happy that the donation will go a long way to meet the needs of the inmates at the Village. BY Melvin Tarlue 29.03.2016 LISTEN Information DAILY GUIDE has gathered indicates that police personnel were detailed to various churches in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis on Easter Sunday to provide security and ward off miscreants who might want to disrupt the services or cause mayhem. The initiative, DAILY GUIDE gathered, was part of efforts to ensure incident-free services in the metropolis. DAILY GUIDE learnt that following the recent attack on some holiday makers in neighbouring Ivory Coast by some alleged terrorists, the police in the Western Region were leaving no stones unturned to provide security to people at large gatherings. The security personnel were also to deal with unscrupulous persons who sometimes rush to the churches on Easter Sundays to cause commotion and even make attempts to steal offerings from the churches. Most of the churches DAILY GUIDE visited on Easter Sunday in the metropolis were filled to capacity as the worshipers thronged there in their numbers, most of them wearing white apparels, to worship and praise God. The preachers in their sermon called on Ghanaians not to see the Easter festivities as the period for pleasure but should rather observe the spiritual meaning of the occasion. Speaking with DAILY GUIDE on the significance of Easter, Rev Felicia Opoku, Associate Pastor of the Effiakuma branch of Christian Faith Church International explained that it was an occasion on the Christian calendar that reminded people of their salvation. She noted that people ignorantly see Easter as just a holiday for merry-making in the form of extensive drinking, dancing and indulgence in other immoral activities. . She related that at a point in time, God the creator decided to visit mankind with His love by sending His son Jesus Christ to save them from sin. Sin was leading people to destruction and death, so Christ had to die in order to bring redemption and liberation to all believers, she pointed out. In his Easter message, the General Overseer of Christian Faith Church International Bishop Emmanuel Botwey indicated as we celebrate Easter, our hearts are heavy with the realisation that much is wrong with our world. According to him, unrelenting hatred and fear seemed to rule supreme in the lives of people due to the injustices of socio-political and economic systems. Also the fruits of terrorism emanating from religious extremism and intolerance are all evident, he added. He, however, indicated that the resurrection gives us hope for today, hope for tomorrow and hope for eternity. Hope that things can change. Hope that even if they dont change, and the worst happens, and death comes, that is not the end adding there is more life after that, a better life, life without sickness, or pain or tears. This hope should affect how we live. We should live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ, that is, live as His disciples, he stressed. From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi 29.03.2016 LISTEN President Mahama is a gentleman and might have had good intentions for Ghanaians. Unfortunately, he has failed woefully. Many Ghanaians agree to this fact. But why did he fail? I will provide three main reasons. You are more than welcome to add. 1. President by accident lack of vision Mr Mahama became president as a result of the untimely passing of the late Prof. Mills. He had not plan to be president. It just happened. As a result, he did not have a plan or vision for Ghana at the time that he became President. He has been trying to get one whilst on the job but he does not have one yet. When you get the opportunity to meet him, ask where he expects Ghana to be in 10-15 years time. His answer would be one of those usual pep talks without substance. Rawlings had Vision 2020. One of the goals was for Ghana to become a middle income country. Kuffour changed the date for attaining middle income from 2020 to 2015. Fortunately, it was achieved much earlier than 2015. As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you will plan to fail. And for lack of vision, the PEOPLE (not the President alone) perish. It has been just try and error approach to governance. This has brought a lot of avoidable hardships to many people and that makes me sad. 2. His Appointees In the multitude of counsellors, there is safety (Proverbs 11:14 KJV). President Mahama could have made up for his lack of preparedness/plan to become president by appointing experienced individuals to key positions. Unfortunately, he focused and continues to focus more on politics rather than competence in his appointments. His appointment of the likes of Ofosu Kwakye and Fiifi Kwetey attests to this fact. Although such ministers fail to perform, he just reshuffles them from one position to another. For example, growth in agriculture has declined to 0.04% but the minister continues to be at post. 3. Corruption One of the main problems facing Ghana is corruption. It robs us of the vital resources (human and financial) that we need for development. Unfortunately, government appointees appear to steal with impunity. The Presidents fight against corruption could at best be described as sham. His main approach has been to ask individuals/organisations to refund the millions of Ghana Cedis they stole after public outcry. If he had fought corruption, he would have had more resources to develop Ghana and we would have applauded him. But he did the contrary. That makes me to wonder if the President is a beneficiary of the looting which is taking place. Could it be that he cannot fire because the culprits know that his hands are not clean? Conclusion The fruits of Mahamas leadership is dangerous for Ghana. high youth unemployment rising cost of living collapse of businesses and high level of corruption by government officials are fruits of his bad leadership. The worst aspect of all of above is that he thinks that his performance has been excellent. He has ridiculously compared his achievements to Kwame Nkrumah. The implication is that he would not change his course (approach or team) if he is given the mandate again on 7th November 2016. The consequences may be worse. President Mahama probably intends to do well but the results so far has been terrible. To quote a great economist, Milton Friedman, One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results. We therefore have to judge by using the results of Mahamas leadership. The results shout so loudly: he does not deserve your vote in this years election . Therefore, vote for a positive future for Ghana. An NPP lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea says the party will cite the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for contempt after the security agency refused to release his clients even though a court had granted them bail. He told Joy News Raymond Acquah, by their actions the BNI has told the court that its authority does not matter. Although the three South African nationals have been deported, the lawyer noted the party is undeterred in getting the BNI punished. When it is contempt, it is contemptwe are going to court very soon, he stressed. Major Chris Hazis (rtd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwayhe, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45 had been detained for almost a week and charged with unlawful training and conspiracy to commit crime. Tuesday morning, however, they were seen boarding a South African Airways flight bound for Johannesburg at the Kotoka International Airport. The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) which hired them had explained they were in the country to train the bodyguards of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the party. Joy News' Raymond Acquah reports that before the deportation, the state had dropped all the charges brought against the three ex-cops. Atta Akyea has, however, described the deportation has belittled the seriousness of the countrys security systems. He said if the state really believes that the SA nationals were criminals, it should have prosecuted them in court because that is what properly governed societies do. The deportation, the lawyer said, indicates that the charges brought by the state against the three were all a farce. Listen Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com 29.03.2016 LISTEN The separation of powers in a democratic system is a concept which some people especially members of the Executive find difficult to understand. For the Executive operates under the somewhat simplistic principle that the first duty of a government is to govern. Yet taken literally, governing in this context would mean the Executive having the power to dictate to the other arms of government the Legislature and the Judiciary. One only has to contemplate the chaos that would ensue in a democracy if the Executive could tell the Legislature and the Judiciary what to do. Government bills, whether good or bad; whether constitutional or not, would have to be rubber-stamped by the Legislature and become law. And the Judiciary would grant every demand made by the Government against citizens. In the end, such a situation would incite some in the citizenry to rebel. But once rebellion breaks out, no-one can tell where it will end. After June 4 1979, a lot of people agreed with many of the measures taken , for instance, to try and end kalabule.Yet these same people objected to the executions of senior military officers, for, in some cases, committing crimes like using their influence to obtain loans from banks. Others thought that ordering women at gunpoint to parade their most prized possessions in the world for the whole world to gape at, was taking law enforcement to the level of sadism. That is why the rule of law must be revered by all people in a society. The law obliges the Executive to present proposals in Bills to the Legislature, for enactment. The Legislature is empowered to consider, and then amend, or even reject, the measures proposed by the Executive in its Bills. Once a Bill becomes law, it is up to the Judiciary to interpret it. Neither the Legislature nor the Executive can tell a court how an Act's provisions should be applied, once those two other organs have had their say. Interpretation of the law is reserved exclusively to the Judiciary. That is why it is puzzling that the BNI chose to whisk away back to jail, the three South African ex-security officials, whom the court had granted bail. The judge asked for the sureties necessary for granting the men bail, to be ascertained by the Registrar of the court. Sureties are routinely verified by the courts almost every day, so there was no room for doubting that the sureties to be ascertained by the court's Registrar would be so verified. So why did the BNI oppose the process? If it did not want the court to adjudicate in the cas4e, why did it take the men before the court? It cannot be the case that the BNI acted in ignorance of the law. For not only does the organisation have its own legal division, whose members are always on hand to advise its strong-arm branch. The organisation can also call on the Attorney-General's Department for legal advice on specific issues about which the organisation is not too certain. Good legal officers would never advise the organisation to defy the courts, because a legal officer in Government's employment is as eligible to be appointed as Judge or a Magistrate as all other lawyers. Therefore, if a lawyer advises anyone to defy a court order, he is, in reality, acting against himself. For if he become a judge one day and other lawyers advised their clients including arms of the government agencies to defy hist orders, he would naturally hit the roof. Not only that lawyers who encourage state agencies to defy court orders do so at the risk of creating political crises for the Governments that employs them. For instance, according to his unpublished memoirs, the Earl of Listowel, Governor-General of Ghana, came close to resigning his post in December 1958, when the Government of Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah passed an Indemnity Act which absolved the Minister of the Interior, Mr Krobo Edusei, and the Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr E R T Madjitey, from the punishment arising out of their having committed contempt of court! The contempt case was the result of their having deported to Nigeria, a man called Balogun and three others, whilst they were awaiting the decision of a court on a habeas corpus application they had filed. (Balogun v Minister of the Interior) I was present in court covering the case for the Ghana Broadcasting System when Mr Justice Smith J, on being presented with the Indemnity Act just passed by Parliment, said: QUOTE: By the passing of this Act, I take it that the courts finding that the respondents are in contempt is not challenged by Parliament, but that the intention is to neutralise any consequential order that I might make. It is plain that Parliament prefers that the respondents should not apologise, and it has passed this Act in order to nullify any order which I might make in the absence of the apology.. .. As to the deportations '[which occurred] while the applications for habeas corpus were still sub judice, I cannot over-emphasise the undesirability of interference by the Executive with the functions of the court. Persistent indulgence in such a practice could not have any other than the most serious ill-effect on the well-being of the country. Decisions of a court are as binding upon the Executive as the laws which Parliament passes are binding upon the ordinary citizen, and it is the court that enforces upon the people, obedience to these laws, thereby aiding Parliament in the ordering of the country. UNQUOTE The tortuous path through which the political and legal history of Ghana has passed may have been avoided if the words of Mr Justice Smith J in December 1958 had been heeded by the Government of the day and those that have followed it. That the disease is a national one is proved by Dr K A Busia's famous "No Court!" outburst in 1969. But it is even more ironical that a Government of Ghana stands ready today unbashamedly to repeat a mistake that was made as long ago as 1958 a whole 58 years in our nation's life. We just won't learn, right? The Executive Director for pro-opposition Think Tank, Danquah Institute, Nana Attobrah Quaicoe has denied claims by the Interior ministry that he invited one of the deported South African ex-servicemen who were in Ghana to train security personnel of the opposition New Patriotic Party. The Interior Ministry in a statement Monday accused Mr. Atobrah of bringing one of the ex-servicemen into the country. A review of the visa applications submitted by the three (3) South Africans revealed that two (2) of the suspects (JOKANI and NAIDU) were invited by Dr. Daniel MCKORLEY, Chairman, McDan Group of Companies while HAZIS was invited by Nana Attobrah QUAICOE, Director of Danquah Institute (DI). Efforts to reach the two gentlemen for questioning have so far not been successful, portions of the Interior ministry statement said. But speaking to Starr News, Mr. Attobrah said he is yet to be contacted by any of the security agencies investigating the matter. I invited one of the ex-servicemen last year, not this year, so I cant see the connection . On the story about me being looked for; I dont get it. I have just one telephone number and anyone who calls me I pick. Anybody who calls me can get me. If the BNI wants to reach me, they know how to reach me; I am not hiding, I am not running away, he said. Meanwhile, the trio have been deported to their home country after being detained for days. They were put on South African Airways flight number 210, which departed around 9:26 to Johannesburg. The three Major Ahmed Shaik Hazis (retd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwayhe, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45 were arrested at the EL-Capitano Hotel where they had been based since arriving in Ghana. The family of one of the deported South African ex-police men, who were arrested in Ghana, has hailed their extradition. The three Major Ahmed Shaik Hazis (retd), 54; Warrant Officer Denver Dwayhe, 33, and Captain Mlungiseli Jokani, 45 were arrested at the EL-Capitano Hotel where they had been based since arriving in Ghana to train the security detail of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo. They were deported Tuesday via a South African Airways flight number 210, which departed around 9:26am to Johannesburg. Speaking to Accra-based Citi FM from South Africa, a sister of Denver, said the news comes as a huge relief to the disturbed family because the trio are not criminals. Im happy my family has been released, she stressed. We are excited as a family. The former police capos were granted bail last week by an Accra Circuit Court but spent the Easter break in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI). Although counsel for the three are aggrieved over their incarceration, despite meeting the bail requirement, the family believes justice has been done. They are not criminals. We are excited to know they are coming back home and they were not involved in any criminal act, the sister added. The man, believed to have spearheaded their invitation, captain (rtd) Edmund Koda the head of security of Akufo-Addo - was detained in BNI cells until Monday when he was released after several agitations by the members of NPP. Larnaca (Cyprus) (AFP) - Airplane hijackings such as the one that unfolded on Tuesday involving an Egyptian airliner have become relatively rare since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks led to increased security. The hijackings have been carried out mostly by individuals trying to resolve personal issues, and almost all ended swiftly and safely. Here are some examples: February 17, 2014: An Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome with 202 people on board is diverted by its unarmed copilot to Geneva where he asks for asylum. Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn is arrested, but Switzerland refuses an Ethiopian request for his extradition. February 7, 2014: A reportedly drunk Ukrainian hijacks a Pegasus Airlines flight with 110 people on board from Kharkov to Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport, brandishing what he claims is a detonator and shouting "Let's go to Sochi," Russia, where the Winter Olympics opening ceremony is under way. The plane is escorted by Turkish F-16 jets to Istanbul where anti-terrorist commandos launch an assault that ends without any casualties. September 10, 2009: A Bolivian preacher and former drug addict hijacks an Aeromexico airliner flying from Cancun to Mexico City with 104 people on board, saying he is on a divine mission. Presenting sand-filled juice cans with coloured lights as a bomb, Jose Marc Flores Pereira surrenders after the plane lands, with most passengers unaware they had been taken hostage. Pereira says he had to warn Mexico it was threatened by an earthquake. August 26, 2008: Sun Air flight 611 carrying 95 people from Nyala to Khartoum is hijacked by two men and lands in Kufra, southern Libya after running low on fuel. The men surrender and all the passengers are freed, almost 24 hours later. August 18, 2007: An Egyptian and a Turk who claim to be Al-Qaeda members hijack an Istanbul-bound Atlas Jet flight from the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with more than 140 people on board and demand to fly to Iran or Syria. The pilots land in Antalya, Turkey to refuel, and while women and children are being freed by the front door, most of the other passengers escape through the rear. The rest are released several hours later when the two hijackers surrender. October 3, 2006: An unarmed Turkish army deserter, Hakan Ekinci, seizes a Turkish Airways flight carrying 113 people from Tirana to Istanbul. The plane is forced by Greek and Italian jets to land in Brindisi, Italy. Ekinci had forced his way into the cockpit with a parcel that he said was a bomb, and told the pilot that he had a message for Pope Benedict XVI. He claimed to be a Christian convert and a conscientious objector, and sought help to avoid Turkey's compulsory military service. September 12, 2005: A man in a wheelchair and his son hijack an Aires turbo-prop plane with 25 people onboard as it flies from Florencia to Neiva, and force the plane to land in Bogota before surrendering to authorities. Passengers say the men claimed to have grenades. They had demanded compensation for a police search of their home 14 years earlier, in which the father was wounded and crippled. March 19, 2003: Six hijackers armed with a knife seize an old DC-3 airliner flying from Cuba's Isle of Youth to Havana with 35 people on board, and force it to divert to Florida, where it lands in Key West escorted by F-15 fighter jets in what the FBI describes as a "peaceful surrender". February 20, 2002: Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hijack a plane bound for Bogota and force it to land on a highway in southern Colombia, kidnapping one of the 37 passengers, senator Jorge Gechem. He is held for more than six years and released on February 27, 2008. 29.03.2016 LISTEN The profligation of churches in Nigeria is getting to alarming stage where there would be more churches than members. New churches are springing up almost everyday; some in shops, kiosks, sitting rooms, etc until they eventually become big churches. God must have been having a hectic time "calling all these pastors to work in the vine yard". Is it only me or have you also noticed that a building can house more than one church. On Egbeda-Idimu road, I saw a 2 storey building that houses three different churches. Another building on that same road also houses two different churches. Either you believe it or not most of these pastors are fraudsters (419) with a strategic selling point that appeals to unsuspecting citizens who patronise their religious business ventures. The church business is so lucrative that we are getting to a point where there would be more churches than customers (sorry I mean, members). Should in case you wake up tomorrow and decide to start a church business of your own, here are some pointers to help you on your way to becoming a mega rich pastor known in Nigeria. 1. Be an eloquent speaker: You should learn the art of public speaking. When speaking to your congregation exhume confidence and finesse. Even when you don't know you are saying still say it confidence. Formulate analogies, with intellectual 2. Perform miracles: If you lack the quality aforementioned then you should be able to perform miracles. Nobody cares if they are fake miracles just go ahead. 3. Speak big big grammar: You see this is a very effective way of wowing customers to your church. A lot of Nigerians are lazy to learn these words so they are thrilled and amaze when someone else dishes these words effortlessly. So do not be perturbed from ensconcing ypurself in the palatable arms of Morpheus because of people who have deprived themselves of the cultivation of the regime of the mental magnitude. 4. Join politics: Get involved with politics. Either you affiliate yourself with a political party or be evidently vocal in politics. 5. Jerry curl your hair: They say cleanliness is next to godliness. 6. Have a foreign accent: Try and learn a foreign accent; preferably American or British accent. 7. Preach prosperity: There's so much poverty in the country people will throng your church just to hear you tell them how God wants them to be rich and how God is going to make them rich. Make them start dreaming about monies they've never seen before. If possible give them tips on how they can make a lot of money. 8. Emphasise on tithes and offerings: Tithes, offerings, sowing seed, etc are very instrumental for your growth and status. Make sure you collect those tithes even though you are not a Levite. Threaten them that if they don't pay their tithes God will not bless them and they will continue to suffer, will remain in poverty. Tell them that if they don't pay their tithes it means they are robbing God, even though you know they cannot rob God. When it comes to offering and sowing of seeds, tell your customers that God is a very rich and big God so they must also give big. Their blessings will be measured by how much they give; if they want big blessing then they must give big even though you know God's blessings cannot be bought. Afterwards, you should spend the money buying expensive suits, shoes, gold chains and wristwatches. Drive expensive cars and if possible buy your own private jet to enable you "spread the gospel faster and wider". 9. Don't pray with all your energy binding and casting demons, it's very exhausting. One more thing, as a big pastor don't pray on top of your voice like a prayer warrior, pray like God is your mate. Leave the fire-branding kind of prayers to your prayer warriors while you chill at home. 10. When you eventually start your own church always make prophecies relying on the general needs, situations and conditions of people; it's playing on their intelligence. It is important that your prophecies must be accurate and the kinds that appeal to the needs of your congregation. For example; You can something like 'there is a sister in this church today, the Lord says your husband is on the way' and wait for the thunderous AMEN to ring through. It's common knowledge that there are many ladies who are looking for husbands. Never make the mistake of mentioning the name of the sister o. Furthermore, you can as well prophesy something like- 'the Lord is saying to you brother that you should worry no more, you will get that job'. I hope you have an idea of how unemployed people are in this country. Testimonies will pour in after a while and you will continue to prosper and grow. 11. When sending out your members out on evangelism to go look for other customers you should give them a target (each person should come with at least 3 new "souls"). Beautiful girls must be in your team of soul winners and the reason is obvious. When a prospective soul says he has a church he attends, they should insist he can still come after his own church service, and if he's not blessed then he can leave and not come back. When you've followed these steps and you are now a mega rich pastor, use some of the church money to build a school, claim it's founded on Christian principles then fix the school fees at an astronomical height that your average church members won't even be able to afford it; so your school is for only the elites. You are no longer a poor man why should you still associate with the poor people? But don't forget to go back on Sunday and collect the little one they have because too much money ain't enough money. And above all, do not forget to come back to tell me thanks for being helpful. I won't mind if you show your appreciation in cash and properties. For any reservations reach me via my email or twitter handle. And for contributions just comment below. Victor Terhemba Is a talent manager, political analyst and social commentator from Lagos. Follow me on Twitter: @inkrediblesmog [email protected] Accra, March 29, GNA - Stanbic Bank Ghana has launched the Stanbic Money App Challenge aimed at engaging programmers and software teams to develop innovative financial education tools to help users, especially the youth, in the management of their finances. The competition would embrace financial literacy, financial education and personal finance management. The Managing Director of Stanbic Bank Ghana, Alhassan Andani, said the App Challenge was part of the bank's corporate social responsibility and the commitment to ensure financial inclusion for all. He said the idea was to identify local talents to develop mobile application for Android and IOS platforms that met the needs of the banking sector. Mr Andani expressed the hope that the applications would help make banking easier for customers. The Challenge would run for four months after which the judges would pick 10 finalists to compete for the ultimate prize. Each submission would be evaluated and winners would be determined based on conformity with financial literacy/financial education, creativity and originality of solution, viability of the concept to be built and published as a usable mobile app, and thoroughness of the submitted materials in compliance with contest rules, guidelines and requirements. The prizes for the winners include; first prize, GH 10,000, second prize, GH 5,000, third prize GH 3,000 and fourth to 10th prizes, GH 1,000. In addition to the cash prizes, all the 10 finalists would receive other exciting packages from the bank. Mr Vusi Thembekwayo, Africa's finest business speaker, congratulated Stanbic Ghana for the initiative. GNA 29.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 29, GNA - The Lancaster University Ghana (LUG) Law Society has celebrated its Law Week in Accra. The week-long event, on the theme: 'In the Pursuit of Justice,' had activities that stimulated intellectual legal discussions and visits to the law courts with a view to having practical understanding of the legal system in Ghana. A statement issued in Accra by Ms Edna Adika, the Communication Officer of LUG, said the students also had an opportunity to reach out to the less privileged within the community and to network with prominent players within the Ghanaian legal sphere. It said the Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, during the opening ceremony, admonished the law students to develop high ethical standards and a genuine love for justice delivery. The statement said as part of the activities the students took a trip to the Nsawam Prisons to witness firsthand the realities of the legal profession. It said other law students visited the Beacon House Orphanage in East Legon to reaffirm the support and care of the Law Society and presented story and colouring books to the children there. It said the Society also held its second annual students symposium with its members with presentations geared towards a proper appraisal of the legal system's strive to do justice as well as proffered suggestions to rectify perceived shortcomings. The Law Week was crowned with a grand dinner and networking event at the Oak Plaza Hotel. GNA 29.03.2016 LISTEN Bolgatanga, March 29, GNA - Stakeholders at the 2016 Budget for the Agricultural Sector Forum, at Bolgatanga, have urged the Government to construct more dugouts in the three Regions of the North to help mitigate the effects of climate change. They said the regions were the most affected by climate change, which was having negative consequences on food production as the annual rainy season was very short. The forum, jointly organised by SEND-Ghana and the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) , attracted peasant farmers, representatives of Civil Society Organisations, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Farmer-Based-Organisations, drawn from the Northern regions. According to the participants, having more dugouts with the de-silting of more dams in the area would help them to harvest rainwater to be stored for dry season farming and as drinking water for animals. Whilst lauding the efforts of the Government for introducing the fertiliser and seed subsidy in the Budget, the Stakeholders expressed disappointment about the absence of support for climate-resilient agriculture, investment in warehousing and irrigation, particularly, dugouts, which they said, were the most important elements towards the empowerment of small holder farmers. The President of the PFAG, Mr Abdul -Rahamani Mohammed, said sheanut and the cotton, which were the main cash crops in the Northern regions, had the potential of contributing to the alleviation of poverty and asked the government and other stakeholders to invest more investments in them. Mr Mohammed expressed worry about the activities of some herdsmen who guided their animals into farms to feed and destroy them in the process and gave the assurance that his outfit was doing everything possible with the government and other stakeholders to curb the problem. Mr Charles Nyaaba, the Programme Officer of PFAG, blamed successive governments for refusing to recruit Agricultural extension officers, saying the lack of extension services was having negative consequences on food production. The Programme Officer of SEND- Ghana, Nana Aisha Mohammed, urged the Government to focus more on the food crop sector instead of the Cocoa sector. The forum, which was sponsored by Trust Africa, was aimed at presenting the findings of the analysis of the 2016 Agriculture Sector Budget, its prospects, challenges and opportunities for small-holder farmers. GNA Kodie (Ash), March 29, GNA - Assembly members have been asked to deepen their interaction with the people to help significantly promote local good governance. Mr. Pasor Sule Banni, an Internal Auditor at the Afigya-Kwabre District Assembly, said they should not only listen to their concerns to properly articulate these during assembly meetings but to equally importantly, adequately inform them of decisions taken. This, he noted, was important for people to follow with keen interest the activities of the assemblies to ensure transparency and accountability. He was speaking at a workshop on 'promoting citizens engagement and social accountability for sustainable development' held at Kodie. It was organized by the Centre for Human Rights and Advanced Legal Research (CHALER) in partnership with the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Resource Link Foundation and Protect the Needy Foundation. The French Embassy in Accra provided the funding and the goal was to identify ways for increased participation of the people in local governance. Mr. Banni said more should be done to enable the chiefs, opinion leaders and everybody to become part of the decision-making process to speed up the development of the communities. He also reminded the assemblies to ensure that there was free flow of information to remove needless suspicion and tension between them and the communities. Mr. Ernest Akosah, CHALER's Ashanti Reginal Manager, advised assembly members to act to protect resources meant to transform the living conditions of the people. GNA Accra, March 29, GNA - Apostle Joseph Kwabena Antwi, the immediate past Chairman of the Great Commission Church International (GCCI) Ghana, has urged Ghanaians to renew their trust in God. He said currently nations throughout the world were going through challenging times, and that Ghana was no exception, 'but the only way out is to renew our trust in God.' Apostle Antwi made the appeal in his sermon delivered at Ashaley Boctwe near Accra, during the GCCI 2016 National Easter Convention. The four-day convention, which coincided with the GCCI silver jubilee celebration, was on the theme: 'Celebrating 25 Years of Advancing the Great Commission: That I May Know Him.' It was attended by all branches of the church throughout the country. Apostle Antwi said Easter was a time Christians remembered the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; and that 'one thing which has made the state of Israel very strong and powerful is God's word and their trust in it'. He said Easter was a time of sacrifice and people who learnt how to sacrifice either for their families, communities, or nation were strong people who could achieve great things. 'If we, as a people, will not see our personal benefits or our personal profit as the most essential thing but will focus on the bigger issue for the national good, especially in this election year, I believe that Ghana will be on course to becoming the greatest nation in Africa and the world,' Apostle Antwi said. He said: 'It is has become very apparent that a lot of believers are running helter-skelter looking for solutions to life's problems outside the walls of the church; sometimes they go to questionable places. 'But one assurance we get definitely from the scripture is that God has made ample provisions in his word for us to have solutions to life's problems.' Apostle Antwi said through the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, Christians had access to God's unlimited spiritual resources to help them deal with problems of any kind; whether marital, domestic, financial, relationship, social, or spiritual. 'So we should take heart. We should trust in Him, and He will handle this. He will give us everything that we need to solve life's problems,' he said. GNA Accra, March 29, GNA - Achieving a free, fair and transparent election in 2016 is a collective responsibility and every Ghanaian must contribute to ensure a peaceful election, Dr Kwesi Jonah, Assistant Executive Director, Institute of Democratic Governance, has said. He said Ghanaians must realise the need to sustain the peace in order to create a conducive environment, and economic and social prosperity for both present and future generations. Dr Jonah was speaking at a lecture on the theme: 'Reforming Ghana's Electoral System - A pre-condition for Peaceful Elections in 2016' in Accra, organised by the Today Newspaper, a subsidiary of Groupe Nduom (GN). Speaking on the topic: 'How to Ensure Transparency and Accountability in the 2016 Elections,'' Dr Jonah said political parties, civil society organisations and all institutions that performed election related functions could play a number of roles to ensure that the 2016 election was peaceful, transparent and credible. They could do this by educating the public, advocating for peace and monitoring every single major process in the election, he said. Dr Jonah said political parties could promote transparency and accountability by actively participating in deliberative and consultative processes through inter party advisory committees and by monitoring and supervising every important election process. He urged political parties to appoint educated people to be polling agents to ensure accountability. He said Ghana must always be on the guard by adopting a police patrol approach to closely move round to monitor the electoral process and maintain law and order before, during, and after the elections. Mr Akwasi Boakye-Akyeampong, an IT Consultant, who spoke on the topic: 'Emerging Technologies that can Transform Elections,'' said if Ghana replicated other countries in Europe by voting electronically, it would eliminate the number of errors committed, reduce time spent at the polling stations and expenses in recruiting and transporting electoral materials. As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Today Newspaper instituted the 'Today Annual Lectures' to support the country's growing democracy. Mr Richmond Keelson, the Acting General Manager of Today Newspaper, said the lecture was aimed at contributing to the development agenda of the country and ensuring that the country's democratic dispensation was firmly rooted. GNA 29.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 29, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama, on Tuesday, urged Ministers of State to strictly adhere to government policies, which would help improve on the living standards of Ghanaians in their areas. That, he said, could be achieved by implementing and monitoring all policies based on the tenets of good governance, democracy and transparency. President Mahama stated this when he swore into office two Deputy Ministers whose appointment has been approved by Parliament. The Deputy Ministers, who took the oaths of Secrecy, Office and Allegiance are Mr Andy Osei Okrah, the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, and Dr Robert Baba Kuganab-Lem, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister. President Mahama advised them to work effectively in collaboration with their substantive Ministers to achieve the development targets of the Government before the close of the year. He advised the Upper East Regional Minister to forge ahead with the planned irrigation project at the Kulkpong River, which is expected to help farmers in the three northern regions, to do all year round farming when completed. President Mahama said although Ghana was politically decentralised, more was yet to be carried out in the districts and regions to make the decentralised Departments independent and effective. He, therefore, pledged the commitment of his administration to work around the clock to ensure effective decentralization, which would ensure that district officers were no longer accountable to national officers only. "You were carefully selected...because of your vast experience in your various fields and... and we are all counting on you to deliver on our promise to the people of Ghana," President Mahama stated. Dr Kuganab-Lem, on behalf of his colleague, thanked President Mahama for the appointment and gave the assurance that they would work hard to justify the confidence reposed in them. GNA The founder of Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom has criticized government's handling of the Agogo crisis. Nomadic herdsmen and Agogo indigenes are at perpetual conflict, which has led to the loss of lives and property. In a Facebook post Monday, Dr. Nduom questioned why the District Chief Executive (DCE) has told residents to protect themselves when they pay taxes to the state. He is baffled, why the state is failing in its obligations to the citizenry per the social contract. Below is the facebook post. Agogo DCE Says What? Are We Safe? It has been reported in the media that the District Chief Executive for Asante Akim North Paul Kingsley Averu has asked residents to protect themselves against possible attacks by nomadic herdsmen. It is instructive to know that at least four persons, three nomadic herdsmen and a local resident last week alone at Agogo in the Asante Aken North district. Question is, what do we pay taxes for? And why do we elect people to manage the affairs of our country? What sort of chaos will we visit on ourselves if we all decided to buy arms to protect our families? If I had the opportunities, we will halt this roaming cattle and other livestock practice. You want to rear cattle, put up a ranch and take care of them on your own property, feed them there. On 24 March 2016, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Yanbo met with Mrs. Haddijatou Jallow, Executive Chairperson of the Environment Protection Agency-Sierra Leone (EPA-SL). They had an in-depth exchange of views on environment protection, climate change and other issues of shared interest. Mr. Wang Xinmin, Political Counselor of the Embassy and other senior officers from EPA-SL attended the meeting. Mrs. Jallow expressed her appreciation for China's long-term and all-round support for the socio-economic development of Sierra Leone. She stated that Sierra Leone is the third most vulnerable country in the World in terms of climate change, the flood and drought caused by climate change have caused severe adverse impact on the national development. EPA-SL would very much like to keep close communication with China, learn from China's advanced experience and technology to improve Sierra Leone's capacity on environment protection. Ambassador Zhao indicated that environment protection is the common responsibility of the whole world, while both the Chinese and Sierra Leonean governments attach great importance to this issue. As the biggest developing country, China has lots of experience and lessons drawn from its own environment protection endeavors. Ambassador Zhao promised that China was ready to share experience and strengthen bilateral cooperation with Sierra Leone in terms of capacity building and technology transfer with a view to improving its capability of environment protection, providing long-term support for the socio-economic progress of Sierra Leone. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr.Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has asked Ghanaians not to sacrifice the truth on the altar of political expediency,a fate suffered by Jesus Christ leading to his crucifixion death and resurrection. He reminded Ghanaians especially the christian community that Jesus Christ faced a political trial as he was not guilty of the crime which was attested by Pointius Pilate. Mr. Buah who doubles as the Minister for Petroleum,made this remark when he worshipped with most of the churches in his constituencies as they climaxed their Easter conventions. At the the Aiyinasi Church of Pentecost, Mr. Buah advised Ghanaians "to only portray the truth about what the Mahama-led administration had done to improve the living conditions of the people but not paint the government in a very bad light just for political convenience". Mr. Buah assured the people that the NDC government will continue to fastrack the development of Ellembelle and the nation at large. He reminded Ghanaians to use the Easter festivities to foster peace and unity especially as the nation prepares for the November 7 general elections. The MP donated an undisclosed amount of money to the congregation in aid of church project .The Axim Area Apostle of the Church of Pentecost,Apostle Matthew Larbi-Wettey told the world that Jesus continued to do good even to his enemies until his death on the cross of Calvary. He asked Christians to stop discrimination and appealed to those who sideline women in all facets of national endeavour,to desist from the practice. Apostle Larbi-Wettey said the ressurrection of Christ reconciles the world to God. At the Aiyinasi Sacred Action Church,the General Overseer Francis Annor prayed for the MP for more wisdom and focus to continue to develop Ellembelle and meet the aspirations of the people especially the youth. He called for repentance and forgiveness and urged christians to eschews all forms of sins in order to be justified in the eyes of God. The MP who repeated his earlier message to the congregation and donated GHC1,000 to support activities of the church.At Esiama,the MP donated GHC1,000 to the Church of Pentecost and made similar donations at the Twelve Apostles Church at Krisan. In his message,the MP advised the christian community to lead the way and conduct message-based campaign devoid of personal attacks and mudslinging to ensure a peaceful elections. Publish Report On "Consultations" Over Plant Breeder's Bill! March 29, 2016 by Food Sovereignty Ghana | https://t.co/wxeXMBL9v0 Food Sovereignty Ghana calls on the Speaker to order publication of a report on the consultations that the Select-Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs undertook, following his request for further consultations with stake-holders on the Plant Breeders Bill when it came before the House on 11th November, 2014. This call follows rather strange revelations by the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Select-Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. George Loh, MP for North Dayi Constituency, in an interview with Radio Host, Kweku Vander-Pallen on XYZ 93.1fm in the morning of Wednesday, 16th March 2016 in which he said: We have done extensive consultations. We even did two consultations carried live on television with all stake-holders. So, nobody can pretend that we havent spoken to people If after consultations, you do stand where you are, fine! We have consulted! According to Hon. George Loh, the consultations that we have been expecting from Parliament since 11th November 2014, have already taken place without our knowledge! He even claimed in the interview that a meeting with FSG, prior to the Speakers call, on 4th December, 2013, was part of the further consultations called for by the Speaker on 11th November, 2014, almost a year later. We are not claiming that we are the only group that petitioned Parliament that needed to be consulted. However, we see that almost all the groups that petitioned Parliament are still waiting to be consulted. We wonder which groups actually were consulted? Why were most or all of the petitioners excluded? What was the basis of the petitions of any groups that may have been consulted, and on what grounds were they rejected by the Committee? On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, the last time the Bill came up on the floor of the House at the Consideration Stage, the Speaker ruled: I would urge for further consultation, he said to Hon. Alban Bagbin, Majority Leader and then Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. This call for further consultation was key to the unprecedented suspension of a Bill that was already at the Consideration Stage. The reason the Speaker gave for this unprecedented move was: This is because it is important to inform the people of Ghana. http://www.parliament.gh/publications/30/906) It therefore behooves the Committee to produce an official report detailing the consultations they claim to have done for all to know why Parliament still refuses to heed the demands of Ghanaian civil society groups and Faith-based organisations which who have formally petitioned them. The minimum courtesy one expects is at least a report detailing why their objections were not taken into consideration. We particularly demand responses to these fundamental objections to the Plant Breeders Bill. All of these objections apply equally to the ARIPO Arusha PVP Protocol, a treaty version of the exact same bill. 1. Ghana can protect plant breeder rights without necessarily opting for UPOV 91. The Bill is modelled on the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of 1991 (UPOV 1991) which is a rigid and an inflexible regime for plant variety protection (PVP). It is worth noting that today out of the 71 UPOV members, only a fraction about 22 developing countries are members of UPOV. Most of these developing countries (e.g. Brazil, China, Argentina, South Africa) and even some developed countries (e.g. Norway) are not members of UPOV 1991 but rather UPOV 1978, which is a far more flexible regime. Ghana has full flexibility under the World Trade Organization (WTO) to develop an effective sui generis system for plant variety protection, i.e. to develop a unique system that suits its needs. In view of this, it is truly unfortunate and even irrational that instead of designing a PVP regime that reflects the agricultural framework and realities of Ghana as some other countries have done (e.g. India, Thailand, Ethiopia), Ghana is choosing to adopt and be bound by UPOV 1991 without any concrete evidence or impact assessment of the necessity and impacts of adopting such a regime. Ghana is a member of the World Trade Organization and the rights and obligations concerning intellectual property are governed by the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). According to Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, Ghana has to provide protection of plant varieties by an effective sui generis system. Sui generis means unique system of protection. This provision allows Ghana maximum flexibility in the design of plant variety protection (PVP). This is what many developing countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, India have done. The African Union Ministers have also recommended a unique Model Law for Plant Variety Protection. See: Ghanas Plant Breeders Bill Lacks Legitimacy! It Must Be Revised! | http://foodsovereigntyghana.org/ghanas-plant-breeders-bill-lacks-legitimacy-it-must-be-revised/ The public has a right to know why our Parliament is insisting on the UPOV-91 model for Ghana! 2. As a member of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA) we expect Ghana to take steps to realise farmers rights to use, sell, save and exchange farm-saved seeds, to protect their traditional knowledge and to allow their participation in national decision-making. It is thus extremely disappointing to see that the Bill is heavily tilted in favour of commercial breeders and undermines farmers rights. The Bill does not allow farmers to sell and exchange seeds. A farmers use of farm-saved seeds on his own holdings is limited to personal use and regulation by the Minister and may be subject to payment of royalties. 3. The Bill also contains a presumption whereby a plant breeder is considered to be entitled to intellectual property protection in the absence of proof to the contrary. Usually the onus is on the applicant to prove that he or she has complied with the necessary requirements and is thus entitled to protection. But in this case there is a presumption in favour of the plant breeder. This presumption provision and the lack of an explicit provision that calls for the disclosure of origin of the genetic material used in the development of the variety including information of any contribution made by any Ghanaian farmer or community in the development of the variety creates opportunities for breeders to misappropriate Ghanas genetic resources using the PVP system and to exploit smallholder farmers. Ghanas farmers must not be criminalized by Ghanas laws for practising traditional farming. It is important to note that Ghana is a member of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and the Convention on Biological Diversity and both these instruments champion fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. Including a disclosure of origin provision in the Bill is critical as it is widely recognized as an important tool to safeguard against biopiracy. Several countries have included such a provision in its their PVP legislation and there is no reason why Ghana should not do the same. 4. The Bill also lacks provisions that will ensure that intellectual property protection will not be granted to varieties that adversely affect public interests. 5. Amend or repeal Clause 23! The offending clause reads: 23 Measures regulating commerce. A plant breeder right shall be independent of any measure taken by the Republic to regulate within Ghana the production, certification and marketing of material of a variety or the importation or exportation of the material. FSGs position on this is that it is important for the Bill to be coherent with Ghanas sovereignty plus other legislation and national interests such as the protection of the environment, health, prevention of misappropriation of genetic resources etc. The inclusion of Clause 23 hinders the ability to achieve such coherence as it views the grant of PBR as being independent from all other regulations. In certain cases it may be important to refuse to grant PBR over a variety, particularly where national interests are at stake. Such situations include not granting PBR on varieties that are injurious to public health, environment etc or where the application does not disclose the origin of the genetic material. There is a huge difference between plant breeder right shall be INDEPENDENT OF any measure taken by the Republic to regulate within Ghana the production, certification and marketing and plant breeder right shall be SUBJECT TO any measure taken by the Republic to regulate within Ghana the production, certification and marketing of material of a variety or the importation or exportation of the material! The language must be amended to: plant breeder right shall be SUBJECT TO any measure taken by the Republic to regulate within Ghana the production, certification and marketing of material of a variety or the importation or exportation of the material. 6. Any PVP law in Ghana must protect Ghana from biopiracy. We recommend language such that: any entity or individual who provides germplasm resources to any foreign entity, organisation or individual in cooperation to conduct research, shall make an application and submit a national benefit-sharing plan. Why do our elected representatives ignore these points, at least according to the Hon George Loh. Why do our MPs reject these suggestions that would truly protect Ghanas agriculture and make our lives more sustainable and our agriculture more profitable for all Ghanaians. For Life, the Environment, and Social Justice! Edwin Kweku Andoh Baffour Communications Directorate, FSG Contact: Tel: +233 249867238 / +233 207973808 E-mail : [email protected] Website: http://foodsovereigntyghana.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoodSovereignGH Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoodSovereigntyGhana To : Media Houses Cc: The Rt. Hon. Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho, The Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Emmanuel K Anyimadu. Hon. George Loh, MP for North Dayi Constituency, Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Select-Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Friendly organisations and individuals Categories: National Campaign Against UPOV/ Plant Breeders Bill, News, Our Campaigns, Press Releases and Statements | Tags: Farmers' Rights, Hon. George Loh, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA), Monsanto Law, Parliament, PBB, Plant Breeder's Bill, seeds, UPOV, WTO | Larnaca (Cyprus) (AFP) - A man hijacked an EgyptAir passenger plane Tuesday and forced it to divert to Cyprus demanding to see his ex-wife, sparking a dramatic airport standoff that ended peacefully after six hours. The hijacker, an Egyptian described as "unstable", had claimed to have explosives strapped to his waist but none were discovered after he gave himself up at Larnaca airport and was arrested. Most of the 55 passengers on the plane -- originally travelling from Alexandria to Cairo -- were quickly released after it had landed. But some escaped only minutes before the hijacker surrendered, including one uniformed man who was seen clambering out of a cockpit window and dropping to the ground. "From the beginning it was determined that this was not a case of terrorism," Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said, adding the man was "psychologically unstable". Egypt identified the man as 58-year-old Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa. Kasoulides said the man demanded to deliver a letter to his Cypriot ex-wife, with whom he was said to have children. She was brought to the airport and spoke to the man, the minister said, without elaborating. He also delivered a rambling letter in Arabic with demands, including to meet with a European Union representative and for the release of women prisoners in Egypt. "There was no logical consistency for the demands to be taken seriously," Kasoulides said. Asked about the hijacker's demands to see his wife, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades laughed and said: "Always there is a woman." - Fake explosives - The EgyptAir plane landed in Larnaca at 8:50 am (0550 GMT), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion. Egyptian civil aviation officials said there were 21 foreigners among the passengers, and that the hijacker had demanded the plane land in either Turkey or Cyprus. They included eight Americans, four Dutch citizens and four Britons, the Egyptian authorities said. Two French nationals were also on the plane, according to a French diplomatic source. Officials said that seven people, including several passengers, had remained on board until shortly before the man surrendered. The hijacker emerged from the aircraft, walked across the tarmac and raised his hands to two waiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him before taking him away. In a tweet at 2:43 pm, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides confirmed "the hijacker has just been arrested" and that all crew and passengers were safe. After sending sniffer dogs onto the plane, police said no bombs had been found. Kasoulides said the man had threatened to blow himself up if the plane was not refuelled and allowed to depart for Istanbul. "We examined the alleged explosives that were found on him. They were not explosives but phone covers made up to give the impression they were explosives," he said. Police said there were no immediate indications anyone had been working with the hijacker. - Airport reopens - Authorities closed the airport -- Cyprus's main entry point for tourists -- and nearby beaches and diverted incoming flights to Paphos in the island's west. Larnaca airport later said it had reopened and that flights had resumed. Egypt sent a plane that flew home passengers who were aboard the hijacked jet. It also released photographs it said were of the hijacker being searched by airport security before boarding the plane. Concerns were raised about security at Egyptian airports after a Russian airliner was downed on October 31 over Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. The Islamic State group claimed to have smuggled a bomb on board. Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the past few decades. In August 1996, a Sudan Airways Airbus A-310 was hijacked by seven Iraqis between Khartoum and Amman with 199 people on board. After a stopover in Larnaca it flew on to London's Stansted airport, where the hijackers gave themselves up. In 1988, a Kuwait Airways flight hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait was diverted to Iran and later to Larnaca, where hijackers killed two Kuwaiti passengers and dumped their bodies on the tarmac. In February 1978, Egyptian commandos stormed a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 at Larnaca, where 15 passengers were being held hostage. Some 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in a firefight with Cypriot forces. All the hostages were freed and the hijackers arrested. Accra, March 29, GNA - Food Sovereignty Ghana((FSG), has called on the Speaker of Parliament to order the publication of a report on the consultations that the Select-Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs undertook on the Plant Breeders Bill (PPB). This follows the request of Mr Edward Doe Adjaho for 'further consultations' with stakeholders on the PBB, when it came before the House on November 11, 2014. A statement issued by Edwin Kweku Andoh Baffour, Communications Directorate, FSG, a food advocacy group, said the call is in reaction to a media report by the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Select-Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr George Loh, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dayi. The MP was a quoted as saying: 'We have done extensive consultations. We even did two consultations carried live on television with all stakeholders. So, nobody can pretend that we haven't spoken to people If after consultations, you do stand where you are, fine! We have consulted! 'The consultations that we have been expecting from Parliament since November11, 2014, have already taken place without our knowledge!' The statement said Mr Loh said a meeting with FSG, prior to the Speaker's call, on December 4, 2013, was part of the 'further consultations' called for by the Speaker on November 11, 2014, almost a year later. It said: 'We are not claiming that we are the only group that petitioned Parliament that needed to be consulted. However, we see that almost all the groups that petitioned Parliament are still waiting to be consulted. We wonder, which groups actually were consulted? Why were most or all of the petitioners excluded? 'What was the basis of the petitions of any groups that may have been consulted, and on what grounds were they rejected by the Committee?' The statement said On Tuesday, November 11, 2014, the last time the Bill came up on the floor of the House at the Consideration Stage, the Speaker ruled: 'I will urge for further consultation,' he said to Mr Alban Bagbin, Majority Leader and then Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. 'It therefore behooves the Committee to produce an official report detailing the consultations they claim to have done for all to know why Parliament still refuses to heed the demands of Ghanaian civil society groups and faith-based organisations, who have formally petitioned them.' The document said Ghana could protect plant breeder rights without necessarily opting for UPOV 91.The Bill is modelled on the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants of 1991 (UPOV 1991), which is a rigid and an inflexible regime for plant variety protection (PVP). It said of the 71 UPOV members, only a fraction - about 22 developing countries are members of UPOV. Most of these developing countries such as Brazil, China, Argentina, South Africa and even some developed countries such as Norway are not members of UPOV 1991 but rather UPOV 1978, which is a far more flexible regime. 'Ghana has full flexibility under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to develop an effective 'generis' system for plant variety protection.' The statement said: 'Ghana is a member of the WTO and the rights and obligations concerning intellectual property are governed by the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). 'According to Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, Ghana has to provide protection of plant varieties by an effective sui generis system. Sui generis means unique system of protection. 'This provision allows Ghana maximum flexibility in the design of plant variety protection (PVP). This is what many developing countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and India have done. 'The African Union Ministers have also recommended a unique Model Law for Plant Variety Protection. 'As a member of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA) we expect Ghana to take steps to realise farmers' rights to use, sell, save and exchange farm-saved seeds, to protect their traditional knowledge and to allow their participation in national decision-making. It is thus extremely disappointing to see that the Bill is heavily tilted in favour of commercial breeders and undermines farmers' rights.' The Bill does not allow farmers to sell and exchange seeds. A farmer's use of farm-saved seeds on his or her own holdings is limited to personal use and regulation and may be subject to payment of royalties. The statement said the Bill also contains a presumption whereby a plant breeder is considered to be entitled to intellectual property protection in the absence of proof to the contrary. 'Usually the onus is on the applicant to prove that he or she has complied with the necessary requirements and is thus entitled to protection. But in this case there is a presumption in favour of the plant breeder. 'This presumption provision and the lack of an explicit provision that calls for the disclosure of origin of the genetic material used in the development of the variety including information of any contribution made by any Ghanaian farmer or community in the development of the variety creates opportunities for breeders to misappropriate genetic resources using the PVP system and to exploit smallholder farmers.' It said Ghanaian farmers must not be criminalised by laws for practising traditional farming. It said it is important to note that Ghana is a member of the ITPGRFA and the Convention on Biological Diversity and both these instruments champion fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. These include a disclosure of origin provision in the Bill is critical as it is widely recognised as an important tool to safeguard against bio piracy. The statement said several countries have included such a provision in their PVP legislation and there is no reason why Ghana should not do the same. It said the Bill lacks provisions that would ensure that intellectual property protection would not be granted to varieties that adversely affect public interests. FSG says it is important for the Bill to be coherent with Ghana's sovereignty plus other legislation and national interests such as the protection of the environment, health and prevention of misappropriation of genetic resources. It said: 'Any PVP law in Ghana must protect Ghana from biopiracy. We recommend language such that: any entity or individual, who provides germplasm resources to any foreign entity, organisation or individual in cooperation to conduct research, shall make an application and submit a national benefit-sharing plan. 'Why do our elected representatives ignore these points Why do our MPs reject these suggestions that will truly protect Ghana's agriculture and make our lives more sustainable and our agriculture more profitable for all Ghanaians?' GNA Cape Coast, (C/R), March 29, GNA - Healthcare Service Providers in the Central Region have expressed their concern over how the quality of service is being compromised by the under-funding of health services. At an annual review conference, at the University of Cape Coast, the health providers said because of the huge debts to creditors, the suppliers of health commodities were refusing to supply essential medicines and medical supplies to the Regional Medical Stores and health facilities. Dr. Samuel Kwashie, the Central Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Mr. Lucio G. Dery, attributed the situation to National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims in arrears of about eight months. He said the working capital of the health facilities had also been locked up because of the financial situation. He, therefore, urged stakeholders to play their roles to ensure that all forms of direct and indirect financial barriers preventing the vulnerable from accessing affordable and quality healthcare were removed as a matter of urgency. The conference was organised by the Central Regional Directorate of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to assess the performance of the 13 branch schemes in the Region for 2015. Dr. Kwashie said under the circumstances, it was the vulnerable who suffered the most, explaining that, 'The National Health Insurance Fund is a National Healthcare and Developmental Resource and the Stakeholders must strive to protect it'. He said that under the present circumstance, the NHIA fund was ailing, saying, all stakeholders were partly to blame for the problem; having contributed in one way or the other. Dr. Kwashie said it was clear that the NHIS Fund had been abused: from the NHIA Card-Holder, through the Healthcare Provider to the Fund Manager and the Purchaser. The Regional Director, therefore, advised the more than 50 NHIA workers who participated in the conference, that as they were reviewing their past performance, each stakeholder must subject himself or herself to introspection, and eschew all forms of acts, omissions and commissions, which were not in the national interest. Dr. Kwashie said for the fund to be effectively sustained to be able to perform its functions well, all stakeholders must put a genuine hand to the wheel to ensure that the NHIS fund was really sustained and protected to benefit all who those needed it. This, the Regional Director called for improved stakeholder engagements in addressing effectively the factors negating the purpose and vision of the NHIA fund. Dr. Kwashie called on the NHIA to improve upon the timeliness of the releases of the fund and claims payment to service providers and ensure timely credentialing of health facilities, especially CHPS zones, and other lower level facilitates, in particular. He emphasised the need for a joint action and a more open clinical auditing and action between the NHIA and providers. The Government, Dr. Kwashie said, must effectively engage all stakeholders on the practical expansion and efficient accountability of the Fund to cope with the reality of the time. The theme for the conference was, 'Reaching Out To The Vulnerable -The Role Of The Stakeholder'. GNA Kumasi, March 29, GNA - United States (US) has expressed its readiness to give strong backing to Ghana to conduct clean, transparent and credible general election, later this year. Mr. Robert Porter Jackson, the US Ambassador, said it was already providing financial and technical support to civil society organizations including the National Peace Council (NPC) to strengthen their capacity to effectively monitor political activities during and after the polls. He said this when he paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at his Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. The visit was to help strengthen the warm relationship between the US Embassy in Accra and the Manhyia Palace. Mr. Jackson applauded the significant strides the nation was making in its democratic governance and said this needed to be safeguarded through fair and incident-free presidential and parliamentary elections. Ghana, he noted, had won international admiration for its democracy and stability and asked that this was protected. The Ambassador touched on the escalation of terrorism in the West African sub-region and described that as deeply worrying. He said the development was unhelpful to the sub-region's economic growth. He underlined the determination of his country to work closely with Ghana to deal with the growing terror threats it faced. Otumfuo Osei Tutu earlier urged the US to up its assistance to the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct a successful election. He said he was confident that Ghanaian voters would once again pass the test by choosing the leaders peacefully through the ballot box. GNA 29.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 29, GNA - Apostle Peter Okoe Mankralo, the President of the Apostolic Church of Ghana, has bemoaned the increasing number of false doctrines in the country and entreated Christians to beware. A statement signed by Apostle Mankralo on Easter Monday, copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said Christians were supposed to exhibit fellow-feeling for their neighbours and wondered if many were living by that noble principle. "We are disturbed to note that at a time we should be living by these virtues, there has emerged in our society arrays of false doctrines and practices among Christians. Some people, styling themselves as pastors, have become stage cancers or cheats who shamelessly tell lies and twist the word of God," it said. The statement said the proponents of those false doctrines seemed to have monetary and other material considerations at the centre of their teachings, and claim to have the power to cure all ailments, and have answers to all problems - social and economic, that afflicted the people. "It is worth noting that these false prophets only succeed in compounding the miseries of their unsuspecting followers by ripping them off their property, and sometimes, their very dignity. 'We, therefore, call on Ghanaians in general and Christians in particular not to just see the Easter as another ritual, but as an occasion to critically question such false teachings and short-comings in their lives, and thus reflect on the relevance of Christ's death to mankind," it said. It urged Christians to use the occasion to ponder on how they can live lives that would justify the supreme sacrifice Christ made, adding that Easter must provide another occasion to re-orientate people's lives along the values and principle espoused by Christ. It advised Christians to be more honest and transparent in their dealings with other people, and work hard and diligently to rebuild the nation by securing a collective prosperity. The statement said: "We need to reject all false doctrines and their perpetrators as well as practices and ways of life that promote vice and evil in our society, and endeavour to lead righteous lives which Christ, through His sacrifice on earth, bequeathed to us. "It is only in doing so that this Easter and each subsequent one, for that matter, that we would secure our passage for true salvation," it said. The statement expressed the hope that the feast of sacrifice and the resurrection of Jesus Christ would strengthen the nation to strive for unity, peace and progress. GNA Sunyani (B/A), March 29, GNA - The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has called on stakeholders to help government to fulfill the obligation of protecting the health of citizens. She said health professionals, on the other hand, must be motivated to contribute their quota in achieving health for all. 'We must all, therefore, endeavour to work towards enhancing the work of health professionals in order to improve the safety and quality of healthcare for our people,' she said. Presenting assorted medical equipment to the Sunyani Municipal Hospital on behalf of her Foundation, the Lordina Foundation, Mrs Mahama asked for support for health personnel to ensure quality care in the hospitals. The equipment, which included hospital beds, incubators, ultra scan machines, mammogram refrigerators, catheters, syringes, forceps, blood pressure monitors, theatre beds, wheelchairs and blood sample machines were donated to the hospital as parts of the First Lady's effort to help save lives and support government's programme of providing quality healthcare. Mrs Mahama, who used the occasion to inaugurate a new administration block for the hospital, commended the staff for playing a major role in uplifting the health status of people in and around the Sunyani catchment area. 'With its vision to be a world-class healthcare facility of repute and achieve best practice in healthcare and training of high calibre medical personnel, the hospital has contributed to providing quality care to the people of Sunyani,' she said. Mrs Mahama said during a recent visit to the hospital, her Foundation, in collaboration with the Ghana AIDS Commission, organised a free screening for HIV/AIDS and breast/cervical cancers for the people to ensure that they enjoyed good health. The First Lady said the Ghana chapter of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA), which she chairs, had successfully launched the Global 'All-In' Campaign as a means of intensifying all efforts to prevent HIV infections and AIDS deaths amongst adolescents. She expressed happiness that there had been significant decrease in the rates of infant mortality and under-five mortality as indicated by the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey and that was achieved through successful interventions in those areas. There had also been remarkable improvement in antenatal, intra partum and postnatal deaths, but much needed to be done to ensure that not even a single woman died in child birth, Mrs Mahama said. She, however, commended hardworking health professionals, particularly those working in deprived communities, for their contribution towards improved health delivery. Mrs Mahama also thanked Medshare USA and other sponsors for supporting her Foundation to donate such essential health equipment to needy facilities all over the country. Dr Paulina Opoku, the Municipal Health Director, described the equipment as coming in handy to help the hospital, which had become the preferred choice of delivery in the region, as 45 per cent of all deliveries in the region were handled there. While commending the First Lady for her continuous assistance to health facilities in the whole of Sunyani, Mr Kwasi Oppong Ababio, the Municipal Chief Executive of Sunyani East, appealed to her to assist the hospital to acquire an ambulance to help in referral cases. Nana Kwaku Saben II, the Akwamuhene , who represented the Omanhene of the area, thanked the Government for the various projects being carried out in and around Sunyani. Among the First Lady's entourage were Mr Eric Opoku, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, and some party executives in the region. GNA Accra, March 29, GNA - Kwasi Sam, a sawmill apprentice, who allegedly had anal sex with a 12 year old boy at Teshie, has had his case referred to the Department of Social Welfare. This follows an order by an Accra Circuit Court to the Department to conduct background checks and submit a report on Sam, who has been charged with defilement of a child under 16 years. Sam, who pleaded guilty, has been remanded into Police custody and is expected to be sentenced on April 19. The court, presided over by Mrs Ruby Naa Adjeley Quaison, on March 11, had deferred Sam's sentence to today. Giving the facts of the case earlier in court, Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbire, said the complainant resided at Teshie with the victim, while the accused person also resided in the same vicinity. The Prosecution said when the complainant returned from a journey about three weeks ago, and the victim informed her that Sam had been having sex with him through his anus since November last year. The complainant, consequently, reported the matter to the Police and she was given a police medical form to send the victim for examination and treatment. The Prosecution said when the complainant sent the medical report to the Police, Sam was picked up. In Sam's caution statement, the Prosecution said, he admitted the offence. GNA 29.03.2016 LISTEN Accra, March 29, GNA - Mr Narteh Tetteh, a real estate broker, has advised against the adoption of a proposed rent law that would force landlords to charge not more than one month rent. A statement signed by Mr Fidel Amoah, the Content Manager, Lamudi Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Mr Tetteh, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Realty Connections, believes the proposed Rent Act amendment will do more harm than good. He admitted that such an amendment would suit tenants favourably as it would enable them meet their rent obligations but it will at the same time be a disincentive for real estate developers. In a poll conducted by real estate expert, Lamudi Ghana, revealed that 12 per cent of respondents said they were looking to change accommodation because of rent-related issues. Mr Narteh said that any amendment to Ghana's Rent Act has to suit real estate investors as much as tenants, else, it risks worsening the housing deficit in the country. 'The proposed amendment would make housing more affordable for tenants and people in search of accommodation,' he said. 'There is the need for change with the existing situation because some landlords are charging rent advance of more than two years. It makes it difficult for many house hunters to afford such agreements. 'However, we need to look at the situation holistically because this proposed amendment would affect real estate investment negatively,' he said. Mr Tetteh underscored the importance of real estate investment, stating that the country was grappling with a huge housing deficit. He said the proposed amendment of one month rent advance would be a disincentive for real estate investors, culminating in a worsening housing gap. He suggested that the Rent Control Department should be resourced adequately to ensure that the constitutionally approved six months rent advance was adhered to. 'The best solution for Ghana's rental problem is to enforce the six months rent advance to the letter. Reducing it to one month could lead to further problems,' he said. 'For instance, a landlord could claim that an individual has offered to pay one year's rent advance so would only give out his accommodation to another house hunter willing to beat the offer.' GNA A Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress is accusing the opposition New Patriotic Party of clutching to straw over the role played by Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) in the 2012 general elections. Kofi Adams says the Israeli company was never contracted to file results to the strong room of the Electoral Commission and any attempt by the NPP to make such claims will be nothing more than falsehood. The role played by STL in 2012 has become a subject matter for a debate in 2016 because of a statement issued by Interior Minister, Prosper Bani. The Minister in an attempt to clear the air on the issues relating to the arrest of three South Africans and Captain Edmund Koda, head of private security of the New Patriotic Party flagbearer revived what was an old unsettled debate. He said in his statement that one of the arrested South Africans had "a comprehensive report on the operations of Superlock Technologies Limited (STL)" In defining the role played by STL in the 2012 elections, Prosper Bani said: "STL is the company contracted by the Electoral Commission to transmit tallied election results." That comment has sent the NPP probing for answers from the Electoral Commission as well as government. Director of Communications of the NPP Nana Akomea said the Electoral Commission as well as government in 2012 denied ever contracting STL to transmit tallied election results. He cited the near violence that erupted at Dzorwulu in 2012 triggered by allegations by some NPP youths that officials of STL were illegally transmitting election results. He found it surprising that four years on, government through the Interior Ministry will issue a statement admitting that STL transmitted tallied results. Nana Akomea told Joy News Editor Dzifa Bampoh the Electoral Commission and government have some explanation to do. Attempts by Joy News to seek further explanation from the Electoral Commission have proven futile. But the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC insists the NPP is creating something out of nothing. Kofi Adams told Joy News every political party in Ghana knows how election results are filed and transmitted and STL plays no role in that. "It is not in doubt the role [played] by STL in the 2012 elections. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the work they did," he stated, adding STL was only contracted to manage the biometric data base. "We know how results are filed during elections in this country," he said. When he was confronted with the comment by the Interior Minister which contradicted what he said, Kofi Adams said he was not the Interior Minister and could not speak for him. "I know how election results are transmitted in Ghana, ask the Interior Minister," he said when his attention was drawn to the comment made by the Interior Minister. 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. business Any rebalancing in steel prices may take some time: JSW Steel Seshagiri Rao, Group CFO, said that the company is better-positioned to manage its Rs 40,000 crore debt and steps taken by the government have helped reduce imports substantially. business Indian pharma cos need to step-up safeguards at plants: Handa In the last five months, plants of nine Indian pharmaceutical companies - Cipla, Dr Reddys, Sun Pharma, Cadila, Lupin and Natco Pharma.- have come under the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scanner. business New defence orders to be executed over 2 years: Ashok Leyland The company is still working out the details for a foray into the non-vehicle defence business, says Nitin Seth, President-LCV & Defence, Ashok Leyland. you are here: business How Telangana is using technology to transform its economy The state of Telangana, the country's newest and 10th largest, emerged from its bifurcation with erstwhile Andhra Pradesh with a challenge: one of deep economic divide and low growth. current-affairs-trends PM Modi leaves for Brussels today; terror, business on agenda In Brussels, Modi will attend the long-pending India-EU summit. He will also hold a bilateral summit meeting with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel where ways to deal with terrorism will form a "very important part". March 29, 2016 Libya - Tribes, Militia, Interests And Intervention - by Richard Galustian The extensive piece below on the situation in Libya is by Richard Galustian , a long time Middle East and North African security specialist and author. In February we discussed the whitewash U.S. media is giving Hillary Clinton and the U.S., British and French 2011 war on Libya . In March we borrowed from Richard Galustian's work in and on Libya for a look at some curious personal interests in the current build up to a sequel of the earlier war. Galustian discusses the situation on the ground in Libya, the details of the various local groups and interests involved and the continuing and coming international interference in Libya. He analyses possible alternative steps forward. His thoughts on the subject are based on his extensive on-the-ground knowledge of the tribes and militias of Libya. This presents a unique insight into the most complex labyrinth of inter-connected Libyan and foreign interests. --- Libya - Tribes, Militia, Interests And Intervention by Richard Galustian It is something that had never happened in any country since the formation of the United Nations. The UN has, without an election, created unilaterally its own government for a country, and then immediately recognized it. The Government of National Accord, the GNA for Libya is a government based in exile and not elected but chosen by the "International Community". A concerted effort over Easter for the GNA in exile in Tunis to 'take power' in Tripoli failed completely despite the spin and false optimism of the UN and the U.S. and UK in particular. Let's rewind a little. The recent United Nations plan to bring peace to Libya and eliminate ISIS was/is a two stage process fraught with great risk, uncertainty and is poorly thought out. First is to persuade Libyas factions to unite under a Government, the GNA while it is in exile. Second, to provide weapons, training and air support for a newly united Libyan army to attack ISIS. These are totally unrealistic expectations that will never happen. The background needs to be understood. The critical fact being that Libyas main factions are divided into two very loose camps. One camp supports the elected parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk. The other is made up of the previous parliament, the General National Congress (GNC) and supports 'Libya Dawn', an Islamist-led coalition of militias that include the extremist elements of the Muslim Brotherhood and former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) revolutionaries. The LIFG is an al-Qaeda offshoot. Civil war began in July 2014 when 'Libya Dawn' seized Tripoli by force after the elections saw sharp losses for the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies including notably former leader of the LIFG, the infamous Abdel Hakim Belhadj, currently suing in the London Courts the then Foreign Minister and MI-6. The HoR won international recognition straight after the UN announced its election was free and fair, but under intimidation (that's when Islamists destroyed Tripoli International Airport etc) from militias, the HoR fled east to Tobruk. To further complicate the situation one must realize that within these two camps are a lattice work of rivalries and tribal divisions. Libya has no third force of police or army acceptable to all sides. The militias are the third force! Essentially they represents 'guns for hire'. The army and police are first and second. The problem for the international community is while destroying ISIS is their stated priority, both Libyas rival camps see each other as the greater threat. ISIS is a threat, but neither camp believes it is an existential threat, so the priority for both camps is fighting each other. 2 Tobruk (HoR) Government Forces 1.1 In Derna,1.2 In Sirte,1.3 In Sabratha 3 'Libya Dawn' 2.1 Regular forces, 2.2 Petroleum Facilities Guard, 2.3 Zintan + Warshefa militias 1 ISIS in Libya Bases: Derna, Sirte, Sabratha; Strength: 6,000 (Pentagon estimate) 1.1 In Derna ISIS arrived in Libya in the summer of 2014 and established control of the eastern town of Derna, aided by a Yemeni preacher and a group of 200-300 ISIS fighters, many of them Libyan, includes many of the Al Badr Brigade, which had fought in Syria and Ansar Al Sharia whom some credit for killing the US Ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi. In June 2015 a mixed force of regular army and an Al Qaida affiliated militia, Omar Mukhtar Brigade, pushed ISIS out of the town to its base in the forested green mountains to the south, the only high ground in the East. Rumors that Qatari backed, Abdel Hakim Belhadj is linked to ISIS have never been proven. His LIFG was by the way designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. 1.2 In Sirte The ISIS headquarter in Libya is in Sirte, Muammar Gaddafis birthplace and the site of his capture and execution at the end of the 2011 uprising in October. Since establishing itself there in 2014, ISIS has pushed outwards, and now holds 150 miles of the Mediterranean coast either side of the town facing Europe. It has also pushed south, raiding production units in Sirte Basin, Libyas largest collection of oil fields. In December 2015 it attacked Libyas principle oil ports, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, east of Sirte, setting storage tanks ablaze. In March 2016 it attacked Sarir, the largest remaining oil field still in production, 200 miles south east of Sirte. The Pentagon estimates ISIS has 6,000 fighters and anecdotal reports suggest more are arriving hiding among migrant streams crossing Libyas southern border. The majority of ISIS fighters in Libya are foreign, with contingents from Tunisia, Chad, Yemen, Syria, Mali, Niger and most recently Senegal. Other estimates put ISIS numbers closer to 10,000 and in future that number will undoubtedly grow. 1.3 In Sabratha The main ISIS base in western Libya was at Sabratha, 30 miles west of Tripoli. Remnants still remain there. In February U.S. air strikes successfully struck an ISIS compound killing 41 fighters, the bulk of them, according to ID cards recovered, were from Tunisia. Subsequently ISIS units overran the town, beheading 12 police officers in the police headquarters. In early March ISIS units briefly captured areas of the Tunisian border town of Ben Gardan, before succumbing to government troops in fighting that left 50 dead. The U.S. strikes and subsequent fighting exposed links between the towns Libya Dawn leadership and ISIS, who were able to use private houses leased by townspeople. 2 Tobruk (HoR) Government Forces Regular army and militias from eastern Libya, militias south and west Libya. Strength estimates for full and part time fighters: 15,000-30,000. Between 12 and 30 fighter bombers + helicopters. 2.1 Regular forces Tobruks most powerful force is the regular army. It is based in eastern Libya and has recently captured the bulk of Benghazi from Islamist militias and ISIS. It is led by Tobruk commander-in-chief Khalifa Haftar, probably the most polarizing figure in Libya. He is more popular than Western media portrays. He has vowed to destroy Islamist forces which he brands terrorists, and is supported and hated in equal measure. The otherwise most popular soldier in the East is the enigmatic much respected Col. Wanis Bukhamada. The armys key units are the Saiqa and Zawiya-Martyrs brigades based in Benghazi and the 204 tank brigade. These units have some characteristics of militias, in that their personnel are not interchangeable and commanders decide in advance if they will perform various actions. But they cooperate and have ability to coordinate combined attacks with limited supporting artillery. The air force is commanded by Haftars close aid Gen. Saqr al-Jerushi and has grown to more than 16 planes and helicopters. It has the capacity to launch accurate strikes on shipping attempting to bring weapons to Islamist units in Benghazi. In early March it broadcast footage showing the aftermath of an air strike on three ships that had been bringing weapons to Islamists in Benghazi from Misrata. Air force senior Officers say better training, pilots and planes, presumably mostly from Egypt, have given them the ability to spot and hit targets, even at night, at sea, and at least half a dozen similar strikes have taken place since October. 2.2 Petroleum Facilities Guard Officially a defense ministry formation, the PFG is a tribal militia led by a charismatic and unpredictable yet important warlord, Ibrahim Jidran and his brothers who control four principle eastern Libyan oil ports. When attacked by 'Libya Dawn' in 2014 and ISIS in 2015 it defended the ports and cooperated with Haftar in clearing Islamists from the nearby town of Ajbaiya. But Jidran remains emotionally unstable, and has in the past suggested switching support to 'Libya Dawn'. He has signaled support for the GNA though that could change! This is a fairly typical trait - for Libyans, to switch allegiances regularly which makes analyzing the situation on the ground so difficult. 2.3 Zintan + Warshefa militias The most powerful pro-government militia in western Libya is from Zintan, 90 km south west of Tripoli. It formed in the 2011 uprising, and at that time united with the rebel militia of Misrata to capture Tripoli. When Misrata joined Libya Dawn to capture the city in 2014, Zintan militia, who were until then the main pro government unit, quit the town and left the international airport after a six week battle. They returned to their almost impregnable mountainous region. Importantly Zintan holds Saif Gaddafi. Since 2014 Zintan has allied with militias from the Warshefani tribal belt, a crescent south of the capital. They have an integrated command center in Zintan with numbered brigades and their units cooperate well in offensive operations. Zintans best equipped unit is SAWAC, which deploys American uniforms and helmets and UAE manufactured armored cars. Its component parts dissolved in the 2014 fighting and joined other Zintan brigades but have since reformed. Zintan now cooperates with Haftar, but, typically for Libyans, from time to time declines to take orders from him. Its operations are usually coordinated with air force bombers commanded by General Saqr Jerushi operating from the giant Wattiya desert air base north of Zintan. In December U.S. special forces were photographed at the airbase, reportedly engaged in reconnaissance of the Sabratha ISIS base 30 km north which American jets struck in February. 3 'Libya Dawn' Militia led forces holding Tripoli, the western coastal belt and districts of eastern city of Benghazi. Strength estimates full and part time fighters 15,000-40,000. 3-6 fighter bombers operating out of Misrata and from Tripoli's Mitiga Air Base which doubles as a civilian airport following Tripoli International Airport's destruction. 'Libya Dawn' militias are broadly speaking divided between Islamist and tribal. The strongest and most important tribal militias are primarily from Misrata, as well as western coastal Libyan towns, reviving an ancient coastal-interior tribal fault line. The new UN-backed GNA has split Libya Dawn, probably permanently, with some militias in favor, others not, and consequential clashes in Tripoli between the two. 'Libya Dawn' was formed in July 2014 after Islamist and Misrata allies suffered defeat at the ballot boxes, in elections for the House of Representatives parliament, which was to replace the former General National Congress (GNC) parliament in which Islamists had enjoyed a narrow majority. Libya Dawn militias captured Tripoli in six weeks fighting that saw most embassies leave for Tunis or Malta and, as stated earlier, the International airport (TIP) completely destroyed. Dawn then proclaimed support for a rump of the former GNC, composed of approximately 30 Islamist and Misrata former MPs. The exact number is not verified because the rump GNC holds sessions in secret. This newly constituted version of the GNC appointed a government led by a prime minister and cabinet called the National Salvation Government (NSG). After a disputed Supreme Court judgement in November the rump GNC insisted it was the "real" parliament. The elected HoR now residing in Tobruk denounced the judgement, saying the Supreme Court judges were intimidated, in fear of their lives when they were forced to make their deliberations and when they were physically surrounded by Dawn militias. Also as stated earlier, the UN's GNA plan has divided Libya Dawn militias, some in favor, some against although the process is fluid and dynamic and ever changing. 3.1 'Libya Dawn' - Pro GNA militias 3.1.1 Rada, or Special Deterrence Force Formerly Nawasi, a Salafist formation, led by Abdul Rauf Kara. It is the self appointed religious police in Tripoli, ensuring womens dress codes and closing shops displaying female garments. It clashes regularly with drug suppliers and usually summarily executes them on the spot. It operates from Mitiga Airport, the city center Libya airport, formerly only an AF air base. Its units are well equipped, with imported tan colored Toyotas with armor plating. To be fair Rada has brought a degree of security and stability to central Tripoli. Rada is expected to become the key security force for the GNA if it ever enters Tripoli. It has over 3,000 personnel. 3.1.2 Misrata: Halboos, Central Shield, Al Majoub, 166 Brigade Halbous is an armored brigade, nicknamed the Black Brigade in the 2011 uprising because it painted its vehicles this color to differentiate from tan-colored Gaddafi forces for NATO jets. Founded by two engineer brothers both killed in the revolution, its units have held back from militia fighting and diplomats regard Halboos as having, as a result, good relations with both Tripoli and Zintan. Halboos and Zintan negotiated a ceasefire in October 2015 which is holding. Optimistic plans call for Rada, Halboos and Zintan units to jointly patrol Tripoli to protect the GNA. This is an unlikely coalition. Some Zintan and Misrata commanders say they are reluctant, fearing increased firefights leading to mostly civilian casualties. Privately, each expresses fears that less disciplined militias from their towns will take the opportunity to enter Tripoli, with family/tribal connections obliging regular units to avoid confronting them. Misratas Al Majoub Brigade and Central Shield militias, which have also refrained from gangsterism, also support GNA. Misratas 166 brigade is the lead formation battling ISIS on the Sirte front. It supports the GNA and UK and French special forces are reportedly advising it prior to an inevitable planned assault on Sirte. 3.2 'Libya Dawn' - Anti-GNA militias 3.2.1 Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR) The LROR is a Salafist brigade formed as the headquarters of 'Libya Shield', a Muslim Brotherhood parallel army set up by the former General National Congress (GNC) in 2013 as counterweight to the regular army. In reaction to the military uprising against Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt in the summer of 2013, LROR and Shield units deployed around Tripoli and were paid, bribed, whatever you like to call it, 900 million dinars on orders of GNC president Nuri Abu Sahmain. In October that year LROR kidnapped then prime minister Ali Zeidan from a Tripoli hotel. Since then, LROR, like most Tripoli militias, has seen membership rise and fall as fighters join and leave other units and return; and endless cycle of defections. Its leadership has declared it will fight any attempt by the GNA to control Tripoli. 3.2.2 Haitham Tajouri A young maverick, not very smart even by the standards of Libyan militia leaders, he opposed LROR in 2013, claiming false credit for freeing Zeidan. Since then his militia from Tajoura in south west Tripoli has fought alongside and against LROR in a continually changing alliances. Politically he has been outflanked by Rada which has UN approval, and is opposed to the GNA though he could change his mind in a heart beat. In March his units captured Gaddafis former Hall of the People to deny it to the GNA as a possible base. That said the two most favored locations in order of preference for the GNA would be the former UN base by the Med adjacent to the futuristic Palm City. A most important revolutionary figure who maintains a very low profile is Hisham Bishr; a man to watch in future; an intelligent thoughtful former librarian. 3.2.3 Al-Samoud Front Al Samoud is an amalgamation of 12 militias led by Misrata Islamist politician Saleh Badi, who led the most powerful 'Libya Dawn' force in its 2014 capture of Tripoli, capturing and then burning Tripoli International Airport. Badi formed the front from the most politically reliable units from both Misrata, eastern Tripoli and the coastal towns of Zawiya and Sabratha in reaction to gains made in 2015 fighting by Zintan. Badi is adamantly opposed to the GNA. To be frank, he is considered by many to be a thug, pure and simple. 3.2.4 Benghazi Shura Council The complexity of Libyas inter-twined tribal and Islamist conflict is highest in Benghazi. After the 2011 uprising the Muslim Brotherhood GNC installed three Libya Shield brigades in the city: February 17 Martyrs, Rafallah al Sahati (commanded my Muhammad al-Ghariani) and Libya Shield 1 (commanded by Wissam bin Ahmaid) All three were MB in orientation, and advised by Ismail Salabi, brother of Libyas key Muslim Brotherhood preacher Ali Salabi, based now in Turkey, Erdogan being the world champion of 'the Brothers' as they are known. Qatars wish that the three brigades should support Libyas 2012 elections saw a breakaway group, Ansar al Sharia, formed. Washington accuses Ansar of the attack on the US cluster of buildings, wrongly called a consulate, which was protected by a small force from February 17, that killed in Benghazi ambassador Chris Stevens in September 2012. However, there was overlap between the Brotherhood brigades, Ansar and other terror formations. After a massacre of 30 civilians in June 2013, Libya Shield 1s headquarters was overrun. IEDs and a makeshift jail created in the former toilet block were discovered. Former Shield militiamen recalled that the bulk of Shield 1 were local teenagers, paid to guard the compound. Within the compound was a forbidden area of several sand colored buildings where foreign Arabs worked. Shield militiamen were forbidden to talk to them and surmised they were operating a terror campaign in Benghazi. Through 2012 and 2013 Islamist units launched terror attacks, mostly assassinations, against military and police officers, judges and civil rights activists to intimidate and control the population. They culminated in the slaying of two young activists and the killing of one of Libya's most prominent activist, Salwa Bughagis, who photographed the militia unit that killed her. In May 2014 Gen. Khalifa Haftar, then a retired general (who had lived the previous two decades in Virginia USA), launched Operation Dignity, with a mixed army and militia force attacking both Brotherhood and Ansar militias. In February this year, according to Le Monde aided by French special forces, army units overran most Islamist positions in the town. By then, Islamist units had morphed into two parallel structures. Brotherhood militias, severely depleted, had merged with Ansar al Sharia to form the Benghazi Shura Council. It was supported politically and with deliveries of weapons and fighters from Misrata and Tripoli and financed by the Central Bank of Libya. Fighting both in competition and alongside were units of ISIS, which grew quickly among Shura areas, imposing harsh discipline. The Islamists were based in districts populated by people from western Libya suspicious of the eastern tribal majority. 4 Prospect of a Divided Country Until 1934 Libya did not exist as a country, and was divided into three regions created by Ottoman rulers. Cyrenaica, in the east, Tripolitania in the west and Fezzan in the south. Italian colonizers displaced the Ottomans after World War One, invented the name Libya and united the three provinces. Of the three provinces, the only homogeneous one is Cyrenaica (East Libya), where tribal leaders have well established rules for mediating conflict. For instance, when the Ajdabiya units of the PFG refused to allow Haftar units, from tribes further east, to enter the town to battle ISIS, Hafar demurred. Negotiations followed, the balance tipped by the strength of the regular army, and after tribal leaders agreed, army units entered the town. Tripolitania (West Libya) and Fezzan (South Libya) are split, with local squabbles taking precedence over rivalry with other provinces. Tripolitania is home to four million Libyans with a tribal divide separating the coast from the interior. Fezzan is split between ethnic conflict between gangs from Arab, Tobu and Tuareg peoples, some aligning with Tobruk, others with Tripoli in ever-changing loyalties. 5 Deployment of International Military Forces 5.1 Aviation 5.1.1. U.S. The U.S. has struck militant positions in Libya in June and November 2015 and in February this year. It uses bombers based in both the UK and Italy. U.S. Marines are based in Italy and Spain for use to extract downed pilots. U.S. drones operate over Libya from both Italy and Niger. In addition, several aircraft, including a Dornier and Beechcraft, used by U.S. Special Operations Command operated most days of March off the Libyan coast, visible because they use flight transponders when in international airspace. In December 2015 20 U.S. servicemen in civilian clothes were rather embarrassingly photographed among dune buggies and a USSOC Dornier at Al Wattiya base near Zintan. The Pentagon says it has special forces in Libya seeking alliances with militias to attack ISIS. Meanwhile Barack Obama has said the U.S. will continue to launch air strikes on militant targets of opportunity in Libya. 5.1.2 France France has an aircraft carrier, Charles De Gaulle exercising with the Egyptian navy in the Mediterranean as of March 18, after it returned from deployment in the Persian Gulf. Additionally, France has a force of 3,000 deployed in Niger and other parts of the Magreb, Operation Barkhane, which intercepts suspected jihadist convoys entering and leaving Libya. Guided by U.S. drones, the interceptions have seen several battles. However, the forces say they are unable to distinguish ISIS jihadist recruits moving across the border unarmed, from the tens of thousands of migrants making the same journey. The migrants are actually a 'Trojan horse' for ISIS. Le Monde reported French special forces and intelligence personnel have been operating from Benghazis Benina airport in support of Gen.Khalifa Haftar. Photographs of their alleged compound have been circulated on social media. Though this was denied by the much respected and popular other military officer, the head of SF in Benghazi, Col. Wanis Bukhamada. 5.1.3 UK Britain has fighter bombers, unarmed drones and reconnaissance aircraft in Cyprus. In February the UK announced a 20-strong unit was advising Tunisia on protection of its border against ISIS incursions. Germany has also announced advisors deployed for the same purpose. 5.2 Troop deployments 5.2.1 Training Detailed plans have not been released for deployment. Italy has said 3,000 troops may be provided, the UK up to 1,000. France, Germany and Spain may join. It is likely training would be concentrated in 'Libya Dawn' areas. In Tripoli, training would take place in several disused army bases on the south-east of the city in Tajura district. Zliten police college to the east will probably not be used after it was devastated by an IS truck bomb. Other deployments run the risk of obstruction or violence. Southern cities are considered too unsafe by continuing factional war. Benghazi would prove too controversial, but Tobruk would offer security. There is a thin line when describing 'trainers' and combat troops. The head of the British Parliament's All Party Foreign Affairs Committee, Crispin Blunt MP, himself a former soldier, voiced the strongest opposition to the UK deploying any troops describing his Committees actions actions against the British Governments plan as "I hope we put a bullet in that plan." 5.2.2 UN The UN Security Council has heard a recommendation from experts that an armed UN security force of thousands is necessary before the mission can return. 5.2.3 EU A report leaked to Reuters written by the famously incompetent former communist, the EU foreign policy chief Frederica Mogherini, recommends an armed security force to protect EU advisors. The EU wants to send in more than 100 advisors from the European Border Assistance Mission, who evacuated the capital in the 2014 fighting. A hundred can achieve nothing. They also want to hand over 100m to the GNA. That would come in use to bribe militias, well initially anyway. 6 Divisions among Outside Powers Libya is a strategic asset. It holds the largest oil reserves in Africa and has more than $100 billion in foreign assets and cash. The oil is light and sweet, placing it in the top four percent of world premium oil. It remains a strategic prize. Libya has also many other minerals that have yet to be exploited. Libya Dawns Muslim Brotherhood component has seen it attract support and weapons from principally Turkey while Egypt and UAE do the same for the House of Representatives (HoR) and its rather maverick but popular commander Gen. Khalifa Haftar. This popularity is understated by the mainstream western media. The GNA plan is led less by the UN than by the U.S. State Department and the UK Foreign Office. Both believe it is strategically important to ensure the Brotherhood retains a position in North Africa, after it - Morsi and Co - was replaced by force in Egypt as well as losing elections in Tunisia. The American and the British, this author maintains, are mistaken and that it is a gross error on both their parts. Never forget that the mercurial, some say insane, leader of Turkey is the worlds only Muslim Brotherhood governed country. The MB is unwilling to accept a place in parliament commensurate with its 14-17 percent electoral support, fearing, possibly correctly, that it will be persecuted. Instead, it is demanding a guaranteed chunk of power, policed by its own force, with control of at least part of Tripoli and at least part of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL). An important fact that needs to be acknowledged is that pitted against MB influenced 'Libya Dawn' is nevertheless the legitimate parliament in Tobruk consisting of all the other parties and factions, forming a nebulous chaotic whole without a recognizable ruling group and with opposing group factions within it. Parliament has never managed to hold a session with more than 140 of its 188 MPs present and recent sessions have fallen below 100. The position of foreign powers remains mixed. France is more lukewarm in its support for the MB, but is united with Britain and the U.S. in wanting a rapid end to the civil war and the destruction of ISIS. Its special forces reportedly helped Haftar capture most of Benghazi. The fall of Benghazi, assuming it is completed, will represent the most strategic shift in the civil war since it began in July 2014, handing Tobruk the east, the bulk of the oil, and the upper hand. If truth be know, France would like the South of Libya (Fezzan) for a variety of obvious reasons associated with controlling Libya's southern neighbors. Italy has, to all intent and purposes, sided with 'Libya Dawn', in part because Dawn controls ENI assets and the important Melitah terminal of the Greenstream gas pipeline to Europe west of Tripoli. An Italian deployment to Tripoli is seen by both camps as a decisive gesture in support of Libya Dawn. Germany and other European states follow the lead of the most prominent three western powers on the UN Security Council. Russia remains the enigma. It has joined with Egypt in proposing a UNSC resolution to lift the arms embargo for the regular army which will benefit Haftar. There is speculation in Libya that as Britain and the US move closer to the Muslim Brotherhood in Tripoli, Russia will increase her support for Tobruk. On March 14 Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said any western military intervention in Libya must have UN Security Council approval. Legally speaking the move is unnecessary as UNSC Resolution 1970 from 2011 remains in force. However, the statement is seen as a clear break with western powers. If intervention were to go ahead without Russian agreement, there is the possibility Russia, with Egypt's help, will deploy in eastern Libya. One other danger of the GNA is that its existence causes Libya to split because of the nature, the make up, of the so called government. While a majority of the 9-strong presidency council are non Islamist, they are obliged to meet in Tripoli under control of the MB, the 'Libya Dawn' Islamist and Misratan units who control the city and its institutions at present. They (the presidency council) have been threatened with arrest should they enter Tripoli. Without eastern or southern forces, it is likely eastern and possibly southern presidency members will either boycott the GNA or stay away for fear of immediate kidnap. In this case, the GNA if it succeeds to get to Tripoli, will operate under the same intimidation, extended to the Central Bank and other ministries, that the GNC now operates under, effectively the GNA will become a 'Libya Dawn mark 2'. In this, the UK and U.S. may feel they have met their apparent objective of securing the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, because international recognition status will have switched from the Tobruk parliament to the GNA. A mad idea by anybody's measure. In effect, under this scenario, the division of Libya remains the same, but recognition status switches from the eastern government to the GNA which as explained will fast become 'Libya Dawn mark 2'. Such a scenario carries with it the possibly of split recognition. Egypt, UAE and possibly Russia will likely not agree to switch recognition to the GNA and maintain it's ties to the HoR in the East. 7 Military Training Italy has offered 3,000 soldiers and the UK has suggested up to 1,000, to train a GNA army. The UK as explained earlier is highly unlikely to do this. Most of these forces will be engaged in support and 'force protection'. Diplomats say the deployment is also and primarily aimed at providing foreign troops on the ground to strengthen the control of the GNA, while not acknowledging this publicly. However, the deployment carries risks. A former training initiative, agreed at the 2013 G6 summit in Lock Earne saw the UK, U.S., Italy, Turkey and Jordan agree to train Libyan forces, but outside Libya because of security concerns. The U.S. training plan for 5,000 Libyans in Bulgaria was abandoned. Britain abandoned after some months the training of 300 recruits in Cambridgeshire after several were jailed for various offenses including male rape. Jordan curtailed its training after a group of recruits rioted in their dorms in Amman. Italy trained more than 200 without incident. Turkeys training was compromised by its support for 'Libya Dawn'. Remember that Turkey is headed by the world's only Muslim Brotherhood government. Libyan loyalties are to the tribe and family. "Tribes trump religion" is a popular saying by some. As in Lebanon and Iraq, units formed by recruits from different tribes and groups have low cohesion. Tribal and Islamist units have high cohesion, but are self-governing, refusing orders from higher commanders. The risk for foreign 'trainers' is that they train militias backed by the GNA, creating a fresh fighting division in Libya. This is like putting wood on a fire. A second risk is that a proportion of equipment delivered to these formations will be illicitly sold to other militias and ISIS. A third risk is force protection. As in Iraq, ISIS deploys trucks laden with explosive driven by suicide bombers. Such bombs are guaranteed to destroy the outer guard post of a base. Western troops will initially rely on Libyan militias to control outer security. But attacks by ISIS may see the militias reluctant to do so. Killing of foreign troops will raise political problems in the West. Politicians will criticize not just the deployment, but also the likelihood that if the deployment continues, there will be further casualties. The bottom line is; from where will these forces be recruited, who will lead them, against whom and with what legal protections? Unless the state enjoys a monopoly on force, few Libyans will likely join a foreign backed 'army' for a government in exile that has no organic legitimacy, traction or policy for the State beyond combating ISIS. However, Pentagon planners favor a more direct approach than their civilian counterparts. In January the U.S. Defense Department said its special forces are in Libya seeking to partner with local militias in the fight against ISIS. Such partnerships would be short term and ad hoc. They would see special forces support ground attacks and direct air strikes, in what would be a repeat of the NATO bombing of Gaddafi forces in 2011. This strategy also carries risks. ISIS in Sirte are in a built up area, and western forces will not want to be blamed for civilian casualties. Also, the bombing of Sabratha exposed the ties some Libya Dawn factions, in this case the city leadership, have with ISIS. 8 Other Factors 8.1 Sanctions - UN option to stop and search ships and planes While Tobruk forces get weapons and ammunition, mostly Russian made, across Egypts border, 'Libya Dawn' rely on ship and plane transport from Turkey, according to the UNSC Panel of Experts report of March 2015. But many ask how and why when Turkey is part of NATO? A seemingly unanswerable question, well one no one in the West has the balls to ask. A proportion of the 'Libya Dawn' supplies and fighters go to ISIS. Cutting sea and air routes would cut ISIS supplies but also those of Dawn. By contrast, the UN has no means of enforcing an arms embargo on the Egyptian border, without Cairos agreement. Thus, enforcing the embargo will see the Tobruk-Dawn military head to head change to the advantage of Tobruk. 8.2 Muslim Brotherhood Britain's and the U.S.'s security and intelligence communities are allegedly concerned about the overlap between the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS. Part of the reason that British and American politicians have for supporting the MB is the hope that they think it represents a non-violent outlet for jihadists who might over while be encouraged to join 'more extreme' terrorist organizations. These are echoes of the ridiculous debate about good and bad terrorists in Syria. But the Brotherhoods decision to rebel against the elected Tobruk parliament has cast doubt over this assessment. Some 'Dawn' units are interchangeable with some ISIS units, although many are not. And many of Tripoli's ostensibly Islamist units are closer in character to armed criminal gangs. The MB enjoys little support in what is a tribal society, winning between 13 and 17 percent in elections and the few authoritative opinion polls since the revolution. Its success in winning the 2012 election was attributed by critics to it inserting MB candidates posing as independents, notably religious figures. The MB has an extensive network in the U.S. whose leadership enjoys access directly to the White House. 8.3 Libyan Institutions Libyas overseas assets and oil income are controlled by the Central Bank, National Oil Corporation and Libya Investment Authority. The chairmen of all three were replaced by the HoR in late 2014, but refused to leave, staying in office in Tripoli. Officially they declare they are independent of both Dawn and the HoR, but the UNSC panel of experts reports that intimidation and political links ensure all three work with Dawn. The Libya political agreement (LPA) calls for the HoR chairs to be dismissed, leaving the Tripoli chairs in charge, and, for opponents, giving 'Dawn' access to Libya revenues. Without resolution, this may see a break, as the east refuses to export oil from eastern ports if the income returns to a 'Libya Dawn' controlled Tripoli. If Egypt, UAE and Russia continue to recognize Tobruk and the HoR which includes the Al Thinni government, then Libya will see the complicated reality of the east able to sell oil, and receive income, from those three states while the GNA in Tripoli sells to certain favored western powers. An added complication is allegations recently made publicly by both the UK ambassador Peter Millett and the UNSC panel of experts claiming the Tripoli central bank (CBL) is paying militias. The UNSC says it also has evidence that the CBL is paying Ansar al Sharia directly, who are listed by the UN and the U.S. as a terrorist organization. Central bank governor El Sedik al Kabir, now a resident of Malta, has denied the reports, but evidence that he is paying armed groups, militias and possibly terrorists may see foreign oil buyers withhold payments, fearing in particular prosecution by the United States. 8.4 Benghazi The fate of Benghazi is the hinge on which the Libya civil war turns. If the army complete Benghazis capture, eastern Libya will be free of Islamist units and able to exploit oil fields holding two thirds of Libyan production. It will be de facto independent of Tripoli and able to resist the GNA. The Muslim Brotherhood and some Islamist brigades in Tripoli say they will support the GNA only if the UN can ensure a supply corridor to preserve their garrison in Benghazi. UN envoy Martin Kobler has tried to facilitate this through, amongst other ways, a Qatar backed Swiss charity, pushing for it to be allowed access to Shura Council areas of Benghazi. Success will allow a regular supply pipeline and will cement the front lines, denying Haftar control of the city. For this reason Tobruk forces are likely to resist the move. Koblers decision to back the charity has brought back echoes of the controversy of his predecessor's Bernadino Leon departure to live and work for the UAE government. In October last year Leon emails were revealed showing him accepting a job from the UAE and offering them inside information on the peace process. At best described as a conflict of interest. Paradoxically, a de facto division is already underway. Most Benghazi residents from western tribes have fled, as have many non-Dawn citizens from Tripoli and its environs. The UN says half a million of Libyas six million population are displaced by war. In Benghazi, eastern tribes say that if residents from western tribes are allowed back, Islamist militias will reform among them. Conclusion The international community, if possible in an ideal world, including Russia, should forget Libya's internal rivalries for now and, using overwhelming force focus only on ISIS, by air sea assets and boots on the ground, and once and for all eradicate ISIS in Libya, which some Pentagon sources privately say is possible within as little as a two week period. If not this, then there are no easy policy options for Western forces in Libya. Doing nothing means risking the civil war getting worse, Libya tipping into humanitarian crisis and ISIS expanding to dominate the country. Options for striking ISIS fall into three choices. 1 - Do nothing. This is likely to see ISIS grow as the civil war worsens. For the moment ISIS is not a mass movement among Libyans. However, growing numbers of foreign fighters are joining its ranks particularly those fleeing Syria and Iraq. They arrive in Libya courtesy of assistance by a NATO ally, Turkey. Go figure! 2- Air Strikes Lite. Air strikes without government permission are technically legal, as they are covered by the UNSC Resolution 1973 in 2011. However, they are politically difficult for western governments, notably Great Britain and France. The Pentagon war lite plan for air strikes backed by ad hoc alliances with local militias may fail if they cannot achieve quick results. 3 - Unity government which then can be followed by Western air strikes. Accept Western air strikes have already occurred without that need; witness the bombing of Sabratha by the Americans. The UN plan, engineered principally by the U.S. State Department and UK Foreign Office, relies for success on the acceptance of a unity government, the UN picked GNA. Talks on this broke down late last year, with the elected parliament, the HoR, was unwilling to give 'Libya Dawn' more power than its voter share entitled it to. The HoR wants the ballot box votes to prevail over guns. Instead, led by U.S. and UK diplomats, who provide the impetus and expertise for Kobler, the GNA has been literally forced through. Its legitimacy is built on very shaky ground. The GNA was rejected by both the GNC in Tripoli and the HoR in Tobruk, albeit with chaos in both so called parliaments and significant factions in both for and against it. The GNA is built around the Libya political agreement. This calls for a prime minister, Fayez Seraj, a low profile Tripoli politician and businessman to rule as part of a 9 strong presidential council. None chosen by Libyans but by the UN! The HoR leadership disrupted attempts to have a vote, however a suspiciously looking dubious letter was signed by allegedly up to 100 MPs declaring they supported the GNA but some say they were prevented from voting. How many MPs signed it is unclear with several complaining they were absent. The letter, if genuine, is not enough for the political agreement underpinning the GNA to come into effect. Crucially, this agreement calls for international recognition, and control of oil income, to pass to the GNA. There is further controversy because the heads of all three key state institutions the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Libya Investment Authority (LIA) were replaced by Tobruk in late 2014. The political agreement cancels those replacements, with power reverting back to the three pro-Dawn chairmen who, despite being sacked, remained in control of the institutions in Tripoli. The UK, UN 'Libya Dawn' and the institutions themselves insist they are independent of both sides which is poppycock according my observations. In fact the UN Panel of Experts has actually reported that the Tripoli branches are controlled by 'Libya Dawn' militias, often through violence and intimidation. Plans call for 'Libya Dawns' Rada and assorted Misrata brigades to provide security, carrying the risk that the GNA will assume the position that the GNC now enjoy. The difference for practical purposes is that international recognition of supporting powers will switch from Tobruk to Tripoli. However, Egypt, UAE and Russia may continue recognizing Tobruk, which will institutionalize, and quite possibly accelerate, the civil war. Never forget, what comes with international recognition is the potential of unfrozen cash and assets representing tens of billions of dollars to the GNA who are currently just a government in exile. To get a sense of proportion of anyone trying to govern Libya, to 'pay off' all the Militias and tribes as former PM Ali Zeidan did, would cost around $30B a year alone! The annual budget average in last 5 years has been around $70B in total for 6 million people. If the GNA can get to Tripoli to govern, this will leave western military forces, if deployed, likely to be embedded among 'Libya Dawn' units, and facing attack from ISIS but opposition from the regular army. An unenviable situation to say the least. An international meeting to discuss military training deployment and air strikes was held in Rome on March 18 with up to 30 nations invited. However, problems with the GNA entering Tripoli, and fears it could trigger worse fighting in the capital, saw no decisions reached. The UK also has a new obstacle. On March 16 the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which is investigating UK policy in Libya, and indeed PM David Cameron himself, demanded the government seek permission for any Libya deployment from parliament. The UK, which had been expected to take a lead in air strikes, military training, logistics and security in Tripoli has had to put its plans on ice. The British government then promptly announced it had no plans for deployments, and promised parliament to announce such plans if they developed. A volte face. This has been a blow to its coalition allies but prime minister David Cameron is wary of having another Syria-style debate on military action against ISIS in Libya. U.S. policy on Libya is also uncertain, because the Republicans, who may win the presidency in November, are hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood, whose organization in the States has regular access directly to President Obama. At time of writing the GNA has committed itself to moving from Tunis to Tripoli "within days". That was over two weeks ago. They talk boldly of moving "within days" where wiser heads say it will take "weeks and months". Legally, because it is recognized by the U.S., UK and France, it can request foreign air strikes in Libya and control overseas funds from Tunis. However, for presentational reasons, each foreign government wants a military assistance request to come only once it, the GNA, is installed in Tripoli not while it is in exile. The GNA process is on a clock, because special forces and air assets were committed in December and January. Western military planners say these forces cannot stay in theater or primed indefinitely. They must either be used, or withdrawn and the operation cancelled for several months. With ISIS growing and the migrant season beginning with the arrival of spring weather, Western diplomats fear political pressure if they contemplate an extended military delay. This author emphatically believes the West, certainly Europe, has no more time if we are to stop ISIS strengthening it's position in Libya which would represent a real and imminent threat to the very existence of the EU. For the UN plan to work, the GNA must go to Tripoli, which itself is very doubtful since it cannot be secured there even if embedded in Palm City with the UN Headquarters next door, much like a more concentrated (but more isolated) Green Zone like that that originally existed in Baghdad in 2003. But in so doing, it would certainly spark a more intense round of the civil war, leaving only ISIS as the winners of the spoils of such an internal conflict. One outcome if that happens is that certainly East Libya would declare unilaterally independence and become a new country, as happened to South Sudan. The second consequence much more dire and important than the split of Libya is that ISIS will eventually destroy Europe as we know it. Such a break up of states in the MENA region is a trend that will not be confined to Libya alone. It seems in Trump's AMERICA FIRST foreign policy, such break up of nations will become even more popular. The author does not at all contemplate a Clinton win. Posted by b on March 29, 2016 at 14:17 UTC | Permalink Comments While the EU regulator's non-approval of telecoms companies Telenor's and TeliaSonera's proposed merger of their Danish operations increases the risk that wireless consolidation to three operators from four will be frowned upon, we don't think all future deals are dead. Looking at the previously approved deals in Austria, Ireland, and Germany with an overlay of the Herfindahl index provides insight into the potential approval of the currently proposed deals in the United Kingdom, Italy, and France. We believe there is about a 50/50 chance of the U.K. deal being approved, a one in four chance in Italy, and virtually no chance in France if it goes to the European Union. However, if it stays in France, it has about a two in three chance. If the deals are approved, they should benefit all of the firms' stocks. Regardless of the decisions, we think Telefonica's stock is the best of the group to own. Ofcom, the U.K. telecom regulator, has for years made its opposition clear to mergers that reduce wireless competition to three operators from four. For this very reason, Telefonica and CK Hutchison requested their proposed merger be reviewed by the EU. Ofcom subsequently requested jurisdiction over the proposal from the EU, but was denied. With this rejection, Ofcom president Sharon White sent documentation to the EU on why the merger should be rejected and also wrote to the Financial Times. Among the justifications for the rejection was a study Ofcom commissioned from WIK Consult published July 3, 2015, "Competition & investment: An analysis of the drivers of investment and consumer welfare in mobile telecommunications." Unsurprisingly, its key takeaway agreed with Ofcom that the merger between O2 and 3 UK shouldn't be allowed. However, after reading the report, we think WIK's findings are more nuanced than they first appear. The paper admits there are issues with measuring and the length of time involved for concrete results that mergers raise prices. The main study it uses to say that prices increased is a study by RTR Telecom Monitor in 2015 that split customers into four tiers based on the Austrian regulator that uses usage profiles of minutes, SMS, and data to assign a customer as a low, medium, high, or power user. Based on this methodology, prices initially declined for all but the low-usage segment and then later increased for all segments. We have two problems with this methodology. First, it makes no adjustments for the amount of data being consumed, yet data usage has exploded. Thus, adjusting prices for consumption allowed removes the price increases. Second, it is based on what a new consumer would pay, but often existing subscribers are provided with incentives to stay. Also, operators have steadily been investing in their networks with the intent of attracting a larger number of higher-value customers. This tends to leave the low user with MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) that compete more on price. Given the importance of MVNOs, we think it is important for operators to be required to provide capacity to MVNOs as part of a package of remedies when approving mergers in order to assure a low-price option, but we don't think this is a reason to prevent consolidation. Strong MVNOs Improve the Odds for Approval of 3 UK's Acquisition of O2 There are strong mobile operators already in the U.K; Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global, is one of the oldest and most successful with three million customers, of which more than half are more valuable contract subscribers. In February 2016, Liberty Global through its subsidiary Telenet acquired Base, the third-largest wireless operator in Belgium, from KPN, moving from an MVNO to an MNO. Later that month it agreed to merge its cable business in the Netherlands with Vodafone's wireless business into a joint venture, which will again convert from an MVNO to an MNO. It could yet choose to convert in the U.K. Additionally, Sky has announced it will enter the market as an MVNO. The advantage these operators have is ownership of existing infrastructure and customers. Sky is the largest pay television provider in the U.K. and second-largest provider of fixed-line broadband. As the U.K. moves to converged services, Sky is positioned well to add wireless service to its existing triple-play customers. Likewise, Virgin Media controls the cable TV market in the U.K. and is the second-largest provider of pay television and third-largest provider of fixed-line broadband. It also has the advantage of owning its own fixed-line network, which is much faster than incumbent telecom operator BT's and which Sky uses on a wholesale base. This makes these two viable competitors even if they don't own their own networks. Remember, Sky doesn't own its fixed-line network either. Beyond these two other strong competitors are Tesco, which operates an MVNO with several million subscribers, and Talk Talk, which uses BT's network to be the fourth-largest broadband provider and has recently begun offering a quad-play bundle as an MVNO. A complicating factor in the U.K. is network-sharing agreements. 3 has a network-sharing agreement with EE and Vodafone has one with O2. Hutchison has said it will maintain both agreements and treat them fairly. However, Vodafone has expressed concern that being part of both network-sharing agreements provides an advantage and 3 could use its power to the detriment of Vodafone or EE. We believe that Vodafone has some reasonable concerns and that allowing the enlarged 3 to have deals with the other two operators is asking for trouble. We think some requirement to address network sharing will be part of any merger deal. We believe 3 will reach some kind of agreement on its network sharing if that is all that is holding up approval, but only if it is sure of a successful deal. Manulife Bank announced Monday a partnership with Paradigm Quest, which will handle the banks mortgage underwriting and funding support. "Expanding our distribution through mortgage brokers nation-wide ensures our customers are able to access our products and services in the way that works best for them," Rick Lunny, president and chief executive officer at Manulife Bank. "Partnering with Paradigm Quest allows us to seamlessly work with mortgage brokers and leverage an award-winning service delivery model." The pilot phase kicked off Monday, according to a release by Manulife. "Commencing this spring, Manulife Bank-certified brokers will enjoy outstanding products and world class servicing that our partnership brings, and this will assist with their business growth and client needs, " Kathy Gregory, CEO and founder of Paradigm Quest said. "We're extremely honoured and confident in this partnership. Manulife Bank is offering Canadians powerful mortgage products that are simple and easy-to-use, backed by Manulife's leading global brand, and processed by Paradigm, a leading BPO in loan origination underwriting, servicing and collections. Paradigm also expressed its continued focus on the mortgage broker channel. Paradigm's primary focus is to continuously innovate in order to provide best-in-class service to the Canadian mortgage broker channel, Gregory said. Paradigm's proprietary end-to-end processing platform enables Paradigm to offer its clients superior service levels, consistent risk assessment, reliable reporting and comprehensive compliance monitoring." Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at... Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all... Tigers soon to prowl in new enclosure The brand-new Bengal tiger exhibit at Americas Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College is nearly complete, and some other animals hangouts are getting a makeover, too. Mara Rodriguez, zoo development coordinator,... A major bank has agreed to pay $29 million to a U.S. regulator to settle a lawsuit over mortgage-backed securities. Credit Suisse agreed to the settlement with the National Credit Union Administration in order to settle claims of losses to credit unions from the purchase of more than $228.8 million in mortgage bonds in the years before the financial meltdown, according to a report from research firm Zacks. While this suit, which involved the sale of mortgage-backed securities to the Members United and Southwest corporate credit unions, has been settled, theres still another case pending in federal court related to the sale of shoddy mortgage bonds to the U.S. Central and Southwest corporate credit unions, Zacks reported. NCUA will continue to meet its statutory obligation to secure recoveries for credit unions and ensure customers remain protected, said Debbie Matz, chair of the NCUA board. We will continue to aggressively pursue recoveries against Wall Street firms that contributed to the corporate crisis with the goals of minimizing net losses of the corporate crisis and providing a future rebate to credit unions. NCUA has so far recovered more than $2.5 billion in legal penalties related to securities cases, Zacks reported. That money has been used, in turn, to pay claims against five failed credit unions. Credit Suisse is hardly the first bank sued by the agency. NCUA has sued numerous banks, including Bank of America, Barclays and Morgan Stanley, to recover losses on billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities. It always comes down to people. Its probably true in every business, but in the mortgage business, brokerage owners almost always talk about people: originators, processors, clients. Anthony Lombardo, president and owner of Hi-Tech Mortgage, with offices in California and Arizona, spoke animatedly about what it takes to be a good originator then laughed and said he has a tendency to hire the wrong people. I look for someone who is competitive. Some people see that as a negative trait, but I dont see it that way, he said. They certainly need to be self-sufficient. What is funny is that I have hired so many people, and I am wrong about them so often. They look great on paper, they have an MBA, they do a great interview, they seem to have great self-confidence, and Im convinced they will be a rock star, he laughed. Then they come in and nothing. Every time I think I see a good one, Im wrong. Well, dont say that. Ive got great people, but so many times Ive hired the wrong people. Then I hire someone that I think well, maybe theyll be OK, well see, and then they take off and Im like wow, said Lombardo, who is president of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. What it comes down to, he said, is that you really cant tell how someone will perform until you see how they handle adversity. Some people who look really great and have a lot of confidence, but as soon as they experience rejection, they crumble. If I have learned anything in this business it is that you cant let rejection stop you. You have to work through it. Some people will stop working, or they just go through the motions, but the energy isnt there anymore. Customers arent stupid, they can sense things about you, and they are right. You cant sell from a place of desperation. It is very difficult to do that. He said that in 2008 through 2010 many people were desperate. We were all selling form desperation, we all were, but the ones who survived were able to channel confidence somehow. Thursday: Anthony Lombardo discusses the value of making connections and developing relationships when getting started. The Midland County Public Library announced Monday that it will host an advance screening of the new film "Love and Friendship," a Victorian romantic comedy written and directed by Whit Stillman. The event is set for 6:30 p.m. April 26 at Cinergy Cinemas. Stillman will be in attendance. The screening will also serve as a fundraiser for the library. "We certainly want to thank our sponsor Moriah Media for helping to make this event possible. The Midland County Public Libraries are extremely excited to bring Academy Award-nominated Whit Stillman to Midland to preview 'Love & Friendship,' based on Jane Austen's book 'Lady Susan,'" library director John Trischitti III said. "This offering is just one more in our continued commitment to bring new and unique program opportunities to Midland. This will be a wonderful event for both film and literature buffs alike especially those missing 'Downton Abbey.' " Adapted by Stillman, the period piece stars Kate Beckinsale ("Underworld",) Xavier Samuel ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"), Stephen Fry ("The Hobbit" films) and Academy-award nominee Chloe Sevigny ("Boys Don't Cry"). Beckinsale stars as Lady Susan who suffers rumors about her private life in high society while in search of a husband. Stillman made an auspicious debut with his 1990 independent film "Metropolitan" which garnered him an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. He followed that film with "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco," all which were part of an abstract film trilogy based on class and manners. After a hiatus of more than a decade, he made "Damsels in Distress." In his 27 years as a filmmaker, he's only made a handful of movies with "Love and Friendship" being his fifth. Stillman will introduce the film and then take questions from the audience after the screening. Tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis. To reserve seats please call the library at 432-688-4332 or email libadm01@co.midland.tx.us. Presidential candidate Ted Cruz famously said he would make boots out of an endangered lizard in West Texas, but the oil and gas industry took a more measured approach and promised to carefully protect the species in return for environmental regulators backing off its operations. State Comptroller Susan Combs crowed about the deal, which she developed in 2012 to keep the dune sagebrush lizard off the federal endangered species list. She and oil and gas executives said their voluntary, private protection program would become a model for the nation. Working with energy producers and other stakeholders, we were able to enroll nearly 250,000 acres in West Texas as part of the Texas Conservation Plan, Combs said. This decision proves we dont have to choose between the environment and our economy, but can be good stewards of both. Turns out that the Texas Habitat Conservation Foundation, created to protect the lizard, did nothing, NOTHING, that was promised for years. No monitoring, no habitat restoration, no innovation. An Austin American-Statesman investigative team only discovered the lapse after the current comptroller fired the foundation last month. The foundations executives denied the comptrollers allegations, but tellingly, Warren Chisum, a former state representative who served on the foundation, told the Statesman: We were just not able to meet all the requirements. We should have been able to handle it. But we didnt have the right people, said Chisum, who promised to resign at the foundations next meeting. Now environmentalists are screaming, I told you so! The industry has betrayed the trust of the public and has invited federal regulators to come in and, after much litigation, probably take over protecting the species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was planning to list the species as threatened or endangered, which would trigger strict rules on how the lizards habitat could be used for oil and gas drilling. The foundation had promised to restore habitat to help boost the lizards population, but didnt follow through, the comptrollers office said. Environmentalists claim that the foundation instead looked away while habitat was lost to development. Public-private cooperation is always better than top-down regulation. Society can set the standard, companies can find an innovative way to meet that standard, and regulatory agencies can make sure it works. Thats what this deal was supposed to prove. What a stupidly wasted opportunity for the oil and gas industry to show it can be trusted. The next time any executive or industry leader promises they can protect the environment, this is the first example every environmentalist will cite. This is why the industry has such low esteem with the general public, and why Democratic presidential candidates get such huge cheers when they spread misinformation about fracking or off-shore drilling. The industry must do better at keeping its promises. Goddard Junior High mathematics teacher Mahli Armijo isnt happy unless she is improving herself and those she teaches in the classroom. Just as Armijo has earned several degrees associate degree in arts in teaching, bachelors degrees in science and Spanish and a masters degree in Spanish and would like to pursue a doctorate, she is constantly evaluating the progress of her students and tweaking her teaching strategies to best reach them, according to her principal, Shelly Haney. In fact, Haney said Armijo will attend an extra training or give up a lunch period to learn more about her craft or spend a little extra time with a student if it helps buy into what she is selling. Last week, the Midland Chamber of Commerce honored Armijo with the Excellence in Teaching Award for secondary teachers. Not bad for a teacher in her third year in the district. The Odessa native is married to Jesse Armijo and has lived in Midland 10 years. How, and why, do you make a difference in Midlands educational landscape? I teach about 150 students every year. I try my best to impact their life in the most positive way. Why did you choose a career in education? I chose to become an educator because I have the opportunity to help build a better society. How have you moved beyond the basic curriculum and found innovative ways to reach your students? Todays learning environment requires teachers to spend time learning new strategies to help students learn according to their needs. What is the one lesson you want to impart on every student who enters your classroom? I want every student to understand that even though mathematics is difficult for most, it is the closest thing we have to real-life experiences. It teaches/shows us what we can do when embracing a challenge and what steps we take to solve it. How do you inspire your peers, colleagues and others aiming to make a difference in Midland ISD? I attend multiple sessions during the summer to learn new strategies to use in the classroom. I like to share my learning with those in my field. Has the role of being an educator changed since your first year as a teacher? If so, how? Yes it has. When I started my first year, I thought I was done with learning and all I needed to do was teach. My theory has changed; I have to continue to learn just like my students do. How have you implemented technology into your classroom and instruction model? Technology is a very important part of my classroom instruction. Since we have obtained access to campuswide WiFi, it has been easier to incorporate more devices to make learning creative and meaningful. What are your professional goals for the future? I would like to obtain my PhD. What is the greatest challenge to being an educator in Midland today? Classroom sizes. The ratio of students to teachers continues to increase, and it makes instruction a bit more challenging. What support can Midlanders provide you and other educators? More opportunities to be able to obtain grants for materials/resources for our classrooms. A Midland man was arrested Sunday for allegedly punching a man causing facial fractures, according to court documents Kenneth J. Nolan Jr., was being held Monday on a $75,000 bond for a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault causes serious bodily injury. Officers were dispatched to Excel Emergency Room on N. Midland Dr. in reference to an assault, according to the affidavit. The male complainant stated that Nolan had come to his house when they became involved in a verbal argument, according to the affidavit. The male complainant turned to walk away during the argument, at which point Nolan "became enraged" and struck the male in his right eye with a fist, causing two large lacerations and profuse bleeding, according to the affidavit. There was one witness to the assault, according to the affidavit. The male complainant was treated at Excel ER for serious lacerations to his upper and lowers eyelid that required sutures and three fractures to his face, according to the affidavit. If convicted of the second-degree felony, Nolan could face up to 20 years in prison. About 30 Air Force Junior ROTC cadets from Midland High School spent a recent Friday getting a glimpse of their possible career when they toured Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene. Its a real eye-opener of an experience of what they do day to day to make sure the mission is successful, said Corps Commander Brayden Woods, who is a senior. When you think of the Air Force, you think of pilots. But there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. The cadets visit the base every spring, but what they see differs from year to year. This year the students were taken to the fire station, the B1 Bomber, the C-130 Hercules (a transport aircraft) and an explosive ordinance disposal. The visits are intended to highlight what life is like to be on the military base. Cadets tour on a tight schedule, eat in the dining hall and interact with Air Force personnel in various departments. Woods said that over the years, the visits have helped him determine which aspect of the Air Force he is most interested in: military police and/or the Office of Special Investigations. While this year marked the third time Woods toured Dyess, it was sophomore cadet Garrett Hilliards first visit to the base. Hilliard said he wants to attend the Air Force Academy. It gave me hope and helped me to see the goals I would have to set for myself to reach the level (of) a lot of the personnel ... on that base, Hilliard said. When they were at my age, they put forth the grades and the effort above all else, so that enlightened me. JROTC does not require its members enlist in the military. However, cadets who participate in the program and then join after high school are eligible to enlist in the services at one to two pay grades higher than other enlistees, according to the Air Force JROTC website. It lets them see their job if they do choose to do military, Woods said. Follow Cassie on Twitter at @Cassie_Burton51 NEW YORK Who needs algebra? That question muttered by many a frustrated student over the years has become a vigorous debate among American educators, sparked by a provocative new book that argues required algebra has become an unnecessary stumbling block that forces millions to drop out of high school or college. One out of 5 young Americans does not graduate from high school. This is one of the worst records in the developed world. Why? The chief academic reason is they failed ninth-grade algebra, said political scientist Andrew Hacker, author of The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions. Hacker, a professor emeritus at Queens College, argues that, at most, only 5 percent of jobs make use of algebra and other advanced math courses. He favors a curriculum that focuses more on statistics and basic numbers sense and less on (y - 3)2 (equals) 4y - 12. Will algebra help you understand the federal budget? he asked. Many U.S. educators, including the architects of the Common Core standards, disagree, saying math just needs to be taught more effectively. Its fine for students to have quantitative skills, they say, but algebra is important, too. Every study Ive ever seen of workers in whole bunches of fields shows that you have to understand formulas, you have to understand relationships, said Philip Uri Treisman, a professor of mathematics and of public affairs at the University of Texas. Algebra is the tool for consolidating your knowledge of arithmetic. Bill McCallum, a professor at the University of Arizona who played a lead role in developing the Common Core standards for math, said he would oppose any division of K-12 students into an algebra track and a non-algebra track. You might say only a certain percentage of kids will go on to use algebra, but we dont know which kids those are, he said. In New York City, home to the nations largest public school system with 1.1 million pupils, just 52 percent of the students who took last years statewide Regents test in Algebra I passed, mirroring statistics elsewhere in the country. Rather than scaling back on algebra, New York City educators have announced an Algebra for All initiative that aims to keep students on track by providing specialized math teachers in fifth grade, before algebra is introduced. We believe in high standards, said Carol Mosesson-Teig, director of mathematics for the city Department of Education. And we believe that the best way to serve the students is to strengthen the instruction. Eighteen-year-old Isaiah Aristy took the algebra Regents test twice and failed it both times. Aristy, now a freshman at the Borough of Manhattan Community College who is hoping for a career in law enforcement, said he was good at math until he hit algebra. When it came to x and y and graphing, thats when I started dropping, and it made me feel low, he said. But we dont need to learn what x and y is. When in life are we going to write on paper, X and y needs to be this? Like millions of community college students across the U.S., Aristy must pass a remedial math class with no college credit, and then pass at least one college-level math class, if he wants to get an associates degree. But Aristy isnt just repeating Algebra I again. BMCC is one of about 50 community colleges in 14 state that offer an alternative track called Quantway, developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, that seeks to develop quantitative literacy. It includes some basic algebra concepts, but you dont learn how to factor polynomials or solve complex equations, said math department Chairman Fred Peskoff. Project director Karon Klipple said the foundation devised Quantway and a statistics track called Statway in 2011 because of the sheer numbers of students dropping out of community college due to algebra. Sixty to 80 percent of community college students nationwide test into remedial math, and most dont pass it, she said. This is where their hopes and aspirations go to die, Klipple said. Theyre in college to try to make a better life for themselves, and theyre stopped by mathematics. RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) Public schools in the village of Ruidoso remained closed on Tuesday after firefighters stopped the advance of a wildfire in the southern New Mexico mountains. Ruidosos high school and nearby middle school were evacuated Monday due to the approaching fire. Fire crews used the high school parking lot as a staging area, village spokeswoman Kerry Gladden said. The two schools, each with about 600 students, were closed on Tuesday along with two elementary schools also served by a road being used by firefighting equipment. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Firefighters on Monday used back-burning to create a fire line to stop the fire from reaching the high school, Gladden said. Ruidoso Fire Chief Harlan Vincent said fighting the blaze was a challenge because tanker trucks couldnt reach fire lines. The fire had burned an estimated 150 acres of state, private and national forest with Ponderosa pine and grass but did not spread overnight. Containment was estimated at 30 percent. It was a good night, Gladden said. The fire burned back on itself, so that was all good. A possible pickup of winds later Tuesday could hurt firefighting efforts. About 150 personnel, including two hotshot crews, were assigned to the fire. Discussions about authorizing a mass gathering permit for Crude Fest were tabled at Mondays Commissioners Court meeting to give county law enforcement time to work with sponsors about security details. Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said Crude Fest sponsors contacted the county Thursday to discuss security. Sponsors did not agree with the proposal by the county concerning the amount of law enforcement officers, jailers, paramedics and the fire department. Commissioners tabled the discussion to wait for sponsors counter-proposal. Crude Fest is scheduled to take place May 12-14 on South County Road 1270, according to its website. Painter said there was plenty of time to figure out security details. Weve got to have officers on scene and be prepared to act, Painter said. I think its a good event, a lot of good bands come out there, but in the past, weve had people that are participating in it throw beer cans, full beer cans, at the band, and theres no sense in that. Last year, a 21-year-old man was stabbed at Crude Fest. In 2014, 19 people were arrested, and in 2013, 80 people were arrested during the concert, according to Reporter-Telegram records. We want (the people) that are going to attend to have a good time ... come to Midland County and have fun, Painter said. We have people who travel long ways to come to these events and we need to protect them. County commissioners also voted to extend the current burn ban by an additional 30 days after its initial expiration date of April 10. The extension will continue the ban until May 10. It was originally on the docket to be continued for 90 days, but due to phone calls made to commissioners and Judge Mike Bradford, the extension was reduced to be studied at a later meeting, Bradford said. Midland County Fire Marshal Dale Little recommended a 90-day extension, saying during the meeting that it only takes one spark. Following the 30-day extension, the court will likely return to the issue to consider another extension, Little said. The only trash that could be burned legally is trash from single-family homes. State law currently prohibits burning items that create black smoke, such as tires, building materials, household furniture, wire and treated lumber, Little said. Follow Cassie on Twitter at @Cassie_Burton51 WASHINGTON (AP) Capitol Police shot a man on Monday after he pulled a weapon at a U.S. Capitol checkpoint. The suspect was taken to a local hospital and a female bystander sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The U.S. Capitol was on lockdown for about an hour and the White House also was briefly locked down. As Washington teemed with spring tourists in town to view the cherry blossoms, staff members and visitors to the Capitol were rushed into offices and told to shelter in place. The suspect was known to officers, Capitol Chief of Police Matthew R. Verderosa told reporters. However, he would not confirm reports that it was the same man who disrupted the House chamber last fall by shouting. That man, Larry Dawson, was issued a "stay away order" by D.C. Superior Court in October, ordering him to keep away from the Capitol grounds, court documents show. The event unfolded with Congress on recess and lawmakers back in their districts. "We do believe this is an act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before and there is no reason to believe that this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said. Initial reports said a police officer was injured but they proved erroneous. Capitol office buildings and the Capitol itself were re-opened for business about an hour after the initial reports of gunfire. The Visitors Center where the shooting occurred remained closed as the incident was being investigated. Visitors were being turned away from the Capitol as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police, some carrying long guns, cordoned off the streets immediately around the building, which were thick with tourists. Cathryn Leff of Temecula, California, in town to lobby with the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, said she was going through security at the main entrance to the Capitol Visitors Center when police told people to leave immediately. Outside, on the plaza just to the east of the Capitol, other officers told those there to "get down behind this wall," she said. "I heard what sounded like two shots off to my left." After a while, police told her and others to keep running. "I felt like I was in a movie. It didn't feel real at all." Amanda Smith of Columbus, Ohio, said she and her family were touring the Capitol and were in the Senate visitors' gallery when she heard police officers' radios start talking about shots being fired. "Sure, we were worried," she said. "But there were lots of kids around so we didn't make too big a deal of it." Smith was visiting with her husband, William, and children Ian, 9, and Evan, 4. From back home in their districts, many lawmakers got in touch with staff to ensure all were safe, and posted thanks on Twitter as it appeared they were. Earlier in the day, officials conducted an unrelated shelter-in-place drill at the Capitol. Rihanna and Drake know how to make it "Work." For the sixth straight week, the lead Anti single is the No. 1 song in the country. And though Rihanna dominates the Hot 100, she has a few reasons to be alarmed: new rising singles from Lukas Graham and Meghan Trainor. "Work" dominated streaming yet again this week with 31.6 million streams in the United States, Billboard reports, helping to boost the song to yet another week atop not only the Streaming Songs chart but the Hot 100 as well. While Rihanna absolutely dominated the competition in the way of streaming, "Work" also fared well on radio (122 million audience impressions) and had solid sales of 85,000 downloads. And though RiRi sits comfortably at No. 1 for the sixth week in a row, Denmark pop rockers Lukas Graham are quickly rising up the charts with their breakout hit "7 Years," which rose from No. 3 to No. 2 this week. Despite the boost in chart position, "7 Years" slipped from No. 1 to No. 2 in sales this week, moving 124,000 downloads. But boosts in radio play and streams helped it to overcome Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself," which slipped to No. 3 this week. Lukas Graham and Bieber weren't the only acts to swap positions in the top 10. Flo Rida's "My House" lifted slightly to No. 4 this week, displacing Twenty One Pilots' "Stressed Out," which took Flo Rida's old No. 5 spot. Meghan Trainor's '00s-inspired new single "No" also saw a major boost in chart position this week, launching from No. 12 to No. 6, following the release of the track's new music video. The song's visual not only boosted streams of "No" by 94 percent (to 7.9 million plays) but also gave Trainor much-needed publicity, leading to a sales boost to 128,000 copies and a No. 1 spot on the Digital Downloads chart. A trio of tried-and-true top 10 favorites sit beneath Trainor's "No." G-Eazy's "Me, Myself & I" sits at No. 7 for a fifth week, followed by Zayn's "Pillowtalk" which slipped down to spots to No. 8 and DNCE's "Cake by the Ocean" at No. 9 for a third week. Finally, Mike Posner's "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" jumped back up one spot from No. 11 to No. 10, rounding out the top 10. 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This year's Glastonbury Festival had already released its crop of headliners - Adele, Muse and Coldplay, but now the full lineup is completed and out in the world. On Tuesday (March 29), the annual English music festival announced that everyone from Beck to Foals to Ellie Goulding and LCD Soundsystem will be joining Glastonbury 2016 in Pilton. Glastonbury showed off its full lineup on Twitter with a poster that features all the colors of the rainbow. And, as should be expected the roster of performers is totally stacked. In addition to the previously mentioned artists, PJ Harvey, The 1975, Grimes, Sigur Ros, James Blake, New Order, Savages, Jake Bugg, Two Door Cinema Club, The Last Shadow Puppets, Earth Wind & Fire, Annie Mac, The Lumineers, Years & Years, Kurt Vile, M83, and Jeff Lynne's ELO will also be taking the stage over the five-day festival. And, of course, it's all still being led by British juggernauts Adele, Muse and Coldplay. And that is still only a small percentage of artists set to take the stage. Were pleased to reveal our first Glastonbury Festival 2016 line-up poster (by Stanley Donwood) pic.twitter.com/k6t3d7b1PH Glastonbury Festival (@GlastoFest) March 29, 2016 In addition to this, Glastonbury will honor the late David Bowie by streaming his 2000 headlining set in full, Radio X reported. Glastonbury 2016 is set to take place at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, England, from June 22 to 26. 2016 will mark the 46th Glastonbury Festival, which has featured major headliners such as Florence and the Machine, Arcade Fire, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Blur, Elvis Costello and many, many more in the past. 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. While fans await the highly-anticipated release of rapper 50 Cent's new album, Street King Immortal, the G-Unit hypeman just premiered a fresh remix of the hit single, "I'm The Man," now featuring Chris Brown. The original track was included on Fifty's The Kanan Mixtape, which debuted back in December 2015. Breezy provides a catchy hook for the updated CDQ version, rapping over Sonny Digital's initial introduction. According to HotNewHipHop.com, the 26-year-old hip-hop superstar's "outpouring of emotion" in another verse flows very smoothly with Fifty's rather "somber, monotone" rhymes. The song continues going viral on Youtube after being posted earlier this week, with more than 170,000 views and counting. Check it out. WARNING VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE With some help from Brown, this catchy tune should garner more airplay throughout the summer. Meanwhile, the rather outspoken NYC emcee insists that he no longer controls his official Instagram page. During a recent radio interview with Charlotte's Power 98, Fifty revealed that he has a team of professionals for that: "Im not even posting right now. Theyre in the office and theyre real computer guys... I'll get a text and [the meme] will come through to me. I'm not looking for this stuff... When I was posting it myself, you would look at my text messages and see that I got it texted to me, not that I saw someone else post it and then I put that up... But theyll still send me stuff, anytime they find something they feel is 'me' like." Fifty's account remains very active (despite his input or not)... To entertain is to provoke emotions. Love me, hate me, watch me, win against all odds. This is Gods plan homie, this ain't mine. A photo posted by 50 Cent (@50cent) on Mar 27, 2016 at 8:24pm PDT Fifty's sixth studio record was first scheduled for a November 2012 debut. After several more push-backs, the actual release date still remains unconfirmed. Details surrounding SKI are also a mystery, although rumors suggest several big-name artists will make guest appearances (including infamous "Rap God," Eminem). 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Jonathan Jackson, best known for his work on General Hospital and Nashville, is gearing up to release new music of his own. Last week, his band Jonathan Jackson and Enation announced they will release their Blame-Shifter EP on May 13 on Jackson's own Hilasterion Records before hitting the road on tour this spring. The band teamed with Grammy-nominated producer Greg Archilla (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul) for this follow up to Radio Cinematic. The Blame-Shifter EP will have five original songs and one cover, all of which will go into the group's next full length album. "I think music has always been my first love," Jackson told MStarsNews last year. "I started writing songs when I was 11 years old. My dad's a musician and I started singing when I was really young. Music is so personal. As an actor you're given lines and are trying to put your heart and soul into this character. Music, you're writing the story. It's changed my life and means so much to me." A unique PledgeMusic pre-order campaign for Blame-Shifter will offer fans access not only to the music but to autographed merchandise, a VIP meet-and-greet with the band, a making-of documentary and even a producer credit on the next album. These perks are only available until April 5, however. The Blame-Shifter EP will release May 13, 2016 through Hilasterion Records Jonathan Jackson Solo Tour Dates: 04/14: San Jose, CA @ City National Civic 04/15: Las Vegas, NV @ The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian 04/16: Los Angeles, CA @ Microsoft Theater 04/17: Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre 04/19: Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre 04/21: Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theater 05/03: Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall 05/05: New York, NY @ The Theater at MSG 05/06: Boston, MA @ Wang Theatre 05/07: Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena Jonathan Jackson + Enation Tour Dates (More Dates TBA): 05/19: Indianapolis, IN @ The HI-FI 05/20: Columbus, OH @ A and R Music Bar 05/21: Pittsburgh, PA @ The Club at Stage AE 06/04: Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads Saloon 06/18: Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Norwegian producer and DJ Lido just went where most men and women dare not enter - Kanye West's creative mind. He decided to remix Kanye's The Life Of Pablo and condense the constantly evolving 19-track into an eight and a half minute remix project of sorts titled The Life Of Peder (Lido's first name is Peder). Obviously Lido did not remix the entire 19-track in the eight minutes, but he did take a selection of different tracks such as "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1," "Fade" and "I Love Kanye." He flips the productions on each of these, making "Fade" an ambient number and Father Stretch an upbeat and synth heavy rendition with new female vocals that sit next to Kanye, Designer and of course Future asking the all-important question "Do Young Metro Trust You." He gives a funky remix to "I Love Kanye" that adds a little extra something to the classic sound of Kanye. He also takes on a brief segment of "Famous." It would make sense that Lido would take this on given how close he is to hip-hop, making the occasional hip-hop beat next to his sultry, R&B tracks and his relationship with Cashmere Cat who helped with production on TLOP. He also released a horny remix of "FourFiveSeconds" that last only a few days online. This is only Pt. 1, so one can hope that there are more remix projects in the pipeline as Lido gears up to release his own official artist album at some point. Kanye isn't all too fond of others remixing his work, especially unofficially, which would make sense if you think you are genius. So listen to the full project below and hopefully it doesn't get banished from the internet. He created a website for the Life Of Peder, so head there to stream and download via Zippyshare. 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Someone should sue the President for ... Tuolumne County Environmental Health Director Rob Kostlivy and Chief Health Officer Dr. Liza Ortiz View Photos Sonora, CA Due to reports of arsenic and nitrates showing up at concerning levels in certain local wells, environmental health officials are hosting a public forum this week. On Monday, Tuolumne County Health Officer Dr. Liza Ortiz and Environmental Health Director Rob Kostlivy spoke with Clarke Broadcasting at an informational meeting for local media called by Deputy County Administrator and Office of Emergency Services (OES) Coordinator Tracie Riggs. As previously reported here, it has been just a few days since county officials released a media alert sharing that some drinking water samples taken March 3 by the Tuolumne County Environmental Health Department from private wells in the Quartz Mine-Stent area of Jamestown came back from the State Department of Public Health Radiation and Sanitary Laboratory with elevated levels of arsenic and/or nitrates. Affected residents were immediately alerted and advised to switch to bottled water for all drinking and cooking/food preparation uses as well as for brushing teeth and making ice, while more testing and move-forward best practice remedies are worked out. This Thursday evening these residents and any other interested members of the public are invited to attend an outreach session that will be held at Jamestown Elementary School (18299 5th Ave.), beginning at 6. It is being held in conjunction with the Tuolumne County Public Health Department, OES and the State Regional Water Quality Control Board. Kostlivy explains, following an alert by a local resident who, last August, had provided a private testing sample with elevated levels, more local tests in the Quartz Mine-Stent area of approximately two miles were gathered. Following a second round of samples sent earlier this month, more than half came back exceeding the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) levels for arsenic and/or nitrates. Dr. Ortiz notes that these levels are 10 parts-per-billion (ppb) and 10 parts-per-million (ppm), respectively. Further detailing the sampling methodology used, Kostlivy shares, We try to obtain samples as close to the well as possible. Sometimes this cannot be accomplished because of various factors. If we are unable to access a water source directly from the well, we try to find the next spigot in line with the well. Well Owners, Take Notice While well owners generally carry all responsibilities for their wells, ranging from maintenance, testing, and associated costs due to the drought and the drought inspections Kostlivy conducted, he felt that the county and state needed to take a closer look at water quality in the Quartz Mine-Stent area. Once we decided on testing, we contacted various property owners and asked for permission to test their wells, and since we initiated the testing request, we covered the cost of the testing, he explains. This holds true to the most recent testing we conducted on March 3 we are anticipating on testing again in the near futurewe will have specific parameters of desired locations to test and will cover the cost associated with this test. Kostlivy emphatically points out that, while the local and state governments cannot accommodate random requests to test wells at their cost they will provide for the sampling of wells within specially designated testing parameters and locations. He directs residents outside the Quartz Mine-Stent area wanting their wells tested for these or other contaminates to contact his office. Again, clarifying his statement for others outside this area who might have concerns, he notes, We can direct them to the appropriate testing agencyat the cost of the homeowner/property owner. Having said this, he advises those who have their wells tested and subsequently find elevated levels of contaminants to alert his office, so that staff can track areas that may demonstrate potential issues. In either case, the number to call is 209 533-5633. As the notice sent to well owners in the designated area of concern states, arsenic exposure in most water sources tends to be the inorganic form, which, when consumed as drinking water, may exert toxic effects after acute short-term or chronic long-term exposure. While Dr. Ortiz assures residents that no one has yet demonstrated any such symptoms, acute effects can include vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea; chronic effects may result in skin changes; long-term and high level exposures may generate an increased risk for skin, bladder and lung cancers. Her communication to the impacted residents outlines that nitrate levels in drinking water, which can come from natural, industrial, or agricultural sources including septic systems, storm water run-off and fertilizers may well vary throughout the year. Medical advisories indicate that infants and pregnant women are particularly at risk. For well owners, this recent development, according to Kostlivy, might be an opportunity to learn how to ensure that your water quality is within safe consumption standards. The California Environmental Protection Agency notes that well locations can have a direct influence on what chemicals to test for; these might include but are not limited to bacteria, metals, and nitrates. While comparing your well water test results to public drinking water standards is helpful, quality of well water is not regulated by the state and it is up to those on wells to take general responsibility for monitoring. Both the state and EPA recommend annual testing of domestic wells used for drinking water. Costs can range into the hundreds of dollars, depending on testing needs. For related resource information, click here. Sacramento, CA A Central Valley Democrat is asking why the first leg of high speed rail will start in the more isolated community of Shafter, instead of connecting to communities like Merced and Modesto. Assemblyman Adam Gray, representing Merced, is critical of the newly revised business plan, saying it makes no sense. The initial plan was to send the first stretch of track from Merced to Los Angeles. However, in order to cut expenses, the first leg will now run from Shafter (north of Bakersfield) to San Jose. Assemblyman Gray says, Not only is the Authority breaking its promise to the people of the Northern San Joaquin Valley by eliminating Merced from the initial segment, but the new proposal doesnt connect the bedroom communities that need the train to the Bay Area. We do not need to build 90 miles of track South of Fresno while failing to reach Bakersfield. Virtually no one will commute from Shafter to San Jose for work. That money should be spent connecting the communities of Merced, Modesto, and Stockton where thousands of people make this commute every day. The first leg is anticipated to be done in the year 2025, and service to Merced would them come sometime after 2029. Merced is anticipated to be the closest access point for many Mother Lode residents. Gray adds, I cant tell you how frustrating it is to get calls from my (Merced) city council members saying hey, weve been on board, weve been part of the planning process, weve been making plans here locally and investing local money. They had no notice whatsoever (of the change). Gray emphasizes that more work should be done on the HSR business plan before it is approved by lawmakers. $9.9-billion in initial funding was approved for High Speed Rail by voters in 2008. Recent storms in Osceola County are proving to be problems for hundreds of residents, who now have concerns about what the storms left behind. It was so horrible, said Hector Chamorro. Ice, the hail was about an inch, inch and a half, thats how big they were. Poinciana received more than 3 inches of rain. Chamorro said the storm and hail lasted for nearly an hour. A lot of our neighbors here in Bella Pointe lost their fences, shingles in the houses and these are brand new houses and this thing was so horrible, said Chamorro. WEATHER ON THE GO: Download the News 13+ app and get StormTracker 13 and Safety Net alerts wherever you are. GET WEATHER ALERTS: Sign up to receive weather text alerts from News 13. Storms left tree branches on the ground, business marquees shattered and street signage knocked down. Fences around homes were no longer standing. Levels in nearby lakes and ponds have risen. Residents worry the water could reach their homes. Even through the rain, residents and workers were left picking up the pieces. Inside Bella Pointe, there was a concrete pad which was part of a gate opener that weighed about 700 pounds. The winds managed to lift it off the ground during the storm. Ramon Santiago, the Homeowners Association president for Bella Pointe, says they have nowhere to turn. And we dont have the money to fix all these kind of repairs over here. And we bought the house to have a better life but look at what were going through right now? Santiago said. More storms are expected in the area. We cannot take no more water in Poinciana. Poinciana is just done with the water, Chamorro said. Also in Poinciana, parents of students at Liberty High School were notified there was a power outage that lasted a few hours Monday. Maintenance crews there worked through the weekend to repair other storm-related damage. The Brevard County Commission is asking for $200 million to help clean up the Indian River Lagoon after an algae bloom killed thousands of fish. Commissioners had talked Tuesday about asking the governor to declare a state of emergency, but instead are sending the letter asking for the money. "It's not just Brevard County. If you look along the lagoon, it's 50 cities, five counties, state, federal, we all need to be working together on this," said Duane De Freese of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. De Freese told the commission the direction of the Indian River Lagoon is slowly changing, but needs to get into high gear. "So we are all working towards a common endpoint, and that endpoint is a healthy lagoon," he said. Concerned residents filled nearly every seat at Tuesday's lengthy commission meeting. People like Captain Alex Gorichky, whose charter fishing business is in jeopardy due to the state of the lagoon and brown tide killing fish. "Our main fight is the brown algae. Algaes come and go. This is not a come and go. This is a different beast," he told commissioners. Brevard County Natural Resource workers briefed the public on the reason for the kill -- the algae dying on the river bottom and turning into muck. That spread nitrogen into the waters, which deprived it of oxygen and killed all the fish. We followed along Tuesday as workers from the St John's Water Management District continued to clean up fish in the lagoon, this time near Patrick Air Force Base. Leaders are trying to come up with ways to stop it from happening again -- including more dredging and fertilizer bans. "That muck is our (sick) gallbladder, and we need to get that muck out of the river. And we are looking at like $200 million," said Brevard District 4 Commissioner Curt Smith. De Freese also suggested a collaborative effort to get more funding to help the lagoon -- which has a $3 billion economic impact to the area. He says investing even a billion dollars is worth it in the long run. "If we can return the true value of this system, that's a good return on investment," he said. Meantime FWC is taking 8-10 weekly water samples from the lagoon and they are still getting calls on the FWC hotline about dead fish. Exit 293. Finally. That's what some Flagler County residents might be saying after the ribbon was finally cut and the barricades were removed. The on-ramps and off-ramps at the new Interstate 95 interchange are now open to motorists. After less than a year of riding his bicycle past the orange barricades, road closed signs and the dirt from the construction, Robert Mogar is happy to see the interchange finally open. "Riding through the mud and stuff like that sometimes it gets a little tricky," he said Monday. "A quarter of the city is able to get back on I-95 a lot quicker." The new interchange will provide another evacuation route, more efficient access to Flagler County and improved traffic flow. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Monday, and it celebrated and project that has been in the making since June 2015. Some of the improvements included a widening of the highway, new retention ponds, lighting and landscaping. "It looks nice," Mogar said. The price tag for the two on-ramps and two-off ramps was $12.5 million, but more than 90 percent of the project was paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation and federal dollars. Business owners said it's a hefty price, but it also saved taxpayers' money. "For my moving business, it's much better because it'll be faster and my customers are going to spend less money," Lester Stevens said. Last week, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts said he is concerned about traffic safety because of Matanzas High School in close proximity to the interchange. Mogar is hoping it will be safe for pedestrians. Currently, there are only yield and stop signs near the ramps. "I think cyclists have got to be paying attention because people in their cars especially by an interstate that could be dangerous," Mogar said. AMARILLO - Agriculture production today is very data sensitive and includes many tools with technologies that dont all work well together. One Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist is bringing a project to the High Plains to change that. But he needs some producers to do field testing. Dr. Charles Hillyer, AgriLife Extension irrigation engineering specialist in Amarillo, is part of the Precision Ag Irrigation Leadership, or PAIL, project. Hillyer, who joined AgriLife Extension almost a year ago and brought with him his data exchange standards work from Oregon State University, said they are in Phase 2 of the project and need farms to field test the draft version, which is currently supported by six major irrigation-related product manufacturers. The idea is to make the soil maps, weather stations, soil sensors, flow meters, variable rate irrigation hardware - the tools now used to help with irrigation scheduling - a simpler part of crop production, he said. Growers need to be able to buy solutions for irrigation management instead of a bunch of widgets, Hillyer said. We are developing a data standard to help new data-driven technologies work together without making more headaches for the producer. The program was field-tested on two farms in Kentucky and Washington in 2015 and the group has been able to demonstrate the data flow all the way from the soil moisture monitoring devices to the producer, he said. Last year we had Valley, Ranch Systems, Campbell Scientific, AgSense, Irrinet and Ag Connections on board for our testing phase, Hillyer said. Now we need producers who are willing to work with us and have some of these products already in place on their farm or who are planning to install them. He is currently testing PAIL on a variable rate irrigation pivot system at the AgriLife Research farm near Bushland and will work in the next year or two to get it implemented with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service weighing lysimeters also at Bushland, as well as the other irrigation systems used for research purposes by both agencies. Hillyer said they are also going to work with drip irrigation, so hes interested in talking to producers with drip irrigation already installed and manufacturers. The project was initially funded by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and is now supported by more than 20 irrigation equipment and related product manufacturers, Hillyer said. The project is also supported by a grant from the Ogallala Aquifer Program. He and others in the PAIL project are working through AgGateway, a nonprofit organization that supports industry collaboration in agriculture, to develop a common set of data standards and formats to be adopted by the manufacturers. This will allow integration of all the information into Farm Management Information Systems, Hillyer said. He said a producer can choose to combine as many or as few of the different practices and pieces of equipment he utilizes on his farm to help come up with a recommended action. Basically what the program does is make it easier for the producer or a crop consultant to meet his customers needs, Hillyer said. The PAIL language also helps with data that will make reporting easier to the water districts. During this proofing phase, he said there might not be a big benefit to producers participating in the testing. But in the long run, they will be helping farmers across the nation once the system is completed. It will help us promote the PAIL concept to get other manufacturers to adopt it, Hillyer said. In five years, our goal will be to have a PAIL logo on equipment that will signal to farmers that piece of equipment will talk with their other devices. LUBBOCK - As the run-off election for Congressional District 19 continues, Jodey Arrington received an endorsement from former primary candidate DeRenda Warren. Warren joins the Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND, Texas Association of Business and Industry BACPAC, the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, and Terry County GOP Chair Bradford L. Moore in endorsing the Plainview native. West Texas, now more than ever, needs a representative that will stay focused on the core issues facing this district. Agriculture first and foremost, improved and affordable healthcare, immigration and border security with Mexico, faithfully honoring our promises to the military veterans, and improved education in our schools are all key concerns for the voters of the 19th District, Warren said. Its imperative that I thank those voters who supported me and my campaign. I want to strongly encourage them to choose Jodey Arrington in the runoff election. I believe that he possesses many important qualities that would render him the best candidate for the 19th District going forward, Warren adds. He has established a rapport with the Agricultural and Medical communities, and would best represent the values and the West Texas way of life for the U.S. 19th Congressional District of Texas. In response, Arrington said, I thank former Lady Raider DeRenda Warren for a clean and hard-fought primary campaign and welcome her to the team! It is a humbling experience in life to receive so much support from the people who make our region the great place it truly is. I will continue to work hard to try and speak with every voter about our conservative vision for West Texas that will help families and small businesses thrive in a country we can be proud of each and every day. HOUSTON Sub-$40 oil claimed more than 1,100 jobs across Texas in recent weeks, the Texas Workforce Commission detailed on Tuesday. The lost jobs included 500 jobs in Harris County at international supermajor BP, 608 positions at the tank car division of Trinity Rail in Gregg and Harrison counties in East Texas, 60 jobs at Cudd Energy Services in Bexar County and 65 at Rotary Drilling Tools in Fort Bend County. BP spokesman Jason Ryan said the cuts were part of the about 4,000 upstream jobs its plans to eliminate in 2016. The company is also aiming to trim about 3,000 downstream jobs by the end of 2017. The notifications that we are making in the Houston area are part of that plan, Ryan said in an emailed statement. This is what is required to adapt to the protracted low oil price environment, and BP is taking the steps necessary to reduce costs and ensure we are structured to compete as efficiently as possible. BP has taken around $1.5 billion in restructuring charges over the past five quarters and expects the total to approach $2.5 billion by the end of 2016. The company has also sold $10 billion in assets since October 2013 and plans to sell an additional $3-5 billion during 2016. Overall, the company said it has lowered the cash costs its controls by $3.4 billion in 2015 compared to 2014, and said it expects to hit $7 billion in savings by 2017. Trinity Rail is a subsidiary of Dallas-based Trinity Industries, Inc, which has a number of rail and logistics businesses. The company told investors in February that it had seen record revenues, operating profit and earnings, in 2015, but cautioned that the outlook for 2016 looked darker. The company did not return repeated requests for comment Tuesday afternoon. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate George Lopezs recent slur aimed at San Antonio came out of nowhere, shocking locals and others who were dumbfounded that such an insult was voiced by the same performer who has had such a long, positive relationship with this city. In case you missed the recorded moment, it took place in Seattle March 19, his next stop on the Comedy Get Down tour which also features Cedric The Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, D.L. Hughley and Charlie Murphy after entertaining in the AT&T Center on March 18. You guys have outdone San Antonio, Lopez screamed to the crowd. (Expletive) San Antonio. RELATED: George Lopez tells Seattle audience on comedy tour: 'F--k San Antonio' Whoa! It must have been a joke, right? The comedian couldnt have meant something so harsh. After all, Lopezs stand-up shows here have been sold out. San Antonio is such a great Lopez city, in fact, that he chose it to be the setting for his 2009 HBO special, George Lopez: Tall, Dark & Chicano. Fellow comedian Carlos Mencia, who has performed with Lopez in the past here, reasoned that the slur was just something said at the heat of the moment. Sometimes when were on stage, we want to tell the audience, we love you so much, he said in a phone chat, comparing it to someone being in the middle of deep passionate lovemaking, and the person youre with wants to hear that theyre the only one. At the moment, you say to the person, youre amazing, and (expletive) that chick (I was with) before. Still, Mencia added that even he was shocked by the way the words came out on the Seattle stage. As for how he would have followed up such a remark, Mencia said that he would have come from a real place and addressed it. To be fair, Lopez did address it albeit briefly on social media. On Twitter, for instance, he said: I love you San Antonio, dont let Chisme destroy a great relationship. It wasnt chisme (gossip), however; Lopez actually said it. Hoping for a better explanation,TV Land, which was looking for publicity for its new comedy, Lopez, was contacted in the hopes it could get more comment from Lopez. In the show, Lopez plays a super-surly version of himself. It debuts at 9 p.m. Wednesday on TV Land. Initially, the publicist indicated a phoner could happen, but then came back with an excuse: Lopezs packed schedule and production duties prevented him from doing it. Even a request for an emailed comment about what happened in Seattle was met with a no. He finally apologized Sunday on Twitter. Lopez wrote: Happy Easter! San Antonio, on this day of resurrection, please forgive me. I love you, Im deeply sorry! Fans could be forgiven for thinking that San Antonio deserved better. jjakle@express-news.net This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A 21-year-old Brazilian model who lost her left leg has become an Instagram sensation thanks to support from hundreds of thousands of fans and an air of inspiration surrounding her. Paola Antonini lost her leg in 2014 after being hit by a drunken driver in a car accident, according to Yahoo!. RELATED: Beautiful Dallas model back to work 4 years after accident that took arm, eye Her leg was crushed, and despite four attempts to save the leg, it was decided that her leg needed to be amputated at the knee. While Antonini started learning to walk again, she was advised by medical professionals that she should have a second amputation, cutting off her leg to above the knee, according to the Daily Mail. RELATED: A puppy without a paw and a girl without legs become best friends Fazendo arte na fisioterapia enquanto o novo encaixe da protese fica pronto! @shopping_ortopedico A photo posted by Paola Antonini (@paola_antonini) on Mar 18, 2016 at 11:42am PDT Since losing her leg, the model has decided to flaunt what shes working with on Instagram, and shes gained more than 620,000 followers on the popular social media app. Antonini told Brazilian website VejaBJ that she chose to look at the situation from a glass-half-full perspective, instead of wallowing over what she lost in the accident. RELATED: Police: Corpus Christi man left behind prosthetic arm at scene of alleged DWI crash Between being unhappy forever and thankful for being alive, I chose the second option, she told the publication. The model shares photos of herself engaging in everyday activities, including going to stores, flying on airplanes, taking a dip in the ocean, and rocking a bikini. Click through the slideshow to see beautiful photos of this Brazilian model. twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite Dear Mr. Premack: Our children did not have children. Most everyone in our family is still living. Our charitable gifts have not changed. Our Wills were last updated in the late 90's, and included something called a by-pass trust. Our estate size has been holding steady at around $3 million. My husband says we do not need to update our Wills. What can I tell my husband to get him to update our Wills? Thank you. OPQ There are a variety of reasons that Wills should be updated. In your letter you highlight a number of them. For instance: 1) Have there been any changes in your family? Certainly anyone who is getting divorced should be modifying their Will immediately. An update is warranted if anyone listed in your Will dies, becomes disabled, or if new family members are added. 2) Do you want to change the way your estate will be distributed? Many people leave their estates to their spouses, then their children, then their grandchildren. Without grandchildren it is often wise to list your favorite charities as contingent devisees. If your goals change or a prior charity falls out of favor, you should update your Will. 3) Have Texas laws changed? Generally, the State of Texas makes an effort to never invalidate an existing Will by changing the law. But a Will does not need to be completely invalidated by a law change in order for you to need an update. For instance, a few years ago the legislature changed the way that Will contests can be dealt with in your Will. A provision made before the law was changed may be unenforceable, even if the Will overall is still valid. Updating to deal with new Texas laws should be routine, and you should talk to your estate planning attorney at least every other year to see if the laws have changed. 4) Have Federal laws changed? Often, changes in Federal law do not have a large impact on a Texas Will. There are exceptions, some of which are major. You say your current Wills contain a By-Pass Trust, that your estate is worth about $3 million, and that the last update was in the late 1990's. The by-pass trust exists as an effort to avoid or reduce Federal Estate Taxes. By way of history, in the late 1990's any estate value exceeding $675,000 was subject to Estate Tax at a 50% rate. That is a huge tax, and most people found it objectionable. Attorneys devised a method to double the exemption to $1,350,000, potentially saving a married couple around $337,000 in taxes. The idea was that when the first spouse died, that spouse's Will did NOT leave all the assets to the surviving spouse. Instead, the surviving spouse was "by passed" and part of the estate was placed into a By-Pass Trust. The transfer to the trust was actually a taxable event, but the tax was eliminated with the deceased spouse's exemption. Thus, the funds in the By-Pass Trust were free of estate taxes. For several decades, that idea was embraced by a wide variety of married couples whose estates exceeded the $675,000 exemption amount. But in year 2001, the exemption was raised by a change to Federal Law to $1 million and continued to grow to $3.5 million in 2009. Now, the exemption amount has reached $5.45 million which has eliminated the need for any estate below $5.45 million to have a By-Pass Trust. In fact, the idea of doubling the exemption for both spouses has now become part of Federal law, so up to $10.9 million can pass free of estate taxes. Here is the problem: most By-Pass Trusts require that the maximum amount be transferred into trust when the first spouse dies. Even though the tax motive for the By-Pass Trust is gone, the Trust still exists. It is unnecessary, burdensome and expensive. Your husband and you should modify your Wills to eliminate the By-Pass Trust, because it won't go away on its own. If you leave it in place, instead of saving money it will add time, expense and burden to the administration of your estates. See your attorney now to update! Paul Premack is a Certified Elder Law Attorney with offices in San Antonio and Seattle, handling Wills and Trusts, Probate, and Business Entity issues. View past legal columns or submit free questions on legal issues via www.TexasEstateandProbate.com or www.Premack.com. One of the most spectacular getaways in the Lone Star state is a vast, desolate and beautiful canyon sprawling 120 miles through the Panhandle: Palo Duro Canyon. As the second largest canyon in the country, Palo Duro naturally draws comparisons to the famous world wonder in Arizona. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Beyond the locked doors and boarded windows of three dilapidated buildings cobbled together in Houston's East End is a maze of hidden passageways and stairwells leading to dank chambers where women and teenage girls were forced to work as sex slaves. It was here, behind the facade of the Las Palmas II cantina, that federal officials claim one of Houston's most notorious brothels operated with near impunity for as many as 20 years until it was closed by federal agents. On Wednesday, the madam and boss of the brothel, 70-year-old Hortencia "Tencha" Medeles, was sentenced to life in federal prison for her role as the head of what authorities said was a major international sex trafficking ring. "I don't know what they did with the girls. I don't know anything about that," Medeles, who has long gray hair, told U.S. District Judge David Hittner moments before learning her fate. She didn't deny operating a brothel but denied abusing the women and girls in her house and said she wasn't involved in trafficking them into the U.S. More for you Step into the darkness of Houston's most notorious brothel Law enforcement authorities consider Houston a major hub for sex trafficking due to its size, proximity to the border and huge immigrant population. They concede there are most certainly other brothels like the one Medeles operated until her arrest in 2013. "Clearly we know there are more," said federal prosecutor Ruben Perez. "What we can prove is our mission." Officials said there is no way to tell how many women and girls worked at the brothel in the years it was in business, but ledgers and lists of names found in the building indicate it was a major operation. Most of them came from Mexico and Central America. 'Terrible moments' Before Medeles was sentenced Wednesday, five of her victims briefly told the judge and the packed courtroom how they had been forever changed by their experience at the brothel. All of them spoke through tears. They spoke of nightmares, struggles to get on with their lives, and how they want Medeles sent away. "That woman made me give her all the money from men who raped me every way possible," one woman said as she cried. She told of a man who liked to manhandle the women and one who nearly killed her one night. "There are terrible moments that I won't forget," she said. The notorious complex on Telephone Road was seized two years ago by the federal government in what it described as a major blow to sex trafficking in the city; the property is now for sale as commercial real estate. During the brothel's heyday, it drew tens of thousands of customers a year. At least 42 people have been prosecuted for their roles in the ring and related cases, including three of Medeles' adult children whom she brought in to the business and who testified against her in bids for leniency. The bar and brothel was in business since the 1990s, and had been raided from time to time by Houston police. But it took years to rise in prominence above other brothels and draw the attention of federal law enforcement. It was a busy place. During one 19-month period ending in August 2013, sex rooms upstairs were rented out 64,296 times, according to ledgers that were seized and testimony during Medeles' trial last year. Part of the secret to the brothel's success is that it was housed in three side-by-side, interconnected buildings. The buildings shared doors and passages that were hard to detect and changed from time to time over the years. The women were forced to work in a warren of 17 tiny rooms - most illuminated only by a naked lightbulb dangling from the ceiling - that are little more than closets, some still containing a filthy mattress. Condom wrappers litter the floors; wads of gum are stuck to walls. A green door leads to the so-called "VIP room" where the newest and youngest girls were kept, waiting to be chosen by select clients. In it stands a dusty, full-length mirror adorned with the fading stickers of a Mexican teen musical group. A warning system used blue lights to announce police raids, and secret escape routes allowed the women and their customers to flee unnoticed. A video made by Houston police during one raid shows that by the time officers got to the brothel area of the complex, there was no one left, except a lone man who said he worked at the Port of Houston. $500 per hour for minors The operation was built on the backs of women who were smuggled here from Mexico and Central America, then beaten, raped and threatened. If they didn't perform or tried to escape, they and their families back home would be killed, they were told. "This woman had operated with impunity for many years under the radar," said Perez, standing in darkness in the main building, which now has no electricity. "Federal authorities got involved and started investigating." They launched their probe of Medeles' operation after receiving tips. Some men who frequented the brothel and had gained the trust of the women learned they were being held against their will; others noticed some of the workers were underage, or had hefty bruises on their bodies, and shared their suspicions. To get from the cantina to the brothel section of the complex, customers went through a hidden door and climbed a flight of stairs to a second floor. They were charged $25 up front - a $15 room fee, a $5 condom fee, and $5 cover charge. They were handed numbered raffle-like tickets that read, "Admit One." That money went directly to Medeles, who in that 19-month period took in more than $1.6 million. Pimps who brought the women to Medeles kept the cash paid for sex. The price ranged from $65 for 15 minutes to $500 per hour for minors. Medeles was meticulous about tracking what money was being earned and by whom and when. Two legal pads found in a drawer in the building list hundreds of names of women and the amounts they earned during the summer of 2005. Daniela, Elisa, Vanesa, Brenda, Nena, Sandra, Adriana - the names go on and on in smeared blue ink. There are also notations regarding the purchase of condoms: 36 boxes of "blues" were used on one night, as were seven boxes of flavored prophylactics. The women and teenagers were recruited by men who met them in small towns in Mexico and Central America, where they were romanced and promised better lives if they would come to the U.S. Once here they learned their "fiances" were pimps. There would be no marriages. 'We were fresh meat' "What occurred here was absolutely modern-day slavery," said Special Agent Shauna Dunlap, spokeswoman for the FBI's Houston Division. "These women and young girls were forced to commit unspeakable acts in deplorable conditions inside this cantina, and others." She noted that the lone fugitive in the case, Alfonso Diaz-Juarez, remains on the run with a $50,000 bounty on his head. "The longer Diaz-Juarez eludes justice, the greater the chance more women may be victimized," Dunlap said. During Medeles' trial, a woman who was a teen when she was kept at the brothel testified that Medeles charged her for food, rent, makeup, a bed and even underwear. She worked day after day, yet her debt ballooned. She was kept locked up with the other underage girls in the VIP room and allowed out only when chosen by a customer. "She would take us and say we were fresh meat," the woman testified. "She would let them choose us like we were animals." As police finally closed in on the brothel, a message to them was scrawled in red paint on the tile floor and on a wall. "You got my girls, but you didn't get me," it reads. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A former licensed vocational nurse was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail and 10 years probation for the 2015 shooting death of her common-law husband, who she believed was molesting their son. Originally charged with murder, Maraliz Medina, 28, pleaded no contest to a charge of manslaughter before state District Judge Melisa Skinner. She was ordered to spend 180 days in jail, pay a $1,000 fine and undergo intense counseling for drug and anger issues, in addition to 10 years deferred adjudication probation. Skinner did not give Medina any credit for the nine months she has served in jail, and also ordered that Medina take parenting classes and submit to drug tests every two weeks once she is out of jail and under court supervision on probation. The judge also ordered that she attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings twice a week. Medina and Rodolfo Espinosa, 31, who were together for several years and had a son, used heroin together, court records indicate. Medina had been taking methadone for her addiction. She was the one trying to get treatment, Medinas attorney, Michael Zamora, told the judge during the hearing. He (Espinosa) was holding her back. 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 Espinosa. Officers found him dead in a bedroom and arrested Medina. She was charged with murder the next day. Police reports and court records indicate their child, under 10 at the time, was at home but not in the room where the shooting occurred. Medina told authorities that shortly before she and Espinosa argued, she saw Espinosa with his hand inside the back of their sons 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. 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. ezavala@express-news.net Twitter: @elizabeth2863 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A former principal at a North Texas elementary school is on trial this week for allegedly trying to meet someone he thought was a 16-year-old boy for sex at a mall. The "teenager" turned out to be a police detective. RELATED: Video: North Texas police officer fatally shoots man holding knife in Western apparel store Oscar Figueroa, former principal at Viridian Elementary School in Arlington, pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of coercion or enticement of a minor in July, according to court records. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Frisco police arrested Figueroa, 47, on July 7 at Stonebriar Centre mall in Frisco. An undercover officer had responded to a Craigslist ad placed by Figueroa, who called himself a "daddy" who wanted to have sex with a "son," the newspaper reported. According to the Star-Telegram, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jason Mitchell testified at a July hearing that federal agents found images of young males in states of nudity on Figueroa's cellphone after his arrest. RELATED: Texas woman arrested after responding to police Facebook post about meth tainted with Ebola Figueroa has disputed law enforcement officials' account that he knew he was communicating with a 16-year-old. Jurors in a federal court on Monday saw the text message conversation between Figueroa and Frisco Police Detective Wade Hornsby, during which Figueroa asked Hornsby his age, according to The Dallas Morning News. Hornsby's reply? 16 years old. But, according to The Dallas Morning News, Figueroa told the detective that he didn't really read the text messages carefully and said, "The First time I found that he said that he was a minor was when I got arrested." When questioned by Figueroa's attorney Bruce Anton, Hornsby testified that he had only mentioned that he was supposedly 16 once during his conversation with Figueroa, according to the newspaper. Hornsby and Anton disagreed on what age range Figueroa sought when looking for a younger companion: the detective said he believed Figueroa meant 16-year-olds or younger, while Anton said Figueroa, 47, could have been seeking someone in his 20s. RELATED: 'Really cool' Texas Spanish teacher caught in car with student, charged with felony Figueroa could be sentenced to a minimum 10-year prison sentence if convicted. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A shooting in a Kirby apartment complex parking lot Monday that sent three men to area hospitals involved a group of eight to 10 persons who scattered in three vehicles or on foot, police said. Kirby police said the altercation happened just before 2:30 p.m. at the Country Meadow Apartment complex near Charles Conrad and Old Seguin roads. Some in the group told police they all had come to the apartment to pick up clothes, but investigators were skeptical. You dont roll up three deep in a car to pick up clothing, Sergeant Michael Alonzo said. Alonzo said police believe the shooting was in retaliation for a previous incident outside the small city east of San Antonio, but could provide few details. Three men in their 20s were shot, he said. One of them ran 10 blocks before he realized he had been hit in the leg; another was shot in the buttocks and driven to a car wash, where police were called, while a third was shot in the stomach and taken to a hospital in another vehicle. All were at San Antonio Military Medical Center late Monday, their conditions unknown. Police did not believe the injuries were life-threatening. Police said a daughter of the man who was shot in the stomach lives in the apartment complex. The victims told police they were all brothers. Considering the fact that all the shooters knew each other, and we believe that they were targeting each other, we dont think that this was just a random, Hey Im just going to shoot this person walking down the street. We think that everyone that got shot was involved somehow and came here to do wrong, Alonzo said. We dont believe they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. No arrests were made. Police recovered one gun at the scene, but two other weapons believed used were still unaccounted for and police said the shooters might be at large. They had only one description of a suspect, a heavy set black man who allegedly left the scene in a dark Dodge Charger. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Dallas city officials are defending their move to ban a pornography expo from setting up shop in a city-owned convention center in a sexually explicit court filing. RELATED: Texas elementary school principal on trial for allegedly trying to meet 16-year-old for sex at mall Dallas City Council members voted in February to ban the Exxxotica porn expo from the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, deeming the event unfit to occupy a publicly owned facility. Later that month, Three Expo Events sued the city, claiming that officials were stomping on the convention's First Amendment rights, according to online court filings. In a 60-page response to the lawsuit filed Friday, attorneys for Dallas detailed the numerous sexually explicit acts apparently committed at the convention when it swung through the city last year. RELATED: As Trump, Cruz face off over wives, National Enquirer claims Cruz had 5 extramarital affairs According to the city's attorneys, Exxxotica representative Jeffrey Handy told officials that patrons and convention personnel would abide state law and city ordinances governing lewd acts. That's not what happened at the 2015 convention, attorneys for the city allege. "Although Mr. Handy had represented that sexual activities, including 'the fondling or other erotic touching of genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts,' were prohibited at Exxxotica Dallas ... in fact, such sexual activities took place at Exxxotica Dallas, and were observed and recorded," the filing reads. The document alleges that video footage shows convention goers and employees alike "engaging in specified sexual activities." The city does not detail how it obtained the footage. "Both the attire of the entertainers and the conduct in which they engaged is indiscernible from the typical conduct at adult cabarets and nude model studios," the response reads. Scroll through the slideshow to see the details of the city's response. The city also said in their response that the convention in August saw criminal activity, including an attendee punching a protester and a sting targeting men seeking young or underage women who mentioned the convention in ads on Backpage.com. The response does not detail whether the ads were actually tied to the convention itself. RELATED: Canada mom puts out excruciatingly bad rap bashing proposed law to accommodate transgender students The Dallas Morning News reported that city attorneys had advised council members not to vote to ban the convention, saying the city's ordinance regarding sexual oriented businesses did not apply to Exxxotica. jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports Re: Still overpaid, Your Turn, March 23: I lived in Phoenix when San Antonio offered Sheryl Sculley the job of city manager. She did not take the job when she learned all but one councilman voted in her favor. The no-vote came from Julian Castro. After Castro left the City Council, Mayor Phil Hardberger again approached her to apply for the job. She did so, received all 10 council votes, and accepted the position. The rest is history, and she has done an exemplary job for the city. Mayor Hardberger recognized her talent and proposed to give her a salary to match her work, which was approved by the council. As for her leaving Phoenix, they would love to have her back on the job. Anyone who thinks this lady is overpaid should look at the shape other cities of this size are in. We will be very sorry when she decides to vacate her post. Howard Pharr New vistas Re: How reading Dostoevsky on Guadalupe Street opened my eyes, Rafael Castillo, Opinion, March 20: Reading and words can open up other worlds and possibilities, and provide a psychic lifeline in the face of lifes sometimes overwhelming difficulties. I am convinced that the right word at the right time can save a life. Thanks for publishing those important comments and memories from Castillo. Also fun to see references to those venerable old bookstores like Rosengrens and Brocks. Globe News was another goodie on Houston Street near the Majestic that had two floors of great material. Mike Lawrence Going crazy Help me out here. You got Donald Trump inciting violence at his rallies from the get-go. Out-and-out lying on the issues, a lack of knowledge on how to fulfill his promises. In the last several debates, showing incompetence when pushed to answer any hard policy question. After the last debate, you got the media declaring how he looked so presidential. You got Mike Huckabee defending his behavior. Baptist ministers and church officials endorsing him. A brain surgeon, Ben Carson, supporting him. I would have more respect for Ted Cruz if he stopped being so political and stated he will not support Trump if Trump is nominated. Cruzs delivery is the same on every interview he has. Has this whole country gone mad? Unless something really changes in a hurry, Trump is about to win the nomination. It is so unbelievable. Can you see Trump and that joker in North Korea going one-on-one? It is very scary. Keep your loved ones close. It is going to be a rough ride. If Trump does not win, you know he will have all this on his new reality show next year. Because you know his TV crew is taping every bit of this saga. And America will eat it up. Michael V. Pullin SACRAMENTO The Sacramento Bee reports that California is on its way to become the first state to boost its minimum wage rate to $15 an hour. Gov. Jerry Brown, labor unions and state lawmakers reached a deal to incrementally raise Californias minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022. The news source writes that the agreement, discussed by labor groups in a teleconference on Saturday, comes after intense advocacy by labor unions and statewide polls showing strong support for increasing the states mandatory minimum wage beyond its current $10 an hour. Discussions surrounding the minimum wage increase come amid escalating concern about income inequality in the United States. The news source notes that a recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 81% of likely California voters say the gap between the rich and poor is widening, and 58% of likely voters think the government should do more to bridge the gap. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that states appear to be the next battleground for minimum wage increases, citing that such efforts were more prevalent at the local level. Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco have all opted to phase in $15-an-hour minimum wages in coming years, the news source writes, adding that lawmakers in New York are in advanced discussions to bring that states minimum wage to $15 an hour, up from the current $9/hour rate. Be on the lookout for the April issue of NACS Magazine for more on state and local labor efforts and the impact on convenience stores. The latest NACS Convenience Matters podcast focuses on how retailers can communicate their voices on Capitol Hill and in their communities. ALEXANDRIA, Va. NACS members can make their voices heard and it makes a difference, says NACS Vice ChairmanTreasurer Peter Tedeschi in the new Convenience Matters podcast. Even though they compete as much as any other retail channel, convenience retailers also share ideas and speak as one voice to improve the industry and better serve customers, Tedeschi said in the episode taped during the successful NACS Government Relations Conference on March 16. Tedeschi, chief strategic officer of the Midwest Retail Group LLC, talked about some of the ways retailers can get engaged in their communities, with NACS and with their elected officials. Peters overriding message was that were in this together and we can make a difference, whether in Washington or in our communities, said podcast co-host Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. He made a compelling case for not just why you should communicate your voice, but how to do it. Its essential listening for anyone looking to get more engaged with their community, A new Convenience Matters podcast will be released every Monday, focusing on topics related to convenience stores. NACS Daily announced the podcasts in late January. CHICAGO As the battle for share of stomach rages on, the retail foodservice industry continues to grow. An updated study released by Technomic, the 2015 Retailer Meal Solutions (RMS) Consumer Trend Report, finds that consumers are purchasing RMS more often; 84% now purchase RMS at least once a month compared to just 79% in 2012. This increase is largely driven by younger consumers aged 1834, who are increasingly reliant on foodservice in general. Further enhancing the in-store experience and innovating with differentiated, restaurant-quality menu items will help retail-prepared food operators continue to steal share of stomach, says Kelly Weikel, director of consumer insights at Technomic. Operators and suppliers can appeal to consumers by offering dishes featuring new and ethnic flavors, such as spicy Asian flavors and regional Latin flavors. Compiling findings from more than 1,500 U.S. consumers, as well as Technomics MenuMonitor and Digital Resource Library, key takeaways from the 2015 report include: By run75441. Originally published at Angry Bear VA healthcare has its faults; but, it still is one of the more successful examples of publicly funded healthcare even while hampered by a lack of funding to provide more capacity in strategic places for new Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and aging Vietnam veterans like myself. Libertarian Pete Hegseth, a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and the CVA, both sponsored by the Koch Brothers, are hawking a dismantling of the VA hospitals in favor of higher cost and less result-oriented commercial healthcare and their own ideological interests. The history of the VA has always included struggles with ideological, political, and commercial (healthcare providers, pharma and hospital supply) interests. In the seventies, activists went as far as to stage scenes (Life Magazine picture depicting care for Vietnam veterans) to make the care look worst than what it was. For commercial interests, it is all about selling more services, healthcare procedures, and pharma as compared to the evidence based treatments received at the VA. For the Kochs, Libertarians, and Pete; it is all about a Randian ideology, an ideology which Ayn Rand could not live up to and forsook to accept Social Security and Medicare. As you may remember the Koch Brothers are also buying their way on to college campuses such as Western Carolina University by funding Centers for Free Enterprise A Slippery Slope Indeed. The selling of Public Choice and Libertarian ideology under the guise of Economics courses is paramount and they staff these centers accordingly by selecting those who view it favorably. The centers are not a free range of salt water and fresh water economics or intellect as one might find at typical universities. The American Legion and other VSOs have shown similar support for the dismantling of VA Healthcare the same as the Western Carolina University administration showing support for the Free Enterprise Centers. The VSOs have bought into the Koch funded CVA push to do so in favor of commercial healthcare and giving veterans healthcare vouchers. Together they have orchestrated an attack on the VA by claiming 40 veterans in Phoenix, AZ had died while waiting for their appointments. I did not pick the claim of 40; but, I believe it is time to debunk it and challenge subsequent claims based upon the lack of integrity and truth in the original claim. What was reported to the public by CNN and other news media sources as a failure of the VA to take care of the 40 veterans in critical need by keeping them waiting for care is not true. Yes, there is a longer wait for new patients and first time visits; but, it is not to the extent stated. The Koch Brothers, Pete, and their web of affiliates have succeeded in manufacturing a scandal at the VA as part of a larger campaign to delegitimize publicly provided health care in favor of the commercial healthcare industry. The exaggeration fed scandal forced the dismissal of Shinseki besides creating another taxpayer-funded commission to investigate the alleged abuses by the VA. The Best Care Anywhere; Why VA Health Care Would Work Better For Everyone author Phillip Longman was appointed to this commission. He will need all of the support he can get from veterans who oppose this move by ideological and healthcare industry interests to dismantle VA healthcare. Former Wall Street Journalist Alicia Mundy (author of Dispensing with the Truth: The Victims, the Drug Companies, and the Dramatic Story Behind the Battle Over Fen-phen) gives a different story of what took place at the VA The VA isnt Broken Yet, The Washington Monthly. Her article and two other articles report on the latest findings and paint a dismal picture of Koch Brothers and the healthcare industry attempts to dismantle the VA using innuendo and exaggerations. While the allegations of deaths were not proven, the declared accusation of increased deaths resulting from wait times did raise concerns about how effectively the VA was with their care of Veterans. Of course, we all know how effective the overly funded commercial healthcare system is with the care of its patients. If you can afford it you will get every pill, procedure, and practice known to mankind regardless of effectiveness. This is not to say there are not good institutions or professionals; but to say commercial healthcare and wait times are both far better than the VA is simply not true. Indeed, it is the opposite. The overriding interest of those advocating the dismantling of the VA in favor of commercial healthcare is in securing its funding for commercial healthcare rather than improving the care for veterans. One month into his presidency, President Obama appointed former General Eric Shinseki with no opposition in Congress to his appointment as the head the VA. Shinseki immediately set to work transforming a VA burdened by returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, a lack of needed capacity in places where needed (Phoenix and Tampa), and funding which did not keep up with the influx of new patients. The Bush administration had failed to close costly unneeded facilities (5 million square feet @ $53 million annually) and add capacity in other places (Phoenix and Tampa) as recommended by the CARES report besides increase the funding necessary to meet the onslaught of new vets. The CARES report listed what facilities needed to be improved and modernized, projected the future demands on VA services through 2022 in each geographic area the VA serves, compared them again to existing infrastructure, and made recommendations on how to meet the future needs of veterans. It was largely ignored as it too needed funding. Instead of helping to care for all veterans, President Bush had also reversed the decision of former President Clinton to allow all veterans to use the VA and again installed the proof of need format for VA care. In other words if you were exposed to Agent Orange, drank bad water at LeJeune, were exposed to radiation from depleted Uranium artillery shells, or indigent; you again had to prove your ailment was military related or provide proof of being indigent. This can be difficult to do and it takes time. Again, presidential enforced bureaucracy ruled at the VA. It could again raise its ugly head with the wrong administration in place. What about those news broadcasted wait times and other things Shinecki was accused of by Pete, the Koch Brothers, and the CVA? The VA under Shinseki reduced the number of homeless vets by ~25%, reduced the backlog of unprocessed veteran disability claims resulting from increased numbers of new and wounded Iraq and Afghanistan vets by 84 percent, and helped convince Congress to take in Vietnam veterans with chronic illnesses associated with exposure to Agent Orange making them automatically eligible for VA care. As accused by the Koch Brothers, Pete, the CVA, and the silly news media, this was the man and the General who allowed veterans to wait for appointments and care only to die in the chow line of the VA while side stepping? But wait, there is more: Under Shinseki, the VA built teams of healthcare providers whose responsibility was the care of its patients. Specific teams of PCPs, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, and health technicians were assigned to manage and coordinate the needs of each patient. This methodology overcomes the fragmentation of care, which can be seen in commercial healthcare today, and was described in Phillip Longmans The Best Care Anywhere. I am taken care of by the VA Blue Team of healthcare providers. Mental health professionals and substance abuse specialists were integrated into each team and this care excelled beyond that provided by commercial healthcare as it applied proven, evidence based therapy and methodology for mental illness. Insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid will not pay for this type of body and mind care by commercial healthcare. It is crucial to have it available for veterans as 25% of veterans suffer from chronic mental illness and 16% are addicted. One study, The Quality of Medication Treatment for Mental Disorders in the Department of Veterans Affairs and in Private-Sector Plans touched upon the differences in the success rate of VA care as compared to commercial healthcare. In every case, VA performance was superior to that of the private sector by more than 30%. Compared with individuals in private plans, veterans with schizophrenia or major depression were more than twice as likely to receive appropriate initial medication treatment, and veterans with depression were more than twice as likely to receive appropriate long-term treatment. Furthermore the study concludes the findings demonstrate the significant advantages accruing from an organized, nationwide system of care. The much higher performance of the VA has important clinical and policy implications. Hey, but what about those overly long wait times broadcasted by the news media and pitched by Pete and the CVA which caused the deaths of so many veterans as stated by them? After all, the team methodology and evidence-based physical and mental care put in place by Shinseki does strain the VA capability to set prompt appointments for new veterans coming into the system for the first time. Then too the need for primary care doctors outstrips the supply of them by ~7500 in 2010 and the shortage is estimated to more than double by 2020. This shortage as well as the amount of team care given does place a strain on the VA capability to supply care to new vets. Unlike commercial healthcare, the VA put in place performance measurements which are available to the public. Commercial healthcare does not make its performance measures available beyond the advertisements seen on TV. Across facilities, veterans waited an average of six and half days from their preferred date of care to their actually seeing a primary care doctor. In comparison, a private survey taken by the consulting firm Merritt Hawkins showed that in fifteen major medical markets across the country, non-VA patients seeking a first-time appointment with a family practice doctor had to wait an average of 19.5 days. For the first half of fiscal year 2015 starting October 2014 through March 2015 using the most recent data available from the Assessment B (Health Care Capabilities) Page 190 wait time study, the average number of days Veterans waited for new patient appointments was approximately six and a half days from the preferred date for primary care, six and a half days from the preferred date for specialty care, and three and a half days from the preferred date for mental health care as taken from page 190 of the same report. Indeed, Figure 4-14 shows >93% of all veterans completed their appointments within 30 days. Again to compare, the average wait time for new veteran patient appointments is six and 1/2 days from the preferred date while the average wait time for non-veterans using commercial healthcare as experienced in 15 markets for first time visits is 19.5 days from the preferred date or three times longer. And those 40 deaths caused by too long of a wait time? As taken another report, Review of Alleged Patient Deaths, Patient Wait Times, and Scheduling Practices at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, revealed, six and not forty veterans had died experiencing clinically significant delays while on waiting lists to see a VA doctor. In each of these six cases, the IG concluded we are unable to conclusively assert that the absence of timely quality care caused the deaths of these veterans. But for some reason those wishing to dismantle the VA can conclude such. Maybe they have a different source of information? They do not and this gets to the root of the issue. Why would someone make up such stories and the media report on them without adequate research when the end result would potentially cause so many veterans to lose their coverage and surrender to a must worse situation with commercial healthcare? News and especially catastrophic news sells and news today is lazy and lacks integrity. For everyone else concerned, it is the money involved or the VA funding. My own experience with the VA has been good and that with major US hospitals and commercial doctors has shown similar if not greater wait times. God knows, I have been in enough hospitals since 2012 advocating on my own treatment. If you do not know, ask questions and do not be so ready to accept what is told to you because the person is a doctor. They do make mistakes like being given blood thinners when you have a blood disorder. As Alicia Mundy put it succinctly while the VA has an assortment of serious problems, it continues to outperform the rest of the U.S. health sector on nearly every metric of qualitya fact that ought to raise fundamental questions about the wisdom of outsourcing VA care to private providers. I am not on board with this take over of VA Healthcare by commercial interests as supported by moneyed ideological and political influences. I would urge veterans to speak up as what you are going to get will not match what you have. Once your voucher is spent, game over. References: THe VA Isnt Broken Yet Alicia Mundy, Washington Monthly Review of Alleged Patient Deaths, Patient Wait Times, and Scheduling Practices at the Phoenix VA Health Care System Assessment B (Health Care Capabilities) Rand Study on Wait Times 2014/2015 Comparison of Quality of Care in VA and Non-VA Settings: A Systematic Review Changes in Suicide Mortality for Veterans and Nonveterans by Gender and History of VHA Service Use, 20002010 Department of Veterans Affairs to Realign Its Capital Assets Documents Show the VA Debacle Began Under George W. Bush Naples hotelier Phil McCabe speaks to a crowd of about two dozen at the Collier County Library on March 28, 2016. Photo by Joseph Cranney/Staff. SHARE Phil McCabe. (Greg Kahn/Staff) By Joseph Cranney of the Naples Daily News Local hotelier Phil McCabe, readying to put up a new three-story building with underground parking on Fifth Avenue South, said Monday that he would change the building's design to include aboveground parking if he lost a court battle over the project's parking plan. The surface-level parking would include 29 spaces, McCabe said, a reduction from the 43 underground spaces included in his project that was greenlit by the Naples City Council in November. A pair of downtown property owners objected to the council's approval, arguing that the sublevel parking violates the city charter, and sued the city in Collier County Circuit Court. Earlier this month McCabe's lawyers and Naples City Attorney Bob Pritt filed responses to the lawsuit that claimed, among other arguments, that the charter doesn't clearly prohibit McCabe's building design. For the first time publicly, McCabe said he would change his parking plan if the court rules against him. "If the judge, in his infinite wisdom, tells us we're wrong, then that's the alternative," McCabe said. McCabe showed a diagram of the alternative parking plan to an audience of about two dozen at the Collier County Library headquarters on Orange-Blossom Drive. The group gathered at the library for an hourlong talk with McCabe hosted by the Naples Press Club. McCabe, who has built four hotels in Naples, was there to advocate his support for what he describes as positive economic growth in the city. He frequently referred to an ongoing "renaissance" in Naples, in which property owners, freed from the ills of recession, are choosing to redevelop old buildings into high-value commercial and residential projects. "That renaissance is not going to stop," McCabe said. He wants to bring the "renaissance" to his building in the 400 block of Fifth Avenue, where the new plan calls for a three-story building with high-end retail on the ground floor and 11 multimillion-dollar condos on the second and third floors. To maximize the project's value, McCabe wants to hide his parking below the building. His project has caused an outcry among those, including a couple of audience members Monday, who believe McCabe's vision for downtown Naples is flawed. In razing the old building, his project will shut down several popular eateries, including Cafe Luna, and eliminate more than 150 seats of outdoor dining. The project frequently came up during the recent race for Naples mayor among City Councilman Bill Barnett, City Councilwoman Teresa Heitmann and Mayor John Sorey. Barnett, the mayor-elect, and Sorey voted in favor of McCabe's project. Heitmann was opposed. About the election, McCabe said, "I'm sorry about John's defeat. He managed well for four years. I think he was humbled by it." Critics say high-value projects like McCabe's are creating an all-too-exclusive feeling on Fifth Avenue. "I'm getting very concerned that you're so focused on this demographic that could live in a multimillion-dollar home that I'm starting to feel out of place here," said a woman in the audience Monday who didn't give her name. "Do you want Naples to be only a city of the 1 percent?" In response, McCabe said, "What I'm telling you is what's going on. "That was not created by Phil McCabe. That's the infrastructure we have." McCabe was more blunt with Bob Martin, one of the property owners who is suing McCabe. During a Q&A at the end of the event, Martin began to respond to some of McCabe's points. McCabe interrupted him. "Do you have a question and not a lecture?" he said. Martin asked why McCabe was violating the city's building design codes. McCabe said since the issue was being litigated, he wouldn't comment. iStock SHARE By Kristine Gill of the Naples Daily News Two years after the Collier County Sheriff's Office launched a task force to educate the public, Collier County residents and business owners are more aware of the signs of identify fraud and better equipped to report and avoid it, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said. "We started at a high level of reporting, but I think a lot of the reporting we're seeing now is more preventive reporting," Rambosk said, meaning that those who call the Sheriff's Office about identity fraud crimes in recent years are calling to report attempted crimes rather than to report having been victimized. Members of the Collier County Sheriff's Office Identity Fraud Task Force met Monday at the Professional Development Center in downtown Naples. The event included remarks from Rambosk and co-chairs of the task force. "We are doing something most communities are not," Rambosk said. About 20 people gathered for the meeting, including Collier County Commissioner Donna Fiala, former Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce president and co-chair of the task force Mike Reagen, Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, and police chiefs from Naples and Marco Island. Carrie Kerskie, the director of Hodges University's new Identity Fraud Institute, also spoke. The group discussed the possibility of launching an app or push alert service that would tell business owners and residents about new and current scams to be on the look out for. Many residents and business owners have told task force members they want more up-to-date information about the latest fraudulent activity happening locally and nationally. "The goal really is public safety," Rambosk said. Reagen pointed out that as people become more educated in the Naples and Marco Island area, more people visit the area or move here, meaning there is a steady need for ongoing education. Two of the most targeted business sectors nationally in recent years have been lawyers and public relations agencies, Kerskie said. Lawyers collect and retain a wealth of personal information from clients and were warned to increase their cyber security efforts to protect it. Kerskie said public relations agencies were given similar warnings by the FBI because it's easy for hackers to break into relatively unprotected servers to eventually access information from the larger companies those firms represent. Kerskie likened that tactic to the one used by Target's hackers, who accessed customer information by first breaching Target's heating, ventilating and air conditioning provider. Kerskie and Rambosk agreed there needs to be more awareness about the types of businesses at risk of a breach. "If you have data that's about somebody else, you are a target for identity theft," Rambosk said, pointing out that a financial transaction does not need to take place for there to be opportunities for identity theft crimes. The Naples and Marco Island metropolitan area has been ranked second and third throughout the country for victimization nationwide, Rambosk said. Now the area is ranked seventh. "That's a terrific move upwards," he said. An identity fraud forum will be held at 3 p.m. April 6 in the Daily News Community Room at 1100 Immokalee Road. Reservations are not required. The event will be presented by the task force and sponsored by the Daily News. "Refugees Risking the Seas," Patricia Turner, 40 by 30 inches, mixed media By Harriet Howard Heithaus of the Naples Daily News They're independent in style. They lean toward time-honored, rather than groundbreaking still, they're rewardingly broad in content. And many of them will gather in Bonita Springs on Friday night, where the public can see their works, submissions from professionals around the state known as the Florida Artists Group (FLAG). Their diversity may make the work of judge Katherine Chang Liu, who offered the above assessment, tougher. But it makes the viewing at the Center for the Arts Bonita Springs that much more exciting. Of the 130-member statewide group, which holds its symposium Saturday at the Embassy Suites in Estero, 88 are competing. Liu has seen the works already via email. But the merit judging for 10 cash awards won't be done until she sees the works in Bonita. 'I think when you see work digitally, online or in the old days, with slides, there's a tendency for images to look flatter," explained the California-based artist. "Certainly there's a dimensional quality in work, a texture, that doesn't show online. And to be honest, some people don't photograph their works well." She is looking for scale, too: The message should aptly fit the size. Liu works in acrylic, oil and water color mediums, and holds a lifetime achievement award in the Watercolor USA Honor Society. She served as co-chair for the 2012 Nanjing Biennale, and was sole juror for International Society of Acrylic Painters, California, exhibition that year as well. The FLAG competition, Liu observed, is somewhat different from what she has seen in other shows because of the age demographics and, now, the spontaneity of communication. "They're older. They're working for themselves. In early shows I judged, if someone had a strong teacher in the area, you'd see it in the works," she said. "But the art world is so global now, there's such a fast international exchange, it happens in the next minute. The days of the 'movement,' which came about when artists worked together, won't happen now." Liu is likely to be a close observer of color, too. Her own expressionist works, which have been exhibited in the U.S., Singapore, Italy, Finland, Macau and Japan among other countries, use it subtly. "First of all, I'm Asian. I'm not one of those very colorful dressers. My house is minimal," she said. She does like color, she continued, "but the fact is I'm very fussy. "Coming from the supplier, the color in the tube doesn't suit me. I mix, mix, mix. Sometimes the painting is done, but it takes me another week to get the color I want." Pat Zalisko, Area VII director of FLAG (Lee, Collier and Hendry counties), is especially happy at the reception given the group in Southwest Florida. Included in the extras she received for the group's symposium are 90 guest passes to The Baker Museum in Naples: "Frank Verpoorten (its director) and the staff there have been incredibly generous," she said. Florida Artists Group exhibition What: Exhibition including art from the Florida Artists Group (FLAG) of professional artists whose work has attained national or statewide recognition When: April 1-28; opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 1; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 1-5 p.m. Saturdays through April 28 Where: Center for Visual Arts: 26100 Old U.S. 41 Road, Bonita Springs Admission: Free By Jessica Lipscomb and Kristine Gill of the Naples Daily News A Missouri man accused in the killing of Dr. Teresa Sievers is an active person of interest in the 1996 disappearance of a Missouri minister whose body has never been found. Curtis Wayne Wright, 47, has been a person of interest in the disappearance of 33-year-old Ronnie Bolin for nearly as long as detectives have been investigating, according to Missouri officials. He was a person of interest back when they first started investigating the case, and hes still a person of interest now, said Lt. Doc Coombs of the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office in Hillsboro, Missouri. Coombs said he spoke with Wright on Wednesday from the county jail where he is being held. I just said, If you decide you would like to speak with me about Mr. Bolins demise, you can get in touch with me, and I left it at that, Coombs said. I didnt anticipate that he was going to talk to me, but I wanted to let him know we were still investigating the case. Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott declined to answer questions about the Bolin case. But speaking generally, the sheriff said he wouldnt rule out the possibility that other crimes could be solved following the investigation into Sievers death. The last time anyone heard from Bolin was on July 8, 1996. His white Subaru was found the next day at a car wash in St. Louis, with the front drivers door open and keys still inside the vehicle. Bolin had been a preacher for several years and was employed as a temporary clerical and computer worker at the time he went missing, according to a 1996 story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Around 2001, a Missouri inmate being held in a stabbing case confessed to killing nearly a dozen victims, one of which he said was Bolin. The inmate later recanted, and prosecutors said they believed he was seeking to derail his trial for the stabbing. Meanwhile, detectives in Jefferson County continue to investigate the possibility that Wright was involved in Bolins disappearance. Coombs said Wright and Bolin were associates but declined to comment further on their relationship. One of Bolins relatives said the two families became friends after Bolin met Wright through church as a teenager. The relative asked not to be named in this story out of fear for retribution. Before his disappearance, the relative said Bolin had gotten mixed up in drugs and began using methamphetamine with Wright. It was so out of character for him, the relative said. He just got messed up in stuff that I cant even imagine. Wrights criminal history includes a handful of drug charges, including an arrest for possession in May 1996, just two months before Bolin went missing. Police in a suburb of St. Louis found a .22-caliber revolver, a black plastic scale and three glass vials of a white powdery substance in Wrights Camaro during a traffic stop, according to an arrest report. Wright told the officer he used the crystal meth to stay awake while working nights. Reports show he was working for a technology company at the time. Now that Wright is once again behind bars, Bolins family members are hopeful they might finally get answers. This may finally be the way to get him to start talking about what happened, the relative said. We just want it resolved. --- RELATED STORIES: Sheriff: Arrests in Bonita Springs doctor's killing were planned for weeks and weeks' Teresa Sievers suspect sentenced to federal prison in unrelated case Why not first-degree murder for suspects in Dr. Teresa Sievers case New clues emerging in death of Bonita doctor Teresa Sievers Photo shows suspects in killing of Dr. Teresa Sievers hanging out in weeks before her death Teresa Sievers suspect Jimmy Rodgers appears in federal court in St. Louis Two charged in slaying of Bonita doctor Teresa Sievers Sheriff: Estero doctor's slaying not random Colleague of slain Estero doctor reflects on Mother Teresa' Neighbors of dead doctor in fear after slaying Homicide investigation underway after doctor found murdered in her Bonita Springs home SHARE Juan Jose Ramos-Diaz By Daily News Staff Collier County Sheriff's deputies arrested a teen who they said had sex multiple times with an underage girl. Juan Jose Ramos-Diaz, 18, of the 14900 block of Schooner Bay Lane, Golden Gate Estates, was arrested Monday. He faces charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a person between the ages of 12 and 15. Reports show Ramos-Diaz was caught in the halls of Palmetto Ridge High School having sex with a underage girl who is also a student. The incident took place on a school day. Ramos-Diaz told deputies he considers his relationship with the victim to be a serious, romantic relationship. In this 2002 file photo, Bernard Dobranski announces the possibility of the Ave Maria Law School moving to the Naples area after the Wednesday announcement of the creation of the Ave Maria University the first new Catholic University in 40 years to be established in Collier County after a news conference at the Laplaya Beach and Golf Resort on Wednesday. Erik Kellar/Naples Daily News Staff SHARE Bernard Dobranski. By June Fletcher of the Naples Daily News Although Bernard Dobranski had suffered for years from complications after hip surgery, one of the last things he did was critique a speech a friend wrote about their mutual friend, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. "He was heroic," said his friend Clifford Taylor, retired Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. "He went through years of difficult times and never complained, and acted like you hope you would in the same situation. He was classy." Dobranski, a Naples resident who was the founding dean of Ave Maria School of Law, died Thursday at a hospital in Michigan. He was 76. "He brought immediate credibility in the legal community and his extensive experience and reputation in Catholic higher education helped us in countless ways," said Thomas S. Monaghan, Ave Maria School of Law founder and chairman, in a statement. "He was a man with clear vision and deep convictions." When Dobranski was dean of Catholic University Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., Monaghan approached him with the idea of starting a law school founded on orthodox Catholic principles. Dobranski, who had previously served as dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, agreed and helped establish the law school in 1999. It was then located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Through his friends and connections, he also brought some legal star power to the campus. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the school's first Ave Maria Lecture. Robert Bork, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, gave lectures. Scalia helped develop the school's curriculum. In 2006, the school's board of governors began to look at moving the school to Naples, prompting an exodus of some educators and students. In a 2007 interview, Dobranski told AboveTheLaw.com that "I was initially a skeptic, but now I'm enthusiastic about the move. I think we'll be better able to fulfill our mission there than here." But the move was controversial with the faculty. Three professors filed a law suit in Michigan Circuit Court saying Dobranski wrongfully discharged them after they reported alleged violations to him. The case was settled in 2009, according to public records. Dobranski resigned from the school in 2009, after being on medical leave for more than a year following his hip surgery, which developed an infection. He was succeeded by acting dean Eugene Milhizer, but remained active in the school's strategic planning and development. In his AboveTheLaw interview, Dobranski explained his mission at Ave Maria was "about engaging the culture, having some impact on the culture." "We're not strident, but not apologetic either," he said. "We want a place at the table in the dialogue about the role of law in this country. We treat others with respect and civility, and we expect to be treated with respect as well." Taylor said that on top of Dobranski's impressive academic credentials he was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Virginia School of Law he also had a droll sense of humor and "eclectic interests." For instance, included in the curriculum he developed were not only philosophically weighty courses on the moral foundations of law, but also more accessible ones, including a course that examined the law in movies. Dobranski is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carroll Dobranski, as well as his children Stephanie Hitt, Andrea Dobranski and Christopher Dobranski, and grandchildren, nieces and nephews. A Mass will be celebrated at St. Anne Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, with interment following. By Melhor Leonor of the Naples Daily News The patient is Mikey Stratton, a boy less than 10 years old. He came into the Lorenzo Walker Technical Clinic with a high fever, a slight dry cough and redness on the back of his throat. "Where would you like to start?" Bruce Peters asks his practical nursing class, a gaggle of teenagers in white scrubs. "Patient history," says a student, who goes by "Dr. Jones." Peters obliges: Stratton has never been hospitalized. Someone suggests they check the boy's vitals; another suggests they perform a throat culture a diagnostic test that checks for a bacterial or fungal infection in the throat. Peters reveals that Stratton has strep throat and commands his class to chart a course of action. Antibiotics and antipyretics, they say, with little hesitation. These will treat the bacteria and lower the fever, respectively. The rest of the morning is packed with more patients all bearing names and suffering from illnesses made up by Peters as part of an exercise to test his students in a way that feels like both a TV medical drama and a real-life emergency room. "We are open everyday between 10:51 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.," Peter jokes, referring to the start and end time of the class period. "We do everything in this clinic. We can get colon cancer diagnoses in 10 minutes." His students say that when they go on to clinics and health care facilities to train, Peters' quick-fire exercises inspired by the TV drama "House" -- echo in their minds. It's this approach that recently won Peters a Golden Apple, an award reserved for Collier's top educators and their best practices. Giving his practical nursing students at Lorenzo Walker Technical High School a taste of the real-world nursing is easy for Peters, who worked as a nurse in Naples for years. When he first arrived to the area shortly after college, in 1990, the Ohio native worked as an intern for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. It was there he met his wife, and where he was offered his first full-time job. Eventually, the area's cost of living combined with his pay urged him to go another route. His brother suggested nursing, a field where many jobs where wide open. Peters and his wife moved to Ohio so he could attend nursing school. "I went to college for four years, but none of it came close to the intensity that I experienced [in nursing school]," Peters said. For the couple, post-graduation plans centered around moving back to the Sunshine State. "The snow and the ice " Peters said. "I never realized how gray and cold it is there all the time." The couple drove a packed U-Haul to Peters' graduation and bee-lined back to Naples, where a job at a local rehabilitation facility The Willough awaited. From that facility, Peters went on to work for NCH and Moorings Park, grappling with long and often odd shifts but enjoying taking care of people. "I enjoy helping people get back to normal," he said. After years practicing nursing, Peters said he wondered if his college degree could be used to mesh his current career with another. "I have a teaching degree in education and always wanted to teach. There was a teacher fair, and I said, 'I'm going to go to that and just see.'" There, Peters was quickly recruited to teach Biology and practical nursing at Lorenzo Walker, a school that was just taking shape at the time. Peters welcomed its first students, and "of course, I fell in love with it." Towering over his students in navy blue scrubs, Peters acts as a both a teacher, a mentor and a boss. He knows that everything his students learn will translate to their work in a health care facility. "He's not just a regular teacher: learn your material, take your test and you're done,"said junior Andrew MacDonough. "He always says, study for the understanding." Peters says that watching his students develop is what makes his work most meaningful. When his students start working in nursing homes as high school students, he gets to watch them go from "scared to death" on the first day to confident professionals when they graduate from the program. That's only the start. When his students graduate from the practical nursing program, they'll have a practical nursing certificate, which will allow them to sit for a state test to become licensed nurse practitioners. Most take that knowledge further. "I have numerous nurses out in Naples right now that started here in this class. I have a few right now that are in [medical] school. I haven't been doing this long enough to say they're doctors yet, but I will. "I get to be the start of something amazing." Editor's Note: This is first in a series of stories profiling Collier County's five Golden Apple teachers, and the best practices that earned them Collier's top teacher distinction. The other teachers will be featured in stories that will run through Friday, when all five will be honored at the 26th Annual Golden Apple Celebration of Teachers Dinner. At a previous speech, Dr. David Perlmutter showed images of microscopic gut flora that make up our micro biome. He spoke to a forum sponsored by the Holistic Nurses Association of Southwest Florida on Nov. 10, 2015, at NCH's Telford Education Center. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News SHARE David Albers/Staff Food & Thought, at 2132 U.S. 41 North in Naples, is both the location and sponsor of the second annual Health Freedom Summit and Expo Dr. David Perlmutter, seen here giving a speech at a 2015 forum sponsored by the Holistic Nurses Association of Southwest Florida, is scheduled to speak at Food & Thought's second annual Health Freedom Summit and Expo this Friday. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News By John Osborne, Daily News Correspondent Food & Thought's second annual Health Freedom Summit and Expo takes place Friday through Sunday at the organic general store in Naples. World-renowned neurologist Dr. David Perlmutter kicks off the weekend's 16 featured talks 6:30 p.m. Friday, leading the way for a full slate of presentations on preventative medicine and holistic healthcare. Organizers said the alternative healing would mark the event's focus Saturday, while regeneration would mark Sunday's focus. From 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, an exposition featuring many of Naples' finest complementary and holistic healthcare practitioners, including chiropractors, massage therapists and hydrotherapists, is slated to take place in Food & Thought's expansive courtyard. An 8 p.m. Saturday reception with live music and organic food and wine represents another of the weekend's high points, with raffles, prizes, sales and more. While the expo portion of the event is free and open to the public with 24-minute presentations by various vendors all other scheduled programs require a $20 weekend pass that is only available in advance by visiting www.foodandthought.com. All proceeds from the event are earmarked for the Florida Organic Growers Association and The Frank Oakes Scholarship for organic horticulture at the University of Florida, named after Food & Thought's late founder, who opened the store in 2005. Michael Monteleone, head supplement buyer for Food & Thought and founder, coordinator and creative director of the event, said Frank Oakes served as the inspiration behind the annual event. "Frank's mission statement came from developing the notion of how absurd it was to use chemicals to grow our food," Monteleone explained, of Oakes, an integral part of a four-generation family of farmers. "He used to say that organic food was nothing new. Because that was the way food was grown for 115,000 years, until conventional chemicals came along shortly after World War II." Monteleone, who's slated to deliver a Sunday talk about the high cost of cheap food, said the health summit and expo would feature something of an academic bent. "We really want to look at alternatives that bring us back to local food production," he said. "We want the community to support our local farmers, and not just those who grow organically." While partially academic in nature, Monteleone said that didn't translate to boring. "There are a lot of different things to do at the event; a lot of different options," he said. "A lot of this is when people come here and say to each other, 'Hey, you're into health and exercise? I am too.' Or, 'Oh, gee, I'm coming here to look for a chiropractor.' It's for people who want to be around others with like-minded interests." That personal touch makes all the difference in the world, Monteleone added. "Bringing the community together is the best aspect of the event," he said. It's not hard to get these kinds of talks on YouTube or other places online. But when people have the chance to bond together, it's really exciting." Monteleone said there would be room for about 200 people at each of the event's presentations, with a video feed scheduled for Perlmutter's 6:30 p.m. Friday talk in order to handle any overflow. "The talks are seated on a first-come, first-serve basis, and we're also going to film all of the weekend's presentations because we want to make sure people get access to the information one way or the other," he said. In the end, Monteleone said the health summit and expo aimed to encourage people to take better care of themselves. "It's all about empowering people," he said. "It's great that we have modern medicine to help us out when things come up, but we want people to take more responsibility for eating healthier and to explore alternative and complementary methods that can help preserve health and prevent illness. It's all about making the immune system strong." For more information, see www.foodandthought.com. - - - IF YOU GO WHAT: 2nd annual Health Freedom Summit and Expo WHEN: Friday, April 1 through Sunday, April 3 WHERE: Food & Thought, 2132 U.S. 41 North, Naples COST: $20 for a weekend pass, only available in advance MORE INFORMATION: www.foodandthought.com FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2009, file photo, women are concealed from view by Planned Parenthood volunteers as they enter the Planned Parenthood of Collier County in Naples, Fla. (David Albers/Staff) SHARE By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News State health care regulators have dropped complaints against Planned Parenthood clinics in Southwest Florida and St. Petersburg on Monday, a move welcomed by clinic directors who said the complaints were politically motivated from the start. The state Agency for Health Care Administration cited the Naples, Fort Myers and St. Petersburg clinics last July for violating their licenses. The state said the clinics were performing second trimester abortions but licensed only for first trimester abortions. The citations came after unannounced inspections were ordered by Gov. Rick Scott after undercover videos were circulated around the country by a national anti-abortion group that accused the women's health organization of selling aborted fetal tissue for profit. Planned Parenthood said the clinics were following the law and were fighting the complaints. An administrative hearing was scheduled for early April in Tallahassee. The clinics said the state agency changed its definition of first trimester abortion in 2006 to include the "first 12 weeks of pregnancy" and added in parenthesis "the first 14 completed weeks from the last normal menstrual period," according to Planned Parenthood's attorney. Barbara Zdravecky, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said Monday that the state agency had acknowledged in August that the cited clinics could continue to perform abortions. "How convenient that now, six months later, they are conceding their case and dropping these politically motivated charges at the same moment that Rick Scott has signed new trimester standards into law that fly in the face of medically accepted standards," Zdravecky said in a statement. "It would appear the political gamesmanship will go on with no regard for the best interests of Florida women and families." Scott on Friday signed legislation that restricts state agencies from having contracts with medical clinics that perform abortions and changed the definition of a first trimester to include through the end of the 11th week of pregnancy, among other restrictions. Zdravecky said the state had no clear evidence against the clinics and knew it. "Despite this, (the agency) filed the charges and caused Planned Parenthood to devote considerable time and resources to frivolous and unwarranted charges when such resources could have been devoted to providing additional care and services to the Floridians who rely on Planned Parenthood every day for health care," she said. At a fundraiser in Fort Myers in February, Zdravecky said the regional clinics historically spent $5,000 a year in legal fees but had already spent $150,000 in just two months on legal expenses. SHARE Greyhound racing Florida finally got out of the starting gate this year in beginning to reform the greyhound racing industry, but only stumbled to the first turn and is nowhere near the desired finish line. At least it's a start. A measure to require the reporting of injured racing greyhounds, which appeared headed to defeat again this year as a separate bill, was tacked on to another measure approved as the session wrapped up in mid-March. According to an advocacy organization tracking the welfare of racing greyhounds, Florida's Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering will have to create rules requiring the reporting of any injuries. Several lawmakers who support injury reporting wisely incorporated their amendment into the budget process to get it through. Florida is shamefully behind other states. According to the animal advocacy group Grey2K USA, commercial dog racing is illegal in 39 states. In five others, all tracks have closed though laws haven't been passed banning the races. Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa and West Virginia are the six states with active dog racing tracks. Among those, Florida and Alabama were the final two states not requiring the reporting of injured greyhounds. More than 13,000 greyhound injuries occurred at tracks nationwide from 2008 through 2015, with the most common injury a broken leg, according to animal welfare groups. Although Florida hadn't required documentation of injuries until this year's measure passed, based on what records were available advocacy groups said they identified about 200 injuries in the state from 2008 to 2015, including at least 137 dogs that died or were euthanized. Another concern was ambiguity based on where the racing greyhound was at the time of injury at the track, off site in kennels or during transport, for example. The amendment specifies reporting an injury that "occurs while the greyhound is located in this state." So while greyhound injury reporting is thankfully a first step for Florida, the Legislature fell short of the trifecta we see as the answer. Second is decoupling. To have card rooms that are profitable, track operators by state law must run a specific minimum number of races, money-losing propositions that create a risk of dog injuries. At Florida's 12 licensed tracks, including one in Bonita Springs, at least 100 live racing performances must be offered each year, according to Grey2K USA calculations. The requirement should be modified or eliminated. And thirdly, the Legislature failed in 2014 to pass comprehensive gambling reforms after an extensive effort led by state Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples. Last year, a state gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe expired. Gov. Rick Scott negotiated a new one with the tribe, but the Legislature didn't pass it, even though it would have added $3 billion to state coffers from the tribe over seven years. So while greyhound injury reporting moves Florida in the right direction, the state has gone around in circles on the overall gambling debate long enough. It's past time to cross the finish line. SHARE Howard Berger, Naples Stand with them I'm an American, Republican, WWII Army combat veteran (my wife is a WWII lady Marine veteran), and we are both pro-choice. We have no objection to pro-lifers who are nonviolent protesters but we do believe that every woman should have that choice whether Independent, Democrat or Republican. If religion is involved, or none, it should be the individual's choice. Further, one's religious belief should not be imposed on others. That is the law. HB1411, an anti-reproductive health bill that defunds Planned Parenthood and places unnecessary restrictions on abortion access, was sent by the Legislature to the governor's desk and signed. Seriously consider the following when deciding on the bill: a. Are you against the use of contraceptive devices? Would you act to ban their sales? b. Do you believe that such devices, and vasectomies, reduce abortions? c. Do you believe that imposing one's religious belief on others should not be a factor in this issue? d. Are you aware that Planned Parenthood in our county and Central Florida has provided the following medical assistance and education to women in need of medical, reproductive and general health advice (and males, too), especially to those who cannot afford such help and/or are language-handicapped: * Total patients served: 42,237 * Total contraception visits: 25,679 * Total vasectomies: 464 * Total clinical breast exams: 5,920 * Total pregnancy tests: 10,568 * Total pap smears (cancer screenings): 4,331 * Total sexually-transmitted infection tests: 55,003 * Total procedures to remove pre-cancerous cells from the cervix: 345. We stand with Planned Parenthood, and you should, too. The ALTAIR Gun Club will host Home Defense/Close Quarters Tactics with Jeff Cotto Saturday and Sunday , April 30 May 1. This course will be held from 9am 5pm on both days at ALTAIRs Deep Lake Facility located at 20201 State Road 29 South in Copeland. This course will review methods of close quarters tactics, techniques and procedures. Students will learn the application of room clearing with lethal force using a pistol and carbine. In addition this course will cover clearing structures from a single person to a team, hallways, stairwells and the use of angles Individual equipment required for this course includes handgun with atleast two magazines, Carbine with at least three magazines, belt with holster and magazine pouches, eye protection and ear protection. Jeff Cotto is a veteran of the US Special Operations & Clandestine services. As a US Army Ranger he served nine combat deployments between Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has proven success as a Special Operations Squad leader, Sniper Section leader, Fire team leader, and Sniper team leader. He is currently a US Government Personnel Protection Specialist responsible for providing surreptitious services throughout the world. A course registration fee of $450 per person plus a range fee of $70 per day applies. The training program is open to the public who possess a minimum firearms skill level. For detailed qualification information, full course description and registration information, please visit the Training page at www.ALTAIRGunClub.com or http://www.altairgunclub.com/product_p/fccqb.htm. ALTAIR Gun Club offers firearms, self-defense, medical and teambuilding courses for men and women. The facility is equipped with rifle and pistol ranges, private-room housing for up to 30 people, a large training classroom and meal plans for overnight or extended stays. Just 10 minutes from Interstate 75 on State Road 29, ALTAIR Gun Club is situated on 25-acres in the Florida Everglades. ALTAIR Gun Clubs privacy and seclusion make the facility the ideal venue for private or corporate events. For more information, visit www.ALTAIRGunClub.com or call 239-571-3241. The national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP today announced that the firms Naples office has received the 2016 Family-Friendly Business designation from the Naples Alliance for Children (NAFC). The Naples office has received this honor every year since the NAFC began recognizing local businesses 18 years ago. The NAFC Family-Friendly Business Awards acknowledge local businesses that put family first. The designation recognizes businesses according to established criteria, including workplace policies and programs that assist employees in raising their children. Family-oriented policies and benefits in the workplace are often critical factors in the evaluation of employment opportunities, representing a competitive advantage to employers who need to compete for highly qualified members of the labor force. Family-friendly workplace programs pay dividends by attracting and helping to retain the best employees, leading to higher productivity; better morale; reduced turnover, absenteeism, and tardiness; and reduced stress-related health costs. This year, 30 local businesses, including Quarles & Brady, were honored at the NAFC Annual Celebration Dinner held on Monday, March 28 at the Daniels Pavilion at ArtisNaples. Naples Alliance for Children is a private, charitable, nonprofit, 501(c)(3), volunteer advocacy group organized in 1987. The organization is committed to working and providing for the needs of all children and families. They advocate for change in policies and practices through public awareness, community organization and network building, and they encourage preventive investment in children before they become sick, drop out of school, or get into trouble. On December 18, 2015, Blount Law received a decision from the Second District Court of Appeals, marking an appellate victory for a very important client and effectively establishing a new standard for service of lawsuits upon international defendants under Florida Law. You can read the appellate courts decision at www.2dca.org/opinions/Opinion_Pages/Opinion_Pages_2015/December/December%2018,%202015/2D15-1676.pdf After Blount Law served an International Corporate Defendant with a law suit on behalf of our client, the Defendant hired a high-priced Miami Law firm (actually two law firms) to invalidate that service. After Blount Law defeated those arguments at the Trial Court level, the International Corporate Defendants took the matter up on appeal. The issue presented was one of first impression in Florida, meaning there was no Florida Law directly on point and that this appeal would literally MAKE NEW FLORIDA LAW. As a boutique litigation firm that handles each and every case with a results-oriented, customized approach, Blount Law did not have to retain an outside appellate firm to handle this complex matter. The lawyers at Blount Law simply rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Ultimately the Appellate Court ruled in our clients favor and ESTABLISHED A NEW STANDARD FOR ALL FLORIDA LAWYERS determining that international defendants could be served quickly and easily under The Hague Convention without resorting to the complexities of foreign rules and laws. The big bully corporation would have to appear in Florida Court to answer to our clients complaint. Not wanting to answer our clients complaint, the international defendant sought every procedural tactic to reverse the Appellate Courts decision, including attempts to have the matter reheard or heard by the Florida Supreme Court. Those tactics were not enough to outmaneuver the Blount Law team and Mandate was issued on March 28, 2016. The International Defendants efforts on appeal were defeated. Our client now will get his day in Court and lawyers and other clients throughout the State of Florida will be able to bring foreign defendants before the Florida courts in a simple and cost-effective manner. More importantly, international corporations and other defendants, will now be more easily brought before the courts to answer for damages to Florida citizens brought about by their business dealings in Florida. Our attorneys know business and law- and they get real results. That is simply what we do. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia poses during the court's official photo session in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. Scalia was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Photographer: Gary Fabiano/Pool via Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Antonin Scalia Gary Fabiano/Via Bloomberg Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of both sides during oral arguments on Monday in a case that could shape whether regulators have to ask for public feedback before significantly changing a rule. At issue is a lawsuit by the Mortgage Bankers Association to strike down a 2010 ruling by the Labor Department that said loan officers are entitled to overtime pay. That decision effectively overturned a 2006 decision under the Bush administration which said loan officers were not due compensation for overtime. But in both cases, the Labor Department made the switch without seeking public comment a fact several high court justices seized on during questioning of the government and the MBA. "So is it a second flip-flop?" asked Justice Antonin Scalia. "Maybe we shouldn't give deference to agency interpretations of its own regulations. That would solve the problem of this case. For me it would be easy." Indeed, the questioning by the justices indicated some were inclined to strike down both the 2010 and 2006 interpretations because neither one went through the notice-and-comment process. (Until 2006, loan officers were entitled to minimum wage and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless they worked outside their employer's office.) "If the interpretation has been unstable over time and if the interpretation has created a kind of unfair surprise for private parties," said Justice Elena Kagan, "those interpretations do not get deference." The high court opted to hear the case because of lower court rulings over when and how an agency must follow the Administration Procedures Act in releasing or changing a regulation. The U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that several agencies have overstepped their bounds in issuing interpretations when they must first be put out for notice and submitted for comment. In this case, Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association (Tom Perez is the Labor Secretary), the D.C. court invoked the so-called Paralyzed Veterans doctrine in striking down the Labor Department's 2010 ruling. The court said the switch was a substantive change in the rules and required public comment and notice, handing the MBA a court victory. But high court justices on Monday suggested that both the 2006 and 2010 interpretations failed the "Paralyzed Veterans" doctrine. "The 2006 interpretation was equally defective because there was no notice and comment for the 2006," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. "I don't see how you can say the 2006 rule sticks when it has the same defect." The MBA has tried to argue that the 2006 ruling was just an interpretation of the law, not a significant change, but the 2010 switch was an alteration that required notice-and-comment. But Ginsburg accused the MBA of trying to pick and choose which interpretations it liked. "It seems to me that that you want it to be interpretative when it favors you," she told Allyson Ho, the attorney representing MBA, who is with the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Dallas. Justice Kagan also warned that a strict adherence to the Paralyzed Veterans doctrine would undermine the MBA's case for the 2006 interpretation to be reinstated. Chief Justice John Roberts, meanwhile, indicated that whatever the court decides, the Labor Department could go back and re-issue its 2010 interpretation for notice-and-comment, resolving the legal issue hanging over it. But the high court's decision could still have a significant impact, observers said. Steven Schwinn, an associate professor at John Marshall Law School said that the Perez case tests the scope of an agency's authority to issue interpretations. "If the court upholds the D.C. Circuit ruling and its application of its Paralyzed Veterans doctrine, this could restrict how agencies use interpretations and force them to submit to notice and comment rulemaking," he wrote in an American Bar Association preview of Supreme Court case. "On the other hand, if the court reverses, and alters or overturns the Paralyzed Veterans doctrine, agencies would have a freer hand in issuing interpretations like the DOL's 2010 interpretation." From Farm to Death - it's Franken-Corn 863.2 Genetically Modified Peas, Apples and Oranges To Biotech, Humans are Lab-Rats Eating Cancer (NaturalNews) How could it be that genetically modified foods were never approved by the FDA, yet they infiltrate nearly all staple crops across the USA? For 25 years, Americans have been consuming common foods like corn, soy and canola that contain bacteria from insects and insecticides that kill bugs and worms, without giving it a second thought. It is widespread belief in thethat the FDA protects the masses with legislation, food inspections and drug testing, but nothing could be further from the truth.According to a research analyst for "Friends of the Earth," all GMO crops are simply "evaluated" by government regulators, and that is the end of the line. These studies are unpublished and conducted by the company that develops each crop.are of no concern to the FDA. In fact, no single GMO crop has ever been approved by the FDA. How could this be?Disturbing summarized results of a 90-day study on insecticide-producing corn called MON863.2 have prompted requests for the release of the full study, which was conducted by the most evil corporation on the planet,. Unfortunately for Monsanto, a German court ordered them to release the study, which showed that lab rats fed the corn not only had elevated white blood cell counts but also had lower kidney weights.We now know that genes from genetically modified organisms actually transfer themselves into the bacteria of the human body, including in the mouth and gut. The gene from soy, the, has been found in the human gut and can transfer to a fetus.The US Government shows no mercy to its citizens regarding toxic food and toxic medicine thanks to continued lobbyist payoffs, bribes and coercion inside of Washington, DC. Politicians appoint former lobbyists and VPs of Monsanto to run the FDA and USDA and even to sit on the. These ultimate conflicts of interest fuel the propaganda which says GMO is safe for human consumption, knowing it is not.Now, evenare being modified to contain bacteria that are foreign to the fruits and vegetables. Blights and fungi are being killed with genetically modified ingredients that cause cancer, but Big Food doesn't care. It's all about cutting corners, making more money and yielding more sellable crop.Research has revealed that mice fed GM peas suffer from lung inflammation and elevated serum antibody levels. GM soy causes all kinds ofand contains proteins identical to that found in. Go figure!Rat-killing foods are carcinogenic to humans, but the FDA calls them safe because the medical-industrial complex has a stranglehold on all US regulatory agencies. This is nothing new. In fact, the FDA, the AMA (American Medical Association) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) have been corrupt for 80 years, with crooks andfaking results of tests, skewing information and spreading propaganda. Remember when they said cigarettes were safe and physician "tested"? Doctors recommended their favorite brands! There's a history of HIDDEN medicine and an agenda that you need to know about to protect yourself and your family from the SAME ENEMIES today!Get thehere: ( http://www.naturalnews.com ).See the absurdads where doctors sell you on the safety of cigarettes here: ( http://www.healio.com ).Apply that sameto GMO and you'll know where to make YOUR stand. Don't trust the FDA or anything that says "all natural." You are being misled, along with millions of innocent people, and you are being driven to consume cancer-causing pesticides. Be smart.with theand the research that is done by scientists who don't work for the very companies that stand to make a profit from lying about their poisonous crops.For more breaking news and information on the biotech industry, visit GMOs.NaturalNews.com Long flight but history will be made What if we could apply solar 'panels' over existing products? (NaturalNews) Engineers have said that the day of carbon-free, unlimited energy is coming , and a French company just took a step toward that goal.The company says it plans to fly a "zero-emission" plane from Paris to New York City, powered by nothing more than sunlight and some algae. Founder and pilot Raphael Dinelli will travel for more than 60 hours in June in an ultra-light electric aircraft that is biofuel- and sunlight-powered, the UK'sreported.If the trans-Atlantic flight is successful, the company, Laboratoire Ocean Vital, plans to build an even larger commercial version that will be able to carry passengers on the 3,625-mile journey.The plane, called Eraole, is definitely a hybrid craft, with about 55 percent of its engine power coming from a special fuel the company developed using micro-algae. In addition, solar cells that line the aircraft's wings will provide another 25 percent of its power, while the wind gliding provides the remaining 20 percent. In addition, the company says, takeoffs and landings will be further aided by two lithium batteries.The plane has been under development for seven years, and the company is promising that it will have zero carbon emissions. That said, most biofuels do actually produce some greenhouse gases, though far below what a conventional jet engine produces.An average airliner's round-trip between Europe and the U.S. adds about two to three tons of carbon dioxide to every passenger's so-called "carbon footprint," thereported. Overall, air travel is believed to create about 11 percent of CO2 emissions from transportation, and about 2 percent of overall world emissions.However, although the Eraole's journey is going to be more environmentally friendly, the trip will nevertheless last about 10 times longer than a commercial flight. In addition, it will be twice as long as Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis Paris-to-New York trip some 90 years ago, which lastedabout 30.5 hours.That means that Dinelli will have to spend two-and-a-half days in the compact single-seat aircraft, which does not have autopilot or room for a co-pilot. He therefore won't be able to sleep, and there is little room to move his legs.What's more, the small aircraft's cabin is not even pressurized, so he'll have about 30 percent less oxygen to breathe than usual, all of which means there is some danger involved in making the flight.Thereports further:"Eraole's flight bid comes one year after a totally solar-power craft - Swiss experimental plane Solar Impulse - broke the world record for longest nonstop solo flight, just short of 120 hours."The plane, which has been grounded in Hawaii since last year, will try to complete global circumnavigation next April."Speaking of breakthrough energy technology, Silicon Valley startup Ubiquitous Energy is manufacturing the world's first transparent solar cells, a technology that holds the promise of greatly expanding the reach of solar power,reported.The "panels" are really an invisible film that can be placed on any surface to generate power, which could lead to cell phones, tablets and other devices that never run out of battery life, so to speak. They could even be affixed to the windows of skyscrapers, thereby creating massive banks of solar panels that could power entire buildings."There's really only one renewable energy source that could power the whole world, today, and that's solar energy," says the narrator in avideo report. "There's more than enough solar energy hitting the earth to power the earth many times over."The problem with the expansion of solar energy , thus far, has been that it has been limited to large, opaque panels that take up lots of space. The Ubiquitous Energy product seeks to solve that problem with a technology that essentially fits over existing structures.(Photo credit: Laboratoire Ocean Vital) The rise of superbugs The overuse and misuse of antibiotics Rinse and repeat (NaturalNews) It is standard protocol for doctors and nurses to wash their hands to help curb the spread of infection in hospitals. According to a recent study, however, seniors often leave hospitals with more germs than they had walking in. In particular, the research, published in aresearch letter, found that one-in-four seniors will leave the hospital with at least one superbug on their hands Superbugs are strains of bacteria that are resistant to a wide range of antibiotics . The recent study focused on seniors who had recently been admitted to the hospital for medical or surgical reasons, and needed additional care in a PAC facility prior to returning home.The study involved 357 seniors who had been admitted to various PAC facilities in southeast Michigan. Nearly one quarter of participants, or 24.1 percent, had one or more multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs), or superbugs, on their hands upon checking in.Researchers retested the patients' hands after spending two weeks at the facility, and then monthly for up to six months or until discharge, according to the news release. Follow-up visits found that the superbugs not only persisted, but that the number of seniors with superbugs on their hands increased from 24.1 percent to 34.2 percent.The researchers tested a variety of superbugs, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and resistant gram-negative bacilli."We've been educating healthcare workers for decades about hand hygiene , and these numbers show it's time to include patients in their own hand hygiene performance and education," lead study author Dr. Lona Mody, associate chief for clinical and translational research at the University of Michigan Geriatrics Center, said in a press release.The more MDROs are on patients' hands, the more likely it is that those superbugs will spread to vulnerable patients and healthcare workers. The overuse of antibiotics for post-acute patients also increases the risk of MDROs spreading in a post-acute care facility.The overuse of antibiotics has been a problem for quite some time, and is responsible for the rise of superbugs. Although antibiotics are effective against bacterial infections, many antibiotics prescribed to both humans and animals are unnecessary . The overuse and misuse of antibiotics has enabled bacteria to become more resistant to the drugs, thereby creating superbugs.In the press release, Mody highlighted the fact that today's senior citizens reside in facilities that provide more group and social activities than in the past, which enables the superbugs to flourish. Mody added that new policies will be needed to help stop the spread of MDROs, as more seniors bring superbugs back from the hospital and to PAC facilities."Patient hand washing is not a routine practice in hospitals," said Mody. "We need to build on the overarching principles we've already developed with adult learning theories and bring them to patients."One way to get patients to wash their hands, is to show them how superbugs grow and latch onto their hands using lab samples. Mody noted that patients are always shocked to see how many superbugs are actually on their hands. The researchers also developed the TIP study toolkit to help train employees to control infections."Our study shows that patients commonly bring multi-drug-resistant organisms on their hands on discharge from an acute care hospital and acquire more during their stay at the post-acute care facility," the researchers wrote."This, combined with frequent antibiotic use in post-acute care patients, increases the probability that multi-drug-resistant organisms introduced to a post-acute care facility will be transmitted to other frail patients and to health care workers and, most important, that the (germ) will persist in the facility," they added."Despite concerns raised by some recent studies, patient hand-washing is not a routine practice in hospitals to date." War on Drugs fuels disease outbreak Discriminatory drug laws and sentencing make drug use worse Treating drug use as a health issue instead of a crime issue Governments should invest in comprehensive HIV, TB and hepatitis C services for people who use drugs. Reduce prison sentences for women accused of non-violent crimes who are often coaxed into transporting illegal drugs by swallowing them or concealing them in a body cavity. Introduce legal cannabis into the drug market. Ease "over-zelous drug control policies" that limit access to pain medications for legitimate clinical reasons. End aerial spraying of drug crops with noxious pesticides. (NaturalNews) The War on Drugs has been a colossal failure. That is the implications of a major new report byand John Hopkins University, which found that 50 years of restrictive drug policies have had "serious detrimental effects" on human rights and public health.Based upon the results of the study, the Commission deemed that the War on Drugs has caused gratuitous suffering, failed to prevent drug use, increased violence and enabled the spread of epidemics like HIV and hepatitis C through dirty needles.On the other side of the table, the report found that the decriminalization of non-violent minor drug offenses in countries like Portugal and the Czech Republic provided several public health benefits, saved money and reduced the rate of incarceration without increasing the rate of drug use.Approximately 22 experts from developed and developing nations contributed to the report, which was published on the eve of a special session of the United Nations centered on illegal narcotics. The experts called for a complete repeal of oppressive drug laws by most governments."The goal of prohibiting all use, possession, production and trafficking of illicit drugs is the basis of many of our national drug laws, but these policies are based on ideas about drug use and drug dependence that are not scientifically grounded," Commissioner Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a press release."The global 'war on drugs' has harmed public health, human rights and development. It's time for us to rethink our approach to global drug policies, and put scientific evidence and public health at the heart of drug policy discussions," he added.The report was published before a significant United Nations General Assembly Special Session on April 19, which will focus on global drug policy . Countries where efforts to curb drug violence have failed, including Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala, requested the special session, encouraging the UN to "conduct an in-depth review analysing all available options," according to Star2.com.After reviewing the impact drug policies had on public health, the Commission found that excessive incarceration and ostracization of "drug addicts" were the foremost contributors to increased rates of infection. In particular, the Commission discovered a link between longer prison sentences and higher rates of hepatitis C infection among drug users.The adverse impact that drug policies have had on human health extends beyond prison cells. The Commission revealed that strict drug policies increase the risk of death from overdose by limiting the availability of medications like naloxone, which can counter the effects of overdose."Approximately 11% of people who used illicit drugs worldwide are classed as problematic drug users," explained Commissioner Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman of the University of Malaya in Malaysia, as quoted by. "But the idea that all drug use is necessarily 'abuse' means that immediate and complete abstinence has been seen as the only acceptable approach. In countries and regions where opiate substitution therapy remains unavailable or is not provided to scale, HIV and hepatitis C epidemics continue to expand. Furthermore, continued criminalization of drug use fuels HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis transmission within prisons and the community at large. There is another way. Programmes and policies aimed at reducing harm should be central to future drug policies."Furthermore, the report noted that drug policies have been applied in a racial and discriminatory manner. For instance, fresh estimates indicate that prisoners in Mexico are more likely to be afflicted by torture and abuse in wake of the government's decision to exercise military force against drug dealers in 2006. The mass incarceration of African Americans and Hispanics for non-violent drug crimes has shattered several families and communities as well."The idea of reducing harm is central to public policy in so many areas from tobacco and alcohol regulation to food or traffic safety," said Commissioner Dr. Joanne Csete from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. "But when it comes to drugs, standard public health and scientific approaches have been rejected. Worse still, by dismissing extensive evidence of the health and human rights harms of drug policies, countries are neglecting their legal responsibilities to their citizens. Decriminalization of non-violent minor drug offenses is a first and urgent step in a longer process of fundamentally re-thinking and re-orienting drug policies at a national and international level. As long as prohibition continues, parallel criminal markets, violence and repression will continue."In Portugal, where all drugs were decriminalized in 2001, the possession and use of small amounts of drugs is regarded as a health issue rather than a criminal issue. Despite fears to the contrary, HIV transmission and drug overdoses have actually dropped in the country, particularly among teens and young adults. In addition, the use of "legal highs" like synthetic marijuana and bath salts is lower in Portugal, since citizens don't have to substitute real drugs with synthetically manufactured chemicals, according toThe Commission's recommendations included:The report concluded that scientific evidence on oppressive drug policies is lacking. The last UN special session over drugs occurred in 1998 under the motto "a drug-free world we can do it." The session vowed to eradicate all drugs not sold by Big Pharma, urging governments to ban the use, holding, manufacturing and proliferation of various narcotics.Norman Lamb, a British Liberal Democrat politician and solicitor, toldthat he was in favor ofcommission's conclusions: "The war on drugs has failed and it is Liberal Democrat policy to decriminalise the personal possession and use of all drugs, and introduce a regulated, legalised market for cannabis. Drug use should be treated as a health issue, not as a criminal issue." Details behind General Mills' decision Grocery Manufacturers Association not pleased with Vermont's law or company's GMO labeling effort, focuses on business expenses over consumer health (NaturalNews) In order to comply with Vermont's GMO food labeling law set to go into effect in July 2016, General Mills has announced that they'll begin to label products of theirs which contain genetically modified ingredients. The company's decision also comes in the wake of the recent Senate vote that struck down the DARK Act's efforts which would have kept GMO labeling laws at bay and consumers unaware of what they're feeding their children. That Senate vote took place on a Wednesday; by Friday that same week, General Mills announced their labeling plans.Yes, indeed, it would appear that the Frankenfood industry is finally shaking in their boots, responding as they should have been all along. As more and more health-conscious Americans are demanding to know what goes in the foods they eat , questionable food practices and the mega industries that churn them out are finally taking action.It's taken quite a bit of arm twisting to do something that frankly shouldn't even be given a second thought, but at least steps are being taken that demonstrate the power of the people when they remain persistent in their right-to-know efforts. Granted, there's still a long way to go, but it's refreshing to see companies coming out of the woodwork to keep the health of their customers in mind, rather than only latch on to whether or not it will make them mega bucks.On the General Mills website, Jeff Harmening, an executive vice president and chief operating officer for U.S. Retail at General Mills, penned a blog post announcing the company's GMO-labeling decision."I have been eagerly awaiting a resolution of the GMO labeling debate in Washington and am disappointed that a national solution has still not been reached," Harmening wrote. "As the discussions continue in Washington, one thing is very clear: Vermont state law requires us to start labeling certain grocery store food packages that contain GMO ingredients or face significant fines. We can't label our products for only one state without significantly driving up costs for our consumers and we simply will not do that. The result: consumers all over the U.S. will soon begin seeing words legislated by the state of Vermont on the labels of many of their favorite General Mills products."The remainder of his blog reinforces the idea that a national standard is needed in order to resolve the GMO labeling issue , while also directing consumers to the company website, where they can learn more about "GMO ingredient information for hundreds of our U.S. products, along with reference information."However, not everyone is thrilled with the company's choice. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, for example, seems to have their minds strictly on dollar signs, seeing General Mills' effort as financially devastating.The Association, a trade group which includes General Mills and which previously drew negative attention over money laundering , maintains that Vermont's labeling law has created "serious problems for business," adding in a statement, "Food companies are being forced to make decisions on how to comply and having to spend millions of dollars. One small state's law is setting labeling standards for consumers across the country."Meanwhile, it's perfectly fine if it works the other way around, right? In other words, one company can continue providing unhealthy ingredients in their foods, making sure their standards are the norm for consumers across the country. It's all right to spend millions of dollars to essentially poison Americans with GMO-laden foods but not all right to spend millions of dollars to take steps to undo the damage and help restore people's health? We fail to see the logic in the Association's statement."This shows that the United States has the capacity to join the 64 other countries that already require GMO labeling," Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin said. "I urge other companies to follow the lead of General Mills and extend this right to their customers nationwide as well." Unknown how many children harmed Angry public demands answers (NaturalNews) As news of an illegal vaccine distribution scandal in China continues to emerge, outraged citizens are demanding to know why the government waited so long to inform the public that their children were at risk.According to the government, an illegal vaccine ring in operation since 2011, distributed $88 million worth of vaccines that had expired or been improperly refrigerated . This placed all children who got the shots at risk of disability or death. It is not known how many children were harmed by the illegal vaccines.The government has known about the ring since April 2015, but did not announce its knowledge until this March."It's been nearly a year and then they reveal this!" said one angry user on the micro-blogging network Sina Weibo. "Isn't this genocide? Words cannot express how angry I am!"According to state officials, the illegal ring was headed up by a mother and daughter recently arrested in Shandong province who illegally purchased vaccines from more than 100 separate pharmaceutical salesmen, some of them unlicensed, then resold them to disease control and prevention centers or to unauthorized sales agents for marked up prices. The ring's operations spanned 24 provinces and cities.According to news sources, the mother is a former doctor who had been fired from a public hospital in 2009 for illegally selling vaccines , and sentenced to three years in prison. Her daughter is also a medical school graduate.Police have carried out more than 20 raids to seize improperly stored vaccines sold as part of the ring. Following the arrests, China's Food and Drugs Administration asked local offices to trace the path the illegal vaccines took in order to help identify patients who might have been affected. The effort has already implicated nine vaccine wholesalers in six provinces for filing false paperwork to conceal their buyers' identities.At least 25 vaccine types were involved in the illegal operation, including vaccines for encephalitis, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, mumps, polio and rabies. None of the vaccines involved are required under China's national vaccine laws which means that patients who do choose to get them have to pay for them out of pocket, rather than receiving them free.It is still unknown how many doses of compromised vaccines were distributed.News that authorities waited nearly a year to publicize the presence of unsafe vaccines on the market has caused widespread anger in China. Citizens are also asking why the leader of the ring was able to so easily return to committing a crime for which she had been previously imprisoned."24 provinces, 5 years already, and how many children!" one Sina Weibo user said."This is such a huge case and not a single regulatory official has come out to apologize, not a single one has resigned... this system which doesn't care whether ordinary citizens live or die makes one's soul tired," another said.Further anger was sparked by the announcement on March 21 that a boy had died following vaccination despite government claims that his death was unrelated to the illegal vaccines.The four-year-old boy died in Guangdong province just days after being vaccinated against polio and meningococcal disease. Authorities said that they were investigating, but denied any connection with the vaccine ring."If the exact cause is still being probed, how can you already say that it has nothing to do with the problematic vaccines?" a Sina Weibo user asked. "You're tying yourself up in knots."China has been plagued by food and drug safety scandals in recent years. It's not the first vaccine scandal, either.Between 2006 and 2008, in Shanxi province, four children died and more than 70 developed severe side effects after being given improperly refrigerated vaccines. Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more. Receive Our Free Email Newsletter Take Action: Support Natural News by linking to this article from your website Permalink to this article: https://www.naturalnews.com/053468_Sloan_Foundation_Nazi_eugenics_Sundance_film_festival.html Embed article link: (copy HTML code below): Indy film industry infiltrated by Nazi-linked SLOAN Foundation: Science propaganda money influences movie scripts at Sundance, Tribeca, Carnegie Mellon and more Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. Follow Natural News on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Pinterest The American Heart Society has recently published an advisory in the journal Circulation for the use of a wearable automatic defibrillator as a "reasonable" alternative for the implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD). According to a Medical Xpress report, the wearable automatic defibrillator, like the ICD, is designed to monitor the heart for any signs of erratic rhythms that may result to a sudden cardiac death. When erratic heart rhythms are detected, the device will provide an electric shock to return the heart to normal rhythms. CBS News reported that the wearable automatic defibrillator is similar to a "fishing vest" that can be worn under clothes. It is powered by a laptop-sized battery and is connected to the body via electrodes. The device will sound an alarm that gets louder and louder, and if the "false alarm" button is not pressed within a minute, it will respond to the erratic heart rhythm as life-threatening. Then, it will eject gel onto the wearer's chest then gives the patient a shock. The device will then have to be replaced. The American Heart Society advises the use of wearable automatic defibrillator for patients who have life-threatening arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms. These people are in need of an ICD but may not be able to undergo surgery to implant the device due to an infection or other contraindication to surgery. Patients with heart failure waiting for a heart transplant can also benefit from the device, particularly if the waiting is short. The only downside of the wearable automatic defibrillator is that it is chunky and uncomfortable to wear. But scientists are doing their best to remedy this problem. "As with most new medical technologies, biomedical engineers are working to make them smaller, more lightweight and less burdensome," said Jonathan Paul Piccini, M.D., lead author of the advisory and a cardiac electrophysiologist at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, in a statement. "One company is already developing a self-contained system in a large, self-adhesive plastic bandage that a wearer just sticks on their chest," he added. Sudden cardiac deaths are accountable for nearly 300,000 deaths in the United States every year, according to American Heart Association. Jonathan, considered to be the oldest living animal in the world at 184 years old, just had its first ever bath. Almost two centuries worth of black sludge and bird droppings were carefully scrubbed off the giant tortoise's back in an hour-long clean up. Dr. Joe Hollins, a veterinarian, bathed Jonathan using a surgical soap--since it's not caustic--and soft brushes and loofah to prevent damaging his shell. In a statement, he said he has consulted a tortoise specialist to learn the proper method of washing the shell--gentle, circular scrubbing using non-abrasive materials. There are no medical reasons behind Jonathan's historical bath. Dr. Hollins admitted that it was purely for aesthetic reasons. "There is so much interest in Jonathan, St. Helena's most famous animal resident, and we want all who visit him to see him at his best," the veterinarian said. Telegraph reported that Jonathan's scrub down was done ahead of the Royal family's visit to St. Helena for the dedication of their new airport in May. St. Helena is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean and is part of the British Overseas Territories. According to St. Helena Independent, there is no exact evidence to show how Jonathan ended up in the tropical island. One speculation is he came with a 17th-century ship that can contain hundreds of the easily stacked tortoises. Tortoises are known to be eaten during that time, but it appears that Jonathan has luckily avoided this fate. However, according to some records, Jonathan landed in St. Helena fully-grown in 1882 as a gift to the governor from the Seychelles. A fully-grown tortoise is about 50 years old. At present, Jonathan is virtually blind by cataracts and has no sense of smell, but his hearing is good. The estimated life expectancy of a tortoise is around 150 years, according to New World Encyclopedia. Jonathan has already exceeded this by around three decades. The giant tortoise has lived through eight British monarchs from George IV to Elizabeth II, and 51 prime ministers. Jonathan currently spends his days in Plantation House, the residence of the Governor of St. Helena, together with four other tortoises: Myrtle, Fredrika, David, and Emma. Donald Trump tangled with the dean of conservative Wisconsin talk radio on Monday, enduring a harsh grilling as he prepared to campaign in the state ahead of its upcoming primary. Milwaukee-based radio show host Charlie Sykes, an influential voice for local Republicans, pressed Trump on a range of issues, including whether he should apologize to Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, whom he mocked on Twitter last week. Trump indicated he was simply retweeting a message from a supporter who had posted an unflattering photo of Heidi Cruz next to a glamorous shot of Trump's model wife, Melania. "Is your standard that if a supporter does something despicable, that it's OK for you, a candidate for president of the United States, to behave that same way?" Sykes asked. "I mean, I expect that from a 12 year-old bully on the playground, not somebody who wants the office held by Abraham Lincoln." Sykes said he hoped Trump realized that "here in Wisconsin we value things like civility, decency and actual conservative principles" and asked him to declare that wives would be off limit in the discourse ahead of the April 5 primary. Trump said he would be in favor of that but said that he would not apologize until Cruz first said he was sorry for the ad his supporters ran in Utah featuring a photo of a partially clad Melania Trump that had originally appeared in GQ magazine. Cruz has said he knew nothing about the ad, which was published by a Super PAC that backed him. That did not satisfy Trump. "I didn't start, he started it. If he didn't start it, it never would have happened," said Trump Monday morning. He added that while he does "believe in apologizing" he wouldn't do so until Cruz did first. "My views are not playground views," Trump said. The Wisconsin primary is shaping up to be a key moment in the Republican nomination, as a solid Cruz win would narrow Trump's path to the nomination and increase the likelihood of a contested convention this summer. Cruz who has recently picked up a wave of Republican establishment support has been criss-crossing the state and has begun airing $500,000 in ads. That Trump appeared with Sykes at all was somewhat surprising. Sykes, who has close ties to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, endorsed Cruz last week and warmly hosted the Texas Senator on his show. Sykes also has backed the #NeverTrump movement, which calls for Republicans to support anyone but the celebrity businessman, a revelation that caught Trump off guard near the end of the 17-minute interview. Trump admitted he and his campaign did not know of Sykes' opposition, but said he assumed the radio host is "an intelligent guy" who would "give me credit where credit is due." Sykes said he would, but then asked one last time for an apology. Trump declined. Trump faced similar skepticism during two more interviews with conservative state radio hosts later in the day. But Cruz, speaking at a Wisconsin rally hours later, praised Sykes for his "conservative leadership" and claimed that "the American people are sick" of candidates making personal attacks. "Who cares?" Cruz asked. "Who cares what Donald is tweeting late at night? We need real solutions for the real problems in this country." Sen. Mark Kirk became the first Republican senator to meet with President Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland Tuesday afternoon in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Details remain scarce about the meeting between Kirk and Garland, which lasted just under a half hour. Prior to the meeting, Kirk addressed the press in his D.C. office. The senator said he was leading by example by meeting with Garland, but also noted he hadnt lobbied for other Republican senators to meet with the nominee. Kirk also said he would consider voting for Garland if the opportunity presented itself, NBC News' Alex Moe reports. We need open-minded, rational, responsible people to make sure the process works, Kirk told reporters in his Senate office prior to Tuesdays meeting. A group of senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is looking to stifle Obamas appointment by not holding confirmation hearings for the Chicago native. Kirk tweeted a photo with Garland Tuesday captioned with a message to fellow Republican lawmakers. As the first #GOP Senator to meet with #MerrickGarland, I urge my colleagues in the #Senate to do the same, Kirk wrote. Earlier this month, Kirk called on fellow Republican legislators to man up and cast a vote on Garland. Two other Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Jerry Moran of Kansas, have also called for a hearing for Garland in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We should go through the process the Constitution has already laid out, Kirk said. The president has already laid out a nominee who is from Chicagoland and for me, Im open to see him, to talk to him, and ask him his views on the Constitution. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, the Democratic nominee in the race for Kirks Senate seat, addressed the meeting in a statement provided to Ward Room. "Senator Kirk seems to expect extra credit for doing the bare minimum- in this case his job, Duckworth spokesman Matt McGrath said in a statement. While its nice that hes meeting with Judge Garland, Kirks cynicism was revealed when he told a conservative talk radio host that he didnt expect Mitch McConnell to allow the nomination to proceed, and hes done absolutely nothing in the meantime that would make McConnell feel the least bit inconvenienced for his obstruction. "Instead of going through the motions, Senator Kirk should show leadership by putting pressure on McConnell and urge him to give an eminently qualified Illinois native a fair hearing followed by an up-or-down vote, McGrath added. In that release, McGrath alluded to statements Kirk made earlier this month on the Big john Howell Show. I think that given Mitchs view, I dont see his view changing too much, Kirk said. You know, eventually, well have an election and we will have a new President. The new President will obviously come forward with a nomination. And thats all for the politics of a new time. A vacancy on the country's highest court was left after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. The brother of a 7-year-old girl in northern Illinois slain in 1957 wants a special prosecutor to investigate the case after DeKalbs states attorney announced Friday a man who was convicted in the killing could not have committed the crime. Charles Ridulph, whose sister, Maria, vanished on Dec. 3, 1957, and was found dead several months later, filed an emergency motion Monday asking for the appointment of a special prosecutor, The Chicago Tribune reported. The slaying remained a mystery for decades before Jack McCullough, who was initially cleared in the case, was charged in 2011. A hearing in the case will take place Tuesday afternoon in DeKalb County court. DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack said Firday his six-month review firmed up an alibi and convinced him it was a "manifest impossibility" that McCullough could have been anywhere near the area when Maria Ridulph disappeared in the small community of Sycamore. McCullough, now 75, was a neighbor at the time of the killing. He had long ago been cleared by authorities before a renewed effort was launched to solve the case. He was found guilty in 2012, and sentenced to life in prison. New evidence included recently subpoenaed phone records proving that McCullough made a collect call to his parents from a phone booth in the city of Rockford, about 35 miles from Sycamore, just minutes after the abduction took place which had always been McCullough's professed alibi, but it had previously come under doubt. Testimony that the abduction had taken place earlier has been discredited, Schmack said, meaning there was no possibility McCullough could have committed the crime and driven to Rockford in time to place that call. "I know there are people who will never believe that he is not responsible for the crime," Schmack said in a statement. "But I cannot allow that to sway me from my sworn duty." Schmack was not the state's attorney who prosecuted the case. His office was ordered to the conduct the review as part of a push by McCullough's attorney for a new trial. The daughter of an Indiana woman who was found after being missing for 42 years says they will never have a tear-filled happy reunion. "I'm angry," Tammy Miller, 45, told People. "This isn't going to be one of those happy, made-for-TV movies." Indiana State Police told The Associated Press Lula Ann Gillespie-Miller, who went missing in 1974 at the age of 28, thought she was too young to be a mother and signed custody of her three children to her parents in 1974. She then left home. Detective Scott Jarvis took the case in 2014 after being contacted by the Doe Network, an organization that helps law enforcement close cold cases, police told the AP. They eventually learned Gillespie-Miller, 69, was living in Texas under a different name. "I could have fell out of my chair," Tammy Miller told People. "I was shocked." Tammy told the publication she called her mother last Friday, but her mom had an unexpected reaction. "It was less than a two minute conversation," Tammy Miller said. "She said, 'I'll call you when I'm able to talk. Tammy Miller said she will never call her again because "it felt like being rejected all over again." "It's almost like going through the grieving process again," Miller says. "I'm glad she's alive, but it hurts emotionally knowing this was her choice." Despite the non-fairy tale ending, Miller is happy to know what became of her mother. "I'm going to have a wonderful life," Miller said. "I know it wasn't my fault. It was her loss." The State Department and Pentagon ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel Tuesday to leave posts in southern Turkey due to "increased threats from terrorist groups" in the country. The two agencies said dependents of American staffers at the U.S. consulate in Adana, the Incirlik air base and two other locations must leave. The so-called "ordered departure" notice means the relocation costs will be covered by the government. In a statement, the military's European Command said the step "allows for the deliberate, safe return of family members from these areas due to continued security concerns in the region." The orders cover the Adana consulate, U.S. military dependents in Incirlik, Ismir and Mugla as well as family of U.S. government civilians at Ismir and Mugla. The State Department also restricted official travel to that which it considers "mission critical." The move comes amid heightened security concerns throughout Turkey due to the ongoing fight against Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria and Iraq and was accompanied by an updated travel warning advising U.S. citizens of an increased threat of attacks. It also comes as Turkey's president is set to arrive in Washington to attend President Barack Obama's nuclear security summit. "We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism," the European Command statement said. Incirlik is a critical base in the fight by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group, and includes strike aircraft, drones and refueling planes. Turkey's decision last year to allow the coalition to conduct airstrikes with aircraft based at Incirlik shortened the time and distance required to conduct airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, compared with strikes flown from bases in the Persian Gulf area. And it increased the number of U.S. personnel at the base. NATO's Allied Land Command is based at Ismir and there is a Turkish base at Mugla where some U.S. military personnel go for training and other missions. It was not immediately clear how many family members would be affected in total. The Pentagon said the order would affect about 680 military family members and roughly 270 pets. The State Department and Pentagon had begun a voluntary drawdown of staff at the two posts last September after Turkey announced it would take a greater role in the fight against Islamic State militants. At the time, military officials said they had recommended the voluntary departure from Incirlik because of specific calls by militants for lone wolf attacks against the air base. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Turkish Foreign Mevlut Cavusoglu. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the two discussed measures to secure the Turkey-Syria border and disrupt extremist networks. According to a U.S. official, the decision to order families to leave stemmed from the ongoing assessment of security threats in Turkey. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity. The decision comes a day after Israel issued a new travel advisory for Turkey, warning its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible and avoid any traveling there. The Connecticut Senate is expected to vote on a package of deficit mitigation measures Tuesday aimed at filling a projected $220 million shortfall to end the fiscal year. Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, (D - New Haven), wouldn't provide many specifics other than the expectation that hospitals would receive their full allotment of funds totaling more than $100 million, that the governor had previously either cut or delayed. He says he expects on that major issue alone to receive some level of Republican support that's been lacking during the past two budget special sessions. Given that achievement I think that should show that weve gone a long way toward addressing concerns that theyve expressed" he said. Republican Leader Sen. Len Fasano, (R - North Haven) said his party drew "lines in the sand" on holding funding for hospitals and cities and towns. Fasano said he's not sure any plan could be considered bipartisan, just because the Democrats' plan incorporates some cuts the GOP proposed. You cant be a part of negotiations that never take place" he said. However, on the issue of the "line in the sand" Fasano mentioned, just last week Republicans proposed cutting funding to cities and towns by $25 million, more than the proposed $16 million coming from Democrats. Sen. Looney described Fasano's comments as disingenuous. "For them to say that municipal aid is a key piece, thats ridiculous," Looney said. "Because their whole program for the last year has been to oppose the major municipal aid piece that we passed last year. The issue was Senate Bill 1 that committed some sales tax revenue to cities and towns, while cutting property tax rates for residents. Sources confirmed to NBC Connecticut that House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders met Monday afternoon to discuss the proposal that will be voted on. Anything passed by the Senate would need to be approved by the House, and then signed by the governor. Even if the package gets approved soon, the state could face a deeper shortfall once tax receipts are reported later in April. A hijacker who took dozens of hostages aboard a commercial jet over what appeared to be a "personal" matter involving a woman was arrested after an hours-long standoff Tuesday, authorities said, NBC News reported. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Cyprus confirmed around 7:45 a.m. ET that all of the passengers and crew had been safely freed. The drama unfolded aboard EgyptAir Flight MS181, which was on a domestic flight en route from Alexandria to Cairo. A hijacker who claimed to have an explosive belt ordered the plane to diverted to either Turkey or Cyprus, according to officials. The belt was later deemed a fake. The Airbus A320 flew to the Cypriot port city of Larnaca and landed at around 7:50 a.m. local time (12:50 a.m. ET) at which point negotiations got underway, EgyptAir said. The hijacker spent the first three hours of the standoff demanding to speak to his Cypriot ex-wife or give her a letter, Cyprus government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides told NBC News. The Texas Rangers lost in walkoff fashion in a late-night affair with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. Of course, we all know that doesn't mean a thing. Derek Holland made his final start of the Rangers' month and a half in Arizona before the team heads home this week to prepare for Monday's Opening Day, and despite one big Justin Turner swing, the lefty was happy with his night at the office. Holland pitched five innings and had a shutout working until one big two-out swing from Justin Turner landed beyond the outfield wall for a game-tying grand slam. He struck out two and walked one while allowing six hits. Despite a slow start, he held the Dodgers scoreless through 4 2/3 innings. I think it was better [than his last start, which was five scoreless innings] due to the fastball," Holland told reporters. "It started off erratic and I found my stuff. Last start, I started hot and stayed hot. I feel like this was a perfect example of how Ive matured and stayed calm in the situation. I kept it under control, thats the main thing. Before that big Dodgers inning, which was one out away from going unscathed, Holland threw nine straight shutout innings to cap off a pretty nice spring for perhaps the most important pitcher on the Rangers staff in terms of having his hand in whether the team is successful in 2016. There was some talk the Rangers could go after former fan favorite David Murphy this winter to come in and be a backup outfielder. Instead, the Rangers went with Justin Ruggiano, who will most likely make the Rangers' Opening Day roster as a backup outfielder. Murphy, instead, signed a minor-league deal with Boston, the team he began his pro career with, and on Monday he was released by the Red Sox. "I didn't go out and light it up, but I think I did enough to prove that I'm capable," Murphy told ESPN.com. "I think as a man you're disappointed because you go into a situation and, as an athlete, I'm a competitor. You never want to go in the manager's office and [hear] that you've been released. But I think there's a lot of positives to it still. Maybe there's a little bit of disappointment, but I'm not distraught in any way. I think my career will move forward from here. Like I said, we'll see." Now, Murphy is on the open market after putting up some serviceable numbers last year in time split between the Indians and Angels, but the 34-year-old outfielder said if he doesn't get a big-league offer he might be leaning toward retirement. He's a career .274 hitter with 104 home runs in 1,110 career games. "Being at the point where I am, I'm 34 years old, I haven't played in the minor leagues since 2007, I have four kids now, I'm kind of pulled in a lot of different directions," Murphy said. "I think if I didn't get a big league job I would say that my mindset is leaning toward retirement. Hopefully that's not even going to be part of the process, because hopefully I'll get a big league job pretty easily." After strong criticism of a plan to fight violent crime unveiled Monday, Dallas Police Chief David Brown announced a revised plan late Tuesday. The new plan calls for reassigning administrative officers to field duty on their regular shifts instead of transferring hundreds of officers to nights and weekends. The change came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered to help the Dallas Police Department deal with the current spike in murder, assault and overall violent crime. Brown said that the larger reassignment plan proposed Monday was not sustainable over a long period of time and a new Dallas police staffing model will be studied over the next several months with input from officers. Police labor leaders attacked Brown's plan Monday after calling for his replacement over the past few months. Dallas Police Association President Ron Pinkston was seen entering headquarters Tuesday afternoon, apparently for a meeting with Brown. Pinkston declined comment as he left the building. Several Dallas city officials Tuesday said it was their mandate that Brown find ways to fight the surge in violence crime with existing force of 3,500 officers. "The chief is doing what we asked him to do," said Councilman Erik Wilson. "I fully support his efforts in reducing crime, making our city safe." The city has several major budget problems but Wilson said calls for additional police manpower are not an option to solve the current spike in violent crime. "We're juggling all those things," Wilson said. "I think right now that's not the priority. The priority right now is the reduction in crime." Mayor Mike Rawlings said additional resources from outside the Dallas Police Department would be welcome, but he also supported the initial plan Brown shared with him Sunday. "It's all hands on deck, and we want to make sure it's reality," Rawlings said. "We can't have a year of high crime. I've asked him to do something. He's doing it. And our officers are going to have to step up, and I think their professionalism will take over." Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lonny Haschel provided the following statement: "As directed by Governor Abbott, the department has reached out to the Dallas Police Department to offer any law enforcement assistance we are able to provide (i.e., patrol support in hot-spot locations for criminal activity, criminal investigation support, aerial support, etc.). These discussions remain ongoing to determine the specific resources/support that will be provided." City Manager A.C. Gonzalez has hiring authority for the Dallas police chief. Gonzalez issued the following statement Tuesday: "We must keep in mind that Dallas has seen an overall reduction in crime that is at levels we haven't seen since the 1930s. With crime rates this low, we expect to see spikes at times, as we are seeing in different parts of the country today. But once we see those increases in crime, we must act immediately so that we do not see chronic problems resurfacing in our community. "We support Chief Brown and also recognize that this is a tremendous learning opportunity as to how we can make improvements within the police department. The Chief has heard his officers' concerns and also recognizes the needs of our community." Brown issued the following statement late Tuesday: "Over the past week, we have been analyzing and evaluating the department's resources in an effort to combat the rising violent crime and homicide rates in the city. With assistance from our state and federal law enforcement partners, we are creating a short-term plan to lower homicides and violent crime with the least amount of disruption to other working groups within the police department. I have met with officers throughout the department and several officers have provided recommendations for their workgroups and offered to volunteer for the task forces as needed. "I understand that every unit within the department provides an essential function which has contributed to the success of the City of Dallas having twelve consecutive years of low crime. Officers working in an administrative capacity will remain on their regularly scheduled shifts, but will be asked to assist with foot patrols during their normal shift hours. In addition, officers from non-patrol bureaus will continue to be assigned to Community Policing 2.0 to assist with call answering and crime fighting. Memes are a dime a dozen these days, but while some make us chuckle, others may leave a bad taste in our mouths. "Prison Break" and "Legends of Tomorrow" star Wentworth Miller felt the latter Monday when flipping through social media and stumbling on a side-by-side shot of him, comparing his early days in Hollywood to a paparazzi shot taken of him in 2010. The 42-year-old actor took to Facebook to share his reaction with the world, saying, "Today I found myself the subject of an Internet meme. Not for the first time. This one, however, stands out from the rest. In 2010, semi-retired from acting, I was keeping a low-profile for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I was suicidal. This is a subject I've since written about, spoken about, shared about. But at the time I suffered in silence." [[373862641,C]] The actor continued, "In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food. It could have been anything. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex. But eating became the one thing I could look forward to...And I put on weight. Big f---ing deal." Miller shared that after seeing the paparazzi photo, his mother called him, concerned about his health and well-being. "Long story short, I survived. So do those pictures. I'm glad. Now, when I see that image of me in my red t-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons...The first time I saw this meme pop up in my social media feed, I have to admit, it hurt to breathe. But as with everything in life, I get to assign meaning. And the meaning I assign to this/my image is strength, healing, forgiveness. Of myself and others." Miller concluded with one poignant note to those who either know or are struggling themselves: "Help is available. Reach out. Text. Send an email. Pick up the phone. Someone cares. They're waiting to hear from you." Officials with the LAD Bible page where the image was posted apologized to Miller in another Facebook post, writing "we want to say we've got this very, very wrong. Mental health is no joke or laughing matter." If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). [[238904721,C]] PHOTOS: Stars who've come out as gay PHOTOS: Celeb do-gooders Taxi and Uber black car drivers in Philadelphia are planning to refuse service during this summer's Democratic National Convention if lawmakers don't crack down on ride-sharing services, several trade groups say. The Philadelphia Limousine Association and two taxi groups, the Philadelphia Cab Association and Philadelphia Taxi Association, say their members voted to boycott the three-day event in late July to take a stand against competing services UberX and Lyft. The associations contend these services are illegal and unsafe. The coalition, made up of an estimated 3,000 drivers, is also threatening to protest outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, one of the main locations for the national event being held July 25-28, when the Democratic Party will have on its agenda choosing a presidential nominee. Taxi and black car drivers have been fighting the adoption of the lower-cost services for months, arguing they've been bad for business. UberX and Lyft are exempt from parking authority licensing requirements by using drivers' personal cars. Taxi drivers are required to pay yearly for operating licenses through the Philadelphia Parking Authority and carry large insurance policies. They're also subject to a number of regulations. Uber and Lyft drivers undergo commercial background checks and carry $1 million insurance policies, both companies contend. State lawmakers continue to debate the legality of the services in Philadelphia, but in the meantime they're allowed to operate. UberX handled its 1 millionth Philly ride in October. Taxi and Uber Black drivers, which are black car limo drivers operating as Uber's premium service, have held a number of protests arguing the services should be shut down or ordered to comply with the same rules and fees. The associations have called on Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to demand crackdowns on the ride-sharing services. The Kenney Administration has asked lawmakers in Harrisburg to pass regulations covering the services, as the mayor does not have the legislative authority to do so. "I cannot waive my Mayoral wand and fix this problem that the Parking Authority and the [Pennsylvania Utilities Commission] have responsibility for," Kenney told NBC10 Monday. "I think it's always better to talk and not threaten boycott or shut down streets." Should the boycott take place, UberX and Lyft would likely continue operating, driving users to the same cheaper services the drivers are protesting. In a statement, Lyft spokeswoman Chelsea Wilson said the service plans to recruit more drivers to meet demand during the Democratic convention. "We'll be encouraging Philadelphians to drive for Lyft during the convention so they can take advantage of the increased earnings that accompany big events like the Democratic National Convention, and to help ensure the thousands of attendees have enough safe ride options," she said. An Uber spokesperson called the possible boycott "unfortunate," saying the group is putting "their own interests above the needs of the city." The boycotting drivers will still take fares to other parts of the city, but would refuse to drive to convention locations like the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia, reps said. Not all taxi drivers are up for the service refusal. Ronald Blount, president of the Taxi Workers of Pennsylvania, said his members are not planning to boycott the DNC. "We find their actions too irresponsible and immature when lawmakers and others are trying to find a solution," Blount said in a statement. Kenney said he doubts taxi and black car drivers will walk away from the potentially big paychecks they can make from the event. He's hopeful it will be resolved before July. Law enforcement authorities are searching for a man suspected of shooting another man on the Palmetto Expressway near Miami. It happened just before 7:30 p.m. Monday in Miami Gardens in the westbound lanes at Northwest 37th Avenue. Traffic was being impacted back to Northwest 12th Avenue. In addition, two eastbound lanes of the Palmetto at Northwest 37th Avenue were blocked, causing delays to Red Road. The Florida Highway Patrol says the victim was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. His condition wasn't immediately available. Investigators don't know what caused the shooting. A bullet-ridden car could be seen on the side of the highway. Troopers and investigators from the Miami Gardens Police Department remained at the scene for hours. The road reopened later Monday. Florida police have charged Donald Trump's campaign manager with simple battery in an incident earlier in the month involving a reporter. Trump decried the charges. Police in Jupiter, Florida, issued Corey Lewandowski a notice Tuesday to appear before a judge on May 4 for the misdemeanor charge. A surveillance video released by the police appears to show Lewandowski grabbing then-Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields as she tried to ask Trump a question during a March 8 campaign event. Trump defended Lewandowski Tuesday afternoon, telling reporters he doesn't "discard people" and calling the situation "very unfair" to his adviser. Speaking to reporters on his plane shortly after landing in Wisconsin for a rally, he said he hopes the matter doesn't change Lewandowski's role on his campaign. "I can't just stand by and watch a man's life be destroyed," Trump said. "I'm sticking up for a person because I'm not going to let a person's life be destroyed. No jury, in my opinion, would convict a man and destroy a man's life over what you witnessed." The Trump campaign had earlier said Lewandowski "is absolutely innocent of this charge" in a statement released late Tuesday morning. "He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court," read the statement. "He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Lewandowski has retained a Florida attorney who said Tuesday there would be no further comment. The charge, a first-degree misdemeanor, carries a potential sentence of up to 1 year in prison or up to a $1,000 fine, according to Florida statutes. The news that Lewandowski was being charged also prompted a Twitter exchange with Fields. "Why aren't people looking at this reporters earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape?" Trump tweeted. Fields responded: "Because my story never changed. Seriously, just stop lying." Trump's rivals seized on the news, which comes a week before a high-profile contest in Wisconsin and in the midst of a messy Republican primary season. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the incident is "the consequence of the culture of the Trump campaign the abusive culture when you have a campaign that is built on personal insults, on attacks and now physical violence." "That has no place in a political campaign, it has no place in our democracy," Cruz told reporters as he campaigned in Wisconsin, suggesting that "it helps clarify for the voters what the trump campaign is all about." Cruz's top aide, Rick Tyler, resigned in February for spreading a story that falsely alleged former rival Marco Rubio insulted the Bible. "If he worked for John Kasich he would be fired," said John Weaver, a senior adviser to Ohio Gov. John Kasich. "Campaigns though always reflect the values of the candidate. I know ours does." At the time of the incident, Lewandowski tweeted, "@MichelleFields you are totally delusional. I never touched you. As a matter of fact, I have never even met you." Trump accused her of having "made up" the incident. A police report obtained by The Associated Press includes an interview with the reporter, Fields, who worked for Breitbart News at the time. "Lewandowski grabbed Fields' left arm with his right hand causing her to turn and step back," reads the report. Fields showed police her left forearm which "appeared to show a grabbing-type injury," according to the investigating officer. At his rally in Wisconsin, Trump discussed what remembered from the incident, including that he flinched in reaction to Fields arriving in a press scrum surrounding him. He also repeated his claim that Fields changed her story from the immediate aftermath of the incident. "I'm not going to destroy a man for that," he said. "At first I saw that and I said, this is terrible. Then I saw it on tape." Fields resigned from the the conservative news site over its response to the alleged assault. Three of her colleagues also resigned. The site initially issued a statement backing Fields and calling on Lewandowski to apologized. Later, it published images questioning whether the Washington Post's Ben Terris misidentified Lewandowski as the person who may have physically assaulted Fields. Breitbart later published a piece purporting to show text messages from Lewandowski which it said "prove" he didn't assault Fields. Fields said in a statement issued to Buzzfeed on March 14: "I do not believe Breitbart News has adequately stood by me during the events of the past week and because of that I believe it is now best for us to part ways." Belgian emergency management officials have again revised the death toll in last week's bombings in Brussels this time lower as Belgium's justice minister defended the government's terror laws, NBC News reported. Belgium's crisis center said Tuesday the number of victims is back down to 32, including four Americans, after it was discovered some victims were counted more than once. The figure does not include three suicide bombers identified by prosecutors. Reports on Monday had said the death toll was up to 35 people killed by the bombers. Investigators are still looking for at least one suspect identified as a "man in white" seen in airport surveillance in the March 22 attacks. Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens on Tuesday took particular issue with criticism that the small European nation remains a soft target and its security services are ill-equipped to deal with extremist networks: "We cannot say that enormous and systematic mistakes were made." An international developer is adding two more towers to the city skyline with a mixed-use project that will reinforce John F. Kennedy Boulevard as the link between West Philly and Center City. Minnesota-based NP International will construct a 42-story skyscraper and a 21-story high-rise in Logan Square on a parcel bounded by the Schuylkill River, Cherry and 23rd streets, and JFK Boulevard, according to a presentation given to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) Tuesday. The PCPC approved two bills that rezone the property to accommodate the developer's desired building height and allow retail space above the ground-floor. Before applying to rezone the approximately 8-acre parcel, the real estate firm spent nearly 18 months working with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association to refine their vision for River Walk Philadelphia. The currently proposed iteration of the mixed-used development best met the locals wants -- to minimize the number of neighbors whose river view would be obstructed by the new buildings and prevent established residents from fighting with new ones over parking. We fully support both bills, Ed Panek of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association told the PCPC. These two bills really do facilitate what the neighbors want to see built. The taller of the two towers will be built on a piece of land sandwiched between the Amtrak-owned bridge that runs east out of 30th Street Station and JFK Boulevard, while the smaller high-rise, a third building and a public plaza will rise from the flood-prone parking lot at 23rd and Cherry streets, the presentation showed. The project, which includes residential, commercial and hospitality components, will add a pedestrian staircase and handicapped-accessible ramp from JFK Boulevard, which hovers above the Schuylkill, to the ground below at 23rd and Cuthbert streets an area located beneath an overpass that holds several lines of train tracks. The developer has not yet filed construction permits for the project, according to city records. The specific plan still needs to be reviewed by multiple city agencies, but the PCPCs rezoning approval and the support of the neighborhood association leave few hurdles in NP Internationals way. Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter. A Capitol police officer shot and injured a man who brought a weapon into the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Monday afternoon, the chief of Capitol Police said. An officer fired after the man pointed what appeared to be a weapon at him, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said. The man was wounded and was in surgery Monday afternoon at Washington Hospital Center, where he is listed in critical condition, according to hospital officials. The U.S. Capitol Police Department said Larry R. Dawson, 66, of Antioch, Tennessee, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer while armed. They said Dawson's vehicle was located near the Capitol and was secured at a separate location. A female bystander received minor injuries and also was taken to a hospital. "We believe that this is the act of a single person who has frequented the Capitol grounds before, and there is no reason to believe this is anything more than a criminal act," Verderosa said at a news conference. The man went through a metal detector at the visitor center, an alarm went off and he pulled out the gun, two sources told News4's Shomari Stone. "It appears the screening process worked as intended," Verderosa said, noting the suspect has not yet been charged. A weapon was recovered at the scene. NBC News Pete Williams reported early Monday evening that the weapon was a pellet gun. Dawson was known to U.S. Capitol Police and was a frequent visitor, Williams reported. Dawson is facing charges for allegedly standing up and shouting Bible verses in October 2015 in the House Chamber Gallery. According to court documents from the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, Dawson identified himself as a Prophet of God to the people in the gallery. According to the documents, Dawson was removed from gallery and, while being removed from the building, pushed a police officer and began to run. He was caught and charged with assault on a police officer. A Stay Away Order was issued to Dawson, including a map of the area he was supposed to avoid, which included the U.S. Capitol building and grounds, including all Congressional buildings. The U.S. Capitol complex was locked down about 3 p.m. The shelter-in-place order was lifted at 3:45 p.m., but the Capitol was open only for official business. The visitor center remained closed. At first, anyone outside was advised to seek cover immediately, U.S. Capitol police said. The D.C. Police Department later said in an update that there had been an isolated incident and there was no threat to the public. Visitors were turned away from the Capitol as emergency vehicles flooded the street and the plaza on the building's eastern side. Police, some carrying long guns, cordoned off the streets immediately around the building, which were thick with tourists visiting for spring holidays and the Cherry Blossom Festival. Initial reports by The Associated Press said a police officer sustained minor injuries. Sources told Williams and Stone that was not the case. Verderosa said no officers were injured. The visitor center will be open as usual on Tuesday, Verderosa said. Jill Epstein, executive director of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, told NBC News she was at the visitor center on a lobbying trip to meet a senator when an active shooter was reported. "I was with a group of my colleagues walking into the visitor center and as we were literally going through the metal detectors, people started screaming, 'Get out! Get out!' We didn't know which way to run. We ran out and and they told us to get against the wall so we were crouching against the wall outside the visitor center, she said. "Police appeared out of everywhere and they were screaming, 'Run for it! Run for it! Run up that ramp!' And we ran like you see in videos. It was surreal. It was so beautiful out and the cherry blossoms are in bloom and people are running for their lives. It was unsettling and scary," Epstein said. The witness said one of her colleagues bolted for the door without his watch, wallet or phone, which were still on the conveyor belt of the metal detector. It's the second time in less than a year that the U.S. Capitol was locked down due to a gun incident. Last April, a 22-year-old from Lincolnwood, Illinois, fatally shot himself on the buildings west front, triggering an hourslong lockdown. A dental hygienist from Connecticut, Miriam Carey, 34, was shot and killed outside the Capitol Oct. 3, 2013, after police said she tried to ram a temporary security barrier outside the White House with her car and then struck a Secret Service uniformed division officer. She then fled the scene, leading police on a chase. According to subsequent investigation by the News4 I-team, U.S. Capitol police stopped at least 13 people from carrying guns on or near Capitol grounds from 2012 to 2015. On July 24, 1998, two U.S. Capitol Police officers were killed after a gunman stormed past a Capitol security checkpoint and opened fire. Officer Jacob J. Chestnut Jr. was fatally shot at the checkpoint, and a tourist was injured in the initial crossfire between the gunman and police. Detective John M. Gibson then told congressional aides to seek cover before exchanging gunfire with the shooter. Gibson was fatally wounded, but police say his actions allowed other officers to subdue the gunman. Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers are discussing details about a landmark deal that would take California's minimum wage from $10 to $15 an hour. At a news conference Monday, Brown hailed the plan as a matter of economic justice. "This program will happen over time in a gradual way," Brown said at a Monday news conference. "Unlike other efforts, this thing is the result of a lot of thinking, a lot of discussion, and taking ideas from a lot of sources." Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would get an additional year to phase in the increases. The governor could pause the increases in times of budgetary or economic downturns. Wages would increase to keep up with inflation after 2023. Service Employees International Union United Service Workers West said in a statement that the deal "represents an important step forward towards lifting up those most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, particularly when it comes to workers of color and immigrant women." California legislators and labor unions on Saturday reached the tentative agreement, a state senator said. It's a move that would make for the largest statewide minimum in the nation by far. Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who stressed that the deal was not yet finalized, told The Associated Press the proposal would go before the Legislature as part of his minimum-wage bill that stalled last year. Leno said the deal would avoid taking the issue to the ballot. One union-backed initiative has already qualified for the ballot, and a second, competing measure is also trying to qualify. Leno did not confirm specifics of the agreement, but most proposals have the wage increasing about a dollar per year until it reaches $15 per hour. The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the deal, said the wage would rise to $10.50 in 2017, to $11 an hour in 2018, and one dollar per year to take it to $15 by 2022. Businesses with fewer than 25 employees would have an extra year to comply. At $10 an hour, California already has one of the highest minimum wages in the nation along with Massachusetts. Only Washington, D.C., at $10.50 per hour is higher. The hike to $15 would make it the highest statewide wage in the nation by far, though raises are in the works in other states that might change by the time the plateau is reached in 2022. Some states have passed higher minimums for government employees and state-contracted workers, and some cities including Seattle have already passed $15 an hour increases. And Oregon officials approved a law earlier this month that will increase that state's minimum wage to nearly $15 in urban areas over the next six years. Legislative approval of a minimum-wage package would avoid taking the issue to the ballot. One union-backed initiative has already qualified for the ballot, and a second, competing measure is also trying to qualify. An inmate sentenced to death over 30 years ago was pronounced dead Saturday morning of natural causes in a California jail. Bernard L. Hamilton, was sentenced on March 2, 1981, by a San Diego County jury for the 1979, first-degree murder and second-degree burglary of Eleanore Buchanan. Hamilton kidnapped, murdered and dismembered Buchanans body after she caught him burglarizing her van. He had a prior conviction for burglary in 1973. Hamilton had been on death row since March 4, 1981. Seventy condemned inmates have died from natural causes since California reinstated the death penalty in 1978. Twenty-five inmates have committed suicide, thirteen have been executed in California and two were executed in Missouri and Virginia. Eight other inmates have died from other causes, and one cause of death is pending. There are 747 offenders on Californias death row. Wells Fargo Bank will pay $8.5 million in a settlement reached with six California counties over the banks practices of recording phone conversations. The settlement announced Tuesday was the result of a civil complaint filed against the bank for failing to timely and adequately disclose automatic recording of phone calls, according to a news release from the San Diego County District Attorneys Office. California law states that anyone on the line must be told a conversation is being recorded at the beginning of a phone call. Wells Fargo has agreed to change its policies and pay civil penalties totaling $7.6 million. The company will also reimburse $384,000, the amount the counties spent investigating the issue. San Diego County will receive one-sixth of the civil penalties or $1,269,333.33 and $64,000 of the costs, according to the DAs office. By law, those funds must be used for future consumer investigations. Wells Fargo will also give $500,000 to two statewide consumer protection and privacy rights organizations, the DAs office stated. Former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening endorsed former Prince Georges County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey for Congress. Ivey is running to fill the open seat in Marylands Fourth Congressional District. Glendening told Prince Georges County Bureau Chief Tracee Wilkins about his support for Ivey Monday. My support for Glenn is not a negative about any one of the candidates, said the former governor. Were actually fortunate to have a nice range here, but its just the knowledge he can do what needs to be done. Ivey is happy to have the support of his mentor during his race to Congress. Hes been a great mentor to me over the years, so for me its just a wonderful opportunity, Ivey said. Other candidates for the seat include former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and State Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk. The Democratic primary is April 26. The cost to taxpayers of treating Washington, D.C.-area military veterans suffering from hepatitis C has eclipsed $64 million per year, according to a review of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs records by the News4 I-Team. The fast-rising cost is attributed to a cutting-edge but expensive medication the agency began dispensing last year to veterans in Virginia, Maryland, D.C. and West Virginia. The new hepatitis C drugs, which are known as Sovaldi and Harvoni, are highly effective and less likely to cause side effects in patients, doctors and government officials said. Multiple reports estimate a full treatment of the medication costs tens of thousands of dollars per patient. Each individual pill costs an estimated $1,000, according to a report from a U.S. Senate panel. Agency records obtained by the I-Team from regional administrators of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs show 701 patients received the treatment at the Washington DC VA Medical Center in 2015. Those records show more than 200 patients were administered the medications at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center and more than 480 patients at Marylands VA medical system last year. In all, the cost of treatment exceeded $64 million, which is a $50 million increase from the cost of Hepatitis C treatment in 2014. All costs are covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and federal taxpayers. Nationwide, the VA estimates the new treatment will cost $1 billion in 2016. But the agency said it has secured enough funding to expand the dispensation of the medicine to an increasing number of vets. Were honored to be able to expand treatment for veterans who are afflicted with hepatitis C, VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. David Shulkin said in a statement. To manage limited resources previously, we established treatment priority for the sickest patients. Chris Goldzwig, a military veteran from Brunswick, Maryland, said his treatment of Harvoni saved him from suffering severe liver failure. Its a miracle, Goldzwig said. If it wasnt for this medicine, I wouldnt be here. Goldzwig, who received his treatment over the course of 16 weeks at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, said the Harvoni pills were less rigorous and physically challenging than his previous hepatitis C treatment, an interferon regimen that Goldzwig called nauseating. Dr. Evelio Bravo, a physician at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, said the pills have a very high success rate with local patients. Years ago, the (older) treatment was very complicated with side effects, Bravo said. The patient would feel ill during the treatment. VA has long led the country in screening for and treating hepatitis C, a statement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said. VA has treated over 76,000 Veterans infected with hepatitis C and approximately 60,000 have been cured. Members of Congress have criticized the manufacturer of the medicine for not offering a deeper discount to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. America's veterans deserve the same affordable access to life-saving medications such as sofosbuvir that Gilead is providing to patients in developing countries. If thats not happening, the companys leaders need to explain why, said Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee. A spokeswoman for Gilead, the manufacturer of Sovaldi and Harvoni, said price discounts are offered for the medication. Most payers receive substantial discounts off this price, with the steepest discounts going to payers like Medicaid and the VA, spokeswoman Cara Miller said. Both the VA and Medicaid currently receive discounts in excess of 50 percent on Harvoni. With these rebates and discounts, the prices today are less than the cost of prior regimens. A fourth man has been arrested in connection with the 2015 shooting death of a 64-year-old man in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County. Officers were called to a home on North King's Highway on March 26, 2015 for a report of a person who had been shot. When they arrived, they found Santos Rafael Zelaya suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died from his injuries at the hospital. Police have arrested four people in the past year in connection with Zelaya's death. The most recent arrest was made Tuesday. Fairfax County police say 23-year-old Eric Howard Buckner of Alexandria has been charged with second-degree murder. Gregory Brown, Niziah Williams and Timothy Washington were arrested last year. All three were charged with murder. Prince William County police are asking the public for any information that will help them locate a man who has been missing for six years. Shane Donahue was last seen at his Nokesville, Virginia, home on March 22, 2010. Police say Donahue did not have access to a car at the time of his disappearance. According to a 2014 report by InsideNova.com, Donahue was paid $5,000 the day he vanished for an odd job he had completed. He reportedly paid a friend $1,000 for helping with the job. That friend was at one point considered a person of interest in Donahue's disappearance, but he was never charged, InsideNova reported. At the time of his disappearance, Donahue was 23 years old, 5-foot-11 and weighed 180 pounds. He had brown hair and brown eyes. No clothing description was available. Donahue now would be 29 years old. Anyone with information that can help police is asked to call the Crime Solvers hotline at 703-670-3700. The Washington, D.C., population of eagles has grown in recent weeks, and a new social media campaign will ask people to help name two of them. DC2 and DC3, the two eaglets recently hatched at the U.S. National Arboretum, were born to eagles known as "Mr. President" and "The First Lady." The American Eagle Foundation, which has been livestreaming the nest activity, is holding a campaign to let fans suggest fitting names for the new duo. People can submit their suggestion on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtags #dceaglecam and #namethenestlings along with the submission. Facebook users can visit the American Eagle Foundation's website or the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment's site to share the suggestions using the same hashtags. Fans are encouraged to suggest names that are gender-neutral or names that can be altered to fit either sex. The sexes of the two eaglets have not been determined. The final names will be announced April 26. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Lanham, Maryland, this weekend to celebrate the opening of The Diyanet Center of America, an Islamic center. He is expected to speak at the ceremony and open the center. Erdogan will be joined by Dr. Mehmet Gormez, Turkeys president of religious affairs, at the event Saturday, April 2. The ceremony is open to the public and scheduled from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The Diyanet Center is a complex that houses a mosque, cultural center, Turkish bathhouse and more. The center opened after President Erdogan suggested the area be used to serve the entire Muslim community. President Erdogan advised us to build a larger community, which could not only serve the needs of the Turkish Muslims, which are very few anyway, but also serve the entire Muslim community and go beyond and become an intercultural center for the other communities," said Dr. Ahmet H. Aydilek, a Diyanet Center spokesman who also is a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Muslim center is one of the only Muslim centers that have interfaith programs. The location is 16 acres of land owned by the Turkish government and the Turkish American Community Center, a nonprofit organization in the D.C. area since 1993. The area used to house offices and a prayer area before it was used for the Diyanet Center. Although the grand opening is this Saturday, the center has been open since June 2015. At the grand opening, workshops and exhibitions will be held on Islamic calligraphy, traditional Turkish marbling, visual storytelling and more. Although the center is founded by the Turkish government, it is not a Turkish mosque. There is a mosque in the middle of the center, but that is only a small part of what the center offers. "It is founded by the Turkish government, but the object is not to serve Turks only. The object is to serve the entire Muslim community," Aydilek said. Former New Hampshire Republican State Party Chair Fergus Cullen is reacting to the arrest of Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski who turned himself into police Tuesday in response to a March 8th campaign event in Jupiter, Florida. "The culture of the Trump campaign has been very aggressive and one of their tenants is, never apologize for anything," he said. Police say Lewandowski can be seen on security cameras grabbing the arm of a Breitbart News reporter, Michelle Fields, who says she was trying to ask Trump a question. According to the police report, Fields is quoted as saying to another reporter, "I can't believe he just did that that was so hard, was that Corey? You should have felt how hard he just grabbed me." Cullen says a simple apology could've made the whole thing go away, "But instead, not only did they deny any incident had happened, but they blamed the victim and then accused her of being delusional." A different account of what happened from Trump's New Hampshire campaign co-chair, State Representative Stephen Stepanek. He said, "If that's battery, then the press better look out, because there can be hundreds of charges brought against press people who push, pull, bang, whack trying to get to the candidate." Shortly after the arrest, Trump tweeted: Why aren't people looking at this reporters earliest statement as to what happened, that is before she found out the episode was on tape? Stefanak explains, "That she was pulled, knocked to the ground or thrown to the ground and she never denied and quite frankly, I didn't see that." Michelle Fields tweeted back: Because my story never changed. Seriously, just stop lying. Trump also released a statement saying: "Mr. Lewandowski was issued a notice to appear and given a court date. He was not arrested (He) is absolutely innocent of this charge." Former New Hampshire House speaker Bill O'Brien, a chair of the state's Ted Cruz campaign, added that in all the years he's known Lewandowski he's never seen him angry adding, "I would describe Corey as first and foremost a gentleman." Stepanek says he does not think any of this will hurt the success of the Trump campaign going forward. Christians gather at Fishley for Easter sunrise Christians gather at Fishley for Easter sunrise 2016: On Easter Sunday morning about 30 members of Acle Churches Together assembled for their traditional annual Sunrise Service St Mary's Church, Fishley. Prayers and hymns were led by Rev Martin Greenland, Rev Steve Cullis, Rev Canon Nicholas Garrard and Rev Helen Garrard from around 6am. The congregation then processed outside to the grounds of this Saxon church to partake in communion. Finally everybody accepted a kind invitation from Steve Cullis to enjoy breakfast at the Methodist church hall. John Kenny said: It was gratifying to see such a sizeable cross-section of faiths (including Catholics, Methodists and Anglicans) demonstrating the ideals of ecumenism despite the inclement weather and the fact that the event coincided with the clocks being advanced by one hour. Pictured above is the Easter sunrise service at Fishley. Community group brings Norfolk village to life Community group brings Norfolk village to life Lets live life to our full potential! thats the focus of Society Alive, a vibrant community group which offers inspiration, training and even free three-course lunches at Clover Hill Village Hall in Bowthorpe, Norwich. Mike Wiltshire reports. Having a military background, I tend to look at all security issues with the perspective of someone whos served in the armed forces. That means using a thorough investigation process that doesnt treat any action as accidental or an attack as a stand-alone incident and looking for links between seemingly unconnected events. This method is used by law enforcement agencies to investigate acts of terrorism, which, sadly, are happening more frequently. While terror attacks that have occurred in the physical world are making headlines, the virtual world is also under attack by sophisticated hackers. However, not much is said about the similarities between investigating both types of attacks or what security researchers can learn from their law enforcement counterparts. Ive had this thought for awhile and, fearing that Id be seen as insensitive to recent events, debated whether to write this blog. After much thought, I decided that the stakes are too high to remain silent and continue treating each breach as a one-off event without greater security implications. The parallels between cyber and terror attacks are numerous: they involve well-coordinated adversaries who have specific goals and planned intricate campaigns months in advance. The targets security measures are irrelevant and can always be exploited. Preventing cyber and terror attacks is difficult, given the numerous vectors an adversary can use. Discovering one component of either type of attack can lead to clues that reveal an even larger, more detailed operation. But the methods used to investigate cyber attacks often fall short at establishing links between different events and possibly preventing hackers from striking again. Cyber attacks targeting infrastructure are happening To date, we havent experienced a cyber attack that has caused the same devastation of whats happened in the physical world. Having your credit card number stolen doesnt compare to lives being lost. But this doesnt mean we wont see cyber attacks that cause major disruptions by targeting critical infrastructure. In fact, theyre already happening. Just last week the U.S. Department of Justice accused seven Iranians of hacking the computer control system of a dam in New York and coordinating DDoS attacks against the websites of major U.S. banks. According to the DOJ, the hackers would have been able to control the flow of water through the system had a gate on the dam not been disconnected for repairs. Then in December, hackers used malware to take over the control systems of two Ukraine energy plants and cut power to 700,000 people. Im not trying to spread fear of a cyber apocalypse by mentioning these incidents. Fear mongering isnt applicable if the events have occurred. + ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD U.S. Critical Infrastructure under Cyber-Attack + When examining terror attacks, police conduct forensic investigations on evidence found at the scene. If suspects are arrested, the police confiscate their smartphones (as weve seen with the iPhone used by the shooter in the San Bernardino, Calif., attack) and computers and review information like call logs and browsing histories. These procedures may provide investigators with new information that could lead to other terror plots being exposed, the arrest of additional suspects and intelligence on larger terrorist networks. Applying an IT perspective to breaches wont reveal complete cyber attacks Cyber attacks, on the other hand, are investigated in a manner that isnt as effective. Theyre handled as individual incidents instead of being viewed as pieces of a larger operation. Ive found that too many security professionals are overly eager to remediate an issue. Considering the greater security picture isnt factored into the process, nor is it culturally acceptable within most organizations to do so. Corporate security teams have been conditioned to resolve security incidents as quickly as possible, re-image the infected machine and move on to the next incident. Cyber attacks, though, are multi-faceted and the part thats the most obvious to detect sometimes serves as a decoy. Adversaries know security teams are trained to quickly shut down a threat so they include a component thats easy to discover. While this allows a security professional to report that a threat has been eliminated, this sense of security is false. Shutting down one known threat means exactly that: youre acting on a threat that was discovered. But campaigns contain other threats that are difficult to discover, allowing the attack to continue without the companys knowledge. Unfortunately, most companies dont approach cyber security with either a military or law enforcement perspective. They use IT-based methods and try to block every threat and prevent every attack, approaches that are unrealistic and ineffective given the sophisticated adversaries theyre facing. The clues security teams need to discover, eliminate and mitigate the damage from advanced threats is contained in the incidents they have been resolving. Cyber security stands to learn a lot from law enforcement when it comes to investigating attacks. Next time theyre looking into a breach, security professionals should: Not treat a security incident as an individual event. Try to place it in the greater context of what else is occurring in your IT environment. View the attack as a clue that, if followed, can reveal a much larger, more complex operation. Instead of immediately remediating an incident, consider letting the attack execute to gather more intelligence about the campaign and the adversary. Remember the threat thats the most obvious to detect is often used as a decoy to shield a more intricate operation. While there will always be terrorists and hackers, remembering these points helps us stay ahead of them, minimize the impact of their attacks and regain a sense of control. Well its springtime and if you are the type to embrace nature and hang out near freshwater, then you may see dragonflies. The next time you see one, consider that its robotic counterpart has finally been granted a patent. Wait, havent you seen dragonfly-like MAVs for years now? Probably. Georgia Tech Research Corporation filed the patent in 2012. At any rate, the patent says that in order for DARPA to consider an aerial vehicle as a MAV, it must be smaller than 6 inches in any direction or must not have a gross takeoff weight greater than 100 grams (about .22 pounds or roughly the same weight as 100 Skittles.) MAVs can fly in enclosed or partially enclosed areas, such as in buildings and alleyways. MAVs can also fly through and around obstacles that are too large or too close together to be avoided by conventional aerial vehicles. For at least these reasons, MAVs can perform tasks that other, larger aerial vehicles cannot. The patent also notes that MAVs can carry cameras and other payloads. Unlike conventional aerial vehicles, however, an MAV's small size and maneuverability can make it difficult to detect. For this reason, MAVs are particularly useful to the military, as they can carry out various military operations without being detected. Georgia Techs patented MAV was inspired by, and/or modeled after, a dragonfly and its types of flight include flapping, hovering, gliding. The patent says that while fixed-wing MAVs can't hover or fly backwards, rotary-wing MAVs "can hover, fly at slow-speeds, and move in any direction." Its not actually just one type of MAV either as the patent (pdf) showed images of 2-wing, 4-wing and N-wing versions. Unless you are being observant, you might miss a tiny, easily overlooked dragonfly. Did you know some dragonflies can fly over 30 mph? That is according to University of Bristol Professor Stuart Burgess. Around the same time in 2012, Burgess wrote about the universitys dragonfly-inspired MAV which weighed less than an ounce and its nuts were smaller than a pinhead. Its six-inch wings could flap 10 beats per second, but since it was powered by a mobile phone battery, it could only flap for 5 minutes. Two-wing ornithopters are even an older idea than MAVs; below is Delft University of Technology MAVLabs DelFly Micro, the smallest flying ornithopter carrying a camera in the world! It was first developed in 2008 and made it into the Guinness book of records in 2009 for being the smallest airplane in the world equipped with a camera. Heres a look at Japans version from around the same time period. One of the original Georgia Tech inventors, Jayant Ratti, has since moved on to become president of TechJect which started an Indiegogo project back in 2012 for its Robot Dragonfly; it was based on years of research and $1 million in military (Air Force) funding. TechJect describes itself as the developer of the world's newest and smallest flight computers for sensing, photography, videography, monitoring, navigation and other use cases in robotics. What Georgia Tech Research Corporation will do now that its MAV patent was granted is unknown. Perhaps it will do nothing as the dragonfly-inspired MAV is not a new notion, or perhaps you should start paying a bit more attention to dragonflies that are flitting around you? ;-p The MAVs might be used during search and rescue type situations, but the patent also mentions the military a few times. The invention was made with Government support under contract number FA9550-10-C-0036, awarded by the U.S. Air Force. The Government has certain rights in the invention. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 61F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 61F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Chemists have identified the complex chemical structure of the protein that stacks together to form fibrils in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients. Armed with this knowledge, researchers can identify specific targets for diagnosis and treatment. University of Illinois chemists, collaborating with peers at the University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University and Queen Mary University of London, detailed their mapped structure of the protein in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. In Parkinson's, the protein alpha-synuclein forms long fibrils that disrupt brain activity. This is similar to the beta-amyloid fibrils that form in Alzheimer's disease patients. However, while the beta-amyloid structure is known, the alpha-synuclein structure has eluded researchers as a result of its complexity, its insolubility and the difficulty of characterizing one protein within a fibril. "This is the first structure of the full-length fibril protein, which is now well established to be important for the pathology of Parkinson's disease," said study leader Chad Rienstra, a University of Illinois chemistry professor. "Knowing that structure will open up many new areas of investigation for diagnosing and treating Parkinson's disease." The Illinois group used a special type of molecular imaging called magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance to measure the placement of atoms in six different samples of alpha-synuclein. In each set of samples, they looked at different sets of atoms, then used advanced computational power to put them all together like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. "We had to find patterns in the data and systematically test all the possibilities for how the protein would fit together," Rienstra said. "It's like when you solve a really complex puzzle, you know you have it right at the end because all the pieces fit together. That's what we got with this structure." See a video on YouTube at https:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v= tZjXeAfqGG4. The group experimentally verified the structure with collaborators by producing the protein in the lab and checking it with various imaging methods to see if it matched the fibrils found in Parkinson's patients. They also verified it biologically by testing it in cell cultures and seeing that it indeed behaved like the protein found in patients. "These structures are crucial for understanding the mechanisms for how Parkinson's disease works," said Marcus Tuttle, first author of the paper, who worked on the project as a graduate researcher in Rienstra's group and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. "Amyloid diseases are incredibly complex systems. What structural features drive pathology? That's a super interesting question, but until now there's been no structure. Now there's a whole avenue where we can start to explore the basic mechanism of how the protein works." Rienstra's group is working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to identify possible diagnostic agents that could target certain spots on the alpha-synuclein protein and would "light up" in a brain scan, allowing for earlier and more accurate diagnosis. "We think that the structure that we resolved of alpha-synuclein fibrils will be really significant in the immediate future and has use for diagnosing Parkinson's in patients before they're symptomatic," Rienstra said. "Once people start having symptoms, whether of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, in many ways it's a little too late to be effective with therapy. But if you catch it early, I think there's a lot of promise for therapies that are being developed. Those are all relying upon the structures that we're solving." A new analysis of the prehistoric origin of malaria suggests that it evolved in insects at least 100 million years ago, and the first vertebrate hosts of this disease were probably reptiles, which at that time would have included the dinosaurs. Malaria, a scourge on human society that still kills more than 400,000 people a year, is often thought to be of more modern origin - ranging from 15,000 to 8 million years old, caused primarily by one genus of protozoa, Plasmodium, and spread by anopheline mosquitoes. But the ancestral forms of this disease used different insect vectors and different malarial strains, and may literally have helped shape animal survival and evolution on Earth, according to George Poinar, Jr., a researcher in the College of Science at Oregon State University. Poinar suggested in the journal American Entomologist that the origins of this deadly disease, which today can infect animals ranging from humans and other mammals to birds and reptiles, may have begun in an insect such as the biting midge more than 100 million years ago. And in previous work, Poinar and his wife, Roberta, implicated malaria and the evolution of blood-sucking insects as disease vectors that could have played a significant role in the extinction of the dinosaurs. "Scientists have argued and disagreed for a long time about how malaria evolved and how old it is," Poinar said. "I think the fossil evidence shows that modern malaria vectored by mosquitoes is at least 20 million years old, and earlier forms of the disease, carried by biting midges, are at least 100 million years old and probably much older." Since the sexual reproduction stage of malaria only occurs in insects, Poinar said in the new study that they must be considered the primary hosts of the disease, not the vertebrate animals that they infect with disease-causing protozoa. And he believes the evidence points toward the Gregarinida as a protozoan parasite group that could have been the progenitors of malaria, since they readily infect the insects that vector malaria today. Understanding the ancient history of malaria evolution, Poinar said, might offer clues to how its modern-day life cycle works, how it evolved, and what might make possible targets to interrupt its transmission through its most common vector, the Anopheles mosquito. Understanding the evolution of malaria also takes one on a worldwide journey, according to evidence found in insects preserved in amber. Poinar is an international expert in using plant and animal life forms preserved in this semi-precious stone to help learn more about the biology and ecology of the distant past. Poinar was the first to discover a type of malaria in a 15-20 million-year-old fossil from the New World, in what is now the Dominican Republic. It was the first fossil record of Plasmodium malaria, one type of which is now the strain that infects and kills humans. Even further back, malaria may have been one of the diseases that arose, along with the evolution of insects, and had a huge impact on animal evolution. In a 2007 book, "What Bugged the Dinosaurs? Insects, Disease and Death in the Cretaceous," George and Roberta Poinar argued that insects carried diseases that contributed to the widespread extinction of the dinosaurs around the "K-T boundary" about 65 million years ago. "There were catastrophic events known to have happened around that time, such as asteroid impacts and lava flows," Poinar said. "But it's still clear that dinosaurs declined and slowly became extinct over thousands of years, which suggests other issues must also have been at work. Insects, microbial pathogens and vertebrate diseases were just emerging around that same time, including malaria." Avian malaria has been implicated in the extinction of many bird species in Hawaii just in recent decades, especially in species with no natural resistance to the disease. Different forms of malaria, which is now known to be an ancient disease, may have been at work many millions of years ago and probably had other implications affecting the outcome of vertebrate survival, Poinar said. The first human recording of malaria was in China in 2,700 B.C., and some researchers say it may have helped lead to the fall of the Roman Empire. In 2015 there were 214 million cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Immunity does not occur naturally and the search for a vaccine has not yet been achieved. Catherine Stoddart THOUGHT LEADERS SERIES ...insight from the worlds leading experts an interview with Catherine Stoddart, conducted by James Ives, MPsych Can you give an overview of role playing in healthcare? How does role playing differ from simulation? I think role playing plays an important role, it's a really interesting question because role playing is somewhere on that spectrum of simulation. There is the potential for patients to play a role to relive an experience or an actor can be used. Simulated role playing scenario using an actor to replicate emergency healthcare, ASPiH 2015. There's a real benefit in really sensitive scenarios like post-coronial role playing, where we need to learn from past mistakes, but it would be insensitive to use patients or similar groups of patients that may be affected. To some extent, actors can display the emotions as youd expect them. I guess they have license to take it where it needs to go and we accept that license. When actors are showing the human aspects of fear, pain or distress, it's a little easier for those that are watching than if a patient is reliving the scenario. And so I think there's a sensitivity around it. Role playing is a really good way to demonstrate communication skills and teamwork in different scenarios. But that's not at the exclusion of simulation, because by default when you are using simulation technology. Interactive digital opportunities exist as well where you can interface or use avatars. You can use those for role playing as well. It's not one or the other. Does role playing occupy an important teaching role within healthcare? What perspectives can role playing provide? I really think it does, it's important for multi disciplinarily, inter-professional learning because there is some real value in scenarios where you take on another persons role. Its useful in a range of applications from learning surgical techniques, completing WHO check lists and with difficult communications around patient care such as end of life care. You need to step into somebody else's shoes to see what it's like to take on that role. Different scenarios can be used with a variety of lead clinicians from the nurse, to the operating department practitioner. Can you describe a scenario that would have benefited from the role playing scenario? What did this role playing scenario entail? The scenario we used in Western Australia in 2007 has definitely benefited patient interaction for all those that have been through it. It has gone on to develop, and is well documented from Edith Cowan University, in Perth. The key point is looking at how you take something as tragic as death in custody and turn it into an actor based role play in an environment that is safe for people to explore, because you are exploring incredibly sensitive issues. The scenario included difficult reactions, such as the shame of health professionals around how a patient has been treated. It has many aspects, with multiple departments including the police, the hospital, professional groups and culturally sensitivity issues too. You need to create an environment that's safe, and one of the ways to do that is through simulation to explore and to debrief as well. We went through the scenario of a young aboriginal man who died in custody within 24 hours after leaving the emergency department, where the care was not as you would expect, both in terms of nursing and medical staff. He was effectively discharged without adequate observations or an x-ray post a crush injury. He was eventually dragged out of the emergency department and put in a holding cell, really in a state of distress. He died as a result of poor care. When we explored the scenario, the best way we thought to share it safely and to really challenge the humanity of the situation was to use actors. Can you describe the simulation facility in Edith Cowan University has and the type of simulation training that takes place? Its pretty amazing. It's about a 58 bed facility that's set up as functioning wards including oxygen, suction, capacity for high and low fidelity and three highly-flexible simulation suites. It's about 20kms out of the centre of Perth, and its part of the ECU Health Simulation Centre. Edith Cowan University Simulation Centre, courtesy of Edith Cowan University Theres a range of simulation areas that can be configured to any setting such as emergency departments, a persons home, community clinics. It actually has multiple lecture theaters linked to it so you can do mass education linked to the simulation. At the high end it's used for resuscitation, paramedics and surgical interventions. It covers the spectrum, it's probably one of the largest in Australia that I have seen. Simulated training at the Edith Cowan University Simulation Centre, courtesy of Edith Cowan University How do you think this particular scenario affected the actors and the professionals involved, what you think they really gained from this invention? More than I expected, the actors were distressed. Partly because they were playing a part where they had to pretend to hit a nurse, because that was what was wanted, and be angry, agitated and distressed. Also, the actors were distressed about playing in a part where you knew the care was poor and a person was being treated in a way you wouldn't want anyone to be treated. That affected the actors most as well as the 88 or so nurses that were involved. It was really distressing to see it played out where you could see points where either the care could have improved or an intervention would have made a difference instead of observation and x-ray. As well as the pure desensitization of people to what was really unacceptable behavior. Around dragging someone out of the emergency department was just unacceptable. When you replay it people can see it much more clearly when they are caught up in it. Generally if you have a coronial, it's either for unexpected death or where there's a question about the care the people are getting. If you can assimilate those into some kind of scenario that either replicates or is an amalgam of multiple events it can go to the heart of health professionals, because the last thing they want to do is do harm. So if you can show where it's happened, it resonates in a way that some other things don't. Do you think any sub group healthcare professionals need simulation training more than others, especially in this human aspect? I think we probably all need it. I don't know that there's any more or less of a need for different staff. However, for a patient the critical conversation they have are often with medicine because theyre getting a diagnosis. So instruction on communication is really important for medicine. With allied health, clinical support workers and nursing in particular even, your interactions are often with patients 24 hours a day, day in, day out, youre there so its critical that you can communicate well with patients. If the patients are not communicating well or they have poor behavior that you're used to seeing every day, you get desensitized. I think it's just important to get a different perspective, to put yourself in the role of the patient, otherwise you can get ambivalent and these scenarios resonate in a way that cant happen through traditional education. Do you think it would be worth like having refresher training for senior staff so they don't become biased? Yes, I do. I think one of the really hard things that happens particularly around patient experience is that people may have really good clinical care and the last thing they remember about their visit, is the fact that their discharge drugs arrived on time or a staff member was rude about arranging transport etc. It's a bit like going to Italy and then your planes late on the way home, and the last thing you remember is that you arrived three hours late and got an extra parking ticket, which spoilt the whole experience. I think there's something around how you show that to people, in a way that is good for senior staff, because we get used to some unfortunate facts, like we may say, "Oh sorry. You are ready to go home but it will take four hours for you to get discharge forms." We get used to these difficulties and normalize them. But in actual fact it's not acceptable because that's what they'll remember. What type of training would you like to see taught to the next generation of healthcare within NHS? What would you like see implemented within the NHS? We're going to need simulation for technical skills for all disciplines along with covering the spectrum of high fidelity and then scenarios that are integrated education early on in their careers. If I use an example again from Australia, the first year of undergraduate education in every discipline at one of the universities is taught together, 14 disciplines. You build inter-disciplinary trust and understanding for the basic education and skills of others. The 14 professions will include medicine from this year. They have their professional subject matter, but subjects like communication, philosophy, quality and all those types of values are taught together. We currently have a weird phenomenon where kids that are integrated in secondary schools are subdivided by discipline or profession at university and then brought back together in a working environment, and expected to form a cohesive group. I would like to see us exploring that idea and you use simulation and team based learning. That brings a fundamental trust straight off because you understand other disciplines educational perspective. I'd love to see that within the NHS. How achievable do you think that is? I think it is achievable but would be easier for newer universities as they set up new programs than the older ones. If there was an opportunity for some of these ideas to be supported and facilitated nationally with simulation as a key mechanism for achieving this it would be fantastic. Where can readers find more information? http://www.ctec.uwa.edu.au/ Professor Cobie Rudd, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Strategic Partnerships) at Edith Cowan University was the first National Teaching Fellow in healthcare simulation in Australia, funded by the Australian Government through their Office of Learning and Teaching. Some 23 interprofessional simulation resources have been developed. https://www.ecu.edu.au/community-engagement/health-advancement/ecu-health-simulation-centre/overview About Catherine Stoddart Catherine is currently the Chief Nurse Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. Catherine was previously the Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer for the State of Western Australia, based in Perth. Prior to this Catherine held a number of executive delete nursing roles at state and hospital level in Australia. Catherine has gained a wealth of experience from voluntary work for the Global Health Alliance in Tanzania and community work in Vietnam. Catherine holds a MBA, MSc and Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is completing a PhD. She is a past beneficiary of the Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship and a Nuffield Fellowship. A University of California, Irvine scientific team led by infectious diseases researchers Philip Felgner and Aaron Esser-Kahn has received $8 million from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency to help develop a new vaccine for Q fever. Caused by the Coxiella burnetii bacterium, Q fever is a highly infectious agent common among livestock. It has a history of being aerosolized for use in biological warfare and is considered a potential bioterrorism weapon. Q fever is also a public health threat; a 2007-10 outbreak in the Netherlands affected thousands of people. Symptoms include high fever, nausea, severe headache and abdominal pain. It is rarely fatal. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today "The current vaccine for Q fever is effective but has severe side effects that limit its widespread use," said Felgner, an adjunct professor of medicine at UCI. "It's a high priority that this vaccine be administered to members of the armed forces. Consequently, the military is interested in developing an alternative protective vaccine that's safer and does not cause adverse reactions." Felgner will use an approach he pioneered at UCI to create whole proteome microarrays to discover immune response-activating antigen proteins that may be effective as a vaccine. Additionally, he'll collaborate with Esser-Kahn, assistant professor of chemistry, whose group will develop synthetic agents that can boost and control the immune response to these proteins. Felgner said this dual method may be applicable in creating more vaccines important to the military and general public health, adding that this is an opportunity for the Department of Defense to test these methods for their potential use against other infectious diseases. After identifying the target proteins, Felgner will work with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Maryland on next-stage animal studies of a candidate vaccine. The project is a successful outgrowth of the Pacific Southwest Regional Center of Excellence, one of only 11 National Institutes of Health-funded research sites dedicated to countering threats from bioterrorism agents and emerging infectious diseases. UCI received $85 million for this effort, which was led by Dr. Alan Barbour, professor of microbiology & molecular genetics. The federal program ended in 2015. Amherst County Attorney Ellen Bowyer will share thoughts on last springs legal battle over the future of Sweet Briar College, in a presentation titled The Fight for Sweet Briar College at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in the 1948 Theater. It will be part of the Colleges annual Honors Colloquia series. According to a news posting on the schools website, Bowyers colloquium will be aimed at the entire campus community. Shes had the opportunity to share on this topic with a smaller group of students this semester, by teaching a 200-level course, The Fight for Sweet Briar College: Lessons in Law and Organizational Governance. Bowyer brought one of the three legal challenges against the school last spring, when then-leaders were trying to close the college after citing what they said were insurmountable financial difficulties. Her challenge, along with efforts from many alumnae, students, faculty and other allies, helped pave the way for a negotiated agreement that allowed the college to remain open under new leadership. Person of the Year: Saving Sweet Briar Alumnae and allies of Sweet Briar College won a new beginning for the school with a mixture of grit, determination and faith. FREDERICKSBURG While some cheered President Barack Obamas recent visit to Cuba and what may be a new chapter in relations between the two countries a Spotsylvania County woman who lived under the Castro regime had a markedly different reaction. It made me sick, said Mercedes Precht-Matuschek. If he was going there to do good, then maybe I could understand it, but nothing was accomplished. It was, for us, like a slap in the face. She was particularly incensed by images of Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro sharing great camaraderie at a baseball game. The two were side by side in the stands the same day a terrorist attack in Brussels, Belgium, killed 35 and wounded at least 300. It invalidates all the suffering, all the losses, all the dead that we still cry for both in Belgium and in Cuba, she said. Precht-Matuschek, 66, fled the land of her birth when she was 13 and hasnt been allowed back because shes a political refugee. She maintains that the Cuban government still subjects its people to the same torture and death squads as 54 years ago when she was there. Shes infuriated that an American president would praise such a communist dictator who continues to take away basic freedoms. Thats not going to change because now were buddies, were friends with Cuba, she said. While analysts agree that human-rights conditions havent improved dramatically in the island nation, many called Obamas visit unprecedented. It brought together two heads of state for talks and even a press conference something that didnt seem possible a few years ago. Thats why Robert Barr, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, considers the visit historic. He said the United States has tried to effect changes by isolating Cuba since the 1960s, and the treatment hasnt worked. Engaging the country might have a better chance at fostering positive changes, Barr said. Also, America is turning a page in its Cold War-era policy, Barr said. Cuba was a threat to the United States when it was aligned with Russia, but thats no longer the case. If nothing else, Barr said, Obamas visit was of tremendous symbolic importance. Thats a bitter pill to swallow for Precht-Matuschek, who cant go back to her homeland to put flowers on her fathers grave. Precht-Matuschek was among an estimated 14,000 youths sent to America between 1960 and 1962. Their families feared for their safety after Fidel Castro, the older brother of Raul, rose to power. When she was in the fifth grade, she made a speech about loving her country, family and God. Her strong words came at a time when communist loyalty was being broadcast on every block. Her speech caused an uproar among government dignitaries in the audience. They threatened to throw her father a wealthy man who owned a factory into prison and send such a rebellious student to Russia. Thats when her father decided to get her out of the country. Others had been doing the same since Castro took over in 1960. Precht-Matuschek left in October 1962, less than two weeks before the Cuban Missile Crisis. The evacuation was dubbed Operation Peter Pan and was created by the Catholic Welfare Bureau of Miami. She thought she was going to the United States for a brief and happy vacation. Instead, her exile lasted a lifetime and she said she felt like a prisoner in the land of opportunity. Some Peter Pan children relocated with families in Florida, but Precht-Matuschek had no relatives in America. The moment I set foot on the airplane, my childhood ended, she said. Precht-Matuschek spent three years in a refugee camp, then ended up in a foster home in Ohio. Her mother and brother eventually were able to join her, but Precht-Matuschek never saw her father again. Her parents divorced before she left Cuba, and he secured permission to fly to Germany where she was living as an adult. He died of a heart attack before he made the flight. But the woman who still calls herself a Pedro Pan child has kept up with events in her homeland. Social media has made it easier, and shes watched countless videos of secret police, snatching up citizens or beating them in the streets for protesting. No matter what the American or Cuban governments may say about how conditions have improved, she says most residents live in squalor blocks away from swanky attractions for tourists. American news reports say the economy is stagnant, and families struggle to keep food on the table when the average salary for workers is $20 a month. None of that will get better just because Obama became the first American president to visit while in office since 1928, Precht-Matuschek said. Hes looking to get his place in the annals of history, she said. Nothing is going to change for Cuba. Nothing is going to change for the people. 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 13-year-old raped twice According to police reports, at about 5 pm on Sunday the girl boarded a PH car outside the Portof- Spain General Hospital and asked to be taken to downtown Port-of-Spain. The driver reportedly made a detour and went to Upper Bournes Road, St James in a lonely area where he raped the girl. He then took her to an area behind the Jaamat-al-Muslimeen mosque on Mucurapo Road where he again raped her. The victim was then given $60 by the rapist who dropped her off near the Hasely Crawford Stadium and told her to take a taxi home. The girl went to her Caranage home and reported the rape to her mother who took her to the E999 command Centre in St James where a report was made. Officers of the Child Protection Unit were contacted and Sgt Morgan took the girl to be medically examined by a district medical officer who confirmed that she was sexually assaulted. The victim was able to provide the registration number of the vehicle and investigations are continuing. Teaching now tiring, stressful and dangerous Issues plaguing schools in Trinidad and Tobago have included bullying, sexual misconduct, peer pressure, physical violence involving students and threats against teachers. Security officers have had altercations with students, and even police officers have been called in to intervene in brawls. According to one teacher, this vocation has become a tiring, stressful and even dangerous one. A female teacher, who teaches at a school in East Trinidad, said she was thinking about resigning and was now looking at different avenues to earn a living. She spoke with Newsday on condition of anonymity. It just doesnt seem to make sense any more. We, as teachers, go to work every day with one thing in mind, to educate our young people, but they just do not seem to be interested. Sometimes I feel like Im just wasting my time. Their grades are terrible. Some of them just manage to keep from getting a failing grade so they would not have to reach a certain level where they would be placed on the schools radar. To them, school is a place to lime, drink, do drugs...the female students make money from prostitution. The classroom is essentially a place where parents and guardians can send them everyday without the responsibility of having to look after them, the teacher said. School bags with some form of text books was is a thing of the past, The teacher said although there are security officers at the school, given the size of the institution, it was almost impossible to monitor every student. She added that the security officers only did what they were supposed to do and nothing more. They do not write reports on deviant behaviour because they think its too much work for them, and they say its not in their portfolio. A lot of things that go on at this school never reaches the Education Ministry, they have no idea what is going on. Even if the teachers want to take a stand and try to discipline a student, the next thing you know is an irate mother or father outside the school threatening the teacher about the way they disciplined their child. And what assurance do I have have for my safety? They have scratched my car a number of times, but Ive stopped taking that on. But when Im leaving on afternoons, who is to guarantee my safety when I leave the school compound and there is an irate parent waiting outside, or the student has his gangster frineds waiting? And yes, we do have the gangs, the teacher admitted. She said teachers hands were pretty much tied when it came to disciplining students because they no longer had that authority, as there is now a process they had to follow. We need more of our parents to show a little more interest in their childrens well being. I know it may be a bit difficult because some parents are unable to get the time off from work, but at least make the effort to attend a PTA (Parent Teachers Association) meeting when they are called. The same way parents want to get feedback from teachers on their childrens performance in school, the same way we want to hear what is happening with them at home... what are their interests, any problems the parents may be having, the teachers are here to help, she said. The teacher urged parents to pay more attention to their children, monitor their homework, check their schoolbags and the contents. Also, she said parents needed to pay attention to any negative changes in their childs behaviour as this may lead to early detection of any problem they may be experiencing Police sergeant in court today A police constable, also of the Eastern Division, is expected to be charged with the same offence when he is released from hospital. The constable, who was detained along with the sergeant on Thursday last, suffered from complications associated with diabetes and is now under police guard at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. However the senior officer was charged on Thursday last and is on $80,000 bail. The sergeant was charged by Sgt Daniel of the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB). According to reports, on March 17, the two officers along with an acting Corporal reportedly sold an SUV, which was recovered by other officers, to a Tabaquite businessman for $12,000. The transaction reportedly took place at a police station in the east. The matter was referred to the Head of the Eastern Division, Snr Supt John Trim who alerted officers of the PSB led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Harikrishen Baldeo. Officers took key statements and seized surveillance footage and documents which they took to the Director of Public Prosecutions for directions in the matter. Instructions were then given for two officers to be charged with defrauding the State. Newsday understands that suspension notices are to be served on the Sgt today following his court appearance PNM observes 35th anniversary of Williams death Williams served as Prime Minister from 1956 until his death in 1981 at age 69. He earned himself the title of Father of the Nation. . He was also this countrys first Chief Minister and first Premier, presiding over this countrys movement from colonialism to independence and republican status . Public Relations Officer of the PNM, Ronald Huggins, said in a statement issued yesterday that the country today celebrates the life of a man described as having achieved the dream of living a fulfilling life . Huggins said, To know this man, is to know that nothing in life is impossible to achieve . In the memory of Dr Eric Williams there is hope, pride, discipline, humility, strength, power and purpose. Huggins said Williams advocated and nurtured the PNM Constitution which continued to be copied by other political parties across the region, and the creation of a Womens League and the grooming of young politicians in the Youth League were some of the components which distinguished the PNM as a model institution . The PNM would celebrate its 60th anniversary this year . Huggins said the national scholar and Caribbean historian used his intellect to fight against racism, and to educate everyone willing to listen . Dr Williams took the opportunity as Prime Minister to emphasise the importance of education, making it free and available to all citizens, and coined the timeless phrase the future of the nation is in the childrens school bags, he said . Huggins said Williams autobiography, Inward Hunger, described his struggles through his academic pursuits. After his struggles and his return to TT, Williams made one of his most famous speeches at Woodford Square, known today as the University of Woodford Square . He used this venue to give public lectures on world history, particularly in the context of slavery and the Caribbean . His book Capitalism and Slavery was recorded as a globally recognised contribution to Caribbean history and the economics of slavery as a unique perspective . At a time when our country is experiencing some challenging circumstances, we look towards the legacy of Dr. Eric Williams and his achievements as an inspiration to guide our journey. The PNM is not just a political party in the narrow sense of the word, but it was created as a national movement for all, cutting across race, ethnicity, colour, class and creed . Williams was succeeded by PNM Prime Ministers George Chambers, Patrick Manning and now Dr . Keith Rowley . 'He Had the Chance to Go in and Save the Children' (Newser) A veteran of the US Navy walked nine miles to a Veterans Affairs clinic in New Jersey earlier this month, poured gasoline on himself, and set himself ablaze. Charles Richard Ingram III, 51, died later on March 19 at a burn center in Philadelphia. "Gasoline burns extremely hot, so how he survived the short time that he did was in my opinion a little unbelievable," says a local fire chief. Self-immolation is often linked to protest, the Daily Beast notes, but attempts to learn more about Ingram's psychological state haven't led to much. Known as "Rich," he's a seven-year veteran who served on the USS La Salle, and was chief on deck when it went to the newly liberated Kuwait on March 12, 1991. After his service, he married Billie Bessler and settled with her in Egg Harbor, NJ, but knocks at their door went unanswered. The Northfield, NJ, clinic where Ingram killed himself is designed to help people in remote or rural areas who live far from population hubs. Because most specialists (psychiatrists included) are in cities, they assist people via teleconferencesomething Ingram likely did or was planning to do if he was getting psychiatric help, says Police Capt. Paul Newman. Ingram also leaves behind two kids, ages 3 and 5, who were photographed in a local newspaper the day before Ingram's death. A 2015 study says the suicide rate among recent veterans of the US military is roughly 50% more than the civilian rate (29.5 per 100,000 veterans), RT.com reports. Whistleblowers, lawmakers, and veterans have harshly criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs over the degree of care it provides veterans. (Read more veterans stories.) (Newser) A bathroom at a Kroger in Athens, Ga., is the unlikely subject of much attention since a customer posted a photo of its unisex bathroom notice to Facebook over the weekend. The sign reads, in part, that the store is opting for a unisex bathroom because "we have a lot of our friends coming to see us," and goes on to list those who can benefit from a more inclusive policy, including dads with daughters, moms with sons, and those in the LGBTQ community. Business Insider reports that Kroger is getting "widespread praise" for the sign, while the Facebook post had been shared almost 90,000 times as of Tuesday morning. Mashable notes that many businesses are taking sides in the ongoing debate in Georgia over banning or upholding anti-discrimination laws, and while Time notes that Kroger has not yet responded with a comment, the Huffington Post points out that the sign actually uses language from a similar bathroom notice posted at Pure Pizza restaurant in Charlotte, NC, earlier this year. (Georgia's governor vetoed its "religious liberty" bill on Monday.) (Newser) Argentina's government celebrated on Monday a decision by a UN commission expanding its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35% to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. The Argentine foreign ministry says its waters have increased by 0.66 million square miles and the decision will be key in its dispute with Britain over the islands. Argentina lost a brief, bloody 1982 war with Britain after Argentine troops seized the South Atlantic archipelago. The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf sided with Argentina earlier this month, ratifying the country's 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast. The foreign minister calls it "a historic occasion" that "reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf." Oil exploration is already pumping millions of dollars into the Falkland Islands economy. Many islanders remain concerned about Argentina's claim as well as the potential for problems from rapid change brought by the new industry. The UN commission's finding included the caveat that there is an unresolved diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain over the islands. The Falklands are self-governing, but Britain is responsible for its defense and foreign affairs. The British government says islanders cannot be forced to accept Argentine sovereignty against their will. The Falkland Islands government says it is seeking clarification from the British government on "what, if any, decisions have been made, and what implications there may be" for the territory. Further: "Our understanding has always been that the UN would not make any determination on applications for continental shelf extension in areas where there are competing claims." (Read more Argentina stories.) (Newser) The College Board has been trying to clamp down on SAT cheating worldwide, but "cram schools" in East Asia are running rings around it, throwing thousands of exam scores into doubt, reports Reuters. The board, a nonprofit organization that owns and develops the standardized test, routinely recycles SAT test material from the US for overseas tests, making it very easy for test-preparation companies in Asia to give students questions likely to appear on the test. In some cases, the cram schools were able to obtain versions of the actual exam bookletsbut the board continued to use material it knew had been compromised and was circulating widely in Asia. Earlier this year, the board canceled testing at 45 centers in China over cheating fears. It did the same in South Korea in 2013. "We're working against cartel-like companies in China and other countries that will stop at nothing to enrich themselves," says College Board exec John McGrath. "These bad actors will continue to lie, cheat, and steal to the detriment of students who work hard and play by the rules." New security measures and a redesigned test given to US students on March 5 were supposed to thwart cheatingbut within a couple of weeks, tipsters were able to show Reuters copies of the exam booklet, and online chatter made test clues as easy to find online as Game of Thrones spoilers. (The author of Freakonomics used an algorithm to bust cheaters.) (Newser) Judging from how he handled Megyn Kelly's questioning, Donald Trump may be about to go to war with more than one conservative radio host in Wisconsin. The candidate got a rough ride when he called radio shows in the state on Monday, with WTMJ host Charlie Sykes calling him a "giant fraud" as a conservative and likening his attacks on Heidi Cruz to the behavior of a "12-year-old bully on the playground," Mashable reports. "Here in Wisconsin, we value things like civility, decency, and actual conservative principles," Sykes told Trump. When Sykes pressed Trump about his history of sexist comments, Trump said he "never thought he would run for office" and stressed that he had always treated women fairly in his business career, Mediaite reports. Toward the end of the Sykes interview, Trump admitted he hadn't known beforehand that the host, a Ted Cruz supporter, was part of the #NeverTrump movement. In another interview, WISN host Vicki McKenna questioned Trump's ability to unify Republicans, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. "This is a state that pulled together Republican coalitions," she said. "Scott Walker didn't win or get the incredible reforms that we were actually able to pass through in a blue-state-turned-purple-state like Wisconsin by dividing Republicans." McKenna said Trump hung up on her when they disagreed about his Heidi Cruz comments. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) Organized labor seemed headed for a defeat in a major Supreme Court case after arguments in January, but Antonin Scalia's death has resulted instead in a 4-4 deadlocka result that amounts to a "big victory to the unions," reports the New York Times. The case involved California teachers who object to being required to pay dues even though they've opted not to join the state's teachers union. Scalia was expected to provide the fifth vote against the unions over the collection of these "agency fees," but the 4-4 tie means that an appeals court ruling upholding the practice will remain in place, reports the AP. It's "the most important case of the year for unions," notes the Washington Post. Because it's a tie instead of a ruling one way or the other, the case will set no legal precedent. As Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog puts it, that means these agency fees can remain in place, though on shaky grounds, "with the legal doubts for public workers unions across the nation probably lingering until a ninth Justice joins the Court at some point in the future." Still, a 5-4 loss would have immediately weakened public unions and affected millions of government workers around the US, notes the Times. Unions argue that the fees help them negotiate better terms for all employees, union or not. (Read more US Supreme Court stories.) (Newser) The hijacking to Cyprus of an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria, Egypt, to Cairo on Tuesday ended relatively peacefully, with everyone on board freed and the suspected hijacker taken into custody. So in the "no harm, no foul" vein, an Egyptian tour company decided to appropriate the incident for its benefit, posting a promotion online that makes light of what could have been a tragic scenario, RT.com reports. In what Mashable deems a "textbook case of too soon," Lions Trips posted an ad on Facebook promoting an upcoming trip to the Egyptian resort town of Hurghada, which, roughly translated from Arabic, read: "Book a flight from us to Hurghada on Thursday, April 7, and maybe a hijacker will take you to Cyprus. Or roll the dice and maybe it will be France or Italy." Comments on one user's Twitter post about the ill-thought-out promo showed varying reactions, from someone who called it "genius thinking" to another who made the observation that "seeing too much blood and too many graphic videos on social media" has caused people to "become heartless." (Another hijacking that ended peacefully: a man in Canada who took over a bus to go for Tim Hortons coffee.) (Newser) Family and friends are launching their own search for a 28-year-old Colorado man who disappeared Saturday while speed flying in Switzerland, KDVR reports. According to the AP, speed flyers use special parachutes to fly close to the ground at high speeds while descending mountains. Mechanical engineer Harrison Fast was speed flying with a group of people on Jungfraud mountainone of the tallest peaks in the Swiss Alpson Saturday when the weather turned and the group lost track of him. The rest of Fast's group either got off the mountain on their own or were rescued by helicopter. "We've always known it was a risk," Fast's sister tells the Denver Channel. "He had injuries before, but we didn't expect him to go off, potentially go off a cliff." After days of fruitless looking, Swiss authorities called off the search on Monday. Now Fast's family and friends are raising money to keep the search going. They've already raised more than $45,000three times their goalon an online fundraising page. And they're holding out hope. I don't really go to that place where bad things live," Fast's brother-in-law tells KDVR. "I keep joking with the family that he's in some mountain-side bar, talking to a girl, with a dead cellphone, not knowing what we are all going through." Fast had been posting updates on his European trip to Facebook up to the day before he disappeared. (A 23-year-old BASE jumper from California died in the Swiss Alps late last year.) (Newser) An unidentified flying object of sorts was found in pieces two miles outside Roswell, New Mexicoafter some teens swiped it from a local museum. According to the Roswell Police Department, three teens swiped the decoration from the UFO Museum & Research Center on March 19. It had just been repaired following damage caused by a snow storm. Police released surveillance video, and a 17-year-old was arrested in connection with the theft on Saturday, UPI reports. Police are looking for the other two teens seen in the video. Government agents still don't know why the teens stole the UFO or why they destroyed itat least that's what they want us to think. (Read more weird crimes stories.) (Newser) A man who has been claiming to be the illegitimate son of William Shatner for three decades now says it's time for dear-old dad to pay up. The Tampa Tribune reports 59-year-old Florida resident Peter Sloan recently filed a lawsuit to force Shatner to stop denying his paternity, take a DNA test, and pay him $170 million in damages for defamation, libel, slander, and more. There has been a pattern of behavior that makes me look like I am lying, and I wont stand for that anymore," Sloan says. "I am tired of being called a fraud by his people and him. Sloan claims his mother hooked up with Shatner in Toronto while they were starring in the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. He says he was adopted and only learned of his famous parentage when he reconnected with his birth mother in the 1980s. Sloan claims Shatner actually admitted to being his father in 1984 during a meeting on the set of TJ Hooker, TMZ reports. Shatner denies it, and Sloan has no proof the meeting ever happened. In 2011, Sloan started using the name Peter Shatner online and for a radio show he hosts, leading to allegations from Shatner's campwhich points out that "many people over the yearshave claimed to be his children"that Sloan is just after some easy fame and money, according to the New York Post. But Sloan says it's not about the money, he just wants to bond with his dad. I am William Shatners son, and I just wish he would acknowledge me," he tells the Post. And lest you think Sloan's lawsuit isn't serious, he's representing himself. (Read more William Shatner stories.) Ice patches discovered near the poles may be an indication that the moon's axis has experienced a shift, eons ago. This discovery has left the scientists astonished and excited about the evolution of moon and its developing structure. Matt Siegler, study lead author of Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said he and his team examined measurements that the two spacecraft made, NASA's Lunar Prospector (LP), orbited the between January 1998 and July 1999, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), presently orbiting the moon. The data collected from the spacecraft shows ice deposits, as expected. However, signs of large patches were also spotted near each pole, balanced at 5.5 degrees. Scientists found that if they joined these two patches in a straight line, passing through the moon's body, it would look like body's axis. According to the team, ice patches are an indication that the rotational axis of the moon has shifted by 5.5 degrees due to inequitable allocation of lunar mass. Based on models, scientists predict that these were the actual poles of the moon, approximately 3 billion years ago. "Models are models," commented Sigler, "so you can make the migration happen any time between 1.5-4.5 billion years ago depending on how you tweak parameters (such as the past rigidity of the lunar crust), but it most likely was around 3 billion years ago." Researchers claim that the lunar poles shifted at the rate of roughly an inch after every 126 years. By that calculation, the moon's axis has experienced about 125 miles of shift in about a billion years. The scientists are hoping to better understand the water's origin on Earth looking at the ice at these poles which is likely to be very old. Siegler continued, "The ice may be a time capsule from the same source that supplied the original water to Earth. This is a record we don't have on Earth. Earth has reworked itself so many times, there's nothing that old left here. Ancient ice from the moon could provide answers to this deep mystery." The findings of the study were published in the journal Nature. Despite Lebron James willingness to team up with Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul to form a super team to play together in the future, Carmeolo Anothy has different idea. "Don't put me in it. I ain't jumping in that. Don't put me in that right now. I'm not answering that question about what we talked about," Wade shared to ESPN after recent reports of LeBron James stating that he wants to team up with his friends in the future. It's certain that Carmelo wants to bring the ring to the Knicks team without Lebron James help. "I came here for a reason, which was to win in New York. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case thus far, but I feel like I have unfinished business to take care of," Anthony added. "And I feel like, I don't know, maybe it's just me, if I just get up and run away from something that I started, that I feel a part of and that's not done yet, then I think I would carry that burden on my shoulders. That's just me as an individual." Lebron recently mentioned "I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together," James told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck. "At least one, maybe one or two seasons - me, Melo, D-Wade, CP. .. I would actually take a pay cut to do that." Since entering the NBA, Anthony has been named an All-Star nine times and an All-NBA Team member six times. This X-Men star Hugh Jackman got involved in a real-life act of bravery. He helped to rescue his two children and many swimmers when they all got washed away by a rip current at Bondi Beach, Sydney. Jackman's daughter, Ava, was pulled out from the ocean with the help of a second swimmer, Australia's Nine News revealed. Peter Adam was swimming when it happened. He helped the Hollywood actor to bring his daughter Ava ashore, later admitting that he was "a little bit" starstruck. He told Nine News: "His daughter was struggling to get on to the sandbar so I reached down, grabbed her arm and put my arm up to Hugh to make a chain to pull us up on the sand bar. That's what you do with any family out there." Adam added: "He wasn't rescuing me, I was assisting him to get his daughter up to the sandbar. He then grabbed my hand to get us up. He then went to get his son." Local Dan Conn said that when Oscar had been washed away again by the strong current, Jackman had remained "pretty cool, calm and collected" throughout. He added that Jackman was "definitely a bit of a super dad, superhero, and he's a super bloke too." Lifeguards helped to bring Jackman's teenage son, Oscar, back to safety. Lifeguard Trent Falson said to Australia's Nine News, that Jackman had thanked him for doing an "amazing job" by bringing his son Oscar ashore. "He said you guys did an amazing job, I think he thanked me about three times on the way up the sand," he said. On Instagram, the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club posted: "The beach had to be closed due to dangerous conditions, multiple rescues happening all at once and limited resources. "@thehughjackman was also spotted assisting with rescues! Thanks Hugh." The Jackman family flew to Melbourne after that. Is Donald Trump as a presidential nominee a scary prospect? He does seem so, as Republicans seem to be jittery about him. But they are the ones to blame, said Hillary Clinton Monday. She hinted that they were extremists, who were trying to undercut President Obama's constitutional obligation to fill in the Supreme Court. She went back to what the Senate majority leader had once said---that the party's main purpose should be to make Obama "a one-term president." She also pointed out that the leading Republican presidential contender, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, had started a 2013 government shutdown while he tried to unravel Obama's health law. "What the Republicans have sown with their extremist tactics, they are now reaping with Donald Trump's candidacy," Clinton said. Clinton's address at the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison seemed to woo voters for the primary on April 5 and was also a pre-runner for the November general elections. Her comments came as she stressed on the Supreme Court as a voting issue, which is extremely important since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Senate Republicans' refusal to regard Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland, was "the latest in a long line of actions aimed at disrupting our government and undermining our president," she added. "These things are connected," she said. "Once you make the extreme normal, you open the door to even worse." However, the fight is not over just one seat in the high court. It November, two other justices will be at least 80 years old. It "could demolish the pillars of the progressive movement," if the Republican Party elects multiple justices, after a period in which the court had already taken a "dangerous turn" by inclining towards the wealthy and powerful. "At its best, the court is a place where the least powerful voices in our society are heard and protected," she said, including those of African-Americans "fighting for the right to vote," or women demanding abortion rights in the face of "humiliating laws that would strip that right away." "Conservatives know exactly how high the stakes are," she said, noting how often Republicans have sought to challenge Obama's policies in the courts. "As scary as it might be, ask yourselves: What kind of justice will a President Trump appoint? Or for that matter, what kind of attorney general? What kind of lower court judges?" The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Amritsar/Pathankot: The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials today headed for Pathankot in connection with the probe into the January 2 terror attack at IAF base. The five-member Pakistani team led by Punjabs Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai landed at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar and left for Pathankot by road amid tight security. JIT and National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take stock of the probe into the Pathankot terror attack today, officials said. Punjab Police was escorting the convoy of the Pakistani team which also has ISIs Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed, Lahores Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Police officials said they have diligently barricaded areas around the IAF facility. The district police has been informed about the visit and deployments have been done accordingly, a senior police official said. A large police contingent has been deployed in and around Dhangu village where the IAF base is located. Meanwhile, Congress workers staged a protest near the air base against the visit by the Pakistani investigators. Government has made it clear that the Pakistani team will have restricted access to the air base with the NIA taking them to a select areas where the over 80-hour gun battle led to the killing of at least four terrorists and seven security personnel. Orange and blue coloured tarpaulin can be seen draping the interiors of the strategic facility, in an apparent indication of visual prohibition being put in place. Investigators from India and Pakistan had met in Delhi yesterday. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case. The opposition parties have slammed the move with Congress saying that unfettered access given to Pakistans JIT by according an almost red carpet welcome raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: US President Barack Obama would hold a trilateral meeting with the leaders of South Korea and Japan to discuss the threat posed by North Korea this week on the sidelines of Nuclear Security Summit, the White House said. On March 31, the President will host President Park Geun-hye of the Republic of Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan for a trilateral meeting on the margins of the Nuclear Security Summit, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday. This meeting will be an opportunity for the three leaders to discuss common responses to the threat posed by North Korea and to advance areas of trilateral security cooperation in the region and globally, he said. Obama would also be meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. Heads of States of nearly 24 countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are attending the two-day summit on March 31 and April 1. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has cancelled his visit to Washington as a result of the Lahore terrorist attack that killed 72 people on Sunday. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Haryana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed Jat Reservation Bill formerly known as Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016. The bill would provide reservation for Jats and four other communities in government jobs and education. The bill was moved by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to give statutory status to Backward classes Block A, Backward classes Block B and Backward classes Block C. The CM Manohar Lal Khattar requested the Central government to include this Act in 9th Schedule read with Article 31B of the Constitution of India. Haryana Cabinet had on Monday passed a Bill to provide reservation to the community in government jobs and education, paving the way for tabling of the proposed legislation in the Assembly before March 31. The draft Bill on reservation to Jats and four other castesJat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois and Tyagiswas cleared at a Cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here, official sources said. With PTI Inputs Haryana Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed Jat Reservation Bill formerly known as Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Bill, 2016. The bill would provide reservation for Jats and four other communities in government jobs and education. The bill was moved by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to give statutory status to Backward classes Block A, Backward classes Block B and Backward classes Block C. The CM requested the Central government to include this Act in 9th Schedule read with Article 31B of the Constitution of India. Haryana Cabinet today passed a Bill to provide reservation to the community in government jobs and education, paving the way for tabling of the proposed legislation in the Assembly before March 31. The draft Bill on reservation to Jats and four other castesJat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois and Tyagiswas cleared at a Cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here, official sources said. The Bill, which proposes reservation for Jats and four other castes by creating a new classification in the Backward Classes category, is likely to be tabled in the ongoing Budget session of the state Assembly, which is scheduled to end on March 31, the sources said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Kolkata: With Centre under attack over allowing a Pakistani probe team access to Pathankot air base, BJP chief Amit Shah today said Pakistan has for the first time made serious efforts towards investigating a terror case. First let me make clear one thing, that the Pakistan team which has come related to the probe, has a limited access to periphery. They will not enter the air base nor will they interact with the officials of the Army. They will investigate other things, Shah said here. I agree that for the first time Pakistan has made serious efforts towards investigation. The results will be known after the investigation gets over, Shah said during a media interaction at Press Club. A five-member Pakistani Joint Investigation Team, including an ISI official, today visited the IAF base at Pathankot in connection with the January 2 attack amid intensified protests by opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party. Congress said that according an almost red carpet welcome to JIT raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. AAP said instead of allowing Pakistans investigation team to visit India to probe Pathankot attack, Indian security agencies should have been sent to Pakistan to investigate the role of masterminds enjoying hospitality of Pakistan Government not only in Pathankot attack but in Mumbai attacks too. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Moving a step closer to Mars Mission, NASA scientists are planning to launch an expandable habitat for astronauts. The space agency has revealed the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), the latest addition that will enable the astronauts to attach to the space station's back and inflate to twice its original size. This habitat technology can be easily transported to space without consuming much storage space on spacecraft. It will also help to protect astronauts from harmful cosmic and ultraviolet radiation in space. BEAM will remain attached to ISS for two years, also there are chances that similar structures could also be used for future lunar or martian trips. NASA is all set to launch a BEAM unit on the eighth commercial resupply mission to ISS. (Also read. Superflares or monstrous eruptions from Sun may affect life on Earth: Study) For deep space trials and expeditions, this is just one step to get more and more comforts possible to the astronauts in ISS. While there remains other additions ranging from dust barriers to challenges that they face on planetary or lunar surface. Though it cant be denied that this new technology is another step closer towards sustaining life on Mars. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai : A special court today convicted 10 out of the 13 accused in connection with the multiple blasts that rocked the city between December 2002 and March 2003 killing 13 people. Special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) judge PR Deshmukh will start hearing the arguments on the sentencing from tomorrow. Those convicted are - key accused Saquib Nachan, Ateef Mulla, Hasib Mulla, Ghulam Kotal, Mohammed Kamil, Noor Malik, Anwar Ali Khan, Farhaan Khot, Wahid Ansari and Muzammil Ansari. In a combined charge sheet filed against 15 accused in the Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central blast cases, police had charged them with offences under POTA, the Explosive Substances Act and preparation to wage war against the nation and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code. Two accused died during the trial and cases against them were abated. Six others are still wanted in the case. The Mulund train blasts occurred on March 13, 2003 killing 12 persons and injuring 71. Earlier, on December 6, 2002 several persons were injured in the blast at McDonalds at Mumbai Central station, while a person died when a bomb attached to a cycle exploded in a market area in Vile Parle (East) on January 27, 2003. Speaking to reporters on how the case was cracked, Special public prosecutor Rohini Salian said that police came to know that a group was engaged in some suspicious activity in Padga in suburban Thane district. Some accused collected explosives, some collected AK-56s and they wanted to target prominent leaders belonging to right wing groups. They also used to practice with those weapons on the hills at Padga, Salian added. Salian said police had recovered many shells from the hills and forensic tests confirmed that the shells were from the seized weapons. We had seized three weapons from Nachan, Ateef and Haseeb, Salian said, adding that it was one of the accused who had taken the police to the hills during the investigation. She also said that the motive behind the blast was to terrorise people. One accused Tahir Ansari, who is untraceable, is a bomb expert and was active in planting crude bombs in trains in different parts of the country in 1993, Salian said. The bombs, she added, were assembled at the clinic of Wahid while the forensic reports confirmed that the traces from the clinic matched with the traces in explosion site. She said Muzammil, the key planter of the bombs who also has an engineering degree, used to be absent from his work place in Andheri whenever the blast took place. Also Muzammils voice was very peculiar as he had some throat ailment. Many witnesses identified Muzammil because of his voice. While keeping the explosive-laden bag in the Mulund train, another bag of a co-passenger fell down and he had some altercation. While planting the bomb in Vile-Parle market, one of the office colleagues met him there. Even there too he had argument with some of the people while parking the bicycle laden with explosives. Another accused Khot took police to a well in Padga where they found some arms and 250 iron bomb cases out of which two were half-made. Police also found Sulphuric acid and ammonium nitrate there. Initially, when the police went to Padga to arrest Nachan based on a tip off they were attacked by villagers and had to return empty handed. Later, Nachan moved the Bombay High Court which asked him to surrender before police. He surrendered in April 2003. During the trial, prosecution examined 153 witnesses out of which many (from Padga turned hostile) while the defence examined 30 witnesses. The trial began in 2014, as earlier some of the accused had challenged POTA and had also challenged clubbing of the cases. Police sources said that the most important challenge for them during the trial was to trace the witnesses. Since many slums were demolished the witnesses started staying somewhere else. If we would have gone to look for the witnesses as police officers we would have failed in tracing them so we decided to go there as LIC agents, said an officer. The officer said that posing as LIC agents they told the neighbours and other people that the witnesses had to receive some money from LIC. Reacting to the judgement, Salian said that she was happy that the victims got justice. The witnesses in the case are responsible for the conviction. I am just a medium to put the case before the court, she added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Seoul: North Korea test-fired a short-range missile or rocket into the sea off its east coast today, South Koreas military said, the latest in a series of launches amid rising tension on the divided peninsula. The North fired the short-range projectile from a location near the eastern city of Wonsan around 5:40 pm which flew about 200 kilometres, Seouls Joint Chief of Staff said in a statement. We are closely monitoring the situation and standing ready for any situations, he said. It was the third such launch by the North in two weeks, as the isolated state stepped up its military threats to protest ongoing Seoul-Washington joint army drills being held south of the border. The North last Monday fired five short-range rockets or missiles into the sea off the east coast, days after test-firing two medium-range missiles. The latest launch comes ahead of trilateral talks between the leaders of the US, Japan and the South aimed at discussing the growing threat of a nuclear-armed North. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Cyprus: Authorities arrested the hijacker of an Egyptian airliner that was diverted to Cyprus today, after the planes passengers and crew were able to escape unharmed. The hijacker, who officials said was motivated by personal reasons and who had reportedly claimed to be wearing an explosives belt, was detained after several tense hours at Larnaca airport where the plane had landed. The hijacker has just been arrested, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter. No further details were immediately available. An AFP correspondent saw a man emerging from the aircraft, walking across the tarmac and then raising his hands to two awaiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him for around two minutes before taking him away. Passengers and crew had earlier been seen leaving the aircraft, including one who climbed out of the cockpit window. The passengers are safe and the crew is safe, Egypts civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy said on state television minutes after Cyprus said the hijacker had been taken into custody. Egypts Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in televised remarks that the alleged hijacker was an Egyptian and had demanded to speak to a European Union representative Officials earlier said there was no link to terrorism in the incident and that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman who was his estranged lover, with whom he had children. This is not about terrorism. This is about the individual action of a person who is psychologically unstable, said the Cypriot foreign ministrys permanent secretary, Alexandros Zenon. The EgyptAir plane landed at the airport in the southern coastal city of Larnaca at 8:50 am (1120 IST), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion. Egyptian civil aviation said he had threatened to detonate an explosives belt on the Airbus A-320, which had been headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo. Most of the passengers were allowed to disembark after the plane landed, but a handful of crew and passengers had remained on board until shortly before the hijackers arrest. Fathy had told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, an air hostess and a security guard, along with three passengers, had remained on board after other passengers and crew were released. Fathy said there had been 55 passengers on board the plane and that the hijacker had demanded it land in either Turkey or Cyprus. The plane had been carrying 21 foreigners including eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, an Egyptian civil aviation ministry statement said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. BRICS nations against marijuana and why this is relevant for the whole cannabis world The BRICS nations comprise of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The members are all developing or newly industrialised countries, with a significant influence on regional and global affairs. What is the Brics stance on marijuana and why should you care? Russia has the one of the worlds most intolerant drug policies, with no distinction between soft and hard drugs, and lengthy prison sentences for dealing and trafficking. Called a dangerous gateway drug by Russias Federal Drug Control Service, the authorities made it clear that there are no plans to legalize marijuana. According to Viktor Ivanov, Director of the Federal Narcotics Service of Russia, Marijuana users have a 50 or 60 times higher risk of switching to heroin. There is one step from dope to heroin. He added words to the effect that those who smoke marijuana for recreational purposes later suffer from depression, dissatisfaction with life and schizophrenia. He did not quote any scientific research to back up this statement. In December last year Ivanov said that Uruguays moves towards marijuana legalization was a mistake. Why BRICS nations policy on drugs impacts everyone As reported in the Daily Maverick, the Russia/South African Drug policy summit held in Durban, South Africa could well be the nail in the coffin of any drug policy reform in South Africa any time soon. A quote from the recent press release reads as follows: In South Africa we have adopted a zero tolerance stance against illicit drugs and, as the President of South Africa recently announced, we welcome the establishment of the SA Narcotics Enforcement Bureau, which will embrace our back-to-basics approach towards law enforcement and crime fighting. Just as we have to unite within our respective countries, so too must we as a global village stand in unity to fight against common enemies, including those who poison the vulnerable with illicit substances. This is significant because for the last five years, marijuana activists in South Africa have been preparing for the Trial of the Cannabis Plant, an event which was to take place in March 2016, but has now been postponed until later in the year. This Cannabis Trial in South Africa is significant because if the Constitutional Court in South Africa declares the laws redundant, these same activists intend to take the case all the way to the International Court of Human Rights taking every government in the world to task on the issue of illegal use of the marijuana plant so that this plant never has to be put on trial again, anywhere in the world. The fact that the South African and Russian governments have reiterated that there will be no plans to legalize marijuana is bad news for these South African activists who have tried so hard to put an end to the illegality of cannabis globally, and it also spells disaster for any individual within the BRICs nations who were hoping for acceptance of the plant, both for medicinal and recreational use. Sources: DailyMaverick.co.za AllAfrica.com Submit a correction >> ISIS jihadis go on killing spree at a nursing home, kidnap Catholic priest to be crucified on Good Friday The Indian Catholic priest kidnapped by ISIS-linked terrorists in Yemen earlier this month was crucified on Good Friday, it has been claimed. (Article by Sara Malm, republished from //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3512288/ISIS-carries-Good-Friday-crucifixion-Indian-Catholic-priest-Yemen-kidnapped-three-weeks-ago.html) Father Thomas Uzhunnalil, 56, was taken by Islamist gunmen, reportedly linked to ISIS, who attacked an old peoples home in Aden, southern Yemen, killing at least 15 people, on March 4. The terrorists reportedly carried out the heinous murder on Good Friday, after threatening to do so earlier in the week, according to the Archbishop of Vienna It was reported last week that several religious groups had received threats that Father Thomas would be crucified on Good Friday, but this was denied by his church in hometown of Bangalore. However, the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, told a congregation gathered in St. Stephens Cathedral in the Austrian capital that the priest had been crucified. It is not known how the Archbishop became aware of Father Thomas alleged fate, but his confirmation of the crucifixion during Easter Vigil Mass was reported in Austrian media. Yemeni authorities have blamed ISIS for the March 4 attack on the refuge for the elderly operated by Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity in main southern city Aden. Four gunmen posing as relatives of one of the guests at the home burst inside, killing four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard. According to our information, the extremists who attacked the elderly care home in Aden have kidnapped priest Tom Uzhunnalil, a 56-year-old Indian, who was taken to an unknown location, a Yemeni security official said. We are aware that no group has yet claimed the criminal attack but information points to the involvement of Daesh, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous, using an Arabic acronym for IS. However, members of Father Toms order have denied that he is due to be crucified, saying they have no information on his health or whereabouts. We have absolutely no information on Fr Tom, Father Mathew Valarkot, spokesman for the Salesians Bangalore province, told UCANews. Read more at: //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3512288/ISIS-carries-Good-Friday-crucifixion-Indian-Catholic-priest-Yemen-kidnapped-three-weeks-ago.html Submit a correction >> Permitless Carry Signed into Law by Idaho Governor Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed into law the states permitless carry law on Friday afternoon. Permitless carry has been in the making in Idaho for nearly five years. SB138 will take effect July 1, 2016. The bill passed out of the House State Affairs Committee by a vote of 13-4 and then was later passed by the full House by a vote of 54-15. Finally, it passed the Idaho Senate with a 27-8 vote. Though there were a plethora of amendments that were sought to be put into the bill, which would have watered down the bill, the people of Idaho were on their toes and fought against them. Seeing that there were veto proof majorities in the House and Senate, Governor Otter signed the bill into law. Many thought he would wait and veto the bill after the adjournment of the legislature in order to keep from being overridden. Governor Otter also issued the following letter in which he acknowledged that the bill was consistent with the U.S. Constitution, Idaho values and our commitment to upholding our constitution protections from government overreach. However, he then expressed concern about its lack of any provision for education and training of individuals who choose to exercise the right to concealed carry. He appealed to the well-regulated words regarding the militia in the Second Amendment for his concern. The problem with that reasoning is that it leaves of the second part of the Second Amendment which has nothing to do with the militia, but with the right of the people to keep and bear arms. In other words, there is no education, training or permits that should be needed for people to exercise their God-given rights. For government to impose those measures indicates that the government believes they are the granters of rights, and thus, have assumed the place of God. I affectionately call such governments The Beast. Several pro-Second Amendment groups supported the bill, including the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, as well as the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police and the Idaho Sheriffs Association. Congratulations Idaho, youre taking back your sovereign country! Submit a correction >> It is estimated that over 27,000 foreign fighters have travelled to Iraq and Syria since fighting broke out in 2011. While there are no confirmed figures for the official tally, experts predict that many are still fighting in the conflict zone while an estiated 20 to 30 per cent have travelled home. Between 27,000 and 31,000 people have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State and other violent extremist groups in the region, according to data provided by the Soufan Group. This is already more than the total who traveled to Afghanistan during its ten-year war. The Soufan Group said that the increase in fighters shows efforts to contain the flow of foreign recruits have had limited impact. As well as the Islamic State (also known as Daesh, Isil and Isis), which is attracting increasing numbers to its cause, there are several other factions fighting in Iraq and Syria. The foreign fighters joining these groups are from at least 86 countries one in six of which have no reported quantity of fighters. There are approximately 6,000 people from Europe with the most fighters leaving France, Germany and the UK. The number of foreign fighters from Western Europe has more than doubled since June 2014, while it has remained relatively flat in other regions such as North America. The UK has seen an estimated 760 jihadists travel to Syria and Iraq. Some estimates say that half of these have returned to the UK, while more than 50 are reported to have died. The Asian continent has seen the most citizens travel to Syria and Iraq, with over 14,000 people estimated to be in the conflict zone. The countries with the most fighters in the conflict are Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Russia. While around 6,500 Tunisians are reported to be fighting in Iraq and Syria, a further 5,000 have been stopped from leaving the country before they could join the fighting. It can be assumed that the majority of the people who have travelled are with the Islamic State, according to the Soufan Group that collates the figures. The group said that the figures may include women and children, who usually do not fight in the conflict. There are also unreported numbers of people who have died in or returned from the conflict zone. While national governments do not know precise counts of their nationals who have gone to fight, estimates have been gathered by the United Nations, the Soufan Group and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. The Soufan Group published a paper on foreign fighters in June 2014, when 12,000 people had left half the number in the current estimates. In it, the group concluded that the Syrian war is likely to be an incubator for a new generation of terrorists, and warned that the world will face years of terrorism as a result. In its December 2015 report, the group added: The motivation for people to join violent extremist groups in Syria and Iraq remains more personal than political. Read more at: //www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11770816/Iraq-and-Syria-How-many-foreign-fighters-are-fighting-for-Isil.html Mere hours after Obama left Cuba after praising the communist nation, Cuban police wage brutal crackdown on pro democracy demonstrators Well, that was fast. On Tuesday, President Obama addressed Cubans about the importance of human rights and peaceful dialogue. On Thursday, pro-democracy demonstrators in Havana were beaten and arrested by Cuban police agents just steps away from where Obama had spoken. (Article by Patrick Symmes, republished from https://www.yahoo.com/politics/cuban-agents-brutalize-democracy-protesters-1393527552835638.html) The demonstration occurred three blocks from the Grand Theater of Havana, where Obama spoke live to the Cuban nation, and was swiftly broken up by plainclothes officers, who attacked demonstrators violently and then stuffed those they had captured into police cars and swept them away within moments. This reporter witnessed the brutal arrests of two demonstrators during the midafternoon eruption of public dissent in one of the most public forums in the city. According to witnesses, a small group of demonstrators had entered a park on San Rafael Street, the most popular of Havanas newly opened Wi-Fi hotspots, where hundreds of people were busily connecting to the Internet or placing international calls over VOIP services. It is unclear how many participated in the demonstration or were arrested; attracted by a loud, angry crowd that had formed on one of the citys principal avenues and was filming the arrests, I arrived on the scene too late to see the original incident but witnessed part of the aggressive police response. As hundreds of Cubans flooded into the park, perhaps more than 60 raised their cellphones and recorded a rough, even vengeful series of arrests. One protester I witnessed appeared to be running away from the police response as muscular men in guayabera shirts chased him down, pinned him to the ground and then punched him repeatedly in front of hundreds of their fellow citizens as well as foreign tourists and this reporter. A female demonstrator was dragged to a police car and quickly removed from the scene, although a large crowd appeared to pursue the police car for more than a block, filming the arrest. They were shouting pro-Obama slogans and saying things like Down with Fidel, said an Australian tourist who was standing on San Rafael Street when the incident began. He described a curious but passive crowd gathering around a small group of active demonstrators, who marched toward the Grand Theater, scene of Obamas unprecedented live address to the Cuban nation. Protesters handed out small pamphlets a little bigger than a dollar bill, the Australian witness said before police agents swept in. The papers were cleaned off the street as quickly as the demonstrators were. Obamas speech was a rare interruption of Cubas state-run monopoly on public discourse. The presidents remarks were broadcast live across the country and, by agreement with U.S. negotiators, reprinted in their entirety in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, the islands only daily. Obamas nuanced remarks were simultaneously designed to avoid antagonizing the Cuban government while sending a clear message that the United States supports multiparty democracy and open debate on the island. Protesters appear to have taken that message to heart, using some version of a slogan that one witness described as Obama si, Castro no. The sight of dozens of cellphones raised overhead to record the incident and the police response did not deter officers. According to Elizardo Sanchez of the Cuban Human Rights and Reconciliation Commission, Cuban police have been retrained in recent years to use less visible tactics when responding to dissent, including physically isolating and gently removing demonstrators. None of that was visible on Thursday. Plainclothes officers punched and kicked a defenseless man who had already been pinned to the ground by another officer; screams could be heard as another demonstrator was dragged into a police car that accelerated dangerously in the crowded street. Read more at: https://www.yahoo.com/politics/cuban-agents-brutalize-democracy-protesters-1393527552835638.html Submit a correction >> Crime does pay. Not being one of our brilliant enlightened leaders in Washington, nor having the advantage of a Harvard Education, let me see if I can understand the scenario which has been unfolding in front of our eyes during the past year: You are a terrorist, blowing up buildings, injuring and murdering innocent people including murdering a New Jersey State Trooper. You are put on the FBIs 10 Most Wanted list. Nearly six children are killed or injured every day and children as young as ten years old recruited to fight SANA'A, YE, AMMAN, JO and TORONTO, March 29, 2016 /CNW/ - A brutal conflict and a fast-deteriorating humanitarian situation are devastating the lives of Yemeni children and have brought the country to the point of collapse, according to a UNICEF report released today, Childhood on the Brink . The report highlights the heavy toll the violence is having on children and the deterioration of an already precarious humanitarian situation. In the past year, an average of six children have been killed or injured per day. UNICEF was able to verify 1,500 grave violations of children's rights. According to the report, more than 900 children have been killed and more than 1,300 injured in the past year alone. These numbers are almost seven times higher than the whole of 2014. Children have been killed while at school or on their way to or from school. UNICEF verified 51 attacks on schools in the last year. The actual number of all violations against children in Yemen is likely to be much higher. "Spaces that were once safe for children schools, parks, backyards are now under siege," says David Morley, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada. "Hospitals have been destroyed. Children have been recruited to fight. Childhoods are being lost every second of every day, and that is something these children can never get back." Child recruitment on the rise As the war escalates, the recruitment and use of children in the fighting has sharply increased. Children are taking up a much more active role, they man checkpoints and carry weapons. In the past year, UNICEF was able to verify 848 cases of child recruitment. Children as young as ten years old were recruited into the fighting. According to latest data, 63 health facilities have been attacked or damaged and most health facilities have reported severe shortages in medical equipment, supplies and personnel, along with sporadic electricity. "Nothing justifies attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, a pattern that is replicated in conflicts across the region and in blatant violation of international humanitarian law," says Dr. Peter Salama, Regional Director for UNICEF Middle East and North Africa. Across Yemen, much-needed basic services have been paralyzed as the inflow of fuel, water and food resources has been severely disrupted by the ongoing conflict. UNICEF estimates that nearly 10,000 children under five years old may have died in the past year from preventable diseases as a result of the decline in key health services including immunization and the treatment of diarrhoea and pneumonia, among others. This is in addition to nearly 40,000 children under five who died every year in Yemen before the conflict began. Ten million children in urgent need The poorest country in the region and already one of the poorest in the world, Yemen has been pushed to the brink by the devastation of the past year. Nearly ten million children or 80 per cent of the country's children are now in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. More than two million children face the threat of diarrhoeal diseases and 320,000 are at risk of severe acute malnutrition. "Yemen was already a fragile state due to intermittent conflicts and underdevelopment and children have been the most affected. Without an end to the war, the country risks becoming a failed state with far reaching consequences," Dr. Salama says. Despite violence, access restrictions and severe funding shortages, UNICEF and partners were able to provide nutrition screening and vaccinations for millions of children and women caught up in the ongoing crisis. "We will not be deterred by conflict, but the future of an entire generation of children is at risk if we do not collectively speed up our support both on the humanitarian and political fronts," says Morley. "Let us act now so that we can look forward with hope to a brighter future for these children and for all of Yemen." UNICEF calls for four urgent measures UNICEF reiterates its call to all parties to the conflict to put an end to fighting in Yemen and reach a political settlement. While the search for peace continues, urgent measures are needed: All parties to the conflict should abide by the laws of war, and immediately stop attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, health and water facilities; All parties should put an end to the recruitment and use of children in the fighting. All children recruited to combat and non-combat roles should be immediately released; All parties should provide unhindered and unconditional humanitarian access to all children wherever they are in the country, including areas cut off by conflict; UNICEF and its partners urgently need to secure funding. To date UNICEF has received only 18 per cent of its $180 million funding requirement for 2016. Note to Editors Broadcast quality photos and b-roll available here. About UNICEF UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization. We work tirelessly to help children and their families, doing whatever it takes to ensure children survive. We provide children with healthcare and immunization, clean water, nutrition and food security, education, emergency relief and more in developing countries. UNICEF is supported entirely by voluntary donations and helps children regardless of race, religion or politics. As part of the UN, we are active in over 190 countries - more than any other organization. Our determination and our reach are unparalleled. Because nowhere is too far to go to help a child survive. For more information about UNICEF, please visit www.unicef.ca. SOURCE UNICEF Canada Image with caption: "On July 30, 2015, two-year-old Hanadi was admitted to Sabeen Hospital in Yemens capital, Sanaa, for treatment. She is malnourished, weak and cant walk. Her mother says since the conflict escalated, the family has mainly survived on bread whenever they can find it. UNICEF/UNI191720/Yasin (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160329_C2871_PHOTO_EN_652097.jpg For further information: Stefanie Carmichael, UNICEF Canada, 416-482-6552 ext. 8866; 647-500-4320 (mobile), [email protected] [March 29, 2016] CGI enters into long-term partnership with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency to help drive its digital transformation Stock Market Symbols GIB (NYSE) GIB.A (TSX) www.cgi.com/newsroom STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) has entered into a contract with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency for the delivery of application development and maintenance services to support its transformation to a more modern, citizen-centric organization. The partnership is part of the Social Insurance Office's objective to establish long-term relationships with a small number of trusted digital transformation partners. The five-year agreement is valued at approximately 500 million Swedish Krona (approx. CAD $80 million), with an option to extend for two years. Over the past few years, the Social Insurance Agency has focused on a set of business transformation initiatives to modernize its operations and improve the citizen experience by providing a higher level of service through the digitalization of core processes, which have provided results such as reduced processing times and accelerated payments. The Social Insurance Agency is currently a leader among Swedish public organizations in terms of IT efficiency and automated systems. Through its partnership with CGI, the agency will future-proof its digital environment through the delivery of best-in-class application services. Through the agreement, CGI will take greater responsibility for overseeing and implementing application services projects, allowing the Social Insurance Agency to focus on its core mission of designing and supporting business processes that provide financial security to its constituents. CGI will draw upon its experience in working with large public authorities within Sweden and globally to provide the agency with the resources and methodology required to develop new application approaches, methods and processes that will accelerate the agency's digital transfomation agenda. "We are extremely pleased by the trust that the Swedish Social Insurance Agency has invested in us," said Par Fors, Senior Vice-President and Business Unit Leader for CGI's operations in Sweden. "We believe that a strong, long-term partnership is key to supporting the sustained transformation of our clients. This contract further acknowledges how CGI is a digital transformation partner and expert of choice in helping large, complex government agencies become citizen-centric digital organizations." About CGI Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world. Approximately 65,000 professionals serve thousands of global clients from offices and delivery centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, leveraging a comprehensive portfolio of services including high-end business and IT consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance, infrastructure management as well as 150 IP-based services and solutions. With annual revenue in excess of C$10 billion and an order backlog exceeding C$20 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Website: www.cgi.com. Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements and this information represent CGI's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, of which many are beyond the control of the Company. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. These factors include but are not restricted to: the timing and size of new contracts; acquisitions and other corporate developments; the ability to attract and retain qualified members; market competition in the rapidly evolving IT industry; general economic and business conditions; foreign exchange and other risks identified in the press release, in CGI's annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and in other public disclosure documents , in CGI's Annual Report, and in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities authorities (filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com), in CGI's Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov), as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. The words "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "foresee", "plan", and similar expressions and variations thereof, identify certain of such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. In particular, statements relating to future performance are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. CGI disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or on this forward-looking information. SOURCE CGI Group Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] River Run continues to grow with new Vice President of Sales and Marketing GLENDALE, Wis., March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- River Run Computers, Inc. (RRC) has announced the addition of Dan Duffey as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Duffey brings more than 25 years of Senior Sales and Management experience to River Run Computers. Dan will lead the Sales and Marketing team forward as they continue to provide exceptional IT services to clients within the Southeastern Wisconsin area. Prior to joining River Run Computers, Dan served as the Vice President and COO of the Black Diamond Group, a commercial and municipal construction company. He was a member of the firm's executive leadership team and a key contributor to its growth and strong reputation. "Dan Duffey brings a deep understanding of client loyalty and the vision needed to create business development strategies to further our growth in the marketplace. Hisproven ability to execute business objectives to drive sales revenue will make him an asset to our team," states Paul Riedl, Jr. Upon joining River Run Computers, Dan stated, "I am excited to start working with this company that has been through the highs and lows of the economy and has kept their clients as their focus. The team within River Run not only supports their clients but also supports each other. It truly is a team atmosphere at River Run and I am ready to take us to the next level." About River Run Computers Founded in 1993, River Run Computers, Inc. is a full-service Information Technology and Applications firm whose mission is to "Keep You Up and Running." Their goal is to partner with clients to maximize the positive effects technology can have on their organization in order for them to grow their business. River Run Computers, Inc. supports a wide variety of clientele in Wisconsin, including manufacturers, CPA firms, law firms, auto dealerships, schools, non-profits, municipalities and financial institutions. For information on River Run Computers, visit www.river-run.com or contact River Run Computers at 414-228-7474 or [email protected]. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/river-run-continues-to-grow-with-new-vice-president-of-sales-and-marketing-300241549.html SOURCE River Run Computers, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] TCS Canada Inaugurates New DownTown Toronto Office Hub for Technical Innovation, Partner Collaboration and Industry Leading Client Service TORONTO and MUMBAI, India, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, today announced the opening of its new office in Toronto. Located in the heart of the city at 400 University Avenue and near the iconic CN Tower, the facility encompasses three floors and 50,000 square feet, providing a new hub for technical innovation, partner collaboration and industry leading client service. Tata Consultancy Services' CEO and Managing Director, N. Chandrasekaran, attended the TCS office inauguration on March 24, 2016, welcoming executives from top customers, suppliers, community partners, and government officials. Honoured guests included the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne; the Honourable Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade; and the Honourable Brad Duguid, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. "TCS is committed to its growth agenda in Canada," said Surya Kant, President of North America, UK and Europe, Tata Consultancy Services. "It is a key market of technical innovation, and our client relationships that span the country continue to digitally evolve and thrive." "The new facility in downtown Toronto represents more than just an office opening; it's TCS reinforcing its foothold and future impact in the Canadian marketplace, both with our clients and the local community," aded Soumen Roy, Country Head of TCS Canada. "This new centre provides a space to harness innovation, creativity and rapid product ideation, and deepen our relationships as a premier partner for our clients, as an employer of choice and a core member of the local community." TCS is one of the 10 largest IT Services providers in Canada, and has been operating in the country for 25 years. TCS Canada currently serves more than a hundred large Canadian enterprises from coast-to-coast, and has additional offices in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. More recently, TCS Canada has received multiple workforce awards, including Achievers recognizing TCS Canada as one of the '50 Most Engaged Workplaces' and the Top Employers Institute ranking TCS as one of 'Canada's Top Employers.' About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS, infrastructure, engineering, and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India's largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 344,000 of the world's best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $15.5 billion for year ended March 31, 2015 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com. To stay up-to-date on TCS news in North America, follow @TCS_NA. For TCS global news, follow @TCS_News. Subscribe to an RSS Feed of TCS Press Releases. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131002/LA90934LOGO-b To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tcs-canada-inaugurates-new-downtown-toronto-office-300242591.html SOURCE Tata Consultancy Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] Softchoice once again named a Tech Elite solution provider by CRN TORONTO, March 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Softchoice, a leading North American IT solutions and managed services provider, is pleased to announce it has once again been named to CRN's Tech Elite 250 list. This annual list honors an exclusive group of North American IT solution providers with deep technical expertise and the highest number of advanced technical certifications from leading technology vendors such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, and VMware. "Being named to the Tech Elite 250 gives credence to our continuous efforts to build the best team in the industry and the deepest relationships with partners and our customers," said David MacDonald, President and CEO, Softchoice. "As IT solutions grow more integrated and complex, we pride ourselves on bringing world-class, differentiated offerings to market that help our customers stay on top of their IT environments and ahead of the latest IT trends." In addition to being recognized by partners such as Microsoft, Cisco, Dell and VMware, Softchoice is also ranked prominently on RN's Solution Provider 500, Computer Dealer News' Top 100 Solution Providers, the MSPmentor501 global ranking of managed service providers, and the Talkin' Cloud 100 global list of cloud solution providers. To compile the annual list, The Channel Company's research group and CRN editors work together to identify the most customer-beneficial technical certifications in the North American IT channel. Companies who have obtained these elite designations which enable solution providers to deliver premium products, services and customer supportare then selected from a pool of online applicants. "The solution providers selected for our annual Tech Elite 250 list have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and gained strong industry credibility by earning some of the most difficult IT certifications available from top technology vendors," said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. "Attainment of these exclusive certifications strengthens the channel as a whole by invigorating partnerships and enabling the delivery of exceptional customer service. We congratulate each of these organizations and look forward to their continued success." About Softchoice As a leading North American provider of IT solutions and managed services, Softchoice combines the efficiency and reliability of a national IT supplier with the personal touch and technical expertise of a local solutions provider. Softchoice's holistic approach to the technology includes solution design, implementation, asset management and cloud services, as well as access to one of the most comprehensive and cost-effective technology distribution networks in North America. With over 1,300 employees, Softchoice manages the technology needs of thousands of corporate and public sector organizations across the United States and Canada. About the Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com SOURCE Softchoice Corporation [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] Cybereason Racks Up Multiple Industry Honors in 2016 BOSTON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybereason today announced that over the past few weeks, it has received numerous honors from across the cyber security industry and within the Boston business community. Having entered 2016 still riding the momentum it created in 2015 by raising more than $80 million, Cybereason is maintaining its trajectory with multiple award wins and honors from respected outlets such as Dark Reading, SC Magazine, CRN, Info Security Products Guide and BostonInno for its growing impact on the cyber security industry. Founded by members of the Israeli Army's elite cyber security corps, Unit 8200, Cybereason was founded to help enterprises defend themselves against a new breed of sophisticated attacks and attackers. The Cybereason Detection and Response Platform leverages big data, behavioral analytics and machine learning to automatically hunt down complex cyber attacks in real time. Cybereason customers some of the largest and most targeted companies in the world validate that Cybereason's solution reduces the time it takes to detect complex attacks from months or years to days or even hours, leveling a playing field where cyber criminals previously held the advantage. "While it's incredibly gratifying to see Cybereason honored in publications we read every day, what's even more gratifying is the fact that these accolades reflect the fact that our plaform has transformed our customers' ability to deal with advanced attacks," said Lior Div, Cybereason Co-founder and CEO. "The Cybereason platform enables enterprises to turn the tables on their attackers in a very real and immediate way. When our customers see our platform in action, they become our greatest evangelists. We are honored to have their trust and confidence and are grateful for the recognition we've been receiving." Cybereason Recognized For its Innovation, Rapid Growth, and Successful Execution Cybereason's 2016 honors and accolades include: CRN: Security 100 CRN: 30 cool new security products launched at RSA SC Magazine: SC Award Winner, Best Rookie Security Company Info Security Products Guide: Gold Winner - IT Security CEO of the Year Gold Winner - Company Growth of the Year Bronze Winner - Start-up of the Year, Dark Reading: 20 Cyber Security Startups to Watch in 2016 Finalist in BostonInno's TechMadness 'What our customers seem to appreciate most about our platform is that it prevents them from being blindsided," Div continues. "Cyber attacks are now a fact of life, but catastrophic damage isn't." About Cybereason: About Cybereason: http://www.cybereason.com/ Founded by members of the Israeli military's elite cyber-security corps, Cybereason's technology is based on their deep understanding of complex hacking operations. The Cybereason Detection and Response Platform leverages big data, behavioral analytics and machine learning to automatically hunt down complex cyberattacks in real time. Providing a full visual map of malicious operations, Cybereason provides its customers with immediate visibility to advanced threats inside their network and empowers rapid, effective response. Cybereason is privately held and headquartered in Boston with offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. Its customers and partners include Wipro, Lockheed Martin, Softbank and other enterprise customers across all verticals worldwide. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cybereason-racks-up-multiple-industry-honors-in-2016-300242696.html SOURCE Cybereason [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [March 29, 2016] E2: 2.5 Million Americans Work in Clean Energy WASHINGTON, March 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 2.5 million Americans work in the clean energy industry across all 50 states, according to a new comprehensive analysis unveiled today by the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). The report "Clean Jobs America," available here is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information and new data from the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as a comprehensive survey of tens of thousands of businesses across the country. The report provides detailed breakdowns of clean energy jobs not available previously. According to the findings, energy efficiency is by far the nation's largest clean energy sector employer, with nearly 1.9 million Americans working in areas such as high-efficiency lighting, Energy Star appliance manufacturing and high-efficiency HVAC services to reduce wasted energy in homes, schools and businesses. Nearly 414,000 people work in renewable energy, the study found. The top renewable sectors were solar with 299,000 workers (including nearly 209,000 who work on solar full-time or close to full time, as The Solar Foundation noted in its 2015 job census) and wind with 77,000 workers. "Clean energy is no longer a niche business it's a big-time job creator," said Dan Smolen, managing director of The Green Suits, a Virginia-based talent recruitment and career development firm. "Our lawmakers need to realize that and put policies in place, right now, to help the sector grow even more." The Clean Jobs America analysis was done for E2 by BW Research Partnership, which has conducted similar studies for numerous state and federal agencies. The report was developed with survey responses from 20,000 U.S. companies BW Research contacted in late 2015. The report was done in collaboration with Clean Energy Trust, The Solar Foundation, Advanced Energy Economy and other partners. Additional report findings include: 328,000 people work in the energy efficient lighting industry. Another 162,000 help build Energy Star appliances. Nearly 170,000 Americans work in the advanced vehicle industry, including 107,000 who work on hybrids and electric vehicles. Strength in this industry is due in part to new fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles and trucks. More people work in clean energy than sectors like real estate and agriculture, and many more work in clean energy than work in dirty energy industries like oil, gas and coal extrction. "America's clean energy jobs market is massive," said Philip Jordan , vice president and principal at BW Research Partnership. "It ranks right up there with some of the biggest industries in the country including real estate, management, and agriculture. "When we spoke with clean energy employers nationwide, we were struck by their responsiveness to state- and federal-level policies as well as their optimism," Jordan said. "It's clear that by shoring up clean energy policies, lawmakers have a big opportunity to attract even more clean energy jobs to their own backyards." To compare the number of clean energy jobs in America to the fossil fuel industry and other sectors, see U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data here and here. The report includes a case study of a growing Georgia solar company that earlier this month broke ground on a major project at a U.S. Navy facility in Mississippi, the latest evidence of the military's increased investments in clean, renewable energy. E2 videos show how smart policies are creating clean energy jobs at businesses in states including Colorado, California, Virginia, Missouri, Iowa, and Ohio. And this video shows how the Navy saves money with energy efficiency. "In a short amount of time, clean energy has become a huge part of our workforce and our economy," said Bob Keefe, E2's executive director. "Smart policies helped jump-start this industry, and smart policies will keep these made-in-America jobs growing and help our environment along the way." According to Keefe, state energy efficiency and renewable standards, federal tax incentives and other policies have helped drive exponential growth in clean energy jobs in recent years. To keep these jobs growing, lawmakers should continue to support the policies that are driving the clean energy sector ranging from the recent international climate agreement reached in Paris, to the federal Clean Power Plan, to state and regional clean energy goals. To speak with clean energy business leaders in your state, please contact E2 press secretary Jeff Benzak at 202-513-6248 or [email protected]. In addition to Clean Jobs America, E2 and its partners have conducted in-depth clean energy jobs studies in numerous states, including www.CleanJobsMidwest.com, released March 22, which maps 569,000 clean energy jobs in 12 Midwestern states. The jobs are searchable by county, congressional district, and state legislative district. Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see www.e2.org or follow us on Twitter at @e2org. PRESS CONTACTS: Pat Mitchell, [email protected] , 703-276-3266; or Jeff Benzak, [email protected]; 202-513-6248. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/e2-25-million-americans-work-in-clean-energy-300242805.html SOURCE Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Washington, D.C. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Men of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit, (Task Force) have recovered N5 million that fell-off a movin... Men of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit, (Task Force) have recovered N5 million that fell-off a moving bullion van along Lagos State House of Assembly Complex, Alausa, Ikeja.Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force Superintendent of Police, SO, Olayinka Egbeyemi, disclosed that two Police officers attached to the agency recovered the money. The two officers, Sergeant Ogunbiyi Agbabu and Inspector Eheziekia Abiona, recovered the money which fell of the van when it sped past the agencys headquarters at Alausa. He therefore, implored the Police and Lagos State Government to commend the officers for their honesty and integrity. The chairman however, requested that the owner of any bullion van that drove through the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex between November to December 2015 with missing N5 million should come forward with cogent proof of ownership. The Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has issued a warning to Governor Nasir El-Rufai. The Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has issued a warning to Governor Nasir El-Rufai.According to reports, the Archbishop gave the warning while briefing journalists shortly after celebrating the Easter Monday with students of the Borstal Training institution in Kaduna.The bill will create confusion and disharmony, therefore, our stand is that our existing laws are enough to deal with people who uses religion, tribe or sentiments to create confusion, discord and make people to commit violence against each other." The Borno Government on Monday said about one million private houses had been destroyed by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in the few ye... Gov. Kashim Shettima disclosed this while receiving former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Maiduguri.Tens of thousands of our innocent citizens were brutally killed; married and single women were abducted and raped; our sons were forced into becoming child-soldiers; More than 2 million citizens were internally displaced in camps and host communities in Maiduguri alone. Others fled to different parts of Nigeria including Lagos, some fled to neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon, Shettima said.He added: Recently, we carried out a post conflict assessment in accordance with international best practices that are verifiable through satellite images and physical analysis, and based on our assessment we discovered that about 1 million private houses were destroyed by insurgents across the 27 local government areas in the state. A total of 5,335 classrooms and other school buildings were destroyed in primary, secondary schools and two tertiary institutions. Shettima added: A total of 512 primary schools, 38 secondary schools as well as two tertiary institutions of Umar Ibn Elkanemi College of Education, Science and Technology in Bama, and College of Business and Management Studies in Konduga were affected.A total of 201 health centres comprising mostly primary healthcare clinics, dispensaries and some general hospitals were affected across the 27 local government areas. A total of 1,630 water sources that include motorised boreholes, hand pumps, solar powered boreholes and facilities for piped water schemes were destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents.A total of 665 municipal buildings comprising ministries and LGA buildings, prisons, police stations and electric offices were destroyed. Also, 726 power distribution substations of 11 KV/415V and distribution lines of 415-230V were destroyed across the 27 local government areas of the state and so were destructions of our Eco systems that include parks, game reserves, forest reserves, grazing reserves, green wall projects, orchards, ponds, river basins and lakes, some of which were either poisoned or bombed in 16 out of 27 local government areas.These are in addition to other monumental economic losses suffered by millions of citizens as well as huge quantum of funds expended by government on complimentary services to the military, rebuilding communities initially destroyed before they were occupied as well as rehabilitating victims because we figured out that we had to be paying some sort of compensation to victims so that they do not join Boko Haram out of frustration. There is light at the end of the tunnel.You have fought for change and change we have got. The fight against Boko Haram has largely been result driven under the Buhari administration and we are most hopeful that the end of Boko Haram is closer than it ever was. We have began reconstruction works as a short documentary clip I am respectfully handing over to you, would confirm. We started reconstruction works to demonstrate commitment on our part. We are optimistic that we will be supported by the Federal Government soon. President Muhammadu Buhari would depart Abuja for Washington DC, capital of the United States of America on Wednesday for the 4th Nuclea... The president is expected to join President Barack Obama and about 60 other world leaders and heads of international organisations for the summit. President Buhari would be accompanied on the journey by the Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.) and the Director-General of Nigerias Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Professor Lawrence Anikwe Dim.A statement by the presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina stated that At plenary sessions of the summit which is dedicated to reinforcing international commitment to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, President Buhari will insist that while Nigeria will continue to sustain that commitment, world powers must respect the right of other countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy for development purposes.The President will also reaffirm Nigerias stance that international efforts to ensure greater security of nuclear materials should maintain a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the indisputable right of Nigeria and other countries to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development.The statement recalled that at a meeting with him in Abuja earlier this month, President Buhari told the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. Yukiya Amano that the Federal Government will welcome greater support from the agency for Nigerias aspiration to begin the generation of electricity with nuclear energy.On the sidelines of the meeting, president Buhari would also hold bilateral meetings with other participating Heads of Government and high-ranking United States Government officials. He would return to Abuja on Sunday upon the conclusion of his assignment. Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for publicly admitting errors in some policies carried out by hi... Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for publicly admitting errors in some policies carried out by his administration since assumption of office.He said the elections conducted in Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers states in recent times have destroyed the legacy of good elections witnessed under former President Goodluck Jonathan.In a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose advised Buhari to go beyond apologising to Nigerians but take concrete steps towards addressing the problems confronting the nation.The governor also advised the President to stop globe trotting and stay more at home to address challenges facing Nigerians, saying the country must be now given adequate supervision.According to him, the President should to stop seeing himself as a sectional leader or the president of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but as the leader of all groups and people.The governor further advised Buhari to be wary of those he described as some selfish persons in the APC who were bent on dropping his name to commit atrocities all in the name of politics.Fayose said: This is a moment of truth. I commend the president for being bold enough to apologise for his lapses. He has admitted and accepted that criticism is part of democracy. He can do whatever he likes, but it must be within the ambit of the law.The President admitted that there is a sharp drop in electricity and that we are experiencing an agonising fuel scarcity in the country.The President must not, however, stop at apologising. He cannot continue to apologise over everything, he must step up. A leader must think very well before making policy statements.I call on him to do something about the lingering fuel scarcity. Many motorists now sleep at filling stations. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has told Nigerians not to expect solution soon. The government should end the pains without delay and stop chasing perceived political enemies.The President should also address job. He promised Nigerians jobs but the reverse is the case now.They should also pay attention to security issues, rather than exerting energy on silencing opposition. Look at the Agatu issue. That place is a food basket for the country, we should not fold our arms, he said. The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has urged security agencies to place Governor Ayo Fayose under watch for allegedly co... The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has urged security agencies to place Governor Ayo Fayose under watch for allegedly conducting himself in a manner that threatens national security.The party said Fayoses recent utterances and actions suggest acts of sabotage targeted at rendering national institutions ineffective.The APC said the alarm became necessary, following Fayoses alleged death-wish for President Muhammadu Buhari and inciting the people against the Department of State Services (DSS) at a rally last Friday to welcome a lawmaker, Afolabi Akanni, from DSS custody.In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the APC regretted that Fayose overlooked an Ekiti indigene, Ayodele Dada, who was the best graduating student at University of Lagos with a Gross Point Average (GPA) of 5.0 in favour of a person accused of sundry crimes against the law.Olatunbosun said besides inciting the people against the DSS at Akannis welcome rally, the governor also allegedly declared the DSS Director General, Lawal Daura, persona non grata in Ekiti State.He also allegedly threatened to bring down Buharis government if any attempt was made to investigate allegations of crimes levelled against him (Fayose).According to APCs spokesman, Fayoses unguided statements had exposed him as a man fighting a lone battle against the Federal Government.Olatunbosun said: We have heard of reports of Governor Fayose inciting the people to stone DSS operatives anywhere they are seen. This is besides saying many unprintable things about the President.It is regrettable that Fayose cannot separate his personal views as a man constantly at war with the law from the views of lawful Ekiti people.Accusing the governor of running a government built on his personal image, the APC spokesman said this misconception had robbed Ekiti people the quality leadership with the right mindset to see governance beyond the prism of self-glorification.Olatunbosun added: This failure to see governance beyond personal appeal is costing our state good governance.That is why the governor is wasting state resources on helicopter charter to ferry an accused person from Abuja to Ekiti after which he took six pages of newspaper adverts to publish court records on the accuseds bail application and topped it with the donation of a new car to the same Akanni, who is still under investigation over several criminal cases.Fayose has appointed himself national opposition leader just because he wants to help himself in his many criminal cases against the nations law. That is why he will never wish Nigeria well to have country where the law works. Unidentified gunmen on Sunday night killed a student of the University of Port Harcourt around Umuokiri village, Aluu community in Ikwerre L... Unidentified gunmen on Sunday night killed a student of the University of Port Harcourt around Umuokiri village, Aluu community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.The victim identified as Mr. Clinton Opribo-Amos was shot dead at a hotel in the area by a group of young men suspected to be members of a secret cult.It was gathered that Opribo-Amos, a student in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies in UNIPORT was murdered in cold blood during the Easter celebrations.A source, who related the development to The PUNCH stated that the hoodlums had invaded the hotel around 11pm.The source revealed that the gunmen on arrival at the hotel interrupted the electricity by putting off the generator that was supplying power to the facility.The source added that when darkness overtook the environment, the assailants opened fire, shooting several times at their target.He said, We were just in the hotel when we noticed some boys entering. Nobody suspected anything because groove was on. Later, the generator that was used in the hotel went off. Immediately, the boys started shooting.The continuous shooting caused fear as some people lie down on the floor. When the shooting stopped, everybody ran away. It was later that the victim was discovered dead. Several other persons, who were also there, sustained varying degrees of injuries while they were struggling for escape.The source lamented that every effort made to reach security operatives when the shooting was on proved abortive.When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Mr. Ahmad Muhammad, said the command had not yet been briefed on the incident. An exclusive video has been released to YouTube detailing the visit of Nigerian 'Prophet' T.B. Joshua to Tanzania and revealing ... An exclusive video has been released to YouTube detailing the visit of Nigerian 'Prophet' T.B. Joshua to Tanzania and revealing further details of the pastor's closeness to the East African nation's new pace-setting President.In the clips, Joshua is warmly welcomed at the airport by Tanzania's President, Dr John Magufuli, who is a described as a 'regular visitor to The SCOAN and an Emmanuel TV partner'.Subsequently, the video shows Joshua being shown around Magufuli's personal house and meeting his extended family, including his aged motherThe new President's eldest son testifies in the clips that he received 'healing' from a severe respiratory problem after prayers from Joshua in 2013, no longer needing the breathing device he once relied upon.Other clips reveal the Nigerian cleric's extensive meeting with Tanzanian opposition leader Edward Lowassa and key members of his party where he is seen offering prayers for them.At the period of Joshua's arrival in November 2015, the nation was tense after the election outcome was disputed by Lowassa.However, peace and progress have been the watchwords of Magufuli's first few months in office, his anti-corruption drive and impressive work ethic hailed worldwide.The hash tag #WhatWouldMagufuliDo has trended on social media across Africa in the light of the new president's whirlwind start and lead-by-example approach.After 100 days in office, a national poll revealed that over 90% of Tanzanians approved of Magufuli's presidency.Comments on the YouTube video, uploaded by Emmanuel TV's official channel, were replete with requests for the controversial cleric to visit their respective nations.The clip comes days after another Emmanuel TV YouTube video purportedly showing the deliverance of a young man who 'turned into a dog' went viral. Politician, Dr Tunji Braithwaite is dead. He died yesterday, aged 82 after a brief illness. His son, Olumide, said the legal icon a... He died yesterday, aged 82 after a brief illness. His son, Olumide, said the legal icon and activist politician fell ill in the early hours of yesterday and was rushed to St Nicholas Hospital where he died at 5.55 am. Family sources said that Dr Braithwaite fell from a thread mill a few weeks ago and had been ill since then. The illness was said to have worsened yesterday morning when he had breathing problems prompting his being rushed to the hospital, the source added.Olumide, who is yet to reconcile himself with the fact that his dad is no more said the family was sad about the death of his father but they are also happy about what he stood for while he was alive.His words: I believe if Nigeria has a minimum of 10 fearless personalities who are fighting for the masses like my father did all his life, Nigeria would have been a better country today.My father stood for integrity, steadfastness, uprightness, courage, bravery and the voice for the masses of Nigeria. In his early 40s, he contested against the known names in the political annals of this country which include, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the great Zik and Shehu Shagari. I can say without being immodest that his name also opened a lot of goodwill for the children and family anywhere we found ourselves. Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said yesterday that ex- President Goodluck Jonathan did not call him for 19 days after the abductio... Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said yesterday that ex- President Goodluck Jonathan did not call him for 19 days after the abduction of the Chibok girls, almost two years ago.He spoke yesterday when ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is on a two-day visit to the University of Maiduguri, visited him at the Government House.Shettima said Obasanjo would have handled the issue differently were he the president at that time.In our case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency, he said.I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons.Shettima hailed Obasanjo for having a hands-on to issues when he was president. Someone even told me that as President, Baba Obasanjo had phone numbers of traditional rulers and resident heads of security establishments in states that were prone to crisis and he sometimes spoke with them directly to get firsthand information.Without crisis, he created time to call traditional rulers to make enquiries about communal stability, ethno-religious co-existence and community policing in order to forestall problems. In our case, Your Excellency, after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons.Obasanjo, who arrived in Maiduguri about 11 am, visited Shettima at the Government House.The governor said Mondays visit was the former presidents first call at the Borno Government House since 1976.Obasanjo, who praised the Borno State governor, urged the Federal Government to embark on detailed research to document the Boko Haram insurgency for posterity to learn from.The ex-president hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.I know that he (Buhari) is concerned about the insurgency. He has got it right that first of all there must be military ascendency over the insurgents, he said.I do travel a lot in Africa and outside Africa. Where I have gone in recent times, what the people wanted to know is how Nigeria is coping with the situation of insurgency.I think we are not out of the woods yet, but it appears we can see the light beyond the tunnel, Obasanjo said. THE Army has raised the reward from N500,000 to N1 million for anyone with information leading to the rescue of kidnapped Colonel Samaila... THE Army has raised the reward from N500,000 to N1 million for anyone with information leading to the rescue of kidnapped Colonel Samaila Inusa.Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 1 Division, Col. Abdul Usman told reporters yesterday that the Army would reward any person with information leading to the officers freedom.He said the Army would protect anyone with information, just as it promised to treat the information with utmost confidentiality.Col. Inusa was whisked away in his Mercedes-Benz car by gunmen around Kamazo, on Kaduna Refinery road in Chikun Local Government, Kaduna State.Col. Usman, in a statement in Kaduna on Sunday, said the senior Army officer was abducted on Saturday night.According to the statement, the abductors dropped off Colonel Inusas wife and left with him. The car headed towards Abuja. Millions of Nigerians had their Easter celebrations in darkness as power generation yesterday dropped further to 2,620 megawatts. Whil... While focus has been on the fuel shortages, it appears Nigerians have taken for granted the daily drop in power outages, without explanation by the supervisory agencies.Out of this, Ikeja Electric got 393.14MW, Abuja was allocated 301.40MW, Eko Electricity Distribution Company got 288.30MW, Benin Electricity Company and Enugu Electricity Company got 235.88 each.Allocation to other distribution companies are as follows: Ibadan, 340.72MW, Jos, 144.15MW, Kano, 209.67 MW, Kaduna, 209.67MW, Port Harcourt, 170.36MW and Yola, 91.73MW. While focus has been on fuel scarcity for some time now, power generation has continued to drop without any cogent reason from the supervising agencies.The deterioration incidentally has continued since President Muhammadu Buhari made the pronouncement that the country will achieve 10,000MW of electricity by 2019 or over 3,333MW.Apart from the President, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had also promised that power generation would increase this year by 2,000 megawatts. Fashola who stated while defending the Ministrys budget before the Senate Committee on Power and Mines, added that a lot had changed in the management of power. A serving Major General during interrogation with the presidential 13-man panel in connection to the arms and other military equipment sc... A serving Major General during interrogation with the presidential 13-man panel in connection to the arms and other military equipment scandal between 2007 and 2015 broke down in tears as overwhelming facts emerged against him.According to reports, the two-star general, who once held a powerful position at one of the formations under the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) wept shortly after he was confronted with hard and overwhelming evidence of alleged corrupt practices in the procurement of military hardware.The Army General was among the 17 serving and retired military officers indicted in the first interim report of the audit panel over the procurement of arms and other equipment for the Nigeria Air Force (NAF).He was indicted in the first interim report on the Air Force. Now he has a case in the procurement of arms and other military equipment for the Nigerian Army, the source said.It was gathered that the senior Army officer, who is currently on posting at the DHQ, is alleged to have been involved in the purchase of some substandard Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and other equipment, for the prosecution of the anti-Boko Haram war in Borno and other troubled North-East states. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu is to visit the Senate over the biting fuel scarcity that is threatening busines... Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu is to visit the Senate over the biting fuel scarcity that is threatening businesses and making life difficult for Nigerians.Dr. Kachikwu, who is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is to appear before the Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) today to state the steps being taken to stop the scarcity.Committee Chairman Jibrin Barau told reporters after an on-the-spot assessment of filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that the invitation became necessary following the hardship Nigerians go through as a result of the scarcity.He said despite assurances by the ministry that the situation would be controlled, it had lingered. We have invited the Minister of State (for Petroleum Resources) to appear before the committee tomorrow (today) to tell us about the fuel scarcity and the strategy he is employing to solve it.`We will expect him to give a date when the problem will be resolved permanently. We are not satisfied because this problem has gone unabated for too long. The situation is appalling and it is a major problem. We gave the ministry enough time and space to put its act together to solve this problem.Petrol prices have gone up to N170 per litre and above in some areas, especially during the Easter celebration as against the governments approved N86.50 per litre.The crisis is believed to have got worse after Kachikwus statement that the scarcity will not end till May. The statement triggered panic-buying and hoarding. Many oil marketers started hoarding and diverting to sell at a premium. Apart from very few filling stations owned by the major oil marketers that sell at the regulated price in Lagos, others sell at between N110 and N150 per litre. In most parts of Enugu State, petrol sold at N170 and above.As a result of rationing of supply at the depots, oil marketers resorted to lobbying the NNPC to get allocation.Fuel hawkers are all over Lagos, selling 10-litre kegs at between N2,500 and N3,500, depending on the area.The Senate Minority Whip and a member of the committee, Senator Philip Aduda, said the situation should be arrested fast. What Nigerians need is fuel and not blame game, he said.Aduda said: The government should look for petrol and ensure that it is given to the people.It is unacceptable; we are Nigerians and it will be bad for us to continue remaining on queues. We want to see all these queues disappear .Petrol marketers lamented that lack of supply and inadequate supply by the NNPC resulted the scarcity across the country.The manager of Forte Oil, opposite Transcorp Hilton in Maitama District, said only three fuel tankers were being supplied daily; it used to be five or six.Isa Friday, manager of Oando Filling station, Zone 4, noted that it had been long the station got supply from the NNPC depot in Suleja.In Ibadan, petrol sells for N150 per litre.The pump price, which is about double the official price, became popular due to the worsening scarcity.Aside a few major marketers selling the product at the official rate of N86, most filling stations, including those owned by independent marketers, were closed for the long weekend.At the very few filling stations selling the product at the official price, queues were long.A few independent marketers which opened for business, however, sold petrol at N150 per litre.Motorists continued to lament the situation as they are forced to pay more and travel long distances to get petrol.The situation was worse in other towns in Oyo State. In Ondo State, the product sells for N160 per litre.However, many of the filling stations failed to sell PMS to motorists, just as many passengers were stranded.The situation also affected Easter celebration as many people could not travel. They stayed indoors.Only the NNPC mega stations in Akure and Ore sell petrol at the official N86 per litre.A long queue of vehicles was at the NNPC mega station in Oyemekun, Akure, causing a serious traffic jam on the popular Oyemekun Road.Many transporters slept at the station to get petrol. The Federal High Court in Lagos has insisted on the enforcement of the judgment which order the government of President Muhammadu Buhari ... The Federal High Court in Lagos has insisted on the enforcement of the judgment which order the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to publish widely the spending of recovered stolen funds since return of democracy in 1999.The details of the judgment are contained in the certified true copy released monday by a civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Acacountability Project (SERAP to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN).The 69-page judgment dated March 24, 2016 and signed by Justice Mohammed Idris read in part: Transparency in the decision making process and access to information upon which decisions have been made can enhance accountability.Obedience to the rule of law by all citizens but more particularly those who publicly took oath of office to protect and preserve the Constitution is a desideratum to good governance and respect for the rule of law. In a constitutional democracy like ours, this is meant to be the norm.I am of the view that on receipt of SERAP request, the government had the duty to respond to same. If it does hold the information it must supply it within seven days from receipt of the request. Where a decision to withhold information is taken, the government/relevant authorities must inform the plaintiff of its reason. In respect of the SERAP reliefs on recovered stolen funds since return of democracy in 1999, the government had kept mute. Let me say that they have no such power under the law.There is public interest in public authorities and high-profile individuals being accountable for the quality of their decision making. Ensuring that decisions have been made on the basis of quality legal advice is part of accountability.The judiciary has no choice but to enforce compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. There is no doubt that the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI) Act is intended to act as a catalyst for change in the way public authorities approach and manage public resources and records. The judiciary cannot shirk its sacred responsibility to the nation to maintain the rule of law.I am of the view and do hold that the action should and does succeed in whole. The documents relating to the receipt or expenditure on recovered stolen funds since return of democracy in 1999 constitute part of the information which a public institution and authority is obligated to publish, disseminate and make available to members of the public.The government has no legally justifiable reason for refusing to provide SERAP with the information requested, and therefore, this court ought to compel the government to comply with the FoI Act, as the government is not above the law.Examples of cases where there may be a public interest in the disclosure of confidential information include: 1 Information revealing misconduct/mismanagement of public funds; information which shows that a particular contract is bad value for money; and where the information would correct untrue statements or misleading acts on the part of public authorities or high-profile individuals.FoI Act 2011 is meant to enhance and promote democracy, transparency, justice and development. It is designed to change how government works, because we have all resolved that it will no longer be business as usual. What is done officially must be done in accordance with the law. Although the FoI Act requires no explicit public interest test, an assessment of public interest must still be made. Therefore, all public institutions and authorities must ensure that they prepare themselves for the effective implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.Disclosure of the information will not constitute an actionable breach of confidence if there is a public interest in disclosure which outweighs the public interest in keeping the information confidential. There is a public interest in ensuring public scrutiny of public authorities. If the exemption under the FoI Act is wrongly applied and information is incorrectly withheld, a public authority may face sanctions under the Act for not complying with the duty to provide information.In its letter to Malami, SERAP asked him to use his offices and leadership to ensure and facilitate full, effective and timely enforcement and implementation of the judgment by Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos.The judgment ordered the administration of President Buhari to publish up-to-date information on the spending of recovered stolen funds since the return of civilian rule in 1999.SERAP also said given the relative newness of the Buhari government, the effective enforcement and implementation of the judgment would invariably involve setting up a mechanism by the government to invite the leadership and high-ranking officials of the governments of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Umaru Musa YarAdua, and former President Goodluck Jonathan to explain, clarify and provide evidence on the amounts of stolen funds recovered by their respective governments (from abroad and within Nigeria), and the projects (including their locations) on which the funds were spent. Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday defended his statement that those coming to the state for the rerun election should write t... Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday defended his statement that those coming to the state for the rerun election should write their will.Speaking in an interview with Channels Television monitored in Port Harcourt, he told his interviewers that he made the statement which some of his critics believe is an evidence of his support for violence, that he said in reference to those who might have sinister intention.Fielding questions on a wide range of issues, he said it will be difficult for another party to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.The governor noted that the state was in the firm grip of the PDP, besides his administrations modest achievements in its short period in office.Wike spoke yesterday as a guest on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, broadcast live from the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.The governor said Rivers residents were determined to vote for the PDP because of his achievements in the last few months in office.He noted that despite the poor federal allocation to the state, his administration was able to complete projects.Wike said no distractions could make him abandon his campaign promises to the people.The governor said the states internally generated revenue (IGR) had increased from N4 billion to between N9 and N10 billion.According to him, if there was a high rate of insecurity in the state, as reported in some sections of the media, the IGR would not have increased because investors would have run away.Wike said: It is difficult for anybody to defeat us in Rivers State because of the projects I have done in my short stay in office, and the fact that Rivers is a PDP state.The civil servants are happy with us. Nobody would be happy when, at the end of the month, they cannot take their wages home.We have done much to fulfil our campaign promises. If you go to Borokiri, where the former governor was living at Okaki Street, everybody was afraid to go there because of bad roads. But today, we have fixed the road and the people are happy.In Diobu axis, we had many bad roads before now. But today, we have fixed them. The general hospitals were dead; some health centres were not functioning. What we are trying to do, as a matter of policy, is to pick one hospital in each of the three senatorial districts and equip it.We are also going to train and retrain our doctors. For now, we are focusing on health and education. We dont want to carry all at the same time.We received N4 billion as (federal) allocation when our salary wage is N5.5 billion. How do we make up to pay salaries? When we took over, I had an IGR of N4 billion to N5 billion, but as I speak to you, we have improved our IGR to between N9 and N10 billion.This means nobody is running away from the state, because if people were leaving the state, our IGR would not have increased. And if the insecurity is much as is being claimed, why is our IGR increasing? Yet, if you read the newspapers, people would say the state is Rivers of blood.The governor, who pledged not to complete the monorail project started by his predecessor, said Rivers residents and other stakeholders told him to forget about the project and focus on another, which would have direct meaning on the people.He said the monorail project consumed over N45 billion, adding that he did not want to have a headache over a white elephant project.Wike accused his former boss and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, of allegedly attempting to destabilise the state because of his desperation to capture the state.The governor said it was clear the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not defeat the PDP in the state.He noted that if President Muhammadu Buhari supported him, he would achieve peace and stability in the state.But Wike regretted that the frequent change of his security chiefs would jeopardise his plan to tackle the security challenges in the state.He said: The continued removal of the commissioners of police, director of State Security Service and other security chiefs in the state is to frustrate our effort. Of course, the minister is behind this, and people are saying we should reconcile. In what way?That means if I reconcile with him, they would not be removing my security chiefs. That was why I said we are personalising this, it shouldnt be. If there is need that we should come together to talk, we should not be desperate to take over the state. As far as I am concerned, I dont want to assert that kind of responsibility.But the issue of security is not political. We are fighting to stop this situation and there is a system trying to destabilise the state by removing the commissioners of police all the time. This is a man who has served as governor for eight years and Speaker for eight years. What has the state not done for him?As far as I am concerned, the Federal Government should support me by leaving the security chiefs to plan for the security problem in the state. The only problem we have with the election is for the umpire to say we must be fair to all. Security people should not be used to manipulate the process.The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should stop employing those who, one way or the other, have interest in a political party. That is the way we can maintain peace WAKE FOREST, N.C. Several people called 911 last Friday to report the gunshots that claimed the lives of three members of the Mazzella family from New Jersey, according to published reports. At least two of the callers were in or near the home when the killings occurred. "My parents have been shot. He just came in with a shotgun and shot everybody," said a female caller believed to be the 14-year-old daughter of Sandy and Stephenie Mazzella. The Wake County Sheriff's Office altered the 911 audio in an effort to keep the callers' identities anonymous. Sandy and Stephenie were killed along with Sandy's mother, Elaine. All of the victims were from New Jersey. "I just heard seven gunshots and people screaming right behind my house," says another caller. Another neighbor says, "There is a man with a shotgun standing right behind our house." Stephenie's adult brother, Joey, was outside walking the dogs when the killings occurred, according to family members. Jonathan Frederick Sander, the next-door neighbor, entered the home and shot the family members to death, alleges Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison. "My sister and brother-in-law are laying on the floor," says the caller. "Is anybody awake or breathing?" the dispatcher asked. "No," the caller said. "They got shotgunned. They're done." Sander is being held without bond, charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted. A motive has not been released, although the sheriff says the families were feuding. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Carlos Enrique Lliguisupa-Medina, 32 (Photo: BCPO) -- A 32-year-old Hackensack man was arrested on charges he sexually abused an 8-year-old girl, authorities said Tuesday. Carlos Enrique Lliguisupa-Medina, of Hackensack, was ordered held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $250,000 full bail on sexual assault by contact and child endangerment charges, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said in a statement. The investigation began Sunday when Dumont police learned the girl told her mother she was inappropriately touched by Lliguisupa-Medina, Grewal said. The alleged abuse took place in Hackensack. The girl said in an interview with investigators that Lliguisupa-Medina also abused her between August 2013 and August 2014, according to Grewal. Police arrested Lliguisupa-Medina on Monday, authorities said. He was ordered not to have any contact with the girl or her mother, and surrender his passport or visa. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook. WAKE FOREST, N.C. - After Jonathan Sander was ordered held without bail Monday in the shooting deaths of three family members from New Jersey, the son of one of the victims called out. "Hey Sander, you rot in hell you piece of garbage," said Rich Sussman of Elmwood Park, according to the Wake County News & Observer. Sussman's mother, brother and sister-in-law were shot and killed in their North Carolina home Friday evening. Jonathan Sander faces three murder charges in the deaths of Sandy Mazzella, 47, his wife, Stephenie Ann, 43, and Elaine Toby Mazzella, 76, who was Sandy's mother. Sander, 52, who lived next door to the Mazzellas, entered their home shooting shortly before 6 p.m. Friday night, according to Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison. "It looks like an ongoing argument between families," Harrison said in a statement. Harrison said deputies had been called to the Mazzella home hours before the shooting to handle a dispute. In court Monday, Sander was ordered held without bond on three charges of first-degree murder. Judge Robert Radar told Sander he faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Sander, who wore a striped jail uniform, said nothing during the hearing and did not appear to react to Sussman's comments. Sandy Mazzella grew up in New Milford. His wife, Stephanie, grew up in Jefferson Township and graduated Felician College in Bergen County with a degree in nursing. She also lived in Belleville and attended Bloomfield College and worked at Clara Maas Hospital. Public records show Sander lived for a time in Avenel section of Woodbridge. The Mazzellas moved several years ago to Pennsylvania, where they met Sander, friends have said. Sandy Mazella and Sander later became business partners, operating a landscaping company out of Wake Forest. Authorities have not said what the ongoing dispute is about. Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook. FLORENCE -- A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to rob a Florence man in his driveway last year after following home from Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa., the Bucks County Courier Times reported. Waner A. Segura, 29, admitted he was in an ambulance April 8, 2015 and robbed the victim, but he did not say if he was driving, the paper reported. Segura pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery before Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert at the Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly Monday. As part of a plea deal reached, he is set to be sentenced to eight years in prison with 85 percent to be served without the chance for parole, in May, the paper reported. Segura, and Jahyquiriz Ramos, 27, also of Philadelphia, were charged in June 2015 with the robbery. Police said said last year the suspects are employees of a private ambulance company and allegedly followed the victim in a company ambulance. Court documents identified the company is American Ambulance Services in Philadelphia. Ramos, 27, is due in court next week for a pretrial conference, the paper reported. Florence police said last year that said detectives initially thought the vehicle was a former ambulance purchased as a work van, and were surprised to find the vehicle was still a working ambulance and the suspects employees of the company. After reporting the robbery April 8, police said in a release that the victim, who police did not identify, described being followed from the New Jersey Turnpike exit at Rt. 130 northbound in Florence. Police located surveillance at the casino that showed an ambulance-style vehicle following the victim's vehicle in the parking lot and then out of the casino parking lot. The footage also showed the suspects inside the casino. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook. COLLINGSWOOD -- A former borough police officer, who was caught "red-handed" a decade ago stealing cash from the his department's bail fund, saw an appellate court deny his chance at post-conviction relief. A state Superior Court ruling rendered Tuesday felt Sean P. McGann's claims of ineffective counsel and more were without merit. New Jersey public defender Joseph E. Krakora, who represented McGann, could not immediately be reached for comment. Collingswood police Chief Kevin Carey said Tuesday that McGann was terminated in 2007. According to court documents, McGann was arrested on Dec. 22, 2006 outside his apartment and reportedly had $1,500 cash in his pockets at the time. He was taken back to police headquarters and interviewed about two thefts that took place there, later admitting his role in them. However, he also said he was intoxicated while speaking with investigators. According to court documents, an anonymous tip about McGann allegedly selling steroids out of his freezer spurred police to search his home. McGann later claimed the search was done without a warrant. A plea agreement helped McGann avoid second-degree official misconduct charges, according to the decision. He was sentenced to six months house arrest in July 2007, but violated that and was given a 364-day county jail sentence. A trial court rejected the post-conviction relief petition filed by McGann, who later appealed that ruling. He claimed his counsel failed to suppress his interview with investigators, the evidence found at his home during the search and more. A lawsuit contending McGann was was falsely arrested and his civil rights were violated was filed in federal court in 2010. It sought $5 million for violations of his civil rights due to lack of due process. At that time, McGann had been a police officer for four years and an officer in an auxiliary capacity for another four. He had also received a handful of commendations during his time at the Collingwood police department, according to court documents. An amended civil complaint -- claiming he was "wrongfully arrested, maliciously prosecuted" and had "fallen victim to a conspiracy" -- seeking $1.6 million from Collingswood police and $1 million from the Camden County Department of Correction was filed in July 2011. Claims against Collingwood police and the county correction facility were dropped in 2012. In October 2013, after numerous unsuccessful attempts by the courts to contact McGann, his final complaint against the prosecutor's office was dismissed because he had "voluntarily abandoned the remaining claims." According to the decision from Superior Court judges Jack Sabatino and and Karen Suter, much of McGann's claims were unfounded. Per the decision: He gave "coherent responses" during his recorded interview with investigators, he gave consent for police to search his apartment and a conflict of interest claim between his counsel and the assistant prosecutor was "utterly without merit." What's more, the superior court judges said McGann was "caught red-handed" taking cash from the police department's bail fund in a sum he admitted to under oath. "The reality is that [McGann's] trial counsel effectively negotiated a quite favorable noncustodial outcome in this matter, which [McGann] proceeded to undermine by violating the terms of his probation," the decision reads, adding that his petition was "properly dismissed" before reaching the appellate level. Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Boomer.jpg Boomer has worked with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office since 2009. (Submitted photo) HOPEWELL TWP. -- A Cumberland County Sheriff's Office K-9 lost his battle to cancer Monday, with officials having to put him down at a local animal hospital. Boomer was a 9-year-old black Labrador and worked as a bomb detecting dog. "Boomer was a great dog," said Sheriff Robert Austino. "He was very popular in the school. He would go there for different events in the classrooms and he was very loving to people." His human partner was Officer Craig Johnson. Johnson brought Boomer to Wilwynn Animal Hospital in Hopewell Township Monday. Authorities form around the region came to honor the K-9. "Not a dry eye there, believe me," Austino said. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office got Boomer in 2009. He worked at different events across the state, including the Super Bowl and multiple Miss America pageants. He battled cancer and had a few surgeries for his cancer but veterinarians recommended Boomer be put down Monday. Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Screen Shot 2016-03-28 at 3.02.58 PM.png Authorities in Bridgeton said a 38-year-old city woman was driving this "distinctive" looking truck when it was allegedly involved in a near-fatal hit and run in the city, March 27, 2016. (Photo provided) BRIDGETON -- A man and woman, both from the city, are facing charges related to a near-fatal hit-and-run on Sunday. Bridgeton police said this individual was seen getting out of a vehicle involved in a near fatal hit-and-run, March 27, 2016. (Photo provided) City police said 37-year-old Natasha Pitts, of Greenwich Road, was driving a truck owned by 38-year-old Albert Melchor-Martinez, of Vine Street, on Sunday when she struck a pedestrian on North Pearl Street at about 6:30 p.m. Pitts, who had Melchor-Martinez as a passenger in the vehicle, continued driving before she ran a stop sign at Myrtle Street and eventually stopped in front of a dollar store on Irving Avenue. Occupants exited the vehicle at that time, and Pitts allegedly drove away. The victim was transported first to a local hospital and then flown in critical condition to Cooper University Hospital, where he remains in stable condition. Police asked for the public's help in identifying the driver of the distinctive vehicle, which had a white stripe down the side and Ohio license plates. A call to city police tipped them off to a home on Fayette Street, where the truck was found and towed from the scene to be processed. Pitts was charged with endangering an injured victim, driving while suspending and causing serious bodily injury to another. She remains in Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail. Melcho-Martinez was charged with knowingly leaving the scene which caused serious bodily injury to a pedestrian and tampering with evidence. He was charged and released pending a court appearance. Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. jessica-knoll.png Jessica Knoll revealed in an essay published on Tuesday that she was gang-raped when she was 15 years old. The best-selling author of "Luckiest Girl Alive" grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. (Photo by Leslie Hassler) Author Jessica Knoll revealed in an essay published on Tuesday that, like the protagonist in her best-selling novel "Luckiest Girl Alive," she was gang-raped at a young age. Knoll, who grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and graduated from The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pa., writes that while her novel released last May is a work of fiction, "its inspiration is not." Knoll said she had been trying to dismiss the connection between herself and the book's main character, Ani FaNelli, over the last year because she was scared people wouldn't "call what happened to me rape because for a long time, no one did." But as Knoll prepares for her paperback tour she writes in the essay published in Lenny Letter that "I've come to a simple, powerful revelation: everyone is calling it rape now. There's no reason to cover my head. There's no reason I shouldn't say what I know." For 17 years I was too ashamed to share this. Today I am not ashamed. Proud to tell #WhatIKnow https://t.co/m2HFDgfIAz Jessica Knoll (@JessMKnoll) March 29, 2016 Knoll recounts being gang raped by three boys at a party when she was 15 years old and then being called a slut by her classmates. Fearing more bullying, Knoll said at one point she apologized to one of her rapists for calling him a rapist. "What a thing to live with," she wrote. Nearly 20 years later, Knoll said that she lives with an anger that is "odorless, colorless, and tasteless. It's completely toxic." She said that "healing will come when I snuff out the shame, when I rip the shroud off the truth." Knoll said she told one of her readers at a book event in New Jersey about the gang rape on the same day she pitched writing the essay for Lenny Letter, an email newsletter started by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. She said she told the woman that, "I'm fine. It's fine." But she writes: "I'm not fine. It's not fine. But it's finally the truth, it's what I know, and that's a start." Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook. new-lego-figures-walt-disney-releases.jpg Big new for Walt Disney fans. A brand new line of Disney characters will available May 1 from Lego in a standalone set. (LEGO | DISNEY) A brand new standalone line of Lego Disney minifigures will available May 1, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This is big news for fans of Walt Disney characters since this new set marks only the third time that licensed characters are released as standalone figures. Lego Fans were previously able to get characters from "The Simpsons" universe as well as characters who appeared in "The Lego Movie." Priced at $3.99 each, the new 18 Lego minifigures scheduled for release include the iconic Walt Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck. Also included will be Peter Pan, Captain Hook as well as Maleficent and Alice and the Cheshire Cat from "Alice in Wonderland." Newer animated Disney characters to be included in the set include Ariel and Ursula from "The Little Mermaid," Stitch from "Lilo and Stitch" and Aladdin and the Genie from "Aladdin." Pixar characters will get some Lego love as well. Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Alien from the "Toy Story" franchise will be released. The new line will also feature two characters completely new to the LEGO world - Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles and Syndrome, the movie's villain. Lego's Disney minifigures will be sold in "blind bags" which means customers won't be able to see which Walt Disney characters they're purchasing. While Lego has been around since 1932, they started producing the first minifigure in 1978. Ever since, it's been a constant staple in most of their products. There is a strong subculture surrounding the toy in which an empire of movies, games, theme parks and toys are enjoyed by millions. Anthony Venutolo may be reached at avenutolo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyVenutolo and Google+. Find NJ.com on Facebook. supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-merchant-of-venice In July, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will appear on stage in a production of William Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Here's an odd bit of casting for you. ABC reports that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will appear onstage in Venice this summer in a production of William Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." The 83 year-old justice, an admitted theater and opera buff, will have a cameo as -- what else? -- a judge presiding over Shylock's trial in The Bard's famed play. Last October, Ginsburg was one of the many capital luminaries who took part in the Arena Stage production of "Our War." That production was collection of monologues centering on the Civil War and Ginsberg read a piece titled "That Boy," written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire. "The monologue portrays a woman from North Carolina whose son has enlisted," Justice Ginsburg told Politico last fall. "And she is waiting for him to come home. It's very moving, but I said I cannot do a North Carolina accent, so I will have to do it in my Brooklyn accent, and they said that would be OK." Justice Ginsburg also admitted her love for the stage and told Politico that it's an affection that she's had since she was a little girl. "I've had a passion for the opera since age 11, and theatrical performances, I grew up in Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music was my dream place," she said. "Most Saturday afternoons, I would go to a children's show. I still remember my favorite was 'Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." The July performance of "The Merchant of Venice" is said to be a commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Jewish ghetto in Venice. Anthony Venutolo may be reached at avenutolo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyVenutolo and Google+. Find NJ.com on Facebook. ASBURY PARK -- The Jersey Shore's hottest music scene is set to uphold its reputation this summer. Between a stacked lineup at The Stone Pony's outdoor Summer Stage and a few new, outside-the-box festivals slated around the city, tens of thousands of rock, pop, funk and punk fans will flood the bustling beachfront as the weather warms. The New Alternative Music Festival The largest, and most recent addition to the Asbury schedule is the New Alternative Music Festival, a three-day event in historic -- and quite weathered -- Convention Hall hosted by New Brunswick-based Don Giovanni Records. More than 40 indie bands are on the docket, with more coming, and Hub City garage-punk favorites Screaming Females leading the Jersey presence. The show, which makes clear it will not become an annual affair, boasts it will feature no "multi-national corporations" and strives to celebrate the DIY atmosphere that drives both New Brunswick and Asbury Park local scenes. "This is a pro-weirdo event held in direct opposition to the apolitical sludge that has come to pass as "indie" and that has nothing to do with operating independently," the event writes on its Facebook page. Tickets are $28 per day or $75 for a three-day pass. New Brunswick's The Screaming Females are one of the top draws for the New Alternative Music Festival in Asbury Park this September. (Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger) Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival Three months earlier, the shore will be pounded by old-school punk and hardcore acts, as the annual Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival invades the city for the first time June 11-12. The Stone Pony Summer Stage will host the music -- top draws include genre icons Descendents, Agnostic Front and members of Black Flag playing the seminal hardcore group's raucous tunes. Seventeen acts in total are scheduled to perform over the two days. The bowling, however, will not take place at punk haven and favored local alley Asbury Lanes, as organizers were unsure if the venue, which has undergone renovations since October, would be ready for June. Instead, tattooed arms will strike and spare at the Bradley Bowl in adjacent Bradley Beach. Tickets for the event are $50 per day. Registration is open for the bowling tournament. New York punk veterans Agnostic Front will take on the Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival in Asbury Park in June. (file photo) Asbury Park Surf Music Festival The self-proclaimed "East Coast's No. 1 surf music event" returns to the shore Aug. 27, filling oceanfront Anchor's Bend bar and restaurant with Shore-inspired tunes, and the adjacent Grand Arcade area with local vendors. In its third year, the Asbury Park Surf Music Festival relocates from Asbury Lanes, and though the live music lineup hasn't been announced yet, organizer Vincent Minervino says bands confirmed include Bongo Surf, Los Pocos Locos, Blue Wave Theory, Slowey & The Boats, The Sharkskins, The Primitive Finks, The Coffin Daggers, Black Flamingos and Messer Chups. A classic car show is also promised. Stone Pony Summer Stage Beyond the festivals, The Stone Pony's beachfront venue has one of its strongest, most diverse lineups in years locked in for summer thrills. A few Pony mainstays -- Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Umphry's McGee, Slightly Stoopid -- will all return, but it gets better. On the contemporary front, "American Idol" winner and blues-folk frontman Phillip Phillips will come through July 2 (with Jersey-bred A Great Big World opening) and pop-rocking Ohioans Walk The Moon stop by Aug. 4. More thrash-worthy acts include the electro-rock outfit AWOLNATION June 25, California hard-rock vets Deftones Aug. 10, and the folk-punk pairing of Flogging Molly and Frank Turner Aug. 20. California hard-rock vets Deftones will rock The Stone Pony Summer Stage Aug. 10. (Matt Roberts/Getty Images) Even girl-pop legends The Go-Gos will pass through, on the band's farewell tour Aug 14. See the full Summer Stage lineup below: June 9 -- Rebelution, with The Green + J Boog, Stick Figure, Through the Roots June 11-12 -- Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival, with Descendents, Black Flag, Agnostic Front and more. June 19 -- Violent Femmes June 25 -- AWOLNATION, with Death From Above 1979 July 2 -- Phillip Phillips and Matt Nathanson, with A Great Big World July 3 -- Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes July 15 -- 311, with Matisyahu July 17 -- Umphrey's McGee Aug. 4 -- Walk The Moon, with MisterWives Aug. 6 -- The Lumineers Aug. 10 -- Deftones, with Refused Aug. 14 -- The Go-Go's, with Best Coast and Kaya Stewart Aug. 19 -- Slightly Stoopid, with Soja and Fortunate Youth Aug. 20 -- Flogging Molly and Frank Turner What about Skate and Surf? The enduring multi-day punk and rock festival, which has overtaken Asbury Park's Bradley Park the last two years in mid-May with beloved national acts like New Found Glory, Dropkick Murphys and Thrice has made no announcements so far as to its plans for 2016. Organizer John D'Esposito could not immediately be reached for comment. Fans the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park last July, for Killswitch Engage and Rise Against. (Andrew Miller | For NJ Advance Media) Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook. The latest New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. campaign, named #HappyTuesday, seeks to boost weekday visits to the city. (Photo by Jennifer Larino, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) The shooting that left 10 people wounded on Canal Street early Sunday follows several other high-profile multiple shootings in New Orleans in Attorney Gregory Carter, representing battery defendant Henry Campbell on a pro bono basis, said he still needs state funding to adequately prepare his client's defense. 'If there's no money from the public defenders' office to provide investigators or testing or just to pay for transcripts from previous hearings,' Carter said Tuesday (March 29), 'then my client is put at a disadvantage.' From Shakespeare to Twisted Sister and Puccini to 'Rocky Horror,' an eclectic weekend at local theaters 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. Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to be featured in season debut of CNBC's 'American Greed' A Cambrian College public relations student has been named a semi-finalist in the Emerge Media Awards competition. A Cambrian College public relations student has been named a semi-finalist in the Emerge Media Awards competition. Madisyn Latham received the citation for her project, entitled Strategic Communications Plan: Sudbury Women's Centre Community Awareness Initiative. The awards are organized by fourth-year media studies students at the University of Guelph-Humber. But all judges a total of 49 are independent industry professionals. Emerge Media Awards showcase the talent of students attending Canadian colleges and universities, who entered their work in eight different categories. The categories are: Written Word, Multimedia Production, Photography, Advertising, Videography, Graphic/Digital Design: Editorial, Audio Storytelling and Public Relations. The winners will be announced April 25 at a dinner and ceremony. Although it's often easy for her friends to forget she has cystic fibrosis, Hanmer's Julie Depatie may need a double-lung transplant if her condition worsens. She never complains about it, said Depatie's long-time friend Katie Kennedy. Although it's often easy for her friends to forget she has cystic fibrosis, Hanmer's Julie Depatie may need a double-lung transplant if her condition worsens.She never complains about it, said Depatie's long-time friend Katie Kennedy.But despite her fortitude, Depatie has had to stop working at a pharmacy technician as her condition has deteriorated the last couple of years.Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults.It mainly affects a person's digestive system and lungs. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections.There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, but as a person's condition worsens, living with the disease, a double-lung transplant can become necessary to prolong their life.While a double-lung transplant has been a possibility for Depatie, she has not yet been added to the transplant list at Toronto General Hospital, where some of the world's best surgeons routinely perform the procedure.It's kind of a double-edged sword, said Kennedy. You want her to be on the list because you want this to be something that will help her. But at the same time, when she gets placed on the list it's because her health has depleted so significantly her doctors have deemed it necessary.If Depatie is added to the list she will need to move within a two-hour radius from Toronto General Hospital.Once doctors remove a donors lungs from their body they only have a two-hour window to transplant them to a patient.High-tech XVIVO systems, invented by Toronto doctors, can extend that time frame by a bit, but a quick turnaround remains essential.To prepare for the possibility of a double-lung transplant Kennedy has started a GoFundMe page to help support her friend.For most transplant recipients it's necessary to raise funds to cover living expenses while they wait for an organ in Toronto.In Toronto Depatie would have to live away from her husband Craig and her eight-year-old son Blake.In a few weeks Kennedy's campaign has raised nearly $4,000 to help support Depatie.I don't think she ever anticipated having such an outpouring of followers and people who have reached out to her, Kennedy said.She has set a goal of $30,000 to prepare for a possible move to Toronto.After surgery, Depatie would need to spend several months in Toronto during her recovery.The average wait time for a lung transplant, once a person is added to the list, is four to five months, but some people wait more than a year or two.The wait time depends on available organs, and their compatibility with patients on the list. Marco Muzzo given 'unprecedented' 10 years for deadly crash Marco Muzzo was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for a crash in Vaughan that killed three children and their grandfather, and seriously injured two other people. Marco Muzzo was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for a crash in Vaughan that killed three children and their grandfather, and seriously injured two other people. File photo. Marco Muzzo was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for a crash in Vaughan that killed three children and their grandfather, and seriously injured two other people. Ontario Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst gave Muzzo credit for time he has already spent in custody. Crown attorney Paul Tait asked for an "unprecedented" 10- to 12-year sentence to send a clear message about the nature of Muzzo's crime. Muzzo, 29, has already accepted responsibility for the deaths and pleaded guilty to the charges. He will end up serving nine years and four months for his impaired driving sentence. He will also be banned for driving for 12 years after he is released from prison. The case gained national attention due to the Muzzo family's wealth and influence in the Toronto region. The family is worth an estimated $1.8 billion and owns the construction company Marel Contractors and condo builder Pemberton Group. The crash on Sept. 27, 2015, killed three young children: Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5 and Milly Neville-Lake, 2, and their grandfather Gary Neville, 65. Both of Sudbury's community colleges will host open houses for prospective students and their parents in the next two weeks. College Boreal is first with an open house on Saturday, April 2. Both of Sudbury's community colleges will host open houses for prospective students and their parents in the next two weeks. College Boreal is first with an open house on Saturday, April 2. The school will host tours at its Sudbury campus (along with its campuses in Toronto, Hamilton, London and Niagara) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Prospective students will have a chance to meet their instructors and discuss program options. To register, phone 1-800-361-6673. Cambrian College will host its open house the next week, on Saturday, April 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day will start with a pancake breakfast, and will give potential students and their parents a chance to meet faculty, staff and current students. The open house will be a great chance to ask questions about financial aid, career options and programs, Cambrian said. Students who have already applied to attend Cambrian can log into their myCambrian account and check the box that says, YES I plan to attend Spring Open House. All other guests can register online. Three local elementary school students were honored by the Lincoln County Emergency Management department on Monday for their severe weather awareness posters. The three students were given certificates presented by Brandon Myers, Lincoln County Emergency Management director. We have several entries turned in and we have to pick out the top three to send in to Nebraska Emergency Management to represent our county, Myers said. This year we didnt have any first through fourth place for our county, but we did get an honorable mention from our county. Jayla Davis, of North Platte, received an honorable mention award from the state for her poster. Cora Meyer and Haylie Hoatson also represented the county in the state and national contest and all three girls received gifts of art supplies to encourage them to further their artistic skills. The board of commissioners approved a revised budget for the Community Based Juvenile Services Aid Grant. Jayna Schaaf, executive director of Community Connections, and Rebecca Harling, Lincoln County attorney, requested a change in the budget to reflect $8,584 that was originally designated to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Department for youth transportation. That was not allowable through the Crime Commission, so our assignment was to reassign that $8,584, Schaaf said. The crime commission is apparently trying to shift policy, Harling said. Nothing remotely attached to shelter or detention can be financed through the Crime Commission, Harling said. So, what we have been doing and we have been meeting weekly, is were putting together an assessment team that will help us with some of the kids in the middle of the night and on the weekends getting chemical dependency evaluations, evaluation of a psychological nature, trying to get these kids into programs in the community so law enforcement doesnt have to get to the point where we have to take kids out of homes and send them to shelter or detention. The assessment team will be up and running May 1. The commissioners approved the budget change, 3-0. Also approved: n An agreement with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the Lake Maloney Trail, Phase II project. n A resolution appointing the Lincoln County Planning Commission as the Airport Zoning Commission under the Airport Zoning Act. Community leaders gathered in what is known as Brooklyn's Little Pakistan neighborhood Monday to condemn the violence in Lahore, Pakistan after yesterday's deadly bombing in a crowded park there. "It's not a Christian attack, it's not a Muslim attack, it's an attack of Pakistani people, and it's an attack on humanity, and we are not going to allow the evil minds of people to divide us along religious grounds," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. "We are here to show and tell all those evil minds, and evil souls, and evil groups, that we will not give up and we will fight back," said Waheed Akthter of the NYPD Muslim Officer Society. "It's important that when something happens anywhere around the world that all religions, all cultures, and all people and all of us in the community come together as one and condemn that violence," said Mark Meyer Appel with The Bridge Multicultural and Advocacy Project. Activists say their goal is to help promote peace and unity. Police are looking for a man who they say sexually assaulted a transgender woman at the Stonewall Inn Saturday night. The NYPD says the 25-year-old victim told investigators that around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, a man followed her into a single occupancy bathroom and touched her inappropriately before sexually assaulting her. The suspect is described as being in his 30s, 5-feet-10-inches tall, and about 200 pounds. The Greenwich Village bar has long been considered the birthplace of the LGBT movement. In 1969, patrons fought back against police who raided the bar in what was seen as an attempt to oppress the gay community. The Stonewall Inn says it's working with police on the investigation. Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. Small businesses in Manhattan aren't just struggling under higher rents. They're also paying taxes that some business owners say are unfair. Our Michael Scotto has the story. Robert Schwartz has been selling these orthopedic shoes to Mayor Bill de Blasio for years. But now Schwartz says he wants de Blasio to provide some relief for him. "What our city officials don't understand is small-owner-operated retail businesses are working class," said Robert Schwartz owner of Eneslow: The Foot Comfort Center. "And there's just nothing left for us, so they're adding more costs on to us pushing us closer and closer to going out of business." Schwartz is talking about the commercial rent tax, a fee Manhattan businesses south of 96th Street must pay if their annual rent is more than $250,000. It costs Schwartz $24,000 a year. Don Winter recently moved his media company from Manhattan to Queens, in part to avoid the tax. "That's the sad thing about Manhattan," said Winter, with Encompass Media Group. "It's an incredible place to do business - but at the same time it is prohibitive to do business for small and mid-size companies." As rents keep increasing, more businesses are being forced to pay the tax. Last year, some 7,300 businesses were hit with it, up from nearly 6,800 in 2013. Enacted in the 1960s when the city needed cash, the tax was not changed until the 1990s, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani convinced the state to eliminate it in every borough but Manhattan. Borough leaders say it's time Manhattan got some relief. "At the core we think commercial rent tax is a bad tax, it's an unfair tax," said Ken Biberaj with the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. "There's a lot going on in the outer boroughs more businesses now have an incentive to go there and if you operate in Manhattan you have a disincentive." "We would like to see the tax particularly eliminated for those who are on the street, store-fronters," said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. The Mayor says he backs restructuring the tax if the solution is revenue neutral, last year it generated $720 million for the city. But his office is not lobbying Albany for a change and nobody in Albany, which has the final say, is pressing the issue, either. A man wanted in connection with a deadly triple shooting on Staten Island has been arrested in Pennsylvania. Police say 49-year-old Anthony Morales was taken into custody shortly after 11 p.m. Monday in West Brunswick Township about 40 miles from Allentown. He was parked on the side of the road when U.S. Marshals approached the vehicle and ordered him to get out. Police say the marshals opened fire after Morales reached for his waistband. He was shot several times and is now recovering in the hospital. A loaded handgun was recovered at the scene. Morales is accused of killing 47-year-old Idelle Rivera and her 21-year-old son at the Mariners Harbor Housing complex last week. A 22-year-old man was also shot in the leg. When Woody Allen's newest movie, ''Hollywood Ending,'' is spitting one-liners, the picture has the gone-delirious feel of Theolonious Monk crunching notes, a wired, jazzy rhythm specific to this comic. Once the energy from the jokes dies down, we're left with a project so stale you feel like opening a window to let some air in. In a gruesome way, ''Hollywood Ending'' is evocative of Stanley Kubrick's ''Eyes Wide Shut,'' which felt like a movie made by a man who hadn't been outside in 30 years. It's too bad that ''Hollywood Ending'' doesn't seize more opportunities to riff, because that's when it has the effortless, tuned-in and, yes, somewhat exclusionary vibe of hard bop; if you don't get the picture's derisive slashes at Toronto, France and show business, too bad. And even those jokes come a little too easily, though at this point it's probably too late to expect a huge departure from Mr. Allen. Most of the acrid remarks come from the mouth of Mr. Allen's character, the maladjusted Val Waxman, a once well-regarded Oscar-winning director who is now reduced to shooting commercials on what seems to him another planet: Canada. Val has thrown his career away; he's so temperamental that the studios are refusing to work with him. Ellie (Tea Leoni), a studio executive and Val's ex-wife, makes a huge pitch to get him hired onto a movie she feels he was born to make: a Manhattan set-period film called ''The City That Never Sleeps.'' Hal (Treat Williams), her velveteen-smooth fiance and the studio chief, is persuaded, and Val gets the job. When Val commences filming, he comes down with a case of hysterical blindness and has to enlist his agent Al (Mark Rydell) to help. Is it wrong for Val to deceive a bunch of thieves, low-lifes and no-goods, i.e., the studio? ''Hollywood Ending'' is one of the few Allen pictures that brings to mind the Weimar Republic vigor of Billy Wilder, and it starts off feeling like a classic Wilder film skirting the difference between amorality and immorality; unfortunately it ends up as one of the sweaty flops that ended Wilder's career. If Walmart paid it on time, and waited to get a refund through the usual channels, it would most likely never see the money again, he added. Puerto Rico is expected to go through a court-supervised debt restructuring soon, and any request for a tax refund from Walmart would almost certainly get lost in the crowd of bondholders, labor unions, lawyers and others jockeying to recover their money. Walmart expressed satisfaction with the decision. Todays ruling is a victory not only for Walmart Puerto Rico but also for our customers, our more than 14,000 Puerto Rican associates, and the many Puerto Rican suppliers and farmers who depend so heavily on us, Lorenzo Lopez, a spokesman, said. The company did not explicitly threaten to leave Puerto Rico if it did not prevail, but it did argue in court that no business could operate for long in a place that confiscated all of its profit. Walmart, based in Bentonville, Ark., is Puerto Ricos largest employer outside the government, operating 48 large, busy stores under several names. People joke that since Walmarts arrival on the island in 1992, they no longer have to go anywhere else, because they can eat all their meals and buy everything they need there. But ValueAct, given its presence on the board and long relationship with Valeant, had to be aware of the companys use of a mail-order pharmacy, Philidor, as a way around the efforts of pharmacies and insurance companies to sell lower-priced generic drugs instead of Valeants high-priced brand-name drugs. That practice has come under scrutiny and led, in large part, to Valeants current crisis. Valeant declined to make Mr. Ubben available to comment. In fairness to him, he is at a disadvantage as far as defending himself publicly because most company lawyers prevent insiders from speaking out. It is hard to see how ValueAct wouldnt have been aware of some of Valeants more aggressive strategies, unless it intended to claim that it was duped by management, a claim it has yet to make. Indeed, even though ValueActs representative, Mason Morfit, had stepped down from the board (before returning after the crisis hit), Mr. Pearson said in a statement last fall: Although Mason has not officially been a part of the Valeant Board for more than a year, I have continued to value his vision and guidance, and I believe his insights will be invaluable during this time. It was Mr. Morfit, among others on the board, who helped put in place a compensation plan for Mr. Pearson and other managers that some governance experts say may have led to Valeants aggressive approach, both with its use of Philidor and with its accounting practices, which have now come under scrutiny. Mr. Pearsons compensation plan, once heralded as a model for paying for performance, was tied directly to the success of the companys stock price. Mr. Pearson needed to reach certain thresholds of performance to be paid or he would get nothing beyond his salary. And last year, Mr. Pearsons salary was slashed to zero to make him even more dependent on the performance model, so he was completely focused on his incentive bonus. The stock needed to go up at least 15 percent annually over at least three years for his bonus shares to vest. If the stock went up 45 percent, Mr. Pearson would be paid three times as much. By last summer, Mr. Pearson was worth about $3 billion on paper. California is on the verge of making itself a guinea pig in a bold economics experiment. By moving toward a plan to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, the state could raise living standards for millions of workers. But it could also increase unemployment among some of the very same economically marginal workers the wage increase is intended to help. Many economists, even some on the left, worry that a potential loss of jobs in a number of cities where wages are comparatively low could largely offset, and perhaps even more than offset, the boon of higher incomes at the bottom of the wage scale. Just as the benefits of this policy are likely to be greater because it covers a greater share of the work force than for past minimum wage increases, the risk of these costs is also higher, said Ben Zipperer, an expert on the minimum wage at the liberal Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Its very unclear how thats going to stack up. San Francisco and San Jose, both high-wage cities that have benefited from the tech boom, are likely to weather the increase without so much as a ripple. The negative consequences of the minimum wage increase in Los Angeles and San Diego large cities where wages are lower are likely to be more pronounced, though they could remain modest on balance. Pandora Media became a powerhouse in online music primarily by doing one thing: tailoring song after song to the tastes of its listeners, along with the occasional ad. For a decade, it worked well, as Pandora came to dominate Internet radio. But with its stock price suffering, and as competitors like Spotify and Apple Music transform the streaming music market around it, Pandora has come under increasing pressure to adapt. In recent months Pandora has unveiled ambitious changes to its service, and also weighed whether to sell itself. On Monday Pandora threw Wall Street another curveball by replacing its chief executive, who had held the job for less than three years, with one of the companys founders. Brian P. McAndrews, an online advertising executive who joined Pandora in September 2013 as chairman and chief executive, has left the company, and is being replaced as chief executive by Tim Westergren, a co-founder of Pandora and its former chief strategy officer. There is an interminable discussion going on about tone. Did Hillary Clinton strike the correct tone? Should Donald Trump be praised or scorned for the tone of his rallies? Was President Obama tone-deaf in Buenos Aires when he danced the tango while Brussels burned (this after setting a new diplomatic tone in Cuba)? Somebody alert the tone police. The campaign tone has been, every time you think weve hit a low, it goes lower, the moderator Chuck Todd of Meet the Press lamented on Sunday. We must be ever-vigilant about tone. Its easier than assessing substance and safer than casting blame. This weeks breaking tone news comes to us from Politico: Clinton Campaign: Future Debates Depend Upon Sanderss Tone. It seems Clintons chief campaign strategist, Joel Benenson, went on CNN on Monday morning and put Sanders on tone probation. If Sanders wants Clinton on a debate stage, Benenson suggested, hed better, you know, watch it. Lets see the tone of the campaign, Benenson said. Lets see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said he was going to set early on. If he does that, then well talk about the debates. Maybe we should just forget the whole election and put all the candidates before a tribunal of cable pundits who will judge their tones. Whoever sets the best tone wins. The Clinton campaign may be especially sensitive to matters of tone; no candidate has had their tone critiqued like Clinton has, from gendered accusations of shrillness to blame for the pitch of how people react to her, for better or worse (she is, after all, polarizing). But still: When did campaigns become so obsessed with tone? George W. Bush spoke hopefully about changing the tone in Washington. Obama did too. They both failed. The tone of our politics is not, doesnt reflect, I think, whats best in us, Obama said in Argentina last week. PRINCETON, N.J. A well-known computer hacker who goes by the name of Weev said he was behind a wave of anti-Semitic, racist fliers that appeared on printers at more than a dozen college campuses last week. Covered in swastikas, the fliers, which seemed to appear spontaneously on printers, including those at Princeton University, mentioned the struggle for global white supremacy. Weev is the alias of Andrew Auernheimer, who in 2010 was part of a group of hackers that discovered a security loophole on AT&Ts servers and gained access to the data of 114,000 customers. Mr. Auernheimer was initially convicted of identity fraud and conspiracy to access a computer without authorization, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. Mr. Auernheimer said in an interview on Monday that he sent the fliers to every publicly accessible printer in North America. He said he did not specifically target college campuses. New York City police detectives are looking for a man who they say sexually assaulted a transgender woman at the Stonewall Inn, the Greenwich Village bar with a central role in starting the gay rights movement, the authorities said on Monday. The woman told investigators she was drinking at the bar on Saturday night around 11:30 p.m. when she went upstairs to use a unisex bathroom, the police said. While she was washing her hands, a man entered the room and said he wanted to wash his hands, the police said. He touched her without her permission and then sodomized her, they said. The woman told the police that she had indicated her lack of consent to the man, but did not resist out of fear of being hurt. One afternoon last fall, an actor named Greg Boz got a phone call. It was a job offer, but not the kind he was used to getting. The caller was an artist who spoke in vague, mystical terms. She was like, Would you like to be a tool for a grand architectural design? Mr. Boz recalled. Mr. Boz, an improviser and comedian, was intrigued. He could also use the $100 she was offering. The next day, he met the woman on a bridge over the famously polluted Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. She wore a gold mask and gold robes. She had an assistant hand Mr. Boz a FedEx box. Inside were five taxidermied catfish, each with an extra eye stuck to the middle of its forehead. The artist calls herself Zardulu. Her medium is the elaborately staged viral video. As to her own identity, Zardulu will say only that she was born in Manhattan in 1971. Efforts to uncover her real name proved fruitless. Pakistans Taliban has struck again. The group Jamaat-e-Ahrar has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on Sunday in a park in Lahore crowded with families, including many Christians enjoying an Easter outing. The bomber set off his explosives near a swing set, killing at least 69 people and injuring more than 300 others. A spokesman for the Taliban group said the attack had two objectives: to kill Christians and to give a message to government that it cannot deter us even in their stronghold, Lahore. Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is the hometown of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Mr. Sharifs brother, Shahbaz Sharif, is the provinces chief minister. The attack was meant to expose as hollow Mr. Sharifs claims intended to reassure foreign investors and Pakistani citizens that he has the Taliban on the run. Clearly it is not on the run in part because a succession of Pakistani governments and the military have cynically used terrorist groups for their own purposes, encouraging them to act as proxy fighters against India. Murdering women and children at play is all too typical of the Talibans atrocities. Pakistans Taliban has long targeted students, including the 2012 assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai, an activist for girls education; the December 2014 massacre of 150 students and teachers at an army-run school in Peshawar; and the attack on students at Bacha Khan University, also near Peshawar, in January. Castle Valley, Utah MY husband, Brooke Williams, and I recently bought leasing rights to 1,120 acres of federal public lands near our home in Utah. The lease gives us the right to drill for oil or natural gas. We paid $1,680 for it, plus a $820 processing fee. We put it on our credit card. I hadnt planned on leasing these lands when I attended an auction run by the federal Bureau of Land Management, a government agency that manages hundreds of millions of acres of public land across the West. I was there to protest the leasing of these lands to oil and gas companies planning to drill for fossil fuels. But I ended up in the shorter line to get into the auction, the one for people registering as bidders. So I signed a registration form and was given the number 19. I followed the other bidders inside and found a seat in the front row. My husband entered with the protesters, who were assigned to a separate space set aside for them. As people filed in, a B.L.M. agent approached me and asked, Are you aware that if you have misrepresented yourself as a legitimate bidder with an energy company you will be prosecuted and you could go to prison? THE casual consumer of campus-related news might be forgiven for assuming that anti-Semitic intimidation is breaking out all over. Where I teach, at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, arguments over a proposed event or demonstration regarding Israel and Palestine appear every few months, and sometimes turn ugly. In 2013, some Jewish students were forced out of a lecture sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine. Just recently, a few members of the same organization broke up a faculty council meeting with demands that included barring Zionists from the campus. In both cases, the culprits were appropriately and unambiguously condemned by the Brooklyn College president, Karen Gould. And while circumstances vary, controversies over the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel, or B.D.S. for short, have taken place recently at Brown, Oberlin, Vassar and the University of California, among others. At private colleges and universities, pressure to suppress pro-boycott activities is usually administered quietly by donors or alumni and rarely makes the news. But at publicly funded institutions, boycott-related arguments often inspire politicians to try to legislate punishment if the school refuses to shut them down. In the middle of the Civil War a colonel named Robert McAllister from the 11th Regiment of New Jersey tried to improve the moral fiber of his men. A Presbyterian railroad contractor in private life, he lobbied and preached against profanity, drinking, prostitution and gambling. Some of the line officers in the regiment, from less genteel backgrounds, rebelled. They formed an organization called the Independent Order of Trumps. In sort of a mischievous, laddie way, the Trumps championed boozing and whoring, cursing and card-playing. In her book The Gentlemen and the Roughs, Lorien Foote notes that this wasnt just a battle over pleasure. It was a contest between two different ideals of masculinity. McAllisters was based on gentlemanly chivalry and self-restraint. Trumpian masculinity was based on physical domination and sexual conquest. Perceptions of manliness were deeply intertwined with perceptions of social status, Foote writes. And so it is today. These days were living through another great redefinition of masculinity. Today, both men and women are called upon to live up to the traditional ideals of both genders. So the ideal man, at least in polite society, gracefully achieves a series of balances. He is steady and strong, but also verbal and vulnerable. He is emotionally open and willing to cry, but also restrained and resilient. He is physical, and also intellectual. Two weeks before his first Gagosian show, the artist Joe Bradley is still in the thick of things. On the walls of his Brooklyn Navy Yard studio, wet canvases face off amid the organized chaos of paint buckets, unstretched linen and a lonesome espresso machine. These ones are mostly finished, Bradley says, motioning to a triptych of large abstract compositions. Others need radical surgery. The eight or so works in progress that ring the room represent six months of development an ongoing self-editing process that wont stop until the paintings are on their way to the gallery. Just knowing the deadline is looming, some kind of performative thing kicks in, Bradley explains. Otherwise you could play with something indefinitely. The option is tempting. Bradleys sun-soaked loft seems like an idyllic place to paint away the hours an activity the artist prefers to do in private. With part-time assistants to take care of the more blue-collar chores, Bradley maximizes his time to indulge his medium. Oil paint has so much life. It really behaves like it wants to behave, the 40-year-old says. Youll go into a painting with an idea of what you want to do, and 40 seconds later your plan has been upended. You always have to deal with these little skirmishes on the canvases. Over the years, Bradley has repeatedly come out victorious although its hard to pinpoint exactly why. Picked up by Canada gallery in the early 2000s, the soft-spoken artist found a loyal audience despite the aesthetic leaps he chose to make. His Schmagoo Paintings, slapdash grease-pencil drawings, followed his fleeting success as a minimalist (which found him stacking monochromatic canvases into the shape of rudimentary robots), and his prices jumped from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands. While Bradleys critics suggest that his anti-style is more gimmick than substance, his fans laud him for his ability to continually find moments of sincerity and authenticity in arts most painful cliches. For this show, Bradley meditated on painting in its most basic form a stretched canvas hung on the wall, the technique defined by gravity, a la Cy Twomblys drips. When its on the wall, you cant help consider composition in a way that is sort of conventional, which is appealing to me, he admits. The resulting images suggest energetic swipes piled up layer after layer. The out-of-the tube colors match the artists primitive touch: red, blue, black, green. Nonfigurative and non-narrative, the paintings rely on being self-representative. Accomplished actress though she indisputably is, Phylicia Rashad is not someone who comes to mind when you think of Shakespeares King Lear. Ms. Rashad, after all, reigns in the American imagination as one of the ultimate wholesome maternal figures, a source of bottomless reassurance. Lear, even at his least unhinged, is anything but comforting. But in her remarkable, pull-out-all-the-stops performance in Tarell Alvin McCraneys Head of Passes, which opened on Monday night at the Public Theater, Ms. Rashad gives the impression that she could definitely hold her own on Shakespeares blasted heath. Portraying a sorely tested Southern matriarch, she can be found railing against God and the elements with a harrowingly Lear-like rage. We have come a long way, in other words, from the living rooms of Clair Huxtable (of The Cosby Show, for which Ms. Rashad won two N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards) and Lena Younger (of A Raisin in the Sun, for which she won a Tony Award), where this actress memorably dispensed wit and wisdom. Never mind that for the first act of Mr. McCraneys fascinating and uneven play, directed by Tina Landau, it appears as if we have traveled little distance at all. The opening scenes of Head of Passes would seem to take place in the lucrative land of melodrama-tinged movie comedies, where a pious and dominating mother usually knows best. It is the birthday of the venerable Shelah (Ms. Rashad), and her adoring friends and children have assembled at her comfy home (once a bed-and-breakfast) to praise Mama, swap jokes, sing songs and sass one another. Ms. Purcell, a Republican holding the office since 1988, tried to offer explanations for what went wrong as the county reduced the number of polling places to 60 from 200 one site for roughly 21,500 voters but the capacity crowd was having none of it. One man said, Not good enough. The audience cheered. More than 100 voters filled three interconnected rooms, and more than 30 signed up to testify. Security personnel stood on the sides, and at one point a handful of state troopers moved inside, threatening to remove anyone who was disruptive. The hearing ended in mid-session at 1:30 p.m. because committee members had to move to another hearing to vote on a campaign finance bill. One of the members, Ken Clark, a Democrat, urged audience members to follow them, and they did. A masked man screamed from the gallery; troopers soon surrounded him and took him outside in handcuffs, delaying the hearings start. Ms. Purcell had already said that her office would make new plans for November, presumably adding more polling sites. Meanwhile, Michelle Reagan, the Arizona secretary of state who told reporters before the hearing that she had known about the cutback in polling places, but had not wanted to second-guess the countys decision said she planned to hold four community meetings in the areas most affected by the long lines, all but one in heavily Hispanic parts of the county. I think Eddie Johnson is the right man at the right time, Mr. Emanuel said. Community leaders described Mr. Johnson, 55, who was promoted to chief of patrol in December, as liked by residents and respected by his fellow police officers. City Hall officials also credit Mr. Johnson with having a history of tamping down crime: In 2013, the region he oversaw led the city in lowering gun violence, murders and shootings. It was uncertain exactly when the mayor had approached Mr. Johnson, but he said that he had known Mr. Johnson since his tenure as a South Side district commander, and had been impressed as he earned promotions. The mayor praised Mr. Johnsons integrity, recalling a recent meeting with command staff in which Mr. Johnson said he would wear a body camera and expected other top officials to do the same. Yet Superintendent Johnsons appointment is not permanent at least not yet. By city ordinance, Mr. Emanuel must pick a permanent superintendent from choices recommended by the police board. In announcing Mr. Johnsons interim appointment, Mr. Emanuel said he planned to call on the police board, which is selected by the mayor, to start its search all over. This time, Mr. Emanuel said, he will encourage Mr. Johnson to apply. Mr. Johnson becomes the second interim replacement for Garry F. McCarthy, who was fired in December after outrage and protests followed the release of video showing a white officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald, a black teenager, in 2014. John J. Escalante, the departments interim superintendent until Monday, applied for the permanent job but was turned down. As recently as last week, Mr. Emanuel was conducting interviews with three finalists who had been recommended by the board from among 39 applicants. The mayor appeared at points to be seriously considering Cedric L. Alexander, the chief of police of DeKalb County, Ga., who met with the mayor and who said in some reports that he believed that he had been offered the job late last week before the offer was rescinded. But Mr. Emanuel said no job offer had been made. WASHINGTON President Obama delivered a forceful critique on Monday of politicians and the journalists who cover them, lamenting the circuslike atmosphere of the presidential campaign and declaring, A job well done is about more than just handing someone a microphone. Speaking at a journalism prize ceremony in honor of Robin Toner, a longtime political reporter for The New York Times who died in 2008, Mr. Obama said the 2016 campaign had become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, a coarse spectacle that he said was tarnishing the American brand around the world. I was going to call it a carnival atmosphere, the president said, but that implies fun. The No. 1 question Im getting as I travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is, What is happening in America about our politics? Mr. Obama continued. They care about America, the most powerful nation on earth, functioning effectively and its government being able to make sound decisions. Mr. Obamas references to Donald J. Trump, the New York real estate developer turned Republican front-runner, were unmistakable in his criticism of divisive and often vulgar rhetoric, frequently aimed at women and at ethnic and racial minorities. But he also turned his fire on the news media, saying it had given an uncritical platform to those pronouncements, in part because of relentless economic pressures that have changed the way news organizations operate. Some party leaders remain hopeful that they can block Mr. Trump by denying him a majority of the delegates to the July convention and coalescing support around another candidate. But the National Republican Senatorial Committee has already conducted polling to test the message that Republicans must control the Senate as a check against a President Hillary Clinton, and that Democrats must not be allowed to fully control the appointment and confirmation of Supreme Court judges, according to two people briefed on the research, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it was intended to be confidential. Democrats see Mr. Trump as increasing their chances, especially in diverse and fast-growing states like Arizona and Virginia, where the party often struggles to turn out Hispanic voters who can help its candidates. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is mounting a late push to stretch the political map by recruiting candidates in as many as 10 conservative-leaning House districts, in states like Florida and Kansas, where analysts believe Mr. Trump will harm Republicans. The Democratic committee, eager to cut into the Republicans majority, has begun a large data project to model both support for and opposition to Mr. Trump. Meredith Kelly, a spokeswoman for the committee, confirmed that its data team was studying which of Mr. Trumps ideas and comments would be most offensive to key voting blocs, and how best to project those themes in congressional races. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said Republicans had a no-win situation on their hands: They could either run from Mr. Trump and risk depressing Republican turnout, or embrace him and have to defend views that are abhorrent to many people. Quite frankly, were going to hold people accountable: Are you with Trump and his policies, or are you against him? Mr. Malloy said. WASHINGTON A furious legal battle over digital privacy in the age of the iPhone ended on Monday with no clear winner only lingering questions over what will happen the next time the government tries to force Apple to help break into one of its own phones. The Justice Department on Monday announced that it had gotten what it wanted most immediately in the case of the San Bernardino terrorist attack: a way to unlock the iPhone used by one of the shooters to determine what evidence it might hold, even without Apples assistance. But that development forestalls a court ruling on the bigger legal questions that have been so hotly debated since the case erupted last month when a judge in California ordered Apple to unlock the phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook. The legal debate in that state offered what many legal analysts saw as a powerful test case for the Justice Department to establish its position. But that verdict will now have to wait for another day. SALT LAKE CITY The governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, a Republican, has approved a bill that makes Utah the first state to require doctors to give anesthesia to women having an abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later. The legislation is based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that point. Many doctors in Utah and throughout the country are concerned that the plan could increase the health risks to women because fetal anesthesia is unnecessary. Supporters of the law say a fetus should be protected if there is even a chance it can feel pain. Youre telling women that they have to have something thats going to increase their risk based on a conclusion that is not true, said Dr. Sean Esplin of Intermountain Healthcare in Utah. He said that anesthesia or an analgesic would need to go through the woman in order to reach the fetus. Doctors could give a woman general anesthesia, which would make her unconscious and probably require a breathing tube, or a heavy dose of narcotics. No other state has passed a law like this one, said Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit abortion rights group. In 2015, Montana lawmakers passed a similar bill that would have required fetal anesthesia before surgeries, including abortions, performed at 20 or more weeks of gestation, but the states Democratic governor vetoed the measure. The authorities in Cameroon expressed doubt about a would-be suicide bombers claim that she is one of the 276 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram Islamists in 2014. Officials cited inconsistencies over her apparent age as the reason for doubting she was one of the girls kidnapped from Chibok, a town in northern Nigeria. The girl in question is one of two would-be suicide bombers arrested in northern Cameroon on Friday wearing 26-pound explosives belts. Nigeria is planning to send a delegation, including Chibok parents, to Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, to meet her. The United Nations is investigating two new suspected cases of sexual abuse committed by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, one involving the possible rape of a 14-year-old girl by Burundian soldiers, a spokesman for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday. The spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters at a daily briefing that the peacekeeping mission in the country had received the allegations on Friday. The other case, he said, involved a Moroccan peacekeepers relationship with a woman. None of the suspects were identified. The Central African Republic, one of the worlds most dysfunctional countries, has become an epicenter of sexual abuse allegations against United Nations peacekeepers, an issue that has tarnished their image as protectors of the helpless. The latest allegations came to light two weeks after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution endorsing toughened discipline proposed by Mr. Ban against violators, including repatriation of entire contingents implicated in systematic abuse. The pro-business administration of Argentinas president, Mauricio Macri, will cut its funding of a regional television network started by the Venezuelan government in 2005. The country is pulling out of Telesur, a self-styled leftist alternative to mainstream media, because of a lack of pluralism and being shut out of financial decisions, the Communications Ministry in Argentina said. Argentina was a partner prohibited from sharing our view, Hermann Lombardi, the communications minister, said in a radio interview. Telesur was a pet project of Hugo Chavez, the former Venezuelan president, who envisioned a strong socialist voice to counteract what he perceived as unbalanced news coverage from major broadcasters like CNNs Spanish service. In addition to Venezuela, sponsor countries include Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua. Relations between Argentina and Venezuela have deteriorated since Mr. Macris center-right government took office in December 2015. His predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, had maintained strong bonds with Mr. Chavez. Argentinas government welcomed on Monday a decision by a United Nations commission that expanded its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 percent to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. The Argentine Foreign Ministry said its waters had increased by 0.66 million square miles, and the decision will be important in its dispute with Britain over the islands. The United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf sided with Argentina this month, ratifying the countrys 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast. This reaffirms our sovereignty rights over the resources of our continental shelf, said Susana Malcorra, the foreign minister. Oil exploration is already pumping millions of dollars into the Falkland Islands economy. The commissions finding included the caveat that there is an unresolved diplomatic dispute between Argentina and Britain over the islands. There was no immediate comment from Britains government. The intercepts, obtained by federal agents in the inquiry into Mr. da Silvas close ties to giant construction companies, offer a rare glimpse into how leading figures in the leftist Workers Party are scrambling to keep their government from collapsing. At the same time, Judge Moro, 43, has come under fire over his release of the intercepts, which include calls between Mr. da Silva and Ms. Rousseff during her presidency. Critics of the judge have assailed him for what they describe as a partisan attempt to bolster efforts to oust Ms. Rousseff. In one of the calls, Ms. Rousseff and Mr. da Silva briefly discussed the former presidents nomination as her chief of staff, a move that would have provided Mr. da Silva with broad legal protections as prosecutors in Sao Paulo State seek his arrest. Since the intercepts were released, justices on Brazils Supreme Federal Tribunal have suspended that nomination, citing concerns that Mr. da Silvas nomination could obstruct Judge Moros investigation, which has already resulted in the imprisonment of construction magnates, oil executives and confidants of Mr. da Silva. Still, Mr. da Silva appeared sanguine Monday about his chances of assisting Ms. Rousseff, who insisted last week that she would not resign. Dressed in a crisp suit and tie and looking more robust than he had recently, he said he was prepared to serve as an unpaid adviser to the president in the area of economic and social development. He asked me if I was interested in going abroad, Mr. Hame told investigators. He said to imagine a rock concert in a European country if you were given a weapon, would you be ready to open fire on the crowd? When Mr. Hame reiterated that he wanted to fight the Assad government instead, Mr. Abaaoud became terse. He said he would show me those wounded in the war and buildings that had been destroyed, so that I would realize how lucky I was to be sent back to France rather than stay to fight here, Mr. Hame recounted. Image An Islamic State propaganda video showed one of the Paris attackers while he was still in Syria. In the footage, he is seen beheading a captive. Credit... SITE Intelligence Group Videos released by the Islamic State after the Paris attacks in November included footage of eight of the 10 attackers while they were still in territory the terrorist group controlled in Iraq and Syria. They announced that they were acting on the orders of Mr. Baghdadi, the caliph of the Islamic State, and then proceeded to shoot or behead a captive, most of them in grotesquely choreographed scenes shot against a desert backdrop, according to the footage archived by the SITE Intelligence Group. Officials have deduced that the footage was filmed between February and September 2015, suggesting the Paris attacks were being planned months before they took place. It is now known that at the same time Mr. Abaaoud was laying the groundwork for the devastating plot, he was recruiting, cajoling and training Mr. Hame and others for smaller, quick-hit attacks. The night they met, Mr. Abaaoud dropped off Mr. Hame at a house in Raqqa with a white gate, according to the transcript. He said he would come for Mr. Hame the next morning, and warned him that if he did not agree to the mission, his passport, which was about to expire, would be given to another recruit who would go to Europe in his place. When Mr. Abaaoud returned the next day, his face was covered with a brown scarf with slits for his eyes. He wore a holstered handgun. He told me that he was now going to explain the mission to me, Mr. Hame said after his arrest, describing how the discussion occurred in the senior operatives speeding vehicle. He told me I didnt have a lot of time; he said he was just waiting for the confirmation of his emir. I told him that I would go. CAIRO As photographs and video footage emerged on Monday from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, antiquities experts were relieved and horrified at what Islamic State militants had wrought in the months they had controlled the city. A day after Syrian government troops retook control of the city, the most hopeful appraisal came from Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syrias antiquities director, who said 80 percent of the Unesco World Heritage site that encompasses the 2,000-year-old ruins remained intact. He said that the militants appeared to have deliberately slowed their assault on the ruins, fearing that they would stir a revolt among the local population. George Lopezs new comedy, Lopez, fits in a saturated section of overlap in TVs current Venn diagram: Semi-Autobiographical Comedies, Curb Your Enthusiasm Homages and Shows That Overestimate How Interesting Show Business Is. Lopez, which debuts on Wednesday on TV Land, isnt a bad example of these kinds of series, but if you show up this late to the party, you have to do something pretty extraordinary to be the guest of honor. Instead, Lopez is just another attendee divorced, often grouchy and frustrated with social media, just like all the others. (Hi, Louie. Hi, Maron.) Mr. Lopez stars as George Lopez, sort of his specialty at this point. He played a character named George Lopez on his ABC sitcom, George Lopez, and one named George on FXs short-lived Saint George. But this go-round is a bit closer to home: Hes mostly playing himself. Mr. Lopez is flanked by the expected comic foils: a hulking sidekick, a persnickety neighbor. His daughter (Ashley Zamora) is spoiled, and her school is so fancy it has valet parking. In the pilot, George is mistaken for the schools valet attendant, and its one of the many jokes about how Latinos are denigrated and marginalized in America. Whether experiencing schadenfreude or finding insight, many think they know what is responsible for the turmoil at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International as it falls from a darling of Wall Street to its punching bag. Commentators and analysts have drawn lessons, but few of them are convincing and many seem similar to the kinds of snap judgments that led to this mess. Lets review the various explanations for Valeants woes: Valeant as Enron This argument contends that Valeant is a house of cards waiting to be brought down by an inevitable accounting scandal. When the debate over Valeants accounting of its ties with the mail-order pharmacy Philidor Rx Services first began to rage, a report last October by the short seller Citron Research fanned the flames by comparing Valeant to Enron. The Valeant-as-Enron theory was given a boost after Valeant failed to file its annual report on time because of an accounting restatement and after the board accused the companys former chief financial officer, Howard B. Schiller, of engaging in improper conduct. For his part, Mr. Schiller says he has done nothing wrong. When Donald Trump threatened to break the North American Free Trade Agreement, auto industry workers offered up some of the loudest cheers. Mr. Trump easily won the Republican primary in Michigan this month. The state, home base for the American auto industry, also delivered an upset victory to Bernie Sanders, the Democratic anti-Nafta standard-bearer. But the autoworkers animosity is aiming at the wrong target. There are still more than 800,000 jobs in the American auto sector. And there is a good case to be made that without Nafta, there might not be much left of Detroit at all. Without the ability to move lower-wage jobs to Mexico we would have lost the whole industry, said Gordon Hanson of the University of California, San Diego, who has been studying the impact of Nafta on industries and workers since its inception more than two decades ago. ROSEMEAD, Calif. Betting that the future of the power industry lies in selling far more than just energy, Edison International, parent to one of the nations largest electric utilities, is starting a business to offer energy consulting and management services to commercial and industrial customers. The business, Edison Energy, was announced on Tuesday and is aimed at helping large organizations like Fortune 500 companies take advantage of evolving technologies, markets and incentives in areas including energy efficiency, renewables and storage. It is among the first major forays of a utility into energy management services, and is one of the more ambitious examples of how power companies are adapting to customers interest in producing and controlling their own electricity and the growing competition from ventures offering them the ability to do it. While many utilities have tried to stem the flow of customers to alternative service providers, especially the new breed of rooftop solar installers, others are beginning to try to grab a piece of that business for themselves, whether teaming up with companies like Sunrun, a leading residential installer, or providing rooftop arrays themselves. Two weeks after signing its final licensing deal with a major record company, the online music service SoundCloud has introduced its long-awaited subscription plan. The new program gives customers access to a much wider range of music than is available on competing services like Spotify and Apple, and it offers artists and their labels the promise of royalties. Under the plan, SoundCloud will operate on two levels. The free version will let people listen to 100 million songs, many of which are uploaded directly by artists or selected for promotion by their labels. Customers who pay $10 a month to the new subscription version, called SoundCloud Go, will have access to all those songs as well as to millions more from those labels catalogs. They will also have the ability to eliminate ads and save songs to their phone to listen to them offline. The service will have more than 125 million songs, the company said. One example of how the new two-tiered system will work is Adele, whose music is released through Sony in the United States. Free users will be able to hear a few of her singles as well as 30-second samples of the rest of her catalog; subscribers can listen to all of her songs. PARIS The pithiviers de canard at Clown Bar, a historic restaurant in Paris with circus-themed glazed tiles from the 1920s, is an exquisite rendering of a classic dish. Duck breast surrounded by minced duck meat, topped with duck foie gras and baked inside a pastry shell the color of varnished teak, it is a flaky, tender, succulent argument for why we still worship traditional French cuisine. The pithiviers may be as French as the four-week vacation, but the one at Clown Bar is the creation of the chef Sota Atsumi, who is from Tokyo. Mr. Atsumi, 30, is part of a new generation of Japanese chefs who set out to master French cooking and who now run some of the most acclaimed French restaurants in Paris notable in a city known for its snobbish dismissal of outsiders. Le Fooding, possibly the most influential food publication in the country, named Clown Bar the best bistro in all of France for 2015. Some of the chefs, such as Dai Shinozuka of Les Enfants Rouges, are so orthodox that the food they cook could illustrate a textbook. Others, like Shinichi Sato at Passage 53, a white jewel box of a restaurant with two Michelin stars, or Atsushi Tanaka at Restaurant A.T, embrace modernist cuisine. They moved to France to learn from the countrys culinary lions and to absorb its traditions and techniques. Through books, videos and classes, Mr. Iyer has made a career of demystifying Indian cooking for both American home cooks without Indian roots and for institutions like corporate and college cafeterias. As of late, with renewed attention on cultural awareness in institutional kitchens, teaching the proper way to prepare and serve a dish from another country is increasingly valuable. Image Raghavan Iyer, an Indian cooking instructor, at home. Credit... Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times Mr. Iyer, who only learned how to cook Indian cuisine after immigrating to the United States from Mumbai nearly 35 years ago, has written several books on the subject. His first, Betty Crockers Indian Home Cooking, was published in 2001 and remains a well-respected guide for cooks with little knowledge of Indian cooking. His latest, on potatoes, is due in the fall from Workman Publishing. The spices are the beauty of Indian food, and through them you can learn the beauty of India, he told the cooks at Emory, explaining that a simple cumin seed can have several different flavors. Raw, it tastes one way. Roasted in oil and used whole, it tastes another. Grind the seed and then roast it, and it changes yet again. It goes on and on. That kind of subtlety is a stretch for many American cooks. The perception is My God, when I come to spices, I freeze, Mr. Iyer said. Spice mixes like his masalas are essential for cooks trying to make culturally accurate and tasty food in what is called the captive dining segment that is, stadiums, corporations, colleges and other places where diners dont have much of a choice. Asked last week whether the leaks were tied to the spray-on concrete, the authoritys chairman, Thomas F. Prendergast, said an investigation by an independent engineer would examine the issue. It is essential that we let the world know that conditions like that are unacceptable for a project of that significance and that importance to the City of New York, Mr. Prendergast told the board last Wednesday. For now, the leaks continue at the Hudson Yards subway station. Yonkers Contracting will pay $3 million for a different subcontractor to make what the authority hopes will be permanent repairs, the agency said. At the same time, the authority is facing a lawsuit from a subway rider who said she and her mother fell down an escalator at the station last month after moving to avoid water dripping from above. Meng He, 29, who lives near the station, said the women felt drops hitting their heads as they rode the escalator up to the ticket-booth area. Her mother shifted her body to the side, letting go of the handrail and falling back into her daughter, Ms. He said. I tried to push her back up, but there was too much momentum, and we went tumbling down, she said. Ms. He says she injured her right foot and ankle and has had to use crutches. Her lawyer, Robert W. Georges, notified the authority that she planned to sue, claiming it should have fixed the hazardous conditions at the station. At the authoritys board meeting last week, Michael Horodniceanu, the president of capital construction at the agency, said officials had known about the leaks since 2012. Officials thought the leaks were fixed, he said, but they kept reappearing. Despite the problems, Mr. Horodniceanu said the station was safe. The suspect in a fatal shooting on Staten Island that left a mother and her son dead was critically injured when he was captured on Monday night in Pennsylvania, the police said on Tuesday. The man, Anthony Morales, 49, was shot as he reached for a handgun during his apprehension around 11 p.m. on the Appalachian Trail in Schuylkill County, Pa., about 115 miles west of New York City, the New York Police Department said. He was stabilized and in critical condition at Reading Hospital in West Reading, Pa., where he remained in custody on Tuesday, the police said. The authorities found Mr. Morales by tracking his cellphone, the police said. He was in his parked car, with the vehicle facing the road, in a lot near the Schuylkill when members of a regional fugitive task force approached him on Monday night, Robert K. Boyce, the Police Departments chief of detectives, said. They ordered Mr. Morales to put his hands up several times, but he refused, Chief Boyce said. At this point, he made the sign of the cross and then he pulled out the gun, at which time members of the task force fired, Chief Boyce said. Not far from the house where I grew up in Karachi, Pakistan, there was a childrens amusement park. It sat on top of a hill, its slides and swings beckoning children from the houses below. As summer vacations dragged on, my brother and I would hear the gleeful screams of other children, and we begged my mother to take us. It wasnt an easy sell. The swings are so rickety, she would say one day. Arent you afraid you will fall out of the spinning wheel? she would say on another. We were a little afraid, but we ached to go. That park was the only one we knew, and if it was shabby, its toy horses and pretend cars worn and weary, it still held the promise of exhilaration. Like children everywhere, we were drawn to being a little scared. That, after all, is the pull of the amusement park: small thrills ordered and anticipated, and then conquered, fear confronted and overcome. When we did get to go, our hearts pumped wildly at the crazy height of a swing, our breath raced as our bodies were flung about; all of it made us wild with joy. Like everywhere, there were small dangers: grim grown men who sat at the periphery, watching giggling children with beady eyes; boarded-up or broken rides, like ominous warnings of thrills gone wrong; beggars who beseeched us for the coins we clenched in our fists. But the heedlessness of childhood worked its wonders; the swings and the slides blurred them into the background. The children who died in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore on Sunday would have been riding those familiar crests of feeling: the wild joy of being high up or spun around mixing suddenly, grotesquely with the grim finality of death. Twenty-nine of the at least 72 dead were children, all of them, presumably, engaging in the childs pastime of facing fear and surviving it. In the footage of the aftermath, their bloodied clothes and toys are strewn about; a green plastic toy car sits untouched in the rubble. Their deaths are a stern rebuke to the country that failed them and to the world that turns away from them. The lurking men of the playgrounds of my childhood are no longer predictable villains, the deviants and kidnappers who feature in the cautionary tales told to children around the world. They are assassins, their hearts harnessed with explosives, their bodies bundled with bombs. The mothers refusing their children a trip to the amusement park will now tell them not about a rickety swing but about a bombing. Even the resilience of the very young cannot dream that away; the shadow of terror encroaches on childhood. To the Editor: Re Let Voters Decide, by Senator Orrin G. Hatch (Op-Ed, March 28), saying that the Senate should wait until after the presidential election to consider a nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia: As a retired judge and lawyer, I am familiar with the topic of Mr. Hatchs article. I am also old enough to have followed the senators lengthy career, and I know that for much of it, he served with distinction. His article, however, is a blatant attempt to justify the Senate Republicans unlawful and unconstitutional boycott of their own duty, to prevent President Obama from carrying out his. Mr. Hatch seeks to excuse his bad behavior and that of other Republican senators by claiming that Democrats have done worse. They have not. All of the nominees he mentions were given full hearings and a vote, and only one, Robert H. Bork, was rejected (with six Republicans voting to do so). Given the bipartisan regard for President Obamas nominee, this was the perfect opportunity to depart from the ideological battles of the past and set a new pattern where legal craftsmanship is the standard. Sadly, that has not happened. JAMES CRONIN Westport, Mass. To the Editor: Senator Orrin G. Hatch may offer a compelling argument for postponing the selection of a Supreme Court justice, but anyone President Obama selects has to be better than the one either a President Trump or a President Sanders would offer up. Aden, Yemen One year into the intervention here by the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and backed by the Yemeni National Army, I can tell my people with confidence that we are working hard to restore peace. The Houthi rebels military position has been weakened, and peace talks will resume next month. A cease-fire is to begin on April 10, leading up to the talks. The Houthis must respect it. We must now direct our efforts to rebuilding our broken country. Yemens war began in the summer of 2014 when the Houthi rebels, joined by soldiers loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, attacked the governments armed forces in Amran. The rebels went on to occupy Sanaa, the capital, and overthrew Yemens legitimately elected government by force that September. Before the Houthi-Saleh insurgents escalated their violence, my government had done everything possible to avoid an all-out war, and the country was undergoing a peaceful political transition. That process was derailed just as the country was putting into place the decisions of the National Dialogue Conference, a forum created by Yemenis and backed by the international community. The Houthis themselves were party to the conference discussions until they intensified their violence. With our country in chaos, we were left with no choice but to call for the assistance of our brothers in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Without intervention, Yemens future might have been that of a largely lawless and feudal country. Because of Yemens strategically significant location on the Gulf of Aden, the impact of continuing chaos would have been felt far beyond our borders in the other Gulf countries, Europe and the United States. FALL RIVER, Mass. For this former mill town, the deal to secure a large Amazon distribution center means much more than the $3.78 million coming from the land sale and the successful culmination of three years worth of negotiations. Any time you have a corporate giant making a commitment to a city, that speaks volumes, said Kenneth Fiola Jr., executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, which worked closely with state officials and the broker NAI Hunneman to bring in the online retailer. It gave us enhanced credibility. Credibility to attract other large companies, for one thing. And the deal for an over one-million-square-foot distribution center also gives Fall River, a southeastern Massachusetts city of about 89,000 people, cash to tackle a long list of improvements planned for its downtown business district. It is the latest step in a strategy that Mr. Fiola and other civic leaders are pursuing to encourage urban investment and redevelopment. Like other former mill towns throughout the Northeast, Fall River necessarily refocused its economic base after the textile industry began departing in the 1990s. The city negotiated with the state and federal government for tax incentives to lure biomedical manufacturers and others into the area. While none of the other officials present, aside from Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Claude Walker of the Virgin Islands, announced inquiries of their own, Mr. Schneiderman said, not every investigation gets announced at the outset. Image Former Vice President Al Gore joined Eric T. Schneiderman, New Yorks attorney general, at a news conference announcing other states will join an investigation into whether Exxon Mobil lied to investors and the public about the threat of climate change. Credit... Richard Perry/The New York Times Mr. Schneiderman began his investigation in November. His staff is looking at whether statements the company made to investors about climate risks some as recently as last year conflicted with the companys own scientific research. Part of that inquiry includes the companys funding, for at least a decade, of outside groups that worked to dispute climate science, even as its in-house scientists were describing the possible consequences of climate change, along with the areas of uncertainty. The company has supplied thousands of documents in response to the inquiry. While the inquiry could be expanded to include other energy companies and trade organizations, none have been named so far. Many legal experts have questioned whether the actions and statements by Exxon Mobil can be construed as criminal and outside the protections of the First Amendment. HONG KONG Chinas government said on Monday that it would take steps to more strictly manage websites in the country, its latest push to set boundaries in the wider Internet. A draft law posted by one of Chinas technology regulators said that websites in the country would have to register domain names with local service providers and with the authorities. It was not clear whether the rule would apply to all websites or only to those hosted on servers in China. Chinese laws can be haphazardly enforced and are usually vague, and because the new rule is only a draft, analysts said they expected the regulator, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to specify later to whom the law would apply. If the rule applies to all websites, it will have major implications and will effectively cut China out of the global Internet. By creating a domestic registry for websites, the rule would create a system of censorship in which only websites that have specifically registered with the Chinese government would be reachable from within the country. In Detroits crumbling schools, where the threat of insolvency means that basic repairs, supplies and even teachers are in short supply, 13 principals conspired with a vendor to defraud the system, siphoning away millions of dollars, federal agents and prosecutors charged on Tuesday. The principals, including five who have retired and one who became a district administrator, ordered supplies like paper, workbooks and chairs from the vendor, and Detroit Public Schools paid the bills. The vendor then delivered only some of the supplies to the schools, and paid $908,518 in kickbacks to the principals, according to documents filed in Federal District Court in Detroit. At a news conference, Barbara L. McQuade, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said the orders had totaled about $5 million, and of that, we believe that $2.7 million was fraudulent. The real victims in a case like this are, of course, the students and the families who attend Detroit Public Schools, and honest school employees struggling under tough conditions, she said. A case like this is a real punch in the gut to people who are trying to do the right thing. Oklahoma and neighboring states have been grappling with an increase in earthquakes tied to the boom in oil and gas production over the past 15 years. Adam Nagourney, the Los Angeles bureau chief for The New York Times, and Michael Wines, who has covered this subject, discussed Mondays report that because of these man-made quakes, Oklahoma is as much at risk for a damaging quake as California. Here is an excerpt from their conversation: MICHAEL WINES: Kansans and Oklahomans like to say they are cool in the face of natures wrath twisters put quakes to shame, some have bragged to me but the truth is that the last few years of shaking there has a lot of people rattled, so to speak. Now the United States Geological Survey comes out with a map that quantifies the chances of a damaging quake in the next year, and for parts of northern and central Oklahoma and southern Kansas, its somewhere between one in about eight and one in 10 about the same as your state. And just a few hours ago, there were two fairly big ones magnitudes 3.6 and 4.2 just north of Oklahoma City, which had been fairly quiet in recent months. Any advice for them? ADAM NAGOURNEY: Ill try to resist the our catastrophic threat is worse than yours instinct but, well, Im afraid it probably is. The most discomforting things about earthquakes, Ive found, is that there is no warning; Ive never heard of anything called an earthquake siren. Youll find no end to people talking about earthquake weather, or how dogs will begin howling a few seconds before a big one strikes, but I wouldnt count on it. The threat of earthquakes is just part of living in California. I suppose you could move someplace else, but there are things one can do to at least prepare for them. WINES: Youre right about the threat: In Oklahoma, the Big One probably would be to the San Francisco quake what my two Aussies are to a snarling Doberman pinscher. One of the biggest quakes in state history, in 2011, totaled a dozen or so houses and damaged a lot more, but nobody died. The forecast that federal scientists issued on Monday is not as scary as it seems at first glance. Mostly, they are saying that the region is likely going to suffer more of the plaster-fracturing, driveway-cracking quakes that have been a costly nuisance for some time. But they dont rule out something more serious, and a lot of scientists Ive talked to say the potential for a shock more damaging than past ones is not insignificant. The Plains-state geology transmits shaking better than California dirt. And most important, maybe, Oklahoma buildings havent been quake-proofed like yours. NAGOURNEY: I wish I could say that about buildings being quake-proofed here. One thing Ive noticed: Earthquake protection talk becomes front-burner in the first few weeks after a noticeable temblor, but its not long before people just forget. But finally San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Monica, to name the main players, have all enacted measures requiring the retrofitting thats the term of art, and if people living in Oklahoma or Kansas dont know it now, they will soon enough of buildings. WASHINGTON Two months ahead of a federal court hearing on President Obamas signature climate change rule, a coordinated public relations offensive has begun modeled after the same-sex marriage campaign to influence the outcome of the case. A national coalition of liberal and environmental advocacy groups, state attorneys general, mayors and even some businesses are adhering to the strategy that a network of gay rights and other advocacy groups began in the months before the Supreme Court heard arguments in the same-sex marriage case, Obergefell v. Hodges, last year. Those advocates cannot be certain, but they said they believed it had influenced the opinions of the justices, who ruled in June that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. While such campaigns are common before major Supreme Court arguments, it is unusual to see a national effort aimed at a lower court hearing. But the climate change case, West Virginia v. the United States Environmental Protection Agency, to be argued June 2 before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is unusual. The reason there is all this focus is that this is arguably the most important environmental regulation ever, said Richard L. Revesz, the director of the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law. This week, the institute and several other groups will file briefs in support of the E.P.A.s position in the case. Even Michael Savage had had enough. As the insults and innuendos over candidates wives and tabloid reports of suspected affairs dominated the back and forth between Senator Ted Cruz and Donald J. Trump, Mr. Savage, one of the countrys most popular conservative radio hosts and an ardent supporter of Mr. Trump, drew a red line last week. Ive supported Trump and probably still will, but if he wont disavow this guy Pecker and this story, I may withdraw my support, he said on the air on Friday. He was referring to David J. Pecker, the owner of The National Enquirer, which published the allegations of sexual affairs against Mr. Cruz. I am not going to support anyone who engages in assassination by innuendo, Mr. Savage added. But on Monday, Mr. Trump and Mr. Savage reconciled in a mostly fawning interview, with no apology from Mr. Trump, who nevertheless called The Enquirers allegation that Mr. Cruz had affairs garbage. The momentary rupture, however brief, was emblematic. As the fractures in the Republican Party over the candidacy of Mr. Trump grow deeper by the day, conservative talk radio is having its own identity crisis. The closer Donald J. Trump draws to winning the Republican presidential nomination over opposition from party leaders, the more his detractors ask: How can this happen? Theres no singular answer. One part of the explanation lies in the modern evolution of presidential competition, another in the special talents of Mr. Trump, and a third in the contours of the 21st-century Republican Party. Today, voters across the United States take their influence over presidential nominations for granted. As recently as 1968, however, just 15 nominating contests were held, in which the rank-and-file selected convention delegates. The eventual Democratic standard-bearer that year, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, didnt enter a single primary. He didnt have to; he enjoyed the support of party leaders who controlled the Chicago convention. He has for decades regarded himself as an unrivaled titan in his hometown, gorging at the only-in-New-York intersection of real estate, media and celebrity-for-its-own-sake. His name has appeared on the facades of New Yorks buildings, at the top of its V.I.P. lists and in the gossip pages whose stewards he had on speed dial. There was no anonymous source close to Trump, reporters across town came to know, quite so availing as The Donald himself. Yet in recent months, to the dismay of a great many New Yorkers, Mr. Trump has become something of an avatar for the city the brash ambassador who defended its honor when Senator Ted Cruz of Texas used New York values as a slur. (Mr. Cruz was criticizing Mr. Trumps past support for abortion rights, among other shifts.) John Catsimatidis, a grocery store and oil magnate who is friendly with Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton, likened Mr. Trump to a conquering hero returning home. Hes coming back as the king of the world, Mr. Catsimatidis said. I dont think me or you has ever seen something like this. When, after all, has anyone seen a New Yorker go up against a New Yorker for the right to go up against, very possibly, a New Yorker? ATLANTA President Obama, confronting a national epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse, met here Tuesday with recovering addicts, doctors and law enforcement officials to underscore his determination to tackle a problem some critics say he left until too late in his administration. We are seeing more people killed because of opioid overdose than from traffic accidents I mean, think about that, Mr. Obama said at a meeting of the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit. It has to be something right up at the top of our radar screen. The administration announced an array of new measures to expand drug treatment centers and increase the use of drugs, like naloxone, that reverse the effects of overdoses from opioids, ranging from illegal narcotics like heroin to brand-name painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet. These modest steps built on the $1.1 billion in additional funding that the White House requested this year to fight opioid addiction. But the president said that this is still an area thats grossly underresourced. Mr. Obama cast the opioid scourge as having transcended economic and social boundaries. If theres a market for heroin in an inner city in Baltimore, the president said, its not going to take that long before those drugs find their way to a wealthy suburb outside Baltimore. The Secret Service said it would forbid attendees to carry firearms at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July, neutralizing a debate that had put pressure on the candidates to take a side on the issue. Only authorized law enforcement personnel working in conjunction with the Secret Service for a particular event may carry a firearm inside of the protected site, Kevin Dye, a spokesman for the agency, said in a statement Tuesday. The debate over whether to permit guns at the Quicken Loans Arena in the second-largest city in Ohio flared in the past week after an online petition appeared on Change.org, taking issue with the arenas anti-weapons policy in a state that allows open carry of firearms. WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an unusual order indicating that the justices are trying to avoid a 4-to-4 deadlock in a case pitting religious freedom against access to contraception. The order, which was unsigned, directed the parties to file supplemental briefs in Zubik v. Burwell, No. 14-1418, which was argued on Wednesday. The case was brought by religious groups that object to providing insurance coverage for contraception to their female workers. Women are guaranteed access to that coverage under the Affordable Care Act. After the religious groups said paying for such insurance made them complicit in sin, the Obama administration offered the groups an accommodation: If they object in writing and provide information about their insurance plans, the administration said, insurance companies and the government will pay for the coverage. At Wednesdays arguments, several justices indicated that they thought the accommodation violated the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it allowed the government to hijack the insurance plans of the religious groups that are the petitioners in the case. A federal prosecutor has urged a judge in West Virginia to sentence Donald L. Blankenship, who was chief executive of Massey Energy Company when 29 workers were killed in a mine explosion, to the maximum of a year in jail for conspiring to violate safety standards. Lawyers for Mr. Blankenship, whom a jury convicted of a misdemeanor charge in December, asked Judge Irene C. Berger of Federal District Court in Charleston to impose a far less severe punishment of a fine and probation. Mr. Blankenship was not tried on any charges that accused him of direct responsibility for the 2010 deaths at Upper Big Branch mine, which investigators said exploded because of improper ventilation that allowed gases to accumulate. Yet to many critics, Mr. Blankenships conviction offers the greatest opportunity for justice after the accident, the deadliest in American mining in four decades. Judge Berger has scheduled sentencing for April 6, and the memos that lawyers submitted late Monday are expected to shape her decision. Although the Justice Department said that federal guidelines suggested a prison term of 15 to 21 months, the law under which Mr. Blankenship was convicted does not allow Judge Berger to sentence him to more than a year. RIO DE JANEIRO A crucial part of Brazils governing coalition withdrew support for President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday, a move that could increase the likelihood of her impeachment and deepen Brazils political and economic crises. The leadership of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, or the PMDB, which has 68 members in the lower house of Congress, the most of any party, voted to split with Ms. Rousseffs Workers Party. That lays the groundwork for more of its members to vote to impeach Ms. Rousseff. That will most likely happen next month. Several of Ms. Rousseffs ministers, who belong to the PMDB, were asked by their party leaders to step down. They included the health minister, Marcelo Castro, who had been leading the countrys efforts to address the Zika virus outbreak, and the civil aviation minister. The request comes just months before the start of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Increased government paralysis is seen as one consequence. After the PMDB decision, Ms. Rousseff canceled a trip to Washington, where she was supposed to participate in a nuclear security summit meeting this week. UNITED NATIONS Five months after a former president of the United Nations General Assembly was accused of accepting bribes to buy items like hand-tailored suits and Rolex watches, a task force appointed by the United Nations secretary general recommended greater transparency in the way money is raised and spent by that office. But the report, made public on Tuesday, only signaled the limitations of oversight. It recommended that each president of the General Assembly, elected annually by the 193 member states, make financial disclosures at the beginning and end of his or her term. It also recommended that the presidents make their travel and other expenses public. The president of the General Assembly is not a United Nations employee, does not report to the secretary general, has a $326,000 annual budget and is free to raise money from outside sources, including private companies, creating what the secretary generals report called significant loopholes and blind spots. BEIJING The Chinese government plans to conduct the countrys first comprehensive survey of rural children left behind by parents who have migrated to cities in search of work, the China Youth Daily has reported. The move comes after a series of reports on the plight of left-behind children, who are often put in the care of older relatives or are sometimes abandoned. Researchers say that many of these children have anxiety and depression, and that they exhibit high rates of juvenile delinquency and poor school performance. However, even basic information about these children such as exactly how many there are is lacking. At a conference in Tianjin on Saturday, Song Yinghui, a law professor at Beijing Normal University, estimated that there were 100 million children from migrant families in China, including more than 60 million left in their rural hometowns and more than 36 million who moved to cities with their parents but may be separated. Ni Chunxia, deputy director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs Department of Social Affairs, told the conference that she could not confirm those numbers, but that they highlighted the need for precise data, China Youth Daily said. BEIJING An anonymous letter calling on President Xi Jinping to resign for the good of China and his own safety seemed to be digital rumor-mongering when it appeared on the Internet this month. It spread by email and lingered on a small domestic Chinese news site before it was removed. But the response from Beijing has been anything but dismissive. Surprising even some hardened critics, Mr. Xis security forces have overseen a far-reaching inquisition to root out the culprits behind the letter, resorting to measures that have drawn more attention than the letter itself. They have detained at least 11 people, including relatives in China of two exiled writers accused of spreading or promoting the letter. Mr. Xis handlers have sought to give him an aura of unshakable dominance. But the unusually severe response to what might be nothing more than an outlandish Internet ruse suggests some anxiety about his hold on power, including among security officials keen to show their loyalty and avoid any hint of exposing him to danger, experts said. The response has shown how jittery they are, said Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese politics at Kings College, London. The fear seems to be that these views might be taken as representative of real elite figures. HONG KONG An editor at a prominent Chinese newspaper said he was stepping down from his job because he could no longer withstand the pressures of strict control of the countrys media, according to a resignation note posted online. The announcement follows increasing emphasis by Chinese leaders on control of the media. Last month, President Xi Jinping visited top-level state and Communist Party-run news outlets, where he spoke to staff members about the importance of following the directions of the party. The resigning journalist, Yu Shaolei, has worked at Southern Metropolis Daily, a newspaper based in the southern city of Guangzhou, since 2000, and most recently he served as editor of the culture department. In a resignation notice posted to his account on Weibo, he wrote he could no longer follow your surname. The phrase appeared to be a reference to Mr. Xis directions that state and party media must be surnamed party that is, answer first to the party. Mr. Yu could not be immediately reached for comment. The message was deleted about two hours after it was posted Monday evening on Weibo, but cached copies exist on monitoring sites including Freeweibo and the University of Hong Kong journalism schools Weiboscope. NEW DELHI In a rare show of cooperation, the Indian government on Tuesday permitted a team of Pakistani security officials to examine the scene of a militant attack at an air base in India that claimed the lives of six fighters and seven Indian soldiers in January. The five-member security team, including military, police and intelligence officials, arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and met on Monday with the National Investigation Agency, which is handling the Indian investigation of the attack. During the interaction, N.I.A. officers gave a detailed presentation on the evidence collected during the course of the investigation, said Sanjeev Kumar Singh, the inspector general of the agency, in a news briefing. In a separate investigation, the Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday they had questioned more than 5,000 people and detained more than 200 of them in connection with the Lahore suicide bombing on Sunday that killed 73 people, including dozens of children, news agencies reported. JAKARTA, Indonesia Hijackers are holding 10 Indonesian crew members from a tugboat that they seized in waters off the Philippines, in the latest high-profile case of piracy in the region, officials from both countries said on Tuesday. The tugboat, an Indonesian-flagged ship named the Brahma 12, was eventually set adrift, but the hijackers kept a barge it was hauling that held 7,000 tons of coal, as well as the entire crew, Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The Philippine military said the hijacking occurred on Saturday evening. Someone claiming to represent Abu Sayyaf, a militant Islamist group based in the southern Philippines, twice called the Indonesian company that owns the ship, demanding a ransom for the 10 captive sailors, the Indonesian statement said. Abu Sayyaf has a long history of kidnappings for ransom and terrorist attacks in the Philippines. It has received support from Al Qaeda in the past, but security analysts and the Philippine military have said that it operates mainly as a nonideological, for-profit criminal organization. The United States designated it a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. BEIJING When dozens of world leaders gather for a summit meeting in Washington on Thursday, President Obama will meet privately with only one of them: President Xi Jinping of China. The one-on-one session signals the importance of the relationship, as a rising China seems determined to be the dominant player in Asia, and the United States vows to retain its power in the Pacific. But relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in 15 years. Chinas military expansion in the South China Sea may be the most prominent point of friction, but it does not help that China is distracted by a slowing economy and that trade with China has become a cudgel in the American presidential campaign. Expectations that anything of substance will be accomplished in the 90-minute meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Xi are minimal. So it may be surprising that some analysts here and in the United States say it would be relatively easy for the two leaders to ease tensions. Mr. Xi could pledge not to go any further in militarizing disputed islands, said Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. In return, he said, the Americans could agree to stop sending warships and aircraft on freedom of navigation patrols into territory claimed by China. LONDON Aline Bastin loved to travel, but on March 22, she was taking a train simply to go to work. Ms. Bastin worked as a press and communications manager for the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies in Brussels. But last week she never reached her destination, after an explosion ripped through the Maelbeek subway train in which she was traveling. Her mother, Chantal Beaufays, confirmed her daughters death on Facebook on Sunday. Huge shock, she wrote. Even if wed been expecting it, this morning we were informed of Alines death. Ms. Bastin would have turned 30 in August, and loved seeing and photographing the world. As a student, she had lived in Madrid for a year. Nic Coopman, a Belgian who worked for an American manufacturing company, often passed through Brussels Airport to catch flights around Europe. He was on his way to Zurich when he was dropped off outside the departure hall last Tuesday, according to an executive at his company. Mr. Coopman, known for being unflappable, was a service engineer who specialized in automation and electrical controls for Wenger Manufacturing, a company based in Sabetha, Kan., that produces equipment for food and feed processing. For the past 16 years, his job with the roughly 400-person company took him throughout Europe, training employees and setting up new systems, according to Lafe Bailey, Wengers co-chief executive. The government of Montenegro has expelled 58 foreigners suspected of being associated with Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese doomsday cult that staged a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyos subway in 1995. The authorities carried out raids in Danilovgrad, a town in central Montenegro, and in Podgorica, the capital, on Friday, after getting a report that a certain number of foreign citizens, linked to a certain foreign closed religious group were in the country illegally, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Of the 58 foreigners, 43 were from Russia, seven from Belarus, four from Japan, three from Ukraine and one from Uzbekistan, the Interior Ministry said. The vast majority had failed to register their stay with the police, as required by law, and they had left the country by Monday night, the Interior Ministry said, without providing details of where they had gone. During the raids, the government seized several thousand euros in cash and electronic devices, which were taken for forensic analysis. MOSCOW Bowing to pressure from international donors, the Ukrainian Parliament voted on Tuesday to remove a prosecutor general who had clung to power for months despite visible signs of corruption. But in a be-careful-what-you-wish-for moment, veteran observers of Ukrainian politics said that the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, had played an important role in balancing competing political interests, helping maintain stability during a treacherous era in the divided countrys history. The United States and other Western nations had for months called for the ousting of Mr. Shokin, who was widely criticized for turning a blind eye to corrupt practices and for defending the interests of a venal and entrenched elite. He was one of several political figures in Kiev whom reformers and Western diplomats saw as a worrying indicator of a return to past corrupt practices, two years after a revolution that was supposed to put a stop to self-dealing by those in power. As the problems festered, Kiev drew increasingly sharp criticism from Western diplomats and leaders. In a visit in December, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said corruption was eating Ukraine like a cancer. Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, which props up Ukraine financially, said last month that progress was so slow in fighting corruption that its hard to see how the I.M.F.-supported program can continue. PARIS The first airplane hijackings occurred not long after international air travel became commonplace. In those days, most hijackers were seeking refuge or riches, not mass murder or global attention for a radical cause. Terrorist hijackings were a later development, but after reaching a grim apex on Sept. 11, 2001, they have become less and less common. The motivations of the man arrested in Cyprus on Tuesday after he hijacked an Egyptian airliner remain unclear. But when the most recent threats to commercial air travel have taken the form of bombings, missile strikes or rogue pilots, an attempt to commandeer a flight while sparing the aircraft and the lives of everyone aboard came as a surprise to many observers conditioned to expect disaster. It was not so during the Cold War, when hijackings were often desperate attempts at escape across the Iron Curtain. In 1953, for example, Mira Slovak, a Czechoslovak airline pilot, was flying a DC-3 on a domestic route with 25 passengers on board when he suddenly diverted the plane to Frankfurt and requested political asylum. His daring escape was emulated by dozens of others through the early 1970s, including many who commandeered American flights to reach Cuba. Jetliners also became attractive targets for escaped criminals, who used the planes and their passengers as leverage in ransom negotiations. Sometimes they even got away with it. The New York Times sent a major correspondent to cover each side; neither man made much effort to hide his sympathies. Herbert L. Matthews, who reported from the Republican zone, raged at the routine bombing of civilians in Madrid and elsewhere. Later, recalling the egalitarian spirit of the left, he wrote that Spain taught us what internationalism means. . . . There one learned that men could be brothers. Meanwhile, the other Times man, William P. Carney, filled his dispatches with news of Nationalist victories and praise for the officers who led them. Carney even did a propaganda broadcast for a pro-Franco radio station. While he traveled around Spain, he had his mail forwarded to the German Embassy. Hochschild narrates such tales with prose that is consistently vivid yet emotionally restrained. His main contribution is to retell a familiar story with a focus on Americans and an unromantic assessment of why the good guys lost, so that he adroitly evokes the commitments of Americans on both sides while eschewing any retrospective cheerleading for the Republic. The only character who shakes his writerly composure is Torkild Rieber, a Norwegian immigrant who was chief executive of Texaco. Rieber admired Hitler and shipped millions of barrels of oil to the Nationalist forces, which meant unilaterally breaking contracts with the Republican government signed before the conflict began. After the onset of World War II in 1939, Rieber hired pro-Nazi assistants who cabled Berlin coded information about ships leaving New York for Britain and what their cargoes were. When word of his behavior slipped out, Rieber had to step down from the helm of Texaco. Yet he remained a wealthy and well-connected man with a fondness for authoritarian leaders like Franco and the shah of Iran. For its part, the Spanish Republic did not, and perhaps could not, spurn aid from one of the bloodiest dictators of his or any day. To accept Stalins assistance, Hochschild makes clear, was a devils bargain that compromised the governments image as a beacon of democracy and tolerance. In 1937, Communists loyal to the Kremlin took over and expanded the Republics security apparatus. They branded as pro-Fascist the many anarchists and other radicals who sought to create a classless Spain. This intraleft venom touched off a battle in the streets of Barcelona that killed several hundred men who were badly needed at the front. In the aftermath, the government threw alleged fifth columnists in prison and executed several leaders. None of the Americans whom Hochschild portrays were directly involved in repressing non-Communists on the left. Still, Hemingway wrote nothing about the brutal squelching of radical dissent. And while some members of the Lincoln Brigade complained privately about stiff-necked dogmatists who sacrificed combat effectiveness at the altar of the Party line, they did not defend their fellow combatants who refused to obey the will of the only foreign power that was giving material support to the struggling Republic. Midway through his captivating narrative, Hochschild takes up the difficult question Orwell pondered and that historians have debated ever since: Did the goal of building a society of brothers and sisters clash with the exigencies of winning the war? In Barcelona and a few other cities, revolutionary workers briefly took control of their factories and abolished such vestiges of the old order as military ranks and tipping. But none of this helped stop Francos advance. As Hochschild sensibly concludes, to fight a complex, mechanized war, a disciplined army responsible to a central command is far more effective than a range of militias reporting to a crazy quilt of political parties and trade unions. Perhaps that is the ultimate tragedy of the Spanish Civil War. The Republic had no alternative but to cede a measure of control to Stalin and his minions. Yet doing so only left its defenders embittered and divided and failed to achieve its purpose. Wheres the romance in that? Lynn Liben, a psychologist at Penn State, has studied the effects of gender-coded language English weaves it in by way of pronouns (she, his) but also identifying nouns (girl, uncle) and honorifics (Mr. and Mrs.) for about 15 years. In a pair of studies conducted in preschool classrooms in 2008 and 2010, Liben found that when teachers emphasize a gender divide in speech like saying, Good morning, boys and girls children adopt more intense stereotypes about what boys and girls are supposed to do, and become less likely to play with children of a different gender at recess. When they see adults talk about gender as a category system, Liben says, kids become more vigilant about making the distinction themselves. Jill Soloway, creator of the Amazon series Transparent, is a fan of they as a corrective to that phenomenon. A really interesting thought exercise is to say they and them for all genders, she told The New Yorker recently. The promise of this revolution is not having to say, Men do this, women do this. These gender-neutral constructions, which not so long ago may have sounded odd or even unthinkable to traditionalists, are becoming accepted as standard English. The Washington Post is one of the first to have taken up the cause, welcoming the singular they into the papers stylebook late last year. And in January, the American Dialect Society voted the singular they its 2015 Word of the Year, noting its emerging use as a pronoun to refer to a known person, often as a conscious choice by a person rejecting the traditional gender binary of he and she. But central to the appeal of the singular they is that its often deployed unconsciously. Its regularly repurposed as a linguistic crutch when an individuals gender is unknown or irrelevant. You might use it to refer to a hypothetical person who, say, goes to the store and forgets their wallet. That casual usage has a long history it has appeared in Chaucer, Shakespeare, Austen and Shaw. It wasnt until 1745, when the schoolmistress-turned-grammar-expert Ann Fisher proposed he as a universal pronoun for a person of unknown gender, that the use of they in the same circumstance was respun as grammatically incorrect. The Masculine Person answers to the general Name, which comprehends both Male and Female; as, any Person who knows what he says, she wrote. Its precisely the vagueness of they that makes it a not-so-ideal pronoun replacement. It can obscure a clear gender identification with a blurred one. Think of genderqueer people who are confident in their knowledge of their own gender identity as one that simply doesnt fit the boxes of he or she: Calling all of them they can make it sound as if someones gender is unknowable; its the grammatical equivalent of a shrug. In December, the Post copy editor Bill Walsh called they the only sensible solution to Englishs lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun, with sensible being the key word. The singular they gained favor with The Posts standard-bearer partly because the presumptive he hasnt been palatable for decades, but also because a generic she feels patronizing and attempts at made-up pronouns like xe, xim, and xir strike Walsh as silly. The New York Times hasnt officially adopted they, but The Timess standards editor, Phillip B. Corbett, thinks its likely to earn a place in the papers stylebook as usage evolves. Eventually, I assume, certain forms will become widely adopted, and thats the point when it would make sense for us to set out formal style rules, he told me. My guess just a guess is that they is far more likely to become the default pronoun in these cases, rather than xe or other neologisms. A vacation on a yacht may conjure up images of billionaires and celebrities, but its not just for the rich and famous. Several companies offer seven-day yacht charters for $10,000 or less; most of the boats have multiple bedrooms and are suited for families and groups. Travelers can either hire a captain or sail the vessel themselves. In Boca Raton, Fla., Yachtico has an inventory of 5,000 yachts in hundreds of destinations worldwide, including the South of France and Cubas southern coast, that cost $5,000 or less to charter for a week. A six-bedroom, 46-foot-long catamaran to sail along the Dalmatian Coast in Croatia, for example, starts at $4,900; a captain costs an additional $193 a day. Airport transfers are included. The Moorings in Clearwater, Fla., manages a fleet of 400 boats in 20 destinations including the Bahamas and the Greek Islands. It has several wallet-friendly models, like a 38-foot, three-bedroom yacht available for a weeklong sail around Tahiti; it is equipped with a kitchen, air-conditioning, a flat-screen television, a spacious living room, several outdoor decks and snorkel gear and costs $9,800, including a captain. The San Francisco company GetMyBoat offers some 26,000 boats in more than 154 countries that cost $5,000 to $8,000 for a seven-day charter. Some are even cheaper, like the three-bedroom, 50-foot yacht docked in Ibiza, Spain, available to sail around the Balearic Islands for $3,290, with a captain. The community is invited to grab a sweet treat served up by local celebrities this Wednesday to benefit one organization that helps thousands feel full on a daily basis. Auburn Universitys Committee of 19 will host a Celebrity Scoop Night benefit at Marble Slab Creamery in Opelikas Tiger Town from 5-9 p.m. Wednesday. A portion of sales from Marble Slab customers during that time frame will go toward projects that benefit the Food Bank of East Alabama, an Auburn-based food bank that distributes food to areas of need across seven local counties. A roster of local celebrities, including Andy Burcham (WANI radio) and Kate Larkin (Auburn Alumni Association) will be scooping ice cream for customers at Marble Slab Creamery. The Committee of 19, a student organization leading the War on Hunger at Auburn University, will collect 10 percent of each receipt at Marble Slab, and a celebrity scooper tip jar will be out for customers to donate directly to the cause. Adam Brasher, Committee of 19 president-elect, said the group has hosted benefits for the food bank previously, but this will mark its first Celebrity Scoop Night event. We're always looking for new and creative ways to raise both money and awareness about hunger in our community, so this idea seemed like a home run, Brasher said. We focus a lot of our efforts here on campus, but we really wanted a benefit that could get the community involved. We felt like getting community leaders involved would help us appeal to a broader base of people and spread our message even further. The Committee of 19 is the original chapter of Universities Fighting World Hunger. It is made up of representatives from every college on campus who work to help their peers combat hunger using their specific skill sets. Our main areas of focus are raising awareness about hunger issues both here in our local community and around the world, advocating for food security and societal change that will eradicate hunger and fundraising efforts like this one that directly benefit those in need, Brasher said. Proceeds from Celebrity Scoop Night will help the Committee of 19s projects that directly benefit the Food Bank of East Alabama. Past projects have included canned food drives, hosting the annual Empty Bowls event on campus, funding a mobile food pantry in the community and purchasing a cooler for the Community Market. The Food Bank of East Alabama enjoys a strong partnership with Auburn Universitys Committee of 19, said Martha Henk, executive director of the Food Bank of East Alabama. This group is committed to the mission of ending hunger both locally and internationally. The Marble Slab Celebrity Scoop event is a great way for the community to support the fine work these students are doing." Brasher encouraged the community to support its fellow leaders and hunger initiatives. It'll be a fun night for a great cause, Brasher said. We're grateful to have some community leadersbehind us, and we'd love to have the rest of the community behind our hunger relief efforts as well. Ice cream-eating weather has just arrived, so let your first scoop of the season benefit a worthy cause. A full schedule of celebrity scoopers includes: 5-6 p.m.: Kate Larkin (AU Alumni Association) and Andy Burcham (WANI radio) 6-7 p.m.: Ann Lambert and Karol Renfroe (School of Nursing) 7-8 p.m.: Auburn softball, volleyball and equestrian coaches (Coach Greg Williams with Jessica Braswell from 7-7:30 p.m.; Coach Clint Myers with staff and assistant Coach Eysha Ambler from 7:30-8 p.m.) 8-9 p.m.: Chris Rodger and Debbie Folkerts (College of Science and Mathematics) Lee County Sheriffs Office Identity theft was reported Monday at 11:38 a.m. in Smiths Station. Illegal possession/use of a credit or debit card was reported Monday at 9:26 a.m. on Lee Road 894 in Valley. Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and third-degree criminal trespass were reported Monday at 9:12 a.m. in the 300 block of Lee Road 737 in Opelika. Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and second-degree theft of property were reported Monday at 7:14 a.m. in the 300 block of Lee Road 2212 in Smiths Station. Third-degree burglary, unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and second-degree theft of property were reported Monday at 6:54 a.m. in the 400 block of Lee Road 737 in Opelika. Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property were reported Monday at 6:53 a.m. in the 400 block of Lee Road 737 in Opelika. Third-degree burglary and two counts of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle were reported Monday at 6:21 a.m. in the 500 block of Lee Road 735 in Opelika. Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and second-degree theft of property were reported Monday at 6:10 a.m. in the 500 block of Lee Road 735 in Opelika. Two counts of unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle were reported Monday at 5:25 a.m. in the 500 block of Lee Road 735 in Opelika. Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property were reported Monday at 4:22 a.m. in the 300 block of Lee Road 2212 in Smiths Station. Unlawful breaking and entering a vehicle, third-degree criminal trespass and fourth-degree theft of property were reported Monday at 1:43 a.m. in the 200 block of Lee Road 2118 in Smiths Station. Auburn Police Division Shoplifting was reported Monday at 3:16 p.m. in the 2900 block of East University Drive. Identity theft was reported Monday at 3 p.m. in the 300 block of East Glenn Avenue. Discharge of a firearm into an unoccupied dwelling or vehicle was reported Monday at 12:35 p.m. in the 800 block of North Gay Street. Identity theft was reported Monday at 11:15 a.m. in the 1000 block of South Donahue Drive. Fraudulent use of a credit/debit card was reported Monday at 11 a.m. in the 200 block of Wire Road. William Moffett, 64, of Salem, was arrested Monday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Opelika Police Department A first-degree arson occurred Monday at approximately 10:15 p.m. in the 1100 block of Magnolia Street. The fire was extinguished by the Opelika Fire Department and there were no injuries reported in the incident. The investigation is ongoing by the Opelika Fire Department and Opelika Police Department. Mariel Antonio Watson, 26, of Columbus, Ga., was arrested Monday and charged as a fugitive from justice. Watson was wanted for a felony charge of failing to register as a sex offender in Muscogee County, Georgia. Watson was booked into the Lee County Jail where he awaits extradition back to Georgia. A fraudulent use of a credit/debit card occurred Saturday between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at Target, 2640 Enterprise Drive. An identity theft occurred between Feb. 22 and March 28 in the 1600 block of 4th Avenue. A fraudulent use of a credit/debit card occurred between Feb. 13 and March 26 at Mini Mart Food Store, 3312 Pepperell Parkway. Chambers County Sheriffs Office Christopher J. Porter, 37, of LaFayette, was arrested Monday and charged with FTA-Child Support (x3). Mira Ann Phillips, 48, of Five Points, was arrested Monday and charged with FTA-Impersonating Law Enforcement Officer, Making False Report to Law Enforcement. Harlis Trever Wood, 23, of Bowden Ga., was arrested Monday and charged as a pedestrian under Influence. Alvin Lewis Holloway, 24, of LaFayette, was arrested Monday and charged with FTA-DUI. Napoleon Delay Truitt, 26, of Lanett, was arrested Monday and charged with FTA-Child Support. Lanett Police Department Possession of a forged instrument was reported Monday in the 2800 block of Phillips Road. Fourth-degree theft of property was reported Monday in the 400 block of North Gilmer Avenue. Fourth-degree theft of property was reported Monday in the 600 block of North 14th Court. Christopher Jermain Porter, 37 of LaFayette, was arrested Monday and charged with Failure to Pay. Valley Police Department Third-degree burglary and fourth-degree theft of property were reported between Friday and Monday in the 400 block of Bailey Street. Third-degree domestic violence and third-degree criminal mischief were reported between Friday and Monday. Third-degree domestic violence and third-degree criminal mischief were reported between Friday and Monday. Fourth-degree theft of property was reported between Friday and Monday in the 2000 block of Judge Brown Road. Fourth-degree theft of property was reported between Friday and Monday in the 1700 block of 44th Street. Third-degree domestic violence was reported between Friday and Monday. A breaking and entering of a motor vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property were reported between Friday and Monday in the 20 block of Fob James Drive. Third-degree burglary and third-degree theft of property were reported between Friday and Monday in the 1200 block of County Road 271. Angel Faith Brooks, 18 of Valley, was arrested between Friday and Monday and charged with third-degree theft of property. Mary Ellen Avery, 47 of LaFayette, was arrested between Friday and Monday and charged with fourth-degree theft of property and public intoxication. William Christopher Hill, 37 of Opelika, was arrested between Friday and Monday and was charged with fourth-degree theft of property. Cody Brian Yarbrough, 23 of Lanett, was arrested between Friday and Monday and was charged with obstructing governmental operations. Tallapoosa County Sheriffs Department Jackie Holley of 10th street in Alexander City, was arrested Monday and was charged for a failure to pay warrant. Cody Cleveland of Scott Road in Alexander City, was arrested Monday and was charged for a failure to pay warrant. A resident of Dawns Path in Tallassee, filed a report Monday for fraud. Bobby Moore of Campbell Road in Dadeville, was arrested Monday and was charged for two failure to pay warrants. A resident of Martin Road in Goodwater, filed a report Monday for harassment. It was a good idea for television. And it became a great idea for Chapman University. Just more than 10 years ago, Chapman president Jim Doti asked writer Pico Iyer to be a guest on his show Dialogue with Doti. Iyer, who lives in Japan and Santa Barbara, said yes and one appearance led to several. In the last decade, Iyer became the most frequent guest on Dotis half-hour television talk show, which airs on KCET. Iyer, the author of The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere, will be the guest of the Register Book Club on April 13 at 7 p.m. Iyer became well known in the 1970s and 80s for his travel articles for Time Magazine. He has since written several books, including Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk and The Man Within My Head. Five years ago, Doti asked Iyer if hed like to become a Chapman University Presidential Fellow. Iyer agreed to spend one week per year at Chapman, lecturing and meeting with students. He enlivens the intellectual life of Chapman, Doti said. I was an admirer from afar, and now hes become a wonderful friend. Thats why my job is so exciting and fulfilling. Doti said he has been a fan of Iyer since the 1970s. Like a lot of people, I became a Pico Iyer groupie, Doti said. My friends and I would get together and talk about his travel books and novels. Hes so articulate, so thoughtful. Doti said he was especially impressed by Iyers discussion, entitled Weapons of Mass Distraction, about how the digital revolution has taken over the lives of so many. Those distractions keep us from the important things in life, Doti said. The students find Pico fascinating. Doti said Iyer often leads debates in the most cordial way, and thats why hes so popular. Hes so polite, Doti said. He debates in such a civil way, unlike what we see in politics these days the crude, the impolite, the crass. Iyer is part of an impressive list of Chapmans Presidential Fellows, including: Mark Skousen, who was recently named one of the top 20 living economists in the world by superscholar.org. Skousen has also taught at Columbia University, Mercy, Barnard and Rollins colleges. He has been an economic analyst for the CIA and a columnist for Forbes Magazine. Walter Stahr, who is the author of biographies on former Chief Justice John Jay and Secretary of State William Henry Seward. Rueben Martinez, who was a barber who opened a popular book store in Santa Ana. Martinez won the prestigious MacAurthur Fellowship in 2004 for his work in support of underserved communities. SYCAMORE, Ohio A teenager who toured an Ohio high school while posing as a state senator has pleaded guilty to impersonating a peace officer. Prosecutors said theyll recommend probation for Marion resident Izaha Akins. The 18-year-old pleaded guilty Monday to the felony charge. Authorities said Akins spoke to a government class at Mohawk High School in Sycamore for an hour last December. Officials didnt realize theyd been duped until Republican Sen. David Burke showed up weeks later for a scheduled appearance. Burke calls what Akins did an extremely elaborate scheme. The impersonating a peace officer charge includes anyone who poses as a state employee. His attorney said Monday that Akins is sorry for the negative attention he brought to the school, but hes glad it pushed schools to improve their security procedures. Not again. Even on Easter, innocent people are slaughtered by terrorists. At least 72 people were killed and 300 wounded in Sundays attack, aimed at Christians gathered for Easter at a park in the Pakistani city of Lahore. The park was crowded with families, some celebrating Easter. Many victims are said to be women and children, the BBC reported. Police told the BBC it appeared to be a suicide bomb. A Pakistan Taliban faction said it carried out the attack. Taliban Islamic extremists were the ruling government in neighboring Afghanistan that President George W. Bush overthrew when he invaded the country after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. The main intent of the invasion was to capture or kill 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, Mr. Bush expanded the mission to attempting to reform the whole country into a model democracy, something that still hasnt happened, despite a U.S. military presence that continues in Americas longest war. Most Taliban also are members of the Pashtun tribe that inhabits large parts of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, facilitating cross-border trade, contraband and terrorist planning. Pakistan Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar told local and Western media it was behind the attack, the BBC said. We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter, said Taliban spokesperson Ehansullah Ehsan, according to Pakistans Express Tribune. Also Sunday, two terrorist suspects were arrested in Mali in connection with a March 13 attack on a resort in neighboring Ivory Coast that killed at least 19 people. One of the suspects was identified as the driver who brought the men to Ivory Coast, reported the Associated Press. Authorities identified the second man as his accomplice. Already three men from Mali have been detained in Ivory Coast. The attacks in Ivory Coast and Pakistan demonstrate the worldwide scourge of terrorism, which this month also hit Brussels, Belgium. Paris was hit twice last year. And, of course, in December, terrorists killed 14 people and seriously wounded 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. Thats five major terrorist attacks across four continents. The problem of Islamic extremist terror obviously isnt abating. What can be done? First, as we have warned since the 9/11 attack almost 15 years ago, it is a big mistake to nation build, even when such horrible regimes as the Taliban rule a country. Going after bin Laden certainly was a necessary mission, but the diversion of U.S. forces to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq delayed dealing with him by almost 10 years. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is a bigger mess than ever, continuing to serve as an incubator of terrorism, even as U.S. troops remain bogged down. The lessons of the Soviet Unions own quagmire in that benighted country in the 1980s were not adequately learned. As to the 2003 Iraq invasion, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the former head of U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan, recently told Germanys Der Spiegel, We were too dumb. We didnt understand who we had there at that moment. When 9/11 occurred, all the emotions took over, and our response was, Where did those bastards come from? Lets go kill them. Lets go get them. Instead of asking why they attacked us, we asked where they came from. Then we strategically marched in the wrong direction. Second, Americas military and intelligence services should work more closely with forces in other countries to preclude terrorist attacks. However, the services in those cooperating counties need to take the lead because they best know their countries and peoples and such an approach would tend to mitigate anti-Americanism. We should be friends and assistants, not overlords. Third, the demonization of any group, such as Muslims, should be shunned. As several of our letter-writers have pointed out, almost all Muslims are dedicated to peace. This needs to be encouraged. And cooperation with such Muslims is crucial to finding the bad actors among them. Fourth, we need to continue to safeguard American liberties, including the rights of privacy and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. It makes no sense to defend our liberties if we weaken them in the process. Fifth, American military commitments need to be reassessed. For example, the 28-nation European Union is wealthier and more populous than the United States. Certainly, we should assist our NATO allies with intelligence and logistics. But they need to do more to defend themselves so we can redirect U.S. forces where theyre really needed. In sum, whats needed against terrorism is not more irrational lashing out, but cool and calculated action. SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic Deivis Ventura is still just a candidate for the Dominican Republics Chamber of Deputies, but he feels like hes already scored a victory. The 42-year-old former private school teacher, the first openly gay person to run for his countrys Congress, is delighted his campaign has not encountered overt hostility as it likely would have in the past. Its an important moment for our country, Ventura said one recent afternoon during a break from campaigning with a transgender friend. The fact that we have openly LGBT candidates in an important political party speaks of change. Another openly gay man, Yimbert Telemin, is running in the May election for city council in La Romana, an area of famed beach resorts on the southeastern coast. That they can run openly as homosexuals is the sign of a cultural shift that activists say has been helped by the presence of U.S. Ambassador James Wally Brewster, the first openly gay top diplomat the United States has posted to a Latin American country. Brewsters appointment angered some religious leaders and their followers in the Dominican Republic, but it was an important move for people whove long felt marginalized in the conservative Caribbean country. Wally has become an iconic figure in the LGBT movement because the movement does have strong local figures, said prominent activist Alexander Mundary. Dr. Victor Terrero, director of the National Council on HIV and AIDS, noted that Brewster and his husband have been guests of President Danilo Medina and the ambassador has hosted many of the countrys notable figures. The presence of the ambassador has contributed to the breaking of much of the stigma, Terrero said. It has shown in a way that (homosexuality) is not a sin, nor is it something to get crazy about. Representatives of U.S.-based Human Rights First said every person they met with before issuing a December report on the status of LGBT people in the Dominican Republic mentioned Brewster in their conversations. Everyone seemed to think, even if they had mixed feelings about it, that overall it was a net positive, said Shawn Gaylord, a lawyer for the group who works on LGBT issues. The presence of Ambassador Brewster has really spurred a larger conversation. The Dominican Republic does not have laws criminalizing homosexuality as numerous English-speaking Caribbean countries do. But the U.S. State Department said in its annual human rights report that non-governmental organizations who work with LGBT people in the country have reported widespread discrimination in health care, education, the justice system and employment. Ventura says he was dismissed from his teaching job when he came out as gay in 2008 and others tell similar stories. The Human Rights First report said transgender people are vulnerable to violence in the country, with several dozen suspected hate-crime murders since 2006. A bill that included an article prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation failed in the Congress amid opposition to a provision for sex education in primary school. Terrero is coordinating an effort to get a bill that would bar any form of discrimination, including based on sexual orientation, before lawmakers in the coming weeks. The Dominican LGBT population has woken up, said Telemin, a 36-year-old attorney and activist. People arent afraid now. Earlier this month, about 20 businesses came together to form the first LGBT chamber of commerce, with support from USAID. Ten years ago we would never even talk about it, Francisco Castillo, the president of the new chamber, said of homosexuality. It was shameful to even mention it, we preferred to avoid the subject. Brewster was guest of honor at the chambers March 2 inauguration ceremony, prompting a wave of angry denunciations. Fidel Lorenzo, a pastor and leader of an evangelical Christian organization, accused Brewster of trying to promote homosexuality and led efforts that collected more than 31,000 signatures for a petition calling on President Barack Obama to remove the ambassador. Catholic officials also denounced the American diplomat, temporarily putting up a sign at one school that said he could not enter. The ambassador, who had been a prominent fundraiser for Obama, encountered similar condemnations starting weeks before his arrival in November 2013 with his husband, Bob Satawake. But the Medina government accepted his credentials and business has apparently carried on as normal between two countries that have long had warm relations. The U.S. Embassy did not respond to a request by The Associated Press for an interview with the ambassador. Brewster dismissed his critics in a radio interview. I think its a small group, he said. People who are just haters and want to marginalize others. Ventura said he has encountered only signs of support so far. He is running in the party of the main opposition presidential candidate, Luis Abinader, and his chances of victory are uncertain in his busy, industrial district. But he is optimistic about both his prospects and those of the Dominican Republic. The country keeps getting better in terms of human rights and I, as a gay man, can exercise my right to be a candidate, he said. People are supporting me, and they are supporting my candidacy. DANA POINT Authorities are looking for three people who broke into a Dana Point business and made off with a cash register. The burglary at Auroras Taqueria, 34146 Pacific Coast Highway, was reported by an employee at 5:18 a.m, said Orange County Sheriffs Department Lt. John Roche. Video surveillance showed three individuals wearing dark clothing and ski masks breaking through the front door and escaping with a cash register containing an undisclosed amount of cash, Roche said. No arrests have been made. Contact the writer: 714-796-7767 sschwebke@ocregister.com Twitter: @thechalkoutline Re: Pakistan in mourning as toll from Easter suicide bombing rises [World, March 28]: Learning about the tragic deaths of over 50 men, women and children, mostly Christian, at an Easter Sunday gathering at a park in Lahore, Pakistan, is extremely painful. My heartfelt sympathies go out to all of those killed or displaced by those who have a perverted interpretation of Islam, whether its the Taliban, ISIS, or any other terrorist group. Islam stresses that all lives are sacred, regardless of faith or nationality or gender or creed. I stand in solidarity with my Christian brothers and sisters in denouncing these deplorable actions, and extend both my condolences and prayers during this sacred time in the Christian faith. Ahsan M. Khan Fullerton Teach fundamentals first Re: Future will demand more computer coders; schools not keeping up [Opinion, March 27]: While I agree with John Seilers premise that we will need more coders in the future, I disagree with his solution that the way to get there is to offer more coding classes to school children. I certainly encourage parents to have their children visit the websites that Mr. Seiler suggested, as those sites offer great insight into whether computer science is something they enjoy and might want to consider as a career. Coding HTML or JavaScript can be learned on your own while watching YouTube videos, like he suggested. However, time in a classroom should be spent learning higher concepts that are indispensable to future coders. Things like logic, algorithm development and problem solving. Those are concepts best learned with a competent teacher that are much harder to get than just by watching a YouTube video. Chris Ellec Corona Suffering Covered CA Re: Exchange may drop hospitals that underperform [Business, March 27]: In many cases it has been a struggle to find doctors who will accept Covered California and other individual plans. Now, Covered California, in its infinite wisdom, has decided it wants to further limit my clients choices? Those people, mostly small-business owners who do not have access to group health plans, are once again getting the shaft. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor is a pipe dream here in California. Patricia Stiffler Anaheim Hills Past president, OC Association of Health Underwriters A developer has plans to turn the former Los Angeles Times building in Costa Mesa into a creative office environment maybe even with volleyball courts and barbecue pits. The project is a joint venture between developer Kearny Real Estate and Tribune Real Estate Holdings, with plans for a Silicon Valley-esque creative campus called The Press in the former plant off Sunflower Avenue. It wouldnt be a co-working space, but rather a place for one or a few tenants to work in a modern, collaborative floor plan with creative campus amenities that tech companies such as Google recently mainstreamed. Those amenities include outside spaces, such as volleyball courts and barbecue areas. There is literally nothing to this scale in Orange County that I can think of, said Hoonie Kang, partner at Kearny Real Estate. A couple of examples are in L.A. County the Arts District is doing a conversion of this type and Playa Vista with the old hangar and the (former) post office. Initial renderings for the roughly $100 million project show an ode to the former life of the building, with images of the printing presses on panels inside. Its light, airy and takes advantage of the high ceilings. There are outdoor spaces, an indoor lounge and separate levels of open-plan office space. Glassed-in rooms that remain from the newspapers days could become private alcoves for meetings. The way tenants occupy space has dramatically changed, said Rick Kaplan of Cushman and Wakefield, a broker for the property. They want a more collaborative environment. The first phase of the proposed project would be 300,000 square feet, but ultimately the developer says they could expand it to 650,000 square feet. Kaplans team is tasked with finding tenants for the project, which theyre marketing as a hip, historical property in Costa Mesas eclectic commercial scene, a stones throw from The OC Mix/Soco and a short drive from The Lab, The Camp and East 17th Street. Its a very important building, and what were doing is keeping the legacy of it, if you will, he said. The plant had a long history in the county, serving as the home of the Los Angeles Times former Orange County edition and later the headquarters of the Daily Pilot. When it was fully functioning, it had a helipad, a gym, a cafeteria and even an on-site doctor, recalls former Daily Pilot Publisher Tom Johnson. It was also an exciting time to be in the field, hearing the train pull up on the tracks in the back with paper and seeing the papers come off the presses. You rubbed elbows with people that went on to be leaders in the field of journalism, Johnson said. Marty Baron was the Orange County editor at one point and rose up to the be the editor of the Boston Globe, behind the whole movie Spotlight. He said hes excited at the prospect of bringing the building back alive. To me it was pretty sad to see the dilapidation of the building (in recent years), he said. When I heard the news of this new group going in, I was really excited because it is a special place with a long history in Orange County of serving the people. Kaplan and Kang said Costa Mesa is a natural spot for businesses to call home, with Kaplan noting shoemaker Vans announced it was moving its headquarters from Los Angeles County to Costa Mesa next year. If you look what draws tenants to L.A. the educated labor pool, the great weather Orange County has all those, Kang said. In Orange County, you almost get all the pluses and less of the negatives. Theres more housing options, and I would say the school districts are better too for working families, Kang said. The plans for the development are just ideas at this point, however. The tenants that ultimately sign on will have the last say for what the project ends up looking like, Kang said. The site first needs to be re-zoned, from industrial to commercial, which is included in Costa Mesas draft general plan update that is up for approval later this year. Contact the writer: jclay@ocregister.com or 714-796-6910 WASHINGTON A tie vote from the Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a win to labor unions in a high-profile dispute over their ability to collect fees. The justices divided 4-4 in a case that considered whether public employees represented by a union can be required to pay fair share fees covering collective bargaining costs even if they are not members. The split vote leaves in place an appeals court ruling that upheld the practice. The result is an unlikely victory for organized labor after it seemed almost certain the high court would rule 5-4 to overturn a regime in place nearly 40 years. The court is operating with only eight justices after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, who had been expected to rule against the unions. The one-sentence opinion does not set a national precedent and does not identify how each justice voted. It simply upholds a decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that applies to California and eight other Western states. The union case is among a handful of high-profile disputes in which Scalias vote was expected to tip the balance toward a result that favored the conservative justices. Since Supreme Court decisions are not final until they are handed down, nothing Scalia did or said in connection with the case before his death mattered to the outcome. A group of California teachers led by Orange Countys Rebecca Friedrichs and backed by a conservative group said being forced to pay union fees violated the free speech rights of nonmembers who disagree with the unions positions. They had urged the justices to overturn a nearly 40-year-old Supreme Court decision that allows the unions to collect the fees. The high court had raised doubts about the viability of the 1977 precedent, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, but it stopped short of overturning it in two recent cases. In Abood, the court said public workers who choose not to join a union can be required to pay for bargaining costs if the fees dont go toward political purposes. The lead plaintiff was Rebecca Friedrichs, a public school teacher from Orange County, who said she resigned from the California Teachers Association over differences but was still required to pay about $650 a year to cover bargaining costs. The case affects more than 5 million workers in 23 states and Washington, D.C., who are represented at the bargaining table by public sector unions. Labor officials worried the potential loss of tens of millions of dollars in fees would reduce their power to bargain for higher wages and benefits for government employees. Labor leaders called the lawsuit part of a coordinated effort by conservative groups to weaken labor rights. Union officials say the fees are necessary because it has a legal duty to represent all teachers at the bargaining table, even those who are not part of the union. Looking to refill his campaign treasury, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is headed Thursday to Newport Beach for a $1,000-per-person fundraiser. Former Republican presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina will be a special guest. Jeb Bush was invited but could not attend. Both have endorsed Cruz. The truth is that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two sides of the same coin, Fiorina said at a Cruz rally in Virginia this month. It is time to take our country back, and so it is time now to unite behind the one man who can beat Donald Trump, who can beat Hillary Clinton. It is time to unite behind Ted Cruz. Its unlikely that Cruz can win the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the GOP nomination ahead of the Republican National Convention. But a strong showing in the remaining primaries could prevent Trump from reaching that magic number and force a contested convention, at which Cruz could keep his hopes alive. Orange County isnt the conservative powerhouse it once was, but Republicans still hold a 9 percentage point lead in voter registration and, perhaps more importantly for candidates, it continues to be home to plenty of major GOP donors. Cruz has tapped that wealth before, with a December fundraiser in Newport Beach. He also was in town in April for a luncheon held by the well-heeled New Majority group of major donors and in August for one of the Koch brothers semi-annual retreats. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, is one of the chairmen for Thursdays fundraiser. Additionally, Newport Beach attorney Mike Schroeder is a Cruz campaign co-chairman for California. The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pacific Club. More information is available at the Republican Party of Orange Countys online calendar, ocgop.org/event/event. Contact the writer: mwisckol@ocregister.com With a week to go until his states key Republican primary, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Ted Cruz for president on Tuesday, further consolidating establishment opposition to Donald Trump. I just fundamentally believe that he is a constitutional conservative, Walker said of Cruz in an interview with conservative radio host Charlie Sykes, who also supports the Texas senator. Walker, who quit the presidential race in September, is popular with many in the Republican base after his high-profile battles with unions and an unsuccessful recall attempt, though the governor has just a 39 percent job approval at home, according to a February Marquette Law School poll. His endorsement is a blow to the third candidate left in the GOP race, Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Donald Trumps presidential campaign said Monday that it will officially challenge strategic maneuvering that could give Sen. Ted Cruz a sharp lead in the final delegate tally from the Louisiana primary, despite the billionaires 3-point victory during the states election earlier this month. A group of so-called unbound delegates and others previously pledged to Sen. Marco Rubio could potentially rally behind Cruz, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, giving the senator up to 10 more delegates from the state than Trump will receive. Those sorts of technical maneuvers part of the complicated delegate-based system for nominating the partys presidential candidate have been the subject of intrigue amid speculation of a possible contested convention in July. Members of the GOP establishment who oppose Trump believe it may be the best and last hope to keep the billionaire from clinching the nomination. Trump adviser Barry Bennett said during an interview with MSNBC Monday that the campaign intends to file a formal complaint with the Republican National Committee to challenge the certification of those delegates before the convention. Bennett said he spent Monday morning with the legal team and that they are moving forward with a complaint to decertify these delegates. The formal challenge to the delegates would be submitted and heard by an RNC panel at a date set between the end of the primaries in June and the convention in mid-July. The problem were having here is that there was a secret meeting in Louisiana of the convention delegation, and apparently all of the invitations for our delegates must have gotten lost in the mail, Bennett said. Bennett appeared to be speaking about the official state convention in Louisiana, which happened earlier this month and which reportedly included representatives from the Trump campaign. Trump has condemned Cruz and the delegate system itself in recent days, accusing the senator on several occasions of attempting to steal delegates. He also threatened a lawsuit in response, though the process Bennett outlined Monday is through the RNC itself and not through the courts. Just to show you how unfair Republican primary politics can be, I won the State of Louisiana and get less delegates than Cruz, Trump tweeted Sunday in respond to the Wall Street Journal report.Lawsuit coming. He made similar comments in interviews Sunday and Monday, calling the process corrupt. You have a guy going around trying to steal peoples delegates. This is supposed to be America, a free America, Trump said on ABCs This Week Sunday. This is supposed to be a system of votes where you go out, you have elections, free elections, not elections where I won. I won Louisiana and now I hear hes trying to steal delegates. You know, welcome to the Republican Party. SANTA ANA More than 50 years after a hotel manager was bludgeoned and strangled, charges against the 75-year-old accused killer were dropped Tuesday with attorneys agreeing that he isnt fit to stand trial. The decision to place Charles Edward Faith Jr. in long-term medical care under the supervision of the Orange County Public Guardian likely brings to an end the oldest cold-case investigation in county history. Both Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin and Deputy Public Defender Denise Gragg agreed that Faith is no longer aware of his surroundings. He has extreme dementia, and a myriad of complicated medical issues, Gragg said after Tuesdays hearing. The only place he can survive is in some sort of quasi-hospital, long-term living setting. He really has no idea what is going on. The victims daughter said on Tuesday that she is frustrated by the cases outcome. He got caught at exactly the right time for him, Christina Lonzo said. There isnt really any justice, so to speak. He is protected all the way around. Given Faiths health, attorneys said they had no choice. We could not get him out of the (in-custody) facility and into another (long-term) facility that everyone is in agreement is better for him, as well as the community, while the charges were pending, so we had to dismiss the case, Yellin said. We did our best, but when you wait 50 years to arrest a guy, youre going to run into the geriatric nature of the defendant. On Feb. 16, 1964, the partially nude, bruised and battered body of Christine Elizabeth Vono Wariner was found lying in a pool of blood inside the managers room at the old California Hotel at Main and Sixth streets in Santa Ana. At the time, detectives were hopeful that the case could be quickly solved: Bloody fingerprints were left on the rooms door. Instead, the case went cold for more than 40 years, until 2002, when advances in forensic technology allowed a crime-lab technician to match the fingerprints on the hotel door to Faith. It was reportedly the oldest such match in state history. Lonzo, who at the time had just moved to Alabama from California, recalled the shock she felt when an investigator called to tell her that someone had been arrested in connection to her mothers slaying. I was dumbfounded, Lonzo said. I didnt know how to feel. Police and prosecutors have not publicly revealed why they believe Faith, who had been in custody since 2007, was at the hotel. According to a court-ordered evaluation in 2015, Faiths condition has worsened in recent years, after he apparently had a stroke while in custody. He has been held at Western Medical Centers county-run jail unit, where staffers reported that he often sang to himself and on occasion clucks like a rooster. An investigator who spoke to Faith during an evaluation noted that he appeared confused or delusional. The Orange County Public Guardians office indicated in court documents that it will likely seek to place Faith in a skilled-nursing facility. Contact the writer: semery@ocregister.com From head to toe, Frank Fitzpatrick looks the part. With a large, black cowboy hat tilted over his forehead, the 68-year-old cattle rancher casually propped a cowboy boot fitted with spurs on a post of a corral with about 20 bulls inside. I decided on my 8th birthday I wanted to be a cowboy, and I havent changed my mind since, he said, looking at the herd of red Barzona cattle. Fitzpatrick tends almost 600 head of cattle between ranches in Indio and Trabuco Canyon the latter just miles from his home in Silverado, the same home he moved into on his 4th birthday. He attended Orange High School, where he joined the Future Farmers of America. By his senior year he had about 20 bulls. Now, Fitzpatrick is in his 37th year running 5 Bar Beef, a company dedicated to grass-fed, farm-to-table meat raised on the canyons rolling green hills. His motto: We provide real meat from conception to your plate. Fitzpatrick is one of the last ranchers in the canyon and runs one of the largest commercial ranching operations in the county a reminder of the areas agricultural past. Back in the early 1800s, Spanish settlers drove their cattle, sheep and horses all over the canyons and throughout Orange County. He keeps most of his cattle at a ranch in Indio, but moves the year-old bulls to his Trabuco ranch, where they freely graze over the 800 acres, fattening up to be sold at local farmers markets. The ranch doesnt feel like a place youd find in Orange County. The grass is almost knee-high in some areas, and on a clear day its easy to spot Catalina Island from the hilltops. Vibrant yellow and purple wildflowers bloomed early in the month. The only reminder that youre near an urban area is the sound of motorcycles stopping at Cooks Corner and the view of a housing development over the hill. Fitzpatrick tends the area for a developer. The land is slated for housing, but the construction work needed to grade the canyon is expensive and has prolonged any deals. Fitzpatrick might be a modern-day cowboy, herding his cattle through the canyon on horseback, but he knows the science behind his farm-to-table business brand. Any four-stomach ruminate animal will take that 16-carbon omega-3 fatty acid from grass and turn it into a 20-carbon chain omega-3 fatty acid with five double bonds. If you eat that, you turn it into a 22-carbon chain and six double bond, which is what your brain is made out of, Fitzpatrick said. Its a very highly sophisticated fat that insulates brain neurons. That beef is good for you. Translation: Grass-fed beef has more of those fats that research suggests are actually good for you. The grazing cattle are also good for the land, Fitzpatrick said. Holistic planned grazing facilitates (are) a way to make rainfall more effective. In conventional grazing, you turn out all the cows, when they eat all the grass, you take em off. That, he said, leaves the hills barren and without the foliage that funnels rain back into the water table. Youre using livestock to improve the environment, said Gordon Claassen, livestock manager for Cal Poly San Luis Obispos Swanton Pacific Ranch, who has been using the method for nearly 40 years. You control your animals with fencing or herding to make sure theyre eating in different areas and giving each part of the land time to restore itself. Fertility of the soil improves because of the nutrients from the cows urinating and defecating. And the plants slow the rainfall and get more moisture down into the soil, he added.Plants need that grazing as part of a natural cycle. Its a really exciting management style, and I believe its revolutionary. While holistic management isnt practiced by industrial farmers, it is picking up speed among ranchers especially during times of drought, Claassen said. The stupidity of it is, Fitzpatrick said, you could go to Africa and just watch cattle herds graze on their own and see how God does it. In the summer, when there isnt sufficient rainfall and the grass dies, Fitzpatrick feeds the bulls organic produce and forage products without hard grain. I first ran into Barzona cattle at a convention in Arizona in 1972, Fitzpatrick said. These cattle were absolutely magnificent. They were living out in the desert. They were hardy, highly adaptable, good-doing, efficient cattle. Breeders of the cattle say Barzona are known for grazing in drought conditions, their adaptability in most environments, heat tolerance and disease resistance. Knowing where the food comes from is really important to me, said Katherine C de Baca, a Coto de Caza resident who regularly buys 5 Bar Beef at the Irvine Farmers Market. Its leaner, but the fat in it is better for you, too. The texture is better, it tastes fresher and I like knowing the cows are eating what they should eat, they have the nutrients they should have, and theyre happy cows. They only have one bad day. Frank took me out and showed me the ranch once. Anybody thats going to offer to show me the animals, where theyre living and what they eat is a stand-up guy, she said. C de Baca also likes that the meat isnt treated with chemicals. Fitzpatrick said he never gives the cattle hormones. He doesnt castrate them either. Theyre part of a self-replicating herd that hasnt had any outside genetic influence in more than 35 years. Theyre pure as the driven snow, Fitzpatrick said. A USDA-certified plant in Los Angeles processes the beef, which is then frozen, so that Fitzpatrick, his son, Ryan, and friend Dave Liberman can sell it. In Southern California, 5 Bar Beef ships online orders in, supplies some local restaurants and is at the Orange, Laguna Hills and Irvine farmers markets. It feels good to support a local producer, and it absolutely feels healthier to eat, said Brandon Frey, 28, of Costa Mesa. Contact the writer: bseipel@ocregister.com A confrontation over privacy, national security and encryption of electronic devices playing out in Riverside federal court ended Monday, with a government announcement that it had successfully hacked the iPhone used by of one of the terrorists in the Dec. 2 San Bernardino shooting. The goverment moved for dismissal of the case in which Apple fought an order to create software to help the FBI get around data security protections and enter the iPhone issued by San Bernardino County to Syed Rizwan Farook, who worked as a county health inspector. From the beginning, we objected to the FBIs demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the governments dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought, Apple said in a statement. The government used an unidentified third party, widely reported to be an Israeli company that specialized in encrypted device forensics, to break into the phone. In a brief statement Monday, the U.S. Justice Department told U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym that investigators had now successfully accessed the data stored on Farooks iPhone and therefore no longer requires the assistance from Apple Inc. mandated by the Courts Order Accordingly, the government hereby requests that the order compelling Apple Inc. to assist agents in search dated February 16, 2016 be vacated, the motion said. Trenna Meins of Riverside, whose husband, Damian Meins was killed in the attack, called it wonderful news, great news for us. She said she eagerly awaited the results. A federal law enforcement official, whom the Department of Justice would not allow reporters to identify, provided few specific responses to questions during a conference call Monday afternoon. The official would not say how the FBI accessed the phone or what information it found. He would not identify the third party or comment on how the FBI felt about not having sufficiently expert employees on its staff to accomplish the hack. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire on a gathering of his co-workers at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, killing 14 people and injuringd 22. They were killed a few hours later in a shootout with police. The FBI said the Redlands couple was inspired by the Islamic State, but was not under direct command of the terrorist group. The iPhone was recovered the next day in a warrant search of Farooks mothers car. The iPhone was owned by the county, but Farook created the personal pass code to open it, stalling investigators efforts to look at its data. The Justice Department originally sought the order to force Apple to help on Feb. 16. The Apple encryption protection for the phone mean that if investigators made 10 successive failed attempts to enter the password, the data on the device would be permanently lost. The Justice Department had claimed that the software it wanted Apple to create could only be used on Farooks phone. Apple fought back, saying the very creation of such software could endanger the encryption safety of data on hundreds of millions of devices worldwide. Both sides waged a campaign through legal documents and public statements, but on the eve of a high-stakes hearing, the government announced it had found a third party that said it could get inside the iPhone without help from Apple. Pym put the case on hold March 21, and gave the government until April 5 for its status report. That report was filed Monday. San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan welcomed the news. Its my understanding that they have downloaded information that they are still analyzing. We knew that we would get in there eventually. Its important to the case and its a positive development in the investigation, Burguan said. U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker in Los Angeles said the decision to move for dismissal was based solely on the fact that, with the recent assistance of a third party, we are now able to unlock that iPhone without compromising any information on the phone. Stephen Larson, a retired federal judge who filed friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of relatives of six victims, five of whom had died in the attack, called the Justice Department announcement Monday a very positive development. Our concern from day one has been obtaining information of potentially great importance to both law enforcement and the victims of terrorism. For this to have dragged out in court battles would not have served the interests of either. I hope Congress recognizes the need for legislation in this area and continues this important debate, Larson said. While the case in Riverside may end, it does not resolve several other cases across the nation in which law enforcement agencies are seeking to access encrypted information on iPhones. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in February his office has 175 Apple devices he cant access. Lawyers have said Apple has opposed the requests to help extract information from more than a dozen iPhones in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. It remains a priority for the government to ensure that law enforcement can obtain crucial digital information to protect national security and public safety, either with cooperation from relevant parties, or through the court system when cooperation fails, Department of Justice spokeswoman Melanie Newman said in a statement. We will continue to pursue all available options for this mission, including seeking the cooperation of manufacturers and relying upon the creativity of both the public and private sectors. The government official who spoke about the case Monday afternoon on condition of not being identified would not say whether the technique used on the Farook iPhone would be used on others were encrypted information was sought. Apple attorneys last week said they were concerned that if the case is dismissed because the phone is successfully hacked, there may be no avenue for them to inquire about what methods were used to crack the iPhone 5cs iOS9 encryption protections. We will continue to help law enforcement with their investigations, as we have done all along, and we will continue to increase the security of our products as the threats and attacks on our data become more frequent and more sophisticated, Apples Monday statement said. This case raised issues which deserve a national conversation about our civil liberties, and our collective security and privacy. Apple remains committed to participating in that discussion, Apple said. Staff writers Brian Rokos and Laurie Lucas contributed to this report. U.S. governments March 28, 2016 status report Elizabeth Wallner is 52 and just marked her fifth year battling stage 4 colon cancer. On Wednesday, surgeons plan to remove a tumor on the left lobe of her lung, and in May, theyll try to get another cancerous tumor from her liver. I will fight until there is no hope, Wallner said from her parents home in Laguna Hills. But Wallner said she finds peace of mind in Californias End of Life Option Act, which goes into effect June 9. Mostly, the peace comes from the fact that I wont have to struggle, said Wallner. She said her son, now 20, has watched her fight the disease since he was 15. Im going to keep fighting, but if I reach a point where there is only pain, fear and agony, thats when Ill make the decision. I want my son to remember me happy and joyful, not struggling and suffering. In anticipation of the new and difficult decisions patients and health providers will face, California health networks and hospitals, including those in Orange County, are crafting policies to implement the law, which makes California the fifth state to allow terminally ill people to end their lives using doctor-prescribed drugs. The new law requires a person to be at least 18, a California resident, terminally ill a prognosis of six months or less to live and able to self-administer the drugs. Two physicians must confirm the patients prognosis and certify his or her mental competency to make health care decisions. Participation is voluntary for doctors, health care providers and networks. At UC Irvine, preparations have only just been set in motion, and a policy might not be in place until a week after the law goes into effect, UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said. We have to survey all doctors and nurses and see where they stand on actually being a participant in this law, she said. That will be followed by three town hall-style meetings for employees, at which officials will present findings from the survey. The information will be crafted into policy by various entities, including the ethics committee, dean, chancellor and medical executive committee. Finally, Lawhon said, the policy will be sent to the UC presidents office to ensure it is consistent with UC policy. Any policy must address how a request for the life-ending drugs is handled, said Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, director of the Program in Medical Ethics at UCI Medical Center. At the bare minimum, such a person should go through a thorough psychological assessment to see what factors would be present for them to request the drug, he said. Is there anything we can offer such as addressing underlying anxiety or depression, or better pain control? Because, if someone hasnt done their due diligence, theyve done the patient a disservice. Compassion and Choices, the national organization that lobbied for the laws passage, has begun its educational and informational campaign for the public and medical providers, said Kat West, national policy and program director. The organization has more than 1,000 volunteers conducting outreach programs and presentations at health fairs, libraries, colleges and retirement communities. Were talking about what the law is, how to access it and how those who need it can talk to their doctors about it, West said. In May, the organization will post on its website a 10-minute video that takes the public step by step through the law, in English and Spanish, and an hour-long video geared toward medical providers that walks them through the law. West said the group has been getting calls from patients about whether their health networks will participate in the program. Those who are most worried are patients who belong to Catholic or Adventist health care systems, she said. It is highly likely these networks are not going to support the program. So were suggesting that patients who are particular about having the end-of-life option switch their health care provider. During the debate last year, opponents argued that the law raises ethical questions and has potential for abuse; for example, an insurance company might opt to pay for medications to aid in dying rather than more expensive treatment to keep patients alive. Religious groups and others raised concerns that taking ones life is against religious teaching, and some in the medical profession say the law violates the Hippocratic Oath of doing no harm. Another concern has been cost, with the drugs, such as secobarbital, ranging from $200 to $3,500. West said the drugs will be covered by Medi-Cal and most health insurance systems. However, the VA will not cover the drugs because its health system falls under federal guidelines and is not subject to the law. In such cases, patients may have to resort to supplemental insurance or pay out of pocket, she said. Were not worried about access to the drugs. Patients must make two requests for the drugs and wait 15 days between requests. They also need to get a second opinion from the consulting doctor. While the law goes into effect June 9, patients can make their requests before that date, West said. We know there are people out there who have started the process right now, West said. Wallner, a Sacramento resident and a 1981 graduate of Hillview High School in Tustin, is one of several terminally ill spokespeople for Compassion and Choices. She said she was inspired by UC Irvine graduate Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old California woman with brain cancer who moved to Oregon to end her life. Maynard recorded YouTube videos during her final days in 2014, advocating for the law in California. Those videos were viewed by millions and essentially created the momentum for the law to be passed in California. Maynards mother, Deborah Ziegler, said she will continue to work for patients rights and options. Its bittersweet, she said. I feel a great deal of pride in Brittanys bravery and her willingness to speak up when she was in pain. Ive heard from a lot of people whove reached out and said what a role model Brittany was, and thats been very gratifying. Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@ocregister.com A Santa Ana man was arrested after he was suspected of stealing from a Fountain Valley electronics store and then trying to flee from police on bicycle, authorities said. Fountain Valley police went to a Frys Electronics, 10800 Kalama River Ave., at 9:20 a.m. on March 20, where they were told a that thief had just fled on a bicycle, according to a police statement. The officers found the suspected thief, identified as Roberto Garcia, 25, riding the bicycle and appearing to be trying to either hide or remove something from his waist, the statement said. When Garcia refused to pull over, the officers bumped the rear tire of his bike with the front bumper of their patrol car, causing him fall to the ground and suffer minor injuries. Garcia was arrested on suspicion of shoplifting, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, false impersonation and two drug-related warrants and is being held in Orange County jail. It was not clear Monday what was stolen from the store. Calls and emails to the police department were not immediately returned. Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@ocregister.com SAO PAULO Brazils largest party abandoned President Dilma Rousseffs governing coalition on Tuesday in a decision that diminishes the possibility that she will survive mounting pressure in Congress for her impeachment. The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party known as the PMDB said after a meeting that six cabinet ministers belonging to the party as well as some 600 federal government employees who are members of the Democratic Movement must step down. The announcement was made after more than 100 lawmakers approved the decision, according to the press office of Romero Juca, an influential senator. As of today in this historical meeting for the PMDB, the party withdraws from the base of the government of president Dilma Rousseff and no one in the country is authorized to hold any federal position in name of the PMDB, Juca said to loud cheers and applause after the decision was approved. The session ended with chants calling for the end of Rousseffs Workers Party and for vice president Michel Temer to become Brazils president. Temer, who is the leader of the Democratic Movement, would assume the presidency if Rousseff is impeached for breaking fiscal laws. The break increases the chance that Rousseff, whose popularity has plunged amid Brazils worst recession in decades and corruption scandals, will be impeached in the coming months. The exit of the PMDB, President Dilmas main ally, represents the end of the ruling coalition and greatly increases the chances of her impeachment, for her party is now a minority in Congress, said Carlos Pereira, a professor at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas, a top Brazilian university. PMDBs exit will definitely encourage smaller parties to follow its example and leave the coalition, forcing Dilmas government into a situation of political isolation, he added. Brazilians have been staging wide protests demanding the presidents impeachment and protesting a massive corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras that has been moving closer to Rousseffs inner circle. Rousseff, a former chairwoman of Petrobras board, has not been implicated in the unfolding scandal at the oil company, which prosecutors say is the largest corruption scheme yet uncovered in Brazil. Rousseff backers say impeachment is a power grab by opponents who themselves have been sullied by the probe into kickbacks and bribery at Petrobras. The law and the constitution foresee that to remove the president there must be a fiscal crime and there isnt one, said Afonso Florence, a leader in the governing Workers Party. That is why impeachment is a coup, but not only a coup against the president, but also against democratic legality. A recent poll by the respected Datafolha agency says 68 percent of people surveyed want to see lawmakers vote to impeach Rousseff, but only 11 percent believe they would be better off under Temer. It is the beginning of the end and will most likely have a domino effect when more parties also decide to leave the coalition, said David Fleischer, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Brasilia. He said the partys decision to leave the coalition will increase the number of anti-Rousseff congressmen on the impeachment committee in the lower house of Congress. Impeachment has become irreversible, Fleischer said. The president has no other way out. WASHINGTON Donald Trump wants to win the White House in the fall. Paul Ryan wants to save his vision of the Republican Party for years to come. Those goals put Trump and Ryan increasingly at odds over both tone and substance as the businessman barrels toward the GOP presidential nomination. While Ryan is appealing for political civility and a party rooted in traditional conservative principles, Trump is bucking campaign decorum and embracing policy positions that are sharply at odds with years of GOP orthodoxy. Their starkly different visions for the Republican Party are a microcosm of the broader fissures roiling the GOP. And if Trump does become the Republican nominee, he and the House speakers ability to work together could be the first test of whether a party in this much turmoil can stay together. Trumps obviously running on issues that are contrary to conservatives and at odds with what a lot of what Paul Ryan believes, said Peter Wehner, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. For now, Trump and Ryan are engaged largely in a cold war, with the politicians only occasionally mentioning each other by name. Ryan has picked key moments to draw implicit contrasts with Trump, including condemning the billionaires refusal to take responsibility for violence at his rallies. Trump will launch the next volley Tuesday when he campaigns in Ryans hometown of Janesville, Wisc., ahead of the states April 5 primary. Trump, in his trademark contradictory style, has both praised Ryan and ominously warned the speaker against crossing him. Paul Ryan, I dont know him well, but Im sure Im going to get along with him, and if I dont, hes going to have to pay a big price, OK? Trump said after his victories on Super Tuesday. A week later, after speaking with Ryan by phone, Trump said of the speaker: I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. People close to Ryan say the Wisconsin lawmaker is in disbelief about Trumps staying power. While hes publicly vowed to support whomever his party nominates, Ryan has privately said hes focused on trying to keep the GOPs House majority this fall and on fundraising for the party leaving some friends with the impression that he would be a less-than-enthusiastic Trump backer in a general election. Looming large are Ryans own political ambitions. He passed on running for the White House in 2016, but some Republicans still harbor hopes that he could emerge as the nominee in a convention fight this summer if neither Trump nor Ted Cruz clinch the nomination by then. I would be less than honest with you if I said people are not mentioning a Ryan candidacy from time to time, said Rep. Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican who meets regularly with Ryan. Clearly there are many in Congress who see Paul Ryan as a consensus candidate. Ryan has vigorously denied that hes interested, though he was similarly definitive last year when he rebuffed calls to run for the speakers job. Hes also insists that his role as chairman of the July convention requires him to remain officially neutral despite his obvious displeasure with Trump. Yet Ryans refusal to fully disavow Trump has left him open to criticism that he either cares too much about keeping the real estate moguls enthusiastic supporters in the Republican fold or that he doesnt fully understand the threat. The barbarian is at the gate, and Paul Ryan wants to talk sense to him? wrote David D. Haynes, the editorial page editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest newspaper in Ryans home state. Trump, in private at least, has tried to soften such dire talk. A few weeks ago, he sent Ryan a copy of a Washington Post article that hed marked up to show his disagreement with the pieces assertion that he was a threat to GOP orthodoxy. A Ryan aide confirmed that Trump sent the article, speaking on condition of anonymity because the aide was not authorized to speak publicly by name. Ryan has been working behind the scenes to produce congressional plans on issues including health care, the economy and national security. Though not the original intent of Ryans agenda project, the effort could give Republicans something to run on if they cant or dont want to hitch themselves to their presidential nominee. Trumps own policy proposals, though often vague, have sometimes sharply conflicted with where Ryan is trying to position the party, particularly on economic issues. Ryan rose to prominence among Republicans for spending proposals that eventually would privatize government entitlement programs, gradually reducing those operations share of federal spending. While Trump has joined Republicans in bemoaning alleged abuses of entitlement programs, hes long blasted proposals like Ryans. As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it just really is not going to happen, Trump said during a 2013 appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump has also spent decades criticizing U.S. trade policy and advocating steep tariffs on Chinese imports. Its a protectionist argument that puts him at odds with decades of Republican support for international trade, though hes in line with a growing contingent of House Republicans who see sweeping foreign trade deals as detrimental to American workers. Before becoming speaker, Ryan was among the most vocal House Republicans in backing trade agreements, including President Barack Obamas Asia-Pacific pact. As speaker, Ryan has yet to schedule a vote on the Pacific Rim deal, saying he and other members are carefully vetting the details. If there is one thing that is bipartisan in Washington, it is brazen hypocrisy. Currently there is much indignation being expressed by Democrats because the Republican Senate refuses to hold confirmation hearings on President Obamas nominee to the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The Democrats complain and the media echo their complaint that it is the Senates duty to provide advice and consent on the presidents appointment of various federal officials. Therefore, according to this claim, the Senate is neglecting its constitutional duty by refusing even to hold hearings to determine whether the nominee is qualified, and then vote accordingly. First of all, the advice and consent provision of the Constitution is a restriction on the presidents power, not an imposition of a duty on the Senate. It says nothing about the Senate having a duty to hold hearings, or vote, on any presidential nominee, whether for the Supreme Court or for any other federal institution. The power to consent is the power to refuse to consent, and for many years no hearings were held, whether the Senate consented or did not consent. Nor have Democrats hesitated, when they controlled the Senate, to refuse to hold hearings or to vote when a lame-duck president nominated someone for some position requiring Senate confirmation during a presidential election year. When the shoe was on the other foot, the Republicans made the same arguments as the Democrats are making today, and the Democrats made the same arguments as the Republicans are now making. The obvious reason, in both cases, is that the party controlling the Senate wants to save the appointment for their own candidate for the presidency to make after winning the upcoming election. The rest is political hypocrisy on both sides. None of this is new. It was already well-known 40 years ago, when President Gerald Ford nominated me to the Federal Trade Commission during the 1976 presidential election year. After months passed without any hearings being held, I went to see the chief legislative aide of the committee that was responsible for confirming or denying. When the two of us were alone, he said to me, quite frankly, Weve gone over your record with a fine tooth comb and can find nothing to object to. So we are simply not going to hold hearings at all. If this were not an election year, he said, your nomination would have sailed right through. But we think our man is going to win the presidential election this year, and we want him to nominate someone in tune with our thinking. Various Democrats who are currently denouncing the Republican Senate, including Vice President Biden, have used very similar arguments. Last week, the New York Times ran a front-page news story about something Chief Justice John Roberts had said, more than a month ago, prior to the death of Justice Scalia, under the headline Stern rebuke for senators. Since Justice Scalia was still alive then, and there was no Supreme Court vacancy to fill at the time, Chief Justice Roberts remarks had nothing to do with the current controversy. But this was part of a pattern of the New York Times disguising editorials as front-page news stories. In short, the political hypocrisy was matched by journalistic hypocrisy. Indeed, there was more than a little judicial hypocrisy in Chief Justice Roberts complaint that Senate confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominees do not confine themselves to the nominees judicial qualifications, rather than their conservative or liberal orientations. If judges confined themselves to acting like judges, instead of legislating from the bench, creating new rights out of thin air that are nowhere to be found in the Constitution, maybe Senate confirmation hearings would not be such bitter and ugly ideological battles. Politicians, journalists and judges should all spare us pious hypocrisy. As Cal State University faculty members prepare for a statewide walkout next month, an independent fact-finder has issued a report agreeing with their unions demands for a 5 percent pay raise. Union leaders hailed the report that was released Monday and said they are ready to strike in April for five days unless the administration meets its demands. Cal State leaders, meanwhile, say the university system cannot spend money it does not have. The nonbinding report sides with the union in several recommendations, including a 5 percent general salary increase and additional increases for about 43 percent of the faculty. During the Recession, the California State University system sustained cuts in funding, which have caused employees to suffer cuts in staffing, furlough days and a significant loss of pay, wrote Bonnie Prouty Castrey, an arbiter agreed upon by both sides. The pay increases are in the interest of students, who need caring faculty and certainly in the public interest as our country needs a well-educated population, she wrote. Castrey recommended reallocating money from other projects. Both sides said the report validated their points. Im ecstatic with the response, said Douglas Domingo-Foraste, president of the California Faculty Association chapter at Cal State Long Beach. It was so positive. Usually, (an arbiter will) try to split the baby. But she didnt. Jennifer Eagan, president of the 26,000-member union representing employees across the systems 23 campuses, said members are ready to walk. Members include lecturers, librarians and professors. Some of our faculty might be a little afraid to go on strike, Eagan said. I think theyll feel emboldened, because this report supports how strong our case is. But Laurie Weidner, a spokeswoman for the Cal State system, said the report vindicates the administrations position. The recommendation to redirect funds is a confirmation that the CSU does not have unallocated resources to meet the salary demands, she said. Freshmen and transfer students have enrolled, CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White said in a statement. New faculty, advisers and academic support staff have been hired. Desperately needed renovation and maintenance projects are already in process. As a fiscally responsible public entity, the CSU cannot commit to spend money it does not have, White said. In the past two years, Cal State officials said they have given faculty average raises of 1.3 percent and 3 percent. This year, the bump was scheduled to be 2 percent. But the union re-opened the contract, asking for 5 percent. Michelle Barr, president of Cal State Fullertons faculty union chapter, disagreed: The money is absolutely there. The chancellor just doesnt want to spend it on us. They need to allocate the money differently. White, Eagan and others met on Friday for 10 hours, Weidner said. Proposals were discussed and counterproposals were discussed, she said. In the end, she said, the parties were no closer to an agreement. I think we understood our positions better, Eagan said. Theyre in quite a pickle right now. I worry that management is divided and confused about what to do. I hope they find a path for making us a reasonable offer and coming back to the table. The fact-finding report was the result of three days of testimony and reams of evidence each side submitted to bolster their cases. The exercise was the latest step in negotiations that reached an impasse shortly after they began in May. The system is gearing up for the strike, Weidner said, and for new negotiations for 2016-17, which are to start in May. Meanwhile, faculty representatives are preparing for a strike April 13-15 and again April 18-19. Orders for U-Haul trucks, hundreds of picket signs, walkie-talkies and bullhorns are lined up, said Barr, a full-time kinesiology lecturer at Cal State Fullerton. If the union moves ahead with its strike, protesters plan to slow access to all points of entry at the Fullerton campus during the five days. More than half of the faculty members at the two local Cal State campuses are in the union. Many others have pledged to not cross picket lines, Barr said. Even if there is a strike, all campuses will remain open, with some faculty members continuing with their classes and office hours. The next step comes April 4 when a Cal State Board of Trustees bargaining committee meets to discuss its options. The last time Cal State employees went on strike was in 2011, when they held one-day strikes at the East Bay and Dominguez Hills campuses. Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or rkopetman@ocregister.com DANA POINT Most days when Julianne Steers dips under the oceans surface, she knows what to expect in the underwater world. Steers, director of husbandry for the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, has been in and around the water her whole life, and has become the go-to expert on Orange Countys marine wildlife. Things can get a bit repetitive down there during her dives. But then, El Nino comes and shakes things up. Tropical fish with bright, vibrant colors stand out among the muted, more earth-toned species normally off our coast. Pelagic red crabs, which look like little lobsters, come bobbing their way to Orange Countys coastline from down south. Divers such as Steers come across species that delight and surprise. You can expect the unexpected, Steers said. Ive been referring to them as the gifts of El Nino because they are little surprises for scientists and for everyone. It brings new things into our ecosystem that we havent had a chance to learn from and investigate. Steers on a recent day makes her way down the wooden walkway of the Maddie James Seaside Learning Center at the Ocean Institute, the water beneath causing a slight sway to the structure. She opens the door to a small space called the Biological Learning Center to unveil her finds. Gifts from El Nino plucked from local waters are on display a chance for people who cant get underwater to see the creatures that traveled from tropical waters vacationing off Orange County. About a dozen bright red Pelagic crabs snip at one another with their tiny claws. These are the same critters that washed ashore dead in the hundreds of thousands last June along the coastline, creating a sea of red on the sand and a strong stench as workers hustled to clean them up. Steers heads a research vessel that goes out on the water each week, and sometimes they drop a net to see what they can find. The crabs have been hanging around all winter, seen as recently as a few days ago in Laguna Beach. Sometimes well pull up the net and well have hundreds of them, she said. I see them on a lot of the dives I go on. They are still sticking around. We might get a wash up again, you never know. El Nino keeps the waters offshore a few ticks higher than normal currently in the low 60s verses the usual mid-to-high 50s and creatures that usually stay in warmer waters find their way here to hang out. Currents from down south can also help push the species toward our coast. You never know what is going to happen that particular El Nino year, Steers said. Theres similar qualities to every El Nino, but every year is different. Who is going to arrive? You dont know. Her favorite find so far is a seahorse she got off Orange Countys coast a few months ago. Theres been several sightings reported around Orange County and in the Redondo Beach area by divers, with one spotted up near Santa Barbara Island, the furthest north its ever been documented. The tiny creature bobs softly with the gentle motion of the water that fills a tank, its tail wrapped around a plant. A group of kids strolls in and marvels, pressing faces close to the glass to get a closer look at the sea creature. The sea horse is my favorite animal, said Payton Raub, 10, visiting on spring break from Florida. I was expecting them to have a few more. Steers said shes careful not to bring too many animals from their natural habitat to put on display. Obviously, I dont want to bring dozens in. If they choose this as a good environment for them and they want to stay in our ecosystem a little more up the coast, it gives them more environment to live in and exist as a species. We dont want to interfere, she said. They obviously had a good reason to come all the way up here. But thats the balance she has to find: Leaving the species alone to thrive, but bringing some to shore to study and educate the public. Its hard for people to understand if they cant see first-hand what they are doing, she said. Most people dont have the ability to be in the water. Now they can come here and see a seahorse and learn from it. Steers peeks down to another tank, where a star-studded grouper is hiding behind some plants. The black fish with white dots lives in Baja, California, but this juvenile was found off our coastline. In a larger, 1,000 gallon open tank, a red tail triggerfish does laps around its pool. The tropical fish is brighter than whats usually spotted here, with yellow and orange scales that look like something youd find on a purse, said Raub, admiring its bright red tail. This is an individual that does capture the attention of a lot of our visitors because it is so brightly colored, unlike many of the species that live off our coast, Steers said. The educational opportunities go beyond the wildlife. An exhibit shows a group of moon jellies, which are commonly found along OCs coast. Next to it are floating plastic bags that look similar to jellies, and an explanation about how sea turtles that have shown up more frequently during this El Nino might mistake the bags for its food. Theres one species on her El Nino wish list that shes heard is nearby, but she hasnt yet witnessed: A puffer fish. A few creatures have stuck around after past El Ninos, like the arrow crab that made its way up here a few decades ago and found a new home. And thats how a seahorse population started down in San Diego, she explained. Who knows, maybe seahorse are the next population of species to live up here, she said. But its still unknown whether our recent El Nino visitors will be sticking around for the long term. Only time will tell. Either way, its nice to see new things, she said. Theres changes and theres the ebb and flow of the environment. They come and go and thats the natural cycle of things. Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com In a closed-door meeting with U.S. politicians in January, Jordans King Abdullah II apparently heaped criticism on Turkey, accusing its government of enabling the infiltration of Islamist terrorists into Europe and encouraging a radical Islamic solution to the crises in the Middle East. To an audience that is said to have included Sens. John McCain, Bob Corker, Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid, the Jordanian king supposedly claimed that Turkey was helping the Islamic State illicitly export oil and stoking the European refugee crisis to gain leverage over the European Union. The fact that terrorists are going to Europe is part of Turkish policy and Turkey keeps on getting a slap on the hand, but they are let off the hook, he said. Details of the meeting, which took place on Jan. 11, were revealed by the Middle East Eye website over the weekend. These private remarks fly in the face of official Jordanian-Turkish relations. The two countries are allies. Just this weekend, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Abdullah in Amman and hailed the very beautiful successes of the relationship. The prime minister was expected to sign about 10 agreements with Jordan on matters of trade and economic cooperation. There is no problem with bilateral relations between Turkey and Jordan, Davutoglu insisted. Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Mumuni also questioned the veracity of the report. Turkey-Jordan relations are historic and based on mutual respect principle, he told Turkeys state-run Anadolu News Agency. This kind of news is devoid of the minimum of vocational professionalism. Abdullahs reported comments paint a rather different picture and echo criticisms leveled at Ankara more often by geopolitical adversaries in Damascus and Moscow. Heres more from the Middle East Eye: According to a detailed account of the meeting seen by MEE, the king went on to explain what he thought was the motivation of Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Abdullah said that Erdogan believed in a radical Islamic solution to the region. He repeated: Turkey sought a religious solution to Syria, while we are looking at moderate elements in the south and Jordan pushed for a third option that would not allow a religious option. The king presented Turkey as part of a strategic challenge to the world. We keep being forced to tackle tactical problems against ISIL 1 / 8the Islamic State group 3 / 8 but not the strategic issue. We forget the issue 1 / 8of 3 / 8 the Turks who are not with us on this strategically. He claimed that Turkey had not only supported religious groups in Syria, and was letting foreign fighters in, but had also been helping Islamist militias in Libya and Somalia. Abdullah claimed that radicalisation was being manufactured in Turkey and asked the US senators why the Turks were training the Somali army. Turkish officials are now almost routinely compelled to reject accusations of this sort. They point to the hideous toll their country has recently suffered at the hands of terrorism including attacks by Islamic State militants and the ravages of an ongoing Kurdish insurgency. They also, justifiably, complain about the burden of accommodating a vast influx of Syrian refugees in the country since the conflict across Turkeys southern border first flared in 2011. In his private remarks to Congress, though, Abdullah argued that Jordan faced a bigger problem proportionally. According to the latest U.N. data, there are more than 2.7 million refugees in Turkey, which has a population of more than 70 million people. In Jordan, there are about 636,000 Syrian refugees, taking sanctuary in a country whose population is a fraction of the size of the Turkish one. The European Union struck a deal with Turkey this month under which many migrants and refugees who crossed the Aegean Sea to reach Europe would be returned to Turkish shores; Ankara would receive billions of dollars in E.U. funds and other economic incentives. On the thornier question of how to deal with the security threat posed by the Islamic State, as well as the war against embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, Jordan and Turkey have largely been on the same side. Both countries have conducted airstrikes against Islamic State positions in parts of Syria. Both have condemned the Assad regimes violence against its own citizens and were disturbed by the Russian military intervention in Syria on the regimes behalf. The kings statements and accusations against Turkey are not the first, Galip Dalay, senior associate fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, told the Middle East Eye. Unfortunately, all of his allegations are the same as the slanders frequently expressed by the Assad regime. SACRAMENTO California and federal officials want to delay crucial hearings on Gov. Jerry Browns plan to build two giant water tunnels to help move water from Northern California. The 60-day delay was sought Monday by the Brown administration and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It was the second request for a delay of the hearings, currently set for May. Officials said they wanted time to try to deal with objections to the project by Northern California water districts, environmental groups and others, the Sacramento Bee reported. The $15.7 billion project requires approval from the state Water Resources Control Board to divert water from the Sacramento River through twin, 35-mile-long tunnels to draw water for Central and Southern California. The tunnels would be one of Californias largest infrastructure projects in decades. The project is backed by Brown and by water districts in Southern and Central California. State officials expect this year to determine whether the tunnels will receive the needed government approval and funding from water districts. Efforts for and against the tunnels have increased in recent months. Supporters argue the tunnels will be more reliable and less damaging to the environment than the states current water-delivery systems. Opponents fear the tunnels will take too much water from Northern California, further threatening farm, tourism, and endangered species there. On Tuesday, conservation groups petitioned the state water board to summarily reject water diversions for the tunnels project, saying the repeated requests for delays by backers of the tunnels showed proponents were having difficulty dealing with environmental obstacles to their project. Members of the state Water Resources Control Board, or state hearing officers, will decide all of a growing number of requests and petitions by supporters and opponents of the tunnels, water board spokesman George Kostyrko said. Tempers flared at an Oceanside public meeting as speakers demanded that Southern California Edison remove tons of nuclear waste from a beachside bluff at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station even though the utility essentially is blocked from doing so by federal regulations. This nuclear waste, at this site, is as vulnerable a target as you could possibly have for terrorists, said Michael Aguirre, a San Diego consumer attorney whos suing the state over the issue. Edison should take responsibility for the nuclear waste that it produced from which it derived billions of dollars of income. Many audience members at Thursdays meeting on the plants decommissioning echoed those sentiments, bemoaning the California Coastal Commissions approval of a concrete monolith to house spent fuel in temporary, dry-cask storage at the site. The contained radioactive material is expected to remain in place until 2049. Edison told the crowd of about 100 that the spent fuel is safe and well-protected on site. But company representatives also said Edison wants to see the waste removed from populous Southern California sooner than whats planned. Edison and the nations other nuclear power plant operators contracted with the U.S. Department of Energy in the early 1980s for the removal and permanent disposal of nuclear waste. The federal government agreed to start accepting waste from commercial reactors by 1998 at the latest, in exchange for about $750 million a year in payments from ratepayers who used electricity from nuclear plants. But after collecting more than $41 billion in the Nuclear Waste Fund, no radioactive waste had been removed under the program. A judge ordered the Department of Energy to stop collecting the fee in 2014. Edison would need an authorized, licensed destination for spent fuel before it could be moved. At the moment theres no such destination, said Scott Burnell, spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Department of Energy does have a contractual obligation to take possession of the spent fuel, but without a destination, its a moot point for now. The Department of Energy has been sued by the utilities for breach of contract, and has paid out more than $3.7 billion in damages as a result. Continued failure could cost federal taxpayers $21.4 billion before the problem is solved, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office. Political paralysis has characterized past federal efforts to find a permanent home for nuclear waste. But now the Department of Energy is launching a new effort to create temporary storage sites in regions eager for the business, currently in West Texas and New Mexico. Several such sites could accept nuclear waste while the hunt for a permanent repository continues. Public meetings on the new plan begin next week in Chicago. One will be held in Sacramento on April 26. David Victor, who chairs the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, which held Thursdays meeting, said critics of the current plan to store waste at the plant south of San Clemente should direct their demands at officials who can make a difference. Its crucial to get support in Congress, Victor said. And in addition to talking to members of Congress, support from local agencies is crucial. The official resolutions from cities like San Clemente and Oceanside, asking the federal government to act, are very, very important. The Department of Energy can begin planning for new, temporary storage sites, he said. But Congress ultimately will have to take action to ensure the facilities are completed and can accept radioactive waste, because private companies are concerned about liability, he said. Two bills in Congress address temporary storage: SB854 and HR3643. Interested individuals should make sure their representatives are focusing on the issue, Victor said. The Community Engagement Panel wants to focus on results, he said, and not what he characterized as inflammatory rhetoric from Aguirre and others. Consolidated interim storage that is a real option, Victor said. It is not a guarantee, and a lot could still go wrong with that option. But it is plausible and real. Contact the writer: tsforza@ocregister.com Loading... OilVoice will be with you shortly... Let me be clear: I do not care what adults decide to do in their spare time. If that involves target shooting at the gun range or having a carousing night out at the local bar, I simply don't care. (I just hope the two activities aren't combined.) But let me follow that by saying that I do care what my children are exposed to and I certainly care what happens in my home. My curious children freely play in a home environment I have worked hard to ensure is safe. To that extent, I am adamant about keeping guns outside our doors. My husband and I decided when our first son came home with us from the safe little hospital where everything was pastel and rubbery that we were going to keep all guns far away from our house. We've read the statistics on how many toddlers are killed (or kill others) by accidentally finding loaded guns. Since I am supposed to do everything in my power to keep life-threatening risks to my kids down, I figured keeping guns away from them was a good start. I am aware that not everyone will agree with me and our decision. Before we start quoting the Second Amendment, I am not writing an "anti-gun" article. Friends and family are completely free to (legally) get their guns, take the appropriate class and carry their guns with them, at least until such time as the country collectively decides to change any laws. Just don't carry the gun into my home. Surprisingly, despite living in a relatively safe and sheltered suburban community, this has been harder to accomplish than I thought. As of a report from July 2014, the number of Americans with a permit to carry a concealed weapon was a staggering 11.1 million. What are the odds that one day a new friend of ours is going to come for a playdate with a gun (legally) hidden in their diaper bag? With numbers like that, the odds are not in our favor. Even quite a few of our family members have surprised us by becoming gun hobbyists in the past few years, owning Smith & Wessons they received permits to have on them at all times. Luckily, my husband and I are on the same page and our family members have respected our decision. It has been pleasantly easy (and we deemed it necessary) to have conversations with our kin. But it is not so easy to talk about this with the mommy's group I invite over for a playdate or the plumber coming to check my toilet. So, starting at my front door, what rights do I have to keep others from bringing their concealed weapons into my house? Do we start frisking people who want to visit? There is already a lot of Internet chatter on whether it is okay to ask if there are guns before sending your child to play in someone else's house. But what we haven't discussed as a community, what has been affecting my family in a real way, is when visitors bring a concealed gun into our house. They do so legally but sometimes we aren't even aware until much later; sometimes I fear we are never aware. The horrible situation my mind concocts of children rifling through a bag and discovering a loaded shiny object that I didn't realize was on my property frightens me. After a lot of digging into this and asking the bright legal minds I have access to about this issue, what I have realized is that the burden is on me to actively ask visitors not to bring guns into my home, not on a visitor having to ask permission to bring a gun onto my property where my children are. This seems backward. "Want to come over for some Goldfish crackers and crafts? Please, no guns," I have to ask. "Come celebrate my son's 4th Birthday! No presents, please. And no guns, please." But the visitor does not have to ask, "Is it okay if I bring the licensed gun in my purse into your house?" Legal or not, trained or not, at what point does the carrier of the weapon have to secure my approval before bringing it in? Since we haven't collectively addressed this topic, things are admittedly murky. But it seems the law does a great job of protecting Americans who want to have a concealed weapon; it doesn't seem as concerned with my right to enforce my home as a gun-free zone. It seems as though a permit trumps my decision about my private, personal property where my kids play. After seeking ways I could make our house rules clear and enforceable, I was hopeful I could simply post a "no weapons allowed" decal on my front door. That would make my intentions clear while simultaneously avoiding awkward situations. It was the ultimate passive way to accomplish what I wanted. But what I have read is that this is not necessarily legally binding and may not even be honored. In fact, during my research, I found many recent articles from gun activist groups advocating that such decals be actively ignored. Since my home is my private property, I do have some rights, of course. For example, if I discover that there is a concealed weapon in my home, I am free to threaten the carrier with trespassing charges until they leave. But even that isn't necessarily guaranteed: it requires me to know they have a gun first of all and there seems to be some confusion about what is legally appropriate if the person still refuses to leave (not to mention they are armed and I am now in an altercation with them). As more Americans get their concealed carry permits, the best way I can find to navigate this issue is to ask anyone before entering our house if they have a gun on them. If they refuse to leave it in their car, I can refuse them entry. It won't make me friends and playdates will now be incredibly more awkward to set up, but at least my home can stay gun-free for my kids. It is a big, ugly conversation that seems worth risking. NEW YORK (AP) Enjoy, an online concierge service for gadgets, is expanding beyond San Francisco and New York City nearly a year after it was launched. The startup will add certain neighborhoods of Los Angeles this week and then Chicago in May. The service allows customers to order high-end gadgets on the Enjoy website and have them delivered for free by an expert who will show clients how to use the devices. Visits last about an hour. The devices include cameras, fitness trackers and drones. Were trying to reinvent the way people buy technology products. Weve learned a lot, and weve seen positive momentum, said founder Ron Johnson, who oversaw the expansion of Apple stores for 12 years before he took the top job as J.C. Penney CEO. He led the department store chain for 17 months before being fired in April 2013 after spearheading a disastrous turnaround plan. Enjoy now has 150 employees and has expanded to 150 products from the 29 it sold at its launch in May 2015. Customers order online and then designate when they want the product delivered. The time frame for delivery is as soon as four hours from the time of purchase. Returns amount to just 1 percent at Enjoy, below the 10 percent industry average, Johnson said. He declined to say how many customers have signed on but said most are now repeat shoppers. Johnson said hes learned from his job experiences, particularly at Penneys, where he quickly got rid of most discounts and changed to an everyday low price strategy without testing it on customers. The tactic led to shoppers fleeing. Most people felt we had a great vision. We moved too fast, he said about Penneys. The lesson he learned: Great things take time. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. WAUWATOSA, Wis. Kohls Corp.s new Off/Aisle store has a polished concrete floor, sleek lighting fixtures and a way of pricing merchandise that is very different from the retailers traditional department stores. No coupons or special discounts here. At Off/Aisle, everything has a spot price. Items with an orange circle on the tag are $4; items with a blue circle, $6. Prices range from $4 to $70, most on the lower end. Kohls, based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, opened its first Off/Aisle store in New Jersey in June. Two Milwaukee-area stores in Wauwatosa and Waukesha are its second and third. Its very different from a typical Kohls store, said Rick Schepp, chief administrative officer of Kohls. It doesnt have all the fancy fixtures, and the values youll find here are deep and compelling. Off/Aisles target is women specifically, women who love to shop. There are fewer pieces of each item, so shopping is more of a hunt, and the store does not accept returns, Schepp said. Merchandise will change quickly and be mostly in season, Schepp said. The stores are a good place for Kohls to sell merchandise that isnt stocked in its traditional stores but has been returned to them by online customers, he said. Those goods previously would have been sold to wholesalers, he said. The New Jersey Off/Aisle store isnt cannibalizing sales at the traditional Kohls, about a mile down the road, Schepp said. Kohls move into the off-price business comes as traditional department stores have struggled and off-price retailers have flourished. Kohls is not the only traditional department store to take an if you cant beat em, join em approach. Macys opened a number of off-price stores, called Macys Backstage, in the New York area last fall. Ross Stores Inc. and TJX Cos., both off-price chains, are the only companies covered by Morgan Stanleys retail analysts that have delivered earnings growth every year in the past decade, the investment firm said in a report last week. Kohls said in February that its profit for 2015 dropped 22 percent, to $673 million, and that it planned to close 18 underperforming stores. The retailer in October announced plans for smaller stores and new store formats. It is planning to open five to 10 new 35,000-square-foot stores, about half the size of a typical Kohls store. Kohls also plans to open 10 to 15 new Fila apparel and footwear stores in outlet malls. When Miguel Daccarett and his wife returned from Thailand on Jan. 9, they were greeted by subzero temperatures and a home filled with water, ice and smoke. A fire had raged through the Ms Pub building right next door to their condo. We didnt have any winter clothing. That night was like negative-15 degrees, Daccarett said. Although theyve been allowed into their unit twice since the disaster, its expected that it will be at least a year or more before the couple will be able to return home for good. Their condominium building, at 420 S. 11th St., just to the west of Ms Pub, was rendered uninhabitable by smoke and firefighters efforts to extinguish the blaze next door. Daccarett said what wasnt damaged by water and smoke was destroyed when the building was heated up to melt the ice that had frozen solid inside amid the subzero temperatures. Among the ruins: their new kitchen, remodeled less than a year ago. We lost almost everything, he said. The things that were not damaged by water and smoke, they got damaged later on with the mold. Demolition has begun inside. A chute that runs from the buildings top floor into a big trash bin in the alley is being used to dispose of debris. Also being thrown down the chute: the walls inside the units, hallways and common areas. Workers are removing debris from inside the condos and stripping the interior walls down to the studs. The drywall is being removed for good reason mold, said Nicholas Bonham-Carter, a partner in the Mercer Management property firm that owns the Ms building and the 420 Condominium building in Omahas Old Market. When the Metropolitan Utilities District shut off the gas that was fueling the fire at Ms Pub, the gas to the condominiums at 420 S. 11th St. also was turned off, Bonham-Carter said. That meant there was no heat in the condo, he said. With temperatures hovering near zero the weekend of the fire, the water pipes in the condominium burst, he said, flooding the units. The gas eventually was turned on again and heat restored, but not before mold had begun to infiltrate the buildings interior walls. It will be a few more months before any rebuilding can begin, said condo owner Daccarett. He said he hasnt been allowed into the building in about four weeks. Im frankly afraid to go in. I dont want to go in, Daccarett said. And still to be sorted out, Bonham-Carter said, is who will be liable for what in terms of the cost of repair and other issues. Tory Bishop, another condo owner, said some furniture in his unit can be repaired, but most items were damaged. Bishop, who didnt live in the condo full time, expects to meet with a general contractor in the coming weeks. Basically, its gone back to the bare walls, he said of the unit that he has owned since 2001. One condo resident said his unit was flooded with more than 2 feet of water the left-behind high-water mark lined the walls of his condo, he said. The condominium units arent expected to be habitable for another year. Nick Bartholomew, owner of the Market House Restaurant, which is on the condo buildings first floor and basement, said he hopes to reopen the restaurant this fall. But the timetable could depend on whether the ceilings and floors of the restaurant have to be replaced. It looks like theyre trying to find out if theyre salvageable, he said Monday. We share a basement with Ms Pub, and anything that was poured into their basement poured into our basement as well. Water from the apartment building came down through the floors through our ceiling. Mold has taken root in some of the restaurants basement areas, he said, and is visible on the walls. Batholomew, who opened Market House in June 2015, said he had the greatest sympathy for the people who lived in the condo units. I lost my restaurant, but these are the people who actually lost their homes. One condo owner, according to county property records, finalized the sale on a unit in the building just one day before the fire. That owner, along with several others, could not be reached for comment. Another declined to comment. Meanwhile, at 11th and Howard Streets, construction workers were removing debris from the top floors of the Ms Pub Building. A red scoop, or a sled thats attached to a sky-high crane, is being filled with debris from the burnt-out hulk and then lowered into a railcar-size trash bin parked behind the chain-link fence that encompasses most of the block. Lumber thats piled on the cobblestone street is being used to brace the Ms Pub buildings east, south and north walls. The work is visible and audible to retailers across the street. We heard this whoosh, whoosh and realized it was debris being dropped down the chute from the condo, said Lisa Melton, manager of the All About Me Boutique at 419 S. 11th St. The sights and sounds of all the activity across the street are welcome, said Cindy Hoover, owner of All About Me. Its nice to see things moving along, she said. Contact the writer: 402-444-1142, janice.podsada@owh.com NEW YORK (AP) The price for Starwood Hotels rocketed higher after an offer from Chinas Anbang and its partners crossed the $15 billion mark in a fight for control with Marriott International. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which has a tony stable of hotels including the St. Regis New York, said Monday that the offer from the Anbang group is reasonably likely to be superior to the one made just last week by Marriott. Monday, Marriott said in a letter that shareholders of Starwood should give serious consideration not only to financing an offer of such size but also to the timing of any required regulatory approvals. Marriott appeared to be alluding to hurdles that a Chinese company would have in acquiring Starwood. Anbang is the Chinese insurance company that two years ago acquired the famous Waldorf Astoria of New York for almost $2 billion. For Anbang, analysts say Starwood isnt valued so much for its brand name as it is for its location: outside China. Anbang and a number of Chinese companies have been seeking to park money in more stable locations, such as U.S. real estate, particularly with signs of slowing growth at home growing ever clearer. The blitz by the Chinese insurer into the U.S. real estate market has repeatedly knocked askew the ambitions of Marriott, which has been attempting to add Starwoods posh hotels to its portfolio since last year. Marriott initially bid $12.2 billion for the Greenwich, Connecticut, hotel company in November; most had expected that it would become the biggest hotel chain in the world when it completed the deal. But few had realized the ambition, or motivation, of Anbang. Marriott on Monday said that it remains confident Starwood would be better off with its bid. Starwood said Monday that its board has not changed its recommendation in support of a deal with Marriott, though it is reviewing Anbangs latest offer. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. LE MARS, Iowa (AP) A northwest Iowa man who admitted to killing his mother has been sentenced to prison. A Plymouth County judge on Monday sentenced 46-year-old Jonathan Neunaber, of Akron, to 60 years in prison. Neunaber had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and willful injury as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. He had previously been charged with first-degree murder in the July 2014 beating death of his 80-year-old mother, Esther Neunaber. Her body and the body of her husband, Donald Neunaber, were found in the home they shared with their son. Neunaber admitted in court that he killed his mother with a steel pipe. Donald Neunaber died of natural causes. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) - An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a routine domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew. His surrender ended an hours-long drama and standoff at the Larnaca airport in southern Cyprus. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept seven people four crew members and three passengers with him. Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane. Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker's surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was "over." The arrest was also reported by Egypt's prime minister, Sharif Ismail, and Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi. "All passengers and crew are safe," Fathi said on state television. The man's motivation was unclear, but Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism" and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man "seems (to be) in love." Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. "Always, there is a woman" involved, he replied, drawing laughter. A Cyprus police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to disclose details of the situation, says the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorist police. The official said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it. The Cypriot woman who the hijacker had asked to speak to is his former wife with whom he has four children, the police official said. The hijacker had also complained about the current Egyptian government and had demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails. A civil aviation official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to talk to the media, said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife. The flight MS181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on Tuesday morning en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes. There was also confusion about the hijacker's identity. At a news conference in Cairo, Egypt's Civil Aviation minister, Sharif Fathi, refused to identify him. Earlier, Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish said the hijacker was Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha's wife said her husband is not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the U.S. to attend a conference. The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV in a phone interview that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that supposedly showed the hijacker was not him. Later, the official Middle East News Agency gave a different name for the hijacker. Egypt's state news agency, MENA, later identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa. The name was confirmed by a senior Cypriot official. Al-Queish, the government spokesman, also told the private CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the hijacker had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry said the man claimed he had a belt with explosives. The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. A statement from the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry statement said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. The initial batch of passengers released by the hijacker were seen calmly walking off the plane down a set of stairs, carrying their hand luggage, and boarded a bus parked by the plane's side. Security was tight at the airport, with police repeatedly pushing back reporters and TV news crews working just outside the facility's fence, near where the aircraft stopped. Police also evacuated the nearby Makenzy beach, a stretch of coast close to the airport and popular with tourists. It was not immediately clear why. An Egyptian aircraft was expected to later fly to Larnaca so it could bring back the released passengers, according to officials. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program Tuesday, said that a "very good question" is whether the man who hijacked the plane Tuesday was able to pass through airport security with a bomb-laden belt. The hijacking was reminiscent of a deadly 1978 incident that involved Egyptians, planes and Larnaca airport. The incident arose when two Palestinians assassinated an Egyptian government minister at his hotel in Nicosia. The assailants took hostages and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane with them. They later returned to Cyprus, where they had an hours-long standoff until an Egyptian C-130 carrying commandos landed at Larnaca airport. The commandos attempted to storm the Cyprus Airways jet, but were fired upon by Cypriot troops. Many were killed. The Palestinians eventually surrendered. They were arrested, sentenced and released years later. The incident poisoned Egypt's relations with Cyprus for years. Relations eventually improved, but it was Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, in office since June 2014, who has forged close ties with Cyprus. El-Sissi and Anastasiades frequently confer in person or on the phone. They spoke by phone Tuesday about the hijacking. Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Rebels should Make Sonia and Rahul Gandhi Worried Feature oi-Lisa By Lisa In a span of two months Uttarakhand is the second Congress ruled state that witnessed revolt by members of legislative assembly. The first state was Arunachal Pradesh. Today Arunachal Pradesh has Congress rebel Kalikho Pul as Chief Minister and his government is supported by BJP. Uttarakhand witnessed political drama when Congress rebels voted with BJP against the state budget. CM Rawat along with Speaker Govind Singh Kunjal however claimed that the budget was passed by the voice vote. History of Uttarakhand crisis: 27 BJP MLAs along with nine Congress rebel MLAs met Governor K K Paul at the Raj Bhavan in Dehradun and stated that Harish Rawat Government of the state should be removed. Next day CM Harish Rawat met the Governor and stated that his government enjoyed majority in Uttarakhand's 71 member Assembly. One member in the Assembly is nominated member. Before the rebels broke off from Congress this were the numbers in Uttarakhand Assembly: Congress - 36 MLAs Progressive Democratic Front - 6 MLAs (they support Congress) BJP - 28 MLAs On the 20th of March Governor gave nine days' time to CM Rawat to prove his majority in the Assembly. Congress leaders cried foul and blamed BJP leader Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for toppling the Congress governments. All India Congress Committee General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala was quoted to say that, "The duo of Modi and Shah is infamous for forcible eviction of elected governments. Elected governments are being destabilised by a sinister conspiracy. After Arunachal Pradesh, it is Uttarakhand." Minister of Telecommunication Ravi Shankar Prasad in reply to the allegations of Congress had said that, "If the Congress cannot keep its flock together, it is not the fault of the BJP". For anti-party activities and master minding the rebellion, Congress expelled Saket Bahuguna, who was one of the nine rebels, for six years on the 21st of March. Saket Bahuguna is the son of former chief minister of Vijay Bahuguna. On the 22nd of March BJP delegation and Congress delegations separately met President Pranab Mukherjee and requested him to intervene and solve the crisis. BJP delegation requested President to direct the Governor of Uttarakhand to immediately dismiss the government while Congress delegation requested President to allow Harish Rawat government a chance to prove its majority in the Assembly. Congress also alleged that Congress MLAs were taken to Governor's house against their will by the BJP MLAs. On the 26th March Harak Singh who is one of the Congress rebel MLAs presented a video that allegedly showed CM Rawat discussing particular figures in an alleged effort to win back rebel MLAs to prove his majority on the 28th of March. Congress dismissed the sting video as absolutely fake. On the 27th March rebel MLAs were disqualified under anti-defection law. With the disqualification the number of members in Uttarakhand Assembly came down to 61 of which only 27 are from Congress. President's Rule was imposed in the state a day before Harish Rawat was to prove his majority in the Assembly. Harish Rawat had this to say about the rebel Harak Singh, "I tried to control him on many occasions and that is why he became rebellious". Mr. Rawat also expressed regret that he could not muster the courage to sack Harak Singh. Mr. Rawat then approached the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital and sought reply as to how can Central government bring the state under President's Rule. President's Rule in Uttarakhand: President's Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand on Sunday and it was welcomed by the Congress' rebel MLAs and BJP. Uttarakhand Government led by Harish Rawat fell on 18th March when the Appropriation Bill was not passed as Congress rebels voted with BJP against the Bill. It was also noted that during the official proceedings 35 MLAs out of 67 MLAs present in the Assembly sought to vote but were denied. What does Constitution state: As per Constitution any government is said to have fallen if it is not able to pass budget or any other money bill. As per the Constitution it would mean that the government has lost confidence of the House and it has been reduced to minority and so can't continue to be in power. What did BJP-Congress rebels do: It was for the first time that rebels from a ruling party and opposition joined hands to bring down a state government. Rawat on his miracle budget for Uttarakhand: Harish Rawat after the imposition of President's Rule addressed a press conference and said that BJP and Union Government led by Narendra Modi were desperate to bring down his government as he had prepared an excellent annual budget for the state and that it would have solved all the issues faced by the state would have been solved. This however seems to be a tall tale as his state is to go to polls next year and elections will be announced for the state by early or mid December 2016. Controversy about the Appropriation Bill: CM and Speaker of Uttarakhand say that Congress MLAs voted for the Appropriation Bill by voice vote. Question that arises post such a statement is that if the Bill was passed why it was not sent to the Governor for his signature and seal. Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley said that, "It is to be noted that till today, neither the Chief Minister nor the Speaker have forwarded a certified copy of the Appropriation Bill to the Governor. Obviously, there is no assent of the Governor to the Appropriation Bill. In any case, all facts surrounding the alleged discussion and passage of the Appropriation Bill clearly indicate its non-passage.....There are strong facts to suggest that the Appropriation Bill was actually defeated. As a consequence, the Government had to resign. Two further consequences flow out of this. Firstly, the Appropriation Bill sanctioning expenditure from 1 April 2016 was not approved and, secondly, if the Appropriation Bill was defeated, the continuation of the Government subsequent to 18 March 2016 is unconstitutional." Consequence of Appropriation Bill not passing: As the Appropriation Bill has not been passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly it means that from the 1st of April 2016 the state government can't spend any money as budgeted. This would mean the entire state machinery would come to a halt. Now that the President's Rule has been imposed in Uttarakhand under Article 356 the Union Government will have to make provisions for Uttarakhand under Article 37 for the state. Will Sonia and Rahul Gandhi be able to save Uttarakhand's Congress Government: Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have a chance when the President's Rule comes for ratification in Parliament as in Rajya Sabha BJP is in minority. However, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi need to think as to what is prompting rebels like Vijay Bahuguna, Harak Singh Rawat and Subodh Uniyal to join hands with BJP. All these rebel leaders have been publicly saying for past few days that despite all the attempts to meet Rahul Gandhi they have not been able to meet him as they were not given an appointment to meet him. They wanted to meet Congress Vice President and seek his intervention in the affairs of Uttarakhand. Worth noting thing here is that rebel leaders who broke off from Congress Arunachal Pradesh and formed government with BJP support also made similar accusations against Rahul Gandhi. BJP will be thankful to Rahul Gandhi for not learning any lesson from Arunachal Pradesh experience and repeating the same mistake when rebels from Uttarakhand tried to reach him. If the grapevines are to be believed Manipur Government of Okram Obobi Singh is soon to go Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand way. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 13:25 [IST] Amit Shah mocks Left-Congress alliance in West Bengal India oi-IANS By Ians English Kolkata, March 29: BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday described the CPI-M and the Trinamool Congress as two sides of the same coin and ridiculed the Left Front-Congress tie-up for the West Bengal assembly polls. "The Communist party (CPI-M) and the Trinamool are the two sides of the same coin," Shah told reporters here. "You will remember when BJP jumped with all its might in electoral field (for 2014 Lok Sabha elections), Biman Bose went to the state secretariat and ate Didi's sandesh (sweet)," Shah said, referring to Left Front chairman Biman Bose's visit to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in June 2014. (Mamata Banerjee hits out at Amit Shah for 'bombs in Bengal' remark) "That time didi (Mamata Banerjee) had said you (Biman Bose) are my friend and our real fight is against the BJP". Rubbishing the CPI-M's allegations of "match fixing" between the BJP and the Trinamool, Shah said his party could never go along with the Trinamool, the communists and the Congress. "We can never go with any of them, because we can neither support infiltration nor corruption or fear. The BJP is determined to fight against these three," said Shah. On the Congress-Left tie-up, Shah asked the Marxists to clarify if their politics was driven only by electoral considerations. "In Kerala, they are (Congress and Left) are up against each other; in Bengal they are together. So they need to decide whether they want to do politics on the basis of principles or just to win elections," Shah said. "At least the communists, who talk about principles, need to clear their stand. In Kerala they are engaged in fighting but here it's ILU ILU (with Congress)," added Shah, using the Bollywood-inspired initialism for 'I Love You'. IANS AYUSH to head Yoga-based cure for cancer India oi-Pallavi Bengaluru, March 29: Yoga has been deemed as an alternative cure for the world's deadliest disease-Cancer. However, the absolute cure is still a year away. Union minister of AYUSH Shripad Naik said that Yoga has the capacity to arrest the disease and reduce exposure to chemotherapy. Speaking at the AYUSH Expo organised by the central ministry near Panaji, Naik said that it is in the process of vetting documentation submitted by Bengaluru-based deemed yoga university, which has claimed to have cured patients suffering from the disease. Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, a deemed university headed by Dr H R Nagendra, who was earlier a mechanical engineer with NASA and later had a stint at Harvard University. Naik told reporters,"SVYASA University in Bengaluru has found a yoga technique for prevention and cure of cancer. We have collected all documentation and the process is going on." On asking how much time will it take for the AYUSH ministry to vet the documentation, Naik said,"I think it will take about a year. The documentation should be perfect." OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 9:58 [IST] EPS, his supporters detained for trying to hold hunger strike in TN assembly Tamil Nadu: Light to moderate rain in the next few days Tamil Nadu: Check the list of special trains operating from Chennai this Diwali Brussels attacks: Infosys victim's body to be taken to Chennai India oi-IANS By Ians English Thane (Maharashtra), March 29: The body of the Infosys employee, who was killed in the Brussels attacks, will be taken to Chennai on Tuesday, officials said. Infosys employee, Raghavendran Ganeshan, was killed while travelling in a coach of Brussels metro in which one of the suicide bombers blew himself up on March 22. Brussels attack: Infosys employee's family had hope till the last minute "I am deeply pained to inform that Brussels authorities have identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of terror blasts in Brussels. His mortal remains are being handed over to the family in Brussels. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet on Monday. I am deeply pained to inform that Brussels authorities hv identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of terror blasts in Brussels. /1 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 28, 2016 His mortal remains are being handed over to the family in Brussels./2 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 28, 2016 His body was charred beyond recognition and could be identified only after matching DNA samples with his brother. Raghavendran's mortal remains shall be taken to Chennai on Tuesday for the last rites, officials said. The victim's parents, C. Ganeshan and Annapoorna, flew to Brussels last Wednesday. His brother, Venkatesan studying in Germany, also joined them. Raghavendran, 31, became father just a month ago, and his wife is away in Chennai, said one of the neighbours of Building No. 1, where the Ganeshans have lived for the past 15 years. Residents of the Nirmal Park Society in Bhayander were shocked to hear the news of their neighbour Raghavendra Ganeshan being killed in the Brussels attacks. He had been recruited to Infosys through a campus placement programme and was working in Brussels from the past four years. IANS Centre may topple HP, Delhi governments: Kejriwal India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, March 29: After imposing central rule in Uttarakhand, the central government will now try to topple the governments in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday. Slamming the ouster of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Kejriwal told the assembly here that he had learnt from a senior official that the next state to be targeted will be Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh. This will be followed by Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power in February last year winning 67 of the 70 seats. "I am told they will disqualify 21 of our (AAP) legislators from the Delhi assembly and buy over 23 others," the chief minister said, accusing the BJP of using money power to subdue the opposition. "Forget buying over 23 legislators. If they have the guts, let them buy even one legislator," he said to applause from AAP members in the house. Kejriwal said the BJP, like the Congress earlier, had become "arrogant" after taking power nationally in 2014. He slammed the central government's decision to "force" President's Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, calling them illegal. Kejriwal also returned to the theme of the Pakistani team's visit to the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab that was attacked by Pakistani terrorists on January 2. He said it defied logic why the Pakistanis should be allowed to probe an attack masterminded by the Pakistani intelligence. "Not everyone is happy with the decision," he said, attributing it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Echoing the remarks he made a day earlier too, Kejriwal said New Delhi had always accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in India. He said instead of allowing the Pakistanis to probe the Pathankot attack, Indian officials should have gone to Islamabad to question the Pakistani terrorist leaders blamed for terror attacks in India. IANS CIC to IB: Why report on Sanjiv Chaturvedi be not made public? India oi-PTI New Delhi, Mar 29: Central Information Commission has issued a notice to Intelligence Bureau, an organisation exempted from the transparency law except in some cases, asking it to explain why its report on alleged harassment of whistleblower IFoS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi by officials be not made public. "The Intelligence Bureau is one of the organisations specified in Second Schedule to the RTI Act u/s 24, exempting it from purview of RTI Act except when CIC considered that the information sought is either related to corruption or violation of human rights by that organisation," Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu held. He noted that the applicant has stated that the information sought is relating to alleged violation of human rights. Acharyulu said even if IB had objected to sharing of its report, gist of which is already in public domain, the Ministry of Environment and Forest could have given a copy of it to Sanjiv Chaturvedi. "Even though the organisation/IB is totally exempted under section 24, this kind of information could be furnished by IB. As per second proviso to section 24, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the Central Information Commission. Hence the applicant approached the Commission seeking approval for disclosure of IB report mentioned above," he noted. Chaturvedi, who exposed alleged forestry scam in Haryana, had sought the copy of IB report, which was sent to Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Environment and Forests in August, 2014, on the issue of allegedly "foisting false cases against him in retaliation of his investigation and reports against major corruption in the state". Intelligence Bureau being an exempted organisation except in cases of allegations of human rights violations or corruption refused to make it public. The summary of IB report provided to him stated, "There appears to be truth in the contention of Sanjiv Chaturvedi regarding alleged harassment meted out to him by Haryana Government. His request for change of cadre from Haryana to Uttarakhand merits consideration." PTI Delhi Shocker! 15-year-old minor forced to marry father of 2 kids India oi-Shalini New Delhi, March 29: While the country still continues to fight child marriages, here comes a shocking news from the country's capital. A 15-year-old minor girl was forced to marry a 35-year-old father of two kids. The girl's father forced her to marry the man who is elder to her by 20 years in exchange of Rs 60,000 and an e-rickshaw at north-west Delhi's Bhalswa Dairy. When the incident came to light, Delhi Police arrested the girl's father and four of their relatives and booked them under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. After the incident, the 15-year old filed a complaint against her father for taking money from the groom's family and also alleged her then would-be husband had thrashed her when she denied to marry him. According to a media report, the girl's father who works as an e-rickshaw driver had taken money and another e-rickshaw before agreeing to the marriage. Police had received information about the child marriage in Feburary in that area which was against the wish of the girl. DCP, Vijay Singh (North Delhi) said " We have traced the minor accused but the father and her husband were missing after she filed a complaint. The victim filed a case against her father and husband for forcing her to get married." On Saturday, March 26, police arrested her father and the husband after getting a clue about their presence in that area. Moreover, the victim also complained that after her marriage she left her husband's place and returned to her father place. Following this, her father took Rs 20,000 for sending her back to her husband's place. This time the minor reached her elder sister's house and filed a complaint about the marriage. During interrogation the police said "that the wedding took place at her father place and her father confessed that he took money for marriage." Police had also asked the minor's elder sister about the marriage but she denied and said that she was not aware about it. OneIndia News Highways within 100 km of LoC, LAC borders wont need green nod: Here is why DRDOs hypersonic vehicle to have 20-second flight in Dec India oi-Oneindia By OneIndia Defence Bureau Goa, March 29: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) claimed on Tuesday that its ambitious project to develop a hypersonic vehicle would have its critical test in December 2016. Replying to a specific query from OneIndia, DRDO Chief Dr S Christopher said the 20-22 second test of the Hypersonic Test Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) would be crucial for the hypersonic missile programme. As a run-up to developing the missile, Dr Christopher said that successful trials were conducted at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory of DRDO situated in Chandigarh. DRDO had formed the HSTDV Project Directorate at Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in Hyderabad in 2005. Here are the highlights of DRDO Chief's press meet. Exports: DRDO is exploring the idea of exporting some of its products that did not find any takers in India. "We can always find a market for these products even if they are found not in favour of armed forces here due to some reason," says Christopher. Arjun Mk-II: DRDO says despite the over-weight issues, the tank is best suited for Indian Army. "We have almost done all additional changes on Mk-1 as demanded by the user. We are working on all aspects of the tank so that we could reduce the weight further, including taking a relook at the engine and transmission units," says Christopher. He said similar to the trials held on Mk1, the Arjun Mk-II will have line-to-line trials with T-90 soon. Eye-in-the-sky: The first Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AEW&C) being developed by DRDO will be handed over to Indian Air Force this year. The second platform, which has also started flight trials, would join IAF by next year. Work on Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), that offers 360-degree coverage of airspace has already begun at the Centre for Air Borne Systems (CABS) in Bengaluru. The Defence Acquisition Council had given the nod last year for home-grown AWACS programme. Rustom-2: The Aeronautical Development Establishment is all set for the maiden flight of Rustom-2, unmanned aerial vehicle. Rustom-2 needs to be taken to a speed of 50 knots, from the current 32 knots. DRDO says the first flight (sans major systems on board) would take place in April, while the UAV would carry payloads during its flight in June. OneIndia News Govt to infuse Rs 5,050 cr in PSU banks soon India oi-PTI New Delhi, Mar 28: Government will soon infuse additional capital of about Rs 5,050 crore in some public sector banks including UCO Bank and Syndicate Bank this week. Parliament has already approved Rs 5,050 crore for meeting additional expenditure on recapitalisation of public sector banks earlier this month. The capital infusion by Finance Ministry in the identified banks would be done soon, which could be as early as this week itself, sources said. Syndicate Bank and UCO Bank will be issuing shares to the government on a preferential basis to raise a total Rs 1,675 crore subject to regulatory approvals. UCO Bank said it will raise Rs 935 crore by issuing preferential shares to the government while Syndicate Bank will be raise up to Rs 740 crore through preferential allotment following board approval on March 31. Besides UCO and Syndicate, other lenders which are contenders for the fresh round of infusion are Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Vijaya Bank and United Bank of India. It will be a part of the Rs 25,000 crore capital infusion plan earmarked for the current fiscal. In the first tranche, as many as 13 public sectors banks were given fund support of Rs 19,950 crore. Of this, SBI got the highest amount of Rs 5,393 crore followed by Bank of India at Rs 2,455 crore. Besides, the government infused Rs 2,229 crore in IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank Rs 2,009 crore and Punjab National Bank Rs 1,732 crore. Last year, the government announced a revamp plan 'Indradhanush' to infuse Rs 70,000 crore in state-owned banks over four years, while they will have to raise a further Rs 1.1 lakh crore from markets to meet their capital requirements in line with global risk norms Basel-III. In line with the blueprint, PSU banks will get Rs 25,000 crore this fiscal and also in the next fiscal. Besides, Rs 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017-18 and 2018-19. PTI Rahul Gandhi will be seen in new avatar after Bharat Jodo Yatra: Digvijaya Singh Fact Check: This image of a massive gathering is not from the Bharat Jodo Yatra If BJP wins in Assam, RSS will take over governance: Rahul Gandhi India oi-IANS By Ians English Diphu (Assam), March 29: If the BJP wins the assembly polls in Assam, the state will be administered by the RSS from its Nagpur headquarters or by the PMO in Delhi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said here on Tuesday. Addressing a public rally in Diphu, the district headquarters of Karbi Anglong, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only good at making lofty promises but never fulfills them. "Modi ji comes, makes lofty promises and then leaves. He never fulfills his promises. Modi ji came to Assam before the Lok Sabha polls and made promises. However, his promises are yet to be fulfilled," Gandhi said. "The RSS wants to impose one ideology across the country. If one ideology is imposed everywhere, what will happen to your language, culture, religion, tradition etc?" "If the BJP comes to power in Assam, Assam will not be administered from Assam but from Nagpur or from the Prime Minister's Office," he said. He said the BJP "always wants to make people fight against each other". "When there was a Congress government in Haryana, it was completely peaceful. However, a month after the BJP government came to power in Haryana, violence started. They did it in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, everywhere," he said. The BJP "wants to do the same thing in Assam by creating violence", Gandhi said. Countering Modi's non-development allegations, Gandhi said it was the Congress government in Assam that brought peace to the state 15 years back and that there cannot be any development without peace. "The Congress undertook massive work in Assam in the last 15 years but the biggest achievement of the Congress government is that the party brought peace to the once troubled and violent state," he said. On industrialist Vijay Mallya, against whom a case is going on in the Supreme Court over a whopping Rs.9,000-crore debt, Gandhi said: "Modi ji also did not tell you that one of his ministers met Vijay Mallya and after that Mallya fled the country, packing his six suitcases." "Modi ji also did not tell you that Lalit Modi, who has thousands of crores of black money, also fled the country and no effort was made to bring him back," he said, referring to the former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner who is currently in Europe. "Modi ji did not tell you that on budget day, (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley brought a new law which says all thieves and gundas (hooligans) can turn their black money into white by paying some meagre tax." Gandhi assured to give a package of Rs.1,000 crore to Karbi Anglong and set up a medical college and an engineering college in the hill district if the Congress is voted back to power. IANS In Brussels Modi to renew call for greater cooperation in fighting terrorism India oi-Vicky New Delhi, Mar 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Brussels at a very crucial time. The visit by Modi to the Belgian capital comes a week after it had been hit by one of the terror strikes in which nearly 31 died and 100s were injured. While discussions on counter terrorism would be high on the agenda, there would also be talk on trade and investments. Modi during his visits abroad has emphasised on the need to have a global coalition to fight terrorism. While expressing solidarity with the people of Brussels, Modi will emphasise on this point yet again. For Belgium, the ISIS has been a nightmare and there are at least 250 of its nationals fighting alongside the outfit. Counter terrorism high on the agenda: Modi has a packed schedule in Belgium in which he would meet with the PM of the country Charles Michel and also heads of the European Union. During these meetings Modi will speak about the need for greater cooperation in combating international terrorism. The Indian PM would also emphasise on the fact that there is a need to greater sharing of intelligence. The ISIS which operates globally needs to be watched by every intelligence agency in the world and unless the world cooperates, the going would get tough against this fanatic outfit. PM Modi condoles death of Infosys employee Raghavendran Modi would underline the need for a special strategic partnership like he did when French President, Francois Hollande had visited India. He had said that the two nations stand united in fighting and defeating terrorism. A similar message would be given by the Indian PM at Brussels. Apart from this the the Indian PM will also have discussions on trade, clean energy and economy. The PM will also meet with the Indians in Brussels. Following this he would attend the fourth Nuclear Security Summit hosted by the United States of America on March 31 and April 1. On his way back, he would stop over at Riyadh for a meeting with the Saudi Arabian leadership. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 10:53 [IST] In Jayalalithaa DA case, locus standi petitions are aimed at delaying proceedings India oi-Vicky Chennai, March 29: The Supreme Court has decided to hear a petition challenging the decision of the Karnataka High Court in admitting the appeal filed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa challenging her conviction in the disproportionate assets case. While this matter has been ordered to be clubbed with the main case, during the course of the arguments, Jayalalithaa too is likely to raise the issue of locus standi and how Karnataka could file the appeal in the Supreme Court. Legal experts say that while both these points have been well settled over and over again, the Supreme Court will still hear it. If the Supreme Court goes by the earlier precedents then both these contentions will be rejected, but the fact is that it would delay proceedings. Challenging the locus standi: A petition was filed by an advocate in the Supreme Court stating that the Karnataka High Court had no jurisdiction to admit the appeal filed by Jayalalithaa. She had moved the Karnataka High Court after she was convicted by the trial court. However at that time the legal team of Jayalalithaa did not raise any such point. However, after she was acquitted by the Karnataka High Court and the state of Karnataka went up in appeal to the Supreme Court, she decided to raise the issue of locus standi. She said that Karnataka had no right to file the appeal in the Supreme Court as it was a case registered in Tamil Nadu. The fact of the matter is that this is a well settled point of law and only Karnataka can file the appeal. The trial was held in a court in Karnataka as ordered by the Supreme Court. Hence the appellate jurisdiction lies before the Karnataka High Court. It was Karnataka which was the prosecuting agency in the trial court. Further before the High Court it was Karnataka's prosecutor who argued the matter and hence it was only natural that Karnataka went up in appeal before the Supreme Court. In the Karnataka legal department, the statements by Jayalalithaa have been seen as an attempt to delay the appeal. It is a well settled point of law and has been dealt with by both the Supreme Court and the High Court in the past, Karnataka would contend. It may be recalled that the issue had come up for hearing in the Karnataka High Court where the right of Karnataka to appoint a special public prosecutor had been challenged. Moreover, it is also questioned as to why Jayalalithaa and three others convicted by the trial court had decided to challenge that decision before the Karnataka High Court. Even when the appeal was being heard in the High Court, the special prosecutor B V Acharya who made written submissions was appointed by the Karnataka government. Karnataka contends that the state appointing the special public prosecutor is automatically the prosecuting state and hence only it has the right to file an appeal. Further an interpretation of the Code of Criminal Procedure also states that a special public prosecutor is appointed for a case and not for a court. It has been settled that it is Karnataka which has the powers to prosecute and also the Supreme Court too had given the state the powers to appoint the SPP, he also added. Karnataka feels that there will be some amount of delay before arguments on the appeal would commence. Karnataka in its appeal has pointed to several errors in the verdict of the High Court which acquitted Jayalalithaa and others. It has also argued that the SPP was not given any time to argue the case and instead had to file written submissions. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 8:58 [IST] Jayalalithaa DA case: Subramanian Swamy to argue in SC challenging acquittal India oi-Vicky New Delhi, March 29: Subramanian Swamy, the original complainant in the J Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case would argue before the Supreme Court challenging the order of acquittal. Swamy who had filed this case against Jayalalithaa in 1996 had alleged that she had amassed properties disproportionate to her known source of income. The Supreme Court will hear Swamy at 12 noon and he is expected to argue for at least an hour. Swamy is one of the appellants in the case. Following the order of acquittal by the Karnataka High Court, Swamy had said on his twitter account that he would file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. He also had termed the High Court as a tragedy of arithmetic errors. Following the complaint by Swamy in 1996, the DMK government too had filed cases against her. The DMK is represented in the court by its senior leader Anbazhagan. Earlier today the hearing continued before the Supreme Court with the Bench posing plenty of questions to Karnataka which has challenged the acquittal of the Tamil Nadu chief minister. The Supreme Court told Karnataka to place before it the exact valuation of the assets alleged to belong to Jayalalithaa. Further the court also sought to know what exact error the Karnataka High Court had committed. The Supreme Court observed that it needed to know the exact errors so that they could hear it on that point. I feels like a second trial in the case, the court also told Special Public Prosecutor, B V Acharya who had sought additional time to argue the case. The court directed him to complete arguments in an hour when the hearing commences tomorrow. Earlier during the day, Karnataka continued to demonstrate before the Supreme Court as to why the trial court order convicting Jayalalithaa had to be in force and how the High Court was wrong in reversing that order. Karnataka also stated that a precedent has to be set by the Supreme Court while dealing with cases of corruption. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 16:18 [IST] No surprises here: Mallikarjun Kharge is the new Cong chief After the 'Jihad' comment, Patil now claims \"I never said it\" JIT visit, a 'wrong' precedent: Congress India oi-PTI New Delhi, Mar 29: Keeping up the offensive over the visit of a Pakistani Joint Investigation team (JIT) to probe the Pathankot terror attack, Congress today accused the government of compromising the country's sovereignty and setting a "wrong" precedent. "It is known all over that the Pakistani ISI is behind the terror attacks in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, and still we are serving biryani to the JIT which also includes an ISI representative," party spokesman P L Punia told reporters. Questioning the visit of the JIT to the strategic air base at Pathankot, he said it was "unprecedented" as there are never technical and non-technical areas at such defence installations. Replying to a question, he said the Narendra Modi dispensation has set a "wrong" precedent by allowing the JIT to visit India. "Tomorrow we will also allow China to send any such team. What happened to those who used to boast of a 56-inch chest," he said, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress has been saying that according an almost "red carpet welcome" to JIT compromised national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. PTI Maneka Gandhi lays foundation of India's largest widow Home India oi-PTI Vrindavan (UP), Mar 29: Union minister Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of a 1,000-bedded state-of-the-art widow Home here which aims at providing better living condition, vocational training and medical facilities to such women. "I got widowed when I was 23-years-old and my son was of 100 days. But I still get scared when I think if I was to become widow now and live my life at some other unknown place. I have found a lot of courage in all of you (the widows of Vrindavan)," the Union Women and Child Development Minister said. "Your service and dedication has given lot of strength to the society," she said. Around 4,500 widows from all across the country live in various shelter homes in Vrindavan run by both government and self help groups. Gandhi said the idea of building the country's largest widow home at Vrindavan was inspired by the works of a Nari Shakti Puraskar awardee who used to cremate unclaimed bodies of women. "It was during our search for women applicants for Nari Shakti Puraskar last year, when we came across this woman who used to cremate unclaimed bodies of women in Vrindavan. Then we decided to build a widow home here where all such women can stay," she said. The shelter, which is being built by National Building Construction Corporation, is expected to be completed by October. The home is being constructed on 1.424 hectare of land at an estimated cost of Rs 57 Crore (including cost of the land). The design of the home has been prepared in consultation with 'HelpAge India' and is 'old age' friendly. It will consist of ground plus three floors with the facilities of ramp, lifts, supply of adequate electricity, water and other amenities for meeting the requirement of senior citizens and persons with special challenges, a Ministry statement said. PTI MLA manhandles Dy Secy, Mantralaya employees on flash strike India oi-PTI Mumbai, Mar 29: A Deputy secretary in the PWD department was allegedly manhandled by an Independent MLA at the Mantralaya here today, apparently for refusing to entertain his demand for providing additional accommodation to a clerk, following which the employees at the state secretariat went on a flash strike. Police have registered an FIR against Bachchu Kadu, Independent legislator from Achalapur on a complaint lodged against him for allegedly roughing up the Deputy secretary identified as Bhausaheb Gavit of the PWD department. A Mantralaya staffer said the MLA was incensed after Gavit refused to allot government accommodation to a clerk, working with PWD department, who has already been allotted a (government) house. Kadu has denied the charge. However, the employees went on a flash strike over the incident. Police said the FIR was registered against Kadu and the clerk, identified as Ashok Jadgav, at Marine Drive police station tonight under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of IPC. Police said no arrest has been made by them in this connection. PTI 108-foot statue of Kempegowda to be unveiled by PM in Karnataka: Basavaraj Bommai India making every effort to deal with global economic challenges: PM Modi at 'Rozgar mela' Deepotsav 2022: In PM Modi's presence, 18 lakh diyas to create new world record in Ayodhya | Top points Modi salutes Belgians' resilience against terrorism India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, March 29: Ahead of embarking on a tour of Belgiun, the US and Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday saluted the resilience of Belgians following the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. "No words are enough to salute the resilience and spirit of the people of Belgium," Modi said in a pre-departure statement. He leaves on Tuesday night and returns to New Delhi on April 3. "We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the wake of the horrific attacks in Brussels and share the grief of those who lost their loved ones." At least 35 people, including an Indian national, were killed in twin explosions at the Zaventem airport and one at a metro station in the Belgian capital on March 22. During his stay in Brussels on Wednesday, Modi will attend a bilateral summit with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and also the 13th India-European Union (EU) Summit. "Within the EU, Belgium is India's second largest trading partner. My meeting with the prime minister aims to expand trade, investment and high technology partnership with this important EU member." The prime minister said he and Michel would also remote activate the India-Belgium ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute for Observational Sciences) telescope at Devasthal near Nainital. He said the EU was a vital trading partner and the biggest export destination for India. "This summit will advance our multifaceted engagement across a whole range of domains," he said. While in Brussels, Modi said he would also meet members of the European Parliament (MEPs), Indologists, Belgian CEOs as well as a cross section of the Indian diaspora in Belgium. "I would also interact with the Board Members of the Association of Diamond Traders in Belgium," he said. There are a large number of Indians in Belgium's diamond trading hub of Antwerp. He is to also address a community programme and interact with the Indian community in Brussels. There are around 20,000 expatriate Indians in Belgium. After Belgium, Modi will be in Washington DC on March 31 to participate in the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit, being hosted by US President Barack Obama. "The summit would deliberate on the crucial issue of threat to nuclear security caused by nuclear terrorism. Leaders would discuss ways and measure through which to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture, especially to ensure that non-state actors do not get access to nuclear material," he stated. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is not attending the Nuclear Security Summit following the Lahore blast on Sunday that killed at least 70 people. There had been wide speculation that the two prime ministers would meet in Washington on the sidelines of the summit. It would have been their second meeting after Modi's stop-over meet with Sharif in Lahore on December 25 last year. Modi said he would meet several world leaders on the sidelines of the Washington summit "to carry forward the agenda of bilateral cooperation with those nations". "I also look forward to my interaction with the scientists associated with LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observator) project," he said. LIGO is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves. On his way back, Modi would visit Saudi Arabia on April 2 and 3 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Gulf kingdom after then prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit in 2010. "India's ties with Saudi Arabia are special," Modi said. "Robust people-to-people ties constitute a key component of our engagement. I plan to work with the Saudi leadership to expand and deepen our bilateral relations. Discussions on the regional situation would also be on the agenda." Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner, and is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for one-fifth of its crude oil imports. "In addition to meeting with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, I also look forward to my discussions with other important members of the royal family," Modi said. "We want the prominent Saudi businesses to partner with India's development priorities." Modi said that he would also visit the Masmak Fortress, the L&T Workers' Residential Complex and TCS All Women IT and ITeS Centre in Riyadh. There are nearly three million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are blue collar workers. IANS When a channel spoke with Dawood Ibrahim for the first time Mumbai serial blasts: Ten convicted, three acquitted India oi-Vicky Mumbai, Mar 29: Ten persons were convicted and three acquitted by a Special POTA court in connection with the 2002 and 2003 triple blasts case at Mumbai. The accused persons were facing charges of murder and waging war against the nation. The court in its order convicted Saquib Nachan, who the police considered as the mastermind of the attack. Three persons were however acquitted for want of evidence. The police had filed its chargesheet and stated that these persons were part of the banned outfit, SIMI. The blast had killed several persons and injured 140. On December 6 2002, an explosion was reported at the Mc Donalds restaurant at the Mumbai central station in which 27 persons were injured. German Bakery blasts verdict: Bombay HC commutes accused's death sentence to life term A month later a bomb planted at Vile Parle exploded in which one person was killed and several others were injured. Two months later an explosion on a train near Mulund claimed 90 lives. The police said that the blasts were to avenge the ban on SIMI and this was a coordinated strike by the members of the group. The police had also alleged that these operatives had also taken the help of a Pakistani national. OneIndia News NIA to seek voice samples of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar from Pakistan India oi-Vicky New Delhi, Mar 29: The NIA has said that it would seek voice samples of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf in connection with the Pathankot attack probe. While expressing satisfaction over the visit by the Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan, the chief of the NIA, Sharad Kumar said that they would take a call on when to visit Pakistan. Kumar made said that the decision on when the NIA would visit Pakistan would be taken later and will depend on the reciprocity. He also added that they would be seeking more evidence from Pakistan in the days to come. (Pakistani team visits Pathankot terrorists' trail) He also added that the voice samples of Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf who is the second in command of the Jaish-e-Mohammad would be sought from Pakistan. (Pathankot- List of do's and dont's for the Pakistan JIT) The Pakistan's JIT visited Pathankot today to probe the terror strike at the air base that took place in January this year. The team had arrived in New Delhi first and held lengthy discussions with the NIA. The team arrived in Pathankot earlier during the day amidst protests from the Congress and the Aam Admi Party (AAP). OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 16:46 [IST] Bihar: When asked to take off hijab to check for bluetooth device, Muslim student leaves exam centre Nitish, Sushil cross swords in Assembly over funds, toilets India oi-PTI Patna, Mar 29: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today locked horns in the Legislative Council over recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission on devolution of tax revenue and how the target of building toilets will be met. During PHED Minister Krishna Nandan Verma's reply to BJPs' Krishna Kumar Singh on how the state will construct toilets in each house over the next five years when it was building only 1.5 lakh to two lakh toilets every year, Kumar intervened and assured the Council that the target will be completed in a time-frame under the 'Saat Nischay'. The 'Saat Nischay' (seven resolves) scheme aims at making younger generation self-reliant through education, skill development, education loan, electricity connection to all villages, providing piped water supply to every household, road and drainage in urban areas. As soon as Kumar made this promise, Leader of the Opposition Sushil Kumar Modi rose and asked him how the state government will meet the target of constructing 35 lakh toilets each year over the next five years when it does not have required financial resources nor infrastructure to do so. Describing the toilet construction target as 'next to impossible', Modi had a dig at Kumar saying one cannot fulfill commitment merely by making assurance. On the recommendations of 14th Finance Commission, Modi reminded Kumar that he had sought reduction in the Centre's share in Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) in National Development Council meetings during the UPA rule which had set up 14th Finance Commission to review devolution of tax revenue between the Centre and the states. The senior BJP leader said the central government has heard his plea for hike in untied funds and Bihar got Rs 14,000 crore more in 2015-16. Modi dared Kumar for a debate with him on the issue. Reverting to toilet construction, he charged the Chief Minister with not giving a pointed reply as to how the state government will construct 1.5 crore toilets in five years. "I appeal to you (Kumar) again that you stop cheating the people and misleading them," Modi said. Kumar countered Modi by saying that the toilet construction target will not be achieved, come what may. He denied that he had ever advocated for reduction in the Centre's share in implementation of CSS in the states and pitched for hike in the untied funds. PTI Canada-US border: Gujarati family of four, including infant, freeze to death; man charged with human smuggling Pak national arrested from Indo-Pak Border India oi-PTI Batala, Mar 29: Border Security Force (BSF) personnel today arrested a Pakistani national when he was allegedly trying to cross over to the Indian side along Indo-Pak International Border in Dera Baba Nanak sector in Gurdaspur illegally. BSF personnel of 164 Battalion arrested Mujamal Hussain (38), a resident of Basti Jafi colony tehsil Harunabad in Bahawal Nagar district, when he was trying to sneak into the Indian territory from Pakistan without valid documents near Basanter Border Outpost (BOP), police said. Two mobile phones, one sim card and one memory card were seized from him, police said. The BSF team handed Hussain over to the police. Station House Officer (SHO) Dera Baba Nanak Police Station Paramjit Singh said the accused was further handed over to Joint Interrogation Center (JIC), Amritsar for further investigation. A case has been registered against him under Indian Passport Act and Foreigners Act. PTI 12-year-old Indian in Guinness World Record for identifying most aeroplane tails in UAE Indian security forces get non-lethal weapons inspired by traditional weapons to tackle Chinese army After attack in DR Congo, India calls for UNSC meet Watch: Four Indian women racially abused in Texas in most horrific manner 8 month old among 4 Indian origin people abducted in California PM Modi condoles death of Infosys employee Raghavendran India oi-Jagriti New Delhi, Mar 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the family of Raghavendran Ganeshan, who lost his life in the Brussels attacks. PM Modi on Tuesday took Twitter to express his solidarity with the family of Ganeshan. Ganeshn an Infosys employee was confirmed dead on March 28 by the Indian Embassy in Belgium. Ganeshn went missing after Brussels attacks on March 22. He was a victim of the blast that took place in the metro at Malbeek station in Brussels. Ganesan was working with Infosys in Pune. He was later sent to Brussels for a project with the Belgacom Mobile. He had spent four years in Brussels. Dreaded global terror outfit, Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for serial bombings in Brussels. These attacks carried out by the group days after the arrest of November 13 Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam in Brussels. Brussels attack: Infosys employee's family had hope till the last minute At least six people were arrested on March 25 in Brussels in anti-terror operation conducted several searches in Jette and Schaerbeek in Brussels-Capital Region following the terrorist attacks. A young life, full of hope & promise cut short by mindless violence... condolences to family of Raghavendran, who lost his life in Brussels. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 29, 2016 I am deeply pained to inform that Brussels authorities hv identified Raghavendran as one of the victims of terror blasts in Brussels. /1 Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 28, 2016 OneIndia News Protests erupt as Pakistan probe team heads for Pathankot India oi-PTI Amritsar/Pathankot, Mar 29: The Pakistani Joint Investigation Team (JIT) accompanied by Indian officials on Tuesday headed for Pathankot in connection with the probe into the January 2 terror attack at IAF base. The five-member Pakistani team led by Punjab's Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai landed at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport in Amritsar and left for Pathankot by road amid tight security. Unwanted politics over Pathankot probe JIT and National Investigation Agency (NIA) will take stock of the probe into the Pathankot terror attack today, officials said. Punjab Police was escorting the convoy of the Pakistani team which also has ISI's Lt Col rank officer Tanvir Ahmed, Lahore's Deputy Director General Intelligence Bureau Mohammad Azim Arshad, Military Intelligence Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer Shahid Tanveer. Police officials said they have diligently barricaded areas around the IAF facility . "The district police has been informed about the visit and deployments have been done accordingly," a senior police official said. A large police contingent has been deployed in and around Dhangu village where the IAF base is located. What to expect from Pak's JIT visit to Pathankot? Meanwhile, Congress workers staged a protest near the air base against the visit by the Pakistani investigators. Government has made it clear that the Pakistani team will have "restricted" access to the air base with the NIA taking them to a select areas where the over 80-hour gun battle led to the killing of at least four terrorists and seven security personnel. Orange and blue coloured tarpaulin can be seen draping the interiors of the strategic facility, in an apparent indication of "visual prohibition" being put in place. Investigators from India and Pakistan had met in Delhi yesterday. It is for the first time that that a Pakistani team has visited the country to probe a terror case. The opposition parties have slammed the move with Congress saying that "unfettered access" given to Pakistan's JIT by according an almost "red carpet welcome" raised serious questions on procedural propriety in relation to compromise on national security and likened it to an accused investigating himself. PTI Rahul Gandhi will be seen in new avatar after Bharat Jodo Yatra: Digvijaya Singh Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Gandhi to address mega rally in Ballari as march nears 1000-km mark Fact Check: This image of a massive gathering is not from the Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul says 'Kharge ji will decide' his role in Congress News flash: Punjab: BSF arrests a Pak national Mujammal Hussein India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Bengaluru, March 29: 50 files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose released by Union Minister Mahesh Sharma. Get all the latest news updates of the day: 9:46 pm: Govt recommends proroguing of Parliament Budget session. 9:16 pm: Govt categorically rejects allegations that this individual was involved in subversive activities in Pakistan at our behest: MEA. 8:57 pm: Case registered against MLA Bacchu Kadu in Marine Drive Police Station (Mumbai) for allegedly slapping Deputy Secy BR Gavit. 8:46 pm: Batala (Punjab): BSF arrests a Pak national Mujammal Hussein who crossed over Indo-Pak border & came close to fence 8:31 pm: Government in touch with several local agencies to get father Tom Uzhunnalil rescued: Sources. 8:20 pm: US sues Volkswagen for deceptive 'clean diesel' campaign. 8:11 pm: India lose 1-2 to Turkmenistan in their last Group D match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. 8:00 pm: President should have waited before signing the President's rule order for Uttarakhand: Congress leader ManishTewari. 7:36 pm: TN Haokip replaces Gaikhangam Gangmei as Manipur Congress chief in wake of revolt against him. 7.10 pm: Maharashtra secretariat employees go on strike after MLA Bachchu Kadu allegedly manhandled deputy secretary. 7.00 pm: Earlier Congress used to do politics of money and now BJP is doing the same: Arvind Kejriwal. 6.07 pm: CBI arrests sports teacher of Kendriya Vidyalaya in Kanpur and a technical officer DMSRDE(DRDO) in a bribery case of Rs 15,000. 5.38 pm: Delhi: 50 files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose released by Union Minister Mahesh Sharma. 5.24 pm: CBI arrests a social security officer of Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) & 3 others in separate cases of bribery in Maharashtra. 5.23 pm: EgyptAir hijacker arrested says Cyprus government spokesman. 5.22 pm: Pakistan detains more than 200 people after Easter bombing says provincial minister:Lahore Blast. 5.21 pm: We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in wake of horrific attacks in Brussels & share grief of those who lost their loved ones, syas PM Modi. 5.12 pm: No words are enough to salute resilience & spirit of people of Belgium- PM's statement prior to his departure to Belgium, USA & Saudi Arabia. 5.08 pm: Assam is a sensitive state with vibrant diversity and the most important thing of Assam is brotherhood, says R Gandhi. 5.07 pm: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi addressing a rally in Silchar (Assam). 4.31 pm: Centre to challenge in Nainital HC two judge bench, the HC single judge bench order directing floor test in Uttarakhand assembly. 4.29 pm: Virat Kohli has been fantastic & has been in good form. He can still get runs but on a losing cause,we will be happy with that, says Chris Gayle. 4.02 pm: Subramanian Swamy will argue for an hour before the Supreme Court in the Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case. he will commence his arguments tomorrow at 12. 4.00 pm: The Supreme Court has directed Special Public Prosecutor of Karnataka, B V Acharya to conclude arguments in an hour by tomorrow. 3.47 pm: Give us the exact value of Jayalalithaa's assets, Supreme Court tells Karnataka. We will need the exact details with regard to the calculation of the assets. 3.46 pm: We need to know what exactly the error is so that we can decide. This almost looks like a second trial of the case says Supreme Court to special public prosecutor of Karnataka, B V Acharya challenging the acquittal of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa. 3.44 pm: Tell what error has the Karnataka High Committed, Supreme Court asks Karnataka in Jayalalithaa DA case. 3.15 pm: 4 crew, 3 passengers still on board hijacked EgyptAir plane: Aviation Minister 3.00 pm: More than 200 slums gutted after a cylinder blast in Guwahati. 2.45 pm: The floor test was asked by us on the basis of past precedents of SC, says Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Counsel for Harish Rawat. 2.30 pm: The Uttarakhand assembly floor test will be held at 11 am on March 31. Registrar General of Nainital HC to be present as an observer. 2.24 pm: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades says Egypt plane hijacking not related to "terrorism". 2.15 pm: The truth is that wherever BJP goes it tries to instigate violence among people, says Rahul Gandhi. 2.00 pm: Justice Amitava Roy hearing the Jayalalithaa DA case asks do we have an indication which way the case is going. 1.57 pm: Shiv Sena holds protest against Pakistan's JIT in Pathankot. 1.40 pm: Delhi Jewellers protest outside BJP HQs against Centre's excise duty proposal. 1.35 pm: Congress plea in Nainital HC against President's rule in Uttarakhand: Arguments now over, hearing at 2.15 pm. 1.30 pm: Jat leaders celebrate with Haryana CM ML Khattar after Jat Quota Bill passed in State Assembly. 1.17 pm: Egyptian media identifies one hijacker of EgyptAir plane as Ibrahim Samaha. 1.10 pm: Pakistan's JIT leaves from Pathankot Air Base. 1.00 pm: Delhi HC disposes off petition seeking stay on release of movie 'Santa Banta Pvt Ltd', directs CBFC to treat petition as representation. 12.49 pm: Two killed and 50 passengers injured as a bus overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Chattarpur area. 12.46 pm: Acharya asks for one more day's time to argue the case. Supreme Court says that the more time we give you, the more you will confuse the case. 12.35 pm: Cypriot official says Egypt plane hijackers allow women, children to leave; some now disembarking. 12.20 pm: The judgment of acquittal is liable to be converted into one of conviction even as per the principle in Krishnanand Agnihotri's case. The 1977 case law which the High Court has relied on holds that an offence was not made out if the value of disproportionate assets was found to be less than 10 per cent of the income, Acharya said while adding that this cannot be relied on here as the disproportionate assets runs into crores of rupees. 12.17 pm: Upholding the verdict of the High Court which acquitted Jayalalithaa will set a bad precedent. The verdict was cryptic and filled with errors. The fate of the case hangs on correction of arithmetic errors. 12.16 pm: As a public servant, it was Jayalalithaa's duty to declare assets. When every government servant in Tamil Nadu is required to declare assets, why did she fail to do so asks Acharya. 12.14 pm: Telangana Assembly passes bill regarding hike in legislators' salaries. 12.00 pm: As a public servant, it was Jayalalithaa's duty to declare assets. When every government servant in Tamil Nadu is required to declare assets, why did she fail to do so asks Acharya. 11.57 am: Egyptair plane hijacked. the flight was heading toward from Alexandria to Cairo with 80 onboard passengers. 11.56 am: Supreme Court issues notice to Centre and Kerala Govt. on issuance of ownership certificate to elephant owners. 11.45 am: 10 convicted and 3 acquitted by Court in Mumbai 2002-2003 blasts cases. 11.30 am: The Pakistan JIT has reached the Pathankot Air Force station. 11.05 am: Supreme Court to hear next week a PIL challenging imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand. 10.22 am: Special Public Prosecutor for Karnataka, B V Acharya will continue arguments in the Jayalalithaa DA case before the Supreme Court today. 9.53 am: The Pakistan JIT has left from the Amritsar airport to Pathankot in a bullet proof car. 9.30 am: A young life, full of hope and promise cut short by mindless violence. Condolences to family of Raghavendran: PM Modi. 9.03 am: Pakistan JIT to arrive at Amritsar Airport shortly, to be taken in bullet proof SUVs Pakistan JIT to arrive at Amritsar Airport shortly, to be taken in bullet proof SUVs (In pix: bullet proof SUVs) pic.twitter.com/4wNj3YKEX9 ANI (@ANI_news) March 29, 2016 8.30 am: FBI breaks into San Bernardino gunman's iPhone without Apple's help, ending court case. 8.00 am: Hearing on Congress plea in Uttarakhand High Court challenging President's Rule in the state to continue today. OneIndia News M Karunanidhi was kept under house arrest for 2 years, TN govt to probe Karunanidhi's 98th birth anniversary: BSY says he played important role in creating harmony between two states Karunanidhi fought for the Right to hoist tricolour for chief ministers and made this idea a reality Tamil Nadu assembly poll: DMK chief Karunanidhi to contest from Tiruvarur India oi-Preeti Chennai, March 29: DMK chief M Karunanidhi will contest from his native Tiruvarur assembly constituency for the second time, in the upcoming polls on May 16, seeking a successive term from the rural seat. 92-year-old Karunanidhi will begin campaigning for elections after filing his nomination, that will take place after April 22. according to his campaign schedule released by the party, the veteran will also launch his election campaign from Saidapet on April 23. [Special Coverage: Assembly Elections 2016] He will file his nomination at Tiruvarur on April 25 and also address a public meeting the same day. [Assembly Elections 2016: Know your state-- Tamil Nadu] A five-time chief minister, Karunanidhi represents Tiruvarur in the outgoing 14th Assembly, dominated by arch rival AIADMK, which he chose in 2011 after contesting in constituencies from the state capital here for a long time. In his three-phase election tour, Karunanidhi will campaign across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and address rallies in various districts including Chennai, Erode, Vellore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Krishnagiri and Kancheepuram. The DMK President will wind up his tour in Tiruvarur, the party release said. For wheel-bound Karunanidhi, a special van has been arranged. In 2011, he had contested from Tiruvarur for the first time and had won with the margin of over 50,000 votes. Since 1957, Thalaivar (as he is popularly known as) has never faced defeat in any assembly election. DMK has struck an electoral deal with Congress and Muslim-dominated parties like the IUML and MMK, as its seeks to dethrone AIADMK and capture power. The party had drawn a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, where it was virtually led by its Treasurer and Karunanidhi's son, M K Stalin. Karunanidhi is leading his party in one of the toughest electoral battles, with a multi-cornered contest involving ruling AIADMK and PWF-DMDK-TMC combine threatening to give DMK a run for its money. After parting ways in 2013 over the vexed Sri Lankan Tamils issue, old allies DMK and Congress revived their alliance last month to face the May 16 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The two had fought the 2011 Assembly polls as allies but DMK won just 23 seats and Congress five. OneIndia News Trinamool supporting ex-GJM leader as independent candidate India oi-PTI Kolkata, March 29: Kalimpong's sitting MLA Harka Bahadur Chettri, who had resigned from Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), is defending his seat as an independent candidate with support from ruling Trinamool Congress. Chettri has filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Kalimpong seat, where only GJM and two other independents have so far filed their papers. The last date of filing nomination is today. "I have requested all political parties who are against GJM to lend their support to me. Trinamool was the first one I approached and they have assured me of their support," Chettri said. When contacted, a senior Trinamool leader confirmed that they are supporting Chettri from "outside". Trinamool had initially announced his name as a party candidate from Kalimpong but now it has been removed from the list. Trinamool is now contesting in 293 out of 294 Assembly constituencies. Stating that there was no question of his joining Trinamool, Chettri said, "Along with my supporters I have already formed my Jan Andolan Party." "I have to contest as an independent now because the registration of my party is taking time. The registration papers have already been filed with the Election Commission," he said. Chettri, who had won by around one lakh votes in 2011 Assembly polls, in September last year announced that he was quitting GJM due to "autocratic" attitude of the party leadership. Kalimpong will vote in the second phase of the Assembly polls on April 17. PTI What to expect from Pak's JIT visit to Pathankot? India oi-Vicky New Delhi, March 29: The Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan which will visit Pathankot on Tuesday will be accompanied by a team of the NIA which would provide evidence. The NIA which gave the JIT a presentation yesterday says that this is a necessary exercise since all evidence gathered needs to be probed so that the masterminds of the attacks are brought to book in Pakistan. Modi has surrendered before Pakistan: Kejriwal Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar said yesterday that no permission was given to the JIT to visit the air force station. However since the probe is being carried out by the NIA, it is within the purview of the agency to grant permission to the JIT to visit the scene of the crime, the minister had also said. NIA officials had earlier indicated that restricted access would be given to the JIT. However the NIA made it clear that no permission would be granted to the sensitive areas within the base. However this exercise would be focused more on the JIT speaking to the witnesses. A visit to the crime scene in an investigation is one part of the probe. The entry points of the terrorists before they stormed the air base would be visited by the JIT. These are crucial to the probe as the case needs to be built up. The JIT so far has been cooperative and had not denied the evidence that India had shared relating to the Jaish-e-Mohammad. It is entirely up to the JIT now how they would take the probe forward once they get back to Pakistan. Moreover Pakistan will also have to take a call to a request regarding a visit by the NIA to Islamabad soon. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 9:11 [IST] Prosecutions story may be attractive but should be backed by evidence Barack Obama directs intensification of anti-ISIS efforts International oi-PTI Washington, Mar 29: US President Barack Obama has asked his top national security team to intensify their anti- ISIS efforts to ensure that the US is doing everything possible to degrade and destroy the dreaded terror outfit, the White House has said. "The President directed his team to continue to intensify efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL and to ensure that the US is doing everything possible to disrupt any ISIL external plotting efforts, including by continuing our strong leadership in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL," the White House said on Monday after Obama's meeting with top officials. India, Turkey 'coordinating' to fight ISIS threat: Envoy Obama met with key members of his counterterrorism and homeland security team to discuss the efforts following the horrific March 22 ISIL terrorist attacks in Brussels that killed more than 35 people, the White House said. "The President was briefed that there is currently no specific, credible intelligence of any plot to conduct similar attacks here in the US," it said. Obama's team also apprised him of recent expanded information-sharing activities with international partners and ways that the US is working to disrupt and counter external plots emanating from ISIL-controlled territory. "Additionally, the President received briefings on ongoing efforts to address ISIL's use of the Internet to recruit followers, incite them to violence, and mobilise them to engage in attacks in the US and abroad," the White House said. PTI Religious leaders deny reports of Indian priest's crucification International oi-Sandra New Delhi/ Sanaa, March 29: After the Indian government confirmed on Saturday, March 26 that Indian priest Fr Tom Uzhunnallil was abducted by militants in Yemen, reports have now emerged that Uzhunnallil may have been crucified on Good Friday. Though the news is not yet confirmed, several media reports suggest that Uzhunnallil, who is believed to be abducted by ISIS militants was crucified on Good Friday. Govt trying to release kidnapped Indian priest in Yemen: Sushma Swaraj ISIS militants reportedly carried out the crucifixation on Good Friday after threatning to do so last week. However, there has been no official confirmation either from Yemeni officials or Indian authorities. Religious leaders including the chief Catholic Bishop in Arabia, believe that Uzhunnallil is still alive and is with his captors and reports of his crucifixation are false. Militants attacked the Missionaries of Charity's home for the aged in Aden on March 4 where an Indian nurse was killed. 16 people were killed in the attack when terrorists stormed the old age home and sprayed bullets at the residents. The militants, believed to be affiliated to ISIS abducted Uzhunnallil on that day and whereabouts of him are unknown since then. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushama Swaraj on March 26 said that the government was making all efforts to secure the release of Uzhunnalil from his captors in Yemen. OneIndia News In the Lahore attack, there is a loud message from the ISIS Indian Americans, religious leaders condemn Lahore attack International oi-PTI Washington, Mar 29: Influential US lawmakers, religious leaders and Indian Americans today strongly condemned the ghastly terrorist attack in Lahore that killed 72 Pakistanis. "The barbaric attack in Pakistan is an outrage and I condemn this heinous act of terror in the strongest the possible terms," said Congresswoman Grace Meng after Sunday's attack, one of the worst to hit the country since the Peshawar school massacre in 2014. Lahore blast: Pakistan in mourning, Sharif vows to avenge the attack "Those responsible for this attack are cowards, and I hope that these evil and gutless people are swiftly brought to justice. I call on US officials to help Pakistan with any assistance needed in that effort and United States stands with Pakistan at this difficult time," Meng said. Senator Rob Portman said "the cowardly attack targeting Christians on Easter Sunday is yet another example of the threat radical Islamic terrorism poses to Christians and other religious minorities and to the principle of religious freedom Americans hold dear". "The United States has a moral obligation to stand up for these communities who are being persecuted for their religious faith," he said. "There are simply no words that can fully capture the immeasurable horror of seeing a children's playground turned into a place of slaughter," said Archbishop Joseph E Kurtz, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in a letter to Archbishop Joseph Coutts, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan. After Lahore carnage, military goes after terrorists Leaders of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) joined the global chorus deploring the attack. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," said Samir Kalra, HAF senior director and Human Rights Fellow. "Pakistan's duplicitous game of placating violent religious extremists and failing to crack down on terrorism is having tragic internal consequences. Religious minorities are often the primary victims, but all citizens of Pakistan are paying the price as Islamists attempt to further their goal of enforcing Sharia law," Kalra said. "We fear that these large scale attacks targeting religious minorities in Pakistan will become the norm," said Jay Kansara, HAF director of government relations adding "the United States must stop placating Pakistan's requests for military equipment, which will only advance their territorial aggression towards Afghanistan and India rather than combat actual terrorist threats within its own borders". "Religious extremism which culminates in any form of violence must be rejected by all and the full weight of the law must be brought to bear on it in order for the perpetrators to be brought to justice," said the Sikh American Council. PTI In the Lahore attack, there is a loud message from the ISIS Lahore blast: Here is what Donald Trump said after explosion Lahore blast: Pakistan in mourning, Sharif vows to avenge the attack International oi-IANS By Ians English Lahore/Islamabad, March 29: As the Pakistani nation mourns the death of 72 people in Lahore, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the government will not rest until they have avenged "every last drop of countrymen's blood". The toll on Monday reached 72, mostly children and women, over 250 people were injured as well when the suicide bomb ripped through the parking space of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Allama Iqbal town, where Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday. Rescue spokesperson Deeba Shahbaz said the toll had risen to 72, with 29 children among the dead. The prime minister while addressing the nation in the aftermath of a the attack said: "Those who are fomenting terrorism, sectarian hatred and extremism will not be allowed to flee and will face justice," "The terrorists, being deprived of their refuges and training centres, have now resorted to targeting soft targets such as parks and schools." Sharif said armed forces of the country, police and the civil institutions sacrificed their lives under the Operation Zarb-e-Azb to uproot terrorism. While many objectives under this operation have been achieved, efforts have continued to eradicate the menace completely, he added. He said the government, since taking oath in June 2013, had vowed to eliminate terrorism and faced the fact that no one confronted the menace for the last 13 years. In an apparent reference to the protests in Islamabad by pro-Mumtaz Qadri demonstrators, Sharif said Islam was a religion of peace, and did not teach to cause damage to lives or property. "Government's leniency in this regard should not be taken as the state's weakness or vulnerability of security forces," he said, adding that protecting lives and property of the masses was the government's responsibility. "By far, the government remained patient so the elements trying to provoke people's religious sentiments may not succeed." He added, "But let me make it clear that provoking anger, those fomenting the fire of hate and inciting sectarianism and creating difficulties for the masses will be brought before justice at all costs." The premier said Pakistan was not a victim of terrorism alone but many other parts of the world were plagued by it. "We witnessed that this challenge is being faced by the entire world, evident in the recent incidents in Ankara, Istanbul, Brussels and Paris," he said. "The enemies of humanity have crossed geographical and ethical boundaries and limits (to fulfill their designs)," "But I want to make it clear that these terrorists have nowhere to live in our country." The premier directed the law enforcement agencies to step up counter-terror operations and their abettors in southern Punjab, and ensure proactive coordination between law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The premier, flanked by interior minister Chaudhry Nisar, also visited Jinnah Hospital and inquired after the health of those injured in the attack. Following the attack, Pakistan Army along-with intelligence agencies and Rangers launched five joint operations in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan and arrested a number of suspected terrorists and their facilitators while recovering arms and ammunition. A Pakistan Taliban splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack, saying Christians were their target. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a compensation of Pakistani Rs.1 million for the family of each deceased, Rs.0.3 million for the injured and Rs.0.15 million or those who received minor injuries in the incident. Condemnations poured in from local as well as global leaders, as the US, British, Indian and Turkish premiers, UN chief, Pope Francis, Nobel laureate Malala and others condemned the attack in strongest terms. Meanwhile, according to a readout from Foreign Office, Sharif cancelled his visit to the US in the wake of the attack. He was scheduled to leave for Washington on Monday to represent Pakistan at a nuclear summit. "In view of the terrorist attack in Lahore, which took a heavy toll on the lives of innocent citizens of Pakistan and caused injuries to scores of people, the prime minister has decided to cancel his visit to Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit," a the foreign ministry statement said. IANS Obama dismayed at 'vulgar, divisive' campaign rhetoric International oi-PTI Washington, March 29: President Barack Obama on Tuesday, March 29 expressed his dismay on developments in the US presidential election campaign in particular the "divisive and often vulgar rhetoric" coming from some of the candidates who are aspiring to replace him in the White House next year. "As I've said in recent weeks, I know I'm not the only one who may be more than a little dismayed about what's happening on the campaign trail right now. The divisive and often vulgar rhetoric that's aimed at everybody, but often is focused on the vulnerable or women or minorities," Obama said in his remarks at the 2016 Toner Prize ceremony. "The sometimes well-intentioned but I think misguided attempts to shut down that speech. The violent reaction that we see, as well as the deafening silence from too many of our leaders in the coarsening of the debate," he said expressing his dismay at the developments on the campaign trail. "The sense that facts don't matter, that they're not relevant. That what matters is how much attention you can generate. A sense that this is a game as opposed to the most precious gift our founders gave us - this collective enterprise of self-government," Obama rued. "So it's worth asking ourselves what each of us - as politicians or journalists, but most of all, as citizens - may have done to contribute to this atmosphere in our politics. I was going to call it a 'carnival atmosphere' but that implies fun. Some may be more to blame than others for the current climate, but all of us are responsible for reversing it. "I say this not because of some vague notion of 'political correctness' which seems to be increasingly an excuse to just say offensive things or lie out loud. I say this not out of nostalgia, because politics in America has always been tough," he said. "I say this because what we're seeing right now does corrode our democracy and our society. And I'm not one who's faint of heart. I come from Chicago. Harold Washington once explained that "politics ain't beanbag. It's always been rough and tumble," he said. "But when our elected officials and our political campaign become entirely untethered to reason and facts and analysis, when it doesn't matter what's true and what's not, that makes it all but impossible for us to make good decisions on behalf of future generations," he said. He said the number one question he is being asked as he travels around the world is the state of US politics. "It is not because around the world people have not seen crazy politics; it is that they understand America is the place where you can't afford completely crazy politics. "For some countries where this kind of rhetoric may not have the same ramifications, people expect, they understand, they care about America, the most powerful nation on Earth, functioning effectively, and its government being able to make sound decisions," he said. PTI Serious extremism, terrorism problem in Pakistan: US International oi-PTI Washington, March 29: There is a "serious extremism and terrorism problem" in Pakistan, the US has said, a day after a Taliban suicide bombing in Lahore killed over 70 people and wounded more than 300, including many women and children. "There is a serious extremism and terrorism problem inside of Pakistan.The Pakistani government understands that," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said yesterday. "The US has certainly been supportive and encouraging of the Pakistani government as they have considered the steps necessary to combat that extremist threat. "This terrorist attack that we saw in this park over the weekend is grotesque and chilling. But unfortunately, it is not the only effort that we have seen on part of extremists in a large-scale way, to carry out an atrocity against a large group of innocent people, including children," he said. Earnest said that it was just a year and a half or so ago when the Taliban terrorists attacked a Peshawar school, killing 151 people mostly school students. "So that is an indication that there continues to be a serious problem and the US will continue to support the Pakistani government as they try to confront and combat that extremist element within their own country," Earnest said. He said the US condemns in the strongest possible terms this terror attack at a children's park in Lahore on Sunday. "The other thing is indicative of what we talk about up here quite a bit is that even though this terror attack was targeted at Christians, a religious minority in Pakistan - again, that is in and of itself grotesque, but the fact of the matter is that based on the names that we are seeing now, the majority of the victims were actually Muslims," Earnest said. "It demonstrates how important it is for the world to come together to fight this kind of extremism. As a purely practical matter, that is also what is going to be required, and our success in fighting extremism around the globe is going to also depend on the ability of individual nations to fight extremism within their borders. "Certainly, the government of Pakistan understands this today, just how critically important that is," Earnest said. The US and Pakistan have an important counterterrorism relationship. The Obama administration certainly values the kind of cooperation that it has received from them, he said. "In this instance, the response and the investigation will be conducted by the Pakistani government and if they request assistance from the US, it will be provided," Earnest added. At least 72 people including 29 children were killed in the Taliban suicide bombing at a park during Easter celebration in Lahore on Sunday, Tuesday, March 29. PTI US losing its shirts to countries like China, India, says Donald Trump International oi-Shubham Madison (Wisconsin), March 29: Republican front-runner Donald Trump told a radio host in Milwaukee in Wisconsin that the US is losing its shirts to countries like China, Mexico, Japan and India due to lack of the "best and smartest" negotiators. Trump, who was speaking to Charlie Sykes, an outspoken conservative in the telephonic interview, said he is not very conservative when it comes to trade. He called himself a "free trader" and stressed that the US needed to do its trade more smartly. He said countries like China are manipulating their currencies and not allowing countries like US to compete. He also said those sitting in Washington are "clueless". [Outspoken interviewer corners Trump] However, when Sykes asked what the USA's imposing 45 per cent tariff on its imports under a probable Trump Presidency would do to states like Wisconsin, Trump said that would never happen, prompting Sykes to ask whether the Republican candidate was bluffing. [Trump praises PM Narendra Modi] Trump also said the US needs a businessman as the politicians will never be able to configure the problem. He also said the US was getting ripped off by every othe country in the Nato. Wisconsin will witness Republican and Democratic primaries on April 5. Oneindia News 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. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Reprinted from Civil Arab There is absolutely no shortage of drama in being a Palestinian. No matter where one lives, a Palestinian experiences constant ups and and downs. Now, am I saying that a Palestinian's daily life is necessarily more of a spectacle than anyone else's? Yes. Yes, I am. And this week was no exception. It all started out with a massive protest in Washington DC last Sunday, March 20. I should note here that last Sunday was Palm Sunday, commemorating when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem. I should also mention that Jesus was a Palestinian, along with being the most famous person ever, in the history of the world, ever, of all time. We're a little proud of that. Back to the protest. Of course, protesting is nothing new in the life of a Palestinian. We are raised on it. By the age of 13, every Palestinian is a professional protester. And we are loud. Sometimes, we don't even care whether or not our chants rhyme. "1, 2, 3, 4! We don't want your racist war! 5, 6, 7, 8! ... Free, Free Palestine!" Although ignored by all major media outlets, thousands of Palestinians and their supporters marched from the White House to the Washington Convention Center, where we hung out (quite loudly) on the steps of the building where AIPAC was holding its annual conference. Of course, AIPAC is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, dubbing itself as "America's Pro-Israel Lobby." It helps to ensure that Israel continues to receive in excess of $3 billion of American taxpayer money every year. By the way, if were to hold off on that aid for just one year, we could rebuild the poisonous water system in Flint, Michigan. Three times over. In any case, we made our voices heard. Two thousand years after that famous Palestinian victoriously entered the holy city, a mass of Palestinians and their friends emphatically entered the capital city. And while our impact probably won't be as big as his was, we achieved something. Presidential candidates usually accept invitations to speak at the AIPAC conference as a matter of reflex. It is the go-to spot for political pandering. It's the Studio 54 of groveling. But in this year, a presidential year, one candidate was visibly absent. Bernie Sanders. The Bern. It's hard to explain what that means to a Palestinian. We have come to view politicians fawning over AIPAC as sure to happen as the sunrise. So what Bernie did was pretty exceptional. And then, while in Utah, he delivered the speech he was going to give at AIPAC. He slammed settlements, labeled Israel's occupation of the West Bank an "occupation," criticized AIPAC for opposing the Iran deal, identified Palestinian poverty, called for the removal of the economic blockade of Gaza, and condemned Israel's "disproportionate responses" against Palestinians. There are some Palestinians reading this now who still don't believe it (Here's the transcript). They are looking around for the hidden cameras. But trust me my brethren, it happened. Those words actually were spoken. By a presidential candidate. By a serious presidential candidate. By a serious Jewish presidential candidate. I should admit, I am an unapologetic supporter of Bernie. My enthusiasm for him is not complicated. We have had a Muslim president for eight years, and now I think it's time for a Jewish one. It's only fair. Of course, we also learned something else from Sanders' speech. There is a very short of list of places in America where it's politically safe to deliver a message critical of AIPAC. Those of us in Dearborn welcome Utah to the club. I enjoyed myself for a couple days, eating ice cream as I flipped through photos from our protest victory and re-reading Bernie's speech. But on Thursday, reality set back in, and we all saw the story of an Israeli soldier executing a wounded Palestinian lying in the street in Hebron. Abed al-Fattah Yusri al-Sharif, who allegedly participated in a knife attack against a soldier (who ended up with light, superficial wounds), was lying in the road, incapacitated from a gunshot wound. Other soldiers were walking around him, as he lay almost motionless, alive, but posing absolutely no threat at all. In a horrendous moment caught on video, an Israeli solider, who just moments before had been standing quite innocuously about 15 feet away, cocked his automatic rifle and fired a single shot into al-Sharif's head, killing him instantly. In the hours and days following the murder, many around the world expressed all sorts of horror. Palestinians reacted too. We displayed a range of emotions. Rage. Anger. Fear. Anxiety. Concern. Dread. Violation. Loss. Despair. Panic. Terror. But we weren't shocked. No Palestinian watched that horrific video with any level of surprise. We have been telling you that this sort of stuff has been going on for years. We have been screaming to you this kind of thing isn't anecdotal. It is the default state of affairs. My goal as a Palestinian isn't trying to get you to believe my story. I wish it were that simple. No, instead, it's getting you to believe that I'm worthy of telling a story to begin with. Being Palestinian means possessing the quite exhausting daily task of convincing the world that you are, in fact, a human being. It means having to engage in the absurd discussion of whether or not al-Sharif's murder was justifiable. A petition has been drawn up to honor al-Sharif's murderer, the Palestinian who filmed the murder has received death threats from settlers, and a city in Israel is planning a rally to support the soldier who pulled the trigger. Any discussion of Israel must begin with the clearly illustrated fact that, in the eyes of Israeli society, we Palestinians are subhuman creatures unworthy of the most basic human rights. This is the world we Palestinians live in. Then came Easter Sunday, a day when Israel openly allows Christians to visit holy sites in Jerusalem, unless of course they are Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Those Christians, as if they live in some sort of alternate universe, must petition the Israeli state for a special permit to travel between one part of their homeland and another. On a bright note, CNN and Oren Lieberman reported to us the story of how two Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemite families hold the keys to the Church of Holy Sepulchre, opening and closing it daily. This, of course, comes as no surprise to us Palestinians, as we have known of this for some time. And if anyone is out there asking, "How can the church allow a Muslim family to hold its keys?" Well, they must be doing a good job. They've been doing it for over 800 years. I should also note again that I am no stranger to Palestinian religious harmony, as I am the product of a Palestinian Muslim mother and a Palestinian Christian father. I guess you could say my mom holds the key to my dad's church. By David Swanson, American Herald Tribune Last week Donald Trump suggested something Bernie Sanders would never dare: getting rid of NATO. I took some time to read people's comments and tweets online about it, and a huge number seemed to believe that NATO and the U.S. military have been performing a service for Europe, and that it's time for Europe to pay its own bills. But will someone explain to me what the service is? The United States dragged NATO into a -- thus far -- over-14-year-long war on the people of Afghanistan that has turned a country in poor shape into hell on earth, compounding the damage inflicted by U.S. (and Soviet) policies since the 1970s. The United States dragged European nations into a disastrous war in Iraq in 2003, without NATO. But when Belgium allowed a prosecution of U.S. commander in Iraq Tommy Franks to move forward, Donald Rumsfeld threatened to move NATO headquarters out of Brussels. Franks' apparent crimes suddenly became part of a noble and legal humanitarian effort. The United States and France used NATO to destroy Libya in 2011 and proliferate weapons across the region. The United States and Turkey have been compounding the chaos by generating reasons for NATO to exist in Syria. And perhaps NATO headquarters views the wars that created ISIS, and the U.S. support for Al Qaeda in Syria in just those terms. But to an ordinary observer, a war on terrorism that continues to increase terrorism has a fundamental flaw. Former CIA Bin Laden Unit Chief Michael Scheuer says the more the U.S. fights terrorism the more it creates terrorism. U.S. Lt. General Michael Flynn, who quit as head of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, says blowing people up with missiles is generating more blowback, not less. The CIA's own report says drone killing is counterproductive. Admiral Dennis Blair, the former director of National Intelligence, says the same. Gen. James E. Cartwright, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says drone strikes could be undermining long-term efforts: "We're seeing that blowback. If you're trying to kill your way to a solution, no matter how precise you are, you're going to upset people even if they're not targeted." Dozens of just retired top officials agree. So, it seems, does much of the public in Europe, which turns out protests of NATO meetings, as well as wars, of a size rarely seen in the United States. When the U.S. military builds new bases in Italy, the protests are so huge they've toppled local and national governments. It was a vote of the House of Commons in London not to bomb Syria in 2013 that helped reverse President Obama's decision to do so. To tell the people of Europe that they must start taking responsibility to pay a greater share of the bill for killing Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans, and Syrians, and for generating the blowback that sets off bombs in their train stations and airports, and for creating the refugee crises they face might prove just a step too far into the realm of delusion. Thinking this way requires blowback denial, the Trumpian belief that Muslims do evil things because they are Muslims. The U.S. government knows better. George W. Bush's own Pentagon concluded that nobody hated us "for our freedoms" but rather they hated bombs and occupying armies, and free weapons and support for Israel's wars. One wishes it were needless to say that such motivations don't excuse acts of murder, but knowledge of such motivations puts additional blood on the hands of those continuing to generate them while engaging in blowback denial. Climate denial is not so very different. Just as every anti-western terrorist says they're outraged by the bombs and bases and armies and buzzing drones, every scientific study says unnecessary and wasteful human activities (first among them: war making) are pushing the earth's ecosystem toward collapse. Yet billions of people fail to shut every thing down until basic policies are altered. And many fail to do anything at all to resist environmental devastation, by means of denying to themselves that it is real. Clearly, the human species evolved to favor relatively short-term localized thinking. While more Americans are killed by dumb accidents, pollution, or toddlers with guns than by foreign terrorists with knives, the latter danger dominates all public policy thinking. While the earth is at severe risk of environmental or nuclear holocaust, the weather looks nice outside today and all the bears and leopards seem to have long since been killed off, so what's your worry? When humans killed off those animals millennia ago, they replaced them with gods. Now humans pray to those gods rather than thinking. Now they wish for what they'd like and call it a prediction. Now they vote for hope and change and call it progress. And this habit of wishful thinking may be at the root of the greatest threats to end us all. See original and watch video here On Monday, the Justice Department announced it has succeeded in unlocking an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters and dropped its case against Apple, ending a high-stakes legal battle but leaving a broader debate over encryption unresolved. The fight between the FBI and Apple had grown increasingly contentious as the tech giant refused to help government authorities bypass the security features of its phone. The FBI wanted Apple to build a backdoor into the phone, but Apple said such a move would put the security of other iPhones at risk, as well. The FBI's decision to drop its case now raises new concerns about the strength of security in Apple devices given law enforcement's ability to unlock the iPhone without Apple's assistance. Last week, we talked to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald about the fight between the FBI and Apple, as well as Donald Trump's embrace of torture. This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: On Monday, the Justice Department announced it succeeded in unlocking an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters and dropped its case against Apple, ending a high-stakes legal battle. But the news leaves a broader debate over encryption unresolved. The fight between the FBI and Apple had grown increasingly contentious as the tech giant refused to help government authorities bypass the security features of its phone. The FBI wanted Apple to build a backdoor into the phone, but Apple said such a move would put the security of other iPhones at risk, as well. The FBI's decision to drop its case now raises new concerns about the strength of security in Apple devices given law enforcement's ability to unlock the iPhone without Apple's assistance. After the Brussels bombing last week, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton delivered a major address at Stanford University and addressed the FBI-Apple fight. HILLARY CLINTON: Impenetrable encryption provides significant cybersecurity advantages but may also make it harder for law enforcement and counterterrorism professionals to investigate plots and prevent future attacks. ISIS knows this, too. At the same time, there are legitimate worries about privacy, network security and creating new vulnerabilities that bad actors, including terrorists, can exploit. There may be no quick or magic fix. In the Apple case, the FBI may have found a workaround, but there will be future cases with different facts and different challenges, so the tech community and the government have to stop seeing each other as adversaries and start working together to protect our safety and our privacy. AMY GOODMAN: That was Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaking last week after the Brussels attack. We turn now to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, co-founder of The Intercept. Last week, Democracy Now!'s Nermeen Shaikh and I interviewed him and asked about this fight between FBI and Apple. GLENN GREENWALD: One really interesting aspect of this is, a lot of people ask what really has changed as a result of Edward Snowden's revelations, and sometimes people express the view that not much has, by which they mean that there's not a lot of laws that have been passed limiting the NSA's ability to spy. But one critical change, a really fundamental and significant one, has been that prior to the Snowden revelations, Silicon Valley companies, like Apple and Facebook and Google and Yahoo, were full-scale collaborators with the NSA's effort to collect everything, essentially, to turn the Internet into an unlimited realm of surveillance. And they were able to do that because nobody knew they were doing it, and so there was no cost. Once we were able to shine a light on the cooperation between Silicon Valley and the NSA as a result of Edward Snowden, there was a huge cost to these companies, which was that people around the world would be unwilling to use their services and would instead move to South Korean or German or Brazilian social media companies that protected their privacy. And so these companies needed to say, "We are willing now to protect your privacy by putting encryption products into our products that will not let the government invade your communications and see what you're doing." And there is now a serious wedge between the U.S. government, on the one hand, and Silicon Valley, on the other -- not because these companies suddenly care about privacy. They don't care about privacy at all. It's because they perceive it as being within their self-interest to demonstrate a commitment to privacy. And that has created a real difficulty for the NSA and for its allied agencies around the world to be able to intrude into people's private communications. The other interesting aspect of this is that in the 1990s, after the Timothy McVeigh attack on the Oklahoma City courthouse, the Clinton administration -- what may be the first Clinton administration -- actually initiated the campaign to demand a law that said that no one was allowed to sell encryption products unless it included a backdoor for the U.S. government to enter. And now, 20 years later, after that campaign was defeated -- ironically, by the Republicans in the Senate on privacy grounds, who said, "We are not going to let the government have a backdoor into our encryption" -- you have Hillary Clinton exploiting these terrorist attacks to insinuate -- although she hasn't said it outright -- that there needs to be, quote, "greater cooperation between Silicon Valley and the government," by which she can only mean greater cooperation to allow U.S. intelligence agencies access to overcome encryption and to enter people's private communications. And so, ultimately, the question is: Do you think there should be ever any way for people, human beings, to communicate without the U.S. government being able to access that? That really is the critical question we face. And politicians like Hillary Clinton are trying to exploit the fear of terrorism to get people to say there should never be any communications out of the reach of the U.S. government. AMY GOODMAN: And what do you see is the difference between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, and also the effect that Bernie Sanders is having on Hillary Clinton's positions? GLENN GREENWALD: It's interesting, because if you look at Bernie Sanders' political career, questioning and challenging and opposing U.S. militarism and imperialism was at one point a central plank of his political identity. That was why he went to Nicaragua and Cuba and talked about U.S. interference in those regions. For whatever reason -- and there may be valid reasons -- he has shifted his focus away from foreign policy to income inequality and the control of the political process by Wall Street and by banks. And to the extent he talks about foreign policy and civil liberties, it's often in this very kind of tepid way, very minor differences with the standard Democratic platform. He's recently become again clearer and sort of more aggressive about critiquing U.S. foreign policy, as we heard in the clip that you played earlier of his criticisms of Israel. He's become more, I think, categorical and vehement about condemning Clinton's hawkish positions. But the difference hasn't been all that great, because his foreign policy message has been muddled. And to the extent that he has changed Hillary Clinton's posture politically as a result of his primary challenge to her, there's this common perception that he's dragged her to the left and made her become more liberal. You know, I think it's really critical to understand that politicians -- and this is the lesson we ought to have learned from Barack Obama -- what they say in political campaigns doesn't necessarily correspond to what they actually do in -- once they obtain power. And so I think the effect on Sanders has been to make Clinton's rhetoric in the Democratic primary be a little bit more left-wing, be a little bit more attentive to liberal constituencies. But I think you see her already, now that she's confident she's going to beat Sanders, already moving her rhetoric more to the center, and by the time she's a general election candidate, will almost certainly revert to the kind of right-wing posture on foreign policies and civil liberties that she's long had and the centrist approach to economics and domestic policies, other than social issues, where she tends to be a reliable liberal. NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, I want to ask about the controversy around Trump's statements endorsing torture tactics. Last month, speaking to HBO's Bill Maher, former NSA and CIA director, General Michael Hayden, said the military would refuse to follow Trump's orders on torture and extrajudicial killings. MICHAEL HAYDEN: Let me give you a punch line. All right? If he were to order that, once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act. BILL MAHER: What? Oh, well, that's -- that's quite a statement, sir. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). A new film narrated by Roger Waters, The Occupation of the American Mind, traces the rise of Israeli war propaganda in the United States. This propaganda, which has skillfully swayed U.S. public opinion in support of Israeli wars and occupations, has in fact been not so much a matter of skill as a matter of control. The U.S. corporate media has obeyed the Israeli propaganda office, because the U.S. government has done so, and the U.S. corporate media generally obeys the U.S. government. How much the U.S. government's stance is shaped by its own independent, albeit perverse, interests, and how much by Israeli propagandizing and corruption is one question. But the U.S. corporate media's lockdown on criticism of Israeli wars is only a slight variation on its coverage of U.S. wars. What happens when you take the control away? When young people in the United States get their news from the internet and foreign media, their support for Israeli wars and occupations plummets. Backers of Israeli wars find it necessary to start trying to ban criticism on U.S. college campuses. Just as young people have overwhelmingly backed Bernie Sanders despite corporate media opposition, those who avoid the corporate media are able to back justice for Palestinians (and often to a much greater extent than Sanders does). When informed people in the United States hear about international opposition to Israeli crimes, they are hardly shocked, and might just yawn. But Fox News reports shock, outrage, and disbelief in its staff: "You can't make it up. UN names democratic Israel as world's top human rights violator"! Fox wants enemies, and thus reports in this way on a story that much of the U.S. media will likely ignore or downplay. If most corporate media consumers in the United States learned that Israel was viewed by the world as a top abuser of human rights, they would react approximately like Fox News. One of the great services that The Occupation of the American Mind provides is that it shows us footage of news coverage of Israeli wars in the United States and, in great contrast, in Europe. In Europe we see Palestinian voices included, and we see false claims questioned by tough grilling of Israeli officials. In the United States we see top U.S. officials of both political parties, and top media figures parroting over and over again the same exact words dictated by Israeli propagandists or their U.S. advisers. This film is good for beginners who've never escaped their televisions before, in that it provides a basic history of Zionism and the Nakba. But it quickly turns to a particular subject that should intrigue the better informed as well, namely the rise of Israeli propaganda since 1982. We see footage of U.S. network TV news readers reporting honestly and straightforwardly on Israeli bombing of Lebanon, and on Israeli facilitated massacres in refugee camps -- and showing footage of the carnage. In 1984 the American Jewish Congress held a meeting in Jerusalem on "hasbara" (propaganda, war lies) chaired by a U.S. advertiser who had made "tastes great / less filling" ads for Miller Light beer. In 2009 Frank Luntz produced the Israel Project's 2009 Global Language Dictionary. These efforts are not kept secret. In fact, a television show in Israel similar to Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" is called "The Ambassador," and it challenges contestants to do the best job of selling Israeli war crimes as being justified or admirable. The acceptance of such a show is itself terrific hasbara, of course, as it suggests that concocting excuses for killing people is justifiable and admirable. The central lie of Israeli war propaganda is also the most effective lie in the United States and the focus of the first chapter of my book War Is A Lie, namely the lie that wars are defensive. Just as the U.S. corporate media engages in blowback denial with September 11 or Brussels, it tells us that Palestinian resistance is spontaneous irrational aggression, unprovoked and inexplicable except by understanding Palestinians as less than human. In the U.S. corporate media, the Palestinians always started it, and Israel is always acting in defense, even when it's aggressively bombing civilians as it was doing in 1982 when U.S. media voices had not yet been properly trained. The undercurrent to the "defense" lies is the justification of revenge, which threads through all war propaganda, even that for U.S. wars, which has often tended in recent years to emphasize a lie of "humanitarianism" in which a war that is also supposedly defensive and a last resort is somehow also a benefit to people it is rescuing. Israel has not used that line, and it's worth noting that the U.S. government has found it ineffective in reaching more than a sliver of the U.S. population. It would be humorous if it weren't so blood-soaked to watch U.S. politicians and pundits parrot specific Israeli military talking points over and over. The 1988 Hamas Charter, long since disavowed by the Hamas leadership, is quoted over and over again, like the mistranslation of then-Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and with identical words in both cases, while the actual platform of the Likud Party is never mentioned. The lie that Israel freed Gaza in 2005 is repeated so many times a Gazan might start to believe it. When Israel broke a ceasefire on the day of the 2008 U.S. elections and then claimed the Palestinians had done so, the facts were available, but the lie was endlessly repeated on U.S. television. We see footage in The Occupation of the American Mind of a European journalist confronting an Israeli official with an Israeli report acknowledging the truth, but nothing like that on U.S. corporate newsertainment networks. Phrases like "rockets raining down" and "what would you do?" and "what would the U.S. do?" are chanted like mantras. Sadly, we know what the U.S. would do in response to blowback. We know what it has been doing for the past 15 years. The chief difference in U.S. discourse between propaganda for Israeli wars and for U.S. wars (other than awareness of where the weapons came from -- the United States in both cases) is the difference between "anti-American" and "anti-Semitic." In the film we see Ted Cruz object to criticizing Israel because of the holocaust. Any criticism of Israel is defined as anti-Semitic. There have been times in U.S. history when any war criticism earned one the title "anti-American." Currently it is far more likely to earn you the title of "peacenik who would have opposed World War II" -- with World War II falsely understood as having been fought for the Jews who in fact the U.S. government refused to allow in and certainly didn't give a damn about. Thus, advocating civilized conflict resolution in the United States circles back to a charge of "anti-Semitism" as well. So Many Enemies, So Little Logic By David Swanson, teleSUR The U.S. State Department does not want the government of Syria to defeat or weaken ISIS, at least not if doing so means any sort of gain for the Syrian government. Watching a recent video of a State Department spokesperson speaking on that subject might confuse some U.S. war supporters. I doubt many residents of Palmyra, Virginia, or Palmyra, Pennsylvania, or Palmyra, New York could give a coherent account of the U.S. government's position on which enemy should control the ancient Palmyra in Syria. The U.S. government has been arming Al Qaeda in Syria. I doubt many people in the United States, of whatever political extraction, could explain why. In my experience, having just begun a tour of speaking events, very few in the United States can even name the seven nations that President Barack Obama has bragged about bombing, much less explain which parties he is or is not bombing in those countries. No nation in the history of the world has had so many enemies to keep track of as the United States has now, and bothered so little about doing so. The particular problem with Syria is that the U.S. government has prioritized one enemy, whom it has utterly failed to scare the U.S. public with, while the U.S. government has made a distant second priority of attacking another enemy that most people in the United States are so terrified of they can hardly think straight. Consider what changed between 2013 and 2014. In 2013, President Obama was prepared to heavily bomb the Syrian government. But he did not claim that the Syrian government wanted to attack the United States, or even to attack a handful of white people from the United States. Instead he argued, unpersuasively, that he knew who was responsible for killing Syrians with chemical weapons. This was in the midst of a war in which thousands were dying on all sides from all kinds of weapons. The outrage over a particular type of weapon, the dubious claims, and the eagerness to overthrow a government, were all too close to U.S. memories of the 2003 attack on Iraq. Congress Members in 2013 found themselves at public events confronted with the question of why the U.S. would overthrow a government in a war on the same side as al Qaeda. Were they going to start another Iraq War? U.S. and British public pressure reversed Obama's decision. But U.S. opinion was even more against arming proxies, and a new CIA report said that doing so had never worked, yet that was the approach Obama went with. The overthrow, which Hillary Clinton still says should have happened, would have quickly created the chaos and terror that Obama set about developing slowly. In 2014, Obama was able to step up direct U.S. military action in Syria and Iraq with virtually no resistance from the public. What had changed? People had heard about videos of ISIS killing white people with knives. It didn't seem to matter that jumping into the war against ISIS was the opposite side from what Obama had said in 2013 the U.S. needed to join. It didn't even seem to matter that the U.S. clearly intended to join in both sides. Nothing related to logic or sense mattered in the least. ISIS had done a little bit of what U.S. allies in Saudi Arabia and Iraq and elsewhere did routinely, and had done it to Americans. And a fictional group, even scarier, the Khorasan Group, was coming to get us, ISIS was slipping across the border from Mexico and Canada, if we didn't do something really big and brutal we were all going to die. That being why the U.S. public finally said yes to open-ended war again -- after really not falling for the lies about a humanitarian rescue in Libya, or not caring -- the U.S. public naturally assumes that the U.S. government has prioritized destroying the evil dark force of Islamic Terror. It hasn't. The U.S. government says to itself, in its little-noticed reports, that ISIS is no threat to the United States. It knows perfectly well, and its top commanders blurt it out upon retirement, that attacking terrorists only strengthens their forces. The U.S. priority remains overthrowing the Syrian government, ruining that country, and creating chaos. Here's part of that project: U.S.-backed troops in Syria fighting other U.S. backed troops in Syria. That's not incompetence if the goal is to destroy a nation, as it seems to be in Hillary Clinton's emails - (the following is a draft of this article): "The best way to help Israel deal with Iran's growing nuclear capability is to help the people of Syria overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad. ... Iran's nuclear program and Syria's civil war may seem unconnected, but they are. For Israeli leaders, the real threat from a nuclear-armed Iran is not the prospect of an insane Iranian leader launching an unprovoked Iranian nuclear attack on Israel that would lead to the annihilation of both countries. What Israeli military leaders really worry about -- but cannot talk about -- is losing their nuclear monopoly. ... It is the strategic relationship between Iran and the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria that makes it possible for Iran to undermine Israel's security." ISIS, Al Qaeda, and terrorism are far better tools for marketing wars than communism ever was, because they can be imagined using knives rather than nukes, and because terrorism can never collapse and vanish. If (counterproductively) attacking groups like al Qaeda were what motivated the wars, the United States would not be aiding Saudi Arabia in slaughtering the people of Yemen and increasing the power of Al Qaeda there. If peace were the goal, the U.S. would not be sending troops back into Iraq to use the same actions that destroyed that country to supposedly fix it. If winning particular sides of wars were the main objective, the United States would not have served as the primary funding for both sides in Afghanistan for all these years, with decades more planned. Why did Senator Harry Truman say the United States should help either the Germans or the Russians, whichever side was losing? Why did President Ronald Reagan back Iraq against Iran and also Iran against Iraq? Why could fighters on both sides in Libya exchange parts for their weapons? Because two goals that outweigh all others for the U.S. government often align in the cause of sheer destruction and death. One is U.S. domination of the globe, and all other peoples be damned. The second is arms sales. No matter who's winning and who's dying, the weapons makers profit, and the majority of weapons in the Middle East have been shipped there from the United States. Peace would cut into those profits horribly. Global Power Inverter Market 2016 Industry Study, Growth, Insights and Outlook http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=674995&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-power-inverter-industry-2016-market-research-report.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com Global Power Inverter Industry 2016 Market Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Technology, Applications, Growth, Market Status, Demands, Insights, Development, Research and Forecast 2016-2020.The research report on the global Power Inverter market aims to provide its readers a fair chance at understanding the markets trends and dynamics at a greater level. 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The popularity of gadgets such as Apple Watch and Google Glass is expected to usher in a new dawn for the wearable computing devices market.Request a Sample Copy of the Report @According to the geographical distribution of the global wearable computing devices market, the regional markets in North America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe are examined in the report. Value projections and year-on year growth forecasts are made for each segment for the period between 2013 and 2020. The Japan market for wearable computing devices in particular is examined in detail, as it is one of the largest national markets for wearable computing devices.The report presents a business overview and SWOT analysis of major players in the wearable computing devices market such as Apple, Google, Adidas, Nike, Fitbit, and Siemens Healthcare.Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. Headquartered in New York, U.S., MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.90 Sate Street, Suite 700 Lucintel Projects Global Defense Land Vehicle Industry to Grow at a CAGR of 1.7% during 2014-2020 Insights that Matter www.lucintel.com www.lucintel.com/imovie/ Increasing terrorism and domestic disputes are the major factors encouraging deployment of advanced military armaments across the globe. Global defense land vehicle industry is highly dependent on government military expenditures which have seen considerable reduction in the recent years due to economic slowdown. Lucintel expects a flat growth in the industry considering the recent cuts in defense budgets, in North America and Europe, with increasing demand from developing nations. Global defense land vehicle industry is expected to reach $32.7 billion in 2020 promising valuable opportunity for the firms operating across the value chain of defense land vehicle industry.Lucintel, a leading global management consulting and market research firm, has conducted a detailed analysis on this market and presents its findings in Global Defense Land Vehicle Industry 2014-2020: Trends, Forecast, and Opportunity Analysis. The report analyses the defense land vehicle industry for all the four regions and analyses the risk factors and growth opportunities. The defense land vehicle industry is segmented by region such as APAC, Europe, NA, and ROW.Increasing defense budget in emerging economies, especially in China and India, is a positive sign for the defense land vehicle industry. Asia Pacific defense land vehicle market is expected to grow with 2.1% CAGR during 2014-2020. Increasing military expenditure in developing economies and geo-political conflicts are expected to drive the industry growth in coming years. North America and Europe will witness moderate growth rate with 1.6% and 1.2% over the next six years mainly due to defense budget reductions.Lucintel highlights the key challenges faced by the defense land vehicle industry. Declining GDP growth has forced the reduction of government expenditure on defense land vehicle around the world. The other challenge is withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq which has decreased the defense land vehicle demand in US. There are ways through which challenges can be minimized such as increase emphasis on cost-effectiveness of the government spending and avoidance of focus on just one part of defense budget.The market report provides insights of the market trend (2007-2013) and forecast period (2014-2020) which will assist the interested companies in making key decisions. Deep insights and knowledge about recent innovations and developments in global defense land vehicle industry can help client to gain competitive advantage. Clients may lose the opportunity of getting deep understanding of global defense land vehicle industry with the emerging trends, unmet needs and new product, technological development in global defense land vehicle industry. Lucintel offerings include Aerospace Report, Defense Market Report, Business Diagnostic and Implementation, Industry / Market Analysis and Due Diligence.For a detailed table of contents and pricing information on this timely, insightful report, contact Lucintel at +1-972-636-5056 or via email at helpdesk@lucintel.com. Lucintels Management Consulting Services include Merger and Acquisition, the Due Diligence Process and Target Screening. To learn more, visitLucintel, the premier global management consulting and market research firm creates winning strategy for growthwhether you need to understand market dynamics, identify new opportunities, or increase your profitability. Lucintel team of trusted industry experts for materials and manufacturing industries have executed over hundreds of consulting projects for clients, ranging from small up to multinational companies such as 3M, Audi, BASF, Cytec, DSM, Eastman, GE, Huntsman, Momentive and Sumitomo. To learn how Lucintel can help focus your business development efforts with pragmatic solutions, watch a 3.5-minute short movie atLucintel222 Las Colinas Blvd West, Suite 1650, Irving, TX 75039, USAPh: +1-972-636-5056 Fax: +1-877-883-5140marketing@lucintel.com Global Doxorubicin Consumption Market Size, Growth, Trends 2016: Acute Market Reports http://www.acutemarketreports.com/category/pharmaceutical-market http://www.acutemarketreports.com/ http://www.briskinsights.com/report/contraceptive-market The Global Doxorubicin Consumption 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Doxorubicin market.First, the report provides a basic overview of the Doxorubicin industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. And development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.Browse full report with TOC @ acutemarketreports.com/report/global-doxorubicin-consumption-2016-market-research-reportSecondly, the report states the global Doxorubicin market size (volume and value), and the segment markets by regions, types, applications and companies are also discussed.Third, the Doxorubicin market analysis is provided for major regions including USA, Europe, China and Japan, and other regions can be added. For each region, market size and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Doxorubicin industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.View all reports of this category @Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.For More Information visit: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.comMore Related Category Reports Visit,Acute 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.Office No 01, 1st Floor,Aditi Mall, Baner, Pune,MH, 411045 India Subaru of America's Share the Love Impacts Local Meals on Wheels www.eac-network.org EAC Network is proud to announce its Meals on Wheels program received a $1,500 grant from Meals on Wheels America (MOWA). The grant was awarded for the human service agencys impressive efforts to raise community awareness and participation to support local homebound seniors in need during Subaru of Americas Share the Love Campaign, which is designed as a way for Subaru dealers to give back to their local communities throughout the holiday season.We are delighted to have this added support to our Meals on Wheels program, stated Carol ONeill, Senior Director of Senior & Nutritional Services. The funds from this grant will directly help to end senior hunger by providing meals to homebound seniors. Along with the meals, we bring a friendly smile and a safety check visit to brighten the day for lonely seniors.Nassau County seniors 60 and over who are unable to shop and cook because of medical reasons, can call 516-539-0150 x219 to see if they are eligible for home deliveries.Subaru retailers and Meals on Wheels have worked together since 2008, helping deliver one million meals to seniors every day, said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO, MOWA. We are truly honored to be one of Subarus national charities for the seventh consecutive year. Their vital support enables us to power local communities in their fight against senior hunger and isolation all year long.About Meals on Wheels AmericaMeals on Wheels America is committed to ensuring the long-term success of Americas senior nutrition programs. Through collaborative action, we leverage the strength of independent community programs in all 50 states and U.S. territories into a unified leadership effort that will end senior hunger in America. The vision of Meals on Wheels is a country where no senior goes hungry.About Subaru of America FoundationSubaru of America Foundation was established in 1984 to support the communities where we live and work. Since then, more than $6 million has been awarded through grants, scholarships and matching employee gifts. The programs are varied but primarily benefit children. Together, we can all help to build the next generation of leaders.About EAC NetworkFounded in 1969, EAC Network is a not-for-profit human service agency serving 71,000 people annually through 70 programs across Long Island and New York City. EAC Networks mission is to respond to human needs with programs and services that protect children, promote healthy families and communities, help seniors, and empower individuals to take control of their lives. Among those the organization assists are children who have been physically or sexually abused, senior citizens needing support, people struggling with substance abuse and/or mental illness, youth in the foster care system, persons on public assistance seeking financial independence, adults and youth who are under or unemployed, individuals needing help to mediate disputes, and families in crisis. For more information about EAC Network, please call 516-539-0150 or visit, facebook.com/eacnet, and @EACNet.EAC Network is a diverse human services non-profit that provides over 70 innovative programs for people in need.EAC Network50 Clinton St, Suite 107Hempstead, NY 11550 Antique Treasures Discovered in Tucson http://azpm.org TUCSON, AZ - Antiques Roadshow returns to Tucson, first of three episodes airs March 28 on PBS.The first of three highly-anticipated episodes of Antiques Roadshow featuring Tucson airs, Monday, March 28 on PBS.The 13-time Emmy nominated series returned to Tucson in May 2015, as part of its six-city summer production tour. More than 3,900 people attended the all-day appraisal event at the Tucson Convention Center, where guests received valuations of their antiques and collectibles by specialists from the country's leading auction houses and independent dealers.A special Arizona Illustrated "Behind the Scenes: Antiques Roadshow in Tucson" will air on Sunday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. on PBS 6.This is The Roadshow's third visit to the Old Pueblo, first in 2001, then again in 2007. During their first visit, appraisers discovered a "national treasure" in the form of a century-old Navajo blanket valued at $500,000, the highest appraisal in the show's history, at the time.Highlights from the most recent visit include a 1943 Allen Ginsberg-signed yearbook, a 1960 GMT Master model Rolex with the original box and papers and a Jackie Robinson archive circa 1938.Episode Descriptions:Hour one - Monday, March 28, 2016, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ETTravel to Tucson to learn more about finds like a 1943 Allen Ginsberg-signed yearbook, an 1884 Anna Pottery temperance snake jug and an Alfons Walde oil painting dating to around 1935. Which item is valued at $200,000-$300,000?Hour two - Monday, April 4, 2016, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ETDiscover hidden treasures in Tucson, such as a Jackie Robinson archive from around 1938, a 1960 GMT Master model Rolex with the original box and papers, and diamond and onyx jewelry, ca. 1920. Can you guess the top find of the night?Hour three - Monday, April 11, 2016, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ETJourney to Tucson to see fantastic finds, including a 1994 Pete Seeger original song, an 1889 George Hitchcock oil diptych and an 1861 Abraham Lincoln presidential pardon. Which treasure is top find of the episode?Hi-res episode stills available upon request. Follow AZPM on Twitter and Facebook for program updates and announcements. For channel listings visit###About ARIZONA PUBLIC MEDIAAZPM is a member-supported media organization serving all of Southern Arizona. AZPM has six public television channels and three radio stations, including PBS 6, PBS Kids and NPR 89.1. AZPM produces local content from its digital studios on the campus of the University of Arizona and is provided as a community service and educational resource. AZPM was awarded the 2015 Overall Excellence Emmy (Rocky Mountain Region).About ARIZONA ILLUSTRATEDLauded as one of AZPM's flagship programs, Arizona Illustrated has been showcasing the stories that make southern Arizona unique for 30 years. In 2014, the format was changed, and met with great audience approval, making it one of PBS 6's most watched series. Each half-hour episode, presented in a newsmagazine format, includes mini-documentaries that are shot on location in southern Arizona and covers a wide variety of topics including history, science and nature, and local public affairs.About ANTIQUES ROADSHOWPart adventure, part history lesson, part treasure hunt, 13-time Emmy Award nominated ANTIQUES ROADSHOW begins its 20th broadcast season in 2016 and is the most-watched ongoing primetime PBS series. The series is produced by WGBH Boston for PBS under license from the BBC. The ExecutiveProducer is Marsha Bemko. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is sponsored by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.1031 E. University Blvd.Tucson, Arizona 85721 Travel tech startup launches in Argentina, Peru, and Chile Adventure Awaits Starting as an idea formed in the Wharton MBA program, Eugena Brown and Andrea Vidler found themselves relocating to Santiago, Chile to develop LocalAventura last September. Just six months later, the booking platform is officially launching with an array of passionate Local Guides, including a marine biologist, an expert mountain climber, and an internationally recognized photographer. The platform currently offers more than a dozen unique tour options, and an additional 18 guides have recently signed up and are expected to start listing tours within the month.With extensive travel experience in Latin America, Gena and Drea created LocalAventura when the two noticed how challenging it was for locals to gain economic empowerment and for travelers to find authentic experiences. The dynamic web platform was designed to connect open-minded travelers with passionate Local Guides who have each been personally interviewed and vetted to ensure quality tours.In Latin America in particular its tough to find authentic, trustworthy, and unique experiences, because the market is fragmented with tons of individual guides of varying quality. Yet, these are the kind of tours that travelers are really looking for nowadays, explains co-founder Eugena Brown. The goal is to fill that gap in the market while giving guides the business resources they need to help their tours succeed. It really is a win-win.Its been incredible to see how much interest weve had, Chilean-American co-founder Andrea Vidler adds, In a month, weve received over 250 emails from interested guides across Latin America. It shows that the need for this sort of platform in the region is really there.LocalAventura is currently expanding its operations throughout its existing countries as well as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Bolivia, and Uruguay. As they continue to expand, the startup is committed to interviewing and vetting each of their tour guides to maintain their high standard of quality. Current offerings on the platform span a wide range from Peruvian sailing excursions, Patagonia treks, to Argentine asado cooking classes.LocalAventura is an online marketplace to connect passionate local guides with adventurous travelers for more authentic experiences across Latin America. All of our guides are vetted and interviewed to ensure high-quality, personable, and unique tours. Our booking process is simple and secure, allowing travelers to book one-of-the-kind experiences that can be customizable to their desires. No big bus tours, no tourist traps. We provide an off-the-beaten-path, local perspective of the region to create a deeper understanding of the country as a whole.LocalAventura2401 Walnut St.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103United States German Professor Kisses Intranet Oracle Awake The IntranetOracle - kissed awake by german professor. www.intranetoracle.com http://www.ininko.de A new online service from Germany is now offering support for intranet administrators. The service has been developed by Professor Karsten Wendland, an Information Workflows and Multimedia Systems specialist at Aalen University. Professor Wendland has been studying corporate intranets for 15 years, identifying typical issues and developing solutions. "Today many intranets are overflowing with content. They are jumbled and beyond control. The operation of such an Intranet quickly grinds to a halt. Reorganizing the functionality and content usually fails to mend the problem. Intranets must be 'kissed alive'," says Wendland, summarizing the challenge.Typically, those in charge of intranets face the problem of technical, socio-technical, editorial, organizational and personal aspects being mixed together. This is exactly what inspired us to develop the Intranet Oracle, says Professor Wendland. The Intranet Oracle interviews his clients about their past, present and future, analyzes their screenshots and project documentation, and checks proposals from potential suppliers. "The Oracle already knows many secrets, asks very specific questions and speaks in clear terms," says the scientist, emphasizing his pragmatic approach.The new online service spearheaded by Prof. Wendland is backed by a team of experts from Germany ready to share their expertise and support with their colleagues all around the world - quickly, cost-effectively and professionally. The Intranet Oracle and its free newsletter can be found atSteinbeis Consulting Center ininko (Institut fur Informationsgestaltung und Komplexitatsreduktion) was established by Professor Dr. Karsten Wendland in 2015. Affiliated with the University of Applied Sciences in Aalen, Germany, it focuses on the transfer between science and the day-to-day business reality. Its work revolves around application-oriented research and development related to information flows within companies, as well as communication strategies and human engineering. Website:Prof. Dr. Karsten Wendlandininko Steinbeis Consulting CenterAddress: 54, Fehlheimer Strasse, Bensheim, 64625, GERMANYe-mail: karsten.wendland@ininko.deFAX +49 6251 9369019 Fairview Microwave Introduces a New Family of Programmable Attenuators http://www.fairviewmicrowave.com/rf-products/programmable-attenuators.html Fairview Microwave Inc., a supplier of on-demand microwave and RF components, announces the release of their new digitally controlled programmable attenuators with performance up to 40 GHz and up to 60 dB attenuation range with 0.03 dB minimum step size. These programmable attenuators are commonly used in electronic warfare, military and space communication systems, radar and test and measurement applications.Fairviews digitally controlled attenuators perform the important function of adjusting the amplitude of signal levels in RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave systems. The designs utilize PIN diode semiconductor technology that generates extremely fast switching performance between attenuation states over wide frequency bands. This performance is highly desirable and widely used in transceiver RF and IF sections and in equipment applications such as signal generators to adjust the output level of test signals.The programmable attenuators from Fairview Microwave have integrated TTL driver logic control bit circuitry that ranges from 5 to 10 binary bits depending on the model. This number of bits benefits in very precise and linear digital control of attenuation step sizes that can be as low as 0.03 dB to 1 dB maximum over the entire attenuation range. The command control interface is via a 15 pin female Micro-D socket or USB connector. The circuits are enclosed in environmentally sealed metal packages with epoxy paint finish with either stainless steel SMA or 2.92mm connectors. Guaranteed operating performance covers a temperature range of -50C to +85C.This selection of programmable digital attenuators is available in rugged coaxial packages and offer accurate and controlled levels of attenuation for use in a variety of signal processing applications in RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave systems, explains Brian McCutcheon, Vice President and General Manager at Fairview Microwave. We have all models available in-stock and ready for immediate shipment. Fairviews new digitally controlled programmable attenuators are in-stock and available to ship today. You can view these new attenuators by visitingdirectly. Fairview Microwave can be contacted at +1-972-649-6678.A leading supplier of on-demand RF and microwave products since 1992, Fairview Microwave offers immediate delivery of RF components including attenuators, adapters, coaxial cable assemblies, connectors, terminations and much more. All products are shipped same-day from the companys ISO 9001:2008 certified production facilities in Allen, Texas.Fairview Microwave1130 Junction Drive #100Allen, Texas 75013 5th Global Respiratory and Pulmonologist Annual Meeting http://annualmeeting.conferenceseries.com/pulmonologists/ Pulmonology | Pulmonology Conference | Respiratory Congress | Pulmonologists Meeting | COPD Conference On behalf of the Conference Organizing Committee, it is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the official website of 5th Global Respiratory and Pulmonologist Annual Meeting during November 17-18, 2016 at Dubai, UAE.Conference Theme: Optimizing Research strategies & Neoteric developments in Pulmonary DisordersRespiratory disorders is a medical terminology which includes obsessive conditions affecting the tissues and organs that make air inhalation and exhalation probable in complex organisms, which also comprises disorders of the alveoli, upper respirational tract, bronchi, trachea, bronchioles, pleura and pleural crater, and also the nerves and muscles of breath. Respiratory diseases vary from trivial and being self-limiting, such as flu, to fatal entities like pulmonary embolism, lung cancer, and bacteriological pneumonia. Study of respiratory ailments is known as pulmonology.Pulmonology is the sub-specialty of internal medicine apprehensive with ailments of the lungs and pleural tubes, which frequently comprises assessment of the upper respiratory tract and the heart as well. Pulmonology is also known as chest medicine and respiratory medicine in few countries. Pulmonology is a branch of internal medicine, which is related to intensive care medicine. Pulmonology frequently comprises managing patients who need life support and artificial ventilation. Pulmonologists are especially proficient in infections and circumstances of the chest, mostly, tuberculosis, pneumonia, asthma, emphysema, and complex chest infections.Pulmonologist conference will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders working on Respiratory diseases and pulmonology to talk about their work. Pulmonologist 2016 will congregate renowned speakers, principal investigators, experts, pulmonologists and respiratory researchers from both academia and health care industry will join together to discuss their views and research. The conference will be comprised of sessions by world class experts in the field of pulmonology. In Pulmonologist 2016, international symposiums, meetings, international workshops, poster presentations will also be organized to discuss the specific topics in the field of pulmonology and respiratory disorders.Global Pulmonology Congress anticipates more than 250 participants around the globe with inspirational Keynote lectures, Oral and Poster presentations. Global Pulmonologists Meeting Organizing Committee welcomes you to join us, where you will be sure to have a great experience with scholars from around the world.For complete details:Conferenceseries.llc warmly welcomes all the delegates around the world to participate in the International Conference on Global Pulmonologists Annual Meeting 2016 which is to be held on May 9-10, 2016 at Chicago, USA. This meeting deals with the current research developments in the field of pulmonology and also about the new treatment methods which are devised by scientists to treat various diseases in easier way. This meeting acts as a best platform for attendees to learn about the recent trends in pulmonary research and development. This conference also includes keynote lectures, interactive sessions, plenary talks, speech from young researchers and also poster presentations from students on the topic Pulmonary Medicine. This event will be a constructive event for all the attendees providing a snap shot of the types of on-going research work.The Oberoi,Dubai The Oberoi Centre - Al A'amal Street,Business Bay United Arab Emirates Phone:+971 4 444 1444 24shopzone Lends a New Reason to Enjoy More to All Shopaholics With the successful launching of an Indias most trusted and easiest online marketplace on this 29th February 2016, 24shopzone is proud to get ready for serving various shopping needs of a huge online customer base. The online marketplace is founded by an experienced developer and business entrepreneur named Mr. Mohit Batra, who has unmatched expertise in his domain. With a clear vision to help buyers and suppliers to connect and follow one another, he is determined to bring a revolution in the world of digital marketplace in India. Whether you are a business or a product seeker there are much more possibilities of enjoying exciting deals after becoming a member of this easy-to-use ecommerce platform. You can say good bye to the long queue and get a chance to get your desired products right at your door and that too at never before prices. Here are the major features our website users can avail once they become a part of it: 24shopzone.com is a website for buyers and sellers, which is easy and fast accessible. Our platform also keeps an eye that the latest variety of products be it clothing items, watches, mobile phones and electronic products reach to the customer without any delay. Proper information is provided regarding huge products offered by different buyers. Its convenient to get registered with us and avail the benefits of our portal. 100% customer satisfaction is committed by our network. It is a platform which connects desirable buyers with the concerned sellers. No hidden cost or hidden delivery charges are taken except Service Tax. A brief of services provided by our website 24shopzone.com is an Indias most convenient online marketplace. This platform connects buyers and sellers each other and allow them to reap many exciting benefits. The design of the website is so clear and transparent that it would always leave you wanted more every time when you visit at the store. Behind our 24shopzone.com there is a team of dynamic people who feel delighted to provide efficient services for 24/7. Mob +91-9899171285 Email info@24shopzone.com online shopping India mobile, cameras, lifestyle online shopping India, mobiles, books, clothes, home furnishing laptops, cameras, shoes, watches, appliances, appare Ghaziabad, 201001, UP, INDIA This release was published on openPR. Permanent link to this press release: Copy Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release. Axis Softech leading Travel Technology Company Travel Technology Company,Online Travel Software Axis Softech is a leading travel technology company of India, the company is in travel technology from last 10+ years. The company is located in Delhi and provides its travel portal development services in India and abroad also. The vision of Axis Softech is to empower travel agents and agencies by its online travel portal development services as online travel business is growing leaps and bound from last 5-6 years. Axis Softech Pvt Ltd offers online travel portal product under the brand name Safari. We have different range of Safari Products for small, mid-size, large travel agencies and corporate who manage bookings of their employees. Axis Softech offers B2C, B2B, B2E, B2B2B and B2B2C online travel products.Axis Softech has different quality accreditation such as SEM-CMMI Level-3, ISO 9001:2008 and Nasscom member which we apply for online travel portal development services. Axis Softech transform offline travel business to online travel business as e-commerce market has seen rapid spurt in last few years. Axis Softech offer its services to travel agents, travel agencies, tour operators, holiday package providers and other players in travel and tourism industry. Today there are still lot of travel agents, agencies and other small players who do not realize the importance of technology to their business they are doing booking in a same manner as before 10 years. Axis Softech aware these people and advantages of online travel portal products which will get a fuel for their travel business. Today online travel market is growing in India and globally day by day there are around 6.5 crore airline booking done by Indian Airlines in 2014 there are great scope for offline travel agents and agencies in travel and tourism industry because total online market presently is still less than 25 -30% of the total available market size.Axis Softech Pvt Ltd has several modules for air, hotel, car, bus and holiday packages bookings which we integrate in travel portals to fetch live inventory of tickets, apart from these service modules we provide other services such as mobile recharge, DTH recharge, money transfer etc which we integrate on demand of client. Axis Softech have seven B2C, One B2B and One B2E online travel portal development which are rolled under the brand name known as Safari. Axis Softech have online travel portal product for all types of travel agencies and we offer online travel portal at very affordable prices so that we can cater requirement of all types of all offline travel agencies. Axis Softech has experience of developing travel portals over more than 10 years so we are able to cater all requisite of your business we can deliver our initial software known as Safari Special in 5 -6 business days because we are in this domain from last five years and has done all arrangements at our end so this product is ready with us where we have to change logo and color as per your request of your portal, therefore its time to get your travel business online with Axis Softech.Axis Softech is an I.T company which has evolved in 2005 and develop travel portal for offline travel agencies.Axis Softech Private Limited137 Sant Nagar,East of Kailash,New Delhi-110065011-461604479599587167Haider Alihaider@axissoftech.com ShowUnreal - Streaming Live Shows for 5$ per viewer ShowUnreal http://www.showunreal.com A new mechanism enables artists to stream their live shows for 5$ per viewer.Holon, Israel (March 26, 2016) - ShowUnreal, a new social media platform is now live on Indiegogo. Streaming live shows for 5$ per viewer. Connect with your friends, family and get updates of your beloved artists. Enable unknown artists to make their breakthrough and all artists to form more materials using Creators Virtual Store.Sign up with full name and choose your entity, or entities, as one can be an artist, creator or any entity within the live shows industry. Register your live show to the worldwide streaming services, while you can close it at the country which the show takes place until tickets are sold out.The Host entity invites its guests to any private or public place like living rooms, bars, coffee shops or workplaces, check-in, pay 5$ each and get the link straight to your Smartphone, computer or TV. Using Smartphones Location and social media information, ShowUnreal can reach about 95% of the viewers while in worst case scenario, streaming services would be available only at public places, where monitoring viewers is much easier.The Show Owner earns up to 70% of the streaming service revenue, and 75% of sponsorship and commercials revenues to split between all parties. Additional features will be available like greeting on screen, wedding proposals, live quizzes and lyrics on Smartphone.Visit and back ShowUnreal on Indiegogo - igg.me/at/ShowUnrealShowUnreal is a new social media platform by Inventions and Other Nonsense Ltd. Head office is located in Holon, Israel.ShowUnreeal is dedicated is to artists, creators, fans and everyone within the live show industry as it offers a new method of consuming live shows like concerts, theater plays, stand up comedies and other live event via live streaming services.Visit us at showunreal.com, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+. Pinterest and YouTube.ShowUnrealCompany name: Inventions and Other Nonsense LtdAddress: Aran Zalman 41, Holon, IsraelAsaf Kopla(972) 523205278Website:Email: Kopla@showunreal.comigg.me/at/ShowUnreal Aristocraters: An Adequate Startup Launched On The Web http://www.aristocraters.com http://www.aristocraters.com Aristocraters is a newly launched business with the very focused aim to offer the one stop solution for each IT and communication related needs to global clients. The company is rooted in India and also has a branch office in the USA. As a first step to be part of the growing industry of IT and Telecom, the company has put their home page live on the web, which is accessible at following URL:. As per the announcement made by the spokesperson of the company the reason for launching the home page is to make an official launch of the company as well as to give a brief about their services and solutions to the prospects. The complete website with all necessary web pages will get live in April.The Aristocraters company strives to provide the compelling IT and VoIP solutions to organizations around the globe. They are willing to cater all audiences from a startup to mid-level to MNCs. The entrepreneurs of the company are willing to set up a business which can work as a one stop solution for any organization of any industry vertical. As per the information shared by the spokesperson of the Aristocraters, the company will offer a wide range of services, which includes: Consultancy Website Development Web Application Development Mobile Application Development IT and VoIP Technical Support VoIP Software Development Installation, configuration, and setup of different VoIP software, applications and tools Troubleshooting and bug fixing in the existing VoIP environment Customization of existing web, VoIP or mobile application SEO SMO Content Writing Brand Building And moreThe home page of the Aristocraters is mobile friendly and is responsive to all devices. It can be accessed using any desktop, laptop and smart device. The stated page is segmented into different sections. Each section briefs about a specific offering of the company. As per the information revealed on the homepage of the company, the Aristocraters strives to develop various custom VoIP solutions such as: Multi-tenant PBX software Multi-tenant conference solution Multi-tenant broadcasting system SIP mobile dialer application Call center software VoIP Softswitch solution Session Border Controller And many moreIn a web section, the company strives to offer services in following technologies and frameworks: PHP YII Laravel Codeigniter Bootstrap Node.js Drupal Joomla Magento DNN (DotNetNuke)The webpage also specifies the mobile application development platforms covered by the company, which are listed hereunder: Android iOSIn a conversation with the co-founders of the company, they shared with the press that they are busy with a few client projects as well as development and marketing plans of the Aristocraters. They are willing to launch the complete website as soon as possible to accomplish the set goals of offering world class services and compelling solutions. They further cordially invited the readers to visit their website and give their valuable feedback about the website, which they will be happy to implement.URL:Email: sales@aristocraters.comAristocraters: Web, Mobile App and VoIP Solution, Service and Support Provider Company IndiaAhmdabad, Gujarat, India Dubai-based Relocation Consultancy Sets its Sights to Become the Largest Relocation Company in the World www.echo-xpats.com Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, 27th March 2016In late 2015 existing shareholder Ashley Thornton and new investor and Managing Partner David Donnelly acquired Echo-Xpats Relocation Consulting with the ambition to, become one of the largest Relocation and Change Management Consulting Companies in the world, expressed David. Echo-Xpats was founded in the United Arab Emirates and has been successfully providing relocation services in the Middle East for more than 11 years, but now under new management is expanding its global footprint and branching out into Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.Ashley Thornton explained, Despite dramatic oil fluctuations and the economic conditions that are attributed to it, companies are still finding opportunity for talent migration and continue to relocate their staff into the region.Echo-Xpats works with some of the leading companies in the energy, IT, FMCG, pharmaceutical, legal and shipping industries including many Fortune 500 corporations and has been a key influence in helping to integrate their new employees to the Middle East.Since its takeover, the company has invested heavily into their marketing and business development teams, implementing strategies and systems that integrate into their ISO 9001 quality management framework. With this focus, Echo-Xpats is not only able to expand their operations into other territories, but also diversify their service portfolio to include organizational change management programs and technical staffing solutions, which they believe will become of greater value to HR departments during times of increased cost optimization.David explains that the quality of service delivery is at the core of Echo-Xpats operations; understanding client requirements and ensuring that we deliver them on schedule and within budget is key to our success. We differentiate ourselves from our competition by offering a bespoke service personalized for our corporate clients, and optimized for our individual customers.To find out more about Echo-Xpats and the service offerings please visit, or contact us at info@echo-xpats.com or +971 4 427 3726.Echo-Xpats Is The Premier Relocation Provider In The Middle East.Echo-Xpats Relocations has been operating in the Middle East for over 10 years and offer a turnkey approach to relocation. Whether corporate or individual, our mission and company ethos is to provide exceptional levels of inbound and outbound relocation support. As a Eura accredited destination service provider we benefit from a global network of affiliates and can assist in all aspects of relocation.7th Floor, Opal Tower, Business Bay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Flex Class Crosses 250,000 Students Benchmark Flex Class www.flexclass.org Abu Dhabi: Founded in 2016, Flex Class is on a mission to redefine education. The target is to provide online skill development courses at a cost fraction to its competitors and the content quality at par with the best educational institutions in the world.Flex Class is backed by a set of veteran investment bankers who recently signed the perpetual and non-revocable agreement with the Seychelles based Edification Limited for an undisclosed price. Edification Limited will invest in the marketing and distribution of the content produced by the Flex Class India. Edification Limited is also going public this year on the US stock exchange at a staggering valuation of US $111 million or 754 crore.Flex Class aims to become the career partner of the working professionals and busy students who cannot extensively travel or afford multiple degrees to learn new skills. Flex Class in a short period of nine months has trained over 250,000 students across the globe and aims to bring ten million students on its platform in the next three years.The USP of Flex Class is that fee for all the courses is capped at US $30 and the courses are pretty short and to the point. Instead of providing students with the readymade educational material, Flex Class provides students with the live educational sessions generally taken by the known personalities.Flex Class will add 50 online courses in the next one month.A pioneer in online education for professionals, we create course programs, exams, and lab projects that help professionals across the world successfully prepare for and complete certification exams with ease. Our unique blended model of training brings together the best of self-learning and online training, making for a successful learning experience.We strive to constantly improve our learning frameworks to make them more user-friendly. Our courses are upgraded continuously to ensure our learners are up-to-date on the latest industry requirements and best practices.We assist our learners in applying for the certification exam of their choice, and our vibrant community of experts and certified professionals is a powerful resource pool of tips, tricks, and insightful advice.Flex Class IndiaPostal Address: Statesman House Connaught Place New Delhi - 110001IndiaPress Contact: Thomas MuellerEmail: help@flexclass.orgWeb: Invigorating Worlds Consulting Space EliteHeads Announces Completion of Restructuring EliteHeads Invigorating Worlds Consulting Space EliteHeads Announces Completion of RestructuringLondon, 27th March, 2016EliteHeads today envisaging its core values and belief announced completion of its cognitive restructuring, which they say intents at refurbishing and re-energizing the arena of global management and strategic consulting.As per Kal its founding partner the real purpose for creating EliteHeads company (and word!) is to honor & promote 'people who with the power of their thinking defy odds and move companies, nations, economies, societies and the world forward.' The spirit of EliteHeads is summarized in its slogan 'Its All in Your Head'.Their uniquely designed new logo, an elegantly elite Crown symbolizes the utmost respect and regard which they feel their EliteHeads command for their commendable contribution in various spheres all across the world.EliteHeads is the choice of worlds leading organizations when they need independent elite consultants & collaborators, such as (ex-McKinsey, Bain, Google, Goldman, Pfizer, IBM, etc. and Alumni from Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Oxford, HEC, LBS, etc.) dubbed as 'worlds best minds on-demand' on flexible terms. Through their pro-bono projects, they tend to give opportunities to those who were born in less fortunate circumstances, to become EliteHeads.Unlike other techno based On-Demand consulting models, which merely provide a software driven platform for so-called nerds to get registered, limiting the efficient scrutiny required for apt intermediation with the requirement of the clients, EliteHeads necessarily emphasizes on the importance of human element along with the swift technological process.Every application from an Individual expert is scrutinized by the companys selection board on various factors, before they are finally registered as EliteHeads. There is also an internal process involved helping organizations post their projects in the most efficient manner, thereby helping them to find the very best solution providers.EliteHeads is expanding its tract encompassing more members, so that the clients can find the expertise they need in depth & breadth from smartest consultants, researchers, scientists, innovators, inventors and experts across industries, functions, technologies and regions worldwide. Recently company crossed the figure of 1000 registered EliteHeads. While forty five percent of the current Elite population of the company belongs to Europe, remaining thirty five and twenty percent members are from America and Asia respectively.About EliteHeadsEliteHeads provides on-demand independent elite consultants, researchers, collaborators and champions in strategy, finance, patents and innovation across all major industries worldwide.EliteHeads clients are world's leading organizations including F500 & mid-size companies in all major industries, consulting firms, law firms, government organizations and universities.ContactEliteHeads+1 (646) 583 1237 or +49 179 7433 458aadep@eliteheads.comEliteHeads provides on-demand independent elite consultants, researchers, collaborators and champions in strategy, finance, patents and innovation across all major industries worldwide.EliteHeads clients are world's leading organizations including F500 & mid-size companies in all major industries, consulting firms, law firms, government organizations and universities.EliteHeads , Portland House, Bressenden Pl, London, SW1E 5RS , aadep@eliteheads.com Lanner Introduces Wide Temperature Box PC for ICS Cyber Security Industrial Communication Platforms Industrial Control Systems (ICS) play a crucial role for a nations critical infrastructures. Since ICS facilities are usually deployed in remote, unmanned and harsh environments, Lanner introduces its new Box PC model LEC-6030, with capability to operate under wide temperature ranges and rich connectivity to communicate with PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) and HMI (Human-Machine Interface).To ensure reliability in critical infrastructures, LEC-6030 supports extended operating temperature with a maximum range of -40 C to 70 C. This provides the wide operability under harsh ambient environments at ICS deployed sites. In addition, electrical surges may occur in critical infrastructures and this might devastate implemented systems. To prevent devastations from happening, LEC-6030 comes with isolated COM ports with protection at 15KV ESD and magnetic protection for Ethernet ports. The wide operating temperature capability and the I/O protection ensure LEC-6030s operability in ICS cyber security. To makeLEC-6030 more deployable, the Box PC comes in fanless and compact form factor and DIN Rail or wall-mounting installation options.LEC-6030 is driven by Intel Atom E3815 1.46GHz Soc (System-on-Chip) CPU for low power consumption and moderate performance. By taking ownership costs into considerations, the Intel Atom driven LEC-6030 will optimize power usages during ICS operations.Regarding network connectivity, LEC-6030 delivers various LAN port configurations including GbE LAN, SFP fiber ports, PoE (Power-over-Ethernet) ports, and LAN bypass, depending on the specific model sets. For serial connectivity, LEC-6030 offers up to four serial ports with RS-232/422/485 signals.LEC-6030Wide Temperature ICS Cyber Security Box PC with Intel Atom E3845 Processor- Fanless and compact design- Intel Atom E3845 1.91GHz SoC CPU- Wide temperature -40~70C- 5 or 6 x GbE LAN ports- 6030B with one pair LAN bypass- 6030C with 2 x GbE SFP fiber, 6030E with 4 x GbE PoE- DIN rail or wall mountAbout Lanner Electronics Inc.Lanner Electronics Inc. (TAIEX 6245) is a world-leading hardware provider in design, engineering, and manufacturing services for advanced network appliances and rugged industrial computers.With 30-year experiences, Lanner provides reliable and cost-effective computing platforms with high quality and performance. Today, Lanner has a large and dynamic manpower of over 800 well-experienced employees worldwide with the headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan and subsidiaries in the US, Canada, and China.Lanner Electronics Inc7F, 173 Datong Road Section 2,Xizhi District,New Taipei City 22184,TaiwanTelephone: +886-2-8692-6060Fax: +886-2-8692-6101Email: contact@lannerinc.com Global PV Micro Inverter Market 2016 Demand, Analysis, Growth, Price to 2020 Available in New Report http://www.9dimengroup.com/market-analysis/global-pv-micro-inverter-market-2016-industry-growth.html http://www.9dimengroup.com/report/57371/request-sample According to the latest market report published by 9Dimen Group titled "Global PV Micro Inverter Market 2016 Industry Growth, Size, Trends, Share, Opportunities and Forecast to 2020"Global PV Micro Inverter Market is an in-depth report that offers a unique mix of specialist industry knowledge and the region-wise research expertise. The report delivers the market size and the trends for each sector.Browse Complete Report with TOC @:The report on Global PV Micro Inverter market begins with an overview of the market. The report details the historical data of the Global PV Micro Inverter market along with the current scenario. Then the report covers the trends shaping the Global PV Micro Inverter market. The drivers and restraints that will shape this industry during the forecast period have been evaluated in detail. Moving on, the report dwells on the market opportunities and their impact on the key players operating in the market. Moreover, the key threats the Global PV Micro Inverter market will experience during the forecast period are discussed.The next part of the report features an in-depth segmentation of the market. The report includes valuable information about the key segments in the Global PV Micro Inverter market along with their sub-sectors. Revenue share and size along with insightful forecasts of these key segments and other prominent sub-segments are available in this report. The report explores the trends that will impact the growth of the emerging regional sectors in the Global PV Micro Inverter market.The recent findings along with the promise they hold for the future in the Global PV Micro Inverter market have also been analyzed. The report features contributions from several key industry participants along with scientists that are leading figures in their respective fields.Request for FREE SAMPLE Report @:Towards the end, the report scrutinizes the competitive landscape of the Global PV Micro Inverter market. Most prominent players with their business overview are featured in this research study. The key players market revenue, top strategies, innovations, collaborations, and other developments are mentioned in detail in the report. These insights about the top companies in the Global PV Micro Inverter market will let the user know about the market opportunities they can tap on to, with the best of tactical decisions.9Dimen Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@9dimengroup.com Paclights- The Most Trusted Company for LED Flood Lights http://www.paclights.com/product-tag/led-flood-lights/ Paclights is a renowned company that presents clients with top-of-the-line LED light fixtures that are UL/ETL and DLC listed. LED Flood Lights from PacLights have consistently proved to be guaranteed energy savers for several clienteles. This variant of LED illumination inherits the best technology for offering customers with value-for-money deals. The company has been rendering customers with the most affordable and efficient mode of LED lighting. Having a fine delivery system, Paclights has rendered assistance to customers in procuring their preferred range of LED illumination with ease.The company has always enjoyed a sturdy network having major suppliers under it. As such, it has rendered flexibility to the customers in procuring all their LED options delivered to them without hassles. Its LED Flood Lights are one of the recognized ranges of LED illuminative, known for their stand out features. LED Floodlights are highly dependable in assisting clients with the most eloquent illumination. The company has been extremely particular in implementing a perfect manufacturing process for LED Flood light variants. It has utilized the best quality of LED chips and LED Drivers, amongst several other performance-centric variants. Paclights has given its clients several variants of LED Flood Lights that are perfectly balanced on the aesthetics and performance aspects. These illuminative LED variants are known for its longevity features. As these variants do not exude heat, they are less prone to crack up. Paclights has utilized advanced thermal management technology in rendering LED Flood lights that are backed up by warranty and which are good on the money.LED Flood Lights can be sought in FL Series. Paclights has given its customers the option of choosing LED Flood Lights in accordance to the wattages and the emission of light beam. Clients have preferred the variants that can glow for more than 50,000 hours and in the form of bright 5000K color light. Its unique range of illuminative lighting adopts a high-end wiring along with ballasts. This arrangement operates optimally to the benefit of its clients, rendering them with cost-effective options in choosing their lighting.Paclights has been instrumental in providing customers with the best LED lighting for day-to-day use. Customers get to choose their lighting options via product catalog online. With high-end canopy lights, wall packs, parking lot lights, retrofit kits, amongst other LED lighting variants, customers also get to choose their options based on the dimensions, wattages and brightness in LED lighting. VisitPacLights is a reputed illumination company headquartered in Chico, California. It has assortment of LED lighting fixtures that excel in longevity as well as the glow its range exude. All its LED fixtures are DLC and UL/ETL listed. The company offers several variants of LED Flood Lights that are affordable as affordable.P.O BOX 928Chino Hills, CA. 91709United StatesPhone Number: 800-988-6386Fax Number: 800-685-5689Email Id: info@paclights.com Global Baggage Check-In Kiosks Market 2015 Industry Size, Trends, Demand, Growth, Share, Analysis and Forecast to 2019 http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/global-baggage-check-in-kiosks-industry-2015-market-growth-49930 http://goo.gl/Xgyoal The report titled Baggage Check-In Kiosks is an in-depth and a professional document that provides a comprehensive overview of the global Baggage Check-In Kiosks market.Read Complete Report @The report provides an executive-level blueprint of the Baggage Check-In Kiosks market beginning with the definition of the market dynamics. The analysis classifies the Baggage Check-In Kiosks market in terms of products, application, and key geographic regions. With focus on presenting a detailed value chain analysis, the study evaluates the set of region-specific approaches forged by the industry. To determine the market potential for Baggage Check-In Kiosks in the international scenario, the study delves into the competitive landscape and development landscape exhibited by the key geographic regions.Development plans and policies significantly impact the market dynamic. The report therefore studies in detail the impact of the strategies, plans, and policies adopted by leading vendors of the Baggage Check-In Kiosks market. Manufacturing cost of products and the pricing structure adopted by the market is also evaluated in the report. Other parameters crucial in determining trends in the market such as consumption demand and supply figures, cost of production, gross profit margins, and selling price of product and services is also included within the ambit of the report.To provide a detailed analysis on the competitive landscape, the report profiles the key players in the Baggage Check-In Kiosks industry. Information present in these chapters includes details of products manufactured by the leading companies, product specification and price, and production capacity. Using reliable analytical tools, the report evaluates the information sourced from both primary and secondary research. Results obtained through the detailed analysis helps in presenting refined forecasts regarding growth prospects of the Baggage Check-In Kiosks market. Apart from this, the analysts have also conducted upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis to compile and present an exhaustive study on the Baggage Check-In Kiosks market.Request for Sample Report @A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Baggage Check-In Kiosks market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.9Dimen Reports is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens Market 2015 Industry Size, Trends, Demand, Growth, Share, Analysis and Forecast to 2019 http://www.marketresearchstore.com/report/global-cctv-telephoto-zoom-lens-industry-2015-market-49938 http://goo.gl/8EWgKb Extensive primary and secondary research capabilities have been used to prepare the report Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens Industry. The report on the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market presents accurate market estimates and forecasts backed by in-depth primary and secondary research. The research report delivers key insights verified by key industry participants. These include market-leading participants, key clients and consumers, and product vendors and distributors.Read Complete Report @Significant industry insights, industry expectations, and key developments have been covered in this research study. Further, a detailed evaluation of the most influential drivers that will fuel the growth of the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market is also present in the report. The key market restraints and opportunities is also analyzed by the report.The report includes a detailed analysis of the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market based on different segments, which gives readers a clear perspective of the types of products, services, and technologies available in the market. The Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market is expected to demonstrate positive growth in several segments. The key sectors and their sub-sectors have been listed in this report. The drivers fueling the growth of the leading market segments, along with the details about the revenue these segments will generate is available in the report. Additionally, historical data about these sectors has also been included in this report. Besides the historical data, the emerging sectors in the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market are mentioned in this report.Request for Sample Report @Geographic segments of the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market along with a detailed study on the prospects exhibited by the emerging regional markets of the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens industry are included in the report. The regulatory scenario favouring the leading regions in the Global CCTV Telephoto Zoom Lens market has been evaluated in the research study. Evaluation of the top market players along with their revenue shares and top strategies elaborated in the report, will help new entrants or established players to form more informed decisions.9Dimen Reports is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651 India Construction Chemical Market Projected to be Worth US$ 1,890 Mn by 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-in-87 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-in-87 www.futuremarketinsights.com Future Market Insights (FMI), in its recent report titled, Construction Chemical Market: India Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020, projects that the India construction chemical market will exhibit a CAGR of 17.2% during 2014 to 2020. The market is projected to reach US$ 1,890 million by 2020.Construction chemicals are added to construction materials in order to improve their workability, performance, functionality, chemical resistance and durability. Utilisation of construction chemicals has witnessed significant growth over the past decade due to increasing infrastructure development activities in developing economies.The report analyses the India construction chemicals market in terms of market value (US$ Mn), segment, end user, and regions, providing information regarding market dynamics, competitive landscape, current trends, market estimations and forecast.Government regulations based on the concept of Green Revolution, increase in foreign investment activities, urbanisation, and growing preference for utilisation of ready-mix concrete (RMC) are some of the prominent factors that are driving the growth of the construction chemicals market in India. A few challenges faced by this market are low availability of skilled manpower, volatility in raw material prices, and lack of interest for implementation of quality standards by infrastructure developers.Request Free Report Sample@Some major trends in India construction chemical market are increase in investment in R&D, entry of new players, adoption of sustainable products and technological advancements. Asian region is turning out to be focus point for most of the major construction chemicals companies for investment in R&D. Rising construction of new buildings and renovation activities across India is expected to boost the overall demand for construction chemicals in the near future.India construction chemicals market on the basis of types is segmented as admixtures, flooring chemicals, water proofing compounds, adhesives & sealants, repair and rehabilitation & others. Adhesives & sealants and admixtures segment is expected to collectively account for 61.2% share of the India construction chemicals market by 2020. It is anticipated that there will be a decline in the growth of the repair, rehabilitation & others segment from 12.7% in 2014 to 11.9% in 2020, indicating a lack of inspection and maintenance in the construction industry in India.On the basis of end use sectors, India construction chemical market is segmented as infrastructure sector and residential & commercial sector. Infrastructure sector is likely to grow at a CAGR of 18.3%. The residential and commercial segment has a share of 34% in overall Indian construction chemical market with a steady Y-o-Y growth of 16% in 2020.Download TOC@From regional perspective, India construction chemical market is segmented into northern region, eastern region, western region and southern region. Currently, northern region is expected to experience highest CAGR of 17.8% as compared to other regions. Southern region is likely to create an opportunity which is three times the value in 2013. The southern region comprises the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. This region realises the potential of IT services and hence are able to attract significant investment from these service and manufacturing companies. Chemical and engineering industries are the main drivers of growth in western region particularly in Maharashtra and Gujarat.Key market participants covered in the report include BASF India, Pidilite, Sika India Pvt. Ltd., Forsoc Chemicals (India) Ltd., Chembond Chemicals and CICO TechnologiesFuture Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Point of Use Water Purifier (POU) Market in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Witness a CAGR of 7.6% by 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ma-30 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-ma-30 www.futuremarketinsights.com Future Market Insights (FMI) announced the release of a latest report titled, POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020. FMI estimates that the Point of Use (POU) water purifier market in Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach US$ 471 Mn at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2014 to 2020.Residential water purification system includes point of use water purifiers (POU), point of entry (POE) water purifiers, portable water purifiers. Moreover, the demand for POU water purifiers is high among consumers in MENA region as compared to POE and portable water purifiers.In the POU water purifiers market, products with high purification capabilities such as combination of reverse osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet (UV) technologies are more preferred. It has also been observed that a majority of the demand is coming from urban centres in GCC when compared to the entire MENA region.Request Free Report Sample@Market SegmentsThe POU water purifiers market is segmented on the basis of technology which includes RO, UV and media-based. RO technology based water purifiers segment is estimated to account for slightly over 40% of the total POU water purifiers market in MENA region in 2014. Media-based water purification, which is a conventional water purification technology has also witnessed technological advancements, and is estimated to display a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period, in terms of volume. The third technology, UV based water purifiers, is estimated to exhibit a sluggish growth rate during the forecast period due to its limitation in removing only organic contaminants from water. Additionally, UV-based water purifiers are also priced higher in comparison to media-based water purifiers and hence the product preference for UV based water purifiers is comparatively low.Region-wise, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Algeria are the promising markets for POU water purifiers. In addition, a cumulative scenario has been highlighted for rest of MENA (includes smaller countries like Kuwait, Jordan etc.). Among the aforementioned regions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be the prominent market for POU water purifiers, followed by Turkey, due to its growing population and rapid urbanization, and increasing awareness for safe drinking water forecast period.In addition, penetration of bottled water is a challenge for the POU water purifiers market in Anatolia. As a result, Anatolia is estimated to demonstrate a sluggish growth rate in the near future. Furthermore, POU water purifiers market in UAE is anticipated to reach 149.2 thousand units by 2020, exhibiting a CAGR of 10% between 2014 and 2020.Download TOC@Drivers and RestraintsDeteriorating water quality, rising cost of bottled water, increasing population coupled with increasing per capita income are some of the prominent factors which will catalyse the point of use water purifiers in the region. Though the MENA market is attractive in terms of absolute dollar opportunity, low awareness about safe drinking water and product unavailability are major challenges for the MENA POU water purifier market.Competitive LandscapeKey players operating in the MENA water purifier market are LG, Eureka Forbes, Strauss Water, Panasonic, WaterLife and Coolplex. The report sheds light on their key growth strategies and recent developments. In addition, the report also discusses the value chain followed by multinational companies in MENA for POU water purifiers.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Increasing Adoption of Technology will Continue to Fuel the Asia Pacific Automotive Telematics Market during 2014 - 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ap-47 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-ap-47 www.futuremarketinsights.com Future Market Insights (FMI) with sharp focus on emerging regions delivers key insights about the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market in its recent report titled, Asia Pacific Automotive Telematics Market Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2014 - 2020. According to this report, the global telematics market is expected to expand at a single-digit CAGR during forecast period 20142020. On the other hand, APAC will demonstrate the fastest growth in the global automotive telematics market at a double-digit CAGR during the forecast period. During this period, the contribution of the telematics market in the Asia Pacific region to the overall market is projected to increase from 26% to 30%, reflecting an increase of 400 BPS.This growth is attributed to high penetration of technologies and steadily increasing GDP. Moreover, Asia Pacific benefits from the presence of established vendors in the commercial vehicle telematics market, which includes PeopleNet, FleetMatics, Trimble, Telogis and Omnitracs. Furthermore, over 42% of the worlds Internet users in Asia (2013), combined with hundreds of millions of 4G users, will fuel growth of the APAC automotive telematics market during the forecast period.FMI lead consultant, Nikhil Kaitwade, sheds light on why Asia Pacific will emerge the fastest growing market in the near future. Telematics in the automotive industry has become increasingly relevant with a palpable emphasis on safety and security globally. New business models combined with increased technology adoption and remote vehicle diagnostics is fuelling growth of the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market, he said.Request Free Report Sample@The three key technologies that will drive the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market are:Embedded Technology Currently, this segment dominates the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market. Greater ease of assembly, ease of troubleshooting, reliability of components and fall in cost of electronic parts are factors driving demand for automotive embedded systems in this region. Increasing use of cloud-based telematics will also influence the APAC automotive telematics embedded technology market segment. FMI projects that this segment will display a double-digit CAGR during the forecast period.Tethered Technology The tethered technology segment in the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market will demonstrate the lowest growth at a single-digit CAGR during forecast period 20142020.Smartphone Technology Price advantages and growing smartphone penetration will fuel growth of the smartphone technology segment in the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market. FMI anticipates that evolving smartphone technology will witness the highest CAGR in double digits during the forecast period.Currently, North America dominates the global automotive telematics market, followed by Europe. High penetration of the aforesaid technologies in Asia Pacific combined with saturation of European and North American markets will continue to fuel growth of the APAC automotive telematics market.Download TOC@Elaborating on this trend, Kaitwade further stated, In order to differentiate their product offerings, automotive OEMs are integrating telematics technologies into vehicles they manufacture.In addition, the expanding safety and security end-user segment and increasing prominence of social media in Asia Pacific will drive the automotive telematics market in the region. The safety and security end-user segment is anticipated to dominate the Asia Pacific automotive telematics market between 2014 and 2020 due to increasing consumer focus on safety and security aspects. Growing prominence of social media in the Asia Pacific region will also contribute to the growth of infotainment segment during the forecast period.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Laboratory Information System Market: Clinical Diagnostics Systems to Grow at an 8.9% CAGR http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1482 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/laboratory-information-systems.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Transparency Market Research has published a new report on the global laboratory information system market. As per the report, the global laboratory information system market is predicted to progress from US$1,381.4 bn in 2013 to US$2,158.0 bn by 2019. The report, titled Laboratory Information System Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019, states that the global laboratory information system market is expected to expand at a 7.70% CAGR between 2013 and 2019.The growing need to custom-design and develop laboratory systems as per the changing needs of laboratories is expected to propel the global laboratory information system market during the forecast period. The global laboratory information system market is expected to develop rapidly due to factors such as increasing investment by healthcare IT players, increasing initiatives taken by the governments of various countries, and improvements in healthcare services. However, factors such as the lack of knowledgeable professionals, the high cost of laboratory information systems, and high maintenance requirements are expected to restrict the growth of the global laboratory information system market in the years to come.Brochure Download:North America Holds Largest Regional Laboratory Information System MarketClinical diagnostics systems and drug delivery systems are the two segments of the laboratory information system market based on the applications of these systems. The clinical diagnostics laboratory information system has segment captured the biggest share in this market based on its applications. This segment is likely to increase at a CAGR of 8.9% during the period of 2013 to 2019.Based on the delivery mode, web-based, cloud-based, and on-premise are the market segments of the global laboratory information system industry. On the other hand, hardware, software, and services are the categories on the basis of the components of laboratory information systems.Regionally, North America qualifies as the largest market for laboratory information systems in the world. A rise in the incidence of fatal diseases in North America is giving rise to the need for timely diagnosis and treatment of these ailments. This factor is triggering the demand for laboratory information systems in this region.Apart from the rising prevalence of these diseases, government initiatives in Europe to encourage the utilization of laboratory information systems have resulted in the introduction of the region as the fastest developing market for laboratory information systems. At the national level, Germany, Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. are the fastest emerging laboratory information system markets, holding an enormous growth potential.Global Laboratory Information System Industry to Reach US$2,158 billion in 2019The global laboratory information system industry had reached a value of US$1,381.4 billion in 2013. Ongoing enhancement in medical and healthcare facilities is augmenting the demand for laboratory information systems all over the world, owing to which this market is predicted to expand at a 7.7% CAGR between 2013 and 2019. The demand for effective IT systems in diagnostic and medical laboratories is likely to boost the global market in the future. The market will be reaching an anticipated value of US$2,158.0 billion by the end of the forecast period.STARLIMS Corporation, 3M Health Information Systems Inc., Labware Inc., Labvantage Solutions Inc., Cerner Corporation, Autoscribe Informatics Inc., AAC Infotray AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., McKesson Corporation, and Merge Healthcare Incorporated are the major companies participating in the global market for laboratory information systems, with McKesson Corporation being the market leader. Currently, the leading players are focused on introducing new products in the market.Browse Full Global Laboratory Information System Market Report With Complete TOC @Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactMr.Sudip S90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Electrophysiology Medical Devices Business Ready to Register $4.73 Billion Market Value by 2019 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=200003281 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=200003281 Electrophysiology medical devices business is ready to register $4.73 billion market value at CAGR of 10.3% from 2014 to 2019. A number of factors such as the development of technologically advanced electrophysiology devices, rapid growth in aging population with high risk of target diseases, increasing incidence of arrhythmia cases across the globe, growing focus of key market players to expand their geographic presence, and increasing demand of catheter ablation procedures are driving the growth of the global electrophysiology market.The statistics are given by Electrophysiology Market Research by Product (Diagnostic Catheter (Conventional, Advanced, Ultyrasound), Ablation Catheter (Cryoablation, RF, Microwave), Lab Devices (Mapping, Recording, Generator, ICE, X-ray)) & Indication (AF, VT, WPW) - Global Forecasts to 2019, which analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW).Ask for PDF Brochure @(Specify Your Particular Requirements (if any) about the Research on this market in the interest section)Based on products, the electrophysiology market is classified into three major segments, namely, EP diagnostic catheters, EP ablation catheters, and EP laboratory devices. The EP diagnostic catheters segment is further divided into conventional EP diagnostic catheters, advanced EP diagnostic catheters, and ultrasound EP diagnostic catheters. The EP ablation catheters segment is further classified into radiofrequency (RF) EP ablation catheters, cryoablation EP catheters, laser ablation systems, navigational advanced mapping accessories, and microwave ablation. The EP laboratory devices segment is categorized into X-ray systems, 3D mapping systems, EP recording systems, remote steering systems, intracardiac echocardiography systems (ICE), and radiofrequency (RF) ablation generators.Based on indication, the electrophysiology market is divided into atrial fibrillation, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, and atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia.In 2014, North America accounted for the largest share of the market, followed by Europe. However, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2014 to 2019. The high growth in this region can be attributed to the rapidly increasing aging population, growing focus of multinational companies on emerging markets, improving and modernizing healthcare infrastructure, and high demand of electrophysiology devices.For Queries & Assistance, Speak to Analyst of this Forecast @Some of the major players in the global electrophysiology market are Abbott Laboratories (U.S.), Biosense Webster, Inc. (U.S.), BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG (Germany), Boston Scientific Corporation (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (The Netherlands), Medtronic, Inc. (U.S.), Microport Scientific Corporation (China), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (U.S.), and Siemens AG (Germany).About Research Publisher: MarketsandMarketsMarketsandMarkets is worlds 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. MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.Contact:Mr. RohanMarkets and MarketsUNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZMagarpatta city, HadapsarPune, Maharashtra 411013, India1-888-600-6441 Yissum Licenses Cutting Edge Technology for Enhanced Digital Image Processing to Adobe Systems www.yissum.co.il Jerusalem, Israel, April 21, 2010 Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the technology transfer arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem today announced that it has signed a non-exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Adobe Systems for the development and commercialization of an imaging technology that improves digital image processing. The technology, invented by Dr. Raanan Fattal from the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is called Edge Avoiding Wavelets and it enables better and faster detail enhancement and preserves edges when sharpening digital images.Image processing applications invest considerable computing power in attempts to enhance details in digital images, and to enable users to accurately demarcate a specific object within the image. Current state-of-the art technologies for enabling such image processing functions are overly sophisticated and suffer from various limitations. The new Edge Avoiding Wavelets technology is fast and uses explicit computations to obtain results traditionally obtained by implicit formulations requiring sophisticated linear solvers. The new technology avoids pixels from both sides of an edge, thus achieving a sharper, halo-free image. Its fast performance accelerates various computational photography applications by a factor of more than one order of magnitude."We are very pleased with the collaboration with Adobe, one of the leading software companies. Image processing has become a household technology, and faster, user-friendly applications are continuously sought for. The new image processing technology invented by Dr. Fattal is exactly such an application, and we believe that it can be extremely valuable also for other image processing software packages," said Yaacov Michlin, CEO of Yissum. "In addition, Hebrew University researchers have been developing a strong and diversified portfolio of innovative imaging technologies including 3D visualization manipulations, real-time pattern matching, colorization ofstill images and movies and animation techniques, all of which are available forlicensing."The recent release of Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended is loaded with more innovative new technology than ever before, said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. Our customers will certainly benefit from the collaborative relationship between the engineers at Adobe Labs and forward-thinking university researchers like those from the Hebrew University team. This technology has been applied to enhance the Sharpen Tool in Photoshop CS5 and its Protect Detail feature that allows for the best sharpening possible.Yissum Representative in charge of CS & IT technologies - Tamir Huberman VP Business Development & IT Director of YissumYissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd. was founded in 1964 to protect and commercialize the Hebrew Universitys intellectual property. Ranked among the top technology transfer companies in the world, Yissum has registered over 6,100 patents covering 1,750 inventions; has licensed out 480 technologies and has spun-off 65 companies. Yissums business partners span the globe and include companies such as Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Merck, Teva, Intel, IBM, Phillips, Syngenta, Vilmorin, Monsanto and many more. For further information please visitTamir HubermanHi-Tech Park, Givat Ram, PO BOX 39135Jerusalem, Israel91390 Talent Acquisition Software Market 2016 to grow at a CAGR of 19.79% during the period to 2020 http://goo.gl/5Xigjy http://goo.gl/htkhmk http://www.prmarketweb.com/ About talent acquisition softwareTalent acquisition is the process of finding and acquiring skilled workforce as per the requirements in organizations. Talent acquisition team of HR department is responsible for searching, acquiring, assessing, and hiring candidates that will fit organizational goal and project requirements. Talent acquisition software helps organizations in leveraging video, social, and mobile technologies for managing talent lifecycle. This lifecycle includes the development of talent pools, integrating marketing automation tools, screening of applicants, and on-boarding of applicants.Global talent acquisition software market to grow at a CAGR of 19.79% in terms of revenue during the period 2014-2019.Request For Free Report Sample @Covered in this reportThis report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global talent acquisition software market for the period 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, the report considers subscription and licensing revenue from the sales of the following enterprise applications: On-premise solutions On-demand solutionsGlobal Talent Acquisition Software Market 2015-2019, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the landscape of global talent acquisition software market and its growth prospects in the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors CornerStone on Demand IBM Oracle SAP WorkDayRead More Research with TOC @Other prominent vendors BetterInterviews Halogen Software HireCraft Software iCIMS Infor Global Solutions Njoyn Peoplefluent Saba Software SilkRoad Technology SumTotal Systems Ultimate SoftwareAbout PR Market WebPR Market Web will provide you real and current information related different news. It may be local, national and global news. Also it serves educational guidance to students and market policies to businessmen. So its best platform to search any type of news.Our team has taken efforts in providing high quality services. Visitors can interact directly to our team for any queries and suggestions. This platform is mobile friendly, so you can search for news anytime and anywhere.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442, USATel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Website:email: info@prmarketweb.com She's been called Oregon's best-loved author. Beverly Cleary, whose award-winning books include the Portland-set "Ramona" series, celebrates her 100th birthday on April 12. Celebrating Beverly Cleary At the library: Multnomah County Library is holding through April 30. On TV: Oregon Public Broadcasting's "Oregon Art Beat" will air a documentary, "Discovering Beverly Cleary," at 8 p.m. April 7. On foot: Portland author Laura O. Foster publishes her guidebook " : Exploring Beverly Cleary's Portland" in October. Born in McMinnville as Beverly Bunn, she spent her early childhood in Yamhill, then moved to Portland with her parents at age 6 to start school. She attended Fernwood and Gregory Heights elementary schools and Grant High School. Cleary published her first book, "Henry Huggins," in 1950, and other titles swiftly followed. By 1959, she was so well established as a children's author that syndicated advice columnist Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby") was urging a young correspondent signed "Hates Mother" to go to the library and check out Cleary's book "The Luckiest Girl." Van Buren wrote, "I recommend this excellent book for all girls aged 12 and 13 whose mothers don't 'understand' them." A 1961 Oregonian article said of Cleary, "She has a happy faculty for writing humorous stories about everyday boys and girls, and her books have become enormously popular." Many of those stories came from her own experiences. In a recent telephone interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, Cleary said she got the idea for "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" during a family visit to a hotel. Her young son fell ill, and she bought a few toy cars and a toy motorcycle to amuse him. Then the family spotted a mouse and Cleary's first thought was that it was the perfect size to ride the toy motorcycle. And like the author in "Dear Mr. Henshaw," Cleary received letters from children wrestling with problems. She said one boy with whom she corresponded once wrote to her that the only adults who paid any attention to him were her and his social worker. Cleary eventually wrote more than 40 children's books, which have sold more than 90 million copies. She has received the National Medal of Arts and has been named a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress. Related: Beverly Cleary's dozens of books include numerous award winners Though she has not lived in Oregon for decades - she now makes her home in Carmel, California - her presence is still felt daily. Here, several members of Portland's book community explain how and why. Margie Lawler Teacher librarian, Beverly Cleary K-8 School Margie Lawler I never would have guessed as a young voracious reader devouring all of the Ramona and Henry books that I would someday live in the same neighborhood Ramona and Henry played in, and work as the librarian in the same school building that Beverly Cleary herself attended. I use the word "work" lightly. Students at Beverly Cleary School come to the library all smiles, and leave grinning as they clutch the books they can't wait to read. Most all of them know that Beverly Cleary is a famous author who grew up in the same neighborhood they are growing up in. They also know that Henry, Ramona, Beezus and the other characters from Cleary's books played in the park that they play in. In fact, many of them confuse Beverly Cleary with her fictional character, Ramona. When the younger students sit on the story steps in the library to listen to me read a story, some of them believe Ramona sat on those same steps to hear her librarian read to her. I think all of us at Beverly Cleary School feel Cleary's and Ramona's presence in our school and neighborhood. There are so many references from her books that come to my mind as I am out walking my dog, or walking the halls of Beverly Cleary School. I remember thinking about Henry trying to get on the bus with Ribsy in a box as I walked down 33rd Avenue past the bus stop with my son after reading the book "Henry and Ribsy" together. On a clear day when the students and I look out the windows of our school from the second floor, we see Mount Hood looking like a "licked ice-cream cone" just like Ramona did in "Ramona Quimby, Age 8." If we listen carefully, we can almost hear Henry yell, "I told you so!" to Ramona as she gets her boots stuck in the mud across the street from our school. Being the school librarian at Beverly Cleary School is a bit like living inside Beverly Cleary's books. I feel her presence every day. Chris Otis Chris Otis Executive director, Start Making a Reader Today It's indisputable: Beverly Cleary has written some of the absolute best and most enduring children's books of our time. I have many wonderful memories of sharing the adventures of Beezus and Ramona with my two daughters as they were growing up. But, Beverly Cleary's work is worth so much more than the sum of its parts. Her stories have sparked imagination and curiosity in the minds of children throughout the world. Her books have been at the center of innumerable bedtime stories, creating magical moments of fun and laughter. And importantly, her storytelling has created a lifelong love of reading in children in Oregon and across the world. Here's to you on your 100th birthday, Ms. Cleary, and to igniting a love of the written word in children and adults alike for centuries to come. Valley Oehlke Valley Oehlke Director of Libraries, Multnomah County Library President, Public Library Association I have fond childhood memories of reading Beverly Cleary's books with my dad, who often talked about her being raised near where we lived, not far from Klickitat Street. As a somewhat shy girl, I was particularly drawn to Ramona. Her bold pursuits and fun-filled adventures enticed me, and her world was all around me. Hollywood Library, which features a public art installation in Ms. Cleary's honor, has inspired and delighted generations of children with her words, characters and stories. In addition, Ms. Cleary has been a generous and steadfast supporter of public libraries and we are grateful for all that she has contributed. Happy birthday, Beverly Cleary! Bart King Bart King Children's author I was in second grade when my teacher, Mrs. Pirtle, plopped a Beverly Cleary book on my desk. She'd grown tired of my endless book reports on amphibians and suggested that I give "Henry Huggins" a spin. I reluctantly did, and -- hey, it was hilarious! I was hooked, and immediately plowed (and replowed) through the rest of the Klickitat Street books. Although I was a country kid, Henry and Ramona's urban neighborhood made sense to me. It was a place where kids collected worms and brought home stray dogs, and you could wander over to a familiar house and just yell for your friend from the street. Fast-forward several decades. My wife and I moved to Portland, and by sheer chance, our new home was exactly ONE block from -- wait for it -- Klickitat Street. Goosebumps, anyone? (And thanks, Mrs. Pirtle!) Susan Fletcher Susan Fletcher Children's author I was a shy kid, and when I was in fourth grade I had a very scary teacher. I found out later that her bark was much worse than her bite, but still her bark was enough to scare the pants off me. Also, although I was mostly a good student, I was terrible at arithmetic -- especially long division. Seriously, I tried, but I just couldn't do it at all. And my teacher made it very clear that she disapproved. But every day after lunch she would read to us. That was the best part of the entire day! One of the books I loved was "Homer Price" by Robert McCloskey. But my favorite book of all was "Ellen Tebbits," by Beverly Cleary. Because Ellen really messed up, in that book. She did some really stupid stuff. But I could tell from the twinkle in my teacher's eye as she read that she liked Ellen anyway. In spite of the mistakes Ellen made. And this put my long division failures in perspective. I could take a deep breath and just sort of accept myself, failings and all. I think this is part of the genius of Beverly Cleary. She doesn't glamorize her kid characters. She shows them warts and all. And I think we love her characters even more because they are flawed. Danielle Swope Danielle Swope Founder and executive director, Children's Book Bank Although they were created decades ago, Ramona and Beezus Quimby, Ralph S. Mouse, Henry Huggins and Ribsy are all alive and kicking at The Children's Book Bank in Portland thanks to local families who love reading and want their favorite books and characters to be enjoyed by others. As predictably as Ramona springs into action, Beverly Cleary's beloved stories and characters can frequently be found among the donations of thousands of picture books, read-alouds and chapter books that come through our doors each week. And as often as Henry Huggins gets into scrapes with his lovable mutt Ribsy, volunteer book cleaners light up every time a Cleary favorite is pulled out of the stacks of collected books. Cleary's characters have endured over the decades and continue to resonate even with the young, often struggling, readers served by The Children's Book Bank. One school librarian at a low-income school recently shared the story of a boy who now checks out a "Ramona" book every week after discovering Beverly Cleary at a "just for summer" book give-away. Perhaps today's readers relate to the same growing-up challenges that Cleary's characters face. Perhaps the appeal is still that her stories are full of amusing situations and humor. One thing is for certain: Cleary's books are fun to read and a gift to children who struggle to identify themselves as readers. Paige Battle Paige Battle Librarian, Grant High School Growing up in Pensacola, Florida, Beverly Cleary was one of my favorite authors, and I checked all of her books out from my school library. I felt a true kinship with Ramona - here was a little girl who shared my sense of curiosity about the world around me and also had an older sister who could find her exasperating at times! Imagine my delight, when starting my job as the Grant High School librarian, to discover that I was getting to teach in the very school where one of my childhood literary heroes had gone. Happy birthday to alumna Beverly Cleary! Oregon Battle of the Books Beverly Cleary is an iconic Oregon writer. Her books are well-loved by generations of children and adults. All of us at Oregon Battle of the Books are fans of Beverly Cleary. From our secretary, Meg Miranda: "I just retired this year after 20-plus years of working in school libraries and now volunteer at the public library. Beverly Cleary's books have remained on the shelves since I was a kid. I loved the Henry and Ribsy series. I so wished for the braces that Henry had that tuned in to a radio station. ... Beverly Cleary's work is timeless." Oregon Battle of the Books has included "Dear Mr. Henshaw," "The Girl From Yamhill," "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" and "Socks" on our book lists. Her books have brought joy to many readers and will continue to do so. Happy birthday, Beverly Cleary! 1brussels.JPG Two men help re-adjust the tributes left for the victims of the recent bomb attacks in Brussels, following heavy rain in the Place de la Bourse in Brussels, Monday, March, 28, 2016. (The Associated Press) By Marc A. Thiessen For years, Brussels has been the epicenter for European outrage over the CIA's terrorist interrogation program. Now it is Belgium that has some explaining to do for its failure to effectively interrogate a high-value terrorist - an interrogation that may have foiled last week's deadly terrorist attacks. The carnage is a direct result of Europe's refusal to accept that terrorists must be treated differently than common criminals. When Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the logistics chief for an Islamic State terrorist cell, was captured, Belgian officials followed law enforcement procedures with precision. They provided Abdeslam a lawyer, told him he had the right to remain silent and put him into the Belgian criminal-justice system. Four days later, the terrorist cell carried out bombings in Brussels that killed 35 people - including at least four Americans - and injured hundreds more. Astonishingly, officials did not question Abdeslam at all for his first 24 hours in custody. He spent Friday night in the hospital recovering from a leg wound sustained in the raid. When he was finally returned to the police on Saturday, he was questioned by authorities for a grand total of . . . two hours - and then was not questioned again until after the attacks. Why? "He seemed very tired and he had been operated on the day before," a senior Belgian security official told Politico. He seemed tired? That's precisely when they should be interrogating him. The CIA used sleep deprivation as one of its most effective interrogation tools. But for Belgians, a terrorist's exhaustion is a reason to stop questioning, not intensify it. But here is the most incredible part: During those two hours of questioning, The Post reports, "investigators did not ask . . . about his knowledge of future plots." Seriously? Abdeslam was the logistics chief for the Brussels-based terrorist cell that carried out both the Paris and Brussels bombings. According to The New York Times, "He was the fixer, renting cars, finding apartments, picking people up and dropping them off." He could have identified the other members of his cell; the safe houses they used; how they communicated, moved money, picked travel routes; and - most important - the targets they had selected. But investigators did not bother to ask him about plans for new attacks. Instead, The Post reports, they "concentrated solely on the Paris attacks . . . and then no other discussions were held until after Tuesday's attacks." The mind simply boggles. Investigators had found unused detonators and weapons in a safe house with his fingerprints. Did it occur to them to ask what he had intended to use them for? Apparently not. Abdeslam's questioning is a textbook example of why the law enforcement model for interrogating terrorists is a disaster. As we saw in Brussels, law enforcement officials are in no hurry to extract answers from a detainee, because they are questioning terrorists after an attack has occurred. Their goal is to extract a confession in order to secure a conviction. In such circumstances, patience is a virtue. But in an intelligence-driven interrogation, patience is deadly. Interrogators are trying to get information from the terrorist quickly, before an attack occurs. In such circumstances, you need to take a terrorist from a state of defiance to a state of cooperation quickly. Speed is of the essence. It is simply unconscionable that Abdeslam was allowed to protect the identities of cell members and their plans for the Brussels attacks. But that is only the beginning of the shameful incompetence on display here. Not only did officials not ask Abdeslam about future attacks, but also they compounded that error by holding multiple news conferences in which they bragged about his arrest and boasted how well he was cooperating. This was a fatal mistake. Belgian officials should never have publicly acknowledged Abdeslam's capture. When terrorists learn that one of their comrades is being interrogated, they rapidly begin purging email accounts, shutting down phone numbers, dispersing operatives and closing other vital trails of intelligence - and in this case, likely accelerating attack plans. But if a terrorist's capture is kept secret, these intelligence trails may remain warm for some time - allowing officials to exploit them as they extract information from the detainee. This case demonstrates the need for some form of secret detention and an intelligence-driven approach to interrogating captured high-value terrorists. It does not mean, as Donald Trump has suggested, that Abdeslam should have undergone waterboarding and "a lot more." In the CIA's experience, two-thirds of detainees cooperated without any enhanced interrogation techniques at all. Just the experience of disappearing into secret detention - with no idea where they were and no lawyer present - was enough to get them talking. Officials in Europe and the United States need to wake up and change their approaches. The Islamic State released a video over the weekend featuring two terrorists, allegedly Belgian nationals, celebrating the Brussels attacks from inside Iraq. One of them looks into the camera and declares, "This is just the beginning of your nightmare." If we keep treating terrorists like common criminals, that nightmare will soon become reality. Thiessen, a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute and former chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush, writes a weekly online column for The Post. (c) 2016, The Washington Post 1garland.JPG Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, which considers judicial nominations, walks with Judge Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's choice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, Tuesday, March 22, 2016, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (The Associated Press) By John Feinblatt Special to The Washington Post By this point, we're all familiar with the National Rifle Association's political playbook. We've seen their leaders misinform and exaggerate before, in debates about legislation, candidates for office and judicial nominees. While their tactics might be tried and true, they typically bear little relationship to the truth. Their latest campaign, against Judge Merrick Garland, is no different. Garland is the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Regarded as the second-highest court in the land, the District of Columbia Circuit has served as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court for former justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February, along with Justices John G. Roberts Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas, among others. Here's something else about Garland's resume. Nothing about it sheds any light whatsoever on how he views guns or the Second Amendment. Of course, NRA headquarters wants you to believe something different. In a Post op-ed last weekend, the NRA's chief lobbyist, Chris W. Cox, portrayed Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court as nothing less than an existential threat to lawful gun ownership. The evidence for such a claim doesn't exist. The truth is, appointing a successor to Scalia will not threaten our Second Amendment rights. It's settled law. The court's landmark 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller recognized an individual right to keep and use a handgun for self-defense in the home. Just Monday, the Supreme Court confirmed that Heller remains good law, and it did so unanimously - giving the lie to the NRA's repeated claim that the fate of the Second Amendment depends on the vote of a single justice. The NRA's leaders falsely portray the right to gun ownership as on the precipice. They're just as alarmist about Garland's record. Again, their claims are baseless. To paint Garland as an opponent of gun rights, they distort a basic procedural vote that he cast in a gun case before the D.C. Circuit. In fact, Garland didn't issue a ruling. He didn't even say or write anything about the merits of the case. And think about the company he was keeping. Judge A. Raymond Randolph, a George H.W. Bush appointee and outspoken conservative, was among three judges who joined Garland in the same vote. NRA leaders also say that Garland voted to uphold that classic gun lobby bugaboo: a federal "registry" of gun owners. In fact, Garland simply joined an opinion upholding a Justice Department rule that allowed for the temporary retention of data from the national gun-sale background-check system. The FBI kept the data for no more than six months to ensure the system's accuracy and integrity. Then it destroyed the data, in keeping with the law. The "registry"? It doesn't exist. In short, nothing in his record suggests that a Justice Garland wouldn't respect the Second Amendment and uphold the Constitution. But when it comes to vetting high-profile judicial nominees, the NRA's leaders have shown they're willing to look past the facts. Previously, when Justice Sonia Sotomayor was nominated, NRA officials came up with a creative rationale for opposing her. Following what was at the time the Supreme Court precedent, Sotomayor had joined an opinion that upheld a state's ban on nunchucks. Sotomayor was practicing what's called "judicial restraint," and nunchucks aren't guns, but no matter - the gun lobby branded her an enemy of the Second Amendment. Next nominee, same tactic. Justice Elena Kagan had no meaningful record on gun issues, but that didn't stop the NRA from misrepresenting her experience and opposing her nomination. Now it's Garland's turn to be a (not very convincing) threat to our Constitution and freedoms. If the NRA's leaders were simply ginning up a no-compromise base and using the nomination process to fund-raise, then we could dismiss their rhetoric as business as usual and ignore them. But when the Senate majority leader says it would be unimaginable to confirm a nominee from President Obama who is opposed by the NRA, that's when the rest of us ought to set the record straight. So don't believe the hype. The NRA's partisan political arm doesn't represent the views of the vast majority of Americans. John Feinblatt is president of Everytown for Gun Safety. By David Klinger Psst, mister, wanna see some filthy pictures? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came about as close as any staid bureaucracy could last week to peddling pornography when it finally released photographs of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge takeover to the world. About five weeks too late, but I'll give the agency I served for 35 years credit for belatedly turning the disinfecting spotlight of public exposure on the aftermath of the whole sordid affair. Would that its peep show had occurred when national focus was still riveted on Burns. And what horrific damage to buildings, possessions, land and Paiute tribal heritage there has been -- more than $4 million worth, and counting. Psychological damage to staff and psyche? Those scars will last much longer. I wish that the entire world could view these dirty pictures in all of their stark, degrading reality. I'd like to show them to some of our cheerleading Idaho state legislators who made such an effort to encourage armed insurrection by engaging in across-the-border road trips to provide aid and succor to the culprits. After a rape, witness must be borne. But the national news cycle has moved on, to the horrors of Brussels and the banality of Donald Trump's latest tweets. To most of America east of the Oregon state line, Malheur ... well, maybe it never really happened. My agency's 9/11 moment -- a seminal event in its venerable 150-year history -- yet its impact may last no more than the half-life of a nanosecond in today's cyberculture. I've been very critical of my former employer for what I believe has been its delinquency and tardiness in capitalizing on the post-Malheur aftermath as its opportunity to tell the public why national wildlife refuges matter. The thieves in the middle of the night who stole the public trust provided the essential ingredients to acquaint the public with why these places are so treasured. But, as one agency insider told me, "The opportunity to fully chronicle the widest swath of damage was never within our agency's grasp." Pity. By allowing itself to be initially crowded out by law enforcement's first responders and prosecutors, the Fish and Wildlife Service had to play second fiddle on its own refuge during the post-occupation aftermath, almost as a marginalized bit player in this epic Greek tragedy. Limited press tours a month or more after Malheur's denouement may convey a sense of agency responsiveness, but regrettably the nation's attention has moved elsewhere. Evidence cannot be compromised or prematurely made public, of course. But it's hard to fathom how any court case could be jeopardized by immediate, instead of delayed, exposure of the damage. Through their boastful and excessive use of social media during the incursion, the occupiers pretty much convicted themselves in advance of any trial. No, what was shortchanged was the public's fleeting and fickle attention span -- and the historical legacy from this terrorist incident that must be fully chronicled. Bureaucracies don't move fast. They seldom think in terms of decades or centuries. Perhaps I expected too much. My analogy has been that of Matthew Brady. The pioneering Civil War photographer lumbered his creaky wagons, filled with primitive cameras and fragile glass plates, onto the Antietam battlefield and other fields of slaughter within hours of the guns falling silent. Brady understood the fierce urgency of now -- of bearing witness with an honest and unblinking eye, before evidence is removed, sites of conflict sanitized and fresh memories clouded by the passage of time. He did not tell the story of Bull Run or Gettysburg; he showed it -- immediately, in its rawest form -- as the technology of his time permitted. And Brady's poignant and hauntingly stark views of death and destruction continue to resonate with us today. In my role as Portland agency spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, the good stories bored me. Anyone can peddle a success. Give me more crises. Those a skilled public agency can magnify and amplify into a far greater tale about why places like Malheur truly matter, if only today's attention-deficient public can be encouraged to stop, look and listen. The greatest tragedy from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation may be the missed opportunity it represents. * David Klinger was press officer for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific regional office in Portland from 1988-1998. He now lives in Boise, Idaho. gable.JPG Frank Gable, pictured in 1990 at the Marion County Courthouse. (File photo) By John Foote In 1989, the director of the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) was stabbed to death on the grounds of the DOC central office. As many of us painfully remember, it took a full year of investigation before there was enough evidence to charge, try and convict the murderer, Frank Gable. What made that year of waiting so painful was the way so many innocent DOC employees were dragged through the mud with baseless accusations of a conspiracy which did not exist. Now, more than 26 years later, a privately funded organization that has anointed themselves with the grand title of the Oregon Innocence Project has decided to claim that Gable is innocent. Over our nation's long history, the American public has developed a healthy skepticism about the actions of special interest groups. Although sometimes they can be a healthy counterpoint to accepted doctrines, to the general public they are most often cloaked in shadowy self-interest or their rhetoric is ideologically shrill. Unfortunately, the Oregon Innocence Project has gotten off to just such a start. The group is privately funded with no public accountability. And their rhetoric can be mindlessly harsh. The leader of the Oregon Innocence Project, a retired chief federal public defender, after defending al-Qaida detainees at Guantanamo Bay, wrote a book capturing his thoughts on our justice system with the title "Kafka Comes to America." Under his leadership, the Oregon Innocence Project has been continuously grasping for the perfect case to prove their claims of a corrupt and venal criminal justice system. So far, their work has been largely fruitless, despite their repeated efforts to comb through case after case. And this is where Frank Gable comes in. After repeatedly failing to uncover a trove of innocent inmates living in our prisons, the Oregon Innocence Project has gone down the well-worn path that leads to the man in 1989 who stabbed to death Michael Francke, the director of Oregon's Department of Corrections. The Gable case was one of the most investigated and publicly scrutinized cases in Oregon history. It was fully litigated throughout a jury trial and many years of appeals and other legal challenges. Over many years of painstaking legal procedures, all of Gable's legal rights were honored and protected at considerable public expense. And during that process not even one juror, trial judge or appellate judge was persuaded that he was innocent. And all of this occurred under the glare of a media spotlight without precedent. As the inspector general of Oregon's prison system from 1990-1995, I was given the responsibility for investigating allegations of wrongdoing in the department, including some of the conspiracy theories that arose after the Francke murder. Starting in 1989, competing media outlets spawned an escalating feeding frenzy of factually unsupported accusations against any number of public officials, including even an accusation involving a murder-for-hire theory. None of these wild accusations ever held water, but they hurt a great many truly innocent people. Through it all, the only case that withstood the scrutiny of our court system, over and over, was the one presented in open court to a jury of 12 citizens and repeatedly affirmed by all of Oregon's appellate courts. Michael Francke was stabbed to death by Frank Gable, a low-level thief, thug and drug dealer, after Francke happened to stumble upon him breaking into his car. The true Gable case was simply too mundane for the press to accept at face value in 1989. Today the case is just too sensational for the Oregon Innocence Project to pass up the opportunity to resurrect, particularly after their other efforts have so far failed to smear Oregon's criminal justice system as the "Kafkaesque" nightmare they believe it to be. * John Foote is Clackamas County district attorney. MM3PSU.jpg A proposed payroll tax would seek to raise $35 million to $40 million for student scholarships, faculty salaries and other expenses from businesses in Metro's tri-county service area. (The Associated Press) A campaign to tax businesses for student scholarships and faculty salaries at Portland State University got a boost with a recent $100,000 donation, as The Oregonian/OregonLive's Andrew Theen reported. The weird thing? That contribution came from PSU's charitable foundation, a donor-backed nonprofit that typically reserves its money for things like ... student scholarships and faculty salaries. It's not unheard of for foundations to use donor money for political campaigns that support their mission. The Oregon Zoo's foundation, for instance, donated to the zoo's campaign in 2008 to pass a bond measure for rebuilding exhibits and modernizing the zoo. But those efforts generally ask voters to approve bonds or tax measures that will be borne by voters as a whole. In contrast, the proposal for PSU asks voters to approve targeting one segment of the community -- businesses in a tri-county area -- to bear the financial burden of a public benefit. The proposal, which still faces a few hurdles before qualifying for the November ballot, would impose a 0.1 percent payroll tax on businesses in the Metro service area, similar to TriMet's payroll tax, and would generate between $35 million to $40 million a year, the campaign estimates. http://media.oregonlive.com/opinion_impact/photo/agenda-2013jpg-da8a3522a991b9c6.jpg Editorial Agenda 2016 Get Oregon centered Better leadership in education Make Portland a city that works Build Oregon prosperity Protect and expand personal freedom Get pot right _______________________________ To no one's surprise, businesses aren't too happy. While the payroll tax is the focus of their ire, it didn't help that the foundation -- to which businesses have donated tens of millions of dollars -- doubled down on the university's anti-business strategy by making a $100,000 contribution to the campaign. "I was very disappointed to hear that dollars that businesses had contributed to support students and academic programs at the university will be used for political purposes," said Scott Bolton, vice president of external affairs for PacifiCorp, which has donated tens of thousands of dollars to the foundation, according to the foundation's honor roll. While he declined to comment on whether it would affect PacifiCorp/Pacific Power Foundation's future giving, he noted that it's discouraging "to see dollars we've given for one purpose be given to another." Constance French, the interim foundation president, defended her board's decision to make the contribution. The foundation's sole purpose is to support the university, she said, and using donors' money by giving to the payroll tax campaign meets their wishes "to advance PSU." However, French could not recall the foundation making a political contribution previously. It's unlikely donors believed that contributing to anti-business political campaigns was on the menu with scholarships, building construction, faculty retention and other programs that more directly support students. The action also ignores the fact that donors who want to give to the payroll tax campaign can do so directly, easily and more efficiently. There's no need for the foundation to do it for them. The bigger issue, of course, is the payroll tax that PSU is pushing. The Yes for PSU campaign makes a weak argument that businesses benefit from a well-trained workforce and therefore should bear more of the cost. That ignores, first of all, that PSU's job is to educate students; it's not taking students' money out of a philanthropic desire to help businesses. Second, PSU graduates go on to many places beyond the tri-county area that would get hit with the tax. Third, businesses hire people with a range of educational backgrounds, including degrees from area community colleges that won't get a seat on the PSU-only gravy train. Fourth, PSU and its foundation have a lot more sway than they seem to acknowledge in how much students pay for an education. Another problem with the proposal? As currently drafted, "payroll" would include even the wages parents pay for babysitting if the amount totals $1,000 or more a year. That's an exceedingly low threshold that families can cross with just two hours of babysitting a week at a modest $10 an hour. This goes far beyond what's collected under TriMet's payroll tax, which categorically excludes "domestic services in a private home" from the payroll tax, according to the state revenue department. The idea that parents would have to track and remit a payroll tax for a babysitter highlights the absurdity of this proposal. Oregonian editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. are Helen Jung, Erik Lukens, Steve Moss and Len Reed. To respond to this editorial: Post your comment below, submit a , or write a . If you have questions about the opinion section, contact Erik Lukens, editorial and commentary editor, at or 503-221-8142. You also have to wonder why the foundation would intentionally create ill will considering it's still rebuilding from an embarrassing incident last year. About seven months ago, the foundation hastily canceled its planned announcement of a donor's $100 million gift after officials realized that the donation was fiction and the donor was not credible. The foundation president at the time, Francoise Aylmer, and the chief development officer resigned shortly after. French said the foundation had some preliminary polling done that "looks very positive" for the proposal, although she declined to share the results. But provided it makes it to the ballot, it's foolish to assume it will pass. While using that $100,000 for scholarships would have only modestly bumped up the $3.2 million that the foundation awarded last year, the assistance certainly would have been welcomed. The foundation should be concerned that its behemoth gift is only one of two contributions reported by the Yes for PSU campaign, with the other amounting to $140 in cash donations. That lack of support might be something the campaign organizers should have weighed. Sadly, once again, it seems the foundation's not paying attention. - The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board Ammon Bundy, his brother Ryan Bundy, and co-defendants Ryan Payne and Brian Cavalier are appealing to a higher court to remain in Oregon to defend against the federal indictments they face here, before they're transferred to Nevada to face a federal case there. The four are appealing U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown's ruling last week that would allow U.S. marshals to transport them April 13 to Nevada to make their first court appearance on a pending federal indictment in Las Vegas. Notice was filed Monday in federal court in Oregon that four co-defendants who face federal prosecution in both Oregon and Nevada are appealing Judge Brown's ruling to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Another co-defendant Blaine Cooper could join in the appeal, once his lawyer has an opportunity to consult with him, according to the court filing. Brown last week said that deputy marshals could transport the Bundy brothers, Payne, Cavalier and Cooper from Portland to Las Vegas on April 13 to make their first court appearances on federal indictments stemming from the 2014 standoff near Cliven Bundy's ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada. They were to be returned to Portland 12 days later, on April 25, according to Judge Brown's order. They are among 19 indicted in Nevada for alleged crimes stemming from the 2014 armed standoff near Cliven Bundy's ranch. They also face federal indictments in Oregon, stemming from the 41-day armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge outside of Burns. Their defense lawyers argued that they didn't think federal prosecutors in Oregon and Nevada should pursue criminal cases against the defendants at the same time. Splitting time between courtrooms and jail cells in Oregon and Nevada would severely compromise their ability to meaningfully communicate with their defense attorneys and would interfere with their rights to speedy trials, they argued. But the federal judge in Oregon disagreed. In a written order, Brown noted that the transfer of these defendants for their first court appearance in Nevada and quick return to Oregon would "not interfere with this Court's proceedings or with Defendants' rights in this forum provided that defendants' transport-and-return occurs as directed.'' After Brown's ruling, Ammon Bundy's lawyer Lissa Casey issued a statement, saying, "Moving Ammon to Nevada makes it more difficult for him to participate in his own defense, and it makes it more (challenging) for us to mount a zealous advocacy." The formal notice of appeal was made to the court on Monday, likely placing any transfer on hold until the matter is heard by the appellate court. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian Shawna Cox Shawna Cox, pictured here speaking during the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. On Tuesday, March 29, 2016, a federal judge reminded Cox she's not permitted to speak publicly about the pending federal case against her, "or any further protest movements.'' (Beth Nakamura) A federal judge Tuesday agreed to lift Shawna Cox's home detention and replace it with a curfew, but cautioned the 59-year-old defendant in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge not to make public comments about the pending case. "She's not going to make any public comment, at all, period, or she could sit in jail,'' U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones ordered. Cox has been out of custody since her Jan. 29 release and listened to Tuesday's hearing via speaker phone from her home in Kanab, Utah. The judge told Cox she must refrain from making any comments by phone or social media about her case "or any future protest movements.'' Tiffany Harris, Cox's lawyer, objected to the scope of the order, but said her client would abide. Cox is one of 27 people facing federal indictment stemming in the refuge takeover. It began Jan. 2 and lasted 41 days. Ammon Bundy said he led the occupation to protest the return to prison of two Harney County ranchers and the federal control of public lands. Cox was among the first to be released from custody Jan. 29, three days after she was arrested while traveling from the refuge in Harney County with occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum and three others in Finicum's truck to a community meeting in John Day. FBI agents and state troopers stopped them Jan. 26 along U.S. 395 north of Burns. State police shot and killed Finicum when he got out of the truck and reached three times toward a jacket pocket, according to the FBI. He had a loaded 9mm handgun in the pocket, the FBI and state police said. Cox has been indicted on two charges, federal conspiracy to impede officers at the wildlife refuge through intimidation, threats or force, and possession of firearms in a federal facility. Shortly after her release, Cox was allowed to attend Finicum's funeral in Kanab. Otherwise, she was ordered placed on GPS monitoring, home detention that permitted her to leave home only for work, medical appointments, religious services or other activities permitted by a pretrial services officer. She also isn't permitted to possess any firearms and can only travel to Oregon for court. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said Tuesday that Cox "has incited people to travel to Montana to help in harboring'' co-defendant Jake Ryan, who has not yet been arrested. Cox also went on a YouTube video on March 23 for more than an hour talking about the pending case and who she believed to be a government informant, Gabriel said. Harris said her client is a 59-year-old grandmother who uses Facebook "to communicate with the world.'' Judge Jones said he didn't want Cox speaking by phone or on her Facebook account or any social media about the case or other protests. "You understand that Ms. Cox?'' the judge asked. "I do,'' she replied. "And , you agree to that?'' Jones asked. "I do,'' Cox said. The judge said he was satisfied that a curfew could replace home detention during her pretrial release. Cox and her attorney argued in court papers that she is primarily responsible for helping tenants with repairs and maintenance on family-owned rental properties because her husband had recent heart surgery and isn't as mobile or active as he's been in the past. She and her husband own and operate several small businesses, including a car dealership and a handful of rental properties, her lawyer wrote in court papers. "It has been a hardship for Ms. Cox to adhere to a pre-approved home detention schedule because her livelihood depends upon her ability to address situations that are unplanned and unpredictable,'' Harris wrote in a motion to the court. -- Maxine Bernstein mbernstein@oregonian.com 503-221-8212 @maxoregonian tradewinds depoe bay.jpg Tradewinds Charters operates out of a sales office next to the bridge in Depoe Bay. File photo from 2006. (The Oregonian) A Depoe Bay fishing charter has been convicted of felony racketeering and sentenced to pay nearly $100,000 in restitution to state agencies and pay back cheated customers, officials said. The owners agreed to sell the company and stay out of the fishing charter industry, according to a news release from the Oregon State Police. In addition to the racketeering charges, husband Tim Harmon and wife Julie Harmon, along with daughter Eva Harmon, each pleaded guilty to assisting another in violation of wildlife laws, a misdemeanor. A police investigation found Tradewinds of Depoe Bay Inc. collected payment for fishing licenses without giving customers an actual license. Instead of a handwritten daily license, employees offered customers a register receipt. The investigation began in 2012 and culminated with a police search of the business in March 2015. "We have never done anything intentionally wrong,'' Tim Harmon told The Oregonian/OregonLive last year. "We have not changed or done anything differently than we have for 80 years." Charges against company boat captains and other employees were dismissed. The Lincoln County Circuit Court ruled that the Harmons must sell Tradewinds of Depoe Bay Inc. to a third party at market value, officials said. They aren't allowed to be involved in the company or any Oregon charter fishing business after the sale. The Harmons must each pay $3,500 in court fines and their daughter must pay $3,000, officials said. The court sentenced the company to pay: $45,000 to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife $48,172.88 to the Oregon State Police $16.75 to every customer who purchased licenses that were not issued between April 2012 and March 2015 Any customers who purchased a daily angling license from Tradewinds Depoe Bay Inc. during that time and did not receive an actual Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife license can contact the Lincoln County District Attorney Victim's Assistance Department at 541-265-3462. Note: An earlier version of this story listed a phone number provided by the Oregon State Police that proved incorrect. This version has been updated with the phone number for the main victim's assistance line in Lincoln County. -- Melissa Binder mbinder@oregonian.com 503-294-7656 @binderpdx United Way is working collaboratively with a group of more than 30 local non-profits and Saginaw Valley State University to better understand the needs around having adequate food and how our community can improve access to food. The group has released a short survey that will help inform this work. What a great illustration of our community coming together to create change, said Ann Fillmore, executive director of United Way of Midland County. We are fortunate to have SVSU sharing their wealth of expertise in community data and the incredible support of the non-profit community. The group has invested months learning from one another and working to understand the population that struggles with having enough food, the obstacles and barriers they face and taking inventory of the programs and services available to those who live in poverty as well as the Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE) population. The ALICE study was conducted by United Ways across the country in 2014 with fresh data coming out this fall. It shines a light on the many hardworking individuals and families with incomes above the poverty level, but below a basic survival threshold. They are often one emergency away from living in poverty and struggle with being able to pay for housing, childcare, food, health care and transportation, United Way stated. One in three households in Midland County struggle with meeting their basic needs, Fillmore said. Help with food continues to be the number one request for callers to 211 of Northeast Michigan. The survey is being implemented across the county and everyone can to take a few moments to share their opinion. Links to the electronic survey as well as a printable version are available at www.liveunitedmidland.org. Paper versions and a list of participating organizations are also available on the website, or contact United Way at (989) 631-3670 for hardcopies. The Detroit Police are giving citizens a look behind the scenes, so to speak. The department plans to launch a program that will give the public access to department data online, including complaints against officers and police runs to problem areas. The officers names wont be made public, but the nature of complaints by precinct will be available. The program comes after the U.S. Attorneys Office ends its oversight of the department after a number of excessive force complaints. The federal office had been monitoring Detroit Police since 2003. With all the things that are going on around the country, police departments are being criticized for being secretive, Detroit Police Chief James Craig told the Detroit News. If you want to build trust, you cant act like youre hiding something. The department sees the new program as a way to build on the progress made through the federal monitoring program. Now that were no longer being monitored federally, its important we continue the progress we made and not fall back into the old ways, Capt. Aric Tosqui, who is in charge of the data program, told the Detroit News. So lets be open, and lets empower people with information. Data will be integrated on the city website and will expand what data is already available. Detroit Police Commissioner Ricardo Moore also wants citizens to file formal complaints if there is a problem with an officer. This will help the department take appropriate disciplinary actions and track problem behavior and maybe even avoid an ugly incident. The department should be commended for being proactive given the current climate concerning police and community relations. Making this data available should help improve relations in the city. The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Sunday, March 27 3:21 a.m. The yard of an Ingersoll Township home was turfed, causing $50 damage. 12:41 p.m. A deputy was sent to a Midland Township park for a report of a suspicious person who was photographing The Dow Chemical Co. 2:35 p.m. Officers responded to an assault in the 1500 block of Wyllys Street. 3:06 p.m. Police investigated a noise ordinance violation in the 1100 block of Haley Street. 8:49 p.m. Police were called to a domestic assault at a Universal Drive address. 11:07 p.m. A Lee Township man, 25, was arrested in Greendale Township for driving on a suspended license and on multiple warrants. Saturday, March 26 1:40 p.m. A Hope Township man, 43, reported receiving a phone call from a man claiming to be from the IRS and asked for personal information. 8:05 p.m. A motorist was arrested at Gordon and West Buttles streets for driving on a suspended license. 8:44 p.m. A deputy was sent to a Lee Township home for a report of a disorderly person. The man left before the deputy reached the scene. 8:50 p.m. A deputy was sent to Larkin Township to check a report of a drone in the area. The drone was not found. 9:51 p.m. While on patrol, a deputy came upon a Greendale Township man, 45, who was driving a riding lawn mower down a road with no lights on. The deputy conducted a traffic stop due to the man being a traffic hazard. The man said he was coming from the store and did not have a vehicle to drive. He was escorted home. 9:52 p.m. A motorist was arrested at North Saginaw and St. Andrews roads for drunken driving. 10:29 p.m. A Greendale Township man, 74, was arrested in that township for driving while his license was revoked. 11:16 p.m. Police investigated a personal protection order violation at West Hines and Gordon streets. Friday, March 25 12:14 a.m. Deputies investigated a report of trespassing in Warren Township. 10:14 a.m. A Lincoln Township woman, 63, reported her husband, 85, received a phone call she believes is a scam and that he does not remember if he gave out any personal information. It was suggested that she contact her bank to verify no suspicious activity occurred. 2:06 p.m. A deputy was sent to a Geneva Township home to investigate a report of threats from an Isabella County man, 31, toward a Midland County man, 32. A report is being sent to the prosecutor. 3:17 p.m. Deputies were sent to a Hope Township home to assist a parole officer. A Hope Township man, 37, was arrested on a parole violation warrant and three contempt of court warrants. The original charges were felony drug, damage to property and resisting police. 6:50 p.m. Police investigated a hit and run traffic crash in the 1300 block of Jefferson Avenue. 7:25 p.m. A Lee Township woman, 54, reported receiving a phone call from a person claiming to be from an auto insurance company who asked for personal information and told her that her vehicle had been involved in a crash. 8:53 p.m. Deputies were sent to an Ingersoll Township home for a report of a domestic assault involving a man and woman, ages 26 and 27. A report is being sent to the prosecutors office. 10:29 p.m. A $100 mini refrigerator was stolen from a Lincoln Township homes garage. 11:19 p.m. Officers were called to a domestic assault at a Hedgewood Drive address. Thursday, March 24 1:18 p.m. A deputy was called to Lee Township for a report of ducks in a roadway. The owner, a 48-year-old man, said he would try to keep the ducks in his yard, and was notified of the possible ramifications if the ducks continue to walk into traffic. 6:27 p.m. A $100 trash can was reported stolen from a Larkin Township home. 8:08 p.m. Deputies investigated a report of domestic assault that occurred in Homer Township. A report has been sent to the prosecutor. PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) pulled alongside the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO-200), March 24, and conducted underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea for the first time in more than 10 months, after completing a post-shakedown availability. UNREP demonstrates the ship's ability to sustain itself at sea and allows ships to continue its mission without the need to pull into port. Guadalupe transferred fuel to America during the complex evolution that involved America's air, deck and engineering departments working together to keep both ships perfectly aligned, receive the fuel, and have it properly tested and stored. "This was my first time serving as conning officer," said Ensign Jackson Fisher, deck department's 1st division officer. "It was an awesome experience and I'm glad the evolution went [safely]. Everyone involved did an excellent job." America's deck department prepared for several months to ensure the UNREP would be successful. Knowing they had to train their Sailors well in advance, they sent their most inexperienced personnel to ships on the San Diego waterfront to get hands-on training at sea. Additionally, the department simulated the evolution aboard America to ensure success. "We trained up until the first day of the underway," said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Christopher Vincent, assigned to deck department's 2nd Division. "At one time, I was in their shoes, and to see the look in their eyes is always fun for me. This is what we train for and that's why I love teaching the new guys." At the conclusion of the UNREP, Capt. Michael. W. Baze, America's commanding officer spoke over the 1MC, the ships announcement system, to congratulate the crew for a job well done. "I wanted to pause at the end of the successful UNREP, which, by the way, was marvelous," said Baze. America is an aviation-centric amphibious assault ship that provides forward presence and power projection as an integral part of joint interagency and multinational maritime expeditionary forces. It will support Marine aviation requirements, from small-scale contingency operations of an expeditionary strike group, to forcible entry missions in major theaters of war. America is currently conducting maritime training operations off the coast of California. KAMPONG SPEU PROVINCE, Cambodia - U.S. and Cambodian forces wrapped up two weeks of bilateral training and relationship building, as they officially closed Angkor Sentinel 2016, with a ceremony and Royal Cambodian Army capability demonstration March 25 at the Training School for Multinational Peacekeeping Forces in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia. This year marked the seventh iteration of the annual bilateral military exercise hosted by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and sponsored by the U.S. Army Pacific thats designed to collectively strengthen the two countries humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities and improve military-to-military cooperation. The men and women of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces have again and again demonstrated their commitment to serve, said Ambassador William Headt, the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia. When storms or floods have affected Cambodia, service members have responded. The Cambodian military is a critical government asset in providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and Im proud that the United States has been able to support Cambodia in this important task. The exercise brought together Cambodian Forces from the Royal Cambodian Army (RCA), National Center for Peacekeeping Forces, Mine, & Explosive Remnants of War Clearance (NPMEC), and Gendarmerie Royale Khmer (GRK), with U.S. forces from U.S. Army Pacific, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, 130th Theater Engineer Brigade, 8th Military Police Brigade, 303rd EOD Battalion, the Idaho Army National Guard, 18th Medical Command, Asia Pacific C-IED Fusion Center (APCFC), and 413th Contracting Brigade. Exercises like Angkor Sentinel better prepare us to address natural disasters that transcend national borders, and working together shoulder-to-shoulder will have a profound impact on the individuals who were involved, said Maj. Gen. Todd McCaffrey, U.S. Army Pacifics Deputy Commander. The concentrated training agenda included intense academics, team-building events, and practical exercises intended to foster exchange and opportunities for the two countries militaries to learn about each others tactics, techniques and procedures, while strengthening relationships and building the foundation for future HA/DR exercises. Headt said, The United States and Cambodia face many shared challenges including increasingly unpredictable and destructive weather patterns, violent extremism, emerging diseases, and regional conflicts, to name just a few. We have learned over the years that these problems are best solved through dialogue and cooperation, including exercises like Angkor Sentinel. The Royal Cambodian Army and U.S. Army Pacific-contingency of Soldiers also experienced several teambuilding firsts during this years exercise, to include a combined esprit de corps formation run, talent show, and a Warrior Challenge event that featured three Cambodian-U.S. teams competing in a timed 6k run, 2k litter carry, and an advanced 10-event obstacle course. McCaffrey said, These personal experiences are what bind us together and establish the foundation so our countries can work together on a range of other shared interests in the future. Together we have made substantial progress in helping to secure peace in the Pacific and beyond, and we look forward to building on this experience to further our mutual goals of stability and enhanced security in the future. The closing ceremony also featured a military capability and martial arts demonstration highlighting the professionalism and cultural traditions embedded in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. Angkor Sentinel 2017 planning is underway, and the exercise is projected to potentially play a role in next years Pacific Pathways operations. Editors Note: Media can speak with Capt. Laura Collins, commanding officer of Cutter Bertholf, and Vice Adm. Charles Ray, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, about this interdiction during a press gaggle Monday at 10 a.m. Please contact 510-437-3319 or 510-333-6297 for more details. A call-in number is available. ALAMEDA, California Coast Guardsmen seized more than 12,800 pounds of cocaine and apprehended four suspected drug smugglers from a self-propelled semisubmersible, or SPSS, about 300 miles southwest of Panama March 3. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf from Alameda, California, was notified by a Customs and Border Protection aircraft about the SPSS off the two interceptor boats to stop the suspected drug smuggling vessel, which was laden with more than $203 million worth of cocaine. Transnational organized crime groups continue to adjust their tactics to avoid detection indicated by a recent rise in the use of SPSS vessels, said Vice Adm. Charles Ray, commander, Pacific Area. Despite these efforts, we will continue to execute an offensive strategy that targets, attacks and disrupts these dangerous criminal networks. Since June 2015, the Coast Guard has interdicted five SPSS vessels. These vessels are constructed for illicit trafficking with a mostly submerged hull; a cockpit and exhaust pipe are visible just above water. These vessels are extremely difficult to detect and interdict because of their low-profile. This is the second SPSS interdiction by the Coast Guard in Fiscal Year 2016, which runs from Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Northland interdicted an SPSS approximately 280-miles southwest of the Mexican-Guatemalan border in January 2016. The suspects in that case scuttled the smuggling vessel as Coast Guardsmen arrived at the scene but were safely apprehended. SPSS interdictions are inherently dangerous, yet we persevere to disrupt the funding sources of illicit organizations causing violence and instability in Central America, said Capt. Laura Collins, commanding officer of the Cutter Bertholf. Our boarding teams are trained to constantly assess and prioritize the safety of our personnel and the SPSS crew during the case. Coast Guardsmen from Bertholf entered the SPSS numerous times to retrieve contraband and evidence. Boarding officers from Bertholf also discovered a loaded gun in the cockpit of the SPSS. Both Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016 have been marked by multiple SPSS interdictions for the first time since Fiscal Year 2012. These multiple SPSS interdictions and other cases contributed to the Coast Guard removing more than 319,000 pounds of cocaine in Fiscal Year 2015. The Coast Guard has already removed more than 201,000 pounds in Fiscal Year 2016. This is the second SPSS interdiction by Bertholfs crew, which in 2015 seized over 20 tons of cocaine alone. This is the fifth SPSS interdiction for the 418-foot national security cutters, the services newest and most capable major cutter. Alameda-based national security seized almost 68,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific ocean in Fiscal Year 2015. The Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport Use Promotion Council and distinguished guests celebrate the addition of two new flights to the Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport March 27, 2016. The celebration included an Eisaa Okinawa Drum Demonstration, a Ryuky-Koku-Matsuri Daiko Drum performance and a ribbon cutting ceremony. Distinguished guests expressed their appreciation toward the Ministry of Defense; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport; MCAS Iwakuni and other organizations involved in the adoption of these new flights. The airport and additional flights will contribute to the exchange of people and culture among Iwakuni, Okinawa and other countries in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Antonio J. Rubio/Released) The Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport Use Promotion Council and distinguished guests celebrate the addition of two new flights to the Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport by cutting a ribbon March 27, 2016. The celebration also included an Eisaa Okinawa Drum Demonstration, a Ryuky-Koku-Matsuri Daiko Drum performance. Distinguished guests expressed their appreciation toward the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, MCAS Iwakuni and other organizations involved in the adoption of these new flights. The airport and additional flights will contribute to the exchange of people and culture among Iwakuni, Okinawa and other countries in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Antonio J. Rubio/Released) New Commercial Flights Come to Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport By Sgt. Antonio Rubio Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni 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. Ilim Group to Invest Over USD 2 Billion in Upgrades to Production Facilities in Russia March 29, 2016 (Press Release) - Ilim Group today announced its new Business Plan to 2020, which includes investments of over USD 2 billion into existing production facilities and other operations in Russia. Investments will focus on increasing the Group's production capacity by over 500,000 tons per year (tpy). The overall investment program will cover all three of the Group's production facilities in Bratsk, Koryazhma and Ust-Ilimsk. The business plan envisages a series of measures aimed at modernization, increasing the efficiency and quality of production, minimizing the impact on the environment and increasing production levels. The mills will be developed further alongside an increase in production of the Group's own harvesting volumes as well as expanded cooperation with third-party wood suppliers. Business Plan Core Items Ust-Ilimsk. Increase production capacity by over 100,000 tpy. The company is planning to build a new woodyard and modernize treatment facilities. Bratsk. Increase production capacity by over 300,000 tpy. Improve production quality, build a new woodyard and evaporator station. Koryazhma. Increase production capacity by over 130,000 tpy. Build new bark boilers and turbines, modernize the recovery boiler, causticizing and lime regeneration plant, as well as paper and cardboard-making machines. The company is also considering the possibility of building a new softwood pulp production line in Ust-Ilimsk. The final decision will be taken by the end of the year. Ilim CEO Franz Marx said: This is the right decision at the right time an opportunity to further develop Ilim Group and a chance to increase the competitiveness of the Russian pulp and paper industry as a whole. We already have a strong track record of successfully implementing large-scale investment projects, and we have set an ambitious goal to expand and upgrade our production facilities in the next five years by investing over USD 2 billion. The successful implementation of our business plan will require the collective effort of the company's employees, as well as hundreds of contractors and vendors in various Russian regions. lim Group is the largest pulp and paper company in Russia. Its mills and logging facilities are located in Koryazhma (Arkhangelsk Oblast), Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk (Irkutsk Oblast), and in the Leningrad Oblast. The company's total annual pulp and paper output approximates 3 million tons. In 2014, Ilim Group implemented an investment program worth over USD 2 billion. As part of this program, Ilim Group has built the new world's largest bleached softwood fiberline in Bratsk (the Irkutsk Oblast). Moreover, the company has built the new papermaking facilities in Koryazhma (the Arkhangelsk Oblast) to produce value-added products in Russia in order to substitute imports, including cut-size and coated paper. To learn more about Ilim Group, please visit: www.ilimgroup.ru. SOURCE: Ilim Group A child's formative years are spent in elementary school. This is why it's important to make sure that your children are making good progress during these imperative years. By encouraging your kid and helping him out with schoolwork, you are giving the nudge and motivation that your child needs to become successful later on in life. As a parent, it is your responsibility to help your children succeed in school, among many other things. Here are some tips to to get you started: Attend important meetings Student Parent Teacher Conferences in full swing tonight. May the luck of the Irish be with you! pic.twitter.com/KRD6ZYQgZv Holy Cross HS (@HCHSCrusaders) March 18, 2016 Among these important meetings are as back-to-school nights and parent-teacher conferences. These will help you stay informed about your child's progress. These conferences are set up so that you can discuss with teachers strategies to help your child in class. According to Kids Health, additional meetings can even be scheduled with teachers and school staff for parents of children with special needs. Support your child academically Making sure that he gets his homework done and helping him prepare for tests are important in his success. This is because these things play important roles in determining his grades. Knowing your child's class standing can help you determine how to further help him develop organizational habits and study techniques that can prove to be useful in the future. Be an advocate of learning Year 4's talent show went really well on Thursday and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves! @reach2trust pic.twitter.com/z2evBQFP0P Tymberwood Academy (@tymberwood) March 18, 2016 Demonstrate a positive attitude about school. This may involve encouraging your child to read or learn through other avenues such as educational videos or trips. Active learning such as asking and answering questions, problem solving, and exploring interests like sports, acting, and learning musical instruments are also important in child development. Color in Colorado noted that encouraging this type of learning will likely increase your child's interest and participation in school. There are many other ways to help your child succeed in class. Do you have any other suggestions to help elementary school students do better? Sound off in the comments below. Questions about vaccine myths and facts circulate the Internet. Many parents advocate children vaccination, while there are those who would choose their children to be unvaccinated. The fear that is caused by common vaccine myths often leaves a lot of children unprotected from the life-threatening effects of diseases which vaccination was intended to combat. Better have a look at the vaccine myths debunked by health experts below. Vaccine Myth 1: "Vaccination causes autism." If you're a panicky parent, you will be alarmed when you hear that vaccination can lead to autism. However, Public Health has debunked this. It has mentioned that none has realistically found a link between a vaccine and autism. Vaccine Myth 2: "It isn't safe." You can often hear many parents participating in the never-ending debate as to whether or not vaccines are safe. According to Parents, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lets each vaccine undergo stringent testing before approving it for public consumption. Although this process will not negate possible vaccination side effects such as fever or rash on injected area, it gives the American public the assurance that these vaccines are safe. Vaccine Myth 3: "It's too many vaccines for baby's immunity." As to who started this myth, no one knows. There are parents who refuse children vaccination because they believe that the immune system of the baby or the child could not handle too many vaccines. However, according to Dr. Rupp, babies have the ability to create antibodies for up to 100,000 vaccines in a single instance. Vaccine Myth 4: "Acquiring natural immunity is better than vaccine-derived immunity." While opting for developing natural immunity is laudable, it isn't always the case in all types of diseases. Take measles for instance. Those who develop an allergic reaction to MMR is less than one in a million, while the risk of dying from measles symptoms has a ratio of 1 is to 500. Vaccine Myth 5: "Vaccines infect the child with the disease itself." This is totally untrue. Vaccination can cause some disease-like symptoms, but it does not infect the child. The appearance of symptoms denotes the body's immune system's reaction to the vaccine, which is in fact a good thing. These five vaccine myths and facts can guide you in your decision whether to have your child vaccinated or not. Remember, it is only you who can make the decision for your child. So better choose the right one. If you know of other common vaccine myths not included here, please feel free to write them below. Prince William wasn't around when Baby Charlotte celebrated her first Easter. He was rumored to have attended the wedding of his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Craig, a.k.a. Jecca, at the Lewa wildlife reserve in Kenya. Did he choose his ex's wedding over being with his daughter on a special occasion like Easter? Many reports and rumors alike floated that Prince William was in reality, as confirmed by the prince's office, had a scheduled trip to East Africa to be able to see with his own eyes the "longstanding conservation and anti-poaching initiatives." People also reported that this firsthand information gathering trip was related to the organization Tusk Trust, of which William has been an avid patron. Tasks that Prince William was set to do included observing veterinarians doing actual field work, where they would be fitting radio collars on elephants. It has been reported that William wanted 2-year-old Prince George to carry this legacy when he reaches the teenage stage since he has previously stated that he sees the young prince as "being a bit of a bum." So where does the prince's ex fit in the story? Well, according to Pop Sugar, aside from his trip to visit the elephants and doing his noble tasks, the prince's itinerary included gracing the special occasion of his ex-girlfriend's wedding. Prince William's high school ex-girlfriend, Jecca Craig, was reportedly set to marry Jonathan Bailie, a wildlife conservationist. One thing's for sure here though, William's ex-girlfriend has a penchant for guys who have the wildlife close to their hearts. Craig's ex-boyfriend, William, is a patron of Tusk Trust, while the guy he'll be marrying is a wildlife conservationist. That's quite something to ponder about. So what does Kate Middleton have to say about this? Well, according to Celeb Dirty Laundry, the Duchess of Cambridge was brokenhearted, which was why she spent Easter at Carole Middleton's home. Will she welcome Prince William with open arms? It's one royal story worth waiting for. Pope Francis' advocacy towards peace and reconciliation was once more highlighted during his Good Friday homily at St. Peter's Square. During this special gathering of Catholic faithful numbering to tens of thousands, Pope Francis slammed the harsh stand of European countries over migrants, and likewise rebuked arms dealers, pedophile priests and fundamentalists. Yahoo News reported that Pope Francis referred to Europe's stand as an "indifferent and anesthetized conscience." The Pope was referring to the multitudes of migrants who have been stranded in Greece after nations in Europe, along with Turkey, came to an agreement to close the route the migrants are taking towards northern Europe. These migrants are those fleeing countries in conflict such as Iraq and Syria. Reports made by BBC said that according to the 79-year-old pontiff, "All too often, these brothers and sisters of ours meet along the way with death or, in any event, rejection by those who could offer them welcome and assistance." Pope Francis considers the closing of the route as an act of rejection of brothers in need. Aside from directing his homily towards European nations, Pope Francis likewise took the opportunity to condemn pedophile priests whom the pope referred to as individuals who "divest the innocent of their dignity." He also didn't waste time in slamming arms dealers whom the pope said were feeding the "cauldron of war." The pope later took to Twitter, giving emphasis to the importance of the Cross by which the world may respond or fight back against evil. He also included in his lamentations the killings done by persecutors of Christians. The Cross is the word through which God has responded to evil in the world. Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 25, 2016 Pope Francis' advocacy for peace had always included the condemnation of those who blatantly commit evil. Although he is quite old at 79, his passion towards correcting the evils of the world grants him the strength to face each brand new day. Teachers in some British schools affected by the government's move to extend school hours by putting arts subjects as extra-curricular activities are concerned that this will peg the arts as just "hobbyist subjects." They worry such a move will also have parents clamoring for the removal of the subjects from some schools altogether. In a report by TES, Peter Oates, art teacher of 38 years, says that this plan by Chancellor George Osborne shadows the government's recent emphasis on the English Baccalaureate subjects (English, Maths, Science, Humanities and Language), further marginalizing the arts and pressuring schools to remove it from their curriculum. Oates explains that while teachers realize the importance of these subjects, they see this as "an opportunity to reduce their school's expenditure by the reduction of time and staffing in arts subjects." Oates says these changes in British education happening right now are causing the arts to be caught in the crosshairs. It teaches students and encourages parents to believe that these subjects are unimportant. In another report by TES, one theater and drama teacher, Rob Messik, shares his experience with having to defend his subject while his students' parents ridicule his teaching methods and ask how these could be of any help to their children. He mentions Nicky Morgan's controversial statement back in 2014 on how students need to ditch the arts if they are at all interested in having a successful career. Meanwhile in the U.S., some schools have finally recognized the importance of the arts while some also still struggle to keep it relevant. According to the Sun Herald, the Whole Schools Initiative in Mississippi, a program that combines teaching core subjects through artful avenues, has reached 34 schools statewide. However, Utah Valley University's School of the Arts students still lament over the fact their passion for the arts might promise nothing for them in the job market, meanwhile their computer science peers already have prospects even before graduation. With all these inconsistencies, when can art finally seal its place in schools all over the world and be declared just as important as other subjects? Japan is set to replace its current National Center Test for University Admissions by 2020. A final report has been compiled by an expert panel formed by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry regarding reformed university entrance exams. The exams will test high school students' ability to work out problems by themselves and to speak their minds coherently. According to Chicago Tribune, this includes an essay test and an English writing and speaking portion. Multiple choice answers are still present but no longer to questions that merely require memorization on the part of the students. Instead, they will have to analyze information provided in the tests in order to arrive at the correct answer. Large-scale reform is on the horizon for Japan's university entrance exam system. https://t.co/U1ebegFMgh pic.twitter.com/USXDPHbYcn Nippon.com (@nippon_en) November 27, 2015 This type of test structure will encourage students to utilize newspapers and books as learning tools and challenge their skills in being able to discuss them. Before this, memorization was the normal form of teaching in the classroom. The test will also take into consideration how a student answered the questions and provide this information to universities so they will have an easier time finding the types of minds they are seeking. The panel hopes to schedule these tests by the spring of 2021. Middle schoolers entering their second year next month will be the very first to take the test. This is according to The Japan News. By 2023, the test will include short-description answers of around 40-80 characters along with multiple choice questions which will center around comparison of data and sentences. The final report says that by 2024 onwards, computer-based testing will be adopted, including questions using videos and answers recorded through the use of a terminal. Also included in the final report is the requirement of artificial intelligence to assist with the grading of description-type questions. Because of the many technological advancements required by these new exams, their feasibility remains unknown. Kansas House of Representatives has voted on March 22 junking a controversial bill that would have repealed Common Core education standards in the state. After a heated debate that lasted more than three hours, House Bill 2292 failed to get preliminary approval by a vote of 44-78. According to the Lawrence Journal-World, House Bill 2292 seeks to repeal the Common Core curriculum standards for mathematics and English language in Kansas public schools, starting July 1, 2017. Under the bill, the Kansas State Board of Education, which implemented Common Core education standards in 2010, is also tasked to present new academic standards. House Bill 2292 supporters have labeled the present education standards of the state as "federally-provided or required." Amanda Grosserode, a Republican from Lenexa who carried the anti-Common Core bill, also pointed out that the current education standards are disliked by parents and teachers across the state. But the effort to boot the statewide Common Core education standards failed to convince the majority of the House. Opponents of the bill refuted that parents and teachers actually support the current standards. They also added that repealing the academic standards would give Kansas students a disadvantage especially when taking college entrance exams that are developed around Common Core. Augusta Republican and former teacher Kristey Williams argued to Grosserode's claims, saying that most teachers in her district are supporting Common Core. "I believe our educators want what is best for our children," she stated, according to CJ Online. Opponents of House Bill 2292 also pointed out that booting Common Core may be unconstitutional since according to the state's constitution, the board has the general authority to supervise K-12 education. "We must support public educationimperfect as it might be," said Don Schroeder, a Republican member from Hesston. Common Core standards were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association to raise academic standards to better equip students for college or jobs after high school graduation. It has been voluntarily adopted by more than 40 states in the Unites States. A lot is unfolding in the British Royal family as numerous news and rumors are going around social media and local tabloids claiming that there seems to be something wrong with Prince William and Kate Middleton's relationship. These rumors are based at the numerous events that both royals have been attending. Although the rumors are based on nothing, the claims are not far off. Now, more news are coming out and it involves the education of Prince William and Kate Middleton's first born child and third line to the British throne, Prince George. Tabloids have claimed that Kate Middleton has lost the battle to Prince George's education because the young prince will be heading to the same school his father, Prince William, attended: the exclusive school, Wetherby School. Along with this decision is the Royal family's move to Kensington Palace. According to the reports, Kate Middleton wanted to send Prince George to the local school, which he attended for nursery school. In fact, this is the main reason is why Prince William and Kate Middleton moved to Anmer Hall. Prince George, instead of going to a local school, will now attend the prestigious Wetherby School and this is what Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip wants for the young prince. The Middletons, including Kate Middleton's mother Carole Middleton, wanted the toddler to have a normal lifestyle and go to a local school. Kate Middleton might be feeling neglected now after recent news of Prince William jetting off to Africa to attend his ex' wedding Jecca Craig spread online. To recall, it was rumored that Prince William was cheating with Jecca Craig during a holiday Kate Middelton took and he skipped. Kate Middleton has also skipped the Irish Guard's annual St. Patrick's Day parade where Prince William attended alone. The reason behind this is unknown but Kate Middleton has been attending the parade ever since Prince William and she got married. The New Teacher Project, also known as TNTP, was first founded by Michelle Rhee to supply bright young teaching staff to inner-city schools. However, in Tulsa, the second largest city in Oklahoma, they took it upon themselves to turn a troubled school around. After all their hard work, all their efforts went down the drain. So why didn't TNTP work in Tulsa? According to John Thompson, a teacher and a historian, everything started with boasting and setting very high expectations. He talked about the story saying that the school replaced at least three-fourths of their faculty at the beginning of the academic year. McClure School Principal Katy Jimenez also said that she has never felt the kind of vibe and energy the school is currently having. "The team has come together in an amazing way. My returning teachers gave up their summer to build a team they wanted to be a part of. Their investment is very deep. We are exhausted but so excited," Jimenez added, dianeravitch.net reported. When the "faculty restart" happened, only 10 teachers were retained and the school hired almost 30 new ones. Tulsa World reported that the school was sincerely committed to making a positive change in a low-income neighborhood with one of the city's highest crime rates. However, as time passed, those new recruits left one by one. Kindergarten classes had four different teachers by October, and the 4th graders were split into two classes consisting of 33 and 34 students, respectively because the other teacher was nowhere to be found until winter break. "This year was almost excruciating," the principal said. "What you can't say to parents who live in this community is your community is so challenging that it runs teachers off. ... Chaos is what it feels like. The culture is survival." Scholasticadministrator.typepad.com reported that even during the restart, there were still two vacancies that remained unfilled because there weren't enough people who applied. Jimenez said that she is not surprised with it anymore because many, if not most of the best teachers for the job have already heard talks about the program, and some don't want to be a part of a program that is set to fail. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions me right out of the airplane: Did I change? Or did the country I left behind? Ive now lived full time for 14 months in Colombia. I return to the United States every six weeks or so for a writing assignment, a holiday, a funeral. The punctuated intervals give me glimpses of the U.S. as a series of snapshots, moments in time. Ive come to think of my visits as real-life postcards. Some postcards give pause. On one, my mothers hair grows grayer. The next postcard, shes grayer still, and the twinkle in her pretty blue eyes looks more distant. Gradually, one visit at a time, I see mama leaving the world on a one-way ticket. Other postcards show my Uncle Bruce back in Dothan. First, hes dynamic and strong. On the next, hes in a hospital gown, sick with his heart and kidneys. Last, my bereaved Aunt Nancy and my dear cousins shake hands with people waiting in a long line to pay respects. Some touch handkerchiefs to their eyes. One set of postcards chronicles the recent fate of my house in Atlanta, on the market more than a year. The first postcard, 2014, shows a century-old Craftsman bungalow with a crowded, candlelit front porch, people happily singing by honest light, wooden guitars beating out the three chords always strummed on southern porches on late-summer nights. In the next postcard, 2015, a new FOR SALE sign stands out front. Ominously, across the street, a no-mans land of red churned earth turns to mud under heavy yellow equipment. An unexpected, long-term, noisy construction project begins only days after my house goes on the market. The 2016 postcard displays a monstrous, six-story, gray concrete parking deck rising from the red mud. After a year, the price tag on the FOR SALE sign in front of my beautiful two-story home of 25 years has been reduced $129,000. Heres a postcard showing the neighborhood coffee shop. Last year, I stood at the condiment bar and chatted. I knew most folks by name. We shared caffeine dreams. In this years postcard, after my year abroad, I stand with a sugar dispenser in hand, alone and anonymous. I see how friends and faces come and go so fast in Atlanta. I feel vain, a little disappointed: I had foolishly worried I might not be able to get any writing done for all the distractions of well-wishers and book fans and old friends. The postcards changed another way this past year. Somethings different here. I see it in the faces. Or maybe its in me. Postcard: I sit at lunch in a little place I like. Tandoori chicken. Hot baked naan, the tasty Indian bread. Spicy chole, chickpeas like brown bubbles in hell-hot chili oil. I savor the tastes and temperatures. On the way out, I speak Spanish to the manager without thinking: Gracias, senor! A year ago, the gringo in the postcard would simply have said: Thank you! Colombia has changed me. In last years postcards, I walk by a North Highland Avenue bagel shop. I pass a big walnut tree and then stroll slowly by a busy spa to steal a glance at a pretty receptionist. (She sometimes let her eyes meet my own.) This year? The bagel store has disappeared, not a taste of lox or cream cheese to be found, the Jewish doughnuts replaced by a bar selling bourbon shots. The walnut tree may be a bookcase somewhere; its gone, and so is the shade. The pretty girl has vanished from the spa window. Bogota take me most often to Atlanta and Alabama. I sense something else on these trips back that postcards dont pick up. From 2,000 miles south in Bogota, I click each morning on CNN for headline news. I read the online The New York Times. I click links for USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Dothan Eagle, my hometown newspaper from peanut country. The spectacle of national politics dominates U.S. headlines, except for days when ISIS murders dozens somewhere or scientists discover gravitational waves a billion years old humming Kum Bah Yah out in the universe. Maybe the supercharged political atmosphere accounts for a thing I perceived on my last trip home. It began when I arrived in Miami, and it continued as I connected to Atlantas hustle and bustle. In past postcards, my fellow U.S. citizens generally seemed relaxed, cheerful, confident. The whole world admires Americans for these qualities, and they mostly earn respect abroad. This trip feels different. I sense a tension here I never felt before. My good old USA feels like a country on the verge of something ugly. Examples? Postcard: Two white middle-class couples at the domestic baggage claim in Atlantas gigantic airport yell blood-curdling obscenities at one another. The baggage carousel slowly carries their suitcases around and around. Postcard: A worn-out, bleach-blonde mom strikes her son when he cant manage to keep up with her in a crowded concourse. Postcard: A driver flips a bird at a young tattooed woman crossing the street in front of him, even though she crosses at a clearly marked pedestrian walkway. Atlanta drivers in my past experience showed great courtesy. I can count on one hand the times in my 25 years in the city that someone refused to let me into a line of traffic. The guy at the wheel of this car? Something other than courtesy is driving him. My biggest postcard surprise on this trip, though, was my experience with African Americans I encountered. I came into contact with 20 or 25 during the flight from Bogota to Miami, and during a four-hour weather layover, and on the last leg to Atlanta, and then along the path from terminal to rental car to my house. (Yes, still for sale.) Only onejust oneof those 25 or so black people engaged with me, a white guy with freckles, in any cordial way. Just one: Thank you, Mr. Jackson from Boston, in seat 39C. Thanks for the conversation, the kind words to a returning American. The others two dozen glared through me or ignored me or gave only the barest perfunctory attention to my tired travel questions (Where can I find the bathroom?) or idle small talk. (Geez, its cold in Atlanta!) Even a year ago, these postcards were different. The famous good humor of so many Southern African Americans seemed very close to the surface. I remember courtesies. I remember feeling: Hey, I feel home here. Were all on this third rock from the sun, pulling together. Maybe Im seeing a freeze-frame racial moment that results from all the accumulated Freddie Gray moments, the slow drip of cop killings and indifferent comments by politicians and the death-by-a-thousand-cuts from slights and injustices black Americans feel that others never even comprehend. Maybe its a new militancy emerging in the Black Lives Matter movement. Whatever it is, whatever the reason, this postcard disturbs me. What will the next ones be like, those postcards from the future? Last trip, for the first time since moving abroad, my country didnt feel like home. Photo: Alexander Kelly, CC-BY Charles McNair is Pastes Books Editor emeritus. He served the magazine as writer, critic and editor from 2005-2015. Come early March, windowfronts throughout downtown Grand Rapids display yellow signs anticipating the arrival of Gildas LaughFest. Businesses swoop up seats by the tableful, sponsoring evenings of employee bonding at Dr. Grins Comedy Club. Sidewalks outside theaters, performance halls and rock clubs swell with throngs sporting smiling yellow High Five buttons. Situated nearer to Lake Michigan than Detroit, the ten-day festival steadfastly grapples with lingering winter chill. But for a city already priding itself on local art, craft beer, robust cheese and all things Gerald R. Ford, LaughFest heralds both the impending arrival of spring and an outpouring of community involvement. In bigger cities with comedy festivals, you can be there and not even know its happening, says LaughFest director Joanne Roehm. Here the community feels really intertwined with it; that they are a part of it. Theres this ownership. You cant really be here during those ten days and not know that its happening. This years sixth edition ran March 10 through 20 with net proceeds benefitting Gildas Club Grand Rapids, a non-profit honoring original Saturday Night Live cast member and Michigan native Gilda Radner, who died in 1989 of ovarian cancer at age 42. The group annually provides more than 10,000 locals with free emotional-health support in ongoing struggles against cancer and grief. A Gildas Club DBA (Doing Business As entity), LaughFest shares resources and staff (including Roehm). Meaning unlike other modern festivals emerging across the country in record numbers, LaughFest 2016 served as a large-scale charity fundraiser encompassing roughly two hundred fifty events at more than fifty locations for approximately forty thousand to fifty thousand attendees. Donation initiatives and options abound. The High Five button campaignsignifying the wearer handed event volunteers $5 specifically earmarked for childrens cancer, grief and in-school programsreceived a matched donation from the Peter C. and Emajean Cook Foundation. Some ten dozen corporate sponsorship contributions ranged upwards in tiered levels of Gigglers, Chucklers, Belly Laughers, etc. March 12s An Evening with Seth Meyers Signature Event raised $250 per person at DeVos Places five thousand-capacity Steelcase Ballroom. People are excited about comedy, but theres also an association with the cause behind it, says Roehm. Its helped it build and grow because people arent coming out just to see awesome shows, but they also want to support a cause thats close to home and thats important to them. LaughFests emotional appeal further extends to the realm of physical betterment. The festivals LaughterRx program focused on the proven health benefits laughter bestows. In addition to a contest for competitors boasting the Best Laugh, disability and womens-empowerment discussions, a 5K FUNderwear Run (goofy undergarments atop running gear), and daily Laughter Yoga sessions engaged in exploring lighter sides of serious issues. Referring to the festivals yellow upturned-mouth insignia, LaughFest continued its #YellowUp social-media campaign encouraging the simple sharing of smiles. Additional programming included a Chris Farley Costume Contest, comedy-trivia night, pet parade, local celebrity lip-syncing, art exhibits, clowning lessons, free lunchtime comedy programming (plus food trucks and Zumba), creative and literary workshops, zine how-tos for teens, a family-activity carnival, kids joke-telling at the public library and baby-disco parties. Says Roehm, We make sure there was all kind of different programming so all different types of people and even families can come out and be a part of it too. Live-comedy shows encompassing an array of audience tastes and performer capabilities reflected the overarching vibe of inclusion. Every year its intentional to have a diversity of styles, notes Jamison Yoder of LaughFest booking agency Funny Business. Programming it for the community means clean-comedy options, homegrown talent and community showcases among the variety of genres and styles and types of venues. Yoder and Roehm agree the first few years of LaughFest were integral to consumer trust-building, pointing to continuous trial, error and evolution to ensure LaughFest offered comedy options for every taste. We first focused on huge names, and as time has gone on its been more about simply going to LaughFest rather than going to see someone like a Jim Gaffigan, offers Roehm. Thats given us a little more flexibility to bring in things that arent as well-known to Joe Schmoe off the street, because people trust in the booking and that theyre going to be well-run shows. Adds Yoder of ticket-buyers, They know the talent will be good even if they dont necessarily recognize the name. Sketch, improv and storytelling were highlighted alongside theatrical stand-up including YouTube sensation Miranda Sings, alternative icon David Cross, uninhibited radio host Jim Norton, cabaret breakout Bridget Everett, perennial reinventor Marlon Wayans, celebrity-gossip maven Kathy Griffin, Undateable co-star Ron Funches, Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj and buzzworthy TruTV trio The Grawlix. Two National Headliner showcases welcomed Ahmed Bharoocha, Jesse Joyce, Annie Lederman, John Roy, Seaton Smith, Caleb Synan, Michelle Wolf and Jenny Zigrino, while the Best of the Midwest Competition awarded a $2,500 cash prize from a field of eight contenders to Chicago Fire player Russ Williamson. LaughFests free Community Showcases across various times and locations represented professional, semi-pro, amateur and college-age comics hailing from more than two dozen states. Uniquely in the festival world, performers were not charged an application fee to submit. I am hard-pressed to find another one that does not, admits regular LaughFest host Stu McCallister. It is very encouraging of all levels to apply A seasoned pro can get on a showcase all the way down to someone who may be trying for the first time. Citing exposure and increased business for non-traditional venues including Long Road Distillers, Waldron Public House and The Pyramid Scheme, McCallister also praises LaughFests pricing flexibility: Many people may not have the financial means to pay for an event, but there are numerous free events the community can come see. Having hosted several this year, I can say the turnout has been great. March 10s kickoff continued the annual tradition of seeking to break a Guinness World Record. Successes in wearing false moustaches, animal noses and sunglasses in the dark culminated in 2016s attempt to regain the crown for tossing rubber chickens into the air. LaughFest fell short by a few birdsbut fortunately theres always next year to do it all over again. Julie Seabaugh grew up on a farm in rural Missouri. She now lives in Los Angeles and covers comedy for Rolling Stone, Variety, GQ, The Village Voice, L.A. Weekly, Vulture, Huffington Post and more. Follow her at JulieSeabaugh.com and @JulieSeabaugh. Before we dive into the birth of the pisco sour, its helpful to have a little background on the cocktails base spirit, pisco. Pisco is a type of brandy first produced in Peru and Chile by Spanish winemakers in the 16th century. Realizing that importing orujo, a kind of pomace brandy, was becoming too much of a hassle, they went for the DIY approach, and began distilling wine to get a high-proof spirit. The DIY approach (visual approximation). The story of the pisco sour begins in the early 20th century. The popular telling puts the cocktails origins in Lima, Peru, in the early 1920s where American bartender Victor Morris first had the idea to give pisco the classic sour treatment at his eponymous bar. The cocktail was a hit with guests, leading Morris to go big with promoting his invention via advertisements in local newspapers and magazines. But despite all that aggressive marketing, the pisco sour may not have been a Morris original. The Peruvian food and drink blog Pisco Trail cites evidence of the cocktails existence in 1903 17 years before Morris first served up his sour. An excerpt (translated from Spanish) from a cookbook Nuevo Manual de Cocina a la Criolla features a recipe that is strikingly similar to a pisco sour: An egg white, a glass of Pisco, a teaspoon of fine sugar, and a few drops of lime as desired, this will open your appetite. Up to three glasses can be made with one egg white and a heaping teaspoon of fine sugar, adding the rest of the ingredients as needed for each glass. All this is beaten in a cocktail shaker until youve made a small punch. To be fair, it may just be a coincidence. After all, the sour preparation had been in existence for some time. Barman Jerry Thomas had included a whiskey sour recipe in his 1887 edition of A Bartenders Guide so the idea was definitely floating around. Still, it certainly complicates Morris claim. Dubious origins aside, the pisco sour has come to be an iconic South American cocktail. Indeed, both Peru and Chile claim it as their national drink. It was allegedly a favorite of such American bon vivants as Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway, who are said to have enjoyed a few rounds on visits to Lima. Theres even an apocryphal story about John Wayne carrying an intoxicated Ava Gardner out of a Lima bar after one too many pisco sours. Pisco Sour recipe Ingredients 2 oz. pisco 1 oz. key lime (or lemon) juice 1/2 oz. simple syrup 1 egg white Angostura bitters Directions: Combine ingredients (except for the bitters) and dry shake for 15 seconds. Add ice and shake again for 20 seconds. Double strain into a highball or coupe glass. Add several dashes of bitters to the top of the cocktail. Enjoy while listening to this. Jim Sabataso is a writer, part-time bartender, and full-time cocktail enthusiast living in Vermont. Follow him on Twitter @JimSabataso. Tennessee native LOLO (real name Lauren Pritchard) performed several career-spanning tracks for Daytrotter recently. She set out from Jackson to Los Angeles at the age of 15, gigging around the local bar circuit as a keyboardist in a reggae band. By 16, she was broke and homeless. Just as she was about to pack up and move back home, her close friend, Riley Keough, stepped in and offered a place to stay with her and her mother, Lisa Marie Presley. From that kind gesture, Pritchard was able to turn her fortunes and became a musical actress. She performed as Ilse in Spring Awakening for two years and later moved to the UK to sign with Universal/Island records. She released her debut album, Wasted in Jackson in 2010, and later signed to DCD2 records in 2013 under her new stage name: LOLO. In 2015, she released her latest EP, Comeback Queen, while simultaneously composing lyrics and music for the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play Songbird. Check out "I Don't Wanna Have to Lie" in the player above. LOLO is currently touring, and you can find her remaining dates below: April 30Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barnstorm May 5Brooklyn, NY @ The Grid Art is socialism but life is capitalism. Or at least that what Mike Birbiglia wrote on his office wall while making Dont Think Twice. The film premiered this past week at SXSW and, sitting in the Paramount Theater, it was clear the crowd was eating it uplaughter, tears and the occasional no-he-didnt head shake. Birbiglia wrote, directed and stars in the film alongside a stellar cast that included Gillian Jacobs, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Gethard, Kate Micucci and Tami Sagher. It centers on an improv group in New York City. When one of the members begins to rise to stardom, it threatens the happy-go-lucky, can-do spirit of the group. Before starting a show, theyre sure to tell each other, I got you. But now, they start to question their personal talents and whether or not theyve actually got it. Paste had a chance to chat with a few members of the Dont Think Twice team. Birbiglia and producer Ira Glass, who most of us know as the King of NPR and producer of the addictive & amazing podcast Serial, opened up about failure and achievement. Glass reveals his long road to actually being good at his joba journey thats surprising given his incredible career. Birbiglia also discusses how fleeting success can be. Despite the wells, or ruts, an artist can fall into, Glass pinpoints this element, the magic, that keeps us going when we all do start to doubt. Paste: I know that people are always like, I loved the film, but I really did. Mikes tapping into very basic, visceral parts of being an artist. Ira Glass: Yeah. Its funny, its something we thought when we started working on it, and then we realized like halfway through editingwe should actually underline this more. We actually wrote an extra scene to kind of land that point more. Paste: What were the things that you went back and underlined. What was the scene you added in? Glass: Theres a bunch of scenes we added, but the main one that did this was the scene in the basement when theyre looking at old pictures and Chris says, I think your twenties are all about hope, and your thirties are all about realizing you were wrong to hope. Paste: There was something else that stood out to me in that scene. He says that without improv he is nobody; its what makes him a hero. Do you feel that way about your art as well, or not so much? Glass: (pause) Yeah, I guess I do. I mean its funnylike I really relate to the idea of, Should I quit? I wasnt successful for a really long time. I started at NPR when I was nineteen, and this isnt some sort of weird like humble something, but I was not good. I was actively bad, and my family was just like, When are you going to quit this? I was a good editor, but I was not a good reporter. I just sounded like a stiff and [during] my whole twenties made no money. I just really wondered, Am I ever going to get good? Should I quit? My parents wanted me to be a doctor! Paste: Was it the fear that you didnt have it? Thats something else that I was thinking about [from the film]. Glass: Of course, and when I was working at NPR, I just felt like everybody seemed like they had some magical power that I had no idea how they did what they did. Paste: Why didnt you give up? If you feel like you were bad for like ten years, what kept you going? Did you have the secret suspicion I might be crazy but I think this is where Im supposed to be? Glass: I wish that it was like as romantic as that. It was really just like a) I had no other skills and b) like there was a part of it that I just really liked, and it was one part of it that I was good at. I was a good editor. I was a good editor from the moment I started. Every other part of making stuff I was bad at, and its funny because most of my job nowIm an editor. Right before this I was on the phone with Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, [executive] producers of Serial. Paste: Yeah, I know it well! Glass: Thats most of my lifeIm on the phone, making notes and editing. When we were editing [Dont Think Twice], we would get public listeners to come out and look at it, and we would have them fill out forms. We would talk to them and we realized oh, just that whole idea of like oh shit, I gave up on my dream, like people dont make up movies about shit, I gave up on my dream, you know? People make movies about I have a dream and Im gonna make it! In Legally Blonde, she does turn out to be awesome, you know? There arent movies where its the best friends all around who fail! Its much more relatable, and more people are in jobs that they hate than in jobs that they love, and more people are wishing that they could be doing something else than glad that they do what they do. So, both from an emotional point of view and a business point of view, it seems like its a much bigger marketif youre going to make a movie for lots of people. Paste: Yeah. Is it something that, because youre a producer, you have to think about? Glass: It doesnt matter to me, because it doesnt really matter to me if the movie makes money. I wanted to make money so everybody can keep making work and it would be awesome if we were a hit. That would be great, but honestly I just wanted it to be good. Paste: Youve worked with Mike many times before. I know that when I meet people that I end up having either an emotional or collaborative relationship with for years to comeI can pinpoint the moment I met them. When did you first meet Mike? Am Im romanticizing everything again? Glass: I remember exactly how we met, and your version of the story is so much better than the reality! We met because he had told the story about jumping out of a window in his sleep at the storytelling series at the Moth. Somebody from the Moth said, You guys should run this. This is really special. I listened to it and got in touch with him, and he at that point wasnt even sure he wanted it on the radio. It was so personal. I had to kind of talk him into putting it on the radio, and then we just started making stuff and it was just a very easy collaboration. Whats interesting about Mike in the beginning was he was still just transitioning from being a comedian who told little stories that were funny and very real to a comedian who told stories with full story arcs that could last for an hour, an hour and a half and he really wanted to do it. That was a really nice point to be working with him, because it was somebody who like had a lot of stories he wanted to tell, but hadnt told them yet, and then was developing the chops to tell them better than almost anybody around. Paste: I really like Mikes work because he surrounds himself with talented people and evolves as an artist. I want to see him do a story next that is not so based on his own world. Glass: Well, this I feel is half-based on his world. Paste: What half is not? Glass: I mean he wasnt a UCB comiche did improv when he was in college. I hope its okay that I say this, but a lot of the actual drama of the film is stuff that happened to Chris Gethard! Paste: Oh, really? Glass: Yeah, Chris and Mike were on tour, and they would have these long talks about their lives and Chris career and things Chris is in. Chris is the one who was at UCB, and people who know improv in New York [know] hes just one of the superstars, and always is so amazing. Ive seen him so many times, and every time its just like watching someone do a magic trick. Paste: Wow. Glass: You just cant believe it and Tami, too. Watching them get into it with each other is so sweet. Chris has seen a bunch of friends of his from UCB go on to Saturday Night Live, and theres a line in the film where he says to somebody Im trying to say this without revealing a spoiler, somebody who gets to audition for our version of Saturday Night Live, this character when going into this audition thought oh, if I dont get it like Im going to be dead, Ill just die. Chris says to him, Oh, you mean if you had our lives? Like if you had to go through life that we had? Paste: I know. I love that! Glass: Thats a real moment from his life that he said to somebody. Paste: Hes great. Glass: There was a point where Mikes character was even more in the movie, honestly, and we consciously made it not him. He wasnt going to play the lead, and that he would be the third lead with the thought of lets get away from biographical stuff. Like the stuff that happens in it that I think he relates to is that hes had the experience of watching other comics become more famous but he was so shockingly successful, so young. Paste: I want to ask you guys about this concept and Ive been thinking a lot about it since I saw the film the well. I was talking to Tami [Sagher] about it and shes like, Have you read The Artists Way? Mike Birbiglia: The Artists Way is just about how the key to being a great artist is about persistence and continuing again and again and again. Paste: But this concept of the well is in itwhy did you put that in the film? What is it to you? Have you guys ever been in a well in your life as artists? Birbiglia: That might be a subconscious I read the book. I wrote the script. I had no connection to that. It was really just what would be a good improv scene thats inspired by whos having a hard day? You have. How would that make you feel? What would Im in a well. Then what? Thats so much what improv is. Its like, Im here, my circumstances are this. Then what? Well, someone from my group shows up and they shout out and try to help. Maybe this person thinks its a wishing well and throws money down, and they would be like Ah, theyre throwing pennies at my head! It really evolves from there. Paste: The movie made me think a lot about being an artist, and a person, because I think a lot of times we separate the two. But I think that these characters are really struggling being a group and then also looking out for themselves. Can you guys tell me a little bit about challenges in your lives where you come up with collaborators but then you also have to put yourself and your art first? Birbiglia: I wrote this phrase on a bulletin board wall in my office, its where I have a wall of ideas, and I wrote down at a certain point on a big 810: Art is socialism but life is capitalism. For me, that was the guiding principle of the movie which is that harsh reality of like, Yeah, were all a group, but guess what? Its musical chairs. Glass: So wait, so there have been people where you have had to discard aside? I know youre all like nice-guy in image and public but like Paste: Lets get real talk here. Birbiglia: Next week, when I sign my deal with Warner Brothers, you may not be in the contract. (laughter) For sure, there are people who dont make it. I might not make it next year. You know what I mean? I say that to my wife all the time. I go, This might all go away. People say in a lot of these interviews, Youre successful, but whats it like to play people who are unsuccessful? Its like, yeah were successful today and also people get lost and then they find their way. Ive had people in my life who suffered for ten years and then they found their way. Paste: Its exciting to see that [this film] isnt in the classic protagonist structure where one person is going for their goal. Its sort of this anti-hero, multiple protagonists and multiple stories. Birbiglia: It is everybodys story. Meredith Alloway is a Texas native and a freelance contributor for Paste, Flaunt, Complex, Nylon, CraveOnline, Press Play on Indiewire and The Script Lab. She writes for both TV and film and will always be an unabashed Shakespeare nerd. You can follow her on Twitter. If youve been eager to find out when you can get your eyes on Netflixs upcoming reboot of Voltron: Legendary Defender, the wait is over. During a panel at Wondercon last weekend, the Voltron showrunners announced the animated television show would be landing in our Netflix queues on June 10. Loosely based on a Japanese anime, the original show followed a team of young pilots who command a multi-part super robot named Voltron and (essentially) fight to save parts of the universe. Netflixs turn will see five unsuspecting teenagers transported from Earth into the middle of a sprawling intergalactic war. There they will become pilots for five robotic lions in the battle. To be their most effective, and form the mighty warrior known as Voltron: Legendary Defender, theyll need to harness true power of teamwork and unite to protect the universe from evil. Netflix has partnered with Dreamworks on this Joaquim Dos Santos (Legend of Korra) produced series, starring Jeremy Shada (Adventure Time) as Lance, Bex Taylor-Klaus (Scream) as Pidge, Josh Keaton (Green Lantern: The Animated Series) as Shiro, Tyler Labine (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil) as Hunk, Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead) as Keith, Kimberly Brooks (Mass Effect) as Princess Allura, and Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords) as Coran. Read part 1, part 2 and part 3 first. Street Fighters characters are some of the most iconic in the world. You can find them on billboards, in murals decorating the sides of shops from San Francisco to Brazil, and as pinatas at your local grocery store. Theyre often shallow caricatures of the cultures they represent, but that over-to-the-top characterization is part of why these characters have stuck around for so long; seeing your culture on a TV screen, no matter how careless the portrayal, can mean a lot when you dont see it anywhere else. In the spirit of global street fighting, weve decided to pit every Street Fighter character against each other for the prize of our affection. Weve collected a panel of experts (two experts, to be exact) and ranked characters from every game in the series (and we do mean every game) from worst to best. Who is the best fighter of streets? Read on to find out. Part three will be up later this week. 1 of 20 20. Makoto: Makoto's brash, intense fighting style perfectly suits a teenager trying to make her mark on the world. In a way, she's Sakura's polar oppositesomeone who dreams not of finding a mentor and emulating them, but of forging her own path as the master of her late father's fighting style. It's a martial arts story as motivating as Ryu's globe-trotting adventures, and it doesn't get the play it deserves in the series' storyline. In-game, Makoto compensates for her rough neutral game by being able to pressure an opponent once she gets in, and even her opponent's most minor mistakes can give her the opening she needs to completely maul them. 2 of 20 19. Eagle: One of the few enemies from the original Street Fighter to make it out as a playable character, Eagle has made precious few appearances in the Street Fighter series. When he does come up, though, his domineering moves and use of two small sticks resembling eskrima are a breath of fresh air. One of the most recognizable and memorable fighters introduced in Capcom vs. SNK 2, Eagle is a stylish, unique character who we'd love to see more of in future Street Fighter games. 3 of 20 18. Cammy: Codename Killer Bee, Cammy was the second female fighter introduced to the series with Super Street Fighter II, and quickly became a fan favorite. One of Bison's dolls who escaped his clutches, Cammy now fights to save all of her sisters and destroy Shadaloo as a member of Delta Red. Her fast, unrelenting style makes her one of the best rush-down fighters in the series, and her signature moves Spiral Arrow and Cannon Spike are devastating. With a great backstory and excellent playstyle, there's no doubt Cammy will continue to be a much-loved member of the Street Fighter cast for years to come. 4 of 20 17. Sagat: The brutal Muay Thai warrior Sagat was introduced as a boss in Street Fighter II before becoming a signature competitive fighter in home versions. His evil eyepatch and short-shorts signify both his confidence and brutality, as he can stand easily with the best of them. His Tiger Punch, Knee and Uppercut give him options at all ranges, and he's an incredibly offensive version of the typical shoto style, making him a staple for new and old players alike for years. 5 of 20 16. Vega: The Spanish ninja Vega utilizes a claw weapon to great effect and is one of the trickiest fighters to play against. Using his acrobatics to leap through the air and strike from multiple angles, Vega can keep you on your toes for an entire match as he pokes and prods, looking for the fatal blow. His womanizing character can be a little tired at times, but his style is second-to-none with his mask-and-claw combo. This beautiful megalomaniac is easily one of Street Fighter's most memorable villains. 6 of 20 15. Nash: Charlie Nash is one of the few characters so popular, Capcom literally brought him back from the dead to make a reappearance in Street Fighter V. His mix of Sonic Booms and crushing close-range moves makes him a dangerous fighter at all ranges, and his new changes in V have made him one of the more interesting characters to master. Mix in a story of coming back from death for revenge on the country that betrayed him and the man who arranged it all (M. Bison), and you've got a compelling story that sets up some big conflicts in V's upcoming Story Mode. This half-zombified fighter is easily one of the most compelling characters in the series right now. 7 of 20 14. Dudley: Dudley is a prime example of how evocative Street Fighter characters can be without resorting to stereotypes. He's likely based on British boxer Chris Eubank (per the Street Fighter wiki), but you never get the sense that Capcom looked up "British things" on Google in order to come up with his character design. He bears the kind of unique traits (frilly mustache, suspenders, suave voice) that serve as potent shorthand, just as best fighting game characters have, but without evoking any stereotypes that might make anyone feel uncomfortable. He's also one of the most consistently dazzling characters to watch, as he can juggle opponents in the corner with salvo of jabs, hooks and straights that make his fights feel like real boxing matches, even when his opponents are throwing fireballs at him. 8 of 20 13. Rashid: One of the newest additions to the series, Rashid is a tech-savvy fighter who uses gadgets and wind power to dazzle his foes. His use of tornadoes and flying kicks makes him a ridiculously fun fighter to watch, and his massive tornado V-Trigger combines with his specials to form a virulent fury of attacks. Add in some cocky style and hailing from an area of the world that's been sorely under-represented in Street Fighter games prior, and Rashid is not only one of the best new characters in Street Fighter Vhe's easily one of the best the series has ever offered. 9 of 20 12. Karin: Originally a character in a Street Fighter manga from the mid-'90s, Karin Kanzuki has since become of the series' most popular cult characters. The posh, high-class Mean Girl made for an easy villain in the manga, but over the years, (and especially in Street Fighter V), she's evolved into a worthwhile character beyond her stuck-up demeanor and distinct noblewoman's laugh. She has the fighting chops to back up her superiority complex, too; she's typically one of the most intricate characters in any game she's in based on raw number of moves alone, with each of her special attacks having follow-up maneuvers. We may not want to hang out with her anytime soon, but she's earned a place in our hearts anyway. 10 of 20 11. Balrog: Balrog's a divisive character for us. On one hand, he's one of the worst examples of brutish black characters in videogames. On the other, his raw power and surprising finesse make you want to believe his character has more going for him than pure punching prowess. Maybe not, but watching a good Balrog player (especially in Street Fighter II) is a pure joy; though he doesn't have the technical chops or mobility of other characters, Balrog excels at finding a hole in the opponent's offense and tearing it open with a well-timed dash punch. The satisfying "whoosh" sound his punches make is a just a nice bonus. I want a divorce. People! How long have we waited to hear Alicia utter those glorious words? The good wife has finally reached her limit. After Peter accidentally runs into a post-coital Jason at Alicias apartment, Jason gets a little skittish. He doesnt want to be in the middle of Peter and Alicia. Thats the motivation Alicia needs to finally push her over the edge. She marches into Peters office demanding a divorce. A flabbergasted Peter wonders if Alicias decision is due to Jason. I would never think of divorcing you unless I had some other man to call my own, Alicia says sarcastically. I dont think its having a man that finally made Alicia demand a divorce. But I do think it is her actually being happy for the first time in a long time. Like she so doesnt need to be dealing with Peters crap anymore. Also when are Alicia and Jason going to admit that what they share is more than physical attraction? I think theyre in love, dont you? The case of the week brought back Caitlyn DArcy (Anna Camp), one of my favorite guest stars on the show. When we last saw Caitlyn in 2012, she left the firm because she was getting married and wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. Now shes back because her daughter Zooey started pre-school. Im so glad the show is checking in on some of these great characters. But what was up with Caitlyn saying that she and her husband are separated and that she should have listened to Alicia and not left the firm? Was the show trying to make a statement on being a stay-at-home mom? And why couldnt we leave Caitlyn in a happier place? The case, which also brought back Kurt Fuller as Judge Dunaway, had Diane and Alicia finally working together again and explored all sorts of privacy laws and FAA regulations. But in these final episodes the cases arent what matter. I cant even keep up with all the permutations at the law firm. The latest kerfuffle ends with Alicia becoming a name partner again and Cary quitting. Im fine with Cary breaking away from all this nonsense as long as we still get to see him in the shows final four episodes. I assume we will, since Cary has been called to testify in the case against Peter. Maybe the series can end with Cary on the beach somewhere drinking a Mai Tai. It does appear that Alicia refusing to take Carys side was the last straw. Alicia was trying to remain neutral (or was she?) when thats really not an option. I do appreciate how David Lee is consistently David Lee, deliciously rotten to the core. Eli is in trouble because AUSA Fox has tapped Marissas phone and has an incriminating conversation between Eli and his daughter. Foxs offer is simpleEli helps him bring down Peter Florrick or hell go after Marissa. Eli turns to Diane for help and they come up with a plan. Eli tells Fox he is willing to admit to obstruction of justice and serve jail time but, of course, if he does that he wont be any help in Peters case. So it looks like Eli is now ready to testify against Peter. But part of me does wonder if this wasnt his plan all along. He vowed revenge. Is he finally getting it? A calmer Peter comes to Alicias apartment and says hell agree to the divorce if shell stand by him through his trial. I was screaming at the TV, Say no Alicia! Say no! Hopefully shell heed my advice. We wont find out until the series returns on April 17 for its final four episodes. Stray Observations: So is the firm now Lockhart, Florrick and Lee? If you were in the corporate sign business, you would so want this firm as a client. This may be my favorite double entendre episode title yet. Alicia has literally unmanned herself of Peter. Again Alicia doesnt seem to be giving much thought to Grace. As Ive said before, theres a reason this show isnt called The Good Mother. Peter youre always being indicted. If it werent today, it would be tomorrow. Great line, Alicia. Great line. For those of you keeping track of the love affair between The Good Wife and Smash. That was Leslie Odom, Jr. as the drone expert. He played Sam on Smash and joins Jack Davenport, Christian Borle, and Brian DArcy James, who have all guessed starred on the series. Megan Hilty (Ivy!) will guest on the April 17 episode. Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal , is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and a regular contributor to Paste. She wasnt allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog. Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal , is a Boston-based freelance writer, a member of the Television Critics Association and a regular contributor to Paste. She wasnt allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog. Without a doubt, Samsung is looking for new flexible display designs that will interest consumers and hopefully provide them with one or more hits over time. Recently Apple doubled down on delivering a new 4" iPhone model called the iPhone SE with modern specifications for a segment of the market that has no interest in phablets. Thus far pre-orders in China are saying that this could be a good seller for Apple. Interestingly Samsung is likewise contemplating a smaller smartphone and one that could be detachable from a watch band. Samsung's second idea is a flexible display based bracelet that appears to be more of a Galaxy smartphone accessory. And lastly, the third design patent covers a smartphone with an expandable display, a common theme of Samsung's of late (one and two). To date, smartphones with flexible displays have yet to capture the imagination of the consumer. Though as designs get bolder, as some of these new designs suggest, it begins to get a little interesting. Samsung needs a winning design to become the top premium brand OEM to dislodge Apple. Will one of these new designs be a future winner? While only time will tell, Samsung is under pressure, as the next few iPhone designs being rumored sound like they could be game changers once again. For more on these new designs see our full Patently Mobile report here. Smartphone with Expandable Display This post is part of the Memories of a Massacre Project: Memphis in 1866. This project is designed to bring to public attention the massacre that rattled Reconstruction-era Memphis in May 1866. by Elizabeth L. Jemison The white mob that held Memphis in terror for three terrible days in May 1866 targeted black churches for destruction. They burned wood frame buildings and ruined even a large brick church building. According to the Congressional inquiry into the massacre, the mob destroyed every black church in Memphis. The Congressional report recounted the testimony of preachers from African American churches whose lives had been threatened by white residents during and after the massacre. Why would the white mob deliberately target black churches during the Memphis massacre? What did these churches represent both to formerly enslaved Memphians and to white Memphians? How did black churches support African Americans struggle for civil and political rights in the post-emancipation South? Slave Religion & Emancipation Christianity had a long, complex history among American slaves. Historian Albert Raboteaus classic Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the Antebellum South charted this history nearly forty years ago. He showed that despite slaveholders efforts to teach a version of Christianity centered on obedience to masters, slaves created complex religious cultures combining African religious retentions and Christian practices. Raboteau concluded with the observation of African American theologian Howard Thurman that, By some amazing but vastly creative spiritual insight, the slave undertook the redemption of a religion that the master had profaned in his midst. On the eve of emancipation, slave religion had become a vital cultural force, insisting on the humanity of those caught in the dehumanizing system of slavery. As spirituals the theological writings of slaves maintained, the God who brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, destroyed the walls of Jericho, and protected Daniel in the lions den would upend the social order to free American slaves from bondage. Enslaved Christians worked for and longed for that divinely directed emancipation. When the Civil War came to the Mid-South, black Christians recognized it as an opportunity for their exodus from slavery. On a West Tennessee farm, Isaac Lane, a slave preacher who would later found Lane College, led prayer meetings of fellow slaves praying that the Civil War would bring emancipation. Local whites badly beat Lane when they learned of his prayer meetings. This violence testified to the strong potential for liberation that white southerners recognized in black Christianity. With emancipation, African Americans rapidly formed their own churches. Antebellum southern churches had contained several hundred thousand enslaved members. Once free, these black Christians left white-controlled churches, much to the surprise of white Christians who did not understand why former slaves would not want to remain as second class members in segregated balconies. Freed people across rural areas and towns built rough church buildings almost overnight, despite the poverty they endured. These churches hosted day, night, and Sunday schools for black adults and children, often with support from northern missionary groups. Churches supported black southerners claims for civil and political rights as citizens at a time when those rights were deeply contested. For that support, black churches earned white southerners criticism and violence. Black Churches and Citizenship After emancipation, there were many unanswered questions about African Americans place in the newly reunited nation. What civil or political rights could they exercise? Would free blacks be equal citizens with white Americans? Black churches supported African Americans claims for civil and political rights by hosting political gatherings and mass meetings and by allowing black southerners to claim an important common identity with local whites as fellow Christians. In the infamous Dred Scott decision in 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that people of African descent, whether slave or free, were not citizens of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment would overrule that decision, declaring that all persons born in the U.S. were citizens, but that amendment would only be ratified two years after the Memphis Massacre. Even if it were granted, what citizenship meant was also uncertain. Womens presence as citizens who could not vote showed that citizenship did not guarantee equal political rights. TheCongressional Report on the Memphis Massacre talked of the citizens of Memphis as its longtime white residents. The document implicitly excluded newly-arrived northern whites and black residents when it spoke of the citizens who shaped public opinion in Memphis. Both access to citizenship and the rights that came with citizenship proved a shifting ground in the post-emancipation South. Because citizenship was such an uncertain category, identity as Christians became all the more important for black Memphians and other former slaves as they sought to assert their civil and political rights. Insisting that they were fellow Christians with their white neighbors was an important way for black Memphians to assert themselves as equal to whites. While racial identity was a fixed, rigid category, religious identity could change. Southern preachers had long stressed that Christian conversion was available to all, whether slave or free, black or white. The more fully that black residents could insist that Christian identity should signify who belonged in Memphis, the more they could put themselves in that category of belonging. Religious identity gave black Memphians a malleable category to use instead of the fixed categories of race that excluded them from whiteness and from citizenship. In making these claims, Memphis black community drew upon the widely accepted valued of Christian identity and behavior. As Major Gen. George Stoneman worked to restore order after the massacre, he wrote that Memphians must govern themselves as a law-abiding and Christian community. Missionary teachers from northern states interviewed after the massacre explained that they were working for the education and Christianization of black Memphians. The 1866 report makes clear that Christian behavior was a widely accepted goal. Black Memphians insistence that their Christian identity made them worthy of civil and political rights alongside white residents proved a savvy, effective strategy. But these efforts were also a consistent interpretation of generations of black Christianity. In May 1866, black churches were full of Memphians who had long prayed that the God who had brought the ancient Israelites out of slavery in Egypt would free them from the horrors of the Souths peculiar institution. The churches held schools, community meetings, and political rallies in addition to their religious services. Churches helped black Memphians try to claim an equal status as fellow Christians with white southerners. The white mob that targeted black churches during the Memphis massacre would not have done so by chance or by mistake. White Memphians knew that black churches occupied a central place in the black communitys quest for civil and political rights. Destroying all of Memphis black churches showed the mobs effort to destroy the black communitys hope, their schools, their political advocacy, and their meeting places. Fortunately, the mob did not have the final word. Within months, black churches would be rebuilt and would again be filled day and night with schools and religious services. They would continue to serve as centers for community organizing and political action. And they would continue to insist that black and white Memphians, as fellow Christians, deserved equal civil and political rights. Elizabeth L. Jemison, a native Memphian, is Assistant Professor of Religion at Clemson University. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and an A.B. from Princeton University. She is writing a book about black and white Christians in the post-emancipation Mississippi River Valley, currently titled Southern Redemption: Religion, Race, and Politics from Emancipation to Segregation. Donate to the Work of R3 Like the work we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries/GLife Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click here to support our work. Canadian Resident Sentenced to Three Years in Jail Shortly After Returning to Iran 03/29/16 Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran Political prisoner Mostafa Azizi, one of many emigres who returned to Iran following assurances of their safe return by the Rouhani administration, has been sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 70 million rials (approximately $2,300 USD). Mostafa Azizi The appeals court upheld the sentence against the Canadian permanent resident for the charges of acting against national security, insulting the supreme leader, and propaganda against the state. My father was previously sentenced to eight years in prison, his daughter, Parastoo Azizi, confirmed in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. The [Appeals] Court has not exonerated him of any of the charges. It has only agreed to cut five years off his prison sentence with the payment of a fine, she said. And two years of the three-year prison sentence is still enforceable under Article 134. According to Note 3 of Irans New Islamic Penal Code: In the case of multiplicity of offenses, if there are mitigating factors, the court can reduce the punishment of the offender down to the average between the maximum and minimum, and if there is no maximum and minimum provided for the punishment, down to a half. My father is free on 500 million rials (approximately $16,500 USD) bail and will return to prison after the two-week Persian New Year holidays (on April 1, 2016), added Parastoo Azizi. Mostafa Azizi, 53, was a successful television writer and producer in Iran before he and his family immigrated to Canada in 2008. Security forces arrested him on February 1, 2015-two months after he had returned to Iran-and interrogated him for a month in Ward 2-A of Evin Prison, which is controlled by the Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization. He was sentenced on June 11, 2015 to eight years in prison for acting against national security, insulting the supreme leader, and propaganda against the state by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. His appeal was heard by Judge Hassan Babaei of Branch 54 of the Appeals Court on September 20, 2015. Mostafa Azizis family reported that he had been denied adequate medical care for shingles, a painful skin disorder, in October 2015. Political prisoners in Iran are singled out for particularly harsh treatment, which often includes denial of medical care, in direct violation of Irans own laws and prison regulations. Other members of the Iranian artistic community have also recently been handed down sentences. In late February, music distributors Mehdi Rajabian, Hossein Rajabian and Yousef Emadi were each sentenced to three years in prison and fined 200 million rials (approximately $6,600 USD) for insulting the sacred and propaganda against the state by a Tehran appeals court. Keyvan Karimi, an Iranian-Kurdish documentary filmmaker, was also sentenced in February 2015 to 223 lashes and one year in prison for insulting the sacred. Since President Hassan Rouhani was elected in 2013, several Iranians have faced arrest, interrogation and travel bans upon their return to Iran despite assurances by his administration that expatriates could rightfully visit their homeland without facing persecution. In addition to Mostafa Azizi, they include, but are not limited to, journalists Hossein Nouraninejad,Bahman Darolshafaee, and Serajeddin Mirdamadi. Iran to lift visa with 28 countries 03/29/16 Source: Press TV Iran said on Saturday that it is pursuing a plan to lift visa requirements with 28 countries in an effort which is meant to help boost the mutual tourism ties with the target countries. A European tourist in Tehran in June 2015 (photo by Fars News Agency) Masoud Soltanifar, the president of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, has been quoted by the media as saying that the countries with which Iran plans to lift the visa requirements will be from a total of 40 countries that Iran plans to expand cooperation in the area of the tourism industry. Soltanifar added that Iran is also working on a separate plan to promote tourism cooperation with 15 neighboring states. He further emphasized that official figures show there has been an increase of 12 percent in the number of foreign tourists who have visited Iran over the past two years. This, the official emphasized, is while the number of visits by foreign tourists at the international level has shown an increase of only 6.4 percent over the same period. Soltanifar had earlier announced that some five million foreign tourists visited Iran last year, spending at least $7.5 billion. He had also stressed that Iran will need to attract some 20 million foreign visitors by 2025, an ambitious campaign which is expected to fetch the country at least $30 billion. Iran hosts some of the world's oldest cultural monuments, including 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and its varied terrain ranges from desert locales to ski resorts. The country has devised a series of plans to bring its hospitality standards to international levels. To the same effect, related companies from Germany, Greece, South Korea and Singapore are already discussing hotel projects with Iran. Europe's largest hotel group Accor has already built two four-star hotels at Imam Khomeini International Airport outside the capital, Tehran. Also, the UAE-based Rotana plans to open a five-star 600-room hotel in Tehran and another in the city of Mashhad, which attracts millions of pilgrims each year. Iran's trade balance turns positive over 'lower' imports 03/29/16 Source: Press TV New data by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) shows 'unprecedented' surplus in the country's foreign trade over the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 19). The latest customs figures reveal the country registered a trade surplus of USD 0.916 billion in the 12-month period ending over a week ago. Related Article by Quartz: Iran deal: Here's how sanctions paved the way Iran's balance of trade (BoT) turned positive with its exports tallying USD 42.415 billion, compared with USD 41.499 billion worth of imports, IRNA reported Monday, citing official data. Although IRICA figures show a drop of more than 16% in exports, they register a 'record low' volume in imports, 22.53%, compared to the previous year, hence marking an unprecedented score on the trade balance sheet. IRICA said Iran spent more than 12 billion dollars less on foreign commodities last year, in comparison to the previous Iranian calendar year. Gas condensate, oil and petrochemical products constituted the major part of Iranian exports, while maize for cattle feed, wheat and rice were among the chief imports, the report added. China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan and India purchased more Iranian goods than other countries last year, while a fair share of Iranian imports came from China, the UAE and South Korea. Earlier this month, the Statistical Center of Iran announced that the Iranian economy grew 0.7 percent in the first nine months of the past Iranian calendar year. The center said in a report that the agriculture sector listed a growth of 3.2 percent while industries and services experienced negative growths of 1.2 and 0.3 percent respectively. Iran's economy has seen a slow but steady growth after last July's agreement with UN Security Council members plus Germany over Tehran's nuclear program, which saw the effective removal of sanctions against the country earlier this year. Back in January, the World Bank predicted a major growth rate of 5.8 percent for the Iranian economy in 2016. The bank said Iran's economic growth would be specifically encouraged by a surge in its oil production. It said Iran's crude output will increase by an estimated 0.5-0.7 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2016 up from the 2015 level of 2.8 mbd. Iran's Election Office challenges Guardian Council over disqualification of female lawmaker 03/29/16 Source: Radio Zamaneh Mohammad Hossein Moghimi, the head of the Election Office, says it is in a legal dispute with the Guardian Council over the disqualification of Minoo Khaleghi, an Isfahan parliamentary woman candidate who won the third-highest number of votes in the February 26 election. Minoo Khaleghi Moghimi told ISNA on Monday March 28 that he is looking forward to the council's response to his office's challenge of the disqualification. "The Guardian Council's position regarding the Isfahan issue is different from that of the Ministry of the interior, so we have informed them of our position," Moghimi was quoted as saying. In addition, the Isfahan governor announced last week that he has filed a challenge of the Guardian Council's disqualification of Khaleghi after the election. The Guardian Council is charged with approving all candidates who go on to campaign in elections. The disqualification of a candidate after an election is unprecedented. The council has not officially announced the reason for the Isfahan candidate's disqualification. Khaleghi was endorsed by the reformists, and it appears that the move to disqualify Khaleghi, who ranked third in the number of votes received, may be an attempt to get a conservative candidate who came in sixth place into Parliament. The Zoroastrian Americans of the New York Tri-States Inugurates their Newly Built Cultural Community Center 03/29/16 By Davood N. Rahni The new Arbab Rustam Guiv DareMehr facade ( photo credit: Shirin Kumaana-Wadia) As the rising morning sun shone down to provide its soothing warmth, enlightening light and nurturing energy to the dedication of the newly built Arbab-Rustm Guiv Dar-e-Mehr Zoroastrian Temple (DMZT) in Pomona New York, the procession of the whitely attired Zoroastrian cloaked Magi, the Mobads, congregated from temples all over the world, entered the prayer hall to install and lit the fire in the alter. There is the sacred fire that has remained alive, and as it has traveled from Yazd City of central Iran to Gujarat/Mumbai shores of India over a 1,000 years ago when the first group of Persians arrived in diaspora to escape religious persecutions. Spiritual hymns, homilies, and prayers, Jashan and Atash Niyayesh, verses song from Gatha and Avesta, vacillated the captive audience of nearly 700 to an intoxicating trance millennia back to antiquity era of Persia/Iran. The whole six hours of programming was streamlined live for the whole world to watch and still available on ZAGNY's website to view. Nestled in the heavily treed residential heart of suburban Suffern Palisades' cascades, New York in the historical Lower Hudson Valley, the new Zoroastrian Temple that took a decade of planning and fund raising and the past two years to complete, replaced the dilapidated original building that had been purchased fifteen years ago. Inspired architecturally by the main historical Zoroastrian temple in Yazd and the Royapuram Fire Temple in Chennai India, it is a most impressive colonial building with its front facade remnants of the monuments of Achaemenid Persepolis of Persia/Iran of a few millennia ago. The Faravahar, the guardian angel symbolizing forward assentation of one's self-actualization, is eminently present on the front entrance arch guarding the temple. The Temple's grand center hall, connected to the special prayer hall visible through all floor to ceiling glass partition, leads to grand ballroom, the 500 plus patron capacity and the adjacent spacious kitchen, takes one through the spiral staircase to a dozen classrooms and library on the second floor. The invited guests comprising civic and political dignitaries, business and legal leaders and entrepreneurs, educators, artists and healthcare professionals, and above all a treasure trove of colorfully dressed children, were carefully selected to be pre-eminently present in this inauguration day of jubilation; some had arrived from across the three continents including Iran, India, the U.K., and Canada for cheerful support. It is as if the illumining solar rays, penetrating in through the wide eastern widows, had instilled in the sacred flickering fire, and the souls present a harmonious sense of introspections, only to be rivalled in unison with the dancing of the hyacinth, daffodils and crocuses, and accompanied by the chirping and singing of the birds outdoors. Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) and Iranian Zoroastrian Association (IZA) will jointly utilize the DMZT to provide myriad festivals, religious and special events such as Navjote as well as language and culture classes to their members and the broader community. The Center may lease its facilities to non-members as well. Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion nearly four millennia in the making, is based on its trinity tenets: Andisheh Nik, Goftar Nik and Kerdar Nik, aka Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta (in English Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds) coalescing around the universally accepted Golden Rule, in life. The Magi, the three wise Persian men from the east who according to the Bible, arrived in Bethlehem at Jesus birth, were Zoroastrian priests/astronomers. In fact, a progressively large number of historians and scholars, attribute Zoroastrianism, currently at year 3754 Mazdayasni (7038 Mithraism,) to have provided much of the major pillars of Judaism and later Christianity and Islam. (You may read the dialogue between the Temple Shalom Sr. Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz and the IZAs Board member and business man Darius Jamshidian in Greenwich Time of Connecticut.) Early Zoroastrianism had a number of common themes with Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism. Two other short-lived sects, namely, Manichaeism and Mazdeism were in part derived from Zoroastrianism in the early third and the seventh centuries, respectively. In fact, Zoroastrian Mithraism was the prevalent belief by both the Asians and Europeans for millennia, before its ultimate demise which occurred through the advent of 5th centurys Christianity in Rome and the inception of Islam in Asia in the 7th century, respectively. It is not therefore, surprising when Friedrich Nietzsche wrote his philosophical novel, Thus Spoke Zarathustra that laid the foundation for humanitys paradigm shifts in contemporary thinking. Fire and light derived symbolically from the sun were the most scared to safeguard; the other three earthly pure elements, water in particular, but also air and earth/soil, were the four to be conserved as it was believed all others entities in the universe originated from these four. Although Zoroastrianism was ubiquitously practiced in then greater Persia, now Iran, which encompassed the surrounding regions, i.e. the Iranian plateau throughout south-west-central Asia, and the Caucuses and Eastern Europe for nearly three millennia, its follower dwindled with the collapse of the Sassanid Dynasty and the advent of Islam from Arabia 1,400 years ago. Its caste system has since been reformed markedly among the still quarter of a million, who reside mostly in Mumbai India and Yazd, Tehran and Kerman of Iran, with clusters in North America, Europe, and Oceania. Notwithstanding the dominance of Islamic faith in the region, nearly 250 million inhabitants of the region still adhere to certain cultural aspects of Zoroastrianism such as the three tenets, as well as seasonal festivals of Norooz (Nowruz), Tirgan, Mehrgan,Daygan/Yalda, and Sadeh. The White House has held an annual Nowruz extravaganza as well. Who among the 7.5 billion world population could not subscribe to the three tenets of Zoroastrianism?! At the extravagant Lunch, I serendipitously sat next to one of the high priests, Cyrus, who had received his theological education in of the strictest orders in Mumbai to require original pedigree and the memorization by heart of voluminous amount of Gatha, Yasna verses before he was accepted as an authentic Zoroastrian. He pleasantly surprised me when he stated that their historical population will in a few generations become extinct, unless they become more tolerant of intermarriage, and embrace Zoroastrian cultural peoples who each may be at different stage of Faravashi, wisdom, from celebrating merely Nowruz as a cultural observer alone to the most devout ones. As to todays Iran, the constitution guarantees a permanent parliament seat for not only the 50,000 Zoroastrians, but also for the Armenians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Chaldeans, and Iranians with Judaic beliefs. Amongst these religious minorities however, Zoroastrians are most respected by the 80 million mainstreamers and emulated for some aspects of their cultures in observance of Nowruz and other celebrations and Iranian traditions. For instance, although the newly dedicated DMZT today serves a 1,000 Zoroastrian families in the metropolitan New York, it reaches out tens of thousands of Iranian- Americans in the region who have been and continue to celebrate Zoroastrian festivals as cited above and the NY Persian Parade with Pride. The DMZT continues to provide language and culture classes in Persian, Gujarati and Hindi, poetry readings, art displays, as well as youth and senior citizen forums among others. The national American Zoroastrian association is FEZANA. As the Parsi Community of India along with their Iranian-American brothers and sisters, have once again endured trials and tribulations of the past few decades in their newly adopted home the U.S., they feel a soothing sense of solace to witness their diasporic community has grown strong roots. And as the current and future generations will congregate at DMZT to cherish their cultural past, as well as showcasing their broad contemporary contributions and look forward to their ever brighter future in America, it is reassuring to know the illuminating Zoroastrianism, as symbolically expressed by the sun and sacred fire, will guide them, and putatively, the humanity as whole, through life. Living nearby, Darius, a young and brilliant college youth living nearby, whose pedigree is only a quarter [Muslim] Persian, was present at the inaugural ceremony. I asked him for his motivation to be present. He answered, a few years back his only grandfather had imparted onto him the three Zoroastrian tenets, which he tattooed them on his body as exhibited here; ironically, he still could neither read nor pronounce them but rather, he has had a basic notion of what they meant. So, he has in practice adopted them in life. He was elated for his opportunity today to connect with and learn more about Zoroastrians today. I am ecstatic to learn more about this ancient culture and share them with my siblings but above all, to rebuild a new bound with my paternal grandfather. This last picture Chak-Chak Pire Sabz in Yazd of Iran, depicts the most sacred pilgrimage destination for the Zoroastrians worldwide. When the first group of Persian Zoroastrian pilgrims fled from Iran to the shares of Gujarat in the 8th century to escape religious persecution, the local King sent them a large bowl overfilled to the rim with local milk to welcome them but to also imply their towns are overpopulated and so they may rethink and land elsewhere. The Parsis drank some of the milk, over-filled it back up with Shad, the local honey they had brought with them form Persia and sent it back to the King. As soon as the King stated the sweetened milk, he got the implicit uplifting message, LOUD and CLEAR! The Parsi Zoroastrians were instantaneously welcomed ashore sympathetically where they have for over a millennium sweetened and enriched the diverse Indian life for everyone ever since, not only in Iran and India but also everywhere especially in New Yorks tri-states region and the U.S. of America!After the ribbon cutting ceremony, the placement of eternal fire in the altar and the sermon, and acknowledgment of the major benefactors and introduction of dignitaries concluded, the gala continued with Persian and Indian music, songs and dances, just to be wrapped up with scrumptious dinner in the late afternoon, anticipating the crowd would continue supporting and participating in the ZAGNY and IZA regular gatherings at the DMZT. Copyright 2016 D. Rahni 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 Microsofts actions are making it increasingly hard to believe that the company has any faith in its Lumia consumer smartphone line. The company said Tuesday, a day before the start of its Build developer conference, that its shutting down its Lumia Voices Twitter account. And a closer look at the corresponding Lumia Voices web page reveals that Microsoft seeded hardware to some of the people it profiled, rather than spotlighting existing Lumia users. ANNOUNCEMENT: On April 12th this account will close. Thanks for all your support. Please follow @Lumia and @Microsoft for the latest news. Lumia Voices (@LumiaVoices) March 29, 2016 Why this matters: It seems unthinkable that Microsoft would be winding down a $7.2 billion investment it made just a few years ago. But the company appears to be transitioning to a business approach with its mobile phones. Nixing the social element suggests that Microsoft wont try to maintain a consumer presence as a hedge while it develops its business phone space. None of this is a complete surprise. A slow fade for Microsoft Lumia Microsofts Lumia Voices account did say that any Lumia news would be handled by the main Lumia Twitter account, which seems to do double-duty, providing support as well as news. The representatives manning the Voices account did not offer any further explanation for the shutdown, although they did indicate there would be a follow-up announcement soon: @CarlaEid @GadgetsBoy Hey Tomi! There will be news here coming so stay tuned. Well update you as soon as we know more ^LK Lumia Voices (@LumiaVoices) March 29, 2016 Microsofts Lumia community pages, though, are mostly on life support. While Microsofts Lumia Facebook page seems to be actively maintained, Microsofts Lumia device blog is down to about one post per month, and its related community sites posts are undated. (The most recent one appears to be from January, however.) And at least on the mobile version of the page, two of the top three entries (on Trunki and David Duke) include notes that Microsoft supplied the users with their hardware. In our preview of Microsofts Build, we wrote that we expect Microsoft to clarify Windows 10 Mobiles future, and the future of Windows phones. Both Acer and HP recently launched Windows phones, so we know that both companies plan to support the technology. But as for Microsoft? With rumors of a Surface phone continuing to circle, a business focus may be the way forward. And as Microsoft zooms ahead, its Lumia consumer business appears to be fading in the rear-view mirror. San Bernardino County sheriffs deputies and an FBI agent responded Sunday morning, March 27, to a report of gunshots in the rural Deep Creek Hot Springs area of Apple Valley. While authorities found a group of men with firearms, they found no evidence that any crimes had been committed, according to a Sheriffs Department news release. No arrests were made. Someone called 911 about 8:25 a.m. to report seeing five to seven subjects wearing turbans shooting various firearms and hearing more than 100 gunshots, the release said. Deputies later learned that the callers description of the men was not accurate, and that one man was wearing a scarf. Sgt. David Rodriguez one of several officers who responded to the scene said people shoot guns in the area all the time since part of it is in Bureau of Land Management territory where you can shoot shotguns and another part is in a portion of the San Bernardino National Forest where recreational shooting is permitted. When deputies arrived, they could not find the group of men the caller was talking about, Rodriguez said. Eventually, they walked about a tenth of a mile away from the campsite to a group of 17 men carrying backpacks and other items. The men were detained as the deputies and a local FBI agent searched through their things and interviewed them. The men had handguns, a rifle and a shotgun, all of which were registered with the California Department of Justice except for the rifle. Rifles and shotguns do not require registration in California, Rodriguez said. The men cooperated with the investigation, and none were found to have a criminal history, authorities said. Deputies also contacted several hikers in the area, but none reported seeing the men shooting guns. Rodriguez said deputies will not be doing any further investigation into the incident. Sheriffs officials said anyone with information about the investigation may call them at 760-552-6800. Tipsters wishing to remain anonymous can call 1-800-782-7463 or go to www.wetip.com. The dark tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde doesnt typically impart feelings of love, but for two local actors, that emotion is exactly what surfaced. Ten years ago, actors Paul and Cheri Kehler, of Murrieta, fell for each other during a production of the musical Jekyll & Hyde. Now married, the duo along with eight other actors are reprising roles in the musical thriller at the very same place they met: Old Town Temecula Community Theater. The show, presented by the Fine Arts Network Theater Company, will run through April 10. Its a crazy and unique experience, said Paul Kehler, who portrays the title character. A lot of the sets are from the same place we rented from the first time. Its rare to do the same show with a lot of the same people in the same theater. Cheri Kehler returns as the love-struck and disaster-bound prostitute, Lucy. Lucy longs for love and longs for someone to love her in return, which makes the story so tragic and sad, Cheri Kehler said. It definitely wasnt the subject matter that brought Paul and I together. The musical is based on the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. With lush costumes in rich jewel tones with a steampunk flair, and a set with different levels, audiences will be transported to seedy Victorian-era London. In the story, Lucy is working in a brothel when she meets and becomes enamored with Dr. Jekyll, who is working on a potion to rid people of evil. A dangerous and tangled web is weaved after Dr. Jekyll dips into his own concoction and unleashes a violent alter ego, Mr. Hyde. The music and lyrics add extra layers of emotion to the intense story, Cheri Kehler said. The combination of the composition and the beautiful instrumental arrangements are very emotionally moving, she said. With an additional decades worth of life experience, Cherie Kehler said she hopes the performances will be even better than the first time around. After watching a video of the previous production, the shows director, Joseph Arreola who was a cast member in 2005 said the talent levels have risen. We have grown as professionals and our standards and expectations have grown, Arreola said. Watching Paul, I thought he was stellar then, and he is phenomenal now. Contact the writer: sschulte@pressenterprise.com, 951-368-9457 More than 100 Muslims and Christians joined Monday, March 28, in a prayer vigil to condemn a terrorist attack that killed more than 70 people and injured more than 300 others in Pakistan on Easter. The Chino mosque of a reformist Muslim community organized the interfaith vigil. We stand in solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters, especially in Pakistan, said Amjad Mahmood Khan, national public affairs director for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. We share deeply in their suffering. Blasphemy laws in Pakistan restrict the religious activities of Christians and Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, he said. Ahmadi Muslims are a sect of Islam with about 20,000 followers in the United States and 1,500 in Southern California, he said. These laws have led to the persecution, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of religious minorities, Khan said at the vigil, held at the Baitul Hameed Mosque. For us, the laws are the oxygen for terrorists in Pakistan. Theyre energizing the entire country. The government is unable or unwilling to control extremists like the Pakistani Taliban. While the Easter bombing targeted Christians gathered at a park in Lahore, the attack also killed Muslims. Victims included many women and children, he said. The official death toll from the attack in Lahore rose to at least 72, with 341 people reported wounded by officials. In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to fight terrorism until it is rooted out from our society. And the countrys powerful military, credited with greatly reducing militant attacks over the past two years, said it was beginning a new round of operations in Punjab province. Facing heavy criticism on Monday, officials acknowledged that while security measures had been intensified around mosques and, especially, churches on Sunday, little attention had been paid to the public parks. The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. It was the latest in a string of terrorist attacks committed by the Pakistani Taliban against religious minorities in Pakistan. The group massacred 86 Ahmadi Muslims in twin attacks in 2010, Khan noted. He read a statement denouncing the attack from Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the world leader of the Ahmadi Muslim Community. Never can such attacks be justified in any shape or form, the statement said, and all forms of terrorism and extremism must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. A Pakistani government official in the United States said leaders in his country have made strides in combating terrorism, though much work remains. We are taking every measure to control this menace, said Malik Qamar Abbas Khokhar, deputy consul general for Pakistan in Los Angeles. The Rev. Khushnud Azariah, whose husband Samuel Robert Azariah was wounded in the Easter bombing, is the vicar of St. Georges Episcopal Church in Riverside. She spoke at the prayer vigil. We need to respect one another and respect the dignity of all human beings, she said. Nobody has the right to massacre and to slaughter and to limit others freedom in the name of God. Kenn Rasmussen, a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Chino and Diamond Bar areas, offered a prayer for the victims. He said the Ahmadi Muslims he knows are peaceful and love God. Were so sorry that these terrorists have hijacked their beautiful message and turned it into a murderous hatred, he said. Jeanette Ellis-Royston, president of the Pomona Valley branch of the NAACP, said people must talk about their differences and understand each other before healing can begin. She pointed to other recent examples of terrorism, including the Dec. 2 mass shooting in San Bernardino that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others. We really need to call it what it is: wickedness, she said. The New York Times contributed to this report. Contact the writer: 951-368-9292 or swall@pressenterprise.com Riverside County will get about $1.3 million in a privacy lawsuit settlement with Wells Fargo that involves four other counties and the states attorney generals. As part of the settlement, Wells Fargo will pay $8 million to Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura and Alameda counties as well as the California Attorney General office. The suit alleged that the bank failed disclose that calls between bank representatives and customers were being recorded, according to a news release from the Riverside County District Attorneys office. In California, each person included in a conversation has to be told that a call is being recorded so he or she has a chance to object to. A total of $7.6 million will be awarded in civil penalties and Riverside County will get $64,000 of the $384,000 awarded in investigative costs, according to the release. Riverside Countys share of the penalties will go toward groups that deal with privacy rights and consumer protection, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Elise Farrell. Hopefully because Wells Fargo is such a large company that other companies that may not be in compliance with California laws will be compliant, Farrell said. The release says that Wells Fargo has changed its policies but does not admit liability as part of the settlement agreement. The bank has agreed to notify its customers that a conversation is being recorded when representatives talk with them. The company has also set up a compliance program to ensure that the policy changes are made. In addition to the $8 million the bank will pay in the settlement, Wells Fargo will also contribute $500,000 to two statewide organizations that work to advance consumer protection and privacy rights, the release said. Donald Trumps campaign manager was charged with battery against a journalist Tuesday, roiling the Republican front-runners campaign for president. Campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is accused of grabbing the arm of a reporter for the conservative website Breitbart at a campaign event in Florida on March 8 as she tried to ask the candidate questions. Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge. He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated, the Trump campaign said in a statement. The charge comes one week ahead of a key primary in Wisconsin. Trump, who was set to campaign there later Tuesday, has spent recent days feuding with rival Ted Cruz over the treatment of their wives in the race, and Trump made comments Monday suggesting he is trying to address his vulnerability among women voters. The reporter, Michelle Fields, said Lewandowski grabbed her on the arm and pulled her when she tried to question Trump after an event in Jupiter on March 8, an account backed up by a Washington Post reporter who was present. Fields later resigned from her news outlet, citing a lack of support. After Fields first made the allegation, Lewandowski called her , and Trump suggested Fields was lying. Newly released surveillance footage appears to corroborate the story, the Palm Beach Post said. Lewandowski turned himself in to authorities in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday morning, according to the newspaper there. Mr. Lewandowski was issued a Notice to Appear and given a court date. He was not arrested, the campaign said in the statement. An aide to Ohio Governor John Kasich, Trumps other rival for the nomination, said Tuesday that Lewandowski would be fired if he worked for them. Campaigns though always reflect the values of the candidate. I know ours does, Kasich chief strategist John Weaver said in an e-mail. A program at UC Riverside that helps undocumented students navigate college life is celebrating its one-year anniversary in April. Ana Coria, the universitys first coordinator for Undocumented Student Programs, said her role is to help students understand immigration policy and how it affects their education. Undocumented students visit her to ask about the financial aid process, legal resources, and academic assistance. A lot of them are non-traditional students. Theyre first generation, immigrants. They come from a non-English speaking background, Coria said. So adapting to a college setting is also something we help them with. For example, Coria has helped educate undocumented students about an immigration provision, known as advance parole, that allows them to study abroad. Undocumented UC Riverside students, who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, have traveled to Mexico and Vietnam through the help of Undocumented Student Programs. Its always having to learn and making sure your colleagues know what the new policies are and how it affects undocumented students, who qualifies, who doesnt qualify, and then making sure the students have the accurate information, Coria said. Corias position came after UC President Janet Napolitano announced in 2014 that $5 million would help provide counseling, financial aid, and other services for undocumented students throughout the UC system. Undocumented Student Resources is hosting its one-year celebration from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 at 900 University Ave., Costo Hall. Contact the writer: 951-368-9462 or amolina@pressenterprise.com Following a federal civil rights lawsuit brought against North Carolina for enacting HB2 (a discriminatory public accommodation law targeting the LGBT community), both Governor Pat McCrory and Attorney General Roy Cooper released statements commenting on the legislation from polar opposite points of view. In a statement released by Graham Wilson (Gov. McCrorys press secretary), McCrorys office argued The governor respects the right of any legal challenges; however, he does not respect the continued distortion of the facts by the groups challenging this law and by many members of the state and national media. The statement added, To counter a coordinated national effort to mislead the public, intimidate our business community and slander our great state, the governor will continue to set the record straight on a common sense resolution to local government overreach that imposed new regulations on businesses that intruded into the personal lives of our citizens. The statement follows a disingenuous FAQ released by McCrorys office attempting to put out the fires HB2 ignited. (Local news affiliate WRAL published an extensive takedown of the governors not-so-truthful statements.) Adding insult to injury, McCrorys statement continued, The non-discrimination policies in place today in cities like Raleigh, Greensboro and Asheville and in every business in North Carolina are the same as they were last month and last year. While that may be mostly true, HB2 targeted non-discrimination policies in several other localities across North Carolina (particularly Charlotte) that had LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination policies. Those ordinances may now be challenged and overturned by anti-gay activists thanks to HB2. The statement added two other smarmy statements digging the Republican governors heels into the ground on LGBT protections: Where was this coordinated outrage and media attention when the original bathroom ordinance was defeated in Charlotte just last year? The governor looks forward to cheering for the UNC Tar Heels in the NCAA Final Four being played in Houston, a city that defeated a similar bathroom ordinance referendum last year with over 61% of the vote. For those paying attention, almost every progressive publication (including Peacock Panache) and several mainstream media outlets covered the bills failure last year including the lies and rhetoric that lead to the defeat. That McCrory didnt bother to read or watch news coverage when his side won an issue is simultaneously predictable and intellectually lazy. Everything in North Carolina isnt celebratory and happy post-HB2, however; Democratic North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (who is running against McCrory in the upcoming election for governor) spoke out against HB2 calling it unconstitutional. House Bill 2 is unconstitutional; therefore our office will not represent defendants in this lawsuit, he said. He argued that he will encourage the state to engage outside counsel to defend the law should they choose to do so. I believe its critical for me as Attorney General to make sure that these policies and employees are defended, Cooper said. He added, Discrimination is wrong, period. The governor and legislature should repeal this law. I made a promise to my employees. Were doing the right thing here. Coopers statements today follow a video clip last week in which he denounced the legislation. Responding to the various reactions from North Carolina politicians, the lawsuit plaintiff organizations released a statement saying: North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, the states top law enforcement official, has concluded House Bill 2 is unconstitutional and harms North Carolinians without justification. As our lawsuit highlighted yesterday, House Bill 2 singles out the LGBT community for discrimination. Thats not only incompatible with the states constitutional and legal obligations but also our shared values as North Carolinians. Were grateful the Attorney General stands on the on the right side of history with the many cities, states, businesses and individuals who have come out against this harmful measure. Should Gov. McCrory and Republicans in the state legislature continue pushing the bathroom predator myth to justify discriminating against LGBT people, North Carolina may be on the hook for more than just the cost of litigating HB2; several prominent national businesses have spoken out against the legislation with threats of taking their business elsewhere. Indianas severe economic downturn following the enactment of their RFRA may seem miniscule when compared to the damage the GOP will do all in the name of lies and anti-gay rhetoric. Previously: Peacock Panache readers: Tim Peacock is the Managing Editor and founder of Peacock Panache and has worked as a civil rights advocate for over twenty years. During that time hes worn several hats including leading on campus LGBTQ advocacy in the University of Missouri campus system, interning with the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and volunteering at advocacy organizations. You can learn more about him at his personal website. 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